The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-12-19


| comb. They eat carrion and that which
| Is worse. Bells and drums here set up a
| racket. Pilgrims come from hundreds of
/ miles away, spending their last piece of
| money and exhausting their last item Of
| strength In order 70 reach this Golden
! temple, glad TO die in or near it and have
the ashes of their bodies thrown into the
| Gauges.
Respect for Monkeys.
We took carriage and went still far
| Their on TO see the Monkey temple, so
called because in and around the building
| monkeys abound and are kept as sacred.
| All evoluti 'lists should visit this temple
: devoted to the family from which their
! ancestors came. These monkeys chatter
! and wink and Climb and look wise and
4 look silly and have fuL possession OF the
/ place. We were asked at the entrance of
the Monkey temple 10 take of our shoes
/ because Of the sacredness Of the pace, but
a small contribution paced In the hands
Of an attendant resulted in a permission
| 70 enter with our shoes on. As the Golden
| temple is dedicated to silva, the poison
/ god, this Monkey temple is dedicated TO
/ Siva's wife, a deltess that must be pro-
( Inflated, or she vii. disease and b.ast and
/ destroy. For centuries this spitfire has
| been wOrshiped. She is the goddess Of
/ scOd and sap and termagancy. She is
| supposed 10 be a supernatural Xantippe;
/
| and here and there the flowers are spat-
! tered with the blood of goats slain in sac
! rifice
As we walk today through this monkey
| temple we must not hit or tease or hurt
| one Of them. Two Englishmen years ago
| lost their lives by the maltreatment of
| monkey. Passing along one of these In
| dian streets, monkey did not soon enough
/ get out of the way, and one of these Eng
/ lishmen struck it with his cane. Immedi-
I 10 mil md fha rarfn GA
/ around these strangers. and the public
/ wrath increased until the TWO Englishmen
/ We're pounded 10 death for having struck
/ a monkey. No land in all the world so re-
/ veres the monkey as India, as no other
/ land has a temple called after II. one OF
/ the rajahs Of India spent 100 900 rupees in
/ the marriage OF two monkeys. nuptial
! procession was formed. in which moved
] camels, elephants, tigers, cattle and pa
| lanquins or richly-dressed people. Bands
| Of music sounded the wedding march.
! Dancing parties kept the night sleepless.
/ 1t was twelve days before the monkey and
| mOnkeyess were free from their round OF
/ gay attentions. In no place but India
! could such carnival have occurred; but,
/ after ALL while we cannot approve OF the
/ monkey temple, the monkey is sacred 10
/ hilarity. defy anyone 10 watch a monkey
| one minute without laughter. Why was
| this creature made? For the worlds
| amusement. The mission Of some animals
Z
! Of this or that quadruped, or this or that
| insect, but the mission of the ape is GER
| tain All around the world it entertalns.
! Whether seated at top of this temple
| in India or cutting up its antics on the
| top Of a hand organ, il stirs the sense Of
| the ludicrous. tic<les the dia phra GIN into
| cachinnauon, topples gravity into play
and accomplshes that for which 1t was
| created. The eagle. and the lion, and the
| gazelle, and the robin no more certainly
| ka~~ Htafa mis- fhap "a m
but it implies low form Of Hinduism
| when this embodied mimicry Of the hui
man race is lifted into worship.
An Interesting COlIOGuy.
In one Of the cities for the first time in
| my life I had an opportunity Of talking
with fakr. or a Hndoo who has re-
| nouncee the world and lives on aims. He
sat under a rough covering on a platform
! Of brick He was covered with the ashes
| Of the dead and was at the time rubbing
| more Of those ashes upon his arms and
| legs He underst God and spoke English.
| 1 said 10 him, How long have You been
| seated here?" He replied, Fifteen years.
"Have those idols which l see power to
| only represent God. There is but one
| God"
ouestion-"when people die. where do
| they go TOP"
| Answer-"That depends upon what they
have been doing. If they have been doing
good. to heaven; if they have been doing
| evil, to hell"
Q.-"But do you not believe in the trans
| migration of souls, and that after death
| we go into birds or animals Of some sort?''
| A.-"Yes. The last creature man is
thinking OF while dying is the one into
| which he will 60. If he is thinking Of
| bird, he will go into a bird, and if ne is
| thinking Of cow he will g0intO a cow"
| Or thought you said that at death
| the soul goes to heaven or help
| Ale goes there by a gradual pro-
cess. 1t may take him years and years.
Q.-"Can any one become a Hindoo?
Could become a Hindoo?"
| A.-"Yes. you could"
| Q-"How could 1 become a Hindoo?"
! A.-''By doing as the Hindoos do
| But az I looked upon the poor filthy
| wretch. bedaubing himself with the ashes
| Of the dead, I thought the last thing on
| earth l would want 10 become would be a
| HindOo. 1 expressed TO a missionary who
] overheard the conversation between the
| fakir and myself my amazement at some
| Of the doctrines the fakir announced. The
| missionary said, THE fakirs are very ac-
| commodating, and supposing you to be a
| friend of Christianity, he announced the
theory of one God, and that of rewards
| and punishments."
There are. however, aI,eviations for Ben
ares I attended worship in one of the
| Christian missions. The sermon, though
| delivered in HindOOstanee, of which L
| could not understand a word, thrilled me
! with its earnestness and tenderness Of
| tone. especially when the missionary told
| me at the close Of the service that he re-
| Gently baptized a man who was converted
| through reading one of my sermons among
| the hills Of India. The songs of the two
| Christian assemblages 1 visited in this
| city, although the tunes were new and the
| sentiments not translated, were uplifting
| and inspiring to the last degree. There
was also a Schoo. of 600 native gir,s, an
! institution established by a rajah of gem
erosty and wealth, a graduate of Madras
| university. But, more than ALL the mis-
| sionaries are busy, some of them preach
| ing on the CHATS, some Of them in
churches. in chape,s and bazars. The
| London missionary society has here its coll
| iege for young men, and its schools for
| children, and its houses Of worship for all.
| The church missionary society has its
| eight schools al. fled with learners The
evangelizing work Of the Wes.eyans and
| the baptists is felt in all parts of Benares.
| In its mightiest stronghold Hindooism is
being assaulted.
Life OF the Missionary.
And now as to the industrious malign-
ment Of missionaries. It has been said by
some travellers after their return to Amer
lea or England that the missionaries are
| living a life full Of Incidence and luxury
That is a falsehood that 1 would say is as
| high "a heaven If II did not on down i'm