{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_74152/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_74152","id":"gutenberg_74152","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/74152","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: Biographies","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Hindus","India -- Social life and customs"],"text":"[Illustration: ORNAMENTS WORN BY HINDOO FEMALES.\n\n 1. _Tre no l\u0113_, } 2. _Camb\u0103l\u0101_, }\n 3. _Conth m\u0103la_, } Necklaces. 5. _Phoomka_, } Worn in the Ear.\n 4. _Bala_, worn round the Wrist. 6. _Bajoo_, worn over the Arm.\n\n DRAWN BY MR. GANGOOLY.]\n\n\n\n\n LIFE AND RELIGION\n\n OF\n\n THE HINDOOS.\n\n WITH\n\n A SKETCH\n\n OF\n\n MY LIFE AND EXPERIENCE.\n\n\n BY\n\n JOGUTH CHUNDER GANGOOLY\n\n (BAPTIZED PHILIP).\n\n\n BOSTON:\n CROSBY, NICHOLS, LEE AND COMPANY,\n 117 WASHINGTON STREET.\n 1860.\n\n\n\n\n Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by\n CROSBY, NICHOLS, LEE & CO.,\n in the Clerk\u2019s Office of the District Court of the District\n of Massachusetts.\n\n\n University Press, Cambridge:\n Stereotyped and Printed by Welch, Bigelow, & Co.\n\n\n\n\n EDITOR\u2019S PREFACE.\n\n\nHaving suggested to the writer of the following pages that he should\ndo what some who are more competent, and a great many who are far less\ncompetent than himself are doing daily, viz. write a book, I brought\nupon myself the office of revising his manuscript, and supervising\nits publication. It was a particular sort of a book which I proposed\nto him, and as he has come so near to the ideal which I had of what\nhe might write, I have taken care to leave it as he wrote it, with no\nbetterments and no injuries received while the manuscript was in my\nhands. Something of the interest of Mr. Gangooly\u2019s composition might\nhave been expected to lie in its style and in his peculiar modes of\nexpression. So scrupulous have I been to allow the whole work to\nstand as his own, that I have seldom ventured to correct even his\noccasional slips of grammar, and have in no case altered his idiom.\nThe reader will hardly fail to notice how charming and attractive the\ncontents of these pages are made by the natural eloquence, the hearty\nfrankness, and the wonderful power of discernment of this very young\nand marvellously endowed Hindoo convert to Christ. The perusal of his\nlittle book will deepen the impression made upon the minds of a large\nnumber of most intelligent persons who had any intercourse with him,\nthat his experience has been profoundly interesting, that he possesses\ngenius and many signal qualities of character, and that he is fitted to\naccomplish a most serious and useful work in life, if the circumstances\nhereafter appointed for him shall be propitious, and if he shall remain\nsteadfast in his Christian purposes and zeal.\n\nI have leave to print here the following letter containing information,\nwhich I asked for my own personal satisfaction, from a most faithful\nfriend of Mr. Gangooly, to whom, as will appear in the closing pages\n(as well as from the Preface) of this volume, the latter expresses\nso much gratitude for kindness in his home, and for service in the\ntraining of his mind.\n\n REV. GEORGE E. ELLIS, D. D.:--\n\n MY DEAR SIR,--\n\n I cheerfully comply with your request to give you some facts\n relating to the education of Mr. Gangooly while in this\n country, and also a brief notice of his opinions, together with\n a few impressions of his mind and character. I do this the\n more readily, because Mr. Gangooly was so much engaged with\n preparations for his return home as to be unable to write as\n fully, in the \u201cNarrative of his Religious Experience,\u201d of his\n studies here and his opinions, as he had intended.\n\n Mr. Gangooly came to this country expressly to prepare himself\n as a Christian missionary. The plan or extent of his future\n labors were not distinctly apprehended at the time of his\n arrival, and the few words he uttered in the Bedford Street\n Church, in which he said he had come to learn more of the\n Christian religion, so that on his return he might be better\n enabled to instruct his countrymen, express his general purpose.\n This has been gaining in strength and breadth, as his mind has\n enlarged its knowledge, and as his character has unfolded under\n positive Christian influences. On his arrival, though it was\n evident that he was a young man of quick powers of perception,\n and unusual aptness for learning a new language, yet he was, as\n it were, only a child thrown upon wholly untried experiences.\n Indeed, after he had been in this country eight months,--which\n was the time when he became a resident of my family, and was put\n under my instruction,--he was even then as ignorant of many of\n our conventional customs as a child. Everything was so new and\n strange to him. The details of social life, modes of thought,\n forms of speech,--in fact, the whole structure of society,--and\n our political and religious institutions were so unlike those of\n Bengal, that he seemed to live in another world. Notwithstanding\n this, he conformed to his new social conditions with remarkable\n adaptation, and fell into the routine of custom with quickness\n and ease. He rarely made the same mistake a second time.\n\n It was this entire difference between his previous training,\n his race, mental habitudes, and social surroundings and our\n own, which made the question of his education a difficult one.\n What should we do with this young Hindoo? He had not come to\n be Americanized. He did not propose to occupy our pulpits as a\n permanent minister, or to address those who had grown up with\n our habits of thought, traditional convictions, or peculiarities\n of race and nation. He came to prepare himself to teach and\n preach Christianity to the people in India, and to translate the\n fresh and vigorous ideas of a rational Christian faith into his\n native tongue. As yet he had to learn more fully the English\n language. A recent convert, he had all the fresh enthusiasm of\n a neophyte. Thus far he had learned chiefly from Christ, and\n had caught glimpses of the moral elevation and spiritual beauty\n of his religion as seen in the Gospels, or idealized by his\n own vivid Oriental imagination. He had not fully seen the wide\n gulf which separates the pure religion of Christ and that which\n is so often taught and lived by imperfect disciples. He was\n wholly unfitted to enter intelligently, all at once, into those\n intellectual discussions which arise from the conflict between\n established belief and prevailing doubt. In the first stages of\n his Christian experience, it might permanently injure him to be\n exposed to that destructive and critical tone of thought which\n is a result of the principles of free inquiry, and which is\n so rife in our colleges and theological schools. These various\n considerations made the case of this young man an exceptional\n one. The Executive Committee of the Unitarian Association, who\n had the direction of his education, could not be guided by the\n wisdom of experience. His coming was itself an experiment, and\n the case had no precedent. What then was to be done? In view\n of all the facts, it was decided, that the early period of Mr.\n Gangooly\u2019s studies should be under the direction and care of\n persons who should act in the twofold capacity of parent and\n instructor. That he might have the benefit of the rich result\n of different minds, he recited to various clergymen, and was\n thus brought under the influence of their scholarship and piety.\n It also, I believe, formed a part of the original plan of his\n education that he should finish his preparatory studies at one\n of our theological schools. But the brief period of his stay in\n this country, and the absorption of his time in the practical\n work connected with his mission, prevented the execution of\n this part of the original design beyond the attendance of a\n few lectures at the Divinity School in Cambridge. To a great\n degree he was his own instructor, and he gained more by the\n independent action of his own mind than by the direct efforts of\n his teachers.\n\n Throughout the two years of his sojourn he kept constantly in\n view the great object of his life. To gain efficiency for this,\n he gave more attention to the working of Christianity among men\n and in institutions, than to the study of books. His mind has\n been directed more to religion as expressed in practical life,\n than as speculative thought embodied in theology. He came to\n study man under a civilization, institutions, race, literature,\n and religion, wholly unlike those where he had lived, and the\n course he pursued was better fitted to make him a missionary\n than a scholar. The chief of his studies was the New Testament.\n To the Gospels he gave a more systematic reading than to\n anything else. But even here he manifested the same intellectual\n features which universally characterized him. He was more\n careful to get at the thought of the writer than to dwell on\n the minute distinctions of textual philology. His Oriental mind\n aided him in his Scripture studies, and he vividly apprehended\n the local allusions and the general costume of the thought in\n the New Testament. To this study of the New Testament he added\n that of the evidences of Christianity. His time did not permit\n him to enter upon this subject as fully as was desirable. Beside\n these he took a rapid survey of portions of ecclesiastical\n history, enough perhaps to give him an idea of the relation\n which the history of the Church holds to the vital truths of the\n Gospel. These, together with writing, were the chief subjects of\n study. As one of the most important parts of his future labors\n would be that of a translator, much of his study had reference\n to this. He never wrote what are called compositions,--never\n had assigned him set themes. His mind was so enriched with new\n impressions, and his feelings were so aroused by ever-varying\n scenes, that he never was at loss for a subject. His mind was\n full, and in his writing he gave utterance to some existing\n thought or emotion. To have adopted any other method would\n have endangered the quaintness, vigor, and natural freshness\n of his style. When we remember that he has spoken English but\n a little more than two years, the mastery he has gained over\n our language, and his power of expressing his thoughts will be\n evident to every reader of his book.\n\n It is more difficult to speak with accuracy of a young man\u2019s\n opinions, especially if he be a foreigner. The faculty of\n expressing these with clearness and distinctness is the result\n of high mental training, or original power of intellectual\n discrimination. Still, Mr. Gangooly\u2019s general religious views\n existed in his mind as clear and definite ideas. In his\n reception of Christianity he has been influenced chiefly by the\n internal evidences. The superiority and the sanctity of the\n Saviour\u2019s life and instructions have taken the deepest hold of\n his convictions. The miracles recorded in the Gospels never had\n much weight with him as grounds of evidence. Often he said that\n it would be useless to urge them--as a proof of the Christian\n religion--on the attention of the intelligent Hindoo. This state\n of mind did not arise so much from a philosophical difficulty,\n as from the fact that wonderful narratives were wrought into the\n superstitions of his own people, and that he associated the two\n together. His general theory on this subject was the wellknown\n axiom, that the miracle must be tested by the Truth connected\n with it, and not the truth by the Miracle.\n\n We can also trace the same influence on his mind in his estimate\n of the Jewish Scriptures. He became a Christian directly through\n Christ. He passed at once from Brahminism into the Christian\n Church, and had listened to the voice of Jesus before he knew\n of Moses. He was thus led, I think, to undervalue the positive\n side of Judaism as a religious faith. With a caste of mind\n strongly rationalistic, he accepted the truths of Christ as\n those in harmony with the conclusions of the rational faculties.\n He believed that Christianity was a rational religion. But\n it was more to him than a philosophy,--it was a Divine life.\n Coexisting with his rational bent was a deep religiousness. The\n spirituality of the Gospel and the moral beauty of Christ\u2019s\n character made a deep impression on his heart. His piety had\n its roots in trust and love. The affectionateness which he\n exhibited in his constant and always abiding love for his\n mother, he carried into his religion. In his sadness, sorrow,\n and temptations, he lived as a child in the presence of a\n Father, and in his New Testament readings or in conversations\n on his future plans he would give utterance to the loftiest\n sentiments of piety. Indeed, piety with him is stronger as a\n sentiment than as a principle. This I apprehend is true of all\n Christian converts among the Hindoos. In the darkest hour of\n disappointment or of lonely home-sickness, his face would light\n up with a smile as he gave utterance to the words of trust. He\n reposed with unfaltering confidence in the Divine Providence.\n Called, as we all are, to struggle against weakness, error, and\n sin, as he grew into a diviner knowledge of Christ, he increased\n in strength. He often spoke of his need of Christ. It was the\n Saviour who satisfied the deepest yearnings of his nature.\n He expressed this after reading the \u201cExperience of Theodore\n Parker.\u201d Although on many points he was in intellectual sympathy\n with Mr. Parker, he differed from him in his estimate of Christ.\n He often spoke of the Saviour as his absolute teacher, and often\n spoke with deep feeling of the value of Christ\u2019s invitation to\n sinners, \u201cCome unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden,\n and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me,\n for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto\n your souls; for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.\u201d\n\n He laid great stress on the doctrine of the simple Unity of\n God. As the Hindoo Trinity was associated in his mind with the\n superstitions of his old faith, he always had the same feeling\n with respect to the Christian Trinity. As he emancipated himself\n from idolatry by a natural law of thought, he seized hold of\n the truth of the simple unity of God, and clung to it with\n great tenacity of conviction. In his mind Unitarianism, that\n is, the idea of the Oneness of God, was synonymous with that of\n Christianity. He left the idols of men\u2019s creating, and clung to\n the doctrine of the one living and true God.\n\n But the most interesting feature of his life here was to see\n the power of the Gospel, as a spiritual force, working out\n moral results in his character. He came among us the creature\n of impulse. This in the early period of his sojourn here led\n him into hastiness of action. His impulsiveness was the weak\n side of his character. But through the influence of prayer,\n and the spirit of Christ strengthening him, he was enabled\n to overcome this defect to a great degree. At first, like a\n child, the desire and the effort to gratify the desire followed\n each other without reflection intervening. But he learned\n through experience the important lesson of self-control.\n He had great truthfulness. This is the more remarkable,\n because lying is a universal sin among the Bengali. With the\n knowledge of this national vice, and with a scrutiny which\n sometimes ran into an unwarranted and ungenerous suspicion,\n and in the most confidential intercourse for a year, I cannot\n recall a single instance of wilful prevarication. He also\n blended great simplicity with a sagacity which bordered on\n cunning. This was so evident that often he would say he had\n the cunning of the serpent with the gentleness of the dove.\n It was the union of these opposites, in connection with his\n impulsiveness and ignorance of our conventional prudence, which\n gave his friends solicitude. While they had confidence in his\n character, they feared he might be misunderstood from his\n apparent indiscretions. How few of our own youth are enabled\n to go through the various exposures of life and come out with\n Christian victory! It is therefore no disparagement of our young\n Hindoo brother to confess to a feeling of deep solicitude lest\n in the moral dangers of our society he might have been lured\n from the Christian path. But the longer he remained the stronger\n he became, until armed with the spirit of a Christian faith and\n devotion he was consecrated for his life-work.\n\n Sir John Bowring, in a speech at the Unitarian Collation in\n London, last May, in reply to a sentiment,--that Christianity\n may gain new triumphs in heathen lands,--gave some very\n valuable suggestions as to the best methods of Christianizing\n the heathen. The report of his speech as given in the London\n Inquirer is well worth the consideration of every missionary.\n Any one who will read the remarks of the British statesman,\n and the Farewell Address of Mr. Gangooly, on Sunday, June 10,\n in Boston, will see in many respects the striking similarity\n of the views of both speakers in their idea of the best method\n of approach to the Hindoo mind. Mr. Bowring says: \u201cThe result\n of my observation was that there was everywhere a vast deal\n of truth to respect, and everywhere a vast deal of truth to\n love, and if we went forth with a desire to discover that with\n which we could sympathize, and a disposition to recognize that\n there was much that was excellent in the religion of others, we\n should the more easily prepare the way for the advancement of\n our religion.\u201d As an illustration he cites Brahminism, and uses\n thoughts very like those of Mr. Gangooly\u2019s Address. Again, in\n the same speech, Sir John adds: \u201cIf the missionaries, however,\n recognized that there was much in their books--(i.e. those\n of the Brahmins and the Buddhists)--that was attractive and\n lovable, they would win the affections of those people, who\n would easily be led into argument. If the Unitarians sent forth\n missionaries, as he hoped they would at some future period, he\n was convinced they would not meet with so many difficulties\n as the Orthodox missionaries met at every step. There were\n many absurdities, and a recognition of a vast deal that was\n abominable in the religious systems of heathenism; but at the\n same time there were great truths, and if we sympathized with\n these we should obtain greater success than had hitherto been\n achieved. It was certainly our duty, as far as we are able, to\n enter as harbingers of civilization, and as teachers of wisdom\n and virtue, into regions which had hitherto been but imperfectly\n explored.\u201d This is the language of an intelligent observer, who\n has spent many years among the Oriental nations. He testifies\n to the transitions of society which are going on in India, and\n expresses the rational ground for belief that the times are\n propitious for carrying there the light of Christianity. I\n allude to this here so fully because his views of the state of\n India, and his opinion of the best methods of missionary effort,\n coincide with those entertained by Mr. Gangooly, and confirm\n the justness of the latter\u2019s conclusions. Indeed, if there is\n any striking peculiarity in Mr. Gangooly, it is a remarkable\n tact in adapting himself to the state of mind of the persons\n whom he addresses. His perception of character is rapid and\n unusually correct, and he has the eclectic power of drawing from\n a system its excellences. In his revolt from his old faith he\n still discriminates between original Brahminism and the present\n effete religion and superstitious idolatry of India. Here again\n his conversations on this point were in striking agreement with\n the opinions of Sir John Bowring.\n\n But I have already taken up too much of your time. I have\n not exaggerated my estimate of the mind and character of Mr.\n Gangooly. From the time he first came to my house to the present\n hour, his mind has ripened and his character gathered up\n strength. He returns to his home to begin the fiery struggle.\n His moral courage is greater than his physical, but he goes with\n the conviction that he is in the hands of Divine Providence.\n If his life is spared, I can see no reasonable ground to doubt\n that he will be an instrument of good to his darkened and\n superstitious people. But the future belongs to God. He has\n found a host of sympathizing friends. To carry out his plans he\n will need the aid of our prayers and active co-operation. That\n he deserves these I have not the shadow of a doubt; that he\n ought to have them is my firm and deep conviction.\n\n Truly yours,\n S. W. BUSH.\n\n Medfield, July 20, 1860.\n\nMr. Gangooly\u2019s manuscript was put into my hands just as he was about\nleaving the country for England, on his way home to India. Had he been\nnear me I should have been glad to have consulted him about some points\nof his composition, especially about the spelling of some words. It\nwill be observed that his orthography in the spelling of words of his\nown language familiar to us is peculiar.\n\nIt was his wish and expectation that his Sketch of Religion and Life in\nIndia, and his account of his own Religious Experience should appear\nseparately, each as a distinct publication. Perhaps, in view of the\nsectarian position which he will be understood as assuming in the\nlatter piece, it might have been better that his intentions should have\nbeen carried out. But his friends and the publishers have concluded\nto pursue a different course, chiefly because each composition helps\nto illustrate the other, while the two together barely reach to the\ndimensions of a book.\n\nI have been requested by friends of Mr. Gangooly to make proper\nreference here to some most unworthy and disgraceful remarks in\nthree or more of the Calvinistic and Baptist newspapers--\u201creligious\njournals,\u201d so called--about the conversion, the mission, and the\nobjects of this Hindoo disciple. I have had these papers before me, and\nhave noted the gibes and sneers which they have cast, in the interest\nof a poor and discomfited bigotry, upon the personal character and\nhistory and the aims of an unoffending and thoroughly earnest believer\nof the Gospel of Christ, who has come to it through a process unlike\nthat which for methods and results they approve. But I have not\nthought that it would help the cause of Christian charity, or be in\nharmony with the beautiful spirit exhibited in the pages following,\nfor me to name those \u201creligious papers,\u201d or to extract their offensive\nmatter. The harm they can do is steadily, year by year, becoming\nmore circumscribed, as the readers for whose poor entertainment or\n\u201cedification\u201d they are edited form a proportionately smaller and\nsmaller portion of our intelligent communities, and have an equally\ndiminished importance or influence in giving a tone to the religion\nof the time. If this book should fall into the hands of any of those\nreaders whose sectarian journals have lavished their abuse or ridicule\nupon its author, while it will be sure to engage their interest for\nhim, it may also soften some of their own prejudices.\n\n G. E. E.\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS.\n\n LIFE AND RELIGION OF THE HINDOOS.\n\n\n PAGE\n\n PREFACE xxvii\n\n\n BOOK I.\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n Hindoo Caste.--Its Origin, Elements, Division, Subdivision,\n Strength, and Influence on the People. 1\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n The Birth.--Distribution of Presents.--Writing on the\n Forehead.--The Feast of Eight Peas.--The Day of\n Purification, etc. 13\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n Education.--Sanscrith.--Chalk in the Hand.--Patshata, the\n Teacher.--The Discipline in the School. 18\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n The Second Birth.--Brahmun Consecrated Thread.--Discipline\n and Privileges of the Brahmun\u2019s Life. 27\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n The Marriage.--Polygamy.--Koolyn and Moulick.--Marriage.\n --Age.--Selection.--Agreement.--Anointment.--Bachelor and\n Maiden Feasts.--The Joy-Cakes.--Bridegroom starts for Bride\u2019s\n House.--Reception.--Discussion.--Twelve Friends Party.--Throwing\n Stone Party.--Ceremony.--Good Interview.--Dining-Room\n Plagues.--Distribution of Money.--Return.--Reception.--Bridal\n Feast. 38\n\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n Death.--Boithornee.--Bathing.--Anointment.--Sho.--Burning\n the Body.--Expression of Mourning.--Widows.--Shoratho. 55\n\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n Domestic Life, Education, etc. 65\n\n\n BOOK II.\n\n INTRODUCTION 80\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n BOIS-AK, APRIL.\n\n The New Year\u2019s Day.--The Change of Account-Books.--Sacred\n Choir.--Dedication of Water-Pitcher.--Women\u2019s\n Ceremony.--Way-side Hospitality.--The Idols in Water. 92\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n JO-ISTO, MAY.\n\n The Worship of Shus-ty.--Son-in-law invited. 102\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n AUSH-ER, JUNE.\n\n The Bath of Jogger-nauth.--The Worship of the River Gunga. 105\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n SHRA-BUN, JULY.\n\n The Roth Jatra, or the Car of Jogger-nauth. 130\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n VAUTHRO, AUGUST.\n\n The Birthday of Krishno.--Fasting and Worship on the\n Occasion.--Rejoicing of Nuntho; the Worship of\n Monsha,--a Goddess whose Messengers are Serpents, Adders,\n Toads, etc. 134\n\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n AUSHEEN, SEPTEMBER.\n\n The Doorga pooja. 136\n\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n KARTIC, OCTOBER.\n\n \u201cThe Lamp in the Air.\u201d--The Goddess\n Kallee.--Torch-Festival.--Red Marks on the Door-Post. 149\n\n\n CHAPTER VIII.\n\n OG-GROW-HAW-UN, NOVEMBER.\n\n Juggur-dhartree and Rash-jatra. 155\n\n\n CHAPTER IX.\n\n POUS, DECEMBER. 157\n\n\n CHAPTER X.\n\n MAGH, JANUARY.\n\n The Morning Bath.--Shoresh-sotee, or Muse. 158\n\n\n CHAPTER XI.\n\n FAL-GOON, FEBRUARY.\n\n The Thole-jatha. 165\n\n\n CHAPTER XII.\n\n CHOITHRO, MARCH.\n\n Churuck-pooja.--Hook Swinging. 167\n\n\n MISCELLANEOUS 180\n\n APPENDIX 185\n\n\n A SKETCH OF MY LIFE AND EXPERIENCE.\n\n PREFACE 195\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n My Childhood and Education.--My Mother. 197\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n My \u201cSecond Birth.\u201d--Consecration for the Priesthood.--Religious\n Training.--Death of my Father.--English Schools.--Zeal for\n Idolatry. 210\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n First Views of Christianity.--Prejudices.--Sermon on the\n Mount.--New Testament.--Efforts and Struggles.--Comparison\n of Hindoo and Christian Doctrines.--Conversion.--First\n Zeal.--Perplexed by the Trinity.--Visit to a\n Missionary.--Trinitarianism.--My Difficulties.--Deistical\n Companions.--Arrival of Mr. Dall. 221\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n Why I became a Unitarian.--My own Reading and Study of the\n Bible.--The Missionaries\u2019 Doctrines. 256\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n Interest in America.--Desire and Purpose to go.--My Friend\n agrees to accompany me.--Ill Reports of America.--Horror of\n Slavery.--My Friend fails me.--Will go alone.--Arrangements.--My\n Mother.--Last Days at Home.--Voyage.--Arrival in\n America.--My Experiences here. 270\n\n FAREWELL! 301\n\n\n\n\n THE\n\n LIFE AND RELIGION\n\n OF\n\n THE HINDOOS.\n\n\n\n\n TO THE REVEREND C. H. A. DALL.\n\n\n MY DEAR FRIEND AND PASTOR:--\n\nDesirous of acknowledging the precious religious instructions you have\nimparted to me, and the blessings you are still bestowing on my beloved\ncountry, I, in your name, respectfully present this small volume to\nyour countrymen, that they may know the manners, customs, and religious\ninstitutions of that distant nation for whose regeneration you are\ncheerfully spending the best part of your life, away from home and\nfamily. That your Christian labors may be ever attended with success,\nand your life be crowned with the smile of Heaven, is the heartfelt\nprayer of\n\n Your disciple,\n JOGUTH CHUNDER GANGOOLY.\n\n MEDFIELD, MASS., 27 October, 1859.\n\n\n\n\n PREFACE.\n\n\nThe true knowledge of a thing is always desirable, whatever be its\nnature,--soft or hard, sweet or bitter.\n\nArriving in this part of the world, I saw several works on India in\nwhich their learned authors have attempted to treat of the manners,\ncustoms, and religion of the Hindoos. It is no wonder that so\ninquisitive, learned, and civilized a people as the American should\nwant to know all about Hindostan, the \u201cGolden Orient,\u201d which was the\ndream of the enterprising Europeans of the thirteenth and fourteenth\ncenturies. But how far these books give the true account of the thing,\na Brahmun can well judge. A story is prevalent in this country, on\nthe authority of missionaries, to the effect that the Hindoo devotees\nthrow themselves under the heavy car of Juggernauth as sacrifices.\nAgain, wherever I go my friends ask me, \u201cDo the Hindoo mothers throw\ntheir babies into the Ganges now?\u201d[1] and other questions of similar\npurport. I am quite amused to see the little schoolboys and girls in\nAmerica, who seem to know more of India than I do. I never heard such\nstories even from the lips of my grandmother. I admit, however, other\nfacts,--as the burning the Shotees, and Hook-swinging, etc.\n\nIt is very difficult for a foreigner to understand the life and\nreligion of the Hindoos, a people who, owing to their caste system,\nhave no social intercourse with the Jobuns (the people who are not\nHindoos). A foreigner spending a quarter of a century in a Hindoo\nvillage, would understand little of their peculiarities. His attempt to\ndescribe the Hindoo life is similar to that of sketching the buildings\nwithin the walls of China. But the walls of superstition which guard\nthe Hindoo are impregnable, and stronger than those of China. Hence\nthe imperfect, and for the most part untrue accounts which European\nand American travellers bring home to their friends. They tell merely\naccording as they see, but not what they know. Seeing the cabinets of\nmy friends here full of imperfect, broken, meaningless curiosities from\nIndia, I thought of helping them with something true and substantial;\nnot what I picked up on \u201cIndia\u2019s coral strand,\u201d but what I lived and\nmoved among from my infancy. And again, being a Brahmun of the highest\ncaste in the community, all the religious and social institutions\nwere open for my inspection, hence my information is genuine. Though\nI desired very much on my arrival to write a book on Indian life and\nreligion, yet my imperfect knowledge of the English language prevented\nme.\n\nAt the kind invitation of my valued friend, Rev. George E. Ellis, D.D.,\nof Charlestown, Mass., I gave two lectures on India, before his people.\nHearing what I had to say, and finding it novel and of interest, he\ndesired me to give it to the public in the form of a book, and promised\nhis precious help in the enterprise. Thus the old desire, burning\nunseen in my heart, grew stronger, and I started in the enterprise at\nonce.\n\nI owe much to the kind aid of my friend and teacher, Rev. Solon W.\nBush, of Medfield, Mass., whose incessant help was my guide all the way\nthrough. To enumerate the ways in which kindness was shown to me by\nhim, I would say, besides unfolding the peculiar idioms and arbitrary\nrules of the English language, he put words to my lips, gave motion to\nmy pen, and offered to correct my manuscript.\n\nMy main object in writing this is to do India justice, and give to my\nChristian friends some correct information respecting her manners,\ncustoms, and religious institutions. Having a full knowledge of the\nsubjects, I have attempted to treat of them in full, explaining their\nmeaning and showing the occasion which gave their rise. I have divided\nthe book into two parts, the first giving a sketch of Hindoo life just\nas it is, with all its peculiarities; and the second, of the Hindoo\nReligion as observed by the friends at home in these days. To add a\npart more, and devote it to the description of striking similarities\nthat exist between the traditional, historical, mythological, and\nscriptural accounts of the Hindoos and of other nations, had been my\nearnest desire, but various circumstances, especially the want of time,\nsadly interfered with my plan. Not knowing when the summons would come\nfor my return to India, I have guided my pen with railroad speed, so as\nto get the book finished in season.\n\nIn conclusion, I would say once more, that the reader will not find\na richly decorated style, but the bare, true statement of facts as\nknown by one who is a Hindoo by birth, and knows what he says from\npersonal experience. Hoping that the kind reader will overlook the\ninevitable deficiencies in my style, and accept the genuine information\nI faithfully give, I remain,\n\n J. C. G.\n\n\n\n\n LIFE AND RELIGION\n\n OF\n\n THE HINDOOS.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n HINDOO CASTE.--ITS ORIGIN, ELEMENTS, DIVISION, SUBDIVISION,\n STRENGTH, AND INFLUENCE ON THE PEOPLE.\n\n\nAlmost every school-boy or girl in America or England knows that\nin India the people are divided into castes. Foreigners interpret\nthe caste system of the Hindoos in various ways. Some say that it\nis something like the religious sects in Christendom, while others\naffirm that it is to show and preserve the distinction between men\nof intelligence, worth, renown, and riches; such as Whigs, Tories,\nDemocrats, Aristocrats, &c. But it is not so. It is a very different\nsystem, and foreigners understand it very imperfectly.\n\nAmong the primitive Hindoos there were only four castes:--1. the\nBrahmun; 2. the Kais-th; 3. the Khetry-as; 4. the Soodras. They\nemanated from Broh-m\u00f2; hence the name Brahmun, from the root Broh-m\u00f2.\nThe Kais-th took its rise from the body of the Broh-m\u00f2, and is composed\nof two Sanscrith words, _Kay_, which means body, and _isth_,\nplaced. The Khetry-as are from the arms, and the Soodras from the\nfeet of the Broh-m\u00f2. These are the four primary \u201cjath\u0113\u0113\u201d or castes.\nIn order to discharge all the social duties, and perform whatever is\nabsolutely necessary for the growth and comfort of society, these\nfour castes took upon themselves to execute faithfully the functions\nprescribed for them.\n\nThe manner in which these occupations have been assigned, is rather\nphilosophical and systematic. The Brahmun, rising from the mouth of\nBroh-m\u00f2, assumed the precedence, directed the other three as they fitly\ndeserved, and put all the sacerdotal functions in their own hands. To\nthe Kaisths was assigned the business of writers, clerks, accountants,\n&c. Hence the Hindoos believe the record-keeper of Pluto (Jom) is a\nKais-th, named Chith-ro-Goopto. The Soodras are to perform all the\nmenial services, because they originated from the feet of Broh-m\u00f2.\nThe Hindoos make great distinctions between the different parts of\nthe body. The sanctity rests on the highest parts; there is nothing\ngood at the feet. As the custom in India is to wear silver, gold, and\nother jewelry on the body, the females wear no gold ornaments round the\nankles, for gold is the most sacred metal, being valuable and scarce.\n\nTo touch a man by the foot is regarded as an insufferable insult;\na kick, \u201cnath\u0113\u0113,\u201d is worse than a heavy stroke of a cudgel. But\nthe Brahmuns have a right to touch other castes by the foot, as\ntheir scripture declares them the Master of all, \u201c_Bornanang\nBrah-monogooroo_.\u201d\n\nThe four primary castes, notwithstanding they had one and the same\nreligion to profess and the same language to speak, had no intimate\ndealings with each other, such as the intercourse which binds family to\nfamily and relative to relative. From the beginning, we do not see the\ninstitution of intermarriage among them, and what is surprising, after\nall, the one caste does not eat any food boiled with salt at another\ncaste\u2019s house. Only Brahmuns are excepted. Their houses and everything\ntherein are sacred to the Hindoos.\n\nIn course of time, as the descendants of these castes grew numerous,\nthe injustice and disorder grew also. Though there were no\nintermarriages among them, yet some children were born from what they\nemphatically call \u201cunnatural connection.\u201d These children were termed\n\u201cBurno sunker,\u201d corrupted blood. Measures were readily taken to remodel\nthe society, as well as to put a stop to the promiscuous connections,\nwhich were so common then that distinction of castes seemed to groan\nunder its pressure, by lengthening the structure of the caste system,\nand bringing the \u201ccorrupted blood\u201d within its jurisdiction. And,\nagreeably to the original method, some fixed profession was enjoined\nupon them. Hence, at the present day there are thirty-four castes; each\nstands on a separate and distinct ground from its neighbor. Let us\ntrace them in their respective professions. We often see two or three\nlow castes do the same business, while others have some subdivision\nin them. 1. Brahmun, priest; 2. Aucherje\u0103, astrologers; 3. Boid-tho,\nphysicians; 4. Kais-th, clerks; 5. Suth-goap, farmers; 6. Goap,\ndairymen; 7. Napith, barber; 8. Nundy, dealer in salt; 9. Tal\u0113\u0113, common\nstorekeeper; 10. Kormo-kar, blacksmith; 11. Sorno-kar, goldsmith;\n12. Tonth-boy, weaver; 13. Koy-borth; 14. Moduck, confectioner; 15.\nRojock, washer; 16. Sooth-rodar, carpenter; 17. Coomar, idol-maker,\npotter, &c.; 18. Poto, painter; 19. M\u0103l\u0101, fisher on the river; 20.\nJ\u0101l\u0101, fisher in artificial ponds, as well as in the river; 21. Dool\u0101,\nbearer; 22. Bagth\u0113\u0113, fish-seller; 23. Joogy, weaver and priest of\ncommonplace idols, whom the Brahmuns are forbidden to attend to; 24.\nBaroo\u0113, pan-leaf cultivator; 25. Chundal, publican, always mason; 26.\nMooch\u0113\u0113, shoemaker; 27. Ka\u014fra, hog-keeper; 28. Bathea, fowler; 29.\nMoortho-roras, funeral-place cleaner; 30. Harie, women who do the\nbusiness of nurses to the infants till twenty-one days from their\nbirth; 31. Dome, basket-maker; 32. Nag, snake-charmer; 33. B\u0101n\u0101,\nbanker; 34. Shooree, wine-seller.\n\nPerhaps some may question whether the member of one caste is able to\nchange his caste or not. I say, no. In other countries, a man from an\nobscure origin can possibly exalt himself to a conspicuous footing in\nsociety, by means of his opulence, learning, experience, &c.; but in\nIndia there are impregnable walls between the castes, so that nobody\ncan exalt himself to a caste higher than his own. When we come to\nexamine well the caste system of the Hindoos, we are led to think\nthat it is something like the dispensation of nature in one respect.\nIt is impossible to transform a dog into an ox, a deer into a camel,\nor a horse into an elephant; indeed, there is the same difficulty in\nattempting to make a weaver out of a barber, a physician out of a\nshoemaker, and a Brahmun out of a physician. To confirm the remarks\njust made, I will bring an instance from the Hindoo antiquity, and\npresent it to the reader to show the impracticability of changing one\u2019s\ncaste for a higher one.\n\nThere was a pious Kais-th king, named Bisha-mithra, who wanted to\nbe a Brahmun. As it is only in the power of Krishno to make him a\npriest, he determines to please him in spending his time in \u201ctoposhia,\u201d\nprayer. Leaving his kingdom, riches, friends, and sundering the ties\nof relationship, he entered into a forest, and there, among the\nwild beasts, spent centuries in unceasing prayer. As self-torture\nis regarded very essential to propitiate some gods, this king used\nto kindle fires round his seat in the summer, and in winter immerse\nhis body up to the neck in water, offering prayer to Krishno.\nHis meal was, at the early part of his retired life, once a day,\nafterwards once a week, and even that consisted only of wild fruit.\nYear after year passed away, witnessing the mistaken piety of this\nking. At last pity awoke in the breast of Krishno, and he descended\nfrom his _goluck_, heaven, to bless the pious devotee. \u201cBorung\nboorno,\u201d--\u201cAsk a boon, child,\u201d--the god said. \u201cThy devotion, faith,\nand prayer have reached me. Now I have come to bless thee; tell me,\nwhat dost thou want?\u201d The king, thus addressed, replied, \u201cObject\nof universal adoration! If my tears, fasting, and prayers are so\nsuccessful as to find a place in thy consideration, will not my heart\u2019s\ndesires, also, meet thy approbation? Yes, Lord, it is in thy power\nto cause a lame man to climb to the summit of mountains, a pigmy to\nreach the moon, and a babe to cross the unbounded \u2018seven oceans,\u2019\nby swimming. What is unknown to thee? Art thou not the Inspector of\nall hearts? If thy servant has been commanded to reveal to thee his\nwants, he would then say that neither the aim for absolute lordship\nover the world, nor the desirable combination of long life and health,\nhas made him to devote these tedious years in prayer and abstinence.\nWhat he earnestly wished for, is the life, the caste, the privilege of\na Brahmun.\u201d \u201cBe still, child,\u201d the Krishno replied; \u201cask for a home\nin my _goluck_, and it will be granted thee. But to make thee a\nBrahmun, in this thy present life, is impracticable. But I would meet\nthy demands partially. Henceforth thou shalt be a Rh\u0113\u0113s\u0113\u0113, not Mon\u0113\u0113\n(a title of a Brahmun saint), write sacred books for the edification\nof thy castes, and have the discipline, not the caste, of Brahmun.\u201d\nI hope this instance will clearly show to the reader the strength of\nthe castes as it is in India. A man after losing his caste, for small\noffences, can regain it by undergoing some penances; but he cannot by\nany means whatever purchase a higher caste, or regain his own if he is\nguilty of some heavy crime. By heavy crime I do not mean anything more\nthan the violation of ordinances and the restrictions pertaining to the\ncaste system.\n\nIf a man commits adultery, deceives the people, indulges in\nintoxication, and practises all sorts of vices which degrade humanity,\nhe is regarded as a sinner, an odious, vile creature. The good people\ndo not keep any intimate correspondence with him; but, nevertheless, he\nstands in his caste. When a Brahmun marries a low-caste woman, who is\nendowed with a seraph\u2019s charms and purity, or eats the forbidden meat,\nsuch as beef, veal, ham, or pork, he loses his caste forever.\n\nThe astrologers, Aucherje\u0103, are of the same creed with the Brahmuns.\nThey have equal rights in the study of sacred books, but have no\ndealing with them. They are regarded as a very low caste, so much so\nthat even a barber, blacksmith, or goldsmith would not drink water in\ntheir houses.\n\nAll the Brahmuns do not belong to one and the same class, although they\nare members of the same caste. There are a great many orders among\nthem, high or low, according to the nature of the castes to which they\npreside over. Thus the priest of the Brahmuns stands higher than the\npriest of the physicians, clerks, barbers, and blacksmiths; and the\nlast is higher than the Brahmun who presides over the goldsmith. It is\nto be observed here that one Brahmun can exercise his priestly sway\nover the physicians, clerks, farmers, barbers, &c., and retain his\nposition firmly; although the above-mentioned castes have high and low\namong them, and have no intercourse between them. The reason is, nine\ncastes immediately below the Brahmuns are known by a common name,\u201cN\u014fb\u014d\nShawk,\u201d and this justifies the priest in looking at them in the same\nlight. But the castes below the \u201cN\u014fb\u014d Shawk\u201d being distinctly lower\ncastes, one quite separate from the other, each has a priest of its own\nrespectively. The priest Brahmun of a goldsmith would not attend to the\nmarriage or funeral service of a fisher, shoemaker, or hog-keeper. I\nhope the Christian reader will not feel sensitive when I speak of the\nlowest castes, such as shoemaker, hog-keeper, &c.; he must remember\nthat I am speaking of the Hindoos, and not of the Christians. Each\ncountry has its own peculiarity: what is regarded high, respectable\nin one, is considered sometimes the very reverse in another. In the\npresent case we see the banker is a respectable gentleman in this\ncountry, and a high caste, too; but in India he is low in caste, so\nmuch so that his priest Brahmun cannot officiate in temples built by\nother castes.\n\nThe following are the leading, high orders of the Brahmuns:--The\nBanerjea, Chatterjea, Mookerjea, and Gangooly, &c.\n\nWhen a Brahmun gives you his address with either of these, it will be\nknown as a sure fact what Brahminical stock he is from. These also\nstand for the family name of the man. There are, however, low order\nBrahmuns bearing the above-mentioned titles, which do not amount to\nanything; they neither can eat with a Brahmun of high order, nor marry\nhis children to the same, and what is more absurd, after all, is the\nfact that they are not admitted to the temples, nor to worship the gods\nwho pretend to be of all, in all, and for all. In the public feasts\nof the Brahmuns, when thousands sit at the meal at the same time,\nsome brisk priests are commissioned to examine the order, name, and\nplace of the strangers. If it be known that there is a Brahmun of low\norder, that is, a priest of the bankers, goldsmiths, or wine-sellers,\nthe whole assembly would not eat anything until the despised one had\nbeen hunted out and set apart. Hence the wellknown Brahmuns from\ndifferent places stand near the door, admit their fellow-citizens, and\nsharply, with a lawgiver\u2019s cunning, examine the strangers who happen\nto be there. Thus carefully they guard their orders and maintain them\ndistinct and pure from others.\n\nThe Brahmuns of all orders wear a few stitches of cotton--the\nPobitho--round the neck, which other castes do not dare to touch even.\nAstrologers, formerly being of the same caste with the Brahmuns, wear\nthe sacred thread, the Pobitho; but the other castes pay little regard\nto him. The Boitho, the physician, wears a thread also, but they are\nrequired to keep it under their clothes lest anybody should notice it\nand pay it the homage due to the Brahmun only. If, unfortunately, a\nphysician be found in the streets with his pobitho on, the Brahmuns\nwould insult him by tearing it off or taking it away from him. In our\nvillage some physicians--young men--used to wear their thread visible\nto all, in spite of the jokes and reproaches of others. On a holiday\nthey were going to Calcutta with a party of young men from four or\nfive castes, and the weather being very hot, were compelled to sit\non the piazza of the temple raised by a Brahmun. It happened that\nthe son of the gentleman was at the window, who, seeing the group of\naristocratic young men on his premises, came out, received them kindly,\nand entertained them with a good supply of cocoa-nuts, sugar, &c. Now,\nas the Brahmun boy would not eat with the others or the physicians,\nthey all had to take their seats according to their castes. The poor\nphysician-boys sat apart from the Brahmun, exposing their thread to the\npublic gaze, and felt very badly for it. The host, good and kind as he\nwas, asked their address, and finding they were not Brahmuns, rebuked\nthem very harshly. Ashamed and insulted they came home, and were\nnever after seen with their thread on an exposed place of the body.\nThe peculiar ceremony which offers the pobitho or the sacred badge to\nthe Brahmun, will be described in its proper place by and by. I will\nconsider the circumstance which gave rise to the astrologers, and made\nthem a distinct caste from the Brahmuns. This caste is, as we have\nobserved before, called Aucherje\u0103. They write almanacs, tell fortunes,\nappease the grohos--evil spirits--for and at the solicitation of the\npeople.\n\nI have said before that the use of forbidden meat deprives a man of\nhis caste, and the following are two instances to this point. It has\nbeen customary with the Brahmuns, of late, to offer burnt sacrifices on\nsome grand festivals. A cow or a horse, being cut into several pieces,\nwas thrown into the sacred fire, \u201c_home ugnee_,\u201d and at the close\nof the ceremony, it is said, the priests could tell the animal from\nits ashes. Once on a time a venerable priest offered for sacrifice a\ncow, and when all the quartered parts of her were found, at the end,\nonly a small piece was missing. Others bore witness to what had been\ndone, held an ecclesiastical council, examined the cow, and outcasted\nthe worshipper, charging him with using a portion of the sacrifice for\nhis own benefit. His descendants are Aucherje\u0103, and form a low caste,\nthough they are Brahmuns in some respects.\n\nAnother class of Brahmuns is called Per\u0113\u0113l\u0113\u0113, having had its rise from\na curious fact. A Brahmun, who used to serve a Mohammedan Nabob in the\ncapacity of prime minister, happened once to be in a room adjoining the\nkitchen. The Nabob suddenly came in, and in the course of conversation\nasked him what he thought of the smell which then filled the room.\nHe unfortunately, drawing in his breath, answered his master, saying,\n\u201cThe smell is sweet and pleasant.\u201d Upon this, the Nabob asked him\nagain whether he knew whence the smell came, and, receiving a negative\nanswer, he said it was from a dish of beef. The minister was struck as\nif by lightning, fell down and fainted. Being restored to his senses,\nhe summoned a meeting of the Brahmuns, who heard his dismal case,\nand as, according to the statute, \u201cghr\u0103na ortho vogono,\u201d smelling is\nequivalent to partially tasting, deprived him of his privileges in\nthe society. As he could not marry his children to other low caste,\nnot even to astrologers, he had to prevail on some poor Brahmuns to\nintermarry with his family, and in time numerous families sprung up in\nthis way.\n\nThis dividing of the people into castes has covered the Hindoo\ncommunity with a thick mantle of darkness, ignorance, poverty, and\nvice. Whatever be the pretended happy results of such classification to\na Hindoo, as conducive to the interest and prosperity of his community,\nit would obviously appear absurd to those who feel equally for every\nmember of a society.\n\nThis system, as if by a thousand hands, confers upon the Brahmuns\nnumerous blessings, and, on the other hand, administers poison to the\nprosperity, happiness, and true interests of the low castes. They have\nno chance of getting religious or secular instruction, and consequently\nthere is no hope of even arriving at a point where they could reach\nthe interests and privileges which every man would ordinarily require.\nTo enumerate the defects of the caste system, as it is in India, it is\nnecessary to trace it in its full length, commencing from the head to\nthe feet,--from the Brahmun to the Kaor\u0101, hog-keeper. The Brahmuns have\nmonopolized all the advantages of religious instruction. Their words\nare law, in the Old Testament sense; their will is divine; their bodies\nare sacred; to worship and serve them is just the same as to worship\nthe gods. \u201cTh\u0101b\u0101r theer b\u014f theej\u0101 thothath,\u201d offer the things of god to\na \u201csecond born.\u201d\n\nSeven or eight castes below the Brahmuns enjoy a scanty allowance of\nsecular knowledge, while the rest have nothing to do with that even.\nThese poor people, doomed to be under this perilous system, generation\nafter generation, are the true wrecks of degeneracy. It pains me to\nsay, that a Kaor\u0103 would very likely resemble, in his manner, customs,\nand ignorance, the animal he keeps.\n\nTo speak the truth, the caste, with all its distinctions and orders, is\nthe only mighty obstacle to the regeneration of the Hindoos. Under its\ndomination the Hindoo community presents a strong, brilliant crown on\nits head, studded with diamonds of rare value, a necklace of gold, a\nbreastplate of silver, a belt of brass round its waist, copper garters\non its knees, and dark, hard iron shoes for its feet. The arrangement\nis in perfect harmony with the prevailing fashion respecting dress. As\nthe crown, the garland, the belt, the shoes, have their proper place\nin personal adornment, so the Hindoo community has set the different\ncastes into different places. But there is no justice in it. It has\ntransformed the gold into iron, denying it its necessary care. There\nis no respect for sanctity, intelligence, and accomplishments, if\nthese be found among the low. In a conversation, I remarked that if a\nwasherwoman could help me with good advice, I would not walk a mile to\nthe priest\u2019s for the same. My friends, who were then present, were all\nastonished at this, gazed upon me with indignant eyes, and lamented my\nremark as the dictate of infidelity.\n\nThere are other defective peculiarities in the castes, which cut\nthe tie of love and brotherhood at the bottom. Observing from the\nstand-point of the high castes, we see that one caste does neither eat\nwith another caste, nor marry, nor even sit on the same carpet. At the\nfeasts the Brahmuns have the best seats in the hall or parlor, and\nthe Kaisths, physicians, and barbers have separate seats for each, or\nsometimes one for all; but for the shoemakers, fishermen, and bearers\nthere is no decent mat even. If a goldsmith should accidentally touch\na Brahmun with some confectioneries or a pitcher of water in his hand,\nthe Brahmun would immediately throw the former before a dog or any\nanimal, and empty the latter of its contents.\n\nGod hasten the day when the very roots of the poisonous tree of caste\nshall be pulled up, and the balmy shrub of equality, of love, of\nuniversal brotherhood, be planted in its place. Let the spirit of true\nreligion, O God, shine upon India. Let her know thou art her Father;\nthat thou carest equally for all. Let her recognize thy image in all\nthy children. Chase, Eternal One, the darkness with thy salutary\nlight,--the darkness which like a canopy has covered the heathen world;\nand thine shall be the glory for ever!\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n THE BIRTH.--DISTRIBUTION OF PRESENTS.--WRITING ON THE\n FOREHEAD.--THE FEAST OF EIGHT PEAS.--THE DAY OF PURIFICATION,\n ETC.\n\n\nThe Hindoos hold their male and female children in different degrees of\nestimation. They prefer one son to ten daughters, whom they represent\nas the worthless slaves of others, and the objects of pity, constant\nwatchfulness, and particular anxiety. The preference arises from\nvarious sources. After the death of a Hindoo parent his oldest male\nchild, or in his absence the younger one, is required to attend the\nfuneral, perform the leading parts of the service, and on a fixed day\nredeem the spirit of the departed parent by some particular ceremony,\nwhich I will treat of in its proper place. But a female, being early\nseparated from the family connection by marriage, is not privileged to\ndo the same. If there be ten daughters present, and not one son, in\nthat case the wife, or brother, or a nephew[2] (brother\u2019s son) of the\ndeceased attends to the performance of the necessary rites.\n\nAt the birth of a son, the mother, besides other congratulatory\nblessings and benedictions, receives the surname of \u201cher\u0101 beoon\u0113e,\u201d\nmine of jewel. The sacred shells which every family has in its\npossession, to blow thrice in the evening, and on the holidays, are now\nsounded; the father brings some gifts to the baby; the family barber\nis sent to the friends and relatives with letters for each, containing\nthe glad tidings, and in return gets valuable presents from them; the\nshoemakers, whose business is to sound trumpets, come immediately with\ntheir drums, flutes, and cymbals to play on them. The neighbors crowd\nthe house to congratulate the family, and it is believed that the\nvery site of the family lifts up in joy fourteen times, symbolizing\nthe pleasure of the fourteen deceased ancestors. In short, the whole\nfamily assumes an aspect of ecstasy. But in honor of a poor female\nbaby nothing of this sort is held. A conflict between prejudice and\naffection fills the mother\u2019s heart. With heaviness on the one eye, and\ntenderness on the other, she caresses her child, while the elderly\nwomen, wiser than herself, comfort her with the following remarks: \u201cDo\nnot weep, child. Let your disappointment be driven away by the thought\nthat no human power could overrule these things. If we could, we would\nafford some remedy, but it is the will of Kristo that it should be so;\nand we all know that our fruits will be either male or female; female\nis child as well as male in the eyes of him who is their maker.\u201d In\nfact everything seems so sad, so quiet, that a foreigner standing in\nthe very yard of the house would hardly know that there is a baby in\nthe house, unless she herself, by her innocent smiles and occasional\ncries, lets him know that there is. The rich father, at the birth\nof a son, sends presents of a brazen jar or pitcher, a piece of new\ncloth, some sweet things to thousands of Brahmun families, and to the\nlow castes simply sweet things and a little money. On the evening of\nthe sixth day, the Hindoos believe that Broh-m\u00f2 will come to write\non the child\u2019s forehead all about its future destiny. Everything is\nkept clean and purified for the reception of the supposed presence of\nthe god. The Brahmuns and other friends are invited; a member of the\nfamily walks round with a plate on his hand, to take a little dust\nfrom each Brahmun\u2019s foot, with which they touch the child\u2019s forehead,\nand when this has been done, each person goes to his respective home,\nwith some confectioneries given to him. A poothee, sacred manuscript,\nan inkstand, and a pen are kept on a piece of board, near the child\u2019s\nbed, during the night. On the evening of the eighth day comes the feast\nof eight peas, \u201caught corie,\u201d on which occasion all the children in\nthe neighborhood are invited. The order of the exercise is as follows.\nAs the custom is for a Hindoo mother to stay twenty-one days after\nher delivery in a separate room where none but the nurse is allowed\nto enter; children stand in the yard and put some funny question, in\npoetry, to the nurse, who sits on the door-stone to answer these merry\nfolks. The meaning of their questions is the inquiry after the baby\u2019s\nhealth, ending with some jokes upon the father. Eight boys hold a coolo\nor bamboo fan (of which there is mention in the Gospel of Matthew, iii.\n12) in their left hands, and in their right hands the sticks. Now,\nwhen everything is ready, according to the order, one of them asks\nthus: \u201c_Aught corrie bought_ corria, ch\u0101la ancha valo?\u201d and when\nthe nurse has given her answer, saying, \u201cV\u0101lo,\u201d nicely, they beat the\nfan with the sticks which they hold in their right hands. Sometimes\nthe boys meet with a very disagreeable experience on his occasion,\nespecially the less smart ones, for amid the universal excitement, and\nby reason of darkness, they hit each other\u2019s hands. Suffering twice\nfrom the merry sticks of the boys, my hand bearing the doomed fan,\nI came to the conclusion never to join the party again. But this\ndecision, however, proved impracticable; the friends interpreted my\nunwillingness as based upon cowardice (for it was truly so), and the\ngirls would hurl jokes and shame me, saying, \u201cHad we a right to join\nthem, we would right off.\u201d At last some kind but cunning boy furnished\nme with some prudent advice, that I must take my left hand away in\nseason. I obeyed and was safe. When the storm has a little abated,\nthey throw away the broken fan, over the roof of the baby\u2019s room.\nThe second exercise is the scattering of large quantities of small\nsea-shells or copper money, cents, over the yard, which the children\npick up, knocking and falling upon each other. At the close each person\npresent, young or old, male or female, gets a sufficient quantity of\nconfectioneries, pop-corn, peas, &c.\n\nOn the twenty-first day, which is the day of purification, the\nmother comes out of her room to present her child unto the gods\nand goddesses.[3] Of the latter, Shustee, guardian of Infants, is\nworshipped with great reverence.\n\nIt may not be deemed improper to notice here about the dress and\ntrappings of the children. Hindoo parents dress their younger ones with\ngold and silver ornaments, but not always with clothes. The reason\nis, that, in a warm climate like India, the children can hardly keep\nclothes on except in winter; moreover the Hindoo dress is merely long\npieces of cotton cloth, untouched by the jaw of scissors, and unpinched\nby the point of needle, without any buttons or sleeves; consequently\nit would be childish if any should attempt to clothe a child with a\ndress like this. To dress in Hindoo fashion is very like erecting a\nhouse without nails, tacks, or screws, and that surely would require\ningenuity. To say nothing of others, I myself did not learn to wear my\ncloth neatly, according to the fashion, until I was nearly eighteen\nyears old.\n\nWhen the child has attained the age of nine months, its parents perform\n\u201c_un-no pra-shun_,\u201d or the ceremony of rice. On a fixed day,\nbefore a large audience of guests and relatives, the father or uncle of\nthe child puts one or two kernels of rice in its mouth, after the usual\nofferings to the gods. On this occasion it is customary for the guests\nto offer some gifts to the child. On the other hand, they, as well as\nintruders and beggars, are entertained in a grand feast.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n EDUCATION.--SANSCRITH.--CHALK IN THE HAND.--PATSHALA, THE\n TEACHER.--THE DISCIPLINE IN THE SCHOOL.\n\n\nI would, in this chapter, treat of the education of the Hindoo boys.\nBut ere I commence this, a little description of the Sanscrith language\nseems desirable. It is universally observed that the Indians were known\nfor their advancement in literary pursuits and for their language from\na far remote antiquity. Their sublime literature with abundance of\ngold and jewels stands unrivalled even to the present day. As far as\nthe fame of the learned Brahmuns has spread, in what estimation they\nwere held among the nations around India, may be obvious from the\nfollowing story. A Persian monarch had sent his messengers in search\nof the richest jewels and diamonds in India. They came in, and, after\nan earnest inquiry, returned to Persia with the most valuable articles\nthat could be found. The monarch smiled at this mistake, saying that\nhe did not mean _those_ by jewels in India. Go, said he, to the\ncourt of King Becromandith, and you will find nine jewels there.\nIndeed, this Becromandith had, we read in the book, \u201c_nob\u014d ruttner\nshobha_,\u201d society of nine learned men, jewels of rare value, of whom\nthe celebrated Kalidass was the presiding genius.\n\nThe Sanscrith was then the current language of the people, and every\nclass, high or low, had access to it. I do not mean to affirm that\nevery class had access to the sacred books, but that various other\nable works were open for the instruction of the people. The members\nof the lowest caste could then discuss the difficult points on logic,\nrhetoric, mental philosophy, who at this day cannot talk on common\nthings without grammatical mistakes. What a change these few hundred\nyears have wrought! The beauty of Sanscrith, which could have been\nfound in workshops, is now strictly confined in the chest of the\nBrahmuns. The Sanscrith tree used to grow on the wayside, now it is\nfound in the Brahminical soil only. Out of the thirty-four castes, only\nthree have the right to study it comparatively. Brahmuns and Aucherje\u0103s\ncan go through all the mystery of the language, while the physician\ncan study as much as his profession would require; hundreds of their\nmedical books being written in the Sanscrith, a good knowledge of this\nis necessary to understand them. It would seem absurd to a Christian to\nsee the degree of reverence the low-caste Hindoos pay to this language.\nA priest can cause a large audience of the low castes to close the ears\nby uttering aloud a few words, such as \u201c_om_\u201d or \u201c_g\u0101n\u0113try_.\u201d\nEven a Brahmun woman is forbidden to utter or hear them.\n\nAs there is no female education there at all, I will speak of the mode,\nthe peculiarities of training the Hindoo boys. At the age of five, the\nboys begin to \u201ctouch the chalk by the hand.\u201d It is the custom of the\nHindoos to fix a day, after consulting the stars and planets and days,\nto enter on the beginning of anything. A man would not leave home on\nany day of pleasure, a woman would not come to her husband\u2019s house at\nhis or her own arrangement, without consulting the \u201c_poujeeka_,\u201d\nalmanac. Thus they do on every occasion. In the common printed almanacs\nthese things are stated thus:--\u201cThe Monday, 24th of April, _sooc-clo\npuckho_, white fortnight, _tha-thosee_, twelfth day of the\nmoon, at 10\u00bd A. M., is a favorable time to go towards the east or\nnorth, or to undertake some other affair.\u201d Now when a day has been\nappointed in this way, the young boy is anointed and bathed. \u201cShurresh\nsutty,\u201d or the Muse, is worshipped, then the father or some one marks\nletters of the alphabet on the floor, which the boy writes over with\na piece of chalk. By and by he is sent to the \u201c_patsh\u0101l\u0101_,\u201d the\nplace of instruction, where the \u201c_gooroo-moha-shay_,\u201d sir teacher,\ngives lessons in writing, reading, and ciphering to some fifty or more\nboys. The boys write on palm-leaves before they are advanced enough to\nwrite on paper. The reason is, palm-leaves are long and smooth, and may\nbe used anew after washing, in the same way as slates are used. There\nare no chairs or benches in the _patsh\u0101l\u0101_, but they sit on the\ncarpet: sometimes the boys bring a piece of carpet or mat nearly five\nfeet long and three feet broad, which they fold round their palm-leaves\nand pen of reeds. The _patsh\u0101l\u0101_ has no regular term, but keeps\nthroughout the year, holidays excepted, which come almost every month.\nThe Hindoos know no Sabbath nor Christmas. The school opens at six\nin the morning, and again at three in the afternoon, giving, in the\nmean time, a recess of four hours. The boy who comes first has a dot\nfor his number, and the names of the rest are written as they come\nrespectively. Now when it is time to close, the teacher strikes on\nthe hands of the boys according to their number. Thus, he who keeps\nthe record, being the earliest of all, gets merely a slight touch of\nthe teacher\u2019s whip, the second two, the third three, and so on. This\nis simply to enforce early attendance, because the first exercise in\nthe _patsh\u0101l\u0101_ is the reading aloud the prayer to the Muse, and\nrepeating the multiplication-table. The late boys, of course, lose\nthese exercises. A deep and unsullied reverence for the teacher is\nconsidered the best element in the life of the scholar, and very\nessential to his success; hence the Hindoo boy bows down to the ground\nbefore \u201c_gooroo mohashoy_,\u201d saying \u201c_bitha thau_,\u201d grant us\nknowledge. To serve him a little is worth several hours\u2019 study. The\npupils are required to bring tobacco for him, which most of them get\nat the grocer\u2019s in exchange for the written banana-leaves, which he\nuses to make packages for salt, sugar, &c. If a boy be absent often,\nfour smart boys are despatched to bring him by force, which errand they\nperform with great skill and courage. If the absentee be a real truant,\nand have a grudge against some boy, in this case you would find his\nenemies would go to bring him as the best chance of retaliation. He is\nbrought into the _patsh\u0101l\u0101_ in the way that ants carry a crust of\nbread into their hole. As they bring him, they sing thus:--\n\n \u201cGooro moshoy, tomar p\u014dr\u014d hazir,\n Ach\u0113-dundo ch\u0101r\u0101 dow jol Khaia ashe.\u201d\n\nIn English, \u201cSir teacher, your pupil is come, and give us leave for a\nfew minutes to go out and drink some water,\u201d &c.\n\nThe patsh\u0101l\u0101 does not give thorough instruction in grammar, history, or\nphilosophy, for the children of the privileged classes learn these in\nSanscrith schools.\n\nUnder the British administration the old native system of training the\nyouth has been almost done away in various parts of India, and English\nrules of discipline have been established, as far as it could be done\nwithout directly interfering with the superstition of the Hindoos.\n\nThere are high-schools, colleges, and numerous mission-schools\nin Calcutta and in other places in India. A university, a\ncivil-engineering college, and a \u201cSchool of Industrial Art,\u201d have of\nlate been established. Nearly fifty years ago there was not a decent\nschool in Calcutta. Mr. David Hare, of Edinburgh, laid the foundation\nof regular schools in India. He gave his money and his whole energy\nand life for this one philanthropic object. His tenderness, fatherly\ncare, and earnest attention towards the students are proverbial. The\nHare\u2019s Academy, the Hindoo and Sanscrith Colleges with their gigantic\npillars and the intelligent and learned Bengalees openly speak of his\ndisinterested love and Christian philanthropy. His mortal remains now\nrest under a marble slab, which may be seen on the College Square.\n\nIndeed, one of the great blessings India has received from the West,\nand especially from England, is the system of educating her children in\ngeneral. In her past histories (legendary age excepted) we do not hear\nof regularly organized colleges, where the children of all the castes\ncould be instructed. The wretched condition of the low castes and their\npredecessors verify the fact. But I do not mean to say, as any of my\ndear countrymen should understand, that India had not trained her\nchildren before the English system was introduced. On the other hand,\nI wonder that she could produce illustrious poets, metaphysicians,\nlogicians, astronomers, &c., without regular places of instruction.\n\nHere and there, as we have observed before, there were Chow-Baries\nunder the supervision of the Pundits, who in fact were the pastors,\nteachers, and guardians of the children of the privileged classes. No\ngoldsmith nor washerman\u2019s son was seen to breathe the philosophic air\nof these institutions or drink of the silvery stream of the Brahminical\nliterature. Again, even the great learning of some of the philosophers,\npoets, astrologers, is attributed to the miraculous agencies more\nemphatically than anything else. The Mohammedans, who ruled India\nbefore the British, did not direct their eyes towards the Hindoos of\nthe lowest castes, for their education, or regeneration. To raise the\nfallen, cheer up the depressed, exalt the low, enlighten the ignorant,\nis the peculiar mission of Christianity, and the nations which profess\nit, breathe its influences, carry its blessings wherever they go.\nThank God, that England has done her part in some measure, shown the\nspirit of Christ in seeking prosperity and providing education for the\ndespised low castes,--the \u201clost sheep\u201d of the Hindoos. Besides the\npublic schools and colleges established directly by the government,\nwhere all the castes might go for instruction, provided they pay\nschooling fees, there are thousands of \u201cGovernment Aided Schools\u201d\nlately instituted by the East India Company.