p H arvest *5* B ield OCTOBER, 1894.

THE
®p H a r v e s t
*5* B i e l d
OCTOBER,
ORIGINAL
<**>
1894.
ARTICLES.
T H E F IR S T S T A G E S O F M O R A L G R O W T H IN O U R
V IL L A G E
C O N G R E G A T I O N S .*
BY THE R E Y . J. S. CHANDLER, M.A.
HE
statem ent o f the subject assum es tliat true religion and
m orality are necessarily connected, and that
Christianity,
being the true religion, produces in our Christian congrega­
tions a m oral growth th at proceeds from stage to stage.
W e m ay safely
stand on this assum ption, for leading men o f oriental nations, however
they m ay fail to comprehend the source of Christian m orality, are never­
theless attracted by its superiority to th at of non-Christians.
-■
T h e R a jah of Travancore is reported to have said, “ I am not a
Christian, and do not accept many o f the doctrines o f C hristianityj’ teai)
Christian ethics I accept in their entirety.
There is vice and im m o­
rality among Christian nations as among all nations, but vice is con­
demned am ong Christians, as it is not am ong H indus.
Even am ong the
poor village Christians the epithet o f liar is a disgrace, whereas" 'o~u¥
own people lie unblushingly.”
Th e
................
Times of India is quoted by the Indian Witness as saying,
“ Christian missions have been one of the strongest agencies em ployed
* This paper was read before the Madras Missionary Conference iii .'hily.
'.
~r
V'
602
THE FIRST STAGES OF MORAL GROWTH
during this century by Europeans to civilize and humanize the people
of this country.”
A n d the New Yorh Independent quotes the editor of a large paper
in Japan as saying, “ I am not a Christian ; but in all truth I m ust say
that the high moral standard that is already affecting our whole nation
comes from the W e s t, comes from C h ristian ity.”
A s to whether the village people, before becom ing Christians, had
not already advanced somewhat in m orality, it is to be said that w hat­
ever they had was shattered into individual virtues, and that it had no
connection w ith religion, and therefore no growth.
T h e best o f the ancients failed to grasp the true idea of m orality
because of thoir failure to see its dependence on true religion.
Luthardt
gives us a good idea o f this failure on the part of m any o f them .
A s he
says :— Socrates
led to
virtue.
thought the way of wisdom and knowledge
A ristotle controverted this and said that it was not knowledge,
b u t custom and the discipline of law.
In later times K a n t laid down
the dictates of duty, and Schiller, declaring that to he a m orality for
slaves, pronounced free inclination
the
highest
acquirement.
K ant
went furcher than that, however, and Raw that a change of our inmost
thoughts, a revolution in which the hitherto evil, man turns round by a
single unalterable
development.
resolve, i.e., a new birth, m ust precede all moral
B u t he could give no answer as to how such a change
was to be effected.
So much for their precepts; their exemplification
of m orality was equally defeotive.
Aristides
represented justice,
Epam inondas truthfulness, Cimou
liberality, Leonidas patriotism, but
m orality
filling the
whole m an.
no one represents the spirit of
Socrates is the model of a noble
G re e k ; but in his last hoars he was unfeeling to his wife and children.
Plato and A ristotle were teachers of wisdom, but their verdict on the
sensual eirors of their fellow-countrym en was more than lenient,
Cato
was proverbial for his integrity in public life, but was cruel to his slaves.
I have dwelt on these exam ples in order to emphasise the fact that
if thoughtful individuals of various nations have come so far short of
true m orality, we m ust not expect m uch o f it am ong the unthinking
poor that come into our
village congregations.
A n d does not our
experience confirm w hat is said on the subject by H . A . Stu art, E sq.,
in his R eport on the Census P
H e says, “ There is very little connec­
tion between the religion and the m orality of the people o f the M adias
Presidency.
The form er concerns itself w ith
the ways to avoid or
rem ove evil, but the idea that wicked conduct will be pjinished, or good
conduct obtain its reward in a future state, is hardly to
in the purely Dravidian religion.
be found at all
T h e m orality o f the H in dus, indeed,
iB an affair o f caste and not of religion, and misconduct is punished by
the caste council and not b y the spiritual teacher.”
603
IN' OUR VILLAGE CONGREGATIONS.
This separation of religion and m orality is so^ strikingly illustrated
by Count Tolstoi that I will beg your indulgence for one more quotation.
£i Ordinances of lay m orality not founded upon religious teaching are
¡similar to the actions of a man who, being ignorant of m usic, should
tak;e the conductor’s seat before the orchestra, and begin to w ave his
arms before the musicians who are performing.
The music m igh t con­
tinue a little while by its own m omentum, and from the previous know ­
ledge of the players, but it is evident that the mere waving of a stick by
a man who is ignorant of music would be not only useless, but would in ­
evitably confuse the musicians, and disorganise the orchestra in the end.”
The Count defines religion as “ the conception by man of his relation
to the infinite universe and to its source,” and morality as “ the ever
present guide of life proceeding only from this relation.”
Lu th ardt’s
definition is simpler and better— u The expression of consciousness of
God is religion, the expression of conscience is m orality.”
The first stage of growth then iB the step whereby our village con­
gregations come on to the plane of true m orality, so that their life be­
gins to be an expression of the conscience.
Before the heart is touched
by the Spirit of God, life is on the plane of sinful natnre, and its motives
are natural friendship, fear, and selfishness.
I f sin had not entered into
the world, the plane of nature would be the plane of a live and clear
conscience; but sin has entered into every heart, and the conscience is
seared as with a hot iron and is deadened.
The plane of sinful nature
is therefore the plane of friendship, fear, and selfishness ; and the first
step to be taken, when the heart is touched with the new life in C hrist,
is to become conscientious.
On this plane religion and m orality are indissolubly connected, for
the Spirit cannot touch the heart without quickening the conscience,
and a quickened conscience m ust express itself in a moral life, and thus
conscience becomes the link that binds together religion and m orality.
A new ideal is im planted in the m in is of the people, the moral
ideal.
Moral perfection then rises above the greatest earthly prosperity
and becomes the ideal of the m ind.
A s D r. H opkins, a distinguished
Am erican, has said, “ It becomes the blossom at the centre of the palm
tree, to the guarding and unfolding of which all the other parts con­
spire, and through which alone we reach a knowledge o f its highest
possibilities.”
I do not claim anjr high attainm ent in this first stage of growth,
for we all know how im perfect is the state of m orality among our v il­
lage Christians, even after years o f growth ; all I claim is that any e x ­
pression of conscience in the life is a beginning of a better life.
The second stage o f growth in m orality, so far as we can divide
grow th, is the realisation of the chief characteristics of the law of con­
science.
These are universality, im partiality, and spirituality.
604
THE FIRST STAGES .OF MORAL GROWTH
E very soul possesses a conscience, and when ifc is quickened it acts
in th e . same w ay in all, and brings a ll alike on to the new plane of
living without distinction of caste or race.
For instance, pollution is
no longer the special ceremonial defilement of eating w ith another caste
person, nor for a Brahm an street to allow a Shanar to pass through, but
the universal law,
“ N o t that which entereth into the m outh defileth
the man ; but that which proceedeth out of the m outh, this defileth the
m an.”
So the duty of seeking to know the w ill of God in order to live,
aright is a universal duty for every m an, woman, and child, but that is
a new idea to people who have been taught th at low castes and women
should not hear the Y ed a s, much less learn to read them.
A fte r a
missionary had earnestly preached to a group o f villagers they said,
“ W h a t do we know about these things ? Go to the high-caste people.”
A n d when a m issionary lady tried to interest a heathen woman in her
soul’s salvation, her reply was, “ W h a t do I know ?
buffalo.”
I am only a
Thus it is a real advance to have them learn th at m oral law
is universal.
I t is also im partial.
T h e very conditions of admission to the church
strike across a ll favouritism
and privilege and require good moral
standing of each and a ll alike.
W h e n a m an th at is accustomed to
regard him self as lord and m aster to his wife and children finds his
w ife admitted to the church and h im self kept back for want o f a goad
moral character, it teaches him a lesson o f the im partial demands of the
m orality of C hristianity. So m ust every celebration of the L ord’s Supper
impress the
m inds o f the people w ith the im partial conditions of
acceptance w ith God.
A
Christian headman said he was w illin g to
overlook caste distinctions when partaking o f the communion away
from home, but that in his own village he m ust observe them , for, said
he, “ H ere is m y outcaste servant that takes m y collections and accounts
to the G o v ern m e n t; some tim e he m ay become a Christian, and I could
never take the cup after h im .”
A g ain , Christian m orality is spiritual and not ceremonial, a m atter
of the conscience and therefore inward, and not any outw ard exhibition
o f virtue.
“ W h o soever shall lceep the whole law , and yet stum ble in
one point, he is become g u ilty o f a ll,” is a teaching th at opens the eyes
of men to the spiritual connection o f all the commandments
w ith
one
another, and the need of having the conscientious spirit that keeps all in
order to keep any one o f them.
Inw ard purity, and truth in the inward
parts, are the special directions in which the spirituality of the moral
law m ust first approach our village congregations.
The im purity that fills their m ouths, especially under excitem ent,
is so common that they them selves do not realise w hat it is, b u t as they
learn more and more about it they grow purer in th ough t and w ish, at
least, and slowly their consciences condemn them .
So great is the evil
005
IN OUR VILLAGE CONGREGATIONS.
of impure speech, coining, of course, from the im parity of the m ind,
¡ hat the M adura M ission has thought it necessary to put into the b ap ­
tismal covenant, which all parents are obliged to enter into, the promise
that they will teach the child to abhor vile and unclean talk , and love
that which is good and pure.
A n d it is an indication of growth in m o ­
rality th at while the huts and houses and outward circumstances of
many of our people are but little changed from what they used to be,
and w hat those of their heathen neighbours still are, their language is
purer.
The spirit of lying is equalty prevalent.
A
ever I step out of m y house I m ust tell lies.”
H in du said,
“ "W hen­
Truth in the inward
parts, the need of thinking the truth as w ell as uttering it, is one o f the
most im portant steps in advance.
I t is pleasant to see that our people
recognise their great need of progress in this.
A sermon, was preached
on this subject before a gathering of mission, agents, when a pastor
requested that it be repeated before his congregation the follow ing
Sunday.
A n d shortly after one of the agents in that gathering in his
village was approached by a Government official with the dem and that
he should appear in court and testify fa lsely th at the official was pre­
sent in that village when he was elsewhere, and the agent was strength­
ened to do his duty by the sermon he had heard.
B u t it requires the
help of conscience to refuse such a request from an official who can
easily secure revenge by false accusation* or by fire, or some equally
injurious method.
A n ignorant woman was mai’ried to a teacher, and they were sent
to a station where both could be trained somewhat for doing Bible work.
B u t this woman disliked study of any kind, and would shut herself in
her house, after the husband had gone, and make her child go outside
and lock her in and carry aw ay the key, so that when the missionary
lady should come to look her up she would think there was no one there,
and if she should find out that the woman was inside there would be no
way of gettin g her out.
These incidents show what an atmosphere of
deceit our people live in, m ission agents as w ell as the ordinary m em ­
bers of our congregations.
E v ery step that can be taken to quicken
their consciences on this subject is a step in advance, and we m a st con­
tin u ally work to
show
them
a lie is wicked, whether discovered or
hidden, and that the approval of conscience is better than the praise of
men.
A n d they m ust learn that truthfulness depends, as one has said
of m orality in general,
upon the inward tendency of the heart, its h id­
den m otive" and its ultim ate aim .”
Ebrard and others call Shakespeare a Christian dramatist because
he does not base m oral conflicts upon a collision of duties, as does
Sophocles, but refers them to “ voluntary offences, though the trans­
gression m ay be but slight, and have taken place in the inner world
600
THE FIRST STAGES OF MORAL GROWTH
of the thoughts.
H en ce it is not. the power of fate, but the law of
righteousness to which he gives prominence in the intricate fabric of
human affairs.”
I t will take a long coarse in the E p istle to the Rom ans to brin g our
village congregations to the apostle P a u l’s standard of a universal moral
law, and in the E p istle of James before they w ill attain to that apostle’s
idea of im partiality, and in tho Serm on on the M ount for them to
appreciate the righteousness that
the scribes and Pharisees.”
“ shall exceed the righteousness of
B ut to learn these Scriptures in any degree
is helpful to m oral grow th.
The third stage I regard as the stage of developm ent and applica­
tion of these truths to the various relationships o f life.
Their relation to G od as their holy and ju st, b a t also compassionate
and forgiving, heavenly Father, m aking all «things work together for
their good, and watching over them with an eye that never slumbers
n o r sleeps, teaches them new duties in their outward religious life.
The first requirement is that of .the Sabbath, as a day given to God
and H is service.
In
their heathen state
they regarded Sunday
as
one of the auspicious days for beginning an enterprise, for ploughing,
and for taking up m atters of importance.
N o t long ago a wealthy
m ap was in danger for his life, and the doctor was on hand to perform
an
im portant operation,
when
the patient stopped it
all
and de­
ferred it until the follow ing Sunday, because Sunday was the more
auspicious day.
It is also a favourite day in South India for jallikattu,
the festiv al for chasing maddened balls and seizing the cloths with
which their heads are decorated.
A lm o st every village has men and
animals traiued to take part in these festivals, and the people generally
are very fond of witnessing it, so that the frequency with which it
occurs on Sunday m akes it a great tem ptation to break the Sabbath,
and the fa ct that many of our people do resist this temptation indicates
growth in the conscientious discharge of their duties toward God.
