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B 1^ ^^J B^i!^

AND HER

PEOPLE

2

SWAMI AIUIKnAXANUA

India

AND

Her People

BY

SWAMI ABHEI>ANANDA

Antbor of "Self- Knowledge." "How to be a Yogi," "Spiritual Unfold* nent," "Divine Heritage of Man," "Philosophy of Work"

etc.

THIRD EDITION

PUBLISHED BY

THE VEDANTA SOCIETY

NEW YORK

■,L>L\/\

rtb 7

COPYRIGHT, 1906, BY SWAMI ABHkDANANDA SNTBRBD AT STATIONERS* HALL. ALL RIGHTS RKSSRVKO.

'JDS

CAMKLOT PkBSS, lS-30 OAK STRKBT, NKW YORK

TO THE

PEOPLE OF INDIA

WITH DEEP FELLOW-FEELING

AND

EARNEST PRAYERS FOR THE RESTORATION

OF THEIR ANCIENT GLORY

AND

NATIONAL FREEDOM

INTRODUCTION.

I AM very glad to learn that the course of lectures, recently delivered before the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences by Swami Abhe- dananda, is to be published. These lectures constitute an exceedingly valuable description of the social, political, educational, and religious conditions of India. They contain precisely what the American wants to know about India. Dehvered, as they were, by a native of India, they are not colored by foreign prejudices. I am impressed, by what I heard of the lectures, with the fact that in the hurry and bustle o1 our Western civihzation we have a great deal to leam from the East.

Franklin W. Hooper,

Director of the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences.

Brooklyn, N. Y., April 26, 1906.

3

/

PREFACE.

The first six lectures contained in this volume were delivered before the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. As my limited time did not permit me to describe at length the status of Hindu women, I have added a separate lecture on "Woman's Place in Hindu ReUgion" to complete the subject.

My main object has been to give an impartial account of the facts from the standpoint of an unbiased historian, and to remove all misunder- standings which prevail among the Americans concerning India and her people. I have cited Hindu, American, and European authorities to support my statements, and I beg to acknowledge my indebtedness to those writers from whom I have quoted, especially to Mr. R. C. Dutt, C.I.E.,

for numerous valuable facts and statistics col-

5

PREFACE.

lected by him through years of tireless research in England, and embodied in his historical works, *' Civihzation in Ancient India," "Economic History of India," and " India in the Victorian Age."

The Author.

Nkw York, May 15, 1906.

6

CONTENTS.

' PAGB

I. The Prevailing Philosophy of To-day 9

II. The Religion of India To-day 48

III. The Social Status of the Indian People: their

System of Caste 87

IV. Political Institutions of India 116

V. Education in India 170

VI. The Influence of India on Western Ci\'ilization,

and the Influence of Western Civilization on

India 216

VII. Woman's Place in Hindu Religion 251

7

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

I.

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

Centuries before the Christian era, nay, long before the advent of the prophet and founder of Judaism, when the forefathers of the Anglo- Saxon races were living in caves and forests, tattooing their bodies, eating raw animal flesh, wearing animal skins, — in that remote antiquity, the dawn of true civilization broke upon the iiorizon of India, or Bhdrata Varsha, as it is called in Sanskrit.

The ancient Vedic sages had already perfected

their lofty system of moral philosophy, and their

followers were well-established in the practice

of tlie ethical and spiritual teachings of the

9

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

Vedas even before Moses* had reformed the lawless and nomadic tribes of Israel by giving them the ten commandments in the name of Jahveh. And while thinkers among the Semitic tribes were still trying to explain the origin of the human race and of the universe through the mythological stories of creation collected from the Chaldeans, Phoenicians, Babylonians, and Persians, the Aryan philosophers of India had already discovered the evolution of the universe out of one eternal Energy, and of man from the lower animals.

Many people have an idea that India is in- habited by idolatrous heathens, who have neither philosophy, ethics, science, nor religion, and that whatever they possess they have acquired from the Christian missionaries; but, since the Parliament of Religions at the World's Fair in

* According to the best authorities of the present day, Moses hved about the fourteenth century B.C. Dr. Kucncn says: "The exodus is accordingly placed by one in B.C. 1321, by another in b.c. 1320, and by a third in 1314 B.C. Of course, perfect accuracy on this point is unattainable. With this reservation I accept the year 1320 b.c. as the most probable." — Religion of Israel, Vol. I, p. I a I. .

10

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

Chicago in 1893, the educated men and women of this country have cast aside all such erroneous notions. They have learned, on the contrary, that India has always been the fountain-head of everjT^ system of philosophy, and the home of all the religious thought of the world. The majority of Oriental scholars, like Professor Max Muller and Professor Paul Deussen, as also advanced students in America, have now come to realize that from ancient times India has produced a nation of philosophers, and that all the phases of philosophic thought, whether ancient or modern, can still be found there to-day. Victor Cousin, the eminent French phi- losopher, whose knowledge of the history of European philosophy was unrivalled, writes: " When we read the poetical and philosophical monuments of the East, — above all, those of India, which are beginning to spread in Europe, — we discover there many a truth, and truths so profound, and which make such a contrast with the meanness of the results at which the Euro- pean genius has sometimes stopped, that we

are constrained to bend the knee before the

11

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

philosophy of the East, and to see in this cradle of the human race the native land of the highest philosophy." * And elsewhere he declares that " India contains the whole history of philosophy in a nutshell."

You will find no other country in the world where, from prehistoric times down to the present day, philosophy and religion have played so important a part in forming the character of the nation as they have done in India. India is the only country where, at least two thousand years before the Christian era, public assemblies, philosophic conventions, and religious congresses were held under the auspices of the reigning monarchs; and in these active part was taken, not only by priests, philosophers, and scientists, but by kings, military commanders, soldiers, merchants, peasants, and educated women of the higher classes. As early as the Vedic period, which dates from 5000 to 2000 B.C., the ancient Seers of Truth asked the most vital questions, and discussed problems that have troubled the

* Works. Vol. I, p. 33. 12

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

minds of the great philosophers of all ages. In those questions we can discern the develop- ment of their intellectual powers, and their insight into the true nature of things. They inquired: " When death swallows the whole world, who is the deity which shall swallow death? What part of man exists after death? What becomes of the vital forces when a man dies? What is the nature of the soul? Where is the foundation and support of this universe? What is the essence of being? What is there that governs all things and yet is separate from everything?" In trying to answer these and other problems of similar nature, the ancient thinkers discovered the laws of thought and traced the causes of phenomena, applying the rules of logic and reason at every step.

This was the beginning of philosophy in India. The minds of those truth-seekers were abso- lutely free from all limitations of doctrines, dogmas, and creeds. They never asked what their belief was, or whether they had faith in a personal God; but the burning questions for

them were, how to acquire true knowledge of the

13

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

universe, of its origin and cause, how to know the real nature of their souls, and how to solve the problems of life and death. At that time philosophic and religious thought began to fer- ment as actively and universally in the atmos- phere of India as we find to-day in Western countries. Some of the answers given to these questions by the unbiassed thinkers of those days are truly astounding; it seems as though the ancient Seers of Truth had anticipated the conclusions of Plato, Spinoza, Berkeley, Hume, Hegel, Schopenhauer, Herbert Spencer, Haeckel, even centuries before their existence.

During the pre-Buddhistic period, or before the sixth century B.C., India gave rise to a great variety of philosophical systems, some of which were atheistic, agnostic, nihilistic, mate- rialistic, while others were pluralistic, dualistic, or monotheistic, qualified non-dualistic, idealis- tic, spiritualistic, monistic systems of thought, such as are common in Europe and America at the present time. In fact, the natural ten- dency of the Hindu mind from the very beginning

was to search after the unchangeable Reality

u

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

of the universe, to trace the source of all phe- nomena, to understand the purpose of earthly- existence, and, above all, to know what relation the individual soul bears to the Universal Being. Animated by an intense longing and guided by unswerving love tor Truth, the ancient thinkers discovered many of the natural laws, and ration- ally explained them, without fearing contradic- tion or persecution; for freedom of thought has always prevailed among all classes of people in India.

These sages understood the process of cosmic evolution from a homogeneous mass into the variety of phenomena, and rejected the theory of special creation out of nothing. In one of the Upanishads we read that a sage, after ex- plaining the mystery of Creation to his son, said: "My dear child, some people think that this world has come out of nothing, but how can something come out of nothing?" Thus we see that, unlike the Hebrews, the Hindu thinkers did not believe in special creation, but from ancient times maintained the theory of gradual

evolution. It has often been remarked that the

15

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

doctrine of evolution is the marvel of modem times, and that it was unknown in the past ages, but the students of Oriental literature are well aware that it was well known to the Hindus of the Vedic ages. Professor Huxley admits this when he says: "To say nothing of Indian sages, to whom evolution was a familiar notion ages before Paul of Tarsus was born." * And Sir Monier Monier Williams, in his " Br^hminism and Hinduism," declares: " Indeed, if I may be allowed the anachronism, the Hindus were Spinozites more than two thousand years before the existence of Spinoza; and Darwinians many centuries before Darwin; and evolutionists many centuries before the doctrine of evolution had been accepted by the scientists of our time, and before any word like * evolution ' existed in any language of the world." This statement is absolutely correct. If we study the philosophical systems of the great thinkers and Seers of Truth of ancient India, we shall find the most wonder- ful discoveries that have ever been recorded in the whole history of philosophy.

* Science and Hebrew Tradition, p. 150. 16

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TODAY.

In their attempts to solve the mysteries of the phenomenal world, Hindu Seers of Truth developed six principal systems of philosophy, each having numerous branches of its own. One school traces the origin of the vmiverse to the combination of atoms and molecules. It is known as the Vaisheshika philosophy of Kanada. The system of Kanada divides the phenomenal universe into six Padarthas, or categories, which embrace the whole realm of knowledge. They are these: (i) Dravya, or substance; (2) Guna, or quaUty; (3) Karma, or action; (4) Samanya, or that which constitutes a genus; (5) Vishesha, or that which constitutes the individuality or separateness of an object; and (6) Samavaya, coherence or inseparability. According to some, Abh^va, or non-existence, is the seventh sub- stance.

Each of these, again, is subdivided into vari- ous classes. There are, for instance, nine sub- stances: (i) earth; (2) water; (3) light; (4) air; (5) ether; (6) time (Kala); (7) space (Dish); (8) self (Atman); and (9) mind (Manas). These

substances, again, cannot exist without qualities,

17

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

of which there are seventeen: color, taste, smell, touch, number (that by which we perceive one or many), extension or quantity, individual- ity, conjunction, priority, posteriority, thought, pleasure, pain, desire, aversion, and will. The substances are affected by five kinds of action: (i) upward motion, (2) downward motion, (3) contraction, (4) expansion, (5) movement from one spot to another. All the objects of knowledge must be either substance, quality, or motion.

According to Kanada, the first four substances are non-eternal as aggregates, but are made up of minute invisible atoms (anus) which are eternal. They exist as inorganic and organic matter, or as instruments of sense-perceptions. Kandda describes atoms (anus) as indivisible particles of matter which possess no visible di- mensions. On this point he agrees more with modem European scientists than with Greek philosophers, who gave visible dimensions to atoms. The first aggregate of these atoms is of two (anus). It is called Dyanu, or molecule,

which is still invisible. The aggregate of three

18

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

molecules or double atoms forms a Trasarenu, which has visible dimension. These aggregates of composite atoms are destructible, while single atoms are indestructible by nature. How re- markable it is to see that the conception of atoms and molecules arose in India centuries before the time of Empedocles and Democritus! And the latest atomic theory of European science has not in any way surpassed that of ancient India.

Furthermore, the Vaisheshika system main- tains that these atoms are not created by God, but are co-eternal with Him. The power, however, which combines two atoms and makes aggregates of atoms, comes from God, who is personal, who possesses knowledge, desire, and will, and who is the one Lord and Governor of all phenomena. According to this system, ether, time, space, Atman or Self, and mind or Manas, are eternal substances of nature. Mind or Manas is described as infinitely small, like an atom (anus); but it is distinct from Atman or Self, which is vast (Vibhu). Although mind and

Atman or Self are eternal, still they are innumer-

19

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

able. The Self or Atman is distinct from the senses, and possesses nine qualities, such as knowledge, will, desire, happiness, etc. The aim of the Vaisheshika philosophy (which derives its name from Vishesha, the fifth sub- stance) is the attainment of perfection and absolute freedom of the soul through the riglit knowledge of the causes of the phenomenal universe.

Next to the Vaisheshika is the Ny&ya philos- ophy of Gautama. Although it is generally called a system of logic, still it is both logic and philosophy. Its object is the same as other Hindu systems, namely, the true knowledge of nature, soul and God, and the attainment of ultimate freedom. This system, although based upon the atomic theory of Kandda, begins with the enumeration of sixteen Pad&rthas, or subjects for discussion: (i) Pramana, proof or means of knowledge; (2) Prameya, or objects of knowl- edge; (3) Sansaya, or doubt; (4) Prayojana, motive or purpose; (5) Drist^nta, example or instance; (6) SiddhTmta, or determined truth;

(7) Avayava, syllogism or premisses; (8) Tarka,

20

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TODAY.

reasoning or confutation; {9) Nirnaya, or con- clusion; (10) Vada, or argumentation; (11) Jalpa, or sophistry; (12) Vitanda, objection; {13) Hetv^bhasa, or fallacies; (14) Chhala, quibble or perversion; (15) J^ti, or false analogies; and, (16) Nigrahasthana, or unfitness for arguing. The correct knowledge of each of these is the aim of this school. According to Gautama, the means of knowledge are four: (i) sensuous perception; (2) inference; (3) analogy; (4) Shabda, or verbal testimony.

The objects of knowledge are twelve in num- ber: Self or Atman, body, organs of senses, objective perception, intellect (Buddhi), mind (Manas), will, fault, state after death, retribution, pain, and final emancipation. These objects, as well as the means of knowledge, which are described singly and elaborately, form the fundamental principles of the philosophy of Ny^ya, while the rest of the Padarthas belong to the system of logic which it expounds. There- fore it is both logic and philosophy. Gautama is called the Aristotle of India. He was the

founder of Hindu logic, which has gradually

21

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

developed into a perfect logical system, and to which have been added voluminous works by the best Hindu logicians of later date. The principal aim of Gautama's system was to estab- lish right methods of reasoning, and to develop correct inference by the construction of true syllogisms. The Hindu syllogism consists of five parts: (i) proposition, (2) reason, (3) in- stance, (4) application of the reason, and (5) con- clusion. By omitting two parts of this, we can make it a perfect syllogism of Aristotle. The connection in the major premiss of Ar stotle's syllogism is called in Hindu logic Vydpti, or invariable concomitance. Speaking of Hindu logic, Mr. Davies says: "The right methods of reasoning have been discussed with as much subtlety as by any of the Western logicians.'* Many European scholars, after finding a close resemblance jDetween the logic of Aristotle and that of Gautama, have arrived at the conclusion that perhaps the Greeks borrowed the first ele- ments of their logic and philosophy from the Hindus. Mr. Dutt says: "Comparing dates,

we are disposed to say of this as of many other

22

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TODAY.

sciences, The Hindus invented logic, the Greeks perfected it." * We must not forget the historical fact that there was a close intercourse between the Greeks and the Hindus from the time of Pythag- oras, who, it is said, went to India to gather the wisdom of the Hindus. Alexander himself was so deeply impressed, when he heard about the Hindu philosophers, that he desired to make their acquaintance. It is also said that he brought many Hindu philosophers back to Greece with him. These two schools of phi- losophy, the Vaisheshika and the Nyaya, sup- plement each other, and have at present many followers in some parts of India, especially in Bengal and among the Jains,

Then comes the S&nkhya system of Kapila. Kapila lived about 700 B.C. He is called the father of the evolution theory in India. His system is more like the philosophy of Herbert Spencer. He rejected the atomic theory by tracing the origin of atoms to one eternal cos- mic energy, which he called Prakriti (Latin, Procreatrix, the creative energy). He main-

* Civilization in Ancient India, Vol. I, p. 292.

23

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

tained that the whole phenomenal universe has evolved out of one cosmic energy which is eternal. Kapila defined atoms as force centers, which correspond to the Ions and Electrons of modern science. It was Kapila who for the first time explained creation as the result of attraction and repulsion, which literally means love and hatred of atoms, as Empedocles puts it.

The Scinkya philosophy of Kapila, in short, is devoted entirely to the systematic, logical, and scientific explanation of the process of cosmic evolution from that primordial Prakriti, or eternal Energy. There is no ancient philosophy in the world which was not indebted to the S^Jikhya system of Kapila. The idea of evolution which the ancient Greeks and neo-Platonists had can be traced back to the influence of tjjjs SSukhya school of thought. Professor E. W. Hopkins says: "Plato is full of Sdnkhyan thought, worked out by him, but taken from Pythagoras. Before the sixth century B.C. all the religious-philosophi- cal ideas of Pythagoras are current in India (L. Schroeder, Pythagoras). If there were but

one or two of these cases, they might be set

24

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

aside as accidental coincidences, but such coin- cidences are too numerous to be the result of chance." And again he writes: "Neo-Pla- tonism and Christian Gnosticism owe much to India. The Gnostic ideas in regard to a plurality of heavens and spiritual worlds go back directly to Hindu sources. Soul and light are one in the Sankhya system, before they became so in Greece, and when they appear united in Greece it is by means of the thought which is borrowed from India. The famous three qualities of the S^khya reappear as the Gnostic 'three classes.'"* In his "Hindu Philosophy," John Davies speaks of Kapila's system as the first recorded system of philosophy in the world, and calls it * ' the earliest attempt on record to give an answer, from reason alone, to the mysterious questions which arise in every thoughtful mind about the origin of the world, the nature and relations of man and his future destiny." Fur- thermore, Mr. Davies says, in reference to the German philosophy of Schopenhauer and of Hartmann, that it is "a reproduction of the

* Religions of India, pp. 559, 560. 25

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

philosophic system of Kapila in its materiaHstic part, presented in a more elaborate form, but on the same fundamental lines. In this respect the human intellect has gone over the same ground that it occupied more than two thousand years ago; but on a more important question it has taken a step in retreat. Kapila recog- nized fully the existence of a soul in man, form- ing indeed his proper nature, — the absolute of Fichte, — distinct from matter and immortal; but our latest philosophy, both here and in Ger- many, can see in man only a highly developed organization." *

It is most startling to find that the ulti- mate conclusions of this S^khya system har- monize and coincide with those of modem science. It says: (i) Something cannot come out of noth- ing; (2) The effect lies in the cause, that is, the effect is the cause reproduced; (3) Destruc- tion means the reversion of an effect to its causal state; (4) The laws of nature are uni- form and regular throughout; (5) The building up of the cosmos is the result of the evolution

* Preface to flindu Philusophy. 26

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

of the cosmic energy. These are some of the conclusions which Kapila arrived at through observation and experiment, and by following strictly the rules of inductive logic.

Kapila denied the existence of a Creator; but still his philosophy is not considered atheistic, because he admitted the existence of the indi- vidual soul, Purusha, as an eternal and immortal entity. The different schools of Buddhistic phi- losophy are based upon the Sankhya system of Kapila. The agnosticism of the Jain phi- losophy, which has now a large number of fol- lowers in India, is also based upon the truths of this system; while the main principles of the Sankhya teachings have played a most important part in the popular forms of the symbol-worship of modern India.

Next in order comes the Yoga philosophy of Patanjali. Patanjali accepts the theory of evo- lution as explained by Kapila, and maintains that the whole phenomenal universe is the result of the evolution of Prakriti, the eternal Energy. Like Kapila, Patanjali believes in the

existence of countless Purushas, or individual

27

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

souls, each of which is by nature eternal, infinite, and immortal. But this system differs from Sankhya by admitting the existence of a cosmic Purusha (personal God), who is formless, infi- nite, omniscient, and untouched by affliction, activity, deserts, and desires. Patanjali takes up the psychology of Sankhya, and explains most elaborately the various functions of the Chitta, or mind-substance. Both Kapila and Patanjali maintain that mind-substance is material, — that it is the product of the insentient Prakriti. On this point they anticipated the conclusions of the materialistic philosophers of modem Europe; but they admitted that mind-substance, or Chitta, is distinct from Purusha, or true Self, which is the source of consciousness and intel- ligence.

The Yoga system devotes itself to the higher psychology of the human mind. It divides Chitta into five classes of Vrittis, or modifications: Right knowledge, indiscrimination, verbal delusion, sleep, memory.* Right knowledge proceeds from direct sensuous perception, inference, and com-

♦ Vide ' RAja Yoga," by SwAmi Vivtkananda, p. J09.

28

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

petent evidence. These and various other mental functions are minutely described by Patanjali. After explaining all the modifications of the Chitta, Patanjali shows the method by which absolute control over mind {Manas), intellect {Buddht), Chitta, and egotism (Ahankdra) can be attained. For the highest aim of his phi- losophy is to separate the Purusha from Prakriti, with which it is at present closely related; and to make it reach Kaivalya, or final emancipation from the bondage of nature and its qualities.

Patanjali also explains the science of concen- tration and meditation, the science of breath, clairaudience, telepathy, and various other psychic powers, and shows the way by which one can attain to God-consciousness in this life. There is no system of psychological philosophy in the world so complete as the psychology of Patanjali. The modem psychology of Europe, strictly speaking, is not true psychology, because it does not admit the existence of Psyche, the soul; as Schopenhauer says: "The study of psychology is vain, for there is no Psyche." It may be

called physiological psychology, or somatology, as

29

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

my friend, Professor Hiram Corson, of Cornell University, calls it. True psychology you will find to-day in the Yoga system of Patanjali. This philosophy has still many followers in different parts of India.

There is yet another school of philosophy, called the Purva Mimdnsa of Jaimini. The word "Mimansa" means investigation, and "Purva" means former or prior. This system examines the various injunctions of the ritualistic portion of the Vedas (Karma Kanda), and points out that the highest duty of man is to follow those injunctions as strictly as possible, for they are the direct revelation of the Supreme Being. According to Jaimini, the words of the Vedas are eternal, and the relation of these words to their meaning is also eternal; so the Vedas had no human origin. This system of philosophy ex- plains the authoritative sources of knowledge, the relation between word and thought, and how this world is the manifestation of the word. We see a cow because there is in the Vedas such a word as "cow" (in the Sanskrit Gan). If the word cow did not exist, the material

30

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

object as cow would be non-existent. We may laugh at such conclusions at present, but when we go deep into the subject and try to under- stand the relation which lies between thought and word, we shall realize the truth of such statements. The sun exists because there is the word "sun" in the Vedas; that is, the sun is nothing but a part of the manifestation of that Logos or eternal thought form which exists in the cosmic mind.

Purva Mimansa may also be called the phi- losophy of work. It describes the true nature of duty and of daily works, sacrificial, ritualistic, and devotional. Through it we can understand which is right work and in what way it should be performed to produce certain results. For instance, if we wish to go to heaven we shall have to perform certain acts and those acts will create a certain unknown or imperceptible re- sult, which will be rewarded or manifested in the form of our going to heaven. Now, how do these things happen? What is the law? And if we perform that very act in some other way, what defects would be produced in the

31

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

result? All these minute points are discussed. You may throw them away as speculation, but those who believe in the efficacy of prayers, in the law of action and reaction, of cause and sequence, cannot reject them as mere specula- tion, because there is some truth in them. We cannot deny it. Every thought that we think or every movement of the body that we make, must produce some result somewhere in some form. What are those results? How will they affect our being? We are too busy to think of these subtle problems now, but there are thinkers who can explain a great deal on these higher and finer lines of nature. Referring to the logic of this system, Professor Colebrook says: "Each case is examined and determined upon general prm- ciples, and from the cases decided the principles may be collected. A well-ordered arrangement of them would constitute the philosophy of law; and this is, in truth, what has been attempted in the Mimansa." This being an orthodox phi- losophy, it appeals to the students of the Vedas, and especially to the Brahmin priests.

Lastly comes the Uttara Mimdnsa, or the

32

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

system of Vedanta. This is the most popular philosophy of India to-day. Since the decline of Buddhistic philosophy in India, Vedanta has become most prominent and most powerful, having a large following among all classes of people, from the priests down to the pariahs. Among the six schools, the Vedanta philosophy has reached the highest pinnacle of philosophic thought which the human mind can possibly attain. A careful study of these different systems shows that they contain all the highest truths which were known to the ancient Greek philosophers of the Pythagorean and Eleatic schools. Professor E. W. Hopkins says: "Both Thales and Parmenides were indeed anticipated by Hindu sages, and the Eleatic school seems to be but a reflection of the Upanishads. The doctrines of Anaxamander and Heraclitus were perhaps not known first in Greece." * Frederic Schlegel writes: "The divine origin of man, as taught by the Vedanta, is continually inculcated, to stimulate his efforts to return, to animate him in the struggle, and incite him to consider a

* Religions of India. 33

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

reunion and reincorporation with Divinity as the one primary object of every action and reaction. Even the loftiest philosophy of the Europeans, the idealism of reason as it is set forth by the Greek philosophers, appears in comparison with the abundant light and vigor of Oriental idealism like a feeble Promethean spark in the full flood of heavenly glory of the noonday sun, faltering and feeble and ever ready to be extinguished." * The ultimate reality of the universe, according to Vedanta, is the one Absolute Substance which is beyond subject and object, which is the infinite source of intelligence or knowledge, of conscious- ness and blissfulness, which is one and not many. It is called in Sanskrit Brahman. It is the same as the Good of Plato, the "Ding-an-sich" or the transcendental Thing-in-itself of Kant, the Will of Schopenhauer, the Substantia of Spinoza, the Over-Soul of Emerson, the Unknowable of Her- bert Spencer, the Divine Essence of the Heaven- ly Father of the Christians, and of Allah of the Mahometans. It is also the true nature of Buddha and of Christ. It pervades the uni-

♦ Indian Language, Literature, and Philosophy, p. 471.

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THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

verse. It is one and universal. No one can divide it: it is indivisible. This is the reality of the universe, says Vedanta.

The system of Vedanta is more critical than the Kantian system, because it shows the phe- nomenal nature of the Kantian ego, of his forms of intuition, and his categories of thought. It is also more sublime than the philosophy of Kant, because it recognizes and proves the identity of the objective reality of the universe with the subjective reality of the ego. Kant did not realize that the Thing-in-itself ("Ding-an-sich") of the objective world and the '* Ding-an-sich" of the subjective world are one. In no other system of philosophy has this oneness been so clearly explained and so strongly emphasized as it is in Vedanta. Professor Max Miiller says: "This constitutes the unique character of Vedanta, unique compared with every other philosophy of the world which has not been influenced by it, directly or indirectly." * There have been many European philosophies which have denied the existence of the external world, but not one

* The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy, p. 333.

35

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

of them has ventured to deny the apparent reahty of the ego, of the senses, of the mind, and of their inherent forms. In this respect Vedanta holds a most unique position among the phi- losophies of the world. After lifting the Self or the true nature of the ego, Vedanta unites it with the essence of Divinity, which is absolutely pure, perfect, immortal, unchangeable, and one. No philosopher, not even Plato, Spinoza, Kant, Hegel, or Schopenhauer, has reached that height of philosophic thought. Professor Max Muller declares: "None of our philosophers, ne-t except- ing Heraclitus, Plato, Kant, or Hegel, has ventured to erect such a spire, never frightened by storms or lightnings. Stone follows on stone, in regular succession after once the first step has been made, after once it has been clearly seen that in the beginning there can have been but One, as there will be but One in the end, whether we call it Atman or Brahman." *

Altliough Vedanta has united heaven and earth, God and man, Brahman and Atman, still it has destroyed nothing in the phenomenal

• The Six Systems of Indian Philosophy, p. 239.

36

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY 01 TO-DAY.

world. It accepts all the ultimate conclusions

of modem science; but at the same time it says

that Truth is one and not many, yet there can

be many expressions and various manifestations

of the one Tnith. Furthermore, it maintains

that the aim of the higher philosophy is not merely

to ascertain the established conjunctions of events

which constitute the order of the universe, or to

record the phenomena which it exhibits to our

observation and refer them to the general laws,

but also to lead the human mind from the

realm of the knowable to that which is beyond

the knowable. We are now living in the reahn

of the knowable; but that which teaches simply

the laws which govern the knowable phenomena

is not the highest kind of philosophy. We must

know the laws of the knowable, yet at the same

time we should aspire to go beyond the knowable

and plunge into the realm of the Infinite. If

any philosophy can help us in this attempt, then

it must be higher than the ordinary system which

keeps us within the limits of the knowable.

Vedanta philosophy guides us above all knowable

objects of perception, and directs our souls

37

INDIA AND HZR PEOPLE.

toward the Eternal Absolute Being, wherein we find the solution of all problems and the answer to all questions. Its attempt is to trace the relation between the soul and God, not by an)' unscientific method, but by the most rigorous processes of logic and reason, starting from the ultimate generahzations of the various branches of science.

True philosophy must construct a theory which will be the simplest in its nature, and yet at the same time will explain all the vital prob- lems which the science of the phenomenal-Know- able can never explain, and which will liarmonize with the highest form of universal religion, without destroying the loftiest aspirations of the human soul. True philosophy in the widest sense must perform three great functions. First, it must coordinate the ultimate results arrived at by special branches of knowledge which we call sciences, and, taking up those conclusions, it must form the widest generalizations possible. WTien it does this, it is called phenomenology. Herbert Spencer's philosophy performs this

function most wonderfully, but it leaves out the

3S

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

vital problems which perplex the minds of the greatest philosophers as unsolvable mj'^steries. Herbert Spencer does not explain all these problems, but without finding their true solution our lives will not be worth living. We must find an explanation, we must solve all the problems which disturb the peace of our souls; and if any system will help us, we will study it, follow its teachings, and satisfy our questioning minds. Secondly, true philosophy must investi- gate the realm of knowledge and trace its source. You know that you are sitting here and listening: where does this knowledge come from? The minds of even the greatest thinkers have become confused in trying to answer this question. A philosophy which does this is called Epistomology. The philosophy of Kant, Hegel, Fichte, and others has performed this function. In his "Elements of General Philosophy" George Croom Robertson says: "Epistomology is just philosophy, because it deals with things, deals with being; it deals with things going beyond bare experience, but it treats of them in relation

to the fact of knowing. Thus an epistomologist

39

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

cannot help being an ontologist, because his

theory of knowledge must treat about things also

as being. He must also be a metaphysician,

'because he is concerned with the whole range

of things beyond the physical; he must be a

philosopher in being other and more than a man

of science, or concerned with things in a way in

which science is not." Science, with its various

branches, directs us up to a certain point, and

cannot go further; but where science ends, there

is the beginning of true philosophy. The third

function which true philosophy performs is that of

leading our minds into the realm of the Absolute,

of the Unknown, and then it solves the problems

of life and death. It explains the origin of the

universe and of individual existence, and the

purpose of evolution. On the plane of relativity

the perfect solution of these vital problems can

never be found. Furthermore, when this phase

of true philosophy directs our minds toward the

Infinite, it helps us in becoming free from all

limitations of ignorance and selfishness. These

limitations are the greatest bondage that we are

now suffering from, and, by performing this

40

THE PREVAILENG PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

function, true philosophy lays the foundation of the highest form of monistic religion. No phi- losophy in the world performs these three func- tions so satisfactorily as Vedanta. Hence we may say that Vedanta is the most complete of all systems.

Philosophy and religion must always be in per- fect harmony. Ernest Haeckel, in his "Riddle of the Universe," tries to give a foundation to monistic religion; but his monism is one-sided, because he says that the ultimate substance of the universe is unintelligent. His insentient substance may be compared with Kapila's Prakriti, which is eternal and unintelligent. According to Vedanta, however, the final sub- stance of the universe is Brahman, which is Sat or absolute existence. Chit or absolute intelli- gence, and Ananda or absolute bliss. Vedanta teaches that that which is the substance of our souls must possess intelligence, consciousness, and blissfulness. Thus Vedanta lays the true foundation of a universal religion which is monistic or non-dualistic. The monistic religion of Vedanta does not admit the S^khyan theory

41

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

of the plurality of Purushas, or individual souls,

which are eternal and infinite by nature, but on

the contrary, by following the strict rules of logic,

it establishes that the Infinite must be one and

not many. From one many have come into

existence, and the individual souls are but so

many images or reflections of the Absolute

Brahman. It teaches that the true nature of

the soul is Divine. From the Absolute Brahman

the phenomenal universe rises, and in the end

returns into the Brahman. The religion of

Vedanta admits the existence of Iswara, the

personal God, who is the first-born Lord of the

universe, who starts the evolution of Prakriti, who

loves all living creatures and can be loved and

worshipped in return. In Vedanta the Prakriti

of the Sankhya philosophy is called M4yA, which

is the divine energy of the Absolute Brahman.

Mayd does not mean illusion, as some scholars

think; but it is that power which produces time,

space, and causation, as also the phenomenal

appearances which exist on the relative plane.