\n\nThe condition on which the _aid_ was given is something like\nthis. The proprietor of a school, desiring aid of a certain sum,\nmust raise a like amount by fees from the pupils and other private\ndonations, and spend the whole for support of his school. Among\nothers, a philanthropic Brahmun, Baboo J. K. M. (the landholder) of\nOttor Parah, near Calcutta, established more than twenty-four primary\nschools in different parts of his estate, defraying one half of the\nexpense from his own treasury, and drawing the other from that of the\ngovernment. These schools prepare the boys for the college, where they\ngo after passing the junior scholarship examination, which entitles\nthem to prosecute their studies free in the higher branches for one\nyear, and draw a monthly stipend of five dollars. Those who fail to go\nsuccessfully through the examination have to pay for their instruction\nof course. The standard for the junior and senior examinations is not\nthe same every year, but varies according to the general progress of\nthe schools, and the discretion of the Directors.\n\nThe year before I left Calcutta, the \u201cstandard for the junior\nscholarship examination comprised the following books: Cowper\u2019s Task,\nTytler\u2019s Universal History, Paterson\u2019s Zo\u00f6logy, Stewart\u2019s Geography,\nGrammar, Mechanics, first four books of Euclid\u2019s Geometry, Algebra\nquadratic equation, Arithmetic whole, and other Bengalee studies.\u201d\nThe candidates who pass this examination are from sixteen to twenty\nyears old. The sphere to move about for the successful students is\nbroad and honorable; they may continue their scholastic course in the\nPresidency College, study medicine, or teach schools where the branches\nof study are low. Let it be said, to the credit of the Bengalee boys,\nthat hardly a primary school fails to send out annually three or four\nstudents to the higher colleges, from its first class, which scarcely\nmakes room for fifteen.\n\nI do not know exactly the studies in the senior classes in colleges,\nnor feel able to fathom the depth of the acquirements there. I would\nuse another\u2019s tongue to show how much the Hindoo young men could do in\ntheir scholastic career. A writer in the Christian Examiner quotes from\nan able article on British India, in the London Quarterly Review, the\nfollowing, which fitly answers my purpose:--\u201cYoung men (Indians) who\nhave received an education, and have passed an examination, scarcely\ninferior in the variety and difficulty of its subjects to those of our\nEnglish universities,\u201d &c. I do not exaggerate the intellectual powers\nof my countrymen, when I affirm that their aptness to learn anything\nset before them, their capacity to improve, are remarkable. These are\nnot however their borrowed faculties, but their native, a part of their\nbeing. The same article I quoted above says:--\u201cNo race, perhaps, shows\na higher intellectual development than the Brahmins of Western India or\nthe higher castes in Bengal. Their thirst after knowledge--whether for\nits own sake or for the object of obtaining employment--is unbounded.\u201d\nIndia of to-day can show her pearls and jewels in her children, beside\nthe celebrated R. M. Roy.\n\nTo speak nothing of her other cities, Calcutta alone has her numerous\nhighly-educated sons;--the Reverend Messrs. K. M. Banerjea, G. C.\nMitter, converts to the Episcopal faith; L. B. Day, of Free-church\nInstitution; Baboos R. N. Sickdar, V. D. Banerjea, C. C. Singha, R. M.\nMitter, P. C. Mitter, P. C. Sen, K. C. Mitter, R. G. Ghose, and others\ntoo numerous to mention. There was a short notice of the last-named\ngentleman in the Boston Journal:--\u201cBaboo R. G. M., a native merchant\nof Calcutta, delivered, at the receipt of the Queen\u2019s proclamation, an\naddress that causes him to be called the Bengalee Demosthenes.\u201d\n\nThough the English schools are open to every class, high and low, yet\nthe lowest classes do not send their children to them, under a mistaken\nidea that they have nothing to do with book-knowledge. Living in a\ndegraded condition for a long time, they have lost entirely the right\nand claims of human beings, as it were. The miserable, pitiable state\nin which they live and die, and which is the effect of the despotic\ncaste system, is regarded by them as the will and decree of God;\nconsequently they dare not try to get rid of this yoke.\n\nMost of the Brahmun young men study English as the money-making\nlanguage, while others devote themselves to their professional studies.\nAll the ancient Sanscrith books are written manuscripts; the pages\nare long, narrow, and colored. Some are written on palm-leaves, and\n\u201croogee pathroo,\u201d bark of a tree. Every student under the tuition of\nthe superstitious priests, is obliged to transcribe a book as he makes\nprogress in his studies. But in the Calcutta Government Sanscrith\nCollege, printed books, beautifully bound and gilded, are used.\n\nThe Hindoos are averse to female education, and suffer their daughters\nto live in entire ignorance. The popular belief among Hindoo women\nis, that, if a girl should learn to read and write, she would be a\nwidow. The widowhood in Bengal is the saddest part of female life, and\nits consequent sufferings are such as have caused millions to prefer\ndeath, by being burnt alive on the funeral pile of the husband. But\nexperience has falsified the idea in a measure. Here and there one\nout of ten thousand of women knows how to read a little, and enjoys\nconnubial life. There are other difficulties to be considered and\nremoved which prove strong obstacles to the education of the females\nin Bengal. The Hindoo women have no free intercourse in speech with\nother men beside their husbands, father, and brothers; their faces\nare covered with thick veils immediately after the marriage, and from\nthat time they are not allowed to walk out of the house. Unless these\ncustoms are rooted up, there is no hope at all for the regeneration\nof the female in Bengal. As I compare a woman in Bengal with one in\nAmerica or England, I see plainly the difference between Christianity\nand Hindooism. Nothing but the divine influence of Christianity has\nennobled the female condition in Christendom. May the Christian women\nbe ever grateful to God for his peculiar blessings unto them, and pray\nfor the rescue of their sisters in the bondage of ignorance in heathen\nlands!\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n THE SECOND BIRTH.--BRAHMUN CONSECRATED THREAD.--DISCIPLINE\n AND PRIVILEGES OF THE BRAHMUN\u2019S LIFE.\n\n\nIn the interesting conversation of Christ with Nicodemus, St. John iii.\n3\u20137, we hear him say, \u201cExcept a man be born again, he cannot see the\nkingdom of God.\u201d Again, \u201cMarvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be\nborn again.\u201d This doctrine or command, whatever name may be given it,\nhas been known to the Brahmuns from time immemorial, and even unto this\nday it is considered as the vital part of this dispensation. How little\ndoes a Brahmun differ from our Lord in the importance of a second\nbirth! Christ says, \u201cborn again,\u201d the Brahmun says, \u201cthejo,\u201d second\nbirth. There is a difference between Christ\u2019s views and the Brahmun\u2019s\non this point, which shows the superiority of the former over the\nlatter. Christ did not prescribe different modes of spiritual birth for\ndifferent nations. \u201cMan,\u201d he says, \u201cmust be born of water and of the\nSpirit,\u201d assume a new life of holy actions, of purity, of devout trust,\nof practical brotherhood, of disinterestedness, and of unsullied love,\nso as to make himself worthy to tread in the steps of the Saviour, and\nbreathe the balmy odor that comes from the celestial groves; taste the\nfruits of the _removed_ tree of life, drink the water that issues\nfrom the great Fount of all bliss, dress in the robes of immortality,\njoin his voice with the sweet, swelling chorus of angels, and enter\ninto the promised mansions, to rest at the feet of the God of all.\nBut the Brahmun does not include the whole human race, as being under\nthe necessity of a spiritual birth. He cares for one people, and even\namong them he prescribes different rites. As the ceremony for the\nsecond birth of the low castes is not very important, I will omit\na description of it, and direct the attention to that of the three\nprivileged classes, namely, Brahmun, Aucherjea, and Boitho, physician.\n\nWhen a boy has attained his twelfth year his parents fix a day, to make\nhim \u201cthejo,\u201d by offering him a piece of consecrated thread to wear\nround his neck. If, on the day previous to the fixed one, it thunder\nor rain, the ceremony is postponed for eight successive days, and if\nit should rain again, the same measure would be taken. On the morning\nof the day appointed he is anointed and bathed, within an enclosure\nmade of four banana-leaves stuck into the ground. He is conducted to\nthe altar, where the priest, after the preliminary services, cuts\nthree locks from the hair of his head. He comes down from the altar\nfor the first time to undergo other ceremonies. Now the family barber\nshaves his head all over, and passes two gold rings through the lower\npart of his ears. Here a merry fun is practised. The boy, when he\nsits before the barber, holds a banana in his hand, with which he is\nrequired to strike him when he has finished his duties. Sometimes the\nboy holds a green, and consequently hard, banana in his hand, so to\nwarn the barber to be very careful in his operation, that he might not\nsuffer afterwards. When all this is ended he comes up to the altar,\nwhere, besides the family priest, his father or uncle is required to\ntake part in the ceremony. After invoking the presence of the deities\nand presenting offerings to the spirits of the fourteen ancestors,\nthe father first puts a cord, made of hairy leaves of _shur_ (a\nkind of white reed), round the boy\u2019s neck, which lies on his left\nshoulder, and, hanging round the left arm, makes a fold thereby. Then\na _pobithoo_, consecrated thread, made of three stitches tied\ninto a knot, which symbolizes the holy, mysterious union of the three,\nBrohmo, Bishn\u014d\u014d, and Shib\u0103, into one. A piece of _shabor_, skin\nof deer, is tied with that thread. He wears a yellow or red robe,\nholds in his hand dund\u014fs, two staves, one made of B\u0101le wood and the\nother of Baoor or Bass. The leaves and fruit of the b\u0101le are the chief\nfavorites of Shib\u0103, so much so that a dry b\u0101le leaf is acceptable to\nhim before a thousand varieties of odorous flowers. (In fact, almost\nevery Hindoo deity is peculiarly fond of some especial leaf or flower,\nwithout which their worship is invalid. Thus Shib\u0101 loves _b\u0101le\nleaf_ or _tri-pothro_, \u201cthree leaves in one stem.\u201d Toolsh\u0113\u0113, a\nleaf of a plant, is the favorite of Bishn\u014d\u014d; joba, a kind of large red\nflower, Kallee is fond of. The Shuresh-Shuttee likes _bakus_ and\ngholghasa, the sun is fond of Corob\u0113\u0113, oliander, &c.) The mother of the\nboy comes first to give alms--a little raw rice, money, and a piece\nof thread--to the second born, who takes it in a yellow bag answering\nthe purpose of a contribution box. The hundreds of guests who are\ninvited in on this occasion are required, by their religious custom,\nto give gifts of a little money and a piece of thread. Occasionally\nsome virtuous woman manages to offer the first gift, by paying all\nthe expenses that accrue in the whole ceremony, which secures her the\nposition of god-mother to the _thejo_. They then cover his face\nwith a thick yellow veil, and conduct him to the room where he is\nto stay three or five days without seeing sun, moon, or the face of\nany one, except Brahmun. Henceforth he is a Brahmun, which means the\n\u201cworshipper of Brohmo,\u201d or the \u201cknower of Brohmo.\u201d\n\nThe discipline of a Brahmun life is grand in some respects, and in\nothers tedious, dry, and fanatical, while its privileges are great\nand numerous. I will here briefly describe both. A Brahmun is to\nbathe early in the morning, regularly every day (if sickness does not\ninterfere); worship and pray three times a day,--before sunrise, at\nnoon, and in the evening; take one meal while it is day. The Hindoos do\nnot use any table, china-plates, knives, forks, or spoons. When they\ntake their meal they sit on the floor, put eatable things on marble\nor brazen platters, or silver, if they are rich. In place of knives\nand forks the fingers are used, which are furnished by Nature.[4] But\nover and above these, a Brahmun observes additional peculiarities,\nwith which other castes have no concern at all. A Brahmun, when he\nsits to eat his meal, takes a drop of water on the palm of his right\nhand, touches it by the end of his tongue, saying \u201comrith\u014d posthurn\u014f\nmoshee sh\u014d h\u0103,\u201d pours it on the ground, puts a little food five\ntimes to his mouth, saying: 1. \u201cPran-a-ishoh\u0101;\u201d 2. \u201cOp\u0101n\u0101 ishoh\u0101;\u201d\n3. \u201cShom\u0101n\u014f ish oha;\u201d 4. \u201cOtha noish-oha;\u201d 5. \u201cBa-naish-oha;\u201d finally,\nhe spares \u201chundred rice\u201d at his plate, even if he has not enough.\nThis I understand as charity taught in an indirect way, for the\nlittle remainder on his plate is for the ants, flies, &c. But what is\nmost troublesome of all is the silence enjoined in the ceremonial\ndiscipline of a Brahmun\u2019s table. He must not speak a word; if he does,\nhe is to suspend his eating immediately, by taking out if there be\nanything already in the mouth, and going without food until after the\nevening prayer. A very small number of the Brahmuns observe this all\nthe days of their life, though they are required to do so; but all\nobserve it for a year or two. It is a difficult task to put aside\nthe long-contracted habit at once, and begin a contrary one in its\nplace. The peevish, talkative boys suffer a great deal. They speak at\nthe table, and thereby lose the meal. Not to speak of others, my own\nexperience has taught me to dread this ceremony, and though I was very\nmild and careful, yet notwithstanding all my carefulness, I had to\ngo without my meals five or six times in the course of every month,\nespecially during the first half-year of my Brahmun life. The very day\nI became _thejo_, at meal-time, my mother requested all present\nto leave the room, lest any should attract my attention, and make me\nspeak. She herself, also, went out, slamming the door and giving me\nenough for one meal. Unfortunately, I wanted a little more milk, so\ncalling my mother, by a new language, not by the use of the organs of\nspeech, but by striking the floor with my left hand. Nobody understood\nmy singular language, and reflecting awhile on the result of the new\ndiscipline and the advantage of talkativeness, carelessly, I sung out\n\u201cMa.\u201d This sound reached her with the velocity of lightning. She rushed\nin, saying, \u201cWhat is the matter?\u201d \u201cA little more milk, mother,\u201d said I.\n\u201cPoor child; to-morrow by this time you shall have plenty.\u201d So saying,\nshe took the plate away, with everything in it, charging me, if I\nwished for water, not to drink any until I had washed my mouth. I gazed\naround in vain. The yoke of superstition is really too heavy to bear.\nIn desiring to have something more, I lost even what I had already!\n\nThe privileges of a Brahmun are great. His person is sacred. It would\nbe a sin if any one should dare to touch him by the foot, for the foot\nis a profane part of the body, as they believe. The caste Soodras,\nrising from the foot of Brohmo, became the lowest. When one priest\naccidentally touches another by the foot, he asks his pardon, saying,\n\u201c_Bisht\u014f-b\u0103_ n\u014dm\u014d.\u201d It would be considered a real favor if a\nBrahmun should tread on a physician or barber, or other low caste.\n\nThe religious Hindoos daily drink \u201c_pathuck joll_,\u201d before the\nfirst meal of the day. Pathuck joll is a little water, which they\ntake on the palm of their hand, in which the Brahmun dips the end of\nhis right toe. Especially do sick persons drink this water, hoping to\nbe cured from the disease that troubles them. I have heard a great\nmany people say that they have been entirely restored to health\nsimply by drinking \u201c_pathuck joll_,\u201d or eating a little dust\nfrom a Brahmun\u2019s foot. After a little acquaintance with the Christian\ndoctrines, knowing what I owe to God and man,--that I am as sinful as\nothers,--I abdicated the supremacy I had, and would not give the dust\nof my foot to any. As the consecrated thread which hangs round our neck\ndistinguishes us from the other castes, and draws the sick and mistaken\nfolks towards us, I used to hide it somewhere, under my clothes, in the\nstreets of Calcutta or elsewhere in foreign places. Unfortunately at\none time I had forgotten to hide it, and an old woman of nearly sixty\ncame along and stretched forth her right hand towards me. Of course I\nunderstood what she meant by that, and in a loving tone said: \u201cMother,\nI cannot put my foot on your hand.\u201d \u201cWhy not, child?\u201d she replied. \u201cI\nam not a Brahmun, according to your idea. I am no better than you.\nWe shall both stand on the same level before God.\u201d The old woman was\nignorant and besotted, could not understand my meaning, and, in vain\nlooking at me for the blessing, cried aloud in an angry tone, \u201cIf not a\nBrahmun, what are you then? A shoemaker, I guess.\u201d Though I noticed her\ndim old eyes flashing fire and a color of indignation visible on her\nwrinkled cheek, yet I ventured a few words more. \u201cThere is no disgrace\nin being a _mooch\u0113\u0113_, shoemaker. I would rather be a humble, meek\nmooch\u0113\u0113, than a proud Brahmun.\u201d\n\nBrahmuns enjoy \u201c_brom-horthro_,\u201d free-lands, which have been\ngranted to them by the ancient Hindoo sovereigns. The Moosulman kings,\nwho ruled India before the British, did not encroach much upon this\nright of the Brahmuns, only here and there some Nabobs were eager to\nbreak this system, but to no purpose. Under the present government the\nBrahmuns enjoy their lands free of any tribute. But I must not deny\nthat some priests possess several acres over and above what has been\ngiven them.\n\nSome low caste people would sell any articles to a Brahmun at a low\nprice, while others would not sell them to him, fearing he would\nnot pay fully. When he touches anything by his hand, as fruits or\nvegetables, from a low caste\u2019s farm, he will have it at any rate for\nnothing, or by the payment of a little or no money.\n\nWe read in our Scripture that the Brahmuns had absolute authority\nover the property as well as the life of other castes, and over their\ntemporal and spiritual affairs. Frequent mention is there of some sad\ncases, which, though incredible, loudly speak of their despotism. On\nthe other hand, we read of their acts of generosity, disinterestedness,\nand love. Of the former, here are some instances. Copeel mon\u0113\u0113\nconsumed sixty thousand offsprings of Saugur in the ashes simply by\nlooking at them in anger. Porickith, a Kais-th king, having insulted\na \u201c_mon\u0113\u0113_\u201d by putting round his neck a dead snake, died by the\nanger of the insulted Brahmun. The king Corno sawed his only son of\nfive, by the command of a Brahmun. Various instances could be cited to\nprove the power of this high class of men, but I will soon illustrate\nsome of their generous deeds. A _mon\u0113\u0113 Augusth_, by his sanctity\nand power, put an eternal check on the monstrous cruelties of two\ngiants, and relieved the millions of the poor victims from injustice\nand death. It is an imperative duty for them to entertain the guests of\nany caste, relieve the needy, restore peace, check injustice, and share\none half of their sustenance with him who is without it.\n\n\u201cHow are the Brahmun priests supported?\u201d \u201cDo they have a regular\nsalary for their services?\u201d &c.,--are the inquiries frequently made to\nme. So I think it worth while to answer these questions fully here,\nalthough they have been partially explained, and will be elsewhere.\nAs the priesthood, the parish, the religious services in Christendom,\nare quite unlike those in India, it seems necessary to consider them\nbriefly in order to give the Christian reader true ideas of them.\nIn this country an energetic preacher can draw round him a large\ncongregation. The people visit church after church in search of\ngood, weighty, or sentimental sermons, and wherever they find what\nis agreeable to their taste they hire a pew, and become members of\nthe same. Thus the father goes to the brick church, the mother to one\nof stone, the daughter to a wooden one, and the sons, not finding\ntheology in either, spend the time at home. But in Hindoo countries\neverything is fixed, binding, and must be attended to. The priesthood\nis hereditary, gods the same, the theology is well protected,\ncontrived, authoritative, and religious services uniform, mechanical,\nand pleasing. They do not and cannot seek after a change; wherever\nthey go, they see the same god, worship in the same way, the lamps are\nlighted, flowers scattered over the altar, incense burning, &c. In\norder to be settled over a rich people, the Brahmun depends little upon\nhis \u201cpulpit eloquence\u201d or spiritual career; let him have, so to speak,\n\u201cAbraham for his father,\u201d and plenty and comfort will be his. After\nthe death of a Brahmun, his parish, containing any number of families\nliving in the same village, or scattered around the country, will be\nequally divided among his sons like other property of the deceased. In\ncase one of the sons proves unworthy of the charge, unable to attend\nto the religious ceremonies at the houses of his people, either being\nengaged in some other profession, as most of the Brahmuns are now, or\nowing to his ignorance of the services, his people cannot go away from\nhim and settle another over them.\n\nA rich, free-thinking farmer in my village, being guided by a party\nfeeling, and detecting his priest in some acts of deception, bade him\nfarewell, and sat at the feet of his brother. In a few months he was\nsummoned to appear before the Priest of the priests, where there are\nno idols, on the throne of reality. His bereaved family interpreted\nhis sudden death as owing to the visitations of the gods, feared that\nthe children would fall victims to it also, and, after a season of\nentreaties, became reconciled to the old priest. As the people are\nnot required to congregate together for the purpose of receiving\ninstructions from the priest, or joining in worship with him, they\ndwell in different villages, and the priest visits them personally\nwhen his presence is needed by especial events, such as death, birth,\nmarriage, or any private worship which the Hindoos observe now and\nthen; and on general holidays he sends out his agents, himself being\nengaged at the house of some one rich Jorzman, parishioner. He has\nno monthly salary, but gets certain sums of money from each family\nunder him on the day of worship. His income must be more or less in\nproportion to the wealth of his people. Sometimes one family gives him\nmore than twenty could together. I know a rich Brahmun family, of low\norder, residing in a town four miles or more distant from the Calcutta\nGovernment House, who gave to the wife of its priest a lac of rupees\n($50,000), because the gentleman of the family felt very much ashamed\nto hear his priest say his wife has not seen a lac of rupees at once.\nIn this country the parish pays the preaching; in India they pay the\npriest.\n\nThere are numerous Brahmuns without a single family to attend to,\nyet they have an income. The very name Brahmun is a _sea_, and\nthe rivers, channels, pour into it from various directions. It is\ncustomary with the Hindoos, especially with the wealthy ones, to\ndistribute a certain sum of money, clothes, or useful metallic articles\nto each Brahmun family in the place, at the birth and marriage of the\nchildren. If there be more wealthy persons in a place, the Brahmuns\nwill get more. Again, these rich men give annually winter clothes or\nsummer dresses to the Brahmuns, this being part of their religion. By\nreceiving these gifts continually, they keep the substantial things\nfor their family use, and exchange the rest for what they need. Thus\na great many buy fine brass dishes in exchange for goblets, or give\nnapkins or clothes as the price of salt or sugar. The people bring\nfruits, vegetables, fish, milk, &c. to the Brahmun family, no matter\nwhether they are their priests or not. During my stay in this country,\nI have noticed such practices carried out here in some degree. The\nfarmers bring butter, potatoes, eggs, to the pastor; the difference\nbeing, that these bring presents to the pastor alone; the Hindoos do to\nthe Brahmuns in general. Besides what they receive from these sources,\nthe Brahmuns teach their children in secular studies, which secures\nemployment for them in merchant or government offices.\n\nNow almost everything is going on disorderly, as a forerunner of a\ngreat and good change I hope. From what I know, I should think the\nBrahmuns themselves (the most orthodox, conservative portions excepted)\nhave little of that strong adherence to their profession which once\ncharacterized their predecessors.\n\nMy teacher, a Brahmun by caste, once remarked, that some priests would\nbe willing to sell their sacred books, to buy Murray\u2019s spelling for\ntheir sons with the price.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n THE MARRIAGE.--POLYGAMY.--KOOLYN AND\n MOULICK.--MARRIAGE.--AGE.--SELECTION.--AGREEMENT.--ANOINTMENT.\n --BACHELOR AND MAIDEN FEASTS.--THE JOY-CAKES.--BRIDEGROOM STARTS\n FOR BRIDE\u2019S HOUSE.--RECEPTION.--DISCUSSION.--TWELVE\n FRIENDS PARTY.--THROWING STONE PARTY.--CEREMONY.--GOOD\n INTERVIEW.--DINING-ROOM PLAGUES.--DISTRIBUTION OF\n MONEY.--RETURN.--RECEPTION.--BRIDAL FEAST.\n\n\nThis chapter will be devoted to the description of Hindoo marriage with\nall its numerous peculiarities. It assumes such a different aspect from\nthat of this country, and contains such a host of absurd forms quite\nnew to the Christian people, that I should like to detail it distinctly\nas it is. Marriage is regarded by the Hindoos as a sacred condition of\nhuman life, and essentially necessary to meet both our temporal and\nspiritual wants. Notwithstanding all the benevolent and charitable acts\nof life, the sanctity of the heart\u2019s thoughts and all the purities of\nthe soul, a Hindoo requires something else to redeem his spirit after\ndeath. It is believed that after the departure of the last breath from\nthe body, or, in a Hindoo mode of thought, after the return of the\nfive elements which compose the human body to their respective homes,\nthe vital spirit invisibly walks round the house until some one of\nthe male members of the family exorcise it by a peculiar ceremony.\nHence arises the need of matrimony and its efficacy as tending to the\nspiritual benefit of man. In India a man and woman must marry. It is\nexpressedly a divine ordinance and a violation of it is by no means an\nact for commendation. The ceremonies performed by every male offspring\nare requisite for the redemption of the Hindoo parents; hence when a\nman sees his wife the mother of girls only, or of no children at all,\nhe is required by his religious law and for the safety of the soul to\nmarry more wives until his demand has been met or ambition gratified.\nBut it ought to be observed here, that the necessity of offspring does\nnot entitle a woman to marry a second time, even in her widowhood, for\nher step-son would do just as well for her spiritual wants. Sometimes\nwe see a man here and there who spends a bachelor life, either through\nan inability to support a family or from some vicious character of\nhis own or his parents. For if a single member of a family should be\nfound guilty of some abominable practice, such as adultery, theft,\nmurder, irreverence to the Brahmuns, intoxication, or violation of\ncaste regulations in eating or marrying low caste, the family would\nbe outcasted; people, even the nearest relative, would withhold any\nsocial intercourse whatever in order to avoid the equal fate of the\nsinner. To intermarry with an outcasted family is out of the question;\neven the family barber and washerman withdraw their services. How far\nthis contagion troubles our people, the following incident will show\nto the curious and inquisitive. A young Brahmun married a girl, in our\nvillage, whose mother was the daughter of a Brahmun of a low order,\nor more distinctly a priest of the fishermen, and whose poor father\nwas outcasted on that account. In course of time, through entreaties,\nthe Brahmuns took pity upon him, and agreed that he should be allowed\nto dine with them provided he should sit at a distance from them,\nand, what is the greatest of all favors, that _they_ would eat\nconfectioneries at his house, but not rice of his family cooking. This\nfavor which they conferred upon him was for this especial reason, to\nmarry his daughter, who had already attained the proper age; for, as I\nhave before said, it is a sin to live a bachelor or maiden life. Again\nanother thing is to be considered here, a man can marry at any age or\nas many times as he desires, but the girl is to be married under or at\nthe age of twelve, and only once in her life. Now our friend, the young\nman, was not acquainted with the stain of his father-in-law\u2019s family,\nand unfortunately did not inquire properly about it. The fact became\npublicly known, and his father, uncle, the priest who officiated, and\nthe friends who attended the ceremony, were all outcasted, until some\nof them regained their former rank by undergoing some penances, which\nwill be represented in the second part of this book.\n\nNow to the point: I have spoken of the Hindoo regard for matrimony. I\nwill ask the reader\u2019s attention to the description of that monstrous\nsystem, polygamy, which has painted the Hindoo community with a dark\nhue, and is the mother of manifold disorders, immoralities, and vices.\nWe hear that some Brahmuns had fifty wives,--some three-score; but\neven at the present day there are thousands, each of whom is the\nhusband of a dozen wives! In order to enable the reader to understand\ndistinctly this horrible system, I will furnish him with a large amount\nof information respecting its origin. Ball\u014fl Sen, a Hindoo king, in\norder to regulate the overflowing number of the Brahmuns, to check\nwickedness, to encourage learning and piety, divided them into two\norders, Koolyn and Moulick. There is a beautiful definition of Koolyn\nin the Sanscrith language, which reads thus in English: \u201cGood behavior,\nmodesty, learning, popularity, visitation to the pilgrimages, force\nof will, means of support, devotional habits, and charity, are the\nnine essential characteristics of a Koolyn.\u201d One wanting these godly\nqualities was called Moulick. The king, no doubt, was prompted by\ngood and prudent motives in this classification, which every one will\nsee as manifested in the very definition just cited above. After his\ndeath this system unfortunately underwent some modifications, which\nhanded down the privileges of Koolyn, which were great, no doubt,\nto the heirs, and could not always give the qualities thereof. The\npeculiarities of the Koolyn order are these: they would get money if\nthey should eat at a Moulick\u2019s house, or marry a daughter, either\nMoulick or Koolyn. They would not drink a tumbler of water even in a\nclerk\u2019s or a physician\u2019s house, and if they should marry their daughter\nto a Moulick, they would lose the rank thenceforward and forever. As\na Koolyn must marry his daughter to one of the same order, sometimes\none accepts the hands of scores, partly for the want of a sufficient\nnumber of bridegrooms, and partly as an act of virtue and generosity\nto unburden the parents by marrying their daughters. These men do\nnot _always_ support their hosts of wives, who frequently stay\nin their father\u2019s houses, and occasionally receive visits from them.\nI know of some unfortunate women who never saw the faces of their\nhusbands more than once!\n\nEarly marriages are prevalent among the Hindoos. There is no fixed age\nfor the marriage of a man, he can marry when he pleases; but if he be a\nBrahmun, he cannot marry under twelve, that is, without being \u201c_born\nagain_.\u201d The marriage age for a girl is between six and twelve. You\nwould scarcely see a girl of thirteen, out of thousands, unmarried. She\nis known (if there be any) as a real _thoobree_, spinster, and\nthere is little hope of her ever being married without difficulty. My\npoor younger sister, only eleven years old, was (I am sorry to tell it)\ndragged to the altar to marry a man of the age of her grandfather, and\nof little refinement.\n\nAmong the Hindoos of the present day there are no such things as\ncourting and engagement. In olden times the system was quite different\nfrom what we see now, and was called \u201c_itcha boree_,\u201d or marriage\nof choice. But I do not mean that they of old used to know each other\nwell, attend to the meetings on holidays, or enjoy the grand spectacles\nand music in theatres and operas. No, nothing of this sort was known\nto them. They used simply to glance at each other\u2019s accomplishments,\nboth external and internal, in the shortest time possible. This, though\na little defective to the Americans and English, at any rate is far\nbetter than the present fashion of no acquaintance and no interview\nuntil at once before the altar. Shith-\u0103, Drou-pothe, Doymonthee, and\nother renowned women, have married in noble ways. The caste system does\nnot allow the Hindoos to select their own brides. For, suppose a young\nman found out a girl of promise, how will he know that she belongs to\nthat peculiar caste or order from which he is to have his wife? There\nis another obstacle. There are no promiscuous gatherings of the sexes\nin Bengal, either in the temples or in the dwelling-houses. Hindoo\nwomen of high caste rarely come even to the outer department of the\nhouse in which they live.\n\nReading the Christian customs concerning weddings in the English\nbooks, I shrank at the thought of marrying one whom I never saw. How\nmany times have I prayed to God in behalf of the blind ones of Bengal.\nI have had to contend against my mother\u2019s will, for she of course\nwished me to marry a girl of ignorance in the ignorant way. Do the\nBengalees really know what a wife is, and what social pleasures are?\nThey are at once cut off from _that_ society over which the\ngentler sex presides. It would be considered an act of shamelessness\nif a young wife should manage to see her husband in presence of any\nliving creature. Twice a day when he takes his meal she can see him,\nif her eyes are very strong, through the meshes of her thick veil; or\nwould she dare to draw her veil aside, the attendant girls or young\nwomen would hurl some rebukes at her. Poor thing, she cannot look at\nher own treasure! The plagues of some sort or other ever attend her,\nto trouble and put her to shame for trifles, which are neither sinful\nnor improper. Thus, while young, I troubled my good aunt for nothing\nserious. It was in the night, when the full-grown queen of the sky\nwas shedding all her splendors on those Oriental regions, that we\nwere standing in the yard of the house near the dining-room, where\nthe gentleman of the house had entered to take his supper. We two\nwere in the room, but at the approach of my father and uncle, she was\nobliged to come out. I too came out to cheer her loneliness for half\nan hour. But what did I? Just the contrary! There were two pairs of\nshoes on the dining-room steps, for the Hindoos do not carry into the\nroom things made of leather. As the pair belonging to my uncle were\nelegantly embroidered with gold threads, and studded with small stones,\nwhich were dazzling as baby moons in the moonlight, my aunt took a\nfancy to thrust her feet into them and walked a few steps in the yard,\nwith difficulty no doubt, for not being accustomed to wear shoes, and\nbeing so large that her feet seemed swallowed, as in small skiffs. Not\nknowing how to manage such a heavy pair, she made a horrible, rattling\nnoise with the silver hoops round her ankles and the shoes, as she\nwalked along. \u201cWhat is the matter? What is that noise out there?\u201d my\nuncle cried out. \u201cNothing, sir, only aunt was trying to walk in shoes.\u201d\n\u201cWalk in shoes!\u201d he cried, \u201cwalk in shoes! A woman, and a Hindoo too!\nShe is going to be a _Kristan_ (Christian), I guess.\u201d Who can\ndescribe her embarrassment? She sat down senseless, and for several\ndays could not show her face to her friends!\n\nWhen a girl has attained her seventh or eighth year, the father engages\na _ghotuck_, procurer of his own caste, who is well acquainted\nwith the different orders of the castes. It will be worth while in\nthis place to speak of the _ghotucks_. They keep a record of\nall the marriages of the Koolyns in every part of Bengal, which they\ncommit to memory and furnish as an interesting study to their children,\nwho of course should follow the same profession. Let a Koolyn tell\na _ghotuck_ his father\u2019s name, and he will trace his genealogy\nseveral generations back. Thus once we were sitting in the outer\nhall of my grandmother, a _ghotuck_ came in and asked for some\nmoney for his travel homeward. He asked my brother\u2019s name and also\nmy father\u2019s; then he repeated like a parrot the names of our several\nancestors, and where and when they were married. Indeed he did it with\nas much precision as if he were repeating his own children\u2019s names. Now\nwhen the _ghotuck_ has found out a young man of the right order,\nthe parents of the opposite party come to each other\u2019s house to examine\nthe bride, and the bridegroom in turn. On a fixed day they assemble in\nthe gentleman\u2019s parlor where the girl is conducted by a female servant,\ndressed in fashion and with taste. To ascertain whether the girl is\ndumb, lame, or disfigured, or not, one from the bridegroom\u2019s party\nsays, \u201cWhat is your name, dear?\u201d \u201cGollaup (Rose), sir,\u201d in a low mild\ntone. \u201cWhat did you say your name was? Please speak a little clearer\nthat we may all hear. There! there you see the venerable gentleman, do\nyou? He is very fond of sweet voices, but unfortunately he is a little\nhard of hearing.\u201d After an exchange of jokes between the opposite\nparties, the girl, having regained confidence, in a more distinct tone,\nsays: \u201cMy name is Gallaup, sir.\u201d \u201cWhat, Gallaup? O, how pretty! how\nsweet the name is! Gallaup in name and in looks also. Walk a little,\nwill you?\u201d Whereupon she walks, and the eyes of all are turned to\nwatch her motions, whether they are graceful or awkward. The presiding\nmember of the opposite party puts a gift of money into her hand,\nwhich she acknowledges with a salutation. Now comes the examination\nof the boy. This is conducted in the same way, only it is extended a\nlittle further, namely, to see what there is in his mind and head. His\nhandwriting is produced, and his knowledge of letters is fathomed.\nThis is done by some high castes only, for the men of the low castes\nwho come to the boy do not know how to read or write themselves. Even\namong the Brahmuns, some possess but little book-knowledge, write so\nawkwardly that nobody can read but themselves, and read a page in an\nhour, spelling each word they find.\n\nThe older brother of my brother-in-law, who came to preside over the\narrangement, being required to sign his name, began to tremble, and,\nwith much embarrassment, wrote down his own name on the paper with\none mistake! Some cunning fathers, before the coming of the girl\u2019s\nfriends, provide a room magnificently for his son\u2019s study, borrowing a\npile of books from the boys in the neighborhood, and, in fact, arrange\neverything so nicely, that it is hardly possible at first to tell\nwhether the room is the boy\u2019s study or merely a bookstore.\n\nWhen both parties feel satisfied each with the other, they enter into a\nwritten agreement called \u201c_log-no pottrica_,\u201d which records every\narrangement respecting the marriage. In the evening of a fixed day, the\nparties meet at the house of the bride, where the family priest is\nrequired to write the instrument, and an astrologer to appoint a day\nfor the wedding ceremony, and the other friends to be witnesses. Before\ncommencing to write, the priest marks the paper with dots of red and\nyellow powders, writes the name of \u201c_Doorga Ram\u00e0_,\u201d &c., on the\ntop, and other things below. The following is the form of the agreement\nor \u201c_log-no pottrica_\u201d:--\n\n\n \u201cSREE SREE DOORGA.\u201d\n\n \u201cTHE WELL-WISHER, RAM CHUNDER DEB.\u201d\n\n\u201cHereby in this happy writing, I promise to marry my first son, Sree\nDeno bundoo Deb, with your second daughter, Sree motly Modhoo Bindoo\nDebee, on the 24th of June, 9\u00bd P. M., 1859. I promise, also, to pay all\nthe expenses that shall occur on the occasion, provided you will give\nall the gold ornaments to your daughter, &c.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe father of the girl writes a similar one, answering to and approving\nthe points suggested in the other, and congratulating the proposed\n_Bai-ba-hick_[5] with a good will.\n\nMy American and English friends know very well what is to be done,\ni. e. what arrangements and preparations are to be made two or three\nmonths before the marriage. The Bengalee do just the same as far as\nthe preparation is concerned. Among the former the young man secures\na home, furnishes the parlor with everything to render both the short\nsummer and long winter pleasant and comfortable, drives over to\nChickering and Sons for a best, well-tuned piano-forte, and brings\nhome all the newly-composed music that possibly could be procured\nin the music-stores. The friends of the young lady seem very busy\nin knitting, seaming, sewing, embroidering, &c. Among the latter,\nno separate house is required at all, for it is considered greatest\nof all earthly pleasures to dwell under one and the same paternal\nroof. If the young man should remove somewhere, even after the death\nof his parents, in order to live with his wife, the children in the\nneighborhood would ridicule him as the slave of his wife, and her as\nthe author of discord. Hindoo parents, on their death-bed, charge\ntheir sons not to have their food cooked in a different kitchen, but\nto dwell peaceably in the same house, helping each other. I know a\nBrahmun family in my village, B\u0101tli, which contained thirty souls\nat the same time. The house that sheltered them is something like a\nfortress, enclosing an acre of land. There is no need of separate\nhouses from various reasons. A newly-married wife in Bengal is more fit\nfor a primary school in Boston than for housekeeping. Again, if her\nhusband be absent for half a day even, she would not go to the next\nhouse to ask for help if absolutely necessary. Shopping and singing\nare out of the question. Thus, while very young I was sick, and the\nphysician, not finding my father at home, put a few pills on a plate,\nand requested my mother, who was then by the side of the door, to get\nsome _coorch\u0113\u0113_, bark of a tree, and mix its juice with them.\nThough in the next house there were several persons, yet she could not\nmanage to get any _coorch\u0113\u0113_. In the afternoon the physician came,\nand feeling my pulse, said, smiling: \u201cMadam, you have not applied the\nmedicine, nor given your boy the prescribed regimen. I know why you\nhave not: brother Gangooly is not at home.\u201d Going a few rods out of the\nhouse, he returned, calling my mother, saying, \u201cMadame, here is the\n_coorch\u0113\u0113_, which grew on your lot.\u201d\n\nNow about the necessary preparations for the wedding. Nothing is to\nbe more cared for than a good, faithful goldsmith, who is to make\nornaments of various shapes and sizes. Three days before the marriage,\nboth the bride and the bridegroom are anointed and bathed in their\nrespective homes, by a dozen married women. The widows are entirely\nexcluded from this and other ceremonies pertaining to the wedding. I\nhave before observed, that the women cannot associate with men, and the\nquestion would naturally suggest itself, Do the married women anoint\nand bathe both bride and bridegroom? I will here be more distinct in\nportraying the scenes, for they are all new and different from those of\nmy Christian friends. The women are for the most part elderly persons,\nand composed of sisters, aunts, and the like. This exception is made on\nan occasion like this. The bride and bridegroom are requested to keep a\n_jathee_, scissors, with them until the marriage ceremony is over.\nThe relatives and other friends send valuable gifts, and entertain them\nin their houses. This mode of entertainment is called \u201cthe bachelor and\nmaiden feasts.\u201d The evening previous to the wedding is celebrated the\nfeast of \u201cjoy cakes.\u201d These cakes are made of cocoa-nuts, sugar, and\nrice-powder, and are cooked with much ceremony. When the raw rice is\nwashed, they sound the sacred shells, trumpets, flutes, cymbals, &c.\n\nAs the couple will be joined in a fixed moment in the evening, the\nfriends are very careful to reach the bride\u2019s house before that time.\nWhen the bridegroom starts he dresses in red silken cloth, wears a hat\nmade of cord and other glittering, fanciful material; then his mother,\nor in her absence, aunt, comes near him, and inquires, \u201cChild,--where\nare you going?\u201d \u201cTo bring you a female servant, mother,\u201d he replies.\nIf he be the son of a rich man, hundreds of persons go with him. The\nbands, both native and English, play before him all the way. Some young\nboys, a hundred or more, dress in uniform; walk with colored flags in\ntheir hands; the hired dancing-girls dance on the platform, carried by\nmen on their shoulders. Various fancy things, such as hills, houses,\nhalls, and churches, made of bamboo sticks, beautifully covered with\npaint and gilded paper, are displayed,--fireworks of various sorts\nare burned,--streets leading to the bride\u2019s house are splendidly\nilluminated. When the bridegroom reaches his place of destination,\nhe is received in an outer hall, accommodating hundreds. A party of\ntwelve young men come and demand some money, which they get from\nevery man who comes to marry in their place. This they dispose of at\nthe public worship. Some little boys come, also, in the name of the\n\u201cthrowing stone party,\u201d for some money, which they spend for a feast\nor other amusements. The priests of the opposite parties enter into a\ndiscussion of various topics, embracing mental philosophy, astronomy,\npoetry, scriptures, &c., while the schoolboys do the same, questioning\neach other in geography, history, grammar, &c. Some dull and less\nactive boys sit apart on the cushions with the pretence of headache\nor something else. Sometimes the boys of the bride\u2019s village disturb\nthe others very much. I know of many instances in which they cut the\nbest cashmere shawls to pieces, threw fire on them with a pretended\ncarelessness, and painted the face of some poor dull boy with ink,\nwho might happen to sleep at that time. Again, the \u201ctwelve friends\u201d\nsometimes practice much violence if they do not get the exact sum of\nmoney they demand. I, unfortunately, once went to attend the wedding\nof our priest\u2019s son, in a town nearly twenty miles north of Calcutta.\nThe party above mentioned proved so troublesome that we were obliged\nto fly by the back door in the night, through bamboo forests, tired,\nhungry, and afraid lest they should overtake us, and we be handled\nroughly.\n\nNow the appointed time comes; the bridegroom is conducted into the\ninner department of the house, where no persons are allowed to enter,\nexcept his father, priest, and the barber. As he passes through a\nnarrow entry, the young women throw at him a copious shower of pastry\nmade of raw rice and molasses. The place for the marriage ceremony\nis furnished thus: two painted seats of board for the bridegroom\nand the bride,--some other aushuns, small pieces of carpet, for the\npriests and the parents,--a set of all sorts of household furniture\nused by them,--and a small throne, containing some images of their\ngods. The service is conducted in the Sanscrith language, which none\nbut the priests can understand. After the preliminary service the\nyoung couple look at each other for the first time, which is called\n_Shooblo dirstu_, good interview. This good interview, or rather\nfirst interview, relieves the young man from his doubts and fears in\nregard to the bride, and she, too, feels a like anxiety. Her face is\ncovered with a veil, and she cannot see her husband,--she only knows\nthat she is going to marry some one, and her definite knowledge of him\nends with this fact. They require the bridegroom to stand on a piece\nof painted board, then the bride is brought, sitting on a similar seat\nand supported by two or four men, as the case requires. By them she is\nraised in the air, and as the bridegroom looks eagerly at her, the face\nbeing then unveiled, some young women give blows on his back, sides,\nand shoulders. Receiving the first-expected blow from the gentler sex,\nhe turns to the direction from whence it comes, and others favor him\nwith more from various quarters. He, no doubt, feels very badly, and\ngreatly confused, and if he be a stout and grown-up young man he bears\nthese blows with manly fortitude, and if not, he cries a little. I have\nheard of some boys, who, unable to bear these invasions, looking up,\ncried aloud, \u201cMa! I shall not marry.\u201d They then exchange two flower\ngarlands, which can be done in Bengal all the year round. The priest\nthen binds their four hands with a cord made of flowers, and causes\nthem to recognize each other as the lawful husband and wife. The guests\nremain sitting during this part of the ceremony, and the father of the\nbride, her uncle, or mother, is required to take part in the ceremony\nand dedicate her to the bridegroom. At the conclusion the priests\nreceive their fees, according to some fixed order. For instance, if the\nbridegroom pays five dollars to the priest of the bride, her father is\nrequired to pay double the sum to the other priest. The entertainment\nof the guests then takes place in the yard, hall, porticos, and other\nplaces. The Brahmuns sit in one place, the Shoodras in another,\nand thus each according to the rank held in the caste system. Some\ndifficulties yet disturb the bridegroom in the dining-room. The women\ncontrive various sorts of fun to plague him. They set cakes made of\nrags, rice made of white corks, on the plate, and milk composed of\nwhite chalk and water,--good things are, of course, given by and by,\nbut these he dare not touch lest there be other hidden difficulties. In\norder to give some distinct idea of the fun the young women practise\non this occasion, I would mention the sad case of my uncle. They dug\na vat in the floor, four feet square and as many feet deep, purposely\nto perpetrate a joke upon him, a piece of shaggy carpet was spread for\nthe seat, supported by frail sticks. Poor uncle! unconscious of the\nhidden trap, sat on it, and down he went! In order to add more to his\nembarrassment, there was water at the bottom of the vat. Judging from\nthese, and witnessing other kinds of plagues, I should say the marriage\nnight is a rather hard time for a Bengalee bridegroom.\n\nThe \u201c_bashor ghor_,\u201d or bride\u2019s chamber, is crowded with women\nduring the night, who entertain the married couple with songs, make\nthe bridegroom sing, and answer, if he can, some puzzling questions,\nenigmas, &c. The reader will notice that here there is allowed free\nintercourse in speech between the man and the women. But it should\nhere be explained that these women must be sisters of the bride or her\nbrother\u2019s wives, near or distant relations. Her mother or aunts, who\nin law would be such to the bridegroom, do not enter into the mirth of\nthe \u201c_bashor ghor_.\u201d The next morning his father has to pay some\nmoney to the following persons, the policemen of the village, the man\nwho teaches in the school, the Brahmun who teaches free the Sanscrith\nscholars, the men who take care of the temple, images, &c., the poor,\nlow caste people, and a generous sum to the women who entertain, or\nrather plague the night previous. He then starts for his own village\nwith his wife and some of the servants. Both she and her mother bathe\nin tears as they part. Being received at his house, he stands in the\nyard on a painted seat, and the girl before him on a dish with milk in\nit. She holds a live fish in her right hand, and he stretches out and\nputs his hand on her head. Seven married women walk round them seven\ntimes, blowing some _shunko_, and pouring water on the ground\nfrom a pitcher as they walk. Then comes the \u201cbride\u2019s feast,\u201d at which\nhundreds from different castes are invited if she be a Brahmun. The\npersons invited from the relatives and friends see the face of the\nbride, and put some money in her hand. When they see her, the attendant\nmaid takes off the veil from her face and she closes her eyes. This\nmode is very good indeed, for nobody can notice the color and size of\nher eyes, whether they are dark blue, brunette, large, small or cross.\nWhen her own caste sit at the dinner, she brings a little rice to some\nof the leading men.\n\nThe _full shorjai_, or bed made of flowers, together with a large\nquantity of spices, confectioneries, fruits, and clothes, are sent by\nher father on the third day after the marriage, which are distributed\nto the families in the neighborhood. After staying through eight\ndays she returns to her father\u2019s house, and occasionally goes to her\nnew home until she attains her thirteenth year, when she commences\na regular married life. As it is my desire to relate the scenes of\nHindoo life, its manners, customs, and peculiarities as faithfully as\nthe rules of propriety will allow, I should say that there is a second\nmarriage which occurs during two or three years after the first, which\nI forbear to describe. I cannot close this chapter without making some\nremarks on the Hindoo marriage. Escaping the maladies of superstition,\nand standing under the light of true religion, with feelings of love\nand refinement in my heart, I shudder at, and clearly see, the defects\nin the system we have considered. The very thought of marrying a person\nwhose joys and sorrows I am to participate in, who is to become one\nwith me, without knowing her character and seeing her face at all,\nmakes me shudder. How many hundreds in Bengal are spending their days\nin wretchedness! There, with many, the affection between husband and\nwife is rather compulsory than heartfelt. True love does rarely grace\nthe connubial life of the Hindoos. Their children do not know what\ninnocent social comforts are. Vice, with its thousand branches, twines\nround their lives. Faithlessness to the married relations, discord\nbetween, and separation of two who are required to be strictly one,\nare the defective features of the Hindoo families in general. As\nthere is no system of divorcement or a second marriage for the women,\na hundredfold is added to their deplorable condition. A goldsmith, a\nneighbor of mine, bleeds his wife almost twice a month for some trifles\ndone, such as looking on the street through the window, talking with\nwomen outside of the house, &c. He being her lord and tyrant does as\nhe has a mind, and finds no check to his brutal conduct. Of course the\ngentlemen in the neighborhood remonstrate with him for his conduct, but\nthis affects him for a season only. He was fined several times, but\nnot divorced, which measure only could save the unfortunate woman from\nfuture sufferings.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n DEATH.--BOITHORNEE.--BATHING.--ANOINTMENT.--SHO.--BURNING\n THE BODY.--EXPRESSION OF MOURNING.--WIDOWS.--SHORATHO.\n\n\n\u201cNone but the sinners die under their own roof,\u201d is the prevailing\nbelief among the Hindoos. The person who dies at home, and on Tuesday\nor Saturday, is believed to be surely possessed of an evil spirit,\n_roth jon\u0113\u0113_. His ghost walks round the house and frequents the\nplaces where he rested in his lifetime. Hence, the moment the physician\nhas declared that there is no hope of life for the sick person, the\nfriends hurry him away to the ghaut on the bank of the river Ganges,\nwhere they lay him down in such a way that he may see and bow down to\nthe sacred river. It must be observed here, that in almost every ghaut,\neither at the expense of the town, or of a single individual, some\nrooms are erected for the accommodation of the sick and their friends,\nbecause in some instances they linger a long time before death comes.\nIn that case they all remain there day and night. If the sick person be\na rich old man, having four or five sons living, a great many religious\nceremonies are performed at the ghaut. In the morning and afternoon a\npriest expounds the sacred legends to a large audience, who come to\nvisit the sick and hear the preaching.\n\n\u201cBoithornee\u201d is performed at this time, either by the sick himself, if\nhe is able to utter the words, or by his oldest son. It is believed\nthat between the edges of this world and the other there is a river,\nBoithornee, to cross by those who go from this. There are no boats at\nall. Each one must provide the means for himself. Hence, at the point\nof death, or a little while before the departure from this world, the\ntraveller dedicates a cow, and a large quantity of raw rice, pease,\nclarified butter, sugar, and clothes, unto the gods. As a compensation,\nthe infernal spirit will provide him with a cow, which will carry him\nover to the other side of the Boithornee, and the eatable things will\nsatisfy the spirits on the way. The reader will, no doubt, compare\nthese with the funeral proceedings of the ancient Greeks, and see how\nnearly they resemble each other. Sometimes it happens that the sick\nman recovers after a while, and consequently desires to return home.\nThis is a bad omen, and a sad case, especially if the man be aged. They\nwould say the messenger of _Jom_, Pluto, had arrested him by a\nmistake, having the commission to take away another in the same family.\nSometimes, through a mistake, they summon some one in the neighborhood!\n\nWhen the man returns home, he closes his eyes on the way; the first\nthing he sees is an idol in the priest\u2019s hand, and calls any person\nhe may choose by name, who is expected to go to the city of Pluto in\nhis stead. Hence he calls an old person in the family if there be one,\nbecause it will be a comfort to him, and his death is lamented less. I\nwas once posted with an idol in my hand to receive a young lady, who\nhad been carried by the forgetful \u201cpeons of death.\u201d She opened her big,\ndark eyes, looked earnestly both at me and the idol (for this was the\nonly chance for her to see a young man face to face), and humbly bent\nher head, saying, \u201cTakoor, grant that no misfortune, consequent to my\nreturn, may befall the family.\u201d\n\nWhen the men see the sick person breathing his last, they plunge his\nwhole body up to his neck, and shout, \u201cGunga Nara on\u014f, Brohmo om Ram\u014f.\u201d\nBut if they be Sudras they omit the word _om_, which is too sacred\nfor them to utter. The reader will easily imagine how soon the last\nremnant of life flies from the body under such treatment, and, to add\nto the sufferings of the last hour, a man pinches very tightly the\ngreat toes of the sick until he dies. They then erect a pile of wood,\nwhich is nearly six feet long, three broad, and six high, on which they\nlay the dead body. Before doing this they anoint the body, and put a\ncross on the forehead with the sacred mud from the Gunga. When the\ncorpse has been laid down on the wooden pile, the oldest son of the\ndeceased walks seven times round it, with a blazing torch in his hand,\nrepeating some words after a Brahmun of low order, who performs the\nfuneral service. He then touches the mouth of the dead with the fire\nof the torch; the friends help him in this, and in the course of five\nhours they burn the body to ashes. If any one should touch a person\nof the funeral party, he must stay with them until the end of the\nservice. They take a piece of the burnt body and enclose it in a mud\ncup, and throw it into the river. The Hindoos, as a people, burn the\ndead bodies of their friends; but to give the reader true information\nabout this custom I should say, however, that there are some low\ncastes, _Potto_ and _Jug\u0113\u0113_, who burn or bury their dead as\ncircumstances permit. Again, the children under one year of age, of\nany caste whatever, are buried on the river\u2019s side; but no tablet or\nmonument is erected on the spot. The reason why the infants are buried\nis, I believe, the unwillingness to put fire to their delicate frames.\n\nThey then wash the funeral place, remove the ashes, and bathe\nthemselves before they leave the spot. The leading man of the party,\ni. e. the son of the deceased, erects a pole nearly eight feet long on\nthe place just washed and cleaned, also sets there a _colser_, or\nwater-pitcher, and a _shora_, or earthen saucer, with eight small\nsea-shells upon it, and slightly strikes the pitcher with a shovel, and\nturns his face in the opposite way. As he leaves the place he does not\nturn back to see the things behind him, for it is said, if any should\ndare to look back, he would see hosts of evil and infernal spirits\ndancing and feasting on human flesh. I have often thought I should like\nto ascertain the truth of this, by doing what is thus forbidden, but\nI had no opportunity, because, when my father died, I was young and\nsuperstitious, and the second son. Now, being outcasted, I have not\nthe privileges of a son, consequently, even in the absence of my older\nbrother, some one else in the family will burn the body of my mother\nwhen she dies.\n\nThe party then walks first to the house of the man that died, slowly\nrepeating _Hor\u0113\u0113 C\u014dle_, touches some fire, cuts _nim_ (a leaf\nhaving a little taste), and chews a few grains of raw rice, which are\npurposely kept on the street near the house.\n\nThe expression of mourning is shown in various ways. Those bearing the\nsame family title, such as Gangooly, Mookerjea, Doss, &c., will not\nshave their heads, cut the nails, anoint the body with oil, nor use any\nsort of animal food, for some fixed time. If the death of a Gangooly be\nknown to hundreds of Gangooly families, they would all observe these\nrules, and one additional, namely, they would not offer prayers or\nworship the idols. The Brahmuns and astrologers observe these mourning\ncustoms ten days, the physicians fifteen, and others a month, during\nwhich time the sons suffer a great deal. They all dress in white, go\nwith wet clothes after bathing, eat rice, boiled potatoes, peas, &c.,\nonce in twenty-four hours, and sleep on the floor on a carpet, quite\nseparate from wife, children, or any friends.\n\nThere are some peculiarities in boiling the rice, the only meal of the\nday. Almost every one is required to cook for himself at this time of\nmourning. The earthen pan is placed on three large iron nails driven\ninto the ground, and the fire for the cooking is made of dry cocoa-nut\nleaves.\n\nDuring those days of mourning the sons of the deceased call on every\nfamily in his native place, high or low caste, rich or poor. Entering\ninto a gentleman\u2019s house, they thus address him: \u201cSir, to-day is the\nsixth day of my father\u2019s departure from this world. He has received the\ngrace of Gunga. I am ignorant of a great many things, inexperienced,\nand know not what to do. I earnestly entreat you to be kind enough to\ngo to my house, superintend everything necessary, advise me and others\ninterested in my case, receive and entertain the guests in my behalf,\u201d\n&c. It is customary to give some pecuniary aid to them, especially\nif they be poor, for it costs a large sum of money to perform the\nceremony, and entertain several hundred persons, at least. The day\nbefore the ceremony,--which comes, as before stated, on the tenth day\nto a Brahmun, the fifteenth to a physician, and the thirtieth to the\nlow castes,--they all shave their heads; the women simply cut their\nnails and bathe in the river. The oldest son, who is the chief actor\nin the scene, offers _thus pindoo_ (made of rice, butter, [_ghee_,]\nand bananas) to the spirit of the departed father, as food for the ten\ndays. Now, on the next day, comes the _Shrawth\u014d_, or grand ceremony.\nThe invitations, through letters and by messengers, draw immense\ncrowds of relatives, friends, priests, monks, and beggars. In an open\nspacious place, either in the worshipping department of the house or\noutside of it, an earthen altar is erected, and _brisho kast\u014d_, or\nfuneral post, is placed near it. This post is carved out from a piece\nof wood, either _bale_, _nim_, or _jug-go doomur_, a kind of fig-tree.\nThe priest marries a calf and a young bull before it, while it serves\nas a pole to which cords are fastened for the purpose of binding the\nqueer bridegroom. They brand both sides of the bull, so as to make him\nconspicuous all the days of his life. A peculiar caste is hired to\ndo this, because to burn _go churmo_, cow\u2019s skin, is a profane act.\nHindoos have different castes to do the profane as well as sacred part.\n\nAll sorts of household furniture are dedicated to the gods, and then\ndistributed to the Brahmuns. Some choirs, composed of common men and\nwomen of ill repute, come to sing the legends of Krishno, for which\nthey receive some compensation. Sometimes twenty, more or less,\ndifferent choirs come, and the people know not which to hear. In such\ncases, however, they hear the leading ones, giving them a liberal sum,\nand sending others away with but little. But it ought to be mentioned\nhere that the choir having a handsome young lady, well dressed and\nornamented, as its head, will secure a hearing at any rate, and, the\nwhole time being occupied with feasts and entertainments, she is\nengaged to sing again, when all will be quiet.\n\nThree days after this ceremony, they all anoint themselves with yellow\npowder and oil, and form a long procession of singers, priests and\nrelatives, carry the funeral post on their shoulders, and stick it\ninto the ground by the side of the river. Every year, on the same day,\nthe children or grandchildren of the deceased are required to repeat\nsome part of this _Sha-ahho_, and entertain as many persons as\ntheir circumstances will permit. Hence a Hindoo gentleman entertains\npeople in feasts nearly six times a year, in honor of his departed\nforefathers. Even a poor man is bound to do this, otherwise he will be\nregarded as an infidel and a sinner.\n\nThere is a Brishookasto, or funeral post, in the Salem Museum, where\ncuriosities from India are placed for exhibition. There is also another\nat the room of the American Unitarian Association.\n\nIt seems necessary to me to give my Christian friends some idea of\nwidowhood in Bengal. The very day a girl becomes a widow, her colored\nclothes, silver and golden ornaments, are all taken off, and a mark of\nred powder, which every married woman wears on the forehead, is rubbed\nout. Henceforth she is to dress in white, and wear no ornament of any\nkind whatever during her lifetime. Her daily meals are reduced to one,\nand that is prepared in the simplest way possible. She is strictly\nprohibited the use of any sort of animal food. This restriction has\nbeen carried to such an extreme, that, if a scale of fish be found in\nthe plate of a widow, she must immediately stop eating and go without\nfood the same day. Each widow is required to cook her own food, and to\nabstain entirely from food and drink two days, _aka-thusly_, in\nevery month. There are other fasting days for this class of wretched\nwomen, but the young ones feel satisfied with observing the two fixed\nones. Who can witness the sufferings, the sighs of the Bengalee widow\nof thirteen or fourteen years, on the fast-days, without pity? In\nthe warm days of April, when the burning sun dries up the ponds of\ntheir water, scorches the leaves of the trees, these poor victims to\nthe rigidness of superstition faint and pant in hunger and thirst.\nIf they are dying on the _aka-thusly_ day, a little water will\nbe put to the lips, merely to wet them. In order to escape these\ncontinual sufferings, it has been the practice with many widows to\nburn themselves with the corpse of the husband, and though the subtle\nBrahmuns inculcate various rewards for the burning of the Shuttee, yet\nI cannot see anything more weighty than the putting an end at once to\nall their troubles, even at the guilt of suicide. They have no hope\nof ever cheering their widowhood in the world. A learned Brahmun,\nthe principal of Calcutta Sanscrith College, is earnestly engaged in\nredeeming the condition of the widows by introducing the system of\nwidow marriage. Having a deep knowledge of the national literature,\nalso the Scriptures of the country, he traced back its customs and\ninstitutions, and wrote a pamphlet, in which he succeeded in proving\nthat widow marriage had been known to the Hindoos of old. His reference\nto the ancients, his able arguments and pathetic discourses in behalf\nof the wretched millions, were met by the people with the ferocity\nof lions. Nearly sixty pamphlets were published by the enemies of\nthe widows, against this great reformer. Amidst the heavy shower and\nthunder of reproach from his blind countrymen, this noble child of\nGod, with a few friends by his side, with the love of humanity in his\nheart and the smile of his Father upon his head, stood firmly, and,\nsummoning all his forces, maintained the honor and superiority in the\nfield. With an elaborate work he answered his opponents, confuted their\nmistaken reasonings, and, to their great mortification, married a young\nBrahmun widow of sixteen to a suitable bridegroom. May he be successful\nin instituting this wished for system, which will save the females of\nBengal from manifold sufferings and sins!\n\nIt ought to be observed in this place, that no widow is asked or\nforced to die with her husband. She who voluntarily takes up her\ncross and follows after her beloved husband of life, is welcome.\nEvery preparation will be made to help her in this act of mistaken\ndevotion. I have heard of some widows, who made all the necessary\narrangements for this mode of suicide while their husbands were living.\nAs it would be a disgrace to the family in case of her failure, the\npeople ask her to consider the matter well, and, finding her firm in\nher position, bind her and her dead husband together with some cords,\nand lay them both on the _Chitta_ or funeral pile, where she is\nburned alive amid the praises of the spectators. In many instances,\nthe devoted widows, forsaking their little ones, and committing them\nto the care of others, have followed after their husbands. It is a\nheartrending scene indeed to behold the wretched children, who, with\nhorror unspeakable, witness the death of their two dearest relatives\non earth,--the one taken away by the natural death, the other, yea the\nsweeter, the tenderer of the two, a victim to superstition, a martyr to\nher conviction of the mistaken precepts of her priests.\n\nMy sisters in Christ, be grateful to your Father for the light you\npossess. Learn to appreciate the thousand blessings which crown your\nheads, and, comparing your privileges, your comforts, your associations\nwith those of Indian females, thank heartily the great Giver of all.