OUR FAITH AND OUR EXPERIENCES. ^ ^ ^cduvc “yj DRLIVEnED OV TTIE OCCASION OF /V THE FORTY-SIXTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ERAJIM3 SOMAJ AT TUE TOW:7 BALL, CALCUTTA, Ofi Saturday, I 2 ud Jtxnuary 1676. Price p.x ^nnas. » V.^ ■ -V OUR FAITH AND OUR EXPERIENCES. I VERILY believe that, when Jesus Christ was about to leave this world, he made over the sacred portfolio of the ministry of his Church to the Holy Spirit, To every true believer this significant surrender of his trust must appear to have been dictated by heavenly wisdom, sagacity, foresight and lovingkindness. It was, indeed, most important and desirable that the Prophet of Nazareth should do so. At that solemn hour when the disciples were about to lose the light of their eyes and the light of their hearts ; when the great luminary that had been shining in the firmament of the religious world was about to set, and darkness and confusion threatened to swallow the world ; when with sorrowful hearts the disciples were casting their last glance ufxjn him whom they had always loved as their father and friend, their joy and hope, — I say, at that solemn hour of separation it was not only necessary but quite natural that a successor should be announced. No true leader can part with his devoted followers without arranging for tlieir future guardiansliip. It would be cruel to do so. And surely Christ, with his loving and com- passionate heart, could not take leave of his weeping disciples without commending them into the anns of a fit successor. Did not their- eyes, as they tearfully looked up to him, indicate deep sorrow and utter helplessness, and did he not read in their throbbing hearts most gloomy anxieties and fears about the future ? Ah ! their dejected looks seemed to ask their departing master , — “ Into whose hands, good shepherd, wilt thou consign the helpless sheep of thy fold ? — Who will hereafter nurse and feed these thy children?” And so Jesus spoke, in response, naming him who was to sit in his place. WTiom did he announce as the future minister of his Church and the futiu-e guide of his disciples ? It was the Holy Spirit, and none other, “even the Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father.” “ Let not your heart be troubled,” said he lovingly to his disciples, “ neither let it be afraid ; I will not leave you comfortless.” Thus saying he described the functions of his great Successor. He was to be their Teacher, their Comforter and \ ,»4 ^ ( 2 ) tlieir Guide for ever. “ I will pray the Father,” said Jesus, “ and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever.” “I have yet many things to say unto you,” he solemnly arlded, “ but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will gnide you into all truth ; and he will show you things to come.” These are important utterances, fraught with deep meaning, which the world has yet to realize. Gentlemen, was Christ’s work over, and his heavenly mission closed, when the last mournful scene on Calvary was enacted ? Was everything really finished when Jesus uttered his last words, “ It is finished ?” No. His life on earth was over, but his work was not completed. The great and glorious work of human redemption, so well begun by liim, was far from being consummated. It needed to be supplemented and perfected. The Church he built was incomplete, and was very far from reaching his ideal. He had taught many truths indeed, but much yet remained to he taught ; nor were the disciples yet prepared to receive any further lessons. A great deal of the new gospel of salvation which he had come to teach was yet veiled, but which could not be revealed, as none seemed fit to receive it. More light the world needed for its redemption, but more light it could not bear now. AVho was to give this new light ? Who was to carry on and complete those sacred teachings wiiich Christ began, for the benefit of his disciples and the world at large ? Alas ! those lips were soon to be closed from which the stream of saving wisdom had so long flowed, but which precluded expectations of further teaching by saying, — “ I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.” Who then was to reveal to an anxious and sinful world these “ many things ?” The Holy Ghost, said Christ. Lot us reverently bow, and say, Amen. The Liring Spirit, coming down from the Father Himself, and speak- ing in His name, was to guide the disciples and the world “ into all truth.” To no earthly teacher, to no written record, arc we referred for a fuller message of salvation. No apostle, however pure, no disciple, however wise, was named by Christ as his successor. In clear and unmistakable language he named the Holy Spirit as the future minister of bis Church. The disciples were commanded to rely henceforth upon this Spiritual Guide for their future ( S ) ^(lucalioii ami sanctification. Not in any outward Cburcli, n»t from- the lips of any human teacher, but in tlio dark chambers of the- heart, and at tlie feet of the Unseen and Infinite Spirit of God* must tliey seek wisdom, love and purity. In the days of tribulation and trial they were to look up to Him as their Comforter and Friend. In moments of doubt and vacillation they were to repair to Him as their Teacher. In tlie season of scarcity and want they were to seek the needful supply of spiritual provisions in His inexhaustible store-hoH«e witlwn. And when men persecuted them, they were to fight under Hiin as their Captain, and bear witness to the truth in His name. They were to adore the Sj)irit, converse with the Spirit, learn of the Spirit, and he baptised by the Spirit with the spirit of truth.