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PURIFYING BODY AND SOUL
In States which are still ruled
put a stop to this sacrilege.
by heathen princes on no pretext whatever is it permitted
In fact, this act of sacrilege, so hateful to
to kill a cow.
Hindus, is only permitted in provinces where Europeans
or
Mahomedans hold sway.
To purify the body from any
interior defilement that
may have
been contracted there is no more efficacious way
than by the performance of the pancha-gavia.
As to other ordinary defilements, from which one can
never quite escape, they may be removed in several ways,
which I shall speak of in the next chapter. If these cere-
monies can purify the soul from sin, so much the more
will they be capable of purifying the body from all un-
cleanness, both external and internal.
CHAPTER V
—
—
Defilements of the Soul, and the Means of Purification. Places of
Conjectures
Sins for which there is no Forgiveness.
Purification.
on the Origin of Brahmin Customs connected with Defilement and
Purification.
Defilement by Europeans, and an Incident which
happened to the Author from this Cause.
—
—
The doctrine is laid down in Hindu books, is endorsed
by the philosophers of the country, and is admitted also
sometimes by Brahmins, that the only real defilement of
the soul proceeds from sin, which is caused by perversity
of the will.
One Hindu poet, Vemana, expresses himself
thus on this subject
It is water which causes mud, and
It is your will that makes
it is water which removes it.
you commit sin, and it is by your will alone that you can
:
—
'
be purified .' This doctrine, though imperfectly carried
out in practice, certainly proves that Hindus acknowledge
that it is only by an effort of the will and by a renunciation
of sin that pardon and purification of the soul can be
1
obtained.
But this enlightenment, which reason will never allow to
be entirely extinguished even in the midst of the deep
shadows of gross idolatry, has become, if not extinguished,
at any rate entirely obscured by the religious formulariza-
This is not to be found among the verses of Vemana, but any Telugu
verse of which the author is unknown is ascribed to him.
Pope.
1