Indian Life - Forgotten Books

I N D I AN L I F E

geliginws anh 5mm

JOHN CAMPBELL OMAN

PROFESSOR O F N AT URAL SC I ENCE I N T H E GOV ERNM ENT COLLEGE",LA HORE

gumb o“’

T IH S H E R U NW I N

2 6 PATERNOSTER SQUARE

M DCCCLXXR I Y

[A ll rig/l l; reserved ]

LI EUT ENANT—GENERAL GEORGE CH E SNEY ,

R .E . , C .B .

, C . I .E .

AUTHOR O F “ I ND IA‘N POL ITY,

"ET C ,

ET C .

M I L ITARY M E M BER OF T HE COUNC I L OF T HE V ICEROY O F I ND IA,

! h is 1410111a £5 ,

W ITH PER M I SS ION,I N SCR I BED ,

AS A TR I BUTE O F AD M I RAT ION AND RESPEC T,

BY H I S OBL I GED AND OBED I ENT SERVANT,

T HE AUT HOR.

PREFACE .

HAV I NG se en agreat d eal of I nd ia, from th e Val e ofKashmir to th e t rop i cal up lands of Ceylon , from the

h istor ic bo rd er land of t h e I nd us to t h e fo rest -cove redbanks of t h e B rahmaput ra, having resid ed in eachof t h e Prov inces of N o rth e rn I nd iafrom Assam to

t h e P unjab , and having done my best t o unde rstandt h e charac t e r and in t e l l e ctual cond i t i on of t h e p eop leof th e count ry , I t rust t h e sketches of I nd ian l i fewh i ch I have embod i ed in t h is vo lume may p roveacceptab l e t o readers wh o take an int e rest in t h etwo hund red and fifty millzons of H indusand Muhammadans in I nd ia, so frequent ly al luded t o in con

t empo rary wri t ings.

Of t h e inne r l i fe ofapeopl e who adhe re to th er igid ru l es of caste

,and keep the i r women in seclu

sion , i t is not, p e rhaps, possib l e for an al i en to formaj ust op in ion ;and t h is d i fficu l ty c ertain ly ex ists inregard to th e ent i re uppe rand midd l e c lasses of th e

Indian world , wheth e r H indu or Musl im . But t h e

common peop l e , more fre e and open in t h e i r domest icarrangements, afford be t t e r Opport un i t i es for observat i on , and I have not negl ect e d th e chances wh ich

6 PRE FA CE .

have come in my way of gain ingan insigh t into th eIn od e of lnb and habfis of though t of t h e hunflfler

ranks of t h e commun i ty . I n Part I I . of t h is vo lumeI have reco rd ed , from personal know l edge , manypart icu lars conn ect e d wi t h t h e somewhat p ecu l iard omest i c l i fe of t h e l ower o rd e rs

,wh ich may h e l p

Engl ish reade rs towards accu rat e concept ions re

gard ing th e l ivesand i d eas of many m i l l i on s ofmenand women in B ri t ish Ind ia.

LONDON,

l ot/zja/zzzary ,1889 .

I I I .

V I I .

V I I I .

CONT ENT S .

PART I .

YOG I S AND M AHAT M AS,TH E SAGES OF I ND IA

EXPER I ENCES W ITH FORTUN E-TELLERS

A STRANGE CULT ; T H E WOR SH I P O F ZAH I R PI R

T HE ARYA SA M AJ AND I T S FOUNDER

T HE LAHORE BRAH M O SAN A]

A BRAH M O WEDD ING

T WO V I S ITS T O TH E GOLDEN TE M PLE OF TH E

S IKH S

T HE CENOTAPH O F M AHARAJAH RUNJEET S I NGH ,

T HE L ION O F T HE PUNJA B“ BAZAAR CUP

”O R RU M OUR S O F T H E M ARKET

AT TH E PLAY 2 TH E N EW I ND IAN TH EATR E

T H E M OST SACRED SPOT ON EARTH ; OR , BUDDH

GAYA AND BUDDH I S M

8 CON TEA'

PART I I .

I . I NTRODUCTORY NOTE

I I . W ITCHCRAFT, DE M ON IACAL POSSESS ION , AND OTH ER

POPULAR. SUPERSEH I ON S H .

I I I . OLD FAKEERAH AND H I S CONJUGAL TROUBLES

I V . BHUJNU AND CHEROKEEAH,OR M AN W I FE .

T HE SLAVE G I RL

V I . T H I EF 'CAT CH ING

V I I . A YOUTH FUL SA I NT

V I I I . T HE DAUGHTER - IN -LAW

ERRATA .

Page I I Iine 7 for Panjab read90 last l ine woman98 l ine 15 H ind u201 lIne 28 unscrutab l e258 last l ine soOon

26 3 l ine 3 1 asid uous284 l ine 3 1 overt back .

309 l ine 5 for know known .

Punjab .women .

H ind i .inscrutab le

soon .

assid uous.

YOG/ S AN! ) [ bf/ 4 17 14 77 11245,

SA GES OF IN DIA .

T h e brood ing East with awe beh eldH er impious yo unger world .

T he Roman tempest swe l ledand swel led,

And on h er head was h urled .

T he East bowed low before the b last,I n pat ient

,deep d isdain

Sh e let th e legions thunder past,An d p lunged in thoughtagain .

A SWOLLEN r i ve r rush ing b rimfu l , wi th rap i d andaud ib l e cu rren t , past town and haml et , past fie l dand fo rest , is asigh t that has at t ract ions for mostp eopl e . And t h e o ld Hydradtes of Greek geographerst h e Rav i— b ig wi t h t h e me l t e d snows of th e

H imalayas and t h e rain of t h e wide p lains of th e

Panjab,isas good ar ive r to watch in flood as many

anoth e r : So on aSunday in Ju ly I took ad rive fromLaho re to see t h e rush of wat e r by t h e bridge of

boats,for I knew the r ive r was p re t ty fu l lat t hat t ime .

Passing t he Eu ropean cemet e ry and th e Taksaligat e of t h e c i ty

,my way lay beh ind th e stat e ly

mosqu e of Au rangzeb, wi t h its marb l e domes gl eam

1: 6 15 AND MA [ /A 5,

ing in t h e m o rn ing twi l igh t . Beyond t h e m osqu e awe l l -metal l ed road

,she l te re d by t re es and ski rt e d

by gre en fi e lds of co t ton and sugar-cane,t rave rse d

t h e open coun t ry to t h e ri ve r—and not to t h e ri ver

on ly,bu t

, as t h e finger-post ind icat ed , to d istantPeshawar on t h e west e rn fron t i e r of t h e Ind ianEmp i re .

I t was one of t hose su l t ry mo rn ings so suggest i ve

to t h e v ic t i m ofan I nd ian summe r of t h e p l easu resof t h e bath , t hat wi th t h e i d eain my own mind I

had l i t t l e d i fficu l ty in accoun t ing to myse l f for th e

number of nat i ves of bot h sexes on t h e road b etweent h e c i ty and t h e r i ve r. As I p roce ed ed , howeve r ,t h e scen e b ecame unusual ly an imat ed . There wasaholi day l ook abou t t h e p eop l e I m et

,b efo r e

l ong , I d iscovered t hat t h e obj ect ofat t ract ion wasnot merely th e refresh ing wat e r

,bu t agroup of

t ents wh ich had be en p i tched upon t h e Open p lainto

t h e l e ft of t h e t rest l e b ri dge wh ich spans anold chann e l , now knownas t h e G/zottt Ravi.I d rew u p and ap p roach ed th e encampmen t , along

with ast ream of nat ives on t h e i r way to t h e bath ingp lace or t h e t en ts. A large enc losed spac e on th e

sandy ri ve r-bank was occu p i e d by op en pav i l ions.

I n th e one n earest t h e d i rect ion ofapproach th e rewere seat ed

,round asmou l de ring fi re

ryogz'

s ve ry

much und ressed,and rubbed ove r from head to foot

with mud and ashes. One of t h em was beat ing agong . Towards t h e cen t re of t h e enc l osu re , on aS l igh t ly raised p lac e

,sat t h e p rinc i pal yogi . I had

se en lots of yogis and o th e r asce t ics in d i ffe ren tparts of Ind ia; b u t had neve r come ac ross anencampmen t of yogis l i ke th e one befo re me . AS for

YHE SA GE S OF INDI A . 13

t h e l eade r of t h e party , t h ere wasabou t h is app earance ne i th e r t h e emac iat ion of p e rson one migh t

exp ect to see in ap rofessed ascet ic, nor t h e absent ,

se l f-concen t re d l ook one wou l d b e p repared to find

in adevo t e e given to seve re and long-cont inu e dcon t em p lat ion . He was apparent ly b etween t h i rtyfive and forty years ofage , in exce l l en t cond i t ion

and apparent ly in v igorous h eal th,wi th th e com

mand ing p resence , easy carriage,and se l f-possesse d

manne r of one accustomed to th e homage ofmen .

Round abou t h im ,in p i ct u resqu e d isorde r

grou ps ofmen , women ,and chi l d ren , seat e d on t h e

ground as c lose to h is fee t as possi b l e . Thre e

yogis rep eat ing some Sanskri t Mantras,

I p robab lyqu i t e un int e l l ig ib l e to t h emse lves, were wal k ingrap i d ly round th e sain t and t h en round t h e fi re atwh ich th e i r compan ions were seat ed . A d im inut ive

t en t e rec t e d unde r t h e gene ral canopy containe dsome H indu ido ls— gro t esqu e rep resentat ions of t h e

D e i ty— wh ich two men we re fann ing in al ist l e sssort of way .

I Mantra—ahymn of invocat ion or formof prayer in th e

Sanskri t language . Mantras are used in th e performance of

e very rel ig ious rite . T h ey are of vari ous sorts,invocatory,

evocatory, deprecatory, conservatory . T hey are b eneficent or

h urtfu l,sal utary or p ern icrous. By means of them, it is b e

lieved that greatand various e ffects may b e prod uced . Someare for cast ing out ev i l Spi rits, some inspi ring love or hatred ,for cu ring d iseases or bringing th em on

,for causing d eath or

avert ing i t . Some are of acontrary nature to others, andco unteract the ir e ffect th e stronger O \ €1‘CO ll l lng th e influenceo f th e weaker. Some are potent enough , I t is sai d

,to occasion

th e destru ct ion o fa ho le army u h rle th ereare others wh i chth e gods themse lves are constrained to ob ey.

—Garrett’s“ C lassical D i ct ionary of I nd ia.

14 AND MAHA TMA5 ,

From t ime to t im e th e principal yog i ro s e t o h isfee t wi t h all t h e p ri d e of sanc t i ty— prid e often asove rbearingand offensi ve asany o th e r kind of p ri d e .

H is r ising was t h e signal for t h e devou t to maket h e i r offe rings

,which th ey d i d wi t h tokens of t h e

m ost h umbl e venerat ion . The men were respect fu lenough in t h e i r mann e r ; as for t h e women , t h ey ,

in t h e effusiv ene ss of t h e i r nat u re,se emed l i t e ral ly

to worsh ip th e yogi . I saw t h em d ip t he i r fingers

int o b rass lotas of Rav i wat e r (fo r t h ey hadapp roached the great man afte r t he i r m orn ing ab lut ions) , rub t h e i r mo ist hands ove r t h e yogi ’s d i rty

feet and ‘

legs, and t h en apply th e offscum to t h e i r

eye l idsand foreh eads.

I n re tu rn for th e i r offe rings t h e v isi to rs rece i vedas t okens of t h e sain t ’s favou r , afew flowers, wh ich

t hey wou l d carry away as charms and tal ismans to

b e use d in t h e cu re of th e sick, or to bring go od

fortun e to t h e i r homes.

And who can t e l l what real or imagine d ben efi tt h e sanct ifi ed t rifl es may have b rough t to many as ick-bed in Lahore ! Indeed , I was aft e rward sto l d , by one wh o p rofesse d to sp eak from p e rsonalknowl edge , of aremarkab l e cu re e ffec t e d by t h e

yogi . A b oy had b een i l l of feve r for some t im e .

Al l t h e usual remed i es had b een t r i e d wi thoutsuccess, when t h e m oth e r had t h e suffe re r carri e dinto t h e presence of th e yogi . The ho ly mantouch ed h im ,

and hand ing h is mothe rafew c/zillzcs,

d i rect e d h e r t o g ive t h e pat i ent one eve ry morn ing.

Sh e d i d so ,and inave ry short t im e t h e boy was qu i teresto re d to heal th . Pe rhaps

,as cu rrent l y b e l i eved ,

fai t h works wond ers ; perhaps t h e exc i t emen t of th e

TH E SAGE S OF INDIA . 1;

int e rv i ew wit h th e fam ous sain t b rought abou t afavou rab l e change in t h e si c k ch i l d ’s cond i t ion ; or

maybe th e sto ry is, afte r all, on l y one of t hose ve ry

d oubtfu l ones which sp ring u p and c l ust e r round

eve ry re l igious t eache r or famousasce t ic.

I had taken up aconven i en t posi t ion j ust ou tsi d e

t h e enc losu re when I overh eard anat i ve add ressanot h e r in Engl ish , evi d ent ly wit h th e obj ect of

at t rac t ing my at t ent ion . I ent e re d into conversat ionwith h im abou t t h e yogis, and g l eaned th e fo l l owingpart i cu lars wi th regard to t hem . The ch i e f man ,

t h e cent re of at t ract ion , was anat i ve of Lahore ,wh o had b een away sorrre twe lve years engaged

accord ing to popu lar be l i e f, in deep , ecstat ic con t emp lation and t h e most impossi b l e aust e r i t i es. He

had now come back to h is nat iv e p lac e wi t h all th ep rest ige of sain t h ood abou t h im . Certain ly th ehardshi ps h e had vo l un tari ly endu re d had l eft no

t race upon h is p e rson . And p e rhaps t h is fac t was,

to h isadmi re rs, on ly amore convinc ing p roof of h issanct i ty and powe r. I n conve rsing wi th me my

informan t exp ressed h is regre t at t h e ignorance andsupe rst i t ion of t h e common peop l e , as i f to d raw thel ine b etween h imse l fand t h e vu l gar h e rd . Sup ersti

t ion ,howeve r

,is an O l d Man of t h e Seanot to be

easi ly Shaken off, and I amvery much m istaken i f ath reatehed cu rse from the yogi h e affect ed to con

temn woul d not have redu ced my loquac ious fri endto astat e of abj e c t t e rro r, for eve ry Ind ian knowsh ow d i refu l and i rrevocab l e are cu rses proceed ing

from th e mouth of one wh o has obtained supe r

human powe r by t h e p ract ic e ofaust e ri t i es.

This remarkab l e and pecu l iarly H indu not ion ,

re AND H AHA

wh ich dese rvesat t ent ion in conne ct ion wi th th e subject of yogis, has b een made famil iar to t h e Engl ishreade r by Sou th ey , wh o ,

in h is po em Th e Cu rse of

Ke lrama, has worke d out t h e subj ect wi t h muchsk i l l and fo rce .

When t h e great yogi had h isat t ent i on drawn to meh e rose and app roache d t h e spot were I was stand ing

carrying in h is handsap resent, consi s t ing of two

mangoesand hal f acocoa-nut. I acc ep te d h is'

giftwi thasalaam, b u t b e l i ev ing t hat t h e ru l es of O ri entale t i q u e tt e requ i red

,in such acase , some re t u rn,

eve r t r ifl ing,I to ld th e sain t t hat I had no money

rupe es wit h m e to make asu i tab l e requ i tal fo rh is cou rt esy . H e pu t on adep recat ing smi l e

,raise d

h is hands above h is h ead , and , in an exc e ed inglynat u ral and gracefu l at t i t u d e , gave m e h is bened i ct ion

,obse rving , wi t h re fe renc e to mv remark , and in

t ru ly Orieirtal ph rase , t hat “ by my favou r h e wassuffic i ent ly r ich .

” When I was about to wi thd raw,

anoth e r yogi came up , wi th gar lands o f flowe rs takenoff t h e sain t ’s neck

,and p lace d t h em in my hands.

My casual v isi t to t h e yogi has, I have l i t t l e doub t ,b een al ready exagge rat e d i nto adevou t p i lgrimage .

Probab ly wh i l e I wri t e t h is, sto ri esare passing frommou th to m out h regard ing th e Sa/z zb wh o camede l ib e rat e ly to pay h is respec ts to t h e yogi and madeh im m ost val uab l e offe r ings. That I could havecome that way merely foramorn ing drive , or for t h ep l easu re of looking at t h e rush ing ri ve r, d i d not, in

all probab i l i ty , occu r to any sou l p resent , and so t h e

assemble d c rowd must , and m ost nat u ral ly too ,have

connect e d my p resence t he re wi t h t h e yogi ’s fame,

wh i l e t h e l i t t l e romanc e abou t val uab l e o ffe rings

TH E SA GE S OF IND IA . 17

wou ld almost of necessi ty find ap lace in an O ri entalaccoun t of my pi lgrimage to t h e renowned ascet ic .

Before I l eft the spo t , t h re e young yogis, wi th alarge d ogas compan ion . p roceeded from the enc losure

apparent ly on abegging exp ed i t ion to t h e c i ty . Al l

t h re e were we l l fed , in good cond i t i on , and fu l l ofan imal sp i ri ts

,as was ev i d ent from t h e b risk and

boy ish scamper wi th wh ich th ey start ed on t h e i r

p l easant and p rofi tab l e errand .

On my retu rn home th e p resents I had rece ivedfrom the yogi we re begged for eage rly by my ser~

van ts to whom th e syce (groom) had re lat ed mymo rn ing’sadvent u re . One of t h em gave expre ssionto t h e op in i on ,

shared no doub t by h is fe l lows,t hat

my good l uck was bound l ess in having been t h usfavou red by th e great yogi

,whose fame was spread

farand wide . So wide ly,indeed , had h is fame ex

t ended,and so great had been h is success, t hat h e had ,

on more than one occasion , been ab l e to feastavastnumbe r of t h e c i ty p eop l e , both H indus and Muhamm’adaus

,on t h e open p lain near h is pavi l ion . I was

to l d that seve ral co l l ege st udents had partaken of th e

yogi ’s hosp i tal i ty . Those wh o had done so d id notre l ish my knowing th e fact , bu t cou l d not concealfrom me that t h ey secre t ly ent e rtainedasupe rst i t i ousrespec t for th e succ essfu l ascet ic .

That t he yogi had ach i eved agreat repu tat ion inLaho re was ind isputab l e . Sp eaking oflrim,

an educated native I remarked to me , that not t h e l eastI By the termed u cated native ismeant , througho ut th is book ,

the nat i ve wh o has been ed ucated in European learn i ng andsc ience thro ugh th emed i umof th e E nglrslr language , th is be ingth e mean ing now un i versal lyattached to the termI n I nd ra.

I 8 YOG IS A ND MAHA TIWA S,

m i racu l ous act of th e yogi , was fe ed ing th e m u l t i

t u de wh en h e had notarup ee to cal l h is own .

“Who,

h e asked , cou l d,wi thout sup e rnat u ral powe r , have

induced th e s t ingy buuueahsand c lose-fisted makajausto op en t h e i r sto res and supp ly h im (as th ey cer

tainly had done) , wi thout moneyand wi thou t pri c e ?The obv iousanswer , from aEuropean point of vi ew ,

that superst i t i o us d read of th e yogi ’s power wasqu i t e su ffic i en t to accoun t for h is success wi th th eigno ran t t rad esfo lk , d i d not find favou r wi th myH indu fri end

,wit h charac t e rist ic l ean ing t o

wards t h e sup ernat u ral and myst ical , prefe rred h isown exp lanat i on of t h e yogi ’s infl u enc e in th eLaho re bazaar .T o obviat e th e p rod uct ion ofany fal se imp ress ion

011 t h e reader’s mind by th e fo rego ing narrat i ve,I

must stat e t hat t h e re are hundreds of yogis in Ind iave ry un l i ke those we l l -nou r ish e d and wor ld ly-wisesaints wh o t reat ed m e wi th so much cou rt esy on th ebanks of t h e Ravi . Indeed , t h e re are yogiswho haved e l ib e rat e ly cut t h emse l ve s off from all int e rest int h e ac t i ve pursu i t s of l i fe . S e ldom app earing in t h ebusy haunts of men , t h ese d evot e es p rac t ise r igi dse l f-den ial , unde rgo th e mo st painfu l se l f-inflictedt o rtu res

, and spend t h e i r l ives in so l i tary cont emp lat ion .

Every one who has se en much of Ind iamust havecome across some of th e s e ascet i c s

,l iv ing skele

t ons, almo st naked , and ove rlai d wi th d i rt andash es. Som et imes t h ey are to b e met wi th seat e d int h e m i dst of five fi res, fou r smou lde ring round th emand t h e fifth —t h e sun— pou ring its fi erc e rays upont h e i r unc lo th ed bod i es, from asky t hat looks l i ke

20 YOGI S AND MAHA TMAS,

wi ld erness to mort i fy t h e i r fl esh and humb l e th emse lves befo re God . Far from making any p rofes

sions of hum i l i ty or acknowl edgmen t of unworth i

ness t h e yogis pu t fo rward t h e most ext ravagan tc lai ms to know l edge and power

,sai d to be obtaine d

by fo l lowing outace rtain painfu l and d i fficu l t cou rseof mental and physi cal d isc i p l ine . The adeptacqu i res t h e knowl edge of eve ryth ing pastand fut u re

remot e or h idde n h e d iv ines t h e thoughts o f o t h e rs,

gains t h e st rength ofan e l ephan t , th e cou rage o fal ion ,and t h e swiftn ess of t h e wind ; fl i es in t h e air,

floats in t h e wat e r and d ives i nto t h e earth , cont emp lat esall wo rl dsat one glance

,and p erforms oth e r

st range feat s.

Ascet ic p rac t icesare common all th e wo rl d ove r,

espec ial ly amongst p eop l es in alow stage of c iv i l izat ion ,

for t h e pu rpose ofbringing on those abno rmalm ental stat es which are supposed to imp ly e it he rpossession by sp i ri ts or commun ion with sp i r i ts ;

or with th e V i ew of p roduc ing th e man iacal exc i t ement wh ich is mistaken for insp i rat ion .

2 The p ecu

liarity in th e case of th e yogi is t hat h e fo l lows out

an e labo rat e syst em of asc et ic exe rc ises,essen t ial ly

Ind ian in concept ion ,and framed to meet t h e requ i re

ments of asub t l e schoo l of ph i losophy,whi ch has

had , and st i l l has, apo t ent influ enc e upon th e sp ecu

lat i ve concept ion s and p ract i cal l i fe of t h e p eop l e ofInd ia.As migh t have b een exp ec t ed , t h e possessors of

such powers as t hose ascr i bed to t h e yogis areobj ects of d read to t h e igno ran t , wh o dare not so

I Coleb rook e’s “E ssays,” vol. i . p . 263 .

M r. H erbert Spencer’s Ecclesrastical I nst itut i ons,

TH E SA GES OF INDIA . 2 1

much as qu est ion t h em abou t th e i r l i ves or pasth isto ry I bu t inven t and be l i eve t h e most r id icu loussto ri esabou t t h em . An Ind ian , h imse l f abe l i eve rin t h e yogis, wri t ing about c e rtain members of th is

o rde r,says t h ey are obj ects of great reve rence to

t h e igno rant h i l l -t rib es l iv ing in t h e ne ighbourhood,

wh o fear that t h e yogis may assume th e forms of

t i ge rsand eat t h em up .

Amongst H indus t rained in European modes of

t hough t ,and more or lessacquaint e d wi th th e resu l tsofEuropean sc i ence , agoodly numbe r unh esi tat inglyrej ect t h e p ret ensions of t h e yogis. Some , whi l e

b e l i ev ing that t h e e syst em is t ru e , are pe rsuad ed that , in t h ese degen e rat e t imes, no one is

ab l e to act up to i t . But,on t h e o th e r hand , many

H indus of marke d ab i l i ty p rofess undoubt ing be l i efin the real i ty of t h e so - cal l e d Yog-sc i enc e and in t h eex ist enc e ofadep ts ormahatmasat th e p resent day .

As for t h e ignorant m i l l i ons, wi thout know l edge of

yoga-vidya, its obj e cts, or its p ract i c es, th ey have anunfal t e r ing fai t h in t h e power of t h e yogi , and venerat e h im acco rd ing ly , with th e reve rence that is bornof dread . The syst em seems to have had itsat t raet i ons for even so scept ical amind as that of t he

great Akbar,regard ing whom Professor H . H . Wi lson

says : He wore h is hai r aft e r t h e i r fash ion , andant i c i pat e d t h e l ib e rat ion of h is sou l by th e fontene l l e as t hey (t h e yogis) t each .

” 3 But i t may beadded that Akbar’s admi rat ion of t h e yogasyst em

d i d not prevent h is al lowingap i tched bat t l e in h is

presence b etween t h e rival sects of t h e SarrnyasisI T lreOSOp lrist,

”vo l. i . pp . 90

—92 . lb id . P 9 1

3 “ Essays, vol. i i . p . 395.

and Yogis,wh i ch (notwi thstand ing th e i r sup erhuman

p owers) end ed in t h e comp l et e d iscomfiture of t h e

latter.

L et u s not, howeve r , tu rn away from th e yogiwi th cont emptuous ind iffe rence on accoun t of h is

p repost e rous p ret ensions, for naked , emac iat ed , andcove re d wit h ash es t hough h e be , h e re p resents,al be i t in an unheal thy fo rm , an impo rtant i dea. I n

t h e grove l l ing wo r ld of po ly th e i st ic Ind ia,h e stands

fo rth abold and eve r-p resen t asse rt e r of man ’

h eren t d ign i ty and exal t e d posi t i on in t h e un ive rse .

Before t h e mu l t i t ud e cowering inabj ec t t e rro rat t h eal tars of h i deousand t e rri do ls, he appearsasanembod imen t of t h e b e l i e f man

,even t hough he

b e d egraded and t rammel l ed by h is flesh ly garm ent ,can by h is own ex e rt i ons raise h imse l f t o d iv ineh e ights of know l edge and power . The yogi isalsoh igh ly int e rest ing as al iv ing exemp lification of t h e

at t i t u de , sinc e t im e immemor ial , of t h e Ind ian mindtowards l i fe and nat u re of t h e wo r ld wearinesswh ich has oppresse d th e East S inc e ages b efo re th edawn of European h istory ,and caused h e r sons to fly

from th e st ruggl esand p l easu res of l i fe to t h e qu i e t

ret reat of t h e j ungl e ,and to se ek in al iv ing deat hanescap e from the d isqu i et ing , and to t h em unbearab l e ,act iv i ty of thought i tse l f.I t was p robab ly du ring th e Mac edon ian invasi on

t hat t h e Eu ropean wor l d mad e its fi rst d i rect andpe rsonal acquain tanc e wi th th e Ind ian ancho ri t es

when one of th em ,t h e naked Dandamis, rec l in ing

on h is bed of l eaves,t reat e d wi th scornfu l ind iffer

S ir H . E l l iot’s M uhammadan H rstorIanS of I nd ia,

D owson,vol. v . p . 3 18 .

THE SAGES OF INDIA . 2 3

errce th e haughty m essenge rs of Al exander , b idd ingthem go t e l l t h e i r maste r : Dandamis has no n eedofaught that is you rs, and t h e refo re wi l l not go toyou , but i f you want anyth ing from Dandamis come

you to h im .

” I That event occu rre d m ore t han twot housand years ago . But for centu ri es p rior to th e

Macedon ian invasion Ind iahad been par excellence

th e land of anchori t es, and during t h e long in t e rval ,from th e days of Al exande r to th e p resent t ime

produced anabundan t c rop of h e rm i ts, m isanth ropes,and myst ics. Some of t h e grandest figu res in Indianep i c poet ry are t h e anchori t e s

,accord ing to th e

poets,were in t h e i r day at e rro r t o th e gods t h em

se l ves.

Writ ing in t h e m i dd l e of t h e n in t h cent u ry of ou r

era, t h e Mussu lman h istor ian Abu Zai d sai d

In Ind iathere are persons wh o , in accordance with the irprofession , wander in th e woods and mountains, and rare lycommun icate wi th th e rest ofmank ind . Somet imes they havenoth ing to eat but herbsand th e fru its of th e forest. Someof themgo about naked . O thers stand naked with th e faceturned to th e sun , hav ing noth ing on butapanther’s Sk in . In

my trave ls- I sawaman in th e posit ion I have descri bed S ixteen yearsafterwards I returned to that countryand found h imin th e same posture . Whataston ished me was that h e was notmelted by th e heat o f th e sun.

Succe ed ing h ist orians down t o our own t im e havereferred to or descri be d th e Ind ian ascet i cs, for t h eyhave eve r be enanot eworthy feat u re in t h e Ind ian

J . W . McCrind le’s“Anc ient I nd iaas D escri bed b yMegas

tlrenesand Arrian,

” p . 126 .

2 S ir H . Elli ot’s H istory o f Ind iaas to ld by its own H is

torians,

vol. i . p . 6 .

24 YO6 15 AND MAHA TM A 5,

wo rld . Here isamodern p i ctu re wh ich I p resen tto t h e readeras of in t e rest from mo re than one poin tof v i ew

Wo l ff wentalso wi th Mr. W i lson to see one of th e ce lebratedYogh ees, wh o was lying in the sun in th e street, th e nai ls of

whose hands were grown into h is cheek ,and ab ird’s nest uponh is head . W o l ffasked h im, H ow can one obtain th e knowledgeof God ? ’ H e rep l ied , D o not ask me quest ions ; you mavlook at me

,for I am God .

’ W o l ff ind ignarrtly sai d to h im,

You wi l l goi

to he l l i f you speak in such away.

A l l , howeve r , who p rac t ise aust e r i t ie s are not

ne cessari ly yogi s nor ne e d th ey b e act uat e d by theyogi ’s desi re t o at tain u t t e r unconsc i ousness of h isind iv i dual e xist enc e by i dent ifi cat i on wi th th e Uni

ve rsal Sp i ri t .Here and th ere , all ove r Ind ia, may b e seen men

who pract ise , or pre t end that they have pract ised ,aust e r i t i es fo r th e i r pu rifi cat ion from gu i l t and th eu l t imat e at tainment of b eat i t u d e . And th e re are , nodoubt

,in th e ranks of th e asc e t i c s many d isappo int ed

men fo r whom the bat t l e of l i fe has be en t oo hot,andwho have taken refuge in fl igh t ; th e sp i r i t of renunciation wh ich l i e s at th e roo t of t ru e aceticismbeingon ly t oo mu ch in harmony wi th th e pass i v e , desponding t emper of t h e Ind ian mind .

Th e yogis,howeve r

,mu st not be confounde d wi th

oth e r ascet i cs. Th ey fo rm ad ist inc t o rde r,ho ld

p e cu l iar doct rines,and go th rough , or p ret end to go

t h rough, aprescr i b ed cou rs e of d isc ip l ine fo r th e at

tainment of certain obj e c ts wh i ch t h ey have in v i ew .

