mm' m mw / CORNELL STUDIES IN PHILOSOPHY No. 2 BRAHMAN: A Study IN THE History of Indian Philosophy BY HERVEY DeWITT GRISWOLD, M.A. FeU'an ; and with two languages, Hebrew and Sanskrit. In this monograph I purpose to make a special study of the doctrine of Brahman, the central conception of Indian philosophy and religion. Accordingly, it will be a study both in the history of philosophy and in the history of religion. The method will be genetic and comparative. It will be genetic, for the concep- tion of Brahman will be traced through the Vedas, the Upani- shads, the Vedanta-Sutras, and the Commentary of (^ankaracarya. It will be comparative, for the religious aspects of the doctrine of iii iv PREFA CE. Brahman will constantly be illustrated by the parallel develop- ment in Judaism and Christianity ; while the philosophical aspects of the doctrine will, at least in their main features, be set side by side with the corresponding ideas in the ancient and modern phi- losophy of the West. The importance of the conception of Brahman in the history of Indian thought is indicated by the fact that the word ' Brahman ' has supplied the name to (i) a class of priests, the Brahmans ; (2) a department of ancient Sanskrit literature, the Bfdhmanas ; (3) the Ultimate Reality of the Vedanta, Brahma ; (4) the first person of the later Hindu Trinity, Brahma ; (5) In- dian religion before the Buddhist disruption, Brahmanism, and .(6) the modern theistic movement known as the Brahma Samaj. It will, of course, be possible to deal only with the main out- lines of the doctrine of Brahman. For, as Professor Flint truly says, to explain in de^tail the how and why of the development of the doctrine of Brahman would be to write the longest chapter in the history of Hindu civilization.^ As regards literature, my largest indebtedness is to the works of Professor Deussen, especially to his Allgemeine Geschichte dcr Philosophie, erster Band, which deals with the philosophy of the pre-Upanishad period, and to his Sechzig Upanishads dcs Veda. Prof. Max Mueller's Six Systems of Indian Philosophy, and Profes- sor Thibaut's careful translation of the Vedanta-Sijtras (SBE. vols. XXXIV and XXXVIII) have also been of very great service. Col. Jacob's Co7icordance to the Upanishads is, of course, indis- pensable to every worker in the field of the Upanishads. The method of transliteration used is essentially the same as that found in Professor Whitney's Sanskrit Grammar. I must plead guilty, however, of not always following it consistently. Words such as upanishad, rishi, piirnsha, prakriti, etc., have be- come anglicized, and so I have not always written them as upani- sad, rsi, purusa and prakrti. I have written s in the place of visarga. The development of the doctrine of Brahman (neuter as op- posed to Brahman) is indicated by three well marked stages : {a) the initial or germinal stage represented by the Rig-Veda, the ^ Anti- Theistic Theories, p. 344. PREFA CE. V Atharva-Veda and the early prose, excluding the Upanishads ; {b) the stage of creative thought represented by the Upanishads ; and {c) the stage of system building and exposition represented by the Vedanta-Siatras, aS expounded by ^ankaracarya. To these a fourth stage might be added, namely, that of Indian scholasticism and theological subtlety, as illustrated by the later doctrinal treatises, e. g., the Vcddnta Sara and the Veddnta Paribhdsd. These stages, I say, are well marked, not indeed by external chronological data, which in India are almost entirely lacking, but by what has been happily called internal chronology, the chronology of language and thought. Thus even the lan- guage reveals three clearly marked stages of development, Vedic, Brahmanic, and Classic. The absolute dates of the Rig- Veda, of the Brdlunanas, and of the beginnings of Classic Sanskrit in the Sutra period, are very uncertain, and yet their respective places in the development of Sanskrit literature are sufficiently clear and definite. It is to be noted that the three stages in the de- velopment of the doctrine of Brahman, namely, initial, creative, and systematic, correspond in general to the three periods in the history of the language, Vedic, Brahmanic, and Classic. It is only when we come to the Upanishads that Brahman uniformly means the Ultimate Reality. Doubtless centuries of language and thought development elapsed before the word brahman and the idea which was finally associated with this word came to be integrated. Two streams, then, are to be traced down from their sources until they meet and flow to- gether ; one represented by the word ' brahman ' with its devel- opment and flow of meaning, the other consisting of the idea of the Sole Reality as it variously manifests itself in the early litera- ture. Or, to state it differently, we have first to trace the prepar- ation of the word for the idea, and of the idea for the word. This will involve, on the one hand, a study of the derivation and use of the word ' brahman, ' and, on the other, some account of the course of Vedic thought as it gradually moved towards a unitary con- ception of things. CONTENTS. CHAITER I. Ill- History of the Word Bkahmax Pp. 1-20 A. Usage of Brahman. B. Derivation of Brahman. C. Connection of the various meanings of Braliman. CHAPTER H. TuK Developmkm ok thk Doctrine of U.nity in the Pre-Upanishad Literature Pp. 21-42 A. The Growth of the Monistic Conception in the period of the Rig- Veda and in the region of the Panjab. B. The growth of the Monistic Conception in the period of the Yajur- Veda and in the region of Madhyadega. CHAPTER HI. The Doctrine of Brahman in the Upanishads Pp. 43-70 A. Remarks on the Sources. B. Doctrine. ( I- Religious. C. Consequences. J ^I- Ethical. HI. Eschatological. IV. Philosophical. CHAPTER IV. liii: Doctrine of Brahman in the Vedanta-Sutr.'VS as Expounded hy (^"ankaracarya Pp. 71-^9 A. The Theology of (^ankaracarya. B. ^ankaracarya and Ramilnujacarya. C. The Vedanta- Sutras. vii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS. Ait. Ar Aitareya Aranyaka. Ait. Br Aitareya Brahmana. Altind. Gram...Altindische Grammatik — Wackernagel, 1896. Apocal. loh Apocalypse of John. Av A vesta. AV Athan'a-Veda. Brh Up Brhadaranyaka Upanishad. Buddha Buddha: His Life, His Doctrine, His Order. Oldenberg (Eng. Trans, by Hoey, Lond., 1882). Comp. Gram.... Comparative Grammar of the Indo-Germanic Languages — Brugmann. ( Eng. Trans. ) . (^"at. Br (^atapatha Brahmana. (^vet. Up (^vetagvatara Upanishad. Chand. Up Chandogya Upanishad. Essays Essays on the Religion and Philosophy of the Hindus — H. T. Colc- brooke (Leipzig, 1858). Evang. loh Gospel of John. (leschichte Allgemeine Geschichte der Philosophie. IE I ndo- European. Kaush. Up Kaushitaki Upanishad. Kultur Indiens Literatur and Kultur — Schroeder. Mac Maccabees. Mait. Up Maitrayana Upanishad. Manuel Manuel de la Langue de I'Avesta — De Harlez (Paris 1882). N. T New Testament. OST Original Sanskrit Texts. O. T Old Testament. Ps Psalm. KV Rig-Veda. Roots .'