^ After enunciating solemnly and publicly this great Doctrine of the Succession, Christ made over his beloved disciples and calmly resigned his ministry into the hands of Him from whom he had received them. In a most solemn and touching prayer the loving Jesus said to his Father, — “ I have finished the work which Thou gavest me to do. Now I am no more in the world. Holy Father !. keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given me. Sanctify them through Thy truth.” And so the Heavenly Father, as soon as Christ departed from the world, took all his devoted disciples under the direct guardianship and inspiration of His Holy Spirit, and His living Providence became unto tliem at once their Guardian, Comforter, Teacher ami Saviour. The most orthodox Christian divine need not he ashamed of so true and elevated a doctrine as this. Let no Christian think it unchristian to believe that the Holy Spirit of God is the true and living head of Christ’s Church, the source of all inspiration now and for ever, and that from him a fuller revelation of saving truth is yet to come than what has been vouchsafed to the world through Christ and recorded by the Evangelists. In Christ’s own words is to be found the best and most unimpeachable authority for such a doctrine. To the Holy Spirit of God then let all Christendom bow. The entire history of Christianity bears testimony to the doctrine of God’s Spirit. Did not the Jewish Prophets proclaim in thrilling ( 4 ) language the ancient Spirit-God of the universe ? Did not Moses receive the Decalogue on Mount Sinai from the Unseen Jehovah ? Did not Daniel converse with the Holy Spirit ? Did not Jeremiah and Isaiah hold communion with Him ? Theirs was no material Divinity. To no visible idol were the prayers of their hearts addressed. To the Spirit they spoke, and the Spirit replied to them. But why go back to Jewish history for evidence on this point? Was the Spirit-God recognised and worshipped, and. was His glory sung by Jewish Prophets alone ? Later on w'e find Saint Paul speaking fre- quently and emphatically of the operations of God’s Spirit in sanctify- ing and converting the human heart. “ As many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God.” In the Epistles of Saint Paul we find abundant and frequent testimonies to the action of the Unseen Spirit on the heart, testimonies which to this day constitute the main-stay of the spirituality of the Christian Church, and sustain the souls of thousands of Christian devotees with spiritual strength and comfort. But Avhy do we go to the apostles and prophets of distant ages and climes in qirest of the Spirit- God ? The banner of the Great Spirit was not hoisted on Jewish or Christian soil alone. India sang the glory of the Eternal Spirit in the remotest period of history. Long has our nation been familiar with the Param Atma, the Supreme Spirit, and the light wherewith thousands of cultivated Brahmins recognise Him and adore Him throughout India is all their own, drawn from their own scriptures and their own sages. If you search the ancient scriptures of the Hindus, you will find there tlie most sublime and beautiful conceptions of the Great Spirit ; you will meet with sparkling texts pointing to Him Unseen. In India more than in any other country, in the Hindu scriptures more than in any other scripture, have the attributes of this Spiritual Divinity been elaborately and minutely depicted. In fact repeated and glowing des- crij)tions of an All-pervading Spirit-God constitute the theology of primitive Hinduism. Do not misunderstand me. I do not stand here as an apologist for the numerous errors and absurdities, the pantheism and polytheism, the rites and ceremonies, which defile the jirimitivc sacred literature of our race. I do not even take them into account ; far be it from me to vindicate them. I am not now ( 5 ) discussing the Hindu’s scheme of salvation. But I speak only of the central and towering truth of ' early Hinduism, the truth of the One Unseen Spirit. And of this none can speak exeept in the language of the most enthusiastic advocacy. It is not the sentiment of blind patriotism, but truth, well attested truth, that constrains me to admire the Hindu’s conception of the Eternal and Bodiless Spirit. Go back to the Vedic period of Indian history, when idol-worship was alto- gether unknown, and you will be struck to find how the ancient Rtsht's communed devoutly and joyfully with the Supreme Spirit in the inner sanctuary. Tliat wonderful book, the Rig Veda, the earUcst record of the Aryan faith, presents rich treasures of Spirit- worship. How sublime are such texts as these ! — “ Who knows the Primitive Person ? Who is there that has seen Him, who is there that has revealed Him 7” “ He is the Father of our parents and is resplen- dent. He is even inherent in the indestructible world within. He is the only fountain of truth.” “ By His own might has the Lord established the mountains and caused the waters to flow downwards. He upholdeth the world, and by His own wisdom doth He keep the heavens above from falling down.” The evidences of spiritual com- munion with Pure Spirit thicken as you come down to the later and more philosophical disquisitions known as the Upanishads. Every- where in these books you meet the All-Holy Spirit ; every page almost reveals Him. One feels weary as he goes through these volumes of the Vedanta, which contain nothing but reiterated descriptions of the Supreme Brahma. How the Upanishads magnify the Supreme Spirit will appear from such striking passages as