Thus we see that the system of Vedanta is both

philosophy and religion. Of the tree of knowl-

42

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

edge, philosophy is the flower and rehgion is the fruit, so they must go together. Rehgion is nothing but the practical side of philsophy, and philosophy is the theoretical side of re- ligion.

In India a true philosopher is not a mere specu- lator but a spiritual man. He does not believe in certain theories which cannot be carried into practice in every-day life; what he believes he lives, and therefore practical philosophy is still to be found in India. For example, an Indian philosopher who follows Kanada, and believes in the existence of a personal God as the essence of his soul, does not merely accept this theoretically, but he tries to realize it in his daily life. A Buddhist, again, will explain all the most abstruse problems, and at the same time you will see that he IS living out his beliefs. So with a follower of the Sankhya system, or of Vedanta: they are not mere speculative philosophers, but they live spiritual lives and strive to attain God-conscious- ness. In India, if any one writes voluminous works and leads a worldly life, he is not con- sidered a true philosopher; but in the West a

43

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

man can become a philosopher by simply sitting in his library and writing a book, although his every-day life may be far from spiritual.

A friend of mine, being asked whether India had produced a philosopher like Ralph Waldo Emerson, replied: "America has produced one Emerson, but in India you will find an Emerson every five miles." This is not a great exaggera- tion, and the reason, as I have already said, is that the Hindus not only theorize but live philosophy. Hindu minds are extremely logical. They will not accept any theory which does not harmonize with logic and reason. Therefore you will scarcely find an irrational doctrine or dogma in the religion of \'edanta. Freedom of thouglit, as I have already said, has always prevailed in India since the Vedic period. For this reason Christian missionaries meet witli the greatest opposition when they preach to the Hindus tlic unscientific and illogical doc- trines and dogmas of their faith. When, for instance, they try to teach them the creation of the universe in six days as given in Genesis,

the Hindus smile at the missionaries and reject

44

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

their statements as unscientific and irrational. Similarly the}^ will not listen to other Christian dogmas, like infant damnation, eternal perdition of the heathen, etc.

The philosophy and religion of Vedanta embrace all the sciences and philosophies of the world, accepting their latest conclusions, and classify them according to their order of merit. Consequently the universality of Vedanta is unique and unparalleled. In this system the peo- ple of India find the ultimate truths of all sci- ences, of all philosophies, as well as of all religions. It is so popular because it solves the problems concerning the origin and final aim of earthly life, fulfils the highest aspiration of human souls, and inculcates that the true nature of the soul is immortal by its birthright. Vedanta mahi tains that, if the soul were mortal by nature, it could never become immortal, for that which could be made immortal could be unmade. This is an argument which cannot be refuted, and it has taken such hold of the logical mind of the Hindus that, even when they are con- verted to other faiths, they cannot beUeve that

46

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

the soul, which is by nature a child of God, can ever be made immortal by Christ.

Vedanta has the largest following, and is the prevailing philosophy of India to-day. Since the eighth century a.d., when, after the decline of Buddhism, it was revived by the earnest efforts of its commentator, Sri Sankardchirya, who is now regarded as the greatest philosopher of the world, the \^edanta philosophy has taken firm root in the remotest corner of every Hindu community, from the highest to the lowest, and has overshadowed all other systems of philosophic thought. Professor Max Miiller, in the preface to his "Six Systems of Philosophy," writes: ' ' Other philosophies do exist and have some fol- lowing, but Vedanta has the largest"; and he also affirms that Vedanta is both a philosophy and a religion by saying: "For all practical purposes, the Vedantist would hold that the whole phenomenal world, both in its subjective and objective character, should be accepted as real. It is as real as anything can be to the ordinary mind; it is not mere emptiness, as the Buddhists maintain. And thus the Vedanta

46

THE PREVAILING PHILOSOPHY OF TO-DAY.

philosophy leaves to every man a wide sphere of real usefulness, and places him under a law as strict and binding as anything can be in this transitory hfe; it leaves him a Deity to wor- ship as omnipotent and majestic as the deities of any other religion. It has room for almost every religion; nay, it embraces them all." *

♦ Three Lectures on Vedanta Philosophy. 47

II.

THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

Few people realize the vastness of India. If we include British Burmah, it is as large in area as the whole of Europe except Russia, or nearly two-thirds of the United States, with a population almost three and a half times as great. It is a country with a vast conglomera- tion of nations and languages, far more diverse than in America or in any other country of the world. Among tliis huge mass of inhabitants we find the followers of every great religion; there are Christians, Mahometans, Jews, Parsees or Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Jains, Sikhs, and Hindus. According to the census of 1901 the adherents of the different faiths in India num- ber as follows:

48

THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

Christians 2,923,241

Mahometans 62,458,077

Jews 18,228

Parsees 94,190

Buddhists (chiefly in Burmah) .... 9,476,759

Jains 1,334,148

Sikhs 2,195,339

Hindus 207,147,026

The Jews are scattered in large cities like Bombay, Poona, and Calcutta. The Parsees are to be found in the Bombay Presidency; but in India proper there are very few Buddhists. Besides these, there are about six hundred thousand Aboriginal non-Aryans who are ances- tor or spirit- worshippers. The majority of the population are known as Hindus and their religion is called Hinduism. The words "Hindu" and " Hinduism," however, are entirely of for- eign origin. In ancient times, when the Persians and Greeks invaded India, they came across a river in the northwest of India which was called in Sanskrit " Sindhu " (the Indus of modern geography), but, in Zend and in Greek, "Hindu." Consequently, those who inhabited the banks

49

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

of the **Sindhu" or Indus were named by the Greeks and Persians " Hindus " and their land "Hindustan." If we remember this derivation we shall be able to understand why these words "Hindu" and "Hinduism" do not mean any- thing to the natives of India, who call themselves, not Hindus, but Aryas or Aryans. The inhab- itants of India to-day are the descendants of the same Aryan family from which the Anglo- Saxons, Germans, and Latin races have descended. They came originally from Central Asia, — some say from the North Pole and others from Europe; but we do not know the exact spot where the ancient forefathers of the Aryans lived.

The word "Hindu," therefore, refers to the descendants of the Indo-Aryans who at present inhabit India and call themselves Aryas or Aryans; while their religion is known among themselves as "Arya-Dharma " (the religion of the Aryans), or "Sanitana-Dharma," which means "that religion which lasts throughout eternity," for, according to the Hindus, this religion is eternal. It has always existed, and

will continue as long as the world will exist.

50

THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

Some people may think that it is a natural religion; but if we trace the origin of all so- called supernatural religions, we shall find that they were in some way connected with India, the home of all the religious systems of the world, and that, when other countries and other nations had no religion at all, the eternal religion of the Hindus not only prevailed but was fully developed.

Under the name of Hinduism there still exists in India to-day a system of religion which em- braces all the religious thought of the world. It stands like a huge banyan-tree, spreading its far-reaching branches over hundreds of sects, creeds, and denominations, and covering with its innumerable leaves all forms of worship, — the dualistic, qualified non-dualistic, and monistic worship of the One Supreme God, the worship of the Incarnation of God, and also hero-worship, saint-worship, s3nTibol-worship, ancestor-worship, and the worship of departed spirits. It is based upon the grand idea of universal receptivity. It receives everything. It is like an immense

hospitable mansion which welcomes all wor-

51

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

shippers, from the lowest to the highest, all believers in the existence of God, and which has never refused admission to any sincere applicant for spiritual freedom. The prevailing religion of India may be compared to a vast mosaic, inlaid with every kind of religious idea and every form of worship which the human mind can possibly conceive. If any one wishes to study the history of the gradual evolution of the worship of the One Supreme Being step by step, from its lowest to its highest phase, let him go to India and study the living history of religions. Let him simply watch the lives of the followers of existing sects, for Professor Max Miiller says: "No phase of religion, from the coarsest super- stition to the most sublime enlightenment, is unrepresented in that country."

This universal rehgion, strictly speaking, is neither Hinduism nor Brahminism, although it has been called both, as well as by still other names. But why should we call it Brdhminism? The term, which is an invention of the Christian missionaries, has no meaning to the Hindus,

because no Brdlimin was its founder. This

52

THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

eternal religion, indeed, is nameless and it had no founder. Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christi- anity, Mahometanism, had their founders and were built around the personality of these founders; but the rehgion of the Hindus is not limited by any book, or by the existence or non- existence of any particular person. If we study the words of the earliest-known Rishi, or Vedic " Seer of Truth," even he alludes to others who had seen similar truths before him. It is for this reason that the religion of the Indo-Aryans never had any special creed or dogma or theology as its guide. Everything that harmonized with the eternal laws described by the ancient Seers of Truth was recognized and accepted by them as true.

From the very beginning this religion has been as free as the air which we breathe. As air touches all flowers and carries their fragrance, along with it wherever it blows, so the SanMana religion takes in all that is true and beneficial to mankind. Like the sky overhead, it embraces the spiritual atmosphere around aU nations and

all countries. It is a well-known fact that this

A3

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

eternal religion of the Hindus surpasses Zoro- astrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Mahome- tanism in its antiquity, grandeur, sublimity, and, above all, in its conception of God. The God of the Hindus is omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, all-merciful, and impersonally per- sonal. He is not like the extra-cosmic Creator as described in Genesis, but is immanent and resident in nature. He is more merciful, more impartial, more just, more compassionate, than Jahveh, the tribal god of the sons of Israel. The God of the Aryan religion is more benevolent and more unlimited in power and majesty than the Ahura Mazda of the Zoroastrians. You will find monotheism at the foundation of every religious structure, and other nations do not go beyond this; but the Indian people are not satisfied to stop with monotheism; they want something higher.

The religion of the Indo-Aryans of to-day can be classified under three heads, — dualistic, qualified non-dualistic, and monistic. The first two, that is, the dualistic and qualified non-dual- istic phases, have given foundation to the various

54

THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

sects of worshippers who are known as Vaish-

navas, Shaivas, Shaktas, Ganapatyas, Sauryas;

of these, the last two sects have become almost

extinct at the present time. The majority of

Hindus, both men and women, are either Vaish-

navas, Shaivas, or Shaktas.

The Vaishnavas are those who worship the

Supreme Being, the all-knowing, all-loving, and

omnipotent Lord, Governor, and Protector of

the universe, under the name of Vishnu. Vishnu

is the name of the second person of the Hindu

Trinity, the literal meaning of the word being

"all-pervading," "omnipresent." According to

the Hindu belief, Vishnu, or the Lord of the

universe, is both personal and impersonal. In

his impersonal aspect he pervades the universe,

interpenetrates the atoms and molecules, and

fills the infinite space like the glorious light of

the self-effulgent sun. In his personal aspect

he dwells in the highest heaven. The personal

Lord of the universe also incarnates Himself on

this earth in every age to establish the eternal

religion and to help mankind. "Whenever

true religion declines and irreligion prevails,

65

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

says the Lord, I manifest myself to establish true religion and to destroy evil." *

Some people think that this idea of the incar- nation of God was borrowed from the Christians; but it can be proved, on the contrary, that it existed in India centuries before Christ was born. In fact, India is the home of this belief, which was afterwards adopted by other religions. The Hindus maintain that since the beginning of the world God has incarnated many times, and will come again and again. They have recog- nized many incarnations in the past, and believe that there will be many in the future. On this point they differ from the Christians, who believe that there was only one incarnation, and that that was the first and the last. According to the Hindu faith, God can manifest in any place at any time, because His powers are unlimited. If we limit Him by saying that there has been only one incarnation, then we make Him finite; but as He is Infinite in His powers, in His glory, and in His manifestations, He ought not to be limited by time, space, or nationality. His love

* Bhagavad Gita. Ch. IV, v. 7. M

THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

for all nations is equal, and whenever and wherever His manifestation is necessary, there He naturally descends. These incarnations are called in Sans- krit Avataras, which means the descent of the Supreme Being for the good of humanity.

Rama, the hero of the great epic Ramayana, for instance, is regarded as one of the great in- carnations of ancient India. To-day, in various parts of the country, especially in the north- western provinces and in central India, there are millions and millions of souls who worship RSma as the Saviour of mankind, who look upon him as the ideal son, the ideal king, the ideal father, and the ideal husband; who repeat his holy name with the deepest feelings of love and devotion; who chant his praises in the morning, at noon, and in the evening; who sing songs describing the exploits of this great Avat5.ra; who every day read a portion of the RSmdyana in Sanskrit or in Hindustanee, or in any other vernacular; and who in their daily life follow the teachings and the high moral and ethical ideals exemphfied in the character of Sri Rdma,

the embodiment of Truth eternal. For the sake

57

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

of truthfulness, Rama abandoned his throne, went into the forest, and lived there for fourteen long years, practising austerities in order to set an example of perfect truthfulness. His consort Sitd, the noblest, purest, and most perfect ideal of womanhood that India has produced, is now the exalted spiritual ideal of every Hindu woman, old or young. Those who have read the Rama- yana will remember the unparalleled character of Sita, the ideal wife and mother. She was the most wonderful character that the world has ever seen. To show her faithfulness to her lord, she sacrificed everything; she was, indeed, like the personification of loyalty and purity. Hanu- man, again, who is erroneously called by the Christian missionaries the monkey god, represents the ideal devotee and the perfect embodiment of faith and devotion; and whenever a worship- per of Rama thinks of these qualities, he holds Hanum^ as the ideal before him. Those who worship Rama are known as Ramat Vaishnavas. They regard Rama and Vishnu as one.

Then there are many millions of Vaishna- vas all over India who worship Krishna, the

58

THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

Hindu Christ. Krishna is regarded as the greatest of all Avataras or Divine Incarnations. He lived about 1400 B.C. His life, which is described in the Mahabharata, the history of ancient India, as also in many Puranas, resembles that of Jesus the Christ, not only in His miracu- lous birth, but in all the principal events of His earthly career. He was, for example, bom in a cave, and at the time of his birth an Indian Herod, Kamsa by name, ordered all infants to be killed. Krishna also resuscitated the dead, brought animals back to life, and performed many other miracles. Those who have read the Bhagavad Gita, or Song Celestial, as Sir Edwin Arnold calls it, will remember how vast was the divine wisdom of the sin-atoning Krishna, the Redeemer of the world. He is regarded by all Hindus as the Saviour of mankind in the same way as Christ is in Christendom. They worship him, repeat his holy name, and chant his praises at aU hours of the day, as a devout Roman Catholic saint would do.

Both Krishna and R^ma are manifestations

of the same Vishnu, the Lord of the universe.

59

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

This is a difficult thing for Western minds to grasp, and for that reason they think the Hindus polytheists. But they are not polytheists. They worship One God under different names and forms. Rama was the incarnation of Vishnu, and so was Krishna. In their spiritual essence they are one and the same, but in their mani- festations they are different. Both have their statues in all the big temples of India, just as we see the images of Christ and Mary in the Cathedrals of Christendom. The Christian mis- sionaries, however, not understanding the Hindu form of worship, have misrepresented these statues and called them idols. Here let me assure you that there is no such thing as idol- worship, in your sense of the term, in any part of India, not even among the most illiterate classes. I have seen more idolatry in Italy than in India. The Italian peasants even beat the Bambino when their prayers are not answered, but in India you will not find such spiritual dark- ness anywhere. There the people worship the Ideal, not the idol. Statues and figures are kept

in the temples as reminders of the deeds of the

60

THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

great Saviours. It is the memory, the spirit, of Rdma and Krishna, which the Hindus worship; but if you ask a Brahmin priest whom he wor- ships, or where is Krishna, he will tell you that Lord Krishna dwells everywhere; he is the Soul of our souls, the Heart of our hearts. He is not confined to any particular form made of wood or stone. Is this idolatry? If so, what kind of idolatry is it? It is very easy for any one to say that it is the worship of a false god, or of an idol; but if a person will look beneath the surface and inquire of the Hindus them- selves, he can readily discover how mistaken such assertions are. If the Hindus are idol- worshippers because they show respect to their Spiritual Masters, like Krishna and Rdma, why should not the Christians be called idolaters when they show respect to Christ, kneeling down before his statue or picture? If the Hindu is idolatrous because he fixes his mind on some religious sjmibol, like the cross or triangle or circle, why should not the same term be applied to the Christian when he thinks of the crucifix

and keeps it on the altar?

61

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

Images and symbols are also used in Hindu temples as aids to the practice of concentration and meditation. This is a peculiar mode of worship common among the Hindus. There may be no outward signs of worship. A man will perhaps sit cross-legged on the floor, close his eyes, and remain as motionless as a statue: his devotion will all be internal. He will with- draw his mind from the external world and fix it upon the Supreme Being; but the starting- point of his concentration and meditation will be these s3nTibols and figures, because the natu- ral tendency of the mind is to go from the con- crete to the abstract and then to the Absolute. So there may be many symbols in the temples; the cross, for instance. The cross was a religious symbol in India long before Christ was bom. The swastika is the oldest of all forms of the cross, and that we have in India to-day. Then there is the triangle, which symbolizes the Hindu Trinity; the circle, which represents infinity; and there are many other symbols, all of which are considered extremely helpful to beginners in concentration and meditation.

62

THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

The Hindus regard Krishna as the ideal incar- nation of Divine Love. His mission was to estabhsh Divine Love on this earth, and show that it can be manifested through all sanctified human relations. What Krishna has done in India, and how he has impressed the minds of the people, we cannot understand here. We must go to India to see that; we must go to Mathurd, where Krishna was born, or to Vrin- davan, where he played as a shepherd-boy, to find how the Vaishnavas revere and worship him. The worship and devotion which we see to-day in India cannot be found in any other part of the worid. I have travelled through many countries in Europe, and almost all over the United States and Canada, but I have not seen the pathos, the spiritual fire, that I have found among the Vaishnavas in India. God can be worshipped not only as the Master, but also as a friend, as a child, as a husband,— that is what they teach. They bring Him closer and closer, and make Him the closest and near- est to our being. Time will not permit me to

go into the details of the method of worship

63

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

which these Vaishnavas practise, but I can at least tell you that there are thousands and thousands of Hindu women who look upon Krishna, the Saviour of mankind, as their own child. They do not care for a human child; they want God as their child, and they con- sider themselves as the mother of Divinity. This is a unique thing. The mother of God! How much purity is required to make a woman think of herself as the mother of Divinity or of a Divine Incarnation! And this is their ideal. I am not exaggerating; I have seen with my eyes such wonderful characters, and I have seen them nowhere else.

These Vaishnavas, or worshippers of Krishna, can be subdivided into seven different, denomina- tions: The followers of Sankar^charya, the great preacher and commentator of monistic Vedanta; the followers of RSjnanuja, another great preacher and commentator, who hved in the southern part of India, and whose followers arc known as qualified non-dualists; the followers of Madhv^- chdrya, the preacher of the dualistic school;

and the followers of Chaitanya, of Ballav^-

64

THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

charya, of Ramananda, and Nimbacharya. Each of these was an ideal prophet, spiritual leader, and commentator of the philosophy of Vedanta, as also the founder of a denomination which still has millions of followers all over the country. They differ only in the minor peculiarities of their doctrines, beliefs, and modes of worship; but they all agree on one point, — that Krishna was the greatest of all Divine Incarnations, that he was the Saviour of mankind and the Re- deemer of the world.

The worshippers of Krishna and of Vishnu or Rama are all vegetarians; they do not touch meat, because non-killing is their ideal. They cannot kill any animal for food. They never drink any intoxicating liquor, neither the men nor the women. That is a very difficult thing to find anywhere else. They practise non- resistance of evil, which was taught not only by Krishna, but by Buddha and afterwards by Christ. Their religion makes them loving, not only to human beings, but to all living creatures, and pure and chaste in their morals.

They practise disinterested love for humanity;

65

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

they will sacrifice everything for the good of others, because their Ideal, their Master, was the sin-atoning Krishna, who sacrificed every- thing for the good of the world. There are no caste distinctions among the Vaishnavas. Ma- hometans and Pariahs have often become fol- lowers of this faith. Krishna has indeed given to earnest and sincere souls among the Hindus what Jesus the Christ has given to Christendom, and there is a great similarity in the belief and mode of worship of the Vaishnavas and those of the most devout followers of Jesus.

As the Vaishnavas regard Krishna and Rdma as their Ideals, so there are Hindus who look upon other manifestations as their Ideal. The Shaivas, for example, worship Shiva, the third person of the Hindu Trinity. Shiva represents the ideal of renunciation and absolute freedom from worldliness. He is revered by tlie Hindus as the embodiment of contemplativeness and Yoga; he is therefore worshipped by the Yogis, saints, and sages of all sects. They repeat the name of Shiva with tears of love and devotion

streaming from their eyes; they forget everything

66

THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

of the world when they utter his sacred name. Shiva and Vishnu, again, are one and the same in their spiritual essence; they are two mani- festations of the One Infinite Being who is called Brahma a in the Vedas. A Vaishnava can worship Shiva in the same spirit as he worships his own Ideal Vishnu, and a Shaiva can worship Vishnu in the same spirit as he worships his own Ideal, Shiva; because they know that He who is Vishnu is Shiva and He who is Shiva is Vishnu, Shiva represents, as I have already said, con- templativeness. Yoga, renunciation and absolute freedom from worldliness. As Vishnu is adorned by the Vaishnavas with all blessed qualities, with aU that is beautiful, all that stands for wealth, prosperity, and success in life; Shiva, on the contrary, is adorned with all that is ugly, horrible, and awe-inspiring. His beatific form is encircled by venomous snakes of evil, misfortune, and worldliness; but they cannot injure Him. Shiva dwells in the Shmashdna, where horrors of death and destruction surround Him, but they cannot frighten Him or disturb His blissful Samddhi.

He is the ever-undaunted conqueror of aU dread,

67

INDIA A^nD HER PEOPLE.

danger, passion, and distress. He is attended by ghosts and wicked spirits, but they cannot hurt Him. Shiva renounces the world for the good of humanity. Voluntarily He takes upon Himself the burdens, anxieties, sufferings, and pains of all humanity, and swallows the deadliest poison to bestow immortality upon His earnest followers and true devotees. His consort, the Divine Mother of the universe, is His only com- panion in austerities and penances. He lives where nobody cares to go, and He accepts the tiger-skin and the ashes from crematories as His ornaments. He is the ideal of the Yogis. If any one wishes to see and understand what renunciation means, let him go to India and study the worship of Shiva. He has many forms, many incarnations, and there are many symbols connected with His life. The Shaivas worship the snow-white form of Shiva, which symbolizes purity and freedom from all taint or worldhncss, the form of Him who is the Master of the universe. Shiva can be worshipped under all circumstances. If a follower of Shiva cannot find a temple, he may sit under a tree;

08

THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

he does not need any form, statue, or symbol;

he simply closes his eyes and meditates upon

Shiva as the Lord of the universe, beyond good

and evil, beyond all relativity, the embodiment

of the Infinite and Absolute Being.

The Vaishnavas and Shaivas, as we have just

seen, regard the Lord of the universe as masculine

and give Him masculine attributes; but there

are Hindus who give to God feminine attributes

and call Him the Mother of the universe. India

is in fact the only place in the world where God

is worshipped as the Mother, and where all

women are considered as representatives of

ideal Divine Motherhood. Some people think

that the Hindus deny salvation to women, but

no Hindu ever imagined anything so crude;

on the contrary, womanhood is attributed by

him to the Lord of the universe. He knows

that the soul is sexless, and that it manifests on

the physical plane as a man or a woman only to

fulfil a certain purpose in life. The Bhagavad

Gita says: "All men and women, whether they

believe in God or not, are bound sooner or later

to reach perfection."

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

Those who thus worship God as the Mother are known as Shaktas, the worshippers of Shakti, Divine Energy, the Mother of all phenomena. These Shaktas believe that the Mother of the universe manifests Her powers from time to time in human form and incarnates as a woman. There have been various feminine incarnations among the Hindus. These Divine incarnations of Shakti, or Divine Energy, are in different forms, such as Kali, Durga, Tar^, etc. Foreigners cannot understand the meaning of these sym- bolic figures, used as aids to concentration and meditation at the time of worship, and they think, "How hideous these forms are!" Of course some of them are hideous to Western eyes, but to the Hindus they are spiritual sym- bols; for the people of India are not merely optimistic, they recognize both sides. They are brave. They do not deny the evil side of the world; they take that also, and adorn the Mother on the one hand with evil, murder, plague, and the most horrible things, while, on the other hand, they represent Her as overflowing with

blessings and all that is good and beautiful.

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THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

Those who have only optimistic ideas shut their eyes to evils and misfortunes and curse either God or Satan when these come upon them; but among the worshippers of the Divine Mother you will find both men and women, who in time of distress face danger bravely, and pray to Her with unflinching faith and whole-hearted love, recognizing Her grandeur and Divine power even behind misfortune and calamity.

The whole truth of the Sankhya philosophy * is s3mibolized in the Shakti-worship, or the worship of Divine Mother. You will remember that the Sankhya believes in the evolution of the world and of the whole universe out of one Eternal Energy, while the individual soul is known as Purusha, the Infinite Spirit. So Shiva represents Purusha, the formless Infinite Spirit, and His consort or Shakti is that Eternal Energy, which is called in Sanskrit Prakriti. The union of the male and female principles of Divinity is the beginning of cosmic evolution. Here you will notice how the ultimate conclusions of science have been sjnmbolized by the Hindus and

* Described in previous lecture. 71

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

made into objects of devotion and worship.

Ask how the evolution of the world began and

they will show you the symbol of the Purusha

and Prakriti. The religion of the Hindus, in

fact, embraces science, logic, and philsosophy.

They think that that which is unscientific, illogical,

and unphilosophical cannot be called religious,

so they take the scientific truths, make symbols

out of them, and, relating them to the Eternal

Being, they use them as the most helpful objects

for devotion and worship. The Hindu mind is

very inventive along spiritual lines. It gives

its inventive genius full play in the spiritual

field. There is no other religion in the world

which is so rich in mythology, symbology, rituals,

and ceremonials, and which possesses so many

phases of the Divine Ideal, as the Sandtana

Dharma, or the Eternal Religion of the Hindus.

Its followers are freely allowed to choose their

ideals in harmony with their thoughts and

spiritual tendencies. They believe that one

particular set of doctrines and dogmas cannot

satisfy the aspirations of all human souls. As

one coat cannot fit all bodies, so one particular

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THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO- DAY.

ideal cannot fit all minds, cannot suit all the spiritual tendencies of all nations in all countries. Do we not see how Christianity has failed in that respect when it has tried to make the whole world adopt one ideal? Do we not see to-day how, among the followers of Christianity, there is a constant fight and struggle for lack of a better understanding of their religious ideal? Human minds need variety; and the paths which lead to the supreme goal should vary according to the tendency, capacity, and spiritual develop- ment of the individual. Therefore the eternal religion of the Hindus prescribes no set path, but offers various ones to suit different minds, — the path of right knowledge and right dis- crimination (Jnana Yoga); of concentration and meditation (Raja Yoga); of work for work's sake (Karma Yoga); and of devotion and worship (Bhakti Yoga). Each one of these, again, has various branches. Thus we see that the Hindus alone have succeeded in giving to the world a religion which fits all minds and all tendencies under all conditions, — a religion which

preaches the worship of one God, the Infinite

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

Being, under a variety of names and ideals. Truth is one, but its manifestations are many. This noble and sublime conception has made the Hindus extremely tolerant towards other faiths and other forms of worship outside their own; for they consider that all religions, sects, and creeds are like so many paths which lead to the same goal.

Those who do not understand the Hindu mode of thought have called it Pantheism; but it is the worship of One Universal Spirit, which is infinite, omnipotent, all-merciful, im- personal and yet personal. If you call it Pan- theism, then you use the term in the wrong sense. Pantheism never means that. Wlien I think that this table is God, or, if I consider that God has become this chair, then it will be Pantheism. But if I beheve in One God, who pervades and interpenetrates the atoms and molecules of the chair and the table, or any other object of the world, then tliat will be the worship of the One Supreme Being, who is infinite and all-pervading.

True religion, according to the Hindus, does

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THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

not consist in belief in a certain creed or set of dogmas, but in the attainment of God-con- sciousness through spiritual unfoldment. It is being and becoming God. It is the subjuga- tion of selfish love and desire for self-aggrandize- ment, and the expression of Divine love, truth- fulness, and kindness to all. The object of such a religion is the freedom of the soul from the bondage of the world. A Hindu is not limited by sectarian doctrines and dogmas; he can go anywhere, worship any ideal that suits him and make that his chosen Ideal. As long as he believes in One God, there is no danger, he will have salvation; and this salvation can be attained in this life.

Outside of the Vaishnavas, Shaivas, and Sh&ktas, we find Hindus who follow other phases of religion. In the Punjab, the north- western province of India, for instance, there is a large population which is known as Sikhs. The word "Sikh" is derived from the Sanskrit "Shishya," which means "a disciple"; and the Sikhs are so called because they are disciples of their master. Guru Nanaka, who was a con-

75

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE. ;

temporary of Luther. Guru Nanaka was a

great soul. He is regarded to-day by his disciples

and followers as the manifestation of Divinity,

and he left sayings and teachings. These are

written out in a book, and this book the Sikhs

hold in the same light as the Christians their

Bible, the Mahometans their Koran, and the

orthodox Hindus their Vedas. It is to them

the revealed word of God. They put it upon

an altar, burn incense before it, and worship it

as the word of God. They cannot bear any

other form or symbol or image, or the statue of

any incarnation or manifestation of Divinity.

They are as fanatical as the Protestant Christians

in their attitude towards forms and images.

They observe no caste prejudice; they are very

broad and liberal-minded, and will accept the

followers of any faith in their religion. At one

time they converted hundreds of Mahometans

and made them Sikhs. Their book is called the

"Grantha-Sahib," or the Great Scripture, and

contains the most sublime moral and spiritual

ideals, which harmonize with the teachings of

the Vedas. They believe in One Supreme God

76

THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

who is formless. As the Mahometans beheve in Allah, the One Formless Being, who can take no form, so these Sikhs believe in the same way. Perhaps Sikhism arose in India through the influence of Mahometanism. It is one of the recent sects.

Besides these orthodox Hindus, there are Jains and Buddhists. The Jains have their own Scriptures and their own prophets, Parswa Nath, Adinath, Mah^vira Nath, and many others, who are called Tirthankaras (perfected souls). These are great and immortal spiritual leaders who came down to teach mankind; any one who fol- lows their teachings will reach absolute freedom from this world of imperfection. Jainism arose in India about the same time as Buddhism. Buddha Uved about 557 B.C. He was the founder of the great religion which has civilized the larger portion of Asia, which predominates in China and Japan, which has made the Japanese a great nation, and which prevails to-day in Tibet, Siam, Burmah, Ceylon, Sumatra, Java, and many other Asiatic countries. But the

orthodox Hindus regard the Jains as agnostics

77

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

and the Buddhists as atheists; because the Jains neither accept nor deny soul or God; while the modern Buddhists in India do not believe in the existence of One Supreme Being, or in the ex- istence of the individual soul as an eternal entity, neither do they honor the revealed word of the Vedas. For this reason they are classed by the orthodox Hindus as atheists, although Buddha himself is recognized as one of the incarnations of Vishnu. Every Hindu believes that Buddha came to help mankind, and ranks him with Rdma, Krishna, and other Avataras.

There are still other heterodox Hindus who are known as Brahmos and Arya-Somajis, and who may be compared to the Unitarians in this country. They reject all symbols and images, but worship One God who is personal and with- out form.

Thus I have given you a brief outline of the existing phases of the dualistic and qualified non-dualistic branches of the one Religion. But there is still another which is the monistic phase of the same religion. It is based upon the

fundamental principle of unity in variety. It

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THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

teaches that there is one existence, one reality, one truth, one substance, in the whole universe.- All the distinctions and differentiations which we perceive with our senses are phenomenal, therefore transitory and unreal. This One Sub- stance is called by various names. In the Vedas we find the first mention of this universal and eternal law of unity in variety. In the Rig Veda, which is the oldest Scripture of the world, we read: "That which exists is One; men call it by various names." Men worship it in different forms, under different names. The same Substance, the Absolute Eternal Being, manifests itself as Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, Rudra the I^estroyer, and Shakti the Divine Mother. The same Eternal Being is worshipped as Allah by the Mahometans, Father in Heaven and Christ by the Christians, Buddha by the Buddhists, Jina by the Jains, Ahura Mazda by the Zoroastrians, Ti-Tien by the Chinese, and Shiva, Divine Mother, or Brahman, by the Hindus. The substance is one, although the names may vary. As the one substance

water is called in different languages by different

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

names, such as aqua, wasser, eau, agua, p^i, v^ri, jalam, etc., so the One Infinite Absolute Being is worshipped under different names in different countries. This phase of rehgion uni- fies all sects and creeds; and, putting each in the place where it belongs, it builds up the universal religion, which is not confined by any particular book or Scripture, but embraces all the Scrip- tures of the world. Its principal teaching is that the individual souls are not born in sin and iniquity, nor have they inherited as a birth- right the sins of some fallen man who was tempted by an evil spirit called Satan. On the contrary, it tells us that all men and women, irrespective of their color, creed, or religious beliefs, are chil- dren of Immortal Bliss, sons of immortality; that each individual soul is immortal by its birthright, will attain to immortality, and con- tinue to remain immortal forever. For if the soul were not immortal by nature, it could not be made so by any being, however powerful. Each soul is a storehouse of infinite potentialities and possesses infinite possibilities. It was not

created out of nothing, nor by the will of some

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THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

creator; but it is eternal, beginningless and endless. That is the teaching; and it declares that we are not helpless victims of our parents' sins, but that o'.ir present condition is the resultant of our past deeds, and that our future state will be the result of our present actions. Parents do not create the souls of their children; they are but the channels, the instruments through which the individual souls incarnate or manifest themselves on the physical plane. This is popularly known as the doctrine of Reincarna- tion, which means the remanifestation on this earth of the individual soul, or the germ of life, according to its desires and tendencies, which will determine the conditions of its existence. The Hindus accept the law of Karma and do rot believe that God creates one man to enjoy and another to suffer, nor do they maintain that He punishes the wicked and rewards the virtuous. Punishment and reward are but the reactions of our ov/n actions. Each individual soul reaps the fruits of its own acts, either here or in some other existence.

