Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 159

TOLERANT SECTARIANISM
119
Pariahs belong to this sect. It is no uncommon thing for
people to change from one sect to the other, according as
it suits their interest, or even out of spite or caprice. Either
sect will take a convert from the other without asking any
Sometimes one comes
questions or making any difficulty.
across missionaries scouring the country with written pro-
fessions of faith in their hands, and using various means
In some
for gaining proselytes to their respective sects.
parts a remarkable peculiarity is to be observed in refer-
ence to these two sects. Sometimes the husband is a
Vishnavite and bears the namam on his forehead, while
The
the wife is a follower of Siva and wears the lingam.
former eats meat, but the latter may not touch it. This
divergence of religious opinion, however, in no way destroys
the peace of the household. Each observes the practices
of his or her own particular creed, and worships his or her
god in the way that seems best, without any interference
from the other. At the same time, each sect tries its best
to magnify its own particular deity and to belittle that of
its rivals.
The devotees of Vishnu declare that the pre-
servation of the universe is entirely due to him, and that
to him Siva owes both his birth and existence, since Vishnu
saved him several times under such circumstances that
without his aid Siva must infallibly have perished. There-
fore Vishnu is immeasurably above Siva in every respect,
and to him alone should homage be offered.
The devotees of Siva, on their side, maintain obstinately
that Vishnu is of no account, and has never committed
any but the basest actions, which only disgrace him and
make him hateful in the eyes of men. As proofs of their
assertions they point to several facts in the life of this
deity, which their adversaries cannot deny, and which
certainly do not redound to his credit.
Siva, according to
them, is sovereign lord of all, and therefore the proper
object of all worship.
According to the Vishnavites it is the height of all
abomination to wear the lingam. According to their
antagonists, whoever is decorated with the namam will be
tormented in hell by a sort of fork similar in form to this
emblem. These mutual recriminations often end in violent
altercations
and
riots.
The numerous bands
of religious