,india's ,problem ,krishna or ,christ ,by ,john ,p4 ,jones1 ,d4,d4 of ,southern ,india1 ,a4 ,b4 ,c4 ,f4 ,m4 ,new ,york1 ,chicago1 ,toronto ,fleming ,h4 ,revell ,company #aijc ,,contents ,dedication4 ,preface4 ,chapter ,i4 ,the ,land ,and ,the ,people4 #a4 ,the ,physical ,features of ,that ,land4 #b4 ,the ,people4 #c4 ,economic ,conditions4 #d4 ,social ,life4 7a7 ,the ,family4 7b7 ,society4 #e4 ,the ,educational ,system4 #f4 ,the ,political ,situation4 #g4 ,the ,government of ,india4 #h4 ,the ,mission of ,great ,britain in ,india4 ,chapter ,,ii4 ,the ,religions ,of ,india4 7a7 ,judaism4 7b7 ,mohammedanism4 7c7 ,parseeism4 7d7 ,buddhism4 7e7 ,jainism4 7f7 ,sikhism4 7g7 ,hinduism4 7a7 ,incarnation4 7b7 ,vicarious ,atonement4 7c7 ,spirituality4 7d7 ,eschatology4 7e7 ,the ,doctrine of ,faith4 ,chapter ,,iii4 ,hinduism ,and ,christianity ,contrasted4 #a4 ,in their ,initial ,conceptions4 #b4 ,their ,ultimate ,aim or ,goal4 #c4 ,the ,agency and ,means ,recognized and ,appealed to by those ,faiths ,respectively4 #d4 ,the ,processes of ,these ,two ,religions4 #e4 ,the ,ideals of the ,two ,faiths4 #f4 ,the ,credentials of the ,two ,faiths4 #g4 ,other ,distinguishing ,traits4 ,conclusion4 ,chapter ,,iv4 ,the ,products ,of ,the ,two ,faiths ,in ,india4 ,the ,hindu ,and ,the ,native ,christian--,a ,study4 #a4 ,and ,first1 ,the ,hindu4 #b4 ,let us ,now ,study ,the ,native ,christian4 ,chapter ,v4 ,the ,women ,of ,india4 ,chapter ,,vi4 ,the ,history ,of ,christian ,effort ,in ,india4 ,chapter ,,vii4 ,the ,missionary4 #a4 ,physical ,fitness4 #b4 ,his ,methods of ,life4 #c4 ,the ,intellectual ,ability and ,educational ,training of the ,missionary4 #d4 ,spiritual ,qualifications4 #e4 ,the ,missionary's ,attitude ,towards the ,non-,christian ,world4 #f4 ,the ,relationship ,which the ,missionary ,sustains to the ,missionary ,society and the ,churches ,which ,support ,him4 #g4 ,the ,missionary and the ,mission ,to ,which ,he ,belongs4 #h4 ,the ,relation of the ,missionary to the ,people ,among ,whom ,he ,lives4 ,chapter ,,viii4 ,missionary ,organization4 7a7 ,the ,evangelistic ,department4 7b7 ,pastoral ,work4 7c7 ,the ,educational ,department4 ,schools for ,non-,christians4 ,schools for ,christian ,children4 ,training ,institutions for ,mission ,agents4 7d7 ,literary ,work4 7e7 ,medical ,work4 7f7 ,work for ,women4 7g7 ,work for the ,young4 7h7 ,organizations for the ,special ,activities of the ,native ,christian ,community4 ,chapter ,,ix4 ,present ,day ,missionary ,problems4 ,chapter ,x4 ,missionary ,results4 ,chapter ,,xi4 ,missionary ,results--7,continued7 ,index4 ,footnotes ,,dedication4 ,to ,my ,wife ,without whom the following pages could not have been written4 ,illustration3 ,a ,typical ,buddhist ,priest4 8,yes1 it shall come6 ,e'en now my eyes behold1 ,in distant view1 the wish'd for age unfold1 ,lo1 o'er the shadowy days that roll between1 ,a wand'ring gleam foretells th' ascending scene4 ,oh1 doom'd victorious from thy wounds to rise1 ,dejected ,india1 lift thy downcast eyes1 ,and mark the hour1 whose faithful steps for thee ,through ,time's press'd ranks bring on the ,jubilee60 ,,preface4 ,the following pages are1 practically1 the result of a course of lectures given1 on the ,hyde foundation1 at the ,andover ,theological ,seminary in the fall of #aijb4 ,some of the chapters were also used in lectures1 delivered during the year1 at the ,yale and ,hartford ,theological ,seminaries and at the ,western ,reserve ,university4 ,small portions have appeared in ,reviews and ,magazines but have been much changed in the transfer4 ,the cordial welcome accorded the lectures1 including an expressed desire that they be published1 has led to their appearance in this more permanent form4 ,india should be better known to ,europe and ,america4 ,i trust that the following pages may help the student to understand the vast country and to realise the greatness of the problems connected with ,christian work in the land2 may they also stir within many a strong desire to present ,christ to that great people1 and inspire a hope in the ultimate and speedy triumph of our cause in the land of the ,vedas4 ,i gratefully express my indebtedness to the ,rev4 ,j4 ,l4 ,barton1 ,d4 ,d41 for his valuable suggestions and kindly sympathy1 and also to the ,rev4 ,w4 ,p4 ,elwood for his kind help in proofreading4 ,john ,p4 ,jones4 ,pasumalai1 ,so4 ,india4 ,chapter ,i4 ,,the ,,land ,,and ,,the ,,people4 ,no country in the ,orient is of greater interest to the ,west today than is ,india4 ,it is picturesque in its life1 wonderful in its history1 remarkable in its present conditions and fascinating in its promise for the future4 ,it is a land most worthy of study both for what it has been1 for what it is and for what it is to become2 as the arena for the greatest conflict upon which our ,faith and ,civilization have ever entered2 and for their most magnificent triumph in the world4 ,moreover1 ,india is now peculiarly wedded to the ,anglo-,saxon race4 ,for good or for evil the destiny of that country1 socially1 politically1 intellectually and religiously1 is linked with that of the ,anglo-,saxon2 and we1 as a part of the ,anglo-,saxon race1 cannot1 even if we would1 shake off our connection with1 and responsibility for1 it4 #a4 ,the ,physical ,features of ,that ,land4 ,it is a very extensive land4 ,more a continent than a country1 it stretches1 from east to west1 a distance of #a1ijj miles2 and it extends the same distance from the ,himalayas on the north to ,cape ,comorin on the south4 ,it covers an area equal to one-half of that of the ,united ,states4 ,it is physically divided into three portions4 ,the first1 on the north1 includes the ,himalaya ,mountains1 which separate it from the rest of ,asia and which furnish an important element in the meteorological conditions of the country4 ,then from the base of this mountain range extend the plains of the great rivers which issue from the mountains themselves4 ,again1 from the southern boundaries of these plains gradually rises a very extensive three-sided table-land reaching towards the coast on both eastern and western sides1 and extending to ,cape ,comorin on the south4 ,there may be added to this the narrow strips of coast-land on the east and west4 ,in the land are found some of the greatest and most wonderful rivers in the world4 ,the ,ganges1 which is the queen of ,indian rivers1 carries life and fertility to a population greater than that of the whole ,united ,states4 ,after a course of #a1eeg miles it empties1 into the ,bay of ,bengal1 #a1hjj1jjj cubic feet of water per second1 which is half as much again as the water of the ,mississippi1 and nearly six times as much as that of the ,nile at ,cairo4 ,it is a land wonderful in the variety of its climates4 ,it is difficult to imagine greater contrasts than those existing between the various climates of ,india--from the eternal snows in the north to the fierce and constant heat of the tropics in the south2 from the practically rainless expanse of the western plains of ,sind to the #fjj inches of rainfall which deluges the eastern mountain slopes4 ,no land is more extensively cultivated and none gives more fruit in return for human labour than ,india4 ,the ,ganges1 by the abundant silt which it carries1 brings fertility and fruitfulness to its valleys4 ,even the plains of ,sind1 which are nearly rainless1 are transformed into life by large irrigation schemes4 ,rice1 wheat and millets are the three staples of the country4 ,in the north1 wheat furnishes sixty per cent4 of the cultivated area4 ,this total area under wheat cultivation in ,india is estimated to be equal to that of all the wheat-fields of the ,united ,states4 ,one-fourth of the population of ,india lives on rice2 and various kinds of millets represent fifty-two per cent4 of the whole cultivation of the land4 ,though the methods of cultivation there are primitive and the implements used inadequate for best results1 yet through the rich climatic conditions and the persistent efforts of the people the land normally yields an abundance of good things for the support of its inhabitants4 #b4 ,the ,people4 ,the people of ,india number1 according to the census of #aija1 #bia1bcf1jjj--;about one-fifth of the inhabitants of the globe4 ,this population represents more races than are found in the whole of ,europe4 ,besides many small tribes1 it has eleven nations1 the least of which numbers #b1bej1jjj souls4 ,of these nations seven are of ,aryan1 and four of ,dravidian1 extraction2 and they differ in physique1 temperament and language4 ,between the sturdy ,aryan on the north and the degraded primitive people on the plains of the south there is a great gulf4 ,between the clever and subtle ,baboo of ,bengal and the war-like ,marahtta of the west1 the bold1 spirited ,pathan in the north and the passive but enduring ,dravidian in the south1 there are many intermediate classes which furnish wonderful diversity of character and temperament4 ,among these people there is not1 and cannot at present be1 a sense of oneness4 ,until recently their whole civilization tended to emphasize their divergence1 to broaden the breach between them and to cultivate a perpetual1 mutual jealousy and hatred4 ,the languages spoken by these people are1 according to the census of #ahia1 seventy in number47#a7 ,of these the ,sanskrit is the oldest1 and may truly be called the mother tongue of the country4 ,it is one of the most ancient languages in the world1 with a history of more than #c1jjj years4 ,it is strong1 pliant1 expressive--a worthy vehicle of noble thought and religious aspiration4 ,though not spoken today by any tribe or people1 it is not a dead language1 for it is the religious tongue of ,india4 ,the best thought1 the deepest philosophy1 the highest religious aspiration1 the laws1 customs and legends of the people are treasured in that tongue4 ,all who would know the religious life and thought of ,india at its best and in its sources1 should study ,sanskrit4 ,from it have sprung many of the languages of ,modern ,india4 ,in the northern and northwestern parts1 the ,aryan tongues find supremacy4 ,although these languages differ greatly among themselves1 their source and vocabulary is mainly ,sanskrit4 ,of all ,indian languages1 the one most widely spoken is the ,hindi--#hh1jjj1jjj people use it as their mother tongue4 ,forty-one millions speak ,bengali1 #ah1jjj1jjj speak ,punjabi1 #ai1jjj1jjj1 ,marathi1 #aa1jjj1jjj speak ,gujurathi4 ,the ,dravidian languages of ,south ,india are entirely separate from the ,aryan group1 their source and character being ,turanian4 ,these languages are ,tamil1 ,telugu1 ,kanarese and ,malayalam4 ,fifty-three million people speak these tongues alone4 ,the inhabitants of ,india are an ancient people4 ,when thirty centuries ago our ancestors were grovelling in the lowest depths of primitive savagery1 our fellow-,aryans of ,india were enjoying a civilization of their own1 which was1 in its way1 unique and distinguished4 ,their philosophy shows testimony to their ancient glory4 ,it may truly be said that their chief glory is to be found more in ancient than in modern times4 ,it is a people whose progress has1 in some respects1 been backward rather than forward1 and whose boast is rightly of what they have been rather than of what they are4 ,it is a conservative people4 ,india is a land where custom is deified--the past is their glory4 ,today1 we are living1 they say1 in the iron age 7,kali ,yuga71 in which righteousness is all but lost4 ,hindu law has conserved the past--it exalts past observances above those of the present4 ,under such a system all innovations are out of place1 individual ambitions are crushed4 ,to resemble their ancestors is the summum bonum of their life4 ,the inhabitants of that land are a rural people4 ,unlike western countries1 ,india has very few large towns4 ,nine-tenths of the whole population live in villages of less than #e1jjj1 four-fifths live in villages of under #a1jjj inhabitants4 ,the average village of ,india today contains #cfc inhabitants4 ,during the last few years the tendency has been towards towns4 ,but the large increase in the population is still to be seen in rural regions4 ,in ,india two-thirds of the villages have less than #bjj inhabitants each1 while #a1jjj have from #e1jjj to #aj1jjj inhabitants4 ,notwithstanding this fact1 the population1 in some parts of the country1 is very dense4 ,the whole of ,bengal furnishes #cfj persons to the square mile1 and in the ,united ,provinces of ,agra and ,oudh the total per square mile rises to #daf4 ,owing to modern methods of sanitation1 to peace and to general prosperity1 the population has grown and is growing rapidly47#b7 ,there is already one person to every two acres of land in the country2 and under the ,british ,government the prosperity of ,india is largely measured by the growth of the population2 and this in turn seriously increases the difficulty of providing for the wants of the people4 ,indeed it has become one of the hardest problems which confronts the ,indian government2 and the difficulty is considerably enhanced by the religion of the country which demands that every man and woman marry and add to the population1 regardless of any question as to health or even sanity4 ,in ,india the first privilege and duty of man and woman is supposed to be the propagation of their kind4 #c4 ,economic ,conditions4 ,one of the most marked characteristics of ,india is its poverty4 ,the people1 as a whole1 have always been extremely poor4 ,there has been some wealth in the land2 but it has not been evenly distributed4 ,while a few nabobs have enjoyed immense treasures1 the people1 as a whole1 have grovelled in the lowest depth of penury and want4 ,there is better distribution of wealth today than ever before2 and yet the poverty of the masses continues to be a serious feature of the land4 8,its finance lies at the base of every difficulty connected with our ,indian ,empire10 is the remark of ,sir ,charles ,dilke4 ,and at the base of the finance difficulty lies the poverty of the people4 ,it is a well known and lamentable fact that one-fifth of the population1 say sixty millions1 are insufficiently fed even in ordinary years of prosperity4 ,they are the ever ready prey of the first drought1 distress or famine that may happen4 ,it is a not uncommon experience of the ryot 7or farmer7 to retire at night upon an empty stomach4 ,the average income of the common labourer in ,india is between four and five rupees1 or1 say1 #a4ej per month4 ,most of this evil which the people endure is self-imposed4 ,they reveal a combination of blind improvidence1 reckless expenditure and an unwillingness to shake off impoverishing customs4 ,for instance1 the debt incurring propensity of the native is akin to insanity4 ,all the poor people with whom ,i am acquainted are bound hand and foot by this terrible mill-stone4 ,and the interest paid upon loans is crushing4 ,two and three per cent4 per month is an interest commonly received4 ,it is rare that a poor farmer who gets into the clutches of the money lender regains his freedom4 ,it usually leads to the loss of all property and means of support4 ,under the ancient ,hindu law no money lender could recover interest upon a loan beyond the amount of the principal which he had advanced2 under the present rule he can recover to any extent1 sell the tenant's crops and even take possession of the land under a judgment decree4 ,it is one of those instances where justice in law is made to minister unrighteousness and cruelty in life4 ,the people moreover are given to the most extravagant expenses at marriages and funerals4 ,it is frequently the case that a man spends upon the marriage of his son or daughter1 the latter especially1 more than a whole year's income4 ,i know of many who are overwhelmed by debts incurred for the marriage of their children2 and the saddest thing about it is that they have little option in this expense2 for it is prescribed by caste custom4 ,add to this the rank growth of religious mendicancy1 under the fostering care of religious teaching and superstition4 ,there are five and one-half millions of such lazy1 worthless fellows encumbering that land today4 ,the mass of them are sleek in body and pestilential in morals4 ,whenever a man finds work too hard1 he dons the yellow cloth of the religious mendicant and becomes an immediate success4 ,but alas for the community6 ,hindu charity is proverbial1 but it is blinder than love itself4 ,such a body of worthless consumers would tax even a wealthy land4 ,to ,india it is a dreadful burden and drain4 ,add to this the insane passion for jewels which consumes both high and low4 ,millions of rupees' worth of gold flows into the country annually1 and most of it is melted and converted into personal adornments for women and children4 ,for this purpose nearly one-half million goldsmiths1 according to the last census1 are employed and make a comfortable living at an annual expense of ten million dollars4 ,this is a much larger force of workmen than that of all the blacksmiths in the land4 ,the litigious spirit of the people is also phenomenal4 ,it is doubtful if any other people on earth spend1 relative to their means1 more in legal processes than the ,hindus4 ,in view of all these facts1 ,sir ,w4 ,w4 ,hunter's statement that 8,the permanent remedies for the poverty of ,india rest with the people themselves0 is eminently true4 ,it is further emphasized by the remarks of ,sir ,madhava ,rao1 ,k4 ,c4 ,s4 ,i41 one of the very few statesmen whom ,india has produced among her own children3 8,the longer one lives1 observes and thinks10 he says1 8the more deeply does he feel there is no community on the face of the earth which suffers less from political evils and more from self-inflicted1 self-accepted1 or self-created1 and therefore avoidable1 evils than the ,hindu community40 ,famine is an oft-recurring and most perplexing evil with which ,india has always been familiar4 ,in times past1 it was the gaunt ,avenger which decimated the people and which kept down the population within the range of tolerable existence4 ,the god of dirt and insanitation carried away the unneeded residue left by famine4 ,famine is one of the very few evils before which human power stands helpless4 ,the government has done very much by irrigation schemes and by the building of railways to mitigate this evil4 ,by famine funds and relief works it strives1 as it did the last famine1 to reduce the mortality and suffering arising from these seasons of drought4 ,but the constant penury of the people1 and the fact of their always living upon the verge of hunger and want1 make it almost impossible to save many from the terrible result of such visitations4 ,perhaps there is no other thing1 at present1 which occupies more of the time and thought of the ,imperial ,government than this2 but1 to drive entirely away this hideous demon from a land which is peculiarly liable to drought1 and while the people are chronically unprepared to meet the least extra drain1 is more than can be expected from any government4 ,the railroads of the land are manifestations of the material progress which meet one on all sides4 ,in the extent of its railroads ,india is the fifth country in the world4 ,already the splendid railway system1 upon which travel is as comfortable as1 and perhaps cheaper than1 in any other country in the world1 has extended #bc1jjj miles and reaches the remotest parts of the land4 ,these throbbing arteries carry life and enterprise to all portions of ,india2 and many regions not yet made thus accessible will soon listen to the neigh of the iron horse and feel the pulsations of new life thereby4 ,three hundred million pounds sterling have been expended in this work alone4 ,but better1 if possible1 than these roads is the rapidly developing irrigation system which brings security of life and works prosperity wherever it reaches4 ,nearly #ad1jjj1jjj acres are now cultivated under this system4 ,this includes fourteen and eight-tenths per cent4 of all cultivated land in ,india4 ,one great enterprise in this line is the 8,peryar ,project0 of ,south ,india which was large in its conception1 perfect in its execution and is rich in its blessings4 ,it consists in the diversion of a large river which vainly poured its treasures down the western mountainside into the ,arabian ,sea1 and causing its waters to flow into the eastern plains to fertilize the thirsty land as far as the ,bay of ,bengal4 ,it embraces the second largest dam in the world1 a tunnel one and one-fourth miles through the mountain1 and many miles of distributing channels4 ,it will irrigate at least #aej1jjj acres for rice cultivation and will feed #djj1jjj people4 ,i live in the heart of the region thus fertilized and refreshed1 and know the joy of the residents who also stand astonished before the magic power of these white people who do for them what1 they say1 even their gods failed to accomplish4 ,it is well to remember that these irrigation schemes1 now found in ,india1 are much the most extensive in any country4 ,looking at her commerce during the ,victorian reign alone1 we see a growth of #a1jjj per cent4 in the imports and exports of ,india4 ,the export of tea has risen from nothing to #gj1jjj tons1 and that of cotton from nothing to #bbj1jjj tons4 ,there are now in the land #aej cotton-mills with #aej1jjj labourers4 ,three million tons of coal are annually mined1 and gold mines yield #a1jjj1jjj sterling every year4 ,it may1 indeed1 be said that ,india has now1 for the first time in its history1 taken a place as a land of manufactures1 trade and commerce4 #d4 ,social ,life4 ,the contrast between the social life of the ,east and that of the ,west is marked4 ,problems that today stir this land to its depth have no existence in ,india4 ,the conservatism of ,india is proverbial4 ,the ,hindu people have been kept back from all progress1 so that questions arising about human rights and liberty have not begun to be mooted there4 ,the thousand problems of our land are the direct result of the emphasis which our civilization has given to human rights and individual freedom and the equality of men4 ,india has thus far denied to the individual those rights and liberties which are deemed elementary and fundamental in the ,west4 ,its emphasis has always been upon the rights and privileges of ,society as a corporate body4 ,it has ignored entirely the claims of the individual and has prevented him from enjoying his inalienable rights in any division of society4 ,this may be seen in the two great departments of life in that land4 7a7 ,the ,family4 ,the family systems of the ,east and of the ,west are essentially different4 ,in ,india the ,joint ,family ,system prevails4 ,according to this system members of a family for three generations live together and have all things in common4 ,no member of the family can claim anything as his own4 ,it is the old patriarchal system and emphasizes the rights of the family as a whole1 and denies to any individual member separate possession or privileges4 ,this system has had a long day in ,india2 but1 as western ideas are spreading1 dissatisfaction is manifestly increasing1 especially among the educated classes4 ,the recent introduction to the ,madras ,legislature of the so-called 8,gains of ,learning ,bill0 is the first serious attack made upon that system4 ,by means of this bill1 which was introduced by an orthodox ,hindu1 but which is not yet passed1 an educated man could claim exclusive right to ownership of all properties acquired by him through his education4 ,thus1 for the first time in ,india an individual might claim1 apart from the family1 that wealth which was acquired by himself4 ,this bill has brought opposition from the public1 because it conflicts with the rights of the joint family1 and is a serious blow to all the old ,hindu family privileges4 ,the ,hindu joint family system1 while it has been a source of some blessing to the land1 has also been a serious curse in that it has fostered laziness1 dissension and improvidence1 and has put a ban upon individual initiative and ambition4 ,child marriages have been an unfailing source of evil to the land4 ,of this ,sir ,john ,strachey says3 8,it would be difficult to imagine anything more abominable than the frequent consequences of child marriages by which multitudes of girls of ten to twelve or less are given over to outrage2 or1 if they belong to the higher class of ,hindus1 are doomed to lives of degraded widowhood40 ,the ,indian government has endeavoured to remove this evil2 but at all points it has been opposed not only by conservative1 orthodox ,hindus1 but also by educated members of the community4 ,no system can degrade the womanhood of a race1 nor1 indeed1 for that matter1 its manhood1 more than that which marries its girls in childhood and which consigns millions of them to wretched widowhood4 ,one of the consequences is that girls of even twelve years are known to become mothers in that land1 while very few attain the age of eighteen without bearing children4 ,an increasing population under these physical conditions cannot be a healthy or a vigorous one4 7b7 ,society4 ,in ,india1 ,society is almost exclusively the product of the ancient caste system4 ,a more elaborate social system than this was never known in the world4 ,it is an order of social tyranny of the worst sort1 whereby every man is compelled to give up his own individuality and to be bound to the iron will of an ignorant community3 a will also which is based upon the past and conforms to the rules and habits of peoples who lived in remote antiquity4 ,no greater millstone could be hung around the neck of any people than that of the multitudinous caste rules of ,manu and later accretions which are the all in all of ,hindu life4 ,there may have been good in this system in the past1 and it may have conserved some blessings of antiquity2 but today it is the worst tyranny and the greatest curse that has blasted the life of the people4 ,it is the source of their physical degeneracy1 for it compels them to marry within narrow lines of consanguinity4 ,it has cursed the people with a narrow sympathy2 for no man in that system deems it his duty to bless or help those beyond his own caste4 ,it has sown poverty broadcast over the land2 for it prohibits a man from engaging in any work or trade which is not prescribed by caste rules and customs2 and thus has brought many to penury1 want and famine4 ,when the caste-prescribed occupation or work is not available1 the suffering is very great4 ,it has brought stagnation to the people by restraining every man who had ambition to move forward and improve his prospects in life4 ,the whole village regards as conceited a young man of the outcastes who seeks to rise in life2 they soon bring him low4 ,progress is impossible under the caste system4 ,in like manner1 it has fostered the pride and presumption of one class and destroyed the ambition and aspiration of the other4 ,no people on earth today are more proud than the ,brahmans2 none more hopelessly abject than the ,pariahs and other outcastes4 ,it has also made national unity and the spirit of fellowship impossible in the land2 large corporate interests are impossible for the people4 ,the castes of the community are filled with jealousy and are mutually antagonistic2 each division having rules and ceremonies which make it impossible for communion of interests with others4 ,many would like to see it removed2 but the system itself has created such abjectness of feeling among them that they dare not come forward to stem its tide or oppose it4 #e4 ,the ,educational ,system4 ,ignorance still rests like a pall upon that land4 ,according to the census of #ahia1 out of a total population of #bfa1hdj1jjj1 #acc1cgj1jjj were males4 ,of these1 #aah1hai1jjj were analphabet4 ,including boys under instruction1 only #ad1eej1jjj could read and write4 ,of the #abh1dgj1jjj females only #gdj1jjj could read and write or were being instructed4 ,in other words1 only eleven per cent4 of the males and a little more than one-half of one per cent4 of the females were in any sense literate4 ,in ,madras1 we find the greatest progress2 but even there eighty-five per cent4 of the male and ninety-nine per cent4 of the female population are illiterate4 ,in ,oudh1 on the other hand1 corresponding figures are ninety-four and very nearly one hundred per cent4 ,when it is remembered that the ,brahmans1 who constitute only five per cent4 of the total population1 include seventeen per cent4 of the literate class and more than twenty per cent4 of those who know ,english1 it can be understood that the illiteracy of the common people is still greater than that indicated by the above figures4 ,considerable effort has been made by the government to educate this immense population4 ,it is seriously handicapped in this endeavour by want of funds4 ,the ,state does not largely enter into the establishing of schools of its own2 its policy being to give grants in aid to private bodies on the basis of results achieved4 ,and it contents itself with the establishing and conducting of relatively only a few schools of its own which shall serve as models and as a stimulus to the private aided institutions4 ,more than three-fourths of the education of the land is thus conducted by private bodies which are encouraged by the government through its grants in aid4 ,there still remain not a few indigenous or1 so-called1 8piall0 schools4 ,educationally1 these schools are of little value1 as their training is both antiquated in kind and extremely limited in quantity4 ,they are interesting because they reveal to us the old educational methods of the land4 ,schools on modern lines1 however1 by coming under government surveillance1 for the purpose of receiving grants in aid1 are conducted much more efficiently1 and attain results worthy to be compared with those of western lands4 ,the chief feature of the educational system1 controlled1 examined and aided by government1 is the emphasis given to an ,english training4 ,from the second year of instruction1 the ,english language grows annually in importance in the curriculum of studies4 ,in the grammar school it becomes compulsory and in the high school and college it is the sole medium of the communication of knowledge4 ,the ,english language is emphasized also because it is the test for admission even into many of the lowest of the numberless offices in connection with government service2 so that the study of this language of the ,west has become to young ,india practically a necessity and a craze4 ,people of the lowest conditions in life pawn and mortgage their property and involve themselves in terrible debts for the sake of giving their sons an ,english education4 ,christian missions constitute one of the principal bodies which engage in the training of ,hindu youth4 ,one-ninth of all the school children of ,india are found in mission schools4 ,this number includes #ccj1jjj boys and nearly #ajj1jjj girls4 ,in the training of girls1 ,protestant missions have not only been pioneers2 they are also today much the most prominent and efficient educators of the women of the land4 ,their girls' schools and colleges are not only the most numerous1 but also the most efficiently conducted and thoroughly managed of all institutions for women in ,india4 ,the ,madras ,christian ,college for boys and the ,sarah ,tucker ,woman's ,college of ,tinnevelly are among the best institutions for those classes in ,india4 ,the educational system of ,india culminates in the five ,universities of ,calcutta1 ,bombay1 ,madras1 ,allahabad and ,lahore4 ,these are not instructing1 but simply examining universities like the ,university of ,london4 ,with these the #adj colleges of two grades and of various degrees of efficiency1 are affiliated4 ,in these colleges are found #ah1jjj students of whom more than #e1jjj graduate yearly4 ,the city of ,calcutta is a city of many colleges and has more college students1 relative to its population1 than almost any city of the ,west4 ,though the masses of the people1 and especially the women1 are still1 as we have seen1 grossly ignorant1 yet every year encouraging progress is being made in spreading the blessings of1 and in creating a taste for1 education4 ,every year natives themselves enter more largely into the educational work and find in it not only a living1 but noble scope for their activities4 ,among the higher and cultured classes there is a growing body of young men1 besides the ambitious few from the lower classes1 crowding into the higher institutions of the land4 ,it is one of the problems of the day to direct the mind of this increasing army of university graduates to other professions than the overcrowded government service4 ,there is a persistent feeling among these youth that it is the business of ,state to supply them with lucrative posts upon their graduation4 ,and it is the disappointed element of this class which furnishes so many of the discontented1 blatant demagogues who are almost a menace to the land4 ,illustration3 ,madura ,mission ,hospital ,for ,women4 ,yet this educational work is one of the potent1 leavening influences of the country1 and is helping greatly in carrying quietly forward one of the mightiest revolutions that have been witnessed in any land4 ,in its train follows closely the social elevation of the people4 ,the relaxation of the terrible caste system1 the elevation of woman and her redemption from some of the cruelties and injustice of the past1 immediately attend that expanding knowledge which results from the schools of the land4 ,protestant missions are preminent in their work of educating the ,christian communities gathered together by them47#c7 ,though these communities are largely drawn from the lowest outcasts1 yet they compare favourably1 in their educational equipment1 with the highest classes4 ,this is a significant indication of their present1 and a bright promise for their future1 position among the people of ,india4 #f4 ,the ,political ,situation4 ,india today is politically a subject country4 ,though in one sense ,england did not directly subjugate ,india1 it is nevertheless true that its inhabitants1 though treated with large consideration1 are today a subject people--ruled by a foreign nation #g1jjj miles away4 ,hence1 it might be expected that political rights and privileges would not prevail there as among a self-governing1 entirely independent1 people4 ,the existence of an army of about #ge1jjj ,britons in that land today is significant of the situation and partly reveals one grip with which ,great ,britain holds ,india and makes it a part of her great empire4 ,i do not wish to minimize the moral power with which also1 and increasingly1 ,great ,britain draws ,india by sweet compulsion to herself2 of this ,i shall speak later4 ,it should also be remembered that the genius of the ,orient is not for self-government2 in the ,east1 people have little taste for free institutions2 they have always craved1 and found their greatest happiness and chief welfare in1 a strong paternal government4 ,the ordinary ,hindu seeks for himself nothing higher than a government which1 while not asking for his opinion concerning its policy and acts1 will at least dispense a fair modicum of justice to him and his4 ,notwithstanding all this1 the ,indian government has bestowed upon the people a wonderfully large meed of power and privilege4 ,political progress in the land is one of the marvels of the past century4 ,before the ,british entered ,india that land had never enjoyed the first taste of representative institutions4 ,today the query which arises in the mind of disinterested persons who know and love ,india is1 whether political rights and liberties have not1 of late years1 been conferred too rapidly upon them4 ,it should not be expected that a people who1 by instinct and unbroken heritage1 are the children of the worst kind of autocratic and absolute government1 should acquire1 in one age or century1 wisdom or aptitude to rule themselves4 ,the mass of ,hindus love to be led and they follow easily4 ,but there is a small and growing party of the soil who have aptly learned many of the lessons taught them by the rulers4 ,the best acquired of all these lessons is that of the power of agitation and of the efficacy among the ,anglo-,saxon race of the cry for human rights4 ,the only difficulty is that one might suppose1 from the language of some of these men that ,england has not yet conceded to worthy ,indians any of those political privileges which every ,anglo-,saxon citizen demands for himself4 ,as a matter of fact1 we see in the municipalities of that land a form of popular government such as even not all western countries enjoy4 ,the power of the franchise1 in the election of municipal commissioners1 is vested in all those who are possessed of the least amount of property4 ,even women enjoy the franchise2 and it is a curious fact that the natives of ,south ,india have recently protested in the newspapers against the granting of this power to women1 because1 they say1 the power is exercised only by 8dancing girls0 and other public characters4 ,to those who watch carefully the working of this right of municipal franchise and see how easily and speedily the natives have adopted all the vices and tricks of the system1 it does not by any means seem an unmixed good4 ,and the hardest critics of the system that ,i have met have been intelligent and loyal ,indians who believe that this meed of self-government is fraught with evil4 ,the ,district ,boards also are composed almost entirely of native gentlemen1 and they have large powers in the administration of the internal affairs of the land4 ,moreover these municipal and local bodies1 together1 elect members for provincial legislative bodies where they enjoy recently enlarged powers for interpellating the government--a power which1 by excessive use or abuse1 they may soon forfeit4 ,to all this must be added the freedom of the press1 which also has recently been abused by the dissemination of disloyal and seditious sentiments1 but which adds immensely to the powers of the people4 ,then the 8,national ,congress0 is a peculiar institution which1 while it gives scope to the political aspirations of many natives1 adds1 by its very existence1 to the lustre of the ,british ,raj in the land4 ,just imagine for a moment the existence of such a ,congress under ,russian rule6 ,it is true that this ,congress1 which meets annually in some great city of the land1 has no connection with government or legislative bodies and has only that power and influence which inhere in its deliberations and resolutions4 ,it is also true that up to the present it has given itself largely to the criticism and abuse of government4 ,by this it has alienated some of its best friends4 ,still1 even as a public censor it has doubtless done good1 and offers to the discontented a wholesome vent for pent up feelings4 ,it is also a remarkable gathering in its numbers of cultured men and illustrates one of the wonders which ,great ,britain has accomplished in that land4 ,to think1 that out of the babel of ,indian tongues there should gather together in one place annually some #e1jjj native gentlemen to discuss questions of ,state1 and to criticise one of the most modern of governments in the pure ,english accents of ,addison or of ,macaulay6 ,what a wonderful object lesson of progress this6 ,nor is ,great ,britain as remiss or as selfish as many would lead us to believe in the distribution of the loaves of office4 ,there are only #abb1ffa male ,britishers in that land 7including the army7--one to every #b1ejj of the population4 ,of these1 only #gej are found in the higher offices of government4 ,in the ,provincial ,services #b1ddi natives are employed in high judicial and administrative posts4 ,it is a significant fact that out of #aad1aej appointments1 carrying ,rs47#d7 #a1jjj annually1 ninety-seven per cent1 are in the hands of natives4 ,to all offices1 below that of the ,governor of the ,province1 natives are eligible4 ,as ,judges of the ,high ,court and as ,members of the legislative bodies not a few ,indians are found2 as they are also in the ,indian ,civil ,service which was so long exclusively filled by ,anglo-,indians4 ,it hardly appears how ,england can hold that great land to herself1 as a member of her empire1 with fewer of her own citizens than are now found at the helm4 ,nor does it yet appear that a strong1 efficient and acceptable government can be maintained there by a large reduction of this force4 ,i use the word 8acceptable0 advisedly2 and it is certainly the business of ,great ,britain to discover and consult the wishes of the people--not of the hungry office seekers--in this matter4 ,after many years of observation and of living among the people1 ,i am convinced that nine-tenths of them are prepared any day to vote in favour of the relative increase1 and not the decrease1 of the ,european official force4 ,the people have found them to be just and honest2 they know that they can be depended upon to administer justice with an even hand and that they are incorruptible4 ,in their own native officials they have no confidence4 ,they have found1 alas1 too often that justice is sold by them to the highest bidder4 ,the 8middle men0 who arrange such matters are too commonly known as the accompaniments of the native courts of justice4 ,it is true that some native judges are above such venality4 ,but ,i know how general is the want of native confidence in native officials4 ,many a time have ,i been importuned to use my influence to have cases transferred from the jurisdiction of the native to the ,englishman4 ,and the reason invariably given is that 8,the white man will not accept bribes and will give justice40 ,indeed1 it may be said that the chief difficulty which confronts the ,government in its great work is that of saving the people from low1 mercenary and unprincipled native officials--especially those of the lower and lowest grades4 ,the police department is corrupt to the core4 ,the common people dread the policeman as they do the highwayman2 for the constable rarely touches a case without making money out of the transaction2 and he is expert in manufacturing cases4 ,what ,india needs today1 above all else1 is an honest1 faithful1 efficient class of officials4 ,the presence of a few ,english dignitaries found there is worth ten times its cost to the land1 purifying and toning up the service4 ,considering the political situation as a whole1 ,i confidently maintain that the people of ,india enjoy political rights and privileges quite as extensively as they are prepared wisely to exercise them4 ,no people anywhere enjoy larger privileges1 relative to their ability to use them wisely2 and no subject people on earth have ever been treated with larger consideration by their conquerors1 or have been more faithfully trained to enter upon an ever increasing sphere of opportunity and of self-government4 ,the political situation in ,india today--in the privileges and rights which the people enjoy--is a marvellous testimony to the wisdom and unselfishness of ,great ,britain in her ,indian rule4 #g4 ,the ,government of ,india4 ,the government of ,india is perhaps the most elaborate in the world2 the highest powers of statesmanship have been manifested by the successive rulers during more than a century in the development of a ,state which is extraordinary no less in the complication of its provisions and details than in the wise adaptation of human laws to meet the multitudinous exigencies of this great conglomeration of peoples4 ,it should also be remembered that ,british statesmen in their work of legislation in ,india1 and in their coordination of laws1 have not only had to consider the manifold character of the different portions of the population of the land2 what is more difficult still1 they have been compelled to ingratiate themselves with the ,indians by conserving1 so far as possible1 those myriads of ancient laws and customs which obtain there4 ,the laws of ,manu and of other writers of twenty-five centuries ago have been handed down by this people through the ages and have accumulated authority and reverence with increasing time1 until today all ,hindus regard them as divinely given and as possessing irresistible claim upon them for all time4 ,so that1 while it may be said on the one hand that the laws of ,india are largely built upon western foundations1 and savour of ,christian principles and modern ideas2 it should also be remembered1 on the other hand1 that the dicta of ancient ,hindu lawgivers find a large place in the legal codes of that land4 ,yea1 even more than this is true4 ,there are a host of caste rules and customs which have no further sanction than the fact that they have become customs1 and yet which have been dignified with the authority of law4 ,this is of course due chiefly to the fact that most customs in ,india have a religious basis and interpretation1 and therefore draw to themselves that sanctity and claim which belong to things religious4 ,thus1 for instance1 every caste in ,south ,india has its own marriage customs4 ,most of these are highly incongruous with modern ideas and rights1 and most of them absolutely disregard the rights of the wife4 ,and yet it has been deemed wise by the ,state to conserve and to give the sanction of law to these multitudinous marriage customs which are enough in themselves to constitute an extensive code4 ,some conception of the magnitude of the work carried on by the ,indian ,government may be gathered from the following description by ,bishop ,thoburn3--8,with a population greater than that of the five great powers of ,europe put together2 with a revenue exceeding #cej1jjj1jjj2 with a foreign commerce worth #gfh1jjj1jjj annually2 with a standing army #bcj1jjj strong1 more than two-thirds of which are composed of native soldiers2 with a drilled police force of more than #aej1jjj men2 with a code of laws in many respects superior to those found on the statute books of ,european countries2 and with courts of justice as impartial and as faithfully conducted as any to be found in the world1 ,india may well claim a place among the great empires of the present era40 ,the ,british ,government has respected the possessions of native chiefs in whose hands still remain about one-third of the country4 ,but these so called native territories are so largely under ,english control and guidance that we may well regard them as essentially a part of the ,british ,domain4 ,the ,secretary of ,state for ,india has practically the control of ,british ,indian affairs4 ,he1 with his council in ,london1 has the final word in ,indian matters of paramount importance4 ,nevertheless1 the ,indian ,government finds this power rarely antagonistic in matters whereon it has firmly made up its mind4 ,the ,british possessions in ,india are distributed into twelve governments1 each separately organized and yet all of them constituting parts of the ,supreme ,government of ,india4 ,this ,supreme ,government is administered by a ,governor-,general or ,viceroy with whom is associated a ,council of six members4 ,this ,council constitutes the ,viceroy's ,cabinet and each one has charge of a separate department of the government4 ,of the ,provincial ,governments of ,india1 the principal ones are the ,province of ,bengal with #ga1jjj1jjj1 under a ,lieutenant-,governor2 ,united ,provinces of ,agra and ,oudh1 with a population of #dg1jjj1jjj1 under a ,lieutenant-,governor2 ,presidency of ,madras1 with #ce1ejj1jjj1 under a ,governor2 ,presidency of ,bombay1 with #ah1hjj1jjj1 under a ,governor2 and the province of ,punjab1 with #bj1hjj1jjj1 under a ,lieutenant-,governor4 ,the unit of government in ,india is the ,district4 ,the whole of ,india is divided into #bce ,districts4 ,at the head of a ,district is placed an officer known as ,collector1 ,senior ,magistrate1 or ,deputy ,commissioner1 who is practically ruler of that division4 ,he is the administrative representative of the government4 ,in each ,district there is also a ,district ,judge and a few other officers at the head of various departments4 ,these ,districts vary in size and population1 covering areas from #ad1jjj to #a1jjj square miles1 and containing from #c1jjj1jjj to #bej1jjj population4 ,the average population of a ,district is #hjj1jjj4 ,nothing impresses the careful observer more than the large amount of responsibility and the multifarious duties which devolve upon these ,district officers4 ,during recent years1 however1 authority has been withheld increasingly from ,collectors and centralized in the ,provincial ,governments2 for at the head of every ,province also there is a government patterned somewhat after the ,supreme ,government in ,calcutta4 ,illustration3 ,maharajah ,of ,travancore4 ,illustration3 ,rajah ,of ,ramnad4 ,no greater mistake can be made than to think that ,india is either crudely or poorly governed4 ,owing to the great poverty of the land it is extremely difficult to maintain so costly and elaborate a rgime as the present one2 and many claim that for the support of so expensive a luxury the people are taxed beyond their ability and resources4 ,the taxation imposed by a government on its people is rightly considered1 both in its extent and character1 as a measure of the wisdom of the ,state4 ,the critics of the ,indian government are prone to dwell upon the alleged injustice of its taxes4 ,it is1 however1 difficult to understand why this matter should be pressed unless it be on the ground1 apparently maintained1 that the poverty of the people should exempt them from any of the burdens of taxation--a theory beautifully generous to the people but fatal to the maintenance of any government4 ,the salt tax does certainly seem cruel in its severe pressure upon the very poor2 and yet it is the only one whereby this very large part of the community can be reached at all1 and made to contribute its mite to the ,state which protects it4 ,comparing present taxes with those of the past1 we should certainly expect heavier imposts now1 because the government furnishes today1 as an equivalent of protection and blessing1 infinitely more than former dynasties did4 ,and yet ,sir ,w4 ,hunter has ably shown from a comparison of taxes levied by the present government and by the ,moghul government that the modern ,hindu is vastly better off than was his ancestor of two and three centuries ago4 ,today1 five and one half per cent4 is collected in land tax2 under the ,moghul rule they had to pay from thirty-three per cent4 to fifty per cent4 ,besides this1 the ,mohammedan imposed various other taxes1 many of them upon non-,mohammedans as a religious penalty4 ,nor were the ,hindu governments one whit better off2 and even today the native states are much harder upon the people than is the ,british ,raj4 ,the famine commission is the highest authority on the subject4 ,in its exhaustive report of #ahhj it writes3--8,in the majority of native governments the revenue officer takes all he can get1 and would take treble the revenue we should1 if he were strong enough to exact it40 ,if we pursue the comparison to that of ,european peoples1 ,indian taxation would seem but a trifle4 ,placing even ,english taxes side by side with ,india's1 we shall find instruction4 ,the average income in the ,united ,kingdom is #dj1 while the tax assessed is #dds1 or five and one-half per cent4 ,in ,india1 alas1 the average income is only #cfs4 ,but then the tax is only #as1 #i;d per capita which is a trifle smaller per capita than that for ,england4 ,here again we are impressed with the reasonableness of the tax imposed4 ,the opium and liquor traffic in ,india is one which has drawn forth much criticism4 ,from the moral standpoint the critics have a very strong case4 ,the evil which the opium traffic of ,india has inflicted upon ,china--against her will too--has been enormous4 ,the large army of opium eaters which it has created1 only to destroy with a terrible death1 has long been an argument to which no nation of ,england's position and pretensions can render satisfactory reply4 ,in like manner1 the ,state monopoly of the drink traffic is neither honourable nor wise4 ,it not only gives unwonted and unwarrantable dignity to a disreputable business1 it also involves the ,state in the business of making a large army of drunkards in the land4 ,to take up a traffic like this1 for the revenue there is in it1 is to trifle with the higher interests of the subjects and to become instrumental in the corruption and misery of the people whom it is bound to protect4 ,it is questionable whether any other civilized government has involved itself in such unworthy means of creating a revenue4 ,doubtless1 opium and drink represent1 morally1 the weakest part of this government4 ,of course1 the all important defense lies in the revenue thus acquired4 ,these two items of revenue flow more easily than any others into the depleted treasury of ,state4 ,to give these up in behalf of what is termed sentiment1 would necessitate the imposition of other heavy taxes4 ,this is an aspect of the question which too easily silences and secures the acquiescence of the people of ,india4 ,but1 its evil is great and is spreading4 ,the drink curse is rapidly becoming one of the trying problems of ,india4 ,it was slanderously remarked some years ago that if the ,english then left that country the only monuments left behind of their life would have been broken whiskey bottles6 ,there is indeed ground today for the fear that if ,england were to abandon the land1 it would leave1 as the saddest monument of its past1 an immensely increasing army of drinkers2 and this evil is further enhanced by the mean ideal of life which the ordinary ,englishman sets before ,hindus by his passion for the cup4 ,half a century ago an ,englishman died while on duty in the jungles in ,south ,india1 and his body was there buried in the wilderness4 ,the natives soon erected a shrine over his grave and1 for a long time1 offered1 in true sobriety1 whiskey and cheroots to appease his thirsty and unsatisfied spirit6 ,it is not strange that the natives should recognize a continuity of spirit-taste in the here and the hereafter of the ,sahib6 ,the recent utterance of the ,archbishop of ,canterbury on this subject should be heeded by the ,state4 8,the true principle of morals10 he says1 8is to have nothing whatever to do with that which is shown to be necessarily productive of evil4 ,the ,english nation caused the opium evil in ,china and we are responsible for that evil4 ,i also protest against the principle of raising revenue by temptations to evil4 ,it might be right for a government to pause before interfering with private trade2 but1 in this case we ourselves are carrying on the evil trade4 ,such a thing on the part of a great government is1 ,i think1 without a parallel in the whole world40 ,the ,army in ,india is a necessary but great evil in the expense which it involves to the government1 no less than in the evil life which it leads among1 and the evil example which it sets1 the native community4 ,its influence is deplorable4 ,it is the most vulnerable to attack of all departments of government1 both on the score of expense and character4 8,tommy ,atkins0 is the greatest trial to the ,hindu1 and brutally rides rough-shod over all his sensibilities4 ,if he could only be left at home with safety to ,british interests in the land1 it would help largely to improve the situation between the two races4 ,it would also save ,england from the terrible disgrace of immorality which the army is instrumental in carrying as a plague wherever it goes4 ,awful indeed is the prevalence of the social vice in the native community itself2 but the ,english ,army spreads the demoralization in a most disgraceful way4 ,considering the government as a whole1 then1 it is wonderful1 both in the extent of its operation and in its numberless activities and agencies4 ,its purpose is generally noble1 and its wisdom1 both in the framing of laws and in general administration1 has been most marked4 ,the occasion of most of its failings and weaknesses is the poverty of the people whereby the government has1 at times1 been driven to subterfuges to avoid bankruptcy4 #h4 ,the ,mission of ,great ,britain in ,india4 ,the ,british people are only today beginning to realize fully the wonderful mission which1 under ,god's providence1 they are called to fulfill in that great land of the ,vedas4 ,for nearly a century the commercial motive was not only paramount but was practically the only motive which impelled the ,anglo-,saxon in his contact with ,india4 ,everything ,indian had value in his eyes in proportion as it added to his revenues4 ,for many years he excluded the ,missionary of the ,cross from his domains in the ,east1 lest that good man should1 by teaching the people1 disturb the revenue of the ,honourable ,east ,india ,company4 ,as the domains of this great company extended and its powers multiplied1 the ,english nation gradually came to realize their own responsibility as a people to the land2 and the ,indians thus were brought within their influence4 ,this contact and communion of interests became to them the voice of responsibility and of obligation to impart their blessings to them as well as to take their material resources from them4 ,the dawn of the new altruistic sense towards its subject people1 though long deferred1 rapidly grew into full daylight2 and ,great ,britain today feels1 as no country has felt before1 its privilege and duty to bestow upon its dependency in the ,east the highest and best which it can furnish4 ,the difficulty of ,england's mission in ,india is greatly enhanced by the difference which amounts almost to a contrast between her own people and the inhabitants of ,india4 ,the striking difference of type and character existing between the ,anglo-,saxon and the ,hindu facilitates all sorts of misunderstanding between them1 and aids perceptibly in making the path of the ,british ,raj a very thorny one in the land4 ,it would perhaps be impossible to find two peoples who are farther removed from each other in temperament and training--whose nature and antecedents are more irreconcilable at all points4 ,while the ,anglo-,indian is bold1 frank and just1 even to harshness1 the ,hindu is subtle1 affable1 practiced to dissimulation1 with ready susceptibilities to temporize and to barter justice for expediency4 ,on the one side1 we see the ,westerner haughty1 unyielding and unwilling to conciliate2 on the other we behold the ,oriental willing to be trampled upon when it seems necessary1 and to smile with apparent gratitude under the process2 but1 withal1 possessed of a large inheritance of ineradicable prejudices1 which make a contact with his too domineering ,western lord an unceasing trial to him4 ,there is another point at which the two races are antipodal4 ,the ,briton is progressive to the core4 ,he only needs to be assured that a certain course is right and for the best interests of the community1 in order to adopt it4 ,his face ever looks upward and his ambition is ever to go forward4 ,but1 in ,india he lives among a race whose chief divinity is custom and the gist of whose decalogue is1 8,hold fast to the past40 ,as they approach a proposed enterprise their first and last question concerning it is not whether it is right and best1 but whether it is in a line with the past and would be approved by their ancestors4 ,the whole country has been anchored for the last twenty-five centuries to a code of social laws and customs which are more unyielding than the laws of the ,medes and ,persians4 ,with them conservatism is the acme of piety and propriety4 ,all progress has been practically forced upon the country from without1 and in the teeth of their most sacred institutions and their most earnest protestation and opposition4 ,thus the great difference between the two peoples has been a serious hindrance to the realization of ,british designs in that land4 ,notwithstanding all this1 ,great ,britain has patiently1 persistently and doggedly carried on her work and pursued her highest ideals for ,india4 ,and what have been the ideals and blessings which she is seeking to achieve for that great land8 ,the first is that of ,western culture and civilization4 ,in these two particulars1 ,england has introduced into ,india a perpetual conflict4 ,western ideas1 processes of thought1 points of aspect and ideals of beauty and of life have been gradually supplanting the very different ones of the ,east4 ,western life in ,india today is a constant challenge to the people to study1 admire and appropriate its many features of thought and conduct2 and ,india is not insensible to this call4 ,the railroads and hospitals1 the schools and sanitary projects which have been introduced by the ,west into that land are markedly transforming the sentiment and the life of the people4 ,the contrast between the people of ,india today and of a century ago is all but complete in this respect4 ,while the educational institutions of the land are revolutionizing the thought1 the more material elements of civilization are transforming the outer life of the people4 ,england also is imparting to ,india the ,anglo-,saxon conception of right1 of law and of justice4 ,in order to know how widely apart the ,east and ,west were in this respect1 one should live in ,india a few years4 ,the idea of equal rights to all the people1 of freedom of speech1 of liberty of conscience and of other similar rights which are regarded as elementary and fundamental in the ,west1 was all but foreign to ,india when ,england established her power there4 ,that the government itself should treat high and low1 the poor ryot and the wealthy rajah1 the ignorant ,pariah and the cultured ,brahman as one in their claim for right and protection1 for justice and for favour1 seemed to the ,hindu absurd4 ,it is one of the best commentaries on ,british justice and administration in ,india1 that the people have now come not only to regard it with satisfaction1 but also as an indispensable condition of their life4 ,the blessings of peace also are among the greatest which ,england has conferred upon ,india4 8,pax ,britanica0 is equally known and loved today in ,india and in the ,british ,isles4 ,from time immemorial ,india had been torn asunder1 not only by internecine wars1 but also by numerous attacks from the peoples of other countries4 ,india has always been a prey both to the decimating wars of her own unjust and ambitious tyrants1 and mutually antagonistic castes and tribes2 she has also been the easy victim of any hardy1 enlightened1 ambitious people who sought to invade her4 ,the presence of ,great ,britain in ,india has been a voice commanding peace to its troubled and exhausted people4 ,with a strong hand she has put down injustice of tribe against tribe and made impossible inter-tribal wars and raids4 ,she has brought rest such as ,india never before enjoyed and has given safety to the most harmless and innocent classes1 as she has peace to the most warlike and aggressive in the land4 ,this great land of the ,east has thus had opportunities to grow and to develop in many of the most essential characteristics of individual and national progress4 ,these blessings would have been impossible apart from the peace which ,great ,britain assured and wrought out for the land4 ,in connection with this we need to emphasize the various forms of progress which are an essential part of ,british blessing to ,india4 ,we have seen that ,india was a stagnant land1 that its people were preminently unprogressive and ultra-conservative4 ,england has helped her to break down many of these barriers of the past4 ,though ,india is obstinately slow in her acceptance of the spirit and blessings of progress1 ,england has thrust upon her many of the conditions1 and compelled her to enter into some of the paths of progress which will bring inestimable benefits into her life4 ,in like manner1 the mission of ,england has been and is a religious one4 ,her ,majesty1 ,queen ,victoria1 upon assuming authority in the land1 issued a proclamation to the effect that under her reign all the inhabitants of ,india should enjoy perfect right to worship as they please and whom they please4 ,it is true that too many of the representatives of the ,british ,government in ,india today are so impressed with the importance of a government that is absolutely neutral in religious matters1 that they have both ceased themselves to manifest any religious preference in their life and are scrupulously careful to see to it that ,christians get just a little less of right and of protection than the adherents of other faiths4 ,this they consider to be true altruism added to breadth of religious sentiment6 ,notwithstanding this1 nothing is more manifest in ,india today than that the very fact of the rulers of the land being nominally ,christians adds to the prestige of ,christianity in the land4 ,the people naturally come to regard it as the ,state religion4 ,what is more significant1 however1 is the fact that1 at the basis of modern laws in that land and of the multiplying institutions of the country1 distinctively ,christian principles are universally recognized4 ,should the government of ,india resolve to be absolutely neutral in all religious matters1 it would have to renounce those laws and institutions which have furnished it with all its success in the land and which today crown its efforts with largest usefulness4 ,to the government1 and unconsciously to the masses of the people1 ,christian thought and truth and method necessarily characterize most of the laws1 institutions and processes of ,india4 ,they are all a part of the work of ,great ,britain in that land and such a part as she could not dispense with if she would4 ,it is a part of her unconscious ,christian heritage4 ,thus the work of ,great ,britain in ,india has been attended with a large degree of success2 it has lifted the land out of a condition of semi-savagery and placed it among the civilized nations of the world4 ,it has cut it asunder from its anchorage to the past and brought it almost abreast of the times4 ,there is still much to be done and much to be desired4 ,we shall be glad to see the day when radical steps in progress shall be taken voluntarily by the people and through the initiative of their own leaders1 rather than that they should wait to have them thrust upon them1 as in the past1 by the progressiveness of the foreigner among them4 ,the people1 on the whole1 appreciate the blessings of ,british supremacy in the land4 ,if they are not demonstratively loyal to the government1 they certainly do rest satisfied in the progress which has been achieved for them4 ,the well known political leader of ,bengal1 ,babu ,surendra ,nath ,banerji1 recently expressed1 in the following eloquent words1 the sentiment of the most thoughtful and influential natives of the country4 8,our allegiance to the ,british rule10 he says1 8is based upon the highest considerations of practical expediency4 ,as a representative of the educated community of ,india--and ,i am entitled to speak on their behalf and in their name1--,i may say that we regard ,british rule in ,india as a dispensation of ,divine ,providence4 ,england is here for the highest and the noblest purposes of history4 ,she is here to rejuvenate an ancient people1 to infuse into them the vigour1 the virility and the robustness of the ,west1 and so pay off the long-standing debt1 accumulating since the morning of the world1 which the ,west owes to the ,east4 ,we are anxious for the permanence of ,british rule in ,india1 not only as a guarantee for stability and order1 but because with it are bound up the best prospects of our political advancement4 ,to the ,english people has been entrusted in the ,councils of ,providence the high function of teaching the nations of the earth the great lesson of constitutional liberty1 of securing the ends of stable government1 largely tempered by popular freedom4 ,this glorious work has been nobly begun in ,india4 ,it has been resolutely carried on by a succession of illustrious ,anglo-,indian statesmen whose names are enshrined in our grateful recollections4 ,marvellous as have been the industrial achievements of the ,victorian era in ,india1 they sink into insignificance when compared with the great moral trophies which distinguish that epoch4 ,roads have been constructed2 rivers have been spanned2 telegraph and railway lines have been laid down2 time and space have been annihilated2 ,nature and the appliances of ,nature have been made to minister to the wants of man4 ,but these are nothing when compared to the bold1 decisive1 statesmanlike measures which have been taken in hand for the intellectual1 the moral and the political regeneration of my countrymen4 ,under ,english influences the torpor of ages has been dissipated2 the pulsations of a new life have been communicated to the people2 an inspiriting sense of public duty has been evolved1 the spirit of curiosity has been stirred and a moral revolution1 the most momentous in our annals1 culminating in the transformation of national ideals and aspirations1 has been brought about40 ,great ,britain has not been1 and is not now1 without failings in her work in ,india2 and her line of progress is studded with many errors4 ,but she has been faithful to her trust and has carried it out in no selfish way4 ,the warm and deep loyalty of ,india bears testimony to this2 for native sentiment everywhere reveals marked appreciation4 ,chapter ,,ii4 ,,the ,,religions ,,of ,,india4 ,india is the mother of religions4 ,no other land has been so prolific in religious thought or has founded faiths which have commanded the allegiance of so large a portion of the human race4 ,while the ,aryans of the ,west have been content to borrow their faith from the ,hebrews2 ,indo-,aryans have produced the most wonderful and mighty ethnic religion 7,brahmanism7 and also one of the three great missionary religions of the world 7,buddhism74 ,a third of the human race today cling with devotion to these two products of the fertility of the mind1 and the spirituality of the heart1 of ,india4 ,india's toleration for other religions has been marked4 ,for twelve centuries she has been the asylum of ,zoroastrianism4 ,nearly nine-tenths of the followers of that ancient cult of ,persia found and still enjoy a hospitable home in ,india4 ,there are more of the narrow1 bigoted followers of ,mohammed among these tolerant people than are found in any other land--even in the wide domains of the ,sultan4 ,christians also have lived1 practically unmolested1 in this great land almost from ,apostolic days4 ,thus not a few of the great ,faiths of the world are at present represented1 and are struggling either for existence or dominance1 in the land of the ,vedas4 ,the principal faiths of the land1 with their adherents1 were as follows1 according to census of #ahia3 ,hindu #bjg1gca1gbg ,sikh #a1ijg1hch ,jain #a1daf1fch ,buddhist7#e7 #g1aca1cfa ,parsee #hi1ijd ,mohammedan #eg1bca1afd ,jewish #ag1jjj ,christian7#f7 #b1bhd1jjj ,let us consider these faiths briefly4 ,it will be seen that ,christianity has1 as its followers1 only one per cent4 of the whole population of the land4 7a7 ,judaism4 ,the ,jewish ,community in ,india numbers only #ag1jjj2 these are found mostly in ,bombay and ,poonah4 ,perhaps the most interesting colony of them is that on the west coast in ,cochin4 ,i had the pleasure of visiting them in #ahig4 ,there are #a1ejj of them divided into two sections--the ,white1 and the ,black ,jews4 ,there is a marked racial difference between the two4 ,the ,blacks were originally the slaves of the ,whites as is shown by their historical documents4 ,it is not known when the ,whites came to ,india4 ,some think that they fled there during the ,jewish exile4 ,more likely they came upon the dispersion during the first century of our era4 ,the purity of their blood and the remarkable fairness of their complexion indicate that the settlement has been from time to time reenforced from northwestern countries4 ,they are an exceedingly conservative people2 and in their two synagogues1 they conduct their worship perhaps more like the ,jews of twenty centuries ago than do any other representatives of that race today4 ,the day-school connected with the ,white ,synagogue closely resembles the little school which our ,lord attended at ,nazareth4 7b7 ,mohammedanism4 ,about one-fifth of the whole population of that land is connected with the religion of the great prophet of ,arabia4 ,this is a number largely in excess of the whole ,mohammedan population of ,turkey4 ,it is very suggestive that this faith finds larger growth under the peaceable protection of the ,indian1 than under the semi-barbarism of the ,moslem1 government4 ,this religion was carried into ,india in #gaa ,a4 ,d4 at the point of the sword2 and its establishment and success for centuries was owing to the same method4 ,this community is not evenly distributed all over ,india2 for1 more than one-third of it is found in ,bengal alone1 where it furnishes the majority of the population4 ,more than one-half of the adherents of this faith in ,india are converts from ,hinduism4 ,these were gathered in former centuries when the ,mohammedan power was dominant1 and when to be a member of any other faith than ,islam was regarded as a disability4 ,the ,mohammedans of the country are1 on the whole1 physically more sturdy and vigorous than their neighbours4 ,government1 in its treatment of the people1 has to conciliate and regard with favour this class more than the ,hindus who are four times their number4 ,they possess a great deal of religious bigotry which is intrenched behind their dense ignorance4 ,there is a no more ignorant element than this in the population of ,india2 only six per cent4 of the men are able to read and hardly any of the women2 and they seem1 even today1 to have a positive aversion to the schoolhouse4 ,mohammedanism had1 during the days of its dominance1 considerable influence in the land2 but it did very little to improve the material1 moral or religious condition of the people2 and it is a significant fact that1 comparing today the adherents of ,islam in ,india1 with those of ,hinduism1 the latter are found not inferior in life1 morals and aspirations to the followers of the prophet4 ,the converts gathered from ,mohammedanism by ,christianity are few1 though not so few as ordinarily represented4 ,in ,north ,india encouraging success has been achieved by missions for this class4 ,but in ,south ,india1 where their numbers are fewer1 efforts in their behalf have not been so well organised and have produced smaller results4 ,it is a hard task to reach and to move this class1 owing not only to the important truth of monotheism1 which they hold with great enthusiasm1 but also because of the supreme ignorance which blinds them equally to the weakness of their own1 and to the excellence of the ,christian1 faith4 7c7 ,parseeism4 ,this faith has had adherents in ,india for eleven centuries4 ,driven out by ,mohammedanism from their home in ,persia1 the ,parsees found refuge in ,india4 ,there are only #ajj1jjj of these followers of ,zoroaster in the world4 #ij1jjj of them are in ,india2 and nearly all of these reside in ,bombay and its vicinity4 ,their faith1 ,zoroastrianism1 is the purest of ethnic religions4 ,it has preserved its ancient integrity and high tone much better than its sister faith1 ,brahmanism4 ,among the members of this religion are found men possessed of great enterprise1 much wealth1 the spirit of progress and of philanthropy and culture4 ,they give high honour and position to their women1 and in all matters of civilization are considerably in advance of even the best class of ,hindus4 ,this religion1 though from the same source with ,brahmanism1 has fundamental differences of doctrine from that faith4 ,none is more marked or significant than its ,dualism as contrasted with the ,pantheism of its sister faith4 ,the problem of the origin of evil has found these two diverse interpretations and these have had a large influence in shaping the characters1 respectively1 of these two great ethnic religions4 ,besides the far-off common source of these two religions1 indicated by the earliest names and character of their deities1 there is hardly any bond of fellowship in doctrine1 worship or observance between the fire worshipping ,parsee and the ,hindu idolater4 ,and though these ,parsees have1 for more than a millennium1 made ,india their home1 they have kept themselves apart from the people of the land and are still as truly foreigners in the land of their adoption as are the ,english residents4 7d7 ,buddhism4 ,this religion is a child of ,india2 its founder1 ,gautama1 was the product of that land1 and1 next to our ,lord ,himself1 is the greatest among the founders of religions4 ,buddhism arose as a reaction1 twenty-five centuries ago1 against the excesses of ,brahmanism4 ,it flourished wonderfully for a few centuries1 and at the time when ,christ was on earth1 had gained supremacy over the old faith and had become the ,state religion in ,india4 ,owing to the ,brahmanic revival1 in the eighth century of our era1 ,buddhism was in its turn1 driven out of the land1 and has found refuge in ,ceylon and in more eastern countries from that time until the present4 ,since then it has been almost entirely without followers in ,india proper4 ,of the ,british ,india possessions ,burma is the only place where it is the popular faith today4 ,still it is not without much influence in the land of its birth4 ,for1 ,brahmanism overcame its rival faith in ,india only by adopting some of its most fundamental contentions and teachings4 ,indeed1 modern ,hinduism is largely a blending of the ,brahmanism of old with its supplanter1 ,buddhism4 ,the abundant sacrifices which ,brahmanism offered were entirely abolished in deference to ,buddhistic sensibilities4 ,the doctrine of transmigration1 through ,buddhism1 received new emphasis2 and kindness to all living creatures was extolled to a supreme virtue4 ,as a climax to this attitude of conciliation ,hinduism finally adopted the ,buddha as the ninth incarnation of ,vishnu4 ,thus1 by the irony of history1 ,gautama1 the ,buddha1 found a place in the pantheon of the religion which he gave his life to overthrow2 and today many of the leading aspects of the life and teaching of the ,hindus may be traced1 either in source or in emphasis1 to his religion4 7e7 ,jainism4 ,this religion is an offshoot1 or the ,india remnant1 of ,buddhism4 ,it perhaps represents that element among the followers of the ,buddha who declined to be absorbed into the revived and transformed ,brahmanic faith4 ,through the many centuries of their existence as a sect they have spurned every approach of the ,brahmans and have largely stood for ,buddhistic teaching and observances4 ,they have differed little from ,buddhists in their beliefs2 for they deny the authority of the ,hindu ,vedas1 disregard sacrifices1 cultivate a high morality1 believe strongly in transmigration and reverence life in all its forms4 ,and yet1 strangely enough1 many of the priests of their temples are ,brahmans and they place ,hindu idols close to their shrines4 ,they differ from the ,buddhists chiefly in their objects of worship and in their ritual4 ,they have a mythology of their own--a mythology of saints rather than of gods4 ,these saints1 or 8,jaina10 7the 8victorious ones0--those who have attained perfection through self-victory and discipline7 are worshipped1 and furnish an inspiration to all the devotees of that faith4 ,the ,jains1 like the ,parsees1 are found mostly in ,bombay and are a wealthy community1 usually engaged in banking and commerce4 ,they are noted for their charity1 and their philanthropy is largely directed towards helping the poor among them and for maintaining hospitals for animals4 ,illustration3 ,temple ,of ,buddha's ,tooth1 ,ceylon4 ,illustration3 ,oldest ,relics ,of ,buddhism1 ,ceylon4 7f7 ,sikhism4 ,this religion1 if we may so denominate it1 was founded by ,nanak ,shah in the fifteenth century4 ,nanak ,shah was apparently an admirer1 if not a follower1 of ,kabir1 the ,hindu reformer who established a sect which was essentially a compromise between ,hinduism and ,mohammedanism4 ,this is the chief characteristic of ,sikhism4 ,it eschewed the polytheism and idolatry of ,hinduism4 ,it taught the unity of the ,godhead1 abolished caste1 and enforced a high type of morality4 ,it has1 however1 subsequently fallen under the blighting influence of surrounding ,hinduism and has lost much of its distinctive excellence4 ,so that1 according to the census report of #ahia1 8distinction between ,sikhs and the rest of the ,brahmanic community is mainly ritualistic4444 ,the only trustworthy method of distinguishing this creed was to ask if the person in question repudiated the services of the barber and the tobacconist2 for the precepts most strictly enforced nowadays 7by the ,sikhs7 are that the hair of the head and face must never be cut1 and that smoking is a habit to be avoided40 ,however manifestly the ,sikh religion is going the common way of all the new faiths and religious revolts of ,india--the way of reabsorption into ,hinduism--it has done much to create and foster a strong national feeling4 ,sikhs were cruelly persecuted by the then ruling ,mohammedans4 ,but the overthrow of the ,moghul ,empire gave the ,sikhs territorial power and they possessed the only remaining political organization in the ,punjab4 ,so that1 at the advent of the ,british1 the ,sikhs were a mighty power to be dealt with4 ,they became the great power of ,north ,india2 and during the ,indian mutiny their loyalty to the ,british ,raj was its salvation4 ,at present the ,sikh nation1 warlike and valiant as ever1 furnishes1 perhaps1 the most stalwart and invincible contingent for the ,indian ,army4 7g7 ,hinduism4 ,this is the religion of three-fourths of all the inhabitants of ,india and of nine-tenths of all those who are there reached by missionaries4 ,what is ,hinduism8 ,it is a mixture of ,brahmanism1 ,buddhism and ,devil-worship4 ,as we have seen1 the supplanting faith of ,buddha was finally absorbed1 so far as ,india was concerned1 into the old faith4 ,when1 later on1 the ,brahmans moved towards the southern part of the peninsula they entered the region occupied by1 and largely given over to1 demonolatry4 ,according to its wont ,brahmanism1 as modified by ,buddhism1 sought not to overthrow the primitive cult of the people1 but to absorb it4 ,thus1 in ,south ,india today1 more than three-fourths of the people are devil worshippers4 ,and yet1 with their demons1 they have been accepted into the higher faith of the ,aryan2 and1 according to their mood and preference1 give themselves to the worship of ,hindu gods or village demons4 ,worshipping in pure ,hindu temples is to that people but a pastime1 a mere holiday diversion2 while the appeasing of the demons at their village shrines and under old trees in their hamlets is the most serious concern of their life4 ,and yet all of them are regarded1 and rightly regarded1 as ,hindus4 ,indeed1 in the ,hinduism of today1 especially as found in ,south ,india1 can be found living amicably together and without any apparent sense of incongruity or conflict the lowest type of fetishism1 an ardent devil-worship1 an engrossing ceremonialism1 a worship of the higher ,brahmanical deities1 a thoroughgoing pantheism and a pure theism4 ,i have witnessed in our district1 side by side1 a hideous fetish1 a gross idol of a local demon1 an image of ,vishnu who is the best of ,brahmanical gods1 while in an adjacent hamlet lived families who belonged to none of these cults but who gave themselves to a belief in1 and practice of1 a vague theism which is farther removed from the fetishism of their neighbours than is their religion from the highest type of ,christian teaching4 ,thus ,hinduism may be viewed as an immense cloth of many colours2 which colours have been patched together without any reference to harmony or consistency4 ,in other words1 that religion is a big mass of mutually inconsistent and undigested beliefs1 practices and ceremonies4 ,it has not only mutually antagonistic philosophies1 it has also three different ways of salvation1 #ccj1jjj1jjj gods and as many laws and customs which1 though binding as the laws of the ,medes and ,persians1 are nevertheless1 absolutely wanting in consistency and in unity of purpose and teaching4 ,in the words of ,sir ,alfred ,lyall1--8,the general character of ,indian religion is that it is unlimited and comprehensive1 up to the point of confusion2 it is a boundless sea of divine beliefs and practices2 it encourages the worship of innumerable gods by an infinite variety of rites2 it permits every doctrine to be taught1 every kind of mystery to be imagined1 any sort of theory to be held as to the inner nature and visible operation of the divine power40 ,it has been the wont of ,brahmanism not to directly antagonize and overthrow the old and the opposing cults1 but rather to absorb them4 ,note here its fundamental contrast with ,christianity4 ,it meets its rival with a smile of appreciation1 then seeks to fraternize with it1 after which it approves and appropriates and finally absorbs it4 ,in the ,madura ,district of ,south ,india1 where ,i have lived1 the ,brahmans1 upon their first arrival1 found all the people given to the worship of their village demons4 ,they said to them1 practically1--8,we do not wish to deprive you of your devil shrines and images and worship4 ,we will take the leading demons which you worship and marry them to our great gods and then give to them a place in our pantheon and a part in our worship4 ,come ye also with them and we will welcome you into our temples and faith40 ,thus 8,meenatchi10 the old and the principal demoness of the primitive cult of that region1 was married to the great god ,siva and became the presiding goddess of the great ,hindu temple of ,madura2 and all her old worshippers followed her into the new faith of ,hinduism4 ,so all those people are ,hindus today4 ,and yet they have not abated one jot of their interest in and practice of their demonolatry4 ,that which may be regarded as the more strictly ,brahmanical development and manifestation of ,hinduism is divided1 at present1 into two great cults4 ,these are ,saivism1 or the worship of ,siva1 and ,vaishnavism1 or the worship of ,vishnu4 ,these two cults1 while not mutually antagonistic1 are nevertheless entirely separate--their devotees1 respectively1 being satisfied with their own god and his incarnation and manifestations4 ,the first god of the ,hindu triad 7,brahma1 ,vishnu and ,siva7--has practically no shrines among ,hindus today4 ,his worship has been largely transferred to his so-called sons1 the ,brahmans2 and ,siva has1 in the main1 absorbed all his functions as creator4 ,as it is only ,vishnu1 the preserver1 and ,siva1 the destroyer and recreator that have anything to do with men1 the ,hindus devote themselves to these two only4 ,siva is the 8great god10 the austere and terrible one whom the people fear4 ,he is known chiefly through his phallic emblem1 the linga1 which emphasizes his creative activity4 ,vishnu is the benign god who has resorted to many incarnations whereby he might free the world of demons who were worrying and destroying our race4 ,siva has many manifestations2 ,vishnu alone has 8descents0 or incarnations1 some of which were in brute1 and some in human1 form4 ,these two cults obtain universally throughout ,india4 ,vaishnavism 7the worship of ,vishnu7 has many popular sects which wield extensive influence throughout the country4 ,the one established by ,vallabha-,swami1 in the sixteenth century1 is a worship of ,krishna and is given to the indulgence of the passions and is characterised by gross licentiousness4 ,the sect founded by ,chaitanya in the fourteenth century is one of the most celebrated1 and is very popular in ,bengal4 ,it subordinates everything to faith 7bhakti7 even making this more important than caste4 ,contemplation1 rather than ritual1 was ,chaitanya's pathway to salvation and he gave supreme value to the virtue of obedience to the 8guru0 or religious guide4 ,in ,south ,india the cult of the religious reformer1 ,ramanuja1 who flourished in the twelfth century1 has extensive popularity4 ,he was a man of great thought1 and his special type of ,vedantic philosophy is much in vogue today4 ,he proclaimed the unity of ,god under the name of ,vishnu4 ,he received converts from every caste4 ,it is an interesting fact that nearly all1 in the long list of religious reformers in ,india1 took a position of hostility to the caste system4 ,but it is also significant that none of these reform movements has persisted through the centuries in that attitude1 but has fallen into line with orthodox ,hinduism in absolute submission to the caste demon4 8,sakti0 worship has also attained great influence and extensive predominance in many parts of ,india4 ,this is the worship of the ,sakti or the female half of the great deities of the land4 ,the ,saktar preminently worship ,kali1 the goddess of blood1 and the other consorts of ,siva4 ,it is a worship of power 78,sakti0 means energy or power71 and usually power of the maleficent type4 ,it is perhaps the lowest form of ,hinduism and easily lends itself to a gratification of the lowest passions of men4 ,this tantric cult 7the tantras are the sacred books of the ,saktar7 is the only one in modern ,hinduism which indulges in bloody sacrifices--,kali and her sisters being satisfied by blood as by nothing else4 ,this attests the non-,aryan origin and character of this worship1 inasmuch as ,brahmanism1 since the days of ,buddha1 abjures all bloody sacrifice4 ,let it not be supposed1 however1 from the above remarks1 about the multiform and self-contradictory character of the amorphous thing called ,hinduism1 that it is therefore impossible for us to understand and measure its nature and power4 ,for ,brahmanism1 through all ages1 has not been without a definite tendency1 an underlying philosophy and pervasive fundamental beliefs4 ,it is indeed more a congeries of faiths than a simple religion1 like ,christianity4 ,and yet1 amid all its hosts of contradictions and ways of salvation and sects and cults there have sounded1 as a diapason through all the centuries1 the fundamental teachings of ,vedantism4 ,a few doctrines such as pantheism1 transmigration1 8karma10 8bhakti0 and final absorption into the ,supreme ,soul are all but universally held by the people of all sects and divisions1 however much at variance with these their peculiar beliefs may seem to be4 ,the prominent staple of ,hindu religious thinking in all ages has doubtless been ,vedantism--that subtle form of pantheism which has charmed and bewildered not a few of the great minds of the ,occident also4 ,the paramount influence of this philosophy upon all religious thought and life in ,india is unmistakable today1 as it has been through the centuries4 ,of this ,max ,mller says1--8,if the people of ,india can be said to have now any system of religion at all 444 it is to be found in the ,vedanta philosophy1 the leading tenets of which are known to some extent in every village4444 ,nothing will extinguish that ancient spirit of ,vedantism which is breathed by every ,hindu from his earliest youth1 and pervades1 in various forms1 even the prayers of the idolater1 the speculations of the philosopher1 and the proverbs of the beggar40 ,we may therefore1 without hesitation1 so far as ,hinduism is concerned regard as philosophic ,hinduism those basal doctrines and their corollaries which1 from the earliest days1 have been the stock in trade of all ,indo-,aryan thinkers and at the same time the source and solvent of all the mysteries of their faith4 ,by a study of these one may easily reach the heart of ,hindus and of ,hinduism and can weigh and measure the forces which enter into their religious life and thinking1 and can compare them with the teachings and institutions of ,christianity4 ,this study will bring a twofold blessing to ,christians of the ,west1 especially to missionaries who have given themselves to the regeneration of ,india4 ,it will give them a larger degree of respect for that great people of the ,east and a new appreciation for ,hindu thought and religious speculation4 ,we of the ,west have been imbued with too much of an intellectual arrogance and a spirit of contempt for 8the benighted ,hindu40 ,even if we ever learned1 we certainly have too easily forgotten1 that many1 many centuries ago--when our ancestors were grovelling in the lowest depths of primitive savagery--the rishis of ,india were engaged in perhaps the highest self-propelled flights of religious speculation the world has ever known and were working out a philosophy1 or more correctly a system of ontology1 which is today the wonder and admiration of ,western savants4 ,i argue for a study of those teachings which1 though hoary with age1 are today all-important as the foundation upon which the many-aisled temple of ,hinduism is built and 7if ,i may change the figure7 as the cement which binds the whole structure together4 ,a few years ago it was generally thought that ,brahmanism was little else than the insane ravings of well-meaning1 but unguided1 or1 worse still1 misguided1 denizens of darkness2 the whole literature was considered a mass of intellectual and moral rubbish4 ,how much the verdict of ,western scholars upon this subject has changed during the last quarter of a century ,i need not mention4 ,all men who have investigated the subject give today unstinted praise to the heart and intellect of those sages who produced much of the ancient religious literature of ,india4 ,they will not endorse the statement of the great ,german philosopher who exclaimed1 8,in the whole world there is no study so beneficial and so elevating as that of the ,upanishads4 ,it has been the solace of my life--it will be the solace of my death40 ,and yet many claim that its truths are numerous and spiritually helpful4 ,hopkins writes7#g73--8,the sincerity1 the fearless search of the ,indic ,sages for truth1 their loftiness of thinking1 all these will affect the religious student of every clime and age1 though the fancied result of their thinking may pass without effect over a modern mind40 ,and ,barth truly remarks7#h73--8,the religion of ,india has not only given birth to ,buddhism and produced1 to its own credit1 a code of precepts which is not inferior to any other2 but in the poetry which they have inspired there is at times a delicacy and bloom of moral sentiment which the ,western world has never seen outside of ,christianity4 ,nowhere else1 perhaps1 do we meet with an equal wealth of fine sentences40 ,of their intellectual acumen ,dr4 ,matheson says3 8,it is not too much to say that the mind of the ,west1 with all its undoubted impulses towards the progress of humanity1 has never exhibited such an intense amount of intellectual force as is to be found in the religious speculations of ,india4444 ,these have been the cradle of all ,western speculations2 and wheresoever the ,european mind has risen into heights of philosophy1 it has done so because the ,brahman has been the pioneer4 ,there is no intellectual problem in the ,west which had not its earliest discussion in the ,east2 and there is no modern solution of that problem which will not be found anticipated in the ,east40 ,these words of the ,scotch divine are doubtless strong2 too strong1 ,i think4 ,and yet they may be serviceable1 if they warn us against that proneness to depreciate the intellectual value and serious purpose of the religious books of that land4 ,it is worse than useless to confidently descant upon the errors1 inconsistencies1 the follies and absurdities of these writings without acknowledging at the same time the profound thought1 the deep spiritual yearning and the sublime poetic beauty1 which characterize some portions4 ,in this connection the question of the origin of ,hinduism is important4 ,it was formerly laid down as a postulate of the ,christian's belief that ,hinduism is of the devil2 and that1 coming from below1 it must be shunned as a study and denounced root and branch as a thing purely satanic4 ,this theory has entirely given way to a more rational belief4 ,the question whether the truths of ,hinduism1 with those of other ethnic religions1 have filtered down from some primitive revelation and are the relics of a vanishing faith1 divinely communicated to some of the earliest members of our race2 or whether ,god has directly1 from time to time1 guided the thoughts and answered the deep yearnings of the soul of the ,indo-,aryan1 is one which is still discussed4 ,but modern scholarship is practically of one voice in maintaining that ,god hath not left ,himself without witness among the many nations of the earth1--a witness that has indeed been comparatively feeble--a revelation that is dim and starlike as compared with the noonday brightness of the ,sun of ,righteousness in the ,christian religion4 ,the day has come when the ,christian must accept and believe that ,god has been dealing directly with this people through the many centuries of their history1 leading them to important truths1 even though their evil hearts and worse lives have caused them1 in many cases1 to 8change the truth of ,god into a lie and worship and serve the creature more than the ,creator40 ,many of the truths which are imbedded in the religion of that land find their solution in no other hypothesis than this4 ,this study of ,hinduism will also lead us to realize the important truth of the many points of contact between that faith and our own4 ,a knowledge of their sympathies cannot be of less importance than that of their antipathies4 ,and this knowledge is indispensable to the ,christian worker in ,india as it gives a new and a most direct way of approach to the ,hindu heart1 and a fresh and all-potent argument with them in behalf of ,christianity4 ,this process also best illustrates the method and ,spirit of ,christ4 ,dr4 ,robson aptly remarks that 8while no religion has done more to overthrow other religions than ,christianity1 no religious teacher has said less against other religions than ,christ4 ,we have from ,him only one short saying condemning the ,gentiles' aim in life1 but not even one reflecting on the gods they believed in1 or the worship they paid them4 ,was not this because ,he came not to destroy but to fulfill80 ,i can refer to only a few of these common points and belief in the two faiths4 7a7 ,incarnation4 ,these are the only two faiths which have exalted1 to primal importance1 this doctrine4 ,in ,christianity it is basal1 and in later ,brahmanism1 or ,hinduism1 it has overshadowed nearly every other teaching4 ,in a sense the all-pervasive pantheism of ,brahmanism made a certain form of incarnation a necessity from the earliest days4 ,the ancient ,aryans could not rest satisfied with the ,unknown and the ,absolute of their ,vedantism2 so they speedily began to erect for their evergrowing pantheon an endless procession of emanations4 ,but it was1 probably1 the phenomenal success of ,gautama1 and especially the posthumous influence of his life and example1 that opened the eyes of the ,brahmans and suggested to them the supreme need of an avatar 78descent071 for the popularizing of their faith4 ,and thus originated that vast system of descents1 or incarnations1 which have multiplied so greatly and developed so grotesquely all over the land4 ,the common ground furnished by this doctrine to the two faiths is not adequately appreciated4 ,this truth of incarnation1 in its fundamental doctrinal bearing upon ,hinduism1 and in the strengthening of its hold1 even until the present1 upon the popular imagination and affection1 should not go for nought in the mind of ,christian critics1 because of the content of the multitudinous descents1 which is mostly grotesque1 debasing and repulsive4 ,they forget that the ,christian doctrine of incarnation furnishes1 perhaps1 the best leverage with which the ,christian missionary is to overturn the faith of that people1 simply because the doctrine itself has been so popularized1 even if debased1 in ,india for many centuries4 ,christ should be none the less1 yea the more1 welcome to that land because the most popular god of the ,hindu pantheon 7,krishna7 is also the leading incarnation of ,vishnu4 7b7 ,vicarious ,atonement4 ,in ,christianity this is second in importance only to the doctrine of incarnation4 ,in ,brahmanism also it has maintained1 from the first1 a position of cardinal importance4 ,in pre-,buddhistic days this found expression in sacrifices that were probably more numerous and more precious than those offered by any other people4 ,this is partly shown by the fact that words used for sacrifice are more numerous in the ,sanskrit than even in the ,hebrew language4 ,it is true that their idea of sacrifice1 both as to its import and object1 was different from ours or from that of the ,israelites2 and indeed their own ideas also varied at different times4 ,under the influence of ,buddhism1 sacrifice1 as such1 was practically abandoned2 but the idea of atonement for sin1 which was underlying them1 they practically carried over into the doctrine of transmigration4 ,for1 however stiffly they contend that1 through metempsychosis1 the doctrine of karma is realized and every soul atones for its own sin1 it nevertheless remains true that the element of consciousness separates the person who sinned from him who suffers2 and one becomes the involuntary atoner and the other the atoned for4 7c7 ,spirituality4 ,it may1 to some1 seem absurd to bring the two faiths into anything but the relationship of contrast in this particular1 when it is remembered that we are confronted daily by a ,hinduism which is as grossly formal1 materialistic and sensual as any religion known in any land4 ,but it is unnecessary to remind us of the fact that the literature of the faith of this people is1 in some respects1 far removed from the low life and ritual of the present day2 and in no greater respect than in this which we are now considering4 ,all students recognize in many writings1 vedic and post-vedic1 profound seriousness and a sometimes strange depth of spiritual apprehension coupled with an other-worldliness which1 to the western mind1 seems absurdly impractical4 ,indeed1 the naturally mystical bent of the ,hindu mind has been regarded1 and1 doubtless1 rightly regarded1 as one of the chief obstacles to a true and easy understanding of much that is in their sacred writings by the too practical ,westerner4 ,we should not be blind to the lofty height of spiritual thought which we occasionally1 and the deep spiritual yearning which we frequently1 are permitted to witness in their books4 ,in evidence of this we need only to refer to the powerful hold which the yoga system of philosophy and life has upon them4 ,an intense meditativeness1 a devotional ecstasy and an insight of true heavenly wisdom is the ideal of life to which the ,hindu has been called from time very remote4 7d7 ,eschatology4 ,in ,hinduism1 as in ,christianity1 man is directed to look to a judgment-seat and a system of rewards and punishments in the world to come4 ,while this doctrine again1 in its development and detail1 differs essentially from that of the ,christian faith1 it is well to call attention to it as a point of contact4 ,it breathes the spirit of karma1 which1 in its retributive power1 has been compared by some to the doctrine of heredity1 and by others1 to that of fate4 ,karma demands the full future fruition of every act done in the body2 and many re-births1 with intervals of keener suffering and bliss in numerous hells and heavens1 are the countless steps in the doleful fugue of emancipation--a process which is enough to appall any but the patient1 stolid soul of a ,hindu4 ,and yet this weary detail of a very long and sisyphean effort to shake off this mortal coil and to enter into rest is worthy of the missionary's attention1 as it represents1 perhaps1 the most elaborate system of eschatology outside of the ,new ,testament4 ,it is also ethical in its character1 and in its fundamental principles has chords which harmonize with those of the ,christian doctrine4 7e7 ,the ,doctrine of ,faith4 ,this doctrine maintains that1 by devotion to a personal god1 salvation is achieved4 ,this idea separates this doctrine from1 and apparently antagonizes1 the prevailing philosophy of the land--,vedantism4 ,this cult of ,bhakti is connected with ,krishnaolatry1 which is the worship of the most unworthy and licentious god of the ,hindu pantheon4 ,of ,vaishnavism1 or the worship of ,vishnu1 in which the bhakti1 or faith1 doctrine prevails1 ,sir ,monier ,williams remarks3--8,notwithstanding the gross polytheistic superstitions and hideous idolatry to which it gives rise1 it is the only ,hindu system worthy of being called a religion4 ,at all events it must be admitted that it has more common ground with ,christianity than any other form of non-,christian faiths40 ,the basal truth of bhakti--that of supreme attachment to1 or faith in1 a personal god--could not fail of rousing within the devout lofty and stirring emotion4 ,bhaktar1 i4e41 those who have given themselves absolutely to this doctrine and make it the motive and inspiration of their lives1 are oblivious to all other bonds1 abjuring among themselves even caste and all its demands1 and proclaiming the true oneness of the brotherhood of the faith among all the devotees of the same god4 ,illustration3 ,rock-,cut ,temple1 ,south ,india4 ,thus we have today a large and vigorous class of ,hindus who have subordinated every doctrine and practice of their religion to that of faith1 or bhakti4 ,i believe1 with not a few illustrious scholars1 that this doctrine traces its origin to ,christianity4 ,like everything else which ,hinduism had absorbed1 it has been considerably transmuted in the process4 ,it has been necessarily and greatly affected and degraded by the character of the gods who have been its objects4 ,it has been debased by contact with idolatry and error1 with superstition and sensuality4 ,and yet we trace its lineaments to its lofty1 divine origin1 and hesitate not to say that it furnishes a common ground of a fundamental truth of which ,christian missionaries have not yet sufficiently availed themselves in their work for this people4 ,hindus have also done not a little thinking in the elaboration of the doctrine of salvation4 ,in their discussion as to the relative potency of divine grace and human agency in the salvation of man they became divided into two antagonistic schools1 corresponding1 very closely1 to the ,calvinistic and ,arminian1 among ,christians--the ,tengaliar maintaining the 8cat theory0 and the ,vadagaliar the 8monkey theory02 so called because one party holds that1 just as the cat saves her kitten by seizing and carrying it away bodily1 so ,god seizes and saves man without his own effort4 ,this is the doctrine of absolute grace4 ,the other party insists that the relation of the young monkey to its mother1 whereby its rescue from trouble depends upon its own grasp1 best represents the process of salvation in which man's coperation is necessary4 ,they have also developed the doctrine of growth in grace sometimes in a very instructive way4 ,the spiritual development from saloka 7in the same world with ,god7 to smpa 7in the divine presence7 thence to srpa 7in the divine image7 and finally to syujya 7complete identity with the divine ,being7 bears1 in some respects1 a striking resemblance to the teaching of ,st4 ,paul1 where he writes that ,jesus was 8made unto us wisdom1 righteousness1 sanctification and redemption0 7#a ,cor4 #a3cj74 ,in like manner they teach that1 for the attainment of beatitude1 it is necessary to pass through five stages--7#a7 that of snti1 quiet repose or calm and contemplative piety2 7#b7 that of dsya1 the slave state--the surrender of the whole will to ,god2 7#c7 that of sakhya1 or friendship2 7#d7 that of vtsalya1 or filial affection2 and 7#e7 that of mdhurya1 or supreme1 all-absorbing love4 ,i must refer briefly to only one other illustration of the probable influence of our religion upon the faith of ,india1 and that is in its teaching on eschatology4 ,the illustration is drawn from the tenth incarnation1 ,kalki avatr1 of ,vishnu4 ,this incarnation is to take place hereafter1 when ,vishnu will come1 at the close of the present ,kali yuga1 or iron age1 and put an end to these growing evil times1 destroying with them all the wicked and ushering in the new era of righteousness 7,satya yuga7 upon the earth4 ,for this great work of the restoration and the renovation of all creation1 he is to come seated upon a white horse with a drawn sword1 blazing like a comet4 ,hindus at present look forward to this new incarnation as their future deliverer1 when the sorrows and the depravity of this present1 shall be swallowed up in the glories and joys of the future1 age4 ,the striking thing about this teaching is not the hope which it inculcates for the future2 for that is practically a part of the ,hindu conception of the succession of the ages of their time system4 ,according to this the present era must yield to the coming good yuga1 which must1 in its turn1 give way to the ages of lesser good and of evil1 which again will go and come in their ever-changing cycle4 ,what seems remarkable is the form in which this idea is here clothed4 ,the coming of the ,deliverer upon a ,kalki--a white horse--with his great message of universal destruction and deliverance1 brings directly to our memory the ,bible prophecy of ,rev4 #f3b2 #ai3aa-af1 and also brings us into touch with the belief of many ,christians today as to the appearance and the work of the ,son of ,man at the great day of ,his ,second ,coming4 ,the question arises as to how this avatar originated4 ,it evidently seems to be an afterthought and of no ancient date among the series of ,vishnu's descents4 ,and following the ninth1 or ,buddha1 avatar1 which was clearly intended as a bait to ,buddhists1 and as a frank and full compromise with that hitherto supplanting and hostile faith1 it seems natural to suppose that this tenth also came in the same way and with the same spirit as a palm leaf to another religion1 even our own1 whose prophetic words about the second coming of ,christ could be so easily appropriated and so harmlessly adopted into the ,hindu system4 ,it thus introduced into their faith an element of future glory and triumph which the religion had not formerly possessed4 ,indeed this very element of aggression and conquest is one of the signs of its ,western origin and ,christian source4 ,chapter ,,iii4 ,,hinduism ,,and ,,christianity ,,contrasted4 ,in the previous chapter ,i have endeavoured to show and emphasize the teachings common to ,christianity and ,hinduism4 ,but it must not be forgotten that if their consonances are neither few nor unimportant their dissonances are far more numerous and fundamental4 ,they meet us at almost every point of our investigation and impress us with a sense of a vast contrast4 ,we will now give ourselves to a brief study of these divergences4 ,the two faiths differ essentially4 #a4 ,in their ,initial ,conceptions4 ,their starting points are almost antipodal4 ,this will seem evident when we study their views3 7a7 ,in reference to religion itself4 ,christianity is briefly and beautifully explained by its ,founder 7,luke #ae7 as a divine method of seeking and saving the lost4 ,it is the expression of the ,father's love yearning for the return1 and seeking the complete salvation1 of the son4 ,it is primarily and pervasively a 8,thus saith the ,lord0--a revelation from ,god manward4 ,hinduism on the other hand has been the embodiment of man's aspirations after ,god4 ,wonderfully pathetic1 beautiful and elevating these aspirations have been at times2 and doubtless guided at points by ,him whom they so ardently sought4 ,they perhaps represent the highest reach of the soul in its self-propelled flight towards its ,maker4 ,it is true that orthodox ,hindus variously describe the ,vedas as eternal1 as a direct emanation from ,brahma and as a divine entity in themselves4 ,they constitute the 8,sruti0--8the directly heard0 message of ,god to man4 ,but the authors of the ,upanishads1 which are a part of ,sruti1 absolve man from the necessity of accepting the four ,vedas and propound a way of salvation entirely separate from1 and independent of1 vedic prayers and ritual4 ,the direct influence of the ,vedas upon religious life and ritual in ,india today is practically nil2 while that of the ,upanishads1 which are the fons et origo of the all-potent philosophy1 is felt in every ,hindu life1 however humble4 ,this aspect of the two faiths is not unexpected when we remember3 7b7 ,their very dissimilar conceptions of ,god4 ,the monotheism of the one and the pantheism of the other are clear and uncompromising4 ,they have stood for many centuries as representatives1 to the world1 of these very dissimilar beliefs4 ,christianity inherited from ,judaism its passion for monotheism1 and brings the 8,god of ,israel0 very near to our race as the infinitely loving ,father4 ,it has not only emphasized ,his personality but reveals1 with incomparable power and tenderness1 ,his supreme interest in our race and ,his loving purpose concerning it4 ,on the other hand ,hinduism derived its highest wisdom and deepest convictions concerning the ,divine ,being from the ancient rishis through the ,upanishads4 ,there they accepted1 once for all1 the doctrine of the ,brahm 7neuter7--the one passionless1 immovable1 unsearchable1 ineffable ,being who1 without a second1 stands as the source and embodiment of all real being4 ,barth truly remarks that 8this is the most imposing and subtle of the systems of ontology yet known in the history of philosophy40 ,this inscrutable ,being is the only real existence1 all else being illusion projected by ignorance4 ,this doctrine of identity or nonduality 7advaitha7 lies at the foundation of all their religious thinking4 ,this ,being which is devoid of qualities 7nirguna71 because incomprehensible to man1 can be of no comfort to him4 ,in this respect the ,hindu is an agnostic of a profound type4 ,for this mystical philosophy one word of praise is eminently due4 ,it is not to be confounded with that species of ,western pantheism which is rank materialism--making ,god and the material universe convertible terms4 ,sir ,william ,jones emphasized this difference--the difference between a system which1 in all that it sees1 sees ,god alone1 and that which acknowledges no ,god beyond what it sees4 ,one is the bulwark of materialism2 the other its most uncompromising enemy4 ,whatever the defects of this philosophy of the ,upanishads it must be confessed to be deeply spiritual4 ,and yet in this very effort to conserve the spiritual and transcendental character of ,brhm the ,aryan sage has covered ,him with the dark robe of mysticism and pushed ,him into a far off realm beyond human ken4 ,so that the only intimations which man has of ,him are confessedly false projection of ignorance4 ,for all practical purposes this hypothetical deity--for the very existence of ,brhm is only assumed as a working hypothesis by the theosophist--is a nonentity to the worshipper4 ,how can a being lend itself to a devout soul in worship when it is rigidly devoid of every quality that can inspire or attract the soul8 ,this very fact has led the ordinary ,hindu to seek and develop something else as an object of his devotion4 ,hence the polytheism of ,brahmanism4 ,let it not be supposed that there is any antagonism between their pantheism and their polytheism4 ,one is the natural offspring of the other4 ,the numberless gods which today are supposed to preside over the destiny of the people1 are but emanations1 the so-called 8play0 of ,brhm4 ,properly speaking they are neither supreme nor possessed of truly divine attributes4 ,even the ,hindu ,triad--,brahma 7masculine gender71 ,vishnu and ,siva--are but manifestations of the delight of the eternal ,soul to invest itself with qualities 7guna74 ,these three gods are no more real existences than are the myriad other children of illusion 7maya7 and ignorance 7avidya7 which constitute the universe4 ,and as they had their existence1 so will they find their dissolution1 in the fiat of the ,supreme ,soul4 ,india finds polytheism no more satisfying than it does pantheism4 ,there is no more assurance of comfort in worshipping #ccj1jjj1jjj gods1 whose multitude not only bewilders but also carries in itself refutation to the claim of any one to be supreme1 than there is in the yearning after an absolute1 ineffable ,being which cruelly evades human thought and definition4 ,it is no wonder therefore that the growth of the ,hindu pantheon is constant1 and both follows1 and bears testimony to1 the craving of the human soul for a ,god who can satisfy its wants and realize its deepest longings4 7c7 ,their theories of the universe are also divergent4 ,according to the ,bible the outer world is the creation1 by ,god1 out of nothing4 ,to the ,brahman of all times the idea of pure creation has seemed absurd4 ,ex nihilo nihil fit is an axiom of all their philosophies4 ,whether it be the ,vedantin who tells us that the material universe is the result of ,brhm invested with illusion1 or the ,sankya philosopher who attributes it to prakriti--the power of nature2 or the ,veisashika sage who traces it to eternal atoms2 they all practically posit that it is eternal4 ,of course the ,christian doctrine of creation from nothing does not1 as the ,hindu too often assumes1 maintain that the universe is a result without a cause2 for it teaches that ,god ,himself1 by the exercise of ,his sovereign will and omnipotence1 is an all-adequate cause to all created things4 ,if the ,vedantin claims that creation is impossible1 how can he at the same time believe that ideas have from time to time sprung up in the mind of ,brhm1 which ideas themselves have put on illusion and appear to human ignorance as the universe8 ,it is1 to say the least1 no easier for him1 with his conception of ,brhm1 to account for the origin of such ideas than it is for the ,christian to trace the source of the material universe to an all-wise and omnipotent ,god4 ,nor does the ,sankya philosopher1 by practically denying ,god and positing the eternal existence of souls and prakriti1 remove half the difficulties that he creates4 7d7 ,again1 the teachings of the two faiths concerning man are no less divergent4 ,in the ,bible man is represented as a son of ,god4 ,he is fallen indeed1 but with a trace1 even in his degradation1 of his ,father's lineaments4 ,we follow him in his willful rebellion against his ,father2 he plunges into the lowest depths of sin4 ,but we still recognise in him the promise of infinite and eternal possibilities of spiritual expansion and happiness4 ,indeed we find at work a divinely benevolent scheme through which he is to be ultimately exalted to heavenly places in ,christ ,jesus and made the heir of infinite bliss4 ,on the other hand1 ,hindu ,shastras represent man as mere illusion--the poor plaything of the absolute ,one4 ,for man to assume and to declare his own real existence is1 they say1 but the raving of his ignorance 7avidya74 ,to the practical ,western mind it seems almost impossible that a philosopher should be so lost in his philosophy as to aver that he1 the thinker and father of his philosophy1 has no real existence--is only illusion1 concerning which real existence can only be assumed for practical purposes4 ,what must be said of the philosophy begotten by such an illusive being8 ,shall it not also be doomed to vanish with him into the nothingness whence he came and which he now really is1 if he only knew it8 ,sir ,monier ,williams aptly remarks1--8,common sense tells an ,englishman that he really exists himself and that everything he sees around him really exists also4 ,he cannot abandon these two primary convictions4 ,not so the ,hindu ,vedantist4 ,dualism is his bugbear1 and common sense1 when it maintains any kind of real duality1 either the separate independent existence of a man's own spirit and of ,god's spirit1 or of spirit and matter1 is guilty of gross deception40 ,another conception regards the human soul 7jivatma7 as a part of the ,supreme ,soul4 ,this theory adds small comfort or dignity to it when we remember that this whole of which it is declared a part is an intangible1 unattractive ,being--devoid of all qualities 7nirguna74 ,if the soul existed from eternity as a part of the divine ,soul and will ultimately resume that interrupted existence1 what value1 ethical or otherwise1 can be attached to that bondage of manhood which was thrust upon the soul 7or was it voluntarily assumed878 ,this part of deity called individual soul certainly cannot be improved by its human conditions2 and the question is not--8,how soon can ,i pass through this slough of despond10 but1 8why was ,i thrust into it at all8 ,was it a mere sacred whim 7tiruvileiadal7 of ,brhm80 ,moreover this view of human 8self10 or soul1 carries one out too far into the sea of transcendental metaphysics to be of any practical use1 religiously4 ,we know something of man--this strange compound of soul and body--and we are deeply interested in his history and destiny2 the more deeply because we are included in this category4 ,but who knows of the eternal soul--that part of the absolute--separate from human conditions and apart from all experiences of men8 ,is it not simply the dream of the philosopher1 a convenient assumption to satisfy the needs of an impractical ontology8 ,to magnify the soul apart from human life1 and to interpret human life as the self's lowest degradation and something which is to be shaken off as quickly as possible1 can hardly be sound philosophy1 and is certainly bad theology4 ,it simply reduces this life into an irremedial evil1 with no moral significance or spiritual value4 ,this leads us to the second point of contrast3-- #b4 ,their ,ultimate ,aim or ,goal4 ,what do these two religions promise to do for those who embrace them8 ,the work which ,christianity proposes to itself is difficult and glorious4 ,it takes fallen1 sin-sodden1 man and leads him out into a new life of holiness2 it opens out to him a long and broad vista of life with an ever-enlarging1 blissful1 activity4 ,christ said that ,he came into the world that men might have life and have it abundantly4 ,he came not only to save the lost but also to develop all the grand possibilities of the soul to their utmost1 and to launch the human bark upon a voyage of everlasting life1 which means unceasing growth in all its noblest qualities1 activities and enjoyments4 ,hindu philosophy and faith1 on the other hand1 unite in commanding that human endowments be starved1 qualities suppressed1 activity of all kinds stayed1 ambition and every other desire1 even the noblest and purest1 quenched4 ,all the essential elements of life itself are to be mortified that the soul may1 unhampered by its own entanglement1 reach that consummation which is supposed to be final4 ,and what is it8 ,who can tell8 ,the ,aryan philosopher himself stands mute in its presence4 ,all that we can predicate of it is not life and happiness1 according to any standard of human experience known or imagined4 ,the idea that the individual soul will finally sink into and blend with the ,absolute ,being as a drop of water returns to and mingles with its mother ocean may seem plausible to the philosopher2 but of such an hypothetical existence we know absolutely nothing and can expect nothing that would inspire hope and kindle ambition4 ,in ,hinduism there are heavens many and not a few hells4 ,but unlike the places of reward and punishment connected with ,christianity1 they represent nothing final4 ,they are more like the purgatory of the ,catholics1 and represent only steps in the progress of the soul towards emancipation4 ,concerning the general view of human life1 its import and outcome1 the two faiths are antipodal4 ,christianity is brightly optimistic4 ,the future of every ,christian is to be as the sun shining more and more until the perfect day4 ,unceasing progress and eternal expansion are held out before him4 ,his is an heritage that will abide and will resound in an ever increasing anthem of praise throughout time and eternity4 ,nothing can occur hereafter to rob him of that crown of glory which is the gift of ,god and which is to result in likeness to ,him4 ,hinduism1 on the other hand1 is essentially pessimistic4 ,it teaches that human life is totally and irremediably evil4 ,every power of the soul must be exercised in the endeavour to shake off this terrible burden of separate human existence and escape all the conditions of this life4 ,that is the only relief possible4 ,to the ,hindu the question so often discussed in ,christian lands--8,is life worth living80--has no interest1 since it has but one answer possible4 ,and even if the ,indian sage forgets his present conditions and pessimism long enough to gaze down the long and dismal vista of numberless births to the final consummation 7,sayujya7--the final union with ,god--he finds in that nothing which the ,christian does not discover in tenfold richness and beauty in the ,bible4 ,to be partaker of the ,divine ,nature is a blessed reality to the ,christian without his forfeiting1 in the least1 the dignity of self-identity and the glory of separate personal consciousness4 ,to have the 8life hid with ,christ in ,god02 to be able triumphantly to exclaim--8,i live2 yet not ,i1 but ,christ liveth in me02 to experience the blessedness and power of abiding in ,christ and to realize the answer to ,christ's own prayer to the ,father--8that they also may be in us0--all this is the joy and hope of the ,christian in a manner and to a degree utterly impossible to the ,hindu whose union with the supreme spirit is the loss and end of self1 including all those faculties which are capable of enjoyment4 ,looking from another standpoint1 we perceive that the aim of the religion of ,christ is the banishing of sin from the life and the establishing of character4 ,sin is the dark background of ,christianity4 ,it explains its origin and reveals its universality4 ,its whole concern is with the emancipation of man from the presence and power of sin4 ,to the ,vedantin1 on the other hand1 sin1 in the ,christian sense of it1 is an impossibility4 ,where ,god is all and all is ,god there can be no separate will to antagonize the divine will4 ,monism necessarily1 in the last analysis1 carries every act and motive back to the supreme ,will and establishes an all-inclusive necessitarianism which is fatal to human freedom2 and it therefore excludes sin as an act of rebellion against ,god4 ,much is made of sin1 so called1 in the ,hindu system1 as we shall presently see2 but nowhere is more care needed than here that we may distinguish between ideas conveyed by this word in these two faiths4 ,in ,christianity the ethical character of sin is emphasized4 ,it is described as a thing of moral obliquity and spiritual darkness4 ,according to the ,upanishads the only defect of man is an intellectual one4 ,he is in bondage to ignorance4 ,plato made ignorance the chief source of moral evil and proposed philosophy as a remedy for the malady4 ,the ,vedantin differs from the ,greek philosopher only in his more absolute condemnation of 7avidya7 ignorance as the mother of all human ills4 ,remove this--let a man attain unto a true knowledge of self1 of the fact that he has no real separate existence and is one with the ,supreme ,soul--and he becomes thereby qualified for his emancipation and ends his long cycle of births4 ,moreover1 in the polytheism of the ,puranas and in the laws and customs of ,manu sin generally means only ceremonial defilement and the violation of customs and usages4 ,hinduism1 therefore1 has never addressed itself to the task of helping man as a sinner--of regenerating his heart1 of establishing within him that beautiful thing known in ,christian lands and philosophies as a well rounded1 symmetrical and perfect character4 ,for many reasons and in many ways it has aimed at a very different consummation in man from that consistently sought by ,christ and ,his religion4 #c4 ,the ,agency and ,means ,recognized and ,appealed to by those ,faiths ,respectively4 ,by what power and instrumentality are the above ends to be sought and attained8 ,they will be1 doubtless1 quite as divergent as the aims themselves were found to be4 ,in ,christianity ,god ,himself is the agent who works out its scheme of salvation4 ,he entered1 through infinite condescension1 into human life and relations in the ,incarnation4 ,he wrought1 in the days of ,his flesh1 the redemption of our race--a work which finds its climax in ,his atoning death4 ,in the person of the ,holy ,spirit ,he is working and bringing to full fruition1 in the hearts and lives of men1 the redemption which ,he wrought4 ,into this1 man enters not as an efficient cause of his own redemption4 ,he cannot atone for his past1 nor has he the assurance within himself for the future4 ,hence the atoning sacrifice of ,christ and the indwelling of the ,spirit of ,god which becomes in him a source of peace1 of power and of hope4 ,yet1 in this divine work1 man is neither passive nor apathetic4 ,in the exercise of saving faith he not only appropriates the works and gifts of ,god but also enters into full and active harmony and coperation with ,god in his own regeneration and salvation4 ,so that the ,apostle ,paul aptly urges the ,philippian ,christians 7,phil4 #b3ab7 to 8work out your own salvation with fear and trembling2 for it is ,god which worketh in you both to will and to work for ,his good pleasure40 ,how different is the picture presented to us by the ,hindu ,shastras of the means of human redemption--a picture1 however1 consonant with the aims which they have set before themselves to accomplish for man4 ,the first and all-present fact of this faith is the terrible loneliness and isolation of man in the great struggle of life4 ,his destiny is in his own hands1 and he must fight single-handed against a thousand odds in the awful battle for emancipation4 ,karma is the word used to express this thought which has possessed the ,hindu mind from the earliest days to the present4 ,this word may be translated 8works10 and means the acts by which the soul determines its own destiny4 ,in ,vedic times the all-powerful works were sacrifice and ritual4 ,in the ,upanishads they are meditation and self-mortification4 ,today they are ceremonial1 with works of charity1 self-renunciation or religious mendicancy generally added4 ,in pre-,buddhistic days sacrifice abounded in ,brahmanism2 and it grew to such proportions that the revolt headed by ,gautama and incarnated in ,buddhism became universal4 ,but vicariousness was largely wanting as an element in1 and as a cause of1 their sacrifices4 ,they were rather offered with a view to nourish the gods and as a means of acquiring power4 ,he who sacrificed a hundred horses was said to gain thereby even larger power than ,indra himself possessed--a power which enabled him to dethrone this god of the heavens4 ,such was the power said to inhere in sacrifice that the gods themselves combined to prevent men from the practice lest they should rise to larger power than themselves6 ,with the triumph and subsequent absorption of ,buddhism into ,brahmanism the latter abandoned its sacrifices and accepted the ,buddhistic emphasis upon ,karma1 and doomed every soul to the tread-mill of its own destiny4 ,to every human word1 deed or thought1 however insignificant1 there is fruit which must be eaten by the soul4 ,it is claimed for this doctrine that it well emphasizes the conservation of moral force4 ,christianity also conserves1 to the last1 moral force2 not however by insisting upon man bearing himself the whole burden1 but by enabling him to cast the burden upon the ,lord who graciously offers to bear the load of human guilt belonging to every soul4 ,another word in ,india which is synonymous with large power and merit is ,yoga4 ,it is inculcated in the ,yoga philosophy and is supposed to stand for a high mental discipline which speedily qualifies one for absorption into the ,deity4 ,it is manifested in the form of abstract meditation and austerity--an austerity embodied in asceticism and self-mortification4 ,from early times this method has been held high in honour1 and today is universally esteemed as the most powerful and speedy boat wherewith to cross the sullen stream of human existence4 ,the grand object of ,yoga is to teach how to concentrate the mind--an object based upon the idea that the great and sole need of man is not moral and spiritual regeneration1 but more light1 i4e41 a clear1 intellectual apprehension of things4 ,not only is this basis of philosophy false in supposing that such intellectual gymnastics can finally exalt and save a soul1 it is also radically defective in its general rules and practical results4 ,no one who has studied the childish rules which are prescribed to the ,yogis1 or has observed in ,india many of even the better type of ,yogis can fail to be impressed with the degradation to mind and morals which is indissolubly connected with it4 ,barth's observation on the processes of ,yoga is eminently true4 8,conscientiously observed10 he says1 8they can only issue in folly and idiocy2 and it is1 in fact1 under the image of a fool or an idiot that the wise man is often delineated for us in the ,puranas for instance407#i7 ,meditation upon the ,divine ,being and upon self is a supreme duty inculcated by ,christianity4 ,here ,god is a ,personality upon whom the mind can be centred and find rest and exaltation4 ,the self also is conceived as a being with a separate and infinitely high destiny marked out before it4 ,concentrated thought1 deep emotion and lofty purpose1 in view of these objects1 is supremely profitable4 ,but what is there left worthy of thought for the ,vedantist ,yogi when the ,divine ,being is the unknowable and the ,yogi himself the deluded child of 7,maya7 illusion and 7avidya7 ignorance--those twin enemies to all true and worthy knowledge8 ,it cannot be elevating to detach the mind from things worldly and attach it to nothing6 ,incarnation1 as we have seen above1 has in later times become a popular doctrine in ,india4 ,the avatars 78descents07 of members of the ,hindu pantheon1 especially of ,vishnu1 the second member of the ,triad1 wield a large influence in the religious life of the masses4 ,yet the doctrines should1 by no means1 be regarded as identical or even similar in ,hinduism and ,christianity4 ,it should be remembered that in ,hinduism it is believed and magnified by those who also hold the law of ,karma as supreme4 ,there is hardly a ,vaishnavite and ,krishnaolater who does not believe firmly that his destiny is writ large upon his forehead--that nothing that this or any god may do can affect his adrishta which is that felt but unseen power working out the ,karma vivaka1 or fruition of works1 done by him in former births4 ,this belief directly antagonizes incarnation from the ,christian standpoint1 where it appears as ,god's mighty instrument of grace to man4 ,not so from the ,hindu standpoint4 ,the incarnations of ,vishnu are referred to in their ,shastras 8as consequences of deeds which the god himself had performed4 ,one was the fruit of sins he had committed2 another of a curse which had been pronounced upon him40 ,and yet they are doubtless frequently referred to as undertaken with a view to benefit and help our race4 ,if such was their intention it is difficult to see how that benefit could be any other than racial and temporary2 for there is no intimation in any of them of its being a means for the spiritual uplifting1 or moral regeneration1 of one human soul4 ,there is no finality of blessing supposed to be in any ,hindu incarnation2 and it would be sacrilege to compare the character of any one of them with the wonderful incarnation of ,jesus4 ,it is not so much that many of them appear as fish1 fowl and beast1 and as such are devoid of moral aim and efficiency2 not a few are immoral1 some of them1 like ,krishna1 representing the worst type of sensuality and moral obliquity4 ,such examples1 in the popular mythology of the land1 have done1 and are doing1 inexpressible harm to the people and the country4 8,like ,god like people02 and when the god is highly popular and conspicuously immoral the result will be correspondingly great4 ,in connection with the doctrine of avatar has arisen the well-known bhakti marga--8the way of faith40 ,many believe that the latter was the source of the former and that both were affected by ,christian teaching4 ,in any case they are closely connected4 ,among many this way of love and devotion to individual gods has gained preminence over the other two ways of salvation--knowledge 7gnana marga7 and works 7,karma-marga7--though it should not be forgotten that bhakti itself is regarded as a work of merit and is by no means synonymous with ,christian faith4 ,yet it must be confessed1 as we have seen above1 that ,hinduism comes nearer1 at this point than at any other1 to touching the religion of ,jesus4 ,the blindness of this faith is also a serious objection to it4 ,to the bhaktan 8faith is the great thing40 ,it matters not how hideous1 morally and spiritually1 the object of faith may be1 bhakti will triumphantly vindicate itself in the ultimate salvation of the soul4 8,repose faith in the idols1 in ceremonial observances1 in ascetic performances1 in all that you religiously do1 and blessing will rest upon you40 ,this is the bhaktan's creed2 it is essentially the teaching of the 8,divine ,song0--,bhagavad-,gita4 ,and it is this which has so powerfully helped the moral and spiritual degeneracy of ,india during the past few centuries4 ,men have attached themselves absolutely to gods whose mythology1 detailed in the ,puranas and ,tantras1 is a narrative of lust and of moral crookedness1 devotion to which can mean only moral contamination and spiritual death4 ,such a faith1 in its nature and results1 can only be contrasted with a loving devotion to the incomparably holy and lovely ,jesus4 #d4 ,the ,processes of ,these ,two ,religions4 ,in other words we inquire1 in what manner do they propose to attain unto their respective ends8 ,christianity brings man into the new1 divine life through the narrow gate of a new birth4 ,he stands justified before ,god and1 under the influence of the ,holy ,spirit1 he begins that course of spiritual development which steadily progresses towards perfection in truth and holiness4 ,he1 8beholding as in a glass the glory of the ,lord is changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the spirit of the ,lord40 ,and in the fullness of his acquired1 or divinely bestowed1 powers he passes through the gate of death1 once for all1 to enter upon the full glories of eternal life beyond4 ,in ,hinduism metempsychosis is the great process4 8,as the embodied soul10 says the ,bhagavad-,gita1 8moves swiftly on through boyhood1 youth and age1 so will it pass through other forms hereafter40 ,this doctrine is universally regarded as the all-potent solvent of human ills and the process which alone can lead to ultimate rest4 ,in transmigration the soul is supposed to pass on from body to body in its wearisome1 dismal progress1 towards emancipation4 ,the bodies in which it is incarcerated will be of all grades1 according to the character of the life in the previous births1 from the august and divine body of a ,brahman down to a tenement of inorganic1 lifeless rock4 ,from ancient times this weary process of working out the law of ,karma has seized upon the imagination and wrought itself into the very being of the people of ,india2 so that today it is the universal way of salvation believed and taught by the ,vedantin1 accepted with assurance by the idolater1 and the one great bugbear in the mind of even the common coolie4 ,this doctrine has its roots in ,vedantism and is an essential part of it4 ,the ,brahman theosophist taught that all souls emanated from ,brhm and must return to their source along the way of metempsychosis4 ,all acts1 words and thoughts find their exact reward in future births4 ,if a man steals a cow he shall be reborn as a crocodile or lizard2 if grain1 as a rat2 if fruit1 as an ape4 ,the murderer of a ,brahman endures long-suffering in the several hells and is then born again in the meanest bodies to atone for his crime4 ,according to ,manu the soul might pass 8through ten thousand millions0 of births4 ,the passageway to absorption is through ,brahmanhood only4 ,transmigration is the doom of all others4 ,the prevalence of this doctrine in ,india is one of the saddest facts connected with its life4 ,it is sombre and depressing in the extreme and robs the mind of a good portion of the small comfort which the idea of absorption might otherwise bring to it4 ,though the doctrine has found a footing among other nations at different periods in their history1 nowhere else has it prevailed so long and exercised such a mighty influence over high and low as it has in that land4 ,the doctrine is based upon a hypothetical identity of soul in different successive bodies--a hypothesis which can never be proved1 and which contradicts the universal consciousness4 ,until that erratic ,englishwoman1 ,mrs4 ,besant1 appeared1 no one claimed to possess the first intimation1 through consciousness or memory1 of a previous existence in another body4 ,ancient rishis and a few others were said by others to have possessed it4 ,strange1 if such a re-incarnation were a fact1 that none has ever been assured of it by any other agent than the philosopher in his search after truth4 ,stranger still that men in such countless millions should hang their whole destiny upon so rotten a cord--so unethical a theory--as is here involved4 ,why should any moral being be put through a course of discipline1 or be punished1 for a past of which he has no knowledge8 ,to inflict a punishment for any conduct or thought to which the memory does not bear evidence1 nor conscience furnish assent1 nor the whole realm of conscious experience reveal a trace1 is both unethical and in violation of the deepest laws of being4 ,nor does it appear how this process1 as a method of discipline1 can achieve what is expected of it4 ,it is maintained that1 ultimately1 all the myriads of separate souls will cross over this terrible stream of human existence and reach the further shore of emancipation4 ,but what aptitude1 or efficiency1 there can be in metempsychosis itself to reach this end is not apparent4 ,that the soul should ultimately reach beatitude rather than absolute1 irremedial1 degradation through this process is merely assumed1 and that without adequate foundation in reason4 ,in view of the well-known power of sin and its tendency to settle down1 through habit1 into a permanent type of character2 in view of the well-attested scientific doctrine of heredity--a doctrine which easily accounts for and explains every semblance of truth in transmigration--it seems incredible that any soul in ,india could1 through transmigration1 finally emerge out of the quicksand of sin and corruption which surround and overwhelm it1 especially when it is assumed that it has already passed through many births4 ,it should also be remembered that1 at its basis1 this