This universal rehgion may be called the

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

*' Science of the Soul." As modern science does not deal with dogmas and does not insist upon belief in the authority of any person or book, but depends entirely upon correct observation and experience of the facts of nature to discover the laws which govern the phenomena of the universe, so the monistic religion does not deal with dogmas and creeds, but exolains through logic and reason the spiritual nature of man or the true nature of the soul. It describes the origin, growth, and process of its gradual evolution from the minutest germ of life up to the highest spiritual man, as Christ or Buddha or Rdma- krishna; for it claims that all souls will become perfect in the course of evolution. Each indi- vidual soul, however imperfect it may be at present, is bound in the end to attain perfection and become divine. It teaches that the human soul in the progress of spiritual evolution passes step by step from duahsm or monotheism to qualified non-dualism, and ultimately reaches the spiritual height of absolute non-dualism or monism. So long as a soul is on the plane of duality, or of monotheism, it believes in a God

82

THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

who dwells outside of nature, who is extra- cosmic, who, as the Creator of the universe, creates something out of nothing, and who is far, far away from us. We cannot reach Him — He is too high, too great, too distant. He is the Master and we are His servants; we must worship Him in that relation. But when we approach nearer to the Infinite Being, we gradu- ally begin to see that He is not so far from us, that He is immanent and resident in nature. He is near us; why should we consider Him as beyond, far out of our reach? Then we come to that phase which is called qualified non- dualistic. In this we realize that God is one stupendous whole and we are but parts; each individual soul is a part of the Infinite Being. But when the soul rises still higher, it transcends all relativity and plunges into the realm of the Absolute. There, forgetting all names and forms, it reaches absolute oneness with Divinity, and then it declares: "I and my Father are one." In that state the soul becomes perfected; all the divine qualities and divine powers begin to

flow through it, and it is transfigured into

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

Divine Glory. Then it becomes Chiist-like; it reaches that state which is represented by the word "Christ."

The word "Christ", according to the universal religion, means a state of spiritual perfection, of spiritual realization or attainment of oneness with the Supreme Being. Whosoever reaches that state becomes Christ. And this universal rehgion teaches that each individual soul is a potential Christ, is potentially divine, and that potentiality will become actual when tlie soul awakens to the consciousness of its divine glory. When, transcending all bondage, all laws of the relative, phenomenal world, it comes face to face with the Absolute, it reaches the height of monistic religion, then it will be Christ, then it will be Buddha, "the Enlightened One" — or he who has attained to spiritual enlightenment. According to this religion, when Jesus attained to that state. He became Christ; when Buddha attained to that state. He was held by the world as the Saviour of mankind, as the Re- deemer. This universal religion brings great

comfort and consolation to us, because it assures

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THE RELIGION OF INDIA TO-DAY.

US that we are not going to eternal perdition; for it does not believe in hell-fire or eternal damnation. It teaches that men commit mis- takes, and those mistakes will bring their results through the law of cause and sequence, of action and reaction, but they will not last throughout eternity. Death, therefore, cannot frighten the followers of this religion.

Although this universal religion is founded upon the teachings of the Vedas and is as old as the Vedas, yet it has been forgotten again and again, and again and again it has been revived and preached by the great Saviours and spiritual leaders who have flourished in India from time to time. Krishna preached it 1400 years before Christ; after the decline of Buddhism it was preached again by Sankar&charya in the eighth century after Christ; and lastly it was preached by Bhagavin Sri RSjnakrishna, who lived in the latter part of the nineteenth century and who is regarded by thousands and thousands of educated Hindus as the latest Incarnation of Divinit\^ He is recognized as the prime-mover in the great religious upheaval which has begun

85

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

in India. The tidal wave of this universal religion, rising from Ramakrishna as its centre, has inundated the whole spiritual field of India and is rapidly spreading all over the world, creating a revolution in the world's religious thought, which will surely produce wonderful results in time to come.

in.

THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE: THEIR SYSTEM OF CASTE.

In the last lecture we saw how the Indo- Aryans hold the loftiest ideal of absolute freedom in their religious belief. From time immemorial they have shown perfect toleration toward the followers of every faith, and no religious perse- cution has been recorded in the whole history of India. Even atheists and agnostics have been allowed to live unmolested. Although the Mahometans and the Christians hate the Hindus, still the Hindus do not persecute them, but live in absolute peace and harmony with them, India is indeed the home of universal tolerance and rebgious freedom. In their social life, on

the contrary, the Hindus are more restricted

87

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

than any other nation of the world. Their so- ciety is different from that of Europe or America; its laws are more rigid and binding. They will not associate or intermarry with the Mahometans or Christians, not however because of their religious beliefs, but on account of their social ideals.

The Hindu people are extremely conservative in their manners and customs, perhaps more so than the Chinese or Japanese; and this con- servatism has been the outcome of long-standing foreign rule and of continuous inroads and in- vasions by foreign nations. We ought not to forget that India was first invaded by the Greeks, then by the Scythians, and afterward by Mongohans, Tartars, Mahometans, and lastly by the Portuguese, the Dutch, and other Chris- tians, These powerful nations fell upon India like avalanches, devastating the land of its wealth and prosperity and destroying the glori- ous monuments of the Indo-Aryans. They came not to help the Hindus, but to plunder their country and rob them of their valuable

possessions. What nation could withstand such

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THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE.

successive invasions and survive such repeated disasters without possessing a tremendous power of conservatism? The Egyptians, Persians, and other nations which were unable to conserve themselves in time of need have been swept out of existence. This power of conservatism which has been so marvellously displayed by the Hindu people is indeed a great lesson to the civihzed world. It has kept the nation alive, and has protected the Aryan blood and Aryan literature by creating impregnable social barriers which the destructive forces of successive invaders have never been able to break through.

No foreign power can demolish the social structure of the Hindus. It has stood for ages fim-i like the gigantic peaks of the Himalayas, defying the strength of all hostile forces, because its foundation was laid — not upon the quick- sand of commercialism, not upon the quagmire of greed for territorial possessions, but upon the solid rock of the moral and spiritual laws which eternally govern earthly existence. The ancient founders of Hindu society were not like

the robber-barons or ambitious political leaders

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

of mediaeval Europe; but they were sages and Seers of Truth, who sacrificed their personal interest, their ambition and desire for power and position upon the altar of disinterested love for humanity.

The Hindus of modern times trace their descent from these great sages, saints, and Rishis of pre- historic ages, and consider themselves blessed on account of such exalted lineage. They glory in the names of their forefathers, and feel an uncon- querable pride because of the purity, unselfish- ness, spirituality, and God-consciousness of their holy ancestors. This noble pride has prevented the members of different communities from holding free intercourse and from intermarrj^ng with foreigners and invading nations, and has thus kept the Aryan blood pure and unadulterated. If they had not possessed that tremendous national pride and had mixed freely with all people by whom they were overrun, we should not find in India to-day the full-blooded descend- ants of the pure Aryan family.

Hindu society is divided into hundreds of communities; each community consists of several

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THE SOCIAL STATUS OF TEEE ESTDIAN PEOPLE.

clans and each clan has its own peculiar customs

and rules. These clans, again, are made up of

numerous families, "Kula", and the members

of these families are the individual units. The

members of the family are governed by the

"Kula-Dharma" or family customs, the families

must obey the clan family customs, and the

clan families must be governed by the rules of

the community. The members of the family

enjoy absolute freedom in everything that is

approved of by the other families of the same

clan. If the common opinion of the majority

of the families of one clan be against any act

of violation of its long-standing custom, then it

should not be performed. If any one dares to

violate such custom, then he forfeits all the

privileges which he may have in his family life

in the community. He will be deprived of social

intercourse and relationship with the clan family

and of the protection of the community.

This clan family is called in Sanskrit "Gotra".

There is no English word by which I can translate

this term, the literal meaning of "Gotra" being

*''lineage", that is, the descendants of common

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

ancestors. Originally there were about twenty- four Rishis who were Gotra-makers or makers of clans. They were all sages and Seers of Truth, who lived in the Vedic period and were inspired. The hymns of the Vedas and other holy Scrip- tures in India came through them, and they were leaders as well as clan-makers. We all trace our descent from these great Rishis.

Again, the community of many clans is called in Sanskrit "J^ti", Greek "Genus", Roman "Gens", or the patriarchal family in the largest sense of the term. Each community consists of many clans, which live together, obe3dng the laws of the community. The rules of propriety and impropriety, marriage ceremonies and funeral rites, rituals and ceremonies, amusements and occupations, professions and industries, nay, all the details of social life must be in perfect harmony with the laws and customs which have been handed down through generations to the existing communities. These social laws are called "JAti-Dharma", or the duties of a J5.ti or community. Each clan family, from the lowest Pariah to tlie highest Brdhmin, is guided

92

THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE.

and governed by the Jati-Dharma. No position, profession, or industry can be accepted by any member of a community if the community as a body disapproves of it. If any member wishes to fulfil a desire, he must first consider whether it is in perfect harmony with the customs of the family (Kula-Dharma), then with the duties of the clan family (Gotra-Dharma), and lastly with the laws of the community (Jati-Dharma); and, after establishing harmony with all these, he can do what he pleases. In case of difference of opinion, whatever the community decides for the family and the individual they must im- plicitly obey. The leaders of the community are the final authorities. The individual sacrifices his freedom for the sake of the family, the interest of the family is merged into that of the clan, and the clan sacrifices its interest for the community.

This is a peculiar system of government, but it has existed in India for many centuries. A Hindu from the time of his birth up to his last moment lives a life which may be called a life

of self-sacrifice. Whether a man or a woman,

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

his or her ideal is not to think of himself or her- self, not to seek his or her own comfort, not to enjoy selfish pleasures, but to live for the good, first, of the family, then of the clan, then of the community. Such is the custom in India. Of course this government by community we lind in almost every country in some form and to some extent, but nowhere is it so strict and so perfectly organized as in India.

The communities, again, have no social rank or grade among themselves. All communities are equally great and all clans are equally good. Each community is like a small social republic in itself. The rules and customs of one com- munity do not interfere with those of another, and in this respect every community enjoys absolute freedom as a body, but the individuals in it cannot enjoy this freedom. They must obey the laws of their community; and if they violate any existing custom they must go tlirough certain penances and austerities. Otherwise they will be excommunicated, and excommunication is the worst punishment that can be given to a Hindu. He will not be invited by other mem-

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THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE.

bers of the same community, neither will his invitation be accepted by them. At the time of birth, death, or wedding he will be left alone and absolutely friendless in the world. No other community will take him. Nor can he join another clan, because his birthright prevents him. Such is the rigidity and power of the communal form of social government among the Hindus.

Outsiders and foreigners do not understand this government, because they do not belong to any community, and those who do not belong to a commimity cannot know anything of it. These are unwritten laws. You will not find them in books; but the unwritten laws are more binding than the written laws. Strangers who go to India cannot see the reason why the mem- bers of different communities under the name of Brahmin, Kshatriya, or any other caste do not intermarry or have free social intercourse with one another. There are, for instance, Brahmins all over India; but a Brahmin of Bombay will not intermarry with the Brahmins of Calcutta, or Madras, or the Punjab. Why? Because

95

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

although they are all Brahmins, they do not belong to the same community. Again, all the Brahmins of the Province of Bengal do not intermarry or mix freely or eat together, because they are members of different communities. The descendants of different clans (Gotra) belonging to the same community, however, will inter- marry and have free social intercourse.

The tendency of each community is to preserve the clan family intact and to keep the Aryan blood of the individuals in it as pure as possible, and also to make its members live on the highest moral and spiritual plane. The community approves of everything that is truly ethical and uplifting and rejects that which debases the moral and spiritual conduct of the family or individual. Being thus protected by the laws and customs of the community, individual members grow up, rear their children, live in joint families, fulfil their social or ratlier com- munal duties, enjoy pleasures and amusements, and serve the community by performing such acts as will help other families and members of

the same community. If there be a millionaire,

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THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE.

for example, his duty is to help first his own fainily, then all the families of his own clan, then other families of the same community. He can then extend his charitable and philanthropic works to the members of other communities or do anything for the good of the public in general. Each community is like one family and tremendous unity exists among its mem- bers. For this reason, there never was any need in India of such philanthropic organizations and asylums as you have in Europe and America. Orphanages, poorhouses, and charitable insti- tutions were not necessary, because the com- munity took care of its own poor and its own orphans. You put the poorer classes in asylums; but we take them into our homes, feed them, and clothe them. That is our duty, because they are our brothers. No grander system was ever established in the world.

Hindu leaders of society, after trying various methods, discovered that this form of social government was the best suited for the Hindu people. Their idea was that if all the existing

communities into which the whole Hindu popu-

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

lation is divided enforced these moral and spiritual laws among the members of the different families then the whole nation would be moral and spiritual; just as the whole street will be clean if every one keeps the front of his house clean. Thus they started from these individual units and built up a system upon natural laws, making one family of the whole nation.

But these communities at present are not perfect. They have now become fixed entities; their laws, rules, and ideals have lost their flex- ible nature and have become so rigid and binding that they cannot be changed, for they are considered to represent the highest and best ideals. But the individual living within the limits of the community may change his ideas and adopt new ones, better suited to immediate conditions, which will put him at variance with the communal life and alienate him from his clan family. Herein lies one of the serious defects of the present system. This govern- ment by community, however, is more effective and beneficial than the church government such

as we find in this country. Why? Because

98

THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE.

social questions must be kept separate from religion; otherwise there will be religious dis- sension and persecution. And this is the secret of religious toleration in India. Religion is never interfered with on account of social affairs. As I explained in my last lecture, the Hindus are absolutely free to choose any form of worship they like, but that has nothing to do with their social status. The government by community, however imperfect it may be, has at least this advantage, — that it gives freedom in religion and confers upon all the members of these com- munities equal rights, equal privileges, and equal opportunities. Both men and women are al- lowed the same right to discuss and vote upon any disputed question.

Each community has its aristocracy, middle classes, and lower classes. The lower and middle classes aspire to rise to the higher ranks of the community and expect favor, help, and support from the superior classes. A man may possess enormous wealth in the community, but he can never change his birthright. Neither will he

change his clan (Gotra) or community (J^ti).

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

No other clan will accept him as a member, no other community will give him better privileges or protection. The social status of a Hindu depends upon the rights which he or she has acquired by birth in the family, clan, and com- munity. There was, for example, a conmiunity of fishermen. A lady in that community in- herited a large estate. In India the women hold property, manage their own estates, and in such matters have great freedom. Now this lady had unusual power and ability and she nanaged her property most admirably. She built temples, performed other charitable and philanthropic works, and did incalculable good by her example to all the members of the families and clans of the same community. She was considered to be like the queen of that community. All of its members honored and respected her as the jewel of their society, as did the communities of Brahmins and other castes; but she never thought of changing her clan or of rejecting the laws and customs of her own community.

These communities, again, are subdivisions of

larger classes, which are known in English as

100

THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE.

"castes." The word "caste" has become most mischievous and misleading, and the less we use it the better we shall be able to understand the social conditions of the people of ancient and modem India. The term "caste" is the angli- cized form of the Portuguese word "casta", which means "breed" or "stock." It was ftrst applied by the rough Portuguese sailors of tlie sLxteenth century to certain divisions of the Hindu society. It was originally used in the sense of pure, unmixed breed, but in Sanskrit there is no equivalent of such a word as caste. In the writings of the Hindus, from the Vedas down to the Laws of Manu and the Puranas, we do not find any word which has the same meaning as is conveyed by the term caste, and in India to ask a Hindu what is meant by caste would be like asking an American what caste means in America. The Sanskrit word which has been translated (or mistranslated) by caste is "Vama" (color), which imphed some eth- nological distinction of complexion as separat- ing the dominant from the inferior classes,

the Aryans from the non-Aryan aboriginal tribes

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

of ancient India. Mr. R. C. Dutt says: "The very word 'Varna', which in later Sanskrit in- dicates caste, is used in the Rig Veda to dis- tinguish the Aryans and the non-Aryans, and nowhere indicates separate sections in the Aryan community." * This distinction of color, how- ever, gradually gave rise to separate divisions in the Aryan community itself; as in the Bha- gavad Gita we read: "The Lord has divided the whole human race into four classes, according to their color, qualifications, quahties, and works." t The four original colors of different races were white, red, yellow, and black; and the intermixture of these four original colors has produced all the various race divisions of the world. Among the Aryans those who were white in color were called Brdlimins; the red, Kshat- riyas; the yellow, Vaishyas; and the black, Sudras. Again the different qualities and works of these four classes are thus described: "The duties of BrAhmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, as also of Sudras, are divided in accordance with

* Civilization in Ancient India, Vol. I, p. 65. t Chapter IV, verse 13. 102

THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE.

their nature-bom qualities. Peace, self-restraint, austerities, purity, forgiveness, and uprightness, knowledge, direct intuition, and faith in God are the natural qualities of the Brahmin. Of the Kshatriyas, bravery, energy, fortitude, dexterity, fleeing not in battle, gift and lordhness are the nature-bom qualities. Agriculture, protection of cows, merchandise, and various industries are the nature-born duties of the Vaishyas. Con- scientiousness in menial service is the nature- bom duty of the Sudras. A man attains per- fection by performing those duties which he is able to do." * Here you see a man's caste was determined not only by his color but also by his natural qualifications. That was the original idea behind all caste distinctions among the Hindus. It is quite different from the explanation given by foreigners and missionaries.

The Brahmins were naturally qualified to fulfil certain duties, and they discharged them faithfully and perfectly. Propelled by a nature- bom tendency they devoted themselves to the study of the various branches of science and phi-

♦ Bhagavad Gita, Chapter XVIII, verses 41-45.

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

losophy, as well as the Vedic Scriptures, and performed the religious rites and ceremonies of all classes of people and other priestly duties. The Kshatriyas were those who became warriors, soldiers, commanders, and rulers of the country. The trades, industries, and agriculture were man- aged by the Vaishyas; while the Sudras were those who were qualified to do only the menial and domestic service in the household life of the other three classes. Thus there arose a complete system of division of labor. To every man his place, work, rank, and remuneration were as- signed.

This division was made perhaps during the Vedic period, or perhaps earlier; but we find it given in the Vedas. When the Aryans first in- vaded India from Central Asia they were highly civilized. They knew agriculture, and had won- derful social and political organizations. And when a division of labor became necessary, they divided themselves into different classes in accordance with their natural tendencies. But at first these divisions were flexible and inter- changeable. The social distinctions were not

104

THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE.

iron-bound; neither were the occupations and professions hereditary. We read in the Vedas and other ancient writings of the Hindus that the Brahmins could intermarry with the Kshat- riyas, Vaishyas, and Sudras. They could also become warriors if they were so qualified; while the Kshatriyas often became the teachers of the Brahmins; in fact, most of the philosophical and spiritual ideals which we have to-day were first given by the Kshatriyas, and not by the Brahmins. The members of these classes mixed freely, and whenever any one had the qualifica- tions of a Brahmin or a Kshatriya he was called Brahmin or Kshatriya. There were many Kshat- riyas who were afterward called Brahmins on account of their spiritual wisdom and greatness. You will notice that almost all the incarnations of Divinity in India were Kshatriyas, and very few were Brahmins. Another theory about the origin of caste is given in the Mahabharata. In the Shanti Parva (chs. 188-189) we read: "A sage Bharadv^ja asks another sage Bhrigu: "If color is the principle of differentiation of caste in the fourfold caste system, then there

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

is indeed seen the confusion of color among all castes;

"Desire, anger, fear, avarice,- grief, anxiety, hunger, and weariness sway all of us, how then is the division of caste?

"Innumerable are the species of moving and unmoving beings; of these various classes, whence the determination of castes?'

"Bhrigu replied:

"There is no distinction of castes. The whole world being created by Brahma in the beginning consisted of Brahmins only. By actions it underwent (the distinctions of) caste.

"Those twice-born men or Brahmins, who were fond of the enjoyment of desires, fierce, passionate, and daring in (the pursuit of) desired objects, who had abandoned their own duties, men of ruddy complexion, — these attained the rank of Kshatriyas.

' 'Those twice-born men or Br&hmins, who had taken to the profession of tending cattle, who were yellow in color, lived by agriculture, and abode not by their own duties, — these attained the rank of Vaishyas.

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THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE.

"Those tvvice-born men or Brahmins, who were fond of kiUing and telHng falsehoods, covet- ous, who hved by all (kinds of) occupations, dark in color, and who abandoned all cleanli- ness,— these attained the rank of Sudras.

"Separated by these actions, the twice-boni have undergone differentiation into castes."

These four main divisions of the Indo-Aryans

of the Vedic period, according to their Varna

(color) and occupations gradually lost their

flexible nature and became a system of hereditary

caste as early as six centuries before Christ,

when Buddha arose as a great reformer against

the separation and distinction of castes. He

gave a death-blow to priestly power and equaUzed

all classes of people by breaking down the barriers

of this artificial hereditary caste division. Under

this system if a Brahmin was a priest, his son

must be a priest also; while the son of a Kshat-

riya (soldier) must be a soldier. This was of

course started at first with the idea of perfecting

the different lines of work, and the ancient

thinkers and social leaders understood the

laws of heredity so thoroughly that they tried

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

to develop the best qualities through hereditary transmission. Buddha, however, strove to bring the whole social system into its original simple form and make it as flexible as it was at the outset. He would not recognize a Brahmin because he was born a Brahmin, but he dis- tinguished all people according to their merits and qualifications. Any one who possessed the beautiful qualities of peace, self-restraint, self- control, righteousness, devotion, love for human- ity, and divine wisdom, was called by him a Brahmin; * and during the period of nearly a thousand years, while Buddhism reigned over India, people of different classes forgot their hereditary caste distinctions and enjoyed social and political freedom.

About 600 A.D., however. Buddhism declined, corruptions crept in, and the orthodox Brdhmins, regaining their power, reestablished the original social organization in accordance with the hered- itary system of class divisions. Then later the Mahometans came, and for six hundred years tried in vain to destroy the social structure of

♦ Vide Dhammapada, Chapter XXVI. 108

THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE.

the Hindus. WTioever favored the Mahometan ideals was ostracized and excommunicated by the Hindus. Thus Hindu society lost many of its most brilliant men and women. Those who intermarried or associated freely with the Mahom- etans were deprived of all social rights in their community, and under no circumstances could be taken back by the Hindus. Such was the t5a'anny and abuse of power exercised by the fanatical descendants of the great Aryan Rishis and sages of ancient India. The Brdhmins and social leaders of the middle ages were short- sighted and superstitious; they had love of power, they wished to rule over the people and keep them under their control. To-day India would be one of the mightiest nations in the world if these short-sighted orthodox social leaders had not pursued a policy of seclusion and isolation, which resulted in absolute disunion among the members of the different classes of the Hindus. England could not have held her dominant sword over the heads of three hundred millions of people in India if there had been unity among

the isolated communities and clans of the four

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

divisions. Well has it been said by Sir Monier Monier Williams: "And certainly the antagonism of these caste associations and trade leagues has helped us to govern the country by making political combinations impracticable." *

But now the conditions are changing. India of to-day is different from what she was fifty years ago. Education and intellectual progress are opening the eyes of the nation. The cry for social reform is to be heard in every comer of this vast country. People are begiining to see the defects of the existing social organism. The educated classes are now convinced that if the present conditions are aUowed to continue the absolute disintegration and complete anni- hilation of the national life will be the inevitable result. Thinking people are no longer satisfied with the seclusion and isolation of the different communities by iron barriers of superstition. They wish to unify all communities into one homogeneous whole, to make every member feel that he is a part and parcel, not merely of a family, clan, or community, not merely a part

* Brdhminism and Hinduism, p. 474. 110

THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE.

of a section of the Hindu nation which is limited by color or caste, but a most important part of the Indo- Aryan nation as a whole. The solidarity of all classes and all communities is the aim of the social refonners. The work has begun, but it will take a long time to make this reform effective and universal.

To-day the integrity of the social organization is weakened; social chaos and anarchy have prevailed. Fifty years ago every one was proud of his noble birth, but with the hard competi- tion and extreme poverty of the masses, brought about by an alien government, the question of bread and butter has absorbed the whole atten- tion of the people. The people to-day are very poor. They need food and clothes and a shelter over their heads. They have no means to support their families. Their present social status depends upon wealth. A high-class Br^min, disregarding the ancient tradition and custom of his caste, will now perform the most menial tasks, like cooking in a private house or working as a servant. To-day the question is

how to live. A Brahmin again will bow down

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

to a Sudra of the lowest class if the latter hap- pens to be rich. Twenty years ago the brother looked upon his elder as his superior, but now he considers him merely as a good companion. The rigors of the social organization, which formerly ensured obedience to authority have been loosened, and every one now feels that he is at liberty to go his own way.

The Hindus are passing through a transition period. Social progress is at present checked by the vigorous efforts of an unsympathetic, greedy, selfish, and despotic foreign government, whose heartless officials are sucking the life-blood of the Hindu nation. All the trade giiilds and in- dustrial leagues which exercised such tremendous power in the social life of the Hindus have no longer voice or authority in the community. English merchants, protected by the British government, have taken possession of the market, have driven out the native manufacturers, have destroyed the trade and commerce of the country, and have thus ruined millions of people. If you go to India to-day, you will find thousands and thousands, perhaps millions and millions, who

112

THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE.

have no occupation. No industry is encouraged. People are driven to live upon agriculture. The English government wanted to make India an agricultural country and she has succeeded in doing so. The laboring classes in consequence are obliged to live and support their family on from two to five cents a day. What social progress can we expect to see under such destruc- tive power vigorously exercised by the so-called monarch of European civilization? Christian missionaries, blinded by their fanatical zeal to Christianize India, do not see the faults and the demoralizing influence of the present system of despotic government which is ruining the country, but they trace the origin of all social evils to the religion of the Hindus. Directly or indirectly their efforts are to destroy the Hindu social structure, but have they any better system to give in return? We see that the present social government in Europe and in this country is not perfect. It is not even as perfect as the corrupted caste system which exists in India! These Christian missionaries

do not reaUze that the majority of the Christian

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

converts in India repent as long as they live for the great mistake they have committed in alienat- ing themselves from the Hindu society. Have they any social standing even among the Chris- tians themselves? Are the negroes of America on an equal footing with the white Christians? No. First let the Christians root out from their hearts the prejudice against race and color. Have they succeeded in doing that? How then can they solve the tremendous social problem which faces the Hindu people? India needs social reconstruction, but will they find that through Christianity? No, Christianity cannot help them, because the Christians know how to destroy, but they do not know how to build — especially in India. They may give their church government, which would be worse in a country like India. The people have suffered enough from priestcraft; they do not want any more of it.

India needs social reorganization and social regeneration. The Christians, like the Mahom- etans, have poured their ideals into the sea of Hindu society and have created waves of radical reform. To-day the waters of that social sea

114

THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE.

are being constantly stirred by the anglicized and half-Europeanized reformers of the present generation. Now the time has come for the Hindu leaders of society to stand on a broader and more universal platform and reconstruct their system, accepting whatever is good and noble among Western nations and adding it to their own lofty ideals. They will have to make their social organization more flexible than it has ever been. That reconstruction must be based upon the broadest and most universal ideals of the Hindu nation, tempered by the need of occidental aggressiveness and commercialism. The remedy has already been discovered in the all-embracing and unifying system of Vedanta, which, proclaiming the divine right of all human- ity 'rrespective of caste, creed, or color, and teaching that all are children of God, whether Christians or Hindus, Pariahs or Brahmins, will once more purify the social conditions, remove the evils of the caste system, uplift the indi- viduals, bring solidarity among the members of different communities, and make the Hindu nation stand once more as a great civilizing

power among the civilized nations of the world.

116

IV.

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

Those who have studied the history of the civiHzation of ancient India are well acquainted with the fact that the Hindus were highly civilized at least five thousand years ago. The earliest records of Hindu civilization are to be found in the Rig Veda, the oldest Scriptures of the world, and in other writings of the Vedic period. From these sources we learn, as was shown in the last lecture, that the Indo-Aryans of those prehistoric times organized their society into four general classes: Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaish3'as, and Sudras, according to their color, qualifications, and professions. The Brahmins were entrusted with literary and priestly duties; while the Kshatriyas were those who devoted their energy to protect the country against in- vaders, to govern the land, and to look after the

116

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

welfare and safety of all the other classes. In- dustry, trade, commerce, agriculture, and the various duties of a commercial life were under- taken by those who were known as the Vaishyas or the merchant class; and the Sudras belonged to the serving class.

The Vedic writings also tell us that the Indo- Aryans of those days cultivated the land with ploughs, used oxen and horses in the field, understood irrigation by means of canals, and knew the use of wells and reservoirs for drinking as well as for irrigation. Various kinds of industry, trade, and commerce, as also the existence of current money — like pieces of gold of a certain fixed value, for use in buying and sellmg are mentioned in the Rig Veda. The Indo- Aryans, we read, furthermore, were con- tinually engaged in fighting against the non- Aryan aboriginal tribes who were the original inhabitants of India, and remnants of whom are still to be found in some parts among the hill tribes, just as you find to-day some of the original inhabitants of America in certain parts

of this country. In these battles with hostile

117

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

tribes "the (Aryan) warriors used not only armour and helmets, but also protecting armour for the shoulder, probably shields. They used javelins and battle-axes, and sharp-edged swords, besides bows and arrows. All the weapons of war known elsewhere in ancient times were known in India four thousand years ago. Drums assembled men in battle, banners led them on in compact masses, and the use of war horses and chariots was well known. Tame elephants were in use too." *

The Rig Veda contains numerous allusions which show that the use of iron, gold, and of other metals was well known to the Hindus. Armors worn in war are mentioned in Book I, 140, 10; in II, 39, 4; in IV, 53, 2, as in various other places; while the javelin, in Sanskrit Rishti, and the battle-axe, Bashi in Sanskrit, are mentioned in the Rig Veda, V, 52, 6, and 57, 2. Three thousand mailed warriors are spoken of in the same Veda, VI, 27, 6; and sharp-edged swords are described in VI, 47, 10. That the arrowheads were made of iron is sho\^Ti in

* "Civilization in Ancient India," Vol. I, p. 58.

118

POLITICAL LNSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

Book VI, 75, 15: "We extol the arrow which is poisoned whose face is iron," and in the next book {8;^, 1) we read: "When the battle is nigh and the warrior marches in his armour, he appears Hke the cloud."

It was by ceaseless fighting that the ancient Indo-Aryans protected themselves in their newly- conquered countr}% extended the limits of cul- tivation, and built new towns and villages. This interminable warring and fighting forced the conquering Aryan tribes to organize their politi- cal and military institutions. Thus the political institutions of the Hindus are as old as their civilization. They divided the country into various kingdoms, principalities, and chiefships, each enjoying perfect autonomy. At the head of cch province or kingdom was a Hindu chief or governor, who was called a Rajah, which means "prince" or "king." These Rajahs were absolutely independent of one another. They entertained friendly relations with the Rajahs of other neighboring provinces, and sometimes they were jealous of each other. But there never

was a universal sovereignty over the whole of

119

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

India, like that of the great autocrat of Russia,

although there were powerful monarchs and

emperors to whom other kings, chiefs, and

governors of states acknowledged subordination

and paid tribute. Their autonomy, however,

was never sacrificed. Their alliances generally

bore the character of confederacies, or federal

unions, and not that of feudal baronies subject

to a ruling chief; and under no circumstances

were the servile duties of the feudal barons of

Europe exacted from the weaker Rajahs or

governors. The bond between them was of the

feeblest kind, and easily broke at every favorable

opportunity. In the Vedic period, there were

many such emperors or Chakravartins, as they

were called in Sanskrit. In the Ramayana we

read that Rama was the emperor of Ayodhyd

(modem Oudh), and his power extended all over

northern and southern India as far down as

Ceylon. From the Mah^bharata, which contains

the history of the Hindus who lived as early

as 1400 B.C., we learn that Yudhishtliira became

the emperor of India after the battle of Kuruk-

shetra. His successors, Parikshit, Janmejaya,

120

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

and many others, were known as emperors. These emperors had a number of Rajahs under them, who paid allegiance and tribute to them. But their bond could break at any time for very insignificant causes.