In every w ay the observance of the Sabbath is vital to their growth,
for it is the only tim e many have to learn what their relation is to God,
and w hat their duties -are in view of this relation.
It is also the great
day for .bringing their offerings to the Lord, and offerings are as vital
to their growth as the other parts of Sabbath worship.
Tw ice a year
we collect the little earthen closed vessels given for contributions, and
break them in the church.
M any of the people forget them until the
notice is given to have them ready, but one poor cooly, having n o wife
or children, died before the day for breaking them , and in his lonely hut
was found his vessel with money in it, showing how thoughtful he
had been to lay by his offering to the Lord. They can learn to pray
without the Sabbath, for they are w illing to have the catechist pray for
them early in the m orning as they go to work, and in their houses at
607
]N OUR VILLAGE CONGEEGATIONS.
night, but I have never known a congregation' give offerings cheerfully
and regularly, except as these were brought in connection with the
Sabbath worship of the house of God.
They indeed m ay be superstitious
and give the first sheaf cut in harvesting, whether it be the Sabbath or
any other day, but that is for the sake of securing G od’s favour the next
tim e, and is a different th in g from the conscientious offering brought
regularly every Sabbath.
In touring am ong the village congregations m y effort always has
been to go on Sunday as m uch as possible, because that is the one day
when it is their duty to give up their work and attend the house of God,
whereas on other days I always felt that it is on m y account th at they
come, if they do come at all.
A n d where they do so value the visit of
the missionary as to gather, even at the expense of their work, I feel as
if it were im posing an unnecessary burden upon them.
I t often cannot
be done, but where it is possible for the missionary to make his visits
on Sunday, it seems to me the best way, and the way to secure the m ost
substantial moral grow th.
W e are often reminded that to bring the m ultitudes of this land to
Christ the Christians themselves must be trained to preach C lw ist to
their neighbours and friends.
This preaching can be done any- day <jf
the week, and will be if the H oly Spirit mr-ves their hearts, as a good
old woman in a small village, though com fortably provided for by her
son, used to go to pull weeds in the paddy fields merely for the sake of
tellin g the other women that did that work about C hrist.
B u t'th e in­
spiration and training for that activity must come from the instruction
and impulse of the Sabbath ; and many will certainly not do anything
in that line unless they take a little tim e of the Sabbath itself for the
purpose.
W h en they are led to do something in this way grow th is
sure to follow.
The relation between man and man develops into something d if­
ferent from what it was before they became Christians. This is very
marked in the fam ily.
The woman has been called “ dog,” and “ don­
key,” and “ buffalo,” and has called herself so, and now she is treated
as man’s equal.
This mere fact is a sm all course of education both for
the men themselves and for their heathen neighbours.
W h e n a H indu
head-mason was em ploying some of our nice Christian girls in building
he began to scold them with the same epithets that he applied to the
H indu girls working with them , and had to be informed that C hristian
girls,
at least,
were not donkeys.
T h is
absolute inferiority
o f the
woman to the man is so ingrained into the people th at efforts to treat
them in any other w ay often bring us into ludicrous positions, but still
the equality of all in matters o f conscience is faith fu lly k ep t before
them , and they are growing toward it.
A
poor Christian m an presen­
ted him self at a m ission aiy’s door with his little boy and girl, th e boy
60S
iH E
FIRST STAGES OP MORAL GROWTH
having a decent cloth about him , and the little g irl only a rag.
W hen
a cloth was given to the girl the boy cried' for it, but was told he couldnofc have it and was pacified only b y a plantain.
B u t they had not
reached the gate on their w ay out of the compound before the poor
little girl had to give up her new cloth to the superior being, her bro­
ther,..w ho bravely inarched out, h aving secured the new cloth and a
plantain into the bargain.
So for a m an to beat his w ife shocks no one,
but to suggest that if the man becomes cantankerous the woman should
have the privilege of reform ing him by the same m eans gives them
snch a shock as they would have if you had ju st been proved a lunatic.
One Christian woman did prosecute her husband for beating her un­
m ercifully, and secured his conviction, but it was such an offence and
degradation to him th at he never lived w ith her a day after that, and
le ft her to w ant and disgrace.
H e was no Christian before, but after
it he was worse than a heathen.
Education is doing something to give wom an more self-respect as
w ell as esteem from others ; though some sapient lads still kick against
m arrying educated women, because they say they are not obedient.
T h is brings us to Christian m arriage, which is doing very m uch to
teach husband and wife their m utual duties.
The need o f fidelity and
chastity on the part of the man as much as the woman, and the need o f
these for both if they w ish to eater the kingdom of heaven is plainly
laid upon their consciences.
T h e righ ts o f woman are also tau g h t in
the law o f each wom an’s having - her own husband, and each m an his
own wife-
The census shows th at four per cent, o f the m en o f this
Presidency have more than one w ife, and these polygam ists frequently
apply fo r adm ission to our congregations, and the com plications that
arise are felt more acutely by our agents than any other class o f diffi­
culties.
A t our ecclesiastical gatherings, when opportunity is given to
ask questions»
three-fourths of the questions are likely
to be about
m atrim onial complications.
W h e n the first applicants for adm ission to the church cam e in a
certain village, it was found that the three couples thus applying were
all wrong in their relations to one another.
One m an had married a
woman we w ill call N o. 1, and then divorced her and taken N o. 2.
meantime was m arried to another m an.
N o. 1
W h e n N o. 2 died he was about
to m arry N o. 3, when he became a C hristian and applied for admission
to the church.
T h e w ay would have been smooth, had not N o. 1 refused
to liye with her second husband and insisted on his receiving her again,
and had he not consented to do so.
took another w ife.
T hat second husband thereupon
H ere then was our candidate keeping his first wife
because she was not w illing to leave him , but intent on m arrying a
younger wom an.
Th e B ible w as read to h im and his duty placed before
him as to having only one, and for six.m onths he stayed away from the
609
IN OUR VILLAGE CONGREGATIONS.
missionary, but at last made up bis mind to heed the B ible and not take
the younger woman.
H e was then re-m arried to the divorced woman
and both were taken into the church.
A noth er o f the three couples
had never been m arried, because the man was a C hetti and the wom an
a K ayak, and neither caste would perform the ceremony for a m ixed
m arriage; but there was no other hindrance to their being la w fu lly
united.
Thus in the case of each of the three couples they had to be
married first then adm itted to the church.
Single blessedness is a term hardly translatable as yet into the
Tam il language, but the requirements
and restrictions of Christian
marriage are teaching the people that it is better to wait long than to
form illegal connections.
Parents stand in a different relation to children when they not only
take upon them selves the vows of Christian service, b u t also brin g those
children in baptism
and consecrate them to the Lord.
Before these
people became Christians they had the same natural love for their
children th at they have now, but th at love is easily affected by selfish
considerations and changed to indifference, if not som ething worse ; and
is at least uninstructed and ignorant of the highest interests o f child­
hood.
N ot long ago, as I stood in an open building in a heathen village
and a father and m other stood before me, who had
come several m iles
in the hot sun bringing their youngest child to be consecrated to th e
Lord in baptism , I felt as if nothing.could possibly be more effective in
teaching them their solemn responsibility towards the child, and as
they were reminded that they stood in the place of Christ to tlie child
whose ideas of a higher being would first be formed from them, it seem­
ed as if in no way could they be more pow erfully stim ulated to go home
and be to that child a ll that G od would have them be.
This grow th into the idea of the sacredness of m arriage, of paren t­
al and filial relations, and of children in the same fam ily to one another,
helps to make the fam ily the unit of power in the service of C hrist.
There is not tim e, and perhaps there is no need to dw ell on the
moral growth of our people in
them .
their relations
The H in du s frequently notice
appreciate its
congregation
value to
there
the
com m unity.
is a band of
to
the
world
a difference, and
Christian
about
som etim es
For instance, in a sm all
women
th at
have
been
tau ght to be scrupulously clean when attending the services o f the
church, devout in their attitude, and conscientiously faith ful in their
daily wox-k.
They are only coaly women, but are alw ays noticeable
in any congregation where they may attend.
T h e H in du landowners o f
th at region have learned their trustworthiness, and frequently send for
them to come miles away to work in their fields in preference to any
other set of people.
610
SWAMI VIYEKANANDA.
N ow let ns turn our attention, in closing, to w hat we have as a
result o f the moral grow th that has undoubtedly been tak in g place
wherever our Christian
congi'egations have been gathered.
I w ill not
attem pt to speak for other m issions, but in the M adura M ission we
have a people who, with all their defects, are pious, patient in endur­
ance, teachable, and loyal.
They are pious in their spirit of prayerfulness, for they believe
th%t our heavenly Father is both able and w illing to save to the utter­
most all th at call upon H im .
T h ey love to worship, and
that too, not
only with prayer and song, but also wifcli their offerings, and m an y of
them give out of great poverty.
Th ey honour G od’s word, and adm it
its param ount authority.
M an y of them are reviled, and persecuted, and spoken against with
all m anner of evil falsely for C h rist’s sake, and they endure it with the
natural patience o f their race, fortified by their love to C hrist and the
approval of a conscience purified unto good works.
They not only are teachable in being ready to listen to the truth
when tau ght them , but th ey value spiritual instruction, and desire that
it should be given to them and their children regulai'ly and the oftener
the m issionary can come among them the more they are pleased.
They are loyal to their leaders, to the missionaries as individuals,
to the m ission that has been the means of their being gathered into a
Christian com m unity, and to the Am erican Board that first sent to them
the gospel.
They are equally loyal to their country and to the G overn ­
m ent of the land.
T h ey do not know m uch about the Congress, nor
simultaneous exam inations, but they do know about their G od-fearing
and honoured ruler, H er M a jesty the Queen-Em press, and they are ready
at all tim es to honour those who represent the Queen’s authority among
them.
A n d so we thank G od that the thousands of C hristians scattered
among all the castes and races of the Pi-esidency have had their con ­
science quickened by the H o ly S p irit of God, and thus been brought on
to the plane o f Chidstian m orality, and th at through the universal, im ­
partial, and spiritual law s of a quickened conscience th ey are slow ly but
surely growing into the true and perfect life th at is hid with Christ in
God.
S W A M I
V I V E K A N A N D A .
BY THE REV. J. HUDSON, B.A.
0 speaker at the Parliam ent o f R eligions at Chicago seems to
have made such an impression on the Am erican public as the
Sw am i Yivekan anda or Babu N . N . D u tta,
b .a
., from C alcutta.
T h e flattering reception accorded him has naturally been m ost g ra tify ­
611
SWAMI YIVEKANANDA.
in g to his fellow countrymen, some of whom have however form ed a
most exaggerated conception of the nature and extent of the influence
he has exerted.
Recently M r. H . D haram pala, General Secretary of the
Mahabodhi Society of Ceylon, addressed a crowded m eeting
M inerva Theatre, Calcutta, on “ H induism in A m erica.”
in th e
A num ber o f
U niversity Fellows and other leading men were present.
W e are told
that the one great fact on which the lecturer insisted was that the sixty
millions of the U n ited States were so favourably impressed by H in d u
philosophy as taught by Sw am i Y ivekanan da that the m ovem ent he
had inaugurated required only to be follow ed up by sending other four
or five Indians of like ability to convert the whole sixty m illions to
H indu philosophic
thinking,
and
speaker as if they believed it all.
was
held
the whole
A
audience
cheered
the
few days ago a public m eeting
at Bangalore under the auspices of the chief officers of
state for the purpose of sending to the Sw am i a letter of thanks for the
eminent service he had rendered to his country.
W e can scarcely expect that H indus will realise to w hat an extent
the interest excited by Yivekananda is due to mere curiosity.
E xcept
in a few localities H indus are rarely seen in England, and in Am erica
they are alm ost unknown.
Our friend M r. H olds worth of M ysore w rit­
ing lately from H arrogate describes how the Princess A lix and M rs.
H oldsw orth’s Indian ayah seemed to be the chief objects of curiosity,
and in another letter he tells of the extreme difficulty he had in speaking
after a native of W e s t A frica at a large public meeting.
A m an of colour
whether he be a H in du or a N egro is sure to secure a large audience at
any provincial town, especially if he appeal’s in native costume.
Then
the speaker from Calcutta knew exactly how to pose with the greatest
effect.
Sw am i Yivekananda, the H indu sage, in his flowing robes was a
far more im pressive personage than M r. X . N . D u tta, B .A ., in coat and
trousers. H e seems moreover to have made a most favourable impression
on the Am ericans by his suavity of manners and his fluency in E nglish.
The paper which has raised the Sw am i to sudden fame contains the
slightest possible sketch of H induism -
The writer’s one object is to
make his religion as attractive as possible.
the ideal H induism of philosophy and
W it h this end he describes
throws the popular H induism
of to-day entirely into the back ground.
I t is im possible to accept the representation of H induism contained
in the paper.
O f what is said little will bear careful exam ination, while
what is left unsaid would change the picture entirely.
Those who had
no previous knowledge of H induism would certainly not gain any in telli­
gent conception of it. There is such a ju mble of Christian and Pantheistic
language that m any would not know w hat it was attem pting to describe.
The paper opens with a plea for H induism on the ground th at alone
o f the gi’eat pre-historic religions it has m aintained its ground.
As
612
SWAMI V1VEKANANDA.
Judaism
has
been fulfilled in
C hristianity and
Zoroastrianism
was
alm ost exterminated by the M u ssalm an sw ord it does not seem th at much
is gained by this comparison, but apart from
this no one w ill contend
that the H in du ism of form er ages has survived.
