Book — w-ij? m\dv department. 47359 Accession No. .O.A 1k& T^M\\f^ I H^ w ^'"' ^^^^t^^TZ^^i^^^^^ '^-- [^1!^ ^*mi "^"^[^^ INDIA A PROBLEM Present Conditions. — What Has Been Done. — New India, or what OF the Future ? BY -rt NA/II_BUR B. STOVER, yfixsionftfi/ at Bulsnr, India. Second Edition. Elgin, III., U. S. A.: BRETHREN PUBLISHING HOUSE, X,. O. Dnp. Ordar DlVc ^588 Knterid according to Act of Congress, in the year 1Q02, by RRETHKKN PUBLISHING HOUSE. [n the ( >ttice of tlie Librarian of Congress, at Wasliington, D. C. Am. KicHTS Kkserved. ^iiL 30 1915 U*rrary of Oongrese By transfer from War Departm - MAR 2 198^ ^ To MARY, My Faithful Wife. iz ix ^ Praise the Lord in that ■we are Not unequally yoked together. X^I^EIPJ^OE. Several years ago I began collecting material rela- tive to present conditions in India. The more I noted common, every-day occurrences, the more I became convinced that it is just such things that our people at home are most interested in. It is by many little incidents that we can understand the nature of the life through which these happenings come. The quotations at the top of the pages have been arranged as far as possible sO' as to be in harmony with the subject matter of the page, or else in pairs with a striking similarity or contrast. On the right are Bible references. On the left are quotations from the sacred books of the East. These latter references have been gathered from the publication of the Ma- dras Christian Literature Society. In the chapters on the several missions, both for facts and for illustrations, the literature of those mis- sions has been freely drawn upon. This was done in order that the statements might be thoroughly re- liable with reference to the work, while differences in faith and practice are not referred to. In all cases asked, the mission secretaries gave permission to use their material as I have indicated. viii PRF.FACi:. For chapter 6, Irviiig's " Life of Mahomet " and St. Clair Tisdele's '* Rchgion of the Crescent " liavc been sources of information. For chapter 5. I liave referred frciiuently to Prof. Tilbe's •' Pah r>nddhism." and the books of the Madras Christian Literatnre Society. Chapters i, 3, 4 and 7 were written mostly in India. Sitting on a camp-stool, in a tent, under a big Banyan tree, chapter 3 was writ- ten, and is in part a description of the small village near which we had pitched our tent for a week while on a preaching tour in December, 1900. Chapter 8 was begim about 5 years ago. The remaining chapters were written while at home on furlough this year. — a period of 340 days, which closes to-day as we sail away again to the work we love. My prayer is that this book, now complete, may be abundantly blessed of God in creating, arousing, and stimulating healthful missionary sentiment, which looks forward to nothing short of the Gospel to the whole wide world. WILBUR n. STOX'ER. October 28, j(jo2. Preface, vii I^.A.I^T I. Chapter I. India Under the British Flag, 15 Chatter II. Where the People Live 36 Chapter III. An Indian \'illage 41 Chapter IV. Parsees, The 52 Chapter V. Buddhists, The, ^j Chapter VT. IVIahomedans, The, 80 Chapter VII. Hindoos, The 100 Chapter VIII. Materials for a Comparison, , 165 X CONTENTS. Chatter IX. Calcutta ^69 Chapter X. JudsDii and the Karens i/^ Cmai'Ter XI. 'I'hc American Board Missions 186 Chapter XII. Madras •19^ Chatter XIII. The Lone Star Mission 202 Chatter XIV. What One Woman Can do 211 Chapter XV. Bombay 219 Chai'ter XVI. The Methodists in N^orth India, 22*5 Chatter XVII. The Church of England Missions • 235 Chai'ter X\'III. The Church of Scotland Missions 245 Chatter XIX. 'I'll.. TV, J. Mission, German Lutheran 254 CONTENTS. XI Chapter XX. The Friends, The Brethren, and The Mennonites, 261 CHAriER XXI. Other Work and Other Workers, 275 Chapter XXII. Famines and the Orphans, 284 Chapter XXIII. A Lost Opportunity, 29.4 "FJ^IEirC III. Chapter XXIV. New India, or, What of the Future? 299 Glossary, Appendices and Index, 336 INDIA; A PROBLEM INI3IA; A I^ROBLEIVL, RARX ONE. INDIA UNDER THE BRITISH FLAG. Chapter One. "In the beginning, God." — Gen. i: i. NDIA, beautiful and sin- ful, exalted yet degraded, rich and yet poor, enlight- ened yet ignorant, over-re- ligious and yet without Reli- gion, gods everywhere and yet '***'^ without God, husband often a university graduate whose little wife can not read, with the most bigoted pride and the most com- plete self-renunciation, with its princes and rajas and lepers and beggars, the land of opposites where ex- tremes constantly meet ; India, often considered a con- tinent within itself, to any one interested in human- ity, presents, for both study and labor, perhaps the greatest field in the world. Every school boy with a geography knows that the strong hand of the Briton holds the reins of Govern- ment in India, and a good Government it is that Eng- land gives to the people, far better than the Indians 15 i6 INDIA ; A rR(.)r.Li:M. " I laud Agni, the great high priest, god, The herald, lavishest of wealth." — Rig-N'eda i: i: i. could themselves maintain. Three things may be said of Government in India, and these three points evcrv native will at once concede. She levies heavy taxes and awards impartial justice and encourages progress. As to taxes, land is taxed, houses are taxed, income is taxed.^ A man getting $50 a month must pay $12 a year income tax. But one receiving under $14 a month wages is exempt from income tax. This, of course, ex- empts the large majority of India's peo- ple. Salt is taxed at the rate of 2.000 per cent, dried fish are taxed^ stores are taxed. The tax on salt, however, is per- haps the only form of revenue paid by many millions. Ordinarily when a man builds a house on land suited to culti- vation, and classed as such, he must get permission from Government and pay the fine ; then he finds that the sand from the sea-shore is taxed, the stone from ilie river-bed or quarry is taxed, and the timber from the mountain is taxed. Like the Romans, the English are great be- lievers in good roads. When the English came to India there were no good roads, but now ilicy liave thousands of miles of macadamized roads, that are good even when the rainfall is ten inch- es in ten hours, as I have seen it. But these ' A native in reviewing my :\ISS. added, "And everything down to tlie patience of man is taxed." " Exempt." INDIA UNDER THE BRITISH FLAG. 17 "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." — Psalms 33: 12. roads are not without toll gates. The average rate of two cents a day is charged for a cart pass- ing through. The privilege of collecting this toll is auctioned off to the highest bidder. And for the mon- ey there is in it, liquor licenses are also granted. In Surat Collectorate alone the revenue from these licens- es last year was $222,000. Bulsar Taluka (County) is one of the eight talukas composing the Surat Col- Ten inches in ten hours." lectorate. The licenses for the twenty-two saloons in the city of Rangoon, Burma, recently sold for $124,300. Land taxation is an intricate problem. As each presidency arranges its own assessments, there is much variation. A field is examined, its fertility, means of irrigation, nearness to market, and other consider- ations, from which it is decided how much each field i8 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " I am alike to all beings; to me none is hateful, none dear." — Krishna in Bhagavad Gita 9: 29. should pay. Each field is thus examined after a lapse of years, when the tax may be increased or decreased, according- to the conditions. Government has a rul- ing- that no land shall be taxed above fifteen or twen- ty per cent of the gross proceeds. In actual practice, however, I am told, land is farmed out so often, from one to another, from the second to the third, from the third to the fourth, that the man who follows the plow really gets much less than half the produce. And the last man always suffers, not because of Government, but be- cause of the many mid- dlemen between him and the powers that be. The revenue from all India which Govern- ment receives annually is $323,000,000, of which $3,000,000 come from the native states. Of this $200,000,000 come from taxes alone. Yet the taxation per head is lighter than in any other civilized country in the world. In Ivussia it is eight times as great, in Eng- land twenty times, in Italy nineteen, in France twen- " Surat Collectorate. INDIA UNDER THE BRITISH FLAG. IQ " The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. The face of the Lord is against them that do evil." — Psalms 34: 15. ty-five, in the United States and Germany thirteen times. The average tax per capita is two annas eight pie per month, which is about five cents. To award impartial justice in a land of so many and so varied religions is to do exceedingly well. Government does this, and is so careful to show no partiality that Christian workers sometimes indeed feel that she favors the non-Christian religions. And they come by this feeling honestly. The average native mistakes this justice given to all alike, which is an outgrowth of Christianity, for a certain indefinable re- gard for his own religion, and loss of faith in Chris- tianity. He knows very well that he would give the best of the bargain to his co-religionist, and he can not see why the man in power should not do the same. Missionaries are often reminded of this. However, the more intelligent classes understand. English justice in India is indeed something to be studied ?.nd admired. Not long ago an English official went into a Hindoo temple to clear out the people he found huddled together there, for on account of in- creased plague an order had been issued that the peo- ple should not congregate anywhere. According to their superstition the temple was defiled by the official in entering it. This man's superior, a splendid Eng- lish gentleman, recommended him to pay damages to the '* injured " idolaters, which he did willingly, and with that money the temple was done over. To-day 20 INPIA : A l'R^)^.^.K^r. '• Wliat gohlation?" — Atharva- N'cda 4: :;: 1. certain idolaters of this temple boast that a sahib paid lor the renewing of it. About a }ear ago a Parsee gentleman said to me. " England is making a mistake in India these days." I replied, " Weil, what's up now ? Governments are human, and liable to err. I know." And he surprised me by saying, " Formerly all the liigher offices were entrusted to Englishmen only, but now the}' are given too often to natives, and I tell vou no native is as impartial as an Englishman." Practically every native would prefer an English judge rather than one of his owm caste^ to settle all his legal difficulties. A pamphlet lately published in Madras asks : " How is it that the people put but lit- tle confidence generally in the word or promise or even the oath of their co-religionists, but will usual- ly believe the word of one from a Christian country without hesitation ? " I answer, they have seen that justice. Sir M. Phavnagari, an Indian member of the Eng- lish Parliament, a Parsee, says, " The mission of the British Government in India is purely a paternal one." Sarendra Xath Panurji, a Bengali gentleman says, *' We regard British rule in India as a dispensation of Divine Providence. England is here to rejuven- ate an ancient people, to infuse into them the vigor, the virility and the robustness of the West, and so pay off the long-standing debt, accumulating since the morning of the world, which the \\>st owts to the East. Wc are anxious for the permanence of Brit- INDIA UNDER THE BRITISH FLAG. 21 " Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at his footstool." — Psalms 99: 5. ish rule in India, not only as a guarantee for stability and order, but because with it are bound up the best prospects of our political advancement." There are not wanting- however natives who talk differently. ♦We, children of the great republic, can not afford to fire away in school-boy oratory, criticising every act of the great limited monarchy, as is sometimes done. England saves India from the tyranny of her own people, from many cruelties of her own religions, and from any outside enemy. I was walking in the country once near Bulsar, when I saw two roosters fighting. They fought so fiercely that I thought they would both die if allowed to keep on. Just then came running a rooster bigger than the other two put to- gether, and stood right between them. The two lit- tle ones stopped fighting, felt a little jealous of the big one, bade him their salaams, and quieted down. I said to myself, That's the history of India in tab- leau, and England is the big rooster. And as for progress, India stands at the present time before Canada, is ninth among the commercial countries of the world, and first for foreign trade in Asia. The agricultural income in twenty years, previous to 1895, increased nearly forty per cent. The income of the great mass of the people in- creased nearly twenty-nine per cent, while capital investments increased nearly 380 per cent ! In 1900 there were 186 cotton mills, 33 jute and hemp mills. There are 113 silk factories, 9 paper mills, and 35 or more ice plants. The value of private merchan- 22 INDIA ; A TKOHLKM. " A kiiiR must take from his subjects as taxes a sixth part every year uf the grain." — Institutes of \'ishnu 3: 23. disc exported in 1900 exceeded the import values as 72 to 47. The daily wage of a laboring man averages about six cents. A woman gets four cents a day for the same work. Skilled labor is worth four or five times as much as unskilled. In Burma the wage is three or four times what it is generally in India proper. \rt>{ ^1 \ ^^) 1 % ■135.4 M^^.i^^ ^tXV VoA CoVVo\Vyv\^ \^y. n\^,:)3i 003 SoH^ ut we do not have to go to India to find those who seemingly think it no wrong to defraud the Government. The amount of tax on temples and vari- ous freehold alienations which is thus remitted actually i^•^^v ^«v <^V^^.^A^ J^^/T^^ }PHa\ Any A Mr '^ -5''^"''—^ ^K J^^XC .CvA. " Xeuspapers are published." reaches the vast sum of $17,000,000 annually. In South India, where these temple concessions are large, they have a queer story by which the credit of this ac- tion is given to the gods and not to Government at all. Once the gods of the several temples arrayed themselves for war, with bows and arrows, and appeared before the English Collector, threatening his life and the over- throw of Government and the destruction of the Eng- lish people. The Collector became greatly alarmed and INDIA UNDER THE BRITISH FLAG. 29 "Fear God. Honor the king." — i Peter 2: 17. yielded to the demands of the gods, making very Ub- eral concessions in behalf of temple properties. The municipal and local governments are largely controlled by the natives who Hve within the area concerned. Generally a town of 4,000 is the mini- mum entitled to a Municipal Government. All who are of age have a right to vote in the municipal elec- tions, provided they hold property to the amount of about $600, or pay municipality tax to the amount of $1.25 a year, or pay income tax, or are a univer- sity graduate, or lawyer, or juror, or assessor, or honorary magistrate. In our town of Bulsar, pop- ulation 11,000, at the last Municipal elections, 597 persons voted, of whom 44 were women. To an American there is something especially interesting in this solution of the problem as to who shall vote. In every taluka there is a Government hospital, and also a Government doctor whose services in connec- tion with the hospital are free. And the medicine is free, at the expense of the Government. These hos- pital physicians are usually native gentlemen of good education, and of course are up in English. Besides, all the judges, lawyers, higher county officers, sta- tion masters, ticket agents, postmasters, and many others speak English freely. About one per cent of the native people speak English. The native states continue to be ruled by their own sovereigns. These subordniate rulers have great lib- ertv in the management of their own affairs, but if there be any irregularity the supreme Government calls them to account. The Collector of a district is " Some of these Rajas are very popular." INDIA UNDER THE BRITISH FLAG. ?I ** There is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus." —Gal. 3: 28. usually the " Political Agent " of a native state if in the district, and the law is that no Raja may at any time leave his state without permission from the Po- litical Agent. It sometimes happens that one Agent has a half dozen Rajas in his jurisdiction, yet one Raja usually indulges in more luxury than half a dozen Agents. However, some of these Rajas are very popular, able statesmen and good financiers. Others are quite the opposite. Some rule over large states, and others over very small ones. Rajputana is about as large as Ohio, Indiana and Illinois put together, while there are a number of states smaller than Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Most of the Rajas have elephants and cannon. Such things add dignity. The Nizam of Hyderabad has nearly 200 wives. Every Raja spends certain hours each day with his Dewan (Secretary of State) and cabinet at official headquarters in consultation con- cerning the affairs of State. The proudest prince of Rajputana does not consider his coronation complete until he fhas received his caste- mark on his forehead, at ' the hands of some poor man of the hill tribes, whose touch at any oth- er time would be pollu- tion to him. The Raja of Travan- core is succeeded in the .. t, ^ • r t Ihe Raja of Travancore. 32 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. "Which of us two is you, and which is I? " — \'ishnu Purana 2: 16. royal chair bv his sister's son, and when he is crowned he is balanced in the scales with gold which is after- wards distributed among Brahmins. The Raja of Cochin recently decided that a certain Pirahniin gentleman who had been to England should be excommunicated for his offense. Even Hindoo pa- pers questioned the right of his majesty to act in a matter of this kind, but one must suppose that he was acting according to his enlightenment and teach- ing! Another native state, continuing an old practice, pays $175 annually to a religious mendicant. Once each year the fellow sits in one position without mov- ing, without eating, without sleeping or talking, for nine days ! I expressed my doubts, but they say he does it. and bless the state for its wisdom in keep- ing up this old time-honored custom. The native states are scattered everywhere, accord- ing to the following table: Assam Provinces, Chief Commissionership, 16 Baluchistan Agency i Bengal Presidency 66 Bombay Presidency 358 Burma Government 54 Central Provinces, Chief Commissionership 15 Central India i_l^8 Government of India directly, 7 Madras Presidency 5 Rajputana 20 Total 690 Six lumdrcd ninety native states means 690 sub- ordinate rulers. The hospitality of the Indian Raja is i)rovcrbial. I have enjoyed that hospitality on sev- INI»IA UNDER THE BRITISH FLAG. 33 "Showing all good fidelity." — Titus 2: 10. eral occasions, partaking of all that was set before me, — except the liquors and cigars. There are in India 166,000 Europeans, of whom 76,000 are soldiers. /O. 000 ^cnf-. ^ ydcnnfi^ccy , /anon A xic<.-^^ ^m^^^ ^y^s* jpa Pil ^■|HB| ■ " His stone bull.'» of power, and with that I dare not write more. Read between the lines ; you will not exceed the facts. And if that old saying, " like priest, like people " be true, we can by Mahadeo and his bull see why Hindoos are so blind to certain abominations, regarding a repeti- tion of the most stinking sins as a pleasing offering to the " power god " As the sun rises the villagers begin to stir. Smoke finds its way through the roofs of the little low hous- es, for fires are kindled and the morning bread is AN INDIAN VILLAGE. 4^ "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty.— Rev. 4: S. baked over a little fireplace that has no chimney. With the splintered ends of babul sticks the whole family clean their teeth daily before breakfast. After the mouth is thus attended to, and face and feet are washed, still sitting on the front door stone perhaps, the father turns his face to the rising sun and with hands clasped ut- ters words of praver in which " ram ram " often comes, and they are ready for the morning bread. T^Iore devout peo- ple will take the bath all over, — if there is no room inside, the middle of the street is a convenient place, — and many are ■ The middle of the street is a convenient place. they who take their morning bath in the street. Aft- er the bath and the ram rams toward the sun, they eat their morning bread. After the meager breakfast a few dry leaves are rolled together in the shape of a cigarette, and a bit of powdered leaf tobacco is poured in at the end, the leaves are pressed together so that the contents do not fall out, and lighting the thing with fiint-and-tm- der or more commonly with a match made m Swe- 46 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " A shepherd, a keeper of buffaloes, the husband of a twice-married woman; these are to be avoided."— Laws of Manu 3: 166. den, the villager goes puffing away. Such cigarettes cost one cent per packet of twenty-five, ready made; but many make their own, — they are cheaper. This is in tiie midst oi the village. The one lit- tle store is recognized as the proprietor in opening up removes board after board from its place. There he has piles of green peppers, ginger, garlic, salt, matches, leaf-tobacco, bundles of dry leaves for mak- ing cigarettes, dried fish and some spices. Ask him : " Bhai (Brother), why don't you keep flour, po- tatoes, and such things?" *' Because, who would buy ? The field laborers are " They make their own flour on the hand mills." paid in kind. Then with the rice they make their f>wn flour on the hand mills." "And those who have money?" " They have grain in the casks, and in their own carts they go to town to buy what else they need, thus saving the profit I ought to have.'' AN INDIAN VILLAGE. 47 " Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." — Luke 2: 14. '' But vou can't make a living selling peppers and salt?" '' No, but it is a little. I do other work, and she stays at home to see after the store." He calls his wife she. Usually, no husband or wife in all Hin- dooism will speak the other's name. There is a school with some fifty or sixty boys on the roll. The boys of the smaller villages around come here to school, and sitting in rows on the floor they learn their lessons by rote. The teacher is usual- ly a higher caste man than most country boys. Out- side the house near the door sit three boys. They are out-caste boys. Government tells the teacher that the school is to be open to all without regard to caste or religion, so he allows these boys to sit on the outside. However, even if he wanted to be more a man, and show no partiality, sentiment would be too strong for him to survive it. A shoemaker, a tailor, a Musselman barber, some potters and a liquor dealer, all are to be found in a vil- lage of a thousand, but the latter of these usuaUy has the most customers and does the greater business. The inhabitants are chiefly farmers, either active or retired, farming principally by servant labor. They live in good houses, fairly good, sometimes of brick, and occasionally with a second story. The servants of these, the poor fellows upon whom the burden of labor falls, live in little huts grouped here and there on the edge of the village. Several of these huts of theirs are on the elevated edge of ^8 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. "Imperishable righteousness."— Satapatha Brahmana 2: 6: 3:1- some rice fields. In all. wherever it is handy to have them, there they are, for their humble dwell- ings are such as can be removed and put up again in a day or two. These can not read and their chil- dren do not go to school. When they are big enough to go to school, they are big enough to work and in- crease the supply of bread. And those above them often say it is best so, for they are contented now, and if they learned to read they would likely become discontented and therefore unhappy. These get their pay usually in kind, with perhaps a ver\- little cash for extras, but when the year is up, if they should balance accounts, they would con- sider they had done well, if they had always had enough to eat, besides perhaps having added anoth- er brass ring or two to those already on the legs and arms of their women. More, a baby girl may have been added during the year. The first concern is how to get it married \vell, and to find out where ten or twenty rupees can be borrowed to pay the marriage expenses. Clothes it won't require till it is eight or ten years old, but it must be married by that time. The debt is not yet paid for the last wed- ding festivities, but as long as the interest at twelve or eighteen per cent is kept up, the creditor will not press hard for the principal. On the opposite side of the tank live low caste peo- ple. They are a little village to themselves, and the caste people won't touch them. Their children at the Government school sit on the outside and learn what they can. Sudras are farmers and general laborers, AN INDIAN VILLAGE. 49 " Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadcth unto life." — Matt. 7: 14. usually poor but not always ; but these are lower than sudras. Sudras won't touch these, neither are they allowed to get water from any well where su- dras or other Hindoos go. But they all get water from the common tank. These herd cattle, farm or do servant's work. One not having seen can not at all imagine the utter contempt a high caste man has for these poor fellows. Lower than these and separate from them as well as from all the others are a few houses of " sweep- ers " or scavengers. They are paid by the town peo- ple a very low rate, must clean out all cesspools daily, and keep out of everybody's way. The other low caste people could not be induced to touch these poor fellows. There is a certain peculiar poise in a village of a thousand. Every one is proud that some others are lower than he is. Every one has some one to whom he can say, " Don't you touch me." Every one has a senseless set of caste rules to keep up. Every one has some one to look down upon, — ev- ery one but the last one! Every one has some one to look down on him. Every one has some one to whom he must concede the last word in a quarrel. Every one has some one who won't eat what he has prepared. — every one but the last one ! And everybody knows all about everybody else's business. There are no secrets. Everybody knows how much tax his neighbor pays, how much rice he 50 IXDIA ; A PROBLEM. "The worship of Rrahmins is the foremost duty of a king desirous of happiness." — Mahabharata 13: i. has Stored in his house, and how much money his wife's ornaments cost. Everybody knows how much a man is in debt, and how mucli of the debt he is Hkely to pa}'. Everybody knows how the husband and wife get on to- gether, what father is kind to his chil- dren, and what god h e worships, and what wife is negH- gent in her home du- ties. Everybody knows when the child is likely to be born. The women discuss it when they meet each other on the street. Every- body knows when the daughter reaches puberty. Poor girl, the Hindoo idea is to get her married be- fore that time if they can, and they generally can. In the poise of the village, servants remain serv- ants, and servants' children become the servants of the masters' children from generation to generation. In the village I am talking about, no land or house has changed hands for a hundred years, except from father to son. No one wants to sell. He feels he Poor girl." AN" INDIAN VILLAGE. 5 1 "I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people.''— Psalms 57: 9. wants to keep what God has given him, both of hous- es and lands and rehgion, and he wants every one else to do the same. Especially so in religion. He don't care what religion those about him follow, but he is not going to change, and they must not change either. He was born of Hmdoo parents perhaps, then, according to his way of thinking, God created him a Hindoo to be a Hindoo. He feels as the cold and the heat and the rains come and go, if he can pass on to the next generation his house and land and religion aiid spirit, which things he does not gener- ally call his own, if he can pass these on as good as he got them and none the worse for his having had the use of them, then he has done his duty well. It is the religion of stagnation and the doctrine of despair. But, now the problem is to introduce the holy and aggressive religion of Jesus into this little village. Every man and woman and child would be a thousandfold better for the change, but not one of them knows this fact. THE PARSEES. Chapter Four. "This I ask thee: Teach me the truth, O Lord."— Zeiid-Avesta 19: 35- I AM persuaded that the Parsees, side by side with the Japanese, hold the highest place among all the non-Christian communities of the world. They are a bright, good-natured, generous people. We have found them good neighbors, kind and agreeable. Thev care for their own poor, and found many char- itable institutions. You nev- er see a Parsee beggar, nor is there a religious mendicant among them. Alen have considerable re- spect for their wives. A husband and wife may often be seen walking side by side on the street, or riding in an open carriage together. Their children are early in school, quick to learn, and lovers of fun. The majority of their whole number can speak Eng- lish, and all the rest of them are unceasingly sorry because they cannot. In speaking of their founder, Zoroaster or Aserjathos, they call him their prophet. It used 52 Aserjathos, prophet. THE PARSIiES. 53 "I am the way, the truth, and the life." — John 14: 6. to be believed generally among them about fifty years ago, that their great character Jamshed was one and the same person with Solomon, but that theory is now dropped. Their earliest dates arc rather uncertain. They came to India about the year 698, and first settled at the small sea coast town of San Jan, between Bul- sar and Bombay. From that year the India Parsees coinit time. They came from Persia, hence the name Parsee, which really means a people from a coun- try, and not a people of a religion. They came flee- ing the oppressor, seeking religious liberty, and even to-day regard themselves as foreigners in India, though there to stay. At the present time the Parsees remaining in the Parsee fatherland number less than 10,000, and they are having a hard time under their jNIahomedan rulers ; while the number of those now in In- dia is 92,000 in full enjoyment of liberty and prosperity. They are merchants, traders, 1 a n d-o w n e r s, manufacturers, doctors, lawyers and always have their eyes open to making money. \\'ith them it is not too often a question of right or wrong, but "Will it pay?" In taking a bribe, it's, " Will I be caught ? " In giving a present, it's, " What mav I hope for in "A Doctor." ' ' ^ 54 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " Whichever of two bed- fellows gets up first shall first enter paradise."— Zend-Avesta iS: 53- return?" On the second clay of the new moon Parsees go out early in the evening to look for it, and v;ith one eye on a bright new rupee in the right hand held up high, and the other eye on the new moon, they say a prayer for pros- perity. If it may be said that Americans are all after the mighty dollar, it may yet more truthfully be said that the Parsees are all after " A Merchant." the silver rupee. Between Bombay and Ahmadebad, and on out toward Wad- wan, nearly all the saloon keepers in towns, villages, and country places, are Parsees, — because it pays. And they feel no disgrace about it. There is money in it. The man with money is the most respected. However, there are not a few noble exceptions to the above. I have been on inti- mate terms with some such for years. Parsees are wonderful philanthropists, and some of them are far along in matters of state. The '' Grand Old Man " of India is a Parsee, Mr. Dadabhoi Naor- osji, who now resides m London, and was for five years a member of Parliament. It is said of him that some years ago after he had visited the Shah of Persia, the Shah wished to confer the knighthood up- THE PARSEES. 55 "Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord." — Rom. 12: II. on him. He refused it saying he would rather be only the unadorned Dada- bhoi than to have Sir or any other title to his name. They are a religious people, after the manner of the East. Religion con- sists chiefly in the doing of certain ceremonies. A storekeeper may send a customer away for time, or tell him to wait a half hour until he has finished his morning prayers, and think nothing of it. That same store- keeper might perhaps be saying his prayers when a poor man came along who hadn't paid up his little bill of a week ago according to his promise. He might stop the prayers and threaten the man with an oath for not paying, — and he'd think nothing of that. It is considered a duty of first importance to be charitable. By giving there is merit acquired which will add to one's chances of getting into heaven. A shopkeeper might oft'er to lend anything he had in his shop to help along, say in famine work, because that is a work of religion, and he wants to help in such good and meritorious work. But when any such " The Grand Old Man of India." 56 INDIA ; A PROr.LlCM. " I invoke the holy world, made by Ahura Mazda." — Zcnd-Avesla 19: 114. borrowed article is returned he might charge rent for it. for old goods, half as much as it would cost to buy the new article, — and think nothing of it. It is a rule not to speak, or to touch any non- Parsee while sa\ing prayers, lest the one praying, the Parsee, should be defiled by the touch and the prayers be spoiled. Some regard this, others do not. A lum- ber merchant who would neither touch you or speak to you, might still sell you a bill of wood during his prayers. He might walk over the lumber yard with you, prayer book in hand, praying away. He wouldn't touch you, but he could hear. You could offer six rupees per gudge for a lot of logs. He could shake his head and hold up his fingers to indi- cate ten, and pray right on. Or he might say " ten rui)ees a gudge " with his lips closed, which the un- initiated would never understand, but if any other Parsee were present who might have finished his pravers or neglected them, he would understand and could tell you. The price might be settled at eig-ht rupees, you could lay the money down and he could pick it up, or vou could throw it to him and he could catch it. So he would keep business moving and not interrupt his prayers,— and think nothing of it \Yhtn the Parsees came to India they made cer- tain concessions in religious practice to the Hindoo rulers of the countr}^ which have become part and parcel with other ceremonies, and are continued to this day. On occasions of weddings or thread cere- monies they put the Hindoo caste mark on their fore- heads. They are quite pliable as to manners and cus- THE PARSEES. 57 "See thou do it not. Worship God." — Rev. 22: 9. toms in general, even more than would be expected. In the Nizam's dominions they dress much like Ma- homedans and are otherwise like them. In Bombay they are quite English in their tastes. It is often said that the Bombay Parsee patterns after the European in ev- erything, — manners and customs, educa- r, „ tion, business enter- Progressives. ' prise, house furnish- ings, in games, racing, drink- ing, gambling. Freemasonry ; in everything except religion. As to their general life, they may be said to be di- vided into three classes ; the old orders who retain all the superstitions of the fathers, the progressives who / drop practically all ^ of the ancestral customs and re- main Parsees only in name, and the conservatives who are, as is usually "Conservatives." rg INDIA ; A PROBLEM. "O Maker of the material world, thou Holy One! Which is the third place where the earth feels most happy? Ahura Mazda answered: It is the place where one of the faithful cultivates most corn." — Zend-Avesta 3: 11. the case everywhere, the strength of the reUgion to- day. On birthdays of members of the family, especially on the birthdays of children, Parsees have a very beautiful custom of sending presents of sweet-meats, fruits and flow^ers to their friends. One cannot help but admire this, for it early instills the idea of liber- ality, and is much to be preferred to the hope, as some others have it, of ahvays receiving a present on their birthday. The first thing an American thinks of in connection with the Parsees, is fire-worship or the tow^ers of si- lence. But we'll speak of these later. When a child is about to be born, the mother hastens to the ground floor of the house, and for forty days she must remain there and be apart from the rest of the family. All this time she is looked upon as being unclean, and only the doctor or the nurse for the occasion \vill touch her. The father may wish to take baby in his arms a bit. The mother rolls it over away from herself, then he takes it up, fondles it, and lays it dow^n again, but never touches her. This is too bad. Often in the life of the Parsee woman there are days when she must be separate, and not touch any person or thing, she for the time, being considered religiously unclean. Betw^een the age of six and ten the child is initiated into the religion. This is a great day. Friends are THE TARSEES. 59 "To be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace." — Rom. 8: 6. called and there is eating and drinking and merry mak- ing. The child is bathed and prepared for it, then he is put on a stool before a dastoor (priest) who reads the necessary words from the Zend-Avesta in the Zend language, which of course none of the company under- stand. The dastoor puts the sacred shirt and the sa- cred string on the child, reads some more Zend, the com- pany laugh and talk meanwhile, and it is finished. Now the child is a full-fledged Par- see, and he is ex- pected to do as his Parsee ancestors have done before him. He is expect- ed to pray out of the Zend prayer book certain prayers dai- ly, to wear the sa- " a Dastoor." cred shirt and string day and night, to undo and retie this string at every time he says his prayers and on several occasions which for shame can not be mentioned, never to let the hearth- fire go out, never to blow his breath on any fire, to be charitable, to wear the Parsee dress, and to take a proper interest in Parsee customs and ceremonies gen- 6o INDIA ; A PROBLEM. "A dog goes on all fours like a child." — Zend-Avesta 13: i53- orally. He keeps up the customs, but often in con- versation ridicules them at the same time. They marry early in life, but child-marriage is not common. " J>Iarry for love and then work for mon- ney " has not yet become a proverb among these people. The priest often arranges the engagement, consulting the parents. The parents may or may not consult the children. But when the lad's parents send a present of a sari (dress) for the girl, and the girl's parents send some similar present for the boy. then both pres- ents accepted, the boy and girl are engaged for good. A Hindoo astrologer is called to fix the date, a lucky day, for both the exchange of presents and for the marriage which comes later. The wedding season is a time of festivities. We have attended these weddings not a few. Toward evening all guests assemble at the house of the bride- groom, and all together preceded by a band of music, go walking to the house of the bride. In procession, the bridegroom and the priests come after the band, then the men and boys all together follow slowly, talk- ing, chatting with one another on any subject. After the men in like manner come the women by themselves. At the last wedding I attended I remarked to a Hin- doo friend as we walked along : " This is interesting from a standpoint of religions. Hindoos, Parsees, Alahomedans, and Christians are all here. You used not to have Christians present on these occasions." He answered, " No, but we'll all be Christians bv and by." The bride and the bridegroom are seated side by side THE PARSERS. 