The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-05-23
MIR. TELANG's LECTURE.
SOME INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT
THE BRAHNIIN RELIGION.
Duty-The Lecturer Gives Ills
Impressions OF America.

P. R, Telang, the Brahmln, lectured
before a good audience in the Four
teenth ward assembly hall last even
ing. He was introduced by Mr.. John
Nuttle and prefaced his lecture by tell
ing his audience that they should not
be guided in their judgment of Bra
minis by the stories Of tourists who
spent a few hours in Bombay, drove
through the principal street of that
city, and then came home to write a
book about Brahminism.
The history of that system of re-
ligion, he said, extended over the past
5000 years, and its followers enter
tanned a great reverence for it both on
account of its age and its virtues.
Brahminism, the religion eternal %
seeks to teach that desire is the source
of action and that action leads either
to misery or happiness, hence the de-
sires are TO be schooled, and some of
them killed. The possessive case,
mine is the cause of much misery
in this world. ''It is when that mine
is crushed that we get salvation. "
Brahmins believe that the degree of
enjoyment or of satisfaction in the
after life depends upon the kind of life
lived here but that the ultimatum is
the Joining the soul with Brahma, the
eternal being.
The Brahmins or priests belong to
the highest caste in India. There were
originally four castles, the Brahmins,
the warrior class, which included the
princes. the traders and the serving
classes. These castles have also sub
divided until there are many hundred
castles, each taking pride an keeping
distinct from the others. but the Brah-
min retains his supremacy. He may
be a beggar, but the richest man in
the empire will salute him as king of
kings He may be a fool, but the
wisest man wis salute him in the same
terms. He is a strict vegetarian. His
creed includes Il will not eat meat nor
onions He must battle three times
a day, and he must pray as often as
he performs his additions. His daily
petition ends with the significant words
May Brahma give us enlightenment!
He must not marry before he is thirty
years of age, but it is a Brahmin' S
duty to marry. There are four stages
in his religious life, the stage of pre-
parations, the stage of marriage, the
stage of devotion and the stage of
monasticism.
At the age Of go he is expected to di-
vide his property among his children
and retire to a life of meditation and
prayer. By the time he has reached
this fourth stage he is supposed to have
slain the evils of passion, anger, ego
tism, vanity and pride.
Marriage is a duty taught by Brah-
minism. A Brahmin is disgraced if he
dies without a son. There are no bach
elors and not a single ''old maid in all
India.
Caste is the curse of India. If it had
not been for the dissensions of caste,
England would never have usurped
power in India. England could not have
conquered combined India. The castles
never mingle. The touch of men,
Der of a lower caste is pollution to one
of the upper.
The family life in India is close The
son never leaves the paternal roof
permanently until the death of his par
ents. The biblical injunction is re-
versed and the married pair "cleave''
to the parents. A man takes his wife
to heaven with him, in other words he
is expected to look after her spiritual
welfare. There may be separations by
mutual consent, in India, but there is
not a single divorce, poor record COM
pared with the 10000 in this country.
He described the betrothal and mar
riage ceremonies in India; also a re-
cherche dinner party.
at was a proud day for me when I
landed in this country the greatest in
the world. You are the greatest nation
on the earth, but you have your fail
ings. For instance, your lower classes
are lower than ours. l am accosted
every day by people whose questions
show a dense ignorance of my country
and my religion. You have many hood
lums, street loafers and tramps. Your
young men call their father the "old
man." In my country there is the
greatest reverence for age. There are
saloons on every street and the Hin
docs have grown to define civilized
man" as one who eats meat or drinks
whisky.
you are an inventive nation. 1 shall
expect to hear of Americans building a
ladder to heaven and making the round
trip for fifty cents.
You hear a great deal of the Jug
gernaut. It is a great car half as large
as this room and it is pulled through
the streets on special occasions by
Brahmins. There may have been one
or two females who threw themselves
under it's wheels, but it is by no means
national custom. The car is sym
Dol of deity to us as the cross is to
Catholics, no more.
Many inquiries are made about the
suffice. The truth is that widows are
not burned there in this age unless
they wish to be. They consider it a
disgrace to marry again and choose
death on the pyre in preference. But
the instances are few and never have
the sanction of the Brahmins."
Mr.. Telang will lecture at the Thir-
teenth ward assembly hall this even
ing.