,illustration3 ,a ,,holy ,,man ,,of ,,india ,,india ,,its ,,life ,,and ,,thought ,,by ,,john ,p4 ,,jones1 ,d4,d4 ,,south ,,india ,,author ,,of ,,india',s ,,problem1 ,,krishna ,,or ,,christ1 ,,etc41 ,,etc4 ,new ,york ,,the ,,macmillan ,,company #aijh ,,copyright1 #aijh1 ,,by ,,the ,,macmillan ,,company4 99 99 99 99 99 ,dedicated ,,to ,,my ,,dear ,,children ,,who ,,have ,,bravely ,,and ,,cheerfully ,,endured ,,the ,,separation ,,and ,,the ,,loss ,,of ,,home ,,for ,,the ,,sake ,,of ,,india 99 99 99 99 99 ,,preface ,to the people of the ,west1 the inhabitants of ,india are the least understood and the most easily misunderstood of all men4 ,it is partly because they are antipodal to the ,west--the farthest removed in thought and life4 ,they are also the most secretive1 and find perennial delight in concealment and evasion4 ,according to ,hindu teaching1 the ,supreme ,spirit forever sports in illusion4 ,it continuously manifests itself through unreal and false forms1 which delude and lead astray ignorant man4 ,in harmony with this philosophy of the ,divine--and may it not be as a result of it8--the people of ,india too often delight in unreal and deceptive exhibitions of themselves4 ,at any rate1 it is exceedingly difficult for a man of the ,west1 especially he of the ,anglo-,saxon type1 to apprehend the full significance and the correct drift of life and thought of this land4 ,it is amusing1 when not discouraging1 to witness travellers1 who have rushed through ,india in a winter tour1 publish volumes of their misconceptions and ill-digested theories about the people with an oracular emphasis which is equalled only by their ignorance4 ,the author of this book makes no claim to a right to speak ex cathedra upon this subject4 ,nevertheless1 thirty years of matured experience in this land1 living in constant touch with the people and studying with eagerness their life and thought1 gives him an humble claim to speak once more upon the subject4 ,even now1 however1 his pride of knowledge is chastened by the oft-recurring surprises which the ,oriental nature and life still bring to him4 ,and he does not cease to pray1 with a western saint1 who1 at the end of a half century of work for the people of ,india1 daily cried out1-- ,o ,lord1 help me to know these people and to come into intimate relations of life with them6 ,if1 in these pages1 he can help others of the ,west to come face to face with the immense and intricate problems which confront all who desire to know1 to help1 and to bless ,india1 and shall enable them to understand better the conditions and characteristics of life in the ,land of the ,vedas1 he will feel amply repaid for his labours4 ,i express my deep gratitude to the ,rev4 ,j4 ,l4 ,barton1 ,d4,d41 for his kind encouragement in the publishing of this book2 and also to the ,rev4 ,w4 ,w4 ,wallace1 ,m4,a41 for his generous aid in the proof-reading4 ,j4 ,p4 ,,jones4 99 99 99 99 99 ,,contents ,,chapter ,i4 ,,india',s ,,unrest i4 ,extent of the ,movement ii4 ,causes of ,unrest iii4 ,conditions of ,unrest iv4 ,results v4 ,how shall the ,unrest be ,removed ,,ii4 ,,the ,,home ,,of ,,many ,,faiths ,hinduism--,madura and ,benares ,demonolatry--,madura ,christianity--,travancore and ,cochin ,judaism--,cochin ,parseeism--,bombay ,jainism--,bombay ,mohammedanism--,agra and ,delhi ,buddhism--,delhi1 ,sarnath ,sikhism--,amritsar ,,iii4 ,,burma1 ,,the ,,beautiful ,the ,extent of the ,british ,empire ,burma's ,triple ,produce ,the ,land of ,pagodas ,mandalay ,a ,land where ,woman is ,honoured ,a ,land where ,caste is ,unknown ,the ,american ,baptist ,mission ,the ,karens and their ,conversion ,ko ,san ,ye ,,iv4 ,,the ,,hindu ,,caste ,,system ,what is ,caste i4 ,origin of ,caste 7a7 ,religious ,theory 7b7 ,tribal ,theory 7c7 ,social ,theory 7d7 ,occupational ,theory 7e7 ,crossing ,theory ii4 ,characteristics of ,caste ,intermarriage ,inter-dining ,contact ,occupation iii4 ,penalties of ,caste ,boycott ,caste ,servants ,interdicted ,domestic ,isolation ,prayaschitta4 7,travelling7 ,v4 ,,the ,,hindu ,,caste ,,system 7,continued7 iv4 ,occasions of ,punishment ,change of ,faith ,marrying a ,widow ,beef-eating ,officiating as ,priest to ,outcasts ,marrying outside of ,one's ,caste v4 ,the ,results of the ,caste ,system ,possibilities of ,good ,it arrays ,caste against ,caste ,it narrows the ,sympathies ,it degrades ,manual ,labour ,it opposes ,commerce ,a ,foe to ,nationality ,a ,foe to ,individualism ,it is ,unethical vi4 ,the ,dominance of ,caste ,seen even among ,christians ,roman ,catholicism and ,protestantism ,signs of its ,decadence ,opposed by ,western ,progress ,government ,opposition ,christianity its ,foe ,,vi4 ,,the ,,bhagavad ,,gita--,,the ,,hindu ,,bible i4 ,what is this ,song ii4 ,what are its ,purposes and ,contents #a4 ,its ,teaching concerning ,god ,incarnation #b4 ,the ,doctrine of the ,living ,soul #c4 ,the ,doctrine of ,liberation 7#a7 ,through ,knowledge 7#b7 ,through ,asceticism 7#c7 ,through ,works ,caste ,detachment ,bhakti 7#d7 ,altruism4 #d4 ,the ,doctrine of ,salvation ,reincarnation iii4 ,conclusion ,,vii4 ,,popular ,,hinduism i4 ,the ,higher ,faith ,the ,evolution of ,faith ii4 ,popular ,hinduism #a4 ,caste #b4 ,polytheism #c4 ,idolatry #d4 ,devil-worship #e4 ,fetichism #f4 ,immorality #g4 ,treatment of ,woman #h4 ,the ,hindu ,ascetic #i4 ,hindu ,pessimism #aj4 ,astrology ,,viii4 ,,hindu ,,religious ,,ideals i4 ,the ,ideal of ,god ii4 ,ideal of ,incarnation iii4 ,ideals of ,life ,asceticism ,ceremonialism ,quietism iv4 ,ultimate ,salvation ,transmigration ,absorption ,,ix4 ,,the ,,home ,,life ,,of ,,hindus ,the ,home ,sanctuary ,the ,building of the ,house ,the ,joint ,family ,system ,priest and ,astrologer ,place of ,woman in the ,home ,the ,devotion of ,woman ,the ,influence of ,woman ,marriage in the ,home ,the ,hindu ,widow ,mother-in-law and ,daughter-in-law ,love of ,jewellery ,clothing and ,cuisine ,sickness and ,death ,funeral ,obsequies ,shradda ,x4 ,,kali ,,yuga--,,india',s ,,pessimism i4 ,the ,astounding ,length of the ,chronological ,system ,history and ,legend in ,india ii4 ,the ,cyclic ,character of ,hindu ,chronology ,no ,progress in ,time ,the ,source of ,pessimism iii4 ,the ,moral ,characteristics of the ,time ,system ,every ,yuga has its ,own ,character ,the ,evil ,character of ,kali ,cui ,bono ,astrology ,lucky ,days ,,xi4 ,,islam ,,in ,,india i4 ,the ,history of ,islam in ,india ii4 ,the ,present ,condition of this ,faith in ,india ,ill-adapted to ,india ,its ,conception of ,deity ,intolerance and ,tolerance ,contact with ,hinduism ,compromise ,islam's ,attempt at ,reform ,islam's ,redeeming ,qualities ,muslim ,sects iii4 ,the ,mohammedan ,population iv4 ,christian ,effort for the ,mussulman ,,xii4 ,,the ,,christ ,,and ,,the ,,buddha i4 ,the ,conditions of their ,lives ii4 ,the ,common ,principles which controlled ,them ,sincerity ,ethics ,universal ,charity iii4 ,the ,teachings which differentiate ,them #a4 ,teaching concerning ,god #b4 ,their ,conceptions of ,human ,life #c4 ,their ,ideals of ,life ,character and ,wisdom ,final ,consummation ,,xiii4 ,,modern ,,religious ,,movement ,hindu ,reformers i4 ,hindu ,sects ii4 ,modern ,movements ,ram ,mohan ,roy ,brahmo ,somaj ,chunder ,sen ,athi ,somaj ,sadharna ,somaj ,new ,dispensation iii4 ,progress of the ,movement ,weak in ,numbers ,indian ,spirit ,christian ,basis ,the ,oriental ,christ ,chunder ,sen's ,words4 ,other ,testimony ,the ,new ,dispensation iv4 ,the ,arya ,somaj ,its ,progress ,its ,principles ,its ,antagonism to ,christianity v4 ,the ,theosophical ,society ,its ,reactionary ,spirit ,mrs4 ,besant ,the ,masters ,,xiv4 ,,the ,,progress ,,of ,,christianity ,,in ,,india i4 ,early ,history of ,christianity ,converts ,the ,character of the ,christian ,community ,influence of ,christianity ,swadesha ,protestant ,effort ii4 ,ultimate ,triumph of ,christianity ,not the ,western ,type ,the ,kingdom of ,god iii4 ,a ,conquest of the ,spirit #a4 ,conquest of ,principles #b4 ,conquest of the ,christ ,ideal #c4 ,conquest of the ,incarnation of ,christ #d4 ,conquest of the ,cross of ,christ #e4 ,conquest of the ,christian ,conception of ,sin ,,index 99 99 99 99 99 ,,list ,,of ,,illustrations ,a ,,holy ,,man ,,of ,,india ,frontispiece ,,the ,,golden ,,lily ,,tank ,,in ,,the ,,madura ,,temple ,,taj ,,mahal1 ,,agra ,,marble ,,screen ,,in ,,taj ,,mahal ,,shah ,,jehan',s ,,fort1 ,,agra ,,akbar',s ,,tomb ,,kutab-,,minar1 ,,delhi ,,cashmere ,,gate1 ,,delhi ,,schwey ,,dagon ,,pagoda1 ,,rangoon ,,theebaw',s ,,palace1 ,,mandalay ,,jungle ,,people ,,of ,,india ,a ,,dravidian ,,shrine1 ,,south ,,india ,,two ,,hindu ,,idols1 ,,south ,,india ,,humayan',s ,,tomb1 ,,delhi ,,the ,,greatest ,,image ,,of ,,buddha ,a ,,christian ,,village ,,school ,,in ,,south ,,india 99 99 99 99 99 ,,india3 ,,its ,,life ,,and ,,thought ,,chapter ,i ,,india',s ,,unrest ,india has been called the land of quiet repose1 content to remain anchored to the hoary past1 and proud of her immobility4 ,invasion after invasion has swept over her2 but-- ,the ,east bowed low before the blast1 ,in patient1 deep disdain2 ,she let the legions thunder past1 ,and plunged in thought again4 ,yet this same ,india is now throbbing with discontent1 and is breathing1 in all departments of her life1 a deep spirit of unrest4 ,this spirit has recently become acute and seemed1 for a while1 in danger of bursting into open rebellion1 not unlike the ,mutiny of half a century ago4 ,i ,this movement is but a part of the new awakening of the ,east4 ,the world has seen its marvellously rapid development and fruitage in ,japan4 ,it is witnessing the same process in ,china and ,korea4 ,the people of ,india1 likewise1 have been touched by its power and are no longer willing to rest contentedly as a subject people or a stagnant race4 ,this movement is not only political1 it permeates every department of life2 and it partakes of the general unrest which has taken possession of all the civilized nations of the earth4 ,it is really the dawning of ,india's consciousness of strength and of a purpose to take her place1 and to play a worthy part1 in the great world drama4 ,this spirit found its incarnation and warmest expression in the opposition to the government scheme1 two years ago1 under ,lord ,curzon1 for the partition of ,bengal4 ,the ,bengalees keenly resented the division of their ,province2 for it robbed the clever ,babu of many of the plums of office4 ,he petitioned1 and fomented agitation and opposition to the scheme4 ,then1 in his spite against the government1 he organized a boycott against all forms of foreign industry and commerce4 ,this has been conducted with mad disregard to the people's own economic interest1 and has1 moreover1 developed into bitter racial animosity4 ,the ,bengalee has striven hard to carry into other ,provinces also his spirit of antagonism to the ,state4 ,though he has not succeeded in convincing many others of the wisdom of his method1 he has spread the spirit of discontent and of dissatisfaction far beyond his own boundary4 ,even sections of the land which denounce the boycott as folly1 if not suicide1 have taken up the political slogan of the ,babu 7,bande ,mataram--,hail1 ,mother67 and are demanding1 mostly in inarticulate speech1 such rights and privileges as they imagine themselves to be deprived of4 ,the movement is1 in some respects1 a reactionary one2 and race hatred is one of its most manifest results4 ,it is not merely a rising of the ,east against the ,west2 it is also a conflict between ,mohammedans and ,hindus4 ,in ,eastern ,bengal1 where the ,mussulmans are in a large majority1 and where the ,hindus have become the most embittered1 the former have stood aloof from the latter and have opposed the boycott4 ,this has led to increasing hatred between the members of these two faiths1--a feeling which has spread all over the country1 and which has carried them into opposing camps4 ,this is1 in one way1 fortunate for the government1 since it has given rise to definite and warm expressions of loyalty by the whole ,mohammedan community4 ,disgruntled graduates of the ,university and school-boys take the most prominent place in this movement4 ,the ,universities annually send forth an army of men supplied with degrees--last year it was #aegj ,b4,a4's2 and it is the conviction of nine-tenths of them that it is the duty of the government to give them employment as soon as they graduate4 ,as this is impossible1 many of them nurse their disappointment into discontent and opposition to the powers that be4 ,many of them become dangerous demagogues and fomenters of sedition4 ,not a few such are found in every ,province of the country4 ,and they find in the ,high ,school and ,college students the best material to work upon4 ,these boys have been the most numerous and excited advocates of this movement4 ,as in ,russia1 so in ,india the educational institutions are becoming the hotbeds of dissatisfaction and opposition to the ,state4 ,but there is this difference4 ,in ,russia the ,university student is much more truly an exponent of public sentiment1 and more ready to suffer for that sentiment1 than are the dependent youth of colleges in ,india4 ,this movement has not1 to any considerable extent1 reached the masses4 ,nine-tenths of the population of ,india are satisfied with the government and have no desire to change the present order of things4 ,indeed1 they are deeply ignorant of the grievances which the higher classes nurse into bitterness4 ,and yet it should not be forgotten that the ignorance of the people1 coupled with their narrow superstition and lively imagination1 make them very inflammable material under the influence of eloquent demagogues4 ,,ii ,one of the most marked causes of this activity and discontent is the recent victory of ,japan over ,russia4 ,it is hard for the ,west to realize how much that event has stirred the imagination and quickened the ambition of all the people of the ,east4 ,they regard that war as the great conflict of the ,east and the ,west4 ,india had not the slightest idea that ,japan would come triumphant out of that conflict4 ,but the victory of ,japan instantly suggested to all men of culture in ,india the question1 ,why should our land be subject to a far-off1 and a small1 western country8 ,why should we be content with our dependence and not reveal our manhood and our prowess1 as ,japan did8 ,these are inquiries which have opened up new visions of power and greatness to the people of ,india4 ,japan and its people have been immensely popular in ,india since their recent victory4 ,and ,hindus believe that the peace perfected at ,portsmouth was the harbinger of a new era of liberty and independence for all the ,east4 ,the growing influence of western education in ,india has had much to do with the present state of things4 ,it is true that ,india is still a land of ignorance4 ,it is a lamentable fact that only #a in #aj of the males and #a in #add of the females can read4 ,only #bb4f per cent of the boys of school-going age attend school1 and only #b4f per cent of the girls4 ,and yet the enrolment of more than five million scholars in the public schools is a significantly hopeful fact as compared with the past history of ,india4 ,this education is distinctly on western lines4 ,and connected with the five ,universities of ,india there are many thousands of young men and women who are devoting themselves to a deep study of western thought and of western ideas of liberty4 ,the ,calcutta ,university alone has1 in its affiliated colleges1 more students registered than ,harvard1 ,yale1 ,princeton1 and ,toronto combined4 ,in that city1 which is the centre of the present unrest1 there are #ab1jjj young men in the ,colleges1 and #cj1jjj pupils in the ,high ,schools4 ,this host of young men and women are imbibing modern ideas of manliness1 independence1 and liberty such as ,india never knew in the past2 and they go out into the world with new ambitions for their country and inspired with not a little divine unrest4 ,in close connection with this educational influence is that of western civilization and ,christian ideals4 ,the government of this land is built upon ,christian principles and is animated by that spirit of civilization which dominates the ,west4 ,and we know that these make for manhood and independence everywhere4 ,it would be a sad thing for ,great ,britain1 as it would be for the ,christian missionary in ,india1 if these lofty principles1 which they inculcate1 did not acquire increasing power over these youth4 ,and it should not be forgotten that an increasing number of the elect youth of ,india go to ,england for the completion of their training1 and return well equipped with ,anglo-,saxon ideas of human rights and of manhood's claims4 ,nor is this merely a movement of the people of ,india4 ,there is a strong body of ,englishmen1 several of whom are members of ,parliament1 banded together in ,england1 for the purpose of promoting the political influence of the people of ,india in the conduct of the affairs of their own country4 ,these men believe that ,india has a right to a much larger meed of self-government than she now enjoys4 ,and they seize upon every opportunity to urge upon the ,home ,government the duty of granting added power to the people1 and also to advise the leaders of ,indian thought as to their wisest methods of procedure4 ,there are not a few radicals in ,britain who believe that ,india should govern herself as an independent colony4 ,and they rouse within ,hindu youth who go to ,england a radical spirit of discontent and disloyalty4 ,it was only the other day that ,lord ,ampthill warned these men1 because of the insidious influence which they were exercising for the overthrow of the ,british power in the ,east4 ,the ,national ,congress1 which has just reached its majority1 has a profound influence in the development of a national consciousness1 and in the furtherance of the cause of independence and political power in the land4 ,the very existence of this institution is one of the highest compliments to ,british rule in ,india4 ,it would be impossible for one to imagine the ,russian government permitting such a body of men to gather every year in solemn conclave to devote several days to a vehement criticism of all the principal acts of the ,state1 to give vent to disloyal sentiments1 and to promote the spirit of disaffection throughout the country4 ,this ,congress has devoted nearly all its time to a denunciation of the powers that be2 and during these twenty-one years the writer has not seen one word of commendation or one vote of appreciation of the ,state in the reports of the proceedings of the ,congress4 ,and the demands of the ,congress1 inspired as they are by ,anglo-,saxon friends in ,great ,britain1 are becoming annually more definite and urgent4 ,until the meeting of #aijf there was no divergence of sentiment among ,congress-wallahs4 ,no dissentient voice or conflicting opinions were allowed4 ,it is to the honour and highest interest of the ,congress that this stage has now been passed and the healthy rivalry of parties is felt and heard in ,congress councils4 ,it is to be regretted that at the last ,congress meeting1 in ,surat1 these two parties--the ,moderates and the ,extremists--came into bitter conflict4 ,it was largely due to the past supineness of the ,moderates who permitted the other party 7which is a small but noisy minority7 to resort to bluster in order to force their pet and bitter schemes of disorder upon the ,congress4 ,when1 ultimately1 the ,moderates determined to exercise the rights of the majority1 the others resorted to force and caused the ,congress to be suspended in disorder1 thus revealing the sad spectacle of the present incapacity of the leaders of the people to govern themselves and the country4 ,this is1 however1 perhaps the best thing that could have happened for the highest interest of the ,congress itself4 ,the two parties are now clearly defined--the one seeking1 through constitutional agitation1 self-government on colonial lines1 like ,canada2 the other determined to overthrow the government of the foreigner and to establish its own upon the ruins4 ,and agitation in this behalf is to be conducted in every possible way1 constitutional or otherwise4 ,the ,moderates are now thoroughly roused and have driven out from their councils the irreconcilables and fire-eaters1 and can now work with more harmony and success for the attainment of their wiser plans and more reasonable aims4 ,a few years ago1 the ,state ignored1 when it did not ridicule1 the ,national ,congress4 ,to-day none recognizes its power more than does the government4 ,and it is most suggestive and instructive to see this body1 of fully three thousand men1 gathered together from all parts of this great peninsula--men who represent peoples that speak more than four hundred languages and dialects6 ,they conduct their sessions in ,english1 which is the only universal tongue of the country4 ,and a purer ,english is hardly spoken in any deliberative or legislative body in any other land2 and some of the addresses are delivered with a force1 and are adorned with a logic and a rhetoric1 which are truly eloquent4 ,verily1 the weapon of popular power1 though largely used against the government1 is the best compliment possible to the ,state which has created it4 ,the ,press also has marvellously grown in power and in dignity during the last quarter of a century4 ,at the present time there are scores of dailies1 and many more weeklies and monthlies1 published in the ,english tongue by the natives of the land4 ,and they discuss1 with intelligence and discrimination1 if not with moderation1 all matters of ,state and of political interest4 ,recently some of these papers have become thoroughly radical and oppose the government at all points4 ,but it is the vernacular ,press1 representing1 as it does1 hundreds of newspapers in all the tongues of ,india1 that carries its influence into the villages and homes of the uneducated millions4 ,the present condition of discontent with the government has been disseminated among the common people more by these vernacular papers than by any other agency4 ,many of these are thoroughly disloyal and seditious4 ,very occasionally they are prosecuted for their inflammatory editorials1 and their editors are imprisoned4 ,as a matter of fact1 there is hardly any country where the ,press has greater liberties than in ,india2 and there is no land on earth where that liberty is more abused4 ,the very toleration of the government is turned as a keen weapon against it4 ,the same thing is true of the freedom of public speech4 ,there is not another land1 save perhaps ,america1 whose citizens have greater privileges in this matter4 ,the seditious speeches which have been made in many parts of ,india during the last two years1 by ,bengalees specially1 and by a few other radicals1 have been such as would in ,europe lead to imprisonment if not to deportation4 ,bepin ,chandra ,pal1 of ,calcutta1 has just closed a tour during which he has made many addresses1 attended1 in all cases1 by thousands of students and disaffected members of the community1 and has not only denounced the government as the very incarnation of unrighteousness and cruelty1 but has also urged the people to do all they can1 both constitutionally and otherwise1 to defeat and overthrow it and to establish a native rule upon its ruin4 ,any government1 in order to ignore such language uttered in immense public assemblies1 must feel very secure in its power4 ,mr4 ,pal is only one of many who have thus far been granted absolute freedom to sow broadcast the seed of revolution4 ,,iii ,what is there in the recent condition of the country and of the people1 which warrants this unrest and discontent8 ,disinterested persons will not say that the ,state is unprogressive or is administering its affairs unwisely4 ,in its recent ,annual ,financial ,statement we discover evidences of prosperity in all departments of ,state4 ,there is no extensive famine to distress the people and harass the government4 ,the revenue of the year exceeds1 by nearly #cj million rupees1 the estimates2 there was a surplus at the end of the year of #bj million rupees4 ,owing to this the government has reduced the opium cultivation1 which has wrought1 for many years1 so much injustice to ,china4 ,it has also increased postal facilities1 which renders them cheaper and more convenient than in any other land4 ,moreover1 the obnoxious salt tax has been reduced by #ej per cent2 and it is hoped that the whole tax will be remitted shortly4 ,the grant for education is also much enhanced beyond any former year1 and the ,state is even planning for the introduction of a ,free ,primary ,education1 which will be an unspeakable boon to the people4 ,and when it is said that taxation in ,india has been reduced1 we should also remember that in this land the taxation per head is lighter than in any other civilized country in the world4 ,in ,russia1 it is eight times as great2 in ,england1 twenty times2 in ,italy1 nineteen2 in ,france1 twenty-five2 in the ,united ,states and ,germany1 thirteen times4 ,in other words1 taxation in ,india comes to only one dollar1 or three rupees1 per head4 ,but it is claimed that ,india is a land of deepest poverty4 ,this is perfectly true4 ,but it is not true that her poverty is increasing4 ,the ,parsee ,chairman of the ,bombay ,stock ,exchange1 in his last annual address1 said that it was the conviction of merchants1 bankers1 tradesmen1 and captains of industry that ,india is slowly but steadily advancing along paths of material prosperity1 and for the last few years it has taken an accelerated pace4 ,the poverty of the people is a very convenient slogan of the political party2 but there is everything to prove that the condition of the people1 deplorable though it be1 is1 nevertheless1 slowly improving4 ,the ,state is1 moreover1 constantly yielding to the growing demand of the people for a larger share in the conduct of public business and in the emoluments of office4 ,even at the present time the ,secretary of ,state for ,india has introduced a scheme1 at the instance of the government1 which will add materially to the power of ,india in the conduct of its own affairs4 ,the ,british were never more firmly entrenched and possessed of more power in ,india than at the present time4 ,the lesson of the ,mutiny1 of a half-a-century ago1 was not lost upon the administrators of ,india4 ,since then1 no ,indian regiment can be stationed within a thousand miles of its own home1 and thus be able to enter into collusion with the people4 ,and the artillery branch of the army is entirely in the hands of the ,british force4 ,moreover1 as we have seen1 the ,mohammedans and the ,sikhs are loyal to the government1 and would stand with the ,british against the ,hindus in any conflict of arms4 ,the ,hindus themselves realize this situation perfectly well4 ,one of the best-known ,hindu gentlemen recently wrote as follows3 ,the truth is in a nutshell and may be described in a few words4 ,the ,british cannot be driven out of ,india by the ,indians1 nor by any foreign ,power4 ,this fact is known to more than #ij per cent of the people4 ,of all the foreigners1 the ,british are the best4 ,we1 as we are now1 are the least able to govern ,india1 being not equal to the worst and weakest foreign ,power4 ,the best class of ,hindus are not only sensible of their own weakness1 from a military standpoint2 they are also dissatisfied with the action of extremists and believe that the present unrest is evil4 ,a well-known ,hindu writer describes the situation in the following words3 ,the class of people the ,indian ,extremists appeal to1 consists of irresponsible and impressionable students and the ignorant populace2 and the agitator1 who is thoroughly cognizant of this fact1 uses it for his purposes4 ,he appeals to their feelings1 and succeeds in making them believe in the soundness of his fallacies and mischievous preachings4 ,the authorities have therefore to see that this class of people is protected from the insidious appeals of mischievous pseudo-patriots4 ,after over a century of beneficent ,british rule in ,india1 it is scarcely necessary to attempt to justify its existence or continuance4 ,at the same time1 it has to be recognized that discontent prevails among the people2 though1 speaking generally1 it does not by any means partake of the character of disaffection or disloyalty4 ,discontent is by no means inconsistent with loyalty to government4 ,on the other hand1 it may even be said1 with a certain degree of truth1 that the deep-rooted and abiding sense of loyalty in the people has engendered the spirit of discontent1 the healthy discontent with their lot4 ,it should also be remembered that the ,hindu caste system is an insuperable barrier to the progress of the people toward independence4 ,the unity of the ,mohammedans of ,india1 who are only one-fifth of the population1 is in healthful contrast to the myriad caste divisions and social barriers which separate ,hindus one from another4 ,one must be compelled to deny the sincerity of many who claim that this people is a nation which prides itself upon its patriotism1 so long as the caste system dominates them and their ideas4 ,the only tie which binds together these people is the spirit of opposition to this foreign government4 ,among the classes and the masses there is absolutely no coherence or unity of sentiment in any line of constructive activity4 ,so that in the matter of self-government they would prove themselves to be sadly incompetent4 ,,iv ,the action of the ,indian government1 in view of the present situation1 has been the subject of criticism4 ,anglo-,indians feel that the ,viceroy and his ,council have1 for some reason or other1 been too deliberate in their action4 ,for two years things have been going from bad to worse4 ,when1 recently1 ,sir ,bampfylde ,fuller1 the ,lieutenant-,governor of ,east ,bengal1 took prompt and vigorous action to suppress the uprising in his ,province1 which was the centre of trouble1 the ,indian government declined to support him4 ,he therefore resigned1 and ,india lost one of the men who are the most competent to deal wisely and well with sedition-mongers4 ,the ,state may have thought1 and was probably right in thinking1 that while the ,bengal ,babu is capable of unlimited noise1 he has a mortal aversion to converting his noise into action4 ,so the government preferred patiently to endure odium rather than suppress the movement4 ,it was different in the ,panjaub1 whose people are less talkative1 but are more given to action4 ,these warrior tribes were being rapidly disaffected by political agitators2 and they doubtless had definite grievances of their own to agitate them4 ,the time came when government was compelled to do something to suppress the rising tide of feeling4 ,it decided to act upon a law of nearly a century ago1 and deported two of the leaders of the movement4 ,they were at once sent to ,burma1 where they were held in surveillance for six months and then released4 ,this action of the ,state was effective2 for it quieted the people and nipped what promised to be a rebellion1 in the bud4 ,but it raised a storm of denunciation from all the ,hindu papers1 which spoke of it as a violation of the ,queen's ,proclamation and an act subversive of the most sacred rights of the people of the country and of the most elementary form of justice6 ,one writer claims that the meanest ,british subject is entitled to a writ of ,habeas ,corpus1 and thus secure an effective protection against arbitrary imprisonment and arrest by the government4 ,this is certainly true in ordinary times of peace2 but the government had every reason to believe that the state of things in the ,panjaub was anything but peaceable1 and that it must act in view of the extraordinary condition of the ,province4 ,and its method of procedure has proved itself to be the most bloodless and inexpensive possible4 ,it has been claimed that the chief deported man1 ,mr4 ,lala ,rajpat ,rai1 is not an extremist2 but this has to be proved1 and it may be presumed that the government was more conversant with his acts and their influence upon the people1 and the native army1 than some of his defenders are4 ,all must regret the necessity of so unconstitutional a method of dealing with this great evil2 but when such a man as the ,hon4 ,mr4 ,morley1 the ,secretary of ,state for ,india1 agrees with the ,indian government in this matter1 it may be presumed to have been necessary4 ,the government has also proclaimed and prohibited the assembling together of the people for political purposes in the most disaffected parts of the country1 and more especially where the ,hindus and ,mohammedans are fighting each other4 ,none can question the wisdom of thus saving the people from bitter feuds and the power of agitators4 ,another very important action of the ,state has been to warn the students of the ,universities against participating in political agitation1 and to threaten the withdrawal of affiliation from institutions of learning in which political agitation is encouraged4 ,nobody will dispute the wisdom of this action2 for the school-boys of ,india seem as disloyal as they are irresponsible1 and are the most pliant tools of radical demagogues4 ,the ,press also is receiving the attention of the government4 ,the vernacular ,press is in special need of being taught the lesson of its responsibility to the people and to the ,state4 ,and the best elements of the community1 both ,anglo-,indian and ,indian1 believe heartily that editors and proprietors of papers should be brought to account for their seditious utterances4 ,v ,many are now asking1 ,how shall this trouble be removed and peace and good-will be restored to the land8 ,nothing is more necessary than the cultivation of mutual understanding between the two races4 ,it is very unfortunate that1 in this matter1 the situation has not improved during the last quarter of a century4 ,indeed1 the racial problem is more acute now1 as it is in ,america1 than it was ever before4 ,all seem too ready to accept1 as conclusive1 the statement of ,kipling1-- ,o6 the ,east is ,east and the ,west is ,west1 ,and never the twain shall meet1 ,till earth and sky stand presently ,before ,god's great judgment seat4 ,and they too easily ignore the other part which conveys his lesson1-- ,but there is neither ,east nor ,west1 ,nor border1 nor breed1 nor birth1 ,where two strong men stand face to face1 ,though they come from the ends of the earth4 ,the parties concerned in ,india to-day must learn the lesson of mutual forbearance and study to understand each other's peculiarities and enter more fully into each other's thoughts1 sentiments1 and idiosyncrasies4 ,the ,anglo-,indian stands most in need of this lesson of aptitude4 ,the ,anglo-,saxon is notoriously conceited and given to thinking that he has nothing to learn from other people1 especially those who are politically subject to him4 ,he looks with contempt upon the mild ,hindu1 and maintains that it is the business of ,brahman and ,sudra alike meekly to submit to1 and obey1 his lordship4 ,he tramples upon their sensibilities and declines to learn any lessons of wisdom from them4 ,on the other hand1 ,brahman and ,sudra have ineradicable prejudices1 which they nurse with extraordinary fondness and cherish with unyielding tenacity4 ,the leader of this people1 the ,brahman1 is1 in his way1 even more haughty than the ,anglo-,indian4 ,this situation is full of difficulty4 ,here we have two races1 the ,aryan of the ,east and the ,aryan of the ,west1 standing face to face4 ,each in its way claims dominance4 ,the ,westerner claims superiority by right of conquest and of advanced civilization and general progress4 ,and he is not backward in presenting his vaunted claims6 ,the ,easterner1 on the other hand1 has ruled ,india by right of intelligence and by every claim of social and religious distinction1 for at least thirty centuries4 ,he stands to-day a match for any individual1 ,east or ,west1 in intellectual prowess4 ,but1 more than this1 socially and religiously he regards himself as the first son of heaven4 ,contact with an ,englishman1 even with the ,king-,emperor himself1 is for him pollution1 which must be removed by elaborate and exacting religious ceremonies4 ,to eat with any such would be a sin of the deepest dye4 ,how can one expect such a man to meet with a foreigner on even terms1 or to treat him with equality and true friendship8 ,before ,india loves its conquerors1 and sympathy and good understanding are established between them1 both parties need to be born again4 ,at least they must endeavour to lay aside their prejudices and to cultivate the kinship of their united destiny4 ,the writer recently listened to an eloquent address delivered by a cultured ,hindu gentleman1 in which he implored ,anglo-,indians to cultivate their friendship and to forget the different shades of their complexion4 ,the prejudice of colour is1 he maintains1 as strong in ,india as it is in ,america1 and is perhaps more bitter than ever4 ,a man1 said he truly1 should not be condemned by his brother because of his slightly different shade of colour1 which is only skin deep4 ,it is also certain that ,great ,britain should and must give to the inhabitants of this land more influence and higher position in the direction of the affairs of the ,state4 ,after a training of more than a century by ,england herself1 ,india is prepared for a larger place in the direction of her own political destiny4 ,western civilization1 western education1 and the ,christian religion have wrought wonders in ,india in the development of a new life and a new consciousness among many of the people4 ,there are thousands of men1 to-day1 who are in every way competent to occupy high positions in government4 ,and it is impossible that they should be kept loyal and contented under a regime which constantly reminds them of their subjection and their lack of worthiness to fill any but subordinate positions4 ,it is true1 as we have seen1 that government is extending the privileges and multiplying the opportunities of such men4 ,but it is not doing this with the pace1 the grace1 and the heartiness that circumstances demand4 ,on the other hand1 ,indians must seek1 increasingly1 to cultivate social and moral aptitude1 rather than to be forever claiming and demanding rights4 ,the best friends of ,india believe that she has just as many political rights as she is able wisely to exercise4 ,representative ,institutions have already been established here both in the conduct of ,municipalities1 ,district ,boards1 and of the ,provincial and the ,imperial ,governments4 ,the people are being trained for the wisest exercise of political rights4 ,but many who have carefully observed the political corruption which they reveal in the exercise of already acquired rights1 think that no greater evil could befall ,india than that of a sudden bestowal1 by the ,state1 of a great extension of these privileges4 ,the root of ,india's present incapacity for self-government is not intellectual1 but social and moral4 ,no one doubts that there is ability enough2 but many believe that ,india must develop much upon the lower ranges of domestic sanity and social ethics before it is prepared for enhanced political privileges4 ,the ignorance and the disabilities of women in ,india are a crying injustice1 whose influence penetrates every department of ,indian life1 and for the removal of which educated ,indians will hardly raise a finger4 ,the caste system1 with its numberless stereotyped divisions1 its myriad insurmountable barriers between class and class1 and its countless petty jealousies and mutual antagonisms1 is well known to all4 ,and so long as ,hindus continue to worship this demon1 caste1 it is impossible for them to become a united body to which1 with any courtesy1 the name ,nation can be applied4 ,nor can they blend into such action as can in any sense be called ,national or patriotic4 ,india is wofully lacking in the first essential of self-government--public spirit4 ,in other words1 the most urgent need of ,india at present is social reform1 which depends entirely upon the people1 and not political reform1 which must come from the ,state4 ,and yet the social reform movement in ,india is less rapid to-day than at any time during the last quarter of a century4 ,and those who cry loudest for political rights are the ones who cast a sinister eye upon the social reform movement4 ,and it must be remembered that the people who cry most loudly for national independence to-day are the very ones whose antecedents and whose fundamental conceptions of life and of society would forbid them to grant even the most elementary social1 not to say political1 rights to one-half of the population of the land4 ,the way the ,brahman and the higher ,sudras1 who are clamouring for what they regard ,god-given rights from the ,british government1 deny in principle and practice1 to their fellow-citizens1 the so-called outcasts and other members of the community1 the most elementary principles of liberty and privilege which they themselves now enjoy1 is a significant comment upon their political sanity and sense of congruity4 ,in connection with this same problem1 ,indians should not forget that in the multiplicity of antipathies which exist between the many races of ,india1 and in the religious conflicts1 which too often arise1 there is need1 and there will be need for many years1 of one supreme power which has the ability to hold the balance of justice evenly between race and race1 and to command social and religious liberty to the three hundred millions of the land4 ,and this is what ,great ,britain has done and is doing for ,india4 ,pax ,britannica has been one of the greatest boons that the ,west has conferred upon the ,east4 ,it may also be well to add that ,indians should have regard to the limits of the rights of a subject people4 ,it is useless to talk of self-government1 until they are able to exercise the same2 and even the most rabid ,hindu cannot dream that ,india is ripe for self-government and could maintain it for a month if the ,british were to leave the country4 ,and if the ,british must remain here at all1 it must be as the dominant power4 ,canada and ,australia1 in their independence1 may be ideals for ,india to pattern after2 but ,india cannot enjoy the rights of those two independent colonies until her character becomes as steady1 her ideas of liberty and her practice of social equality and her conception of human rights become as clarified1 as they are in those two countries4 ,the recent proposal of the ,government of ,india to enlarge the ,legislative ,councils and to create an ,imperial ,advisory ,council reveals the purpose of the ,state to grant to the people all that is consistent with the paramountcy of the ,british in ,india4 ,but it is this very paramountcy which the extremists deny to ,great ,britain4 ,herein lies the gist of the trouble4 ,it will erelong create a serious impasse4 ,great ,britain cannot remain in this land and efface herself4 ,at the same time1 when ,india is prepared for absolute self-government1 she will receive the blessing1 and ,great ,britain will leave the land with a blessed consciousness that she has wrought for ,india the greatest blessing and the noblest achievement that any people has wrought for another and a foreign people in all the history of the world4 ,and until that time comes1 both ,india and ,great ,britain need to thank ,god that ,he has so strangely blended together their destinies for the highest elevation of both races4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,home ,,of ,,many ,,faiths ,the land of the ,vedas justly boasts of being the mother1 or the foster-mother1 of nine great religions4 ,it has given birth to the greatest ethnic religion the world has seen2 it is also the motherland of one of the three great missionary faiths of the world4 ,these two religions--,hinduism and ,buddhism--count among their followers more than a third of the human race1 and are1 in some respects1 as vigorous now as at any time in their history4 ,it is the foster-mother of ,mohammedanism and counts among her sons and daughters more of the followers of the ,prophet of ,mecca than are found in any other land4 ,it has also been the asylum of many followers of the ,nazarene for at least sixteen centuries2 many even claim that ,christianity has found a home here since apostolic days4 ,there is no land comparable with ,india in the variegated expressions of its beliefs which add picturesqueness to the country and diversity to the people4 ,i purpose to take the reader with me on a tour with a view to furnishing glimpses of these religions at those places where they reveal special interest to the tourist4#a ,footnote #a3 ,the principal faiths of the land1 with their adherents1 were as follows1 according to census of #aija3-- ,hindu #bjg1adg1jbf ,sikh #b1aie1cci ,jain #a1ccd1adh ,buddhist #i1dgf1gei ,parsee #id1aij ,mohammedan #fb1deh1jgg ,jewish #ah1bbh ,christian #b1ibc1bda ,these figures include ,burma4 ,india is a land of immense distances4 ,but its thirty thousand miles of railroad will enable the traveller1 within a couple of months1 to scan all its points of interest1 and to feast his eyes upon visions of ,oriental charm and splendour1 of architectural beauty and grandeur1 and of such monuments of religious devotion as no other land can present to the traveller and student4 ,let not the ,westerner indulge his fears about the discomforts and dangers of travel in this tropical land4 ,to an ,english-speaking tourist there are a few lands only which furnish more conveniences and facilities for travel than this same ,india2 and travelling is cheaper here than in any other country4 ,comfortable second-class travelling rarely costs more than one cent a mile4 ,and many1 like the writer1 have travelled thousands of miles in third-class compartments at less than half a cent a mile1 and without much other inconvenience than an excess of dust and stiffened bones4 ,the writer has seen many globe-trotters pass through ,india of whom few were not surprised at the relative comforts of travel here during the winter months1 and no other time of the year should be chosen for travelling in ,india4 ,it will be convenient to start upon our tour from ,madura1 the missionary home of the writer4 ,it is a large1 wide-awake centre of enthusiastic ,hinduism in the extreme south of the peninsula4 ,in the heart of this town1 of more than a hundred thousand people1 stands its great temple1 dedicated to ,siva4 ,the principal monuments of ,south ,india are its temples4 ,they are the largest temples in the world4 ,the ,madura temple is only the third in size2 but in its upkeep and architectural beauty it far surpasses the other two1 which are larger4 ,it covers an area of fifteen acres1 and its many ,gopuras1 or towers1 furnish the landmark of the country for miles around4 ,it is erected almost entirely of granite blocks1 some of which are sixty feet long4 ,its monolithic carving is exquisitely fine1 as it is most abundant and elaborate4 ,hinduism may be moribund2 but this temple gives only intimation of life and prosperity as one gazes upon its elaborate ritual1 and sees the thousands passing daily into its shrine for worship4 ,it represents the highest form of ,hindu architecture1 and1 like almost all else that is ,hindu1 its history carries us to the dim distance of the past4 ,but the great ,tirumalai ,nayak1 the king of two and a half centuries ago1 spent more in its elaboration than any one else4 ,and it was he who built1 half a mile away1 the great palace which1 though much reduced1 still stands as the noblest edifice of its kind south of a line drawn from ,bombay to ,calcutta4 ,in this same temple we find1 transformed1 another cult4 ,it is called the ,temple of ,meenatchi1 after its presiding goddess1 the ,fish-eyed ,one4 ,when ,brahmanism reached ,madura1 many centuries ago1 ,meenatchi was the principal demoness worshipped by the people1 who were all devil-worshippers4 ,as was their wont1 the ,brahmans did not antagonize the old faith of the people1 but absorbed it by marrying ,meenatchi to their chief god ,siva1 and thus incorporated the primitive devil-worship into the ,brahmanical religion4 ,thus the ,hinduism of ,madura and of all ,south ,india is ,brahmanism plus devil-worship4 ,and the people are to-day much more absorbed in pacifying the devils which infest every village than they are in worshipping purely ,hindu deities4 ,the prevailing faith of the ,dravidians1 therefore1 is demonolatry2 and the myriad shrines in the villages and hamlets1 and the daily rites conducted in them1 attest the universal prevalence of this belief and the great place it has in the life of these so-called ,hindus4 ,a run of a hundred and fifty miles directly south brings us to ,cape ,comorin1 the southernmost point of ,india4 ,it is also the extreme south of ,travancore1 the ,land of ,charity1 and one of the richest and most charming sections of ,india4 ,it is a ,native ,state under the control of the ,brahmans4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,golden ,,lily ,,tank ,,in ,,the ,,madura ,,temple ,it is unique in the large proportion of ,christians which are among its inhabitants4 ,though the ,christian community in ,india averages only one per cent of the population1 in the ,state of ,travancore it amounts to #be per cent4 ,it is here that we find the ancient ,syrian ,church1 with its three hundred and fifty thousand souls4 ,though it calls itself the ,thomasian1 ,apostolic ,church1 and though the ,romish ,church accepts the legend1 modern historians deny its apostolic origin1 and claim that it was founded no earlier than the third century4 ,even thus1 it furnishes an intensely interesting study4 ,the writer was deeply interested to see and enter its two churches at ,kottayam1 both of which are at least eight hundred years old4 ,four centuries ago1 ,roman ,catholicism used all the resources of the ,inquisition in order to absorb this ,church4 ,they succeeded only too well1 and half of the ,indian ,syrian ,church is now subject to ,rome4 ,nearly a century ago1 the ,church ,missionary ,society of ,england lent a helping hand to the ,syrian ,church1 and has brought new life and progressive energy1 and a new spiritual power and ambition1 into a portion of that decrepit type of ancient ,christianity4 ,furthermore1 a century of work given by the ,london ,missionary ,society and the ,church ,missionary ,society has created a ,protestant ,christian community of more than one hundred thousand souls in that little kingdom alone4 ,we pass from ,travancore into the little ,state of ,cochin1 on the north4 ,we are impressed by the colossal ,christian church in the town of ,cochin1 in which1 however1 only a small handful of ,english people worship every ,sunday evening4 ,it was erected by the ,portuguese four centuries ago1 and is a charming study4 ,it is here1 shortly after ,vasco da ,gama had completed the first round-the-,cape journey1 that this house of ,god was erected by his followers4 ,two centuries later1 the ,dutch came1 conquered the ,portuguese1 occupied their house of worship1 and desecrated their tombs4 ,in that church to-day one can find tombstones inscribed on one side by the ,portuguese to their departed friends1 and1 on the other side1 in ,dutch1 to commemorate departed ,hollanders4 ,but the most interesting sight1 by far1 in this quiet old ,indian town1 is the community of white ,jews who live on its southern side4 ,no one knows when they came here4 ,they probably arrived at the ,dispersion of the first century of our era2 or it may be later4 ,but the community must have been reenforced from time to time1 as they have maintained1 in a marvellous way1 the fairness of their complexion4 ,it will not require much imagination1 as one enters their synagogue1 to think of the synagogue of ,nazareth of old4 ,as we ascend the stair-way into the little schoolroom above1 and hear the little ones reciting1 in pure ,hebrew1 passages from the ,pentateuch1 we can easily imagine that we are listening to the voice of a dear little ,boy1 nineteen centuries ago1 reciting to ,his master those same passages in that same tongue in ,palestine4 ,there is hardly a place on earth where ,judaism has met with fewer vicissitudes and changes than on this western coast of ,india4 ,it is only a couple of hundred yards farther away that we find the synagogue of the black ,jews--the descendants of those who were given by the ancient king to be slaves to the white ,jews4 ,they adopted the religion of their masters1 and are still praying1 like their masters1 for the coming of the ,messiah1 of whose arrival and triumphs in ,india they seem to be oblivious4 ,leaving ,cochin1 we pass along the coast as far as ,bombay1 which has been called the ,eye of ,india1 and also the ,gateway of ,india1 two names which are equally appropriate to this beautiful city4 ,there is hardly another city on earth where more races and religions blend4 ,and its streets are made exceedingly picturesque by the many costumes of its polyglot population4 ,before the arrival of the plague1 some eight years ago1 ,bombay was perhaps the most populous city in ,india4 ,but this fell scourge has decimated its population and has robbed it of much of its ambition4 ,perhaps the most interesting people that we see here are the ,parsees1 with their ,towers of ,silence4 ,according to their belief1 earth is too sacred to be contaminated1 and fire too divine to be polluted1 by the bodies of their dead1 which1 therefore1 they expose in the towers1 erected upon an adjacent hill1 to be consumed by a crowd of hungry1 expectant vultures4 ,one usually sees forty or fifty of these filthy birds standing around the edge of each tower1 watching the funeral cortege as it slowly winds its way up the hill1 eager to pounce upon the body as soon as exposed by the bearers in the centre within4 ,and from the time of exposure it takes hardly ten minutes before every particle of flesh has been consumed4 ,the one hundred thousand ,parsees of ,bombay are almost the only representatives of the ancient faith of ,zoroaster1 perhaps the purest of all ethnic religions4 ,they were driven out of their home land of ,persia in the early onrush of ,mohammedan fury1 and fled1 twelve centuries ago1 to ,india1 where they found asylum4 ,the ,parsees have the distinction of being the most advanced people of ,india1 alike in wealth and philanthropy1 in their treatment of woman1 and in education and general culture4 ,their influence throughout the land is far beyond their numbers4 ,and yet they are so narrow in their conception of their faith1 that they declined1 the other day1 to receive into their fold the ,english bride of one of their number4 ,thus they decided that there is no door of entrance into their religion for any one who is not a born ,parsee4 ,it is in this city1 also1 that we find a large representation of another ancient cult--,jainism4 ,jainism is closely kin to ,buddhism4 ,it represents the same type of reaction from a debased ,brahmanism4 ,as its name indicates1 it is a cult for the worship of ,the ,victorious ,ones1 that is1 men who by self-discipline have triumphed over their passions and have attained perfection4 ,buddhism succumbed to1 and was absorbed by1 a new militant ,brahmanism1 which we call ,hinduism4 ,jainism1 on the other hand1 has maintained itself as a distinct faith and now has #a1ccd1adh followers4 ,like ,buddhism1 it is an agnostic religion1 knowing no object of worship save the seventy-two ,victorious ,ones4 ,one of the leading characteristics of ,jainism is its love of life1 even in its lowest manifestation4 ,their devotion to this article of their faith is carried to such an extent that the devout will sweep the road lest they step upon insects1 and cover their mouth with gauze cloth lest they swallow and destroy minute forms of life4 ,in the city of ,bombay1 ,jains have a hospital for animals1 for the maintenance of which they spend large sums of money annually4 ,maimed cattle1 stray dogs and cats1 and decrepit animals of all kinds are sought and brought here for asylum and care4 ,it is even said1 ,i cannot say with how much truth1 that they employ men to come and spend nights here with a view to furnishing food for the many kinds of vermin which infest the place4 ,illustration3 ,,taj ,,mahal1 ,,agra ,in a sumptuous through train we now pass rapidly over nearly one thousand miles of a country which is intensely interesting1 historically and ethnologically1 and finally arrive in the famous city of ,agra1 which stands supreme among ,indian cities as a centre of architectural beauty4 ,we have here come into a distinctively ,mohammedan region2 and the edifices which crown the city with glory are not only connected with the ,mohammedan faith1 they are also the masterpieces of the greatest minds of the ,mogul ,empire1 and culminate in the ,taj ,mahal1 which is the most valued gem of ,mohammedan architecture1 and1 perhaps1 the most beautiful edifice in the world4 ,we first turn our face toward the ,fort1 which is one of the magnificent fortresses of ,india4 ,two and a half centuries ago1 ,shah ,jehan was the ruling ,mogul4 ,he was not only one of the greatest rulers of the dynasty2 he had also a passion for building1 and was a man of rare taste as an architect4 ,the ,agra ,fort1 whose stern walls of red sandstone extend about a mile and a half1 represents to us1 at present1 not strength and protection1 but an enclosure within which the emperor built his great palace1 which is a marvel of beauty and of superb architectural workmanship4 ,the most attractive of the many parts of this palace is the ,pearl ,mosque1 which owes its charm to its perfect proportions1 its harmony of designs1 and its beauty of material1 rather than to richness of decoration and ornament4 ,in design it is similar to most temples of this kind2 a court-yard with a fountain in the middle1 surrounded on three sides by arcaded cloisters2 while on the entrance side and that facing it are exquisitely chaste marble screens4 ,into the fair body of the ,india marble the ,moguls could work designs and arabesques borrowed from the ,persia of ancient history1 and flowers of exquisite hue and symmetry suggested by the more advanced and civilized ,florentine artists1 who were tempted over by the well-filled coffers of ,shah ,jehan4 ,as the ,pearl ,mosque was a part of the palace1 it was only used by the royal court4 ,days of pleasure and improvement could be spent in the study of the various parts which have been preserved of this ancient palace4 ,but we pass on a few miles to the ,taj ,mahal1 which1 like most of the best buildings of ,mohammedan art in ,north ,india1 is a mausoleum and was erected by ,shah ,jehan to his favourite wife1 ,mumtaz-i-,mahal4 ,the ,taj is erected in a beautiful garden1 the gateway into which is perhaps the finest in ,india and is a worthy pendant to the ,taj itself4 ,the garden is exquisitely laid out1 with a view to setting off the unspeakable charms of that dream of loveliness embodied in white marble4 ,the ,taj has well been described as a work conceived by ,titans and finished by jewellers4 ,the grandeur of the conception and the wonderful delicacy of the workmanship cannot fail to impress even the most unlearned in the architectural art4 ,much has been written1 and all in unstinted praise1 of this incomparable edifice2 and yet1 like the writer1 every visitor comes to its presence1 feels the growing thrill of its beauty1 and exclaims1 ,the half was never told6 ,and few leave the place without returning to be enthralled once more by a moonlight view of this thing of beauty4 ,how great1 indeed1 must have been the love of that otherwise cruel monarch for his departed empress that he should have exhausted so much of wealth 7some say that the ,taj cost thirty million rupees7 and conceived so much of beauty wherewith to embalm her memory4 ,and as we enter the mausoleum and stand in the presence of the lovely shrines which it encases1--that of ,mumtaz-i-,mahal1 and that of the emperor himself1--the mind is awed and may find expression in ,sir ,edwin ,arnold's poetic fancy1-- ,here in the heart of all1 ,with chapels girdled1 shut apart by screens1 ,the shrine's self stands1 white1 delicately white1 ,white as the cheek of ,mumtaz-i-,mahal1 ,when ,shah ,jehan let fall a king's tear there4 ,white as the breast her new babe vainly pressed ,that ill day in the camp at ,burhanpur1 ,the fair shrine stands1 guarding two cenotaphs4 ,illustration3 ,,marble ,,screen ,,in ,,taj ,,mahal ,and upon a panel of his own shrine the mourning emperor had inscribed these significant words from ancient traditions3 ,saith ,jesus1 on whom peace be1 this world is a bridge4 ,pass thou over it1 but build not upon4 ,this world is one hour2 give its minutes to thy prayers1 for the rest is unseen4 ,we cannot but feel that the ,taj is the highest expression of art that human affection and domestic affliction have ever achieved4 ,this is not religion2 but it is closely kin to it4 ,not far from the ,fort is found another great mosque1 or musjid1 where the ,mohammedans crowd for worship4 ,this1 also1 is a wonderful specimen of art1 and in its combination of simplicity and beauty is well calculated to rouse to enthusiasm the many worshippers of ,allah4 ,about six miles away from ,agra is another specimen of architectural genius4 ,it is the tomb of ,akbar the ,great4 ,some believe it to be almost equal to the ,taj4 ,it commemorates with great beauty the noble name of that most distinguished man of the whole ,mogul dynasty1--a man who was famed for his breadth of view and sympathy1 his wise statesmanship1 and religious tolerance4 ,he did more than any other to create sympathy between ,hindus and ,mohammedans4 ,it was in this mausoleum that the famous ,kohinor diamond found its place and was exhibited for years4 ,it is a striking fact that this precious stone was undisturbed there1 in the open air1 for over seventy years1 until the ,shah of ,persia1 in #agci1 invaded ,india and sacked the palace of the ,moguls1 and1 with other fabulous wealth1 carried this diamond also back to his own country4 ,illustration3 ,,shah ,,jehan',s ,,fort1 ,,agra ,delhi is only a few hours' ride to the north from ,agra4 ,it is perhaps the most interesting city in all ,india4 ,from the earliest times of ,brahmanic legends down to the present1 it has been the centre of war and conflict1 of royal display1 extravagance1 and treachery4 ,here1 again1 ,mohammedanism has1 from the first1 exercised its power and revealed its religious warmth and enthusiasm4 ,the ,mohammedan mosques are equal to any in the land4 ,and though the ,persian sacked the city a hundred and seventy years ago1 and robbed it of most that was beautiful and valuable1 there still remains a part of what was probably the loveliest palace that was ever erected4 ,it reveals to us also the imperial grandeur of the ,moguls1 whose style of living was probably more splendid than that of any monarchs of any nation before or since that time4 ,their extravagance was unbounded4 ,their love of display has never been surpassed4 ,it is claimed that the ,peacock ,throne of this ,delhi ,palace was of sufficient value to pay the debts of a nation4 ,the marble walls are richly adorned with exquisite mosaics4 ,indeed1 they are regarded as incomparable specimens of the art4 ,one can pardon the builder who engraved over the north and south entrances to this palace of the ,moguls the following lines3-- ,if there be a ,paradise on ,earth1 ,it is ,this6 ,it is ,this6 ,it is ,this6 ,eleven miles from the city are found splendid ruins which are crowned by the celebrated tower known as ,kutab-minar1 which is another of the most ancient and interesting monuments of ,india4 ,originally1 this remarkable structure was a ,hindu temple1 and was erected probably in the fourth century of our era4 ,but upon the invasion of the ,mussulmans the temple was converted into a ,mohammedan mosque1 and the famous tower1 which is #bch feet high1 and is one of the most beautifully erected in the world1 was allowed to stand4 ,the sculptures that cover its surface have been compared to those upon the column