T h e‘

yoga-vidyais one of th e six re cogn i z ed o rthod ox syst ems of H indu ph i l o sophy , and th e t ex t -book

1 D r. George Smith ’s “ L i fe of D r. W i lson,p . 74 .

THE SA 6 5 5 OF [ ND /A . 25

of the yogis isan old Sanskri t work,th e yoga-Sat ra

of Patan-jal i , 1 wh i ch t eaches t hat by con t em p lat ion,

post u ring , t h e susp ension of t h e b reath,and oth e r

p ract ices,t h e asce t i c can d isengage his Sou l from its

gross earth ly conne c t ionsan d th en be abl e,

to at tainafu l l knowl edge of t h e past and of t h e futu re , of t h e

cond i t ion of t h isand of ot h e r worl ds,and of t h e ve ry

thoughts of his fe l low-men . Not only far-reach ingknowledge

,but power ove r man and nat u re of t h e

m ost extrao rd inary and un l im i t ed k ind,is prom ised

to t h e successfu l yogi .I t is c ertain ly not, at t h e p resent day,

easy for t h eWeste rn mind to en t e r int o t he sp i ri t of th e so-cal l edyogaph i losophy ; bu t th e st udent of re l igiou sOp in i ons is aware that in the ear ly cent u ri es of our

erath e Gnost i cs,Man i chaeans, and N eop lat on ists,

der ived th e i r p ecu l iar t ene tsand p ract ices from theyoga-vidyaof Ind ia, and t hat , at alat e r dat e , t h eSufi ph i l osophy of Pe rsiadrew its most remarkab l ei deas from th e same sou rce .

I T h is work has been translated into Errgh sh by D r. Rajend raLalaM itra.

2 Professor W eber’s “Ind ian L i teratu re (Engl ish transla

t ion ) , page 239 .

“T h e princ i pal po ints of contact

,however, between I nd ian

ph i losophyand Gnosticisrnmay b e regardedas common to bothbranches of th e former. T hese are ( I ) th e doctrine of th e

emanat ion of th e world fromth e oneabso l ute ex istence and of

its final reabsorpt ion into that ex istence ; (2 ) th e doctrine of

th e inherent ev i l , and at th e same t ime of the urrreality of

matter ; (3 ) th e doctrine of th eantagon ismbetween spiritandmatter

,and th e pract ical consequence , that th e h ighestaimo f

re l i g ion is to free th e sou l fromth e contaminatrorr of matterand to raise i t to afinal absorpt i on In the be ing o f th e

abso lute .

” “ Gnost ic H eresies of the F i rst and Second Centuries,

”b y D ean Manse], pp . 29 , 30.

26 YO6 13 AND MAHA TMAS,

The great h isto rian of th e Roman Empi re refe rsto th e subj e c t in t h e fo l lowing passage

T h e fak irs of I nd iaand th emonks of th e O ri ental Church ,were al i ke persuaded

,that in total abstract i on of th e facu lt i es

of th e mind and body, th e purer Sp iri t may ascend to th e

enjoymentand v ision o f th e D e i ty. T h e opin ion and pract iceof th e monasteries of Mount Athos wi l l b e best represented inth e words ofan abbot

,wh o flourished in th e e leventh century.

‘W hen th ou art alone in thy ce l l,

says th e ascet i c teacher,

‘sh ut thy door, and seat thysel f In acorner ; raise thymindabove all th ings vain and transitory ; rec l ine thy beard andch in on thy breast ; turn thy eyes and thy thoughts towardsth e mi dd le of thy be l ly, th e region of th e nave l ;and searchth e p lace of th e heart

,th e seat of th e sou l . At first ,all wi l l b e

dark and comfortless but i f you persevere dayand n i ght, you

wi l l fee lan ineffab le joy and no sooner has th e sou l d iscoveredth e p lace of th e heart, than i t is i nvo l ved in amyst ic andethereal l i ght . ’ T h is l i ght

, th e product ion o f ad istemperedfancy, th e creature of an empty stomach and an empty brain ,

wasadored by th e O uietistsas th e pure and perfect essence of

God h imse l f.” I

A syst em l i ke t hat of t h e yogis,wh ich has last e d

so many cen t u ri es, wh ich is st i l l be l i ev e d in , andwh ich influ enc e d th e i d easand prac t ices ofasce t icsin far d istan t lands, can hard ly be undese rving ofat t en t ion .

Withou t en t e ring in to unnec essary d e tai ls— manyof th em are simp ly d isgust ing— I shal l quot e

sam p l es, afew of th e ru l es of pract i c e re qu i red to befo l lowed by th e wou ld-b e yogi in o rde r t o induc e astat e of saInad/zi— hypnot ism or t rance - whi ch is

t h e cond i t ion or stat e in which th e yogi is t o enj oythe p romised p riv i l eges of yoga. The extrac ts areG i bbon ’

s Dec l ine and Fal l o f th e Roman Empi re ,chap . l x i i i .

28 YOGI S AND MAHA TM A5,

may not, pe rhaps, fe e l su rp risedat t h e yogi’

sat tain ingsaznad/n,

oranyth ing e lse , aft e r succ essfu l ly perfo rming feats ofwh ich th e above are on ly samp l es

,i t can

hard ly fai l to st r i ke h im,i f he b e at all acquaint e d

wi th what has been im properly cal l ed t h e sc i enc e

of an imal magnet ism ,

” t hat t h e ru l es in qu est ion,

howeve r ext ravagant t h ey may b e , have , some of

th em at l eas t , been framed wi th apract i cal knowl edge , if notan int e l l igen t apprec iat i on ,

of t h e meansby wh i ch se l f-hypnot izat i on may be p rodu ced . I

refe r more espe c ial ly t o t h e ru les requ i r ing th e yogito fix h i s eyes on an ear point , as th e t i p of h is nose ,and t o concen trat e h is at t ent ion for ap ro longedp eriod up on apart icu lar sound , as t hat suppo sed tobe p roduce d in t h e r igh t o r l eft ear.

Leaving out of consi d e rat ion the crownrng feat ofyogaism— compl et e absorpt ion into o r i d ent ifi cat i onwith th e Un i ve rsal Sp i ri t—an impart ialac count of t h esyst emand its resu l t s re qu i re s that men t i on shou ld b emade of some st range ach i evements of th e yogis

wh ich at l east t h e re is amp l e t e st imony— what eve rthat t estimonymay b e worth . On lyagene rat ionago ,

i f we are to c re d i t th e stat ements of several eyewi tne s se s

,th e yogi Haridas, aft e r vo l untari ly fal l ing

int o an hypno t ic cond i t i on in t h e p resenc e of Maha

On th is subject arecent writer says : On retrouve en

Orient, et en part icu l ier dans l’Ind e , d es états analoguesal ’etat hypnot i que ; pour les provoquer, les u nS

,comme les

fak irs, regardent fixement le c ie l , un objet lunrineux on le boutd e leur nez ; IeS arrtres, comme les mo ines d u Mont Athos,contern p lent leur nombri l

otr le nom d’Omphalopsych eS

qui leur aété donné" Le Magnetisme An imal, étude

crit i que et exp erimentale sur l’hypnotisme,” par le D r. Fernand

Bo ttey. Paris,

THE SA GES OF INDIA .4

rajalr Runjeet S ingh , of th e Punjab , and h is court,

was carefu l ly bu ri e d in agarden outsi d e th e c i ty o f

Lahore . For fo rty days st ric t watch was kep t ove r t h egrave

,and , at t h e exp i rat ion of t hat t im e

,t h e yogi

was exhumed , co ld , st i ff, and unconsc ious ; bu t wasgradual ly restored to an imat ion by ap p ly ing warmthto th e h ead and fric t ion to t h e body , wh i l e fo rc ingairgen t ly into th e l ungs. Gran t ing th e t ru th of t h e

story,and t h e absenc e ofany co l l usion or t ricke ry

t h e on ly l egi t imat e infe renc e from the fac ts is, of

cou rse , that Haridas, 1n t h e practicei

of yoga-vidya,or ot h erwi se

,had acqu i red th e art of suspend ing

an imat ion foraconsi d e rabl e p eriod anart not wi t hout in t e rest from aphysi o logical po in t of v i ew

one t h e acqu isi t ion of wh ich,Eu ropeans are

n eve r l i ke ly to care for. As regards Haridas h imse l f,

i t is sai d that h e wasaman of loose morals,against

whom seve ral comp laintswere made to Runjeet S inghthat h e e loped wi th aKatrany woman ,

made h iswayto t h e h i l l s, d i ed th ere ,and was du ly bu ri edaccord ingot t h e custom of th e country .

Refe rring to t h e case of Haridas, t h e wr i t e r ,(W . F . K . ) of th e art ic l e Hyberrration in t h e new

ed i t i on of t h e E ncyclope d iaB ritannicasays

Long cont inued suspension of consc iousness in man,

whether vo luntary or otherwise,is rare in temperate c l imates;

but i t is more frequent in I nd ia, wh ere sorrre re l i g ious ascet icsare stated

,on unimp eaclrab le author ity, to possess th e power

of throwing th emse lves into astate c lose ly resemb l ing h yb ernat ion for an indefin ite peri od . Many curious cases have been

I See “ T h i rty-five Years in the East ,” by D r. H on igb erger,

Physic ian to th e Court of Lahore, pp . 126,130. London ,

1852 .

30 YOGI S AND MAHA TMA S’

recorded b y Mr. Brai d in h is smal l treat ise on H uman H yb ernat ion ’ pub l ished in 1850, th e most celebrated of wh ich is thatofafak ir wh o wasactual ly b uried al i veat Lahore in 183 7 in th e

presence ofRunjeet S ingh and Sir C laude Wade , and wh o wasdug up and restored to consc iou sness several month s I afterwards, after every precaut ion had been taken to prevent anyfromd isturb ing th e grave in th e interval .”

Besi des th e Hathayog syst em,wh ich I have b ri efly

describ ed above , t h e re‘ is anot h e r one , th e Rajyog,

acco rd ing to wh ich samadlzimay be at tained wi thou tsevere bod i ly d isc i p l ine , by th e mere fo rc e of se l f-cont ro land meditat ion , possi b ly comb ine d wi th fixat i on of

at t ent i on on some obj e ct (e.g. t h e nose ) near enoughto cau se squ int ing. Whethe r t h is syst em owes its

o rigin t o t h e ext rem e d i ffi cu l ty , not to say impracticab ility, ofact ing up t o th e ru l es of t h e Hat hayogsyst em

,o r wheth e r

,as I have b e enassure d , i t is o lde r

t han t hat syst em , I d o not p ret e nd to say. B u t I

shou l d stat e h e re t hat some who c lai m to be autho ri t i es on t h e subj ect main tain t hat one cou l d not

attain sanzad/i i th rough t h e Rajyog alone , un l e ss,indeed

,one had gone th rough th e t e rrib l e d iscip l ine

of t h e Hat hayog in ap rev iou s ex ist ence ?The Rajyog ph i losophy , as expounded in Engl ishby th e Madras yogi Sabhapaty Swami , with whomI had th e p leasu re of conve rsing on one oc casion ,

t each es t hat man ’

s ex ist enc e,as d ist inc t and separat e

from th e Infin i t e Un i ve rsal S p i r i t,isamere de lusion ,

wh i ch arises from th e genesis of t h e so-cal l e d twe lvefacu l t i es, du e to t h e c i rcu lat i on of th e Un ive rsal

1 D r. H onigb erger, wh o was at Runjeet S irrglr’s court at th et ime

,saysforty —J . C . O .

2 S uami Dyanand Saraswat i in T heosoph ist , \ ol . I i. p . 47 .

TH E SA GES OF IND IA .

Spi ri t t h rough t h e human body , in at ri p l e set of

ho l l ow vesse ls,answering in some way to an imal

funct ions,mind

,and sou l— rem ind ing one of Lytton

impressi ve d escri pt ion of t h e red , t h e azu re , and t hesi l ve ry l igh t c i rculat ing t h ro ugh Margrave ’s p rost rat e frame in th e muse um und e r th e powe r of S i rPh i l i p D erval’s spe l ls. The posi t ion and cou rse of

t h ese vesse ls is ind icat e d in afantast ic d iagramin t h e Madras yogi ’s pam ph l et . I n its passaget h rough th em t he Infin i t e Sp i ri t evo lves

, at d i ffe ren tpo ints, t h e seve ral facu l t i es

,senses, and desi res of

men ; but th ese , be ing en t i re ly gross and de l usive ,must be sub ‘du ed and ann i h i lat ed , i f th e sou l in manis to gain its l o st omn isc i enceand se ren i ty . For t h e

at tainment of th is obj ec t t h e Mad ras y ogi— h imse l f

ap rofesse d adept who had b een pr ivi l eged to fly

t h rough t h eair to Kai las, t h e c e l est ial m ountain ,and

t h e re to b eho l d th e G reat God S ivaem p loyed inyogaprac t ices —lays down detai l ed ru l es, having fort h e i raimand obj e ct agradual ext inc t ion ofall t h ehuman facu l t i es, senses, and desi res, by means of

argumentsadd re sse d to th em separat e ly byacou rseof long cont inu ed med i tat ion wi t h c losed eyes in ase c luded p lac e ; by drawing th e sp i ri t u p and downth rough th e t ri p l e channe l of th e sikmana(or Sashumna) nadee, and by th e utt e ring of certain spe l ls or

mant ras.

Addressing the neophyte,t h e Mad ras yogi oh

se rves °

Remember that you mrrst b e very caut ious that thetwe lve facu lt ies dead and buried shou ld not gi ve forth the badeffluviaof the ir p utrificationand annoyand d isturb you at th et ime ofyour sanzad /zz'. Iagain warn youand say beware of those

3 3 YOG IS AND MAHA TMAs,

treachero us facu lt ies, and become not again the i r serv i le ,

crouch ing,mean and i gnob le slave and v ict im.

“ I f in th is state you have any consc iousness of See ing th e

Infin i te Sp i ri t, cance l that consc io usnessalso . For wh o is i tthat sees

,and what is that that is seen In fact empty your

se l f frorn t h e consciousnessf'

of wisdomand dual ity y ou mustéecome t/ze Infin ite Sp irit wit/tou t th e i deaof becoming th eI nfin ite Sp iri t . ”

Thus by t he p ract ice of RajyOg and t h e at tainment of samad lri t h e d evot e e becomes unconcious

of h is ex ist en c e as aman , and passes, as i t werein to t h e fu l l consc i ou sness of d iv in i ty wi th all itsat t rib ut es. But what b ecomes of t h e body ? On

t h is po in t t h e Mad ras yogi says t hat t h e rish isand yogis, aft e r remain ing , as l ong as t h ey l i ke , int h e cond i t ion of abso rp t i on in t h e Infin i t e

morphose t h e i r bod i es in to lingams, I many of which

may be seen in t h e aslirurns, and th en ent e r int o finalreun ion with th e Un ive rsal Sp i r i t . The Mad rasyogi goes on to say that many anc i ent rishis, stat e dto have d i ed th ousands of yearsago , are st i l l l iving ,and are v isi t e d per i o d ical ly by th e yogis on t h e

Neilgherry H i l ls ? So congen ial are marve ls to t h egen i us of t h e East

,t hat possib ly when Mr . Ryde r

Haggard ’s powerfu l sto ry , She,

finds its way in t oth e hands of Ind ian b e l i e ve rs in yoga-vidya, t h eywi l l pretend that th e yogis had long since d iscovered

t h e wonde rfu l fi re wh ich is t h e Sp i ri t of t h e Wor ld ,t h e ve ry l i fe of Nat u re

, and , bat h ing in its l i fe

I T h e phal l i c emb lemworsh ipped by th e fo l lowers o f th e

go d S i va.

A treat ise on Vedant ic Raj YogaPh i losophy by th e

MahatmaG ianaGuroo Yogi Sab hapaty Swami . E d ited b ySrris ChandraBasu . Lahore , 1880 .

THE SAGES OF INDIA . 3 3

giv ing flames,had secu red th emse l ves against

physi cal decayand deat h .

I n one fo rm o r oth e r t h e ideawhich under l i est h e doct r ine of yogahas ap rofound and ab id inginfl uenc e on t h e re l igi ous l i fe of th e ent i re H indu

race , and afasc inat ion even for minds wh ich haveemanc ipat ed t h emse lves

, to alarge d egree , fromhe red i tary and t rad i t i onal influences. Yogain its

sp i r i t ual aspec t,and in an Occ i d en tal d isgu ise , is

we l l present ed by th e lat e Babu Keshub Chunde rSen , t h e Apost l e of t h e N ew D ispensat i on ” andl eade r of th e B rahmo sect

,in t h e fo l lowing int e re st

ing passage

What does yogal iteral ly mean ? Un ion . T he Eng l ishword wh ich makes th e nearest approach to i t is Commun i on .

T he created sou l,in its world ly and sinfu l cond it ion

,l i ves

separateand estranged from th e S upreme Sou l . A reconc i l iat ion is needed ; nay, more than mere reconc i l iat ion . A harmonious un ion is sought and real i z ed . T h is un ion with D e ityis th e real secret of H indu yoga. I t is aSpiritual un ificat ion ,i t is consc iousness of two in one ; dual ity in un ity. T o th e

ph i losoph i cal and thoughtfu l H indu th is is th e h ighest h eaven .

H e pants for no other salvat ion ; he seeks no other maletz' orde l i verance . Separat ion

,d isun ion

,estrangement, asense of

d ist inct ion,dual ity

,th e pri de O f th e eye , th is is to h imth e root

ofall sin and su ffering ;and th e only heaven h easpi res to is

consc ious un i onand onenesswith D e ity. H e is ever strugg l ingand stri v ing toattain th is b lessed cond it ion of d i v ine human ity.

Once in possession of it,h e isaboveall sorrowand d istract ion ,

Sinfand impurity,and h e feelsall is sereneand tranqu i l wi th in .

All h is devot ions and prayers, h is rites and ceremon ies, h ismed itat ionsand h is se l f-den ials, are but means and methodswh i ch he lp h imon to th is heaven .

I “Yogai: Object i veand S ubject i ve .

” CalcuttaT h e BrahmoT ract Soc iety

,1884 .

34 YOO1S AND MA HA TMAs,

I t wi l l b e ev i d en t , aft e r what has al ready beenstat e d in th is paper , t hat t h is yogaisrn of t h e B rahmais not qu it e t hat of t h e o r thodox H ind u

,l i k e

D r . J enkinson’

s Christ ian i ty in Mr . Mallock’

s N ew

Repub l i c ,

is“ r eal ly anew fi rm t rad ing unde r an

old name and t rying to pu rchase t h e goodwi l l of th eforme r estab l ishmen t . ”

Du ring th e last few years th e yoga-vidyasyst em

has at t ract e d an unusual amoun t of at t ent ionamongst t h e edu cat ed c lasses in Ind ia, owing to t h efact that aYanke e co lone l and ac l eve r Russianlady went abou t t h e count ry op en ly pro fessing t h e i rb e l i ef in t h e ex ist ence of yogi adepts and t h e i rext rao rd inary powers. Th e gal lan t c o lone l to ld alarge aud i enc e of nat i ves

,in th e most emphat i c

manne r , t hat th e re were at t h e p re sent t im e Ind ianadepts in Yog

-Vi dyawh o cou ld carry on conversat ion wit h one ano t h e r

,at any d istance , withou t t h e

cumbrous app l iances (“ po l es, wi res, and pots ofchem icals ”

) of t h e Eu ropean e l ect ric t e l egraph ;omit t ing , howeve r , t o ad d t hat t h e wonderfu l occu l tt e l egraph syst em of t h e yogi— independen t of po l es,wi res

, and pots of ch em i cals—has not been of much

use to th e peop l e of Ind iaand that t h e vast knowl edge of t h e s ecrets of nat u re possessed by t h es esage s , has not h e lped th e i r compat ri o ts to makel i fe one wh i t more p l easant or endu rab l e . As for

t h e Ru ssian lady , sh e t ook h igh e r ground : for,al though not an adept h e rse l f, sh e enj oyed th ep ri v i l ege of t h e fri endsh i p and count enance of one

of t h e great yogis or nza/zatmas of t h e H imalayas,Koot Hoomi Lal S ingh , whose m igh ty aid enabl edh e r

,i t seems, to accompl ish afew feats such as

took p lac e th e re ; for instance , fragm en ts ofabrokensauce r were int roduced into t h e sh rine and t h e doo rlocked . On open ing i t , awho l e sauc e r was fo undinsi d e . We are of cou rse to be l i eve t hat th e who l esau ce r was made in som e wond e rfu l way by t h e

presi d ing d iv in i ty out of t h e b roken p i e c es pu t int o

th e cab ine t— though th e scep t ical have b e en wi ckedenough to suggest t h e ex ist ence of sl i d ing backsands uch -l i ke th ings.

I n Apri l 1883 , I had t h e p l easu re of l ist en ing to ,and exchanging afew words with , one who p rofesse dt o b e an advanc ed Chela, or d isc i p l e , of th e mahatmas of th e H imalayas and Th ib e t , t hat darkborde r land of myst e ry t o th e Ind ians of our days,as i t was t o th e i r fo refat h e rs ; who b e l i eve d that onMount M eru l ive d t h e U t taraKu rus

,who reach ed

th e age of ten t housand years on t h e banks of

st reams fl owing in go lden b eds. His advent wast hus pub l i c ly announc ed :

An advanced Che la(on h isway fromth e N orth ) has con

descended to -attend th e meet ing, and to Show certain testphenomena, in order to conv ince th e peop le as to th e real ityof occu lt forces

,and wi l l also narrate h rs personal experiences

in yoga-vz'

dyaas we l l as gi ve an account of the Mahatmas ofth e T heosoph ical Soc iety.

The ch e lawas ave ry spare , d im inut i ve , darkskinned man , evi d ent ly aD ravi d ian from south ernInd ia, al th ough , for obv iou s reasons, h e d ec l ined toreveal h is nat i onal i ty . H is d ress was pecu l iar . On

h is head h e wore asmal l sku l l -cap of o range -ye l lowc loth wi th adark bord e r

,be l ow wh i c h h is long hai r

cou ld be s e en . A l oose-s le eved rob e of abrown

TH E SA GE S OF INDIA . 3 7

mat e rial reached n early to h is ankl es. Ove r i t wasasl e eve l ess vest of agay pat t e rn . Dark co lou red

t rowse rsand wel l -fitting Engl ish boots of un tannedl eath e r , lace d up th e front , com p l e t e d th is st rang e

cost ume .

As for t h e “ Mahatmas of t h e Theosoph ical Society, t h ey are adep ts in yoga-vzdya, l i ke t h emythical Koot H oomi Lal S ingh , “ whose comp rehension of Nat u re and Human i ty ranges,

” accord ingto Mr . A . P . S innet t

, so far beyond th e sc i enc e andph i losophy of Europ e

,t hat on ly t he b roadest -minde d

representat i ves of e i the r wi l l b e ab l e to real iz e t h eex istence of such powers in Man as t hose b e

constant ly exercises.

” I These are t h e wo rds of aEuropean , but we shal l b e t te r understand what t h epeop l e of Ind iat h ink abou t such mat t e rs by l e t t ingt he ch e laen l ight en u s on t h e subj ect .

Addressing h is aud i ence in Engl ish , h e sai d t hatwhen qu i t e al i t t l e ch i l d , only seven or e igh t yearsof age , ayogi appeared before h im unexp ect e d ly .

A rad iance st reamed from th e p e rson of t h e

ho ly, man,and so su rprise d and awed h im that

h e fe l l down and wo rsh ipp ed h is v isi tor , regard ingh im as agod , “

for,” added th e ch e la, naive ly , “

t hose days I b e l i eved in aGod , in fac t in manygods. The yogi taught th e ch i ld some signs,wh ich h e l earned , lat e r on , were masonic signs, andt h en van ish ed . Afte r th is visi t t h e ch i l d becamethoughtfu l

,gave up t h e compan ionsh i p of h is young

p laymat es,re fused food , and d id noth ing but long

for t h e reappearanc e of t h e wonderfu l yogi . H is

1 “T he O ccu lt World ,” b y A. P. S rnrre tt ; D ed i cat ion . T rub ‘

nerand CO .

,188 1.

s YOGI S AND MAHA TMAS,

parents though t that h e had gone mad , and wereso re d ist resse d on h isaccount . At l ength h e b ecamepossessed— I forget h ow— ofatal isman , by means of

wh ich h e cou l d const rain t h e yogi to app ear beforeh im . He exe rc ised h is powe r , and t h e yogi , wh owas real ly amahatmaof exal t e d wisdom and sanct i ty

,came and carri e d h im off, apparen t ly wi thou t

th e knowl edge and consen t of h is parents. H e

subj ect ed t h e boy to avery seve re cou rse of d isc i

p l ine . For instance , i f t h e che lahad to proce e d t oav i l lage one mi l e away , h is mast e r wou ld o rde r h im

to go t h e re by ac i rcu i t ous rout e of seven m i l e s . I fh e lay down to rest in any spot

,t h e yogi wou l d

most arbritrary way, o rde r h im to rise and l i e d ownsomewhere e lse ,and all th is simp ly to t est h is pup i l ’s

capac i ty for imp l ic i t ob ed i ence . The yogi eventual ly,howeve r , rewarded th e che la’s devot ion by inst ruct ingh im in occu l t sc i ence . He then wande re d th ro ughmany coun t r i es

,Assam , Bengal , t h e H imalayas,

and Tib et , l iv ing in t h e fo rests in great physicald iscomfort , oft en ob l ige d to c l imb up at re e and t i eh imse l f at n igh t t o its branch e s fo r secu ri ty againstwi l d b easts. Onc e in t raversing apat h l ess j ung l eh e found

h imse l f sudden ly upon t h e ve rge ofastu

p endous prec i p ice . He he s i tat e d to re t rac e h is st ep s ,becau se h e was sup erst i t i ousand though t that suchacou rse wou ld b e inausp i c i o us, so h e prayed earnest lyt o h is guru who su dden ly mad e h is appearanc e

bade h im fo l l ow h im . He d id so . Before h im no

pat hway was v isi b l e , and ,as h e p roceeded , t h e re was‘

0116 beh ind , bu t between h imse l fand h is gu i de t h e reCl“ a d ist inc t and wel l -marked pat hway . LetCOUId Lexp lain t h i s i f i t can ! sai d t h e ch e la,

TH E SAGES OF INDIA . 39

t ri umphant ly . I n t h is st rain was he proceed ing,

when vo ices in t h e au d ienc e (all p resen t exceptmyse l f were nat ives) suggest ed that as darkness wasc losing in upon u s, t h e exh ib i t ion of t h e p romisedt est ph enomenashou ld not be d e layed . We l l

,t h ey

were at last arrived at, and p roved to be sim p l eenough . To estab l ish th e t ru th of yoga-vidyaandt h e real i ty of t h e h idden forces in wh ich th e so-cal l e doccultists profess be l i e f, t h e advanced ch e la offe re d

to al low one of h is finge rs to be cut ;assert ing thatno b lood wou l d flow from i t ,and t hat i f that membe rwere amputat e d ent i re ly , i t wou l d be m i racu louslyresto red . I examine d th e particu lar finger whi ch

was thus ready to b ear t he h eavy burden of occu l t ism .

I t wasat h in ,flesh less

,Skinny finge r

,but resemb l ed

in t hese respec ts, its fe l lows on t h e same hand . A

ring enc i rc l ed th is finger . An educat e d and h igh lyrespectab l e nat ive gent l eman of good posi t i on ex

amined t h e ring c ri t i cal ly , remark ing to me that h eknew acertain tal isman ,

and wished to see i f t h is

was th e same , apparent ly p repare d to find t h e finge r

fu l ly p ro t ect e d from th e kn i fe by th e v i rt u e of t h e

charmed c i rc l e t . I n rep ly to an inqu i ry , t h e ch e lasai d h e wou ld not obj ec t t o ano t h e r finge r b e ing

exp e riment e d upon ,p rovi d ed t h e r ing were t rans

fe rred to i t,t h usadm i tt ing or declaring th e pot ency

of t h e ring .

Mr . S inne t t, al ready quo t e d , wri t esas fo l lows

Askany cu lt i vated H rrrd oo i f h e has ever heard ofMahatmasand yoga or occu lt sc ience ,and it isahundred to one thatyou wi l l find h e has—and , un less h e happens to b e one o f th e

hybri d products o f Ang lo - I nd ian Unrversitrcs, that h e frrllv

bel ieves in th e real ity of the powersascr ibed to yoga.

40 YOGYS .4 AQ) AI AI L4 TWL4 S ,

Th is statement I am prepare d to endorse . And on

t h e occasion I re fe r to,t h e re we re p resen t many

cu l t ivat e d H indoos of t h e typ e approve d of byM r . S innet t

,andalso seve ral of t h e hybri d p roducts

Of Anglo -Ind ian Un i ve rsi t i es,

” whose scep t i c ism re

gard ing th e t ru th of yogavidyawas apparen t int h e i r eage rness to pu t t h e che la’s p ret ens ions t o th et est .

I n re sponse to t h e ch e la’s chal l enge,one young

man came forward to c u t t h e finge r . S eve ral app laud ed h im ; o t h e rs c ri e d shame ! The p resi d en tve to ed th e p roce e d ing

,saying, t hat t h e am p utat i on

or cut t ing of t h e finge r wou l d be regarde d by t h e lawasacase of causing grev i ons hurt , du ly pun ishab l eunde r t h e penal code . The main t enance of o rd e r

was now i mpossi b l e . Everybody p re ssed forward tosee what was go ing on . An an imat e d d isput e wasbe ing carr i e d on ro und t h e ch e la. Two of t h e th re ek e rosine lam ps on t h e tab l e had b een ext ingu ished

wheth e r by acc i d ent or o t h erwise I cou ld not te l l .

The affai r had become , l i t e ral ly ,ascreanzingfarce, andI tho ught i t t im e to wi thd rawBut th e mat t e r d id not end h ere . The ch e laand

h is support e rs were fo l lowed to t h e i r lodgings. The

fu lfi l men t of th e p ropose d t est was p resse d home,

with t h e re su l t that ayoung stu den t in t h e Govern

men t Co llege sl ice d off apo rt ion of t h e fl esh from

th e end of t h e ch e la’s finge r,fo l lowed of cou rse by

acop i ous flow of b lood . The facts of t h e case we restat e d t o m e by th e man wh o p erfo rmed t h e op erat i on and t h e inc i d en t may be takenasafai r sam p l eof t h e uncompromising st ruggl e j u st commenc ing in

Ind ia,wit h more than o rd inary warmth , b e twe en t h e

THE SA GE S OF INDIA . 4 1

deep ly roo t e d t im e -honou red sup e rst i t ions of t h e

East and t h e modern i d eas imported from the West .I nare cent wo rk Professo r Max Mul l e r says that

t h e yogi lrermits l iv ing in th e fo rests of t h e H imalayawou l d be t h e last to c laim any myst e rio us knowl e dgebeyond what th e sast ras su pp ly .

I I d o not know

what au thori ty th e l earned Professor may have fort h is stat emen t ; bu t as far as my exp e ri ence goes,yogaismin t h e eyes even of men wh o have had t h ep riv i l ege of inst ru ct i on in West e rn sc i enc e is, wi th

out doubt , asyst em of st range,ext raord inary , and

myst e rious know l edge,giv ing its possesso r ve ry ex

t ensive powe r ove r men and nat u ral p henomena.

On ly t h re e or fou r yearsago agraduat e ofan Ind ianUn ive rsi ty t hough t i t wo rth wh i l e to pub l ish at reat ise on yoga-vidya, embody ing such pueri l i t i es asth e fo l lowing

I nalone ly p lace le tastudent of yogastand with h is backtowards th e sun or nroon . Let h imfix h is eyes on th e throatof th e Shadow h e throwsand repeat th emantra

,Om[ ( rampara

brafimanemansak for one hundred and e i ght t imes,stand ing

in th e sanre posi t ion . Let h im see into th e Sky. In th ispract ice let h impersevere for S ix months. H e shal l see th e

great l ight ,and obtain powers o ver those wh o walk on earth .

T he subject is avery extensi ve one . T here are many otheradvantages in th is pract ice. I f it is carried on fo r two years,pastas we l las future becomes present to th e man .

The passage j ust c i t e d refe rs, I b e l i eve , to t h e factt hat i f you stare int ent ly for some t im e at you r ownshadow cast by th e bright sunsh ine and th en look u pat th e sky, you wi l l see you r image rep roduced th e re .

