The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1878-06-10
BRAHMINISM IN INDIA.

DISCOURSE BY REV. DE. NEWMAN AT THE
cENrRAL METHODIST CHURCH THE AUTHOR
SHIP AND ANTIQUITY OF THE HISDoo
SCRIPTURES.
Rev. Dr. Newman, continuing his series OF dts
courses on 'The Seven Great Religions OF the World"
spoke last evening In the Central Methodist Church,
Fourteenth street and Seventh avenue, 70 large
congregation on "Brahmnism in India. !" Dr. New
man took his text from Romans, l., 2a-"1hcy
changed the glory of the uLcorruptiblc God INTO
an image made like TO corruptibe man, and
to birds. and four-foolcd beasts, and creep
ing things" He said India is the iairest
and the iouest land on the globe know OF no
other country in the East where there Is SO much
OF the glory and the shame OF humanity; where art
is SO noble and man ignobe; where worship IS SO
universal and the soul degraded. II Is land OF
palaces and novels, OF wealth and OF poverty, Of
mental strength and moral weakness. With super
hcdl area OF 100000 square miles, India Is the
grandest peninsula on the earth IL has perpetual
winter IN tho north, perennial summer in the south.
with alterations OF spring ana autumn in the
lower ranges OF tho Himalayas. In that lar
land tho products Of the animal, vegetable
and IMMORAL Kingdoms abound There the palm
waves its plumes on high, tho banyan spreads
its ample shade tho sandal sheds is delightful
odor. There the fuchsia mounts on high, the anna
ranth blooms In glory and the margold weaves It's
golden robes There the Ganges, the Jumna and the
Indus flow in Nileke grandeur and lave the grandest
cities IN tho East That fair land is the home Of
100000 900 Of race-whn 90 00 600 OF the entire
population Of Europe The inhabitants are Mon
goians and Caucasians. The former tho
abor gines and the latter the Invaders and
conquerors. The Hindoos came from the west Of
the Indus centuries before They be-
long 10 the great lndo-G crmanic branch OF
the human race. The Invaders consisted OF
called the OF the sun ana race OF
The moon. They constantly fought Tor conquest and
the solars conquered Lho unars 600 years before
Christ Iuaia IL Babel. Not less tnan twcnly-nine
nguages spoken BIZ thar mixed people. twenty
four OF wuicn from the ancient Sanscrt add i've
from oher sources No one car gu suon the hieh IN
teiectuai auily OF the people Of that land. Their
astronomy and trgonomelry were III advance OF those
OF Eu ope, and. ther pantnesm i 5000 years older
than that OF Germany and our own New England.
THE RELIGION BRAHNIyisM
Brahmlnsm l. The ancient anu aoniuant reIigion OF
the Hiudoos Uniike Judaism, Buddhism .ana Mo-
hammedanism, Bganminsm has recognized
founder. Il Is void oil ideas. Tho Brahmins have
their sacred books called .vcdas" which SIGNIFY ITO
know or 'the fountain OF knowledge" They
divided into three par.s The "KlgVcda" composed OF
hydu and mystic prayers; the "YaJua-v eda. book
Of religious rites anu ccremon and the Sama cda,
made up OF psalms aud lyrical prayers. Next to the
"Vedas' are the institutes OF Manu." which are COM
mcntaries the "Vedas," and which treat OF tho
ton Of the world ana contain directions to guide
the devolce in his acts Of worship And TO these are
added the sBrahmanas,' which poetical books OF
legends concerning the gods. How old the 'veda.?
These Hindoo scriptures have been extrayagantly
| lauded older than Bible,
ing all thar 10 worth knowing. a. the chief source OF
Vedantic PHILOSOPHY aud as superacdlng the neces-
SHY OF Christianity. But the authorship, the time
the place Of their position unknown such
the testimony Of Max Muller, OF William Jones OF
Wilson and other eminent Sanscri scholars. All agree
tnat these simple, religions by mus not Older tnan
1900 years before Christ about 800 years after
Moses wrote the Pentateuch. Nor Is 1t known by
whom tD6y collected into their present iorn.
Ihey handed from generation to genera
ton from memory, ana the Brahminical student
required to commt 70 memory l0i0 hymns OF tho
tV.dn ~ IL
lact that tue irst authentic inscription in writing
Inda is OF Buddnstic orgiu bearing date about three
hundred years b. u, and relates to the Buddhist
monarch Acoks. who gave supremacy TO his religious
iaith.
xrxcHAusES BOAST LONGEVITY.
l am aware that the Hindoos boast OF chronology
10 which our chronology Is po.hing. Tney icLi
that OF their patriarcns lived 100 900 years But
ia THIS extravasance The burmese ouldo Inc Hndoos
by Affirming that their torciathers lived 10 period
equal 20 the sum OF every drop Of rain which as on
But what The superior oxcoencics OF the Hindoo
scriptures as compared with our bioeS Horace II.
Wilson has translated tho .vedas' from Original San
scrt published them IN Engish These Vcdic
hymns said 10 be Lofty conception, sublime In
diction and superior To the Psalms OF David. But
tho Doctor read the best OF The selection,
which would have been well adapted to an ancieut
GrocLin baccb anal. Continuing, he said there arc
three descending steps IN Brah ism otheism,
Pantheism and Polytheism Brahm may mean God.
Creator, yet the Vedaa pantheon Inferior
deles by an ultra ideailsm tho Hindoo mind be-
came Pantneistic and asserted "wnaever Is rs God"
ism has 333, 600 600 OF gods
PHILOSOPHY BRAHxIxs
The Brahmins have their mysteries OF philosophy,
ABSTRACT suotlc and acute, bat Icless ana gloomy.
The sum OF their philosophy Is thar life Is aeusfon
and snarc that the ideal only Is real; that transmit
grafton 10 hnai deverance IL tho way attain per-
feet knowledge aud reality. they believe that sin c.
sides IN he flesh; hence their maxim, "Roiuce tho
ply sicai tue mlnimum ana exalt intellectual
TO the maximum, and v(tuc and happiness arc OBJ
tained.n
Would you Brahminsm as II Is, let us 60 India.
II Is the land OF supersttious omeGs sucezc, vul
the housetop, ;he howi OF jacka IN the day
lmc the cry OF a lizard, the crUktng oil q raven on
the root OF dwelling are considered Ill omcns The
Brahmins will arrest the march OF an army
10 AVOID killing an insect yet they will
cruelty mangie themselves ana murder their
adversarics Tho BrahmIns support hereditary
caste, which part OF their social aud religious life
There TOUR Chief casses--pricsts, warriors, lar.
and servants-and these subdivided mic Ito
orders. You may descend, but you cannot ascend.
Some castes are SO DEGRADED that their shadow s
the lsurncd Brahmns. Brahlnlnism has given birth
to Fakirs. the most loathsome oil human beings.
Tue Doctor at TINS point gave description OF the
Fakirs, Ms be saw them at the Mela ut Allahabad
lie then gave description oi Thuggeesm up
proved by Brahminism, and showed that the Thugs
constituted religious fraternity. 0f woman In ln-
da whose chief duties are TO sweep the house, cook
the food and wear ornaments, DR.. Newman gave
interesting account describing her general oegrcds-
tion. He concluded with descri ption Of Idol
snip Ia the splendid city OF Benares, and depicted
the great need OF divine Christianity 10 elevate
the people Of India.