of ,trajan in ,rome and the ,column ,vendome in ,paris2 but they are intended to relate the military triumphs of the men in whose honour they were erected1 while the inscription on the ,kutab-minar is a continuous recognition of the power and glory of ,god and of the virtues of ,mohammed1 his ,prophet4 ,illustration3 ,,akbar',s ,,tomb ,it is in this city that one is impressed most thoroughly with memorials of the great ,mutiny of half a century ago1 where the ,british were so hard pushed and suffered so terribly in those days of bitterness which tried men's souls4 ,and there is no memorial of this bitter struggle1 to which the ,british refer with so much of pride and glory1 as they do to the ,cashmere gate1 which they blew up and thereby forced an entrance into the city1 with a loss of much precious blood4 ,but it was not the ,mutiny nor the massive and gorgeous emblems of ,mohammedanism which impressed the writer most in this city4 ,it was a vision just outside the walls of the city--a vision of great simplicity--which thrilled his heart a few years ago4 ,it was a very unattractive little ruined tower1 from the centre of which rose a polished granite pillar1 some thirty or forty feet high4 ,it was inscribed from top to bottom1 and the inscription was quite legible4 ,it spoke not of the triumphs of war nor of the glory of human rule and conquest4 ,it is one of the most eloquent testimonies to the nobility of the ,buddhist faith4 ,it was carried here only a few centuries ago by an enlightened ,mohammedan monarch from the far-off plains of the north4 ,it is one of the celebrated ,asoka ,pillars4 ,asoka was the emperor of twenty-two centuries ago who wrought for ,buddhism what ,constantine the ,great1 at a later day1 wrought for ,christianity4 ,he was converted to ,buddhism and at once became the devout propagator of that faith4 ,as the great emperor of his time1 he exalted ,buddhism and made it the ,state religion of ,india4 ,he not only sent his missionaries all over the land2 he decreed that its principal teachings should be everywhere inscribed upon rocks and upon pillars2 and that these pillars should be erected in public places for the instruction of the people4 ,this pillar in ,delhi is one of about a dozen already discovered and preserved in ,north ,india4 ,and it is1 perhaps1 the most fully inscribed of all that have been found4 ,and of the fourteen ,asokan edicts inscribed1 most of them inculcate a high morality1 and some of them a noble altruism4 ,for instance1 the first is a prohibition of the slaughter of animals for food or sacrifice4 ,the second is the provision for medical aid for men and animals1 and for plantations and wells on the roadside4 ,the third is a command to observe every fifth year as a year of mutual confession of sins1 of peace-making1 and of humiliation4 ,the ninth is the inculcation of true happiness as found in virtue4 ,in all these inscribed edicts of that most tolerant and cosmopolitan ,buddhist emperor1 we see nothing of which ,buddhism should be ashamed1 and much of which it may be proud1 in the way of ethical injunction4 ,it is more than ten centuries since ,buddhism1 which had been the common faith of ,india for a thousand years1 was absorbed into a new militant ,hinduism and ceased to exist as a separate faith in this land4 ,to-day1 ,india proper has hardly half a million ,buddhists4 ,and yet we behold these mute prophets of far-off days scattered in many parts of the land1 still pressing their message1 but vainly1 indeed1 upon a people of unknown tongues4 ,buddha himself is now a part of the ,hindu ,pantheon2 and his principal teachings have become an essential part of the faith which he tried to overthrow4 ,but these pillars stand for ,buddhism that was tolerant toward all save1 perhaps1 the ,brahmanism which it existed to overthrow4 ,illustration3 ,,kutab-,,minar1 ,,delhi ,from ,delhi we pass on northward to the beautiful city of ,amritsar1 which is comparatively a modern town of one hundred and fifty thousand people4 ,in the heart of this town stands the far-famed ,golden ,temple of the ,sikhs1 built by ,ranjit ,singh1--,the ,lion of the ,panjaub4 ,the temple is not a large one1 being only fifty-three feet square1 and is built in the centre of a water tank1 called ,the ,pool of ,immortality4 ,the peculiar external feature of the temple is that it is largely covered with gold plate2 hence its name4 ,it is a beautiful object to behold2 and we are in haste to take off our shoes1 which are prohibited in the sacred precincts1 and to put on the shapeless holy slippers presented to us6 ,we enjoy perfect freedom in passing through all parts of the temple1 while devotees1 under the guidance of the priests1 sing their songs of praise with devout impartiality to their god and to their bible4 ,the temple is the centre and inspiration of the ,sikh religion4 ,the ,sikhs are an interesting people4 ,they rallied round one of the multitude of the ,hindu religious reformers1 named ,nanak ,shah1 who established this cult about the end of the fifteenth century4 ,it may be called an amalgam of ,mohammedanism and ,hinduism4 ,it unites the monotheism and the stern morality of the former with much of the petty ritual of the latter4 ,it does not observe caste4 ,still1 in outer matters of observances1 ,sikhs are not easily distinguishable from ordinary ,hindus4 ,they1 also1 have bound themselves into a military order1 which gives them almost the distinction of a nation4 ,for this reason they are among the very best material which the country furnishes for the native army1 and are worthy to stand shoulder to shoulder with ,european soldiers4 ,illustration3 ,,cashmere ,,gate1 ,,delhi ,this religion is peculiarly a book religion4 ,it has degenerated into a species of bibliolatry4 ,their bible contains the teachings and sermons of the founder of the faith2 and it presents the highest standard of morality and courage1 and appeals with special power to this sturdy tribe of the north4 ,this book is called ,granth1 and is generally spoken of as ,granth ,sahib1 which we may translate as ,mr4 ,book6 ,that is1 they give it a dignity and a personality which is unique in any faith2 and the ,golden ,temple is largely used as the receptacle of the ,granth1 of which they keep a few copies protected by covers1 which1 however1 they remove in order to show them to us as we pass by4 ,in several particulars this faith is unique4 ,they have no idols or altars1 but meet once a week for prayer and praise4 ,their preacher reads passages from the ,granth and prays to their god1 who may be reached through the intercession of ,nanak ,shah1 his prophet and their redeemer4 ,they sing hymns similar to those used in ,protestant worship1 and celebrate communion by partaking of wafers of unleavened bread4 ,their congregation do not object to the presence of strangers1 but usually invite them to participate in the worship4 ,there are about two and a quarter million ,sikhs in the ,province of the ,panjaub1--the land of the five rivers4 ,while in this city1 one is tempted to look at the ,khalsa ,college1 one of the institutions established by government in different parts of the land for the suitable training of native princes4 ,here one may find young ,sikh nobles and wealthy landlords1 to the number of five hundred1 being qualified for the high responsibilities which are before them4 ,we hurry back from the north in a southeastern direction over a distance of eight hundred miles and reach the city of ,benares1 on the river ,ganges4 ,there is hardly a river in the world which produces more fertility and which brings sustenance to more people than the divine ,ganges4 ,the river is not only deified1 but is regarded as one of the most potent deities of ,india4 ,from time immemorial1 ,benares1 or ,kasi1 which is built upon the banks of the ,ganges1 has partaken of the sanctity of the river1 and is regarded by devout ,hindus as the most sacred spot in the world4 ,to die within the radius of ten miles from its centre is sure and eternal bliss1 even to the outcast and the defiling white man6 ,many thousands are brought annually from all parts of the land to die at this sacred place1 and have their ashes scattered upon the waters of the holy river4 ,many thousands of others who die in all parts of the land have their bodies burned and their ashes brought1 by loving relatives upon pilgrimage1 to this city to be sprinkled upon the tides of the ,ganges1 which insures eternal rest to the departed souls4 ,what ,mecca is to ,mohammedans1 more than ,jerusalem is to ,jews1 is ,benares to devout ,hindus4 ,it has more temples and shrines than any other equal area in the world4 ,its priests1 who are called ,gangaputhira 7the ,sons of the ,ganges71 are legion4 ,they have their emissaries at principal railway stations for hundreds of miles from the city1 always on the lookout for pilgrims1 and gathering up pilgrim bands to lead them on with ever increasing numbers to their temples4 ,the idols of this city are legion4 ,but there is nothing here which impresses one more than its squalid filth1 and the abject degradation of the people which crowd its streets4 ,the temples are extremely dirty4 ,there is not one of imposing size or of decent attractiveness4 ,there stands the monkey-temple1 where scores of mangy1 tricky brutes are daily sumptuously fed by devout pilgrims4 ,on one side of the precinct a clever butcher-priest severs with one stroke the heads of goats which are brought for sacrifice to the thirsty deity4 ,as in ,madura1 so in ,benares1 the great god of the ,hindu is ,siva4 ,but the character of the worship which is rendered to him and to others of his cult is far from ennobling when not actually revolting4 ,and the phallic emblem of this god is everywhere found in his temples and is suggestive of definite evils connected with his worship4 ,the saddest and most grewsome of all objects which impress one in this centre of ,hinduism is its burning ,ghaut4 ,to the side of the river many bodies are brought daily1 each wrapped in a white cloth1 and are deposited just where they are half covered by the water4 ,within ten feet of this place we see parties of pilgrims bathing in and drinking of the sacred water of the river1 utterly regardless of the proximity of corpses above stream6 ,from time to time corpses are picked out of the water and placed upon piles of wood near by4 ,each pile is ignited and the body reduced to ashes4 ,these ashes are carefully collected1 later on1 and sprinkled1 with appropriate ceremonies1 on the face of the river4 ,day after day1 and year after year1 this ceaseless procession of the dead takes place1 while up stream and down stream the bank of the river is covered with men and women who fatally believe that by bathing in this dirty stream they are washing away their sins and preparing themselves for final absorption and eternal rest in ,brahm6 ,benares reminded the writer of ,rome4 ,he never realized the degradation possible to ,christianity until he visited ,the ,eternal ,city1 with its huge shams and ghastly superstitions4 ,he never saw ,hinduism with its myriad inane rites and debasing idolatry half so grotesque1 idiotic1 and repulsive1 as in this city of ,benares1 where one ought to see the religion of these two hundred odd million people at its best1 and not at its worst4 ,it is a positive relief to go out of the city1 a distance of four miles1 to ,sarnath1 where the great ,buddha--,the ,enlightened ,one--spent many long years in establishing his faith and in inculcating his ,doctrine of the ,wheel4 ,it is a beautiful drive to the birthplace of one of the greatest world faiths4 ,very little but ruins meets the inquiring gaze of the visitor4 ,some of these1 however1 are very impressive1 especially the great stupa1 or tower4 ,it now stands a hundred and ten feet high and ninety-three feet in diameter4 ,it was very substantially built1 the lower part faced by immense blocks of stones which were clamped together with iron4 ,and this facing was covered with elaborate inscriptions4 ,the upper part was built of brick4 ,at the foot of this striking ruin1 built in the remote past as a monument to an ancient faith1 devout ,buddhists from all parts of the world come for worship and meditation upon the vanity of life4 ,the day before the writer arrived1 the ,lama of ,tibet spent here a few hours worshipping and seeking the blessing of the ,enlightened ,one4 ,near by1 government is making a series of excavations and is discovering very interesting relics connected with this ancient monastery founded by the ,buddha4 ,already a beautiful specimen of an ,asoka pillar and a variety of interesting sculptures have rewarded their industry4 ,one can imagine no place more dear to the contemplative ,buddhist than this centre of the activities of his great ,master1 where he spent many of the best years of his life in expounding the teachings of his new cult1 and in leading many souls toward the light for which he had struggled with so much of heroic self-denial1 and which had ultimately dawned upon him under the sacred ,boh tree at ,buddha ,gaya4 ,in this extended pilgrimage1 during which we have sought ancient and modern expressions of the many faiths which have dominated1 or which now dominate1 the people of this land1 we have come into touch not only with those tolerant faiths which have found their origin here1 or which have found refuge and popularity in this peninsula1--such as ,hinduism1 ,demonolatry1 ,buddhism1 ,jainism1 ,zorastrianism1 and ,sikhism4 ,we have also come into touch with the three most intolerant faiths of the world1--,christianity1 ,mohammedanism1 and ,judaism4 ,there is no land where these three religions have suffered less of opposition than in ,india4 ,indeed1 it is not from persecution and opposition that they have stood in most danger1 but from fraternal contact1 growing appreciation1 and ultimate absorption4 ,the ,hindu mind1 like the ,hindu faith1 has a fatal facility for accepting1 semi-assimilating1 and finally absorbing1 all of religious belief and conviction that may come into contact with it4 ,and this never necessarily involves the abandoning of the old beliefs4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,burma1 ,,the ,,beautiful ,in order to appreciate the wide extent of the ,british ,empire in the ,east1 one needs to travel over the main lines of ,india and then steam a thousand miles across the ,bay of ,bengal to ,burma4 ,landing at ,rangoon1 which is the doorway of the land1 he reembarks upon one of the sumptuous ,irrawady ,river boats and steams northward another thousand miles into the very heart of the country4 ,thus without leaving the eastern empire one can spend weeks of most interesting travel1 and pass through territories inhabited by peoples of separate racial types and of totally different tongues4 ,perhaps no other region of the world can furnish such a variety of climes and such marked contrasts of national habits and costumes4 ,and yet1 all this vast territory has been brought into subjection to the ,british crown and furnishes facilities and conveniences of travel which are really marvellous in the ,east4 ,burma is politically and industrially a part of ,india4 ,it is a rich country1 with four magnificent rivers reaching nearly its whole length1 furnishing abundant facilities for cheap travel and commerce1 and carrying fertility into all sections of the land4 ,it is the land of rice1 of teak1 and of oil4 ,these are the triple sources of ,burmese industry1 commerce1 and wealth4 ,never was a land richer than this in alluvial soil1 in refreshing rains1 and in bountiful rivers4 ,it is one great expanse of living1 paddy green4 ,the teak timber furnished by the mighty forests of this land is carried to many lands4 ,the extent of this trade may be imagined from the statement that the ,bombay-,burma ,trading ,company in ,burma employs three thousand elephants for hauling its timber to the river4 ,every two elephants are under the care of three men2 so that there are forty-five hundred men in charge of these animals alone4 ,burma is called the ,land of ,pagodas4 ,the first object which attracts the eye soon after the ship enters the river1 and while still twenty miles from the harbour1 is the far-famed pagoda of ,schwey ,dagon1 in ,rangoon4 ,buddhism is preeminently the faith of ,burma4 ,all the people have been for many centuries its adherents4 ,and the pagoda is the outward emblem of that faith4 ,what the church is to ,christianity1 and the temple is to ,hinduism1 the pagoda 7sometimes called dagoba7 is to ,buddhism4 ,it is the farthest removed from the ,christian conception of a place of worship4 ,in ,christianity1 large edifices are erected where the multitude can meet to unite in public worship4 ,in ,hinduism1 a temple is largely the abode of the idol1 which is the outward emblem of their god4 ,in it there is no place for public worship or for an assembled audience4 ,in ,buddhism1 there is not even a god to worship1 so that there is no interior to the pagoda4 ,it is like the pyramid of ,egypt1 one massive solid structure1 but of an elongated bell shape4 ,the highest part of it1 corresponding to the handle of the bell1 is called hti1 and is usually covered with precious metal4 ,it is a reliquary rather than a place of worship2 and every pagoda of note is supposed to be the receptacle of a few hairs or bones of the ,buddha6 ,indeed1 if one believe the members of that faith1 the anatomy of that great man was marvellous and is still very promiscuously distributed through various lands of the ,east6 ,illustration3 ,,schwey ,,dagon ,,pagoda1 ,,rangoon ,the ,schwey ,dagon pagoda is a very prominent object2 for it is not only three hundred and seventy feet high1 but is also built on an artificial mound which is a hundred and seventy feet in height4 ,it is elaborately decorated1 and its hti is mostly of solid gold1 encrusted with precious stones presented to the pagoda by ,king ,mindoon ,min4 ,but while the pagoda itself impresses one with its massive proportions1 it is the exquisite group of numberless little shrines or temples which surround the pagoda1 every one of which holds one or more large images of the great ,buddha1 that furnish the rich sense of beauty and charm which prevail4 ,these little shrines are either built of marble or of richly carved teak1 or of glass mosaic2 and every one tries to excel every other in its delicate charm4 ,and upon nearly every one of these shrines there are sweet little bells1 which1 as the wind blows1 seem to respond to spirit hands and ring forth their gentle peals of sacred music to the great founder of the faith4 ,here1 also1 is a massive bell of forty tons1--the third in size in the world4 ,it was once carried away by the ,british and lost in the ,rangoon ,river4 ,but the people later received permission to search for it4 ,they found it1 and with genuine pride and triumph raised it and restored it to their pagoda4 ,it is one of the peculiar ironies of history that in this land of the ,buddha1 who was the greatest iconoclast1 and who not only abhorred idolatry but also ignored deity1 there should exist to-day numberless images of him in every town and hamlet4 ,these are of all sizes1 from the immense reclining ,buddha of ,pegu1 which is a hundred and eighty-two feet long1 and is built of brick and mortar1 down to the tiniest figures carried on the persons of individuals4 ,there is no pagoda or shrine in ,burma around which is not found a large number of these images4 ,they have not the hideous deformity of ,hindu idolatry2 but present either the benign and complacent1 or the calm and contemplative1 expression which cannot fail to impress itself upon the national character of the people4 ,and one may say1 with confidence1 that in this matter the truth of the proverb is verified1--,like god1 like people4 ,one may leave ,rangoon in a comfortable train1 and in about eighteen hours reach the old capital of ,upper ,burma1 the beautiful ,mandalay1 which is nearly four hundred miles distant4 ,the same journey may be taken by the river ,irrawady if one has more leisure and means2 and he may thus enjoy one of the most beautiful and sumptuous river journeys in the world4 ,it was only twenty years ago that this part of the country was seized by the ,british without bloodshed1 and the foolish and dissolute ,king ,theebaw was made prisoner for his stupid insolence1 and deported1 with his two wives1 to ,india1 where they are still spending their days in retirement4 ,upper ,burma has1 however1 put on new beauty and prosperity since the ,british have taken it over2 and the people are abundantly satisfied with the new regime4 ,mandalay has also its famed ,arrakan pagoda1 which claims to have the only contemporary likeness of ,buddha on earth4 ,it is an immense brazen image2 and it is the occupation of the devout to gild the same with gold-leaf4 ,at least a dozen men and women can be seen thus constantly expressing their devotion4 ,in a few years there will be tons of gold thus pasted upon his sacred body6 ,but alas for the vandalism which lights up its shrine and the calm face of ,buddha by electricity6 ,another famous pagoda of ,mandalay is the so-called ,four ,hundred and ,fifty ,pagodas of the ,law4 ,this is a kind of ,buddhist bible in stone4 ,it has four hundred and fifty small shrines1 every one of which has a large polished granite slab1 upon which is engraved a precept of the faith2 and the whole make up a complete body of the law1 which every member of the faith may come and read at his leisure4 ,here1 as at all shrines1 we notice the beautiful custom of these ,burmese people in practising their public devotion with bouquets of flowers in their hands4 ,it is touching to see this constant blending of beauty with piety4 ,the abundant use of the candle1 also1 in their worship reminds us of the ,romish ritual4 ,we are taken through the royal gardens and the deserted palaces of ,mandalay1 which are constructed largely1 as many of the houses of ,burma are1 of exquisitely carved teak1 rising here and there in pointed spires1 which are indeed beautiful1 but which give the impression of the so-called gingerbread style of architecture4 ,upon one who has lived for many years in ,india there are two things in ,burma which make a deep and a very pleasing impression4 ,illustration3 ,,theebaw',s ,,palace1 ,,mandalay ,in the first place1 the charm of the ,burmese woman is marked4 ,she has none of the cringing1 retiring1 self-conscious mien of the ,hindu women4 ,she is possessed of liberty and of equality with man4 ,her appearance in society is both modest and self-respecting4 ,she is conscious of her own beauty1 and knows how to enhance it with exquisite taste4 ,she is a great lover of colours1 as is the ,hindu woman4 ,but the latter loves only the primitive and elementary colours2 the former1 on the other hand1 cultivates the delicate shades1 and adorns herself with silks of various tints1 such as attract and fascinate4 ,it is for this reason that ,burma is called ,the ,silken ,east4 ,her dress is clumsy and uncouth in form1 and1 in this respect1 is incomparably inferior to the graceful cloth of ,india4 ,but the woman herself is lovely1 and the taste which she displays in her personal adornment is very attractive4 ,it does not surprise one to know that not a few ,europeans marry these ,burmese ladies of beauty4 ,but above her beauty is that pose of freedom and self-respect which commends her everywhere4 ,nor is this assumed4 ,the woman of ,burma is the man of the family4 ,in business1 and in all forms of trade1 she is far superior to her lord1 and much of the support and the honour of the family depends upon her industry1 cleverness1 and independence4 ,certainly ,buddhism has produced1 in many respects1 a higher type of womanhood than has ,hinduism4 ,another aspect of life in ,burma is one that instantly captivates one who goes there from ,india4 ,it is a land free from the trammels of caste4 ,the trail of this serpent is upon all things in ,india4 ,it divides men at all points1 and robs social life of much that is sweet and beautiful in other lands4 ,the great ,gautama vehemently attacked the ,brahmanical caste system1 and one is glad to see in ,burma that that faith has adhered to this primitive enmity4 ,one rejoices to see at the temples and on the public streets1 everywhere1 common eating and drinking houses1 where the people meet for refreshment and for quiet social chat1 without any thought of caste to disturb their relationship and mar their convivial pleasures4 ,that which impresses the observant ,christian visitor to that land is the triumph and wonderful achievement of missionary effort there during the last half century4 ,all know the works1 the sufferings1 and the results attained by that great prophet of ,burma1 ,adoniram ,judson4 ,he was a saint of the heroic mould1 and his influence will affect the history of that people for centuries to come4 ,the ,american ,baptist ,mission overshadows1 by its numbers and success1 all other bodies of missionaries in the land4 ,and at the present time their splendid force of workers is making a deep impress upon the community4 ,but their success has been mostly achieved among a very peculiar hill-tribe of that country1--the ,karens4 ,it was long after the ,baptists had begun work there that this low hill-tribe1 of less than two million people1 was in the lowest depths of barbarism4 ,their language was not reduced to writing1 and consequently1 they had no literature whatever4 ,but they had one interesting tradition4 ,it had come down to them1 generation after generation1 that their bible had been lost1 and that some day the ,great ,spirit would send a fair brother from the ,west to restore unto them the message of ,god which had disappeared4 ,the ,fair ,brother came in the person of the ,american missionary2 and his message was received in the assured faith that it was divinely sent and was the long-lost tradition of their tribe4 ,from that day forward1 thousands of the ,karen tribe have everywhere accepted the ,gospel of the ,christ1 until there are1 at the present time1 connected with that mission alone1 more than one hundred and fifty thousand ,karen converts4 ,and this is by no means all of the wonderful story of the regeneration of this barbarous tribe4 ,either by a very wise missionary statesmanship1 or by a rare inspiration1 such as we do not see elsewhere in the ,east1 these people have almost entirely assumed the financial burdens of their own religious training and institutions1 and are always quick1 even beyond their means1 to respond to every ,gospel claim upon their purse4 ,the story of their offerings1 in view of their extreme poverty1 is marvellous in its self-denial and outgoing generosity4 ,the writer spent a few days at the missionary centre in the outskirts of ,rangoon4 ,upon that compound there was a memorial church that had cost #cj1jjj1 of which the ,karen ,christians had given all1 save a grant made by government for a few adjoining class-rooms4 ,three bungalows and other buildings of value are also found there1 and the whole property is owned1 not by the mission1 but by the ,karens themselves4 ,ten miles away from this is the largest theological seminary in the ,east1 with more than one hundred and forty students under training4 ,for the maintenance of this1 again1 those poor ,karen ,christians gladly impose upon themselves a family tax1 and have the sweet consciousness that their youth are being trained for ,christian service through their own self-denying endeavour4 ,these people were in social scale so low that they had practically no music of their own4 ,they have therefore readily taken to western music4 ,and it is astonishing to hear how well they sing our western tunes1 and even render solos and quartettes at public ,european functions in a way that calls forth hearty encores4 ,it is verily the birth of a nation in a day4 ,so that in this land of many wonders the movement among the ,karen people seems to be the most wonderful of all4 ,among the ,karens1 ,ko ,san ,ye stands forth as a unique figure of intense interest4 ,he has been called the ,moody of ,burma4 ,he is absolutely illiterate4 ,when about thirty years old1 he lost his wife and his only child2 and finding no comfort in his ancestral demonolatry1 he turned to ,buddhism for relief and retired to a mountain retreat and became known and esteemed among his people as a devout ascetic and a holy man4 ,with the offerings of his people he built two pagodas and a monastery4 ,but his soul found no rest there4 ,in #ahij1 he was baptized as a ,christian1 with one hundred and forty of his followers4 ,he then obtained a grant of twenty thousand acres of waste land from government1 and established a village which now numbers several hundred houses4 ,his influence over his own people is amazing1 and is the result of superstitious reverence and awe4 ,he regretted that his ignorance prevented him from preaching the ,gospel2 but he thought that his influence over the people should be rightly used in the ,lord's service4 ,so he devoted himself to the collection of funds for religious purposes among his people4 ,and in this work he has had almost fatal success1 for his fellow-,christian ,karens have responded to his appeals for money to the extent of at least #acj1jjj4 ,in view of the exceeding poverty of the people1 this sum seems almost fabulous4 ,mr4 ,ko ,san ,ye is known by all to be perfectly disinterested in the use of the money intrusted to him4 ,not a cent sticks to his hands2 and he reverently and truthfully speaks of it as the ,lord's money4 ,but his judgment is not commensurate with his piety4 ,even the most friendly cannot say that he has wisely administered this sacred trust of his poor brethren4 ,he has erected churches1 schools1 and rest-houses which are altogether too sumptuous for the people4 ,he spent thousands in the purchase of a fine steam-launch for the convenience of his people on the river side4 ,he then purchased a rice-mill which brings a fair income to the mission4 ,he has added to these two fine and expensive automobiles1 in the smaller of which the writer had1 for him1 the unique pleasure of a delightful spin through the city of ,rangoon and its suburbs1 under the guidance of a ,karen chauffeur6 ,it was his first automobile ride2 and to think of it as being enjoyed in a vehicle bought by poor ,christians of ,burma6 ,strange to say1 the people continue to repose implicit confidence in him1 even to the extent of mortgaging their property1 in order to add to this public fund4 ,it is to be hoped that this good man may soon submit more to missionary guidance4 ,ko ,san ,ye is but an interesting episode in the wonderful progress of a nation from the depth of barbarism to ,christian privilege and civilized life4 ,the missionaries often dare not have him present during the baptism of new converts1 lest they should think that they were baptized in the name of ,ko ,san ,ye rather than in the name of ,christ6 ,and yet it is said that the two leading characteristics of this strange man are his humility and his unselfishness6 ,the ,karens1 with all their lowliness and barbarous antecedents1 are excellent material to work upon1 and are responding with wonderful eagerness to the missionary endeavour made in their behalf1 and are already1 in many noble qualities1 revealing to the native ,christians of the ,east the way of ascent to nobility of character and to the highest ,christian possession4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,the ,,hindu ,,caste ,,system ,the word caste is derived from the ,latin term castus1 which signified purity of breed4 ,it was the term used by ,vasco da ,gama and his fellow-,portuguese adventurers1 four centuries ago1 as they landed upon the southwestern coast of ,india and began to study the social and religious condition of the people4 ,the word expressed to them the remarkable bond which held the people together2 the subsequent generations of foreigners and ,english-speaking natives have adopted it as the most appropriate term to express the unique system which prevails all over ,india4 ,no other people1 in the history of the world1 have erected a social structure comparable to this of ,india4 ,for twenty-five centuries it has controlled the life of nearly one-sixth of the human race4 ,other countries have1 or have had1 tribal connections1 class distinctions1 trade unions1 religious sects1 philanthropic fraternities1 social guilds1 and various other organizations4 ,but ,india is the only land where all these are practically welded together into one consistent and mighty whole1 which dictates the every detail of human relationship and controls the whole destiny of man for time and eternity4 ,for it should be remembered that ,india has consistently declined to recognize any distinction between the social and the religious4 ,these are the reverse and the obverse of life2 they are brought to the same rules and must yield obedience to the same authority4 ,religion1 to the ,hindu1 permeates the whole social domain2 and social order draws its sanctions from1 and is enforced by the penalties of1 religion4 ,to marry outside one's caste1 to eat food cooked by an outcast1 to cross the ocean1 to delay unduly the marriage of a daughter1--these1 and a thousand other delinquencies which may seem absolutely harmless to a ,westerner1 are not only regarded as social irregularities1 but also as sins whose penalties will harass the soul beyond the grave or burning-ground4 ,herein does caste reveal its uniqueness1 and from this does it pass on to the exercise of its extraordinary tyranny over the people4 ,i ,the origin of caste is a subject of much uncertainty and debate4 ,in ancient ,vedic times1 caste was unknown4 ,society1 in those days1 was more elastic and free1 and resembled that of other lands4 ,and yet it showed a tendency toward a mechanical division which later grew into the caste system4 ,it was not until the time of the great lawgiver1 ,manu1 about twenty-five centuries ago1 that the system crystallized into laws1 and the organization became so compact as to force itself upon all the people and become an integral part of recognized ,hindu law4 ,manu and other lawgivers found the basis of caste rules in the traditions of an ancient ,brahman tribe4 ,these they elaborated and enforced4 ,the ancient name for caste was varna1 which means colour4 ,this name is suggestive1 and has led many authorities to trace back the whole system to original race-purity1 as indicated by the colour of the skin4 ,the first incursion of the fair ,aryans from the northwest settled down1 it is claimed1 in the northern portions of the country4 ,they gradually mingled and intermarried with the dark-skinned ,dravidian and aboriginal population1 with the natural consequence of a loss of race-purity and of whiteness of complexion4 ,a subsequent descent of a new ,aryan host upon the plains of northern ,india found the descendants of their predecessors of darker hue than themselves1 which bespoke their race degeneracy2 so they kept aloof from them4 ,later1 however1 they began to mingle with the former inhabitants1 so that their descendants partly lost the ancestral complexion4 ,a still later ,aryan incursion declined to have intercourse with the descendants of those who last preceded them4 ,thus we have four classes divided upon the basis of colour1 or varna1 which may correspond with the four great original castes of ,india4 ,the traditional theory of the ,hindus themselves1 in reference to caste origin1 is admirably simple and quite adequate to satisfy ninety-nine per cent of the devotees of that faith to-day4 ,brahma1 the first god of the ,hindu triad1 the ,creator1 was the immediate source and founder of the caste order2 for he caused1 it is said1 the august ,brahman to proceed out of his divine mouth1 while the warlike and royal ,kshatriya emanated from his shoulders1 the trading1 commercial ,vaisya1 from his thighs1 and the menial ,sudra1 from his feet4 ,and from these four primal classes have descended1 through myriads of permutations and minglings1 the present hydra-headed caste organization4 ,but modern and scientific students of the social order of ,india entirely discard and ignore all ,hindu mythical explanations and ,puranic legends concerning this subject1 and endeavour to trace the present system to its sources and primal causes through patient historic research and through a most elaborate system of anthropometric and ethnographic examinations conducted all over the land4 ,the subject1 however1 is so vast and complicated that authorities upon the subject are still considerably at variance in their theories of origin4 ,we may conveniently classify the prevailing theories1 according to their emphasis1 as follows3-- 7a7 ,the ,religious ,theory4--,this gives emphasis to the religious influence as the dominant one in the formation of the social order of the land4 ,it is maintained that the clever and unscrupulous ,brahman has1 to a large extent1 originated it and nursed it into its present wonderful proportions1 in order to create and perpetuate his own supremacy among the people of ,india4 ,as the spiritual head of ,hinduism1 and the recognized source of religious power among its devotees1 he required and devised this organization1 with himself as its undisputed head1 and with a distinct recognition by all others of his supremacy in the ,hindu faith as a conditio sine qua non of their admission as castes into the ,hindu system4 ,up to the present day1 the public acceptance of the supreme religious authority of the ,brahman is one of the two conditions which qualify any people to admission into the sisterhood of ,hindu castes4 ,the other condition is separation from all other peoples in matters which will be hereafter mentioned4 ,there are potent reasons for accepting this theory2 for the strongly entrenched position which religion still holds in the system1 both as a basis and as a regulator1 notwithstanding other antagonizing influences1 is a testimony to its original place and power therein4 ,any social order whose direction is regulated by social injunctions and whose forms and ritual are enforced by religious penalties must be recognized as a mighty religious system4 7b7 ,the ,tribal ,theory4--,moreover1 there were many aboriginal tribes which entered the ranks of ,hinduism through the formation of new castes4 ,mr4 ,risley1 in the ,census of #aija1 refers to such4 7,see ,vol4 ,i1 p4 #eba74 ,they gradually abandoned their old tribal customs and entered upon new paths which brought them into conformity with ,hindu usages4 ,or in some cases they preserved tribal habits and even their tribal totems1 and baptized them into the new faith and thus became separate castes in the ,hindu order4 ,as in the past1 so all over ,india at the present moment there is going on a process of the gradual and insensible transformation of tribes into castes4 ,the stages of this operation are in themselves difficult to trace4444 ,they usually set up as ,rajputs1 their first step being to start a ,brahman priest1 who invents for them a mythical ancestor1 supplies them with a family miracle connected with the locality where their tribes are settled1 and discovers that they belong to some hitherto unheard-of clan of the great ,rajput community4 7,census #aija1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #eai47 ,it is precisely the same process which brought the many ,dravidian and even more primitive tribes of ,south ,india into the ,hindu fold2 and it is a curious fact that these same people are to-day the greatest sticklers in the land for caste and its myriad rules4 7c7 ,the ,social ,theory4--,some hold with ,sir ,denzil ,ibbetson1 in the ,census ,report of #ahha1 that caste is far more a social than a religious institution2 that it has no necessary connection whatever with the ,hindu religion1 further than that under that religion certain ideas and customs common to all primitive nations have been developed and perpetuated in an unusual degree4 ,this is acknowledged to be an exaggerated statement4 ,it may possibly be true that caste has no necessary connection with ,hinduism1 but it is emphatically true that caste1 as understood by all1 does not exist apart from that faith4 ,it is1 however1 a fact that divisions have occurred within castes1 owing to the development of slight social differences between the members4 ,for instance1 several castes have been created by the degradation of members of the existing castes on account of their marriage of widows4 ,the ,pandarams of ,south ,india are held in distinction among the begging castes because of their abstention from meat1 alcohol1 and widow marriage4 ,indeed1 it is interesting to note that a former caste status has been more frequently lost by1 and degradation to a new caste has been consequent upon1 the adoption of widow marriage1 than through almost any other act4 ,and1 at present1 this prohibition of the marriage of widows1 including child widows1 is the most tenaciously and unrighteously enforced caste custom in ,india4 7d7 ,the ,occupational ,theory4--,all regard fellowship in the same trade1 or occupation1 as the most prolific source of caste alignment1 in modern times at least4 ,ibbetson contends that the whole basis of diversity of caste is diversity of occupation4 ,the old division into ,brahman1 ,kshatriya1 ,vaisya1 ,sudra1 and ,mlechha1 or outcast1 who is below the ,sudra1 is but a division into the priest1 the warrior1 the husbandman1 the artisan1 and the menial4444 ,william ,priest1 ,john ,king1 ,edward ,farmer1 and ,james ,smith are but the survivals in ,england of the four varnas of ,manu4 7,census of #ahha47 ,this statement needs serious qualification4 ,farming1 which is followed to-day by a majority of the population of ,india1 is an occupation which is subsidized by no caste and is followed practically by the members of all castes4 ,the ,brahmans are the only ones who are degraded by following the plough4 ,and there is a growing number of trades1 introduced by modern civilization1 which have not yet been touched by the caste system1 and which the enterprising youth of different grades of ,hindu society are entering with eagerness4 ,and yet1 while this is a fact1 it is equally true that the functional type of castes is developing and spreading much more rapidly than any other4 ,in the town of ,madura1 a few of the families1 from the weaver caste1 opened a remunerative trade in the manufacture of fireworks4 ,they at first began it as an extra1 to add to their very meagre income4 ,gradually it encroached upon their time until it became their sole occupation4 ,to-day they are prospering in their new trade4 ,but to them and their castemen their change of trade involves the transfer of caste relations4 ,no longer being weavers1 they do not see how they can continue to be bound by ties to their former castemen or former fellow-tradesmen2 hence the old connubial and convivial bonds of caste are relaxing1 and the weavers decline to have fellowship with them as formerly on these lines4 ,thus1 in all parts of the land1 we have present-day illustrations of the creation of functional castes4 ,and it is an interesting inquiry whether this mania for creating a new caste for every rising trade and occupation will finally overcome and absorb all occupations created by the demands of modern life and advancing civilization1 or whether it will in time succumb to the spirit of modern progress until all occupations shall be emancipated from the tyranny of caste and shall be open to all men who desire to enter them4 7e7 ,the ,crossing ,theory4--,according to ,manu's ,dharma ,sastra one might be led to believe1 as ,hindus do stoutly maintain1 that nearly all modern castes have been created by interbreeding4 ,those caste laws of twenty-five centuries ago taught that the offspring of the union of a woman of higher with a man of lower caste could belong to the caste of neither parent1 and therefore formed a new and a separate caste4 ,the names of castes thus formed are given with much detail in ,manu's works4 ,but it does not require much wisdom for one to perceive the absurdity of the working out of such a system1 and the impossibility connected with it as an adequate basis for the caste organization of the present day4 ,yet interbreeding has doubtless been an important element in the elaboration of the stupendous caste organization4 ,we have abundant illustration of this very process and its results in modern times4 ,among the ,dravidians1 especially1 there are many castes which trace their origin to miscegenation4 ,among the ,munda tribe we find nine such divisions2 also five among the ,mahilis1 who themselves claim their descent from the union of a ,munda with a ,santhal woman4 ,this will not be unexpected when it is remembered that endogamy is the prime law of most ,hindu castes2 and this1 too1 in a land where immorality and adultery are so prevalent4 ,other sources of ,hindu castes are mentioned4 ,some1 like the ,mahrattas1 have behind them national traditions1 and a history to which they refer and of which they are proud4 ,others1 still1 have1 by migrating from the home of the mother caste1 severed their connection from the parent stock and have formed a separate and independent caste4 ,it is unnecessary to state that not one of the above theories is adequate to account for all the existing castes of the land4 ,these forces have entered1 with varying degrees of efficiency1 into their structure1--one being dominant as a causal power in one1 and another in another4 ,and yet it may be stated that of all these caste-producing forces religion and occupation have had marked preeminence2 and they are more influential to-day than ever before4 ,,ii ,we shall next consider the various ,characteristics or ,manifestations of ,caste4 ,the system is a very flexible one2 and yet its characteristics are practically the same in all parts of the country4 ,perhaps the best way to clearly describe these to a western reader is to quote at length what we may call ,mr4 ,risley's capital western paraphrase of the system in ,blackwood's ,magazine1 a decade ago4 ,let us1 he writes1 imagine the great tribe of ,smith 444 in which all the subtle nuances of social merit and demerit have been set and hardened into positive regulations affecting the intermarriage of families4 ,the caste thus formed would trace its origin back to a mythical eponymous ancestor1 the first ,smith1 who converted the rough stone hatchet into the bronze battle-axe and took his name from the 'smooth' weapons that he wrought for his tribe4 ,bound together by this tie of common descent they would recognize as the cardinal doctrine of their community the rule that a ,smith must always marry a ,smith1 and could by no possibility marry a ,brown or a ,jones4 ,but1 over and above this general canon1 two other modes or principles of grouping within the caste would be conspicuous4 ,first of all1 the entire caste of ,smith would be split up into an indefinite number of in-marrying clans1 based upon all sorts of trivial distinctions4 ,brewing ,smiths and baking ,smiths1 hunting ,smiths and shooting ,smiths1 temperance ,smiths and licensed victualler ,smiths1 ,smiths with double-barrelled names and hyphens1 ,smiths with double-barrelled names without hyphens1 ,conservative ,smiths and ,radical ,smiths1 tinker ,smiths1 tailor ,smiths1 ,smiths of ,mercia1 ,smiths of ,wessex1--all these and all other imaginable varieties of the tribe ,smith would be1 as it were1 crystallized by an inexorable law forbidding the members of any of these groups to marry beyond the circle marked out by the clan name4444 ,thus a ,hyphen-,smith could only marry a ,hyphen-,smith1 and so on4 ,secondly1 and this is the point which ,i more especially wish to bring out here1 running through this endless series of clans we should find another principle at work breaking up each clan into three or four smaller groups which form a sort of ascending scale of social distinction4 ,thus the clan of ,hyphen-,smiths1 which we take to be the cream of the caste--the ,smiths who have attained the crowning glory of double names securely welded together by hyphens--would be again divided into1 let us say1 ,anglican1 ,dissenting1 and ,salvationist ,hyphen-,smiths1 taking ordinary rank in that order4 ,now the rule of these groups would be that a man of the ,anglican could marry a woman of any group1 that a man of the ,dissenting group could marry into his own or the lowest group1 while the ,salvationist ,smith could only marry into his own group4 ,a woman could1 under no circumstance1 marry down into a group below her4 ,other things being equal1 it is clear that two-thirds of the ,anglican girls would get no husbands1 and two-thirds of the ,salvationist men no wives4 ,these are some of the restrictions which would control the process of match-making among the ,smiths if they were organized in a caste of the ,indian type4 ,there would also be restrictions as to food4 ,the different in-marrying clans would be precluded from marrying together1 and their possibilities of reciprocal entertainment would be limited to those products of the confectioners' shops into the composition of which water1 the most fatal and effective vehicle of ceremonial impurity1 had not entered4 ,fire purifies1 water pollutes4 ,it would follow in fact that they could eat chocolates and other sweetmeats together1 but could not drink tea or coffee1 and could only partake of ices if they were made without water and were served on metal1 not porcelain1 plates4 ,mr4 ,risley might have added considerably to these restrictions and limitations without exhausting the catalogue4 ,let us briefly enumerate those elements which enter into caste4 ,the first and the most important is intermarriage within the caste4 ,none except members of totemistic castes can1 with impunity1 look beyond the sacred borders of their own caste for conjugal bliss4 ,so long as castes remain endogamous they will preserve their integrity1 and their foundations will never be removed4 ,this is the fons et origo of caste perpetuity4 ,all other characteristics may pass away2 if this remain1 all is well with the organization4 ,and it is this which remains with devilish pertinacity and mischief-working power in the infant ,native ,christian ,church of ,india4 ,it is this same extreme evil which the social reformers of ,india are trying to puncture4 ,but all that they dare to struggle and hope for is the right of members of subdivisions of any caste to intermarry4 ,a generation ago1 there were #ahhf divisions in the ,brahman caste alone1 no two of which could enjoy connubial or convivial privileges together4 ,it is not up to the most sanguine reformer of ,india to seek that all ,brahmans enjoy the right of intermarrying1--he only asks that the divisions among the ,brahmans may be reduced1 and intermarriage may be sanctioned among subdivisions4 ,yet even this meagre quest is not likely to be gratified4 ,this is not surprising1 for the defenders of the system well know that if this stronghold of caste is at all weakened1 the whole will speedily yield to modern attack4 ,this1 doubtless1 is the reason why orthodox ,hindus are so vehement in their opposition to any and all endeavour to remove the many disabilities and cruelties which the marriage regulations of the land inflict upon ,hindu women4 ,there is no land under the sun whose weaker sex suffer more from marital legislation than ,india2 and yet the people can do nothing practically to remedy the crying evils of the same1 simply because the mighty engine of caste is arrayed against them4 ,its perpetuity is linked closely with the resistance of all efforts at reform4 ,next in importance to the connubial is the convivial legislation of caste4 ,it is the business of every member of a caste to conserve the purity of his gens by eating only with his fellow-castemen4 ,under no circumstance can he inter-dine with those of a caste below his own4 ,the dictates of caste in this matter are sometimes beyond understanding4 ,not only must a man eat with those of his own connection2 he must be very scrupulous as to the source of the articles which he is about to eat2 he must know who handled them1 and especially who cooked them4 ,some articles of food1 such as fruit1 are not subject to pollution2 while others1 preeminently water1 are to be very carefully guarded against the polluting touch of the lower castes4 ,the writer has entered a railway car and accidentally touched a ,brahman's water-pot under the seat1 whereupon the disgusted owner seized the vessel and immediately poured out of the car window all its contents4 ,it has been truly said that that monster of cruelty1 ,nana ,sahib of ,cawnpore1 was able1 without any violation of caste rules1 to massacre many innocent ,english women and children at the time of the great ,mutiny2 but to drink a cup of water out of the hand of one of those tender victims of his treachery and rage would have been a mortal sin against caste1 such as could be atoned for only in future births and by the fiery tortures of hell6 ,the rationale of this interdiction is doubtless the desire to preserve the purity of caste blood4 ,as food becomes a part of the body1 and1 as the ,hindu thinks1 of the life1 it is imperative that all the members of a caste shall eat only the same kind of food1 and also that which has not been subjected to the ceremonially polluting touch of outsiders4 ,this urgency is increased by the fact that different castes proscribe different articles of diet4 ,the ,sivar1 so-called1 are strict vegetarians1 and will have absolutely no communion in food with meat-eaters1 even though the latter may belong to a higher caste than themselves4 ,meat of any kind is an abomination to them4 ,other respectable castes will touch only chicken meat1 others mutton1 a very few pork1 while no caste will permit its members to eat beef4 ,no sin is regarded by the orthodox with more horror than that of killing and eating the flesh of the cow1--the most sacred and most commonly worshipped animal of ,india4 ,these convivial rules of caste are the greatest obstacles to social union and fellowship among the people of ,india4 ,westerners hardly realize the extent to which their communion is based upon the convivial habit4 ,many times a friendship which lasts a lifetime is formed by strangers sitting together at the common dinner table4 ,and1 in the same way1 are the old friendships of life generally renewed and cemented in the ,west4 ,and it is a significant fact that the ,christian faith antagonizes ,hinduism at this very point by enacting that its great ,sacrament of love and communion of life in ,christ be embodied in a perpetual and universal drinking of the same cup and eating of the same bread4 ,in nothing is ,hinduism becoming more manifestly a burden to the educated community than in this restriction about inter-dining2 and in nothing are they more ready1 as we shall see later1 to violate caste customs than in this matter4 ,then comes1 as a natural consequence of the above1 limitations to the contact of persons of differing castes4 ,if a ,brahman cannot eat with a ,sudra1 because it supposedly brings a taint to his pure blood1 no more can he1 with impunity1 come into personal contact with him4 ,the touch of such is pollution to his august and pure person2 and the very air the low castes breathe brings to his soul and body taint and poison4 ,this idea of ceremonial pollution by contact causes great inconvenience and trouble1 and for that reason has been considerably mitigated or modified in recent times4 ,the ,rajah of ,cochin1 who lives temporarily near the writer1 and who is evidently a stickler for caste observances1 receives calls from ,european friends only before nine o'clock in the morning1 for the obvious reason that that is the hour of his daily ablution4 ,the ,maharajah of ,travancore bathes at #g ,a4,m4 daily2 hence1 intending ,european guests find reception only before that early hour4 ,in the ,state of ,travancore1 in which ,brahmanical influence is great1 even the high caste ,nair cannot touch1 though he may approach1 a ,namburi ,brahman4 ,a member of the artisan castes will pollute his holiness twenty-four feet off2 cultivators at forty-eight feet2 the beef-eating ,pariah at sixty-four feet4 ,like the ,palestinian leper of old1 the low-caste man of that part of ,india was1 until recently1 expected to leave the road when he saw a ,brahman come1 and remove his polluting person to the required number of feet from his sacred presence4 ,low-caste witnesses were not allowed to approach a court of justice1 but standing without1 at the requisite distance1 to yell their testimony to the ,brahman judge who sat in uncontaminated purity within4 ,the falling of the shadow of a low-caste person upon any ,brahman in ,india necessitates an ablution on the part of the latter4 ,it is this frequency of contaminating and polluting contingencies in the life of the ,brahman which requires of him so many ablutions daily1 and which renders him perhaps the cleanest in person among the sons of men4 ,so many are the dangers of contamination which daily beset him in the ordinary pursuits of life that relief in the form of dispensations is granted him1 so as to reduce the ceremonies and diminish the extreme burden of religious observance4 ,this law of contact and pollution must weigh heavily upon any genuine ,hindu of high caste4 ,the relation of the ,maharajah of ,travancore to his ,prime ,minister1 who is a ,brahman1 is an interesting illustration4 ,the ,rajah is not a born ,brahman2 he is by many of his people regarded as a manufactured ,brahman4 ,but ,his ,highness himself does not regard himself as equal1 in sacred manhood1 to his ,brahman ,prime ,minister2 hence he will never be seated in his presence4 ,nor will the ,brahman ,dewan deign to sit in the presence of his royal master1 the ,maharajah4 ,hence all the business of ,state 7sometimes requiring conferences of three hours a day7 is transacted by them while standing in each other's presence4 ,occupational limitations are observed1 as we have already seen1 by many modern castes4 ,trade castes not only prescribe the one ancestral occupation to their members2 they also1 with equal distinctness and severity1 prohibit to all within their ranks any other work or trade4 ,so in all those legion castes not only has a man his social sphere and status assigned to him1 he is also tied to the trade of his ancestors2 yea1 more1 he is expected to confine himself to ancestral tools and methods of work in that narrow rut of life4 ,one day the writer was accosted by a weaver who was in a famishing condition4 ,he made a pathetic plea for charity4 ,manchester cloths were flooding the market2 they therefore could not sell the products of their labour at living rates4 ,it was suggested that they take up some other trade that could furnish them a decent living4 ,he lifted up his hands in horror at the impious suggestion1 that they abandon their caste-prescribed occupation6 ,he felt that he and his were ground between the upper and nether millstones4 ,to suggest to him that they even change the kind or style of article which they prepared upon their looms for the market would have been equally impossible4 ,out in the villages1 where these people live1 it would seem almost as absurd for the weaver to become a carpenter as for the weaver who uses only cotton thread to become a silk-weaver1 or for those who weave coarse white cloths to produce the finer coloured cloths worn by the women4 ,no2 for generations their people have given themselves to the production of only one article4 ,it is the custom of our people is the final word4 ,and what has become customary is by caste enactment made obligatory4 ,and woe be to him who defies caste4 ,and thus the caste-prescribed trade becomes the be-all and the end-all of life4 ,these four--the connubial1 the convivial1 the contactual1 and the occupational--are the constant factors of the caste existence and activity in ,india4 ,but in addition to these1 caste takes other functions and assumes other forms in certain localities and under certain circumstances4 ,definite forms of religious observance are often enjoined1 certain places of pilgrimage are sanctioned1 marriage forms prescribed1 marriage obligations defined1 divorce made possible or impossible1 and the limit of marriage expenses set4 ,there is hardly a department of life or a duty which men owe to their dead which does not enter the domain of caste legislation somewhere or other4 ,a strange and very interesting peculiarity of certain castes is their totemistic aspect4 ,this characteristic has only recently been discovered4 ,at the bottom of the social system1 as understood by the average ,hindu1 we find1 in the ,dravidian region of ,india1 a large body of tribes and castes each of which is broken up into a number of totemistic septs4 ,each sept bears the name of an animal1 a tree1 a plant1 or some material object1 natural or artificial1 which the members of that sept are prohibited from tilling1 eating1 cutting1 burning1 carrying1 using1 etc4 7,see ,census of #aija1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 pp4 #ecj-ece47 ,mr4 ,j4 ,g4 ,frazer1 in the ,fortnightly ,review1 gives the following description of the totem3 ,a totem is a class of natural phenomena or material objects--most commonly a species of animals or plants--between which and himself the savage believes that a certain intimate relation exists4444 ,this relation leads the savage to abstain from killing or eating his totem1 if it happen to be a species of animal or plant4 ,further1 the group of persons who are knit to any particular totem by this mysterious tie commonly bear the name of the totem1 believe themselves to be of one blood1 and strictly refuse to sanction the marriage or cohabitation of members of the group with each other4 ,this prohibition to marry within the group is now generally called by the name ,exogamy4 ,thus totemism has commonly been treated as a primitive system1 both of religion and of society4 ,in absorbing the ,dravidian tribes1 ,brahmanism appropriated the totemistic cult and incorporated it into the caste system4 ,and many ,dravidian castes which are identified with this cult have the striking peculiarity of being exogamous as contrasted with the endogamy of the ,aryan section of ,hindu castes4 ,,iii ,the penalties which are inflicted by caste for violation of its rules are many and very severe4 ,it is hardly too much to say that there is not on earth an organization more absolute in its power1 more wide-reaching in its sweep of interests1 and more crushing in its punishment1 than is caste4 ,in the first place1 it so completely hems in the life of a man1 imperatively prescribes for him the routine of life1 even down to the most insignificant details1 and thus shuts him up to his own clan1 and with equal completeness cuts him off from the members of other castes1 that it can reduce any recalcitrant member to certain and speedy obedience1 simply because there is no one to whom he can flee for sympathy and refuge4 ,even if this whole system had not1 as its first aim and achievement1 the alienation of members of different castes1 who is there among ,hindus that would interfere with this function of a caste to discipline its members8 ,for is not ,thou shalt obey implicitly thy caste1 the first law of the ,hindu decalogue1 and the one most sincerely believed by all ,hindus8 ,the following are among the penalties inflicted upon one who is under the ban of his caste3-- ,all the members of his caste are prohibited from accepting his hospitality4 ,not even his own household are permitted to dine with him4 ,he is boycotted1 absolutely1 by all his best friends1 associates1 and companions4 ,not one of them dares1 under penalty of complete ostracism1 to harbour or favour him4 ,nor will he be invited to their homes4 ,they dare not receive him under the shelter of their roofs nor offer him food4 ,more than once the writer has seen the bitter tyranny of caste brought to bear upon those who had abandoned caste by becoming ,christians4 ,here is a youth known to the writer4 ,he is a member of a respectable caste4 ,he accepts the religion of ,christ publicly as his own4 ,his parents and brothers and sister will cling to him