these: — “ He moves. He moves not ; He is far. He is near too ; He is within these. He also dwells without.” “ Smaller than the smallest is the Supreme Spirit, and greater is He than the greatest. He dwells in the hearts of living beings. He who is free from sorrows, perceives the Lord who transcends the senses, and beholds His glory through His Grace.” “ He hath no hands and yet He holdeth ; He hath no eye and yet He seeth ; He hath no ear and yet He heareth.” “ He whom the Brahmins praise is the eternal Brahma.” These precious truths have we received from our venerable ancestors. Richer far than gold and silver is the doctrine of the Spirit-God they have bequeathed unto us as a heavenly legacy. A God not ( 6 ) of clay or stone, not fashioned by mortal hands, not spnn of de- lusive fancy, but the Real Spirit-God, immanent in the universe and in the inmost soul, that God, recognised all over India as^ Brahma, has been revealed to ns by our forefathers. Ye venerable Rishis and devotees of ancient India ! — at your holy feet modem India lays her humble tribute of gratitude for this priceless legacy ! Gentlemen, was the God of our forefathers a mere meta- physical abstraction, a prolongation as it were into the outward universe of men’s intellectual consciousness ? Was their Deity nothing but thin air or a mere romantic fancy ? I emphatically say, no. It was the reality of God-head that our ancestors sought and wor- shipped. Did they renounce the world, its riches and pleasures and honors in quest of some aerial phantom ? Did they sacrifice their all for a fiction ? Did they leave father, mother, wife and children, and go into solitary retreats but to indulge in a mere idea ? No, that cannot be. If they erred at all, they erred in making too much of the encompassing presence of the Supreme Spirit, a presence they saw and felt, and in which they often merged and lost self. Their consciousness of the real presence of God was so overpowering as to kill self-consciousness, and their communion was in many cases nothing but pantheistic absorption. They never recognised an unreal divinity. Never. They rather magnified the dazzling reality of their God so far as to deny their own reality. In their prayers and addresses to the Deity, in their daily meditations and in their manifold spiritual exercises, we find neither fancy nor frenzy, neither abstract metaphysics nor lifeless theories, but a thrilling and direct intercourse with a burning reality. They did not dream, but they saw. They ima- gined not, but they handled the Great Spirit. To them God was as “ a fruit held in the clutches of the hand “ karatala nyasta amalaka vat.” They also spoke of Him as a shining light, so vivid w.-is their perception of His real presence. The Spirit-God was not only a bright Reality to our forefathers, but He was also a Loving Personal Reality. Not only did they see Him with the eye of faith, bnt they also held Him in their hearts. In the Rig Veda the Lord is spoken of as a friend “ whose friendship is sweet.” He is “ a friend, a father, and the most fatherly of fathers — “ Sakha pita pitritama pitrinam.” Such an expression, quite unusual, as “ the • ( 7 ) most fatherly of fathers,” cannot fail to strike even the most preja- > Biylhology we owe a debt of gratitude. It i* these divinities, how- ever unreal, that have called forth the varied afl’eetions of the Iliudii mind. The worshippers of Kama and Krishna, wliatever their errors, have worshipped their gods with hearts full of devotional feelings. The devoted Vaishnava lives in the midst of an overflow of deep senti- ments. Personal feelings towards a visible and personal divinity, the warmest sentiments of gratitude, the sweetest feelings of love, filial ten- derness and friendly communion abound in the heart of the Hindu idolater. And this exuberance of devotional sentiments our Puraiiic ancestors have taught us. Their errors and prejudices we pity, their idolatry and superstition we shun as darkness, but their intense love, reverence and faith we gratefully honor and imitate. If the ancient Vedic Aryan is gratefully honored lo-day for having taught ns the deep truth of the Nirakar or the Bodiless Spirit, the same . loyal homage is duo to the later Purauic Hindu for having taught us reli- gious feelings, in all their breadth and depth. In the age of Mono- theism and Pantheism, in the days of the Vedas and the Vedanta, India was all communion. In the age of the Puranas India was all emotion. The highest and best feelings of religion have been culti- vated under the guardianship of specihe divinities to whom they were directed, and they have grown with wild luxuriance and in all imaginable varieties. With a deity before the eye to see and adore, every good feeling of which man’s nature is capable has started into life and developed into full bloom. Holy fear, stem justice, warm gratitude, chaiity, patriotism, philanthropy, conjugal love, filial tenderness, fraternal attachment, and the utmost kindness towards animals have grown profusely on Indian soil in the days of idolatry. Through this deluge of feeling the Spirit-God of primitive India has had to pass before reaching our souls. The most absorbing spiritual communion has come to us through a gai-den of fragrant sentiments, redolent of sweetness. Misunderstand me not, gentlemen. I praise the subjective, not the objective, the sentiment of the worshipper, not the object worshipped. False deities I disown and scornfully repudiate. But the wealth of sentiment, the sweet flower of love I dare not despise. The Hindu is unsurpassed in religious passions, and