[Sidenote: Hardly any fetichism in the Rig Veda.]
In the religion of the Rig Veda we hardly see fetichism--if by fetichism
we mean the worship of small physical objects, such as stones, shells,
plants, etc., which are believed to be charged (so to speak) with
divinity, though this appears in the fourth Veda--the Atharva. But even
in the Rig Veda almost any object that is grand, beneficent, or terrible
may be adored; and implements associated with worship are themselves
worshiped. Thus, the war-chariot, the plow, the furrow, etc., are
prayed to.
[Sidenote: Early tendency toward pantheism.]
A pantheistic conception of nature was also present in the Indian mind
from very early times, although its development was later. Even in the
earliest hymns any portion of nature with which man is brought into
close relation may be adored.[6]
[Sidenote: Reverence of the dead.]
We must on no account overlook the reverence paid to the dead. The
_pitris_ (_patres_) or fathers are frequently referred to in the Veda.
They are clearly distinguished from the _devas_ or gods. In later
writings they are also distinguished from men, as having been created
separately from them; but this idea does not appear in the Veda.
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