The Inner Conflict of Tradition: Essays in Indian Ritual, Kingship, and Society c10.6

c10.6

The question is not without importance. For, if Professor Biardeau is right and the Hindu's life and thought are governed by the ritual order of sacrifice, then Hinduism, notwithstanding its notorious variety, is contained in an all but monolithic structure. But this means that the Hindu would be constrained to live under the rule of an unforgiving ritual order. More than that, the ritual order, geared as it is to sacrifice, brings with it a constant nearness of the transcendent. A life in unremitting proximity to the transcendent, though perhaps not unthinkable, is exceptional. It is hard to imagine a society based on these premises.