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APPENDIX.
179
To begin with Hinduism, its writings consist of Vedas, Brahmanas, Upanishads and Puranas. Of these the Vedas are the oldest; the Brahmanas come next in the order of time; the Upanishads follow still later and the Puranas last of all. All the Vedas also do not belong to the same period ; that known by the name of Rig being the oldest. Thus, Hinduism is one of those creeds which are characterised by periodic evolution and growth.
This fact speaks for itself, and gives rise to the inference that Hinduism has not always been what it is to-day; and it is clear that important additions have been made to it, from time to time, to impart to it that look of perfection which it undoubtedly lacked in the Vedas, notwithstanding the highly mystic tone of their sacred hymns.
When we turn to find out what was the teaching of the early Hinduism of the Vedic or pre-Vedic period, we are met with the difficulty which even the Upanishad-writers failed to solve satisfactorily, for we have nothing in the nature of a systematic or scientific exposition of religion in the Vedas, but only a collection of hymns addressed to a host of deities almost all of whom are now regarded as pure personifications of the various forces of nature. The Brahmanas admittedly lay no claim to a scientific treatment of the subject, and consist mostly in sacrificial ritual, while the Upanishads, inspite of their philosophical tendency, need elaborate commentaries to be understood, and are also full of such mythical matters as the creation of living beings by Brahmâ as the result of repeated acts
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