The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1906-02-04
ABSURD RELIGIOUS PRACTICES IN INDIA
People Worship Snakes
and Monkeys
There.

CAICUTTA-It seems hard to be-
Iieve that in this civilized day there
should exist anywhere such prepos-
ferrous absurdities as are practiced in
India in the name of religion. AL
though England has ruled here for
more than a century, and the profess
tant missionary societies have spent
,,pwards of hundred million gold
dollars in trying to make converts 20
Christianity, the mass of the people
still adhere to the ridiculous practices
of the ancfents. We find them wor-
Shipping snakes and monkeys and held
in awe by the false pretenses of charla-
tans and sorcerers. Although the mes
sage of the Nazarene has gone afar'
it has affected India 50 little that the
dead are still burned on the banks or
the sacred river or left in towers for
the vultures to devour.
The sacrificial goat is tethered in the
temple yard as in the days of the pat
riarchs and the people are held in sub
lection by the fear that the priests viii
pronounce curses upon them similar
to that which the Scriptures tell US
Noah visited upon his son Ham. Su-
perstition is so rife that when a Hindu
starts to work in the morning, if his
path is crossed by cat or snake or
a jackaI he considers it an evil omen
and is quite likely to postpone the
business until another day. Laborers
frequently return from the field and
put up their oxen for no other reason
than this.
FICTION WRITER'S OUTCOME.
The four marvellous books which the
Brahnlins wrote were inscribed on
pages of gold, and the most versatile
fiction writer of modern times could
not produce more fanciful nor elabor-
ate tales than these works contain. In
them it is stated that near the center
Of the continent of India there is a
mountain of gold $4,000 miles high.
on the thousand SUBMITS of which the
gods have fixed their permanent abode
At the foot of this mountain grows
tree which is 10000 feet high and 5000
feet in circumference. The juice or
the fruit of this tree, which falls of Its
own accord when ripe. forms a large
river which flows toward the west and
which possesses the power of convert
ing everything it touches into gold. 1t
is written here that God embOdies the
form of a white pig.
One of the old stories in these time
honored volumes tells of man who
was possessed with evil spirits. When
this unfortunate was finally delivered
of his torment a flock Of crows flew out
of his person. In testimony of the I'M
doubted power of sorcery it is related
that at a certain feast a wizard, by ut
tering some mystic words, turned all
the dishes into frogs. By prOnouncing
the words backward the frogs became
dishes again, and the banquet went
nerrily on. A favorite recipe for
visiting disaster upon an enemy is to
gather a quantity of mud from sixty
four different filthy places. knead 1t
together with hair, nail pairings and
bits of leather, then mould it into a
small figure Across the breast of
this image is written the name of the
hated person. After this certain words
and spells are repeated. When this
is done the planet is supposed to take
possession of the unfortunate person
against whom the incantations are di-
rected, and he is exposed to thous-
and ills.
OLD RELIGIOUS SHELL GAME.
There is no trick to which Brahmin
priests will not resort in order to ex-
cite the fervor OF the worshipers, and
thus enrich themselves by the offerings
of the ignorant. Although the oracle |
is out of date in most countries where
pagan priests impose upon the people |
it is still worked in India with great |
success. Sometimes the idol itself add |
dresses the awe-struck crowd of people |
who listen with their hearts in their |
mouth as the image of stone finds ]