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THE PRACTICAL PATH. (ii) it should be absolutely irrefutable, i.e., in capable of being disproved by logic;
(iii) it should be in agreement with perception (or observation), inference and reliable testimony ;
(iv) it should be helpful to all jivas, that is, it should not directly or indirectly become a source of suffering and pain to any one-not even the animals;
(v) it should describe things as they exist in nature; and
(vi) it should be competent to destroy doubt and uncertainty in respect of spiritual matters.
Bearing the above characteristics of a true scripture in mind, it can be seen at a glance that the claim of the Vedas to a Divine authorship, through the medium of revelation, cannot be entertained by a rational mind. Unpalatable as this statement may seem at first sight, there is nevertheless no escape from it; for tbe Hindus have themselves 'out-grown' their Vedas in many respects. For instance, they no longer worship Indra, Mitra, Varuna, and most of the remaining Vedic deities nowadays. What else can this change indicate, if not that the true character of the Vedic gods was discovered to consist in pure personifications, and consequently it was found impossible to offer them devotion any longer ?
The same conclusion is to be reached from the fact that modern Hinduism considers the sacrifices of animals and men enjoined in the Vedas as inhuman and degrading.
Indeed, so far as sacrificial ritual is concerned, later writers have endeavoured to interpret the text relating
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