doctrine has its face turned1 with equal repugnance1 against all sorts of work4 ,desire of every kind1 good as well as evil1 is to be suppressed inasmuch as it is the source of action1 and action must bear its fruit1 the eating of which prolongs existence which1 itself1 is the burden to be removed4 ,the question is not how to become good and to overcome evil in life1 but how to shake off all personality4 ,and this is accomplished1 they say1 by abandoning all action and suppressing all desire whatever4 ,how this can result in holiness and lofty character is not evident4 ,it is true that a certain sort of 8good works0 have large value in this process of emancipation4 ,but quiescence rather than character is the thing emphasized4 ,noble thoughts and aspirations are as fatal as are the basest to immediate deliverance--they all disturb that equilibrium of the soul which ushers it into its final rest4 8,the confinement of fetters is the same whether the chain is of gold or of iron40 ,it is doubtless true that this doctrine has some elements of truth1 otherwise it could not have survived and thriven as it has4 ,it bears consistent testimony to the immortality of the soul4 ,it also teaches the important truth that the soul must receive the full reward of all its deeds in a body4 ,it is also1 in a certain way1 a response to that deep instinct of justice which is a part of human nature4 ,but these cannot atone for its fundamental defects and errors4 ,some claim that its highest merit is that it is a powerful deterrent from sin and incentive to virtue4 ,beyond the remarks made above the all-sufficient refutation to such a statement is the present condition of the ,hindu race itself4 ,if any people on earth1 more than others1 sin with 8fatal facility0 and seem perfectly oblivious to the character and consequences of their deeds they are the descendants of the rishis of old and the heirs1 in rich abundance1 of this and its cognate doctrines4 ,to judge this doctrine by its results in ,india is to pronounce it an error and a curse4 #e4 ,the ,ideals of the ,two ,faiths4 ,no religion can regenerate or exalt men simply through a code of moral laws1 or even through impassioned appeals to a higher life and threats of eternal punishment4 ,there must be1 above and beyond all this1 a life which stands boldly forth as an example and inspiration to good men4 ,the noble example of the royal ,gautama did more perhaps than any other thing to disseminate ,buddhism throughout ,india4 ,his supreme renunciation and his loyalty to truth exalted him before his disciples and transformed him into an ideal for ,buddhists of future ages4 ,this also is a preminent characteristic of ,christianity4 ,it is the religion of the ,christ4 ,he stands supreme in it--not merely as its ,founder1 ,expounder and ,life4 ,he is also the embodiment of ,his own teaching1 the ideal of life and conduct which ,he has brought to men4 ,his command to all is not--8,do this or that02 but 8,follow ,me0--not1 8,believe in this truth or another10 but 8,believe in ,me10 who am 8the way1 the truth and the life40 ,for these twenty centuries ,he has stood before the world as the incomparable1 unapproachable1 perfect ideal which has wrought more for the regeneration of the world than all other forces put together4 ,do we find any counterpart to this in ,hinduism8 ,do we find any life or example which stands related to it as ,buddha's to ,buddhism or as ,mohammed's to ,mohammedanism1 or1 even in a slight degree1 as ,christ's to ,christianity8 ,none whatever4 ,starting with the absolute ,brhm1 we have seen this ,supreme ,soul shrouded in unfathomable1 unapproachable darkness4 ,we descend to the divine emanations of this eternal ,soul and search in vain among the millions of beings which constitute the ,hindu pantheon to find one who could become an ideal of life and an inspiration to the soul struggling against sin4 8,godlike life could scarcely start from its examples of incarnations2 for none of their lives is superhuman in holiness4 ,even ,rama1 the most blameless character in ,hindu mythological literature1 is by no means perfect2 while the most popularly worshipped incarnation committed deeds so vile that even the narrator warns his hearers not to take him for their example4 #8,listen to the story of ,hari1 but do not think of doing his deeds1' he says40 ,we look again at the sages and heroes of ,india with the hope that we may possibly find one who stood conspicuous among others as the perfect type of character and the helper of those struggling after a better and holier life4 ,here again we are wofully disappointed1 though it must be confessed that there are loftier types of goodness and of self-discipline among them than we found among the gods4 ,thus1 with no worthy ideal of life before them and no one to inspire them to better things1 the wonder is that men in ,india have not descended to a lower level than they have4 ,it is perhaps this very reason that has discouraged them and has led them to strive to attain unto beatitude1 not by perfecting1 but by destroying humanity4 ,the renunciation and loss1 rather than the realization1 of self has thus become their aim and ambition4 ,perhaps it is for this same reason also that the votaries of this faith have constructed one of the most elaborate systems of ceremonial and ritual that the world has ever witnessed2 whereby1 in the absence of a high ideal and of a divine inspiration1 the whole life from birth even until after death1 may be directed and protected from evil4 #f4 ,the ,credentials of the ,two ,faiths4 ,each has its ,scriptures in which are found its original teachings including a declaration of its source and message to man4 ,beyond this general statement very little can be predicated of these two in common4 ,the theories of their inspiration are dissimilar4 ,in the ,bible there is no theory of inspiration taught4 ,its testimony to its own divine origin is indirect rather than direct4 ,and yet the evidence1 both internal and external1 that the ,bible was written by men under ,divine guidance and inspiration is unmistakable and convincing4 ,whether we have regard to its prophetic utterances1 its record of miracles1 its plan of salvation1 its delineation of the incomparable life and character of ,jesus ,christ2 or whether we behold its marvellous power among men of all classes and of all countries and tongues--all that pertain to it point unmistakably to its divine origin4 ,nor can any one fail to appreciate the beauty and sublimity of some of the ,vedic hymns of the ,hindus or the profound depth of the philosophic reach of the ,upanishads1 those sublime 8guesses at truth10 or the great excellence of the ,bhagavad-,gita which is the gem of all ,hindu literature4 ,and yet the puerilities of many and the obscenity of others of the ,vedic songs and prayers are well-known4 ,so are the strange vagaries and the rambling character of many parts of the ,upanishads4 ,and as for the ,bhagavad-,gita it is simply a dialogue whose gist is the argument of ,krishna--8the ,supreme ,god0--to urge the tender-hearted and the conscience-smitten ,arjuna to slay his relatives in war4 ,its argument is that no evil which one man may do to another is of any moment1 since he cannot touch his soul which is eternal and beyond the reach of any human power6 ,in the destiny of a soul what can the destruction of one of its bodies signify8 ,this is an argument which is subversive of morality and of social order4 ,when one leaves these earlier scriptures of ,brahmanism and takes up the later productions--the ,puranas and ,tantras--he comes into a very different atmosphere1 most of which is morally pestilential and spiritually degrading4 ,the ascription of divine inspiration and special heavenly guidance in the production of such literature is nought else but blasphemy4 ,to pass over from the study of the ,bible1 with its transcendent beauty1 its perfect ethics1 its heavenly spirit1 its ,divine ,saviour and way of salvation1 to the ,scriptures of ,india1 especially the more recent parts1 is to exchange the pure air of heaven for the charnel house4 ,the 8divine brevity0 of the ,bible is one of its most striking features4 ,few things could impress one with the heavenly source of this ,book more markedly than its wonderful omissions4 ,how very different when we examine the countless tomes of the sacred literature of ,india6 ,if the salvation of a soul depended upon the reading of even a hundredth part of these1 who then could be saved8 ,their very multiplicity and their voluminous character debar any man1 however learned1 from an acquaintance with more than a small fraction of them4 ,moreover1 among learned pandits of today the ,smriti 7traditions7 are more frequently quoted as authority1 and they wield a larger power over the life of the people1 than the ,sruti 7revelation7 itself4 ,in the ,christian ,bible we are permitted to see a progressive revelation4 ,from age to age1 and from page to page1 we see new glimpses of truth and are attracted by the divine light whose illumination grows ever brighter from ,genesis to ,revelation4 ,this is what we should have expected from a ,god-inspired book4 ,we should have looked forward to a gradual transition from the starry midnight of the far-off past to the rising1 in ,christ1 of the sun of righteousness with healing in ,his wings4 ,in ,hindu literature this process is reversed4 ,the surest1 ,i may almost say1 the only1 evidence we have of divine guidance in the production of this literature is to be found among the earliest productions4 ,there we see earnestness of purpose combined with heavenly aspiration and deep searching after truth4 ,subsequent to this we see the light vanishing and earnestness giving place to triviality of thought1 to the ravings of superstition1 to the inanities of ceremonialism and to the laws of social and religious bondage4 ,all this progress downward is in direct ratio to our distance from ,vedic times4 ,what could be more conclusive proof of the human source and direction of these prolific writings8 ,educated ,hindus are sensible of this fact4 ,they constantly hark back to the ,vedas1 to the ,upanishads and to the ,bhagavad-,gita1 conscious of the fact that these represent the high water-mark of their faith and literature4 #g4 ,other ,distinguishing ,traits4 ,these are not a few1 and they aid in presenting the two faiths in bold relief4 7a7 ,their attitude towards the individual and ,society4 ,nowhere are they more antipodal to each other than here4 ,christianity is preminently a faith which exalts the individual4 ,it presents1 with marked clearness1 his rights and responsibilities4 ,his liberty of thought1 of belief and of action1 is fundamentally sacred and to be conserved at all hazards4 ,hinduism is the staunchest foe of individual freedom4 ,it concedes no right to the individual which others are bound to respect4 ,it has erected above the individual1 and in such a way as to overshadow him entirely1 the stupendous caste system4 ,and it has subordinated his every right and privilege to the whim of this demon caste4 ,man is its abject slave--cannot swerve one inch from its dictates2 and these reach down to the smallest detail of his life4 ,if the vast majority of the members of a caste were high in their morals and strict in their integrity and pure in their beliefs1 the aid to a higher life which this system might render to the individual would1 in small part1 compensate for its destruction of his manly independence4 ,but caste discipline directs itself to petty forms and observances and to the perpetuation of mean jealousies rather than to the development of character4 ,in ,india alone is caste a religious institution4 ,the ,brahman merged the individual in the corporate body1 thus perfecting his bondage2 and he set class against class to prevent the lower from rising and to make national union impossible4 ,men were said to have been created differently even as different kinds of animals2 to bring them together is as unnatural as it is sinful4 ,thus1 every man within the pale of this religion has his social1 as his religious1 status fixed unchangeably for him before his birth2 and woe be to him who tries to shake off this bondage1 or even in a small degree to kick against the pricks4 ,no better system than this has been devised under heaven to rob man of his birthright of independence and self-respect4 ,and the population of ,india bears1 in its character and conduct1 ample testimony to the truth of this statement4 7b7 ,connected closely with this is another aspect4 ,the religion of ,jesus fosters progress4 ,not only do we behold ,christian nations the most progressive1 we also find that as this faith obtains in its purity1 so do its votaries enjoy the large spirit and results of progress1 both in religion1 science1 the arts and in civilization4 ,in ,india1 on the other hand1 conservatism is a fetish and custom a divine law of conduct4 ,in the ,west the question asked1 as men approach a certain line of action1 is whether it be reasonable8 ,among ,hindus the invariable inquiry is1--is it customary8--did our forefathers practice it8 ,this again is the legitimate product of the caste system4 ,it conserves and deifies the past4 ,it never tolerates a question as to the wisdom of the ancients4 ,the code of ,manu1 which is the source and supreme authority for this system1 has done more to stereotype and degrade social and religious life in ,india than has any other code in all the history of other lands4 7c7 ,another marked feature of the religion of ,jesus is its exclusiveness4 ,it claims to be the only way of salvation4 ,not that it is unwilling to acknowledge the truths which are found in other faiths4 ,while it recognizes such1 it maintains that they are but broken lights of the ,truth which it presents in all its full-orbed glory4 ,it reveals ,christ as the fulfillment of the good and pious of all nations1 and ,his revelation as the realization of all truth wherever found4 ,but as a means of salvation it stands alone1 and will brook no rivalry nor accept divided homage4 ,in ,hinduism1 on the other hand1 we see tolerance incarnate4 ,it is true that the caste system lends itself readily to intolerance1 that some of the most refined and cruel forms of persecution are conducted by it against ,christians today4 ,yet in itself this faith has a genius for toleration4 ,it does not go out of its way to attack other faiths4 ,on the contrary it generally reaches forward the flag of truce and peace to them4 ,it willingly appropriates much of their teaching and ritual4 ,it placed in its pantheon its arch-enemy1 ,buddha1 and has dignified many of the demons of the primitive cult of ,south ,india in the same way4 ,and herein lie the subtle power and supreme danger which inhere in it to other faiths4 7d7 ,it must also be remembered that the faith of ,india is an ethnic faith1 with no ambition to reach to other peoples beyond that peninsula4 ,this faith has a hundred ways of expelling and excommunicating its members and only one doubtful door by which it may receive outsiders1 namely1 by the formation of a new caste4 ,christianity1 on the other hand1 is preminently a missionary religion4 ,it claims to be the universal faith4 ,the last commandment of the ,lord upon earth and the first work of the ,holy ,spirit upon ,his descent was to propagate the faith and to carry it to many lands and peoples4 ,hinduism is conserved by its social organism of caste2 ,christianity1 by its leavening influence upon all that comes in contact with it1 and the outreaching power of its life within4 7e7 ,another difference is observable in the fact that while ,christianity is always held as a system of saving truth to be believed1 ,hinduism1 in its acceptance1 does not involve the necessary belief of any doctrine or system of doctrine4 ,it is well understood that a man of any belief1 or of no belief1 may be a genuine and orthodox ,hindu provided he observes caste rules and ceremonies4 ,it has been more than once insisted upon that a man may accept ,christ as his ,saviour and ,his religion as his firm belief and still remain a ,hindu if he only submit to the demands of caste4 ,not a few ,hindus are trying to live up to this strange dual system today6 ,and ,i fear some native ,christians have not got rid of the same delusion4 7f7 ,there is also a marked difference in the moral standards of the two faiths4 ,in a certain sense the moral code of ,brahmanism1 at its best1 is lofty if not perfect4 ,it enjoins a man not to lie1 not to steal1 not injure another1 to be just1 brave1 hospitable and self-controlled4 ,some savage races inculcate1 with more or less severity1 the same moral lessons4 ,but to ,hindus as to savages these injunctions have represented the moral code2 and whoever1 among them1 attains unto these1 mostly negative1 virtues1 is deemed worthy of praise4 ,in a sense the ten commandments communicated through ,moses1 obtain among ,christians and are enjoined upon them today4 ,but they1 rather than represent the ,christian's ideal1 indicate only the low water mark of his moral requirements4 ,to say of a ,christian gentleman today that he does not steal1 or does not lie1 is rather an insult than a compliment1 since it assumes that he possesses only what is now considered a very elementary form of morality1 such as the lower classes and children are supposed to practice4 ,it is only as we follow ,jesus ,christ and sublimate this code in love 7,matt4 #bb3cg-dj7 that we rise to the full significance and divine content of morality4 ,the ,christian code rests not in negation1 but commands a life of outgoing1 active love4 ,a lofty altruism must permeate his every act and give colouring to his whole life4 ,christ not only introduced and emphasized this golden rule2 ,he taught that it was absolutely necessary 7,john #ab3be2 ,matt4 #e3dd74 ,to the ,hindu1 on the other hand1 the lex talionis is a law of life still enforced4 ,see1 e4g41 ,vishnu ,purana #e3ai4 ,he never thinks nor is he commanded by his religion to think1 of aught but outward conformity to a moral code which is altogether inadequate to keep1 direct and inspire him in life4 ,this difficulty is1 of course1 enhanced when we remember that in the whole realm of ,hindu life--whether it be of gods or of men--there is no one who looms up as a perfect example4 ,it is therefore little wonder that in ,india today morality is at so low an ebb and that even the code which prevails there is so sadly and universally violated4 ,hopkins aptly remarks in this connection3 8,this ,christian ideal of today1 which makes fair-mindedness1 liberality of thought1 and altruism the respective representatives of the savage virtues of manual honesty1 truth-speaking and hospitality1 is just what is lacking in the more primitive ideal formulated in the code of savages and of ,brahman alike4444 ,in ,india all the factors of the modern code are entirely lacking at the time when the old code was first completely formulated4 ,liberality of thought comes in with the era of the ,upanishads2 but it is a restricted freedom4 ,altruism is unknown to pure ,brahmanism40 ,conclusion4 ,considering therefore these two faiths in all their characteristics and tendencies we are warranted in concluding that ,hinduism must wane and vanish4 ,it is an ancient faith and has survived not a few storms4 ,it has a strong place in the hearts of a great people4 ,but the leaven of dissolution and death is mightily at work within it today4 ,the times are changed1 new circumstances are bringing in a revolution of thought4 ,foreign ideas1 language and customs are the rage2 a new civilization1 the deadly foe to the strongholds of the faith1 is supplanting the old4 ,this faith has nothing to offer with a view to meeting this new and complicated situation4 ,it opposes all progress2 through its pundits and orthodox defenders it antagonizes modern civilization and scientific advancement at every point4 ,it is given up to degrading idolatry and a debasing1 all-absorbing ceremonialism4 ,it is the foster-mother of ignorance4 ,the mighty influence of ,christianity1 on the other hand1 is being felt by all in the land2 and the thousand-headed1 thousand-handed civilization of the ,west is grasping and slowly transforming all their ideas of life4 ,verily ,india is in the throes of a new birth4 ,hinduism has done some good1 doubtless4 ,it has had a mission in the world and that has unquestionably been1 partly1 in the conservation of the great doctrine of ,god's immanence at a time when the western world had largely forgotten it4 ,but this work is no longer needed4 ,today this truth is emphasized also by the ,christian ,church1 and in the safe and practical way1 in combination and harmony with the personality and fatherhood of ,god4 ,we can therefore look forward with confidence to the ultimate issue of this great conflict and see1 through faith1 the day when ,christ shall reign supreme in that land4 ,chapter ,,iv4 ,,the ,,products ,,of ,,the ,,two ,,faiths ,,in ,,india4 ,,the ,,hindu ,,and ,,the ,,native ,,christian--,a ,,study4 ,during the many centuries of its history and working in ,india ,hinduism has had ample opportunity to produce its own type of religious devotee1 one who is thoroughly representative of its teaching and life4 ,this type abounds in ,india today and is a faithful reflection of that faith4 ,we shall now endeavour to study that living embodiment of ,hinduism4 ,in one respect it will be but another way of studying the faith itself--perhaps the best of all methods of studying a religion1 for it is thus presented in life and action4 ,protestant ,christianity has not been sufficiently long in ,india to develop and foster an ,indian type of character of its own4 ,and yet we see it rapidly working towards that consummation4 ,a century is too brief a time for this purpose4 ,moreover1 native ,christian life in that land is too much under the dominance and guidance of the ,west to enjoy a large degree of spontaneity2 and without spontaneity life is not natural4 ,nevertheless1 the century that has passed has brought into existence the fourth generation of ,protestant native ,christians in ,india2 and we are able to see1 to some extent1 among these descendants of native ,christians that tendency and bent which will ere long develop into a definite and settled type of its own4 ,for the time being we can only study the native ,christian as a prophecy--a prophecy not for many years to be fulfilled in all its details1 and yet worthy of study both in itself and for what it suggests4 ,let us consider1 then1 these types of the two faiths which we see in that land4 #a4 ,and ,first1 ,the ,hindu4 ,the ,hindu ,devotee is a genuine product of his religion1 wrought out during thirty centuries on its native heath4 ,he stands before us as a distinct type whose characteristics differentiate him from the followers of any other religion4 ,it is well to remember here that that modern product--the ,hindu of ,western culture who is so much in evidence today in ,india and who sometimes comes ,west in flowing orange robes and turban to urge his mongrel philosophy upon our fellow-countrymen--is not the type of ,hindu appreciated by1 or representing1 the people of that land4 ,neither in life nor in teaching does he represent the faith whose name he bears4 ,he is a man who has studied ,western thought and religion under the guidance and inspiration1 perhaps1 of the ,christian missionary2 and then in an ingenious way strives to interpret his own faith in the light of his ,western attainments4 ,he presents to us not orthodox ,hinduism1 but a mongrel doctrine and philosophy which are as foreign to the teaching of the orthodox ,hindu pundit and as alien to the ,hindu ,scriptures as they are to ,western philosophy and faith4 ,it is a significant fact that all these ,western-travelled ,hindus have first to violate a fundamental injunction of their own religion--namely1 that which prohibits sea travelling to a ,hindu--before they can visit the ,west in order to commend their faith4 ,and when they return to their native country they do so as the outcastes of their religion1 and can be reinstated only after performing a work of atonement which includes the disgusting act of eating the five products of the cow6 ,the real ,hindu1 who stands today as the true exponent of his faith1 is a very different man4 ,he would no more cross the seas than he would cut off his right arm2 for he knows that he can remain a true ,hindu only so long as he remains at home4 ,he is a conservative of the stiffest kind4 ,he thinks on ancient lines and swears by the rishis of old4 ,illustration3 ,idol ,worship4 ,illustration3 ,religious ,mendicants4 7a7 ,study his prepossessions and then alone can you appreciate his heritage4 ,though he may not be a scholar or a philosopher1 he is nevertheless fortified by a host of religious beliefs and prejudices4 ,a thousand dogmas and prepossessions1 the inherited treasures of thirty centuries1 are his4 ,he drank them in with his mother's milk2 he has breathed them in as an essential part of his daily environment4 ,they are more than second nature to him and constitute largely the world of his thought4 ,his ideas of ,god1 of himself1 of sin1 of salvation1 of human life--all are far removed from ours and are peculiarly his own4 ,he feels himself to be in the toils of an iron destiny which slowly grinds him to powder4 ,his conception of ,god brings him no ray of comfort1 or hope of release4 ,his idea is that his sin and suffering of today are the inflictions1 by some unknown power1 for the sins of supposed former births4 ,so that he must1 through countless ages1 work out his own salvation--a salvation which indeed means eternal rest2 but it is a rest from all thought1 emotion1 self-consciousness and separate existence as well as from all work4 ,within the mighty fascination of this ,vedantism the people have been held through the centuries4 ,and it is a doctrine which renders the highest morality impossible and has proved the mightiest soporific to the conscience4 ,a few years ago a murderer in ,south ,india was being led from the court of justice to prison where1 soon1 he was to be executed for his crime4 ,as he was struggling in the street with the police1 a missionary accosted him1 urging him to confess his sin against ,god and to seek his peace4 ,whereupon the man replied1 8,i did not commit the murder2 it was the work of ,god ,himself1 in whose hands ,i am and of whom ,i am part40 ,to this the missionary replied that this was neither true nor worthy1 and that he would soon suffer the full penalty of the law for his crime4 8,ah1 yes10 he exclaimed1 8the god who wrought this in me and through me1 will put me to death4 ,it is all his and ,i am he40 ,such is the line of thought which passes through the mind of the orthodox ,hindu devotee under all circumstances1 be they pleasant or disagreeable4 ,and it is one of the most difficult things for him1 under these circumstances1 to cultivate a true sense of responsibility and a genuine conception of sin as a moral act4 7b7 ,see again his ideals4 ,he has many such which influence him largely in his life4 ,much depends upon what a man regards as the ,summum ,bonum of life4 ,the supreme blessing which the ,hindu ever holds before his eyes1 as the highest and last attainment1 is union with ,god4 ,not a union of sympathy1 but a metaphysical oneness with ,brhm4 ,to lose himself entirely in the ,divine ,being and thus to cease having separate thought or existence1 and to pass out of the turmoil and restlessness of human life into the calm of the passionless bosom of the ,eternal--this1 to him1 is the ideal which alone is worthy of human attainment4 ,again2 we1 ,christians1 look forward to a complete self-realization1 to a perfect manhood and a full rounded character as our ideal4 ,the opposite ideal is the ,hindu's4 ,he seeks the loss of all that we hold best--the elimination of every ambition and desire1 the eradication of all love and altruism1 the cessation of all activity--good as well as evil4 ,his ideal is not greatness and goodness of heart1 but the renunciation of all that animates and inspires4 ,to him the highest virtue in its noblest activity has no charms2 for he claims that he looks above and beyond all this to that absolute equilibrium of soul when passion1 and when all desire1 shall have been killed through self-mortification and self-abnegation and he shall have attained mental poise and repose rather than a perfect character4 ,thus1 in its last analysis1 his ideal is an intellectual1 rather than a moral1 one2 for it is again absorption into the ,divine ,soul2 and that he conceives to be the ,supreme ,intelligence rather than the ,perfect ,will4 ,this difference of ideal between the two faiths is fundamental and must work for very diverse results4 ,in harmony with this is the other thought that the body1 yea each and every body with which the soul may clothe itself1 is an unmitigated evil because it is the highway to suffering and defers the final consummation4 ,hence1 the ,hindu has no respect for the body and longs for the day of final emancipation from flesh and all its ills4 ,how then shall the soul be freed from its many births so that it may pass out of this bondage into the final freedom of ,sayutcha1 or emancipation8 ,to him ,yoga1 the way of meditation1 represents the highest way of release4 ,to wean the mind1 through this process1 from all desire and ambition and thus to reach absolute equilibrium of soul is the object of ,yoga4 ,this indeed is the only condition whereby the soul can rise above any future contact with earthly bodies4 ,consequently the ,hindu has1 for many centuries1 looked to the monastery and the wilderness as the only places where this ideal can be safely and speedily attained4 ,to live among men1 and thus to be subjected to corroding cares and to the swaying passions of human society1 renders the attainment of beatification impossible4 ,under these circumstances the soul finds no way of emancipation4 ,therefore the watchword of the ,hindu is1 8flee from the world rather than overcome it40 ,for the attainment of those qualities which ensure final repose he immures himself in a mutt or he flees into the forest where1 apart from men1 he gives himself to self-mortification and meditation that he may speedily find the desired release4 ,at the root of this idea1 as its animating motive1 lies the worthy ambition of living a better life than the environments of a corrupt society favour4 ,and with this desire is coupled the idea that a full rounded life and a perfected character are not only possible in the solitude of a wilderness but are nowhere else attainable4 ,and thus it is1 with many1 a silent acknowledgment of failure and of the belief that in the rush and struggle of public life a godly1 heavenly-minded character is impossible4 ,according to the ,hindu conception1 a man may be successful in business matters1 but he cannot be holy or fit for the highest communion with ,god unless he spend his time in separation from all his kind4 ,therefore the so-called pious and holy men of that land are ascetics4 ,they eschew human society and seek to renounce all human good and every earthly ambition4 ,with this purpose1 ostensibly1 in view there are1 as we saw1 about #e1ejj1jjj men in ,india who have given up all earthly employment1 who live apart as ascetics and spend their time in roaming around the country as religious mendicants4 ,these people are1 in the main1 doubtless possessed of the laudable ambition to be holy and to prepare themselves for union with ,brhm4 ,and yet1 as a matter of fact1 they are the most pestilential in their morals of all the people of the land4 ,many of them1 at the same time1 both regard themselves and are regarded by their co-religionists as the acme of piety4 ,nevertheless1 they daily trample under foot every command of the decalogue4 ,it is true that a few of them are different from the mass1 and genuinely seek the higher life for the cultivation of which they have separated themselves4 ,but into their ideal of life altruism hardly enters at all4 ,it is not to do good unto others1 but to escape contamination from others which is the concern of the ,hindu devotee4 ,at the basis of his higher aspirations concern for self is supreme1 thoughts of others are absent4 ,a notable illustration of a high realization of the ,eastern ideal we see in the famous ,hindu ascetic ,swamiji ,bhaskara ,nanda ,sarasvati1 of ,benares1 who recently died and to whom ,dr4 ,fairbairn has referred so cordially4 ,for many years he had given himself to devotion and meditation4 ,he had subdued the body by the rigours of asceticism and had attained preminence in self-restraint and in the highest wisdom of yoga culture4 ,he had therefore retired from the world1 spurned all its allurements1 denied all its claims and devoted himself exclusively to thought and meditation4 ,thus immured within temple walls in the great city of ,benares he was utterly oblivious to the sin and sorrow of the swarming multitudes of that city and did nought to relieve the suffering1 or to improve the lives1 of his fellow-beings4 ,he died1 and over his remains has been erected a shrine to which the thousands go for worship and for inspiration to attain unto that ideal of life which they believe him to have realized4 ,this ideal has1 for centuries1 taken possession of the ,hindu mind1 and never before did it rule with more absolute sway than it does at present4 ,another ideal of life with the ,hindu is the so-called 8path of works40 ,at present this term is synonymous with a life of ceremonialism4 ,in modern parlance 8works0 means to the ,hindu1 ceremonial observance4 ,his life is hedged in on all sides by a host of ceremonies and is permeated through and through with a most complicated ritual4 ,there is nothing in the life of a ,hindu devotee1 whether it be eating1 sleeping1 bathing or travelling1 which is not religiously prescribed both as to time and method4 ,and utterly regardless of the significance of these rites or the appropriateness of them to his life1 he deems their observance as essential to his salvation and finds in their daily keeping the highest satisfaction and completest assurance of his spiritual progress4 ,the ,hindu is no rationalist in his religion4 ,he obeys implicitly1 and without question1 the ritual of his ancestors and finds no interest in the scrutiny or analysis of them4 ,so1 to the ordinary ,hindu1 especially to him to whom the way of meditation in the wilderness seems impossible1 ceremonialism becomes a matter of supreme concern4 ,no other religion has furnished to its followers a more elaborate and pervasive system of observances than this4 ,these rites exercise their influence upon the mind and are wielding today a most potent influence upon ,hindu character4 ,a man may think nothing of1 nor have any ambition to attain unto1 the spiritual aspect of his faith2 he may give no time whatever to any of its teachings or spiritual instruction2 but if he maintain its ritual with ordinary care he flatters himself with the thought that he has attained a perfection corresponding to his estate4 ,moreover1 the ,hindu is a thorough fatalist4 ,he believes that his destiny is 8written upon the forehead40 ,nothing which he may do can affect this destiny4 ,nor does it seem to be a part of the divine purpose4 ,so far as he is concerned it is an irrevocable fate4 ,this belief manifests itself largely in his life and conduct4 ,it is one of the inconsistencies of the ,hindu's thinking that he1 at the same time1 worships a tribal god in whose hands he believes his affairs to be1 and through whom prosperity can flow into his life for time and eternity2 and yet he holds1 with equal1 yea with greater1 persistence1 the law of ,karma1 that is1 the law of works1 according to which law alone future life1 both to himself and to all men1 must be wrought out even to the last detail4 ,it is strange that a man whose pantheon is so crowded as that of the ,hindu1 and who believes in such constant divine guidance and interference1 should1 also1 at the same time1 maintain a theory of life which practically dispenses with all divine action and makes human life the product of a blind and grinding fate4 ,nothing is more marked as a characteristic of ,hindu thought today than a possession by the people of these mutually conflicting and contradictory views of life4 7c7 ,looking at the ,hindu from a social standpoint we see him largely affected by the caste system4 ,not only is his life in bondage to this system1 his view of life1 too1 is thoroughly coloured by his caste sentiments4 ,just as ceremonialism covers all his personal life1 even so caste observance defines for him all his social relations4 ,there is not a tie or an influence which binds man to man that is not1 to the ,hindu1 a part of the great and all-embracing caste system4 ,so all-pervasive is this social tyranny that a man dare not withstand it2 yea1 more1 he has learned to look at it as the prime necessity of his social being and therefore invariably regards it as the highest good4 ,he may indeed believe that1 in the abstract1 caste is an evil and that it has been a curse to the people of the land4 ,but he nevertheless maintains that1 as it is an ancient part1 and a most important part1 of his ancestral faith1 it must be submitted to in all obedience and regarded as the ideal of life4 ,the ,bhagavad-,gita is regarded today not only as the gem of all ,hindu literature2 it is also held up by educated ,hindus as the highest authority among their ,shastras4 ,concerning caste duties this 8,divine ,song0 speaks as follows3 8,better to do the duty of one's caste1 ,though bad and ill-performed and fraught with evil1 ,than undertake the business of another1 ,however good it be4 ,for better far ,abandon life at once than not fulfill ,one's own appointed work2 another's duty ,brings danger to the man who meddles with it4 ,perfection is alone attained by him ,who swerves not from the business of his caste40 ,therefore the ,hindu has come to regard caste observance as the supreme claim of his faith4 ,as we have seen1 a man may believe or disbelieve any doctrine he please2 that does not affect his status as a ,hindu so long as he is loyal to caste rules and observances4 ,as one has aptly remarked1 the seat of other religions may be in the mind2 the seat of ,hinduism is preminently in the stomach4 ,it is not what he thinks but what and how and with whom he eats that gives him his religious status4 ,the ,hindu regards himself as socially devoid of any right of initiative and choice2 he has no will of his own4 ,his social conscience is in the keeping of his caste4 ,this has gained its rules from the past and exercises no discretion or judgment of its own in the social direction of its members2 but it insists upon implicit obedience1 by every one1 to past customs which have crystallized into irrevocable laws4 ,and to these laws the ,hindu is always and everywhere a willing and an abject slave4 ,to violate any of them is1 he well knows1 to be recreant to his faith and to be an outcaste among his people4 7d7 ,the ,hindu is not strong in character1 as ,westerners regard strength4 ,as we have seen1 his religion is not favourable to the highest development of conscience4 ,hence1 sincerity and truthfulness are not among his strong points4 ,not only does pantheism undermine conscience1 the example of the most prominent gods of the ,hindu pantheon1 leads men to prevaricate and encourages all forms of duplicity4 ,under these circumstances it were strange if the ,hindu were conspicuous in honesty and in loyalty to the truth4 ,and in like manner he is wanting largely in those convictions which1 in the ,west1 are so inseparably associated with earnestness1 integrity and lofty purpose4 ,if1 to the ,hindu devotee1 religion is not a system of truth to be believed and loyally followed1 but a series of ceremonies to be observed and of caste rules to be obeyed1 then loyalty to truth becomes a very secondary matter and integrity of mind will be regarded by him as of no great moment4 ,therefore it is that hollowness is so often found at the core of their life4 ,lying and stealing are all but universal4 ,it is said in our ,district in ,south ,india that the regular price of a court witness is two annas 7four cents72 and he stands ready to perjure himself to any extent for this paltry sum4 ,the ordinary ,hindu seems too often to have a predilection for falsehood and uses truth with rare economy6 ,there1 dishonesty and petty larceny are foibles too frequently condoned because too generally practiced4 ,even among the higher classes--the cultured and lite--open-faced and open-handed frankness and sincerity are too rare4 ,hypocrisy and duplicity are too often cultivated as a fine art4 ,it seems to be the pride and pleasure of an ,oriental to conceal his mind and purpose and to say and do things by the greatest indirection possible4 ,india has been extolled as a land where there is no profanity4 ,this is true and she should have the credit for this abstinence4 ,and one never feels like giving her this credit more than when he returns from that country to this and is compelled to endure the coarse profanity which pervades our streets as a terrible stench4 ,yet one can hardly see how the ,hindu could find interest in1 and a strong grip upon1 profanity1 so long as the gods of his pantheon have so little of his respect and enter so rarely into the serious compacts of his life4 ,moreover it should not be forgotten that obscenity fulfills in ,india the function of profanity in the ,west4 ,the bursts of passion which find expression here through taking the name of ,god in vain gain utterance there in language unspeakably bad of the other kind4 ,and this is only a part of the larger subject of the prevalence of social immorality in ,india--an evil which is largely fostered under the protection of the religion of the land4 ,when ,lord ,dalhousie1 the ,viceroy of ,india1 was considering an act for the suppression of obscenity in the country1 he was compelled by ,hindu sentiment to exempt all temples and religious emblems from the operation of the act6 ,what better commentary could one desire upon the source and prevalence of this vice in that land8 ,when such an evil is intrenched behind the religion of the people and is symbolized and fostered by its emblems and ceremonies--when tasies1 or women dedicated to the ,hindu gods and temple worship 7there are #ab1jjj of these in ,south ,india alone71 constitute the public characters of the land--then the hope for the purification of life is at the lowest ebb4 ,it is also very rare that one finds a ,hindu whose convictions and loyalty to certain beliefs are such that he is willing to suffer in their behalf4 ,that masculine vigour and manly persistence under difficulty in maintaining what he believes to be right and true is not germane to the ,hindu character4 ,on the other hand1 the ,hindu is strong in the so-called passive virtues4 ,in harmony with his religious beliefs1 patience and meekness and endurance of evil have become second nature to him4 ,this side of his character has1 indeed1 received undue emphasis during the many centuries of his history4 ,he cannot understand the rush and impatience1 the push and aggressiveness of the ,westerner any more than he of the ,west can understand the ,hindu's cool1 quiet1 patient1 bearing under most trying and adverse circumstances4 ,he has a large lesson to teach us in the art of self-control and in the ability to endure with complacency evils which cannot be remedied4 ,thus as we look at the ,hindu from the various standpoints of life and character we see how strange a compound he is1 and how unlike the man of the ,west at nearly all points in our examination4 ,he is preminently weak where we are strong1 and he manifests strength where we seem to need it most4 ,his religion has developed within him traits and tendencies which1 through these many centuries1 have wonderfully wrought in his life and character1 and have largely made him what he is today4 ,moreover all this enables us to see what a serious problem ,christianity has in hand in ,india today1 namely the conversion of #bcj1jjj1jjj people so far removed in life and sentiment from those who have gone to preach ,christ to them4 ,yea1 more1 we have seen what mighty influences and forces ,christianity has to overcome1 what hosts of prejudices to destroy1 before she can lay her hand in power upon that great land and claim it as her own4 #b4 ,let us ,now ,study ,the ,native ,christian4 ,the ,indian ,christian1 as we have seen1 is a recent product1 so far as ,protestant ,christianity is concerned4 ,and yet we are glad to witness a marked development in the life and character of those who are connected with the ,protestant missions4 ,it is true that fully one-half of the ,christian community there found has been connected with our faith no more than a quarter of a century4 ,but as we compare these recent accessions to our faith with those ,christians of a second1 third and fourth generation we are much encouraged by the growth in ,christian character and principle which is taking place4 ,i have often studied these differences between the recent convert and the ,christian-born member of the community4 ,i have also compared those of the second1 with those of the third and fourth1 generation of ,christian heritage2 and ,i have been much encouraged to see that our faith is adding to its power over the life and character of the native ,christian community as the years and generations increase4 ,and if the work continues1 with the present insistence and vigour1 it will not take many generations more before ,christianity will have become thoroughly indigenous1 because it will have developed a type of character in that land fully in harmony with its own genius and teaching4 ,it is necessary1 however1 in considering this question1 that we remember specially that the antecedents and the environment of the native ,christian have been entirely ,hindu4 ,his ancestral faith has coloured1 and must colour1 largely his religious preceptions and conduct4 ,let it not be thought that1 when a man abandons ,hinduism and becomes a ,christian1 he thereby1 once and for all1 drives out of his mind all those prepossessions1 prejudices and superstitions which he has inherited from the past4 ,it will take a long time for him to separate himself from these and their influence4 ,many of them will probably cling to him during his whole life4 ,it is as much as we can hope that ,christian truth will take increasing possession of his mind and gradually supplant the old and unworthy beliefs of ,hinduism4 ,there are moreover certain elements of truth in that old faith which we do not care to eliminate from his mental furnishing1 but which must find new adjustment and be properly located in the new religion which he has adopted4 ,it should also be remembered and made prominent in our consideration of this subject that the people of ,india are an ,oriental people and are the children of the tropics and1 as such1 will always remain and must remain very different from us of the ,northwest4 ,their climatic and meteorological conditions1 their outer1 physical life1 their social customs and the trend of their civilization1 have always been1 and will continue to be1 far removed from our own4 ,nothing could be more fatal to our success in our effort for the conversion of ,india than the idea that we must in every respect mold them after the pattern of ,western life and habits4 ,a large portion of their life is the result of the conditions which ,i have mentioned and must largely remain unchanged2 and it would be folly for the missionary to regard these as a part of the faith to be supplanted1 and to teach that western social customs are inseparable from ,christianity and must be accepted by the ,orient with our faith4 ,the ,christian of ,india will always be1 and it is well that he should be1 differentiated from the ,anglo-,saxon ,christian4 ,it should also be remembered that the people of ,india1 at least the masses1 are low in civilization4 ,it should not be expected that those who are in that low estate1 when they become ,christians1 will leap with one bound into the full possession of a high civilization and be clothed upon with some of those beauties of western life and character which we inevitably associate with the term1 8,a ,christian ,gentleman40 ,they1 indeed1 become truly and sincerely the disciples of ,christ2 but they will1 at the same time1 manifest some of the crudities and weaknesses of the low social grade of which they have been and still remain a part4 ,they should not be judged by standards ,western or of a high civilization4 ,looking1 then1 at the native ,christian of ,india let us have regard to his condition socially1 morally1 religiously and spiritually4 7a7 ,studying this product of the ,christian faith in that land from a social standpoint we find encouragement4 ,he differs from his ,hindu neighbour by a growing freedom from the trammels of caste4 ,he feels1 in his best moments1 that caste has been and continues to be the greatest curse of the land1 that he has been emancipated from it1 and that he is ambitious to enjoy the liberty wherewith ,christ has made him free4 ,and yet1 unfortunately1 he does not remain constantly in the possession of this sane mind4 ,the roots of the caste system have reached down into the lowest depths of his being4 ,even at times when he believes that he is absolutely independent of caste considerations1 there is in him a blind persistence which clings to caste bondage4 ,i have often felt that ,hinduism can be dispensed with by our convert with vastly more ease in all other particulars than in its caste feelings and affiliations4 ,this relic of the past clings to him with a tenacity which is phenomenal and most sad4 ,though everything teaches him that this caste system is the greatest enemy of ,christianity and will prevent any one who believes and practices it from fully imbibing the spirit of ,christ2 and though he aspires to be an earnest and an efficient ,christian and to love all his brethren1 this remnant of ,hinduism in his heart returns to rob him of the joys and blessings of his ,christian birthright4 ,i have seen this frequently disfigure what would otherwise have been a beautiful ,christian character4 ,i have witnessed it blast the prospects of ,christian congregations dooming them to stagnation and death4 ,i have known it to palsy the arm and deaden the heart of more than one ,christian worker4 ,all this is inevitable when we remember the mighty influence and the long continued dominance of caste in that land4 ,but even at this point1 where the missionary finds the greatest discouragement1 there are marked signs of progress4 ,so long as the missionary fought this evil alone there was little hope of success4 ,but1 during the last few years1 the conscience of the native ,christian ,church itself has been roused on this question4 ,the ,indian ,christian today1 as never before1 has the conviction that this caste evil saps the spiritual life of every member and of every church which entertains it1 and that it is his supreme duty to fight it steadily in his own heart1 home and church4 ,and there is an increasing number1 especially of the young ,christians1 who are pledging themselves to an unceasing warfare against the demon caste4 ,christians are also organizing themselves into ,caste ,suppression ,societies4 ,all this is highly encouraging1 but needs large furtherance and development before the native ,christian can be said to be freed from this most subtle curse of the ancestral faith4 ,the old ,hindu ,joint ,family ,system is the foster-mother of the caste idea1 and it is cheering to see native ,christians increasingly abandoning that system for the ,western idea of home which encourages thrift1 independence and liberty among the various members of a family and clan4 ,in ,india1 for many years to come1 this blight of social narrowness1 exclusiveness and divisiveness will affect more or less the native ,christian character and give colour to the native ,christian ,church4 ,for centuries it may prove the weak spot of ,indian ,christianity4 7b7 ,morally1 the native ,christian develops slowly4 ,one writer has recently claimed that the ,christian of ,india manifests little1 if any1 preminence over the ,hindu1 in this respect4 ,this is not true4 ,he is certainly moving forward and upward morally4 ,but it should be remembered that moral character is not one of the first results of ,christian conquest among such a people4 ,it is rather the highest and last fruit upon the tree of ,christian life4 ,it should not be forgotten that what we regard in the ,west as the high moral traits of a ,christian gentleman are the product of more than #a1jjj years of ,christian living4 ,the native ,christian manifests1 in this respect1 the weakness of his antecedents and his environment4 ,when we remember that weakness of character to which we have referred as belonging to the ,hindu it is not surprising that the native ,christian1 who is daily surrounded by men of that faith and who imbibes the atmosphere of that religion1 should largely be affected by the same evil4 ,a few years ago an ,english barrister complained to me of certain ,christian witnesses who had given evidence in a case recently conducted by him in ,madura4 8,i hate to have your ,christians as witnesses in any of my cases10 he says2 8for whenever they venture to give false evidence they instantly falter and stumble and are caught by the opposing counsel4 ,a ,hindu1 when he gives false evidence1 will tell a straight and a plausible story4 ,but your ,christians are too much affected by twinges of conscience40 ,what was embarrassing and annoying to him was encouraging to me6 ,that our ,christians should occasionally give false evidence did not surprise me2 but that they1 in this matter1 should be differentiated1 by this disinterested observer1 from ,hindu witnesses is a reliable testimony in favour of their growing veracity4 ,among the higher class of native ,christians1 which is annually increasing in number1 there is marked improvement in character4 ,especially among mission agents do we have opportunity to witness this development4 ,they are growing in sincerity and reliability4 ,the missionary is learning1 with increasing pleasure1 to place confidence in their veracity4 ,and yet1 we must mourn that moral progress among our people1 both high and low1 is not more rapid and satisfying4 ,social immorality1 as we have seen1 is very prevalent in that tropical country4 ,it is natural that this should annoy and worry us greatly among our native ,christians4 ,it is a sad fact that more of our mission agents are dismissed on account of this sin than any other4 ,hindu society is not only largely demoralized by this evil1 there is also no public sentiment against it4 ,but1 under the influence of a growing sentiment in behalf of chastity and purity1 the evil is gradually diminishing among our native ,christians4 ,one source of moral depravity in ,hindu society is the prevalent belief among them that there is no necessary connection between piety and morality4 ,their faith maintains that a man may be an ardent and worthy devotee1 and at the same time trample under foot every part of the decalogue4 ,indeed the immorality of their religious ascetics is as noticeable as their profession of piety4 ,nobody there questions their lofty faith1 their deep piety1 their supreme devotion to their gods2 nor will any one hesitate for one moment to charge them with every vice and sin in the human catalogue4 ,such is the ,hindu mind that it can and does believe that these1 to us1 inseparable elements of a noble life1 can be severed and found absolutely apart4 ,in ,india1 today1 the moral people are largely the non-religious2 while the ostentatiously religious are the publicly immoral ones4 ,it will take a long time for this fundamental and universally prevailing error to lose its grip upon our ,christian people in that land4 ,we find1 not infrequently1 in the ,christian community1 men and women living in unrighteousness and at the same time believing that it will be overlooked in the ,divine account because of their zeal in ,christian advocacy or their offering for the ,christian cause4 ,perhaps this land of the ,west also is not free from such a delusion6 ,we endeavour to teach them1 in the language of the ,apostle ,paul 7#a ,tim4 #c3i71 8to hold the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience02 and we emphasize the supreme truth that faith and conscience1 piety and morality are one and inseparable4 7c7 ,religiously1 the native ,christian is slowly shaking off the clinging brood of superstitions which he inherited from ,hinduism4 ,our most recent converts have often a tenacious belief in the efficacy of some of those childish superstitions and charms which were largely their main stay in their ancestral religion4 ,in most cases these are not a matter of faith so much as of inheritance which have become more than a second nature to them4 ,idolatry may be abandoned1 belief in ,hinduism as a saving faith may be thrown to the winds1 ,hindu ritual may lose its charm2 but the many little superstitions which are connected with private life and social customs have still a quiet influence and a lingering power over them4 ,these largely belong to the life of those who have recently accepted the ,christian faith4 ,it may be that some of them will never make that progress in life which will lift them entirely above some of these ,hindu superstitions4 ,but the great majority of native ,christians today have religiously had no connection whatever with ,hinduism and have entirely substituted ,christian rites and observances for those of the ,hindu religion4 ,and they apparently have large satisfaction in them4 ,the old ,hindu idea of the supreme value of asceticism is largely yielding to a ,christian altruism which abandons self-centred1 self-seeking1 activity in favour of loving sympathy for1 and an endeavour to do good to1 men4 ,we also notice that among them the idea of the efficacy of certain forms and ceremonies is lessening in favour of a conviction of the power of the inner life of faith4 ,and yet it should be constantly kept in mind that ceremony and ritual must always find a larger place in the religious life of ,india than in that of the ,united ,states4 ,the inhabitant of ,india is tropical and poetic in temperament4 ,he beholds things1 and appreciates and appropriates spiritual blessings1 more through the help of forms and ceremonies than does the man of the ,west4 ,a rite appeals to his nature more strongly and lends to him greater facility in getting at its underlying truth and antitype than it does to us4 ,indeed it is his nature to look at ,christian truth through the eyes of a poet2 and ceremonies consequently convey to him the largest significance and are more revealing of the spirit within4 ,we seek divine truth and spiritual blessings more directly than he4 ,it would be therefore a mistake for us to expect that practical1 unpoetic mind of ours in the ,oriental1 or to present religious truth to him in its nakedness1 unadorned and unenforced by rite and ritual4 ,it has been1 and1 to some extent1 continues to be the fault of our ,congregational ,missions in ,india that they try to lift the native ,christian to those dry1 unadorned1 simple forms of religious service which indeed satisfy the missionaries1 but which ignore the great difference of nature and temperament between themselves and the converts4 ,it should be remembered that in ,india people think vocally4 ,even as they must and do read aloud in order to read intelligently1 so must they worship aloud in order to worship feelingly and thoughtfully4 ,hence the wisdom and urgency for them of a ritual and a responsive service4 7d7 ,spiritually1 the ,indian ,christian is slowly and surely developing on definite lines of his own4 ,the simplicity of his faith is beautiful4 ,he has none of those questions of doubt or misgivings of unbelief which are so prevalent in the ,west4 ,he takes the ,bible in all fullness of acceptance4 ,his prayers are not crossed and frustrated by any rationalistic theories1 but have the simplicity of childish directness1 filial trust and full expectancy4 ,nothing has touched me more in my contact with native ,christians than to feel the directness1 simplicity1 unquestioning trustfulness of their prayers even in times of greatest adversity4 ,the native ,christian possesses a mystic temperament4 ,the inhabitants of that land1 through many centuries of training1 have become natural mystics in religion4 ,this national heritage the native ,christian retains2 and properly chastened and directed by ,christian truth and faith it will add depth1 beauty and power to his religious life4 ,under these conditions ,i shall have no fear of mysticism in the ,christian ,church in ,india4 ,deep spirituality and a yearning after the hidden things of religion is more natural to the ,east than to the ,west4 ,the ,west is practical and worldly2 the ,east is mystical and other-worldly4 ,the native ,christian1 at his best1 is manifesting some of this spiritual power4 ,he takes naturally to the ,pauline emphasis upon the life 8hid with ,christ in ,god10 and to the mystic union which exists between ,christ and ,his own4 ,it is here that the native ,church in ,india is1 ,i believe1 to show an inspiring example to the ,church of the ,west4 ,if the ,christian of ,india is not to be as practical or indeed as spiritually sane as his brother of the ,west1 he will probably illustrate more of the hidden mysteries and power of the spiritual life4 ,in this respect the spiritual power of the ,east and that of the ,west will be1 in their separate emphasis1 mutually complementary4 ,the ,indian ,christian1 true to his native temperament1 is and will continue to be strong in the so-called passive virtues1 and weak in the positive or aggressive ones4 ,patience1 meekness1 gentleness1 endurance--these are the graces which preminently adorn him and which give colour and shape to his religious character4 ,here1 again1 his life will be very different from that life which has characterized1 thus far1 the ,western ,christian4 ,the masculine virtues of assertion1 boldness1 aggressiveness have characterized the ,west4 ,we have been strong and continue strong in that aspect of our faith which we associate with the words assertion and attack4 ,the ,west has1 true to its environment and training1 developed ,christian character mostly1 ,i will not say exclusively1 on the positive side of life4 ,the equally important passive virtues we of the ,west have much neglected if not despised as weakness4 ,the ,east is even today manifesting the blessedness1 and the native ,christian will increasingly illustrate1 the beauty and potency1 of the passive virtues--of the spiritual element of endurance and non-resistance4 ,he will show to us that a true and perfected character--a character molded after that of the divine ,exemplar--must have also1 and with equal emphasis1 the sweet and feminine passive graces of life as an essential element4 ,in ,india today the ,anglo-,saxon is wont to speak with contempt of 8,the mild ,hindu40 ,that mildness which we are too apt to despise contains the germs of that half of ,christian character which is too largely wanting in the spiritual life of the ,anglo-,saxon and which the ,christian ,church of ,india will increasingly illustrate and gradually seek to respect1 honour1 and ultimately1 to adopt4 ,thus1 speaking broadly of the native ,christian of ,india today we find him almost as much a product of heredity and environment as he is of ,christianity4 ,he holds out ,christ before himself as his ideal of life1 and ,his words as the all-satisfying truth4 ,he seeks in ,his redeeming work rest and salvation of soul2 but many of the deepest yearnings of his heart come to him through old channels worn out by his ancestral faith4 ,hinduism gives more or less of colouring to his religious thought and aspirations2 and not a few of its forms and ceremonies are retained1 but filled with a new ,christian content1 and are utilized to aid in the development of ,christian life4 ,even as the ,jews of old entered into possession and appreciation of ,christian life through ,jewish rites and ceremonies1 so do native converts enter ,christian life through ,hindu forms today4 ,from the necessity of their thought and being they utilize not a few of the processes of the old1 in order to acquire and enjoy the blessings of the new1 faith4 ,this cannot be avoided nor do we desire that it should be avoided4 ,illustration3 ,house ,of ,a ,missionary ,in ,india4 ,illustration3 ,a ,village ,christian ,church4 ,the study of the ,indian ,christian character in its peculiarities and tendencies is of importance1 because1 as ,i have said above1 ,i believe it is to affect our conceptions of life in the ,west4 ,at the present time not a few of the religious vagaries which infest our land such as ,christian ,science and ,theosophy1 have chiefly come to us from ,india4 ,at least1 whatever of philosophy they may possess1 and all of the occultism and mysticism which they court and magnify1 are thoroughly ,eastern and ,indian4 ,and from the popularity of such movements in this land it would seem as if the boast of some men that ,hindu thought is invading the ,west is partially true4 ,but the invasion which ,i desire and expect1 in the not distant future1 is the invasion of an ,oriental ,christian thought1 ,christian life and ,christian character4 ,this will come in its time as truly as1 and much more fully than1 the other has come1 and it will do this country as much good as the other is now doing evil4 ,as an illustration of what ,i mean in reference to the influence of ,eastern thought upon the ,west ,i would prophesy that ere long the ,indian ,christian ,church will formulate for itself and enunciate to the world an advanced and helpful doctrine of the ,holy ,ghost beyond anything that the ,west has enunciated4 ,india1 which for these many centuries has been the home of an all-prevalent spiritual pantheism1 when it comes to elaborate the doctrine of ,god1 from a ,christian standpoint1 will give as much emphasis to ,his immanence as the ,west has given to ,his transcendence4 ,god with us and in us and working in all creation1 even the ,holy ,spirit of ,god1--this is the conception which the ,indian ,christian will elaborate and illuminate beyond anything that the ,west has thus far attempted4 ,there is danger1 today1 and it is inevitable1 that missionaries from the ,west be too ambitious to occidentalize the native ,christian community1 ignorant of1 or indifferent to1 the grand possibilities of thought and of life which lie in ,eastern character and teaching4 ,it is much easier to thrust upon them everything ,western than it is to appreciate and to conserve many things ,eastern4 ,the future missionary will learn wisdom from the past and will enter upon his work with less depreciation of things ,oriental and with a larger desire to conserve to the utmost ,eastern habits of thought and social customs1 so long as1 and so far as1 they can be made the vehicles of ,christian thought and the channels of ,christian life4 ,herein must lie the best means for a speedy coming of the ,kingdom of ,christ in ,india4 ,chapter ,v4 ,,the ,,women ,,of ,,india4 ,the condition of its women is the truest test of a people's civilization4 ,her status is her country's barometer4 ,the one hundred million women of ,india admirably reflect the whole social and religious condition of that land4 ,there are more nations in ,india than are found in all ,europe2 they also present a greater diversity of type4 ,between the aboriginal tribes which treat the weaker sex only as a beast of burden1 and the ,parsee community which holds its women in the highest consideration and furnishes them with a liberal education and large opportunity1 there are many intermediate tribes and nations which regard their women with varying degrees of consideration and of contempt4 ,of all ,scriptures the ,zend ,avesta of the ,parsees is the only one which furnishes woman1 from the beginning1 with absolute equality with man2 and that position she has never lost among the ,parsees4 ,but the ,parsees in ,india are a mere handful4 ,the ,hindu woman constitutes four-fifths of the total number of her sex in ,india2 and her condition is fairly uniform everywhere and conforms1 in varying degrees1 to a type whose characteristics are easily recognized4 ,she has come down from earliest history4 ,we recognize her everywhere in the pages of their ancient literature1 in their laws and legends2 and we behold her in all the manifold walks of modern life4 ,for nearly a quarter of a century the writer has lived as her neighbour1 gazed daily upon her life1 wondered at and admired her many noble traits which have been preserved under the most adverse circumstances1 and grieved over her weakness and her many disabilities4 ,in ancient times1 the position of woman in ,india was one of power coupled with honour4 ,today the power remains1 but the honour has been largely eliminated4 #a4 ,in ancient ,vedic times woman enjoyed many distinctions and revealed great aptitude4 ,she joined her husband in the offering of domestic sacrifices and sat as queen in the home4 ,some of the sacred hymns of the ,rigveda were made by her and have come down these thirty centuries as a beautiful testimony to her intellectual brightness and aspiration1 and as an evidence of the honour in which she was held4 ,five centuries later this beautiful description was given of her in the ,mahabarata3 8,a wife is half the man1 his truest friend2 ,a loving wife is a perpetual spring ,of virtue1 pleasure1 wealth2 a faithful wife ,is his best aid in seeking heavenly bliss2 ,a sweet speaking wife is a companion ,in solitude1 a father in advice1 ,a mother in all seasons of distress1 ,a rest in passing through life's wilderness40 ,the rights and opportunities of woman are strikingly illustrated by many of the legends of their ancient epics4 ,for instance1 we read of the ,svayamvara of the lovely princess ,draupadi4 ,it was the occasion when she had attained womanhood and was entitled to the right to choose her own husband4 ,how graphically are the royal suitors described as they press their claims to her heart and hand in knightly tournament4 ,it is one of those scenes which reveal woman in the possession of some of her most queenly rights and attractions4 ,the ancient ideals of womanly character have come down the centuries writ large in their songs and annals2 and these ideals are today held as dearly1 and are loved and sung with as much ardour1 as at any time in the history of ,india4 ,every boy and girl of that land1 today1 knows the lovely ,sita1 wife of the noble and heroic ,rama1--how1 while in the power of the terrible ,ravana1 and at risk of life1 she withstood every temptation and lived in unspotted purity and in supreme devotion and faithfulness to her royal lord4 ,who does not know of the faithful ,saguntala1 whose legend is woven into one of the most beautiful and touching love stories the world has ever known4 ,this drama was the first translation from ,sanskrit into the ,english tongue and elicited the astonishment and lively admiration of such a man as ,goethe4 ,india has always boasted of the constancy and devotion of the beautiful ,savitri to her beloved ,sattyavn4 ,after the death of her husband1 she followed his soul into the spirit-world with fearless devotion and pleaded with the ,king of ,death with so much passion and persistence for his return to life that he was finally restored to her in youthful vigour4 ,these are some of the stock illustrations of the model