I “ B iograph ical E ssays, p . 17 7 .

2 “ T he Sc ience of B reath,

b y l ’and rt RamaPrasadKasyapa, B .A .

42 YOGI S AND MAHA TMAS

Th isaft e r- image Ind ian myst i cs call th e astral body ,

and t h ey d ec lare that i t is possi b l e to estab l ishfami l iar int e rcou rse wi th i t , t o induce i t to convers e

fre e ly and to ge t it t o rende r assistanc e in t h e affai rsof l ife . Thus upon afac t wel l known t o sc i ent ificmen , and easi ly exp lainab l e , t h e exub e rant O ri entalimaginat i on has bu i l t u p an ai ry fabric of myst eryand de lusion .

The eth i cal syst em of t h e yogi is simp l e enough .

He hasapparen t ly no d u t i es to p e rformin regard toh is fe l low-men , t hough h e is requ i red to abstain fromslaught e r , falsehood , t h eft , incont inence and avarice .

H is obj ec t in l i fe is to wi thd raw , as faras possi b l e ,from human soc i e ty , from its business, its t roub l e s ,itsasp irat i ons, and , in si l ent so l i t u de

,to de l i b e rat e ly

ann ih i lat e every facu l ty and at t ri b u t e of h is manhood . The worl d of human i ty may go its way whi l eth e yogi is l ost in t h e Un i ve rsal Sp i ri t . With ast range want of app re c iat i on of t h e l egi t imat epowe rs and funct ions of t h e h eal t hy human mind ,wi thout even agl immering of th e b eautyand int e re stof th e infin i t e ly vari e d phenomenawh i ch sc i en c e hasb rough t wi th in its ken, t h e yogi shu ts h is eyes to t h e

s ens ib l e worl d around h im,and expects un i versal

know l edge from id l e se l f-contemp lat ion.

The root i d eaof th e yogaph i losophy and pract i cemust b e looke d for in t hat pant he ism wh ich haseve r been t h e esot e ric c re ed of B rahman i c Ind iaandof As iagene ral ly. S inc e man is real ly and e ssentiallyapart of th e Un i ve rsal D e i ty (t h e all-God) ,consist ing of both sp i r i tual and mat er ial e l ements, i tis su re ly possi b l e

,argue d th e B rahman

,for t h e in

“H i ndu Ph rlosoplry, byRamChand raBose , M .A . , p . 175.

44 YOO/S AND MAH A TMA S .

suffic i en t obj ec t of i mposing upon t h e credu lous

mu l t i t u de , unde r th e influ enc e of t h e vague , indefinab le t e rro r insp i re d by t h e sup e rhuman power h earrogan t ly lays c laim to

,and wh ich th e vu lgar are

on ly too ready to at t r i but e to h im .

O f t h e fac t t hat some men wh o pract ise yogat th epresent day d o hon est ly be l i eve t h ey acqu i re ext rao rd inary powe r t he reby , we had acu rious instanceat Lahore . A yogi

,who be l i eve d h imse l f possesse d

of acommand ing infl u ence ove r wi l d an imals, ino rde r to pu t h i s powers to t h e t est

,at t empt e d some

fami l iari t i es wi t h t h e t ige r in t h e Lahore Zoo logicalGardens, and go t h imse lf so mau l e d that h is armhad to b e amputat ed .

Cases of de l ib erat e impostu re are n umerous,and

somet im es come b efo re ou r law cou rts.

Some yearsago t h e fo l l owing story went t h e round

of th e Ang lo -Ind ian n ewspape rs —A yogi p red ic t e d

that on ac e rtain impo rtan t occasion an i do l wou l demerge from th e ground at B ith ooriain Jod h pore .

I n du e t im e an i do l rose gradual lyabove th e su rfac eof t h e earth

, and immed iat e ly b ecame an obj ec t of

worsh ip to t ens of t housands, who flocked to layth e i r offe r ings b efo re t h e god who had t h usmiraculously made h isappearance in t h e worl d . The p lacewas taken under t h e Maharajah ’s p ro t ect ion , andyi e lde d ac onsi d e rab l e revenu e , t hough probab ly on lyfo rabri ef p e r i od

,as th e i do l re t reat e d in t o t h e earth ,

as slow ly and myst e riously as i t had come forth .

The exp lanat i on of t h e myst e ry was t hat t h ep rophet had dug adeep b u t narrow pi t , and fi l l e d i t ,almost to t h e b rim

,wi th grain . On t h is foundat ion

h e p laced th e i do l and cove red i t up . He t hen

THE SA GE S OF INDIA . 45

al lowed asuffic i en t supply of wat e r to reach thegram ,

which in swe l l ing in t h e narrow pi t raised th ei do l above t he ground . When

,subsequent ly

,t h e

gram wasal lowed to dry or rot t h e i do l subsi d ed withi t

,and was lost to th eanx ious gaze of itsworsh i pp e rs.

A ph i losophy of qu i e t ism is nat u ral to t h e indo l enceand ene rvat ion ofan Ind ian l i fe . Wh i l e Eu ropeanwri te rsare n eve r t i red of insi st ing that actzon is t h e

obj ect of man’

s ex ist ence , or as Carly l e put i t“ t h e end of Man is an Act i on and not aThought

though i t were th e nob l est — t h e H indu ph iloso

phe r dep recat e s act ion,b e l i ev ing rat h e r in qu ie t

cont emp lat ion . Hence yogaism flou rish esand hasflou rish ed fo r ages in Ind ia

,and t h e qu est ion nat u

ral ly presents i tse l f : What has been t h e p ract i calou tcome of t h e syst em Th e qu est i on may not be

easy to answer, but t h is much at l east may b e sai dwi thou t h esi tat ion ,

that th e b est m inds have be enwi thdrawn ,

t hrough yogaism, from the pu rsu i t of

p ract ical obj ects, and d rowned in adu l l l e thargicsl eep

,unprofi tab l e al i ke to t h emse lve s and t h e i r

count ry ; wh i l e upon t h e masses, unacquaint e d wi thth e subt l e doct rines of pant he ism and so -cal l ed yogaph i losophy , t h e effect of having before them th elazy , d i rty , rep u lsi ve yogi as an i deal of exce l l enc eand apat t e rn for im i tat ion , canno t have been othe rwise than inj u ri ous. H ow long the unwashed , unkempt asc e t ic

,who, d isregard ing every du ty and

ob l igat ion to fami ly or soc i ety , si ts absorb ed in t hecont emp lat ion of th e t ip of h is own nose , or wande rsabou t th e count ry l iv ing u pon t h e c re du l i ty and fearsof t h e ignorant , shal l remain an obj e ct of vene rat ionto t h e p eop l e

,must d ep end upon th e many and

46 YOGI S AND MAHA TMA S ,

various influ ence s now at work in mod ifying th ei d eas and charact e r of t h e nat iv es of Ind ia. O f

cou rse i t is t h e h ero ic , and not t h e obviously repu l

si ve , si d e ofascet ic ism whi ch , in t h e case of t h e yogior

any o th e r anchori t e , commands,in t h e fi rst in

stance,t h e admi rat ion of th e peop l e . The asce t i c ’s

se l f-den ial,h is

con t empt of t h e wor ld and wor l d lyp l easu res, his

se l f-inflicted penanc e s and mortificat i ons

,are ind icat i ons of wi l l -force

,d e t e rm inat i on

t enac i ty of p u rpose and se l f-sufficiency, wh ich at t rac tand ove rawe t h e mu l t i t ud e . The asc et ic

,by h is

scornfu l renunc iat ion ofall thev ho l d most valuab l e ,asserts h i s sup eri o ri ty to and commands t h e homageof t h e vu lgar, whi ch in t h e cas e of th e yogi is en

hanced by d read of h is suppose d powe r . Aft e r

makingal lowances, howeve r , for what eve r of good

t h e re may b e in yogaismand in t h e yogi s t h emselves,i t wi l l b e adm i tt ed , at any rat e by Eu ropeans, thatun t i l t h ese use l ess

,se lfish

,and uncou th i do ls are

deth roned,t h e Ind ian m ind wi l l not r i se t o aj u s t

appre c iat ion of real (as d ist ingu i sh ed from ceremon ial ) c l ean l iness, man l y ene rgy, and pub l ic spi ri t .

Happ i ly th e re are al ready si gn s wh ich ind i cat ethat even such e ducat e d nat iv es as cannot emane ipat e th emse l ves from ab e l i e f in yoga-vidyanat ional be l i efs d i e hard—are beginn ing to be

ashamed of t h e d i rty , indo l en t,and repu l s ive

m end i cants wh o pe rambu lat e th e count ry , and , fo rth e c re d i t of th e so-cal l ed yog sc i enc e , pre t end thatt h e real yogis are ve ry d i ffe rent from th e s e unc l eanand d isgust ing Obj e c ts of popu lar vene rat i on .

With th e sp read ofWest e rn i d eas, and wi th t h e

growth of new obj ect s ofambi t ion c reat e d by int i

TH E SA GE S OF INDIA . 47

mat e contac t wi th t h e rest l ess c i v i l izat ion and fre einst i t u t ions of Eu rop e , t h e yogi and h is syst em wi l l

necessari ly occupy a d im in i sh ing p lace in t h e

t hough ts and in t h e h earts of t h e p eop l e of Ind ia;bu t so thorough ly su i t ed is yoga-vidyato t h e gen i usof the East

,t hat p robab ly many gen e rat ions wi l l pass

away before i t is numbe re d wi th t h e ext inct syst emsofavan ished stat e of soc i e ty .

EXPERIEN CES W'

ITH F OR T UN E

TELLERS.

You cannot doubt th e seer’s prophet i c S i ght

T ru stme ,what h e hath sai d will sure ly b e .

W hatever is uttered b y th e ho ly Brahman ,

W ho is the l i ght d i v ineand man i fest,

M ust come to past.”Uttara (Pro fessor H . H .

W I LSON’S T ranslat ion) .

A WELL-DRESSED man ,wi th ab ig wal l e t und e r h is

armand apamph l e t in h is hand , p resent e d h imse l fbefore m e as I sat in my verandah

, announc ing h ispresenc e in th ese wo rds

,Fartune tailer sar !

wh i ch I b e l i eve rep resent e d h is ent i re st ock of whatwas meant for Engl ish . He was of mi dd l e stat u re

of that c l ean ye l low-brown com p l ex i on (wh ich hasbeen compared to th e co lou r of anew sadd l e)common amongst nat ives of th e b e tt e r sort in Ind ia.

H is feat u res were we l l-cu t , h is eyes sharp and intelligent. A wh i t e l ine was neat ly paint e d down t h el ength of h is no se ,and two ot h e r wh i t e l ines ranalongth e out e r margins of h is ears. He wo re go ld earringsset with p earls, and from h i s neck hung two st rings

EXPER IENCES WI TH FOR T UNE—TELLERS . 49

of head s, t h e short e r one consist ing of al t e rnat ep i ec es of go ld and red co ral , t h e longer one of neat lyshaped b i ts of swee t-scent e d sandal -wood . There

was no th ing of th e gipsy about t h is man . Qu i te

t h e reve rse ; he lookedap erson in easy c i rcumstances,enj oying comfo rtab l e re lat i ons with h is ne ighbou rs

and th e wo r ld in gene ral .I asked to see t h e pamph l e t h e carri ed . He

hand ed i t to me ve ry readi ly . I t wasan ast ro logicalalmanac for t h e year

,and , aft e r al i t t l e chaffering

h e so ld i t to me for six annas, whi ch I aft e rwardsl earned was j ust six t imes its marke t val ue . Afte r

buy ing th e pamph l e t I to l d - t h e fortune -t e l l e r to goaway , bu t h e was by far too exp eri ence d in h is t radet o b e got ri d of so easi ly , and i mmed iate ly hadre cou rse to t h e old t r i ck so fami l iar to p rofessorsof his art. Withou t exam in ing my hand h e cou l d

t e l l,from the ind icat ions given by my face alone , t hat

th e fat e in store formewasave ry good one but h e

prot est e d that th e p l easant d e tai ls of t he futu re

cou ld on ly b e read in th e l ines of t h e open palm .

just show me you r hand , ” he sai d , “and I wi l lr eveal to you all t h e secre ts of t h e fut u re . Yours is

agood fat e .

” I st i l l refused . He n ex t t ri ed flat t e ry .

Looking st raigh t into my eyes, as i f to read meth rough and t h rough , h e affi rmed , with much impressiveness, that I wasaman of st rict p robi ty andone who neve r b roke h is word ;and th is, for reasonswhich became apparen t in t h e seque l , h e re i t e rat edseve ral t imes. I n regard to my past l i fe h e hazardedsome vague guesses, which in afew cases were fai rlycorrec t and in o th ers very wide of t h e t ru th .

Having pro longed t h ese p re l im inari es suffic i en t ly for

ijo EXPERIENCES WI TH FORTUNE- TELLERS .

my pu rpose,wh i ch was t o d raw the fortune-t e l l e r

ou t , I re s igned my palm to h im . Afte r scann ing i tat t ent i ve ly

,h e began p re d i ct ing wi t h much vo lub i l i ty

th e l ength of t h e years, e ighty-fou r , al lot t e d to me ;th e numbe r of ch i ld ren

,t h i rt e en , I was t o b e fat h er

t o, and so on . Suddenly he paused in th e m idst ofh i s vat ic inat i ons

,as i f in some p erp l ex i ty

,and t h en

announc ed , with eve ry mark of deep and nat u ralconce rn

,that an enemy was endeavou r ing to cause

ser i o u s inj u ry t o m e and mine .

“ Th e enemy,

” h e

sai d , speak ing slow lyand thoughtfu l ly , wi th afar-offlook in h is eyes

,as i f p ee r ing int o t h e myst e ry ,

“ was probab ly ad isappo int e d se rvant ; bu t when

p ressed on t h is po int , th e ast ro loge r adm it t e d t hath e cou ld not make any posi t i ve asse rt ion on th e

subj ec t . But whoeve r h e m igh t b e,t h e enemy in

que st i on had, aft e r th e manne r of t h e p rac t isers of

the b lack art in all count ri e s,made t iny image s

(putlas) t o rep resent m e and th e m embers of my

fam i ly , and , invoking at e rri b l e c u rse upon th e s esintulacra

,had consumed th em wi th fire .

I With anappearanc e of earnestness wh ich wou l d ce rtain lyhave had cons i de rab l e effe ct upon any c redu lous

1 “ T here are d istricts in Great Britain and Ameri ca, andmany more on th e cont inent of E urope

,where spe l ls that

waste and destroy are st i l l bel ieved in ; wh ere effigies of

waxand even on ionsare labe l led with some hated name,and

stuck overwith pins,and set near fires to b e melted or dried

up,in fu l l bel ief that some subject of th e charmwi l l b e corr

surn ed b y d isease along with th e object used .

”— Conway ’

D emono logy,

vol. i . p . 2 72 .

T h e same customwas known to Plato and is pract ised bynegroes (Lang’s “ Myth , R i tual , an d Re l i g i on

” i . AS

every reader ofmodern Engl ish poetry knows, th e superst it ion

52 EXPERIENCES WI TH FORTUNE-TELLERS.

t o fo l low ,b u t wi l l ing to s e e and l earn ,

I passive lyobeyed all th e d i rect i ons of t h e fortune -t e l l e r . Afte rawh i l e h e c eased h is mut t e re d spe l ls, request e d meto take my hands ou t of t h e wat e r, and t u rn ing up

t h e ri gh t sl eeve of my coat , showed me— t o my

su rp rise , I must confess—adark mark upon my bareSkin j ust above th e wr ist , resemb l ing arude lydesi gne d figu re wi th around h ead , an oval t runk ,arms expande d wi d e ly , and l egs farapart . Po int ingto th e mark , t h e see r sai d , with bat e d b reath , The

effigies made by you r enemy we re l i ke t hat ! Do

you be l i eve m e now ? How t errib l e i s th e dange rt hat m enaces you ; bu t , happ i ly , I can assi st yout o ward i t off.A metal p lat e or salver, al i t t l e sal t , and an i ron

nai l were re qu i redat th is stage , and we re p roduced .

Thre e p inch es of the sal t 1 were cas t u pon t h e darkporten tou s mark wh i ch st i l l d i sfigu red my arm, andt h en the B rahman gradual ly wash e d i t out by

rubb ing i t w i th th e i ron nai l repeat ed ly d ipped in th ewat er . He next p lac e d t h e ro se on th e sal ve r , andaft e r passing i t round my h ead apart icu lar numbe rof t imes, h e made me pou r t h re e and ahal f handfu lsof wat e r upon i t . From h is wal l e t h e p roduce d ab i t of old flat i ron abou t th ree inch es l ong and th reefou rths of an inch wi de . This he p laced in th esalve r . St i l l mut t e ring spe l ls and invok ing godsand saints (th e names of jesus and Muhammadbe ing st range ly b l ended wi th th e names of th e godsand goddes ses of t h e H indu Panth eon) , he asked for

1 T hat demons hate or d read salt is an o ld and wi despreadsuperst it ion. S ee Conway’s D emono logy and D ev i l—lore

”I i.

P. 297

EXPERIENCES WI TH FORTUNE-TELLERS. 53

some c loth es wh ich had been worn by me . Therequ i re d ar t ic l es, having been p roduced , were p lace dby h im unde r my fe e t . N ext t h e inevi tab l e p i ece of

si l ve r was requ i red , and when handed to h im wasdeposi t ed in th e salve r . I was requ ested to st ep ove r

i t and back again t h re e t imes.f Now fo l lowed mo re

mutt e rings of spe l ls. The sal ve r was mad e to reston bot h my hands, and th e Brahman b i d m e fi x my

at t en t ion upon t h e p i ec e of i ron ly ing on i t in th e

wat e r . Speak ingafte r my fri end , as I may now cal lh im

,I t ransfe rred t o th e l i fe l ess b i t of o ld i ron in

t h e t ray th e curses wh ich had been h eape d upon meand mine by our unknown

,but not l ess dangerous

foe . Wh i l e t h e B rahman mutt e re d h ismant ras for mypres e rvat i on , I wai t e d wi th no ve ry l i ve ly cu riosi ty

to see what the next p roceed ingwo u l d be . Sudden lyI was start l ed by th e sc rap of inan imat e i ron makingal ive ly j ump qu i t e ou t of t h e salve r which wasrest ing on my hands. I t fe l l upon th e Brahman ’

t h igh as h e sat squat u pon th e carp e t . YVith

we l l-fe igned exc i t emen t h e int e rp re t e d th is inc id ent

as e stab l ish ing sat isfacto ri ly that t h e r i t e we hadperformed had had t h e d esi re d effec t . Th e spel l

cast upon me and mine had been broken .

I though t th e bu s iness was ove r , as t h e Brahmansai d that th e impending ev i l having been avert ed byh is count e r spe l ls, my good fortune wou ld now be

ve ry great . R ising above vague gene ral i t i es, h event u re d upon t h e spec ific p re d ict ion t hat wi th int h re e we eks I shou l d rece ive info rmat ion of th e

most grat i fy ing kind , add ing that when t h e happyevent occu rred h e wou ld conre to me in pe rson andc laim areward of five rupe es. Ind eed h e was even

more exp l i c i t in h is p red i ct ion . A sum of money

du e t o m e , t h e payment of wh i ch had been d e layedon accoun t of some m isunde rstand ing , wou ld soon

be rece ive d by me , and I wou ld , p robab ly , beforelong , l eave Lahore for ab ett e r appointm ent e lsewh e re .Theaffai r , howeve r , was not qu i t e over yet . I t

was undoubt ed ly t ru e that th e ch i ld ren and myse l fwe re now ou t Of dange r , but aspec ial p er i l st i l lt h reat ened th e M emSahib (th e lady) . Havingavert e dth e dange r from myse l f, su re ly I wou ld not l eave th elady in t roub l e . Was I scep t i cal abou t t h e r isk to

wh ich sh e was st i l l exposed ? My doubt s cou ld eas i lyb e s et at re st .Thi s t im e aSmal l lump of cot ton , d i pp e d in com

mon o l i ve oil, was re qu i red and du ly p rov i d ed .

Tal k ing vo lub ly , wi th greatapparen t earnestness andmany cOnfid ential wh ispers, t h e fortune-t e l l er madeus ho ld t h e cot ton b etween our hands, p laced one

upon th e oth er , palm to pal m ,and aft e r sundry

mutt ered spe l l s h e l i ft e d up th e cott on and squ e ez ed

th e o i l from it , qu i t e of ab lood-re d co lou r . O f

cou rse th is was on ly atoken of an impend ing

calamity of some sort , to ave rt wh i ch ap i ece of

c l ean co tton c lot h and som e si l ve r we re ne eded .

The ind ispensab l e ”art i c l es were b rought,and aft e r

th e app rop riat e mant ras had been ut t e red , became , Ine ed hard ly say, t h e p rope rty of t h e c l eve r fo rtunet e l l e r .The bu siness was at last ove r ; t h e B rahman

had on ly to wri t e ou t two p i eces of paper wi thcabal ist ic signs

,one in t h e name of my wife and t h e

o t h e r in my name . Whi lst so emp loyed al i t t l e son

of mine was stand ing by wi th anew inkstand in h ishand , one of those o rd inary t rave l l e r’s inkstandsshaped li ke abox , wi th asp ring l i d . The B rahmanwish ed to see i t , took i t in h is hand , op ened i t , ohse rved that t h e re was no ink in i t

,and qu ie t ly p lacedi t j ust b efo re h im on t h e carp e t . He slowly comp leted h is cabal ist i c pape rs. One was to b e th rownint o wat er t h e nex t day, togeth e r wi t h some goor

(crude sugar) and aflower ; t h e ot h er to b e wrappedu p in ap i ece of red c l o th , wi t h ac love and acardamum , and lai d under my pi l low

,unt i l t h e

fu lfi lment of h is p red i c t ion t hat I shou ld rece ive ,wi th in t h re e weeks, good n ews ofave ry ac c eptab l ek ind .

Affi rm ing fo r t h e twent i e th t im e th e imp l ic i t t rustthat cou ld be p lac ed upon my every word , h e nowp ut th e empty inkstand in to one of my handsandsome old c lo th es in t h e oth e r, and gett ing me torep eat ce rtain wo rdsaft e r h im ,

th e artfu l B rahmanl ed me

,qu i t e easi ly and withou t my perce iving

exact ly what h e was abou t , to make h im aformalp resen t of th e inkstand , wh i ch I real ly had had no

int ent i on of do ing.

I now t ook up and examined th e pi ece of i ron

wh i ch had ind icat ed , in such al i ve ly and demons t rat iv e manne r, its wi l l ingness to stand vicariously forus. I t wasal i t t l e b i t of ord inary flat i ron , doub l e dove r at one end to th e ext ent ofabou t one-si xt h of

an inch . Wedged , bu t not t ight ly, in t h e fo ld Ifound asmal l wh i t e head , which th e Brahmanqu ickly removed when h isat t en t i on was d rawn to i t ,assuring me that i t was on ly acommon head wh ichmust have got in t h e re by acc i d ent when th e i ron

56 EXPER IENCES l/VI TH FORTUNE-TELLERS.

was lying , wi th alot of o t h e r th ings, in h is bag.

But th e l i t t l e int rud e r , I t h ink , bet rayed ase cre t , for,inall probab i l i ty , by means of i tand t h e h e l p ofalongfine hai r , th e b i t of i ron had b een p e rsuad ed in toene rget ic acceptanc e of th e dange r th reat en ing us.

AS t o th e figu re that had app eared upon my arm,i t

had , of cou rse , b een imp resse d upon my damp skin

as t h e soo thsaye r was pre t end ing to Show me th eexact posi tron In wh i ch I shou ld ho ld my handsin t h e wat e r .O u r fri end was pack ing up now. From th e ready

way in wh i ch we had carr i e d out h is ins t ruct i ons , h emust—and nat u ral ly enough— have conc lude d that h ehad c redu lous dup e s t o d eal wi th , and so mad ealastat t empt to d e ri ve p rofi t e i t h e r from my sup e rst i t i ous

fears o r my unwariness. Po int ing t o th e b i t of i ronwh ich I had rep lace d in th e salve r , h e requ e st e d met o t e l l h im to take t hat away

,t oge th e r wi th t h e

dangers wh ich had b een th reat en ing u s . T oo wide

awake th is t i me t o b e taken in,I l i ft e d th e i ron ou t

of t h e salve r,and

,hand ing t h e rusty scrap of me tal

to h im , t o l d h i m to take i t away . Th is ended th e

p roc e ed ings.

And now for th e fu lfi lment of th e p red i ct i on of

speedy good news We l l, no good news of any

kind reach ed m e ; bu t— su ch is t h e i rony of fat eon th e ve ry last day of th e t h re e weeks wi th inwh i c h I was to re c e i ve g lad t i d ings, al e t t e r washanded t o m e contain ing th e most d isappo int ingp i e c e of int e l l igenc e affe ct ing my own p rosp e ctswh ich cou l d we l l have b e en i magined . In t h is waywere t h e t ruthfu l B rahman’

s p red i ct i ons fu lfi l l ed .

Let h im look t o i t in t h e nex t worl d . For, i f we

EXPER IEN CES WI TH FORTUNE- TELLERS. 57

may t ru st Dant e , ou r B rahman see r, and men of h is

kind , having p resumed to l ook too far ah ead , wi l l foreve r wander backwards about th e d ismal p i t wi thth e i r heads t u rne d round and set th e con t rary wayon th e i r shou lders—and th ey wi l l rich ly dese rve th e i rpun ishment .

I canno t hop e to have given my reader anadequat e i deaof t h e art and powe r of th e c raftyB rahman . H is earnest and contrnu ed app eals to

God , h is constant and so l emn invocat ions of cu rses

upon h is own h ead i f h e were depart ing from th et ru th , were real ly very imp ress ive , even to me whohad no reason t o p lace t h e smal l est confidence in

h im . I can wel l understand h ow,unde r ord inary

c i rcum stances,such aman cou ld p lay upon t h e

credu l i ty and fears of th e ignorant and sup erst i t ious

Hindus;h owweak , impu l s iv e women wou l d b e readydupes of h is c l eve rappeals to t h e i r hop esand fears,h ow h e wou ld exc i t e th e i r cu r iosi ty , h ow h is sl e igh tof hand wou ld impose upon t h em

,and how th e

respec t and awe inspi red by h is sacre d charact e ras aBrahman wou l d comp l et e th e d e l usi on of h is

vi ct ims.

On anoth e r occasron Iallowed aBrahman fortunet e l l er t o p ract i se h isartat my expense . H ismethod

of proceed ing was somewhat d i ffe rent from thatal ready desc ribed . He d id not commi t h imse l f to

any re ck less stat ements in regard to my past l i fe ,nor d i d h e vent u re any ve ry defin i t e p red ict i onsabou tmy futu re . He confined h imse l f to saying that Ihad ace rtain obj ect in v i ew ,

t h e accompl ishmen t ofwh ich I earnest ly d esi r ed , and t hat h e cou l d easi lySat isfy me whethe r I shou l d gain my end or no t.

58 EXPERIENCES WI TH F OR TUIVE -TELLERS.

Afte r examin ing my hand , and get t ing my palmcrossed wi th si l v e r

,h e mad e m e p rocu re ap i e c e of

th read , b reak i t myse l f in to five b i ts,ro l l t h e frag

ments up togeth e r and d rop th em,hap -hazard , on a

st ri p of c lot h cove re d wi th various cabal ist ic signs

and figu res. The p rocess of d ropp ing th e th read onth e m y st ic c loth was rep eat e d seve ral t im es, t h eB rahman pre tend ing to take spec ial not e of th e particular signs upon wh ich th e bal l of thread fe l l on

each occasi on . Once,however

,h e asked me to

separateand count t h e p i e c es of th read , in orde r,as

h e sai d,that th ere m ight be no mistake abou t th e

mat t e r . I d i d so . At l engt h h e handed m e th ep e l le t of th read

,re qu est ing me to p lace it in my

mouth . I had next t o wash my hands and c rosst h em on my breast

,so l emn ly fix ing my thoughts on

God , and cal l ing t o m ind any wish I m igh t havespec ial ly at heart . I was also t o b low five t im es

on th e back of my hands as t h ey lay c ross ed on

my breast . Wh i l e I remained in t h is posi t i on ,t h e

B rahman kep t rep eat ing var i ousmant ras in Sanskri t .He assu red m e that i f amark appeare d on t h e palmof my l eft hand , my wish wou ld be fu lfi l l ed aft e r th elap se of aconsi de rab l e t im e ; bu t t hat i f amarkappeare d on t h e pal m of my righ t hand

,I m igh t cal

cu lat e u pon t h e speedyaccompl ishment ofmy hop es.

I removed my hands, t h e l eft one fi rst . There wasno mark on i t . But t h e r igh t hand bore acorr

sp icuous one on the cent re of th e pal m,se e ing wh ich

th e Brahman sai d that all wou l d b e we l l wi th me .

He th en got some more money , wh ich had t o b epasse d over and round my h ead th re e t imes, witht h e p raye r t hat all my m isfo rtun e s m ight passaway .

60 EXPERIENCES l/VI TH FOR T UNE- TELLERS.

j o in ing up of t h e five p i eces of t h read in my mou th .

I m ust confess t hat , al though I was as vigi lan t aspossi b l e , t h e c l eve r d ext e ri ty of t h e B rahman e ludedmy susp ic ious watchfu lness over

’ lris p rocee d ings,so

that Iamnot inaposi t i on to say how h is t r icks wereact ual ly accompl i sh ed

,t hough possib l e exp lanat ions

have occu rred to me . One always fanc i es that onecan unmask th e c l eve r j uggl e r

,bu t general ly th e wish

to show h im up is st ronge r than t h e ab i l i ty t o d o so .

I t wi l l b e evi dent from th e fo rego ing narrat i v ewhat ac l eve r

,wo rld ly-wise fe l low the Ind ian for

t une -t e l l er is. He t rave ls much— I have m et t h esame man at Agraand at Lahore—and h e ski l fu l lyadapts h imse l f to eve ryage and t o all c i rcumstancesof l i fe . I remembe raB rahman t e l l ing me my fortuneat Cal cu t tawh en I was qu i t e ayou th . At t hat impressionab le t im e of l i fe , what mo re app ropriat e roadto th e pu rse that th e t end er passion ? So t h e c raftyBrahman so l emn ly assu red me that amarri e d fri endof mine , youngand good look ing , was mad ly in lovewith me

,and offe re d me h is assistanc e to b ring us

t ogeth e r .

Brahman fortune-t e l l ers are th e ast ro loge rs wh op lay so importan t apar t in t h e eve ry-day l i fe of th e

H indu .

They are consu l t ed , e sp ec ial ly by th e women ,

before taking near ly eve ry importan t or t r iv ial st ep inl i fe . I sath rone to b e ascended ? I sabat t l e to befough t Theast ro loge r must name th e p roper time .

I samarriage to be arranged ? The ast ro loge r must

E l l iot’s “ M uhammadan H istorians of I nd ia,by Pro f.

D owson,vol. v . p . 7 7 .

“ Voyages d e Franco is Bern ier, tomei . pp . 2 13

—2 16 . Amsterdam,16 99 .

EXPERIENCES WI TH FORTUNE- TELLERS. 6 1

give hisapp roval and must fix th e ausp ic ious day.