WTien Alexander the Great invaded India, there was on the throne the most powerful Buddhist emperor, Chandra Gupta, whose capital was Pataliputra, modern Patna, on the river Ganges. His grandson was Asoka, who lived in 260 B.C. and became the most celebrated emperor of those daj^s. He was like Constantine the Great among the Buddhists. He made Buddhism the state religion of India; he sent missionaries from Siberia to Ceylon, from China to Egypt, and made treaties with kings of foreign countries. One of the edicts of Asoka, which were written during his lifetime, says that he made treaties with five Greek kings who were his contem- poraries, namely, Antiochus of Syria, Ptolemaos of Egypt, Antigonus of Macedon, Magus of C3n'ene, and Alexander of Epiros; and he sent missionaries to those places, as far as Alexandria, to preach the Gospel of Buddha.

121

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

Alexander the Great, however, invaded only the northwestern corner of India, and defeated in one battle some of the hill-tribes, but after- wards, when he heard of the power and strength of Chandra Gupta, he withdrew his troops and returned to Greece. His successor, Seleucus, sent the Greek ambassador Megasthenes, who lived for several years at the court of this great em- peror. From the accounts of Megasthenes, which are the most authentic historical records that we can gather from an outsider, we learn many facts about the political institutions of the Hindus as witnessed by a foreigner during the fourth century B.C. Megasthenes left a valuable record of tlic actual work of administra- tion as observed by him. He sa3's: "Those who have charge of the city are divided into six bodies of five each. The members of the first look after everything relating to the industrial arts. Those of the second attend to the enter- tainment of foreigners. To those they assign lodgings, and they keep watch over their modes of life by means of those persons whom they give to them for assistants. They escort them

122

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDLA.

on the way when they leave the country, or, in the event of their dying, forward their property to their relatives. They take care of them when they are sick, and., if they die, bury them. The third body consists of those who inquire when and how births and deaths occur, with a view not only of levying a tax, but also in order that births and deaths among both high and low- may not escape the cognizance of government. The fourth class superintends trade and com- merce. Its members have charge of weights and measures, and see that the products in their season are sold by public notice. No one is allowed to deal in more than one kind of com- modity unless he pays a double tax. The fifth class supervises manufactured articles, which they sell by public notice. What is new is sold separately from what is old, and there is a fine for mixing the two together. The sixth and last class consists of those who collect the tenths of the prices of the articles sold."

The military officers "also consist of six divi- sions, with five members to each. One division

is appointed to cooperate with the admiral of

123

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

the fleet; another with the superintendent of the bullock-trains which are used for transporting engines of war, food for the soldiers, provender for the cattle, and other military requisites. . . . The third division has charge of the foot- soldiers, the fourth of the horses, the fifth of the war-chariots, and the sixth of the ele- phants."

In addition to the military and municipal officers, there was a third class whose duty was to superintend agriculture, irrigation, foiests, and the general work of administration in rural dis- tricts. "Some superintend the rivers, measure the land, as is done in Egypt, and inspect the sluices by which water is let out from the main canals into their branches, so that every one may have an equal supply of it. The same per- sons have charge also of the huntsmen, and are entrusted with the power of rewarding or pun- ishing them according to their deserts. They collect the taxes, and superintend the occupa- tions connected with land, as those of the wood- cutters, the carpenters, the blacksmiths, and the miners. They construct roads, and at every

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POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

ten stadia set up a pillar to show the by-roads and distances." *

The laws of war among the Hindus were more humane than among the other nations of the world, and Megasthenes mentions this fact. Ail these Rajahs governed their country in accordance with their laws and for the welfare of their people, and what accoimts we get from Megasthenes are exactly the same as those we read in Manu, Apastamba, and other Sanskrit law-books of an- cient time. Regarding the military law, or the laws of war, the Hindu lawgiver Apastamba says: "The Arj^ans forbid the slaughter of those who have laid down their arms, of those who beg for mercy with flying hair or joined hands, and of fugitives." (H, 5, 10, 11.) "Let him not fight with those who are in fear, intoxicated, insane or out of their minds, nor with those who have lost their armour, nor with women, infants, aged men, and Brahmins." (Bodhayana, I, 10, 18, II.) "The wives of slain soldiers were always provided for." (VasishthaXIX, 20.) Megasthenes s^ys: "For whereas among other

* MacCrindle's Translation. 125

mDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

nations it is usual, in the contests of war, to ravage the soil, and thus to reduce it to an uncultivated waste, among the Indians, on the contrary, by whom husbandmen are regarded as a class that is sacred and inviolable, the tillers of the soil, even when battle is raging in the neighborhood, are undisturbed by any sense of danger. . . . Besides, they (the warriors) never ravage an enemy's land with fire nor cut down its trees. They never use the conquered as slaves." *

The duties of the king, according to the law- giver Manu, were "to protect his subjects, to deal impartial justice, and to punish the wrong- doer." (VII, 12, i6.) These were the three principal duties. "Drinking, gambling and licen- tiousness, and hunting were the most perni- cious faults of the king." (VII, 50.) The private life of kings is described by Manu thus: "The king should rise in the last watch of the night, and, having performed his personal puri- fication and devotional exercises, he should enter the hall of audience in the morning. There he

* MacCrindle's Translation. 126

I

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

should gratify all subjects who come to see him, and, having dismissed them, he should take counsel with his ministers in a private chamber." (VII, 145-147.) "When the consultation is over, then he is ready to take care of his physical needs, meals, and so on." But his first duty is to give an audience to his subjects and to gratify their demands. "In the afternoon, the king should review his army, inspect his fighting-men, his chariots, animals, and weapons, and then perform his twiUght devotions. After this he should give audience to his secret spies and hear private reports." (VII, 221-225.) "The king was al- ways assisted by his council of seven or eight ministers," as we read in the laws of Manu (VII, 54-63), "who were versed in sciences, skilled in the use of weapons, and descended from nobie and well-tried famihes. Such ministers used to advise the king in matters of peace and war, revenue and religious gifts. The king also employed suitable persons for the collecting of revenue, and in mines, manufactories, and store- houses; and he employed ambassadors for car- rying on negotiations with rulers." For the

127

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

protection of villages and tovMis, separate officers were appointed. The king appointed a lord over each village, over ten villages, lords of twenty, of a hundred, and of a thousand villages; and these lords were not merely governors, but they used to check crime and protect the villages. These were the special duties of these special officers. They were like superintendents. Simi- larly, each town had its superintendent of all affairs, who personally inspected the work of all officials and got secret information about their behavior and private character, because the Hindu law says: "The servants of the king, who are appointed to protect the people, gener- ally become knaves, who seize the property of others; let him protect his subjects against such men.' (Manu, VII, 115-123.) From this you will see that, in ancient times, government offi- cials used to become knaves, as they do now in a highly civilized country like America. Think of the time when this law was written, — centuries before Christ!

The income of the state from the royal demesnes

was supplemented by taxes. Manu fixes an

128

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

income tax of two per cent on cattle and gold. The land revenue varied from one-sixth to one-eighth or one-twelfth of the crops,* and this was much less than the land-revenue tax under British rule. Under the Hindu rule, the king was strictly prohibited from exacting excessive taxation. He was allowed to take one-sixteenth part of the price made on butter, earthen vessels and stone wares, and might exact a day's service in each month from arti- sans, mechanics, and other working-people; that is, one day in a month these people would give their service free. Of course, they were maintained by the king, that is, they were fed by the king at that time; and with this institu- tion, in ancient times, they could erect wonderful buildings, palaces, and monuments for public use, which now they cannot do because the cost is so great.

All these and other laws regarding administra- tion and taxation show that an advanced sys- tem of government prevailed in India before the beginning of the Christian era. Megasthenes,

* Vide Civilization in Ancient India, Vol. II, p. 102.

129

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

who lived in India in the fourth century before Christ, as also the Chinese travellers, Fa Hian, who visited India about 400 A.D., and Houen Tsang, who came to India about 630 a.d. and resided there for nearly fifteen years, spoke in the highest terms of praise of the govern- ment and administration of the Hindu Rdjahs. Frequently we hear that the Hindus were so badly governed at that time that they had no peace or justice and were constantly engaged in fighting; but these witnesses of other nations, who came from other countries and lived in India, left records which speak differently. They do not cite one single instance of a people being ground down by taxes, or harassed by the arbitrary acts of kings, or ruined by famines, plagues, or internecine wars. On the contrary, they say: "The people were happy, prosperous, enjoying peace and justice. Agriculture flour- ished, the fine arts were cultivated." Houen Tsang, in his diary, which has been translated into English by Samuel Beal, wrote thus, de- scribing the administration of India: "As the administration of the country is conducted on

ISO

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

benign principles, the executive is simple. . . . The private demesnes of the crown are divided into four principal parts: the first is for carry- ing out the affairs of state and providing sac- rificial offerings; the second is for providing subsidies for the ministers and chief officers of state; the third is for rewarding men of dis- tinguished ability; and the fourth is for charity to religious bodies, whereby the field of merit is cultivated. In this way the taxes on the peo- ple are light, and the personal service required of them is moderate. Each one keeps his own worldly goods in peace, and all till the ground for their subsistence. Those who cultivate the royal estates pay a sixth part of the produce as tribute. The merchants who engage in corn- men, e come and go in carrying out their trans- actions. The river passages and the road bar- riers are open on payment of a small toll. When the public works require it, labour is exacted, but paid for. The payment is in strict pro- portion to the work done.

"The military guard the frontiers, or go out

to punish the refractory. They also mount

131

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

guard at night round the palace. The soldiers are levied according to the requirements of the service; they are promised certain pa3mients, and are publicly enrolled. The governors, min- isters, magistrates, and officials have each a portion of land assigned to them for their per- sonal support."

Houen Tsang also says that tributary kings from China sent hostages to Kanishka, the great Buddhist emperor, who reigned in Kashmir (Northwestern India) about yS a.d., and he treated them with special favor, and set apart for their residence that portion of the country which afterwards was named Chinapati. The Chinese introduced the pear and the peach into India, "wherefore the peach is called Chindni and the pear is called Chinarajaputra (son of the Chinese monarch)."

Such political conditions existed in India from the time of Megasthenes down to Houen Tsang; that means from nearly tlie fourth century B.C. to the seventh century a. d. Besides these, the most remarkable feature of tlie political organi- zation of ancient India was the village com-

132

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF IKDIA.

munity and municipal institutions. This village community was called "Panchayat," or com- mittee of five. There was originally a commit- tee of five, then aftenvards it was increased to twelve. Each community formed itself into an independent little republic, which managed its own affairs and governed itself, but which was bound to the central government by the regular payment of an assessment or tax on the produce. Each district, again, was divided into territories which were governed by the village community, or "Panchayat." Under this self-government by community, every individual member en- joyed absolute political freedom and independence. Each had full voice in the government. This government by Panchayat is described in Manu and in other law-books of ancient India, and it has always existed among the Hindus. The people first elected their head-man, or president, who was a kind of mayor, and who was paid by a fixed proportion of land. He was the chairman of the village or town council, and used to call regular meetings. The next important officer

of the community was the notary, or local at-

133

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

tomey, who transacted the village business and kept an account of the land and produce, the rents and assessments. Then there was a Brahmin priest, a village schoolmaster, a barber, a carpenter, a blacksmith, a cowman, a shoe- maker, a potter, a washerman, a druggist, an oilman, the watchman, and the sweeper. These made up the village community. These mem- bers discussed and managed the whole affairs of the territory.

From the time of Manu, or from at least four hundred years before Christ, this form of muni- cipal institution has existed in India, undisturbed by foreign invasions and political convulsions, internal wars, famine, plague, or earthquake. Sir Monier Monier Williams says: "And here I may observe that no circumstance in the history of India is more worthy of investigation than the antiquity and permanence of her village and municipal institutions. The importance of the study lies in the light thereby thrown on the parcelling out of rural society into autonomous institutions, like those of our own English parishes,

wherever Aryan races have occupied the soil

134

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

in Asia or in Europe. The Indian village or township, meaning thereby not merely a col- lection of houses forming a village or town, but a division of territory, perhaps three or four miles or more in extent, with its careful dis- tribution of fixed occupations for the common good, with its intertwining and inter-dependence of individual, family, and communal interests, with its provision for political independence and autonomy, is the original type, the first germ, of all the divisions of rural and civic society in mediaeval and modern Europe. It has existed almost unaltered since the description of its organization in Manu's code, two or three cen- turies before the Christian era. It has sur- vived all the religious, political, and physical convulsions from which India has suffered from time immemorial. Invader after invader has ravaged the country with fire and sword, . . . but the simple, self-contained Indian township has preserved its constitution intact, its customs, precedents, and peculiar institutions, unchanged and unchangeable, amid all other changes.'

* Brihrninism and Hinduism, p. 455. 135

" *

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

During the Mahometan rule of six hundred years, all these political institutions of the Hindus remained unaltered. They were never modified or disturbed. The Hindu villagers did not know that they were governed by the Mahometans. The throne was occupied by a Mahometan or Mogul emperor, to whom the native Rajahs and queens paid tribute, but beyond that they had no obligation; they were quite independent. Each Rajah had his own laws, his own court, and his own separate administraticn. The government of the country according to the Hindu system has always been continued in the native states. Even at the present time there are native states governed by Hindu Rdjahs where you will still find*this kind of government. The Mahometans never gained absolute control over the whole of India. Before the advent of the British rule, the administra- tion of justice, the repression of crime, and other functions of the police, the collection of cesses and taxes, were all carried out by the govern- ment of the village community. To-day in British

India this self-government of the Hindus has

136

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

been destroyed by the short-sighted pohcy of the British autocrats, and its place has been given to a most costly system of judicial administration, unparalleled in the history of the world. They talk about English justice. Of course there is justice in English government, but it is very expensive and one-sided. Indians have justice among Indians, but if an Indian's rights are outraged by a European he cannot hope for similar justice. The poorer classes, furthermore, cannot pay for justice under any conditions; it is too expensive. The present oppression of the police and the cruelty of revenue collectors under British management have already driven the masses to the verge of absolute despair and rebellion.

Many people in this country think that England conquered India by force of arms, but history tells us that some English merchants first came to India to trade at the time when the Mahometan power was in its decline, and the Hindus were fighting against the Mahometans to throw off their yoke and reestablish Hindu power upon the throne of Delhi. At this time of anarchy

137

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

and revolution, these British traders, under the name of the East India Company, took the side of the Mahometans and gained the confidence of the last of the Mogul emperors, who was then merely a titular sovereign. He had lost all power; nobody obeyed him. As a return for what he had received from the East India Com- pany and as a favor to Lord Clive, this last of the Mogul emperors, in 1765, gave a charter making the East India Company of British traders the Dewan, or administrators, of Bengal. Though the Great Mogul had no real power to do such a thing, still, as long as he was the titular sovereign of India, his charter gave the East India Company a legal status in the country. The officers of the Company held that charter in their hands wherever they went. Lord Clive himself, in his letter to the Court of Directors from Calcutta dated September 30, 1765, writes: "The assistance which the Great Moghal had received from our arms and treasury made him readily bestow this grant upon the Company." "I mean the Dewanec, which is the superinten-

dency of all the lands and the collection of all

138

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

the revenues of the provinces of Bengal, Behar, and Orissa." These three provinces first came into the hands of the East India Company, and at that period the revenue from them was enormous. Lord Chve writes again: "Your revenues, by means of this acquisition, will, as near as I can judge, not fall far short, for the ensuing year, of 250 lacks of Sicca Rupees,* including your former possession of Burdwan, etc. Hereafter they will at least amount to twenty or thirty lacks more. Your civil and military expenses in time of peace can never exceed sixty lacks of Rupees; the Nabob's allowances are already reduced to forty- two lacks, and the tribute to the king (the Great Moghal) at twenty-six; so that there will be remaining a clear gain to the Company of 122 lacks of Sicca Rupees, or £1,650,900 sterling." f "An annual remittance of over a million and a half sterling was to be made from a subject country to the shareholders (of the East India Company) in Engliand." t

* Three rupees make one dollar; a lack was 100,000 rupees.

t House of Commons Third Report, 1773, Appendix, pp. 391-398.

X Economic History of British India, p. 39.

139

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

This was the beginning of British empire in India. That annual remittance has now in- creased and swelled to nearly thirty million pounds sterling. "The scheme of administration intro- duced by Clive was a sort of dual government. The collection of revenues was still made for the (Mahometan) Nawab's exchequer; justice was still administered by the Nawab's officers; and all transactions were covered by the mask of the Nawab's authority. But the East India Com- pany, the real masters of the country derived all the profits; and the Company's servants practised unbounded tyranny for their own gain, overawing the Nawab's servants, and converting his tribunals of justice into instruments for the prosecution of their own purposes.* It is a long story; time will not permit me to describe the harrowing tales of the foul and treacherous methods which were adopted by the unworthy representatives of the English people, under the name of the East India Company, to secure for their motherland a market-place for her trade and commerce, and to bring benefit and prosperity

♦ Economic History of British India, p. 43.

HO

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDLV.

to the British nation, which was at that time the poorest nation in Europe. Those who have read the impeachment of Warren Hastings by Burke, as also impartial students of the history of the East India Company, are already acquainted with the brutal policy of the Company, which has ruined the most prosperous country of India. Zemindars were dispossessed of their hereditary rights, their lands were let to the highest bidder by public auction, trade and manufacture were destroyed by monopoly and coercion, prohibitive duties were charged on manufactured articles, etc.

Terrible famines began for the first time with the British rule in India. In 1770 there was a terrible famine in the district of Pumeah, in Bengal, in which above one-third of the popula- tion died of starvation; but the revenue from land-tax was exacted with such tyranny and oppression that even during that famine it was larger than in previous years. On the 9th of May, 1770, the Calcutta Council wrote to the Court of Directors: "The famine which has ensued, the mortality, the beggary, exceed all description.

141

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

Above one-third of the inhabitants have perished in the once plentiful province of Purneah, and in other parts the misery is equal." On the I2th of February, 1771, they wrote: "Notwith- standing the great severity of the late famine, and the great reduction of the people thereby, some increase has been made in the settlements (of taxes) both of the Bengal and the Behar provinces for the present year." * Mr. Dutt says in his Economic History of India: "Famines in India are directly due to a deficien:y in the annual rainfall; but the intensity of such famines and the loss of lives caused by them are largely due to the chronic poverty of the people. If the people were generally in a prosperous condition, they could make up for local failure of crops by purchases from neighboring provinces, and there would be no loss of life. But when the people are absolutely resourceless, they cannot buy from surrounding tracts, and they perish in hundreds of thousands, or in millions, whenever there is a local failure of crops." f

♦ Extracts from India OfTicc Records quoted in Hun- ter's "Annals of Rural Bengal," 1868, pp. ai, 399.

tP. 51.

142

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDL\.

The reports of the Indian Famine Commissions of 1880 and 1898 show that between i860 and 1900, that is, within forty years, there were ten widespread famines in India. In i860 a famine broke out in Northern India and the loss of Ufa was estimated at 200,000, but was probably much larger; in 1866 a famine in Orissa carried off one- third of the population, or about a million people; in 1869 there was another famine in Northern India, during which at least 1,200,000 people died; in 1874 Bengal was visited by famine, but the land-tax in this province is light and is permanently settled; the people are therefore comparatively prosperous and resource- ful, and there was no loss of life from this famine. The land-tax of Madras, on the contrary, is heavy and is enhanced from time to time, and the people are poor and resourceless; when, therefore, a famine broke out there in 1877, five millions perished. A third famine in Northern India in 1878 cost the Hves of 1,250,000 people; and during the famine of 1889 in Madras and Orissa the loss of life was very severe, but no

official figures are available. In 1892, again,

143

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

there was a famine in Madras, Bengal, Burma, and Rajputana, causing a heavy loss of life in Madras but none in Bengal. In 1897 famine swept over all Northern India, Bengal, Burma, Madras, and Bombay. The number of people on relief works alone rose to three millions in the worst months. Deaths were prevented in Bengal and elsewhere, but in the Central Provinces the death rate rose from an average of thirty-three per mille to sixty-nine per mille during the year. The famine of 1900 in the Punjab, Rajputana, the Central Provinces, and Bombay was the most widespread ever known in India. The number of persons relieved rose to six millions in the worst months. In Bombay, in the famine camps, so Sir A. P. Macdonnell, President of the Famine Commission, reported, the people "died like flies." "The results of the three famines within the last ten years (1891- 1901), and of the increasing poverty of the people, are shown in the census taken in March, 1901. The population of India has remained stationary during the last ten years. There is a slight increase in Bengal, Madras, and Northern

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDU.

India, while there is an actual decrease of some millions in Bombay, the Central Provinces, and the Native States affected by recent famines. In other words, the population of India to-day is less by some thirty millions than it would have been if the nominal increase of one per cent per annum had taken place during these ten years." *

Warren Hastings, who had succeeded CHve as Governor of Bengal, was made first Governor- General in 1772. Pitt's India Bill became a law in 1784. It removed the administration of the East India Company from the hands of directors and placed it under the control of the crown, thus compelling some reforms. Lord Cornwallis then became the successor of Warren Hastings. The policy of all of the governor- generals under the East India Company was to extend the British territory, to absorb the Native States by declaring war on the slightest pretence, to increase the revenue, and to drain the country of her resources. "The people of India have no votes, and are not even represented in the

♦ Indian Famines, by R. C. Dutt, p. 2. 145

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

Executive Councils of India. They have no voice in the matter of taxation or of expenditure. They have no share in the work of adjusting the finances of India. Taxation exceeds ail reason- able limits in India, and the proceeds of the taxation are not all spent in India. A large sum, estimated between twenty and thirty millions in English money, is annually drained from India to this country (England). The disastrous results of this annual drain have been described by many EngUsh writers anc admin- istrators throughout the century which has just closed." * Sir Thomas Munro, for some time Governor of Madras, after forty years' experience in India, wrote in 1824: "They (natives of India) have no share in making laws for themselves; little in administering them, except in very sub- ordinate offices; they can rise to no high station, civil or military; they are everywhere regarded as an inferior race, and more often as vassals or servants than as the ancient owners and masters of the country. ... All the civil and military offices of any importance are now held by Euro-

♦ Indian Famines, by R. C. Dutt, p. lo. 146

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

pcans, whose savings go to their own country." Mr. Frederick John Shore, of the Bengal Civil Service, wrote in 1837: "The halcyon days of India are over; she has been drained of a large proportion of the wealth she once possessed, and her energies have been cramped by a sordid system of misrule, to which the interests of millions have been sacrificed for the benefit of the few." Professor H. H. Wilson, the noted English historian, also says of the annual drain from India: "Its transfer to England is an abstraction of Indian capital for which no equiv- alent is given; it is an exhausting drain upon the country, the issue of which is paid by no reflux; it is an extraction of the life-blood from the veins of national industry, which no subse- qutnt introduction of nourishment is furnished to restore." John Sullivan, at one time a Mem- ber of the Government of Madras and President of the Board of Revenue, writes thus in one of his reports: "As to the complaints which the people of India have to make of the present fiscal system, I do not conceive that it is the

amount, altogether, that they have to complain

147

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

of. I think that they have rather to com- plain of the appHcation of that amount. Under their own dynasties, all the revenue that was collected in the country was spent in the country; but under our rule, a large proportion of the revenue is annually drained away, and without any return being made for it; this drain has been going on now for sixty or seventy years, and it is rather increasing than the reverse. . . . Our system acts very much like a sponge, drawing up all the good things from the banks of the Ganges, and squeezing them down on the banks of the Thames. . . . They (the people of India) have no voice whatever in imposing the taxes which they are called upon to pay, no voice in framing the laws which they are bound to obey, no real share in the administration of their own country; and they are denied those rights from the insolent and insulting pretext that they are wanting in mental and moral qualifications for the discharge of such duties." *

The British administrators, in the first part of the nineteenth century, did all they could to

* Report of the Select Committee, p. 40a. 148

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

promote English industries at the sacrifice of Indian industries; for the pohcy of English ad- ministration in India is shaped, not by states- men and philosophers, but by merchants, traders, and manufacturers, who are the voters of Great Britain. British manufactures were forced into India through the agency of the Company's Governor-General and commercial residents, while Indian manufactures were shut out from England by prohibitive tariffs, as the following table will show.

"Petitions were vainly presented to the House of Common against these unjust and enormous duties on the import of Indian manufactures into England. One petition against the duties on sugar and spirits was signed by some four hundred European and Indian merchants," * and it was rejected by the British Government in England. The policy of England was to make Great Britain independent of foreign countries for the raw material upon which her valuable manufactures depend, and to make India the producer of raw materials for English manufac-

♦ Economic History of India, p. 294. 149

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

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POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

tones. The German economist, Frederick List, said: "Had they sanctioned free importation into England of Indian goods, the English manu- factories would have come to a stand." * Thus, within fifty years, India was reduced from the state of a manufacturing to that of an agricultural country.

Cotton and silk fabrics, shawls and woolen fabrics, sugar, tobacco, rum, dyes, saltpetre, coffee, tea, steel, gold, iron, copper, coal, timber, opium, and salt,— all these, and grains of all kinds, India had traded with other nations, both Asiatic and European; but, under the pretence of free trade, England has now compelled the Hindus to receive the manufactured products of England free of duty, and has imposed prohibitive duties or Indian manufactures imported to England. No Indian industry of any kind has been encour- aged by the British Government during the last one hundred and fifty years. And no less than two hundred and thirty-five articles were subjected to internal duties under the East India Company. Section 6 of the Cotton Duties Act of 1896 runs

* The National System of Political Economy, p. 42,

151

im)lA AND HER PEOPLE.

thus: "There shall be levied and collected at every mill in British India, upon all cotton goods produced in such mill, a duty at the rate of 3^ per centum on the value of such goods." And Mr. Dutt, in commenting upon this Act, says: "As an instance of fiscal injustice, the Indian Act of 1896 is unexampled in any civilized country in modern times. Most civilized governments protect their home industries by prohibitive duties on foreign goods. The most thorough of Free Trade Governments do not excist home manufactures when imposing a moderate customs duty on imported goods for the purposes of revenue. In India, where an infant industry required protection, even according to the maxims of John Stuart Mill, no protection has ever been given. Moderate customs, levied for the purposes of revenue only, were sacrificed in 1879 and 1882. Home-manufactured cotton goods, which were supposed to compete with imported goods, were excised in 1894. And home goods which did not compete with foreign goods were excised in 1896. Such is the man- ner in which the interests of an unrepresented

152

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

nation are sacrificed." * This will give you a rough idea of how India has prospered in her economic condition during British rule.

A special liw still exists under the English Government to provide laborers for the cultiva- tion of tea in Assam. "A dark stain is cast on this industry by what is known as the 'slave-law' of India. Ignorant men and women, once in- duced to sign a contract, are forced to work in the gardens of Assam during the term indicated in the contract. They are arrested, punished, and restored to their masters if they attempt to run away; and they are tied to their work under penal laws such as govern no other form of labor in India. Hateful cases of fraud, coercion, and kidnapping, for securing these labourers, have been revealed in the criminal courts of Bengal, and occasional acts of outrage on the men and women thus recruited have stained the history of tea-gardens in Assam. Responsible and high administrators have desired a repeal of the penal laws, and have recommended that the tea gardens should obtain workers from

* India in the Victorian Age, p. 543. 1^

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

the teeming labor markets of India under the ordinary laws of demand and supply. But the influence of capitalists is strong; and no Indian Secretary of State or Indian Viceroy has yet ventured to repeal these penal laws, and to abolish the system of semi-slavery which still exists in India." *

Now let us see what is the present political condition of the Indian people: "The East India Company's trade was abolished in 1833, and the Company was abolished m 1858, but their policy remains. Their capital was paid off by loans, which were made into an Indian Debt, on which interest is paid from Indian taxes. The empire was transferred from the Company to the Crown, but the people of India paid the purchase- money." t In 1858 the public debt was seventy million pounds, which had been piled up by the East India Company during the one hundred years of their rule in India, while they were drawing tribute from India, financially an unjust tribute, exceeding 150 millions, not counting

* India in the Viclorian Age, p. 353. I Economic History of India, p. xii. 164

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

interest. Besides this, they had charged India with the cost of the wars in China, Afghanistan, and in other foreign countries. India, therefore, in reaUty owed nothing at the close of the Com- pany's rule. Her Pubhc Debt was a myth. On the contrary, there was a balance of over loo millions in her favor out of the money that had been drawn from her. The administration of the Crown doubled this Public Debt in nineteen years, bringing it up to 139 million pounds in 1877, when the Queen became Empress of India. Over 40 millions sterling of this represented the cost of the Mutiny wars, which was thrown on the revenues of India. India was also made to pay a large contribution to the cost of the Abys- sinian war of 1867. In 1900 the debt amounted to 224 millions sterling. The construction of railways by Guaranteed Companies or by the State, beyond the pressing needs of India and beyond her resources, was largely responsible for this increase. It was also largely due to the Afghan wars of 1878 and 1897.

India pay^ interest on this debt, which annually increases. Besides this, she pays for all the

155

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

officers, civil and military, and a huge standing army, pensions of officers, and even the cost of the India Building in London, as well as the salary of every menial servant in that house. For 1901-2 the total expenditure charged against revenue was ;^7i,394,282, out of which £17,368,- 655 was spent in England as Home Charges, not including the pay of European officers in India, saved and remitted to England. These Charges were as follows:

1. Interest on Debt and Management of Debt £3,052,410

2. Cost of Mail Service, Telegraph Lines, etc.,

charged to India 227,288

3. Railways, State, and Guaranteed (Interest

and Annuities) 6,416,373

4. Public Works (Absentee Allowances, etc.)- 5^.214

5. Marine Charges (including H. M. Ships in

Indian Seas) i73.5oa

6. Military Charges (including pensions) 2,945,614

7. Civil Charges (including Secretary of State's

EstabUshment, Cooper's Hill College,

Pensions, etc.) 2.435.37°

8. Stores (including those for Defence Works) 2,057,934

Total -£17.368,655

The following, again, is a comparative table of

salaries paid out;

156

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

	CQ > c9 z 55 I 3 I	Eurasians.	C i £ 3 w	In Thousands of Rupees.
	Total Salaries of Natives.	Total Salaries of Eura- sians.	Total Salaries of Euro- peans.
Civil department. Military	10 I 4	121 1 854 23Q 9	947 12 10	151 11 45	25.274 13,268 3,415 113
Public works Incorporated local funds
	60	15	2313	1002	207	42,070

Besides these 105 officers drawing Rs., 10,000 a year or more are employed by the railway companies; they are all Europeans, and their salaries amount to 16 lacks and 28 thousand rupees (about $542,667). Among the officers, who are paid between Rs. 5000 and Rs. 10,000 a year, we find 421 natives in the civil department as against 1207 Europeans and 96 Eurasians. In the military department 25 natives are employed and 1699 Europeans and 22 Eurasians; while, in the Department of Public Works, there are 85 natives, as against 549 Europeans and 3 Eurasians.

Mr. Alfred Webb (late M.P.), who has studied

the subject with care, says: "In charges for the

157

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

India Office (in London); for recruiting (in Great Britain, for soldiers to serve in India); for civil and military pensions (to men now living in England, who were formerly in the Indian service); for pay and allowances on furloughs (to men on visits to England); for private remit- tances and consignments (from India to England); for interest on Indian Debt (paid to parties in England); and for interest on railways and other works (paid to shareholders in England), — there is annually drawn from India, and spent in the United Kingdom, a sum calculated at from ;^25,ooo,ooo to ;^30, 000,000" (between $125,000,- 000 and $150,000,000).

It would have been bad enough if this drain had continued for a few years, or even for one year, but it began with the day when India came under England's power and has been kept up ever since. Of this Mr, Brooks Adams writes: "Very soon after Plasscy (fought in 1757) the Bengal plunder began to arrive in London, and the effect seems to have been almost instan- taneous. . . . Possibly since the world began, no

investment has ever yielded the profit reaped

158

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

from the Indian plunder." * The stream of wealth ruthlessly drawn from the conquered people of India, and poured from Indian treasuries into English banks, between Plassey and Waterloo (fifty-seven years), has been variously calculated at from ;^5oo, 000,000 to ^1,000,000,000. The "Westminster Gazette" of London, April 24, 1900, estimates the drain from India to England, during the closing twenty-five years of the nineteenth century, to have been £500,000,000 ($2,500,000,000). It would be impossible to believe these enormous figures if they were not taken from authentic records. Can we wonder that India to-day is so impoverished? Could any nation withstand so merciless and unceasing a drain upon its resources?

