Saktas

The Saktas, as we have seen, are worshippers of the _sakti_, or the

female principle as a primary factor in the creation and reproduction of

the universe. And as each of the principal gods is supposed to have

associated with him his own particular _sakti_, as an indispensable

complement enabling him to properly perform his cosmic functions,

adherents of this persuasion might be expected to be recruited from all

sects. To a certain extent this is indeed the case; but though

Vaishnavism, and especially the Krishna creed, with its luxuriant growth

of erotic legends, might have seemed peculiarly favourable to a

development in this direction, it is practically only in connexion with

the Saiva system that an independent cult of the female principle has

been developed; whilst in other sects--and, indeed, in the ordinary

Saiva cult as well--such worship, even where it is at all prominent, is

combined with, and subordinated to, that of the male principle. What has

made this cult attach itself more especially to the Saiva creed is

doubtless the character of Siva as the type of reproductive power, in

addition to his function as destroyer which, as we shall see, is

likewise reflected in some of the forms of his Sakti. The theory of the

god and his Sakti as cosmic principles is perhaps already foreshadowed

in the Vedic couple of Heaven and Earth, whilst in the speculative

treatises of the later Vedic period, as well as in the post-Vedic

Brahmanical writings, the assumption of the self-existent being dividing

himself into a male and a female half usually forms the starting-point

of cosmic evolution.[7] In the later Saiva mythology this theory finds

its artistic representation in Siva's androgynous form of Ardha-narisa,

or "half-woman-lord," typifying the union of the male and female

energies; the male half in this form of the deity occupying the

right-hand, and the female the left-hand side. In accordance with this

type of productive energy, the Saktas divide themselves into two

distinct groups, according to whether they attach the greater importance

to the male or to the female principle; viz. the _Dakshinacharis_, or

"right-hand-observers" (also called _Dak-shina-margis_, or followers "of

the right-hand path"), and the _Vamacharis_, or "left-hand-observers"

(or _Vama-margis_, followers "of the left path"). Though some of the

Puranas, the chief repositories of sectarian doctrines, enter largely

into Sakta topics, it is only in the numerous Tantras that these are

fully and systematically developed. In these works, almost invariably

composed in the form of a colloquy, Siva, as a rule, in answer to

questions asked by his consort Parvati, unfolds the mysteries of this

occult creed.

The principal seat of Sakta worship is the north-eastern part of

India--Bengal, Assam and Behar. The great majority of its adherents

profess to follow the right-hand practice; and apart from the implied

purport and the emblems of the cult, their mode of adoration does not

seem to offer any very objectionable features. And even amongst the

adherents of the left-hand mode of worship, many of these are said to

follow it as a matter of family tradition rather than of religious

conviction, and to practise it in a sober and temperate manner; whilst

only an extreme section--the so-called _Kaulas_ or _Kulinas_, who

appeal to a spurious Upanishad, the Kaulopanishad, as the divine

authority of their tenets--persist in carrying on the mystic and

licentious rites taught in many of the Tantras. But strict secrecy

being enjoined in the performance of these rites, it is not easy to

check any statements made on this point. The Sakta cult is, however,

known to be especially prevalent--though apparently not in a very

extreme form--amongst members of the very respectable Kayastha or

writer caste of Bengal, and as these are largely employed as clerks

and accountants in Upper India, there is reason to fear that their

vicious practices are gradually being disseminated through them.

