The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1880-09-15
From the Herald and Presbyter.
Chautauqua Missionary Insti-
tute.

Undertaking. LII is no easy thing TO COM
press within the limits of one letter an
account of the meeting at the Chau-
tauqua Missionary Institute. will not
try to be systematic, but will COM
mence in the middle, and give you points
as they occur to me-
First, then, one of the delights of the
meeting was the presence of Ram Chandre
Bose, the eloquent Hindoo. On Sunday
afternoon, at the great platform meeting
his address was the great feature of the
hour. He is 6ne-looking man, and his
command of the English language is re-
markable
Two difficulties, he said, stood out
prominently in missionary work among
the Hindoos, the first of these being the
prevalence of wrong religious ideas. The
Hindoo could not be approached in argu-
ment from any standpoint of common be-
state of separation from God, and he will
answer: "What do you mean by separa-
ton from God? Is it possible for soul
to be separated from God? Isn't it identi-
cal with God? Can it live when it is sep
arated from God? The very fact that you
he shows that no such separation exists. >"
And, said the speaker, "there you are. -
You appeal to his sense of depravity
You say, My friend, you are sinner
your conscience tells you that you are.
Here is remedy for sin. If you do not
destroy sin it will destroy you Isyour
appeal successful? Not bit of it. He
says: What do you mean by sin ?" You
say: 1t is transgression of the law of
God" and he answers: GA law of God
transgressed by worm crawling on his
globe. The plans of God thwarted? Om-
impotence insulted? Are you mad? You
can not sin against God without insulting
Omnipotence, and you can not insult Om-
impotence; therefore sin is an impossible
ity."
You appeal to his sense of unhappiness,
you a k its cause, and he answers: AZ
am miserable because happiness and mis-
cry are Authorizations of the mind. I do
not possess right knowledge. When that
comes to me then this misery will vanish "
So all your approaches toward him avail
you nothing.
Starting from this explanation of Hin
doc philosophy, the speaker made an
earnest appeal for missionaries who were
thoroughly skilled in argument, with
minds trained to close and discriminating
thought
"Some people, said he seem to think
if there is blockhead in college for
whom there can be no way provided in
America, he may be sent to India
The other great difficulty in the mis-
sionary's way is the caste system The
four general divisions which used to exist
centuries ago have dwindled into one--the
Brahmin CASTE this is subdivided into an
infinite number of smaller castles The
speaker belonged, before his conversion,
to the literary caste, its distinctive idea
being that its subjects are not permitted
to labor with their hands. When he was
a little boy his father would say to him :
My dear boy, you belong to our family !;
you can not earn your living as carpen-
ter or as blacksmith without bringing
disgrace upon your caste; so, study dill
gently and acquire knowledge; it is your
livelihood.
Hindooism, the speaker said, was moth
ing more nor less than the caste system.
The Hindoo, so long as he obeyed few
caste rules, might believe about what he
pleased. He might be guilty of fearful
crimes but none of them will turn him out
of his caste. He may believe that mon
keys are his ancestors, as some scientists
have done, and it will not affect his caste;
but if he drinks a glass of water, given
to him by good man like DIR, Butler Cat
which point the speaker turned to that
venerable missionary sitting beside him),
then, indeed, he is disgraced, turned out,
abandoned
To illustrate the fearful hold which this
idea of caste has on the Hindoo mind, he
told the story of the three soldiers lying
wounded at Agra A European soldier
saw them suffering with thirst, and
brought to them glass of water. They
were rough, hardened men, and had no
doubt been guilty of awful crimes, but
they chose to die amid the horrors OF
thirst. rather than dishonor their caste by
taking water from European.
His entire address was intensely inter-
esting, and would be invaluable to make
extracts from for local missionary meet
ings.
At one of the conferences the subject
was: Principal Difficulties IN the Wav
of Foreign Missionary Work. Mr.. Bose,
in addition to the difficulties which have
already quoted, gave this suggestive one ::
The Inconsistencies of GOOD Cbr;ot;ar