( 8 ) , idolatry even where it has been grafted upon the simple truths" of Christianity; and there is no difficulty in understanding how it should have taken this course in Hindustam.' Mills British India , Vol. I page 383. Wilson's Note. A few references will confirm our hypothesis. , * Narud :-What is his likeness Bramha:—He hath no likeness: but to stamp some idea of him upon the minds of men, who can not believe in immaterial being, he is represented under various symbolical forms. Narud — What image shall we conceive of him? Bramha:—If your imagination can not arise to devotion without an image; suppose with yourself, that his eyes are like the lotus, his complexion like a cloud, his clothing of the lightning of heaven and that he hath four hands. Narud:—Why should we think of the Almighty in this form 2 Brahma: –“His eyes may be compared to the lotus, to show that they are always open, like that flower, which the greatest depth of water can not surmount. His complexion, being like that of a cloud, is an emblem of that darkness with which he veils himself from mortal eyes. His clothing is of lightning to express that awful majesty which surrounds him ; and his four hands are symbols of his strength and almighty power.” Bedang— T}ow's Dissertation, page 48. Eusebius has assured us that the ancient Brahmans worshipped no image, Many thousands of them who are called Brahmans, according to the doctrine of their ancestors and their laws, do not shed blood, neither do they worship idols. Abul Fazel, who examined the Brahminical theology with the greatest attention, arrived at the same conclusion. “They all believe in the unity of the Godhead, and although they hold images in higi veneration, it is only because they represent celestial beings
