The Shasta courier., 1864-01-09
SHASTA COURIER
THE HNDoos-

letter BY an English gentleman In Western
India:
+s haveplenty OF work here-ouite as much.
Us | can conveniently get through and the
vrork interests me. for it afords 50 much in
sight into the interior life Of that otherwise
unknown people. the Hindoos.
The Hindoo people is perpetual scarce of
interest. 1t is thoroughly organized COM
munity-theo!ogy ami philosophy one, ritual
religion and law Identical. 1t IS complete in
itself and wants nothing of Us, or any other
strangers has never been influenced by any
of its connuerors-has influenced ALL No
two systems of thought be more antago.
nistIc than the Hindoo and the Christian no
two races can he more antagonistic than the
Hindoo and the English.
Oatsite the family is the Village Commu-
nifty, coeval with the settlement of the Aryan
race in India, and unchanged under all dyn-
asties. Here offices hereditary in tami-
lies. hai Patch (head man) Of village
near Bombay as witness before me the
other day IN whose family the office had
been for 100 wears.
Outside ,he village. again. is the Caste. or
rather the sub caste, for the four great pri-
mary divisions have been split up into some
hundreds OF sub-ca there are more than
200 IN and around B ,mbayl, which said sub
castles are merely agricultural and trading
guilds. Thus. there is the tailors caste, the
eoppefsm:ihs' caste. the washerman's caste,
the w..terirawers' caste. the gardeners
c.lste--a separate caste for every main sub
division. ot hainan occupation. These castes
are real gals. vita this difference that they
are that and more. ihes are not only trade
associati-as. they regulate religious Oh.
sergance-, ci,il enndaes, marriage, life.
Each class ms is large hut 5f meeting and
its stated assemblies, managed hy il commit
tee of leading mea-the ei lerS, who keep up
unisersal the traditions of the old time. The
caste power is tremendous; out casting is
worse than tbe medieval accommodations.
No human being Of average human trmness
can be expected 70 stand against it. As trade
guilds, these sub-castes combine 10 fix prices
and maintain monopo,ies our Western prin
ciples OF unrestricted competition" coming
into contact with this elaborate system of
g organized industry" (the very realization
of the ideal which ST. Simon sighed for) look
foolish enough. In Gabai, it trade com
bines to raise prices, Dost Mahomed ties up
half dozen leading members. and fogs
them till the rest give in Mesmerzed by
Adam Smith and Mccullough, We conquer
ors of the West. grin and bear the contisca
tons Of caste combination. The caste era
ders enjoy the profit. but cannot comprehend
the policy, and dcspise the politicians.
1t is singular. the extent to which organi
zation is carried it prevails in tn It pro.es-
sion which is at least rs ancient rs the days
OF Judah and lamar. Prostitution in Wes-
tern India is branch of organized industry.
The ''Ccslins that is their designation
are CASTE Just as the geldsmiths or the tail
ors are they have their caste meeting and
their caste rules; and | had curious case
before me, in which quest N turned on
nrnya1 n as n thp tra N m Of
perty in the Cuslin caste.
In London to the scandal of Europe-our
finest thorou ghfares are marts for the - un-
restricted nnpetiton' of free vice in Bonn
bay organized vice is decent never shows it
self in the streets-sits aloft in lighted and
scented chambers-is decorous and accom-
plished. Just as in Greece Except in p;e-
darasty, the Hindoo social system closely
resembles the Greek J, the Cusin, or prosti
tute, is the only woman of educaton-tle
only woman who can converse or dance or
sing, or in any way minister to mems taste
or amusement. P;ederasty Is las it always
has BEEN rife among the Persans. aud Aft
ghans and Turkomans and generally among
the natises of Central Asia: but among t.e
Hindoos property it is rare, though com
mon enough among the Musselmans. who
though absurdly calld Mosuls. have no Mo
gul blood in them, but are pure very hand
some Turkomans from the neighborhood of
the famous cities of Bak and Samarcand.
and the former perhaps the Oldest site in the
world.
Well, it is upon this thoroughly organized.
thoroughly eifcontented people (for among
ihe Hindoos proper there is ambition and
no dscontent)-t is upon this people in
whom the notion of personality lin God or
man) has never been developed. who don't
want anything out Of or beyond themselves,
who are placid without progress, serenely
happy. absolutely independent " and alien
to all foreign iutruson-it is upon this I'M
memorially organized people that the most
individu i, the most de-organized or non
organized, the most ambiti US. restless.
pushing and personal race in the West have
come 1t rests with the future TO see how
far the English race, when us fairly brought
into the arena climate will permit will
act upon the Hindoo race. Think ages will
pass before this influence shows itself
The Greco Roman world of the first two
centuries was speculatively and socially
restless, disorsanized world: dissatisfaction
with chaos of thought systems. with life.
with the gods of Olympus, with philosophy,
pervaded the then civilized world. That is
not the case with the Hndoo community of
India. They are happy and satisfied to be
as they are. Lie is pleasant to them F..
the thinking there is an abs'ruser and pro
founded oatology than that of Plato, or
Aristotle, or Smelling. or Hegel; for the un
thinking, picturesque eultus. which takes
in all. iite, ;and i!ls the year with eelebra-
tons and fesrai ceremonies. Why should the
thinking take to our Protestant psychology
the unthinking to our pale Professionalism ?
Life is pleasant to them that system Of
the family partnership. the perpe,uslly I'M
divided heritage, if it takes away the spring
of energy which our law of primogenture
supplies yet. on the other hand, keeps alive
the family affections, especially the filial and
parental, to degree of which. in hard, cold.
pushing. individual Eagland, we have lost
even the tradition. Even France. owing to
her different laws as to the distribution of
property, far surpas>es England in tie
warmth Of her family affections. The eldest
son is not the heir (impatientlyl expectant
Of his father nor the born enemy of his