6 1 " \\'hen I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child." — ■ I Cor. 13: II. on ornamental chairs, and two officiating priests with long white robes and white turbans stand before them. The ceremony is in Zend and Sanscrit, with occasional explanations in Gujerati, and lasts usually about an hour. The priests know the words by heart. They speak alternately at times and sometimes they intone it in concert. One frequently throws handfuls of rice on the bride, the other on the bridegroom, as the cere- monies proceed. By the side of each priest stands a married man. These two are the legal witnesses. The one is witness for the bride, and is a relative of her family, while the other bears the same relation to the bridegroom and his people. These witnesses are consecrated for the special occasion, in a ceremony which seems for all the world like the marriage ceremony itself. The witnesses too, while this little preparatory service is going on, often joke with themselves as to which of them is bride and which bridegroom. At the close of the first part of the marriage cere- monies, the young couple have a kind of a wish-bone game, to see which must obey. In this there is a lively interest. Of course, it is all in fun. A cloth is held up between the two and dropped without warn- ing. Then of the two young hopefuls the first to ^row a bit of rice upon the other is the winner. They pitch a rupee or throw dice or have other such amusements, all to the same end. This is followed by feasting and wines and a gen- eral good time. The wedding party goes to the fire ^2 INDIA : A TROBLEM. " I have made every land dear to its dwellers." — Zend-Avesta i : 2. temple for certain ceremonies, and after they return, between twelve and two o'clock at night, the cere- monies are all done over again, which completes the marriage. On arising in the m.orning, the first thing a good Parsee does is to snap thumb and finger of the left hand repeatedly and utter a prayer to drive the devil awav : " Sagastha, sagastha sataan," etc., which means : Go away devil, go ofl: to where you belong.^ At sneezing, the same thing is done. Then upon the embers of the last night's fire, san- dal wood is placed for kindling. And a fan is used to fan the flames. The breath is regarded impure, and they never " blow the fire." And the fire is sacred. Though all do worship to- ward the sun, they generally reject the idea of wor- shiping fire in any way whatever. They say fire is purifying, and is the most pure and perfect created thing, fitting emblem of God. Therefore they honor it. Dosabhai Framji Karaka, C. S. I. says, '' Fire is a symbol of divinity in our eyes, and nothing more. In this we resemble the church of Rome." As Christians close their eyes in prayer, so Parsees light up a fire (usually of sandal wood) to look at while they go over their prayers. Or they stand fac- ing the rising sun in the morning, or the setting sun in the evening time. Of the sun they say, " What ^ Destruction, destruction to Satan, Let Harriman go to hell. All evil be far from me. O thou merciful God, Place thy kind and merciful hand upon my head. THE PARSERS. 63 " In my Father's house are many mansions. I go to prepare a place for you." — John 14: 2. could we do without it? It is the greatest agent of God." Often as they sit saying the prayers, a bit of white cloth is tied over the mouth, so that no unholy saliva may fall on the holy fire or on the holv book before them. At the lighting of a lamp in the evening all Parsees will look toward the lamp and with both hands clasped as if to pray will say " Sahibji." That word is the Gujerati equivalent of Salaam, a term of greeting all over the East. Air, earth and water are likewise sacred to the Par- see. A most desirable place to stand and say prayers is by the sea or by a running stream, facing the sun as it sinks into the west. He first touches his fingers to the sacred waters and applies a little to his face, un- does and reties his sacred string, and then repeats the prayers. Aside from the above and the next practice de- scribed, they are not idolaters at ail. They believe in God the Father of all. But they have a waning belief that Harriman (the devil), created evil; and God cre- ated the good. They have no fasts, no idea of sacri- fice offerings, no doctrine of atonement, and no sav- ior from their sins. The bull takes a pecuUar place in the Parsee reli- gion, and they will not touch beef to eat it. That is, those who remain orthodox will not eat it. It seems too foolish to tell, but in the purification ceremony be- fore saying prayers urine of bulls is always used. 64 INDIA ; A PROP.LEM. " He who kills one of those water dogs shall pay ten thousand stripes." Zend-Avesta i^: 4- They take it in the hands and apply a little to the face, to the arms, and to the hands. At stated times a bit is taken into the mouth. In the fire-temple the dastoor has a supply which he consecrates with ceremonies. It is tcro before the consecration, and nirang afterward. This nirang is delivered to the house of those requiring it, and many there are who think that there is a chemical change accomplished by the dastoor's ceremonies. This is a sort of transub- stantiation doctrine, the absurdity of which even those who believe in another transubstantiation will easily see. And when a corpse is removed from the house, the place where the body had lain is sprinkled with this urina bovis. Also the way over which the corpse is carried for a short distance from the house is likewise sprinkled. When the Parsee thinks of " crossing over the river," he thinks of a big bridge, known among them as the Chinvat Bridge. All must pass over the bridge, which is like a tremendous razor. When the pious soul comes to pass over, the bridge turns flat side up and is perfectly safe. But when a bad Parsee g-oes to cross, the sharp side turns up, and before he can get across he is sure to fall off down into hell. At the approach of death, while he is vet living, the Parsee is washed and dressed and the dastoor says prayers over him. \\'hen life is extinct, the body is placed upon a stone on the floor. No one but the bearers of the dead will touch a dead bodv. These THE PARSERS. 65 " He which converteth a sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death."— James 5: 20. bearers of the dead become a kind of a separate caste, and no other Parsee will give his son or daugh- ter in marriage to any child of theirs. A corpse is considered unclean. Soon after death a dog is brought in, and if he can be induced to look into the face of the dead, that is a good omen, but if he will not look that way, it is a bad omen for the soul of the dead. The dog al- ways goes along to the funeral. Once a funeral was passing our house, and the dog got away. They wished to borrow our dog, and — but why should I tell that here? From the time of death a dastoor is kept mutter- ing prayers near the body, and a fire of sandal wood is kept burning. As soon as convenient thereafter, the funeral takes place. The bearers of the dead placing the corpse on an iron bier carry it upon their shoulders to the tow- ers of silence, the men fol- lowing at a short distance .. j^^^ towers." behind. In the towers, it is soon disposed of by the ever present vultures. Prayers are said for the dead, especially till the completion of the third day. They think the soul lin- gers near the place of death to the end of the third day, and then goes to its long home. Until the third day people gather at the house 66 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " I invoke the eternal and sovereign luminous space." — Zend- Avesta 19:114. and sit there in sympathy with the bereaved. There is not room in the inside, so, long benches are placed outside. It is a mark of respect, and there is no feasting connected with it. This is decidedly to their credit. It has always seemed to me to be most un- fortunate, whether it be heathen or otherwise, to make days of mourning a feasting time. A Parsee feels that three words are the sum of all good. They are " good thoughts, good words, good deeds." These are the measure of his religious am- bition. If he be successful in these three things, he feels that the bridge will be broad when he comes to go over. The expression reminds us of a refrain of one of the Middle-English poets, " In thought, in worde, in dede." Now the problem is, with this social and charitable people, to get them to see that Jesus is their Sav- ior as well as ours. They rely up- on their " good thoughts, good words, good deeds," to get into heaven, and though relying on these things I think they all will admit that none of them is perfect. T h e y are a splendid people. Among their women may be seen many a noble face. There are no Parsee soldiers. There is no legal divorce with them. And while we all see the necessity of their having a Savior, the problem is to get them to see it. " A noble face." THE BUDDHISTS. Chapter Five. "Rejoice evermore." — i Thess. 5: 16. About a hundred miles from Benares, the sacred city of the Brahmins, in the sixth century before Christ/ hved Suddhodana, ruler of the Sakya tribe, with Maya his wife. After many years they had a son they named Siddhartha. According to the ac- counts of many Buddhists, he entered his mother in the form of a white elephant. At his birth they say he took seven steps, in each foot- print a lotus grew, and he said aloud : " I am the chief of the world." And then it rained flowers from the skies. His family name was Gau- " ^^'^'^^ elephant." tama. He was a Kshatria by caste, a warrior rajput. At the age of sixteen he was married to Yasodhara, the daughter of a king. It was the desire of his par- ents that he should be a leader in things political, but he himself preferred to solve religious problems. When his wife gave birth to a son, he felt that this was only one more worldly tie to bind him, and then and there resolved to become an ascetic. And they say, he left home that very night, without so much as hav- ing seen the baby. This is called by Buddhists, " The ^ This date can easily be remembered by the law of association. Bud- dha was born in the sixth century B. C, and Mahomed in the sixth cen- tury A. D. 67 68 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " Men grow old, sicken and die. That is enough to take away the zest of life."— r.uddhist Saying. Great Renunciation." He had seen before an old man, whom he looked upon as a god, come to him as an old and decrepit man, then he saw him as a sick and dying man, and then as a dead and putrefying body. And this had so set him to thinking, that he became more and more dissatisfied with the life he was living. On the day the child was born, the same old man appeared to him as an ascetic enjoy- ing the fullness of inward peace. That settled it for him. He took to the study of Brahmin doctrines, but found no satisfaction in these. For some six years he gave himself to cruel self-inflicted tortures of the body, and penances and austerities, and lived in a cave of the mountain. Continuing this thing to the utmost, one day he fell into a swoon and lay help- less upon the earth. When he recovered he had some- what changed his theology, for he declared to those with liim that this was not the way of arriving at the truth but that the secret lay in simply living a holv life. His companions were grieved at this change of mind, for they had followed him in all his austerities, and were become his disciples, so now they deserted him. Once more alone, he went into a review of his life, dwelling in the open under a sacred fig tree. There in meditation, the Buddhists say, he fought the matter out till he came ofif conqueror, till all myster- ies had vanished, life and suft"ering were understood, and he had settled the questions of his own exist- THE BUDDHISTS. 69 " Pray without ceasing." — i Thess. 5: 17. ence, having the perfect knowledge. After that he was to be known as Buddha, the enhghtened, the wise. In caste-curst tropical India, life, not only human life, but all life is more or less a continuation of sor- row and pain. So Buddha, believing in transmigra- tion, evolved the idea that if we were not born, we would be free from old age, sickness and death, there- fore the cause of these evils is birth. Ignorance was thought to be the cause then of this continued exist- ence, and therefore with the removal of ignorance, all its miseries would be nipped in the bud. It amounts to this : " Sorrow " is necessary to existence. " Desire " is the cause of sorrow. " Extinction " is the only release from sorrow. The way to extinction is by the eightfold path : Right belief, Right purpose. Right words. Right life. Right actions. Right effort. Right thinking. Right meditation. There is no soul, no God. If man can do any- thing to bring about the end of continuance, it is good to do so. His aim is to become non-cognizant of the fact that he exists. He must do good and be good, living thoroughly separated from the desires of the flesh. And when the light of life goes out, of one who has attained, according to Buddhism, it goes out like the light of a candle. The last words of Buddha are said to be : " Be earnest, be thoughtful, be holy. Keep steadfast ; watch over your hearts. He ^^■ho holds fast to the law and discipline, and faints not, he shall cross the ocean of life, and make an end of sorrow." ^o INDIA ; A l'KUBLI£M. " Prayers arc vain repetitions." — Buddhist Saying. And the inimcdiate cause of his death, when at the age of eighty years, was that he ate too much pork at a meal given him by one of his disciples while at the town of Pava. Buddhism is not classified as an organic religion, though it was formerly missionary. For a time it seemed that it would become the religion of India, but again the tide turned and at the present only a few thousand in India proper are actually Buddhists. In Burma and in Ceylon, how- ever, it is the prevailing religion. They are free from caste in Bur- ma, and the young people are more or less free to have a hand in making their own marriages. Early in the morning large ntmi- bers of monks may be seen in all the towns and villages of Burma, out for food with begging bowl in their hand. They go barefooted and bareheaded, and take what is given them, never asking for anything. These monks wear the yellow robes prescribed, must go smooth shaven, and use the utmost care so as not to take any life. \\'ith this latter in mind he carries a strainer to be sure he takes no life in the water he drinks. Many Buddhists make a vow always to reserve part of the meal for the monks. This is clone before it is prepared. A woman kneels down on the roadside " Monks may be seen. THE BUDDHISTS. 71 "Do good to them that hate you." — Matt. 5: 44. when the monks pass, and a man pays reverent salaams when coming into the presence of one. A monk is not to use perfumes, not to attend parties or dances, " A man pays reverent salaams." not to use high beds, not to eat in the afternoon, and not to receive gold or silver. There are not w^anting though, those wdio violate the rules, and as to the gold and silver they cover it over with a kerchief if any one would give. The elder monks are supposed to have attained mas- 72 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " Blessed is lie who overcomes sin and is free from passion." — P.tiddhist Sa}'ing. tery over themselves, which is the one great aim. These give more time to meditation than the younger, who are regarded as novices. These novices get up before day, do the morning chores, and then go aside to meditate. In going to beg, the younger accom- panies tlie elder, and when they return he w^ashes the elder's feet, washes his bowl, and cooks his rice. Thus the younger serves an apprenticeship, and is learner from the other. These young men do the copying of manuscripts, the oldest of which does not date back further than 350 B. C. In Burma the Buddhists will take no life, but, I am told, they enjoy eating meat if some one else kills it for them. They bury their dead, except in the case of superior monks. When a distinguished monk dies, great honors are paid to him. Immediately after death, an incision is made, the bowels are taken out and the body em- balmed. The corpse is closely wrapped with band- ages, and well varnished. Then it is placed between two solid pieces of wood hollowed out for the pur- pose, and boiling resin is poured into the crevices. This completed, the coffin is gilded and placed on a platform under a decorated canopy in one of the rooms of the monastery, and there remains till the time of the cremation, which comes some months later. On the morning of the funeral, the coffin is taken from its place and put inside a lofty bier, set upon a large car with four or more wheels, and drawn by bullocks to the cemetery. On arrival there, the THE BUDDHISTS. 73 " Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee." — Psalms 55 : 22. bullocks are taken out, and ropes are fixed to the front and back of the car which are quickly seized by a number of men, one party pulling the car to- ward the monastery where the deceased lived, and the the other pulling it tov/ard the cemetery. The car moves slowly backwards and forwards, creaking and shaking, until at last, Avith shouts of delight, the stronger party carries it off. When the bier reaches the center of the cemetery, heaps of inflammable matter are piled up about it, and it is speedily burned. Ceremonies last a week or more. Ornamental cars, or gigantic figures of men, women, elephants, dragons, and other fantastic forms are sent. These are seized by the men who dance about with them, to the accompaniment of music and singing. Other amusements are provided for the crowd, such as wrestling matches, pony races and puppet shows, while dramatic performances continue all through the night.^ The white elephant is held as being peculiarly sa- cred, perhaps because of the legend as to the birth of Buddha. They think the white elephant in some future birth will be a Buddha. They set much store on sacred foot-prints, and oth- er such things. There is the peak in Ceylon, called Adam's Peak, where many persons believe God com- pelled x\dam after the fall to stand on one foot on the top of the mountain for ages till he pardoned him. The footprint is nearly six feet long, and wide in pro- 1 " Burma and the Burmese," 74 INDIA; A rRUJJLEM. " Birth is sorrowful, growth is sorrowful, illness is sorrowful, death is sorrowful." — Buddhist Saying. portion, and requires a wide stretch of the imagination to see the print. However, Mahomedans say it was Adam's foot, Hindoos say it was Shiva's foot, and Buddhists say it was Buddha's foot that left the impress there. The place is now held by the Buddhists, and while all vo- taries are welcome, none may stay there over the night. "Tooth of Buddha." ^j^^y worship many other sacred footprints and relics. The tooth of Buddha is a sa- " Great pagodas in Burma." THE EUDDPIISTS. 75 "Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." — Rom. 12: 21. cred thing now, and there are sacred footprints in various parts of the country. The image of Buddha is everywhere to be seen in connection with Buddhist worship. Great pagodas in Burma always have their B u d d h a s. It seems a strange comment on a reh- gion that leaves God out of its theology, that the image of the founder himself should become an object of such general veneration. Buddhists can scarcely be said to pray. Buddha is sup- posed to have entered nir- vana. A common formula of worship is this : I make Buddha my refuge, refuge. " Image of the founder." I make his law my I make his assembly my refuge. Among Thibetan Buddhists the common prayer wheel is seen at the doors of tem- ples, at the entrances of houses, and often anywhere else. Upon entering a temple the wheel at the door is given a whirl, and the written prayers on the inside are cotmted as said every time they go around. When seated, the suppliant makes three prostrations to the floor, and then begins his worship with, " Om Mani Padmi hom," which means about, " Hail Mighty One, These are twirled." 76 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " The man that dwells in lonely woods and yet covets vanities, is a worldling." — Buddhist Saying. Jewel On the Lotus, Amen ! " And at the close of his devotions, he makes again the three prostrations, and as he goes out gives the wheel at the door an- other whirl. There are hand wheels, too, which are a sort of private devotions machine, in that those who have them have each one his own. These are twirled round and round, with the prayers on the inside, the owner meanwhile doing anything he wishes to do. Little flags are also used, with the prayers written on them, and as these flutter in the breeze, they count as so many prayers said. Also prayers are af- fixed to water-wheels, that no time may be lost in praying, and yet the individual not lack in storing up religious merit. Perhaps next to Hindooism is Buddhism all divided into sects and schisms. But while Hindooism is di- vided by caste and each man thinks as he pleases, Buddhism is divided by differences in little notions of belief and theory. The Jain religion is often thought to be a split off the Buddhist, but I am not inclined to think so. It perhaps had its origin about the same time as the other, but ran counterpart with it. It seems to have more in common with Hindooism than with Buddhism, for they keep caste, and have child marriage. They are more numerous in India proper than Buddhists Their temples are a common sight in some of the western cities. Their chief point seems to be their regard for animal life. It may well be said that their highest idea of right is not to hurt any liv- THE BUDDHISTS. 11 .< Trust in the Lord, and do good: so shalt thou dwell in the land."- Psalm 37'- 3- in- thing. It is these people largely who keep up th^ animal hospitals referred to in a later chapter. In order that he may cause no death, the Jam strams the water he drinks, wears a cloth tied over his mouth, sweeps the ground before he walks there, lies stdl if an insect bite him, and does such other " acts of mercy. They too have their divisions. One case many vears ago was on a matter which seemed perhaps of some import to them. The ascetics of the north and west were in the habit of wearing white cloth- ing while those of the south wore practically none. The southern faction tried to coerce the other and have their sunshine uniform adopted, but failed. It seems childish that any mortals should divide over a matter of that kind. But they divided on that very thing. A Jain convert to Christianity has given me a book ,«^*Luj*r*:^*^*»*" ,_^.^ -„.rar, 'tt-' ,., . .11 „is.i,.LEM. " No crime is to be charged on the prophet, as to what God hath allowed him." — Koran 33: 38. might change his hfe somehow, but he continued the same gambler as before. A woman got it. The others caught her quickly and took her bangles off, for they were glass, and might not fare well if she should continue long. And it was well they did so, for she jumped and rolled and went on as if she were out of her mind. AMien we went home from this exhibition of religion, and thought it all over we were perplexed. These people seemed desperately in earnest. Some called it all a humbug. Others laughed and talked as the thing was carried on before them. And others certainly " had a peculiar feeling," and thought there was something in it. On general principles we withhold too harsh criticisms in such a matter, though we are far from believing in any such performance. I have known an evil spirit to be in a house, that is, I knew the people said it was there. I went with others to see it. We sat late in the night and long in the day, but somehow, it would never appear when we were there, but before we had come and after we had gone it would perform its pranks. Finally, a Ma- homedan was called to burn salt in the house, say words, and thus exorcise the evil spirit. At the mention of the name of ^lahomed, especially in writing, they usually add a parenthetical clause, " On whom be peace," or words similar. And they have their feasts and fasts according to their own man- ner. During the whole of the month of Ramzan they fast, and the way they do it is not to eat any food dur- THE MAHOMEDANS. 95 '* I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you." — John 13: 15. ing the time the sun is up. But when the sun goes down, and just before it rises they make up for lost time. This is according to their scriptures. Christians are charged with reHgious persecution. But whenever a professed Christian did persecute, he did it contrary to the teachings of the Bible, but when Alahomedans persecute it is in accordance with the teaching of the Koran. They have unity of which they boast, but they are more seriously divided than Christians. The divisions of Sunni and Shiah will not intermarry, nor eat together, nor worship in the same mosque. There are divisions among them more numerous than infidels generally know, and each set thinks all others will go to hell. Non-Mahomedans are called infidels. Each male child is circumcised when it is small. Once in his life every Mahomedan aspires to make a pilgrimage to Mecca, the holy city. After death, as the corpse is borne away upon their shoulders, the crowd repeats constantly the La-ilaha. The leader calls out the cry, the whole party responds in unison. All take turns time and again as they go along, in helping to bear the corpse. The grave is dug to a proper depth, then abruptly made narrow, leaving on both sides a little offset. The body is placed in the grave without a cofiin, into this narrow place, some small boards are laid crosswise over the body, resting however on the offset, and the earth is filled in. Death has no terrors for the Mahomedan, but at the mention of the judgment he quails. He expects to 96 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " Good tidings of an apostle who shall come after me, and whose name shall be Ahmed." — Koran 61: 6. go to heaven by virtue of his being a INIahomedan, whether good or bad, but there is a fear that some of them may have to spend much time in hell first be- fore they can go to heaven. They all believe in a fu- ture life. After the resurrection every Mahomedan expects to try to cross the bridge " finer than a hair and sharper than a sword," and if he fall down into the hell below, he still hopes to get out later. Heaven and hell are both eternal, and each has seven degrees. They believe in a multitude of angels, in a hun- dred and forty-four thousand prophets, in Moses and the books of Moses, and in a way they believe in Jesus and the apostles too. As to the prophets, they argue that no prophet could sin, that God would not let them sin. And if one points out to them the sin of one or another of the prophets, they would rather say that the Book was erratic than to admit that the prophet was. One most inexcusable error into which they have fallen is that of the construction of the word para- clete, in the Xew Testament. Instead of the Greek paracletos, they insist on pcricliifos, which in mean- ing comes to be quite a different thing. And in order to hide their baseness in changing the orig- inal word, they charge Christians with the sin of changing the Word from the original. Pcrichitos they assign as meaning Ahmed, and so they make out the case that Jesus, as recorded in John's Gospel, said that He would send ATahomed to guide his peo- ple into all truth. Reason and evidence usuallv count THE MAHOMEDANS. 97 "To obey is better than sacrifice." — i Sam. 15: 22. for nothing when a man has previously made up his mind as to how a thing is or ought to be. Another surprising thing is the way in which Je- sus is disposed of among them. Of course the less educated believe these things, having no way to ap- ply the test. The story goes that when Jesus and the twelve went into a certain house, the Jews were after Him to kill Him. Gabriel came down through the roof and carried Jesus up out of the place to heaven that he might not be caught. Then when the Jews came into the house they could not find Him. But God changed the king of this crowd of ruffians so that he looked like Jesus, and the Jews seized him and took him out and killed him. He, however, all the time insisted that he was not Jesus, but was their own leader Shuyugh. After Shuyugh was cru- cified, that is after they thought they had killed Je- sus, the question arose as to where Shuyugh had got to. Then it was a matter of general doubt, for, said they, " If this were Jesus, where is Shuyugh? And if it were Shuyugh, then where is Jesus ? " There are a number of such fables, all disposing of Jesus without the atoning death, and without the resurrection. Mahomedanism is to-day a missionary religion, sending out its emissaries here and there to spread the religion. It is the only non-Christian religion that makes converts at all. And it is the bitterest of all against Christianity. Here is the old trutli over again. A man with some of the truth, and yet 98 INDIA ; A TROBLEM. " O true believers, let not the one of you speak ill of another in his absence." — Koran 49: 12. not all of it. is the very hardest to lead to conver- sion. And again, those who are nearest alike, when there is a difference, often oppose each other most. Xov\' the problem is to get these people, who have so much of the truth in theory, and who it seems ought to be in sym- p a t h }^ with all Christian reform movements, yet who are so persist- ently and doggedly opposed to all Christian effort, — the problem is to get them to accept the whole of the truth of God. Stubbornness is a splendid character- istic when once it is mellowed by the influences of godli- ness, for then it be- comes firmness, without which we have only weakness. And the Mahomedan, when he comes to see the Lord Jesus as his Savior, becomes at once the firmest and strongest and best kind of a child of righteousness. They make good leaders and organizers. The cases " Ought to be in sympathy." THE MAHOMEDANS. 99 " Speak evil of no man." — Titus 3: 2. of this kind are not a few. Let us hope for them that God most high will be merciful, and lead them to the true knowledge of heavenly things, and give them wisdom from on high, and make them accord- ing to their capability a glorious people for Plimself. ■ THE HINDOOS. Chapter Seven. •>^ "Know that I (Krishna), though actionless and inexhaustible, am the author of the castes." — Ehagavad Gita 4: 13. IXDOOS, Hindoos, Hindoos. All over India four of every five men you meet are Hindoos. These will not all answer to one description however, for between the Panjabi of North India and the Tamili of South India there is more difference than there is between an Englishman and an Italian. Between a Bengali baboo and a ]\Ialayali there is more difference than there is between a Scandinavian and a Portuguese. Indeed there is more in common between the average Hindoo and the average ^lahomedan than there is between the two extremes of Hin- dooism. And the Hindoo and the Mahomedan are usually opposites. Their different religious ideas are in frequent war with each other. In theory, however, every one regards the other as a kind of stepbrother. In fact, it is every fellow for him- self. Hindooism, religion, salva- .« of Xorth India.' THE HINDOOS. lOI " Impossible for God to lie."— Heb. 6: i8. tion, life, God, — on the meaning of such terms as these it is difficult to find two learned Hindoo pun- dits who would agree. In practice there is \ k little freedom. Ev- '/ erv one must follow his own caste, \vheth- er he has faith in it or not, for caste rules • the Hindoo world, not God. This caste sys- cem strikes one first, last and all the time as foolish, arbitrary, and exceedingly heathenish. Brahmins, the priest class are supposed to have sprung from the mouth of Brahm, the great creator. Kshatrias, the warrior class, are supposed to have sprung from the shoulders of Brahm the great cre- ator. Vaisyas, the merchant class, are supposed to have sprung from the thighs of Brahm the great cre- ator. And the Sudras, the laboring classes, are sup- posed to have sprung from the feet of Brahm the great creator. Then in addition to these there are large numbers, who are not in any of the four great castes, called out-castes, or pariahs. This caste division as we know it, and as it is given in the books, is known only among the higher castes and those who have been to school long enough " Of South India." 102 INDIA ; A TROBLEM. " Even if an evil person worship me and no other, he must certainly be deemed good." — Bhagavad Gita i8: 71. to Study history. The caste subdivisions are so nu- merous and so prominent that the majority of the people can not tell to which of these four great di- visions they bclon^j. .^^ sk a mochi (shoemaker) if he " Brahmins." is a Sudra. He'll say, " No, sahib, I'm a mochi. Did sahib not know I was a mochi? " Ask a derzi (tailor) if he is a Sudra. He'll say, "Xo, sahib, I'm a derzi. Did sahib not know that I was a derzi ? " Ask a kumbar (potter) if he is a Sudra. He'll say, " Xo, sahib, I'm not a Sudra. I'm a kumbar. Did you not know?" Ask a koli (one caste of farmers) if he is a Sudra. He'll answer, " Xo, sahib, I'm no Sudra. I'm a koli. Did sahib not know I was a koli ? " And so on we find it among the common THE HINDOOS. 