with the hope of bringing him back to the ancestral faith4 ,but caste authority steps in4 ,it forbids the family to receive the son and brother1 or to offer him a morsel of food4 ,in that household a sad war of sentiment is inaugurated4 ,parental love and family tenderness cling to the ,christian youth2 and is he not the hope of the family for the years to come8 ,but to harbour him means to be outcast as a family2 and how can they endure that8 ,and are they not at heart loyal to the caste of their fathers8 ,so the conflict runs on for months4 ,one night only the tender heart of the sister compels her to defy caste to the extent1 not of eating with the dear brother and companion of her youth1 but so far as to bring him the remnant of their meal1 not in one of the home vessels from which he had eaten so often as a ,hindu in the past1 but on a plantain leaf and behind the house6 ,then1 of course1 comes the connubial ban whereby all the members of the caste are prohibited from giving any of their children in marriage to those of his household4 ,to the ,hindu who believes that marriage is not only the ,god-given right of every human being1 but who also implicitly believes that it is a heavenly injunction whose fulfilment rests as a duty upon every father in behalf of his children1 this interdict is the most oppressive of all4 ,but it is enforced with heartless severity in every case2 and any family which may defy the caste in this respect by entering into conjugal relationship with that of the one under ban1 is at once outcast4 ,another mighty resource of the organization1 in this connection1 is to interdict to the recreant member the use of all caste servants4 ,for instance1 the caste barber and washerman are commanded to serve him and his no longer4 ,the severity of this interdiction cannot possibly be realized by westerners1 who are not always dependent upon these functionaries4 ,but in ,india every one depends upon the barber and washerman for their service even more than a westerner does upon the service of the butcher or the doctor4 ,the ,hindu never dreams of the possibility of doing for himself the duties performed by these caste servants for him4 ,moreover1 the barbers and washermen of other castes would1 under no circumstance1 be allowed to render him the service thus prohibited to him by his own caste4 ,add again to these inflictions the further one of complete isolation in times of domestic bereavement4 ,should a member of his family die1 not one of the caste members is permitted to help in the last sacred rites for the dead4 ,even at that moment1 when one would expect the icy barriers to melt away1 the heart of caste is as hard and its severity as rigid as ever4 ,the helplessness of a family under these circumstances is1 to any one who is not a slave to the whole accursed system1 most pitiful and heartrending4 ,another caste penalty which has received undue public prominence of late is called prayaschitta1 which means atonement4 ,it is usually applied as punishment to those who have had the temerity to cross the ocean for foreign travel1 business1 or study4 ,more correctly1 it is rather a process of cleansing and ceremonial rehabilitation than an act of punishment4 ,the exclusiveness of caste delighted in calling all foreigners ,mlechhas1 which1 though perhaps not as vigorous a term as the ,chinese sobriquet1 black devils1 connoted1 and still connotes1 to the caste ,hindu1 unclean wretches1 contact with whom brings ceremonial pollution and sin4 ,he who crossed the ocean would necessarily be debased by these defiling ones and would be1 as a matter of course1 engulfed in the pollutions of their life6 ,to prohibit travel1 which necessarily involved such sin and degradation1 became therefore the concern of the ancient lawmakers of ,india4 ,hence the prayaschitta1 under which the educated community of ,india chafe so much at the present time4 ,for many of the best and most promising youth of ,india travel abroad or reside temporarily in ,england1 with a view to perfecting their educational training so as to qualify themselves for highest positions of usefulness in the homeland4 ,others go abroad on business or to behold and study the wonders of western life and civilization4 ,all men of culture and power in ,india1 at the present time1 are convinced of the evil and absurdity of this caste law1 which is common to all castes1 because it is a part of the general legislation of their religion4 ,they decline to believe that it is either sin or pollution to go in search of the best that the ,west and the ,east have discovered and can bestow upon one1 and that which is to-day doing most in the elevation and redemption of ,india herself4 ,and many of them are defying this obsolete and debasing law of their faith4 ,many others are crying for a modern interpretation of the law--an interpretation which will explain away its bitterness and render it innocuous4 ,for it is not simply or chiefly the reactionary and absurd character of this legislation which exasperates the intelligence of the land2 it is the very offensive and revolting nature of the expiation which preeminently stirs up the rebellion4 ,in former centuries of darkness1 ,hindus may have been willing to submit to the humiliation of eating the five products of the cow as an atonement for the supposed sin of sea-travel4 ,the culture and intelligence of the present time is neither so abject nor so superstitious as to submit to this1 without1 at least1 a vigorous protest4 ,and yet1 what the culture of ,india seeks to-day is not the abolishing of this law1 which is equally repulsive to their taste and to their intelligence2 it asks only that some way of avoiding the penalty may be found6 ,and all that ,hinduism and caste require of these foreign-travelled men is not an intelligent submission to its behests1 but an outward observance of them4 ,so the faith and its conservative defenders are satisfied to see these men of culture1 as they return with the acquired treasures of the ,west1 submit outwardly to this offensive rite1 while their sensitive nature rises in rebellion against it4 ,and these young scions of the ,east willingly practise this hypocrisy and submit to this indignity in order to live at peace with1 and indeed to live at all in1 their ancestral caste6 ,it is only an illustration of the hollowness of the major part of the life of the educated community in this great land4 ,well may one exclaim1 what can be expected from a people whose leading men of culture are living this double and mean life6 ,this is verily peace with dishonour6 ,,chapter ,v ,,the ,,hindu ,,caste ,,system 7continued7 ,,iv ,the agency through which1 and the occasion upon which1 caste penalizes its members are manifold4 ,formerly1 ,hindu kings1 under instruction from their pandit ministers1 would enforce caste observances4 ,but under the present non-,hindu ,state no such action could be expected4 ,in many instances pandits have to be consulted both as to whether a member has really violated shastraic injunctions and as to the penalty which should be inflicted in that special case4 ,in doubtful cases1 pandits of various trainings and leanings are called who present conflicting opinions which end in confusion4 ,in ,southern ,india important cases of caste violation among non-,vishnuvite ,hindus are under the jurisdiction of the ,superiors of ,sankarite monasteries4 ,some of these assume and exercise ,papal authority in such matters among their people4 ,usually1 however1 each local caste organization deals directly with infractions of its own rules1 and is competent to deal drastically1 and as a court of final resort1 with all cases of caste infringement within its own membership4 ,it may be done in public assembly1 when all male members are present and have a voice2 or the caste panchayat1 or council of five1 may sit in judgment upon the case and have right of final action4 ,this latter tribunal is the more common in ,south ,india1 and is more in harmony with the spirit and methods of the land4 ,there are a number of courses of action which are adequate as causes of removal from caste4 ,one of these is a change of faith4 ,the abandonment of the ancestral religion1 which is the mother of caste spirit and organization1 especially when the newly accepted faith repudiates openly caste and all that belongs to it1 inevitably leads to expulsion from caste4 ,in most cases this has resulted upon conversion to either ,christianity or ,mohammedanism4 ,but this is not as universal as we could wish or as many suppose1 as we shall see later on4 ,it may be seen how1 in a mass movement of a large body of men toward ,christianity1 for instance1 the people may easily1 and would naturally1 carry with them into the new faith many of their old customs and habits1 including much that pertains to1 and is of the essence of1 caste4 ,roman ,catholicism has interpreted caste chiefly from a social standpoint1 and has therefore regarded it as a social institution which can be adapted to1 and adopted into1 the ,christian religion4 ,protestantism1 or1 at least1 ,anglo-,saxon ,protestantism1 has regarded caste as primarily and dominantly a religious institution1 whose spirit antagonizes fundamentally our faith1 and which must be opposed at all points4 ,hence it is a part of the pledge of every one who enters into the ,protestant fellowship in ,india that he will eschew and oppose caste at all times4 ,and it may be said that1 though ,hinduism loves dearly compromise and evasion1 it has in the main held that a man who has accepted the ,christian faith and has been publicly baptized into its conviction of the fatherhood of ,god and the brotherhood of all men1 has no place in its own caste system1 and it consistently deals with him as with an outcast4 ,as we have already seen1 every man who has travelled abroad has lost thereby caste and has to undergo expiation before reinstatement4 ,it matters not how thoroughly he has tried to preserve caste customs during his travels and in the foreign land1 he is regarded by all as a de facto outcast4 ,marrying a widow is also an act which severs caste ties and places a man under the ban4 ,of course1 this applies not to the few castes which allow widow-remarriage4 ,but as the bulk of ,hindus deny the right of a widow to remarry 7though there is no caste obstacle to a widower taking unto himself a new virgin wife every year of his life71 a man cannot enter into an alliance with a widow without losing caste thereby4 ,beef-eating is regarded as so heinous a sin that no member of a respectable caste would expect consideration for a moment4 ,and yet ,dr4 ,j4 ,h4 ,barrows has said that the famous ,swamy1 ,vivekanantha1 when with him at ,chicago1 ate a whole plateful of beef in his presence and with a great deal of relish4 ,but he1 of course1 had graduated out of the ordinary level of ,hindu-hood into the sacred heights of ,swamyhood1 in which a man is exempt from the mean limitation of caste1 and when the vulgar sins of common ,hindu life are transmuted into the ordinary blessings and privileges of saintdom4 ,in like manner1 vegetarian castes punish their members for the eating of any meat4 ,the ,hindu aversion to meat is very common2 it is also sanitary and wholesome2 for meat-eating in the tropics is neither necessary nor conducive to health4 ,and yet the ,pariah outcast has no scruples in this matter4 ,it is indeed true that he would deem it a sin to butcher a cow or an ox2 but he will not hesitate to poison his neighbour's cattle1 that he may thereby have enough carrion to eat4 ,for the carcases of the dead cattle of the village are the perquisite of the ,pariah2 and it is upon finding such that he enjoys his only feasts of plenty4 ,but to the ordinary ,hindu all bovine kind are divine1 and the flesh of the same is strictly and vehemently tabooed4 ,punishment is also dealt out1 as we have seen1 to those who eat any food cooked by an outcast1 whether he be ,christian1 ,mohammedan1 or ,pariah4 ,and the same is true of eating with an outcast1 or with one who is of a lower caste than himself4 ,indeed1 so far is this spirit carried by certain high castes that to be seen eating by a member of a lower caste1 or to allow the shadow of a stranger to fall upon one's prepared food1 is pollution4 ,hence the care with which all ,hindus seek privacy and avoid the gaze of men during mealtime4 ,officiating as a priest in the house of a low-class ,sudra is strictly prohibited to a ,brahman1 and he loses caste thereby4 ,he and other twice born are also driven out of caste if they throw away the sacred thread which is the outer badge of their second birth and dignity4 ,a woman1 when found in open sin with a man of another caste1 and a widow1 when she can no longer hide the consequence of her immorality1 are no longer in caste4 ,it is hardly necessary to mention that marrying outside of one's own caste is a sin which finds no countenance1 but severest punishment1 in nearly all castes4 ,generally speaking1 we may say that caste authority is exercised only in cases where ceremonial observance and social usages are violated4 ,in matters that are purely ethical1 and which bear upon the character and moral elevation of the individual and the clan1 caste rarely acts2 for it does not consider that its honour is compromised or its organic life impaired by such conduct4 ,it should also be mentioned that caste is not even in the distribution of its dispensations and punishments4 ,a man of wealth and social influence succeeds in staving off many acts of caste displeasure which would fall heavily upon the poor and friendless man4 ,such a man may1 and often does1 trample under foot every command of the decalogue1 and at the same time defy and violate a good moiety of the injunctions of his caste4 ,and yet1 because of his wealth and general importance in caste councils1 he stands unimpeached and unrebuked4 ,in matters of caste observance and discipline1 villages are much more conservative and strict than cities4 ,in the latter1 as we shall see1 caste observance is much relaxed1 and life is more on modern lines4 ,v ,the results of the caste system in ,india are many and manifest4 ,it has sown its seed for many centuries and to-day reaps a rich harvest in life and conduct4 ,it should not be assumed1 and it cannot be asserted1 that this great system has always been an unmixed evil to the people of this land4 ,no organization which has bound by its fetters for eighty generations nearly a sixth of the population of the globe1 and which continues to grip them to-day with tyrannical power1 can be devoid of any redeeming feature4 ,the very perpetuity and prosperity of the scheme argues for its possession of some rational features1 originally connected with it1 which gave it sanction to the myriads who have submitted to its reign over them4 ,but it is exceedingly difficult to discover that excellence which originally commended it to the people of this land4 ,nor do the writings of those who have striven to defend the system assist us in making this discovery4 ,a modern ,brahman defence by ,jogendra ,nath ,bhattacharya 7see ,hindu ,castes and ,sects1 pp4 #a-aj7 gives only one ray of light upon the subject when he observes that the legislation of the ,rishis was calculated not only to bring about union between the isolated clans that lived in primitive ,india1 but to render it possible to assimilate within each group the foreign hordes that were expected to pour into the country from time to time4 ,in those remote days when weakness through isolation threatened their very existence1 and when there was no possibility of a general union of all the people for defence1 thorough organization of clans into castes brought strength and confidence and was a conspicuous blessing4 ,it was in those days a convenient and effective way of enforcing religious obligations upon the heterogeneous clans4 ,it also was then probably useful in preserving purity of blood among the higher races1 and in conserving the nobility of the ,aryan who was destined to rule the mixed races of ,india for many centuries4 ,nor is the system without possibilities of good in modern times1 as was illustrated recently by the action of a prominent ,north ,india caste in prohibiting large expenses in marriage and in raising1 by legislation1 the limit of the marriageable age of its girls4 ,but1 alas1 any good that may possibly inhere in the system has largely remained in posse rather than in esse4 ,the history of caste has been one of evil1 and it is no wonder that such a fair-minded writer as ,mr4 ,sherring1 who has probably made a more thorough study of the subject than any other man1 should call the organization a monstrous engine of pride1 dissension1 and shame 7see ,preface to his ,hindu ,tribes and ,castes74 ,considering the subject1 therefore1 in its bearing upon the life of ,india to-day1 and studying its results as we now find them among all classes of the people and in their definite bearing upon the future of the land1 we are compelled to pronounce against it at all points4 ,it is1 in the first place1 the source of interminable discord and dissension all over the land4 ,it not only arrays caste against caste2 but bitter animosity is the order of the day among the subdivisions of castes4 ,in every one of the numberless castes in the land there are divisions and subdivisions galore4 ,and while the ,sudras acknowledge the supremacy of the twice born1 among the myriad clans of the ,sudras themselves there is endless assumption and contention1 every one1 fomented by pride1 claiming primacy and distinction above the others4 ,recently1 in ,south ,india1 this feeling led to a serious riot1 in which not a few lives were lost and villages devastated4 ,it also narrows the sympathies of the people in a most lamentable way4 ,among the common people of ,india it is held that a man's duties to his caste embrace his whole obligation4 ,when a fellow-being is in difficulty and his condition strongly appeals for sympathy1 the first1 and often the last1 question asked is1 ,is he a member of my caste8 ,if not1 like the priest and the ,levite of old1 his conscience allows him to pass by on the other side4 ,recently a woman perished in the streets of a town near ,madura4 ,she was a resident of a village some twenty-five miles away1 and was1 therefore1 a stranger in this town1 where she sickened and was carried to a public rest-house4 ,but when her condition became serious and no relatives or caste friends came to her support1 she was put out into the street1 where she lay helpless for three days in the rain and sunshine4 ,hundreds of people saw her dying agonies as they passed by during those days2 but no heart of sympathy went out to her2 for was she not a stranger8 ,and it was left to an ,american1 who happened to pass that way on the third day1 to demand of the town officer that she be put back in the rest-house1 where she shortly afterward died4 ,let it not be thought that this is an isolated case4 ,he who is familiar with ,indian life knows it is not1 for daily he has to witness the woful limitations which caste imposes upon human sympathy4 ,caste has also degraded manual labour4 ,the loss of caste by any ,brahman who follows the plough is only an application of this rule in the highest quarters4 ,caste has taught the people of this land that humble toil1 however honest it may be1 is more than mean2 it is sinful4 ,there are millions of the higher castes of ,india who deem it honourable to beg1 and dignified to spend their years in abject laziness1 but who would regard it as unspeakable degradation to take a hoe or a hammer and earn an honest living by the sweat of their brow4 ,nor will their caste rules permit of their undertaking such work4 ,and this spirit has passed down the ranks until it pervades the whole of society in ,india1 with the consequence that manual labour is universally regarded as degrading1 and with the further natural result that a horde of five and a half millions of lazy1 wretched1 immoral1 able-bodied1 religious beggars are burdening this land4 ,and thus mendicancy is made honourable at the expense of honest toil4 ,it should be further remarked that there are a number of begging castes1 in which all work is proscribed and mendicity exalted into a divinely ordained profession6 ,moreover1 caste makes it impossible for ,india to become a commercial country4 ,so long as foreign travel is banned and contact with other lands is regarded as a sin against heaven and caste1 there is little hope that the people of this land will distinguish themselves in that kind of trade and commerce which has made ,india's mistress1 ,great ,britain1 so illustrious in wealth and dominion4 ,and it is this caste spirit which so easily made the great peninsula of ,india a prey to the tight little island many thousands of miles away4 ,for not only has caste made the ,hindus an insular people1 it has also so divided them that they do not realize any common sentiment1 save that of opposition to the ,state1 or seek any common good4 ,hence they have for many centuries been the easy prey of any adventurers who sought to overcome and despoil them4 ,a genuine national feeling and a patriotic sentiment are all but impossible in the land4 ,and all intelligent ,hindus acknowledge this sad condition at present1 and many of the best of them publicly maintain that national consciousness1 self-rule1 and a glowing1 triumphant patriotism can be built only upon the ruins of the caste system4 ,and even as it is a foe to nationality1 so is it the mortal enemy of individualism4 ,the caste system is really a glorification of the multitude as against the individual4 ,individual initiative and assertion1 liberty of conscience1 the right of man to life and the pursuit of happiness1--all these are foibles of the ,west which it has been the chief business of caste to crush2 and upon their ruin it has erected this mighty tower of ,babel4 ,in ,india1 it has been the business of men1 from time immemorial1 not to do what they think to be right1 nor to find out1 every one for himself1 what they consider to be the best and to act according to the dictates of conscience2 it has rather been submission to caste dominance4 ,and it is the unblushing teaching of the ,shastras that obedience to caste is the fulfilment of duty and the summum bonum of life4 ,so omnipotent and omniscient is the arm and head of caste that men dare not defy it4 ,hence we are compelled to look in ,india to-day upon the saddest spectacle of abject manhood the world has known4 ,to those who1 like the writer1 have spent a lifetime in trying to raise the outcasts and the lower strata of ,indian society1 the most difficult and discouraging obstacle is the inertia and the abjectness of the people themselves4 ,through a bitter experience of many centuries they have learned that it does not pay for the individual to assert himself against the dictates of the caste1 or for the lower castes to rise in rebellion against their lot4 ,they discovered that they were merely butting their heads against an adamantine rock4 ,so they have lost every ambition and hope2 and he who would lift them up must first remove that leaden despair which rests upon them like a mighty incubus4 ,nor is it much better with the educated classes of ,india4 ,there are hundreds of thousands of these men of western university training who annually assemble in ,congress and in ,convention1 and who in spotless ,english of ,addisonian accent and in the sonorous phraseology of a ,macaulay1 discourse upon human rights and who denounce the bondage of caste tyranny4 ,and yet they submit1 in their own homes1 to that same accursed tyranny and are in life as abject as the meanest ,pariah in the face of caste edicts which they know to be unrighteous and demeaning to the core4 ,it should also be remembered that caste is the foster-mother of all the manifold social evils of the land4 ,in pre-caste days in ,india such evils as child marriage1 prohibition of widow remarriage1 temple women1 excessive marriage expenses1 etc41 did not exist4 ,they are a part of the caste regime supported and perpetuated by its authority4 ,remove this mighty compulsion1 and these institutions would soon become things of the past4 ,another evil of this organization is that of ignoring the ethical and spiritual standard and of measuring everything from a purely formal and ceremonial standpoint4 ,all life is reduced into an unceasing ritual under the perpetual priestly surveillance of caste4 ,all that it asks of man is outward conformity4 ,he may disbelieve and hate every commandment of his faith2 but if he conforms1 he is a faithful son4 ,on the other hand1 he may be a man of unblemished character1 and he may even intend to be obedient to caste2 but if1 some night1 a few enemies were to thrust into his mouth and compel him to swallow a piece of beef1 no power could save him from the dreadful punishment that would follow4 ,a man may write a tract in condemnation and ridicule of all the gods of the ,hindu pantheon and still remain an acceptable ,hindu2 but if1 in the agony of a burning fever1 he should drink a spoonful of water from the hands of a ,christian or of a ,pariah1 his caste would doom him to perdition for it4 ,in other words1 the whole system directly cultivates1 in all the people1 a hollowness of life which does more than anything else to rob ,india of her manhood and which makes nobility of character and ethical integrity most difficult things among the ,hindu community4 ,a ,brahman gentleman described the whole system as a vast hollow sham4 ,and such it is4 ,,vi ,paradoxical though it may seem1 caste spirit is more prevalent and its influence more dominant in ,india at the present than in the past2 yet there is more defiance and violation of caste rules and more frequent and sure evidences of the speedy termination of its reign than at any previous time4 ,it has ruled so long and so supremely in this country that the ,hindu accepts it without questioning2 and it has become more than a second nature to him1 even a necessity of his being4 ,what would be intolerably irksome to a ,westerner is to the ,hindu a matter of course4 ,to the rank and file of the ,hindus1 caste has ceased to be a matter of question4 ,it is the only order of life with which he is conversant2 and while he may be convinced by arguments which prove its cruelty and its many evils1 he still clings to it as the only system under which he knows how to live and which he cares to obey4 ,as we have already seen1 the ramifications of caste are more numerous and its authority more general to-day than at any former time4 ,many ,hindu reformers1 especially of the ,vishnu sects1 have followed in the steps of the great ,buddha1 by denouncing caste1 root and branch1 and have established their own sects during the last ten centuries on a non-caste basis4 ,but they have all succumbed to the demon which they antagonized and now generally observe caste rules with the same devotion as other ,hindus4 ,the lower the caste spirit has descended to the submerged tenth of the land1 the more vehemently have they become inoculated with its virus4 ,the outcast ,pariah is not to be outdone in this matter2 and so we have ,pariahs and ,pariahs4 ,many divisions are found among this wretched class1 and they are more exclusive in their divisions and more rigid in their narrowness than are many of the high castes4 ,even those who have abandoned the ,hindu faith and professed another1 do not leave behind them this divisive spirit4 ,perhaps the converts from ,mohammedanism have eschewed ,hindu caste more than converts to other faiths4 ,among ,christian converts1 though caste is professedly abandoned1 it clings with vital tenacity and almost unconquerable persistence to their sense of the fitness of things4 ,their deepest prejudices and unconscious tendencies1 even against their intellectual convictions and sincere professions1 unceasingly sway the vast majority of them and lead them into affiliations and narrow sympathies which are ,hindu and not ,christian4 ,it is true that the oldest ,christian community in ,india1 the ,syrian ,church of ,malabar1 has long abandoned the ,hindu caste organization1 with even its mean remnant of caste titles4 ,and yet that community settled down for many centuries into the conviction that it was merely one caste among the many of that region and must keep itself aloof from and untainted by the surrounding castes4 ,roman ,catholicism1 which has still the most numerous ,native ,christian community in ,india1 has largely adopted the ,hindu system and tries to utilize it in the furtherance of ,christianity in the land6 ,no greater mistake was ever made than this of trying to uphold and promulgate the meekness1 the humility1 the love1 and the fellowship of ,christ by means of the haughty pride1 the cruel hate1 and the bitter divisiveness of caste4 ,illustration3 ,,jungle ,,people ,,of ,,india ,protestant ,christianity is to-day the pronounced foe of caste4 ,it is war to the death between them1 and the missionaries have not yet found a foe to their cause so subtle1 deceptive1 deep-rooted1 persistent1 and pervasive as this4 ,it is fortified by a thousand ramparts and presents more discouragement to the ,christian worker than all other obstacles combined4 ,even ,buddhism and ,jainism1 the former of which was the ancient protest against ,hindu caste1 have fallen oft-times a prey to the subtle and damning wiles of this system4 ,in ,bengal1 a number of ,hindu castes are known to have been formerly members of the ,jain and ,buddhist communities 7see ,census #aija1 ,vol4 ,,ii1 p4 #ebc74 ,however1 notwithstanding this growing prevalence and the marvellous tenacity of caste throughout the land1 there are encouraging signs of its decadence4 ,its grip is certainly relaxing in many ways1 and its asperities are softening4 ,it may not untruthfully be said that the growing multiplicity of castes is one of the sure harbingers of the downfall of the system4 ,for the divisions of caste are already beyond computation4 ,the population is cut up into so many minute sections that the caste edifice overtowers everything else1 so that it is in imminent danger of toppling over4 ,it is claimed that war among civilized nations will soon become an impossibility because of the growing devastating power of modern weapons of warfare4 ,in like manner1 caste is speedily passing through its very excesses to a reductio ad absurdum2 its spirit is so rampant1 and its gross evils are becoming so intolerable1 that even the patient inhabitants of ,india will soon cease to endure the ruin which this monster of their own creation carries on among them4 ,educated ,hindus are already denouncing it with great vehemence and with considerable unanimity4 ,they are convinced that ,india can never win independence and power under the regime of caste2 and they proclaim their convictions upon the house-top4 ,it is true1 as we have seen1 that caste has so powerfully thrown its spell over them1 its own children1 that they are too abject to withstand it openly and unitedly4 ,but ,i believe that they will erelong be driven to action4 ,further1 obedience and submission will mean ruin to them1 their families1 and their country4 ,even now1 among the educated1 especially in ,bengal1 caste restrictions upon dining are being increasingly ignored4 ,a ,bengalee gentleman enjoys ordinary hotel fare with apparently none to interfere with his liberties4 ,in ,madras1 the writer has more than once rubbed shoulders with ,brahman lawyers and others eating together the common fare of a well-known restaurant of the city4 ,and he has known ,brahman patients1 high in society1 who did not object even to buy and use nourishment in the form of ,liebig's ,beef-extract1 so long as they could cover its offensiveness to the women of their household by the euphemistic name meat-extract4 ,and to this they are being rapidly carried by a conjunction of many forces which are increasingly dominating the land4 ,in the first place1 they have the potent example of a host of western lives among them4 ,this body of white people1 from the far-off lands1 is distributed all over ,india4 ,they are the rulers of the land4 ,a ,brahman may deem their touch pollution4 ,but that same ,brahman is often glad to undergo that ceremonial taint if thereby he can only enjoy the white man's cultured society4 ,he beholds in these people from the ,west a freedom from irksome caste restraints4 ,he notices conjugal relations among them1 such as furnish richest home blessings4 ,their social relations are untrammelled and abound in convivial privileges such as are denied to ,hindu society4 ,all this creates in him an uneasiness4 ,if he is a man of culture and resides in some city of importance1 he will wish to meet ,english friends upon lines of social equality2 but this he will find to be impossible apart from his defiance of caste rules2 for1 to the man of the ,west1 the common cup and the festal board are the essential conditions of true friendship and intimacy4 ,thus the life of the ruling race in ,india is a constant rebuke to the narrowness of caste and a source of discontent to the caste-ridden people1 because it reveals to them a different and a better way of living4 ,nor is it merely this new type of non-caste western life that appeals to them4 ,the modern civilization of the ,west1 with its humanizing laws1 its exaltation of the individual1 its religious freedom1 its new and broadening education and culture1 its equal rights to every man1 its many institutions through every one of which there breathes the ,anglo-,saxon's blessed love of liberty1 the home with its sanctified affection and its glorified womanhood1 philanthropy which carries with an even hand its sweet services to the high and the low--to ,pariah as to the ,brahman1--all these institutions and influences are at work like a mighty leaven in the mind and heart of ,india4 ,and the people cannot be blind to this influence2 and it is gradually transforming their ideals and ambition4 ,connected with these more subtle western civilizing agencies are found the material agencies which are the dread foes of caste exclusion4 ,the chief among these is the railroad1 the thirty thousand miles of which are so many tongues to proclaim the doom of past narrowness4 ,the ,brahman1 with all his mean pride1 cannot forego the wonderful conveniences of the iron road and the fire-carriage2 but in order to avail himself of them1 he must sit an hour at a time cheek by jowl with a low-caste--it may be a ,pariah--fellow-passenger4 ,the railroad gnaws at the vitals of caste life and convictions4 ,next to it come the schools4 ,millions of youth are trained in them daily to regard caste as an unworthy classification4 ,all sections are taught in the same classes2 they play in the same playground4 ,in both places the lower often excels the higher caste boy4 ,the seeds of equality and a common regard are thus constantly sown among the youth of all sections of the land4 ,if it astonished the recent educational 7,moseley7 ,commission which went from ,england to the ,united ,states to study the educational conditions there1 when it saw the children of the ,president of the country studying side by side with the children of day-labourers1 so must it seem wonderful1 and wonderfully good1 to a student of social conditions in ,india1 to behold the child of a ,pariah and that of a ,brahman preparing1 side by side1 in the schoolroom1 for the responsibilities and the blessings of life4 ,many other agencies similar to the above are doing their benign levelling work4 ,the government1 however1 is the great leveller4 ,in all its gifts of offices1 in all posts of honour and influence1 it distributes its blessings with strict impartiality1 so far as caste is concerned4 ,it wisely ignores all social distinctions and depends upon qualifications of culture and character when it seeks men to conduct its affairs4 ,this is something unprecedented in the land of ,manu4 ,that the outcast should stand an equal chance with the high castes for positions of honour and emolument was unknown in this land of sharp distinctions4 ,and even more fundamental than this is the blessing of equal personal and political rights4 ,in ancient ,india1 such an idea was never entertained4 ,before ,british rule entered the land it was never dreamed that priest1 prince1 and beggar--and that ,brahman and ,pariah--had equal rights before the law4 ,to-day they all recognize the justice of this and expect it4 ,finally1 the advent of ,christianity1 with power1 into the land has brought a new death-knell to caste supremacy4 ,we have seen that ,indian ,christian converts abandon all other customs and superstitions with greater facility than they do those of caste4 ,its roots have sunk deepest into the soil of their nature4 ,but let it not be thought that they do not grow stronger against caste than they used to be4 ,in the ,indian ,christian community there is developing a most encouraging movement toward the complete eradication of caste sentiment and observance within the ,church itself4 ,they are more sensible than ever before of the gross inconsistency of a man's taking upon himself the sacred name of ,christ and at the same time submitting to the dominance of caste4 ,indian ,christian anti-caste organizations are now at work seeking to drive out of the ,church of ,god in ,india this ,antichrist1 and to cultivate the true spirit and amenities of ,christian fellowship and fraternal communion4 ,the spirit of ,christ is abroad in the land in regenerating and transforming power4 ,his great message to the world was the common fatherhood of ,god and the brotherhood of man4 ,and the ,christian ,church is growing increasingly true to the message of its ,leader and ,lord in this country4 ,men may not accept the ,christian call to believe and to be baptized2 but they cannot be blind and deaf to the work and call of the ,spirit of ,christ in these modern times of thrilling changes and opportunities4 ,it is this ,christian ideal which is running athwart the most ancient and cherished institutions and customs of ,india1 and has precipitated a conflict such as the land has never before known4 ,but the end is not yet1 and caste will not be hurled down from its high pedestal in a day4 ,it is a mighty institution which has its root in deepest sentiments and is sustained by cherished antiquity and by the strongest passions and prejudices4 ,these will not succumb in a brief generation4 ,and even when ,christianity shall have triumphed and shall have driven out its rival faith from the land1 as we have every reason to believe that it will1 let it not be supposed that the ,christianity of the ,east will have the social complexion of that of the ,west4 ,in the earliest days of ,christianity1 we are told by the great ,apostle to the ,gentiles that there were heresies in the ,church4 ,these were social heresies or class divisions4 ,it was later in the ,west that heresy became an error of belief4 ,the ,indian ,church will also have heresies of life rather than of thought4 ,the caste spirit will not vanish entirely from ,india1 even when it becomes ,christ's land2 because while ,india is always indulgent and tolerant concerning beliefs1 she is particular about class distinctions4 ,and this1 doubtless1 will be the weakness of the ,indian ,church of the future4 ,but she will have her strong points1 also1 and in these she will glory and through them glorify her exalted ,lord4 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,bhagavad ,,gita--,,the ,,hindu ,,bible ,the ,bhagavad ,gita 7translated ,the ,song of the ,adorable ,one and ,the ,divine ,lay7 is rightly regarded as the gem of all ,hindu sacred literature4 ,hindus maintain 7and few will question them7 that in beauty of language and in elevation of thought it stands supreme among their ,shastras1 or sacred writings4 ,educated ,hindus proudly claim for it superiority to all sacred books of other faiths4 ,of all ancient ,brahmanical writings it is to-day the most cherished by the members of that faith4 ,the ancient ,rig ,veda is at present only a book of antiquarian interest4 ,the ,upanishads1 which are the fountainhead of ,hindu thought and philosophy1 are only the text-books and treasure-houses of philosophers and metaphysicians4 ,but the ,divine ,lay is extolled and used alike by men of western culture1 by conservative pandits1 and by the masses as their highest book of doctrine and their richest treasury of devotion4 ,even many ,hindus who have come under the fascination of the ,christ1 carry with them upon their journeyings the ,new ,testament in one pocket and the ,bhagavad ,gita in the other1 as the common guide and inspiration of their quiet hours of meditation4 ,it is thus universally recognized that there is no book which wields a larger influence than this in the religious life of the two hundred and thirty millions of ,hindus to-day2 and there is none which is more worthy to be called the ,hindu ,bible4 ,i ,in strange contrast with the bulky tomes of ,brahmanism and of the great epic1 ,mahabharata 7which1 with its two hundred and forty thousand lines1 is the longest epic ever written1 being eight times as long as the ,odyssey and the ,iliad put together71 the ,bhagavad ,gita contains only seven hundred slohams1 and is not as long as the ,gospel of ,st4 ,mark4 ,the date of the origin of the ,song is very much disputed4 ,there are ,hindu authorities who would carry it back to the fifth century ,b4,c41 the time which is assigned for the first recension of the ,mahabharata1 of which the ,bhagavad ,gita is a very small part4 ,but the highest authorities find conclusive proof that it originated about the second or third century of our era1 and was then inserted as a part of an episode in the narrative of the great epic4 ,the ,mahabharata is a great poetic narrative of a conflict between the two branches of the ,bharata family--the ,pandavas and the ,kauravas--for the petty kingdom of ,hastinapura1 near the modern city of ,delhi4 ,the two forces are already1 in counter array1 eager for the fray on the battle-field of ,kuruchetra4 ,the call to battle has already been blown upon the miraculous conchs of the leaders of both sides1 who are seated in their chariots drawn by white horses4 ,over each one waves his personal ensign4 ,arjuna1 the noblest of the five brave ,pandava leaders1 is a man of heroic traits of character2 and yet within him breathes the tenderest sentiment of humanity4 ,he pauses a moment ere he leads his mighty hosts against the enemy2 and1 as he looks upon his own kith and kin in the opposing ranks1 he is overcome by the stern voice of conscience blending with humanitarian impulses4 ,is it right1 can it possibly be right1 for him to go forth to destroy his own friends and relatives2 shall he shed the blood of those who are nearest and dearest to him upon the earth8 ,this is the agonizing doubt which seizes upon him at this time4 ,and in his distress he turns to his friend and relative1 ,krishna1 who has declined to participate in the war1 but who had volunteered to act as ,arjuna's charioteer4 ,and he says unto him3 ,seeing these kinsmen1 ,o ,krishna1 standing 7here7 desirous to engage in battle1 my limbs droop down2 my mouth is quite dried up2 a tremor comes on my body2 and my hairs stand on end2 the ,gandiva 7bow7 slips from my hand2 my skin burns intensely2 ,i am unable1 too1 to stand up2 my mind whirls round1 as it were4 ,even those for whose sake we desire sovereignty1 enjoyments1 and pleasures1 are standing here for battle1 abandoning life and wealth--preceptors1 fathers1 sons as well1 grandfathers1 maternal uncles1 fathers-in-law1 grandsons1 brothers-in-law1 as also other relatives4 ,these ,i do not wish to kill1 though they kill me1 ,o destroyer of ,madhu6 even for the sake of sovereignty over the three worlds1 how much less than for this earth 7alone78 ,krishna replied1 with a view to soothe ,arjuna's perturbed mind1 and to urge him on to battle4 ,it is this dialogue between the hero and the god which constitutes the ,bhagavad ,gita4 ,and yet one can hardly call it a dialogue1 since ,krishna's remarks make up more than nine-tenths of the book4 ,the dialogue is one of the favourite forms of ,hindu literature4 ,most of the ,puranas and the ,tantras are cast in that form4 ,it seems very strange that this book1 which is the favourite exponent of a faith whose very essence is non-resistance1 whose genius is to inculcate the passive virtues1 should have found its motive in the purpose of the god ,krishna to overcome1 in the warrior ,arjuna1 those worthy1 humane sentiments of peace and kindness and that noble resolution to forego even the kingdom rather than to acquire it through the shedding of the blood of his relatives4 ,how incongruous to build up the lofty structure of a faith upon so unethical1 unsocial1 and cruel a foundation6 ,,ii ,the ,song evidently belongs to the tendensschrift school of literature4 ,it is written with a definite aim and purpose4 ,it is the highest exponent of ,hindu ,eclecticism4 ,the three great schools of ,brahmanical thought and philosophy--the ,sankya1 the ,yoga1 and the ,vedanta--were founded more than twenty-five centuries ago and have wielded resistless power in the shaping of religious thought in ,india4 ,and perhaps this power was never more manifest than at the present time4 ,but these schools are1 in their main issues1 mutually antagonistic4 ,the ,sankya philosophy is severely dualistic and even has little use1 if indeed it has any place1 for the ,divine ,being4 ,on the other hand1 the ,vedanta is uncompromisingly monistic4 ,its pantheism is of the highest spiritualistic type and is radically opposed to the materialism of the ,sankya school4 ,in one school the ,divine ,being is nothing and materialism has full sway2 while in the other ,brahm is everything1 and all that appears to men--the phenomenal--is false and illusive4 ,again1 as to the method of redemption1 the ,yoga philosophy advocates renunciation1 self-effacement1 and all the forms of asceticism4 ,on the other hand1 the ,sankya philosophy inculcates action as the embodiment of the duty of man1 through which alone he can attain unto absorption4 ,even to the present time these different schools of thought not only prevail2 they have also begotten and are nourishing different schools of religious life and practice which present different ideals and enforce different methods4 ,the ,brahman author1 or authors1 of the ,bhagavad ,gita was inspired with the laudable ambition of harmonizing these conflicting teachings and of blending their peculiarities into one consistent whole1 which would appeal to all the followers of the many-sided ,brahmanical faith4 ,this he accomplished with rare beauty of language1 and with a success which has won admiration and acceptance by nearly all the people of ,india4 ,and this is the more remarkable since the worship of ,krishna is distinctly a part of the ,vaishnavite cult of ,hinduism1 and as such does not appeal to the ,saivites1 or the worshippers of ,siva4 ,but the author1 naturally and inevitably1 failed to produce a congruous scheme of saving truth and religious appeal4 ,the result is that we see1 on almost every page1 contradictory teachings and conflicting methods of salvation4 ,this1 of course1 is by no means fatal to it in the estimation of ,hindus1 with whom consistency has never been a foible1 and in the eyes of whom two mutually contradictory teachings can rest peacefully side by side4 ,here we find dualism and monism locking hands together1 and the three ways of liberation--that of ritual1 of asceticism1 and of knowledge--not only find full expression1 but are also supplemented by the inculcation of faith and of the obligations of caste4 ,to a ,westerner1 this jumbling together of such antagonistic ideas and methods would be as repulsive as it would be absurd4 ,but the ,oriental mind works on different lines from the ,occidental1 and is never hampered by logical inconsistency4 ,the ,song of the ,adorable ,one is divided into three chapters1 of six divisions each4 ,the first extols the benefits of the ,yoga method2 but it also adds that action should be supplemented to ,yoga for the speediest attainment of beatification4 ,in the second part1 the pantheism of the ,vedanta is inculcated1 and ,krishna identifies himself with the universal ,spirit and claims adoration as such4 ,in the third part1 an effort is made to blend the ,sankya and the ,vedanta conceptions1 an effort which largely permeates the whole book4 ,that is1 it claims that prakriti1 or elemental nature1 and the soul1 or atma1 find their source in ,brahm2 and thus it practically vitiates the fundamental teachings of both systems4 ,at the same time1 it also teaches the separate existence of individual souls1 which is anti-,vedantic4 ,as we study carefully the contents of this remarkable work1 we are impressed equally with its excellences and defects1 with its sublime teachings and absurd contentions4 ,generally speaking1 it may be said to be characterized by notions which are1 at the same time1 supremely attractive to the ,east and unintelligible and repellent to the ,west4 #a4 ,considering first its teaching concerning ,god1 we find emphasized that monistic teaching of ,hindu ,pantheism which has been the dominant note in the faith of ,india from the first4 ,but it is not the strictly spiritual and the unequivocal ,pantheism of ,vedantism1 which is purely idealistic and which bluntly denies the existence of everything but ,brahm itself4 ,it is rather a mixture of the dual and the non-dual teaching of the two dominant1 contending philosophies of the land4 ,krishna tells us that he is not only the supreme ,spirit1 but also that the material universe is a part of himself4 ,o ,son of ,pritha6 ,i am the ,kratu1 ,i am the ,yagna1 ,i am the ,svadha1 ,i am the product of the herbs1 ,i am the sacred verse4 ,i too am the sacrificial butter1 ,i the fire1 ,i the offering4 ,i am the father of this universe1 the mother1 the creator1 the grandsire1 the thing to be known1 the means of sanctification1 444 the source and that in which it merges1 the support1 the receptacle1 and the inexhaustible seed4444 ,all entities which are of the quality of goodness1 and those which are of the quality of passion and of darkness1 know that they are1 indeed1 all from me2 ,i am not in them1 but they are in me4 ,the whole universe1 deluded by these three states of mind1 develops from the qualities1 does not know me who am beyond them and inexhaustible2 for this delusion of mine1 444 is divine and difficult to transcend4 ,there is nothing else higher than myself2 all this is woven upon me like numbers of pearls upon a thread4 ,i am the taste in water1 ,i am the light in the sun and the moon4#b ,footnote #b3 ,the translation which ,i follow here is that of ,mr4 ,telang1 in ,the ,sacred ,books of the ,east1 which is1 on the whole1 both exact and more intelligible than most other translations4 ,these and many other similar expressions represent an evident effort to graft the materialistic conceptions of the ,sankya upon the ,vedanta1 which is in nothing more emphatic than in denying the existence of all that is phenomenal and material4 ,krishna gave to ,arjuna1 at the latter's request1 a vision of his true ,self separate from1 and infinitely higher than1 the humble and illusive garb of his incarnation4 ,and it was to him as if in the heavens the lustre of a thousand suns burst forth all at once4 ,and what a vision6 ,gazing upon it1 ,arjuna exclaims1 ,o ,god6 ,i see within your body the gods1 as also all the groups of various being2 and the lord ,brahm seated on his lotus seat1 and all the sages and celestial snakes4 ,i see you1 who are of countless forms1 possessed of many arms1 stomachs1 mouths1 and eyes on all sides4 ,and1 ,o ,lord of the ,universe1 ,o you of all forms6 ,i do not see your end1 middle1 or beginning4444 ,i believe you to be the eternal being4 ,i see you void of beginning1 middle1 or end--of infinite power1 of unnumbered arms1 and having the sun and the moon for eyes1 and having a mouth like a blazing fire and heating the universe with your radiance4 ,for this space between heaven and earth and all the quarters are pervaded by you alone4 ,looking at this wonderful and terrible form of yours1 ,o high-souled one6 the three worlds are affrighted4 ,for here these groups of gods are entering into you4444 ,our principal warriors1 also1 are rapidly entering your mouths1 fearful and horrific by reason of your jaws4 ,and some with their heads smashed are seen stuck in the spaces between the teeth4 ,as the many rapid currents of a river's waters run toward the sea alone1 so do the heroes of this human world enter your mouths blazing all around4 ,as butterflies1 with increased velocity1 enter a blazing fire to their destruction1 so too do these people enter your mouths with increased velocity1 only to their destruction4 ,swallowing all these people1 you are licking them over and over again from all sides with your blazing mouths6 ,here we verily have a fine combination of the sublime and the ridiculous6 ,the ,apostle of ,jesus was given to witness a vision of heavenly things such as could not be uttered4 ,this disciple of ,krishna does not hesitate to paint in such glowing terms a vision of the divine1 that1 to all but a ,hindu1 the picture seems not only incongruous but highly absurd and disgusting4 ,one can hardly imagine that any mortal1 to whom a vision of the divine being had been granted1 could fail so utterly to furnish us with an edifying description of the same4 ,in this ,song1 ,krishna claims to be1 at the same time1 absolute ,deity and the supreme incarnation4 ,in nothing do the ,east and the ,west differ more radically than in their teaching concerning incarnation or descent4 ,in ,christianity1 ,god only once became incarnate2 and in that ,incarnation every believing soul has found its needs fully satisfied4 ,never1 in all these two thousand years1 did our ,lord ,christ satisfy more completely the human soul and bring rest to more human hearts than at the present time4 ,to the ,christian1 ,jesus represents the ultimate of ,god's earthly manifestation1 as ,he does the complete realization of human salvation4 ,but in ,hinduism1 incarnation is presented as a continuous passion of the ,deity4 ,the absolute ,spirit forever amuses itself with the sacred sport of ever changing emanations and manifestations4 ,myriads of descents are recorded in their sacred books1 of all degrees and forms of grotesqueness1 and not a few of unblushing vileness4 ,it is an interesting fact that the same ,krishna who poses1 and by millions of ,hindus is accepted1 as the ,supreme ,deity1 is nevertheless represented in the most popular books of ,hinduism to-day--the ,puranas1 which are known in their legends to all ,hindus and which wield a supreme influence over them in their life--as a very different being4 ,in these books the story of ,krishna is one of fetid1 unblushing immorality and voluptuousness4 ,the publishing of these narratives in the ,english language in a western land at the present time would be considered a crime punishable with imprisonment4 ,and thus this ,hindu god1 who is the most popular in ,india and who appeals most to the imagination of the people1 led a life upon earth whose record is a story of immorality which brings a crimson blush to the pure4 ,but1 to return to the ,hindu conception of incarnation1 it must be remembered that it is unique in this particular2 viz4 that it regards the ,deity as continually returning to the world to visit and to help human beings4 ,in the ,gita1 ,krishna remarks3-- ,whensoever1 ,o ,descendant of ,bharata6 piety languishes and impiety is in the ascendant1 ,i create myself4 ,i am born1 age after age1 for the protection of the good1 for the destruction of evil-doers1 and the establishment of piety4 ,the inadequacy of any one incarnation is here proclaimed1 and the idea of constant communication with and impartation of himself to humanity through repeated descents is here inculcated4 ,and it is a fundamental conception of ,hinduism--a conception which differentiates it essentially from the ,christian religion4 ,from this remark of ,krishna1 who speaks here as the ,supreme ,being1 one would suppose that ,hindu incarnations have been1 and still are1 definitely intended to enhance human piety upon earth1 and have been such as to accomplish this purpose4 ,as a matter of fact1 the historic or legendary incarnations of ,india1 as they are now recorded in their sacred books1 have practically no ethical or spiritual content4 ,i defy any ,hindu to take the narratives of these descents1 as found in the ,puranas and other books1 and show from them that there was anything more than physical and social relief to men intended by them or accomplished through them4 ,i have yet to find1 in those narratives1 the conception of human sin and moral depravity and of the purpose of the incarnation to break the fetters of sin and to bring spiritual light and moral beauty to those among whom it manifested itself4 ,the gulf which thus stands between the ,hindu ideal of incarnation and the real incarnations which are recorded in ,hindu literature1 including that of ,krishna himself1 is wide and impassable4 ,one has well said that the incarnation of ,krishna is an incarnation of lust1 and the record of his #af1ajj wives and #ahj1jjj sons is but a suggestion of the correctness of this estimate4 ,even the incarnation of ,buddha1 which1 doubtless1 is the highest and best among those incorporated into the ,hindu ,pantheon1 is expressly stated by ,hindu authorities to be for the purpose of deceiving and destroying the people4 ,when one begins to compare the picture of the ,christian ,incarnation with that of any and of all those that occupy the ,hindu mind1 and fill many volumes of ,hindu literature1 we pass from noon-day light into ,egyptian darkness4 #b4 ,the doctrine of atma1 or the human self1 or soul1 is more in accordance with the ,sankya than the ,vedantic school4 ,the individual soul is represented1 not as a part of the ,supreme ,soul1 which is the distinct doctrine of the ,adwaitha philosophy1 but as a separate entity which is immutable and eternal4 ,listen to ,krishna's argument to ,arjuna1 in order to urge him into battle and to shed the blood of his friends3 ,learned men grieve not for the living nor the dead4 ,never did ,i not exist1 nor you1 nor these rulers of men2 nor will any of us ever hereafter cease to be4 ,as in this body1 infancy and youth and old age come to the embodied self1 so does the acquisition of another body2 a sensible man is not deceived about that4444 ,there is no existence for that which is unreal2 there is no non-existence for that which is real4444 ,these bodies1 appertaining to the embodied self which is eternal1 indestructible1 and indefinable1 are said to be perishable2 therefore do engage in battle1 ,o descendant of ,bharata6 ,he who thinks it to be the killer and he who thinks it to be killed1 both know nothing4 ,it kills not1 is not killed4 ,it is not born1 nor does it ever die1 nor1 having existed1 does it exist no more4 ,unborn1 everlasting1 unchangeable1 and primeval1 it is not killed when the body is killed4444 ,but even if you think that it is constantly born1 and constantly dies1 still1 ,o you mighty man of arms6 you ought not to grieve thus4 ,for to one that is born1 death is certain2 and to one that dies1 birth is certain4 ,there is a great deal more in this line of the indestructibility of the soul2 but nothing is said of the ,vedantic idea that the soul has no real1 separate existence1 and that even this illusory existence1 in human conditions1 will terminate when the self shall be recognized to be1 as it really is1 an unsevered and inseparable part of the ,supreme ,soul4 ,the eternal existence of the soul is posited by every school of ,hindu thought4 ,in the ,sankya philosophy1 the human self1 as we have seen1 is a separate1 uncreated entity2 and the teaching of the ,divine ,lay concerning it is in harmony with this4 ,and it must be confessed that in many respects this doctrine is inferior to the ,vedantic1 which emphasizes the spiritual character1 and the divine origin and destiny1 of the soul4 #c4 ,the doctrine of ,liberation1 or of ,redemption1 as found in the ,bhagavad ,gita1 is a strange combination of all the ways which ,brahmanism has inculcated through its many schools1 with other ways here added4 ,in every way men follow in my path1 declared ,krishna4 ,in the pursuance of any religious practices whatever1 men were assured that they would be acceptable if they were only ,krishna-olaters4 7#a7 ,but the highest path which leads unto ,god is the path of knowledge 7,gnana74 ,sacrifices of various sorts are laid down in the ,vedas4 ,know them all to be produced from action1 and knowing this you will be released from the fetters of this world4 ,the sacrifice of knowledge is superior to the sacrifice of wealth1 for action is wholly and entirely comprehended in knowledge4444 ,even if you are the most sinful of all sinful men1 you will cross over all trespasses by means of the boat of knowledge alone4 ,as a fire well kindled1 ,o ,arjuna6 reduces fuel to ashes1 so the fire of knowledge reduces all actions to ashes4 ,for there is in this world no means of sanctification like knowledge1 and that one perfected by devotion finds within one's self in time4 ,he who has faith1 whose senses are restrained1 and who is assiduous1 obtains knowledge4 ,obtaining knowledge he acquires1 without delay1 the highest tranquillity4444 ,therefore1 ,o descendant of ,bharata6 destroy with the sword of knowledge these misgivings of yours which fill your mind1 and which are produced from ignorance4 ,he who is possessed of knowledge1 who is always devoted1 and whose worship is addressed to one only1 is esteemed highest4 ,for to the man of knowledge ,i am dear above all things1 and he is dear to me4 ,all these are noble1 but the man possessed of knowledge is deemed by me to be my own self4 ,from time immemorial ,indian sages have looked upon ,god as the ,supreme ,intelligence2 ,he is the absolute ,wisdom1 and to know ,him or it1 and to know that ,i am it 7,tat twam asi71 this is the highest wisdom 7,brahma ,gnana71 and it gives immediate entrance into the heaven of beatification or of absorption4 ,and the only sin which such a man1 and which this system of thought1 recognizes is the sin of ignorance 7,avidia72 that is1 the folly1 or stupidity1 of thinking that one's soul is separate from the divine ,soul4 ,to know1 under these mundane conditions of delusion 7,maya71 and while under the tyranny of passion and of action 7,karma71 that ,i am1 after all1 identical with the divine ,spirit1 and that the thought of a separate existence is a snare and a bondage1--this is the immediate shattering of my earthly bondage and the full entrance of my soul 7like a drop of water to its mother ocean7 into the eternal peace and tranquillity 7,sayutcha7 of the godhead--a state of unconscious calm which shall never after be disturbed4 ,thus the highest way of salvation1 as taught by ,hindus of all classes1 is the way of knowledge4 ,it is the highest step in the progress of human redemption4 ,all other ways of salvation are but preliminary1 or stepping-stones1 to this4 ,there is no return to the bondage of this world of ,him who has crossed the river of death in the boat of knowledge4 ,all others must again return and further1 by new births1 the cause of the soul's emancipation4 7#b7 ,the second path of liberation here inculcated is that of self-restraint1 of asceticism4 ,from time immemorial the ascetic has been ,india's ideal of a man of piety4 ,he is a man who has turned his back upon the pleasures of the world1 even its harmless amusements and physical enjoyments1 and has given himself to stern rigid self-denial4 ,by thus denying himself every pleasure that body can bring and every satisfaction that human society can furnish2 yea1 more1 by a renunciation of everything worldly to the extent of supreme physical pain and social deprivation1 he separates and weans himself from all that is temporal1 that he may pass on in sadness up the pathway of redemption4 ,this is the way of ,yoga2 and the ,yogi to-day finds highest admiration in ,india as its ideal of