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THE SOCIAL ORDER

For an understanding of the development of the Hindu tradition some knowledge is necessary of the social life of the people in the great creative periods, for very frequently the religious and philosophical ideas appear in a quite new light when they are seen reflected through the patterns of the lives of the people in their ordinary concerns. And while it is probably true that its difficult to consider religious ideas apart from social structure in any society, in Indian culture it is manifestly impossible. Not only was every stage of life from birth to death marked by formal sacramental acts, but there was scarcely an action or custom, however trivial or commonplace, that did not have a sanction beyond mere utility. This means that while Indian culture is probably more "religious" than almost any other, at the same time religious rites and practices often have a very casual performance, sometimes suggesting to outsiders a lack of genuine piety. The explanation is, of course, a different understanding of the nature of the secular and the sacred. It may be noted in passing that the religious consciousness that surrounds commonplace acts is an important element in transmitting the heritage, since the style and tone of the high culture can penetrate in this way to cultural levels that may be quite unfamiliar with the philosophical presuppositions underlying them.

The selections included here are intended to suggest how some aspects of ancient Indian experience have had a particularly influential role in the growth of the Hindu tradition. Many of the passages are from the Atharva Veda, which is largely a collection of incantations and charms that have an intimate relationship to the everyday lives of the people. A distinction is sometimes made between the levels of religious and cultural experience displayed in the Rig Veda and the Atharva Veda, with the suggestion that the Atharva Veda preserves the record of a more primitive religious understanding, with an emphasis on magic. This distinction probably should not be stressed too much, however, for both in the great sacrificial rituals of the Rig Veda and in the rather crude charms of the Atharva Veda a comparable spirit can be recognized. There is in both an almost unbounded faith in the power of the priestly class to control the process of life, and, linked to this, a feeling that while the universe may contain many elements hostile to man, nevertheless, means of control are available. This point is worth stressing in connection with the Indian social order, for there seems little evidence, at least in the early literature, of any acquiescence on the part of man to natural forces or any sense of fatalism, those two attitudes popularly attributed to Indian society.

THE DUTY OF CHARITY

The stress in the Vedic hymns on the offering of gifts to the gods as an essential feature of the religious experience was generalized to include the concept of the duty of liberality to all who were in need. The motivation for charity is not, therefore, an appeal to compassion based on an understanding of human suffering or of the common brotherhood, but rather a recognition of the right of the recipient of a gift to share in the good fortune of the donor. The duty of almsgiving, which is a prominent feature of all Indian religions, is clearly foreshadowed in the following hymn from the Rig Veda.

The Gods have not ordained hunger to be our death: even to the well-fed man comes death in varied shape.

The riches of the liberal never waste away, while he who will not give finds none to comfort him

The man with food in store who, when the needy comes in miserable case begging for bread to eat,

Hardens his heart against him - even when of old he did him service - finds not one to comfort him.

Bounteous is he who gives unto the beggar who feebly comes to him in want of food.

Success attends him in the shout of battle. He makes a friend of him in future troubles.

No friend is he who to his friend and comrade, who comes imploring food, will offer nothing.

Let him depart - no home is that to rest in - , and rather seek a stranger to support him.

Let the rich satisfy the poor implorer, and bend his eye upon a longer pathway.

Riches come now to one, now to another, and like the wheels of chariots are ever moving.

(from Rig Veda X:117)

WAR

In recent years the place of non-violence in the Indian tradition has received much emphasis, but it is worth remembering that throughout India's history military prowess has been exalted and the waging of war has been regarded as an essential feature of political life. The early Aryans gloried in the ability of their horses and chariots to strike terror into the hearts of their enemies, the people of the land, and their favorite god, Indra, was a great military hero. The selection given here was probably a kind of incantation which, when recited before battle, gave special potency to the weapons of the warriors.

The warrior's look is like a thunderous rain-cloud's, when, armed with mail, he seeks the lap of battle.

Be thou victorious with unwounded body: so let the thickness of thy mail protect thee.

With Bow let us win kine, with Bow the battle, with Bow be victors in our hot encounters.

The Bow brings grief and sorrow to the foeman: armed with the Bow may we subdue all regions.

Close to his ear, as fain to speak, She presses, holding her well-loved Friend in her embraces.

Strained on the Bow, She whispers like a woman - this Bowstring that preserves us in the combat.

These, meeting like a woman and her lover, bear, mother-like their child upon their bosom.

May the two Bow-ends, starting swift asunder, scatter, in unison, the foes who hate us.

With many a son, father of many daughters, He clangs and clashes as he goes to battle.

Slung on the back, pouring his brood, the Quiver vanquishes all opposing bands and armies.

Upstanding in the Car the skillful Charioteer guides his strong Horses on whithersoe'er he will.

See and admire the strength of those controlling Reins which from behind declare the will of him who drives.

Horses whose hoofs rain dust are neighing loudly, yoked to the Chariots, showing forth their vigour.

With their forefeet descending on the foemen, they, never flinching, trample and destroy them.....

He lays his blows upon their backs, he deals his blows upon their thighs.

Thou, Whip, who urgest horses, drive sagacious horses in the fray.

It compasses the arm with serpent windings, fending away the friction of the bowstring:

So may the Brace, well-skilled in all its duties, guard manfully the man from every quarter.

Now to the Shaft with venom smeared, tipped with deerhorn, with iron mouth.

Celestial, of the Rain God's seed, be this great adoration paid.

Loosed from the Bowstring fly away, thou Arrow, sharpened by our prayer.

Go to the foemen, strike them home, and let not one be left alive.

(from Rig Veda, VI:75)