\nO, do not carelessly tread on the pearls cast so lavishly before you,\nbut prize them, feel their influence, and make good and right use of\nthem! Remember that to whom much is given, much will be required from\nthe same. Pray for yourselves, and pray in behalf of your sisters in\nthe bondage of superstition, pining and mourning in ignorance. God\nraise the hearts of the people of this country, especially of women,\nthat some daughters of God, like blessed Mrs. Judson, Mrs. Mundey, and\nothers, might take pity on the dismal condition of their sisters in\nthe bright, yet dark, heathen India. Noble Christian men and women,\nwho send only their male missionaries to India, do not know that the\nfemale India, which is the better and larger portion of the country,\nhas no chance nor allowance to hear them. So the women grow up and die\nin ignorance, yea, entire ignorance, of the only wise God. Their lives\nare spent in the worship of the ideal gods and goddesses! In the dark\ndays of their widowhood, which lasts with life, there is nothing to\ncomfort them, no hope, no promise to calm their troubled spirits, no\nknowledge of literature, science, or true religion to draw instructions\ntherefrom. Sad, dark, dismal, pitiable, their conditions are! Nothing\nbut the lights of the true religion can emancipate them from their\nservitude, strengthen them in their weakness, and exalt them from\nthe low and degraded surface they stand on. Let pity awake in your\ntender breasts, ye women of America and England, towards the suffering\nmillions! God does everything by instrumentalities, you are the same in\nhis hands. Work then if it be expedient, or send the female teachers\nto work in the harvest of your King. Behold, the harvest is great, but\nthe laborers are few! Help them, and bless them with the light you\nenjoy,--yea, the light of the knowledge of the King eternal, immortal,\nand the only wise God,--and yours will be the blessings forever!\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n DOMESTIC LIFE, EDUCATION, ETC.\n\n\nAccording to their ideas of good and bad, the Hindoos teach their\nchildren in their early days to love the former and shun the latter.\nThey are taught to fear the gods, love their parents, respect the\naged, and adhere to all the institutions of their ancestors, social or\nreligious. As the result of such careful, regular training, a great\nmany children do and say what they have no conception of, like the\nbirds which the Hindoos teach to utter words. With a view to give some\nidea of this training, I would first notice the early days of the\nHindoo children, but feel sorry that I have to begin with something\nquite ridiculous. It is the fear of the Vooths or devils,--the\nspirits of men, women, cows, &c., dying under peculiar circumstances.\nThe number of these wicked spirits is immensely large in countries\nthrough which the sacred Gunga does not pass, because its sanctifying\ninfluences drive them a great way off. Again, as it is believed that\nthose who breathe their last on the lap of their \u201cMother Gunga\u201d\nwith the consciousness of their approaching end, and say, \u201cThis is\nGunga, and I am dying,\u201d are conducted to heaven, almost all the sick\npersons are led thither to die. Hence there are only very few devils\nnear the Gunga. The Hindoo mother sitting by the cradle of her baby\nsings the names of the demons as her lullaby. My dear mother had the\nfollowing, which she was wont to sing when the children would cry and\nwould not go to bed, or made any noise. \u201cI am Ear-cutter, live on the\npalm-tree and cut the ears of the noisy children.\u201d Such songs always\nhave immediate effects; the little ones stop crying and hide their\nfaces under the arms of their mother. As these grow older and are\nable to understand words, the lullaby turns to be a story of devils,\ntigers, lions, &c. After dark the mother, father, or the servants\ngather round them a youthful auditory, and tell them long stories of\nthe devils,--how they wander about in the night, especially on dark\nnights; go from one to the other end of the village by a single step;\nencounter bad men in their nocturnal rounds, and require them to recite\ntheir prayers. The men or children who cannot say their prayers meet\nwith very disagreeable experiences from their hands. These stories,\ntoo, have great influence upon the children; they learn their lessons,\nprayers, and hymns, by heart before they come across a devil, who is\npretty sure to examine them as to their acquirements. The devils have\ntheir castes and orders; the spirit of a Brahmun is Doith\u00f3; of a woman,\nPatn\u00e9; of low caste, in general, Vooths; of a miser, Joc; of a glutton,\nPisha, etc.\n\nThe children learn the names of the male and female deities, and thank\nthem when they go to bed. The mother takes her babe to the temple, and\nbends its head before the idols, if it be too young to show voluntary\nexpressions of reverence. Often we find little boys or girls going to\nthe temple with their parents, holding fruits in their hands.[6]\n\nThe discipline at the table is peculiar. The Hindoos do not use knives,\nforks, and spoons at their tables; but they teach their children to\nmake good use of, and to handle delicately, the tools they have, viz.\ntheir fingers. The children must sit decently in their places, must not\nscoop away the contents of the plate at once, nor put their fingers\ninto their mouths up to the whole length. To leave one\u2019s seat before\nothers have finished their eating is regarded as an insult to the\nparty. It is not only an insult, but more than that, as the party would\nnot eat any more and would leave their seats accordingly. The Brahmuns\ndo not touch each other while at meals; if accidentally they should do\nso, the oldest of the party ceases to eat, but sits quietly until the\nend, when he leaves his seat with the rest, and does not eat any cooked\nfood till evening. Anything left on the plate, whatever be its quality\nor quantity, is not taken into the kitchen or closet in order that it\nmay be used again. Hence they take what they can eat, and the remainder\nis given to the servants, who are always from the low castes.\n\nDiscipline at the school is as follows. Love to the teacher, respect\nto his person, obedience to his commands, and attention to his\nteaching, are strictly insisted upon in our scholastic career. The\nHindoo boys (for the girls are not sent to the schools or anywhere\nelse for instruction, there being no such thing as female education)\nare taught first of all to regard, or, I might say, to idolize their\nteacher. To refuse him a service, or to speak a word before his face in\nthe spirit of defiance, is a sin. Pupils really prostrate themselves\nbefore him, and offer prayer to him, as a personification of knowledge.\nSo much confidence is put in him that the boys sometimes pay more\nattention to his words than they do to those of their parents. For\nobedience to and confidence in a teacher are preludes to scholastic\nsuccess. Under any marked circumstances, for instance like the late\nschool question in Boston about reading the commandments, in which\nthe parents and the teacher were opposite parties, each demanding of\nthe child submission, a Hindoo boy would obey the teacher while under\nhis instruction, his sacred position awakening respect. I have known\na boy who cared so much for the wants of his teacher, that he would\nnot listen to the paltry excuses of his parents for not meeting them.\nThe teacher had told him to bring his schooling fee, which he wished\nto remit to his family by a man who was to leave the place the next\nmorning. The boy asked the money from his parents, but did not get\nit; they said, some time during the week they would forward it to the\nteacher. This did not satisfy the boy, who, in the absence of his\nparents, took away a heavy brazen jar, pawned it at a neighbor\u2019s, and\nbrought the money to his teacher. Being desired to give the reasons\nfor his conduct, he replied, \u201cThe teacher ought to receive his fee\nwhen he needs it, and especially when he wants to send it home, and in\ndue time; and that if they really wished to pay him during the week,\nthey might just as well recover the jar then.\u201d As most of their books\nare manuscripts, and liable to be torn, spoiled, or lost, the boys are\ntaught to \u201clove them as their friends, and watch and bind them as their\nprisoners.\u201d\n\nIf, carelessly, a boy drops his book on the ground, he picks it up,\ndusts it with his cloth, bends his head before it, and kisses it\nwith reverence. The judicious care which ought to be taken of books,\nwriting-tools, etc. has grown into a superstition. When a boy touches\nhis book, pen, or inkstand carelessly with his feet, he thanks\nShores-shutty, and begs her pardon.\n\nDuty is exacted towards all in the different domestic relations.\nParents and all brothers and sisters are objects of reverence, and it\nis the first and great duty of a child to honor his parents by words,\ndeeds, and affection, as by mouth, hand, and heart. The Hindoo children\nprostrate themselves before their parents, and, taking the dust of\ntheir feet by the hand, put it on their heads,--a way in which the\nHindoos show their humiliation towards others. They do not take the\nnames of their parents on their lips, unless it is for the information\nof others, and even then two or three respectful terms are used before\nand after each name. It is regarded impolite to inquire the name of\na married woman. A separate term of honor is put before the name of\na departed father, uncle, etc. To call a person by his name, who is\nolder than one\u2019s self, is an insult to him, as well as a sign of a want\nof good training in ourselves. In the family, the young boy does not\naddress his older sister or brother as sister Mary, brother George, by\ntheir names, but uses, \u201cFirst brother, First sister, Second brother,\nSecond sister,\u201d etc. A married woman does not, on _any account_,\nutter the names of her husband, his eldest brother, her father, and\nmother-in-law, etc., nor sound the very letter which begins their\nnames. For instance, she whose husband\u2019s is Shiba, uses F in the\nplace of S, making _Fiba_. _Goguth_, being the name of a\ngod, is a common name among the Hindoos, and thousands of women say,\n\u201cForguth-nauth\u201d when they bow down to the celebrated Jugur-nauth. A\nman must not touch the person of his younger brother\u2019s wife, unless\ncompelled by some emergency. If he does so in seeming carelessness,\nhe brings the world\u2019s odium on his head. It is not respectful to\nlaugh wildly, and make loose remarks, before father, mother, uncle,\naunt, brothers, sisters, cousins, or, in short, before other grown-up\npersons. In conversation, to look or stare at the face of the person\n(especially if he or she be older) whom we speak to is very impolite;\non the other hand, it does not look well to gaze at a person while he\nspeaks to us.[7] Singing, or playing on any instrument, before grown up\npersons, especially if they are relations, is improper; hence, pianos\nor other musical instruments are not household furniture in Bengal.\nThe music is made among persons of the same age, and where no father,\nuncle, or elder brother is present. This, however, is confined only to\nthe males; Hindoo females do not sing to men or even to themselves.\nOccasionally, you will hear a girl singing, in a tone sweet yet so\nlow that you will think she has just recovered from a dreadful fever;\nwhile her female hearers are on the look-out,--lending one ear to her\nsong, and the other to catch the step of any one who might be coming.\nProficiency in music or dancing is not an accomplishment to a Hindoo\nwoman; her accomplishments consist in keeping silence before, and\nspeaking gently to, her friends; in abstaining from wild laughter;\nin paying attention to the regulations for her sex; in offering due\nregard to others; in her familiarity with the art of cooking, and her\nreverence for all holy and pure things. Dancing is strictly forbidden\namong the males or females of any respectable standing whatever, and it\nis thought to be degrading, a savage practice, to move about or stretch\nthe limbs with measured steps before an audience. In India, dancing\nmen and women always belong to the disreputable class, who sell their\nservices to the public. The Hindoos believe that the custom of dancing\nby both sexes originated among the savage people; although it is a\nmain source of pleasure among the enlightened. A Hindoo father would\nrather see his children walk on crutches than waltz before anybody.\nConfined as the dancing is to the disreputable people, it is itself\na difficult art; every one cannot dance according to rule, unless a\nsystematic instruction is received. There are, I presume, more than\nforty different kinds of movements. When a girl dances, she imitates\nthe sounds of the music, by means of the ornaments round her ankles.\nAs she gently glides along before you, you will hear the low ringing\nnoise of her ornaments, in perfect harmony with the sound of the music,\nand this designates the kind of the dancing. But it is to be observed\nhere, that even the disreputable public people do not dance together,\nmale and female leaning against each other\u2019s bosom, and putting their\narms round the waist. Among the high castes, any sport requiring the\nexertion of bodily strength is excluded.\n\nThe chess, cards, and other games, similar and superior to backgammon,\nare the prominent ones. But here, again, age and relation are to be\nconsidered. A gentleman does not play with his brother or children, or\nany nearest relation young or old; for it is impolite to play a game\nwith or before grown-up friends; and, on the other hand, it is showing\na shallow character to engage in a game with children. Again, the\nmembers of the low castes do not join in the sport with the Brahmun,\nlest they come so near his sacred person as to touch him with their\nfoot, or to speak wildly to him in the heat of the action. Particular\ncare is taken to teach young boys the art of writing letters to\ntheir friends. As each person is to be addressed by peculiar words,\nexpressive of age, position, and relation, etc., there are some fixed\nrules which are consulted by the writer. In English, \u201cMy dear\u201d answers\nalmost every purpose, except in a lawyer\u2019s letter. It is applicable to\nfather, uncle, mother, brother, husband, wife, sister, brother-in-law,\npriest, children, friends, debtor, creditor, etc.; but in Bengalee\nthe system is quite different. The writer must discriminate between a\nfather and brother-in-law, by addressing each according to the relation\nhe holds to the one who addresses him. In writing to father, mother,\nuncle, oldest brother and sister, father and mother-in-law, and priest,\nthe address is \u201cRight adorable,\u201d and the writer\u2019s name in all cases is\nused at the beginning. The address to those younger in years is, the\n\u201cObject of blessing.\u201d A man addresses the father or mother-in-law of\nhis son or daughter by a distinct phrase, which _could not be_\napplied to any other. Low castes observe these rules while writing\namong themselves; but in case they write to a Brahmun, young or old,\nthe phrase, \u201cMost adorable,\u201d or, \u201cObedience to thee is my joy,\u201d etc.,\nis used. The following is a sample of a father\u2019s letter to his son:--\n\n \u201cOBJECT OF BLESSING:--\n\n\u201cKnow and accept my good wishes and blessing from this. For thy\nspiritual and temporal welfare I solicit the grace of God unceasingly,\nand in so doing consists my substantial joy,\u201d etc.\n\nIn order to take a long or short journey, especially if undertaken for\nsome important business, a \u201cfortunate hour\u201d is sought for, which the\npriests designate after consulting the day and its planet (each day,\nbeing named after the heavenly bodies, such as Sun, Moon, etc., has its\nattendant planet). Before starting on the journey, a man prostrates\nhimself before his parents, bows to them reverently, bends his head\nalso before the idols or pictures of the gods, asks their blessing,\nrecites a prayer or two, which are always creed-like and authoritative,\nand finally bids \u201cFarewell, I come then.\u201d This is answered by, \u201cLet\nsuccess attend your steps,\u201d \u201cGods be with you,\u201d etc. If accidentally he\nshould strike or touch his head against a door or wall, or if any one\npresent should shout or sneeze, or if any one should speak to him, he\nwould immediately take his seat for a few minutes. Such interruption is\nregarded a bad omen, and, if repeated, the journey is to be postponed.\n\nIn the streets, all the castes salute the Brahmuns as often as they\nmeet them. The Hindoo would not let the priests go without his\nsalutation. He folds his hands, holds them near his breast, and bends\nhis head, saying, \u201cSalutation to the feet of the Second Born,\u201d at\nwhich the Brahmun gently raises his right hand a little, uttering, \u201cBe\nvictorious!\u201d or \u201cLive ever!\u201d or \u201cBlessing be thine!\u201d Unless there be\na deep interest or settled familiarity between the parties, they do\nnot speak to each other in the street. Some persons inquire of their\nfriends, \u201cWell, I hope?\u201d \u201cAll well at home?\u201d and are responded with,\n\u201cAs you see,\u201d or, \u201cAs you will,\u201d etc. The low castes do not walk\nclose by the Brahmuns, nor tread on their shadow, if they can help it.\nTo whistle, sing, or smoke in the street, is ungentlemanly. The very\nlowest castes are found to do those things. A Hindoo gentleman would\nnot eat anything between his meals in a car or in a carriage. So, in\nIndia, the cry of \u201cCandy, sweet oranges, apples, Stewart\u2019s gum-drops!\u201d\nis not heard in railroad cars.\n\nThe tests of gentlemanliness are positive. From early years the\nchildren are guarded against falling into evil passion, fighting or\nquarrelling, etc. The grown-up, high-caste people _very_ rarely\ncome to blows, or even lay hands upon one another. Our parents,\nsisters, wives, would feel ashamed of us in the extreme if they heard\nthat their children, brothers, or husband were fighting-men. Indeed, it\nwould bring shame upon the whole family if one member of it were found\nmaking use of a club, sword, or gun against his brother.\n\nA Hindoo gentleman does not appear before any stranger without\narranging his dress; again, _too much_ fixing is regarded foppish.\nHe does not use unkind words to others.\n\nThe daily routine of the men is as follows. After washing their mouths,\nearly in the morning, the castes attend to their respective business.\nThe Brahmuns go first to gather flowers for worship, and afterwards\nattend to the idols at their own houses, as well as at those of their\n\u201cparishioners.\u201d A great many of them go to teach schools, or work in\nthe courts, hospitals, or mercantile affairs, etc. But these are not\nall Brahminical. Other castes work until eleven or twelve; after that\nthey bathe, offer prayers to the idols, and take their meals. In the\nafternoon they go to work again. The priests spend the afternoon in\ntheir studies, and in household affairs. Some of them occasionally\nmeet, either in a parlor or in the open air, to play chess. The evening\nis spent in different ways. The good fathers gather their sons round\nthem, inquire about the studies of the day, and give them instruction\nin parables and stories. Others go round visiting their friends,\nhearing music, or attending the meeting frequently held to consider\nlocal difficulties. At last, at nine or ten, comes the supper, which is\nserved in their peculiar way.\n\nAs to the occupation of the females, I will speak only of the\nhigh-caste ones, as the head of the sex to which they belong. The\nfirst part of the morning is spent in attending to the sweeping of all\nthe rooms, entries, yard, washing the kitchen, the marble or metallic\nplates which are used at late tea. These are done mostly by female\nservants, but as being of a different caste they are not allowed to\ncome to that portion of the kitchen where the cooking-utensils are\nkept, or to the kitchen at all; the sweeping and washing here are\ndone by the members of the family. The performance of the duties\nin the kitchen is a difficult one; for if anybody should touch a\ncooking-pan or a kettle before taking a bath, it would not be used any\nlonger; so such things are placed beyond the reach of little folks.\nAs the utensils are often liable to be touched, they are, however,\nmostly earthen-ware; so in case they are thrown out, as they often\nare, the loss is not great. After the sweeping has been done, the\nwomen get ready for the bath; anoint their bodies with oil common,\nor _foo lud_ perfumatory, as circumstances permit. I have seen\na rich, handsome, but vain Brahmun woman rub her arms and face with\n_Kheer_ (thickly boiled milk), that a good fragrance might come\nfrom her person! They then go into the river or tank, where hundreds\nwash themselves together on some holiday. On their way home, the\nreligious as well as elderly portion of them visit the idols in the\ntemple; the young women, however religious, are not often suffered to\ngo to the temple, lest they come into collision with young men who\nfrequent them for this purpose. Reaching home, they help each other in\nthe cooking. As the Hindoos do not set vegetables or fish whole on the\ntable, and use highly seasoned and spiced dishes, great care is taken\nto dress fish, cut the vegetables, and grind spices. Widows do not eat\nanything touched by hands that have just dressed fish; so one takes\ncare of vegetables, another of fish, a third grinds spices, and thus\nthey pleasantly alleviate the labor which, if done by one, would be\nanything but easy, and of course would take more time. The Hindoo way\nof cooking things is really scientific; and it takes time and requires\nskill to do it. They do not think much of boiling, baking, frying;\nalleging, that only those who do not and cannot cook better feel\nsatisfied with them.\n\nLet a Bengalee woman prepare some common leaves or flowers, and, if you\neat them, you will hardly know what you are eating. Out of _one_\nkind of fish and two or three of vegetables, she would prepare ten\ndifferent dishes, perhaps, each differing from the other in regard to\nflavor, taste, and richness. In fact, in some grand feasts, the number\nof _Ban-juns_, or curries, as called by foreigners, exceeds forty!\nIn the legendary accounts we read of _fifty-four_ Ban-juns used by\nthe gods. As there is no fixed time for taking meals, the men dine when\nthey are ready, either together or separate, and the women afterwards.\nIf there be a female visitor in the family, the newly married\ndaughter-in-law would not eat anything before her, and to meet at the\ntable with _men_ is out of the question. My lady friends, in this\ncountry, have often asked me, \u201cWho presides at the table there?\u201d \u201cWho\nwaits upon the gentlemen?\u201d etc.\n\nThe mother or any other elderly female serves food to the men, but\nshe does not partake of it with them. If there be only a young woman\npresent to help her husband or his brother, she skilfully manages to\nlook at the condition of the plates, and acts accordingly. Sometimes\nshe gives them what they do not wish for, or more than they can eat.\nThe married women do not sit close by the widows, lest they touch\nthem or their plates; in either case the latter are required by the\nreligious regulation of their order to stop eating. Very commonly the\nwidows do not eat any food cooked by married women, even if they were\ntheir daughters.\n\nImmediately after the meal they go to the tank, which is always within\na few rods\u2019 distance from the kitchen, for the purpose of washing\ntheir hands, mouth, and feet. Almost all young women go into the\nwater and wash the dress they had on while at dinner. Now they use\n_meeshie_, a kind of black powder to clean their teeth a second\ntime, which, as a national peculiarity, are bright and smooth as\npearls. This powder is a preparation of three or four materials; and,\nalthough it is black, leaves no darkness on the teeth. It has also a\nfine taste. The little children, unable to resist the temptation, eat\nthe powder while cleaning their teeth with it.\n\nThen comes the toilet. The head is decorated, the hair fixed with\nmuch care and skill. One woman sits behind her friend to fix her\nhair, which is always dark, thick, flowing, and sometimes so long\nas to reach the knees. They do not use hair-pins or ribbons; some\ndelicate stitches of thread made in braiding the waste hair are\nused to tie the _Kho-p\u0103_, or knot, which, when properly made,\nlooks \u201c_splendid_,\u201d as the girls call it. A gay dress is worn,\nornaments are put in their proper places, some attar of rose is\nsprinkled over the dress, hair, &c., and after this the young lady\nis all right,--ready to receive callers, or to go to parties, if\nit were customary. But they must see and enjoy praise, comment upon\nand find fault with each other\u2019s dress or personal accomplishments\nby themselves, as hardly any outsider, especially a male, gets any\nchance to see them. Sometimes the women living in houses adjoining\nassemble in one, where they spend the time in playing cards, telling\nstories, or feeding on gossip. The subjects of their conversation are\nthe following, which they speak upon briskly, even within the space of\na few minutes:--First, the dinner, how it was cooked, by whom, and of\nwhat it consisted. Now one regrets she could not succeed very well in\ncooking fish, and puts too much salt in it; another specifies every\nmaterial of which the _Ban-jun_ consisted. Second, the ornaments,\nthe price and quality of the gold and silver which they are made of.\nThird, husbands, their tempers, affections, liberality, and age, etc.\nFourth, the property, the dress, ornaments, bodily and mental qualities\nof the neighbors, etc. In some of these I perceive that human nature is\neverywhere the same.\n\nIn this country the women do not regard it as useless talk, while busy\nin knitting or sewing, to inquire of the lady with the pink bonnet who\nmade her dress, who cut the pattern, or to speculate upon the wealth of\nthe man Sarah is engaged to, etc.\n\nThe Hindoo women have no sewing to do; there is simply a long piece of\ncloth worn round the body in a graceful manner, forming gown, sack,\nbonnet, and all. They now and then make fancy articles, such as small\nbaskets covered with broadcloth, and elegantly set with shells of\nvarious description, flowers with wax, rags, or paper, hanging sleeves\nstudded and fringed with shells and silk, etc. But these they cannot\nmake money out of, as it would be a disgrace to a family to hold\nanything made by the gentle sex for sale.\n\nSome poor high-caste woman, however, may dispose of her things\nprivately among her nearest relations. The meeting of the young women\nin Bengal is often marred with sad incidents; it is quite certain\nthat some one will go home with tears in her eyes, caused by jokes or\nunkind words of her comrades. Then the friends of the injured take the\nmatter into consideration, and do not hesitate to commit vengeance with\nfourfold rash words and cursing. As they are not taught to read or\nwrite, the rest of their time is spent in telling or hearing legends of\ngods, stories of demons, tigers, etc.\n\nNow Christian women, only think of the daily occupation of your sisters\nin Bengal! How would you like to be in your room all the time, to\nspeak to only a few of your own sex, to take your meals in a solitary\ncorner of the kitchen, to consume the golden time in telling or hearing\nnonsensical stories, worshipping idols made of \u201cwood and stone,\u201d and to\ndie in ignorance and superstition? Would you be willing even for a day\nto lose the pleasure of reading your Adam Bede, Harper\u2019s or Atlantic\nMonthlies, or be deprived of the privilege or power to investigate\nthe contents of envelopes forwarded by parents, friends, and beaux?\nHaving had the pleasure of spending a couple of years among you, the\nknowledge that I have of your condition, privileges, abilities, and\nculture, I know what answer you would make. Let us then pray to our\nGod and their God that in his good time he would ennoble the condition\nof his daughters beyond Christendom, and raise noble, earnest souls as\nmissionaries to work in His harvest!\n\n\n\n\n BOOK SECOND.\n\n\n\n\n INTRODUCTION.\n\n\nThe chief object of the following book will be to treat of the religion\nof the Hindoos.\n\nBy religion of the Hindoos, I do not mean the genuine Hindoo religion\nwhich was prevalent in India in remote ages,--not the Hindoo religion\nas it was, but as it is; not what the _Bath\u0103s_ taught, or the\n_Rheeshies_ lived under, but what the Shastars, Poorans, and\nTuntros teach, and the mass, both the Brahmuns and other castes,\nobserve to-day, as the \u201clife and light,\u201d and the absolute way to reach\n_Goluck_ (pleroma of Krishto, Happiness). What mighty revolutions\ntime achieves in the religious, moral, social, intellectual, and\npolitical conditions of men! Read the ancient Scripture of the Hindoos,\nobserve the pure, sublime doctrines they inculcate, watch the Monees\nand Rheeshies in their cottages of light, attend the court of Ram,\nKornos, or Joodhistres, and then come down to the Shastars and the\nThejos of the present day. You will be surprised to see the spacious\ngulf of difference between them. A manifestation of sad change will\ngreet your eyes wherever you cast them,--either on the religion, the\nlanguage, the manners, or the customs of the people. This sad change\nhas reached the very fibre and nerve of Hindoo life, both external and\ninternal. A noble, large-minded Brahmun, the learned principal of the\nGovernment of the Sanscrith College, says in one of his books to this\neffect, that by careful examination we see the Hindoos of the present\nday appear quite different from those of ancient times, so much so,\nthat they seem like a different race.\n\nLook at the sad contrasts and corruptions. The ancients believed\n\u201c_om \u0101k\u014f mab\u014f thee te ung_;\u201d in English, \u201cthere is _one_\nGod, without a second.\u201d Now the people have hosts of gods whom they\ndaily worship! There was no caste system, none such as we see now,--a\nsystem which forbids any close social relations between the members of\nseparate castes. The Brahmuns often used to dine and intermarry with\nthe Khatryas.\n\nWe read in the Hindoo religious books that the Brahmuns were often\nentertained by other castes, thus: Doorb\u0101sha eats the food cooked by\nThrow-pothee; Krishto, in a Brahmun attire, demands hospitality from\nKoxmo. Ogusth dines at Hillol and Bathaw-bee\u2019s; Sacoontola gives her\nhand to Doosh montha. Instances of a similar nature could be cited by\nhundreds, which would clearly show that the ancient Hindoos had no such\nreligion, manners, and customs as those of the present day. The ancient\nHindooism, though far inferior to Christianity, is superior to, and\nmore rational than, the Egyptian, Grecian, or Roman paganisms. Yea, by\ncareful examination, a candid man would see that even Judaism, just as\nit is, is inferior to the spirit of _Aurj\u0101_.\n\nAs I compare carefully the instructions, the ceremonies, the mode\nof worship, the representation of the Almighty in those two ancient\nreligions, I should suppose that modern Judaism was the corruption of\nprimitive Hindooism, and that in falling into the hands of the nations\nround Jud\u00e6a, who had comparatively a dark faith of their own, and on\naccount of its being associated with Christianity, it became the\nobject of their admiration. If the true worship is that which is free\nfrom forms, but is in spirit and in truth,--if neither this mountain\nnor the temple is strictly the seat of God or the place of worship,--if\nGod does not care for sacrifices or incense, but chooses a true and\ncontrite heart,--then the religion which prescribes such forms, no\nmatter when, how, or under what circumstances, is not equal to one\nwhich is entirely free from any form or ceremonies. To bring this\nmatter to the light, I would try to illustrate it with distinctness.\nThere is a theory diametrically opposite in its substance to that which\nthe Jews and the Hindoos receive of their respective religions. Even\nmost Christians adhere to the theory, that in the world\u2019s infancy, when\nthe children of clay were not prepared to receive a revealed religion,\nto digest strong food, the All-wise Creator gave the Jews the law,\ncommanded them to build Him a temple, an altar, to offer sacrifices and\nburn incense unto Him. But the Brahminical theory is different. It says\nthat Hindoos, in the Sootojoog, or the age of truth, built no marble\ntemple to God, but dedicated the pure, the contrite heart as the seat\nof Brohmo; used no material offering or incense, but faith, gratitude,\nand love, in their worship of their Creator.\n\nBut in course of time, impurity and injustice increased \u201cwith the\nincrease of human population,\u201d the mind of man learned to admire the\nthings around him. His eyes were dazzled with the products of art in\nits various forms. The life of simplicity gave place to luxury; the\npursuit of worldly pleasures so much occupied the attention of man\nthat it seemed impossible for him to spend time in mere speculation\nconcerning an invisible Deity. Shastars came forth to remedy these\ncorruptions, by introducing substitutes for the lost faith. Temples of\nmarble or of precious stone, altars covered with silver and gold, and\ndazzling images, filled up the length and breadth of the country.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe four great epochs, or the Zoogs, of the Hindoos, which show the\npeculiar features of the moral and religious condition of the people,\nhave been treated of by several foreign writers. I would simply touch\nthem in order to describe the changes therein. As I do not remember\nexactly the length of these Zoogs, how many years each contained, I\nwould not dare to speak of them, but feel willing to bring out some\nleading points for our present use.\n\nThe first is called the Shorto, or the age of truth; the second is\n_Treta_, curiously called so, although it means \u201cThird\u201d; the third\nis Dwapur; and the fourth, or last, is Kolie, the age of darkness, sin,\netc. In the Shorto Zoog, as we read in our ancient books, everything\nconcerning the external or internal appearance of man indicated\nsimplicity and peace. What we read of the simple, rural, righteous\nlives of Adam, Eve, and Abraham, was exactly so with the Hindoos of\nthe first Age. Their dwelling stood upon peace, supported by pillars\nof brotherhood, and roofed by love. The inmates were simple in their\ndress, temperate in their food, childlike in their temper, pure in\ntheir affection, and strong in their faith towards God. The lion and\nthe lamb met at the same crib in these cottages of love. No gods or\ngoddesses were known or worshipped then except the Creator, \u201cthe Father\nof all.\u201d They used to address each other by the terms _deb\u014f_,\n_dabe_, god and goddess, and to treat, regard, and recognize each\nother as the creations of Krishto, or by another word, the image of\nthe same. All had the right to draw from out of the great source of\nspiritual comfort, the sacred B\u0101thos (Vedas). The loving Father, \u201cBisho\nPitha,\u201d the good spirit, \u201cPorom Aut-on,\u201d was alone worshipped, loved,\nheld as sovereign, recognized everywhere and in every circumstance.\nNothing was more earnestly and at first sought as the pearl of\nunspeakable worth, yea, more than that, as the true destiny, than the\ntrue manhood of piety, the path of righteousness, which leads men\nsafely to the great terminus of our career,--the \u201cShorgo,\u201d the Heaven\nof God. Other objects of life received but slight attention; the\nthought, What shall we eat, what shall we drink, and wherewithal shall\nwe be clothed? did not overwhelm them, for they believed in their own\nproverb, \u201cThose who walk in the path of righteousness get their bread\neven in midnight;\u201d that is, they know no disappointment, and have hope\nand faith forever. It must be remembered here, that this proverb of\nthe Hindoos is a parallel to, or at least conveys the same spirit, as\nthat of Christ\u2019s saying, \u201cBut seek ye first the kingdom of God, and\nhis righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you.\u201d They\nwere not indolent, however; they did not wait until ready-made \u201cmanna\u201d\nwould fall from the sky, but attended to husbandry, developed and used\ntheir energies to help each other, and at the same time lived a pious,\nunspotted life.\n\nThe following anecdote gives a fair idea of the life of the people\nof that pure age. Krishto once sent his brother to seek out a poor\nBrahmun, that he might give him some alms. Accordingly he started on\nhis sacred mission, and encountered a Brahmun in a rice-plantation. He\nwas diligently engaged in picking up the stray grains of rice that had\nfallen down to the holes in the ground, by means of a stick with some\nglue on the end of it. Boloram, the brother of Krishto, watched his\nproceedings a few moments, advanced towards the Brahmun, and addressed\nhim in the following words: \u201cDele\u014d! (god!) may thy servant know the\nmotive that leads thy hands to seek grains from the furrows in the\nground, and not from the waving, golden stalks before thee!\u201d \u201cChild,\u201d\nthe sage replied, \u201cwith little labor I can gather these grains from\nthe furrows, and so I do. These stalks, as you see, I have reserved\nfor those warbling tenants of the air, the children of the Most High,\nwhose short bills would not reach the stray grains in holes.\u201d \u201cBlessed\nsire,\u201d Boloram rejoined, \u201cit will take a long time to gather enough\nfor your daily meal. My brother solicits the hands of a Brahmun, to\nput some gold into them. Should thy hands leave the things here, and\nthy feet tread his court, thy servants would deem it a great favor.\u201d\nHe looked towards heaven with deep reverence, and, turning his loving\neyes towards Boloram, said: \u201cSmile of Heaven, crown him who loves his\nfellow-creatures! Child, God has bountifully furnished me with all I\nneed to earn my living. There are others who are not thus blessed.\nGo to them, child, and entertain them with your brother\u2019s charity.\u201d\nKrishto, having a curiosity to know more of this Brahmun,--his \u201cpiety\nat home,\u201d--determined to visit him in his cottage. Late in the\nafternoon, filling his basket with rice, the Brahmun came home; his\nwife washed his feet, and then cooked the rice. The husband came out to\nsee if there were any guest at the door, and, not finding any, went in,\nbade his wife to sit at meal, and thanked God for the mercy shown unto\nthem. In the same moment, Krishto, in the disguise of an old Brahmun,\nappeared at the cottage door and blessed the inmates. They did not\ntouch their food then, but left their seats, and, folding their arms,\nwith reverence addressed their guest. \u201cJoy sheds its charms upon us,\nthis floor is holy at thy touch. Welcome to it! Thy servants, with all\nthey possess, wait for thy command.\u201d Krishto replied, \u201cPeace be to your\nchildren!\u201d It would please Brohmo to see us three dine together under\nthis roof, and sing his praise.\u201d \u201cAs it pleases our lord, be it so,\u201d\nsaid the pious couple. They then divided the food equally among them,\nand partook of it with gratitude toward the Giver of all. Proceeding no\nfurther, I would stop here to speak of other _Zooga_.\n\nThe Zoogas that succeed Shorto present a different picture altogether.\nMen have in some measure departed from the state of simplicity, and\nhave made the frolics of Krishto, with his sixteen hundred female\nfriends, immortal by their genius. Like the Old Testament God he too\nchooses a favorite people, _Pandubas_, walks with them in their\nsojourn in the wilderness, brings them back to a land of their own,\nexcites and helps them to fight with their enemies, etc. At one time he\ntries the faith of Korna, asking him to offer his only child of five\nyears unto him, as did Jehovah of Abraham.\n\nThe present age is the Kolie. We who live in it know of course its\nleading aspect, the \u201chouse divided against itself,\u201d the children rise\nagainst their parents; unnatural affections and disappointments come\nthereby; ambition, injustice, selfishness, disregard to holy things,\nhave attained their full power. In the place of one God, the Hindoo\nworships millions; temples, pagodas, altars, are seen everywhere.\n\nThis is the dark age of the Hindoos. The following is an anecdote\ndescribing the transition between the Zoogas. In order to teach his\nfavorite servant the knowledge of things, and store his mind with\nvarious experiences, Krishto accompanied him to take a survey over the\nworld. They came to a farm where two men, apparently tired, begged\nthem to stop for a moment and help them to adjust a matter that was\ntroubling them very much. The one was a Brahmun, the owner of the\nfarm, and the other a laborer hired to work upon it. As the latter\nwas ploughing the ground, he accidentally turned out a large jar\nwith pearls and jewels in it. Thanking God for his mercy, he ran to\nthe Brahmun with the utmost speed, and informed him of the treasure.\nHe came to the spot and saw the tale was true. The Brahmun told the\nworkman to carry the wealth to his own house, for he saw it first; but\nhe would not, fearing it would be a sin to take away the money found\nin another\u2019s land. Thus both exhausted their logic in their attempts\nto convince each other as to his lawful right to the treasure; but to\nno purpose. Krishto did not mind their appeal, and proceeded on his\njourney. Shortly after, he returned, and saw both the Brahmun and the\nworkman fighting and bruising each other. Each claimed the wealth. The\nBrahmun says it was found on his farm, therefore it belongs to him. The\nworkman says he first found it, and it ought to be his. Krishto turned\nto his servant, and said, \u201cDo you notice the change? It was just before\nthe transition of the Zoogas that the man found the money. It was when\n_self_ was little regarded; now it is another age when _self_\nbecomes dominant and exercises absolute sway. The very man who refused\nthe money then is fighting for it now. Look at the change, child.\u201d\n\nThe purity, self-denial, innocence, that once graced their lives\nand homes, now seem restless, as if disgusted with their abodes,\nand ready to migrate to some more genial sphere. Here and there the\nbanner of ambition floats on the palaces. Luxury succeeds; display\nand injustice dethrone charity. The heart ceases to be the temple\nof God. Its every corner is occupied by strange, unchaste, delusive\npropensities, found where nobler aspirations once dwelt. The altars\nare to be seen here and there, the offerings of beasts are dedicated\nunto the gods, ritualism takes the place of the worship in spirit.\nThe great actors upon the stage are Rama and Rab\u014dna, one a god and\nthe other a monster. The conduct of Rab\u014dna was such, that it filled\nthe earth with fear. Both the Shoors and the Oshoors (gods or good\nmen, and the monsters or cruel tyrants) trembled at his presence. The\ncomplaints against him grew universal; the gods solicited protection\nand the interposition of the great Rama, who alone had the power to\ncheck the tyrant Rab\u014dna. Accordingly the incarnation of Bishto appears\nin the world to pour out a healing balm over its injured people. Now it\nwas foretold that the age of Rama will be called Trita, the Third, but\nthe condition of the world demanded his advent earlier, so the age he\nlived in, though second, being the immediate successor of the First,\nor Shoto, retained the name Trita, fulfilling the prophecy thereby. We\nare introduced to Dawpur now, which means the second. What the world\nsowed in the age previous is coming up luxuriantly in this, but the\nharvest is by and by. The Trita sows the seeds of confusion, injustice,\nimpurity, ambition; the Dawpur waters them, and the Kolie gives the\nincrease. Among others the chief actor on the stage is Krishto, another\nincarnation of Bishto. His mission in this is rather delicate in its\nnature. After the display of heroic deeds to relieve the world, which\nwas groaning under the heavy yoke of Rab\u014dna, he feels tired; perhaps\ncomes to refresh himself, and spend his time in marriage, music, and\nromance. Handsome in person, a god in nature, active in movements, a\ngood musician, he casts a net of charms around a host of young women,\nand draws them all out without breaking the net or sinking the vessel.\nHindoo legends say that the prime object of his learning to play his\nBanay was to sing the praise of Radha, wife of Awe-an, and who is also\nhis own wife from eternity.[8]\n\nHow much Christianity is needed to regenerate the Hindoos will be shown\nwhen I treat of their idolatrous worship, festivals, etc., in the\nfollowing pages. The great mass of the people, properly speaking, have\nno idea of God, true humanity, and a future life. In this country, I\nnotice the death of men does not excite so great a horror as it does\namong the Hindoos. A Christian mother calmly resigns herself to the\ndecree of her God, and commits her treasures to His safe keeping; for\nshe has hopes of meeting them again in her \u201cFather\u2019s mansion.\u201d But I\nhave seen Hindoo mothers who in their ignorance beat their breast, and\ncurse their gods, at the death of their children! They believe that\ndeath breaks the chain of love and affection forever! My mother is in\nthe habit (as is common with the Hindoo women) of weeping over the sad\nremembrance of her lost children and brother: and I used to comfort\nher by saying, there is a future state where they from the east, west,\nnorth, and south will meet in their common home. Indeed, Brahminism\nis dry, mysterious, sensual, contradictory in itself, and, with its\nvarious forms, pleases the senses, but does not meet the thirst of\nspirituality. It does not, or rather cannot, guide the mistaken, humble\nthe proud, comfort the sorrowing, and teach us in all the vicissitudes\nof life to repose our trust in the saying, \u201c_Thy will be done_.\u201d\nIt has sanctioned the worship of _thirty-three million_ of gods\nand goddesses, most of whom you will find in this world, and in the\nsky. Of course the Brahmuns say they do not worship these hand-made\nidols; these are only the representatives of the unseen deities; but\nthe lower castes, the large portion of the people, take them for the\ngods themselves. I admit the Brahminical ordinances have some hidden\nbeauty underlying them; but the time has come when everything which\naims to promote the temporal or spiritual condition of man ought to be\nas clear as spring, as accessible as air, and as bright as the sun.\nCertainly the time has come for the dim lights, here and there, to be\nabsorbed by the great salutary Light,--for the return of the erring\nchildren to their Father\u2019s home, that they may bend their knees before\nthe throne of Grace.\n\nBeing born and trained in a Brahmun family, I well know the magnitude\nof its superstitious life. Almost every day you will hear of the\ninstitution of a new mode of worship, and the discovery of some new\nidol. The people, especially the young men, are tired of these things.\nBeing educated in the missionary and government schools, under the\ninfluence of European knowledge, these young men prove strong obstacles\nto the bigoted Hindoos in their discovery of new idols. I know hundreds\nwho used to drag the images from their seats, and place them somewhere\nin the road, fields, or some dirty places. On my way to a friend\u2019s\nhouse, with an image of Shalgram, I looked at it to see whether a\ntrace of divinity or life could be seen in it or not; and finding but\na round, smooth, black pebble, I dropped it on the ground. The poor\nsenseless thing fell into a bush, and I had to hunt for it nearly\nten minutes. Not only enlightened young men do such things, but some\npriests themselves place and replace idols for their own interest. In\nKrishto-poor, a village nearly twelve miles northwest of Calcutta,\nthere is a stone image of Shiba, which they say is full of life, power,\nand compassion. Whether it is naturally so, or carved to signify this,\nI cannot tell. It has a rough, thorny surface. A story says that the\n\u201c_mool-shun-ash_\u201d (head votary) had been sick of small-pox for\nseveral days, and in the night before the Shun-ash, the god, took the\nsmall-pox in his own body, enabling thereby the sick man to join the\nfestival. Some one, hoping to secure the living idol in his own hand,\nand to trouble its former priest, stole it away in the gloom of night,\nand it was not seen for years. They erected another in its stead, but\nlately the old fellow, tired of seclusion, lone and homesick, came\nagain to his former place.\n\nNow I will begin to treat of the Hindoo worship, religious festivals,\nand ceremonies; and, to aid the reader, I will describe the\ncircumstances which gave rise to these things. Foreign writers describe\nthem as they see them outwardly. Each of them has some meaning,\ngood or bad, rational or foolish. To narrate these things in order\nand precision, I will begin from the month Bois-ak, April, which is\nthe first month of the Hindoo year, and will describe the holidays,\nfestivals, worships, etc., that come in the successive months. It\nought to be said here, that, owing to the changes in the almanac, the\nincrease or decrease of the days in the month, the holidays sometimes\nvary their time; thus the car of Juggernauth is drawn on the 27th of\nJune, or sometimes early in July.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n BOIS-AK, APRIL.\n\n THE NEW YEAR\u2019S DAY.--THE CHANGE OF ACCOUNT-BOOKS.--SACRED\n CHOIR.--DEDICATION OF WATER-PITCHER.--WOMEN\u2019S\n CEREMONY.--WAY-SIDE HOSPITALITY.--THE IDOLS IN WATER.\n\n\nAlthough there are months many and days many, the Hindoo regards some\nwith peculiar reverence, believing they have in their very nature some\nefficacy and sacredness which others have not. The acts of benevolence,\ncharity, and devotion performed in them will be of more value than the\nsame things done at any other time; thus a gift to a Brahmun in the day\nof full moon would be more efficacious, bear more fruit, than at any\nother time. As I have determined to state the significance of some of\nthe Brahminical institutions, I would ask the reader to fix his eyes\non the prudence and somewhat innocent cunning of the learned priests.\nAs Brahminism regards _faith_ as fruitless unless manifested\nin deeds, it joins some acts of charity to every form of worship or\ndevotion. Now the poor people cannot possibly offer gifts or bring\nsacrifices to the temple often. For their convenience some especial\nmonths, days, or hours have been selected that they might do something,\nwhich is, after all, \u201cbetter than nothing.\u201d\n\nThree months out of the twelve are regarded comparatively sacred by the\nHindoos; viz. Bois-ak, Kartic, and Magh,--April, October, and January.\nBois-ak and Magh are the most sacred. The former commences the\nHindoo new year, and everything assumes a new aspect. The merchants,\nthe storekeepers settle the accounts of the past year, by paying\ntheir debts and receiving their payments. The stores and offices are\nfancifully decorated; the scales and weights are washed and worshipped;\ndebtors and all customers are invited to spend the evening, &c. In\nthe evening the store is beautifully illuminated. The head-clerk\nor the master himself sits on the cushion with a writing-desk and\naccount-books before him, in which he enters the names of those who\npay their debts in part or full. Some, as an expression of good-will,\ndeposit money in advance; while others, on the contrary, cannot pay\ntheir real debts, and consequently miss the cakes, sweetmeats, fruits,\nand music with reluctance. However, on the whole, with the inability\nof some, and the liberality of other customers, the _book_\ncommences the year cheerfully. On the head of the first page of each\nbook two round figures are marked with red and yellow powders. Every\nday the book begins by depositing a little money to some deity, and at\nthe close of the year this little money is accurately collected and\ndisposed for the worship.\n\nDuring the sacred month, a band of singers, composed of from two to six\npersons, comes to the door early in the morning to sing a hymn. They\nget some compensation at the end of the month. Sometimes two or three\nparties come at a time; and one sings while the others wait. It would\nbe an irreligious act to turn them out; whether you care for them, and\nwish to hear their music, or not, it would not make any difference.\nThe fact is, the praise of the gods is to be sung at the door of each\nHindoo. Sometimes a man or low-caste woman comes to the door to do what\na Christian is strictly forbidden to do, that is, to take the name of\nthe Lord in vain. One hundred and eight times the name of Krishno is\nrepeated in different ways!\n\n_Dedication of Water-Pitcher._--On the first day of this month the\nHindoos of all castes dedicate _ghut_, or pitchers, to the gods,\ndeceased forefathers, &c. These _ghuts_ are earthen, brazen, or\nsilver, according to the circumstances of the dedicator. The common\nbelief of the people is this, that the ancestors, long since dead, feel\nthirsty in the hot Bois-ak, and the water thus dedicated by sacred\nwords (_mon-tro_) will be beneficial to them. The ignorant mass\nbelieve so, otherwise they would not do anything of the kind. But the\nprudent priest will tell you that in the honor, and to the name of,\nand as a token of respect to, the deceased fathers, we dedicate these\nand distribute them to the Brahmuns. There is no particular number of\nthe _ghuts_. It varies from three to any indefinite number. They\nare all placed in rows, with trays full of fruits on their tops. The\nfirst is offered to the favorite god; the second, to the dead or living\npastor, _gooroo_,[9] of the worshipper; the third, to the father,\nif he is dead; the fourth, to grandfather, &c. In this way, following\nthe thread of genealogy, they go, step by step, to a great distance\nback, both on the paternal and maternal side.[10]\n\nIn this month, the Hindoo women perform religious ceremonies of\nvarious sorts. These differ according to the age of the females. The\nmaids, that is the girls under seven, eight, or nine, perform those\nof an elementary character, which initiate them into higher grades of\nreligious observances. For the amusement of my Christian sisters, I\nwill narrate some ceremonies performed by my sisters in Bengal. \u201cJom\nPooker\u201d (Pluto\u2019s Tank) is a vat dug in the earth, nearly three feet\nsquare and one foot deep; some water-lilies are planted in it, small\nalligators and sharks made of earth are put in also; the images of\nPluto are placed on the four corners of the tank. Before breakfast the\nyoung girl comes, to worship the tank, with flowers. Sitting by it she\npours a little water into the tank, then puts flowers on the head of\nthe Plutos, offering prayers in poetry. Here is the translation: \u201cI\nworship this tank of Pluto. As a reward, I will feed on cream-cakes on\nplates of gold, and wear _shun-kho_ forever.\u201d In the afternoon\nis the worship of _Sh\u0101 jooty_. There is a large collection of\ndrawings on the floor. This custom is good, in one respect at least,\nfor it requires the girls to draw the pictures of houses, animals,\nrivers, boats, trees of all sorts, carriages, temples, gods, sun, moon,\n&c. every day.\n\nThe accompanying plate contains \u201cSh\u0101 Jooty,\u201d with the pictures as drawn\nby the Hindoo girl. She uses prayers in rhyme, and I will translate one\nwhich she offers to _Shiba_: \u201cO, good Shiba, grant that I may not\nfall in the hands of a dunce.\u201d\n\nNow I will leave the girls and see what the married women do in the\nsacred month. To speak of the matter intelligently, I must proceed in\norder, because they observe a great many ceremonies from the morning to\nthe afternoon. Where do those women go, with flowers in their little\nbaskets and small pitchers in their hands? They go to bathe in the\nriver; let us follow them and watch their proceedings. See, they take\na little water in their hands and sprinkle it over their heads before\nthey go in. The reason is, they deem it sin to touch the sacred Gunga\nby the foot; but as they have got to go in, they put a little water on\nthe head as a token of reverence, and slowly say, \u201cMother, forgive!\u201d\nThere you see they turn their faces towards the north as they dive.\nThere are reasons for this too. In the north there is the mountain,\nHymalaya, from which the river rises; and, again, it is desirable to\nhave the sun on the right. Facing north, they pay respect to both\nsacred objects at the same time. What do they put flowers in the water\nfor? That is the way in which the Hindoos worship their gods. Look at\nthe right, a little way off, and you will see the men are doing the\nsame. When I was a little boy, I used to go to bathe with my father,\nand pick up the beautiful flowers, the rose and lotus, as they floated\non the silvery water of the Ganges. But there are other ways of getting\nflowers; you need not take the trouble of picking them up; simply take\none flower from the water, set it on the basket, and the basket with\nits contents will be yours. Or you may do this: touch the basket with\nyour toe, or smell a flower and drop it over the others. I hated to do\nsuch things because it would only trouble the worshippers as well as\nshow our own indecency.\n\nThe women have done their bathing and worship; they are filling their\nbrazen and copper pitchers with water; not for their own use; you will\nsee in a minute what they do with it. Strange! why do they walk round\nthat large tree? And what a splendid tree is that! That is the Bannian.\nI dare say in your geography there is mention of this sacred tree of\nthe Hindoo. They call it _Burr_, and hold it sacred, for in the\ntime of the universal deluge, their god, Un-un (_the Endless_) had\nfloated on a Burr-leaf. The fact, although merely a poetical one, has\nplaced the tree in the rank of the gods. The Hindoos, as you have seen\nbefore, worship it, adorn the stem with flower-wreaths, paint it with\nall sorts of powders, and water the roots with great care. They do not\ncut and use the banian wood for fuel. When it grows old, decays, or\ndies, only one Brahmun out of hundreds would be willing to use it. The\nlaws of the Hindoos protect it, and a fine or some other punishment is\ninflicted upon a person who should chop it with an axe. But a Brahmun\ncan do it without experiencing any trouble. I think it is an admirable\nlaw which protects such a shady tree as Burr. The learned men call it a\nnatural curiosity. Those cord-like roots, now hanging in the air, will,\na few years hence, reach the ground and form new stems.\n\nWe have followed the Hindoo women back to their houses, now let us\npatiently witness the rest of their superstitious observances. There,\nyou see, as they go they bow down to the gods of \u201cwood and stone,\u201d\nwhich crowd the sides of the streets and highways in India.\n\nThe servant brings a cow, which these mistaken women would worship, as\nyou will see. First of all, the worshipper pours water on the feet of\nthe cow, as she cannot wash them in any more convenient way; then she\nputs some oil and yellow powder on her forehead; and gives her some\nfresh, green grass and bananas to eat. The reason why they worship the\ncow is this: it is believed that \u201cDoorga,\u201d the great goddess, once took\nthe form of a cow, at another, the form of a hawk, and, again, the form\nof a jackal, and the Hindoos worship them on that account. How much\nreverence is paid to the cows, and with what care they are treated,\nwill be described by and by.\n\n_Fol go-ch\u0101no_ (_Gift of Fruits_).--This religious act is\nperformed by giving some kind of fruit, a _poetha_, and a little\nmoney to a Brahmun. This ceremony has its order. In the first year the\ngirl offers a nut, a banana in the second, a cocoa-nut in the third\nyear. After the expiration of the term, the Brahmun who had received\nthe first nut will be entertained at dinner and get a suit of clothes.\n\n_Bois-ak Champaka_ receives its name from the month in which it is\nobserved, and the flower _champaka_, which is put into a Brahmun\u2019s\nhand to smell. The women take a vow to feed a Brahmun luxuriously every\nday in this month. As they are forbidden to eat or drink anything until\nthe Brahmun has been fed, and as it often happens that he is not to\nbe found, they secure him by the invitation the day before. Sometimes\na Brahmun gets several invitations in one day, but he accepts only\nthe one which comes first. When he comes in, his hostess washes his\nfeet, wipes them with her _un-chol_, the border of the dress, and\nleads him to a room where he is entertained with all the dainties of\nthe season. Frequently a funny affair at this time takes place in the\ndining-room. As the custom is for a Hindoo woman to keep silence and\nveil her face before almost all persons, and as it is a natural desire\nin young men to see her face, or hear her voice, especially if she is\nyoung, the Brahmun guest plays several tricks to accomplish his end. He\nwould not eat heartily, but merely put his hand on this and that, or\ncut a piece of cake with his teeth as if he had no appetite; hoping his\nyouthful hostess would beg him to help himself. In such cases, she who\nis faithful to, and a sincere observer of all the rules and discipline\nof her sex, goes out for a moment to bring some elderly woman with her,\nwho acts her part, though to the utter disappointment of the guest. But\nif she be regardless of the regulations, and wants a pretext, in that\ncase everything goes on very nicely. He then washes his hands and face\nafter dinner and sits down to rest a little, when she gives him some\nmoney to pocket, a few flowers, _Champaka_, to smell, and fans him\nfor four or five minutes.\n\n_Matha Bantha_ comes in the afternoon. Each woman invites one to\nvisit her house, whom she entertains in the following manner. In the\nfirst place she anoints her guest with perfuming oil, combs and fixes\nher hair, and gives a lunch of cakes and confectioneries. The guest\nis always from the Brahmun caste, but no widow is entertained on the\noccasion. There are others of the same kind, but I omit them, for, as I\nfear to increase the bulk of my book, I would use a limited supply of\nmy materials.\n\n_The Way-side Hospitality._--It has been observed before that the\nHindoo religion teaches some truth, and inculcates acts of charity,\nin various ways, which at the first appearance look mysterious and\nfoolish. Thus the dedication and distribution of the water-pitcher,\nfans, umbrellas, etc., in this fiery month, has some visible good\nmeaning. We can see the loving heart of its founder underlying them\nall. But I am sorry to observe that most of the charitable acts of the\nHindoos do not fall like the dews of heaven, blessing the widows, the\norphans, and the needy in general. A man desiring to give alms out of\nhis limited means, would pass \u201cthe poor, the lame, the blind, and the\nhalt,\u201d unnoticed, and offer his gift to a Brahmun, whether he be the\ntrue object of charity or not. _The wayside hospitality_, as an\nact of love, deserves commendation. Although it is a \u201crespecter of\npersons,\u201d it assumes an aspect of universality, and sheds its light\nover people of all classes, colors, and creeds; even the irrational\ncreatures, the beasts of burden, are recipients of its blessings.\nCottages are built by the side of the roads, where the tired passengers\nrefresh themselves, by means of the hospitality of private individuals.\n\nEach cottage has a hired host who asks the passer-by to walk in and be\nrested. The Brahmuns very rarely go to such places, for it does not\nseem respectable to them to partake of a charity so public. Low-caste\npassengers resort to these places, and are entertained with sugar, wet\npeas, and cold water. Large tubs with water in them are placed outside\nof the cottage for the cattle and other beasts of burden.\n\nThe Hindoos bathe their idols every day in this month. The reason\nfor doing this will be easily known. In this warm month, the\nBengalees (most of them at least) bathe themselves twice a day;\nthe young children swim in ponds; even the cattle are led to the\nwater and are bathed. The Hindoo is taught to \u201cserve others like\nhimself,\u201d--\u201c_auttio buth sab\u0101_,\u201d--so when he feels hungry,\nthirsty, tired, sleepy, warm or cold, he believes the idols do the\nsame, and he ministers to them under these circumstances as he would\nlike to be ministered to. Hence the images have warm clothes for\nwinter and thin for summer; they are provided with all the necessary\ncomforts of the season. The mode of bathing the idols is the following.\nAfter offering the dinner to the gods of stone or metal, the priest\nputs them on a copper vessel, burying them under fragrant flowers of\nvarious kinds, and another vessel with water in it is hung right over\nthe whole. This has some small holes at the bottom, through which\nwater drops on the gods below and keeps them cool thereby. Toolshee,\na favorite plant of Krishto, is treated in the same way, only it is\nnot put in a copper vessel. The priest, who has the care of a great\nmany idols in different places, walks round in the evening to take\nthem out of the water, wipes them with towels, and offers them some\nluncheon to eat. In wealthy families this meal is very luxurious,\ncapable of feeding twenty persons with all the varieties of fruits and\nconfectionery. As this lunch is sent to the Brahmun families, the low\ncastes cannot partake of its contents unless the receiver gives them a\nlittle. In a place where there are two or three fame-seeking rich men,\nthe dishes compete with each other to the satisfaction of the Brahmuns,\nwho, of course, get a great deal on this occasion. There are two ways\nof disposing of the contents of the dish; the one, as I have observed,\nin sending it to the houses of the Brahmuns in turn, and the other in\ninviting them to refreshments in the evening.\n\nIf the weather be insufferably warm in May, no water or luncheon will\nbe offered unto the idols; the first and last days of April are two\nimpassible limits, which seem to say, \u201cThus far shalt thou come and no\nfarther.\u201d Again, the poor lowest castes cannot be the direct recipients\nof this charity. They carry the loaded dish by the cottage whose\ninmates are in poverty, fasting, and helplessness, and leave it at the\ndoor of a priest. As I reflect upon the inferiority of the low caste to\nthe Brahmuns, and think that the Hindoos hate to set anything before\nthem which belongs to the priest, I remember the saying, \u201cGive not that\nwhich is holy unto the dogs.\u201d The low caste is just as polluted to a\nBrahmun as an unclean beast. If a Brahmun carelessly touch a dog, he\nwill wash himself, and in case he touch a shoemaker or hog-keeper, the\nsame precaution is to be taken!\n\nThus ends Bois-ak the first month of the Hindoo year, doing good to the\npeople in general, but caring more for the favored caste, the Brahmuns.\nThe heavenly wisdom says, \u201cGod is no respecter of persons.\u201d He maketh\nHis sun to rise upon the just and unjust. It tells us to invite, not\nthe proud, rich, and high, but the poor, the lame, the blind, the halt;\nfor such are the true objects of our love and sympathy,--through these\nchannels our love ought to flow like a stream, to soften the parched\nand dry ground.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n JO-ISTO, MAY.\n\n THE WORSHIP OF SHUS-TY.--SON-IN-LAW INVITED.\n\n\nThis month has only a few leading religious observances which have no\nsanction in the Shasturs. The worship of Shus-ty, the watching goddess\nof the babies, is entirely a female affair. The men pay very little\nhomage to her although they regard it as sacred and help the women\nin its arrangements. It can be easily understood why this goddess is\nworshipped, from the fact that the mothers and would-be mothers take\nmuch interest in the worship; the childless widows take no part in\nit. Shus-ty means _sixth_, from the day in which she is adored.\nIt will be remembered that on the evening of the sixth day after the\nbirth of a child this goddess is worshipped with much ceremony; and\nwhenever her general worship comes, it does so on the sixth day of\nthe full moon. Sometimes her image is placed in the water, at others\nin some conspicuous place in the house. This is quite different from\nother modes of worship, in regard to some of its peculiarities. A\nlarge quantity of plantain, some bamboo leaves and banian leaves are\nparticularly needed.\n\nAt the house of some venerable matron, who is widely known for her\ndevotion to the religious ordinances, the women from the neighborhood\ncongregate, bringing with them their respective babies, that they may\nreceive the benediction from the officiating matron. Each woman brings\nalso some raw rice, a certain number of plantains, and a few stitches\nof cotton thread, which latter they color with yellow powder, and put\non round the neck or arms of the children. The fashionable adults do\nnot like to wear this clumsy wet thread on their arms; the mother,\nby persuasion or force, touches their forehead with this consecrated\nsymbol, and wears it round her own arm for a fortnight, but often she\nloads her yielding child with the share of those who have refused.\nThe thing which stands as the representation of the goddess is a\nchurning-stick made of bamboo, or sometimes a mill-stone. In some\nvillages there are statues of Shus-ty made of \u201cwood and stone.\u201d The\nhonored matron scatters flowers, green leaves, powders, etc., on the\nimage, bathes it with Ganges water, and offers it food to eat, which\nit cannot do in any visible way. At the close she recites a legendary\nanecdote of Shus-ty\u2019s kindness to the children committed to her care\nby consecration, and her displeasure over those not duly dedicated to\nher. Of course, this fills the heart of Hindoo mothers with joy,--that\nis the thought of having had their children put under the protection\nof Shus-ty, whose blessing will help them to grow in stature and in\nlife![11] On this occasion, the Hindoos invite their sons-in-law to\nattend the worship. It is a general custom, from the highest to the\nlowest castes, to entertain their sons-in-law in their houses. It is\nentirely a matter of social pleasure in its very nature, but, being\nattached to the worship of the goddess, is considered as a religious\ninstitution. If a man has five married daughters he sends letters of\ninvitation to their husbands. In case of one being absent from home,\nhis portion of the entertainment, composed of a handsome present of\ndress and confectioneries, will be forwarded to his parents. Not only\nto the husbands of daughters is such hospitality shown; it extends in\ndifferent ways to the husbands of cousins and nieces. When every family\nin the town has been crowded with these welcome guests, a neighbor\ninvites his friends\u2019 sons-in-law. Thus every house wears a garment of\nfestivity. The music and sports are everywhere. If it be the first\nvisit to his father-in-law\u2019s house after his marriage, the young man is\ntaxed very much. He is bound by the custom of the place to entertain a\npleasure party in a feast. As the women do not meet with men in social\ngatherings, an extra arrangement is made in the inner department of the\nhouse for their satisfaction. It is worth while to observe how in these\nsocial pleasures and amusements the Hindoo cannot attain that degree of\nsociability and love which the Christians have. After eighteen months\u2019\nstay in America, I can imagine the magnitude of the grand time which\nthis people would enjoy on occasions like this of the Hindoos. In this\ncountry, the music, dancing, speeches from both sexes contribute much\nto the ordinary enjoyments of life, but among the Hindoos the case\nis quite different. In their festivities or social pleasures we see\na conflict between the natural affection and artificial regulations.