life4 ,in the ,divine ,lay also this pathway of ,yoga finds emphasis and exaltation4 ,the devotee whose self is contented with knowledge and experience1 who is unmoved1 who has restrained his senses1 and to whom a sod1 a stone1 and gold are alike1 is said to be devoted4444 ,a devotee should constantly devote himself to abstraction1 remaining in a secret place1 alone1 with his mind and self restrained1 without expectations and without belongings4 ,fixing his seat firmly in a clean place1 not too high nor too low1 and covered over with a sheet of cloth1 a deerskin1 and kusa grass--and there seated on that seat1 fixing his mind exclusively on one point with the working of the mind and sense restrained1 he should practise devotion for the purity of self4444 ,thus constantly devoting himself to abstraction1 a devotee whose mind is restrained attains that tranquillity which culminates in final emancipation and assimilation with me4444 ,the self-restrained1 embodied self lies at ease within the city of nine portals1 renouncing all actions by the mind1 not doing or causing anything to be done4 ,this path of abstraction and asceticism leaves the soul to theosophic knowledge1 which is consummated in the supreme bliss of assimilation with the ,divine4 ,so enamoured has ,india been of this method of life throughout the centuries that ,yoga has been reduced to a science1 and has been elaborated to a degree which is ridiculous and almost idiotic4 ,listen1 for instance1 to ,krishna's instructions where he speaks of the ascetic as holding his body1 head1 and neck even and unmoved1 remaining steady1 looking at the tip of his own nose1 etc4 ,these ridiculous posturings and idiotic attitudes cannot1 as has been well said by ,barth1 but lead to idiocy or to a loss of all mental aptitude4 ,the ultimate aim of ,yoga is to reduce the soul to tranquillity and quiescence1 by abstracting the mind from all things earthly1 and thus leading to cessation from action2 for action is said to lead to new fruit1 which must be eaten by the soul2 and for this purpose new births are necessary1 which delay final absorption in the deity4 ,the spirit of ,hinduism is thus evident in its exaltation of this method of life4 ,it has made the path of abstraction and the elimination of every thought1 emotion1 and ambition1 its ideal4 ,in other words1 man1 by self-repression and the effacement of every faculty of mind and body1 is to attain unto final beatification or emancipation4 ,this is an end in itself1 according to the ,hindu plan of life4 ,in ,christianity1 on the other hand1 self-realization and not self-effacement must be the consummation of life4 ,the way of the ,cross1 that is1 the path of self-denial1 is indeed most rigidly enjoined2 but it is the denial of the lower self1 the meanest passions of the soul1 in order that the highest faculties may find complete realization4 ,thus1 in ,christianity1 also1 asceticism has a place of value2 but it is as a means to a higher end1 and that is1 perfect growth and development of the man unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of ,christ4 7#c7 ,it also possesses the distinction of emphasizing works or action as necessary to salvation4 ,indeed1 the ,bhagavad ,gita is unique among the books of ,india in teaching that action is superior to renunciation4 ,sri ,krishna says3 ,renunciation and pursuit of action are both instruments of happiness4 ,but of the two1 pursuit of action is superior to renunciation of action4 ,this is1 indeed1 strange teaching in the realm of ,hindu literature1 where action is universally taught to be both in itself an evil and to be the cause of sin4 ,krishna1 by some magic of his own power1 here reverses the ordinary ,hindu teaching4 ,he who has controlled his senses and who identifies his self with every being1 is not tainted1 though he performs actions4 ,he who1 casting off all attachment1 performs actions1 dedicating them to ,brahm1 is not tainted by sin1 as the lotus leaf is not tainted by water4 ,indeed1 we are told that some perform actions for attaining purity of self4 ,thus we see inculcated the peculiarly un-,hindu doctrine that he who works for ,god is for that reason absolved from the fruit of his action2 yea1 more1 by his very acts attains unto purity1 and approaches the consummation of absorption4 ,still more1 the very motive of ,krishna1 in this ,divine ,song1 is to stir up the warlike courage of ,arjuna and to lead him into the bloody activities of war4 ,therefore do you1 too1 perform actions1 as was done by men of olden times4 ,but action1 in order that it may be effective1 must be according to prescribed rules4 ,any work which is inculcated in the sacred books is both sacred and useful in the scheme of redemption4 ,and among these prescribed works1 few are more useful than the performance of sacrifice4 ,men have their sins destroyed by sacrifice4 ,those who eat the nectar-like leavings of the sacrifice prepare for the eternal ,brahm4 ,this world is not for those who perform no sacrifice4 ,thus sacrifices of various sorts are laid down in the ,vedas4 ,know them all produced from action1 and knowing this you will be released from the fetters of this world4 ,idolatry1 also1 is a part of this sacred duty4 ,desiring the success of action1 men in this world worship the divinities1 for in this world of the mortals1 the success produced by action is soon obtained4 ,those who worship the divinities go to the divinities1 and my worshippers1 too1 go to me4 ,even those1 ,o ,son of ,kunti1 who being devotees of other divinities worship with faith1 worship me only1 but irregularly4 ,for ,i am the enjoyer as well as ,lord of all sacrifices4 ,but they know me not truly1 therefore do they fall1 i4e4 they return to the world of mortals4 ,this teaching may be called polytheism rather than idolatry4 ,and yet at the time this book was written1 polytheism had already degenerated into idolatry4 ,the most definite and multitudinous courses of action are those enforced by the caste system4 ,and these also are emphasized in this song4 ,krishna here informs us that he is the author of the caste system4 ,the four-fold division of castes was created by me according to the apportionment of qualities and duties4 ,elsewhere1 in ,hindu writings1 we are abundantly informed that ,brahm created these four divisions of men from his head1 his shoulders1 his loins1 and his feet1 respectively4#c ,footnote #c3 ,see ,chapters ,,iv and ,v1 on ,caste4 ,he only lives well and works worthily who lives in strict accordance with caste rules1 and who works in obedience to the dictates of caste tyranny4 ,we are here informed that one's own duty1 though defective1 is better than another's duty well performed4 ,death in performing one's own duty is preferable2 the performance of the duty of others is dangerous4 ,here1 of course1 one's own duty is the duty prescribed to a man by the ,hindu caste system4 ,the duties of ,brahmans1 ,kshatriyas1 and ,vaisyas1 and of ,sudras1 too1 ,o terror of your foes1 are distinguished according to the qualities born of nature4 ,tranquillity1 restraint of the sense1 penance1 purity1 forgiveness1 straightforwardness1 also knowledge1 experience1 and belief in the future world1 this is the natural duty of the ,brahmans4 ,valour1 glory1 courage1 dexterity1 not slinking away from battle1 gifts1 exercise of lordly power1 this is the natural duty of ,kshatriyas4 ,agriculture1 tending cattle1 trade1 this is the natural duty of ,vaisyas4 ,and the natural duty of ,sudras1 too1 consists in service4 ,every man intent on his own respective duties obtains perfection4 ,and1 again1 ,one's duty1 though defective1 is better than another's duty well performed4 ,performing the duty prescribed by nature one does not incur sin4 ,one should not abandon a natural duty though tainted with evil4 ,thus the most stupendous system of social and religious evil that the world has ever known--the ,hindu caste system--is here boldly taught and inculcated as the most sacred duty of life4 ,one man is born for pious leadership1 another born to fight1 another born for menial service2 and woe be to any one of them who abandons this so-called natural duty and strives for a betterment or a change of life6 ,this is the divinely inculcated system of bondage which has enthralled ,india for twenty-five centuries4 ,but it is gratifying to know that1 though taught and inculcated in this highest book of their faith1 ,hindus are beginning to denounce the whole system4 ,both a social and a religious consciousness are beginning to rebel against its very existence4 ,but we pass from this lowest aspect of action to the highest when we remark that all acts should1 according to ,krishna1 be free from attachment4 ,no duty is more frequently enforced in the ,bhagavad ,gita than that of detachment in religious activity2 nor is there any higher than this within the whole compass of this ,song4 ,it is the duty of man to work out righteousness and to exercise virtue without regard to the results or the fruits of his action4 ,it is the high-water mark of the teaching of the book4 ,your business is with action alone2 not by any means with fruit4 ,let not the fruit of action be your motive to action4 ,wretched are those whose motive to action is the fruit of action4 ,therefore1 perform all action1 which must be performed1 without attachment4 ,for a man1 performing action without attachment1 attains the ,supreme4 ,forsaking all attachment to the fruit of action1 always contented1 dependent on none1 he does nothing at all1 though he engages in action4 ,devoid of expectations1 restraining the mind and the self1 and casting off all belongings1 he incurs no sin4 ,we must not1 however1 give to this detachment a ,christian value4 ,for it is a part of ,hindu thought to condemn every emotion and sentiment1 however lofty as an asset of life4 ,it regards every desire1 however noble in itself1 and every sentiment1 however exalted1 as essentially evil2 for it is a momentary barrier to that equilibrium and quiescence of soul which the ,hindu has always maintained to be the highest cultivation of the self4 ,therefore1 action1 in order to be of any permanent value1 must be severed from every passion1 desire1 or expectation4 ,and thus the ,hindu does not here seek so much the existence of pure altruism as he does the absence of desire1 which means soul unrest and the removal of one of the barriers to soul emancipation4 ,it is1 he says1 when love and every other passion cools off into a quiet intellectual calm1 and the soul is animated1 not by sentiment1 but by clear vision1 that ,sayutcha1 or absorption into the ,brahm1 is attained4 ,if1 then1 detachment is a keyword to ,higher ,hinduism and man is forbidden to seek after any good1 even the highest1 in connection with his religious activities1 what then can be an adequate motive to a religious life of good works8 ,here is introduced another keyword of this ,eclecticism--the word ,bhakti4 ,the doctrine of ,bhakti finds a supreme place in the ,divine ,song4 ,bhakti means devotion or love to ,krishna himself4 ,perhaps the ,christian word ,faith best expresses the full meaning of the word ,bhakti4 ,krishna says1 in substance1 ,have no attachment to the results of your acts2 but be attached to me who am the supreme ,god1 and live and act according to the noble impulse of that attachment4 ,among all devotees1 he who being full of faith worships me1 with his inmost self intent on me1 is esteemed by me to be the most devoted4 ,even if a very ill-conducted man worships me1 not worshipping any one else1 he must certainly be deemed to be good1 for he has well resolved4 ,place your mind on me1 become my devotee1 my worshipper2 reverence me1 and thus making me your highest goal1 and devoting yourself to abstraction1 you will certainly come to me4 ,on me place your mind1 become my devotee1 sacrifice to me1 reverence me1 you will certainly come to me4 ,i declare to you truly1 you are dear to me4 ,i will release you from all sins4 ,be not grieved4 ,no one amongst men is superior to him in doing what is dear to me4 ,it is probable that the ,bhagavad ,gita was the first to introduce this doctrine of faith4 ,it is1 of course1 a doctrine possible only in connection with a personal ,god1 and was doubtless introduced through the new cult of ,krishna-olatry4 ,it is foreign to ,vedantism1 whose ,god is the ,impersonal and the ,ineffable ,one2 foreign also to the ,sankya school1 where ,god is neither known nor needed4 ,it is essentially a new teaching1 and is a peculiar feature of the worship of the incarnations of ,vishnu4 ,but1 introduced by this ,song of the ,adorable ,one1 it has been incorporated into the ,hindu religion1 and figures now as one of the most powerful motives of that faith4 ,and this new doctrine brings the ,hindu religion into warmer relationship to ,christianity than at any other point4 ,sir ,monier ,williams truly claims that ,hinduism1 in no other teaching1 so closely approaches ,christianity as in the doctrine of faith4 ,but1 like all other teachings of ,hinduism1 this doctrine also has been considerably distorted in the process of appropriation2 so that faith in the worship of ,vishnu's incarnations1 to-day1 is more potential as an act than is faith in ,christianity4 ,for1 in ,hinduism1 it matters not on what god or ritual the ,bhakthan places his faith1 it has power to redeem him from all troubles4 ,it should be remembered that ,bhakti is perhaps the most distinctive and mighty influence in ,vaishnavism1 if not in all ,hinduism1 at the present time4 7#d7 ,little is said in ,hinduism with a view to inculcate and to reveal the efficiency of altruism1 or the love of man for man4 ,in the ,bhagavad ,gita hardly any reference is made to this which is so dominant a note in the ,christian faith4 ,krishna does remark that one should have regard also to keeping people to their duties1 in performing action4 ,whatever a great man does1 that other men also do2 444 wise men should not shake the convictions of the ignorant who are attached to action1 but acting with devotion should make them apply themselves to all action4 ,he who identifies himself with every being is not tainted1 though he performs actions4 ,the sages who are intent on the welfare of all the beings obtain the ,brahmic bliss4 ,this certainly is neither very clear1 nor at all adequate1 as the inculcation of the most fundamental of all duties1 the love of our fellow-men and the sacrifice of self in the interest of common humanity4 ,the ,vedantin claims that the unity of all being1 as taught by him1 is a strong injunction upon him to love all the parts of that unity4 ,but the ,bhagavad ,gita does not teach clearly even this ,vedantic doctrine4 ,selfishness is too much stamped upon the ,hindu faith4 ,it is too exclusively an individualistic religion4 ,it is every one for himself in the great struggle of man for redemption4 ,it pre-eminently tends to cultivate in man both pride in his own achievement and an exclusively selfish devotion to the consummation of his own redemption4 #d4 ,in the ,bhagavad ,gita little is said of the character of the salvation which is to be achieved by the devotee of ,krishna4 ,indeed1 the nature of this consummation is left very much in mystery4 ,we are told that ,krishna's worshipper will come to him4 ,he who1 with the highest devotion to me1 will proclaim this supreme mystery among my devotees will come to me freed from all doubts4 ,again we are taught that such a devotee1 understanding me1 truly enters into my essence4 ,this carries the definite and universal thought of ,hinduism1 that man will be absorbed in the ,deity4 ,in another place we are told that the worshipper who is purified by the penance of knowledge has come into my essence4 ,this is the eschatology of all ,hindu ,shastras4 ,the peculiar teaching of the ,bhagavad ,gita concerning action and its emphasis upon a strenuous life in this world would have led us to expect the teaching of a future of some kind of activity4 ,instead of that1 it falls back upon the old and hackneyed pantheistic idea1 that the human soul1 being ultimately divested of its human bodies1 both gross and fine1 passes on in its nakedness into oneness with the ,absolute1 and thus loses all the faculties which1 so far as we know1 constitute its greatness1 power1 and glory4 ,in this condition of absorption the human soul is not only deprived of its separate existence1 but also of all self-knowledge1 which is the true basis of personality4 ,as to the process of this salvation we are here taught1 as in all ,hindu writing1 that it is attained through metempsychosis1 or reincarnation4 ,the human soul1 like the divine1 in ,brahmanism1 passes through many incarnations 7some writers say #h1djj1jjj7 before it receives the crown of perfection1 or of absorption4 ,krishna says3 ,as a man1 casting off old clothes1 puts on others and new ones1 so the embodied self1 casting off old bodies1 goes to others and new ones4 ,i have passed through many births1 ,o ,arjuna1 and you1 also1 says ,krishna2 ,i know them all1 but you1 ,o terror of your foes6 do not know them4 ,this devious and tedious path of reincarnation is the one over which every soul must pass4 ,and between every incarnation and that which follows1 the soul1 clothed upon with a subtle body1 passes through many heavens and hells in order to eat the fruits of its past actions4 ,and there is a remnant of these fruits left which necessitates the return to a new body and a new human existence4 ,these upper and nether regions through which the soul passes and settles its accounts with the past1 are not in any sense permanent4 ,concerning this1 the ,bhagavad ,gita says that men1 reaching the holy world of the ,lord of ,gods1 they enjoy in the celestial regions the celestial pleasures of the gods4 ,and having enjoyed that great heavenly world1 they enter the mortal world when their merit is exhausted4 ,after1 perhaps1 millions of these human incarnations 7and1 indeed1 the incarnation may be of lower animal and of vegetable71 the self will gradually be perfected1 they say1 and will pass on into the calm essence of the supreme ,soul1 as a drop of water descends in rain and blends again with the ocean4 ,i see absolutely no reason why this interminable process of metempsychosis should lead to the perfection of the soul rather than to its complete demoralization4 ,indeed1 there is nothing ethical at all in the character of these reincarnations1 so far as they are described by ,hindu writers4 ,,iii ,this1 then1 is the ,divine ,lay of the ,hindu religion1 the book most cherished and most highly extolled by more than two hundred and thirty million ,hindus4 ,we are1 first of all1 impressed by the many contradictions which disfigure the book4 ,hardly a page is free from conflicting doctrines and methods of life4 ,it could not be otherwise in any effort to harmonize the mutually contradictory teachings of the conflicting schools of religious thought and practice in this complicated faith4 ,on the other hand1 we see in this ,song an honest and an able attempt to bring the many tenets of that faith into a consistent whole4 ,and we cannot help feeling that1 while the view of ,god and man here presented1 and the ways of salvation here enunciated1 are not satisfactory1 yet we find scattered through its pages gems of thought and beauties of religious conceptions and instruction which are beyond cavil1 and which to-day seem to satisfy many millions of our fellow-men4 ,but1 at the close of a careful perusal of the book1 one feels that it is radically unsatisfying4 ,in the first place1 it is wanting in any power for life4 ,in order to feel this1 one has only to compare it1 for a moment1 with the ,gospels of ,christianity4 ,we find here philosophical disquisitions on the ,divine ,being which few men can understand and none can hope to harmonize4 ,in the ,gospels1 on the other hand1 we see presented a scheme of life which1 at the same time1 satisfies the highest philosophy and is perfectly intelligible to the most simple-minded4 ,here a bewildering number of mutually contradictory ways of life are urged upon us1 not one of which can appeal in fulness and power to the common man4 ,there do we find one clear way of salvation--the way of faith in ,christ2 and in order to walk in that way the power of the ,divine ,spirit is promised to every one1 even to the humblest soul and to the greatest sinner1 that he might accept the ,christ and live in and through ,him a holy and a righteous life4 ,above all1 we have here represented an incarnation the records of whose doings1 in the sacred writings of the ,hindus1 shock us by their immorality and disgust us by their coarseness4 ,and yet he arrogates to himself the nature and the functions1 as he makes upon us the demands1 of the supreme ,deity4 ,there1 on the other hand1 we witness the spectacle of the ,christ who so lived the divine life1 and whose immaculate holiness is so overwhelming1 that ,his claim to be one with the ,godhead brings no shock or sense of incongruity to any one to-day4 ,he has so impressed men of all generations that untold millions1 in all lands1 have felt no hesitation in believing ,him when ,he says1 ,he that hath seen me hath seen the ,father4 ,here do we indeed find the supreme contrast between the manual of ,hindu faith and the ,gospels of ,christianity2 and it is a contrast at the most vital point of religion4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,popular ,,hinduism ,in the last chapter we dwelt upon what may be called the ,higher ,hinduism--that system of thought and religious exercise which engages the attention1 attracts the thought1 and invites the devotion of the thinking classes of the ,hindu fold4 ,the ,bhagavad ,gita is only one of many writings which seriously present to the thoughtful ,hindu some of the higher conceptions and deepest yearnings of the soul4 ,of all the faiths of the ,far ,east none dwells so much upon these profound religious realities1 or engages in such lofty flights of spiritual aspiration1 as does this religion of the ,brahmans4 ,and no one can study these products of the greatest minds and most sensitive religious souls of ,india without entertaining a great and growing admiration for them4 ,but it is well to remember these are not all of ,hindu literature2 nor do they represent the current thought or the general religious life of the people4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,dravidian ,,shrine1 ,,south ,,india ,they indeed reveal the highest and the best that has ever come to light in the thought and spiritual culture of this people4 ,for that reason1 the ,bhagavad ,gita is worthy of the name we gave it--the ,hindu bible4 ,in view of all these things1 who would say that ,god did not visit this people1 or left ,himself without witness among them8 ,while ,he was leading the ,hebrews in the time of ,moses1 ,he was also stirring this people through its old rishis1 or sages4 ,while ,he was rebuking the degenerate ,jewish people through their later prophets1 ,he was raising and inspiring the great prophet of ,india1 the ,buddha1 to protest against a debased ,brahmanism4 ,but let it not be supposed that this literature of ,higher ,hinduism is1 in any sense1 popular in ,india4 ,those religious books which engage the mind of the masses are of a very different class4 ,they are the wild legends of the ,puranas1 and inane dialogues and lying incantations of the ,tantras--two classes of works which are both the most popular and are lowest in the range of their ideas and most demoralizing in the cults which they present4 ,these books were ostensibly written for the common people and for women4 ,and the common people delight in them and are intoxicated by their religious exaggerations and excesses4 ,thus the faith of the people1 as a whole1 is far removed1 in its grovelling thought1 its idolatrous practices1 and its thousand-headed ritual1 from the teaching of ,higher ,hinduism4 ,above all1 we must remember that the ,hinduism of to-day is not the ,brahmanism of thirty centuries ago4 ,it has been the passion of that faith1 from the beginning1 to absorb all cults and faiths that have come into contact with it4 ,hinduism is an amorphous thing2 it has been compared to a many-coloured and many-fibred cloth1 in which are mixed together ,brahmanism1 ,buddhism1 ,demonolatry1 and ,christianity4 ,and all these1 utterly regardless of the many contradictions which they bring together1 form modern ,hinduism4 ,this is true also of the gods of ,india4 ,the earliest of the ,vedic gods had elements of nobility in them4 ,the most universally recognized of their divinities in primitive times1 ,varuna1 is free from the vain passions and moral obliquities of more recent gods4 ,indeed1 as one follows the course of time and the consequent multiplication of deities in ,india1 one sees in their pantheon a steady deterioration of character1 until we come to the most popular of modern ,hindu deities1 ,krishna and ,kali1 the one well-called the incarnation of lust1 and the other the goddess of blood4 ,one is the deification of human passion1 while the other is an apotheosis of brute force4 ,and yet the cults of those two deities have attained1 at the present time1 the maximum of popularity throughout the land4 ,the same fact is manifest in connection with the customs of the people4 ,in early ,vedic times1 hardly one of those institutions which now so disfigure this religion existed among the people4 ,idolatry1 the caste system1 and the many forms of degradation of women are of later growth4 ,never1 in all the history of the country1 did they exist and flourish as they do at the present time4 ,thus it will be seen that1 while the religion of the ,brahmans in its earliest1 primitive stage was merely an ethnic faith and largely the echo of the spiritual yearning of the human soul1 its development has neither added to its power nor broadened its horizon4 ,on the contrary1 it grows weaker and has1 age after age1 added superstition to superstition1 until it has reached its maximum of error and of evil at the present time4 ,it is wise neither to ignore nor to underestimate the best that is in a faith2 nor is it fair to shut one's eyes to its achievement as revealed in the life of the common people4 ,indeed1 the religious life of the masses is the truest index of the real value of a religion1 if it has wrought upon them many centuries1 as ,hinduism has1 in this land4 ,i ,in the ,west the national evolutionist says to us1 ,let the people of ,india alone1 that they may evolve their own faith4 ,it is not by cataclysmic change1 but by growth1 that they will ultimately find their true redemption4 ,others1 who have listened perhaps to the pleasing words of a clever1 yellow-robed ,hindu ,swami1 ask the question1 ,why should we spend our money in sending the ,gospel to these wonderfully bright people of the ,east2 are they not able to take care of themselves2 and is not their faith adequate to their needs8 ,to this we simply say3 ,come with us to ,india and see for yourselves4 ,live1 as some of us have1 for a third of a century in this land1 and see1 hear1 feel1 and understand what this ,hinduism is4 ,and1 having understood the situation1 ask yourselves whether this ancestral faith of ,india has in itself real saving power and redeeming efficacy for any one4 ,i maintain that1 to know ,hinduism1 is to feel a deep sympathy with the people who have inherited it as their faith1 and to desire to bring to them the ,gospel of life and of salvation in ,christ ,jesus4 ,the people of ,india are1 perhaps1 the most religious upon earth4 ,in this respect they are very unlike the ,japanese and ,chinese1 who are worldly1 prosaic1 practical4 ,hindus are poetic1 other-worldly1 and spiritually minded4 ,they have a keen instinct for things of the spirit4 ,they are1 also1 very unlike the people of the ,west4 ,among ,westerners1 religion is largely an incident in life4 ,it has for them a separate department1 a small corner1 in the life4 ,in the ,east1 on the other hand1 religion enters into every detail of life4 ,there is hardly a department or an interest in life which is not subsidized by faith and which has not to be conducted religiously4 ,moreover1 the people of ,india thought out and elaborated most profound systems of theosophic thought in the far1 remote past4 ,when our ancestors were in the depths of savagery1 ,indian sages were indulging in metaphysical disquisitions which are even to-day the admiration of western sages4 ,and there were many among those ancient ,hindu rishis whose self-propelled flight toward ,god and divine things1 and whose spiritual aspirations and yearnings were so beautiful that we can but speak with profound respect and entertain the highest admiration of them4 ,religion is not merely a philosophy1 or even an aspiration2 it is something vastly more than this4 ,the ,hindu ,swami will visit the ,west and discourse sweetly1 in persuasive ,english1 upon ,hindu philosophy4 ,but he will not practise his religious rites or reveal his idolatrous habits and his bondage of caste to those western people who admire him4 ,these things would at once create a revulsion of feeling against him and his philosophy4 ,and yet these are much more an essential part of his faith than all his moral platitudes and eloquent disquisitions4 ,and it should not be forgotten that this same ,swami1 in the very act of crossing the oceans to visit the ,west1 violates one of the most prominent commands of his faith4 ,,ii ,what1 then1 is ,popular ,hinduism8 ,i shall endeavour to analyze it and present some of its outstanding features1 such as are witnessed all over the land4 #a4 ,that which obtrudes itself upon all sides and which is1 perhaps1 its most determining factor is its caste system4 ,in other lands1 mean social distinctions obtain and divide the people4 ,in ,india only1 ,caste is a religious institution1 founded by the authority of ,heaven1 penetrating every department and entering into every detail of life1 and enforced by strictly religious penalties4 ,one has well said that ,hinduism and caste are convertible terms4 #b4 ,another outstanding feature of popular ,hinduism is its ,polytheism4 ,while pantheism is the essential philosophy of the land1--a pantheism which denies the existence of all beings and everything save ,brahm 7the ,supreme ,soul71--nevertheless this pantheism has1 in the popular mind1 degenerated into the greatest pantheon the world has ever known4 ,even ten centuries ago its gods were said to number three hundred and thirty millions6 ,and this army of deities has been multiplying ever since4 ,even twenty-five centuries ago1 the fertile imagination of the ,brahman had so peopled this world with gods and godlets of all grades that the stern and sensible mind of the great ,buddha became disgusted with the whole pantheon2 and he established his new faith as a reaction from the old to the extent of ignoring any ,divine ,being4 ,if1 in these earlier days1 such a man was unable to endure this manifestation of human folly1 what can we not say in these days1 when1 in addition to the acknowledged host of well-known ,hindu deities1 every family has its god1 and every hamlet its protecting demons2 and when trees1 rivers1 mountains1 and a thousand other objects represent to the popular mind separate godlets8 ,one can well say that ,india has gone mad in its passion for populating the world with gods4 #c4 ,moreover1 this pantheon has been incarnated4 ,it has descended into a wild and hideous idolatry4 ,there is no other land on earth where idolatry is so rampant as it is in ,india4 ,images are found everywhere4 ,if the gods are numberless1 how much more the idols which represent them1 and which are found in every hamlet and house and upon roadsides6 ,in addition to those idols which are made for regular and permanent worship1 there are myriad others which are made of clay and other perishable substances1 to be used for the time only1 and then to be thrown into the river or to be washed away by the rain4 ,and what hideous objects these idols of ,india are6 ,the images of the gods of the ancient ,greeks were beautiful1 and one feels sometimes almost inclined to excuse an image-worship where ignorance weds art to religion and combines beauty with devotion4 ,but there is no such excuse for the idolatry of ,india4 ,in all my travels through this great land ,i have hardly seen an image1 or an idol1 which is what may be called an artistically beautiful object4 ,on the other hand1 many of them are peculiarly gross and revolting in appearance4 ,the most universally worshipped god in all ,india is ,ganesh4 ,his idols are found all over the land1 not only in temples and shrines1 but on roadsides1 and in all places where people assemble4 ,and this ,ganesh1 the son of ,siva1 is represented by the grossest and most hideous idol4 ,this pot-bellied god has his body crowned with an elephant head6 ,of course1 ,hindu taste cannot be judged by western standards4 ,one cannot fail to recognize this fact in trying to judge types of human beauty in this land4 ,but even ,hindu types of beauty are not at all realized in their idols4 ,it would often seem as if that which was most revolting in appearance is that which appeals most strongly to the ,hindu1 as an outward expression of the divine4 ,in any case1 it is true that the idolatry of ,india is farthest removed from the chaste1 the beautiful1 and the elevating4 ,and this evil is intensified by the fact that all worshipped idols are bathed with oil1 and therefore attract all the dust1 dirt1 and grime of the immediate vicinity4 ,educated ,hindus1 though they tell you that these idols are only for the ignorant masses1 rarely decline to unite with their families in bringing their offerings to1 and in worshipping1 the same4 ,some will tell us that in idolatry people do not worship the idol itself1 but the god who is supposed to reside within it4 ,even if this were true1 one could not admire such a worship did he know the character of the god which is supposed to reside therein4 ,but their statement regarding this is not true4 ,i have personally inquired of many of the common people who are idolaters1 and ,i have never yet found a man whose mind1 in worship1 passes beyond the idol itself4 ,i admit that the educated mind may leap in thought behind the image2 but the masses of the people do not4 ,it is1 at best1 a debasing worship1 and drags the people down to the level of the hideous objects before which they prostrate themselves4 ,illustration3 ,,two ,,hindu ,,idols1 ,,south ,,india ,a well-known ,hindu writer said recently1 in the ,christian ,college ,magazine3-- ,i do urge most emphatically that1 whatever may have been the original intention1 and whatever may be the esoteric meaning1 the millions that perform idolatrous practice in this country see nothing symbolic behind the image and take the whole show quite literally4 ,and can anything be more degrading to an intelligent human being8 ,we know that all religions are necessarily more or less anthropomorphic4 ,but our popular ,hinduism surpasses everything else in this respect1 too4 ,there is a famous shrine in this ,presidency where the deity's chota hazri early meal begins with bread and butter1 and he goes on eating without respite till midnight1 when he appropriately takes a decoction of dried ginger to help his digestion before he retires to his bedroom with his consorts2 there is another famous shrine where a cigar is left in the bedroom every night for his godship to smoke2 in another shrine1 under the management of a nominal ascetic1 fetters are applied to the god's feet whenever the temple's exchequer runs low1 to extort money offerings from the devotees and pilgrims2 in numerous other shrines the deity is taken out in procession and whipped publicly for having committed petty thefts2 in one shrine the whole process of a high-way robbery is acted out in detail during the annual festival2 births1 marriages1 deaths1 and similar occurrences are1 of course1 as common and frequent in our temples as in our homes4 ,gentlemen1 can any amount of esoteric whitewashing justify these disgraceful and fairly incredible practices8 ,then there are the deva dasies1 our 'vestal virgins1' of whom even small and poor temples have one or two to boast4 ,they are the recognized prostitutes of the country1 and many sociologists are of opinion that no 'civilized' human society can completely get rid of such a class4 ,is that any reason why we should associate them with our religion and tempt the devil himself with their presence in our holiest places and shrines8 #d4 ,another marked feature of modern ,hinduism is its devil-worship4 ,this is peculiarly manifest in ,south ,india4 ,in the ,madras ,presidency1 whose fifty million population is mostly ,dravidian1 nine-tenths of the people follow the faith of their ancestors1 which is ,demonolatry4 ,when ,brahmanism came to ,south ,india1 many centuries ago1 it found intrenched among the people1 everywhere and universally1 this ancient cult4 ,the ,brahmans1 recognizing this1 did what they have always done2 they said to the people3 ,we have not come to destroy your religion2 we will take your demons and demonesses1 marry them to our gods1 and give them shrines and worship in our temples4 ,come with them and be a part of our religion4 ,we will give to you the privileges1 and confer upon you the dignity and blessing1 of our great religion4 ,the people were impressed by this offer1 accepted the situation1 and were absorbed1 with their religion1 into the ,brahmanical faith4 ,from that time forward they have been recognized as ,hindus1 and have1 after a fashion1 been loyal members of that faith4 ,but let it not be supposed that1 by becoming ,hindus1 they have deserted their ancestral religion1 and have ceased to be devil-worshippers4 ,far from it4 ,hinduism proper is to them a mere plaything1 or a festival pastime4 ,on special ,hindu holidays1 and perhaps on occasions of pilgrimage1 they will visit these ,hindu temples and bring their offering to the deities of ,brahmanism4 ,but their chief concern and their daily religious occupation is found in the appeasing of the many devils whose abode is supposed to be in their countless village shrines and under well-known trees in their hamlets4 ,they have not abated one jot of their belief in the supremacy of these devils in their life-affairs2 and they always stand in fear of them1 and do what they can to satisfy their bloody demands4 ,thus at least nine-tenths of the people of ,south ,india are1 first of all1 demonolaters1 and secondly1 but a long way behind1 are ,hindus4 ,and yet a great many people in the ,west think of these people as the pure worshippers of the highest type of the ,brahmanical faith6 ,and it should not be forgotten that all over ,india there are probably fifty millions of people who are the so-called outcasts of the land1 the miserable product of the caste system of ,hinduism4 ,they are the submerged tenth of ,india4 ,they are not only socially ostracized1 they are under the definite ban of the ,hindu faith4 ,they are the hewers of wood and drawers of water of ,brahmanism4 ,they have no place in ,hinduism proper2 they are not permitted to enter any of its temples4 ,they have no right to receive whatever comforts religion may confer2 its rights and its privileges are entirely denied to them4 ,but the tyranny of the religion has been such1 during the many centuries of the past1 as to keep this class of people not only in absolute social servitude1 but also in religious dependence2 and has taught them 7because it has compelled them7 to be satisfied with the spiritual crumbs which are the meanest remnants of what the religion professes to give its members4 ,i have often felt1 as ,i have talked with these poor1 miserable ,pariahs1 that ,i was incapable of understanding their willingness to remain thus loosely attached to a faith which denied to them its most elementary comforts and blessings4 ,the mystery is doubtless to be explained by their supreme abjectness and helplessness1 which have been ground into them by many centuries of bondage4 ,the consequence is1 that while these many millions of outcast people are numbered among the ,hindus1 and regard themselves as ,hindus1 ,hinduism itself has for them nothing but curses1 and1 more than all others1 they must be satisfied with the devil-worship of their fathers4 #e4 ,beneath all these lower aspects of popular ,hinduism is still found what may be called its lowest stratum--,fetichism4 ,there are many people and tribes in ,india who have not ascended sufficiently high1 in religious conception1 to make for themselves definite images of the gods they worship4 ,like the ,african1 they are content to take natural objects1 such as a rock or a stone1 and regard it as possessed of some spirit and worship it4 ,sir ,alfred ,lyall1 that well-known authority on ,india1 has told us that one can find in ,india1 as in no other land1 religion of all forms and in all grades of development1--from the lowest step of animism to the most spiritual and abstruse pantheism4 ,i myself have seen1 within the area of one acre of land in ,south ,india1 the instruments of these varied forms of worship1 from a greasy1 round stone1 before which the lowest classes prostrated themselves1 to an image of one of the supreme gods of ,hinduism4 ,there is not a phase of worship1 however high or mystic1 or however mean or degraded1 which has not its devotees in this land4 #f4 ,modern ,hinduism is also guilty of harbouring and fostering immorality4 ,this is a cruel statement to make concerning any faith4 ,but justice compels me to add this as one of the characteristics of ,hinduism4 ,some of the most revered and popular writings of this religion are so full of obscenity and impure suggestion1 that1 to publish them in a ,christian land1 in the ,english tongue1 would make the publisher liable to imprisonment4 ,when1 years ago1 ,lord ,dalhousie1 the ,viceroy of ,india1 enacted a law punishing obscenity1 the leaders of the ,hindu religion were so exercised by it that the government had to exempt religious writings of ,hinduism1 and emblems of that faith1 from the action of the law4 ,there are many religious books in ,india to-day which are classical in the beauty of their language1 but which the ,universities of ,india decline to use as text-books because of their gross obscenity4 ,among the most demoralizing institutions to the youth of ,india are the temple cars1 which are found in every village of any consequence throughout the land4 ,they are erected at great expense1 by temple authorities1 are most elaborately carved1 and are used for the conveyance of the gods through the village streets upon festival occasions4 ,there is hardly one of these cars1 in ,south ,india at any rate1 which is not disfigured by grossly sensual carvings such as ought to bring blushing shame to any decent and self-respecting community4 ,they are open to the public gaze1 and children of the village play under their shadow1 and gaze daily upon their vile and disgusting sights4 ,the government would forbid the erection of such cars to-morrow1 if they had not pledged themselves not to interfere with the religion of the people6 ,in the ,vaishnava cult of ,hinduism there is at least one sect1 well known throughout the land1 whose worship is loaded with impurity1 and whose worshippers1 at certain festivals1 specially1 yield themselves to all forms of sexual practices such as cannot be mentioned4 ,sakti worship1 or the worship of the goddesses1 lends itself definitely to this gross evil2 and the leading ,tantraic books of this cult are so filthy that they are not fit to be translated4 ,in ,bengal1 where the worship of ,durgai1 the wife of ,siva1 is dominant1 the ,hindus themselves are beginning to protest against the lewdness1 obscenity1 and licentiousness which prevail at their great ,holi festival1 which is the annual festival of the goddess4 ,another institution connected with the temple worship of ,india1 and of which ,hindus ought to be heartily ashamed1 is that of dancing-girls4 ,little girls in their infancy are devoted and dedicated by their own mothers to the temples4 ,they are supposed to be married to the gods of the temple1 and are called the servants of the gods4 ,they dance in attendance upon the gods1 upon festival occasions1 and are an inherent part of the temple worship4 ,but the sad thing about these women is that their own mothers knew1 when they dedicated them in infancy1 that they were binding them to a life of shame4 ,for the dancing-girls are the professional prostitutes of ,india4 ,there are a host of these women 7twelve thousand in ,south ,india alone7 who1 without their own consent1 and in the sacred name of religion1 have been handed over to this life of shame1 to corrupt and debase the youth of the land4 ,their life is a loud cry against their mother-faith1 which systematically devotes them to destruction of soul and body4 ,some educated men of the land denounce this as an evil which should be stopped4 ,but the leaders of the faith turn a deaf ear to all such cries4 #g4 ,the treatment of woman within ,hinduism is worthy of attention4 ,hinduism has never looked with kindness or consideration upon women4 ,it seems to have been its settled policy to treat them with contempt and unkindness4 ,the consequence is that the girl babe is never welcome in the ,hindu family4 ,and from the cradle to the grave woman has no independence or right within the pale of this faith4 ,during childhood she is in bondage to her father1 during her marriage she must give implicit obedience to her husband1 and as a widow she remains the ward of her sons4 ,look at the disabilities under which the ,hindu woman labours to-day4 ,she is held in ignorance4 ,only six ,hindu women out of one thousand are able to read and write4 ,she has never been regarded as worthy of education4 ,her ignorance has been regarded as her safety1 and has been the studied policy of ,hinduism4 ,she has never been regarded as worthy to know the sacred books of her own faith4 ,it is a sin in ,hinduism to-day for any man to teach a woman the most sacred truths of the faith4 ,her mind is not a fit receptacle for such truths4 ,while she has nothing to do in choosing for herself a husband1 she is bound in infancy1 through holy wedlock1 to a child like herself4 ,her child husband may die before he attains manhood1 when she becomes a widow4 ,and1 because her stars are supposed to have had influence in his death1 she is treated with cruelty and is regarded as the evil star of the home4 ,owing to this evil custom of child marriage1 there are to-day twenty-six million widows in this land1 of whom four hundred thousand are under fifteen years of age4 ,it is not simply that the lot of these poor women is one of greatest hardship and contempt2 they also become the prey of lustful men and fall into grossest sins4 ,in modern times the government has tried to lighten the burdens of womanhood in the land2 but the representatives of ,hinduism1 and its custodians1 all stand in the way of any helpful legislation1 and are determined to keep woman in servitude at all hazards4 #h4 ,the religious ascetic represents one of the characteristic features of modern ,hinduism4 ,religious asceticism has been the ideal of the ,hindu life from time immemorial4 ,the man who has given up all earthly pursuits and wanders with beggar's cup in hand from place to place1 making pilgrimages to the holy places of ,india1 or who separates himself entirely from men and devotes years to the solitude of the wilderness in the cultivation of piety1--he it is who is the admiration of the whole ,hindu community4 ,and it is for this very reason that so many men in ,india to-day don the yellow robe of this profession1 and make capital out of this sentiment of the people4 ,there are millions of these religious mendicants who are entirely non-productive and live upon the common people4 ,a few of them1 doubtless1 are sincere and are seeking after communion with ,god4 ,but the vast majority are lazy and rotten to the core4 ,their life is known to be utterly worthless1 and they are morally pestiferous in their influence upon the whole community4 ,and yet the people accept them as the highest types of piety in the land4 ,even the poorest among them would give his last morsel to these worthless men4 ,there are1 indeed1 very few in the community who would dare to refuse an offering to these beggars1 because they are so ready to invoke dreadful imprecations upon those who decline to give anything to them4 ,there are few things that an orthodox ,hindu dreads more than the curse of a religious ascetic4 ,thus1 though these men are known to trample under foot every law of ,god and are utterly useless to the whole community1 the people nevertheless regard them very highly and shower their blessings upon them4 ,in any land the maintenance of such an army would be a great burden upon the people2 in ,india1 where they are so poor1 how heavy this burden must be1 and how great must be the curse of such a host preying both morally and physically upon the rest of the community6 ,it is equally disastrous to the conception of the common people concerning their faith that so large a body of recognized hypocrites should1 nevertheless1 be so highly esteemed as types of piety4 ,the existence of this class of worthless men reveals1 also1 another striking fact which characterizes the religion of ,india1 and that is the utter divorce of faith and morals4 ,hinduism has never recognized any connection1 and least of all any essential union1 between piety and ethics4 ,as we have seen1 the most pious men in the land1 according to ,indian ideas1 may be the most immoral4 ,this has been one of the fatal defects of ,hinduism from the earliest times4 ,conscience has found very small place in this religion of the ,brahmans4 #i4 ,modern ,hinduism1 also1 inculcates the spirit of pessimism among its people4 ,the ,puranas tell us1 and the people universally believe it1 that we are now living in ,kali ,yuga1 the iron age1 in which all things are evil1 and in which righteousness is a thing largely unknown to the people4 ,all the forces of this age are against the good1 and it leaves no encouragement to any one to try to do1 and to be1 good4#d ,footnote #d3 ,see ,chapter ,x1 ,kali ,yuga4 #aj4 ,add to this the even more potent belief of the people in astrology4 ,the planets and the stars1 the moon and the nodes are living gods1 they say1 which wield an influence over the life and destiny of human beings4 ,the astrologer is perhaps the most important functionary in the social and religious life of the people4 ,no marriage can be performed unless the horoscope of the bride and the bridegroom harmonize4 ,no social or domestic event of importance1 and specially no religious ceremony of any consequence1 can be carried on save during what are called auspicious days and moments4 ,astrology is the right hand of ,hinduism1 and it has supreme authority in the direction of most of its affairs4 ,add to this the belief in omens1 which enters very largely into human life and thought4 ,a ,hindu will not start upon a journey save on what is astrologically an auspicious day2 and if even a crow crosses his path from left to right1 after he has begun his journey1 it is regarded as an ill omen1 and he will at once return home4 ,he spends much of his time in watching such omens2 even an ass's bray carries a significance to him4 ,if it is heard in the east1 his success will be delayed2 in the southeast1 it portends death2 in the south1 it means wealth2 etc4 ,it matters not how important it may be that a man should undertake a journey or a task at a certain time1 he will not do it at that time if he finds it to be inauspicious4 ,when the new governor of ,madras recently arrived at his destination1 the reception to be given to him by the ,hindus had to be postponed because it was ignorantly put at an hour which was ,rahu ,kala--an inauspicious hour6 ,in a thousand similar ways1 the ,hindu people are controlled and handicapped by silly superstitions which make life a burden to them and which rob them of efficiency and sanity4 ,this1 then1 is the ,hinduism of the masses2 and no other people devote themselves so faithfully to their faith as do these4 ,and none1 for this very reason1 are more worthy of our sympathy and of our assistance to rise to better things in the realm of faith4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,hindu ,,religious ,,ideals ,,as ,,they ,,affect ,,the ,,progress ,,of ,,christianity ,to the student of comparative religion there appear many striking consonances between ,hinduism and ,christianity4 ,many a deep note in religious thought and life finds common expression in these two great faiths4 ,yet their dissonances are much more marked and fundamental4 ,in nothing are ,christianity and ,hinduism more antipodal than in the ideals which they exalt1 respectively1 before their followers2 and this conflict of ideals is the most stubborn1 as it is the most pervasive1 that ,christianity has to face in ,india4 ,the vision of ,god and of man1 of human life and attainment1 which we present before an orthodox ,hindu1 does not impress him as it should1 simply because it does not fit into his thinking4 ,it antagonizes his inherited prepossessions2 it violates many of the most cherished ideals of religious life and spiritual endowment1 which1 from time immemorial1 have been handed down to him4 ,it is an interesting question how much of this difference is of the essence of the two religions1 and how much is the product of the mental and spiritual make-up of the tropical ,east1 on the one hand1 and of the more northern ,west1 on the other4 ,the climatic and national idiosyncrasies are more potential in the complexion of the two faiths than we are wont to think4 ,but whether these different ideals are1 or are not1 essentially characteristic of the two faiths1 is not a question quite germane to my present purpose4 ,it is enough to remember that the western conception of ,christianity1 which the missionary has inherited and which he is eagerly presenting1 and can hardly avoid presenting1 to the people of this land1 is far removed from what the ,hindu has always been taught to believe that a religion should bring into a man's life and possession4 ,it is easy enough to prove to the man of ordinary intelligence the debasing influence of idolatry1 the accursed slavery of the caste system1 the gross immorality of the ,hindu pantheon1 and the dwarfing and degrading character of the ceremonialism of modern ,hinduism4 ,but behind and above all these1 the ,hindu has inherited a number of ideals which allure and command him4 ,they are his ultimate criteria and resort1 and they conflict with those which the supplanting faith presents as the summum bonum of life4 ,it is not until the ,christian teacher can show to him1 in a way that will move him1 the excellence of the supreme ideals of ,christianity above those of the old faith1 that his work can be said to have achieved a triumph in his life4 ,hence the great--,i might almost say the transcendent--importance of mission schools of all grades through which are sown the seed of a new philosophy of life4 ,herein also lies the even more valued service which a sane and a strong ,christian literature in ,english and in all the vernaculars of the land can render1 and is rendering1 to the cause of ,christ in ,india4 ,for the fight in ,india is1 more than it is or has been in any other land1 one that gathers around basal conceptions and fundamental postulates about ,god and man and life2 and ,christianity can never seem attractive to an intelligent ,hindu until it has conquered his assent at these points of vital importance4 ,let us consider a few of these ideals which everywhere and always obtrude themselves upon us in ,india4 ,i ,the ,divine ,ideal ,in the conception of the ,godhead which obtains in ,christianity and that which dominates modern ,hinduism there is found a difference of emphasis which amounts almost to a contrast4 ,to the ,hindu1 the ,supreme ,soul or ,brahm is idealized ,intelligence2 to the ,christian ,god is perfect ,will4 ,to the former1 ,he is supreme ,wisdom2 to the other1 ,he is infinite ,goodness4 ,the devotees of each faith aspire to become like unto1 or to partake of1 their ,divine ,ideal4 ,hence the goal of the one is brahma gnana 7,divine ,wisdom72 of the other1 it is supreme love or goodness4 ,thus at its foundation the religion of ,india has always placed perfect intelligence as its corner stone1 while the basis of the rival faith has been an ideal of ethical perfection4 ,hence1 that process of intellectual gymnastics which so markedly characterizes the higher realms of ,hindu sainthood and effort1 on the one hand1 and the altruistic fervour and outgoing charity of the ideal ,christian1 on the other4 ,for this reason1 also1 the great root of bitterness which ,hinduism has1 from the first1 sought to remove has been ignorance 7avidia7--that intellectual blindness which persists in maintaining that the self and the ,supreme ,soul are separate realities and which is the only barrier to the self's final emancipation and final absorption into the ,divine4 ,to the ,christian1 on the other hand1 the dread enemy is sin--that moral obliquity which differentiates the soul from the perfect ethical beauty of ,god4 ,in consonance with this1 the salvation which is exalted as the summum bonum1 to be forever sought by the one1 is self-knowledge1 by the other self-realization in conformity to the ,divine ,will4 ,i would not affirm that moral rectitude is absent as a desideratum from the ambition of the ,hindu1 nor that the ,christian does not accept with his ,lord that this is eternal life to know ,god1 and that he does not aspire with the great ,apostle to know even as ,i am known4 ,but the supreme emphasis which is given by the one to nescience as the evil to be removed1 and to wisdom as the crowning grace to be achieved1 and1 by the other1 to rebellion of heart against ,god as the great sin1 and to transformation to ,his moral image as perfected salvation1 is much too marked to be overlooked by the student of these two faiths1 and by the ,christian missionary in the land4 ,and all of this comes as a natural consequence from the different concepts which the two religions have of ,god ,himself4 ,indeed1 these two standpoints from which the ,godhead is conceived account for the deepest divergencies of ,hindu and ,christian philosophy and theology4 ,,ii ,the ,hindu and ,christian ,conceptions of ,incarnation are similarly ,divergent ,incarnation is a fundamental doctrine of the religion of ,jesus4 ,it is also an overshadowing tenet of modern ,hinduism4 ,for this reason1 the ,christian missionary finds in this doctrine the best leverage wherewith to raise the ,hindu to our faith4 ,yet at this very point his efforts are largely frustrated by the very different conceptions which obtain in the two religions4 ,the ,christian incarnation must be1 and is1 first of all1 of a perfect ethical type--an ideal of transcendent moral beauty and spiritual excellence4 ,the least flaw or crookedness in ,his character would vitiate ,his pretensions1 and would be the death-blow to the doctrine of ,his incarnation and divinity4 ,in ,hinduism1 on the other hand1 moral criteria have no application to the descents or incarnations of ,vishnu4 ,to his three first incarnations 7of the fish1 the tortoise1 and the boar71 moral tests are1 of course1 out of place2 nor are they any more applicable to the grossly sensual ,krishna1 who is the only full incarnation of the god1 and who is the supremely popular modern incarnation of the ,hindu pantheon4 ,hindus have never dreamt of squaring the going of their incarnations with ethical demands and standards4 ,whatsoever of good ,vishnu1 in his descent1 is said to have come to achieve in the world1 it certainly was not a moral or a spiritual good4 ,so an appeal to the moral excellence1 or to the atoning work and purpose1 of the ,christ does not1 at first1 in any way impress them as an argument for ,his divine character or heavenly origin1 any more than the moral obliquity of their own descents argues to the contrary4 ,moreover1 the ,hindu conception of incarnation largely resembles the ,jewish4 ,it must be a triumphant descent4 ,vishnu1 in all his incarnations1 came to destroy rather than to suffer himself to be put to death4 ,a suffering and a dying god is to-day1 to the ,hindu1 what it was twenty centuries ago to the ,jew and ,greek--a stumbling-block and a foolishness4 ,it is true that ,buddha1 who was in more recent times adopted as an incarnation1 in order to win over to modern ,hinduism the followers of his faith1 is somewhat of an exception to this rule4 ,but not1 according to the ,hindu interpretation of it4 ,so the two elements of glory in the incarnation of ,christ--,his spotless character and ,his ,cross and death--do not ordinarily appeal to the inhabitants of this land as in any sense necessary or important4 ,,iii ,ideals of ,life ,from the above considerations it will be natural to conclude that the ideals of life entertained by the ,east and ,west are far removed4 ,the conflict of these ideals is the primary cause of the many strange religious and social movements which to-day send their ramifications into every town and hamlet of this land2 and it creates the mighty revolution now at work in ,india4 ,consider first the religious ideals which dominate this land and the ,far ,west4 ,hinduism has exalted asceticism as the highest type of life and the best method of holy attainment4 ,from time immemorial the religious mendicant1 with his ideals of self-renunciation and ascetic practices1 has found universal admiration among this people1 and his motives and methods stand as the most highly approved in all the annals of this religion4 ,it is true that this was universally exalted above all other forms of life among ,christians also at one time1 as it continues to be among1 perhaps1 the majority to-day4 ,and is not the ,cross1 which is the emblem of self-renunciation and self-effacement1 the motive power of our faith1 as it is also the embodied ideal of our ,life8 ,true2 but there is this marked difference between the two faiths4 ,in ,christianity the ,cross is only a means4 ,the ,cross of self-effacement is the pathway of ,christ and of the ,christian to the crown of self-realization4 ,we despise the lower good in order that we may attain unto the higher4 ,in ,hinduism1 the rigours of asceticism are1 indeed1 sometimes a means to an end2 but that end is not character or any spiritual achievement1 but power with the gods4 ,nearly all the notable instances of religious austerities and self-torture practised by yogis1 and recorded in ,hindu legend and history1 were undertaken for the purpose of accumulating thereby a great store of merit through which power might be acquired over men or gods4 ,thus many an ascetic is said to have so subdued and afflicted his body that nearly the whole ,hindu pantheon trembled in the presence of the power thus acquired by him4 ,but when the ,hindu ascetic has not this object in self-renunciation1 his austerities are an end in themselves4 ,he renounces all--not simply the mean things of life1 but also the noblest ambitions and the most heavenly sentiments--because they are a fetter which bind him to the world4 ,he indeed calls a good deed1 or a holy thought1 a golden fetter1 but it is1 just the same1 regarded by him as an evil which prolongs his human existence2 and these human conditions must be ended as soon as possible4 ,the ,christian1 on the other hand1 suppresses his passions in order that his holy desires may prevail2 the ,hindu struggles equally against the worst passions and the noblest sentiments of his heart2 for they all delay that calm equilibrium of the self which is the doorway into sayutchia 7absorption74 ,thus character1 or the prevalence of the nobler sentiments of our nature above the meaner1 is not1 and never has been1 the aim of ,hindu asceticism4 ,and in consonance with this fact is the other1 namely1 that nine-tenths of the five and a half million ascetics1 sadhus1 and fakhirs of ,india are universally recognized as pestilential in their morals1 and as distinguished examples of what the laity of the land should avoid