The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-07-24
HINDOO PHILOSOPHY,
The Swami Abhenanauada
Gives Interesting
Address.

Swami Abhenananada, Hindu stu
dent, who has been attending the sum-
mer school at Clark university, gave
an interesting talk on Hindu philosophy
at the home of Mrs. S. E. Reed-Lawton,
yesterday afternoon. The audience,
which taxed the seating capacity OF
Mrs. Lawton's parlors to the utmost,
enjoyed the talk, and CLEANED much in
formation regarding the Swami's ma
tive country.
Prof Louis N. Wilson of Clark uni
versity introduced the speaker, explain
ing that the title Swami is synonymous
with father, as applied to priests in the
Roman Catholic church, meaning a
teacher.
The Swami reviewed the history of
his country and its people. He claimed
that the history of his people goes back
to 1000 B. c., and that their civilization
was developing when other nations
were in their infancy. He referred to
the fact that colleges teach at present
that the Greeks and Romans furnish
the source for European civilization,
but if collegians would get at the true
source, they would go back to the
banks of the Ganges. The Hindus as
they are known at the present time,
were the first to attain a degree of civ
ilization which understood philosophy,
science and religion, and other nations
nave borrowed from them.
Some think that the Chaldeans were
the first astronomers, but Prof. Hop
kins is quoted as authority for the
statement that the knowledge of as
tronomy of the Babylonians and Chal-
deans was gained largely from the
Hindus. Greek historians give the
Hindus credit for considerable advance
ment in medicine as well.
The Hebrew religion had it's origin
with the Persians, and this nation was
but an offshoot of the inhabitants of
India 1t was from the Persians that
the Jews first obtained their knowledge
of heaven and hell.
The Swami referred to Buddha as the
greatest reformer the world ever knew,
and that 500 years before the Christian
era he had preached the greatest doc
trines ever given to the world He
claimed that in the works of Christ
there is nothing more than was preach
ed by Buddha. At one time Buddhism
was the religion of India. Missionaries
were sent throughout the world to
preach 1t.
Hindu philosophy gave birth to Bud
dhism, but people should not confound
Buddhism with Hinduism. The former
is long since dead while the latter
lives. 81 am not a Buddhist preacher
neither am connected with any sect"
said the Swami. He believes that re-
ligion is based on ideas of evolution
and does not believe the world was
created in six days. Some say the
world was created out of nothing, but
the Hindus ask, How can something
come out of nothing?''
The religion of India is not separated
from science. Philosophy and science
are inseparable. The Hindu teacher
will not ask you to believe what he
cannot prove. His belief is that birth
and death do not belong to the soul,
but the body. The soul is eternal and
continues taking human form until a
a certain degree of perfection is reach
ed. Hindus do not believe that God
Furnishes the wicked, but rather that
we punish and reward ourselves.
The Swami took occasion to disprove
some of the stories regarding the Gus
toms of his country which have come
to the inhabitants of this country. The
story that women are treated cruelty
lis wrong and the old Indian legend of
women throwing their children to
|crocodiles in the Ganges was character
lied by the speaker as fable He
has Travelled the length Of the river
and failed to observe a crocodile. An
other time-honored fable regarding the
custom of natives of India throwing
themselves beneath the wheels of the
Juggernaut car was exploded as a
myth. The Swami has attended the
celebration, and while accidents have
happened at times when individuals
have been thrown under the car, it is
no more custom than for New York
people to place themselves in front of
a cable car intentionally.
AS still further evidence of the re-
spect in which women are held, the
Swami cited the fact that in speaking
of God, mother and father are merged
in the divine being. In India there are
no prosecutions on account of any be-
lief Of any sect.
At the close of the talk those pres
ent were given an opportunity of ask
ing questions regarding the subject.