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14 Works of Pandit Guru Datta Vidyarthi
unfounded. Yes, in a land where lofty trees never grow, even
ricinus
communis
or the castor-oil plant may be called an oak. The study
of Sanskrit being altogether out of question in Europe, the Germans
and Professor Max Muller may there have come to be regarded as
highest authorities. I came to learn from a letter of a Principal
of some German University, that even men learned enough to
interpret a Sanskrit letter are rare in Germany. I have also made it
plain from the study of Max Miiller's "History of Sanskrit
Literature" and his comments on some
mantras
of the Veda, that
Professor Max Muller has been able only to scribble out something
by the help of the so-called
tikas,
or paraphrases of the Vedas,
current in India."*
It is this want of Vedic scholarship among European scholars,
this utter
ignorance
of Vedic language and philosophy that is the
cause of so much misimpression and prejudice even in our own
country. We are, indeed, so often authoritatively told by our fellow-
brethern who have received the highest English education but are
themselves entirely ignorant of Sanskrit, that the Vedas are books
that teach idol-worship or element worship, they contain no
philosophical, moral or scientific truths of any great consequence,
unless they be the commonest truisms of the kitchen. It is therefore
a matter of greatest concern to learn to attach proper value to the
interpretations of these European scholars. We propose, therefore,
to present a rough outline of these general principles, according to
which Vedic terms should be interpreted, but which European
scholars entirely ignore; and hence much of the misinterpretation
that has grown up.
In the discussion of philosophical subjects, pre-conceived
notions are the worst enemies to encounter. They not only
prejudicially bias the mind, but also take away that truthfulness
and honest integrity from the soul, which alone are compatible with
the righteous pursuit and discernment of TRUTH. In the treatment
of a question such as the estimation of the value of a system of
philosophy or religion, extreme sobriety and impartiality of the mind
are required. Nor is it to be supposed that a religious or
philosophical system can be at once mastered by a mere
* Swami Dayananda, Satyartha Prakasha, 11th chapter