Judaism probably sur­
vives to a larger extent in C hristianity than the Y e d ic religion does in
popular H induism , for Christians accept fu lly the sacred book of the
Jews.
It is trne th at B rahm anism did in the end conquer B uddhism ,
but it was at the cost o f utter self degradation.
The Brahm ans had to
find a place in their system for the gods of the aborigines and to debase
their worship in .order to make it acceptable to the masses of the people.
D efeat would have been better than victory with dishonour.
H induism
is fu ll of contradictions.
Seeming contradictions the
speaker calls them ; we should call them real.
Pantheistic philosophy,
the atheism o f the Jains, low ideas of idolatry, m ultifarious m ythologies,
all these, he,confesses, have a place in H induism .
mon basis and bond of union ?
The
W h a t is their com ­
Sw am i says it is in the Y ed as.
Surely only a H indu would regard this as a recom m endation o f the
Y ed a s.
I f it is true so m uch the worse for those sacred books.
B u t in
fact w hile m ost o f the H indu sects profess to derive their authority
from the Y ed a s they often contradict them , and it has been one of the
chief aim s o f recent H in d u reformers to show that m ost of the evils of
the present day find no support in the oldest and m ost revered of their
sacred books.
The eternity o f m atter and of the soul are tau ght in the Y e d a s, but
the latter have also scientific support.
The Sw am i argues as follow s :—
“ Science has proved to us that the sum total of the cosmic energy is the same
throughout all time. Then if there was a time when notliing existed, where was
all this manifested energy ? Some say it was in a potential form in God. But
then God is sometimes potential and sometimes kinetic, which would make him
mutable, and everything mutable is a compound, and o very thing compound must
undergo that change which is called destruction. And thus God would die.
Therefore there never was a time when there was no creation.”
Such reasoning w ill have no w eight with those who believe iu a
personal God of infinite power and intelligence.
Th e snbject o f the eternity of soul naturally leads to an exposition
of the m ost distinctive and universal of the doctrines of H induism — the
tw o-fold
doctrine of the deeds by which the soul determines its own
destiny, and the successive births in which it undergoes it, the first pro­
ducing the second throcgh Adrishta or Fate.
The usual argum ent based
on the inequalities of the present life is fairly stated.
“ There m ust
h a r e been causes to make a man m iserable or happy befoi’e his birth,
and these are his past actions.”
O nly those Europeans who have studi­
ed the subject do justice to the H in du doctrine of transm igration.
The
idea.of souls passing from brutes to human bodies has made the whole
613
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA.
doctrine grotesque and repellent, and it has appeared worthy only of
being treated with derision after the fashion of A ddison in the Spectator.
B u t to those Avho believe in the pre-existence of souls, the doctrine
affords a sim ple and natural solution of the strange differences observ­
able in m an’s lot.
Even as a theory it is not really satisfactory, as the
difficulty is only thrown further back ; but our chief objection to it is
that it is absolutely w ithout support.
membrance of any past
life.
W e have not the sligh test re­
Contrary to all sound philosophy
hypothesis is supported by another.
one
W e are at present under the power
of Illusion and therefore cannot recall our past life.
B u t even if we
grant this— which of course we do not— there is another fatal objection
to the doctrine.
I f we are rewarded and punished for acts of which we
can have no remembrance, we are surely under a most im moral and un­
ju st system of governm ent.
I t really m akes very little m atter whether
1 am punished for m y own sins or for those of another man, i f I have
no consciousness of having com m itted the sins.
V ivekananda boldly cuts the knot altogether.
in the case— no difficulty to be surmounted.
past, and if we do not it is our own fault.
There is no m ystery
W e m ay rem em ber all the
H e asks the question, H ow is
it that I do not rem em ber anything of m y past life P and he replies :—
“ This can be easily explained. I am now speaking English. It is nofc my
mother ton gu e; in fact not a word of m y mother tongue is present in m y consciousness. But let me try to bring suq Ii words up. They rush into m y consciousness. That shows that consciousness is the name only of the surface o f the mental
ocean, and within its depths are stored up all our experiences. Try and struggle,
and they will come up, and you will be conscious even of the experiences of a past
life. This is direct and demonstrative evidence. Verification is the perfect proof
o f a tlifeory, and here is the challenge thrown to the world by our Rishis.”
Th e Sw am i is logical enough, for when by m editation the absolute
unity o f the hum an and divine soul is realised Illusion should disappear,
and there are probably legends of ancient R ish is gaining the conscious­
ness of a past existence.
B u t is the Sw am i sim ple enough to believe
that his hearers w ill believe
a word of snph tales ?
H o w is deliverance to be obtained from this succession o f births
and deaths ? T he passage in w hich V ivekanan d a describes the m isery of
the present state and the way o f release from it is worth quoting at
length.
“ The present is determined by our past actions, and the future w ill be by
the present- The soul will go on evolving up or reverting back from birth to birth
and from death to death. It is like a tiny boat in a tempest, raised one moment
on the foam ing crest o f a billow and dashed down into a yawning chasm,
the next, rolling to and fro at the mercy o f good and bad actions— a pow er­
less, helpless wreck in an ever-raging, ever-rushing, uncompromising current
of cause and effect: a little moth placed under the wheel of causation which rolls
on, crushing everything in its way, and waits not for the widow’s tears or the
orphan’s cry.
614
SWAMI YIYEKANANDA.
“ The heart sinks at this idea. Y et such is the law of nature. Is there no hope P
The cry that went up from the bottom of the heart o f despair reached the throne of
mercy, and words of hope and consolation came down and inspired a Y edic sage,
and he stood up before the w orld and in trumpet voice proclaimed the glad tidings
to the world : * Hear ye children of immortal bliss, even ye that reside in higher
spheres, I have found the wav out, I have found the ancient one, who is beyond all
darkness, all delusion, and knowing Him alone you shall be saved from death
again.’ ‘ Children of immortal b lis s !’ W hat a sweet, what a hopeful name !
Allow me to call you, brethren, b y that sweet name, heirs of immortal bliss ; yea,
the Hindus refuse to call you sinners. Y e are the children of God, the sharers of
immortal bliss. Y e, divinities on earth, sinners ? It is a sin to call a man so. It
is a standing libel on human nature. Come up, 0 lions, and shake off the delusion
that you are sheep—you are souls immortal, spirits free and blest and eternal.
Y e are not matter, ye are not bodies. Matter is your servant, not you the servant
of matter.”
This passage reflects perfectly the sadness of tone which character­
ises the U panishads.
Th e H in du s of form er days yearned for release
from the misery of life.
I t also represents the universal belief that the
only release was by the loss of life itself.
soul being in fetters to the body.
of sin, but the burden
practically unknown.
M isery was the result of the
The w ail w as not about the burden
of existence.
The Christian notion of sin was
There is really no place for
sin in Pantheism .
Im agine a C lm stia n preacher saying to his hearers, “ T e , divinities on
earth, sinners r
It is a sin to call
place in their service for the
Penitential P salm s.
you so.”
L itan y of
the
The H indus can find 110
E n g lish
church, or the
Th e m em bers of the B rahm o Som aj acknowledge
that they have derived their sense of sin froiU Christian teaching.
certainly could not have got it from H induism .
They
A ccording to the Swam i
the soul is already perfectly blessed, but it fails to recognise it is so.
Does the Sw am i really think th at he w ill thus commend his teach­
ing to men who have learnt the Christian doctrine of sin, and whose
consciences tell them that they are sinners ?
H e m igh t as well go to a
convict prison and tell the inmates it is a sin to call them criminals.
There is but one way of release from the m isery of existence.
are to see and know God.
We
Some of the Sw am i’s language is very m is­
leading, as it is such as the Christian would use w ith quite a different
meaning.
“ So the whole struggle in their system is a constant struggle
to become perfect, to become divine, to reach God and see God, and in
thus reaching God, seeing God, and becom ing perfect even as the Father
in H eaven is perfect, consists the religion of the H in du s.”
is this knowledge which will confer perfect bliss P
A n d w hat
I t is the knowledge,
im m ediate and certain, which the human soul acquires of its identity
w ith the supreme soul.
The soul m ust realise th at it is God.
T o explain his meaning the Sw am i should have quoted some such
passage as the follow ing which occurs in one of the U panishads and
which describes how we are to see and know God.
615
SWAMI VIVEKANANDA.
“ Fixing liis body immovably with the three upper portions erect, and fixing his
senses with the inward sense npon the heart, let the sage cross over all the fearbringing streams o f metempsychosis in the spiritual boat, the m ystic Om. ”
“ He must check his breath, and stop every movement, and breathe only through
the nose, with his inward sense repressed.
“ Let him pursue the ecstatic vision in a level spot, free from fire, from p eb ­
bles and from sand, amidst sweet sounds and water and leafy bowers, in a place
that soothes the mind and does not pain the eyes.
' “ First a frost, then a smoke, then the sun, then a fire, then a hot wind, then a
swarm o f fireflies, then lightning, then a crystal moon,— such are the shapes that
precede and usher in the manifestation of the self in the ecstatic vision.
“ As soon as the visionary sage has seen the spiritual reality with his own soul
as a lamp to light him, he knows the divine self that is not born and never fails,
and he is loosed from every tie.”
This is to become perfect as the Father in heaven is p e r fe c t ! B y
this process also we m ay become conscious of a previous existence.
The goal is now attained.
D ivine.
The human soul is absorbed into the
The Sw am i knows that this doctrine of absorption has no attrac­
tion for Christians, as to them it appears nothing less than a complete
cessation of conscious existence ; but his courage does not fa il him and
he boldly attacks th is position.
“ We have,” he says, “ often and often read about this being called the losing
of individuality. I tell you it is nothing of tlio kind. I f it is happiness to enjoy
the consciousness of this small body, it must be more happiness to enjoy the con ­
sciousness of tw o bodies, or three, four, or five, and the ultimate of happiness would
be reached when tliis sense of enjoym ent would become a universal consciousness.
Therefore to gain such infinite universal individuality, this miserable little indivi­
duality must go.”
I t is impossible to follow this reasoning.
in universal individuality ?
W h a t m eaning is there
I f as m y soul expands into the universal
soul I could retain m y individual consciousness there would be force in
the reasoning, but surely the consciousness is absorbed like everything
else.
A n d the supreme being into which we are absorbed is unconscious
of his own existence.
Vivekananda teaches us w hat a vast g u lf separates eastern and
western thought.
H indus
havin g
seem to care little about their own.
sciousness.
given
up the personality o f God
They would fain
be rid o f con­
A ccording to their own illustration a dream is to be prefer­
red to waking consciousness, and dreamless sleep is better than a dream .
Absorption seems to convey the idea of absolute repose and rest, and
has a charm for them which the western m ind fails to comprehend.
A b ou t the popular H induism of the present day V ivekan and a says
as little as possible.
H e is content w ith broadly denying Polytheism
and briefly defending idolatry.
sweeping.
H is denial of Polytheism is m uch too
Pantheism m ay be the I’adical religion of India, b u t P o ly ­
theism co-exists with it.
Both gods and men are parts of the supreme
me
SWAMI TIVEKANANPA.
spirit and we m ay as well deny plu rality o f one as o f the other.
is no essential difference between them .
There
Th e gods are under the power
o f Illusion ju st as men are, the only difference being that o f the three
qualities belonging to Illusion the gods have more of goodness and men
m ore o f passion and darkness.
V ivekan an d a says th at the worshippers
apply a ll the attributes of God to the im ages.
B u t, to say nothing o f
m oral qualities, do they regard their gods as om nipotent ?
I f they do
so it is in spite of the Paranas, w hich represent the gods not m erely as
subject to one another but sometim es as subject to men.
„
The. saddest part of the address is the defence of idolatry.
In this
the lecturer adopts the usual mode follow ed by educated H indus.
Id ol­
atry is a help to spiritual worship necessary for the m any though not
for a ll.
I t is “ th e attem pt of undeveloped m inds to grasp h igh spiri­
tu al tru th s.’'
I f he had said it w as a hindrance he would have been
m uch nearer the truth, for idols re-act on the im agination and degrade
all conceptions of God.
H e should have exhibited to the audience some
o f the grotesque and hideous im ages w hich H indus worship, e.g., K a li,
G anesha, H a n n m a n ta ;
he shonld have read from the Puranas
the
history o f those idols ; and then he should have shown by what process
they help men to grasp high spiritual truths.
“ Idolatry in India does not m ean anything horrible.
m other o f harlots.”
I t is not the
A n d the S wami says this w ith the fu llest knowledge
o f th e Puranas and Tantras, the service o f the dancing girls and the
disgasfcrag pictures of vice that ornament the tem ple walls and the idol
cars.
“ T h e tree,” says V ivekananda, “ is known by its fruits, and when I
have seen am ongst them th at are called idolaters men the like of whose
m orality and spirituality and love I have never seen anywhere I stop
and ask m yself, ‘ Can sin beget holiness ? ’ ”
This is certainly not a description o f idolaters generally.
I f the
Sw am i has really found such m en we can only say that the fruits he has
seen are not the fruits o f idolatry.
their gods.
of their religion.
H e has spoken direct to their hearts and consciences.
V ivekan an da would also defend
cruelty.
M a n y H in du s are fa r better than
G od in his mercy has not left them entirely to the teaching
idolatry against the charge of
“ Th e H indus have their fau lts, but m ark th is— they are a l­
ways ready for punishing their own bodies and never for cutting the
throats of their neighbours.
I f the H in d u fanatic burns him self on the
pyre, he does not ligh t the fire of the inquisition.”
The Sw am i cannot be allowed to g et off so easily as this.