The divine object of the adoration of the Saktas, then, is Siva's

wife--the _Devi_ (goddess), _Mahadevi_ (great goddess), or _Jagan-mata_

(mother of the world)--in one or other of her numerous forms, benign or

terrible. The forms in which she is worshipped in Bengal are of the

latter category, viz. _Durga_, "the unapproachable," and _Kali_, "the

black one," or, as some take it, the wife of _Kala_, "time," or death

the great dissolver, viz. Siva. In honour of the former, the

_Durga-puja_ is celebrated during ten days at the time of the autumnal

equinox, in commemoration of her victory over the buffalo-headed demon

Mahishasura; when the image of the ten-armed goddess, holding a weapon

in each hand, is worshipped for nine days, and cast into the water on

the tenth day, called the Dasahara, whence the festival itself is

commonly called Dasara in western India. _Kali_, on the other hand, the

most terrible of the goddess's forms, has a special service performed to

her, at the _Kali-puja_, during the darkest night of the succeeding

month; when she is represented as a naked black woman, four-armed,

wearing a garland of heads of giants slain by her, and a string of

skulls round her neck, dancing on the breast of her husband (Mahakala),

with gaping mouth and protruding tongue; and when she has to be

propitiated by the slaughter of goats, sheep and buffaloes. On other

occasions also Vamacharis commonly offer animal sacrifices, usually one

or more kids; the head of the victim, which has to be severed by a

single stroke, being always placed in front of the image of the goddess

as a blood-offering (_bali_), with an earthen lamp fed with ghee burning

above it, whilst the flesh is cooked and served to the guests attending

the ceremony, except that of buffaloes, which is given to the low-caste

musicians who perform during the service. Even some adherents of this

class have, however, discontinued animal sacrifices, and use certain

kinds of fruit, such as coco-nuts or pumpkins, instead. The use of wine,

which at one time was very common on these occasions, seems also to have

become much more restricted; and only members of the extreme section

would still seem to adhere to the practice of the so-called five _m's_

prescribed by some of the Tantras, viz. _mamsa_ (flesh), _matsya_

(fish), _madya_ (wine), _maithuna_ (sexual union), and _mudra_ (mystical

finger signs)--probably the most degrading cult ever practised under the

pretext of religious worship.

In connexion with the principal object of this cult, Tantric theory

has devised an elaborate system of female figures representing either

special forms and personifications or attendants of the "Great

Goddess." They are generally arranged in groups, the most important of

which are the _Mahavidyas_ (great sciences), the 8 (or 9) _Mataras_

(mothers) or _Mahamataras_ (great mothers), consisting of the wives of

the principal gods; the 8 _Nayikas_ or mistresses; and different

classes of sorceresses and ogresses, called _Yoginis_, _Dakinis_ and

_Sakinis_. A special feature of the Sakti cult is the use of obscure

Vedic _mantras_, often changed so as to be quite meaningless and on

that very account deemed the more efficacious for the acquisition of

superhuman powers; as well as of mystic letters and syllables called

_bija_ (germ), of magic circles (_chakra_) and diagrams (_yantra_),

and of amulets of various materials inscribed with formulae of fancied

mysterious import.

General conclusions.

This survey of the Indian sects will have shown how little the character

of their divine objects of worship is calculated to exert that elevating

and spiritualizing influence, so characteristic of true religious

devotion. In all but a few of the minor groups religious fervour is only

too apt to degenerate into that very state of sexual excitation which

devotional exercises should surely tend to repress. If the worship of

Siva, despite the purport of his chief symbol, seems on the whole less

liable to produce these undesirable effects than that of the rival

deity, it is doubtless due partly to the real nature of that emblem

being little realized by the common people, and partly to the somewhat

repellent character of the "great god," more favourable to evoking

feelings of awe and terror than a spirit of fervid devotion. All the

more are, however, the gross stimulants, connected with the adoration of

his consort, calculated to work up the carnal instincts of the devotees

to an extreme degree of sensual frenzy. In the Vaishnava camp, on the

other hand, the cult of Krishna, and more especially that of the

youthful Krishna, can scarcely fail to exert an influence which, if of a

subtler and more insinuating, is not on that account of a less

demoralizing kind. Indeed, it would be hard to find anything less

consonant with godliness and divine perfection than the pranks of this

juvenile god; and if poets and thinkers try to explain them away by dint

of allegorical interpretation, the plain man will not for all their

refinements take these amusing adventures any the less _au pied de la

lettre_. No fault, in this respect, can assuredly be found with the

legendary Rama, a very paragon of knightly honour and virtue, even as

his consort Sita is the very model of a noble and faithful wife; and yet

this cult has perhaps retained even more of the character of mere

hero-worship than that of Krishna. Since by the universally accepted

doctrine of _karman_ (deed) or _karmavipaka_ ("the maturing of deeds")

man himself--either in his present, or some future, existence--enjoys

the fruit of, or has to atone for, his former good and bad actions,

there could hardly be room in Hindu pantheism for a belief in the

remission of sin by divine grace or vicarious substitution. And

accordingly the "descents" or incarnations of the deity have for their

object, not so much the spiritual regeneration of man as the deliverance

of the world from some material calamity threatening to overwhelm it.