wife used everywhere and at all times in ,india4 ,and they have had an extensive and wonderful influence in the molding of wifely ideals4 ,it is1 as we see1 a glorification of devotion1 faithfulness1 constancy--traits that have always beautified the character of the ,hindu woman4 ,it is true that1 apart from her husband and from the kitchen1 woman has had few ideals urged upon her in that great country4 ,her ambitions have not crossed the doorsteps of her house and home4 ,she is measured entirely by her relation to her husband or children4 ,she is her lord's companion and servant4 ,love to him is the wand which alone can transform her life into gold4 ,her usefulness and her glory are the reflections of his pleasure and of his satisfaction in her4 ,she has no separate existence4 ,apart from man1 she is an absolute nonentity4 ,and yet1 within the sphere which has been granted to her1 she has shone with a wonderful radiance and with a charm which reminds us often of some of ,shakespeare's beautiful womanly creations4 ,the physical attractions of woman have always1 of course1 captivated the sterner sex in ,india1 as in other lands4 ,her beauty is lavishly described and painted in warm colours through all ,hindu literature4 ,and she is physically beautiful2 she will compare favourably with the fair ones of any land in womanly grace1 in beauty of figure1 and in bewitching charm of manner4 ,but the standard of womanly grace and beauty is not precisely the same there as it is with us in the ,west4 ,a ,hindu and an ,american have different ideals of personal beauty4 ,though the ,aryan type of countenance may not largely differ ,east and ,west1 there are touches of expression and shades of beauty which correspond respectively to the different ideals in both lands4 ,may they not have created the ideals themselves8 ,the most common results of a ,hindu woman's toilet are the smooth hair1 the blackened eyebrow1 the reddened finger-nails1 the pendent nose jewels1 the bulky ear-rings1 the heavy bangles for ankles and arms4 ,without these1 life1 to the ,hindu belle1 is not worth living4 ,on wedding occasions1 among the common folk1 red ochre is also daubed over the throat in ghastly suggestion to the ,westerner2 but in glorious attractiveness to the native of the land6 ,west and ,east associate a fair complexion with highest beauty4 ,a fond ,hindu mother once came to the writer moaning that she could not find a husband for her daughter because she was 8too black60 ,the young man of ,india puts a premium upon every shade of added lightness of complexion4 ,his taste is reflected in the universal feminine custom of using saffron dye to lighten the complexion upon all festive occasions4 ,the clothing of the woman of ,india is exceedingly attractive4 ,her pretty garb sets off admirably the beauty of her person2 and1 both in inexpensiveness and grace1 and in its contribution to health1 is far better than the complicated extravagance1 the heavy encumbrance and the insanitary tight-lacing of the ,west4 ,the women of ,south ,india dress with a view to comfort in the tropics2 but they have also1 in a most remarkable degree1 conserved appropriateness1 beauty1 and simplicity in their robes4 ,the possibilities of the one cloth1 which is the full dress of the ,south ,indian woman1 as a modest garment and as a charming full-dress equipment would be a revelation to the much dressed votary of the ,west4 ,in the arranging of this cloth there is considerable scope for ingenuity and for sthetic taste2 although1 in this matter1 the rules of each caste furnish an iron etiquette which must be followed by the women4 ,indeed1 the tyranny of ,worth in the ,west is nothing as compared with caste tyranny as the ,fashioner of the ,east4 ,this is accounted for by the fact that a woman's dress must be arranged in such a way as to publish abroad her caste affiliations4 ,woman has a vast influence upon the life of the people of ,india4 ,in no other country has she relatively exercised more power4 ,all this1 notwithstanding the fact that1 for more than twenty centuries1 she has had no recognized position in religion or in society4 ,her spiritual destiny has been entirely in the hands of man4 ,by the highest authorities her salvation has been made entirely dependent upon her connection with him4 ,she has absolutely no right of worship of her own4 ,from the cradle to the grave she is in man's keeping4 ,until she is married1 supreme obedience to her father is her only safety2 while her husband lives1 heaven's blessings can come to her only through his favour and prayer2 and1 after his death1 her sons become her lords and the sole guardians and protectors of her spiritual interests4 ,all this is everywhere recognized by ,hindu society1 and by none more than by the woman herself4 ,and yet1 it is equally true1 and a fact of remarkable significance1 that1 in ,india today1 the religious influence of woman is paramount4 ,she is the stronghold of ,hinduism at the beginning of this twentieth century4 ,man1 under the growing influence of western thought1 civilization1 and faith1 has largely lost his moorings and is growing increasingly insincere and a trifler with religious beliefs and institutions4 ,the woman1 on the other hand1 is a conservative of the conservatives4 ,in her superstition she is deeply sincere2 her faith has no questionings1 and her piety shapes her every activity4 ,were it not for the women of ,india1 ,hinduism1 with all its vaunted philosophy1 its wonderful ritual and its mighty caste tyranny1 would1 within a decade1 fall into 8innocuous desuetude40 ,it is a significant fact that in the religion of no other people on earth does the worship of the female find so prominent a place4 ,in many parts of the land ,sakti worship1 or the worship of goddesses1 is widely prevalent and almost paramount in influence4 ,it is really the worship of power under a female form2 and the power which these goddesses exercise is mostly malevolent in its character4 ,the terrible wife of ,siva1 in all her dread manifestations1 is the most popular deity1 because the most feared in the land4 ,it is natural to inquire whether this characteristic of the ,hindu pantheon is not a reflection of the ,hindu mind as to the influence of woman1 and as to the belief of man in the evil character of that influence4 ,as is the place and power of woman among the men so is the character and place of the goddesses in the pantheon of that people4 ,the famous religious reformer ,chunder ,sen1 though he adopted and used the ,lord's ,prayer1 changed the form of address from the masculine to the feminine and said1 8,our ,mother who art in heaven60 ,the adoration of the female in ,hindu worship was never more marked than at present4 ,what has ,christianity to meet this bent of the ,hindu mind8 ,or should it be discouraged as an element in worship8 ,the ,romanists meet it by exalting and giving preminence to the ,virgin ,mother4 ,the ,protestants have nothing corresponding to this4 ,socially1 the ,hindu woman is a reactionary of the most pronounced type2 she opposes social reform at all points--nowhere more than when it is directed to ameliorate her own condition4 ,religiously1 as we have seen1 she is the slave of man by law and teaching2 yet she rules her household1 even in these matters1 with an iron hand4 ,from her throne in the home she so wields her sceptre that it is felt also throughout the whole social fabric4 ,her beloved lord has perhaps passed through a university course1 is a pronounced social reformer and discourses in eloquent ,english1 before large audiences of his admiring countrymen1 concerning the mighty social evils which are the curse of the country2 he1 with his ardent fellow-reformers1 frames rules which shall soon usher in the millennium of social reform and progress6 ,and then he--this man of culture1 of eloquence1 of noble purposes and of altruistic ambitions--goes to his home and meekly submits to the grandmotherly tyranny which has shaped his life much more than he knows1 and which vitiates and renders nugatory all his social and other schemes6 ,as man has narrowed the scope of woman's life in that land1 so she has given it intensity of power4 ,and what is more significant1 she has become supremely contented with the narrow sphere which man has grudgingly given her4 ,and1 for this very reason1 she combats every endeavour1 on the part of her friends1 to release her from her bondage and to increase her opportunities and blessings in life4 ,the old triple slander perpetrated upon ,india1 to the effect that 8it is a country in which the women never laugh1 the birds never sing and the flowers have no fragrance10 is a falsehood in all its details4 ,hindu women have as merry a laugh as their sisters in any other land4 ,they have learned to make the best of their lot and to rejoice in it4 ,since the time of the ,mohammedan conquest1 and probably long before1 the higher class of women have mostly led a life of seclusion4 ,this is preminently true of the northern parts of the country where ,mohammedan influence was strongest and the ,hindu had carefully to protect his wife and daughters from the coarse ,mussulman4 ,in ,south ,india this seclusion is very rare and observed only among the most aristocratic4 ,the common woman of ,india finds ample freedom of intercourse in her town and village1 and figures conspicuously at the great religious festivals of her land4 ,generally speaking1 woman is the redeeming feature of ,india4 ,she is the ideal home-keeper and housekeeper4 ,usually1 she is devoted to her husband1 a passionate lover of her children1 the conserver of society1 the true devotee in religion4 ,her lord and husband has been taught1 from time immemorial1 to keep her in obscurity and to surround her with the screen of ignorance and narrow sympathies2 but she has magnified the work assigned to her2 her excellence has shown far beyond his2 and1 in her bondage1 she has built her throne from which she has wielded her sceptre of love and goodness over him4 ,she has never aspired to realms not granted to her by her lawgivers4 ,the modern aspiration of the 8new woman0 of the ,west does not appeal to her4 ,she asks only to be let alone in her narrow but1 to her1 all-sufficient sphere4 #b4 ,but1 after all we have said1 or can say1 of the power of woman in ,india1 it still remains that1 in no other land1 has she suffered such marked disability and deeper injustice4 ,if her goodness has shone out of her darkness1 it has only served to reveal the more the sadness of her position4 ,she bears in her condition the signs of her bondage and humiliation4 ,the evils of the land have been attributed to her2 and man too often ascribes his own degradation and sin to the curse breathed upon him by woman4 ,the proverbs of a country are the truest test of its sentiments4 ,what have these to say of the woman of ,india today8 8,what poison is that which appears like nectar8 ,woman40 8,what is the chief gate to hell8 ,woman40 8,what is cruel8 ,the heart of a viper4 ,what is more cruel8 ,the heart of a woman4 ,what is the most cruel of all8 ,the heart of a soulless1 penniless widow40 8,he is a fool who considers his wife as his friend40 8,educating a woman is like putting a knife in the hands of a monkey40 ,these are a few of the many proverbs which characterize woman in one vernacular only4 ,every other ,indian tongue equally abounds in proverbial expressions which brand a woman as one of the greatest evils of the land4 ,sanskrit writers have exhausted vituperative language in describing woman4 ,they represent her as 8wily1 hypocritical1 lying1 deceptive1 artful1 fickle1 freakish1 vindictive1 vicious1 lazy1 vain1 dissolute1 hard-hearted1 sinful1 petty-minded1 jealous1 addicted to simulation and dissimulation4 ,she is worse than the worst of animals1 more poisonous than the poison of vipers40 ,these proverbs do not necessarily reveal the depravity of the ,hindu woman2 but they do testify unmistakably to the estimation in which she is held by man4 ,the ignorance of woman there is dense and is probably a fact which closely connects her with the proverbial expressions concerning her4 ,her illiteracy is not an incident in ,indian life4 ,it has been1 through the centuries1 a settled policy of the land4 ,at the present time only one woman in two hundred can read and write in that land of progress4 ,the remarkable thing is1 not that so many are illiterate1 but that even a few have been taught at all1 in view of the attitude of the ,hindu mind towards her4 ,in ancient times there was little to learn1 in ,india1 apart from religion2 but it has been the strict injunction of their ,shastras and religious instructors that no man shall1 under penalty of hell1 teach to his wife or daughter the ,vedas which are the purest and best part of ,hindu ,scriptures4 ,any form of useful knowledge was considered dangerous in her possession4 ,it is not that woman is wanting in capacity4 ,she is as bright and as teachable as her brother4 ,all that she has needed1 educationally1 has been opportunity2 and this1 society has denied her1 and this has done injustice not only to her but1 still more1 to itself4 ,infant marriage has been1 for many centuries1 a crying evil in that land4 ,this has brought to woman a train of evils which have made deplorable her condition above all the women of the earth4 ,this custom originated1 probably1 from a sense of kindness to the girl herself4 ,it was the expression of a desire on the part of the parents to insure their daughter1 at an early date1 against failure to attain that which all ,hindus regard as the summum bonum of a woman's life--marriage4 ,but1 in their short-sighted policy1 they failed to realize the myriad evils which would follow this pernicious custom4 ,the girl's will or desire must not be regarded as an element in this life compact6 ,and1 what is worse still1 these infant compacts are necessarily followed by early consummation1 whereby girls enter1 in many cases1 upon the duties of motherhood at twelve years of age4 ,few1 indeed1 are permitted to reach full physical development before they assume the function of child-bearing4 ,this is not only a serious evil to the woman herself1 it also gives poor chance for the begetting of a healthy progeny and for the early training of the same4 ,and it is not strange that the woman who thus early enters the sphere of motherhood should become a worn out old woman at thirty-five or forty years4 ,much effort has been put forth in ,india1 by ,westerners especially1 to make infant marriages impossible1 or at least unpopular4 ,but1 little success has thus far attended this effort4 ,a small meed of alleviation was gained with much effort in #ahia4 ,it came through the passing of the 8,age of ,consent ,bill0 whereby the age of a girl's consent to cohabitation was raised from ten to twelve4 ,to a ,westerner1 the blessing acquired by this bill seems in itself a mockery and only reveals the appalling cruelty of that people to its girls4 ,it has been found impossible to touch1 much less remove1 the gross evil of infant marriage itself1 the custom which opens wide the door to other ghastly evils4 ,the greatest of these is that of virgin-widowhood4 ,if men will perversely marry their infant daughters to small boys1 it is sure that a considerable proportion of the boys will die before their marriage is consummated4 ,thus1 annually1 thousands of these poor girls1 who are in absolute ignorance of the situation1 are converted into virgin widows whose condition1 upon the death of their husbands1 is instantly changed from one of innocent childhood pleasure into a sad1 despised and hated widowhood4 ,for1 the parents of the boy sincerely believe that it is her evil star which has killed the boy whose destiny was blended with her own4 ,and henceforth she is regarded1 not only by the parents concerned1 but by society in general1 as an accursed person1 hated for what has happened to her husband1 and also a creature to be shunned4 ,her presence must not be allowed on any festive occasion1 lest its evil influence bring sorrow and death to others4 ,thus a child of four or five years may suddenly have her prospects blasted1 her life embittered and her company shunned by the whole world1 with none to befriend1 to cheer or to comfort her4 ,there are two millions of such sad and injured ones in ,india today4 ,their cry goes up to ,god and to man in inarticulate appeal for relief and redress against a social custom and a religious rule which consigns them1 in their time of greatest innocency1 to a life which is worse than death itself and which robs them of the protection1 love and sympathy which the whole economy of heaven and earth should guarantee to them4 ,coupled with this terrible fact is the other1 that woman must marry in ,india anyhow4 ,no disgrace and misfortune can befall a woman1 according to ,hindu ideas1 equal to that of spending her whole life in maidenhood4 ,this1 of course1 is connected with the idea that she has no social status or religious destiny apart from man4 ,hence it is that a host of loving parents1 who are unable to find a suitable match for their daughters1 rather than leave them unmarried1 stupidly join them in wedlock to professional bridegrooms4 ,there is1 in ,bengal1 today1 a division of the ,brahman caste whose men are professional purveyors to this silly but prevalent superstition4 ,they are prepared to marry any number of girls at remunerative rates4 ,and thus they acquire a fair income4 ,each of these men have scores of such wives and entertains the proud satisfaction1 doubtless1 that he is bestowing a favour upon a benighted community by coupling his name in wedlock with unfortunate girls who otherwise would be without a name or hope among men6 ,a state of society which renders such a condition of things possible is not only a disgrace to any community1 it is a monstrous evil against the womanhood of that community4 ,is it any wonder1 then1 that so many of the women of ,india1 under these circumstances1 should commit suicide8 ,is it strange that a wife1 in such a land1 should find it best to obey and submit to the indignities of the worst kind from her husband8 ,and is it remarkable that the ,hindu widow1 rather than endure the neglect1 the temptations and the obloquy of her widowhood1 should have preferred to practice ,suttee and to end her miseries upon the funeral pyre of her husband8 ,when we remember that their system consigns one-fifth of all the women of ,india--more than #bj1jjj1jjj souls--to this despised and ostracized widow class1 we realize the depth of evil which flows from the system4 ,there is still another cruel injustice inflicted upon the womanhood of ,india4 ,many thousands 7there are #ab1jjj in ,south ,india alone7 of her daughters are dedicated in infancy to a life of shame in connection with temple worship in that land4 ,these women1 the so-called 8servants of the gods10 have been mostly dedicated by fond mothers to this wretched life as a thank offering to the gods for blessings received4 ,this seems very strange when it is known that all such girls thereby become public characters4 ,the 8,dancing ,girl0 of ,india is thus shut up to her evil life by those who love her most2 and her religious profession becomes to her the highway to perdition and a bitter curse to society4 ,recent effort has been made1 in ,bombay1 to save such girls by making it a legal offence to 8marry0 them to the gods and thus devoting them to a life of shame4 ,but this law only refers to the dedication of girls of tender age in ,bombay4 ,it is exceedingly sad that1 practically1 the whole population is utterly indifferent to this greatest insult committed against the womanhood of ,india and to the coupling of their own religion and their gods with the ruin of the soul and body of many thousands of the daughters of the land4 ,it is not remarkable1 under these circumstances1 that among all the people of ,india the birth of a daughter is the most unwelcome of domestic events4 ,the evils which surely await her1 and the greater possibilities of sorrow and suffering which surround her1 the great burden of expense and of trouble which her training1 and especially her marriage1 will entail upon the family--all combine to make her birth a much dreaded event4 ,the large expense1 in the shape of the marriage dowry and the wedding expenses which have to be incurred among nearly all classes in connection with the disposal of their daughters1 only make this situation the more emphatic4 ,the practice of infanticide1 so extensively found in ,india1 was the direct result of this difficulty4 ,for instance1 among the noble race of ,rajputs in ,north ,india it was found1 some years ago1 that1 in a community of #cj1jjj1 there was not a single girl6 ,every daughter that was born was killed4 ,the higher the rank of the family the more constant and systematic was the crime4 8,thus1 while an unmarried daughter in ,india is looked upon as hopelessly disgraced1 a son-in-law cannot always be found unless the father of the girl is prepared to pay highly1 and the marriage of a daughter may mean the ruin of a family4 ,rather than incur this danger1 the ,rajput preferred that his daughter should perish4 ,and though the government has enacted stringent laws against this custom1 it is not entirely eradicated yet407#aj7 ,thus the ,hindus have wittingly and unwittingly placed many of the most serious disabilities of life upon their women4 ,and the greatest evil of it is that the woman has become so hardened to her lot that1 like the prisoner of ,chillon1 she has become enamoured of her chains and is most loathe to part with her bondage4 #c4 ,but the dawn of a new day has risen upon ,india4 ,it is the day of woman's emancipation4 ,a new spirit1 during the past century1 has entered that land1 and the welcome era of brighter blessing1 greater appreciation and larger opportunity for woman has actually begun4 ,one has only to study the laws which1 during the nineteenth century1 were enacted in ,india with a view to removing the terrible evils and crimes which were committed under the sanction of ,hinduism2 and he will find that not a few are directed towards the amelioration of the condition of woman4 ,such inhuman customs as suttee1 the murder of children1 the dedication of girls to lives of shame--these have been removed in whole or in part2 and1 by the 8,age of ,consent ,bill0 and other similar half measures1 the beginning has been made in introducing a day of better things for the women4 ,many of the efforts of ,hindu ,social ,reformers are directed towards the removal of some of the disabilities under which woman lives4 ,it is true that the woman of ,india cannot expect1 for a long time1 much help from her own people4 ,even the ,social ,reformers among them are so few in number1 are so half-hearted in their measures1 and are so unwilling to deny themselves in behalf of the cause which they advocate1 that little can be expected from them4 ,and yet1 it must be said that in a few matters of importance ,hindu sentiment is slowly moving in the right direction4 ,as a ,social ,reformer1 the ,hindu is a poor success2 but he is not a fool2 he can see that the situation1 so far as woman is concerned1 is becoming increasingly untenable and flagrantly inconsistent with the growing light of today4 ,the hope is that he will yield1 with increasing readiness1 to the pressure brought to bear upon him by ,western sentiment4 ,the presence of many women of the ,west in that land has been a standing rebuke to the ,hindu social situation4 ,these women have done not a little to stir within their ,eastern sisters a desire for something better4 ,they open their eyes to the contrasted conditions of the women of the ,east and of the ,west4 ,when they shall have aroused the women of ,india to the desperateness of their condition and to the urgent need of reform and relief1 the battle will be more than half fought and victory will be in view4 ,for1 when the ,eastern woman herself will vigorously demand her emancipation1 man will yield it to her4 ,the ,dufferin ,hospitals are a noble tribute to the active interest of the good lady whose name they bear2 and the sympathetic endeavour of ,lady ,curzon for the elevation of ,india's women are but suggestive of considerable work which the fair sex of the ,west have rendered and are rendering in behalf of their ,indian sisters4 ,protestant ,christian missions have been pioneers in this great movement towards the emancipation of the women of ,india4 ,american and ,english women1 connected with these missions1 have given themselves to the redemption of their sisters4 ,more than one thousand of these good women are devoting their lives to the salvation of ,india through the elevation of the women of the land4 ,thousands of schools are conducted by them in which a host of young girls are receiving that training which ,hinduism has proscribed for many centuries4 ,and through these schools1 and by means of at least two thousand ,bible ,women1 trained by them1 they have access into hundreds of thousands of ,hindu homes where they reveal to the women and girls a broader horizon of life and give a new conception of the privileges and opportunities which are opening today before them4 ,they are creating among the women a spirit of unrest which is the dawning of a new ambition for greater things in life and service4 ,the very presence of these foreign ladies suggests to their ,indian sister a new sphere broader than the home1 and a new opportunity pregnant with rich blessings to the land4 ,under the influence of these missionary efforts and of the less thorough training given in government schools1 ,hindus themselves are beginning to bestir themselves and to establish schools for their daughters2 and thus we trust that coming years will not only witness a change of thought among ,hindus concerning women1 but also a new line of indigenous activity for their elevation4 ,there is further ground for encouragement2 for the ,hindu man of culture is growing increasingly sensitive to the wide gulf which lies between him and his absolutely untrained wife4 ,he sees that1 while the ,western woman is suited in every way to become the companion of1 and a helpmeet to1 her husband1 his own little wife is fit to be neither4 ,even when not separated from him by a disparity of many years in age1 he finds that she has absolutely no interest outside the walls of her home and has not the first qualification to discuss with him or to help him by advice in any matter pertaining to his work or profession4 ,so he1 under the new light of modern times1 is increasingly ambitious to have a wife of the new training and of the larger horizon1 and is willing to pay a premium for her in marriage4 ,and this1 itself1 is beginning to create a market for educated women even in that stronghold of conservatism1 the ,brahman caste4 ,thus the effort of ,christian missions in the development of womanhood is acting like leaven upon the whole social mass4 ,chapter ,,vi4 ,,the ,,history ,,of ,,christian ,,effort ,,in ,,india4 ,christianity found very early entrance into ,india4 ,how early we cannot definitely say4 ,the ,syrian ,church of ,malabar traces its legendary origin to the 8doubting disciple10 by whose name it loves to be called4 ,the ,romish ,church also warmly supports this contention and exalts ,st4 ,thomas to a high place as the ,patron ,saint and ,apostle of ,india4 ,careful historical investigation entirely overthrows this old claim4 ,the ,thomas legends probably owe their existence to the natural desire of the ,syrian ,christians to connect their history with ,apostolic origin and sanction4 ,the name may also be confounded with a later ,thomas1 several of whom were conspicuous in the annals of the ,india ,syrian ,church4 ,the ancient vagueness of the name 8,india10 has also1 doubtless1 had no little influence in the formation of these legends4 ,in the beginning of the ,christian era 8,india0 was a term of much wider application than at present4 ,it included several countries in ,southwestern ,asia1 and even a portion of ,africa4 ,while ,st4 ,thomas may therefore have laboured and died in 8,india10 it does not at all follow that his field of labour was within the limits of the peninsula now called by that name4 ,indeed1 many historical incidents and facts agree in disproving ,apostolic connection with the rise of ,christianity in ,india4 ,pantnus1 the saintly and learned ,presbyter and ,christian philosopher of ,alexandria and the renowned teacher of the illustrious church fathers1 ,clement and ,origen1 is the first honoured name which finds historic sanction in the grand roll of ,christian missionaries to ,india4 ,he visited ,malabar1 ,south ,india1 during the last decade of the second century4 ,he was a man wonderfully equipped by deep spiritual insight and piety and also by philosophic training and metaphysical acumen to become the messenger of ,christian truth and life to the ,buddhists and ,brahmans who lived side by side in ,south ,india in those days4 ,we know little of his work in that land4 ,he found in ,malabar a colony of ,jewish ,christians who possessed a copy of the ,gospel of ,matthew in the ,hebrew tongue1 said to have been given to them by the ,apostle ,bartholomew4 ,it is not known1 however1 whether this last named apostle laboured among these ,christians in that region4 ,probably a century later that ,christian community formed connection with ,antioch1 ,syria1 which was the first of all ,christian missionary centres2 but which1 through its ,nestorian faith1 soon lost its missionary ardour4 #a4 ,and thus emerges out of the darkness into its long and unique history the ,syrian ,church of ,malabar4 ,it has passed through many vicissitudes and has lost much1 if not all1 of its positive ,christian influence and missionary character4 ,during a recent visit to that region ,i was saddened by the sight of this ,christian community which had lived all these centuries in the centre of a heathen district with apparently no concern for the religious condition of the surrounding1 non-,christian1 masses--content to be as a separate caste without religious influence upon1 or ambition to bring ,christ into the life of1 its benighted neighbours4 ,this church has survived its own apathy1 on the one side1 and ,roman ,catholic inquisition on the other1 and appears before the world as what it really is--the only indigenous ,christian ,church in the peninsula of ,india4 ,it enjoys the unique distinction of having lived more than a millennium and a half in a heathen land1 for a thousand years of which it was entirely surrounded by a non-,christian people4 ,during the last half century it has been considerably influenced by the work and example of the ,church ,missionary ,society which is established in that region4 ,through this influence a ,reformed ,syrian ,church has come into existence which promises to do much for the whole community in ideals and life4 ,the ,syrian ,church has hitherto been greatly cursed with the trinity of evils--ignorance1 ceremonialism and superstition4 ,it was not until #ahaa 7at the suggestion of an ,englishman7 that it translated a part of the ,bible 7the four gospels7 into the vernacular4 ,and this is the only translation of the ,scriptures ever made and published by the natives of ,india4 ,the ,syrian ,church now numbers #bdh1gda4 ,that part of the ,syrian community which the ,romish ,church compelled1 by the inquisition1 to unite with it numbers #cbb1ehf4 #b4 ,from the fourteenth century the ,,roman ,,catholic ,,church has continued to send out her emissaries and missionaries to that land4 ,jordanus and his brave band of missionary associates were her first representatives4 ,but it was only from the arrival of ,vasco da ,gama and the ,portuguese conquest four centuries ago1 that the influence of that ,church began to be seriously felt and its triumphs recorded4 ,by the sword and cruel ,inquisition not only were ,syrian ,christians compelled to transfer their allegiance to the ,pope2 non-,christians also were1 for perhaps the second time in the long history of the land1 subjected to the bitter restraints and inhuman inflictions of religious persecution4 ,it is a curious fact that the hideous and bloody monster of religious intolerance was hardly known in ,india until1 first1 the followers of ,mohammed and1 secondly1 the disciples of the meek and lowly ,jesus began to invade the land4 ,then follow the devoted and heroic labours of the saintly ,xavier4 ,he was a man of princely extraction1 of royal bearing1 of ,christian devotion and self-denial4 ,he wrought1 according to his light1 with supreme loyalty to his ,lord and with a divine passion for souls in ,south ,india4 ,many thousands of the poor fishermen on the coast was he permitted to baptize into the ,christian faith4 ,it is much to be regretted that1 like nearly all subsequent ,romish missionaries1 he gave himself1 all but exclusively1 to the ceremonial salvation1 rather than to the ethical transformation and the spiritual regeneration1 of the people4 ,it has always been a much easier thing1 in ,india1 to gather the people for the reception of the mystical ordinances of our faith than it has been to prepare them1 by patient teaching and guidance1 to exemplify its precepts by their lives4 ,after ,xavier came the accomplished and wily ,jesuit1 ,robert de ,nobilibus--the nephew of ,cardinal ,bellarmine4 ,a believer in the ,jesuitical principle that the end justifies the means1 and ardently desiring to bring the ,brahmans over to his faith he proclaimed himself1 and in every way assumed the rle of1 8the ,western ,brahman40 ,he lived scrupulously as a member of that haughty caste and1 until recalled by the ,pope on account of his deception1 wielded much influence over the ,brahmanical hierarchy in ,madura4 ,men of great power and supreme devotion to their faith followed as representatives of that great ,church in ,india4 ,such names as de ,britto1 ,beschi1 the ,abbe du ,bois are a crown of honour to that community4 ,many like them spent lives of great self-denial for the cause of ,christ and faithfully wrought for the redemption of the people2 so that at present the power of the ,romish ,church and the devoted energy of its leaders are known in every section of the ,peninsula4 ,after nearly six centuries of effort its community in ,india has reached the total of #a1ebd1jjj souls4 ,for a long time1 it has not enjoyed much increase in its membership4 ,in many places it finds numerous accessions2 but not a few of its people backslide and return to their ancestral faith4 ,the marked defects of ,romanism in that land have been its concessions to1 and compromise with1 the religion of the land both on the side of idolatrous worship and of caste observance4 ,i have discussed the subject with ,indian ,roman ,catholics in the villages and find that to them the worship of saints1 through their many obtrusive images1 is practically the same as the idolatry of the ,hindus--the only marked difference being in the greater size of the ,romish images6 ,in like manner the ,jesuit has adopted and incorporated into his religion1 for the people of that land1 the ,hindu caste system with all its hideous unchristian divisions4 ,all this makes the bridge which separates ,hinduism from ,roman ,catholic ,christianity a very narrow one2 and it reduces to a minimum the process of 8conversion0 from the former faith to the latter4 ,but an easy path from ,hinduism to ,christianity means an equally facile way of return to the ancestral faith4 ,if the ,hindu has little to surrender in becoming a ,christian1 neither has such a ,christian any serious obstacle to prevent his return to ,hindu gods and ceremonies when it suits his convenience to do so4 ,hence it is that the new accessions to ,romanism hardly exceed the number of those who leave it in order to resume their allegiance to the faith of their fathers4 #c4 ,,protestant ,,missionary ,,effort began late4 ,in ,india it was introduced with the ,dutch conquest in the early part of the seventeenth century4 ,but the proselytizing methods of the ,dutch in those days savoured too much of the ,romish inquisition under the ,portuguese4 ,when the pressure of religious compulsion by the civil government was removed1 consequent upon the ,english conquest in ,ceylon and ,india1 the people apostatized in a body4 7a7 ,it was not until the truly ,christian ,king1 ,frederick ,,iv4 of ,denmark1 took1 himself1 a religious interest in that land at the beginning of the eighteenth century1 and sent1 at his own expense1 the first two ,protestant missionaries to ,tranquebar on the east coast1 that really consistent ,protestant effort for the redemption of ,india began4 ,zeigenbalg and ,plutschau1 the two pioneers who were sent to ,tranquebar1 arrived in #agjf4 ,they inaugurated the great work of ,protestant ,christianity for the spiritual regeneration of ,india1 and will always find an honoured place among the heroes of the cross4 ,zeigenbalg was a man of great piety and of intellectual resources4 ,he died in #agai after a most successful service of unremitting toil4 ,he gathered hundreds of converts into the ,christian fold1 established schools and erected a beautiful church edifice which stands today as the oldest ,protestant ,mission ,church in the ,east4 ,above all1 he felt that an open ,bible in the vernacular was essential to the conversion of ,india2 and he therefore gave himself to the translation of ,god's ,word4 ,he was not able to complete this work2 it did not issue from the press until #agbe4 ,this ,tamil version of the ,bible was the first translation of ,god's ,word in ,india and in all the ,east2 and it stands today as a monument to his intelligent labours and to those of his worthy successor1 ,schultze4 ,it also represents the beginning of a new era of missionary effort in the country4 ,the ,roman ,catholics1 during all their stay in that land have done nothing towards giving to the people the ,bible in their native tongue4 ,it was not until the year #aheg that1 stirred by ,protestant example1 they published their first and only translation of any portion of ,god's ,word in any of the ,south ,india vernaculars--that of the ,tamil ,gospels and the ,acts of the ,apostles4 ,schultze spent fifteen years in ,madras and left a congregation of #gjj persons there4 ,from ,tranquebar1 as a centre1 missionary effort spread extensively throughout the ,madras ,presidency4 ,this was done through ,german missionaries supported mainly by ,english funds furnished by the ,society for the ,propagation of ,christian ,knowledge4 ,perhaps the most commanding figure connected with that work and century was ,frederick ,schwartz1 the missionary statesman and apostle who arrived in ,india in #agej4 ,his efforts extended throughout the ,kingdom of ,tanjore and even to the ,madura and ,tinnevelly districts4 ,through all these regions his power was felt and1 in company with a few other worthy souls1 he laboured with distinguished faith1 wisdom and heroism4 ,the ,protestant ,native ,church which has so flourished in ,tinnevelly and ,madura found its origin and first success under his guidance4 ,he spent forty-eight years in unremitting effort1 influenced powerfully all missionaries who came in contact with him1 and passed on to his reward in #agih4 ,thus1 before the close of the last century1 at least #ej1jjj ,tamilians had been baptized in connection with this ,protestant effort4 ,when we bear in mind the fewness of the agents1 and the very limited tract of country which they occupied1 it is a matter of considerable astonishment that so many converts were every year baptized in the various missions4 ,in ,tranquebar alone1 in nineteen years1 there were #ai1cdj persons baptized2 and during the century1 the entire number of converts was nearly1 if not quite1 double this amount4 ,in ,madras1 as many as #d1jjj natives were received into the ,christian church4 ,the ,cuddalore ,mission1 notwithstanding its great troubles1 yielded between #a1jjj and #b1jjj converts2 the ,trichinopoly ,mission1 more than #b1jjj2 the ,tanjore ,mission1 about #a1ejj2 and the mission established at ,palamcottah in ,tinnevelly in #aghe1 also a few4 ,it is impossible to know exactly the number of the native ,protestant ,christian churches and congregations existing at the beginning of the last century1 or the number of the ,christian community in the ,presidency4 ,probably only a few thousand remained to await the dawn of the new century4 ,from ,madras1 down ,south as far as ,palamcottah1 infant ,christian communities existed4 ,but they did not largely flourish until new missionary societies were organized and a larger force of missionary workers were sent to strengthen and push forward the work established4 ,and it is very unfortunate that1 with much good1 not a little evil was found among these few ,christians whom the eighteenth century bestowed upon the nineteenth4 ,mr4 ,sherring truly says1--8,that many of the converts were sincere and genuine1 we cannot doubt4 ,yet it is certain that the permission to retain their caste customs and prejudices throws considerable suspicion on the spiritual work accomplished among them4 ,the ,danish and ,german missionaries soon perceived the formidable influence of caste as an opponent of the ,gospel1 unless they were ready1 like the ,roman ,catholics1 to enlist it on their side1 by permitting it to be retained in the ,christian churches established by them4 ,they chose to make caste a friend rather than an enemy4 ,in doing this1 however1 while they made their path easier1 they sacrificed their principles4 ,they admitted an element into their midst which acted on the ,christian community like poison40 ,and this poison is still exercising a potent influence upon a no small portion of the ,protestant ,native ,church in ,south ,india4 ,a bad beginning in this respect has facilitated an evil continuance4 ,the closing years of the eighteenth century carry our interest to ,north ,india and are notable as the beginning of the organized missionary effort of the ,english people for the redemption of ,india4 7b7 ,the ,anglo-,saxons seem to have been the last among ,christian peoples to awake from the lethargy of a self-centred1 self-seeking ,christianity1 and to enter upon the great missionary campaign for the conquest of the world for ,christ4 ,it is true that the ,society for the ,propagation of the ,gospel received its first charter in #agja4 ,but for more than a century of its history it did not concern itself about carrying the ,gospel to the heathen races4 ,it seems strange that1 up to that time1 both the ,protestant clergy and laymen of ,great ,britain and ,america felt little or none of that sense of obligation for the conversion of the non-,christian world to ,christ which has now become so universal a conviction and a passion among them4 ,illustration3 ,american ,church ,in ,southern ,india4 ,in the work of rousing the ,english to this grand world-wide enterprise ,william ,carey acquired well-earned distinction4 ,though of humble origin and wanting in early training1 his spiritual vision and contagious enthusiasm made him a leader of power4 ,thus1 ,god chose a cobbler youth to lead the ,christian hosts of ,england out of the bondage of narrow religious sympathies into a world-wide conquest of souls for ,christ4 ,carey's efforts in ,england were unremitting1 and the contagion of his burning altruism spread everywhere notwithstanding much opposition and contempt met from a certain class4 ,his early efforts at home were supplemented by a missionary life in ,india so remarkable in its self-denying devotion1 so characterized by distinguished ability and linguistic genius1 and so notable in wisdom and persistence under the greatest difficulties that his name will ever stand preminent in all the annals of missionary effort4 ,but it was very sad that1 while ,christian ,england was waking out of her lethargy to her spiritual opportunities and duties in ,india1 commercial ,england threw herself across the path and denied the right of ,christian service for the ,christless people of that land4 ,carey found no welcome or even permission to work in ,british ,india4 ,he was compelled to flee from the territory of the ,east ,india ,company and to find refuge and opportunity for missionary work under the more enlightened and progressive rule of the ,danish in ,serampore4 ,it was from that place that he directed his missionary effort in ,india and found the long-sought opportunity to serve his ,master in that heathen land4 ,it was there that1 in company with his worthy associates1 ,marshman and ,ward1 he built up a ,christian community and translated and published the ,word of ,god into many oriental tongues4 ,the success and achievements of ,carey would be regarded as phenomenal in the case of any missionary4 ,but when it is remembered that he was compelled to support himself and his mission1 in considerable part1 through his income in secular pursuits2 when it is also known that his wife was1 for many years1 a wreck1 mentally1 and therefore a source of great care and anxiety to him1 how wonderful must have been his faith1 his persistence1 his intellectual endowments and his love for the people of ,india to have led him to accomplish so much for the cause of ,christ in that great land6 ,carey's life and example wrought wonders in its influence upon others of his countrymen4 ,among a noble band of followers is found the devout and pious enthusiast ,henry ,martyn who1 during his too brief career as a chaplain in ,india1 found time to commend his ,master and ,his ,faith to many in that land of darkness and death4 ,martyn was a worthy example of what a consecrated chaplain can do for the ,christian cause1 beyond the strict performance of his priestly functions--an example which was perhaps never more needed in ,india than at present when so wide a gulf is found between the ordinary chaplain and the missionary4 ,as a result of this missionary revival there also came into existence not a few hopeful1 vigorous missionary societies4 ,first among them was the ,london ,missionary ,society which entered1 in #agie1 upon its grand career of world-wide endeavour4 ,after that1 was organized 7in #agii7 the ,church ,missionary ,society4 ,both of these organizations1 at the opening of the new century1 began to put forth their best energies for the salvation of ,india4 ,then a host of other lesser1 but equally determined1 agencies followed in their train and made ,india their special field of activity4 ,in addition to distinctively ,english societies there were organized1 also1 separate ,scotch1 ,irish and ,welsh movements for work in the land--each nation vying with every other in the work of upbuilding there the ,kingdom of ,christ4 ,among the ,british societies the ,church ,missionary ,society1 the ,society for the ,propagation of the ,gospel1 and the ,london ,missionary ,society have done most extensive service and have been markedly blessed with growing communities and effective organizations for work among the people4 ,each nationality also represents a separate type of life and activity4 ,the ,english missions1 for instance1 are strong in their wise organization and effective administration4 ,the ,scotch1 on the other hand1 have a genius for thoroughness in everything1 especially in educational work4 ,the names of the greatest missionary educators of ,india are1 almost without exception1 ,scotch4 ,they have dug deep foundations and have aimed1 by means of their splendid schools1 to excel in the work of directing the thought of1 and imparting a new philosophy to1 the rising generation of ,indians4 ,if their results have not been statistically impressive1 so far as converts are concerned1 they have had preminence in the task of transforming the thought and of leavening the institutions of the land4 ,for instance1 ,alexander ,duff--the father of the higher educational work of missions1 a man mighty in thought and kindled with a sublime faith and a ,christian enthusiasm--did not number many converts as the result of his college training of the young4 ,but every convert under him counted for something in the ,christian ,church4 ,it is said that1 of the forty-eight educated men who were won to ,christ through his mission in #ahga1 nine were ministers1 ten were catechists1 seventeen were professors and high-grade teachers1 eight1 government servants of the higher grade1 and four1 assistant surgeons and doctors4 ,similar to the work of ,dr4 ,duff in ,calcutta was the work of ,dr4 ,wilson in ,bombay and is the effort of ,dr4 ,miller1 at present1 in ,madras4 ,mission results must be weighed as well as measured4 ,as a contrast to this thought-directing and leavening work of the ,scottish ,churches may be placed the work of the ,salvation ,army in ,india4 ,this unique organization invaded that great land nearly a quarter of a century ago4 ,believing that existing missionary organizations and methods of work were too dignified1 staid and inadequate for best results1 the leaders of this movement introduced its cyclone methods and proposed to take ,india by storm4 ,they began by insisting upon all their ,european officers conforming to native custom1 in clothing and diet4 ,their appeal was simple even if their work was narrow and noisy4 ,it was a call upon all to immediate repentance and to a belief upon the ,lord1 ,christ1 for salvation4 ,they ignored the ,sacraments of the ,church and1 for a while1 even emulated the ,hindus by daubing their religious emblems upon their foreheads4 ,but their appeal fell flat upon a people who had no ,christian heritage or training2 and their genuine forms of self-denial and methods of adaptation1 instead of producing popular admiration and attachment1 soon produced pity and even contempt4 ,if the officers were men of spiritual ardour and were kindled with a passion for the salvation of ,india1 they were also1 on the whole1 untrained and uncultured4 ,they not only disobeyed their ,lord in neglecting the ,sacraments1 they did not and could not understand the people and their religion4 ,by ignoring all sanitary rules many of them vainly sacrificed their lives to the ,cause4 ,considering the money expended1 the precious lives sacrificed and the efforts exhausted during this quarter of a century the results achieved by this organization have been painfully1 though not unexpectedly1 small4 ,it clearly illustrates and emphasizes the fact that ,india is not to be won for ,christ by a campaign of ignorance and noise1 however largely it may be enforced by altruistic fervour4 ,and it should not be forgotten that the army officers have not scrupled to enter territory already occupied by ,christian missions1 to cause unspeakable annoyance to workers on the field1 and to fill up more than half the ranks of their 8soldiers0 with people who already claimed allegiance to ,christ in connection with well-established missions4 7c7 ,australia has recently fallen into the ranks of those who carry the ,gospel to ,india4 ,one ,faith ,mission in ,western ,india is almost entirely conducted by men and women of that country4 ,a ,baptist ,mission also is maintained by them there4 ,and not a few of the strong members of ,british missions are ,australians2 these1 with their work1 are supported by the churches which sent them forth4 7d7 ,protestant ,europe has not been conspicuous for its missionary effort4 ,and yet ,india owes a large debt to the ,christians of the ,netherlands1 ,germany1 ,denmark and ,sweden for their effort to present to them the message of life4 ,as we have seen1 the ,dutch1 upon their first conquest in the ,east1 sought to introduce their faith among the people4 ,the first ,protestant missionaries who gave their life for ,india were ,danes4 ,they were supported by the private resources of their own king4 ,in early times ,danish settlements in ,india were the refuge of ,gospel messengers to that land4 ,they protected them against the unchristian narrowness and persecution of the ,east ,india ,company4 ,the ,danish settlement of ,serampore gave the only opportunity to ,carey and his associates for a home and for missionary work4 ,the ,bible was the first time translated into an ,indian vernacular 7,tamil7 by our ,continental brethren1 and the first vernacular ,christian books were printed in ,germany4 ,at the present time they are giving themselves more fully than ever before to the work of ,india's redemption4 ,there are eight ,continental ,missions conducted there1 some of which have achieved considerable success4 ,the ,leipzig ,evangelical ,lutheran ,mission has fallen heir to the first ,danish mission established at ,tranquebar4 ,it has at present a strong force of workers1 and they are scattered through several ,districts in ,south ,india1 are doing solid and substantial work and have gathered a numerous ,christian community4 ,perhaps the most successful of these ,european missions is the ,basil ,german ,evangelical ,mission1 which is established upon the southwestern coast4 ,it is well organized1 has a thorough educational system and is embued with a strong evangelistic spirit4 ,connected with this mission is an extensive and prosperous ,industrial ,mission4 ,with the ,german spirit of thoroughness they have developed1 more largely than any other mission in ,india1 the industrial department1 until it is now well established and fully self-supporting4 ,all these ,european missions are systematic and painstaking in the work which they are carrying forward4 ,in some respects this gives them well-earned distinction4 ,but1 on the other hand1 they labour under a serious disability in having to acquire the ,english as well as the vernacular of the people after arriving in the land4 ,they are also extremely conservative1 not to say antiquated1 in their methods2 and they have not1 in most cases1 learned to hate and antagonize1 as they should1 the terrible caste system of the country4 7e7 ,the ,american participation in the ,christian conquest of ,india began early4 ,it was the perusal of the ,life of ,david ,brainerd1 the ,american missionary saint1 which kindled the missionary zeal of ,william ,carey in ,england4 ,on the other hand1 the ,life of ,carey had no small influence1 at the beginning of the nineteenth century1 in giving irresistible impulse and definiteness of purpose to that noble band of ,american missionary pioneers--,mills and ,nott1 ,newell and ,judson4 ,and their consecrated enthusiasm and purpose to labour for the conversion of the heathen nations1 in its turn1 led1 in #ahaj1 to the founding of the first foreign missionary society in the ,united ,states--the ,american ,board of ,commissioners for ,foreign ,missions4 ,the first field chosen by this society for its activity was ,india4 ,it represented to them both the greatest need and the best opportunity for ,christian work4 ,thus the first organized attempt of the ,christian ,church of ,america to reach and to redeem the heathen world was directed towards the land of the ,vedas4 ,and the first band of missionaries which that1 now venerable1 ,board sent forth into the harvest went1 with eager anticipation and earnest prayer1 to that ancient and benighted people4 ,but how great must have been their disappointment and sorrow1 upon their arrival1 to be refused permission by the ,honourable ,east ,india ,company to land in ,calcutta4 ,with sad hearts they turned their faces towards ,bombay1 hoping that ,god would open the way to their entering upon missionary service there4 ,this again was denied them and they fled to ,cochin1 but were seized and brought back to ,bombay to await the arrival of an ,american ship to convey them home4 ,it was just then that their prayer was answered and the ,lord of ,hosts came to their succour and opened wide the door of that land to the missionary labourer4 ,a new charter was granted by the ,british ,parliament to the ,east ,india ,company4 ,in that1 insistence was made that the ,christian missionary be permitted to prosecute his work for the heathen of that land unmolested4 ,this charter was granted in #ahac1 while the ,americans were still held in durance in ,bombay4 ,it was the ,magna ,charta of missions for ,india2 and from that time until this the ,christian missionary has found permission to preach his message in that land4 ,he has also enjoyed there ample protection in the exercise of all his religious duties and work as a messenger of ,christ4 ,by this charter missions received ,state sanction to obey heaven's command1 and missionaries of all lands came to enjoy1 on ,british territory in the ,east1 the undisputed right to carry the gospel of our ,lord to heathen people4 ,the impatient little band of missionaries were therefore released at ,bombay2 and from that day until this ,america has found joy in her effort to convey her spiritual blessings to that land4 ,adoniram ,judson1 having become a ,baptist1 was directed by ,carey to ,burma where he laboured for many years with apostolic zeal and with distinguished success4 ,the nearly #aej1jjj native ,christians of ,burma today owe their conversion largely to ,judson's wise initiative1 resistless energy1 grand ,christian faith and inspiring example4 ,mills1 who was the leader in the early band of students whose zeal led to the organization of the ,american ,board1 found his field of service on the ,west coast of ,africa1 whence also he was early called to his heavenly reward4 ,the saintly ,harriet ,newell1 wife of another member of this distinguished company1 died on the ,isle of ,france1 and her sorrowing husband returned to ,bombay and rejoined his brethren ,hall and ,nott4 ,these three1 therefore1 were the founders of this first ,american ,mission in ,india--now called the ,american ,mahratta ,mission4 ,bombay1 ,ahmednaggar and ,sholapur are its principal centres of work2 and it covers a field whose population is between three and four millions4 ,it has had distinguished success and has gathered the largest native community among the ,protestant missions of ,western ,india4 ,in #ahcd the same society established its ,south ,india ,mission at ,madura4 ,this was an offshoot from the ,jaffna ,mission which was founded in #ahae in that northern corner of ,ceylon4 ,the ,madura ,mission has prospered1 has #ah1jjj in its ,christian community1 and is regarded as one of the best organized missions in the country4 ,in #ahcd the ,american ,presbyterians1 while yet connected with the ,american ,board1 established in the ,northwest their large and successful mission4 ,its centres of work are ,lahore1 ,lodiana1 ,futtegarh1 ,dera-,dun and ,allahabad4 ,this mission has done excellent work and has attained high eminence among the missions of ,north ,india1 both for its educational work1 its leavening influence and for its evangelistic zeal4 ,a number of its missionaries suffered martyrdom during the terrible ,sepoy ,mutiny of #aheg4 ,it was from that mission that the first call to universal prayer for the conversion of the world was sent forth4 ,and thus was founded the ,week of ,prayer which now finds such general observance among ,protestant ,christians4 ,illustration3 ,college ,hall ,of ,the ,madura ,mission4 ,in #ahcf the ,baptists established for ,telugu people1 on the southeastern coast1 the famous 8,lone ,star ,mission40 ,it has had such phenomenal success that1 though established only in #ahdj in a purely heathen field1 and notwithstanding the fact that the first twenty-five years of its efforts were barren of outward results1 it is to-day by far the largest mission in ,india1 having #ec1gij communicants and a community of #bjj1jjj4 ,its chief centres of work are ,ongole and ,nellore4 ,the ,rev4 ,samuel ,day was sent out by the society in #ahce to ,chicacole1 but in #ahcg removed to ,madras4 ,after three years' labour there he resolved to establish a mission among the ,telugu people1 and so removed to ,nellore and commenced work there in ,march1 #ahdj4 ,the unproductiveness of the work in the early history was such that the abandonment of the mission was several times under consideration4 ,but in #ahff prosperity dawned4 ,later followed the great accessions which have1 up to the present1 continued in greater or less degree and which have been on a larger scale than in any other field in ,south ,india4 8,the history of ,christianity1 in all ages and countries1 shows nothing which surpasses the later years of this mission in spontaneous extension1 in rapidity of progress1 in genuineness of conversions1 in stability of results or in promise for the future40 ,the church organized with eight members by ,dr4 ,clough at ,ongole in #ahfg numbers now its thousands4 ,the great famine of #ahgg presented a large ,christian opportunity which was eagerly seized by ,dr4 ,clough1 himself a civil engineer1 in the conduct of large famine relief works under government and in the ,christian instruction of many thousands who laboured under him4 ,this itself created a wonderful movement which has been marvellously used of ,god in the conversion of the people4 ,nearly all of these converts have come from the lowest class of society4 ,but at present the higher classes are beginning to consider the claims of the ,gospel4 ,it is natural that the most serious problem and principal concern of this mission has been to keep pace with the movement1 and to train suitable agents for the guidance and instruction of the incoming thousands4 ,it has also been largely blessed in this line1 as its various and growing institutions testify4 ,as the ,madura ,mission was the daughter of the ,jaffna ,mission so the ,madras section of the ,madura ,mission1 in the year #ahea1 became the mother of a vigorous daughter4 ,for the members of the ,scudder family--a family famed in missionary annals--were appointed to the ,district of ,arcot1 some seventy miles south of ,madras1 and there began a work under the ,american ,dutch ,reformed ,church which has rapidly grown into power and promise4 ,in the year #ahef the ,methodists of ,america entered upon their great work in that land4 ,with their wonted zeal and evangelistic fervour they carried forward a vigorous campaign in ,north ,india4 ,they early found an opening among the outcaste people as the ,baptists had found among the same in the ,south2 and they eagerly entered the open door and vigorously prosecuted their endeavours for that class4 ,their success has been signal4 ,more than #ajj1jjj people have been gathered into their ,christian community and an equal number of others are desirous to place themselves under their spiritual care and guidance4 ,they have also entered seriously into the work of training an agency and of educating the densely ignorant members of their community4 ,in addition to their village schools they have a large theological and normal school1 besides two colleges1 one of which is perhaps the best college for women in ,northern ,india1 if not in the ,east4 ,their work has now spread to many parts of the land and even to ,burma and the ,straits settlement4 ,they have also wisely cultivated the press and the publishing department as an important auxiliary in their work4 ,in this department they are perhaps doing more than any other society now at work in ,india4 ,the great success of this society in ,india is largely owing to the wise leadership of that missionary statesman--,bishop ,thoburn4 ,i doubt whether many other missionaries1 if indeed any other1 have wrought more for the redemption of that people than this sturdy ,american of ample common--and uncommon--sense1 of wide vision1 of sublime faith and of masterful generalship4 ,several divisions of the ,american ,lutheran community have also wrought much for ,india and are justly proud of their prosperous missions1 especially in ,south ,india4 ,in like manner ,american 8,faith ,missions10 not a few1 have planted the banner of the cross in that land of the trident and are prosecuting their mission and proclaiming their message with singleness of purpose and exemplary zeal4 ,the 8,christian ,alliance0 is the most pretentious organization of this class which does work in that land4 ,its efforts are chiefly confined to the ,bombay ,presidency where it has a goodly number of earnest workers4 ,organizations for the young--the ,y4 ,m4 ,c4 ,a41 ,y4 ,w4 ,c4 ,a41 ,y4 ,p4 ,s4 ,c4 ,e41 ,s4 ,v4 ,m41--while they are not in any sense distinctly ,american1 are nevertheless dominated by the ,american spirit and methods1 and are1 to a large extent under the guidance of ,american youth4 ,these ,christian movements are doing royal service for the ,kingdom of ,christ in that stronghold of error4 ,they bring cheer to the missionaries1 youthful inspiration to the churches1 a wide opportunity to the young life of the ,christian communities and a new pace to all the messengers of ,christ in the land4 ,the ,y4 ,m4 ,c4 ,a4 is also doing an excellent evangelistic work among the educated non-,christian youth of ,india--a work that is appealing mightily to their deepest spiritual instincts and is impressing them1 as nothing else does1 with the combined sanity and spirituality1 the reasonableness and the saving power of our faith4 ,i must also allude to that unique ,american ,institution--the ,haskell-,barrows lectureship--which has already done no small good to the educated of the land1 and has within itself the possibility of largest blessing to the country4 ,it was founded in connection with the ,university of ,chicago2 and it appoints and sends to ,india once every two or three years a distinguished lecturer to present the excellence of our faith in its philosophy and life in such a manner as shall best commend it and appeal to the thoughtful non-,christians of the ,orient4 ,every effort of this kind which shall emphasize to ,hindus the harmony of ,christian truth and the best thinking of our age and shall reveal to them ,christ as the ,redeemer and ,exemplar of our race and as the only 8,name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved10 is to be cordially welcomed among ,god's best forces for ,india's redemption4 ,and ,america is to be congratulated because she is the first to endow and to inaugurate such a helpful agency for the glory of ,god and the salvation of ,india's men of culture4 ,it is comforting to the ,american worker in ,india to be assured that the modern rulers of the land are amply atoning for the unchristian and rude incivility of their predecessors in office ninety years ago4 ,for they not only cordially welcome the ,christian worker from the ,states2 they also reveal full appreciation of his labours1 render him every protection and are not averse to praising him for his arduous endeavours4 ,listen to the words of ,lord ,wenlock1 while ,governor of ,madras1--8,our cousins in ,america10 he says1 8are not1 as we are1 responsible for the welfare of a very large number of the human race2 but seeing our difficulties and knowing how much there is to do1 they have not hesitated to put their hands into their pockets to assist us in doing that which is almost impossible for any government to achieve unassisted4 ,they go out themselves1 their wives and their sisters2 they enter into all parts of the country1 they send a very large amount of money and they spend their time and their health in promoting the welfare of those who are in no way connected with them4444 ,in all ,districts ,i find our ,american cousins joining with us in improving the system of education and in extending it wherever it was wanted4 ,to their efforts we owe a very great deal4 ,it must be recognized that their great object is the advancement of the ,christian religion40 ,lord ,harris1 the ,governor1 of ,bombay1 a little more than a decade ago1 also said publicly1 of the work of the ,american ,board ,mission among the ,maharattas1--8,i do not think ,i can too prominently say that our gratitude towards this ,american ,mission has been piling up and piling up all the years of this century40 #d4 ,our record of the efforts of ,christian countries in behalf of ,india were not complete without a reference to the hearty coperation of ,protestant ,canada in this work4 ,several missions have been established there by ,canadian ,baptists and ,presbyterians2 and these are flourishing and are adding daily to the number of those who are being saved4 ,looking at the whole force of ,protestant ,christian missions in that land today we are impressed with the magnitude of its organization1 work and success4 ,nearly two and a half million dollars are devoted annually by the ,christians of the ,west to this work of saving this great one of the ,east4 ,it is a great financial investment1 but not to be compared with that of the thousands of choice men and women who go forth and give themselves unto death that they might enable ,christ to see of the travail of ,his soul and be satisfied among the millions of that land4 ,comparing present missionary agency and methods in ,india with those of past ages it may be well to consider the differences and gather therefrom assurance for the coming of the ,kingdom of our ,lord in the ,east4 ,these differences are numerous and radical4 ,i need only refer to a few of them3-- 7a7 ,the spell of an ecclesiastical1 and the glamour of a ceremonial1 ,christianity is being increasingly substituted by the moral and spiritual characteristics of our faith in that land4 ,the conversion of ,india is less and less regarded by ,christian workers in the land as a change from the ceremonial and ritual of the old1 to those of the new1 faith4 ,ever increasing emphasis is given to the fact that to be a ,christian is to live the ,christ-life and to be loyal to ,him in all the ethical and spiritual teachings of the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,and these missionary workers care less to touch the life of our converts on the surface and more to grip it at its centre and to transform character4 ,and this is a work which is most enduring in its results4 7b7 ,christian workers in ,india are learning mutual sympathy and appreciation in their work4 ,instead of the old jealousies1 suspicions1 antipathies and misunderstandings of the past1 there is found a developing sense of oneness1 of fellowship1 of comity1 amity and mutual helpfulness among the missionaries of that land4 ,the watchword of to-day is coperation4 ,the distracting spectacle of a divided ,christianity1 of hated and mutually hating ,christian sects in a heathen land is surely passing away and the dawning of the day of peace and harmony and fellowship in ,christian work is upon us4 ,and ,india will enjoy the wonderful results of this4 7c7 ,the serious mistakes of method and standpoint in missions of former centuries are now avoided4 ,the compromise which they made with ,hinduism in caste and in other matters is no longer possible in ,protestant missions4 ,we know1 as they could not1 the irreconcilable antagonism of caste to ,christianity4 ,on the other hand we know ,hinduism and other non-,christian faiths better than our fathers did4 ,we are not so anxious to trace all these back to ,satanic origin4 ,we are learning the sympathies as well as the antipathies of religions4 ,the translators of ,god's ,word into the vernacular of ,india two centuries and one century ago largely avoided the use of popular terms because they were popular and the common-vehicles of ,hindu thought1 which 7they said7 was of the devil4 ,we see the folly of such an avoidance and the need of using and rehabilitating the religious terminology of the people that we may the more surely come into touch with them1 and the more easily convey to them the deepest truths of our faith4 ,formerly1 missionaries declined to use the music of ,hinduism because it enriched the temple services and 8was of the devil40 ,today these same sweet and plaintive songs are wedded to beautiful ,christian hymns1 prepared by native ,christian poets1 and are the appropriate and very popular vehicles of the