...The Roots, Verb-forms and primary derivatives of the Sanskrit Lan- guage — Whitney. SBE Sacred Books of the East. Six Systems.... The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy — Max Muller. Taitt. Up Taittiriya Upanishad. Taitt. Samh... Taittiriya Samhita. Upanishads Sechzig Upanishads des Veda. Vdj. Sainh Vajasaneyi Samhita. Veda Die Religion des Veda— Oldenberg. Vedanta Das System des Vedanta — Deussen. LUMG Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenliindischen Gesellschaft. viii CHAPTER I. The History of the Word Brahman. The word 'brahman ' is the greatest word in the whole history of Indian Philosophy. On it hangs largely the development of Indian thought. The meanings assigned to it are numerous and bewildering. It has been explained and translated by such various terms as worship, devotion, fervor, prayer, hymn, charm, incantation, sanctity, holiness, priesthood, spiritual exaltation, sacred writ, Veda, Vedic formula, priestly order, holy work, priestly dignity, inspiration, force, spiritual power, ultimate reality, absolute. Thus it seems to mean almost anything. On the principle that accuracy of thought depends upon the accu- rate understanding and use of the words which are the instru- ments of thought, in other words that sound thinking presup- poses sound philology, we are justified in taking some trouble to determine the history of the word ' brdhnian' A. Usage of Brahman. We shall consider the actual usage of the word before its ety- mology, in order, if possible, to be delivered from the vice of a one-sided etymologizing. First, then, the word ' brahman ' in the Rig-Veda. According to Grassmann's Index Lexicon it oc- curs in the RV. about 240 times. A careful study of these pas- sages yields the following results: (i) The word 'brahman' frequently stands side by side in the same pdda or foot with one or more names for hymn, c. g., stoma, uktlia, dJii, etc., presum- ably as a general synonym. E. g., II, 39, 8 {brdhma stomam), i. e. These means of strength for you, O heavenly horsemen, Brahman (and) praise-song made the Gritsamadas, VI, 23, I {stoma brahman nktha), i. e. The pressed out soma thou dost love, O Indra, Brahman (and) song of praise (and) hymn intoned. 2 A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY. VI, 38, 3 {brdhma ca giras) : Brdluiian and psalms to Indra have been offered. VI, 38, 4 {brdJinia gira iiktlid ca viamna). As sacrifice and soma strengthen Indra, So also brahman, psalms and hymns and wisdom. Compare also I, 80, 16 {brdhmdni nktha), VI, 47, 14 {giro brahmdni), VI, 69, 4 {brahmdni . . . girah), VI, 69, 7 {brahmdni . . . liavani), etc, (2) The word ' brahman ' also not infrequently stands over against some word for hymn in a different pada of the same verse, doubtless in synonymons parallelism after the manner of Hebrew and Anglo-Saxon poetry. E. g., VI, 38, 3-4 (dhiyd . . , arkdis brdhma . . . giras) : With a high song of praise the ancient Indra Who ages not, with holy hymns I welcome ; Brdliman and psalms to Indra have been offered. Oh may the glorious song of praise refresh him. VI, 69, 4 ijiavand niatindm parallel with brahmdni giras), Be pleased with every cry of sacred worship. Hearken to my brahmdni and my praise-songs.^ VII, 61,6 {inanmani navdni parallel with brahma imdni), May these new songs be unto you for praise songs, May these brahmdni by me offered please you. Compare also VII, 61,2 {manmdni parallel with brahmdni), VII, 22, 3 {vdcam imdm parallel with imd brahma), VII, 72, 3 {stomdsas parallel with brahmdni). (3) The word ' brdliman ' frequently stands in the last verse of a hymn in such a way as clearly to refer to the preceding verses, i. e., to the whole hymn. E. ^., I, 61, 16, I, 62, 13, I, 80, 16, I, 117,25,1, 152, 7, IV, 6, II, IV, 16, 2i,V, 29, 15, V, 75, 19, VII, 22, 9, VII, 28, 5, X, 54, 6, X, 80, 7, etc. Note that of the group IV, 16-17, 19-24, each hymn ends in a kind of refrain which contains the words * brdhma navy am,' ' a new brdhman.' (4) A limiting pronoun is sometimes added to ' brdhman,' whether it stands in the last verse or not, in order apparently to iCf. Ps. CXI, I. " Hear vay prayer, O Lord, And let my cry come unto Thee. ' ' THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN. 3 make the reference to the hymn more expHcit. R £■.,!, 31, 18 •Through this brdlunan, Agni, be strengthened'; I, 152, 7 ' our brahman '; I, 165, 14, V, 73, 10, VII, 22, 3, VII, 61, 6, VII, 70, 6 'these brahiiidni'; II, 18, 7 'my brahman'; II, 34, 6 'our brahmdni'; II, 39,8 'these brdliman (and) stoma'; VI, 69, 4 ' my braJimdni (and) songs '; VI, 69, 7 ' my brahmdni (and) cry.' Compare imdm vdcam ' this word ' I, 40, 6, I, 129, i, I, 130, 6, IV, 57. 5, V, 54, I, VII, 22, 3, IX, 97, 13. (5) The poets are said to h^LVO. fashioned {taks I, 62, 13, V, 73, 10, X, 80, 7) and generated {Jan II, 23, 2, VII, 22, 9, VII, 31, 11) the brdhmau, just as they are described as fashioning or generating a' dhl or stoma or nktlia or tv?