Phillips County herald., 1922-08-10
Every Proposed All-India Move
ment Has Broken on Rock Of
Religious Antagonism.
FORCE IN EVERYDAY AFFAIRS
Tangled Threads o. Numerous Re-
Ilulons Are Entwlnsd With Every
Fiber OF lndla's LIfs-Tsmpis
Grounds Public Forum.

AOAAAc uAiu usVVCAucutS Suuuut uC uhucA-
stood unless something IL known Of
the tangled threads Of numerous re-
ligions that are entwined with every
fiber Of her life" says bulletin Is
sued from the Washington headquar-
ters Of the National Geographic So
ciety Religious antagonism has here
tofore been the rock upon which every
proposed all-India movement has
broken up" continues the bulletin, "al-
though the recently imprisoned leader.
Gandhl, has been able, In a measure,
to enlist followers from some of the
most divergent Of 1ndia's 'jarrlng
creeds'
'Religion is the soul Of Indian life,
the spice in an otherwise uncomfortable
existence. To the Hindu, Mohamme-
dan or Sikh, religion is by no means
nominal but Is an actual force In
everyday affairs. Religious festivals
mark the changes of the year. The
temple grounds are the meeting places
Of the people and the forums of pub
lie opinion.
"Ascetlcism Is both subjectively and
effectively attractive and holy men
abound from the Himalayas,- beloved
by Kim's guru. to the tropical sea be-
side which Dravidian temples raise
their gopurams and Christian churches
show their spires.
Probably nowhere Il, religion used
with more profitable results by charla-
tans and impostors than In India. So
great virtue is charity that the very
mountebank Is considered public
benefactor. The Moslem mendicnnt
often lends real dignity to the digni-
fled word 'fakir.' But many holy
men are more faker than fakir.
Religion a Coat Of Many co!ors.
Nowhere else have men. through
religion, so detached themselves from
the passions and frivolities of worldly
life. Nowhere has religion so seasoned
unmitigated misery. Nowhere has re-
ligion been the rloak for more blatant
beggary and discussing deception. No
where is religion a more potent po-
litical factor.
"More than two-thirds Of the peo-
pie of India are HIndus. Modern Hin
duIsm grew out Of Brnhmanism, and
is still called by that name. The
earlier belief WIS In one omnIp0tent
but impersonal Being. whose personal
manifestations were Brahma. the Gre
ator; vishnu. the preserver: and silva.
tho destroyer and reproducer. Brahma
has few followers. vishnu is wor-
SHIPPED by Millions upon whose fore
heads Is painted a device called the
namam consisting Of vertical red
line inside U-shaped figure In white
clay. But the fayorite god OF many
Hndus is silva.
'When Buddha gained followers In
India. the BrnhmIns accepted Buddhn
as the ninth incarnation Of vislinu and
by this compromise they so emnscu-
lated the gentle faith of the Buddhists
that they drove Buddhism into Ceylon,
Burma and the Far East. so that the
religion Of the Hindu. modified by the
tcnchings OF Buddln. rcrvndes In,lla
from Bcnarcs to conjeeveram and
from Kumbnkonnm to Allahabad.
"when the various Mohammeilan
conquerors poured In over the north.
ern passes they brought their religion
with them. so that India hns more
Mohammednns than Turkey ever ruled
and the asse mblage of the faithful In
the great mosque OF Delhi forms one
Of the lnrgest congregations of the
followers Of Mohammcd to be found
anywhere.
sIkhs an offchoot.
"The Sikhs broke nwny from the
orthodox Hindu faith under the lead.
ership OF Nannk. who was born In the
puniab. near Amritsnr. the capital
city Of the Sikhs, In 1iG9. Sikh means
disciple md these schsmniics once
worshiped their gurus. or teachers. hut
later transferred their devotion 10 the
Granth, or holy book which proclnIms
their faith and principles. The Slkhs
abolished rnste. that curse and blcss.
Ing Of Hindu society. and their mill
tnnt nrfor has given them n standing
out Of all proportion TO their mem.
bcrsllip Of 100000.
"IndIn has nenrly 100000 Chris.
slnns. mostly found IN Madras presI-
dcncy and on the Trn,nncorc coast.
"From Peshawnr 10 Cape comorin.
IndIn contains mnny Animirs among
the hili tribes and aboriginal races
md even the l,nddhisis Of surnn hold
10 some Animistic beliefs. whose inilu.
cnce is felt throughout tao lnnd.
''1wo OF the most interesting but
numerically unImportatt religious
groups nre the .lnins ntd The Pnrsls.
The .Inins form tDnnsiIc group
rather than n religion, ngrec with the
tlndns In many principles. nsrrIbc
soul 10 every nnIm1 however small
and seek to secure felcnse from the
bonds OF trnnsnigtntlon According
to their belief. only the monks cnn nt.
thin Nlrvnnn. Their homes for dc.
crepit animals src world famous.
sfbc I'nrsls IRE deYcndnnis Of tho
frc worabipert who were expelled