\nWhile one draws toward another with that brotherly love which is\nimplanted in every breast by nature,--the caste system with its hideous\nfeatures stretches forth its hand to keep them asunder. It spreads\nfour seats, and sets four separate tables for men of four distinct\nprofessions. If a man of high caste carelessly treads upon the place\nwhere the low castes sit at the meal, he will bathe immediately.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n AUSH-ER, JUNE.\n\n THE BATH OF JOGGER-NAUTH.--THE WORSHIP OF THE RIVER GUNGA.\n\n\nIt has been observed in the beginning of this book that the structure\nof modern Hindooism is the work of time. The fancy, ignorance, and\ninterest of men have decorated its different parts with golden hues\nwhich fascinate the senses, and satisfy the minds of the weak. After\nthe laying down of the corner-stone it has received abundant supply\nof forms and new institutions from various quarters, and consequently\ngrown fast and bulky within a few hundred years. Although it has grown\nold it retains a healthy, youthful vigor, keeps on growing, and will\ncontinue to do so until the \u201cpure and undefiled religion\u201d shall strike\nlike thunderbolts on its thousand cemented headstones, and reduce its\ntall form to the very base which stands on simplicity, truth, and love.\n\nThe bath of Jogger-nauth is comparatively a new institution, and\nowes its birth to a fictitious legend. There is a great temple of\nJogger-nauth in Orissa on the sea-shore above Madras. The images of\nJogger-nauth, Bollo-ram his brother, and Shoo-vothra, his sister,\nare costly, but very awkward, made of a peculiar kind of wood called\n_Nimbh_. All other Hindoo idols are beautifully constructed in\nmale or female human figures, quite unlike these of Jogger-nauth and\nhis friends, which look neither like man, woman, horse, nor dog. A\ngreat many of the Hindoos make fun of Bisho-corma (Universal Artist),\nwho is believed to have built the temple and image of Jogger-nauth.\nHere is the remark: \u201cThe construction of Jogger-nauth has displayed the\npoor taste of Bisho-corma in delicate arts.\u201d\n\nHowever, the homeliness of the image does not interfere with the\nreverence and love which the people have for it. I have heard the\nremarks of those who had visited Jogger-nauth, saying: \u201cThat when on\nour way, which is long, inhospitable, and uncomfortable, I said, Let\nnot my enemy whose ill I seek after come this way; but standing before\nthe gate of the temple, I exclaimed, Would that I had the millions of\nstars for my eyes, that I could see the \u2018moon-like face\u2019 of the god!\nO, let the mothers forsake their babies, husbands their wives, and\nwives their husbands, and come to feast themselves on the sacred graces\nof Jogger-nauth.\u201d It is very natural that they should say so, for\nthere are two ways which guide us in our decision in regard to beauty\nand accomplishment. To some the external beauty of an object takes\nthe place of an internal accomplishment; while to others the inward\naccomplishment, tenderness, and purity of character stand instead of\nthe outward beauty of the casket. When we are quite pleased with some\ncharming object, we are apt to take for granted what is not visible\nin it. And again, when we see an object through the glass of love, it\nstands before our eyes, if not before the world, with a charm which\nis rarely visible to others. There is a fine anecdote illustrative of\nthis. A handsome Bengal young man was ridiculed by his friends for\nhis love of a homely woman, whose fine mental and moral culture was\nunrivalled. The young man begged them to see her through his loving\neyes.\n\nThe Hindoos sincerely believe that Jogger-nauth is the great god of\nthe universe, and is full of mercy, grace, and goodness. Hence they\noverlook the outward defects, and are satisfied with what there is\nwithin. An eminent Bengalee gentleman of Calcutta, in one of his books,\nsays: \u201cWhat a pity it is that a diamond of inestimable worth should\nsparkle on the forehead of an ugly idol of Orissa.\u201d For the information\nof those who might not have a chance to see a Jogger-nauth, I would\ndescribe it just as it is, for it is invariably constructed in the\nsame way everywhere. Its face is circular, and contains an area which\nwould hold almost its whole body; the place where the nose grows is as\nlevel as a prairie, his eyes resemble pretty much the Indian snow-shoes\nin shape, and his arms are mere stumps. I have said before that\nJogger-nauth has great influence over the Hindoos, even the obstinate\ncaste system prostrates itself down in his presence. Myriads of men\nand women visit Orissa annually to attend to the bath and the car of\nJogger-nauth ceremonies, which follow each other within a month\u2019s\ninterval. The Jogger-nauth, no matter what it is in substance, is a\nname of significant meaning, \u201cthe Lord of the Universe.\u201d Jogguth, with\nvarious endings, is the common name of persons in India, thus: Joggo\nBundhoo, Friend of the Universe; Joguth Chunder, which is my name,\nmeans the Moon of the Universe.\n\nWithin the enclosure of the temple there is no respect to castes;\nand that which destroys caste is freely recognized. In the \u201caunundho\nbazzar,\u201d _market of joy_, which is within the enclosure of the\ntemple, the Hindoos of every caste would eat of one dish, and what is\nmore surprising than that, is to see them walk with rice-curries in\ntheir pocket, and putting some into each other\u2019s mouth as they pass.\nBut I am sorry to say, that, though brotherhood, the sense of equality,\nthe disregard to castes, is felt and allowed within the walls which\nsurround the temple, no sooner do the people come out of the enclosure\nthan this levelling influence dies an instantaneous death! I have often\nasked of my Hindoo friends, that if it pleases Jogger-nauth to see love\nand equality cherished in us for one another, why cannot we do that\nwherever we live,--at our homes in Bengal as well as in his temple in\nOrissa? Wherever be our bodies, we are before his presence; the walls\ncannot hide us from his sight. If he is God Almighty, his eyes will\neasily penetrate the massive walls to watch his children without.\n\nThe bath of Jogger-nauth, as a public religious institution, was\nunknown to them of olden times. The following circumstance gave rise\nto it. Jogger-nauth, in disguise of a boy, had come to bathe in the\nsacred river Ganges. He chose Mahesh, a place fourteen miles above\nCalcutta, for his appearance. Taking some refreshment at the store of\na confectioner named Kalli Shunker, he gave him a golden ornament in\nexchange, and in a minute disappeared from the store. As a testimony\nto his divine presence there, a large Nimbh tree bore blossoms of\nChampaka. The people were surprised beyond measure to see such a\nmiracle wrought on the tree, but none could conceive of the agency\nwhich thus manifested its power. The priest of Jogger-nauth not\nfinding the ornament in the person of the god, began to search the\ntemple, bedroom of the idol, etc., for it. Careful inquiry was made\nin the temple; some junior officers were suspected as having stolen\nthe \u201csacred property.\u201d In the night the chief Panda, votary, saw\nJogger-nauth in a dream, and heard him speak as follows: \u201cI had been to\nbathe in the Gunga yesterday, where at the store of Kalli Shunker, I\nexchanged my ornament for my lunch; that the fact might be a memorial\nto the succeeding generations.\u201d The story affirms that they found\nthe ornament in possession of the confectioner, which circumstance,\ntogether with the Champakas on the Nimbh, proved the affair to the\nsatisfaction of all. Hence is the origin of the institution of \u201cStau\nJatra.\u201d From the fact of the god\u2019s appearance in Mahesh, although there\nwere hundreds of places on the Ganges, it received great renown as the\nchosen, favorite place of Jogger-nauth. A wealthy Bengalee gentleman of\nCalcutta has built a temple and a car on the spot with the outlay of\nan immense sum of money. The bathing is performed on a high altar made\nof brick, in the midst of a wide field, which groans under the feet\nof myriads on this occasion. It is the next exciting scene to that of\nOrissa, but it excels the other in its licentious shows and amusements.\n\nThe next general worship is that of Gunga. Very few images are made of\nthis goddess. They offer the sacrifices on the bank of the river. Every\nHindoo family sends offerings of flowers, incense, eatable things,\nand clothes to her. Its water is believed to have a greater degree of\npurifying influences on this day than on any other, so that almost\nevery one who can possibly avail himself of this opportunity, bathes\nin the river. I have seen several men wash their dogs, cats, and birds\non this day. It is also believed that the venomous serpents lay their\neggs to-day, and if it should rain, the amount of poison would be less\ndangerous! \u201cMonsha,\u201d _the goddess of the serpents_, is worshipped,\nas her favor is regarded as the only sure protection against poisonous\ncreatures.\n\nThere are several noble rivers in India, and why should the Hindoos\nregard Gunga as sacred so much so that the intrinsic sanctity of its\nwater can redeem men from their sins, however dark they are? A prayer\noffered universally by the Hindoos to this noble river, reads thus:\n\u201cReady Redeemer of all iniquities, Destroyer of all distress, Giver of\nhappiness and salvation, O Mother Gunga, thou art our only way.\u201d Why\nthey hold it sacred above other rivers in Hindostan, is a question of\nimportance which ought to be answered. As the legendary origin of the\nsacred river of the Hindoos is known only to them, I would venture,\nhaving the true knowledge of the same, to describe it, and thereby\nsolve the mystery to those unacquainted with Hindoo mythologies.\nBut earnest as I am to communicate it to my friends, I find a great\ndifficulty in my way. It is a long channel of a story, with tributaries\ncoming into it from various directions. I hardly know where to take\nit up, and where to leave it, and at the same time to convey the\ntrue, distinct knowledge of the origin of the sanctity of Gunga to\na Christian reader. I shall not, however, fear the absurdity of the\nstory, as I do not believe it myself, nor ask the reader to regard it\nas true. Odd as this may sound to any one, it shows him the Oriental\nmethod of treating truth, in rich, glowing allegories; the truth is\nhidden in their bosom. The river Gunga is another representation of the\ngoddess Doorg\u0103, the daughter of the Hymaloy mountain, and the wife of\nShiba the Hindoo god. Look at the truth, figuratively expressed! Rivers\nissuing from the mountains are their sons and daughters, no doubt, as\nthe Hindoos name them, and hence the Gunga is the daughter of Hymaloy.\nLet us hear the whole story. After the marriage of Shiba with Parboti\n(mountaineer) or Giriza (mountain-born), the daughter of Hymaloy, the\ngod went to reside in Koylas, a romantic chain of the same mountain.\nThe Hindoo poets call this place finer than any in heaven, which I\ndoubt not that it is, otherwise the god would not have made it his\nfavorite abode. The soil is golden, the trees bend under the weight of\ndelicious fruits, while others smile with bright, fragrant flowers;\nthe breeze is balmy, and the birds handsome, merry, and singing. On a\ncertain day, Doorga was sitting on a golden throne with Shiba, when\nthere appeared a crowd of male and female figures, some with hands\nbroken, others with legs badly bruised, and the rest had their faces\nturned backwards; in short, all of them were disfigured, maimed, and\nhurt in the extreme. Shiba smiled at them, at which his wife asked him:\n\u201cLord, who are these that stand before us? Their unhappy fate enlists\nmy sympathy; my hands and heart are ready to serve them.\u201d Thus, the god\nreplied: \u201cIf it would please thee, goddess! to hear from me the names\nand the circumstances of this injured group before thee, lend thy ears\nthen to the sad story. These are six male and thirty-six female tunes.\nThe children of the earth had attempted to sing them, and not being\nable to manage harmoniously, have left them a quarter or half-finished;\neven those who have finished the song, could not preserve the harmony;\nfor a song and a tune are two different things. Therefore, thou seest\none is with broken wrist, the second is without nose, the third has his\nlimbs broken, etc.\u201d The goddess wanted to know if there was any way of\nmaking them whole again. Shiba assured her that there was, and that\nin _his_ own power too; \u201cthat these poor suffering _Tunes_\nhad in vain sought redress from the renowned singers on the earth, and\nfinding that human power could not confer upon them the adequate help,\nare now before me; I will make them whole.\u201d Accordingly invitations\nwere sent round the heavens to the gods, and a large audience of the\ncelestial beings was held at the pleroma of Shiba. A Sage invented a\nmusical instrument for the occasion, which was called T\u0103n poor\u0101, or\nTune-perfecter.\n\nI need not say anything about the singing of the god, which satisfied\nthe whole gathering. Now Krishto being naturally mild, delicate, and\npleasure-seeking, was so much moved at the music that he perspired.\nThe astonished gods held a counsel, and commissioned Bromha to\nreceive the perspiration that was dropping from his feet in his\npitcher \u201c_Comoondul_,\u201d and to preserve the sacred relic in his\npossession. So he did. With a heart overflowing with joy the Creator\nheld his _Comoondul_ under the feet of Krishto, for he knew that\nout of them issued the life and immortality for the Hindoo sinners.\nThey called the _water_ (perspiration of Krishto), Gunga. Here\nis the brief account of the birth of the Sacred River of the Hindoos,\nshowing from what a sacred source it is derived, how and under what\ncircumstances, etc. I will now turn to the fact which brought it into\nthe world from the house of Bromha; which advent is looked upon by the\nHindoos with as much joyous enthusiasm as that with which a Christian\nlooks upon Christmas. For there is this point of resemblance between\nthe mission of Christ and that of Krishto: Christ washes the sin of the\nworld, however dark it is, with his blood; while, on the other hand,\nthe perspiration of Krishto redeems the Hindoos from their sins, washes\naway the impurities that stain their lives, and brings immortality to\nthe dead and lost. Indeed, to a Hindoo a drop of water of Gunga is\nitself a Life and Light, and the only way to enter into the everlasting\njoys in the Goluck of Krishto. Christ saw Satan fall from the sky;\nhis advent took out the sting of Death, so we hear the stories of\n_Jom_ (Death) complaining of the emptiness of his womb or cell.\nFrequently we read the account of the quarrel between the angels of\nKrishto and _Jom_ touching the fate of a man who, spending his\nwhole life in sin and unbelief, had thrown himself into the water\nof the Ganges in his last moments. The services of Ganges are more\nbeneficent to the Hindoo than the blood of Christ to the Christian.\nWe are taught to believe in Christ,--his holy mission,--his fullness\nof knowledge and sanctification; but it is quite a different case with\na Hindoo. Even if he did not believe in the sanctifying influence of\nhis religious nature, and the redeeming power of the Gunga, he goes to\nheaven, provided his body or ashes are thrown into its sacred water.\nHence the bank of the Gunga has been a Cross to the Hindoo; it has\nbeen the best place for them in which to die that they may live again.\nThousands--young and old, male and female, pious and sinful--are\nbrought hither to breathe their last, to throw off corruption and\nascend the Goluck of Krishto. To a Hindoo _death_ in or near\nto his Sacred River is a _Gain_. The true end of his being is\naccomplished if he succeeds in dropping in and dying near the Ganges,\nor Gunga.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe following is an universally-believed account of the advent of the\nSacred River of the Hindoos into the world. The Book containing it is\nread and expounded by the learned and eloquent priests to the listening\ncrowds. The children read it in their school-books, and the Hindoo\nmonks sing it from place to place. There was an illustrious family\ncalled Sho\u00f2jo Bungshoor, the Offspring of the Sun, and which has been\nmade immortal by Balmica in his celebrated poem Ramayona, as being\nthe tribe which Rama, the great god, chose, and of which he became\na member. In this family there lived a king of the name of Saugor,\nrenowned in and esteemed by his time. To use the Hindoo phrase, he was\na terror to the tyrants and a friend to the peaceable, help to the\nneedy and the delight of the age he lived in. It was customary with\nthe ancient Hindoo kings to do \u201cAusho\u2019 med,\u201d a religious ceremony,\nto extend his power, peace, help, love, etc., all over the world.\nWhen a king has succeeded in this, has brought every country on the\nsurface of the globe under his power and protection, the throne of\nIndra will be his reward. The throne of Indra had been aspired to by\nseveral kings, but none of them ever reached the prize, the reason\nbeing that he used to interfere with their plans, frustrate their\nprecaution, and cause them to desist from the undertaking forever. The\nleading features of this ceremony of Ausho\u2019 med, and the ways in which\nit used to be conducted, are these: A horse, bearing on his forehead\nthe inscription, \u201cLet _him_ who denies the power of the master\ncatch the horse,\u201d was sent round the country to the dominions of kings\nand nobles, accompanied, however, with armed soldiers. The horse was\nsent about the land for the purpose of demanding submission from the\nworld. In some places he travelled unmolested, and securing submission\nfor his lord; and wherever the people did stop him, it was understood\nthat they hated the yoke of dependence. The soldiers would immediately\ninquire distinctly the real motive of the man who stopped the horse,\nwhether it was curiosity or a mistake or a purpose that actuated him.\nIf it were a mistake, or fancy, they would pardon him, and recover the\nhorse and unfurl the banner of their king on the spot. If otherwise\nthey would resort to war. This Saugor, the celebrated king, forwarded\nhis \u201csixty thousand\u201d sons in a triumphal expedition, into all the\ncountries known at his time.[12] They visited the uttermost parts of\nthe world, ascended the mountains, crossed the rivers, proclaimed the\npower of the name of their illustrious father, and brought almost\nall the world into subjection. Arriving at a place near the sea, the\nprinces congratulated each other on their success; and finding no place\nwhere to direct their steps, resolved to return home to their longing\nfather, who, on their successful return, would perform the ceremony.\nElated with joy at the success of their mission, they all sat down\non the sea-shore to review their past adventures, while the majestic\nwaves of the sea rolled before them, defying their power, and with\nthundering voice declared the power of Him who alone can tell them,\n\u201cThus far shall you come and no farther.\u201d The cool, balmy breezes from\nthe neighboring forests blew upon them; their joyous spirits felt the\nweariness of the flesh, and one after another the veteran princes\nwore the garment of sleep; while the horse, incapable of musing upon\nthe glorious career he had gone through and the victories he had won,\nbent his eyes upon the green, shaggy ground before him. The place was\nso remote from the populous country, that while it was mid-day there\nreigned a death-like silence; no \u201churries and bustles,\u201d no sound of\nmechanics\u2019 hammer were heard there, save that the distant sea thundered\nnow and then. The only inhabitant of the place was a Saint Copeel, who,\nretiring from the active, pleasure-seeking community, had selected\nthis romantic spot for his hermitage, to spend his life in prayer and\nfasting.\n\nNow Indra, the king of the sky, who had been watching the progress of\nthese princes with an anxious eye, left his airy throne, descended upon\nthe earth in the form of a man, and stood on the very spot where the\nchildren of Saugor unconsciously lay. \u201cThey have,\u201d he said to himself,\n\u201cobtained victory almost over the whole world, and enlisted all the\ncrowned heads as their subjects; there is no one under the sun to\ncatch their _horse_ or to obstruct their triumphal course. If\nthey return to their father to crown him with the world\u2019s victory, to\nplace the vanquished sovereigns as stools under his feet, Krishto would\noffer him the supremacy of the sky. I too, hitherto the lord of the\ngods, should become his subject. It is not too late yet. Let me seek\na Brahmun\u2019s wrath to turn the course of the princes. Krishto\u2019s will\nbe done,\u201d he said, and in a moment he held the rein of the triumphal\nhorse. He led him to the cottage of Copeel, tied him by his side, and\nascended the cloud for his palace, and from thence looked down at the\nresult.\n\nNow the tired sun seeks his home beyond the western seas, the singing\ntenants of the air bound towards their leafy homes, the wild beasts in\nyon forests return to their lairs, while others leave their dens; and\nthe canopy of darkness is spread over the creation. It was then that\nthe sons of Saugor rose from their grassy bed. \u201cEarly in the morning,\u201d\nthey say, \u201cwe guide our steps towards home--the blessed spot on the\nearth! The greetings of our friends, the tender arms of our parents\nwill receive us. The Ausho med will be celebrated in the presence\nof the astonished world; the vanquished kings will be invited, the\nBrahmuns worshipped, the poor entertained, the music, dance, and feast\nwill be observed, and the earth will wear a garment of mirth!\u201d Early in\nthe morning they arrange their things to start for their home. \u201cBring\nthe horse,\u201d one says, \u201cwhere is he?\u201d Some go after the horse, but do\nnot find him. He has gone to the forest they think, and a party go in\nsearch of the beast. In vain they roamed through the woods! The horse\ncould not be found. After a day\u2019s toil, they come near the cottage of\nCopeel, and, to their utter surprise find the object of their search,\ntied near the altar of the Saint. The venerable saint presented a\ncurious sight to the princes. He had a piece of \u201ctiger\u2019s skin\u201d for\nhis raiment, his hair flowing down his shoulders in graceful curls,\neyes closed, hands folded. They took him for a horse-thief. Still as\nthe rule of the _ceremony_ would not permit them to recover the\nhorse without the consent of the supposed thief, they called on him to\nanswer for his conduct. But, alas! there was no sensibility in him.\nHis heart and soul have bade farewell to the world\u2019s pleasures, and\nbeen fixed upon the throne of Krishto. He did not know what was going\non around him. The princes grew tired of waiting for the answer from\nCopeel, and began to speak to him in the following way: \u201cFriend, if you\nare really afraid of us, and feel sorry for what you have done, say\nso; we shall choose mercy and not sacrifice. We have sworn before the\ngods to protect the horse, and, wherever he is caught, not to recover\nhim in secret. What object have you in bringing the horse here? Is it\npoverty, pride, or fancy that actuated you to hold the triumphal horse\nof Saugor? Return our horse to us, and we will pardon you, and give you\nother horses if you wish for them; or if you dare to be our rival, tell\nus distinctly, that we may take the necessary course.\u201d The entreaties,\npersuasions, reasonings, threatenings, effected nothing. It seemed\nas if they spoke to a senseless statue. Failing in their efforts to\nadjust the matter satisfactorily to both parties, and knowing it would\nbe shameful to carry away the horse, one of them kicked the innocent\nBrahmun. The insulting touch of the foot to his sacred person broke\nthe spiritual dream of Copeel; he felt this intrusion in the extreme;\nthought some evil spirits were trying to endanger his life; he looked\nupon the sons of Saugor in wrath, and they were instantly burnt to\nashes.[13] The account of this disaster reached the anxious king, who\ncame himself to the spot to soothe the injured Brahmun with prayer and\nworship, and thereby to beg of him the salvation of his sons.[14]\n\n\nThe Saint Copeel took pity upon the king, and said that the only way to\nredeem the souls of his sixty thousand sons was the blessing of Gunga,\nthen in possession of Bromho. Saugor returned to his own palace, and\nsoon after joined his sons in the upper world.\n\nNow the gods assembled in heaven to consider what was to be done\ntowards the sons of Saugor or his family. As there was no male child in\nit to help its growth, the first and the last fell before the wrath of\nthe Brahmun. This Bongsho (_Stock_) is to be preserved, or Rama\nwill not come out of it for the redemption of the world. Accordingly a\nMonie (saint) was sent to this family of widows to bless and console\nthem in their sorrows. At the presence of the Monie at the door, one\nwidow came forward to receive him, and fell down on the ground to\nkiss his sacred feet. \u201cBe thou the mother of a child, daughter!\u201d were\nthe words of blessing that fell from the lips of the Brahmun. The\nembarrassed woman rose from the ground, and with tears in her eyes\naddressed him as follows: \u201cLord, thy daughter is a widow; how then\nshould she be a mother? It has pleased Krishto to extinguish the family\nof Saugor, so at once the sixty thousand sons perished in the wrath of\nCopeel! Thou knowest all this,--the magnitude of the sad story, holy\nfather!\u201d \u201cBe comforted, daughter, lament not,\u201d the Brahmun said; \u201cthe\nsons of Saugor will be redeemed and his family be continued, for Rama\nhas chosen it for his incarnation. My words that have fallen upon thee\n_must_ be fulfilled. It is the will of the gods that thou shalt\nbring forth a son for the redemption of the family. He will find favor\nin the sight of Gunga, who, leaving the house of Bromho, shall come\ninto the world first to wash away the iniquities of the sons of Saugor,\nand then of the world in general.\u201d In due time the widow queen, at the\nvisitation of the blessing of the saint, gave birth to a son, which\ncircumstance brought universal joy to the world. The Brahmuns came to\nbless the babe, and called him by the name of Vogiroth. The child,\nowing to the peculiar circumstances of his birth, had no bones in his\nbody; was a mere lump of flesh, could not walk or move about without\nmaking awkward gestures.[15] As he was busy one day in arranging his\nplaythings, a Monie called him Oshto Bunko. (He was very awkward in\nhis person, and crooked; so they called him by the name, \u201ceight\ncurves,\u201d his body being in so many places broken perhaps.) The prince,\nalthough only four years old or more, had been trained by his mother to\nsalute the Brahmuns reverently, and to pay them the due homage. Seeing\nthe Brahmun coming before him, he left his playthings in order to\nsalute him, but, being without bones in his body, his movements enraged\nthe object of his worship. The Brahmun thought the boy was making fun\nof him, by imitating his ungraceful gestures; and thus interpreting the\nchild\u2019s innocent deeds, cursed him. \u201cProud prince, darest thou mock my\nawkward person, which Krishto has given me? In despising my person thou\ndost despise my maker. Let it be according to thy will; if pride has\nled thee to mock at me, be thou awkward like me; and if owing to some\ndefect in thy own person thou didst make the irreverent gestures, be\nthou whole, and henceforth live a handsome child.\u201d To the joy of the\nchild and his relatives, the \u201ccursing of the Brahmun begat blessing,\u201d\nat that very moment he stood before the saint with a well-proportioned,\nstout, and handsome person!\n\nAt the age of five he was put under the tuition and guidance of a\ncelebrated sage. Besides the mental and physical training, the sage\ntook particular care to develop the spiritual nature of his pupil, to\nset his infant step in the path of truth, to inspire his simple heart\nwith the love for the gods. His relations did not bring the knowledge\nof the great calamity that had befallen the family to the child\u2019s\nnotice. Every precaution was taken to keep from his knowledge even the\nword _father_. One day, as he was playing with the young children\nin the neighborhood, he heard them ask each other\u2019s father\u2019s name.\nThe turn came to him, and a boy asked him what his father\u2019s name was.\nA difficult question to answer, for he had never heard the name of\n_father_ in his house, and never seen a _man_ who was so\nrelated to him, except the teacher and other Brahmuns, who often came\nto console the widows with their kind words. \u201cFriends,\u201d he said, \u201cask\nthe names of my mother, aunts, teacher, &c., and I will tell you; I do\nnot know who my father is. In our house we have no such relative.\u201d The\nchildren burst into laughter, to the mortification of Vogiroth, and\nbegan to express their surprise in their childish way. The fatherless\nprince left his gay comrades for his mother, who he hoped would adjust\nthe matter, and teach him to answer the questions of the children in\nfuture. The joke of the boys had pained him so much that his blooming\nface seemed pale. Embarrassment threw a thick veil on his forehead, and\nit looked like the moon in eclipse. His hasty steps trod the chamber\nfloor, and drew the anxious household around him. \u201cMother!\u201d burst\nforth the insulted child, \u201cI was very much pained by unkind words of\nthe boys, one of which I did not fully comprehend, so I came to you to\nhave it explained. Strange words, mother, they uttered, which I alone\namong them was unacquainted with. \u2018_Father_\u2019! what does it mean?\nThe boys asked me the name of my _father_, which I could not tell;\nwhere is my father, and what is his name, mother?\u201d The troubled queen\nheard the sad recital with sighs; and, as the child seemed determined\nto know all about the mysterious term _father_, she could not keep\nthe fact in secret any longer. \u201cKrishto\u2019s will be done,\u201d she said; and\nreviewing all the circumstances that characterized the child\u2019s birth,\nunfolded the sad fate of the family to the eager ears of Vogiroth,--how\nthe sixty thousand sons of Saugor were consumed to ashes by the Brahmun\nwhom they had insulted, &c. Every word that fell from the lips of the\nqueen penetrated the soul of the child, and filled his heart with deep\nlonging about the redemption of his ancestors. \u201cMother, is there any\npower in the world that can redeem them from their cursed death?\u201d\n\u201cThere is none, child! The insulted Brahmun has kindly told us that\nthe sacred water of Gunga would wash their sins, if that could be\nbrought into the world.\u201d \u201cWhere is the abode of Gunga, mother, and who\nis she that washeth away the sins of men?\u201d Trusting to Gunga, as the\nresult of these inquiries, the queen informed the child of the name and\nattributes of the goddess. The child seemed to be satisfied with these\nexplanations. Calmness passed upon his stormy soul, but it was for a\nshort time only. He felt anxious to know how the blessings of Gunga\ncould be obtained; he believed it was his duty, as the offspring of\nSaugor, to serve the spiritual good of his family, and thereby blot out\nthe stain which it had brought upon itself by insulting the Brahmun.\nBut he was too young for the undertaking; a mere child of five, strong\nand manly as his will appeared to be. At the usual hour of the day,\nhis tutor, the Brahmun sage, came to the palace, and the child took\nhis seat at his feet. He could not recite his lesson with the usual\nfacility; he looked sober, and that was enough to apprise the tutor of\nthe sad state of his pupil\u2019s mind. Affectionately drawing him close to\nhis breast, he asked him to tell him what ailed him, and was surprised\nat the recital. The child begged him to favor him and help him in the\nundertaking, as he had fully determined to obtain the mercy of Gunga,\nto redeem the children of Saugor, even if it would cost his life. He\nfurther desired the sage, in that simplicity and inexperience that are\npeculiar to his age, to inform him of the place of Gunga,--how he could\narrive there, how long it would take, and how much it would cost, what\nkind of a person Gunga was, etc. The venerable sage attempted in vain\nto dissuade him from the enterprise, saying it was hardly possible\nfor an ordinary man to have an interview with the great goddess in\nthis world of sin; that the sages have spent their lives in prayer and\nfasting, away from home and kindred, amidst the wilderness and its\nferocious inhabitants, without any material success; that the heavenly\nhosts--the gods--desire to see the goddess, but cannot. The child heard\nall these with much solicitude; and, instead of reflecting upon the\ndiscouraging aspect of the case set before him by his teacher, asked\nhim one more question. It was, by what _address_ he should call\nupon the Gunga,--what relation she bore to him? \u201cShe is the Mother of\nthe universe,\u201d the sage replied, \u201cand whoever wants to come unto her,\nwill find that address appropriate and sacred.\u201d The child overflows\nwith joy on hearing that the goddess is his mother; the dark prospect\nbefore him vanishes away, and he sees the path easy and sunny. \u201cWhat,\u201d\nsaid he, \u201cshall I fear to go to my mother? The sweet name! It will\nmelt the heart of the goddess, even if it were made of rock. I do not\nknow the way; but _faith_ will surely offer its service and be\nmy guide; the _Kanon_ wilderness is infested with savage beasts;\nmy _love_ will charm them; there are other obstacles indeed; my\nfirmness will surmount them all.\u201d Emboldened by such thoughts, and\nbeing determined to reach the prize, he revealed his cherished plan to\nthe trusting heart of his mother.\n\nAfter a long discussion, which, of course, took place on the occasion,\nshe being assured by a \u201c_divine voice_\u201d of the child\u2019s successful\nmission, gave her reluctant consent. A Hindoo poet describes the\nparting scene to the following effect. The little pilgrim stood before\nthe weeping household to bid them farewell. The queen, conscious\nof the happy success that will crown her son, and unable to resist\nthe influence of her affection toward him, could neither bid him\n_stay_ nor _go_. It required an effort to utter either. \u201cGreat\nGoddess Doorga,\u201d she prayed, \u201cthy handmaid commits her babe--her only\nchild--to thy protection. Let thy all-seeing eyes watch his steps,\nthy loving-kindness minister unto his wants. Mother Earth! whose name\nis Patience, do not take any offence which the infancy of my child\nis liable to offer unto thee! Lofty, wide-spreading trees! you whose\nbranches form canopies over the earth and obstruct the sun\u2019s rays,\nshield my little one under your shade,--when he is tired, let him\nrest under your branches,--when hungry, feed him with your fruits,\nand when in danger, inform me of it by nodding your heads that reach\nthe sky. Wild beasts! be ye friendly to him. Do not prick his tender\nfeet, ye thorns; and ye stones, do not hurt them by any means. Day,\nwhen you bid farewell to the world, commit my child to the hand of\nyour successor; and Night, when you retire, put him into the hands of\nDay; and finally, do you both, good Day and Night, return him safe to\nthe anxious arms of his mother.\u201d The legend proceeds on with the young\npilgrim, who bids good-by to his dear mother and other relatives,\nand starts on his journey into the wilderness.[16] The Hindoo poets\npaint the early part of this child\u2019s life in the desert with amusing\ncolors. Wandering a few days among the wild trees, with no word save\n\u201cMother Gunga\u201d in his mouth, he thinks the time has already come for\nan interview with the goddess; he encounters a wild beast, and taking\nit for the messenger of Gunga, addresses it in the following way:\n\u201cDid you come from my Mother Gunga, to bring me hope and consolation?\nGlad I am to know that my prayers and tears have reached her gracious\nthrone, and met with success. Tell me, noble friend, what message have\nyou for me, the little pilgrim,\u201d etc. Year after year rolled away,\nleaving young Vogiroth at his altar in the wilderness. The goddess,\nalthough she was all the time walking with and watching him invisibly,\ndid not bid his troubled heart be still. Now she sends her angels to\ntempt him, and try his faith and adherence to the undertaking, who now\nfrown upon him with their hideous appearances, then urge him to go\nback to his home, alleging the undertaking was too difficult for him;\nsometimes they promise the world\u2019s supremacy,--the pleasures of the\nKirnoras,--provided he will give up his cherished plans, etc. But he\nheeded little their temptations, and aiming at the mark, made his way\nthrough trials and temptations with manly fortitude.\n\nAt last pity awakes in Gunga\u2019s breast. She comes to bless the child,\nstands before him, puts her divine hands upon his head, seats him\non her lap, and assures him of her protection forever. When the boy\nbegged her to come into the world and redeem the children of Saugor,\nthe goddess at first declined, but at the unceasing prayer and earnest\nentreaties of the child she consented to come. Now who should receive\nthe sacred stream, as it flows down from the Pitcher of Brahma, was a\ndifficult question, for it was feared the earth would be torn to pieces\nby the force of the sacred stream. Shiba, at the solicitation of the\nyoung saint, volunteered to receive Gunga on his head, when it should\nfall from the pitcher of the Creator; but the goddess, proud of her own\nstrength, feared he would not be able to sustain its fury. He read the\nsecrets of her heart, bent his head to receive the stream, and detained\nit for some time within his curls, thereby giving the goddess some idea\nof his astonishing power. It is to be observed here, that the sacred\nwater, as it issued from the possession of Brahma, divided itself into\n_three drops_, or equal portions,--the one ascended to heaven in\nthe name of Monda Ken\u016b, the second descended to the region under the\nearth in the name of V\u014dg\u014dbuthy, and the third, Wlluk-non\u2019d\u0101, remained\non the earth,--thus at once sanctifying three different spheres. Now\nas, if the stream should run, it surely would wash away cities, towns,\nand whatever happened to be on its way, it was thought prudent to\nopen channels in the earth, in desolate places, that it might course\nthrough them. Human power was too inadequate for the purpose. Oyrabut,\nthe mighty elephant of Indra (King of heaven), was called upon, and\nby means of his teeth he dug a grand canal on the earth. The legend\nsays, that as the compensation of his labor he demanded the hand of the\ngoddess, and she in wrath rushed upon him, breaking his bones to\npieces.\n\nAs the stream glided along, it happened to sweep away the Kasa of a\nMonie.[17] The Brahmun drank the whole stream, and drained the canal of\nits last drop. Vogiroth fell at his feet, told him the sad story of his\nundertaking, and begged him to return Gunga to him; because, without\nher water, his family would find no salvation.\n\nThe venerable Brahmun complied with the prayer of the child, but\nknew not how to bring the sacred stream out of his stomach, as it\nwould be irreverent and wicked to let it issue through either of the\nNobo-d\u0101r, nine openings of the body.\n\nConsidering the matter seriously, he at last tore the skin of his\nJanoo, knee, and the river flowed out of the opening. Hence, another\nname of Gunga is Jarnovy. She inquired of the child how far there was\nyet to go, and where the ashes of his ancestors were deposited. He\ncould not answer at all, so she became hundred-headed, and went in\ndifferent directions in search of the ashes of the children of Saugor.\nThus do the Hindoos account for so many mouths of the Ganges that meet\nthe sea.\n\nSuch is the legend of Gunga, the sacred river of the Hindoos. It is\nuniversally believed to be a true account of the goddess. The place\nwhere the river meets the sea, particularly near the Saugor Island, is\nregarded as a sacred spot, and is visited by the Hindoos once a year,\nin the month of _Maugh_, or January. Here the assembled myriads\nbathe in and worship the Gunga. It being more than an ordinary bath,\nand performed in such a sacred spot as the Sungh-um--the confluence\nof Gunga with the sea--it is deemed by very many necessary to avail\nthemselves of the opportunity, and make the best possible use of the\noccasion. Before plunging the body into water, the man stands near the\nBrahmun priest, and confesses to God whatever sin he has committed and\ncan possibly remember.\n\nThis is the Hindoo mode of Repentance.\n\nWe are told of a real conservative priest of Eastern Bengal, who would\nhave his people confess audibly and distinctly the iniquities they had\ncommitted, specifying them by their name, nature, and circumstance, and\nthus making the matter worse, after all.\n\nBut now the confession is made and heard by the individual sinners\nthemselves; no ears of the priest or bystanders hear anything. It is\nbelieved that the goddess, who heareth in secret, shall forgive and\nreward them openly.\n\nIn conclusion, it would not be out of place, I think, to speak, in this\nconnection, of the reverence the Hindoos pay to their Sacred River. The\nlong arms of caste cannot reach a victim if he happens to be on its\nwater. In sailing as well as in row-boats, which crowd on the Ganges,\nthe members of all castes sit side by side, talk to each other, smoke\ntheir _hookas_, and take their luncheon; but these things _could\nnot_ be done in a vehicle on land. A Brahmun would eat his luncheon\non a boat having a low-caste man,--a shoemaker, perhaps,--only a few\nfeet from him, because the holiness of the river takes away, in some\ndegree, the difference that exists between the two castes.[18] They\nsprinkle its water upon everything almost, for purifying purposes.\nThose who bathe in ponds drop a few drops of Gunga water on their\nheads. A Hindoo who would speak lies, or bear false witness against\nhis brother, with a hard heart, if urged to do it with a cup of Ganges\nwater in his hand, would keep his conscience clear, for he will not\ndare to speak lies then!\n\nIn courts of justice the witnesses had to touch the holy water in\ngiving their depositions; now they are simply reminded of its presence.\nIf any one should speak _truth_, calling the Gunga for his\nwitness, it is regarded sinful. It often happens that when a rich man\nis robbed of his gold or silver, and the police recovers it, he is\nrequired to claim it by _oath_, that is, by touching the water\nof the Ganges, but he would not. The very idea of swearing or taking\noath in the presence of an adorable object is abominable to him; he\nwould rather go away poor and suffering than retain or acquire money\nthat way. In order that it might be regarded most solemnly, the Hindoos\nbelieve that when a man swears falsely in the name of a holy person or\nthing, not only he is condemned, but also \u201cfourteen ancestors\u201d suffer\nfor it. There are, however, thousands who do not observe all these\nrules. I speak of the rules themselves.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n SHRA-BUN, JULY.\n\n THE ROTH JATRA, OR THE CAR OF JOGGER-NAUTH.\n\n\nForeigners in general, misled by the reports of missionaries, have some\nincorrect ideas of the worship of Jogger-nauth by the Hindoos. They say\nthat the Hindoos throw themselves under the wheels of his car, as a\nvoluntary sacrifice, and are crushed to death. I do not agree with them\nin this assertion, although I have no sympathy with any of the forms\nof worship of my countrymen. The \u201cCar of Jogger-nauth,\u201d as foreigners\ncall it, is worshipped and drawn for a different purpose. The ceremony\nconnected with it has its origin in the following legendary incident,\nwhich, to me appears a historical one. Krishno, an incarnation of\nBishno, was the only child of Joshoda and Nuntho of Gocool,--the modern\nAgra. Kong-sho, the tyrant king of Mothoora, made a great Jogeo,--a\nreligious festival, and invited the sovereigns and people of various\ncountries to attend it. Nuntho, the father of Krishno, being the\nking of Gocool, was respectfully invited to appear at the court of\nKong-sho, with his son, whose chivalry was then the popular object of\nadmiration. As a token of especial honor, Occroor, a sage widely known\nfor his eminent piety, was commissioned by Kong-sho to bring the young\nprince of Gocool to the festival. He accordingly went with a Roth\nor car for that purpose. Krishno went with the sage, and did not\nreturn to his parents again. Now to commemorate his departure from his\nnative land, the \u201cCar of Jogger-nauth\u201d has been instituted, which is\nworshipped and drawn as follows.\n\n [Illustration: THE CAR OF JOGGURNAUTH,\n\n WITH SKETCHES OF SOME OF THE ARTICLES WORSHIPPED BY THE HINDOO\n GIRLS.\n DRAWN BY MR. GANGOOLY.]\n\nThe cars are constructed of different sizes, but the shape is always\nthe same. They are of the form of a pyramid; square at the base, and\nbecome pointed at the top. Some are of stupendous size, being fifty\nfeet high, more or less, and beautiful wooden statuary and paintings\nadorn them from top to bottom. A car has five, nine, or thirteen\ncupolas, the highest, or main one, is the seat of the idols. As it\nis drawn, the bells ring and silken flags wave on the cupolas. There\nare four cars in my village, and I will speak of them. The first was\ndedicated by a rich landholder, the second by the high-priest of the\npriests, the third by a dairyman, and the fourth by a rich Brahmun\nwidow, who settled in our village a few years ago. Her car is said to\nbe one of the handsomest, with nearly fifty statues, and a large silver\n_chuc-cross_, the throne and ornaments of the idol are of gold.\n\nIn the morning of the day in which the car is drawn thousands of people\nare entertained at the dinner, by the owner. In the afternoon the\nprocession is formed before the car in the following manner. Men walk\nin rows with flags in their hands; the bands with hundreds of drums,\nflutes, cymbals, etc.,--the Krith-on, or a band of singers who sing the\npraises of Krishno alone. The car in motion, drawn by hundreds, makes a\ntremendous noise, and grinds everything to powder that comes under its\nsolid wheels. It is everywhere believed in Christian countries that the\nHindoo devotees throw themselves under the Car of Jogger-nauth in order\nto be crushed to death. But that is not a true statement of the case.\nSelf-torture is practised, sacrifices are offered, and in many cases\neven suicide is committed, to satisfy some Hindoo deities, but nothing\nof this nature is allowable before Jogger-nauth. He does not take\ndelight in cruel, bloody shows. His love for his creatures is so great\nthat no animal food is offered to him. His worshippers, a peculiar sect\nof the Hindoos, called Boish-tule, do not kill or eat fish, nor look\non pictures representing scenes of battle, murder, or assassination.\nThe loss of lives under the Car of Jogger-nauth is owing to the\ncarelessness of the people. It is believed by them that he who pulls\nthe ropes attached to the car will be carried away after his death,\nto the heaven of Krishno by his Pooshpo Roth,--flowery car. Elated by\nthe false promise of heaven, an immense crowd comes forward to give at\nleast three pulls of the sacred car, and some among them accidentally\nfalling down are trodden by the feet of men or crushed by the wheels of\nthe car. I have seen four stout men go to heaven that way, being ground\nto pieces by the car of the rich widow mentioned above. Of course,\nwhile a Hindoo, I believed like the others, but do not remember of ever\ndrawing the car at all. Being a Brahmun, and widely known as a sincere\nlover of the idols, I used to sit on the top of the car, fan the idols,\nreceive the shower of flower-garlands from the crowd and throw them\nagain at the men, women, and children below as a benediction. Such was\nmy devotion and affection to the images, that while almost everybody\ndeserted the car on account of a heavy shower, I alone sat by and took\ncare of the idols, believing they would reward me abundantly hereafter!\nNo worship of the Hindoos is free from some act of immorality or\nvice. The Brahmuns, especially the young ones, from the high seats on\nthe car, find out, with keen eyes, and lustful hearts, some handsome\nfemales in the crowded street, or in the house-top, and hit them\nseverely with the bananas.\n\nThere is no Scriptural reference to the place where the car shall stop.\nIt is sometimes carried to the distance of a mile and is left there for\nseven days, during which time the idols are worshipped in some temple\nor house built or hired for the purpose. On the eighth day the car is\ndrawn back to its former place, where it remains motionless until the\nnext year. They make large eyes for the car with paint, that it may\nlook at all and be careful not to crush any cruelly. After the death of\nfour men under the car in my village it was found that the painter had\nnot drawn the eyes on the top of the car!!!\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n VAUTHRO, AUGUST.\n\n THE BIRTHDAY OF KRISHNO.--FASTING AND WORSHIP ON THE\n OCCASION.--REJOICING OF NUNTHO; THE WORSHIP OF MONSHA,--A\n GODDESS WHOSE MESSENGERS ARE SERPENTS, ADDERS, TOADS, ETC.\n\n\nThe Hindoo mythology relates the birth of Krishno as having taken\nplace in this month, on the \u201ceighth day after the full moon.\u201d He was\nborn to redeem the world, which was then trembling under the feet\nof a tyrant. His parents were in a humble prison at the time of his\nadvent. In the presence of the heavenly babe the fetters that bound the\nprisoners were broken asunder, the cell began to dazzle, joy and sorrow\noverwhelmed the unhappy parents. \u201cA heavenly voice\u201d whispered to the\nfather to fly with the child to Gocool, across the river Jomuna, which\nwas immediately done. The tyrant who sought to destroy the child felt\nmortified, seeing his precaution frustrated, and sent some messengers\nto kill all the infants in the neighboring places.\n\nThe Hindoos hold this day sacred, and spend it in fasting and worship.\nThey abstain entirely from food and drink for more than thirty hours,\nat the end of which Krishno\u2019s image is worshipped, and the story of his\nbirth is read to the hungry worshippers. In connection with the birth\nof Krishno comes Nunth-sobe,--the rejoicing of Nuntho, the king, in\nwhose palace the infant Krishno was left in the shade of night.\n\nOn this occasion the Hindoos anoint themselves with all sorts of\nperfumatory oil, attar of rose, etc., and spend three days in grand\nfestivities, music, and dancing.\n\nOn the thirtieth of this month is the worship of M\u014dnsh\u0101, which, on\naccount of a singular feast that accompanies it, is quite different\nfrom others of the same sort. The name of this feast is Ur-run-thun.\nCooking is strictly forbidden on this day; no fire is to be put in the\noven. They cook all their food the evening before, with much care and\nceremony, such as offering prayers to the goddess, sounding the sacred\nshell, etc.\n\nIn the morning of the thirtieth, the cactus trees are worshipped, which\ngrow high in India. The stem is washed, and anointed; flower wreaths\nare hung on the branches, the sacrifice of a he-goat offered, etc. As\nthe messengers of the goddess are serpents, and cannot be conveniently\nhandled, their pictures are worshipped with due respect and awe.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n AUSHEEN, SEPTEMBER.\n\n THE DOORGA POOJA.\n\n\nThis is the grand worship of the Hindoos. Men of humble circumstances\ncannot bring the image of Doorga into their houses, because it requires\na large amount of money to make the necessary preparations. The image\nitself is always the largest and most expensive; to speak nothing\nof other things which, though economically arranged, demand a large\nsum. Fifteen days or more before the worship, the whole country is in\nexcitement. Men who, under various circumstances in life, spend their\ndays as exiles in distant places, come home on this occasion to greet\ntheir dearest relations once more. The distribution of presents to,\nand reception of them from, the friends and neighbors is universally\nobserved. Even the very poor, low-caste man, who can barely clothe his\nchildren in winter, and must go barefooted all the time, would buy\nnew dresses, shoes, etc., for his little ones, in the Doorga pooja\nholidays. The rich, charitable Hindoos give Barshick--an annual gift of\nmoney and new clothes--to the Brahmuns, as well as to the domestics and\npoor people, that they may not appear naked and grieved before Doorga,\ntheir common mother. The amount of the sale of all sorts of articles\nis proverbial,--\u201cThe very dust of the Doorga pooja market is dear;\u201d\n\u201cThere was such a crowd at the store that you could crack twenty heads\nby one stroke,\u201d--such are the phrases they use to describe the market\nin September. The mechanics, the artists, the jewellers, the farmers,\nbring the results of their respective labor and skill to contribute to\nthis occasion. But notwithstanding the joyous festivities, the presents\nand profusion, I am sorry to say the thing has a hideous feature. Those\nwho spend their means in wicked and riotous living desire more than\nusual, on these days, to satisfy their own sensual appetites, and those\nof their wicked companions; and, failing to do it, resort to unfair\nmeans, and act as thieves, pirates, and murderers. The penitentiaries\nare crowded with these unfortunate people, who, hoping to spend the\nholidays merrily, live wretchedly under the strict regulation of the\nprison and the weight of their fetters! A sad contrast indeed! Before I\ndescribe the image, the preparation, and the worship, I will consider\nwho the Doorga is, whom my country regards as the great goddess.\n\nDoorga was the only child of Hymaloy and Manoka, who ruled the\nmountainous region of India in times of yore. There is a great deal of\nmysterious conjecture in regard to the name and nature of Hymaloy, the\nfather of the great goddess; and I would bring them to the notice of my\nChristian readers. A story universally believed by the Hindoos, says:\nIn ancient times the mountains were living, movable bodies, endowed\nwith the use of senses, and could fly in the sky by means of wings, and\nthis Hymaloy was their king. In course of time, these mountains grew\nvery troublesome to their fellow-creatures, the men; and, jealous of\neach other\u2019s power, they began to make inroads upon the cities situated\non the side, vale, or top of their antagonists. They did not use any\narms in their warfare; but, to accomplish their end, used to fly in the\nair, and aiming at a certain doomed place, fell upon it, and buried\nthereby houses, trees, men, women, and all! To put a stop to these\noutrages, Por-oosh Ramah,[19] a deified king, cut off the wings of all\nthe turbulent mountains, which thenceforth lay as immovable masses of\nearth. As I write this, fancy carries me to the top of the Rollstone\nin Fitchburg, Mass., where I saw a heavy boulder, which they say is\nan entirely different species of rock from the Rollstone. I think (in\nfun though) that the statement of the Hindoo legend is true; this\nboulder, if not the son or grandson of the old hill, was perhaps the\nchild of its neighbor, came there to make a call, and, amid the general\nslaughter by the god, who spared neither age nor sex, lost its wings,\nand consequently has lain on the bosom of the Rollstone ever since! The\nlegend deserves another remark. It was a noble, heroic act in Por-oosh\nRamah to cut off the wings of the injurious mountains which were then\nfilling the world with horror and devastation. But it is a hard thing\nto stop the course of nature. The naturally cruel mountains, having\nlost their wings and unable to fly about and tyrannize over others, now\nand then open their monstrous jaws, and send forth fire, ashes, and\nmelted lava to the neighboring places, and destroy everything therein.\nThus the beautiful cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed by\nthe cruel Vesuvius.\n\nNow to the point: I think the father of Doorga received his name from\nthe mountain Hymaloy, or the mountain from him. It was, and now is, the\nfashion to name places, mountains, and rivers, after some distinguished\npersons, or the persons after the places. Thus, we have Alexandria\nfrom Alexander, Rome from Romulus, St. Louis, St. Lawrence, Mount\nWashington, and Scipio Africanus, etc.\n\nLet the Hindoos believe whatever they will about the parents of Doorga,\nshe herself was, beyond question, the delight of her subjects, and the\npride of the age she lived in. Her popularity among the people, her\nwide renown of noble, generous character, as painted with the dazzling\nhues of Oriental imagination, had made such an impression on the minds\nof the people, that, in succeeding ages, the ignorant but grateful\nposterity deified and made her the \u201cGreat Mother\u201d of the universe. Her\nworship rose from the following fact.\n\nIt is the custom of the Hindoo females to visit their parents once a\nyear, at least. Doorga was married to Shiba, the Destroyer. At the\ninvitation of her parents she forsook the pleasures of Hoylas,[20] and\ncame to cheer up their lonely hearts by a kind visit in this month. She\ncame only for three days, for her husband could not come with her, nor\nlive in her absence. To commemorate that event, the Hindoos construct\nher image, and with great rejoicing worship it for three days.\n\nHere I will describe the image, with all its peculiarities. I use the\ntechnical term of the Hindoos when I say \u201cthe image,\u201d or \u201cProthima,\u201d\nfor it contains nine different idols, although they call it one.\n\nI am sure the description of the goddess will be amusingly absurd\nto the Christian reader; but I will represent it just as it is, and\nfinally show that, far from being the real representation of some\ndeity, it is merely an ideal thing,--the contrivance of Fancy.\n\nThe goddess is like a young female of sixteen, with ten hands, three\neyes, deep yellow complexion, and stands in a posture placing her right\nfoot on the back of a lion and the left on the shoulder of a monster.\nThe monster, \u201cMohisha Soor,\u201d comes out of the neck of a buffalo, in\nwhose body the lower half of his person is deposited. He has a sword\nin his hand with which he meant to strike the goddess. On her right\nare Shoreshotee and Gonesh,--the one the goddess of poetry and music,\nand the other the god of success. On her left are Kartic and Lock-hee,\nthe god of the babes and the goddess of riches. These four are the\nchildren of Doorga. Besides these she holds a serpent by one of her\nleft hands, which bites the monster,--the enemy of its mistress.\nLooking at the image carefully I perceive it is nothing more than the\nembodiment of all the necessary comforts, pleasures, hopes of life.\nWe want relief from the overwhelming sins which beset us in every\ndirection; the monster is the representation of them, whom the goddess\nis cutting asunder. We want wealth, learning, success, children, and\nbehold there are the symbolical representations of all these in the\nnames of the sons and daughters of Doorga. Thus the ancient Brahmuns\nhave painted whatever they have touched with philosophic colors, and\narrayed before the people hosts of deities, which are essentially the\npainted, clothed, personified attributes of One God. The system was\nwell adapted to the capacity of that distant age,--the age of figures,\nallegories, and sentiment; but the present age demands a clear, simple,\nand intelligible faith.\n\nThe worship commences on Shop-tomee,--the seventh day of the\nfull-moon,--and occupies three successive days. Early in the morning\nof the first day is the bathing of \u201cnine leaves,\u201d of which the banana\nis the chief. This is done with much ceremony, in the presence of\nthousands; the bells ringing and trumpets sounding by hundreds. They\nplace the \u201cnobo-pothrica,\u201d nine leaves, by the side of the image,\ndressing it like a female.\n\nAs the Hindoo mode of worship is almost always the same, and quite\ndifferent from that of the Christian, I will here detail it in full,\ninstead of describing it partially here and there. The image is placed\nin the middle of the hall, facing the main entry into the house. Two\nBrahmuns officiate at the same time; the one conducts the practical\nand the other the theoretical part of the ceremony; in other words the\nformer does what the latter tells him to do. Thus the first, the head\npriest, sits before the image with a pile of flowers and perfumatory\npowders on his right, and a bell on the left; while the second takes\nhis seat only a few steps from the first, with his sacred Scripture\nlaying open before him, which he reads to direct his colleague how\nto proceed. The priest, first of all, is required to purify himself,\nthe place he sits on, and the water he uses in the worship, by some\nceremony. The doctrine of self-purification is good in its nature,\nand a Christian one too. Christ inculcated such on his disciples. But\nwhat a sad contrast stands between a Brahmun\u2019s and a Christian\u2019s mode\nof self-purification before worship! A Christian is taught to search\nthe innermost parts of his heart, and bring out, if there be there,\nany impure, selfish, or passionate inclinations; and, leaving the\nsacrifice before the altar, go and make peace with his brother, or in\nsome other way expel evil thoughts, and then pray. A beautiful process\nof self-purification indeed! But the Brahmun repeats some Sanscrith\nwords, puts a flower on his own head, and turns his hands round his\nhead, for the same purpose. This symbolism takes a prominent part in\nthe Brahminic dispensation.\n\nLest the sprinkling of water and the shower of wet flowers might\nsoil the dress of the idol, or wash away the painting, a copper tub\nis placed between the priest and the image, into which he casts\nflowers, pours water, etc. Some prayers are offered to the children,\nthe friends, the servants, the messengers, even to the ornaments and\nhousehold furniture of the goddess.\n\nThe offering of Noi-bitho comes in course. Hundreds of wooden or brazen\ntrays are loaded with wet, raw rice,[21] fruits of nearly sixteen\nkinds, and other sweet things. These eatable things are set on the\nright hand side of the image, with the belief that it will cast its\nglance at them. The priests entreat the idols to accept the offering\nthey bring, and drink the honey, milk, and water, etc., which they\nplace before it. After these have been accepted by the goddess (as they\nbelieve), they are distributed to the Brahmun families.\n\nThen comes the sacrifice. The Hindoos cherish the same notion of this\noffering as the ancient Hebrews did. In the Old Testament we read of\nthe peace-offering, and the burnt-offering, and of the children of\nAdam bringing lambs, vegetables, etc., to the altar of the Almighty.\nThe difference is, then, in the choice of the beast for the offering.\nThe Hebrews used to kill oxen, which the Hindoos do not. The latter\nslaughter goats, sheep, and buffaloes, of the male sex, in presence\nof their idols; and, at the end, cut sugar-cane, pumpkin, etc., into\npieces.\n\nThe place where the beasts are slaughtered is the middle of the yard,\nwhere a wooden block, with a jog on its top, is stuck in the ground.\nThe blacksmith is the only caste to kill the victim for the others,\nalthough some Brahmuns do that part, to the displeasure of others.\n\nThe executioner, his scimitar, the block, the victims, animal or\nvegetable, are all washed and purified with sacred water. Nobody is\nallowed to lean against or touch a pillar, wall, or anything else. All\nstand straight, separate, and silent. One holds the hind-legs of the\nhe-goat by his left hand and its fore-legs by his right, places its\nneck on the block, and then the blacksmith lifts up his fatal weapon,\nand the people shout aloud, \u201cVictory to thee, O Mother!\u201d The moment the\nlast word, \u201cMother,\u201d has been uttered, the head of the victim falls\nbleeding on the ground, the bells ring, trumpets sound, the people jump\nin joy, and clap their hands. There is no precise number of the animals\nfor the offering; it may be more or less, according to the circumstance\nand the inclination of the worshipper.[22] If the man fails to kill the\nbeast by one blow, it is regarded a mischievous omen. Hence, at the\nsuccessful blow, the master of the house takes the executioner by the\narm, puts flower garlands round his neck, and presents him with some\nmoney, clothes, etc.\n\nIn the afternoon is the \u201cvogue,\u201d--dinner. It is to be observed here\nthat the Hindoos of all castes do not offer boiled food to the\nidol,--such as rice, vegetables, fish, meat (of the he-goat only).\nThey make various distinctions between boiled and fried food; some is\nallowable, and others not; for instance, a Brahmun would eat cakes\nfried by a confectioner, but not rice boiled by him. The Brahmuns\nonly present rice, vegetables, and other cooked food, to the idols,\nwhich are offered in the same way as the fruits, specifying them by\nthe name. When they bring these to the hall, they sprinkle the river\nwater along their path, on which the Brahmun with the dishes in his\nhands treads. When the goddess is supposed to cast her glance at, or to\nindicate an acceptance of the costly dishes, the screens are hung so\nthat none of the lowest caste can see what is going on behind.\n\nThe invited guests, as well as other poor low-caste people, take their\nplaces in the order of their castes, and the Brahmuns serve them at\nthe dinner. O, the pleasant task! although, personally, I had neither\nfaith in nor delight at the worship of the idol, and stood aloof\nin the hour of sacrifice, burning of incense, and offering meat to\nthe senseless deities, yet I used to come at this time and offer my\nservices in distributing food to the people. But as a disciple of Him\nwho blessed, loved, and ministered to the poor, neglected, and low, I\nwas particularly mindful to serve and wait upon such as rarely received\nmuch care and attention from an orthodox Brahmun. Thus, during these\nthree days the people dine at each other\u2019s houses, and all at the house\nof the Brahmuns who are highest and first in order. In the evening,\nthe hall, the parlor, the entry, and the outside of the house, are all\nilluminated with chandeliers, lanterns, etc.\n\nThe priest performs the \u201caurothee,\u201d or moving of \u201cfour lamps\u201d before\nthe face of the idol. While he is thus engaged, ringing a bell by his\nleft hand and moving the lamps by his right, some burn perfumatory\nincense and fan the idol, and others devote themselves to silent\nprayer; the band also plays in the yard. At the close, every soul\npresent is on his knees or breast, prostrating before \u201cwood or stone.\u201d\nI was often found on the outside of the house, away from the idol, at\nthis time.\n\nThe guests appear again, and are entertained. The invited guests, the\nmen of wealth, offer a present of money to the idol, when they come to\nthe outer piazza of the hall. Beautiful it is to see men of different\nages and circumstances visiting house after house, in crowds, in the\nexcited, festive, superstitious Bengal. Would to God it was for some\nother occasion, and not for the worship of the idols.\n\nLate in the evening begin the music, singing, dancing, theatrical\nshows, etc., quite different from those of Christians, both in regard\nto time, process, and substance. The usual hours for these are from\neleven in the evening until six or seven in the next morning. On other\noccasions, when there is no idol to worship particularly, the music and\nshows extend twelve hours, without intermission. During these hours\nthe people sit still, sometimes go out, promenade, chew spices, smoke\ntobacco, etc. The yard of the house, accommodating several hundreds,\nis the place where the theatrical plays and other amusements are held.\nFor the information of the reader, I should describe in this place the\nmusical entertainments of the Hindoos. They are far inferior to those\nin this country, in regard to the gorgeousness of the scenery; but\nfar superior in point of elegance, taste, and composition, either of\nthe tune or the play itself. A visit to the Boston Theatre, and the\nsplendid spectacle displayed therein of \u201cFaust and Marguerite,\u201d have\nmade me think the Hindoos are superior in their intellectual displays,\nwhile the Americans excel in scenic representations. Dancing in India\nis regarded in a contrary light from what it is in this country. Hence,\nthose who dance in the public theatre or private parlor are from the\nlowest castes, if they be men, or public prostitutes, if women. For\nthe Orientals deem it a shame, an improper act, for women to sing or\ndance before men. The dancing of a young girl in the above theatre\nin Boston, and of others in the _polka_, would well confirm the\nOriental estimation of female dancing. The spectators do not gather\npromiscuously, and pay the admittance fee, as they do in this country.\nThe music, dancing, or shows, whatever they might be, are open to\nall,--but it is in a rich man\u2019s house, where the heads and backs\nof persons glitter with gold and jewels; the folks with cotton are\nnot welcome. However, they have other places to go to, where every\nattention is shown to them. A Bengalee proverb says: \u201cOne door is\nclosed against, while hundreds are open to us.\u201d I said there is no\npromiscuous gathering; I mean the gathering of both sexes. The women\nsit apart behind the screens, from whence they see everything without\nbeing seen. But this is not the case with all. Sometimes a young woman,\nwith vain heart and handsome casket--body--manages to thrust out to\nthe public gaze her pretty hands, glittering with costly ornaments.\nThus the first two days of the Doorga pooja pass by, and the third or\nlast is before us, with its singular, absurd amusements. It is _katha\nmatie_, amusement with clay. After the usual sacrifices have been\noffered, they wet the yard, and men of every age fall upon each other,\nsinging and dancing in abominable ways. Some songs are purposely\ncomposed in vulgar words and sentiments, to be sung before the goddess,\ntheir Mother! This mistaken band of men and boys, with instrumental\nand vocal music, visit every house in the neighborhood which has the\nimage within it. As a token of respect, the master of the house, or\nhis representative, cordially receives this foolish party, and joins\ntheir number. You must join them, otherwise they will run after you,\nput clay on your clothes, and make you come at any rate. As they pass\nby, it is difficult to recognize them by their faces. Their clothes and\nwhole bodies are so covered with clay, that at the first sight you will\ntake them for some strange creatures, or John for James and James for\nCharles! Christians, who have no faith in the foreign missions, think\nthe Hindoos are well off. Come! O come and see this single abominable,\nadulterous amusement of these men, the sad, the mistaken specimens of\nhumanity, and you will find a great gulf lies between you and them.