Page:The Religion of the Veda.djvu/224

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LECTURE THE FIFTH.

The Beginnings of Hindu Theosophy.

Statement of the problem – Time when theosophy originated – Metempsychosis and pessimism unknown in the earlier Vedic records – Place where the higher religion originated – Priest philosophy at the sacrifice – The theosophic charade – Specimens of the theosophic charade – The riddle hymn of Dirghatamas – Interrelation between the sacrifice and theosophy – On the supposed origin of theosophy with the royal caste – Criticism of this view – Transition from ritualistic polytheism to theosophy – Early scepticism – "Götterdämmerung" – Failure of God Varuna – Monism, or the idea of unity – The creation hymn – Translation and analysis of the creation hymn – Attempts at Monotheism – Prajāpati, the Lord of Creatures – Viçvakarman, creator of the universe, and kindred conceptions – Purusha, the world man – Brihaspati, the Lord of Devotion – Transcendental monotheistic conceptions: "Time," "Love," etc. – Defects of the earlier monotheistic and monistic attempts.


THE appreciation of the higher forms of Hinduism has gotten to be one of the foremost intellectual arts of our time, because the final results of Hindu thought count really among the most noteworthy achievements of the human mind. In

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