Reading section 28

Caitanya is said to have admitted some Mohammedans as members of his sect. The precedent has not been followed among most branches of his later adherents but a curious half-secret sect, found throughout Bengal in considerable numbers and called Kartabhajas,[648] appears to represent an eccentric development of his teaching in combination with Mohammedan elements. Both Moslims and Hindus belong to this sect. They observe the ordinary social customs of the class to which they belong, but it is said that those who are nominal Moslims neither circumcize themselves nor frequent mosques. The founder, called Ram Smaran Pal, was born in the Nadia district about 1700, and his chief doctrine is said to have been that there is only one God who is incarnate in the Head of the sect or Karta.[649] For the first few generations the headship was invested in the founder and his descendants but dissensions occurred and there is now no one head: the faithful can select any male member of the founder's family as the object of their devotion. The Karta claims to be the owner of every human body and is said to exact rent for the soul's tenancy thereof. No distinction of caste or creed is recognized and hardly any ceremonies are prescribed but meat and wine are forbidden, the mantra of the sect is to be repeated five times a day and Friday is held sacred. These observances seem an imitation of Mohammedanism.[650]

FOOTNOTES:

[Footnote 604: See Bhandarkar, _Vaishn. and Saivism_, pp. 66 ff., Grierson in _Ind. Ant._ 1893, p. 226, and also in article Ramanandi in _E.R.E._; Farquhar, _J.R.A.S._1920, pp. 185 ff. Though Indian tradition seems to be unanimous in giving 1299 A.D. (4400 Kali) as the date of Ramanand's birth, all that we know about himself and his disciples makes it more probable that he was born nearly a century later. The history of ideas, too, becomes clear and intelligible if we suppose that Ramanand, Kabir and Nanak flourished about 1400, 1450 and 1500 respectively. One should be cautious in allowing such arguments to outweigh unanimous tradition, but tradition also assigns to Ramanand an improbably long life, thus indicating a feeling that he influenced the fifteenth century. Also the traditions as to the number of teachers between Ramanuja and Ramanand differ greatly.]

[Footnote 605: One of them is found in the Granth of the Sikhs.]

[Footnote 606: Ramanand's maxim was "Jati pati puchai nahikoi: Hari-ku bhajai so Hari-kau hoi." Let no one ask a man's caste or sect. Whoever adores God, he is God's own.]

[Footnote 607: Bhattacharya, _Hindu Castes and Sects_, p. 445.]

[Footnote 608: Thus we have the poems of Kabir, Nanak and others contained in the Granth of the Sikhs and tending to Mohammedanism: the hymns wherein Mira Bai, Vallabha and his disciples praised Krishna in Rajputana and Braj: the poets inspired by Caitanya in Bengal: Sankar Deb and Madhab Deb in Assam: Namdev and Tukaram in the Maratha country.]

[Footnote 609: See Beames, _J.A._ 1873, pp. 37 ff., and Grierson, _Maithili Christomathy_, pp. 34 ff., in extra No. to _Journ. As. Soc. Bengal_, Part I. for 1882 and Coomaraswamy's illustrated translation of Vidyapati, 1915. It is said that a land grant proves he was a celebrated Pandit in 1400. The Bengali Vaishnava poet Chandi Das was his contemporary.]

[Footnote 610: See Grierson, Gleanings from the Bhaktamala, _J.R.A.S._ 1909 and 1910.]

[Footnote 611: _Modern Vernacular Literature of Hindustan_, 1889, p. 57.]

[Footnote 612: Similarly Dinesh Chandra Sen (_Lang, and Lit. of Bengal_, p. 170) says that Krittivasa's translation of the Ramayana "is the Bible of the people of the Gangetic Valley and it is for the most part the peasants who read it." Krittivasa was born in 1346 and roughly contemporary with Ramanand. Thus the popular interest in Rama was roused in different provinces at the same time.

He also wrote several other poems, among which may be mentioned the Gitavali and Kavittavali, dedicated respectively to the infancy and the heroic deeds of Rama, and the Vinaya Pattrika or petition, a volume of hymns and prayers.]

[Footnote 613: See Growse's _Translation_, vol. I. pp. 60, 62.]

[Footnote 614: Ib. vol. III. p. 190, cf. vol. I. p. 88 and vol. III. pp. 66-67.]

[Footnote 615: Ib. vol. II. p. 54.]

[Footnote 616: Ib. vol. I. p. 77.]

[Footnote 617: Growse, _l.c._ vol. II. p. 200, cf. p. 204. Maya who sets the whole world dancing and whose actions no one can understand is herself set dancing with all her troupe, like an actress on the stage, by the play of the Lord's eyebrows. Cf. too, for the infinity of worlds, pp. 210, 211.]

[Footnote 618: Growse aptly compares St. Paul, "I had not known evil but by the law."]

[Footnote 619: Ib. vol. II. p. 223.]

[Footnote 620: Ib. vol. II. p. 196.]

[Footnote 621: The Vishnuite sect called Nimavat is said to have been exterminated by Jains (Grierson in _E.R.E._ sub. V. Bhakti-marga, p. 545). This may point to persecution during this period.]

[Footnote 622: For Vallabhacarya and his sect, see especially Growse, _Mathura, a district memoir_, 1874; _History of the sect of the Maharajas in western India_ (anonymous), 1865. Also Bhandarkar, _Vaishn. and Saivism_, pp. 76-82 and Farquhar, _Outlines of Relig. Lit. of India_, pp. 312-317.]

[Footnote 623: The principal of them are the Siddhanta-Rahasya and the Bhagavata-Tika-Subodhini, a commentary on the Bhagavata Purana. This is a short poem of only seventeen lines printed in Growse's _Mathura_, p. 156. It professes to be a revelation from the deity to the effect that sin can be done away with by union with Brahma (Brahma-sambandha-karanat). Other authoritative works of the sect are the Suddhadvaita martanda, Sakalacaryamatasangraha and Prameyaratnarnava, all edited in the Chowkhamba Sanskrit series.]

[Footnote 624: Cf. the use of the word poshanam in the Bhagavata Purana, II. X.]

[Footnote 625: Growse, _Mathura_, p. 157, says this formula is based on the Naradapancaratra. It is called Samarpana, dedication, or Brahma-sambandha, connecting oneself with the Supreme Being.]

[Footnote 626: For instance "Whoever holds his Guru and Krishna to be distinct and different shall be born again as a bird." Harirayaji 32. Quoted in _History of the Sect of the Maharajas_, p. 82.]

[Footnote 627: In the ordinary ceremonial the Maharaj stands beside the image of Krishna and acknowledges the worship offered. Sometimes he is swung in a swing with or without the image. The hymns sung on these occasions are frequently immoral. Even more licentious are the meetings or dances known as Ras Mandali and Ras Lila. A meal of hot food seasoned with aphrodisiacs is also said to be provided in the temples. The water in which the Maharaj's linen or feet have been washed is sold for a high price and actually drunk by devotees.]

[Footnote 628: Strictly speaking the Radha-Vallabhis are not an offshoot of Vallabha's school, but of the Nimavats or of the Madhva-sampradaya. The theory underlying their strange practices seems to be that Krishna is the only male and that all mankind should cultivate sentiments of female love for him. See Macnicol, _Indian Theism_, p. 134.]

[Footnote 629: But other explanations are current such as Lord of the senses or Lord of the Vedas.]

[Footnote 630: See Growse, _Mathura_, p. 153. I can entirely confirm what he says. This mean, inartistic, dirty place certainly suggests moral depravity.]

[Footnote 631: His real name was Sahajananda.]

[Footnote 632: Caran Das (1703-1782) founded a somewhat similar sect which professed to abolish idolatry and laid great stress on ethics. See Grierson's article Caran Das in _E.R.E._]

[Footnote 633: But Vishnuite writers distinguish _kama_ desire and _prema_ love, just as [Greek: _eros_] and [Greek: _haghape_] are distinguished in Greek. See Dinesh Chandra Sen, _l.c._ p. 485.]

[Footnote 634: Dinesh Chandra Sen, _History of Bengali Language and Literature_, pp. 134-5.]

[Footnote 635: For Caitanya see Dinesh Chandra Sen, _History of Bengali Language and Lit._ chap. V. and Jadunath Sarkar, _Chaitanya's Pilgrimages and teachings from the Caitanya-Caritamrita_ of Krishna Das (1590) founded on the earlier Caitanya-Caritra of Brindavan. Several of Caitanya's followers were also voluminous writers.]

[Footnote 636: He married the daughter of a certain Vallabha who apparently was not the founder of the Sect, as is often stated.]

[Footnote 637: The theology of the sect may be studied in Baladeva's commentary on the Vedanta sutras and his Prameya Ratnavali, both contained in vol. V. of the _Sacred Books of the Hindus_. It would appear that the sect regards itself as a continuation of the Brahma-sampradaya but its tenets have more resemblance to those of Vallabha.]

[Footnote 638: No less than 159 padakartas or religious poets are enumerated by Dinesh Chandra Sen. Several collections of these poems have been published of which the principal is called Padakalpataru.]

[Footnote 639: See Bhandarkar, _Vaishn. and Saivism_, pp. 87-90, and Nicol, _Psalms of Maratha Saints_ which gives a bibliography. For Namdev see also Macauliffe, _The Sikh Religion_, vol. VI. pp. 17-76. For Ramdas see Rawlinson, _Sivaji the Maratha_, pp. 116 ff.]

[Footnote 640: Bhandarkar, _l.c._ p. 92. An earlier poet of this country was Jnanesvara who wrote a paraphrase of the Bhagavad-gita in 1290. His writings are said to be the first great landmark in Marathi literature.]

[Footnote 641: There is no necessary hostility between the worship of Siva and of Vishnu. At Pandharpur pilgrims visit first a temple of Siva and then the principal shrine. This latter, like the temple of Jagannath at Puri, is suspected of having been a Buddhist shrine. It is called Vihara, the principal festival is in the Buddhist Lent and caste is not observed within its precincts.]

