We have before alluded to the creation of the progenitors of the human race, and to the fact, that for a considerable time, the race existed in a state of innocence and purity. The manner of falling from this state was different from that given by Moses. The fall from a sinless state was occasioned by the influence of Vishnu in the form of time. "That por

tion of Hari, (Vishnu), which has been described as one with kála (time), infused into created beings sin, the impediment of the soul's liberation, the seed of iniquity, sprung from darkness and desire." (Vish. Pu. p. 45.)

Hindû philosophy and theology take a most gloomy view of the state and prospects of man. And this gloomy condition results from ignorance and darkness which are nearly or quite synonymous with sin: Says the Vishnu Purána (p. 639), speaking of man after birth: "Enveloped by the gloom of ignorance, and internally bewildered, man knows not whence he is, who he is, whither he is, whither he goeth, nor what is his nature;.... what is to be done, and what is to be left undone ;.... what is righteousness and what is iniquity, what is right, and what is wrong, what is vice and what is virtue. Thus man like a brute beast, addicted only to animal gratification, suffers the pain that ignorance occasions. Ignorance, darkness, inactivity, influence those devoid of knowledge, so that pious works are neglected; but hell is the consequence of the neglect of religious works according to the great sages."

Then follows a detailed description of man's suffering on account of this ignorance and darkness, especially in old age, in death, and in the future world, all constituting a version of the doctrine of retribution for sin, unsurpassed for fearfulness and terribleness in the whole compass of theological literature. And this is according to the general tenor of Hindû ideas in relation to these subjects. Of course, there is much that is absurd, and worse than absurd, and we do not intend to go into detail respecting these doctrines and ideas; we shall only notice two or three prominent points.

The problem is: How shall man be freed from this state

of darkness and misery? The answer of Hindû philosophers is: complete deliverance can be obtained only by knowing Brahmá.

But here a proper understanding of the subject will be facilitated by considering the prominent points separately.

These are:

1. The doctrine of retribution.

2. The provision for retributive justice in a future world, or future states of being.

3. The manner of becoming freed from this state of sin. 4. The state of the soul after its emancipation.

We shall dwell on these separate points but briefly : Hindû theology makes seven spheres, the first of which is this earth, a state of probation, and the seventh is satya-loka, one hundred and twenty millions of leagues above the polar star, "which" (says the Vishnu Purána, p. 213) "is the sphere of truth, the inhabitants of which never again know death." Some of these spheres are the residences of superhuman beings, and others are places where human souls, on leaving the body, go to enjoy the rewards of virtuous acts performed in this life. Below this earth is Naraka, or hell, with twenty-eight divisions with different means of torture and punishment for sins committed in the body. These divisions have separate names: Thus there is the "hell of heated caldrons," that of "red hot iron," that of "a great flame," that of "a fiery flame," that of “the head inverted," that, "where all the leaves of the trees are swords," that "whose wells are blood," etc. "These hells, and hundreds of thousands of others," continues the Vishnu Purána (p. 209), "are the places in which sinners pay the penalty of their crimes. As numerous as are the offences which men commit, so many are the hells in which they are punished."

"At the expiration of a limited period, the soul, which in either of its destinations (that is, in heaven or hell), had continued to be invested with a subtile and ethereal but material and sensible body, returns to earth, and is born again, in union with some gross and elemental body, according to

former merits or demerits of the individual, as a reptile, fish, bird, a beast, a giant, a spirit, a divinity, until after sundry migrations it ascends or descends to man to undergo a similar career." (Ox. Lec., p. 63.)

The language of the Vishnu Purána is: "The various stages of existence are, inanimate things, fish, birds, animals, men, holy men, gods, and liberated spirits; each in succession a thousand degrees above that which precedes it; and through these stages, the beings that are either in heaven or hell are destined to proceed until final emancipation be obtained" (p. 210). "That is, when punishment or reward in hell or heaven, proportioned to the sin or virtue of the individual, has been received, he must be born again as a stone or plant, and gradually migrate through the several inferior conditions until he is once more born a man; his future state is then in his own power." (Prof. Wilson, note to the preceding passage, p. 210.)

This seems like a double penalty for sin; since after suffering in the various hells, according to the deserts of a sinful life, the same retribution pursues into succeeding births. This difficulty was seen by the commentator on Manu, who says in explanation, "it is to efface all remains of their sins." (Manu, xii. 54.)