being or becoming4 ,the ,christian seeks1 as his ideal1 the perfect blending of the ethical and the spiritual in his life2 in ,hinduism1 faith has always been divorced from morality1 and there has never seemed to be any incongruity1 in their minds1 in the act of ascribing true saintliness and spiritual excellence to those who are known daily to trample under foot every command of the ,decalogue4 ,thus the ideal life which has captivated ,india from time immemorial1 and which at this present wields a mighty influence over the people1 is not the generous1 the upright1 and morally spotless life1 so much as the wandering1 the monastic1 or the secluded forest life of the ascetic1 regardless of its spiritual character4 ,in other words1 it is not a stern and noble victory over sin and worldliness in the common relationships of life1 but a fleeing from the sin and duties and responsibilities of life into the mutt1 or wilderness1 which has fascinated the inhabitants of this peninsula as the best type of life possible4 ,now1 in view of all this1 what shall the ,christian teacher do in this land8 ,shall he also exalt this ideal and temper it with ,christian wisdom and chasten it with ,christian meaning8 ,doubtless the wise missionary will consider well the amount of emphasis which this aspect of life requires in ,india1 in view of the ideal which ,hinduism has presented to the popular mind4 ,he will also1 ,i think1 hesitate1 on the one hand1 to bring his faith into comparison with ,hinduism in the matter of mere ascetic rigour and severe self-mortification1 in which the ,christian has always lagged far behind the ,hindu devotee and monk4 ,on the other hand1 he will not be likely to exalt over-much this type of life in a land in which1 for more than three thousand years1 it has ruled supremely but has had so little of moral significance and has achieved such meagre spiritual results4 ,another phase of life which furnishes to the people an ideal is the ceremonial4 ,among the myriad gods of the ,hindu pantheon and all the sages of its history and legend1 there is not one who is worthy to be exalted as an ideal of character4 ,the reason is not far to find4 ,with this1 however1 we are not at present concerned4 ,it is enough if we remember that this absence of an incarnate ideal in the religion has led to the exaltation of rules and ceremonies as the safeguards of--yea1 more1 as the very essence of--a worthy and noble life4 ,there is no sadder fact in ,india at present than that of this great religion1 of two hundred and thirty million souls1 being largely emptied of moral content as related to the common life1 and built up of numberless petty external ceremonies which harass the individual1 and grip the life with a dead hand at all points4 ,the ceremonialism of the ,scribes and ,pharisees in the days of our ,lord and which excited ,his supreme wrath1 was not a consequence as compared to that of ,hinduism to-day4 ,from conception even to the burning-ground1 every detail of life1 individual and communal1 religious and social 7there is no social as apart from religious life in ,hinduism71 is cast into a mould of ceremony or ritual which robs it of ethical content1 and makes it into what an indignant ,brahman writer recently called a huge sham4 ,to the ordinary ,hindu1 all of life's values are measured in the coin of external rites4 ,let one be an atheist if he please1 or even a libertine or a murderer1 and his status in ,hinduism is not impaired4 ,but let him eat beef1 even unwittingly1 or let him ignorantly drink water which has been touched by a man of lower caste than himself1 and his doom is irrevocably sealed6 ,through this whole system the ,hindu conscience is perverted1 and the true distinction between right and wrong is buried deep under this greatest and most elaborate mass of ceremonial that the world has ever known4 ,to a people who have thus inherited the ceremonial instinct1 who are ,pharisees by a hundred-fold heritage and by sweet choice1 it is not an easy thing for the man of the ,west1 with his natural distrust of all that is formal and outward in life1 to present effectively his ,lord1 whose bitterest woes were pronounced against the formalists of ,his time1 and whose commands are always ethical1 and whose life is1 first of all1 and last of all1 spiritual4 ,another ideal of life which has too exclusive emphasis in this land is that which is denominated quietism--an ideal which extols the passive virtues as distinguished from the manly1 aggressive ones4 ,i would by no means claim that these two ideals are ,hindu and ,christian1 respectively4 ,they are rather begotten of the countries and climes under which the two religions have been1 for many centuries1 fostered4 ,to the eastern and tropical ,christian1 the teaching of our ,lord furnishes abundant warrant for a glorifying of the passive and non-resisting virtues4 ,and ,i am inclined to believe that we of the ,west have few things of greater importance and of deeper religious significance to learn from the ,east than the appreciation of such graces of life as patience and endurance under evil4 ,we stand always prepared to fight manfully for our convictions1 and to obtrude them at all points upon friend and foe alike4 ,it is not in the nature of the ,east to do this4 ,we say that he has no stamina4 ,we call him1 in opprobrium1 the mild ,hindu4 ,but let us not forget that he will reveal tenfold more patience than we under very trying circumstances1 and will turn the other cheek to the enemy when we rush into gross sin by our haste and ire4 ,his is one of the hemispheres of a full-orbed character4 ,ours of the ,west is the other4 ,let us not flatter ourselves too positively that our assertive1 aggressive part is the more beautiful or the more important4 ,yea1 more1 ,i question whether ours is the stronger and more masculine part of life and character2 for is it not to most of us an easier thing to fling ourselves in vehemence against an evil in others than it is to sit calmly and patiently under a false accusation1 as our ,lord ,himself did8 ,at least it must be left an open question as to whether the impulsive and domineering vigour of the ,west is preferable to the mildness of the ,east4 ,what ,i wish to emphasize is the dissimilarity between our western type of life and the eastern1 and to warn the ,christian worker from the ,west against the danger of assuming that ,christian life must be adorned with only those western traits and excellences of character which are foreign and unpalatable to the ,east--the very fault which also characterizes the ,hindu on his side1 and which makes him feel so superior at times and so inaccessible to ,christian influence4 ,for1 let it not be forgotten that the ,hindu regards what we call our foibles of petulance1 arrogance1 and intolerance1 with the same disapprobation and disgust as we do their more frequent violation of the seventh1 eighth1 and ninth commandments of the ,decalogue4 ,and who is to decide as to which catalogue is the worse and the more heinous in the sight of ,god8 ,,iv ,the ,hindu ,conception of ,ultimate ,salvation presents ,another ,point of ,divergence from the ,christian ,ideal of ,life ,beyond ,even in the methods and processes of redemption pursued by the two religions we see fundamental differences4 ,in ,christianity1 ,god is the prime ,agent in human salvation4 ,he worketh for us1 in us1 and through us4 ,in our own redemption we are only co-labourers with ,him4 ,in ,hinduism1 man stands absolutely alone as the agent and cause of his salvation4 ,and1 as the stupendous task rests upon his shoulders1 it is no wonder that he has sought relief in the doctrine of metempsychosis1 whereby it is believed that millions of rebirths furnish to him an adequate time and a sufficient variety of opportunity for the great consummation4 ,but he has never given to himself1 or to us1 the first reason for believing that this endless fugue of rebirths will accomplish that which he accepts without questioning2 namely1 the ultimate glorification of all souls4 ,there is nothing in this long and tedious process itself which assures us that any soul will reach final beatification rather than permanent and irremediable degradation4 ,and yet the ultimate absorption of all souls into the ,divine is assumed as a matter of course by him4 ,this process1 and that of ,christianity1 are expressive of the characteristics of the two faiths and of the two peoples4 ,the slow and patient ,east1 and the faith which it has begotten1 spins out its theory of time and of human existence almost ad infinitum4 ,multitudinous births alone can satisfy the demands of the tedious process of human emancipation4 ,but1 in ,christianity1 one passage through this world1 with human hands clasped in the ,divine1 suffices to open the door of eternal bliss to the redeemed soul4 ,and this idea is consonant with the more youthful nature of the ,west1 to whose people one birth1 followed by a life of energy1 furnishes an entrance into eternal joy beyond4 ,it is equally important that we take note of that which is connoted by the final consummation offered by each of these two faiths to their followers4 ,to the ,christian there is a conscious1 blessed life beyond death--a separate1 personal existence which will last throughout eternity in the sunshine of the ,heavenly ,father's presence and in the ineffable joy and glory of ,his fellowship4 ,it is the idealized life built upon the foundation of what is best and most stirring and beautiful here upon earth4 ,it is life1 in all that this blessed word signifies of sweet contemplation1 of blissful activity1 of imperishable love1 and of unspeakable joy4 ,all the most beautiful and enticing imagery of earth has been used to portray1 or rather to suggest1 the eternal life of the ,christian religion4 ,but what is the picture which ,hinduism has drawn of the finality of life to its followers8 ,after the weary fugue of births and rebirths1 with its interludes of many heavens and hells1 the self passes on into final union with the ,divine ,soul4 ,it loses all consciousness and self-knowledge2 every vestige of personality and all that this implies is swept away2 it is incapacitated for every emotion of joy and for every act of service4 ,there is nothing that we associate with life at its best and sweetest which does not find here negation4 ,it is a calm blank1 a rest1 indeed1 but from every struggle of thought1 will1 and emotion4 ,this is the consummation which ,india has for many centuries held aloft as an attraction to its weary pilgrims4 ,here1 again1 we observe how appropriate to the end in view is the supreme difficulty of the way4 ,if the highest struggle of the soul in this world is against existence and its human actions and conditions1 it is to be expected that a complete riddance of life and of all its accompaniments will be the summum bonum of the final consummation4 ,and if this struggle for emancipation is to continue through numberless births and earthly existences1 it is natural that the coveted end should bring a loss of all that life connotes in highest sentiment as well as basest passion4 ,i need not dwell upon the contrast between this and the anticipations entertained by every humble ,christian4 ,this whole eschatological system of ,hinduism corresponds1 as we have seen1 to the teaching of that faith in reference to ,god1 man1 and earthly life and conditions4 ,and the ,christian preacher's or teacher's vivid portrayal of the ,christian's heaven too often denotes to the ,hindu only one of the many purgatorial heavens of his religion1 and rarely suggests to him the supreme test of the value of our faith as contrasted with his own4 ,the glories of our heaven do not appeal to the stolid1 weary1 transmigration-ridden soul of the ,hindu as they do to the youthful1 hopeful1 buoyant soul of the ,christian4 ,and this is a fact which the missionary would do well to keep in mind at all times4 ,i might continue the list of the incompatibilities of ,hindu and ,christian ideals4 ,but ,i have gone far enough to show1 ,i trust1 that the two faiths are at many points antipodal1 and that their ideals clash in matters fundamental and crucial4 ,further1 ,i wish to repeat that ,i do not maintain that ,christian ideals are always1 or even ever1 represented in their fulness1 or with the right emphasis1 by us of the ,west4 ,hinduism is an ethnic faith1 and it must be weighed and valued by the ideals which the people of this land have imbibed from it and invariably connect with it4 ,christianity is a world faith1 and no one nation or continent can be a full exemplar1 or an all-wise interpreter1 of its life and ideals4 ,hence ,i claim that one of the considerations which demand closest attention from a western teacher1 as he imparts his faith to the people of ,india1 is that of the choice and emphasis of ideals which he shall present to them4 ,let him neither assume1 on the one hand1 that ,hindu ideals are unchristian1 nor1 on the other1 that our western ideals1 both in their emphasis and exclusiveness1 are the all-in-all of ,christian truth and life4 ,christianity in the ,east1 when it becomes thoroughly indigenous1 will reveal and glorify a different type of life from that of the ,west4 ,it will be less aggressive and assertive1 but more contemplative and more deeply pious and other-worldly than anything we have been wont to see in the ,west4 ,the day has come when missionaries must study with more seriousness the religion of ,india1 that they may understand its true inwardness and discover its sources of power4 ,above all1 they must be conversant with its highest ideals and understand the relationship of the same to those of their own faith4 ,and they must not forget that they must approach this study with genuine sympathy and appreciation1 in order to find the best in ,hinduism1 as well as to be fortified against its worst features4 ,never before did the educated men of this land stand up with more determination for their old ideals1 and this is a matter of serious concern to our cause4 ,on the other hand1 the most encouraging fact in the realm of ,christian work in ,india at the present time is that of the marvellous place which our ,lord has found among the people of the land1 especially the educated1 as the ideal of life4 ,they will have none of ,him as a ,saviour1 and ,his death has no significance to them4 ,but ,his blessed life has become the inspiration and the ideal of life to the cultured classes of ,india1 in a way which is transforming their ethical conceptions and which largely eclipses all other life-influences among them4 ,herein lies our hope and assurance for ,india4 ,but what they crave1 and what they say they must have1 is an ,oriental ,christ1 a ,christ who is not presented in a western garb of life and thought4 ,herein do we learn a most important lesson for our life-work1 as ,christian missionaries in this land of the ,east4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,home ,,life ,,of ,,hindus ,the home life of a people is one of the most decisive tests of its character and its state of civilization4 ,in this chapter ,i shall attempt only to describe the home life of ,hindus4 ,and even within this limitation ,i can only refer to the general characteristics which obtain among nearly all ,hindus1 and shall pass by the details1 which differ so largely in different parts of the country and among different castes4 ,it is in the home that the natural religious bent of the ,hindu finds its full scope and most touching manifestations4 ,generally speaking1 one may say that the house of a ,hindu is his sanctuary1 where the tutelar god has its niche or shrine to which daily worship is rendered4 ,there is hardly any event connected with home life which is not religiously viewed and made the occasion of definite family worship4 ,of the sixteen events in the life of a man1 from birth to death1 there is not one which is not viewed from a religious aspect1 and is not accompanied by an elaborate ritual4 ,there is hardly a respectable ,hindu household in which there is not a shrine containing an idol of stone or of some metal which corresponds in value to the measure of the family's wealth4 ,every morning and evening it is worshipped by the hereditary purohit1 or priest1 who visits the house for the purpose twice a day1 and who1 as the name implies1 is the first in all ceremonies1 second to none but the ,guru1 or spiritual guide4 ,the offerings of rice1 fruits1 sweetmeats1 and milk1 made to the god1 he carries home after the close of the service4 ,a conch is blown1 a bell is rung1 and a gong beaten at the time of worship1 when the religiously disposed portion of the inmates1 male and female1 in a quasi-penitent attitude1 make their obeisance to the god and receive in return the hollow benediction of the priest4#e ,footnote #e3 ,from ,hindus as ,they ,are4 ,even the building of the house is a matter which must be done according to the rules of faith4 ,the selection of a site1 the correct orientation of the building1 the number and location of the rooms1 the proper material for the structure1--all of these must be determined by the ,vastu ,sastri1 or the architects1 who do their business not so much on scientific lines as upon religious4 ,they have their ,shastras1 or books of instruction1 in architecture1 whose basis is largely a consideration of the supposed sentiments of the gods and a proper harmonizing in the building of various religious conceits1 crude superstitions1 and immemorial customs4 ,even the day and hour of entering and dedicating the house must be fixed by rules of faith1 which are as exacting as they are multitudinous4 ,to enter and consecrate a house at the wrong astrological moment would bring in its train a number of domestic disasters4 ,the house may be anything1 from a most primitive hut to a many-aisled palace2 but in every case the astrologer must be consulted as to the time2 the spiritual architect must give his rules as to the structure2 and the family priest must make the house habitable by an elaborate ceremonial and offerings to the god or gods of the family4 ,it is only after all these have been accomplished that a householder may1 with a clean conscience1 enter his new home and expect a blessing upon his family therein4 ,to a stranger who passes through the streets of a town or village it may seem strange that no two adjoining houses have exactly the same orientation4 ,he may think it an evidence of carelessness1 or a want of taste4 ,but to the ,hindu it is the result of pious conformity to the rules of his faith4 ,to a non-,hindu it may seem peculiar that ,hindus generally enter their new homes in the first half of the year4 ,but to the ,hindu it is the only half when the gods are awake2 it would be unpropitious and almost sacrilegious to dedicate a house in that part of the year when the gods are supposed to be asleep6 ,the ,hindu home would not be1 to a westerner1 either pleasant or convenient4 ,it looks dingy and dark1 doors are small and massive1 windows are few and generally closed4 ,this is partly because they are intended to keep out the tropical glare1 and partly because the people seem averse to occupying an airy room4 ,a westerner would suffocate in a room in which ,hindus would delight to spend a night4 ,it has always been a wonder to the writer that they thrive on so little fresh air in their homes4 ,hindus1 in the main1 care very little for elaborate household furniture4 ,even in homes of wealth1 articles of household furniture are few and are chosen merely for utility's sake1 save in homes where western ideas are finding their way and a growing desire to ape western manners takes possession of a family4 ,some years ago1 a wealthy ,hindu gentleman welcomed the writer into his fine new three-storied bungalow1 whose front door was elaborately carved and had cost ,rs4 #bjjj4 ,it was furnished with fantastic articles of ,european furniture4 ,mechanical toys and speaking dolls had places of prominence2 and among the pictures which adorned the walls the place of honour was given to a framed tailor's pattern-plate6 ,a full-sized painting of the late ,british queen was specially honoured by being kept in a dark closet6 ,the family did not live in this house1 but occupied a comfortable one-storied building in the back yard4 ,it was adequate to their needs and in harmony with their tastes4 ,hindus generally sleep on the floor4 ,they spread a mat under them1 and this suffices for the ordinary man4 ,many add to this a dirty pillow1 which is a mark of extravagance and an evidence of degeneracy4 ,the men of the house may sleep anywhere within1 or in the verandah without1 according to the season of the year4 ,recently1 western ideas have encroached upon this primitive1 sanitary custom1 and cots are finding an ever increasing place in the household economy4 ,the ,hindu family system is widely different from that of the ,west4 ,among them the ,joint ,family ,system prevails universally4 ,it is built on the old patriarchal idea1 according to which three generations generally live under the same roof and enjoy a community of life and of interest4 ,when a man and wife have reared a family1 the sons bring to the paternal home their wives and live together and raise their families in the common home of their father4 ,the supreme authority1 in the direction of all their affairs1 rests with the father4 ,and the mother generally takes charge of the household commissariat4 ,the whole income of all the members of the family is brought into the common treasury1 out of which all expenses are met4 ,there is no individual property1 and no rights and privileges which any one can claim apart from another's in that home4 ,in large ,hindu families there is often found a small colony thus living together and dependent for guidance and instruction upon the father4 ,this system entails a great deal of responsibility upon the head1 whose authority is supreme4 ,and so loyal is every ,hindu to paternal authority that there is never any question raised by any one as to obedience to his commands4 ,this system has its advantages4 ,in early times1 it brought strength and security to households thus consolidated4 ,it is doubtless favourable to general economy4 ,and it has the peculiar merit of developing a strong sense of responsibility in the whole family for its every member1 however incapacitated she or he may be for self-support4 ,the weak and the sick and the feeble-minded have the same claim upon the resources of the family as have the others1 and the claim is universally recognized4 ,for this reason1 poor-houses are not needed in ,india4 ,on the other hand1 ,hindus themselves are coming to regard this system as being out of joint with modern life1 under the aegis of a progressive1 civilized government4 ,one of its chief defects is its encouragement of laziness in members of families4 ,no one feels that he is responsible for his own maintenance4 ,and no matter how industrious a member may be1 the product of his labour is not his own--it belongs to the family4 ,such a system saps the foundation of industry and enterprise4 ,it furnishes constant temptation to slothfulness and inactivity4 ,in former times1 this may not have been so manifest2 but at present1 when opportunities open wide their inviting doors1 and means of accumulating wealth and influence multiply1 the system has become a source of discontent and of serious difficulty in the community4 ,a few years ago the educated ,hindus of ,south ,india were so exercised over the injustice of the situation that they urged upon the ,madras ,legislature a new act1 called the ,gains ,learning ,bill1 whereby every man might claim the financial results of his own labours and accumulate wealth apart from the property of the family4 ,the matter was fully argued in the ,legislature1 and the injustice of the ,joint ,family ,system was so clearly revealed in this matter1 that the bill was carried through4 ,thereupon1 orthodox ,hindus raised such a storm of opposition to the bill and decried it so vehemently1 as a subversion of their faith and an overthrow of their most ancient and cherished institution1 that the governor never signed the bill2 and it has therefore never become law4 ,nevertheless1 the agitation against the system is increasing1 and the incongruity of the ,joint ,family ,system with modern social conditions is becoming so marked that the day of its overthrow is approaching4 ,a well-known ,hindu writer describes the injustice of this system as follows3 ,as one of the usual consequences of a patriarchal system1 a respectable ,hindu is often obliged to support a number of hangers-on1 more or less related to him by kinship4 ,a brother1 an uncle1 a nephew1 a brother-in-law1 etc41 with their families1 are not infrequently placed in this dependent position1 notwithstanding the trite apothegm1 which says1 'it is better to be dependent on another for food than to live in his house4' ,moreover1 this system fosters family dissension4 ,it requires an ideal family1 under the strong guidance of an ideal head1 to live in peace and harmony under this system4 ,the writer above quoted1 himself a ,hindu who had long lived under the system1 expressed himself strongly upon the subject3 ,the millennium is not yet come4 ,seven brothers living together with their wives and children1 under one and the same paternal roof1 cannot reasonably be expected to abide in a state of perfect harmony1 so long as selfishness and incongruous tastes and interests are continually working to sap the very foundation of friendliness and good-fellowship4 ,union is strength1 but harmonious union1 under the peculiar regime indicated above1 is already a remarkable exception in the present state of ,hindu society4 ,on careful inquiry it will be found that women are at the bottom of that mischievous discord which eats into the very vitals of domestic felicity4 ,separation1 therefore1 is the only means that promises to afford relief from this social incubus2 and to separation many families have now resorted1 much after the fashion of the dominant race1 with a view to the uninterrupted enjoyment of domestic happiness4 ,outside of the family itself1 perhaps the two most important functionaries are the family priest and the astrologer4 ,and of these two the latter is doubtless the more influential4 ,it is well known1 as ,i have written on another page1 that ,hindus are not only firm believers in astrology1 but also the abject slaves of this science1 falsely so-called1 in all the affairs of life4 ,it is wonderful how many events in the life of a family come within the realm of astrological guidance and control4 ,from birth to death1 most of the important transactions of life are controlled by astrological considerations4 ,and with the astrologer we naturally join the sooth-sayer1 who is frequently in demand to pronounce his incantations and utter his mantras1 to remove all kinds of maladies and misfortune that may overtake members of the family4 ,it is impossible for a ,westerner to realize how much of the life of the ,hindu1 in the home and in society1 is circumscribed by superstitions and directed by omens only4 ,in the case of a man setting out upon a journey forty-three different things may happen which prognosticate good1 and thirty-four which forebode evil4 ,in household matters1 the eye of the ,hindu man1 and very specially of the ,hindu woman1 is ever open to any one of a thousand indications that may reveal the will of the god or the demon as to conduct on the occasion4 ,the position of women in the ,hindu home is fundamental1 and much misunderstood by the people of the ,west4 ,it is sadly true that woman in ,hinduism has suffered1 throughout the centuries1 gross injustice1 and has laboured under a thousand disabilities4 ,but it does not follow from this1 as those not familiar with ,hindu lives are too apt to conclude1 that woman is therefore a nonentity and a mere helpless drudge in the family4 ,it is true that the great lawgiver1 ,manu1 said1 ,no sacrifice is allowed to women apart from their husbands1 no religious rite1 no fasting2 as far only as a wife honours her lord1 so far is she exalted to heaven4 ,in accordance with this1 ,hinduism has always consistently maintained that woman's well-being is entirely derived from her relationship to man4 ,her salvation is to be acquired through him4 ,her glory upon earth and her bliss in heaven and final emancipation depend upon her attitude to him1 specially her obedience and devotion4 ,it is also true1 that in no stage of her existence can she be regarded as independent4 ,she is dependent upon her father in childhood1 the slave of her husband so long as he lives1 and subject to her son during the days of her widowhood4 ,hinduism leaves her no opportunity1 in this human existence1 for liberty and independence4 ,hindu ideas of womanhood have always been low and unworthy4 ,rather than being considered a help-mate to man1 she has ever been regarded as his tempter and seducer4 ,the proverbs of ,india are full of these base insinuations concerning womanhood4 ,what is the chief gate to hell8 ,woman4 ,this is only one of a host of common sayings which brand the womanhood of ,india with shame4 ,it is for this same reason that woman has always been held unworthy of education4 ,to educate a woman is compared to placing a knife in the hands of a monkey4 ,the ignorance of the women of ,india to-day is not a matter of careless neglect1 but rather of studied purpose to deny to them that which might change their relationship of subjection to man4 ,one might suppose that in matters of religion1 which is the peculiar consolation of the woman of ,india1 a wide door of opportunity might be given to her4 ,but here again ,manu says1 ,woman has no business with the texts of the ,vedas2 thus is the law fully settled4 ,having therefore no evidence of law1 and no knowledge of expiatory texts1 sinful woman must be as foul as falsehood itself2 and this is a fixed rule4 ,there are texts which command kindness and respect to womanhood4 ,but the above quotations represent the tenor of ,hindu literature4 ,all of these represent the attitude of man toward woman in the home4 ,in society1 she has had no recognized place whatever1 until the present1 when1 under the influence of western civilization1 she is beginning to find a very limited scope for her legitimate activities4 ,nevertheless1 in the seclusion of her own home1 and inheriting the burden of this deep reproach heaped upon her from time immemorial by men1 woman has created for herself a place of power in the ,hindu home4 ,within this sanctuary she has erected her throne and reigns a queen4 ,has man kept her in ignorance8 ,she will therefore apply herself the more assiduously to works of faith and piety4 ,has he heaped upon her abuse and called her donkey and buffalo8 ,she has repaid the insult by a loving devotion to her lord1 such as has conquered his pride4 ,whether it be as wife or mother1 the women of no other land wield greater power than the much-abused women of ,india4 ,there is no woman on earth who reveals1 at this present time1 more devotion and attachment to her husband than does the ,hindu wife4 ,the old system of ,sati1 whereby a woman immolated herself on the funeral pyre of her dead husband1 what was it8 ,it was1 indeed1 a custom instituted by man1 enforced by religious rewards and penalties1 with a view to reveal the woman as the abject subject of her husband4 ,and yet she glorified that custom and often transmuted it into the most sublime exhibition of wifely devotion4 ,hear the description of a ,sati1 given by a ,hindu1 the subject of which was his own aunt4 ,my aunt1 writes he1 was dressed in a red silk sari1 with all the ornaments on her person2 her forehead daubed with a very thick coat of sindur1 or vermilion2 her feet painted red with alta2 she was chewing a mouthful of betel2 and a bright lamp was burning before her4 ,she was evidently wrapped in an ecstasy of devotion1 earnest in all she did1 quite calm and composed as if nothing important was to happen4 ,in short1 she was then at her matins1 anxiously awaiting the hour when this mortal coil should be put off4 ,my uncle was lying a corpse in the adjoining room4 ,it appeared to me that all the women assembled were admiring the virtue and fortitude of my aunt4 ,some were licking the betel out of her mouth1 some touching her forehead1 in order to have a little of the sindur1 or vermilion2 while not a few1 falling before her feet1 expressed a fond hope that they might possess a small particle of her virtue4444 ,in truth1 she was evidently longing for the hour when her spirit and that of her husband should meet together and dwell in heaven4 ,she had a tulsi mala 7string of basil beads7 in her right hand1 which she was telling1 and she seemed to enjoy the shouts of ',hari1 ,hari-bole1' with perfect serenity of mind4 ,we reached ,nimtalla ,ghat about twelve2 after staying there for about ten to fifteen minutes1 sprinkling the holy water on the dead body1 all proceeded slowly to the ,kultalla ,ghat1 about three miles north of ,nimtalla4 ,the dead body1 wrapped in new clothes1 being placed on the pyre1 my aunt was desired to walk seven times round it1 which she did while strewing flowers1 cowries 7shells71 and parched rice on the ground4 ,it struck me at the time that1 at every successive circumambulation1 her strength and presence of mind failed2 whereupon the ,darogah 7government representative7 stepped forward once more and endeavoured1 even at the last moment1 to deter her from her fatal determination4 ,but she1 at the very threshold of ghastly death1 in the last hour of expiring life1 the fatal torch of ,yama 7,pluto7 before her1 calmly ascended the funeral pile and1 lying down by the side of her husband with one hand under his head1 and another on his breast1 was heard to call in a half-suppressed voice1 ',hari1 ,hari1'--a sign of her firm belief in the reality of eternal beatitude4 ,when she had thus laid herself on the funeral pyre1 she was instantly covered1 or rather choked1 with dried wood1 while some stout men with bamboos held and pressed down the pyre1 which was by this time burning fiercely on all sides4 ,a great shout of exultation then arose from the surrounding spectators1 till both the dead and living bodies were converted into a handful of dust and ashes4#f ,footnote #f3 ,hindus as ,they ,are4 ,the custom of ,sati has been outlawed2 but the spirit of ,sati still dominates the womanly heart of the ,hindu wife4 ,it is this beautiful blending of piety and wifely devotion which has been the song of ,hindu poets1 and the admiration of the ,hindu community1 from time immemorial4 ,it is true that a wife dare not utter the name of her husband4 ,the name of the husband of a ,hindu woman was ,faith4 ,when she came to read the ,bible1 she skipped this word every time it occurred in her reading4 ,why should she demean her lord by pronouncing publicly his sacred name8 ,and yet1 when it comes to matters of religion1 her stern piety and her religious devotion in the home are the most potent factor of the household2 and husband and father will bow to her supremacy in this realm4 ,all public life and social functions have been proscribed to her2 therefore1 does she see to it that in her narrow home sphere1 both religiously and in the training of her children1 her influence shall be supreme4 ,and it is4 ,it is here that the progress of ,christianity is much impeded in ,india4 ,a man is often found ready to change his faith1 and to abide the consequence of the same4 ,it is much more difficult for a woman to transfer her affection4 ,but the conversion of the husband will not abide in permanence so long as the wife persists in her devotion to the ancestral faith4 ,the writer has often seen illustrations of this supremacy of the influence of the woman4 ,but it is not always so4 ,in #ahbc1 a ,brahman child was born in ,calcutta4 ,when six years old1 he lighted1 by torch1 the funeral pyre of his dead father and living mother4 ,when he attained manhood and had received a ,university education1 he became a ,christian4 ,he was then not only renounced by his family1 but his young wife also spurned and denied him4 ,in accordance with her faith1 she regarded and treated him as dead1 performed his funeral rites1 and1 with shaven head1 unjewelled body1 and the widow's white cloth1 mourned his decease as if he had actually died4 ,for ,christ's sake he had been an outcast from his people and was twice dead to his beloved4 ,this experience has been repeated a thousand times in ,india in the case of ,christian converts4 ,but1 in this particular instance1 there was a remarkable denouement4 ,the young man1 deserted1 divorced1 and ceremonially buried by his wife1 married a ,christian woman1 with whom he lived happily for many years4 ,but after her death he returned to his first love and remarried the widow of his youth1 who1 in the meanwhile1 had relented and become a ,christian4 ,this was the experience of ,professor ,chuckerbuthy1 of the ,general ,assembly ,college1 in ,calcutta1 who died in #aija4 ,marriage among ,hindus differs in many respects from the same compact among western people4 ,it is in no instance dependent upon the initiative of the contracting parties1 if such the bride and the bridegroom may be called in ,india4 ,neither of them is a direct participant in the arranging of the contract4 ,it is all done by the parents or the guardians of the boy and girl4 ,it is entirely a business1 and not a sentimental1 affair4 ,no other system would be possible under past and present conditions in ,india4 ,in the case of infant marriages1 the children concerned have1 of course1 neither knowledge of1 nor special interest in1 the matter4 ,even in cases where the future bride and bridegroom have attained puberty1 no sentiment is ever allowed to enter1 as a consideration1 into the matter4 ,the first question asked is whether the parties belong to the same caste and are connected by family ties4 ,if so1 the marriage may be a suitable one4 ,it is strange that the children of brothers and sisters furnish the most suitable marriage relationships4 ,but the children of brothers1 or those of sisters1 furnish a prohibited relationship6 ,it is regarded as improper for a boy to marry the daughter of his mother's sister1 or of his father's brother1 as it would be to marry his own sister4 ,the marriage of those remotely connected by blood is rarely considered2 the marriage of those not at all connected by blood relationship1 never4 ,the next matter of paramount importance is a consideration of the horoscope of the parties4 ,were the boy and girl born under astrological conditions which harmonize2 or does her horoscope so conflict with his that their dissonance would bring evil and misery to the family8 ,in the latter case1 a marriage will be impossible1 even though all other conditions are most inviting4 ,then follows the question of dowry2 and here comes the great struggle4 ,the girl's parents have to furnish1 with the bride1 a considerable dowry1 whose size is directly related to the affluence of the boy's family1 or to his education and prospects in life4 ,the bickerings which take place in this matter are most unseemly2 and the marriage compact is degraded into a sordid1 mercenary transaction4 ,fathers of girls involve themselves in debts which they can never clear1 in order to marry their darlings to sons of high families of good connection4 ,it is this difficulty of marrying daughters1 save at an intolerable expense to the family1 which largely accounts for the universal and keen disappointment of ,hindu families when they discover1 at childbirth1 that a daughter1 and not a son1 has been born4 ,the contract having been sealed by definite religious ceremony1 the children wait until the girl attains puberty1 which may take place at any time1 from the age of ten to fourteen4 ,then the rites of consummation are performed1 and they live together as man and wife4 ,until the marriage is consummated1 it is the height of propriety that the parties shall be apart and strangers to each other4 ,it is very often the case that there is much disparity between the age of man and wife4 ,a married woman is supposed to belong to her lord for time and eternity4 ,a widow is therefore ineligible for remarriage1 even though her husband may have died when she was an infant4 ,the man1 on the other hand1 may contract any number of marriages4 ,the rapidity and the businesslike way with which he proceeds to arrange new nuptials after the death of his wife seems appalling to a ,westerner6 ,it matters not how many wives he may have had1 nor how old he has become1 none but the very young is eligible to become his spouse4 ,the consequence is that many men of matured1 and even of old1 age are wedded to mere girls4 ,this is partly owing to the fact that the ,hindu has not yet realized the need1 or importance1 of companionship between man and wife4 ,this is very marked among the educated men of the ,hindu community4 ,not only by age1 but also by educational and other qualifications1 a wife is in no condition to be a sympathetic companion to her spouse4 ,so that the relationship has1 to them1 little of mutuality in it4 ,the lot of the ,hindu widow is1 proverbially1 a hard one4 ,she is despised and hated1 even though she be but a child1 because her husband's family persist in believing that his death was caused by her adverse horoscope4 ,she suffers every obloquy in her husband's home1 is deprived of her jewels1 has her head shaven1 and is clothed only with a coarse white cloth4 ,her fastings are long and severe1 and she is not allowed to attend any festivity2 for the presence of a widow would be deemed an evil omen and a curse4 ,moreover1 she is the object of suspicion1 and is frequently the prey of men's passions4 ,it is a strange comment upon the religious perversity of a people of the tender domestic nature of ,hindus1 that they should deal with so much cruelty and such apparent indifference to the bereavement and suffering of the unfortunate widow who bears so tender a relationship to them4 ,religion has never wrought greater cruelty and injustice to any one than to the ,hindu widow1 specially to the child widow4 ,and1 notwithstanding the fact that these suffering ones are a great host in this land1 there are few of their people who raise their voice in their defence or strive for their relief4 ,the relationship of son-in-law and mother-in-law is always a strained one4 ,the wife's mother may live with her under very decided limitations4 ,it is not permitted to her to eat in the presence of her son-in-law1 or to enter a room where he happens to be6 ,the situation is still worse between the daughter-in-law and the mother-in-law4 ,the vernaculars of ,india abound in proverbs which illumine this relationship and reveal its strange character4 ,the husband's mother apparently delights in nothing more than in exercising a cruel restraint over her son's wife4 ,nothing that the young woman can do will please her4 ,and the husband too often sides with the older against the younger woman4 ,when1 however1 the situation becomes intolerable to the wife1 she takes ,french leave1 and goes home to her parents4 ,this soon brings her husband to terms2 and it is etiquette that he go and ask her to return1 apologizing for the troubles that she has endured4 ,and so the situation is improved1 for a while1 until another visit to her parents becomes imperative4 ,it is natural enough that the mother-in-law should thus deal harshly with her daughter-in-law2 for is it not her revenge for the similar treatment which she received many years ago as daughter-in-law8 ,the real attitude of the ,hindu toward his wife is doubtless more cordial than it appears to a ,westerner4 ,he seems to delight in revealing an indifference to her feelings and a contempt for her position4 ,in the household1 she is not permitted to eat with him2 she must wait upon his lordship and take the leavings of his meal4 ,upon a journey1 it would be gross impropriety for her to walk by his side4 ,etiquette demands that she walk behind him at a respectable distance of1 say1 ten paces4 ,the love of jewellery is a marked passion with the women of ,india4 ,millions of money are expended every year in the manufacture of female adornments4 ,and in this work there are more than four hundred thousand goldsmiths constantly employed4 ,the wealth of a family1 especially among the middle classes1 is largely measured by the amount of jewellery which the women of the household possess4 ,no one would grudge to these women a certain amount of these personal ornaments2 but when it becomes a mad craze to convert all their wealth into such vanity1 and thus to render their wealth entirely unremunerative1 it becomes a serious matter4 ,the loading down of a woman or a girl with precious stones1 gold1 silver1 or cheaper metal1 adds anything but attractiveness to the person4 ,it gives them a gross conception of personal attractiveness as well as a monetary value to beauty1 which degrades the ideals of the country4 ,when a woman's ears and nose1 the crown of her head1 her neck1 arms1 hands1 waist1 ankles1 and toes are made to sparkle with the wealth of the family1 and to bear down the frail body of the proud victim1 they cease entirely to set off the personal beauty of the woman herself1 and become rather a counter attraction2 and she is admired not for what she is1 but for what she carries4 ,moreover1 it is well known that these women are not satisfied1 on public occasions1 to wear their own jewels only2 they borrow also those of their neighbours and shine with a borrowed light1 which reflects a great deal more their vanity than their beauty4 ,many a time has the writer seen bright little ,brahman girls carrying upon their person the combined glittering wealth of several families upon festive occasions4 ,add to this again the fact that there are thousands of women and children murdered in ,india every year for the sake of these personal ornaments which they flaunt before the public1 and with which they tempt criminals4 ,it is claimed that higher-class ,hindus are cleaner in their personal habits than almost any other people on earth4 ,this is probably true1 so far as a multiplicity of ablutions can make them4 ,the religious washings of the ,brahman are so frequent as to make him largely immune to epidemics of cholera and other filth diseases4 ,and yet the lower classes of the people1 in their homes and elsewhere1 have little to boast of in the line of cleanliness4 ,they all aspire to the weekly oil-bath1 which is doubtless a wholesome thing in the heat of these tropics1 where1 through paucity of clothing1 the skin is much exposed to the sun's rays4 ,but oil has well-known attractive powers for dust1 filth1 and vermin too6 ,it must also be remembered that the ,hindu is given much more to seeking ceremonial than sanitary cleanliness4 ,it matters not how filthy the water may be1 chemically2 if it be ceremonially clean1 he uses it freely4 ,if it be ceremonially polluting1 it is eschewed4 ,as one sees a village community make all possible uses of the village pond1 he wonders why the whole village has not been swept away by disease4 ,they are saved from their folly1 doubtless1 by the piercing1 cleansing rays of the tropical sun4 ,hindu clothing is both beautiful and admirably suited to the tropical climate4 ,the one cloth of the ,hindu woman1 which she so deftly winds around her body1 and which is usually of bright colours1 is perhaps the most exquisitely beautiful garment worn by any people4 ,and this is altogether adequate to her needs4 ,unfortunately1 western habits are now coming into vogue1 and1 in the case of men and women alike1 the clothing of the ,west is partially supplanting that of the ,east4 ,nothing could be more unfortunate1 from the standpoint of health1 beauty1 and economy4 ,the culinary arrangements and the cuisine of the ,hindu home are somewhat elaborate4 ,well-to-do ,hindus1 notwithstanding many caste restrictions1 are somewhat epicurean in their tastes1 and live well4 ,as we have seen in the chapter on ,caste1 there are many limitations placed upon the selection of food1 the method of its preparation1 and of eating4 ,meat is entirely banned by the highest castes4 ,none will touch the meat of the bovine kind1 save the outcast ,pariah4 ,all are very particular in seeking seclusion for their meals4 ,this is perhaps the reason why the ,hindu home is1 generally speaking1 so much more secluded than that of other people4 ,hindus believe that fingers were made before knives1 forks1 and spoons4 ,consequently they eat their food entirely with their fingers4 ,it seems offensive enough to ,westerners4 ,it has often taken away the writer's appetite as he has feasted with them1 to have the cook dole out his rice to him with his bare hands6 ,they eat entirely with their right hand1 and never touch the food with the left1 reserving that hand for baser purposes4 ,in wealthy families1 household duties are performed by many servants4 ,it is amusing to see how many servants are required in ,india to perform the ordinary functions of one able-bodied servant in the ,west4 ,the services which a ,hindu will demand from his menials are far greater than those of a healthy ,westerner4 ,his languid nature and general effeminacy make him entirely dependent upon his servant for most of the activities and amenities of life4 ,recently the writer heard a ,hindu companion in a railway car call his servant at night from an adjoining car to come and turn the shade over the compartment lamp that he might have a nap6 ,a well-known writer1 in describing the life of a ,babu1 says3 ,the ,khansama of a ,babu is his most favourite servant4 ,from the nature of his office he comes into closest contact with his master2 he rubs his body with oil before bathing1 and sometimes shampoos him1--a practice which gradually induces idle1 effeminate habits and eventually greatly incapacitates a man for the duties of an active life4 ,indeed1 to study the nature of a 'big native swell' is to study the character of a consummate ,oriental epicure1 immersed in a ceaseless round of pleasures1 and hedged in by a body of unconscionable fellows1 distinguished only for their flattery and servility4 ,during times of sickness1 the native doctor is in requisition4 ,this functionary is not without his merits2 for it is a hereditary profession1 and not a little medical wisdom and experience have been transmitted from father to son down the centuries4 ,nevertheless1 as compared with modern science1 the ignorance of these men is woful1 and the unnecessary loss of life through that ignorance is lamentable4 ,their pharmacy is as defective as many of their remedies are absurd and disgusting4 ,the present government1 by multiplying its hospitals and dispensaries1 has done much to arrest disease and remove suffering4 ,and yet the remedies do not reach one-tenth of the population4 ,and many of the one-tenth are so suspicious of western science that in their extremity they will pass the well-equipped government hospital and its diplomaed attendants in order to consult the native doctor and to partake of his concoctions4 ,one of the reasons for this prejudice is the largeness of the dose which the ,indian doctor invariably supplies4 ,how can the diminutive doses of the white man and his establishment remove important difficulties and heal serious diseases8 ,the writer has known not a few well-educated ,indian ,christians living under the shadow of a well-equipped missionary hospital which furnished its medicines free1 sneak away a few streets beyond to consult the man who is a compound of a quack and an astrologer4 ,and yet1 doubtless1 the new pharmacy of the ,west brings healing in its wings to millions of this people annually2 and it is one of the causes for the rapid increase of the population4 ,at childbirth1 the barber's wife is always called4 ,she is the midwife of ,india1 and the poor ,hindu wife who is about to become a mother is the victim of the ignorance and stupidity of this woman4 ,it is no wonder that so many die in childbirth or survive only to become invalids through the remainder of their lives4 ,to remove this serious evil1 government is putting forth strenuous efforts to bring intelligent relief to the mothers of ,india4 ,the entrance of death into a ,hindu family brings1 as elsewhere1 inexpressible sorrow4 ,the women of the family resign themselves to their grief1 which is expressed by loud wailings1 with beating of their breast and tearing their dishevelled hair4 ,while professional wailers are rare1 nevertheless friends and relatives congregate and add volume to the dirge of sorrow4 ,the leading women mourners will often express in weird chant and appropriate words their praises of the virtues and the beauties of the departed ones4 ,the men of the household mourn in silence1 as it is not fitting that the man should audibly express his sorrow in public4 ,hindus make immediate arrangements for burning or burial as soon as death has occurred2 so that1 usually1 the funeral services are over within twelve or eighteen hours after death4 ,this is desirable1 because of the ,hindu custom of fasting so long as a corpse remains in the house2 and is also necessary because of the speedy decomposition of the body in the tropics4 ,it is also made possible by the fact that ,hindus do not use coffins4 ,it is the custom of most of the higher-caste ,hindus to cremate their dead2 while many of the lowest castes and outcasts resort to burial4 ,cremation would doubtless be the more sanitary method1 if the fire were not so inadequate in many instances4 ,the ,hindu burning-ground is a place of ghastly and disgusting interest4 ,funeral ceremonies do not terminate with the burning or with the burial of the body in ,hinduism4 ,the ritual connected with the dead1 which is called ,shradda1 is1 among the higher classes1 a most elaborate and complicated one1 and lasts1 with intermissions1 for a year4 ,these are conducted with much effort by1 and at great expense to1 the oldest son of the family4 ,and a great significance is attached to their rigid performance4 ,it may be regarded as a part of the great ancestral worship of the ,east4 ,the function of this ceremony is also kindred to that of ,roman ,catholicism1 which1 through prayer and offerings1 seeks the release of souls from ,purgatory4 ,by this ritual1 which involves also gifts to ,brahmans and priests1 the son makes more easy the pathway of the departed parent through the shades into the realms beyond1 and relieves the departed soul of its encumbrances and facilitates its progress toward bliss4 ,by some it is claimed that these ceremonies1 when rightly performed1 render unnecessary his suffering in hell or his returning to this world for rebirth4 ,it is more likely that the purpose is to reduce the suffering and to enhance the progress of the soul between this birth and the next4 ,in any case1 all orthodox ,hindus regard the ,shradda ceremonies as possessing great virtue and high importance4 ,and this is one of the principal reasons why every ,hindu man and woman is so eager for the birth of a son in their family4 ,without a son1 who is there to relieve their soul from destruction1 and to bring to them future peace and rest through the ,shradda ceremony8 ,thus parents ever pray for male offspring2 and the greatest disappointment in the life of a ,hindu woman is not to be able to present her lord a son to solace him in this life and to assist him through the valley of death4 ,one of the questions asked by the dutiful son1 as he performs this laborious ritual1 is1-- ,o my father1 my grandfather1 my great-grandfather6 ,are you satisfied8 ,are you satisfied8 ,we are satisfied4 ,if any son1 by the dutiful performance of offering and ritual here upon earth1 can bring help and peace to his dead ancestors1 the ,hindu son may be expected to succeed4 ,the following1 taken from an ancient ,sutra1 is regarded as a ,hindu burial hymn3-- ,open thy arms1 ,o earth6 receive the dead ,with gentle pressure and with loving welcome4 ,enshroud him tenderly1 even as a mother ,folds her soft vestment round the child she loves4 ,soul of the dead1 depart6 take thou the path-- ,the ancient path by which our ancestors ,have gone before thee2 thou shalt look upon ,the two kings1 mighty ,varuna and ,yama1 ,delighting in oblations2 thou shalt meet ,the fathers and receive the recompense ,of all thy stored-up offerings above4 ,leave thou thy sin and imperfection here2 ,return unto thy home once more2 assume ,a glorious form4 ,,chapter ,x ,,kali ,,yuga--,,india',s ,,pessimism#g ,many nations1 during the period of their infancy and ignorance1 have given to ,time and its divisions the power and qualities of life and have clothed them with moral purpose and attributes4 ,chronos was to the ,greeks of old the god of time1 in whose hands were the destinies of men4 ,even up to the present day not a few ignorant people of ,christian lands are influenced1 to some extent1 by an inherited superstition about lucky and unlucky days4 ,but ,i know of no land which is suffering more than ,india from traditional1 false1 and injurious conceptions of chronology4 ,time is here endowed with life and enthroned among the gods4 ,sivan is ,maha-,kalan1 the great incarnation of ,time1 and the mighty destroyer of all things4 ,it is also said that ,time is a form of ,vishnu4 ,footnote #g3 ,this chapter is a modified form of a lecture delivered to ,hindus4 ,we are told that we are living in ,kali yuga1 and that we are subject to all the evil which is the permanent characteristic of this iron age4 ,i believe that there are few things in ,india which so thoroughly influence the life1 habits1 and character of the people as do their many conceptions about chronology4 ,and ,i am convinced that incalculable good would come to the country if all these old and exploded ideas were to give way to more rational ones--such as are in harmony with modern intelligence and civilization4 ,consider1 then1 the various aspects of the chronology which all but universally prevails in ,india in order that we may see wherein it touches the life and moulds the thought of educated and uneducated alike4 ,i ,the ,astounding ,length of the ,chronological ,system ,in ancient ,vedic times there obtained here1 so far as we can see1 much more sober views of chronology than at present4 ,it was much later that the imagination of ,hindu writers took full wing and carried the people into the all but infinite reaches of ,puranic chronology4 ,one must wait for the elaboration of ,vishnu ,purana1 for instance1 in order to meet that apparent sobriety of mathematical detail which is utilized to add credibility to the most fantastic time system that imagination ever devised4 ,christians of the ,west have doubtless erred on the side of excessive brevity in their theories and beliefs about the beginnings of history and especially in their attempt to locate the origin of the human race4 ,until recently1 it was thought that our human progenitor1 ,adam1 was created no more than sixty centuries ago1 and that the whole history of mankind is consequently confined to that brief space of time4 ,in the same way the practical mind of the ,west has pictured to itself the termination of human life and history upon earth at some not very remote date in the future4 ,science has already shown the error of the former1 as history is likely to demonstrate the falsity of the latter theory4 ,but ,india has1 with much greater daring and with more of unreason1 carried back many billions of years the origin of mankind and has painted vividly a future whose expanse is as the boundless sea4 ,we are now1 it is said1 at the close of the first five thousand years of ,kali yuga4 ,and this same yuga1 or epoch1 has #dbg1jjj years still in store for us and our descendants6 ,before it arrived1 the other three yugas--,kritha1 ,tretha1 and ,dwapara--had passed on2 and these1 together1 were equal to more than ten thousand divine years1 or to nearly four million human years6 ,these four epochs equal a total of #d1cbj1jjj human years1 and this is called a maha-yuga4 ,this in itself would stagger the practical mind of the ,west4 ,but it is only the very threshold of ,hindu chronology6 ,there are seventy-one of these great epochs in a ,manuvanthara1 or the period of one ,manu1 or human progenitor4 ,and there are many of these ,manus with their periods4 ,for instance1 there are fourteen of them required in order to cover the time called ,karpa1 or one day in the life of ,brahma4 ,and after ,brahma has spent his modest day everything is destroyed and his godship spends an equal period in sleep and rest4 ,then begins another ,brahmaic day1 in which a new succession of ,manus spend1 with their progeny1 their interminable epochs4 ,and thus one series of epochs follows another1 sandwiched in by equally long spaces of lifeless darkness4 ,and this goes on until ,brahma has completed his divine life of one hundred years2 and then comes the final dissolution4 ,having gone on as far as this1 there is no reason why the imagination should rest at this point2 and so ,vishnu ,purana1 which1 of course1 is composed in praise of that god1 claims that one day of ,vishnu is equal to the whole life of ,brahma6 ,no one can bring within the range of his thought or imagination one tithe of the years1 divine or human1 which are included in this marvellous chronology4 ,a billion years are but as a day to the ,hindu mind4 ,and if any one is anxious to know the exact place at which we have arrived in this chronological maze1 the same ,purana informs us that we are five thousand years advanced in the ,kali yuga of ,varaha karpa1 or the first day in the second half of ,brahma's life4 ,and thus we are supposed to live not far 7say a few billion years67 from the middle of the ,hindu chronological system4 ,one may better realize the length of the system if he remembers that we have yet to spend of the present ,kali yuga alone more than seventy times the whole of the old ,christian chronology from ,adam to the present time6 ,and yet1 as compared with the whole system described above1 ,kali yuga is less than one day in a thousand years4 ,and that largely measures the difference between the imagination of the ,west and the same developed faculty in the ,east6 ,it is quite unnecessary to say that the prehistoric ,manus of previous yugas are absolutely imaginary creatures1 since history can tell us practically nothing about the head of our race1 even in the present ,hindu dispensation4 ,there is not a line of history or of reliable tradition that will enable us to reach farther back than five or six thousand years in this quest for the origin of our race4 ,there was1 of course1 a beginning of human life on earth2 and we may1 just as we please1 call the progenitor ,manu or ,adam4 ,but1 according to the ,hindu chronological system1 six thousand years only carries us just back into the last yuga1 and is as but yesterday in the march of the divine aeons of the past4 ,certainly1 writers whose productions are unreliable as a guide to the events of the past century or two are only indenting upon their imagination when they descant upon the chronological data of the ,puranas4 ,one of the principal evils connected with this measureless time system is found in the fact that it helps to destroy the confidence of all intelligent men in the historicity of characters and events which would otherwise be worthy of our credence4 ,for example1 the question is asked whether such a man as ,rama ,chandra ever existed4 ,we at once reply in the affirmative2 for does not the ,ramayana dwell upon his exploits1 and are there not other reasons for believing that such a hero lived in ancient times in this land8 ,and yet when the ,puranas tell us that this same ,rama received his apotheosis and appeared as an incarnation of ,vishnu in the ,tretha yuga1 say one or two millions of years ago1 we are astounded at the credulity of those who could write such a statement as well as those who can accept it2 and we are led to question whether1 after all1 ,rama ever existed or is simply a poetic conception carried far away into an imaginary time4 ,thus the chronology of the land tends to cast a cloud of doubt and suspicion over all that is historical1 