I s aj ou rney t o be undertaken ? The ast ro loge rmust appo int t h e day upon wh ich to set off. Hast h e weat h e r become so hot that peop l e wish to

l eave th e i r rooms and t ransfe r th e i r beds to t h e flatt erraced roofs of t h e i r houses Theast ro loge r mustt e l l t h em wh en t h is importan t m igrat i on shou l d be

carri ed out. I s th e l ove of aman o r awomandesi re d ? The astro loge r is again appeal ed to fo r

charmsand spe l lsand love -po t ions .Pausing one day, j ust foraminute , by t h e Bohar

gat e,near t h e l i t t l e bri dge ove r t h e canal wh ich form s

t h e favou ri t e bath ing-p lac e of t h e p eop l e of Mul tan,

ap i c t u resqu e and int e rest ing scene p re s ent ed i tse l f

to my vi ew . On one si d e of t h e b ri dge th e menandon t h e oth e r t h e women

,very much undraped

enj oying t he i r mo rn ing bath . On t h e st eps l ead ingfrom th e wat e r I not iced awoman in c l ean new

garments whose gracefu l format t ract ed myat t ent ion .

Ascend ing th e fl igh t of st eps, sh e passed th roughth e prec inc ts of t h e t emp l e of S ivaand deposi t e d asmal l offe ring b efore th e lingam. An hou raft e rwardsI was at t h e anc i ent t emp l e of Prahladpuri, andob served

,through t h e wide open door, t h e same

woman ,in c l ose consu l tat ion with aBrahman in an

adj o in ing bu i lding . The pri est was unfo l d ing beforeh e ralong ro l l ofast ro logical pape r , and wi th alookof great apparent since ri ty seemed he lp ing he r tounve i l th e secrets of th e futu re . O f what h e sai d or

what sh e wish ed to know , I have , of course , no

knowledge but p robab lyan int e rest ing romance wast here be ing wo rked out unde r t h e cunn ing hands of

t h e wi ly B rahmans.

62 EXPERIENCES W I TH FORTUNE-TELLERS .

That t h e Indian fo rt une -t e l l e r can somet imes p layap rominen t and p ersonal part in t h e d ramaof

domest i c l i fe wi l lappear from the fo l lowing charact e ristic sto ry wh ich was re lat e d to me by aMuhammadan who knew th e part i es conce rne d . A womanwhose husband had gone on aj ourney was v eryanxiou s abou t his p ro longed absence from home

, assh e had re c e ived no l et t e r from h im sinc e h is de

part u re . What more nat u ral t han t o consu l t anast ro loge r ? H e wou ld sure ly know what was t h emat t e r wi th t h e absen t man . The reade r of secre ts

was accord ingly int e rvi ewed v ery p rivat e ly . The

ast ro logical books were no doubt referre d to,and ,

inst ruct e d by t h e stars, th e se e r wasab l e t o say t hatat midn igh t onace rtain day of t h e mon th h e r husband wou l d ret u rn hom e ; bu t , for v ery p rivat e andimportan t reasons, wou l d not wish h is v isi t t o b e

known to any one . Sh e wasacco rd ingly to keep t h emat t e radead sec re t

,and on no account to awaken

t h e cu riosi ty or susp ic ions of he r n e igh bou rs by anyp reparat ions or unusual p roce ed ings. Theappo in t e dn igh t arr iv ed , and wi th i t agent l e tap on th e doo rand alow vo ice ask ing adm issi on . The womanopene d th e doo r of h e r hou se wi th eagerness andadm i tt e d h e r s i len t and muffle d v isi t o r , who ,affect ingto b e v e ry t i red , found h isway to t h e l i t t l e charpoyandlay down upon i t , invi t ing the woman t o j o in h im . I t

was not long befo re sh e d i scove red,even in th e dark

n ess of t h e l i t t l e cab in , t hat h e r v isi to rand he r h usbandwere ve ry d i ffe rent p e rsons. What was sh e to d o ?

Had t he wre tch wh o occup i e d th e bed come to murde r

h e r for h e r go l d and si lve r ornamen ts ? Shou l d Sh ecal l out for h e l p ? Sh e wasalon e and at th e me rcy of

EXPERIENCES lVI TH F OR T UIYE - TELLERS. 6 3

apossib lyarmedman . Protestingtlrat lrerlord shou ldnot sl eep Wi t hou t foo d aft e r h is l ong j ourney

, sh e

commence d cooking some poories, cakes fri ed in o il .

The fireligh t confi rmed her susp ic ions, and th e man

in t h e charpoy , no o t h e r t han t h e Brahman ast rologe r , fee l ing he was det e ct ed , at t empt ed to snatchsome ornamen ts from he r pe rson , but she se ized th e

potand poured th e bo i l ing o i l ove r h im. H is involun

tary c ri es of pain roused th e n e ighbou rs and l ed to

h isappreh ension .

Mulrammadansalso go about p re t end ing to pred ictfo rtune s . They use d ice in th e i r d iv inat ions

, and , i fI mayjudge from those wi t h whom I have come incontact

,are bu t shal low fe l lows in compar ison wi th

th e i r B rahman r ivals.

Accord ing toanassert ion o f the Prophet ,whatafo rtune-tel lersaysmay b e true because one of th e j inn stealsaway the truth ,and carries i t to th e magic ian’s ear for the ange ls come downto th e region next th e earth (th e lowest heaven) , and ment ionth e works that have been p re -ordained in heaven ;and th e d evrls(or ev i l jinn ) l isten to what th eange ls say,and hear the orderspredest ined in heavenand carry themto th e fortune -te l lers. I tis on such occasions that Shoot ing starsare h urled at th e d evrls.

I t is sai d that ‘th e d i v iner Obtains th e services of th e Sheytan(Shaitan ) b y magic arts,and by names invoked , and by th e

burn ing of perfumes, and h e informs lrrrn of secret th ings.

As migh t b e expect ed , i t o ccasional ly hap p ensthat t h e p red i ct ions of t h e ast ro loge rs t u rn out cor

rec t . I n t hat case t h e word is carri ed from mouthto mou th , and t h e fame of t h e fu lfi l l e d p rophecyt rave ls far and wide ; but when events d o not tal lywi t h th e dec lare d anticipatiorrs of t h e p rophet , t heigno rant are read i ly pe rsuaded that th e nonfullilmerrt

I H ughes’

D i ct i onary of I slam,art. Mag i c .

of t h e p red i c t ion is due ent i re ly to some wan t of

fo rmal i ty o r exact i t u de in carrying out t h e c e re

mon i es presc r ib e d by t h e B rahman .

A very int e rest ing instance of th e fu lfi lment ofaBralrmanical p roph ecy wi l l b e found recorded in

Co lone l Meadows Tayl o r’s Autob iography . A

wri tt en pred i ct ion based upon t h e ho roscop e of th eRajah of Sh olapoorwas shown t o th e Co l one l , underaso l emn promise of s e c re cy , many years befo re t h ep red ict e d events came to pass . I n t h is documen tt h east ro l oge r had foret o ld that th e Rajah wou ld loseboth h is s tat e and h is l i fe b efore h e at tained th e ageof twenty-fou r, and th e p roph e cy was ver ifi e d to th el e tt er unde r ve ry p ecu l iar c ircumstance s . Th e storyis we l l t o l d by Co lone l Tay lor , b u t from oth erOp in ions and stat ement s in h isau tob i ography

,t h ere

wou ld app ear t o b e reason to b e l i ev e that t h egal lan t o ffi ce r was not withou t at inct u re of supe rstition in h is nat u re

,whi ch may have co lou re d h is

v i ew and p erhaps h is narrat iv e of t h is event . B e

s i d es, as ho roscop es are consu lte d in all H indufami l i es, i t is very imp robab l e t hat th e Rajah of

Sholapoor’

s horoscope was kep t so p rofound asec re ta's Co l on e l Tay lo r imagined . Any way, alucky b i to utwe ighs at housand m iss es, and th e wor ld ofInd iago es on ,

as i t has done forages, consu l t ing t h estars in t h e i r p rogress, and easi ly dupe d by , b u tever t ru st ing wi th ch i l d l i ke confidence , its ast u t eh e re d i tary p ri est hood , as, I th ink , th e fo l lowingext ract from anat i ve paper conduc t e d in Eng l ish

wi l l show

I t is reported fromBombay that aBan ia,named T rrkam

das,an inhab itant o f Ah rn edabad , was in formed b yaBrahman

that h rs death wou ld take p lace onacertain day in th e montho fVaisakh . T h ereuporr th e Ban iarepai red to th e ho ly sh rineof Pal itanato performh is funeral rites. But not dying on d uedate , h e returned to Ahmedabadand interv i ewed th e B rahman

wh o sai d that h e had madeamistake in th e calcu lat ion,and

that T rikamdas wou ld d ie in th e month of Srayau . T he

devotee has thereupon gone back to Pal itanato d Ie

Cou ld fai th or c redu l i ty go fu rthe r ?Ind ia, indeed , is p re -eminent ly th e land of soo th

sayersand fo rtune-t e l l e rs, and has given to Europeth e rac e of gipsi es so wel l known in st o ry and

sl igh t e r extent,in real l i fe .

I T rio/I nc june 24, 18 82 .

A STRAN GE CUL T ; TH E WORSHIPOF ZAHIR-PI R .

T he Lalb egis once ayear erect along pole covered wi thflags

,co loured c loth

,and other th ings, includ ing cocoa-nuts

honour of Pir Zah ir,or Lal G uru ,as h e is l i kewise cal led ; to

wh ich they render worsh ipas toagod . In th is theyare l i keth e low Muhammadans

,wh o worsh ip asimi larly decorated

po le erected to Gaz i -M ian , ap ir or saint .” —SHERR1NG ’

H indu T ri bes and Castes as represented at Benares.

ON th e fe rt i l e re l igi o us so i l of Ind iath e re flou rish

in rank l uxu rianc e , many st range fo rms of worsh i p ,one ofwh ich forms t h e subj ect of t h is pape r .Th e quotat i onat th e h ead of th e pageal l u d es, verybri efly

,to th e re l igi ous Obse rvan ces I amabou t to

descri b e ; but , l i ke too many such condensed d escript ions, i t

is not qu i t eaccu rat e , for,as faras I have b e enab l e to l earn ,

t h e po l e isnowh e re worshippedasagod .

At B égar, in t h e d ist ri c t of B ikanir, is th e tomb ofaPi r or sain t , wel l known from th e H imalayas to

t h e Narbada, of whom th e fo l lowing marv e l lousandunmean ing story is to ld .

T h e legendas I gi ve i t in th is paper d i ffers in some , thoughnot very essent ial

,po ints from that contained in General

A STRANGE CULT;

cameand p rost rat ed he rse l f b efo re Guru Goracknath ,

c laim ing the p rom ised reward of h er long and fai th fu lmin ist rat ions. Th e sain t was pu z z l e d and , aft e rwhat had occu rre d in t h e morn ing , not al i t t l e inc ensed at B échal’s request ; but when h e understoodt h e real stat e of th e case

,sai d that though h e had

al ready given two sons to Kéchal, h e wou ld not

suffe r th e woman wh o had served h imwi th so much

d evo t ion for years to go away un rewarded . T o th is

end h e hand ed he r an app l e,of wh ich sh e was to eat

t h re e -fou rthsand give t h e remainde r to he r favou ri t emare . Whi l e t h ese events were t ransp i ring , t h eRajah ’s sist e r had su cce ed ed in induc ing h im to

put B échalaway , and t h e un fo rt unat e p rincess wasac cord ingly packe d off to her ancest ral home . In

d ue course Kéchal became th e moth e r of twin sons,and t h e event was c e l eb rat e d wi th great rej o ic ings.

Bachal’s t ime was also d rawing n igh,but she was

now in h e r fat h e r’s house . At th is stage c ertainmarv e l lous events occu rred . Bachal’s unborn ch i ld ,add ressing its moth er , advi s ed h e r to go back to h e rh usband ’s home , as i t wou l d not b e c re d i tab l e fo r h imto be bo rn away from th e pat e rnal roo f. The

moth e r obj e ct e d that h e r fat h e r wou ld neve r h ear ofh er ret u rn ing to ahusband who had repu d iat e d he r

and t hat i f sh e ins ist ed u pon go ing sh e wou ld haveto wal k th e who l e way, as sh e wou l d , on noaccount ,be h e lped by he r own peop l e in carrying out such aproj e ct . The ch i l d th en to l d its mother t o have at re e t hat st ood before t he i r house fe l l ed , and acartmade out of th e wood . As for oxen t o d raw i t , h einformed h i s moth e r that i f sh e sen t ase rvan t intoth e ne ighbou ring forest

,h e wou ld th e re find apai r

THE WORSH I P OF ZAH IR PIR . 69

name d Sonaand M ona,ready for u se . The mot h er

po int ed ou t that t h e only carp ent e r avai labl e wasb l ind , bu t th e ch i l d got over t hat d ifficu l ty by t e l l inghe r to inst ruct th e carp ent e r in quest ion to p ressh is hands ove r h is eyes and h is sight wou ld b e

re stored . Everyth ing t u rned out exact lyas th e ch i l dhad pred ict ed . The cart was du ly made , th e oxenfound and yoke d to i t

, and t h e j ourney t owardsBégar commenced . Fre ight e d wi t h such an importan t b u rden , t h e cart , as i t passed along , seemedto Shake th e earth to its ve ry foundat ions. The

king of th e serpentswas in h is subt e rranean kingdom,

and sent som e huge snakes to dest roy th e audac iousmortals who dared t o invade h is repose . H is

commands were so far carri e d o ut , t hat t h e d rive rof t h e cart and t h e two oxen were ki l l ed ; b ut Bachale scaped on foot , and re tu rned to h er fat h e r’s housein deep d ist ress. She upbrai d ed t he ch i l d wh o hadcaused all t h is t roub l e

,bu t h e maintained t hat

n e i t h e r t h e oxen nor t h e d rive r were dead , anddesi re d h e r to sendmen to inqu i re about t h em . True

enough,t h ey were found rest o red to l i fe , and , afte r a

l i t t l e d e lay , t h e j ou rney was re sum ed . The Rajahof Bagar-d es rec e ived h is wife back again,

and t h emarve l lous ch i ld was ushe red in to th e worl d wi t ht h e c ustomary rej o ic ings. Short ly aft e r h is b i rthh e was

,in accordance wi t h un iv e rsal custom in

Ind ia, lai d in t h e sun ,in o rd e r to be pu rifi ed by the

rays of that god . He was left .alone for afewminut e s

,and wh en h is at t endan ts re tu rned they

found h im p laying wi th adead ly cobra. T h ey

looked on in mute t erro r , wh ich t u rned to ho rror andamazem ent when t h ey saw h im put t he cobra’s head

70 A STRANGE CUL T;

into h i s own mouth and su ck i t . The infan t,

mirabile d ictu,suffe re d no harm , and th is inc i d ent ,

I was grave lyassu red , gave rrse t o his popu lar nameofZah i r-Pi r (or po ison saint ) ? Whenh e arri ved atman ’

s estat e h e succeeded h is fat h e r on t h e musnud .

O f cou rse awife was found fo r h im , and wh i l e h ewasaway from home on avisi t t o his b ri d e ’s fat h e r

h is bro t h e rs (th e twin sons of Kéchal) p lot t ed to se ize

t he th rone wit h th e assistance of t h e Empero r of

D e lh i . The young p rinc e had on ly j ust reach edhome with h is b ri d e

,when h e was ob l ige d to d efend

h imse l f against aforc e raised at D e l h i and h eadedby h is brothers. I n ho t has t e h e co l l ect e d such of

h i s men as were at hand , and moun t ing h is st e e d

Le i lah ,afoal of th e mare that had been favou re dw i th ab i t of th e yogi ’sapp l e

,h e se t ou t t o meet h is

adve rsarie s . Wh en abou t to start for t h e bat t l efi e ld , h is moth e r lai d h e r so l emn inj unct ions upon

h imt o spare th e l i ves of h is bro th e rs.

I n t h e h eat of th e cont est t hat ensu ed,Zah i r-Pi r

was miraculously prote ct ed from harm . The b i rds

hovere d ove r h im to sh i e l d h im from th e sun,t h ey

rece i ve d on th e i r own wings th e bu l le ts t hat wou ldhave st ruck h im H is mare Le i lah pe rformedwonders. She l i t e ral ly fl ew abou t

,and in one of h e r

wi l d swoops t h e Pi r ’s swo rd st ruck off t h e h eads of

bot h h i s b roth ers at one st roke , and , in some in

exp l i cab l e manne r,th ey ro l l ed in to h is lap . He

gath ere d up h is c lothes round h is waist wi th the twoh eads, and rode on . The ch i efs t h u s d ispo sed of, t h e

I General C unn inghamsays that th i s sai nt “ rece i ved h is trtleofZSrh ir-Pir

,or th e

‘man i fested saint,

’ because h e appeared to

h is wi feafter death (Archae o logical Report, vo l. x i v . p .

THE WORSH IP OF z AH IR-PI R. 7 1

bat t l e was ove r . H is enem i esmel t e d from the fi e l d,

and Zah i r-Pi r ret urn ed home . At the gat e he wasmet by his moth e r , whos e fi rst quest ion wasabou tth e fat e of Kéchal’s sons. Instead of rep lying

,t h e

exhaust e d so l d i e r aske d for wat e r ; but wi thoutgiving h im what h e want e d She again p resse d h imfor n ews of h is b ro th e rs. I ritated at h e r so l ic i t u deregard ing the fat e of h is t reacherous foes, t h e v ic to rto ld her t hat h e had brought some cocoa-nuts fo r h e r

and , so saying , ro l l e d out upon t h e floo r t he b loody

h eads which h e had carr i e d in h is gi rd l e . The o ld

Rane e start e d back wi th horro r from th ese goryt roph i es, and in h e r ind ignat i on vowed that sh e

wou ld see her son’

s fac e no more .

Up to t h is t im e t h e p rince had be en aH indu .

He now trrrned Muhammadan, and went offalone on

ap i lgrimage t o Mecca. H is mothe r thought h e wasdead , and h is young b ri d e mourn ed h is loss, but h ecame back safe and we l l

,and secret ly made h imse l f

known to h is wi fe,whom he found means of v isi t ing

c landestine ly . An ev i d en t change in t h e bearingand manne rs of th e supposed widow

,he r ch e erfu l

ne ss and gai e ty , so ou t of harmony wi th h er corr

d i t ion aroused t h e susp ic ions of t h e m ot h e r-in-law.

The o ld Rane e reproach ed he r daught e r-in -law withforget t ing h e r dutyasawidow ,

and even accused he rof unfai t hfu lness to h er dead h u sband . Stung by

th e ke en e dge of th e o ld lady ’s tongue , th e p rincessd ete rm ined to c l ear h e r charact e r . She invi t ed he rmother-in-law to conceal h e rse l f in he r bed -roomatn igh t . The p rince came as usual . The mo the rrecogn iz ed he r son . Al l he r mat e rnal affec t ion wentout towards h im ,

and,unmindfu l of he r vow

72 A S TRA IVGE CUL T '

rush ed forward to embrace h i m ; bu t t h e p rince ,who had b e en deep ly mort ifi ed by h i s moth e r’sconduct and h e r '

vow,fl ed away hast i ly and neve r

ret u rne d again . H is moth e r had h im searche d fo rh igh and low,

far and n ear , bu t wi thout avai l . Atl ength i t was d iscove red that h e had found aqu i e trefuge in th e bosom of mothe r Earth , in to wh ich h ehad gent ly d esc ended , st ee d and all, l eaving on ly th eh ead of h is spear and t h e pennon at tach ed to i t tomark th e spot of h is engu l fment . On t h is now

sac red spot h i s moth e r erect e d amauso l e um , wh i chi s t h e c en t re ofat t ract i on t o h is fo l lowers.

Somehow th is Pi r has be en spec ial ly se l ect e d asth e pat ron saint of t h e Lalbagis, asect ion of t h e

Mehter o r sweeper cast e , who , in affl ict ion or t roub l e ,vow to make ce rtain offer ingsat h is

tomb , or in h i sname , in th e hop e , or on cond i t ion

,t hat h e wi l l he lp

t hem in th e i r d ist ress. But th e tomb is remot e fromt h e great cent res of popu lat i on and weal t h . Lalbagis, l i ke o th e r p eop l e , n e ed some more p resen t

obj ec t t o qu icken th e i r d evot ion and op en th e i r pu rse

st r ings t han ad istant grave . This t h e custod ians of

t h e tomb tho rough ly unde rstand , so t h ey p eriod ical lysend ou t m issionari es t o rem ind t h e Lalbagis of th e

necessi ty of con t r ibu t ing t owards t h e main t enanc e ofth e t omb and its guard ians

,i f th ey desi re to enj oy a

cont inuanc e of t h e b l essings secu red to t h em th roughth e favou r of t h e saint .Th e mrssronaries, who are Mussu lmans, go ove rt h e count ry p rom ising th e p ro t ec t ion and good o ffi cesof t h e P i r t o t hose who wi l l b ecome h is fo l lowe rs .O ffe rings of som e sor t are, of co u rse , expect ed , andempty -handed wo rsh ipp ers are of l i t t l e accoun t .

TH E WORSH I P OF ZA‘

H I R -PI R . 7 3

Men wh o in infancy were sp ec ial ly ded icat ed byth e i r parents, with su i tab l e ce remon i esand offer ings,to t h e saint of Bagar

,enjoy certain privi l eges on th e

o ccasi ons se l ect ed for pub l ic ly honou ring t he i r pat ron .

As might have be en exp ect ed, ch i ldren devo t e d to th e

spec ial se rvice of t h e P i r are gene ral ly sickly onesfor whomh is fost e r ing care is deemed necessary .

I n th e i r p er iod ical wande rings, t h e m issionari es of

th e Zéhir-Pi r gran t,for ast i pu lat e d consi d e rat ion ,

perm ission to afew mehters in each d ist ric t to raiset h e standard of t h e saint forafixed numbe r of days,and to carry i t abou t in p rocession . These priv i l egedmenare known as B haggats. I be l i eve i t is gene

ral ly unde rstood that t h ey have v isi t e d t h e saint ’stomb in pe rson and beenau thoriz e d on t h e spo t to

raise h is standard,as t h e phrase is. Accord ing to

popu lar b e l i ef, t h e standard , atany rat e aport ion of

i t,is rece i ved d i rec t from the custod ians of t h e P i r’s

t omb,upon which i t has be en du ly lai d , t husacquir

ingaport ion of th e sac redness of th e ho ly spot fromwh ich i t comes. The cu stodians of t h e tomb atBé

‘rgar exerc ise asuffic i ent con t ro l ove r th e B haggats,and insist upon t h e Obse rvance by them of th e

c u stomary p ract i c es. A case of i rregu lari ty happene dat Lahore in 1885.

A Bhaggat, in o rder to st eal amarch upon th e o t h e rs

,set u p h is standard be fore

th e usual t i m e , and began to c i rcumambu lat e t h ec i ty for cont r ib u t ions. He met wi t h to l e rabl e su c

c ess ; b ut on t h e represen tat ion of t h e o the r Bhaggats h e was fined and seve re ly rep rimanded by th em issionari es from Bagar , who mo reove r al lowed th eo th e r Bhaggats t o ext ract from h im h is i rregu larlygott en gains.

74 A STRANGE CULT;

The standard consi sts of along bamboo t r icke dout with sc raps of gay-co loured c l o th , hav ingat t h et op of i t asort of huge b rush , cove red on th e outsi d ewi t h peacocks’ feath e rs. A long th e l engt h of t h e

p o l eare suspended bunches of cocoa-nuts,with fans

and moorchals. Th is is th e app earanc e i t has to anun in i t iat e d on looker . Indeed , I was fo r along t imeunde r t h e impression t hat t h e po l e , with th e t uft offeat h e rsat t h e top , was noth ing b ut ah uge b room ,

t h e most important i mp l em en t of t h e meh ter’s(sweeper

s) t rade . But I was u t t e r ly wrong . T o t h e

in i t iat e d t h is huge b roomadorn e d wi th flags, fi t t e d

to agigant i c hand l e , and carr i e d by aman ,is t rans

figured int o abrid egroomd ressed out in his wedding

garments, and seated on horseback In fact , i t rep re

sen ts Zah i r-Pi r h imse l f on t h e m emorab l e occasionof h is ret u rn home wi t h h is b rid e

,t h e occasion on

wh ich he sl ew h is hal f-b roth e rs and incurred th ed isp l easu re of h is m o t h e r . The cocoa-nu ts, I presume , have some connect i on with th e Pi r

s grim jest

abou t t h e h eads of t h e sons ofKéchal, but why th e reshou ld be mo re t han two susp ended t o t h e p ole I

fai l e d to find out. I n such cases consist ency canhard ly b e expec t ed , and shou l d not

,p erhaps, be

looked for. Al ready,i t wou l d appear , t h e symbo l ical

charact e r of t h e cocoa-nu ts is forgo t t en ,and i t is an

obj ec t of p ri d e to t h e Bhaggat to ou tdo h is ri vals inth e number of nuts su sp ende d from h is po l e . Thefansand moorchalsare p robablyat tach edas emb l emsof royal , oratany rat e of exal t ed , rank .

The d ressing up of t h e po l e,or standard as th ey

cal l i t , is qu i t e an e labo rat e affai r , and is carri ed outto th e accompan im en t of t h e d rum and vocal music .

6 A STRANGE CUL T ;

act ual ly made to eat some gram (apu lse on whichhorses are fe d in Ind ia) and afew b lades of gre en

grass.

Wrought upon by t h e d rummingand shout ing , th ehorses im i tat e th e pawing ofaSp i ri t e d st e ed

p ranc e abou t as much as t h e we igh t of t h e po l e andth e i r own st rength wi l l perm i t b ut shou ld t h ey beginto cape r too much , t h e B haggat smacks h is wh ip

made of i ron chains moun t e d on an i ron hand l e .

Shou ld th e i r cap eringb e d ue to th e i r be ing possesse dby some demon unfri end ly to th e P i r, t h e B haggatsoon wh ips t h e unwe lcome int ru der ou t of h is subj e ct ;b ut i t is we l l known t hat i f th e cape r ingof th e “ horse ”b e due mere ly to t he influ ence of th e sac re dafflatus oft h e P i r Sah ib , ” why th en th e wh i p of i ron chain sfal ls qu i te harm l essly upon t h e back of t h e l i ve lyst e ed

, and t h e re is mo re glo ry to Zah i r-P i r . To

st eady th e po l eand obviat e any chance of its fal l ing ,acatast roph e wh ich m igh t b e fo l lowed by very graveconsequenc es, i t is usual , t hough not abso l ut e lyn ecessary , to have th ree or fou r lo

ng stay-rop esat tache d h igh up . Th e ends of t h ese are h e l d byappo in t e d p ersons, who s e d uty i t is to watch th e po l eand keep i t as ve rt ical as po ss i b l e . Shou l d th e po l e ,howeve r

, owing t o th e cu rve t t ing or awkwardness of

t h e “ horse ,” l ean ove r too much to one S i d e , ashou t

is immed iat e ly raise d of KurrhyeeI Kurryhce

wh ich means d ish , d ish . The “ horse ”

is immed iat e lyre l i eve d of h is sacred bu rd en ,

h is be l t is fo rmal lytaken away , and h e is dep rived of h is priv i l eges unt i lh e atones fo r h is care l essness by t reat ing h is cast emat es t o ad ish of sweetmeats.

A l l who fo l low the p ro c e ssionare expec t e d to have

THE WORSH IP OF ZAH I R-PI R . 7

had abat h and to have put on c l ean c lo t hes. They

are requ i red to at t end barefoote d and to d isp ensewi th th e l uxu ry of an umbre l la. Beyond fo l lowing

th e standard and shout ing “ Zah i r-Pi r Ke Jye ,”

victo ry to z ah i r-Pir, the adorat ion consists, practi

cal ly , in ahumb le obe isance t o th e decorat e d po l eon t h e part of each pe rson

, and t h e p resentat i on of

some gift,howeve r t rifl ing , to what we may cal l th e

l essees of t h e standard .

YVomen ,always in an infe rior posi t ion in t h e East ,are on no accoun t to tou ch th e sacred p o l e . I f th ey

have offer ings to make th ey hand th em to t h e Bhaggat, who grac iously accep ts t h e giftsand t h en ,

aft e rapp ly ingabund l e of peacock’s feath e rs to th e po l e

t ou ch es th e femal e worsh ippers with i t in token of

th e Pi r’s goodwi l l and pro t ec t ion .

Aft e r be ing carri e d about for hours with deafen ingshou tsand more d eafen ing d rumming , t h e standardis taken to ar ive r , wh ithe r t h e ot h er standard s fromth e same town are also carri ed on t h e same day.

The beare r st eps in to th e st ream and , raising some of

t h e wat e r in h is hand , pays h is respects to th e r ive r .A day or two lat e r th e standard is carr i e d round onabegging exp ed i t i on ,

which , in t h e part i cu lar case Itook not e of, was hard ly successfu l , see ing that t h enet resu l t of, th e who l e day’s wo rkwas on ly one rupe eand fou r annas. I t is also taken on an appo int edday t o t h e house ofany one who is wi l l ing to give afeast orapresent in fu lfiment of some vow or ot h e r .

Onabrigh t moon l i gh t n igh t all t h e standardsareset up in some popu lous cent re , and amelaor fai r ish e l d there . Stal ls fo r th e sal e of sweets and tea

&c .,arearranged upon t h e spot ,and merry -go -rounds

78 A S TRA IVGE CULT;

are e re c t ed fo r th e amusement of th e young. Fun

and fro l i c re ign sup reme,and th e fai r is kep t u p t o

alat e hou r . The hoard ed o r borrowed p ic e (mo refrequen t ly th e lat t e r) are fr e e ly produced , and go toswe l l th e gains of t h e ent e rp rising d eal e rs in th esain t ’s good offices. On t h e fo l lowing day all t h estandardsare carri ed to someappo int ed meet ing-p lac ewit hany amoun t of t om-t om ing

,singing

, and no ise .The cocoa-nu ts are now removed from th e sacre dpo l e , and some of t h em are given as pri zes to thesu ccessfu l compet i tors in foot-races or o th e r sports

open t o all comers. Th e remainder of th e cocoanutsare d ist r ibut ed in l i t t l e p i eces to t h e saint ’s followers, by whom th ey are mu ch p rized as charms .I n t h is d ist r i b ut ion th e “ horses get th e large stshare , and somet im es th ey

even rec e ive asmal l prop o rt i on of th e Bhaggats’ profi ts. I t is easy t o see howth e honou re d pos i t ion acco rd e d t o th e “ horses att h ese re l igious gath e rings b ecom es an obj e c t of

desi re ;and how paren ts, t o secu re th e envi ed p reced ence fo r t h e i r sons on su ch pub l i c occasi ons

wi l l ing to pay t h e p rice demanded by th e d isp en sersof su ch favou rs. My inqu i r i es sat isfi ed m e that

apart from any t h eo re t i cal c onsi d e rat ions, i t was asubj ect of p ri d e t o aMehter

s fami ly to have one

member at l east enro l l ed as one of th e P i r’shorses.

The practical working of this systemand t h e nat u reof t h e worsh ip may b e i l l ust rat e d by th e fo l lowingfac ts. On one occasi on of t h e annual c e l eb rat ion aquarre l arose as to who shou l d carry th e standard .