The
H indus are not a cruel, race, and V ish n u ite worship generally is im m oral
rather than cruel, but a ll kinds o f barbarous rites are connected w ith
the worship o f Shiva.
W h e n we see a poor wretch inflicting self-torture
we m ay pity h im , but we blam e his religion.
I t i s moreover im possible
61?
SWAMI VIVEEANANDA.
fo r the devotee of a cruel religion to be content with self-torture.
is good £or him self is good for others.
W hat
Could widows easily escape from
the austerities their religion obliges them to practise ?
W o u ld their
friends give them a drink of water on the day of the fortn ightly fa st ?
It is fair to say that m any of the H indu leaders would not w hite­
wash the H induism of the present day in this fashion.
W h e n speaking
to their own countrym en they frankly confess that there is very much
to deplore.
I f they defend idolatry at all they mourn oAre r the im m o.
rality connected with idol worship, and some are honestly endeavouring
to purity it.
stupendous
in
the
A s m igh t be expected dishonesty and fraud exist on a
scale.
There
administration
of
are
unceasing
tem ple
funds.
complaints
of
peculation
The m ost remarkable
these is one contained iji a recent
memorial
the
where there exists one of
H in du
inhabitants
of Tirupati
m ost celebrated temples in South India.
year round
offerings
from
all
parts of India
two hundred
and
thousand rupees.
to
of
Government from
the
Pilgrim s flock to it all the
every year contribute in
The
mem orial pleads for
fresh legislation to prevent the waste of tem ple funds, and shows th at
for fifty years there has been continuous m isappropriation of the vast re­
venues of the shrine.
The trustee of this tem ple recognised by G overn­
ment is the hereditary priest called the M ahant.
The second M ah ant was
sued in-the D istrict Court for R s. 92 ,000 , m isappropriated by the first,
and was afterwards him self convicted by the H igh Court for misappropri­
ating R s. 2,28,00 0.
The third Mahant was convicted by the H ig h Court
of m isappropriating Rs. 2,2 8,00 0.
The fourth and present M ah an t has
been sued in the D istrict Court for m isappropriating R s. 1 3 0 ,0 0 0 — and
there is at present a suit pending to recover R s. 14 ,8 2 ,0 0 0 .
Th e total
for the fifty years seems to amount to about two m illions of rupees.
In all ages every kind of vice has been associated with idolatry.
W h a t a contrast there is between the enervating air breathed by the
H in du pandit and the bracing atmosphere of the H ebrew prophets !
W h en E lijah and Isaiah attacked idols and their worshippers with woi’ds
of b itter scora and derision they spoke w ith a conviction gained by sad
experience.
There can scarcely be found in history a more perfect
specimen of the idol worshipper than Queen Jezebel.
I f H indus wish to
study the contrast between pure worship and idolatry in its effects on
a nation, let them study the O ld Testam ent.
A t the conclusion of his paper the Sw am i extols the wide charity
of H induism .
N ow here in Sanskrit philosophy is it said that H indus
only can be saved.
A ll religions are only a travelling of different men
and women through various conditions and circumstances to th e same
goal.
A fte r such an enthusiastic defence of his religion one would have
expected the expression of an earnest hope th at all men would em ­
brace it.
B u t there is nothing of the kind.
On taking his leave,
78
618
THE YEARNS REPORTS.
he says,
" Do
G-od forbid .”
foreigners is
charity.
I
wish
A ll
the
that
Christian
the
H indus
should
T h is feeliug
appreciation.
become
the
H in d u ?
w ant for their religion
is
from
not the same as Christian
It springs from a proud exclusiveness m ixed w ith a kindly
contempt for other people.
W e think the Sw am i would better have
repi’esented orthodox H induism
have briefly
if he had concluded as follow s.
sketched for your admiration
a noble religious
“ 1
system.
B u t do not for a m oment im agine I wish you to accept it.
I fear
I m ust candidly
Wei-6
you to
tell
you
come to India
that we
we could
have
no
place
not adm it
you
for you.
to our
caste.
If
through curiosity you strayed into our tem ples, we should make you
pay heavily for defiling them.
Y o u would not
houses though you m igh t sit on our verandahs.
than take food with you.
t o . our
N o extrem ity of thirst would make us drink
water polluted by your touch.
wells.
be welcome
W e would rather die
W e would not let you draw from our
W e would prefer not to shake hands with you as additional
ablutions m ust follow .
W e cannot let you join us on our path to bliss.
B u t you need not despair.
o f travelling.
A s I said religions are m erely different modes
There is a w ay for you as for the lower castes o f India.
W e have had a road laid entirely for ourselves and we speed on our
journey by special express.
track through the ju ngle.
B u t never m ind.
Y o u will find a davious
There are no roads and no bridges and your
lum bering bullock carts w ill often come to grief.
B u t it w ill be well
in the end and you w ill arrive at the end of your journey only a few
thousand years after u s.”
THE
Y E A R ’S R E P O R T S .
W e have come to the last instalment of our reports. The general im ­
pression made on our minds by the careful reading of a large number of
reports is this :— During the year 1893 there was a vast amount of steady,
persistent, fruitful work, which, however, did not result in large ingatherings.
There wras evident growth in the spirituality of the churches, and every­
where men and women have been gathered -into the fold. W e think the
normal rate of increase should be ten per cent, yearly, so that the number of
Christians would be doubled every ten years. W e do not think that rate of
increase obtained last year. The reports are generally of a cheerful na­
ture. Here and there one finds an occasional pessimistic c r y ; but gene­
rally the workers are full of heart and hope, and the prospects are bright.
tee
y e a r ’s
repo rts.
6 J9
F R IE N D S ’ M IS S IO N , C E N T R A L P R O V IN C E S .
The statistics indicate a steady increase in all departments of work.
The five congregations of the previous year have increased to eight, and the
attendance from 256 to 275. The number of adult native members is 41,
while the Christian community apparently amounts to 213. Educational
work of various kinds is diligently carried on, and the sick are cared for in
the dispensaries.
Mr. Arthur Pease, one of the members of the Opium Commission, found
time to visit all the stations of the mission, and at the annual meeting in
London gave a full and sympathetic account of what he had seen. He
thoroughly approved of the educational work of the mission, and of the High
School he said, “ I should be sorry if there should be any idea of abandoning
that school.” W e wish that other visitors to India would find time to visit
the stations belonging to their mission, and cheer the workers. Many come
to see the sights of In d ia ; but they can find no time to see mission work.
The caste question was discussed at one of the quarterly meetings, and
the following minute was recorded :— “ W e consider that the Kingdom of God
is not eating and drinking, and that the meeting-house is God’s house, where
all people are on an equality. Therefore we will hinder no one from sitting
amongst us who comes having bathed and wearing clean clothes. About
eating and drinking, this is our counsel, that each brother, after praying about
it, will do what he thinks is God’s will and worthy of the Gospel of our
Lord Jesus Christ.’’
It is as difficult to confess Christ in Central India as it is in South
India, as the following incident testifies :—
“ I have received a most touching letter from a former pupil of our High
School, who accompanied me recently on a mission tour to three or four
villages. Last week he was starting for Seoni to make a public confession of
his faith in Christ, but his intention became known to his family, and his
father summoned some other relatives, who cruelly beat him and tied him
hand and foot for four days, and he is now virtually a prisoner in his father’s
house. He writes that the love of Jesus is stronger in his heart than ever,
and asks for the prayers of the meeting on his behalf. "
W
ork
amongst C ila mars.
“ I mentioned in last year’s report that the Chamars, or leather-workers,
seemed the most inclined to listen of any of the communities in our neighbour­
hood. During this itineracy season I have therefore given special attention
to them, and we spent nearly every night from 8 to 10 o’clock, when we were
not showing the magic-lantern, in sitting round the outdoor fire in the
Chamar quarter, singing and preaching to the men, women, and children
gathered there. This is the best time to catch them, as the day’s work is done,
their supper eaten, and they are glad of the diversion caused by our visit.
One night at the village of Bhitaria, between Seoni and Ivhaparia, we were
greatly gladdened when four men, mostly fathers oE families, said : * This
word of yours is tru e; we take Jesus for our Teacher and Saviour ; we re­
nounce idols and strong drink; henceforth we and onr families will be Chris­
tians.’ Though we had been praying and hoping for conversions, frequent
disappointments had made me somewhat incredulous— so many say, ‘ Oh, yes,
we believe, ’ either to please or get rid of us. I therefore answei’ed, ‘ W hat
you say is all very well, but the fii’st time that a Brahman comes this way
620
THE YEAR'S REPORTS.
yon will alter your mind, and deny that you are Christians.’ Bab they
continued firm, and we left them rejoicing. The following night we returned,
and three men from that village, and one from an adjoining one. said, ‘ W e,
too, believe in C h r i s t a n d all eight, standing np before their neighbours and
relations and families, solemnly promised to follow the Lord, and make His
W ord their rule of life. I left Amos there to instruct them further, and have
since sent him to live in the bazaar-village of Khaparia, where a few timid
inquirers live. In each of these villages he has opened a Sunday school
of about twenty children, where the adults sit round and listen also. They
are intensely ignorant of anything beyond their rude handicrafts, and, of
course, cannot read, though they know how to drive a shrewd bargain. May
the Holy Spirit transForm them into saints and kings, and raise np a living
Church for the Lord from this humble people ! ”
S ecret I
n q u ir e r s .
“ When camping in another village, too tired to go out again after dark,
having been working all day in the hot sun, I was resting iu the ten t;
suddenly we heard a voice calling me. I asked the visitor to come in.
When the chick was raised, we were surprised to see a fine, handsome
Muhammadan gentleman, about forty, step into the tent. Like Nicodemus.
he had come by night to inquire into the way of God, and, under the obvious
pretence of inquiring for another person, put his own case before us. He
was so anxious not to be overheard, that, owing to my deafness, I could
with difficulty catch what he said; and so calling in our faithful helper
Lannu (since called to his eternal rest), we read together out of the Urdu
Testament, pleading with our visitor to have the courage of his convictions,
and openly acknowledge the Lord Jesus. He went away ‘ exceeding sorrow­
f u l / promising to come another day ; but he has never since ventured to visit
us. W e know two or three gentlemen who are like this poor man— inquirers
in secret— and He alone, who knows the secrets of all hearts, can be their
Judge.”
A M u i i a m m a d a .n C o n v e r t .
“ A t the Singa Ji inela, a young Mohammedan faqir, named Ibrahim,
hearing the gospel message, joined himself with us. He made his confession
of Christ in our meeting-house at Christmas-time. W e found him employ­
ment as a bullock-cart driver, and he has led a steadj’ , consistent life ever
since, occasionally praying in our meetings, and testifying to his conversion
in the bazaars.”
The Friends evidently realise the difficulties of their work ; but they are
bent on fulfilling their mission with Divine help.
C A M B R ID G E M IS S IO N , D E L H I.
Last month we noticed the report of the S. P. G. and Cambridge Mission
published locally. Since then we have received the report published in
England. I t goes over the same ground as the local report; but there are
one or two points which may be dealt with. The home committee, writing of the
effect of the college as a missionary agency, state, “ W e still have no conver­
sions to Christianity among the students to record ; and yet there are not a few
signs that a remarkable work has been done iu raising the moral tone of the
young men who have enjoyed the teaching and watched the lives of our
missionaries, and in giving them a loftier and purer conception of God, and
enabling them to form a truer estimate of Christianity. The majority are
THE YEAR’ S REPORTS.
621
Hindus, and at pi’esent there is a strQng tendency among them to endeavour
to find in their own oldest books such a religion and morality as they are
learning to demand, while they put down all which they cannot but dis­
approve in the customs and religious practices of their country to later cor­
ruptions. This disposition to cherish national sentiment is honourable t o
them ; and yet we believe that in time they will discover that they must
seek in Christ the full harmony and completion of whatever noble and good
elements exist in their own ancient religion.”
Mr. Lefroy, the head of the mission, has not been able to give much at­
tention to preaching on account of the state of his throat, but he has to'
undertake many
M
is c e l l a n e o u s
D
c t ie s .
“ Meantime there is no lack of work of other kinds. To take only one
sphere, which sometimes sorely exercises my wits and makes me wonder
whether it would not be well to abandon the title ‘ Head of the M ission/ in
favour of some such as ‘ Universal Provider/ provided this could be done
without infringing any patent, or arousing professional jealousy in any
quarters. To give you an illustration of the kind of thing I mean. I got
one morning a postcard which ran thus :
‘ Reverend Sir,
‘ I wish to marry some Stephen’s Mission educated girl. Please let me
know the rule. Ho w can I marry P May I see you personally. I come from
a good family and am not a Christian yet.
‘ Signed
’
“ The last sentence being obviously unsatisfactory I replied that with­
out going into further details, and in spite of the most earnest wish to
afford every reasonable satisfaction to those who thus sought my help, I was
unable to dispose of the hand of any young lady who might be, with this
object, committed to my charge, to other than a Christian. Xothing daunted
my friend returns to the charge.
‘ Reverend Sir,
‘ In reply to your post-card of 6tli inst., I have the pleasure to say
that I have an earnest desire to get myself baptized, but the loss of my
present wife obliges me to search for another, and as soon as I am satisfied
to get that immediately I will be a Christian.......
‘ A n early reply will highly oblige.
‘ Yours obediently,.............’
So you see that even if debarred from much preaching and the like, the
demands on one’s time and energies are not insignificant.’ ’
T
he
B
l in d
M
a u l v i.
“ Of the blind Maulvi I have little fresh to report. He has spent the
year at Lahore under the wise and affectionate care of the Rev. F. A . P.