103 "And a little child shall lead them." — Isa 11: 6. people. They know only the name of their caste, as they must follow its particular customs, keep up its superstitions, and abide by its dicta. But the Brahmins know they are Brahmins though, and all others know it too. One of the most common ques- tions in India is, '' Who are you ? " meaning ''What is your caste?" No one answers that question by giving his name. But he gives his caste. Herein is a difference. Ask my five-year-old little son who he is and he'll say, " I'm Emmert Sto- ver." But ask the highest and the oldest in India who he is and he'll say, "I'm a Brahmin." The first implies something, somebody, one. The second implies nobody in par- ticular, anybody in general, a frac- tion of a party. Caste cripples the natural laws that govern healthy society. For instance, caste generally counts more than merit. An office in the gift of a Brahmin will be given to a Brahmin candidate if at all possible, even though a Sudra candidate may be doubly well qualified to fill the office. And if a low caste man has some favor to bestow, he is sure to give it to one of his own caste. An educated man would rather marry an ignorant girl of his own caste than a bright, intelligent, re- I'm Emmert Stover." I04 INDIA ; A I'RUiSLEM. " He that readeth this sacred, sin-destroying history of Rama, becometh cleansed from all sin." — Ramayana i : i : end. ligiously-inclined girl of a lower caste. Why? His religion demands it of him. I was with a Hindoo boy one day, when we met a man of the low- est caste. I pur- posely touched the low-caste man in a friendly way, knowing he would appreciate it. The lad kept his dis- tance for a little while, then half shyly yet confid- ingly said to mc, " Your religion is different. But if I should touch that man it would make me vomit." And that poor fel- low knew ever so much more than the boy, and had a deal more sense too, but the boy was of higher caste. And the boy would not speak to the man except to grumble at him. Some years ago I had several laborers at work on our cook-house. A cook-house in India is built sepa- Tin a Brahmin.' THE HINDOOS. IO5 "He that is without sin, let him first cast a stone." — John 8: 7. rate like a country wash-house in America. Some others of the caste came along the road, and called over the fence, '* Say, how is this ? " "How is what?" the laborers replied. " Tliese people have low caste servants, haven't they? Your work here brings you into contact with them. You must be breaking caste ! " And with that they all stopped work and went out on the road, and there discussed the matter loudly for half an hour until I came and helped them to a conclusion. The idea of caste is ruinous to true rehgious Ufe. Those laborers could fuss and quarrel and lie and steal and use slang and work carelessly, but no one of the caste would think to interfere. Perhaps there was wanting one to throw the first stone. But when there was a possibility of touching a low caste servant, then the caste would rise in horror lest religion should be defiled ! Be it said to their credit, Hindoos generally are not supposed to touch liquor. Yet if one does take to drink, his better friends feel truly sorry, of course, but the caste does nothing. If a man marries two wives, or is guilty of living in adultery, the caste takes no action to help him get out of his sin. If perchance there is even a mur- der, the caste does not try to bring the guilty one to justice. If a widow be guilty of abortion, caste grins and winlvs, wondering what she'll do next. But if she re-marries, both she and her husband are ousted and tormented and hated as long as they live. io6 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " The soul, whicli is the size of a thumb, dwells in the middle of the body." — Katha Upanishad 4: 12. It is said that " caste is I'xiore po- tent in its secret persecutions than was the inquisition of Spain." ^ If a man drink water or eat food from the iiands of a lower caste Hindoo or from the hands of any one not a Hindoo tlien the caste shows itself. The man who has dared to offend thus is fined and purified. A caste conclave is held to determine the extent of his punishment. The mon- ey of the fine is generally spent in a caste jollifica- tion. For purification, they give a specially prepared pill, which the priests make, the ingredients of which are the milk, ghee, curds, urine and dung of a cow ! Then he is purified from the contaminating touch. When he gives the fine and takes the pill, the of- fender receives pardon for his sin ! The fine is sometimes omitted ! Young men going to England for university work, graduate, come back to India, and take the pill. This university man may have his trunk full of theses upon the freedom of the will, or the elevation of woman, but when he is surrounded by his old life, he has to give in. He yields to the inevitable. If one who has become a Christian turns back to wallow again in tlic mire from which he had been washed, he takes his pill. They may take a drink of liquor with a foreigner who drinks, and tip glasses, but to take a drink of water with tlie same man Malabari. THE HINDOOS. lO/ "The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life." — Prov. 14: 2-7. means to take the pill afterward, — if the caste lind it out. From Brahmin to Sudra, all apply the puriiication pill if one eat bread or drink water that a non-Hin- doo has touched. And those lower than Sudras apply the pill to those who break even their low- caste rules. And the out-castes are sometimes more zealous in keeping up their feint at caste than are many of those within the four great castes. The lower imitate the higher always, and caste is the ruling power. I well remember a poor fellow several years ago coming and asking for food. I said, " Of course, as long as we have food, we will share it with those who have not. I'll bring bread. Will you eat bread ? " He said, "No, sahib. How can I eat bread?" "Can't eat bread? Are you that far gone^ ' 1 said. "Sahib, I'm a kumbar (potter). It's your bread I can't eat." " So, a question of caste is it ? Look here. Who is the higher caste, a kumbar or a sahib ? " He answered, " Sahib, you are much the higher." " Then," said I, " as the lower eat from the hands of the higher, I think if you are really hungry, you can eat the bread I bring." I gave him some nice fresh bread. He took it, and would have put it into his pocket, wdien I suggested, " Say now, that's good bread. If you put it in your pocket you'll never eat it. Give me a bite. I'll help you to get started." lOi INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " That same skin which belongs to the cow was originally on man." — Satapatha Brahmana 3: i: 2: 16. Then I broke a piece off with my fingers and ate it. He ate the rest. I am sure it was the best bread he ever ate. I gave him some uncooked rice besides, and he went away. About a w^eek had passed when he came again asking for uncooked rice. I said, "And bread?" " No, sahib, no more bread." ''AMiy? Did the bread I gave you not digest?" " Sahib, the caste found it out." ''Yes, then what?" " \Miv, sahib, they got together in solemn assem- bly and decided that my offense was grave, and they fined me a week's wages, and made me take the pill. Sahib, I don't want any more bread." *' But wasn't it good bread?" I insisted. " Yes, sahib, but it's not according to my religion." And after that I often gave him uncooked rice, and we had many a friendly talk about the exceeding foolishness of caste rule. Caste knocks all the independence out of some men, and makes others inexcusably overbearing and proud. I was surprised one day to see that fact so well illustrated. A low caste man came in his own bullock cart to sell me some lime. I told my head- carpenter, a Sudra, to go wnth the man to see the lime and measure how much it was. It w^as near- ing the middle of the day, it was rather hot, and I was otherwise engaged, else I might have gone myself. We were building and needed the lime. No sooner than I liad told the carpenter to go, I saw THE HINDOOS. log "Folly is joy to him that is destitute of wisdom." — Prov. 15: 21. the circumstances. I thought, I'll see how th;s caste problem solves itself. The owner of the lime was sitting m his cart. The two men looked at each other for a moment, and then the carpenter said, *' O u t ," and m o- tioned to the other man that he could walk at a little dis- tance behind. The man crawled out from the cart, the carpenter climbed in and drove off, the owner walking on behind. And so they continued three miles to his house, the one behind never daring to touch the cart with his finger. Why would he do it ? He wanted to sell the lime. But why submit to the indignity of it? He has been accustomed to that kind of thing for centuries. I have said in telling this story that the Czar of all the Russias could not do that with an Amer- ican, neither would he have the impudence to want to. A certain European was riding third class in a rail- way train from Ahmadebad to Bombay. He was minding his own business until his attention was called by unusually loud talking further down the car. It was a Brahmin. There was a man of darker com- plexion, less intelligent expression, and poorer look- " The carpenter drove off." no INDIA; A PROBLEM. "A Rralimin's weapon is speech." — Laws of Manu ii: 31. ing, wiio sat near him. He had not noticed this poor man before. Each pair of seats is intended to carry ten persons in third class. The Brahmin roared, " Who are your" to which the other made no reply. He had been roared at before. He took it patiently, surprisingly so. Again, in tones louder than the noise of the running train, louder than the talk of a car full of people, again the Brahmin demanded, " IVJio arc yoii?" But the other looked down and answered not a word. Again the Brahmin thundered, "Who are you?" And this time the man replied, " I'm a Christi." "What's that? Who can tell? You lie! You're a low caste Dherd ! I know you. How dare you sit here where I am! Up! Out! Look, men, here's a Dherd sitting rigiit among us." And his eyes flashed fire as he looked around over the other pas- sengers seeking sympathy. Presently the poor man ventured a reply. " Where should I go? Where can I go? I've got a ticket." " How dare you ask me where to go ! W^ould you make me your servant? Out of here quick! How far are you going, Dherd ? " '' I'm going to Baroda," he replied in an apologetic way. " Out of here ! Go anywhere 1 Don't ask me where to go ! Only go ! " Then another spoke up and said ironically, " Broth- er, if the company in third class don't suit you, bet- ter buv a first-class ticket and go over there. You will find select company over there." THE HINDOOS. Ill "A soft answer turneth away wrath." — Prov. 15: i. " But he's a Dherd ! Jao ' you Dherd ! " '* Where shall I go? " " Go over there and sit among those ]\lahomedans, if you like. Go anywhere. Only go! JAO! JAO!" By this time the poor fellow arose and began to dimb over several seats to crowd himself in among the Mahomedans. Now it so happens that the j\la- homedans are not the meekest people on earth either. And as he came nearer to those people their ire rose higher, and they began to give him a volley of words and directed him to go back. The Brahmin yelled, " Don't you dare come back here ! " The Alahomedans insisted, " Not another step this way. Go back ! " And the poor fellow stood halting between the two fires, scorching on both sides. At this the one European in the car arose, got up on the seat with his feet and shouted, " Christi, hey there, Christi! " Evervbodv in the car turned around and looked. He continued : " Christi, you go back to where you were and you sit down there. And if any man has a word to say, let him come over here and say it to me." There was a murmur of approval, and that was the end of the whole trouble. There is almost no end of castes. There are more than 150 castes of Brahmins, and the census man for all India says that the whole number of caste ^ Begone. 112 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " A Brahmin should carefully avoid agriculture, which causes great pain." — Laws of Manu lo: 8_\ divisions and subdivisions is upwards of 19,000. And there are more than twenty different castes among the out-castes. One would think that these out- castes would feel a degree of sympathy for each other. But It is not so. The out-caste is just as hard as anybodv on those out-castes whose caste is lower than his own. For instance, when an animal dies a caste man won't touch it. A low caste man, a Dherd, is called to remove the thing. He does so, and skins the animal and eats the flesh. Then taking the hide on his head he delivers it to the tan- ner, who by caste is lower than the other. And the man who brings the hide won't touch the man who is so low as to tan hides ! And the tanner in turn will not touch the man who does the general scavenger work around about town ! Every one avoids some other, "every one but the last one!" They are initiated into the caste be- fore they know much about it. It is not a matter of faith and choice, as with Christians. Early the boy has a sacred string jnit on him by tlie family priest, and after the string ceremony he is counted a member of the caste. There is no special time for this, and often when there are several boys in the family, the string is put on two little fellows at the same time. The various castes have different " The man who does the scavenger work." 114 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " The gods talk only to the upper caste." — Satapatha Brahmana II : 4: 4: I- String ceremonies, but after the string a Brahmin is called " twice-born." Low castes have shades of ceremonies too, for what- ever caste a man has, that is his religion so to speak, and he is proud of it. I think an out-caste man has as much pride in his caste as a Brahmin, only he has no opportunity to show it. A funny story in point is sometimes told. A bungi guru (scavenger priest) came to another bungi's house. Bungi is perhaps the lowest caste in all Gujerat. The first said in greet- ing the other, *' Come m, sit down, how honored I am to have one such big bungi come to my humble hut." The other replied, '* Do not speak so. I am only one very poor bungi. God is the one big Bungi." The average " gentle Hindoo " is much too proud for his own good. Dignity is a great word with him, but not the dignity of labor. The Bengali student wants a servant to carry the book home for him he wins as a prize on Commencement day. The Gujerati would not think of going down town without his turban on, though he wears a more comfortable hat around about the house all day. Boys fight if one calls the other an ass. The Stover Manufacturing Company, of Freeport, 111., presented us a wind-mill for the orphanage. I had need for a small iron rod in putting the pump together, and went to the bazaar to get it. I put the rod on my shoulder and was coming home. But on my way home no less than a half dozen of mv THE HINDOOS. II5 "For there is no respect of persons with God." — Rom. 2: 11. Hindoo friends called to me in derision as I walked along the street : ** Ur-ra sahib, what will you be doing next?" ** I say, can't you afford a pice for a coolie?" " You ought not to do that." " That kind of work is not worthy a man of your standing." " Sahib, stop and think how that looks." '' If all did like you, the poor coolies would starve, not?" You employ a man-servant as cook. He brings the daily supplies from the bazaar, but he wants an- other man to carry them for him. The carpenter re- quires another man to sit at the other end of his saw or plane, and pull. Native saws and planes are made accordingly, with a handle at each end. A ma- son wants another man to pick up the brick and hand them to him. <. ^r^ a- 1 iuade accordingly. A man walks along the road, his wife walks behind her lord carrying the burden. Some missionaries were in a village, and on be- ing asked for their advice, were talking of what was best to do in a case where a man had fallen into adultery with his sister. The sister overheard and called out, " Don't you mention my name," implying a fear lest her good name would be spoiled by mis- sionary use of it. Two neighbors were just a little doubtful of each other. One sitting in his house sang loudly and long. The other went to the back door of his house and Ii6 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " He must not step over a rope to which a calf is tied." — Institutes of \'ishnu 63: 42. spit. Then there was a general quarrel. The one said : " You sang to annoy me. You can't sing any- how." The other said : " You spit to insult me. Why should you spit when I sing?" And the women. Every woman wants to appear full jeweled. Her ornaments may be gold, or silver, or glass, or they may be brass worth about five cents each, or they may be of wood, worth about a cent apiece. But she must have them. Hindoo women have an inordinate passion for jewelry. ]\Iany a wom- an begs with rings on her arms and legs. i\Iany a mother puts a string and tassel, or a string and little bunch of bells on the child several years before she thinks of clothes for it. The value of jewels in the country is estimated at $700,000,- 000, which at twelve per cent interest would pay all the land revenue ! To gratify her pride the Hindoo woman juts rings in all i)arts of her ears, in her nose, on her fore- head, in her hair, about her neck, on her fingers and toes, on her arms and legs, above her elbows often, and sometimes up to her knees. When a woman has forty or fifty brass rings on her legs, it's no fun. She often puts a handful of leaves un- '• Passion for jewelry." THE HINDOOS. 117 "The woman is the glory of the man." — i Cor, 11: 7. der the lower ring to keep it from cutting the flesh. One wonders why she is so fooHsh. It is the custom. It's the way of the caste. It may not be pride, and it may be so. Pride, custom and caste often be- come so intertwined that it requires an expert to tell which is which. A bit of experience we enjoyed when we first came to Bulsar, was in a conversation with an old woman of a special caste. Wife had asked her wdiy she was wearing so very many brass rings. She said it was the custom of her caste, and that the better one stands in society the '■ Mother puts a string." greater the number of rings one can wear. And then, to illustrate and enforce her statement, she added, " And if you were a member of our caste, madam sahib, }'ou would be allowed to wear rings clear up to your knees." I need not add that wife is glad her caste doesn't wear rings. I often wonder with how great a de- gree of sorrow God must look upon this whole foolish custom of adorning the body, of yielding to the caste's desire to be pleased. We pity these poor hea- '* It's no fun." t^i^ii women who know no better. How Il8 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " Women being weak and ignorant of X'edic texts, are foul as false- hood." — Laws of Manu 9: 17. must God look upon those women who do know better, and yet indulge? True adorning lies in a meek and quiet spirit, in a noble and useful life. Many a Hindoo woman, and many a Mahomedan too, wears a bracelet of iron, as the sign of their marriage. Often this iron ring is covered over with gold so as not to appear what it really is. The mother-in-law puts on this \vedding ring, and it must not be removed at any time while the wife lives. In some places it is worn about the neck. I have seen it sometimes that a woman wore a lit- tle gold piece about the size of a gold dollar as a charm apparently, with the impress of two feet on it. On inquiry I learned that she was the second wife, and that second wives always wear this sign, in the particular caste. This heathen wedding-ring custom has worked its way into the little minds of some people outside of India. So completely tied to the idea are they that one would almost fear to tell them how^ near they come to being heathen. And the more nearly akin the greater the cause for fear. The modern wedding ring '* represents the nose ring, the ankle ring or manacle by which in the past ages the sold slave was led away from the mart by the new master." ^ It would be well if this passion for jewelry were the end of passion. \\'ith the Hindoo people pas- ^ Prof. Frederick Starr, University of Chicago. THE HINDOOS. I IQ "Follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace." — 2 Tim. 2: 22. sion, lust, lasciviousness, desire, appetite, know al- most no limits. One can never find out the depth of these degradations till he has lived long with the people and known their language well. There are untranslated phrases, and there are expressions which have no English equivalent. Those who know, say that Prof. Max Muller's translations of '' The Sacred Books of the East " render the ob- scene phrases not according to the literal, but so they will not be too objectionable reading. The Government of India positively forbids the pub- lishing of some of the " religious literature " of the Hindoos. In the temples certain images represent lascivi- ousness. In certain large temples there are dozens of images of male and female naked forms in the act of prostitution. I saw a score of such in the '' holy temple " at Benares. When such facts are stated to educated and congenial Hindoos, they laugh and say that they themselves have no use for such things. But the thought goes into their hearts, and they live it out. Doctors sometimes tell us how often they are asked for medicine to cause power. See page 44. Men justify the having of several wives by the power argument. I was riding along one day in a railway train, and got into religious conversation with a Hindoo. The people are ever ready to discuss matters of re- ligion. In that they differ from some people who get the fidgets and want to be off the moment re- 120 INDIA; A PROELKM. " Tliou, god without a second." — KigAcda 1:3-: '-• lieion is mentioned. Our conversation drifted from one topic to another till he asked me if I ate meat and \vhy. I answered in the affirmative, giving as a reason that it is healthful diet and gives strength. Applying his own meaning, he asked me some of the most filthy questions I had ever heard. Rising up and assuming Brahminical dignity which he could easily understand, I said, " Sit yonder, and don't you touch me. I have a pure mind, and en- deavor to have it purer. You have a filthy heart, and want to have it more filthy. Don't you dare to touch me." He was thunder-struck. We were both silent for a time when he neared the end of his journey. Then I shook hands with him as I gave him good-by. I told him to get such thoughts out of his heart, that he could not do this himself, as he readily admitted, and that Christ was his only hope. Christ would help him if he asked in faith. He thanked me and begged my pardon. Poor fel- low, he didn't know. He thought all men were as sensual as he knew himself to be, and perhaps he had known no other kind among his own people. It is not far to see the cause of child-marriage. The old Brahmin forefathers in establishing child- marriage knew well the nature of the people they had to deal with. A widow may be a widow but a man must be married. Save the boys, — get them mar- ried before they know to get into sin. Save the girls, — get them married before puberty, so if there come 122 INDIA ; A PKODLEM. " Let him not marry a maiden with reddish hair." — Laws of Manu 3: 7. a child too soon, there is a lad to be the legal fa- ther of it. One sore was made in order to heal another, but there was no healing. Feed an appe- tite and you produce a passion. This is how the old Brahmin fathers missed it. These plans were Save the girls." wrought with good intent. But God was not the mov- er in them. And they are working only evil continu- ally. A few years ago, after an adult husband in Cal- cutta had taken his eleven-year-old bride to wife, THE HINDOOS. 123 "Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers." — z Cor. 6; 14. causing her a crucial suffering and death, Govern- ment raised the age of consent from ten to twelve years. Sentiment became strong for this change, yet the law was not passed without many Hindoo ob- jections. Xow throughout British India Hindoo mar- riages are held between parties of any ages, but no husband can legally take his little wife to live with him as such before she is twelve years of age. In Mysore, a large native state, the marriage of girls under eight is prohibited, and men over fifty are for- bidden by law to marry girls under fourteen. In Jey- pore the age of consent has been raised to fourteen years. Volume after volume might be filled with true sto- ries of child-marriage and enforced widowhood. For there are in round numbers 140,000,000 women in India, of whom fully 23,000,000 are Hindoo widows! ^Nlore than 78,000 are child-widows under nine years of age, and thousands are widows at four ! The average Hindoo girl knows more about some things at six years of age than many an American girl knows at fourteen. But the same American girl knows more of righteousness at six than the average Hindoo girl ever knows. Poor things, they can't Before she is twelve years of age." 124 INDIA : A PROHLKM. "This is the threefold i)atli t) licll; carnal desire, wrath and greed." — Institutes of \'islinu a: 6. help it. It's the fruit of the prevaihng rehgion of the land! By their fruits we know them. Stories of how mothers some- : n times prepare their little married daughters to go to their future house (there is no distinctive word for home in the vernacu- lars), so that the hushand may «*^^^. not find the girl too little, are al- . , , . „ most incredible, and can not be ' Poor things, they can t help it. published. Twenty-six per cent of the children born die under one year of age. In the religious folk-lore, the story is told with relish, that Krishna, the popular Hindoo god, once when v.-alking met a certain devotee. The devotee said lie had one request of god Krishna, which he wished he would promise to grant. And Krishna promised, of course, without knowing what it was, for he was too good-natured to refuse. Then the request was that Krishna should change the devotee into a woman for the time being, that they two might be together! And the request was granted, of course! And now Hindoos praise him for having kept the promise, for his devotion to truthfulness ! The Bhattla caste in Bombay, numbering about 10,000, formerly had a custom of sending a wife, after the ceremony of the marriage consummation, to be with the priest first, then to join her husband. The women now and then visited these priests, and were taught by the priests that it was to them sal- THE HINDOOS. 1^5 " Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God."— Matt. 5 : 8. vation. One man, more of a man than the rest, resented this procedure, and brought the matter open- ly to court. Then the pubUc were astonished at the facts, there was a great stir among all classes, and the hope for better things was indulged. But I am led to believe there has not been very much change. Considering again the good intents, but misguid- ed efforts of the ancient Brahmin fathers, we rec- ognize in widow-burning an open commentary on conditions. Suttee were better for a widow than the life she'd be most likely to lead after her hus- band was gone. And it is contrary to reUgion for a woman to re-marry, for a Brahmin must be the Urst husband of as many wives as he may choose. The relation of husband and wife is often tender, but rarely as mutually confident as we are used to it. I have a letter from a Brahmin, relative to the death of his wife, from which I will quote in part: " After all she sank in perfect satisfaction having committed the children to my fatherly charge. Her soul left her body at 7 A. M. Of course she has left me, but not left me alone. She has not robbed me of anything, but on the contrary she has left after her, the children, the fruit of social life which could never be bought at any price. She was my young companion from the fifth year of her age. The day before she passed away all the Hindoo reli- gious rites were performed to perfection. From i to 3 A. M. she was in her senses. I asked her, ' Have you anything to say to me?' She shook her head and said ' No ' aloud. ' Have you anything to say 126 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " Three hundred, three thousand, thirty and nine gods have worshiped Agni." — Bhagavad Gita 4: 9: 9. to the children, to anybody?' To which she re- plied, ' It is the fate of all. It is the way of all. And I abide my fate. You remain. May you live.' After that she murmured several words. Soon everything began to subside, and the soul escaped at 7 A. M." I met the gentleman two weeks later, alter the ceremonies for the dead had all been performed, and he was away from the house once more. He said he was in great trouble. I tried to console him as best I could under the circumstances. Pres- ently he said, " yiy trouble is this: Mother insists that I be married to a little girl she knows, ten years old, and sometimes I think I want to, and sometimes I think I won't." The widows of all the lower castes re-marry free- ly and often very quickly. The widows of the higher castes never! In all India there are now about twenty-five remarriages per year of high caste widows, by as many men who dare to step out and face the e\'il customs of the centuries. Suttee was stopped some years ago by English law, l)ut the widow is a widow still. In 1856 a law was passed legalizing widow marriages, but so far it avails not much. She is the object of general contempt. She has a hard lot. If a IJrahmin (he who of all men should be merciful!) meet a widow first of all when he goes out in the morning, he thinks his good luck for the day is gone, and he will call her bad names, ask THE HINDOOS. 127 " I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me." — Isaiah 45: 5. her insolent questions, or spit at her. And if she be wealthy she becomes but the prey of cunning men, for " the wealth of most widows is devoured by priests." ^ Widowhood is regarded as a curse from God be- cause of some sin committed either in this present " Widowhood a cvirse from God." or some former life. So if God curse, why should men pity? If a man be dying it is not usually al- lowable to let the wife, the future widow, be in the room. Before the body is removed, the village bar- ber is called to shave the widow of all her long hair. And she must keep her head shaven from that day forth. Then she is clothed in coarse garments red 1 Rao Bahadur C. II. Deshmukh. 128 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " Then Indra at a single draught ilrank tliirty pails of Soina-juicc." — Rig-\'eda 7: 66: 4. or white, and when tlie corpse is removed, she stays in the honsc, a Hindoo widow. If she l)e of some vcars, the success of her chikh'en may give some- thing of joy to her, but if she be young she has small hope. Despised by all. pitied by none, avoid- ed by all, cherished by none, her life-light flickers. She may get broken-hearted and die of consum])- tion, or callous-hearted caring for nothing, or she may go into sin with anyone, even members of her own family. I spoke of this recently to several men. One said, " Yes, sahib, I know a case where a widow was about to become a mother when, suddenly, she died, and was carried to the river side. ^ She was surely poisoned." Another said, '' I know of three cases where wid- ows, having been in sin, under similar circumstan- ces, sickened and died. There was some stir about the matter at the time, but it was soon hushed up." More than once have I had i)ointed out to me wid- ows, whom I had known and thought respectable, as guilty of all sin. .And once a Hindoo boy in my confidence remarked, " Plague time is good for some things. There are so many empty houses." De Tocqueville says: " Hindooism is perhaps the onlv svstem of belief that is worse than havine no religion at all." I sliould say the widows would agree with him, — if they knew. I'ut saving, '* It's my fate. What to do.^" they usually try to make ^ Usually bodies arc burned at the river side. Hence the expression. THE HINDOOS. 129 " Eat or drink, — do all to the glory of God." — i Cor. 10: 31. the best of it. Perhaps the majority would not re- marry if they could, feeling that fate is against them. And they are taught that it is a disgrace to re-marry, that only bad women do so, that modest women sub- mit to the inevitable and think of nothing else, that it is the will of God, and such other Hindooisms. It must not 1)e thought by anyone that Hindoos have no knowledge of God. From the greatest to the least they speak of one general God. Of course to them, this idea of one God does not exclude the possibility of millions of little gods. To them it is like the sun and the stars. Even the most ig- norant speak of the " Uper W'allo," the One above. And the more enlightened will even argue for the truth that " God is a Spirit, everywhere present, all powerful, without shape, and without form." Neither should anyone think that Hindoos have no desire for God. They do desire God. They have a peculiarly religious nature. Most men will stop work an hour to engage in an argument on religion, even if they be working piece-work. Every one thinks of the time wdien he will be according to the religion, reunited with God. All India is in a constant religious stew, if religious discussion can be counted for anything. At certain times there are great religious festivals, where Hindoos go to bathe and receive the caste mark and follow the teaching of their religion. As they ofo manv miles sometimes for one dav's exercises, one cannot but feel that they do crave some blessed experience, and know not how nor where to go THE HINDOOS. 131 " Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right." — Kph. 6: i. for it. At these festivals sometimes tens of thou- sands gather, bathe, say prayers, and return home. Boys wear caps with '' GOD " sewed on in beads. " GOD " is on the backs of chairs sometimes. It may be woven in the border of a woman's sari, " GOD." In the beginning of the famine, a school teacher told his pupils to write, '' Ram Ram " as often as they could in a given time. Two Christian boys refused, saying that it was contrary to their religion, while all the other chil- dren wrote " Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram " all up and down and crosswise over their slates. The teacher thought to please the gods. The sunyassis a n d yogis and bairagis and go- s a i s and fakirs and sadhus all are a living argument that the people are really seeking after God, — though not find- ing Him. There is many a splen- did fellow, and also many a big fraud among the nearly 3,000,000 ascetics and de- votees of India. - Seeking after God." 132 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " There was not non-existent nor existent, no realm of air, no sky be- yond it." — Rig-Veda 10: 129: i. These are separate from the world, according to the Orient. They often do not wear more clothes than we carr}- in one pocket as a handkerchief. They smear their bodies over with ashes, wear the hair long and matted, and appear as uncivil- ized as possible. Civilization to them is being worldly. To have a wife and children, a home, de- cent clothes, to carry on any bus- iness, to know where to-mor- row's breakfast is to come from, this, to them, is being worldly. But to beg, to wander from place to place, to forsake wife and children, and home, to sleep under trees, to wear no clothes, and by lying on spikes, hanging with the head down over a slow fire, smearing the body, letting the hair, beard and nails get hiordinately long, keeping vows of silence for years at a time, and in a score of oth- er ways to torture the body, this is to them sepa- ration from the world. And India as a whole thinks even so. The ascetic may deceive others as to his caste, he may lie when he goes begging food, his heart may be the very incarnation of darkness, yet all re- gard him as having renounced the world and its ways ! Many a man gets tired of himself and of his daily routine of duties and meaningless religious cere- monies, and he says, " Til go on a pilgrimage." His Separate from the world." THE HINDOOS. 133 is all for religion. *' And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." — Gen. i : 2. intentions are good, but he is on the wrong road. Out he goes and away, begging and wandering. It He goes from town to town, falls in with others of his kind, hears strange stories and is en- couraged to go on. It is a careless, easy, listless, lazy life, and many are drawn into it never to come back again. In begging they stop in front of a house and chant some weird lines while perhaps rat- tling several iron rings, or shaking small rattlesticks, un- til they are told to go (jao) or are given possibly a thim- bleful of rice. So from house to house. Two hours of begging will generally result in enough for one meal, and there may be some over. Then they go to the temple and dharamsala (rest house) on the banks of the tank, sit down, smoke, talk, and cook their meal. The cookmg is easy enough. One little vessel is carried with them al- ways. Perhaps two, the second for water onlv. Three stones, a few Out he goes and away." Sticks and leaves ^fathered, and a " Cooking is easy," match, will prepare any sadhu a meal. Rice, salt, dahl, tobacco, matches, all are thrown to- gether into the begging bowl. He requires no spoons, 134 INDIA; A PROBLE^I. " Let him choose for his wife a maiden who has a pleasant name, who walks gracefully like an elephant." — Laws of Manu 3: y. no knives, no forks, no dishes, no table, nor clean- liness, for he is separate from the world! After eating- he stretches himself out for a sleep on the stones or on the bare ground, and does not go out for more until impelled by hunger. There are sunyasis, who are a better class of peo- ple than the common mendicants. Thev do not beg, and people have more confidence in them. They go from place to place and read or talk to the people who gather to see them, and if anything is given them tliey have a meal to eat. If there is abun- dance, they give to others. If there be nothing, they go hungry, saying nothing. A sunyasi discards all prayer-beads and strings and such things which seem the stock-in-trade of the sadhus, and he wears more clothes. I had a long talk with one who had been all over the country, had visited ever so many mis- sionaries from Karachi to Calcutta, was much pleased with the righteousness and teaching of Christ, but preferred to continue as he was. The yogis are a class of religious tricksters, to whom much power is attributed. They claim to do all kinds of things by means of the mantras, — all kinds of useless and foolish things. And in conver- sation about these fellows, those who believe in them always tell what some far-away yogi did. ^^'e have no faith in these }'Ogis, but when a man does a real clever thing, actually doing it, we feel an interest in him. There came to our house a group of men desiring to show what they could do. Yield- THE HINDOOS. 135 " Cease to do evil; learn to do well." — Isaiah i: 16, 17. ing- to the pressure on the part of the orphans I told them to do what they could. Among other things, one of the men held a twelve-foot bamboo pole up- rightly, resting it on his stomach. His son, a lad of fourteen summers per- haps, climbed up the pole and at the top he turned a somer- sault, and afterwards lay down and twirled around like a compass on its pivot. There was no deception in this, for I took a photograph of it. A swami is a leader. They bow before him in form and in spirit. They kiss his feet, and crowd around to touch the hem of his gar- " I took a photograph of it." mCUt, if llC liaS OUC OU. A Hindoo agent will sometimes wire other agents along the road if a swami is on the train, and by the time the train arrives, there is a crowd of Hindoos there, anxious to give him money, touch his feet, or worship him from a distance. But a swami does not always find smooth sailing. Honor- able Justice Chandavarkar went to England, and when he returned he refused to take the pill. The Swami of the Saraswats excommunicated the Judge of the High Court. And ^Wk^UMi/ then he threatened with excommuni- ... A swami. 136 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " If a man steal grain, he shall be born a rat." — Laws of Manu 12: 62. cation all who would dine with the enlightened judge. The judge was not affected, and many continued to dine with him. The fight is on yet. The judge is making another trip to England now. Let us hope " The enlightened judge." Raja Deen Dayal & Sons, photographers. that he will win, and the swami admit his superior sense. The desire for God is unfortunately linked with idolatry, which closes the door. A Hindoo will wor- ship. He is a worshiping being. It puzzles him that any one in a Christian country should not be a Chris- THE HINDOOS. 1 37 "Let him that stole, steal no more." — Eph. 4: 28. tian. '' Has no religion at all ! '' he exclaims. '' How can that be?" But while Hindoos are willing wor- shipers, they are not at all particular what they wor- ship. Indeed, to him, one thing serves about as well as another. He reasons about this way : God is everywhere present. Everywhere present, then in everything. Worshiping the thing, therefore, I worship God in the thing. He worships, then, as a result, anything and ev- erything ; the sun, moon, stars, the sea, rivers, w^ells, trees, bushes, sticks, animals, snakes, birds, stones, metals, gold, silver, iron, brass, copper, clay, wood, and if there be any other thing, that too. The tailor begins the day's w^ork by worshiping his tools. We had a derzi sewing in our house. The orphan boys remarked how the old man stood the scissors up and " went on " before them. I said I had never seen him do it. So the next morning I was right there to see. He didn't do it. I said, ''Derzi, they tell me you do puja (prayers) to our scissors in the morning. You certainly didn't do it this morning, for I've had one eye on you ever since you came." His answer was, " Xo, sahib, I didn't do it. I thought if sahib would see me he would say, 'What's come over the derzi? Is he crazy?' so I thought about it, but didn't do it, sahib." The carpenter sets up his tools together in the morning as he is about to begin work, adz, saw, and plane, and worships them. And the farmer worships his old-fashioned plow, knowing well that it is th(^ 138 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " On killing a cat, dog, owl, or crow, he must perform the penance required for killing a Sudra." — Laws of Manu 11: 131. same as his fathers worshiped before him centuries ago. The clerk worships his pen and the student worships his books. A Hindoo thinks he must look at something when he does his prayers.^ Uusually an idol is blessed by the priest before it is counted an object of worship. In the consecration they say the god-spirit enters it. After it is so consecrated no one out of the caste may touch it. But this is not always the case. The train comes lolling into the station, and a man may want to do his prayers. He may jump out quickly, and find a suitable stone lying near. He may set up the stone and do his prayers there before it, and get into the car again before the train starts. There are large temples and large idols, but that which is popular is the little idol. India is alive with little idols. They are everywhere. Along the road-side, under trees in secluded places, in the houses, in the little temples, in niches in the walls of houses, in niches of stone walls, on hill tops, all special places have their little idols in them. And these little idols are the popular ones. A rock by the wayside has a peculiar shape. One marks it red. A sadhu does a ceremony over it. After that it is frequently worshiped. A Brahmin came to the World's Fair in Chicago. After his return to his own country he wrote a book, in which he grew eloquent over the Ferris wheel. Thus he apostrophised it, " O thou thing of 1 The vernacular expression js " to do prayers," .