MONASTICISM
460
MONASTICISM
Sonncrat, and others.) The manner of the construction of these caves of India and Arabia leads to the supposi- tion that they were ortf/imil/i/ intended for monkish abodes, and, if so, the exceedini^ f^reat antiquity of mo- nasticism can no longer be doubted. These temples and caves are the oldest monuments of the countries in which they arc found.
2. Earliest icritten I/istoiy of Monachism. — If from these monuments we descend to an examination of the ■written books of the ancients, and search in " The Na- batii-an Agriculture," which is believed to have been written about the time of Nebuchadnezzar (or B.C. 600), we find in this historj' of Chaldaia, reaching back sev- eral thousands of years before the beginning of the Christian tera, that in the verj' earliest historj- of which this work gives any account there flourished Azada, an apostle of Saturn, who " founded the religion of renun- ciation or asceticism," and that " his partisans and fol- lowers were the subjects of persecution by the higher and cultivated classes ; but that to the mass of the peo- ple, on the contrarj', they were the objects of the high- est veneration." Another ascetic whom it mentions flourished about B.C. 2000. He is said to have inveigh- ed against tlie godliness of those who believed it possi- ble to preserve the human body from decay, after death, by the employment of certain natural agents. "Not by natural means," warmly replies Dhagrit, "can man preserve bis body from corruption and dissolution after death, but only through good deeds, nlii/ions exercises, and offering of sacrifices — by invoking the gods by their great and beautiful names — by j^rmjcrs durinf/ the night, and fasts diiriiif/ the day.'' Then Dhagrit goes on, in his monkish zeal, to give the names of various saints of Babylonian antiquity whose bodies had long been pre- served, after death, from corruption and change, and says: "These men had distinguished themselves by piety, by abstemiousness, and by their manner of life, ■which resembled that of angels; and the gods, there- fore, by their grace, had preserved the bodies of these men from corruption ; whereby those of later times, in view of the same, were encouraged in piety, and in the imitation of those holy modes of life." See Chwolson, Uebcr die Ueberreste der nltbabylonischen Literaiiir (St, Petersburg, 1859) ; M. le Baron de St. Croix, Recherches Ulstoriques et Critiques sur les Myst'eres du Paganisme (Paris, 1817).
Turning from these written sources, still the subjects of much discussion as to their authenticity, to the well- established records of India, Persia, and China, the old- est written records in existence aside from the sacred Scriptures (viz. the Veda [q. v.] and the Laws of JIanu [q. v.| — the sacred books of the Brahmins; the Zend- Avesta [q. V.]— the sacred book of the Persians or Zoro- astrians; and the Shu-King [see Conix-cii;s]— the sa- cred book of China), we find the hoary parent of mo- nastic rule dwelling in the far East, and gathering obe- dient millions under her ample folds, long before the introduction of Christianity, even if we should trace Christian monasticism back to St. Bartholomew and St. Thomas.
Among the HindCls (q. v.), we learn from the Brah- minical writings — especially the Rig -Veda, portions of which are assigned to a period as far back as B.C. 2400, the Laws of Manu, whicli were certainly completed be- fore the rise of Buddhism (that is, six or seven centu- ries before our a>ra), and the numerous other sacred books of the Indian religi"n— that there was enjoined by example and precept entire abstraction of thought, se- clusion from tlie world, and a variety of penitential and meritorious acts of self-mortification, by which the dev- otee assumes a proud superiority over the vulgar herd of mortals, and is absorbed at last into the divine foun- tain of all being. Says Spence Hardy. "Tiie practice of asceticism is so interwoven with Brahminism, \uKler all the phases it has assumed, that we cannot realize its existence apart from the principles of the ascetic." (Comjmre Wilson, Asiatic Researches, xvi, 38; I'avie, in
Revue des deux Mondes, 1854; Hardwick, Christ and other Masters, i, 351.)
3. Probable Origin of Eastern ^fonachism. — "At an early period of the present a-ra of Brahminic manifesta- tion," the legend goes, in the Rig -Veda, "Dhruva, the son of Cttanapada, the son of Manu Swayambhuva, who was ' born of and one with Brahma,' began to per- form penance, as tnjuined by the sages, on the banks of the Yamuna. Wliile his mind was wholly absorbed in meditation, the mighty Hari, identical with all natures, took possession of his heart. Vishnu being thus pres- ent in his mind, the earth, the supporter of elemental life, could not sustain the weight of the ascetic. The celestials called Yamas, being excessively alarmed, then took counsel with Indra how they should interrupt the devout exercises of Dhruva; and the divine beings termed Kushmandas, in company with their king, com- menced anxious efforts to distract his meditations. One, assuming the semblance of his mother, Suniti, stood weeping before him, and calling in tender accents, ' Jly son, my son, desist from destroying thy strength by this fearful penance ! What hast thou, a child but five years old, to do with rigorous penance ? Desist from such fearful jiracticcs, that yield no beneficial fruit. First comes the season of youthful pastime, and when that is over it is the time for study ; then succeeds the period of worldly enjoyments; and.lastly, that of austere devo- tion. This is thy season of pastime, my child. Hast thou engaged in these practices to put an end to exist- ence ? Thy chief duty is love for me ; duties are ac- cording to time of life. Lose not thyself in bewildering error — desist from such unrighteous actions. If not, if thou wilt not desist from these austerities, I will termi- nate my life before thee.' But Dhruva, being wholly intent on seeing Vishnu, beheld not his mother weeping in his presence, and calling upon him ; and the illusion, crying out, ' Fly, fly, my child ; the hideous spirits of ill are crowding into this terrible forest with uplifted weap- ons,' quickly disappeared. Then advanced frightful rakshasas, wielding terrible arms, and with countenan- ces emitting fiery Hame ; and nocturnal fiends thronged around the prince, uttering fearful noises, and whirling and tossing their threatening weapons. Hundreds of jackals, from whose mouths gushed flame as they de- voured their prey, were howling around to appall the boy, wholly engrossed by meditation. The goblins called out, ' Kill him ! kill him ! — cut him to pieces ! — eat him ! eat him !' and monsters, with the faces of camels and crocodiles and lions, roared and yelled with horrible cries to terrify the prince. But all these un- couth speeches, appalling cries, and threatening weap- ons made no impression upon his senses, whose mind was completely intent on Govinda. The son of the monarch of the earth, engrossed by one idea, beheld un- interruiitedly Vishnu seated in his soul, and saw no other object." How like the legends of Christian mon- achism are these pagan descriptions ! The desert has always been the abode of asceticism, whose devotees, in their struggle against the flesh, peopled its sands with horrible monsters of every kind — with devils, hobgob- lins, and giants, who (in the minds of the people) have held possession ever since. The Vedas also command that the tonsure be performed, but, so far as known, they prescribed no rules with regard to the monastic life. Their teachings seem to be contined solely to asceticism. On the other hand, in the Laws of Manu rules are given for the conduct of monastics ; and, as these rules were in the possession of the peojile of India long before they were committed to writing, it is no wonder that monas- ticism is believed to have been practiced for thousands of years before the time of Christ. Hardwick. by no means a superficial student, is led even, in the face of these conditions, to say that " India was the real birth- place of monasticism" {Christ and other Masters, i.351).