^; (I, 109, i, V, 2, 1 1, VII, 15, 4, VII, 26, I, X, 23, 6, X, 39, 14, I, 130, 6). Ex- amples : I, 62, 13 ' Gotama has fashioned a new brdhmanJ Cf. I, 109, I 'I have fashioned a did (hymn of meditation) ; VII. 31, II ' The poets generated a brdhinan.' Cf. VII, i 5, 4 ' A new stoma (song of praise) have I generated.' (6) The word ' brdhjnan ' is joined with the verb gdyata ' sing ' in I, 37, 4 and VIII, 32, 27 'Sing a god-given brahman.' In VI, 69, 4 and 7 the gods are entreated to hear the brahmdni. (7) The epithet ' new ' is often applied to brdhman just as in VII, 15, 4, VIII, 23, 14 to stoma, in VII, 61, 6 to manman,dir\6. in II, 24, I to gir. Thus I, 62, 13, IV. 16, 21, V, 29, 15, VI, 17, 13, VI, 50, 6, VII, 61, 6, X, 89, 3. With the ' brdhma navy am ' of these and other passages compare the * new song ' of Pss. XL, 3, XCVI, I, XCVIII, I, etc. (8) The adjective abraJiman (without a brdlunan^ occurs three times: IV, 16, 9 abrahmd dasyns, 'the dasyn without a brdh- man ' ; VII, 26, i abrahmdnas sntdsas, ' Libations without a brdhman do not exhilarate Indra ' ; X, 105, 8 'With a hymn {rca) may we overcome the hymnless {anrcaJi). A sacrifice without a brdhman {abrahmd^ does not please thee well.' Com- pare abraJiman IV, 16, 9 with anrc X, 105, 8. (9) The idea of the inspiration of the hymn-writers, as Deussen observes,^ is well developed in the Rig-Veda. Thus, I, 37, 4 'Sing a god-given {devattam) brdhman'; I, 105, 15 ' Varuna 1 Allgemeine Geschichte der Philosophie, S. 242 ff. 4^ 4 A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY. causes brahmani . . . He reveals through our heart {lirda) the sacred hymn {inati) ' ; II, 9, 4 ' Thou art (O Agni) the deviser {iiianotar^ of the splendid hymn [imcas) ' ; III, 34, 5 ' (Indra) showed these hymns {dhiyas) to the singer'; IV, li, 3 'From thee, Agni, come the gifts of sacred song ; from thee hymns {inanlsds) and holy texts {iiktha) ' ; V, 42, 4 ' Enrich us, Indra, with such -Si brdliman as is god-granted (^e-z/^/wV^w) ' ; VI, i, i * Thou, Agni, wast the first deviser of this sacred meditation (din)' ; VII, 97, 3 '(Indra) who is the king of the god-made {dcvakrtasyd) brdliuian ' ; VIII, 42, 3 ' O Varuna, sharpen this hymn (d/it)' ; IX, 95, 2 'The god (Soma) reveals the hidden names (attributes) of the gods ' ; X, 98, 7 ' Brihaspati brought him the word (vac).' Note also that in II, 23, i Brahmanaspati is called ' the great king of the braJundni ' and in v. 2 ' the generator of bralundni,' while in X, 61, 7 it is written: 'The gods generated brdlunan.' Observe the entire parallelism as regards inspiration which exists between brdliinan and its (pre- sumable) synonyms, mati, vacas, din, viainsd, nktlia and vdc. (10) The efficacy of brahman is represented as similar to that of din, mantra, arka, etc. E. g., VII, 19, ii 'Quickened by brdhinan {bralima jYttas), be strong in body (O Indra).' Cf. IX, 64, 16 'Quickened by the hymn {d Inj'd j'litds), th.& soma-drops are poured forth.' V, 40, 6 'Atri with the fourth brdhman dis- covered the sun hidden by unholy darkness.' Cf I, 67, 3 ' (Agni) upheld the heavens by means of true mantras.' II, 24, 3 '(Brihaspati) smote Vala through brahman.'' Cf V, 31, 4 'The priests magnifying Indra with hymns [arka) strengthened him for slaying the serpent.' Note also III, 53, 12 'The brdhman of Vi^vamitra protects the tribe of Bharata' ; VI, 75, 19 ^ Brdhmaii is my protecting armour' ; VII, 33, 3 'Through your brdhman, O Vasishtha, Indra helped Sudas in the battle of the ten kings.' ^ In X, 162, 1—2 the wish is expressed that Agni be united with brahman in order to expell illness. What, then, is the meaning of brdhman in these representative passages ? From the facts presented above it is evident that brdhman is a name for hymn, as it is used interchangeably for iCf. I Sam. VII, S-9. THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN. 5 mantra, tnati, inanuian, inamsd, dJii, stoma, arka, re, gir, vacas, uktha, vac, etc., all of which are applied as names to the Vedic hymns. When used in the plural brd/nnaii seems to refer to a hymn as made up of a collection of verses. This suggests that in its earliest use brdhniaii may have referred to a single brief utterance of the priest in worship. A group of such utterances might be called either distributively brahvidni or collectively brdJiinan. The essentials of Vedic worship were sacrifice and brdhnian. Both alike were means of quickening and strengthen- ing the gods. Indeed, both were offerings, the one material con- sisting of soma, ghee, etc., the other spiritual, the sacrifice of prayer and praise. No worship was complete»without brdJnnan, the sacred utterance. Brdlunan may be rendered 'prayer,' pro- vided that the word prayer be taken in a purely ritualistic and formal sense. It is not prayer in general, uttered or unuttered, stated or occasional, but rather "das rituell fixirte Gebet " (Old- enberg),^ " das ausgesprochene Gebet, sei es Preis, Dank oder Bitte" (Grassmann), or in general, as defined by Roth in the St. Petersburg Lexicon, "jede fromme Aeusserung beim Gottes- dienst." It is "the holy word"" (Bloomfield) which as used in the ritual becomes about equal to " prayer." So far as usage is concerned, brdlunan might be rendered by ' hymn ' as well as by ' prayer ' ; or, on the other hand, the synonyms of brdJivian, viz, mantra, vac, stoma, etc., might all be brought under the cate- gory of prayer, as is actually the procedure of Bergaigne.^ In- deed Muir,'' as the result of his inductive study of Vedic passages gives the alternative meaning " hymn or prayer." In the ritual- istic stages of religion there is no essential difference between hymn and prayer. Both are chanted, and the emphasis rests not so much on inner content as on exactitude of liturgical use. Secondly, brdliman in the Atliarva- Veda and the Brdhmanas. These together with the Yajur-Veda constitute the chief literary documents of the Brdhmana period. The texts quoted above under (lo) concerning the magical efficacy of brahman, indicate 1 P'eda, S. 433. *In a letter from Rev. A. II. Ewing, a pupil of Professor Bloomfield. ' La religion vedique, p. 277. *OST., Vol. I, p. 242. 6 A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY. the transition from the standpoint of the RV. to that of the AV., in which brahman frequently means magic formula or charm. As examples note the following texts as translated by Bloomfield ^ : I, lo, I, ' From the wrath of the mighty do I, excelling in my incan- tation {brahman), \Qd.d out this man'; I, 14, 4 'With the incanta- tion {brahman) of Asita ... do I cover up thy fortune'; I, 23, 4 ' The leprosy ... I have destroyed with my charm {brahman)' ; II, 10, I 'Guiltless do I render thee through my charm {brdh- man)'\ III, 6, 8 ' I drive them out with my mind, drive them out with my thought, and also with my incantation {brahman).' In harmony with the above texts is the fact that the Atharva-Veda is also called the Brahma-Veda, either from a schematic motive in order that the Brahman-priests might have a Veda as well as the other three classes of priests, or because it is the Veda of brahmdni, i. £\, potent texts, spells, magical formulas. AV. XV, 6, ■f might serve as a proof text for the latter view. The same usage is found, though less often, in the other literature of the period, e. g., ^at. Br.