^■i ^ , III 1^1 1 fc '^ - ll.; ^ , ft * ' ; PHi I40 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " He who kills a cow shall drink barlej'^ gruel for a month, be shorn, dress in her hide, and live in a cow-house." — Laws of Manu ii: 109. fate. You take some men up, and 1)ring others down at vour will. You should be in India. There you would be a god, and millions would fall at your feet to worship you." Our wind-mill has seen itself wor- shiped more than once. And I've been worshiped. The element of fear enters prominently into much of the worship. The smallpox goddess is worshiped to ward off smallpox. The cobra is wor- shiped that he may not bite them. Oth- er ugly gods and goddesses are wor- shiped that they may not visit wrath upon the people. In this way it can be under- stood why the most horrible things are often worshiped most. The good God will not hurt anyone, but the gods of evil will, so if their wrath can be appeased the worshiper feels himself safe. How different is the true ! We worship God be- cause we love Him. We worship Him because He first loved us. We desire to praise Him because we understand a little concerning His praiseworthy na- ture. We adore Him because we are His redeemed children. Being His children we indulge the hope that we shall be like our Father, and dwell with The cobra is worshiped." THE HINDOOS. I4I " The Lord is nigh unto all them that call upon him in truth." — Psalms 145: 18. Him forever. And we want always to please Him because love prompts it. " Love is the fountain whence All true obedience flows. The Christian serves the God he loves And loves the God he knows." If a smallpox epidemic comes certain castes have a way to appease the smallpox goddess which is peculiarly interesting. They collect earthen pots, little wooden wagons, sticks, earthen images of a horse (or dog, who can tell?), drtmi and cymbals, and a live chicken, or a small goat. All these things are taken with shouting and singing to just beyond the border limits of their village. The neighbors m the next village hear them coming and knowing well what is up they are at the boundary line in time to meet the procession, and take it on at once to the limits of their village, for they don't want to get the smallpox either. So they give it to their next neighbor. And these give it to the next, and so on till the last ones are so far away that they do not hear them commg. Ignorance is bliss, and if they do not know, they will not get it. The live chicken is left to run wild, while all the other things, ex- cept the drum and cymbals, are deposited there by the road-side. One night we heard a continued noise at a temple near by. In the morning I went over to see what the trouble was, for the noise kept right on. When I asked, they told me they had decreed an eight-days' 142 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " Yama includes abstinence from slaughter, falsehood, theft, inconti- nence, and avarice." — Yoga Shastra 2: 30. prayer, and were at it. I asked in surprise how they kept up an eight-days' prayer, for there was no stopping. Then I learned that they take turns, each Httle group of men taking a two-hours' heat, so to speak. They joined hands, and with a song to the god as they danced round about it, they kept time with the drum and cymbals. It was not un- like our child-play '' ring around a-rosy." And they kept it up for the eight days, thinking thus to ap- pease the apparent wrath of the god, and so avert the impending famine. Another striking case is that of a woman dhoon- ing. Hindoo dhooning is different from that of the Mahomedans. It was late in the evening, and I was just returning from the railway station. Close to our home, as I came nearer and nearer, I heard a weird, plaintive sing-song cry, and I wondered if perhaps some one had died, for the sound was not very un- like that of a woman as she spends several hours each day in wailing aloud after the death of some member of the family. As I came near, I asked an old na- tive brother who was present, if any one had died. He replied, No, sahib, she's dhooning. ** She's dhooning." t^- 1 1 -i 111 JJiQ sanib never see her dhoon- ing? Doesn't sahib want to see her dhooning?" " No," I said, " I never saw her dhooning. But, Ramabhai, who is she, and what does she do when she dhoons? '' THE HINDOOS. • 143 "Incline not my heart to any evil thing." — Psalms 141: 4. " Come along. Sahib must go over and see." And so saying, he went ahead, and after a Uttle further explanation, I also went to see her dhooning. A woman in a mere hut of a house sat on the bare floor, making wild gesticulations before a lit- tle idol, whose name was called Pyr. She had a lit- tle table just before her, on which was placed some rice and a rupee. A little dim cocoanut-oil light flickered near the idol. The woman bowed and threw herself back, then bowed again, so continu- ing in rapid succession. And each time she bowed she uttered a cry, which I could not understand, and I was sure no one else did. It was this cry that had attracted my attention at first. She continued for a time, when becoming quite exhausted she raised up, and with her index fingers wiped the great beads of perspiration from her forehead. Then I spoke to her, and finding that she was not unwilling to be talked to I asked her what she was doing. She said in all gravity, '' Sahib, I'm dhooning." I said, " Yes, I see that. But whatever is it for? " In astonishment, she replied, " Didn't sahib see the baby?" I looked and saw the baby, on a woman's lap, not far from me. It was such a wee little thing, I felt sorry for it at once, that it could not be quietly asleep somewhere. "And will the dhooning afifect the baby?" I ven- tured. " Yes, sahib, the baby is sich, and this is the way 144 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " Soul within me is greater than this earth, and greater than the sky, and greater than the lieaven." — Cliandogya Upanishad 3: 14: 3- we do when the baby gets sick. This is to make it well." " And will the baby get well ? " *' Perhaps, — if the Pyr wishes, it will get well." *' Yes, but do the babies get well when you dhoon for them ? " " Sometimes they do." ''And sometimes they die?" " Sometimes." " Why don't you go to the hospital, or why don't you come over to me? Pm no doctor, but I can give you an occasional remedy that will do good." " No, sahib, n'c don't take medicine. We rely on Pyr. We are foolish people, but that's the way we do. We never go to any doctor." " I certainly admit," 1 said " that you are foolish people, your caste, but it seems to me, — " and with- out waiting longer she began dhooning again. Now I began to understand. And as soon as she used sentences that had a meaning, the men sitting around outside came in quickly, saying, " Now the god has entered her. Now it is the god speaking." And I caught an idea there I had never learned be- fore. These idolaters believe that when the one dhooning gets so worked into a state of excitement, and so exhausted as scarcely to be natural, then the god enters, and the words said are not the words of the individual, but are the words of the god. And they listen with due eagerness. And all she utters now is the message, — if they can understand THE HINDOOS. 1 45 " God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble." — James 4 : 6. it. Sometimes they can't. Then they are to blame, not the god. Something like this must have been the way the ancient idolatrous oracles worked among many people. As the thing continued, some of the weird ryth- mical jingling expressions the woman used that night were : " Gone to Xaosari, O Pyr bap." " All poor people, O Pyr bap." " Baby got very sick, O Pyr bap." *' Won't you make babv well, O Pyr bap ? " " Have to work very hard, O Pyr bap." " Gods will favor men, O Pyr bap." " Baby has lucky name, O Pyr bap." '' Baby will make a change, O Pyr bap." And so on. Bap means father. They could see by the statements that the god was favorable to the baby, and would understand it so. In this particu- lar case the baby died the next day. But a little thing like that \\'0uld not change their faith in the Pyr. It is sometimes suggested by those who have not perhaps given it any thought that since the people do worship, their worship is better than nothing. It is better to worship an idol than not to worship at all. It is not my purpose to discuss concerning the poor soul who does not worship at all. He will find iiis own place as sure as the waves go down to fill up the troughs of the sea below. But the one who worships the idol, — how about him? Alen must look UP for their ideals, and not find 146 INDIA; A PROBLEM. A bad god." " The sun is 100,000 yojanas from the earth, and the moon an equal distance from the sun." — Vishnu Purana 2: 7. them on a level or beneath them. No good man can continue so and worship a bad god. Unless a man worships something better than himself he will grow worse only continually. Since these things are true, where at once is the poor Hin- doo who worships incarnations so bad that no man can pos- sibly be their equal. If he does not worship it, he is a hypo- IgjI^l jM^BBI crite, pretending to follow a re- "^ 1 jFjBpi ligion while he does not. If he does worship, he is worse, be- cause the object of his wor- ship is lower than he himself is. Many a man gets into a trap by a course of reasoning like the following, the error of which he fails to see. God is everywhere present. God is the most real of all things. No two things can occupy the same place at the same time. Therefore there is nothing but God. In other words, everything that is is God, and all that we see is but imagination. In reality, the phys- ical is imaginary, and the spirit only is real. He thinks he is, but knows that he is not. All t\\^ world is illusion. There is no pain, he only thinks there is pain. He does not exist, but only thinks he exists. He does not possess any thing, but only thinks he does. He does not feel hungry, but only THE HINDOOS. I47 " God is a spirit." — John 4: 24. thinks so. He does not have thoughts, but only imagines he has phantasies he calls thoughts. " God is everywhere present " is one thing, and " God is everything " is quite something else. But the Hindoo does not see it. He says " Ham Brahm asmi," / aiii Brahni. If man is God, then cat, dog, lizard, rat, these are God too. If there is no differ- ence between the Creator and the thing created, then a shoemaker is the same as the pair of shoes he makes, and a carpenter is the same as the box he makes. Yet he doesn't see it. But the Brahmin always recognizes the difference between himself and his low caste neighbors. Our teacher once was bothered with these ideas, and it occurred to me that to have a demonstration would be good. And so I said, " Teacher, let's dem- onstrate. Your hand, which is only an imaginary hand, you please place against the door there, which is not a door, but only an imaginary door. Then with my fist, which I am quite sure is a real fist, I \x\\\ strike your hand a good strong blow. If you do not feel something which is more than an imagina- tion, then I will give up; but if you do feel some- thing which is more than an imagination then you will give up. What do you say ? ' And he said, " Let's not demonstrate that way." And he never argued with us for such nonsense again. Their minds are dreamy and speculative, and at the same time shrewd, subtle and metaphysical to the extreme. A man will speak of sin so common 148 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " Do not study while dogs are barking, jackals yelling, or asses braying." — Institutes of X'ishnu 30: 12. in the ^vorkl, and a moment later he will fall to phil- osophizing thus : God is universally present. No sin can come into the presence of God. Therefore there is no sin in the universe. And he can not see the error in the argument. It is a common saying that educated orthodox Hin- doos have a special aptness for stating the simplest thing so that not even a philosopher can get any- thing out of it. For example, I met a Maratha Brahmin lawyer once, and after an hour of pleasant conversation together, he asked me to define happi- ness. I did so, but to remember his definition I wrote it down. It was the result of considerable mental eft'ort on his part. " Happiness is a fraction, the numerator of wdiich is the satisfaction of the am- bition ^vhich is its denominator." The simplest thing may be the source of endless argument. For the sake of argument almost any doctrine can be established. The very weakness of such doctrines is their strength. If there were not an element of truth in them, they could be easily overthrown, but who will deny that God is everywhere? Beginning with this right assumption they proceed to argue in a false way, and can not see it because of the truth they started out with. The result is the rankest pan- theism, and no man can locate himself satisfactorily to himself. Not far from Bulsar is a little village Avhere a man has dug a w^cll, in the name of religion. He put an THE HINDOOS. 149 " Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth." — Psalms S7 '■ "• inscription on it, saying that it was for the pubHc, but added that his enemy, so-and-so " may not get water here." His wife was in full sympathy. Yet India has no monopoly on the mixing of good and evil actions. The Hindoo is called the " Gentle Hindoo." The theories of the high caste people would seem to jus- " His wife was in full sympathy." tify the term. A man will eat no flesh because to do so" would justify the taking of life. He will not kill a bed bug nor a mosquito nor a flea. If a bed bug chance to walk up and down his coat he will pick oft" the poor little fellow, carry him out and drop hmi down He will put his hands gently on the back of a cow ihat happens to be walking or standing where he wishes to go, and he will walk around her. And i=;o INDIA; A PROBLEM. " The occult powers arc iiroduced by birth, herbs, incantations, austeri- ties, or samadhi." — Yoga Shastra i : ^7. Avhen another Hindoo strikes a bullock he is driving, some o::e is sure to call out, " Have merc}-, have mercy." But the same Hindoos will wear leather shoes in preference to wooden ones, they will drink water out " Full of all kinds of little animal life.'' of a common tank that is full of all kinds of little animal life and disease germs, they will eat refined white sugar in spite of the way it is refined, they would rather see a crippled animal die a slo\v and painful death than to do anything in mercy to has- ten its death, and they would rather turn out an THE HINDOOS. 15^ .The tender mercies of the wieked are eruel.'-Prov. X3: :o • 1 to Starve than to dispose of him in any other animal to starxeina Jr ^|^is outward re- Ti^'c; nil an nisflorious tarce, tm^ way. Its a 1 an f^ ,^. 3^ered the pea-fowl, gard for animals, this ^^^^'''- ^ ^^ ^ull. A , 1 1 ^^f Qnake COW, monkey, anu tn^^ the elephant, snake, cuw, ^ j^ his CO. 10 drink pertap. from . c. t ^_^^_^^ • 1 ^f the e-enus man, and the wnoie 2f Ln.s » " " "-' """'"' '"" "ovhere animals are worshiped ? " Have mercy.'' They are a people of mercy, yet cruelly forgetful at times. Who that has lived in India has not heard from behind enclosures the thud, thud, of a man beating his wife? Who has not seen the tired ox goaded with the prod until the blood trickled dowai to the ground? We have seen a }'oung man beat his grandmother, and were about to run in betw^een them to save the old woman, when several Mahomedan men caught me and said, " Sa- hib, never go into a place like that. They'd both be on you in a moment." We have seen a lad use the ox-goad to prod his sister in the bare back, be- cause she would not do some little thing he had ordered her to do. And they have sacrifices. Goats, kids, chickens, buffaloes are offered here and there in sacrifice. In Benares we saw^ the blood. In Calcutta we saw the place. In Poona we saw the animal being led ofi: to the sacrifice. In Bulsar v/e have seen a kid fon- dled in the arms of a man who was carrvino; it awav at the time to the sacrificial offering. One poor fellow once told me he had done everything he knew to cure his sick wife, and all to no avail ; now^ he w^as leaving her alone for the time while he walked tw-elve miles to a place to offer a kid in sac- rifice. This was his last resort. Till-: HINDOOS. 153 "Pray without ceasing." — i Thess. 5: 17. About ."vhinadebad there is a custom prevailing among certain high castes to offer a rooster once a year as an atonement. The rooster is in readiness when a low caste man is called. He unties the roost- er and in the presence of the other man kills it and sprinkles a bit of the blood over the doorsill. I1icn for his services the rooster is his, and he takes it to liis house and there they cook it and eat it. A few miles away any young enthusiast is likely to deny that there are any sacrifices at all in the whole of India. Often telling the story of the creation among the common people I have heard this reply : " Adam and Eve? O yes, that's the same as our Mahadeo and Parvati, only you call them Adam and Eve, which is English." Their knowdedge of the crea- tion is not at all definite, but they have stories of creation and a first pair. One common expression is that God made the world in seven days, three and a half days for all things and the other three and a half for a peacock. How^ever much or little this idea prevails among the uneducated, I do not know, but it shows the Hindoo love for the beautifully feathered peacock, sacred to them all. As to incarnations, one always hears the tale m a different way from what he had heard it before. Even the number of them is most unreliable. But there is a general agreement that there ha\ e been nine incarnations with faults and frolics, but the Spotless One is yet to come. This list of incar- 154 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " Yonder burning sun is no other than Death. Creatures on this side of him die; on the other side are the gods." — Satapatha Brahmana 2: 3 : 8 : 8. nations as they are supposed by the believers to have existed is as follows : 1. The Fish, 2. The Tortoise, 3. The Boar, 4. The Lion, 5. The Dwarf, 6. Fersaram, who made caste, 7. Krishna, wives, 8. Rama, king. of manv an ancient " Rama." 9. Buddha, 10. To Come — The Spot- less One. i\Iany stories are current about every one of these nine. Some say there are thirty-three. Others say there are many more. It is most refreshing to know that the hordes of Hindoos, crushed with superstition and weary with sin, driven on by caste and burdened with too much religion, are looking for a Sinless One. How easy is the Christian's answer to this longing of the human heart. The Hindoo idea of God is that of deified men, and the men are the Hindoos of all ages. A god does the same as men, only on a larger scale. King THE HINDOOS. 155 "Wisdom is the principal thing, therefore get wisdom."— Prov. 4: 7- Sagara is said to iiave had 60,000 sons born in a pumpkin. Hannuman is said to have carried the sun under his arm. It is said that Shiva was ready to part with all his religious merit acquired by long austerities in order that he might gratify his evil desires but once with ^^lohani. The gods had their battles in the olden time, and a big god cut oft the head of a little one. Justice and mercy are not as- sociated. Firmness and kindness are not classed together. Holiness is not an essential attribute. The Hindoo believes in the doctrine, " According to your faith be it unto you," with a vengeance. He calls it " having attachment." If he goes into water without attachment, then he says he will not get wet. That is to say, if going into water he re- gards it not as water, then he will not get wet. He thinks that if he goes into fire without attachment it will not burn him. He thinks that if he sins without attachment it will not be sin to him. Whatever he does, good or evil, without attachment, is the same as though he had not done it. In short, he thinks that a thing is true because he thinks it is true, but if he believes it not to be true, then it is not true, whether it is true or not! A common saying, illustrative of this theory, as it applies to the belief in idols, is. If you think so. it's a god; If you don't, it's but sod. This peculiar bent of mind is sometimes manifest in religious conversation of any kind. One says a 156 INDIA; A PROBLEM. "Actions defile me not." — Krishna, in IShagavad Gita 4: 14. thing is true. The other says he does not beheve it. First says he can prove it. But after the proof the other still says he does not believe it. First says he was there and saw it. The other still in- sists that he does not believe it, and thinks that he has thus set up an argument that a thousand on the other side could not overthrow. They consider it no sin to tell a lie to establish a truth. It is no lie to tell a lie with mental reser- vation. And there are not a few ever ready to tell a lie to establish one already told. It was both piti- ful and amusing to read in a Madras Hindoo paper, not long ago, an article trying to prove that the term " lying Flindoo " is a misnomer. Ask the dis- tance to a place, ask the price of an article, ask the quality of goods, ask about the character of a man, ask aiiything, — you must always accept the answer with the greatest possible allowance. The Director of Public Instruction of Calcutta not long ago said he would prefer a single honest lad that could be trusted with 200 rupees, to a thousand B. A's. and M. A's. It is this moral power, this devotedness to truth that Hindooism lacks. But it is not all dark, though the blackness of darkness is everywhere felt. Hindoos have good points too. If I should say that every trait of the Hindoo character is bad, and that every characteris- tic of the Hindoo religion is bad, I'd be as much of an idiot as the Hindoo who admits Christianity to be the best religion in the world, and yet refuses to THE HINDOOS. 1 57 " Man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the iieart." — i Sam. i6: 7. become a Christian because he chooses to regard it as a foreign reHgion. In a beautiful sonnet addressed to India, on leav- ing that country, Sir Edwin Arnold has these ap- propriate lines : " Thy shining shores, thy peoples of the sun. Gentle, soft-mannered, by a kind word won." Among various diilering classes that gentle, soft manner is often apparent. If one comes to see you he will not think of going without asking permission first, and he waits to receive the permission. If you call upon them they receive you most cordially, giv- ing you tea, pan (a leaf) or a few spices as soon as you come. Pan is the usual thing. I have often eaten it, and like it much for its pleasant astringent taste, but I do not make it a habit. The giving of flowers is a pleasant custom. One flower or a bou- quet is often given as a mark of respect on various occasions. Strings of flowers are hung around the neck of a departing visitor or friend. In every little town there is one or more stores where cut flowers can be bought for a mere trifle. IMeet a man on the street and he shows his interest in you by asking a lot of the simplest questions ; where are you going, what have you got, what did you pay for it, what will you do with it, how long will you stay ; and you may ask other such questions in return which will be appreciated. Living as we do, among the people, we have come to learn them the same as we learn to know each other at home. And we have Hindoo friends who IS8 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " The father obtains immortahty, if he sees the face of a living son." — Institutes of \'ishnu 15: 45. are as intelligent, and as agreeable, and friendly as anybody could be. Of these close friends, I am glad to say there are not a few. And we value them as Ave do any friend at home. Once a man becomes your friend, he is likely to remain such, not only in your presence, but elsewhere. They are profuse in their expressions of praise, ^ ^ A}^ when they wish to speak well of any- one, as also there is no end to bitter lan- guage when there ^^..v^^^hn^^^^^ r^ c< is thought to be cause for speaking ill. We keep some of the letters we get, for we appre- ciate them. Not unfrequent are the troubles arising between We keep some of the letters.' man and man, but they are to be praised for their regard for the arbitration idea. They have a saying that where there are five, God is; which means, the decision of five gives justice. And very frequently in a quarrel a company of five is agreed upon, and their decision is usually final. Each village has its five which settles village trou- bles and is more or less permanent. THE HINDOOS. 1 59 "God will render to every man according to his deeds." — Rom. 2: 6. At the approach of death the poor Hindoo is usu- ally fearful. And there is no end of theories con- cerning the state of things after death. The most common idea is perhaps that he is to be born over again, and the greatest hope is that this oft re- peated being born and dying should end, and that the soul be absorbed into God, to be itself no more. Some think that the soul is carried up for judgment in perfumed chariots. Others have the idea that they must climb up a slender rope ladder which is liable to break at any time, according as the life has been. Practically all believe in a future life of some sort. Some think the soul lingers about the place of death for a time, while others say it goes away at once. A folklore story tells the imaginations of some as to how things go sometimes. A Brahmin went to bed in the evening very tired. Being weary he forgot to put a little vessel of drinking water on the floor under the bed, as was his custom. In the night his soul becoming thirsty went to the vessel for water, and finding it empty went in search of water elsewhere. It came into the house of a neighbor, and finding the lid ofif a water vessel there it went into it and was drinking free- ly. It so happened that the woman of that house was up for some cause or other, and just then spying the water vessel without a lid on, put "" "udo^. it on at once. The man's soul was in it, and could not get out. In the morning it was i6o INDIA ; A PROBLEAI. "We seek the mighty one for wealth." — Rig- Veda i: 42: 10. noised abroad quickly that so-and-so was dead, for the soul had not yet come back. Soon the caste- men came together and tlie body was prepared for the burning, placed up- on the bamboo bier, and carried to the river side. After a couple houis his ashes were thrown to the waters. And then the woman not knowing, went to the water vessel, and the confined soul made good its AMien it reached the " After a couple of hours, his ashes." escape. But it was too late house the body was not there, and it went wandering. Now it so happened that near by a lower caste man was lying at the point of death, and the Brahmin's soul hovered about there till the other's soul escaped, and just at the proper moment it went into the other man, who began at once to get better, and soon recovered. But there was a difference. It was the same man in appearance, but not in be- havior. He looked like a low caste man, he acted and spoke like a Brahmin. He went to the house he had formerlv occu- Looked like a low-caste." THE HINDOOS. l6l "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches." — Prov. 22: i. pied. They did not know him. He said, " This is my house, and you are my wife." There was great consternation, and I never heard how it ended. Wlien a bad Hindoo is born over again he is born a flea, or gnat, or cow, or low-caste man, or something undesirable. In some localities they think an adulterer gets his just dues. He is placed in judgment and there is made to embrace a metal image which is almost white hot. The fierce heat kills him, and then he is made alive again and has to embrace the form again, w^ith the same result. This is repeated as often as he was guilty of the sin here below. Among others however this sin is not considered sin except it be with a relative. Others believe a wicked man gets considerable ex- perience before he comes back to this world agam. '' Even on his death-bed huge, monstrous-looking figures surround him and especially towards the closing moments of his earthly career. These make mouths at him, threaten him, terrify him, and inform him these horrors are but the mild precursors of those which await him in the nether regions. These beings are visible to him alone, none of those who stand by being able to see them. After his death, he is taken care of by Kalan. This monster is fur- nished with a long rope and an iron pestle : and with the aid of his grisly looking attendants he strings up the dead man on his pestle and carries him off to other regions. There he is judged, the celestial, recorder reads out a full and correct account of all the man's actions. His sins are to be expiated in l62 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " The continents are surrounded severally by seven great seas, salt water, sugarcane juice, wine, ghee, curd, milk, and of fresh water." — Vishnu Purana 2: 7. part then and there. A large copper vessel is brought and placed over a burning oven. W^hen the fire burns intensely, so that the vessel is white hot, it is filled half-full with sand. When the sand begins to burn, the sinner is placed in the vessel and he and the sand are stirred. He dies again, is forth- with restored to life, and the process is repeated. Afterwards he is taken out and sent to the hellish regions to suffer the pains and torments incidental to life there. Some believe that he is kept there forever, but others think that when he has sufficient- ly well atoned for his past sins, he is released in order to be born over again in this world, and so on forever." ^ Among other preparations for the disposal of the body the caste mark is put on the forehead, and a small piece of money or a bit of bread is put into the mouth. If it is bread, it is prepared with flour made by turning the mill backwards. Bread thus pre- pared would never be used in any other way. The body is burned near some stream if possible, or by any water's edge. Some of the lower castes, how- ever, bury their dead. Life is full of superstitions. There are ghosts, omens, signs, the evil eye, evil days and lucky ones, evil spirits, devils, haunted burning grounds, pollu- tions, demons, possessions, and fantastic ideas ga- lore. The cobra is thought to have thousands of little legs, and after biting anyone he can talk to ^ Malabar and its Folk, by Gopal Panikkar. TIIK HINDOOS. 163 "Study to show thyself approved unto Cod." — 2 Tim. 2: 15. give the reason why, if the person bitten stops to ask it. Their geography is false, and astronomy too. An eclipse is caused when the great serpent Rahu endeavors to devour sun or moon. During- an eclipse all people and everything is polluted, so all Hindoos bathe aft- er an eclipse. If a firefly appears, that is a sign that rob- bers will appear later. The hootino^ of an owl is a very bad sign, — it means that somebody is going to die. If one speaks of a lizard it will be able to catch no food that day. Little red insects which appear soon after the be- ginning of the monsoons are believed to fall from the heavens. Rama stroked a squirrel with his hand, and from that time it had stripes. To speak well of a little child is to bring it ill luck. If a cat cross one's path he'd better go back. If there is itching in the palm of the hand or on the sole of the foot, it means that money is coming. The ex- act moment of a child's birth is carefully recorded that the horoscope may be made out properly. The horoscope determines the child's future for good or evil. It is the extremitv of wickedness to be born " Geography is false." 164 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " Om, the word of glory." — Yoga Shastra i : 2-j. during an eclipse. If a man shave on special clays he will get a certain disease. When a new house is built, one of the family will die. The first thing a man sees on waking in the morning determines his good or ill luck that day. Some think the dove a bird of evil. The lizard is a great prophet of the future. With all these doubts and fears, with all these superstitions and mythologies, the poor Hindoo trudges on in his weary way. He could exchange all this for the joys and hopes and consolations and aspirations and assurances of the Christian's happy life, but he has not learned to think so. He has not yet appreciated this. But he w411 not go on forever in this unwonted way. The Hindoo idea of life must give place to something sweeter and purer and better. This, their idea of life, one of their own poets aptly expresses Avhen he says : " How many births are past I cannot tell; How many 3^et to come no man can sa}^; But this alone I know and know full well, That pain and grief embitter all the way." ' Something sweeter." MATERIALS FOR A COMPARISOX-STUDY OF THE RELIGIOUS PROBLEM IN INDIA. Chapter Eight. "And many shall follow their pernicious ways." — 2 Peter 2: 2. It is not claimed that this table is complete. As a comparison of religions in India to-day, however, it v»^ill be found more and more interesting". The comparison is for India only, as will be evident from No. 28 in the Parsee column, and No. 8 in the Bud- dhist column. I have dear friends among the Cath- olic people, who will be surprised, as well as we were, at the contents of the middle column. There is a question as to No. 20 of the Buddhist column, but missionaries in Burma write that Buddhism makes no converts there. Yet we know that there have been conversions to the Buddhist religion. 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CQ 2; an u ^ ^ u P fa >~. 1 I- 2 o o P^ bX3 'a 3 o .s -C rn" O c en k- O eni^ c o o o o o OJ a •7 n-C .s:i Cbfi 5^ tn OJ • o ft -^ o tn ^ S^3 en o X! 6 o U X o U3 (« OJ O > . o o C8 tn tn _o Ij t^ G OJ 0) tn tn -^ ■It ftft (U ft OJ en ^ K* z; a. u p^ p:^ b D fa to .2 6 'o Xi c w ■d ' had, they fasted, and bowed to the idols, they visited sacred places and bathed in sacred rivers and tanks, they sold their cooking vessels, they were re- duced almost to the point of starvation, when the father decided to drown himself in a sacred tank. It were no sin to drown one's self in a sacred tank. The father gave all good-bye, and in coming lastly to the youngest, whom he loved best, he took her in his arms and bade her serve God as long as she lived. " I have given you into the hand of our God," he said with tears in his eyes, " You are His, and to Him alone you must belong, and serve Him all your life." The brother said that he would work (which was a last humiliation), but father must not seek death, and so thev all left the forest once more. \Miat with 214 INDIA; A PROBLEM. "Never recite the \'eda in presence of Sudras." — Laws of Mann 4: 99. begging and working, it was a hard life, and within six weeks the one from the other, the father and mother both died. Ramabai and her brother contin- ued to journey here and there, and it was on these reUgious journeys that her faith in such things was shaken. They visited the floating mountains ^ in the Himalayas, only to be deceived by the priests. But thev discovered the deception of the whole thing and hurried away. They came together to Calcutta, where, because of her enlightenment and experience, she was well re- ceived, and gave addresses on the elevation of Hindoo w^omen. The pundits were so pleased that in solemn assembly they gave her the title, *' Sarasvati." She is the only woman who may call herself a pundita. In Calcutta her brother sickened and died. She had not been married, by the good sense of her parents, and now shortly after, married a Bengali gentleman, who took her to his home in Assam. In less than two years the husband died of cholera, leaving her a wddow with one little daughter, Manorama, who is a promising helper in her work in the city of Poona now. Ramabai went to England for education, desirous to be of all possible good in the cause of Indian wom.en. There she saw the excellence of Christianity, and, ever living up to her convictions, accepted Christ as her Savior. In England she was appointed Pro- fessor of Sanscrit in Cheltenham Ladies' College. La- 1 These " floating mountains " are made of earth and trees, on rafts. When the priests get bakshish, the mountains are made to move toward the worshiper, and he, not knowing, thinks the gods have heard him. It is all a hoax. - -- ONE LITTLE WOMAN. 21 5 " Every woman that prayetli with her head uncovered dishonoreth her head." — i Cor. 11:5. ter she came to America, where she spent some time formulating plans for the dream of her life-work in India. In the Eastern States there are now a number of Ramabai Societies composed of women, who stand by her with prayer and with regular contributions. Her original intention was to begin a work for women under a board of Hindoo supervisors. This would enable her, she thought, to reach farther and help more people than she could hope to reach if she cut herself off entirely from Hindoo connection. But it was not long till her advisory board became sus- picious of her best intentions and began to work against her. And then they parted company. From that time on she has been blessed more abun- dantly. The work, begun on a small basis, and under the fostering touch of her womanly hand, grew ever increasingly larger. In Poona the Sharada Sadan be- came too small, and Khedgaon was a chosen place. There rescued girls and high-caste widows were re- ceived as fast as they could be gotten. The famine of 97 added many to those already in her home. The famine of 1900 added many more. And at the present time the work and homes of Ramabai are hives of industry. The Sharada Sadan in Poona is the edu- cational center, preparing the young widows to go out as workers for Christ, and as noble Christian wives for brave Christian men. The Khedgaon country- home is the industrial center where one may see at the appointed times a group of gardeners at work, a company of weavers at the looms, dairying, oil- 2l6 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. "The Rig- Veda originated in the fire." — Aitareya Brahmana 5: Z2. pressing, farming, baking, teachers and helpers all do- ing every one the work assigned, and everything mov- ing on like clock work. It was a happy day in '97 when Ramabai and her girls stood before the first permanent building at Khed- " A group of gardeners at work.' gaon, but the buildings have greatly increased since then, and the girls too, old and young, who now num- ber about two thousand souls. Short, heavy set, and rather dull of hearing, Ram- abai does not at first impress one as being an extra- ordinary character. But it is remarkable what one person can do when one determines upon a certain work and yields one's self unreservedly to that w^ork. She is European in scholarship, but always wears the native dress and eats the native food in native fashion. ONE LITTLE WOMAN. 