\nThank your God and be grateful to his mercy. Spread the light abroad\nthat has been committed to your care, that millions of the Great Human\nFamily may see their course through the precipitous way of life!\n\nNow, on the fourth, or last day, the image is thrown into water,\nwith absurd ceremonies and costly shows. Agreeably to the order of\nexercises performed when a woman leaves her father\u2019s house for that\nof her husband, the women walk round the image, put some lunch in her\nhand, and entreat her to come again the next year. The men write their\nnames on some _b\u0101le_ leaves, and deposit them at the feet of the\ngoddess, hoping she will remember them by their individual names.\n\nIn the afternoon the bands play, the flags are waved, the guns fired,\nand the image is carried to the river Gunga. Some people throw the\nimages into the water, while others take them on board of boats, and\nthereby give the goddess a good sail. While young, I used to cry for\nthis treatment toward the \u201cMother,\u201d and ask my father why it would not\nbe better to send her home by carriage, than sink her into the water.\nWhen it becomes dark they return to their homes, the bands playing a\nmelancholy tune.\n\nThe benediction is offered by the priest at the place where the idol\nwas. A jar with water in it is placed on the same seat which the\ngoddess occupied, people sit on every side, and the priest sprinkles\nthe \u201cpeace water\u201d on their heads. Lest the sacred water should fall on\ntheir feet, which are regarded profane by the Hindoos, they cover them\nwith their clothes, while their heads are exposed to the shower from\nthe priest.\n\nAfter this is performed what seems to me the best part of the worship,\ni. e. the greeting of each other with salutations. Each person takes\na quantity of sweet confectionery with him, and goes round from house\nto house receiving or giving salutations, according to his position. I\nwill describe this more distinctly. The Brahmuns do not salute other\ncastes; and the grown-up people receive homage from their juniors, but\ndo not give them any. Thus, a young man prostrates himself before his\nolder brother, and both before their parents, uncle, aunt, etc. They\nput a little confectionery to each other\u2019s mouths, and embrace each\nother. On this occasion they use an intoxicating drug called \u201cVang;\u201d\nwith the exception of this, I like the proceedings of the evening. Thus\nclose the Doorga-pooja holidays; doing some good, at least to the poor,\nfor they are well cared for, entertained in feasts, and admitted to\nthe fine shows in the splendid houses, where they are not allowed to\nenter on other occasions. Besides these, they get such a quantity of\nexpensive eatable things as they never tasted before, and which they\nenjoy for a week or more.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n KARTIC, OCTOBER.\n\n \u201cTHE LAMP IN THE AIR.\u201d--THE GODDESS KALLEE.--TORCH-FESTIVAL.--RED\n MARKS ON THE DOOR-POST.\n\n\nIt has been observed before that the Brahmuns attach some degree of\nsacredness to the months of April, October, and January. The month at\nhand is October, and is a sacred one, and we will see how the Hindoos\nobserve it. There are a great many common religious ceremonies which\nare not of much consequence; hence I will omit them, and direct my\nattention to the four marked ones which are the subjects of this\nchapter.\n\nFrom the first to the last of this month, a lantern is lit and sent\naloft on the top of a bamboo, or a high pole of any other kind of wood.\nAs each house thus lights a lantern in the air, the number becomes very\nlarge in populous places, and it is amusing to see them burn like stars\nin the lower firmament.\n\nThe goddess Kallee. As I have determined to treat of the origin of,\nor the causes which gave rise to, the Hindoo worship, I will briefly\ndescribe the legend respecting the goddess. She is the wife of Shiba in\nanother incarnation of Doorga.\n\nUnder different circumstances, or to accomplish some personal or\nuniversal good, Doorga the \u201cgreat mother\u201d appeared in various\nincarnations. The legend tells us the following. There were two Oshoor\nbrother-rulers[23] of a kingdom. The world in their time suffered much.\n\nOf all the worldly riches which allure the selfish adventurers, and\ncause them to explore the uttermost parts of the earth, there was\nsomething very peculiar which these two princes were wont to seek\nafter. Neither the burning gold, nor glittering jewels, nor the\nabsolute sway over the world was the object of their ambition. Human\nbeings whom some people call their \u201cproperty\u201d were the objects of their\nambition, and upon them the attention of these princes was fondly\ndirected. By their craving human beings, I do not mean that they used\nto send a ship somewhere to the coast of Africa which would import\nhuman \u201cproperty\u201d for their farm or plantation. No! Their ambition\nwas romantic, although not without sin. The fairest women, whom the\npoets describe as the gems and the life of society, were the tempting\ntreasure to the eyes of these Sovereigns. It was a fixed determination\nin them to place the most handsome female on the throne as queen. They\nhad servants to explore the vales and the groves of the female world,\nin search of such flowers. Wherever an accomplished female could be\nfound, her parents would be requested to give her up to the throne,\neither shining gold or reeking sword being offered as an inducement.\nFirst persuasion, then violence were the methods to which they resorted\nto secure their end. Discontent grew up and was universally felt.\n\nThe poor, insulted parents, unable to cope with the tyranny of these\nwicked kings, appealed to the goddess Doorga, the great Mother. She\ntook pity upon these sufferers, promised them relief, and determined to\nput a stop to the wicked life of the kings. Agreeably to her promise,\nthe goddess descended from her Koylas. In order to encounter the\nservants of the King Shumbhoos, who were in a certain place in quest of\nhandsome females for their masters, she betook herself to a grove which\nthey must pass by on their way home. A Hindoo poet describes her beauty\nin the following way. As she entered the grove her divine presence,\nher unrivalled charms, her sweet graces, filled the place with solemn\ngrandeurs. The bees and the butterflies forsook the flowers, and,\ntaking her for a blooming lotus, began to hover round her person. The\nmembers of her body created discontent among the inmates of the forest.\nThe white, fragrant lotus, hitherto the pride of the flowers, seeing\nitself surpassed in beauty by the goddess, fled with shame to lodge in\nthe water forever. Her delicate, graceful neck drove the swans away\ninto the ponds, lakes, and rivulets. The pearls finding their pride\nsadly broken by the bright teeth of the goddess, hid themselves in\ntheir shells at the bottom of the oceans. The wild deer ran frantic to\nsee her eyes far superior in grace to its own.\n\nIn the ecstacy of his poetical imagination, the poet thus describes the\ncountenance of Doorga; that the Bromho, desiring to imitate her face,\ncreated the full moon, and finding it, when ready, not half so handsome\nas the face of the goddess, broke it into pieces in fifteen days! Vain\nlabor; he forms and breaks the full moon all the time! Hence are the\nphases of the moon.\n\nIt happened as she expected, that the messengers of the king came that\nway and were surprised to see the grove dazzling with her beauty. They\napproached near, and asked: \u201cTh\u0101bee! may we know whether a god or an\nangel is mourning at thy absence? Is it a region in the sky which\nis dark, being deprived of thy radiance? Who art thou that walkest\nalone in these groves, fearless as a lioness, free as air, sweet as\nroses, and mild as the moon? Or is it possible that thou art here,\nforsaking the airy regions, to shine upon the earth for a season?\u201d\nThus the goddess replied: \u201cNoble friends! you are welcome in your kind\ninquiries. Indeed, my address will surprise you more than anything\nelse in the world, for it is so singular, so romantic, so noble, and\nso bold. Formerly I was a great princess, now an orphan, poor and\nhelpless, having no place where to go, and no kind friend to stand by\nme.\u201d\n\nThe messengers here interrupted her, when they knew the object of\ntheir earnest search was before them; for the goddess declared herself\nan orphan, poor, and helpless, and they hoped she would accept their\ninvitation, and become their queen. Again, her helplessness made them\nsure of success, for if she did not comply with their request, they\nwould take her by force. \u201cTh\u0101bee,\u201d said they, \u201cthy night of sorrows is\nspent. Behold, the dawn of happy day is breaking upon thee! Follow us\nto the throne of mighty Shombhoo, and thou wilt be the mistress over\nhis empire.\u201d \u201cI thank you for the generous invitation,\u201d she replied;\n\u201cI wish I could accept it; but there is a great difficulty in my way.\nI cannot offer my hands to any until a condition is fulfilled. In the\nname of Truth, I have sworn to marry him only who would be able to\nexcel me in martial exercises. This is the solemn oath I have taken,\nand I will observe it as long as I live.\u201d It is impossible to describe\nthe surprise of the king\u2019s servants, when they heard a young, weak,\ndelicate female challenge the mightiest king of the world. In vain\nthey attempted to convince her that such a daring, foolish oath would\nbring her to shame, and make her surrender even to a man of common\nability; that if this was her condition, one of them could take her in\na minute. Finding her firm in her position, they one by one engaged in\na duel with the goddess, who killed them all. As the military custom\nin India is to spare the life of those who bear news, she suffered\none to tell his king what had happened. Enraged at the news, the king\ncame out to meet the heroine in the grove, begged her to surrender,\npromised her his love, but all in vain. She remained where she was. A\nfearful battle was there fought between them; the king had his troops,\nhorses, and elephants, while the goddess, in a moment, changed her mild\nappearance, became \u201cDic-ambonee,\u201d naked, and astonishingly fearful.\nShiba, her husband, finding the world could not bear her fury, came to\npacify her and make her desist. But she was so much excited, that she\ncould not recognize him at all, and mistaking Shiba, who had fallen at\nher feet, for an enemy, stood right upon his bosom. Hence the image of\nKallee is represented as follows: She stands on the bosom of Shiba, has\nfour hands, three eyes, and dark complexion. In her two left hands she\nholds, triumphantly, a sword and the head of Shombhoo, whom she killed;\nand by her two right hands she offers relief to her poor children. Her\nnecklace is composed of the heads of her victims who had fallen in the\nbattle.\n\nThe intelligent reader can easily find out the meaning of such\nrepresentations. Taking the fact narrated above to be a true one, we\nclearly see that Kallee was a great warrior, a woman of unspeakable\nability, of generous heart, whom time and ignorance have deified.\nAgain, interpreting it allegorically, we see that the mercy of God\nunto the helpless, and his wrath unto tyrants, have been beautifully\npersonified. The image of Kallee is a Hindoo illustration of the\ndoctrine of retribution. While two of the hands of the goddess are\npunishing sin, the other two, at the same time, are offering peace to\nthe deserving.\n\nThe worship takes place in the night of Omabushai,--total\ndarkness,--and on the next morning the idol is thrown into water, as\nusual. The buffaloes and he-goats are cut by the neck as sacrifices.\n\nIn the evening of the day on which Kallee is worshipped, the children\namuse themselves with torches. The white sticks of flax are tied up\ninto bundles, and each boy takes one in his hand, lights it in the\nfire, and runs furiously in every direction. Boys strike each other\u2019s\nburning torches, and frequently get burned. This has its origin in a\nbelief that the light of these torches pierces the darkness of hell,\nand helps its inmates to come out to receive the homage which their\ndescendants on earth pay on that day. \u201cFourteen lamps are lighted\u201d\nand put in different places round the house. Some red circular marks,\nmade with Shindoor, a kind of red powder, are made on the head of the\noutside door.\n\nThe image of Kartic is worshipped, also. He is the son of Doorga, very\nhandsome in his appearance, and rides on the back of a peacock. Those\nwho wish to have some children born unto them, offer homage to him; but\nas they rarely meet with success, they are told that Kartic will bear\nwitness of their religious deeds, and stand in place of their children!\nHowever, they do not worship him a great many years,--only four in\nsuccession, hoping to have offspring during that period.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VIII.\n\n OG-GROW-HAW-UN, NOVEMBER.\n\n JUGGUR-DHARTREE AND RASH-JATRA.\n\n\nThe goddess Juggur-dhartree, in the present form, was unknown to\nthe Hindoos who died a few centuries ago. Her name has a fine\nmeaning,--\u201cthe nurse or upholder of the universe.\u201d She is Doorga in a\ndifferent form, sitting on the back of a lion, who also rides on an\nelephant, and tears it to pieces. The chief part of the worship is\nsimilar to that of Doorga, in September, but covers only one day. The\nsacrifices, feasts, and music are alike. There is, however, something\npeculiar in the mode of killing the beasts for the sacrifice. It is\nrecommended that the victim should be pierced to death by spears, but I\nnever saw it done, anywhere.\n\nIn the night of the full moon comes the Rash-jatra. Its origin is as\nfollows. Krishto, the Hindoo god, had some young women for his friends,\nwhom he frequently used to meet in the groves. The sacred poetry of the\nBrahmuns abound with the details of Krishto\u2019s frolics with the women,\nand the Rash-jatra is one of them. To commemorate these events, they\nplace the idols of Krishto and his female friends in an artificial\ngrove. The opulent Hindoos spend a large amount of money on this\noccasion. In Calcutta, a rich family is widely known for the display\nof statuary, pictures, and ornamental works, on the _Rash_. Every\nAmerican merchant engaged in the Calcutta trade knows that family, of\nwhich Baboo Rajendro Narain Dutto is the head. The Rash continues three\nsuccessive nights, in which the image of Krishto and of his wife Radha\nare exhibited with great magnificence.\n\nThe most celebrated Rash, however, is held in Khor-dah, a place on\nthe Ganges, nearly fourteen miles from Calcutta. But it is not so\nexpensive, so finished, so showy, as that of the Dutto family. They say\nthat the image in Khor-dah was carved out of a piece of marble having\nmiraculous power in it, which circumstance has spread the fame of the\nidol far and wide. Splendid temples have been built for its abode, and\na fund adequate to defray the cost of the service has been invested for\nits maintenance.\n\nThere are other celebrations in the name of Krishto, similar to the\nRash-jatra, one of which will be treated by and by.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IX.\n\n POUS, DECEMBER.\n\n\nThis month, from its being very cold, I suppose, has no public worship.\nNothing particularly religious attracts the minds of the people, or\npleases their eyes. In fact, the artists who make the idols, and the\nmusicians who sing before them, close their business this month. But\nit ought to be observed that the stage on which the Hindoos exhibit\ntheir idols seldom becomes vacant. A worship of some kind, general or\noccasional, must go on. The prevalence of small-pox demands offerings\nto Shitola, the goddess of that fatal, contagious disease. A set of men\nwalk round from door to door with small images of the goddess. Coming\nto the threshold, the idol carrier blows a shell to announce the advent\nof the goddess, as well as to gather the inmates of the house, and\nsecure a hearing thereby. He sings or recites a false story descriptive\nof the wrath of the goddess to the scoffers, and her kindness to the\nbelievers, etc. I used to ask these men to go somewhere else, and not\nto trouble us, but my mother would not have me do such things, and\nasked them to come back, apologized for my rashness, bowed down before\ntheir idols, and gave them some money! In the end of this month the\nfarmers particularly worship the barns, rice-stacks, etc., as the\nrepresentation of Luckhee,--the goddess of harvest, giver of wealth,\nprosperity, etc. On which occasion the whole of Bengal makes a feast\nof cakes for three days in succession. In these days some people eat\nnothing but cakes of various shape, size, and taste.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER X.\n\n MAGH, JANUARY.\n\n THE MORNING BATH.--SHORESH-SOTEE, OR MUSE.\n\n\nThis month, though third in order, is the first of the three which\nare held sacred by the Hindoos. On the first day of Magh, at five in\nthe morning, the whole country is up to bathe. The excitement thus\ncreated is beyond comparison. Sacred songs, jubilees, exhortations are\nheard from every quarter. The school-teachers form concerts of their\npupils, who sing the praise of the sacred river Ganges, through the\nstreets and before the temple. Men, women, and children crowd in the\nGhats,--bathing-places. As they go in they throw some fruits, such as\nmangoes, bananas, cocoa-nuts, into the water as an offering to the\nsacred river. Some continue their morning bath through the whole month,\nothers only three days, while a few religious persons continue it\nthrough the year.\n\nThe Hindoos have no preaching like the Christians, but there is\nsomething in that shape which occurs in this month. The religious\nHindoo engages a Brahmun to read and expound the sacred books in his\nhouse, which is free and open to all hearers. This Brahmun is always\nwell trained, has full knowledge of the Scriptures, a fine, sonorous\nvoice, and is full of fun. In short, he must be learned, a good reader,\nsinger, and actor. An altar is made for him, on which he sits on a\ncushion. He wears some flower-wreaths round his neck and head, like the\nGrecian orators with laurels.\n\nIn the middle of the month the image of Shoresh-sotee is worshipped.\nShe is the giver of learning, poetical genius, and efficiency in music.\nHence the poets, orators, singers, pay her homage and worship. Every\nfamily is not required to buy her idol, for the worship of books,\nwriting-desks, inkstand, pen, musical instruments, do just as well.\nEven at the foot of the image these things are set in order. The\nschoolmasters make a grand idol of the goddess, and tax their pupils\nto meet the expense incurred thereby. There is one thing singular and\nunpleasant to the children. They are forbidden to eat _Kool_, a\nkind of plum, until it has been offered to the goddess; and if they do,\nher wrath will doom them to a life of ignorance. As the _Kools_\ngrow earlier than the time of the worship of the goddess, they feel\nvery badly seeing the trees smile with red and yellow fruits, while\nthey are not able to touch them. The temptation on the one hand,\nand the fear of becoming dunces on the other, trouble them. Under\nsuch circumstances the cunning boys come to an understanding with\nthe goddess, and promise to present her double or triple the number\nof _kools_ which they eat before the time. Thus, with care and\ncaution they keep the accurate account of the _kools_ they eat,\nand produce the same before the image, agreeably to the contract made\nbefore. The worship occupies one day only, which is spent with music\nand other amusements.\n\nBesides being the daughter of Doorga, the great goddess, Shoresh-sotee\nhas a legendary tale attached to her person, which is regarded by\nthe Hindoos as a genuine fact. Much as I do doubt its genuineness,\nI think it is a beautiful story, contrived to show the mercy of the\ngoddess to her children. It is as follows. There was a young princess\nin India whose youth, personal charms, and mental accomplishments had\nmade her the admiration of the time. Among other things that brought\nher notoriety, there was an oath she had taken, to the effect that\nshe would give her hand to a man who would surpass her in power of\nreasoning, and conquer her in intellectual warfare.[24] The learned\nyoung princes and nobles of literary renown crowded her palace, but\nsuccess did not smile upon any of them. One after the other they\ntook the field of controversy with the maiden, and were vanquished.\nDisappointment and shame became their reward. Next to the kings and\nnobles, the Brahmun sages--whom we might call Depositories of Indian\nliterature--made their appearance, but had to wear crowns of shame.\nWhether some superhuman intelligence shaped her arguments so as to\nrender them impregnable, or her personal charms, her \u201clightning-like\nsmiles,\u201d or her \u201cvoice sweeter than Cuckoo\u2019s,\u201d threw a net of\nconfusion over her opponents, I cannot say. While the vanquished party\nof the Brahmuns was returning home, they determined to know if anything\ncould be done to punish the proud princess. Finding their own literary\nmerits quite inadequate to the purpose, they did not hesitate to resort\nto stratagem. As the troubled company moved slowly homeward, contriving\nsome way to ruin the learned maiden, it happened that a young man,\nsingular in every way, came before their eyes. He was tall in stature,\ndark in complexion, unintelligent yet mild in his countenance. To\ndescribe his ignorance, which was proverbially great, the story says\nthat the Brahmuns found him sitting on the branch of a lofty tree, and\nsevering the same with an axe from the main trunk, not knowing that\nhis own weight will facilitate the work, and that great will be his\nfall on the ground below! This ridiculous, yet pitiable scene attracted\nthe attention of the sages, and they halted. This philosopher on the\ntree would make a good match for the princess, they said, if he could\nbe saved from the ruin which his own hands were bringing upon him.\nThey beckoned him down the tree, hinting that they have something very\nimportant to communicate to him, and so he came. In answer to their\ninquiries he told them his name was Kalidass, a Brahmun by caste, and\nthat he had had no education. They informed him that they knew the\nlatter while he had been on the tree. They asked him to follow them\nif he wished to marry a rich, noble woman in the country. He begged\nthem not to make fun of him, as he was too unworthy of the bride they\nspoke of. However, they let him understand that they would do what is\nnecessary, argue with the princess, and arrange the matter prudently,\nprovided he would go with them as their Master, keep himself seated in\na dignified look, which they would show him how to assume, and now and\nthen make some gesture during the discussion. He consented to their\nwords, and leaving his axe and anything he had behind him, followed the\ncunning Brahmuns to catch a woman. The unfortunate damsel fell a victim\nto the united subtility of the Brahmuns, acknowledged her failure, and,\nfaithful to her vows, married Kalidass, their supposed Master.\n\nAt the usual hour a maid-servant showed him his room, and he entered\nin, tired and excited. Illiterate as he was, he was able to reflect\nupon the contrasts between his position then and a few hours\nprevious,--a boor in the country, and a master of the sages,--a\npoor Brahmun in the morning, and the husband of a princess in the\nevening,--accustomed to lie down on the cottage-floor, now the silvery\nbosom of a bedstead in the palace is to receive him. There was a\nmosquito-net round the bed, and he did not know how to get in. The\nstory says, he climbed the bed-post that held the net, to see if there\nwas any opening on the top, and finding none he jumped in, tearing\nthe costly net to pieces. Late in the evening the princess came in,\nand first of all, wishing to exchange some words, began to look for\na topic. In the mean time a camel in the king\u2019s stable roared. \u201cThe\nOostros roar very loud, do they not?\u201d she said. No response came from\nKalidass. \u201cAm I wrong? Is it not Oostro which I heard roar just now?\u201d\n\u201cYes, you are right,\u201d he said; \u201ccertainly it is \u2018_Oo\u2019tro_,\u2019\u201d not\nknowing the true pronunciation of the word. The princess felt quite\nalarmed at the word \u201cOo\u2019tro,\u201d for a scholar, a man of delicacy would\nhardly use it. She thought perhaps it was owing to a \u201c_slip_ of\nthe tongue,\u201d that he said _Oo\u2019tro_, or it might be that he was\ntired or was making fun.\n\nVenturing again, so as to find out the truth, she begged him to tell\nher what it was that roared a little while ago. At which he, in his\nfull ignorance of the case, replied, \u201cIt was _Ottro_,\u201d making\nit a new term altogether. The literary princess was shocked at it,\nknowing that the Brahmuns had ruined her; and indignantly striking her\nhusband with her foot, she left the room. I do not believe this part\nof the story; it is contrary to the Hindoo custom; no insult is so\ngreat as to touch a man with the foot. Women, especially delicate and\nlearned ones like the princess, could not do such a deed,--it is not\nonly a great insult to a husband, but a real sin. It may be she had\nleft the room disrespectfully, which, too, was not polite. Whatever was\nthe case, poor Kalidass felt very much mortified, rose from his seat,\nlooked towards heaven, and with tears said, \u201cMother Shoresh-sotee! the\nman is a mere animal who does not possess thy blessing in his soul.\nA woman insulted me! And why? Because of my ignorance of science and\nliterature! To whom shall I go for redress but to thee, O Goddess of\nLearning? I am too old to begin to study. What shall I do then? I do\nnot wish to live an insulted life without learning, without worth, any\nlonger.\u201d He then left the palace and his learned bride, and entered\ninto a desert with a view to put an end to his life there. Finding a\nlake before him, he went in to drown himself in its water. While on\nthe point of merging into eternity he heard a voice saying, \u201cDo not\ndie, child! here I am, thy Mother, come from heaven; thy tears have\nfallen at my feet, and thy prayer hath sunk deep into my heart, so I\ndescended on earth to redress thy grief. I am Bak Dabie! Sink thy head\ninto the water of this lake, and when thou hast lifted it up a clearer\natmosphere will spread over thy head.\u201d At the direction of the goddess,\nKalidass immersed his whole body in the water, and lifting up his head,\nsaw the goddess standing in the air. Inspired with a miraculous gift of\nknowledge, he immediately offered a prayer to the goddess, describing\nher beauty from head to foot, in language which the Hindoos think very\nchaste and high. In fact it is a fine specimen of Sanscrith poetry. The\nHindoos are taught to repeat it in their schools. Unfortunately the\ngoddess found fault with his description of her face first, and said,\n\u201cHe will be killed by the hands of a vile woman.\u201d The sentence has been\nfulfilled in the life of Kalidass.[25]\n\nThus the insulted Brahmun miraculously became the greatest of all the\npoets whom India ever produced. His writings, still extant, are real\ntreasures, both in regard to their poetical splendor, their sublime\ndepth, and their moral bearings. Such is the legendary manifestation\nof the goddess to Kalidass, which, although a mere story, has much\ninfluence upon pure Hindoo minds.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XI.\n\n FAL-GOON, FEBRUARY.\n\n\nThe Thole-jatha. This means the amusement of Krishto and his female\nfriends with a swing. In the temple hall, or on some high altar, a\nthrone is set, and the images are placed upon it. This comes in the\ntime of the full moon. A few days previous to this the boys become\nvery troublesome to each other, and to the men in general. They buy\nsmall hand-pumps, made of bamboos or tin, fill some jars with colored\nwater, station themselves by the wayside, and seeing men pass by,\npump out the water on their clothes. There is no remedy against this\nplague, for you do not know where they are; they lie in ambuscades,\nand, to your surprise, wet you with the red or yellow colored water.\nThey will take you unawares, as did the Indians the troops of General\nBraddock. Sometimes they meet you in the street, four or five at once,\nand trouble you from every direction. As they seldom attack men with\ndirty clothes, one might escape the boys by wearing a less showy dress.\nAgain, they make a kind of seal, by cutting an apple into halves, which\nthey dip into ink and stamp on your side, breast, or back. This is\nworse indeed, for sometimes it is difficult to wipe out the stain-mark\nby several washings.\n\nIn the evening before Thole-jatha, the image of Krishto is conducted to\nwitness _Cha-churr_. A long bamboo, covered with straw, is stuck\ninto the ground by the side of the river or in the field. The Brahmuns\nwho carry the idol and its throne on their shoulders walk round the\nbamboo post seven times, while the drums, flutes, violins, are playing\nby hundreds. They then set fire to the post, and fireworks of various\ndescriptions are burned. Early in the next morning the idols are\nplaced on the hanging throne. The people witness the scene with great\npleasure, for it is said, \u201cThe sight of Krishno will effect salvation.\u201d\n\nThere is some trouble, again, arising from the chief amusement of the\nday. Abeer, a kind of red powder which the god is especially fond of,\nis scattered everywhere. They make balls of it, and hit each other\u2019s\nface and eyes. Fortunately, Abeer does not blind the eyes; for when it\nfalls in, it waters them a little while, and thus makes them brighter\nthan before. In a rich man\u2019s house, the guests are almost buried with\nAbeer, without which the Thole-jatha is nothing.\n\nThe feast and music are as usual, for even a poor man must entertain\n\u201ctwelve Brahmuns\u201d on any religious holiday. This is one leading feature\nin Brahmunism. It distinctly commands its believers to entertain\nBrahmuns and other castes in the time of the idol-worship. Thus it\nmakes hospitality a part of the ceremony, and upon this the attention\nof the gods is particularly directed. There is a beautiful story to\nthis effect. A man, according to his promise, offered a thousand\nmangoes to the sacred Gunga, by emptying the baskets into its waters.\nA poor man picked up one, and ate it. Now the goddess visited the rich\nman in a dream, and demanded the full payment of mangoes, acknowledging\nthe receipt of _one_, which the poor man had eaten.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER XII.\n\n CHOITHRO, MARCH.\n\n CHURUCK-POOJA.--HOOK SWINGING.\n\n\nThis is the last month of the Hindoo year, and witnesses that bloody\nreligious ceremony which is so much talked of in Christian countries.\nIt is Churuck-pooja; or, graphically, the swinging by the hooks. I\nam aware that the Christian missionaries have taken especial care to\ndescribe this fearful institution ably and accurately to their friends\nat home. But as they write what they see, not what they know of the\nHindoos, they often fail to treat of the real state of the thing.\nHowever, they are not to blame; for the want of true knowledge of an\nobject makes its description dry and imperfect.\n\nIt has been a belief in Hindoo minds from the remote ages, that\nself-torture is essentially requisite for the propitiation of the gods.\nThe human body being made out of matter which is evil in its nature,\nand wars against the spirit, it is desirable to macerate it, and give\ndominion to the spirit thereby. This notion has created various orders\nof Shun-nashi\u2019s, Shadhoos, Jog-us, Mohuntros, etc., who are common in\nIndia. It did not long remain confined to India, but, crossing its\nboundaries, reached the people of Persia, Tartary, Arabia, Turkey, etc.\nIts influence was also felt by the Christian Church in her infancy.\n\nIn India it manifests itself in some form or other in all the\nreligious institutions of the people. I have seen a man offer prayer\nto Shiba, standing on his head; others on one leg for hours under the\nburning sun. Some would not eat or drink anything unless it should\nbe put in their mouths, while others would not lie down at all for a\ncertain number of years. Nearly three years ago there came a Shadhoo\ninto our village, who spent a whole day and night on foot. His\ndisciples said that many years had seen him eat, drink, and rest in\nthat position, and perhaps his head will not touch the earth until it\ndoes forever.\n\nThe subject of this chapter traces its origin from that singular\nbelief of which we have spoken. Ban Raja, a king of great religious\nenthusiasm, is said to have instituted this ceremony in honor of Shiba.\nFrom the fifteenth of March the Mool Shun-nashee, with others, walks\nround the place at the pretended permission of Shiba.[26] They carry\nwith them a great quantity of Oothuries, or thread, and finding a\nlow-caste man within reach, they put a Oothuries round his neck, crying\naloud, \u201cTarash-or\u0101re nash Shiba!\u201d From that moment the poor man becomes\none of the party, forsaking his professional business until the end of\nShun-nash. This mode of enlistment seems to command the victim, \u201cFollow\nme, and let the dead bury their dead.\u201d There is no way for his getting\nout free; he must wear the badge of Oothuries, and walk day and night\nwith the party at the penalty of excommunication or a fine.[27]\n\nIt is to be observed here that the Brahmuns do not join the party\nat all: they put heavy burdens upon others, but do not help them\nwith their fingers. Hence the Shun-nashees are always from the poor,\nignorant, low castes. As there is no fixed limit to the number of\nShun-nashees, they enlist hundreds within a few days. However, the\nnumber is great or small, according to the popularity of the idol.\nThough every idol is of Shiba and every temple is his abode, yet some\nare believed to possess the fullness of the god in greater degree than\nothers, and are revered by the people accordingly. Thus there are\nthree temples of Shiba in one village, and one of them draws crowds of\nworshippers toward it, which fact increases its income, and its priests\nreceive a great deal. Now Shun-nashees thus gathered together spend the\nrest of the month in visiting the idols of Shiba and their brethren in\ndifferent villages,--very like to the custom of the fire-companies in\nthis country, who receive from, and make visits to, their friends of\nneighboring towns. When two or more parties come in collision, they\nstand in order, and salute and embrace each other with loud shouts of\n\u201cTarash-orare nash Shiba!\u201d Each party has some leading men, who sing\na few verses, desiring their friends to expound or solve them as the\nnature of the question would require. The trumpets are sounded, the\nbells rung, the flags waved, and the staves carried by hundreds. As\nthey march in procession their music and shouts deafen the ears and\nmake heads ache.\n\nOn the day before the Churuck-pooja, the ignorantly mistaken as well\nas daring men in the party make _bans_, or pass the thick iron or\nbamboo sticks through the skin of their arms and tongue. Indeed, it\nis a fearful sight! Not only do the grown-up men do such things, but\nboys of thirteen years or more pass sticks through their skin. I have\nseen men pass four Sholas (bamboo sticks of the thickness of our first\nfinger) through the different parts of their left arm, and binding some\nextra ones with them, make a little terrace, with a vine creeping over\nit. Others make a hole in their tongue sideways, and pass through it\nthe tail of Gochora (the flat-headed, venomous snakes). Thus arranged,\nthey go to the houses of the gentlemen and dance there a quarter of\nan hour, getting a little money for compensation. By a little money,\nI mean from a quarter to a whole dollar. The money thus realized is\ndisposed of in making some vile shows before the temple, and to buy\nintoxicating liquors for those who exhibit these bloody feats. A\nlow-caste old man in our village was preparing some fine Sholas, to\nshow a feat altogether new and surprising; but he died before the time\ncame. Among other things his beloved wife remarked, in the course of\nher lamentation, that \u201che made grand preparation to excel others in the\n_ban_, but could not succeed!\u201d Then comes the Churuck the next\nday, with an aspect more dreadful than the _bans_.\n\nIn the morning, the Shun-nashees all go to bathe, and gather a large\nnumber of cocoa-nuts, bananas, and other fruits. Before the temple,\nthe _Jhap_ is performed. It is a terrace made by sticking some\nbamboo poles in the ground, and sometimes rises twenty feet high. The\nShun-nashees, both young and old, climb up the terrace and stand in\ntwo rows, one above the other; the spectators stand all round; some\nclimb up the trees, to get a better view. A few men post themselves\nnear the foot of the terrace, holding a large bag in their hands, by\nwhich they receive the men who jump down from the terrace, one after\nthe other. This bag is stuffed with dry leaves, so as to make it soft,\nand a _Botty_ (kind of large knife, not very sharp) is put over\nit. When everything is ready, then Mool Shun-nashee bends his head\nto the god, takes leave of the brethren on the terrace, scatters the\nflower-wreaths, raw rice, bananas, etc., to the crowd below, and,\nlastly, jumps down on to the bag, or, rather, the mattress. After him,\nall the Shun-nashees jump down in the same way, one by one, amid the\ndeafening shouts of the crowd and the sound of the trumpets.\n\nIn the afternoon, the order of the exercises is as follows. Before\ngoing to the Churuck, the Shun-nashees ask the god\u2019s permission, which\nhe gives by a nod, seen by the priests only. They put some flowers on\nthe head of the idol, and if one of them, at least, should slip down\nfrom it, it is interpreted as the pleasure and permission of Shiba.\nSometimes the flowers do not fall easily, being at the centre of the\nidol\u2019s head. This is interpreted as owing to the anger of the god.\nAs the Shun-nashees are to fast certain hours of the day, and live\naccording to the rules appointed by the priests, it is believed that\nthey have violated the rules, by eating or drinking, which circumstance\nhas offended the all-knowing Shiba. Hence, seeing the flowers do not\nfall from the idol, the priests command the officers to bind the\nShun-nashees and beat them with stripes. I have seen the young boys\nroll round the temples, their hands tied together, in order to appease\nthe enraged god. It is curious that they always suspect the boys of\nviolating the rules of the Shun-nashee\u2019s life, even if they observe,\nwith their native earnestness, almost every \u201cjot and tittle\u201d of the\nregulation. It is the grown-up, old, indifferent men, who privately\neat and drink, I believe; and the poor boys suffer for their sin. As\nthe idol delays to give its permission by a nod, and by throwing some\nflowers from its head thereby, the priests interpret its terrible\nwrath, and order the town officers to be bound also. It is, however, a\nbeautiful lesson the Brahmuns teach by this; they say, \u201cThe sin of the\nking causeth his subjects to suffer, and brings affliction upon them.\u201d\n\nThere is a trick which the priests impose upon the people at this time.\nThey contrive every means to open the window of the temple, in order to\nbring a draught within, that it may blow flowers away from the idol\u2019s\nhead. In my village there is a back window in the temple, through which\nthe people on the outside look at the proceedings within. They, of\ncourse, prevent the wind from going in, in some degree, and the fanatic\npriests drive them all away, cursing and rebuking them shamefully. The\nmoment a draught of wind has knocked a flower down, they in ecstasy\ndance round the temple, clap their hands, embrace each other, and\nshout, \u201cTar-\u0101re Shur-are nash Shiba!\u201d etc.\n\nIn this state of excitement, they form a procession and march down to\nthe Churuck Tola, which is in some place very near the temple, or but\na little way off. The Churuck Garch, or \u201cSwinging Tree,\u201d is a heavy,\nlong, wooden pole, set up perpendicularly, with one end on the ground,\nwith _moche_ like the main-yard of a ship on its top, and which\ncan be turned round either way. Sometimes the Churuck Garch is nearly\ntwenty feet high. A man--the poor victim to the Churuck--bends down\non his knees and hands, while another draws out the skin about his\nshoulder-blades, and the Cormokar, or the blacksmith, forces two iron\nhooks (ten inches or more long) into the skin and the muscles. Some\ndaring man will suffer four iron hooks to pass through the different\nparts of his body, so as to show his proficiency in the affair. There\nare some strong cords fastened to the hooks, which also are attached\nto a long, thick cord, and the man is drawn up to one end of the yard.\nTo keep the balance right, a man climbs half way on the rope attached\nto the other end of the yard. Thus bound and hung, the victim jumps\nin the air, and turns round the \u201cSwinging Tree\u201d from ten to fifteen\nminutes.\n\nOnce, in my grandmother\u2019s village, I witnessed a scene more desperate\nthan the above. A man swung round the pole nearly fifteen minutes in\nthe air, with his head downwards, and four iron hooks catching him by\nthe skin. His long hair began to wave in the air, and his hands beat a\ndrum which was fastened to the same cord. But expert as he seemed to\nbe, he could not as yet make good music. In some places several men\nhang in this way in succession. I wonder that these men do not seem\nto feel very much hurt; for I have seen them go to their respective\nwork within a couple of days. Coming down from the Churuck Garch, the\nvictims receive the benediction from the priest, who blesses them with\na flower from the altar, as a sacred relic.\n\nThe morning after the Churuck, the Shun-nashees gather together before\nthe temple, take off the Oothuries, or the sacred badges, from their\nnecks, return them to the priest, and shave a part of their heads (for\nduring the term of Shun-nash they are forbidden to shave their heads or\ncut their nails). After this, they bathe in the river or tanks, as the\nsituation of the place will permit, and go to their own homes, eased\nfrom the bondage of superstition.\n\nThere is one peculiarity, however, in the Churuck-pooja which is worth\nnoticing. During the Shun-nash term, the band is organized somewhat on\nthe principles of brotherhood, each member bearing a kind, brotherly\naffection toward another,--an affection they do scarcely dream of\nbefore. If one of the party dies during these holidays, they all\nput on mourning according to the custom of the Hindoos. An insult to\none is felt by all, for they being different are yet the members of\nthe same body in Shiba. They regard the badge they wear round the\nneck as binding them together into the sacred bond of fraternity. The\never-vigilant, ever-living caste system interferes, of course, with\ntheir manifesting fully the relation they bear towards each other.\nThe Shun-nashees of different castes would not eat at the same table\nor drink out of the same cup, although in other respects they do not\nobserve all the regulations of the caste.\n\nThus ends the Hindoo year with so many religious festivals, holidays\nfull of degrading and demoralizing amusements, and ceremonies bloody\nand mistaken. Though the internal spirit of these hosts of religious\ninstitutions tends to devotional and charitable purposes, yet the\ninfluence of their outward appearances confounds and corrupts the\nweak-minded Hindoo. The people in general do not strip them of the\nveil, in order to find out the real significance within. They hardly\nunderstand what those rites and ceremonies do mean, but in their\nignorance take them just as they are, and worship all corporeal\nobjects as true gods and goddesses. This feature of the religious\nbelief among the low and ignorant classes is very gloomy, for they are\nhardly taught to recognize the difference between man and God. The\nBrahmuns, the priests of these people, do not have a regular mode of\nreligious teaching. In the temples, by the side of the Gunga, under\nthe sacred Burr (banian-tree), or in their houses, very few words\nare spoken by way of religious instruction. By some fixed mechanical\nrules they are taught how, what, and when to eat, drink, bathe, walk,\nspeak, and sleep, and in these their religion consists. The language\nof the prayers, being Sanscrith, is unintelligible to the worshipper\nhimself. Very few attempt to understand the phraseology of the\nprayer, and think it improper to handle the inspired words. In the\nprayer to Shuresh-sotte, or the muse, I find the description of almost\nevery inch and each member of her person, with rich, glowing poetical\nimagery, which a sensible man ought not to apply to her, his mother\ngoddess. So it will be found that most of the Hindoo prayers are\nimmoral, yet beautiful representations of the personal graces of the\nmale and female deities, which simply please our senses and bewilder\nour reason, instead of creating a deeper sense of reverence in our\nreligious nature. Again, the want of a regular system of religious\ninstruction has brought into the minds of the people all sorts of\nmistaken, erroneous ideas respecting God, man, and duty; life, death,\nand immortality. The man on the very verge of his life, standing\nbetween the edges of this and the next world, hardly knows where he\nis bound, whom he is going to, and what will be his true destiny. He,\nunder the burden of superstition, recognizes his god in the person\nof the Brahmun, standing near his death-bed, or in the sacred Ganges\nglittering yonder. If he should unfortunately die at home, or on\nTuesday or Saturday night, it is believed the gates of heaven will be\nclosed against him, until the Brahmuns, by some peculiar ceremony,\nshould exorcise his spirit, and with mortal hands open the gates of\nParadise! This is the substance of modern Brahminism. Its belief is\nerroneous, its influence pernicious, and the end which it contemplates\nas destiny is dark. It makes piety to consist in the ordinances, in\nthe law, such as in bathing, fasting, eating certain things, offering\nworship to some visible objects on some fixed days. Besides what has\nalready been treated as the leading features of the Hindoo religion,\nthere are some additional religious institutions, which I will describe\nto the reader before the close of the book.\n\nBuilding temples to the gods, digging tanks, and planting trees on\nthe wayside, are considered very pious. This belief has prompted the\nHindoos to spend immense wealth in the erection of temples, which crowd\nthe banks of the Ganges. The number of the temples varies according to\nthe circumstances of the man; either two, twelve, or one hundred and\neight are to be erected and dedicated unto the gods. There are very few\nmen who have dedicated one hundred and eight temples at a time. There\nare some, however, at the expense of the Rajah of Burdwan, which I hear\nare very costly. On the banks of the Ganges, in lower Bengal, there are\nseveral Ghauts (bathing-places) erected with brick or marble. Their\nstairs are sometimes twenty feet wide and lead into the water several\nfeet deep. On both sides of the Ghaut either two or twelve temples are\nerected for the abode of the idols. At the time of the dedication,\npeople are entertained at a great feast, money is distributed to the\nBrahmuns, and the temples are adorned and illuminated.\n\nThe digging of tanks, especially where there is a scarcity of water,\nis commendable, and a part of religion. I can see the necessity of\nannexing this to the religion, for in a warm climate, were people use\nwater so much, a great many tanks are needed to supply their wants.\nHence we see almost every house in Bengal has a small tank, of twenty\nto fifty yards square, attached to it, and in this they raise fish for\nthe family use. After a tank has been dug, it is filled with water,\npartly from the sky, and partly from the earth itself. They stick\na long wooden pole into the centre. The owner of the tank, at the\ndirection of the officiating priest, crosses it by holding the tail of\na cow. This denotes the idea of crossing the river that glides along\neverlastingly between this life and the next. On this occasion, also,\nthe poor people are entertained; a feast is given to the Brahmuns, etc.\n\nNow the planting trees by the road-side must be noticed. There is,\nhowever, a selection of the place where the trees are to be fixed.\nAlways the place where three roads from different directions meet\ntogether is preferable. The number and species of the trees are\nfive,--such as Burr, Oshud, Nim, B\u0101le, and Amlokee. Five young shoots\nof these trees are planted together, which mode is called \u201cThe union of\nthe sacred trees.\u201d Scarcely all of them grow together, for, sacred as\nthey are, some of them occupy the places and crush the others to death.\n\n_The daily worship._ The rich religious people in India have the\nidols in their houses for the daily worship. There is a room entirely\nfor the accommodation of the idols, like the \u201cbaby rooms\u201d in this\ncountry. In it there are a throne, bed, seats, furniture, plates,\ndishes, cups, tumblers, bells, wash-tubs, clothes, and ornaments, of\nthe lifeless gods. In the morning, the family priest comes in, awakes\nthe idols from their sleep, brings them down from the bed, washes and\nwipes them, repeating some prayers and ringing the bell at the same\ntime. Dressing them according to their shape and size, he worships in\nthe usual way, by strewing flowers over them, offering them something\nto eat, etc. The head member of the family would not eat his meal until\nthe idols have been cared for. In the evening, the priest comes again,\nto give the gods their supper. First of all, he lights \u201cpunch-prodip,\u201d\nor five lamps, and waves them before the idols. He then puts them in\ntheir respective beds, covers them with clothes, or hangs the mosquito\nnet round them, as the nature of the weather would require! Just as the\nchildren take care of their dolls, so the Brahmuns serve their idols.\n\n_The public worship._ In every Hindoo country, a party of\nyoung men tax each family once a year and dispose of the money thus\nrealized in the \u201cworship of twelve friends.\u201d They charge also all the\nbridegrooms who come to marry the girls in their village. A splendid\nimage is erected in the public place of the town, and music and\ntheatrical performances are held before it. This, taken on the whole,\nis the worst of the Hindoo institutions. It corrupts the young, who,\ntaking this opportunity, do all sorts of immoral acts which they never\ndreamt of before. You ask the boys when they learned to smoke, steal,\nor quarrel, and they will point out these holidays to you. I remember\ndistinctly having stolen tobacco and a smoking-pipe (hooka) from my\nuncle\u2019s room, to help the smoking party in the garden. Almost all of us\nwere beginners in this filthy and unhealthy habit. Fearing our parents\nwould know it, we used to chew a piece of green banana-leaf, which in\nsome measure takes away the dirty smell from the mouth.\n\nAgain, as the musical performances are performed through the whole\nnight, these boys and young men go round the place, climb up the\ncocoa-nut-trees and steal their fruits. As the cocoa-nut-trees are\nvery tall and the fall of the fruit on the ground makes a loud noise,\nsome seven boys were once climbing up a tree one after the other that\nthey might pass down the fruits noiselessly from hand to hand; the\nmost cunning of them did something to make his successor laugh, and\nhe doing the same, there wont a peal of laughter from the head to the\nfoot of the tree, which apprised the owner of his loss. One of the boys\nattempting to come down quickly, fell upon some broken glass and was\nbadly injured. Fortunately I was not with them. To enumerate the evils\nthat rise from the Hindoo worship and holidays would occupy a book.\nComing out disfigured and bruised from the dark caves of Brahminism,\nI hoped the British government would stretch forth its hand at least\nagainst the most immoral, and ruinous institutions of the Hindoos,\nbecause their own eyes are not bright enough yet to notice the defects\nthereof. But my\n\n \u201cHopes that were angels in their birth,\n Perished young, like things on earth.\u201d\n\nThe late Sepoy mutiny has, as I see, given a lesson which the\ngovernment must mind. However there is yet a hope of India\u2019s\nregeneration. The influence of the Missionary as well as the government\nschools will open the eyes of the rising generation, and thus bring the\nmatter to a slow but happy close. Father of lights! let Thy knowledge\nshine in every creek and corner of the world; and bring it to the\nrecognition of Thee, who art its Creator, and loving Father! Let India\nworship Thee as her God and Father!\n\n\n\n\n MISCELLANEOUS.\n\n\nIndia is inhabited by a people of various colors, customs, and\nlanguages; and consequently affords a picturesque scene to the\ntraveller. As the climate varies in different parts of the country,\nthe color of the inhabitants changes likewise; although they are one\nand the same people, and their origin is the same,--the Indo-Caucasian\nStock. And what is more striking is the difference in the color in one\nfamily. Thus, a mother is dark, the father olive, and the children are\nyellow, of different shades,--one is as burning gold, while the other\nis as gilded brass.\n\nThe people speak different languages in various parts of the\ncountry, but all trace their origin to the great source,--the\nMother Sanscrith. The Bengalee, which has much resemblance to the\nSanscrith, is spoken in Bengal; the Orria in the Orissa, the seat of\nthe celebrated Jogger-nauth; Tamul in Madras, by the Moharashtros,\nand the Hindoosth-anee in its various forms in the regions of the\nnorthwestern provinces, and in Nepaul. Besides, there are several wild\ntribes, such as Naug-poorias, and the Saun-tals, who speak tongues of\ntheir own. The Brahmuns, in their religious services, and sometimes\nin their conversation, speak Sanscrith, but the other castes use\nBengalee. For illustration I will give specimens of the same thing in\ndifferent languages of the country,--_I will go_, is in Sanscrith,\n\u201cJochamee;\u201d in Bengalee, \u201cAmee Jabow;\u201d in Orria, \u201cMo-ja-bow;\u201d and in\nHindoosth-anee, \u201cHaum gaga.\u201d In their characteristics the Bengalees\nare mild, peaceable, intelligent, speculative, and subtle, and those\nof Upper India are brave, haughty, warlike, but kind. The Bengalees\nin their bodily structure are delicate, while others are robust, and\nwell built. In the late Sepoy mutiny, the Sepoys--the people of the\nnorthwestern provinces--took the lead, and the Bengalees did not help\nthem by their fingers. The latter hardly use warlike instruments, while\nthe former make them their companions. A gentleman in Upper India\ncarries his sword or a club, wherever he goes; but a Bengalee thinks it\nsavage to equip in this way.\n\nI have been often asked whether my people smoke and drink or not. The\nBengalees do not smoke cigars, they think it mean, and ungentlemanly;\nthey use the Hooka in smoking.\n\nThe _tamack_, or tobacco, needs much care, and is composed of a\ngreat many ingredients, such as thocta, or tobacco leaves, dry roses,\nand banana shells, molasses, cinnamon, etc. These being chopped and\nmixed together, are put under the earth for several days. When a person\nsmokes, the vapor does not come right into the mouth, but, passing\nthrough a long pipe, comes into the bottom of the Hooka, which is\nfull of cold water, and making its way through another pipe, reaches\nthe mouth of the smoker. The people of Orissa smoke cigars as in this\ncountry. Drinking spirituous liquors is very common with the young men\nin the cities and mercantile places, where the Europeans import a good\nsupply of wines of various names and natures, and set the natives the\nexample. The Hindoo religion condemns a man who touches wine, except\nin case of alarming sickness, which nothing but spirituous liquors can\ncure. \u201cAs medicine, _Soora_ is to be used,\u201d is the doctrine of the\nBrahmuns. Some people carry it so far that after having recovered from\ntheir sickness, they make _Praosh-chitro_, or atonement, for using\nEnglish medicine, which they believe is always prepared with spirit.\nOthers will not apply to a foreign physician at all, fearing that his\nmedicine, while it saves the animal man, may strike a death-blow to the\nsoul. Hence \u201cit is preferable to die by the hand of Boitho, a physician\nby caste.\u201d\n\n_Tarie_, or the juice of the palm or date tree, is used by\nlow-caste people generally. It has intoxicating influences, and is to\nbe had at a low price. The juice of the palm-tree is taken by squeezing\nthe stalks, which will fill a large pitcher with _tarie_ in a\nfew hours. It is used as yeast by the bakers in India. The Hindoos do\nnot eat meat; they have a great aversion to beef, ham, pork, etc. In\ntheir villages a single cow is not killed in many centuries. The man\nwho whips his cattle so severely as to make them bleed, is outcasted,\nridiculed, and hated by the public as a _Koshie_, or a butcher.\nThe Hindoo law regulating the treatment of cattle is very kind to the\nbeasts and severe to their masters. If a cow, calf, or bull should\ndie with the rope round its neck, that is, through the master\u2019s\ncarelessness, the law holds him guilty, and prescribes penances for\nhim to observe. He is required to walk from door to door, with a piece\nof rope round his own neck, a straw in his mouth, and making imperfect\nsounds like the cows. After three days of humiliation in this way, he\nabstains from food and drink a whole day, shaves his head, offers money\nto the Brahmuns, and redeems his sin thereby. Again, if a calf or cow\nshould fall into a pond and die, both the owner of the pond and that of\nthe beast, are regarded as sinners. The rational intention of all these\nprescriptions is to inculcate the law of care and kindness towards dumb\nbeasts, especially the useful ones.\n\n_The Knowledge of Art and Science._--The Hindoos from a remote\nantiquity cherished the knowledge of the heavenly bodies, reckoned\neclipses, and watched the motion of the stars. These they did and do\nby means of their fixed system of astronomy; they have no scientific\napparatus at all. European astronomers calculate the day of the\neclipse, using several instruments, but the Brahmuns do the same thing\nwithout such aid. Architecture was known to them also from a distant\nperiod. The remains of the old temples and ghauts in various parts of\nIndia distinctly speak of their proficiency in architecture. On the\ntemple walls you will see the representation of the heavenly bodies,\nthe signs of the Zodiac, and the images of their gods, carved by men\nwho had lived, so to speak, in the very infancy of the world. The\nknowledge of minerals was found among them also, for the universal\nuse of gold and silver ornaments, and metallic household utensils, is\nevidence of the fact. They are unrivalled in the skill of working in\ngold and precious stones. The manufacture of fine cotton cloth, such\nas Dacai, and of shawls (the Cashmere), has obtained the undisputed\napplause of the world.\n\nIn fact, the Hindoos did and do largely cultivate all the appliances\nof civilized life. Only their knowledge of art, science, and\ncivilization is not progressive, but limited. They feel satisfied to\nlive, move, and die within the boundaries of their own acquirements,\nand hardly desire to add to or vary from the prescribed institutions\nof their forefathers. While the countries beyond Hindostan are making\nastonishing advances towards enlightenment, discovering new inventions\nfor promoting temporal comforts, and introducing the best and choicest\nthings of the world among themselves, the Hindoos dig trenches round\ntheir borders, and nourish their old national institutions in good\nearnest. But there is a strong possibility that a mighty revolution\nwill take place in the social and spiritual condition of the country.\nThe introduction of European civilization has dazzled the eyes of the\nyoung, some of whom, (though few,) are now eagerly co-operating with\ntheir friends for the welfare of the country. The School of Industrial\nArt, the Civil Engraving College, the Medical College, etc., are\nblessings coming from the British Government, and to these the young\nmen from the high classes resort for instruction and improvement.\n\nThe Hindoos possess remarkable genius in imitating almost everything\nput before them, provided their caste and religion do not interfere.\nThe low-caste people who work in the English factories, warehouses,\nsteamboats, etc., display a ready and admirable talent for the\nbusiness. On the Ganges, the uneducated, low castes manage steamboats.\nThey serve in various capacities in the dockyards, founderies,\nfactories, etc.\n\n * * * * *\n\nThe Hindoos have their own system of agriculture, and raise fruits,\nflowers, and grain, of various kinds. The chief productions of their\nhusbandry are rice, flax, sugar, indigo, cotton, potatoes, peas, beans\nof different species, and fruits too numerous to name. India has no\nwinter; her rivers do not freeze, her high trees stand clothed with\nleaves and decked with flowers all the year round; her birds are\nmerry, her sky fair, her sun bright and warm, her rivers grand, her\nmountains high, her children numerous, intelligent, and philosophical,\nher religion superstitious, her gods many, and her age old. May she\nthrive and grow upward, high as her Hymaloy, giving her light to, and\nreceiving that from others,--this is the heartfelt prayer of her absent\nson.\n\n\n\n\n APPENDIX.\n\n\nEver since my arrival in America I have heard with great surprise the\nstatement, received on the authority of missionaries, that the Hindoo\nmothers throw their infants into the river Ganges. Almost every man,\nwoman, boy, or girl in these United States knows it, and has seen the\nillustration of it in various books. During my tour over some sixteen\nStates and the Canadas, I noticed that the Hindoo mother, her baby,\nand the alligator, were the subjects of constant inquiry. The story of\nthe infants being thrown into the Ganges by their heartless mistaken\nmothers, is believed by the people of this country to be either a\ncustom or a religious institution of the Hindoos.\n\nI am aware that to speak against this prevalent belief is to falsify\nthe reports of travellers and to criticise the statements of foreign\nwriters who have disseminated this report throughout the whole\nlength and breadth of the land. On the other hand, I cannot suffer a\ngroundless and strange story to run so freely through the Christian\ncommunity, and bring upon the poor innocent women of India such\nundeserved reproach. I do not wish to cover the really defective\ninstitutions of my country. Her religion, rather than custom, sanctions\nsuicide in different ways, as manifested in the voluntary offering of\nthe widows upon the funeral fire of their husbands. The throwing of\nbabies into the Ganges or to the alligators, then, I would say never\nwas in the customs or religious ordinances of India. I never heard of\nit even as a grandmother\u2019s story; while, on the other hand, my mother\nand other friends often spoke of the widows who burned themselves alive\nwith their dead husbands, of their preparation, their bidding farewell\nto their children, committing them to the care of some kind relative,\netc. It seems strange to me, that, being a native of India, a Hindoo,\nyea, a Brahmun, by birth, I did not know nor hear of this custom of\nmy own country, which is known to the people who live nearly eighteen\nthousand miles from the same. What did not come to my knowledge during\nmy twenty-one years of life in India, came to my ear on the day I\nreached America. \u201cWhat is this?\u201d they ask me. \u201cWhat do they mean?\nHindoo mothers throw their babies into the Ganges to be devoured by the\nalligators! Horrible!! Hindoo mothers do such things!! The same mothers\nthat sit with malshas (earthen pans) with fire burning upon them,\non their heads, shoulders, hands, laps, before the goddess Doorga,\nand solicit the health and life of their children! The same that lie\ndown (hothea) without food and drink before the temple, in case of\nthe severe illness of their children, and who vow to appear before\nthe goddess with an axe tied round their necks, or to shed blood by\nvoluntarily tearing the flesh from their own breasts as an expression\nof gratitude for the recovery of their children!\u201d\n\nThe Hindoo parents love their children as well as do any parents in\nChristendom; or perhaps I should say more, for some reasons of which\nChristians are ignorant. The redemption of the Hindoo parents depends\nin a great measure upon the lives of the children who send their\nspirits to their destination by a peculiar ceremony.[28] They believe\nthe childless person has no heaven to inherit, no celestial pleasures\nto enjoy. The Hindoo religion commands a man to marry several wives, in\norder to raise up seed needed for his spiritual welfare, to say nothing\nof his temporal. In case of failure, he secures the birthright of a\nmale child by adoption.\n\nNow the question comes, Did these honest travellers and the reverend\nmissionaries report a falsehood? In reply, I would say, I have no\nright to answer for them. They know themselves the grounds of their\nassertion, whether it is based upon their personal knowledge of the\ncase, or upon the story of some tale-teller, who often takes advantage\nof our ignorance and deceives us accordingly. To speak for myself, I\nwill confess that, although a Brahmun, a native of India, I never saw\na child thrown alive into the Ganges, nor heard of such stories until\nI came to America. I have shown, by reasons drawn from the Hindoo\nscripture, as well as from custom, that the sacrifice of an infant is\nas monstrous in the sight of a woman in India as in America. I will\nallege further, that the maternal affection is everywhere the same,\nimplanted in the human breast by the Creator. I thought perhaps some\ntraveller might have seen the deed done in certain wild portions of\nIndia, away from the civilized and learned communities. In fact,\nseveral of my friends here said, perhaps I do not know this. I was in\nBengal; it might have taken place among the ignorant people in the\nwild regions. To my great surprise I met the following in a large\npictorial work on India, published in Boston. \u201cHere (from the Saugor\nisland) thousands of mothers have thrown their children into the\nGanges to be devoured by alligators; not because they were destitute\nof maternal affection, but because a mother\u2019s love was overpowered\nby her fears of the wrath of some offended deity.\u201d Those who have\never visited Calcutta, know that the Saugor island is at the mouth of\nthe Ganges, and only a few hundred miles from the city, the seat of\nwealth, learning, and refinement. To present this matter in its true\nlight, I will describe this island and the sanctity attached to it.\nIt is less settled by men than by wild beasts. It has a population of\ntigers, monkeys, and wolves. Very few children of Adam dare to dwell\namong these disagreeable inmates of the isle. There is a light-house,\nhowever, built by the British. The men who take care of the light,\nand a few solitary monks who live there, are considered the destined\nprey of the tigers, who are ready, whenever an opportunity occurs, to\nmake their meal of them, or, to use a Hindoo expression, \u201cif not a\nbreakfast, a dinner, or a supper.\u201d This place being near the confluence\nof the river Ganges with the sea, is regarded as sacred by the Hindoos,\nwho resort there in the month of January to bathe, and spend three days\nin tents pitched on the sandy banks of the river. Its sanctity draws\nimmense crowds only once a year, when hardly any mother carries her\nchild with her, for the place, as well as the river, is very dreadful.\nThe efficacy consists in the bathing in this place, not in throwing\nchildren into the river. Those who go there go for the purpose of\npurifying themselves with the sacred water, and not to commit so cruel\na murder as throwing children into the river.\n\nSo much for the Saugor island. I have sometimes looked at this matter\nin a different way; that a traveller had seen perhaps an insane woman\nthrow her child into the water, which he interpreted as the institution\nof the \u201cheathen.\u201d But it seems to me an unjust inference, to name the\nfruit of insanity as the custom of a people, to stigmatize a whole\npeople for the folly of one, or a few even. I read in a Boston paper,\nthat the average number of suicides in the United States is nine per\nweek. Will it be proper for me to report in India that suicide is the\ncustom of the American people? No, I cannot tell such a story. When I\nam asked about it, I will ascribe it to insanity or drunkenness. Once\nmore, I will say, then, as a Brahmun I never knew nor heard of the\nstory of children thrown by their mothers into the Ganges. If a Hindoo\nmother hears this story she will press her babe close to her heart and\nsay, \u201cSweet treasure, I have drained the ocean for you. My tender kiss\nis more genial to you than the sharp lips of the alligator. My loving\nlap is a better place for you than the unconscious bed of the Ganges!\u201d\n\n\n\n\n A SKETCH\n\n OF\n\n MY LIFE AND EXPERIENCE.\n\n\n\n\n DEDICATION.\n\n THOMAS GAFFIELD, ESQUIRE.\n\n\nThat you may know the personal and religious experiences of one in whom\nyou have taken so much interest, and as a token of gratitude for all\nyou have done for me during my stay in this country, this imperfect\nsketch is respectfully dedicated to you by\n\n Your friend and brother,\n\n JOGUTH CHUNDER GANGOOLY,\n Of Calcutta, India.\n\n\n\n\n PREFACE.\n\n\nTo speak of one\u2019s self is not an easy matter. There are two things to\nbe avoided,--vanity, which would cause one to put on what he never\npossessed, to say what he never was, and thereby to exaggerate the\nwhole matter; second, cowardly humiliation, which would lead him to\nhide what he really has, and not to say what he has a right to say,\nlest the world should call him an egotist. It is better to take the\nmiddle ground, and proceed with prayer and watchfulness, keeping in\nmind \u201cThou God seest me.\u201d\n\nSince my arrival in this country, my friends have expressed a great\ndesire to know my personal history,--how I was educated, what led me to\nchange my former religious views, etc. This brief sketch, which I leave\nto my friends as a \u201cparting gift,\u201d will answer all these inquiries in\na measure. This has been written in great haste. I have not had time\nto revise this sketch. Whenever the reader finds a point not clearly\nexplained, he will please remember the circumstances under which this\nhas been written. Only a few weeks before my departure for home I\ncommenced writing it; and at the same time I had to attend to all other\nduties, and to make preparation for the voyage.\n\n J. C. G.\n\n\n\n\n SKETCH OF MY LIFE.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n MY CHILDHOOD AND EDUCATION.--MY MOTHER.