The popular belief is, that England has sunk her enormous capital in the development of India; but the truth is, that England has not spent a cent in governing India. (Compare this with the Colonial Governments.) The In- dian Government means to-day the government of a bureaucracy, which includes the Viceroy

♦ Law of Civilization and Decay, pp. 259-364.

159

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

and the Members of the Executive Council, the Commander-in-Chief, the Mihtary Mem- ber, the Home Member, the PubHc Works Mem- ber, the Finance Member, and the Legal Mem- ber. The people are not represented in this ^ Council; their agriculture, their landed interests, their trades and industries, are not represented; there is nut, and never has been, a single Indian member in the Council. The members are high English officials, who draw large salaries and get pensions for life after their service is over.

Then in each large Indian province there is a Legislative Council, and some of the members of these smaller councils are elected under the Act of 1892. The principal function of the Legislative Council is legislation. In theory it exercises control over finance, but in prac- tice the budget is submitted to the autocracy merely for criticism; the representatives, how- ever, can exercise no control over its being passed.

The Council consists of twenty-five members, four of whom are Indians, recommended by

1(>0

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF IKDIA.

certain constituencies but appointed by the Viceroy. He has the power to appoint any one he pleases. He calls them elected, for the pur- pose of argument. The four Indians sit at one end of the table and the Englishmen at the other end. Beginning with the Indians, each one reads the speech he has prepared in order of seniority, each speech being prepared with- out knowledge of what the others will say, consequently without reference to what they have said. There is no real discussion. The Viceroy may turn its course as he pleases. The representatives cannot produce any impression on the Council, nor can they divide the Council or shape the decision in any way. It is indeed no representation of the natives in the proper sense of the term.

The Viceroy of India is under the orders of the Indian Secretary of State, who is a mem- ber of the English Cabinet. The Secretary of State lives in England, six thousand miles away from the governed people. He is assisted by a Council of ten retired Anglo-Indian officials,

who seek the interest of their own nation. The

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

whole system is, as Sir William Hunter calls it, an "oligarchy" which does not represent the people.

The government of India is as despotic as it is in Russia, because three hundred millions of people who are governed have neither voice nor vote in the government. The interest of the British nation i3 the first aim of the present system of government. People pay heavy taxes of all kinds, and that is all. The government sends out expeditions to Soudan, Egypt, China, Tibet, and other places outside of India, and then the poor people of India are forced to pay the enormous cost of these expeditions, amounting to millions of dollars.* The land- tax, income tax, and various kinds of taxes are higher than in any other civilized part of the world. "In India the State virtually in- terferes with the accumulation of wealth from the soil, intercepts the incomes and gains of the tillers, and generally adds to its land-revenue demand at each recurring settlement, leaving the cultivators permanently poor. In England, in

• Vide India in the Victorian Age, p. 604. 162

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDLA.

Germany, in the United States, in France, and other countries, the State widens the income of the people, extends their markets, opens out new sources of wealth, identifies itself with the nation, grows richer with the nation. In India the State has fostered no new industries and revived no old industries for the people; on the other hand, it intervenes at each recur- ring land settlement to take what it considers its share out of the produce of the soil." *

"But the land-tax levied by the British Gov- ernment is not only excessive, but, what is worse, it is fluctuating and uncertain in many prov- inces. In England, the land-tax was between one shilling and four shillings in the pound, i.e., between 5 and 20 per cent, of the rental, during a hundred years before 1798, when it was made perpetual and redeemable by William Pitt. In Bengal the land-tax was fixed at over 90 per cent, of the rental, and in Northern India at over 80 per cent, of the rental, between 1793 and 1822." t

* Economic History of British India, p. xi, t Ibid. p. ix.

163

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

To-day the masses of people in India live on from two to five cents a day and support their faimilies with these earnings. Expecting to have their grievances removed by the government, they have been agitating for the last twenty years by calling annual public meetings and special public meetings, where the best classes of edu- cated people have been represented. Although the Indian Government has spared no pains to stop all such agitations, still the people have been passing resolutions and sending them to the Viceroy and to the Secretary of State. Not one single word of encouragement has ever come from the despotic rulers, who are deter- mined to follow the steps of the Russians in their methods of administration. Indeed, Sir Henry Cotton says: "Even the Russian Gov- ernment, which we are accustomed to look upon as the ideal of autocracy, is not such a typical autocracy as the Government of India."

Ambitious, unsympathetic young civilians go

out to India for a few years to exploit the country,

satisfy their greed and self-interest, and return

home to live like lords, drawing upon the taxes

164

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

of the impoverished millions. I will give you an illustration of Lord Curzon's administra- tion. Lord Curzon was the most unpopular Viceroy ever in India. His policy was one of interference and distrust. He is no believer in free institutions or in national aspirations. He took away the freedom of the press, which was steadily gaining in weight and importance, by passing the Official Secrets Act. The policy of his administration was to keep all civil as well as all military movements of the government secret. He sent the expedition to Tibet. He wasted the resources of the country on the vain show and pomposity of the Durbar while millions were dying of famine and plague. He condemned the patriotic and national spirit of the Indians, and lastly he carried out the Roman policy of divide and rule by partitioning the Province of Bengal, simply to cripple the unity of the educated natives, as also of seventy mil- lions of inhabitants. .\11 these and many acts he carried out with such despotism and high- handedness, against the unanimous opinion of

seventy million people, that they were driven to

165

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

boycott all English goods and manufactures. The fire of boycott has spread all over the country, like wildfire in a forest. The people have unanimously appealed to the Viceroy and to the Secretary of State again and again, but all the higher officials of India and England have turned deaf ears to them. It is to be hoped that this boycott will bring the English auto- crats and despots to their senses.

The people of India are loyal and peace-loving, but they are discontented and impoverished after carrying for one hundred and fifty years the burden of an unsympathetic alien government. There would have been continuous rebellion and mutiny had they not so long depended upon passive resistance with the expectation that some day the famous proclamation of the late Queen Victoria would be carried into effect. On the morrow of the dark mutiny Queen Victoria proclaimed:

"We desire no extension of our present terri- torial possessions; and, while we will permit no aggression upon our dominions or our rights

to be attempted with impunity, we shaU sanc-

IGG

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

tion no encroachment on those of others. We shall respect the rights, dignity, and honor of Native Princes as our own; and we desire that they, as well as our own subjects, should enjoy that prosperity and social advancement which can only be secured by internal peace and good government.

"We hold ourselves bound to the Natives of our Indian territories by the same obligations of duty which bind us to all our subjects, and those obligations, by the blessing of Almighty God, we shall faithfully and conscientiously fulfil.

"Firmly relying ourselves on the truth of Christianity, and acknowledging with gratitude the solace of religion, we disclaim alike the right and the desire to impose our convictions on any of our subjects. We declare it to be our royal will and pleasure that none be anywise favored, none molested or disquieted, by reason of their religious faith and observances, but that all shall alike enjoy the equal and impar- tial protection of the law; and we do strictly

charge and enjoin all those who may be in

167

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

authority under us that they abstain from all interference with the religious belief and wor- ship of any of our subjects, on pain of our high- est displeasure.

"And it is our further will that, so far as may be, our subjects, of whatever race or creed, be freely and impartially admitted to offices in our service, the duties of which they may be qualified, by their education, ability, and in- tegrity, duly to perform."

(Lord Curzon, however, openly declared that all Indians were disqualified by reason of their race. )

This proclamation was repeated by King Edward VII on the day of his coronation. But have the Anglo-Indian bureaucracy shown any desire to do the things which were promised by the late Empress and the present Emperor, King Edward? No.

People have now organized themselves, have sent delegates to England and America, and have awakened to the truth of what John Stuart Mill said: "The government of a people by itself has a meaning and a reality, but such a

168

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS OF INDIA.

thing as government of one people by another does not and cannot exist. One people may keep another for its own use, a place to make money in, a In mi an cattle farm for the profit of its o%vn inhabitants."

The natives of India are now determined to stand on their own feet, but it is a hard prob- lem for an enslaved nation to raise their heads while the dominant sword of a powerful alien government is held close to their necks. If the people of America wish to know what would have been the condition of the United States under British rule, let them look at the poHtical and economic condition of the people of India to-day.

Well has it been said by Mr. Reddy, an Eng- lish friend of India: "England, through her mis- sionaries, offered the people of India thrones of gold in another world, but refused them a simple chair in this world." *

* India, Oct. 13, 1905. 169

V. EDUCATION IN INDIA.

Education in India can be divided into four periods: The first, the pre-Buddhistic, or before the sixth century B.C.; the second, the Bud- dhistic period, from 500 B.C. to the tenth cen- tury A.D.; the third, the Mahometan; and the fourth, the period under British rule.

In order to get a correct idea of the educa- tion of a people, we must first be familiar with the civilization of that people, because the standard of education must go parallel with the culture and civilization of a nation. As we have already seen, the earliest civilization of the Hindus began in the Vedic period. His- tory tells us that during that time the Indo- Aryans developed their voluminous scriptural works known as the Vedic literature, which consists of the Rig Veda, Yajur Veda, Sdma

170

EDUCATION IN INDU.

Veda, and Atharva Veda, with their Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads. All these are in the Sanskrit language and are the most ancient Scriptures of the world. The Hindus of to-day consider these Vedas as revealed just as other nations believe in their Scriptures as revealed. Long before the art of writing was known these Vedas were studied, committed to memory, and taught from mouth to mouth. In those early days the study of these Sacred Scriptures formed the principal feature in the education of the boys and girls of the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas.

The Ufe of a Hindu at that time was divided into four periods. The first was that of the student. The Aryan boys were initiated as stu- dents between the ages of eight and twelve. They then v/ent to the teacher's house, re- mained there and studied the Vedas. As in this age the students of civilized countries live in the universities for several years, so in ancient times the Hindu boys used to leave their homes and stay with their teachers. Some lived with

them for twelve years, some for twenty-four,

171

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

others for thirty-six or forty-eight years, in accordance with their desire to master one, two, three, or four Vedas. When they had finished these years of study under various instructors and professors, the students returned to their homes, after making a handsome gift to their masters. According to Hindu custom, no teacher should ever sell his knowledge or receive any salary in return for his instruction, but the students were allowed to make presents to their masters at the close of their studies. Having returned home, they married and settled them- selves as householders. Some, however, did not return, but devoted their whole life to the study of various Shastras or sciences.

The main object of education at that time was the moral and spiritual culture of the soul, the attainment of God-consciousness and the knowledge of the various sacrifices that are described in the Vedas. Along with the Vedas the students had to learn the six Veddngas or limbs of the Vedas. These were regarded as the most important branches of Scriptural study. The first was Shikshd or the science of phonetics,

\T2,

EDUCATION IN INDIA.

that is, the science which explains the correct pronunciation of the Sanskrit words and texts used in the Vedas. The second was Chhanda, or metre. The Vedic hymns have different metres, and one must be famihar with them in order to read or chant correctly. The scholars and professors of Sanskrit in Europe and America find great difficulty in pronouncing Sanskrit words and sentences because their tongues arc not flexible enough to express the minute shades of difference that exist in the sounds of Sans- krit words. The Hindus, however, used to study metre, as also the science of pronuncia- tion and grammar. At that time (even as early as 1400 B.C.) they had a scientific grammar. The Greek and Sanskrit languages have the best grammars, but the Sanskrit is the most perfect grammar that exists in the world. Then Nirukta, the fourth branch, was the science which describes the etymology, the meanings of differ- ent words, as well as the use of the same word in various senses. Also there was Kalpa, which includes Shrauta-sutras, or the laws about sac- rifices, Dharma-sutras, or laws regarding the

173

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

duties of a true citizen, Grihya-sutras, the rules of domestic life, and Sulva-sutras, the geomet- rical principles for constructing sacrificial altars. And the last branch was Jyotisha, or astronomy. In order to fix the time for Vedic sacrifices they had to study astronomy. Without knowing astronomy they could not understand the Vedas and could not perform any of the sacrifices. For this reason we find many astronomical references in the Vedas.

These were the main branches of study to which every Hindu belonging to the upper three classes — Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaish- yas — was entitled. Besides this private educa- tion in the house of some teacher, who, as I have already said, took no salary, there were public places for instruction. The courts of the enlightened kings and MahdrAjahs were the principal seats of learning where education was bestowed free of charge; and there were also the Parishads, which corresponded to the uni- versities of Europe. "At the period of transi- tion from the Vedic to the Brahmanic stage of

religious development about 1200 B.C. the courts

174

EDUCATION IN INDIA.

of the kings were the centers of culture. . . . At a later period, looo B.C., there arose Brah- manic settlements, called Parishads, which we might call collegiate institutions of learning." * These public institutions were started and established by Brahmin professors and scholar?. The students in them used to stay with the teachers and do some work in their households in return for free board and tuition. Professor Max Miiller, in his "History of Sanskrit Litera- ture," says that a ''Partshad used to consist of 21 Brahmins well-versed in philosophy, theol- ogy, and law. Sometimes three or four learned Brahmin scholars would form a small Parishad in a village." In the Upanishads we find men- tion of this kind of ancient Hindu university system. For instance, in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, VI, 2, we read that Svetaketu went to the Parishads of the Panchalas for education. In these colleges were taught the Vedas, philosophy, theology, and Hindu law, civil and criminal, — law of agriculture, of property, of usury, laws of inheritance and partition. These

♦ Education in India, W. I. Chamberlain, Ph.D., p. 20.

175

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

taws still govern Hindu society even under British rule. England has not succeeded in changing the Hindu laws and has not found any others more just or more perfect than those of the Hindus. This is not an exaggeration. Students of law, who have studied Roman and European law for years, cannot complete their course without studying Hindu law.

I have already shown in the first lecture that there were six schools of philosophy among the Hindus of the pre-Buddhistic peri>d, that is, between 1400 and 600 B.C. These six schools of philosophy included logic, psychology, the science of numbers and the evolution theory of Kapila, the atomic theory of Kan^da, the science of thought, metaphysics, and the monistic science and philosophy of Vedanta. The students re- ceived instruction in these various branches in the Parishads or universities. Arithmetic, Al- gebra, Geometry, Trigonometry, Decimal nota- tion, and Astronomy were also taught during the pre-Buddhistic period. You may be sur- prised to know that in those ancient times such sciences and philosophies were known to the

17il

EDUCATION IN INDIA.

Hindus; but it is a matter of history that these various branches of science and philosophy owed their origin to the Vedic rehgion of India. Geom- etry was developed from the rules for the con- struction of Vedic altars as described in the Vedas. For instance, it is told there to de- scribe a circle, make a triangle, or inscribe a triangle in a circle, and so on. When geometry fell into disuse in the Buddhistic period, after sacrifices were no longer made, algebra took its place. "The science of algebra indeed re- ceived a remarkable degree of development in India; the application of algebra to astronom- ical investigations and to geometrical demon- strations is a peculiar invention of the Hindus; and their manner of conducting it has received the admiration of modem European mathe- maticians." *

Besides these, the great epics of Ramdyana and Mahabharata, which contain the ancient national history of the Hindus as well as the essence of all Hindu sciences and philosophies, came into existence during the pre-Buddhistic

* Civilization in Ancient India, Vol. II, p. 246.

177

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

period. They were studied by all classes of people, both men and women. They were written especially for those classes who were not fitted for Vedic studies. The Vedas and the various sciences and philosophies existed among the Hindus long before the art of writ- ing was known in the world. Can you believe that the hundreds of volumes which have been handed down to us were origincilly learned and taught from memory? They were transmitted from generation to generation by word of mouth. What a marvellous memory the people of that time had! The Mahdbh^rata, for example, con- tains one hundred thousand verses in Sanskrit, and when I was in India I knew a Brahmin lady who could recite every sentence from the beginning to the end; and there are many scholars who can recite a volume with its com- mentary without looking at the book. All sciences and philosophies were originally written in Sanskrit, but lately they have been trans- lated into the various spoken dialects, of which there are at present about one hundred and fifty in India. Through these the masses obtain

178

EDUCATION IN INDIA.

their moral and spiritual training. Public lec- tures and readings are given in almost every Hindu village for the education of the illiterate classes. Even to-day, in all Hindu communi- ties, this old system of reading a Sanskrit verse and then explaining it in the vernacular lan- guage is very common. Those who cannot read or write receive moral and spiritual instruction through these Kathakatd, or public readings.

There were also medical schools for the study of Ayurveda, or the medical science. The word

A

"Ayus" means hfe, and "veda" means wisdom, knowledge, and hence science. Ayurveda, there- fore, is the "science of hfe." It contains the Hindu materia medica, which is much older than the sixth century B.C. It was taught long before the time of Hippocrates, the "father of medicine," who hved about 400 B.C. Even in that early pre-Buddhistic age, Hindu medi- cine received scientific treatment, and there were separate schools and colleges for medical stu- dents. During the Buddhistic period, medical science made considerable progress, and ex- haustive scientific works were written on medi-

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

cine. Among these, the works by Charaka and Sushruta were the best. Their writings became so widely known that translations of them were already familiar to the Arabs in the eighth century A.D., at the time of Haroun-al-Raschid; and they still remain to-day the standard medical works among Hindu physicians. They contain ex- haustive chapters on anatomy and physiology; on sjmiptoms, diagnoses, and causes of various diseases, and on their proper treatment. Their words may be archaic, but they give a scien- tific treatment which was unknown in any other part of the world at that time.

Chemistry, in Sanskrit "Rasayana," was also famihar to the Hindus from very early times. "Nor is this surprising, as the materials for preparing many chemical products have abounded in India. Rock-salt was found in Western India; borax was obtained from Tibet; saltpetre and sulphate of soda were easily made; alum was made in Cutch; and sal ammonia was familiar to the Hindus; with lime, charcoal, and sulphur they were acquainted from time immemorial.

The alkalies and acids were early known to the

180

EDUCATION IN INDIA.

Hindus, and were borrowed from them by the Arabians. The medicinal use of metals was also largely known. We have notices of antimony and of arsenic, of medicines prepared with quick- silver, arsenic, and nine other metals. The Hindus were acquainted with the oxides of copper, iron, lead, tin, zinc, and lead; with the sulphurets of iron, copper, antimony, mercury, and arsenic; with the sulphates of copper, zinc, and iron; with the diacetate of copper and the carbonates of lead and iron." * Dr. Royle also says, in his essay on ' ' Hindu Medicine " : " Though the ancient Greeks and Romans used metallic substances as external applications, it is gener- ally supposed that the Arabs were the first to prescribe them internally. . . . But in the works of Charaka and Sushruta, to which, as has been proved, the earliest of the Arabs had access, we find numerous metallic substances directed to be given internally." f History tells us that Alexander the Great kept Hindu physicians in his camp for the treatment of diseases which

* Civilization in Ancient India, Vol. II, p. 254. t Royle, p. 45.

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

Greek physicians could not heal; and in the eighth century a.d. the Mahometan Badshaw, Haroun-al-Raschid, retained in his court two Hindu physicians. As early as 260 B.C. the Buddhist emperor Asoka also established many public hospitals, not only for men, women, and children, but also for animals.

Megasthenes, after his long residence at the court of Chandra Gupta in the fourth century B.C., testified that he found among the Hindus various kinds of schools suited to the different CcLstes. There were Brahmin schools, whose function was to train priests and teachers; war- rior schools, where the pupils received military training; industrial schools for the merchant class; and schools for the lowest caste, where manual labor was taught.

During the Buddhistic age, and before the Mahometan invasion, Hindu culture in every branch of science and philosophy made tremen-

A

dous progress. Arya Bhatta, the noted Hindu

astronomer, who lived about 476 a.d. and who

is called the Newton of India, wrote many works

on algebra and astronomy. It was he who

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EDUCATION IN INDIA.

first discovered the rotation of the earth on its own axis. As a Jewish writer says: "The theory that the earth is a sphere revolving on its own axis, which immortahzed Copernicus, was previously known only to the Hindus, who were instructed in the truth of it by Aryabhatta in the first century before the common era." * He also discovered the true cause of solar and lunar eclipses, and it was he who, for the first time, grasped the idea of gravitation toward the center (caUed in Sanskrit Mddhydkarshan, that is, attraction towards the center), and correctly calculated the distance of the earth's circum- ference. His successor, Varahamihira, another noted astronomer (500-587 a.d.), left valuable works, especially his "Brihat Sanhita," which covered ahnost every department of natural history and was encyclopedic in its nature. Brahma Gupta, who lived in 628 a.d., described in his astronomical system the true places of the planets, the calculation of lunar and solar eclipses, and wrote a treatise on spherics. There are

♦ Jewish Encyclopedia, Vol. XII, p. 689. 18S

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

still some ruins of Hindu observatories in Benares and other cities.

In the sixth century A.D., this golden age of science and letters reached its climax in the reign of the great Hindu emperor, Vikram5,ditya, who was what Augustus was to the Romans, what Alfred was to the Enghsh, what Charle- magne was to the French, what Asoka was to the Buddhists, and what Haroun-al-Raschid was to the Mahometans. He was the great supporter of learning and education among the Hindus. To the learned, to the illiterate, to poets, to story-tellers, to dramatists and novelists, to astronomers, lexicographers, and historians, to the old and to the young, the name of Vikram^- ditya is as familiar in India as the name of any great patron of science, drama, poetry, and education of modem Europe. He had nine gems in his court, and the finest among them was Kaliddsa, the great Hindu dramatist. He was as great as Shakespere of England; indeed, he is called the Shakespere of India. His best- known drama, "Sakuntal^," has been translated

into more than one European language, and

184

EDUCATION IN INDIA.

has been considered by such great scholars as Augustus William Von Schlegel, Alexander Von Humboldt, and Goethe as one of the dramatic masterpieces of the world. Goethe speaks thus of it:

"Wouldst thou the life's young blossoms and the fruits

of its decline, And all by which the soul is pleased, enraptured,

feasted, fed, — Wouldst thou the earth and heaven itself in one sweet

name combine? I name thee, O SakuntalA, and all at once is said."

You have heard something about " SakuntalA," " Vikramorvasi," and the other dramas and mas- terpieces which Kalidasa left. His " Megha-duta," or the " Cloud Messenger," can stand side by side with the best poems of Shelley and Wordsworth, if not higher. One critic says: "Like Words- worth, he looked upon Nature with the eye of a lover, and his knowledge of the physical laws is superior to that of any other Hindu poet." Kalidasa's successors, — BhS,ravi, Dandin, B^a- bhatta, Subandhu, Bhartrihari, Bhavabhuti, — all these great Hindu poets and dramatists lived in the sixth century a.d. Their writings are still

185

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

studied in all Sanskrit colleges, as they were twelve centuries ago.

The fables of Panchatantra and of Hitopa- desha,* which gave foundation to ^Esop's fables and to the fables of Pilpay, are also still studied in the primary schools of India. They came into existence in the sixth century after Christ, and have been translated into all the civilized languages of the world. Panchatantra "was translated into Persian in the reign of Naushar- wan (531-572 A.D.). . . . The Persian ransla- tion was rendered into Arabic, and the Arabic translation was rendered into Greek by SjTneon Seth about 1080. ... A Spanish translation of the A^rabic was published about 1251. The first German translations were published in the fifteenth century." f Besides these, the vast literature known as the " Purdnas " is still studied by all classes of people, both men and women, as they were a thousand years ago.

From this you will get an idea of the civil iza-

* The fables of llitopadcsha have been translated by Sir Edwin Arnold under the name of "The Book of Good Counsels."

t Civilization in Ancient India, Vol. II, p. 297.

186

EDUCATION IN INDIA.

tion of the Hindus during the ancient pre- Buddhistic and mediaeval ages, and you will be able to form some conception of what kind of education they received before the advent of the British in India. The Hindus, it must be remembered, have gone through a great many national disasters, calamities, and vicissitudes; and during the Mahometan occupation, which began in the eleventh century a.d. and con- tinued for nearly six hundred years, they made very little progress in scientific education. They had to fight to protect themselves against the invaders, and turn their attention to their polit- ical condition; consequently they neglected the study of science. Furthermore, the Mahometan sword and fire destroyed the glorious monuments of Hindu culture and ci\alization. The Mahome- tan rulers never encouraged any kind of study outside of the reading of the Koran, for which classes were attached to the mosques. It is said that the Mogul Emperor Arangzeb, in the seventeenth century, established universities in all the principal cities and erected schools in the

smaller towns, but it is now difficult to get any

187

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

historical evidence to support this statement. A Mahometan beheves that the essence of all literature and of all science is summed up in the Koran, so nothing outside of the Koran is to be studied. If all that is worth knowing is in the Koran, then there is no use of studying any other books. So they destroyed aU the Scrip- tures, and all the works on science and phi- losophy, which they could get hold of. But the caste prejudice of the Hindus kept the Brahmins from mixing with the Mahometans, anc one of the most beneficial effects of the caste system was the preservation of the Sacred Books of the Hindus from the destructive hands of fanatical Mussulmans.

Mahometan elementary schools were started for the study of the Persian and Arabic lan- guages'. Many Hindu boys used to study these languages in Mahometan schools. They had no feeling of prejudice, so far as education was concerned. In the advanced Mahometan schools, there were complete courses in rhetoric, logic, law, ritual, and theology; all these and

the Arabic language were taught to Mussulman

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EDUCATION IN INDIA.

students, but not to the Hindus. Euclid and Ptolemy's astronomy, and other branches of natural philosophy, were also taught in the high schools for Mahometans at the time when British rule began in India, about the middle of the eighteenth century.

The pioneers of Western education in India were the Christian missionaries. Some Danish missionaries arrived at Tranquebar, in Southern India, in 1706, and at once began to study the vernacular languages in order to teach the Bible. They founded some schools for that pur- pose, which were of minor importance. Their object was to convert the students to Christianity. In 1727 the first English mission estabhshed in India a society for promoting Christian knowl- edge, but it did not make much progress until the beginning of the nineteenth century, when the third missionary society of the Enghsh Baptists was established in Bengal. Their repre- sentatives were Carey and Marshman, who were men of abiHty and distinction. They studied the vernacular languages, and established schools for the teaching of the Bible.

180

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

The East India Company, however, hesitated to impart Enghsh education to the natives of India. When, in 1792, Wilberforce proposed to add two clauses to the Charter Act of the year for sending out schoolmasters to India, the di- rectors of the Company strongly objected to the proposal. "On that occasion one ot the Directors stated that we had just lost America from our folly in having allowed the establish- ment of schools and colleges, and that it would not do for us to repeat the same ;ict of folly in regard to India; if the natives required any- thing in the way of education they must come to England for it." * This policy still exists at the bottom of the educational system estab- lished by the British Government in modern India. Although this policy, or rather fear, has apparently been modified, and schools, col- leges, and universities have been founded, still the government of India does not feel safe in giv- ing the natives substantial higher education of the same nature as can be obtained in England,

*J. C. Marshman's Evidence, Lords' Second Report,

1853-

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EDUCATION IN INDIA.

Europe, or America. It was on account of this fear that the only educational institutions which were established up to 1792 were a Mahometan College at Calcutta, founded by Warren Hast- ings in 1781, and a Sanskrit College at Benares, founded by Lord Comwallis in 1792. The main object of these institutions was to train law officers, both Mahometan and Hindu, to help the Enghsh judges in the judicial administra- tion of the country. For twenty years longer the English Government was disinclined to spread English education in India.

In 1813 the British Parliament, for the first time, offered the sum of £10,000 from the revenue of India, to be appropriated for the education of the people of the three provinces of Bengal, Bombay, and Madras. Nothing, however, was done for ten years until 1823.* In the mean- time the Hindus themselves, under the leader- ship of the great Hindu reformer, whose name is known all over the world. Rajah Ram Mohun Roy, became anxious to learn the English lan-

* Vide Sir Charles Trevelyan's Evidence, Lords' Second Report, 1853.

101

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

guage. He was the first Hindu who learned English thoroughly by his private exertions, for there was no school at that time; and he was the first native of India who went to England, where he died. His grave still exists in Bristol. At that time there was in Calcutta an illiterate English watchmaker, Mr. David Hare by name. He was a man of great energy and practical sense. Rfijah Ram Mohun Roy consulted with him and planned to open an English seminary. The project started in 1815, and this energetic Mr. Hare had some circulars written out and distributed. He first succeeded in interesting some of the English officers and some representa- tive Hindus, and in 1817 he established a school at Calcutta which is known to-day as the Hare School. It was the first respectable English seminary in Bengal, and was founded by the Hindus tliemselves before the British Govern- ment did anything for education in India.*

In 1820 the Government of India started an inquiry to find out the indigenous method of

♦ Vide Rev. Alexander Duff's Evidence, Lords' Second Report, 1853.

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EDUCATION IN INDL\.

education among the Hindus in the Presidencies of Madras, Bombay, and Bengal; but for two years nothing was done. In 1822 Sir Thomas Munroe, the Governor of Madras, finding the decay of literature and arts and the deep igno- rance of the masses, started an investigation, from which he discovered that the number of Hindu schools and colleges under the old Hindu system, in the Presidency of Madras alone, amounted to 12,498 among a population of something over twelve millions. In his report to the Court of Directors, which was made known in 1826, he says: "I am inclined to estimate the portion of the whole population who receive school education to be nearer one-third than one-fcurth of the whole. The state of education exhibited, low as it is, compared with our own country, is higher than it was in most European countries at no very distant time." *

In 1823 Lord Elphinstone, Governor of Bom- bay, found that there was in the Bombay Presi- dency alone 1705 Hindu schools and colleges; and in 1835 Lord Bentinck discovered 3355

* Minute dated March 10, 1S26. 193

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

Hindu schools among a population of seven millions in Bengal alone. This will prove how* the Hindus have always cared for knowledge, culture, and education. In every village there was an elementary school where the village boys were taught reading, writing, arithmetic, and the elements of mensuration. These elementary schools were called Pdthasdlds, or school-houses. Besides these, there were collegiate institutions like the Parishads, which I have already described, for higher education in grammar, mathematics, rhetoric, poetry, astronomy, and other branches of science and philosophy, as they were known to the Hindus at that time. The proportion of the latter to the former, that is, of collegiate schools to village schools, was one to three.

A Committee of Public Instruction was ap- pointed by the East India Company's govern- ment in 1823, and the ;fio,ooo, which had been granted by Parliament ten 3'ears before, were expended in establishing an English school, under the name of Hindu College, in Calcutta, six Oriental colleges, and a number of elementary schools in Bengal and Rajputana. The Com-

194

EDUCATION IN INDU.

mittee also gave its attention to the publication of Oriental books, and started a press in 1824.

Between 1823 and 1833 no special thing was done in the educational line other than to add classes in English in all the chief colleges. In 1835 Lord Bentinck, the Governor-General of India, enlarged the Committee of Public Instruc- tion and appointed Macaulay as its president. Two distinguished Hindu gentlemen of the time, Sir R^jah Radha Kanta Deb Bahadur and Ros- somoy Dutt of Calcutta, and Takawar Jung, the Mahometan Nawab of Bengal, were enrolled as members of the Committee. With Macaulay's support and assistance, Lord Bentinck passed the famous resolutions of March 7, 1835, by which the English language was established as the language of superior education in India. The resolutions were these:

(i) That the chief aim of the educational policy of the Government should be to promote a knowledge of European literature and science.

(2) That henceforth no more stipends should be conferred, but that all existing stipends

195

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

should be continued as long as the natives con- tinue to avail themselves of them.

(3) That the printing of Oriental books should at once cease, and that the funds thus set free should be employed in promoting European studies through the medium of the English language.

In Madras, about tliis time, a Hindu named Pachiapa left a large donation for religious uses, and out of this sum, which amounted to nearly £80,000, a central educational institution, which is now known as Pachiapa's College, was estab- lished by the Hindus in 1839. It still con- tinues to be the most flourishing college for the study of English in Madras, and it was the first college established there. In 1830 Alexander Duff arrived in Calcutta as the missionary of the General Assembly of the Scotch Kirk, and established a school which was at first a great success; but his aim was to convert the natives to Christianity, and when some of the students were persuaded to accept Christianity, the whole Hindu community protested against the object

and plan of the missionary schools and would

196

EDUCATION IN INDIA.

not allow their children to enter them as students. During his stay, Alexander Duff succeeded in converting only forty young Hindus who were studying in his school, and the conversion of these created a great sensation in the city of Calcutta. About that time the Hindus began to study Thomas Paine's "Age of Reason." The book spread like wildfire among native stu- dents and scholars, and Dr. Duff, finding that it was a great obstacle in the path of converting the Hindus, bought all the copies that were in the market, piled them in the street and made a bonfire out of them; but the Hindus reprinted the book and distributed it among themselves.

