“Welcome, the lord of light and lamp of day; Welcome, fosterer of tender herbis green; Welcome, quickener of flourished flowers’ sheen; Welcome, support of every root and vein; Welcome, comfort of all kind fruits and grain; Welcome, the bird’s green beild upon the brier; Welcome, master and ruler of the year; Welcome, welfare of husbands at the ploughs; Welcome, repairer of woods, trees, and boughs; Welcome, depainter of the bloomit meads; Welcome, the life of everything that spreads.” And because it was all this, and more, the Hindu saw in it something greater than a mere luminary,--a planetary body; he endowed it with Divine attributes, he made it a god, he gave it his worship, and by an elaborate symbolism kept it ever before him. A necessary consequence of this deification of the sun was the deification of the other bodies that shared with him the firmament; but as they were inferior in splendour and utility, they naturally became recognized as inferior gods. And when once the religious feeling of humanity had gone thus far, its further development became only a question of time. The homage given to the stars was soon extended to the winds and streams and groves. A legion of gods sprang into existence, and for a while they seemed to satisfy the needs and aspirations of humanity. But as the thoughts of men expanded, as their intellect ripened with the ages, and grew strong enough to doubt, and bold enough to question the conclusions of the common faith, a revolt took place against “the contradictions of a mythological phraseology, though it had been hallowed by sacred customs and traditions.” Men grew tired of so complex and cumbrous a religious system, and having observed a definite fundamental unity of nature in spite of the diversity of its operations, they came to believe in a similar unity of the Divine Power. The idea of a supreme authority once entertained, men soon understood that supremacy meant oneness; that if there were a God over all, He must be one and indivisible. One of the earliest proclamations of this sublime truth is found in the Rig-Veda, which says:[3]-- “That which is one the sages speak of in many ways--they call it Agni, Yama, Malarisvan.” And again:[4]-- “In the beginning there came the Source of golden light--He was the only true Lord of all that is--He stablished the earth and this sky:--Who is God to whom we shall offer our sacrifice? “He who gives life, He who gives strength; whose blessing all the bright gods desire; whose shadow is immortality; whose shadow is death:--Who is the God to whom we shall offer our sacrifice? “He who through His power is the only King of the breathing and awakening world; He who governs all, man and beast:--Who is the God to whom we shall offer our sacrifice?