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THE PRACTICAL PATH.
But the more thoughtful of men soon began to perceive that the efficacy of sacrifice was more imaginary than real, and felt convinced that the shedding of blood could never be the means of one's own or the victim's salvation. The custom had, however, taken deep root, and could not be eradicated in a day. It was only after the lapse of a long long time that the wave of reaction against this cruel practice acquired sufficient force to render an alteration of the sacrificial text a matter of necessity. But this was no easy matter to accomplish,. for once the sanctity attaching to scripture is deliberately denied in respect of a single verse, the whole foundation of a mystic creed, whose binding force is inseparably associated with its supposed revelation, must necessarily become undermined. The pruning of the Vedas was, therefore, out of the question, and the enlightened reformer had to resort to symbolism, the only other method of introducing reform without interfering with the sanction of authority revelation is invested with. Accordingly, a symbolical, hence, an esoteric, basis was sought for the interpretation of the Vedic text, and the features of distinction of the principal types of sacrificial beasts as well as the etymological significance of their names was made use of to construct a theory of hidden interpretation. Thus it was that the ram, the he-goat and the bull, three of the most common beasts in the category things established by Parbat and his underlings. From Sagar's province the new doctrine spread far and wide; and, even after the departure of the demon to his own place, the powers of the priests acquired by the practising of animal magnetism, yoga and the like, in which departments of knowledge they seem to have been well instructed, sufficed to attract fresh converts to Parbat's unholy cause.
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