217 *' All scripture is given by inspiration of God." — 2 Tim. 3: 16. She is oriental by birth, but one never sees that ori- ental slowness about her. The whole place is up at four in the morning, and the day, always busy, is begun with prayers and a time of waiting before God. All are at perfect liberty of conscience, and formerly " Ramabai and her girls." it was not an uncommon thing for a large number, confessing their faith, to go for baptism in the river several miles away. They have a baptistry in the compound now. Great is the contrast between the girls as she gets them, and as she keeps them. The same girl comes, a hopeless Hindoo widow, and later on goes, a happy Christian wife. And manv are the sorrowful tales of 2l8 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " Holy men who know Brahma, dying in the day-time, go unto him." — Bhagavad Gita 8: 25. those who are rescued, so pitiful that they can not all be told. Perhaps one of the girls' own experiences as told by herself would be the best way to close this sketch of this blessed work: " I do not remember when I w^as married, and I do not know much about my parents ; but I know I was living in my husband's home and not getting enough to eat. Whenever I asked for more food, he used to kick me and scourge me with a thick rope. '^ Oh, I shudder when I remember all I Hopeless Hmdoo widow." suffered ! One day my husband tied my hands and legs, and beat me so severely that 1 was nearly dy- ing; and there was no one near to give me a cup of cold water to drink. The next morning my hus- band told me that, if I remained any longer in the house, he would cut oft" my nose. This frightened me very much, so that I left and became a beggar. I thank the God that brought me to this happy home. I shall never go back to my husband, for if I were to go to him again, he would kill me." Happy Christian wife." BOMBAY. Chapter Fifteen. " This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments."— i John 5: 3- As we approach India, coming from the West, .Bombay is the first city to greet us. The harbor is an excellent one and beautiful. The great buildings of commercial enterprise, and of educational insti- tution s, and of Government are everywhere seen. It is the first city in India, not only the first that the newcomer sees, but the first in commerce, first in picturesqueness of its d i i¥ e r e n t peoples, and dur- ing the last decade claimed to be the first in population. At the 1901 census, however, the plague was raging, and now again, Calcutta claims the greatest population as well as the most commerce. This does not take suburbs into account, of which Cal- cutta has many. Bombay is built on an island and has few suburbs. The plague in Bombay seemed to come and go by waves, and no one was able to do much for it, nor 219 Educational institution." 220 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " If a man break the ox-contract, he shall pay eight hundred stripes penalty." — Zend Avesta 4: 45. understand it. Every effort was made and every pre- caution was taken, that its ravages might be checked. Charts have been prepared, showing the daily rise and decUne of these waves. In 1896-7, during 139 days, the total mortality was 28,418, with the high- est death rate 226 per thousand. In January, 1898, came the second, which continued 115 days, with mor- tality 28,869, highest death rate 165 per thousand. The third began in January 1899, lasting 131 days, mortality 31,260, highest death rate 160 per thousand. The fourth began in 1899, and to the end of April, 1900, the mortality was 50,383, with a highest death rate of 209.5 P^^ thousand. Plague continues, and has spread to nearly all parts of India. No one knows what a day may bring forth. A summary of deaths is published weekly, arranged according to races and diseases. The following is taken from the Bombay records. The column giv- ing races is more exact than the others. The first and second columns are for the w^eek ending jNIay 6, 1902, and the third column is for the week end- ing Sept. 23, 19020 Boivrr.AY. ±21 This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world lor a witness." — Matt. 24: 14. 50 Jains. 9 Smallpox. 5 Small-pox. 39 Brahmins. 7 ^leasles. 12 Measles. 3 Lingaits. 80 Fevers. 79 Fevers. 6 Bhatias. 2 Cholera. Cholera. 547 Hindoos, other 450 Plague. 55 Plague. castes. Whooping cough. 2 Leprosy. 104 Hindoos, low caste. 2 Leprosy. 49 Phthisis. 205 Mahomedans. 73 Phthisis. 3 Whooping cough. .37 Parsees. 52 Nervous system. 72 Nervous system. 5 Jews. 4 Circulatory system. 6 Circulatory do 26 Native Christians. 89 Respiratory system. ^37 Respiratory do. 6 Europeans. 19 Digestive system. 14 Digestive do. .: Eurasians. 49 Diarrhoea. 59 Diarrhoea. Xegro-African. 19 Dysentery. 3^ Dysentery. I Buddhist. 39 Still-born. 44 Still-born. I Other and unknown no Old age, debility. 95 Old age, debility. 1022 Total. 13 Accidents, violence. 14 Accidents, violence In a part of the city called the fort, are wide streets, four story English hotels, large department stores, and other buildings with fine ^ . ->^ architectural work. The native part of the city has also large buildings, but narrow, crowd- ed streets, which are sure to remind one that he is in the Orient, if per- chance he had for- gotten that while in the fort. " in the fort are wide streets." 222 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " A fair speech, and to forgive, is better than alms followed by mis- chief. — Koran 2: 278. J- The municipal buildings, or city hall, stand just op- posite to the great railway terminal, which is spoken of as one of the finest stations in the world. The Craw- ford Market is a splendid building, in which are all the tropical fruits and vegetables, besides meats and canned goods in abun- dance. From the market to the great terminal the street-car fare is just one cent. The airy hospitals take excellent care of the sick, as I can amply testify by repeated ex- perience. The thrifty Parsees are Bombay people, and they are ev- erywhere. Their charity is marked. The Sir Jamshed- ji Jibihoy hos- City Hall." " The great railway terminal BOMBAY. 223 " Blessed is he that conieth in the name of the Lord." — Matt. 2^ : 39. pital. commonly called the J. J. hospital, caring for hundreds of patients daily, is the gift of the Parsee gentleman whose name it bears. But we care more for the spiritual welfare of the people than for these other marks of advancement. Among the temples and mosques, we wonder about the churches that stand for enlightenment and equal- ity. In 1842 there were less than one hundred Prot- estant Indian Christians in the whole of the Bombay Presidency. On the eastern side of India the work of evangelization was well under way before it was begun here. At the present time the native Chris- tians number about 30,000 in Bombay, of whom only 2,000 are Protestant. The Goanese and Portuguese are numerous, descendants of the early Portuguese settlements here and there along the western coast. These are all Catholics, and so un-catholic are some of them that it is against the law for a Protestant to preach in the native states they yet control. They are by no means all alike though. There are about seventy-six missionaries in Bom- bay, counting wives of missionaries, and all those engaged in the various phases of work. There are some twelve churches, not counting the halls where meetings are held or Y. M. C. A's. Some of these are kept occupied all Sunday with different congre- gations. For example, the Church of England holds in the Girgam church, English service at 8 A. M. ; Marathi, 9:30; Gujerati, 2 P. M. ; English Sunday school, 4 : 30, and services, 6. And in the Grant Road M. E. church the services Sunday are, English ^24 INDIA; A PROBLEM. "He who sacrifices, propitiates the gods." — Satapatha Brahmana i: 9:1: 3. Sunday school at 7:45 A. M. ; and sermon, 9; Hin- dustani sermon, 10:15; Gujerati Sunday school, i P. j\I., and sermon, 2; Marathi Sunday school, 3, and sermon, 4:30; EngHsh Epworth League, 5, and sermon, 6. Then there are the week evening meetings also. At about twelve different places in the city open-air meetings are held regularly each week, at some of the places almost daily. By the lamp post in front of the Bible Society building is a familiar preaching place. Brother Miller preached from here when he visited India, as also I have done on sev- eral occasions. It is open for all alike, and if a Ma- homedan, or any one else had a doctrine he felt like airing, there is no one to hinder his doing so. Sometimes others besides Christians use the privi- lege. The churches are scattered all over the city. The Bowen Memorial church used to stand out as quite a prominent build- ing, but now there are so many high buildings all round about it that it seems almost to have gotten lost. There are mission schools and mis- sion presses, and " Bowen memorial church." nativC Christians BOMBAY. 225 Some of these." " The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." — i Jno. i : 7. are more and more respected. It is a joy to converse with some of these intelligent young men and women, who now also are manifesting a real live interest in the great work of spreading the Gospel and its blessed teachings throughout India. I well remember the impression it made upon me when first we were getting experience in India, and I was trying to find one Dhunjibhoi. I knew the street where he lived, but not the number of the house, so I asked and asked, only to get the answer, " What Dhunjibhoi do you mean? There are many Dhunjibhoi's." Presently I said, " Why, he's a Christian. Christian Dhunji- bhoi is Some of these.' the one." And the answer was emphatic, " Yes, Dhunji- bhoi the Christian, he lives yonder." And wherever I asked as I sought him out, every one knew where Dhunjibhoi ilic Christian lived. I felt it very keenly that a good Christian is known far and wide, espe- ciallv in a heathen countrv. " Dhunjibhoi the Christian." THE METHODISTS IN NORTH INDIA. Chapter Sixteen. "Verily we sent down the Koran in the night." — Koran 97: i. When forty-six years ago William Butler went to India to begin work under the supervision of the I\I. E. church of the United States, the location then de- cided upon was Oudh and Rohilkund in the north. The Presbyterian Mission loaned them a man who had beeen trained to the work, a native Christian by name Joel T. Janvier. It was about three hundred miles further they were going, and Joel willingly consented to go, but the mother of Joel's wife was a wid- ow, and she might ob- ject. So Joel and Butler went together to ask the old woman about it. She replied with tears trick- ling down her cheeks, "The Savior came down from heaven to give j,_,ei. Himself for me, 226 3 THE METHODISTS IN NORTH INDI/. 22^ *' I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." — Psahns 122: i. and why should I not give my daughter to His work? " Those three hundred miles meant more to that simple woman than 10,000 miles to an' enlightened American! The first foreign mission of the Methodists was in Liberia, the second w^as in China, and this begin- ning in India was the third. The plan for this one had been to settle about twen- ty or twenty-five missionaries in one district, with one language, and under one superintendent to advance in the work as the way was opened to them. A native preacher with them from the first, it was not long cill the w^ork of the mission began to assert itself and con- verts came. It became apparent that India was to be won by Indian workers, a point which is mote prominently recognized by the Methodists than by some other of the missions in India. They had a plan in those early days, and outgrew it. They had a field also, and outgrew that. And at the present time in all India they have 77,900 church members, 635 native pastors, 32,000 day-school scholars, and 83,000 in the Sunday schools, and are working in forty different languages and dialects ! Of all the M. E. church converts, outside of the United States, forty-six per cent are in India ! Of all the for- eign mission Sunday schools fifty-eight per cent are in India ! Of all the converts added to their foreign mis- sion churches last year sixty-six per cent are in India ! Of all the day schools, from the lowest to the high- est, under the M. E. foreign board, eighty-two per cent are in India ! 228 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " The man who offers food follows the steps of Prajapati." — Atharva- Veda 9: 6: 29. The bulk of this work has been among the very lowest of the oppressed classes, and for this reason the schools factor so largely. Government affords its tens of thousands of schools, but these lowest are not allowed to go, on account of the caste of those who do go. So a very primary school, run by the mission, is regarded by those people as a very benevolent thing. And through these little schools the mind is not only enlightened, but the heart is often reached, which is just the thing that all mission- aries are striving to do ; for if the heart can be reached with the Word of God, the life will be changed. And it is changed lives, renewed lives, that are needed in India as in all the world. The work grows in this fashion. Hasan Raza Khan was a Mahomedan in the North of India. He became under conviction as to the Truth of God, and became a Christian. An American Christian offered to support four small village schools, and they were located some distance apart. Such schools cost on an average about $3 a month each. He visited the schools frequently and talked with the children, and went to their homes, and talked with the parents. Whenever a young man who had learned to read be- came converted, he placed him in a neighboring vil- lage over another little school. Schools and converts kept multiplying, until in 1890, at the end of five years, he had developed a district and was appoint- THE METHODISTS IN NORTH INDIA. 229 *' Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you." — Matt. 5: 44. ed presiding elder over it. After seven more years he reported Christians Uving in 750 villages ! x\t the District Conference that same year Hasan Kaza Khan reported that he could baptize 50,000 converts in the next eighteen months, if he had the necessary assistants to take care of them. The re- port was published, and there was almost no end of criticism as to the methods of the Methodists. Then Hasan went to work, and two months later went down to the District Conference held at Alla- habad, where he made the following report : '' At our recent conference I said I could baptize 50,000 converts in eighteen months if I had the sub-pastors to look after and instruct them. I have been around my district since, have asked the pastors, sub-pas- tors, pastor-teachers, and leaders to make out lists of those who they knew had abandoned idolatry and were desiring to be baptized. I have studied the lists carefully and I must say I was mistaken. There are 55,000 asking for baptism within the bounds of my district !" » At the previous conference in his own district Mrs. Hasan held a meeting for the Christian women in a neisfhborine: tent. There Avere sixty-one Avom- en present, and it is said she presided with ease and grace over this missionary meeting. Imagine a Ma- homedan woman presiding over a missionary meet- ing ! But she was a Christian woman now, one who had been a Mahomedan. 230 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " God loveth those who fight for his religion in battle array." — Koran 61:4. Hasan has come to be respected by all who know him. A short time ago he was appointed as a mem- ber of the Board of Commissioners for the govern- ment district in which he lives. On being informed of the appointment, at more than three times the pay he was getting from his mission work, he promptly replied, " I am secretary to the Lord Jesus, and I cannot accept any other office." He receives the support his native Christians give him, and costs the Mission Board nothing. Jordan is another good example of the North India work. He was the very lowest by birth, but he got into the mission schools and showed himself capable. He stuck to it till he had gone through the college, and then he became the assistant principal of the Moradabad high school. He was a conscientious Christian, and it was noticed that every student he sent up to the government schools year after year passed the examinations. Certain Brahmin and Mahomedan teachers became jealous, seeing this, and they had a lot of large posters put up in public places to the effect that Jordan was the son of a scavenger, and that high-caste gentlemen sending their children to school to him did so at a great risk with respect to their caste, being in danger of making Native Christians." THE METHODISTS IN NORTH INDIA. 23 1 '•'Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." — Matt. 5: 5. the gods angry with them, etc. Every one saw these offensive posters, and Jordan asked advice of the missionaries, who told him he was set for the de- fense of the Gospel, and not specially for the de- fense of Jordan. Now Jordan was blessed with more good sense than some other people are, so he took the advice and went on about his business as if nothing had happened. And the boys in school, seeing the air of the teacher, continued to come. Soon the city fathers began to inquire what all this was for, and who did it. When they learned that the Brahmin and other teachers did it, fearing the success of Jor- dan would injure them, they said, "Ah, is that so? Every boy passed? " "Yes." " Well, that is where we will send our boys ; for what we want is to be sure that they will pass the government examina- tions." And from that time forth, the school be- came self'-supporting, and did not need another mis- sionary rupee. The R e i d Christian C o 1- lege atLucknow and the Medical College at Agra are splendid Methodist insti- tutions. And it so h a p p e 11 e d that a SCaven- " Reld christian College.' ' f 1^, f ^ P s i #t# II 1 '* -mrd i 1 1! f ff 11^ ll 232 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " These who die at night, or in the dark of the moon, again return to mortal birth." — Bhagavad Gita 8: 25. ger girl came also to one of the village schools, and passed one grade after another till she completed the Agra Medical College Course for women, and re- turned to IMoradabad an earnest Christian young woman. Friends had often asked her, " Why don't you marry ? " To which her curt reply was that she was studying and had not the time. And they got about the same answer from Jordan on the same sub- ject. Then, according to one of those well-directed providences which happen more frequently than some good people are willing to admit, there were several serious cases in the hospital. .And a nurse of good qualification was needed as an extra. And this young medical graduate was called in and em- ployed for a week. And by the time her week was up they employed her for a month, and after that she could not be spared at all, and now is the head nurse of the hospital, getting one hundred and twen- ty-five rupees a month. Then it all came out. She and Jordan had been long engaged, and now they were married. At the present time she still holds her position, and treats medically the missionaries and the Brahmin women and hosts of others, and is respected by all. With such truths as these before us it seems to me that even the most pessimistic must have all the wind taken out of his sails. In '87 there were 7,000 communicants. In '98 there w^ere 77,000. In eleven years a tenfold increase. Some may ask if these are ^11 genuine. The workers say that after two years THE METHODISTS IN NORTH INDIA. 233 " Village church." " Ye must be born again." — John 3 : 7. about ninety-five per cent are to be found faithful. And they do not all have family prayers, as docs of course the one wlio wonders about the genuineness of these poor fel lows. But they do have village prayers generally in the vil- lage church, in the early stage of their new life ! The North India conference alone has its 35,000 adherents, with an average attendance on Sunday worship of some 12,000. And the one thousand Sunday schools of the district have their 45,000 scholars. And there are 128 native ordained preachers besides the 422 unordained. And the collection from these for the work amount to about $6,000 a year. This is no mean beginning toward self-support, a matter m which all the missions are alike interested. Often when these lowest of the low become Christians and learn to read and wear more clothes than they did before, those above them rail upon them with, '' How dare you learn to read when we can't! How dare you wear clothes like ours ! " The reader may not be a Methodist, as the writer is not, yet from the above it is easy to see what can be done. And to say the least, all must agree that they who turn thousands from idolatry, and incline them toward a purer and a better life, are certainly 234 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " If a man break the word-contract, he ehall pay three hundred stripes penalty." — Zend Avesta 4: 36, doing a good thing. And they who give crumbs of bread to the millions, are they not perhaps doing better than those who have whole loaves which they keep forever to themselves ? Doing better." THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. Chapter Seventeen. "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord."-Rev. 14: 13- The Church Missionary Society, commonly known by the initials C. M. S., is over a hundred years old, and is the largest missionary society m the world. In an old prospectus this principle is laid down, '' Spiritual men for spiritual work.' Among other precepts added later are, " Begin on a smaU scale," and, " Put money in the second place." The society was organized April 12, 1799. twenty- five persons being present. A first resolution was then passed, '' That it is a duty highly incumbent upon every Christian to endeavor to propagate the knowledge of the Gospel among the heathen.^' The society is at work in more than sixty lan- guages, in China, India, Africa, Palestine, Arabia, Persia, I^Iauritius, Northwest Canada, the Klondike, British Columbia, Herschel Island, and in other places. The aggregate circulation of the several missionary papers published is 200,000 per month. The total number of converts now on the Usts is 281,500. ^ One third of the C. M. S. income is spent in India. A plan was adopted in 1853, by which the com- mittee determined " to accept any number of true missionaries, who may appear to be called of God to the work, trusting to the Lord . t.. supply the treasury with the funds for this blessed 235 236 INDIA; A PROBLEM. "Brahmins must not eat with their heads covered." — Inst, of Vishnu 71 : 12. and glorious undertaking." In 1865, it seemed this was perhaps the wrong method, and in 1870 the plan was abandoned. After this the work grew less and less, till in 1887 a similar poHcy was again instituted, with the result that from that time to this, the 309 ordained missionaries have become 906, the 200,000 pounds income has become 350,000, and the yearly adult baptisms have grown from 2,000 to 8,000! They call this ''The Policy of Faith." In this brief sketch I can not hcpe to describe a work that in the annual report requires nearly 200 pages. Showing the evolution of missionary- preaching, as observed by a native Christian, and told by him to one of the missionaries, we find the following statement : At first, he said, mis- sionaries attacked the religion of Mahomedans and Hindoos, which sometimes brought on angry and excited discussions ; then, later, they compared Christianity with these other religions, often mak- ing them seem quite ridiculous, but not gaining friends by it ; but now the plan is evidently to preach only " Christ as Savior of sinners, in the spirit of love, and to avoid all controversy as far as possible." In one of the schools a moral test was given one day in a new form. The question was asked : " If you, together with two friends, were going to the city, and on the way 3^ou found a rupee, what would you do with it ? " The boys were all isolated to write out their answers. Out of fifty-seven, there were nine who wrote they would keep the money, THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 237 ^' One fdith, one Lord, one baptism, one God and Father of all." — Eph. 4: 5. fourteen said they would divide it with the two other boys, ten said they would give it to teacher or parents, nineteen said they would give it to the poor, and five thought they would try to find the owner. One wonders what results the same question would bring if asked some of our children at hom.e. Among all classes the work is fostered in all its phases. On not a few occasions fakirs hearing the preaching, stop to listen, and become interested. One asked for the story of the true Savior, and on receiving it was glad. Not being able to read, a Brahmin volunteered to help the poor fellow, and stood there for two hours reading one of the Gos- pels to an attentive little crowd of listeners. An- other, on hearing that Jesus was the only true Savior, said that was what he was looking for. He had been an ascetic for years, and was on his way to a noted shrine, but agreed to change his manner of life, and work for a living. He became an earnest Christian. The C. M. S. has had considerable success among the Mahomedans. Imad-ud-din became a convert in the church at Amritsar, and to that same congre- gation he was minister and pastor for the last thirty years of his life. Much of the stability of the flour- ishing work there is due to his patient labors. Moulvie Aziz-ud-din, one of the fierce tribe of Pathans in the north, has not only been a Christian for these years, but has recently been set apart for the ministry of the Gospel. Away up in Peshawar, the congre- gation of over three hundred, including children and 2Z^ INDIA ; A I'KOJJLEM. " Im-ud-din. "I cook, I give, I offer up oblation." — AtharvaA'eda 6: 123: 4. all, is in the pastoral charge of Imam Shah, " whose blameless life and unwavering devotion have se- cured to him the affection and es- teem of both natives and Europe- ans." A recent Mahomedan con- vert, whose name was Oamar-Ussa- 1am (the Moon of Islam) preferred to change his name to Oamar-ul- Masih (the Moon of Christ). Work among lepers has its atten- tion, and from among the very low- est of Hindoos come many converts. A village constable became a Chris- tian, and was the only one in Singpur for five years. But he told the people of the Truth as he had learned it, and when, five years after, the missionaries first visited that place, they " baptized fifteen persons in a stream near Singpur, most of them relatives of Pachlu, the sol- itary Christian." In a number of in- stances, Christian vil- lages have been estab- lished. Prominent among these is Clarka- bad, in the Punjab, not far from Lahore. Many Imam Shah." village people, in the em- THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 239 "The gift of God is eternal life." — Rom. 6: 23. ploy of stiff Mahomedans and bigoted Hindoos, when they become converts to Christianity, find themselves absolutely without a means of livelihood. When the canal was dug from Mardaipur to Patoki, the govern- ment granted 2,000 acres to the C. M. S. on which to settle such village people. This is how Clarkabad came into existence. It is now a healthful little village, with clean, straight, wide, and airy streets, something which is unusual in an Indian village. The Chris- tians are independent, having their own church and pastor, school and teachers, dispensary and doctor, all self-sustaiming. A storekeeper, weaver, carpenter and blacksmith are there. The people are agriculturists, and the village is on a sound financial basis. A missionary in South India, where formerly one could not avoid seeing the undisguised contempt oi Brahmins for poor Christians, calls attention to what may be seen there now, in the changing condi- tion of things. He says : " The other day I saw a Paria Christian student walking down the chief Brahmin street with a Brahmin student on either side, one with his arm locked in the Christian's, the other holding an umbrella over the party, both deeply intent on a notebook the Christian held in his hands, contain- ing notes on a lesson that had been given that day." But while these changes are coming, and have already come in some localities, the days of perse- cution are not yet in the past. Nor will they be until Christ enters into the hearts of certain class- es. Last year forty-six converts were baptized near Meerut. The missionary had barely gone 240 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. "The dove and owl, effectless be their visit." — Atharava-Veda 6: 29: 2. when the landlords seized the fields of the Chris- tians, stopped their work, cut their wages, and brought false accusations againsc them. Then sev- eral houses were caused to be fired, and the Chris- tians were arrested on the charge of incendiarism. Their release was ordered. Later the same thing was brought up again, when a Hindoo lawyer said in court, " I want to demonstrate to the court that Christians tell lies as well as Hindoos," and then proceeded with a severe cross-examination of an aged illiterate Christian. Later again, the same man who had caused the trouble before " broke into the church during the Sunday morning service, seized the book out of the reader's hand, tore it in half and threw it from him, kicked over the reading desk, and then, seizing the reader, with the help of two native police, tore his clothes and knocked him down. The congregation speedily dispersed. . . . He declared that he had entered the building to se- cure two dacoits, whom the Christians had con- cealed ! He denied that there was any service go- ing on, and even brought witnesses to prove that it was not a church. . . No one could have sat from day to day in the courts and listened to the perjury of witnesses and native officials without coming to the conclusion that the most urgent need for India to-day is moral training to go hand-in-hand with Western education. There is only one cure for the corruption and bribery which is manifest in almost every department of life, and that is the life and power and teaching of Jesus Christ." And more THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 24t " Every creature of God is good." — i Tim. i : 4. or less of this kind of thing will continue till Hin- dooism is dead and burned ! On the other hand high-caste men, thoughtful and intelligent, see the Truth and sometimes openly confess it. A certain Hindoo judge being long ill, sent and asked a Christian school-teacher to pray for him. The teacher did so, m the presence of many Hindoos. The judge got well and openly at- tributed his recovery to the prayer of the teacher. Last year the death was lamented of Rao Sahib Samuel Paul, a prominent native Christian and worker in the mission, whose place has not yet been filled. He published altogether over two hundred books and tracts, and was a giant in his day. Away to the north of India is a church, built in native fashion for native people, designed by Walter Bateman, wdio is alive to the good of the cause he repre- sents. Away to the south of India is an- other church with a bis: stone idol used as ^ ^ ^, u, , , , „, ,- '^ . One of the converts built the church all himselt. a door-step. In this case an idol has got into Christian service indeed ! One of the Santhal converts built the church at Bar- hett all himself. A Santhal village is a very lowly place, for these are hill tribes. Along the sacred river Ganges one of the missionaries saw an idol, and before the idol lay a book which it was sup- posed to be reading. Some one had in all serious- 242 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. If we have sinned may both Apsarases forgive that debt." — Atharva- Veda 6: ii8: i. ness placed the book there, that the g od mig It be- " A church built in native fashion." come wise for in- struction and guid- ance of his poor followers. And the book was the Gos- pel of John in the Hindi language ! The C. M. S. be- gan work in the na- tive State of Travancore in 1816, and have been able to gather a strong force in t''hat locality. Their presence served in part to stim- ulate the Syrian church, but many of the leading workers now in the C. M. S. mission are those who came over from the Syrian Christians. The Syrians were, and yet are, doubtless dead enough, with much more of the form than the spirit. An unpleasant thing is hinted at in the report of the present year by one ^ 1? m * i, - - ^ ■^' -'^^^HjB^^^^B 1 ^-Z'^v'U ^ li^Bl ■ . ' 'i'^ ^KKK^K^^ i- ' --^ ."'-'K'- »» ^^^^^B A Santhal villasre. THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. 243 "The soul that sinneth it shall die." — Ezek. 18: 4. of the missionaries there, when he refers to " trou- bles from ' Open Brethren,' ^ Salvationists, Extreme Reformers, and Faith Healers, who seem to direct their efforts exclusively at Christians." When we come to sum up the work of any large mission, we are impressed with the many-sidedness and gradual continued growth of mission work. At the beginning of the reign of Queen Victoria, the C. M. S. had in India, 22 stations, sionaries, including the wives of work( native clergy, 291 communicants, adherents. Now, after 64 years 211 stations, 419 missionaries, 1O4 nativ clerg}^, 37,000 communicants, and 145,750 adherents ! In 1891 there were 6,000 adult baptisms, and 41,000 scholars in the schools. In 1 90 1 there were 8,000 adult bap- tisms, and 55,000 scholars in the schools ! There are 246 unmarried lady missionaries, who are not counted in the above, and of these fourteen are paying their own way ! Al- together they have twenty-four mission- aries in India who | | support themselves, *""* After 64 years." ^ The Plvmoutii Brethren. 244 INDIA; A PROBLEM. "Go hence, O Death, pursue thy special pathway." — Rig- Veda lo: i8: i. and 1X2 who are called " own missionaries," supported by congregations or individuals ! One of the missionaries in the Northwest Provinces, in his annual letter to the Board, as quoted in the re- port, sums up mission work in a comprehensive way. He says : " We have visited and preached in bazaars, melas, sacred ghats, temple precincts, fields, houses, shops, dispensaries, wedding assemblies, cow sheds, sarais, schools, — in fact, anywhere where a living soul was willing to listen. There is no romance and fine- spun poetry about it. Those who intend to take up this w^ork must be prepared to face day by day hard, grinding, humdrum, stone-breaking labor. . . There is much to rejoice one's heart. The way our native helpers adapt themselves is remarkable. Sometimes our listeners are IMahomedans. They at once address them in beautiful Urdu. Then we are confronted by Hindoos, and they immediately use the best Hindi. Then the audience changes, and they make known Christ to the ignorant low-caste in the simple village idioms." THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND MISSIONS. Chapter Eighteen. "The wages of sin is death." — Rom. 6: 23. Toward the close of the first half of the last cen- tury there came to the Church of Scotland what is known as the Disruption, which resulted in two or- ganizations. Instead of one church, there are now the Church of vScotland, and the Free Church of Scotland. The difference between the two, to us who are far away, seems nothing. And it is worthy of mention, that at the time of the disruption, many of the native Christians in India, taking no sides in the local questions, attached themselves to other missions, and developed into the ablest of men. The Scottish Church is of course Presbyterian. The American Presbyterian mission in India is next in size to that of the Free Church. We shall con- fine this sketch to the Free Church work, which IS the largest of the Presbyterian missions m India. The policy of the Free Church is unquestionably strong as to the importance of educational work as a mission factor. The church has eight mission- ary colleges, four in Africa, and four in India, with 326 other schools leading up to these. In the col- leges are more than i,ooo university under-gradu- ates, while altogether some 27,000 young men and women are in attendance at these Christian insti- tutions. The four colleges, which have become the center 245 246 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. The Wilson College. " No house could subsist on the earth but for those two dogs of mine." — Zend Avesta 13: 163. of intellectual life and mission work of the Church in India are located in Bombay, Nagpur, Calcutta, and Madras. The Wilson College and the Wilson , School are located ^%. near to each other .1 . . in Bombay. This college, bearing the name of its found- er, John Wilson, has been in suc- cessful operation for over half a cen- tury. Last year, in each of the three chief university examinations, the Wilson College passed more students than any oth- er Bombay college. The number taking the B. A. degree was sixty. It must be remembered that the Government University is chiefly an examining bod}^, and the student may prepare for that exami- nation wherever he pleases. The thing is to pass ! Of all the colleges, those whose students pass most freely need no further praise. During the year are given courses of lectures, both religious and secular, and the Sunday church services are open to all. According to the latest re- port, " there is in the air at present a considerable amount of religious controversy, and though some are perplexed and others indifferent, many are seek- ers after truth who often delight their teachers by their excellence of character and disposition." THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND MISSIONS. 247 '■' God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble." — Psalms 46: I. Other work is carried on with increasing interest at Alibag, south of Bombay, where there is a mis- sion high school ; at Thana, where the mission dis- pensary is crowded with lOO to i8o patients every morning ; in Poona, the bigoted city, where a union prayer meeting has been held in the church in the mission compound for now over sixty years ; in Hai- derabad, a Mahomedan State, in Jalna, and in Beth- el near by, which is a Christian settlement founded by Narayan Shesadri, a Brahmin convert of former years. The work begun in Gujerat by John Wilson and those with him was handed over to the Irish Presbyterian Mission, which is pushing the work- there now. Soon after the disruption of 1843, Stephen His- lop founded the Free Church Mission in Nagpur, and the college which bears his nume, into which his schools have developed. In Nagpur itself the native agency employed is thirteen teachers, nine Bible-women, six cathechists, one colporteur, one medical assistant, and one dispenser. In Calcutta are two Scottish institutions of high- er education. The General Assembly's Institution is Church of Scotland, while the Duff College is of the Free Church. About 500 are enrolled in the latter from year to year, and last year, of the twen- ty-two who obtained the I\I. A. degree in Philoso- phy in Calcutta, fourteen went up from the Duff* College. Of the seven who gained their degree in history, four wxnt up from the Duff College, includ- 248 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " May there be a place for me in Yama's world." — Satapatha Brahmana 4: 3: 4: 27. ing the foremost man in the subject, who won the University Gold Medal. The fee income amounts to more than $6,000, and the Government grant is $2,000 yearly. Besides the evangelistic work carried on in the city of Calcutta, and the work among the aborigi- nal Santhals north of the city, where three ordained missionaries are located, — one industrial and two medical, — is the mission among the densely-populat- ed district along the Hoogli River. It is on the waters of the Hoogli that ocean-going vessels come to Calcutta. Here along the Hoogli, between the C. M. S. at Burdwan on the north, and the English Baptists at Serampore on the south ; and at Chin- sura, side by side with a neutral Government col- lege, an endowed Mahomedan institution, and the earliest Roman Catholic settlement in Bengal ; here did Duff and others begin a work which has become remarkable for the strength of its converts. It is the most densely populated district in the world, and at the same time the most feverish. The de- pressed classes are the most superstitious, and the Brahmins are the most highly educated and inexcus- ably conceited. To this district also come crowds of pilgrims for the worship of Jaganath, and the shrine of Tarakeshwar. In the old Dutch town of Chinsurah the mission has its center for rural work. The medical center is at Kalna, the shrine of the Hindoo former Chait- anya. About 500 villages are visited annually, and THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND MISSIONS. 