One young man got possess i on of i t, and wasact ing

h o rse ,” wh en h e re c e ived ab low on t h e face wh i ch

THE WORSH IP OF ZA‘

H IR PI R . 9

cause d th e standard to sway and n early fal l to th eground . The b lowwhich caused th iswas c l early anact of sacrilege . I t was ab low given to ayoungmarr wh ile ac t ing in t h e capac i ty of Ghora

horse , to th e P i r Sah i b, and cou l d on ly b e exp i

at ed by ah eavy fine and agene ral feast to t h e cast efe l l ows. There and th en t h e exc i t e d c rowd excommunicated t h e bo l d and imp ious man whose handhad st ru ck th e offensive b low

, and i t was mont hs,nay years, before he was qu i t e re instat e d in soc ialposi t ion amongst h is breth ren ; not, inde ed , un t i l th e

em issari es from Bagar had t h emse lves condoned

h is rash act for ace rtain numbe r of rupe es and aprom ise of bet t e r b ehaviou r in t h e futu re . On

anot h e r occasion ayoung fellowr entru sted wi t h t h e

standard al lowed h is at t en t ion to wander towardst h e women

,and t h e po l e b ecame unst eady . A

zealous, bu t too rash at t endant , not himself aGhora,carri ed away by h is ind ignan t fe e l ings, ven tu re d tost ri ke t h e po l e-beare r

,and for t h is i rregu lari ty h is

hand become part ial ly paralyzed , and only recove redits fu l l poweraft e r years of p rop i t iat ion had app easedth e out raged saint . As for t h e too eageradmi re rof th e fai r sex . h e b ecame ve ry i l l and lost h is l i feshort ly aft e r .T o gi ve somet h ing ofase rious, so l emn charact e r tot h e e l evat ion of t h e P i r’s standard , all t h e “ horses

are requ i red to unde rgoaso rt of pu rificato ry p enanceforamon th p rev ious to th e ce remony . They arerequ i re d to abstain fromall ind ulgerrces,and to sl e ep

not on abed of any kind , but on t h e bare floo r ,alone

, and qu i t e apart from all oth e r members of t h e

fami ly . Wh en in at t endance on th e standard , th ey

80 A STRANGE CUL T '

are expec t e d to keep th e i r m inds free from carnalt houghtsand desi res. I h eard of t h e case p f one

man wh o met wi t haseve re fal l whi l e at t end ing th ep rocessi on . Th e nat u re of th e ac c i d en t was muchexagge rat e d , and wasat t rib u t e d to th e P i r’sanger atsom e unb ecoming though ts hav ing ent e re d into th em ind of t h e suffe re r . And with in my own knowl edge

acase of severe i l ln ess was pu t down confident ly to

an infringemen t of t h e st r ict ru l es for t h e conduc t ofapu re l i fe enj o ine d on t h ese occas i ons. The Pi r ,unfortunat e ly , canno t or wi l l not give afavou rab l eanswe r to eve ry prayer . A l i t t l e infan t was dy ing inour compound of what seemed to me to he wan t ofnou rishmen t . The fat h er begge d arupe e and re

ceived i t . I natu ral ly conc l u d ed h e wou l d buy

m i l k and such -l i ke su i tab l e food for t h e l i t t l e starvel ing; bu t afte r t h e ch i l d

s d eat h,wh ich took p lace

wi th in aday or two,I found out that t h e rup e e had

been put int o asmal l bagand t i ed round th e ch i l d ’s

neck , with t h e vow t hat i f Zéh ir-Pi r wou ld p reservet h e l i t t l e one ’s l i fe , th e rup e e wou ld be expended int h e purchase ofaki d to be sac rifice d in h is honou r .The curi ous cu l t ofwh ich I have j u st givenan ou t

l ine sketch is not und ese rv ing ofstu dy . Th e Mehters

arean infe r ior cast e , sub d iv i ded in to seven sub -cast es,

one of th ese (t h e Shai k) professing th e Muhammadan re l igion . The oth e r six sub -cast es

,inclu

d ing the Lalbagi,al t hough reverenc ing th e Brahmansand hold ing st r ict ly enough t o cast e Obse rvanc e s

not, as faras I have been ab l e to asc ertain ,consi d e r

t hemse lves H indus. Wheth e r th e Meh ters ared escendan ts of H indu out-cast es

, or ofaborigineswhohave adopted th e cast e

system,I canno t say. At

TH E WORSH IP OF ZA‘

H I RP IR . 8 1

t he p resen t day t he i r occupat i on is for th e most partt hat of sweepe rsand scavengers. The Lalbagis t hen ,

be i t remembered ,are rej ec t e d of H indu ism . They

d o not even cal l t h emse lves H indus,al though

oft en c lasse d as such by Eu rop eans. They are cer

tainly not Mussu lmans. But,l i kearace of out-caste s,

t h ey haun t t h e ou te r courts of t h e t em p l es of bot h

re l igions to p ick up such c rumbs of comfort as th eymay be p e rm i t t e d to appropriat e . They be l i eve in

t h e B rahman ; t h ey consu l t h im on most occasionsof l i fe and h e takes t he i r money . The Mussu lmanFaki r is e qual ly an obj ect of vene rat ion t o th em ,andmany an o ffe ring d o th ey make on t he graves of

Syud s. A l though n e i th e r H indus p or Muhammadans

,t h ey take part in many fest ivals p ecul iar to t he

two c re eds,and have succe eded in find ing for th em

se lvesapat ron saint wh o comb ines in h imself t h e

doub l e advantage of having b e longed at d i ffe ren tt imes to both c re eds, hav ing be en , as stat ed befo re ,born aH indu and dy ing agood Musl im .

The po l e i tse l f wou ld se em to b e essent ial lyacomp romise . A visi b l e symbo l as t h e obj ec t of worsh i pwas demanded ; indee d more than t hat ,an an t hrop omorph ic symbo l . But th e st e rn and Sweep ing con

d emnation of i do lat ry in t h e Ko ran cou l d not be

d isregarde d by th e Muhammadan custod ians of th e

tomb . O u t of t h ese confl ict ing e l ements has come

the decorat e d po l e wh ich I have d esc r ibed—amerestandard of t h e saint to t hose who desi re to so regardi t ; but to t h e imaginat ive Lalbagi,ave ri tab l e representation of h is pat ron at t h e most c ri t ical andint erest ing moment of h is l i fe .

When th is cu l t arose , and how i t arose , I have6

82 A STRANGE CULT;

not b een ab le to asc e rtain . For t h e pat ron sain t nogreat e ran t i qu i ty isat present c lai m ed than t h e ageof Akbar , A .D . 1556

—1605.

What ace rtain pop u lar schoo l of mytho logists

cou l d make out of t h e sto ri es wh ich have c l uste redabout th e name of Zah i r-Pi r, I wou ld not v en t u re tosay. Pe rhaps t h ey cou l d p rove t hat t h e who l e is aso lar al lego ry ;amyth of t h e dawn ,

or some t h ing of

t hat sort . T h e Prr’

s vo i c e b efo re b i r th is p e rhapst h e fresh b reez e wh ich p re ce des t h e r ising son . H is

conqu est of t h e serpents,I av ic to ry over c l o uds and

darkness. H is wonderfu l ho rse is obvi o usly one of

t h e cou rse rs of th e sun . Th e j ourn ey westward to

Meccais t h e sun on h is westward march , h is t emporary conc eal men t is an ec l ipse , and h is final d isapp earance b en eat h t h e eart h on ly asunse t wh i l e

t h e sp ear-h ead l eft above t h e gro und is sure ly alastl inger ing ray of t h e van ish ed sun st r i k ing ac ross t h eskyand v isi b l e to menaft e r t h e b righ t orb i tse l f hassunk t o rest . Comparat i ve mytho logists have not tob e to l d , for t h e po in t is too obv ious

,t hat in t h is way

th e l i fe ofal most any famous man may b e reso lvedin t o aso lar myth . There are fi rst th e symp toms of

h rsadven t , t hen h is ear ly st ruggl es,fo l l owed by t h e

dange rsand confl ic ts of manhood . To th is succe eds

h i s m eri d ian sp l endou r,t h en h is gradual decay , and

1 T h e i deaof th e superiori ty ofasarntly ch i ld to th e terri b ledestruct i ve power of serpents I S an o ld one

,and occurs in th e

mytho logy of many natrons.

“T h us i t is said that Ah , when

an Infant,was left alone in Mecca

,the inhab itan ts

,inc lud ing

h is parents,hav ing fled at th e approach ofah uge dragon . T h e

infant rent i tasunder b y th e jaws (Conway’s D emono logy,”

vol. i i . p .

84 A STRANGE CULT;

tuons seao f n i ght,h e leapsat daybreak in regained freedom

u p on th e land ,and stri kes down th e oppressor wh o has h e ldh imin bondage ” I

The sto ry of t h e wanderings of U lysses,and ah un

d red ot he r sto ri es e qual ly we l l known,are

,we l earn

from th e mytho logists, sun mythsand no th ing mo re .

The h istori es of Buddhaand J esus of Nazare th haveb een den i e d all h istor ical foundat ion

,and been

exp lain ed away as so lar al l ego r i es, acco rd ing to th eapp roved princ i p l es of int e rp retat ion adopt ed by aninfl uen t ial schoo l of mytho logi sts.

T o my mind i t se ems probab l e (I wri t e—

with greatd efe renc e to t h e op in ions of l earned mytho logists)t hat at l east alarge numb e r of t h e so -cal l e d solarmyths have orig inat e d in t h e c i rcumstances of t h e

l i fe of some ve ry substan t ial h uman be ing d is

tingu ish ed above h is fe l lows In h is dayand gene rat i on

,and t hat h is fo rm se en th rough th e m ists of

t ime has loomed large r and large r upon th e men talv ision of h is fo l lowers or descendan ts, wh o by avery nat u ral p roce ss have come to compare h im to

t h e most glorious obj ec t in nat u re , t h e sun ,and p e r

haps have given h im some name de ri ved from thegreat l uminary , or even i d en t ifi ed h imwi th i t . Theprocess has not been one of p erson i fy ing th e sunandinven t ing ah istory wi t h apparent ly h uman actorsb u i l t u pon th e dai ly orannual course of t h e sun in

t he h eavens with itsat t endant inc id ents, bu t some

th ing very d i ffe ren t , viz .,t h e exagge rat e d comparison

ofaremarkab l e h uman l ife l i v ed u pon t h i s eart h of

ou rs to th e p rogress of t h e b r ight orb wh ich in eve ry

Myths and Myth -makers, ” by J ohn F iske , M .A.,

p . 24 .

THE WORSH IP OF ZAH IR PIR. 8;

c l imat e is th e most st rik ing obj ect in nat u re . AS to

Zah i r-Pi r , I t h ink we need no t reso l ve h im into anunsubstan t ial so lar myth ; but may wi thou t muchscrup l e admi t t hat th e o riginal of th e extravagan tl egend given in t h e p reced ing pages d i d real ly wal kth e ear t h in human fo rm , and was bur i ed at Bagarin th e dese rt of B ikanir—al though i t wou ld b e ve ryunwise to fo l low th e Euhemerist ic method of simply

st ripping off all i mprobab i l i t i es in t h e l egend andaccept ing the remainde ras genu in e h istory .

THE ARYA SAMA 7 AN D ITS

F OUN DER .

T HE presence as ru l e rs, of t h e Muhammadans inInd iaever sinc e th e b eginn ing of t h e e l even th c ent u ry

has had an influence upon t h e re l igi ous deve lopmen tof t h e H indus, wh i ch th e h ist o rical st u den t can hard lyhe l p not ing , as su ccessiv e H indu reformersappearar long int e rvals i t is t ru e— on th e stage of Ind ianh istory

,bearing aloft t h e standard of revo l t against

t h e nat ional po lyth e ism and t h e rig id d ist inc t ions of

cast e . The d i rect influ ence of Islam on t h e t each ingofmany Ind ian refo rmers is unqu est ionab l e ,and t hatpart icu lar form of t h e M uhammadan re l igion knownas S ufiism— wh ich , in all probab i l i ty , owes its o riginto aH indu sou rc e (t h e Vedantaph i l osophy)— waswelcomed home , as i t we re , by ce rtain H indus withawarmth wh ich apu re ly exot ic syst em of i d easwou l d not have cal l e d forth .

One importan t re l igious re format ion,S i kh ism

al l uded to in asubsequ en t part of t h is vo l ume,was

undoubt ed ly du e t o th e st imu lat ing presenc e of I slamand t h e nat u ral l eaning of t h e I nd ian mind to t h e

THE AR VA SAN/A] AN D I TS FOUNDER. 8 7

d oct r ines h e l d by th e Suhs. The th e ist ic refo rmsnowagi tat ing Ind iaare , howeve r , ofasomewhat d i fferent charac t e r from those wh ich p reced ed th em .

and bear th e unmistakab l e stamp of Christ ian influence and of Engl ish pol i t ical and soc ial i d eas andp rinc i p les.

There have b e en two d ist inct d eve lopments of t h e

modern t h e ist ic movemen t in Ind ia,known resp ec

tivelyas th e B rahmo Samaj and t h e AryaSamaj .The fo rmer is we l l known in Europ e , because th el eaders of th e sec t have be en men wh o d el ib erat e lykep t th emse l ves as p rom inent ly as possi b l e beforet h e Engl ish wo r ld , v isi t e d England , won th e pe rsonalregard of many Eu ropeans bot h at home and in

India,and un in t ent ional ly raised false hopes of t h e i r

conversion to th e re l igion of Christ . Indeed i t is

not t oo much to say that t h e app rec iat i ve we lcomegiven to Brahmo ism by many p ious Eu rop eans wasdu e to abe l i ef that B rahmo ism was th e fi rst st eptowardsagreat t u rn ing of th e p eop l e of Ind iato t h eChrist ian fai th .

The AryaSamaj wh ich fo rms th e subj ect of t h is

pape r , t hough p e rhaps not l ess int e rest ing than th eB ramo Samaj , is younge r , and is certain ly l ess knownin Eu rope .I n N ovembe r

,1879 ,

ayoung nat i ve gent l emanwho was we l l aware of th e l i ve ly int e rest I took in

t h e movemen ts for re l igiousand soc ial refo rm wh ichhad for some t im e past b een agitat ing nat i ve soc i e tyt h rough th e l ength and b readt h of Ind ia, p lac ed inmy hands ap rogramme of th e p roce ed ings to be

Obse rved on th e occasion of th e second ann i ve rsaryof th e Lahore AryaSamaj , or Aryan Soc i e ty . A

88 TH E ARYA SA rlIAj AND I TS FOUNDER .

glance at t h e pap e r showed m e that b esi d es th eusual read ing of reports and e l e ct i on of office rs,app ropriat e to t h e occasi on , t h e re we re to b e hymns

and p raye rs, l e ct u res in H ind i and Engl ish , and th ec e l eb rat i on of t h e Hom .

As the Opportun i ty was one we l l worth improv ing ,I made up my mind t o b e p resent d u ring ap ort i on ,

at l east , of t h e ce remoni es of t h e day, part icu larlyt h e H omI

sac rifice .

By 7 a.m. of th e appo int e d Sunday,I arrived in

my carriageat t h e Shahalmi gat e o f th e c i ty ? ThereI was j o ined by several of t hose b righ t -fac ed intelligent youths t o b e found at th e p resent day in eve ryt own of Bri t ish India, who ,

under th e st imu lus ofWest e rn educat ion ,

are in astat e of in t e l l ect ualrest l e s sness

,eage r for reforms and innovat ions in

what t h ey fee l is abackward stat e of soc i ety , andwho , wi th t h e gene rous ardou r and confidenc e of

boys, hope t o b e ab l e t o re cast , upon an improvedmode l , inst i t u t i ons wh i ch are t h e out com e of ahund re d influences Op erat ing th rough many anevent fu l c ent u ry . But howeve r cru de th e i d eas of

I H oma—asort of burnt-O ffer ing wh i ch can b e made byBrahmans only. I t is on lymade on spec ial occasions

,such as

th e ce lebrat ion ofafest i val,th e invest iture ofayo ung Brahman

W ith th e sacred th read,marriages and funerals. T h e method

ofmak ing i t is as fo l lows : D uring the utterance of Mantras,five spec ies ofconsecrated wood

,togetherwith th e D lrarbagrass

ri ceand b utter,are k i nd led and burn t,and th e fire is then keptb urn ing as longas the fest i val or ceremony lasts. Great efficacy is ascr i bed to th is rite.

” —Garrett ’s “ C lassical D ict i onaryof I nd ia. ”

2 T h e“c i ty ” is th e nat i ve town , outsi de o f u h ich

lies the

E uropean quarter of Lahore .

THE AR YA SA I IIA/ AND I T S FOUNDER 89

t h ese wou ld -be reformers, howeve r u top ian many of

t h e i r sch emes, i t is i m possi b l e not to sym path izewi th th e i r earnest asp i rat ions for th e int e ll ectual andsoc ial advancem ent of th e i r count rymen

, and i t waswit h much p l easu re t hat I found my young fri endsawai t ing my arr ival at t h e c i ty gat e . Here I had toqu it my carriage , for i t cou ld not go into t h e narrowcrowded th orou orhfares of t h e nat i ve quarte r wh i chlay with in t h e gat e , and with my companions Iwal ked tip th e lanes which l ed t o th e prem ises of t he

AryaSamaj . On t h e doo rway wasaboard bearing,

in large Engl ish charact e rs,t h e words Arya

Samaj , and be low that , in smal l e r charact e rs, th esame words in H ind i and U rdu .

Ascend ingafl igh t of stai rsand passing th rough anarrow passage , we ent e red an open space or cou rt ,bounded on one si d e by h igh and on t h e remain ingth ree si d es by low bu i l d ings. The p lace ofmeet ingwas ave ry humb l e one

,with unsight ly wal ls all

round and t h e open canopy of h eaven overhead . I n

one co rner was arecess, p e rhaps six fe e t square ,roofless l i ke th e oth e r po rt ions of th e court . Herepreparat i ons had been made for th e pe rformance ofth e H om sacr ifice . F loor-c loths had been laiddown for t h e v isi to rs to sit u pon

,and festoons of

l eaves had been hung in great loops righ t round theinc losu re . The en t rance to t h e l it t l e recess whe reth e H omwas to be perform ed was spec ial ly adornedin home ly bu t not ungrace fu l styl e . A green p lantain t re e had been p lac ed on each si de of th e en

t ranc e , and garlands of l eavesand flowers had beenhung between t h em . These sim p l e at t empts atd ecorat ion were not unp l easing to t h e eye , and gave

90 TH E AR VA SAMA] AND I T S F OUIVDE R.

th e meet ing-p lac e someth ing of aho l i day look . At

one end of th e open cou rt was placed asmal l tab l ecove red ove r with awh i t e c lot h of Engl ish manufact u re . Upon i t we re ranged th re e b rass vases con

tain ing flowers. At th is tab l e th e l ect u re r stood

when ,in h is appo int ed t u rn

,h e add ressed th e

aud i ence on t h e wants of our count ry .

” Some

what in advan c e of t h e tabl e , i .e.

,al i t t le neare r to

t h e cent re of t h e cou rt,t h e re wasasmal l carpe t ,and

ave ry low tab l e , j ust afew inch es h igh . These

were for t h e use of th e Gu ru wh en h e read to th eaudi ence out of th e Vedas.

At th e o t h e r end of t h e cou rt th re e or fou r

music ians were squat t e d t un ing th e i r inst rum en tsin al ist l ess fash i on . A l i t t l e way beh ind th em Inot i c e d th e Soc i ety ’s chari ty-box, marked in Engl ishand two ve rnacu lar languages, th e u ppe rmost l ineand th e largest charact e rs be ing Engl ish . There

we re not m ore than twenty -five p ersons in t h e p lac ewh en I en t e red i t , b u t t h e number gradual ly inc reased to abou t one hundre d and fi fty men andch i ld ren . No women were p resent in t h e assembly ,bu t I was to l d that t h e re were anumbe r of t h em

congregat ed in t h e u pp e r rooms overlook ing th e

cou rtyard . N one , howeve r , were v isi b l e , and I daresay most of t h e fai r lad i es beh ind t h e pu rdahsund e rstood l i t t l e and cared l ess for t h e new-fangl edp roceed ings of t h e AryaSamaj . Those of t h em

wh o comp reh ende d th e mat t e r were,in all p roba

b ility ,opposed ‘

to amovem en t wh ich , i f succ essfu l ,wou l d i so lat e th em from th e pom p and exc i t em entof t h e po lyth e ist ic i do lat ry in wh ich th ey had beenreared . Indeed th e woman of Ind ia

,b rought u p in

92 TH E AR I/A SAMA/ AND I T S F oUNDER.

are openand resorted to by th e H indusand M rrhammadansandChrist iansaltalike: S uch are th eaimsand such th e scope of

th is usefu l inst itut ion .

The re l igio us wri t ings known as th e Vedas towh i ch th e m embe rs of th e A ryaSamaj have t u rne das th e o riginal and p erhaps so l e , reve lat i on givenby God to man are fou r in numbe r

,t h e earl i e s t

b e ing aco l lect i on of over athousand hymns,wh i ch

acco rd ing t o our best author i t i es,dat e from 1500 t o

1000 The hymn s of th e Rig Vedaare of vari ousdat e s and s eparat e o r ig ins, and were , for cent u ri es

p re served o ral ly in d i ffe rent p ri est ly or minst re lfami l i es, t i l l final ly brought t oge th er and embod iedin one compreh ensi v e co l l e ct i on such as has beenpre se rved to our own day ? O lder t han th e poemsof Homer , o ld er than th e psalms of Davi d , t h esevene rab l e hymnsareamongst t h e ear l i est yearn ingsof the human h eart towards t h e D e i ty , wh ich havebeen p re se rve d t o lat e r ages in th e records of t h e

past , and mu st eve r posse ss aspec ial and , unique

val u e in t h e eye s of t h e st udent of th e evo lut i on of

re l igious t hought . The Ved ic hymns embody th esimpl e p raye rs ofapasto ral p eop l e addressed t o th ec louds, th e storm , t h e sun ,

t h e sky,t h e dawn , and

oth e r such obj ects and nat u ral ph enomena, andrefl ect

,as in ami rro r , t h e grand and eve r-varying

featu res of th e giant snow-capp ed mountains overwhi ch th e wand e ring Aryans had found th e i r wayfrom the roof of t h e worl d ”

to t h e p lains of

“ C i v i land M i l itary Gaz ette, March 6 , 1879 .

Pro f. Max D unker’s “Ancrent H istory of I nd ia

” p . 28,

on th e authority of Pro f. Max Mu l ler’s “H istory of Sanskr it

Li terature .

THE AR YA SA IWA] AND I T S FOUNDER . 9°

N orth e rn Ind ia. I n t h e Ved ic hymns th e gods areinvi t e d to come down and partake of th e sac rificesoffe red to t hem

,in re t u rn

, are cal l ed upon to

p rovid e pastu re for t h e catt l e and ho rses, to fi l l t h eudde rs of th e cows

,to bestow heal th

,weal th

long l i fe , to afford p ro te c t ion to man and beastagainst t h e ev i l sp i ri ts

,and to gran t t h e i r worsh ippers

victo ry ove r t h e en em ies of t h e trib e .

The second,or Yajur Veda, presc ribes th e fo rms

and ce remon i es to b e obse rved in t h e pe rformanceof t h e sac rifices app rop riat e to d iffe ren t occasions.

The th i rd , or SamaVeda, consists ofase l ec t ion of

hymns from the Rig Veda, to be sung wh en th e j u iceof t h e Somap lant was t h e princ i pal offe ring madeto t h e gods. The fourth

,and last Veda, cal l e d t he

A tharvaVeda, is aco l l ec t ion of sp e l ls,charms

incan tat ionsagainst sicknessand death .

Al though th e Ved ic hymnsare p lain ly the outcomeofave ry p rim i t ive soc i e ty wh ich had not emerged

fromt h e t ri bal cond it ion ,and

,al though th e re l ig ion

of t h e Sanskri t -sp eaking Aryans was ch iefly physiolatr or th e wo rsh ip of th e fo rces and phenomenaof nat u re

, yet t h e re is in t h e hymns ampl e evi denceof t h e fac t t hat , at ave ry early dat e , po lythe ist ic ,

panth e ist ic,and mono th e ist ic concep t ions had all

been arrived at by t h e Aryan rish is,and had found

expression in immortal song ? Indeed , the fac t t hatt h ey l end themse l ves toall fo rms of re l igious t hought

is what gives to the Vedas t he i r wonde rfu l V i tal i ty .

Add to t h is t hat i t was in t he Punjab that th eseI E dgar O uinet

s“ Le gen i e d es Rel i g i ons, p . 1 19 . Pro f.

Sir Mon ier \V illiams Rel igio us T hough tand Li fe in I nd ia,p . 7 .

94 THE ARYA SAMAj AND I TS F OUNDER .

songs of th e forewor l d fi rst rose to heaven wi th t h epat riarchal sac rific es of th e earl i est Aryan set t l e rs

in India, and th e re is no room for wonder that t h eVedas

, and t h e l i t e rat u re t hat has grown ou t of

t h em, are obj ects of espec ial and fe rvent venerat ion

to t h e H indus of th e Land of t h e Five R i ve rs, or of

t h e seven r ivers of t h e Ved ic poe ts.

The youthfu l soc i e ty , wh ich is t h e subj e ct of t h is

pape r , apparent ly de s i res, and p erhaps de em s i t aneasy task t o rev ive in t h ese days t he long ext inctVed i c re l igion , or, as th ey prefe r to cal l i t , Ved icTheismof th e Sanskri t -speaking Aryans. What t h ere l igion of t h e Vedas real ly was i t may b e no easytask to make out now. A compet ent au thori tyProfessor S i r Mon i e r Wi l l iams— says

‘A lthough the majority of th e H rrrd us be l ieve that th e four

Vedas contain all that is good,great , and d iv ine, yet these

composi t ions wi l l b e found , when taken as awho le, to aboundrrrore in pueri le i deas than in lofty concept ions. At th e samet ime i t is c lear that th ey g i ve no support to any of th e presentobj ect ionab le usages and c ustoms for wh i ch they were once

through ignorance of the ir contents,supposed to b eanauthori ty.

T he doctrine of metern psych osis, or transmi grat ion of sou ls,wh i ch becamean essent ial characterist ic of Brahman ismandH indu ism in later t imes

,has no p lace in th e re l ig ion of th e

Veda. N or d o th e hymns gi veany sanct ion to th e proh i b it ionof wi dow-marriages, th e general prevalence of ch i ld -marriages,th e tyrann i cal Sway of caste th e interd ict ion of fore i gn trave l

and th e pract ice of i do latry.

I t wou ld appear t hat t h e Aryas of our day und e rt h e l eadersh i p of aMalrrattaBrahman namedDayanand Saraswat i , have agre ed to p ut t he i r fai t h

1 “ Re l i g ious T houghtand L i fe in Ind ia, p . 18 .

TH E AR YA SA IWA] AND I T S FOUNDER .

in t h e Rig and Yajur Vedas wi th the commen tari esu pon t h em , wri t t en p rio r to t h e dat e of th e Mahabharata. What doct rines th e modern be l i eve rs int h ese Vedas ac t ual ly p rofess to find sanct ione d bythe o ld books, whose authori ty th ey acknowl edge , Ishal l endeavou r to stat e , bri efly , lat e r on . B u t I mayhe re remark that Dayanand

s v i ewsand Op in ionsarerank he resi es, stout ly o pposed by th e o rthodox

pand i ts,wh o ,atalarge and influen t ial meet ing he ld

in Calcuttain t h e y ear 1 8 8 1 , p lac ed on reco rd,for

the benefit of t h e H indu pub l ic , t h e i r own dec ision

in regard to what books were to be regard ed asauthor i tat i ve sc ri pt u re

, and affi rmed ve ry p lain lyt h e i r approval of p rac t ices which had been con

d emned by t h e refo rme r .The H om had not been commenced when I

ent e red t h e prem ises of t h e AryaSamaj . Thro ught h e courtesy of c e rtain nat ive gen t l emen connec t e d

with the ce remon i es of th e day,I was assigned a

seat q u i t e n ear t h e p lac e where the sac rific e was tobe o ffe red , and had t h e best possi b l e o pportun i ty of

witnessingall th e arrangemen ts for, and th e en t i rede tai ls of, t h e in t e rest ing perfo rmance . The fue l

(neat ly cu t p i eces of dry wood ) was arranged in al i t t l e square sacrific ial p i t . At each of t h e four

co rn ers of t h e p i t stood asmal l b lack cand le , i f Imay cal l i t so , abou t S ix inches in height , made upOf fragran t gums and o th e r combust i b l es. Round

t h e sacrific ial p i t were p lace d five brass vesse ls, onecon tain ing ghee (c larifi ed b ut t e r) , and t h e o th e r fo u r

amixtu re of various grains and sp ices mo ist ened

wi th ghee and mi lk . A young San/ryasz , l earne d inSanskri t -lore , presi ded at t h e ce remon ies. He was

96 TH E AR I/A SA rl/IA] AND I T S FO UNDER.

wel l and warm ly at t i red , and wo re on h is h ead aconsp icuous tu rban of orange -ye l low c lo t h .

Th e fi rewood and t h e fou r odorous cand l es werei gn i t ed

, and th en t h e p ri est commence d to rec i t e

Sanskri t mant ras,each ofwh ich ende d wi th th e word

Svaha,which se rvedasaS ignal for pou ring alad l efu l

of ghee upon t h e fi re,and cast ing into i t asmal l

q uant i ty of t h e o th e r Offe rings.

The language of t h e go l den -tongued rishis,t h e

dead language of t h e d ead gods ofalong past age ,sound ed strange , as t h e Sanrryasi ro l l ed out in slowand measu red tones t h e myst ic t ex ts appropriat e tot h e occasion . When th e who l e st ring of se l ect e d

mant ras had been rep eat ed,som e por t ion of t h e ob la

t ions st i l l remaine d in t h e p lat es. I n awh ispe redconsu l tat ion amongst t h e offic iat ing pri ests i t wasarranged that t h e leade rs shou ld repeat th e Gayatri I

ove r and ove r again,wh i l e t h e five assistan ts kep t

fe ed ing th e flames wi th th e offe rings,un t i l t h e who l e

quant i ty t hat had been p rov i de d shou ld b e d u ly con

sumed .

I t is hard ly n ecessary to say wi th what in t e rest Iwatched th is c eremon ial wh ich t h e Sanskri t -speaking Aryans had p rac t ised so many c en t u r i es ago att h e ve ry dawn of t he h isto rical p e riod . But I cou l d

not he lp fee l ing that t h e anc i en t r i te had qu i t e lostwhat si gn ifi cance i t m igh t have had in t h e old t ime ,

I T he Gayatri isaformof prayer, consist ing of ten Sanskri twords

,wh i ch Shou ld b e used byall H indus daily, both morn ing

and even ing . I t is translated as fo l lows b y Pro f. M on ierW i l l iams Let rrsmed i tate (or wemed itate) on that exce l lentg lory of th e d i v ine vivifier. May h e en l ighten (or st imu late)our understand ings ” H indu ism

TH E AR VA SA IlIAj AND I T S FOUNDER . 9 7

and t hat , as perfo rmed in my presence that day,i t

was bu t al i fe l ess ghost , aho l low ce remon ial,mean

ingless to t h e spectatorsand ent i re ly uncalcu lat ed t oawaken in t h em any fe e l ings of ent husiasm

reve rence , or even of so l emn i ty . The at t endants,i t

is t ru e , pe rfo rmed th e i r o ffice wi th d ecorum,bu t I

looked in vain for any ind icat ion of deep fe e l ing or

genu ine int e rest on t he i r feat u res. As for th e on

looke rs,t h ey watch ed the perfo rmance as t h ey m igh t

have wat ch ed asmal l bonfi re , and l ist ened wi th du l lunconsc i ous ears to t h e mant ras, t h e Sanskri t language be ing qu i t e unknown t o near ly all of them .

Some , indeed , were even l ess at t ent i ve than t hat .Whi l e th e H om sacr ifice was be ing p erformed Ino t iced two or t h ree young men l ean ing ove r t h etab l e in th e read ing-room looking through t h e newspap ers.