Shirreff, Principal, till lately, of the Divinity school there, and whose ap­
proaching loss to the Punjab in consequence of his wife’s ill-health we are
all so deeply deploring. W hile with him the Maulvi made, I believe, some
real progress in the knowledge and faith of Christ. I trust he will continue
His faithful soldier and servant to his life’s end. A t present he is with us
here gradually getting into work, preaching in the city, though amidst the'
most bitter opposition from his old co-religionists. I would ask the prayers
of all who love the Master’s name and cause for him.”
622
THE YEAR’ S REPORTS.
A
sa b
L
apse.
In Rohtak, where work has been commenced, the mission has had to
sorrow over the fall of Shimbhu Dyal, a clerk in the Government office, who
was baptised in 1892.
“ A t his baptism his wife and three children were separated from him
and he tried in vain more than once to get an interview with them. He was
cheered however by the fact of his mother choosing to live with him, though
she was not at all inclined towards Christianity.
“ In the beginning of 1893 we thought it advisable to allow him to insti­
tute a case at law for the recovery of his sons, though it had to be done at
Bareilly, a town in the N orth-W est Provinces. Unfortunately the pleader
made the mistake of applying that he should be made guardian, instead of
merely demanding the custody of the children : and the Hindu pleaders on
the opposite side were only too quick to take advantage of the mistake.
Though the judge gave it as his opinion that he was the fit person to have
charge of the children, and the pleader proceeded at once to draw up the
petition under the right A ct, Shimbhu Dyal seems to have lost heart and to
have listened to the plausible arguments of the advanced section of the
Hindus-— who call themselves Aryans— that by becoming a Hindu once more
he would more easily obtain his desire. The orthodox Hindus scarcely ever
receive back one who has broken caste, but these men are trying to make the
way back as easy as possible. Shimbhu D yal was soon afterwards re-ad­
mitted by them and sent back to Rohtak with a letter of recommendation.
He is, however, now in the sad state of one forsaken by all. H e has not got
his wife, and, if report speaks truly, she is not at all softened by his action,
and the majority of the Hindus at Rohtak will have nothing to do with him.
A t the same time he is partly ashamed and partly afraid to have any inter­
course with myself or any of the Christians at Rohtak.
G O O D N E W S F R O M L A N K A .”
The above is the title of the report of the Wesleyan Mission, North
Ceylon. There are many indications that the missionaries are fully awake
and are using all kinds of methods to quicken the churches and gather in
the lost. There are now 1,074 full members with 508 on trial. This repre­
sents an increase of four full members, but a decrease of 29 of those on trial.
The contributions for the native ministry amounted to Rs. 4,832, and for
missions, Rs. 1,633. There were 86 adult and 60 infant baptisms. The
pupils in day schools number 8,892, and in Sunday schools, 5,750.
T
he
C h u rch es.
Great attention has been paid to the edification of the flock, and good
results have appeared. “ On all the stations much attention has been given
to Bible study and teaching. The preaching of a present salvation is bear­
ing fruit and our people in increasing numbers are seeking and finding con­
scious pardon through Jesus Christ. Their testimony to this is clear and
direct : a church witnessing to such a salvation is the most telling sermon
that can be preached.”
The people have been urged to interest themselves in the salvation of
their fellow-men, and many have responded. “ One striking feature of the
year’s work has been the readiness with which our women and girls have
come forward and taken part in this work.”
THE YEAR’ S REPORTS.
623
B a p t is m s .
“ During the past year 86 adults have been baptised, an increase of 26
over the number for the previous year. Nearly one-half of these baptisms
have been on the Kalmunai station. The future of this, the youngest of our
stations, is full of promise. The cases of several of these converts are full
of interest. Several of them are from our English High Schools ; some
from our Girls’ Boarding Schools ; some from the Kalmunai Industrial
School, and others are the fruit of our regular work. The baptism is tabu­
lated in one year. The work that leads up to it often spreads over many
years and we have had several striking instances of that kind. W e have
looked back at the record of our adult baptisms for twenty years past to see
whether we are making progress. W e find that in twenty years, i.e., from
1874 to 1893 we have baptised 1.242 adults, an average per year of 62. W e
then took five year periods to see whether the average number per year was
advancing as it ought to do. From 1874 to 1878 the average was 46 per year.
From 1879 to 1883 it was 56 per year. In the period from 1884 to 1888 it rose
to 64 per year, while in the five years just closed (1889 to 1893) it has risen
to 82, that is to say toe are now baptising annually nearly twice as many as we
tt'ere twenty years ago. This is the result of steady growth. There is nothing
phenomenal in the past five years. Indeed in some respects they have been
rather unfavourable.”
D
e t e r m in e d
to
be
B a p t is e d .
“ A young man was an enquirer and candidate for a long time but feared
to face the bigoted inhabitants of his native village. He was very anxious
to receive baptism but was told that he must prove his sincerity by being
baptised at home. A t length, however, he took the Kingdom of Heaven bjr
force in rather a singular manner. One morning the missionary and native
minister were visiting the school at which he was a teacher, in a differeut
village, and were surprised to find the place gaily decorated and a large
congregation of people assembled. ‘ Wha t is this fo r ? ’ said the missionary.
‘ For my baptism,’ replied the youth. ‘ But we have not cqme to baptise you,
and don’t intend to ; we have not brought our prayer books and are not
prepared for the service,’ was the reply. ‘ Still, sir, I want to be baptised
and have announced that you will do it now,’ was the sturdy rejoinder of
this pertinacious candidate. There was little to be said to this. A strict
examination was perfectly satisfactory, and so, in liis own school and without
the aid of prayer books, the service was proceeded with and this determined
youth became a member of Christ’ s flock.
F fit;iT
in
E
n g l is h
S ch o o ls.
“ In Jaffna we have had six baptisms during the past three years.
The first boy baptised, who was called Bauda, was a Singhalese boy who had
come to Jaffna for his education and w7as residing in Higg Hall. He was
greatly impressed by the religious feeling in the place and during some
revival services came boldly out and was soundly converted; the next Sunday
he was baptised. In anger at his baptism his parents refused to allow him to
return to school, but he is 'doing well. Two other boys whom we baptised
are now studying in other colleges, one in the Jaffna College and the other
in Trinity College, Kandy : one we occasionally see and the other we hear
from, and are glad to report that both are earnest Christians. On the last
Sunday of 1893, one of our boys named Vaduvalda, who had long been an
enquirer, was baptised. Previous to this he had attended our services and
helped in our mission band as though he were a Christian : he had long
desired to be baptised but met with so strong an opposition from his relatives
that he held back. A t last, however, he came forward for baptism and he is
now rejoicing in Christ.”
CURRENT MISSION
NEWS.
WORK IN A HYDERABAD VILLAGE.
A t Y emkapalli, near Kundi, there are some earnest Christian people who
were baptised a few months ago. B y their teaching and more especially by
their example the people of the village and its neighbourhood hare begun to
think s e r i o u s l y of religion. The T i l l a g e has been r e g u l a r l y visited by the
evangelists, and the gospel of Jesus Christ has been proclaimed to the devo­
tees of Siva. The people have been visited in their homes and conversed
with while at work in their fields. On the night of Thursday, the 16bh of
August, the missionary and a party of workers visited the village to enrol
those who had resolved to become Christians. The moon was shining brightly
when the party sat under a large t a m a r i n d tree and began to sing sacred
songs. The people q u i c k l y gathered and clamoured for permission to attend
the meeting. There were persons of many different castes listening to the
gospel.
The Rev. A . S. Dharmiah delivered an interesting address in which he
clearly pointed out the way of salvation through an incarnate and crucified
Saviour. He showed the folly of idolatry and the unsatisfying nature of the
worship of Siva, and the uselessness of bathing in sacred rivers for the
remission of sins.
Eleven persons of the Mala community then came forward as candidates
for baptism, and they boldly gave their testimony before the people. Lingayya,
who is 45 years old, said he had been a worshipper of Siva for a long time.
He prayed to him, but got no answer to his prayers. He now knew that
Siva was immoral, and that he had never done anything for sinful men. He
was glad he had found that Jesus had died to save him. I f they permitted
him, he was quite ready to rush into the temple and destroy the idol imme­
diately. Bachayya. a man of 60 years, said that he had worshipped Siva
according to the traditions of his fathers. The visits of the preachers had
enlightened him. He saw his sins, and wanted to know more of the true
religion. A s he knew something of Christ and H is religion, he would no
longer worship Siva, but plunge into the precious blood of Christ, who would
wash away his sins and grant him eternal life. Lakshmiamma, an old woman
of 70, said she was constantly expecting death. God was very gracious to
her in opening the door of salvation to her at that age. It was far better to
believe in Jesus than to worship Siva.
A fter hearing these testimonies, the Rev. C. Winters received the eleven
persons into the church of Christ by the rite of baptism. The meeting then
joined in heartily singing an appropriate hymn, and the interesting service
was closed with prayer and the benediction.
M IS S IO N A R Y C O N F E R E N C E S.
B a n g a l o r e .— The September Conference was entertained by the Rev.
W . J. and Mrs. Lawrence. A t the business meeting two new members were
elected, and a small committee for the management of the institution for the
blind was appointed. The. Rev. W . Goudie, of Tiruvallur, gave* an address
CURRENT MISSION NEWS.
ou work amongst the Pariah«. He dwelt upon the low moral s^ate of the
people, who were ignorant of the language that expresses high moral feeling®
and principles. He declared that in every case it was a mixed motive that
brought the Pariah to the missionary. The Pariah had no lofty conception
of his duty to God ; he could only realise his wretched physical condition,
and that led him to cry out for help to the missionary who, he believed,
could help him. This was a great gain. The Pariah was discontented with his
depressed condition, and there was hope that this would lead him to higher
things.
It was exceedingly difficult to determine when baptism should be
given. Though they had but a faint conception of their duty to God, yet they
were anxious to be numbered with the Christians, who alone could help them
out of their difficulties. The social help should be disassociated from the reli­
gious teaching. H e had by no means solved the problem ; but he was full of
heart and hope for the future of these depressed people. The address was a
most interesting one and was listened to with marked attention. A conver­
sation followed, in which some stated that the Pariah was not so destitute of
religious conceptions as had been represented. In some places these people
had been baptised by thousands on their confession of faith in Christ, and their
faith was genuine. One missionary working amongst those who had been thus
baptised said that when he entered the field he was in great doubt whether
one of them was a true Christian. There had, however, been a wonder­
ful revival amongst them, and many understood what true faith in Christ
meant. The conversation evidently showed that the nominal admission of
the Pariah into the Christian Church has not solved the problem. Schools
and homes for the children, hospitals for the sick, continuous teaching
for all, are needed to awaken true manhood in them and re-create them in
the image of God. A hearty vote of thanks was accorded to Mr. Goudie for
his valuable address.
M a d r a s .— The Conference in addition to its usual business considered
the subject of preaching to native Christian congregations. The Rev. J.
Lazarus, of the Efejfiisb Mission, introduced the subject.
B o m b a y . — Thè monthly meeting of the Bombay Missionary Conference
took place on the evening of August 6bh, when a paper was read by the Rev.
R. M. Gray on "E u ropean Churches in India and their Relation to Mission
work.” A n interesting discussion ensued. Emphasis was given to the
importance of sympath3r and interest shown by Christian laymen, whose
testimony could not be attributed by the natives to professional motives.
Missionaries were urged to take every opportunity of interesting Europeans
in India in their work, opposition being so frequently the result of ignorance.
~-hidian Standard.
C a l c u t t a .— A t the Missionary Conference, the Rev. C . Jordan introduced
the subject of mission work among the depressed classes by remarking that
the Christian churches and congregations of apostolic times were largely
composed of the depressed classes of that day, slaves, soldiers and labourers,
and that the Christian congregations in India at the present time were in the
main made up from the non-castes or depressed classes. He referred to
the fact that iifty million people lived in India who were outside the pale of
Hinduism ahd Islam, and quoted the remark of Sir W . Hunter that all
these would eventually become either Hindus, Mahommedans or Christians.
79
626
CURRENT MISSION’ NEWS.
Mi*. Jordan briefly referred to the large uumbers of Chrisbiaus in the Madras
Presidency who are from the depressed classes, and then briefly reviewed the
work done by Baptist missionaries among men of this class in different parts
of Bengal and North India. The accessibility of these people, their capacity
for intellectual culture and religious and spiritual development had been very
clearly demonstrated. The conclusions reached by the paper were that the
Spirit of God is no doubt working ab this time in an especial manner among
these classes ; that in many pJaces they are responding to the call and show­
ing an unusual readiness to receire Christian truth ; the opportunity and the
duty of missionaries and all Christians in India are obvious, and it is a hope­
ful sign that so much attention is now being given to these people by Chris­
tian workers all over India. The paper was followed by vei’y interesting
remarks made by missionaries from Santhalistan, who spoke of the accessi­
bility and the need of the Santhalis and the worthy Christian character often
maintained by the converts. It was remarked that the Santhalis are in no
sense a depressed class. They arc fearless, independent people, and are not
under the domination of the Hindus. They are however depressed by the
operations of the English courts of justice, and one missionary said that the
gravest danger to the stability of the Government of India was found in the
wrongs and resentments of the peasantry who had lost their lands through the
agency of courts of justice. A medical missionary from Santhalistan em ­
phasised the need for medical missions thei-e and throughout India generally.
H e quoted the statement of Sir William Moore that the expensive medical
agencies of the Government reached only live percent, of the population.