as loyal descendant^ and zealous patriots we must acknowledge and cherish these with profoimd thankfulness. FeUow-Tlieists, ye ( 10 ) bare clone well in accepting the Spirit-God of the ancient Hindu and the tender heart of the later Hindu. Let us rejoice that ProYidence has enabled us to do this. Let us rejoice that we are not roaming through a desert of dreary rationalism or dreamy idealism, with an unseen and shadowy vastness overhanging us, but that we are march- ing to the kingdom of love with a Real and Personal God fixed in the depths of our affections. No one can deny, even the casual observer cannot overlook the fact, that in the modem Theistic Church the feeling-element is most strong. Its excessive prevalence has led many a superficial critic to charge us with mysticism. What does this ac- cusation mean ? Certainly it does not mean that our faith is dry and rationalistic, and that we worship a shadow with heartless metaphy- sics. Mysticism means not the absence, but the excess of devotional fervor. It is something that the accusers of modern Theism in India cannot charge it with upholding and preaching the worship of a dry divinity. They rather accuse it of too much sentiment and too much love towards the Unseen Spirit. If Indian Theists err, they err on the side of exuberance, not absence of feeling. It is the luxury, not the scarcity of emotion that renders them liable to cen- sure. Well then, let it be proclaimed that in the natural course of progress in this country, a small band of Spirit-worshippers have spning up, who can love the Invisible and Unknowable One with all the passionate love of an idolater. It will not do to say that these Theists simply love God. No, they can love the Unseen and Intan- gible Spirit as warmly, as tenderly, as the idolater loves the tangible idol and the visible incarnation. Into the heart of the Indian Theists the Holy Spirit has come as a chai’ming Personality, and His advent is being celebrated by hundreds of men and women in this land with all the poetry of enthusiastic love. Charming did I say ? Yes, most charming is the Spirit of God. Were it not so, I would not say so to you. Let those that have eyes see that here in India, in the national Theistic Church, though there is no visible divinity, no graceful form to please the eye and gladden the imagination, no heavenly voice speaking behind the clouds, the pure Spirit of God fascinates the hearts of worshippers by His unspeakable spiritual beauty. Hundreds around you revdl in joy — a blessed sight — for having found a God who is unto them a good God, a very good Goil, ( n ) all excellent Gotl, sweeter than sweetness. Is the Spirit-God really fascinating to the eye and dear to the heart ? Modern Indian Theisiu joyfully replies — Yes. Simple and short is the creed of the Theistic Church in India. Its entire faith may be evolved ont of this natural consciousness of the Living Spirit-God. Let us now proceed to analyze the Theist’s creed. There are only three essential doctrines in Theism, the doctrine of God, the doctrine of immortality and the doctrine of conscience. These tlirec constitute the Theist’s creed. And yet they are not three doctrines, bnt one doctrine. They are the constituent elements of one idea, and must be accepted or rejected together. Whoever believes in the Infinite and Living Spirit-God must perforce accept, as a necessary part of that doctrine, the immortality and accounta- bility of the human soul. The genesis of tlie doctrine of the next world is deeply interesting. Tlieological students are in the habit of dissociating this doctrine from that of tlie God-head. There are some who altogether deny the next world while believing thoroughly in the existence of a Creator. This seems to me quite as illogical and absurd as to take one half and disown the other half of the same truth. 1 question the wisdom of searching for separate proofs of the existence of the future world. What better proof can there be of our immortality than the fact of God’s existence ? He who believes in the Living God has alreatly tacitly believed in the next world. Jn fact the two doctrines are inseparably linked together in the depths of our being. The idea of immortality lies potentially in the idea of the God-head, and requires only to be evolved out of it. The Infinite Father above and the eternal home before, meet in one focus in the eye of faith, and may be said to be apprehended together in the in- tuitive consciousness. In natural religion, in Pure Theism, there can be no divinity without a future world, no immortality without a divi- nity. The intuitive eye raised above beholds God ; directed forward it sees its futime home in the next world. A father without a home, a home without a father, — ^that is an ancunaly against which nature rebels. A more philosophical analysis of Theistic faith gives us as the last fact a deep sense of dependence, in which both these doctrines have their root. The soul in the earliest dawn of faith feels that it depends, for life and for everything else, upon the living God. “ In ( ) Him we live and move and have our being” is tbe primitive creed of tlie infant soul. And in this you see akeady the root idea of im- mortality. The soul feels that its life is in God, and shall continue to be in God. I live in the Infinite Vital Power, — here you have the doctrine of God. I will continue to live in that Power, — here you have the doctrine of immortality. If we have then no life apart from God, we cannot but regard Him and our future existence as one integral fact. How can you separate the one