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THE BOOKS OF HINDUISM

THE VEDANTA SUTRAS

Hinduism, though usually understood to include Brahmanism (q.v.), is, in fact, a later development of it.  Its central doctrine is the trinity, or Trimurti, which embraces the three-fold manifestation of the god-head as Brahma, the one supreme being, the Creator; Vishnu the Preserver; and Siva the Destroyer.  The three principal books of Hinduism are the “Vedanta Sutras,” the “Puranas,” and the “Tantras,” of which only the first is epitomised here.  The “Sutras” are the earliest.  The “Vedanta” (literally “goal” or “issue of the Veda”) is a purely pantheistic and monastic philosophical system, and by far the most prevalent in Modern India.  It is ascribed to Badarayana, sometimes called Vyasa, though this last is really a generic name denoting “a collector.”  The word “sutra” denotes literally “threads,” and is used by Brahmanic writers for short, dry sentences, brief expositions.  “Vedanta Sutras” means literally “compendious expressions of the Vedantic (not Vedic) doctrine.”  The second great division of Hindu sacred literature is the “Puranas,” the last and most modern of the books of Hinduism.  The word “Purana” means “old,” and in ancient Sanscrit writings it has the same meaning as our “cosmology.”  The “Puranas,” however, are ill-arranged collections of theological and philosophical reflections, myths and legends, ritual, and ascetic rules.  They depend very much on the two great epics, especially the Mahabharata.  The Sanscrit writings called “Tantras” are really manuals of religion, of magic, and of counter-charms, with songs in praise of Sakti, the female side of Siva.

INTRODUCTORY

The Vedanta is sometimes called the Mimamsa (= philosophical reflections).  The aphorisms of which the Vedanta Sutras consist are in themselves almost as unintelligible as the Confucian “Book of Changes,” the compiler having been only too successful in aiding the memory of the Hindu student by a system of multum in parvo.

It is usual to accept the interpretation put on the Sutras by the Sanscrit commentator Sankara, commonly called Sankara Karya, who flourished about A.D. 700.  There are, however, many other commentaries, notably that of Ramanuga.  George Thibaut, in the “Sacred Books of the East” (vols. 34, 38, and 48), gives the interpretation of Sankara, and also that of Ramanuga when it differs essentially.  On the whole it may be said that Sankara is a thorough-going Vedantist and pantheist.  Ramanuga, on the other hand, has leanings towards the dualism of the Sankhya philosophy, and endeavours to make the Vedanta Sutras support his opinions.

The Vedanta Sutras embrace five hundred and fifty-five aphorisms, or Sutras, arranged in four books (Adhyay), each having four-chapters (Pada), the chapters being severally divided into sections (Adhikarana).  These Sutras are of the utmost importance, as nearly all Hindu sects base their belief and practices on them.  It should be remembered that these Sutras form a collection, and that they are the work of many hands, and belong to different periods.