There was another feature of the old Vedic worship which tended to a similar result. The great problems of the origin and existence of man and the universe had early begun to engage the Hindu mind; and in celebrating the praises of the gods the poet was frequently led to attrib ute to them eosmical functions of the very high est order. At a later stage of thought the con ception of maker of the universe was gradually restricted to one 'all-maker' or 'lord of all crea tures.' attributes which eventually became desig nations of a new and supreme god. Still later, with the vaguer lines of demarcation between the old gods. came the thought that all these gods were essentially one, but that this one was not a god, but the divine spirit which animated all beings. Thus a pantheistic conception was ar rived at, and put forth under such names as Pu rush a, 'soul,' Ktitoo, 'desire,' Brahman (neuter nom. sing., brahma). 'devotion, prayer.' Meta physical and philosophical speculations were thus fast undermining the simple belief in the old gods, until, at the time of the composition of the Drab mavas and the Upanishads, we find them in complete possession of the minds of the theologians. While the theories crudely suggest ed in the later hymns are now further matured and elaborated, the tendency toward catholicity of formula favors the combination of the con flicting monotheistic and pantheistic conceptions; this compromise. which makes Prajapati, 'lord of all creatures,' and personal creator of the world. the manifestation of the impersonal Brahma, the universal self-existent soul, leads to the composite pantheistic system which forms the characteristic dogma of the Brahmanical period. The theories of creation set forth in the Rigrrda show a multifarious belief, and philo sophically the dogma is taught. that 'being comes from non-being' (a tenet denied in a later age), so that it is impossible to derive completed Brah manism from earlier thought. though all ortho dox Brahmanism pretends to be based on 'Vedic truth.' Another striking difference between the Vedic and completed Brahmanic beliefs rests on the development of the philosophical conceptions outlined above. The Vedic poet believed in a joyful heaven, to which he was to go hereafter; the later Brahman desired not heavenly bliss, but an existence as part of the All-soul.
The division into castes. ( more properly classes) in India is well known. The hymn to Purusha names them as ( 1 ) the Ifrahmanas ; (2) the Kshatriyas; (3) the Vaisyas, and ( I) the Sudras. It was not until late in the history of India that castes in the modern sense of the word arose. At first these divisions were merely nat ural social classes of priests, soldiers, agricul turists, and slave:. As late as the Sixth Cen tury R.C. rid) merchants, as well as kings, stood on a social equality with priests. Intermarriage and together (the signs of caste) were not forbidden. But the priestly system eventually left absolute power in the hands of the Brah mans. or priests. They elaborated a system of laws, in which they made no scruple to fortify and protect themselves. The very lowest class was of no importance; but the other three, how ever unequal to each other in privileges, and social standing, were united by a eommon bond of sacramental rites, traditionally connected from ancient times with certain stages and incidents in the life of the Aryan Hindu, such as the rites connected with conception, birth, name-giving, the first taking out of a child to see the sun, the first feeding with boiled rice, the rites of tonsure, the youth's investiture with the sacrificial thread, and his return home on completing his studies, with the ceremonies of marriages, fune rals, etc.
The most important of these family observ ances was the rite of conducting the boy to a spiritual teacher, with which is connected the investiture with the sacred cord, ordinarily worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm, and varying in material according to the class of the wearer. This ceremony is supposed to constitute the second or spiritual birth of the Arya, and is the preliminary act to the youth's initiation into the study of the Veda, the man agement of the consecrated fire, and the knowl edge of the rites of purification, including the solemn invocation to Sariter (the sun), which has to be repeated every morning and evening before the rising and setting of that luminary. It is from their participation in this rite that the three upper classes are called the 'twice born.' The ceremony is enjoined to take place some time between the eighth and sixteenth year in case of a Brahman; for a Kshatriya between the elev enth and twenty-second; and for a Vaisya be tween the twelfth and twenty-fourth. Ile who has not been invested with the mark of his class within the prescribed time is forever excluded from uttering the prayer to the sun, and becomes an outcast, unless absolved from his sin by a council of Brahmans, when, after due purifica tion, lie resumes the badge of his caste. With one who is not duly initiated no righteous man is allowed to associate or to enter into connections of affinity. The duty of the Sudra (the lowest caste) is to serve the twice-born classes, particu larly the Brahmans. One of this caste is ex cluded from all sacred knowledge, and if lie perform sacrificial ceremonies lie must do so without using holy utensils.
It is expressly charged that no Brahman may recite a holy text where a man of the servile caste might overhear him, nor may Ile teach them the laws of expiating sin. The occupations of the Vaisya are connected with trade, agriculture, and the raising of cattle, while those of the Kshatriya consist in ruling and defending the people, ad ministering justice, etc. Both these castes share with the Brahman the privilege of reading the Veda, but only so far as it is taught and ex plained to them by their spiritual preceptors. To the Brahman belongs the right of teaching and expounding the sacred texts, and also that of interpreting and determining the laws and rules of caste. Yet, in spite of those formidable harriers between the several orders, the practice of intermarrying appears to have been too prev alent in early times to have admitted of suppres sion. To marry a woman of a higher caste. and especially of a caste not immediately above our's own, is positively prohibited, the offspring of such a union being excluded from performing obsequies to his ancestors, and incapable of in heriting the parent's property. But, according to Mann, a man may marry a girl of any or each of the castes below his own, provided lie has already a wife of his own since she only should perform the duties of personal attendance and religious observance devolving upon a mar ried woman. Probably geographical differences must be taken into account in considering how far the Brahman's code obtained in fact as well as in theory. it was strongest in the Doab and about (modern) Delhi, weaker in the cast, about Benares, and in the south probably had little hold upon the people, till religious persecutions drove the Brahmans southward in large numbers.