পাতা:Vanga Sahitya Parichaya Part 1.djvu/৩৬

28 INTIRODUCTION. are called, and a man born blind cannot contemplate the dark-blue colour of Krisna like that of a new-formed cloud. So one who has not a true knowledge of the Deity within him cannot realize God by his mind alone which is the receptacle of the impressions produced by the five senses. Now tell me whether you do possess a knowledge of God or not?' “The Inquirer–o I am without any knowledge of God. I never heard God speak to me, nor ever felt His touch on my person, nor did I touch the food partaken first by Him. My nose never smelt the sweet scent emanating from His person. And now I understand that the existence of Krisna is unreal to me.” “The Sādhu– You had formerly heard that the Vedas originated from the mouth of God and that in them is written what is good and what is evil. Tell me if you consider the Vedas to be true.” “The Inquirer—“As Krisna, the god of the universe, is now unreal to me, the Vedas which are said to have emanated from him are necessarily unreal. So are the definitions of vice and virtue given in them. It is written in the Shāstras of the Brahmins themselves that vice and virtue are unreal and so are father, mother, and one's own self, and all that one says and does. Now I should be silent and speak no more. I only want to hear what your Holiness will be pleased to say.” “The Sādhu—“Tell me when does a man become silent for ever in this world P “The Inquirer—“When a man dies he becomes silent for ever.’ “The Sādhu—“As you profess yourself to be silent, tell me whether you are living or dead?” “The Inquirer–o I have not been able to realise God by my five senses, so you may take me for dead.” “The Sādhu– Now the life of your ignorance is dead, and now forget Are you living or for ever those false doctrines which you read in your dead 2 false Shāstras. You will now be born anew with true knowledge which I am going to give you.’ In the above extracts the reader will see the attacks made on Brähmanism and even on Vaisnavism itself which the Sahajiyā-writer outwardly professes. The Kartābhajãs, who are a sect of Sahajiyās, also hold strange theories which upset the whole moral fabric of our society. In the supplement I have appended some songs by Lål Shashi, a Kartābhajã. These are of a mystic nature and unintelligible, except to the initiated. The literature of this sect is a field worth exploring, for it undoubtedly shows Buddhistic elements though