402 TWO BRAHMIN £ ECTS
theless be acknowledged that the speculative theories in which these ancient philosophers indulged in the first instance, and of which I shall have occasion to speak later
on, were calculated to corrupt this pure conception of the
Deity and of the worship due to Him. Indeed, it was not
long before divided opinions arose regarding the nature of
God and the creation of the Universe. Two principal sects were gradually developed, each of which possesses up to the present day numerous adherents among the modern
Brahmins l. The first is called the Dwaita( twofold) sect, whose adherents recognize the existence of two beings, namely, God and Matter, which He created and which is one with Him. The other sect, called Adwaita( not twofold), comprises those who acknowledge but one Being, one Substance, one God. It has a more numerous following
than the other, and includes in its ranks the majority of those Brahmins who profess to be exceptionally learned.
Its adepts designate the leading principles of their doctrine by the technical words Abhavena Bhavam Nasti, meaning de nihilo nihil fit( from nothing nothing is made). They maintain that Creation is an impossibility, and at the same time they hold that pre-existing and eternal Matter is absolutely chimerical. From these premises they conclude
that all that we call the universe, including all the various phenomena which we see to be comprised within it, has no real existence at all, but is merely the result of illusion,
which is known among them as Maya. From the large number of stories which they have invented for the purpose of illustrating this doctrine I have selected the following:
1
There are, as a matter of fact, three sects. The first is that of
'
Adwaita, or non-dualism. The Universe exists, but merely as a form of the one eternal essence. All animate and inanimate things are but parts of the Deity, and have no real existence of their own.' Then comes the Dwaita doctrine, or dualism, which holds that ' God is supreme, yet essentially different from the human soul and from the material
world, both of which have a real and eternally distinct existence.' A third and important section hold the doctrine of Yisishtadwaita, or
doctrine of unity with attributes. This doctrine is like that of Adwaita, holding that the Deity and the Universe are one, but it goes further in holding that the Deity is not void of form or quality; it regards Him as being endowed with ' all good qualities and a twofold form: the
Supreme Spirit, Paramatma or Cause, and the gross one, the effect, the
Universe or Matter.' Ed.