Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c10.s3.2

c10.s3.2

The difficulty is increased by the fact that Bengal Vaisnavism inherits and blends into its texture much of the recognised ethical and social ideas of larger Indian thought. Although evolved within the fold of orthodoxy, the Bengal faith is not strictly orthodox; but it is not heterodox in the sense that it rejects the Veda or ignores the institution of caste or Karman. If it does not accept Vedic rites and deities, it is because they have long since been replaced by those of Puranic worship and mythology. But it still accepts the social prestige and divinely appointed duties of caste, although its rigidness is tempered, at least in devotional matters, by a growing sense of equality and fellowship and by a belief in the levelling grace of divine mercy. The doctrine of Karman and rebirth also mitigates the sense of injustice in human relations; for it is no longer regarded as a blind and mechanical dogma, but as an intrinsically ethical idea of a cosmic, but divinely directed, power of righteousness, devotion alone being regarded, theistically, as supremely capable of nullifying the inexorable fruits of action.