^ I, i, 2, 4 ' He by this very prayer (or charm, brahman) renders the atmosphere free from danger and evil spirits'; I, 7, i, 8 ' He thus makes over the sacrificer's cattle to it for protection by means of the brahman.' See also Vdj. Sainh. XI, 82 'I destroy the enemies by means of brahman' (where brahman is explained by the commentator Mahidhara as the power of the majitra or charm). It is evident from the above quoted passages that bibliolatry, or the superstitious use of sacred texts, was common enough in the Vedic age. Another meaning of brahman, essentially the same as the two meanings already given, is sacred formula or text. Thus : ^at. Br. I, 5, 4, 6, ' Let us try to overcome one another by speech, by sacred writ {vac brahman)'; II, i, 4, lO ' The brahman \s speech {vac) '; I, 3, 1 , 3, ' The brahman is the sacrificial formula ' {brdhma yajus); IV, 5, 2, 10 'This one he maks fit for the sacrifice by means of the brdhman, \he yajiis '; VII, i, i, 5 'The brahman is the mantra'; IV, i, i, 4 'The brahman is the Gdyatn'; Taitt. 1 SBE., Vol. XLII. "rca( ca saniani ca yajittisi ca hrahma ca. 3 As translated by Eggeling (SBE. Vols. XII, XXVI, XLI, XLIII and XLIV). THE HISTOR Y OF THE WORD BRAHMAN. 7 Savih. VI, I, 6, 6 ' The Gandharvas were speaking the brdhman, the gods were chanting it.' So sacred is the brahman that it con- stitutes the very speech of heaven. Thus far we have found really only one meaning for the word 'brahman.' In all the passages considered, whether in Sainhitd or Bmhma?ia, it is in general 'the holy word.' The emphasis, however, at different times and in different texts rests upon differ- ent elements .in the connotation of brahman. Thus in the Rig- Veda it is the form and the function of brahman that receive the emphasis — the form well wrought like a chariot and the func- tion to strengthen and refresh the gods ; in the Atliarva- Veda, it is the power and potency of brahman ; while in the Brdhmanas, it is the element of sacredness due to the divine origin, antiquity, efficacy, and religious use of brahman. In fact, we have here three moments in the Indian doctrine of Holy Scripture. Hitherto we have considered the form and potency and sacredness of brahman, the holy word, viewed as something con- sisting of hymn and sacred text, and so external and objective. But ' the holy word ' may be taken in a more internal arid sub- jective sense, as the truth, the inner content, the sacred doctrine, the wisdom and theology, of the external word. Thus, as rep- resenting the "theoretical side" (Roth) of religion, brahman stands over against tapas 'austerity,' the practical side; just as in the N. T. faith (which includes knowledge) stands over against works. E. g., AV. VI, 133, 3, VIII, 10, 25 'The seven Rishis live by brdhutan and tapas'; XII, i, i 'Truth greatness . . . tapas, brdhman, sacrifice, support the earth'; Cat. Br. II, i, 4, 10 'The brdhman is the truth {satyani)' In the ^at. Br. brah- man is defined in some passages by trayi vidyd, 'the triple science' (/. e., the combined doctrine of Rik, Sama and Yajus). E. g., VI, 1,1,8' He created first of all the brdhman, the triple science '; II, 6, 4, 2-7 ' With the brdhman, the triple science they encompassed them.' For the meaning of ' triple science ' cf. I. i, 4, 3 ' The triple science is sacrifice ' (the great doctrine of the three Vedas); IX, 3, 3, 14 'The Stoma, and the Yajus, and the Rik, and the Saman, and the Brihat and the Rathantara (/. c, the verses and meters of all the Vedas) — this, doubtless is the triple 8 A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY. science'; X, 4, 2, 21 'He . . . beheld all existing things in the triple science, for therein is the body of all meters, of all stomas, of all vital airs, and of all the gods.' We must now return to the Rig-Veda for a fresh point of view. From brahman (nom. neut. brdhma, ' hymn or prayer ' ) there is derived brahman (nom. masc. brahmd, the man of the brahma, the hymnist or 'prayer'). The brahma, as Muir^ points out, was at first a poet or sage (= rishi, vipra, kavi, cf. RV., I, 80, i), then a minister of public worship in general, and lastly a particular kind of priest with special duties. As the class of Bralnndnas or Brahman-priests formed itself gradually, adherents thereto began to be designated in the later hymns and verses of the Rik by the names brahma-putra (II, 43, 2, later addition, Grassmann) and especially bralnnand^ both meaning 'son of a Brahman -priest. ' " When the distinction between Brahman and Kshatriya had been completely fixed, then as classes they were often designated by the abstract terms Bralima (Sacerdotium, Geistlichkeit, Priesthood) and Ksatram (Nobility). Thus in the White Yajiir- Veda, the Atharva- Veda and the Brahiuanas the two designations often stand side by side {Brahma ca Ksatram ca). E.g., Vdj. Saikh., VI, 3, VII, 21, XX, 25, XXX, 5 ; AV., II, 15, 4, XV, 10, 3 ; gat. Br., Ill, 5, 2, II. 'The Brahman and the Kshatra, these two vital forces.^ So I, 2, I, 7, IV, 2, 2, 13, IX, 4, I, 7-1 1, etc. This meaning of brahman, n^-vaeXy priesthood, seems to have been derived from both brahman and brahman. There remains to be investigated only one more meaning of brahman, but it is the greatest of all, namely Brahman as the concept of the greatest energy, the highest reality, the self-ex- istent. In the later hymns of the Rig-Veda we meet with Brah- manaspati ( = Brihaspati) ' the Lord of prayer. ' This is clearly a personification of the mighty power which lies at the heart of the brahman or ' holy word,' and manifests itself in the wonder- iQST., Vol. I, p. 243, ^Compare the O. T. name of a member of the class of 7iebhiim 'prophets,' namely den-7iai>/ii ' son of a prophet' (Amos, VII, 14). "Cf. Plato's description of separate priestly and warrior castes, Timaeus, pp. 444, 445, Jowett's trans. THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN. 9 ful effects of the sacred formulas. It is to be noted that the ap- pearance of Brahmanaspati coincides in general with the rise of the doctrine of the magical efficacy of the sacred texts. We have already studied the doctrine of brahman external and objective as hymn, formula, and sacred text in general, and also the doctrine of brahman internal and subjective as the sacred truth, wisdom, and theology of the holy word. Brdlunanaspdti, the apotheosis of the/^w^rof the holy word, introduces us to a third line of develop- ment. Very often in the BrdJimanas is Brihaspati identified with Brahman, 6'. ^., ^at. Br., Ill, i, 4, 15 ' BrdJima vai Brhaspati.^ So also III, 3, I, 2, III, 7, 3, 13, III, 9, I, 11-14, V, I, I, II, V, I, 4, 14, V, 3, 5, •]-%, IX, 2, 3, 3, etc. Compare also Ait. Br., I, 19, I, Taitt. Sainh., Ill, i, i, 4, etc. All this is sig- nificant. It indicates that for the theologians of the Brdli- mana period a deeper meaning was discovered in the word ' Brahman ' than had hitherto been found, to wit, the same mean- ing as had been expressed in the ancient hymns by Brihaspati, the personification of the pozuer of the holy word. It will be sufficient for our purpose to illustrate this deeper meaning of Brahman by suitable quotations from the literature of the period. Thus : Taitt. Savih., VII, 3, 1,4 ' Limited are the Rik-verses, limited are the Sama-verses, limited are the Yajus-verses, but there is no end to that which is Brdlinian' ; ^at. Br., Ill, 3, 4, 17 'The Brahman moves the gods onward'; IV, i, 4, 10 'The Brdlunanisthe world-order {rtam)'; VI, i, i, 10 ' The Brahman is the first born {prathaviajani) of this All' ; VIII, 2, i, 5 'The Brahman is the highest of gods' ; VIII, 4, i, 3 'Heaven and earth are upheld by the Brdhnian' ; X, 3, 5, 10, * This is the Greatest Brahman {j'yesthain Brahman), for than this there is no thing greater '; X, 3, 5, 1 1 ' This Brahman has nothing before it and nothing after it,' ; X, 4, 1,9 'I praise what hath been and what will be, the Great BraJnnan {inaJiad Brdhina), the one Aksara, the manifold Brahman, the one Aksara' ; X, 6, 3, i ' Let him meditate on the Tnie Brahman {satyam Brdhma). Cf. II, i, 4, 10 ' The Brahman is the truth (satyam)' ; X, 6, 5, 9 ' Brah- man is the S&\{-eyiis\.en\. {siuayajnbhn); reverence be to Brahman ! ' Note also the following passages from the Atharva-Veda : X, 7, lO A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY. 24 * The gods, the knowers of Brahman, meditate on the Highest Brahman' {^jycstham Brahma, cf. Cat. Br., X, 3, 5, 10) ; X, 8, I * Reverence be only to that Highest Brahman ' ; X, 7, 17* The men who know the Brahman know the Highest {Paramesthiri) .' Thus Brahman is not merely (i) the external /(Staw of the sacred word, and (2) the meaning of the sacred word, but it is also (3) the pozvcr which resides in the heart of the sacred word, and so in the heart of all things. B. Derivation of Brahman. The word ' brahman ' is made up of braJi- plus the common Indo-European suffix -man. This suffix forms no}nina actionis, and more rarely nomitia agcntis. The nomina actionis vary be- tween the meaning of the thing and the action. When used as infinitives [e. g., da-mane = ob-fxtvai) they indicate the action ; when not so used, the thing. As examples cited by Brugmann^ we have man-man ' thought,' vds-man ' covering,' dlid-7nan 'dwelling,' dd-man 'gift,' bJiii-man 'earth,' hJidr-man 'support.' Or, to take a Latin example, flu-men ' river.' It is to be noted that the meaning in all these cases is concrete and not abstract. It is thought, raiment, house, gift, earth, support, and river, that the words mean, rather than thinking, dressing, dwelling, giving, being, supporting, and flowing. Brahman has two forms, brah- man and bralimdn, which differ both in gender and in accent. They are used respectively as noun of action and noun of agent. With these we may compare dhdr-man (n) ' support,' and dhar- md)i (m) 'supporter'; also dd-man (n) 'gift,' and dd-man (m) ' giver.' We know that in the case of dharman and ddman the roots are dhar- and da-. But brahman has exactly the same for- mation in every respect. We must therefore conclude that brah- in like manner represents a true root form. Professor Hopkins ' with some hesitation connects Brahman with "fla(g)men," and sees in it "an indication of the primitive fire-cult in antithesis to the soma-cult." There are two difficulties here. First the phonetic difficulty of connecting brah- with flag. The cognate 1 Comp. Gra?n., Vol. II, pp. 365-375. ^Religions of India, p. 168. THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN. II verbs Gr. ipUyco, Lat. flagro, Skt. bhrdj, and Germ, blecken, all seem to presuppose, the IE. bhlcg, while brh and barz go back to bhrgh. Again, this hypothesis has no support, so far as I can see, in the actual usage of brahman or of its cognates. Another equation suggested by Dr. Haug^ in 1 868, and lately championed by Wackernagel ^ is that Brahman = Baresman, the bunch of sacred twigs used in the Zend ritual. If this be correct, then the root represented by brali- is bar]L-{brli) = Zend barz, from which baresman (= bares -f man) is derived. Before this can be ac- cepted, the change from bark- to brah- must be explained. Old- enberg ^ doubts such a change and remarks : " Baresman ware ve- disch *barhman ; mit brahman hat es schwerlich etwas zu thun." But Wackernagel * shows pretty clearly that ra or ra sometimes stands in the place of ar or ar not only before s + consonant, but also before h -f consonant, as in brahman {barh brh) and drahydnt {dark drJi). There is no doubt of the derivation of baresman from Zend barz, for, as Jackson" says, " Av. s sometimes results from Av. z becoming s before m ;" and he cites as examples maesinana 'with urine' {iniz = mili) and barcsmana 'with baresman' {barz = barh). We may take it as fairly well settled, then, that brahman is the same word etymologically, both as regards root and suffix, as the Zend baresman. The next problem is to determine the original meaning of the root brh. IE. bhrgh is postulated as the original of Skt. brh and Zend barz. There are many derivatives in Zend, c. g., barezant (^ = brhant) 'high,' barez, bercz 'high,' barehnis barezd 'height,' barezista ' very high ' (Skt. barhistha). We have also in O, Ir, bri Gen. breg ' mountain,' Brigit ' the exalted' (Skt. brhatt, Zend barezaiti); in Armen. /wy ' height '; in Gothic bailrgs 'fortress,' 'city' (cf Germ. Bag and Burg); in Latin / {iox forgtus) 'strong' (?); and in Sclavonic bruzu 'quick' (?). Leaving out fortis and bruzu as doubtful, we see that all the other cognates seem to have the meaning 'high,' being used primarily with 1 Ueber die tirspriingliche Bedeiitung des Wortes Brahman. ^Altind. Gram., 1S96, S. 213. 