\n\n\nI was born of a Brahmun family, in a place called Balie. It is nearly\nseven miles from Calcutta, the metropolis of British India, and is\nbeautifully situated on the river Ganges, the sacred river of the\nHindoos. Balie, for its numerous population, especially the Brahmun,\nand its learning, is universally regarded as one of the large and\nrenowned places of Bengal. It has several districts, in which the\npeople are settled according to their castes; thus, in our part--the\nSouthern District--the Brahmuns live in one district. The physicians,\nthe astrologers, the barbers, the farmers, the goldsmiths, the\nblacksmiths, the washermen, the dairymen, the fish-men, the shoemakers,\nthe hog-keepers, etc. have distinct quarters of their own. When you\ncome to a Brahmun, he can introduce you to twenty, more or less, of his\nfellow Brahmun neighbors; and such is the case with almost all other\ncastes. The Brahmun population of my birthplace numbers more than two\nthousand. There are several temples in this place; the chief of which\nis one belonging to the god Shib\u0101. There is a large market, perhaps\nthe largest, where people from the neighboring towns and villages\ndaily buy and sell their merchandise. There are two rum distilleries,\nowned by two French gentlemen, a large sugar factory, established\nby an Englishman, I presume; besides several castor-oil, gunny-bag,\nbrick, and rope manufactories. A canal, passing through it, has made\nits north district a separate town, called Ootterparah, or north\nvillage; the other, however, is connected with the main village by two\niron suspension bridges, one built by the East India Railway Company,\nand the other by the Government. The Government bridge is long, and\nhandsomely constructed. As you sail up the Ganges from Calcutta, you\nsee it distinctly on your left, hanging in the air.\n\nThere are three or four English schools, and one of them, standing on\nthe Ootterparah side of the canal, belongs to the Government, to which\nthe high castes send their sons for an English education. To come to\nBalie from Calcutta, the shortest way would be by railroad, which makes\nits _first_ station here. There are also hundreds of small sailing\nDingees, which carry passengers to and from Calcutta several times a\nday.\n\nMy father was a new settler in Balie; his native place is Vimpoor, of\nwhich I have no knowledge. While a young boy he was left an orphan,\nand with the care of a brother younger than himself. The only near\nrelation he had was his aunt, the wife of a celebrated priest in\nBalie, who kindly invited the two orphan brothers to live with her.\nI cannot help speaking, if but a word, in this connection, of his\nuncle, as he seems to have been a very good and righteous man. The\nsimplicity of his character, his devotion to good causes, his love for\nhis fellow-creatures, were purely Christian. Among all his noble acts\nof charity, the most prominent was his taking care of the orphans,\nhouseless, friendless, and helpless ones. He himself did not, as\nwe hear, have a large family of his own,--not numbering more than\neight members; still every day the floor of his dining-room had been\noverspread with twenty plates or more. His guests were not from his\nown caste exclusively; any child of God coming to his door for food or\ndrink, would meet a loving welcome. Indeed, to love God through love\ntoward man, was his darling motto. He manifested his love towards the\nlow castes as much as his office and his religion allowed him. His door\nwas open to all,--his house was the home for those who had \u201cno place\nwhere to lay their heads.\u201d Like other priests, he used to bathe in the\nGanges early in the morning throughout the year, but excelled them in\nhis prayer and worship to the idols, which occupied daily nearly four\nhours on the stretch. By two in the afternoon he would come into the\ninner department of the house, and speak words of love to all around,\ninquiring of one after his health, congratulating another on his\nsuccess, lamenting with a third his sorrows, etc. Entering into the\nkitchen, the first question to his wife would be, \u201cHas every one got\nsomething to eat?\u201d And receiving a satisfactory answer, he would put\nhis hand on her head, with the benediction, \u201cYes! God has answered my\nprayer then!\u201d\n\nAs this good old man had no time to inspect, nor inclination to\ninterfere with, the private proceedings of his guests, there arose a\nuniversal outbreak of looseness and corruption of manners to which my\nuncle fell a victim. But fortunately, my father, conscious of his own\nresponsibility as a moral agent, and desirous of becoming independent,\nescaped the general contagion which was then making dreadful havoc\namong his friends. But he could not save his younger brother, who chose\nhis own course, and ran headlong to destruction. Applying himself\ndiligently to the pursuit of theology, my father soon was able to take\ncare of the temple services, and to help his uncle in the discharge\nof his priestly functions. By and by, serving as an assistant to a\nBrahmun,--the priest over a wealthy family in Calcutta,--he stood on\na firm footing, married a wife, and determined to build a house and\nremove his family into it. There was a piece of land close by his\naunt\u2019s, which he bought with a small sum for the following reason.\nThere were some cocoa-nut, mango, and other wild trees on that lot\nwhich were, as they believed, the homes of demons, so hardly anybody\ndared to go to gather fruits thereon. It happened that my father, being\na young man of courage and good common sense, fearlessly used to go\nthere after the fruits which otherwise would have been left on the\nground untouched by human hands. The owner of the lot, finding that my\nfather enjoyed all the fruits of his trees which he had given up for\nfear of demons, thought it prudent to sell it to him for a reasonable\nsum. My father availed himself of the opportunity, and secured the lot\nwith all its trees, and speedily built a house on it. He often used\nto say, he had driven all the demons from his place with \u201cprayer and\nfasting\u201d unto the god Rama. It would have been difficult for him to\nhave moved to his new house, had it not been that my mother\u2019s courage\nwas strong as his. For this new place had so bad a reputation that her\nfemale neighbors did not dare to call on her in the evening, for fear\nof the demons. She believed in their existence, but feared them not,\nsaying, that if we behave well and do not offend them, no demon would\ntrouble us in the least. I used to hear from her the stories of the\ndemons coming invisibly near the house in the shades of midnight, and\nfilling the place with the fragrance of some exquisite flowers. Such\nfragrant flowers she knew did not grow in the neighborhood. Four or\nfive years after my father had removed to his new house a misfortune\nhappened to the family. He was on a visit to a friend in a neighboring\ntown, and my mother was left in care of a female servant. It was dark\nmidnight when \u201cthe object on the lap could not be recognized;\u201d she was\nsleeping in a room with her infant Joguth,--myself,--and the favorite\ndomestic was in her own bed close by. Some burglars, taking advantage\nof my father\u2019s absence, broke through the house, and robbed it almost\nof its last penny. With a view of taking off the ornaments from the\nankles of the sleeping women, one of the burglars touched the feet\nof my mother and thereby awoke her. She thought perhaps the servant\nhad in her sleep touched her feet with hers, and spoke to her to the\nfollowing effect: \u201cYour limbs are pretty long, I see, On-n\u014d!\u201d \u201cWhat\nmade you think so, madam?\u201d \u201cWhy, from there you could reach my ankle.\u201d\n\u201c_Your_ ankles? did I touch them with my feet? I am sure I shall\ndie pretty soon. That\u2019s the reason why I do not wish to lie down close\nto the Brahmuns, lest I should kick them while sleeping. Sleeping and\ndining are just the same, you know,\u201d etc. She rises from her bed, puts\nher hand reverently to my mother\u2019s feet, salutes her, and stretches\nherself on the bed again. It can only be imagined with what death-like\nsilence the sons of sin heard the conversation, and, waiting a little\nwhile, took off the ornaments from my mother\u2019s body by force, and in a\nfew minutes went on their way with a rich spoil. The cries of the women\nand the child gathered a crowd from the neighborhood. Some Brahmuns\nexamined the house and found it rifled; boxes and chests were empty\nof their contents, as if they were just brought from the carpenter\u2019s.\nIn fact, such was the entire loss of property, that my mother did not\nhave a second suit of clothing left, and the family had to eat their\ndinner the next day on banana-leaves, on account of the plates, cups,\netc., being all taken away. With a manly resignation my father bore his\nmisfortune; and to add more to his discouragement, the next year his\nhouse was broken into and robbed by the same burglars a second time.\nThe chief of these was a man belonging to a respectable family, now\nliving, I presume, who with his son has thrown several families into\npoverty by robbing them in the midnight gloom! My uncle, being invited\nto his house, a few years afterwards, recognized the very tumbler he\nused to drink from at his own house. As the Brahmuns deem it a great\nsin to swear by the Ganges, no matter under what circumstances, my\nfather did not raise any complaint against the man. He would rather go\npoor and suffer loss than regain his property, if possible, by swearing\nbefore a magistrate. His family grew larger, and what he subsequently\nearned was consumed for their support; so he never could gain a\ncomfortable position again, in regard to pecuniary prospects.\n\nNine children were born unto him, of whom five are living. Of the\nliving, the first is my brother, the second and the third are sisters,\nthe fourth is the writer, and the fifth is my youngest sister. Our\nnames, although not in essence, are, in significance, pretty. My oldest\nbrother is named after the god \u201cKrishto and the moon;\u201d the oldest\nsister is \u201cDrop of Honey;\u201d the second is \u201cYoung Beauty;\u201d the meaning of\nmy name is \u201cThe Moon of the World;\u201d and our youngest brother, who died\nat seven, was \u201cThe Summer Moon.\u201d\n\nThere being no system of female education in Bengal, my father applied\nall his energies for my training, and being a religious man himself,\ncared more for the right development of my heart than for my head. I\nremember distinctly sitting in his lap every evening and committing the\nprayers, proverbs, etc., to memory.\n\nHe had a remarkable faculty of cultivating, improving, and enriching\nanother\u2019s memory. Every evening I had to learn either a part or the\nwhole of a prayer or moral precept, in the Sanscrith poetry, and\nto recite to him _all_ the old ones beside. Thus, while other\nBrahmun boys of my own age or older knew nothing about proverbs and\nparables, my memory was amply supplied with the same. With such care he\nhad taught me these things, that what I learned while a boy, perhaps\nnine or ten years old, I can repeat to-day, word by word, most of it\nbeing prayers to nearly twelve deities, such as the Sun, the River\nGanges, Doorga, Shib\u0103, Rama, Krishto, etc., and \u201can hundred and eight\nproverbs,\u201d besides select pieces from old Sanscrith poems, etc.\n\nHe did not aim at crowding my youthful mind with dry, unintelligible\nprecepts, but bathed it with their sweet juice. Indeed, ere I was\nmade Thejo, or Second Born, I could almost draw pleasure from those\nSanscrith proverbs, and recognize their applicability to the internal\nphenomena of the world. My fondness for poetry--which afterwards\ngrew so strong that, though a renouncer of the Hindoo gods, I took\nmuch pains to compose several pieces of drama from the legends--was\nimplanted in these younger days. And, as the result of learning the\nstories and legends of the gods, a deep reverence for them filled my\nheart. My childhood\u2019s devotion to the idols was exemplary. My dear\nmother told me several anecdotes of my early days, about my offering\nor rather reciting prayers to the deities. During the great worship\nof a goddess in our neighborhood, my father was going to see the\ntheatrical shows late in the evening. He awoke me from my sleep, and\ngladly I started with him. It was my habit to thank the gods, each by\nits respective name, before going out of doors. There was an idol of\nShawlgram in our house, and as I passed through a narrow entry, I\nbent my head against the wall of the room in which the image was, and\noffered prayers. One by one my favorite gods all came into my mind;\nof course it took a longer time than usual to ask blessings from them\nall. My father walked almost to the place of worship and turned back\nto speak to me, but I was not there. Fearing some accident might have\nhappened, or that I was taken aloft by Neeshie, he hastened toward\nhome,[29] and found his little boy slowly striking his head against\nthe wall. He felt doubly happy in learning that nothing unpleasant had\nhappened, and that his boy was growing religious. How little did he\nknow then that a Spirit more hurtful than Neeshie had already taken\npossession of the tender heart of his son. It was superstition that\ncaused him to \u201cbow down to wood and stone.\u201d\n\nThrough his precious help and guidance I early learned to read\ndistinctly and understandingly almost all the Bengalee books containing\nthe lives of the gods. The legends of Ram\u00e0, Krishto, the Ganges, etc.,\nwere my favorite studies. To do justice to his noble discretion, I\nshould say that he never put any reading of a light character within my\nreach. I read over and over those religious books, which after a while\ngrew so familiar that I could read the most of them merely by glancing\nat the page. The fact, that nearly half of my time was occupied in\nreading became known to the people, who would come to my house or\ninvite me to theirs for the purpose. On holidays, I had to edify them\nby reading or reciting the sacred things.\n\nSome elderly woman would conduct me to the inner department of a Hindoo\nhouse to read to the young women who are inaccessible to young men,\nand not being themselves taught to read or write are strangers to\nintellectual pleasures. My age and ability were remarkably adapted to\nthe case, because though a little boy I could accomplish a great deal.\nI distinctly remember the congregation of women; one fanning me, a\nsecond holding a plate full of confectioneries, a third, an old woman,\ncongratulating my mother for her having had such a child, etc. My\nfather would occasionally let me accompany him in his official visits,\nthat the religious zeal of his people might be quickened in hearing the\nvoice of truth \u201crevealed unto the babe.\u201d\n\nI was sent to a Patshala, or house of instruction, at the age of five;\nbut I acquired more at home than anywhere else. Mental arithmetic,\nletter-writing, composition, etc. I learned from my father. Such was\nhis untiring zeal to load my mind with all possible useful information,\nthat my first acquaintance with a few English words was made through\nhim. His priestly mouth, after imparting instruction in the Sanscrith,\nwould teach me a few words in English, such as the pronouns of\ndifferent persons and numbers; the word for God, man, hand, dog, etc.,\nwhich he had picked up in some way, from those who studied English. But\nI am sorry to see now that the good man taught me two or three phrases\nin English with which the vulgar people swear. He of course did not\nknow the evil; he thought what the Englishmen use must be delicate,\nproper, and useful.\n\nAlthough not educated herself, my mother could teach me a great many\nthings in the absence of my father. She knew the multiplication table\nup to how much eighteen times nineteen would be; also parables and\nproverbs, all by heart. She would comment upon and furnish hints on\nreading, explain difficult passages, and use the best materials in her\nconversation. She too, like my father, valued more our spiritual than\nintellectual accomplishments. Respect to age, love and devotion to the\nidols, honor to parents, faithfulness to conviction, strict observance\nof the customs of the country, were the themes she dwelt upon. These\nshe would require obstinately, not willing to take off the veil and\nexamine the substance within. How much I had to struggle against from\nher displeasure when the free tone of my thought and desires after\nreformation came into collision with her conservatism and adherence\nto superstitious institutions, I cannot tell. My position, in after\nyears, proved diametrically opposite to her wishes in a great many\nrespects, and she persistently labors, even up to to-day, to reconcile\nthem, not making in the least any surrender on her part though. She\nexhorted me all the time to observe \u201cevery jot and tittle\u201d pertaining\nto Hindooism, and would apply reason, persuasion, entreaty, and finally\nthreats for the purpose. My oldest brother had not the chance of being\nunder her care, nor of hearing her advice,--being absent from her most\nof the time,--and he has grown a self-willed, immoral young man. She\nlaments very much over him, and says, \u201cshe would take twofold care\nover Joguth,\u201d lest he too should slip away from the path of right, and\ndisappoint her accordingly. Always she used to say, \u201cHe who comes last\nruns towards the direction in which the first has gone.\u201d That she might\nnot have occasion to suffer again on my account she built some walls\naround me.\n\nI know no mother in our neighborhood who watched the steps of her sons\nso vigilantly as mine did. In fact the women of the adjacent houses\noften said that \u201cthey never dreamed of or prescribed such regulations\nfor their children, and that they did not watch their _babies_ so\nclosely as my mother did her adults.\u201d When anything unpleasant, wicked,\nor vicious happened in the place, she would take the opportunity to\nwarn me, saying, \u201cI hope, Joguth, you would die before you would become\nguilty of such things. I should feel anxious to leave you alone in this\nworld, in case I should die first, much as it will be a happiness to\nme. Remember the saying, \u2018Let go your life, but retain your honor.\u2019\u201d\nHer favorite mottoes were the following, which she would always hold\nbefore me. When we complained of any one, she would say, \u201cIf I am good,\nthe world is good unto me.\u201d In time of temptation, \u201cConquer within\nfirst, and you will conquer without.\u201d When any one is discontented,\nand cannot live in peace with his brethren, her motto is, \u201cPeace\naccommodates nine persons in one room, but discord puts them in nine\nseparate ones.\u201d Speaking of quarrelsome persons, her saying was, \u201cShe\nwho is naturally quarrelsome would quarrel with her work-basket.\u201d Of\nthose who bring discord, \u201cWicked man and mouse break; good man and\nneedle connect.\u201d Beside these she had other sayings: \u201cWhere there is\nright, there is victory.\u201d \u201cWalk in the way of righteousness, and you\nwill receive your meal even in the midnight.\u201d \u201cIf you want to be the\ngreatest, be the lowest.\u201d\n\nI have observed before that she would watch me on every side. She did\nnot feel satisfied with merely prescribing regulations for me, but with\nstrictness would see them carried out. Sometimes she would put some\nfalse charge upon me, in order to teach me a lesson. \u201cJoguth, were\nyou quarreling with the boy?\u201d so saying, she would paint the evil of\nfighting in dark colors. I was not allowed to dress gay like other\nyoung men of my age, nor even to part my hair: \u201cComb your hair simply;\nlook _clean_ but not _foppish_.\u201d She would comment upon my\nmode of walking, smiling, and talking, and give some sharp rebukes if\nthere was any fault in them.\n\nOne evening I came very near the kitchen where the women were, walking\nso slow that none could hear sounds of my steps. To my utter confusion\nshe said, \u201cI am afraid of you, Joguth; what kind of walking was that?\nYou came in, giving no warning with your steps, so slow they were! O\nJoguth, gentlemen do not do so; _thieves_ do. Were you practising\nhow the thieves walk?\u201d When at home I was not allowed to talk to my\naunt, or brother\u2019s wife even. My mother had great fear of young women,\nsaying that man could not corrupt them unless they yield; so more than\na dozen times she begged them not to speak to her Joguth.\n\nShe does not find any pleasure in gossip and slander, and avoids the\nplace where such are indulged. Her counsel is, \u201cSpeak good of others,\nand bring their evil before you simply for the purpose of deriving\nadmonition from them. We are all liable to make blunders. \u2018The saints\nmay err,\u2019 is the Sanscrith saying. Our talking of the imperfections\nand immoralities of others is just as ridiculous as the censure of the\nsieve, which cried out, \u2018Brother needle, why, there is a hole in your\nbody.\u2019\u201d\n\nIn her daily occupation and habits she is worthy of our imitation. She\nis the last to go to bed and the first to leave it. You awake in the\nmidnight and you will find her at work or whispering hymns; rise early,\nand you will see she has gone to the Ganges to bathe. Inaction is an\nabomination to her: she would urge all to do something innocently\nprofitable. She hates debt, and fears it as death itself. At the first\ncall she would pay her debts, even if her children should suffer for\nit. She believes that he who dies a debtor will have to settle his dues\nafter death; and to confirm this doctrine she points out the trees that\ngrow one upon the other, such as a banian tree upon the trunk of a\npalm; explaining, thus, that the latter did not pay his debts, so after\ndeath he has become a tree, and his creditor grows on his head in the\nform of a banian. Such is an imperfect sketch of my dear mother, under\nwhose care and supervision my early days were directed. Any good thing\nI have in me was the gift of this noble woman; she laid it in my heart\nin its rude state, and a Teacher wiser and more unerring than she has\npolished it afterwards. May God judge and reward her according to the\nlight she has. To whom much is given of them much shall be required.\nGod grant that before she breathes her last breath, she may know that\nin deserting the idol gods her son has not committed an unpardonable\nsin!\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n MY \u201cSECOND BIRTH.\u201d--CONSECRATION FOR THE PRIESTHOOD.--RELIGIOUS\n TRAINING.--DEATH OF MY FATHER.--ENGLISH SCHOOLS.--ZEAL FOR\n IDOLATRY.\n\n\nThe Brahmun boys are not permitted to touch idols or to perform any\nreligious services until they are become \u201cSecond born.\u201d Accordingly at\nthe age of thirteen, I believe, I was consecrated to Brahmun life.\n\nOn a bright summer day the friends from far and near assembled together\nat our house, having been previously invited to attend the ceremony. In\nthe course of the services the officiating priest cut three locks of my\nhair in the name of the three principal Hindoo deities, Brahma, Vishnu,\nand Shiba; then the barber shaved my head and put two small ear-rings\nin my ears according to the religious law. After invoking the presence,\napprobation, and blessing of hundreds of gods, the priest put a thread\nround my neck. It is a sacred badge of the Brahmuns, made of cotton,\nand not worn by the low castes. A yellow robe was thrown over me, and\na veil round my face, and I was conducted into my room. The period of\nstaying in this room without seeing any low-caste man is either of\nthree, five, or seven days, during which the Second born learns his\nShundhas--the especial forms of prayer. These are long, philosophically\nconstructed, and regarded _very_ sacred. The low castes dare not\nhear of nor utter a word of them. My term in this secluded room was\nvery short,--only three days,--because my good, thoughtful father had\ntaught me those things beforehand, charging me not to tell them to any\nlow castes. I found them very useful now as I was to repeat them three\ntimes a day.\n\nNow begins a new scene in life in regard to religious affairs. We\nhad an image of Krishto at our house, and I had to worship it twice\nevery day, besides the idols of other families occasionally. Early in\nthe morning I would go after flowers for the worship. The rules for\ngathering flowers are numerous, yet beautiful when understood. First,\nwash your hands; do not put your dirty fingers upon the delicate, clean\nperson of the flowers; be very careful not to break a branch or to\npluck a bud; do not smell of any flower before you have offered it to\nthe gods; keep the basket with its treasures in your hand, and place\nit not on the ground. Leaving the flowers at home, I would go to the\nschool for instruction, where again my discipline was novel. I must not\nput anything into my mouth, nor sit on the same seat with boys of other\ncastes, etc. In the street the young as well as the grown-up low castes\nwould salute me, and I had to raise my little hands to bless them,\nsaying, \u201cBe victorious!\u201d or \u201cLive forever!\u201d\n\nSome would bring a little water in the palm of their hands, desiring\nme to touch it by the end of my first toe of the right foot, that they\nmight drink it. The form of words used by all the Brahmuns for this\npurpose means something like this: \u201cThe sanctity of the right foot of\nthe Second Born is equal to the sanctity of the world and sea combined\ntogether.\u201d Heretofore I had no especial rules to observe in time of\neating, but now I must bathe first, then offer my prayer, worship the\nidols, and afterward take luncheon. Again, keep silent while eating;\nI must not leave my seat on _any_ account, unless I choose to\nforfeit my meal; I must spare something on the plate for the creeping\nthings, etc.\n\nI would speak of my daily idol worship. After washing myself, either\nin the river Ganges or in some tank (in the latter case the Hindoos\nsprinkle a few drops of the sacred water on the head), I would go into\nthe room where the image was kept on a small wooden throne, elegantly\nfurnished with cushions, pillows, curtains, etc. On the floor there was\na carpet-seat for me, some copper and brazen vessels, a hand-bell, a\nlarge plate, with a good display of flowers, perfumatory powder, and\nsome edibles. Bringing down the idol from its throne, I would put it\ninto a vessel and pour water on its head by the right hand and ring the\nbell by the other, uttering some words at the same time. Wiping it with\nsmall towels, I would put it on a seat and scatter flowers, powder,\netc., on its head with much ceremony, offering prayer and praise to\nit, ask its glance at the edibles, etc., and finally prostrate myself\non the ground in humiliation, and partake of the \u201cfood offered to the\nidol.\u201d By and by, when the dinner had been cooked and set in order, I\nwould carry the idol into the dining-room and offer the food to it the\nsecond time.\n\nWhile I was thus worshipping the idol, and forming plans for a higher\ngrade of devotion, my father was removed from this to the world above.\nI was then fourteen years old, I think. He suffered a fortnight from a\nfever, which finally brought an end to his existence. He retained his\nconsciousness, yea, even his literary priestly sensibilities, unto the\nvery last. It is customary in our country to read, from Hindoo sacred\nbooks, to the sick. A priest was called upon to do this service to my\nfather. When he had finished his reading, my father remarked: \u201cFriend,\nto sell needles to a blacksmith is not an easy matter; what you read\nto me has been _particularly_ meant for a case different from\nmine.\u201d I was not at home when he died, having gone to Calcutta to a\nBrahmun woman who had taken much interest in my father. While I was\nreturning home in the afternoon a neighbor inquired of me \u201cif I knew\nhow my father was,\u201d and receiving a negative answer said, \u201cGo home and\nyou will see.\u201d Drawing myself nearer home the cries from my friends\ntold me my dear father was dead. His body was then on the funeral pile\non the bank of the Ganges, but I could not see it. They would not let\nme go there. He did not leave any fortune for us. While breathing his\nlast, he said to my mother that the richest thing he left for her was\nIsh-ur, or God; and, next to him, the \u201cthree diamonds,\u201d his three sons.\n\u201cThese three,\u201d he said, \u201cduly and rightly used, will meet all your\nwants.\u201d My uncle, the younger brother of my father, stretched forth his\nkind hands over us. Not being a religious man himself, and inclined to\nfollow the fashion of the community, he desired me to study English\npart of the time, and requested a fine Hindoo young man, a student\nof the \u201cHindoo College,\u201d to give me instruction. Accordingly I began\nto study what is called \u201cthe language of the Jobuns,\u201d and the first\nEnglish book I had was Murray\u2019s Spelling-Book. Some four or five boys\ncame in, and we formed a class. Our teacher had only half an hour to\ngive to us, and after he had gone to his own school we used to talk\nfoolishly, play tricks, tear each others\u2019 books, and thereby used to\nenjoy _good_ but frequently _bad_ times. Finding me little\npromising, our teacher advised my uncle to send me to a good English\nschool, which he accordingly did. It was a government school, at the\ndistance of a mile and a half from our house. I was admitted into the\nthird class, and our studies were The First Reader, Elements of the\nEnglish Grammar, and Geography. There being no especial teacher over\nour class, the second teacher had the charge of the two, consequently\nhe held to the one, and took little care of the other. Not being able\nto hear each boy read and recite, he would ask every second or fourth\nboy to read a paragraph. We could know at once if anything would fall\nto our lot, and could prepare that particularly. In the course of four\nmonths a Bengalee gentleman, fresh from college, became appointed as\nthe third teacher, and we followed him to his forms. He was a very\nirritable man, and would use his whip quite smartly and frequently too.\nAmong ten or twelve unfortunate boys who were the favored recipients\nof his whip and blows I was one. Receiving some stripes for a couple\nof days, I determined to get rid of them, because I had never met with\nthese disagreeable things before. The trouble was, I did not know how\nto prepare my lesson; I wanted some help, but could not get it. He,\nseeing me tolerably good in other studies, found out that I was not\n\u201ctotally depraved.\u201d So one day he asked me when I studied my lesson\nat home. I told him I did not understand what study at home was; for\nI open my books at school and nowhere else, as my friends do not know\nEnglish to guide me. He kindly suggested to me what to do. I followed\nthe advice, and in a week became one of the leading boys in the class.\nOne thing is worth observing, as far as modesty will permit, that\nwhoever was acquainted with me, admired my faculty of retaining things\nin the memory. Those who know me can testify well to this point, but\nfor my part I can simply say this, that if I had anything in me which\ndrew the attention of a large circle, it was my memory. To-day I can\nrepeat word by word the chief part of the books which I had read ten\nyears ago. Whatever prizes I acquired in the schools were rather due to\nmy memory than anything else. When I had made some progress in English\nstudies, and my uncle refused to supply me with all the books I needed,\nto the surprise of the school, I retained my honorable position in\nthe class, although I did not have more than four or five books out of\neight or nine,--the studies for the time. At this time my uncle, who\nwas a widower, married a young girl whose mother came to live with her.\nShe is a remarkable woman. Not having a good time with her husband,\nas he had several wives at the same time, she fled from home with her\ndaughter of seven or eight years old, and some money, came to our place\nand married her infant child to my uncle without the knowledge of her\nnearest relatives, who made violent struggles for her afterward; but\nit was too late. After staying a year or more at our house, the woman\nmanaged to poison my uncle\u2019s mind and destroy the peace of the family\nforever. Quarrels, misunderstandings, rash and unkind remarks, often\nmarred the domestic happiness. In order to vex my mother, she would,\nbefore her presence, speak slander of others; ridicule the words of\nthe Brahmuns, teach villainous stories to the children, sing audibly\nnonsensical, comic pieces, and make rude remarks, etc. My mother used\nto send me away with my books to some neighbor\u2019s house, and would keep\nherself in her own room. By day and night my mother\u2019s prayer became at\nthis period, \u201cGods, remove me and my children to a wilderness, among\nthe wild beasts and the fowls who do not know slander, neither do what\nthey ought not.\u201d For fear of the odium which would naturally fall\nupon him, my uncle could not withdraw his help at once, but gradually\neffected the object under various pretences. We could hear distinctly\nin the evening the mother-in-law of my uncle entreat him to stop the\nexpense of my studies. In justice to him I should say, that a great\nmany times he rebuked her, saying, \u201cHis father has committed Joguth to\nmy care; it wouldn\u2019t look well to neglect him. If he grows a man, he\nwill doubtless be a help to me.\u201d But though \u201che feared not God, nor\ncared for man,\u201d her importunity wrought a revolution in his feelings.\nThe regulation of the school required the pupils to bring their\nschool-fee on the first day of the month in advance, and in default\nthereof they would be sent home. My uncle would not give the money in\nseason; he would make excuses, and I had to stay at home. Thus in the\nearly part of every month I was compelled to be absent, and of course\nlose my high place in the class. My teacher once opened the register\nto show Mr. R. Hand, the head teacher, how my rank miserably suffered\nfor my absence during the time of delayed payment for the schooling.\nFinally my uncle said he was in debt, and it cost him a great deal to\nsupport us, so he could not pay the expenses of my studies any longer.\nIt was a dreadful calamity to me, which will be ever remembered.\n\nThe very boys who were juniors to me, and whom I used to help in\nvarious ways, made astonishing progress in a few years, while I\nremained almost where I was. The idea of taking instruction privately\nfrom one who knew more than I did, did not satisfy me, for I had tasted\nthe pleasures of the school, deriving much from maps, globes, library,\nand competition too.\n\nThere were free schools in Calcutta, founded by the missionaries, but\nthe expenses of attending them from Balie would be treble what it cost\nme in the Ooterparah, Government School. For a year I remained at home,\nmaking little progress in the English studies, and performing the\npriestly functions as well as I could. Afterwards I was admitted to\nseveral schools, but in none could I prosecute my course for more than\nfive or six months. Although busy in my scholastic duties, I did not\ngive up the habit of observing the fasts, worship, etc., of my country.\nYea, these troubles and misfortunes fixed my eyes steadfastly upon\nthe idols, and happily brought me to the arms of the \u201cKing eternal,\nimmortal, the only-wise God,\u201d--the loving Father of the universe!\n\nWith a double zeal and devotion I pursued the course laid out by my\nfather; the love for the gods grew stronger, and their lives, as\ndisplayed in our sacred books, seemed sweeter. Desiring to live and\nmove within a broad sphere of piety,--to observe the rituals and fasts\nwith the enthusiasm of grown-up persons, I made a new routine for the\nexercises. The daily \u201cmorning bath\u201d in the sacred river Ganges is\nheld by the Hindoos as a great religious act, productive of spiritual\nexcellence. I took a vow to do this regularly. At this period a\npeculiar feeling, which is almost foreign to most of the Hindoos,\nseemed to dawn its splendor upon me; it was an earnest desire to see\nmy gods respected, feared, and worshipped by all, and to bring all men\nunder their allegiance. This very desire, when reawakened by Christ,\nand I forsook the idols, gave a sincere response to that soul-stirring\nsentiment--\n\n \u201cBe thou, O God, exalted high;\n And as thy glory fills the sky,\n So let it be on earth displayed,\n Till thou art here, as there obeyed.\u201d\n\nI summoned all my energies to serve the gods and goddesses according\nto the rules laid down in the Hindoo Scriptures. In the morning I\nwould go after the choice flowers, that I might satisfy the idols with\njust what they are fond of; for some Hindoo gods are fond of a certain\nkind of flower or leaf which the others do not care for. It pained me\nexceedingly to see the young men, my neighbors, go without prayer,\nworship, or fast. I persuaded them to follow my standard,--assured\nthem if they would only come to the gods, their imperfections, wants,\nsorrows, would be removed by the celestial grace. My exhortation\nfound immediate response from them. Among them two were shamefully\nlazy,--could not prepare their lessons at all,--were the worst boys\nof every school they went to. These finding me in a better and more\nhonorable position, begged me to show to them the source whence flows\n\u201call good and perfect gifts.\u201d As I had myself strong faith in the\nbenevolent disposition of the gods I urged my friends to come to them\nfor help. Accordingly a party of young devotees was formed under my\nguidance, of whom all were Brahmuns. Being large in number, and having\namong us daring elements, we could gather the best flowers from distant\nparts of our village for the worship. While other Brahmuns had hardly\nleft their beds we were on the tops of large trees, and there filled\nour baskets with varieties of flowers. We would then move towards the\nGanges, where, performing our ablutions according to the prescribed\nrules, we visited the principal temple to worship the image of Shiba.\nAs my friends did not know how to worship it, and what form of prayer\nto use in the different parts of the service, I had to do the business\nof the priest, uttering audibly the sacred words learned of my father,\nand making them recite after me. Before leaving the temple I would\ndecorate the altar and the image with the flowers, using all my skill\nand earnestness. So regular were our visits to the temple, so many\nflowers were carried there, that other Brahmuns coming in earlier would\nsay, \u201cJoguth has not been here yet, we see.\u201d The Hindoos fast a great\nmany days during the year, so I wished to do; but my mother interposed,\nas it would have destroyed my health to abstain from food and drink\nentirely for twenty-four hours. I used to observe one fast only,--in\nthe month of February, I believe. It is called Shiba Rattree, or the\nNight of Shiba. The first part of the day was less trying, but in the\nafternoon and night the face would turn pale, the eyes sink, the body\nbecome weak, etc. Still, hoping to receive a blessed seat in the heaven\nof Shiba, I would bear all these, and go through abstinence with a\ncheerful heart. Once, while quite a number of us fasted, the forenoon\npassed along nicely with fun, plays, and walks. A friend older than I\nleft us, and after an hour returned again. I noticed his face looked\neasy, entirely different from that of an hour ago, and suspected he\nhad, perhaps, taken some food, and asked him about it. Before he\nhad time to say yea or nay, I saw something yellow on his lip which\nproved to be the remainder of a fruit he had eaten. At this one felt\nindignant, a second laughed out, a third said he would not fast longer.\nI was left with one more to satisfy Shiba, by passing the whole day\nand night without food or drink. My belief in the gods was so strong,\nmy faith in their protecting power was so unwavering, that I thought\nI could hold close communion with them, see their smiles beaming\nforth out of the eyes and mouth of the images. To Shiba I prayed for\nlearning; to Luckhy for wealth; to Doorga for relief from dangers; to\nKrishto for heaven,--and I was pretty sure of getting them. Little did\nI dream then that these deities are mere idols, whom I worshipped,\nloved, and feared, and for whose grace I fasted so hopefully. During\nthe time of evening worship, when hundreds of lights were burned, the\nband played, the incense filled the place with sweet perfume, and joy\nshed its charms over all, I would stand reverently before the image,\nlook earnestly at its face, repeat silent prayers, and thereby feel\nmyself happy. At the close, I would kneel down, or sometimes prostrate\nmyself on the ground with humiliation.\n\nThe Brahmuns desired my mother to commit me to their charge, which\nshe did not, for various reasons. One of them, who had a large parish,\nwould send a substitute round quite often to the houses of his people\nto worship the idols for them. I had to go, too, to a town across the\nriver Ganges to attend to the images. So strong was my affection for\nthe idols, so earnest was I to see all people worship unceasingly,\nthat while playing cards with my friends one day, I proposed an\nextra worship of the goddess. The little band approved it; the cost\nwas counted and found too large for our private pocket to afford. I\nencouraged them with a promise to construct the image with my own hand.\nThey considered the possibility of the enterprise, and we at once set\nout to work. Accordingly, bamboo was brought, a piece of board, nails,\nstraw, string, etc., were secured. Fearing our parents would interfere\nwith this, we carried the materials to the top of a house, which in our\ncountry is flat. One day a respectable Brahmun, looking at the parapet,\nsaw the hands of the image and came upstairs to see what we had done.\nThe neighbors flocked in to see, admire, and help at our work, and\na universal enthusiasm prevailed. A great many doubted my ability\nto finish the idol, but I think I did it nicely. My oldest brother\npainted it, and we received the praise of the people. To commemorate\nthis event we worshipped the idol annually, defraying the expenses by\nsubscription. It makes me smile to think that, when my friends invited\nme to take the lead, as usual, in things in subsequent years, I pointed\nout to them the error of idol worship. Of course they did not feel like\nmyself, so they came to a conclusion that I had grown crazy, and would\ncertainly become Christian very soon!\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n FIRST VIEWS OF CHRISTIANITY.--PREJUDICES.--SERMON ON THE\n MOUNT.--NEW TESTAMENT.--EFFORTS AND STRUGGLES.--COMPARISON\n OF HINDOO AND CHRISTIAN DOCTRINES.--CONVERSION.--FIRST\n ZEAL.--PERPLEXED BY THE TRINITY.--VISIT TO A\n MISSIONARY.--TRINITARIANISM.--MY DIFFICULTIES.--DEISTICAL\n COMPANIONS.--ARRIVAL OF MR. DALL.\n\n\nNow begins an important stage in my life. The dawn of a bright future\nbreaks upon me with a serenity never before dreamed of. My Heavenly\nFather, not willing that his child should go away from him and remain\nignorant of his gracious majesty, turned my course slowly toward his\ninfinite goodness. He could no longer suffer his child to prostrate\nhimself before \u201cwood and stone,\u201d and He sent His \u201cBeloved Son\u201d to\nteach him and bring him to his \u201cFather\u2019s Home.\u201d While much occupied in\nobserving the religious ordinances of my people, while summoning all my\nenergies for the cause of the idols, and offering all the treasures of\nmy heart and head at their feet, I heard of the celebrated Christian\nMissionary, Rev. Dr. Duff of Calcutta, and his colleagues, making\nconverts of the Hindoo boys. My animosity towards Christianity rose\nwith all its fury, and I wished to see it die out, that it might not\nrob the peace and prosperity of the Hindoo families, by stealing away\nthe young boys and leading them headlong into vice, immorality, and\nmisery. For the Hindoo\u2019s impression of Christianity is this: That in\norder to become a Christian it is essentially necessary that a young\nman should treat his parents unkindly, eat animal food, such as beef,\npork, ham, etc., which the Hindoos detest very much, drink wine, not\nwash his mouth after the meal, as the animals do, and forsake all\nthings which bear the name of Hindoo, no matter how beautiful they\nare. Now, if these are the essential features of Christianity, why\nshould I have wondered that the Hindoos fear it? But thanks be to God\nthat _these are not_ parts of the religion of Christ; these have\nlittle or nothing to do with it. Again, the Hindoo hatred towards\nChristianity arises from another important cause; viz., that the lives\nof most of its nominal advocates contradict its spirit. No nation is\nso furious, proud, bloodthirsty as a Christian one. No country, I\npresume, is flooded so often with human blood, as that which is studded\nwith \u201cmeeting-houses,\u201d which publish the Gospel of Peace by myriads,\nannually, of different editions, versions, and illustrations. The\ngentlemen, the senators of Christian countries, impelled by animal\npassions, fight duels, and thereby abuse the precious gift of God, the\nlife. These are the men who declare themselves disciples of Christ, who\nown pews in the church, whose wives and daughters are Sunday-school\nteachers. \u201cBut whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to\nhim the other also,\u201d is a precept of their Teacher. My dear mother\nwould point me out the ambitious deeds of the English people, saying,\n\u201cThere, Joguth, do not you speak of the religion of Shahebs to me;\nput it on the shelf yonder; they have no religion at all! What! what\ndid you say, \u2018And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away\nthy coat, let him have thy cloak also!\u2019 Very beautiful words, indeed!\nO Joguth, what do the Shahebs do? Do they care a fig for them? No!\nTheir religion is \u2018to rob those who have nothing to do with them.\u2019 Poor\nRunjit Serigh, the Queen of Nagpoor! I pity them; they fell victims to\nthe ambition of your Christian Shahebs. How I should like to see their\nQueen, and tell her, \u2018Shame to your subjects! They fight, they quarrel,\nthey rob our country. You do not know what they do out of your sight.\nWhen they go abroad they forget the instruction of home,\u2019\u201d etc.\n\nHaving had a fear, and hatred, too, towards Christianity, I determined\nto investigate its true peculiarities,--which I felt quite sure must be\nchildish and fallacious,--that I might be qualified to argue with the\nChristians and triumphantly expose their errors. Some Christian books\nwere necessary, but how should I get them? I was too timid to go to\nthe missionaries; first, I could not speak English; and, secondly, I\nfeared them to be the \u201cboy thieves,\u201d as the Hindoos designate them. On\na holiday I saw low castes carrying home a quantity of \u201c_Tracts_\u201d\ngiven to them by the servants of Christ. I managed to secure a copy\nwhich contained that portion of Christ\u2019s teaching known by the name\nof the \u201cSermon on the Mount.\u201d Need I tell to a Christian reader the\nsublime beauty of these words of _Life_? I should say, however,\nthat I was quite disappointed in not finding fallacious, weak, foolish\ndoctrines in it as I anticipated. Its pages opened heaven before me,\nand I could see distinctly its joys, its angels, and its blessedness.\nI could see also the _earth_, not like one around us, in which\nthe life and its attendant functions have been manufactured by our own\nhands, but one fresh from the hand of the Most High,--a pure, simple,\nloving world! Over and over I read the tract, and wished to get some\nmore. A few tracts which I subsequently received contained a great deal\nof the teaching of men, and less of His who had studied his theology\nin the bosom of the Father, and who said, \u201cMy words are not my own;\nwhat I have heard of my Father, that speak I to you.\u201d\n\nReading the first tract, containing the \u201cSermon on the Mount,\u201d\ncarefully, I became so familiar with Christ\u2019s voice, that I could\nrecognize him from out the crowd. \u201cSheep know the voice of their\nshepherd,\u201d he says. I was told that a book called \u201cHoly Bible\u201d contains\nthe life of Jesus in full, and I longed to have a copy of it. As\nthere was no Bible in the house, I had some difficulty in procuring\na copy for some time. Providentially a Brahmun boy had brought some\npamphlets and a book to me, and begged me to make some kites for him\nwith their leaves. To my unspeakable joy the book proved to be the\nlong-sought one,--the life of Christ, by four evangelists,--the New\nTestament! I made some kites with my own writing-paper, and the lad\ngave me his blue book in turn. Now begins a period of investigation,\nstudy, contemplation, of the teaching of Christ. Among others, his kind\nwords, inviting the poor, the suffering, the despised, to come unto\nhim,--\u201cCome unto me all ye that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will\ngive you rest,\u201d--struck me very much. I was the worshipper of several\nmale and female deities, and some of them were my beloved ones; but\nnone called me in such a loving, affectionate way. His saying, \u201cTake\nmy yoke upon you, and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart,\nand ye shall find rest unto your souls; for my yoke is easy, and my\nburden is light,\u201d furnished me with ample materials for meditation. Who\nis this, I asked, that promises us \u201c_rest_,\u201d without demanding\nany compensation, as the Hindoo gods do? Carefully I followed Christ\nin all his walks, listened to him while he was on the mountain, saw\nhim cure sickness and cast out devils, heard him bid the rough sea \u201cbe\nstill,\u201d watched him at his table in the upper chamber, witnessed his\narrest, trial, and crucifixion, and his victory over death. With a\nview of comparing Christianity with the modern Hindooism I took some\nleading points of each. First, the Creator of the universe, who is he?\nwhat relation is there between him and his creatures? where can he be\nfound, and how worshipped? etc. The belief of the Hindoos in regard to\nthese subjects differs in accordance with their caste, culture, and\nopportunities. The learned Brahmuns derive their belief from the Sacred\nVedas; others from tradition; and the low castes have no knowledge of\nthem, perhaps, or the little they have is ridiculous. Christ tells us\nour Creator is a Great Being,--God,--and that he is One. I received the\ndoctrine, as it confirmed beautifully my impression of a Creator. I had\nthis consciousness from my early years, but did not know who that Being\nwas, for Bromho is said to be the Maker of all, but he too rises from\nthe Bishto. Leaving aside the speculative theory of my country, I found\nrelief in the simple yet truthful words of Christ.\n\nThe Hindoos bear different relations to their gods. This seemed to me\nabsurd. For instance, Shiba is called \u201c_Father_,\u201d his wife Doorga,\nmother, his two daughters are our mother too, who, according to the\ncommon rules, ought to be our sisters. Krishto is addressed by the\nterm _Father_ also. Now the great Teacher says we have only one\nFather in heaven, even God. When I learned of Christ that my Creator is\n_one_ great Being, and though his majesty is infinite, his wisdom\nunfathomable, his power unbounded, his position high, he is our Father\nstill, my joy knew no bounds. I became aware that my recognition of a\ncreator in the Bromho, Bishto, etc., was just as bewildering as to seek\nan object in the gloomy chambers of Mammoth Cave. But Christ stood by\nmy side as a blazing light, and pointed out the shortest, easiest way\nto my God, saying, \u201cI am the light\u201d and \u201cI am the way.\u201d I used to think\nwe could come to God through different routes, but now felt convinced\nof the great advantage of entering in by the strait gate, treading the\nsteps of Christ, and following the guidance of the celestial Guide.\nWhen I want to visit the city of New York, the prudent course will be\nto take the express train at the Worcester Depot, and not step into the\nBoston, Concord, and Montreal cars which will surely take me far, far\naway from my destination; it will cost more money and longer time into\nthe bargain![30]\n\nWhere our Creator is to be found and how worshipped became the\nsubject of my inquiry. Hindoo gods have their respective heavens,\nsome particular places for their abodes, which they do not wish to be\naway from. Thus Krishto reigns in his Goluck, Shiba in Koylas, etc.\nThe latter is said to have wept on leaving Kashie for a season at the\nsolicitation of Debodass, a worshipper.\n\nBut turning to Christ, I heard him say, our Father is\neverywhere,--fills immensity with his presence; that there is no place\nso high, so happy as to monopolize his presence, to confine him within\nits enclosure; there is no place, on the other hand, so low that does\nnot contain him. The Mighty Omnipresent sits on high, the great King\nof all, controlling the affairs of the universe with his powerful, yet\nloving sway,--receiving homage from the Seraphim and Cherubim, and the\n\u201cjust made perfect;\u201d yet, at the same time, noticing the fall of the\nsparrows.\n\nIn regard to worship, I was taught to worship the images of the gods,\nto offer food and clothing to them, and occasionally to visit the\nsacred cities, such as Orissa,[31] or Benares, etc. But Christ taught\nme otherwise. He says, \u201cneither this mountain, nor Jerusalem,\u201d is to\nbe the favored place for worshipping God; \u201cWorship him in the Spirit,\nfor he is a Spirit.\u201d This seemed to me a beautiful idea, for it enables\nhigh as well as low to worship the Creator,--to hold communion with\nhim,--to lay before him all their joys, sorrows, and disappointments,\ninstead of going after him in Jerusalem or Benares. Again, what a great\nconsolation it is to know that a pure and contrite heart, with all\nits poverty and meekness, is more acceptable to God than the richest\noffering, than temples of gold! How many thousands of the Hindoos\nlive and die in despair of that degree of spiritual perfection, that\npeculiar blessing of the gods, which a few hundred dollars would have\nsecured for them! The poor man, notwithstanding all his righteousness,\nthe purity of his heart, and his love for holy things, is not entitled\nto share the joys of heaven with the rich wicked man, who has spent\nenormous sums of money in visiting temples, in pilgrimages, or in\nworshipping costly images. This is the absurd belief I had in regard\nto the worship of the gods, and I thanked God heartily when I got rid\nof it. Secondly, I wished to know about _man_: my relation and\nduties towards other men, etc. The theory that man is our brother,\nbeing the child of a common Father, has been falsified by the system\nof the _castes_, and by the power and sanctity of the priesthood.\nA low-caste man is no more a brother to a Brahmun than are the inferior\nanimals. If a shoemaker accidentally should touch the plate of a\nBrahmun, he would not use its contents; it is as if a dog should touch\nit. I know that in this world we must have, of necessity, differences\nin position, culture, accomplishments, etc., that one demands respect\nof another; but do we stand high or low agreeably to our caste, wealth,\nintelligence, before Him who is \u201cno respecter of persons\u201d? When a\nBrahmun, I felt it was my duty--making a right use of my position\nand its attendant prerogatives--to look at the low castes with\nindifference. I did not touch them if I could possibly help it. I put\nmy foot on their prostrate heads, I gave the dust of my foot to them to\neat, and I promised them earthly and heavenly blessings. But the moment\nI learned from the lips of Jesus what my relation is to my fellow-man,\nand what duty I owe towards him, I clearly saw the low castes are just\nas high as myself. Hearing that \u201cGod maketh his sun to rise on the good\nand evil,\u201d that the harlots, the despised, would enter into blessedness\nbefore the proud Pharisee, I cheerfully abdicated the honors, the\nprerogatives of my high position as a Brahmun, and wished to jump down\nupon the level where the despised low castes stood. Indeed, who but God\nknows the magnitude of the delight I enjoyed in standing by the side\nof the low castes! While in the street I would walk close to them, and\nthereby get an opportunity to touch them. Of course the grown-up low\ncastes would not come in close contact with me, fearing it would be\na dangerous thing for them. So I used to hide my sacred or priestly\nbadge under my clothes, which, if kept in its proper place would have\ntestified of my caste, and to speak kind words to the despised sons of\nhumanity.\n\nAfter reading the life of Christ carefully, I came to the following\nconclusions:--That our Creator is one God, who is not only the highest,\ngreatest, and most powerful of all, but at the same time a Father,--a\nloving Father, with a heart more tender than that of any earthly\nfriends. Indeed, I love to dwell upon this latter conception of God\nalways. In hours of joy or in hours of sorrow I seem to forget that he\nis a Lord, and I lean against his bosom with filial confidence. I had\nto _fear_ the gods of my fathers, but when I sat at the feet of\nthe Divine Wisdom which presented to me one God, a Father, I wished to\n_love_ him.\n\nSecondly, that man is my brother, no matter whatever be his caste,\ncreed, color, or country, because the same Father has given us life; we\nare alike the recipients of his blessing, and have equal claims upon\nhis unbounded love. I learned that the best and truest way to love God\nis to love man; for what kind of love is that, if I bear it toward a\nfather, and hate his children whom he dearly loves?\n\nThirdly, that man is a free moral agent, subject, however, to the moral\nlaws of his Maker, the ultimate end of whose whole counsel is the\nwelfare of his children. It came to me that when we love each other,\nlive in peace, \u201cbear each other\u2019s burden,\u201d and guide each other in the\npath of righteousness, we are \u201cco-workers with God;\u201d and when we do\notherwise we bring misery and wretchedness upon ourselves, for which\nwe suffer and stand responsible to God. Although I had believed in\na future life long before I came to Christ, yet I did not possess a\nrational idea of it,--it was wrapped up with a garment of mystery. The\nworshippers of Shiba will be received in his Koylas,--those of Krishto\nin his Goluck, etc., where they will breathe the breezes of different\nParadises. I often thought these must be narrow heavens indeed that do\nnot admit all. Again, how could the joys of heaven be perfect if we\ndo not meet with those dearest relations who died a long time ago, and\nthe objects of our love and affection taken away from us at different\ntimes? My mother worships Krishto, and Shiba was my god, so of course\nwe both will be received by our respective gods. Would not the pangs\nof separation attend us wherever we go? and even, taking for granted\nthat we are to see each other occasionally, it must be something like\nvisiting! But the future state which Christ promises us is where not\nonly our kindred might be admitted, but where those from east and west,\nnorth and south would \u201cmeet to part no more.\u201d \u201cIn my Father\u2019s house\nare many mansions,\u201d he says, which \u201che goes to prepare for us.\u201d What\na blessed hope it is for one who loves all the children of God, and\nlikes to see them, to live with them, and pray with them! In regard\nto Christ, my impression became that he is the _Sent_ of God,\nhis \u201cbeloved Son\u201d indeed. He was raised especially by our Father to\nregenerate the world, to proclaim peace and good will unto men,--to\nbring the wanderers back, to uplift degraded humanity, and break the\nsting of death, and \u201cbring Immortality to light.\u201d He was a true model\nof Humanity,--a perfect man. He was what man ought to be. Whatever\nattributes of the Most High could be grasped by a finite nature were\nfully given to him; so it is no wonder when we call him Immanuel or the\n\u201cexpress image of God.\u201d We are all made in the image of God; but it is\na pity that we do not long stand in the state of purity, do not retain\nour original stamp; the world paints us over, and thereby disfigures\nus. But the plane where Christ stood was very high,--far beyond the\nreach of the world; so that while on earth, he lived and moved with\ncelestial graces, and enjoyed sweet communion with his God always, and\ndied as a resigned Son indeed. He was entirely different from all\nother religious teachers who have ever blessed the earth with their\ninstructions. There was one peculiarity in him which had not attained\nits perfection in other religious teachers. Whatever this divine\nTeacher taught he exhibited in his own life, showing thereby to the\nworld the practicability of his doctrines. A geographer informs us of\nthe position and the height of a mountain, the rise, course, and fall\nof a river, and draws a map for illustration, that he may convey the\ntruth distinctly unto us. In like manner Christ performed his mission.\nHe teaches us humility,--behold the Saviour of the world washes the\nfeet of the low castes of Judea! He speaks love,--lo! he breathes love\nfrom the cross, when the cruel and wicked sons of man were driving\nnails through his innocent limbs! \u201cFather, forgive them, for they know\nnot what they do!\u201d\n\nDesiring to be profited by Christ and to throw off the burden of\nsuperstition, and to put on the yoke of Christ instead, I secretly\nyielded to the longing for a new life. The old habits, religious\nordinances, the once beloved idols, seemed dry, unimportant things. I\ncould no longer hide myself within the \u201cveil of taciturnity.\u201d Now and\nthen I dared to speak to my friends new things, to breathe unto them\nnew affections, and to surprise them with new deeds. I would detail\nas well as I can remember the trials, misunderstandings, and ridicule\nthat crowned my brow subsequently. The life of Christ proved so sweet\nto me that I felt quite sure others would like it, so in the afternoon\nI would go to some friend to read from it. Some liked it as a story;\nothers felt quite amused hearing of the miracles of Christ, as they\nsee most of them attempted by their countrymen, and their legendary\nbooks too abound with such things. Even the raising of Lazarus from the\ngrave and the resurrection of Christ did not surprise them because\nthere was no novelty in them. I must confess, however, the miracles of\nChrist did not strike me very much. Having witnessed some like them\ndone before me, and having read of such in our religious books, I did\nnot \u201cseek after a sign,\u201d but perceived wonderful miracles performed by\nJesus spiritually in my own case. These very hands of mine which did\nnot touch the low caste before, now stretched forth to embrace them.\nHaving eyes, I could not before see my path clearly; but Jesus made and\nput clay on them, and told me to wash them in the pool of the Gospel,\nwhich I did, and now I begin to see. I was deaf to the cry of duty; but\nthe gentle voice of the Teacher entered in, and I now hear it without\nprejudice. I was possessed with \u201c_devils_,\u201d--the \u201c_legions_,\u201d\nfor they were many,--such as caste feeling, hatred towards low castes,\nprejudices, etc.; but they all fled before the divine presence of\nChrist, saying, \u201cWhat have we to do with thee, thou Son of God.\u201d Thus\nI cared more for these spiritual miracles which helped me to begin a\nnew life and understand the worth of Jesus and his mission more vividly\nthan anything else could have done. I am aware that Christ himself\nappealed to his miracles to prove to the Jews the divine sanction of\nhis mission. \u201cIf ye believe not me, believe my works.\u201d But it was to\nthe simple yet weak-minded people that he spoke in that way. To some\nhe refused any miracle,--declined to do anything surprising, but spake\nwith authority as no man did before. I do not disbelieve the miracles\nperformed by Christ, as he says whatever he does he does by the power\nof God, to whom everything is possible; as our poets say, that \u201cHe\ncan cause a pigmy to reach the moon, and a lame man to jump over a\nmountain.\u201d So is the belief with almost all of the intelligent Hindoos.\n\nThe Raja Rammohun Roy, too, cared more for \u201cthe precepts of Jesus\u201d\nthan for his miracles. In his compilation of the words of Christ, he\nbegins with his words in the Sermon on the Mount, I think. He wanted\nto have his countrymen know and value and follow what Christ said,\nmore emphatically, than rest upon what he did miraculously. Therefore,\nbelieving as I did, in the miracles of Jesus, and knowing what would be\nthe feeling of my friends, I did not hold them as the foremost part of\nChristianity, but presented to them the wise yet intelligible, the rich\nyet simple, counsels of our Master.\n\nWhile I was proceeding in this way to read and speak from the\nNew Testament, some Hindoo friends rose against me and reported\nto the village and to my mother that I was soon going to be a\n\u201c_Beef-eater_\u201d or Christian. This, of course, alarmed my mother\nexceedingly, and she aroused all her energies to save me from the\nimpending ruin. Where shall I hide the New Testament? was the anxious\nquestion that troubled me. She herself cannot read, so that was some\nrelief on that score. But the boys would come in my absence and take\nany Christian book from my room and show it to my mother, making her\nmiserable thereby. Her fear of losing me grew so great, and also of\nthe disgrace that would surely fall upon the family in case I became\nan apostate, or, worse than that, a \u201cbeef-eater,\u201d that I had to feel\nanxious about my other books while away, lest she should throw them all\ninto the water. Being acquainted with Rev. Mr. Dall, who kindly gave me\nUnitarian tracts, I found great relief afterwards, because the tracts\nbeing small, not handsomely bound, and not having the \u201cHoly Bible\u201d\nwritten on them, my mother did not care about them. A large book,\nhandsomely bound, often creates suspicion among the Hindoos, especially\nif the bearer be known to be an Anti-Hindoo in the least. Once I was\ncoming home with a large volume of the Bengalee translation of \u201cLamb\u2019s\nTales of Shakespeare,\u201d which I had borrowed from a rich Brahmun friend\nin a neighboring town. Some men, pretending to hold a friendly talk\nwith me, made me stop. One said, \u201cYou have read a great many books, I\npresume more than G----, P----, and M----, etc., have done. That\u2019s a\npretty large book in your hand; did you get it from a Missionary?\u201d I\ngave the book to the speaker, who curiously opened it and read, \u201cRomeo\nand Juliet,\u201d \u201cTempest,\u201d \u201cMacbeth,\u201d &c., as its contents.\n\nChrist says the tree will be known by its fruits. And again, if ye\nlove one another the people will know that ye belong to Christ. Seeing\nour Master visit frequently the low, the despised, and the publicans\nin their humble homes, my affection turned toward the publicans in\nIndia. An angelic love hitherto unknown, which is \u201cnot a respecter\nof persons,\u201d sat in my eyes, and before them all the castes of the\nHindoos, from the Brahmun down to the hog-keeper, looked alike. I could\nno longer accept their salutation without returning the same, and this\nbrought upon me the indignation of the Brahmuns and the terror of other\ncastes. With much fervor and perhaps with less prudence, I went to the\nextreme at first, in returning the low caste the very _kind_ of\nsalutation he made; thus, when he bent his head to me I did likewise\nto him; when he touched my foot, I wished to do the same. Of course\nthis was too much condescension on my part, which my friends could not\nbear for a moment. They feared that my teaching them that way would\noffend the gods, and consequently that something dangerous would happen\nto them from their wrath! In order to make the matter sure and expose\nme to the public hatred, some Brahmun boys would engage a low caste\nto salute me reverently,--to take the dust of my feet and see what I\ndid. If I returned the honor thus offered me, the whole company would\nclap their hands, ridicule me, and report it to my mother and other\nhigh-caste relations. I realized in a measure how our Master had been\ntroubled by the cunning Jews who now came to gainsay his words; then\nrebuked him for eating with the low castes, &c. One night while we were\ndiscussing religious topics, (as they were wont to do, in order to get\nfrom me my free thought that they might accuse me of infidelity,) one\nasked, \u201cJoguth, suppose you wanted some advice in relation to religious\nmatters, and the son of the washerman, B----, was fully able to give\nit to you, would you go to him or to a priest?\u201d Although I knew the\ncraft underlying the question, still I answered that, \u201cIf I can find\npure gold in a ditch close by my house, I would not go to Australia\nfor it.\u201d The curious brother sprung up from his seat and hurled\nanathemas on my head, saying I was the ruin of our family, a shame to\nmy caste, and an unworthy son to my father; that I would soon wear a\ncoat and hat, eat cows and hogs, and drink wine, etc. Such disagreeable\nexperiences, frequently visited upon me with ridicule and contempt,\ngave me courage and wisdom. I applied the wisdom of serpents and the\ninnocence of a dove, as far as I possibly could, in my encounters with\nthose fault-seeking brethren. Under such circumstances _peace_\nseemed as if it would desert me; but I retained its sacred influence\nin my heart, and longed for that peace which the world cannot give\nnor take away. Notwithstanding all these discouraging surroundings I\ndetermined to be \u201cabout my Father\u2019s business,\u201d to go to the people and\nspeak to them kindly what I believed would promote their happiness in\nlife here and hereafter. Besides speaking to those within my reach in\nmy daily walks in life, I sought as places of my resort, the workshops\nof some goldsmiths and weavers. These men I found very pleasant,\npossessed of little education, but with a great deal of intelligence,\nable to conduct a discussion upon high themes, and to comprehend the\nbest writings of the country. I found them, too, very familiar with\nthe Hindoo legendary works. Every afternoon and evening almost, half a\ndozen men would assemble there, and one of the party would read aloud\nfrom a religious book. But their attachment to the gods and their\nlegends did not hinder my going to them; on the contrary they always\nused to talk with me upon religious and moral topics. By and by I\nsought acquaintance with a party of young rowdies belonging to several\ncastes. Almost all of them drank wine, and frequented disreputable\nplaces for pleasure and music. Nowhere did I enter with such an\nearnestness to do good as here. I thought this was the true harvest to\nbe gathered, and I must work in it. Modesty stops my pen in writing\nabout the character I exhibited among them, but it is enough to say\nthat love and perseverance characterized my labor here. The young men\nbelonging to my own caste remonstrated with me, protesting that instead\nof doing any good among these corrupted low castes, I should surely\nbring ruin upon myself, and that my course was foolish. To these I did\nnot hesitate to repeat distinctly the words of Christ, to the effect,\nthat the sick people want medicine, but the healthy ones do not.