im, to reward her votaries. It is true that the "Come unto
me" is not distinctly expressed, but it is surely struggling for
expression.[429] Again, in the Kaushitaki Upanishad (III. 1 and 2)
Indra says to Pratardana, who had asked him for a boon, "Know me only:
that is, what I deem most beneficial to man, that he should know
me.... He who meditates on me as life and immortality gains his full
life in this world and in heaven immortality." Here the relation of
the devotee to the deity is purely intellectual not emotional, but the
idea that intellectual devotion directed to a particular deity will be
rewarded is clearly present. In the Rig Veda this same Indra is
called a deliverer and advocate; a friend, a brother and a father;
even a father and mother in one. Here the worshipper does not talk of
_bhakti_ because he does not analyze his feelings, but clearly these
phrases are inspired by affectionate devotion.

Nor is the spirit of _bhakti_ absent from Buddhism. The severe
doctrine of the older schools declares that the Buddha is simply a
teacher and that every man must save himself. But since the teacher is
the source of the knowledge which saves, it is natural to feel for him
grateful and affectionate devotion. This sentiment permeates the two
books of poems called Thera and Therigatha and sometimes finds clear
expression.[430] In the commentary on the Dhammapada[431] the doctrine
of salvation by devotion is affirmed in its extreme form, namely that
a dying man who has faith in the Buddha will be reborn in heaven. But
this commentary is not of early date and the doctrine quoted is
probably an instance of the Hinayana borrowing the attractive features
of the Mahayana. The sutras about Amitabha's paradise, which were
composed about the time of the Christian era and owe something to
Persian though not to Christian influence, preach faith in Amitabha as
the whole of religion. They who believe in him and call on his name
will go to heaven.

When bhakti was once accepted as a part of Indian religion, it was
erected into a principle, analogous or superior to knowledge and was
defined in Sutras[432] similar to those of the Sankhya and Vedanta.
But its importance in philosophy is small, whereas its power as an
impulse in popular religion has been enormous. To estimate its moral
and intellectual value is difficult, for like so much in Hinduism it
offers the sharpest contrasts. Its obvious manifestations may seem to
be acts of