A t least eighty per cent of the people are utterly beyond the reach of medical
aid. Such facts show that medical missions are still urgently required in
India. A Bengal missionary spoke of a colonyT of gipsies and wandering
acrobats whom he had recently baptised and asked for suggestions concerning
suitable employment for them. Their own profession is not one fit for Chris­
tians to follow; they have never performed manual labour and naturally are
averse to it and largely unfit for it. The question is a difficult one and a
satisfactory answer was not forthcoming. One of the mosb important points
in the discussion was presented by a Bengali missionary who asked to what
■extent the missions had succeeded in elevating the people of the depressed
classes who had come under their charge. Wore they still depressed, lowdown, or had the missionaries in any appreciable degree succeeded in lifting
them ? Avoiding all reference to the past, its achievements and its failures,
the missionaries of to-day need to gird themselves manfully for the work of
so dealing with these depressed classes who by thousands and tens of thou­
sands are coming under their care, that they shall no longer be among the
“ depressed” ones of the empire.— Indian Witness.
C o l o m b o .— The third meeting was held at Shiloh on Tuesday, July 17th.
There was not a very large attendance, but it proved a most interesting and
profitable meeting. In the absence of the Rev. W . H. Rigby, a paper on
“ Vernacular Schools as a Mission A g e n c y ” was read by the Rev. W . S.
Thompson, and the paper showed thab Mr. Thompson had carefully thought
the matter out. He dealt with it theoretically, disclaiming the right to deal
with if; practical ly,_as he had not been long in the island. In the discussion
that followed the question of grants, which had only been lightly touched
CURRENT MISSION NEWS.
upon in the paper (for, to use Mr. Thompson’s language, lie had “ let them
off easily ” ), was to the front, and it is hoped that at no distant d&te the con*
ference will discuss the matter more fully. It was felt by many present'
that the present system, while not very beneficial in other respects, militates
against the doing of good missionary work in the schools.— Ceylon Church
Record.
W ESLEYAN.
T i r u v a l i / d r C i r c u i t .— The Rev. W . Goudie writes in the Madras Church
Record some notes of progress gathered at the agent’s monthly meetings.
A t one of the Pariah schools the caste people had begun to send their chil­
dren, the only condition being that they should sit a little apart from the
Pariahs. Petitions were presented from twelve places asking the mission to
begin work in them ; but the answer to each was, “ absolutely no funds.”
B a p t is a is a t S h a n t jr .— Last month we stated that the Yettyan at Shanur,
in the Madurantakam Circuit, had been faithful amidst much opposition.
The Madras Church Record contains an account, of his baptism. He erected
a pandal in front of his house, and friends from different places came to re­
joice with him in the event. Erusen and his family were examined in the
Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, the morning and evening
prayers, and prayer on entering the church. The man was further question­
ed on the motive which led him to seek the rite of baptism, on his faith in
Christianity, and on his willingness to give up the worship of idols and all
heathen ceremonies. The answers given and the way in which all the family,
with the exception of the. last child, three years old, acquitted themselves
under the test, showed once more that Pariahs are capable of intellectual
improvement under sj-mpathetic and persistent effort. After the baptism
several testified to their joy at being present. The man has received no help
of any kind, and apparently he became a Christian from the worthiest motive.
R o y a p e tta T am il C hu rcit, M a d ra s.— A t the anniversary m eetin g the
Rev. J. R ungasw am i, the pastor, said that du rin g the last year three Sun­
day services and one w eek-day service had been regularly held.
T h e Sun­
day m orning services were th rough out the year so Avell attended that it had
been necessary to purchase new seats in order to accom modate all who
came. A special than k sgiving service was held 0 1 1 the Christm as m orning, at
which a collection in money and in kind was made, which produced R s . 70.
There were 27 baptism s, of which 8 were of adults converted from heath en­
ism.
The num ber of fu ll m embers at the end of the year was 229, an i n ­
crease of 22 over that of the previous year.
was much greater than in form er years.
The num ber of com m unicants
T hé W o m e n ’s S ew in g Meeting
had presented to the church a new com m union flagon and table cloth, and a
new velvet cushion for the p u lpit.
M r. K rish n a R au , the stew ard, ga v e an
account of the financial state of the church, which showed that the people,
thou gh m ost of them were poor, took a great interest in the welfare of their
church and freely contributed towards the support of their pastor and the'
upkeep of the chapel.
628
CURRENT MISSION NEWS.
C hurch P rogress in th e 'Bangalore T am il C ie c u it .— A t the quarterly
.m eeting of the Church Com m ittee it; was stated th a t there were in the c ir ­
cuit tw o hundred and fifty-fou r fu ll m em bers, tw en ty-five probationers, and
th irty -eigh t m eeting in ju n ior society classes.
T h is
m eant an increase of
three fu ll m em bers and six probationers in the quarter.
B u t on the G old
F ield we had lost six m em bers through rem ovals, and the total num ber
returned was eighty-three full m em bers and five probationers. There had been
six adult and eight infant baptism s d u rin g the three m onths.
T h e income
from the native church had fu lly m e t the native p astor’s stipend.
The
am ount raised in the Bangalore T am il Church was R s. 91 in class m oney,
and R s. 40 in collections and than k -offerin gs, being a total of R s. 131 in the
quarter. The native m embers on the G old F ield had also contributed u p ­
w ards of R s. 18 in the sam e period.
B a p t is m s i n B a n g a l o r e .— Recently we quoted from the Bangalore
Church Record the story of a school-boy, who requested Mr. Picken to bap­
tise him. Mr. Picken writes further about him and others in the same
paper. H e says, “ The boy had obtained his father’s consent, but we felt
that there would be a difficulty about his support after the baptism. W e
suggested that some friend might come forward to support him in our
Home. N o one has offered to do this, but the father has extended his per­
mission and consented to his remaining as a Christian in his own home.
This is a gratifying instance of the gradual decline of prejudice. The lad
was baptised in the presence of his father and a large congregation at our
Haines Road Church on Sunday, July loth.
The father thus publicly
testified to his approval of the step that was being taken. In addition to
his former name, ‘ Appadurei,’ the lad received in baptism the Christian
name, ‘ Yesudas,’ ‘ Servant of Jesus/ A similar, and in some respects still
more interesting, case is that of another boy, a scholar of the same school
and the son of a native military officer. The father has fully accepted the
doctrines of Christianity and has expressed an earnest desire to join our
church with all his family. The difficulty is that the family is a double
one— there are two wives. The women are not fully sharers in the desire of
the husband, and if they were, we could not bring ourselves to accept the
view of those missionaries who would baptise them and allow them to live
just as they have done in the past. Being thus hindered the man deter­
mined to give his eldest son to Christ. On the first occasion when this was
arranged, several Hindu acquaintances were invited to witness the baptism
and the result was that the lad was surreptitiously removed from his
father’s house on the day before the baptism was to have taken place. It
was several days before he was found and brought back, and then the father
made his arrangements more cautiously. A widow woman and her two
sons were also baptised with this lad. She is a distant relative of the family,
and has lived in the house in the capacity of a servant since her husband’s
death, about a year ago. This man has therefore adopted the elder of her
two fatherless sons, and desires that he should be a brother and companion
to his own boy. In a stamped document, which was presented at the bap­
tismal service, the father confesses his own faith in the tenets of the Christian
Religion, dedicates his own son and his adopted son to Christ, and requests
that they may be trained in the Mission Home and school, undertaking to
CURRENT MISSION NEWS.
629
pay two rupees monthly towards the support of each lad. W e have reason
to believe that this is an example that will be followed by others.”
R e c e n t B a p t i s m s i n t h e C a l c u t t a D i s t r i c t .-— On July 31 two widows
were baptised in the Campbell Hospital by the Rev. P. C. Nath. These
women had been under instruction for over two years, and .had an intelligent
knowledge* of the gospel and a personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
On Sunday, the 15th July, a young Brahman named Umanath Pande, about
22 years of age, was baptised in the presence of the English congregation at
Raniganj. This young man, in order to become a Christian, had to forsake
his wife and children and his father, of whom he is the only son, and to give
up a good situation. He has been under a gradual process of conviction for
some years and during the last eight months has been an earnest enquirer.
H e hopes that his wife may consent to join him before long. He is now a
student in the Barrackpur Institution. On Sunday, the lPOli August, a
Muhammadan, who received the name of Iman Bux, was baptised in the
Bengali Church. He is about 32 years of age. He was taken fco Trinidad
by his father when a child and there came under Christian influences. After
living abroad for 28 years he returned to India about six months ago. He
seems to be a sincere man, and to have been actuated by pure motives in
coming forward for baptism.— Indian-Methodist Times.
P r o g r e s s i x B d r m a .— Good news comes to us from our mission in Manda­
lay, Upper Burma. The buildings for the Girls’ Boarding School and Training
Institution have been completed at a cost of twelve thousand rupees, and
twenty-eight bright, intelligent students are now in residence. There is no
more valuable or powerful auxiliary in the work of evangelization than the
Christian boarding school where agents are trained for teaching and preaching
and the manifold forms of Christian work. Several important baptisms have
recently taken place, among whom may be mentioned a man thirty-two years
of age, the brother of our first Borman preacher.— Indian Methodist Times.
A N e w G i r l s ’ S c h o o l a t N e g a p a t a m .— Saturday evening witnessed an
interesting ceremony in the opening of the new school-house, which the W e s­
leyan Mission has built in the centre of the town at a cost of about Rs. 10,000.
This school is attended by about one hundi’ed girls of the higher classes of
the native community, chiefly Brahmans. The institution is under the super­
vision of Miss Walker. The inauguration ceremony commenced at 5 p. M.
with Mrs. Bruce in the chair. The leading native gentry were present, and
there was a large attendance of European ladies and gentlemen. A fter the
distribution of prizes, the girls sang some action songs in English and Tamil,
accompanied by Miss W alker at the piano. The Rev. E. Webster, the head
of the Mission, then addressed the meeting, briefly explaining the origin of
the institution and its progress, which had culminated in the erection of a
local habitation for it. Mr. Yasudeva Naidu addressed a few remarks in Tamil
to the children assembled, and Mr. P. Rama Sabhapati Pillay in reply acknow­
ledged the services rendered by the Wesleyan Mission to the cause of native
female education. The proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to Mrs.
Bruce.— Madras Mail.
B o y s ’ R e f o r m a t o r y , C e t l o n .— The Ceylon Church Record states that
there are 130 boys on the list. The great majority of them are either orphan
or fatherless, and it is difficult to conceive of auy better arrangement for
630
CURRENT MISSION NEWS.
them than sending them to the Home. Steps are taken now to secure a
greater interest in, and a better hold on, the boys who leave. The manager
has had several interesting letters from boys, which show that they have not.
forgotten the lessons and habits acquired at Happy Yalley, and that they
are anxious to do well in their situations. On the other hand, there have
been some failures that we mourn over.
'
A n o t h e r T r i b u t e t o C h r i s t i a n i t y .— T h e R e v . A . C . C l a y t o n s t a t e s in t h e
Madras Church Record t h a t a c l e a r i d e a o f t h e e t h i c a l s i d e o f C h r i s t i a n i t y is
g r o w in g u p in t h e v illa g e s .
I t seem s th a t
n o rth o f
know
M adras
w is h e d
n ea rest e v a n g e lis t to
to
com e an d
s o m e P a r ia h s a b o u t t w e l v e m ile s
w h a t C h r is tia n ity m e a n t, a n d a s k e d th e
see th em .
W hen
he
a r r iv e d
h e fo u n d th a t
t.he c a s t e p e o p l e w e r e n o t s o m u c h o p p o s e d t o h i s t e a c h i n g a s u s u a l . C u r i o u s
to k n o w th e re a s o n o f
th e ir
fo r b e a r a n c e h e
ask ed on e o f
th e m w h y h e d id
n o t r e s e n t th e a p p e a r a n c e o f a n e v a n g e lis t, a n d w h y h e d id n o t tr y t o o p p o s e
th e d e s ir e o f t h e P a r ia h s f o r s o m e
in s tr u c tio n .
“ O h ,”
w a s th e r e a d y r e p ly ,
“ w e k n o w th a t i f y o n te a c h th e se fe llo w s C h r is tia n ity th e y w ill s to p s te a lin g
o n r c r o p s .”
OTHER INDIAN MISSIONS.
T h e l a t e R e v . G. 0 . N e w p o r t .— W e deeply regret to record the death of
this missionary, who belonged to the London Mission, Bangalore. H e had
gone on a sea voyage for the benefit of his health, but he got worse and died
at Colombo, on Tuesday, September 18th. W e hope to publish a memoir of
him nest month.
T h e l a t e R e v . H . F . W r i g h t . — The Church Missionary Society in the
Panjabbave sustained a great loss in the death of this young missionary. He
arrived i n India in 1890, and devoted himself to vernacular work at Amritsar.
His self-repression, quiet demeanour, cheerfulness, and modesty were
his chief characteristics, over-ruled by a single-hearted d e v o E io n to the call
he had received to preach Christ. Latterly he had met with much opposi­
tion in bazaar preaching; but his confidence was in the word of God. He
had been ill of fever for some days, and it was thought that a change to
Dalhousie would benefit him. H e was attended by his sister and cousin and
by his friend, Dr. Lankester, but he became unconscious and died in t h e
train, on Saturday, July 14th.
T h e l a t e R e v . S o r a b j i K a r s e t j i .— T h e death of this worker in con­
nection with the Church Missionary Society occurred at Poona, on Tuesday.
August 14th. H e was in his 72nd year. H e was educated in Bombay,
under Dr. W ilson, and was one of the first Parsi converts. Mrs. Sorabji h a s
become well-known by her educational work in Poona.