I n th e o ld t ime th e fi re for such asacrifice wou l dhav e be en kind l e d by th e fri ct ion of two p ieces of

wood,and th e goddess of fi re (Agni) wou ld thus have

b e en myst er iously bornagain,unde r th e hands of t h e

operator , as th e fire-dri l l (wh ich , i f we are t o be l i evet h e ph i lo logists, gave rise to th e myth of Pro

meth eus) , I gradual ly e l ic i t ed t he l iv ing, glowingflames from th e dark inert t imbe r . But th e Obtainingof fi re by th e frict ion of wood is at roub l esomeprocess, and so ou r modern Aryas p referred th esimp l e r p lan of i gn i t ing th e fue l in th e sac rific ial p i tby means of l i ve charcoal brought from th e domest ich earth .

I wasamused and int e rest ed to find in conversat i on with seve ral m embe rs of th e Samaj , that th ey

I F i ske ’

s“Mythsand M yth -makers,

” p 64 .

98 TH E AR VA SA III Aj AND I T S FOUNDER.

we re d i sposed to deny th e sacrifi c ial charact e r of t h eHamand t o maintain that i t was in t ended to pu ri fyt h e air, for he re , as e lsewhe re , t h e Zeitgeist is toost rong t o al low of t h e rev ival of the old worn

out re l igions, except as so l emn mocke ri es of t h ings

long dead .

At th e t e rm inat ion of t h e H om t h e m usic iansst ruck up ahymn ,

singing , in ac l ear bu t subdued

tone , to th e accompan im en t of t h e i r inst rumen ts.

I n regard t o H indu , or any othe r mu sic , I amnot

competent to give ac ri t i cal Opin i on , but t h e hymns

sung on th is occas ion had ce rtain ly ap laint iv esweetness of t h e i r own , wh ich was exceed inglyagreeab l e to my ear. The hymns for t h e day, some

in H indu and som e in Punjab i , had been se l ect e dfrom aco l l e c t i on wh i ch had been made and p rint e dfo r t h e use of t h e Samaj . But th e cho i r , st range tosay,

consist e d of h i red singe rs of t h e Muhammadanre l igion ,

with no fai th or hear t in the ce remon i es or

t h e b e l i efs of th e Aryas. Th is fac t alone wou l dind i cat e t h e art ifi c ial charact e r of t h e en t i re arrangement

,and wou l d se rve to Show how utt e r ly fut i le is

t h e at t empt to rev iv e , forany benefic ial pu rpose , t h eobso l et e p ract ices of along-past age . As soon ast h e se l e ct ed hymns had all been sung

,th e l ect u re r

took h is p lac e at t h e tab l e . He fi rst rep eat ed t h eGayatri in sl ow devout tones, and , in aquave ringvo ice

,pronounce d t h e myst ic Om with marke d

so l emn i ty . So much had I h eard and read aboutt h e p i ous horro r of t h e orthodox twi ce-born H indu

at t h e m ere though t of u t t e ring th i s sacred word int h e h earing ofan ou tcast e oran unbe l i ever

,t hat I

was notal i t t l e su rpr ised t o h ear i t p ronounced so

100 THE ARYA SAMA] AND I T S FOUNDER .

most sat isfacto ry re su l ts. No t long ago aH induwro t e st ronglyagainst “ t h e custom of using obscene

language on t h e occasion of marriage c eremon i e s ,”

and t h e singing of immoral songs in t h e st ree ts bywomen of resp ectab l e fami l i e s and good posi t ion ,

t h e occasion of H indu fest i vals (Regene rator of

Aryavarta, 2 2nd D ecembe r , and I was to l d byayoung H indu fr i end of mine t hat t h e Khattris inLahore had taken up t h e mat t e r in an earnest , p raet ical sp i ri t , and that th e panchyats of t h e cast e haddet e rm ined t o impose afine upon any Khattri whosewife indu lged in obsc ene songs in t h e st re ets of

Lahore . Even t rifl ing mat t e rs are not above th enot ice of t h ese ene rge t i c re formers

,i t has been

t h e custom , atall seasons of t h e year , to carry ,as ap resen t

,on t h e occasi on of avisi t from t h e b r i de

groom ’

s fam i ly to th e b ri d e’s fami ly, two large

eartlrern vesse ls contain ing cu rds. N ow,in t h e h ot

weath e r in India,th e s e cu rds -are usual ly an u tt e r

abominat i on of bad o dou rs, but th e p rac t i c e was st i l lr igi d ly

may say re l igio usly , maintained . The

Lahore panchyat have now pronounced t h e observ

ance of th is custom unnecessary . From these

exampl es i t w i l l b e apparent t hat an honest d esi refor so c ial imp rovem en t has taken possession ofalarge sect i on of t h e H indu commun i ty

, and t hat realgood work wi l l b e done .

At th e con c lusion of th e lectr‘rre th e mu s i c iansagain st ruck up ahymn

,and , wh i l e t hey we re

chant ing i t , two or th re e men went ro und cast ingflowers ove r th e v isi t o rs

,and th rowing garlands of

flowers abou t t h e i r ne cks. One was p laced in myhand , with th e remark in Engl ish , “ O f cou rse , you

TI IE AR I/A SA IlI Aj AND I T S FOUNDER. 10 1

need not put th is on And thus ended th e p roce edingsannounced for th e fo renoon of t hat day .

Three years lat e r , in N ovember , 188 2 (or, ast h e pub l ic not ic e p u t i t

“ t h e Aryan era,

I again at t ende d th e ann i ve rsaryce l eb rat ion of t h e Samaj . There was not much to

not e in t h e way of change . Even t h e M ussalmanmusic ians were in at t endance , as in 18 79 . But such

changesasat t rac t e d my at t ent ion were in t h e righ td i re c t ion . The meet ing-p lac e

,t h e same as on th e

o ccasion p rev iously descr ib ed , showed some we l l

mean t at t empts“

at decorat ion . I not iced that acoup l e of smal l-si ze d wal l -mirrors had been hungup

, and t hat someth ing had been done to cove r th e

bare,unsight ly , and d i lap i dated su rround ing wal ls.

Th e gat h er ing,moreove r

,was large r t han on t he

occasi on of my prev i ous v isi t,and t h ere were not

want ing signs of aheal thy and more ext endedint e rest in th e work of th e Soc i e ty. I n fact , t h eAryaSamaj was c l early get t ing on in t h e worl d . Bu t

as c learly also i t was exp eri enc ing th e fat e of allmore or l ess successfu l movements. I t wass t ruggl ing against t h e opposi t ion arouse d by its

growt h at t h e expense of o l d e r inst i t u t ions. There

appeared to be acon t roversial tone in t h e add ressesde l ive red

, and i t was consi d e red d esi rab l e to affi rmfrequ ent ly (evi dent ly in rep ly to obj ecto rs) t hat t heH omwas notare l igious obse rvance , t hat i t was no t

aworsh i p of Agni (fi re ) ; b ut was carri e d o u t frompu re ly san i tary consi d e rat ions ; since t he p rodu cts

of th e combust ion of t h e part icu lar substances u sedd i ffused th rough th e atmosphe re Of ac rowded

assemb ly we re ofad ist inc t ly heal thfu l charac te r .

102 TH E AR YA SAMA/ AND I TS FOUNDER.

I n p ri vat e conversat ion with me amembe r of t h e

Samaj s upport e d t h is V i ew wi th some warmth , re

fe rr ing t o t h e common p rac t ic e of d isin fect ing

barracks,hosp i tals, and infe ct ed p laces gene ral ly by

su lp hu r fumigat i on . But th e reader does not ne ed

to be to l d that th e H orn,accompan i e d as i t is by th e

so l emn re c i tal of sac red Sanskri t mant ras, carri e dout in t h e op en air, at ap rofessed ly re l i g iou sgat h ering is not

,in any sense

,analogous to t h e

ord inary p roc ess of pu ri fying an unwho l esome p lac eby d i s infe ctan t s . Besi d e , i t is we l l known that t oAgni (fi re ) th e great est n umbe r of invo cat ions areaddressed in t h e hymns of t h e Rig Veda, and t hatt h e i d eaInvo lved in t h e o rd inary Ved i c sac rifi ceis t hat t h e gods are grat ifi ed and nou rish e d by th e

aromaof t h e b urn t -Offe r ing ? Indeed i t wou l d b e

impossi b l e forare l igion based on th e Vedas to get

on atall wi thou t sacrifices wh ich se em to b e t h e ve ry

essence of t h e Ved ic re l igion ?

The t ru th, apparent ly , is t hat at t h e fo rmat ion of

t h e Samaj , wh en i do lat rous r i t es we re p rosc ri bed ,t h e H omwas re tain ed onaccoun t of its Ved ic orig in

and al so , p erhaps, as aso r t of connect ing l ink

wi th B rahman i sm,from wh ich ancest ral re l igion

t h e members of t h e new Samaj (e i th e r t h roughp ru denc e

, or from fee l ings of t ende r assoc iat ion )coul d not qu i t e b reak away . But Opponen ts, bot ho rthodox and lreterod ox ,

hav ing taken exc ept ion to

I Prof. Sir Mon i er W i l l iams’ “Rel i gious T hough t and L i fe

In I nd ia,

O n th is subject the readermay consu lt Cosmo l ogy of th e

Rig Veda, by H . W . W i l l is,1887 . \V illiams and N orgate

London .

TH E AR I/A SANI A] A IVD I T S FOUNDER .

As t h e above glowing de s cri p t ion seems to haveb een i nt ended se riously , one can on ly wonde r at t h ewri t e r’s unbrid l ed imaginat i on wh ich cou l d t ransfo rmt h e who l e scene so comp l e t e ly . Possi b ly for persons

whose ord inary su rround ings are un love ly in t h e

extreme,t h e simp l e and not inappropr iat e d ecora

t ions of t h e meet ing-p lace may have had an excep

tional charm ; bu t t h ere can b e no excuse what eve rfor wri t ing of an open court

,roofed on ly by th e

canopy of h eaven,as a“

lofty hal l .'

The ent i re

d e scri pt i on,reproduc ed above , is inst ru ct iv e asab i t

of unb lush ing exagge rat i on , and asan examp l e (on lytoo common) of t hat p red i l e c t i on for b rag and ut t e rd isregard of st ri c t accu racy wh ich so constant lyand d isagre eab ly obtrudes i tse l f upon t h e at t en t ionof th e real fri ends of Ind ia. I t is p rope r to ad d thatt h e AryaSamaj canno t b e h e l d responsib l e fo r t h edescri pt ion wh i ch I have c ri t i c ised above , as “ The

AryaMagaz ine,

” al though d evo t e d to t h e int e rests ofth e Samaj is

,I unde rstand , apu re ly pri vat e under

taking .

O f t h e l i fe of Dayanand Saraswat i Swami , t h efounde r and acknow l edged h ead of th e AryaSamaj ,someth ing is known

,and t hat of so in t e rest i ng a

charac t e r,t hat I shal l not apo logize for int roduc ing

i t in t h is p lac e . I n t h e lat t e r part of 18 79 Dayanand commence d t h e pub l icat ion of h is au tob iography in t h e pages of “ The Th eosoph ist ,

”1 from

whi ch sou rc e most of t h e part icu lars respec t ing h ispersonal h ist o ry h e re given hav e be en d rawn .

Acco rd ing to t h e Swami ’s narrat i ve , h e had be encare fu l ly inst ruct ed in t h e Vedas, wh i ch m eans that

I O ctober, 1879 ; D ecember, 1879 ; N ovember, 1880.

TH E AR I/A SA IWA/ AND I T S FOUNDER. 105

h e had been made to commi t agreat port ion of

them to memo ry , and had been in i t iat ed atan earlyage in to th e ri t esand myst eri es Of t h e Sevasect t owh ich h is fami ly be longed ; bu t wh i l e st i l l amereboy h is mind had revo l t e d against t h e p ract ices of

i do lat ry . H e cou l d not bring h imse l f to acknowl edge that th e image of S ivaseat e d on h is bu l l

h e l p l ess i do l wh ich,as h e had h imse l f observed in

t h e watch es of t h e n igh t,al l owed th e m ice to run

over i t wi th impun i ty , ought to b e worsh i pp ed ast h e Omn i pot ent D e i ty . T o . quot e t h e autob iography

I S it possib le,I asked myse l f, that th is semb lance o fman

th e i do l ofap ersouat go d , that I see bestri d ing h is bu l l befo reme

,and wh o

,accord ing to all re l ig iousaccounts, walksabout,

eats,S leeps

,and drinks

,can ho ld atrident in h is hand , beat

upon h is d umroo (drum) , and pronounce curses upon men ,

is i t possib le that h e can b e the Mahadeva,th e Great D e ity P

The sudden d eat h of asist e r p roduced agreatimpression on t h e nat u ral ly re l igiou s t empe ramentof t h e young man . He reso lved to give u p t h e

worl d and t o d evo t e h imse l f ent i re ly to are l ig iousl i fe . T o marriage h e had an ext reme ave rsion , bu t

h is parents, be l i ev ing that domest ic l i fe wou l d t endto wean t h e young en th usiast from h is re l ig ious

man ia, were all th e moreanx ious to give h imawife ,and made arrangements acco rd ingly . Dayanand ,

howeve r,now twen ty -one years of age ,

ran awayfrom home to avo i d mat rimony , and se t ou t upon h is

wanderings wi t h t h e obj ec t of p u rsu ing , without l e t

or h indrance , t h e st udy of metaphysics, abranch of

know l edge wh ich h e hope d to acqu i re from the

106 TH E AR I/A SAMA] AND I T S FO UNDER .

l earne d and devout pandi ts, sannyasis, and yogis,to b e found in d iffe ren t parts of Ind ia.

Afte r l eav ing h ome h e got h imse l f adm it t ed intoth e asce t ic o rd er of t h e Brahmacharees

,and was

wande ring abou t in t h e hab i t of t hat o rde r , andunde r anew name

,wh en h is fath e r , arespe ctab l e

man in easy c i rcumstance s,who had been constant ly

in search of h is runaway son , at l ength t raced h imsuccessfu l ly and came up wi t h h im . Th e Swamire lat es most na’

vely,and wi th apparen t unconsc iousness of t h e ugl iness of falsehood and dup l i c i ty , t haton t h e sudden and unwe lcome appearance of h is

fath e r , h e at onc e assu red th e o l d man ,fal l ing at h is

fe e t in t h e most abj ect manne r to app ease h is wrath ,t hat in l eav ing home h e had ac t e d upon bad advice ,t hat , l i keat rue prod igal son ,

h e was re t u rn ing home ,t hat h is fat h e r’s arr ival at th is cr i t ical momen t wasmost p rovi d ent ial

, and t hat h e wou l d wi l l inglyaccompany h is paren t back to h is nat i v e v i l lage .

The fath e r,howeve r

,d i d not t rust h is p ious son

pro t estat ions. H e p lac e d Dayanand unde r sur

veillance,bu t t h e young man managed to e l ude th e

v igi lance of h is guards and effec t e d h is e scap e , topu rsue

,withou t fu rth e r h ind rance from his paren ts

(for t h ey app ear to have qu i t e lost all t race of h im) ,h is wande ring l i fe ofadven t u re in q u est of knowl edge .

Amidst path l ess j ungl es, in busy c i t i es,and

amongst t h e snows of t h e H imalayas, d i d Dayanandt rave l for years wi th suprem e ind i ffe rence to bod i ly

hardsh ips ; conve rsing and d ispu t ing wit h l earne dpand i tsand ho ly asce t i cs

,eve r in earnest search ‘

t h e secret know l edge , t h e V idya, or t rue erud i t i on of

108 T I IE AR YA SA I lI Aj AND I T S FO UNDER .

beef-eat ing Dayanand t u rne d away in d isgustfrom th e repast , and hu rri e d from the spot .In h is p u rsu i t of th e so -cal l e d sc i ence of Yog, th e

ent husiast ic asce t ic had been st udy ing ce rtain workswh ich t reat ed of th e n e rvous syst em . He had not

succe eded in grasping t h e d escr ip t ion s and exp lanat ions h e had read and ponde re d ove r , and b egan to

dou bt t h e i r co rrec tness. Whi l e In t h is frame of

m ind,h e happ en e d to see aco rpse float ing down th e

r ive r , and resol ved , t h e re and t h en ,to b ring t o th e

t est ofac tual comparison wi th nat u re th eanatom icalsc i ence of his books . He ent e red t h e ri ve r

,dragged

th e corpse ou t of t h e wat e r,and “ wi thalarge kn i fe

commence d ad issec t ion,wh ich resu l t e d in h is sat i s

fying h imse l f t hat t h e books were total lyand en t i re lyincorrect , whereup on h e tore t h em into pi e ces, andfl ung them in to t h e ri ve r along wi th t h e mut i lat e dcorpse . Dayanand does not stat e what part icu larpo ints of human anatomy h e wish ed t o c l ear u p ,and ,when one cal ls to mind th e refine d methods of

modern research,th e re is someth ing dro l l abou t h is

proce e d ing to carry ou t h isanatomical invest igat i onswi th alarge kn i fe . ” Bu t even such arud e instrument wou l d b e qu i t e aid enough to demonst rat e th eunt ru th of m uch that is affi rmed regard ing t h est ru ctu re of th e human body in H indu books on

anat omy . For instance,i t isasse rte d in su ch works,

and cu rrent ly be l i eved by t h e pand i ts, t hat six

o rgans,known as chakras or whee ls, somewhat

resemb l ing the lo t usare to be found in t h e humanbody

,p lac ed oneabove t h e o th e r ,and j o ined togethe r

by t hre e connect ing vesse ls. These chahras haved i ffe ren t co lours

,and from fou r to si xt e en p e tal s .

TH E AR I/A SA IIIA/ AND I T S FOUNDER . 109

Bu t wi ld as are t h ese stat emen ts t h ey are sobe r

when compare d wi th th e st i l l mo re imaginat ived ec larat ion t hat t h e h uman body containsato rto ise

ase rp ent , agoose , and fi re . What eve r may havebe en th e origin of t h ese fanc i fu l stat ements, anat ivewri t e r in “The Calcut taRev i ew,

I assu res us that t heyare now acce p t ed as ver'i t i es by t h e B rahmansand

of cou rse , by orthodox H indus in gene ral . Suchbe ing th e t each ings of H indu anatomical sc i ence

nee d b e at no loss to und e rstand h ow read i ly th eSwami cou ld , wi th th e aid of h is large kn i fe

,sat isfy

h imse l f t hat t h ey were u tt e rly false and noth ing but

imp rrd ent fabricat ions, i f, indeed , t h ey were eve rin t ended to be taken l i t e ral ly . At th e same t ime

,t h e

fact t hat Dayanand cou l d hand l e acorpse , andact ual ly d issect i t , proves to what adegree h e hademanc i pat e d h imse l f from the ord inary , but de eproot ed p rej ud ices of H indu ism . The grand figure

of th e Mahrat taBrahman ,angri ly and cont emp

tuously consign ing to t h e flowing rive r t he so -cal l edscience of h isancesto rswi l l makean exce l lent subj ectfor t h e H indu paint e r when ,

at some futu re t ime,art

in Ind ia, rising above t he ve ry narrow convent ion

alities which have charact e rize d i t so long,shal l

at tain at ru e concept ion of its scope and l im its.

D uring h is wande ring l i fe Dayanand , accord ingto h is own confe ssion ,

acqu i red th e hab i t of usingbhang to such an ext en t as to be at t im es unde r itsintox i cat ing influence . Whi l e in th is cond i t ion t he

house l ess ascet ic sought she l te r one rainy n ight in

t h e verandaof at emp l e of t h e bu l l -god Nand i .1 Art. Physical Errors of H ind u ism,

” b y llab o o Ih p rn llehariSh omc

,CalcuttaRev iew,

” J une, 1849 .

1 10 THE AR YA SAMA/ AND I T S FOUNDER.

For h im th e huge i do l wh ich stood t h e re had no

sanct i ty,as h e had long enj oyed the fu l l as

su ranc e t hat h e h imse lf was Brahma aport i onof Brahm ; Jiv (sou l) and Brahm ,

th e d eitv,be ing

So , find ing th e ho l low int e ri o r of th e god

aconven i en t rest ing-p lac e , h e c rept into i t , and fe l lasl e ep . I n th e mo rn ing awoman came to t h e i do lwith h er simp l e o ffe rings of sugar and cu rds

, and ,

m istaking the Swami fo r an incarnat i on of t h e god

h imse l f,b egged h im to accep t h e r gi fts. Dayanand ,

b e ing hungry, was not h ing loat h to ob l ige h e r , and

d isposed of t h e c u rdsand sugar wi thout , as h e says,at t empt ing to d isabuse h e r of h er false imp ressionwit h regard to h is d ivin i ty . H eadds

,t hankfu l ly

t h e cu rds presen t e d by t h e woman , be ing sou r , se rved

to cu re h im of t h e effect s of t h e bhang,

I which he hadb een indu lging in . For how much of h is ecstat icvisions and se l f-hal luc inat ions t h e yogi is indebte dto bhang i t wou ld b e p rofitless t o specu lat e , but t hatt hat powerfu l narco t ic cont rib u t es large ly t owardsth e creat i on of h is wi ld fanc i es no reasonab l e p e rsonwi l l d oubt .

Dayanand’

s l i fe is, in some resp ect s,agood

exampl e of t hat l ed by hundre ds, I may Sayt housands, of men in Ind ia, who for various andve ry opposi t e reasonsadopt t h e wande ring hab i ts of

one or o th e r of th e asce t ic o rde rs. Su ppo rt ed by th evo luntary l ibe ral i ty of t h e p eop l e

,t h ese rest l ess

sp i r i ts t rave l immens e d istances ove r t h e count ry,

carrying with t h em , t o t h e remot est co rne rs of t h e

land , t h e i deas fe rment ing in t h e m inds of th e morev igorous l eaders of H indu th eo logi cal specu lat i on .

T heosoph ist,” vol. i i . p . 47 .

1 12 THE AR VA SA IIIA] AND I T S FOUNDER.

and effi cacy of Yog, of wh ich I have given some

account elsewh ere , I and actual ly prac t ised Yog foraseason in t h e desert of Chand i .Afte r many years of v igorou s and ene rge t ic mis

sionary wo rk,invo l v ing much opposi t i on on t h e part

of t h e o rthodox , t h e Ved ic re former d i ed at AjmereOn t he 3 oth of O ctobe r, 18 83 , at t h e age offifty

-n ine,

hav ing , accord ing to th e accounts of h is fo l lowers,

been po isone d with arsen ic by some of th e manyenem i es whom h is re l igious reforms had raise d upagainst h im . H is end is sai d t o have been ed ifying .

H is last word , we are to l d , was, Shant i (God’

wi l l b e done) . O f cou rse t h e great event had itsport en to us accompan im en ts. That was inev i tab l e .

Th e sun grew pal e wh en i t knew that Swami -ji waswant ed back in t h e c e l est ial mansions , and shed

t ears wh i c h made th emse lves man i fest in t hat t e

markab l e fo re and aft er-glow in t h e morn ingandeven ing sky , wh i ch , at t hat t i m e , at t ract ed at t ent ionall th e wor l d ove r . The Earth

,as soon as sh e

became aware t hat Dayanand must r e tu rn home ,h eaved adeep sigh

,wh ich rent h e r bosom , and

resu l t ed In t h e t e rrib l e and dest ru ct iv e ou tb u rst of

K rakat oa, t oge the r wi th an earthquak e in Greece .

And when t h e fatal moment arr ived , Aryavartat remb l ed to th e ve ry H imalayas, wh i l e abri l l iantmet eor flash ed across t h e sky t owards th e north e rnpo l e ?

Here we have som e nat u ral ph enomena,which

act ual ly o cc u rred , ingen i o usly conne ct ed wi th t he

I Supra.For th eabove part i cu lars I am indebted to “ T h e Regene

rator of Aryavarta, vol. i . N o . 45.

deat h of th e H indu reformer . And le t Europeansc i enc e offe r what exp lanat ion i t may regard ing th ephenomenareferre d to ; let i t eventual ly d emonst rat et h e remarkab l e fore and aft e r-g low in the Ski es to bedu e toaqueous vapou r , cosm ic d ust, or vo lcan i cashes,as t h e case may be , the more ignorant fo l lowers of

Dayanand wi l l , in all p robab i l i ty , eve r connect t h e

phenomenain quest ion with th e d eat h of t he i r venerat e d l eade r . As t im e goes by th e d eath-scene wi l l ,in all l i ke l i hood , become , by an add i t ion h ere andanoth e r t h e re , more and more s t ri king and impressive

,unt i l

,at last , fut u re generat i ons wi l l b e asked to

to be l i eve t hat th e sou l of t h e Ind ian p roph et ret u rnedto God am idst t h e most awfu l convu lsi ons of nat u re .For years prev ious to h is death the l earned Swam i

was engage d upon amost int e rest ing and importan ttask—at rans lat ion into H ind i of both t h e Rig andYajur Vedas ? Th is in t e rp retat ion of th e o ldest ofSanskr it books, al though notac c ept ed by th e orthod ox H indus, wou ld , no doubt , repay t rans lat i on int oEng l ish .

What Dayanand has done in h i s H ind i ve rsion of

t h e Vedas is t o give arationalistic int e rp retat i on of

t hese anc i en t wr i t ings. On th e assumpt i on that t h eVedas are ad i re ct reve lat ion from th e SupremeBe ing

,it fo l lows t hat t h ey must b e co rre c t

,and ,

th erefore , cannot possib ly confl ict wi t h God ’s o th e r

reve lat i on to man ,v iz .

,t h e t ru ths of sc i ence

,physical

and nat u ral . N o t h ing , t h e refore , is n ecessary , bu t

I “ Veda-Bhashya, b y Swami Dayanand Saraswat i . A cor

rect translat ion of Rigand Yagur Vedasas taught by R ish is inAnt i-Mahabharat period

,both in Sanskri t and H ind i . Ved ic

Press, A l lahabad .

114 THE AR YA SAMA/ A ND I TS FOUNDER .

t o put arat i onal ist i c int e rp retat ion on t h e obscure

and doubtfu l passage s ,and to find anewmean ing forsuch stat ements or inj unc t ions as se em to confl i c t

wi th we l l -estab l ish ed fac ts and p rinc i p l e s . With

t h is method of exegesis and its unhap py resu l tsEu rope has long been fami l iar , and t h e H indu re

fo rmer does not seem to hav e b e en more fort unat e initsapp l i cat ion t han West e rn t h eo logians.

T o h imnot onlywas everyth ing contained in th e Vedasperafect truth , b ut h e wentastep further,and b y th emost incred ib leinterpretat ions succeeded in persuading h imse l fand others thateveryth ing worth knowing, even th e most recent invent ions of

modern sc ience , wereal luded to in th e Vedas. Steam-engines,

rai lways,and steam-boats,all were shown to have been known

at least in the i r germs, to th e poets of th e Vedas, for Veda, h eargued , means d i v ine knowledge,and h ow cou ld anyth ing havebeen h i d fromthat 1

Thre e or fou r yearsago , at one of t h e ann i ve rsarym eet ings of t h e Soc i e ty ,amember grave ly stat ed thatt h e Vedas m ent i oned pure fi re

,and as pure fi re was

noth ing b ut e l ect r ic i ty, i t was evi d ent t h e Ind ians of

th e Ved i c p e riod were acquain t e d wi th e l ec t r i c i ty.

Unde r t h e gu idanc e of Dayanand , th e Aryas,as faras I can asce rtain ,

p rofess to find pu re monoth e ist ic

doct rines in t h e Vedas, and bo l d ly asse rt t hat t h ed i fferent nat u re -gods of t h e Ved ic Aryans

,Agn i

Vayu , Indra, are bu t one and t h e same god . Now

t h e invocat ions in t h e Rig Vedaare add ressed to t h edawn

,to fi re , to winds and sto rms

,t o Indrat h e

sender of rain ,and so on

, but t h e re app ears to haveb een no o rd e r of p rec ed ence in t h is h i e rarchy of

1 Pro f. Max M u l ler’s “ B iograph ical Essays— DayanandaSaraswat i ,” p . 170.

1 16 THE AR YA SA IWA] AND I T S FOUNDER .

I I . Worsh i p is alone d ue to God who is All-truth,_ All

knowledge , All-beat itud e , Bo und less, A lmighty, J ust , M erc i fu l ,Uri -begotten

,I nfin ite , Uncharrgeab le, wi tho ut aBeginn ing ,

I ncomparab le , th e support and th e Lord ofall,All-pervad ing ,

O rn niscient, Imp erislrab le , Immortal , E ternal , H o ly, and th e

Cause of th e un i verse .

I I I . T h e Vedasare th e Books of true knowledge ,and i t isth e paramount duty of every Aryato read o r hear them readto teach and preach themto oth ers.

IV . An AryaShou ldalways b e ready toaccept truth and re

nounce untrutlr when d iscovered .

V . T ruth arri ved atafter consummate de l i berat ion shou ldb e h is gu i d ing princ ip le in allact ions.

“V I . T h e primary object of th e Samaj is to d o good to th e

world by improv ing th e physical , inte l lectual , spiritual , moraland soc ial cond it ion ofmankind .

V I I . D ue love foralland apprec iat ion of J ust ice , an AryaShou ld man i fest in h is behav iour towards oth ers.

“ V I I I . H e Shou ld endeavour to d iffuse knowledgeand d ispe li gnorance .

“IX . H e shou ld no t b e content with h is own improvement

but look for i t in that O f others.

X. In matters wh i ch affect th e general soc ial we l l-be ing of

our race h e ought to d iscard all d i fferences and not al low h is

ind i v i dual i ty to interfere,b rrt in strictlv personal matters every

onemay have h is own way.

N o twi thstand ing the i r d ecalogue t h e re is st i l l agood d eal of unce rtainty and vagu eness about t h et enets of th e Arya

Samaj, and no doubt t h is ve ry

vagu eness h e lpsat p resen t to swe l l th e ranks of its

fo l lowers . Bu t th ere are rocks ahead . Dayanand’

man t l e has not fal l en on t h e shou lders of any one .

N o su cc esso r wasappo int ed by th e mast e r,and it is

mo re t han probab l e t hat t h e new sect wi l l soon

d isint egrat e into se c t i ons, each wi th its own sp ec ialand pecu l iar v i ews. Thereare som e po ints

,howeve r

AryaMagaz ine, vol. i . p . 3 .

TH E AR I’A SAMA] AND I TS FOUNDER. 1 17

re gard ing wh ich we can speak wi th to l e rab l e confi

dence . The members of t h e AryaSamaj are H indusinasmuch ' as th ey retain and obse rve those mostessent ial p ec u l iari t i es of H indu ism

,t h e d ist inc t i ons

of cast e and vene rat ion of t h e cow. They alsobe l i ev e in th e t ransmigrati on of sou ls. But th eyareunorthodox H indus, inasmuch as th ey condemni do lat ry and rej ec t alarge port ion of th e lat e r scri p

t u resacknow l edged as sacre d by t h e i r co -re l igion i sts.

They also man i fest ast rong host i l i ty to t h e B rahmans ; bu t th is, I l earn ,

is more in t h eo ry than in

pract ice .

Afte ralong t ime I was presentagain ,in N ovembe r

1886 , ataport i on of th e ann ive rsary ce l eb rat i on of

th e AryaSamaj . Th e b usiness ext ended ove r twoent i re days. As on prev ious occasions th e sac rificeknown as t h e H omwas du ly prov i ded for;also muchS ing ing of hymns (part ly to th e accompan imen t of

aharmon i um ) , read ing of repor ts and l ec t u res.

O f th ese last one was to b e given by awoman . A

H indu woman l ectu ring in pub l i c ! This was arealat t ract i on ;an Opport un i ty not to be negl ect ed .