3 Veda, S. 342, note 2. ^ Altind. Grata., S. 212, fg. ^ Avesta Grammar, 1892, p. S^- 12 A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY. a spatial reference. The most important Skt. derivative from brh- is the participial form brJiat, which occurs about 270 times in RV. As Grassmann points out, the word brhat very often stands side by side with certain adjectives denoting extension {iirii, prthii 'broad,' gabliira 'deep,' rsva 'high') evidently as a general synonym. It very seldom goes with inahdt, main ' great ' (only three times). From the usage of br/iaf then the conjecture is plausible that the meaning of IE. blirgli was ' to be extended ' whether in length, breadth, depth or height. The most impres- sive form of extension is extension upward, and this is the mean- ing found in the Zend, O. Ir., and Gothic cognates. Let us test this conjecture as far as possible. The root brh (with the excep- tion of the participle brhat) is used only transitively with preposi- tions and in the causative form without prepositions. It has only two fundamental meanings, ' extend,' and ' strengthen.' Unless there be some meaning still more concrete and funda- mental underlying both, we must regard the meaning ' extend ' as primary, and the meaning ' strengthen ' secondary. That, as between these two meanings, the meaning ' extend ' is primary is favored not only by the sense of the Zend, O. Ir. and Gothic cognates, but also by the fact that the meaning ' strengthen ' can more easily be derived from ' extend ' than vice versa. The connection between extending the hand and helping or strength- ening another is well illustrated by the Arabic madad ' help,' lit. extension (of the hand). If in three passages of the RV. brli -f- npa or sani means apparently to press (as the arm upon or around some one), this meaning can be easily derived from brli in the sense of ' extend,' the transition in meaning being helped by the intensive form of the verb in two of the three cases. That the meaning of brli was ' to be extended ' is further supported by the usao-e of barJind and barhdnd in the modern dialects of India, in which the meaning is almost if not quite exclusively ' extend.' We are now prepared to consider the cognate words Bares- man and Brahman. We have seen that the root underlying both words means ' to be extended,' ' to be high,' and that the suffix nia)i forms nouns of action. We should expect then that both THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN. 1 3 baresman and brahman, if used abstractly as infinitives, would have some such meaning as extending, exalting, presenting, of- fering ; or, if not so used, then ' thing extended, lifted up, pre- sented, offered.' How does the actual usage of baresman agree with this hypothetical sense ? The word ' baresman ' is confined almost exclusively to the Yasna or sacrificial portion of the Avesta, where it occurs fifty or sixty times. As defined by De Harlez^ it is a " faisceau de branches de tamarisque que le pretre mazdeen doit tenir a la main, leve vers le ciel, pendant la recita- tion des prieres." Thus baresman as a ' thing extended, lifted up, presented,' is the sacred bundle of twigs in the hands of the Maz- dean priest. There is abundant evidence in the text of the Yasna that the uplifted Baresman in the hand of the priest was regarded as an emblem of adoration, prayer, and praise. Thus the following passages may be cited, as translated by Mills." ' I desire to ap- proach the stars, moon and sun with the Baresniaii plants and with my praise' (Yasna, 11, ii); 'We present this plant of the Baresman, and the timely prayer for blessings ' (XXIV, 3) ; 'This plant of the Baresman (and) the timely prayer' (XXIV, 8) ; ' We present . . . this branch for the Baresman, and the prayer for blessings ' (Visparad, XI, 2). According to these pas- sages the lifting up or presentation of the Baresman accompanied the recitation of the prayers and hymns of praise. That the Bar- esman or bunch of sacred twigs was an emblem of worship and adoration is supported by the similar use of palm branches among the Hebrews. Two passages may be cited. "After these things I saw and behold, a great multitude . . . standing before the throne and before the Lamb, arrayed in white robes and palms in their hands ; and they cry with a great voice, saying, Salva- vation unto our God which sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb" (Apocal. loh., VII, 9-10). The scene is laid in the heavenly temple, where a great multitude of the redeemed as white-robed priests serve God day and night (v. 15) with palms in their hands and words of adoration on their lips. These are not palms of victory but palms of adoration. As held up or presented they are emblematic of worship just like Baresman, ^Manuel, p. 389. 