from the other ? Nay, by rejecting the doctrine of immortality, you virtually surrender all the important attributes of Divinity, and thus reject the true God. If there were no hcr&after to supplement and perfect our life here, God’s wisdom, power, mercy and justice would all be gravely impugned, and we would in fact have an imperfect and finite deity to adore and honor. Believe that the dissolution of the body is the last chapter in the history of man’s life, and you banish the Great God from your theology. Thus both by positive and nega- tive evidence all true believers are shut up to the alternative of accepting at one and the same time, and as parts of one indi- visible truth, the doctrines of Divinity and immortality. As the Lord enters the heart of the devout believer. He brings with him the future heaven, the house of “ many mansions,” where the moral world is completed, and where blessedness and glory everlast- ing await His children. If then you acknowledge Him, you must believe in that heaven, and strive to live righteously here, that you may worthily enter your place hereafter. Yes, you must live well and righteously. The doctrine of duty is inseparably connected with the two doctrines already mentioned, and these three form one integral trath.' In the consciousness of the true believer God, Im- mortality and Duty form an indivisible unity of faith. The idea of the moral economy of the universe may be said to bo made up of these throe primary ideas. The moral law, the moral Governor and a life of moral discipline and recompense are simultaneously realized, — three in one, trinity in unity, — in human conscience, and none of these can be eliminated. How can he who solemnly realizes God and eternity trifle with the sacred obligations of duty ? Daily and hourly must he feel his stupendous responsibilities to the Great Moral Governor. Faith and righteousness go together. Prayer without ( 13 ) purity is a solcniu mockery ; devotion without duty is only the hypo- crite’s trade. Unreal is that man’s faith who, professing to be godly and devout, transgresses the dictates of conscience in practical life, and under carnal impulses violates the laws of truth, justice and charity. There can be no true belief in God unless it is accompanied by the assiduous and rigid performance of the varied duties of life. Theism recognises no faith, how devout and prayerful it may be, which is not connected with righteous Ufe. Gentlemen, you see how simple is the Theist’s creed. Worship the Spirit-God, believe in im- mortality and live righteously, — this is all that the theology of our Church teaches. Do you require a longer creed ? Would you have a more elaborate theology ? Do you seek salvation in multiplied articles of faith ? Do you believe that you must go through endless folios of academic divinity and traverse the vast field of histori- cal theology before you reach heaven ? Assuredly they who seek scholarship must read a great many books. But he who seeks salvation will find it in this simple creed. Saving faith lies in a nutshell. Experience teaches us that, if men have deep and firm faith in the living God they have all that is essential to salvation. If you can realize the Great Spirit as an encompassing Reality, who is with you always, in your uprising and down-sitting, residing with you at home, and moving with you abroad, conversing with you aud quickening your very life and activity ; if you can feel the encircling and vivifying presence of such a God, you will need no supplementary aid of dogmas and doctrines to carry you safely through life’s dangers and temptations. The entire economy of religious life with its round of diverse duties, its details of doctrine and discipline, its rules of devotion, and the history of Divine dispensations, is certainly very large; but the seed is extremely small out of which it grows. As the mighty tree lies potentially in a small seed, so volumes of theology and ethics lie hidden in a mustard seed of faith in the living God. Plant this seed in the heart, and under proper culture, it will grow into a huge tree, under whose wide- spread and shady branches ye shall gather aud taste the fruits of immortality now and for ever. Verily there is no creed, no doctrine but God. He is all in all. To the believer He is ( 14 ) eyprytliing, scripture, doctrine, church and salvation. Why do we call the Lord our Saviour ? Is he not onr salvation too ? What is salvation but to believe and live in God Almighty ? In the high- est theology of the true believer God and heaven are convertible terms. It is true, he seeks wisdom for his mind, love for his heart, and purity for his soul, but all these he finds in Gcxl, If we read God we have our scripture ; if we live in Him we have joy and holi- ness and salvation. Who cares about a distant heaven apart from God ? Fancy may paint it with rainbow colors, and adorn it with all conceivable beauty and sweetness, and thus make it altogether a blissful and romantic abode high above the clouds. To the stem eye of faith this bright picture of elysium is visionary, a pleasant dream, a splendid fiction, nothing more. The wishes, fancies, and aspirations of all who live in the flesh, however religious they may be, will always fondly look forward to aland of joy, where all the pleasant objects and relationships of this life have been transferred. But the decrees of Heaven are not as men’s wishes. Nor do the spiritually-minded covet a dream-land agreeable to the senses. They do not, as others do, pray to God for heaven hereafter ; they pray to God for life in God, and deem