best ,christian thought and sentiment to ,christian and non-,christian natives alike4 ,this only illustrates the fact that the ,christian message and work are finding greater power over the people because conveyed to them in more intelligible terms4 ,it can come home to them in their common life as it did not formerly4 ,illustration3 ,village ,christian ,church1 ,south ,india4 ,illustration3 ,high ,and ,normal ,school ,for ,girls1 ,madura4 7d7 ,educational work is increasingly utilized4 ,formerly missionary effort was mostly the work of the preacher--it was the direct ,gospel message and appeal4 ,to this has been added the no less necessary1 indeed the deeper1 work of transforming the thought of the land and of introducing everywhere a ,christian philosophy and a process of thinking which will undermine the old methods and foundations of ,hinduism4 ,this ,christian education1 which is now being imparted in ,india to nearly half a million youth in our schools1 is a leavening power the extent of whose influence no one can compute4 ,and it carries within itself untold possibilities for the conversion of ,india4 ,by these institutions1 ,sir ,william ,muir truly tells us1 8the country has been inoculated with ,christian sentiment40 ,sir ,charles ,u4 ,atchison declares that1 in his judgment1 8the value of educational missionary institutions1 in the present transition state of ,indian opinion1 can hardly be overrated4 ,it is more than ever the duty of the ,church to go forward in its educational policy40 ,in other ways also1 medical and industrial1 ,christian work has broadened out so that it reaches the people at all points and lifts up the ,christian community into a self-respecting power which will abide and grow in influence4 ,in modern missions the ,word of ,god1 translated into all the vernaculars of the people1 has become the mightiest instrument of progress in ,christian life1 and the most ubiquitous messenger of ,christian truth4 ,the ,bible was almost a sealed book to the people of ,india when ,william ,carey arrived at the close of the eighteenth century4 ,the ,roman ,catholic and ,syrian ,christians had done nothing to bring this blessing to the people4 ,the ,danish mission1 as we have seen1 had translated it into the ,tamil tongue4 ,and that was all4 ,how wonderful the work of the last century whereby this blessed ,word has been translated into every language and many dialects of polyglot ,india4 ,among its #cjj1jjj1jjj inhabitants there are few who cannot find ,god's own ,word translated into their own speech1 published and brought to their doors4 ,can any one realize how great a leverage this is in the work of overturning that land religiously and in bringing ,christ into the life of ,india8 99 99 99 99 99 ,thus the history of ,christian effort in ,india has not been without its many lessons4 ,and these lessons have brought wisdom and1 with that wisdom1 confidence and growing efficiency to the ,christian forces now at work in the land4 ,for this reason the progress of the ,kingdom of ,christ in ,india will1 during the present century1 be much more marked and its triumphs more signal than in the past centuries4 ,and for this well-founded assurance we thank ,god4 ,chapter ,,vii4 ,,the ,,missionary4 ,the present missionary force in ,india represents1 according to the 8,indian ,missionary ,directory10 a body of nearly #b1ejj men and women who have been sent from ,europe1 ,america and ,australia to instruct the people in the blessings of our faith4 ,this body is constantly increasing in numbers and is sent forth and maintained by some seventy societies47#aa7 ,they are a noble band of ,christian workers1 of no less consecration and faith than those in the past1 and of the highest training and broadest culture ever known4 ,the missionary furnishes to the home churches the chief interest in missionary work and is the link which connects them and the home society with their enterprise abroad4 ,his work at present is not what it once was in ,india4 ,in earlier days the missionary had to be a man of all works2 every form of missionary endeavour came under his direction4 ,in mission work1 as in every other line of effort1 specialization has become a feature and a necessity4 ,there must be men of as varied talents and special lines of training as there are departments of missionary work4 ,but every missionary should be preminently1 a man4 ,he should be a man of large calibre4 ,there is much danger lest the church become indifferent to this matter1 and send to the mission field inferior men--men who would be unable to stem the tide of competition and attain success at home4 ,if a man is not qualified for success in the home land1 there is little chance of his attaining much usefulness upon the mission field4 ,and an inferior class of men sent out to heathen lands to represent1 and to conduct the work of1 the home church must necessarily react upon the church through want of success1 discouragement and defeat in the missionary enterprise4 ,a church whose missionary representatives abroad are wanting in fitness and power cannot long continue to be a strenuous missionary church2 it will lack fuel to keep burning the fire of missionary enthusiasm4 ,and in speaking of the missionary ,i include the lady missionary4 ,missionary ladies today are more numerous in ,india than are the men4 ,more than a thousand single ladies have given themselves to the missionary life and are labouring with conspicuous success in that land4 ,they meet almost the same conditions of life and require the same qualifications for success as their brother missionaries do4 ,of course1 in certain details1 they differ2 but into such matters ,i cannot enter at present4 ,i desire to enumerate the qualifications of a missionary for highest usefulness in ,india at the present time4 #a4 ,physical ,fitness4 ,is a man physically qualified to be sent out into missionary work8 ,for an enterprise like this1 where a man practically enlists for life1 it is of much concern to the ,society which appoints him1 and of great importance to the work which he is to take up that he be possessed of good health4 ,this is preminently true in the case of all those who are appointed to ,india4 ,the climate of ,india is trying1 though it is neither dangerous nor as fruitful in difficulty1 as many believe4 ,it is not necessary that a man who is sent out to ,india be possessed of robust health4 ,indeed1 ,i have often noticed that the most robust are the most likely to yield1 through ill-health1 to climatic influences there4 ,this is chiefly owing to the fact that such people are usually careless in all things pertaining to health4 ,they place too much reliance upon their stock of vigour1 and ignore1 until too late1 the insidious influences of the tropical sun4 ,we ask not for a man of great bodily vigour2 but he should be possessed of organic soundness4 ,such a man may stand the climate longer and work with fewer interruptions than his more vigorous brother2 simply because he knows that his health is delicate and appreciates the necessity of taking suitable care of himself4 ,on the whole1 my experience has led me to two convictions about this matter2 the first is that the less robust and more careful missionaries stand well that tropical climate2 and in the second place1 that to those who do take adequate care of themselves1 the climate of ,india is neither dangerous nor insanitary4 ,there are1 however1 certain precautions which missionaries should take in that land in order to insure the proper degree of efficient service4 ,annual periods of rest at hill 8sanitaria0 are not only desirable1 but are necessary1 in order to preserve the health and add to one's usefulness4 ,many of the best missions in ,india1 at present1 not only arrange that their missionaries take this rest1 but demand it of them4 ,they have learned by experience that it is a reckless waste of precious power for their missionaries to continue working upon the hot plains until compelled by a break-down to seek rest and restoration4 ,it is much easier1 in the tropics1 to preserve1 than to restore1 health4 ,many a noble service has been cut short1 and many a useful career has been spoiled by recklessly continuing work for a few years without rest or change in that land4 ,the youngest and the least organized missions1 and consequently those which have not perfected arrangements for the rest and health of their members1 are those which have the largest number of break-downs1 and which lose most in labour and money on account of the ill health of their missionaries4 ,visits to the home land every eight or ten years are also desirable1 not only for restoration of physical vigour1 but also1 for a recementing of domestic and social ties and for a renewed contact with and a new inspiration from the ,church of ,god in the ,west4 ,life in all its aspects has a tendency to degenerate in the tropics2 and one needs occasional returns to northern climes for the blessings which they alone can give4 ,shall the missionary indulge in recreations8 ,among missionaries themselves this is a much debated question4 ,some maintain that all forms of recreation are unworthy of a man engaged in this holy calling4 ,i do not agree with them4 ,i have seen many missionaries helped in their work by such recreation4 ,there are some men and women who have no taste for such diversions4 ,to them they may have little value or usefulness4 ,but1 to the ordinary missionary who has done a hard day's work an hour's diversion in tennis1 badminton or golf has often been a godsend4 ,it has brought relief to the tense nerves and a new lease of life to the organs of the body4 ,in a similar way an interest in carpentry1 in geology1 photography1 or any other set study1 brings to the jaded mind a diversion and a new lease of power1 and prepares one to go back to his work with fresh pleasure and renewed enthusiasm4 ,one should carefully avoid entering inordinately into any such recreation4 ,there is danger1 and sometimes a serious danger1 that such lines of diversion may be carried to an excess1 and the mind and heart be thereby robbed of1 rather than strengthened for1 one's life-work4 #b4 ,his ,methods of ,life4 ,there are questions of importance which come under this consideration and which are much discussed at the present time4 ,it is asked1 for instance1 whether a man should go out as a married1 or as a single1 missionary4 ,a few years ago the ,american ,board showed very decided preference for the married missionary1 and hesitated to send1 except under special circumstances1 bachelors4 ,missionary societies connected with ritualistic churches1 on the other hand1 have given preference1 almost exclusive preference1 to the unmarried missionary4 ,at the present time there is a growing feeling1 in all ,protestant denominations1 that there is a demand1 and a specially appropriate field of usefulness1 both for the married and the unmarried missionary4 ,the supreme argument in favour of the married man is connected with the home influence which he establishes and which1 in itself1 is a great blessing to the heathen people among whom he lives4 ,the light and beauty of a ,western ,christian home is always a mighty testimony1 not only to the ,gospel1 but to the civilization of the ,west which is a direct product of the ,gospel4 ,through the wife is also conserved the health of the husband who is thereby rendered more efficient4 ,and to his activity is added her equally beneficent one among the women of their charge4 ,the missionary home constitutes a testimony and a power which no mission can be without4 ,on the other hand1 there is a large and an attractive field of usefulness which can best be worked by the unmarried man and woman4 ,there are forms of activity and lines of self-denial which can best be met by those who are not tied down by home life and who are more free to meet the rapidly changing necessities of certain departments of work4 ,it is also true that the unmarried life represents to the ,orient that type of self-denial which has always been associated1 in their mind1 with the highest degree of religious attainment2 and it may1 for this very reason1 be in the line of highest influence upon the people of the land4 ,so1 married and unmarried life have in the mission field today their recognized place1 advantage1 and sphere of influence4 ,and1 working together they will exemplify to the people those forms of religious life and activity which bring highest glory to our cause4 ,another question pertains to the missionary's daily life4 ,shall he conform to the ordinary habits of life practiced by the people among whom he lives8 ,in other words1 shall the missionary from the ,west conform to native customs in food and dress8 ,it is not possible to give a categorical reply to this question4 ,a country should be studied and the ideals of the people thoroughly investigated by the missionary before he decides upon any course of action in this matter4 ,there are countries where such conformity would be desirable and would add considerably to the missionary's influence and success4 ,china is such a country2 and many of the missionaries in that land find it to their interest1 and to the interest of the work1 to adopt the ,chinese costume1 cue and all4 ,they thus cease to appear foreign and peculiar in a land where to be a foreigner is to be hated1 or at least to be unloved and distrusted by the people4 ,the same thing has been tried in ,india1 not only in clothing1 but also to a large extent in food4 ,many a missionary1 feeling how great a barrier his foreign habits created between him and the people1 and inspired by a passionate desire to come near to them in order that he might bless them1 has divested himself of ,european clothing1 adopted the native costume 7at least so far as it was possible for him to do so7 and has confined himself to native food4 ,but ,i have never known of any ,western missionary who has continued this method for a long time and declared it a success4 ,one of the most pathetic instances on record is that of the famous ,jesuit missionary ,abbe ,du ,bois1 who1 after a careful study of the situation1 donned the yellow garb of the ,hindu monk and became practically a ,hindu to the ,hindus1 spending most of his time in travelling from town to town and living strictly1 both as regards food1 clothing1 and general habits1 as an ordinary ,hindu in order that he might gain close access to the people and thus win many converts to the ,roman ,catholic ,church4 ,for many years1 in a distinguished missionary career1 he followed this method of life4 ,but was it a success8 ,in his 8,life and ,letters10 written at the close of his missionary life1 he frankly confesses that that method of approach to the people had proved an entire failure2 that he had not thereby gained any added influence over them or had become better able to lead them into the ,christian fold4 ,he maintains that1 so far as this style of living was concerned1 he had accomplished absolutely nothing for ,india4 ,i have known of ardent and able ,protestant missionaries also who have tried the same method1 with the same result1 and have returned to their ,western costume and food4 ,the ,salvation ,army1 at the beginning of its work a few years ago in ,india1 compelled all its officers fully to adopt ,indian methods of life4 ,this was enforced1 in its rigour1 only for a short time2 but for a sufficiently long period to reveal its disastrous effects upon the health and life of its ,european officers4 ,their system has been considerably modified1 but is still unsatisfactory on the score of health and usefulness4 ,it is now recognized by all that the differences between the natives of tropical ,india and the inhabitants of northern climes1 and between the tropical clime and that of the temperate zone1 are so great that we of the ,northwest cannot1 with wisdom and impunity1 adopt the manners of life of that people4 ,there are differences so great1 both in clothing and in food1 that it would require generations of acclimatization before the change could be wisely adopted in its entirety4 ,it is indeed desirable that the ,european or ,american1 who goes to live in the tropics1 should change somewhat his diet so as to meet the changed requirements of his system there4 ,but1 to adopt the native diet is a very different thing1 and will be conducive neither to nourishment nor digestion4 ,there is1 however1 another question of more importance than this and one which seriously confronted the ,abbe ,du ,bois4 ,what is gained in accessibility to1 and power over1 the people by adopting these native habits8 ,it should be remembered that ,westerners have lived in ,india so long as to have become perfectly well known to all the people4 ,moreover1 the ,western garb and habits of life represent to the ,hindu honour1 influence1 power1 and culture4 ,in his heart of hearts the ,hindu highly respects1 and is always ready to listen to1 that man of the ,west who is true to himself and stands before him for what he is and for what he teaches4 ,the ordinary ,hindu is not stupid enough to be deceived as to a man's nationality or true position in life because of his change of clothing or food4 ,indeed1 to nine-tenths of all ,hindus1 such a change of habits1 on the part of a ,european1 would mean nothing else than that he had lost caste among his own people and had descended to a much lower social scale than formerly4 ,it is well to remember in ,india that the way of access to the people is opened to the ,westerner not through such outer changes of life1 but through true manifestations of kindness and love to them4 ,they are quick to understand the language of love and would never confound it with outer posings of men who are thereby seeking to win their favour4 ,the ,rev4 ,geo4 ,bowen1 of ,bombay1 was perhaps one of the most self-denying of all the missionaries who lived in that land4 ,he reduced the annual expenses of his living to #aej4jj4 ,it was in this path of self-denial that he sought to find greatest usefulness as a missionary4 ,of this life he said at one time3 8,i have not been wholly disappointed1 but ,i have not been successful enough to make me feel like advising any one else to follow my example4 ,and yet ,i have not so completely failed as to make me regret the course which ,i have pursued4 ,i have discovered that the gulf which separates the people of this country is not a social one at all2 it is simply the great impassable gulf which separates between the religion of ,christ and an unbelieving world40 ,it may be laid down as a general principle of life in that land that the missionary should adopt that method of life which1 while consistent with severe economy1 shall best conduce to health and efficiency of service among the people4 ,and in this connection it should also be stated that there are many things which are perfectly natural and wise and desirable in the line of self help in ,america which should be unnecessary and unwise in such a land as ,india4 ,it is a safe rule adopted by the best missionary workers in that land that a ,european should never do those things which can easily be done by natives in the matter of domestic service4 ,it would be folly for a missionary man or woman to spend much time in household work and in similar duties when there are many people around whose special province that is1 and who can do it for one-thirtieth his own wage1 and who can thus release him for the more serious and higher duties of life4 ,thus1 in all these matters1 one should consider fully the whole situation--the character of the climate1 of the people1 and the conditions of the best health and efficiency and greatest usefulness of the missionary worker4 ,the question as to the length of the missionary's service is an important one4 ,shall he enter upon it for a definite term or shall he consider it his life work8 ,in most missions and societies the missionary service is considered a life service4 ,it is a service so peculiar in its training and in its direction2 it tends in many ways so to lead a man away from the atmosphere of work and direction of activity found at home1 that it is better for him1 who undertakes it at all1 to consecrate himself to it as the great mission of his life4 ,it is also a fact that the longer he continues in it1 the more ability and aptness he acquires for that special work4 ,there are1 of course1 some who will find that they have mistaken their vocation and that missionary work does not suit them2 or1 rather1 that they are not adapted to it4 ,such people should make no delay in returning home and in seeking a more congenial life work4 #c4 ,the ,intellectual ,ability and ,educational ,training of the ,missionary4 ,whatever may have been the case in the past1 the day certainly has come when ,india demands only men and women of wide intelligence and thorough training as missionaries4 ,whether we regard it as a land of profound philosophy1 and of a marvellously organized religion2 or whether we consider the intellectual power of many of the natives of that land1 the missionary must be amply prepared1 through educational and intellectual equipment1 to meet them4 ,one of the saddest sights seen in ,india is a missionary who has absolutely no interest in the religious philosophy of the land1 and who is not able to appreciate the mutual relations of that faith and his own and who is unequal to the task of discussing intelligently with1 and of convincing in1 matters of faith1 the educated natives of the country4 ,such a man apparently did not know that he would meet in that land many university graduates who are still believers in1 and defenders of1 their ancestral faith4 ,so he finds himself unable to stand before such men and to give reason for the faith that is in him so as to satisfy their earnest1 intelligent inquiries1 or to quiet their keen opposition4 ,it should also be remembered that1 in addition to this growing host of natives of university training and culture1 there is a considerable number of ,europeans in government service and in other departments4 ,they come into constant touch with the missionary1 and gauge his culture and capacity1 and are sure to judge of the missionary work according to their estimate of his training and qualification4 ,in such a land1 and facing such conditions1 and in the presence of such people1 the missionary should be a man of thorough training and culture1 and should have a mind which has ample command of the treasures of knowledge which it has acquired4 ,he should also be able to find interest in various branches of learning4 ,as ,i said above1 he should1 in some respects1 be a man of special training with definite and high qualifications for the special department upon which he has entered2 but he should also be not narrow1 but of broad sympathies and of a growing interest in the general realm of culture4 ,he should continue to cultivate his student tastes1 and should grow constantly in ability and aptitude to grapple with the mighty problems of the land4 ,he should be able not only to understand the many aspects of ,hinduism and of ,buddhism1 which has entered so largely into the ,hindu faith1 but he must also know considerable about ,mohammedanism1 since it is held by one-fifth of the population of that land4 ,it is well that he be thoroughly grounded in ,christian doctrine before he enters upon his missionary duties4 ,i have known men to enter the mission field who had not clear views and definite convictions concerning some of the most essential ,christian doctrines2 with the consequence that they drifted away from their moorings and had to recast their faith1 under adverse circumstances1 on the field4 ,the mission field is no place for a man to readjust his faith and to discover that his religious affiliations are not what they ought to be4 ,it is not a question whether a man's theology is of the conservative1 or of the progressive1 type4 ,both types may be needed4 ,it is largely a question whether he has grasped clearly and with conviction any doctrine--whether he has thought for himself and appropriated any system of truth4 ,or1 ,i should say1 whether any sort of theology has gripped him in its power4 ,bishop ,thoburn has well said that 8the young missionary should have a clear and well-grounded theology before going abroad4 ,his views of vital theological truth should be clear and settled4 ,the ,christian ,church of ,america cannot afford to export doubts or even religious speculation to foreign fields4 ,the people of ,india1 and ,i may add of other lands1 are abundantly able to provide all the doubts and all the unprofitable speculation that any church will care to contend with2 and one important qualification of the missionary should be a positive faith as opposed to doubt1 and a clear system of living truth as opposed to profitless speculation40 ,above all1 the missionary should have a working faith in the gospel--not a half-grounded conviction4 ,there may be a place at home for the unsettled mind2 the mission field is not for such4 ,in ,india1 especially1 while there is ample room and abundant opportunity and inducement for progress in thought and development in doctrinal construction1 there is no place for destructive doubts and mental unsettlement4 ,positive teaching and not interrogations and destructive doubts should characterize the missionary4 ,give us a man who knows something and is inspired with convictions4 ,for1 it should be remembered1 the missionary is preminently an instructor4 ,he must give himself to the work of establishing others in living1 satisfying1 saving truth4 ,he is to instruct the people1 as a preacher1 in the way of salvation4 ,he is also called upon to furnish a working equipment of truth to pastors1 preachers and teachers4 ,he should be conversant with the ,bible and with the various theories of interpretation4 ,he should be possessed of a clear system of theology and should understand the best methods and principles of ,christian work4 ,for the attaining of all this1 the missionary must continue as an earnest student1 he must maintain upon the field thorough habits of study4 ,his missionary life1 itself1 should be to him1 not only an interpreter of what he formerly studied1 but an incitement to further regular study4 ,many temptations overtake the missionary to intellectual indolence as well as to intellectual dissipation4 ,he is in danger1 under the pressure of other interesting work and distractions1 either not to read anything very seriously or to read in a haphazard1 desultory way4 ,the latter is specially a dangerous habit on the mission field4 ,the missionary needs not only to cultivate habits of study and to devote certain hours daily1 so far as possible1 to that habit2 he should1 preminently1 keep before him some definite aim or ideal towards which all his reading should be directed4 ,if he be specially a preacher1 he should conscientiously and thoroughly prepare his sermons as if he were to preach to the most cultured audiences2 or1 if he instruct his agents1 he should make previous1 elaborate preparation for the same4 ,he should take an intelligent interest in1 and make a thorough study of1 the people1 their social and religious customs1 their economic conditions1 their educational efforts1 their history1--these and many other studies will furnish abundant and abounding interest to the thoughtful missionary and will add to his power in his work4 ,in all these respects1 no people on earth are more interesting than those of ,india4 ,and for successful spiritual work among them the missionary needs to study these side issues more than he would1 perhaps1 among any other people4 ,he will find it of much help if he is apt at acquiring language4 ,a good and usable knowledge of the vernacular of the people is a most important avenue of access to their mind and heart4 ,the acquiring of a living language is a very different thing from the study of a dead language4 ,a man may be a success in the one and a failure in the other4 ,a good ear is of paramount importance in a first-class facility for acquiring and using a modern vernacular4 ,i would not say that a man who has not a good command of the vernacular of a people cannot be to them a good missionary2 for a few of the best missionaries ,i know1 speak the vernacular wretchedly4 ,but ,i do emphasize the fact that proficiency here is of prime importance and ,i would also add that it should be the first work of a missionary after entering his field4 ,to dawdle with the language the first year1 is1 generally speaking1 to fail in acquiring it at all4 ,should a young man1 who intends to become a missionary1 receive a special preparatory training for missionary work8 ,yes1 to a certain extent4 ,i heartily approve of all recent courses established in theological institutions with a view to training their students in missionary principles and literature4 ,and ,i would that these courses were much enlarged so as to correspond with the relative importance of the missionary work4 ,beyond all this1 ,i believe that every student1 who intends to become a missionary1 should spend time during his last year or two as a student in special preparation for his work and field4 ,for instance1 it were a great help to him who is to become a missionary in ,india that he study seriously the ,sanskrit language and ,hindu philosophy4 ,these two would give him an important start upon his missionary career and1 probably1 furnish him with initial taste for that larger equipment which is essential to the great missionary4 ,it is of course understood that the modern science of ,comparative ,religion has already had his attention in the general course of study4 ,too much emphasis cannot be placed upon the study of this science as an aid to the modern missionary4 ,i would also urge here the importance of each missionary1 so far as his tastes and ability permit1 preparing himself for the work of enriching the ,christian literature of the field and country of his choice4 ,in ,india this is becoming a matter1 not only of growing1 but also of paramount1 importance4 ,in the past1 missionaries have been too much engrossed with the other departments of work to give themselves to the production of tracts and books4 ,much more must be done in this line in the future4 ,every year adds to the need for1 and the influence of1 a worthy literary effort expressed in the various vernaculars of ,india4 ,the growing host of readers in the ,christian communities and among the non-,christians is a loud cry for missionary consecration to this specific work4 ,there is not one possession or element of power connected with a thorough education and high culture which will not become available and most useful in that interesting land1 and which will not be transmuted into power for the elevation and redemption of that people4 #d4 ,spiritual ,qualifications4 ,it would hardly seem necessary to speak on this subject4 ,it must be everywhere understood that a life of spiritual power is1 and must ever remain1 the first requisite of the missionary4 ,and yet1 ,i fear that the missionary force of today reveals more serious delinquency at this point than at any other4 ,if missionaries were asked1 wherein lies the chief hindrance to their work1 ,i believe they would1 all but unanimously1 refer to their want of spiritual power4 ,not that they are more defective in this respect than are the ministers at home4 ,they are a noble band of consecrated men and women4 ,but they greatly need1 and bemoan their need of1 a growing spiritual endowment1 the possession of which would give to them a new joy1 and1 to the people1 an inexhaustible gift of life1 and to the missionary work a power hitherto unknown4 ,a man should not go out as a foreign missionary unless he has a definite call from ,god to go4 ,it must be laid so strongly upon his heart that he feels the necessity of going forth unto the heathen4 ,there must be a constraining power and a felt conviction within1 that in the mission field alone can he find rest and peace and power4 ,the missionary should be a man of pronounced and positive spirituality--a man who loves the ,word of ,god1 who finds meditation in it sweet1 and who finds relief1 strength and joy in frequent daily prayer4 ,the depressing influences which beset his spiritual life are many4 ,the all-pervasive1 chilling influence of heathenism1 and its dead and deadening ceremonialism tend to exercise an increasing power over him4 ,he will not1 at first1 realize this influence2 but as an insidious and an ever swelling tide of evil it will come into his soul1 unless he is well guarded and daily fortified against it by frequent communion with ,god4 ,in ,india the hardening influence of the all-surrounding heathenism is as subtle as it is potent in its influence upon the life of any ,christian worker and needs to be overcome by constant spiritual culture4 ,the life of the ,european ,christians who reside in that country is so far from being ,christlike and is so wanting in these spiritual traits which should characterize an earnest ,christian1 that the missionary constantly has to guard himself against its influence upon himself4 ,the loneliness of the missionary--his frequent and long-continued absence from those means of grace which so largely minister to the spiritual strength of a pastor in this country--is something deeply felt4 ,few men realize the extent of the spiritual helps which the ,christian society of ,america renders to the aspiring life of a man of ,god4 ,in his loneliness1 in the far-off land1 the missionary feels its absence keenly4 ,moreover1 all the native ,christians of the community of which he is the official head look up to him for inspiration4 ,is he wanting in faith1 hopefulness and cheer2 is he depressed and discouraged2 is he lacking in the power of prayer and of sweet communion with ,god8 ,it is marvellous how quickly this frame of mind is transmitted from him to the people of his charge4 ,the pastors1 catechists and other mission agents of his field all look to him for their ideal and seek to draw from him their inspiration in spiritual life4 ,is he down2 then they are down with him4 ,in coldness as in spiritual ardour they faithfully reflect his life and temper4 ,it is1 indeed1 true that many of these live spiritual lives which bring inspiration and spiritual joy to him4 ,the simplicity and earnestness of the faith of most of the native ,christians is beautiful4 ,still1 in many respects1 he finds the community a heavy spiritual drain upon him2 and1 if he is to maintain himself as a worthy leader in the higher ,christian life1 he must live constantly with ,god and find daily strength in ,him4 ,in ,india1 specially1 there are needed a few definite spiritual gifts which ,i desire to emphasize and which a missionary should aim to cultivate4 ,the first in order1 if not in importance1 is patience4 ,to us of the ,west the ,orient seems preminently slow4 ,to them of the ,east we of the ,west rush everything unduly and are the victims of impatience4 ,there is much truth in that homely skit of ,kipling's3 8,it is bad for the ,christian's peace of mind ,to hustle the ,aryan brown2 ,for the ,christian riles but the ,aryan smiles1 ,and it weareth the ,christian down4 8,and the end of the fight is a tombstone white1 ,with the name of the late deceased2 ,and the epitaph drear1 a fool lies here ,who tried to hustle the ,east40 ,the ordinary ,hindu will endure the white man's impatience1 and he and the native ,christian will submit to the same weakness on the part of the missionary4 ,but they fail to understand it2 and the missionary's power with them is very largely impaired by the manifestation of this evil spirit4 ,even if impatience were ever1 anywhere1 a virtue1 in ,india it is always an unmixed evil and should be guarded against4 ,the warning is the more needed because the tropical climate itself is a very bad irritant to the nervous system4 ,among the ,hindus patience is regarded the supreme virtue of ,god and of man2 and it should adorn every missionary who seeks to be their leader4 ,humility also is a grace which needs much cultivation by the missionary4 ,he has constant temptation to pride4 ,the sin of masterfulness is naturally his besetting sin2 for his influence over his people and his control in the direction of his work gradually grow sweet to him and develop1 if he is not very careful1 into an imperiousness of will which is neither pleasant to those who come in contact with him1 nor consistent with the golden grace of humility1 nor in any sense pleasing to ,god4 ,love--that essence of divine character--needs preminent guarding1 encouragement and development on the part of the missionary4 ,there is so much that is unlovely and unlovable all about him1 so little to attract and draw out his tender emotions that he needs to drink freely from the fountain of love above2 or he will degenerate very easily into a hard1 cold1 unsympathetic1 cynical missionary--a frame of mind which will utterly disqualify him for any joy or power in his work4 ,one of the best missionaries ,i have known used to pray very frequently--8,o ,lord1 save me from the sin of despising this people40 ,it is a prayer which every missionary may find it necessary to offer frequently4 ,true ,christian love is none the less necessary1 yea the more necessary on the mission field1 because the missionary lives among people who are not kindred in blood to himself4 ,then he needs also a large gift of faith and of hope4 ,the smallness of the ,christian ,church in the midst of a dense mass of heathenism2 the apparent inadequacy of earthly means to convert that great people to ,christ2 the slowness of progress and the fewness of results--all these tend to depress and discourage the worker4 ,and he needs to offer for himself1 as for his people1 the prayer which ,elisha offered in behalf of the young man1--8,o ,lord1 ,i pray thee open his eyes that he may see4 ,and the ,lord opened the eyes of the young man and he saw and behold the mountain was full of chariots of fire round about ,elisha40 ,spiritual power1 in all its forms1 is not only greatly needed by the missionary1 it is also highly appreciated by the people who are always ready to be led by it4 ,i believe that the people in the ,east are much more amenable to this influence and much more ready to follow spiritual guidance than are the people of our own land4 ,and this1 in itself1 is an added reason for deep spirituality in the missionary4 #e4 ,the ,missionary's ,attitude ,towards the ,non-,christian ,world4 ,this attitude is one of considerable importance to the missionary because it furnishes largely the motive of his life work4 ,before one goes out as a missionary he should acquire some definite and sound views as to the condition of the non-,christians who constitute three-fourths of our race4 ,this means that he must decide as to his missionary motive1--what motive power shall impel him to leave his native land and go to live among a benighted people surrounded by a thousand disadvantages4 ,since the organization of our missionary societies--less than a century ago--there has been an important change of emphasis in the matter of missionary motives4 ,the progress1 ,i might almost say revolution1 in theology has worked towards this change4 ,the recent discovery of new sciences1 and the utilization of the wonderful modern means of communication whereby a new knowledge of non-,christian peoples has been made possible to us1 has affected our consideration of the whole problem of missionary work and has especially modified the missionary motive4 ,dr4 ,w4 ,n4 ,clark1 in his admirable book on ,christian ,missions1 discusses fully this question4 8,the difference10 he says1 8between our conception of man today and that of a century ago is mainly not that something true has fallen out of it1 though that may be the fact with many minds3 it is rather that immeasurably much that is true has been added to it4 ,unquestionably our conception of man is still incomplete1 unbalanced and incorrect1 but it certainly has been altered within the century by the addition of much that must remain in any true conception4 ,our knowledge must have experienced true and legitimate growth and from our present conception of the human world we can never go back to that which our fathers held when they began the work of modern missions 444 our thought concerning our fellow-men contains elements of truth and justice that our fathers knew nothing of4 ,the best ,christian feeling towards the heathen world today is far more true1 righteous1 sympathetic1 ,christlike1 than the feelings of those who were interested in missions an hundred years ago4 ,but the single motive which1 standing alone1 led to the missionary enterprise has come to be so surrounded by other thoughts and motives as to lose its relative importance1 and be less available than it then was as a controlling influence4 ,this is one of the great and significant causes of the crisis in missions40 ,it is not necessarily true that the paramount motive of a century ago is no longer believed2 but that other motives have grown and reached a commanding influence as a power in the ,christian consciousness of today4 ,a ,christian missionary has indeed changed his views1 for instance1 concerning the origin and character of ,hinduism4 ,through modern enlightenment and the study of comparative religion no man can go out as a missionary1 even as ,i was expected to go less than a quarter of a century ago1 with a general belief that that great religion is entirely of the devil and is in itself evil and only evil continually4 ,the missionary of today must discriminate1 must study appreciation and consider historic facts4 ,he must know that ethnic1 and all non-,christian religions1 have had their uses1 and that some still have their uses in the world4 ,they are the expression of the deepest religious instincts of the human soul4 ,and they have1 especially such a faith as ,hinduism1 not a few elements of truth which a missionary should know no less than he should understand the great evils which enter as a part of them4 ,the greatest missionary motive of today lies in the last commission of our ,lord which emanates from the heart1 and reveals the essence of our religion4 ,his command to his disciples to go and disciple the nations stands now as the ,supreme ,christian ,command2 and its significance is appreciated and emphasized today as never before4 ,and so long as a ,church gives increasing emphasis to this1 ,his greatest commission1 it must necessarily be in the path of duty1 of privilege1 of blessing and of power4 ,above all other missionary motives this must remain supreme4 ,and there must go hand in hand with this loyalty to ,christ1 a deepening loyalty to ,christianity and a growing appreciation of its uniqueness in the world4 ,christianity is not one religion among many2 it stands alone as the soul-satisfying and soul-saving faith4 ,the scattered lights of other faiths find here their centre1 and all their prophesies find here fulfillment4 ,the need of ,christianity1 by all men1 is supreme4 ,whatever may be said in favour of other faiths we must say of them that they are1 in many respects1 perverted and are inadequate as a means of salvation4 ,and in addition to this the missionary must feel that all non-,christian peoples are in supreme need of ,christ1 the ,saviour4 ,this fact we cannot afford to qualify1 without1 in very truth1 cutting the nerve of missions4 ,when a missionary regards ,christ and ,his mission and message as only an incident in the life and need of our race and ceases to acknowledge that all men need ,christ supremely1 he had better give up his work2 for his missionary motive has lost its foundation and his life work has been robbed of its power4 ,the missionary is called to go wherever the ,macedonian cry of human need and of spiritual helplessness is heard4 ,our ,lord's command was world-embracing in its extent2 it was a discipling of all nations2 it was a call to be witnesses unto the uttermost parts of the earth4 ,shall the missionary go and preach everywhere the gospel of ,christ1 whether men invite him or not8 ,in view of recent events in ,china and in other lands some people 7and among them are a few well-meaning ,christians7 question our duty and even our right and privilege to carry the gospel to a people against its will and when it is satisfied with its own faith4 ,they claim that this restraint is demanded by true ,christian altruism and by the spirit of ,christ4 ,that the day has come when the ,christian ,church should thoroughly reconsider the best methods of missionary approach to such peoples ,i readily agree4 ,i also maintain that ,protestant missions should everywhere scrupulously avoid all ,jesuitical methods and political influences and should always strive to minimize1 if not ignore1 their political rights and magnify the spiritual side of their work4 ,under these conditions no people has lent an unwilling ear to the missionary's message1 or1 for a long time1 failed to rejoice in his presence and work4 ,but had missionary societies sent their missionaries only to those people who invited them1 or were prepared to give them a cordial welcome1 where could they have found work or how achieve the magnificent success of the last century8 ,imagine the great missionary apostle sending messengers in advance to inquire whether the inhabitants of ,lystra and ,ephesus1 of ,thessalonica and ,athens were willing to receive him1 and turning away his face because1 forsooth1 they were not prepared to welcome him6 ,the only invitation he did receive was from ,macedonia in a vision4 ,the acceptance of the invitation brought to him at once opposition and stripes4 ,paul said that he knew that bonds awaited him wherever he went4 ,but that did not deter him4 ,had our ,lord ,himself considered the attitude of man towards ,himself ,he would never have come down to men4 ,he came to fling fire upon the earth--to bring not peace but a sword4 ,he was despised and rejected of men4 ,like ,him1 missionaries must consider the deep spiritual need and not the desire of a people4 ,above all1 they must be assured everywhere1 in their great life work1 that they are sent by ,god rather than invited by men4 #f4 ,the ,relationship ,which the ,missionary ,sustains to the ,missionary ,society and the ,churches ,which ,support ,him4 ,the relationship into which a man1 who becomes a missionary1 enters with the missionary society and the churches is a very precious one1 and should be fully realized4 ,in a peculiar sense he has become their adopted child--the subject of their prayer and the object of their pride4 ,they have taken him into their own heart and his support and success are their peculiar concern4 ,he is the connecting link between them and the work which they support and cherish in the far-off land4 ,whatever of interest1 of joy and of responsibility they possess in that work passes through him4 ,he is to them the channel through which flow their endeavours4 ,he is the living embodiment of their interest in the work as also of their effort to bring the heathen to ,christ4 ,and in like manner he has become to them the articulate cry of the heathen world for help4 ,he represents to them at the same time both the progress of the work1 its need and the claims of a heathen world upon them4 ,he is their agent to develop and inspire their infant ,mission ,church4 ,he is also the almoner of their benevolence4 ,in all these capacities it is well that he remember1 constantly1 how much he depends for inspiration as for support upon those who have sent him forth to the heathen and who1 under ,god1 sustain him and his work4 ,he should cultivate full appreciation of their endeavour2 he should keep himself in living1 loving touch with both society and churches2 and he should deem it his duty and privilege to furnish them with all light and intelligence concerning his work4 ,it is thus that he must strengthen their faith and inspire their hearts in the great and far-off work which they are maintaining4 ,it is his opportunity to add fuel to the ardor and enthusiasm of all the churches in the missionary endeavour4 ,in this he has an important function to perform and should endeavour to magnify his office4 ,in my opinion the relationship between the missionary and those whom he represents at home might easily be strengthened and improved by added recognition and courtesy to him in the home-land4 ,at present the foreign missionary of the congregational churches is simply regarded as their paid agent4 ,this relationship is indeed a pleasant and a cordial one4 ,the ,american ,board is most appreciative of the labors of its missionary agents and deals with them generously4 ,the churches also give them a cordial welcome and a warm hearing4 ,but the missionary has no status whatever beyond this4 ,he returns for a furlough to the home-land and feels himself1 in a peculiar sense1 a stranger4 ,he has no official connection whatever with his society2 his voice is not heard in its councils2 his wisdom and experience are not sought in its deliberations4 ,in other words1 though possessed of a large stock of knowledge which might be of value to the ,board in the shaping of its policy and in the direction of its work at its annual meetings1 he has absolutely no voice or place there and stands apart from its organization1 beyond the privilege of being its foreign servant4 ,the missionary body has felt this deprivation and isolation during critical periods in the history of the ,board2 and it still feels that1 at least some of its number should be permitted both to enjoy the honour1 and also to render the service incident to being corporate members of the ,board4 ,the situation is no better in his relation to the home churches4 ,he is a member1 probably1 of some church in the home-land2 but1 upon his return home he has no status whatever in any ,conference or ,association1 or as a member of a ,ministerial body among his home brethren4 ,in his deputation work at home he finds welcome1 as a stranger or as an outsider1 and not as a member or as an integral part of any body or ,association4 ,the position of the missionary is different among the ,methodists4 ,every minister of that body finds that1 by becoming a foreign missionary he does not separate himself from home ties and privileges4 ,his ministerial connection is preserved intact1 so that he has a status in the churches and in the missionary society4 #g4 ,the ,missionary and the ,mission ,to ,which ,he ,belongs4 ,when a man becomes a member of a foreign mission he soon realizes that he has become a part of a compact organization4 ,all its members are bound together by the warmest ties of friendship and love4 ,largely separated from the world and knit together by common purpose as by all their highest ambitions1 they verily become a big family whose love increases as the years multiply1 and among whom the spirit of dissension can only create the deepest sorrow and greatest bitterness4 ,it is1 therefore1 of the utmost importance that every one who becomes a missionary should be a man of peace2 should know how to live in harmony with all his brethren4 ,he should cultivate that spirit and should aim to see eye to eye with those who are thus so intimately connected with him4 ,in loving sympathy they should unite in the serious concerns of their life-work4 ,one of the first requisites demanded from a missionary applicant from the ,american ,board is that he be of a peaceable disposition--able to live harmoniously with others4 ,and it is not only a suggestion that should be heeded by every missionary2 it is also a rule which should be enforced by every missionary society4 ,each mission has behind it a history1 and1 before it1 more or less of an aim and policy4 ,it should be the ambition of every member of that mission to study and honour the one1 and to be faithful and loyal to the other4 ,the history of most missions in ,india is precious and full of instruction4 ,they have sainted heroes and most interesting traditions4 ,the missionary should not only study the records of his own mission and draw from them every possible lesson for his life2 he should also enter heartily into the spirit of the mission and endeavour cordially to bring himself en rapport with its highest wisdom1 deepest purposes and most cherished schemes for the future4 ,it is not necessary that he be satisfied with all that the mission has done2 he should also aim1 in the spirit of humility and of patience1 to constitutionally influence his brethren to his own new views and better way of thinking1 if he have any4 ,above all1 he should aim to conserve rather than to destroy4 ,the blessings of the past should be utilized in attaining higher things for the future4 ,revolutionary methods are ill-adapted to add blessing to such a work4 ,it should also be the aim of the missionary to so further the work of his mission that it may soon cease to be a necessity4 ,a mission1 at best1 is but a temporary thing4 ,it should constantly aim to so nourish and strengthen the native church as to make itself unnecessary4 ,and it should be the aim of the missionary to hasten1 with all speed1 this consummation4 #h4 ,the ,relation of the ,missionary to the ,people ,among ,whom ,he ,lives4 ,having entered upon his work and settled among the people of his choice1 he must seek to realize the best possible relation to them4 ,this relationship will be a varied one4 ,he must be a leader of the ,christian community4 ,in ,india1 today1 there is special need for missionaries who are born leaders4 ,the people of that land are defective in the power of initiative2 but they are most tractable and docile4 ,they love to follow a bold and a wise leader of men4 ,and the missionary1 from the very necessity of his position1 should be able to direct and guide the ,christian community into ways of holiness and of ,christian activity4 ,he is to be a leader of leaders4 ,he should marshal the mission agents connected with him in such a way as to lead the native ,church into highest usefulness and most earnest endeavour for the salvation of souls4 ,he should be strong as an organizer and administrator4 ,in missions the word organization is becoming the keyword of the situation4 ,there is no danger of over-organization1 so long as the organization is endowed with life and does not degenerate into machinery4 ,the best organized activities of today are the most powerful and the most useful4 ,and the missionary will find his highest powers for organization taxed to the utmost in his missionary work4 ,and as an administrator there will be made many claims upon him daily4 ,i know of few qualifications that are more essential to the highest success on the mission field than conspicuous ability to organize and wisdom to administer the affairs of a mission4 ,missionaries frequently fail at this point and need therefore to strengthen themselves in this particular4 ,a missionary should be as much the conserver of the good as a destroyer of the evil which he finds among the people4 ,much of that which he will see in ,india1 for instance1 will at first1 and perhaps for a long time1 seem strange and outlandish to him2 but let him not decide that it is therefore evil4 ,the life of the ,orient is built on different lines from that of the ,occident4 ,many things in common life1 in domestic economy and in social customs will1 and must1 be different there from what they are here4 ,their civilization1 though different from ours1 has a consistency as a whole2 and we cannot easily eliminate certain parts and substitute for them those of our own civilization without dislocating the whole4 ,therefore1 it is often safer and better to conserve what seems to us the lesser good of their civilization than to introduce what seems the greater good of our own4 ,the missionary must be careful to distinguish between those things which are real1 and those which are apparent1 evils among the customs of the people4 ,there are some customs1 such as are connected with the degradation of woman and heathen ceremonies which are fundamentally wrong and must be opposed always4 ,there are others which seem uncouth and unworthy1 but which are devoid of moral or religious significance4 ,of two missionaries1 the one who studies to utilize the existing good among the habits of the people will find greatest usefulness4 ,some waste their time1 destroy their influence and minimize their usefulness by a destructive way of attacking everything that is not positively good and beating their head against every wall of custom4 ,the missionary should be a prophet to rebuke and to condemn evil4 ,he will find numberless evils on all sides of him--in ,church1 in general society and in individual life among the people4 ,he must not hesitate to use constantly his voice as a protest against all forms of evil4 ,this duty is the more incumbent upon him as there are none among the people to protest and to denounce the most flagrant1 demoralizing and universal evils of the land4 ,one of the most discouraging things concerning the situation in ,india is1 not the universality of certain evils1 but the utter absence of those who dare to withstand them and denounce them as sins before all the people4 ,missionaries have done more in that land to rightly characterize certain gross evils and to call the attention of the people to them than have any other people in the land4 ,and they have recognition for this4 ,and this prophetic function of the missionary must be exercised with increasing faithfulness for the good of the land and for the purity of the ,church of ,god4 ,in that country the missionary must also stand before the people as their exemplar4 ,he must represent1 not only ,christianity at its best1 but also the civilization of the ,west in its purest and most attractive garb4 ,india has always greatly needed such human types of nobility of character to encourage and stimulate the people to a higher life4 ,with all modesty and due humility the missionary is called upon just as much to live as he is to teach the best that is found in his religion and in the civilization of his mother country4 ,in ,india1 the life of the missionary has spoken more loudly than his words4 ,there are millions in that land today1 who1 while they deny and reject the teaching of the missionary1 give him unstinted praise both for what he is and for what he has done for the country4 ,the testimony of ,sir ,william ,mackworth ,young1 ,lieutenant-,governor of ,punjab is only one of many such2--8,i take off my hat to the humblest missionary that walks a bazaar in ,india10 he said1 in a recent public address1 8because he is leading a higher and a grander life and doing a grander work than any other class of persons who are working in ,india4 ,if the natives of ,india have any practical knowledge of what is meant by ,christian charity1 if they know anything of high1 disinterested motives and self-sacrifice1 it is mainly from the missionary that they learn it4 ,the strength of our position in ,india depends more largely upon the good-will of the people than upon the strength and number of our garrisons1 and for that good-will we are largely indebted to the kindly1 self-sacrificing efforts of the ,christian missionary4 ,it is love which must pave the way for the regeneration of ,india as well as for the consolidation of ,england's power40 ,the missionary must never lose this crown of glory in ,india4 ,he must hold it most precious and strive to add to the glory which he thus reflects upon his ,faith in that land4 ,chapter ,,viii4 ,,missionary ,,organization4 ,thorough organization of any work is essential to its highest efficiency4 ,the ,missionary ,department of the work of the ,christian ,church should1 therefore1 be well organized4 ,as missionary effort expands1 grows in intensity and increases in power1 it must find a growingly efficient organization in order to adequately express itself and to attain further growth4 #a4 ,a thorough ,missionary ,organization at home is the first requisite in order to highest success4 ,thus only can the missionary work abroad be maintained and fostered2 because1 by this means only can missionary ardour be kindled in the churches4 ,a ,church which is not adequately marshalled for activity in heathen lands will soon become self-centred and will easily forget the claims1 if not the very existence1 of the heathen4 ,a ,foreign ,missionary ,society of well organized efficiency has1 up to the present1 been the best agency in the development and furtherance of the foreign work of every denomination4 ,and the day does not seem near when this agency can be dispensed with4 ,this missionary society should be in close touch with the denomination or body of ,christians which has organized and maintains it4 ,it should be plastic to the touch and will of its constituency and should seek in every way to be at the same time a faithful exponent of the thought and ambition of the churches1 and a leader and a source of new inspiration and light to them on missionary problems4 ,this society should scrupulously avoid1 on the one hand1 the danger of too much independence and of a purpose to shape the missionary policy of the churches2 and1 on the other1 the equally serious evil of dragging1 or of declining to move a step without the direct intimation1 command or leadership of the churches4 ,there has been a time in the history of the ,american ,board when the one evil constituted its danger2 at the present time it would seem as if the other danger seriously threatened it4 ,it is of much importance that the foreign missionary benevolences of a church should be wisely administered as a whole4 ,when different missionary societies of a denomination appeal1 as they do at present1 to our churches for funds to support the missionary cause in foreign lands1 it is of great importance that moneys received by these different bodies should be appropriated wisely4 ,they should be brought together both for unity of results and for economy of expenditure on the mission field4 ,my observation convinces me that1 for want of a wise union or correlation of our missionary agencies at home the various departments of the work 7of the ,congregationalists1 for instance7 on the mission field are very unequally supported1 and an unwise distribution of the benevolences of the churches follows as a result4 ,a previous1 full consideration1 by a competent general committee of finance1 in ,america1 should be had of the needs of the various departments of each mission and of the distribution of all the funds collected for that mission by the various societies2 and they should be carefully distributed in accordance with the urgency of those needs respectively4 ,these missionary societies should aim to cultivate in the churches the spirit of missions as a ,christian principle4 ,advocates of the missionary cause strongly feel that the interest of the ,church in missionary work today is too little based upon the real and fundamental principle of missionary work as a necessity of the life of the ,church itself1 and too much dependent upon exciting narrative1 tearful appeal and poetic romance4 ,the cultivation of the missionary principle and the inculcation of the doctrine of the privilege and beauty of supporting missions1 apart from any impassioned appeals or tragic events1 is one of the desiderata of the ,church today4 ,it is a morbid condition of the mind of the ,church which demands exciting narrative and hysterical appeal in order to arouse it to its duty in this matter2 and it also tends to create a standard of missionary advocacy which is neither manly nor sufficiently careful to balance well the facts and data of missionary work as it is found upon the field4 ,there is considerable danger of accepting1 today1 only that form of missionary appeal which is directed to the emotion and which abounds in mental excitement rather than that which furnishes food for sober thought4 ,the consequence is that this advocacy is in danger of becoming a producer of more heat than light--of more emotion than intelligent conviction4 ,the recent movement towards leading certain churches to take up definite portions of the work in foreign lands and to support1 each a missionary for itself1 has in it much to commend it to our acceptance4 ,it certainly has the merit of definiteness in purpose1 work and prayer2 and this brings added interest and a growing sense of responsibility to each church which takes up the work4 ,if a man 7or a church7 finds his interest in missions waning as a principle of ,christian activity the best thing for him1 perhaps1 is to come into touch with a missionary or a mission agent on the field4 ,by supporting him or a department of work conducted by him1 and by being kept frequently informed of the work which he is supporting1 new fuel is constantly added to that missionary interest which thereby develops into zeal and enthusiasm4 ,the method has apostolic sanction and partakes of the simplicity of primitive missionary endeavour4 ,but this method should not be too exclusively pursued4 ,it should not interfere with a broader outlook upon missions and a general sympathy with1 and support of1 the common work4 ,and all of the work should be done through the missionary society which alone can rightly cordinate and unify the whole work of the particular mission4 ,faith ,missions1 so called1 represent a genuine and a worthy spirit among many of ,god's people today4 ,to them the somewhat lumbering business methods of the large missionary organizations savour too much of worldly prudence and seem subversive of the deepest ,christian faith4 ,they maintain that the old method is one that looks too much to men and too little to ,god for support4 ,and they also claim that the missionary of such a society has little opportunity for the exercise of highest faith in ,god both for himself and his work4 ,these new missions1 therefore1 have come into existence practically1 if not really1 as a protest against modern methods of conducting missionary work4 ,they may do much good if they exercise some restraint upon missionary societies in this matter4 ,probably it is needed4 ,many believe that there is an excessive tendency among the directors of missionary societies1 at the present day1 to consider this great enterprise simply as a business enterprise1 and that1 in the committee rooms1 faith has yielded too much to prudence1 and the wings of missionary enterprise have been too much clipped by worldly considerations4 ,how far their reasoning is true1 ,i will not decide4 ,their claim is not without a basis of truth4 ,the financial embarrassment brings to the ,missionary ,society today1 much more than it used to1 discouragement and a halt2 with the result that the missions are more than ever before crippled by retrenchment and home churches are resting satisfied with smaller attainments and are forgetting the old watchwords of progress and advance4 8,faith ,missions0 are created by and meet the needs of a certain class of people in the church whose spiritual life is intense and who crave romance in faith and in life4 ,the missionaries of these societies tire of the great organizations of the church and are usually men who are restless under any stiff method or extensive system in ,christian work4 ,but very few such missionaries meet with permanent success4 ,the glamour of the 8faith life10 so called1 does not abide with them4 ,few men have the staying1 as well as the supporting1 faith of a ,george ,mller2 and yet every missionary in this class should be a hero of faith--a man with that special gift and power from ,god which will maintain itself and go on working under the most adverse circumstances4 ,and this is what the ordinary 8faith missionary0 does not possess in an exceptional degree4 ,as a matter of fact1 8,faith ,missions0 are decidedly wasteful of means in the conduct of their work4 ,if1 in some ways1 they practice more economy1 in other matters of greatest importance1 there is deplorable wastefulness4 ,for1 they are wanting both in continuity and in wise management and sane direction4 ,as history has shown1 they also easily degenerate into very prudential methods and sensational forms of advertisement which destroy the very faith which the missions were supposed to express and conserve4 ,there is no less faith--rather is there more--exercised by members of well-organized missions who depend upon ,god's supply through the regular channel of a society4 ,for they can give themselves entirely to their work of faith and love1 confident that ,god will provide for their wants and the wants of their work2 while the 8faith missionary0 has to devote much time in anxious thought and in skillful and dubious methods of appeal to secure the means of support4 ,one only needs to look at ,india today and there study the results of these two classes of missions in order to see which method is the more economical and the more owned of ,god4 ,the ,missionary ,boards should keep in close touch and living communication with the missions which they support4 ,the mission to which ,i have the honour of belonging has not had the privilege1 until the last year1 of receiving an official visitation from any member of our ,board for nearly forty-five years4 ,that a society should aim1 by its officials in one city1 to conduct1 for so many years1 a mission among its antipodes without having one representative among its directors who has gazed upon that land1 seen that people or studied on the ground any of its problems1 seems remarkable1 and wants in that sagacity which usually directs us as a people4 ,by frequent visitations alone can such a society expect to be able to direct wisely and lead successfully its missions4 ,for1 it is highly desirable1 both in the interests of the mission itself1 of the society and of the home churches that at least some of the directors of the society should know personally and well each mission supported through them4 ,at no greater intervals than five years such a visitation should be planned for every mission4 ,i am confident that they would add largely to the efficiency of our missionary work and increase the interest of home churches in their foreign work4 ,but such visiting committees should be willing to learn and should not come out with preconceived ideas of what ought to be done1 nor with bottled and labelled remedies for all the ills of the mission4 ,some missions are sore today because of a visitation many years ago1 since it was not conceived in the spirit of highest wisdom and teachableness4 #b4 ,the missions themselves also should be well organized for work4 ,the success of a mission will depend1 in no small degree1 upon the character of its organization4 ,in ,india1 today1 there is a great variety of missionary organizations4 ,they range from the almost purely autocratic ones1 established by ,christians of the ,european ,continent1 to the thoroughly democratic and largely autonomous ones of the ,american ,missions4 ,german and ,danish ,missions are mostly controlled by the home committees of their missionary societies4 ,american ,missions have a large degree of autonomy in the conduct of their affairs4 ,british ,missions divide equally with their home ,society the right and privilege of conducting their affairs4 ,it is certainly not wise that a committee of gentlemen thousands of miles distant from the mission field should autocratically direct and control1 even to matters of detail1 the affairs of their mission4 ,the missionaries on the ground should not only have the right to express their opinions1 but should also have a voice in conducting the affairs of the mission for whose furtherance they have given their life1 whose interests they dearly love and whose affairs they are the most competent to understand4 ,nor yet should a mission be entirely free from foreign guidance and suggestion4 ,too much power given to a mission is as really a danger as too little power4 ,it is well for a mission that it should have the aid of men who have large missionary interests under their guidance and who are in full sympathy with home churches4 ,the ideal mission is that which1 on the one hand1 enjoys a large degree of autonomy in the conduct of its affairs1 and yet which1 on the other hand1 is wisely supported and strengthened by the restraining influence1 suggestion and even the occasional initiative of a well-formed home committee4 ,the relation of the mission to its own members should always be firm and its authority kindly and wisely exercised4 ,there may arise a serious danger of too much individualism in a mission4 ,a mission which does not have a policy of its own and conduct its whole work in harmony with that policy1 and so control the work of each of its members as to make it fully contribute to the realization of its aims1 will not attain unto the largest success in its efforts4 ,when each missionary is given absolute independence to develop his own work on his own lines it will soon be found that whatever mission policy there may have been will be crushed out by rampant individualism4 ,and when each man is at liberty to follow his own inclination and to direct his work according to his own sweet will1 mission work will have lost its homogeneity4 ,each section and department of the mission will be changed in direction and method of work upon the arrival of every new missionary2 and thus every blessing of continuity in work and of a wholesome mission policy will be lost4 ,i know of missions 7,american1 of course7 which suffer seriously on this account4 ,i also know of other missions which are seriously affected by the opposite difficulty4 ,the mission controls its work so completely1 even to its last detail1 that it leaves to the individual missionary no freedom of action and no power of initiative4 ,the mission1 in solemn conclave1 decides even the character and quantity of food which must be given each child in a boarding school conducted by one of its missionaries6 ,a control which reaches into such petty details as this1 is not only a waste of time to the mission itself2 it seriously compromises the dignity1 and destroys the sense of responsibility1 of the individual missionary4 ,it takes away from him the power of initiative and thus largely diminishes his efficiency4 ,the ideal mission is that which gives to each of its members some latitude for judgment and direction1 but which has a definite policy of its own and sees to it that this policy is1 in the main1 respected and supported by every one of its missionaries4 ,it is an interesting fact1 in the study of the missions of ,india1 that the ,american ,missions1 on the whole1 represent the largest degree1 both of mission autonomy and of missionary individualism4 ,the farther we pass east from ,america the more do we see mission autonomy yield to the control of the home society2 and the independence of the missionary lost in the absoluteness of mission supervision4 ,how far shall missions give the power of franchise to their lady members in the conduct of mission affairs8 ,the last few years has seen this question agitated by many missions4 ,they differ largely in this matter4 ,the ,madura ,mission has settled the problem by giving to the women absolute equality with the men4 ,this1 probably1 is an ideal solution4 ,but it should be accompanied by a similar movement in the missionary societies at ,boston4 ,the position at present is anomalous in that mission2 for while it has given to both sexes equal rights of franchise and is therefore a unit in administrative power1 the societies at home which support the general1 and the woman's parts of the mission activity are entirely separate from and independent of each other4 ,it is not too much to hope that1 at an early date1 the relations of the home societies may be changed towards unity of action1 to correspond with the present situation in the mission field4 ,the relation of missions contiguous to each other in foreign lands is a subject which is increasingly engaging the thought of all missionaries4 ,in the past1 missions of different denominations lived largely isolated from1 and absolutely indifferent to1 each other's welfare4 ,there was much friction and jealousy1 coupled with a readiness to disregard each other's feelings and a willingness to take advantage of each other's weaknesses4 ,i am glad to say that that era is gradually giving way to a time of better feeling1 when sympathy and appreciation1 fellowship and coperation are becoming the watchwords4 ,during the last few years marked progress has been seen in ,india in the line of amity and comity between the ,protestant ,missions of the land4 ,recently1 a large ,conference of ,christian ,missionaries was convened in ,madras representing the thirty-five ,protestant ,missions of ,south ,india4 ,missions which formerly held aloof from their sister missions and declined to fraternize in any way with them1 came on this occasion and heartily joined in the universal good feeling and desire for fellowship among all4 ,coperation was the watchword heard in all discussions at that great ,conference2 and since that day increasing effort has been put forth to bring several of the more nearly related of these missions1 not only into coperation in work1 but also into organic unity4 ,for instance the missions of the ,free ,church of ,scotland and of the ,dutch ,reformed ,church of ,america have met1 through their representatives1 and have perfected a scheme of ecclesiastical union and of coperation in work4 ,and already expressions of hearty desire have been made that the missions of the ,congregational denominations unite with these ,presbyterian ,missions in this ,scheme of ,union4 ,i believe that it will require but a short time for the perfecting of such a union among all these kindred missions4 ,thus and thus only can we hope to teach to our native ,christians the growing oneness of ,god's people2 and thus also do we hope to reduce considerably the expenses of the work in that land4 ,for1 by thus uniting our forces1 we shall be able to reduce the number of our special institutions for the training of our agency and the development of our work4 ,nothing can further the cause of economy in mission lands today more than the union of mission institutions now built on denominational lines and expensively conducted in all the missions4 ,i believe in denominationalism4 ,it has its mission in the world and has done much good4 ,but a narrow1 selfish1 denominationalism on the mission field1 and in the presence both of the infant native church and of the inquiring ,hindu community1 is one of the most serious evils that can befall the cause of ,christ in ,india4 ,we should all pray for the day when all narrowness in this matter shall yield to the broadest sympathy1 love and coperation4 ,and1 perhaps1 the best way to answer our prayers in this matter is by furthering the noble cause of ,christian union among the denominations and churches here at home4 ,the old illustration1 taken from the rice fields of ,south ,india1 is apt and instructive4 ,these fields are small and divided by low banks4 ,the banks serve the purpose of separating the fields of different persons1 of furnishing water channels and of facilitating the irrigation4 ,when the crops are young and low every field is seen marked out by its banks4 ,but as the crops grow the banks are hidden and we see nothing but one great expense of waving grain ready for the harvest4 ,so1 while the useful1 denominational banks which have divided us in mission lands are still there we thank ,god that they are being hidden more1 year by year1 as the harvest of ,christian love and fellowship is approaching4 #c4 ,the organic structure of a mission in the early stages of its growth is a very simple thing2 as it achieves increasing success the necessities of the situation compel it to add to its efficiency by widening its scope and increasing its functions and multiplying its departments of work4 ,a hundred years ago1 or less1 as the missionary entered virgin soil and began to cultivate a new mission field1 he devoted himself1 almost exclusively1 to the work of preaching the gospel to the heathen4 ,presently the gospel message found entrance into the hearts of a few and they were formed into a congregation4 ,at once he began to train this infant congregation and selected one or more of the most promising of its number for special instruction and initiation into the duties of ,christian service4 ,he then took this nucleus of a native agency with himself on preaching tours until new accessions to the faith were gained and new congregations established4 ,as the congregations multiplied his work as an evangelist had to give way1 in part1 to his efforts to train an adequate native agency to guide and nourish the growing ,christian community4 ,there was also added to this the pastoral care and superintendence of congregations new and old4 ,later on he felt the need of schools to train the young of his congregations2 he also began to realize the value of educational work for non-,christians as a means of presenting to them the gospel of ,christ4 ,thus a system of schools was gradually established1 both for ,christians and for non-,christians which not only required his care1 but also demanded a force of ,christian teachers adequate to this increasing work4 ,so1 institutions for the systematic training of teachers and preachers had to be established4 ,under the influence of these schools intelligence grew apace and was suitably met and satisfied by a developing ,christian literature--a literature which met the needs of the ,christian and heathen alike4 ,moreover as he studied the physical condition of the surrounding people he was appalled by the prevalence of disease and the inadequacy1 yea1 even the evil1 of the system of medical treatment which obtained there2 and so his heart was drawn out to the need of making some provision for modern medical aid4 ,as the community continued to grow and the number of young people multiplied1 in church and congregation alike1 he became impressed with the need of organizations whereby this latent youthful power might be conserved1 increased and utilized for the ,glory of ,god4 ,in this way the primitive missions of the past have actually developed into the powerful organizations of the present4 ,one must study1 on the spot1 one of the larger missions of ,india today in order to appreciate what a complicated organism it is4 ,he then will see how it has sent out its ramifications into all departments of life and of ,christian activity4 ,it has laid its hands1 in organized power1 upon every department of ,christian work which can be made to contribute to the furtherance of the cause of ,christ in that field4 ,in this way have come into existence the following departments1 which are represented in more or less fullness in all the missions of ,india today4 7a7 ,the ,evangelistic ,department4 ,this1 as we have seen1 is the oldest as it is the most fundamental1 of all organized missionary activities4 ,and it should retain its prominence in missionary effort4 ,it was preminently the method of ,christ4 ,he was the ,heavenly ,messenger proclaiming that the ,kingdom of ,god was at hand4 ,he was first of all the great ,preacher2 8and the people everywhere heard ,him gladly40 ,the missionary of the ,cross never feels that he is more directly in the footsteps of his ,master than when he is preaching to the unchurched and ,christless masses4 ,there is to this work a joy and an exhilaration which are peculiarly its own1 even though it is a work fraught with physical weariness4 ,i have felt1 in the prosecution of this work1 more satisfaction than almost in any other4 ,not that ,i regard it as the most successful form of labour4 ,it is not4 ,even as a direct evangelizing agency1 ,i believe that it must yield precedence in ,india to school-work4 ,the faithful ,christian teacher is now a more successful evangelist in that land than the preacher himself4 ,and yet the preacher reaches and offers light and gracious opportunity to the more benighted and the more neglected members of the community4 ,without making special choice of any favoured class he sows broadcast the seed1 preaches the divine ,word1 praying that the ,lord himself1 who also preached to the common people1 bestow his richest blessing upon the labour which he has done in his name4 ,this work of preaching ,christ to those who know him not1 must be carried on by missionaries and agents4 ,it is usually the custom to expect that every mission agent shall devote some of his time in visiting neighbouring villages and in gathering the people together and in presenting to them1 in all simplicity1 the message of salvation4 ,frequently these teachers1 catechists and pastors take with them some of the members of their congregations to help them1 by song and by the influence of their presence1 to present their message effectively to the people2 and thus the ,christians also receive a most useful training in this elementary part of ,christian service4 ,from time to time special itineracies are conducted by a band of mission agents who will spend a week or more in traversing a whole region1 preaching in every village and street as they pass along their journey4 ,these itineracies are conducted in various ways1 but are always most helpful in the evangelization of the district4 ,some of the best organized missions are adding emphasis to this work by devoting missionaries specially to the conduct of it4 ,these men gather bands of native preachers around them who spend their time and strength in preaching and in disseminating gospel truth in the neglected regions of their fields4 ,theological seminaries also give a part of their time to this excellent work4 ,the seminary1 with which ,i am connected1 gave1 during the year #aijj1 five weeks to village work4 ,teachers and students travelled hundreds of miles among the villages of the neglected part of the field and carried the message to more than #ej1jjj people4 ,this was not only a joyful service1 it was also a most helpful experience to the young students while undergoing their theological training4 ,but1 as the native ,church1 in a mission1 grows in numbers and in intelligence1 the work of evangelism becomes its special duty4 ,if the ,church does not enter1 with added joy and power1 into this department of its work2 and if it does not voluntarily assume1 with ever increasing fullness1 this form of ,christian activity1 there is something radically wrong about it4 ,it should be the prayer and purpose of the missionary that every church and congregation established by him become a centre of evangelistic power1 whence will radiate divine light and heat into adjacent hamlets and villages4 ,i am glad to say that1 so far as my observation goes1 the native ,church is undertaking this work with increasing zeal and with a growing impulse from within1 rather than by pressure from without4 ,in the ,madura ,mission1 through the ,home ,missionary ,society and its auxiliaries1 and through the organizations of the native women1 at least eighteen men and women are being supported for this especial work of evangelism4 ,and the number of members of churches1 who engage voluntarily in this work1 is every year growing4 ,the character of this preaching is a matter of importance4 ,in ,india it should be1 largely1 if not exclusively1 constructive rather than destructive4 ,forces destructive to a belief in ,hinduism and its numberless superstitions have multiplied wonderfully in that land during the last fifty years4 ,so that there is no necessity1 today1 that the ,christian preacher spend any of his time in attacking the errors and evils of the ancestral faith of the people4 ,he should give himself to the more agreeable and blessed work of imparting the living truth of the ,gospel in all directness and simplicity4 ,the destructive agencies of the civilization1 knowledge and religious institutions of the ,west have accomplished their work and have made straight the pathway of the ,gospel ,messenger into the mind and heart of the people4 ,thus1 it is not the abuse of the old1 but the exposition of the new1 faith which should occupy the time of the preacher to ,hindus today4 ,it has been my own custom1 and ,i always urge it upon my students1 to avoid the temptation of attacking ,hinduism1 and to preach a simple ,gospel of salvation4 7b7 ,pastoral ,work4 ,the rapidly increasing number of churches and congregations has added much to the pastoral duties of a mission4 ,formerly missionaries themselves acted as pastors and shepherded the flocks in the villages4 ,even today some of the ,german missions have missionary pastors4 ,but this is now exceptional4 ,missions generally have learned that1 for native congregations1 native pastors are essential4 ,they not only are better adapted1 by nature and by training1 to meet the needs of the native ,church2 they are also the only ones that are within the range of the financial possibilities of self-support4 ,and self-support must be ever held before the church as a high future blessing and duty of the ,christian community4 ,illustration3 ,theological ,students ,with ,their ,families4 ,illustration3 ,group ,of ,madura ,pastors4 ,and yet the day when the pastoral work can be effectively and satisfactorily done by the natives themselves has hardly arrived4 ,few native pastors today1 and much fewer catechists1 are competent1 both on the score of character and of independence1 to wisely direct the affairs of their people and to efficiently preserve church discipline4 ,this is a sad confession to make2 but truth compels me to make it--a truth emphasized more than once by long experience among them4 ,a few years ago a church within my jurisdiction wished to expel a leading member whom it knew to be a godless man4 ,he had become a curse to the community1 and nothing but excommunication seemed wise or possible4 ,i visited the church for the purpose of assisting the pastor in the administration of the ,lord's ,supper and of studying the general condition of the church4 ,and we attempted1 congregationally1 to discipline this member4 ,the church was asked to vote1 in case it thought wise1 to excommunicate the man2 but not a hand was raised4 ,the matter was further explained to them1 and all those who were in favour of his expulsion were requested to raise the hand4 ,again not a hand was raised6 ,the pastor1 thereupon1 explained the situation by stating that the people were afraid of the man and dared not vote against him even though he was not present4 ,the pastor was himself equally timid in the situation4 ,thereupon ,i asked those of them who desired that ,i should act in this matter for the church to raise the hand2 whereupon every hand of pastor and people was immediately raised2 and ,i fulfilled their wish by excommunicating1 in their name1 the evil member6 ,this may or may not be ,congregationalism2 but it illustrates the fact which ,i am now dwelling upon1 viz43 that for the present1 both pastor and people are unequal to the severe duties of church discipline4 ,every month the missionary is confronted with similar situations which reveal to him the necessity of his presence as a superintending pastor and the urgent need of his wisdom to direct the affairs of the church1 his firmness to put an end to many impossible situations1 and his inspiration to tone up and give backbone to pastors and other agents connected with him4 ,it should not be forgotten that1 while the infant community connected with each mission has many admirable traits of piety and of character1 it is still the victim of great weakness in matters of purity1 of fellowship and of ,christian peace4 ,so that if the ,church is to be preserved from many intolerable evils and brought into the noble traits of a ,christian character which will impress itself upon the non-,christian community there must be firm guidance1 stern repression of evil and wise inspiration to good on the part of the native pastoral force under the bracing influence of missionary guidance4 ,to those who are conversant with the condition of the native ,church in ,india there is a supreme conviction that its greatest danger lies in the irregularity of the life of its members and in its want of firm discipline and the preservation of purity rather than in the fewness of accessions from heathenism4 ,hence the importance of the work of shepherding ,christ's feeble flock in that land4 ,the training of suitable native agents for this work is a duty of paramount importance2 and the training must be continued through their life by the presence of the missionary to guide1 restrain and inspire4 7c7 ,the ,educational ,department4 ,in large1 well-organized missions1 the educational department is now perhaps the most important and all-pervasive4 ,as a mission grows1 this department usually develops more rapidly than any other of its organized activities4 ,this work is divided into three classes3 ,schools for ,non-,christians4 ,these are especially established with a view to reaching and affecting the non-,christian community4 ,they have developed wonderfully during the last half-century and hold an important place in the economy of missions4 ,they represent the leaven of ,christianity in ,india4 ,they are preminently an evangelistic agency4 ,they furnish excellent opportunity to present ,christ and ,his ,gospel of salvation to a large host of young people under very favorable circumstances4 ,these institutions are of two classes--primary schools in villages and high schools and colleges at centres of influence and culture4 ,they have been the object of attack from men of narrow missionary sympathy and of limited horizon4 ,these men claim that money expended on such institutions is a waste of mission funds4 ,but they have failed to recognize the significant fact1 which ,i have already mentioned1 that these institutions undoubtedly furnish the best opportunity for missionary evangelistic work4 ,and ,i fearlessly maintain that more conversions take place1 and more accessions are made1 through these schools than through any other agency1 apart from the ,christian ,church itself4 ,not a few of the village primary schools become nuclei to ,christian congregations1 which flourish and develop into ,christian churches4 ,and through the higher institutions some of the best and strongest members of the ,christian community have been won from ,hinduism4 ,all this1 apart from the fact that these institutions perform an unspeakably important function in the dissemination of light throughout the whole ,hindu community and in the leavening of the whole mass of ,hindu thought and institutions4 ,the good done by this class of institutions is beyond computation in that land4 ,schools for ,christian ,children4 ,it is the worthy ambition of every mission and missionary to train the children of the ,christians so that they may rise1 not only in intelligence1 but also in social life and position4 ,under this class of schools the native ,christian community is being rapidly developed and educated1 so that it is already in advance of any other community in general literacy4 ,among these schools for ,christians are industrial institutions for the training of boys and girls in manual labour4 ,at the present time there seems to be a growing tendency to magnify this department of work4 ,these schools are given to training in carpentry1 blacksmithing1 weaving1 brass-work1 rattan-work1 etc4 ,the ,germans have entered more fully into this effort than any other missions in ,india4 ,but they are not loud in its praise as a department of mission work4 ,it certainly has both merits and demerits which we shall consider later4 ,during the last decade a few missionaries have launched out upon a new enterprise in the shape of ,peasant ,settlements4 ,one object of these is to train the poor and improvident members of the community1 especially the socially submerged classes1 to habits of thrift1 economy and independence4 ,it is also conducted as a philanthropy for the purpose of raising the people socially and industrially through new methods and forms of agriculture4 ,this movement is still in its infancy4 ,training ,institutions for ,mission ,agents4 ,it is the duty of every mission to train for itself an efficient class of men and women who shall conduct all the departments of missionary work and gradually relieve the missionary of many of his duties4 ,these schools are of many kinds corresponding with the various classes of agencies required4 ,this may be illustrated by the institutions now found in the ,madura ,mission4 ,nearly every one of the twelve out-stations of that mission has a boarding school for ,christian boys and girls4 ,the best students who graduate from these schools1 especially those who are deemed worthy to become future candidates for mission service1 go to ,pasumalai and to ,madura for further1 and professional1 training4 ,at ,pasumalai young men may pass through the ,high ,school and even the college department4 ,they are then placed in the normal department1 to qualify them as teachers1 or in the ,theological ,seminary1 to prepare them as preachers and pastors4 ,so1 also1 girls are placed in the ,madura ,girls' ,high and ,training ,school and are there qualified for one of three grades of teachership4 ,or they may be placed in the ,bible ,woman's ,training ,school where they receive a two-years' course of training for work as ,bible women4 ,the only class of agents which is not trained by the ,madura ,mission is that of medical assistants4 ,i trust that the mission's desire for funds to establish this work also may be gratified and that thus we may have the means of training suitable agents for every department of our missionary work4 ,no mission can be complete unless it has some means of furnishing itself with an efficient agency to conduct all departments of its activity4 ,the only danger connected with the excellent educational department of work is1 lest it should outgrow and overshadow all other departments4 ,this danger is at present manifesting itself in some missions4 ,it is an attractive form of work which allures the missionary2 and1 for several reasons1 he yields to the temptation of emphasizing it out of proportion to its relative value and gives more time and money to it than a wise place in mission economy demands4 ,the ideal arrangement for a mission would seem to be to keep well in front its evangelistic and pastoral endeavour1 and to utilize all forms of educational work with a view to strengthening and furthering these4 ,it is true that certain missions1 like certain individuals1 have a special genius or talent of their own2 and their highest success will depend upon their following that bent4 ,for instance1 the ,free ,church of ,scotland1 in ,south ,india1 has shown eminent ability and taste in the work of education4 ,it has met with distinguished success in that line of effort1 and its college for boys and high schools for girls in ,madras bear testimony to its eminent success in this department4 ,in evangelistic work it has thus far neither shown much interest nor large aptitude4 ,the ,wesleyan ,methodists1 on the other hand1 are born evangelists and find their chief success as preachers of the gospel4 ,each mission should not only consider its field and its claims and needs1 it should also study its own corporate gift and bent and then strive to develop its work mainly upon those lines which are most congenial to it4 7d7 ,literary ,work4 ,the creation and circulation of a healthy ,christian literature has always been recognized by our missions as a work of paramount importance4 ,while not many missionaries have devoted themselves exclusively to this work1 yet not a little has been accomplished in it by the missions4 ,if not much that is original and brilliant has issued from the missionary pen2 and if it stands sadly true that too few have seriously undertaken this work2 it is nevertheless a cause of thanksgiving that ,christian truth has been extensively expounded and defended by them1 and that they have sent forth from the press a continual stream of blessing to all the people4 ,in ,india1 three strong societies aid the missions by engaging directly in the production and dissemination of ,christian literature4 ,these are the ,bible ,society1 the ,tract ,society and the ,christian ,literature ,society4 ,these institutions have spent large sums of money in the translation1 revision and circulation of the ,holy ,scriptures and in the furnishing of fresh1 readable and informing tracts and books in explanation1 illustration and defense of ,christianity4 ,the far-reaching results of the work of these societies no one can adequately estimate4 ,the need of this department of work is not only great1 it is growing annually4 ,missions feel this keenly and are unwilling to depend entirely upon the above mentioned societies4 ,each mission of any importance has one1 or more1 printing establishments with which it can prepare and issue tracts and books of its own1 and whereby it may present special truths and teachings which seem to it urgently needed by its people4 ,through these presses the missions publish also #adg newspapers and magazines for the special use of the ,christian people and others4 ,in this way forty-one printing establishments1 employing no fewer than #b1jjj men1 are utilized by the ,protestant missions of ,india in the production of healthy literature for the furtherance of the cause of ,christ in that land4 ,in this department two special classes are kept in view4 ,the growing ,christian community must be provided with suitable books in the vernaculars4 ,books devotional for the mass of ,christians1 and text-books for the students in our professional schools1 and helpful books of instruction for the large body of ,christian agents are needed4 ,all these make an increasing demand upon the literary fertility of writers and authors on the mission field4 ,there is also a growing demand1 and an urgent need1 for good books adapted to the non-,christian community--such tracts and books as can present to them1 in an attractive and convincing way1 the special truths and the supreme excellence of our faith4 ,the number is annually increasing1 both among native ,christians and in the non-,christian community1 of those who can read and whose taste for books is growing4 ,this method of approach to the mind of the people has peculiar advantages of its own4 ,the prejudices connected with ,christian instruction1 as it proceeds directly from the lips of the teacher or preacher1 does not exist in connection with tracts and books4 ,these printed messengers of truth and salvation quietly and effectively do their work in the silent hours of the night and in the secret recesses of the woods or of the solitary chamber4 ,and this message is the more effective because it may be read and pondered more than once1 until its truth grips the soul in convicting and saving power4 ,the power of the printed page1 as a ,christian messenger in ,india1 is second to none at present2 and its influence will multiply mightily as the years increase4 ,missions and individual missionaries should enter more fully into this work2 none needs increasing emphasis more than this2 and none has larger hopes of preminence in the great work of ,india's redemption4 ,missionary societies also should devote more men1 than in the past1 to the creation of a strong ,christian literature4 ,and even where missions are too weak to publish anything of their own and are unable to write books or tracts2 there is a wide field of usefulness open to them in a thoroughly systematic and energetic work of distributing the existing literature produced by the great societies4 ,in some missions this work of circulating ,scriptures and ,christian books has been reduced almost to a science and has become an exceedingly efficient help to the cause in those districts4 ,other missions have yet to learn the importance and blessing of this activity4 7e7 ,medical ,work4 ,this department of missionary effort has a wide sphere of usefulness4 ,though not so urgently necessary now as in former times in ,india1 owing to the ubiquitous and efficient ,government ,medical ,department1 it is nevertheless popular and very useful4 ,this is specially so when the whole work and its agency are brought into full subjection to the ,christian1 as distinct from the purely humanitarian1 motive4 ,no other department is more capable of being utilized as an evangelizing agency2 and in many missions its influence is thus widely felt4 ,everywhere its aid to other departments of mission work is much appreciated through its ability to gain friends for our cause among those who would otherwise be inimical2 and in preparing the hearts of many to receive spiritual help from the ,great ,physician4 ,no fewer than forty hospitals1 besides many dispensaries1 are conducted by ,protestant missions in ,india today4 ,many of the medical missionaries give their whole time to this work2 others conduct the medical as only one of the departments of their missionary activity4 ,to each method there are advantages and disadvantages2 though1 perhaps1 the medical missionary finds greatest usefulness when he gives himself entirely to his profession as physician4 ,but1 in that case1 he needs tenfold caution lest the distinctively missionary idea of his life-work should be subjected to1 or lost in1 the professional and the humanitarian spirit4 ,medical work for women and children finds in ,india today perhaps its most urgent call4 ,there is more need and suffering among them than among men4 7f7 ,work for ,women4 ,from the first1 missions have not neglected woman4 ,she has been their care1 and her conversion and elevation their ambition4 ,but1 in recent times1 much has been added to this4 ,not only have separate and definite forms of work been opened for women2 organized work by women in their behalf has suddenly taken high rank and attained considerable popularity among ,christian peoples4 ,under ,women's ,missionary ,societies fully #a1jjj ladies have come to ,india and are giving themselves exclusively to work for their ,indian sisters4 ,all forms of effort are undertaken in their behalf4 ,assisted by an army of thousands of native ,bible women1 ,zenana workers and mistresses1 these ladies perform their noble service4 ,hindu homes are daily and everywhere visited1 and the seed of ,christian life and truth sown2 thousands of non-,christian girls and young women are instructed and initiated into the mysteries of ,bible truth and ,christian life2 and ,christian womanhood is being developed1 more rapidly indeed than ,christian manhood1 into a thing of strength and beauty4 ,in the town of ,madura alone thirty-one ,bible women have access to #a1jjj non-,christian homes where ,bible instruction is gladly received4 ,another staff of twenty-one ,christian workers instructs daily1 in five schools1 #ejj ,hindu and ,mohammedan girls4 ,also a ,high and ,training school for ,christian girls1 with #bef pupils2 and a ,bible woman's training school1 with seventeen students1 complete this organized work for women in that town4 ,from it1 as a centre1 seventeen other women visit and work in seventy-two different villages and instruct #a1jje pupils4 ,no work at present is more important or finds more encouragement than this organized activity for women4 ,illustration3 ,a ,junior ,christian ,endeavor ,society4 ,illustration3 ,a ,village ,christian ,school4 7g7 ,work for the ,young4 ,ours is preminently the age of youth--the time when the importance of work for the young is fully appreciated1 and when manifold activities are put forth by the ,christian ,church in their behalf4 ,during recent years such activity has been extensively introduced into mission fields4 ,in ,india at present1 ,y4 ,m4 ,c4 ,a41 ,y4 ,w4 ,c4 ,a41 ,y4 ,p4 ,s4 ,c4 ,e41 ,epworth ,league1 ,sunday-school ,union and a host of other less-known organizations for the young have established themselves and are working with much enthusiasm4 ,in former years little was done for the young of the infant ,christian communities4 ,the old ,oriental idea that young people are of no account1 and that effort in their behalf is hardly worth while1 obtained in ,india until recent years4 ,the consequence was that the children of ,christian congregations were neglected and allowed to absent themselves from ,christian services and to grow up in ignorance and heathenish darkness4 ,as a result of this many of these boys and girls1 when they grew up into manhood and womanhood1 reverted to heathenism2 and many flourishing ,christian congregations of the last generation became defunct4 ,it is now understood1 with increasing distinctness1 that the permanent success and growth of a ,christian congregation1 as of the whole ,christian community1 depends more upon the effort which is exercised in behalf of the young than upon any amount of labour lavished upon those of maturer years4 ,hence1 more activity1 of an organized type1 is being wisely put forth in behalf of the children and of young people4 ,the more plastic1 responsive1 tenacious mind of the young takes in more readily1 appreciates more keenly and clings with more persistence to religious instruction and inspiration imparted to it than does that of the older members of the community4 ,the ,christian worker thus finds earlier and greater fruit to his labour among the young than among the old4 ,any enthusiasm imparted by him to the young people is also1 sooner or later1 apt to be carried by them to the older members of the congregation or church4 ,the hope of the ,church in ,india lies in the young people2 and that missionary1 or native agent1 who can best organize the young into useful forms of outgoing ,christian activity1 will do most for the ,church of the present and future4 ,and1 while so excellent an agency as the ,christian ,endeavor ,society is available for use in this line of work1 the missionary need not be discouraged1 but may feel confident that he has within his power an organization rich in promise of blessing to his whole community4 7h7 ,organizations for the ,special ,activities of the ,native ,christian ,community4 ,every mission should encourage all forms of wise and necessary organization for the furtherance of the highest life of the community itself4 ,and this chiefly with a view to developing self-dependence in the community4 ,these organizations will be naturally divided into two classes4 ,those ,which ,promote ,self-,government4 ,the ,christian ,church in the mission field should be organized ecclesiastically and administratively in such a way that it may ultimately1 and as speedily as may seem wise1 become entirely self-governing4 ,every mission should aim to so teach the people that they may control and conduct successfully their own affairs4 ,it should establish a ,church which sends its roots deep into the soil of the land and which will become1 in the highest sense1 indigenous4 ,one of the necessary evils of missionary life is the early ,western control and guidance of everything4 ,i should like to see the day1 when the native ,church can establish that polity which is most congenial to its taste and run its affairs independently and on ,oriental lines1 in such a way as to win more effectively the people of ,india to ,christ4 ,the question is sometimes asked1--8,must our ,congregational missions bind1 to our ,congregational form of ecclesiastical government1 the people whom they bring over from heathenism8 ,must our church polity1 in the mission field1 be ,congregational1 or ,presbyterian1 etc41 regardless of its adaptation1 or want of adaptation1 to the people80 ,the affirmative answer has usually been given by all societies 7and wrongly ,i think7 to this inquiry2 and thus every denomination transplants into heathen lands1 with renewed emphasis1 not only its own peculiar shibboleths of doctrine2 it also exalts to a heavenly command the government and ritual which it represents4 ,missions in ,india are conscientiously endeavouring1 with varying degrees of wisdom and success1 to lead forward their people in the line of self-government4 ,but both love of power and a conviction of the inability of the infant ,church to wisely control its affairs1 combine to render this transfer of power from the mission to the native ,church a very slow matter--more slow than seems wise to many besides the leaders of the native ,church themselves4 ,it is a significant fact1 in ,india today1 that the ,methodist missions1 by their compact organization1 are able to1 or at any rate do1 confer more ecclesiastical and administrative power upon the native ,church than any other mission2 while ,congregational missions--the least organized--are the most backward in this matter4 ,a study for the causes of this would be instructive4 ,those ,organisations ,which ,promote ,self-,extension4 ,one of the first things that a mission should do1 after gathering the ,christian community1 is to organize1 in the community1 such activities as are outreaching and self-extending4 ,in the ,madura ,mission there has been for many years a ,home ,missionary ,society whose aim is to help support weak churches and also maintain a force of evangelists to preach to non-,christians4 ,it is the society of the native ,christians--supported and largely directed by them4 ,it has created1 maintained and increased the interest of the people in furthering the cause of ,christ4 ,many such societies exist in ,india today and they render valuable service in keeping before the mind of the people the deepest characteristics of our faith and the highest privilege of a ,christian community--that of outgoing love1 and self-extending enthusiasm4 ,those ,organisations ,which ,further ,self-,support4 ,how extensively should the idea of self-support be at present urged upon the native ,christian community8 ,this is a question which we will discuss later on4 ,there is no question however but that every mission should so organize its benevolences that the infant ,church may1 at as early a date as possible1 cease to seek support from a foreign land2 and that it cultivate at the same time a spirit of self-denial and of self-reliance4 ,the poverty of the people is1 and will long remain1 a serious barrier to this consummation4 ,but the evil of poverty may be counterbalanced by a careful system whereby the benevolent feelings1 generous impulses and the sense of obligation of the people are conserved1 strengthened and made fully effective4 ,this matter should not be left to haphazard or to spasmodic appeal4 ,every ,christian1 even the poorest1 should be so directed and inspired in his benevolence that he may effectively contribute to the worthy object of self-support4 ,these three desiderata of the native ,christian ,church--self-support1 self-propagation and self-government--are to be desired above all other blessings by the missions and should be sought with a persistence and a well-organized intelligence1 which will mean advance and ultimate success4 ,when these three have been attained1 missions1 with all their expensive machinery1 may gladly disband and feel that their end has been accomplished and that they are no longer needed4 ,chapter ,,ix4 ,,present ,,day ,,missionary ,,problems4 ,every age has its own problems to solve2 and so has every department of life4 ,the problems which belong to missionary life1 method and work are many4 ,the permanence and future success of the missionary effort of the ,church of ,god depends upon the wise solution of these problems4 ,nowhere is this more manifest than in ,india4 ,in that land ,christian effort for the conversion of the people has been made for many centuries by numerous nationalities and ,christian communities with varying success or want of success4 ,unwillingness or an inability to thoroughly confront and master the deep problems of the field1 the work and the people1 with a view to adapting ,christianity to them has largely been the cause of the slow progress of our faith in that land4 ,successive efforts by the ,greek1 the ,syrian1 the ,romish and the ,protestant ,churches have not been prolific in marked and permanent results1 simply because they have not adequately studied the novel and strange conditions of the land and the best methods of presenting ,christ and ,his truth4 ,we need in ,india1 today1 highest wisdom in order to establish worthy missions1 and to conduct them in the right and best way so as to attain results commensurate with the resources of the kingdom and of the great ,king whose we are and whom we preach4 ,the missionary problems of today are many4 #a4 ,the initial and preliminary question as to the right of the ,christian ,church to send forth its missionaries1 and to establish its missions in heathen lands4 ,this question is now raised by many4 ,they ask it because they believe in the integrity of the doctrine of evolution4 8,why do you not10 they say1 8leave those non-,christian peoples to work out their own salvation through a natural evolution of their own faiths8 ,let those old crude religions pass into something higher through the natural process of evolution rather than resort to the cataclysmic method of over-throwing the old and introducing a faith that is entirely foreign4 ,why not let the process of growth work out its own results even though it takes a long time for it80 ,this objection to our work is modern and thoroughgoing4 ,of course it is equally pronounced against supernaturalism in all its forms and ramifications4 ,it would be futile to reply to this by appealing to the command of our ,lord to go and disciple all nations4 ,it is enough to remind this objector that the doctrine of evolution admits that the highest altruism is a part of the evolution process4 ,and if that is so1 then the highest ,christian altruism must find its noblest exercise in the work of bringing1 by ,christians to non-,christians1 those ideas and that life which they deem the best and of which those outside of ,christ stand in urgent need4 ,the highest evolution of our race has been1 and ever must be1 through that ,christian altruism which will not rest until the noblest truth and the fullest life are brought to all the benighted souls of our race4 ,is not this the last message of evolution to us at this present8 ,and is it not identical with the last commission of our ,lord to ,his followers--to go and disciple the nations8 ,and while it is the function of ,christianity to maintain the evolution principle of the survival of the fittest1 it does this by indirection--by seizing upon the most unfit and unworthy and making them fit to stand before ,god and worthy to enjoy the life eternal in all its glory4 ,moving a step forward we come to1-- ,another problem kindred to the one mentioned--one which concerns the aims and the results which should animate missionary endeavour4 #b4 ,what shall a man or a mission entertain as a motive or as an aim to be attained and as results worthy of achievement in missionary work8 ,this question also is based upon and will cover very largely the character of the work accomplished4 ,there are two distinct and separate motives and aims impelling ,christians1 at the present time1 to missionary effort4 ,they are1 in the main1 an emphasis given1 respectively1 to each of ,christ's two final commands to his disciples upon earth4 ,in the first instance his last commission to his followers to go and make disciples of the nations is taken as the watch-word2 and this has always meant thorough1 patient1 all-inclusive effort for the redemption and elevation of all the races of the earth4 ,the other class has taken as its watch-word our ,lord's last utterance upon earth--8,ye shall be ,my witnesses40 8,witness-bearing0 has become to them the expression of the ,church's great duty to the world4 ,there is a great difference between these two classes of aims and motives1 and they are associated with two classes of theological thinking4 ,according to the former theory the ,kingdom of our ,lord1 under the dispensation of the ,holy ,spirit1 is to spread in regenerating power and triumphant efficacy until all the nations of the earth shall come under its sway4 ,this is a great and arduous undertaking4 ,the planting of this ,kingdom in heathen lands and the discipling of those people until the ,church of ,god shall have become a living and a self-propagating church in all the regions of the earth is a work of ages1 worthy of the combined effort of heaven and earth4 ,and this consummation will surely take place4 ,god has promised it2 ,christ's work involves it2 the ,holy ,spirit came into the world for its realization4 ,they who entertain this belief are ,christian optimists4 ,no reverses can daunt them2 no opposition can discourage them4 ,they lay broad and deep the foundations of their work and labour patiently but hopefully for the great and final consummation4 ,those1 on the other hand1 who are pessimistic as to the triumph of the ,kingdom of ,christ under the dispensation of the ,spirit1 maintain1 with exclusive emphasis1 the ,christian duty of witness-bearing4 ,they claim1 in ,dr4 ,pierson's words1 that our mission to the heathen world should be one of diffusion and not of concentration2 that we should bear witness concerning ,christ to the people who know ,him not and then pass on to others1 rather than remain to expand1 to convert1 to train and to establish living churches4 ,they maintain that our duty is preminently to bear witness to ,christ1 that we have no responsibility for the conversion of the people and for the building up of strong churches4 ,this claim that it is the duty of the ,church to herald the good news of redemption to all men as speedily as possible apart from the expectation that they will accept it3 does not commend itself to me either upon ,scriptural grounds or upon grounds of reason4 ,the idea of preaching the gospel to the heathen 8for a witness10 in the ordinary acceptance of that term1 does not constitute a worthy ,christian motive4 ,dr4 ,w4 ,n4 ,clark well analyzes this thought in the following words1 7page #ec1 in 8,study of ,christian ,missions071--8,at the outset1 there is one motive1 often1 though not necessarily1 associated with the theory of heralding1 that must be rejected as no ,christian motive4 ,it is often held that in this rapid work the gospel is not to be preached mainly in order that it may be believed unto salvation1 but rather #8for a witness1'--which is taken to mean #8for a witness against1' the hearers when they meet the judgment of ,god4 ,the hearing of the gospel marks a turning-point1 both in experience and destiny4 ,when once men have heard the gospel1 they will be saved if they believe1 and justly condemned if they do not4 ,only a few will be saved by the missionary preaching2 the elect will be gathered out of the mass1 and the many will remain indifferent4 ,but the blame of their ruin will be upon themselves1 not upon ,god or the ,christian people2 and it is to insure this result that the gospel is preached to them for a witness4 ,but this is no ,christian truth4 ,such teaching cannot truly represent the motive of ,god the ,saviour4 ,we must maintain that ,god acts in good faith in the offers of ,his grace1 or ,christianity becomes a delusion4 ,we must preserve our own good faith also in conveying the offer of grace1 or our hearers will rise in the judgment to condemn us4 ,no allowance should be made for any such unchristian motive in our plans for ,christian missions1 and we must hold no theory of missions that implies it40 ,moreover the view is thoroughly pessimistic1 so far as this dispensation is concerned1 and fails to realize the power and the glory of ,christian truth and of the kingdom of ,christ as inspired by the ,holy ,spirit4 ,a theory of missions which is pessimistic at the core can hardly be a safe or an inspiring one4 ,it should be remembered also that missions are not an end in themselves4 ,they should aim at making themselves unnecessary by the establishing of vigorous churches which shall become self-extending and indigenous in all the lands of the earth4 ,the hope of missions1 and the hope of the world through missions1 lies not1 ultimately1 in the missions1 but in the churches which they establish4 ,therefore they should be well established and patiently developed4 ,the ,church of ,god must take up its missionary work with a full appreciation of its supreme greatness and difficulty4 ,let it not be supposed that it is called simply to 8bear witness40 ,this heralding of the gospel of ,christ1 is only a part1 and indeed a small part1 of the great duty of the ,church to the world4 ,it is also specifically1 and with greater urgency1 called upon to disciple the nations--to bring them into full possession of saving truth and into joyful acceptance of1 and life in1 ,christ4 ,let us not delude ourselves with the idea that this work is easy1 that we can pass over it lightly or that we have no responsibility for the conversion of the world4 ,as ,i have preached for the first time to a heathen village ,i have felt that my obligation to its inhabitants for their salvation was thereby increased rather than fulfilled4 ,there is no doubt that ,christian missionaries realize today as never before the greatness of the task set before ,god's people to disciple the nations4 ,the obstacles to it and the conflict which it involves seem greater than ever4 ,the romance of missions has largely given way to sober work and the rush of battle has been succeeded by a great siege4 ,this is preminently the condition in ,india today4 ,let us not forget this in our missionary enterprise lest we lose courage by the way4 ,but let us also remember that it is ,god's work4 ,he is pledged to bring it to its ultimate triumph1 and ,he will do it4 ,he will fulfill ,his promise and give to ,his ,son the heathen for ,his inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for ,his possession4 ,this theory of missionary work is the only one that has produced1 and can maintain1 all the present organized activity of the missionary ,church4 ,the aim of the manifold activities and various departments of missionary effort1 as witnessed in ,india today1 can be nothing less than the ultimate conquest of that land for ,christ through the establishment of a living1 an ever-growing and self-extending ,indian ,church there4 ,let us now consider some of the problems which specially exist in ,india4 #c4 ,,the ,,caste ,,problem4 ,the caste problem has been1 and continues to be1 the most troublesome and obtrusive among all the questions which confront missions in that land4 ,it is a more serious problem--more pervasive and intense--in ,southern than in ,northern ,india4 ,this is radically different from social problems in all other lands1 in that it traces its source to1 and gathers its authority from1 religion4 ,it enforces all that it sanctions by the most compact and relentless religious system the world has known4 ,it maintains that men have been created into a great number of castes or classes from none of which can they1 by any possibility1 pass into another4 ,in whatever social stratum a man is born there must he live and die4 ,it is impious for him to attempt to evade or to violate this heavenly classification4 ,his interests and all his rights are confined to that one caste of his birth4 ,it is sin for him to marry out of it or1 in any way1 to transgress his natal compact with it4 ,neither added wealth1 growing culture1 a new ambition1 nor anything else can enable him to change his caste4 ,all the forces of religion are directed1 like a mighty engine of tyranny1 to bind him to it4 ,this sentiment of caste1 after millenniums of teaching1 of rigid observance and custom1 has become even more than second nature to the ,hindu1--it has grown into a sweet necessity of his life1 from whose claims and demands he neither expects nor desires relief4 ,to the ordinary ,hindu a change of caste would be as unexpected1 yea as impossible1 as his sudden change into the lower brute1 or into the higher angelic1 kingdom4 ,when ,christianity was first established in ,india the problem of the adoption or the rejection of caste by the ,christian church had to be faced4 ,it was rejected by the earliest ,christian community in ,india2 for we find no traces of it in the ,syrian church on the coast of ,malabar today4 ,even caste titles1 that dearest remnant of that system to all other native ,christians in ,india1 have entirely disappeared from that community4 ,it is a great pity that the history of that victory over caste has not been preserved as a lesson and a heritage to later ,christians4 ,the ,romish ,church1 which next invaded ,india1 unfortunately despised the ,syrian community1 sought no instruction from its history1 made a friend of the caste system and adopted it in all its hideousness4 ,it did not wait to consider the terrible fact1 so patent to all at present1 that ,hinduism and caste are convertible terms--that one cannot cease to be a ,hindu who maintains the caste system in its integrity4 ,its intention was1 no doubt1 good in its way4 ,it was an effort to make an easy way out of ,hinduism into ,christianity and thus to swell the tide of incoming converts4 ,but1 unfortunately1 the path was made too easy2 the narrow gate was sufficiently enlarged for the ,hindu to enter with his burden of heathen prejudices and superstitions1 and it soon became the highway of insincerity and hypocrisy4 ,moreover1 the ,romish ,church has found1 to its cost1 that an easy way from ,hinduism to ,christianity is an equally easy path to return4 ,a man who carried much of his ,hinduism with him into the ,christian ,church was easily drawn back by the remaining old ties and affections4 ,the consequence is that1 while ,romanism has made large inroads upon ,hinduism in some places1 it has only been for a time2 and the back-sliders have been as numerous as the new converts2 so that ,roman ,catholicism has made little net progress in ,india for many years4 ,this alliance which ,christianity made1 four centuries ago1 with caste was1 thus1 a fatal one4 ,it gave also a clue to the earliest ,protestant missionaries--a clue which they1 in a weak moment1 decided to follow4 ,for1 the first ,danish missionaries also made a sad compromise with this monster evil4 ,i presume that this may be regarded as a continental failing of that day1 when in ,europe class differences were great and almost insurmountable4 ,human rights and individual liberty were not held so sacred1 or so scrupulously defended1 in ,europe in those days as they are in ,anglo-,saxon countries today4 ,otherwise any alliance by the ,church with the caste system would have been an impossibility in ,india4 ,even today some ,protestant missionaries from the ,european continent are found in ,india who defend the adoption of the caste system by the ,christian ,church4 ,how different would have been the attitude of the ,protestant ,church towards this heathenish institution had men of the ,anglo-,saxon type of today rather than ,continentals of two centuries ago started its work in ,south ,india6 ,in any case1 the attitude of compromise assumed towards the caste system in those early days has led to interminable evil and to constant trouble in the ,christian ,church in that land4 ,after caste had first found admission as a friend and then was discovered to be an uncompromising enemy to ,christian life and principles1 much effort was made to expel it4 ,nearly all ,protestant missions now denounce it1 root and branch1 and preach against it1 and in various ways try to check and to cast it out4 ,but with no great success thus far4 ,the false step taken at the beginning has cost the ,church terribly4 ,today in ,south ,india more than nine-tenths of all ,protestant native ,christians1 while they seek an alliance only among ,christians1 nevertheless marry not on lines of ,christian affinity so much as on ,hindu caste lines4 ,it is not often that we find a man among common ,christians who has courage and sense enough to seek a match for son or daughter outside of the limits of that caste to which he and his people belonged in ,hinduism4 ,this custom is found not only extremely inconvenient and troublesome to them2 worst of all1 it perpetuates1 in the ,christian fold1 the old heathen lines of cleavage4 ,and thus life in the ,christian community is still running somewhat in the old channels of ,hinduism and largely preserves those social distinctions of the past which should have been buried with them at baptism and forever abandoned4 ,under these circumstances what should missions do8 ,what should be their attitude towards caste spirit and customs8 ,through former misapprehension and neglect the evil is in the ,christian ,church and exercises a potent influence4 ,how shall it be overcome or expelled8 ,some believe in the laissez faire method4 ,they maintain that1 if left to itself for a time1 it will die out1 or the general spirit of ,christianity will naturally drive it out4 ,the spirit of caste is not exorcised in that way4 ,so long as it is perpetuated by marriage affinity1 the source of the whole evil1 and by habits of eating together on caste lines1 it will not diminish very much or cease to torment the ,church4 ,a century of such waiting1 in some missions that ,i have known1 finds the evil not much diminished4 ,it is only in those missions where it is attacked and constantly denounced and its terrible evils exposed1 that progress is evident4 ,that which can do speedy and sure work1 in the destruction of this evil in ,christian missions is inter-caste marriage4 ,and through this ,i am glad to see that increasing good is wrought4 ,missions should in every way encourage and put a premium upon marriages among their members from different castes4 ,they should teach frequently and emphatically that membership in different castes does not constitute a prohibited marriage relationship2 but rather does it furnish the best ground for marriage4 ,in this way1 and in this way only1 will this wretched caste feeling speedily die a natural death and ,christians come to marry1 eat1 sympathize1 love and live on ,christian1 rather than on ,hindu1 lines4 ,a mission which does not improve every opportunity to show its hatred of the caste system and to antagonize it positively and persistently can find no peace2 nor will it find any permanent prosperity4 ,missions are feeling this increasingly and are acting accordingly4 #d4 ,,self-,,support ,,of ,,missions4 ,every mission seeks1 as its ever-present ambition1 to attain unto independence from all outside financial aid and a thorough self-support of its own institutions4 ,we await the day1 and believe in its no distant coming1 when a large number of mission churches will entirely support their own institutions4 ,indeed there are now many churches1 on mission ground1 that have grown into self-dependence and that maintain1 at their own expense1 all those normal forms of work that are connected with ,christian activity4 ,the question is frequently asked1--how far shall missions place before them1 as the supreme and immediate aim1 the self-support of their separate churches8 ,among missions and missionaries there are two tendencies in this matter4 ,one class1 represented by the ,church ,missionary ,society ,mission in ,tinnevelly1 place all moneys received from their mission churches into one fund1 and from this fund they pay the salaries of the pastors and catechists1 so far as possible4 ,bishop ,sargent told me that he did not think any church should be allowed to directly support its own pastor lest they consider that thereby they had a right to exercise authority over him6 ,that mission1 therefore1 and for other reasons also1 has relegated the direct question of the self-support of each church into the limbo of the undesirable4 ,in the ,american ,madura ,mission1 on the other hand1 the responsibility is urged upon every individual church to support its own spiritual instructor2 and all rules and methods are directed towards emphasizing and enforcing this4 ,self-support thus becomes1 in that mission1 its ever-present cry and the growing ambition of its every church and congregation4 ,and the progress of the ,church and of the mission is largely measured by this standard4 ,the self-support of a mission1 as such1 is a question which is not looked upon with the same urgency1 or with the same idea of importance by all missions1 or by all missionaries4 ,one party1 for instance1 would make self-support the supreme end2 everything else must be subordinated to it4 ,nothing should be undertaken1 they say1 which is not within the means and the desire of the people to support4 ,for instance1 they maintain that the salary of all mission agents and the support of mission institutions must be pecuniarily within the means of the ,orient and within the limits of its ambitions4 ,i ought to say that no mission1 to my knowledge1 carries out this principle in its integrity1 although there are some missionaries who urge it and proclaim it at all times4 ,the other party believes that the principal duty and highest privilege of a mission1 as such1 is not immediately to seek self-support or to pare everything down to the capacity of the people to give2 but to push forward the work energetically2 with economy indeed1 but regardless of expense1 knowing that vigour and enterprise and a strenuous ,western energy today will be both amply rewarded in results and will also set a pace for the native ,church in coming years4 ,they therefore seek the best trained agents regardless of the immediate ability of the people to pay their salary4 ,and they establish schools and hospitals and various other institutions which are altogether beyond the present ability of the ,indian ,church either to found or to maintain4 ,we must not forget that self-support1 entire self-support1 is possible in any mission from the very first day of its organization1 if the mission only makes this paramount and has the boldness of its convictions to shape its work according to the offerings of the people4 ,and there are some advantages to that method4 ,many of the best missionaries have often felt that they would like to try that system in ,india4 ,bishop ,thoburn1 while maintaining that it would be impossible to radically change the method of an old mission1 expressed the conviction that it might be well to establish in ,india a new mission on the basis of complete self-support from the beginning4 ,this1 doubtless1 was the ,pauline method2 and it operated well under the then existing circumstances in those lands4 ,and had our missions in the ,east been established and conducted by the ,orient instead of the ,occident they would have had adequate patience to pursue the method of self-support ab initio4 ,but as we are of the ,west1 ,western1 our missions must partake of the characteristics of our nature2 and be imbued with that energy1 push1 impatience for results which distinguish us in everything4 ,i am sure that neither the churches at home nor their missionaries abroad are prepared to limit their efforts by the poverty1 slowness and apathy of the ,east1 and thus perhaps delay for years1 or generations1 the results which1 through the expenditure of more money1 they possibly might reap today4 ,the method which missions have adopted is the western method1 characteristic of our haste and strenuous spirit1 and partaking of the evils incident to that spirit and method4 ,it is1 on the whole1 perhaps the best method that can be used and fully realized by us4 #e4 ,,mission ,,educational ,,work4 ,in connection with the increasingly important department of mission educational work in ,india not a few perplexing questions arise4 ,we have seen that this department has conquered for itself general recognition as a legitimate part of missionary effort4 ,but there is a serious conflict ahead1 in the not distant future4 ,and this is in part owing to the attitude of the ,government ,educational ,department and of the local governing bodies towards mission institutions4 ,there is no concealing the fact that most of the ,english officials of the ,educational ,department in ,india deem mission schools the most serious rivals to1 and regard missionary educators as quasi enemies of1 their departmental schools4 ,these men have recently assumed1 and are increasingly assuming1 an attitude of jealousy1 if not of hostility1 to mission institutions1 chiefly because of their strength and excellence as rival schools1 and partly because of the ,bible training which is imparted to all the students of these schools--a training with which those officials have no sympathy and which they are wont to regard as an educational impertinence4 ,missions must expect that the jealousy and the antagonism of that department will increase4 ,it is true that the great ,state ,educational ,despatch of #ahed and later enunciated government policy1 declare that it is not the purpose of the government to establish schools of its own1 except where private bodies fail to do so2 and that it is its purpose to encourage1 so far as possible1 private institutions4 ,but the general declaration of the ,imperial and ,provincial governments is one thing and the purpose and ambition of its ,educational ,department a very different thing4 ,departmentalists find it to their interest to strengthen and increase government schools at all points2 and as the funds appropriated for educational purposes are inadequate for all schools they seek the lion's share for their own1 and grudgingly give an ever decreasing quota to mission institutions4 ,it will be an ill day for missions when the ,educational ,department and its schools will become sufficiently strong to affect the policy of the general government as against private1 and in favour of government schools4 ,another fact1 of equal significance1 is the attitude of ,district ,boards and ,municipal ,commissioners towards the schools of ,mission ,bodies4 ,nearly all the members of ,local ,boards are native gentlemen4 ,they see the large influence of mission schools1 scattered as they are through their districts and towns1 and they regard them as ,christian propaganda and as evangelizing agencies2 and it is but natural that1 under the impulse of their new nationalism and of their interest in a ,neo-,hinduism1 they should be jealous of mission schools which are the rivals of their own indigenous and growing institutions4 ,and as they have the power of the purse and make and withhold grants to different schools at their pleasure2 and as all the subordinate officers of the ,educational ,department are natives and are not in full sympathy with mission schools2 it can be easily seen how our schools are doomed to suffer through an ever decreasing government aid towards their support4 ,thus1 there are two problems1 in this connection1 which will confront us4 ,one is the question whether it be worth while for missions to conduct their schools entirely at their own expense1 i4e4--without any government aid4 ,this problem must be faced ere long2 and it means either the curtailing of this department of work or the expending of a very much increased sum of money upon it4 ,the question may also be urged upon us1 more speedily than we anticipate 7indeed it has been raised already71 whether any schools aided by government shall be allowed to be used as religious propaganda4 ,in other words1 whether mission schools shall enjoy the privilege of teaching the ,bible to all non-,christian students in attendance1 even against their will4 ,this question is exercising the mind of not a few natives and others today2 and it is claimed that the present practice is contrary to the ,royal ,proclamation of ,religious ,neutrality in the land4 ,there is some reason for this contention2 and1 under