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The Religion of the Veda

scient guardians of the moral law and order of the universe. Avestan Ahura Mazda and Vedic Varuna are the guardians-in-chief of the ṛta, the cosmic and moral order of the universe and man.[1] Vedic Varuna in his ethical strength has a Hebraic flavor. By the side of even the loftiest figure and the loftiest traits of the Hellenic or Teutonic Pantheon Varuna stands like a Jewish prophet by the side of a priest of Dagon. And yet what permanent moral strength have the Hindus derived from Varuna, and what becomes of Varuna himself in the course of his development? A second rate Neptune, "Lord of the Waters," a mere stage figure. In the straight-lined advance, looking neither to the right nor to the left, to the recognition of the one Brahma, the universal spirit, as the one Reality, and the consequent illusoriness of the entire phenomenal world, there is really no more room for righteous and stern Varuna than for an idol of clay, unless you can make out that Varuna is but a particular manifestation of the One Brahma, and then he is no more important than any other manifestation.

The absence of a strong chronological scaffolding is felt not only for the events of Hindu history, but also for the events of Hindu thought. It is the custom to speak rather glibly of "late" and "early" in

  1. ↑ See above, p. 126.
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