any other heaven an impiety and a sacrilege. To live day and night in the Lord, with thoughts, feelings and deeds all centered in Him alone, that is what they seek as their heaven. Blessed are they whose souls always, and in all circumstances, dwell lovingly in the Lord, for they dwell in heaven. Indeed, there is heaven here as well as on the other side of the grave. Even in the midst of the pressing activities of business there is heaven. Even in earthly places shines the light of heaven. Are you engaged in the ordinary,duties of domestic life surrounded by your family and children ? Are you serving as a clerk in a mercantile office or as an apprentice in some manufactory ? Are you inditing in the cabinet chamber elaborate minutes on complicated economic questions upon which hangs the fate of an entire nation ? Tliere, even there you may occasionally feel around you an encompassing heaven if the heart is with God. Wherever you may be, if the soul dwells in the All-Soul, you are in heaven ! Say not of heaven, it is lo ! here, lo ! there, for it is within. If you keep near your God you cannot be far from’ heaven, for your God is your heaven. You need not repair to heaven. ( 15 ) tlipro to meet the Heavenly Father, for wherever the Heavenly Father is, there surely is heaven. And where is He not ? Above, below, here, there and everywhere is He. I turn to the right. Ho is here ; I turn to the left, lo I He is there. How real, how sweet His presence ! How thrilling, how solemn and holy ! I tell you, bre- thren. ill all seriousness, the Spirit of your Father encircles you as n holy and sweet presence. To be conscious of this is heaven. Cul- tivate in the depths of the heart this consciousness of a holy and loving Father and Friend encircling you by His arms, and you will feel as if yon are in the Holy of Holies, and you will have nothing left to desire here or hereafter. It cannot be that you, who trust in the Great God and hold communion with Him, have never seen heaven. The tnith is, we have seen it now and then, but have forgotten it, and dismissed it from our thoughts and aspirations. Men often realize heaven during prayer and communion, but they lose it as soon as they enter upon worldly avocations. If we could, by proper culture, always keep alive the consciousness of the in-dwelling spirit of God, and cherish it in all places and amid the varied duties of life, we would assuredly live altogether in heaven. Strive then, my friends, to realize this spiritual heaven as a present reality, by living entirely in the Spirit-God, and banish all illusory dreams of a distant paradise above the clouds. Believe that God is heaven, and seek heaven in God. Remember that he is a true believer who seeks no other * heaven but God. How beautifully is the Hindu idea of a true de» votee set forth in the Bhagavata ! There the Lord describes His own devoted disciple in language such as this: — “My devotee is satisfied with me, and he feels on all sides heavenly sweetness, his heart has been surrendered to me, and he desires nothing besides me. Even salvation he desires not, and even the heavens above he despises.” Such is the character of one whose heart is in the Lord, and who loves Him with such singleness of aim as to disdain not only all the king- doms of the earth but even the kingdom of heaven above. He rejoices in God always, his Saviour and his Salvation too. Now my friends, I have held up before you the ideal of our simple faith, a faith not novel or original. It is the oldest of all creeds, and the simplest of all creeds. We believe in the One Spirit-God, in life eternal and in duty, three doctrines which again are summed up in < 16 ) one fun weaknesses and shortcomings, our wickednesses and iniquities be con-, fessed and proclaimed, and let the world see us as we are, and when we are weighed in the balance and found wanting let us be condemned as we ought to be. If we have proved untrue to our God, our faith and om- consoience, let generation after generation continue to con- demn and rebuke us with deseiwed severity. Ah 1 we all of us need stern reproof that we may be corrected and chastened. Would you believe that there is not throughout the length and breadth of the Brahmo Somaj a single man or woman who has yet been saved ? We have yet lo be saved. We are marching towards salvation, bnt are very far from it. The Kingdom of Heaven is before, not behind. There is not one among us who can say, I have been saved. We aro all in the bondage of iniquity, every one of us. There is none fully ( 19 ) ;rodecmeil, uo, none at all. We arc being sanctified by Divine grace, it is trnc, and every year finds us marching slowly towards our heaven- ly home ; yet are wc terribly unclean, and are far, very far from that home, ( Let us turn to our missionary experiences. How far have we suc- ceeded in spreading trutli among our countrymen ? Small indeed is the measure of our success in this direction. For if the honest truth must be told, believe me, the masses of India yet remain outside our movement. Wo liave not touched them. We have made little or no impression upon them of our holy faitlu But a ray of hope comes from another quarter. Among the womanhood of India the influence of our Church is beginning to be felt in a marked manner. Behold the sister is following in the wake of the brother, and the wife is treading in the footsteps of the husband. The number of Theistic women in this country is, however, extremely small.