249 " Our fellowship is with the Father — i John i : 3. daily preaching is carried on in the bazaars and dis- pensaries. There are three Bengali congregations, with sixty-seven communicants in good standing, and 249 children at Sunday school. To those workers who have been there long enough to know how Hindooism was in the earlier days, there is every evidence of a general change. Enter into conversation with any one who makes his living by the worship of the idols, or giving out secret formulas called mantras for repetition, which is like powowing, and he will soon tell you there is no money now made in this which was formerly a very lucrative business. On great festival days, there are crowds of people wdio stand about to wit- ness the performance with the idols, but there does not begin to be anything like the number of idols there were in former days. Belief in these things is waning. One of the young men who just recently heard the Gospel begged to be baptized. He was then in the mission school, and under age. The mission- aries saw that it was advisable to have him wait till he was of age, on account of the attitude of his caste-parents. If he were baptized, they would at once remove old temple property, having obtained the lease for the same on condition that they would kill no cows nor eat beef on the premises ! The Free Church people claim that no mission in India, or in the non-Christian world is so fully equipped and complete in its organization as is their work in the Madras Presidency. There is the Chris- tian College, the largest in the East, with its self- supporting high school, and Nellore high school. " The largest in the East." There are three teaching, preaching, and itinerating agencies, in the city and suburbs of Madras, in the district of Chingleput, and in Conjiveram. There are village settlements among the depressed classes. There are numerous schools, in which the Bible les- sons come regularly. Above all there are ten Tamil congregations, under their own pastors, mostly self- supporting. The College last year had some 750 students, be- sides over 1,000 in the preparatory school. In the THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND MISSIONS. 25I "Only be strong and of a good courage." — Joshua i: 18. English language division 131 took the B. A. degree, while in the second language division there were 105. The second languages are Tamil, Telugu, Canarese, :\Ialayalam, Sanscrit, Latin, Uriya, or Persian. The College publishes a magazine, and the library has nearly 4,000 volumes. Concerning educational work of missionaries there are not a few who think that it is waste of time to be doing the work that the Government stands committed to do. The results in conversions to Christ are comparatively few, and the expenses often run high. But those engaged in this branch of work point out the attitude of the educated class- es, how it is changing in its regard to Christ and the Gospel, and claim that through the beneficent influence of these Christian colleges this result is largely due. Those who become the leaders of thought in the land, though not Christian, learn to regard Christianity as the best of all religions, and thus open wide the door for the next generation. A step which will in all probability be far-reach- ing in its results, is the recent formation of the " South Indian United Church," by the members of the three separate missions, the Church of Scot- land, the Free Church of Scotland, and the Arcot Mission. It is a union with a simple confession of faith, constitution and canons similar in many respects to that of the United Presbyterian Church in Japan. It were a strange thing if the churches in heathen lands, consisting of converts from heathen religions, should lead the churches who sent the 252 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " He must often repeat his prayers at each twilight." — ^Inst. of Vishnu 71 : -/"j. Gospel to them, in example of Christian fellowship ! It has always seemed to me that two bodies, having a hundred points in common and perhaps two dif- ferences, should not separate because of the two Tlic Scotch Lluirch, Aiatirai points, but remain united, or indeed become united, because of the hundred points of agreement ! In these four Missions of the Free Church, there are all told nineteen native congregations with ten ordained and five licensed native pastors, eighty-two elders and deacons, and less than 2,000 communi- cants. There are now about 3,500 adherents be- sides members. There are twenty-one medical mis- sionaries, chiefly native, 203 native teachers, 140 cat- THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND MISSIONS. 253 "Blessed is the man that trusteth in the Lord."— Jer. 17: i/- echists, besides women workers, making the whole Christian agency 721, not including the 292 native teachers of secular subjects. Now fully sixty years have passed since those active and able men, John Wilson in Bombay, Alex- ander Duff in Calcutta, and John Anderson in Madras, were laying the foundations of a work greater than they could have known. Their con- verts have not been numbered by the tens of thou- sands, but among those won have been a high rate of leaders of men, and good brave fellows who stood way above the average even before their con- version. The first Parsee converts to Christianity were led out by Wilson in Bombay. As an example of the silent effectiveness of cer- tain phases of Christian work, a recent Brahmin convert from IMysore, Krishnasawmy Aiyaugar by name, before his baptism, made the following open statement : " You ask why I will become a Chris- tian now? I am a Christian, and have long been so. I feel it to be my duty now to make an open profession of my faith, and to identify myself with those who believe in Jesus." THE BASLE MISSION, GERMAN LUTHERAN. Chapter Nineteen. " Dice give frail gifts and then destroy the man who wins." — Rig- Veda id: 34: 7. The Basle Mission has been for many years at work in China, India, and Africa. The India work was begun in 1834 at Mangalore, which has become the chief mission station. As we look upon mis- sions, one that was begun before the middle of last century ought to be called established, and their ex- perience should be worth something to others. The missionaries with their n^ative helpers have continued in the w^ork of preaching among the vil- lages, in the bazaars, and at Hindoo religious fes- tivals from the very first. One of the men reports having visited thirty different festivals in a year, besides his other work, and he adds that " the peo- ple have become so used to having us with our preaching and our books at these festivals that they are almost disappointed, and there is a manifest lack of enthusiasm, if we fail to come." In the South of India, where the Basle Mission is located, the people are persistent believers in evil spirits, in demons. Sometimes the people say to the missionaries, '' If only all of us would join you, we are ready to abandon the serivce of idols and demons, which is of no use to us. But how can we come when the others do not? " 254 THE BASLE MISSION, GERMAN LUTHERAN. 255 "Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." — Rev. 22: 17. In the middle classes there seems a certain desire for spiritual freedom, and only real hatred and oppo- sition is manifest against the workers and the work where the subsistence of the opponent depends upon the idolatry and superstitions of the neighborhood. Those who formerly refused any hearing to the workers now tell them kindly, " We should like to receive you into our houses. Wherever you stay, the demons will flee away from there, but after you have gone, they will return, and torment us worse than ever." In the village of Amyambala there was a very large ban3^an tree. It measured seven feet across " A very large banyan tree." the main body, and was consecrated to the de- mons, as the people said. Each year, for three days, a festival was held there, the most prominent feature of which was a devil's dance. In course of time 256 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. "Long let our life, O Agni, be extended." — Rig- Veda 4: 12: 6. the missionaries came into possession of the land on which this big tree stood, for it was in a good location. So at daybreak, one bright December morning, the missionary and some native members set to work with their axes, to cut the tree down. It was not long till all the people around, apprised of what was going on, gathered and stood at a safe distance, to watch what would happen. They thought the demon would have something of evil to visit upon those who were so purposely destroy- ing his old haunts. At noon, half the tree fell, and a little later, the remaining part came down. But nothing happened. Then the Christians built a lit- tle schoolhouse right over the stump of the old tree, and more than ever the people were convinced that the demons don't come where Christians are. A swami challenged one of the missionaries to a discussion. He would allow no native Christian to open his mouth during the time. These discussions are not often productive of good, for a man with the swami's intentions would not be seeking the truth, but to confuse the missionary. The terms were accepted, and the swami began, " Who are you? " If the answer were, " I am a man," then, as a Vedantist, he would have gone on to prove by ar- gument, that man is only a part of the Divine Being, and that sin and salvation are mere words without a real meaning. So the answer given was accord- ingly, '' I am I." " What are you? " again asked the swami. '' I am I," again answered the missionary. THE BASLE MISSION, GERMAN LUTHERAN. 257 " Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." — Psalms 37: 25. '' What do you mean by saying I ? " " I mean I."' " ^^'ho speaks through you, if you speak? " " If I speak, then do I speak." " What is the meaning of saying I ? " " If I say I, then I mean to say I." And then, arguing in true Hindoo style, the missionary asked, " Do you know what a man means if he says I ? " " I know it most certainly." " Well, why do you keep asking me about it? " At this he appeared a little perplexed, and when a native Christian put in a question, he said rather angrily, " You have broken the agreement ! " Then the missionary closed the argument with a little straight advice, saying, " It is not becoming to you to show anger. I did not come here to spend my time on subtleties and puerilities, but to bear the message of salvation through Christ for sinners guilty of death, and this message is meant also for you, old man. If you do not accept Christ as your Savior, you will be lost." Three years later the swami met the missionary again. He listened at- tentively to the preaching, and promised to come to see the teacher of religion in his own home some day. The experience of Mark Mada tells how things go in old missions sometimes. He was baptized in 1892, the nephew of one who had long since been walking in the light. His heathen relatives dragged 25S INDIA ; A PROBLEM. '* He who has had connection with a woman of one of the lowest castes, shall be put to death." — Inst, of Vishnu 5: 43. away his wife and threw his infant child at his feet, leaving him nothing but the empty house. In vain he sought for Government help. He got on any way for a year, and then, to regain his wife and property, he relapsed into heathenism. During the next six years he remained so, but as he confessed, without any peace of mind, and the little spark of spiritual life was kept alive, perhaps, by the occa- sional visits of some native Christians. Finally his wife became very ill, and had a dream in which a venerable old man came to her and directed her to follow Christ and through Him obtain eternal hap- piness. She resolved to be a Christian, and gave her husband no rest till he called for a teacher from among the Christians. He felt rather ashamed to do so, but when he did, he confessed, saying, " I suffered severely under the punishments of God, and I have enough of it now." And the old uncle was much elated when the erring wanderer came back to the fold, and that bringing others w^ith him. The Basle Mission leads all others in industrial work. Its great tile factories have come to be the pride of Mangalore, and are spoken of far and wide as an example of what an industry can attain in the hands of missionaries. The missionaries have invented a new kind of tile for the roofing of houses, and these, now known as Mangalore tile, are used on the best of houses all over India. The princi- pal factories are at Mangalore, where over 500 na- tive Christians are employed. In the other indus- THE BASLE ^FISSION, GERMAN LUTHERAN. 259 " I the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand." — Isaiah 41: 13. tries at Mangalore are employed chiefly Christians, as follows: In weaving, 130; in the press, 50; m mechanical workshops, 32; in the mercantile mis- sion branch, 13; and in the book shop, 8. There are more than 80 employed in about thirty different professions outside the mission. Some of these at- tend night school, and one man, when he saw that he had a balance credit to his account at the end of the year, drew^ it and spent the whole amount for religious books and tracts to give to his non-Christian friends. During the last sixty years it is interesting to note that the mission press issued 262,000 Bibles and portions of the Scriptures in five different languages; 2,413,230 religious tracts in five different languages, and 5,110.975 school- books and others in eight different languages. Last year alone more than 51,000 religious books were sold from their own publishing house, while the whole amount of sales of books both from their own and other houses, both of schoolbooks and religious books was over $11,000! In the work they have 54 ordained men, all dermans, now on the field. About 24 stations are occupied, with 115 outstations. There are 20 native pastors, t ..^^''^^ " In mechanical workshops. 26o INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " It is the glory of God in the World, by which this wheel of Brahma revolves." — Swetaswatara Upanishad 6: i. 136 evangelists and catechists, i8 colporteurs, 31- Bible women, 220 Christian school masters, 65 Christian school mistresses, 139 non-Christian school masters, and a total church membership of 14,696, half of whom are listed as communicants. The contributions of the native churches per year is $4,000 which amounts to about fifty cents each. There are 17 in theological schools, 29 in training schools, and 600 orphans. In the Sunday schools are 1,400 children, and some 9,700 go to the day schools provided by the mission. These are the closing words of a recent Basle Mission report : " The attitude of the people in the South Mahratta country seems to be all that one can wish in the way of politeness and kindness, but we do not find that conversions take place in pro- portion to the friendliness of the population. All our cares and needs we lay down before the throne of our Lord, asking Him, ' Let thy Kingdom come also in India as all over the world ! ' '' Church in Kannanur. THE FRIENDS, THE BRETHREN, AND THE MENNONITES. Chapter Twenty. "I have called you friends." — John 15: i5- These three bodies of Christians come naturally together because they have in common several dis- tinctive characteristics. Stated negatively, they are alike non-swearing, non-conforming, non-litigant, and non-militant. Stated positively, they are quiet, orthodox, evangelical and devoted, until recently scarcely dreaming of their dormant possibilities for missionary conquest throughout the world. The Friends in England number about 100,000 and only about a fourth of them give anything to the foreign missions of the church. They have a prosperous mission in the Central Provinces, and everything well systematized. The women seem to be doing more than the men, as the thousand orphans are supported by them, and out of the thir- ty-six missionaries in India sixteen of them are un- married ladies. Self-support has been upheld from the first, and now the native Christians advertise hand-made cloth of the best material at moderate prices. George Lambert came to India in i\Iay, 1897. bear- ing the liberality of many Americans, especially Mennonites. He distributed the money and the grain that followed, as seemed best in that time of famine. Then he went home telling the story of 261 262 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " Miserable looking creatures." "From his eye the sun had birth." — Atharva-^'eda 19: 6: 7. India's woes, and two years later Elder Ressler and Doctor Page and wife came to the field to stay. Page's health failed and they returned. Others took their places, and the work bids fair to be a suc- cess. They have about 600 orphans. Some of these as they came were most piti- ful. I can mention but one. An old woman and two daughters begged to be taken into the orplian- a g e. Miserable-looking creatures they were. In a short time the mother died, and two months later no one would have be- lieved them to be the same girls, had he not known. The location in the Central Provinces, on the border of a vast forest and large numbers of for- est tribes, is very favorable. With instructions fromi the Gener- al Missionary and Tract Committee of the Brethren, to go to Bombay and there choose out a location for work, on the i6th of October, 1894, three of us sailed from New York harbor land, put up in a Parsee hotel, and in a few days were kindly received into the home of M. H. Mody, a Parsee Christian, where we stayed several months before determining upon a permanent location. \ /? K V Two months later," We came to India as strangers to a strange FRIENDS, BRETHREN, MENNONITES. 263 ** All ye are brethren." — Matt. 23: 8. During this time we gathered all the information we could, awaiting the guidance of the Lord. Finally we were led to Bulsar, as it presented to us a large and unoccupied field for our labors, and moreover was a healthful point. I am not superstitious, or the answer of a lad to me on the occasion of my first visit to Bulsar might have sent us somewhere else. I had asked what there was in Bulsar, to which he replied, " Sahib, there is an English ceme- tery here." As I look back now over those first steps, I can see how the Lord was leading every inch of the way, though at the time we seemed to be only doing the thing that was plainly before us to be done. We were led to Bulsar, an unoccupied ^ railroad town of some 12,000 population. The nearest mis- sions then were at Surat, the Irish Presbyterians, forty miles to the north ; at Nasik, the Church of England, sixty miles to the east ; at Bombay, several missions, one hundred and twenty-five miles to the south. West of Bulsar three miles is the Arabian Sea. About two years from the time we went to Bul- sar an old man was brought to me, a back-slidden convert of another mission at another place. This man and his two sons decided to walk with us. Then with these three as a nucleus we gathered to- gether all that were almost persuaded, and talking the matter over, set a day for baptism. That was a happy day when we led our hist -iLits down into the water, eleven of them, to covenant with God in 1 Unoccupied by any mission. 264 INDIA; A PROBLEM. "Truth makes the moon shine." — Inst, of Vishnu 8: 28. Christ Jesus to live faithful until death. Nearly all these are abiding true, though one I think has gone back into his former sins. The old man is a deacon now, and is happy in his new-found life. When the famine of 1897 came on, by the liberal- ity of our Brethren and others we did considerable relief work, and began the orphan- age. In the fam- ine-relief work, both of 97 and of 1900 we made it a point to preach in the evening to as many of those who Avere receiv- ing help as we possibly could. In and outside of Bulsar to-day one may easily find those who remember with gratitude what we did for them in their time of need. In 1895 and also 1898, Brother and Sister Miller visited us. It was on this last visit that we stood together on a piece of land which we earnestly de- sired, and Brother Miller said he would give the first thousand dollars toward securing the land, and building a dwelling house and orphanages. It Avasn't long till we were getting ready to have mis- sion quarters that we need not pay rent for. In the building of the house and orphanages, we pro- " Outside of Bulsar." FRIENDS, BRETHREN, MENNONITES. 265 "The true light now shineth." — i Jno. 2: 8. ceeded much like in the famine work. In the even- ing we dismissed the laborers ten minutes earlier, and then with ten minutes from their time, we preached to all about twenty min- utes just before the roll-call. The famine gave us all the orphans we could possibly care for, and we are con- stantly moving in and out among them, and personally doing all we can to es- tablish high ideals and strong con- victions in their hearts. With our 300 boys and girls, and their teach- ers, the industrial work, and Ren Chord and Burie, and some other Christian helpers living near by, our home at Bulsar becomes a hive of industry. The church is small and weak yet, for many of those received are the larger orphan children. How- ever, they have all vowed to give systematically of the scanty wages they may receive, and so, from the native contributions at Bulsar alone, a native " Our girls. 266 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. ** Renchord and Burie." "Make the niggard's soul grow soft." — Rig- Veda 6: 53: 3. brother is supported who gives his whole time to the work in the regions round about and just beyond. We are building for the fu- ture. That will be a Christian community over there some day, and now is the time to work. It would be too bad if they should grow up to be a non-missionary church ! Our place of baptism in the Vanki River not far from our home is beautifully adapted to the purpose. The water is generally warm, and when we go down into the stream sev- eral go in together, and standing each awaits his turn. I have baptized here, by triple immersion, thirty-one in thirty-five minutes, which would be at the rate of fifty an hour, or 500 a day. And there was no hurry and no excitement. In the spring of 1899 Brother Forney moved to Naosari, just half way between Bulsar and Surat. Walking into Naosari, Luxman Hall is so prominently before us, and is so much like a church, that one instinctively thinks of the days when there will be Christians many to worship there. This is in a native state, and just across on the opposite side of the railroad is Eng- A native brother is supported." 268 INDIA; A PROBLEM. "A woman must never be independent." — Laws of Manu 5: 141. " Walking into Naosari." lish territory. Here in Jalalpor has Brother For- ney chosen to locate and build, but the field of his labors remains the same. He has an orphanage al- so, and the work is carried on with the same energy and simplicity as at Bulsar. In the autumn of 1899 Brother McCann's located at Anklesvar, on the banks of the Nerbudda River, sacred to Hindoos. The only house suitable was obtained on rent from a Mahomedan gentleman, and there they dwelt till their new and larger quar- ters were completed. He was scarcely ready for active work yet when he was thrust into it by the pressing conditions of the famine. Especially did the poor hill tribes east of Anklesvar suffer from want of food. They are always poor, and in famine times their suffering surpasses all that could be im- agined. Among them a great deal of relief was given. FRIENDS, BRETHREN, MENNONITES. 269 For there is no respect of persons with God." — Rom. 2: 11. " The only house suitable." As the famine conditions were much worse here than at our other stations, Brother Forney and I went up week after week to help in the distribu- tions. So, those that survived have come to know us, and a number of them have accepted the Savior. An orphanage is in good running order, and our be- ginning here promises to be larger in its results than at any other point thus far occupied. A good illustration of what our children think of their home with us, was shown in a recent ex- perience at Anklesvar. There had been a number of starving children gotten together in a native state, and these were about to be brought to the orphan- age, when the petty authorities thought it incom- patible with legislative dignity to allow the children to go. And they were left remain. A short time after, some of the boys from the orphanage asked to go back to see the place of their old home. Go- 270 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " Slavelike may I do servic^ to the bounteous." — RigA'eda 7: 86: 7. ing, they came across these others, and twenty-one children walked thirty miles to find the welcome a Christian orphanage freely gives ! Bro. Ebey's intend to occupy Dahanu this winter. Dahanu is a Taluka town, half way between Bulsar and Bombay. This will give us a chain of stations along the railroad from Dahanu to Anklesvar about 140 miles. East of Dahanu Taluka is the native state of Jowhar. East of Bulsar Taluka is Pardi Taluka and the native state of Dharampur. East of Jalalpor is part of Bardoli and Chickli Talukas and the native state of Bansda. And west from Anklesvar and a half Taluka by the sea, while east is the native state of Raj Pipla. I have been in these states, all but the first one, and was received hospitably, especially in Raj Pipla, where we were shown every kindness. The dewan is a splendid gentleman. It seems to me we have large opportunities. All around about us are reachable people, thousands of A chain of stations." them. And there are thousands of fishermen as yet untouched by the Gospel. These fishermen are clannish, and rather despised by other Hindoos, because they catch fish for a living, thus taking life. And to the east are hill tribes, Bhils and Varleys, tens of thousands of FRIENDS, BRETHREN, MENNONITES. 27I " Christ shall give thee light.' —Eph. 5 ■- U- them who ought to have as much spiritual capacity tZ Karens tnd the Telugus. It is the glory o e Gospel that from the poorest tr>bes can be ra.sed v,o a mighty people to the Lord. But we dare not ray:i?i/HLwor.l We ought to have abo.,t twenty-five missionaries in that field now. As this year closes we have eleven! We ought to have a number of single sisters! We have one, Ehza b^ Miller ! We ought to have a lady doctor ! W e have none •ne • At 'the present time we have about twenty native helpers of all grades, and a total *«-'^ -"*-; ship of about 250. This will double m less tha three years! And then double agam m less than five more ! And there are those in America, breth- ren who are careful students of mission problems, who have suggested to me this year, that it ,s possi- ble that many of us will live to see the day when our own Brethren Church will have more members in India than in the home land ! I believe it is not merely possible. It is probable ! , , ^ ^ ., . Is It not possible? Is it not probable? Like the Friends in England, we number about loo.ooo com- municant members. If each Sunday school would hold its collection for foreign missions on the farst Sunday of each month, every district could have a foreign missionary in the field, and there would be more in the treasury at the end of the year than if they held all the collections to pay their own running expenses! If each congregation would 2'J2 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " Who, throned in three worlds, helps the Aryan man." — Rig- Veda 1 : 156: 5. have a missionary-day several times a year, with all missionary sermons, a missionary program, and missionary collections those days, every congrega- tion could have its own representative in the field, and have more left than if they had not tried ! If each member would make it a personal matter, and besides praying for the work would give systematic- ally either a certain amount or a certain proportion regularly, and do so " on the first day of the week," he would not only live up to the teaching of this Scripture, but he would give a wonderful impetus to the foreign work, besides doing more for home in- terests than he would do otherwise. Now were these three " ifs " removed, we could have a thou- sand missionaries in scores of different localities giving their whole time to the work, and the home churches would be stronger and better and more united than ever, in having done what perhaps their fathers would have thought impossible ! Again, suppose that we" number 100,000 souls all told. Suppose each one conscientiously gave the Lord's tenth. Suppose we earn on an average a dollar a day. There are $3,000,000 a year for the Lord ! Perhaps the average wage is placed too high. Put it at thirty-three cents a day. Then if each one give the tenth, it comes to $1,000,000, — a sum that the large denominations have been laboring hard to raise for missions from year to year. And here it is in our very pockets. I know a number of good brethren who are liberal givers, and not one FRIENDS, BRETHREN, MENNONITES. 273 "I the Lord thy God will, hold thy right hand." — Isaiah 41: 13. of them is stubborn, self-important, or uncharitable. And I know a few other persons who are stubborn, self-important and uncharitable, and not one of them is a liberal giver to the Lord's cause. Whatever we do we must be charitable. Charity has a wider meaning too than referred to above. He is charitable who grants to me the same What their fa'.liers would have thought impossible." that he wishes me to grant to him. Let us rather yield our ideas to the opinions of other good, hon- est brethren who may differ from us, rather yield I say and be brethren, than each to contend hotly for his own notion, and disagreeing, henceforward walk together no more! Brethren, by the mercies of God, let us have no more division! There are 274 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " Thirty-three gods are drinkers of Soma." — Aitareya Brahmana i8. far too many divisions in Christendom already! Where there are more points in common than differ- ences, two bodies of people ought to come together because of their many similarities, rather than go apart because of a few differences ! May the Lord graciously bless us, and cause His face to shine up- on us, and make us to be richly indwelt by His Holy Spirit for evermore! OTHER WORK AND OTHER WORKERS. Chapter Twenty-One. "Three bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost." — I Jno. 5: 7- Into the zenana, the women's quarters, women alone can go. All over India zenana workers,— cheerful, happy. Christian women, visit in the homes of the women who are not cheerful nor happy nor Christian, and carry to them the Gospel of light and love there. The higher classes of Hindoo and Ma- homedan women generally live secluded. And they are taught that it is the proper thing for good wom- en to do ; so a missionary lady is not always welcome there at first, but when they come to know, then her visits are always appreciated. Women's work for woman is of the first importance, for all over the world the mother-lessons are the first a child re- ceives. Married or single, the influence of a de- voted missionary woman is recognized by all. Of course, a married woman has home duties of her own to claim part of her attention, while a smgle woman has not these. A married woman has a chance to demonstrate the true relationship of wdfe to husband, while among a people who think that girls must be married as children or go to the bad, a pure-minded, dignified, unmarried woman conveys a new idea. Educated native gentlemen have often been quoted as saying, " W^e do not fear your preaching nor your books, but your women in our 275 2'j6 INDIA; A PROBLEM. "Prepare for us wide pasture free from danger." — Rig-\^eda 7: TT- 4. houses, and your doctors by our sick, will do moie to establish your religion than anything else." The Church of England alone has 248 single ladies in the India mission, while in all India there are 1,134 such workers ! The missionary hospitals and the free dispen- saries are an agency that is destined to do good in any land. Government has its hospitals, but there are many of the lower and the poorer who are afraid of the hospital. The medical missionary mingling among all classes freely is not feared when known. There is a wide scope for the medical missionary who would devote himself to the work for the love of hu- manity, and through the body the door to the heart is often opened. " Five hundred patients a day," " Ten thousand patients in a year," " Twelve hundred surgical operations," this is the way the missions that have medical work report. I am not infre- quently called upon to poultice a boil, or treat a fever, or draw a tooth. And we can do it too. I most assuredly believe in the efficacy of prayer, and in the power of the Lord to heal, but in the case of a Christian down with common fever I would follow the prayer with a good dose of castor oil, and qui- nine. If he were a non-Christian, after the preach- ing of the Word, I should give the same treatment, other things being equal. And in this we are con- sistent. I am baptized " for the remission of sins," according to the Scripture, and I am saved by grace. I pray daily, '' Give us this day our daily bread," and then I work for that very thing. And I pray for OTHER WORK AND OTHER WORKERS. 2^]^ " I am the Lord that healeth thee."— Exodus 15: 26. healing, and why should I not do all I know to bring about the desired healing? Over quinine which breaks fever, over water which quenches thirst, over fried potatoes which allay hunger, over any one of these three I can ask a blessing just as clearly as over any other one of them. The thing is to use and not abuse God's blessings to us. About a mission hospital the story of the Gospel is told over and over, and those who receive aid and re- lief often become eager learners of the way of truth and Ufe. " Thy will be done, O God." It is said that over a hundred vernacular news- papers have a distinct bias against Christianity, and that in Lucknow and Cawnpore there are fifty press- es turning out tons of impure and anti-Christian lit- erature weekly. Many a poor native knows noth- ing of Christianity except what he has gathered from some translated leaf upholding the threadbare arguments of Ingersoll. The British and Foreign Bible Society is an active agent to meet this evil in India, and has auxiliaries in ^ladras, Calcutta, Bombay, Allahabad, Lahore, and Bangalore. Trans- lating the Scripture into fifty-two different languages and dialects of the country, the annual circulation of the same runs into the millions. There are forty-one presses and publishing houses connected with missions, which have an output of over 200,000,000 pages annually. In the eighteen dif- ferent Book and Tract Societies the work is vigorous- ly prosecuted. The Religious Tract Society has seven 2.y% INDIA; A PROBLEM. "O Indra. Ho there! Why sittest thou at ease? " — Riv-Veda 8: 69: 5. branches in as many cities. The Christian litera- ture Society publishes nearly 60,000,000 copies of books and tracts annually in eighteen languages. These mission presses also publish 24 weekly, 81 monthly, 11 semi-monthly, and 14 quarterly news- papers and magazines. The Young Men's Christian Association is at work more especially among English-speaking peo- ple, yet not without strong efforts among the peo- ple of India. There are 131 associations, with out- fit more or less complete. The splendid buildings in the several cities are a credit to the work and w^orkers. No small interest clusters around a special effort in behalf of that most deplorable class, the lepers. It is a surprising fact that the leper people of India number 400,000 souls ! These poor mortals are of- ten stoned away from the doors of houses where they go to beg, and many a poor old man or woman lives in a little hut only waiting his time to die. The leper mission establishes homes in connection with other missions. The lepers are taught, they do what little gardening or other work they can, and husbands and wives live separate. Children are al- so kept apart from parents, and often grow up un- tainted ! There are now about 5,000 lepers thus happily provided for, and many of these have ac- cepted Christ. A leper church when established is of course kept separate. The Arcot mission of the American Reformed Church is doing a prosperous work in the south of OTHER WORK AND OTHER WORKERS. .< All the earth shall worship thee."-Psalms 66: 4- 279 A leper church." India. Prominent among the work- ers are Jacob Chamberlain, who has been on the field over forty years, and the Scudders, who for several genera- tions have been missionaries. Not far distant from .. nmtur into which n.issionar>es of the Am™ ^^^^^^^ .^ ^^^^.^ ^^^^ „p to about forty. Their workers at Mehmadebad have built a very large church. And the Australians, known as the Poona and Indian Village Mission, have sixty odd workers on the field. Both these missions are --P-atively 3^"ng - ^^^^^ India field, but are making ^^^^^ ^^XulrrnJs ,,eir devotion -^^-t^-: Jerl and requires it a point to -"/;;^j^ : Vom the mission, not to rry^n^irofte^rrs. Many of their bestwork- " At Guntur." j8o INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " He is not woman, he is not man, nor hermaphrodite." — Swetaswatara Upanishad 5 : 10. ers think this is rather too much of a good thing. I should think it usually advisable to go unmarried, and then not marry for a year or two after being on the field. Of course, there are exceptions to all rules. In the Central Provinces the Disciples have a mission with forty-nine foreign missionaries. Their ** Built a very large church." work was begun about twelve years before our Breth- ren first came to India. In Calcutta the Advents have headquarters for their India Vv^ork. They have some twenty-four workers in that city and elsewhere, and publish a paper in English in the interest of the^r idea. Al- OTHER WORK AND OTHER WORKERS. 