The Religions of India c24.3

c24.3

All these religions, however, whether aboriginal or imported, must again be separated from the more general phenomena of superstition which are preserved in the beliefs of the native wild tribes. One descends here to that lowest of rank undergrowth which represents a type of religious life so base that its undifferentiated form can be mated with like growths from all over the world. These secondary religions are, therefore, important from two points of view, that of their universal aspect, and, again, that of their historical connection with the upper Indic growth above them;¹ for it is almost certain that some of their features have conditioned the development of the latter.