^ In all India you will not find more than a haudful of women who have boldly cast away idolatry, aud who daily worship the Spirit-God with faith and love. Yet in this sinjiU band of female Theists every patriot must recognise a significant fact, and a power not to be despised. If woman’s tender heart has been influenced and won by Theism, no one can object to it on the score of metaphysical dryness, and all must admit its chaiming simplicity and sweetness. Yes, the soft heart of the Hindu woman has been acted upon in a remarkable manner by the Spirit of God. You see her sitting side by side with her husband, .and offering pure Theistic prayers to the invisible God, and singing the sweet hymns of our Church with a loving and joyful heart. It is a marvel that our faith, so eminently spiritual and philosophical, and devoid of all tangible sym- bols, has commended itself to the unsophisticated and untutored hearts of Indiau women, simply because of the simple and sweet gospel of Divine love it embodies. Let us praise God for this, and let us trust that the handful of our sisters whom the Lord has brought into our Church, will be the means of organizing happy Theistic homes in India. You will perhaps ask me now what success we have achieved among the educated classes. What is the number of men in the higher and (more cultivated ranks of society who have joined the Theistic Church ? I know not. The number may be small or large according to the standard of faith and character we may apply. But of this I can as- { I ( 20 ) i sure you that among the educated and enlightened Natives of India, barring tliose on the one hand who have formally embraced Christia- nity in some form, and those on the other hand who have either through doubt or worldliness sold themselves to unbelief, ma- terialism or positivism, all the others, and their numbe* is legion, who have any interest in religion, and are alive to the deeper interests of their souls, all such men, I say, are with us. I admit they are not all professed Brahmos. Many among them even hate the Brahmo name. Nay they denounce many of our doc- trines and movements, and look upon many of our teachings and practices as altogether false. With intense bitterness they treat us as their enemies, and seldom lose an opportunity of obstructing our work in various ways. Yet are they with us, fellow-members of the "National Theistic Church. They may not subscribe to all the tenets of our theology, but its fundamental principles, — Divine unity, man’s immortality and accountability, they fully accept ; idolatry and superstition they detest and abjure. Hence, if not in name, in spirit they are all Brahmos or Theists. That they object to the “ Brahmo” name is perfectly immaterial, so long as they think, believe and act as Theists. Verily there is no fascination in that name. I myself would at this very moment disclaim it, if necessary. It is enough that these thousands and tens of thousands of educated Indians, here and in other parts of India, acknowledge and worship the One Spirit-God whom we glorify. They are our brothers and sisters in faith ; they are co-workers with us in God’s vineyard. They are all engaged, more or less, in up-building the True Church in India. They are all doing our work, — yes, every one of them. Those among them who deny us, revile us, persecute us, know not alas ! what they are doing. They unconsciously, others consciously, are being led by the hand of Providence towards the True Theistic Church of the future. Under different names and different colors, they are all marching in the same direction, under the guidance of the same Divine Captain. What- ever our differences and peculiarities, we are all moving onward like a great army under the banner of Theism. We are all moving onward, did I say ? Those who are not fully with us may be said to be gradually advancing towards our Church. But are we, who have established ourselves «pou a definite faith, and are members of an ( 21 ) organized Church, are we too 'moving on ? Tlicn you will perhaps say, our faith is uncertain, we have not yet found the truth, our light is in the future, and we are only groping in the dark, moving on, if liaply we may find tlio truth. Ah ! my friends, stagnation is not redemption ; there is no glory in standing still, but in marching on. If you ask me whether we have succeeded after forty years in crys- tallizing our doctrines, opinions and beliefs into a fixed creed, I say, no. Nor do we mean to do so. To be shut up amid hard barriers of dogmas is not the heaven we seek. To work steadily on in free air and open light is our heaven. Who would stumble midway in his Godward course with the huge mill-stone of lifeless dogmas hanging round his neck ? Now I tell you plainly we do not mean to stand where we are. Have we then not yet found the truth ? We have, but we need more. Have we not seen the light ? Yes we have, but how it shines unto the perfect day, we have yet to see. Dewdrops of heavenly joy and peace have we gathered and tasted, but the vast ocean of Divine joy still surges before us. Therefore we mean to go further and further, under the guidance of God, in the path of ever- increasing wisdom, love, purity and joy, never satisfied with what is achieved, but always panting and struggling for fresh acquisitions. Uur scripture is not closed, but fresh chapters are still being written, and added year after year. What the Lord will reveal to us ten years hence who knows save He ? We thank Him for the revelation He has already vouchsafed nnto us, but more He will yet reveal. So has He told us. Towards fuller light we shall, therefore, prayerfully and reverently press forward. March on, my friends, and do not stand