Indra, the counterpart
of Apollo in some of his functions, drives the chariot of fire that lights
the day.
"Rhemba was born of the sea, and is the Indian Venus; Cama is Cupid;
Parvati, whose image you saw at Elephanta, is Ceres; and so on to the end
of the chapter. These divinities are represented in the temples, but they
are without form or comeliness."
"They are not much like the beautiful statues of the Greeks," added Louis.
"The most prominent Indian sects are the Saivas, or worshippers of Siva;
the Vaishnavas, who bow down to Vishnu under his several incarnations, like
Krishna, whom you could not greatly respect; and the Jains, allied to the
Buddhists, found mostly in the northern sections of India. They occupy
important positions, and possess wealth and influence. There are
subdivisions into sects among them, and it would be quite impossible to
follow them through the mazes of belief to which they adhere. There is a
great deal of philosophy among many of the sects."
"But what are the Buddhists?" inquired Dr. Hawkes.
"Buddhism is quite as much a philosophy as a religion. It is not as
prevalent in India proper as formerly; though it is still dominant in
Ceylon, Napaul, Burma, and in the more northern countries of Asia. Its
history is somewhat indefinite. Gautama, of whom a great many pretty
stories are told, is sometimes regarded as the founder; though some who
have studied the history of the sect, or order, do not believe that the
Buddha was a real person, but an allegorical figure.
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