This jealousy with regard to the mysteries of their religion, as far as it is contained in their sacred books, is now completely at an end ; and they may be ex plored by any one who has sufficient curiosity to im pel him to the task, and sufficient learning to execute it successfully. But the most unfortunate circum stance in the business is, that, with all these facilities of information, the subject is still as mysterious as ever, and though curiosity has been highly gratified, we are as far as ever, from any facts that can lead to a certain or useful result.
It is pretty generally asserted, that no alteration has taken place in the Braminical system for many thousands of years ; we, indeed, recognize many of the features described by Strabo and Arrian ; but we find others as completely altered. It is no long er true, that the offices of the Bramins are confined to devotion, sacrificing, and philosophy. They en gage in all the offices of civil life, and, in many cases, nothing appears so foreign to their habits as litera ture and philosophy. The Paishwa of the Mahrat tas is a Bramin ; his troops are composed principally of Bramins; and it has been remarked, that through out his extensive territories, scarcely any thing is safe from violence and rapacity, but a cow and a Bra It is also universally admitted, that the modern 13ramins are grossly ignorant and immoral. Nothing is more common in India, than to meet with a 1eflow infinitely inlerior in point of intedigence to the rud est English clown, yet assuming all the grimaces of sanctity and wisdom, and exacting, as his due, a re spect bordering on adoration. This is, indeed, the natural effect of the Braminical system ; when a man is sure of honour and respect, independent of merit or exertion, as every Bramin is by his birth and cha racter, it is not easy to see what can stimulate the mind to useful efforts : and it would be in vain to expect moral purity, where ignorance is methodized into a system, and where this order of men is raised, if not by law, at least by the superstition of their countrymen, beyond the reach of justice, and the fear of penal inflictions. Accordingly Mr 11°1 well, who stickles as keenly for the pretensions of the Bramins, as if he had been a convert to their faith, allows an observation to escape hint near the close of his work, which completely oversets his preceding theory ; for he admits, that there was scarcely a murder or a robbery committed in the country, but a Bramin was found to be at the bot tom of it. Ile is careful, however, to observe, that he speaks only of the lowest and most ignorant race of Bramins, and that the higher and more learned orders are to be exempted from the charge. It would perhaps be unfair to include a whole order of men in the sweeping charge of ignorance and profli gacy, but we have an unfortunate fact to state, which would lead us strongly to suspect the purity and honesty of any order of Bramins. A learned
pundit at Benares, who had been engaged by cap tain \Vilford to translate one of the Puranas, impo sed on his employer, by the interpolation of the me morable story of Satyavrata and his three sons, cor responding exactly with the story of Noah. After captain \Vilford had completely detected the trick, he sent for the pundit, to upbraid him, who swore, by all that was sacred, that it was no imposition ; and in proof of his assertion; brought ten of the most ce lebrated pundits at Benares, who were ready to swear to the falsehood.
The Bramins, indeed, seem to have degenerated in every respect from their ancestors. Clemens of Alexandria quotes a passage from Mcgasthenes, a historian who lived in the time of Seleucus Nicator, in which he affirms, that the physical sciences among the Greeks were taught by the Bramins among the Indians. Indeed, the physical sciences amongst the Greeks and Indians seem to be much on a par, con sisting entirely of absurd cosmogonies, and theories altogether unsupported by experiment. Eusebius, in his Preparatio Evangelica, I. 6. c. 10., states a fact very inconsistent with the present practice of the Bramins ; he expressly affirms, that they worshipped no images : zoLiael'es 9roiacti 76.4 Avyotteywy Beavcavaq orrsv(5, nccra zaeagoriv 7Wv zeowywv rai volkwv, ere cpoveve eTE oct.va. C'Epecrt. At present there are not grosser idolaters on the face of the earth, nor are the visible objects of adoration any where so absurd, and ob scene. It is true, indeed, that in the Vedas and Shasters the unity of God is often expressly asserted, and illustrated in very sublime and beauti ful language : at the same time such a complicated machinery of inferior agents is employed, and the whole is so involved in allegory, that polytheism may be said to be taught in the Vedas themselves. This is the case with the purest systems of ancient mythology : whilst they admit the doctrine of a su preme God as the source of power, and the author of all existence, they uniformly admit the existence of subordinate deities, dependent on the supreme, and employed by him in the government of the uni verse. This opinion necessarily leads to polytheism : people will always be most ready to worship those deities with whom they consider themselves as most closely connected : and the supposed agents will be adored, as the most likely means of recommending / them to the notice of the supreme divinity. In this way the worship of saints in the Roman church al most entirely superseded the worship of the Most High : and in the Indian mythology, Brimha, the chief deity, has not a temple erected to his service, whilst thousands of splendid pagodas are raised in honour of inferior gods.