Being thus aroused, the native Hindus of Calcutta were determined to start schools and colleges for the education of their boys in Enghsh. Foremost among them was Pundit Iswara Chun- der Vidyasagar, the most distinguished edu- cationalist and the greatest Hindu scholar of his time. He established by his own individual efforts, unaided by the Government, the Metro- politan School in Calcutta, and to-day it is one

of the most powerful and best conducted colleges

197

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

in India. It has always been entirely under Hindu management, and all its teachers and professors are Hindus. Hundreds and thousands of students study English and graduate every year under native professors.

Lord Hardinge established one hundred schools in the different districts of Bengal for the pur- pose of imparting education in the vernacular as a preliminary step to higher education in English. He also passed the famous resolution of 1844 for the selection of candidates for public employment from those who had been educated in the institutions established. This gave a tremendous impetus to native efforts to start schools, colleges, and seminaries in Calcutta and other places. Intense desire to learn and teach English was expressed by all classes of people and no caste distinction was observed. Students from all castes and all classes wanted to study and to teach English, and schools sprang up on all sides for imparting English education.

In 1836 Hoogly College was opened, and in three days twelve hundred names were enrolled and an auxiliary school was immediately filled.

198

EDUCATION IN INDIA.

In 1843 there were fifty-one schools and colleges, containing 8,200 students, of whom 5,132 were studying EngUsh, 426 Sanskrit, 572 Arabic, and 706 the Persian language. In 1839 Lord Auckland offered a grant from the Government treasury of 25,000 rupees (about S8000) to pro- mote Oriental education; and in 1845 Mr. Thomason, the Governor of the Northwestern Provinces, started a plan to encourage the native village schools of the Hindus, which have existed in India for ages. This plan involved the estab- lishment of: (i) An elementary school for circles of villages, each school to be situated in a central village and no village to be more than one mile from the central school; (2) A middle school at the headquarters of each subdivision; (3) A high school in each Zillah or district. This plan was sanctioned by the Directors, who made an allowance of 500,000 rupees. Operations began in 1850, and after four years there were eight District High Schools in the whole Northwestern Province. For the support of these state schools (which were not free) monthly fees, which varied from one to twelve rupees, were exacted

199

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

of all students. In the state schools the fees were higher than in the private schools.

The missionary schools were mostly element- ary or primary. Only three or four of them imparted secondary education, and some of them were free of charge to help the poorer classes. Up to this time the Government had not taken any step to educate the girls. Female education received no support from the Govern- ment; while the missionaries were trying their best to educate native girls in the tenets of Christianity, denouncing the religion of their forefathers and condemning everything of Hindu origin or which had to do with Hindu society and religion, in the same manner as they did in the schools for boys. This is one of the greatest drawbacks in the missionary methods of educa- tion. They condemn everything that is outside of their religion, their standards and their ideals. They are too narrow to see good in any but their own creed and dogmas. They do not con- sider the Hindu religion as a religion or the Hindu Saviours as Saviours; but they think that the Hindus arc all going to eternal perdi-

200

EDUCATION IN INDIA.

tion and so they are very anxious to save their heathen souls! An American missionary, in referring to the schools for non-Christians in India, writes: "These are especially established with a view to reaching and affecting the non- Christian community. . . . They represent the leaven of Christianity in India. They furnish excellent opportunity to present Christ and his Gospel of salvation to a large host of young , people under very favorable circumstances. . . . And I fearlessly maintain that more conversions take place and more accessions are made through these schools than through any other agency." This wiU give you an idea of the fanaticism and bigotry of these apostles of Christianity, who pretend to impart free education to the boys and girls of poor, illiterate parents. The poor Hindu boys and girls come to study and learn some- thing, but instead of receiving the blessing of true education, their minds are fiUed with super- stitious and unscientific doctrines and dogmas, and they are forced to leave the community of their parents and relatives and become converts to Christianity. These missionaries do not think

201

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

for a moment why the Hindus should give up their own prophets and Saviours and worship the prophets of the Semitic race, especially of the Jews. Why should the Hindus abandon their ancient traditions and the religion of their Aryan forefathers? Why should they forsake the Aryan prophets and accept the Jewish prophets in- stead? Those who never had any higher phi- losophy, higher religion, or a spiritual leader like Christ, may accept with delight the banner of Christ, but not the Hindus, who have many Saviours, — Krishna, Rama, Buddha, Chaitanya, Ramakrishna, — each of whom, according to the Hindus, was as great as the Saviour of Nazareth. The Christian missionaries, before preaching Christ among the Hindus, should first convert the Jews.

The East India Company's charter was renewed in 1853, and a Lords' Committee was appointed to make necessary additions or modifications in the policy of the government of India. Among other things, the Committee discussed the sub- ject of education of the people of India. After

collecting evidence from all sides, the Committee

202

EDUCATION IN INDIA.

issued a Despatch in 1854, constituting the great Charter of Indian education; and on this De- spatch the whole system of education in India of to-day is based. It approved of the higher edu- cation and the estabhshment of universities in Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras, the chief towns of the three Presidencies under British rule. The Despatch of 1854 extended the field of education and prescribed these objects: "First, the con- stitution of a separate department of the admin- istration of education. Second, the institution of the universities at the Presidency towns. Third, the establishment of institutions for train- ing teachers for all classes of schools. Fourth, the maintenance of the existing Government col- leges and high schools, and the increase of their number when necessary. Fifth, the establish- ment of new middle schools. Sixth, increased attention to vernacular schools, indigenous or other, for elementary education. And seventh, the introduction of a system of grants-in-aid."

"Aid is to be given (so far as available fimds may render it possible) to all schools im- parting a good secular education, provided

303

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

they are under adequate local management and subject to Government inspection, and pro- vided that fees, however small, are charged in them." In the assignment of these grants, however, there were no less than five systems in operation. They were as follows:

(i) The Salary Grant System, in use in Madras only, was applied to secondary education. Under this system the Government contributed a fixed proportion of the teacher's salary in accordance with his qualifications.

(2) The Results Grant System was in Madras applied to primary education only, and in Bom- bay to secondary education. To obtain this grant it was necessary to pass Government examinations.

(3) The combined Salary-Results System.

(4) The Fixed Period System was in operation in the greater part of Northern and Central India. Under this an average grant was paid for periods of three or five years.

(5) The CaptJtative System was applied to a

few girls' schools in Bengal.

The seven articles of the Despatch of 1854

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EDUCATION IN INDIA.

helped in a systematic manner the promotion of education in India. The EngHsh language became the medium in the higher branches and the vernacular in the lower. The system of grants-in-aid was based upon the principle of absolute neutrality. Aid was given from 1854 to all schools imparting a good secular educa- tion. Three universities were established in 1857 by Lord Canning after the model of the London University. Thus the inspiring in- fluence of Western education reached a larger circle of the population. Two more universi- ties have been added since, — one in the Punjab in 1882 and the other in Allahabad in 1887; so there are altogether five universities in India, — one in Calcutta, one in Bombay, one in Madras, one in the Punjab and the other in Allahabad. These universities consist of a chancellor, the governor of the Presidency ex officio, a vice- chancellor, and not less than thirty fellows, who constitute a Senate. The Senate controls the management of the funds of the universities, and frames rules and regulations, which are subject to Goverimient approval and under

205

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

which examinations are held periodically in the various branches of art and science by exami- ners chosen from among themselves or nomi- nated from outside. The Senate is divided into four faculties, — Arts, Law, Medicine, and En- gineering. The executive government of the university is in the hands of a syndicate, which consists of the vice-chancellor and eight of the Fellows. This syndicate selects examiners, reg- ulates examinations, recommends for degrees, honors, and rewards, and carries on the busi- ness of the university. Boards of studies in the various departments are also appointed from among the Fellows by the s}Tidicate. The Fellows do not correspond to the Fellows of this country, nor of Europe, nor even of England. The office of Fellow is an honorary office, usually conferred on some representative man or upon those who have been active in the cause of education. They may be natives or Europeans. The Indian universities are without a staff of teachers. They simply hold examinations and grant degrees, but they have no courses of lectures. In India we do not have anything

200

EDUCATION IN INDIA.

like the universities of this country and nothing like Cambridge and Oxford. I will give you an idea of the examinations that are held under the universities: The subjects of examinations are: (i) English;

(2) A classical (Oriental or European) or vernacu- lar language; (3) Physics and Chemistry; (4) His- tory; (5) Geography; (6) Arithmetic, Algebra, Geometry. This is the examination for entrance into college. Under each university there are many schools and colleges started and managed by the natives. Then after two years' study in a college the student prepares for the First Ex- amination in Arts. The subjects are: (i) English; (2) A classical language (Oriental or European) or a vernacular; (3) Logic; (4) Mathe- matics; (5) History and Geography; and (6) Physical Science. Two years later comes the B.A. Examination. This has two branches — the Language Division and the Science Division. The subjects in the Language Division are: (i) English; (2) A classical or vernacular language;

(3) Mathematics; (4) and (5) any two of the

following: Moral Philosophy, History, and Ad-

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

vanced Mathematics. The Science Division con- sists of (i) English; (2) Mathematics; (3) Chemistry; (4) Physical Geography; (5) either Physics, Physiology, or Geology.

For the degree of Masters of Arts there is an honor examination in Language, Mental and Moral Philosophy, Natural Science, or History and Mathematics. Then there are Law examinations, Medical examinations, and Civil Engineering examinations with degrees.

This system has been in existence /or the last forty-eight years. The total number of stu- dents in schools and colleges all over British India is 4,405,042. To-day, excluding cities, three villages out of four are without schools, and seven children out of eight are growing up in ignorance and darkness. According to the census of 1901 there are 147,086 educational institutions of all kinds in British India. Of these 104,743 are public institutions (that is, institutions open to all classes but not free), which are divided as follows: 44 Professional Colleges, 141 Art Colleges, 5461 Secondary Schools, 98,133 Primary Schools, 170 Training

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EDUCATION IN INDIA.

Schools, and 494 Special Schools. In addition to these there are 42,343 private institutions, of which 4306 are advanced, 26,668 elementary, 11,016 teaching the Koran only, and 263 not conforming to departmental standards. "Dur- ing the past three years the sum of 4,000,000 rupees has been contributed by the (native) public in the United Provinces towards educa- tion. Nearly half of this sum was given in the year 1905. The numbers attending public in- stitutions of all kinds have increased, while those attending private institutions have de- clined. The past year witnessed the erection of several schools and boarding-houses, the in- stitution of schemes for the development of Sanskrit, Arabic, the enlargement of the Medical School at Agra, the development of mechanical training and electrical work at Rurki and the starting of an institution for mechanical and manual training at Lucknow." *

The Government does not give free educa- tion in India and although the Hindus pay all kinds of taxes — 40 per cent more than the tax-

* The Indian Nation, Jan. 22, 1906. 209

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

payer of Great Britain and Ireland — and support the most expensive system of administration, still they do not receive from the Government free education. The Government now spends annually nearly 27 million pounds sterling for military expenses and about £750,000 for the education of the natives. The Rev. J. T. Sunder- land, after long residence in India, says: "Much credit has been given to the Indian Government for education. It has done some good work in this direction, for which let it have full praise. But how little has it done compared with the need, or compared with what the people want, or compared with its ability, if it would only use its resources primarily for India's good! Why has so little of the people's money been spent for education? In the schools of India, of all kinds, high and low, there are some 4,418-, 000 scholars (if we include the native states). But what is this number in a population nearly as large as that of all Europe? How much does the Indian Government spend annually for education? The munificent sum of one penny

and a fifth per head of the population! Think

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EDUCATION IN INDIA.

of it! Is it any wonder that, after a century and a half of British dominance, the number of persons in India who can read and write is only about eleven in a hundred among males, and one in two hundred among females? With their native industries so badly broken down, the Indian people have special need for indus- trial, technical, and practical education. But their rulers are giving them almost nothing of this kind. Britain's neglect of education is a dark stain upon her treatment of India." *

The Government has no school or college for female education. The first girls' school was estabhshed in Calcutta by Mr, Drinkwater Bethune (a legal member of the Governor- General's Council), who gave £10,000 from his own pocket. This school is the most success- ful institution for girls in India, and teaches up to the highest grades of university examina- tions. The Indian universities bestow degrees on women, and lady graduates take their degrees in Calcutta, Madras, and Bombay. There are

* Paper on "The Causes of Famines in India," before the Canadian Institute, p. 22.

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

many girls' schools which have been started by the Hindus. In private primary schools, little boys and girls are taught together. Ihe total number of girls who receive education is about half a million; but the majority of Hindu girls receive their education at home. The illiterate women in India are given moral and spiritual instruction, as well as instruction in religious truths and moral duties, and in their national traditions and literature, to a much larger extent than in Europe.

About 85 per cent of the population of India to-day depends upon agriculture. Yet the Gov- ernment had no agricultural institution in the country until recently, when it started one agri- cultural college in Poona, near Bombay.

Education in India is very expensive, consider- ing that the average annual income per head is £2, out of which from 14 to 15 per cent goes to- wards paying taxes. Furthermore, the educated Hindus, who have spent a considerable part of this income in receiving university degrees, have no prospect of obtaining higher positions in Cov- er nment offices. All the liigher positions are

212

EDUCATION IN INDIA.

occupied by English officials, who draw large salaries, while native graduates are allowed to remain as clerks on a salary of from three to ten dollars per month. Until recently, these Hindu graduates had the one chance of enter- ing Government offices through competitive ex- aminations. But Lord Curzon closed that door by passing the University Bill, which brings the universities and schools under rigid official con- trol. Now none but those who are appointed by the Government can hold any Government position. The Official Secrets Bill passed by Lord Curzon has also gagged the Indian press. There are a number of daily and weekly papers published in English by the Hindus. But they cannot agitate the political and economic policy of the Government. Thus people are kept in absolute darkness. Notwithstanding his de- spotic rule, however, Lord Curzon did on good act in allowing a permanent grant of £220,000 from the surplus revenue for primary education. India needs to-day free education, and free industrial and technical schools and colleges for

the masses. India needs schools and colleges for

213

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

the education of girls, not under the management of Christian missionaries, but under the man- agement of the Hindus. India needs a national university where boys and girls will receive secular education free of charge, and where all technical and manual training can be obtained freely.

To-day the Hindus have shown to the world that intellectually they are equal to the most intellectual people of Europe and America, but they are downtrodden and poor. The whole weight of the British Government is grinding the nation and crushing the spirit of progress. Fur- thermore, India is impoverished under British rule; yet the Hindus are raising private funds and sending their students to America and Japan to receive better and more substantial education than what they receive under the British Gov- ernment. The Hindus are eager to learn, and they are indebted to England for introducing Western education in India. If England has done any good to India, it is by the introduction of English education. This is the greatest bless- ing that India has received under British rule.

214

EDUCATION IN INDIA.

The seed of Western education is sown in the soil of India; future generations will reap the fruit.

Herbert Spencer says "education is training

for completeness of hfe." The Hindus now see

the defects of the present system of education

in India, and are endeavoring to reform it and

to make it as perfect as it is in this land of free

education and political independence. May their

noble efforts be crowned with glorious success!

215

VI.

THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA ON WESTERN CIVILIZATION, AND THE INFLUENCE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION ON INDIA.

The dawn of Aryan civilization broke for the first time on the horizon, not of Greece or Rome, not of Arabia or Persia, but of India, which may be called the motherland of metaphysics, phi- losophy, logic, astronomy, science, art, music, and medicine, as well as of truly ethical religion. Although students in the schools and colleges of modern Europe and America are generally taught that the Greeks and Romans were the fathers of European civilization and that phi- losophy and science first arose in ancient Greece, still it has been proved by the Oriental scholars of Europe and by all impartial students of history that ancient Greece was greatly indebted to India for many of her best ideas in philosophy,

216

THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA.

science and intellectual culture, as also for many of her ethical and spiritual ideals.

If we read the writings and historical accounts left by Pliny, Strabo, Megasthenes, Herodotus, Porphyry and a host of other ancient authors of different countries, we shall see how highly the civilization of India was regarded by them. In fact, between the years 1500 and 500 B.C., the Hindus were so far advanced in religion, metaphysics, philosophy, science, art, music, and medicine that no other nation could stand as their rival, or compete with them in any of these branches of knowledge. On the contrary, many of the nations which came in contact with the Hindus through trade or otherwise, accepted the Hindu ideas and moulded their own after the Hindu pattern. For instance, the science of geometry, as I have already said, was first invented in India by the Hindus from the Vedic rules for the construction of sacrificial altars; from these rules they gradually developed geom- etry, and it has been admitted by the great scholars that the world owes its first lesson in

this science, not to Greece, but to India. The

217

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

geometrical theorem that the square of the hy- potenuse of a rectangular triangle is equal to the squares of its sides was ascribed by the Greeks to Pythagoras, but it was known in India at least two centuries before Pythagoras was bom. It was contained in the two rules: "(i) The square of the diagonal of a square is twice as large as that square; and (2) The square of the diagonal of an oblong is equal to the square of both its sides." These rules formed a part of the Sulva Sutras, which date from the eighth century before Christ. There is a Greek tradition that Pythagoras visited India, and most prob- ably he did, because in his writings we find such ideas as were very common among the Hindus, but which were unknown to other nations. Probably he learned from the Hindus his first lessons in geometry, mathematics, the doctrine of pre-existence and transmigration of souls, and of final beatitude, ascetic observances, prohibition of eating flesh, vegetarianism, the conception of the virtue of numbers, and lastly, the idea of a fifth element, which was unknown in Greece and Egypt at that ancient time. The Egyptians and

218

THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA.

Greeks admitted four elements, but ether as an

element was known only among the Hindus of

those days. All these things were taught by the

Hindus centuries before the time of Pythagoras.

Prof. E. W. Hopkins admits this in his "Religions

of India," as you will recall from the first lecture,

when he says: "Before the 6th century B.C. all

the religious-philosophical ideas of Pythagoras

are current in India."

Geometry gradually fell out of use among the

Hindus, and geometrical truths were represented

by algebra and arithmetic. The Greeks could

not rival the Hindus in the science of numbers.

The world indeed owes decimal notation to India.

The Arabs first learned it from the Hindus and

then introduced it into Europe. It was unknown

to the Greeks and Romans, and arithmetic as a

practical science would have been impossible

■without decimal notation. The Hindus have

also given algebra (Vijaganita) to the Western

world through the Arabs, who translated it in

the eighth century a.d.; and Leonardo da Pisa

first introduced it into Europe in the thirteenth

century. So the world received its first lesson in

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

algebra from India. The Hindus were also the first teachers of plane and spherical trigonometry. The great Indian mathematician, Bhaskara- chdrya, who lived from 1114-1150 a.d., wrote exhaustive treatises * on all these subjects, and his works contain solutions of remarkable prob- lems which were not achieved in Europe until the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. f In astronomical observations, the Hindus were the first to fix the lunar mansions, lunar Zodiac, and the divisions of the constellations. The Chinese

* Those treating of algebra and arithmetic have been translated by Colebrooke, and the portion on spherical trigonometry has been translated by Wilkinson.

t "A striking history has been told of the problem to find X so that ax^-Vh shall be a square number. Fre- mat made some progress towards solving this ancient problem, and sent it as a defiance to the English alge- braists in the seventeenth century. Euler finally solved it, and arrived exactly at the point attained by Bh4skara in 1 1 50. A particular solution of another problem given by Bh4skara is exactly the same as was discovered in Europe by Lord Brounker in 1657; and the general solution of the same problem given by Brahmagupta, in the seventh century a.d., was unsuccessfully attempted by Euler. and was only accomplished by De la Grange in 1767 A.D. The favorite process of the Hindus known as the Kuttaka was not known in Europe till published by Bachet de Mezeriac in 1624 a.d."— Civilization in Ancient India, Vol. II, p. 246.

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THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA.

and Arabs borrowed these from India. The Hindus first developed the science of music from the chanting of the Vedic hymns. The Sama Veda was especially meant for music. And the scale with seven notes and three octaves was known in India centuries before the Greeks had it. Probably the Greeks learned it from the Hindus. It will be interesting to you to know that Wagner was indebted to the Hindu science of music, especially for his principal idea of the "leading motive"; and this is perhaps the reason why it is so difficult for many Western people to understand Wagner's music. He be- came familiar with Eastern music through Latin translations, and his conversation on this sub- ject with Schopenhauer is probably already familiar to you.

The Western world, again, owes its first lesson in medicine to India. In the preceding lecture I gave proofs that Alexander not only had in his camp Hindu physicians, but that he pre- ferred them to Greek physicians. Megasthenes, Nearchus, and Arrian spoke highly of the won- derful healing powers of the Hindu physicians.

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

In 1837 Dr. Royle, of King's College, London, wrote his celebrated essay on "Hindu Medicine," in which he showed that Hippocrates, the father of medicine, who lived in Greece in the fourth century B.C., borrowed his Materia Medica from India. Dr. Royle says, "We owe our first system of medicine to the Hindus."

Herodotus, who lived in the fifth century B.C., states that the Hindus were the greatest nation of that age. He also writes that the Hindus had trade with Egypt, while from other sources we gather that they had trade with Babylon and Syria. From another authentic source we learn that there was a Hindu philosopher who visited Socrates at Athens, a fact which Prof. Max Miiller confirms in his book on "Psychologi- cal Religion." This Hindu philosopher, we are told, had a conversation with the great Greek philosopher. He asked in what the philosophy of Socrates consisted, and Socrates replied that his philosophy consisted in inquiries about the life of man, upon which the Hindu philosopher smiled and answered: " How can you know things

human without first knowing things divine^ "

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THE INFLUENCE OF INDU.

And that is an answer which could not have been given by any other than a Hindu, because the Hindus ascribed all true knowledge to Divine origin, and did not care much for the knowl- edge of anything human before knowing God.

Ralph Waldo Emerson says: "Plato was a synthesis of Europe and Asia, and a decidedly Oriental element pervades his philosophy, giving it a sunrise color." In fact, in teaching asceti- cism, Plato was more of a Hindu than a Greek, because, of all nations, the Greeks were least ascetic. My friend. Professor Edward Howard Griggs, in his lecture on the "Philosophy of Plato" before the Vedanta Society of New York, also admitted this in saying: "Plato's belief in the conquest of the senses, as the only means of attaining true knowledge, was preeminently Oriental and non-Greek." Moreover, if we study Plato carefully, comparing his ideas with those of the Upanishads and other Vedic writings, we find that his weU-known figure of the man chained in the cave is merely an allegorical presentation of the Vedanta doctrine of M^yd, that the phenomenal world is like a dream;

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

while his other figure of the chariot was a favor- ite theme of the Vedic writers who lived cen- turies before Plato. In the Katha Upaiiishad, for instance, we read: "This body may be com- pared to a chariot, intellect to the charioteer, mind to the reins, the five senses to the horses, whose path is the object of senses." Sir William Jones, the first eminent Sanskrit scholar among the English, confirming this fact, writes that "it is impossible to read the Vedanta, or the many fine compositions in illustration of it, without believing that Pythagoras and Plato derived their sublime theories from the same fountain with the Indian sages." *

Professor Max Miiller and other Oriental scholars maintain, as you know, that the logic of Aristotle was perhaps a Greek presentation of the Hindu logic. You will also remember that Professor Hopkins writes, in his "Religions of India," that Thales and Parmenides were both anticipated by the sages of India, while the Eleatic School appears merely a reflection of the Upanishads. He even suggests that the doc-

♦ Works (Calcutta Ed.), pp. 20, 125, 127. 224

THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA.

trines propounded by Anaximander and Hera- clitus might not have been known first in Greece. We should, indeed, bear in mind that after the invasion of India by Alexander the Great the con- nection between India and Greece became closer than ever before, and many Hindu philosophers lived at Athens and in other parts of Greece. They were known as G^nnnosophists, or Hindu philosophers from India. At that time Alex- andria became the center of trade and commerce between India and Greece, and there was great opportunity for interchange of ideas between the Hindus and Western nations. Porphyry speaks of the wise men from India in high terms of praise for their wisdom, morality, and knowl- edge of the mysteries of the universe. In regard to Neo-Platonism, Professor Garbe has said that Plotinus was in perfect agreement with the Hindu philosophers, and that his disciple Porphyry knew of the Yoga doctrine of union with the Deity. It was unknown to any of the Western nations, like the Hebrews, Parsees, or Egyptians. Through Plato and his followers, the Neo-

Platonists, Stoics, and Philo of Alexandria were

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also influenced by the Hindu Philosophy. The idea of the Logos which formed the comer-stone of the philosophy of Plato, of the Neo-Platonists, of Philo, and later of the Fourth Gospel, first arose in India. In the Vedas we find reference to it; and it has moulded Hindu thought, as well as the religious ideals of other nations.

Christianity as a religion owes a great deal to India. This may startle some of our friends, but from the historical standpoint it is true. If we read the religious history of the East, we find many evidences which are undeniable. For instance, Asoka, who lived in 260 B.C., had his edicts inscribed on pillars of stone during his lifetime, and in one of those edicts we read that he sent Buddhist missionaries to different parts of the world, from Siberia to Ceylon, from China to Egypt, and that, for two centuries before the advent of Jesus, the Buddhist missionaries preached the sublime ethics of Buddha in Syria, Palestine and Alexandria. The same ethical ideas were afterwards repeated and emphasized by Christ. The Christian historian Mahaflfi, speaking about those Buddhist missionaries, de-

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clared it to be a fact that they were the fore- runners of Christ. These preachers influenced the Jewish sect known as the Essenes; and the Roman historian PHny, who hved between 23 and 79 A.D., described the mode of Hving of the Essenes, — that they lived like hermits, without having any possessions or any sex relation, being celibates and associates of palm-trees. It can be shown that they belonged to the sect founded by the Buddhist monks from India, who lived in Syria, Palestine, and Egypt. Phi- losophers like ScheUing and Schopenhauer, and Christian thinkers like Dean Mansel and D. Mill- man, admit that the sect of the Essenes arose through the influence of the Buddhist mis- sionaries who came from India. Moreover, it is a V. ell-known fact that John the Baptist was an Essene. Ernest Renan, speaking of John the Baptist, says: "He led there a life like that of a Yogi of India, clothed with skins or cloth of camel's hair, having for food only locusts and wild honey. . . . We might imagine ourselves transported to the banks of the Ganges, if special

features had not revealed in this recluse the last

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INDU AND HER PEOPLE.

descendant of the grand prophets of Israel.** • Again he says: "The teachers of the young were also at times a species of anchorites, re- sembhng to some extent the Gurus (spiritual preceptors) of Brahminism. In fact, might there not in this be a remote influence of the Mounts (sages) of India? Perhaps some of those wan- dering Buddhist monks who overran the world, as the first Franciscans did in later times, preach- ing by their actions and converting people who knew not their language, might have turned their steps towards Judea, as they certainly did towards Syria and Babylon. . . . Babylon had become for some time a true focus of Buddhism. Boudasp (Bodhisattva) was reputed a wise Chaldean, and the founder of Sabeism. Sabeism was, as its etymology indicates, baptism.''' f And he continues: "We may believe, at all events, tliat many of the external practices of John, of the Essenes, and of the Jewish spiritual teachers of this time, were derived from in- fluences then but recently received from the far East. The fundamental practice which gave to

* Life of Jesus, p. 126. ^ Ibid., p. 137.

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THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA.

the sect of John its character, and which has given him his name, has always had its center in lower Chaldea, and constitutes a religion which is practised there to this day. This prac- tice was baptism or total immersion. Ablutions were already familiar to the Jews, as they were to all the religions of the East. The Essenes had given them a peculiar extension." *

Thus we see that baptism by water was in- troduced among the Essenes by the Buddhist missionaries, having originated in India. Bap- tism afterwards became the principal ceremony at the time of the initiation of the disciple in the religion of John. The hfe of Jesus the Christ as described in the Synoptic Gospels, — the immac- ulate conception of a virgin mother, the miracu- lous birth, the story of the slaughter of infants by Herod, and the chief events of his life, all these seem like repetitions of what happened in the lives of Krishna (1400 B.C.) and of Buddha (547 B.C.). In fact, the idea of the incarnation of God is purely a Hindu idea. It was not known among the Jews. The Jews never accepted

* Renan, Life of Jesus, p. ia8. 229

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

Christ as the incarnation of Divinity, but from the Vedic period the Hindus accepted many Avataras or Incarnations of the Lord in a human form, and this is at the foundation of the rehgion of the Hindus. Many of the famous parables of Jesus the Christ existed among the Hindus and Buddhists of the pre-Christian era. In the Gospel of Buddha, for instance, we find the parables of the prodigal son and of the marriage feast, which were taught by Buddlia to his dis- ciples about five centuries B.C., and they re- semble in every way the similar parables of Jesus the Christ. The Roman Catholics have taken a great many of their ideas — their form of worship, the monastic life, the nunnery and the idea of purgatory — from the Buddhists of India. In the religious history of the world, Buddha was tlie first to organize communities of monks and nuns and to establish monasteries and nun- neries. Under cover of the legend of Barlaam and Josaphat, the story of Buddha has found a niche in tlie row of canonized Catholic saints and has his Saint-day in the calendar of the Greek and Roman churches.

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THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA.

The Buddhist missionaries and preachers also influenced the faith of the Gnostics and Mani- cheans,* and introduced the idea of reincarna- tion among them. Many of the early church Fathers, like Origen, admitted that the soul existed before birth and would be born again, that this was not the first or the last time that we had come or would come to this world. The doc- trine of pre-existence and reincarnation of souls was accepted by the majority of the Christians until it was suppressed in 538 a.d. by Justinian, who passed this law: "Whoever shall support the mythical presentation of the pre-existence of the soul and the consequently wonderful opinion of its return, let him be Anathema." It was for- eign to Judaism until about the eighth century A.D., when under the influence of the Hindu mystics it was adopted by the Karaites and other Jewish sects. The Jewish Encyclopedia says: " Only with the spread of the Cabala did it begin to take root in Judaism, and then it gained

- -■ — — - ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ _ — -■ , , , , J

* Professor E. W. Hopkins declares that " Neo- Platonism and Christian Gnosticism owe much to India " in their philosophical beliefs. See p. 25,

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

believers even among men who were little in- clined toward mysticism." And again: "Like Origen and other church Fathers the Cabalists used as their main argument in favor of the doctrine of metempsychosis the justice of God!"*

The Sanskrit grammar of Panini, who, accord- ing to Max Miiller, was the greatest grammarian that the world has ever seen, has given a key to the science of comparative philology. Many of the English words which we commonly use can be traced back to a Sanskrit ongin. For instance: Mother, in Latin mater, is in San- skrit Mdtar; father, in Latin pater, is in Sanskrit Pitar; brother, in Sanskrit Bhrdtar; sister, Swasar; daughter, Duhitar; path, in Sanskrit Patha; serpent, Sarfa; bond, Bandha; etc. The word "punch" has an interesting history. It originally meant "five" in Sans- krit; so the expression, "Give him a punch," means litcriilly "Give him five fingers." We also use the name "punch" for the drink, which implies that it is made up of five ingredients.

In the last lecture, I showed how the fables

♦ Vol. XII. p. 332. 232

THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA.

of ^sop and Pilpay originated in India. In- deed, these stories of animals, with their wonder- ful Hindu morals, have influenced the young minds of Europe and America for many centu- ries. I think no child is brought up without studying some of them and learning the morals attached to them. Roman law and Roman juris- prudence also were perhaps not left uninfluenced by the more perfect system of ancient Hindu law.

Now, I will show you the more recent influ- ence of India upon Western civilization. Those who have studied Schopenhauer's philosophy have undoubtedly noticed that he was full of Buddhistic ideas, as well as of the principles of the Vedanta philosophy. He paid a great tribute to the latter by his celebrated saying, "There is no study more beneficial and elevating to mankind than the study of the Upanishads *

* "Fifty Upanishads, tinder the name of Oupenek'hat, were translated from the Sanskrit into Persian in 1656 at the instance of the Sultan Mohammed Dara Shakoh, and from the Persian into Latin in 180 1-2 by Anquetil Duperron." — Philosophy of the Upanishads, Pavil Deus- •en, p. 36.

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

(Vedanta). It has been the solace of my life, and it will be the solace of my death." And Max Miiller declares, "If philosophy is moant to be a preparation for a happy death, or Euthan- asia, I know of no better preparation for it than the Vedanta philosophy"; while Schopenhauer's direct disciple, Paul Deussen, writes in his "Phi- losophy of the Upanishads": "God, the sole author of all good in us, is not, as in the Old Testament, a Being contrasted with and distinct from us, but rather . . . our divine self. This and much more we may learn from the Upan- ishads: we shall learn the lesson if we are willing to put the finishing touch to the Christian con- sciousness, and to make it on all sides consist- ent and complete." In fact, the philosophy of modern Europe has obtained a new life since the introduction of the doctrines of Vedanta into it. Carlyle was influenced by the teachings of Krishna through the English version of the Bhagavad Gita,* first translated by Charles Wilkins during the administration of Warren Hastings, and now well known to you as the

♦ Published in London in 1785 and in New York in 1867.