still. Even if your prospects be gloomy and frightening do not ignominiously run away. Let every believer face the cannon’s mouth like a true and brave soldier, and die the martyr’s death, rather than surrender the banner of truth to the enemy. Hindu brethren, Chris- tian friends, pray fervently and unceasingly for our welfare. Pray that the Lord may direct our steps. If you think we are in errorj commend us to Him who removeth all error. If you think we ought to move in better paths, ask the True Guide to direct us. We will not submit to your guidance ; your shibboleths you need not impose upon us. Yet give us the benefit of your friendly and earnest prayers, and leave the issues in the hands of the Merciful Father, who will lead us ( 22 )) ia His own way to truth and heaven. Let the devout and good of all nations bless us with their sympathy and prayer. Is not the path of the religious reformer in this country full of thorns, and will not dire difficulties beset his work for many years to come ? Those who en- gage themselves in such a work must be prepared for the worst, and pay dearly for every inch of ground they win. Amidst the gloom and terror of snch trying work, it is indeed natural tliat the workers, a small and feeble band, should seek the sympathy of friends. But if such sympathy be not forthcoming, let the Lord’s will be done. Let truth triumph in the midst of agony, bloodshed and death. Rast assured that the persecuted shall be Justified at last, and God’s devoted 'Servants and faithful ambassadors, though reviled and hated by men, shall receive the crown of glory in heaven, Fellow-Tlieists, whether men smile or look fro wningly upon you, whether they praise or persecute you, you must honor all,friend§ and foes alike, and go on humbly discharging your duty to your country and to your God, and learning truth even from those who are hostile to you. Let us remember that our Church is small, and yet in its infancy. Let us look upon our Hindu and Christian brethi’eii as our elders, and humbly sit at their feet to learn those things in which they excel us. Brethren, check all desire of vain glory. Cast away proud antagon- ism and sectarian malice. In a candid and lowly spirit confess your faults and shortcomings, and freely give credit to other Churches for all the solid truths and excellent virtues which adorn them. And to you, gentlemen, who for one reason or another, are antagonistic to us, I would say one word before I resume my seat. Perhaps you remember the advice which Gamaliel, that great counsellor among the Jews, gave as to how the apostles were to bo dealt with. “ Then stood there up one in the counsel, a Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law, and said unto them. Ye men of Israel, take heed to yourselves, what ye intend to do as touching these men. . . . And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work bo of men, it will come to naught: but if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God.” Christians, Hindus, Mahomedans, and men of other religious denominations, however hostile ye may be to these men, the Bralmios, ye should refrain from them, and let them ( 23 ) alone. Yc may rest assured that if their teachings and their work bo of men, they shall surely perish, and the Lord Himself shall confound His enemies. But if the work they are doing bo the Lord’s work, it is utterly beyond your power to discomfit them, however formidable yo may bo. Yo shall not stand against the Almighty. Do not fight against these people, for by so doing ye may be fighting against God Himself. Therefore I say, “ refrain from these people.” That the country has been convulsed by some mysterious spiritual force you dare not deny. What is it that like a mighty wind drives these men, some here, some there, in the various cities of India, in a state of spiritual excitement towards a better place which the eye hath not yet seen ? Why this onward nish of small groups of pilgrim soldiers in different parts of the country ? Whence all this enthusiastic devotion among people who havo no outward revelation, no articles of faith, no visible Church authority to bind or sustain them ? Verily, verily this mighty wind is the breath of God Almighty. Do you despise and ridicule our Church because it is a small thing, and therefore cannot be from God ? Remember that with God Almighty nothing is impossible, and that out of little things hath He always achieved wonders among the nations of the earth. There is no power surely in numbers, but in the spirit of God. If half a dozen young men were imbued with the Holy Spirit, what would they not achieve ? What wonders would happen in these days if the Lord were to say, as He did of old, “ on my servants and on my hand-maidens I will pour out in these days of my Spirit ? ” Re- member the day of Pentecost, when “ suddenly there came a soimd from Heaven as of a rusliing mighty mnd, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.” With such a general outpouring of the Holy Ghost, with such an outburst of apostolical enthnsiam, like “ a rushing mighty wind,” a handful of God’s devoted servants will certainly work wonders in India. Will not our Heavenly Father vouchsafe unto our country a pentecostal shower of His saving grace ? Lord, Bless Thy work here, and strengthen Thy servants, that tmth may triumph in this land. Teach us to love each other in spite of differences of opinion. Gather all races and tribes, Kind God, in Thy fold, wherever it may be. And now my brethren, I commend you to my God and your God. May He bless you all for ever ! Printed by M. M. Eukhit.