28I " The word of the Lord endureth forever." — i Peter i : 25. SO have a branch of their " International Tract So- ciety." Away up among the mountain heights of the Himalayas, about two miles above sea level, are at work the Aloravian Church. Their work up there is not the most successful as far as numbers is con- cerned, but they stick right to it, believing that if they do their part well they will win sooner or later. This is the most enthusiastic mission body extant, as the home membership is about 38,000 while the foreign missionaries are nearly 400. That means even more than i to 100 are foreign mission- aries. Their rate per cent of gifts for missions is also higher than that of any other church. The Salvation Army is also in India, and their patient self-sacrifice is most praiseworthy. They have some noble characters among them, but one feels sorry for their methods. Many workers go out to India in all good faith, and then leave the Army there. These sometimes go independent, and often join other missions. As to independent work- ers, who make their boast that they are " dependent upon God alone " for their support, that they " trust no man for aid," it seems to me that the very circu- lars heralding these conditions are a kind of a dou- ble-barreled shot gun. They contain an ironical thrust at missions that are systematically organized for a definite work, and second, they bear on the face of them an appeal for help. I can not do better than quote from the report of a recent deputation to India to look into the mission work. " We cannot 282 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " He who can see inaction in action, and action in inaction is wise." — Bhagavad Gita 4: 18. but record our conviction, based upon observation, that so-called independent mission work is wasteful of funds, and in most cases barren of good results, even if not an actual hindrance to the progress of the kingdom." It would not be fair to end a chapter of this kind without some mention of the work of the Roman Catholics. As far back as the time of Francis Xavier they began work in India. And the Portuguese possessions are all Catholic, ruled by petty chiefs. The territories in which this religion is supreme al- low no Protestant to preach the Gospel there! They have, all told, about 8,000 orphan children, several large schools, and churches, and many followers. The Jesuit College in Bombay has sixteen European professors. A prominent way of mission work, as reported in a recent Catholic directory published in Madras, is to " baptize heathen children in dan- ger of death." In company with a friend of like mind to that which I enjoy, I went one day to Bandra, a small town not far from Bombay, on St. Mary's day. All along the road from the railway station to the Cath- olic church, there were wax candles large and small, wax hands, arms, legs, heads, hearts, and babies for sale by venders who were eager to sell. On inquiry what these things meant, one good-natured fellow told us that if any person hurt his hand, he would make a vow to Mary that he would give his hand to her if he would get well. So when he did re- OTHER WORK AND OTHER WORKERS. 283 "Many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many." — i\Iatt. 24: 11, cover, he came here on St. Mary's day to pay his vow, and he bought a wax hand, which became his by virtue of the purchase, and he offered that to the virgin. Legs, arms, heads, and hearts the same way. At last we ventured, " And the babies? " to which he humorously replied, " You see, if any woman don't have any, she makes a vow to Mary that if she will grant this her desire, why, then she'll give her child to Mary. Then after the child comes, the mother paying her vow on St. Mary's day, buys a wax baby, and gives it to Mary." By his significant smile, we thought he might have added, " And poor Mary, she never knows the difference ! " In this same way, all over Gujerat, Mahomedans vow a horse to Pyr, and then pay him off with a cloth horse ten inches long stuffed with sawdust ! And poor Pyr, he never knows the difference! FAMINES AND THE ORPHANS. Chapter Twenty-Two. " For killing an elephant, or a horse, or a camel, or a cow, the criminal shall have one hand or one foot lopped off." — Inst, of Vishnu 5: 48. From time immemorial famines have been more or less frequent in India. Where the masses of the people are poor and rather improvident, where the population is very dense, it is not far to see the re- sult, if one harvest fails either by lack of rain-fall or because of swarms of insects or army of vermin. In the last century there were forty odd famines in India, a few of which were fearful in extent. The famine of 'jj caused the death of some 6,300,000 souls. The famine of 97, in the memory of all, was followed closely by that of 1900 which was the most severe in the century. In these times of crisis Gov- ernment does everything in its power to save life, and spends millions upon millions of dollars in relief. And the missionaries play no small part when con- fronted with such colossal opportunities for philan- thropic endeavor. The form of relief usually employed is that of digging canals or tanks for those who are strong enough to work, and opening soup kitchens for those who can not work. These soup kitchens are free, of course, and have a physician in attendance. At Broach at one time during the last famine there were 29,000 people at work on one tank. It was a wonderful sight. Across the river at Anklesvar 284 286 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. "Not one of you, ye gods, is small." — Rig-Veda 8: 30: i. 10,000 men were at work on another tank. Usually the men dig, and women and men carry the dirt to the edge of the tank in baskets on their heads. There it is thrown and a large embankment is thus erected all around. Then when the rains come, it fills with water which is used for irrigating, as well as for bathing, washing, and drinking purposes. It is during these times of extremity that Gov- ernment is put to her wit's end to do justice to all. An army of subordinates has to be employed, and these are of all kinds. A personal friend, a Brahmin who is the Government Examiner of famine ac- counts for a large district, told us a few months ago, that he believed only a third of the Government relief money ever reached the poor sufferers. This we take to be incredible ; but if even half true, it points to a terrible state of iniquity. It was a mat- ter of common notice how little the religious ad- visers and leaders of the Hindoos troubled them- selves about the sick and starving. ^ For one having not seen it is hard to understand. There is grain in the country, and many have all they want to eat, while thousands starve. It is even so. When a crop fails there is no work. Those who live from hand to mouth at once have nothing. They cannot borrow, for they are already in debt. Scarcity raises the prices of grains to two or three times the ordinary. Then the roots and herbs are sought, and the trees whose leaves are food for ani- mals only are stripped bare in search of food. The ^ I. p. Mission Report, 1901. FAMINES AND THE ORPHANS. 287 "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away." —Matt. 24: 35- banyan is a very large tree never shedding all its leaves. Starving men climb to the topmost branch- es of these to get the leaves, and in a few weeks only the skeleton stands as a witness of the famme. Grain and food- ^^^, — ^ ,. i stuffs are import- ed from Burma, or any other country. The laws of trade regulate that. Those who have money can buy. But those who have none, and can get no work, who are poor when good times prevail, they must starve ! Then comes the timely relief work that these poor mor- tals may dig and get money and buy food and eat! '• The skeleton stands as a witness." Government stimulates the natural channels of com- merce by reducing freight rates at such tnyes, and on the other hand prohibits dealers from takmg ex- orbitant prices in the relief camps. ^ It is in these trying times that missionaries with characteristic whole-heartedness enter into the work 2BS INDIA; A PROBLElvr. " No sacrifice, no penance, and no fasting is allowed to women apart from their husbands." — Laws of Manu 5: 155. of saving the lives of old and young, of men and women. Children especially appeal to the sympathy of the merciful, for grown people can look after themselves while the children are often left to die.^ Besides, " Left to die. the aged could live but a few years longer at best, while the child in good hands may grow up to be useful and industrious above his neighbors, and be- come a blessing to the community for many years. When a new child comes into the orphanage he first has his head cleanly shaven, then he gets a good hot bath and clean clothes, then soup and per- haps medicine according to the needs of the case. Boys and girls get the same treatment. And two days after arrival you would hardly think it possible that he is the same child. The difference of a year ■^ Jackals had attacked the child in the illustration, when she was res- cued by a missionary. She did not live long after. FAMINES AND THE ORPHANS. 289 " Judge me, O Lord; for I have walked in mine integrity." — Psalms 26: I. is remarkable. They grow in grace and in stature astonishingly well. They run off, and then come back, asking pardon. They fight sometimes, and then are sorry for it. For the most part they learn eagerly to read and write and work and sing and pray. They are rather quick to follow the majority. They like to follow the crowd. This is good when the crowd moves aright. Sometimes a new girl comes in wearing bangles on legs and arms. Noth- ing is said, but she sees no bangles in the whole institution perhaps, and presently feeling unlike anybody else goes to taking hers all off. One time one of our girls grew unruly, and after advising and entreating I threatened to make her into a Hindoo if she did not behave as became a girl in a Christian orphanage. It soon became necessary to carry out the threat. We put a caste mark on her forehead, and rings about her wrists and ankles. All the other girls laughed at her. We left them on all day, and she was glad enough to have these signs of heathenism removed and be as the other girls. There was a boy nearly dead when we got him. He grew worse. Sunday forenoon we were at church services. Of course he was too ill to come. He could not walk, nor stand alone. Just before the closing prayer, one of our number slipped out of the meeting to go and see that our dinner which he had left on the fireplace was all right. It was 290 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " A king must take from his subjects as taxes a sixth part every year of the grain, and of all seeds." — Inst, of Vishnu 3: 23. gone. He came running to tell us. We continued the meeting while two or three went to search. In a short time they found the whole wrapped up, and the starving boy lying on it. However he got it we could not tell. He was so weak he died in a day or two after. Preparations were at once made, and healthy boys bore the corpse away to burial. In the orphanages the children are put to that kind of work that they take to most freely. Some don't take to work at all. Some learn carpentry, some weaving, some gardening, some shoemaking, some tinning, some caning of chairs, and all kinds of in- dustrial work is established for them, that they may become self-supporting men and women as soon as possible. Those who work in the day time must study at night from seven to ten. And those who have no work go to school all day. Some of the brightest become teach- ers to the others. The night school teachers study in the day time. Our boys have a literary society, which is primary enough, but still some of their essays and debates are not without hopeful signs of the future. They do their own cooking and wash their own clothes. The girls make the bread every afternoon. The first couple years a child in the orphanage costs about v$i.25 a month, but after they get older, espe- ■* There was a boy." FAMINES AND THE ORPHANS. 291 'Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love."— Rom. 12: 10. •* Healthy boys bore the corpse away cially as they begin industrial work, they cost more. It is an absorbing question now with all the missions what best to do -^ for the orphan children. When they sit down to eat, they sit in long rows on the ground floor. One at the end ^ dishes the food out of the big vessel, or ves- sels, and if there t " Our boys have a literary society." 292 INDIA; A PROBLEM. *' A sudra who has found a treasure must give five parts to the king, five parts to Brahmins and keep two parts to himself." — Inst, of \'ishnu 3: 61. is any left it is giv- en to those who worked hardest or perhaps got least. And if there be not quite enough to go round, that is, if the distributer has giv- en out too liberally, those remaining take their dishes and passing along in front of the oth- ers take up a collection. Each one throws a little in from his own dish with his hand, and it often happens that they who got none get the most. Then, all served, one of their number usually stands and " The girls make the bread." They sit in long rows on the ground-floor.'* FAMINES AND THE ORPHANS. 293 "All thy works shall praise thee, O Lord." — Psalms 145: 10. asks the blessing, after which, remaining where they are they into it with their hands. After the meal each one always washes his own dish and puts it away. From these famine children we reasonably hope will come some of the strong Christian workers of India in the years to come. Altogether there are at the present time more than 25,000 orphan children in the several Protestant Indian orphanages. In Gujerat the Irish Presbyterian Mission, which is the oldest in that section of the country, has over 1,500, the Methodist Mission has over 1,000, the American Missionary Alliance has over 500, and the Brethren have about 600. The question often arises, Why this famine? And being desirous of seeing the bright side always, we can only answer that the famine enables the people to compare religions by their fruits, and to find out who are their true friends. It also stirs up good people at home to be charitable. It is a good thing to be liberally minded ! It is a good thing for a man to find out who his best friends are ! A LOST OPPORTUNITY. Chapter Twenty-Three. " ]\Iay thy bright arrow shot down by thee from heaven pass us uninjured by." — Rig-\"eda 7: 46: 3. In the southern part of India, chiefly in the na- tive state of Malabar, there is a community called Syrian Christians, or the Christians of St. Thomas. They claim to be the descendants of the converts of the Apostle Thomas, who it is said made his way to India on a missionary journey, and was martyred in ]\Iadras. These statements are held in question however by recent authori- ties. But the people are there. And ac- cording to the Metropolitan M a r Dionysius, in a let- ter to me, the com- munity consists of some 400,000 souls at the present time. The last censusgives all classes of Syrians as 561,327. Early the y be- came Nestorian in Syrian Bishop Mar Titus Thomas. faith, and they liave 294 A LOST OPrORTUNITY. 295 Every woman that proi)hesieih let her be covered." — I Cor. 11: 5, 6. not been without their internal differences. They have many interesting customs which are worthy the atten- tion of the student of rehgious history. At the close of a meeting a priest stands at the door of the church as the people pass out and gives to each his blessing, but if there be one who has departed from the order and manner of life, the priest withholds the blessing. The author of '' The Wrongs of Indian Woman- hood,'^ Mrs. Fuller, once was about to speak to a congregation of these people, when she noticed a great imeasiness in the house. On inquirv as to the cause, she learned that they objected to a woman's stand- ing in the pulpit, so she stepped down. Then they objected to a woman's speak- ing with head un- covered, so she replaced her bon- net which she had for the mo- ment laid aside. Then it was all right and they had a splendid meeting. They Syrian priest and family. 296 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " Then he must dive under water and mutter a prayer three times." — Inst, of \"ishnu 64: 19. also hold to a form of the agapse, or supper, which is unlike most churches. All through the centuries what an opportunity that church had ! Before Mahomed rose in Arabia they were the only aggressive religion there ! They must have been at some time or other a missionary people ! Else how did their churches spread to where they did? And they lost that precious heri- tage somehow ! They have become in some things like their surroundings, instead of re-vivifying their surroundings and recreating them! They tried faithfully to hold to the doctrine, and were much concerned as to their own welfare, and in propor- tion less concerned for the welfare of others, and so lost the spirit of life ! The spirit of life is the missionary spirit. To live for others, to sacrifice for others, to labor for others willingly, this is the exercise of the mission- ary spirit. This is the spirit of Christ. He lived the supremely unselfish life. The church that is not a missionary church, and refuses to be a mission- ary church, is doomed. " All hope abandon ye who enter here," is written in plain letters above her doors. Such is certainly a solemn assembly because death is so near. And they are not ready. And they are unwilling to go. Why should Christ con- tinue to be anything for those who persistently re- fuse to be anything for others? One thinks of this Church dead in the East in comparison with the living Church that grew up . A LOST OPPORTUNITY. ^97 "The Lord is my helper, I ^vill not fear."— Heb. 13: 6. in the West. The opportunity lost seems painful- ly sorrowful. Hindooism might have been a matter of history now, even as Druidism is, and Mahome- danism would have been hedged on both sides trom the beginning. I want not to criticise the Church that lost its golden opportunity. It had not the experience of others to profit l)y as we have. I do want to warn you who are Christians to-day, that if YOU have not the missionary spirit, you are missing the kernel, and the beauty, and the glory of your religion. Missions to all the world, this is the divine idea. Not home exclusively, not for- eign exclusively, but to all the world, tins is the divine idea. Some one argues that the heathen re- ligions are good enough for heathen. I have not ^o learned Christ. Some one argues that the Gos- pel has been preached to the heathen once, there- fore it is enough. I wonder how often he has heard the Gospel himself, for by the nature of the argu- ment the littleness and the selfishness of it, I would think he had not enough yet! Some one argues that the world is to grow worse till the end. Just like weak men ! Always apologizing for their mani- fest weakness! Who was it said, " Go,-Preach,-^ Baptize,— Teach " ? He also promised, '' I will be with vou alwav." Argue away the former teach- ing and if vour argument proves anything at all, it proves you are missing the promise that iollows, a promise intended for you. Christ died for all the world, and His people must live for all the world. You who refuse to believe 298 INDIA; A PROBLEM. " Do not study for three nights after an eclipse of the moon."— Inst, of \"ishnu 30: 5. this, only heap up condemnation to yourselves and miserably curtail the joy of your religious life. I would not condemn any, especially those who do not know. But you who have read these pages thus far, you know, and are therefore without excuse. May you be indwelt by the spirit of missions hence- forth, which is wholly unselfish, the very spirit of the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. NEW INDIA, OR WHAT OF THE FUTURE? Chapter Twenty-Four. " Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof."— Ecc. 7 : S. Standing upon the threshold of the new century, as we look down over the years that will speedily come and be counted with the past, we feel more than a normal interest in the question, What will the future of India be? We have reviewed the conditions from the standpoint of a Christian. We have seen the operations, in part, of a beneficent government, which is stable, and more or less per- manent. We have viewed with sorrow the stag- nating- social conditions, and life-destroying influ- ences against moral development, until contem- plating the spiritual destitution our souls are made to cry out, O Lord, how long! And we have looked upon the work which, by the mercies of our Father, in the hands of many missionaries, has grown from very humble beginnings to the present hopeful proportions it everywhere enjoys. The problem of the future is not one of govern- ment, nor yet is it one that government is called upon to settle. The problem is not altogether a so- cial one, though the social element enters into the consideration. The problem is a religious one. As is the religion of the country, so will be the social 299 300 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. ''Thou carriest an awl that urges men to prayer." — RigA'ecla 6: 53:8. condition of the country. It seems to me that the one need of India is true religion. I unhesitating- ly place this before education, before governmental conditions, and before material prosperity. Not a few thoughtful native gentlemen have al- ready confessed that the need is one religion, not see- ing that tlie one is the necessity. It appears to them that if all were united by the bonds of one common re- ligion, it were better than now, whatever that reli- gion might be. Doubtless many things would be better if all were united on some kind of basis, but if we discuss only possible things, then this may be brought about in two ways. Either all become Mahomedans, or all become Christians. It is a matter of choice. All can not become Hindoos, nor Parsees, nor Buddhists. It is a choice between two. Shall India be like Egypt, or like Australia? Shall it be like Arabia, or like America? Education is a splendid thing. It enlarges a man's capacity, and opens up vast fields to him that otherwise must have lain unexplored. It places power into his hands. But education does not regenerate. India needs regenerating. Bring a man from the hills, and teach him mathematics, astronomy and different languages, but nothing of morals, of the future life, of the Just Judge, and when he returns to his old haunts again he will get into his old vices. But teach him of the new life in Christ, and he will get a new heart, and become a better man. NEW INDIA. 301 "I will guide thee with mine eye." — Psalms 32: 8. The cotmtry may be a republic or a monarchy. It may be independent or subordinate, that makes little difference. A well-ruled colony is a great deal better than a poorly-managed state. Govern- mental conditions naturally become right, when once the people have walked in the right path. Pure religion stands above material prosperity, for it is a guarantee of happiness and is usually followed by somewhat of prosperity, while the lat- ter is no assurance of either happiness or religion. I do not mean to say that if India were a Christian country there would be no more hard times nor famine, but this is certain, there w^ould be an end to the forever going into debt for weddings and death ceremonies, and for wild display in jewelry. Children would grow up and choose for themselves if they wished to be married or not. The one would then be " united in marriage with " the other, in- stead of being " tied in marriage to " him. Girls could be wage earners too, if there were need. A man could then get a start in business before he began to raise a family. The opposite is true now^ He has a family, whether he has anything else or not. Women would be school-teachers, and the men who are teachers now for a mere pittance, could do something that paid better. And if a famine came, as come they would, the people would be stronger to meet it, there would be no foolish caste discrimination with respect to eating, and 30i INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " Divine women, with undipped wings." — Satapatha Brahmana 6: 5: 4: P,. men would help men first and then the cattle after- ward ! Christianity will do for suffering humanity what no other religion ever thinks of doing. At a fare- Avell meeting wt held before coming to America last year, we had a ringing testimony to this fact, from a native gentleman. The sermon was ended, and a few of those present at the meeting took advantage of the opportunity to say a few words. Several had spoken, when a splendid gentle- man, teacher in the Bulsar high- school, arose and said, " I have one thing to say. Those of us who have visited the missionaries know how they are now taking care of many poor famine children. Well, we haA^e seen them care for these dirty children with such tenderness and earnestness that we were utterly sur- prised. The lady sitting yonder, I have seen her handle those poor, sick and sore, starving children more affectionately than our own wives often handle our own children ! Children these were that we w^ould not want to touch with our feet ! " Suffering humanity." What is the rcaSOU of all NEW INDIA. 303 "He that has mercy on the poor, happy is he/'-Prov. 14: =■• this' Gentlemen, I am here to say that there is something in these people's religion that we haven t .ot in any of our religions." At this, I suggested, "That sir, is Christ." To which he replied, •• Whether it is Christ or not, I am not ready to say, but this I know. There is something m it, and vou folks have set us an example that we should be eager to follow. It is a good example. It is a good religion." Mahomedan influences are at work, and eacli year records its additions to the Mahomedan com- munitv If the masses are once turned to ISIahom- edanism, it will be very much harder to win them to the truth of God. And it seems to me to be one of the hopeful signs of things, that Mahome- dan converts, those who in years past were them- selves Hindoos, have become not only Pe™anen with the religion, but even part =^"d P^cel m the evangelizing agency of the same. This is proot posi^ve to the doubtful, as to what is m the na- tive convert, as to sticking qualities. _ And how much more will these who are raw recruits to Chris- tianity now, when they have learned the ethical superiority of their new-found religion, and when these truths have become their precious inheritance, and when they can appreciate them to the full, how much more tenaciously will these hold to the Gos- pel, and become themselves the most effectne preachers of it ! I have been asked by close-observing native gen- tlemen, this ciuestion : If the strength of Govern- 304 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. "I pray for power which none may bend." — Rig-\>da 3: 62: 5. ment is sin in a divided people, why do you, favoring Government, try to have the people united in one religion? The three suppositions are true, but an essential feature of the conditions is omitted. The strength of Government does lie in a divided people, when those people are as the people of India to-day. But if they were as a whole, an en- lightened, truth-loving, united Christian people, it would be infinitely better for the people, and the Government would not suffer from the change. This is our answer to that question. One of the chief objections of a caste man to be- coming a Christian, is that his children would like- ly marry out of his caste. This very thing, speak- ing according to the laws of nature, would be bet- ter for the children. In Burma there are numer- ous Chinese. These come over without women, and in course of time, marry Burmese. Their chil- dren inherit industry from both sides, and grow up models of thrift and strength, superior to other Burmese. Long-sighted men now say that the future of Burma lies in the hands of this class of people. One is not perhaps inclined to believe they want righteousness when he talks with some of these peo- ple about Christ the only hope, or when he looks upon them as they indulge freely in that which means their utter destruction ; but when we turn tO' their cradle hymns, and to some of the verses that wan- dering sadhus sing, and to the poetry they sometimes chant in moments of meditation, we are convinced that the vacant place is in their hearts which only New INDIA. 305 "The carnal mind is enmity against God." — Rom. 8: 7. Christ the Lord, the Spotless One can fill. Among all their incarnations the Sinless One is not yet count- ed. It seems as if God had purposely kept this one avenue of return open to these millions of idolaters, that they might yet be redeemed. There are several Somajes or societies of recent years, organized with the avowed ptirpose of return- ing to the pure of the Hindoo religion. One of these societies, the Arya Somaj, now numbers 67,000 fol- lowers. It was founded but twenty-five years ago. They do away with idolatry and some other of the more senseless Hindoo superstitions, but they can not get away from caste. They claim to believe in Christ, as well as Buddha, Mahomed, and all the sages that ever lived in Hindooism. Their creed is confessedly to follow all, and to accept the good from all the religious leaders that ever lived ! Every now and then there seems to be a revival of Hindooism. That is, in the Hindoo press such a revival is much talked of. I think from what I have seen and heard, though, that all these so-called revivals have as their one cause the activity of the missionaries, and as their one motive, to oft'set the constantly increasing tendency of the people to look to Christianity as the religion having the most of life and truth. It is not for the spiritual welfare of the people they care; they don't want them to become Christians. There is a certain amount of prejudice against Christianity, which is enshrouded in ignorance, that must surely die out as the people become more and 306 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. "O Fever, yielding to our prayer, avoid us." — Atharva-Veda i: 25: 3. more familiar with the Truth as it is in the Lord. Both prejudice and ignorance can not continue, when some of the best of men, non-Christians, are avowed Bible readers. When Hindoo professors in colleges publicly advise their students to read the Bible for the best ethical code extant, and for the purest lit- erature, and simplest style of excellent English; when this is true, as it occasionally is, there are silent in- fluences at work, the extent of which no one can tell. When the vast multitudes come to know, as know they will, what the religion of Jesus has done for others, there are not a few who will see clearly that the same religion will do the same things for them. They dO' not know the story of King Khama, the African leader of his people; how his father drove the missionaries away, and how he would have shot his son when he became a Christian and would not according to the traditions of the tribe take two wives at a time. Then the heathen father was disarmed, and when restored to power, Khama insisted that he should give his subjects complete liberty of con- science. Three times was Khama driven to the wilds, and three times hunted down by friends, and brought back more popular than ever with his father's people. When the old chief died, Khama became king. His first act was to proclaim absolute freedom of con- science to all. Then he set about to end the liquor traffic. That was twenty-five years ago. Now exist schools with their own paid native teachers, churches, and pleasant little homes, and absolute honesty and friendliness all over this little African kingdom. A NEW INDIA. 307 "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." — Psalms 25: 14. party of travelers camping out, is told by the attend- ing police some day, " You need not watch the wag- ons now ; we crossed into Khama's country last night." They do not know the story of the Gospel to the cannibal Fiji Islands, how that the first work of the missionary there was to bury skulls that remained from a recent cannibal feast : how that the people accepted the truth, and after fifty years, out of a pop- ulation of 110,000 there are 104,000 regular attend- ants at public worship in the 1.300 churches: and that in nearly every home they have daily famil}- prayers! Last year these gave $25,000 to carry the Gospel to others ! There are not a few who speak of the progress of Japan, but these do not know that all over the little Japanese Empire, it is common to preface any remark about the modern progress they now enjoy, Avith the expression, " When Commodore Perry sailed up the Bay of Yeddo." They do not know that the Com- modore had the open Bible lying on the capstan of his ship and read the one hundredth psalm as he sailed into the harbor. And they do not know that even now there are 129,000 native Christians in Japan and these stand side by side with others in the highest offices in the government. When they come to know these things, as well as how the Gospel has elevated whole sections of their own country, there must be a greater regard for the power that does the work. Those who in their pride laugh at the up-lift the Gospel gives to the lowly, do not laugh at the progress of the Japanese. 308 INDIA; A PROBLEM. "Thunder and roar: the germ of life deposit." — Rig- Veda 5: 83: 7. Sometimes we hear the expression, " In the days when India was prosperous." It is Hke an old man with a sad heart saying, " When I was a boy," as he re- mains bUnd to all the superior conditions around him. An English gentleman, of the Civil Service in Burma, seeing the progress of Christianity among the Karens day by day, has said : '' Once a village has embraced Christianity, it feels itself as head and shoul- ders above its neighbors, and all the energies of the people are at once employed in making their village worthy of the name. No labor, no expenses are spared. The Christian village must be clean, healthy, neat ; it must have the best school and the best church they can afford. Money aid from the missionaries is not sought; the people do it all themselves — plan, contrive and carry out. Their children must be well dressed and educated, intelHgent and industrious in their calling, better tillers of the soil, better hunters, better foresters than their fathers, because they are now animated by a new spirit, fired with a new zeal, and their wits are sharpened by education. The com- ing of Christianity has honored their national tra- ditions. A new life opens out to them — a new career for which their forefathers had sighed in the ages of hardship and oppression and slavery." Educated Hindoos recognize what is going on, and often speak out on the subject. Khimji Kayani has recently forwarded a memorial to the Gaekwar of Baroda concerning the sale and early marriage of little girls, in which he says : " Corruption is rising to its extreme, and has overstepped the bounds of mo- NEW INDIA. 309 "He that dcsplceth his neighbor cinneth." — Prov. 14: 21. rality. Sins reproduce sins, immorality and degen- eration reign throughout in such communities, no al- ternative left, no redress given, nature must predom- inate. . . . Cases of infanticide are so numerous in such communities, that if careful and stringent en- quiry were to be made, the result would be most hor- rible and terrible." The Indian Social Reformer, commenting on the same said: "If a law against bad marriage customs is conscientiously carried out nearly one-half of the population will have to be provided with jail accom- modation at the expense of the other half." The Hindoo, a Madras paper, speaking of the Chris- tians, has said, " Some of their women are highly educated, and this fact, coupled with the other, name- ly, that they have no caste restrictions, gives them an advantage which is not possessed by the Hindoos." Jacob Chamberlain quotes a Brahmin editor as say- ing : " We entertain no more any hope for that re- ligion which we consider dearer than our life. Hin- duism is now on its deathbed and unfortunately there is no drug which can safely be administered to it for its recovery. There are native Christians nowa- days who have declared a terrible crusade against the entire fabric of Hinduism, and many men of splendid education are also coming forth, even from our own community, who have already expressed a desire to accept Christianity, and should these gentlemen really become first Christians and then its preachers, they will give the last deathblow to :\Iother Hinduism." Another prominent Hindoo has pathetically said, in 3IO INDIA ; A proble:\i. "The existant's kinship in the non-existant." — RigA'cda lo: 129: 4. addressing his countrymen on the subject of Hindoo- ism, " NoAv the ship is old. She is riddled with holes and is in danger of sinking. We are on board. . . I sit down here beside you. We are sinking, but we will sink together." Such extracts might be indefinitely continued. If " Historic laiins of decaying temples." one should judge from the historic ruins of decaying temples he might think Hindooism was on its death- bed, but it is not dead yet. It has been aptly said that " the chiefest duty of a patriotic Hindoo is to sit still." And he generally prefers to live up to his duty thus expressed. The indifference of the masses is everywhere man- ifest. They confess faith in one thing, and continue NEW INDIA. 311 "Charity suffereth long, and is kind." — i Cor. 13: 4. steadfastly in another. A good man will offer a prayer to God, and then declare he does not know if there be a God. Shunker Pandurang presided at a prayer-meeting of the Prarthna Somaj, a Hindoo reform society, and there, with clasped hands and closed eyes, he offered a prayer as the Christians do. Soon after, he declared that all we know of God is that we know nothing ! On the other hand men of conscientious scruples, all over the land are turning to Christ. Not large numbers of Mahomedans have yet come, but there are more Mahomedan converts than is generally believed. Imad-ud-din, who was a descendant of the ancient royal house of Persia, a priest of high standing, and a most bitter enemy to Christianity, when he himself saw that it contained the Truth of God, like Paul, he turned and spent the remainder of his life in build- ing up what he had once fought so fiercely. He said that he had counted over a hundred prominent Ma- homedans who had accepted the Christ, not to mention the common people among them. But while we look at the task among Mahomedans as peculiarly a difficult one, the ]\lahomedans them- selves sometimes take a different view of the effect of Christian work among them. The Xawab of Hai- derabad, IMushin-ul-Mulk says, " To me it seems that as a nation and a religion we are dying out. . . . Unless a miracle of reform occurs we Mahomedans are doomed to extinction, and we shall have deserved our fate. For God's sake let the reform take place before it is too late." The Nawab is of the old school. 