| That is why Hindu
society as a whole despises, though it-may not be able to resist, those nations who are
prone to sensuality and drunkenness, to greed and violence. Thus in unity amidst variety,
which is vividly brought home to the masses through many a symbol and image, lies the
strength of Hinduism. Many foreign critics are blind to the unity, and,
looking only at the
variety, call Hinduism mere polytheism or mythology. But had it not been for its underlying
philosophical unity, which is recognized by even the most illiterate peasant who places a
few flowers on the altar of his village deity, the religion of the Hindus would have
perished long ago, as the religions of Greeks and the Romans, of the Egyptians and the
Mexicans perished and have been forgotten.
|