The system of rewards in heaven, and punishment in hell, and future migrations through innumerable states of existence, in stones, plants, trees, insects, cruel beasts of prey, filthy beasts, and beings of all classes and conditions, is described with great minuteness in Hindû scriptures. Sins are classified according to their heinousness, and the hells; and the future births are designated, through which those who commit them must pass in their course of retribution ; and this course must be run, before the sinner can enjoy another season of probation in a human form. As examples, take the following: The Purána says, "The murderer of a Brahman, stealer of gold, or drinker of wine, goes to the hell of swine (Shukar). The seller of his wife, a jailer, a horsedealer, and one who deserts his adherents, falls into the hell of red hot iron (Taptaloha). He who is disrespectful to his

spiritual guide, who is abusive to his betters, who reviles the Vedas, or who sells them, goes to the hell of salt (Lavana).” (Vish. Pu., p. 208.)

These are sufficient specimens of that kind of moral legislation.

After suffering the appointed time in the infernal regions, as determined by the judge of those gloomy places, the soul returns to earth, and is born in the form of some animate or inanimate being, according to a minutely graduated scale. Thus, "The slayer of a Brahman must enter, according to the circumstances of his crime, the body of a dog, a swine, an ass, a camel, a bull, a goat, a sheep, a stag, a bird, Chandala, or a Puccasa. A priest who has drank spirituous liquors, shall migrate into the form of a smaller or larger worm or insect, of a moth or fly, feeding on ordure, or of some ravenous animal. He who steals gold, shall pass a thousand times into the bodies of spiders, of snakes and of cameleons, of aquatic monsters. They who hurt any sentient beings, are born in animals eating raw flesh; they who taste what ought not to be tasted, maggots and small flies; they who steal ordinary things, devourers of each other. If a man steal grain in the husk, he shall be born a rat. If he steal flesh meat, a vulture; if he steal a deer or an elephant, he shall be born a wolf; if a horse, a tiger; if a woman, a bear; as far as vital souls, addicted to sensuality, indulge themselves in forbidden pleasures, to the same degree shall the acuteness of their senses be raised in their future bodies." (Manu B., xii. 54-73.)

A number of pages might be filled with these details. We have given more examples than we should, but for the wish, while exibiting the nature of the Hindû system of rewards and punishments, to give likewise some idea of their notions of sin and its deserts.

But what way does Hinduism offer of escape from this condition of sin and suffering?

First must be noticed the system of penance. Any sin may be expiated by penance. And the scale of penance is as minutely graduated, as that of transmigration, or

that of sufferings in the twenty-eight hells. The ingenuity of Hindû theology is not behind Popery in this respect. And Brahmanism is more rational than Romanism, in as much as it makes a difference between pardon and sanctification. "That sinner goes to hell," says the Purána, "who neglects the expiation of his guilt" (p. 210). But expiation by penance, will not entitle him to heaven, or final beatitude. In order to reach this goal of highest aspiration, which being reached, there is an end of births and deaths and transmigration, the knowledge of Brahma, the Supreme, must be attained to. The attainment of this knowledge is regarded as most difficult. The passions must be entirely subdued, the mind must become indifferent to worldly plea sure and worldly pain, and become pure and holy.

Or in the language of a late writer, in describing this doc trine of Hindû religion: "One thing alone must be loved; one thing alone attentively thought upon, and this is the Supreme Being. Complete equanimity, complete indifference to pain or pleasure, love or hate, to all worldly matters, must be acquired before this devotion to the Supreme One can be steadily fixed in the heart. In every act of our life, that Being alone must be uppermost in our thoughts.

We must remember that the action performed is not done for our sakes, with any interested motive, but as an offering of love and duty to the Supreme Being, in purity and equality of heart. This is, at least, a sensible and religious doctrine; and if we add to it faith and love, will be even a Christian doctrine. It is the teaching of our Saviour, when he bids us hate father and mother, and take up the cross; and when he points to the lily of the field, which toils and spins not, but puts faith in its creator to give it nourishment. "But we must not be carried away by enthusiasm at the apparent Christianity of the doctrine of our philosophy." We omit the remarks of the author under this "but." (Translation of the Bhagavad Gítá, by J. C. Thompson, p. CX.)

When the soul has thus become pure, on leaving the body, it is united to Brahma. The means to be employed to attain to this state of freedom from sin, and indifference to the world,