Page:An Essay On Hinduism.pdf/102

Resemblance between religion and sampradāya and the difference between a sampradāya and a sect may be shown in another way. To-day, if you ask a large number of Hindus as to whether they are followers of any particular sampradāya, they will answer in the negative. A European or American will be able to answer the question whether he is Methodist, Baptist, Catholic or Presbyterian. Similarly in India any man belonging to any sampradāyas would be able to tell what division of sampradāya he belongs to. A Vaishṇava can tell you whether he is a Nimbārka or Rāmānuja, a Jain can tell you whether he is a Shevetāmbara or a Dāgambara, a Brahmo can say whether he is an Adi Brahmo or Nūtana Brahmo. People who are followers of any sampradāya can always tell any particular sampradāya that they follow. When the sampradāya divides itself, by an introduction of schism, some members go one way, some the other. When any sampradāya takes in all the people of any particular locality, we find that every man there will profess to be a follower of the sampradāya, and a member of the particular sect therein. The same rule can explain why almost every man in Europe or America can tell what sect he belongs to.

It has been the ideal of Hinduism to discourage the sampradāyas, and to promote dharma eternal and infinite. As intelligence and education advance in India the sampradāyas fall into disuse, and when education declines the sampradāyas multiply. These sampradāyas were multiplying among unintelligent classes, and they increased considerably during the Mohamedan régime.

What service do the sampradāyas or religions do? They tend to destroy the old social distinctions and create new ones. They take individuals from different tribes and