The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-07-17


 basis of all social and political life in the East. and in India 1t Is the con- trolling factor in every problem. Of the 3oo,ooo,ooo of people in the Indian Empire. more than 20O.00O.000 are Him dus in religion. subject to the Brah- manical priesthood. Mohammedanism ranks next with over eo.00o.000 follow CTS. There are about 10,oo0.000 Budd- hists in Burma and Assam. but none in India proper. The Christians have 100000, the sikhs 100000, the Jains 1.6eo,000, while there are 10000 Par sees and lees than 10000 Jews. In addition to the believers in these or sanised religions. there are about s.o00,00o of Indians who are chased us Animists-peopIe who worship anil mals or plants, idolaters of the most primitive kind.
 The Hindu religion is 8 development of an ancient faith which found ex- precision in the Vedas. sacred hymns written probably fifteen centuries be- fore Christ. Under the influence of Christian teaching and Western civfl- iEation, there has been . movement among the better educated Htndus to return to the pure religion of the Ve- das, but 1t has reached but very few of the people In theory. the Hindus TtCOkniEcu V SuPtCuS D0Ahot sented In a trinity of chief gods Brahma, vishnu and Siva. Brahma is the chief of the gods. but his worship has fallen into disuse on account of the sectarian activities of the follow CTS of the second and third persons in the triad. There are only four temples in all India now dedicated to the wor- ship of the Supreme God of the Hindu theology.
 Hinduism Is essentially eclectic, and 1t reserves the right to select and adopt any feature from any religion. It is, therefore, tolerant in theory and in fact to all other beliefs, although this tolerence does not prevent un- ceasing hate and war between Hindus and Moslems. Buddhism has disap- peared from India, swallowed up by the religion 1t was Intended to reform Yet Buddha remains and Is worshipped as one of the thousand and eight in- carnations of vishnu.
 The religion Is divided Into many branches, but the two greatest sects are Sivaism and Vishnuism--the names given the cults of Silva and Vtshnu. Silva is the god of destruction and re- production and his worship, in a thousand forms and under many names, is most popular. He requires little ceremonial only 6 few flowers and oblation of water, while Vtshnu must be worshipped with a ritual of great length and intricacy. Silva represents the giver of life and the destroyer he typifes the endless and pitiless suc- cession of change which life presents to the Oriental mind. The Grammar philosopher sees in him the Supreme All-God, the worker of Brahmas VII and the fountain of the universe Of ac- tiyity. The ignorant villager. on the other hand, associates Siva with the mystery of reproduction and makes his worship revoltingiy obscene.
 yishnu is less mystical and more human He has come to earth as man or an animal many times. and he is associated with scores of demi- gods taken from the valhalla of ancient Hindu traditions. Vishnu Is repose- ful, Silva Is active. Vishnu IS khdiy and indulgent Siva is jealous and re- vengeful Vishnu rewards kindliness and charity. Siva must be propitiated. These two great sects are divided Into numberless smaller divisions. the ideals falling lower and lower with the caste of the worshipper.
 Much may be said, and much Is said. by educated Indians and learned Eng fish speaking Yogis, or holy men, Tn favor of the beautiful philosophy of the unity of God and the brotherhood of man which Is taught by the few Of the higher orders of Hindus. But for the great multitude, for all but 10000 of the 200, ,OO0, GOO of Hindus the relig- ions Is degradating, immoral, obscene, cruel and utterly repulsive.
 It's temples are given over to the most revolting practices, its priests are leeches who suck the blood of the peo- pie under them, its teachings have not one ray of light for the common man. It compels infant marriages that the Brahmans may be sure of the marriage fee before the children die. And then 1t prohibits the remarriage of widow because 1t was her sin which brought about the death of the husband. The millions of degraded and outcast wid- ows of India, thousands of them under 6 years old, are sufficient condemna- ton of Hinduism and its filthy, greedy. "twice-born" priests.
 Mohammedanism In India Is in de- cline, lust at it seems to be in other parts of the world. The erstwhile su- periority of the Moslem over the Hindu was credited to his better habits of life, but he Is not keeping pace in late years. The Mohammedan eats meat and is not restricted to narrow cir cle in selecting a wife, so that as a class the Moslems are physically much stronger than the Hindus. But their religion Is more conservative when the matter of new doctrines and new teach ing Is concerned. Therefore, they have failed to take advantage of the edu- cational opportunities offered by the British Government, and have been outdistanced by the high-caste Ktndus. <.
 A great Moslem college at Aligarh represents the most progressive party in modern Islam. and draws students even from Mohammedan Europe. It has welcomed western science and is endeavoring to bring Islam into touch with modern learning. But the ruined astronomical observatories of the Mos lem capitals of the north of India, the magnificent monuments of the Moguls, and the well-nigh deserted mosques of the large cities testify to the decay of Islam. Yet the British Government, under the Indian reform scheme, rec ognizes the importance of the Moham- medan community and provides for minority representation for them In the Imperial council.
 The Jains represent an early revolt against the priestcraft of the Hlndus The religion dates from the sixth cen tury before Christ and is co-eval with Buddhism The Jains were great tenn pie builders in the old days, and some of their monuments rank with the best of Hindu architecture. It is confined to narrow limits now. and is followed only by some extremely fanatic holy men who go about entirely naked, ex- cept for a cloth over their mouths to N- NN.-.--