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He should always be hospitable to the Brahmanas. He should be without pride, and his charity should not be confined to any one sect. He should also be always devoted to the performance of the Vedic rites. In this connection, the illustrious and great Rishis cite a verse sung by Narayana himself, of grave import and endued with high ascetic merit. Listen to me as I repeat it.
The air of intellectual superiority which is couched in these words is conspicuous. Mr. Chatterji also finds an inner satisfaction in what he considers the broad charity of the Brahmanical Scriptures. He quotes a passage from the Narada Pancharata which speaks of the Buddha as "the preserver of revelation for those outside of the Vedic authority."
In all this there is no contradiction whatever. The fact is that neither in ordinary nor in Vedic language we ever meet with a word which denoting a quality and at the same time standing in co-ordination with a word denoting a substance denotes a mere quality. As soon as we add to those two words an appropriate third one, e.g.
Kalaprishtha, and Nahusha, and Karkotaka, and Dhananjaya and the other snakes became the chords for binding the manes of the steeds. The cardinal and the subsidiary directions became the reins of the steeds of that car. The Vedic sound Vashat became the goad, and Gayatri became the string attached to that goad.
Passing the night in this way, the Brahmana rose with the day. He once more performed his ablutions in the sacred waters of the Vahuda and then ignited his homa fire and worshipped it with the aid of many foremost of Vedic mantras.
These six together formed the Council of the Evil One, as the six Amshashpands formed the council of Ormazd. His special sphere was the mind of man, where he suggested evil thoughts, and prompted to bad words and wicked deeds. Indra, identical with the Vedic deity, but made a demon by the Zoroastrians, presided over storm and tempest, and governed the issues of war and battle.
He should cast off procrastination and idleness. He should cleanse his soul by saluting his preceptor, by studying the Vedas, and by listening to his preceptor's instructions. Willingly accomplishing everything that the commands of his preceptor may indicate, he should be ready to receive such Vedic instruction as his preceptor may give him as a favour.
In one hymn the poet invokes, together with many Vedic deities, all manner of nature spirits, demons, animals, healing plants, seasons and ghosts. A similar collection of queer and vague personalities is found in the popular pantheon of China to-day . Thirdly, various deities who are evidently considered to be well known, play some part in the Pali Pitakas.
The common character of all these productions is that they do not attempt to combine Vedic rites and ideas with sectarian worship, but boldly state that, since the prescriptions of the Veda are too hard for this age, some generous deity has revealed an easier teaching.
These mythical ideas have their special reproduction in the mythology of the Finns. Thus we see that the process of myth is similar, even in different races. By the primitive personification of the special fetishes whence he was evolved, the Indra of Vedic India is shepherd of the herd of heavenly kine.
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