The p rem ises of t h e Samaj I found very muchimproved , and t h e p lac e ofassemb ly , al though th eSame , looked ve ry mu ch changed . Th e areawasmore rest rict ed

,as apart of t h e open spac e I had

seen befo re was nowbu i l t upon , formingaquadrangl e ,bounded by doub l e -storeyed bu i ld ingswith p ic tu resqu ebalcon i es. AS on t h e ot h er occasions, all p resent ,with th e except ion of myse l f, we re nat ives. The

femal e l e c t u re r d id not give me achance of wri t ing

adescri pt ion of h e r charms, for sh e stood beh ind ascre en ,

and pou red forth , from her p lace of conceal

118 THE AR I’A SAMA] AND I TS FO UNDER.

ment,along d iscou rse in Hind i on women ’

s righ ts ?

She began by maintain ing th e th esis t hat womenwere qu i t e as capab l e of educat ion as men , and , top rove h e r cont ent ion ,

sent forward al i t t l e gi r l ofabou t six or seven years ofage , wh o rec i t ed al ongVed i c poem th e Mai had taugh t h e r. MaiBhagwati,t h e l ectu re r , t h en p roce eded t o refe r t o th e adm i rab l emanne r in wh ich everyth ing in nat u re was ord ered .

Sh e d rew spec ial at t ent i on t o th e importan t funct i onofmat e rn i ty. She to ld u sast o ry

,wi th th e inev i tab l e

Rajah in i t,t o p rove or give em phasis t o h e r stat e

ment t hat each one wou l d rec e ive acco rd ing to h isdese rts. T o th e opp re ssi on of women in t h e Zenanas of H industan Sh e at t r i b ut e d th e subj e ct cond it i onof t h e count ry , add ing t hat t h e b lows, i l l-t reatm ent ,and abuse h e r count rymen re c e i v ed from th e Engl ishwas t h e j ust ret ri bu t i on of t h e i ract s in t h e Zenana.Th is remark cal l ed forth some app lause and merriment . O f cou rse Mai B hagwati

s remark waspo in t ed agains t t h e unman ly dom est ic tyranny of

h e r own count rymen ,th e Eng l ish b e ing

,in h e r eyes,

but th e unconsc ious avenge rs of t h e wrongs of t h e

I T hefiurdah systemamongst H indus is sai d to have beenadopted during M uhammadan dominat i on . H owever thatmayb e, th e purdah is now looked upon as amark of gent i l ity

W i l l not easi ly b e l i fted , even by th e reforming spi rit of th e ageOne might th ink that th e Spread of ed ucat ion wi l l soon re leasewomen fromthe i r present sec lusion, b ut in some cases i t p roduces th e very opposite e ffect. T h e cheap educat ion now

avai lab le in most parts of I nd iarai ses agreat many personsout of th e ir natural h umb le sph ere of l i fe . T he wi ves of suchmen , wh o once enjoyed the pr i v i lege ofmo v ingabout free ly inth e i r own V i l lage

,are converted into f uro

’ah nus/teens,th e

secl usion of th e women be ingan ind icat ion of superior rank .

120 THE ARYA SAMAj AND I TS FOUNDER .

of si xt e en rupeesand two annas from th e inmat e s ofth e Christian Mission board ing-house .The influenc e of t h e sp i r i t of sc i ent ifi c rat ional i smwh ich ,

with th e d iffusion of Eu ropean edu cat i on, hasfor years past b een making i tsel f fe l t t h roughou tInd ia, rende re d inevi tab l e th e event ual abandonment , re const ruct i on , or refo rm of th e anc i ent c re edsof t h e count ry . That anew and arat i onal i s t i cint erpretat i on of th e Vedas cou l d b e made by aBrahman unacquaint e d wit h any Eu rop ean languageshows t o

whatad epth below th e su rfac e th e modernsp i r i t has permeated . Th e persist ent and organ i zedaggre ss iveness of' Ch r i st ian M issionary effort hasalso forced th e H indus, part i cu larly th e educat e dand p r i est ly c lasses, t o re consi d e r th e foundat i onsof the i r fai th , whi le c reat ing ast rong fe e l ing of

oppos i t i on t o the i r wel l -meant effort s at evange l izat ion . Between th e unanswerab l e t ruth s of scienc e

on the one hand , and th e uncomp romising at t i t u d eof condemnat i on taken up by th e Ch ri st ian m issi onari es; on t h e o ther , t h e l ead e rs of nat ive though tin Ind iafe l t that someth ing had t o be done , anddone qu i ck ly . Th e old st rongho lds had becomeunt enab l e , the great e r port ion of t h e land wasc l early defence l ess, so t h e Aryaret i ring befo re t h eenemy and p rac t i cal ly su rrend e ring t h e who l e count ry has taken re fuge beh ind t h e bu lwarks ofal i t t l eknown and ve ry anc i ent fo rt re ss in t h e recesses of

th e mountain .

Vi ewed b road ly, and withou t atoo c lose re fe rence

to itsmo re o r l e ss s e t t l ed t enets and op in i ons,th e

Aryamovemen t isanacknowl edgment on t h e part ofasect i on of th e H indu commun i ty of t h e in t e l l ec tual ly

TH E AR YA SA Il/IA] AND I T S FOUNDER . 12 1

unsustainab l e charact e r of H indu ism ;and i t is alsoapat rio t ic demonst rat ion against Ch rist ian i ty . I n

t h is last respec t l i es its real infl uenc e as afacto r int h e fu tu re of nat iv e soc i ety ,

but to me i t seems to

possess too l i t t l e v i tal i ty to make asu ccessfu l standagainst B rahman and Missi onary , al though I amassu red that th e en thusiasm at present for t h e Aryacause is so great that many men give to t h e Samajamont h ’s pay eve ry yearand oth e rsas much as halftheir entire salary . O th e rs, again ,

pu t asi d e , in aseparat e v esse l , ahandfu l of meal out of eve ry

supp ly taken for th e i r dai ly food , and se l l t h e accumu lated store for th e b enefi t of th e Samaj at th eend of each month . Widows, wh o have no furth e rn eed of th e i r j ewe ls, are frequ en t ly known t o p resen tth em to t h e Samaj .T o acertain ext ent the Aryase ct is in th e fi rst

of th e many stages th rough wh i ch t h e BrahmoSamaj has passed . I t p ins its fai th '

upon th e Vedasas d id th e earl i e r Brahmos ; but th e re is th is d iffe rence— th e Aryahas anew int e rpretat ion of th e

Vedas to go upon . I t is t h e Vedas not as usual lyunderstood , but as interpreted by Dayanand , that h ebe l i eves in . But th is, on t h e fac e of i t

,is not a

ve ry stab l e foundat ion upon wh i ch t o rear anew

re l igion . The men who have be come th e d isc i p l esof Dayanand are , with ave ry few except ions pe rhaps,by no means compet ent to unde rstand or c ri t ical lyapprec iat e t h e soundness

,or o th e rwise , of h is int e r

p retation of t h e Vedas. They hav e b een d rawn t oh im

,not from ascho larly convic t ion of h is genu ine

knowl edge , bu t by t h e p e rsonal influ ence of t h e man,

and by h is offe ring th em arat ional and national

TH E AR YA SA /l/Aj AND I TS FOUNDER .

re l igi on wi th ou t ido lat ry . The Aryamay t h ink hehas fou nd , or may profess to find

,in t h e Rig and

and Yajur Vedasapu re r and mo re reasonab l e fai t ht han t hat p reach ed by th e Christ ian or Musl im

m i ssionari es, bu t t here is st rong ground for bel i eving

that as l ong as h e c l ings to any fo rm of Hindu ism

he wi l l not be ab l e to fre e h imse l f from th e h e re d itary p ri e s thood wh o have gu i ded and ru l ed th esoc ial l i fe of Ind iafo r so many cen t u ri es. A l th oughI have taken much t roub l e t o inqu i re int o th e mat t e r ,I have not been ab l e to find t hat asingl e one of t h eA ryas has dared to open ly set at naught th e h e red itary cust oms in wh ich th e B rahmans p lay apart ,t hough an at t emp t has be en made to modi fy some

of th e ce remon i es. For instanc e,two young men

we re invest e d wi t h th e sacre d th read at Laho reund e r t h e ausp i ces of t h e AryaSamaj . A Brahmanpand i t was ind uced to officiate on the occasion ,

all r i t es of an i dolat rous characte r were om i t t ed .

The Brahman’

s fe e for t h e doub l e invest i tu re andt h e o th e r ne c essary expenses came up t o fi fte en

rupees,so that t h e cost to each of t h e young men

wasamo i e ty of t hat amount . For along t im e th etwo young men in qu est ion were obj e cts of rid i c u l e

to t h e i r o rt hodox fe l lows, wh o proposed , in d e rision

of th e i rregu lar c e remony wh i ch had been pe rfo rm edwit h th e count enanc e of th e AryaSamaj , to investany sweepe r wi th t h e th read on h is paying th e nowrecogn i zed fe e of seven rup e esand e igh t annas. No

d oubt reforms are not t o be easi ly carr i ed ou t in

aconse rvat i ve soc i e ty l i k e t hat of t h e H indus.

Besi d es,p rofessions and p rac t i c e are ve ry d iffe ren t

th ings. I t is,I understand , aru l e of t h e Arya

ARYA SAM /1] A ND I T S F OUNDER.

carri ed by th e soc i e ty wi th th e except i on o f t h e

Anglo -Ved i c Schoo l recen t ly estab l ish e d at Laho rewith some add i t i onal co l l ege c lasses, fo r i t h e p reparat ion of st udents for th e l owe r examinat ions of the

Punjab Un i ve rsi ty .

TH E LAHORE RRAHM O SAMA 7 .

ALT H OUGH not unaware of t h e exist ence of th e newand ve ry aggress i ve sec t of t he ists known as Brahmas, or Brahmos, nor unacquaint e d wit h th e i r general ly-accep t ed doct r ines, I had not visi t e d any of

t he i r p laces of worsh i p when t he fo l l owing pub l icnot ice at t ract e d myat t ent ion

The sixt eenthann iversary of th e Punjab B rahmoSamaj

will be c e l ebrat e d on Sunday,t h e 9 th of

N ovember , 1879 , at t h e B rahmaMand i r , AnarkalliLahore . The pub l ic are cord ial ly invi t ed to at t endon t h e occasi on .

Taking advantage of t h e Soc i e ty ’s invi tat ion to

t h e p ub l ic gene ral ly , I went to t h e i r p lace ofwo rsh i pin t ime for t h e morn ing se rvice .

I found t h e Brahmo mand i r si t uat ed in ahumb l equart e r of t h e town , and devo i d of anyarch i t ec tu ralp ret ensions what eve r . I t is ahal l abou t fi fty fe e t

l ong,by e ight een or twen ty fee t wide , wi th a

ve randain front,part ly conve rted in to a l i t t l e

vest ry,whe re B rahmo pub l icat ions were exp ose d

126 THE LAH ORE BRAHMO SAMA] .

fo r sal e . Narrow ve randas also sh e l t e r t h e hal lon t h e righ t and l eft si d es, runn ingalong th e ent i rel ength of t h e bu i l d ing , wh ich , to su i t t h e c l imat e ,is p rovi de d wi th ampl e m eans of vent i lat ion .

On t h e occasi on of t h e ann i ve rsary c e l ebrat ion ,

regard ing wh ich I am wri t ing , t h e re we re no p i c

t u res,statu es, or such obj ec ts, in t h e hal l . They

wou l d have be en o ut of p lac e in t h e t emp l e of t h ispu re ly th e ist ic and ost entat i o usly i conoc last i c sect .

The occasion was, however , aspec ial one , and some

at t empt at deco rat i on seemed not on ly p e rmissi b l e ,bu t cal led for. F lowe rs and l eaves were innoc en tenough to b e adm i t t ed in to t h e p rec incts of th eaustere th e ist i c hal l , and were u sed , t hough not

profuse ly , in giv ing someth ing ofaho l i day look tot h e b lank wal ls of th e p lain bri ck bu i l d ing . Between

th e doorways,on smal l wooden bracke ts

,were p lace d

glass vases wit h flowers in t h em ; t h e doors were

o rnament ed wi th st rings of l eaves and flowers.

With in th e hal l,on one si d e of th e ent rance door

way,st ood an American c lock

,and on th e o th e r a

chari ty-box,lab e l l e d in Eng l ish and

,lower down ,

in U rd u charac t e rs.

The floor was carp et ed wi t h cot ton carp e ts, knownin Ind iaas durrees. Whit e floo r-c lo ths (not q u i t ec l ean) were lai d for t h e p eop l e to sit upon . A port ion

of t h e extreme end of t h e hal l— perhapsafou rth or

fi fth of t h e ent i re room —had b een part i t ioned off byat emporary sc reen for t h e accommodat ion of such

womenand ch i l d ren as might care to at tend . From

th is extemporize d gynec i um they cou l d hear,and

perhap s se e, all that was go ing on , wi thout be ing

exposed to t he rude gaze of th e mal e worsh i pp ers .

128 THE LAH ORE ERA—HMO SAMAj.

and Christ ians to t u rn to h imand become Brahmos.

I cou ld not he lp th inking t hat m uch of th e form s

of t h e p rayers,or rath e r t h e sty l e of t h e exp res

si ons used , were cop i ed , consc iously or uncon

sciously,from th e prayer-book of th e Chu rch of

England .

D uring h is l ec t u re th e m issi onary,to give po in t to

h is spe ech , quot ed an ep isode from th e Ramayanaabou t “ S etaDab i ” and “ Hanooman Sah i b, ” in

wh ich th e po e t says that th e monkey-god d est royedac e rtain c i ty b ecause h e cou ld not find t h e name ofGod t h e re . At one stage of th e proce ed ings

,wh i l e

ahymn was be ing sung, two or t h re e men got up

and wen t abou t p lac ing garlands of flowers round

the necks of th e p eop l e p resent .

As far as I cou l d j udge , t h e congregat i on wasd rawn from the ranks of th e wel l -to -d o midd l e c lassof t h e nat ive soc i e ty of Laho re . The uppe r c lassessen t no rep resentat i ves, nor d i d th e labou re rs andartizans. Several Bengal is were p resent . T h e

ent i re congregat ion , exc lud ing th e women and ch i ld ren beh ind th e cu rtain ,

d i d not, on th e six t e enth

ann ive rsary of t h e Punjab Brahmo Samaj , excee dfi fty sou ls, and of t h ese seve ral had been p resent at,and taken part in , t h e Aryace l eb rat ion descri bed inaprev ious pap e r—afac t wh i ch , I take i t , is afai rindi cat ion of t h e absenc e at that t im e of narrowsectarian fe e l ing in bo th movement s . At th e door Ipu rchased some B rahmo pub l icat ions, and t h en l e ftth e hal l

,carry ing away wi th m e th e impression t hat

t h e B rahmo t h e ist ic chu rch , wh i ch originat e d inBengal , had ce rtainl y not met wi th much success in

th e Punjab .

THE LAH ORE BRAHMO SAMA] . 129

On asubsequent occasion I was p resent at anint e re st ing ceremony wh ich took p lac e in th e LahoreB rahmo mand i r . Pub l i c no t ice of th e event wasgiven in t h e fo l lowing te rms

We have been requested to informthe pub l i c that Pand itwh o is amin ister o f th e Punjab Brahmo Samaj , has

reso l ved to enter th e SanyasaAshrama, i.e . , to renounce h issecu lar l i fe, on th e 2o th instant , it be ing th e 32nd ann i versaryof h is b irthday. T he ceremony of h is in it iat ion into th e new

sphere of l i fe wi l l b e performed in the hal l of th e B rahmoMandi r son f tha't day, at pm. T he p rrb lic are cord ial lyinv ited to witness th e ceremony.”

T he pub l ic , at any rat e th e nat ive pub l i c (forEu ropeans in Indiacare

for none of t h ese t h ings) ,accepted th e inv i tat ion as cord ial ly as i t was /

given ,

and in h undreds th ronged th e 'Brahmo mand i r longbe fore th e appo int e d hou r . Th rough the court esy of

amembe r of t h e Samaj achai r was p lace d fo r mequ i t e c l ose to t h e raise d p lat form ,

surrounded wi t hp lantsand flowers, on wh i ch th e offi ciat ing min i s t e rwas to take h is seat for th e p urpose of conduct ing

th e ceremony of'

in i t iat i on . Th e‘ man who haddet ermined to renounc e h is se cu lar l i fe wasamarri edman with th re e ch i l d ren ,

and he l d agood appo intm ent on asalary of ahund re d and fi fty rupe es amont h . He had d e l i be rat e ly resigned h is post ino rde r to l ead ar e l igious l i fe

, and th e p robab l e fat eof h is wife and family wasamat t e r of sp ecu lat i onto many present t hat evening.

The p roceed ings,wh i ch were th roughout con

duct e d wit h great so l emn i ty,were carri ed out in

accordance wit h aprogramme of t h e evening’s wo rk,

130 THE LAH ORE BRAHMO SAMA] .

c op i es of wh ich were d ist ri bu t e d amongst the

aud i ence .

Th e cand idat e , wi th h ead and face shaved qu i tesmooth , appeared be fo re t h e aud i ence , we l l- c lad ingarments dyed of t h e o range -ye l low co lou r affect e dby asce t ics in Ind ia. The Offi c iat ing m in ist e r

, anat ive gent l eman of good stand ing

,engaged for th e

most part in t h e secu lar work of ve rnacu lar edu cat i on

,wo re h is o rd inary d ress, but had , in honou r of

t h e occasion , t h rown an o range -co lou re d sh ee t ove rh is Shou l de rs. Afte r the pre l im inary d iv ine serv ic e

th e m in ist e r gave th e cand i date anew name,by

wh ich h e was to be known h enc eforth , and read outvarious prec epts, cu l l e d from th e H indu Shast ras, inregard to av i rtuou s l i fe . He wh ispe re d in t o the earof th e new asce t ic th e “

sacred wat chwo rd, and

t h en‘add ressed h im at great l ength u pon th e

responsi b i l i t i e s wh ich h is new l i fe imposed u ponh im .

But th e most in t e rest ing port i on of th e even ing’spro ceed ings was th e new sannyasi ’s own address,flu ent ly de l ive red in U rdu , int e rspe rsed with averyfew exp re ssi ve Engl ish words and ph ras es. In th isspeech h e exp lained t o th e ass emb ly that th e st e p

h e had j ust taken was not ahasty one , conce ive d

and carri ed out on th e spu r of t h e moment,but had

been th e subj e c t of anxi ous thought and longd e l i b e rat ion . Years p rev i ously h e had p roposed toabandon th e wo r ld for th e l i fe of asannyasi , bu thad been d issuaded from do ing so by amost worthyman , h imse l f asannyasi , who st rong ly advi sed h imnot to act p re c ip itat e ly , but t o wai t t i l l h e fe l t st rongenough to make so great asac rifi c e , T he t ime for

13 2 THE LAH ORE BRAHMO SAMA] .

risen superior t o all th e puerile 'rites'and ceremon i esof

_anc i ent H indu ism , had t o d o wrth the ye l low dress

of the sannyas i ? And the i d eaofagrihasthi Babuin i t iat ingaman int o an ascet i c Orde r,and conferr ingupon:h imthe tit l e of Swami, was h e ld up t o r i d i cu l eby th e Opponents of B rahmoi sm .

A BRAHM O WEDD IN G.

ON th e 3 rd of January, 1884 , I rece ived th e following Invi tat i on , beaut i fu l ly printe d in go ld l et t erson ap ink g lazed card

God’

smercy aloneavaileth .

presents h is comp l i m en ts t o J . C . Oman ,Esq .

fessor of N . Sc i enc e , and so l ic i ts the favou r of h is

kind at t endanc e at the Anarkal i B rahmo‘

Mand i r on

5th January , 18 84 , at p .m.,t o wi tness t h e nup

tials of“

h is daugh te r with“ Lal la,

—K ind ly p resen t th is card at t h e doo r ofth e Mand i r . ”

Ataquart e raft e r s ix , on th e appo inted day, '

l wasat t h e c los ed doo r of t h e mand i r

,and found i t

besi eged by ac rowd eage r to get admi t tance . The

Brahmo mand i r I have al ready descr ibed , and wi l lon ly ad d that , on t h i s occasi on, i t was i l l um inat edwit h cheraghs in

t h e usual Ind ian manner . I took

my stand outsi d e amongst some nat iv e fr i ends andwai t ed . T he doo r was at l ength opened part ial ly ,

134 A BRAH IVI O WEDDING .

and th en commenc ed along st ruggl e b etween th emast e rs of ce remon i es and th e v isi t o rs. P robab lysome of those so anx ious to ass ist at th e c e remonyhad come un inv i t ed and were den i e d adm i ttance ; b eth i s as i t may, th e door was at ve ry sho rt int e rvalsc lose d fo rc i b ly on all, wheth e r invi t e d gues ts or

o t h erwise . Meanwhi l e,aband of nat i ve music ians,

armed with inst rumen ts of Europ ean make ,amongstwh ich th e sh ri l l bagpip es were unmistakab l e , fi l l e d

t h e air wi th what was looked uponas Eng l ish musi c ,“ Au l d Lérng Home

,swe e t home ,

be ing at l eas t recogn i zab le in th e med l ey to wh ichwe were treat ed . I p re ss ed fo rward and s t ood asc lose as I cou ld get to t h e en t rance , when anat ivegentl eman be ckon ed m e to fo l low h im

,and int roduce d

m e in t o the mand i r by asi d e door. On entering I

had the p l easu re of mee t ing and exchanging gre e tings wi th th e p resi d ent of t h e Soc i e ty and t h e pand i t— now Swami— who

, as al ready d esc r i b ed , hadassumed th e garb of an ascet i c , and was gorng t oactas p r iest fo r the so lemn izat i on of th e marr iage .I was court eously accommodat e d wi th achairqu i t e c lose t o th e rai s e d p lat form ,

where th e nupt ialc e rem ony was t o be performed . Wh en th e hal l waswe l l fi l led , and th e c rowd induced t o sit down on th efloo r as we l l as th ey c ou ld—ab us ine ss of no l i t t l ed i fficu l ty , and o cc upying mo re than ahou r— t h eSwami took h is s eat on t h e dais cove red wi t h re d

c lo t h,wh ich had been e re c t e d against t h e si d e wal l

of t h e hal l , between two doors. At th e fou r corne rs

of t h e dai s p lantain t re es had been p u t up , andt h e ent i re hal l was decorat ed wi th st rings of

flowers .

136 A BRAHM O WEDDING.

was sim i lar ly qu est i one d with respec t t o th e youngman, and gave asu i tab l e response . T h e min ist e r

th enadd re ssed th e young coup l e on t he dut i e s andresponsib i l i t i e s of marri ed l i fe , and made each one

rep eat aft e r h im aformu la, much resemb l ing that int h e p rayer-book of th e Chu rch of Eng land (andprobab ly adop t ed from i t ) , wh ich begins wi th th ewords, I take th ee , C . D . , t o be my wedded wife ,

&c .,&c.

Wh en th ese formal and ne cessary dec larat ions hadbeen made and ob l igat ions acc ep te d , th e m in i st e rj o ine d th e hands of th e young coup l e and t i ed t hemtoge th er with ast r ing of flowers. At th is po in t th e

musi c ians set u panapprop r iat e hymn ,and , whi l e t h emu s i c con t inu ed , th e young coup le sat si lent ly j o inedt ogeth e r by t h e flo ral chain .

The m in ist e r then addressed the marri e d coup l eand th e aud i ence at great l ength . He dwe l t upont h e many d isadvan tages and ev i ls ‘

of chi ld-marriage ,and commended , in glowing terms

, th e cou rage of

th e bri d e’

s fat her , who , in defianc e of c u stomandpub l i c op in i on

,had , from asense of duty, edu cat e d

h is gir l wi th t h e‘

care on ly given in o rd inary caSes tot h e edu cation of ab oy, and had not sought ah usband fo r h e r t i l l sh e had at tained t h e age offifteen ,and was suffi c i en t ly instruct e d to take upon h e rse l ft h e responsi b i l i t i es ofamarri e d l i fe . T he m in iste r

condemned ve ry fo rc ib ly th e ex ist ing H ind u syst em

of ch i l d -marriage , whi ch l e d inev i tab ly to t h e sh ip‘

wreck of so many l i v es, and h e exhort e d h is h eare rst o come forward manfu l ly and assist , by examp l e ,t h e reform to wh i ch so many were ready to

th e i r approval, _but wh i c h So -few were prepared to

A BRAHMO WEDDING . 137

carry out in pract i c e . The Swam i spoke e loquent lyin respect to Engl ish home -l i fe , as h e had h eard i td escribe d by Indians whohad l ive d in Eng land , andt o ld h is h eare rs t hat i t was far more importan t fo rt h e p eopl e of Ind iat o l earn from th e Engl ishmanhow to make aqu i e t , happy home , than toacqu i refrom h im ski l l inany number of mechan i cal arts or

indust r i es, importan t as th ese may be to th e we l fareof th e count ry .

The Swami ’s spee ch conc l ude d th e p roce ed ings,and th e meet ing b roke up wi th ad i st r i bu t ion of

gar lands, and ami dst showe rs of flowers.

T H E word S ihh means ad isc i p l e , and is t h e d is

tingu ish ing name of th e fo l lowers of are l igion ,

o riginal ly founded by BabaNanak,in t h e ear ly

part of t h e si xt e en th c ent u ry . At th e p re s en t t im e,

t h e S ikhs numbe r abou t am i l l i on and aquart e r ,nearly n ine ty p er cent . of t h e who le b e ing resi d entsof th e Punjab . Th ey are awar l i ke s e ct , whoat taine d p redom inanc e in th e Punjab du ring t h et roub l ed t imes wh i ch at t ende d th e d ec l ine and fal lof th e Mogu l Empi re in Ind ia, and under Frenchoffi ce rs made agal lant , i f unsu cc essfu l , resistance t oth e B r it ish arm s in many awel l -fough t fi e l d .

To be seen t o advantage , th e Go lden Temp l e of th eS i khs shou ld be v isi t e d on t h e occasi on of t h e D iwal ifest ival , when the fane and its su rround ings arebri l l iant ly i l lum inat e d wi th thousands u pon t housandsof those l i t t l e t e rra-co ttalamps , known in Ind iaascheraghs.

The D iwal i fe st ival takes p lac e annual ly , on

th e darke st day of the year , accord ing to H indu

140 T WO VI SI TS T O THE

madan sty l es of arch i t e c ture , is not imposing in i t s

d imens i ons ; t h e dome , too , is low and sq uat ; b u tthe mat e rial of th e bu i l d ing i s good , th e fin ishe laborat e , and , taken as awh

o l e and in conne c t ion

with its surround ings, t h e Go lden Temp l e is adec i d ed ly at t rac t i v e and p l easing obj ect .When our l i t t l e partyarr ivedat t h e t emp l e , known

local ly as th e D urbar Sahib, abou t an hou r befo resunset , th e sc ene was extreme ly p i c t u re squ e andan imat e d . A st ream of human be ings was set t ing

st ead i ly towards th e cen t ral bu i ld ing , and th e crowd

was eve ry m inu t e get t ing more and mo re dense .Looking down from the p lat fo rm at th e base of th enew c lock-towe r, th e re appeare d at roub l e d seaofwh i t e and co lou red t u rbans

,fi l l ing th e ent i re ap

proach to th e t emp l e . We to l d some po l icemen ,

who were th e re on d uty,that we wish e d to go insi d e

t h e bu i lding . At first t h ey raised d i ffi cu l t i e s abouti t

,saying that th e c rowd b etween usand th e D urbar

Sah ib was too great to adm i t of our passing forward:See ing

,however

,t hat we had ast rong m ind to t ry,

th ey undertook to conduc t u s - to th e sanct uary .~ But

certain p re l im inaries had fi rst to be gone t h rough .

We were asked to sit down onabenchand exchangeou r boots for moccasins made of c l o th , as i t was not

admissib l e to t read the?

hal l owed p rec incts of t h e

D urbar Sah i b shod wi t h l eat h e r . Th is necessaryconcession to S ikh customs hav ing been sat isfacto r i lycarri e d out, two tal l po l i c em en undertook to c l eart h e way fo r us -no easy mat t e r at fi rst si gh t , fo r we

had t o get th rough ac lose ly packed and st ruggl ingmass of human b e ings, wh ich occup i ed t h e ent i respace b etween u s and th e door of the sh rine . But

GOLDEN TEMPLE OF TH E S l k'

H S . 14 1

th e po l i c emen , representat i ves of t h e i rresist ib l e

power of th e Sarkar, _brough t us safe ly , and in ave ryfew minut es, t o th e d e s i re d goal . With l ou d shouts

vigo rous pushes to righ t and l eft , and , i t must beconfe ssed , fre e u se of the i r offic ial batons on

t u rbaned h eads of t h e i r unoffend ing coun t rymen,t h e

po l icemen c l eared th e way for us, without , as farasI cou l d obse rve

,creat ing t h e smal l est ou tward S ign

of i rri tat i on in t h e men so unce remon io usly hand l ed .

Possib ly th e sto l i d count enanc es of t h e S i khsmaskedth e resen tment wh i ch such t reatmen t wou l d on lytoo nat u ral ly awak en . I t ri ed , bu t urrsucccessfully,

t o rest rain th e superab undant ene rgy of our gu i des[and p rot ect o rs. They were apparent ly act ing acco rd ing t o t h e i r o rd inary p rocedu re , and smi l ingly

p rot ested t hat no harm was be ing done .When we reach ed th e doo r of t h e shrine

,i t was

t h ronged byac rowd of eage r v isi to rs. On t h e pavement

,damp and d i rty from th e fe e t of t h emu l t i t ud es

that had al ready been t h e re , devout p i lgrims werep rost rat ing themse lve s wi t h touchinghumility whi lsto th ers

were si l ent ly , and very undemonst rat i ve ly ,st ruggl ing to ent e r th e ho ly p lac e , in o rde r t o p resentth e offe rings , ri ch or t rifl ing, which th ey had b rough tin th e i r hands.We ent e red th e Inner room or sanct uary

,avau l t e dchamber of very mode rat e d imen s i ons , with arich lyornamented ceiling. I n the c ent re of i t wasaheavycanopy or baldaqu in of c lo t h of go l d , support ed onfour si l ve r posts. Unde r t h is was t h e sac red bookof t h e S ikhs, th e Ad i-Granth , covered ove r wi th

cost ly brocade , and before t h e vo l ume , fac ing th emain ent rance , sat t he ch i ef p ri est of th e t emp l e

142 TWO VI SI TS T O TH E

Round abou t were seve ral offic iat ing p ri ests. On

one si d e squat t ed th re e or fou r musi c ians,who

wh i l e we stood th e re , were p laying on st r ingedinst rumen ts (sitars and saringhis) , wi th t h e aecompaniment of th e tablaor d rum , t h e we l l -known air of

TazabaTaza,” t h e eve r popu lar song of Hafiz,

b reat h ing of love and wine .

There was no i do l nor graven image in th e sh rine .

T he on ly obj e c t of veneration was the B ook . We

stood forafew minut es to wat ch th e scene . Thousands had come from d i stan t p laces t o pay th e i rrespects and perform th e i r d evot ions at t h e t empl eon t h is important occasion . They st ruggl ed , afewatat ime , in t o t h e chambe r wh e re th e sacre d vo l um elay,

'and made th e i r offe rings of money,sweets or

flowers rece i ving back from the hands of th e p ri estsome trifle— perhaps ac rushe d and b roken flowe r

taken from th e h eaps before h im . Obs erving ou rp resence in the t emp l e , one of the pr i e sts came forward and b egan d i re ct ing our at tent i on t o vari ouspo ints of int e rest in t h e arch i t ec t u re of th e p lac e .He also handed us acoup l e of l umps of sugarcandy

,and some flowe rs. I vent u re d at fi rst t o

dec l ine th ese presents but h e p ressed th em upon us

so cou rteou s ly that we were ob l iged t o acc ept th em .

