Page:An Essay On Hinduism.pdf/200

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FUTURE OF "RELIGIONS"
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those cases where truth is unknown; this conflict has been manifest specially in theological matters. It is possible to arrest this conflict and ill-feeling caused thereby, by promoting in the world the feelings and ideas of the educated Hindus.

The attitude of an educated Hindu towards the question of doctrine and worship is this. What God is is not entirely knowable, as it is an infinite conception. Of this infinite conception only a fraction in the form of an idea of either power, miracle or material, comes to the knowledge of man, by an occasional and wonderful manifestation. It is vain for a man to be proud of any particular manifestation and to exclude the rest from cognizance. All worship, therefore, should be tolerated. Any deity may continue to be worshipped provided the worshippers' conception becomes widened. It is neither proper nor necessary to replace one deity by another, because it is not a matter of importance whether the absolute and infinite conception is called Shiva Vishnu, Durgā, or Buddha. Whether a man worships the Sun, Jupiter or Saturn, or any historical great hero, or a saint or rivers like the Ganges or any other object that inspires awe or creates fear, is a matter of no importance. All these gods or manifestations are but starting-points. To disturb the faith of a man in a finite God is foolish as long as his mind is not fit to accept the higher. Pantheistic monotheism, which is the only possible form of consistent monotheism, is a very difficult conception to hold, as it taxes the mind to understand very difficult and mysterious laws, most abstruse philosophy and synthesis of most abstract concepts. Complete realization of this monotheism will negative the faith in sin and virtue, and this stage of mind if unaccompanied by other preparation of mind