2SBE., Vol. XXXI, 14 A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY. Again in Evang. loh., XII, 12-13 we read : "A great multitude , . . took the branches of the palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried out, Hosanna: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord." We have also palm branches borne in the hand as emblems of salutation and praise. In fact the uplifted attitude has ever been one of the chief ways of expressing saluta- tion and adoration. Consider the forms of modern salute. They are mostly variations of one fundamental attitude. In saluting one stands erect, or raises the hand, or presents arms, or lifts up the voice in a ringing cheer. Adoration is religious salutation. It is expressed in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures by the uplift- ing of the person (Luke, XVIII, 11), or of the eyes (Ps., CXXIII, I, Luke, XVIII, 13), or of the hands (Ps. LXIII, 4, i Tim. II, 8), or of the voice (Isa. XXIV, 14, 2 Chron., V, 13, Acts. IV, 24), or of palm branches borne in the hand (Apocal. loh., VII, 9 ; cf. I Mac. XIII., 51). What then is the connection in meaning between Baresman and Brahman ? Both mean apparently 'thing extended, lifted up, presented, offered. ' But in the Zend ritual ' the thing lifted up, presented, offered,' was the Baresman or bunch of sacred twigs, which like the palm branches of Apocal. loh., VIII, 9, was an emblem of worship, as it were a kind of visible adoration. While on the other hand in the Vedic ritual ' the thing lifted up, pre- sented, offered,' was Brahman, the 'hymn or prayer' of adora- tion, which like the lifting up of the voice in Isa. XXIV, 14, was also an emblem of worship, as it were a kind of audible adoration. As there is no essential difference betweeen an acted and visible, and a spoken and audible salute, so there is none, as regards original purpose, between Baresjnan acted and visible worship through the lifting up of the sacred branches, and Brahman spoken and audible worship through the lifting up of one's voice in hymn and prayer. For all this there is a striking analogy in Hebrew. The verb rum means, like brh and barz, ' to be high.' In the Hiphil or cau- sative it means ' to lift up,' both of an offering as presented, and of the voice as raised in prayer and adoration. These two uses of Mrim are represented by the two derivatives tcriundli and rbmdm. THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN. 1 5 The former means offering as somefliing lifted up or presented in the ritual, and is rendered ' heave offering.'^ The latter- means a lifting up of the voice in adoration, an offering of ' the fruit of the lips,' and is rendered in the Revised Version ' high praise,' and by Canon Cheyne, ' lofty hymn.'^ Terumah, ' heave offering ' is the analogue of Baresman ; romdm, ' lofty hymn,' the analogue of Brahman. There is no essential difference between ' lifting up the voice in prayer ' and ' lifting up a prayer.' Both idioms occur, the first in Isa. XXIV, 14, Acts IV, 24 and the second in Isa. XXXVII, 4, Jer. VII, 16. In fact the word z'dc (Lat. vox) in the RV. has the double meaning ' voice ' and ' hymn or prayer.' In actual usage brahman is a synonym of vac. Both derivation and Vedic usage would be expressed if we should render 'lofty hymn.' Before the separation of the Persian and Indian branches of the Aryan people, Baresman and Brahman were one word and so had a common meaning. That meaning has already been referred to from the point of view of etymology as 'thing extended, lifted up, presented, offered.' Combining etymology with usage, we get ' religions offering ' in general as the most probable meaning of Baresman-Brahman in the prehistoric period. The diverse meanings of Baresman, ' the offering of sacred branches,' and Brahman, ' the offering of hymn and prayer,' may be regarded as differentiations of the original meaning of ' religious offering ' in general. Another hypothesis is possible, to wit : that the offer- ing of sacred branches accompanied by hymn and prayer, as de- scribed in the Avesta, was the original meaning of Baresman- Brahman, and that while Baresman has maintained its meaning unchanged, Brahman has undergone a transference of meaning, the custom of offering sacred branches having dropped out of use among the Indians, and so Brahman being applied exclusively to the remaining element in the ritual, namely the offering of hymn and prayer. The first hypothesis seems to me to be the safer one. Centuries intervened between the prehistoric period 1 Cf. Ex. XXIX, 27, 'The thigh of the heave offering . . . which is heaved up.' 2Pss. LXVI, 17, CXLIX, 6. Text unfortunately not absolutely sure. 3 The Book of Psalms, N. Y., 1895. 1 6 A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY. when Baresman and Brahman were one word with one meanins" and the period of rehgious practice reflected in the earhest Indian and Persian sources. It is quite possible that in the prehistoric period Baresman-Brahman may have referred to the ' hfting up ' or ' offering ' of many things, e. g., the parts of the animal sacri- fice (cf. Heb. terijmah), sacred branches, sacred formulae of hymn and prayer, etc. The dominant explanation of the word ' brahman ' is that of Professor Roth (St. Petersburg Lexicon) who makes it to mean originally " die als Drang und Fiille des Gemiiths auftretende und den Gottern zustrebende Andacht." He is followed by Whitney,^ who says that brahman is " from the root bark ' exert, strain, extend,' and denotes simply 'worship' as the offering which the elevated affections and strained desires of the devout bring to the gods" ; and also by Deussen,^ who defines the or- iginal meaning of brahman as " der zum Heiligen, Gottlichen emporstrebende Wille des Menschen." According to this ex- planation, brahman is not t/ie iipliftcd voice of the priestly wor- shiper in prayer and hymn so much as tlie uplifted soid^ the ex- altation of the spirit in worship. Both ideas undoubtedly in- volve each other to some extent. The question is which is the more primitive idea. It seems to me that the weight of the evi- dence is in favor of the more concrete notion as beine the more primitive. In the Vedic period religion was ritualistic, cosmo- logical, objective. It is only when we reach the period of the Upanishads that religion becomes psychological and introspective, in a word, subjective. In the course of the Upanishad specula- tions Brahman undoubtedly came to mean something not alto- gether different from the " Wille " of Schopenhauer. But to hold that this was the original meaning of brahman seems to me a violent anacronism. The following considerations may be ad- duced against this theory : (i) Out of 240 or more passages in which the word ' brahman ' occurs in the RV. Grassmann finds the meaning " Erhebung des Gemiithes " in only five. But in these 1 Or. &= Ling. Stud., 1S73, p. 2S, note. 2 Vedanfa, S. 1 28. 