D e a t h of a L a d y W o r k e r .— M iss Brown of the Union Zanatia Mission,
who has been working in Rae Bareli with Miss Pickard, has died of cholera.
She was a faithful worker, and will be greatly missed in the homes and schools
where she taught.— Star o f India.
B u r s t i n g o f t h e G o i i n a L a k e .— This natural phenomenon has attracted
a very considerable amount of attention. Thanks to the precautions taken,
no lives were lo s t; but a vast amount of damage has been doneto.pro­
OBITUAJIY.
631
perty. The only mission affected is, we believe, the Methodist Episcopal
Mission. The school and extensive mission premises at Srinagar are com­
pletely ruined.
M a d k a s N a t i v e C h í u s t í a n A s s o c i a t i o n .— A t the last general meeting
“ the Social Customs of Native Christians ” was discussed. The subject
was introduced by the Rev. P. B. Ragaviah, b . a ., who dwelt on the necessity
of higher education for native Christian women, the lack of social inter­
course and recreation, some of their marriage and funeral customs, temper­
ance and thrift. The discussion was discursive, and dealt chiefly with edu­
cation and social intei’course. It would appear that some would like to see
a college for native Christian girls in Madras. This will doubtless come in
L im e ; but the well-to-do Christians will have to help largely.
OBITUARY.
K R U P A B A I
S A Ï T H I A N A D H A N .
Born, 14th February, 1863.
Died, 3rd August, 1894.
BV THE REV. J. S. PETER, C. M. S.
The Church of God in India needs noble women— women ready to conse­
crate their talents to the service of the Master, women who strive to live in
this weary world of sin and woe as if they were not of this world, and teach
both by word and deed the blameless and holy life, that is in Christ Jesus.
In such women is the hope of the native Christian community, and the
existence of such noble women is a sure sigu of the prosperity of the Church
of God in this land. The hand of death has removed from our midst a
beloved sister, who rose far superior to the conditions of life under which she
lived, whose whole life was a living protest against the artificiality and con­
ventionality of the present age. In the late Mrs. Satthianadhan the native
Christian community in South India has lost its brightest ornament, and the
Church of God a most faithful witness for the Master. In writing a brief
memoir of the life of one so honoured and admired by all those who came in
contact with her, one whose superior literary merit placed her among the
highest in this land, it is not my intention to dwell on her merits as
the first Indian lady novelist. A ll that I desire to do is to place before
the readers of this journal the simple record of a humble life of lofty
faith, and hope in God, that such a record may checr the hearts of the noble
band of men and women who ardently long for the emancipation of this laud
and toil for its redemption day by day.
6S2
OBIT 0 A ft* .
E arly L
it e
and
F
o r m a t io n
or C haracter.
Krupabai was the youngest daughter of the late Rev. Hari Punt Khisfcy,
the first Brahman convert of the American Missionary Society in the Bombay
Presidency. Krupabai -was born at Ahmednagar on the 14th February
1863. Her father died while she was very young, but the story of her father’s
conversion, repeated to her with the characteristic enthusiasm of her believ­
ing brother Bbasker, seems to have made a very deep impression on her
mind as may be seen from the graphic and pathetic records of that conver­
sion in the delightful pages of “ Saguna.” The memory of a noble father,
who was a hero of faith, can seldom fail to produce the highest and holiest of
emotions. Talking of these things she writes :—
. “ Our father’s name was always mentioned with reverence, and the re­
collection of his face haunted our minds and produced in us a glow of pride
and emulation which made us exclaim— * Oh. we must walk worthy of outnoble father.’ ”
This fond memory of her father was but one of the many elements that
contributed to the formation of her character. There were other influences
also at work. The example of a sister, who stood by the widowed mother
in her sorest need, who had worked with her father and bravely faced all
manner of danger, and whose trust in God was as great as that of her noble
father was not less potent than the memory of her father. To these influences
may be added the peculiar training which her noble brother Bhasker gave
her. H e was one of those humble believers— alas ! too rare in this busy world
— who believe in the perpetual and abiding presence of the Master and who
work with all their might for the glory of H is name. It was Bhasker that
taught Krupabai the blessedness of Service, the need of a whole-hearted con­
secration.
“ I remember well the lastday when Bhasker and I got up while the
stars were still shining and stole to the mountain haunts to have a last look
at the dear place. There was nothing to be seen at first as far as the eye
could reach, except small and great hills and peaks all around ; but soon the
scene changed. A s we ascended the hill in front of our house, we seemed to
be-leaving the world and piercing the region of the unknown, so thick was
the mist around u s ; and when we reached the highest point, we were startled
by the diin majesty and grandeur that burst upon us.
W e seemed
to be looking down on mortals below from another world. The shadowy
cloud-land, dark and gloomy, like a large bird with spreading wings
hovered overhead, and the great world sleeping in mist ' lay below
in its purity and whiteness, like a huge sea stretched at our feet. The bil­
lows in it heaved and rolled in silence. I t was the silence of eternity linked
to the world for a moment. A soft starry dreamland light enwrapt and
overspread all. Above the ocean of mist the neighbouring peaks, distant
and dark, mysteriously loomed like fingers pointing to heaven. The
strangely transformed world, the heavenly beauty and purity of the scene
bound us fast, and when I looked up my brother seemed strangely excited.
JEe turned to me and said : ‘ It was in this place with such a scene before
me some years ago that I determined that my life shonld be pure and holy.
Oh ! how our lives are wasted ! Promise me that yours will be devoted to
God’ s glory— wholly to God’s glory.’ W e were alone, alone with God on
the mountain-top, and we fell cn our knees and prayed.”
Such were the influences that moulded the character of one who was
destined to show to her educated Christian sisters that no amount of culture
633
OBITUARY.
can turn away one’s heart from God, but that on the contrary all knowledge
and wisdom must be used in humble submission to the will of Him who gives
us such gracious gifts.
E d u c a t io n .
Krupabai received a tolerably good education under European teachers
in Bombay. But she was not satisfied with an ordinary school education. She
devoured English literature. She was never weary of learning. Here a
little and there a little she gained knowledge from day to day. Her selfeducation, however, was not one-sided. Side by side with her intellectual
development, there was spiritual growth. In this spiritual growth she was
helped by the example and teachings of her beloved brother Bhasker. W r it­
ing of this brother she says :—
“ Religion was to him something of the heart, and holiness was some­
thing to be aspired to, even attainable in this world. W ith flashing eyes and
determined lips he used to say :— ‘ Have you never felt that once you resist
temptation, it grows weaker and weaker, and at last even fails to assail you ? ’
His prayers were a grand uplifting of heart and soul, as if he had found God
on the mountain top, met Him face to face, and was pleading before Him,
realising in his soul botli the greatness and the goodness of the Alm ighty
Father.”
M
adras
M
e d ic a l
C ollege.
In 1881, Krupabai was sent by the Indian Female Normal School
and Instruction Society— now known as the Zanana Bible and Medical
Mission— to be educated at the Madras Medical College. I t was originally
proposed that she should proceed to Europe to study
medicine,
but that idea was abandoned as the doctors did not find it advisable
to send one so delicate as Krupabai to brave the cold winters of E n g ­
land.
The medical colleges in the Bombay and Calcutta Presidencies
had not then thrown open their gates to lady students, and the only place
therefore in which she could study medicine was the Madras Medical
College. It is not an easy thing even now for a native Christian girl to get
through a course of study in the Madras Medical College. But Krupabai
was no ordinary girl. She had the firm will of a man. Her education with
her brothers in childhood now stood her in good stead.
The rowdy fellows
that studied in the Madras Medical College found her quite unlike the
whining or coquettish girls that generally attend the College. Krupabai’s
dignified mien and ladylike behaviour soon made the students turn to
her with respect. Such respect has seldom been paid to any lady student.
It was her Christian fortitude of character that sustained her throughout
her stay in this institution. There was also another thing which won the
admiration of the students. It was her remarkable intelligence. A ll the
professors in the college admired her intelligence ; for she won several prizes,
although she had to compete with some graduates for them. Dr. Sibthorpe,
the Surgeon-General of Madras, has ■given his estimate of her and her work
during her stay in the Medical College in a letter written after her death
to Mr. Satthianadhan. “ I remember your dear good wife well as a student,
and always thought her one of the sweetest characters I have ever m et ; she
was so gentle, thoughtful and intelligent. A s a worker she was a very
conscientious and untiring student .and always bore a high character in the
college and hospital. I was indeed sorry to hear of your great loss. Such
80
634
OBITUARY.
characters are rare in India, indeed I would add, or anywhere else. I feel
sure, however, that in India there are plenty of ladies who would develop
their character as she did, if they had the chance, and I hope that the
publication of her life may result in stimulating others to follow her foot­
steps.” I earnestly pray to God that the concluding hope of Dr. Sibthorpe’s
letter will be realised at no distant date, and that many of our Christian
sisters will strive to follow the noble example of the departed Krupabai.
M
a r r ia g e .
In July, 1883, Krupabai was married to Mr. Samuel Satthianadhan,
now Professor of Logic and Moral Philosophy in the Presidency College.
Though this put an end to her medical studies, her busy mind wanted work,
and she turned to literature. In 1884 she contributed some stray articles
to the South of India Observer at Ootacamund, which attracted the notice
oi Mrs. Grigg. Mrs. Grigg seeing in these articles the promise of the
days to come encouraged her in her literary attempts. A t Mrs. G rigg’s
request she contributed in 1885 a series of articles to the Indian Magazine
on the social and intellectual condition of the women of India. A t Oota­
camund she began work as an honorary zanana worker which work has since
been continued by the Church of England Zanana Missionary Society.
“ S a g u n a .”
In 1889 Mrs. Satthianadhan commenced her first novel “ Saguna.” It
was contributed as a serial story to the Christian College Magazine, and was
subsequently published in book form and dedicated to Mrs. Grigg. “ Saguna’ '
is not a n o w l with a plot in it. It is a narrative told by a native Christian
girl of her own life and experience in spiritual matters. The absence of a
plot is not a defect in “ Saguna.” I am inclined to think that it is one of the
great
a ties of the story. No sincere Christian that reads the book can
fail to be affected by the singularly marvellous and yet simple faith of the
authoress. No one can write such thrilling passages as are found in “ Saguna”
without first having undergone sound spiritual training and felt in his or her
heart what it is to believe and trust in the Divine Master. Mrs. Satthianadhan’s style is sublime when she describes conflicts of feeling in the human
mind. Her father’s final surrender to the Master is exquisitely pourtrayed.
I lln ess,
and
P
a t ie n c e
under
S u f f e r in g .
“ Saguna” was completed in 1890. In July, 1891, Mrs. Satthianadhan
fell ill. From the effects of this illness she never recovered. It was during
this protracted period of painful illness and suffering that Mrs. Satthiana­
dhan showed that rare joy and cheerfulness which can belong only to a true
child of God. She often suffered very great pain and yet she never mur­
mured. She enjoyed that blessedness and peace unutterable, which, according
to her own words, “ come from perfect obedience to the will of God.” To
her, religion was a reality and not a simple article of creed. I often saw
her in the intervals of pain and suffering, and if it had not been for her
emaciated face and weak voice no one would ever have thought her a sick
woman. Her cheerfulness helped her husband in no small degree, and made
him bear his trials in a remarkably cheerful way. She was never discon­
OBITUARY.
635
tented with her lot, but patiently submitted and even tried to make herself
happy, and useful to others. It was daring this period of illn e B s that “ Kamala”
was written. She was not allowed to sit up. She would recline ou a lounge
and write -with a blue or red lead on sheets of paper. Her husband, re­
turning from College, -would pick up the loose sheets, arrange them, and
copy them out and read them to her for correction.
“ K
a m a l a .”
“ Kamala” was commenced in December, 1892, as a serial story in the
Christian College Magazine, and was completed a few months before her
death. “ Kamala” is a story of Hindu life. Mrs. Satthianadhan’s powers of
description are of no mean order, and readers of “ Kamala’ ’ will find many
passages over which they will linger. W riting with her was not an art,, it was
an inspiration. Passing circumstances would frequently awaken thought and
give the needed inspiration. I need not here describe her other writ ings, such
as stray articles to the Madras Mail, Eastern Star, Christian Patriot, &c. She
also wrote a story of her father-in-law’s conversion, which was first printed
in the Christian College Magazine, and was subsequently published by the
Religious Tract Society. She was a born poetess. Her prose writings are
frequently highly poetical. She never studied verse making; else she would
have been a great poetess. She, however, often indulged in verse making,
and many of her pieces have appeared in newspapers or periodicals.
T he E
nd.
The end was drawing nigh. In the month of April of this yeai% she
tried a change to Coonoor, and the salubrious climate of that sanitarium did
her some good. But about the end of June her life was despaired of, and she
longed to be in the midst of her friends in Madras. She rallied under care­
ful treatment and hopes were beginning to be entertained of a longer lease of
life, when the news of her sister-in-law’s death at an early age hastened her
own. She was much attached to this sister-in-law who had nursed her at
Coonoor. In that blessed hope which found a sweet expression in her writ­
ings, and which made her even on a sick bed to discourse to her doctor on
the sublime faith of our most holy religion, she departed this life on Friday,
the 3rd August.
C haracter.
Krupabai Satthianadhan was a most exemplary wife. I have often
heard it said that educated young women of our community do not make
good wives. I f ever I knew a woman obedient to her husband, careful of his
interests, and denying herself to make him happy, it was Krupabai Satthia­
nadhan. Hers was genuine love wherever it was placed. There was nothing
hollow about her. Everything about her had a ring of sincerity. In spite
of her lofty intellect and wide culture, she was perfectly at home with simple
women and sympathised with them in their trials and difficulties. It was
often a wonder to me how ardently simple women loved and admired this
woman endowed with such rare gifts. In her dress, and in all her habits,
she was a perfect model of simplicity. In her simplicity and affability she
was a striking contrast to a class of girls and women, who despise and scorn
others who are below them in rank, and whose whole life is highly artificial.
636
OBITUARY.
She was never proud of her station in life, although God placed her in a sta­
tion where many might envy her. The poorest woman who worked under her
shared that love and sympathy, which many reserve only for their equals or
superiors in life. I well remember how earnestly she begged me to look after
her ayah, who was ill in Madras, when I was coming down from Ooonoor in
the month of May. O f her religious faith I have already said much. I have
not yet come across any of my educated country women who possessed such
a simple faith. Some foolish girls think that it is absolutely necessary to
appear careless of religion to prove that they are educated. It seems, alas ! to
be a fashion to be irreligious. A greater mistake than this cannot be made.
The example of Krupabai Satthianadhan should lead many to imitate her
deeply religious spirit. In her life of love and patience, self-denial and selfsacritice, in her gentleness and abiding faith, she has left an example for her
educated sisters to follow. God grant that the lessons taught by that noble
life may not be lost to the native Church in India. God grant that many
more Krupabais may arise as shining lights in this dark and heathen land.
W e need them. Christian workers in this ancient land should thank God
and take courage that missionary efEort has produced at least one suoh
character as that of Krupabai Satthianadhan. Centuries of western edu­
cation without Christ will not produce a character such as h ers; but when
Christ rules the hearts of Christian women, there will be more like her. Lives
such as those of Krupabai are the heralds of the coming dawn.
THE REV. C. W . FORMAN, D.D.
The North Indian papers report'the death of the Rev. C. W . Forman,
He spent the greater part of
his life in Lahore, where his name is a household word. He worked in con­
nection with the American Presbyterian Mission, and there are three of his
sons now in the same mission. The following “ Tribute to a Noble Life ” is
D.
D., the oldest of the Panjab missionaries.
from the pen of the Rev. J. J. Lucas, and appeared in the Indian Witness.
The death of Rev. C. W . Forman takes awaj* from the Panjab its oldest
missionary. M r. Forman came to India as a missionary of the American
Presbyterian Mission in 1847, and after a brief residence at Ludiana and
Ambala entered on his life work in Lahore in 1849. Here he lived all these
years and here he was buried.
H e laid the foundation of the educa­
tional system of the Panjab. His was the first Anglo-vernacular school
established in Lahore in the very beginning of his work. That school grew
and grew under his wise management until at the end of the first twenty
years he had in the city of Lahore 1,600 pupils in the main and branch depart­
ments of what is the well-known Rang Mahal School. Since then many
schools have sprung up, but the mother of them all is the Rang Mahal. Every
morning year after year might Mr. Forman be seen on his way to his school.
H e loved to go from class to class speaking an encouraging and helpful word
to pupils and teacher. Hence the great love and respect for him by his old
pupils. To-day the hearts of thousands whom he taught, now scattered all
over the Panjab, pay him a tribute of respect and afEection which they are
ready to give to few others. Some of them are considering the propriety of
OBITUARY.
637
erecting a statue of him to keep fresh in the hearts of coming generations
his life and example. The quiet influence of his daily life on the character of
his pupils is beyond estimate. They saw day after day, during the most im ­
pressible years of their lives, a man of noble presence, of true culture, of un ­
affected humility and loving spirit, impartial in his discipline and seeking
their good in many ways. The silent unconscious influence of such a life
who can tell. A sk some of the oldest and most respectable men of Lahore to­
day to name the European to whom their hearts pay the deepest tribute of
respect and love, and we venture nothing in saying that the reply would be,
“ Forman Sahib.” Such a tribute has been won by a life of forty-five years
spent among them, going in and out before them day after day ever seek­
ing their good. A n old resident of Lahore when asked to-day whether he was
a pupil of Mr. Forman replied at once, “ W e are all his pupils.” A n d this
is true. Forty-five years spent in one place, as this life has been, shed a light
which cannot be hid.
But Mr. Forman’s life was not shut in by the school room. While
morning by morning found him on the way to his beloved Rang Mahal school,
yet nearly every evening found him on the way to different centres in the
city where he preached. Perhaps no missionary in the Panjab has been a
more regular and constant bazaar preacher than he has. This work required,
especially many years ago, no little courage, patience and love. To preach
of an evening in the hot months in the city of Lahore, and that usually to an
unsympathetic audience, proclaiming plainly truths repugnant to his hearers,
and to keep this up for so many years, shows something of the strength of
purpose which all recognised as a leading characteristic in Mr. Forman. Of
other lines of work in which he took part there is no time to speak. The
first schools opened for the education of girls owe much to his influence and
fostering care. He helped to lay the foundations and develop the work of
the Panjab Bible and Tract Societies. He is the author of one or two well
known books in the vernacular. W e ll may we stop and ponder the lessons
taught by this consecrated life. In youth he put his hand to the plough and
never looked back. Iu old age he wrought on steadily until stricken with
his last illness. Almost up to the end he was planning his winter’s work in
Lahore. A s he could no longer walk far he thought he might be wheeled in
a jinrikhsha through the streets, distributing tracts and speaking a word
here and there. But this was not to be. H e died at Kasauli on A ugust
27th, and his body was brought to Lahore for burial. The church was crowd­
ed with his old pupils, and hundreds of them followed on foot through the
city to the graveyard. By special request of so many that it could not be
disregarded, his body was borne through the city, and for the last time he
preached a sermon such as Lahore will not soon forget. Representatives of
different missions, some of them from a distance, united in this last service
of respect and love. A s we turned away from the grave the sun was going
down and soon the stars were shining over that new-made grave. Could we
not hear a voice from heaven saying, “ They that be wise shall shine as the
brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as
the stars for ever and ever.”
CORRESPONDENCE.
THE SALVATION ARMY AND MISSION AGENTS.
D e a r S i r ,— I think in your pages some time ago Commissioner Booth Tucker of the Salvation A rm y wished to be informed when agents of other
missions were drawn away by Salvation Arm y Officers.
Two or three months ago StafE-Captain Prahbu Das came to Coimbatore
and had a long interview with Maragatham Am m all, aged 23, who has been
employed for 18 months past, as teacher in one of our mission schools for
girls in Coimbatore. H e subsequently sent her three rupees in order that
she might go to Madras. She did not, however, at once leave. H er father
and one of the ladies of the mission and myself advised her against joining
the Salvation A rm y for various reasons.
A t the commencement of the last school term her employer (another
lady missionary) asked her whether she intended to go away, as in that case
it would be necessary to get another teacher. She said that she intended to
remain. On Saturday, the 18th of August, a Salvationist sent for her to
his house, and with another Salvationist had a long talk with her. On
Monday the first named Salvationist gave he*r two rupees. This resulted in
her leaving for the Salvation Arm y Head-quarters at Black Town in Madras
on Monday, August 20th, quite unattended by any relatives, and without
informing any. of them about her movements.
She is a true Christian and would not in the ordinary way break her
promise or suddenly leave her work or do a thing so likely to damage her
good name as secretly running away from home.
She has been systematically enticed away by Salvationists who have not
once referred either to her employer, her father, her brother with whom she
was living, or myself, her pastor and missionary. I would write more, but I
am on the sick-list.
A letter has been received from Maragatham Am m all from the Salvation
Arm y Head-quarters in Black Town.
I am,
Yours truly,
S id n e y
L
ong.
London Mission, Coimbatore, August 24, 1894.
[Commissioner Booth-Tucker in the letter we published last January did
not state that he “ wished to be informed when agents of other missions
were drawn away by Salvation Arm y Officers.” He, however, did complain
that some of their officers had been “ accepted by different societies without a
word of reference to us as to their qualifications, or as to their reasons for
leaving us.” W e should therefore conclude that he would strongly condemn
the conduct of those Salvationists that are referred to in Mr. Long’s letter.—
E
d it o r .]
EDITORIAL
Do the Brahmans wish the Pariahs
to rise ?— Many Brahmans have
written excellent articles on the de­
pressed state of the outcastes and
have declaimed in elegant language
on the brotherhood of m an; but we are
afraid very few of them are willing
to pub their sentiments into practice.
The Madras Mail has recently pub­
lished two instances where Brahmans
and other high-caste men were prose­
cuted and punished for intimidating
and ill-treating Pariahs who had be*
come Christians. One case occurred
in Chingleput, where a Christian was
dragged out of his house and so severe­
ly beaten thathe was left unconscious.
He was in hospital for six days. He
brought a charge against thirteen
persons, three of whom were Brah­
mans, for rioting and criminal assault.
They got up a false charge of house­
breaking and theft, which the magis­
trate dismissed. The thirteen per­
sons were all convicted, the three
Brahmans being fined B s. 30 each
and the others Rs. 10 each.
The
other case occurred in North Arcot,
were a Brahman and another were
sentenced to six months’ imprison­
ment fo r . criminally intimidating a
teacher of the American Arcot M is­
sion. The house of the teacher, who
had established a school for Pariahs,
had been burnt down. The sentence
was appealed against, and the Brah­
man let out on b a il; bub the sessions
judge confirmed the conviction and he
has had to return to prison. These
instances show that the depressed
castes will have a hard struggle to
rise. The higher castes do not like
to lose their hold upon them, and they
will resort to all kinds of persecution
NOTES.
to stop them from improving their
position. W e trust the lesson that,
has been taught them will be widely
made known.
Infant Marriage Legislation in
Mysore.— The Mysore Government
has alloweditself nearly twelve months
to consider the suggestions made at
the last Representative Assembly.
It has just published a revised draft
of the Regulation that was then so
strongly and unwisely opposed. The
chief alterations are these— (1) The
Regulation is to be for Hindus only.
W e presume Muhammadans and
Christians are excluded, though they
may have been Hindus. But are Jains
and Buddhists excluded ? The term
“ Hindu” will have to be clearly
defined. (2) The provisions that made
it penal for a boy under fourteen to
marry have been removed. Cases have
been known where infant boys were
married. This may continue under
the present Regulation. Eight is the
age fixed for girls ; a minimum age
limit should be fixed for boys. (3) N o
prosecution can take place “ without
the previous written sanction of the
Government accorded after such en­
quiry as the Government may deem
fit to make.” W e fear the Govern­
ment has given itself away here. W ho
is to inform the Government ? How
is the Government to make an enqui­
ry ? Has the Government lost its con­
fidence in the District Magistrates,
who alone are empowered to try such
cases? It seems as if the Govern­
ment wished to remove as much op­
position as possible, and by this de­
claration we fear the Regulation will
be a dead letter.
640
EDITORIAL NOTES.
The Wesleyan Conference and
Missions.— That large ecclesiastical
gathering is closely connected with
the Missionary Society, and this year
many interesting subjects were con­
sidered.
First, the President is a
returned missionary, and we know
the cause of missions will not suffer
in his hands.
He began his minis­
terial career in the W est Indies, and
has ever since shown a deep and
practical interest in mission work.
Indian missions were honoured by the
election of th e Rev. W . Burgess into
the Legal Hundred, which is legally
the governing body of Wesleyan
Methodism. W e heartily congratu­
late Mr. Burgess 011 the confidence
shown him by his brethren.
The
financial state of the Missionary So­
ciety was discussed on a motion
•brought forward by the Rev. G-. Pat­
terson, and the debate showed a sin­
cere desire to bring about a better
state of things. The debt is about
£ 29,000, and many were anxious to
make an effort to get rid of it at
once. I t was, however, thought that
the great need of the Society was
an organising secretary to visit the
different churches and to see that
the organisations for the support of
the Society are effectively worked.
Steps were taken to bring about this
desired result. In relation to this it
was resolved to .set apart the 5th of
October as a day of intercession for
foreign missions. The loyal observ­
ance of this day will be productive of
great good. The most important step
affecting our Indian missions was
the sanctioning of the Provincial
Synod
for
disciplinary
purposes.
Some proposals that would have been
unworkable in North India were
modified; and we have no doubt that
the Provincial Synods will soon justify
their creation.
“ The Methodist Conscience.”—
The phrase “ Nonconformist Con­
science” has in Madras been changed
to “ Methodist Conscience,” by Mr.
E . Norton, in his speech at a meet­
ing held to protest against the deci­
sion of the Secretary of State] with
regard to the question of simultaneous
examinations. Into the question of
politics we are not going to enter.
W e are, however, grieved to see H in ­
dus looking for help to one who will
sneer at morality. Mr. Norton by his
immoral conduct has destroyed the
happiness of one home, and as he
despises the seventh commandment
he may be expected to jeer at those
who uphold it. Hie allusion to “ Mr.
Fowler’s Methodist conscience” in
relation to the simultaneous exami­
nation question and to the dismissal
of a European doctor for improper
conduct showed how little he could
rely upon argument for the support
of his cause. I t is well that there is
somewhere a “ conscience” in healthy
operation, 01* Mr. Norton and those
who act like him would soon corrupt
the land. I f Hindus look to such
men for help in political matters,
there is no doubt they are going the
best way to work to thwart their own
purposes. W hen the people of E n g ­
land know that such men are leading
spirits in political questions, they will
hesitate to grant power to those who
have no faith in the moral law.
Printed at the M. E. Publishing House, Mount Road, Madras.— 1894.
¡j#