Page:An Essay On Hinduism.pdf/125

reformers, were never definite. There were, of course, men in society who regarded the present conditions as ideal and proper, provided the innovations introduced by the English- educated men could be eliminated. There were also men who held that whatever the ancient sages have said should be followed without any murmur. But besides such men there were a large number in this party who were lovers of order in the society and were not willing to divorce the old. Again, many of the reprehensible actions of the so-called "reformers" disgusted some people with the class of reformers—and these people swelled the ranks of Uddhārakas.

"Reformers" and "traditionalists" are not terms signifying any absolute tenets. A man who may be classed as a "reformer" in the village would not be classed as a "reformer" in a city. The chances are that he may be considered as a traditionalist by his urban neighbourhood. The same principle would hold good if we compared a small city to a large one. A native of Poona would do many things in Bombay which he would not dare do in Poona. A man who may be considered as a "reformer" in Poona will find himself lost if he goes to Bombay.^[1]

The Maratha Brahmin community, and specially the Chittapāvana caste, has become extremely multiform in its ideas, and manners, and habits. On one hand, you may find among them men, who may be oriented in Western sciences, materialists in their ideas, imitating the Europeans in their dress and fashions, and in making use of animal food and liquors. On the other, you may find a man who