Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-02-15


From the railway station in company
with my two friends 1 drove at once to
the English hotel, situated in the Euro
pean quarter. There we secured car
riage and a native guide to conduct us to
see the sights. First we went to the
Monkey temple. The real name is Durga
temple but Europeans call it Monkey
temple because the place is infested with
monkeys. The building is fairly preten-
tious but not beautiful Within are
images where Hindoos were worshipplnE
and making offerings of flowers. At the
entrance was a bloody place Where goats
are sacrificed. The whole place was nIthy
and the old priests were dirty and re-
pulsive. Yet countless Hindoos, poor and
otherwise, poured through the doors ana
worshipped the unattractive images. l
gave one of the priests a small piece OF
money to feed the monkeys with rice.
When he sprinkled the grains on the
ground the monkeys came scampeIlhs
from all sides, and there in the midst
of the holy shrines the dirty fellows grap-
bed up the food. The monkeys are sacreu
animals among the E1indoos' ana are a.
lowed to roam absorbing to their own
sweet wills, wherever they please. the
temple is a good place to get food ana
shelter, and so the venerable Fellows
have taken up permanent headquarters
az the temple
The Golden temple, or the Bisheshwor
temple has a golden dome. II Is sur
rounded by streets only few feet wlde'
and l found 1t difficult to get near the
temple because of the great throngs OF
pilgrims and worshipers that filled the
narrow passageways. Foreigners are
not allowed to go inside the sacred place.
but standing at the entrance, one can
see the people bringing marigold and
jamnine flowers and carrying them as
offerings to the many gods, whose ugly
images quietly receive all that is given.
Besides the people were taking in vessels
of Ganges water in order to sprinkle
some of the holy liquid upon the idols.
In the narrow street at the entrance, L
noticed a monstrous bull, leisurely walk
ing along, taking the middle of the mar
row road in the midst of throngs of peo-
pie and apparently unobserving and I'M
observed He was a sacred animal given
to the temple by some devout Hindoo,
and il was his privilege to do as he
pleased without fear of interference from
anyone. AS he passed by the various
little shops, where flowers and vegetables
were sold he deliberately helped himself
to the choicest varieties he could find,
and at his leisure and pleasure he moved
on from place to place.
In the environs Of the temple we pass
ed by several sacred places, where there
were many idols and images. l remem-
Der particularly the figure of a bull,
adorned with a heavy necklace of mari
Colds, upon which the holy waters of the
Ganges had been sprinkled freely. Near
by was a dirty looking well, called the
we'll of knowledge Its waters were very
sacred and every pilgrim crowded around
to drink of the rare liquid. Had they
been drinking the real nectar of the
gods, they couldn't have manifested any
greater satisfaction.
A few feet away saw a tree-what its
significance or history was is unknown
to me-but about its trunk were offerings
of rice, of marigolds, all freely sprinkled
with water from the Ganges. And about
the trunk a woman walked round and
round, bowling and mumbling, bowling and
mumbling; what she was saying or why
she did this, l could not ascertain, but
she seemed to know her own business,
and fearing to interrupt so Industrious
and so devout a female, 1 passed on,
without questions or comment. Appar-
emily she got great satisfaction from the
performance.
As we left the Golden temple, an in
telligent looking priest intimated that
little money would be acceptable as a
kind of payment for the privileges of
sight seeing which had been enjoyed, and
in accordance with the custom in which
we had become thoroughly trained, we
parted with some of the coin of the
realm by relieving ourselves of some
filthy lucre and transferring it to the
outstretched hand of the avaricious and
benighted priest Of Hindooism.
OF all the sights of Benoares, nothing
ie fo RafhinV Chats of the
Gauges And so, in accordance with the
custom, we went to see this much-talked-
of spectacle Arising early in the morn
ling. we had our chota-hazri Coffee AMI
toast at O'Clock. AS we drove for two
miles toward the river. we passed thou