I、ODUCT觅ON。 24) under a thin outward coating of the Vaisnava religion. In Nepal the Buddhists call themselves “Gubhājus’ which is a contraction of the word “Gurubhajãs or the worshippers of the Guru, while the Hindus call themselves Debhājus or the worshippers of the Devās.” The Kartābhajã and the Gurubhajã have an identical meaning, the word Kartā and the Guru both signifying a religious preceptor. They are, as I have said, a sect of the Sahajiyās, and the views of this class of men will be found in the songs of Chandidas who was one of them, and in the writings of many others who called themselves Vaişņavas. When dealing with the ideal of romantic love of the Sahajiyās, we must always bear in mind that it is a part of their religious creed and is not a factor of the social evolution of the Hindus. The Sahajiyās themselves seem to entertain and excuse this ideal merely as a means to attain salvation—as a Sadhana and condemn it in a man of society. They accordingly keep their views strictly secret, and reveal them only to the initiated after they have passed through a number of tests. They believe that a man's proper advancement and progress in the The creed of the spiritual world must be by those means which Sahajiyās. are available to every one. God should be approached by love alone, but no one can realize this love without first loving a human being. The Sahajiyās maintain that the highest form of love is to be attained, not by shunning the company of women but by worshipping and loving them. Love between man and woman is the sahaja or the natural path; and by suppressing this holy flame that God has given to us, it is impossible to illuminate our spiritual path. They recommend that one should cultivate the feeling of devotion and the selfless spirit of sacrifice by loving another man's wife. This is called Parakiyā. They are not prepared to accept the orthodox standard of wifely fidelity as a true test of love. The true wife is applauded in society and she is given the promise of reward in the next world. These considerations must have led many a Sati to burn herself on the funeral pyre of her husband. How far a Sitä or a Sãvitri, reputed for devotion to husband, was guided by love alone in her career of wifely fidelity remains to be determined. The applause of her own kith and kin, and her glorification by society as a chaste woman and a martyr, might have played an important part in making her undergo the sacrifices that she did. It is difficult to separate the alloy from the gold in these cases. It is only when a woman loves a man other than her husband and sticks to him with steadfast devotion, that she can be said to pass the true test. The society in which she lives abandons her. She has nothing but infamy and contempt from her own people. Even her parents
- See M. Hara Prasād Shāstri's preface to “Modern Buddhism" by Nagendranāth Vasu.
