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Texts such as 'the True, knowledge, infinite is Brahman, and 'the True must be enquired into, prove that the term 'the True' denotes Brahman; and as in the Chandogya the term 'tapas' occurs in the corresponding place, we conclude that both these terms, viz. the True and tapas, denote nothing else but Brahman. Up. Gi. And there are many other Sruti and Smriti passages of this kind.
Mahâvîra is said to have taught that place, time and occasion should be taken into consideration and his successors adapted their precepts to the age in which they lived. Such monks as I have met maintained that extreme forms of tapas were good for the nerves of ancient saints but not for the weaker natures of to-day. But in avoiding rigorous severity, they have not fallen into sloth or luxury.
"The mind must be restrained in the heart till it comes to an end," says the Maitrayana-Brahmana-Upanishad. One may remember in this connection the tapas of the Hindu yogi, or the ordeals of initiates into the pagan Mysteries generally.
That also hath been described who is purusha being above such epithets as 'undisplayed' and the like; also that which the foremost yatis exempt from the common destiny and endued with the power of meditation and Tapas behold dwelling in their hearts as a reflected image in the mirror.
"King Kalakaua started this collecting fad, over on Oahu," Prince Akuli continued. "And his queen, Kapiolani, caught the fad from him. They collected everything old makaloa mats, old tapas, old calabashes, old double-canoes, and idols which the priests had saved from the general destruction in 1819.
That also hath been described who is purusha being above such epithets as 'undisplayed' and the like; also that which the foremost yatis exempt from the common destiny and endued with the power of meditation and Tapas behold dwelling in their hearts as a reflected image in the mirror.
Candlenut-bark gave a rich chocolate hue; scarlet was obtained from the mati-berries mixed with the leaves of the tou. Yellow came from the inner bark of the root of the morinda citrifolia. Hibiscus flowers or delicate ferns were dipped in these colors and impressed on the tapas in elegant designs. The garments were virtually indestructible.
It appears even in creeds which disavow it theoretically, e.g. in Buddhism, and evidently has its root in a deep-seated and persistent instinct. Tapas is often translated penance but the idea of mortification as an expiation for sins committed, though not unknown in India, is certainly not that which underlies the austerities of most ascetics.
If some texts speak slightingly of it, we must remember that the life of a hermit dwelling in the woods without possessions or desires might not be regarded by a Hindu as tapas though we should certainly regard it as asceticism. It is also agreed that supernatural powers can be acquired by special forms of asceticism.
Hina, the goddess who in the long ago made her home in the great cave beneath Rainbow Falls, was especially gifted in the art of tapa making. So wonderfully artistic and fine were the tapas of Hina that people journeyed from all parts of the Island to view them and to covet.
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