BRAHMANISM, briFman-ifm. As a reli gious term, Bralonanism is a comtirchensivename usually employed to specify the system of relig ions institutions originated and elaborated by the Brahmans, who are and have been from ac early period the sacerdotal and dominant caste aiming the Hindus. The earliest phases of relig ions thought in India of which a clear notion can DO• be formed are exhibited in a body of writ ings which long ago came to be regarded as sacred, known under the collective name l The 1 1 in du scriptures consist of four separate collections of sacred texts, including hymns, incantations, and sacrifi cial forms of prayer. They are: (1 ) the Rigrrila (2) the ,roman, or ,•Thnarcda (3) the Yajush, or Yrtjurrcda ; (4) the .1 1 ha rran tharrareda, Each of these four text-books has attached to it a hotly of prose writings called Bruhmauas, which explain the ceremonial application of the text., and the origin and import of the sacrificial rites for which they were supposed to have been com posed. These are complemented by the shorter ras, manuals of various sorts, liturgical and ritual. All these to the 'Hindu are comprehended in the term Veda, the hymns alone being the (ved1-) Sanhitfi, or collection. The Atharrorcdo was the last to be recognized as a real redo. The and the Yajurreda are employed for purely ritual purposes, and as they are composed almost entirely of verses taken from the Rig reda, they are of secondary importance. The hymns of the Rigreda are the earliest poetic-al productions of the Aryan settlers in India which have come down to us. They all are old, though of varying periods. the earliest dating probably from n.e. 1200 to 1500. The last book has the characteristics of a later appendage. Of the dtharran about a sixth is found in the Rigreda.
The religious thought of the old poets, as re flected in the hymns, is that of a worship of the grand and striking phenomena of nature viewed as personal and conseious beings, endowed with powers beyond the control of man, yet sensible to his praises and actions. It was more nearly a
nature-worship than that of any other known form of polytheistic belief ; a mythology com paratively little affected by those systematizing tendencies which, in other lands, led to the con struction of a well-ordered pantheon and a regu lar organization of divine government. From the name, the Shining Ones,' given to these im personations, it must be concluded that the more prominent objects of early adoration were the phenomena of light. In the primitive worship of the manifold phenomena of nature, their physical aspect impresses not only the human heart, but also the moral and intellectual forces whielt are supposed to more and animate them. The attributes and relations of some of the Vedic deities, in accordance with the nature of the ob jects which they represent, partake in a high degree of this spiritual element; but such deities are exceptional, and most of the Vedic gods have a thoroughly sensuous and anthropomorphic character. This latter element is espeeially pre dominant in the attributes and imagery applied by the Vedic poets to Indra, the god of the atmospheric region, and the favorite figure in their pantheon. While the representatives of the prominent departments of nature appear to the Vedic poet as independent of each other, their relations to the mortal worshiper being the chief subject of his anxiety, a simple method of elassi ficat• was resorted to at an early time. It con sisted of a triple division of the deities into god ; residing in the sky, in the air, and on the earth. It is not until a later stage, however, that this attempt at a polytheistic system is followed up by the promotion of one particular god to the dignity of chief guardian for each one of these three regions. On the other hand, a tendency is clearly traceable in some of the hymns toward identifying gods whose functions present a cer tain degree of similarity of nature. These at tempts seem to show a certain advance front polytheism toward a comprehension of the unity of the divine essence.