\n\nIn course of time I found myself entirely deserted by my former\nassociates,--the friends who lived in the same quarter with me. In\nfact, their animosity, arising from my not joining them in their\nexcursions for pleasure and sporting, grew so great that very few would\nfavor me with a smile or a word. One afternoon, as I was coming home\nfrom Hourah, I met a dozen of them playing Mou machie, or beehive. One\nof them inquired of me where I had been, and I answered in a low voice\nand slowly, for I was very tired then, having had to walk home seven\nmiles without dinner. This amused them exceedingly, and each of them\nattempted to surpass his comrades in imitating my voice.\n\nThese brethren reported to my mother all about my visits to the low\ncastes, my teaching them Christian doctrines, etc., and thereby made\nher doubly miserable. Sometimes she would not eat anything, would weep\nfor hours, and throw away my books. \u201cJoguth, I cannot bear all these\njokes and hard words; they complain of your teaching their children not\nto fear gods, respect Brahmuns, etc. Being a Brahmun, you mix with low\ncastes. I am afraid you will sit at dinner with them some time, as you\nsay \u2018caste is nothing.\u2019 O Joguth, has Jom (or death) forgotten your\nhouse?\u201d\n\nAlthough I felt quite sure that the gods of my country are mere\nimaginary deities, or some ancient heroes deified after death, still\nI could not readily free my mind from the fear and respect I bore\nfor them from my infancy. But something must be done, some measure\nmust be taken to make an experiment of their power, so that I need\nbend before their images no longer. An old anecdote coming vividly to\nmy mind, seemed to discourage me for a while. It was this. Nearly a\ncouple of years before I had been to worship the idols belonging to\na widow. It was a winter evening, and carelessly I had forgotten to\ncover them with their warm clothes. Next day I was told by that widow\nof the great crime I had done, and I felt much frightened to see the\nimages suffering in cold. She said she retired late, as usual, and\nnotwithstanding a quantity of clothes on her back she felt chilly.\nNot knowing the reason of such an unusual experience, she came to\nthe closet and found the idols laying unprotected in the cold! Now\na great fear filled my heart at the thought that, if owing to my\ncarelessness, the innocent woman suffered, how much more will I have\nto suffer if I neglect the gods forever. But upon consideration that\nGod is mightier than all, that if we come unto him for protection, no\ngod, no spirit, can hurt us in the least, I grew strong. I would not\nhave gone so far as to touch irreverently the idols, had it not been\nto see whether there is any consciousness in them; because I had been\ntaught to believe that they are living beings. So, one by one, I tried\nthe strength of the idols that fell within my reach, in treating them\nwith less care. Thus, one day while I was bringing down the idols from\na high place, like a mantelpiece, the heaviest of them fell down on the\nfloor, making a loud noise thereby. Hastily I picked it up, examined\nwhether any damage had been done or not, and washed it as usual. At\nfirst, I thought I would not worship it in the prescribed ways; but,\nfearing it would be too much for the first time, I thought it prudent\nto worship it as usual. Thus privately taking steps too bold, too\nimproper for a Hindoo to venture, I determined to see the end. During\nthe time of Shundhas I would not repeat the creed-like formula, but\nsimply say Gayothrie several times, because the latter is a prayer to\nan invisible, immortal Creator. My mother watched my movements for a\nwhile, and inquired whether I had forgotten my Shundhas, saying that I\nused to repeat them in an hour, but that I now finished in ten minutes!\nI told her I remembered them all. But she would not believe it, and\ncalled my older brother to examine me, which he did to his entire\nsatisfaction. He told her I knew them so well that it did not take me a\nlong time to repeat them.\n\nTo a town on the other side of the Ganges I had to go occasionally\nto worship idols. During the holidays I was sent by my mother there\nto worship the goddess of Learning. I did not repeat any prayer. I\nsat down before the idol, and scattered flowers in the usual way. The\nmatron said, \u201cI wonder how you could perform this worship in so short\ntime!\u201d I felt embarrassed, and sitting before the idol in the next\nhouse, spent more time in reciting slowly my English lessons learned\nlong ago,--such as \u201cThe English Grammar is the art of speaking and\nwriting the English language correctly.\u201d \u201cThe Caspian sea or lake is\nsurrounded by Russia, Tartary, and Persia.\u201d \u201cA straight line that\ndivides a circle in two equal parts is called its diameter,\u201d etc.,\nand no complaint was made then. I am fully aware I did a great many\nthings at this stage of my experience which certainly wore a double\naspect,--not daring to let these changes in my faith be known to my\nfriends, and at the same time not wishing to follow what I conceived\nto be superstition. Finding me going daily toward the wrong way, as it\nseemed to my dear mother, she determined to commit me to the charge of\nour family Gooroo, or spiritual guide, and to put his yoke on my neck!\nThis I resisted with my indifference, argument, and obstinacy, because\nthe life under Gooroo is indeed a life of foolishness. The Gooroo\nselects from the hosts of gods a certain one for his disciple,--the\nname and the nature of which he is to hide from the world and worship\nit as his own. Again, what is worse still, he is to regard the Gooroo\nas identical with his god, to worship him and do homage unto him, just\nas he would to his God himself! When he visits the family every member\nprostrates before him, and worships him. I hated to do that for three\nreasons,--first, that since I had lost my faith and loyalty to the very\ngods, I could not have any regard for a man whose only office was to\nbind me into slavery unto him and the gods; secondly, I felt satisfied\nwith that unerring, unselfish Teacher who said, \u201cCall no man thy\nmaster,\u201d etc., \u201cI seek not mine own glory,\u201d \u201cWhy callest thou me good?\u201d\netc.; and hence, thirdly, I believed that the Gooroo and myself were\nwalking on the same road, side by side, so that neither ought to gain\na mastery over the other. But my good mother, like all other Hindoos,\nfelt otherwise. She sincerely believed that the influence of Oopodesh,\nor regeneration by the hands of the Gooroo, would fill my heart with\nnew grace from _Istdele_ (the god selected by the Gooroo).\n\nShe sent for him, and he came to our house to convert me, not by\nreasoning to the truth, but by the pretended majesty of his rank,--by\nhis appeals to the Hindoo customs,--unto gross superstition, which,\nwith prayers and tears I was trying to get rid of. At first I made\nexcuses, saying, \u201cLet him give \u2018montra\u2019 (sacred words) to my oldest\nbrother; I am young, so there is no hurry about it now,\u201d etc. But I\nknew full well the purpose of my mother,--that she was anxious to chain\n_me_, who was about to fly away from the gods! She said it would\nlook well to have the two brothers take _montra_ together--that it\nwould cost less, etc. More than six times the day for our \u201cOopodesh\u201d\nhad been fixed, but I was where I was, or perhaps a little \u201chigher.\u201d\nSometimes, seeing that man coming to our house, from a distance, I\nwould immediately go to some friends and remain there until he had gone\nhome. My mother would follow my track now and then and bring me to\nhim, and plead for my indifference! One afternoon I was sleeping in my\nroom, and he came and began to talk to my mother. I determined not to\nsee him (as the rule would require me to prostrate myself before him,\nwhich I hated to do). I thought I would go out by the back door, and\nthereby escape the degradation of worshipping a man for the present,\nif not the rebukes of my mother. But she came into my room ere I had\ntime to put my theory into practice, saying, \u201cJoguth! Joguth! there is\nGooroo, who wants to see you.\u201d I tried vainly to keep still and pay no\nheed to her, as if I was in a profound sleep! She whispered into my\near, \u201cDo not insult the Gooroo--it is an unpardonable sin on your part,\nJoguth. His look of displeasure will surely burn you to death,\u201d etc.\nAt last, finding her too urgent, I declared openly that I had got the\n\u201cmontras\u201d from a Teacher, and that I did not want any other than these,\n\u201cThe Lord our God is one Lord,\u201d or \u201cOm aka meb \u2019\u014f the ti-ung,\u201d \u201cThere\nis _one_ God without a second.\u201d This did not satisfy her; although\nmy constant indifference to the Gooroo frightened him so he never dared\nto raise the question again, yet my mother, perhaps, still hopes that I\nmight yield, for she _cannot_ conceive how I could do otherwise.\n\nThus troubled at home and ridiculed abroad, I longed for a free,\ngenial atmosphere. The very gentleness I wished to display at home,\nthe kindness to the low castes, brought ridicule upon me, and many\ntimes I went to secluded places to cry to my Father and my God.\nProvidentially I had been acquainted with Baboo C. C. S., a native\nconvert to Christianity, and an energetic, highly-educated young man;\nbut the community hated me _more_ for this reason. As, owing to\nthe opposition and vigilance of my friends, I could not find a chance\nto study the New Testament, I resorted to the memoirs of noble men and\nwomen for Christianity. The life of Mrs. Mundey, the missionary to\nIndia, interested me very much; the \u201cPilgrim\u2019s Progress,\u201d \u201cChambers\u2019s\nBiographies,\u201d etc., gave me ample instruction. Indeed, I seemed to\nfind Christian truth almost everywhere,--in grammars, geographies,\nhistories, in the world around, and in the heaven above.\n\nThrough an earnest search I gathered a few friends who, though they did\nnot quite dare to forsake the gods and to reject the caste prejudices,\nstill promised a happy result in future. But none of these were my\nnearest neighbors, so that I could go to them and spend a little time\nin a pleasant way.\n\nTo see whether our caste feelings were gone or not we proposed an\nexperiment--and as it would not be possible to take a meal in a low\ncaste\u2019s house because of the household, we resolved to cook some food\nprivately, and see what we could do. Accordingly, on a rainy evening,\nwe three, one a young farmer, a physician, and myself a Brahmun, cooked\nsome Khichwry (rice and a kind of peas highly seasoned with spice). I\ncould not help in the cooking, being entirely unacquainted with the\nprocess, but our farmer friend, I think, was a \u201cpretty good cook.\u201d To\nrise to the climax of the freedom so privately sought, I consulted with\nsome trustworthy and religious brethren, who hailed the enterprise\nwith joyous hearts. We used to meet in a field, and, on account of\nthe ground being wet, to spread some leaves over it, and thereby made\nquite soft, comfortable seats. We did not know then what particular\nform of prayer to offer to God, so I suggested to our brethren that we\nwould offer child\u2019s prayers--bring all our wants, both temporal and\nspiritual, before the throne of grace in perfect trust, and let Him\ngive or deny unto us whatever he pleased. So we prayed that the good\nFather would cure our headaches, fevers, etc., that he would make us\ngood, honest, learned men.\n\nThis novel gathering in the field aroused the curiosity of the people,\nwho feared we should some day become very troublesome to the community.\nThe report reached almost every ear, and we were taken for adulterers,\nor what is worse still, \u201c_Kistans_\u201d (Christians). This latter\ncharge was brought especially on account of _my_ being connected\nwith the party. But we did not feel discouraged, for we believed that\nto make our thanks and wants known to our good Father, we need not\ngo here or there, close our eyes or open them, kneel down or stand\non our feet, utter words or observe silence, for the Object of our\nworship is a Spirit, that fills the universe with his presence, and\nwho knows all, inspects all, loves all his creatures. Still man is a\nsocial creature,--he wants advice, guidance, and help from others,--he\nimproves himself by others\u2019 example. This change of my religious ideas\ngave me one singular feeling: love for man in general, or in other\nwords, love for the low castes wherever they could be found.\n\nNothing pleased me more than a crowd of men in whose faces, eyes, and\nmovements we distinctly read the wisdom, love, and spirit of God. So I\nwished very much to be with them, especially for religious purposes;\nbut my singular views of religion drove them away. In Calcutta there\nare Christian churches where I could not attend, much as I desired to\ndo so. On Sunday, on my way to or from my friends in the city, I would\nstand in a street on which a church is placed, watch the people as they\nentered in, and eagerly lend my ears to the voices that were sending\nup to the throne of grace the praises and songs. Of course I could\nnot stand long there, the bustling noise of the carriage-wheels would\ndrown the joyous voices, and so I reluctantly would direct my steps\nhomeward, uttering, \u201cBlessed is the place where God is worshipped in\nspirit!\u201d O Father! though my countrymen worship thee through idols and\npictures, through forms and ceremonies, I rejoice to think that others\nadore thee in spirit! A young Brahmun sold me six English books which\nhe had bought at a public auction in Calcutta. One was the \u201cMemoir\nof Mrs. Mundey,\u201d two were books of Common Prayer, and the rest were\nnovels. My soul swam in ecstasy when I found that almost on every page\nthe prayers begin with \u201cOur Father,\u201d \u201cMost Gracious God,\u201d \u201cO God, our\nFather!\u201d etc. Reading them earnestly, reflecting on the sweet, fervent,\nchildlike expression of the heart therein, my joy knew no bounds. I\nmade a present of one Prayer-Book to a Brahmun friend, and reserved\nthe other for my own edification. I must confess, however, that the\nclosing lines of the prayers, such as \u201cin the name of our Saviour,\u201d\n\u201cthrough Jesus Christ our Lord,\u201d etc., filled my heart with confusion.\nI believed God is unbounded love in his very nature,--gives his\nblessings to his children before they know to ask for them. Why then\nshould I implore his mercy in the name of Christ? In the Hindoo prayers\nI had found such conditions. I had been taught to expect blessings from\na deity through a second or third hand, so I feared these expressions\nin the Prayer-Books might have the same meaning. In the heat of\nenthusiasm at my freedom from superstition--with a desire to come to\nGod directly, I took my pencil and cancelled these lines. By and by I\ncame to the Litanies, where I met with \u201cGlory to God the Son, and to\nGod the Holy Ghost,\u201d etc. Who can these Gods be? inquired I of myself.\nWhat book is this that teaches us to worship them? Let me see; is it a\nChristian Prayer-Book that I have bought, or what? Spending a few days\nin doubt and confusion I sought my friend to whom I had given a Common\nPrayer-Book, and to my utter surprise found him troubled likewise. He\nhad marked out several passages in that book which ascribe glory and\nworship to God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, etc., which he declared\nforeign to the New Testament doctrine. We examined carefully some of\nthe leading places in the New Testament the second time, and found no\nsuch thing as glory to the Son there. The Son says he did not come\nto seek his \u201cown glory.\u201d When the disciples desired him to teach them\nto pray, he said, \u201cAfter this manner pray ye, Our Father which art in\nheaven,\u201d etc. Again, the very idea of worshipping \u201cGod the Son,\u201d and\n\u201cGod the Spirit,\u201d seemed to us quite amusing if not quite _new_,\nfor we were accustomed to worship god the son, god the nephew, goddess\nthe niece, etc., while Hindoos in faith. So we thought we would not\nworship these extra gods of the Prayer-Book, however moderate their\nnumber is. It seemed absurd to us to offer supreme homage to a person\nsubject to hunger, thirst, weakness, sorrows, death, etc., and who\nworshipped the same God with his disciples, and who craved for sweet\ncommunion with his God,--to lay before him all his soul\u2019s deepest\nlongings. Christ, I read in the Gospels, often sought mountain-tops, or\nriver-sides, away from the little band, to spend hours in prayer.\n\nNot being able to remain in this state of suspense any longer, I went\nto a clergyman and informed him of my sincere desire to know the God of\nwhom Christ is the \u201cBeloved Son.\u201d Very kindly he offered me his cordial\nhands, introduced me to his library, and promised me his blessing every\nway. At his request that I would attend the morning services in his\nchurch, which were held at seven, I rose early and walked six miles\nso as to get there in season. The services were conducted in Hindoo\nfashion in some respect, as he did not read the Scripture himself:\nthere was another present to take that part. Prayers were offered\nin behalf of the queen, the council, etc., which I liked very much,\nbecause in seeking good for others we show our love for them. But alas!\nthe old trouble again! Again I heard of \u201cGod the Son, and God the Holy\nGhost\u201d there!\n\nLearning my troubles, and with a view to alleviate them, the minister\ngave me a book called \u201cCatechism,\u201d but unfortunately, owing to the\npeculiar state of my mind, it made the matter worse still. In it for\nthe first time I read expressions like the following, \u201cAs the very\nGod of very God,\u201d \u201cbegotten, but not made,\u201d \u201cone in three, three in\none,\u201d \u201cyet distinct,\u201d which to me sounded anything but rational. I\nbegged the minister to explain these things to me as they appeared\ncontradictory among themselves. I believed the very God is always very\nGod, and the very man is always very man,--they cannot be otherwise;\nthat humanity and Deity are two distinct things, so that they cannot\nbe made identical. Again, the word _Trinity_ was something new,\nwhich, in my study of the New Testament I did not meet with. I was told\nthat these things lie beyond the reach of human conception; that our\nbest effort to understand or to explain them would be fruitless; that\nalthough they seem contradictory and absurd to us, in reality they are\nnot so, because they are unfathomable truths,--the children of the\nRevelations. This did not satisfy me, for I could not believe that our\nreason would contradict what the Revelation has to say. In looking\nat the matter with a simple and earnest mind, we see that Revelation\nbrings us new and important truths and is not afraid of the close\ninspection of reason. Revelation owes much to reason, without which it\ncannot perform its mission. God gave Revelation unto _us_, who are\nendowed with reasoning faculties, that we might examine, reflect upon,\nand receive its contents. Reason, then, is the key to open Revelation.\n\nAgain, there is _no failure_ in God; whatever he wishes to do\nis done in the best manner possible. So if he wished to bless his\nchildren with new truth in relation to his own nature, under the\nnew dispensation, he could do it distinctly, intelligibly, and to\ntheir satisfaction. Our reasoning faculties do not object to the\nsublime truths like these, \u201cBehold, Israel, the Lord our God is one\nLord,\u201d \u201cLove thy neighbor as thyself,\u201d etc., because these and their\nkindred ones are substantial truths that men can live and die by.\nMen of different religions, culture, age, and accomplishment almost\nunanimously regard the above-mentioned precepts with reverence. There\nis no controversy about them. Thus truth stands on its own ground,\nself-existent, self-supporting forever.\n\n\u201cA thousand honest doubts are more manly than a single cowardly assent\nto a proposition,\u201d are the words of a Boston clergyman. I realized the\nbeauty of his doctrine in this stage of my inquiry. As I had got over\nthe fear of being damned, for not believing what my reasoning powers\nbore testimony against, and what _my Teacher_ does not speak of,\nI bade _farewell_ to the Christian minister with reluctance, and\ndirected my steps towards home.\n\nMy disappointment in seeing Christianity set before me in so many\nunintelligible, mysterious doctrines, reminds me of a curious anecdote.\nA man, poor from his early years, accustomed to live upon all sorts of\ncoarse food, became the guest of a very opulent man. He anticipated a\ngreat treat there: he thought he would get some luxurious food, but to\nhis great surprise he found nearly the very coarse things he used to\neat at home, ready for his disposal. Astonished, he stood before the\ntable and began to give vent to his disappointment. \u201cFriends! I left\nyou all in my broken cottage; here I am in a princely mansion, how did\nyou manage to come here? I did not think of meeting you so soon, and in\nsuch a place!\u201d\n\nMy disappointment was strong when I was greeted by so many absurd\ndoctrines, that pass under the name of Christian. I left Brahmunism\non account of these same obscure, dry, unintelligible precepts with\nwhich it is crowded, and approached unto the handsome edifice of\nChristianity with the hope of finding something better. But lo, the\nvery absurdity again! In Christian countries the people open their\nBibles, not so much to derive a certain belief from the pages as to\nfind support for an already acquired one. They go already prepared to\nfind this or that view. Thus a Unitarian child meets the doctrines\non the Unity of God throughout the Bible; and on the other hand, a\nTrinitarian child finds hints and supports for his Trinity almost on\nevery page within its covers. My case was quite different; when I came\nto Christ I did not anticipate much save that whatever he would utter\nunto me must be sublime, redeeming, vital truths.\n\n\u201cWhat shall I do now?\u201d became an important inquiry; go back to the\ngods and goddesses of my fathers, or what? I felt ashamed of that\n_catechism_, so I hid it under my books, that no opponents might\nsee it and ridicule Christianity before my face. Christianity is not\nat all responsible for the hosts of dry, strange, unintelligible\ndogmas that claim our assent. Some time afterwards my nephew, a boy\nof thirteen, happened to open this old catechism of mine and to read\nthe \u201ccreeds.\u201d He smiled a little, and said, \u201cUncle, what book is\nthis?\u201d \u201cThat\u2019s a catechism; don\u2019t you see? It contains the Articles\nof Faith!\u201d \u201cOf what faith, uncle?\u201d \u201cOf the Christian faith,\u201d said I.\n\u201cDon\u2019t say so! I declare! Isn\u2019t the New Testament sufficient for that\npurpose? Here, you see, I read Christ was both God and man. God is\none, yet has three distinct persons. Do the English people believe in\nthese things?\u201d \u201cCertainly they do,\u201d I rejoined. The little boy closed\nthe book, saying, \u201cUncle, it makes me smile to think that the English\npeople who drive railroad engines, build steamboats, and send messages\nthrough electric wires, should not know the difference between man and\nGod,--one and three,\u201d etc.\n\nAfter a short season of the \u201cSuspense of Faith,\u201d--not knowing where to\ngo, I met a young friend from Calcutta who is a member of the \u201cBrahmo\nSomaj,\u201d founded by the celebrated Raja Ram mohun Roy himself, or by\nhis followers, I am not sure which. He brought me a large sheet of\npartly printed paper in which I entered my name, residence, date of\nsubscription, etc., and thus took the name of \u201cBrahmo,\u201d or deist, as\nfar as the _unity_ of God is concerned. But as we wished to make\nour religion depend more upon our _works_, our affections, our\nlove toward men in general, than upon a certain belief, I did not find\nmuch satisfaction in my deist life. The Bengalee deists are men of\nadmirable character, of great intelligence, and of mild disposition,\nbut the majority of them lack the spirit of freedom. They do not have\nmuch faith in the idols I think, but they have idols _at their\nhouses_, which are worshipped and taken care of at their expense.\nHow far they repudiate the caste system I am not sure, for I have not\nseen nor heard of high-caste deists dining with low-caste brethren\npublicly, nor have I known a Brahmun deist to marry the daughter of\nother castes. I do not mean that _these_, i. e. eating, drinking,\nand marrying with different castes are the essential parts of religion,\nand that as such the Calcutta deists do not observe them. No; the caste\nsystem, notwithstanding all its policy and the good it pretends to\ndo, is obviously detrimental to the progress of the masses in India.\nIt lies like the heavy Hymaloy over the heads of the low castes: they\ncannot rise upward intellectually, socially, or spiritually. Hence the\nfirst religious, philanthropic act of those who see the defects of the\ncaste system, ought to be to help its removal and to inaugurate a state\nof equality among the people. My deistical brethren hardly take that\nstep, although they eat and drink forbidden food and liquor with rich\nlow castes, or with Christian people even privately. They have some\nsaintly men among them. I admire their precepts, honor their private\nlives, and deem them noble. But they do not come like Jesus of Nazareth\nunto the publicans and sinners, or to those with unwashen hands.\n\nI became acquainted with a young Brahmun deist,--Baboo Raj-kifsen\nBannerjea, of Mahessolla, whom I found the embodiment of truth, love,\nand piety. Indeed, the first _angel_ I met in this world was he.\nHis very mild appearance, his soft eyes, shedding forth love from\nthem, his tender voice, are the index of his inward accomplishments.\nHe is a man of considerable learning, and of wealth and high standing\nin the community. Would I knew what first led him to reject the idol\ngods! It would make a volume to write all about his life, which, though\nshort, is full of noble, philanthropic acts. His charity is broad,\nyet discriminating; his dealings with others are frank and kind, yet\nimpartial; his manners are prudent, yet childlike. He observes Christ\u2019s\nrule as far as it is possible in regard to giving alms,--not letting\nthe left hand know what the right hand doeth. For the benefit of the\nchildren of high and low castes he established a school at his own\nexpense chiefly; for the little help which he received from a few\nindividuals was frequently withdrawn on account of his anti-heathen\nprinciples.\n\nHe has a large landed property which he manages with great caution, as\nwell as to the entire satisfaction of his subjects. I was present one\nday at his office when a Mohammedan man was brought in on the charge of\nrobbing the garden of our Brahmun friend, his landlord. While he was\nswearing vehemently in the name of his Allah, to convince the officers\nof his innocence, our friend had been working an algebraic sum. Having\nfinished his work, he looked at him pityingly and with a tender voice,\nsaid, \u201cFriend, swear not! Think how much wrong you have done unto us!\nYou know all! you owe some money to us,--you are my subject. These two\nobligations bind you to our family, as you say; you ought to protect my\nproperty against the usurper,--lo! you are a usurper yourself! I wonder\nyou do not feel sorry for your conduct!\u201d\n\nNoble as this brother is, admirable as his deeds are, he lacks, as I\nhave observed before, that degree of moral courage which none but the\n\u201cSent\u201d of God could give. While enjoying the pleasure and privilege of\nbeing with these brethren, and deriving much edification from their\namiable lives, the under-current of my soul was constantly flowing\ntoward Christ. I could not go away from him, nor forget his loving,\nprecious words that brought me out of superstition. Are not there men\nwho believe as I do,--that God is _strictly_ one,--that Christ\nis the best of all religious teachers whom the world ever had or will\nhave, that he is the Sent and oldest Son of our common Parent? If\nthere are not any found professing such belief,--no matter; I shall\nstand alone, and offer my help unto the world as far as I am able.\nTheological differences would not stop my hand and heart from serving\nand loving others, and this is the best religion indeed! While thus\ndefining my position and receiving instruction from Jesus secretly,\nmy esteemed friend, Baboo C. C. Singha, a convert to Christianity,\nand who has been a preacher for three years, I should think, told me\nthat he had been told by Hodgson Pratt, Esq., of the arrival of a\nUnitarian missionary in Calcutta, under the auspices of the American\nUnitarian Association, and whose views of Christianity are different\nfrom those of other missionaries. I could not understand the term\n_Unitarian Christian_, because I was told if I did not believe\nin the Trinity I was not a Christian, but a deist. We went to hear\nthe missionary, Rev. C. H. A. Dall, but not being accustomed to hear\nor talk English, I did not gain much at first. He gave us his printed\nsermons, and the writings of Channing, Burnap, Elliot, Cordner, Bartol,\netc., which, as I read them, not only confirmed what my belief had\nbeen, but whispered to me, saying, \u201cFriend, there are thousands on the\nother side of the Atlantic who hold the same views of God as you do, so\nyou are not alone. Our fellowship and sympathy are yours.\u201d Being made\nacquainted with and interested in this missionary, I began to attend\nhis religious services on Sunday; but I could not do it regularly for\nseveral reasons. Mr. Dall\u2019s place is nearly seven miles from my house;\nbesides, there is the majestic Gunga to be crossed, which \u201calone is\ntwenty miles,\u201d as the Hindoo saying is.[32] I had to take my breakfast\nvery early and to walk to and fro all the way, crossing the river by\nsteamboat either at Shal-kea, or Howrah. My dear mother was told by my\nHindoo brethren that I attended the religious services in a Christian\nchurch, with Baboo C. C. Singha. She felt very much frightened at this,\nand took measures to stop my going to Calcutta on Sunday. \u201cIf you will\nnot hear me, but will go to Calcutta on Sunday, go Joguth. The people\ntell me, and I can presage too, what a disgrace and ruin you will bring\nupon the family. They say you are almost a \u2018_Kistan_\u2019 now. You eat\n_beef_ with the Yobuns; or, if you do not, they are quite sure you\nwill soon! I am afraid they will turn you out of the feast sometimes,\nand I don\u2019t blame them for it. Joguth, have you forgotten the proverbs\nyour father taught you? Remember that one member of the family destroys\nits peace as one tree burns the whole forest, in creating fire by\nconflagration. You will be the ruin of the family! You would not hear\nthe advice of those who are older and wiser than yourself; nor would\nyou heed my words. And why should you? The young bird, the moment its\nwings are covered with down, leaves its mother\u2019s nest to look out for\nitself; so you, Joguth, you are grown up now; my advice, my guidance\nwould not be of any service to you (at least you think so). I do not\nblame nor hate the Christians. Let them follow their own customs\nfaithfully. Jesu Kisto is their God; let them worship him; I have no\nobjection to that. As Brahmuns, we ought not to hate the gods of other\nnations. Still we cannot worship them, for they are not ours; we have\ngods over us. O what a pleasant sight it is to see the young Brahmuns\ngoing to the sacred river, to the temples, etc. My heart is delighted\nto see them! And you, mistaken child, hardly go to the temples or to\nthe Ganges! What business have you in Calcutta? If you will go there\non Sunday, go without breakfast; I shall not have it ready for you so\nearly,\u201d etc.\n\nNow, under these circumstances, I could not attend Mr. Dall\u2019s services\non every Sunday, much as I wished to do so, and whenever I went, I went\nwithout breakfast, and to the utter displeasure of my mother. On my\nreturn, at four or five o\u2019clock in the afternoon, she would not set the\nplate before me, nor help me while I ate my dinner, but would go out of\nthe room to weep over the loss of her child.[33]\n\nI grew so unpopular and the people began to dread me so much that they\nwould not let their boys visit Calcutta with me, lest I should make\nthem \u201cKistan.\u201d But \u201cwhere is will there is way,\u201d is a true saying.\nNotwithstanding all vigilance, ridicule, many from \u201cnorth and south,\nthe east and west\u201d of Calcutta would be glad to meet in Mr. Dall\u2019s\nroom. Not fearing the difficulties, but rather rejoicing in them, with\nan inward consciousness that we are not doing wrong before God,--that\nto seek after the spiritual welfare of man in love, is the best service\nhumanity could render unto God and man,--some of us determined to form\na band of believers in and seekers after Truth. The Sunday-school\ncards, containing beautiful verses, and the Sunday-School Gazette,\nwhich Mr. Dall gave us, suggested the plan, and we succeeded in\ngathering twenty-one high-caste boys, all of whom knew English more or\nless. Not finding a convenient place for our purpose, we would meet in\nsome garden, away from the Brahmuns, and there read, sing, and speak\nof God as set forth in the publications of the American Unitarian\nAssociation, and of the Sunday-School Society. Again I was connected\nwith the school of Baboo C. C. Singha, a noble, energetic gentleman,\nand this gave me a good opportunity to be known to many and to\ndisseminate the seeds of truth in their youthful hearts. But \u201ca man\u2019s\nfoes will be of his own household.\u201d The brother of Baboo C. C. Singha,\na Trinitarian in his belief, having been converted to that faith in his\nearly years, began to trouble us in various ways, and not unfrequently\nto take unfair measures and to use unkind words. From an American\nbook, called \u201cSargent\u2019s Reader,\u201d No. 3, I believe, I had selected a\nbeautiful piece, \u201cPrayer for a Pure Heart,\u201d and asked my young friends\nto write it down and commit it to memory, which they did cheerfully.\nThis gentleman, while examining their writing-books, saw it, read it,\nand liked it I am sure, and asked them who gave it to them. Of course\nthey told him that I had given it to them. He uncharitably made some\nunkind remarks which surprised us all,--saying, in effect, \u201cJoguth is\na hypocrite. Let him first be baptized, and then teach these things\nto others,\u201d etc. I smiled at this, and realized then the truth of Dr.\nChanning\u2019s discourse on the Church.\n\nIn the next chapter I shall attempt to give some reasons in relation to\nmy faith, and to state in what respects I differ from the brethren of\nother denominations, and why.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n WHY I BECAME A UNITARIAN.--MY OWN READING AND STUDY OF THE\n BIBLE.--THE MISSIONARIES\u2019 DOCTRINES.\n\n\nBefore I begin to give my reasons in regard to my taking the Unitarian\nname, I should say that these reasons are my own. They are the\nfruits of a mind uninfluenced by Unitarian, or Trinitarian theology.\nBeside the New Testament, and the Author who studied his theology\n\u201cin the bosom of the Father,\u201d I had no missionary to influence me at\nfirst. So that what I say I utter from my own heart, and on my own\nresponsibility. Let not the Trinitarian condemn, nor the Unitarian\ntriumph on account of my views and interpretations of some of the\nleading dogmas, which have split the Church of God into fragments. But\nlet them both charitably hear my free thoughts and testimony. I do not\nattack nor flatter any particular dogmas, through force of sectarian\nfeeling.\n\nMy object is to seek truth with an unprejudiced mind, and to\nspeak it faithfully when found. I would observe perfect frankness\nin my statements; and if I use any word, or expression, that\nsounds irreverent to the reader, I would beg him to regard it as\nunintentional, for I mean nothing irreverent, nothing hostile to true\npiety. Moreover, I should say that I did not resort to Neander, Clarke,\nLivermore, or other writers and commentators for help, not because I\nshould not value them, but because they are almost strangers to me.\nI did not know that they were to be had, and so could not go to any\nsuch commentary on the Life of Christ. I believe that the best and\nmost infallible commentary a man can write, is to explain Christ, by\nhis life, by his actions; thereby exhibiting him in vivid, living\nillustrations. The blessed Teacher did not come to puzzle us with\nintricate enigmas, nor to bind us under the heavy burden of mystery.\nNor did he come with imperfect knowledge of things, to favor us with\nhalf of the necessary information, and leave us to guess out the other\nhalf. Whatever he deemed necessary to the life, comfort, and salvation\nof man, he taught distinctly, intelligibly, though often in parables.\nHe did not even resort, like the modern preachers, to those truths\nin nature which lie beyond the conception of the masses; such as the\nsolar system, or the attraction of gravitation. But, that we all might\nunderstand, and be profited by him, he alluded to the fowls in the\nair, the lilies of the field, the fall of the sparrow, and the hair of\nour heads. He prayed, and thanked his Father that through him He had\nrevealed truth unto babes, or simple-hearted men.\n\nBut I do not undervalue the earnest labors of those good Christian men,\nwho have written and who will write, commentaries upon the Gospels. I\nhonor every honest effort to edify man. But, as I said before, I put\nmore stress upon, and can understand more distinctly and profitably,\nthe commentaries written in actions, than those drawn out by pen and\nink.\n\nThe following are the points which I did not dream of, while studying\nthe New Testament,--which, when stated to me, I could not look at\nwithout surprise, and could not believe. They are the doctrines of the\nTrinity,--the total depravity of the human race, or human nature,--and\nendless punishment in hell. Now as I hear of these, and their kindred\ndoctrines, I do not believe them, nor think they have anything to do\nwith true religion, because they seem to me irrational and unscriptural.\n\n_The Trinity._--In giving my reasons for not believing this\ndoctrine of the church, I shall be as brief as possible. It is a\nself-contradictory, and unintelligible riddle--a production of the\nfancy wrapped up with a sense of piety. They say the Trinity is a\nsublime union of the Three in One,--the Father, the Son, and the\nHoly Ghost. Common sense teaches us that one is always one, and\nthree are always three. We distinguish persons by their respective\nindividualities. So the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, must each\nhave a distinct individuality, otherwise they could not be persons; and\nif so, then they have their wills and affections separate from each\nother. Under such circumstances, it is as absurd to receive the Father,\nSon, and Holy Ghost as one, as it is to say, James, Mary, and Ellen are\none.\n\nThe religion of my country has a Trinity which I find far more\nrational, more logically and philosophically consistent than the\nChristian Trinity. And I do not think it a prudent choice to reject\nthe former, and accept the latter. Here is the Hindoo trinity, and the\nrelation--the equality between its three persons. \u201cIn the beginning,\nthere was Shuck-tie, or Power.\u201d It is somewhat parallel with St. John\u2019s\n\u201cIn the beginning was the Word.\u201d This \u201cPower\u201d was like the \u201cWord\u201d of\nthe Evangelist, a term of broadest import, including power in all its\nelements, creative, sustaining, redeeming, sanctifying, destroying,--in\nshort denoting the whole substance of God, or it _was_ God.\n\nPower manifested itself in three leading ways,--creative, sustaining,\nand destroying. First of all, we need creation; so that power of God\n(Bromho) which creates, becomes the first. Then, when something has\nbeen created, we need support. The power or providence of God, that\nsupports the creation becomes the second. Finally, the economy of\nnature requires destruction, so the power that destroys is the third.\nThese three are called a Triad. But it is obvious, that far from their\nbeing the trinity of persons, they are the trinity of the attributes\nof the same, one, great Being. These have been personified, and are\nworshipped by the philosophical Hindoos, as the three deities.\n\nOne remarkable fact worth noticing is, the perfect equality between the\npersons of the Hindoo Trinity.\n\nWe read in our sacred books, of Bromho (first) offering prayer to\nBishto (second); Bishto paying homage to Shiba (third). Sometimes\nBromho and Shiba worship Bishto, etc.\n\nCompare the Christian Trinity with the Hindoo, with an unprejudiced\nmind, and you will recognize a great difference between them. The\nformer would show its unsoundness when placed in contrast with the\nlatter. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. The first two are\nBeings, and the third, which is essentially God himself, is not a\nBeing, for the spirit of a being cannot be a separate individual. In\nOriental countries, we address one man in various ways; taking one of\nhis peculiarities, and personifying it in rich allegories. The three\npersons of the Godhead must be equal in power, glory, and substance.\nThere is no equality between the three in the Christian Trinity; at\nleast, this does not appear satisfactory to one who is unacquainted\nwith the system. There are numerous indisputable places in the New\nTestament, where the subordination of the Son, is set forth in a clear\nmanner.\n\nThe very passages, which are produced to prove the equality of the Son\nwith the Father, speak in connection of his subordination unto Him.\n\u201cAll power is given unto me in heaven and earth,\u201d is a passage put\nforth, by intelligent men and women, to show that Christ is God. They\nput much stress on \u201c_all power_,\u201d while a simple, uninfluenced\nmind would put it upon \u201c_is given_;\u201d for whatever is given unto us\ndoes not make us equal to the giver.\n\nThe more we receive from him, the more subordinate are we, and the more\nthankful ought we to be unto him. The world might call us great, and\nbe dazzled with our splendor, which is given to us; still the sense of\nobligation demands our respect, our thanks, our worship for the Giver.\nBut Christ did acknowledge his Father as the giver of his wisdom,\npower, and honor, and never said that these belonged to himself. Before\nor after performing some miracles, when the weak-minded spectators\nwere liable to have taken him for God, he was particularly careful to\ndestroy that impression about himself; saying, that he himself could\ndo nothing; and thanked God for the power which enabled him to perform\nwonderful things. He would offer prayer to his Father, soliciting his\nsmile upon his works. Thus, standing by the grave of Lazarus, he lifted\nup his eyes to heaven, and said, \u201cFather, I thank Thee that thou hast\nheard me. And I knew that Thou hearest me always: but because of the\npeople which stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou hast\nsent me.\u201d\n\nFrequently, in view of his mightiest works, he tells us that his Father\nis greater than himself. Now, he, who is greater than another, cannot\nbe equal to him, at the same time. Two and two are always greater\nthan one and one. With us it might be possible to compete with, and\nsurpass one who was greater than ourselves, in wealth, learning, and\npopularity; but God\u2019s glory is unchangeable. If the Father, who is\ndistinct from Christ,--being one of the three persons who form the\nTrinity,--be greater than Christ, he is forever so. I know there are\nsome passages, in which Christ identifies himself with God; such as \u201cI\nand my Father are one.\u201d \u201cHe who hath seen me hath seen the Father.\u201d\nLet me give my experience as these passages fixed my attention. It is\nan undeniable fact that both the Old and New Testament were written in\nOriental languages, which abound in allegorical idioms.\n\n * * * * *\n\nMy own thoughts very readily suggested to me the meaning of such\npassages. When a plenipotentiary goes out to a foreign people, to\nadjust or secure political or mercantile interests for the people or\nking who sends him, he might very properly say that he and his king or\npeople are one. For he speaks and acts agreeably to the instructions\ngiven him by the king or people he represents, and whatever he says and\ndoes has been put into his power.\n\nSo Christ says he and his Father who sent him are one. He never did\nor said anything against his Father\u2019s will, and so he convinced the\nworld that he was the Sent--the especial viceroy of \u201cthe King eternal,\nimmortal, and only wise,\u201d on the earth.\n\nIt is affirmed by Unitarian divines that, in order that the disciples\nmight not misunderstand Christ, when he said he and his Father are one,\nhe explained to them the nature of that oneness or union, by saying,\nthat the very disciples about him were one with him and with God. \u201cThat\nthey all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that\nthey also may be one in us.\u201d Still it seems to me that the disciples\ndid not have any difficulty in understanding what he meant by, \u201cI and\nmy Father are one;\u201d for this is a common expression--a prevailing\nphrase--of Oriental lands, and they were familiar with it. When two\nor more persons are said to be one, it is obviously meant that they\nare of the same spirit, profession, culture, or will. We see in the\nNew Testament, that simple, unadorned words of Christ puzzled the\nJews more than his figures and allegories. For instance, when Christ\ntold the sick man, \u201cSon, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee,\u201d\nbehold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, \u201cThis man\nblasphemeth.\u201d\n\nThe expression, \u201cI and my Father are one,\u201d does not strike an Oriental\nas having some unfathomable, mystic meaning; nor does it convince him\nof Christ\u2019s being equal to his Father in glory, essence, and existence.\n\u201cHe who hath seen me, hath seen the Father.\u201d These words, I am told,\nare regarded as the strongest support of Trinitarian doctrine; \u201cChrist\nin them declaring most distinctly his identity with God, in every\nrespect.\u201d\n\nBut this is a simple thing again. Ask a Hindoo child of seven or eight\nyears old, to show you his father\u2019s house. He will direct you to go\nstraight ahead a few rods till you come to a store, and leaving the\nstore on your right, to go a little way and you will presently see a\npalm-tree; and if you see the palm-tree you see his father\u2019s house.\nDoes this imply that the palm-tree is his father\u2019s house? No. So the\npassage, \u201cHe who hath seen me hath seen the Father,\u201d does not convey,\nto any one accustomed to the Eastern mode of expressing thoughts,\nthe idea that Christ is God. The palm-tree of the Hindoo child is so\n_near_ to his father\u2019s house that if you see the one you cannot\nhelp seeing the other. Our dear Master exhibited such divine graces in\nhis life, that it is not blasphemous for him to say, \u201cIf ye have seen\nme ye have seen the Father.\u201d\n\nI did not dream of a triune God as I studied the New Testament, and\nwhen it was presented to me in the creeds I found no support for that\ndogma in the Scriptures. It seems to me that the doctrine of a triune\nGod, is not able to give \u201clife, comfort, and salvation to the world.\u201d\nIt is neither essential to, nor a part of, the religion of Christ. It\nis the production of Oriental philosophers. In the course of time, it\nmigrated from the East to the West. As it passed from hand to hand, and\ncountry to country, it lost much of its peculiar beauty. In conclusion,\nI should say that an intelligent Oriental finds nothing rational in the\ndoctrine of the Trinity as it exists among Christians, because he has\nseen a better one in his own country. Indeed, to receive this doctrine,\nso absurd, so unintelligible, would be as ridiculous for him, as for a\nBostonian to sail to Calcutta for a piece of ice.\n\n_The Total Depravity of Human Nature._--As my time would not\npermit me to consider this subject in a way I would like, and thereby\nshow my reasons for not believing it, I would simply resort to common\nsense and the Scriptures to expose the awkwardness of this doctrine. I\nfully believe that such enormous doctrine as that of calling a child of\nthe Most High a totally depraved creature--having nothing good in him,\n_is_ not, and ought not to be a part of any man\u2019s creed.\n\nIt discourages man. It puts a mountain in his way. It weakens his\nfaith in a loving Father, when he is told that impartial justice will\nhold him responsible for all the iniquities which he was created to\ncommit. I am aware that believers in this doctrine would say that\nthe atonement, made by Christ for our sins, has satisfied eternal\njustice,--that \u201cthe blood of the Lamb has washed our sins.\u201d\n\n \u201cBad leads to worse, and better tends to best.\u201d\n\nAdmit one absurd theory, and it will bring others of the same nature to\nits support.\n\nThe doctrine of the vicarious atonement is the centre of gravity which\nsupports the theory that man is a totally depraved creature. Without\nthe former, the latter will fall down on the ground, and break to\npieces, and no one would dare regard himself a wholly depraved being.\nIf I hear that a certain man in my city is an infallible physician to\ncure consumption, I would not feel afraid to call my slight cough by\nthat fatal name--consumption. It troubles me to know what became of the\nmillions of souls born totally sinners, and who died before the blood\nof the Lamb had been shed. Is it possible that our good Father filled\nhell with human creatures, who bloomed in their infancy in the garden\nof creation,--those simple, pure-minded ones, whom \u201cno murder clothed\nand no murder fed,\u201d--who spent their lives in doing good?\n\n * * * * *\n\nPerhaps some will tell me that Christ died for all; both those who\nlived before his appearance on earth, and those who lived after. Here\nis some trouble again.\n\nIf I understand rightly, it is said that the mere fact of Christ\u2019s\noffering himself, would not wash away our sins. We must believe in\nhim in order to receive the benefit of his dying. If so, then, even\nto-day, there are millions who have no opportunity to hear of Christ;\nconsequently they cannot believe in him and his gracious atonement.\nSt. Paul writes, \u201cHow then shall they call on him in whom they have\nnot believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not\nheard?\u201d\n\nThe idea of one man\u2019s suffering, or making atonement for the guilt\nof others, is a strange one. In the world we do not see examples\nof it. The man who is guilty before the court suffers. His weeping\nwife, loving children, and kind parents are not called upon to take\nhis punishment, much as they might wish to do it. I am reminded of\na poem in the Ramayona. When the god Rama was coming home, the sea\nstood before his car, in a human form and thus addressed him: \u201cThe\nten-headed,--Rabona, the great tyrant King of Sunka, or Ceylon, stole\naway thy wife, and thou didst erect a bridge over, and chain the sea,\nto reach his kingdom. O Son of Rhaga, nowhere do I hear of such a\nstrange decision,--that one commits a crime, and another suffers for\nit.\u201d\n\nThe total depravity of man\u2019s nature is a doctrine that is not\nrecognized by Scripture. Of course, there are many places in the Bible\nwhere the sins of man have been set forth in dark colors; but that does\nnot imply that he is wholly a sinful creature,--born to be so. There\nare instances too numerous to mention, both in the Bible and in the\nannals of the world\u2019s history, of men and women living a life of purity\nand love.\n\nLet us see what the Scripture says,--that God created man in his own\nimage, is an undeniable fact. \u201cSo God created man in his own image, in\nthe image of God created he him; male and female created he them.\u201d In\nwhat sense is man the image of God? Is he the image of God\u2019s person?\nNo, it cannot be so. If we say that, we become pagans, and give a\nphysical form to God. Now, the safest and most rational way to answer\nis, to say that he is the image of God\u2019s nature, spirit, and love;\nbecause we recognize glimpses of these Godly graces in man, more or\nless. Here comes a proposition that the image of anything must contain\nthe peculiarity, or some likeness of the original, otherwise it would\nnot be an image. If I wish to draw a picture or make an image of the\nsun, I cannot make it an oblong, triangular, or square figure, I must\nmake it a circular one; otherwise, people would call me a poor artist,\nand the image a wretched one,--the image of some fanciful object, but\nnot the Sun. God is infinitely pure, holy, perfect in his nature. How,\nthen, could his image be totally depraved? Again, if man be truly\na depraved creature in his very nature, our Master, then, must have\nuttered some sentimental words when he said,\u201cBe ye perfect even as your\nFather in heaven is perfect.\u201d\n\nIt is hard for us to understand that the image of unbounded Holiness\nis totally depraved, and that totally depraved creatures should become\nperfect as their \u201cFather in heaven.\u201d Let theologians call man a born\nsinner, yet he is not so. The Great Theologian, who knew human nature\nwell, its capacity, its excellence, bade it \u201ccome up higher,\u201d and \u201cbe\nperfect.\u201d\n\n_The Doctrine of an Everlasting Hell._--I cannot conceive of\nanything as everlasting but God. Everything has its end at some time,\nor in some way; but God is without end. All but God is subject to\nchange. He, our good Father, is unchangeable and everlasting. The\nGreat King is the Sovereign over all,--heaven, and earth, and all the\nhosts thereof. If there is a place called hell, it must be before His\nomnipresence; for there is nothing that is not known, and seen, and\nmade by God. He could not create an everlasting hell to torture his\nweak, frail children. Whatever He has created is for their good.\n\nHeaven and earth, with all their wonders, unite to contribute to the\nwelfare of God\u2019s creatures.\n\nEverything that lies within, without, around, or above us, speaks of\nGod\u2019s unfailing love towards his children. He has placed us under his\nmoral government, the violation of whose laws brings suffering. The\nsame is true also in our relation to the laws of Nature. When we break\nthem we suffer for it; and the suffering is conditional.\n\nI put my hand into a blazing fire, and immediately I feel the effect\nof my imprudence. I then take my hand back from the fire, and resolve\nnot to put it there again. If I try the experiment again, the same\nsuffering is inevitable.\n\nThe All-wise Father has so ordered, that the violation of his\nlaws, physical or moral, will bring suffering;--suffering produces\nrepentance;--repentance will beget reformation; and reformation will\nmeet the approbation and smile of God. Such are his laws, and they must\ndo their mission. He punishes to cure, and not to kill. \u201cHe wounds for\nhis mercy\u2019s sake,--He wounds to heal.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe parable of the Prodigal Son,\u201d verifies this truth. When the son\nwanted to have his portion given to him, the good father knew well what\nwould be his lot, by and by. Yet he did not interfere with his wish,\nfor he had made him a free moral agent. The child leaves his paternal\nabode, and spends his portion, his energies, in riotous living. He\nbecomes poor, has nothing to eat, and takes care of swine;--the\n_very_ menial business in Oriental countries. His sufferings\ncreate repentance in his bosom, and he starts for his father\u2019s home.\nWhat did the father do? Did he say, \u201cGo from me forever, and live\nin everlasting misery?\u201d No. He is too good, too loving to say that.\nHe comes out of the house, welcomes the wanderer back, clothes him\nwith the best robe, and makes a feast. In the Bible there is mention\nof everlasting fire; but the words are not in meaning according to\nwhat they sound. If they were literally true, they would falsify\nChrist\u2019s \u201cparable of the prodigal son.\u201d It is a common Oriental way of\ndescribing the state of unhappiness. When a boy I read these things\nin Hindoo books. \u201cIt is said, Jom, or Death, has his angels, who dip\nsinners in boiling oil. They fix large hooks in their throats and drag\nthem on some high places. They cause them to embrace pillars of fire,\nand finally thrust them in \u2018Nonuck Coondoo,\u2019 or pit of dirt, in which\n\u2018kit\u2019 (a worm) dieth not.\u201d\n\nI am told that, taking the words of the Bible in a literal sense,\nthe Christian people believe in many absurd things, and teach them.\nFor instance, in a Sunday-school book, there is a question like the\nfollowing: \u201cWhere do the wicked go?\u201d \u201cTo hell,\u201d is the answer. All\nright. \u201cWhat kind of a place is hell?\u201d \u201cIt is dark, and there the\nworm dieth not, and there is fire unquenchable.\u201d Now our common sense\nsprings up to protest against this unfortunate statement; declaring\nthat where there is fire unquenchable there cannot be dark at all. Such\na fire would light hell so splendidly as to enable its inmates to pick\nup the very sand off its floor,--of course, if there be any.\n\nHeaven and hell are within our own breasts. We experience the joys of\none and the pangs of the other. When we perform our duties faithfully,\nand \u201clove our neighbor as ourselves,\u201d we then commune with God and his\nangels; and that is what constitutes the joy of heaven. On the other\nhand, when we neglect our duty,--seek after carnal lust,--defy God and\nman by our thoughts and actions, and thereby bring sorrows, the hatred\nof the world, and remorse of conscience--we make hell within us. A pure\nand contrite heart is heaven, and a heart that loves self exclusively,\nis hell.\n\nThus I have, very poorly but sincerely, attempted to give my reasons\nfor not believing in the Trinity,--the total depravity of human nature,\nand everlasting torture in hell. To me they are unscriptural and absurd\ndoctrines. I do not trouble myself with mysteries, but receive the\nsimple words of Christ as my all-sufficient law, of which, \u201clove to\nGod, and love to man,\u201d is the essential part.\n\nMy Christianity begins where Christ opens his life, and ends where he\ncloses it. In his words I find my duty towards, and my relation to,\nGod, clearly defined. In Christ, I find a perfect humanity, and a safe\nGuide to liberty, holiness, and love. Skilful orthodox ministers, who\nare used to teaching those who are willing to hold their doctrines,\nmay pick apart these simple things which I have said. It will give them\nno pleasure that I, a young man, have come out of the dark ways of my\npeople, and have found what rejoices my heart in Christ and in his God,\nbecause I do not and cannot take with my blessed Christian faith the\nopinions of the orthodox. I know what those opinions are; I knew them\nbefore I gave up Hindooism, and they prevented me for some time from\nfinding light and joy in the Gospel. I know, too, what many of my own\ncountrymen, who have the best minds and who have outgrown Hindooism,\nthink of the views offered them by orthodox missionaries. Intelligent\nHindoos think that what these missionaries wish them to believe, as a\npart of the doctrine of Jesus Christ, is very like some of the worst\nthings in their own religion, which made them doubt it and throw it\noff. I know my countrymen will never be converted to these orthodox\nviews, though some of the missionaries are good men and work hard.\nTheir doctrines, which we do not find when we read the Bible ourselves,\nstand badly in the way of their success. Intelligent Hindoos who throw\noff their religion, generally become what are called here, \u201cInfidels,\u201d\nor \u201cDeists.\u201d When a Hindoo gives up the superstitious practices of\nmy country, all the religion which he keeps is by clinging to, and\nloving and trying to obey, some beautiful lessons of piety and morality\nscattered over his sacred books, which are just like the best things\nin the Old Testament. The orthodox missionary tells these Hindoos that\ntheir sacred books are all \u201chumbug.\u201d The missionary is ignorant what is\nin those books. At the same time he tells my countrymen that all the\nOld Testament was written by God. My countrymen will never change their\nreligion for \u201corthodoxy.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n INTEREST IN AMERICA.--DESIRE AND PURPOSE TO GO.--MY FRIEND\n AGREES TO ACCOMPANY ME.--ILL REPORTS OF AMERICA.--HORROR OF\n SLAVERY.--MY FRIEND FAILS ME.--WILL GO ALONE.--ARRANGEMENTS.--MY\n MOTHER.--LAST DAYS AT HOME.--VOYAGE.--ARRIVAL IN AMERICA.--MY\n EXPERIENCES HERE.\n\n\nAs I was studying that phase of the American mind so richly exhibited\nin the Unitarian tracts and books,--the sweet eloquence of Channing,\nthe astonishing clearness of the arguments of Burnap, the spiritual\ninsight of Bartol, etc.,--I was drawn very close to America. I\nthought these people must be wonders, who have been able to sift out\nsubstantial grains from a mass of chaff. Often with an exulting heart,\nI have thanked God that the simplicity of the gospel is not lost,--that\nthe Christianity of the Apostles did not die under the sentence of the\nNicene Council, but is still alive, in good health, and _ever_\nwill be, until our Master has brought the whole world to subjection\nunto his Father and our Father, and the creation bends its knee\nbefore the throne of his God and our God, in the _name_, or more\ndistinctly, in the _Spirit_ of Christ.\n\nMy interest was not confined to the Unitarians of America, but it\nextended to the country itself. I wanted to know about the people,\nthe customs, government, and prosperity of the country as much as\npossible. The _very_ few books which I could get hold of,\ncontaining accounts of America, were eagerly perused; and that portion\nof the history of England which speaks of the American Revolution, was\nread over and over with a throbbing heart. I felt indignant at the\nproceedings of England against America, and in my sympathy suffered\nwith the American people, who I thought were better Christians than the\nEnglish. I prayed for and rejoiced at their prosperity, and determined\nto visit them some time. Such was my habit of looking at the map of\nNorth America, that the boys at our school used to joke me, saying,\n\u201cThere, there is your America!\u201d In our family circle every opportunity\nwas availed of to speak of the United States. My dear mother, who\nrejoices at the prosperity of others, and hates tyranny and injustice,\nheard with great pleasure of the American Independence. But hearing\nme speak so much and so often of America, the younger portion of the\nfamily, such as my sisters, aunt, etc., would joke me whenever an\nopportunity was offered. For instance, if I said, \u201cThis cloth is not\ngood,\u201d \u201cYou will find a better one in Am\u0101ric\u0103,\u201d was their joke.\n\nOne bright Sunday forenoon, three of us were coming from Bali to\nworship at Mr. Dall\u2019s chapel, and a conversation took place upon the\nfuture welfare of Unitarian missions in India. Our valued friend, Baboo\nC. C. Singha, suggested that it would be a grand thing for the mission\nif some of us who are so closely connected with the mission would go to\nvisit the brethren in America, tell them of our needs, offer thanks in\nour behalf for the blessing they have sent in the person of Mr. Dall,\nand bring home their help and sympathy. As for himself, he said he\ncould do this errand elegantly, were it not for his wife and children\nand his school. I responded to his suggestion, and informed him of my\ndesire,--that this very thing had been the all-engrossing subject in my\nmind. There was a young man, a native Christian, who wished to join me,\nand thus we reached the chapel, making suggestions, discussions, and\nresolutions on our way.\n\nAfter the service, Chundy Baboo spoke to Mr. Dall about our wish to\nvisit the American brethren. He approved of it, looked at us with a\nkind heart, and gave us encouragement. There was present with us a\ngentleman, Mr. J. M. Hurd, of Clinton, Mass., who promised to report us\nto the brethren at home, and to ask the American Unitarian Association\nto respond to our wishes.\n\nA few months passed away. Advices from Mr. Dall came to our friend C.\nC. Singha, Esq., and he asked us if we were ready, and firm in our\nposition. I told him that I was firm but not quite ready to take a\ndecided step, as the circumstances under which I lived were against\nmy plan. The love for my mother was the crowning obstacle. In India\nI never could spend three nights without my mother. From the houses\nof my sisters I would come home not caring for rain or storm. Again,\nI was very particular about taking my meals among strangers: hardly\ncould I make my dinner unless my mother was sitting by me. I was shy,\nhomesick, and unhealthy. One thing frightened me more than others,--it\nwas the food of the American people. They eat animal food, for which\nI was not prepared, although I had no prejudice against it. My taste\nis peculiar and sensitive. To eat \u201crare\u201d beef (which in fact is\nraw) is out of the question. I could not bear the flavor of duck\u2019s\neggs, which some Hindoos use. Indeed, the charge which the Hindoos\nbring against the native Christians, to the effect that they become\nChristians for the purpose of eating beef and drinking wine, would not\nbe justly applicable in my case. For owing to my peculiar taste and\nfastidiousness about food and drink, I can say, that during my two\nyears\u2019 stay in America, I have not eaten as much animal food as the\nCalcutta deists use in a fortnight. I have always been unable to eat\ncustard, which I am fond of, and plumpudding, if they are mixed with\nwine,--not for any superstitious hatred against it, but I could not\nbear its smell, which, however concealed under other ingredients, is\nsure to encounter the acuteness of my senses. Hence, the good lady whom\nI boarded with the most of the time in this country, would not use wine\nin her cooking, even at the risk of spoiling things for an American\nmouth.\n\nOur friend, the young native convert, said he would come to America,\nas he was outcasted and had no parents living, and no new sacrifice\nto make. He wrote a beautiful letter to the Secretary of the American\nUnitarian Association. He was older than I, and had a considerable\nknowledge of English literature and life, having been a great deal with\nthe missionaries. In his character there is a mixture of childlike\nsimplicity with matured experience; he is a good-hearted young man.\nI rejoiced at his earnestness, and hoped some one would join him in\nthe undertaking. He was speaking of his intended visit to the United\nStates to a deistical gentleman who is a great English scholar, the\nhead teacher of a government school, and well informed about European,\nbut less so, as it appeared, about American communities. My friend\nheard him say that the Americans are a rough people, that most of them\nare wild, and walk about with bowie-knives, pistols, and other deadly\nweapons,--that their government tramples upon the rights and lives of\nmillions whom it holds in absolute bondage; and, what is more wicked,\nthat if a man should dare to speak a word against this unjust, inhuman,\nand wicked institution, he would be insulted by the community, tried\nand imprisoned, or hung by the law.[34]\n\nAt this time I saw a book called Uncle Tom\u2019s Cabin, in the parlor of a\nrich native merchant in Calcutta. Not knowing the nature and contents\nof the book, I opened it and read the letter which a negro woman wrote\nto her mistress before her flight with her child towards Canada,--the\nEgypt of the slaves. I read of the pursuit of the master,--her crossing\nthe river Ohio, the hospitality of the Quaker, etc. I, of course,\ntook the story as fictitious,--something like the Arabian Nights\u2019\nEntertainments, for I _could_ not believe that a man could buy\nor sell a human being, whatever might be his color, intelligence, or\nposition. My friends told me that this book gives a true sketch of\nAmerican Slavery. I would not at first believe it, and, calling up all\nmy good feelings towards the American people, came to the following\ndecision. Slavery might be existing in America,--it is a large country,\nand perhaps among the aborigines, who are wild savages, this system is\nprevalent. I hoped, also, to hear that the people of the United States\nare diligently engaged in driving away the men-sellers. Sad logic! I\nsaw the picture of the _master_,--a white man, with coat, hat,\nand watch-guard. Even then I could not persuade myself to believe that\nthis man was a citizen of the United States. I thought it was not\nnecessary to believe that all the white people are good,--these man,\nwoman, and baby-sellers are heartless ruffians, whom the laws of the\nChristian United States cannot always reach. No! I was mistaken still!\nThey are the Americans,--the descendants of those who had come over\nfrom England. Finally, I concluded that these slaveholders have no\n_women_ among them, as the tender, kind-hearted women would have\nput the abominable trade to destruction. To my utter surprise, I was\ntold by my friends that the slaveholders have their families, churches,\npastors, etc.! God only knows with what a sad shock my heart sank down.\nI could not but think that in no portion of the globe had the blessed\nreligion of Christ been made into a machine to work for the selfish\nman, to satisfy his cupidity, as it had been in the United States\nof America. These men support, by Christianity, that very system of\nbondage which Christianity came to destroy. The parable of the master\nreleasing his servant from his debt, and of that servant tormenting\nhis fellow-servant for a small sum he had owed him, came into my mind,\nand I realized the truth uttered by those wise lips of Jesus twenty\ncenturies ago. Mr. Dall told me that there are free States in the\nUnion. This puzzled me again. Union of _free_ and _slave_\nStates! It must be a queer Union! No! it cannot be so. St. Paul could\nnot very well understand the communion of things of contrary nature:\n\u201cAnd what communion hath light with darkness?\u201d etc. (2 Cor. vi. 14\u201316).\nThe union of fire and water, light and darkness, freedom and slavery\nis impossible. So I concluded that there are good antislavery men and\nwomen in America, as it cannot be that human nature there is totally\ndepraved; but these States must be pro-slavery, since\n\n \u201cHe who friendship with knave hath made,\n Is judged a partner in the trade.\u201d\n\nReading in a small book something like--\n\n \u201cThe British flag floats over land and sea,\n And beneath it the slave is _free_,\u201d\n\nmy joy knew no bounds. Hardly could I read the lines; the tears dimmed\nmy eyes, and I cried, \u201cFather of the poor, bless the flag of England!\nWave, wave thou mighty flag with the cross on thy bosom, and draw the\nlow, despised children of God to come under thy protection. Thy charms\nmelt the iron that binds the feet of slaves! Wave majestically and on\nhigh, that the bond may see thee through the wide country stretching\nfrom Maine to Florida, and from Massachusetts to California!