, 1877-08-24
HindOO Superstition and Morals

low well of filthy, stagnant water, into
which great multtudes of people plunge
imagining that all their sins are left Se
hlnd when they emerge. There is an
other well IN one of the temples which
we visited, called "The Well of Know.
edge" Into this the people are con-
stantly throwing offerings of various
kinds OF grain and flowers, so that the
stencil of the decaying matter is ex.
tremely offensive. But the water is won.
dertully holy, and priest sits continual.
ly drawing up the putrid stuff, which he
sells to devoteeS, so silly is the super.
stition of these people. Indeed, it is
impossible for me to convey to my reader
any just view of the many silly things
connected with the religion of the Hin.
doos, or OF the extreme to which the
Stiffness is carried. They have sacred
rivers, sacred trees, sacred bulls. sacred
everything, almost. The monkey is
especially sacred. Images of the .'mon.
Key god" are very numerous. Here in
benares there is ''monkey temple"
which We visited. About this building
there are hundreds, perhaps thousands, Of
monkeys. They are all Of one Species
very common and uninteresting species
being fed here, they remain in the yicin.
lty, but have the freedom of the neigh.
borhood, pilfering every exposed article
of food, and the superstitious peopIc
never dare to treat them rudely. As the
custom of visitors is, we purchased a
few cents worth of rice and threw it to
them. They scrambled for it and fought
over it as If they might have been mere
brutes; but these Hindoos have built
them this temple and do actually worship
them. Yet there are not wanting edu.
Gated Englishmen who write flattering
things of Brahmanism, and hold that one
form of religion is about as good as an.
other. Surely no such degraded objects
of devotion can tend to anything else
but degradation in the worshiper.
But, if the Stiffness of Hindoo super
stition were the worst of it, it would,
though inconceivably degrading, be, vet,
a noble thing compared to what it really
is. The popular religion of India is in
the last degree depraved. 1t is, beyond
conception, evil in iIs moral phases.
Starting out with high conception of
life, it fell to worshiping the source of
life From this beginning it has gone on
in descending scale until it has deifed
lust. The Hiudoo trinity are Brahma,
Vishnu, and Mahadeo. The symbols
under which this last is worshiped are
too gross to be named. Yet these are the
very symbols which abound more than
any other in the temples at Benares, and
in many other places, while our obser-
Vatlon Is that these symbols receive q
more enthusiastic devotion than is paid
to any other images. The ardor of wom-
en- in these deyOtions is most noticeable
fact.
The moral effect Of this is seen every
where. There are no virtuous men in
India. AS for the women, no man will
trust his wife outside of the zenana, ex-
cept the very poor, whose women are
compelled to labor for bread. The tenn
pies have a class of dancing-girls con-
nected with them, who are said to be
married to the gods. This is considered
an honor, and family is proud when a
girl is chosen out of it for this distinction.
These girls perform indecent dances in
the temple.grounds,a at testivals,to bring a
crowd Of people. They are all prosti-
tutes, and their hire goes into the treas
ury of the temple. The priests, so far as
l can learn, do not make any pretense OF
sexual purity. They are all vile.
This picture is u black one, but my
readers may rest assured that it is not
overdrawn.-Bishop AarUi"'s Letter.
DRUDGERY IN NEW YoRK.-"You think
this is fine business, standing behind
counter and roping in money all day."
said the cashier in leading restaurant
"Better carry hod up ladder. During
the rush of business / am nearly distract.
ed; am fined if ! sit down; fined if l
make mistake; the shadow of detec-
tive Is over me from dawn until dark; l
have to make good all losses, and carry
home with me all the bad money take
in." You Judge of banking by the pres
ident. He has fine salary, an easy time,
and comes and goes when he pleases. A
bank clerk is mere machine. He comes
at nine, and he is lucky if he gets off at
six. He can't go then unless his accounts
balance. He works like cart horseand
grabs his lunch amid press of business,
as it 10 handed to him under the counter.
From this drudgery there is no escape
There are few promotions. Once a clerk
always u clerk. Look at that receiving
teller. He is over sixty. He has stood
on that spot thirty years. He is honesty
personitied. The bank has never lost u