traditional1 or legendary in the literature of the people4 ,still greater than this is the unfortunate influence of such a system upon the people themselves1 in helping to destroy any appreciation that they would otherwise have of historic perspective4 ,it is well known that the people of ,india have throughout the ages been the most wanting in the ability to write and soberly to appreciate historic facts4 ,they are great thinkers and wonderful metaphysicians1 but they are not historians4 ,the meagre history of ,india which has come down to us was not written by the people themselves4 ,not until recently1 and then under the influence of western training1 did any reliable book of history emanate from the brain and hand of a native of this land4 ,all that we know of the ancient history of ,india comes to us in two ways4 ,it is known indirectly through the language and literature and ancient inscriptions of the past4 ,historians of to-day have to study the science of language1 and especially the growth of the ,sanscrit tongue2 and1 through an intimate knowledge of the same1 they arrive approximately at the time in which many of the most important books of the land have been written and at the dates of the events narrated in them4 ,or they may be helped1 to some extent1 to learn this history by a study of the teachings of the books themselves1 which may indicate the time in which they were written4 ,a few inscriptions and coins give the dates of certain reigns1 which thus bring us directly and briefly into the correct era of certain important events4 ,but the bulk of the history of ,india comes through foreigners4 ,at different periods in the history of the land men of other nationalities visited ,india and then recorded their observations concerning the country and the people4 ,the ,greeks were great travellers and keen observers in ancient times4 ,they came to ,india and left in their books such statements about the land as assist us to understand its condition at that period4 ,then the ,chinese1 in the early centuries of the ,christian era1 visited this land and recorded in their works much of interest about the social and religious condition of the people4 ,later1 the ,mohammedan conquest brought many foreigners into ,india1 and some of the writers of ,islam give us further insight into the affairs of the country4 ,from the fifteenth century the ,romish missionaries have conveyed1 through their reports to ,rome1 much of information concerning the people and their life4 ,and thus the history of ,india has largely depended upon the keen and careful observations and statements of men of other lands who came here for travel1 trade1 or religion4 ,but ,indians themselves have1 at no time1 contributed to this most important department of literature4 ,we may search in vain for even one volume of reliable history out of the myriad tomes of embellished narratives which have emanated from the fertile brains of the men of ,india4 ,how shall we account for this strange and very striking fact8 ,it must be1 in part1 owing to the innate passion of ,india at all times for poetic embellishment and exaggeration4 ,a cool1 scientific1 unadorned statement of a fact or of an event has never satisfied the soul of the children of the tropics4 ,hence1 the history of the past becomes legend1 human heroes are painted as divine1 and epochs and eras are lengthened out to almost eternal proportions4 ,now the most serious result of all this is that the people have come firmly to believe that these wild exaggerations1 which were written by some dreamy poets of the past1 are the sane and cool expressions of simple historic fact2 and thus they have largely lost the true sense of historic perspective1 are unable to distinguish between fact and fancy1 and are strangers to the lessons of the past4 ,for it must be remembered that the teachings of former ages1 and especially the life-lessons and character-influences of those generations of men1 have less and less of significance to us the farther we throw them back into the dim and hazy realm of the prehistoric and legendary4 ,the near past1 with its familiar voices and its heroes of real flesh and blood1 brings to us an appeal to life and noble endeavour to which we are always glad to respond2 while the remote characters of myth and of legend neither impress us with their reality nor inspire us to a higher and better life4 ,and1 in the same way1 these immensely drawn-out aeons of the past make it impossible for those who believe in them rightly to appreciate the significance and importance of the present4 ,one's presence in the world and the value of his best activity for the world's good can mean something to him if he appreciate the fact that there is no great distance to the very beginning of human history4 ,though his span of life is small1 it nevertheless has a definite relationship to the whole of history1 and there is some encouragement for a man to work for the good of his race4 ,but this encouragement dwindles into nothingness when a man believes in those many aeons of human life1 each aeon being in itself an immense reach of billions of years4 ,,ii ,the ,cyclic ,character of ,hindu ,chronology ,a very unique thing about this chronology is that it revolves in cycles4 ,each maha-yuga is composed of four yugas1 and these are ever the same series and of the same character4 ,we pass on through the long vista of ,kritha1 ,tretha1 ,dwapara1 and ,kali only to begin once more on the same series2 and thus forever we move in this four-arc circle without ever getting outside of it4 ,it is claimed that this cycle of yugas has already revolved about twenty million times and will go on spinning twenty million times more1 attaining nothing and going nowhere4 ,it is enough to make one dizzy to think of this mighty chronological wheel1 spending #d1cbj1jjj years for every one of its forty million revolutions1 with nothing to vary the monotony of these ever recurring epochs6 ,the first question which one would naturally ask1 after assuming the truth of this breathlessly long system1 is whether it could forever return upon itself after this fashion4 ,is there no progress in time8 ,is it true1 in this sense also1 that there is nothing new under the sun8 ,while other people are refreshed by the sense that they are moving forward and upward in the fulfilment of some great destiny1 are ever adding new increments to their wisdom1 and are rising higher upon their dead selves to ever nobler achievements1 is it right that the people of this great land should be doomed to think that there is no permanent advance for ,india1 but that she alone must forever return whence she started and repeat the weary cycle of the past8 ,as a matter of fact1 no people can be thus tied down to any mechanical order of time4 ,every race and nation is either making for progress or for degeneracy4 ,it will never return to its old moorings4 ,the past has told upon it4 ,it has accumulated some wealth of knowledge1 of experience1 of character1 which1 as the centuries roll1 brings it farther on in its career4 ,it is true that a nation1 like a man1 may have lapses by which it may fall down a step or more in the ladder of its upward progress4 ,but this cannot be a necessity of its nature or a relentless law of its being4 ,this chronological system also accounts for much of the pessimism that pervades the minds and depresses the heart of the people of ,india to-day4 ,it is everywhere claimed that the best things of ,india were found in the remote past4 ,but1 you ask1 will not the ,sattia yuga--the golden age--return again8 ,oh1 yes1 it is next in the procession1 we are told4 ,but we must not forget that there are about #dbg1jjj long years before this ,kali yuga comes to an end4 ,even supposing that the doctrine of transmigration is true1 and that the soul of man must pass through many reincarnations2 who can be expected to hold on to courage and hope through nearly half a million years of dreary existence8 ,what ,india sorely needs to-day is a conviction that she is moving onward--that there is but one yuga in her calendar1 and that that is the yuga of opportunity to rise to higher things4 ,thus alone can she be stimulated to her best efforts and most worthy activity4 ,in this connection we must not forget another aspect of these changing and ever recurring ages of the puranas4 ,each yuga1 maha-yuga1 and karpa is followed by a period of more or less complete destruction4 ,the achievements of each period are forgotten1 because its results are obliterated or consumed by a mighty cataclysm4 ,and thus no gain acquired in any past age is available for the coming epoch4 ,in this way1 the whole idea of the puranic chronology is the most effective ever devised by man in any land to bring discouragement and despair into the heart of the people who live under it4 ,whether we look at the absurd length1 the discouraging cycles1 or the destructive cataclysms which are an essential part of the system1 one and all bring in their train depression1 stagnation1 and the spirit of reckless waste4 ,while we recognize that this chronology is a natural product of the dreamy1 patient soul of the ,east1 the most important fact for us to remember is that it also perpetuates and accentuates the very evil which gave it birth4 ,,iii ,the ,moral ,characteristics of the ,hindu ,time ,system ,this1 doubtless1 is the most striking feature of this chronology and gives it a larger influence than any other in the thoughts and life of the people of this land4 ,and ,i really believe that it is more deleterious in its influence upon the ,hindu character than anything else connected with this system4 ,according to this chronology1 in its most elaborated form1 every day1 yea1 every hour as well as every yuga1 or epoch1 has its peculiar moral character assigned to it4 ,it is well known that the first era in the maha-yuga is called ,sattia yuga1 or the era of truth4 ,during this period the cow of righteousness stands upon four legs1 and all living beings are good1 beautiful1 and happy4 ,this indeed is the golden age of ,hinduism4 ,but1 alas1 its last departure was some four million years ago1 and it will not return1 they say1 for nearly half a million years more4 ,then it is followed by the silver age1 in which the cow is said to stand on three legs only6 ,in other words1 virtue and happiness have suffered diminution1 and evil and misery have crept into human life4 ,if in the previous age asceticism was the crowning glory1 in this second age knowledge is supreme4 ,this is said to be the time of ,rama's exploits and trials4 ,we then come into the bronze era1 the so-called period of ,krishna's incarnation and goings4 ,the poor cow of virtue has suffered still further limitations and has but two legs to stand upon in this yuga6 ,this is called the age of sacrifice--the time when sacrifice has preeminence as a source of power in salvation4 ,then we come down to the iron age in which we have the supposed infelicity to live4 ,this is the time of evil1 par excellence1 in which the cow has been reduced to the last extremity and has to stand upon one leg6 ,the gradual deterioration of the ages finds here its culmination4 ,of this fourth age there is a description in the ,vishnu-purana1 which is translated as follows3-- ,hear what will happen in the kali yuga4 ,the usages and institutes of caste1 of order and rank1 will not prevail1 ,nor yet the precepts of the triple ,veda4 ,religion will consist in wasting wealth1 ,in fasting and performing penances ,at will2 the man who owns most property1 ,and lavishly distributes it1 will gain ,dominion over others2 noble rank ,will give no claim to lordship2 self-willed women ,will seek their pleasure1 and ambitious men ,fix all their hopes on riches gained by fraud4 ,the women will be fickle and desert ,their beggared husbands1 loving them alone ,who give them money4 ,kings1 instead of guarding1 ,will rob their subjects1 and abstract the wealth ,of merchants1 under plea of raising taxes4 ,then in the world's last age the rights of men ,will be confused1 no property be safe1 ,no joy and no prosperity be lasting4 ,women will bear children at the age of five1 six1 or seven1 and men beget them when they are eight1 nine1 or ten4 ,gray hair will appear when a person is but twelve years of age1 and the duration of life for men will only be twenty years4 ,now the idea in all this is that each yuga1 or era1 has its fixed character4 ,rather than that the men of a yuga should impart their character to the age in which they live1 the age itself has a pronounced moral bent which is transferred to all who happen to live under it4 ,thus we see in the theory a perversion and contradiction of the facts2 for an ethical character is assigned to days and hours rather than to moral beings1 who alone are capable of such values4 ,therefore1 for a thorough consideration of the system as a whole1 it is only necessary that we consider the character assigned to this evil age in which we live4 ,there is nothing more deeply wrought into the consciousness of the people of this land at the present time than the conviction that this time in which we live is indeed ,kali yuga1 that it is irremediably bad1 and that it taints with its own character everything that has life4 ,pandit ,natesa ,sastri remarks3 ,in ,india when a young boy or girl happens to break1 in eating or dress1 the orthodox rules of caste1 his or her parents will say1 ',oh6 it is all the result of the ,kali yuga4' ,if a ,hindu becomes a convert to any other religion1 or if any atrocious act is committed1 the ,hindu will observe1 ',oh6 it is the ripening of ,kali4' ,every deviation from the established custom1 every vice1 every crime1 in fact1 everything wicked1 is set down by the ordinary ,hindu to the ascending power of the ,lord of the ,kali age4 ,nor is this merely a superstition of the ignorant4 ,we remember how1 in the year #ahii1 when it was said that great calamities were due1 the ,dewan of ,mysore promised to place the matter of preparing for these calamities before the ,maharajah4 ,for was it not the five thousandth year of ,kali yuga8 ,now it does not occur to one in ten thousand to ask whether this is really so4 ,it is accepted as a dogma which must not be questioned2 and all the evil and falsehood which this involves must be a dread of the soul and a bondage of the mind whether it become a fact of experience or not4 ,but1 accepting the universally received belief of ,india that ,kali yuga is now five thousand and eight years old1 who can tell us what was the condition of things in ,india before this8 ,everything before that time is absolutely prehistoric4 ,the best authorities1 and indeed all authorities1 claim that the ,vedas were first sung1 that the ,rishis of ,india came into existence1 that the ,sanscrit tongue and the ,indian ,aryans who spoke it and the religion of ,hinduism which they brought or cultivated1--all of these find their origin during the last five thousand years4 ,all the evidences of history unite to assure us that there is practically nothing existing at the present time in this land which is not in some way the child of these last fifty centuries of ,kali yuga4 ,who1 then1 can dogmatically tell us that these centuries have been better or worse than the eras preceding them8 ,we know no more about the ,dwapara and the other previous eras1 if any such ever existed1 than we know about the inhabitants of other planets1 if such there be4 ,it is therefore futile1 yea more1 thoroughly wicked1 to impose upon the people a chronological system which is so pessimistic and hopeless in its tenor as this4 ,but even looking back through the probably four thousand years which embrace all that we really know about ,india1 what do we see to encourage this pessimistic view of our era8 ,let it not be assumed that the people of ,india in the days of the ,rishis of old were purer in life or loftier in ideals than many who live in ,india to-day4 ,it is true that such evils as caste1 infant marriage1 and many similar customs did not exist at all in ,vedic days4 ,but it is also true that not a few serious evils of ancient times1 such as drunkenness1 human sacrifice1 and slavery1 do not generally exist in ,india to-day4 ,but if we desire to know what the condition of the present time is1 we should compare this beginning of the twentieth with the beginning of the eighteenth century and see what progress has been achieved4 ,during the last two centuries numberless crimes and evils have been swept away4 ,i need only mention such enormities as thuggee1 sattee1 infant murder1 etc41 all of which were thriving even a hundred years ago1 but which are now things of the past4 ,and what shall ,i say of a horde of other customs that have cursed the land1 such as infant marriage1 thevathasis1 caste1 all of which are beginning to yield to the enlightened thought of the present and will soon be driven out of the country8 ,i need not add1 however1 that all of these wonderful changes and progress have not come out of ,hinduism4 ,they have been carried out and are progressing in the teeth of constant opposition from the orthodox defenders of the ancestral faith4 ,it is the new light of the ,west that has dawned upon ,india and has brought to it a new era4 ,even while the people are insisting that they are in the midst of ,kali yuga and are confident that the days are out of joint1 they are nevertheless witnessing such a revolution in religious1 social1 and intellectual life all around them that any people who were not under the blind spell of the ,hindu time-fallacy would rejoice with exceeding joy to see it4 ,and herein do we find one of the great evils of this chronology3 ,it incapacitates the people to accept or to appreciate any blessing which has or may come to them through religious and social advancement4 ,they think that everything must be bad1 as a matter of course1 in ,kali yuga1 and so nothing can appear good to them1 however beneficent and beautiful it may be4 ,this conviction that things are now out of joint1 and the settled purpose that all will continue an unmixed programme of evil1 has more to do with the sad and universal pessimism of ,india than anything else of which ,i know4 ,it crushes all buoyancy and cheer out of the mind and rests like a pall upon every future prospect4 ,then this expectation for the future robs men of any ambition to remedy present evils4 ,for1 they naturally will say1 ,why flee from ills which are pressing upon us and which by experience we have learned to endure1 if it be only to contract greater troubles in their stead2 for freedom from evil is an impossibility in this age8 ,is it not1 to a very considerable extent1 the reason why there are so few whole-hearted reformers in ,india8 ,why should a man seek1 at the risk of opprobrium and enmity1 to root out of the country some accursed custom if his inherited belief in the inherent badness of the present era is still with him8 ,he must feel that all his efforts will be worse than vain2 for even if he and others may succeed in overcoming this custom1 it will be only to give room to another that may be worse4 ,hence the universal apathy in the face of crying evils and damning customs2 hence also the helpless cui bono8 to every effort of others to help the land out of the deep pits of injustice and ancient ills4 ,out of this belief comes another equally portentous danger1 viz4 that of easily yielding to the temptations of the time1 and of a readiness to participate in the common sins of the day4 ,for1 say many1 are not these immoralities and evils an integral part of the time2 and1 if so1 what harm is there in our partaking of them8 ,or1 at least1 is it not our best interest to harmonize ourselves with the essentially evil environment of our age rather than vainly to combat the sins of the day and to strive to no purpose to remove them8 ,and thus a belief in the divine order and purpose of the evil of our time and in the impossibility of changing the character of our age becomes one of the most prolific sources of sin1 of weakness1 and of moral and spiritual apathy in the land to-day4 ,do not many sin without fear and with increasing facility because they think it is the only life that best harmonizes with this ,kali yuga in which they live8 ,much of this conception of time is connected with the all but universal belief of the people in astrology4 ,in ,india1 astrology is still fed by popular ignorance and superstition1 and continues to rule with an iron rod in this last stronghold among the nations of the earth4 ,it would seem as if it controlled the conduct of individuals1 of families1 and of society in general4 ,it claims that for one to be born under the dominant influence1 or spell1 of one of the heavenly bodies is for him to be its slave ever afterwards4 ,and thus the life of every human being is said to be largely controlled by certain planets and constellations1 some of which are malign1 and some benign in their character and influence4 ,for it must be remembered that it is not only the yugas that are possessed of moral attributes2 even years1 months1 days1 and hours are also classified as good and bad1 auspicious and inauspicious4 ,for one to do a thing this month is auspicious1 while on the next month it will be the reverse4 ,in the same manner1 almost every human activity has its lucky and unlucky times--occasions when effort is much less1 or more safe or valuable1 than at other times4 ,for instance1 the ,hindu is warned against going eastward1 ,mondays and ,saturdays2 northward1 ,tuesdays and ,wednesdays2 westward1 ,fridays and ,sundays2 and southward1 ,thursdays4 ,this1 we are told1 is because ,siva's trident is turned against those points of the compass on those particular days1 and one would therefore be in danger of being transfixed by this divine weapon6 ,then a man must not begin any important work on ,rahu-kalam4 ,this inauspicious time covers an hour and a half of each day of the week and is at a different hour every day4 ,the only safe hour is from #f to #g4cj each morning4 ,that hour is free from the influence of ,rahu1 and is therefore auspicious4 ,and what is ,rahu8 ,it is not a planet at all1 as was thought years ago2 nor is it a mighty snake which periodically swallows the sun or moon4 ,it is merely the ascending node in astronomy wherein alone the eclipses can take place4 ,and yet this imaginary monster has a very real place in the life of this great people1 and the foolish dread of it converts a period daily into an inauspicious occasion for important effort4 ,i will present only one other illustration with a view to showing how extensively this moral attribute of time is ascribed and emphasized in the serious affairs of life in ,india4 ,for instance1 when a man is engaged in the performance of religious duties1 it is regarded as of supreme moment that he know when certain acts are of no merit1 or1 on the other hand1 of special merit4 ,now1 there is a regular code of rules for this special purpose4 ,by observing these rules carefully one may accumulate religious merit or power with the gods beyond any one who does not observe them4 ,we are told that a rupee contributed in charity during the time of an eclipse1 or at the time when the new moon falls upon ,monday1 brings as much merit to the contributor1 with the gods1 as an offering of one thousand rupees at any ordinary time4 ,who1 then1 would not choose the right time for his religious activity if time alone is the element which adds value to it1 and if motive has evidently so little of importance in giving quality or value to our efforts in the religious life8 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,islam ,,in ,,india ,there are sixty-five million ,mohammedans in ,india4 ,this constitutes more than one-fifth of the total population1 and is considerably larger than the whole population of the ,turkish ,empire4 ,there are now under the ,british ,empire more ,mohammedans than under any other government in modern1 or in earlier1 times4 ,for at least ninety-five millions of the followers of the ,prophet of ,mecca are prospering to-day under the aegis of ,great ,britain2 which is probably five millions in excess of the ,christian population of the same empire4 ,this is a significant fact4 ,and this ,islamic population in ,india is growing1 too4 ,during the last decade it increased by #i4a per cent1 while the population of ,india1 as a whole1 increased only by #a4i per cent4 ,of the ,mohammedans of ,india1 only a small portion are descended from the ,mussulmans of the ,west2 while the remainder are the results of conversions from ,hinduism4 ,illustration3 ,,humayan',s ,,tomb1 ,,delhi ,this population is scattered all over ,india1 though ,north ,india is the home of the majority of them4 ,bengal1 also1 has a large ,mohammedan element in its population4 ,it is that part of the country where ,islam has gathered in the largest number of converts2 for1 of the people of that ,presidency1 more than one-third 7#be1bfd1cdb7 are ,mussulmans4 ,and in certain portions of ,east ,bengal the ,mohammedans are in the large majority4 ,in ,south ,india1 too1 there is a fair representation of the members of this faith4 ,one can hardly pass through any section of the country without seeing and recognizing them by their physiognomy1 costume1 or customs4 ,i ,the ,history of ,islam in ,india ,it is nearly twelve hundred years since the first military expedition of this triumphant faith entered this land4 ,it is an interesting fact that the first attack of ,islam 7#gaa ,a4,d47 upon ,india almost synchronizes with the end of the millennium of ,buddhistic rule in ,india4 ,thus the incoming of the new ,hinduism under ,sankaracharyar almost coincides with the first onslaught of the western hordes of the ,arabian ,prophet upon the strongholds of ,india4 ,it was a pure conquest of the sword which gave to ,mohammed in ,india1 as in other lands1 a place and a possession4 ,and those early days of ,mohammedan triumph are1 in the main1 a record of cruel butchery and of widespread massacre4 ,they fulfilled1 to the letter1 the command of the founder of their faith1 which says3 ,when ye encounter the unbelievers1 strike off their heads1 until ye have made a great slaughter among them2 and bind them in bonds2 and either give them a free dismission afterwards1 or exact a ransom2 until the war shall have laid down its arms4 ,this shall ye do4 7,quran 7,koran71 xlviii4 #d1 #e47 ,the fanaticism and bigotry of that people carried triumph everywhere2 and their triumph meant to every ,hindu the acceptance of the sword1 the ,quran1 or tribute4 ,for some centuries1 indeed1 the fortunes of ,islam in ,india wavered1 and its undisputed sway was not recognized until the time of ,baber1 the distinguished founder of the great ,mogul ,empire in the sixteenth century4 ,it is also true that1 among the mild and patient population of this land1 the spirit of that militant faith gradually softened until the era of ,akbar the ,great--a ruler who was not only illustrious as a lawgiver1 but also was justly celebrated for his cosmopolitanism and religious toleration4 ,he was succeeded by another great name1 ,shah ,jehan1 a man of wonderful administrative powers1 but one of narrow sympathies and occasionally given to cruel bigotry4 ,and yet1 if he did not possess the graces for a noble character1 he adorned his realm with religious edifices which still stand unrivalled in their exquisite beauty4 ,the cruel ,aurangzeeb practically closed the ,mogul dynasty by his weakness1 bloodthirstiness1 and uncompromising bigotry4 ,it is strange that during the centuries of cruel dominion1 of uncompromising fanaticism1 and of religious intolerance1 the whole population of the land was not absorbed into ,islam4 ,but the ,mogul ,empire passed away4 ,and1 while it left a strong impression on the country as a whole1 and affected somewhat the faiths of this land and left marvellous monuments of architectural beauty1 it did not seriously change the undercurrents of the life of the whole people4 ,,ii ,the ,present ,condition of this ,faith in ,india ,like all other faiths in this peninsula1 ,islam is accepted and practised in all degrees of purity1 from the orthodox worship1 conducted in the grand and beautiful mosques of ,delhi and ,agra1 to the grovelling1 superstitious1 heathenish ceremonies which obtain among1 and which constitute the religious pabulum of1 the masses of ,islam in remote villages and in distant sections of the land4 ,generally speaking1 the religion of ,mohammed is not calculated to appeal to the highly poetic mind of ,india4 ,it is too severe and prosaic in its character4 ,the mind of ,india delights in mystical elaborations and in the multiplication of fanciful incarnations and other divine manifestations4 ,the ,allah of ,islam is almost as remote and as unknowable a deity as is the ,brahm of the ,vedantist4 ,but in the absence of a personal god the ,vedantist and ,hindus in general have built up a system of numberless incarnations which play upon the imagination of the votaries and give ample scope to the remarkably poetic genius of this people4 ,mohammedanism has nothing of the kind2 it denies even the possibility of divine descent1 and its animus throughout the centuries has been one of antagonism to the incarnation doctrine of other faiths4 ,the ,quran is largely wanting in the tropical warmth and legendary lore which is such a resource and comfort to the ,indian mind1 and which therefore abounds in the sacred writings of the ,brahmans4 ,doubtless1 the simplicity and intelligibility of its creed--one ,god1 one prophet1 one book--commends ,mohammedanism to the minds of many4 ,but simplicity is not a foible of the religious mind of ,india4 ,it has always craved the complex1 the mystical1 and the unfathomable4 ,it delights in inconsistencies1 and indulges freely in the irreconcilable mysteries of faith4 ,hinduism1 being the child of the ,hindu mind1 abounds in tropical exuberance of spiritual exercise and amusements1 which seem childish and inane to all other people4 ,the teaching of ,mohammed has1 therefore1 very little that can appeal with power1 carry conviction1 and bring contentment to the people of ,india4 ,in nothing1 perhaps1 is this more manifestly marked than in the conception of the deity above referred to4 ,islam is a most uncompromising form of ,unitarianism4 ,it is bitterly opposed to any doctrine which brings ,god down to men and renders ,him intelligible to the common mind4 ,it denies the possibility of the divine putting on human1 or any other1 nature4 ,hinduism1 on the other hand1 is the very antithesis of all this4 ,at first1 this was not so4 ,but its rigid pantheism gradually necessitated manifestations of the divine1 in order that faith and devotion might be made possible4 ,and1 in later centuries1 the doctrine of incarnation was accepted as a haven of rest to the ,hindu mind and soon became a wild passion of its soul4 ,there is no other people on earth who have carried the doctrine of incarnation 7,avatar7 to such excess of imaginings as to create such abundantly grotesque and fanciful appearances of their many divinities4 ,normally1 then1 the ,mohammedan faith1 at its very core1 must be unsatisfying and even repulsive to the tropical ,hindu mind4 ,it was brought here at the point of the sword2 and1 for centuries1 it was the faith of a ruling power whose custom was to tax heavily all people who did not conform1 outwardly at least1 to the ,state religion4 ,after ,islam had become established and secure in its success in ,india1 when it could relax its grip upon the sword and relinquish something of the spirit of intolerance which characterized it1 it had to meet and cope with a greater foe than that of the battle-field4 ,hinduism has always exercised a great benumbing influence upon all faiths which have come into contact and conflict with it4 ,it has insinuated itself into the mind of the conquerors and laid its palsied hand upon every department of religious thought and life4 ,so that1 after a few centuries of prosperity in ,india1 ,islam began to forget its narrow bigotry and uncompromising severity and fraternized more or less with the religion of the country4 ,little by little a latitudinarianism crept in1 which found its culmination in that remarkable man1 ,akbar the ,great1 who entertained the teachers of all faiths and encouraged a fearless discussion of their respective merits4 ,dr4 ,wherry writes3 ,the tolerance of ,akbar1 who not only removed the poll-tax from all his non-,moslem subjects1 but who established a sort of parliament of religions1 inviting ,brahmans1 ,persian ,sufis1 ,parsee fire-worshippers1 and ,jesuit priests to freely discuss in his presence the special tenets of their faith and practice1 was remarkable4 ,he went farther1 and promulgated an eclectic creed of his own and constituted himself a sort of priest-king in which his own dictum should override everything excepting the letter of the ,quran4 ,his own creed is set forth in the following words of ,india's greatest poet1 ,abul ,fazl3-- ,o ,god1 in every temple ,i see those who see thee1 and1 in every tongue that is spoken1 thou art praised4 ,polytheism and ,islam grope after thee1 ,each religion says1 ',thou art one1 without equal1' ,be it mosque1 men murmur holy prayer2 or church1 the bells ring1 for love of thee2 ,awhile ,i frequent the ,christian cloister1 anon the mosque3 ,but thee only ,i seek from fane to fane4 ,thine elect know naught of heresy or orthodoxy1 whereof neither stands behind the screen of thy truth4 ,heresy to the heretic1--dogma to the orthodox1-- ,but the dust of the rose-petal belongs to the heart of the perfume seller4#h ,footnote #h3 ,islam and ,christianity1 p4 #fh4 ,this religious cosmopolitanism developed into what has been called an ,eclectic ,pantheism1 which welcomed all men and satisfied no one4 ,even though ,aurangzeeb tried to stem this tide of liberalism and to rehabilitate the intolerance and cruelty of ancient ,islam1 his effort was not only unsuccessful1 but was partly instrumental in bringing on the downfall of the ,empire4 ,and the faith of ,mohammed in ,india has revealed1 ever since1 the sickly pallor and want of vigour which tropical life and contact with ,hinduism necessarily entail4 ,when the government of this land ceased to be ,mohammedan1 and the sceptre passed into the hands of the ,british1 whose glory it has been1 for centuries1 to protect its subjects from the bloody hand of intolerance and to vouchsafe unto all not only the blessed boon of ,pax ,britannica1 but also the inexpressible right and privilege of religious liberty1--then passed away1 never to return1 we hope1 from this motherland of tolerance1 the ghastly sceptre of bigotry and fanaticism4 ,and thus ,islam ceased to be enforced and propagated by the strong arm of law and by the pointed argument of sword and spear of the legions4 ,it has1 since then1 enjoyed in this land a free and an open field for the exercise of its powers of persuasion4 ,but its increase has not been marked4 ,and what there has been of progress has been owing to its other characteristics1 which we will mention later4 ,thus the faith of the ,arabian prophet has lost1 in ,india1 not only its vigour1 but also its prestige and purity1 by contact with the lower faiths of the land1 especially with the ancestral faith of ,india4 ,from that religion it has taken unto itself many of the base superstitions1 and not a few of the idolatrous practices1 which have characterized it4 ,indeed1 the great mass of the converts from ,hinduism1 and their descendants1 have had but a distorted conception of the lofty faith of ,mohammed1 which they have unequally yoked with their ancient superstitions and errors4 ,the ,indian census of #aija tells us how the pure monotheism of ,mohammed has been debased by contact with worship at human shrines3 ,we have seen in the case of ,hinduism that the belief in one supreme ,god1 in whom are vested all ultimate powers1 is not incompatible with the belief in ,supernatural ,beings who exercise considerable influence over worldly affairs1 and whose influence may be obtained or averted by certain ceremonies4 ,similarly1 in the case of ,islam1 while the masses have1 on the whole1 a clearer idea of the unity and omnipotence of ,god than the ordinary ,hindu has1 they also have a firm belief in the value of offerings at certain holy places for obtaining temporal blessings4 ,thus the shrine of ,saiyad ,salar1 at ,bahraich1 is resorted to1 both by ,hindus and ,mussulmans1 if a wife is childless1 or if family quarrels cannot be composed4 ,diseases may be cured by a visit to the shrine of ,shaik ,saddo1 at ,amroha in ,moradabad2 while for help in legal difficulties ,shah ,mina's dargah at ,lucknow is renowned4 ,each of these has its appropriate offering1--a long embroidered flag for the first1 a cock for the second1 and a piece of cloth for the third4 ,other celebrated shrines are those of ,bahauddin ,madar ,shah at ,nakkanpur in the ,cawnpore district1 and of ,ala-uddin ,sabir at ,piran ,kaliar in ,saharanpur4 ,the same writer1 in his report concerning ,bengal1 says3 ,the unreformed ,mohammedans of the lower and uneducated classes are deeply infected with ,hindu superstitions1 and their knowledge of the faith they profess seldom extends beyond the three cardinal doctrines of the ,unity of ,god1 the mission of ,mohammed1 and the truth of the ,quran2 and they have a very faint idea of the differences between their religion and that of the ,hindus4 ,sometimes they believe that they are descended from ,abel 7,habil71 while the ,hindus owe their origin to ,cain 7,kabil74 ,kabil1 they say1 killed ,habil and dug a grave for him with a crow's beak4 ,before the recent crusade against idolatry it was the regular practice of low-class ,mohammedans to join in the ,durga ,puja and other ,hindu religious festivals1 and although they have been purged of many superstitions1 many still remain4 ,in particular1 they are very careful about omens and auspicious days4 ,dates for weddings are often fixed after consulting a ,hindu astrologer2 bamboos are not cut1 nor the building of new houses commenced1 on certain days of the week2 and journeys are often undertaken only after referring to the ,hindu almanac to see if the proposed day is auspicious4 ,when disease is prevalent1 ,sitala and ,rakshya ,kali are worshipped4 ,dharmaraj1 ,manasa1 ,bishahari1 are also venerated by many ignorant ,mohammedans4 ,sasthi is worshipped when a child is born4 ,even now1 in some parts of ,bengal1 they observe the ,durga ,puja and buy new clothes for the festival1 like the ,hindus4 ,apart from ,hindu superstitions1 there are certain forms of worship common amongst ,mohammedans which are not based on the ,quran4 ,the most common of these is the adoration of departed ,pirs4 ,in ,rajputana1 the ,mohammedans of local origin still retain their ancient ,hindu customs and ideas4 ,the local saints and deities are regularly worshipped1 the ,brahman officiates at all family ceremonials side by side with the ,mussulman priest1 and1 if in matters of creed they are ,mohammedans1 in matters of form they are ,hindus4 ,in ,baluchistan1 we are told of the ,mohammedan that his practice is1 to say the least of it1 un-,islamic4 ,though he repeats every day that there is one ,god only who is worthy of worship1 he almost invariably prefers to worship some saint or tomb4 ,the ,saints1 or ,pirs1 in fact1 are invested with all the attributes of ,god4 ,it is the ,saint who can avert calamity1 cure disease1 procure children for the childless1 bless the efforts of the hunter1 or even improve the circumstances of the dead4 ,the underlying feeling seems to be that man is too sinful to approach ,god direct1 and therefore the intervention of some one worthy must be sought4 ,in ,south ,india1 also1 ,hindus and ,mohammedans fraternize not a little1 especially in the religious festivities4 ,mohammedans do not hesitate1 under certain conditions1 to bring offerings to particular ,hindu shrines4 ,and it is a very common thing to see ,hindus pay their respects to ,mohammedan fakirs4 ,the ,mohurram1 in ,south ,india1 is participated in1 at least in its festive aspects1 by multitudes of ,hindus4 ,many ,mohammedans are feeling keenly the degradation of this contact4 ,a well-known ,mussulman writer moans over the situation in the following words3-- ,the baneful influence that ,hindu customs have had on ,mussulmans is painful to read of4 ,many a ,hindu ceremonial has been incorporated by the followers of the ,prophet4 ,the marriage ceremonies1 instead of keeping to the simple form prescribed by the ,quran1 have been greatly elaborated1 and include processions4 ,even in religious matters1 ,hindu and ,mussulman practices have become curiously blended4 ,hindus take a leading part in the celebration of ,mohurram4 ,passages from the ,quran are sometimes chanted in the ,hindu fashion2 ,mohammedan women of the lower classes break cocoanuts at ,hindu temples in fulfilment of vows4 ,strangest of all1 there is said to be a ,hindu temple at a village near ,trichinopoly which is sacred to a goddess called the ,mussulmans' lady1 who is said to be the wife of the ,hindu god ,ranganatha at ,srirangam4 ,these are some of the sad features which the census report has brought to light4 ,they tend to show that1 except in a few dead formalities1 the life of ,mussulmans in ,south ,india is nothing different from that of the ,hindus4 ,in many cases the followers of the ,arabian prophet would seem to have forgotten even the root principles of their religion--the unity of ,god1 the formless1 and the unincarnate4 ,this fact alone is more than enough to fill the mind of the true ,mussulman with anxious concern with regard to the future prospects of ,islam in this country4 ,his pious soul can find no rest with the view before him of hundreds and thousands of his coreligionists sunk deep in the degrading practices of the heathen around4 ,in this connection it should not be forgotten that the ,sikh faith in ,north ,india is really a compromise between these two faiths4 ,its founder1 ,nanak ,shah1 possessed the very laudable ambition of producing a religion possessed of the best elements of both of these faiths4 ,and though the more than two millions of his present followers have drifted very much toward ,hinduism1 which is the drift of all things in this land1 and are hardly to be distinguished from their neighbours in creed and custom1 yet the religion stands as a testimony to the mutual influence of these two faiths4 ,nor should one forget what is now going on on this line among ,hindus4 ,dr4 ,grierson tells us1 in his recent interesting lecture1 that ,allah the ,god of the ,mussulman--the ,god of the ,jews and ourselves--has ,himself been admitted to the ,hindu pantheon1 together with ,his prophet1 and a new section of the never completed ,hindu bible1 the ',allah ,upanishad1' has been provided in ,his honour4 ,moreover1 ,hindus charge the ,mohammedan faith with being the cause of the zenana system of this land4 ,the seclusion of women began1 they say1 on account of the licentiousness of the ,arabs4 ,however this may be1 it is true that the ,mohammedan ,purdah system1 which separates so thoroughly women from the other sex1 found adoption1 or at least emphasis1 among the ,hindus4 ,in ancient times1 so far as we can learn1 the women of ,brahmanism found considerable freedom and independence of life4 ,probably the truth is that1 as ,hinduism developed certain types of doctrine which bore heavily upon the weaker sex1 the range of privilege and opportunity which women enjoyed found gradual limitation and curtailment which found marked impetus upon the advent of the ,arab hordes4 ,and it should be remembered that the persistent attitude of ,mohammedans toward slavery and toward polygamy has had a deleterious effect upon the ,hindu people4 ,though ,islam came to ,india uninvited1 and though its pathway has been marked with blood1 it has not been without great opportunity to impress the people of this land with its nobility4 ,but1 as we have seen1 the opportunity does not seem to have been improved4 ,after twelve centuries of active propagandism and some centuries of political rule and religious oppression1 this religion is still an exotic1 and finds1 on the whole1 small place in the affection of the people4 ,this is owing in part to its want of adaptation and inherent lack of vital power4 ,as ,sir ,monier ,william has said3 ,there is a finality and a want of elasticity about ,mohammedanism which precludes its expanding beyond a certain fixed line of demarcation4 ,having once reached this line1 it appears to lapse backwards--to tend toward mental and moral slavery1 to contract with the narrower and narrower circles of bigotry and exclusiveness4 ,add again to this the fact1 already mentioned1 that its new environment in ,india has been deleterious to the vitality of the ,mohammedan faith4 ,mohammedanism1 as a quiescent non-proselytizing religion1 could only become corrupt and rotten4 ,the effect of all this policy on the mass of ,mohammedans was to deprive their religious sentiment of that intolerance which constituted its strength4 ,its moral power was gone when it ceased to be intolerant4444 ,these two religions have thus settled down beside each other on terms of mutual charity and toleration4 ,this does not imply any great change or deterioration in ,hinduism1 for its principles admit every belief as truth1 and every religion as a way of salvation4 ,all that it requires is acknowledgment of the same principle from other religions1 and this is the position which it has practically forced ,mohammedanism to assume in ,india4 ,but such a position is utterly opposed to the principles and claims of the latter religion2 and in forcing ,mohammedanism to accept it1 ,hinduism has undoubtedly gained the triumph4#i ,footnote #i3 ,hinduism and ,christianity1 by ,dr4 ,robson1 pp4 #afh1 #agc4 ,and yet let it not be supposed that ,islam in ,india is either dead or moribund4 ,it is evidently sensible of its defects and has made1 from time to time1 efforts to reform itself4 ,under the stress of circumstances and the sense of waning power they have even translated the ,quran into ,urdu1 with a view to reaching the common people4 ,this is an unique effort on their part4 ,like ,romanists1 in the use of the ,latin service1 the ,mohammedans cling1 with deathly tenacity1 to their ,arabic bible and ,arabic worship1 foolishly believing that to vernacularize their faith is to degrade and corrupt it4 ,in ,madura1 where there is a mosque of some pretension1 there are only two or three who can pronounce their ,arabic ,quran4 ,and while they have learned to pronounce1 in the ancient tongue1 their beloved book1 they do not understand the meaning of what they say1 and merely parrot the whole ritual4 ,but a break has been made from this inane method of worship1 and their holy book has now been translated into one vernacular of ,india4 ,islam has also revealed definite redeeming qualities which seem distinctive and are worthy of enumeration4 ,its prohibition of the use of intoxicating drinks is definite1 and its attitude toward that accursed habit has been consistently and vehemently antagonistic4 ,hence1 the ,mohammedan of ,india is recognized as a sober man1 faithful to his religion in this matter wherein the ,christian reveals so much weakness4 ,it is true that in some parts of the country ,mussulmans are too often addicted to the use of opiates4 ,but a drunken member of this faith is rarely to be found4 ,in this1 ,islam has joined forces with ,hinduism itself in proscribing a habit which is the curse and ruin of too many ,christian lands4 ,and it is a distinct blot upon the ,christian ,church in ,india that many of its followers1 in this land of sobriety and abstinence1 so easily fall into the temptation of the cup and become the victims of intemperance4 ,islam also enforces the law of usury among its followers4 ,with the ,jew1 the ,mohammedan has been strictly forbidden to make money by the use of money4 ,and though they find ways of evading this law1 to some extent1 the ideal which they have before them is a restraint and a blessing in a land where the usurer is a ubiquitous curse1 because of his rapacity and the expertness with which he draws the common people into his net and leads millions to financial loss and ruin4 ,the supreme place given in this faith to the duty of almsgiving1 and the effective way with which it is carried out among its members1 is another praise-worthy feature4 ,at the time of their political rule and extensive sway there was a well-known tax whose purpose was to carry relief to the poor and the suffering4 ,and ,mohammedans feel to-day that there is hardly a religious duty which is more sacred and carries with it more of reward than that of distributing alms to the poor4 ,far more than ,christianity has it given importance and distinction to this as a special form of its religious activity4 ,moreover1 its command to observe the five seasons of daily prayer is important1 with a view to maintaining and enforcing the ordinary forms and observances of a living faith4 ,many a time have ,i been impressed with the way ,mohammedans1 in this land1 faithfully and boldly observe this rule and privilege of their faith by spreading their mats in most unexpected places1 even in the presence of gaping crowds1 and prostrating themselves in prayer with their faces ,mecca-ward as a proof of their sincerity and as a testimony to the power of their religion4 ,but there is nothing in which ,islam exerts a more salutary influence in this caste-ridden land than in its attitude toward this monster evil of ,hinduism4 ,islam is neither founded upon race1 colour1 nor nationality4 ,it has been well said that in ,islam all believers belong to the highest caste4 ,it recognizes to the full the brotherhood of all the members of its faith4 ,even its slaves have been exalted to its throne and have achieved highest distinction4 ,the last census correctly says3 ,on its social side1 the religion of ,mohammed is equally opposed to the ,hindu scheme of a hierarchy of castes1 an elaborate stratification of society based upon subtle distinctions of food1 dress1 drink1 marriage1 and ceremonial usage4 ,in the sight of ,god and of ,his ,prophet all followers of ,islam are equal4 ,in ,india1 however1 caste is in the air2 its contagion has spread even to the ,mohammedans2 and we find its evolution proceeding on characteristically ,hindu lines4 ,in both communities1 foreign descent forms the highest claim to social distinction2 in both1 promotion cometh from the ,west4 ,as the twice-born ,aryan is to the mass of ,hindus1 so is the ,mohammedan of alleged ,arab1 ,persian1 ,afghan1 or ,mogul origin to the rank and file of his coreligionists4 ,i admit that there are social distinctions and class cleavages among the members of this faith1 as among all peoples4 ,these are in no sense religious1 however1 as they are in ,hinduism4 ,among the members of that faith there is equality of right2 and every ,islamite1 by his own industry and character1 can enjoy that right in this land4 ,it is true that ,islam has yet to learn the brotherhood of man as such1 and to recognize that the non-,mussulman and the ,mussulman alike are possessed of equal rights and favours in the sight of ,god4 ,but within the faith itself1 caste1 as such1 is unknown4 ,this is much more than can be said of the ,indian ,christian ,church at the present day1 notwithstanding the spirit of our religion and its definite injunctions4 ,the ,hindu caste system has been transferred too much into the ,christian fold4 ,most of the accessions from ,hinduism to ,mohammedanism at the present time are from the lowest classes of ,hinduism1 with a view to securing a definitely higher social status which ,mohammedanism distinctly promises and invariably confers upon these newcomers4 ,it were well if modern converts to ,christianity from the outcasts could hope for and receive from the ,hindus the same recognized advance in social position and esteem by becoming members of our religion1 as they do by entering the faith of ,islam4 ,this is not the fault of ,christianity1 but the folly of its converts1 who do not leave their heathenish conceptions and estimates outside the precincts of ,christianity4 ,this difference1 which ,i have emphasized1 is1 as might be expected1 more marked and manifest in ,south ,india than elsewhere4 ,a ,christian worker in this land cannot help envying ,islam the noble stand which it has taken concerning caste4 ,at the present time the ,muslims of ,india are divided into two sects1 something like the ,catholics and ,protestants of ,christianity4 ,the ,sunnis are the traditionists1 and constitute the large majority of that faith4 ,the ,shiahs are the dissenters4 ,for twelve hundred years has this division existed1 and the two parties are as irreconcilable to-day as ever4 ,there is also a sect of mystics known as ,sufis4 ,in the seventeenth century a new sect of ,purists was formed in ,arabia4 ,they reject the glosses of ,immams1 will not accept the authority of the ,sultan1 and make light of the great ,prophet himself4 ,they are a fanatical sect and delight in proclaiming jihad1 or holy war1 against the infidels4 ,these are the ,wahabbis4 ,this sect was introduced to ,india by ,sayad ,ahmed ,shah1 and it has gained many converts4 ,it is largely a movement toward reforming the faith from within4 ,in spirit1 it is not very unlike the movement of the fanatics known as ,ghazis1 whose zeal burns against all infidels1 especially those of the ,european ,christian type4 ,,iii ,what is the ,character of the ,mohammedan ,population in ,india8 ,it will be interesting to appraise them largely by comparing them with the ,hindu population which surrounds them4 ,generally speaking1 they are morally on a level with their neighbours4 ,in ,south ,india1 especially1 it is difficult to discriminate between the ethical standards which obtain among ,mohammedans and ,hindus4 ,in both cases they are low and unworthy4 ,this is unexpected1 as ,islam has always stood for a worthy ethical standing1 while ,hinduism has1 from time immemorial1 divorced morality from piety4 ,nevertheless1 it is a fact that those who have passed on from ,hinduism to ,mohammedanism have rarely ascended in the ethical standard of life4 ,the personal habits of the ,indian ,mussulman are not clean1 to say the least of them4 ,in this they are a contrast to the ,brahmans1 and to some other high-class ,hindus1 whose ceremonial ablutions are many4 ,in ,south ,india1 the ,mohammedan is described by a vernacular expression which is as uncomplimentary as it is filthy1 and which is intended to classify them among the lowest in their habits4 ,when cholera and similar epidemics prevail in the regions with which ,i am familiar1 the ,mohammedan1 with the ,pariah1 on account of unclean habits1 becomes the first victim of its ravages4 ,add to this their strong belief in fate1 which leads them1 during these epidemics1 to neglect or to decline the use of medical remedies4 ,many a ,muslim perishes during such times because of his fatalistic convictions4 ,they are also among the most ignorant of all classes in ,india4 ,while1 in the total population of the land1 hardly more than #e per cent are1 in any sense1 literate1 the ,mohammedans1 as a class1 have only #c per cent4 ,and of the ,mohammedan population nearly all the women are analphabet4 ,in the educational system of ,india the government places ,mohammedans among the backward classes1 and every effort has been made by the ,state1 even to the doubling of educational grants1 to stimulate the members of this faith on educational lines4 ,it is one of the most discouraging facts connected with the ,muslim population that while they are brave in bearing arms and loyal to the government1 they have an apparent aversion to the schoolhouse1 and can with difficulty be induced to secure even an elementary education4 ,this bears very heavily against their prosperity and influence4 ,public offices in ,india are wisely placed in charge of those who are competent1 by a thorough training and a broad education1 to well fill them4 ,the consequence is that the ,mohammedan has been gradually driven out from nearly all public positions of trust by the intellectually more alert ,brahman1 and even by lower-class ,hindus1 who are availing themselves of the opportunities for higher education4 ,it is not strange that the political influence of this community has correspondingly waned1 so that only a very small number relatively of ,muslims is found to-day in the councils of the ,empire4 ,a new ambition1 however1 seems to be taking possession of the community4 ,they have recently organized many schools under the direction of ,the ,society for the ,aid of ,islam4 ,these schools1 without neglecting the study of the ,quran and their sacred language and the tenets of their faith1 give instruction on western lines1 and in the ,english language4 ,they have established1 also1 under the inspiration of the late ,sir ,sayid ,ahmed ,khan1 a college at ,aligarh4 ,though the rationalistic teaching of the founder causes the institution to be discredited by orthodox leaders1 the college has developed wonderfully1 and is beginning to assume the proportions of a ,muslim ,university4 ,of this institution a learned ,mussulman remarked in an address3-- ,we want ,aligarh to be such a home of learning as to command the same respect of scholars as ,berlin or ,oxford1 ,leipsic or ,paris4 ,and we want those branches of learning relative to ,islam which are fast falling into decay to be added by ,moslem scholars to the stock of the world's knowledge4 ,and1 above all1 we want to create for our people an intellectual and moral capital--a city which shall be the home of elevated ideas and pure ideals2 a centre from which light and guidance shall be diffused among the ,moslems of ,india4 ,much may be expected from the institution4 ,but what is one such school among the many millions of this community in ,india8 ,government is anxious to aid and inspire the community on these lines2 and the present success of the institution is1 in good part1 owing to the smile of the ,state upon it4 ,the recent organization of the ,pan-,islamic ,movement is full of hope4 ,the leading representatives of the community in ,india seem anxious and determined to rouse their coreligionists from their lethargy and to create within them a new ambition for a higher and a more honourable place in intelligence and official usefulness4 ,this is much needed1 because the community has reached its lowest ebb of influence among the people4 ,in the present unrest ,mohammedans mainly stand with the government against the ,hindu ,extremists4 ,they wisely realize that the ,british ,raj presents to them1 as a community1 far better opportunity and larger favours than would accrue to them under any other possible government1 even though their warlike traits might lead them once more to subdue and rule the land themselves4 ,,iv ,christian ,effort in ,india in ,behalf of the ,mussulman ,missionaries have everywhere presented to ,mohammedan and ,hindu alike the ,gospel ,message4 ,the follower of ,mohammed has never been ignored in the proclaiming of ,christ and in the work of the ,mission school4 ,generally speaking1 they are a very hard class to reach2 they very rarely seem impressed1 or are willing to consider the message as a personal call to themselves4 ,the high character of their faith above that of the surrounding people partly accounts for this4 ,moreover1 the religion itself inculcates intolerance1 and naturally narrows the vision of appreciation and sympathy amongst its followers4 ,it is also1 in some measure1 due to their supreme ignorance of the teaching of their own faith4 ,they have many fantastic notions about ,islam1 such as intelligent members of their faith repudiate1 and such as make them inaccessible to the ,christian worker4 ,and yet they are not reached and impressed with more difficulty than are the ,brahmans and some other high-class ,hindus4 ,though conversions from among them have been relatively few1 accessions from ,islam to the ,christian faith have been continuous during the last century4 ,there have not been many mass movements among them4 ,it has been largely the struggle of individual souls from the trammels of one faith into the liberty of the other4 ,dr4 ,wherry informs us that3 ,in the ,north1 especially the ,punjab1 and the ,northwest ,frontier ,province1 every congregation has a representation from the ,moslem ranks4 ,some of the churches have a majority of their membership gathered from amongst the ,mussulmans4 ,in a few cases there has been something like a movement among ,moslems toward ,christianity1 and a considerable number have come out at one time4 ,but perhaps the fact that tells most clearly the story of the advance of ,christianity among ,moslems in ,india1 is this1 that among the native pastors and ,christian preachers and teachers in ,north ,india there are at least two hundred who were once followers of ,islam4 ,among the names of those who have gone to their reward 7many of them1 after long lives of faithful service71 some of my readers will recall the names of the ,rev4 ,maulvie ,imaduddin1 ,d4,d41 ,maulvie ,safdar ,ali1 ,e4,a4,c41 ,munshi ,mohammed ,hanif1 ,sayyad ,abdullah ,athim1 ,e4,a4,c41 the ,rev4 ,rajab ,ali1 ,sain ,gumu ,shah1 the ,rev4 ,abdul ,masih1 the ,rev4 ,asraf ,ali1 the ,rev4 ,jani ,ali1 and ,dilawur ,khan4 ,these faithful servants of ,god have left behind them memories which still live4 ,many of them have bequeathed volumes of literature1 which have added much to the literary wealth of all the churches4 ,they give an index wherewith to guide us as to what the strength and character of the ,church of the future will be when the strong champions of the ,crescent shall have become the ,champions of the ,cross4 ,we are also told by the ,rev4 ,maulvie ,imaduddin1 ,d4,d41 of ,north ,india1 that #aag men of position and influence have become ,christians1 of whom #fb became clergy and leading men in many of the ,indian ,missions1 and #ea are gentlemen occupying positions professional and official4 ,out of #ief baptisms of the ,church ,missionary ,society in the ,amritsar ,district1 #aeb were ,mohammedan converts4 ,in the ,punjab there are at least two congregations made up entirely of ,mohammedans1 while in ,bengal there is a body of more than #fjjj ,christians composed almost entirely of ,mohammedan converts and their descendants1 a large number having come over en masse some years ago4 ,these last were converts in the first instance from ,hinduism to ,mohammedanism1 and hence were not bound so strongly to ,islam4 ,in ,south ,india1 less attention has been paid to ,mohammedans as a class1 and the results therefore have been very meagre4 ,a few individuals1 here and there1 have accepted our faith1 and that is practically all4 ,this is not strange when we remember that out of the eleven hundred ,protestant missionaries1 male and female1 in ,southern ,india1 perhaps not a dozen have any special training and aptitude for work among ,mohammedans1 and hardly more than that number are giving themselves entirely to the work4 ,the difficulty of this work should appeal more than it does to the heroic element in missionaries and missionary societies alike4 ,the above facts indicate that there is encouragement for one who gives himself heartily to this people4 ,in no other land has missionary effort for the members of this religion achieved greater results than in ,india4 ,if their numbers are few1 they are more resolute and pronounced in their ,christian character than many others4 ,in the roll of honour among the converts from ,islam have been found the names of a number of distinguished pastors and able writers4 ,in the recent ,conference of ,missionaries1 held in ,cairo1 a new purpose was manifested to take up with more discriminating and pronounced zeal and better methods the work of reaching and converting the ,mohammedans of the world4 ,in ,india1 a better organized and a wider campaign for the conversion of ,islam is needed4 ,men and women who are to take up work in their behalf must not only be well trained for this specific work by a thorough knowledge of both faiths2 they must also be imbued with abundant