increasing religious rivalry and jealousy1 it may1 at an early date1 lead to a crisis in mission schools4 ,and the problem may confront us as to whether we are prepared to continue all our schools for non-,christians under conditions which make it impossible for us to give ,bible1 or even any religious1 training in them4 ,another serious problem1 in this same connection1 is whether missions should conduct1 to any extent1 educational work apart from other indirect aims and purposes4 ,in other words1 how far1 if at all1 should a mission give itself to the work of education1 per se1 and not as a ,christian training or as an evangelizing agency4 ,many at present maintain that education--general education--is in itself a good and a blessing which it is the business of a mission to impart1 independent of any direct religious instruction or spiritual training which might be given through it4 ,they maintain that mission funds should thus be used for the intellectual advancement of the people apart from their ,christianization4 ,the majority1 however1 would claim that a mission's educational work should be conducted only so far as it can be the medium of communicating religious truth1 or only in so far as it can be made a direct auxiliary to the ,christianizing of the land4 ,this class would claim that no work should be undertaken by a mission which does not contribute to the ,christianizing of the people as a result distinct from their progress in civilization4 ,and it is here that these two classes of missionaries take issue with each other4 ,it is an important difference in the conception of the ,church's work in heathen lands4 ,as ,i shall consider this later ,i only call attention to it here4 ,another matter1 of no little consequence in this connection1 is that of the amount of educational privilege which a mission should furnish to its people4 ,president ,stanley ,hall has recently maintained that1 even in this country1 many are educated who should not be4 ,they should1 he says1 be left to the hoe and shovel4 ,he claims that not a few are1 through education1 spoiled for usefulness in the lowest sphere of manual labour for which they were by nature designed2 while they are also disqualified for the highest sphere of service and life4 ,if this be true in ,america it is doubly true in ,india4 ,many young men and women in that land have had lavished upon them the blessings of education to an extent that was unprofitable both to them and to the cause4 ,they have received an education and training which not only carried them away far outside the social realm for which they were intended by nature2 it also left them incapable of doing the higher thing for which they were intended by the mission4 ,there is adequate excuse for this in the early stages of mission progress4 ,the greatest need of a mission is a good1 strong1 native agency4 ,and in its desire to furnish this agency the mission1 as well as the individual missionary1 eagerly seizes upon every boy and girl who shows any signs of promise as an applicant to be trained for missionary service4 ,this same ambition to develop1 in intellectual power and in civilizing progress1 the young of an infant ,christian community so that they may adorn our faith and give an honourable status to the community leads many a mission to expend upon the education of its boys and girls more than it will in its later and more mature stage of growth4 #f4 ,,the ,,industrial ,,and ,,economic ,,problem4 ,during the last two decades there has been a marked and strong tendency in ,indian missions1 as in the home churches which support them1 to still broaden the scope of missionary effort by adding to its directly spiritual1 and to its educational and medical1 work1 schemes for the industrial1 economic and social advancement of the people4 ,this broadening of the conception of the work of the ,church in missionary lands is a most interesting study4 ,less than a century ago nothing that was not directly and intensely spiritual in its character was regarded as1 in any sense1 a part of missionary effort4 ,to preach the ,gospel to the heathen1 to establish and to train ,christian churches and to develop and direct a suitable native agency--this embraced the whole work of the mission4 ,anything beyond this was considered illegitimate4 ,subsequently the medical department was introduced1--chiefly because of the example of ,christ ,himself as the ,great ,healer4 ,soon the educational work was begun1 as a necessity in its elementary stages1 and it gradually grew until it has reached its present manifold character and large proportions4 ,then a few missions began to touch the industrial problem and to establish schools for the training of boys and girls in manual labour4 ,today that work is finding much increased emphasis1 and missions are beginning to take up1 in all seriousness1 ,peasant ,settlements as a means of lifting the people economically1 and of training them to habits of industry1 and to found villages as separate ,christian communities4 ,schools for the blind and for deaf mutes also have been established4 ,in fact all forms of philanthropic effort have now practically been adopted by the missions of ,india as legitimate forms of their activities4 ,indeed1 it is extensively proclaimed1 what has long been strenuously denied1 that missions are not founded simply to ,christianize but to civilize and to elevate in all matters pertaining to soul1 mind and body1 the people among whom they are established4 ,this is a broad question and an issue of fundamental importance4 ,it belongs to the very concept of missions and is largely a question of aim and purpose4 ,the trend of the times is doubtless in favour of the broader1 humanitarian1 philanthropic1 civilizing purpose of missions as against the deeper and more exclusive1 spiritual and ,christianizing end4 ,it seems to me to be a question whether missions are ready for this change4 ,it is also a very serious problem whether1 in the mission field1 this modern tendency to extend and broaden out is of the spirit of ,christ and is a passion to do good unto men in every department and sphere of their life2 or whether it is a degeneracy--a drifting away from the lofty and exclusive purpose of soul-winning and soul-saving down towards the lower plane of earthly blessing and general philanthropy4 ,there is certainly a sense in which this widening of missionary endeavour is a part of the broadening of the ,christian life of today and is in harmony with the multiplication of the agencies of the ,church at home for the general betterment of the people and for preparing them for the highest blessings of our faith2 and as such it is both commendable and encouraging4 ,on the other hand ,i know of no temptation that is pregnant with greater evil to missions1 at the present time1 than that connected with this multiplication of what may be called the lower activities of missions4 ,the spiritual work of a mission must ever remain its principal work if it is to succeed in the highest sense4 ,it is also the most difficult work4 ,it bears with it1 often1 serious discouragement to the worker4 ,and in times of discouragement it is a very easy thing for a missionary1 and for a mission1 to relax effort at this point and1 as a compensation1 to seek larger results on the lower planes of social and industrial activities and humanitarian and philanthropic effort4 ,these lower forms of activity are exceedingly absorbing and distracting2 and when a mission enters extensively into them it usually means1 and1 ,i would almost say1 necessarily means1 a withdrawal of time and energy and of interest from its highest spiritual work4 ,a man or a mission has only a certain amount of strength and money to devote to his work2 and if this is increasingly and extensively expended upon the lower forms of philanthropic effort1 the higher1 spiritual purposes and endeavors must suffer4 ,the ,basle ,lutheran ,mission of ,south ,india has done more industrial work than any other mission of that land4 ,but the industrial department grew so rapidly and became so absorbing that it was found necessary to make a separate 8mission0 of it4 ,it has flourished as a commercial enterprise and is self-supporting4 ,but the leader of that mission informs me that its blessings are questionable1 in that it tends to demoralize the people and renders little or no aid to their spiritual work4 ,while ,i believe that a certain amount of endeavour1 by a mission1 for the temporal good and social betterment of its people is legitimate and desirable1 extreme care should be taken1 in the present early stage of progress1 lest this form of activity become prominent or dominant2 and1 above all1 lest it1 in any way1 interfere with the conviction concerning the supreme importance and prime urgency of the spiritual training and growth of the people4 ,this class of work can very easily1 by changing the people's ideas of a mission's aim and purpose1 demoralize them4 ,it can also1 with equally fatal facility1 transfer the interest of the missionary from the higher to the lower realm of work1 and thus become a curse1 rather than a blessing1 to him4 ,if the work of missions is to be broadened the greatest care must be exercised lest this breadth be secured at the expense of depth of spiritual purpose and power1 and height of spiritual life and experience4 ,i must confess that this new movement1 in the present stage of the progress of missions1 brings to me as much fear as it does hope4 ,for1 while ,i see reason for taking up such work1 ,i know also the demoralizing influences that so naturally and easily follow it4 ,a mission that allows itself to be secularized1 by giving too much emphasis to these social and civilizing agencies1 becomes inevitably paralyzed as a spiritual force in its field2 and woe be to any mission that gains anything at the expense of its spiritual paralysis4 #g4 ,,mission ,,administration4 ,the question of administration is an exceedingly important one to every mission4 ,how wisely are our missions organized for large economy of money and effort and for highest efficiency8 ,could not missions unite1 for mutual counsel and wisdom1 as many officers of our societies at home now do2 could not missions learn more from one another in this most important respect8 ,the annual expenditure of more than one million dollars on mission work in ,south ,india alone is in itself a large trust which requires great care and breadth of wisdom4 ,hitherto not much has been done by the many missions of ,india to learn from one another the wisest methods of administration4 ,there is remarkable diversity and even contrast among those missions in the methods of conducting their work and in the administration of their affairs4 ,this is1 in no small part1 due to the different peculiarities of the several nationalities which conduct the missions2 it is also in part due to their denominational affinities4 ,but1 by growing familiarity with one another's methods and by more appreciative study of the same1 much could be learned by these missions which would tend to increasing uniformity of administrative method1 efficiency of work and abundance of results4 ,another question of perennial interest1 in this connection1 is that of the extent to which native ,christians should be allowed to participate in the administration of the affairs of a mission4 ,the training of some of the highest members of the native ,christian community in the responsibility of missionary administration is a serious duty of every mission4 ,the day must come when the whole administration of the ,christian work carried on by missions will be in the hands of the native community itself--when missions1 as such1 shall have accomplished their work and shall be disbanded4 ,what is being done by our missions today to make that consummation possible and desirable at the earliest moment8 ,most missions maintain that ,indians should have nothing to do with the administration of foreign funds4 ,is this a wise position to take8 ,is it consonant with the best training of the highest native ,christians for future control8 ,in other words1 what administrative preparation is being made by the mission for the incoming of an indigenous1 self-governing ,church8 ,it is true that ,indian ,christians will not1 for a long time1 be able to render much assistance to the missions in this line4 ,but if they are to be1 at any future time1 capable of undertaking the responsibility of the work they must be trained for it2 and this training must be conducted with patience by the mission4 ,if they are now wanting in independence and poise of character and breadth of horizon1 these can come to them only through an extended training4 ,and it is the duty of missions to give this training to them4 ,there is danger that missions cling too tenaciously to their right to rule4 ,power is sweet to the missionary no less than to other men4 ,i am glad to say that progress is made by missions in this matter4 ,slowly but surely the native ,christian is entering into their counsels and is finding increasing opportunity and responsibility there4 #h4 ,,problems ,,concerning ,,new ,,converts4 ,there are many interesting and important questions connected with the reception of new converts into the ,christian fold in ,india4 ,some of these have a growing interest to the ,cause and have found an important place in missionary discussion4 ,i shall refer to only a few of them4 7a7 ,shall polygamous converts be received into the ,christian ,church8 ,in ,hinduism polygamy 7more especially1 bigamy7 is not uncommon4 ,it is permitted and indeed fostered by that faith and is legalized by the laws of the country4 ,as our faith makes increasing inroads upon that religion1 numbers1 and yet never a large number1 of those who have two or more wives will accept our teaching and1 with all earnestness1 seek admission into our ,christian communion4 ,what shall we say to such8 ,how shall we meet them and their desire8 ,this question has1 in a few cases1 been sent to the societies at home1 the missions seeking from them advice and guidance4 ,from ,america the instruction has been received against receiving any such into the ,christian ,church4 ,this is natural enough from a country which is confronted by the ,mormon question4 ,but the problem has its ,eastern bearing which is not understood in the ,west and which has led missionary bodies in ,india almost invariably to decide in favour of receiving such into the ,christian fold4 ,in the consideration of the problem many things must be kept in mind4 ,none more important than the claims to a cordial welcome from the ,church of any man who1 in true faith and ,christian earnestness1 seeks admittance4 ,if it be demanded of the man that he put away all but one of those wives taken in heathenism2 then we ask whether it is ,christian1 or even just1 to cast away one to whom he was solemnly and religiously pledged according to the laws of the land and with whom he has been linked in love and harmony for years and from whom he has begotten children8 ,and if he is to put away one or more of his wives1 which one shall it be8 ,shall it be the first wife8 ,certainly that would not be ,christian4 ,or shall it be the second wife who is the mother of his children and whom he probably married at the request of the first1 who was childless1 in order that he might raise seed unto himself8 ,it is not easy1 on ,christian grounds1 to decide such a problem as this2 nor is it very ,christian to put a ban upon any woman who1 in accordance with their religion and their country's laws1 has formed this sacred alliance with a man and has lived with him for years4 ,nor can it be right to brand with illegitimacy the children born of such a wedlock4 ,i would not allow such persons1 received into the ,christian ,church1 to become officers of the ,church4 ,but ,i cannot see why there may not be an humble place in the ,church of ,god for such and their families4 7b7 ,should the baptism of a person1 in any case1 immediately follow his confession of ,christ8 ,this question does not pertain to those who live in ,christian communities and within the circle of ,christian light and influence4 ,it refers mainly1 if not exclusively1 to those who accept ,christ under the influence of ,christian teaching at heathen festivals and who may live far away from ,christian communities4 ,in ,north ,india1 some of those who have accepted ,christ under these circumstances have received immediate baptism and have been sent back to their villages professing ,christians4 ,at first sight this seems unwarranted and unwise4 ,men who have received and made an open confession of ,christ under these circumstances have not likely received a sufficient knowledge of our faith1 or attained an adequate familiarity with its truths2 nor have they been grounded in its principles and life1 sufficiently to warrant us in the hope and assurance that they will continue this life in their heathen homes and do honour to our cause and the name of ,christ which they have professed4 ,and yet who are we to decide adversely upon the application of such a man who may find1 or think he finds1 in that public occasion the only opportunity of making an open confession of ,christ8 ,and what right have we to conclude that he will not stand firm to his pledge and promise if we are convinced that it is made in all sincerity and earnestness1 and if we are convinced that the man has really accepted ,christ as his ,saviour8 ,or1 more properly1 what ground have we to believe that the ,holy ,spirit cannot carry on to perfection the work thus begun by ,him in the heart of such a man8 ,and was not this method of immediate baptism that of the ,apostolic ,church1 even though many thus baptized subsequently denied their new faith8 ,there are1 doubtless1 cases of this kind where baptism cannot be refused by the minister of ,god--where it is even imperative and may prove a blessing to the heathen audience as well as to the new convert4 ,and yet1 the ordinary method of delay and careful scrutiny and training should still be adhered to as a normal method of the ,church in heathen lands4 ,it is the safest way to lead to a healthy and a strong ,church4 7c7 ,another question frequently asked is that concerning secret baptism4 ,shall a missionary1 at any time and under any circumstances1 secretly baptize such as are anxious to make confession of ,christ1 but are debarred by family opposition1 or by similar causes1 from public baptism8 ,this problem frequently arises in connection with work for heathen women4 ,under the influence of the work of a ,bible woman1 or a lady missionary1 a woman may abjure her faith1 accept ,christ as her ,saviour and yearn for baptism4 ,but to be baptized publicly and to confess ,christ before her people openly would inevitably result in her being driven from home1 separated from her children and people1 and robbed of all opportunity to influence them in behalf of her newly found faith4 ,moreover1 by this public confession she is deprived of all family support and becomes a helpless dependent upon the mission for her daily bread4 ,the question rises whether such a woman should be quietly baptized and thus left to pursue her way in her own home and with her family as a pledged1 but secret1 follower of the ,lord4 ,there is much to be said in favour of1 as there is against1 such a baptism4 ,many contend that such an acceptance of ,christ would be unworthy and would be robbed of its saving power4 ,but such are not conversant with ,hindu life and some of its terrible conditions4 ,some would maintain1 perhaps with more wisdom1 that it would be better not to baptize such1 but to encourage them to believe that they are accepted of ,christ and to treat them in every way as ,christ's own disciples4 ,another problem in this connection is as to the right or wisdom of an unordained lady missionary to administer this initiatory rite to such women converts4 ,this question1 of course1 will be largely decided in accordance with the ecclesiastical connection of those who consider it4 ,there is a growing number of persons who believe that it would be well that ladies be authorized to administer this rite under such circumstances4 #i4 ,another problem is connected with the revival of thought among the people of ,india whom we seek to bring to ,christ4 ,this revival is really the result of western influence--largely the product of ,christian teaching and activity in that land4 ,in its last analysis it is therefore not to be deplored1 but rather to be welcomed4 ,at the same time this new awakening seems to be1 for the present1 connected with a reactionary and a militant spirit4 ,it speaks in the interest of a new nationalism and a false patriotism which extols everything ,eastern simply because it is ,oriental4 ,its aggressiveness is manifest even in ,america4 ,we are becoming familiar1 in this country1 with the yellow-robed ,hindu monk who has probably been trained in a ,christian mission college and who talks ,hinduism with a strong ,christian accent4 ,though he has violated a peremptory command of his ancestral faith in crossing the seas2 and though1 of necessity1 he daily tramples in this land the whole decalogue of ,hindu life and ritual1 he feels competent to champion ,hindu philosophy here6 ,and he seems to find a coterie of admirers and quasi disciples in this land of light and privilege6 ,recently an old classmate of mine informed me1 with all solemnity1 that ,eastern thought is now invading the ,west2 and that he himself had become a theosophist6 ,i have1 since hearing this statement1 travelled considerably over this country and confess that his statement does not seem so absurd as at first ,i thought4 ,for1 ,i have seen the recent phenomenal spread of ,christian ,science and of other vagaries with which we are too familiar in this land4 ,what is ,christian ,science but the subtle1 evasive idealism of ,india unequally yoked to a form of ,christian truth and ritual4 ,what is theosophy1 but the stupefying philosophy and the benumbing metaphysics of the ,east1 clothed in its own garb of ,oriental mysticism and senseless1 spurious occultism4 ,it is a sad reflection upon our ,western life that so many people who fail to find rest in the divinely inspiring teachings of ,christ1 sink into the depths of a credulity which will accept the inanities of ,madame ,blavatsky and the wild assumptions of ,mrs4 ,eddy4 ,let these people go out to ,india and live there for years to see how ,hindu thought and teachings have1 for three millenniums1 worked out their legitimate results in the life of the teeming millions of that land4 ,let them observe the debasing immorality1 the hollow ceremonialism1 the all-pervasive ignorance and superstition which rest1 like a mighty pall1 upon that people and which make life mean and render noble manhood impossible4 ,the situation in ,india reminds one of the legendary house built upon the banks of ,newfoundland4 ,the foundation was completed when a dense fog swept over the place and rested upon all4 ,after the superstructure was built and finished the fog lifted and it was found1 alas1 that the building was erected some two hundred yards away from the foundation1 and rested upon nothing6 ,whatever one may say about ,hindu thought and philosophy as a basis of conduct1 that people have been living for many centuries in the dense fog of ignorance1 superstition and ceremonialism2 and their life has been unworthy and debased because it rested upon nothing4 ,illustration3 ,a ,brahman ,gentleman4 ,illustration3 ,swami ,vivekananda4 ,but there is another form of this awakened ,eastern thought which invites our attention and which concerns the missionary work not a little4 ,it appears there in a reactionary form among men of culture and leads many of them to turn away in hearty disapproval from our faith4 ,they are wonderfully drawn towards ,christ1 our ,lord4 ,his praises are in their mouths1 and they eagerly study his example and life4 ,they claim him as one of the ,east and1 therefore1 as one of themselves4 ,but these same men will have none of ,christianity1 because it is1 as they say1 of the ,west1 ,western4 ,one of their number recently wrote an article under the following caption3--8,why do ,we ,hindus ,accept ,christ and ,reject ,christianity80 ,he claims that they reject our faith because it is 8not ,christianity but ,churchianity02 that is1 it savours of the ,western ,church more than it does of ,christ4 ,there is a great deal that is false and foolish in this contention2 and yet it has an element of truth in it4 ,we1 of the ,west1 have not realized1 perhaps we never can fully realize1 the great width of the gulf which1 in thought and life1 separates the ,occident from the ,orient4 ,hence we have in part failed in the duty of adapting our faith1 in thought and ritual1 to the taste and inherited bias of that people4 ,we forget that they and we usually approach things temporal and spiritual from opposite sides4 ,they are deeply mystical and poetic1 while we are obtrusively practical and meanly prosaic4 ,thus the ,western colouring and emphasis which is given to our faith in that land can neither be appreciated nor approved by the educated ,hindu4 ,even native ,christians are bemoaning this fact4 ,i shall never forget the eloquent appeal which the ,hon4 ,kali ,churn ,banerjee1 a leading native ,christian in that land1 made before the ,bombay ,missionary ,conference1 begging the missionaries to cease emphasizing1 as he said1 8adjectival0 ,christianity and to dwell more upon 8substantive0 ,christianity before the people of ,india4 ,it is a sad fact that we carry there our ,western shibboleths1 our antiquated controversies1 and our sectional jealousies4 ,most of these are not only unintelligible in ,india2 they weary the people and largely bury the essentials of our faith from public gaze and appreciation4 ,the question returns to us with a new emphasis today1--,how much of our ,western ,christianity can we eliminate and how much must we retain in order to present to that people the gospel in its simplicity and saving power8 ,how much of our modern ,christianity is the product of ,western thought1 interpretation and life1 and how much is of the very essence of ,christ's message8 ,we have yet much to learn and are to be overtaken by many surprises in this matter1 ,i believe4 ,god forbid that we should rob our message of one tittle of its essential truth4 ,but may ,he enable us to discriminate more and more1 and lead us to cease encumbering our gospel to the ,east with such unessential thought and ritual as are suited to us but not to them4 ,i doubt whether we of the ,west can accomplish this--it can be fully done only when the ,christian ,church in ,india shall have become indigenous and strong1 and1 when freed from ,western influence and leadership1 it shall do its own thinking and shape its own ritual and ceremonial on ,eastern lines4 ,then indeed shall we behold that welcome and mighty movement which will draw completely the culture of ,india into the ,christian ,church4 ,then also1 and not until then1 shall we begin to see the ,indian ,church contributing her share to the ,christian thought and life of the world4 ,we1 of the proud ,west1 are prone to think that our type of life is all-embracing and that our religious thought is all-satisfying4 ,nothing can be more fallacious or more injurious than such a conceit4 ,the ,east is the full complement of the ,west4 ,in life and thought we are only an hemisphere1 and we need the ,east to fill up our full-orbed beauty4 ,the mystic piety of ,india will correct our too practical1 mundane view of things4 ,the quiet1 passive virtues which find their perfect realization in that land we must learn from them to accentuate in addition to the more aggressive and positive virtues of the ,west4 ,all this is to take place in the no distant future4 ,the ,kingdom of ,christ in the ,east is to reach out its hand to the ,west and both1 in mutual helpfulness1 will coperate in bringing this whole world to ,christ4 ,then shall we see a universal kingdom and the beginning of the fulfillment of the blessed vision in which 8the kingdoms of this world have become the kingdoms of our ,lord and of his ,christ1 and ,he shall reign forever and ever40 ,god hasten the day4 ,chapter ,x4 ,,missionary ,,results4 ,we are occasionally compelled to read and to hear detailed and emphatic statements about 8the failure of missions40 ,an increasing number of our countrymen spend their vacation days in hurried trips through mission fields4 ,they are so impressed by glimpses of the strange life and institutions of the ,orient that they have neither time nor inclination to study and appreciate the missionary work and organization which everywhere invites their attention4 ,they return home absolutely ignorant of the work whose power1 prevalence and progress they might easily have learned on their travels1 and they are wont to hide that ignorance behind the emphatic assurance that 8there was nothing to be seen0 of missions2 and they soon convince themselves1 and not a few others1 that what they did not see was not worth seeing or was1 perchance1 non-existent4 ,i have long lived on one of the great lines of travel in ,india and have sorrowed over the fact that hardly one in ten of our travelling countrymen 7and many of them members of our home churches too7 turn aside for a moment from gazing upon ,hindu temples to study the important work which our mission is carrying forward in that city and district4 ,even the friends of missions should learn what constitutes missionary success4 ,in ,south ,india there is found a mission which counts its converts only by the hundreds4 ,it is known in ,christian lands only through the severe criticisms which have been heaped upon it by some good ,christian men because it is an educational mission4 ,and yet ,i sincerely believe that that abused mission is doing a work not inferior to that of any other mission in ,india for the permanent growth and highest achievement of the ,kingdom of ,god in that land4 ,its leavening influence upon ,hindu thought and institutions is hardly surpassed by that of any other mission4 ,in the wonderful turning of the educated classes of ,india towards ,christ1 and the acceptance of him as their ,ideal of life1 that mission has a position of power4 ,many of the native ,christians of greatest influence1 culture and character in ,south ,india trace their conversion or highest efficiency to the work and influence of that educational mission4 ,the best educated pastor in the ,madura district came from and was trained by that mission2 as also its highest and best ,christian teachers received their final course of training and discipline there4 ,that mission is largely ignored and even despised by the too common statistical reckoning of results and success4 ,and yet the illustrious name of ,dr4 ,miller1 the leader of that mission1 will be cherished in ,india and in the world a century hence as a chief among those who were instrumental in bringing that great people to ,christ4 ,the mighty and unparalleled revolution which is going on in ,india at present1 as a result of missionary work1 is not to be tabulated in our statistical reports4 ,the deepest currents of those great moral and spiritual forces of the ,india of today are not found within the realm of figures4 ,they defy tabulation2 and yet they bring to the keen ,christian observer in that land more encouragement1 because they have more significance1 than all the facts and figures usually found within the covers of an ordinary mission report4 ,a great deal of the discouragement and pessimism about missions today is born of this statistical craze4 ,let us therefore take a broad view of the work of our missions and study some of the results achieved--results which are almost entirely the harvest of the labours of the last century4 ,these results are threefold4 #a4 ,,present ,,missionary ,,appliances4 7a7 ,protestant missions in ,india have created a plant and have developed appliances which are not only an assurance and a prolific source of encouragement for the future2 they are also monuments of the industry and wisdom of those who have passed on1 and definite signs of ,god's guidance of1 and blessing to1 the work4 ,in the first place1 consider the buildings and other property erected and owned by the missionary societies and utilized for the maintenance and furtherance of their work in that land4 ,few people realize the enormous store of wealth which is thus treasured in this elaborate mission plant4 ,nor can they appreciate the equivalent of this in terms of moral efficiency and spiritual power in the regeneration of ,india4 ,the thousands of acres of land and the many thousands of substantial edifices erected and dedicated to the cause of ,christ in connection with these missions represent an investment of at least ten million dollars2 and this money not only represents the generosity of ,christians in the ,west1 it also includes the self-denying offerings of ,indian ,christians1 who from their poverty have given liberally to build up the cause which is dear to their hearts4 ,mission educational institutions are housed in a legion of substantial and beautiful buildings ranging1 from the massive imposing structures of the ,madras ,christian ,college1 downward2 churches there are of all sizes and architectural design1 from the magnificent and beautiful stone edifice which accommodates its thousands and which was erected by the ,church ,missionary ,society in ,megnanapuram1 ,tinnevelly1 down to the unpretentious prayer-house of a small village congregation4 ,a host of suitable buildings for hospitals1 presses and publishing houses1 residences for missionaries and native agents1 school dormitories1 gymnasia and lecture halls2 ,y4 ,m4 ,c4 ,a4 and other societies' buildings--all these represent that power for service1 incarnate in brick and mortar1 which is invaluable and even indispensable to the great missionary enterprise in that land4 7b7 ,nor must we overlook or fail to estimate adequately the results achieved in the form of a ,christian literature4 ,though our ,protestant missions have not cultivated1 as extensively as they should1 the press and the publishing house as a missionary agency1 they have not been insensible to their power and have utilized extensively the printed page4 ,in the first place a translated and a well-circulated ,bible has been the aim and pride of our missions from the beginning4 ,the humblest native of that land can find1 in his own vernacular1 the ,word of ,god1 and read for himself the message of ,god in ,christ ,jesus to his sin-burdened soul4 ,who can realize the work involved in all this1 or the achievement which it represents8 ,then the ,christian hymnology of ,india is already a rapidly growing power4 ,every important vernacular has one or more ,protestant ,christian hymn books1 which reveal to what a large extent our faith has inspired and made vocal the praises of ,zion in that land4 ,nearly all of these ,christian hymns in ,south ,india and many in ,north ,india are the compositions of native ,christians and manifest considerable poetic power and high sentiment4 ,though many of them are worthy of translation1 only two have thus far found place in our ,american hymn books4 ,one is a ,tamil hymn composed by ,yesuthasan1 catechist1 and translated as below by ,rev4 ,e4 ,webb1-- #a4 ,whither with this crushing load ,over ,salem's dismal road1 ,all thy body suffering so1 ,o1 my ,god where dost thou go8 ,,chorus3-- ,whither ,jesus goest thou1 ,son of ,god what doest thou1 ,on this ,city's dolorous way1 ,with that cross1 ,o1 ,sufferer say8 #b4 ,tell me fainting1 dying ,lord1 ,dost thou of ,thine own accord ,bear that cross1 or did thy foes ',gainst thy will1 that load impose4--,,cho4 #c4 ,patient ,sufferer how can ,i ,see thee faint and fall and die1 ,pressed and peeled and crushed and ground ,by that cross upon thee bound8--,,cho4 #d4 ,weary arm and staggering limb1 ,visage marred1 eyes growing dim1 ,tongue all parched1 faint at heart1 ,bruised and sore in every part6--,,cho4 #e4 ,dost thou up to ,calvary go1 ,on that cross in shame and woe1 ,malefactors either side ,to be nailed and crucified8--,,cho4 #f4 ,is it demon thrones to shake1 ,death to kill1 sin's power to break1 ,all our ills to put away1 ,life to give and endless day8--,,cho4 ,besides this there is an ever-growing mass of ,christian literature in all the vernaculars used by our missions2 and this is becoming increasingly available as a power for the uplifting of the people who are1 in growing numbers1 learning to read4 ,beyond almost every other appliance for the ,christianization of that people there stand high in usefulness and pervasive influence these books1 tracts and magazines of the missions2 and the aid which they furnish to all ,christian workers in that land is beyond computation4 ,missionaries may go and come1 and mission policy may change1 but this ,christian literature will quietly and mightily work out its own benign results throughout the land1 enlightening the people and appealing to the best that is in them4 7c7 ,in like manner the missionary educational institutions1 which cover the whole land as a great network1 are a noble product of missionary ideals and efforts in the land4 ,they are in themselves an achievement which not only has cost millions of rupees for its creation and maintenance1 but is also the product of some of the best thought and highest wisdom of many choice spirits during the last century4 ,these schools constantly furnish to the ,christian ,church in ,india1 for intellectual upbuilding1 for moral guidance and for spiritual regeneration1 nearly a half million of the brightest youths of the land4 ,these institutions are the product of a century of endeavour2 and it can be truly said that without them the ,protestant mission of ,india would be shorn of much of their power and more of their promise4 ,in the present organized activity of missions there stands nothing in higher esteem than these institutions for what they have done in the life both of non-,christians and of ,christians alike4 7d7 ,in connection with missionary activity in that land one of the most encouraging1 as it is also the most monumental1 of results1 is the large army of well-educated and thoroughly equipped men and women who have been taken from among the people and have been trained and placed as their leaders and guides4 ,perhaps #bj1jjj such 7there are #aj1eej in ,south ,india alone7 are at present giving all their time and strength to the spiritual training of the ,christian community1 to preaching to non-,christians and to the instruction of the young in the schools4 ,india is to be brought to ,christ and his religion1 not through the efforts of the foreigner1 so much as through the life and activity of men and women of the soil4 ,they are to be the essential factor in the future prevalence and in the character of our faith in ,india4 ,therefore it stirs one to deepest emotion to behold this mighty army of native workers1 who are praying and working daily in that land for the conversion of their own people and for the upbuilding of the ,christian community in all that is characteristic of our faith4 ,as ,i have been permitted1 for years1 to train and to send forth into that great harvest field young men to preach the gospel of ,christ and to guide the churches and congregations into spiritual truth and life1 ,i have felt that it was the highest and best opportunity that could be granted to any missionary worker in that land4 ,this work of training an adequate spiritual agency is occupying the serious thought of all missions4 ,there are #aaj theological seminaries and normal training schools in the country2 in these1 #d1cje students1 of both sexes1 are undergoing training4 ,many of the agents now employed are men and women qualified to clearly expound the truths of our faith to believers and unbelievers4 ,they are well fortified against attack as rational defenders of ,christianity and are prepared to remove doubts which may arise in the minds of sincere inquirers and wavering believers4 ,not all of them are such as we could wish in intellectual equipment or in strength of character4 ,but the poorest of them are gradually being replaced by better ones2 and the intellectual1 moral and spiritual tone of the whole force is constantly improving4 ,the ordained native clergy are a body of men who are rapidly growing in efficiency and power4 ,there are #djf of them in ,south ,india alone--nearly as many as there are ordained missionaries in the same area4 ,a comparison1 in ,south ,india1 between this force of #djf native pastors and the #ehe native priests of the ,romish ,church shows how well1 relatively1 the ,protestant ,church of ,south ,india is supplied2 there being one native pastor to every #a1ejj of the ,protestant community1 while the ,romish priests are only one to every #b1jjj of their community4 ,some of these pastors are university graduates1 and all are men of good professional training4 ,they are faithful workers and are increasingly worthy1 and enjoy the confidence1 of their missionary associates4 ,among the native agents of our ,protestant missions in ,south ,india alone there are about #ajj university graduates1 #bjj ,first in ,arts 7the degree granted after two years of college work7 and #fjj university matriculates4 ,this thorough utilization of a strong1 cultured1 native agency is one of the most striking results of the last century's work in that land4 ,and it is the more remarkable in the case of the women1 since a generation ago hardly any of the weaker sex were in mission employ1 while today the missions of ,south ,india alone employ #c1jjj of them4 ,it is practically the creation of a mighty and most faithful and devoted agency in one generation4 ,what may we not expect from this great army of native brethren and sisters1 as they shall continue to grow in numbers and in general equipment1 and as they shall be filled with the ,spirit of ,god and be fully used by our ,lord in the redemption of their own people6 #b4 ,,the ,,native ,,christian ,,community4 ,recent statistics give the total number of ,christians in ,british ,india as #b1ibc1cdi4 ,this is a growth of about #fdj1jjj in ten years1 four times more than the rate of growth of the whole population4 ,and yet there are people who tell us that the kingdom of our ,lord is not coming in that land6 ,,census ,,of ,,christians ,,in ,,india1 ,,may #b1 #aija47ab7 ,total of all denominations #b1ibc1cdi ,european and other races #beh1iij ,natives #b1ffd1cei ,total ,returned4 ,natives4 ,anglican #dec1fab #cje1ijg ,baptist #bbj1hfc #baf1gdc ,congregationalist #cg1hgf #cg1cac ,lutheran and allied denominations #aee1dee #aec1gfh ,methodist #gf1hfi #fh1dea ,presbyterian #ec1hbi #db1gii ,friends #a1cji #a1bge ,roman ,catholic #a1bjb1jci #a1abb1cgh ,salvationist #ah1ifj #ah1hdg ,syrian #ega1cbg #ega1cbj ,scattering #aca1baj #abe1eeh ,of the above number of ,christians #b1ffd1cei are natives of ,india4 ,this is an increase of over #fcj1jjj1 or about thirty-one per cent1 of ,indian ,christians during the last decade4 ,and during this time the general population of ,india has increased only about two and one-half per cent46 ,analyzing this aggregate of all ,christians we find that #igj1jjj of them are native ,protestant ,christians4 ,this represents an advance of sixty-four per cent1 during the last ten years in that community2 while the ,romish and ,syrian native ,christian communities have gained hardly three per cent1 in the same time4 ,thus it will be seen that the rapid progress of our faith in that land of the ,east depends almost entirely upon the remarkable advance of ,protestantism among the people of ,india4 ,this is certainly a result most encouraging to ,protestant ,christian workers in that land4 ,that this decade's growth is not abnormal is attested by the fact that the native ,protestant ,christians of ,india are more than ten times what they were fifty years ago4 ,in view of the fact that the whole ,christian community of ,india is only one per cent1 of the total population1 one may be inclined to feel discouraged4 ,and yet if the relative growth of the whole population and1 say1 of the ,protestant ,christian community for the last decade be maintained for one hundred and thirty years more1 the whole population will be found ,christian of the ,protestant type4 ,these figures indicate the magnificent development of our work in that land4 ,and when we remember the splendid equipment and wonderful modern appliances of the missionary organizations of today we can easily believe that1 even within another century1 ,christianity will become the prevailing faith of ,india4 ,a large number1 in our ,christian community1 has been gathered through mass movements1 where certain castes and classes have1 in large bodies1 sought the blessings of our faith4 ,in ,tinnevelly1 for instance1 the ,shanar caste was early influenced by ,christian workers2 and1 as they are a very clannish community1 many thousands of them have embraced the ,christian faith and have been wonderfully transformed and elevated through their contact with it4 ,one of the most marvellous manifestations of the power of the ,gospel is presented today in that district by this people1 who1 under missionary influence and ,christian training1 have risen from great depths of ignorance and social degradation until they stand among the highest of that land in intelligence and in the spirit of progress4 ,most of the ,christians of ,tinnevelly belong to this once despised class and are1 in many respects1 full of vigour and enterprise4 ,in the famous ,telegu ,baptist ,mission we find a similar movement4 ,that ,american ,mission laboured for twenty-five years without much encouragement4 ,after those years the outcastes of the community began to appreciate the advantages of our faith and to apply for admission into its congregations4 ,it gathered them in by thousands until it has become by far the largest mission in the country4 ,it represents nearly one quarter of the whole ,protestant ,christian community of ,india4 ,during the last few years a similar movement has overtaken the ,american ,methodist1 and other missions in ,north ,india4 ,many thousands of the depressed classes1 within its area1 have sought a refuge from their ills and a ,saviour for their souls in the ,christian fold2 so that it taxes all the energies and resources of the mission to keep pace with the movement and to instruct adequately1 in ,christian truth1 these ignorant masses who flock unto it4 ,bishop ,thoburn says that more than #ajj1jjj of this class are now waiting to be received into their community2 but that their mission has not the men or means to instruct them4 ,in other missions1 also1 reports are being received of similar movements now going forward on a smaller scale4 ,some missionaries of these fields have written to me stating that the only limit to the growth and development of their missions is that of men and money wherewith to instruct and properly direct the people who come seeking for light and help47#ac7 ,in the great majority of missions1 however1 growth has been general and normal2 people have come as individuals and as families1 separating themselves1 after much thought and prayer1 from those who are dearest to them upon earth1 and passing through a sea of tribulation and persecution into the ,christian life4 ,it has been claimed by ,hindus1 and by some others1 that ,hinduism is a tolerant faith--that it does not resort to persecution4 ,in one respect this is true4 ,as we have before seen1 it will permit its members to hold any doctrine and to accept any teaching that they please4 ,it has no punishment nor even a voice of disapprobation to its member who is a rationalist1 an atheist1 or a ,christian so far as acceptance of such belief or non-belief is concerned4 ,and1 so far as conduct is concerned1 a man may be a libertine1 a robber or a murderer1 and yet maintain his religious status4 ,but when it comes to the violation of caste rules it is very different4 ,hinduism will tolerate anything but caste insubordination4 ,so that when a man1 in becoming a ,christian1 severs his connection with his caste and becomes1 socially1 an alien to his people1 then ,hinduism steps in and brings to bear upon him all the bitter penalties of caste infliction1 and persecutes him in a thousand social ways such as make life a burden unto him4 ,the engine of caste is the most complete and mighty instrument of religious persecution the world has known1 as many thousands of our native ,christians have learned to their bitter cost4 ,when a man decides to become a ,christian there is very little opposition to this purpose among his people so long as his decision involves only his belief1 conviction and private devotion and prayer4 ,but when it leads him to a public confession of ,christ and to baptism1 which is regarded as his renunciation of caste rules1 affinities and obligations1 then all the spite of caste tyranny is showered upon him4 ,he is boycotted thoroughly4 ,none of his caste people1 not even his own ,hindu family1 will eat with him4 ,the family and caste washerman is no longer permitted to serve him2 their barber will not shave him1 and the blacksmith1 carpenter1 mason and other village servants decline to render him their wonted service4 ,so that he is absolutely helpless4 ,it requires a very strong man to face all this kind of annoyance and deprivation1 and to stand firm in the new life upon which he has entered and continue loyal to the new faith which he has embraced4 ,it must be admitted that such rigours of persecution are not carried out in all cases at present4 ,though this is the spirit and method of caste1 yet the influence of home ties and family affection and the social position and influence of a new convert may be such as to mitigate this public opposition to his ,christian decision4 ,but the engine of persecution is there1 always ready for use4 ,the question has often been asked as to the motives which animated those of our ,christian community who denied their ancestral faith in order to become ,christians4 ,in this land many have an idea1 in some cases expressed but in many unexpressed1 that most of the ,christian converts in ,india are what are denominated 8rice ,christians40 ,this charge against the adherents of our faith in that land is as unworthy as it is untrue4 ,that some embrace our religion and take upon them the name of ,christ from unworthy motives we know--perhaps this is a thing not confined to ,india4 ,but it has always been a surprise to me1 not that so many1 but that so few1 join our missions from worldly or unworthy motives4 ,for they soon learn that the missionary of their district is a friend of the poor and the oppressed2 and they are constantly suffering from the injustice and the rapacity of ,brahmans and of other members of their own faith who are above them4 ,outside of slavery there are few people who are subject to grosser injustice at the hand of men of wealth and of power than are the poor1 down-trodden people of ,india4 ,most of them are also groaning in the deepest pit of poverty4 ,poverty is a relative term4 ,as compared with ,india1 ,america knows absolutely no poverty4 ,the poverty of ,india is crushing1 over-whelming4 ,when we remember that according to government statistics1 the average income of a man for the support of his family in ,india is less than #a4ej a month we get a glimpse of what abject poverty means4 ,and when we further remember that1 during many months and seasons of his life1 even this is partly denied him1 owing to frequent droughts and other unpreventable evils1 we know in part how an unsatisfied craving1 and pinching distress overwhelm a large proportion of that population4 ,government statistics show that one-fifth of the population are in a chronic state of hunger4 ,and yet ,i heartily bear testimony that comparatively few of our people have become ,christians in order that they might receive physical and temporal blessings4 ,we dare not say that this motive does not exist2 but we are confident that in three-fourths of our converts it is not the prevailing or the dominant motive4 ,there is a soul-hungering and a heart-thirsting in ,india such as are not in any way satisfied by their ancestral faith4 ,and ,christianity appeals to the people increasingly as a soul-satisfier and as a power of ,god unto salvation2 and they more and more realize this fact and are impelled more by that motive than by any other in transferring their allegiance from ,krishna to ,christ4 ,and even when some do come with prevailingly low and sordid motives and seek to be enrolled as members of the ,christian community1 we dare not discourage or deny them2 because we hope soon1 after they have united with our community and have placed themselves under ,christian instruction1 to impart to them loftier conceptions of life and of truth4 ,and even should we fail to reform them and to give them worthy views of our religion and of their relationship to it1 we entertain the hope that their children will become worthy and genuine ,christians4 ,many of the best and most honoured members of our community1 today1 are the children and grandchildren of very unsatisfactory ,christians of the past4 ,i might say here that missionaries are being frightened less and less by the charges so frequently made1 by those who know the situation least1 concerning the unworthy motives of those who become ,christians4 ,indeed1 to be frank1 the question of motives is1 in my opinion1 one of very little consequence1 save as it may involve down-right hypocrisy or gross deception4 ,ordinarily we do not expect1 from a people who have been brought up in so selfish and so debasing and sordid an atmosphere as that of the common ,hindu of today1 a highly spiritual1 or a purely ethical motive in becoming ,christians4 ,if such be the prevailing motive1 or even if we are convinced that it is not absent1 we are satisfied4 ,nor can there be anything wrong if a man in ,india seeks alliance with ,christianity in order to better his earthly circumstances4 ,this may mean a purpose to secure an education and the blessings of civilization and culture for his children2 or it may reveal a desire for relief from injustice1 or protection from gross tyranny2 it may signify merely a vague hope that1 by becoming a ,christian1 the general circumstances both of himself and family will be improved4 ,there is nothing intrinsically evil in any of these ambitions nor in seeking ,christian affiliation largely with a view to obtaining these1 provided always that there is also a conviction of the moral and spiritual excellence of our faith and of its ability to satisfy the soul's need4 ,and this we may generally assume in a man who voluntarily severs his connection with the faith of his ancestors1 and from a religion which was a part of his own deepest life4 ,nor should the deep ignorance of many of those who become ,christians lead us hastily to conclude that1 because they know so little about our faith1 they therefore are unable to appreciate or enjoy any of its spiritual blessings4 ,i have often been surprised to see how many very ignorant ,christians1 and those who greatly try our patience at times1 both by their stupidity and their crooked lives1 nevertheless often reveal beautiful touches of a genuine faith and of a most direct and simple trust2 and they stand nobly firm under the most trying and worrying persecution which ,hinduism knows too well how to inflict upon those who desert and deny it4 ,it has often been charged1 with a view to discredit missionary effort in ,india1 that the converts gathered into the ,christian fold have been from the lowest social stratum1 and not from the higher and ruling classes of society4 ,even if this charge were entirely true1 ,i can see in it nothing reflecting upon the success of our cause in that land4 ,it has1 indeed1 in all ages and lands1 been the normal process of ,christian conquest1 to gather in the lower classes first4 ,it is not by filtering downward but by leavening upward that ,christianity has been wont to enter and to transform nations4 ,as this was the initial method in apostolic days1 so has it continued through all the history of the ,church4 ,it has been by the weak and despised things of the world that our ,lord has brought to nought and then won the mighty4 ,it is so in ,india4 ,perhaps three-fourths of the native ,christians of that land are from the non-,aryan community--from the aboriginal classes over whom the sway of ,hinduism is less complete than it is over the ,aryan races4 ,this is doubtless one reason why two-thirds of all the ,christians of ,india are found in ,southern ,india--among the ,dravidians1 who1 as we have seen1 are more the children of ,demonolatry than they are of ,brahmanism4 ,and yet1 let it not be supposed that the ,turanians of the ,south are far inferior to the ,aryans of the ,north2 or that the salvation of the so-called 8aborigines0 of ,india1 of whom there are more than sixty millions1 is unworthy of our highest ambition4 ,neither let it be thought that ,christianity has not made glorious inroad upon the middle classes and even upon the highest class in that land--the ,brahmans4 ,it is true that1 thus far1 not very many of that high and haughty caste have openly professed ,christ4 ,it is equally true1 however1 that some of the best members of our ,christian community are converted ,brahmans4 ,the ,indian ,christian community is proud of such men as the ,hon4 ,kali ,churn ,bannerjee1 ,dr4 ,k4 ,m4 ,bannerjee1 ,rev4 ,k4 ,c4 ,chatterjee1 ,rae ,maya ,das and the ,hon4 ,n4 ,subramanien1 not because they were ,brahmans1 but because they have consecrated to the ,lord all their distinguished ability1 and because they excel in their possession of ,christian graces4 ,these names1 and many others like them1 reveal the growing power that our faith is wielding over men of position in that land4 ,at the coronation of ,king ,edward1 in ,london1 twenty representatives of the ,indian ,christian ,church were present4 ,of these1 six are ruling princes2 perhaps the most distinguished of them is ,sir ,harnam ,singh ,ahluwalia1 ,k4 ,c4 ,i4 ,e4 ,he is a man of culture--8a true representative of educated ,india40 ,he was entrusted by the ,indian ,christians to convey their address to the king upon the occasion of his coronation4 ,sir ,harnam ,singh's usefulness and success largely depend upon the support1 which he receives1 in all good things1 from his wife1 ,lady ,singh1 who is the daughter of ,rev4 ,golak ,nath4 ,the devout ,henry ,martyn1 nearly a century ago1 with mingled discouragement and yearning1 declared that to see one ,hindu a real believer in ,jesus would be something more nearly approaching the resurrection of a dead body than anything he had yet seen4 ,the illustrious ,jesuit missionary1 the ,abbe ,du ,bois1 mourned that1 even after a long period of faithful work1 he believed he had seen no genuine convert to ,christianity in that land4 ,how would those two great friends of ,india rejoice today were they to see the glorious harvest which ,christianity has been permitted to gather during the last century from that great people6 ,and among the best of them are to be seen not a few representatives of the haughty ,brahman caste and also members of the crushed and despised outcaste ,pariah community4 ,it is well to remember that it has been the ambition of missionaries in ,india1 not so much to gather in numerous accessions from the social and intellectual aristocracy of the land1 as to create out of the ,indian ,christian community1 however degraded may have been its origin1 an aristocracy of character and of true culture4 ,and in this they have achieved remarkable success4 ,for the native ,christian community is being most rapidly transformed in these respects4 ,remember1 please1 the condition1 previous to their embracing our faith1 of those outcaste people who now constitute three-fourths of the ,christian community4 ,they were not only socially ostracized1 and therefore wanting in all traits of manly assertion1 of independence and of self-respect4 ,they were also in deepest ignorance4 ,not five per cent1 of them could either read or write4 ,moreover they were under serious religious disability4 ,though nominal ,hindus1 they had no right to enter purely ,hindu temples nor to approach in worship any strictly ,hindu deity4 ,the most sacred of ,hindu religious books were denied them1 and the most cherished of ,hindu rites and ceremonies they were deemed totally unfit to observe4 ,all that they could claim was permission to appease the demons of their ancestral worship4 ,i have seen these outcastes1 who1 while absorbed into ,hinduism1 nevertheless live constantly under its ban4 ,they erect fine halls and shrines in ,brahmanical temples1 but are not permitted to enter them after the day of their dedication to ,hindu worship4 ,hinduism has never declined any pecuniary offerings from these despised ones2 and yet it has never deemed it its province or duty to impart its religious blessings to them4 ,it has denied to them instruction1 comfort and salvation4 ,is it a wonder that most of the people were almost on a level with brutes so far as thoughts of the highest interests of the soul are concerned8 ,these are the people whom ,christianity has delighted to rescue from their thralldom and to build up in religious thought1 ambition and spiritual blessings4 ,it has applied itself to the task of raising them from their low estate4 ,it has erected buildings for their instruction4 ,in most cases its prayer-houses have been daily used as schoolhouses where the young have been instructed2 so that today this community stands distinguished among the other communities in the land for its intelligence4 ,for example1 the total number of ,christian youth in mission schools in ,south ,india is #fb1jjj--two-thirds of them being boys and one-third girls1 which represents a percentage to the total of school-going-age of #fh4g for boys and #cc4g for girls2 and this while1 in the general community1 only twelve per cent1 of those who are of an age to be at school are attending school4 ,among the ,brahmans only is literacy more common than among ,indian ,christians4 ,and even that caste1 which has for thirty centuries represented the cultured aristocracy of ,india1 must look to its laurels2 for1 though their males are preminent in culture1 the females are as illiterate as any class in ,india1 only six in #a1jjj being able to read4 ,in the ,christian community1 on the other hand1 the women are not far behind the men in the race for culture4 ,it is therefore not difficult to prophesy that the day is not far off when the ,indian ,christians1 among whom both sexes find equal opportunity and inducement to study in the schools1 will outstrip the ,brahmans and stand preminent as the educated and cultured class of ,india4 ,this is as true in the higher as in the lower grades of education4 ,there are today living #dah native ,christian graduates of the ,madras ,university4 ,last year twenty-seven of these ,christian youth received the ,b4 ,a4 degree in that ,presidency alone1 and the only three ,indian ladies who have seized the difficult and much coveted prize of ,master of ,arts from that ,university are ,christians4 ,these facts are significant and reveal the marvellous progress made by this once despised community4 ,as to the character of these ,christians the testimony of ,sir ,alexander ,mackensie1 a distinguished ,anglo ,indian statesman of large experience1 may be of interest3--8,the advance made 7in missions7 during my time10 he says1 8have been substantial and encouraging1 and it is my firm belief that the day-spring of still better things is very close at hand1 while the simple faith and godly lives of many native ,christians1 might put all1 or most of us certainly1 to the blush40 ,it may be well to add emphasis here to the position of woman in the native ,christian community as a direct result of mission endeavour in that land4 ,the new womanhood of the infant native ,christian community has begun to impress itself upon the land4 ,there are nearly five hundred thousand women and girls connected with the ,protestant missions of that country today4 ,they are being trained for1 and introduced to1 new spheres and opportunities such as the women of ,india never dreamed of before4 ,thousands of them are engaged as teachers and as ,bible women4 ,some practice medicine2 others adorn and cheer the homes1 beautify the lives and strengthen the work of pastors and preachers1 of teachers1 doctors and other professional men4 ,they grow into the full bloom of womanhood before they leave their school training2 and they go forth well equipped intellectually1 morally and spiritually for the manifold duties of life4 ,the last few years have not only helped the ,christian women of the land1 as a class1 they have also brought into distinction many of them who are worthy to stand among the eminent women of the age and world4 ,the first of these1 both on account of the remarkable career which she has led and of the noble work which she is performing1 is the well-known ,pundita ,ramabai4 ,herself a ,brahman widow1 who lost her father in the tender years of childhood and who subsequently entered into the joys and blessed power of a ,christian life1 she dedicated herself to the work of redeeming her unfortunate ,hindu sisters from their sad lot4 ,to this noble work of philanthropy and of heroic ,christian service she has given herself absolutely2 and through distinguished administrative skill and a triumphant faith she has achieved marvellous success4 ,beside her well-known institution for child-widows at ,poonah--the ,sharada ,sadan1 which the writer visited and greatly admired--the recent famine inspired her to a new effort to save the waifs and orphans of that region4 ,so that1 today1 she has under her care more than two thousand of the unfortunate ones of her own sex whom she is not only protecting and wisely training for worthy positions in life1 but is also bringing forward into the joys of a true ,christian life4 ,few women1 in any land1 have found a more useful1 or more honourable1 career than this noble woman of the ,east4 ,she combines1 in a rare degree1 large capacity for work1 the highest sanity in her methods and the deepest love for those whom she has given her life to bless4 ,the ,sorabjis1 also of ,western ,india1 have achieved distinction beyond most native ,christian families4 ,mr4 ,sorabji was one of the few ,parsees who have embraced ,christianity4 ,one of the daughters of the family1 the widow of an ,englishman1 lives in ,london and has delighted the ,queen by her exquisite rendering of ,persian songs4 ,one sister is an artist1 whose paintings are exhibited in ,paris and ,london4 ,one is a surgeon of distinction4 ,it was another daughter of this family who was the only representative of her sex from the ,orient at the ,parliament of ,religions in ,chicago4 ,the most distinguished of these seven sisters is ,cornelia ,sorabji1 the barrister4 ,her graduating paper on 8,roman ,law10 at ,oxford1 was classed among the best papers produced by the pupils of that famous institution4 ,she is the first lady barrister of ,india1 and is not only a powerful advocate1 but also a brilliant writer1 as her book and her articles on the woman question in 8,the ,nineteenth ,century0 amply testify4 ,toru ,dutt1 of ,calcutta1 one of the brilliant young stars of ,india1 was versed in ,french1 ,german and ,english4 ,at twenty-one she published 8,a ,sheaf ,gleaned in ,french ,fields40 ,it is a skillful and able ,english translation of the works of famous ,french authors4 ,she and her sister1 ,aru1 were remarkably talented4 ,it is sad that she1 who was so full of intellectual brightness and so beautiful in ,christian life1 should have been taken away by death in the bloom of life4 ,miss ,goreh is the only ,indian ,christian who has thus far added to our popular ,english hymnology4 ,her beautiful hymn3 8,in the secret of ,his presence how my soul delights to hide2 ,oh1 how precious are the moments which ,i spend at ,jesus' side4 ,earthly cares can never reach me1 neither trials bring me low2 ,for when ,satan comes to tempt me to the ,secret ,place ,i go10-- has been a blessing to many in this land of ours4 ,mrs4 ,sattianathan of ,madras 7the wife of a distinguished ,indian ,christian7 was another bright young woman who showed marked evidence of talent as an ,english writer4 ,her books1 descriptive of the life both of ,hindu and of ,indian ,christian women1 have had deservedly large popularity4 ,they created in many of her friends a hope for even greater results from her4 ,but1 alas1 these hopes were soon shattered by her sad and premature death4 ,the second ,mrs4 ,sattianathan1 herself an ,m4 ,a4 of the ,madras ,university1 has entered upon a brilliant career as a writer1 and has established the first ,english monthly magazine for her ,indian sisters--a magazine which is full of attractiveness and promise4 ,these ladies are only a few of those who illustrate the ability1 devotion1 beauty and promise of the women of ,india4 ,such are preminently the hope of that country4 ,it was while looking upon one of these ,indian ,christian ladies that the late ,benjamin ,harrison1 ,ex-,president of the ,united ,states1 remarked that if he had spent a million dollars for missions and had seen1 as a result of his offering1 only one such convert as ,miss ,singh he would still have considered his offering a most profitable investment4 ,these women are creating their own opportunities and will1 ere long1 achieve much in all the ranks of life and especially in their own peculiar sphere of womanly activity and influence4 ,woman will do more for the progress and development of the country than the sterner sex1 as she has hitherto done more than he to conserve and dignify the past4 ,and it is safe to conclude that the womanhood of ,india will discover its chief glory as it now finds its largest opportunity in ,christianity4 ,and ,i may add that the mission of ,christianity to1 and in behalf of1 the women of that land may almost be called its chief mission1 as the results which it has achieved1 and will yet achieve1 in this line1 will constitute its chief glory4 ,at large centres the ,indian ,christian community is already beginning to feel its power and is organizing in behalf of its own highest interest4 ,the 8,madras ,native ,christian ,association0 is perhaps the strongest organization of the community4 ,it unites hundreds of the best members and gives them a corporate existence and furnishes opportunity to render articulate the ideals1 ambitions and needs of the ,christian community4 ,it has recently undertaken several enterprises of importance1 such as ,the ,twentieth ,century ,enterprise and the ,indian ,christian ,industrial ,exhibition4 ,it discusses1 with much sanity1 the most serious problems of the community and creates a worthy sentiment which will increasingly spread until it reaches the remotest parts of the country4 ,all this tends to show that the community is growing conscious both of its strength1 its responsibility and its opportunity4 ,illustration3 ,rev4 ,s4 ,sattianatha1 ,,ll4,d4 ,illustration3 ,mrs4 ,s4 ,kruba ,sattianatha4 ,for the furtherance of this purpose weekly and monthly magazines1 both in the ,english language and in the vernaculars1 are being conducted by them4 ,the ,christian ,patriot1 the best organ of the community1 is published in ,madras1 is conducted with much ability and represents the best sentiments of its constituents4 ,it has done much to develop the consciousness of life and power in the community and has always urged worthy ideals upon its readers4 ,the seriousness with which all the native ,christians of ,india regard their calling and the gratitude with which they enjoy their faith is clearly attested by their offerings4 ,perhaps nothing can render more satisfactory reply to those who charge the native ,christians with worldly motives than to show how far they deny themselves in behalf of their faith4 ,in other words the benevolence and offerings of the native ,christians may be taken as a fair test of their sincerity and of their spiritual appreciation4 ,it is a good test in any land4 ,i have said that they are very poor4 ,a few years ago ,i investigated carefully the economic conditions of the most prosperous and largest village congregation of the ,madura ,mission4 ,i discovered that five rupees 7that is #a4ff7 was the average monthly income of each family of that congregation4 ,and that meant only thirty-three cents a month for the support of each member of a family6 ,we have congregations whose income is less than this4 ,and yet1 the ,christians of that mission contributed over two rupees 7seventy-five cents7 per church member as their offering for #aijj4 ,for all the ,protestant ,missions of ,south ,india the average offering per church member during #aijj was one rupee and nine annas 7fifty-two cents74 ,for ,south ,india this represented an aggregate sum of ,r #bdh1heb 7#he1jjj7 or about seven and one-half per cent1 of the total sum expended in the missions during that year4 ,an ,american can easily realize how much this offering is as an absolute gift2 but he cannot realize how much of self-denial it means to that very poor people2 nor how large an offering it is as related to the best offerings of our home churches today4 ,if our ,american ,christians contributed for the cause of ,christ a percentage of their income equal to that of the native ,christians of ,india they would quadruple their benevolence4 ,and if1 in relation to their income1 the ,christians of ,india contribute four times as much as the ,christians of ,america1 in relation to their real ability1 after supplying the most primitive needs of their bodies1 they contribute a hundred times more than do their brothers and sisters in this great land of luxury and abundance4 ,who in ,america1 today1 in contributing to the cause of ,christ1 denies himself a convenience or a comfort2 yea more1 who on that account fails to meet the craving of bodily appetite8 ,and yet there are many ,christians in ,india who suffer in both these respects in order that they may add the widow's mite to the treasury of the ,church and their loving offering to advance the ,kingdom of the ,lord4 ,in this way the infant ,christian ,church of ,india1 in its poverty of this world's goods1 is revealing a wealth of spirit and a richness of purpose such as are worthy of emulation in ,christian lands today4 ,the organized effort of the ,indian ,church for self-extension is rapidly multiplying4 ,every endeavour is put forth to train them out of that spirit of dependence which is one of the necessary evils incident to modern missions4 ,in nearly all well organized missions in ,india are found1 as we have already seen1 ,home ,missionary ,societies1 which are conducted and maintained by the people1 and which constantly direct their thoughts to their privilege to further the cause of ,christ in their own land and among their own people4 ,work by the young for the young1 also1 is being conducted with increasing prevalence1 zeal and success throughout the land4 ,indeed1 all departments of a healthful1 normal life and activity are vigorously prosecuted on mission territory with a view to imparting to the ,christians1 not only a knowledge of the highest type of ,christian altruism1 but also for the purpose of making them partakers of the same4 ,and the ,indian ,christian community at present1 notwithstanding all its faults and weaknesses1 which ,i would not conceal1 furnishes us much encouragement as a product of past effort and as a growing power which is to be used by ,god in the speedy upbuilding of his ,kingdom in that great land of the ,east4 ,there are1 indeed1 not many forms of organized ,christian activity conducted by ,indian ,christians themselves--apart from ,western missions4 ,there are some1 however1 which are worthy of note and commendation4 ,such are ,pandita ,ramabai's ,mukti ,mission for ,widows2 ,miss ,chuckerbutty's flourishing ,orphanages2 ,mrs4 ,sorabji's ,high ,school for ,women2 the ,gopalgange ,mission started by the ,rev4 ,m4 ,n4 ,bose1 and ,dr4 ,p4 ,b4 ,keskar's ,orphanage and ,industrial ,school at ,sholapur4 ,recently a novel enterprise was inaugurated in the ,american ,mission1 ,jaffna1 ,ceylon1 in the form of a ,foreign ,missionary ,society1 which sends forth1 to a region in ,southern ,india1 its missionaries to carry the gospel of ,christ to the non-,christians of that place4 ,it is chiefly conducted and supported by the young people of the mission and is prophetic of a movement which will1 ere long1 spring up throughout ,india as a result of a growing sense of responsibility and opportunity among the ,christians of that land4 ,it is with no spirit of boasting that ,i wish to dwell upon the share which ,america has had in producing these results4 ,other people have done in some respects1 better than we4 ,but there is no doubt that ,india is much influenced by our land4 ,america has1 for a century1 lavishly given her sons and daughters and expended her wealth for the salvation of ,india4 ,her sacrifices have not been in vain4 ,none have found more hearty response among that people than the ,american ,missions4 ,among the many ,protestant ,missions now at work in that ,peninsula less than one-fourth are ,american2 and1 yet in connection with these missions have been gathered and are found nearly one-half of all of the ,protestant ,christians of that land4 ,in ,south ,india the mission which has found much the largest success in gathering converts is an ,american ,mission4 ,in ,north ,india1 again1 one of our missions stands preminent in the multitude of its ,christians1 and another1 in the excellence of its educational power and leavening influence4 ,in ,western ,india1 also1 ,america stands first in the acknowledged power and preminence of one of its missions4 ,in the organized movements for the young1 ,america again stands conspicuous in that land4 ,as we study the wonderful activity exercised by ,protestant ,christianity in behalf of ,india's youth1 we are at once impressed by the leadership of ,american workers as we are by the ,american methods used4 ,the finest ,y4 ,m4 ,c4 ,a4 building in the ,orient is mostly ,american1 both in conception and in the organized energy and princely offering which made it possible4 ,it stands today in the city of ,madras1 as one of the noblest and the most beautiful tributes of western ,christian enterprise to that great land4 ,the only theological seminary which has been adequately endowed for the training of ,protestant ,christian workers in ,india1 is an ,american one4 ,perhaps the best1 because the most sane and enterprising1 ,christian weekly newspaper in the land is ,american4 ,the only ,quarterly ,review conducted in that land by ,protestant ,christians was founded by an ,american4 ,and1 in the same line1 it is interesting to note that ,american presses and publishing houses are multiplying and are exercising an ever-widening influence in the redemption of that country4 ,so largely have all these ,american agencies been used for the furtherance of ,christian truth and light2 and so much have they been welcomed and appropriated by the people1 that it may well be spoken of as 8an ,american ,invasion40 ,the ,bishop of ,newcastle1 ,england1 referred to this in his last annual sermon4 8,so far10 he says1 8has ,america realized the need of winning ,india to ,christ that a hundred years hence1 if the last thirty years' proportion continue1 ,india will owe its ,christianity more to ,america than to ,great ,britain and ,ireland combined40 ,these words are no less significant in their truthfulness than generous in their appreciation4 ,england has been entrusted with the work of leading that great people of the ,orient1 politically and socially1 into a larger and higher life4 ,this1 by a strange ,providence1 has been entrusted to her in consequence of her conquest of that people seven thousand miles away and seven times her own population4 ,so also has ,america been favoured with a fair share of opportunity and of influence as the moral supporter of ,england in this unique and unprecedented work4 ,and1 while ,england by the nature of her compact1 or conquest1 is somewhat handicapped in this task1 so far as her religious influence upon the people is concerned1 ,america has free access and ample entrance into the heart of the community because of her disinterested and unrestrained relationship to them4 ,her voice to ,india has always been the voice of a constraining altruism4 ,all her endeavours in that land have been the outgoings of a world-wide philanthropy and of ,christian self-denial4 ,therefore1 she has been free and unencumbered in all her ambitions for the uplifting of that people2 and she has found the heartiest response and warmest appreciation from those whom she has sought to bless4 ,consequently1 that noble band of #a1jjj of her sons and daughters1 who are today giving themselves to the salvation of ,india2 and the one million dollars sent forth annually to maintain her work in that land1 are fruitful in the highest good and in the richest result in all parts of the land4 ,while all this means a great achievement1 it means also1 and preminently1 a stirring opportunity4 ,the widest door of opportunity is open to ,america among her antipodes in that historic land4 ,christian effort can nowhere else find heartier welcome or results more encouraging and telling in the great gathering of eastern nations into the ,kingdom of our ,lord4 ,chapter ,,xi4 ,,missionary ,,results--7,,continued7 #a4 ,,the ,,leaven ,,of ,,christianity4 ,our ,lord compared his ,kingdom to the mustard seed which grew into a tree4 ,this wonderful growth and development of his ,kingdom we considered in the last chapter4 ,he compared it also to the leaven which was placed in the meal and which leavened the whole lump4 ,we shall now consider the leavening or assimilating work of his ,kingdom as at present witnessed in ,india4 ,if a man were to ask me1 8wherein do you find the most encouragement as a ,christian worker in ,india80 ,i would doubtless reply3--not in the ,church and community gathered by the missions1 but outside of the ,christian fold1 in the institutions1 and among the non-,christians1 of the land4 ,it is not in the fields already harvested 7though much of joy and promise we certainly find there71 but in the fields whitening for the harvest1 that we see the largest hope for the ultimate conquest of that great people by ,christ4 ,there are in ,india1 at present1 a thousand results1 movements and tendencies which1 to the thoughtful1 watchful1 ,christian worker1 bespeak the rapid coming of the ,kingdom of ,christ1 even though their testimony is not heard through mission statistical tables1 and though their activity is found mostly outside the visible pale of the ,church4 ,i appreciate the fact that1 when we begin to consider these results which lie outside the life and organization of the ,christian community1 we need much discernment and discrimination1 lest we ascribe to ,christianity alone an influence and an efficiency which it only shares with ,western thought and civilization4 ,but it is not only impossible to separate these forces1 in our endeavour to estimate the share of each in the results achieved2 western thought and civilization1 both in their origin and development1 are themselves as much the product as they are the expression of ,christianity2 so that we need not hesitate much in ascribing to our faith all the results which the combined energy of these have produced in that land4 ,another discrimination is here necessary4 ,in the last chapter we dwelt1 almost exclusively1 upon ,protestant missionary activity and results4 ,these we were able to measure chiefly through the concentrated activity and published statistical reports of ,protestant ,missions4 ,but1 in considering the more indirect and general results there achieved we must not forget that they must be ascribed to all the ,christian agencies at work in that land4 ,i believe that ,protestant ,christianity is much the largest ,christian power among all the forces that make for the redemption of ,india4 ,and yet it would be presumptuous and unjust not to recognize the strenuous activity and pervasive influence of ,roman ,catholicism in the land4 ,i am convinced that that great historic ,church1 with all its errors and false methods1 is nevertheless a positive and a mighty power in the dissemination of ,christian thought and principles in ,india4 ,in the results which ,i am about to mention1 this and all other ,christian agencies have had their share4 ,some of these activities1 indeed1 seem to come directly from none of the organized agencies of ,christianity in the land4 ,but they are only apparently so4 ,they are among the thousand subtle influences which work in a quiet way in the minds and life of the people and which suddenly1 from time to time1 break upon our sight through their results4 ,an illustration of this kind occurred not long ago4 ,it is said that one of the vernacular versions of the ,gospels accidentally fell into the hands of a ,mohammedan ,moulvi1 or teacher1 in ,north ,india4 ,it had been prepared and published by the ,bible ,society4 ,the ,mussulman read the book with eagerness1 chiefly with a view to find new arguments against the divinity of our ,lord and the heavenly source of our faith4 ,but1 as he read1 he was so impressed with the wonderful narrative and the unique beauty of the character of our ,lord1 that he surrendered himself to him as his ,saviour and found in him peace and rest4 ,sometime later he met a ,hindu fakir1 named ,chet ,ram1 who was earnestly in search of the truth4 ,the ,mohammedan convert joyfully told him of his newly found ,saviour and gave him his copy of the ,new ,testament that he might find for himself the same blessing4 ,the ,holy ,spirit carried the ,gospel message of life into his heart also1 and he accepted ,christ and at once began to preach him unto his friends and neighbours4 ,this work he performed faithfully2 and he gathered around himself many who accepted his following1 short creed2--8,i believe in ,jesus ,christ the ,son of ,mary and in the ,holy ,ghost and in the ,father to whom prayer should be made and in the ,bible through which salvation is to be received40 ,chet ,ram died some time ago2 but there are today found1 scattered through the villages of ,north ,india1 thousands of his followers who subscribed to his brief creed and who always carry upon their persons a copy of the ,scriptures4 ,so far as ,i know1 these people have never come into contact with ,christian workers1 but have been led simply through a study of ,god's ,word1 under the guidance of ,god's ,spirit1 unto ,christ the ,saviour of the world4 ,it is one of the most encouraging facts connected with ,christian influence in ,india that one so often and unexpectedly meets its manifestations in individual life and institutions4 ,suddenly he comes across little streams of influence whose source may be unknown1 but which do a great deal towards fertilizing thought and producing a harvest of religious results throughout the land4 ,the general subject of the influence of the ,west upon the ,east has been recently raised in the very interesting and thought-provoking book on 8,asia and ,europe0 by the ,english writer1 ,meredith ,townsend4 ,he stiffly maintains that the ,west never has1 and1 probably1 never will1 seriously and permanently influence the ,east in thought and life4 ,while there is a semblance1 yea an element1 of truth in his contention1 so far as the past is concerned1 it fails to apply to the ,india of the present and must fall far wide of the mark in the future4 ,many years have elapsed since the author of 8,asia and ,europe0 left ,india2 and he is not conversant1 at first hand1 with the mighty revolution which is taking place there at present4 ,he fails1 for one thing1 to appreciate the wonderful influence of modern scientific discovery as a unifier of all peoples and as the handmaid of western life and thought and of ,christian conquest4 ,i need refer only to one of these modern agencies--the telegraph4 ,the election of ,mr4 ,mc,kinley as president of the ,united ,states was known to me in ,india before it was known to nine-tenths of the population of this land4 ,the calamity which recently befell ,galveston1 ,texas1 was not only known to ,hindus1 the very next day2 the price of cotton went up in ,south ,india villages as a consequence of that sad event4 ,the generous offerings recently contributed in ,america for the famine sufferers in ,india were actually distributed to them in food the next day after they were offered6 ,can these things1 and a thousand like them1 which enter into the every-day transactions of ,east and ,west1 have no permanent influence upon the relations of these once remote but now neighbouring people8 ,isolation has everywhere given way to intercourse and mutual dependence2 and that means community of life and thought which produces fundamental action and reaction4 ,under these new and marvellous conditions the former 8mental seclusion of ,india10 so unduly emphasized by ,mr4 ,townsend1 is rapidly yielding and must utterly pass away4 ,it will1 however1 not pass away simply because of the influence of the ,west upon the ,east1 but rather because of the mutual action and reaction of ,east and ,west4 ,the ,east will approach the ,west because1 to a large extent1 the ,west will have learned to appreciate1 and to draw in sympathy towards1 the ,east4 ,herein lies the secret of the future oneness1 or at least of the communion1 of the two great hemispheres4 ,india is1 therefore1 in this matter1 facing today such conditions as never before existed there2 and these are to further considerably the work of revolution which our religion is bringing to pass in that land1 and which such pessimists as ,mr4 ,townsend are wont to ignore4 ,that keen philosopher and high authority upon ,india1 ,sir ,alfred ,lyall1 is right in his anticipation when he claims that ,india 8will be carried swiftly through phases which have occupied long stages in the lifetime of other nations40 ,considering1 then1 the leavening influences and the general results of our faith in that land we shall see them in many institutions and departments of life4 7a7 ,in laws which the government of ,india has enacted during the last century4 ,there has been a steady conflict between the enlightened government of the white man and the inhuman customs of the people of that land4 ,the ,christian sentiment of the members of the government1 and of other ,christians outside of that circle1 has ever rebelled against and sought to put down the grossest evils which obtain there4 ,and the fact which we need to emphasize here is that these evils have been directed and protected by ,hinduism itself and are an integral part of its ceremonies and teachings4 ,whenever the government has sought1 by legislation1 to do away with these inhuman rites and customs it has been bitterly opposed by ,hinduism and has been met by a general uprising of its followers against what they have called religious interference and persecution4 ,thus the suppression of ,thuggism was a definite attack upon a religious institution1 for the ,thuggs never committed a murder1 save as a part of their worship of the goddess ,bhowanee to whose service they had dedicated themselves and to which the blood of the innocent traveller 7as they thought7 was the most welcome sacrifice its devotee could offer4 ,hence the difficulty which faced the government in bringing these religious murders to an end4 ,suttee was also regarded as a high type of religious devotion4 ,for the widow to immolate herself upon the funeral pyre of her dead husband was not only the supreme test of wifely devotion1 it was also preminently the highest religious act possible to her2 and it brought to her a future bliss which was painted in glowing and attractive colours by the sacred books of her faith4 ,it was not strange1 therefore1 that the ,state hesitated1 for a long time1 to abolish by law this hideous custom1 whereby in the year #ahag1 for instance1 two widows were burned daily in the ,bengal ,presidency alone4 ,it was in the face of extensive protest and threats by orthodox ,hindus that the government abolished it4 8,previous to #aheg1 #aej human sacrifices are said to have been annually offered in ,gumsur1 a city in ,east ,central ,india2 and the abolition of that horrible custom raised such a storm of opposition among the ,hindus that an eight years' war was the result4 ,more than #b1jjj victims were rescued from sacrifice and handed over to the care of the missionaries40 ,in like manner infanticide was encouraged for centuries in the land as an act of religious devotion which was possessed of great efficacy4 ,in the name of religion and with the promise of its highest blessings mothers were led to feed the crocodiles of the sacred ,ganges by throwing to them their own infants4 ,it seems hardly possible that human beings could regard the prohibition of that inhuman and unnatural act as a piece of injustice and an interference with the rights of conscience4 ,and yet it was so regarded6 ,not fewer than twenty laws have thus been enacted in that land1 during the last century1 with a view to putting an end to religious customs which robbed thousands of people1 annually1 of life itself and deprived many thousands more of the most elementary and inalienable rights of human beings4 ,so it has become penal to do any one of the following things1 all of which were regarded as expressions of the highest religious devotion and were committed with the sanction of the ancestral faith and under the inspiration of its benediction3 to burn widows2 to expose parents to death on the banks of the ,ganges2 to offer up human sacrifice2 to murder children1 either by throwing them into the ,ganges1 or by the ,rajpoot secret method of infanticide2 to encourage men to throw away their lives under temple cars and in other ways of religious devotion2 to encourage various forms of voluntary self-torture and self-mutilation2 to outrage girls under a certain age4 ,how much hath the ,spirit of ,christ wrought in that land during the century by saving the lives of millions of poor innocent creatures from the ravages of a savage faith and an inhuman religious devotion6 ,thus1 in ,india today the laws protect the people1 old and young1 from the old murderous customs of its religion1 and gives a sanctity to life and a protection to the innocent and a check to the mad1 suicidal tendency of the religious fanatic1 such as ,india never before knew4 ,and all this has been done in the teeth of their religion and notwithstanding the persistent cries and protests of the religious leaders of the people4 ,i have already mentioned the fact that the obscene and the impure have in many ways been fostered by that faith1 and that the government has thus far been unable to find courage to apply to religious temples1 symbols and rites that legislation which it has enacted against the obscene in literature and in the ordinary life of the people4 ,and yet1 we are encouraged to find there this anomaly today1--that men1 for translating and publishing obscene portions of the ,hindu scriptures1 have been punished in accordance with this law4 ,the day will1 doubtless1 soon come1 it must come1 when this legislation against obscenity will be enforced without exception in favour of temple cars and sacred objects and rites4 ,in reference to caste observance the ,state has been more courageous and has absolutely ignored class distinction among its subjects4 ,no one who has not lived in the ,east can realize how radical and important this policy is in that land of class distinctions based upon religious injunction and revelation4 ,it seemed absurd and unrighteous to that people that the august and sacred ,brahman and the unclean and outcaste ,pariah should be regarded as equal before the law1 and that a pauper should enjoy1 with a prince1 the same protection and blessings from the ,state4 ,regardless of immemorial custom and religious injunction1 the government has become the great leveller--it has ignored entirely1 in all the rights and privileges which it has to confer1 every caste distinction and class privilege and disability which ,hinduism had created and sacredly maintained for centuries4 ,and it adheres stiffly to its ,christian principle of the equal rights of all its subjects4 7b7 ,moreover1 ,hinduism itself is being gradually transformed under the search-light of a present ,christianity4 ,not only has it been compelled1 from without1 to give up some of its inhuman practices1 it has also voluntarily1 from very shame1 relinquished some of its grossest evils4 ,there is a very interesting conflict now going on in ,hinduism--between the ultra-conservatives and the progressives4 ,this latter class is composed almost entirely of men who have been educated in mission and government schools1 and who have been influenced by ,christian light and life4 ,i do not expect much from a ,christianized ,hinduism any more than ,i do from a ,hinduized ,christianity4 ,and yet we cannot be unmindful of1 nor ungrateful for1 that growing sense of shame which leads that faith to conceal1 if not to abandon entirely1 some of its worst crimes against man and to adorn itself in such a way that it may not too violently shock the sensibilities of a people who are living under the growing light of a ,christian civilization4 ,this is what the ancestral faith of ,india is now intent upon doing1 at least so far as the changing situation compels4 ,the influence of educated ,hindus upon the pundits and other religious guides of the land is increasing annually1 and is steadily in favour of religious reform and of a broad and enlightened interpretation of ,shastraic deliverances upon religious customs4 ,for example1 a few years ago1 sea voyages were strictly prohibited to all ,hindus4 ,no exceptions were allowed and excommunication was the inevitable penalty for the violation of this religious injunction4 ,today hundreds of ,hindus1 impelled by an ambition for the best education and for a broad culture1 annually travel to ,england and to other foreign lands4 ,though some of those men are punished for their temerity in defying this sacred injunction of their faith1 it is remarkable how many pundits arise to defend such travel and to reduce the opprobrium which overtakes a sea-travelled man4 ,indeed1 every year adds to the ease with which such a man can avoid punishment for going abroad4 ,until recently1 ,hinduism had no way of reinstating a man who had deserted his ancestral faith and had thereby broken caste4 ,today this subject is up for discussion1 and many of the religious leaders are pointing to passages from their ,scriptures which justify such a reinstatement and are showing methods by which it can be effected4 ,in consequence of this not a few back-sliding ,christians have recently found an open door to reenter their ancestral faith4 ,this is an important move2 but ,i doubt whether it will cause ,christians to lose any converts save those who are not sincere and who would therefore be better outside than within the ,christian ,church4 ,a generation ago few ,hindus in the villages of the land would fail to defend polytheism and idolatry as an essential part of their faith4 ,at present the ,christian preacher1 as he travels among these same people1 finds universal assent to his declaration concerning the unity of ,god4 ,i have hardly met one villager in the land who maintains today that there are really 8gods many40 ,polytheism is not defended but explained away1 and idolatry1 it is claimed1 is only an accommodation--a kind of religious kindergarten--for the sake of the very ignorant1 and 8for women and children40 ,but of course1 pantheism is the ,hindu's conception of the divine unity4 ,whenever an educated ,hindu defends his faith1 in an argument with a ,christian1 he never quotes as scriptural authority the more recent writings of their faith--the ,tantras and ,puranas1 which are the storehouse of legend and myth1 of myriad rites and customs and are the refuge and joy of the orthodox and conservative pandits2--he discards these and falls back upon the most ancient writings1 which are the exponents of nature worship and of vedantic philosophy4 ,or he will extol the ,bhagavat ,gita1 which is an eclectic attempt to unify and approve the conflicting philosophies of ,brahmanism4 ,in these1 and in many other ways1 ,hinduism finds today new presentation and defence4 ,it is not the thing it used to be4 ,and yet in matters of fundamental importance it is and will remain unchanged4 ,in some respects these changes make that ancient faith less vulnerable to attack4 ,in the words of ,doctor ,robson1--8,the influence of ,christianity upon ,hinduism has been rather to strengthen its rival by forcing it to abandon certain positions which weakened it1 and bringing it more into accordance with natural religion4 ,but ,hinduism remains the same4 ,the contest is coming to be between the ultimate principles of the two religions1 and these are irreconcilable407#ad7 ,yes1 it will be a good day for ,christianity when the great contest is thus narrowed down1 and when the deepest teachings of the two faiths will be placed in clear and simple juxtaposition4 ,one serious source of danger in this controversy lies in the ,neo-,hinduism which interprets ,hinduism in the light of ,christian truth and modern thought4 ,hindus formerly maintained that the teachings of ,christianity were false4 ,now they tell us that most of its truths were taught by their own faith even before the ,christian era6 ,through the allegories of their ,shastras1 and under the guidance of the fertile imagination of that ,englishwoman1 ,mrs4 ,besant1 they find equally the best ,christian truth and most recent results of modern scientific discovery taught by their ancient scriptures6 ,mrs4 ,besant has even discovered that the ten incarnations of ,vishnu are based on strict evolution principles and follow that order4 ,she claims1 indeed1 that many of the most recent discoveries in the physical universe were anticipated and promulgated three millenniums ago by ,hindu rishis4 ,this of course is a method of insanity which will soon give way to a newer craze4 ,for the present it helps to evade or confuse the issue in certain minds2 but as it is in itself a substitution of nonsense for argument and reason it will not long deceive any one1 not even the poor ,hindu4 ,and just as1 under the present ,christian rgime1 ,hinduism is rapidly being transformed1 no less truly does the ,mohammedan faith undergo change4 ,there is a new ,islam arising in ,india4 ,that faith cannot be preserved in its rigid integrity under the gis of a ,christian government2 therefore in ,india the faith of the great ,arabian prophet has undergone marked transformation during the last century and a half4 ,its religious leaders there are rationalists who scrutinize and criticise the ,koran with the boldness of the higher critics of the ,bible4 ,they both urge that the ,koran has no permanent authority on moral questions1 and also insist upon progress in all religious matters47#ae7 ,this young ,mohammedan party of progress have found a vigorous leader in ,judge ,amir ,ali ,sahib1 a brilliant writer1 who hesitates not to explain away or antagonize all those teachings of his faith which lie athwart the path of progress and enlightenment4 ,he avows1 in his book on 8,the ,spirit of ,islam10 that his purpose is to assist 8the ,muslims of ,india to achieve intellectual and moral regeneration under the auspices of the ,great ,european ,power that now holds their destiny in its hands40 8,the reformers10 he further writes1 8are congratulated that the movement set on foot is conducted under a neutral government40 ,thus a ,mussulman writer declares that the highest reforms can best be conducted under a ,christian government6 ,all this is illustrative of that leavening influence of our faith as it comes into contact with and permeates the spirit and teaching of these and other religions of that land4 7c7 ,another marked result of ,christianity in that country is seen in the attitude of many thousands of ,hindus who live contiguous to the ,christian communities found there4 ,in the first place we see it among the common people4 ,i have already referred to mass movements which have largely helped to strengthen the ,christian ,church in the past4 ,those movements have only just begun2 they will continue and increase in the land4 ,day by day ,christianity is commending itself to the people in a thousand ways4 ,in times of famine1 when the old religious leaders of the people--the ,brahmans--render no help and manifest no sympathy1 yea more1 are as rapacious as ever1 the loving sympathy of ,christians there and in far off lands1 and their outgoing charity and their substantial help to the famine stricken and the suffering--all this does not fall in vain upon the susceptible mind of the people4 ,this work of ,christianity in uniting the world through brotherhood and sympathy seems wonderful to a people who are crushed and robbed by the wretched divisiveness of their own terrible caste system4 ,they recognize also the truth and the life which ,christianity presents in contrast with the debasing idolatry and the senseless1 all-pervasive ceremonialism which haunt them4 ,it is not surprising therefore that we see1 not only certain mass movements towards our faith but also1 on the outskirts of the ,christian community in every district1 a growing number of doubting1 halting ones--those who have done with their ancestral faith and who are attracted by the religion of ,christ1 but who are so much afraid of the terrible demon1 caste1 that they dare not openly accept ,christ and unite with ,god's people through baptism4 ,they linger on the outside1 hoping for some great tide of influence to come1 soon1 to carry them1 without persecution1 into the kingdom4 ,their attitude of mind is encouraging1 and the missionary hopes for the day which will furnish the strength and opportunity for this great host of weak and doubting ones to make its decision for ,christ and to enter1 in ever-increasing numbers1 into ,his ,kingdom4 ,i have come into daily1 close touch with many men and women of this class4 ,they1 at the same time1 encourage and exasperate one4 ,they give evidence of the strong influence of our faith upon them--they have ceased to visit ,hindu temples1 they decline to worship the family and tribal gods1 they lose no opportunity to denounce the idolatry and superstitions which have debased them1 and they always speak to their friends a warm word for ,christianity and often attend its meetings in their village4 ,but there they continue to stand4 ,they are the slaves of caste fear and of social inertia4 ,while1 however1 they stand and wait they often say the word and give the encouragement which enable others to accept ,christ openly and to enter the ,christian fold4 ,they are also always glad to send their children to our schools and are willing to have them instructed in the truth and guided into the life of our faith4 ,they often contribute towards the support of ,christian pastor or teacher1 and in various other ways evince their sympathy and reveal their intellectual assent4 ,for instance3--,in ,tinnevelly there is a hall built by such a ,hindu to commemorate the late ,queen ,victoria1 in which lectures and entertainments are held4 ,christian ministers are frequently asked to pray at these gatherings2 and former years have witnessed requests by the donor for prayer1 from well-known ministers and bishops4 ,such appreciation of ,christian worship is very pleasing1 particularly as the proprietor is a member of a committee that has the oversight of nearly #cjj ,sivite temples in the district4 ,they also show their appreciation of the medical work of ,christian missions4 ,in the city of ,madura stands one of the finest hospitals in the country4 ,it is the property of the ,american ,board1 but was erected1 at an expense of #ad1jjj by members of the orthodox ,hindu community as a monument of their appreciation of the mission physician and of their confidence in the mission and its work4 7d7 ,another marked feature of the religious life of ,india1 at present1 is the existence there of several new cults or religions4 ,they not only add picturesqueness to the religious situation1 they also reveal the unrest of the people and their desire for something better than the orthodox faith of their fathers furnishes them4 ,illustration3 ,sacred ,tank ,in ,madura ,temple4 ,illustration3 ,hospital ,for ,men1 ,american ,madura ,mission4 ,having become dissatisfied and disgusted with their ancestral religion1 they are striving in every possible way1 short of being ,christians1 to seek for something better and higher4 ,this is what we should expect4 ,in the many schools and colleges of the land the subtle metaphysics of the ,east is supplanted by the modern philosophy of the ,west2 their own bewildering ancient rules of logic are replaced by the more rational processes of the ,west4 ,so that every university matriculate and graduate of ,india is today crammed with ideas1 and trained in methods of thinking1 which make a belief in practical ,hinduism and in much of its philosophy an impossibility1 if not an absurdity4 ,thus we see in that land today a number of movements and organizations which are a protest against orthodox ,hinduism and are carrying the people1 in thought and sympathy1 from the past to the present1 from the old to the new4 ,most of these movements are merely half-way houses between ,hinduism and ,christianity4 ,they are with faces more or less turned towards the light and possess the progressive spirit which1 in some cases1 cannot fail of landing their members1 at no distant date in the ,christian fold4 ,for instance1 we have in western ,india the ,prartanei ,somaj 7prayer society72 in north ,india the ,arya ,somaj 7,aryan society71 and in ,bengal the ,brahmo ,somaj 7society of ,god74 ,these are healthy movements1 away from a general1 old-fashioned view of religious things4 ,take1 for example1 the ,brahmo ,somaj4 ,though not as large in membership as the ,arya ,somaj it represents more culture and power4 ,nearly all the members are men of education and of western training1 and represent much more influence than their number 7#d1jjj7 would suggest4 ,their new faith is an eclecticism4 ,it has adopted a little of ,hinduism and of ,buddhism and of ,mohammedanism and a great deal of ,christianity4 ,the movement1 especially that progressive branch which was under the leadership of ,protab ,chunder ,mozumdar1 is largely ,christian in drift and spirit4 ,mozumdar accepts ,christ1 though not in the fullness of belief in ,his divinity or in ,his atoning work2 nevertheless with an amount of appreciation1 affection1 devotion and loyalty not met even among many ,western ,christians today4 ,his book on 8,the ,oriental ,christ0 is full of appreciation and reveals a wonderful knowledge of the eastern ,christ from an ,eastern standpoint4 ,i shall not be surprised to see the members of this society landing1 at an early date1 through a full confession of ,christ1 in membership of the ,christian ,church4 ,in the meanwhile it is disappointing to find this organization divided1 already1 into so many mutually antagonistic sects4 ,it is also a reason for regret that ,mozumdar1 who is a man of great culture1 intelligence and deep spiritually1 has recently relinquished the leadership of the movement4 ,having retired to the ,himalayas1 he communicates his reasons in these truly oriental1 pathetic and pessimistic words3 8,age and sickness get the better of me in these surroundings1 ,i cannot work as ,i would--contemplation is distracted1 concentration disturbed1 though ,i struggle ever so much4 ,these solitudes are hospitable2 these breadths1 heights and depths are always suggestive4 ,i acquire more spirit with less struggle1 hence ,i retire4 8,my thirst for the higher life is growing so unquenchable that ,i need the time and the grace to rexamine and purify and reform every part of my existence4 ,the ,spirit of ,god promises me that grace if ,i am alone4 ,so let me alone4 8,the rich are so vain and selfish1 the poor are so insolent and mean1 that having respect for both ,i prefer to go away from them4 8,the learned think so highly of themselves1 the ignorant are so full of hatred and uncharitableness1 that having good will for both ,i prefer to hide myself from all4 8,the religious are so exclusive1 the sceptical so self-sufficient that it is better to be away from both4 8,where are the dead8 ,have not they too retired8 ,i wish my acquaintance with the dead should grow1 that my communion with them should be spontaneous1 perpetual1 unceasing4 ,i will invoke them and wait for them in my hermitage4 8,what is life8 ,is it not a fleeting shadow1 the graveyard of dead hopes1 the battlefield of ghastly competitions1 the playground of delusions1 separations1 cruel changes and disappointments8 ,i have had enough of these4 ,and now with the kindliest love for all1 ,i must prepare and sanctify myself for the great ,beyond1 where there is solution for so many problems1 and consolation for so many troubles44440 ,this seems an unworthy ending to a very worthy life4 ,and yet a movement which has created two such men as ,chunder ,sen and ,protab ,mozumdar is a compliment to ,christianity and has a mission before it4 ,but it must undergo many changes ere it can exercise a commanding influence in the land4 ,a much more popular movement is the ,arya ,somaj4 ,the recent census reports #dj1jjj members of this organization4 ,if ,brahmo ,somaj represents the working of that ,hindu mind which has been imbued with ,european culture and ,christian thought towards a solution of its religious doubts and problems2 the ,arya ,somaj represents a strong ,theistic movement springing forth out of ,hinduism itself4 ,this latter movement is possessed of unwonted vigour and has a future before it4 ,the founder of this ,somaj was ,dyanand ,sarasvati1 a ,brahman who was born about the year #ahbe4 ,he was a man of much thought and of deep religious interest4 ,he was entirely ignorant of the ,english language4 ,he broke with orthodox ,hinduism after reading the ,christian ,scriptures4 ,and yet he also attacked the character of ,jesus4 ,he accepted the ,hindu ,vedas as ,scriptures1 but interpreted them so freely that he was able to find in them all that he desired of religious reform4 ,he vigorously opposed caste4 ,the following are some of the principles of the ,arya ,somaj3 #a4 ,god is the primary source of all true knowledge4 #b4 ,god is perfect in all ,his attributes and should be worshipped4 #c4 ,the ,vedas are the books of true knowledge4 #d4 ,the caste system is a human invention and is evil4 #e4 ,early marriage is prohibited4 ,the movement has assumed the aspect of a sect of ,hinduism4 ,but some of its fundamental contentions are so directly antagonistic to most cherished institutions of ,hinduism that it is a mighty disintegrator of that religion in the land4 ,it must be confessed that the ,arya ,somaj is1 in its present spirit1 anti-,christian4 ,it champions the cause of home religion in the ,east as against the aggression of the great rival1 ,christianity4 ,but the teachers of our faith in ,india find encouragement equally in the hostility of this movement and in its coperation in a common attack upon modern ,hinduism4 ,any movement1 that effectively calls the attention of the people to the weakness and defects of its ancestral religion1 cannot fail1 in that very process1 to invite their attention to the claims of its rival1 ,christianity4 ,the chief function of all these movements is to reveal the general religious interest of the people4 ,indeed1 they forward greatly the spirit of discontent towards the ancestral faith4 ,and while they do this1 they themselves furnish a no more satisfying or soul-inspiring substitute4 ,and in this way they emphasize the need of a new faith and draw the thought of many to the new supplanting religion of the ,christ4 ,chunder ,sen1 even twenty years ago1 declared that1 8,none but ,jesus1 none but ,jesus1 none but ,jesus is worthy to wear this diadem1 ,india1 and ,he shall have it40 ,yes1 even through such movements as the ,brahmo ,somaj1 ,christ is winning ,india for himself4 ,the educated classes of ,india are largely permeated and influenced by ,western thought4 ,they may not be inclined to join any of the reform movements which ,i have mentioned2 but they are now thinking on absolutely different lines from those of their ancestors fifty years ago4 ,the dissemination of ,western literature1 and especially the conduct of so many ,christian schools have done more1 perhaps1 than any other thing to create an intellectual ferment and to produce a revolution of thought in all parts of the land4 ,one cannot unduly emphasize the importance of ,christian schools in ,india4 ,the government schools and the ,hindu institutions of learning are acknowledged to be the hot-beds of rationalism and of unbelief4 ,they not only furnish no religious instruction to the youth1 they too often give the impression that all religion is a mere superstition and is unworthy of being taught4 ,to such an extent is this trend and influence observable that the government experiences much concern1 coupled with an expressed1 though vague1 desire1 that this evil be arrested by the introduction1 into all public schools1 of some method of imparting at least the fundamental principles of religion4 ,but to discover the method of accomplishing this1 without violating the principle of religious neutrality1 seems beyond its power4 ,in the meanwhile mission schools have a grand sphere opened to them on this line4 ,they are not only a common agency1 with governmental and all other higher institutions1 in the work of undermining and destroying vain credulity and the whole brood of superstitions which are legion in ,india2 they are also a positive and constructive force in the impartation of those principles of morality and teachings of religion which will ennoble life here and hereafter4 ,and in this connection it should not be forgotten that all mission schools--higher and lower--enjoy unlimited opportunity to teach1 daily1 to all their students ,god's ,word and to apply its principles and its saving message to the minds of the half million students who are being trained by them4 ,i desire to emphasize again the importance of all these schools as the most potent agency1 apart from the native ,church itself1 in the transformation of the thought and life of ,india4 ,it is a noteworthy fact that the only statue erected to a missionary in ,india was that recently unveiled by the ,governor of ,madras in the city of ,madras to ,dr4 ,wm4 ,miller4 ,this noble missionary educator has wrought mightily1 through his great institution in ,madras1 for the upbuilding of ,christian truth in the minds of ,christian and non-,christian youth alike4 ,and this statue is a unique tribute of gratitude from his 8old boys0--most of them still ,hindus1 indeed--to the man who has been instrumental in opening before them the broad vistas of ,western thought and of ,christian truth and life4 ,but more enduring than marble will abide the blessed results which he and his colabourers have wrought in the thought and life of the more than #b1jjj graduates who have been educated by them4 ,of these there are #a1hjj who represent the ,hindus of thought and culture in ,south ,india at present4 ,such is the influence of one ,christian school4 ,if the work of the thousands of village ,christian schools is more humble in its aim it is much more pervasive in its reach1 and it marvellously directs thought and inspires life in remote villages4 ,twelve years ago ,i opened one little primary school in a small unlettered heathen village4 ,ten bright ,hindu boys sought instruction at the hands of the devout old ,christian teacher placed there4 ,today these boys have grown into manhood and1 with one or two exceptions1 have entered into the ,christian life and have been formed into a ,christian congregation4 ,they are not only intelligent1 but firm and beautiful in their new-found ,christian hope4 ,moreover1 the whole village is permeated with ,christian truth and it resounds with the appeal of our faith4 ,in this way have come into existence many of the best and strongest congregations of the ,christian ,church in ,india4 ,but1 to return to the educated class in ,india4 ,we have considered already its attitude of mind towards the supplanting religion of ,jesus4 ,illustration3 ,madras ,christian ,college4 ,illustration3 ,bombay ,railway ,station4 ,their opposition to ,christianity1 as it is now presented to them1 ,i can appreciate4 ,they are beginning1 for the first time1 to think seriously and philosophically about religion4 ,they are1 more than ever before1 impatient with their past1 and annoyed with the inadequacy of their present faith4 ,it is not strange if this feeling is shown in their attitude towards the only supplanting faith4 ,in this matter they are on the way to light and truth4 ,the under-current is strongly right and in the direction of an enlightened and an enlightening religion4 ,they are more earnestly in quest of truth than ever before4 ,moreover it is not substantive ,christianity1 but adjectival ,christianity--the too ,western type of our faith--which arouses their antagonism4 ,and ,i must again express my belief that1 before ,christianity is to gain universal acceptance by the people of ,india1 it must be dissociated from many ,western ideas and practices which seem to us essential even to its very life4 ,when we learn to forget our antecedents and prejudices and to study well the ,hindu mind and its tendency1 then perhaps shall we be prepared to present a ,christianity which will commend itself universally to that land4 ,the ,rev4 ,g4 ,t4 ,e4 ,slater in his new book1 wisely emphasized this same need4 8,the ,west10 he says1 8has to learn from the ,east1 and the ,east from the ,west4 ,the questions raised by the ,vedanta will have to pass into ,christianity if the best minds of ,india are to embrace it2 and the ,church of the #8farther ,east' will doubtless contribute something to the thought of ,christendom1 of the science of the soul1 and of the omnipenetrativeness and immanence of ,deity407#af7 ,but the most encouraging aspect of this question is the present attitude of the mind of educated ,india towards ,christ himself4 ,listen to the words of an orthodox ,hindu in a recent lecture delivered to his fellow ,hindus3--8,how can we10 he says1 8be blind to the greatness1 the unrivalled splendour of ,jesus ,christ4 ,behind the ,british ,empire and all ,european ,powers lies the single great personality--the greatest of all known to us--of ,jesus ,christ4 ,he lives in ,europe and ,america1 in ,asia and ,africa as ,king and ,guide and ,teacher4 ,he lives in our midst4 ,he seeks to revivify religion in ,india4 ,we owe everything1 even this deep yearning towards our own ancient ,hinduism1 to ,christianity40 ,all former antipathy to1 and depreciation of ,jesus1 our ,lord1 have given way to appreciation and admiration4 ,they vie with each other in a study of ,his life and regard ,him as the only perfect ,exemplar of man4 ,that great land which has never found in its old faith an ideal of life is now finding it in our blessed ,lord4 ,this movement towards ,him is remarkable4 ,they are enthroning ,him in their imagination and are drawing ,him to their hearts4 ,a ,braham friend of mine--a devout ,hindu1 a university graduate1 a barrister and a leader of the ,hindu community1 requested me to purchase for him a pocket copy of ,thomas a ,kempis' 8,imitation of ,christ40 ,he possessed a large copy1 but desired a small one which he could carry with him and could use for devotional purposes on his journeys4 ,some of his friends sought other copies through him4 ,thus they bought all the copies that ,i could find for sale in ,south ,india4 ,he also asked me to buy for him a copy of ,dr4 ,sheldon's book1 8,in ,his ,steps40 ,i bought four dozen copies and sold all to ,brahmans and to native ,christians4 ,one of our pastors bought a copy4 ,he soon handed it to a ,brahman friend--a government official and a university graduate--requesting him to read it4 ,this he did1 and1 returning with the book a few days later1 he earnestly said--8,sir1 why don't you bring us more such books as this4 ,we also want to know more of ,christ and to follow #8,in ,his ,steps4' 0 ,indeed1 ,i find a wonderful eagerness among ,hindus of culture to know all that can be known about the life and teaching of our ,lord1 even though they are not prepared to accept his atonement as their salvation4 ,the same fact is true among the common people4 ,there are not a few who believe that the tenth--that is1 the coming--incarnation of ,vishnu 7,kalki avatar7 refers to ,christ4 ,a ,hindu ,saivite devotee told me once that they proposed soon to place in their monastery an image of ,christ 7as they had one of ,vishnu7 and thus render to ,him worship in common with the others4 ,i am confident that ,hindus1 all but unanimously1 would1 today1 vote to give him a place in their pantheon and a share in their worship1 if ,christians would accede to this4 8,did we not10 they say1 8thus appropriate ,buddha1 the arch-enemy of ,brahmanism1 twenty-five centuries ago1 and make him the ninth incarnation of ,vishnu8 ,and why should we not regard ,christ1 also1 as the tenth #8descent' of our beloved ,vishnu40 ,i deem this trend towards ,christ1 and it is marked especially among the educated in all parts of ,india1 as the greatest encouragement to the ,christian worker in that land today4 ,i care not so much whether they accept our faith in its ,western form and spirit1 so long as ,i see them growing in their appreciation of1 and devotion to the ,christ4 ,through ,him ,i am sure they will pass on to some outer expression or other of their faith in ,him--an expression which will doubtless correspond with their own oriental turn of thought and life4 ,,conclusion4 ,thus1 whether we look at the growing ,christian community and its many cheering features of life and of activity2 or whether we study the non-,christian community and all the social and national institutions of that land1 we find large encouragement and a rich assurance of the speedy coming of the ,kingdom of our ,lord4 ,nearly a century ago--the very time in which ,america1 through the ,america ,board1 sent its first missionaries to that great land--the ,directors of the ,east ,india ,company placed on record their sentiments in the following words3 8,the sending of ,christian missionaries to our ,eastern possessions is the maddest1 most expensive1 most unwarranted project that was ever proposed by a lunatic enthusiast40 ,this was1 at that time1 the conviction and the confession of the ,english rulers of ,india4 ,it was the voice of unbelief and the declaration of defiant opposition4 ,how different the attitude and the words of ,sir ,rivers ,thompson2 the ,lieutenant ,governor of ,bengal1 near the close of that same century4 8,in my judgment10 he says1 8,christian missionaries have done more real and lasting good to the people of ,india than all other agencies combined40 ,certainly1 a no more competent witness than he1 and a no more conclusive evidence than his1 could be desired4 ,in my compound in ,south ,india1 for a quarter of a century1 a date palm tree grew and flourished4 ,years later a seed was carried by a bird and dropped at the foot of this palm tree4 ,it was the seed of the sacred boh tree4 ,it also sprouted and its slender1 subtle shoot wound round the sturdy palm4 ,every year it grew higher until it finally towered above the date palm2 and the higher it grew the more its winding stem thickened2 and as it thickened it began to tighten its grip upon the other tree4 ,that grip1 so weak and innocent at first1 soon became to the palm tree a grip of death4 ,for every day so added to the encircling power of the boh tree that1 about three years ago1 it completely enshrouded and killed the palm4 ,today that boh tree stands alone1 indicating1 by its spiral form1 where the unfortunate palm found its death2 and it stretches forth its beautiful branches in rich verdure and in welcome shade to all who seek refuge from the heat of the tropical sun4 ,this is only a parable of the struggle which is witnessed in ,india today4 ,for many centuries the tree of ,brahmanism has flourished4 ,it covers that whole land4 ,but at its very root has been sown the seed of ,god's ,word and there is growing out of it1 in its beauty and strength1 the sacred tree of our ,faith4 ,already it has the old tree in its almighty grip4 ,the work of death is progressing and the final issue is sure4 ,but it will not transpire in a day4 ,the victory will come1 is now coming4 ,but the resources of ,hinduism are legion1 and its strange fascination1 to some extent1 continues4 ,india1 which is increasingly becoming ,christ's in thought and ideals1 will become his in worship and ritual1 when his name shall be heard in every home throughout the land4 ,but we need patience2 and the grand result to be achieved is worthy of the noblest endurance and of the most patient waiting4 ,christian workers in that great land are faithfully labouring and hopefully waiting until the fruitful branches of the sacred tree of ,christianity shall have spread over the whole land1 so that its shade may be the refuge of all souls in distress and its fruit shall abound for the healing of all the nations of ,india4 ,the resources and the agencies of our ,faith1 which are now utilized for the furtherance of the truth in that land1 are already wonderfully varied and potent2 but they are also increasing annually in prevailing power as in bewildering variety4 ,every ,christian drawn from ,hinduism and added to the fold of ,christ becomes1 in himself1 a force to draw and to win others to ,christ4 ,this power has already become the main agency in the growth of the church1 and its efficiency is to grow in geometric ratio as the years increase4 ,the great need of ,india today is the power of the ,holy ,spirit of ,god4 ,his people must bring themselves much more into subjection to his ,spirit1 that they may1 the more fully1 be the vehicles of ,his grace to others and the channel of ,his power in the land4 ,the dangers of ,god's ,church are1 and will preminently be1 dangers from within rather than from without4 ,it is ,hinduism1 godlessness and sin within which must be fought with an eternal vigilance and an uncompromising hostility4 ,and for this a larger baptism will mean a mighty fire of ,god kindled in the whole ,church such as will burn all its dross and consume all opposition4 ,and then shall we speedily witness the great desire of our heart--a happy1 prosperous ,india1 because it will be ,emmanuel's land--a part of the great ,fold of ,christ4 ,this consummation is as sure as ,god's own promises1 for1 in all his work1 the missionary is not only encouraged by results achieved and by assurances given1 but also by the double promise of ,god4 ,first he has the promise of the ,father to the ,son3 8,ask of me and ,i will give to thee the heathen for thine inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession40 ,the ,son has asked and is seeking the possession of the earth2 and in the confidence of his assurance he exclaims1 8,all authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth40 ,and1 to his waiting disciples1 he adds1 8,go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations40 ,and with this all-embracing command he coupled the all-satisfying promise1 8,lo1 ,i am with you always1 even unto the end of the world40 ,amen4 ,,index4 ,administration1 ,mission1 #bfd-bhf ,advaitha1 #hb ,agency employed by ,hinduism and ,christianity1 #hi ,agents1 ,mission1 #cjd ,aims of the ,two ,faiths1 #hg ,american ,effort in ,india1 #agi1 #cbi ,american ,board of ,commissioners for ,foreign ,missions1 #ahj ,american ,push1 #ahg ,amir ,ali ,sahib1 #cde ,anglo-,saxon ,effort in ,india1 #agb ,appliances1 ,missionary1 #cjj ,army1 ,the1 #dd ,aryans1 #ae1 #bhi1 #caf ,arya ,somaj1 #cac1 #cae1 #cdi1 #cea ,asceticism of ,hindus1 #abj 8,asia and ,europe10 #cce ,atchison1 ,sir ,charles1 #aia ,australian ,effort1 #agg ,avatar1 #gi ,banerjee1 ,kali ,churn1 #bie1 #caf ,banerjee1 ,dr4 ,k4 ,m41 #caf ,banerjee1 ,surendra ,nath1 #ea ,baptism--shall it be administered immediately upon confession8 #bij ,baptism--shall it be administered secretly8 #bia ,baptism--shall ladies administer8 #bib ,baptists1 ,american1 #bib1 #cji ,barth1 #fi1 #hb1 #id ,basil ,mission1 #bhe ,benevolence of ,native ,christians1 #bbe ,besant1 ,mrs4 ,annie1 #cdd ,bhagavada ,gita1 #if1 #abd ,bhakti1 ,doctrine of1 #gf ,bible--,influence of1 #ij ,bible1 ,translated1 #agh1 #cja ,bowen1 ,rev4 ,george1 #bjb ,brhm1 #hd ,brahmo ,somaj1 #cdi ,buddha1 ,the1 #ei ,buddhism1 #ed ,burma1 #aha ,canadian ,effort1 #ahh ,carey1 ,william1 #agc ,caste1 #bf-ajg1 #abd ,caste and ,government1 #cdj ,caste in the ,church1 #aca1 #aga1 #bgj1 #bga ,ceremonialism1 #aba1 #abb ,chaitanya1 #fe ,character of ,native ,christians1 #cbj ,child ,marriages1 #be1 #aed ,christian ,community1 ,the1 #cjg ,christian ,science1 #bic ,christian ,schools1 #ced ,christianity and ,hinduism ,contrasted1 #hj ,chunder ,sen1 #aej ,church ,missionary ,society1 #agd ,clarke1 ,dr4 ,w4 ,n41 #bfg ,climates of ,india1 #ad ,comparison of present and past ,methods of ,work1 #ahh ,comparative ,religion1 #bji ,contrast of the two ,faiths1 #hh ,contrast of the two ,races1 #df ,converts--from what ,social ,strata8 #cae ,coperation among ,missions1 #bch ,coronation ,address of ,indian ,christians1 #hf ,credentials of ,hinduism and ,christianity1 #ahc ,danish1 #agc ,demonolatry1 #fc ,denmark1 #afh ,direction of ,missions1 #bcd ,discipling the ,nations1 #bff ,dress and ,food of the ,missionary1 #aii ,du ,bois1 ,the ,abbe1 #bjj1 #bja ,dravidians1 #ae ,drink ,evil1 ,the1 #db ,duff1 ,alexander1 #age ,dutch1 #agh ,dutt1 ,toru1 #cbb ,east and ,west1 #big ,east ,india ,company1 #agf1 #ahj1 #cfj ,eastern ,thought1 #ada ,economic ,conditions1 #ah ,economic ,problems1 #bhb ,educated ,classes and ,christ1 #ceg ,educated ,classes and ,western ,thought1 #cec1 #cef ,education1 #bg1 #aic1 #bdh1 #bgg1 #bhj ,education of ,christians1 its ,extent1 #bha ,emancipation of ,woman1 #aei ,english ,missions1 #age ,eschatology1 #ge ,ethnic ,faith1 #aji ,european ,effort in ,india1 #agh ,evangelistic ,department1 #bdb ,evolution1 #bfd ,exclusive ,spirit of ,christianity1 #ajh ,faith ,missions1 #bca 8,failure of ,missions10 #bih ,fairbairn1 ,dr41 #aba ,family ,life1 #bd ,famine1 #ba ,fatalism1 #abb ,frederick ,,iv1 ,king1 #afh ,gautama1 #ei ,god1 ,doctrine of1 #ha ,goreh1 ,miss1 #cbb ,government1 ,the ,educational ,department of1 #bgh ,government of ,india1 #cg ,government ,service1 #cd ,grain of ,india1 #ae ,hall1 ,stanley ,president1 #bha ,haskell-,barrows ,lectureship1 #ahf ,harris1 ,lord1 #ahg ,harrison1 ,ex-,president ,benjamin1 #cbc ,heavens and ,hells of ,hinduism1 #hh ,hindu ,character1 #abe1 #abh ,hindu ,joint ,family ,system1 #bd1 #acc ,hinduism1 #fb ,hinduism ,conservative1 #ajg ,hinduism an ,ethnic ,faith1 #aji ,hinduism--is it ,tolerant8 #caj ,hinduism ,transformed1 #cda ,history of ,christianity in ,india1 #afc ,hopkins1 #fi ,humility necessary to the ,missionary1 #bac ,hymnology of ,india1 #cjb ,ideals of the ,two ,faiths1 #aja ,ideals of the ,hindu1 #aah ,incarnation1 #gb1 #id ,independent ,work of ,indian ,christians1 #cbf ,individualism in ,missions1 #bcf ,industrial ,mission1 #agi ,industrial ,problems1 #bhb ,infanticide1 #aeh ,influence of ,woman in ,india1 #adh ,inter-caste ,marriages1 #bgd ,irrigation ,schemes1 #bb ,islam1 ,the ,new1 #cde ,jaffna ,mission1 #ahb ,jones1 ,sir ,william1 #hb ,jordanus1 #aff ,judaism1 #ee ,judson1 ,adoniram1 #aha ,kali1 #ff ,kalki ,avatar1 #gh ,karma1 #ib ,kipling1 ,rudyard1 #bab ,languages1 #af ,last ,commission of our ,lord1 #bfe ,laws of ,india ,changed1 #ccg ,leaven of ,christianity1 #ccb ,leipzig ,lutheran ,mission1 #agh ,length of ,missionary ,service1 #bjc ,lex talionis1 #aaa ,life of the ,missionary1 #aig ,literacy1 #bg ,literary ,work1 #beb ,literature1 ,christian1 #cja ,london ,missionary ,society1 #agd ,love--a ,missionary ,qualification1 #bac ,lyall1 ,sir ,alfred1 #fc ,macedonian ,cry1 #bai ,mackensie1 ,sir ,alexander1 #cbj ,madras ,native ,christian ,association1 #cbd ,madura ,mission1 #ahb1 #cbe ,magna ,charta of ,missions1 #ahj ,mahabarata1 #add ,mahratta ,mission1 #aha ,man1 ,doctrines concerning1 #he ,manu1 ,code1 #ajh ,marriage among ,hindus1 #aef ,martyn1 ,henry1 #agd ,mass ,movements1 #cjh1 #cdf ,matheson1 ,dr41 #gj ,mc,kinley1 ,president1 #ccf ,medical ,work1 #bee ,metempsychosis1 #ig ,methodist1 ,american1 #ahd1 #cji ,miller1 ,dr4 ,william1 #bii1 #cee ,mills1 ,samuel1 #agi ,mission ,administration1 #bhf ,mission ,agents1 #cjd ,mission of ,great ,britain in ,india1 #de ,mission ,enterprise as a ,christian ,principle1 #bcj ,mission ,schools1 #bi1 #bgg ,missionary1 ,the1 #aic ,missionary and the ,mission1 #bbb ,missionary and ,missionary ,societies1 #bai ,missionary ,appliances1 #cjj ,missionary's ,attitude towards the ,non-,christian ,world1 #bae ,missionary as an ,organizer1 #bbd ,missionary ,organization1 #bbh ,missionary ,results1 #bih ,missionary ,societies1 #bbh ,missionary ,success--,what is it8 #bih ,mohammedanism1 #ef1 #cde ,moral ,standards of ,christianity and ,hinduism1 #aaj ,morality and ,piety1 #ace ,motive of ,missionary1 #bae1 #bfe ,motives of ,christian ,converts1 #cab ,mozumdar1 ,protab1 #cej ,muir1 ,sir ,w41 #aia ,mller1 ,max1 #fg ,multiplication of ,missionary ,activities1 #bhd ,national ,congress1 #cd ,native ,christian1 #abf ,native ,christian ,character1 #acj ,native ,christian ,community1 #cjg1 #cah ,native ,christian ,women1 #cbj ,native ,church and ,evangelism1 #bdd ,native ,officials--,their ,attitude ,towards ,mission ,schools1 #bgi ,native ,states1 #ci ,neo-,hinduism1 #cdd ,newcastle1 ,bishop of1 #ccj ,new ,converts1 #bhh ,new ,religious ,movements in ,india1 #cdh ,obscenity in the ,east1 #abf1 #cdj ,offerings of ,native ,christians1 #cbe ,opium ,traffic1 #db ,organic ,structure of a ,mission1 #bdj ,organizations of the ,native ,church1 #bei ,oriental ,christianity1 #bif ,origin of ,hinduism1 #gj ,pantnus1 #afd ,parseeism1 #eg ,passive ,virtues of ,india1 #abg ,pastoral ,work in ,missions1 #bde ,path of ,works1 #aba ,patience1 an ,equipment of the ,missionary1 #bab 8,patriot1 ,the ,christian10 #cbe ,pax ,britanica1 #dd ,people of ,india1 #ae ,persecution1 #cji1 #cae ,pessimism of ,hinduism1 #hi ,physical ,features of ,india1 #ac ,physical ,fitness of the ,missionary1 #aid ,plato1 #ij ,plutscho1 #afg ,political ,condition of ,india1 #ca ,polygamous ,converts1 #bhh ,poverty of ,christians1 #cab ,poverty of the ,land1 #ai ,prakriti1 #he ,prartanei ,somaj1 #cdi ,preaching to the ,heathen--,its ,character1 #bde ,prepossessions of a ,hindu1 #aaf ,presbyterian ,mission1 #ahb ,problems1 ,missionary1 #bfc ,problems ,concerning ,new ,converts1 #bhh ,products of ,christianity and ,hinduism1 #aad ,profanity1 ,east and ,west1 #abf ,progressive ,spirit of ,christianity1 #ajh ,property of ,missions in ,india1 #cjj ,protestant ,christian ,effort1 #aff ,provincial ,governments1 #ci ,puranas1 #id1 #aje1 #cdc ,railroads in ,india1 #bb ,ramabai1 ,pandita1 #cba1 #cbg ,ramanuja1 #ff ,reactionary ,spirit in ,india1 #bic1 #bie ,religions of ,india1 #ed ,religious ,instruction in ,mission ,schools1 #bhj ,religious ,mendicancy1 #bj1 #abj ,religious ,toleration1 #ed1 #aji ,rest and ,recreation for ,missionaries1 #aie ,results1 ,missionary1 #bih1 #ccb ,revival of ,thought in ,india1 #bic ,right of the ,christian ,church to ,send ,missionaries1 #bfd ,rivers of ,india1 #ad ,robert de ,nobilibur1 #afg ,robson1 ,dr41 #gb1 #cdd ,roman ,catholic ,effort in ,india1 #afe ,roman ,catholics and ,caste1 #bga ,rural ,people1 ,hindus a1 #ah ,saivism1 #fd ,sakti ,worship1 #ff ,salvation ,army1 #agf1 #bjj ,sanskrit1 #af ,sattianathan1 ,mrs41 #cbc ,schools for ,christian ,children1 #bdi ,schools for ,non-,christians1 #bdh ,schools1 ,mission1 #cjc ,schultze1 #afi ,schwartz1 #agj ,scottish ,missions1 #age ,self-,extension of the ,native ,church1 #bfj ,self-,government of the ,native ,church1 #cb1 #bei ,self-,support of the ,native ,church1 #bfa1 #bgd ,sell1 ,dr4 ,e41 #cde ,serampore1 #agc ,shanars1 #cjh ,sherring1 ,rev41 #aga ,sikhism1 #fa ,sin1 ,hindu and ,christian ,conception of1 #hi ,singh1 ,sir ,harnam1 #cag ,sita1 #ade ,slater1 ,rev4 ,g4 ,t4 ,e41 #ceg ,social ,life in ,india1 #bc1 #bf ,sorabjis1 ,the1 #cbb ,soul1 ,doctrine of1 #hf ,s4 ,p4 ,c4 ,k41 #agj ,s4 ,p4 ,g41 #agb 8,spirit of ,islam10 #cde ,spirituality of ,hinduism1 #gd ,spiritual ,qualifications of the ,missionary1 #baj ,statistics1 ,religious1 #ee ,strachey1 ,sir ,john1 #aei ,study of ,christian ,missions1 #bfg ,supreme ,soul1 #hf ,survival of the ,fittest1 #bfd ,syrian ,church of ,malabar1 #afe ,tamil ,bible1 #agh ,tantras1 #aje1 #cdc ,taxation in ,india1 #dj ,telegu ,baptist ,mission1 #cji ,theological ,seminaries1 #bdd ,theology of the ,missionary1 #bje ,theosophy1 #bic ,thoburn1 ,bishop1 #ahe1 #bjf1 #bgg1 #cji ,thomas1 ,st41 #afc ,tinnevelly ,mission1 #cjh ,toleration1 ,religious1 #caj ,townsend1 ,meredith1 #cce ,training of the ,missionary1 #bjd ,tranquebar1 #afg ,triad1 ,hindu1 #fe ,turanians of ,south ,india1 #caf ,universe1 ,doctrine of the1 #hd ,vaishnava ,sects1 #fe ,vaishnavism1 #fe ,vasco da ,gama1 #aff ,vedantism1 #fg ,vernaculars of ,india and the ,missionary1 #bjh ,vicarious ,atonement1 #gc ,webb1 ,rev4 ,e41 #cjb ,wifely ,devotion1 #ade ,williams1 ,sir ,monier1 #he ,wilson1 ,dr41 #agf ,witness ,bearing1 #bff ,women of ,india1 #adc1 #adg1 #aea1 #cbj ,women of ,india1 their ,disabilities1 #aeb ,women in ,missionary ,organization1 #bcg ,work for ,women1 #bef ,xavier1 #aff ,yesuthasan1 #cjb ,yoga1 #ic1 #aai ,young1 ,work for the1 #ahe1 #beg1 #cbi ,young1 ,sir ,william ,mackworth1 #bbg ,ziegenbalg1 #afg ,,footnotes #a ,some of these1 doubtless1 are only well-developed dialects4 ,many other1 more imperfect1 dialects might be added to this total4 #b ,the extensive famines of the last few years have reduced this increase to two and one half per cent4 during the last decade4 #c ,this subject is treated more fully in later chapters4 #d ,the rupee is at present one-third of a dollar4 #e ,nearly all these ,buddhists live in ,burma which is included in these statistics because it is now politically a part of ,india4 #f ,according to the census of #aija there were #b1ibc1cdi ,christians4 #g 8,the ,religions of ,india10 p4 #efb4 #h 8,the ,religions of ,india10 p4 #bhh4 #i 8,the ,religions of ,india10 page #hc4 #aj ,sir ,john ,strachey's 8,india10 page #caa4 #aa ,i speak vaguely because it is hard to definitely declare what a missionary society is4 #ab ,the returns for ,congregationalists do not include the members of the ,london ,missionary ,society ,missions1--these being1 apparently1 included among the 8,scattering40 #ac ,see ,toronto ,convention ,report of ,student ,volunteer ,movement1 p4 #cgh4 #ad ,hinduism and ,christianity1 page #bdh4 #ae ,see ,dr4 ,sell's article1 8,the ,new ,islam10 in ,contemporary ,review1 ,august1 #ahic4 #af 8,the ,higher ,hinduism in ,relation to ,christianity10 page #bia4 ,this valuable book has only just been published after my manuscript was written4