The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1906-06-12

The religious Importance Of AlIaaa-
had is largely Que tu a fat WHICH ~
neld there every sea! and which "t.
every twelfth wear becomes il national
event It Is called the A1ct4 aud last
January brought 10 the ,ity a crowd
estimated IL from one aai 4 ha4I ~
three millions. I!sls eNeIy-tW-l.tt-
year fair brings together not only It'll
aeyOut iflnduS. who come q z matter
IF religious duty. and I~uuumtIabl
traders who at such times md 4 Hlat-
ile1 for their wares. but III draws large
uUbers vi fakirs pronounced fan
IecTs. with the accent up8n tile last
syIlableJ or hOly men. They wear
Deards and long hair ana no clothing
except the breech cIout. They put
ashes and e manure uoon their
heads, ana their hair and Whiskcls
are matted and discolored. These utea
are supposed To nave raised them
selves to z high spiritual state by as
EeticiSm and SelI-punIsh4nent. They
undergo all sorts OF hardShipS. such
as hanging over a fire. holding NJ the
arm until il WithcfS u sitting upon
Il bed Of spikes. We saw many failIrs
at Renares and AllahaDad and som"
elsewhere (for they are scattered over
the whole countrA), aud at the latter
place one accommodated Us by tax
ing his seat upon the spikes.
At the recon Me!a 800 OF these ia
kris marched in = procession naked
even the breech cloth having been
abandoned for the occasion, and So
great was the reverence for them that
their followers struggled to obtain
the sand made sacred b. their tread.
a number of people meeting their
death in the crowd. These fakirS are
supposed To have reached 4 state Of
s~inlessness, but one Of them seized 4
child along the line OF march and
dashed out its brains in the presence
of its nDthnl. claiming Ia he advised
that the gods desired a human saCli-
flee. He was arrested by the British
officials and is now awaiting trial on
the charge of murder. The papers re-
Gently reported another instance in
which 4 fakir was the cause Of a muir
der. He was consulted 10y Il woman
who had lost several children and
way anxious to protect her prOSpec-
tive child from a like fate. The fakir
tol her that she could insure her
child's life if she would herself battle
in human blood, and she ana her
husband enticed a seven-year-old boy
into their home and killed him to Sc
cure the blood necessary for the bath.
The fakirs are not only a danger 10
the community in some cases and a
Source of Generalization at all times,
hut they are n heavy drain upon the
producing wealth of the country.
Adding nothing to h material, intel
lectual or moral development of lie
country. they live upon the fears and
credulity Of the people.
The Hindo religion claims some
thing more than 200. 900. 900 of human
beings within its membership; it
teaches the reconsideration Of the soul
OF rein~carnation as it is generally call
The Hindu mime takes kindly To
the metaphysical. and the Hindu
priests have evolved an intricate Sys-
tenn of philosophy in supper of their
t.aliojn1IC haliAfc fp1ipr1 ~ latinto &c Gnt |
forth as a theory necessary to bring
God plans into accord with mans
conception of justice. If a man is born
blind or born into unfavorable sur
roundingS, it is explained OF the the
DRY that he is being punished for sins
committed during Il former existence; |
if he is born into a favorable environ
he is being rewarded for virtue
previously developed.
1t is not quite certain whether the
Hindus have many gods or many
forms Of one god. for the ancient We
speak Of each OF several gods as
if they were supreme. The most
popular god is a sort of trinity,
Eramah, the creator, Nischnu. the
preserver, and silva, the destroyer, be
ing united in one. Sometimes n
trinity is spoken of as representing |
creation, destruction and renovation.
in which krishna appears as the
principal god. Out of this system
have sprung q multitude of gods until
the masses bow down "to stocks and
stones
The most pernicious product of the
Hindu religion is the caste system. In
FAINT marriage is terrible. but that
will Succumb to education: he Seclu-
sion Of the women is b~enumbing, but
1t Will give way before the spread Of
European ana American influence.
and with it will &C the practical ser
vitude of widows. as the practice OF
Ghe burning of widows) has
practically gone. But the caste sys-
tenn, resting upon vanity ana price
and cgotism, is more difficult To era
dictate. No where in the world is ,
caste 50 ineXorable in its demands OF
50 degrading III its Influence. The
line between the human bein. and
the beast OF the field is scarcely more
distinctly drawn than the line bctween
the various castles. The BrahmirS |
belong to the priestly class and are
supposed to have sprung from the
mouth of Prahm. the great creator.
the kshatrias, OF warrior class. are
supposed to have Sprung from the
OF Brahm: the Naisyas, or
merchant class. are supposed to have
sprung from the thighs of Brahm.
While the Sudras, OF laborers, are
supposed to have sprung from tha
feet of Erahm. There are numerous
subdivisions of these castles. and be-
sides these there are OutcaStS. al
though there does not seem to he any
below the Sudras Tor any other
class. The caste system not only af-
1ectS social intercourse and political |
progress, but it complicateS WINS 4
high caste Hindu cannot accept foot!
OF drink from a low caste and must
purify his water bottle if a low caste
touches it.
About 20 years ago a reform in Hin
duism was begun under the name of
Somaj. 1t was built upon
monOtheiSm, OF the Worship Of one
god. for which it claimed To find au-
thority in the Hindu sacred books
II drew to itself q number of strong
men, among them Mr.. Tagore and
Mr.. Sen. the latter making a trip to
England TO present the principles of
the new faith before prominent reli-
gious bodies there.
The Arya Somaj, another reform
sect, sprung W later. Poth of these
ave eNerted considerable Influence
upon the thought of India. far beyond
I heir numerical Strapotb -, |