sympathy for the people1 and with a sympathetic appreciation of the vital truths which have thus far animated the ,mohammedan faith4 ,the constructive1 rather than the destructive1 method of activity must increasingly animate all4 ,the ,mohammedans are peculiarly sensitive2 and there is so much of contact between their faith and ours that through the pathway of the harmonies of the faiths men must be led to know and feel the supreme excellence and power of the faith of the ,christ4 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,the ,,christ ,,and ,,the ,,buddha ,the study of the life and the character of noted and noble men is the most helpful and inspiring of all studies4 ,it not only illustrates life at its best1 it also fills men with an ambition to pursue the same noble purposes and to achieve the same lofty results in life4 ,in presenting a brief glimpse of the two most powerful personalities that ever impressed themselves upon the world1 ,i desire to place them side by side that we may appreciate the assonances and the dissonances of their wonderful lives and rise through the study into a true conception and love of the most perfect ,life ever breathed upon earth4 ,i have no apology to offer1 as a ,christian1 for comparing the life of our ,lord with that of any human being2 for1 though ,divine1 ,he was also supremely human2 and human glory and achievement appear in their fulness only when we gaze upon ,him as one of the mighty human forces of history4 ,illustration3 ,,the ,,greatest ,,image ,,of ,,buddha 7#ahc feet long7 ,christ and ,buddha lived their brief lives upon earth many centuries ago2 and yet never did they grip so many by the magic of their attraction as they do at present4 ,nearly two-thirds of the whole population of the world to-day acknowledges the lordship of the one or the other of these and loves to be called by their names4 ,the influence of the one dominates all the life of the ,west1 while that of the other is supreme in the ,east4 ,and it is a curious and interesting fact that ,buddha has not only been exalted as the ninth incarnation of ,vishnu in the faith which he aimed to overthrow1 he has also been adopted into the ,roman ,catholic ,calendar and is worshipped on the #bgth of ,november as a ,christian saint under the title ,saint ,josaphat4 ,i am also convinced that the influence of the lives and teachings of ,buddha and ,christ will react upon each other with ever increasing power during the coming years4 ,indeed1 we are now witnessing this very influence developing before our eyes4 ,i ,let us first observe the conditions under which these two lived their earthly lives4 ,one was born into royal prerogatives and splendour and was surrounded in youth with all the luxuries and blandishments of an ,oriental court4 ,the other1 though of royal lineage1 was born in poverty1 cradled in a manger1 earned a meagre subsistence as a carpenter1 and was able to say at the end of ,his brief career that the foxes had holes and the birds of the air had nests1 but that ,he had not where to lay ,his head4 ,sidhartthan early married and became a father1 but later renounced all the pleasures and responsibilities of a grihastan life4 ,his great renunciation is one of the most striking and impressive acts in the history of mankind1 and his subsequent asceticism was of the most thorough and rigid type4 ,jesus of ,nazareth avoided the entanglements of married life and had a supreme contempt for the wealth and the pomp of the world4 ,yet ,he was not an ascetic4 ,so freely did ,he associate with men1 participating even in their festivities1 that ,his enemies falsely charged ,him with being a glutton and a winebibber4 ,he never countenanced the idea that highest sainthood must come through asceticism4 ,he found ,his intimates not among the ascetic ,essenes1 but among householders and men of affairs4 ,both these great souls were similarly oppressed by the prevalence and the tyranny of an exclusive ceremonialism4 ,in the one case1 it was the innumerable bloody sacrifices and the all-embracing and crushing ritual of the ,brahmans which roused the anger and opposition of ,gautama2 while1 on the other hand1 the myriad rites1 the childish ceremonies1 and the hollow religious hypocrisy of the ,scribes and ,pharisees filled ,jesus with hatred and led ,him to a denunciation of that whole class4 ,woe unto you1 ,scribes and ,pharisees1 was the oft-repeated expression of wrath which ,he heaped upon them4 ,thus the religions which both established were1 in part1 reactions from the religious excesses and errors of the days in which they lived4 ,it is strange that neither ,christ nor ,buddha left any writings behind them1 even though writing was a known art in their times4 ,their mighty influence was through oral teaching and example4 ,this was different from the method of other such world-leaders as ,moses1 ,mohammed1 and ,confucius4 ,it proves that whenever any one has truths of saving power to commit to the world1 there are many who1 as his messengers1 are ready to convey them4 ,better indeed than to convey one's thoughts by printed page is it to impart them through the living voice to disciples who will thrill the world by the message coloured by their own mind and transfigured by their own enthusiasm4 ,this was the method of ,christ and ,buddha4 ,both were surrounded by an ,oriental environment4 ,their antecedents and their prepossessions were of the ,east1 eastern2 and at their births they were introduced to scenes and began to breathe the atmosphere of the ,orient4 ,all the great founders of the ,world ,religions were men of the ,east4 ,this was doubtless because the ,east kept more closely than the ,west in touch with deepest religious thought and was animated with highest religious emotions and heavenly aspirations4 ,certainly the world owes more to ancient ,asia for its religious life and spiritual attainments than to all the other continents put together4 ,and ,asia is to be thanked1 above all1 because she gave to mankind the ,christ and the ,buddha4 ,for the eastern flavour of their messages and the ,oriental tints of their life we are deeply grateful4 ,to those of the ,west1 these have always brought quiet restraint and a hallowed1 peaceful repose to counteract the hurry and worry of life to which they are so much exposed and which are a part of their very being4 ,,ii ,the ,common ,principles which controlled their ,lives ,both were men of deepest sincerity4 ,all sham and hypocrisy were foreign to their nature2 they held insincerity in any one to be the meanest and most deadly sin4 ,to this intense loyalty to the truth1 ,jesus bore emphatic testimony by an early martyrdom2 while ,gautama gave the same unwavering witness by a long and holy life4 ,they both stood in the midst of communities which were rotten with hypocrisy and which were using religion as a sacred garb of duplicity and were raising temples of dishonesty to enraged deity4 ,they stood like prophets in the wilderness and pronounced woe upon all hypocrites4 ,moreover1 both ,christ and ,buddha were profoundly ethical in their teaching4 ,they found that humanity was not only rotten with insincerity1 it was also deceiving itself with the vain delusion that moral integrity and ethical nobility can be bartered for a multitudinous ceremonial4 ,men have always been prone to exalt ritual in proportion as they have neglected the eternal demands of conscience and the ethical foundation of character4 ,the myriad-tongued ceremonial of the ,brahmans of twenty-five centuries ago was the old evasion of righteousness in human life4 ,gautama saw this1 and his noble soul rebelled against a faith which proclaimed that salvation was a thing of outward religious forms and not of the heart within4 ,to cease from all sin1 ,to get virtue1 ,to cleanse our own heart1 ,this is the religion of the ,buddhas4 ,these were the words with which he enunciated his new principles and carried forward his campaign of reaction against the faith of his fathers4 ,nothing less than1 or apart from1 purity of the soul within satisfied his requirement4 ,indeed1 he exalted so much the more highly this banner of heart purity and holiness1 the less he had to say of the spiritual claims upon the soul4 ,he had tried elaborate ceremonial and had found it wanting2 he had practised the most severe religious austerities1 but they had availed him little4 ,in the quiet light which had dawned upon him under the sacred ,boh tree he found that nothing wrought so mightily and beneficently as ,dharma1 or righteousness4 ,the real treasure is that laid by man or woman1 ,through charity or piety1 temperance and self-control4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the treasure thus hid is secure1 and passes not away2 444 this a man takes with him4 ,let no man think lightly of sin1 saying in his heart1 ',it cannot overtake me4' ,these are only a few of the many noble ethical deliverances of this great man's creed4 ,and during all his life1 subsequent to the great renunciation1 he embodied in himself the ethical beauty of all that he had taught4 ,and what shall ,i say of ,jesus1 the ,christ8 ,in the noble integrity of ,his heart1 in the sublime ethical ideals which ,he ever exalted1 in the moral rectitude which ,he practised and enjoined upon all ,his followers1 who was like unto ,him8 ,in ,his day1 also1 men had forgotten the true foundation of character2 and the religious leaders of the people were placing supreme emphasis upon human traditions and upon man-made rites as the way of salvation4 ,they tithed the mint and the cummin and forgot the weightier matters of the law4 ,to eat with unwashed hands1 to consort with a ,samaritan1 to carry a load or raise a sheep from the ditch on the ,sabbath1--this was a sin which1 to the ,pharisees1 would weigh a man down to hell itself2 while to lie or to use other foul language1 or to trample under foot the whole decalogue was1 by comparison1 a venial offence4 ,the whole moral code was rendered impotent by them1 while ceremonial cleansing was the be-all and end-all of their system4 ,christ was daily thrown into conflict with these blind leaders of the blind2 ,his soul abhorred their whole religious system4 ,he characterized them as whited sepulchres4 ,he showed that it is the heart which defiles a man1 for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts1 murders1 adulteries1 fornications1 thefts1 false witness1 blasphemies4 ,blessed1 says ,he1 are the pure in heart1 for they shall see ,god4 ,it was said to them of old thou shalt not kill2 but ,christ equally prohibited anger1 the cause of murder4 ,he not only denounced adultery1 but the lustful look which is the source of adultery4 ,to ,his followers ,he said unless your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the ,scribes and ,pharisees ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven4 ,he prayed the ,father that ,he would sanctify ,his own1 and added that for their sakes ,he sanctified ,himself4 ,holiness was a passion with ,him1 and at the basis of ,his teaching ,he enjoined moral cleanness and ethical integrity4 ,and ,his life in this1 as in other things1 was a perfect exhibition of the virtues which ,he taught4 ,and from that day to this ,his precept and example have mutually supported each other4 ,in ,him were wedded faith and conscience1 piety and character4 ,so that1 where ,christ is best known and most loyally followed to-day1 there do we find a perfect sense of human relations and a supreme desire after ethical perfection4 ,furthermore1 these two great souls were consumed with a broad and universal charity4 ,their environment was perhaps the most averse to general benevolence that the world could then show4 ,in ,india1 there had already grown to great power the caste system with its multiplying ramifications4 ,then1 as now1 it narrowed the sympathies of men1 it arrayed one class against another1 it cultivated pride and fostered mutual distrust and dissension4 ,when ,sakya ,muni came upon the scene1 he saw the terribly divisive system sending down its root like the banyan tree on all sides and absorbing the life and thought of the people4 ,it repelled him1 and1 with all his mighty intellectual and moral energy1 he attacked it4 ,he proclaimed all men brothers and worthy of human sympathy1 love1 and respect4 ,he opened the door of his faith to all classes on equal terms4 ,he vehemently opposed every effort to divide men except upon the ground of character4 ,he enjoined upon his disciples not only love and kindness to all men1 he also insisted upon a similar attitude toward all forms of lower life4 ,the fact that ,buddhism is to-day one of the three great ,missionary ,faiths of the world1 seeking all men that are in darkness1 is the best proof that the founder of that faith had a heart which embraced the whole realm of life in its love4 ,he felt that no man1 however humble or however far removed in ties of race and kinship1 should be deprived of the blessings of his love and sympathy4 ,it is an interesting fact that nearly all past religious reformers in ,india--both those inside and outside the pale of ,brahmanism--were anti-caste in their sympathies and teaching4 ,but it is only ,buddha who consistently maintained the broad foundation of a universal brotherhood and incorporated it into his faith as a cardinal principle4 ,in like manner1 ,jesus of ,nazareth lived ,his earthly life at a time of narrow sympathies1 and with people who were among the most exclusive that ever lived on earth4 ,the ,jews believed themselves to be the specially favoured sons of ,heaven4 ,and1 what was more1 they thought that they were exalted because they were worthy1 because they excelled all other people4 ,hence1 they stood aloof from other nationalities and despised them as their inferiors1 a social and physical contact with whom would be pollution4 ,there is in many respects a strange correspondence between the ,jewish social code of twenty centuries ago and that of ,hinduism to-day--the same haughty mien and abjectness of spirit--the aloofness of pride and the cringing meanness of social bondage--representing the two extremes of society4 ,christ also turned ,his face like a flint against this mean artificial classification of men4 ,he had a burning contempt for the proud ,pharisee who lived upon the husks of his own contempt of others1 and who trampled under foot men that were infinitely superior to himself1 so far as character was concerned4 ,but ,he consorted often with the outcast ,publican who revealed an aspiration after better things4 ,and ,he even chose men who were thus socially ostracized to enter ,his own inner circle of disciples and to be the standard-bearers of ,his cause upon earth4 ,he taught that the most abject and socially submerged man upon earth is a son of ,god1 and that at his moral and spiritual renovation there would be joy among the denizens of heaven4 ,and it was while thinking of this same class that ,he said unto ,his own1 in describing the judgment scene at the last great day1 ,come1 ye blessed of my father1 inasmuch as ye have treated kindly and lovingly one of the least of my brethren ye have done it unto me1 enter ye into the joy of your ,lord4 ,though ,he was born a ,jew1 ,he opened wide the portals of ,his religion and invited all men of all conditions4 ,come unto me1 all ye that are weary and heavy laden1 and ,i will give you rest4 ,he sent forth ,his followers into all lands to disciple and bring to the truth all nations4 ,and in all lands ,his method of procedure has been to reach first the lowest among the people and then gradually to rise to the highest1 until ,he has taken possession of the whole land4 ,his universal heart of love took in all men of all social strata4 ,all that ,he asked was that men should come to ,him with purpose sincere and with a longing for light and truth4 ,,iii ,the ,principles and ,teachings which differentiate and separate ,christ and ,buddha ,thus far we have seen these two great leaders of men standing side by side and revealing the same traits and principles4 ,but they also revealed fundamental differences which it were well for us to consider4 ,though much united them1 and that when more than five centuries and thousands of miles held them apart1 we also discover that a gulf wider than that of time or space opened between them4 ,their lives and their doctrines and the faiths which they promulgated reveal strangely diverse contentions and tendencies4 7#a7 ,first of all1 and at the root of all1 lies their attitude toward the ,divine ,being4 ,jesus was preeminently a ,god-intoxicated ,being1 while the most manifest mental attitude of ,gautama was his agnosticism4 ,christ never ceased speaking of and communing with ,his ,father in heaven4 ,he was wont to retire regularly from human society in order that ,he might enjoy the ,heavenly ,presence whose very radiance shone in and upon ,him daily4 ,he declared that ,he did nothing without consulting with and receiving direction from ,god4 ,and this was natural enough when we remember ,his declaration that ,he came into the world to reveal the ,father unto men4 ,listen to ,his words1 ,my meat is to do the will of ,him that sent me and to finish ,his work4 ,the ,father that dwelleth in me doeth the work4 ,the ,father is glorified in the ,son4 ,i love the ,father and go unto ,him4 ,believest thou not that ,i am in the ,father and the ,father in me8 ,oh1 righteous ,father1 the world hath not known ,thee1 but ,i have known ,thee4 ,in all ,his expressions of oneness with ,god1 of ,his living unto ,god1 and of ,his drawing ,his daily strength from ,god1 ,his experience was eminently unique4 ,he lived more in heaven than on earth in those days of ,his incarnation4 ,apart from any consideration of ,his ,divinity1 ,he can truly be said to be a man of ,god whose soul was in harmony with the ,father4 ,how different the words and experiences of ,gautama ,rishi6 ,many have spoken of him as an atheist4 ,i do not believe that he denied the existence of ,god4 ,yet it is evidently true that he has no use in his philosophy1 any more than in his religion1 for a ,divine ,being4 ,there was doubtless reason for this in the conditions of his time2 for it may be regarded as the reaction of a strong mind against the extreme spiritualism and polytheism of the day4 ,for1 in those days1 the deep spirituality of the ,brahman had overflowed its banks and had created a multitudinous pantheon which repelled this man of stern mind4 ,it was to him only a short step from a disbelief in the many gods to a doubt as to the existence of any god4 ,and in this agnosticism he was doubtless aided by his fondness for the ,sankya school of thought1 which is ,indian ,agnosticism4 ,in any case1 his deliverances and his established religion1 if such it really can be called1 are such a reaction from the ,theosophy of ,india as to lead one to wonder how1 even with all its other excellences1 it could have become in ,india a ,state ,religion for any length of time4 ,a religion without a ,god1 a sacrifice1 a priest1 or a prayer1 is certainly a dreary wilderness to a ,god-seeking soul4 ,and yet1 this is what the ,buddha conceived and promulgated among his disciples4 ,under the stress of a growing consciousness of the ills of this life his mind did not1 like that of others1 rise to heaven for relief2 but his salvation was to be a self-wrought one4 ,with his own right arm of virtue he wished to carve his way into eternal life--or1 shall ,i say1 eternal death8 ,is it strange that under such a godless religious system its votaries should react from this fundamental error and deify and worship that very ,buddha who had not a place for ,god in his whole scheme of life8 ,at any rate1 ,christ and ,buddha stand before us in striking contrast in this matter2 the glory of the teaching of the one was that ,he caused ,his adoring disciple to fall upon his knees with uplifted eye and to say in filial reverence and trust1 ,our ,father who art in heaven4 ,while the other taught his followers to lean only upon self1 and to seek speedy relief from life itself1 declaring that heaven returned only an empty1 mocking echo to the helpless wail of the human soul4 7#b7 ,corresponding to this difference was another difference in their conception of human life4 ,jesus maintained that the human soul came from ,god1 was made for ,god1 and that ,god ,himself was forever seeking to bring it unto ,himself4 ,according to ,his theory of life1 man is not left alone at any stage in his career4 ,he may decline to entertain ,god in his life4 ,he may lead a life of rebellion against his ,maker and ,saviour2 he may even deny the very existence of the ,father of his being4 ,but ,god1 in the riches of ,his infinite patience1 does not desert him to his own base thought and life4 ,he follows him like a shepherd searching for his lost sheep4 ,he longs for his return like a tender1 forgiving father for the return of his prodigal son4 ,human life1 according to this view1 may be mean and sordid and may be spent in the grossest sin2 but there is hope4 ,all is not lost while there is a spark of life left4 ,god is still seeking and trying to bring the soul to new life4 ,the million agents of ,his loving will conspire to help man2 and so the possibilities of his life are still great4 ,thus1 to our ,lord ,christ1 the vision of human life was a bright and optimistic one4 ,god will not leave man to himself4 ,he will bring all the resources of heaven and of earth to the work of saving him4 ,god is in ,his heaven1 ,all's right with the world4 ,yes1 all is hopeful for man because the ,father is still seeking him4 ,how different from this was ,gautama ,rishi's view of human life4 ,according to him1 man is a lone1 helpless creature tossed on the sea of destiny4 ,he is the only captain and steersman of his barque1 and his own reason is his only compass2 he must battle alone with the waves of circumstances and find for himself the unknown harbour of peace4 ,there is no heaven above to hear his cry1 no help or redemption outside of self4 ,is it a wonder that life is a weariness1 and existence itself an unspeakable burden to such a man8 ,thus the ,buddha sought in vain for light and cheer in life1 and pessimism became to him1 as it continues to be to his followers1 the very atmosphere of life4 ,even as in ,dante's vision of the ,inferno1 so in the ,temple of ,buddha's scheme of life there is inscribed above its portals the words3 ,abandon hope all ye who enter here4 ,i care not who the man may be1 ,i humbly maintain that his scheme of life is seriously wrong if it be a cheerless1 uninspiring one2 and it is perfectly natural that men should prefer to follow a confident1 buoyant leader rather than a heartless1 despondent one4 ,if ,god rules over the destinies of man1 we have a right to expect that success and blessing will crown the efforts of the sincere seeker after a better life4 ,man has received life not that he may destroy it1 but that he may cultivate it and find in it life abundant4 ,a young mother whose child had died carried the dead body to ,buddha1 and1 doing homage to him1 said1 ,lord and ,master1 do you know any medicine that will be good for my child8 ,yes1 said the teacher1 ,i know of some4 ,get me a handful of mustard seed4 ,but when the poor girl was hurrying away to procure it1 he added1 ,i require mustard seed from a house where no son1 husband1 parent1 or slave has died4 ,very good1 said the girl1 and went to ask for it1 carrying still the dead child astride on her hip4 ,the people said1 ,here is mustard seed2 but when she asked1 ,has there died a son1 a husband1 a parent1 or a slave in this house8 they replied3 ,lady1 what is this that you ask8 ,the living are few1 but the dead are many6 ,then she went to other homes1 but one said1 ,i have lost my son2 another1 ,i have lost my parents2 another1 ,i have lost my slave4 ,at last1 not being able to find a single house where no one had died1 she began to think1 ,this is a heavy task that ,i am on4 ,and as her mind cleared she summoned up her resolution1 left the dead child in a house1 and returned to ,buddha4 ,have you procured the mustard seed8 he asked4 ,i have not1 she replied4 ,the people of the village told me1 ',the living are few1 but the dead are many4' ,then ,buddha said1 ,you thought you alone had lost a son2 the law of death is that among all living creatures there is no permanence4 ,little comfort in these words6 ,of course1 we can see how these two conflicting views of life found acceptance and expression in these two great leaders of mankind4 ,for1 to ,jesus1 the keyword of life was divine grace or atonement1 while to ,gautama it was ,karma--that word which has for so many centuries been to all ,india the truest expression of its philosophy and of its life4 ,christ taught that the grace of ,god was at the service of every man for his success in this life and for his redemption in the world to come4 ,he ever emphasized the inspiring message that ,god's work and man's effort constitute the warp and woof of the life of every man4 ,in ,his whole scheme of salvation there is no place for discouragement2 for1 walking through the path of life hand in hand with ,god1 man can overthrow every enemy to his progress and achieve the best and highest in ,god's purposes for him4 ,but when the ,buddha adopted the doctrine of ,karma as the foundation of life1 he and his system were doomed to despondency1 gloom1 and discouragement4 ,it is indeed a noble truth that every man must drink1 to its last dregs1 the fruit of his own action--that the law of ,karma works with relentless force in every life in the world4 ,only let us understand that ,god may enter into each life to enable man to face successfully that law1 and it is all right4 ,but condemn man to everlasting isolation2 cut away from him every ray of ,divine help1 and the working out of his ,karma becomes a terrible and an almost unending tragedy--a ,sisyphean task with no hope of release save in the wiping out of life itself4 ,and this is what the great ,soul of the ,east believed and taught4 ,he faced boldly the problem4 ,he had1 at the beginning1 ignored the very existence of ,god1 and thus denied himself the least hope of external aid in his own emancipation2 and thus he held that stern1 cruel1 relentless ,karma became the all-controlling and universal law of life4 ,to a ,christian1 among the most pathetic words ever spoken are those spoken by ,buddha to his beloved cousin and disciple as death drew near--,o6 ,anantha1444 ,my journey is drawing to its close4 ,i have reached eighty years1 and just as a worn-out cart can only with much care be made to move along1 so my body can only be kept going with difficulty4444 ,in future be ye to yourselves your own light1 your own refuge2 seek no other refuge4444 ,look not to any one but yourselves as a refuge4 ,and that which farther1 and very naturally1 widens the gulf which separates them is their view of the adequacy or inadequacy of the present human life to satisfy the laws of their being4 ,the law which ,jesus believed to prevail1 and which ,he constantly promulgated and emphasized1 was that of the finality of the human life--that man has once only to pass through this earthly life and that then comes death1 which introduces him to an eternal future corresponding with the character of his choices and life on earth4 ,according to ,him1 this brief earthly existence1 which will not be repeated1 is a training school for the glorious life beyond4 ,blessed is he who faithfully submits himself to this training and passes through the gate of death prepared for an immortality of joy in ,god's presence beyond4 ,indeed1 ,jesus never gives the first intimation of any future birth or life1 save that which would be permanent and eternal in heaven or hell4 ,he felt the adequacy of this life as a determiner of the eternal destiny of all men4 ,and ,he felt that the salvation which ,he wrought and offered to all was able to carry man through the single portal of death into unending bliss4 ,why another entrance into this world1 if by passing through the world ,god could bring into the life the seed and power of ,his own grace and life which would blossom and bear fruit in the soul throughout eternity8 ,marvel not1 ,he sayeth1 the hour cometh in which all that are dead shall hear his voice and shall come forth2 they that have done good into the resurrection of life2 and they that have done evil into the resurrection of judgment4 ,and as ,he described the final judgment upon all men after one earthly life ,he says that these shall go away into eternal punishment1 but the righteous into eternal life4 ,moreover1 in describing the condition of the dead ,he makes the faithful ,abraham say to the soul of a dead sinner1 ,between us and you there is a great gulf fixed that they who would pass hence to you may not be able to pass and that you may not cross from thence to us4 ,that is1 ,he claimed that the life which we live here so fixes the destiny of men that eternity will carry its impress4 ,hence the urgency and the supreme importance of this one life to all men4 ,the universal succession1 according to ,his teaching1 is life1 death1 resurrection1 judgment1 and eternal reward4 ,to the ,buddha1 who1 as we have seen1 held that man is the only architect of his own destiny and that he must therefore abide the working of his ,karma1 a single brief apprenticeship in the school of life seemed altogether inadequate as a test of character and as a reliable foundation for the edifice of one's eternal destiny1 or as a basis for the one irrevocable judgment4 ,it is but natural1 therefore1 that this great ,indian ,rishi should have adopted as his own the doctrine of metempsychosis1 or transmigration1 and that he should add great emphasis to it4 ,to him1 life was a penitentiary rather than a school1 a place1 or an occasion1 for eating the fruits of past action rather than a training for the future eternity which awaits every one4 ,it is true that ,gautama must have had some idea of the corrective influence and disciplinary character of this earthly existence2 for there is a quiet assumption that in some unexplained and unintelligible way the soul is improved by this multitudinous process of reincarnation4 ,and yet ,i fail to see any reason for expecting such a development4 ,philosophically and morally1 the raison d'etre of the doctrine of reincarnation is to explain the inequalities of life2 and it does it not1 as ,jesus would do it1 by means of the doctrine of heredity1 but by the retributive power of ,karma1 or actions pursuing the soul through successive births and compelling it to reveal by its conditions and reflect by its experiences in each birth the experiences of the previous birth4 ,the moral influence of such a doctrine is rendered all but impossible by the fact that there is no consciousness 7the true basis of moral continuity7 to connect one birth with another4 ,i know of no one but ,mrs4 ,besant who claims to know what his previous1 assumed birth was1 and ,i have not yet met any one who believes her claim in this matter4 ,there is no moral discipline for one in his being punished for a thing of which he has absolutely no conscious knowledge4 ,we must further consider the character of ,gautama's philosophy4 ,it was1 as is well known1 thoroughly materialistic--the antipodes of the orthodox ,hindu philosophy1 which is highly spiritual4 ,to ,buddha1 there was no such thing as a soul apart from the body4 ,what was there1 then1 to connect one birth with another1 according to his teaching8 ,in ,brahmanism the doctrine of transmigration is at this point very clear1 for there is the eternal ,atma1 or self1 to connect and unify all its incarnations4 ,but ,gautama1 who denied the separate existence of the soul1 maintained that it was not the self1 but the ,karma1 which passed from one birth to another2 and thus there became the oneness of ,karma without an identity of soul passing through and uniting the myriad incarnations of the person involved4 ,how can one substitute here a sameness of ,karma for identity of soul8 ,behold1 then1 the insuperable difficulties which such a materialism interposes to a belief either in the possibility or in the wisdom of the doctrine of reincarnation4 ,and yet let it be remembered here that so long as one accepts the doctrine of ,karma he cannot evade the sister doctrine of reincarnation4 ,they belong to the same system1 and must be accepted or rejected together4 ,if1 however1 we emphasize divine grace as an element in the solution of human problems and in the salvation of man1 then it is natural to conclude that one earthly life will suffice for ,god and man together to prepare the soul for the consummation and beatification which awaits it beyond death4 ,but if the whole problem is to be solved and the whole work of redemption achieved by man himself1 apart from ,god1 then ,buddha must have been justified in believing that an inconceivable number of births and human lives are necessary in order to accomplish this4 ,it was just at this point that ,christ and ,buddha faced the opposite poles4 ,and it is just here1 for this very reason1 that the faiths which they promulgated represent1 the one the perpetual buoyancy and cheer of youth1 and the other the weariness of discouraged age4 ,christianity claims to do its work for the soul1 so far as settling its destiny is concerned1 in the brief life of a few years2 and under the inspiring influence of this conviction the pulse quickens1 youthful hope and energy multiply1 and the whole soul is kindled by a close vision of its speedy triumph and release4 ,the ,buddhist1 on the other hand1 knows that it is a long1 lonely conflict--the interminably long processions of births weary him and the dim vision of a release which is far away brings no inspiration4 ,life palls upon him1 courage fails him1 his steps grow shorter and his pace slackens4 7#c7 ,this brings us to the ideals which these two world-leaders entertained4 ,often men's ideals are a better revelation of their life and character than are their achievements4 ,these ideals which ,i wish to point out are two--that of inner attainment and that of final consummation4 ,and what was the chief ambition for personal achievement sought by ,jesus and ,gautama8 ,i believe that the very names which they acquired and which are at the head of this chapter answer this question for us4 ,christ and ,buddha are not the personal names given in infancy1 nor are they tribal designations4 ,they primarily represent their official titles4 ,christ means the ,anointed ,one1 and ,buddha signifies the ,enlightened ,one--the one is a term expressive of spiritual powers for service1 while the other means intellectual enlightenment for communion4 ,one sought and found the baptism of the spirit of ,god which touched and transfigured ,his character2 the other was seeking more light on the problems of life2 and for that light he sought with a wonderful longing and perseverance until the dawn broke on that remarkable day under the sacred ,boh tree and he found the light and was hence called the ,enlightened ,one4 ,thus1 in the ,christ-life1 the emphasis was upon ethical and spiritual attainment1 while1 in ,buddha1 the thing sought was the clear vision and transcendent illumination4 ,let me not be misunderstood4 ,there is a sense in which the consecration and the vision are in the same line4 ,it was ,christ ,himself that said1 ,this is eternal life1 to know ,thee the only true ,god and ,jesus ,christ whom ,thou hast sent4 ,spiritual knowledge is the pathway to the highest life--it is life itself4 ,it must be1 in large part1 acquired through spiritual experience4 ,at the same time1 it is an interesting fact that ,buddha laid1 as ,india has always laid1 emphasis--undue emphasis--upon knowledge as the consummation to be sought4 ,brahma ,gnana is the summun bonum of life4 ,to rightly know myself in my relationship1 this1 they say1 is the only qualification for beatification4 ,on the other hand1 ,jesus insisted always upon a right moral and spiritual attitude and relationship to ,god as the highest point of human attainment in life4 ,listen to the beatitudes which he uttered3 ,blessed are the poor in spirit2 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven4 ,blessed are they that mourn2 for they shall be comforted4 ,blessed are the meek2 for they shall inherit the earth4 ,blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness2 for they shall be filled4 ,blessed are the merciful2 for they shall obtain mercy4 ,blessed are the pure in heart2 for they shall see ,god4 ,blessed are the peacemakers2 for they shall be called sons of ,god4 ,blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteousness' sake2 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven4 ,these are the beatitudes of ,his ,kingdom1 and all refer to the spiritual graces which ,he ,himself exemplified and inculcated1 and none refer to enlightenment4 ,thus in both we have1 if not a contrast1 a different outlook1 which has not only impressed the student with a sense of divergence2 but that which is more important--it has given to the devotees of these two faiths widely different aspirations1 and has given to the two types of lives produced very dissimilar traits4 ,but1 that which is of more consequence1 in these ideals1 is their conception of what life tends to and must ultimately attain unto4 ,the final consummation of life meant nought else to ,jesus than ,god-likeness1 which ,he called ,eternal ,life4 ,to have grown to the perfection of those moral and spiritual characteristics which adorn ,god ,himself2 to have the human will so subdued and directed until it runs parallel with the ,divine will2 to have the soul consumed with a love of all that ,he loves and with an abhorrence of all that ,he hates1--this is life indeed and the highest realization of the human soul4 ,yea1 more1 to pass out of this life into the conscious bliss and eternal felicity of the life to come1 to dwell with ,god--one with ,him in purpose and character1 and yet living a separate conscious existence1 basking in the eternal sunshine of ,his ,presence and favour1--this is the fulness of blessing which ,christ presented before ,his own as the end to be sought and the consummation which ,god placed within their reach4 ,on the other hand1 ,nirvana is the word which holds condensed the whole realm of ,buddha's ideals4 ,it is not my purpose to discuss the original meaning of this word4 ,i gladly concede that it meant a state of moral achievement when the powers of the soul were at equilibrium and when resultant peace pervaded the life4 ,but we also know that it meant1 preeminently1 that state in which the soul had passed beyond contact with body1 in which contact alone it found consciousness and sensation and human activity2 when the soul1 freed from births1 had returned to its elemental condition of semi-nothingness1 with neither thought1 emotion1 nor volition4 ,this was a condition in which was found only the negative blessing of release from the turbulence and surging distresses of life4 ,without calling it non-existence1 we claim that it is wanting in every element that we connect1 or can conceive connected1 with human existence4 ,there is nothing in it to inspire hope nor to invite cheer4 ,all we can do in its presence is to ask--is this all that man1 the flower of ,god's universe1 is to arrive at8 ,is there nothing better for him than to end his long1 dreary existence in such an abject failure8 ,must he descend from the plain of even a wretched human life to this the lowest reach of existence1 if such we must call it8 ,in the eyes of ,christ1 there issues out of the mighty conflict of life a purified1 glorified human being fit to dwell forever in the presence of ,his ,father and adopted to enjoy that presence for evermore4 ,to ,buddha1 this same human life ends in failure and must rest forever under the dark pall of oblivion1 and robbed by ,nirvana of all the possibilities of good and of joy that were implanted in it4 ,in the absence of higher satisfaction1 all that ,buddha could do was to glory in his achievements1 because of their pervasive influence upon the lives of others during all future time4 ,we might imagine him joining with ,george ,eliot in her noble aspiration3-- ,o6 may ,i join the choir invisible ,of those immortal dead who live again ,in minds made better by their presence3 live ,in pulses stirred to generosity1 ,in deeds of daring rectitude1 in scorn ,for miserable aims that end with self1 ,in thoughts sublime that pierce the nightlike stars1 ,and with their mild persistence urge man's search ,to vaster issues 444 ,this is life to come4 ,but ,christ gave us a larger hope and a loftier purpose than this1 even the conscious possession of abundant life ourselves and the growing knowledge of the boundless good which our earthly life has done for others4 ,to live in men is joy indeed2 but that involves an ability to feel that joy2 and this1 again1 is a part only of the ,eternal ,life which ,he gives to all who believe in ,him4 ,it is ,his disciple only who can say3-- ,beloved1 now are we the ,sons of ,god4 ,but we know not what we shall be2 but we know that when ,he shall appear we shall be like ,him1 for we shall see ,him as ,he is4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,modern ,,religious ,,movement ,in matters of faith1 ,india has always been ultra-conservative4 ,this is largely owing1 not to any fettering of thought1 but rather to the ,hindu ,caste ,system1 which has been the most rigid guardian of the ,brahmanic faith and the doughty opponent of any new and independent movements4 ,india has offered to her rishis and reformers unbounded latitude of thought4 ,and1 as a consequence1 her faith possesses within itself every shade of religious speculation and philosophic conclusions4 ,the many antipodal and conflicting doctrines1 theories1 tendencies1 and institutions which obtain under the all-embracing name of ,hinduism1 seem astonishing to every western investigator of this faith4 ,even in matters of ritual1 ,brahmanism has always had its protestants1 sectarians1 and come-outers4 ,during this stern dominance of the ,caste ,system1 which is the most rigorous1 if not the most cruel1 inquisition that the world has known1 there have always been men free to think and determined enough to push forward their ideas and their new religious methods4 ,and these have added picturesque variety to the history of faith in ,india4 ,it is1 however1 a remarkable tribute to the power of caste and to the unheroic character of ,hindu reformers1 that1 of the myriad reforms and protests against ,brahmanism which have bristled throughout the centuries1 only one--,buddhism--has stood apart in persistent isolation1 and has maintained a separate identity and usefulness through more than two millenniums4 ,of all these protesting creeds1 it alone has had sufficient masculine power and moral earnestness permanently to impress itself upon the world as a great religion4 ,it has achieved this1 however1 not in the land of its birth1 but in other lands and among other peoples4 ,like all other attempts to reform1 or overthrow1 the mother faith 7and even after it had largely accomplished this for ten centuries71 ,buddhism finally yielded to the mighty absorptive power of ,brahmanism1 was overthrown as the dominant religion of ,india1 and lost all power and acceptance among the people4 ,this was because most of its vital teachings were appropriated by the rival faith1 and ,buddha himself was adopted into the ,hindu pantheon as the ninth incarnation of ,vishnu4 ,henceforward1 it had no distinctive mission or message to the people of this land1 and died a natural death4 ,the well-known passion of ,hinduism for absorbing the faiths that come into contact with it1 and the maudlin tendency of the people of ,india to yield to pressure and to sacrifice all in behalf of peace1 has been the grave of many a noble endeavour and many an impassioned attempt for new religious life and power4 ,nevertheless1 there is no reform movement which has entered the arena of religious conflict in ,india1 whether it still remains entirely within the ,hindu faith or has possessed vigour and repulsive energy enough to step outside the ancestral faith1 which has not left more or less of an impress upon ,hinduism1 and which does not to-day exercise some power or other over certain classes of the people4 ,i ,all of the many modern sects of ,hinduism were originally protests against the dominant ,brahmanism of the day4 ,the most popular ,vaishnava sect1 in ,south ,india1--the ,visishdadvaitha sect of ,ramanuja1--was first a vigorous protest against the austere pantheism of ,sankaran4 ,it was the demand of a thoughtful and an earnest religious man for a personal ,god which could bring peace and rest to the soul1 in contradistinction to the unknowable1 unethical1 and unapproachable ,brahm1 which the dominant ,vedantism had thrust upon the people4 ,the ,madhwachariars went one step farther and inculcated a dualism1 which many to-day accept as the basis of their faith4 ,in the region of ,bengal1 that other sect of ,vaishnavism1 which was inculcated by ,chaitanya four centuries ago1 is to-day the popular cult4 ,it is a revivalism full of wild enthusiasm and ecstatic devotion2 yet it attracts1 in a remarkable way1 many of the men of culture and learning throughout that ,presidency4 ,the ,saivite sectarians1 who call themselves ,sangamars1 were1 a few centuries ago1 a mere uprising against the supremacy of the ,brahmans and the dominance of caste4 ,indeed1 nearly all religious reformers in ,india propelled their reforms as anti-caste movements4 ,but1 later on1 they have1 with very few exceptions1 been drawn again into the maelstrom of caste4 ,the ,sikh religion1 itself1 was originally a religious reform1 which found its germs in the mind of the great ,kabir1 and afterward attained birth in the brave reformer1 ,nanak ,shah1 during the fifteenth century4 ,it is a shrewd1 an amiable1 and also a brave attempt to harmonize ,mohammedanism and ,hinduism4 ,at the present time1 this also is gradually yielding to caste dominance and to the fascination of ,hindu ritual4 ,thus every century has produced its reformers1 and the banks of this great river of ,brahmanism is strewn with the wrecks of protesting sects1 while many other such barques are to-day adopted as the faithful messengers of orthodox ,hinduism and are carrying its message to the people4 ,,ii ,modern movements of religious reform in ,india have not been wanting in number or vigour4 ,and they have been largely movements away from ,polytheism1 on the one hand1 and from ,pantheism on the other1 toward a modern ,theism4 ,many intelligent men1 and many uneducated1 but earnest souls1 have grown weary of their multitudinous pantheon1 and of its hydra-headed idolatry1 which charms and debases the masses4 ,in like manner1 many of them have ceased to be satisfied with the unknown ,brahm of ,vedantism1 and are seeking after a personal ,deity1 who can meet the demands of their craving hearts4 ,there is much of this thought and sentiment still inarticulate among the upper classes2 but it is manifestly growing with the increase of the years4 ,this theistic movement1 as a growing search after a personal ,god1 is to be traced definitely to the growth of western thought1 and especially to the direct influence of ,christianity4 ,this is no less true of those theistic movements which are by no means amiably disposed toward our religion4 ,the modern theistic movement first found definite expression and impetus in the life and teaching of that noble son of ,india1 ,ram ,mohan ,roy1 who hailed from the ,brahmanic aristocracy of ,bengal4 ,he was born in #aggd--;just before the birth of ,american ,independence4 ,he studied well the ancient writings of ,hinduism and translated some of the most important into ,english4 ,he also searched eagerly and enthusiastically the ,christian ,scriptures2 for which purpose he made himself familiar with the ,greek and ,hebrew languages4 ,so mightily did the ,new ,testament and its precepts grip him that he wrote and published1 in #ahai1 an excellent tract1 ,the ,precepts of ,jesus the ,guide to ,peace and ,happiness4 ,this is a remarkable testimony to the ethical preeminence of the ,bible4 ,he later declared that he believed in the truths of the ,christian religion4 ,being unwilling to abide alone in this discovery and in these convictions1 he established1 in #ahae1 the ,atma ,sabha1 or ,soul ,society1 in his own home4 ,this soon developed into a small church1 for which a suitable edifice was erected1 that they might worship the one ,god free from the contaminating influence of popular idolatry and ,hindu ceremonial4 ,this truly great man1 without the aid of any ,european missionary1 in the quiet solitude of his own heart1 and under the influence of the ,spirit of ,god1 rose to some of the highest truths of ,theism1 and1 under the mighty influence of ,christian literature1 became a reformer of the first order among his people4 ,but1 during a visit to ,england he sickened1 and died in #ahcc2 and the theistic movement weakened and waned for a few years1 deprived of his leadership and inspiring presence4 ,it was in #ahdc that the ,brahmo ,somaj of ,ram ,mohan ,roy was united with another ,sabha organized by another great soul1 ,debendra ,nath ,tagore4 ,under the guidance of this sturdy reformer1 the ,brahmo ,somaj movement put on new life and energy4 ,debendra ,nath was very devout and courageous4 ,he was opposed to the religion of his fathers1 as practised by the people4 ,nevertheless1 he was somewhat anchored to the past4 ,he still clung to the ,hindu scriptures and regarded the ,vedas as infallible4 ,later1 however1 as these ,hindu writings were studied with more care1 his faith in them was considerably shattered1 and he began to deny their supreme authority4 ,he and the other members of the society here entered upon a great struggle which ushered them into an ,age of ,reason4 ,the ,vedas were abandoned as an ultimate authority1 and the ,brahmo ,somaj1 for a time1 became a ,church without a ,bible1 and without any anchorage but the higher reason of its members4 ,in #aheb1 the society was reorganized4 ,reason was soon found to be inadequate as the foundation of faith2 and they passed on to an intuitional basis4 ,that again seemed to be even more unsatisfactory than reason itself4 ,after a few years1 the movement gradually developed a doctrine of inspiration1 when the utterances of the leaders themselves were regarded as inspired and became the voice of ,god to the members4 ,thus1 within a few years1 ,brahmo ,somaj moved almost in a circle1 in its search for a stable anchorage to its faith2 and it returned to a point dangerously near to the ,hindu position which it had left a few years before4 ,the rapid movement above indicated was chiefly owing to an ardent youth1 who rallied to the support of ,debendra ,nath1 and who gradually took the reins into his own hands4 ,this young man was ,keshub ,chunder ,sen2 and he soon became the leading figure1 certainly the most striking1 in the whole theistic movement of ,india4 ,he acquired growing influence over ,debendra ,nath1 became the controlling spirit1 and continued until his death to be the central figure of ,theism in ,india4 ,chunder ,sen was a great enthusiast1 full of intellectual resource1 and1 withal1 a man of deep spirituality4 ,he was an ,oriental of the ,orientals2 his mind was of a thoroughly mystic type1 and1 like the devout ,hindu1 he loved the rigours of asceticism1 and1 in not a few instances1 yielded to the fascinations of the methods of the ,yogi4 ,he was a restless soul4 ,hinduism had so much that was repulsive to him2 and he felt that polytheism and idolatry had so crushed out of his people all the beauty of a living faith that he longed to hasten communication of his message of truth and of life the new and glorious day of ,theism for ,india4 ,his pace was so much faster than that of ,debendra ,nath that it took but a few years to make their separation a necessity4 ,this took place in #ahfe4 ,thereupon1 the old society became known as the ,athi ,somaj1--,the ,original ,somaj1--while ,sen and his party formed a new organization1 which was pretentiously known as ,the ,brahmo ,somaj of ,india4 ,this happened in #ahff4 ,the old society settled down into inactivity1 lost much of its spirit of reform1 and has never since accomplished much in the realm of theistic advance4 ,the new ,somaj1 however1 soon acquired prominence and became the life and embodiment of the ,indian theistic movement4 ,but ,chunder ,sen had his serious dangers2 and those lay in the very excess of his virtues4 ,hurried on by his intense nature1 exalted to power by his brilliant intellectual qualities1 and yearning with a passion for the release of his beloved ,india from the religious and spiritual thraldom which he witnessed all about him1 he acquired irresistible charm and power with his followers1 and his words became their undisputed law2 and his deliverances were surcharged with what they regarded as divine inspiration4 ,and there is no doubt that he soon came to believe himself to be a direct vehicle of ,god in the communication of his message of truth and of life to the world4 ,under the influence of this conviction or delusion 7whichever one may choose to call it71 he was swept on1 and carried with him most of his followers1 into startling novelties of ritual and of organization4 ,finally1 however1 he became so extreme and radical that some of his principal followers became frightened and grew restless4 ,the occasion of another split was found in the marriage of ,chunder ,sen's daughter to the young ,maharaja of ,cooch ,behar1 in #ahgf4 ,chunder ,sen had worked heroically for the enactment of a new marriage law for the members of the ,brahmo ,somaj1 whereby no bride should be married before fourteen and no bridegroom under eighteen years of age4 ,yet1 in the marriage of his own daughter1 he ignored this law1 which was passed chiefly through his own energy4 ,notwithstanding the fact that the leader claimed divine guidance in this affair1 his leading followers attributed the marriage to his weakness and pride4 ,this led to another secession1 in ,may1 #ahgh1 whereby the majority of the societies and their members broke away from the ,sen party and established the ,sadharna ,somaj--,the ,universal ,somaj4 ,this schism was a terrible blow to ,mr4 ,sen2 and yet it released him from the trammels which the dissatisfied had hitherto thrust upon him1 and gave him1 among the remnant1 an opportunity to launch out on new projects1 and to introduce many religious vagaries1 which to most men were striking and1 to many1 were shocking4 ,under the banner of the ,new ,dispensation1 he practised a varied liturgy and cultivated an unique ceremonial which seemed to be a close imitation1 and almost a mockery1 of some of the most sacred institutions of ,christianity and of other religions4 ,the schismatic weakness of the theistic movement did not reach its consummation in this last division4 ,it was almost immediately upon the death of ,keshub ,chunder ,sen1 at the beginning of #ahhd1 that his immediate family and a few of his followers proclaimed that his spirit still abode in the ,mandir1 where he so often spoke1 and that no one should succeed him or speak from the ,mandir hereafter6 ,within these few short years a new cult had begun to grow around the person of ,chunder ,sen1 like those around a thousand others well known in the history of ,india4 ,he became to some of his followers not only a great religious teacher1 but also something of an incarnation on his own account1 so that it seemed to them blasphemy for any living being to aspire to speak from the pulpit of the beloved dead master4 ,his natural successor was ,babu ,protap ,chunder ,mozumdar4 ,he protested against this apotheosis of the departed leader1 and insisted upon the fact that their movement must be open to new light1 and must seek after ever increasing progress and advance4 ,but the family were obdurate1 and the new split became inevitable2 and thus ,chunder ,sen has passed into the ranks of the ,mahatmas of ,india and will erelong be promoted to a place among the incarnations of their deities4 ,mr4 ,mozumdar was1 intellectually1 not inferior to ,chunder ,sen himself2 and he was possessed of deep earnestness of spirit and of a beautiful ,english style 7both as a writer and speaker7 which commended him and his cause to the public1 and especially to ,english and ,american ,theists4 ,he visited the ,west more than once1 and charmed many an audience of ,christian men by his deep sincerity and eloquence4 ,,iii ,the progress of this ,brahmo movement has not been very encouraging4 ,we have already seen its tendency to schism4 ,there seems very little in the movement which makes for peace and unity4 ,any little pique or difference of views has not only created internal dissension1 but also engendered new sects4 ,the leaders of the movement have been both able and absolutely devoted to the theistic cause2 but they have not revealed the highest qualities of leadership1 especially that quality which exalts above the leader himself the principles and the cause which he advocates4 ,nor have they imparted to the members of the ,somaj that altruistic fervour which enables them to deny themselves in behalf of their common cause and purpose4 ,numerically1 the progress of the ,brahmo ,somaj has been most disappointing4 ,at the last census there were only #djej members4 ,and1 of these1 more than three-quarters were in ,bengal4 ,this1 however1 by no means represents the strength of the movement2 for it is said1 with truth1 that many who do not register themselves as ,brahmos are in deepest accord with the movement4 ,and it must1 moreover1 be remembered that the influence of the society is far in excess of the numbers represented4 ,for the movement has drawn its membership1 almost exclusively1 from the upper class2 and the majority of ,brahmos are men of education and of position in society4 ,moreover1 they joined this movement under the deep conviction of the utter worthlessness of ,hinduism as a way of salvation1 and with a purpose to seek after that which is best in thought and life4 ,it is this aristocratic character of the movement which has largely militated against its popularity4 ,its appeal has been mainly to men and women of ,english training4 ,it has not been possessed of any passion for the multitude2 nor has it adequately appreciated the importance1 for its own well-being1 of a united endeavour to reach and bring in the man of the street4 ,nevertheless1 the movement has been thoroughly permeated with an ,indian spirit4 ,the leaders have been particular in their desire to exalt and emphasize the ,oriental aspect and method1 as distinct from the ,occidental4 ,this is the reason why it has been so frequently and bitterly criticised4 ,it has been judged by western standards and criticised because it has not squared with western ideals4 ,from time to time missionaries and other ,christian men1 seeing no reason1 from their standpoint1 why these ,brahmo friends should not come over in a body into the ,christian fold1 have been impatient with their lack of response4 ,they failed to understand that1 with these western principles and admiration1 there were also eastern thoughts and prepossessions1 and the invaluable inheritance of a past that kept them aloof from the foreign faith and led them frequently to deliver themselves vehemently against its most western manifestations4 ,even their conception of ,christ was a distinctly ,oriental one4 ,and they denied that a man of the ,west could compare with them of the ,east in the deep appreciation of the ,christ-character and in loving attachment to their ,brother from the ,east--,jesus of ,nazareth4 ,yet1 the ,christian basis of this movement is unmistakable4 ,we have seen how ,ram ,mohan ,roy received a new baptism of thought and life upon studying the ,christian ,scriptures4 ,it gave a new direction and inspiration to his theistic conceptions4 ,chunder ,sen found nearly all the inspiration from the ,bible2 and he lived under the spell of ,christ's own power1 and with a passion1 such as few ,christians possess1 to follow ,him and to be a full partaker of ,his blessings4 ,the writer will never forget his own brief visit to ,protap ,mozumdar1 not long before the latter's death4 ,it was on the eve of ,good ,friday4 ,he found this devout man with eighteen of his disciples 7one of them an ,oxford graduate7 studying together the tender words of our ,lord uttered to ,his disciples in the ,upper ,room on the night in which ,he was betrayed4 ,they were thus qualifying themselves properly to commemorate ,his death on the coming morn4 ,and ,mr4 ,mozumdar gave a strong lecture on ,the ,suffering ,christ to a large audience in one of the city halls on the morrow4 ,the thought occurred to us1 how many ,christians had met together that same evening1 like these ,brahmos1 for the purpose of studying our ,lord's ,words upon that memorable occasion and bringing themselves thus en rapport with ,him whose atoning death they were to commemorate8 ,as we parted1 it was hardly necessary for that man of ,god to say to the writer in pathetic tones1 ,o1 sir1 ,i only wish you knew how near we are to you in these matters6 ,some may have read that remarkable book1 named ,the ,oriental ,christ1 written and published by this same gentleman in #ahhc4 ,in the preface1 he gives this strikingly beautiful account of his conversion3-- ,nearly twenty years ago1 my troubles1 studies1 and circumstances forced upon me the question of personal relationship to ,christ4444 ,as the sense of sin grew on me1 and with it a deep miserable restlessness1 a necessity of reconciliation between aspiration and practice1 ,i was mysteriously led to feel a personal affinity to the ,spirit of ,christ4 ,the whole subject of the life and death of ,christ had for me a marvellous sweetness and fascination4444 ,often discouraged and ridiculed1 ,i persisted in according to ,christ a tenderness of honour which arose in my heart unbidden4 ,i prayed1 ,i fasted1 at ,christmas and ,easter times4 ,i secretly hunted the book-shops of ,calcutta to gather the so-called likenesses of ,christ4 ,i did not know1 ,i cared not to think1 whither all this would lead4444 ,about the year #ahfg 444 ,i was almost alone in ,calcutta4 ,my inward trials and travails had really reached a crisis4 ,it was a week-day evening1 ,i forget the date now4 ,the gloomy and haunted shades of summer evening had suddenly thickened into darkness4444 ,i sat near the large lake in the ,hindu ,college compound4444 ,a sobbing1 gusty wind swam over the water's surface4444 ,i was meditating upon the state of my soul1 on the cure of all spiritual wretchedness1 the brightness and peace unknown to me1 which was the lot of ,god's children4 ,i prayed and besought ,heaven4 ,i cried and shed hot tears4444 ,suddenly it seemed to me1 let me own it was revealed to me1 that close to me there was a holier1 more blessed1 most loving personality upon which ,i must repose my troubled head4 ,jesus lay discovered in my heart as a strange1 human1 kindred love1 as a repose1 a sympathetic consolation1 an unpurchased treasure1 for which ,i was freely invited4 ,the response of my nature was unhesitating and immediate4 ,jesus1 from that day1 to me became a reality whereon ,i might lean4 ,it was an impulse then1 a flood of light1 love1 and consolation4 ,it is no longer an impulse now4 ,it is a faith and principle2 it is an experience verified by a thousand trials 444 a character1 a spirit1 a holy1 sacrificed1 exalted self1 whom ,i recognize as the true ,son of ,god4 ,according to my humble light1 ,i have always tried to be faithful to this inspiration4 ,i have been aided1 confirmed1 encouraged by many1 and most of all by one4 ,my aspiration has been not to speculate on ,christ1 but to be what ,jesus tells us all to be4444 ,i shall be content if what ,i say in these pages at all tends to give completeness to any man's ideas of the life and ministry of ,jesus ,christ4444 ,in the midst of these crumbling systems of ,hindu error and superstition1 in the midst of these cold1 spectral shadows of transition1 secularism1 and agnostic doubt1 