312 INDIA; A PROBLEM. "Loose us from sins committed by our fathers." — Rig- Veda 7: 86: 5. On the other hand there are those who look for- ward to the time when the government shall again be in the hands of the Mahomedans. During the last ten years, according to the late census reports, the number of Mahomedans increased from 57,321,000 to 62,458,000. This is an increase of nine per cent, chief- ly by birth perhaps, but somewhat by converts added. It is interesting to note that of the converts from Mahomedanism, there are few who are not enlight- ened men. These come from genuine conviction. Imad-ud-din, who wrote nearly two hundred tracts and books which have become a valuable heritage to the Indian Church describes his own conversion as follows : '' When I had read as far as the seventh chapter of Matthew, doubts fixed themselves upon my mind respecting the truth of Mahomedanism. I be- came so agitated that I spent whole days, and often also whole nights, in reading and considering the books; and I began to speak about them, both with missionaries and Mahomedans. Within a year I had investigated the whole matter, chiefly at nights; and I discovered that the religion of Mahomed is not of God, and that the Mahomedans have been deceived, and are lying in error ; and that salvation is assuredly to be found in the Christian religion." Such men as Imad-ud-din, Jani Ali, Zahur ul Haqq, Safder Ali, and many others of equal intelligence are only the forerunners of a great host. When a Ma- homedan is won to Christ, he is at once a missionary of the Gospel, coming as he does from a rnissionary religion. Christian Borup tells of a time when he NEW INDIA. 313 "The peace of God, which passeth all understanding."— Phil. 4: 7- was preaching near Viramgam, when a Mahomedan asked who was Abba Miah. Not long after the same man Abba Miah came to see him. He says, '' When I got outside, there stood an old but beautiful looking man with gray hairs and a long white beard, just like we see the Mahomedan Boras of the better classes in India. I invited him in, and that was the begin- ning of friendship with one of the most remarkable Christian characters it has ever been my good fortune to meet. He had been converted about thirty-two years before, and at the time of his conversion was an officer in a native state, receiving about 250 rupees a month. He lost that, his parents disowned him and disinherited him. His caste people did all they could to turn him back. They threatened him, and begged him, and plead with him, and made him great prom- ises of higher positions and worldly glory, but when their threatening, pleading, begging, and bribing had no efifect, they assaulted him and tried to kill him. Soon after his conversion he began to preach the Gospel without money and without pay. He would take his little bedding and a few cooking utensils on his back, and walk from town to town, and from vil- lage to village, preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ. He went to all classes, and when they drove him out of one city he went to the next one, never doubting. I believe he has had hundreds of converts. '' I asked him to remain and help me in the work in mv district. He refused saying, ' Bhai Sahib, peo- ple have never been able to throw it in my face that I have become a Christian for the money I could get, 314 INDIA; A PROBLEM. "When ma}^ I calmly look and find him gracious? " — RigA^eda 7: 86: 2. and I cannot give them a chance to say so about me now that I am old.' And for the same reason he would never stay with any missionary. He was a wonderful Bible student, a fearless and remarkable preacher. I have seen and heard him again and again preach Christ the Son of God, to large crowds of Ma- homedans, and they could not withstand the power with which he spoke. He died as he had lived, heart and soul in the work. Honor to such men ! I shall be glad to shake him by the hand again, when we shall join the blood-washed throng around the great white throne." From the common people of the Hindoos the bulk of native Christians is gathered. From among Gu- jerati Dherds, who are weavers, and from among Teluga pariahs, who are also out-castes, many thou- sands have become Christians. But when we speak of per cent, I am informed that the ratio from the Brahmins is higher than from the low castes. This is easily seen, because the low castes are so numerous. Only this year in Madras Audinarayana lyah, a splen- did gentleman, became a Christian, and on doing so made a somewhat remarkable address, from which I shall quote in part. " I am not prepared to make a long speech, but I feel it my duty to say something about the steps that have led me to search the truth according tO' my own light, which consummated in being admitted this morning into the Christian fold along with my wife and children. I belong to one of the most orthodox and oldest Brahmin families in Southern India, and so also does my wife. From 3i6 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. "Drink pure sweet water at goodly drinking places." — Rig- Veda 7: 28: 7. an early age I have been of a religious turn of mind, and from my twelfth year I have taken the deepest aversion to idolatry. " I dearly love my country ; my patriotism is as deep and as enthusiastic as that of any of my countrymen, and this rupture from Hindoo society is not effect- ed without the deep- est struggle and the most anxious thought. ... I do not wish to hurt the feelings of my Hin- doo brethren, but I must give expression to my most honest convictions. A careful study of Hindoo society has left me with one and only one impression, and that is there is something rad- ically wrong in it, and that the want of moral power. . . Christianity has been the greatest factor in the progress of Western na- tions. ... I do not be- lieve in the intrinsic inca- pacity of tropical nations for social progress, but I do believe in the theory that so- " something radically wrong." " I dearly love my country." NEW INDIA. 3" 7 "The just shall live by faith." — Rom. i: 17. cial and political progress depends upon the moral power at work in nations. I take no pride in ex- posing the evils of Hindoo society, but no true patriot can shut his eyes to the existing evils. I would beg of my countrymen to be honest in their convictions, and not be blinded by a false patriotism. . . . " I have been an earnest reader of the Bible for years, and have found that the teachings it contains are of the greatest help to me in my every day life. Whenever I have any troubles I place them all be- fore Christ. In following Christ and accepting Him as Savior, I find that I have been given a new power to withstand temptations. It is not the Christ of history but the Christ of conscience that I have sought and found. ... I have never felt so happy at any period of my life as on this day, when I have had the privilege of openly confessing my faith in Christ; a faith, however, which had been mine for several years past." There is no question about it, but there are thou- sands upon thousands of secret believers, who for fear of social ostracism and for other causes, which to them seem plausible indeed, do not openly confess their faith, but who prayerfully wait for a time when they may avow their belief without having to pay so fearful a price. Scores of bright lights among Indian Christians might be named, each one filling an important place in the work and in the land. Nehemiah Goreh, who said he hoped the time would soon be here when the question would be whether a man was a child of 3i8 INDIA; A PROBLEM. "In tliee, O Food, is set the spirit of great gods."— Rig- Veda i: 187: 6. God or a child of the world, rather than a question of caste; his daughter Ellen Lakshmi Goreh who wrote those beautiful lines: " In the secret of his presence How my soul delights to hide, O how precious are the lessons That I learn at Jesus' side. Earthly cares can never vex me. Neither trials lay me low; For when Satan comes to tempt me, To the secret place I go;" Lai Behari Dey, ^ who was so strong ^ in the controversy with the gifted leader of the Brah- mos, and who to- ward the close of life, being blind re- peatedly said, I shall not be blind in heav- en ; Dhanjibhoi Na- orosji, who refused a hundred thousand rupees offered if he would only turn back to his old reli- gion ; Ram Chandra Bose whose lectures on the Hindoo philosophy, delivered under the aus- pices of the Chicago University were so highly ap- preciated ; Baba Padmanji, who was pastor of a na- Child of God. NEW INDIA. 319 "The carnal mind is enmity against God."— Rom. 8: 7. tive congregation for years, and who has composed nearly a hundred tracts and books in the INIarathi lan- guage ; Kali Chern Banner] i, whose opinions are re- spected both by Government and people, by Chris- tians and non-Christians : Kanwar Sir Harnam Singh, the Prince of Kaparthala, who was one of King Ed- ward's coronation guests, and who is president of the India Sunday School Union ; S. Pulney Andy, ^1. D., who is president of the Indian Chris- tian Association in Madras; S. Sathi- anadan, who holds the chair of Philos- ophy in the Presi- d e n c y College, Madras, and is prominent in all aggressive Chris- tian work in Southern India ; Mrs. Sathianadan, who is author of the beautiful story Kamala; Mrs. So- r a b j i , whose school in Poona is flourishing to-day, and whose five daughters are all making their mark " Who holds the chair." 320 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " Thou ait the healer of the broken bone." — AlharvaA'eda 4: 12: i. " Author of Kamala." ing" that girls may be rescued from their sure fate ; S. V. Kar- makar and Gurubai, his wife, he is a grad- uate of Yale college and she a doctor ; these are some of the thousands of the chil- dren of India, '' of whom the world is not worthy ! " The bulk of the converts do come from as w ork ers )Oon- dcrabai Powar, who was long connected with Pandita Rama- bai, but is now sep- arate and working much on the same line ; Lilivati Singh, who was richly praised by ex-presi- dent Harrison a few years ago ; Shorat Chuckerbutti, who in Allahabad is work- Separate and working. NEW INDIA. 321 "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." — !Matt. 6: 20. the lowest classes in India, but the strength of it lies in the fact that as soon as a man becomes a Christian, he escapes from a dead religion, and his very entrance into the Christian fold signi- fies the beginning of development, which continues as long as he lives. The strength of the work there can- Lilivati Singh." not be counted by the names of leaders nor the number of follow- ers, though these are factors in the work. The strength lies, as has been stated before, in the fact that our re- ligion can take the dregs of Hindoo so- ciety, a n d develop them into godly men S. V. Karmakar 322 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " Desire, the primal seed and germ of Spirit." — RigA^da lo: 129: 4. and women, whom even proud Brahmins do not hesi- tate to praise. The census of 1901 has brought to hght a growth that it surprising to ah. All India Hindoo Mahomedan Christian 287,223,431 207,731,727 57,321,164 2,284,172 294.362,676 207,075,000 62,458,000 2,923,349 The growth of Chris- tianity has been about thirty per cent, while the increase of Mahomedans has been nine per cent, ', and of the whole popu- lation it has been but seven per cent. As to the Hindoos, it is they who have suffered most •^ from the famines, and f . the decrease in their to- tals is astonishing. Of this growth in the whole Christian total, the Mah- ratta, a typical orthodox Hindoo journal, says: " Christianity at any rate exists, and is a powerful entity which we have to count in considering the prob- lem of our national existence. For while on the one hand, Hindooism is making no converts from any other religion, Christianity is making slow but steady prog- ress hi this countrv, and, on the other hand, the native " Gurubai, his wife. NEW INDIA. 323 " At anv rate exists." "Always abounding in the work of the Lord." — i Cor. 15: 58. Christians are show- ing a greater rate of increase in muUiply- ing themselves than either the Hindoos or the Mahomedans in this country. The latest census figures show that the number of native Christians in 1 90 1 is in excess by over half a million as compared with the same number in 1891. The increase has been in all the Provinces of India. When we consider that the total native Christian community in India is al- ready about seven per thousand of the whole Indian population, and thus not quite a negligible quantity, the rate of increase becomes a cause' for anxiety." The Eurasian people being of mixed blood ought to be, and T think will be constantly more and more a factor in the con- version of India. Too often they fail to see their opportu- nity, but they are capable of pro- ducing very strong characters in the work. I think I never heard better preaching than . T^, „ „ that done bv Dennis Osborne in Ihe mother. lucil viv^. ^ 324 INDIA ; A PROBLEIM. " r)cantiful Vayii come, for thee these Somadrops have been prepared: Drink." — Rig- Veda i: 2: i. Poona, previous to his death. And in Bulsar, one of our neighbor famihes is Eurasian, very kind and svmpathetic. The mother was a saintly woman. These 2,923,349 Christians are according to nation- ahty divided as follows : Europeans, 169,739 Eurar.ians, '. 89)25 1 Indians, 2,664,359 And with respect to denomination, they are classi- fied as follows : Roman Catholics, 1,202,339 Syrians, 571)327 Anglicans, 453,612 Baptists, 220,863 Lutherans, 220,000 Methodists, 82,994 Congregationalists, 48,19? Presbyterians 47,704 Others 76,3'^3 Total 2,923,349 There is no longer a question as to whether Chris- tianity is making itself felt in India. Most people agree at the present time, most Christian people and many Hindoos and others, that India will some day be a Christian country. It is not a question whether this will be so, but when will it be? Some intelli- gent Hindoos are exceedingly outspoken on the sub- ject. A letter of a Brahmin, recently published in the Madras Mail, and quoted also in the C. M. S. report is a good specimen : " The Hindoo religion NEW INDIA. 325 "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper." — Prov. 28: 13. and the Hindoo social customs are responsible for the miserable state of the Hindoos. It is impossible for the Hindoos as Hindoos to change the social customs, most of the customs being based upon the Hindoo re- ligion. I have given the subject of social reform my very best thought and attention these twelve years. ]\Iy conviction is that the liberal education of wom- en and the consequent happiness of the home is pos- sible only in the Christian community. It is Chris- tianity that permits the postponement of the marriage of girls. It is Christianity that allows widows to re- marry. It is Christianity that allows fallen women a chance of reclaiming themselves from evil ways. It is Christianity that allows you foreign travel. It is Christianity that teaches the dignity of labor. It is Christianity that gives free scope for women to receive complete educa- tion. It is Christianity that gives you salvation without laborious and multifarious ceremonies. If ever the Hindoos are to rise in the scale of na- tions, it must be by Chris- tianity, and Christianity only. Some of my Hin- doo brethren may say that agnosticism and atheism •• It IS Christianity." Hiay l^-oduCC tllCSC rC- 2,26 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. "May the wind blow upon our cows with healing.'"— RigA'eda lo: 169: i. suits ; but I do not believe in that. Man cannot do without religion. Christi- anity is the most simple of all religions. Blessed shall be the day when all caste Hindoos throw up Hin- dooism and embrace Chris- tianity." Not whether it will ever be a Christian country, but when. If we look at the history of Christianity in its relation to^ some other nations, we may learn a lesson. It was after 300 years that Constantine became the first Christian em- peror of Rome, and from that time the government was said to be that of a Christian country. In Britain the Roman standard ruled from 55 B. C. to 410 A. D. In the year 303 Alban became the first British Chris- tian martyr. How well Christianity was then plant- ed there, must be judged by the fruits of after years. In those earlier years not a few Britons were can- nibals. The work in India has been carried on some- what vigorously by Protestant missionaries for now a hundred years. True, in the former part of the century it was only foundation work. Now shall the work of regenerating India require two hundred years more? Shall it require perhaps one hundred years yet? Shall it be done in fifty years? " It is Christianity." NEW INDIA. 327 A prolilem of time." *' In God we boast all tlie day long and praise thy name forever." — Psalms 44 : 8. Being a problem of time, it de- pends upon Christians for solution. The greater the diligence ap- plied to the work, the less the time required. Who is re- sponsible? How long shall it be? The future is in our hands. John \\''anamaker last year visited India, and when he came back he made several striking speeches on what he saw over there. He says : " As a result of my recent visit to India, I reached some conclusions that I would like to abbreviate sufficiently to form a telegram to every hard-headed business man, the non-professing Christian, who may be a generous-hearted giver for education ; the earnest, praying Christian man and woman, eager to do the most that can be done with money, and to every thoughtful college saident and Sunday-school scholar. '' First. AA'hile the British government, from In- dia's tax funds, assists India's schools, colleges, and hospitals, I found the largest proportion of humani- tarian religious work going on there traceable to the Christian religion. " Second. Of all the Christian missionaries sent out from other lands, that I saw, or by in(|uiry learned anything about, I discovered only one person who had given up Christ for the ancient Hindu or Mahom- •) 328 INDIA ; A proble:m. "Make me immortal in that land." — RigA'eda g: 113: 7. edan religion. These old, much revered native re- ligions are not able to win headway with the believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. " Third. By personal contact with the work and workers, I convinced myself that the work of mis- sionaries, clerg}^men, teachers, doctors, and Christian helpers was healthy, eminently practicable, and well administered. ■' Fourth. In its business administration it is quite as economically done as any business firm could es- tablish and support business extensions permanently and successfully in lands far distant from home, cli- mate and custom requiring different modes of living. No private business man, in my judgment, can admin- ister from the United States properties and finances in India more effectively for less, as a rule, than the Board is administering them at this time. " Fifth. It is an unjust aspersion on the church and its heroic men and women for any person to say that, because the customs of the country oblige mis- sionaries, if they are to maintain the influences with the people, to employ servants and live in houses com- mon to hot climates, such as are used by other pri- vate families, therefore they live in luxury, idleness, or extravagance. While I saw homes of Christian workers in large cities bought, from thirty to fifty years ago, for small sums, now worth much more than they cost, which is to the credit and wisdom of the fathers and brethren of the Missionary Board, I failed to find any extravagant buildings in use by missionaries or others in the service of the Board. NEW INDIA. 329 "My soul thirsteth after thee as a thirsty land."— Psalms 143: 6. I personally saw while there two spacious, one-floored, high-ceiled, large-porched, rough-cast bungalows, sim- ilar to all that are there, with ten acres of ground and fine old trees, in the heart of the city of Allaha- bad, sold for 12,000 rupees — a little less than $4,000. This fact is reliable information on the real estate values ; and as to the servants, they board themselves, coming in the morning and going off in the night for the pay of ten or twelve rupees a month, which on an average is $3.63 a month for house servants. It is impossible to find anywhere in the world simpler and more consistent home living than at the homes and tables of the mission houses. " In all my life I never saw such opportunity for investment of money that any one sets apart to give to the Christ who gave Himself for us. As I looked at the little churches, schools, and hospitals, and in- quired the original cost of buildings and expense of administration, I felt a lump of regret in my heart that I had not been wise enough to make these in- vestments myself — yet there are others left. I appro- priated some that you cannot have, and wished a hundred times I had known twenty-five years ago what I learned a half year ago ; but I can take you to many as good, if you will." Fifty years ago the work in India was scarcely more than a drop in the bucket, but now, while it is yet small compared to the millions of Hindoos, it has en- tered like a wedge into the very center of all the darkness, and will, by the grace of God, continue to increase till light is scattered everywhere. 330 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " He must not step over a rope to which a calf is tied." — Inst, of Vishnu 63 : 4^. We may well look upon India as an important fac- tor in the conversion of Asia. It is the key to the Drop in the bucket." *' Entered like a wedge." situation. With its enlightenment and education, with its stable Government, and freedom of the press, when Its comparative size and population." once India shall be won to Christ, the problem in the East will have been well nigh solved. Its com- NEW INDIA. 331 " Teach me thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path." — Psahns 27 : 11. parative size and population would indicate the same, but the tendency of the people to talk religion, and the natural inclination of many of them to travel for commercial or other purposes, go farther to indicate the fact that it is the strategic point in the missions of the East. On its historic shores will be fought out the peaceful battle, which will decide the religion of millions of people for ages to come, if the Lord tarry. We must work. Now is the time. Bishop \\'ell- don in his memorable speech when he said, *' When- ever the native of India is converted to Christianity, there is made or won a loyal subject to the crown," said also, '' There is no alternative before the coun- try except Christianity or Atheism. It is in Chris- tianity that the East and W>st are most likely to lind their meeting ground. The sym- pathy of Chris- tians for the peo- ple of India, part- ed as they are from them by race, by religion, by col- or, by habit, is an impressive fact which the natives of India are begin - ning to understand as the fruit of the Christian faith." " in Christianity." 332 INDIA ; A PROBLEM " I invoke the earth made by Ahura, the water made by Mazda, the holy trees." — Zend Avesta 19: 114- It is most significant that such a movement as that of Chet Ram in the Punjab is at all possible. Chet Ram when a young man seems to have fallen into the company of a Mahomedan fakir, who was pos- sessed of a copy of the Gospels. The Mahomedan believed in the story, and Chet Ram eagerly heard it of him. Then he started a movement accordingly, which already has its thousands of followers. These people see no necessity for water baptism, they always carry a New Testament somewhere near the heart whether they can read or not, many of them have a cross and a flag over their shop-door, if they are shop- keepers, and daily preach once at some public place. Their creeds they sum up in these words : " Jesus son of Mary ; the Holy Ghost ; Prayer to God ; Read- ing the Bible and the Gospels for the sake of sal- vation; Followers of Chet Ram." It is most significant that in much the same way a man who had never seen a missionary nor yet a native Christian, should also have come into posses- sion of a wandering copy of the Gospels. He read and pondered the story, and to him it became the sweetest thing of his life and experience. He adopt- ed all he could of its teachings, believing they would do him good. When he read of baptism, it was a strange word to him, but he guessed the meaning from the context, and applied it to his life regular- ly. When he went for his morning bath, he would I NEW INDIA. 333 - For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." — Rom. 8: 14- sav, " Now I am baptized into the name of the Fa- ther," and plunge in. Then "And into the name of the Son," and plunge in again. Then " And in- to the name of the Holy Ghost," and plunge into the water again. This he did daily. And when he came to take his meals, he would say as he broke the bread and began to eat, ''I break this bread in remembrance of Him," and when he partook of water at any tim-e to drink, he would say, " I drink this cup in remembrance of Him." It is most significant that in the south part of In- dia, where Brahminism is deepest rooted a certain Brahmin gentleman should regularly read the Bible every day, and call his family together in the morn- ing and m the evening, and twice daily have family prayers before them. How fascinating are these facts. How clearlv they show us what is in the minds ot honest Hindoos. What remorse of conscience such incidents as these must bring to careless and negli- gent, though otherwise good people at home! And shall honest seekers after God go groping forever in the dark? Shall those who have light not share it with those perhaps who think they have it, though having it not? Can a happy man know of the sor- rows of others without lending a helping hand ? Does having much truth tend to make men and women much selfish? Will they thank God that they have so much more than others have, and yet not share 334 INDIA ; A PROBLEM. " He is esteemed highest who thinketh alike about friends, enemies, stran- gers and foreigners." — Uhagavad Gita 6: 9. their great blessings with their less fortunate broth- ers and sisters ? I assume to speak for tens of thousands of God's own dear children, and for them I dare say that ambassadors of the Truth Eternal shall not be want- ing, ambassadors who are gladly willing to go any- where and be anything in order that the children of men may become the children of God throughout the earth, these shall not be wanting while the world stands! And neither shall there be wanting tens of thousands of ever-ready, ever-consecrated dear children of the Heavenly Father, who are awake to all good, who in plenty or in poverty shall continue in the work for others with all the ability He has given them, and who pray for others with fervor and power daily before the throne, — tens of thou- sands of such shall not be wanting while there yet breathes an unregenerate soul in whom the Lord intended His image and nature should be ! Of this there can be no doubt. India will not rejoice alone when her day of re- demption comes. The hearts of the redeemed, of " the whole family in heaven and earth," will beat in joyous unison when the sun of righteousness, whose dawn has already surely come, has risen in the East- ern sky. India herself will be the most happy in the change, and those who like Paul resisted most bitterly the advance of saving truth will be the most I NEW INDIA. 335 "Thy kingdom come." — IMatt. 6: lo, ardent in its advocacy when once their spiritual eyes are also opened. And he who helps to hasten that glad time, who is not only pure and good himself, but who makes it possible for many others to be pure and good, blessed is that man. GLOSS^I^Y. Alia, — Arabic word for God. Baboo, — a term applied to a native of Bengal, a gentleman. Babul, — a common tree of India, with long thorns. Bai, — a sister or cousin. Banyan, — largest tree in India, an evergreen tree. Bengali, — a native of Bengal. Bhai, — a brother or cousin. Btmgalow, — a dwelling house. Christi, — a Christian. Collectorate, — several counties presided over by a Collector. Compound, — a yard or enclosure. Dahl, — a pulse. There are many kinds of dahl. Small grain. Dastoor, — a Parsee priest, called also Mobed. Derzi, — a tailor. Dherd, — a caste of Gujerati outcastes. Dliocn, — one form of idol worship. It is a Gt:jerati word. Eurasian, — mixed blood of Europe and Asia. Guru, — a teacher of religion among Hindoos. Jao, — go, begone. Koran, — the sacred book of the Mahomedans. Kumbar, — a potter. Musselman, — a Mahomedan, follower of Mahomed. Nizam, — the ruler of a large native state in South India. Peepul, — a large tree, sacred to the Hindoos. Purda, — a curtain. Purda women are those, literally, behind a curtain, i. e., kept in seclusion. Rupee, — sixteen annas, the current coin of India, worth about 33 cents. Sadhu, — a religious mendicant. Sahib, — Sir or Mister. Sahibji, — a term of greeting at any time, salaam. Salaam, — a term of greeting all over the East. Suttee, — the ancient custom of widow-burning. Talao, — a tank, or reservoir, commonly for irrigation. Taluka, — nearly equivalent to county. Zenana, — a hovise in which purda women live. Zend-Avesta^ — the sacred book of the Parsees. ^ZPI^EIsTHDI^C: .A.. Cities of o't'cr Pop. Pop. Mission- Sunday 100,000 each. 1891. 1901. aries. Schools. Missions, I. Calcutta, 741,144 844,604 150 38 13 2. Bombay, 821,764 770,843 75 1 1 1 1 3. Madras, 452,518 509,397 76 45 n 4. Hyderabad, 415,039 6 2,7 3 5. Lucknow, 273,028 263,951 16 8 3 6. Benares, 219,467 203,095 14 8 5 7. Delhi, 192,579 208,385 31 10 3 8. Mandalay, 188,815 182,498 7 4 I 9. Cawnpur, 188,712 197,000 10 y6 2 10. Bangalore, 180,366 159,030 24 9 5 II. Rangoon, 180,324 232,326 38 II 3 12. Lahore, 176,854 120,058 22 13 3 13. Allahabad, 175,246 175,748 23 57 3 14. Agra, 168,662 188,300 28 10 3 15. Patna, 165,192 135,172 2 I 16. Poona, 161,390 111,385 80 8 17. Jaipur, 158,905 159,550 3 I 18. Ahmadabad, 148,412 180,673 14 5 5 19. Amritsyr, 136,766 162,548 25 3 I 20. Bareilly, 121,039 117,433 6 80 2 21. Meerut, 119,390 118,642 14 27 2 22. Srinagar, 1 18,960 122,536 12 I I 22. Nagpore, 117,014 124,599 16 2 3 24. Baroda, 116,420 103,782 6 10 I 25. Surat, 109,229 118,364 5 2 1 26. Karachi, 105,199 105,407 8 ? 2 2y. Gvvalior, 104,083 104,083 ? ? ? j^.i=^:PE:tTJDi2C B. ALLIANCE MISSIONS. American Missionary Alliance, Australian, Poona and Village M., Scandinavian Alliance, Men Women Umnrtii-ied Women Totals 23 20 18 61 2/ 5 31 63 6 6 8 20 BAPTIST MISSIONS. American Baptist Missionary Union, Baptist Missionary Society, English, Canadian Baptists, Christian, Disciples, Australian Baptists, Free Baptists, Others, 112 112 61 2S5 74 72 53 199 20 20 17 57 14 14 21 49 9 7 14 30 8 9 7 24 ID 3 I 14 CONGREGATIONAL MISSIONS. London Missionary Society, 75 American Board C. for F. M., 32 54 31 37 21 166 86 CHURCH OF ENGLAND MISSIONS. Church Missionary Society, Society for Propagation of Gospel, Others, 213 142 89 44 35 6 246 601 155 53 PRESBYTERIAN MISSIONS. Church of Scotland, Free Church of Scotland, Irish Presbyterians, American Presbyterians, United P. of North America, Canadian Presbyterians, Others, 26 24 48 98 6s 42 56 163 18 12 17 4 7 52 48 44 144 18 21 25 6d 14 7 17 38 18 8 5 31 METHODIST MISSIONS. American Methodists, Free Methodists, Welsh Calvinistic, Wesleyan Methodists, 97 83 92 272 3 3 3 9 17 13 8 38 109 64 27 200 APPENDIX B. 339 LUTHERAN MISSIONS. American Lutherans, Basle German Mission, German Evangelicals, Danish Lutherans, Swedish Lutherans, Arcot, American Reformed, Zhtmrtrried Men n 'omen Women Total 21 i6 I I 48 88 68 5 161 107 77 9 193 12 8 2 2 2 19 12 10 41 10 I I 5 26 PEACE SOCIETIES. Friends, The, Brethren, The, Mennonites, The M 10 16 40 6 4 I 1 1 4 3 7 MISCELLANEOUS. Adventists, 7 10 8 25 AngloTndian Ev. Society, 12 8 2C Central India Hill Mission, 10 6 5 21 Ceylon and General Mission, 9 4 7 20 Independents, 25 19 2Z 67 Moravians, 10 10 I 21 Salvation Army, 35 13 30 -8 Zenana Bible and Medical Mission, 2 88 90 Others, 20 ID 35 65 Note, — The various woman's boards are all included in the above, as the third column of figures abundantly shows, except the " Church Missionary Society " includes the C. M. Zenana Society. IIsri3E2^ Abba Miah, 3i3. Abu Bekr, 8i. Adam and Eve, 153- Adam's Peak, T2,. Adventist Mission, 280. Age of Consent, 123. Agnew, Eliza, 189. Agra Medical College, 231. .\i>augar Krishnasawmy, 253. Alliance Mission, 279. American Board Missions, 186. American Baptist Mission, 176, 202. Anderson, John, 253. Andy, S. Pulney, 319- Animal Hospitals, TJ , 151- Anklesvar, 268. Arbitration Idea, 158. Arcot Mission, 251, 278. Area of India, 36. Arnold, Sir Edwin, 157. Arya Somaj, 305- Ascetics, 131. Attachment, 155. Audinarayana lyah, 314. Aziz-ud-din, 237. Baba Padmanji, 318. Banurji, S. N., 20. Baptism of 2,2^^, 209. Baptist Missions, 176, 202. Basle German Mission, 254. Bateman, Walter, 241. Bath Customs, 46. Bengal Presidency, 36, i75- Bhattie Customs, 124. Bhavnagiri, Sir M., 20. Bible Societies, 209, 224, 2T/. Birthday Customs, 58- Birth of Buddha, 67. Birth of Mahomed, 80. Black Hole, 171. Bombay, 84. Bowen Church, 224. Brethren, 261. r>uddhist Funeral, ~},. Bulsar, 263. Bungi, Story, 114. Burning of Dead, 160. Butler, W'm., 226. Calcutta, 169, 177- Canals, 26. Carey, William, 171, i77- Caste, 47, 101. Castes, Number of, iii. Census of Calcutta, 174- Census, Religious, 324. Ceylon Mission, 189. Chamberlain, Jacob, 279, 309- Chandavarkar, Justice, 123. Charnock, Job, 169. Chet Ram, zz^- Child Marriage, 120. Chinvat Bridge, 64. Christian Borup, 312. Christian Coll gc, 198, 250. Christian Patriot, i99- Christian Science, 146. Christians or Mahomedans, 300. Christians Tell Lies too, 240. Christianity, Growth of, 2,22. Church of England Missions, 199. 253- Church of Scotland Missions, 245. Cigarette Smoking, 45. City Growth, 39- Civil Service, 12,. Clarkabad, 238. Clough, John E., 202. Cobra Worship. 140. Congregational Missions, 1S6. 342 INDEX. Conservative Parsees, 57. Crawford Market, 229. Daily Wage, 22. Day, Samuel, 202. Demonstration with Teacher, 147. Density of Population, 36, 37. Desire for God, 129. De Tocqueville, 128. Devotees, 131. Dhanjibhoi Naorosji, 318. Dhooning, ]\Iahomedan, 92, 93. Hindoo, 142. Disciples' ^lission, 280. Divorce, 83. Druidism, 297. Duff, Alex., 253. Duff College, 247. East India Company, 177. Ebey, A., 270. Eclipse Theories, 163. Eightfold Path, 69. Ellen Lakshmi Goreh, 318. England's Mistake, 20. Eurasians, 26, 324. Europeans, 26, 324. Famine Children, 190, 288, 302. Famine Work, 206, 264, 284. Farmer, Poor, 33. Fate, 51, 128. Fear in Worship, 140. Ferris Wheel, 138. Festivals, Hindoo, 129. Fiji Islands, 307. Flowers, Love of, 157. Folklore Story, 159. Forney, D. L., 266, 269. Friends' Missions, 261. Fuller, Mrs. M. B., 295. Funerals, Buddhist, -jz- Hindoo, 128, 160, 162. Mahomedan, 95. Parsee, 65. Gabriel, 97. Gautama, 67. Geography of Mahomedans, 91, Hindoos, 163. Goanese, 222,. Golden Son, My, 194. Grand Old Man, 54. Great Renunciation, 68. Gujerati Letter, 158. Hand-mills, 46. Happiness Defined, 148. Hasan Raza Khan, 228. Hindrance to Christianity, 34. Hislop College, 247. History in Tableau, 21. Hospital Work, 193. Hospital, J. J., 223. Idea of God, Hindoo, 154. Mahomedan, 90, 91. Idolatry, 136. Idolatry Waning, 249. Imad-ud-din, 22)7, 3ii> 3^2. Imam Shah, 238. Incarnations, 154. Independent Missions, 281. Industrial Work, 258. Jains, ■/(>. Japanese Progress, 307. Jesuit College, 282. Jewelry, Love of, 116. Joel, 226. Jordan, 230. Judson, Adoniram, 170. Julia, 203, 205. Just as you believe, 155. Justice, English, 19. Kabir, 78. Kali, 43. Kali Chern Bannerji, 319. Kalima, 91. Kanwar Sir Harnam Singh, 319. Kaparthala, Prince of, 319. INDEX. 343 Karaka, D. F., 62. Karen Converts, 184, 308. Karen Traditions, 180. Karmakar, S. V., 320. Khimji Kayani, 308. Khisty, B. Y., 225. Khisty, Mrs., 225. King Khama, 306. Ko Tha Byu, 180. Krishna, 124. Kumbar's story, 107. Lai Behari Dey, 318. Lambert, George, 261. Leper Mission, 278. Life, Sacred, 70, 77. i49- Lilivati Singh, 320. Lime Purchase, 87. Literacy among Native Christians, 195. Lone Star Mission, 202. Lutheran Missions, 234, 279. Lying Hindoo, 156. Madras, 196. Madura Mission, 190. Mahadeo, 44. Mahomedan Converts, 303, 311- Mahomed's Wives, 81. Manoramabai, 214. McCann, S. N., 268. Medical Missions, 193, 276. Mennonites, 261. Merchandise Values, 21, 22. J.Iethodist Missions, 226. Miller, D. L., 224, 264. Mody, M. H., 262. Monkey God, 43- Monks, Rules of, 70, 71. Moravian Missions, 281. Mosque, 89. Mozoomdar, 169. Mushin-ul-Mulk, 311- Nanak Saheb, 78. Naosari, 266. Naorosji, D., 54. 225. ^:ehen^iah Ciprch, 317. Ncrbudda River, 268. Ongole Church, 209. Oracles, how they Work, 144. I'age, Dr. W. B., 262. Pagodas, 75. Pan Chewing, 157. Paraclete, 96. Parsee Migration, 53. Perry, Commodore, 307. Persecution, 240. Plague, 219, 220. Policy of Faith, 236. I'opulation, Density of, 37. Population per sq. mi., 36. Portuguese, 223. Postal Rates, 2^. Post-offices, 21, 24. Prayers, Eight Days of, 142. For the Dead, 65. Of Christians, 90, 140. Of Mahomcdans, 88. Of Parsees, 55. 56, 63. Prayer Wheel, 75. Presbyterian Missions, 245. Problem, The, 299, 2>^7- Progress, 21. Progressive Parsees, 57. Purification Pill, 106. Pyr, 141, 283. Ouinine, 24. Ramabai, Pundita, 211. Ramabai Societies, 215. Ram Chandra Bose, 318. Railroads, 24. Rainfall, 16. Ram Ram, 45. 13'. I54- Ramzan. 94- Rcid Christian College, 231. Renchord, 266. Resslcr, J. .'\.. 262. Revenue, 18. Roads, 16. Roman Catholics, 190, 282. 344 INDEX. Rooster Sacrifice, 153, Rooster Story, 21. Sacred String, 59, 112. Sacrifices, 152. Salvation Army, 281. Sandal Wood, 65. Santhal Converts, 241. Sathianadan, Mrs., 319. Sathianadan, S., 319. Seekers after God, 131. Self-support, 184, 191, 199, 250. Separate from world, 132. Shuyugh Story, 97. Shunker Pandurang, 311. Siddhartha, 6-j. Sikhs, 78. Smallpox Goddess, 140. Sneezing Superstitions, 62. Soldiers, ^2)- Sooboonagam Ammal, 201. Soonderabai Powar, 320. Sorabji, Mrs., 319. Spotless One, 153, 305. Stover, Emmert, 103. Stover Mfg. Co., 114. St. Thomas' Church, 196. Superstitions, 162. Sun Worship, 45. Surat Collectorate, 17, 18, 36. Syrian Christians, 190, 242, 294. Tanks, 41, 42. Taxes, 16, 19, Teacher Wanted, 188. Telegraph, 24. Telugu Converts, 209, 314. Temples, Hindoo, 138. Tenth, the Lord's, 2-j2. Tooth of Buddha, 74. Towers of Silence, 65. Train Story, no. Transmigration, 160, 164, Transubstantiation, 64. Unarmed, India, Z2>- Union on Similarities, 274. United Church, 251. \anki River, 267. Village " five," 158. Village Prayers, 22,^- Wanamaker, John, 200, z^^J- Wedding, Parsee, 60, 61. Welldon, Bishop, 331. Widow Remarriage, 126. Widowhood, a Curse, 127. Widows, 123, 217. Wilder, Robert P., 174. Wilson, John, 246, 253. Wilson College, 247. Worship from fear, 140. Y. M. C. A. 199, 278. Zenana Missions, 275. Zoroaster, 52. ?tQ^ ^•^ \^^ ^ :cP ■'<> x.>^ rl):' Vr" ^y^ H?^^"^ .^x jrt~iSJs^ ^Jf^"^ ^CT5^^ .^-^ p/^ War Department Library Washington, D. C. Losses or injuries must be promptly ad- sted. No books issued during the month of August. Time Limits : Old books, two weeks subject to renewal at the op- tion of the Librarian. New books, one nly. ACME LIBRARY CARD POCKET Made by LIBRARY BUREAU, Boston KEEP YOUR CARD IN THIS POCKET W"^ '^ ^ '^r. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 1 1 i Hiiill • 029 903 704 |