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TH^ INFLUENCE OF INDIA.

**Song Celestial." Many other translations have also been published in Europe and America. Frederick Schlegel, Victor Cousin, Amiel, Paul Deussen, Max Miiller, and Emerson were great advocates of the Vedanta philosophy. Emerson was, indeed, the pioneer of Hindu thought in America. He says in his Journal that the study of the Upanishads was a favorite recreation with him. Perhaps you have read his poem on Brahman, which he calls "Brahm"; it begins with this celebrated verse:

'■If the red slayer thinks he slays, Or if the slain thinks he is slain, They know not well the subtle ways I keep, and pass, and turn again."

This is almost a literal translation of a passage in the Bhagavad Gita, which runs thus:

"He who thinketh It to be a slayer and he who thinketh It to be slain, — both of these know not, for It neither killeth nor is killed" (chap, ii, verse 19).

Like Emerson, the Concord sage, Thoreau, was

also deeply imbued with the sublime teachings of

Vedanta. "The Hindus," he writes, "are more

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

serenely and thoughtfully religious than the He- brews. They have, perhaps, a purer, more inde- pendent, and impersonal knowledge of God. Their religious books describe the first inquisitive and contemplative access to God; the Hebrew Bible, a conscientious return, a grosser and more per- sonal repentance. Repentance is not a free and fair highway to God. A wise man will dispense with repentance. It is shocking and passionate. God prefers that you approach him thoughtfully, not penitent, though you are the chief of smners. It is only by forgetting yourself that you draw near to Him.

"The calmness and gentleness with which the Hindu philosophers approach and discourse on forbidden themes is admirable.

"What extracts from the Vedas I have read

fall on me like the light of a higher and purer

luminary, which describes a loftier course through

a purer stratum, — free from particulars, simple,

universal. It rises on me like the full moon

after the stars have come out, wading through

some far summer stratum of sky.

"The Vedant teaches how, ' by forsaking re-

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THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA.

ligious rites,' the votary may 'obtain purification of mind.'

"One wise sentence is worth the State of Massachusetts many times over.

"The Vedas contain a sensible account of God.

"The reHgion and philosophy of the Hebrew are those of a wilder and ruder tribe, wanting the civility and intellectual refinement and subtlety of the Hindus.

"I do not prefer one religion or philosophy to another. I have no sympathy with the bigotry and ignorance' which makes transient and partial and puerile distinctions between one man's faith and another's, as Christian and heathen. I pray to be delivered from narrowness, par- tiality, exaggeration, bigotry. To the philoso- pher, all sects, all nations, are alike. I like Brahma, Hari, or Buddha, the Great Spirit, as well as God."

To-day the whole Western world is permeated

with Hindu thoughts and ideals. The educated

men and women of Europe and America, who

have outgrown the superstitions, doctrines, and

dogmas of orthodox Christianity, are finding the

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

right solutions of the problems of life and death, and of the riddles of the universe, as also the greatest comfort and happiness in the universal religion of Vedanta, which is in perfect harmony with the science, logic, and philosophy of modern Europe. To-day the moral influence of Bud- dhism and the ethics of Vedanta are strongly felt in all European and American communities. You see how many vegetarians are springing up, how many people now prefer a vegetarian diet to animal flesh. I saw the other day in New York a hospital for dogs and cats, but, as I have already told you, such a hospital was built in 260 B.C. by the Buddhist emperor, Asoka. Then, again, the interest in concentration, meditation, breathing exercises, New Thought, etc., which is to be found at present all through Europe and America, is the result of Eastern influence. Mrs. Eddy's early editions of "Science and Health" had quotations from the Bhagavad Gita; and Celia Thaxter, we know, was deeply influenced by the teachings of Krishna, gathered from the same source. The Theosophists have, indeed,

disseminated the Hindu teachings most widely

23S

THE ESTFLUENCE OF INDIA.

all over the world. Even in Mexico I discovered that the teachings of Vedanta were spreading rapidly.

From very ancient times the Hindus as a nation have practised the subUme ethical pre- cept of non-resistance of evil, and the grand moral doctrine of returning good for evil and "love thy neighbor as thyself." "Love thy neighbor as thyself" was taught by Christ, but why? The reason was not given by Him. In the Vedas we find the reason: "Thou shalt love thy neighbor because thou art thy neighbor in spirit. Thou art one with him." ''Tat twam asi,^'' "That art Thou." Love means expression of oneness. The Hindus have always practised these higher ethical virtues, but as a result India has been invaded again and again by the greedy nations of Europe and Asia. To-day they have been enslaved by the swords of a Christian nation, whose Master proclaimed before the world the doctrine of non-resistance of evil, of returning good for evil, and of loving one's enemies. As nations, the so-caUed Christian nations of Europe do not follow the path of their Master, do not

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

practise non-resistance of evil, do not love their enemies; on the contrary, they worhip Mammon, and seek worldly success and material prosperity instead of the Kingdom of Heaven. They send missionaries as forerunners of conquest and pio- neers for territorial possession. They do not spread peace and goodwill among the people, but fire and guns, as we have seen lately in the British expedition to Tibet. We cannot forget how the poor, innocent Tibetans were mowed down by Maxim guns. We cannot forget how the Portuguese and Dutch Christians held in one hand the Bible and in the other a gun, and demolished the Hindu temples in India. We cannot forget how the Christian missionaries, under the name of religion, destroyed the monu- ments of Buddhism in Japan until they were driven out by the Japanese Government in 1614 A.D. The Hindu and Buddhist missionaries, on the contrary, have always carried, instead of fire and sword, the gospel of peace and goodwill, and have civilized the nations.

Think what Buddhism has done for China and Japan, for Tibet and Burmah! The whole civ-

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THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA.

ilization of Japan is indebted to Buddhism for its art, as for most other things. Buddhism was introduced into Japan in the sixth century after Christ, and since that time has lived there in absolute peace and harmony with Shintoism and Confucianism. Buddhism was introduced into China in 65 a.d., and it has existed among the Chinese for nearly two thousand years without destroying anything of Taoism and Confucianism, at the same time broadening the religious ideals of the nation, humanizing and civilizing them. Lafcadio Heam, in his book on Japan, shows how much Buddhism has done for Japan; and those who have read "The Soul of a People," by H. Fielding Hall, cannot help admiring the humane, loving, and spiritual qualities of the Buddhist people. Religious toleration has always been practised by the Hindus and Buddhists. When the Parsees were driven out of Persia by the Mohometans, they took refuge in India, where they are now flourishing and living un- molested. Under the influence of this religious toleration of the Hindus, Western nations, espe- cially the English, are beginning to learn and

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

practise it. The Hindus and Buddhists have never robbed their neighbors to enrich them- selves, but they have given to the world the highest moral and spiritual truths, not in mere theories, but by setting their noble examples. The Hindus and Buddhists have always been the true spiritual teachers of the world; they know how to preach and how to live religion. By a strange irony of fate, to-day they are called barbarous and uncivilized heathens by the ag- gressive pioneers of European conquest.*

Practical morality and spirituality have always been considered by the Hindus as greater than mere intellectual culture. In India, religion has been the source of philosophy, science, art, music, and everything. From religion the Hin- dus have gained their education and culture, therefore religion is a vital thing with them. It is the primary thing, while intellectual cul-

*" Unhappy Asia! Do you call it unhappy Asia? this land of divine needs and divine thought ! Its slumber is more vital than the waking life of the rest of the globe, as the dream of genius is more precious than the vigils of ordinary men. Unhappy Asia, do you call it? It is the unhappiness of Europe over which I mourn." Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beaconsfield).

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THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA.

ture is seconda^J^ The Hindus cultivate the feeUngs of the heart and do not care much for external reforms. It is for this reason that their civilization is based upon the highest moral and spiritual standards. Hindu civilization is founded, not upon the commercial and indus- trial interests of the people, but upon the eter- nal moral and spiritual laws which govern our lives. It is not like the European civiliza- tion of to-day, which inspires a nation mainly to protect its self-interest at the expense of other nations, and to gain material and com- mercial prosperity by depriving others of their rights, by robbing the weaker nations who are kind, innocent, and humane.

According to the Hindu idea, that man is civilized who is versed in the Scriptures; who is learned and wise in the various branches of knowledge; who is truthful, unselfish, and who obeys the moral laws; who helps the poor and distressed; who returns good for evil; and who conquers hatred by love, avarice by generosity. These are the high moral virtues which should adorn the character of a thoroughly civilized

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

man. A civilized man must always cultivate these virtues, and control the brute impulses and animal propensities with which he is bom. By these virtues the civilized man is distinguished from a barbarous savage, as also from lower animals. A civilized man or woman must have polished manners, not simply as an external form, as we see in Europe to-day, but they must pro- ceed from tlie feelings of the heart. European civilization,* on the contrary, has left moral and spiritual standards in the background, and made material prosperity and intellectual cul- ture the chief factors of civilization. The old brutal law of "might is right" is still in its ascendancy in the civilization of the West. The West looks mainly to externals, but India looks chiefly to the internal. With the former, worldly prosperity is the goal, and intellectual preemi-

* "Asia revivified would act upon Eurojjc. The Eu- ropean comfort, which they call civilization, is, after all, confined to a very small space, — the Island of Great Britain, France, and the course of a .single river, the Rhine. The greater part of Europe is as dead as Asia, without the consolation of climate and the influence of immortal traditions." — Benjamin Disraeli (Lord Beacon»- lield).

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THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA.

nence is its watchword. With the latter, the attainment of spiritual perfection is the highest aim of civilization, and the cultivation of moral virtues is a necessary step or auxiliary. In Europe, religion has always retarded the progress of true civilization and freedom of thought by the Inquisition, and by continuous persecution on the part of priests and clergy. Think of the fate of Galileo, Giardino Bruno, and a host of other eminent thinkers of the Middle Ages! G)nsequently religion has been put aside from practical daily hfe. But freedom of thought must be the constant companion of true civiliza- tion. Social and political freedom are also the outcome of the most advanced kind of civiliza- tion. Freedom is the goal for every man, but that freedom must be based upon moral and spiritual laws.

Through the influence of the dominant or rather militant civilization of Europe, India has lost her social and political freedom. She has become a slave. She cannot talk freely; she cannot discuss the unjust policy and oppressive methods of the so-called civilized government

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

which rules over her. European civilization has given to India the standard of commercialism, and has set an example of extreme selfishness, and this has been undermining the moral and spiritual standards of the Hindus. The ideal of simplicity and of humanitarianism is every day sacrificed upon the altar of commercialism and greed for material possession. Those who try to live in India a Christ-like life of purity and righteousness are robbed and dispossessed of their prooerty by the selfish pioneers of the aggressive civihzation of England. Under the influence of British rule, the culture of the feelings of the heart among the younger generation has become almost an impossibility. The moral and spiritual standards of the Hindus are giving place to hypocrisy and intellectual culture for material gain. The vices of Christian civilization, with slaughter-houses and saloons, with the liquor trade and the opium trade as Government monopolies for revenue, have been spreading all over India under the civilizing power of English rule.

The influence of Western civili2ation is de-

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THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA.

stroying the social structure of the Hindus, and is breaking the harmony of the household life which has existed from time immemorial. But it has done some good. It has loosened the rigidity of caste rules and caste distinctions, and has removed the degenerating evil effects of priestcraft. India was groaning under priest- craft, but to-day its evil effects have been re- moved by English education. English educa- tion, on the other hand, has disturbed the minds of the people; has shaken their faith in their religion; has made its students advocates of atheism, agnosticism, and utilitarianism, which are the banes of scientific education. The great mass of Hindu students who come out of the uni- versities every year do not believe in God or the human soul, do not care for anything but worldly success, social position, fame, and glory. Their first object in life is to earn their bread and butter by some honest profession. The heartless and demoralizing influence of business competition, which never existed imder caste rules in India, is suppressing the moral and spiritual develop- ment of the people. The gladiatorial pohcy of

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

European civilization is now in full force. The educated Hindus of to-day do not know which step to take in the path of their worldly career. They run for help toward the governing power, as a child would run to its father for protection in time of distress, but their hearts are filled with despair when they meet the frowning eyes of task-masters under the garb of Western culture and civilization. A civilized English- man in India kicks his native servant to death, and is fined perhaps five dollars by the Govern- ment. A civilized Englishman on a tea planta- tion in Assam will carry on a coolie trade, which is almost as bad as the old slave-trade, and is seldom punished by the Government. Such are the examples which the Hindus are witnessing every day in India.

Western civilization under British rule has opened the eyes of the masses, has made them realize that a foreign government is no better than a curse of God upon a nation; and a nation which tyrannizes over another nation for its own gain is not entitled to be called civilized,

according to the Hindu standard of civilization.

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THE INFLUENCE OF INDIA.

But I must say that India has derived certain benefits from Enghsh rule. After one hundred and fifty years of oppression and tyranny, it has made the Hindus stand on their own feet, and has brought out their national and patriotic feelings, in which they were lacking for nearly a centurj\ It has brought India in close touch with European and American culture, and has driven away many superstitious ideas from the minds of the Hindus. The Hindus are now taking lessons in commercialism from the civil- ized masters of Europe, and are studying their ways and manners, so that in future they will be able to become their worthy disciples. Japan has shown to the world what ready disciples of Western civilization her people have become in less than half a century. Now it will be the turn for poor and downtrodden India. We may not see it, but future generations will enjoy that freedom which is the goal of all nations.

Another good thing has come from the influ- ence of Western civilization, and that is the blessing of scientific education for the masses. It has opened a new field, and has brought a

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tremendous power of knowledge with it. India is beginning to wake np from her sleep in the darkness which prevailed during the night of the Mahometan rule of six hundred years, and her children are now receiving the light of science and the blessings of knowledge which have come from her contact with England. India will always remain gratefully indebted to the West, especially to England, for this blessing, and will always thank the Lord that He has given to her people so glorious an opportunity to accomplish her future greatness and political regeneration. India needs the spirit of Western civilization, while the West needs yet to learn from the Hindus the lesson of religious toleration, as also that practical method by which it will establish its civilization upon the principles of higher ethics and true spirituality taught by the uni- versal religion of Vcdanta, which is the crest

jewel of the civilization of India.

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WOAUN'S PLACE IN HINDU RELIGION.

VII. WOMAN'S PLACE IN HINDU RELIGION.

Well has it been said by Louis Jaccoliot, the celebrated French author of the "Bible in India,'* that: "India of the Vedas entertained a respect for women amounting to worship; a fact which we seem httle to suspect in Europe when we accuse the extreme East of having denied the dignity of woman, and of having only made of her an instrument of pleasure and of passive obedience." He also said: "What! Here is a civilization, which you cannot deny to be older than your own, which places the woman on a level with the man and gives her an equal place in the family and in society."

Long before the civil laws of the Romans, which gave the foundation for the legislation of Europe and of America, were codified by Jus- tinian, the Hindu laws of Manu were closely

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observed and strictly followed by the members of Hindu society in general. Many of the Ori- ental scholars, having compared the digest of Justinian and the Mosaic laws of the Old Testa- ment with the Hindu laws, have arrived at the conclusion that the code of Manu was related to them as a father is to his child. Yet the Hindu law-givers only repeated and codified the ethical principles which were inculcated in the Vedas. Following the teachings of the Vedas, the Hindu legislator gave equal rights to men and women by saying: "Before the creation of this phe- nomenal universe, the first-born Lord of all creatures divided his own self into two halves, so that one half should be male and the other half female." This illustration has established in the minds of the Hindus the fundamental equality of man and woman. Just as the equal halves of a fruit possess the same nature, the same attributes, and the same properties in equal proportion, so man and woman, being the equal halves of the same substance, possess equal rights, equal privileges, and equal powers. This idea of the equality of man and woman was the

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comer-stone of that huge structure of religion and ethics among the Hindus which has stood for so many ages the ravages of time and change, defying the on&Jaughts of the short-sighted critics of the world. Therefore, in India, what- ever is claimed for the man may also be claimed for the woman; there should be no partiality shown for either man or woman, according to the ethical, moral, and religious standards of the Hindus.

The same idea of equality was most forcibly expressed in the Rig Veda (Book 5, h3min 61, verse 8). The commentator explains this pas- sage thus: "The wife and husband, being the equal halves of one substance, are equal in every respect; therefore both should join and take equal parts in all work, religious and secular." No other Scriptures of the world have ever given to the woman such equality with the man as the Vedas of the Hindus. The Old Testament, the Koran, and the Zend-Avesta have made woman the scapegoat for all the crimes com- mitted by man. The Old Testament, in describ- ing the creation of woman and the fall of man, has

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established the idea that woman was created for man's pleasure; consequently her duty was to obey him implicitly. It makes her an instru- ment in the hands of Satan for the temptation and fall of the holy man with whom she was enjoying the felicity of paradise. Adam's first thought on that occasion was to shift the burden of guilt on to the shoulders of the woman. St. Paul, in the New Testament, shows that, through Adam's fall, woman was the means of bringing sin, suffering, and death into the world. Popu- lar Christianity has been trying lately to take away this idea, but, in spite of all the efforts of the preachers, it still lurks behind the eulogies that have been piled upon the conception of womanhood in Christian lands. How is it pos- sible, for one who believes the accounts given in Genesis to be literally true, to reject the idea there set forth that woman was the cause of the temptation and fall of man, thereby bringing sin and suffering and death into the world? For one who accepts the Biblical account, there is no other alternative left.

In India, such ideas never arose in the minds

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of the Vedic seers, nor have kindred notions found expression in the writings of the law-givers of later days. The Hindu legislators realized that both sexes were equal, and said before the world that women had equal rights with men for freedom, for the acquirement of knowledge, education, and spirituality. It is for this reason that we find in the Rig Veda the names of so many inspired women who attained to the reahzation of the highest spiritual truths. These inspired women are recognized by all classes as the Seers of Truth, as spiritual instructors, divine speakers and revealers, equally with the inspired men of Vedic hymns. Those who believe that the Hindu religion debars women from studying the Vedas, or from acquiring religious ideas ought to correct these erroneous notions by opening their eyes to the facts, which are indelibly written on the pages of the religious history of India. The one hundred and twenty-sixth hymn of the first book of the Rig Veda was revealed by a Hindu woman whose name was Romasha; the one hundred and seventy-ninth hymn of the same book was by Lopamudra, another inspired

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Hindu woman. I can cite at least a dozen names of women revealers of the Vedic wisdom, such as Visvavara, Shashvati, Gdrgi, Maitreyi, Apala, Ghosha, and Aditi, who instructed Indra, one of the Devas, in the higher knowledge of Brahman, the Universal Spirit. All of these are the names of inspired women revealers of the spiritual wisdom. Every one of them lived the ideal life of spirituality, being untouched by the things of the world. They are called in Sanskrit Brali- mavMinis, the speakers and revealers of Brahman. They were devout performers of the religious rites, singers of holy hymns, and often discussed with great philosophers the most subtle problems of life and death, the nature of the soul and of God, and their inter-relation, and sometimes, in the course of these discussions, they defeated the most advanced tliinkers among their opponents.

Those who have read the Upanishads, the philosophical portions of the Vedas, know that Gargi and Maitreyi, the two great women Seers of Truth, discoursed on pliilosophical topics with YAjnavalka, who was one of the best authorities in the Vedic lore. There are many instances of

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women acting as arbitrators on such occasions. When Sankaracharya, the great commentator of the Vedanta, was discussing this philosophy with another philosopher, a Hindu lady, well versed in all the Scriptures, was requested to act as umpire.

If, in the face of such facts, the Christian missionaries say that the Hindu religion prevents women from studying the Vedas, or denies them a place in religion, we can only console ourselves by thinking that the eyes of our missionary brothers and sisters are not open to truths which exist outside the boundary-line of their own particular creed and religion. It is the especial injunction of the Vedas that no married man shall perform any rehgious rite, ceremony, or sacrifice without being joined in it by his wife; should he do so, his work wiU be incom- plete and half finished, and he wiU not get the full results, because the wife is considered to be a partaker and partner in the spiritual life of her husband: she is called, in Sanskrit, Saha- dharmini, "spiritual helpmate." This idea is

very old, as old as the Hindu nation. It is true

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that there were certain prohibitions for some women against certain studies and ceremonies, which were prescribed for those only who were in a different stage of spiritual development, just as a certain class of men were proscribed from the studies of some portions of the Vedas, or from performing certain ceremonies simply because they were not ready for them.

Coming down from the Vedic period to the time when the Puranas and Epics were written, we find that the same idea of equality between men and women was kept alive, and that the same laws were observed as during the time of the Vedas. Those who have read the Ram- dyana will remember how exemplary was the character of Sit^, the heroine. She was the embodiment of purity, chastity, and kind- ness, the personification of spirituality. She still stands as the perfect type of ideal womanhood in the hearts of the Hindu women of all castes and creeds. In the whole religious history of the world a second Sit^ will not be found. Her life was unique. She is worshipped as an In- carnation of God, as Christ is worshipped among

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the Christians. India is the only country where prevails a behef that God incarnates in the form of a woman as well as in that of a man.

In the Mahabharata we read the account of Sulabha, the great woman Yogi, who came to the court of King Janaka and showed wonderful powers and wisdom, which she had acquired through the practice of Yoga. This shows that women were allowed to practise Yoga; even to-day there are many living Yoginis in India who are highly advanced in spirituality. Many of these Yoginis become spiritual teachers of men. Sri Ramakrishna, the greatest Saint of the nineteenth century, was taught spiritual truths by a Yogini.*

As in religion the Hindu woman of ancient times enjoyed equal rights and privileges with men, so in secular matters she had equal share and equal power with them. From the Vedic age women in India have had the same right to possess property as men; they could go to the

♦ See "Life and Sayings of Ramakrishna," by Prof. F. Max MuUer, published by Scribner and Sons, New York.

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courts of justice, plead their own cases, and ask for the protection of the law.

Those who have read the famous Hindu drama, called Sakuntala, know that Sakuntala pleaded her own case and claimed her rights in the court of King Dushyanta. Similar instances are mentioned in the one hundred and eighth hymn of the tenth book of the Rig Veda. As early as 2000 B.C. Hindu women were allowed to go to the battle-fields to fight against enemies. Sarama, one of the most power- ful women of her day, was sent by her hus- band in search of robbers. She discovered their hiding-place and afterwards destroyed them.

In the fifth book of the Rig Veda we read that King Namuchi sent his wife to fight against his enemies. She fought and eventually conquered them. There have been many instances of women holding high political powers, governing states, making laws, and administering justice to all. Throughout the history of India are to be found the names of many women who have governed their own territories. Some women

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of later dates resisted foreign invaders.* The history of India records the wonderful general- ship of the Rdni of Jhansi, who held a portion of the British army in check during the famous mutiny of 1857-58. She headed her troops against the British, dressed like a cavalry officer, and after a hard fight she fell in battle and died, in June, 1858. Sir Hugh Rose declared that the best man on the enemy's side was the Rant of Jhansi, not knowing that the Rant was not a man, but the Queen herself.

Not long ago a Hindu lady, Aus Kour by name, was elevated by the Hindus, with the help of the British Government, to the disputed throne of the disorganized and revolted State of Patiala, in the northwest of India. She has been described by Enghsh historians as the most competent person to govern that state. In less than a year she brought peace and security into all parts of her dominions.

Ahalyd Bai, the Queen of M^lwd, governed

♦ The heroic queen Chand Bibi, who defended the fort of Ahmednagar against the attacks of the Mogul emperor Akbar, may be called the Joan of Arc of India.

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her kingdom with great success for twenty years, devoting herself to the rights and welfare of her people and the happiness of her subjects; she was so great and popular that both the Mahome- tans and the Hindus united in prayers for her long life; so little did she care for name and fame that, when a book was written in her honor, she ordered it to be destroyed, and took no notice of the author.

America boasts of her civilization and the freedom of her women, but we know how little power and how few privileges have been given to women. The cause of this is deeply rooted in the Bibhcal conception of womanhood. It is claimed that Christianity has elevated the con- dition of women; but, on the contrary, history tells us that it is Christianity that has stood for centuries in the way of the religious, social, and political freedom of women. Think of the women's suffrage societies, and how hard they are strugghng to win recognition of the rights of their sex.* Roman law and Roman juris-

♦ The following extract from a letter sent by Mrs. Elizabeth Cady Stanton to Bishop Potter, of New York,

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prudence gave woman a place far more elevated than that given to her by Christianity. The Christians learned to honor women from the pagans. The Teutonic tribes believed, like the Hindus, in the perfect equality of both sexes in all domestic and social relations, and held that a queen was as good as a king. Even to-day the Christian nations fail to see this equality between man and woman.

on 15th January, 1901, will give an idea of the situa- tion:

"Ever and anon public thought is aroused by a terrible tragedy, like the one enacted in Paterson, or by some unusually open manifestation of vice in the streets of our cities. Though an aroused public sentiment can repress the evils for a time in one locality, they reappear at once, with renewed energy, in many others. Occa- sionally, church officials make their protests, but no one seems to imderstand the hidden cause of all these outrages.

"The authorities of the Episcopal Church are just now aroused to action. The first step to be taken is to teach woman a higher respect for herself, and the rising generation a more profoimd reverence.

"The Church and the Bible make woman the foot- ball for the jibes and jeers of the multitude.

"When, in their marriage service, it is the duty of woman to obey, and be given away by some man, she is made the inferior and subject of man.

"All our efForts to suppress the social evil are hope- less until woman is recognized, in the canon law and all

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The Hindu law allows the women a much greater share in the management of property than most of the statutes of the Christian nations. In family affairs, religious or secular, especially in business or trade, a husband in India cannot take any step without consulting the female members of the family.

It is often said that Hindu \vomen are treated like slaves by their husbands, but it is not a fact. On the contrary, the Hindu women get better treatment than the majority of the wives

church discipline, as equal in goodness to bishops, arch- bishops, and the Pope himself.

"The sentiments of men in high places are responsible for the outrages on woman in the haunts of vice and on the highway. If the same respect the masses are educated to feel for cathedrals, altars, symbols, and sacraments were extended to the mothers of the race, as it should be, all these problems would be speedily settled.

"When our good men in State and Church try to suppress the terrible outrages on woman, while thry deal with the evil on the surface, they should begin the lasting work of securing to her equal honor, dignity, and respect by sharing with her all the liberties they them- selves enjoy.

"The les.son of inferiority is taught everywhere, and in these terrible tragedies of life we have the result of the universal degradation of woman."

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of Englishmen or of Americans endowed with the spirit of an Enghsh husband. Sir Monier Monier Wilhams says : ' ' Indian wives often possess greater influence than the wives of Europeans." The number of wife-beaters is considerably smaller in India than in Europe or America. He is not a true Hindu who does not regard a woman's body as sacred as the temple of God. He is an outcast who touches a woman's body with irreverence, hatred, or anger. "A woman's body," says Manu the law-giver, "must not be struck hard, even with a flower, because it is sacred." It is for this reason that the Hindus do not allow capital punishment for women. The treatment of woman, according to Hindu religion, will be better understood from some of the quotations from the laws of Manu and other law-givers. Manu says:

1. "The mouth of a woman is always pure." V, 130.

2. "Women must be honored and adorned by their fathers, husbands, brothers, and brothers- in-law, who desire their own welfare." Ill, 55.

3. "Where women are honored, there the Devas

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(gods) are pleased; but where they are dishon- ored, no sacred rite yields rewards." Ill, 56.

4. "Where female relations live in grief, the family soon wholly perishes; but that family where they are not unhappy ever prospers."

ni, 57.

5. "In like manner, care must be taken of barren women, of those who have no sons, of those whose family is extinct, of wives and widows faithful to their lords, and of women afflicted with diseases." VIII, 28.

6. "A righteous king must punish like thieves those relatives who appropriate the property of such females during their lifetime." VIII, 29.

7. "In order to protect women and Brahmins, he who kills in the cause of right commits no sin." VIII, 349.

8. "One's daughter is the highest object of tenderness; hence, if one is offended by her, one must bear it without resentment." IV, 185. (Compare this with the statements of the mission- aries that the Hindu religion sanctions the killing of girls.)

9. "A maternal aunt, the wife of a maternal

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uncle, a mother-in-law, and a paternal aunt, must be honored like the wife of one's spiritual teacher; they are equal to the wife of one's spiritual teachei." II, 131.

(In India, the wife of a spiritual teacher is regarded as a living goddess.)

10. "Towards the sister of one's father and of one's mother and towards one's elder sister, one must behave as towards one's mother; but the mother is more venerable than they." II, 133.

11. "But the teacher is ten times more vener- able than the sub-teacher, the father a hundred times more than the teacher, but the mother a thousand times more than the father." II, 145.

12. "A chaste wife, who after the death of her husband constantly remains chaste, reaches heaven, though she have no son, just like those chaste men." V, 160. (Compare this with the statements of the missionaries that Hindu widows are cursed by their religion.)

13. "In that family where the husband is pleased with his wife and the wife with her hus- band, happiness will assuredly be lasting." Ill, 60.

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

14. "Offspring, the due performance of re- ligious rites, faithful service, highest conjugal happiness, and heavenly bliss for the ancestors and one's self, depend upon the wife alone." IX, 28.

15. "Let mutual fidelity continue till death; this may be considered as a summary of the highest law for husband and wife." IX, loi.

From other Hindu laws:

"Woman possesses an unequalled means of purification: they never become (entirely) foul." "Women are pure in all limbs."

1. "Man is strength, woman is beauty; he is the reason that governs and she is the wisdom that moderates."

2. "He who despises woman despises his mother."

3. "He who is cursed by a woman is cursed by God."

4. "The tears of a woman call down the fire of heaven on those who make them flow."

5. "Evil to him who laughs at a woman's sufferings; God shall laugh at his prayers."

6. "The songs of women are sweet in the ears

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woman's place in HINDU RELIGION.

of the Lord; men should not, if they wish to be heard, sing the praises of God without women."

7. "There is no crime more odious than to persecute women, and to take advantage of their weakness to despoil them of their patrimony."

8. "The woman watches over the house, and the protecting divinities (Devas) of the domestic hearth are happy in her presence. The labors of the field should never be assigned to her."

9. "When relatives, by some subterfuge, take possession of the property of a woman, her car- riages or her jewels, such evil-doers shall descend into the infernal regions."

10. "The virtuous woman should have but one husband, as the right-minded man should have but one wife."

Here is the definition of a wife given in the Mahabharata : —

A wife is half the man, his truest friend; A loving wife is a perpetual spring Of virtue, pleasure, wealth; a faithful wife Is his best aid in seeking heavenly bliss ; A sweetly-speaking wife is a companion In solitude, a father in advice, A mother in all seasons of distress, A rest in passing through life's wilderness." ' 271

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

The Christian missionaries say that these laws are most horrible! Yet to-day in some parts of Europe women are yoked together with horses and cattle in the field, and obhged to do the roughest labor!

The unmarried daughter, not the son, inherits the mother's estate. This is the Hindu law. The special property of the wife which she gets as dowry cannot be used by the husband. A wife in India is not responsible for the debts of her husband or son. The mother in India owns her children as much as the father does.

Mrs. F. A. Steele, who has written several novels on Indian life, and who resided in India for twenty-five years, writes of Indian women: "In regard to the general position of women in India, I think it is rather better than our own. Women in India can hold property, and a widow always gets a fixed portion of her hus- band's estate."

Some American ladies who lived in India, not as missionaries but as impartial observers, have corroborated these statements. It is gen- erally said that the Hindu law makes no provi-

woman's place in HINDU RELIGION.

sion for the Hindu widows. Let us see what an Enghsh historian says:

"In the absence of direct male heirs, widows succeed to a hfc-interest in real and abso- lute interest in personal property. The daugh- ters inherit absolutely. Where there are sons, mothers and daughters are entitled to shares, and wives hold peculiar property from a variety of sources over which a husband has no control during their lives, and which descends to their own heirs, with a preference to females." *

Much has been said against the marriage customs of the Hindus. I have heard a great deal of objection to them, in this country espe- cially. It is true that marriage by courtship is not considered by the Hindus to be the highest and best system; they say this method generally proceeds from selfish desires, or the mere grati- fication of passion. Marriage, according to the Hindu ideas, must be based on the ideal of the spiritual union of the souls, and not on the lower desires for sense pleasures. It must be a sacred bond. The Hindus were the first to

♦Mill's History of India, Vol. I, p. 248. 273

INDL.\ AND HER PEOPLE.

recognize marriage as an indissoluble holy bond between two souls. Even death does not dissolve it; and this idea prevails in the hearts of many Hindu wives, who do not care to remarry after the death of their husbands, but prefer to de- vote their lives to fulfilling spiritual duties.

Mrs. Steele says: "I have seen many a virgin widow who gloried in her fate." Marriage is not considered to be the only aim of life. There are nobler and higher purposes, and they must be accomplished before death comes. The whole spirit of the marriage laws in India is in favor of the legal union between one man and one woman, but they allow a little latitude for the preservation of the race. It is said that a man may marry a second wife for progeny alone, with the consent of his first wife, in case she should be barren.

