Tempo:
HISTORY OF THE SIKHS
26
Spiritual
teachers or
heads of
orders arrogate infallibility.
CHAP. II
quence of the institution of an order or fraternity is the
necessity of attention to its rules, or to the injunctions
of the spiritual superior. The person of a Brahman had
always been held sacred. It was believed that a pious
Buddhist could disengage his soul or attain to divinity
even in this world; and when Shankar Acharj rejected
some of his chosen disciples for nonconformity or disobedience, he contributed to centre the growing feelings
of reverence for the teacher solely upon a mortal man;
and, in a short time, it was considered that all things
were to be abandoned for the sake of the 'Guru', and
that to him were, to be surrendered 'Tan, Man, Dhan', or
body, mind, and worldly wealth.^ Absolute submission
to the spiritual master readily becomes a lively impression of the divinity of his mission; the inward evidences
of grace are too subtle for the understanding of the
barbaric convert; fixed observances take the place of
sentiment, and he justifies his change of opinion by
some material act of devotion.- But faith is the usual
test of sincerity and pledge of favour among the sectarians of peaceful and instructed communities, and the
reformers of India soon began to require such a declaration of mystic belief and reliance from the seekers of
salvation.
Scepticism
and heresy
increase.
Philosophic speculation had kept pace in diversity
with religious usage: learning and wealth, and an
extended intercourse with men, produced the ordinary
tendency towards' scepticism, and six orthodox schools
opposed six heretical systems, and made devious
attempts to acquire a knowledge of God by logical
deductions from the phenomena of nature or of the
human mind.-"* They disputed about the reality and the
eternity of matter; about consciousness and understanding; and about life and the soul, as separate from, or as
identical with one another and with God. The results
assemblies or schools respectively after Brahma, and Siva, and
Sannakadik, a son of Brahma. (Cf. Wilson, As. Res., xvi. 27,
&c.)
1
Cf. Wilson, As. Res., xvi. 90.
The reader will remember the fervent exclamation of
Clovis when, listening after a victory to the story of the passing
and death of Christ, he became a convert to the faith of his
wife, and a disciple of the ancient pastor of Rheims: 'Had I been
present at the head of my valiant Franks, I would have revenged his injuries.' (Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,
vi. 3C2.) The Muhammadans tell precisely the same story of
Taimur and Husain the son of Ali: 'I would have hurried', said
the conquering Tartar, 'from remotest India, to have prevented
or avenged the death of the martyred Imam.'
3> See Appendix V.
-
26
Spiritual
teachers or
heads of
orders arrogate infallibility.
CHAP. II
quence of the institution of an order or fraternity is the
necessity of attention to its rules, or to the injunctions
of the spiritual superior. The person of a Brahman had
always been held sacred. It was believed that a pious
Buddhist could disengage his soul or attain to divinity
even in this world; and when Shankar Acharj rejected
some of his chosen disciples for nonconformity or disobedience, he contributed to centre the growing feelings
of reverence for the teacher solely upon a mortal man;
and, in a short time, it was considered that all things
were to be abandoned for the sake of the 'Guru', and
that to him were, to be surrendered 'Tan, Man, Dhan', or
body, mind, and worldly wealth.^ Absolute submission
to the spiritual master readily becomes a lively impression of the divinity of his mission; the inward evidences
of grace are too subtle for the understanding of the
barbaric convert; fixed observances take the place of
sentiment, and he justifies his change of opinion by
some material act of devotion.- But faith is the usual
test of sincerity and pledge of favour among the sectarians of peaceful and instructed communities, and the
reformers of India soon began to require such a declaration of mystic belief and reliance from the seekers of
salvation.
Scepticism
and heresy
increase.
Philosophic speculation had kept pace in diversity
with religious usage: learning and wealth, and an
extended intercourse with men, produced the ordinary
tendency towards' scepticism, and six orthodox schools
opposed six heretical systems, and made devious
attempts to acquire a knowledge of God by logical
deductions from the phenomena of nature or of the
human mind.-"* They disputed about the reality and the
eternity of matter; about consciousness and understanding; and about life and the soul, as separate from, or as
identical with one another and with God. The results
assemblies or schools respectively after Brahma, and Siva, and
Sannakadik, a son of Brahma. (Cf. Wilson, As. Res., xvi. 27,
&c.)
1
Cf. Wilson, As. Res., xvi. 90.
The reader will remember the fervent exclamation of
Clovis when, listening after a victory to the story of the passing
and death of Christ, he became a convert to the faith of his
wife, and a disciple of the ancient pastor of Rheims: 'Had I been
present at the head of my valiant Franks, I would have revenged his injuries.' (Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire,
vi. 3C2.) The Muhammadans tell precisely the same story of
Taimur and Husain the son of Ali: 'I would have hurried', said
the conquering Tartar, 'from remotest India, to have prevented
or avenged the death of the martyred Imam.'
3> See Appendix V.
-
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