The generally recognized principal Avatars do not, however, by any means

constitute the only occasions of a direct intercession of the deity in

worldly affairs, but--in the same way as to this day the eclipses of the

sun and moon are ascribed by the ordinary Hindu to these luminaries

being temporarily swallowed by the dragon _Rahu_ (or _Graha_, "the

seizer")--so any uncommon occurrence would be apt to be set down as a

special manifestation of divine power; and any man credited with

exceptional merit or achievement, or even remarkable for some strange

incident connected with his life or death, might ultimately come to be

looked upon as a veritable incarnation of the deity, capable of

influencing the destinies of man, and might become an object of local

adoration or superstitious awe and propitiatory rites to multitudes of

people. That the transmigration theory, which makes the spirit of the

departed hover about for a time in quest of a new corporeal abode, would

naturally lend itself to superstitious notions of this kind can scarcely

be doubted. Of peculiar importance in this respect is the worship of the

_Pitris_ ("fathers") or deceased ancestors, as entering largely into the

everyday life and family relations of the Hindus. At stated intervals to

offer reverential homage and oblations of food to the forefathers up to

the third degree is one of the most sacred duties the devout Hindu has

to discharge. The periodical performance of the commemorative rite of

obsequies called _Sraddha_--i.e. an oblation "made in faith" (_sraddha_,

Lat. _credo_)--is the duty and privilege of the eldest son of the

deceased, or, failing him, of the nearest relative who thereby

establishes his right as next of kin in respect of inheritance; and

those other relatives who have the right to take part in the ceremony

are called _sapinda_, i.e. sharing in the _pindas_ (or balls of cooked

rice, constituting along with libations of water the usual offering to

the Manes)--such relationship being held a bar to intermarriage. The

first _Sraddha_ takes place as soon as possible after the _antyeshti_

("final offering") or funeral ceremony proper, usually spread over ten

days; being afterwards repeated once a month for a year, and

subsequently at every anniversary and otherwise voluntarily on special

occasions. Moreover, a simple libation of water should be offered to the

Fathers twice daily at the morning and evening devotion called _sandhya_

("twilight"). It is doubtless a sense of filial obligation coupled with

sentiments of piety and reverence that gave rise to this practice of

offering gifts of food and drink to the deceased ancestors. Hence also

frequent allusion is made by poets to the anxious care caused to the

Fathers by the possibility of the living head of the family being

afflicted with failure of offspring; this dire prospect compelling them

to use but sparingly their little store of provisions, in case the

supply should shortly cease altogether. At the same time one also meets

with frank avowals of a superstitious fear lest any irregularity in the

performance of the obsequial rites should cause the Fathers to haunt

their old home and trouble the peace of their undutiful descendant, or

even prematurely draw him after them to the Pitri-loka or world of the

Fathers, supposed to be located in the southern region. Terminating as

it usually does with the feeding and feeing of a greater or less number

of Brahmans and the feasting of members of the performers' own caste,

the Sraddha, especially its first performance, is often a matter of very

considerable expense; and more than ordinary benefit to the deceased is

supposed to accrue from it when it takes place at a spot of recognized

sanctity, such as one of the great places of pilgrimage like Prayaga

(Allahabad, where the three sacred rivers, Ganga, Yamuna and Sarasvati,

meet), Mathura, and especially Gaya and Kasi (Benares). But indeed the

_tirtha-yatra_, or pilgrimage to holy bathing-places, is in itself

considered an act of piety conferring religious merit in proportion to

