The Religion of the Veda: The Ancient Religion of India (from Rig-Veda to Upanishads) c9.s1.28

c9.s1.28

So far so good. All that is still a development of the idea of faith in harmony with a decent belief in personal gods. Unfortunately, the Vedic conception of faith, at least the prominent or average conception sinks to a much lower plane. In the main and in the end, faith expresses itself in works, and the Brahmans who are anything but mealy-mouthed have seen to it that they shall be benefited by these works. In other words, he who gives baksheesh (*dakshinā*) to the Brahmans, he has faith (*çraddhā*). In a hymn that is otherwise not badly pitched the poet requests the personified goddess Faith to make his poetic work take well with the liberal sacrificer, and to make him persona grata "with him that giveth, and him that shall give."¹ An exceedingly interesting hymn of the Atharva-Veda, not at all wanting in poetic inspiration, is addressed to the demoness "Grudge," or "Avarice." The name of the lady is Arāti. Of course she is primarily an abstraction. Yet she appears as a full-fledged person: she has a golden complexion, is lovely, rests upon golden cushions; is in fact quite an Apsaras, or "schoene Teufelinne," as the old German poetry has it in for Venus. With all her charms she is coaxed to go away: