The Sun.
London, England, 1857-07-09 00:00:00

HINDOO SUPERSTITIONS.

The Hindoo mythology, originating in the grand
conceptions of the unity and power of the Deity
which formerly prevailed in Hindostan, as well as
in other Esstern counties, has long since degene-
rated into a system of the most corrupt and
wretched polytheism, in which a motley and gro-
tesque crowd of gods and goddesses, cows, monkeys,
rats, crocodile=, &c., are worshipped in a ritual at
once silly, filthy, and cruel. The principal of their
superstitions is that of caste, of which there are
four divisions, entitling those who belong to
them to different degrees of beatification in a
future state, and constituting the great bar to
the conversion of the Hindoo to Christianity, the
fact of conversion constituting a forfeiture of
caste. The Hindoos are divided into four castes ;
Brahntins, who are occupied by religion and philo-
sophy ; Kshatriyas, whose business is war aud go-
vernment ; the Vaisyas, who devote themselves to
commerce and agriculture ; and the Sudras, wbo
are artisans and labourers. There is a fifth class,
who rank far below even the Sudras, namely, the
Pariahs, or outcasts, who are the refuse of all the
other castes, and who are said to include one-fifth
of the population of Hindostan. These distinctions
lie at the base of the Hindoo religion, and date, ac-
cording to the legends contained in the mytholo-
gical books, from the creation of the universe by
Brahma. " The caste of Bramins proceeded with
the Vedas (the sacred books) from the mouth of
Brahma ; from his arms Kshatriyas sprung ; so
from his thigh Vaisyas ; front his foot Sudras."
Any- of these can marry into the grade beneath
his own, but not vice versa ; and though from the
impossibility of each caste devoting itself solely to

the occupations assigned it, and the freedom which
the members of each enjoy of amassing property,
some of the highest families of klindoAan are of
Sudra origin, while it is not uncommon to find
Brahmins discharging the duties of cooks in their
laitehens ; yet the latter lose no particle of their
pride of caste, but walk among their fellow men
with the air of superior beings. The Hindoo idea
of a future state is, that when a man dies, if he
has been eminent for piety, his soul is at once ab-
sorbed into the soul of Brahma. This is the lot
of the most distinguished devotees, such as the
Yogi and Sunny apis. The souls of meaner mortals
undergo transmigration into other bodies ; the
good, into the bodies of heroic men, or the inferior
gods ; the bad, into those .of beasts and reptiles,
descending from bad to worse, till the .end of all
things arrives, when they, as well as the good, are
absorbed into the universal spirit. The ramifica-
tions of caste are almost infinite, and the funda-
menial laws—such as those forbidding the killing a
cow, eating food dressed on board ship, &c.—are
obligatory in tho highest degree. The penances
practised by the Hindoo hermits are of the most
extraordinary and revolting kind ; and the festi-
va's and piNritnages of all bespeak an inrooted de-
votion to their debasing creed, which it is at once
melancholy and astounding 'to contemplate.—
Morning Advertiser.

[ADVERT AEI= f .I—SPORTSMEN AND GENTLEMEN OF T 1
AIM AND NAVY. —S. and B. Sol,mons, opticians, 39, Allymarle-street, Piccadilly,
West. Observe—opposite the York
Hotel.—Portability, combined with great power in Field,
Racecourse. Opera, and general out-door day and night
powerful waistcoat pocket Perspective Glasses, weighing
only four ounces, each containing 12 and 18 lenses, con•
structed of German glass, will show distinctly a person's
countenance two and a half and three miles. They servo
every purpose on the race-course and at the opera houses,
country scenery, and ships are clearly seen at 8 to 10 miles.
T ley are also invaluable for shooting, deer-stalk lug, and
,ashting. Single ones, the size of a walnut, possessing the
same great power. Her Majesty's Coast-Guards are making
use of them as day and night glasses, in genera use by gen•
tlemen, of the Army and Navy, and by sportsmen, g
c entleenn,
gamekeepers, and tourists. The most powerful arnhl
abtril
slim a t
telescopes, possessing such extraordinary powrat .e,
three and a-half inches, with an extra astronomic eye-piece
and are secured by
will show distinctly Jupiter's moon's. Saturn's ring, and the
double stars ; with the same t4escope can be seen a person's
countenance three-and-a-half miles distant and an object
from 14 to 16 miles. All the above can be had. of larger and
strengthened. ;
allHe
r m sizes,aje
s'twfisthßoyi nacl Newly-invented Spec-
tacle Lenses of the grea.est transparent power. The valu-
able advantage derived from this invention is, that vision
rtasetitnegrs Ppaotweeurst:
very aged persons or
sight at the most minute occupation—
can
see with those lenses of a much less magnifying power
---and they do not require the frequent changes to the
beleiatboreedstpore
dangerous effects of further powerful assistance. Persons
employserved tredir
can be suited at the moe, remote part of the world by send-
in; one of the glasses out of their spectacles in a letter, and
stating the distanee from the eye they can read small print
with it, and those who have not made use of spectacles by
stating their age. Deafness.—A newly-invented instrument
for extreme cases of deafness, called the Sound Magnifier,
Organic Vibrator„ and invisible Voice Conductor. It fits se
into the ear as not to be in the least perceptible ; the unplea.
sant sensation of singing noises in the head is entirely re.
moved It affords instant relief to the deafest persons, and
enables them to hear distinctly alkuluirch and at. public assem-
blies. 3), Altemarle-street, Piccadilly.-'Opposite the York
Hotel, W.