to me ,christ has been like the meat and drink of my soul4 ,his influences have woven round me for the last twenty years or more1 and1 outside the fold of ,christianity as ,i am1 have formed a new fold1 wherein ,i find many besides myself4 ,chunder ,sen also abundantly expressed himself concerning the ,christ1 ,his mission1 and message4 ,but to him1 again1 it is an ,asiatic ,christ2 and ,he must be accepted in a truly ,oriental1 yes1 even in a ,hindu1 way4 ,he says3-- ,it is not the ,christ of the ,baptists1 nor the ,christ of the ,methodists1 but the ,christ sent by ,god1 the ,christ of love and meekness1 of truth and self-sacrifice1 whom the world delights to honour4 ,if you say we must renounce our nationality and all the purity and devotion of eastern faith for sectarian and western ,christianity1 we shall say most emphatically1 ,no4 ,it is our ,christ1 ,asia's ,christ1 you have come to return to us4 ,the ,east gratefully and lovingly welcomes back her ,christ4 ,but we shall not have your ,christianity1 which suits not the spirit of the ,east4 ,our religion is the religion of harmony4 ,in further enforcement of this ,oriental character he continues3-- ,was not ,jesus ,christ an ,asiatic8 ,yes1 and ,his disciples were ,asiatics1 and all the agencies primarily employed for the propagation of the ,gospel were ,asiatic4 ,in fact1 ,christianity was founded and developed by ,asiatics and in ,asia4 ,when ,i reflect on this1 my love for ,jesus becomes a hundred fold intensified2 ,i feel ,him nearer my heart1 and deeper in my national sympathies4444 ,and is it not true that an ,asiatic can read the imageries and allegories of the ,gospel1 and its descriptions of the natural sceneries1 of customs and manners1 with greater interest and a fuller perception of their force and beauty than an ,european8444 ,the more this greater fact is pondered1 the less1 ,i hope1 will be the antipathy and hatred of ,european ,christians against ,oriental nationalities1 and the greater the interest of the ,asiatics in the teachings of ,christ4 ,and thus in ,christ1 ,europe and ,asia1 the ,east and the ,west1 may learn to find harmony and unity4444 ,and let it not be supposed that ,mr4 ,sen was altogether wanting in an appreciation of the higher significance and vicarious efficacy of the death of ,christ4 ,concerning this1 he observes3-- ,humanity was lost in ,adam1 but was recovered in ,christ4 ,he was the world's atonement4444 ,his death on the cross affords the highest practical illustration of self-sacrifice4 ,he sacrificed ,his life for the sake of truth and the benefit of the world4 ,in obedience to the will of ,his ,father1 ,he laid down ,his life1 and said1 ,thy will be done6 ,and surely there is deeper meaning in the fact than even the orthodox attach to it1 that the death of ,christ is the life of the world4444 ,in many of the lectures which he gave1 and in many of the articles which he wrote1 we have evidence of the wonderful place which ,christ had in his heart and of the power which ,he exercised over his thoughts4 ,he exclaims3-- ,blessed ,jesus1 immortal ,child of ,god6 ,for the world ,he lived and died4 ,may the world appreciate ,him and follow ,his precepts6444 ,all through my inner being ,i see ,christ4 ,he is no longer to me a doctrine1 or a dogma1 but1 with ,paul1 ,i cry1 'for me to live is ,christ6' ,on another occasion he says3-- ,where1 then1 is ,christ now8 ,he is living in all ,christian lives1 and in all ,christian influences at work around us4444 ,you cannot resist ,his influence2 you may deny ,his doctrines1 you may even hate and repudiate ,his name1 but ,he goes straight into your hearts1 and leavens your lives4 ,other leaders of this movement are imbued with the same spirit4 ,the editor of the ,new ,dispensation remarks3-- ,as a matter of fact the ,brahmoists have accepted ,christian truth in a more special sense than ,hindus1 or even some ,christian sects1 have any idea of4444 ,the organization of the ,brahmo ,somaj of ,india is framed upon an essentially ,christian basis4 ,its missionary staff is ,christian1 being guided entirely by the principle of ',take no thought for the morrow4' ,in its mission office1 mottoes are found upon the walls which are all ,christian4 ,almost every ,brahmo household has a picture of ,christ4 ,the only ,life of ,jesus in ,bengali is by a missionary of the ,brahmo ,somaj of ,india4 ,its truly evangelistical work1 the life and conversation of its members1 breathe distinctly the spirit and influence of ,christ4444 ,another ,theist writes3-- ,reverently have ,i sat at the feet of the ,jesus of the ,gospels to learn the exalted ethics of the ,sermon on the ,mount4 ,but ,jesus1 other than a moral force1 the truer and higher ,jesus1 long remained a sealed book to me4 ,who could know the veritable ,christ of ,god without light from above8444 ,jesus forms the heart-blood of many a ,brahmo4444 ,we are ready to sacrifice anything if only by that we are enabled to love and cherish ,jesus in our hearts4444 ,the ,brahmo ,somaj is born to honour and revere ,jesus1 whatever the result may be4 ,from these quotations1 which might be multiplied indefinitely1 it may be seen that the movement has been1 to a considerable extent1 under the ,christ spell and imbued with much of ,his ,spirit4 ,inasmuch1 however1 as the movement is an avowedly eclectic one1 the ,brahmoist was never willing to rest completely under the ,christ influence4 ,he gave to ,christ1 perhaps1 a supreme place1 but not a unique position1 in his life and thought4 ,jesus was to him one of many1 though perhaps a primus inter pares4 ,it is this eclectic character of the ,brahmo ,somaj which has robbed it of much of its power4 ,it may seem1 at first1 a very fine thing to collect1 classify1 and codify the best from many religions and dignify them as a religion4 ,but that can never become a unified message of life to any people4 ,it may be ethically immaculate1 but it has no vital power4 ,the distinctive1 life-giving1 and inspiring element of every faith has been eliminated1 and only the common1 unimpassioned1 and uninspiring elements have been retained4 ,moreover1 ,brahmos have failed to realize that ,theism1 as such1 has never satisfied any people as a way of salvation4 ,it is doubtless a correct apprehension of the ,divine ,being4 ,but religion requires a great deal more than this in the way of exhibiting the characteristics of the ,deity1 and especially of revealing ,his attitude toward1 and ,his work for1 mankind1 before it can possess and reveal the potency of a saving faith4 ,it would seem as if this movement1 up to the present time1 has just missed its mark and failed of achieving greatness and power4 ,as we have seen1 the leaders have exalted our ,lord in a wonderful way1 and have exhibited even a passion for ,him in some ways4 ,and yet they have robbed ,him of the distinct uniqueness of ,his nature and of ,his work for man4 ,they are first eclectics1 and then they are rigid ,unitarians1 and lastly they are ,christians4 ,they need to reverse this order so as to add efficiency and potency to the ,brahmo ,somaj4 ,it is a significant fact that ,chunder ,sen1 with all his declared love for ,christ and his great admiration for ,him and ,his work1 mentioned neither the name nor the saving work of ,jesus in the final creed of the ,new ,dispensation4 ,that creed is as follows3-- ,one ,god1 one ,scripture1 one ,church4 ,eternal ,progress of the ,soul4 ,communion of ,prophets and ,saints4 ,fatherhood and ,motherhood of ,god2 ,brotherhood of ,man and ,sisterhood of ,woman4 ,harmony of ,knowledge and ,holiness1 ,love and ,work2 ,yoga and ,asceticism in their highest development4 ,loyalty to ,sovereign4 ,it must not be forgotten1 however1 that this movement deserves much more our commendation than our criticism4 ,it is a noble endeavour to pass out of an inherited bondage1 a debased creed1 a demoralized pantheon1 and an all-embracing superstition1 into the full wisdom and blessing of a correct vision of ,god and ,duty4 ,if they have failed of the best1 they are1 nevertheless1 with their faces turned toward it4 ,and there is every hope that a kind ,providence1 through the instrumentality of ,christian thought and western civilization1 will lead them unto it4 ,if they have not accepted our western ,christianity1 it may be that ,god has something better in store for them1 in training them toward the realization of that form of ,christian life and thought which will not only be more in consonance with ,indian taste and ideals1 but will also grip the country in such a way as the western type of our faith has not yet been able to do1 and seems incapable of doing4 ,,iv ,the ,arya ,somaj is a movement somewhat kindred to the ,brahmo ,somaj1 in so far as it is a definite protest against modern ,hinduism and is theistic in its teaching4 ,the ,theism of this ,somaj1 however1 is quite different in character from that of the ,brahmos4 ,dayanand ,saraswati was a ,brahman1 born in the ,gujarati country about #ahbe4 ,he developed into a man of keen intellect and of deep convictions4 ,he also studied the ,christian ,scriptures and was slightly versed in the ,hindu ,shastras4 ,he became dissatisfied with the ,pantheism of his mother faith2 the caste system grated upon his nerves1 and the idolatry and the superstitions of the land1 and especially the gross immorality of the people1 roused him to deep thought and activity4 ,he appealed to the ,pandits1 but found no sympathy or help from them4 ,he found his ,theism in the ,vedas themselves1 and ever after proclaimed1 with great vehemence1 that the ,god of the ,vedas was one and was a personal ,god2 and he found an easy way of interpreting those ancient books in harmony with his convictions6 ,jesus ,christ did not appeal to him in the least4 ,indeed1 he indulges in very cheap and gross criticism of the life of our ,lord4 ,his attitude toward ,christianity was not at all kindly2 indeed1 the movement1 up to the present1 has been distinguished for nothing more than its hostility to the ,christian religion4 ,nevertheless1 it is doubtless true that some of the best ideas that ,dayanand possessed were gleaned from the ,bible2 and the ,arya ,somaj has learned and inculcates some of the important lessons of our faith4 ,when ,dayanand found no encouragement in his appeal to the ,pandits1 he turned ultimately to the people and founded1 in #ahge1 the ,arya ,somaj at ,bombay4 ,and from the first the movement has been a popular one1 addressing itself to the masses and seeking to bring them over to its way of thinking and living4 ,in this it has been1 as we have seen1 entirely removed from the ,brahmo ,somaj1 which has been too content to remain a religion of the classes4 ,like the other movement1 however1 it has been largely local in its spread and influence4 ,of its one hundred thousand members at the present time1 more than #gj per cent are in the ,united ,provinces1 and nearly all the remainder are in the ,panjaub4 ,moreover1 it has recently gathered its recruits mainly from the educated classes1 among whom the higher castes largely prevail2 nearly four-fifths of the ,aryas are said to be of the twice-born castes1 which is a very significant fact4 ,so that both in its popular character and methods1 as well as in the high social position and educational training of its members and in its rapidly growing numbers1 the ,arya ,somaj is a movement of considerable importance4 ,the principles of this ,somaj1 as enunciated in its creed1 are not such as to grip men with power4 ,they emphasize the unity of ,god1 the infallibility of the ,vedas2 and the general aim of the ,somaj is to do good to the world by improving the physical1 social1 intellectual1 moral1 and spiritual condition of mankind4 ,its moral code is of a high order4 ,it is thoroughly national in its spirit1 and makes much capital out of the present spirit of racial antagonism4 ,it is a significant fact that during the recent season of ,unrest the government regarded the ,arya ,somaj as a hotbed of sedition and a nourisher of hostility to the ,west and to western things4 ,the ,arya ,somaj is awake to the importance of training men as messengers of its ,gospel of ,theism4 ,it has established a ,guru ,kula at the foot of the ,himalayas1 where quite a number of young men are being trained in its doctrines and supplied with its enthusiasms4 ,from this theological seminary many have already gone forth1 in the orthodox style of religious mendicancy1 to impart their teaching and spread their movement far and wide1 without any expense to the society4 ,there is to-day1 in ,north ,india1 no enemy to the ,christian cause so wide awake and so bitter as the ,arya ,somaj4 ,it is so thoroughly national in its spirit1 is so compactly organized1 and lends itself so easily to the racial and political agitation of the day1 that ,christianity finds in it its greatest foe in those regions4 ,let it not be thought1 however1 that we do not appreciate the living spark of theistic truth which this movement represents1 combined1 as it is1 with hostility to the caste system1 which is ,india's greatest curse1 and its antagonism to many of the superstitions and unworthy ceremonials of the ancestral faith4 ,that movement must not be condemned too severely which is a bulwark against drink1 caste1 idolatry1 early marriages1 and which vigorously promotes female education1 the remarriage of widows1 and various philanthropic institutions4 ,v ,it may not be improper to close this chapter with a reference to the ,theosophical ,society in ,india4 ,it is true that the leaders of this movement1 which was established in ,america in #ahge1 and transplanted into ,india a short time afterward1 disavow its claim to being a religion2 though that claim was definitely made and warmly pushed a quarter of a century ago4 ,it is now extolled by its members as the cement of faiths1 the harmonizer of religions4 ,it is said that ,arya ,somaj became affiliated with it in #ahgi1 though we have seen no result of this affiliation4 ,the objects of ,theosophy are said to be three3 7#a7 ,the establishment of a universal brotherhood4 7#b7 ,the study of ancient languages4 7#c7 ,investigation of the hidden mysteries of nature and the latent psychical forces of man4 ,these aims seem thoroughly worthy1 though the last mentioned1 under its original founders1 led to mystical claptrap1 and to the abuse of the strong superstitious instincts of ,india4 ,the society was founded by a ,russian adventuress1 ,madame ,blavatsky1 and by an ,american soldier1 ,colonel ,olcott1 who was the easy tool1 if not the accomplice1 of his clever and unscrupulous associate4 ,in the early history of the movement1 at its headquarters in ,madras1 ,madame ,blavatsky gathered around her a numerous coterie of ardent ,hindus1 whom she duped with various tricks and seances4 ,this was with a view to convincing them of her constant communication with ,koothoomi and various other ,tibetan ,mahatmas1 of whom she seemed to be the special agent6 ,these and other similar performances might have continued had it not been for her ,french accomplices1 who quarrelled with her1 because she did not pay them adequately1 and who exposed her mercilessly4 ,the whole matter was published in the ,madras ,christian ,college ,magazine1 and the ,russian lady was speedily sent away from ,india to the ,west for a judicious season of rest4 ,the leaders of ,theosophy have never been unwilling to impose upon the stupendous credulity of their ,indian followers4 ,nevertheless1 it is undeniable that1 with all its failings1 ,theosophy has exercised considerable influence upon the educated classes in this country4 ,this has resulted largely through its readiness to utilize the recent movement of the people toward higher political privileges and their deep spirit of religious unrest4 ,since the advent of ,mrs4 ,besant1 the society has been largely moulded by her erratic powers4 ,she has not hesitated to use her ability and influence toward the creation and the development of a strong reactionary religious spirit throughout the land4 ,she has bitterly denounced every tendency among the people toward ,christianity4 ,by her eloquence1 which is remarkable1 she has extolled the faith of ,india1 and has revived and embalmed many of its worst features which were rapidly passing away2 and has even defended idolatry and kindred evils by trying to harmonize them with modern and scientific ideas6 ,she has herself become practically a ,hindu1 expounds ,hindu doctrines1 and practises ,hindu ceremonies4 ,she has persistently maintained eastern thought and customs as against western1 and has thus endeared herself to ,english-speaking ,hindus1 who regard her as the goddess ,saraswati herself1 and are willing to give her a place in their pantheon as one of the great defenders of their faith against the mighty influences of the ,west6 ,in this matter1 ,mrs4 ,besant may be said to have caused irreparable injury to the people1 as she has helped to arrest the tendency toward religious reform and progress1 and has rendered articulate and given power and expression to the reactionary spirit which is now so rampant in ,india4 ,more than any other person1 and chiefly because she is of the ,west1 and speaks in the accents of the ,west1 she has antagonized progress in this land1 not only religiously but also socially1 and has done the greatest disservice to the people of ,india4 ,in her eyes1 ,hindu philosophy and ritual1 ,hindu institutions and domestic life1 have practically nothing to learn from the ,west1 and need only to be known in order to be appreciated and loved6 ,this1 doubtless1 in good part1 accounts for her present popularity4 ,yet1 one cannot fail to recognize the value of some things which she is doing4 ,she has recently begun to speak with some emphasis upon lines of reform4 ,she has been instrumental in stirring within the people a wider desire for higher education2 though one can hardly understand why she has done so much for the establishment of a college for men1 and has done practically nothing to advance the educational interests of her much-neglected sex in ,india4 ,upon the death of ,colonel ,olcott1 the ,president ,founder of ,theosophy1 in #aijg1 ,mrs4 ,besant became his successor4 ,so far as the ,indian vote was concerned1 this was a foregone conclusion2 since her avowed sympathy with ,hinduism in all its forms had gained for her a strong place in the ,hindu heart4 ,the method by which she was elected1 however1 is suggestive of the future course of the movement in ,india4 ,when nearing death1 ,colonel ,olcott was induced by ,mrs4 ,besant to invoke and to consult the ,masters--the convenient ghosts of the dead--with a view to a choice of his successor in office4 ,there was no doubt about his preference for the ,englishwoman4 ,the ,mahatmas wisely agreed with the ,colonel and ,mrs4 ,besant1 and a powerful fulcrum was secured for lifting her into the presidency4 ,and ,mrs4 ,besant to-day claims that it is better for her to have been chosen by the dead than to have been elected by the living4 ,upon her inauguration1 she insisted upon it that all ,theosophists must cling to the ,masters and adhere to their decisions4 ,if we mistake not1 this marks the beginning of a new era in ,theosophy1--at least in ,india1--an era during which the movement will be entirely directed and worked by those who are the authorized mouthpieces of the glorified dead6 ,thus the movement is fairly launched upon a course which will inevitably lead it to something very much akin to a religion1 with its accumulated mysteries and with a host of propelling superstitions of its own4 ,more than any other land1 ,india will lend itself admirably to the development and the propagation of such a cult4 ,theosophy is not represented by a very large number of organizations and members4 ,but the movement has the sympathy of many who have not taken upon them its name2 and the society1 at the present time1 is certainly in favour with a large number of the educated classes4 ,orthodox pandits1 however1 are thoroughly suspicious of the movement2 and ,mrs4 ,besant's recent attempts to thrust upon them her own interpretations of certain ,hindu doctrines--interpretations1 too1 which are foreign to their own--has led to a spirit of opposition1 where but recently appreciation and favour existed4 ,theosophy1 as a harmonizer of faiths1 is not likely to accomplish much that will be permanently good4 ,religions to-day have lost much of their asperity one toward the other4 ,the study of ,comparative ,religion has led men everywhere to magnify the assonances1 rather than the dissonances1 of the ,great ,world ,faiths4 ,theosophy magnifies into a cult this function of bringing religions together4 ,it ignores1 however1 the fundamental differences which exist1 brings all faiths into the same equational value1 and assumes that they are equally effective as ways of salvation4 ,with such profound ignorance of the essential qualities of the faiths which are to be harmonized1 and with a placid assumption that these religions are of the same efficacy1 only to different peoples1 it is impossible to see how ,theosophy can ever render a service to any of the faiths or to the people who are their adherents which will not ultimately prove a disservice to all4 ,peace without truth1 like peace without honour1 will not ultimately redound to the promotion of religion or to the salvation of men4 ,whatever ,theosophy may render toward the development of an ,oriental literature will depend largely upon its attitude toward truth and religion in general1 and toward ,hinduism and ,christianity in particular4 ,its bitter attitude toward ,christianity in the past does not encourage one to believe that hereafter the literature fostered by it will be either very impartial or very sane4 ,and yet we shall be thankful for anything it may accomplish in the preservation of ,sanskrit manuscripts and in the development of a wholesome literature of any kind on lines purely ,oriental4 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,the ,,progress ,,of ,,christianity ,,in ,,india ,i ,for at least seventeen centuries ,christianity has found a home in ,india4 ,the ,syrian ,church was the first to gather converts1 and it still exists as a separate sect of #cjj1jjj souls in a small part of ,malabar4 ,roman ,catholicism1 also1 has had here its six centuries of struggles and varied fortunes1 and now claims its #a1ejj1jjj followers4 ,on ,july #i1 #aijf1 the ,protestants celebrated the bicentenary of the landing of their first two missionaries at ,tranquebar1 on the ,coromandel coast4 ,ziegenbalg and ,plutscho were truly men of ,god1 and inaugurated a work which to-day has its ramifications in every part of this vast peninsula4 ,they introduced a new era of missionary effort for ,india4 ,former endeavours were ecclesiastical4 ,great men1 indeed1 had wrought for ,christ in this land2 but their chief aim had been to establish a religion of forms and ceremonies4 ,in the matter of ritual in religion1 ,hinduism has little to learn from1 and has much to suggest to1 western ecclesiastics4 ,the early failure of our faith to secure marked and permanent success in this land finds its chief cause here4 ,ziegenbalg began in the right way4 ,he identified himself with the people2 he studied well their language1 and hastened to incarnate his faith in vernacular literature2 and1 above all1 he proceeded at once to translate into the language of the people the ,word of ,god4 ,never before had the ,bible been translated into an ,indian tongue4 ,after thirteen years of service1 this great missionary died2 but he left to his successors the heritage of a vernacular ,bible1 which has wrought mightily in ,south ,india for the redemption of the people4 ,he also set the pace for subsequent missionaries of his persuasion1 who1 in these two centuries1 have practically translated ,god's ,word into every important ,indian dialect4 ,the ,bible in his own vernacular lies open1 inviting every native of ,india to-day2 and in many vernaculars the translation has been revised more than once4 ,this stands as a notable triumph of ,protestantism during these two centuries in ,india4 ,the writer has a copy of one of the earliest ,tamil books prepared by these pioneers of our faith4 ,these books have already grown into a large library--the best-developed ,christian literature in any vernacular of the ,east4 ,all over the land mission presses are annually pouring forth their many millions of pages both to nourish and cheer the infant ,christian community1 and to win to ,christ the multiplying readers among non-,christians4 ,the press has already become1 perhaps1 the most important agency in the furtherance of ,christian thought and life in this land4 ,one is impressed with the manifoldness of the work which began in so much simplicity two centuries ago4 ,the missionary is no longer the preacher under some shady tree1 addressing a few ignorant1 ill-clad peasants4 ,he is actively engaged in all departments of ,christian effort4 ,a ,protestant mission is an elaborately organized activity1 pursuing all lines of work for the elevation of the people4 ,it has not only churches which engage in varied forms of pastoral effort2 it has also its staff of evangelists and ,bible women who carry the message of life to all the villages4 ,in these missions there are not only #aj1jjj day schools1 with their #cge1jjj scholars1 besides #cj1jjj youth who are in the #cjg higher institutions4 ,there are also thousands of young men and women1 in many institutions1 undergoing careful preparation as teachers and preachers4 ,there is also the medical host who treated #b1jjj1jjj patients last year2 there are industrial institutions under well-trained men1 peasant settlements for the poor oppressed ryots1 and schools for the blind and the deaf-mute4 ,there is hardly an agency which can bring light1 comfort1 life1 and inspiration to men which is not utilized by modern missions in ,india4 ,illustration3 ,a ,,christian ,,village ,,school ,,in ,,south ,,india ,but the progress of these two centuries has been chiefly on lines which defy the columns of the statistician and elude the ken of the ordinary globe-trotter4 ,the number of people that have been brought to ,christ1 and who now represent ,protestantism in this land are1 indeed1 far fewer than might have been expected4 ,a round million of a community after two centuries of effort among a population of #cjj1jjj1jjj is not a thing of which to boast4 ,and this may seem the more discouraging when it is remembered that there are now engaged in this work ninety-one different missionary societies of many lands1 and supporting a missionary force of #djjj men and women4 ,there is also a native ,pastorate of #aajj ordained men1 with a total ,indian agency of #bf1jjj men and women4 ,so great a force of workers would1 indeed1 warrant us in expecting larger results in conversions4 ,but it should be remembered that this agency is chiefly the product of the last few decades only1 and is now multiplying in numbers and increasing in efficiency at a very rapid rate4 ,at the present time1 fully #bjj of the ,indian agents of our missions are university graduates1 and a still larger number are of partial college training4 ,the ,indian ,christian community itself1 though in the main of low social origin1 has made remarkable progress in education and manly independence4 ,it is1 already1 perhaps the best-educated community in ,india4 ,and it is feeling increasingly its opportunities and its obligations4 ,it was only recently that its growing sense of national importance and its duties led it to organize a ,national ,missionary ,society1 which is directed by ,indian leadership1 supported by ,indian funds1 and its work is to be done by ,india's own sons4 ,this society enters upon its career very auspiciously1 and is not only symptomatic of present conditions1 but is also pregnant with hope for the ,indian ,church of the future4 ,it took many years to lay deeply the foundation of our mission organization4 ,indeed1 the foundation is not quite completed4 ,and yet the work of superstructure has already begun1 and more rapid results may now be expected4 ,but the more hidden and indirect results of ,protestant ,christian efforts in this land encourage the ,christian worker more than all the direct results4 ,during the last century1 at least twenty laws have been enacted with a view to abolishing cruel religious rites and removing revolting customs and disabilities1 such as ,hinduism1 from time immemorial1 has established among the people4 ,these laws were enacted in the teeth of opposition from the religious rulers of the land1 and1 in more cases than one1 led to serious riot and religious fanaticism4 ,but the growing spirit of ,christ in the land could not tolerate these heathenish customs2 so they had to go4 ,the new spirit which has taken possession of the classes in ,india is in striking contrast with the spirit of the past4 ,the new education1 imparted on modern lines1 in thousands of institutions scattered over the land1 has brought its revenge of sentiment upon former thinking and believing4 ,western philosophy has had a noble share in the achievement2 and the schoolmaster has been a pioneer in the work of transforming the sentiments and ideals of the people4 ,the holy men of ,india1--the ecclesiastics1--by their conservatism1 have lost all influence over the many thousands who have passed through the universities1 and who represent the intelligence1 culture1 and advancing power of ,india4 ,it is no empty boast to claim that our mission schools and colleges have had a conspicuous share in this work of enlightenment1 and in the transformation of popular and fundamental thoughts and sentiments4 ,the religious unrest of the day is one of the most prominent features of this advance4 ,it is true that1 during the last few years1 there passed over ,india a peculiar wave of religious reaction in favour of old ,hindu conceptions and ancient rites4 ,but these are entirely the result of a new and vigorous1 though not sane1 patriotism4 ,a loud cry of ,swadesha 7homeland7 has swept over the country4 ,it demands affection and acceptance for everything that is of the ,east1 and the opposite sentiments for things western4 ,all that is of ,hindu origin1 and everything of eastern aspect1 is1 for that very reason1 regarded as sound and delectable4 ,of course1 this reaction has found its widest utterances in matters religious2 and ,hindu men of western culture to-day will applaud1 though they will not practise1 religious customs and ideas which were laughed at by their class a quarter of a century ago4 ,as a matter of fact1 however1 this wild ,orientalism is a thing which should neither be discouraged nor condemned4 ,it needs balance and sanity2 but it is a true expression of the awakened self-assertion and the dawning sense of liberty among the people4 ,in time1 the movement will become chastened1 and will throw off much of its present folly4 ,it will then render for ,india and its redemption more than anything else has in the past4 ,in the meanwhile1 however1 there is a quiet revolution1 both religious and social1 doing its blessed work in all sections of the community4 ,new religious organizations have sprung into existence and are winning followers among the best members of the community4 ,the ,brahmo ,somaj and various other ,somajes furnish1 as we have seen1 asylum and rest for many men of culture who have abandoned polytheism and all that pertains to it4 ,the ,arya ,somaj appeals to1 and gathers in1 men from all ranges4 ,social reform has its organizations and its gatherings all over the land where the ,hindu orator finds abundant opportunity to denounce the social evils which are a curse to all the people2 and1 alas6 then returns to his home1 where he meekly submits to these same social tyrannies which dominate his own family4 ,what ,india needs to-day1 more than anything else1 is even a small band of men who are imbued with convictions and who are willing to die for the same4 ,india's redemption will be nigh when it can furnish a few thousand such men banded together to do something or to die in the cause of reform4 ,it is ,protestantism which has laid growing emphasis upon the ethical1 rather than the ecclesiastical1 aspect of our faith2 and to this fact can be attributed most of its influence in the development of this new life and thought4 ,of course1 the ,british government has politically and socially represented and promoted these ideas4 ,it could not do otherwise and be true to its own principles4 ,its influence has been the most pervasive and marked in the development of what is best in thought and truest in life4 ,perhaps no change has overtaken ,protestant missions during these two centuries greater than that which has transformed the missionaries themselves4 ,there is a wide gulf between ,ziegenbalg and ,carey4 ,there is a still wider one between the ,carey of a century ago and his great-grandson who is a missionary in ,north ,india to-day4 ,in devotion and zeal for the ,master1 they are all one2 but in their conception of ,christianity1 of ,hinduism1 and of the missionary motive1 they are much wider apart than many imagine4 ,it should also be remembered that ,protestant missionaries1 as a body1 are no longer isolated from each other and animated by mutual suspicions and impelled by petty jealousies1 as in the past4 ,their development in amity1 comity1 and organized fellowship1 even during the last decade1 is marvellous4 ,federation and organic ecclesiastical union are becoming the order of the day4 ,four denominations of ,america and ,scotland are now perfecting such a scheme in ,south ,india2 and this is only the beginning of an ever expanding movement for ,christian fellowship all over the land4 ,no one knows what grand results it will achieve4 ,we all know1 however1 that the fraternal regard1 sympathy1 and confidence is far removed from the sad divisiveness of the past1 that it is pregnant with blessing in the coming of the ,kingdom of ,god1 and that it is far in advance of the spirit of union which prevails in ,england or ,america4 ,in this we believe that the ,east is to open the way for the ,west4 ,these and many other facts encourage those who look to the speedy ,christianizing of this land4 ,and yet we cannot1 ,i repeat1 ignore the fact of the relative meagreness of the results4 ,it is a sad truth that the total ,protestant ,indian community1 at the present time1 is only one three-hundredth part of the population6 ,i would not be pessimistic1 however1 even in this matter of numerical growth4 ,in the past1 we have too much made a fetich of figures1 and our faith has been too much pinned to statistics4 ,but the lessons of history must be well learned and thoroughly digested1 if the future of ,christianity is to improve upon her past in ,india4 ,for1 be it remembered1 ,christianity never met with so doughty a foe as that which confronts it in this land4 ,the ancient faiths of ,greece and ,rome1 which ,christianity overcame1 were infantile and imbecile as compared with the subtle wisdom and the mighty resistance of ,brahmanism4 ,the conditions of the conflict in ,india are different from those ever met before by our militant faith4 ,the subtle and deadening philosophy of the land1 the haughty pride of its religious leaders1 the great inertia of the people1 the mighty tyranny of caste1 the debasing ritual of ,hinduism and its debauching idolatry1--all these constitute a resisting fortress whose overthrow seems all but impossible4 ,,ii ,and yet ,i strongly believe in the ultimate triumph of our faith in ,india4 ,under ,god this mighty fortress of ,hinduism will capitulate4 ,nor do ,i think that the day of ,christian dominance is so far away as many missionaries are inclined to think4 ,there is an accumulation of forces and a multiplication of spiritual powers which are now operating in behalf of our faith and against the ancestral religion of ,india1 such as will work wonders in the future religious development of the land4 ,but this conquest of our faith will not be that which too many of us are wont to anticipate and to pray for4 ,the religious forms of life and of thought1 which we of the ,west have inherited and in whose environment we have grown up1 we have come to identify with the essence of our religion2 and it seems all but impossible for us to think of a ,christianity apart from these outward forms4 ,i believe that there is to be a rude awakening for our children and grandchildren1 if not for ourselves1 in this matter4 ,the western type of ,christianity will not survive the conflict in ,india4 ,western modes of thought and forms of belief will be supplanted by those better suited to the land4 ,occidental doctrines and aspects of our faith will give way to those conceived from the ,oriental standpoint4 ,i believe1 for instance1 that the most mischievous doctrine of pantheism will surrender its elements of truth 7for it has an important admixture of truth7 to the formation of a new conception of ,god1 which will appeal to and captivate the ,indian mind and heart4 ,indeed1 we are witnessing1 this very day1 even in the far ,west1 the influence of ,india in her monistic overemphasis upon the divine immanence1 working toward a new ,christian conception of ,god4 ,modern interchange of thought is thus giving to ,india1 even in ,america1 her influence in the shaping of modern belief4 ,and if it be thus in matters of fundamental belief1 much more will it be so in matters of outward expression and in the unessential forms of ,christian truth4 ,some of us of the ,west are seeing increasingly the serious incongruity which exists between our way of thinking and of putting our thought into living form1 and the way of the people about us4 ,and we are not convinced1 as we perhaps once were1 that it is the obtuseness1 or the religious perversity1 of the ,indian mind which is the cause of this4 ,the sooner the better we realize that between the people of the ,east and of the ,west there is a wide mental gulf which may1 indeed1 by our associating together1 be narrowed1 but never eliminated4 ,and the outward type of ,christianity1 after western pressure has been taken away from this land1 will depend upon the mental make-up and peculiar spiritual aspect of the ,indian ,christian4 ,and until he is able to furnish and to enforce this1 which ,i call the ,oriental type of ,christianity1 he will never be able to make his faith appeal to his brothers1 and to make it an indigenous faith in ,india4 ,nor do ,i think that the ,christianity which is to prevail in ,india will be encased in the present ecclesiasticism which assumes and claims monopoly of our faith4 ,i can conceive the possibility of there being a vast amount of ,christianity--a living and a self-propagating ,christianity--outside the pale of organized and institutional ,christianity in ,india4 ,it is so in the ,west to-day4 ,the organized churches of the ,west have within themselves an ever diminishing portion of the vital ,christian life and aspirations of the country4 ,christianity has overleapt ecclesiastic bounds4 ,its spirit is overflowing1 in living streams1 into the life of a thousand organizations which are altruistic and philanthropic1 outside the limits of ecclesiastical ,christianity4 ,it will be so in ,india1 and throughout the world4 ,and the ,christian ,church must take this into account and shape its policy accordingly4 ,however this may be1 ,east ,indians will increasingly claim1 as the ,japanese are now claiming1 the right to decide for themselves the forms of polity and the types of ritual which they will choose and cultivate as their own4 ,i do not say1 of course1 that the present forms will be entirely discarded4 ,but they will be so modified and supplemented that they will present an ecclesiastical type of their own4 ,and why should they not1 if our faith is to fit well the ,oriental mind1 and is to become a gracious power in its life8 ,the growing opposition among the educated men of ,india1 at the present time1 is not really antagonism to ,christianity itself1 but to its western garb and spirit4 ,and there is much reason for this attitude of mind4 ,conciliation and adaptation has not been the characteristic of the mind of the ,west in presenting its faith to the ,east4 ,this did not make so much difference1 so long as the ,indian was submissive and had not waked up to the spirit of self-assertion4 ,but to-day1 when that spirit is so rampant1 and when a new nationalism and a half-spurious patriotism glories in everything eastern and is annoyed by all that is western1 the matter of adaptation has become all-important4 ,the relative barrenness of our faith during past centuries in ,india was largely1 if not entirely1 due to its foreign ecclesiastical forms and its shibboleths pronounced in foreign tongues4 ,the ,christianity of the future in ,india must breathe of the spirit1 and speak forth in the language and life1 of the people4 ,i am inclined to believe that the battle cry of the ,christian ,church will soon be lost in the ever swelling tide of enthusiasm for the ,kingdom of ,god4 ,christians will seek less to promote this or that denomination1 and more and more to cause to come in power the ,kingdom of ,heaven4 ,and ,india is a land which will lend itself very readily to this transfer of emphasis4 ,there is much in the mystical type of the ,hindu mind that leads us to anticipate preeminence for ,india in this change of emphasis from outward organization to deep-working spiritual forces and realities4 ,india1 which has been the most prolific land in giving birth to religions1 and in being at present the asylum of all the great faiths of the world1 will not be slow to give to ,christianity that form and aspect which will most please her4 ,it is therefore important that all the ,christian leaders of ,india should not only take note of these facts1 but should also do their utmost to help in the desired consummation1 and make ,christianity in ,india a faith that will appeal to every man and woman in the land4 ,,iii ,the conquest of our faith in ,india will be not the less1 but the more1 thorough1 because it will be not only of the letter but also and chiefly of the spirit4 ,there are a few things which are fundamental to our faith1 and which will become the universal and permanent possession of ,india4 #a4 ,the spirit and principles of ,christianity will prevail and will dominate the land4 ,christian1 as distinct from ,hindu1 principles are already making wonderful headway in the country4 ,many new institutions have been organized in the land1 whose principles are those of ,christ1 and not of ,manu4 ,even the oldest institutions of the country are becoming affected by the desire to appear modern1 which really means an ambition to introduce ,christian methods and principles4 ,educated ,hindus1 especially1 add to this the peculiar weakness of interpreting things ,hindu by a ,christian terminology4 ,the philosophy which they have imbibed and the standpoint to which they have been accustomed are western and1 chiefly1 ,christian4 ,so that when they study their own faith they do so with these ,christian prepossessions2 and even when they defend their ancestral religion1 they really defend not the indigenous product of ,india1 such as is taught by the ,hindu pandit and believed by the mass of the people1 but ,hinduism ,christianized and clothed in the garb of the ,west and spoken in the accents of a ,christian4 ,hindu ,swamis1 who have been educated in ,christian mission schools1 and have spent a few years in the far ,west1 surrounded by a ,christian atmosphere1 imbibing ,christian sentiments1 and unconsciously adopting the ,christian viewpoint1 return to ,india upon a wave of popular excitement and give public addresses and receive the plaudits of their grateful countrymen4 ,but what is it that such men as ,vivekananda and ,abhedananda1 and all the rest of the ,ananda tribe1 teach upon their return to ,india8 ,it is certainly not an orthodox ,hinduism1 nor is it the pure philosophy of the ,east4 ,it is rather a strange compound in which ,christianity figures as prominently as does ,hinduism1 and1 perhaps1 more conspicuously4 ,what was the caste system recently enunciated by ,abhedananda in ,madras8 ,it is certainly not a thing known in ,india by that name4 ,and ,i have no doubt that his whole audience smiled when he presented his conception of a caste system so foreign to all ,hindu ideas and practice4 ,it is just so with his ,vedantism1 and with his interpretation of all the religious teachings of this land4 ,they are now construed in terms foreign to the rishi and to the pandit4 ,but 7and this the point ,i wish to emphasize7 these interpretations meet increasingly with the applause and acceptance of educated ,hindu audiences4 ,in other words1 a ,christian colouring and glamour thrown over ,hinduism is adding to its popularity in the land4 ,in the general way of looking at religious things1 and especially of apprehending religious thought1 there is to-day almost as wide a gulf between the educated and cultured ,hindu1 on the one hand1 and the authorized religious instructors of ,india1 on the other1 as there is between the same learned man of the ,east and the thoughtful man of the ,west4 ,or1 if we look at the multiplying institutions of the country1 which truly represent the thoughts and sentiments of the leading people of ,india1 we can easily see that they are imbued with non-,hindu1 if not anti-,hindu1 ideas and motives4 ,the various ,somajes and other religious movements1 which mean so much in the life of ,india to-day1 are more or less an endeavour to interpret life from a non-,hindu standpoint1 which often means a ,christian standpoint4 ,in any case1 the religious reform movements of ,india at the present time breathe largely the spirit of rebellion against old ,hindu conceptions4 ,when we think of such important movements as that of ,social ,reform1 we can see the spirit of ,christianity completely dominant1 and in sharp antithesis to ,hindu teaching and ritual4 ,the ,social ,reform movement in ,india is the spirit of ,christianity1 trying to express itself with as little offence as possible to orthodox ,hinduism1 and yet constantly antagonizing its deepest principles and eating into its very vitals4 ,the two forces which1 next to direct ,christian effort1 do most for the promulgation of ,christian principles in this land1 are the public schools and the government itself4 ,the educational system which now prevails1 and which is growing in power1 is distinctly a promoter of ,christian thought and principle4 ,we often call these schools godless2 but we do them an injustice4 ,their work may be largely negative2 but their teaching turns the mind of the young away from the silly superstitions and the absurd practices of popular ,hinduism1 and establishes modern conceptions1 which1 indeed1 are ,christian conceptions of life and of conduct4 ,the government is1 in an important sense1 established upon ,christian principles2 and in all its administrative processes exemplifies the ,christian1 as distinct from the ,hindu and ,brahmanic1 view of justice and of right conduct2 so that1 if one were able to perceive clearly the spiritual forces at work in the institutional and social life of ,india1 he would see not only that the foundation1 but also that largely the superstructure1 is becoming ,christian in its character4 #b4 ,in the second place1 the ,christ ,ideal of ,life is acquiring ever increasing attraction and power in the land4 ,india has never possessed an incarnated ideal of her own4 ,no god in all her pantheon1 and not one among all her noble sages1 has ever posed before the followers of ,hinduism1 or has ever been thought of by ,hindu devotees1 as the exemplar of men and the ideal of human life4 ,to many thousands who are outward members of the ,hindu faith1 and who would not dream of being baptized into institutional ,christianity1 ,jesus ,christ has become the ,ideal of ,life4 ,he represents to them that moral type of perfection and ethical nobility of manhood to which they daily aspire4 ,krishna may be praised by the millions1 notwithstanding his immoralities2 and ,rama may be extolled and even loved for his limited virtue2 ,yudhistra may be called ,dharman1 notwithstanding his unrighteous passion for the dice4 ,but ,christ only1 in the eyes of modern educated ,india1 stands the perfect test of character4 ,all over the land1 ,hindus of culture1 of serious thought1 and of ambition to reach after high ethical standards see in ,jesus ,christ the only inspiration and immaculate example of life that all history1 myth1 and legend present4 ,and there is not a town in ,india to-day where there are not found these men of power and influence who are studying eagerly the life of ,jesus1 are pondering over the ,gospel narratives2 and are reading such books of ,christian devotion as ,thomas a ,kempis's ,imitation of ,christ4 ,this last-named book is now being translated by a ,brahman gentleman1 a friend of the writer1 and published by a ,hindu firm for its ,hindu readers6 ,i have known such men for many years1 and am assured that their tribe is increasing2 they are men who for the first time have found the deepest yearnings of their soul answered in the example of ,jesus4 ,ask any of them for their reason1 and they will tell you that ,christ is of the ,east1 like themselves1 and that ,his example appeals to them with unique power4 ,in ,india1 the ideal of life has been one of restraint4 ,starting with the conviction that human life is an unmixed evil1 the restraint of passion and the elimination of every human emotion 7the best as well as the worst7 has been to the ,hindu the goal and consummation of life4 ,nothing can be more inadequate than this2 and the ,hindu is beginning to feel it4 ,jesus represents ,culture and ,restraint4 ,with him the restraint of the lower passions is with a view to the culture of the higher4 ,the man of sin must die1 that the man of ,god may live and prosper4 ,this is the ,christ ideal1 as opposed to the ,brahmanic4 ,and the leaven of this ideal of life is spreading all over ,india and is transforming the aspirations of millions4 ,there is nothing more inspiring or comforting than the assurance which we have that the ,christ life is becoming the dominant ideal among the classes of ,india1 as it is to a less degree among the masses4 ,a ,brahman gentleman had the presumption to say to me1 recently1 that he and his fellow-,brahmans and other ,hindus were able to understand the ,christ much better than we of the ,west4 ,he also claimed that they could understand the deep significance and the delicate shading of ,his thought better than we who are not of the ,east1 like them4 ,as a man who had taught and had tried to live the ,christ in this land for more than a quarter of a century1 ,i smiled at the audacity of his remark4 ,and yet ,i knew that that man had visions of ,christ that ,i had not2 and that he has a fondness for ,thomas a ,kempis's book1 beyond1 perhaps1 what ,i myself possess4 ,there are aspects of the teaching and of the life of ,jesus which appeal more powerfully to his ,oriental and deeply mystical nature than they can possibly to the minds of all western men4 ,of one thing1 however1 ,i am assured2 namely1 that there is a growing host of ,hindus in high position1 and in low1 who are enamoured of that ideal of life which our ,lord taught and exemplified2 and the fact that they interpret that life differently from myself causes me less sorrow than it does a desire to understand better their standpoint of appreciation4 #c4 ,i believe also that the ,incarnation of our ,lord1 in its uniqueness and supreme power as the true manifestation of ,god1 is finding rapidly increasing appreciation among the people of ,india4 ,india is the land of a myriad incarnations4 ,the doctrine has run to seed1 as it were1 among this people4 ,they are burdened with the excess of their eagerness to find ,god1 and with their manifold imagination in giving ,him form and earthly existence4 ,there is no doctrine in ,hinduism which has been carried to such a reductio ad absurdum4 ,hindus to-day would gladly accept ,christ as one of ,vishnu's incarnations1 if ,christians would permit4 ,i am not sure but that the tenth incarnation of ,vishnu was meant to represent ,christ4 ,in any case1 their growing familiarity with ,him is gradually creating in their minds a disgust with the monstrosities of their own incarnations4 ,many of them are learning that ,god's ,incarnation in ,christ is the only one which has descended to the earth for the spiritual uplifting and redemption of our race2 and1 therefore1 that it is the only incarnation which has within itself the seed of permanence and of universality4 ,the petty1 grotesque1 and local descents of ,india will satisfy no one in these days of growing breadth and union1 when the people are aspiring after an all-,india nationality4 ,in ,christ only is ,india finding the perfect revelation of ,god1 because ,he alone revealed ,him as the ,father of boundless love2 ,god1 the ,father of all men1 loving them with an infinite passion and seeking them even unto death1--that is the message of the ,christian ,incarnation4 ,and how strangely does it contrast with the moral obliquity and selfish indifference to human interest which characterize ,hindu incarnations6 ,in ,christ do we find that ,god is the ever present1 personal1 loving ,father1 seeking to bring home again ,his lost children4 ,he is supremely just and holy as ,ruler and ,provider2 but ,his justice and holiness are illumined and transfused by ,his love4 ,and as the ,eternal ,spirit ,he is striving in the hearts of men to bring them to ,himself4 ,this is the incarnation which is gaining ever increasing power in this land and whose worship is spreading from ,cape ,comorin to the ,himalayas4 #d4 ,the cross of ,christ will be accepted in ,india as the highest expression of ,god's love to man4 ,it is true that1 among many ,hindus to-day1 as among the ,greeks and ,jews of old1 the cross of ,christ is an offence and a stumbling-block4 ,the idea of vicarious atonement runs counter to the long-cherished doctrine of ,karma4 ,and it is possible that the universal prevalence of the ,karma doctrine in the land will give to the doctrine of atonement the same one-sided aspect which it has obtained among many ,christians of the ,west1 in the present day1 whereby the element of vicariousness1 or its ,god-ward efficiency1 has been considerably eliminated4 ,they may remain content to consider the cross merely as a supreme manifestation of love1 as that part of the divine example which has infinite power to attract men toward the highest life of lowest service and self-effacement4 ,however this may be1 at present1 the cross in ,india has more significance than the trident to the ,hindu4 ,and the language of the cross appeals with increasing force to all men of thought4 ,and ,i am encouraged to think that the modern commendable habit1 among educated ,hindus1 of harking back to the oldest and the best of their religious writings1 may carry ,india away again from its emphasis upon ,karma to the original1 pre-,buddhistic idea of vicariousness1 when1 for instance1 in the ,purusha ,suktha of the ,rig ,veda1 the ,purusha is represented as being sacrificed by the gods4 ,in the ,brahmanas1 also1 it is said that the ,prajabathi sacrificed himself in behalf of the gods4 ,indeed1 it has been well said that the doctrine of ,karma itself1 as connected with the doctrine of transmigration1 carries within itself a strong element of vicariousness2 since the person suffering in this birth knows nothing of the experiences of a supposed previous birth1 and is1 therefore1 suffering for a past of which he is ignorant and for which his conscience cannot hold him responsible4 #e4 ,i believe1 also1 that the ,christian conception of sin is gaining ever widening acceptance in ,india and will ultimately prevail as against the ,hindu idea4 ,the doctrine of atonement and the doctrine of sin are intimately related2 where the atonement is ignored or slighted1 the conception of sin is apt to lose its ethical content and to become formal4 ,india1 through ,buddha1 abandoned1 largely1 its long-cherished principle of vicariousness and the multiplicity of its sacrifices4 ,the consequence has been the gradual emasculation of the principle of atonement1 until the word has become emptied of content and degraded so as to mean only the eating of a filthy pill because of a certain ceremonial uncleanness1 which all the best people of the land know to be no uncleanness whatever4 ,it is natural1 under these circumstances1 to see the idea of sin also cease to have reference to moral obliquity and violation of ethical principles1 and to refer only to intellectual blindness and 7more commonly7 to ceremonial laxness and ritualistic malfeasance4 ,it is not surprising1 therefore1 that under this double departure from the truth1 conscience should have lost its place of importance and of authority to so large an extent in this land4 ,but the day of better things has dawned upon ,india4 ,the ethical concept and the moral significance of life are beginning to grip ,india very thoroughly4 ,and ,i believe that the day will soon come when sin will cease to be connected with intellectual delusion and ignorance1 and also with ceremonial irregularity1 and will be recognized in its true moral hideousness as a thing of will1 and not of intellect1 a thing of deepest life1 and not of puerile ritual4 ,thus1 with the coming of ,christ and the emphasis of western thought and western civilization upon moral integrity and nobility of character1 there is growing also a vision of sin in its right colour and perspective4 ,the gradual training of the people in ,british law and in the social ethics of the ,west1 and in the true meaning of the righteousness of the ,kingdom of ,god as promulgated by the ,christian faith1 will1 erelong1 drive out the old pantheistic idea proclaimed by ,vivekananda1 when he said that the only sin that man was capable of was the sin of regarding himself as a sinner6 ,it will also make it impossible for murderers to excuse themselves1 as one did recently to our knowledge1 as he was led to be executed1 by saying that it was not he1 but the god within him1 that slew the man6 ,india is really passing through a quiet1 but1 nevertheless1 a mighty ethical revolution4 ,its fundamental principles of morality and of religion1 as the interpreters of life1 are being rapidly transformed4 ,christianity is sowing everywhere its seed of life and of character1 as they are exemplified in the perfect life of ,jesus1 and are elaborated in the four ,gospels1 in comparison with which the message of the four ,vedas and of all subsequent ,hindu literature is but as the dark and feeble groping of the blind after light4 ,these1 then1 are the five fundamental aspects of our faith which are among the eternal verities and which have come to ,india smiling with the impress of universality1 and which are finding gradual acceptance in all portions of the land4 ,these represent what one has aptly called ,substantive ,christianity1 as distinct from ,adjectival ,christianity1 which men are prone to overemphasize and to exalt unto the heavens4 ,this latter we may love and cherish and promote with all our hearts2 but it is sectional1 partial1 and transitory4 ,the former1 on the other hand1 is abiding1 and will shine throughout the ages of eternity4 ,it will grow in influence and increase in its prevalence throughout this land until we all can say1 with the late ,chunder ,sen1 and with much more assurance than he1 ,none but ,jesus is worthy to wear this diadem1 ,india2 and ,he shall have it4 ,,index ,abhedhananda ,swami1 #dca4 ,abul ,fazli1 #caa4 ,agra1 #db1 #cjh4 ,akbar the ,great1 #ej1 #caa4 ,aligharh ,college1 #cca4 ,allah ,upanishad1 #cai4 ,almsgiving in ,islam1 #cbd4 ,altruism in ,hinduism1 #ahc4 ,amritsar1 #fa4 ,amritsar ,district1 #cce4 ,animism1 #baj4 ,arjuna and his ,vision1 #aed1 #afa4 ,arnold1 ,sir ,edwin1 #di4 ,aryans and ,caste1 #id4 ,aryans of the ,east and the ,west1 #bc4 ,arya ,somaj1 #djj-djd4 ,asceticism1 the ,way of1 #aga1 #bae1 #bbh4 ,asia1 the ,mother of ,faiths1 #cdd4 ,asoka's ,pillar1 #eg4 ,astrologer1 #bea4 ,astrology1 #bag1 #bii4 ,athi ,somaj1 #chc4 ,atma ,doctrine1 #afg4 ,atma ,sabha1 #chj4 ,aurangzeeb1 #cjg1 #cab4 ,auspicious ,days1 #bah1 #bii4 ,avidia1 #agj1 #bbc4 ,bande ,mataram1 #c4 ,baptist1 ,americans1 #hd4 ,barber's ,wife1 ,midwife1 #bga4 ,barrows1 ,dr4 ,j4 ,h41 #abf4 ,beatitudes1 the1 #cfi4 ,beef ,eating1 #abf4 ,benares1 #ff4 ,bengal1 ,partition of1 #b4 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#cb4 ,madwachariar1 #cgg4 ,mahabharata1 #aec4 ,maha ,yuga1 #bgi4 ,mandalay1 #gh4 ,manu1 #bha4 ,marriage not a ,sentiment1 #bfj4 ,masters of ,theosophy1 #dji4 ,metempsychosis1 #bcf4 ,moderates1 the1 #aj4 ,modern ,religious ,movements1 #cgd-daa4 ,mohammedan ,loyalty1 #ae4 ,mohammedan ,population1 #cjb4 ,mohammedanism1 #db1 #adj1 #cjb-ccg4 ,moral ,character of ,time1 #bib4 ,mother-in-,law1 #bfd4 ,mourning in a ,hindu ,home1 #bgb4 ,mozumdar1 ,protab1 #chf-cia4 ,mutiny1 the1 #a4 ,nana ,sahib1 #ajg4 ,nanak ,shah1 #cai1 #cgh4 ,natesa ,sastri1 ,pundit1 #bic4 ,native ,doctors1 #bgj4 ,new ,dispensation1 #cii4 ,new ,dispensation's ,creed1 #cif4 ,obscenity1 ,law punishing1 #baj4 ,occupational ,theory of ,caste1 #ih4 ,odyssey1 the1 #aec4 ,olcott1 ,colonel1 #dje1 #djh4 ,omens1 #bag4 ,oriental ,christ1 #cia4 ,origin of ,caste1 #ic4 ,outcastes of ,panjamas1 #bjh4 ,pagoda1 the ,land of the1 #gc4 ,pal1 ,bepin ,chandra1 #ab4 ,pandavas1 #aed4 ,pan ,islamic ,movement1 #ccb4 ,panjaub--its ,difficulty1 #ah4 ,pantheism1 #afj4 ,pariahs and ,hindus1 #bji4 ,parliament1 ,members of1 #g4 ,parsees1 #dj4 ,pax ,britannica1 #cab4 ,pessimism1 ,hindu1 #bag4 ,plutscho1 ,rev41 #dab4 ,polygamy of ,mohammedans1 #cbj4 ,polytheism1 #aii4 ,prakriti1 #aei4 ,prayaschitta1 #abj4 ,press in ,india1 the1 #aa1 #ba4 ,prosperity in ,india1 #ad4 ,protestantism and ,caste1 #adc4 ,protestantism1 its ,bicentenary1 #dab4 ,protestant ,missionary ,force1 #dad4 ,proverbs about ,women1 #bec4 ,puranas1 #aef1 #bgg4 ,quietism1 #bcc4 ,quran1 the1 #cah4 ,rahu ,kala1 #cjj4 ,railroads and ,caste1 #adg4 ,rajputana ,mohammedans1 #caf4 ,ramachandra1 #bha4 ,ramayana1 #aeg1 #bha4 ,ram ,mohun ,roy1 #cgi4 ,rangoon1 #gb4 ,religious ,theory of ,caste1 #ie4 ,renunciation1 #bcc4 ,revenue of ,government1 #ac4 ,rishis1 #bie4 ,risley1 ,sir ,h41 on ,caste1 #ajb4 ,robson1 ,dr41 #cbb4 ,romish ,missionaries1 #bhd4 ,sadharana ,somaj1 #che4 ,sadhus1 #bae4 ,saivites1 #aeh4 ,sakti ,worship1 #bab4 ,salvation in ,hinduism1 #ahd4 ,sarnath1 #fi4 ,sati1 #bee-beg4 ,sayuchya1 #aga1 #bbi4 ,schools and ,caste1 #adh4 ,schwey ,dagon1 #gd4 ,sedition1 #ab4 ,shah ,jehan1 #de1 #cjg4 ,sham1 a ,huge1 #bcb4 ,shiahs1 #cbg4 ,shradda1 #bgc4 ,sidhartthan1 #cdb4 ,sikhs and their ,faith1 #fb1 #cai4 ,sin1 ,christian ,conception of1 #dda4 ,site of a ,house1 #bdc4 ,siva's ,trident1 #cjj4 ,sleeping on the ,floor1 #bdf4 ,social ,reform1 #bf1 #ih1 #dai4 ,social ,theory of ,caste1 #ig4 ,soothsayers1 #ig1 #bea4 ,south ,india ,islam1 #cag4 ,statistics of ,indian ,faiths1 #ca4 ,sunnis1 #cbg4 ,superstitions of ,islam1 #cae4 ,swadesha1 #dbj4 ,swami1 ,hindu1 #aih4 ,sword of ,islam1 #cjf4 ,syrian ,church1 #cd1 #adj1 #dab4 ,tantras1 #aef4 ,taxation in ,india1 #ad4 ,temple ,cars1 #baa4 ,theebaw1 #gi4 ,theism1 #cgh4 ,theism unsatisfying1 #cih4 ,theosophical ,society1 #djd-daa4 ,thomasians1 #ce4 ,totemism and ,caste1 #aad4 ,towers of ,silence1 #dj4 ,transmigration1 #cfb4 ,travancore1 the ,land of ,charity1 #cd4 ,travancore ,maharajah1 #aaa4 ,travel in ,india1 #ca4 ,tribal ,theory of ,caste1 #if4 ,triumph of ,christianity1 #dbe4 ,triumph of ,christian ,principles1 #dcj4 ,ultimate ,salvation in ,hinduism1 #bce4 ,universities and ,politics1 #bj4 ,university ,graduates1 #f4 ,usury1 #cbc4 ,vaishnava ,cult1 #aeh4 ,vedantic ,philosophy1 #aef4 ,vishnu1 #bgi4 ,visishdadvaitha1 #cgf4 ,vivekananda1 ,swami1 #abf1 #dca4 ,western ,christianity inadequate1 #bdj4 ,western ,medical ,science1 #bga4 ,wherry1 ,dr41 #caa4 ,widows1 ,hindu1 #bac1 #bfc4 ,williams1 ,sir ,monier1 #cba4 ,women in ,hinduism1 #bac1 #beb4 ,works1 ,doctrine of1 #agd4 ,yama1 #beg4 ,yoga ,philosophy1 #aef1 #agb4 ,ziegenbalg1 #dab4 99 99 99 99 99