The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1878-12-28
THE HINDOOS.
Demonism in Their Religion

From the Contemporary Reriew.
Demonism, in fact has always been from the
earliest times an essential ingredient in the Hindoo
religious system. 1t probably began in the sup
posed peopling of the air by spiritual beings, the
personifcations or companions of storm and temp
est 1t is certain that in the present day the wor-
ship of the majority of the people OF India is a
worship Of fear. 1t consists in constant efforts to
appease the maevolence of evil spirits. Not that
the common people doubt the existence of good
beings, presided over by one Supreme Being but
that thev believe these beings to be too absolutely
good to need Precipitation, just as in ancient his
tories of the Slayracas, are told that they be-
licved in a white and black god, but paid ador-
alton to the last alone, having as they supposed,
nothing 70 apprehend from the benehcenee OF the
first or white divinity. The truth is that evil OF
all kinds difficulties. dangers and disasters, fam
ines. diseases pesilences, and death, are thought
by an ordinary Hindoo to proceed from devils, and
from devils alone. And these malignant beings
are held to possess varying degrees OF rank power,
and malevolence. Some aim at destroying the
entire world and threaten the sovereignty OF the
gods themselves. Some delight IN killing men,
women and children, out of mere thirst for hu-
man blood. Some take pleasure in tOrmenting, or
reve in the iniction Of sickness, injury, and mis-
fortune All make it their business to mar the
progress of good works and useful undertakings.
verify believe that the religion Of the mass of the
Hindoos is simple demonolatry. Men and women
of all classes except perhaps those educated by
ourselves are perpetualy penetrated with the idea
that from the cradle to the grave, they are being
nursued and persecuted not only by destructive
demons but by simply miSchievous imps and spite
full goblins This, in my opinion, is the true ex-
planation of the univrsal worship of Ganesta, lord
of the demon hosts. And the remarkable thing is
that the power welded by certain arch-demons
over men, and even gods, is supposed to have been
acquired by the practice of religious aus'erueS.
1t is said of the demon Ravana, that after under
going severe austeries in forest for 10000 years,
standing in the midst of five fires with his feet IN
the air. he obtained from the god Brahma powers
greater than those possessed by the gods them
selves Another noteworthy points that the major
ity of petty iends believed to have been orlg-
inallv human beings. If any man Is killed by
tiger or the bite of snake, or has dieo sudden,
violent death of any kind away from his relatives,
and out of reach of proper funeral ceremonies, he
forthwith becomes an unquiet, mischievous spirit,
roaming about in restless manner with malevo-
lent proclivities And curious notion prevails IN
some parts of India that the better the man the
more mischievOus will his ghost be, unless steps
are taken to alay his irritabiity by the due per-
formance of funeral rites. Again, when man re-
markable for evil passions dies, the man himself
may become extinct but his evil nature never dies,
for every one of his bad passions, foul habits, and
even criminal acts, becomes, 1t were, personlh-
ed and demonized. There are Pride-demons
Adultery demons Thief-demons Deceit demons,
Lying demons, in an infinite array. Furthermore,
all the disease that flesh is heir to personihed
and converted into veritable devils There are
Smallpox demons. Cholera demons, and demons
of various forms of typhus and jungle fever Even
hail-stOrms drought, and blight do duty IN the
devil army Many villages in India possess pro
fessonal charmers or conjurors, whose business
consists in charming away (by the repetition OF
particular Vedic Mantras,) particular demons,
such as the Hail-storm demon, Drought-demon,
Blight demon, from the growing crops.