3 Cf , Ps. XXV, I. THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN. 1 7 passages also brahman can be interpreted without violence as 'hymn or prayer.' The phrase braJunand vandamdna imdm dhiyam (III, 18, 3 only here) alone gives any support to the view of Grassmann. But it may be rendered ' through a hymn {brahman) uttering this meditation ' as well as by ' through in- ward devotion {brahman) uttering this hymn.' (2) To assic^n to brahman as its fundamental meaning ' the exaltation of the spirit in worship' illustrates the psychological danger, in connection with the interpretation of all ancient texts, of reading them in the light of modern ideas. For, as Professor Max Mueller says,^ " Though the idea of prayer as swelling or exalted thought may be true with us, there is little, if any, trace of such thoughts in the Veda." (3) The interpretation of Sdyana the great orthodox commentator on the Rig- Veda (d. 1387 A. D.) is worth noticing. He halts between the meanings ' hymn ' {mantra, stotra) and of- fering {yajTia, ajina). But if our interpretation is correct, brahman in the RV. is nothing else than just a hymn lifted up, presented, offered to God in worship. According to this, Sdyana is not so very far wrong after all. To go back to the original meaning of brh {bhrgh), it is pos- sible, as already hinted, that it was more concrete than either 'extend' or 'strengthen.' The meaning 'grow' would fit in very well. That which grows extends itself and becomes strong. To make to grow is to ' make big and large.' ' But if ' grow ' was the original meaning of brh, it was dropped at a very remote period, and only the derived meanings ' extend ' and * strengthen ' retamed. So far as I am aware, brh is never used in the sense of either ' to grow' or 'to make to grow' (of something organic). Still the meaning 'to grow' is assumed by the Dhatupath {irddhau) and accepted by Haug, Max Mueller, et al. There is no objection to the hypothesis that the prehistoric meaning of brh was ' to grow,' provided that it be remembered that this meaning was early dropped, and so cannot be supported by actual usage in the historic period. For ^^r^, Jackson ^ gives the meanings 1 Six Systems of Indian Philosophy, p. 70. 2 Whitney, Roots, 18S5. ^ Avesta Gram., p. 51. 1 8 A STUDY OF INDIAN PHILOSOPHY. 'grow up, be high, great.' The Zend derivatives all apparently mean ' high ' or ' height ' alone, with the possible exception of Baresman, which, as meaning bunch of twigs, may contain a hint of an original meaning ' to grow up,' therefore growth. C. Connection of the various meanings of Brdliman. Having finished the discussion of the derivation and usage of brahman, we are prepared to consider the problem of the unifica- tion of its various meanings. These are, as given by Roth : (i) pious utterance in divine worship, (2) holy formula, (3) holy word, (4) holy wisdom, (5) holy life (the Brahmanical chastity), (6) the Absolute, (7) holy order (the Brahmanical conininnit}'). Of these meanings nos. (5) and (7) must be eliminated as of com- plex derivation. The meaning ' chastity ' (no. 5) is clearly de- rived mediately through the idea of bj^ahmacarya, the life of the brahmacarin or theological student, of whom strict chastity was required. And the meaning 'holy order' or 'priesthood,' as already pointed out, is to be derived from the joint idea of brah- man and brahman. Perhaps, too, brahman came to be used in the sense of ' priesthood ' as the correlative of Ksatra ' nobility ' (cf. Brahma ca Ksatram ca), i. e., through the working of the prin- ciple of analogy. There remain, then, five meanings of brah- man to be unified. We begin with the Vedic meaning as ' hymn or prayer.' How brahman came to have this meaning has been sufficiently indicated. We are not justified in assuming that brahman had first the meaning of ' word ' in general, which only afterwards received the specialized sense of religious or sacred word. Historically, we have to begin with the meaning 'hymn or prayer.' There is no direct proof of any meaning more primitive in Sanskrit. Brahman, as 'hymn or prayer,' grad- ually with the creation of a sacred literature came to have the larger meaning of ' holy word ' in general. This process may be illustrated from the parallel process in the Old Testament. Here the most primitive unit of revelation is the tordh or oral deliverance of the priest on some matter pretaining to religious life or worship. But since the first canon was a collection or such toroth or ' laws,' the word Tordli came to have a more THE HISTORY OF THE WORD BRAHMAN. 1 9 comprehensive sense as the Tbrdh or ' Law ' (of Moses). Finally the meaning of Tordh was so enlarged that it covered the whole Old Testament in its antithesis to the New (cf. Evang. loh., I, 17). The use of the word ' Veda ' is analogous. It may mean either (i) the Rig-Veda, or (2) all three (or four) Vedas, or (3) the whole religious literature known as Qruti or Revelation in its antithesis to Smriti or Tradition. It has already been pointed out that the five remaining mean- ings of brahman may be reduced easily and naturally to three : namely (i) Brahman, Xht. objective word as sacred hymn, sacred formula, and sacred text in general ; (2) Brahman, the subjective word as sacred wisdom and theology, the content and meaning of the objective word ; and (3) Brahman tlie hnmanent Word, the energy which manifests itself in both sacred hymn and sacred order, and indeed in all things. In this way the various mean- ings of Brahman are articulated together in one common organ- ism and so unified. There is indeed a development of meaning, but it is both natural, and, in a sense, inevitable. For consider the parallel development in the West. In the O. T. we have the three stages fairly well represented : ( i ) The Torotli or de- liverances of the priests concerning matters of worship. These- when finally collected formed the objective word. (2) The Dcb- har-jalrweh, or message of Jahweh through the prophet, in which there was a larger emphasis on the inner content or doctrine of the word ; and (3) the Hochmah Wisdom, of Jahweh, which in Prov. VIII, is hypostasized. In Greek philosophy, too, especially in Stoicism, we have {i) loyo:: evoiddszo-, 'the internal word,' (2) Aoyo- ~po