[Footnote 642: Quoted by Bhandarkar, p. 90. The subsequent quotations are from the same source but I have sometimes slightly modified them and compared them with the original, though I have no pretension to be a Marathi scholar.]

[Footnote 643: Called Abhangs.]

[Footnote 644: See Eliot, Hinduism in Assam, _J.R.A.S._ 1910, pp. 1168-1186.]

[Footnote 645: _Census of India_, 1911, Assam, p. 41.]

[Footnote 646: Some authorities state that the sacred book thus venerated is the Bhagavad-gita, but at Kamalabari I made careful enquiries and was assured it was the Namghosha.]

[Footnote 647: Especially Gadadhar Singh, 1681-96.]

[Footnote 648: See _Census of India_, 1901, Bengal, pp. 183-4 and Bhattacharya, _Hindu Castes and Sects_, pp. 485-488.]

[Footnote 649: Karta, literally doer, is the name given to the executive head of a joint family in Bengal. The sect prefer to call themselves Bhabajanas or Bhagawanis.]

[Footnote 650: Another mixed sect is that of the Dhamis in the Panna state of Bundelkhand, founded by one Prannath in the reign of Aurungzeb. Their doctrine is a combination of Hinduism and Islam, tending towards Krishnaism. See Russell, _Tribes and Castes of Central Provinces_, p. 217.]

CHAPTER XXXI

AMALGAMATION OF HINDUISM AND ISLAM. KABIR AND THE SIKHS

1

The Kartabhajas mentioned at the end of the last chapter show a mixture of Hinduism and Mohammedanism, and the mixture[651] is found in other sects some of which are of considerable importance. A group of these sects, including the Sikhs and followers of Kabir, arose in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Their origin can be traced to Ramanand but they cannot be called Vaishnavas and they are clearly distinguished from all the religious bodies that we have hitherto passed in review. The tone of their writings is more restrained and severe: the worshipper approaches the deity as a servant rather than a lover: caste is rejected as useless: Hindu mythology is eschewed or used sparingly. Yet in spite of these differences the essential doctrines of Tulsi Das, Kabir and Nanak show a great resemblance. They all believe in one deity whom they call by various names, but this deity, though personal, remains of the Indian not of the Semitic type. He somehow brings the world of transmigration into being by his power of illusion, and the business of the soul is to free itself from the illusion and return to him. Almost all these teachers, whether orthodox or heterodox, had a singular facility for composing hymns, often of high literary merit, and it is in these emotional utterances, rather than in dogmatic treatises, that they addressed themselves to the peoples of northern India.

The earliest of these mixed sects is that founded by Kabir.[652] He appears to have been a Mohammedan weaver by birth, though tradition is not unanimous on this point.[653] It is admitted, however, that he was brought up among Moslims at Benares but became a disciple of Ramanand. This suggests that he lived early in the fifteenth century.[654] Another tradition says that he was summoned before Sikander Lodi (1489-1517), but the details of his life are evidently legendary. We only know that he was married and had a son, that he taught in northern and perhaps central India and died at Maghar in the district of Gorakhpur. There is significance, however, in the legend which relates that after his decease Hindus and Mohammedans disputed as to whether his body should be burned or buried. But when they raised the cloth which covered the corpse, they found underneath it only a heap of flowers. So the Hindus took part and burnt them at Benares and the Moslims buried the rest at Maghar. His grave there is still in Moslim keeping.

In teaching Kabir stands midway between the two religions, but leaning to the side of Hinduism. It is clear that this Hindu bias became stronger in his followers, but it is not easy to separate his own teaching from subsequent embellishments, for the numerous hymns and sayings attributed to him are collected in compilations made after his death, such as the Bijak and the Adi-granth of the Sikhs. In hymns which sound authentic he puts Hindus and Moslims on the same footing.

"Kabir is a child of Ram and Allah," he says, "and accepteth all Gurus and Pirs." "O God, whether Allah or Ram, I live by thy name."

"Make thy mind thy Kaaba, thy body its enclosing temple, Conscience its prime teacher. Then, O priest, call men to pray to that mosque Which hath five gates. The Hindus and Mussulmans have the same Lord."

But the formalities of both creeds are impartially condemned. "They are good riders who keep aloof from the Veda and Koran."[655] Caste, circumcision and idolatry are reprobated. The Hindu deities and their incarnations are all dead: God was not in any of them.[656] Ram, it would seem, should be understood not as Ramacandra but as a name of God.

Yet the general outlook is Hindu rather than Mohammedan. God is the magician who brings about this illusory world in which the soul wanders.[657] "I was in immobile and mobile creatures, in worms and in moths; I passed through many various births. But when I assumed a human body, I was a Yogi, a Yati, a penitent, a Brahmacari: sometimes an Emperor and sometimes a beggar." Unlike the Sikhs, Kabir teaches the sanctity of life, even of plants. "Thou cuttest leaves, O flower girl: in every leaf there is life." Release, as for all Hindus, consists in escaping from the round of births and deaths. Of this he speaks almost in the language of the Buddha.[658]