Vaish.navism, and will probably end by establishing its power as firmly
in this sect as in any other.

Although the institution of love towards the divine nature, and the
doctrine that this love was reciprocated, were certainly a great
improvement on the morbid gloom of Siva-worship, the colourless
negativeness of Buddhism, and the childish intricacy of ceremonies
which formed the religion of the mass of ordinary Hindus, still we
cannot find much to admire in it. There seems to be something almost
contradictory in representing the highest and purest emotions of the
mind by images drawn from the lowest and most animal passions.


"Ut matrona meretrici dispar erit atque discolor."


So must also Vaish.navism differ from true religion, the flesh from the
spirit, the impure from the pure. The singing of hymns about Radha and
K.rish.na is much older than Chaitanya's age. Not to mention Jayadeva
and his beautiful, though sensual, Gitagovinda. [Footnote: It is many
years now since I read Gitagovinda as a text-book at college, but the
impression I still retain is that it was in many parts far too warm for
European tastes.] Bidyapati, the earliest of Bengali poets, and
Cha.n.di Das both preceded Chaitanya, and he himself is stated to have
been fond of singing their verses. There was therefore a considerable
mass of hymns ready to his hand, and his contemporaries and followers
added largely to the number; the poems of the _Padakalpataru_ in
consequence are of all ages from the fifteenth century downwards;
moreover, as Vaish.navism aspires to be a religion for the masses, the
aim of its supporters has always been to write in the vulgar tongue, a