the time and trouble expended upon it. The number of such places is

legion and is constantly increasing. The banks of the great rivers such

as the Ganga (Ganges), the Yamuna (Jumna), the Narbada, the Krishna

(Kistna), are studded with them, and the water of these rivers is

supposed to be imbued with the essence of sanctity capable of cleansing

the pious bather of all sin and moral taint. To follow the entire course

of one of the sacred rivers from the mouth to the source on one side and

back again on the other in the sun-wise (pradakshina) direction--that

is, always keeping the stream on one's right-hand side--is held to be a

highly meritorious undertaking which it requires years to carry through.

No wonder that water from these rivers, especially the Ganges, is sent

and taken in bottles to all parts of India to be used on occasion as

healing medicine or for sacramental purposes. In Vedic times, at the

_Rajasuya_, or inauguration of a king, some water from the holy river

Sarasvati was mixed with the sprinkling water used for consecrating the

king. Hence also sick persons are frequently conveyed long distances to

a sacred river to heal them of their maladies; and for a dying man to

breathe his last at the side of the Ganges is devoutly believed to be

the surest way of securing for him salvation and eternal bliss.

Such probably was the belief of the ordinary Hindu two thousand years

ago, and such it remains to this day. In the light of facts such as

these, who could venture to say what the future of Hinduism is likely

to be? Is the regeneration of India to be brought about by the modern

theistic movements, such as the Brahma-samaj and Arya-samaj, as so

close and sympathetic an observer of Hindu life and thought as Sir A.

Lyall seems to think? "The Hindu mind," he remarks, "is essentially

speculative and transcendental; it will never consent to be shut up in

the prison of sensual experience, for it has grasped and holds firmly

the central idea that all things are manifestations of some power

outside phenomena. And the tendency of contemporary religious

discussion in India, so far as it can be followed from a distance, is

towards an ethical reform on the old foundations, towards searching

for some method of reconciling their Vedic theology with the practices

of religion taken as a rule of conduct and a system of moral

government. One can already discern a movement in various quarters

towards a recognition of impersonal theism, and towards fixing the

teaching of the philosophical schools upon some definitely authorized

system of faith and morals, which may satisfy a rising ethical

standard, and may thus permanently embody that tendency to substitute

spiritual devotion for external forms and caste rules which is the

characteristic of the sects that have from time to time dissented from

orthodox Brahminism."

AUTHORITIES.--_Census of India_ (1901), vol. i. part i.; _India_, by

H. H. Risley and E. A. Gait; vol. i. _Ethnographical Appendices_, by

H. H. Risley; _The Indian Empire_, vol. i. (new ed., Oxford, 1907); J.

Muir, _Original Sanskrit Texts_ (2nd ed., 5 vols., London, 1873);

Monier Williams, _Religious Thought and Life in India_ (London, 1883);

_Modern India and the Indians_ (London, 1878, 3rd ed. 1879);

_Hinduism_ (London, 1877); Sir Alfred C. Lyall, _Asiatic Studies_ (2

series, London, 1899); "Hinduism" in _Religious Systems of the World_

(London, 1904); "Brahminism" in _Great Religions of the World_ (New

York and London, 1902); W. J. Wilkins, _Modern Hinduism_ (London,

1887); J. C. Oman, _Indian Life, Religious and Social_ (London, 1879);

_The Mystics, Ascetics and Saints of India_ (London, 1903); _The

Brahmans, Theists and Muslims of India_ (London, 1907); S. C. Bose,

_The Hindus as they are_ (2nd ed., Calcutta, 1883); J. Robson,

_Hinduism and Christianity_ (Edinburgh and London, 3rd ed., 1905); J.

Murray Mitchell, _Hinduism Past and Present_ (2nd ed., London, 1897);

Jogendra Nath Bhattacharya, _Hindu Castes and Sects_ (Calcutta, 1896);

A. Barth, _The Religions of India_ (London, 1882); E. W. Hopkins, _The

Religions of India_ (London, 1896). (J. E.)