\u201d\n\nAfter a few months had passed, instructions from the American Unitarian\nAssociation reached Mr. Dall, authorizing him to send a couple of young\nmen to America, that they might prepare themselves for the ministry\nunder its care. Mr. Dall asked the young man who had written to the\nAssociation to get ready, and hearing that he could not sail alone,\nfound another to join him. By and by the first of these began to\nmake excuses, saying, he would be ready within a year or two, etc.,\nwhile the second stood alone, ready to come provided he could find a\ncompanion. Mr. Dall came to me and laid the affair before me. He did\nnot urge me, but he reminded me of my promise and inclination to come\nto America. I regarded this as an especial call from God, and thus I\nprayed: \u201cFather, wilt thou indeed have thy child, who _first_\nproposed going to America, carry out the undertaking? I see the cost of\nthe project: it will deprive me of my mother, sisters, brother, home,\nand kindred during my lifetime; yet, if Thou wilt have me make these\nsacrifices for the benefit of thy other children, thy will be done.\nEnable me, then, to let the dead bury their dead, and to follow the\ncall of Duty!\u201d\n\nI gave my word to God, through Mr. Dall, and began at once to get\nready, because the call was so sudden that there were only six or seven\ndays for making the necessary preparations.\n\nI had then been suffering from the effects of a violent sickness,\nwhich had confined me to my bed for twenty-one days, a little while\nbefore. My body was so weak that I could hardly stand long without\nholding to something. But this did not frighten me. Within the weak,\nunhealthy frame, my moral courage began to move as usual, with vigorous\nthrobbings, and I determined to sail on the day fixed by my friends.\nIt required great caution to arrange my things, as it would have been\nimpossible for me to leave home had any of my nearest relatives known\nmy purpose. I wrote some letters for my mother, uncle, brother, and\nother friends, and hid them under the papers. The contents of these\nletters differed according to the person I wrote to; but to no one\ndid I tell where, why, and how long I should be gone. I begged in my\nletters to six different persons that they would take care of my dear\nmother,--asking one to visit her occasionally, the second to attend to\nher shopping (as the Hindoo high-caste females do not go to stores or\nmarket), a third to read my letters to her, etc.\n\nThree days, I believe, before I left India, my companion and I were\nwalking on the \u201c_Strand_,\u201d looking at the ships and talking the\nmatter over. He said the Americans are not trustworthy people,--that\nperhaps the captain would take us to some island and sell us to the\nsavages, etc.\n\nOnce more we talked upon the American Slave-Trade. I hear in this\ncountry the pro-slavery people call the Abolitionists fanatics,\naffirming that they misrepresent the system, that they exaggerate the\ncruelties practised on the slaves by their masters. But the world\nbeyond the United States does not blame the slaveholders merely for\nthe true or supposed cruelties practised by them. I hate the system\nitself; the very name is a terror to me. As a pea has two pods which\nenclose the seeds arranged in order in its womb, so slavery has two\npods, buying and selling human beings, and these enclose in them\nvices of all descriptions. They say the slaveholders feed and clothe\ntheir slaves comfortably. This does not justify the system. They do\nnot deserve our thanks for their kindness to the slaves. Slavery will\nbe profitable in proportion to the good treatment the _masters_\nextend towards the slaves; so that kindness to the slaves is generally\nbased upon the self-interest of their masters, for which no thanks are\ndue to them. \u201cIf ye love your brethren only what thank have ye? do not\neven the publicans so?\u201d Who would thank a farmer that feeds and fattens\nhis turkeys to make money out of them at the thanksgiving market?\n\nMy young friend, with an astonishing forethought, sketched out the\ndismal days which would inevitably be our portion if we visited\nChristian countries. He informed me of a fact which the Trinitarians\nhad told him,--that the Unitarians in America are very few in\nnumber--a set of fanatic, daring men, who have no truth, no church,\nno fixed organization, etc. This did not frighten me, for I believed\nthat it is not always the case that truth dwells with the majority.\nWhen God destroyed the world by a deluge, the faith of Noah and his\nsmall household was entirely different from that of the overwhelming\nmajority, but this made no difference. God approved the truth of this\nlittle band, and rejected others. In regard to the outcast life and its\nattendant sorrows, insults, and helplessness, I looked on them with\nindifference, believing that there is a Being who knows what I need,\nand will provide for me accordingly. In days of sorrows I will lean\ntowards Him, and be comforted. My good Father is the richest, highest,\nwisest, and most merciful Being, so if I trust in him, I shall have no\noccasion to regret it. I would not let my heart be troubled with these\nthings,--with \u201cwhat shall I eat? what shall I drink? and where withal\nshall I be clothed?\u201d and with whom shall I live? \u201cThe laborer is worthy\nof his hire.\u201d My own dear friends would not keep any social intercourse\nwith me I know; but God will bring others to me, he will raise kind\nhearts to bless and sympathize with me. \u201cWhen one door is closed\nagainst, hundreds are open to you,\u201d is the Hindoo saying, so I would\nfollow the call of duty, in hope, courage, and patience; believing that\nall things work for the good of him who loves God.\n\nMy friend fell back, and I stood alone. Mr. Dall seemed to give up all\nhope of sending young men to America, and asked me if I would act like\nothers. \u201cI have put my hands to the plough and I shall not take them\nback,\u201d was my reply.\n\nA rich native merchant of Calcutta had told Mr. Dall that he would give\nthe passage-money of two young men if they came to America; but as my\nyoung friend fell back, he paid the passage money and other expenses of\none.\n\nThe day before my departure I had to go to Calcutta to do some shopping\nwith Mr. Dall. My dear mother inquired of me the reason of my going to\nCalcutta so early in the morning, as I had to go to the school by nine\nA. M. I simply said I should probably return in time! but I did not get\nhome till nine in the evening. Mr. Dall rather injudiciously detained\nme in Calcutta, carrying me here and there to see that everything I\nneeded had been bought. I begged him to dismiss me,--told him to attend\nto, and arrange all that was necessary, and it would be agreeable to\nme. But he would not. This detention had caused such an alarm in my\nhouse that were it not a true purpose in me to go, I could not have\nleft home the next morning. I fully realized what the phrase, \u201cwise\nlike a serpent,\u201d means. As I was passing by the house of a gentleman,\nmy steps drew the attention of a boy, who cried, \u201cWho are you?\u201d \u201cIt is\nI, Prosono,\u201d I answered. \u201cWhere have you been, uncle? Your mother has\nbeen crying the whole afternoon for you.\u201d With slow steps and anxious\nheart, I entered into my mother\u2019s house. \u201cIs it Joguth?\u201d \u201cYes, mother,\nit is I.\u201d I walked into the dining-room to eat my supper, with a heart\nfull of fear and anxiety. She did not speak a word, but sat by me and\nbathed the floor with her tears. I looked towards heaven, and my spirit\nwhispered, \u201cFather, this is the beginning of the tears that must flow\nfrom those loving eyes of my mother! Kind, loving, affectionate as she\nis, I must leave her and follow the call of Him who said, \u201cWho is my\nmother?\u201d I desire to be \u201cabout my Father\u2019s business,\u201d so strengthen me\nto bear this separation. In Thee I recognize a heart more tender than\nthat of earthly mother. Most High, I would not look _around_ me\nin this juncture, but _above_, for all the help I need.\u201d After I\nhad finished my supper, she spoke, \u201cChild, I heard that you had gone to\nAmerica.\u201d This information was given to her by a friend whom I had told\nthat I should go to America very soon.\n\nI leave the reader to imagine what kind of a night I had. Early in\nthe morning my dear mother, as usual, went to bathe in the Ganges. A\nyoung lady had given me her ornament to carry to a goldsmith to have\nit mended, as I was a friend to the low castes in general. I felt\nthat I ought to bring the ornament from the goldsmith and return it\nto her, because if I did not, the lady would not know whom to ask for\nit, and neither would the artist know to whom to return it, as it was\ngiven to him in private. I went to that man, but he was not at home.\nIn vain I searched for him in several places where he was supposed to\nbe, and I could not wait any longer, because my mother would expect\nme to breakfast. I returned home by half past eight, I believe, took\nmy bath as usual, and entered into the dining-room for breakfast. The\nday before was the fast day of the Brahmun widows. So when my dear\nmother sat down to help me she looked very tired, after twenty-four\nhours\u2019 entire abstinence from food and drink. I put the things into\nmy mouth but had no strength to chew them. A deep anxiety, love for\nmy mother, the thought of separation, seemed to fill my heart, and I\ncast side glances at her face, for I knew that if I lived a hundred\nyears as a Christian, after my return from America, I should not be\nallowed to sit at meal on this floor and near my dear mother. She\nnoticed the uneasy feelings, and asked, \u201cJoguth, what is that cloud\non your face? You look very pale. Are you unwell, child? Tell me what\nails you,--I am your mother. Can\u2019t you confide in me?\u201d etc. I knew not\nwhat to say at first, and answered, \u201cMother, a young man has a great\nmany things to think about.\u201d After breakfast I entered into my bedroom\nand she followed me there. Not knowing what to take and what to leave,\nI walked from one end of the room to the other, putting my hand upon\nmy clothes, books, pictures, etc. I sat on my bed, and whispered, \u201cNo\nmore will my tired, sleepy, or sick body lie on thy bosom; no more from\nthee my voice will rise, in midnight gloom, to the throne of grace;\nno more shall I bathe thee with tears, which are counted and known by\nHim only who knows no sleep.\u201d My mother said it was almost time for\nme to go to school. So I got up and thought I would not loiter about\nthe room as it would create suspicion in my mother, and perhaps all\nmy cherished plans and precaution would be crushed and frustrated. I\nmust go without scrip--without a second suit of clothes--just as I am.\nThe celestial voice bids me to \u201clet the dead bury their dead;\u201d and so\nI must not look at these things, my books, clothing, etc., useful as\nthey are. God will provide me with all I need; I would \u201ccome and see,\u201d\nwith a filial confidence, how good my Father is. Just as I was, with\none shirt and one mantle on my body, I went out of the room. My mother\ncame after me, and said, \u201cChild, how long it will take you to learn to\nwear your own clothes properly,\u201d and began to button my shirt or outer\ngarment. I saddened at the thought that on my return from a Christian\ncountry, those fingers that fix my shirt now would not touch _me_.\nThe last words I heard from her mouth were these, \u201cJoguth, do not eat\nconfectionaries on the way: you are sick, and can\u2019t digest those rich\nthings, child. Come right home after the school, and you will find your\nsupper ready.\u201d \u201cMother,\u201d thought I, \u201cthe supper which you so kindly\nwish to prepare for me will be, I am afraid, a two-edged sword for you.\nI do not know where I shall take my supper to-night,\u201d etc.\n\nThus equipped with moral courage, taking no money, nor clothing, but\na trusting heart, I left home and its inmates never to enter therein\nagain, as my own. I commended my kind mother and other dear friends to\nthe care of Him, the good Father of all.\n\nIn order to make another effort in relation to that young lady\u2019s\nornament, I called at the goldsmith\u2019s house, but with no better\nsuccess. A dear young Brahmun friend, who is a hearer of Mr. Dall,\nand to whom I had confided my secrets, informed me that if I would go\nwith him to a public woman\u2019s house, I might possibly find the artist\nthere. As there was no time to lose, and the ornament must be obtained\nand returned to the owner, I agreed to his suggestion. There, on the\nGanges, stood the cottage of sin, and as we knocked at its outer door,\na female voice inquired, \u201cWho are you?\u201d \u201cPlease let us go in,\u201d said my\nfriend. \u201cNo,\u201d she said, \u201cfirst tell me what you want, and then I\u2019ll\nsee whether I can let you in or not.\u201d \u201cI want to see Ombika for a\nminute, and that is all.\u201d \u201cOmbika is not here,\u201d she said, and we heard\nher voice no more. \u201cWhat is to be done?\u201d I said. \u201cYou come with me,\u201d\nmy gallant friend replied; \u201cthere is a large opening on the wall which\nwould be a capital approach for us to get into the house.\u201d I hesitated\na little, but he said I must do it, under the necessity,--that these\ncunning girls must be intruded upon that way. Slowly we walked to the\nopening, which was large enough to admit us both into the house. We\nfound the artist there, and I asked him to return the ornament to me.\nHe began to make excuses, said it was not quite ready, but would take a\ncouple of days to finish it. \u201cFriend,\u201d said I, \u201cI cannot wait a couple\nof hours for it. I am going to a distant place, so please return it to\nme just as it is.\u201d He talked and argued about the matter, and wanted to\nknow how long I would be gone. Of course, I could not tell him directly\nabout my plans. He returned the ornament partly done. It would not have\nbeen safe _at all_ for me to have returned it to the owner for two\nreasons: first, that she lives so near my mother that if I went to her\nmy mother would the first person to see me, and her fears and surmises\nwould be doubly confirmed by my untimely return from the school;\nsecondly, the young lady would feel surprised to find her jewelry half\nfinished, and suspect my proceedings, and inform my mother accordingly.\n\u201cBe wise as serpents and harmless as doves,\u201d is a saying full of\nwisdom. I called a boy, whom I knew to be very good and reliable, and\nsaid, \u201cWill you take this package, to P----, to-morrow, and tell him\nthat I desire him to give it to T----?\u201d I charged him to see P---- the\nnext day, because if the young lady received her ornament the same day\nthe matter would be worse,--my mother would know it, and my friends\nwould at once start in pursuit of me. The good boy performed his\nmission satisfactorily I heard. I begged my friend, who helped me to\nfind the goldsmith, to go to my mother two days after I had left, and\ntell her about the letters I had written and hidden in my desk. While\npassing by an apothecary\u2019s I remembered that I owed him a little money,\nand paid him with the small silver pieces I had in my pocket.\n\nMuch as I wished to reach Calcutta before the high tide, I could not.\nI asked the boatmen to land me at Bag-bazzar, at the lower part of the\ncity, whence I proceeded to Mr. Dall in a covered Palkee, or Palanquin,\nas foreigners call it.\n\nDesiring to get a musical instrument (a flute), that I might practise\nwith it on board the ship, and thereby cheer up the lonely hours, I\ntried hard, but could not succeed. Mr. Dall said he would bring me one,\nbut, whether for want of money or of time, I do not know, he failed\nto do it. As I must embark right off before my friends could arrest\nme, Mr. Dall took me to his room and asked me to wear pants, cap, etc.\nO, I _hated_ to do it, fearing the people, even the low-caste\nboatmen would laugh at me. I told him that there was no necessity for\nmy wearing this strange costume here in Calcutta, that if I had got\nto do it, I would do it at sea. He would not hear my reasons. I told\nhim again that the English dress would not help me to become a good\nChristian,--it would only make me look like the strangest and ugliest\ncreature in the world. Fortunately my logic prevailed, and we got in a\ncarriage with our respective dresses.\n\nThe ship Sabine, that brought me to this country, belongs to Mr.\nTredick, of Portsmouth, N. H. Not knowing where she was lying at\nanchor, we came down the river as far as Bishops\u2019 College and had to go\nback again. She was near Baboo ghaut. Leaving me on board the ship,\nMr. Dall returned to the city with a view to bring the necessary things\nfor the voyage. After dark, our party of four sat at the table, and\nanother, the cabin boy, waited upon us. They all drank wine and ate\nsmoked fish. The smell of these two things was so disagreeable that I\nthought that they were fit only for savages. One of the party, a young\nman with a large round face (the second mate), began to sing comic\nsongs and make music with his feet, striking them on the cabin floor.\nThe words of one of his songs were like these--\n\n \u201cI love her, but she doesn\u2019t love me!\n She loves another. O dear, who can that be?\u201d\n\nBy and by the captain, Mr. Hendee, came on board with a few friends,\nand they all entered into an adjoining cabin. I retired to sleep, but\nthese gentlemen made such a noise the most part of the night that\nI doubt whether the people within half a mile had any rest at at\nall. The corks coming out of the wine-bottles with loud reports, the\ngentlemen knocking on the floor, their songs and imperfect utterance of\n\u201cFa-re-well,\u201d all these filled my heart with new and various thoughts.\nI feared if these men were to be on board all the way, I had better\nlearn Christianity in Calcutta, and not take the voyage to America.\nThe first part of their singing was very good I enjoyed one song\nespecially,--\n\n \u201cI am bound for the land of Canaan,\u201d etc.;\n\nbut as they got under the influence of new or old wine, their songs\nchanged into--\n\n \u201cFor to-night we will merry, merry be.\u201d\n\nThe knocking on the floor grew so violent that I feared they would\neither hurt their feet or break the boards; and a Sanscrith saying\ncame into my mind: \u201cThe animal with long, pointed horns and sharp\nteeth, and a man with wine in his stomach are to be avoided alike.\u201d\nBy midnight I heard some one vomiting, and remembered the saying that\nthe pleasures arising from dissipation and sensuality very soon bring\nsickness and misery.\n\nEarly on the next morning, Wednesday, January 27, 1858, Mr. Dall came\non board with all the necessaries for a four months\u2019 voyage, and went\ndown as far as the mouth of the Ganges, returning to Calcutta on Friday\nby the steam propeller that brought our ship down. Among various kind,\nuseful, and fatherly counsels, he warned me not to learn the profane\nlanguage that is freely used on board the ship, and wanted to know if\nI had any farewell words to say to him. \u201cTake care of my dear mother,\u201d\nwas my charge to him, which he has carried out in Christian ways. He\nalso made a little blank-book for me which he called my \u201cJournal,\u201d with\nthe following advice and instructions:--\n\n\n JOURNAL.\n\n\u201cI left Calcutta on Wednesday, January 27th, 1858, for Boston, United\nStates of America.\n\n\n _Resolves._\n\n\u201c(1.) I will read the Bible as often as I can, and stay my lonely heart\non God by faith, prayer, and trust in Jesus Christ.\n\n\u201c(2.) I will daily pray the Lord\u2019s Prayer, and rest all my anxieties\non \u2018Give us THIS DAY our daily bread,\u2019 and on \u2018THY WILL, not mine, BE\nDONE.\u2019\n\n\u201c(3.) I will try to read the Bible _through_, from Genesis to\nRevelation, on this voyage, and will make a record, if possible, of the\nbest thoughts as they suggest themselves to me.\n\n\u201c(4.) In the Bible I shall look for my comfort; in the history and\ndevout trust of the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, from Abraham\n(Genesis, 12th chapter),--\u2018The Lord said to Abraham, Get thee out of\nthy country, from thy kindred and from thy father\u2019s house, and thou\nshalt be a blessing,\u2019--through the Psalms of David, not forgetting the\n25th and 26th. \u2018The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want,\u2019 and \u2018They\nthat sow in tears shall reap in joy. He that goeth forth and weepeth,\nbearing precious seed (i. e. of faith, hope, and holy purposes), shall\ndoubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves (fruits of\nhis toil) with him.\u2019 God grant it may be so with you, Philip, my son,\nmy firstborn in India. God help you! Do you struggle, with God\u2019s help,\nto be an honor and praise to your family, your city, your country,\nand your friends, both in India and America, more and more as long\nas you live, and when called to depart out of this world, may it be\nto dwell with pure-minded spirits,--with the holy angels, and with\nthe just made perfect in heaven. Read the _Old_ Testament, but\nmake the _New_ your refuge and your rest. Trust in Jesus\u2019s call,\n\u2018Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give\nyou rest;\u2019 \u2018Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and\nlowly in heart, and you shall find rest unto your souls.\u2019 Matt. x. 29.\nAnd again, I will have perfect faith in Jesus\u2019s saying (as in Matt. x.\n29), \u2018Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house or\nbrethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or lands for my sake and\nthe Gospel\u2019s, but he shall receive a hundred fold now in this present\ntime, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and lands, with\npersecution, and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are\nfirst shall be last and the last first.\u2019\n\n\u201cOften say,--\n\n \u201c\u2018Jesus, I my cross have taken,\n All to leave and follow thee;\n Naked, poor, despised, forsaken,\n Thou from hence, my all shalt be.\n\n \u201c\u2018Perish every fond ambition--\n All I\u2019ve gained, hoped, or known,\n Yet how rich is my condition,\n God and heaven are still my own!\u2019\n\n\n \u201c_A True Christian._\n\n\u201cLet me strive to be a student and educator; a worthy representative\nof my country; an ambassador from Asia to America; a mediator between\nthe East and the West; the bearer of pure and precious hopes between\ntwo opposite sides of the world; a man of faith and love; a student of\nhuman life; a seeker of knowledge in distant lands; a follower in the\nsteps of prophets and apostles, of Abraham and St. Paul; a practical\nbeliever in human brotherhood; a pilgrim on the face of the world,\nseeking pearls of knowledge; a servant, minister, and angel of God; a\nman whose name is written in heaven; a man appointed by God to bring\ntogether the ends of the earth; a leader and a pioneer to begin the\ngreat work of union between the sincere and devout spirits of America\nand Bengal.\n\n\n \u201c_Things to be done if possible while at Sea._\n\n\u201c(1.) Get the list of the Books of the Bible by heart so as to\nfacilitate reference to them.\n\n\u201c(2.) Make all the progress I can in my Greek Grammar, that I may thus\ncome into nearer contact with Jesus\u2019s words of everlasting life.\n\n\u201c(3.) Translate into Bengalee (prose or verse) those great thoughts of\nthe Bible which move me most deeply. Above all, put them into Bengalee\nhymns, and so prepare in due time an original Bengal Hymn-Book.\n\n\n \u201c_Direction of Letters._\n\n\u201cTo the care of the Rev. C. H. A. Dall, Calcutta, India, Overland Mail,\nvia Southampton.\n\n\u201cWhen you reach Boston, you will find letters from Calcutta waiting you\nat the office of Dr. Miles, which is No. 21 Bromfield Street, Boston.\n\n\u201cAsk any Boston friend to forward your letters, enclosed in his, and he\nwill do it. Mrs. Dall will do it once a month, if you wish.\n\n\n \u201c_I will remember daily_,\n\n\u201c(1.) To _speak out_ clearly every word I wish to say, and look\nstraight in the face of the person I speak to.\n\n\u201c(2.) To say promptly, \u2018Yes, sir,\u2019 \u2018No, sir,\u2019 to every question.\n\n\u201c(3.) To walk my full number (200, 300, 400,) of rounds on deck;\nexercise essential.\n\n\u201c(4.) When any one speaks to me my first duty is to _look at him_\nwith respectful attention.\n\n\u201c(5.) To practise writing my name after a good copy.\u201d\n\n * * * * *\n\nIn regard to carrying out the above rules successfully, the reader will\nunderstand it perfectly, when I say that as to the _first_, the\nship rode on the blue waves of the Bay of Bengal, I felt sea-sick, and\ngot rid of it only on the day when I arrived in Boston. Nearly _four\nmonths_, this great monarch, the most disagreeable of all diseases,\nhad an undisputed sway over me. Occasionally, in very mild weather,\nI could walk a little and move about on the deck. My constitution is\nvery peculiar,--I shall never get used to the sea. It seems to me\nthat if I were forced to spend my life on the sea, it would be under\nconstant sea-sickness. A trifling motion makes me sea-sick. I have\nfrequently been made sick in riding in stages. On my way from Fitchburg\nto Templeton, by stage, I felt so miserable, that a good lady, Mrs.\nJ----, kindly invited me to come to and spend the night at her house.\n\nIt is customary in this country to offer the \u201crocking-chair\u201d to a\nguest. I always refuse it with thanks, for fear of its making me\nsea-sick. On board the ship I could sit at the table at regular hours\nmost of the time. Knowing that nothing but _land_ would cure this\nugly feeling, I hoped that some provision, or water would be used up,\nand thus compel the captain to touch at some place for fresh supplies.\nBut he had enough of everything.\n\nWhile we were in the river our table was furnished with fresh\nvegetables and fish, but as we launched forth into the ocean, we had\nalmost everything salted. Never accustomed to eat meat I found it\ndifficult to get along, as most of the edibles on board consisted\nof salt meat of various kinds. Two days in the week we used to have\npea-soup and rice and curry. To be true and just to the Sabine, I\nshould say she had a large supply of provisions of various kinds,\nwhich an American would regard as \u201creal _treats_.\u201d But I could\nnot relish most of them, being a stranger to their name and nature.\nMr. Dall had a large bunch of bananas, some tamarinds, etc., for me,\nwhich became very serviceable to me for a fortnight. As the Hindoos are\ntaught to share eatable things with their friends, I gave some fine\nbananas to the mates, the boy, etc. After a week I offered them some\nagain; but one partook of them, and the other refused them with thanks.\n\nNow once, at midnight, a large, dirty hand was thrust into my\nstate-room and pulled some bananas from the branch; I did not know who\nthat hand belonged to. The same hand helped itself with my fruits again\nthe next day, and I could not help smiling. When I had offered them to\nthe brethren, they felt delicate and declined to accept them, and at\nmidnight came to help themselves. I took the bunch out and distributed\nits contents among the sailors.\n\nThe captain, Hendee, was _very_ kind to me. As I was the\n_only_ passenger, and had none to speak to (as the sailors are not\nallowed to speak to any while on duty), I found Captain Hendee very\nagreeable. Mr. Dall could not have put me into the care of a better\nman than Mr. Hendee. He was a friend, teacher, guard, and pastor to\nme. Every day he would take notice of what I had done, how much I had\nread, what exercise I had taken, etc. Occasionally he would explain\nsome difficult passages in the New Testament and other books. When less\nsea-sick, in mild weather, I used to read from the following books:\nWaverley Novels, the Life of Napoleon, Pope\u2019s Poetical Works, The\nTower of London, Paul and Virginia (in Bengalee), Dr. Kane\u2019s Arctic\nExplorations, the Bible, and Channing, etc. Besides, Captain H. had\nAmerican papers, such as Gleason\u2019s Pictorial, the Olive Branch, and the\nNew York Ledger. This last paper did not give a good idea of American\npeople. Its stories I found to be fictitious love affairs, sentimental.\nI felt surprised to think that such stories were put into the hands\nof the boys and girls,--these will certainly corrupt them, and create\nromantic, short-lived affections in their hearts. The Hindoo parents\ndo not read nor tell the stories of love affairs to their children,\nbecause the influence of such things is very bad upon the young. They\nfill their hearts with strange passions, which do not belong to them.\nHence, in this country I hear so much of elopement, coquetry, strange\nunions between a boy of eighteen or twenty, and a woman of fifty!\n\nMr. Hendee undertook to teach me American etiquette, the discipline\nat the table, in the parlor, etc., but he is such a jolly man that\nwhatever he taught I took for fun. He would ask me every morning, and a\ngreat many times during the day, \u201cPhilip, how do you feel?\u201d My answers\nvaried according to the true state of my feelings. While sick, I said\nso, and while cheerful, I said _so_. But this would not satisfy\nhim. So he taught me to answer him as follows: \u201cPhilip!\u201d \u201cSir.\u201d \u201cHow do\nyou feel?\u201d \u201cAll serene.\u201d Then he would respond, \u201c_Salubrious_.\u201d He\ntold me, in fun, no doubt, that in Divinity Schools they make such long\nprayers, that the students find their limbs stiff, having had to kneel\ndown so long. I hoped my friends would not put me in a school like\nthose, that would cause me to go home lame after prayers.\n\nWe had a remarkably pleasant voyage. Very few storms were experienced\non our way. One day, after a severe squall, Captain Hendee sat on the\ngangway, tired yet cheerful, and, as usual, cried, \u201cPhilip, how do you\nfeel?\u201d He asked me what I thought of the late squall, and hearing me\nspeak indifferently of it, said, \u201cPhilip, you are just like a baby that\nknows not what is going on before him,\u201d etc. And then he began to sing,\n\u201cFrom all that dwell below the skies,\u201d etc. He would not hear any one\nswear in the cabin, and often would say, \u201cMr. C., (the second mate,)\ndon\u2019t, don\u2019t.\u201d\n\nEvery soul on board was kind to me, and I trust I was not less to them.\n\u201cAntoon,\u201d a Spanish sailor, hearing that I did not eat salt meat, gave\nme a sharp exhortation. \u201cYou are no good Christian! Me, the captain,\nMr. B., etc., are good Christians. We eat beef, ham, pork, plenty,--we\nfat,\u201d putting his hand on his stomach.\n\nAfter a voyage of four months, we reached Boston on the midnight of\n24th of May, 1858. Early in the morning, I got up from my bed and\nwaited for some friend, who, as Mr. Dall had told me, would come\nto take me into the town; but none came, not knowing, as yet, of my\narrival. One by one the sailors left the ship, and I was on board\nwith \u201cAntoon.\u201d The whole day passed, yet no Unitarian friend made his\nappearance to welcome me to the distant land. Not knowing what to eat,\nhungry and low, I sat on the gangway to gaze upon the harbor. I was\ndelighted to see \u201cDorchester Heights,\u201d which I took for a mountain, as\nI had not seen any high ground before. Looking at the buildings around\nthe harbor, I believed they were churches, on account of the chimneys\nwhich our Calcutta houses do not have. In order to spend the time and\nforget hunger, I began to draw a sketch of the Navy Yard, East Boston\nFerries, etc. As the demands of nature must be met, I took a piece of\nhard, square cracker and a little brown sugar, and made a supper of\nthem. In the evening I left the ship and ventured to go on shore in\nEast Boston, although \u201cAntoon\u201d feared I should get lost. Going a little\nway I came to a place where a young couple were sitting near the water.\nThe girl went down to see whether the water tasted salt or fresh. I\nknew then that, \u201ceven in heaven there are fools.\u201d Anybody who has even\nread of or seen the sea and its ways, knows, I am sure, that the water\ntherein is salt.\n\nNext morning Mr. Hendee came on board and inquired if I were crying.\nI told him that my heart was crying indeed. He sent his boy to escort\nme to the office of the American Unitarian Association. As I passed\nthrough the streets I was struck with the neatness of all around me,\nexcept the dirty tobacco-chewers and cigar-smokers. The sidewalks were\nnovel to me. Although there are thousands of foreign or Western women\nin Calcutta, I never was so near to them as to have any idea of their\ndress. The dress of the females struck me, and I guessed there must be\nsome framework within, as it could not be that a woman would have such\nlarge limbs. I feared to walk too close to a woman, lest by coming in\ncontact I should break her framework. But they walked so fast by me,\nthat I felt thankful that their frameworks did not tear my coat.\n\nBy eleven o\u2019clock the boy brought me to the office where a young man,\nMr. Fox, spoke to me kindly, and said if I waited a couple of hours\nI might meet Dr. Miles, the Secretary of the Unitarian Association.\nThere came in an elderly-looking gentleman, who, being informed of\nmy mission, conducted me to the church in Bedford Street, in which\nthe meeting of the Association was in session. I stood in a small\nroom leading into the church, and the gentleman took the letter of\n\u201cgreeting and introduction\u201d from me, and went in and put it in the\nhand of the Rev. Dr. Lothrop, the President. I heard my friends say\nthat only a half an hour before my appearance, the Secretary had told\nthe congregation that he was expecting me every day. I was led to the\nplatform, the President received me by his right hand in the name of\nthe American Unitarian Association, and gave me a chance to speak a few\nwords, which I did. My appearance was so sudden, that I did not know\nwhat to say until I opened my mouth; but he who assured his disciples\nthat they would receive words from above, favored me with the promised\ngift. The meeting looked so solemn to me, that the impression it made\nin my mind shall never be forgotten. The Secretary of the American\nUnitarian Association took me to his house, where I stayed nearly a\nweek. I had dreamed while on the sea that the secretary was a man of\nlight complexion, without a beard, moustache, or whiskers, that he had\na daughter seventeen years old, and I would stay at his house. These\nproved to be really true in every respect. In the evening of the same\nday I attended the Unitarian Festival in the Music Hall, where again I\nhad to speak a few words to the brethren.\n\nI had read about Christian fathers, mothers, and families, while in\nIndia, but now at Dr. Miles\u2019s I realized all. The gathering of each\nmember of the family at the same table, the exchange of kind greetings\nbetween the sexes, their songs and innocent frolics, made me think that\nthese, when perfected and guarded with unfeigned simplicity, and done\nabsolutely for the glory of God and the good of man, are what might be\nangelic.\n\nAfter staying a week at Dr. Miles\u2019s, I went to board with Mrs. M----,\nonly a few doors below his house. This excellent family did not treat\nme as a boarder, but adopted me as one of its members. Good Mrs. M----\nsays she lost her son of my age, who died at sea; so she regards me\nas her son. Not merely in words did they say so. In their untiring\nattention to my wants, in their perpetual anxiety about my welfare,\nthey have shown a mother\u2019s and sister\u2019s hearts. They have done unto me\nwhat I could not expect from them. They resorted to every available\nmeans to make me comfortable. I owe my health and freedom from sickness\nmainly to their care. I did not know well the flexibility of the\nweather here, so could not dress accordingly. I did not learn to dress\nproperly, nor even know the names of many pieces of clothing until now.\nIt would take a long time if I entered into details of their kindness.\nSo I will pass on to notice my other homes and friends in America. The\nExecutive Committee of the Association desired me to spend the summer\nmonths in studying with a country clergyman. Accordingly, on the 6th\nof July, Dr. Miles took me to Rev. James Thurston\u2019s, in Lunenburg,\nMass. Of course I felt very much confused at the frequent removals\nfrom place to place, as such a custom is unknown to the Hindoos. This\nis a charming place in regard to scenery, and, above all, I liked it\nfor its many hills, which I am fond of. The kindness of the family\nsoon cured my home-sickness for Boston, and I entered into my studies\nwith a cheerful heart. There was one source of pleasure here which I\ndid not have in either of my two Boston homes: that is children, of\nwhom our Blessed Teacher said, \u201cOf such is the kingdom of heaven.\u201d The\ninhabitants of this quiet place, both my Unitarian brethren, as well\nas other denominations, were very kind to me. The Orthodox and the\nMethodist clergymen, too, manifested much interest in my mission.\n\nThe Methodist brother has more than once cordially invited me to speak\nto his people. The first time I spoke in the Methodist church I had\nrather a novel experience. It was while I was speaking that a brother\nclose by shouted \u201c_Amen!_\u201d I thought it was a hint for me to stop,\nas in Unitarian churches, \u201cAmen\u201d is only uttered by the ministers\nat the close. As it was a wrong place to stop I made a long pause,\nthinking that if they really wished me to stop the pastor would rise\nand offer benediction; but nothing of this kind happened. I proceeded,\nand to my utter confusion, \u201cAmen! Amen!\u201d from different parts of the\nchurch. Immediately I stopped and was going to ask pardon, while \u201cgo\non, brother, go on,\u201d etc., revived my sinking spirits. At the close the\ngood brethren explained to me what they meant by \u201cAmen.\u201d\n\nOn the second of October I removed to Boston, to Mrs. M----\u2019s, in\nAllen Street, and there stayed until the twentieth of January. Then\nmy course was toward Medfield, Mass., a place not so charming as\nLunenburg, but it has more people in it. My host and teacher here was\nRev. S. W. Bush, who is said to be, and I am sure is, an excellent\nscholar and good Christian. As my stay with him has been longer\nthan with others in this country, I had a good chance to notice his\nfatherly love for me, and his sanguine interest in the cause of Truth.\nEvery morning and evening, while at home, his prayer has unceasingly\nrisen to the Throne of Mercy for my welfare, and for the success of\nthe Gospel in all countries. His wife, as far as I can judge, is a\nremarkable woman, social, refined, wise, literary, and good. Both\nthe husband and the wife have contributed much towards my mental and\nspiritual culture. The people in this town of Medfield were kind to\nme, a stranger, and nothing has happened during my sojourn among them\nto pain my feelings. Besides Mr. Bush and wife, there were a good old\nlady and daughter,--the owner of the house we lived in, who were not in\nthe least slow to confer their blessings and helps whenever I needed\nthem. The other clergymen of the place, one a Baptist and the other\nOrthodox, were not wanting in the spirit of love in their acquaintance\nwith me. Our good brother, Rev. Mr. Sewell, deserves my regards and\nnotice too. He is a Unitarian clergyman, preaching to the Society in\nSharon. Besides his ministerial labors he does a great deal to promote\nthe welfare of his fellows, and is connected with several beneficent\ninstitutions. He is an experienced farmer, a judicious manager of\nthe schools, and a good, kind gentleman. I have had the pleasure of\nspending several happy hours with this Christian man.\n\nIn order to spend the \u201csecond winter,\u201d which is trying to those from\nwarm climates, in Boston, as well as to receive instruction from the\nclergymen there, I removed to Boston, where I stayed till the day\nappointed for my start for India, Monday, the 11th of June, 1860. I\ncannot drop my pen here without recognizing the kindness of my other\ndear friends to whose care my Father has committed me. I hope the\nreader will not regard me impertinent if I notice some of my friends\nby their names. I know there are others in Boston and in other places\nin the Union, whose hearts beat in Christian sympathy for me, who\nhave shown their interest in various _material_ ways. As they\ndo not tell me their names, I cannot enjoy the happiness of thanking\nthem personally. My Father who knoweth all and \u201cseeth in secret\nshall reward\u201d them openly. Being absent from my dear mother, I first\nrecognized a motherly affection in the heart of Thomas Gaffield, Esq.,\nof Boston. I cannot call his love and interest in me by any other\nname, as they were not common nor temporary. During my stay in this\ncountry, whether in Boston or in other places, he has exhibited an\nunabated interest in me, has attended to all my personal affairs, and\nI sincerely hope, while I am gone to work for God, his heart will find\nits way to India. His Christian wife and sisters have been equally kind\nand attentive. Mrs. G----, of Concord, Mass., will be remembered ever\nfor one among many other things. After my arrival in this country,\nDr. Miles removed me from place to place as a raw chess-player does\nhis Knight. My other friends did not have the opportunity of knowing\nwhether I had all the clothing that I needed. The garments I had\nalready were either too loose or too tight. Uncomfortably as I felt,\nI knew not to whom to go for relief. But there is one who is not\nunmindful of even the trivial wants of his children. He whispered to\nhis noble daughter in Concord, and she, with other kind young ladies,\nmade me comfortable clothing. Her interest for me did not drop down\nwith her needle and thimble, but is fresh, and will be, I trust, as\nlong as I stand a worthy recipient. The Christian ladies of Rev. Mr.\nMuzzey\u2019s Society in Newburyport, deserve my hearty thanks for their\nsympathy shown me in different ways. Besides the contributions given\nfor my benefit, these daughters of God worked fancy articles and held a\nfair, the proceeds of which were given for my personal comfort.\n\nThat noble woman, Mrs. L. M. Child, favored me with her acquaintance\nlately, and I might name many other kind friends. I deem it a privilege\nand honor to have become known to such persons. Reluctantly I pass\nby my excellent friends and earnest Christian helpers, such as Rev.\nMessrs. Hale, Bartol, Winckley, King, Ellis, Clarke, etc. The last\nfriends that my Father brought to me are Mr. and Mrs. Spring, of\nEagleswood, N. J. Since I became acquainted with them I believe that\nthis gentleman is really \u201c_Spring_.\u201d His heart knows no winter.\nSuch is his pleasant appearance and such are his Christian graces, that\nin a few moments I felt myself drawn as closely to him as if I had\nknown him always, and as if his heart was my \u201cOLD HOME.\u201d\n\nThe little children even have been kind to me and brought me their\nlittle presents. The first gift which I received in America, a handsome\nBible, was from a little thing, Miss Lucy Sands, whom I called in the\nlanguage of Bishop Heber, \u201cGolden Sands.\u201d A little girl in Newburyport\nsent me twice some copper and silver pieces, making fifty cents in all.\nShe is the daughter of an Orthodox divine. A little child like this, so\nfull of love and kindness in her heart, does not look like a \u201ctotally\ndepraved\u201d creature, although her father\u2019s theology would call her such.\n\nIf my paper has no room for other kind friends, or my pen has forgotten\nto chronicle their names, yet I know my heart has room for them all\nand will never forget them. Their names have been recorded in the Book\nof God, who will reward them abundantly for their kindness toward\none who is a stranger, and an outcast for the sake of the Truth.\nThe benediction of our Master will certainly be pronounced upon them\nsaying: \u201cCome, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared\nfor you from the foundation of the world,\u201d for \u201cInasmuch as ye have\ndone it unto one of the least of my brethren, ye have done it unto me.\u201d\n\n\n\n\n FAREWELL!\n\n\n BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN THE FAITH:--\n\nThe time has come for me to bid you farewell. The circumstances under\nwhich I came here just two years ago, and the circumstances under which\nI return to India, are quite different from each other. I came with\nfear, weakness, and low spirits. I go with courage, strength, and hope.\nI came here a runaway from the Hindoos, without scrip, or a second suit\nof clothes, but go with all the necessary help with which you have\nprovided me.[35] I came to a strange land, with little hope of finding\nfriends, and I go now with the pleasant memories of many friends, whose\nhearts, prayers, and sympathies will accompany me in my labor in the\nharvest of the great King.\n\nI have availed myself of every opportunity to improve, to store my mind\nwith useful information. But I have studied or read very few books\nduring my stay among you. The main subject of my study has been Human\nNature in its different editions and volumes. The only possible way of\nknowing God and his righteousness is through human nature. The image\nbeareth the likeness of the original,--the son inherits his father\u2019s\nnature in a degree; so our common Father manifests himself in his\nchild, man. Corrupted, mistaken, sinful as he is, you will find a great\ndeal in him to remind you of his Father. In us there are only extracts\nfrom the sacred subject, God; but in our Elder Brother it is complete.\nWhatever we are permitted to know of God, and as much as is necessary\nfor our life, comfort, and salvation, we may learn in the great volume\nof humanity to which Christ gave \u201cthe finishing stroke.\u201d\n\nMy friends had very many fears about my coming. First, I should return\nto India with the vices and dirty habits of this country, such as\ndrinking wine and spirits, smoking cigars, etc. Second, I should not\nbe able to stand the severe winter of this country. Third, being among\nthe clergymen, who are said to be more sectarian than their people, I\nshould go home a narrow-minded Christian. But I am happy to say, as\nfar as my near-sighted eyes can see, that I stand above these fears.\nI never was in the habit of drinking wine or using tobacco in any\nform, and in this country I have carefully avoided these dirty things.\nEating much or little meat is another ugly habit in the opinion of\nthe Hindoos, and the native converts are often charged with becoming\nChristians simply for the purpose of eating \u201ccow and hog.\u201d Although I\nhave no prejudice against meat, yet I presume that owing to my peculiar\ntaste, I have not eaten as much meat in two years, as a boy or girl of\nten in New England would eat in six weeks, especially if \u201cThanksgiving\u201d\nday should fall within them.\n\nHaving had no idea what an American winter was, I came unprepared; yet\nI have not suffered in the least in these two years. The very coldest\ndays you had in the winter before the last, I rode in an open sleigh\nover the hills of Lunenburg, without anything to cover my ears. In the\nlast winter, on the second of January, I rode in a similar conveyance\nfrom Medfield to Boston with no protection for my ears. Thus, I have\npassed unharmed through real winter days. Again, the good husbandman\nwho brought me a tropical plant from his garden into this part of\nthe world, put me in the green-house of your hearts, whose warmth, I\nperceive, is as genial as that of the glorious luminary that shines\nover the land of my fathers. Brothers and sisters, your hearts never\nstood below zero in my case, never reached the freezing-point, but\nalways were warm, affectionate, kind.\n\nIn regard to the narrow, sectarian feelings of a bigot\u2019s heart, I think\nI have very little to fear. I do not condemn nor hate _any_ body\nfor his creed; yet, as a firm believer in the undivided Unity of our\nGod, I differ very much from some others. But I pray to God that I may\ndaily learn to love all his children. I like the creed-makers but not\ntheir creeds, if they contain anything that is absurd and untrue. I\ntrust I have within this slender frame a heart whose commodious hall\ncan accommodate Unitarians, Trinitarians, Mohammedans, and Hindoos; for\nHe who has given it to me has given it on purpose that it might hold\nall His children.\n\nMy visit, on the whole, has been a satisfactory one. Nothing seriously\ndisagreeable has happened to injure my health, heart, or usefulness. No\ncountry has a canopy of clear sky over it always, no heart is beyond\nthe reach of sorrows. The dark clouds have hung over my head, and\nthunders have rolled noisily, yet my earnest eyes have seen a clear\nfirmament beyond, and I can say with fulness of heart,--\n\n \u201cIn trouble and in grief, O God,\n Thy smile hath cheered my way,\n And joy has budded from each thorn\n That round my footsteps lay.\u201d\n\nThe practical confidence in God\u2019s parental care is a source from which\nI draw consolation, courage, and strength. May we all truly believe\nthat our Father is good, and that his whole counsel aims for the\neternal welfare of his children. My second source of joy, courage, and\nhope is my \u201cconfidence in man.\u201d I do not wish to loose my trust in him.\nIf I am deceived by ninety and nine, I would still have confidence\nin the remaining one. Thus with such views of God as a good, loving\nparent, and with such feelings toward man as a trustworthy brother, I\nhope to make my way while a sojourner in this beautiful world of God.\n\nIn this connection I would ask pardon if I have in any way pained,\noffended, or done injustice to any. I know not that I have done so.\nYet how many things we do unawares. A kind lady wrote me a letter and\ngave me some scoldings, saying that I had pained a great many for the\nseeming coldness of my heart, that when people came to shake hands with\nme and speak to me, I did not take respectful notice of them. This,\nhowever, is a new thing in my nature. Those who know me know well the\naverage temperature of my heart. It might be (as she says) that, in\npublic gatherings, when tender greetings have crowded upon me, from\nmany persons at once, perhaps I have failed to speak to all. But this\nis excusable, I know. How can one person speak to several at a time?\nFrequently I have met four, five, or six brethren or sisters round me.\nI have used both my hands to \u201cshake hands\u201d with them. Besides, in my\ncountry, only one person expects to be spoken to in the same moment.\n\nAgain, I do not--though I have tried to do so--observe the formalities\nand use the local phrases as much as they do here. There are some fixed\nset of words which the people use, such as \u201cHow are you?\u201d \u201cFine day, or\nweather,\u201d etc. These do not show real warmth of the heart, but come out\nof the national disease of loquacity, I believe. My training has been\nquite different, so I am liable to make a great many mistakes. Once\nmore, I would say, Christian friends, if I have done any wrong to any\nof you, take it as unintentional and overlook it charitably.\n\nLet it be known to you once more, that I go to India, but not to my\n_Home_. You have frequently heard me say that on account of my\nembracing the Christian religion I cannot live with my Hindoo mother\nand other dear friends,--or rather, they cannot live with me. I am\ngoing as a lamb among wolves; and in days of trials, sorrows, and\ndiscouragements, I shall look first to my Father in heaven, and then to\nyou as my brothers and sisters. I go to preach and teach the truth to\nmy beloved countrymen, in your name and under your auspices, and I look\nto _you_ for your help, prayers, and blessing.\n\nThe cause of Christ suffers severely from the injudicious preaching of\nthe Missionaries who go out to India from western countries. They think\nthat anything outside the Bible is _humbug_, _untrue_, and\n_nonsensical_. They tell the Hindoos that their Holy Books contain\nno truth, and that they themselves are going headlong to everlasting\ndamnation. These errors and follies I will carefully avoid. I would not\noffend a Hindoo by insulting his gods, or puzzle him with a doctrine of\na Triune God and its attendant absurdities. I know the best way for me\nwill be to take a Hindoo saying, and present its truth in a practical\nway. In order to attract respect, I would rather appeal to the Hindoo\nScripture, if it serve my purpose, than to Isaiah, Job, or Solomon. St.\nPaul, while in Greece, appealed to a poet of the country, and thereby\nsecured the attention of the people. One can preach years from texts\ntaken from Hindoo proverbs, such as, \u201cIf you wish to be the greatest,\nbe the humblest,\u201d \u201cFeel for the world as you do for yourself.\u201d Will you\nsay these are _humbugs_ because they belong to the Hindoos? No.\nChrist uttered these very things. What I most earnestly want to do, is\nto take Truth wherever I find it, and present it to my brethren in the\nspirit of Christ, and show its applicability to our lives. If we are\nfaithful and labor patiently and prayerfully, aiming at the glory of\nGod and the good of Man, success will be ours. Our part is to sow and\nwater, and our Father will give the increase.\n\nGod bless you, dear, kind Christian friends! God bless you for your\nkindness toward me! Do not let the interest die out when I go out of\nyour sight. I go to fight against sin, idolatry, and superstition,\nand you who stay at the camp, or in the magazine rather, send me\nammunition and instructions, according to my need. This is the way to\ncarry on work. Trust in God, India\u2019s future religion will be Liberal\nChristianity.\n\nFarewell to you all for a while. If Providence spares my life, I may\nagain, after four or five years of Christian labors, seek rest in your\nhomes, and personally tell you about the work of God. And if it be his\nwill that I shall depart from the world soon, what shall hinder our\nmeeting in our Father\u2019s mansions? Farewell! \u201cLo, I will be with you\nalways\u201d in the spirit. Heaven\u2019s smile be upon you all, is the prayer of\nyour friend and brother,\n\n J. C. GANGOOLY.\n\n\n Cambridge: Stereotyped and Printed by Welch, Bigelow, & Co.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] See Appendix.\n\n[2] In the English language there is no word to distinguish the\nbrother\u2019s son from that of a sister. The Bengalees have different words\nto define every relation distinctly. They have words to denote strictly\nwife\u2019s sisters, husband\u2019s sisters, his elder and younger brothers,\nthe father-in-law of son, the children of the mother\u2019s and father\u2019s\nsisters, &c.\n\n[3] See similar custom among the Jews, Luke ii. 22.\n\n[4] They do not use knives, forks, and spoons at the table, not because\nthey are ignorant of their services, but they do not need them. So is\nthe case with the table. They sit all separate as the custom requires,\nand wash everything, even the floor, after the meal. They use the right\nhand for food, and the left for the drink. If rice or any boiled food\nshould fall on the clothes, they will be washed after the meal. Owing\nto these peculiarities, the Hindoos do not use table, knives, &c., like\nChristians, who hardly wash themselves after the meal as the Hindoos\ndo. I have occasionally used the \u201c_table_\u201d in the place of floor,\nin order to follow the English idiom.\n\n[5] Means the son or daughter\u2019s father-in-law.\n\n[6] Foreigners have very imperfect ideas of Hindoo temples; they\nthink they are public places where people resort for the purpose of\nworshipping their gods and also for hearing the instructions of the\nBrahmuns. The temples are for the former, and not for the latter\npurpose. In them are placed the images of certain gods, such as Shiba,\nKall\u0113\u0113, etc., which are worshipped and taken care of by some Brahmuns,\nwho either hire or own them. People bring (especially on some holiday)\ntheir gifts of fruits, confectionery, money, clothes, etc. to the\nidols, and offer them by the hands of the priests. The low castes are\nnot allowed to tread on the sacred floor, and they dare not do it. They\nare satisfied with the pleasure of standing outside where the priest\ncomes out, sprinkles holy water on their heads, blesses them by putting\nhis foot on their hands, and returns them their trays, baskets, etc. in\nwhich they bring their offerings. These are the leading features of the\nservices in Hindoo temples.\n\nAs the gods are presented to the children as irritable, fault-finding,\npowerful, and fierce, the children fear, but do not love them. When a\nmother would not have her child touch any eatable, let her only say,\n\u201cIt is for the gods,\u201d and that is enough. But still there are several\nlittle ones who by not being allowed to put their hands upon some\ntempting fruit or confectionery, because it belongs to the gods, hate\ntheir idols, now and then. My own younger brother, a boy of four years,\nremarked, \u201cMother, you say it belongs to Shalgram, that pineapple\nbelongs to Shalgram. I know that your Shalgram is a mere pebble.\u201d\n\n[7] Being brought up under this etiquette, I did not look at the face\nof Mr. Dall or of good Captain Hendie in conversation with them. When I\nfirst came on board the ship, Mr. Dall, because I looked aside, before\nleaving us wrote down in my handbook the following: \u201cWhen any one\nspeaks to me, my first duty is _to look at him_ with respectful\nattention.\u201d At any rate I did not lack \u201crespectful attention\u201d to the\nspeaker; but his age and our idea of reverence attached to it bent my\neyes downwards, that I might hear his words by my ear, receive them on\nmy head, and obey them with my might.\n\n[8] The Hindoo Scriptures have a long story showing how Radha at once\nbecame wife of Krishto and of Awe-an. It is hardly possible in this\nconnection to recite it. But let it be known that the Hindoos have some\nreason to produce in defence of their faith, which they hold dear.\n\n[9] A peculiar religious ceremony, like that of _baptism_, is\nperformed for every Hindoo. The Brahmun who does it, and selects a\nmale or female deity for his disciple, is called _gooroo_, or\npastor. The disciple, _Shis-ho_, can on no account change his\n_gooroo_ or the god he furnishes. The _gooroo_ exercises\nabsolute sway over his _Shis-ho_; just as the \u201c_infallible\nPope_\u201d does over the Romanists. Gooroo has the power to send his\nShis-ho to heaven or hell as he pleases. Without a passport from him,\nthe \u201cgates of heaven\u201d would not admit the Shis-ho.\n\n[10] It is customary with the Orientals to commit to memory the names\nof the distant ancestry. Among the Jews it was the custom, and is so\nstill, I presume. Matthew and Luke traced the genealogy of our Master a\ngreat way back.\n\n[11] Great respect is paid to the cat as the messenger of the goddess.\nThey do not ill-treat this creature for fear of the displeasure of its\nmistress. Love for animals is taught here in this curious way!\n\n[12] It is surprising to learn that one man had \u201csixty thousand sons,\u201d\nall grown-up, reliable heroes at the same time; numerous as the sands\non the sea-shore. The Hindoos say this host of sons was born to fulfil\nthe prophecy of a Brahmun who had blessed the king, saying, perhaps,\n\u201cBe thou the father of sixty thousand male children.\u201d\n\n[13] This, and kindred anecdotes, have great effect upon the practical\nlife of the Hindoos, because they are thereby taught to believe that\ntheir own good or bad deeds will bring forth fruits for them according\nto their nature,--that by the mete by which they measure others will be\nmeasured unto them. They are thus taught the Divine justice,--that God\nis not a silent spectator of our proceedings: He notices everything,\nand meets us according to our merit. Again, such anecdotes have another\ninfluence upon the Hindoo mind. The Hindoos fear to insult a Brahmun,\nwhose wrath is warm enough to burn the offender to ashes. But the\nBrahmun\u2019s wrath does not amount to any visible danger now.\n\n[14] This teaches a beautiful lesson of the nature of reconciliation,\nalthough wrapped in the allegorical covering of superstition. We\nsee that none but the injured can forgive us,--that we ought to be\nreconciled to him, and _redress_ the wrong we have done if\npossible; for without reformation, mere repentance is nothing. The\nHindoo idea is, that even the gods do not stand by the side of the\noffender if he does not humble himself and ask pardon, that is, if\nhe be not reconciled to his brother whom he had ill-treated. It is\nsomething like the saying, \u201cMake peace with thy brother while _he_\nis on the way,\u201d etc.\n\n[15] In the Hindoo poems it has been shrewdly accounted for why\nVogiroth had no bones in him. I am well acquainted with it, but think\nit not of much consequence to detail. Again, there is another thing\nto be considered, the adaptedness of the expression to the taste of\na Christian reader. Every nation has its peculiar taste in regard\nto the idiom and expression of thought; what is decent with one is\nimmodest with others. I see some expressions in the Bible which are not\npermitted to be used to the English or American people. The Oriental\nnations understand their peculiar meaning when they use those phrases.\n\n[16] This is one of the leading features of Hindoo piety. In order to\nsecure the blessing of a god or goddess, it is essentially needful to\nwithdraw ourselves from the world, and take a vow to spend a certain\nportion, or the whole of our life in the wilderness; to abstain from\nfood, drink, and recreation, and gradually to bring ourselves to that\nstate in which we do not live by \u201cbread alone,\u201d but by \u201cevery word that\nproceedeth out of the mouth of God.\u201d We read in the lives of the Hindoo\nsages the process they had used to subdue their bodies, by continual\nfasts and self-torture. In the early part of their hermit life, they\nused to take a little food once a day, then once in two, and after a\nwhile one meal at the end of the week. In warm weather their seat was\nsurrounded by a blazing fire made on purpose, and in winter they used\nto immerse their bodies in water, and pray.\n\n[17] Kasa, a copper vessel used by the Hindoos in their religious\nservices, to put water in, which they sprinkle on their heads and upon\nthe idols also.\n\n[18] When I speak of the low castes, I hope the reader will not feel\nsensitive, for I know the very classes of men who are high in Christian\ncountries are low in India. A great many men engaged in shoemaking\nbusiness move about as the \u201c_upper ten_,\u201d and are high caste in\nthis country, while among the Hindoos such persons, notwithstanding\ntheir opulence (which begets high caste here), are lowest indeed.\n\n[19] There are a great many anecdotes of deeds of valor and of\ngenerosity attributed to this king. He is said to have destroyed the\nKhitrias three hundred times. I should think it was the same Por-oosh\nwho had fought with the Macedonian hero on the frontier of India.\n\n[20] Hoylas, the paradise of Shiba, is said to be a golden mountain,\nsimilar to the Olympus of the Grecian deities. There is a mountain of\nthe above name in Thibet.\n\n[21] The rice is made in a peculiar way, and called \u201cauthup.\u201d The usual\nway of bringing out rice from the husk is, first to boil, then dry and\nthrash it. But this is not boiled at all, only dried and thrashed.\nHence the particular care taken in preparing this kind of rice\nincreases its price to some degree.\n\n[22] The term worshipper, in the Hindoo sense, denotes the man who\nspends the money, brings the image, and entertains the people at his\nhouse, no matter whether he himself officiates and offers prayers or\nnot.\n\n[23] Oshoor means monster, or opposite to Shoor-god. The men of cruel\ncharacters, feared for their wicked deeds, are called Oshoor by the\nHindoos.\n\n[24] This and kindred incidents show the ancient Hindoos did not\nhold _caste_ as favorable, nor regard it as objectionable in\naffairs of marriage, as they of the present age do. Now, as we\nhave observed in the first part of the volume, wealth, learning,\npersonal accomplishments, bow down to _caste_. A second-caste\nman _cannot_, on any account whatever, marry his children to\nthose of the first, or to Brahmuns. But in the present case we see\nthe young princess offers her hand to an unrivalled intellect, not\ncaring as to the quarter or caste in which it might be found. There are\nseveral instances of this kind, of fathers offering their daughters\nto a suitable man. Thus J\u014fnuk, the father of the goddess Shita, sent\na proclamation to the world that \u201cWhoever shall be able to break an\narrow in two, shall have Shita for his recompense.\u201d (This fatal arrow\nbelonged to Shiba, the Destroyer, and was left in the palace of J\u014fnuk.)\nIn the legend we read of King Droupad offering his daughter to any who\nwould pierce the eyes of a gold-fish which had been hung six miles\nabove the ground, not looking at it directly for his aim, but only\nseeing its shadow in a vessel of water. Doymontie marries a king who,\nat her wish, boiled rice without fire and water. Bidda took a vow to\nenter into literary and theological controversy with a man before she\nwould marry him. In the above cases invitations had of course been\nextended to kings and nobles in general, and not of any particular\ncaste.\n\n[25] The circumstances of the death of this noble poet are the\nfollowing. He was in the habit of visiting a literary public woman, who\nwas widely known for her acquisitions. One evening she was standing\nnear a pond, looking at the lotus-buds, when the king with his nobles\nwas passing by. The royal train halted by the pond to observe the rays\nof the moon on its placid bosom. The king asked this question of his\nfriends: \u201cWind bloweth not, the water is calm, why then doth yon lotus\ntremble?\u201d The woman immediately went to her home and asked Kalidass\nabout it, who said it was for a Vromor, (kind of black wasp,) which had\ngot in to extract honey, but being too much intoxicated as the shades\nof the eve were closing, the lotus made it a prisoner for the night.\nAs it moved within the lotus, it caused it to tremble. She came and\ninformed the king about the lotus. He was quite surprised, and asked\nagain, \u201cWhy the Vromor which gnaws dry woods does not cut through the\nlotus and go out of it?\u201d She flew to her chamber, and the great poet\nsolved the question. \u201cThe Vromor does not use his sharp sting, for two\nreasons. Having drank too much honey from the lotus he is dissipated\nnow, and unable to use his weapon; secondly, he is too polite to cut\nthe tender lotus, the queen of flowers.\u201d The king wanted to know if\nit were her genius or that of another which solved his questions, and\ndesired to see her more at her home. She wickedly went first and cut\nthe head off Kalidass, who was sleeping then, that he might not be seen\nby the king at her house.\n\n[26] Mool Shun-nashee is the chief officer of the party called\nShun-nash. He is the _elect_ of the god, and takes the lead of the\nparty year after year, until he leaves this world for another. After\nhis death his son takes his post, or sometimes another is elected by\nthe priest and the Shun-nashees.\n\n[27] The punishment by fine is inflicted by the Zamindar, the\nlandholder of the country. The British law does not authorize any\nprivate individual to fine another, except the legal officers; but,\nnevertheless, the poorer classes are in common cases fined and ill\ntreated by their landholders. The excommunication from the society as\nwell as from the caste is worse than the punishment by fine; for, over\nand above the sufferings consequent to an outcasted life, the man is to\npay a certain sum of money to regain his lost position. The last state\nof that man is worse than the first!\n\n[28] It might perhaps be said by some, that, as the Hindoos do not\nregard the female child worthy to redeem the soul of her parent by\nShrautho (as I have myself observed in the first part of this book),\nthey might throw her into the water. To this I reply, that the male\nchild of a daughter has the same privilege with the sons of the father,\nto make the Shrautho. Hence, in India, the daughter cannot inherit her\nparents\u2019 property, but her son is the heir of the same.\n\n[29] Neeshie, or Night, is the name of a species of evil spirits who\nare believed by the Hindoos to walk invisibly on the earth in the\nshades of night, and to entice young children to go with them. It is a\ndangerous thing to be under their control, as the children cannot speak\na word or call for help when they are carried aloft on the trees. The\ntestimony of those who had been taken away by Neeshie is thus: \u201cWhile\nour friends were crying for and searching after us we saw them, and\nwished to speak but could not.\u201d The spirit, however, does not detain\nits victims long, but brings them to their home invisibly.\n\n[30] When I speak of our coming to God through Christ I do not mean\nanything dogmatic in it. My ideas in relation to this point are\npractical,--I mean an approach unto the throne of the Most High with\nthe _spirit_ of Christ, acting as he did, living as he lived. Put\non Christ around you; let his spirit approve your acts, guide your\nthoughts, and sanctify your affections, and you will find yourself not\nfar from your Heavenly Father. This is the rational way of knowing him\nas \u201cthe only true God, and Jesus Christ\u201d whom he has sent.\n\n[31] I did not live a Hindoo long enough to perform any pilgrimage, but\nused to hear the stories from those who had been to the holy cities.\n\n[32] The river Gunga is not twenty miles wide. This saying of the\nHindoos is applicable to any large river in the world, on account of\nthe inconvenience and delay, and perhaps danger, of crossing it. We can\nwalk or run on land according to our strength, but while on water we\nare dependent upon the element.\n\n[33] If such were not the difficulties to be struggled with, how many\ngood Hindoo young men would come to hear Mr. Dall\u2019s preaching. There\nare additional troubles: the neighbors watch their steps closely. This\nis _one_ principal reason why Mr. Dall\u2019s hall is not crowded on\nSunday. Judging the hearts of the brethren by my own, I feel quite sure\nthat the Unitarian rooms in Calcutta are crowded by them in the spirit.\nWhile at home on Sunday, I used to reflect on the services and the\nBible class of Mr. Dall, and the elementary class of R. Counsel, Esq.\n\n[34] He did not exaggerate all the particulars of this matter. During\nmy two years\u2019 stay in the United States, I have seen, and read, and\nheard enough of these things. For trifles men quarrel, fight, and stab\neach other, and these are gentlemen too. On Sunday they hear their\npastors exhort, in the words of Christ, to \u201cturn the other cheek also,\u201d\nwhen any man smote on the one cheek, and on Monday they fight duels for\nwords. Orations and Eulogies are delivered to their memory!\n\n[35] Of course I had second and third suits of clothes with me when\nI reached Boston, which were bought for me. I mean when I left\n_home_ I did not bring _any_ dress except what I had on. Just\nas I was I had to come out of it.\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes:\n\n1. Obvious printers\u2019, punctuation and spelling errors have been\ncorrected silently.\n\n2. Where hyphenation is in doubt, it has been retained as in the\noriginal.\n\n3. Some hyphenated and non-hyphenated versions of the same words have\nbeen retained as in the original.\n\n4. Where appropriate, the original spelling has been retained.\n\n5. Italics are shown as _xxx_.","title":"Life and religion of the Hindoos. : $b With a sketch of my life and experience.","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":100094}