The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-08-07


At the Temple OF Kali. s'rhey
were killing n CONT during my stay.0
BY FRANK G. CARPENTER. 7
4 BENARES. 1910.
In the holy city of Benares. on the
banks of old Mother Ganges. where
can hear the splashing Of the pilgrims
as they wash off their sins. l write
of the Hindu religion. The subject
is too big for abstruse discussion. too
varied for detailed narration and too
complicated for the ordinary Christian
mind, without study, to grasp it. l
shall attempt only to mention few OF
its principal features. and especially
some which are involved in the great
unrest which is spreading over India
to-day.
2OO,0OO,OOO Hindus.
The Hindu religion is one of the
oldest on earth. 1t sprang from our
Aryan forefarthers and was practicec
thousands of years before Christ From
age to age and generation to generation
il has been the faith of hundreds OF
millions, and to-day one-eighth of all
mankind upon 1t rest their hope OF
salvation. There are twice as many
believers of this religion in India as
there are men, women and children in
the United States. They form two
thirds of the whole population. and
most Of them are SO earnest that they
will suffer pain and death rather than
renounce their belief. The Hindus are
naturally religious. In one torn or
another they. worship almost every
thing under the sun. They long for
salvation and they live in daily fear
of hell and damnation. This is es-
pecially SO of the common people and
to large extent of the Brahman.
The God of the Hlndus.
I despair of giving you an adequate
conception of the Gods of the Hindus.
Taking into account their idols. tenn
pies, shrines and other objects of wor-
ship. it is estimated that they NUMBER
all told, something like three hundred
millions And, notwithstanding this.
the Hindus base their belief upon one
god alone. of whom they say there Isl
no second. They say that God made the
heavens and the earth, and that he
permeates all creation. He is IN every
man. and ii. in every thing. de is
part of you and me, and therefore your
acts and my acts are His acts. we
cannot sin If God is doing the acting.
and at the best our future is fated.
When we are babies the life we would
lead was written upon our foreheads,
and our joys and mtsfortunes We're
settled before we saw light.
The Hindus believe that God mani
tests himself N many incarnations.
Any great philosopher, priest or King
may represent Him. and they have
taken Buddha as one of His manlfes-
tations They say that Gcd as whole
IS SO great that he is beyond human
conception, and therefore they worship
Him in His various incarnations. In
this sense everything may be wor-
SHIPPED as part of God. and 1t should
be so, according as 1t is pure or good
or as 1t is terrible and to be feared
The lower classes of the Hindus pray
TO animals and 20 the dead. They pray
to the spirits of those who have done
we'll in life. and also to the supreme
Gods of Hinduism or the incarnations
of the deity as represented in their
sacred books.
The Trind fthe Hindus.
In the latter sense the Hindus have
three great manifestations of the
Deity. These are Brahma, Vishnu and
SILVA find representations of them
scattered throughout the temples, and
have seen tens of thousands Worship
Ing them in one form or another. The
god, Brahma. is represented as an idol
with four heads and four arms. He
was the great creator who made man
kind and all living His wife is often
represented beside him Her name is
Sarasvati. She is a gorgeous lady who
rides upon a peacock and is clad only
in jewels. She is the especial patron
OF music and speech All liars pray to-
her, and she wipes off their sins.
Nishnu the second great god, is wor-
SHIPPED here at Benares in numerous
temples. He is known as the preserver,
and he came down 10 earth 10 deliver
men. and from anger. 5avarice and lust
can take his followers there This god
Is said 10 have had ten incarnatons
] have described one of them in a
previous letter in my visit TO the mon
key temple here. where he is revered
IS Hanuman. As Rama, he is the model
kon. brother and husband. and as such
his name Rama is given TO children.
When friends meet they say Ramaps
name twice in waypof good day. AS
Krishna. Yishnu posed as a lover and
husband. and according TO the records
he win fit the part He had over 49,
600 wives and 10000 children, not
counting the girls.
& yishnu's wife was called Iakshmi.
She was the goddess OF wealth and
beauty. and sprang from the froth
Of the ocean. when II was churned by
The gods She corresponds somewhat
to Aphrodite. the daughter of Jupiter
who rose out OF the sea at Csprus and