The aim of Hindu law-givers was to build a society where the moral and spiritual evolution of the individual should be free from legal inter- ference. Therefore they divided society into classes, and set forth laws for each class; the marriage laws in India have been many-sided in

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order to suit the different tendencies which pre- vailed among different classes. Hindu law-givers understood that one law would not do for all people. The higher the class in society, the more restricted are their lav/s; for instance, the same law-giver, who allows the marriage of widows amongst the lower classes, sets forth arguments against its practice among women of a higher class. Nearly all Hindu widows of the lower classes can remarry after the death of their husbands; but it depends upon the choice both of the husband and the wife. The Hindu law provides for the remarriage of widows * and of divorced women in the same way as for the remarriage of widowers and divorced men. Ac- cording to the law, a wife may abandon her husband (if she choose) if he be criminal, insane,

* "That the remarriage of widows in Vedic times was a national custom can be easily established by a variety of proofs and arguments. The very fact of the Sans- krit language having from ancient times such words as didhishu, 'a man that has married a widow,' parapurva, 'a woman that has taken a second husband,' paunar- bhava, 'a son of a woman by her second husband,' are enough to establish it." — "Indo-Arians," by Rajendra Lala Mitra, Vol. 11, p. 155.

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impotent, outcast, or afflicted with leprosy, also because of his -long absence in foreign lands, and can take another husband. The Roman law- gives no other causes of divorce than these. Similarly, a husband may abandon his wife if she be drunken or adulterous, afflicted with lep- rosy, or cruel towards husband and children, and can remarry. But the Hindu law does not allow a divorce simply for incompatibility of temper, nor because of the simple desire in either party to marry another.

It is said that the greatest curse is the child- marriage in India, and that it is sanctioned by religion; but this is not true. Religion distinctly forbids it, and in many parts of India so-called child-marriage is nothing but a betrothal. The betrothal ceremony takes place some years before the real marriage ceremony; sufficient cause may prolong the period of betrothal for even three or four ^^-cars. In Northern India the real marriage docs not take place until the parties are of proper age; it is attended with music, feasting, and the presentation of gifts. A be- trothed wife stays in her father's house until

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woman's place in HINDU RELIGION.

the time of her real marriage. In Southern India, customs are not the same; many abuses have crept in, and child-wives are often given to their husbands at too tender an age. The Hindu law does not prevent the remarriage of the betrothed wife after the death of her be- trothed husband, but it says that under such circmnstances the parents of the betrothed wife commit a sin as of giving false witness before the court of justice.

According to the Hindu law, it is better for a girl of a high caste to remain unmarried for life than to marry one who is not of noble birth or from a family of the same caste, or one who is unqualified and illiterate.

Eight different kinds of marriages are described and discussed by Hindu legislators,* among which marriage with the consent of the parents of both parties, and not a sentimental love con- tract, is considered to be the highest. In ancient times, when the country was governed by Hindu kings, the Svayambara system of marriage was very common. It was the system of free choice

* Manu, III, 21 — 3;^. 277

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

of a husband by the maiden. Those who have read "The Light of Asia," by Sir Edwin Arnold, will remember how Buddha was married. But when the Hindus lost their pohtical freedom they would have been unable to prevent the inter- mixture of races had such liberty been continued; so they abandoned that system of marriage and adopted that of betrothing their sons and daugh- ters in their youth. The betrothal, however, is- not practised in all parts of the country.

Christian missionaries have brought false charges against the moral character of Hindu wo- men; and some of our own countrywomen, having enlisted their names as Christian converts, have, I regret to say, joined these missionary detractors in bringing false charges against Hindu women. If you wish to know the true condition of the women in India, you will have to reject ninety- nine per cent of the statements which you hear from the missionaries, or from Christian con- verts who come from India. There are immoral women in India, as there are in every other country, but it is more than wicked to make such sweeping statements as that there is no morality

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woman's place in HINDU RELIGION.

among Hindu women. The Pandita Ramabai said: "I would not trust one of my girls in any Indian home. The immorality in that country is horrible!" ♦

Self-burning of widows was not sanctioned by the Vedic religion, but was due to other causes. Some say that, when the Mahometans conquered India, they treated the widows of the soldiers so brutally that the women preferred death, and voluntarily sought it. It is often said that the "Christian government" has suppressed Suttee; but the truth is, that the initiative in this direction was taken by that noble Hindu, Rdjah R^jn Mohan Roy, who was, however, obhged to secure the aid of the British Govern- ment in enforcing his ideas, because India was a subject nation. The educated classes among the Hindus had strongly protested against the priests f who supported this inhuman custom (which prevailed only in certain parts of India), and efforts had been made to suppress the evil by force; but, as it could not be done without

* Fitchburg Sentinel, i8 April, 1898. t BrAhminism and Hinduism, p. 482. 279

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

official help, appeal was made to the Viceroy, Lord Bentinck, and a law against Suttee was passed. Thus the evil was practically sup- pressed by the Hindus themselves, aided by the British Government.

Sir Monier Monier Williams says: "Perhaps the most important point to which he (Rajah Ram Mohan Roy) awakened attention was the absence of all Vedic sanction for the self-immolation of widows (Suttee, in Sanskrit Sati) . It was princi- pally his vehement denunciation of this practice, and the agitation against it set on foot by him, which ultimately led to the abolition of Sati throughout British India in 1829."*

The exclusion of women from the society of men, which we find in some parts of India, is not due to their religion, but to other causes. Although this custom existed among the aristo-

♦ Some of the BrAhmin priests perverted the meaning of the Vedic text which describes the funeral ceremony of the ancient Hindus. The true meaning of that verse is: "Rise up, woman, thou art lying by one whose life is gone; come, come to the world of the hving, away from thy husband, and become the wife of him who grasps thy hand and is willing to marry thee." — Rig Veda. Bk. 10, Hymn 18, verse 8.

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woman's place in HINDU RELIGION.

cratic classes of the Hindu community, still it came into practice largely for self-defence against Mahometan brutality. The Purda system, that is, the custom of not allowing women to appear in public without a veil, was not of Hindu origin, but was introduced into India by the Mahome- tans. There are many parts of India where the Purda system does not exist at all, where men mix freely with women, travel in the same vehicle, and appear in public with the women unveiled. Sir Monier Monier Williams writes : ' ' More- over, it must be noted that the seclusion and ignorance of women, which were once mainly due to the fear of the ^Mahometan conquerors, do not exist in the same degree in provinces unaffected by those conquerors."

Every one has heard the old missionary tale of the Hindu mothers throwing their babies to the crocodiles in the Ganges. Touching pic- tures of a black mother with a white baby in her arms, calmly awaiting the advent of a large crocodile, have adorned many Sunday-school books. Perhaps this story arose from the fact that in certain places poor Hindu mothers place

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INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

the dead bodies of their little ones by the river- side, because they cannot afford the expense of cremating them.

The zeal of the pious missionaries for Chris- tianizing India was the cause of the story of the car of Jaggannath. Sir Monier Monier Williams says: "It is usual for missionaries to speak with horror of the self-immolation alleged to take place under the car of Jaggannath. But, if deaths occur, they must be accidental, as self- destruction is wholly opposed both to the letter and spirit of their religion." *

As regards female infanticide, Pandita RamA- bai herself wrote:

"Female infanticide, though not sanctioned by religion and 7ievcr looked upon as right by con- scientious people, has nevertheless, in those parts of India mentioned been silently passed over unpunished by society in general." f

The Pandita does not perhaps know that numbers of dead bodies of illegitimate babies are picked up every year in the streets and

♦ Brfthmanism and Hinduism, p. ii8. t High-caste Hindu Women, p. 26. 282

woman's place in HINDU RELIGION.

vacant lots of New York and other large Ameri- can cities. What does American society do about such criminals? Is it not equally reason- able to charge these evils to the Christian re- ligion as to lay all the sins of India at the door of the Hindu religion?

High-caste Hindu women generally learn to read and write in their own vernacular, but they do not pass public examinations. Hindu religion does not prevent any woman from receiving education; on the contrary, it says that it is the duty of the parents, brothers, and husbands to educate their daughters, sisters, and wives. So, if there be ignorance among Hindu women, it is not the fault of their religion, but rather of their poverty.

Malabar boasts of seven great poets, and four of them were women. The moral sentiments uttered by one of them (Avyar) are taught in the schools as the golden rules of life. The writings of Lilavati, a great woman mathematician, still form the text-book in native schools of the Hindus.

It is often said by the Christian missionaries

283

INDIA AND HER PEOPLE.

that Hindu religion teaches that women have no souls, and that they are not entitled to sal- vation. On the contrary, all the sacred books of the Hindus testify against such outrageous falsities. Those who have read the Bhagavad Gita, or the Upanishads, know that, according to Hindu religion the soul is sexless, and that all men and women will sooner or later reach the highest goal of religion. It was in India that women were first allowed to be spiritual teachers and to enter into the monastic life. Those who have read the life of Buddha know that his wife became the leader of the Buddhist nuns. There are to-day hundreds of Hindu Sannydsinis (nuns) who are recognized as spiritual teachers by the Hindus. The wife of Sri RA,makrishna, the great Hindu Saint of the nineteenth century, has become a living example of the great honor and reverence that are paid by Hindus to a woman of pure, spotless, spiritual life.

Lastly, the position of women in Hindu re- ligion can be understood better by that unique idea of the Motherhood of God, which is nowhere so strongly expressed and recognized as in India.

284

woman's place in HINDU REUGION.

The mother is so highly honored in India that the Hindus are not satisfied until they see divin- ity in the form of earthly mother. They say that one mother ^s greater than a thousand fathers, therefore the Hindus prefer to call the Supreme Being the Mother of the Universe. The Divine Mother is greater than the "Creator" of other religions. She is the Producer of the Creator, or the First-born Lord of all creatures. There is no other country in the world where every living mother is venerated as an incarna- tion of the Divine Mother, where every village has a guardian mother who protects all as her own children.

Listen to the prayer that rises every day to the Almighty Mother of the universe from the hearts of Hindu worsliippers :

"O Mother Divine, Thou art beyond the reach of our praises; Thou pervadest every par- ticle of the universe; all knowledge proceeds from Thee, O Infinite Source of wisdom! Thou dwellest in evfery feminine form, and all women

are Thy Uving representatives upon earth."

285

How to be a Yogi, (^ifth Edition.)

BY SWAMI ABHEDANANDA

I. Introductory. III. Science of Breathing.

II. What is Yoga? IV. Was Christ a Yogi?

I2mo, l88 pages. Portrait of author, frontispiece. Cloth. $i.oo. Postage, 8 cents.

** For Christians interested in foreig^n missions this book is M Bioment, as showing the method of reasoning which they must be prepared to meet if they are to influence the educated Hindu. To the Orientalist, and the philosopher also, the book is not without interest. , . . Swami Abhedftnanda preaches no mushroom creed and no Eurasian hybrid 'theosophy.' He aims to give us a co;n- f>endious account of Yoga. Clearly and admirably he performs his task. In form th^ littk book is excellent, and its English style is jood." — A'ew York Times Saturday Review c/ Books, Dec. 6, 190a.

*' ' How to be a Yogi ' is a little volume that makes very interest- ing reading. The book contains the directions that must be fol- lowed in physical as well as in mental training by one who wishes to have full and perfect control of all his powers." — Record' Herald, Chicago, Feb. 28, 1903.

*' The Swimi writes in a clear, direct manner. His chapter oa Breath will elicit more than ordinary attention, as there is much ia it that will prove helpful. The book makes a valuable addition to Vedanta Philosophy." — Mind, June, 1903.

*' The book is calculated to interest the student of Oriental thought and familiarize the unread with one of the greatest philo- sophical systems of the world." — Buffalo Courier, Nov. 23, 1902,

" • How to be a Yogi ' practically sums up the whole science of Vedanta Philosophy. Thie term Yogi is lucidly defined and a full analysis is given of the science of breathing and its bearing on the highest spiritual development. The methods and practices of Yoga are interestingly set forth, and not the least important teaching of the book is the assertion of how g;reat a Yogi was Jesus of Naz- areth."— The Bookseller, Newsdealer and Stationer, Jan. 15, 1903.

" This book is well worth a careful reading. Condensed, yet ■ -"i-r and concise, it fills one with the desire to eoLUiate these Yogis t£i attaixuag qxritual perfection." — UnUy, Kansas City, Oec, 190a.

Orders received by and checks and money orders made payable to

VEDANTA ASHRAMA

West Cornwall, Conn.

Great Saviors of the World

rvoi. I.) A NEW BOOK

BY

SWAMI ABHEDANANDA

Cloth, ^i.oo net. Postage, 6 cents. Portrait of each Savior.

CONTENTS.

I. Great Saviors of the World (Introductory.) II. Krishna and His Teachings.

III. Zoroaster and His Teachings.

IV. Lao-Tze and His Teachings.

" These studies are scholarly and comprehensive reviews of historic fact. They are also broad and open interpretations of moral and spiritual forces. The author's attitude is reverent toward all. His mind is free. His speech is peculiarly impressive. Surely, it speaks well for the world that its people can look without bitterness and jealousy upon the fact that God has sent, and will send, many Saviors into tne world. This is a good study, htted to open the heart and liberalize mind.^'— iVasAiHgten Star. June 39, 1913.

"A valuable contribution to metaphysics."— /'(Or</a«<^C7r<'^o««a(». June 33, 1913.

"The work is taken up somewhat in chronological order. . . . The teachings of the thinkers who form the subject of the lectures are faithfully reported. The author holds no special brief for any of those remarkable men but endeavors to state precisely what their ideas were. The style of the author is interesting as well as perfectly lucid."— ^«^a/» Nttvs, April ai, 1912.

Swami Abhedananda emphasizes the similarities in the teachinfr of these great men. His aim is " 10 show that the fundamental teach, ings of the founders of the great religions of the world have had the same spiritual keynote and that the stories connected with their lives and miraculous deeds are similar to those of Jesus Christ."— .S'/. Pam/ Piotutr Frtfty August 4, 1919.

Press Notices. — Continued.

" He (author) attempts to explain their ideas accurately and pays much attention to the legends ot the east relative to the orig^in of the great leaders in sacred affairs.'"— Z?<rj Moints Ca/ital, June s, 191a.

" It sets forth in picturesque language the principal CTents in the lires of his heroes and gives a good concise idea of their teachings." — The Indianapolis S/ar, May 26, 1912.

"Swami Abhedjnanda's discourses point to the essential harmony of religions . . . and offer an unusual opportunity to study from conemporaneous expressions the companion viewpoints of faith and pure culture." — New York Worlds May 25, igia.

" The life and teachings of three great Sages, of whom the West- ern world knows far too little, is treated in a wonderfully clear and attractive manner. . . . Their illumined efforts in lifting up a new ensign for the people of their respective countries are described by an Oriental Scholar, who is perfectly titled for the task, and has familiar- ized himself with the available records of their almost superhuman labors. Each of these great souls is made to live again in the respect- ive chapters of this engrossing work, very interesting side lights are thrown on alleged inaccuracies, many abscure points are made plain, and the underlying principles they set out to teach are conveyed in simple, but scholarly style." — Ihe Column, June, 1913.

" Swami's book will do infinitely more good at the present time in the west than any book he could have written upon the different schools of Vedanta."— JVi/aw/a Universal Messenger, Dec, iqu.

*' It breathes the spirit of deep vision and profound learning and one sees that the Swami is actuated by the spirit of his Master, Sri Ramakrishna, that Synthesis of the Religious Cr-nsciousness. . . . The quotations from learned authors, bearing relation to the historical features of the Avataras wuh which the book is replete, shows how diligently the Swami has prepared himself for his arduous task. He has left nothing unsaid. — Awakened Inditi, Nov., 1913.

"This collection of lectures by the well-known Vedantist con- stitutes the first of a series of three volumes dealing with the same subject. As the author indicates in his preface, the word " Saviour" is jsed by him in the broad sense, and not as denoting "a Saviour who saves from eternal damnation." The present volume deals with the lives and teachings of Krishna, Zoroaster, and Lao-Tze, viewed in the unifying light of the Vedanta. The many admirers of Swimi Abhedananda's works will welcome this addition to the list, whilst those who have not yet had the p'easure of becoming acquainted with the grandeur of the teachings of this religio-philosophy, through the light of which "the Unity of the Godhead under variety of names and forms" may be perceived, will assuredly read the book not only with interest, but come from its perusal with the conviction that the SwSmi possesses the happy gift of bringing to light in an interesting and attractive manner the harmony existing between the leading world.rel:gions."— Of.w// Review, July, 1912, London, England.

In the Press

GREAT SAVIORS OF THE WORLD Vols. II. aod III.

Human Affection and Divine Love

BY

SWAMI ABHEDANANDA Flexible cloth. Price, 35 cents. Postage, 3 cents.

A suitable gift- book full of inspiring thoughts. It describes the evolution of Love in its various stages — aninial, human, and divine ; and shows that love is not an emotional sentiment as commonly understood but an attribute of our Real Self.

" Beautifully expressed sentences, on the idealism of love, reflected from India." — Portland Ore^ontan, June 23, 1912.

"Never under any circumstances is divine love an evil thing, but is everlasting in its beneficent blessings. In this little book the author contrasts the endurinp beauty of the divine love with that of human affections which if misdirected in its selfishness results in murder, robbery and other crimes. His book is divided into two parts and the Later inciudcs numerous quotations to prove his argument." — Des Moisnes Capitate June s, 1913.

" It is written simply and the mysticism in it is somewhat akin to the mysticism of Maeterlinck, Kmerson and of Thomas i Kempis— different as they all are." — St. Paul Pioneer Pren, Aug. 4, tgta.

"A tiny book but containing a volume of profound thought wis- dom and beauty. It was Flrummond who wrote that the greatest thing in the world was " Love," and since then love hassomehow had a greater significance and more exalted place in the world than it ever occupied before. But even Drummond did not put it on the high plane or give it such exquisite meaning .ts this writer has. He casts away the material and shows that the love that exalts, the love that worketh only good reaches through the material to the divine." — Or** goH Journal, April a8, 1913.

Press Notices. — Continued.

" Human affection has ever been manifested in attachment to some object, and the enlightened passages in this practical little Tolume show the same tendency on the animal plane by means of a very fine comparison. The nature and expression of Divine Love is also very skillfully analysed, and a nice distinction drawn, between it and the human quality. The author feelingly portrays an ideal behind both, which might well be ii-i opted by the individual, and typified in his relation to others q daily life, with invaluable results to all. The words of the Swami on "that Divine Love that knows no fear," but realizes everything comes from God are uttered in a decisive style that will appeal to an army of souls, who to-day feel the truth of such a principle. Those will be greatly helped by the plain and highly intell- igent explanation of a great truth, in which the vividness of Oriental expression is reproduced in Western terms by a master of both languages. This especially applies to the closing chapter where aptly chosen illustrations so dear to the oriental mind elucidate the two characteristics of ecstatic love, the three states of consciousness and their correspondence to the five sheaths of the soul, beyond which is the True Self, the Absolute. An elevating manual quite in keeping with the Author's previous best work."— 7"A# Column, June, igia,

"It is thoroughly sound and happily written book, a fine intro- duction to Bhakti Marga. It is profitable reading to every person while to the more philosophically inclined it affords valuable instruct- ion."— The Brakmavadin, Madras India, Dec, igia.

"Carefully does the Swami draw the distinction, showing how human love attains its climax in directing itself to GoA."— Awakened India, Nov., 1912.

" This is a book presenting somewhat of the old. Indian phil- osophy, which is noble and pure. It is in no sense a departure from Western thought, as one might be led to suppose. It is well written aad free from meuphysical speculations."— .5ro<»-t/>i» Eagle, June 14, 1911.

Unity and Harmony

A New Lecture by

SWAMI ABHEDANANDA Price, 10 cents. Postage, i cent.

Divine Heritage of Man.

BY SWAMI ABHEDANANDA

I3mo, 215 pages. Portrait of »uthor, frontispiece. Cloth, ^i.oo. Postage, 8 cents.

Contents. I. Existence of God. II. Attributes of God. III. Has God any Form? IV. Fatherhood and Motherhood of God. V. Relation of Soul to God. VI. What is an Incar- nation of God? VII. Son of God. VIII. Divine Principle in Man.

" The SwSmi Abhedinanda's writings are also companionable and read- able. . . . The Philosophy of India, being the brinffing together of the best thoughts and reasonings of the best men for the thousandsof preced- ing years, had under consideration the self-same problems that are to-day Texing^ the souls of our philosophers. The Swfimi's book is therefore not so radical » departure from accepted thought as might at first be imagined. ... It is not meat for babes, but rather will it give new liri •• of thought to the brightest intellects." — Transcript, Boston, Aug. 1903.

" His method of dealing with these fundamental questions is peculiarly free both from dogmatic assertion and from pure metaphysical specula- tion."— Inter-Ocean, Chicago, Aug. 1903.

" He bases his arguments, not on theological hypotheses, but on scientific facts." — Cleveland Plain Dealer, Aug. 1903.

" It is written in a plain and logical style, and cannot fail to interest all who are anxious for information concerning the philosophy of which tho aathor is such an able exponent.'' — Times Pittsburg, June, 1903.

" A glance over a few of its pages would be sufHcieiit to convince the reader that he is in the presence of an intellect of high order, more thoroughly conversant with the philosophies and sciences of the Occi- dental world than most Europeans or Americans. . . . The "Divine Heritage of Man " gives a rare insight into the religious views of educatt-d Hindoos and in its argumentation furnishes an intellectual treat."— Chronicle, San Francisco, Aug. 1903.

" Fully cognitant of modern scientific discoveries, the author treats his subject broadly." — Bookseiler, SeivsdeaUr, and Tuhtisher, New York, Aug. 1903,

"The student of religions will find much of value in the discourses, since they are full of historical information concerning the origin ana growth of certain ideas and beliefs dominant in Christianity." — Ktftvbli- can, Denver, July, 1903.

"There is no disposition on \\\<: part of the .luthor to as.sail any of tha Christian principles, but he siniplv presents his subject with calmness, not attempting to reconcile reli;.'i'on and science, for to him they aa« one.''--U asAi/tgton J'eit, June, 1^03

Self-Knowledge (Atma-Jnana).

BY SWAMI ABHEDANANDA

Qoth, |i.oo. Postage, 8 cents. Portrait of author, frontispiece.

Contents. I. Spirit and Matter. IV. Search after the Self.

II. Knowledge of the Self. V, Realization of the Self.

III. Prana and the Self. VI. Immortality and the Self.

" So practically and exhaustively is each phase of the subject treated that it may well serve as a text-book for anyone striving for self-development and a deeper understanding of human nature." — Toronto Saturday Nighty Dec. 1905.

" It will also be welcomed by students of the Vedic Scriptures, since each chapter is based upon some one of the ancient Vedas known as the Upanishads, and many passages are quoted." — Chicago Inter-Ocean, Jan. 1906.

" The book, from the gifted pen of the head of the Vedanta Society of New York, presents in a clear manner, calculated to arrest the attention of those not yet famiUar with Vedic literature, the principles of self-knowledge as taught by the leaders of that philosophy. . . . The many passages quoted prove the profound wisdom and practical teaching contained in the early Hindu Scrip*- tures." — Washington Evening Star, Dec. 1905.

*' A new book which will be welcome to students of Truth, Tvhether it be found in the Eastern religions, in modern thought or elsewhere." — Unity, Nov. 1905.

" The book is very well written." — San Francisco Chronicle^ Dec. 1905.

"In forcefulness and clearness of style it is in every way equal to the other works by the Swami Abhedananda, who has always shown himself in his writings a remarkable mcister of the English language." — Mexican Herald, Dec. 1905.

*' The volume is forcefully written, as are all of this author's works, and cannot fail to be of great interest to all who have entered this field of thought. A fine portrait of the Swami forms th« frontispiece." — Toledo Biade, Nov. 1905.

India and Her People

{Lectures delivered before the Brooklyn Institute

of Arts and Sciences during the season

of 1905-1906.)

BY

SWAMI ABHEDANANDA

THIRD EDITION Cloth, $1.25. Postage, 10 Cents

Contents

I. Philosophy of India To-day. II. Religions ci India.

III. Social Status of India: Their System of Caste. ,

IV. Political Institutions of India. V. Education in India.

VL The Influence of India on Western Civilization and the Influence of Western Civilization on India.

"This book has more than usual interest as coming from one who knows the Occident and both knows and loves the Orient. ... It is decidedly interesting. . . . The book has two admirable qualities: breadth in scope and sugpestiveness in material." — Bulletin o/ tk* A merican Geographical Hociety, Sept, 1906.

"This volume, written in an attractive style and dealing with the life, philusophy and reliy:ioa of India, should prove a useful addition to the literature of a fascinating and as yet largely unknown subject. It is designid for f^'opuUr reading, the metaphysical portions being so handled that the reader runs little risk of getting beyond his depth." — Literary Digest, Feb. 16, 1907.

" The Swami possesses the exceptional advantage of being able to look upon his own country almost from the standpoint of an outsider and to handle his subject free from both foreign and native prejudice."

— New York iyorlii,K\i^. 4, 1906.

" It is a valuable contribution to Western knowledge of India, con- taining precisely what the American wants 10 know about that region.'

— IVajAington JSvenin^ Star, Aug. 4, igo6.

" It is imposbible lu quarrel with his book. He (Swami) writes too interestingly and be is a man with a mission." — The Sunday Oregonian, Ang. 36, 1906.

PRESS NOTICES OF "INDIA AND HER PEOPLE."

" The views set forth in this work by Swami Abhedananda ... are interesting, as being those of a native of India who has devoted much time and attention to the study of those questions which aflect the

fovernmeni and general administration of the country. The author as selected a wide range of subjects for treatment, embracing the social, political, educational, and religious conditionsas they now exist, and, speaking generally, has invariably exercised sound tact and judg- ment in discussing the many diflferent questions embraced under those headings." — Journal ef the Royal Colonial Institute^ April, igo7, London, England.

" An excellent contribution to the very scanty literature on India. . . . All chapters are instructive to any one aspiring to a knowledg^e of this vast country. ... It is a book which every non-Indian visit- ing India or making a temporary or permanent stay therein, and also every son of the soil, should have by bis side." — Tht Arya, February, zgo7, Madras, India.

Reincarnation.

(New and Enlarged Edition^

I. Reincarnation.

II. Heredity and Reincarnation.

III. Evolution and Reincarnation.

IV. Which is Scientific, Resurrection or Reincarnation? V. Theory of Transmigration.

Paper, 45 cents. Cloth, 60 cents. Postage, 5 and 7 cents.

" In these discourses the Swami Abhedananda considers the questions of evolution and the resurrection in their bearing upon the ancient teaching of rebirth, the truth, logic and justice of which are rapidly permeating the best thought of the Western world. For the preserva- tion of this doctrine mankind is indebted to the literary storehouses of India, the racial and geographical source of much of the vital knowledge of Occidental peoples. Remcarnation is shown in the present volume to be a universal solvent of life's mysteries. It answers those questions! of children that have staggered the wisest minds who seek to reconcile' Xj^f law of evolution and the existence of an intelligent and just Creator, wih the proposition that man has but a single lifetime in which to de- velop spiritual self-consciousness. It is commended to every thinker." —-Mind, February, IQOO-

*' It IS a work which will appeal to the novice for its simplicity and definite quality, and to the student for its wealth of knowledge aad suggestion," — Vedanta Monthly Bulletin, Sept., 1907.

"The book should prove a valuable acquisition." — The Evening Sun, 19. v., Deceml'er zi, IQ07>

"This is the work of a man of fine education and of fine intellect. . . . (Reincarnation) as expounded by Swami Abhedananda is very plausible, quite scientific, and far from uncomforting. 'I he exposition contained in this little book is well worth reading by all students of metaphysics. There is not the slighte»t danger of its converting or perverting any one to a new and strange religion. R' 'ncarnation is not religion, it is science. Science was never known to aurt anybody but scientists." — Brooklyn Eagle, December ij, IQOJ.

WORKS BY SWAMI ABHEDANANDA.

Philosophy of Work.

I. Philosophy of Work. II. Secret of Work. 111. Duty or Motire in Work.

Paper, 35 cents. Cloth, 50 cents. Postage, a and 6 cents.

"In this volume the Vedanta Society presents three lectures by the leader of the Hindu religious movement that is making; much head* way among philosophic minds throughout the United States. The book is an excellent antidote to the gospel of selfism now popular in many quarters, and a copy should be in the hands especially of every ambitious seeker after the loaves and fishes of material desire. It shows the folly of slavery to sense and the means of escape from the thraldom of egoism, while elucidating the Hindu concept o£ many things that are ' race problems' because of individual igno- rance of spiritual principles. These discourses merit a wide circa!** lion aBODg unprejudiced minds." — Mind, February, 1903.

Single Lectures.

Christian Science and Vedanta.

Cosmic Evolution and^^its Purpose.

Divine Communion.

Does the Soul Exist akter Death ?

The Motherhood of God.

The Philosophy of Good and Evil.

The Relation of Soul to God.

Religion of the Hindus.

Scientific Basis of Religion.

Simple Living.

Spiritualism and Vedanta.

The Way to the Blessed Life.

Who is the Saviour of Souls ?

Why a Hindu Accepts Christ and Rejects Churchianitt.

Why a Hindu is a Vegetarian.

Woman's Place in Hindu Religion.

The Word and the Cross in Ancient India.

10 cents each. Postage, i cent each. Single Lectures Parts I & H. Bound in cloth, each $1.00. Postage, 8 cents.

The Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna.

COMPILED BY

SWAMI ABHEDANANDA.

234 pages. Flexible cloth, gilt top, 75c. net. Postage, 6c.

R&makrishna was a great Hindu saint of the nineteenth century who has already had an influence on the religious thought of America and England through the teachings of his disciples, Swfimi Vivektnanda, Swfimi Abhedananda, and others. His Say- ings are full of broad, practical, non-sectarian instructions concern- ing the spiritual life which cannot but give help and inspiration to the followers of all creeds. The present volume contains a larger number of Sayings than has yet appeared in any one English collection. For the first time also they have been classified into chapters and arranged in logical sequence under marg^inal head- ings, such as "All creeds paths to God," "Power of Mind and Thought," "Meditation," "Perseverance." As an exposition of the universal truths of Religion and their application to the daily life this book takes its place among the great scriptures of tb« ■world.

Spiritual Unfoldment.

BY SWAMI ABHEDANANDA

I. Self-contrcJ. n. Concentration and Meditation. III. God-consciousness.

Paper, 35 cents. Cloth, 50 cents. Postage, 2 and 6 cents.

"This aitriictive little volume comprises three lectures on the Vedanta Philosophy. The discourses will be found vitally helpful even by chose who know liuie and care less about the spiritual and ethical teacLiings of which the Swami is an able and popular exponent. As the Vedanta itself is largely a doctrine of universals and ulti mates, <io also is this bouk of common utility and significance among all races of believers. Its precepts are susceptible of application by any rational thinker, regardless of religious predilection and inherited prejudices. The principles set forth by this teacher are an excellent corrective of spiritual bias or narrowness, and as such the present work is to t)e coir- mended. It has already awakened an interest in Oriental literature that augurs well for the cause of human brotherhood, and it merits a wide circulation among all who cherish advanced idealb."—i)/i»«f, /j/r<7, ZQOg.

What is Vedanta .r^

Pamphlet printed for distribution containing a short exposition of the fundamenUl teachings of the Vedanta Philosophy, izmo, 8 pp. Price, s cent.

The Gospel of Ramakrishna.

Authorized Edition. WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY

swAmi abhedananda.

448 pages; with two pictures, maginal notes, and index.

Flexible silk cloth, gilt top, $1.50 net. Postage, 7 cents.

Full leather binding, flexible cover, circuit edge with rea

and gold in the style of "Teachers' Bible."

$3.00 net. Postage, 8 cents.

"The sayings of a mystic who has much influence in India and who has been made known to the Western world by various missionary 'Swamis' will be found in 'The Gospel of Rinia- krishna.' They have been translated into excellent English."

— The Sun, New York.

<' ' The Gospel of Rimakrishna ' contains the religious teachings of this modern Hindu saint whose life contained so many good deeds that his followers thought him little short ot divine." — 77/1? Boston Globe, Boston, Mass.

•' During his lifetime his career and personality attracted much attention from Entr'ash and German scholars of the nine teenth century." — The Chicago Inter-Ocean, Chicago, III.

"The book is filled with beautiful thoughts and beauti- ful teachings, which, if followed, would lead to a perfect life. One cannot marvel that the sayings of RAmakrishna made a deep impress on modern Hindu thought. He was at least a great and wise scholar, and gave goodly advice to his followers."

— The San Francisco Examiner, San Francisco, Cat.

" It is a remarkable book and it should be a rare privilege to read it." — The Oregonian, Portland, Oregon.

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET

UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY

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