A v isi t to t h e upper floor of t h e bu i ld ing and t o th eroof

,we l l repai d us fo r th e S l igh t t roub le ofascend

ing awe l l -bu i l t stai rcase . The p rospe c t from th ewindows was st ri k ingly beau t i fu l and int e rest ing .

The brigh t water of immortality (for su ch i t is t o t h eS ikhs) refl ec t ing th e image of th e Gol d en Temp l e ,wi th t h e su rround ing st ructures, and d ist u rb ed on lyby afew d evout bath e rs near th e shrine

,l ent a

144 T WO I/ [ SI TS T O THE“

T he cheraghs were be ing arrange d as c l o sely asposs i b l e

,alongall the p rinc i pal l ine s of the arch i

t e ctu re . On t h e roof i tse l f, t h ese l i t t l e lamps weresc reene d on th e

outer s i d e byarow of th in g lassflasks containrng wat e r , var i o u s ly c o lou red t o p rod u ce t h e effec t of po lych romat i c l igh ts, and we l lindeed , as we aft e rwards saw, was t h e d esi re d resu l tse cu re d by th i s v e ry s imp l e devic e .The ret u rn th rough the f close ly packed c rowd wason ly arep et i t i on of our p rogress to th e t emp l e , andwas acc omp l ish ed wi thou t any c

ontretemps. N earthe c lock-tower we 16 1111111114 1 th eaut h or i t i es (mun icipal or oth e r) had p laced Seve ral rows Of’Seats forEuropean spectat o rs of th e ' illumination . He re

se t t l e d ou rse lves d own to watch th e gradual l igh t ingu p of th e t empl e and ‘

its su r round ings.fIn

. ,an Open

space j ust b eh ind u s , aband ofm’

iI siciansfi th e J townband , I suppose— were

treatingus to popular Engl ishai rs. As th e d usk loft eveningapp roach ed , theappearance in qu i ck succ e ssion , on d ifferent part s of

t h e t emp l e , around t h e b oundari e s of the tank- andon th e adjacent b u i ld ings, of

brigh t po ints of fire ,

each po int faithfu l ly rep rodu ced in th e bosom -of the

t ranqu i l lake , told ‘

us t hat th e c h eraghs were be ingd eft ly l igh t e d by many p ract ised hands. S i l ent lyand rap id ly l ine aft e r l ine . of fire flash ed into e xistenc e , reveal ing t o our adm i ring eyes the gemmed

out l ines ofaver itab l e fai ry c i ty. . Wh en th e bu i ldings had all been l ighted up , we were t reated toabri l l iant d isp lay of fi reworks on t h re e s i des of t h e

tank , th e effe c t of th e who l e , asad isp lay of l igh t andco lou r , be ing most st r i k ingand adm i rable. But

my part , I would wi l l ingly have d ispensed wi th both

GOLDEN TEMPLE OF TH E SIK’

H S. 145

t h e Engl ish band and t h e pyroteclinicsg for t h eyseemed to me o ut of keep ing wi th t h e p lace and th eoccasion .

One consequ ence of t h e fi rewo rks was to set in

wi l d confused fl igh t over our h eadsah ost of p igeons,b i rds he l d sacred in so many re l igious c i t i es, andnot l ess sacred at Amri tsar , where i t wou l d bedangerous for any one to ki l l ap igeon near t h eGo lden Tem p l e .Unfortunat e ly i l l uminat ion s and fi reworksare not

fre e from smoke . \V e were soon glad to l eave th eh eavy air in t h e n e ighbou rhood of t h e t empl e , andtake ourway back th rough th e now bri l l iant ly l igh tedst re e ts of Amri tsar . The D iwal i fest i val , in honou rof wh ich th e t emp l e and th e c i ty were i l lum inat e d , isknown in Bengal as t h e Kal i Poojah , and in t hatp rovince is at tended wi th th e sac rifice of count l ess

v i ct ims, part icu larly Sh eep , goats, and buffaloes? I n

t h e N o rth -West e rn Provinces of I nd iaand in th e

Punjab,t h e D iwal i day is t hat on wh ich th e H indu

t radesmen o p en t h e i r accoun t -books for t h e new

year and indu lge large ly in gambl ing asan omen of

t h e l uck th ey are to have during th e ensu ing twe lvem onths. Lakshmi

,t h e goddess of fortun e , is on t h is

n igh t wo rsh ip p ed in t h e form of acu rren t go l d or

S i lve r co in . The dwe l l ing-houses are all t horough lyc l eane d and set in o rde r , i f on ly on t h is one occasionin t h e year

, to b e fi t p laces for t h e recep t ion of t h e

goddess ; whi l e t h e i l luminat ion is to kee p dev i lsfrom ent e ring the hou ses unde r cover of t h e dark

T he H indoos as T hey Are,by Sah ib Chunder Bose ,

p . 138 et seq .

146 T WO VI SI TS T O THE

n ess ? S ome say that in ru ral Punjab th e lam psarec h iefly l igh ted in honou r of t h e sp i ri ts of depart e dancesto rs ?

Be th e obj ect what i t may, eve ry t own in N o rth e rnInd iagl i t t e rs on D iwal i n igh t wi th t housands upont housands of twinkl ing l igh ts, wh i l e t h e H indu inhab i tants p e rform su ch ri t esas t h ey d e em l ike ly tob ring th em good fo rt une . The S ikhs, al thoughse c e de rs from orth odox H indu ism ,

are unwi l l ing t olose th e i r chance of t h e good fo rtune t hat Lakshm imay be d ispose d t o giv e h e r vo tari es, so t h ey too

i l luminat e t h e i r t emp l e in h e r honou r , and wit h no

n iggard ly hand .

On D iwal i n igh t t h e Ind ian bazaars, swe p t , garn ish ed

, and bri l l iant ly i l l um inat ed , are c rowded wit hp eop l e . The prominen t featu re of t h e occasion is

t h e abundanc e of t oys : toys in sugar in c lay,in

pape r . The toy shopsand sweetm eat shops are fu l lto ove rflowing wi th houses

,towers, and boats, men ,

e l ephan ts,and ho rs es, oxen, fishes,and b i rds. Inde e d

th e vari e ty of shap es in sugar and in bake d c lay,

gorgeou s ly paint e d and t inse l l e d ove r, wh i ch compete fo r pub l ic favou r, must b e qu i t e b ewi l d e ring tot h e l i t t l e ones who ,

d resse d in t h e i r ho l i day fine ry,

c rowd round th e stal ls. Am idst t h e toys t h e re aremany rep resentat ions of th e gods of H industan bu t

noth ing having th e s l igh t est c lai m to art ist i c m e ri tis to b e seen anywhere . Som e int e re st ing obj e ct s

may, howeve r , reward t h e qu est of t h e cu ri ous insuch mat t ers. For exampl e , an Ind ian form of th e

I Sah ib Chunder Bose,

T h e H indoosas T h eyAre,

” p . 140.

2 Mr. D en z i l l bb itson in The Civil and [ Military Gaz ette,March , 1884 .

148 T WO VI SI TS T O TH E

c rowd of v isi to rs go ing to and re t u rn ing from the

sh rine . I n t h e sanc tuary i tse l f aguru and severalat t endan ts were seat e d n ear t h e Ad i -Granth

,wh i ch

covere d ove r wi t h ahandsom e c loth,lay on asmal l

s tand , afew inch es above t h e floor . I t was th e

Obj ect of spec ial adorat i on , and was be ing fanned th ewhol e t im e , as H indu i do lsand great ch i efsalwaysare on ce remon ial or s tat e occasions. So sac red isth e Grant h h e ld by th e S ikhs, t hat th e r ich andi gno ran t amongst t h em consi d e r i t m eri to rious evento have i t read for t h em ,

from beginn ing to end , andde l egat e t h e duty t oapri est , who du ly p e rfo rms i t forat rifl ing consi d e rat i on— fou r or five rup eesand asu i tof c loth es. Somet imes t h is ce remony , knownaspd t,is p e rfo rmed fo r t h e b enefi t ofadead p erson at t h eexp ense of h is su rviv ing re lat i ves. N ear t h e Gran t hin t h e Go l d en Temp l e

,fou r or five music ian s we re

p laying on th eir instruments, and occasional lyasongor hymn was set up ,

filling t h e vau l t e d chambe r wi t haloud bu t not unp l easan t sound . Th e numerous

wo rsh ipp e rs, most ly women of~ t h e m idd l e-

c lass,many

of t h em H indus not p rop er ly b e longing to t h e S i khsect , performed th e i r d evot ions by p e regrinat ing th eco rr ido r wh ich su rrounds t h e c en t ral chamber t h re e

five, or seven t im es, and th en laying some smal l

offe ring before!

th e book . As for th e ch i ef p ri est,h is

duty se emed l im i t e d to re ce iv ing th e offe rings andmaking at r ifl ing re t u rn in t h e shap e ofaflowe r ortwo . The ob lat i ons, when t h ey are not of smal lval u e

,are given in fu lfi lmen t of some vow or o th e r .

I was shewn ari ch ly capar isoned ho rse wh i ch hadbeen p resent e d by aS ikh Rajah , and wh ich was tobe maintaine d at h is exp ens e fo r one year and th en

GOLDEN TE III PLE OF THE SIKH S. 149

so l d for t h e b enefi t of t h e t em p l e . I was assu redt hat t h e unmean ing and unprofi tab l e se rvice wh ich Ihave descr ib ed was carr i e d on withou t int e rm issi onfrom early morn ing t i l l lat e at n igh t by re lays of

p ri estsand at t endants. I had , howeve r , seenamuchmo re in t e rest ing re l igi ous se rvi c e in anoth er S ikhp lac e of wo rsh ip— t h e babakabaree in Sealkotewhere I found amixed congregat ion of S ikhs andH indus l ist en ing most at t en t iv e ly to t h e read ingandexposi t ion of t h e G ran t h and I l earned , on inqu i ry ,t hat in an up p e r room of t h e Go l den Templ e t h e

sacred book was sim i larly expounde d eve ry day.

At th e Akal i Palac e I was shown th e chambe r inwh i ch t h e Ad i-Grant h of t h e t emp l e is p lace d forsafe custody at n ight

,and wh ence i t is carri e d each

morn ing wi th great stat e and c e remony to t h e Shrine .On t h e marb l e pavemen t b efo re t h e palace aB rahman was read ing out Ofand in t e rpre t ing one of th e

H indu shastras,toasmall kno t ofwomenand ch i ldren

Round th e margin of t h e tank,wi thin t h e sacre d p re

cincts wh ich I was not perm i tt ed to t read wi th shoes

on my feet , artizans were manufact u ringand se l l ing

neat l i t t l e wooden combs. O thers were d isp layingfor sal e vari o us art ic l es made of i ron ,

part icu larlyth e o rnaments wo rn by S ikhs as d ist ingu ish ingbadges of th e sect . O t h ers, again ,

were laying downmarb l e flags on t h e broad roadway besi d e t h e tank ,for th e Du rbar Sah ib is not qu i t e fin ished yet

,l eav

ing ampl e ro om for t h e p ious gene rosi ty of the

fo l lowers of Guru Nanak and Gov ind S ingh . Hereaphysic ian

,wi th t h e l east possi b l e quant i ty of

c loth ing on h is p e rson , was app ly ing ap last e r tot h e h ead ofasqual l ing infan t ; t h ere several p ersons

150 T lVO VI SI TS T O TH E

were walking round asac red p lum t re e p lant e d bysom e ho ly p ersonage ;whi l e one or two yogis

,rubbe d

ove r wi th ash es,sat

,se em ingly wrappe d in cont em

p lation , on t h e co l d pavem ent . I n one plac e awoman , seat ed beh ind acovere d vo l ume , was con

ve rsing wi th some m emb ers of h e r own sex . I n

anoth er agranthi, wi th.

as im i lar covered -up book

before h im , was carry ing on aconfident ial conve rsat i on wi t ham idd l e-aged man ,

p robab ly ashopkeepe r .As I passed I caught th e words, I t can be managed , u t t e red confident ly by t h e possesso r Of t h e

sacre d book . On inqu i ring abou t t h ese i r regu lart eache rs, mal e and femal e , c l inging , as i t were , tot h e ou tski rts of t h e t empl e

,I l earn e d that t h ey were

desp i c'

ab l e wret ch es who , under t h e garb of re l igi on,

l ent t h emse l ves to t h e furt h e ranc e of th e mosti mmoral pract ices. Seat e d t ranq u i l ly b eh ind th esacre d vo l ume of th e i r fai th , t h ey arrange i l l i c i tm e et ings, for wh ich I was to l d t h e p ur l i e us of th et emp l e afford on ly too great fac i l i t i es. A l t hough

local c i rc umstancesmay,in th e cas e of t h e Go l den

Templ e , favour th e exe rc ise of t h e i r cal l ing by th eseshame l ess wretch es

,who make ad isgracefu l p rofi t

ou t of t h e frai l t i es of o t h e rs,t h e c lass t o wh ich

th ey be long p robab ly owes its o rigin and pro spe ri tyt o th e rest r i c t i ons imposed upon soc ial int e rcou rs ebe tween t h e sexe s in Ind ia.What I sawand l earn t du ring my two v isi ts to

th e most importan t of all S ikh p lac es of worsh i p

sat isfi e d m e that , at t h e p resen t t ime , S ikh ism ,

as ad ist inc t re l igi on , p oss esses l i t t l e v i tal i ty , andt hat i t wil l

,inall p robab i l i ty , b e reun i t e d in agene

rat ion or two t o th e H indu ism from wh i ch i t sp rang.

V I I I .

TH E CEN O TAPH OF MAH ARAy’

R UN yE E T SIN GH.

W I T HOUT t h e wal ls of t h e c i ty of Lahore , on t h e

borde r ofavast maidan or: open p lain ,and flanked by

monumen ts of h ist o r ical in t e rest , stands t h e Samadho f Runjeet S ingh , t h e famous S i kh r u l e r of t h e

Punjab (A .D . 1 7 80 Th e p lac e i tse l f can boasto f noan t i q u i ty . I t is not hal f acen t u ry o ld ,

I bu t

yet o ld enough t o carry one back toastat e of soc i e tyve ry d i ffe rent from t h e p resen t , and to inhumanc ustoms wh ich have be en supp resse d by t h e fi rm

hand ofac i v i l iz e d and c i v i l i z ing G ove rnmen t . On

one si d e of i t is t h e l i t t l e garden known as th

Haz ooree Bagh , t h e wo rk of Runjeet h imse l f,an d t h e

great m osqu e of Au rangzeb (A .D . On t h e

o th e r S i d e stands t h e sh rin e of th e S i kh Gu ru , Arj unMal. Fac ing th e tomb is t h e en t rance to t h e for tand palac e of t h e Mogu l Empe rors, now guard ed byB ri t i sh so l d i e rs.

Vi ewed from th e open spac e b e twe en i t and t h e1 M rs. H ervey saw i t in an unfin ished state in N ovember,

1850 (“ Adventures ofaLady in Tartarv, T h ibet, Ch ina, and

Kash rn er, ” vol_i. )

MAHARAjAH RUNjE E T SINGH . 153

Fo rt , t h e b u i l d ing p resents along doub l e -sto reye dfacade wh ich nearly conceals t h e c eno taph i tse l f fromsigh t . From ad istanc e the mauso l e um , wit h its

domed roof and gi l t finials, t hough notan im posingobj ect , presen ts to t h e eye of t h e spectato r aby n o

means unp l easing i l l ust rat ion of t h e m ixed H indu

and Muhammadan sty l e of arch it ectu re . A smal lcent ral portal fi t t e d with acarved wooden door g ivesent rance to t h e Samadh .

The mauso l eum,or rath e r c enotaph , has been

e rec t e d in honou r ofaman consp i cuous in h is dayand generat ion

,and bot h on t h isaccoun tand becauseof ce rtain int e rest ing d etai ls connect e d wi t h its h is

to ryand arch i t ectu re , is not undese rving ofat t ent ion .

Passing th rough t h e smal l en t rance doorway , Ien t e re d along low roomor vest ibu l e . I t con taine danat ive st r ing-bo t tomed cot, ar i ckety old tab l e , asmal l p i l e of fi rewood

,and atin ni ug , ev i d en t ly th e

p rop erty of one of t h e custod ians of t h e p lace , wh owou l d see noth ing inapp rop riat e in l e t t ing thesehomely art ic l es of domest ic u se l i e abou t t h e ve ryen t rance to t h e Samadh of h is ven e rat e d ch i ef.

With in t h is room isastai rcase , by wh ich I ascendedto alarge p lat fo rm on al eve l wi th t h e uppe r floor of

t h e frontage .

Before ent e ring th e Samadh,I not iced an apart

m en t in wh ich th e Ash tpujee D eb i was enshrined instat e . The B rahmans in at t endance we re ve ry c iv i l ,bu t obj ect e d to admi t m e in to t h e sac red chambe rwi th boots on . I removed m ine . \Vith in t h e

chamber th ere was not h ing of any sp ec ial int e rest .I was to l d t hat t h e homis burn t twice ayear on t h eop en p lat fo rm be fo re t he door of t h e D eb i ’s chape l

154 THE CEA’OTARH OE

and t h e exact spot,b lackene d by fi re

,was po int e d

ou t to me .

I n rep ly to my inqu i r i es t h e at t endan ts asse rtedt hat t h e Ash tpujee D eb i was t h e godd ess who hadgiven in to t h e hands of Gu ru Gov ind t h e sword of

wh ich h e taugh t h is p eop l e to make su ch good u se ,

and h enc e th e spe c ial p lac e O f honou r assigned toh er in t h e Samadh .

The cen t ral port ion of t h e p lat fo rm is occup i ed byt h e lofty tomb , i f i t can b e cal l e d so

, of t h e S i kh

k ing, and t h e post e rio r par t by aseparat e bu i l d ing ofvery subord inat e charac t e r

,whi ch covers t h e ash es

of Ru njeet’

s son Kh uruk S ingh,and h is grandson

No N i hal S ingh . The e l d e r of t h ese p rinc es,th e re

is good reason to be l i eve, was slow ly and d e l ib e r

atelyp oisoned ;wh i l e th e younger one , byaconven i entacc i d en t , was crushe d to deat h

,by th e fal l ing of a

port ion ofan archway on the ve ry day on wh ich th e

body of h is fat h e r, Kh uruk S ingh , was commi tt e d toth e flames.

The bu i ld ingis asp e c imen of th e m ixed H induand Muhammadan sty l e of arch i t ectu re wh ich camegen eral ly in t o fash ion in N orth e rn Ind iaafte r t h et im e of t h e Empe ror Akbar ? I t consists ofaloftycen t ral chambe r su rmoun t e d byadome wi th gal l e r i esall round . The ce i l ing is e laborat e ly de corat ed withconvex m i rrors arranged in pat t e rns done in st u cco .

I n t h e m idd l e o f th e c en t ral chambe r is amarb l ecanopy abou t ten fe e t h igh

,raise d on p i l lars ove r a

p lat fo rm of marb l e . Beneat h l i e , p e rhaps, some of

t h e ashes of th e ch i ef and of seve ral o t h e rs besi d es.

Uponasmal l carp e t on one si d e rests acopy of t h eF urgusson

’s Handbook of Arch i tecture , pp . 1 16

,1 17 .

156 TH E CE A'

OTAPH OF

supp ressi on of that r i t e by th e B ri t ish Gove rnmen t .I t m igh t have b een ahal f-h earte d regre t on t h e i rpart , and amere capt ious d isapp roval of t h e int e rfe rence of an al i en governmen t , but th e fe e l ing , asfaras i t wen t , app eare d to me t o b e qu i t e genu ine ?One of t h e cust o d ians of t h e p lac e exp laine d t o m e

t hat when awoman p e rform e d t h e r i t e of sat i w i t ht h e corp sezof h e r h usband , h e r act was so meri to rious

t hat i t ensured for h e rse l f and h e r dead lo rd ap lacein h eaven for as many years as t h e re were hai rson he r body . And I subse qu en t ly l earne d t hat t h eB rahmans, in o rde r to give ap re c ise i d eaof t h e

p e riod in quest i on ,reckon t h e hai rs on t h e h uman

bodyat some th i rty-five m i l l i ons ? Consi d e re d from

th is po in t of v i ew,of what aeons of b l iss has not t h e

Act for t h e supp ression of sat i d ep r i ve d t h e muchmarr i e d H indu When I sp oke of t h e s uffe rings of

t h e unfort unat e women , I wasassu re d that from t h em omen t t h ey asc ended t h e p i l e t h ey were insensi b l et o all pain

,and on ly rej o ice d at t h e i r fat e amidst t h e

flames t hat consumed th em . As amat t e r of fact ,t h ey were Oft en drugged wit h op i umand bhang .

I “ T h e old crime of Sat i , wh ereby H indu wi dows wereburned al i ve on th e funeral pyres o f the ir h usbands

,has ceased

long ago throughout th e Bri t ish territories. T h e i deas fromwh ich it sprang have no longerany ho ld upon th e minds of th e

h igh ly educated c lasses. Possi b ly th e pract ice wou ld rev i veamong th e less educated c lasses i f th e B rit ish proh ib it ion werewithdrawn . T h emon umentsalways erected on th e spotswhereth e dread rite has been observed are regarded wi th popu larvenerat i on .

”— S ir R . T emp le’s Ind iain p . 196 .

Coleb rook e’s E ssay s

”vol. i . p . 135.

3 “ T rave ls in Kashmi r,by G . T . V i gne , vol. i . pp . 8 2 -86

may b e consu lted for some interest ing detai ls regard ing sat iswitnessed by th eauthor.

MAHARAjAH RUN] EE T SINGH .

The real i ty of sat i was n eve r so forc i b ly b rough t

befo re my m ind aswhen stand ing by these m emorialsof painfu l suffe ring . Sat i , e ven to t h e Ang lo -Ind ian

seemsafar-off d im ly h istori cal th ing l ike t h e glad iatorial cont ests in t h e F lavian Amph i th eat re , bu t t h esee loquen t st one records of on ly t h e last gene rat ionbring i t n eare r to one— ob t rude i t , as i t we re , into t h eve ry p resent . S tand ing h ere , one can p ic tu re th et e rr ib l e scene as i t occu rred on t housands of occasions. One can see t h e bust l ing eage r c rowd

,t h e ex

citementand t h e hubbub ofwhat was real lyaho l i day .

One can h ear th e remark ° “

SO and so is to . b e

bu rn t to -day, and h is wives wi l l b e b u rn t wi th h im .

Let u s hast en to t h e scene , l e t us secu re good p laces ! ”

One can see t h e fun e ral p i l e e rect e d upon an open

space , and t h e v ic t im ,ado rnedas foragreat fest i val ,

l e _l t h re e t imes round th e pyre by th e o ffic iat ingBrahmans

,in p resence of t h e assemb l e d mu l t i t ude .

One can see t h e dead man’

s son app ly,wi th fi l ial

p i e ty , t h e to rch to t h e d ry wood,and ‘t h e devot e d

woman ascend t h e al ready k ind l e d p i l e ? One cansee t h e smoke and blaze , and hear , above t h e shou ts

of t h e exc i t e d c rowd , t h e agon iz ed sh ri eks of t h e

su ffe ring woman in t h e grasp of t h e consum ing

flames. But , indeed , we are not l eft en t i re ly to

imaginat i on,for Europ ean t rave l l e rs, anc i ent and

modern ,have wi tnesse d such scen es of horro r and

I “W ith th is bened ict ion , and uttering th e myst ic Nain oNamah , Sh e (the wi dow)ascends th e flaming pi le ”

(Co leb rook e’s

E ssays,

”vol. i . p . I t wou ld appear, however, that th e

wi dowwas often placed upon th e pyre and even bound downupon i t with cords

,or regu larly and comp lete ly thatched in .

before th e torch wasappl ied to th e wood .

158 TH E CENO TAPH OF

have desc ribe d th em . Bern i e r t e l ls of women whom

he had seen forc ed in to t h e fi re by t h e Brahmanswi th l ong st icks, and of o th e rs, somet imes mere

ch i l d ren ,whom he had seen t i ed down hand and foo t

upon t h e pyre Voyages,

” tome i i . pp . 1 17

On t h e o th e r hand the re cannot b e any doub t thatin Ind ia, as wel l as in o the r count r i es

,women have

o ft en vol un tari ly p e rish e d aft e r th e death of t h e i rhusbands,an imat e d by he ro ic devo t ion? p ri d e of race ,re l igious exc i t ement , or ho rro r of t h e H indu widow

mise rab l e,degraded , and abj ec t posi t i on .

One mo rn ing on d ismissing th e regim ent from

parade , ” wri t es S i r George Lawrence , “ t h e havi l darmaj or (nat i ve adj u tant ) re qu est ed my p e rm ission t oat t end a‘tomasha’

(an ext rao rd inary sight ) . On

inqu i ry i t t u rned out t hat asu t te e was about t otake p lac e in t h e n e ighbo u rhood Of t h e carrtonmento f Neemuch ,

and I reso lve d to wi tness it myse l f.On reach ing th e spo t I found alarge crowd co l l ect e daround afun e ral pyre , on wh ich apoo r v ict imabou t to immo lat e h e rse l f was seat ed . S ee ing anumbe r of my own t roope rs in t h e c rowd

,I aske d

t h em i f t h ey wou ld stand by me if I at t emptedto rescue t h e woman from he r d readfu l fat e

, andfind ing that t h ey were qu it e wi l l ing , I app roach edt h e pyre near enough to add ress he r

,saying I was

Garcilassasays thatadead Ynca’s wi ves vo lunteered tob e k i l led

,and the ir number was O ften such that th e o fficers

were ob l iged to interfere, saying that enough had gone atpresent ;and accord ing to C i eza, some of th e women , in orderthat the ir faith fu l serv ice mi ght be he ld inmore esteem

,finding

that there was delay in comp let ing th e tomb,wou ld hang them

se lves up b y the ir own hai r,and so k i l l themse lves.

—H erbertSpencer’s “Princ i p les of Soc io logy,

vol. i . p . 205.

160 TH E CEA'

O TAPH OF

ann i versary day'

of h er death by sacri fic ingacock on h er tomb,

after th e Pagan manner ; th is wasand is th e common report,

and I have been cred i b ly i nformed , both by Christ ians andPagans

,wh o l i ved at Calcuttaunder h isagency, that th e story

was real ly truematter of fact . ” I

I n regard to t h e sat i of t h e wives of Runjeet S ingh

we have ampl e d etai ls. Aft e r t h e Ran ees— unve i l e d

to t h e pub l ic eye for t h e fi rst t ime in t h e i r l ives,and

on foot , but accompan i e d by t h e i r at t endan ts— hadd ist r ib u t e d th e i r j ewe ls amongst ce rtain of t h e bystande rs, t h e fune ral p rocession was arranged , andp roce eded slowly towards t h e pyre al ready e rect e dfor t h e d readfu l ceremony . Head ing th e p rocessioncame th e corpse of t h e decease d Maharajah

,born e

on ab i e r made in t h e fo rm of ash ip,wi th sai ls and

flags of c loth of go ld , and t h e cost ly shaw ls of Kashm i r . N ex t came th e Rane es, hab i t ed in sim p l e si l k

at t i re , wi thou t any o rnamen ts abou t t h e ir p ersons,carri e d in open palanqu ins

,offe ring to t h e on looke rs

an exam p l e of qu i e t d ign i ty and h e ro ic se l f-sacrifice .

Immed iat e ly b eh ind th e Ran e es wal ked seven barefoot e d slave -gi rls

,some of t h em not m o re t han fou r

t e en or fi ft e en years ofage , whom su p e rst i t ion,and

p e rhaps un lawfu l t h reats, had d r iven to sacr ific et h e i r young l ives in t h e c ru e l flames, to ad d to t h e

pomp of t h e d eceased king’s fun e ral . Arriv ed at t h epyre , t h e Maharajah ’s b i e r was d ivest e d of its cost ly

o rnaments,wh i ch were th en givenaway . The drums

kep t u p alow so l emn rumb l ing . The fun eral ce remon i es for t h e d ead were pe rfo rmed by Brahmans, aswel l as by S ikh Gu rus

,whi l e th e Muhammadans,

I Captain Hami lton,quoted in Whee ler’s Early Records of

B rit i sh - Ind ia,

” pp . 189, 190.

lWA lfARAjAH RUN/ EE T SINGH . 16 1

not to b e b eh ind th e oth e rs in t e st i fying the i r respec t

for t h e depart ed Maharajah , broke in frequen t ly

wi th Ya-A l lah . When t h e appropriat e r i t es,

which occupi ed nearly an hou r , were comp l e t ed,t h e

corpse was respec tfu l ly deposi t ed , by th e grandees of

t h e cou rt , on t h e top of t h e fune ral p i l e , bu i l t of drywood st rewn ove r wi th cot ton seeds. The Ranees

one by one,tak ing p re c e denc e accord ing to rank ,

ascended th e ladde r to t h e top of t h e p i l e ,and seat e dt hemse l ves at t h e h ead of t h e co rpse . The slavegi rls th en moun t e d and took up t h e i r p osi t i on at t h efe et of t h e royal body . As t h ey sat t h e re awai t ingth e i r now inev i tab l e doom ,

“ ast rong t h ick mat of

reeds,” was b roughtand pu t over them,and p robab ly

secu red . They had looked t h e i r last on eart h To

ad d t o t h e combust ib i l i ty of th e mat i t was sat u rat e dwi th oil. Al l th e need fu l p reparat i ons be ing now

com p l e t ed,t h e si rdarsand at t endants descended from

th e p i l e,which was t h en l igh t ed at th e fo ur corne rs.

I n afew m inut es e l even human vi ct ims p e rish ed int h e smoke and flames but t h e pyre took two days t ob e ent i re ly consumed ? Fromitsash esafew h umanbones and relies were carefu l ly and p rivat e lygath ered . Th es e

,aft e r b e ing p lace d in separat e

mortuary u rns,we re conveyed in great stat e t o t he

banks of th e Gangesand committ e d to t h e wat e rs oft h e sacre d r ive r . The remains of Runjeet S inghandthe fou r Rane es were carri e d away from Lahore infive palanqu ins

,wit h all t h e pomp and at t ent i on th e

d ec ease d were accu stomed to in t h e i r l i fe t ime . TheI T hat sat i was not exactlyacompulsory ceremony isev i dentfrom th e fact that some forty of th e Ranees of Runjeet S inghsurv i ved h im, of whomthree were l i v ing in 1882 .

162 THE CEN OTAPH OF

palanquinwh ich con tained th eash es of th e Maharajahhad its scre ens d rawn back , wh i l e th e oth e rs werec lose ly curtai ne d as t hough t h e i r modest occupantsst i l l shunned th e p ub l ic gaze . Tents of Kashm i rshaw ls, wi th pol e s ove r lai d wi th si lve r and go l d , werep rov i d ed for t h e march ,and t h ese , wi th innume rab l ecost ly pre sents, were g iven away t o th e at t endantB rahmans at th e p lac e wh e re th e remains of t h e

ch i ef and h is conso rts we r e final ly en t rust e d t o t h esacre d r i ve r ? Regard ing su ch remains of th e s lavegi rls as t h e fi re may hav e l eft , th e ch ron ic l e r saysnot h ing , so we may p resume that th ey were neg

lectedas unwort hy of any sp ec ial at t ent i on . 011 t h e

spot whe re th e sat i was p erformed , now stands t h eSamadh of Maharajah Runjeet S ingh .

For ap eop l e wh o b e l i eve in th e t ransmigrat ionof sou ls

,and who p ract ise cremat ion of t h e d ead

monuments such as t h is can have bu t l i t t l e significance and indee d in t h e i r e re ct i on th e H indus merelyfo l lowed th e fash i on of t h e Muhammadans, whoseimposing and co st ly t omb s fo rmed so i mportant afeatu re in t h e arch i t e ctu ral works of th e M us l imconqu erors of Ind ia.The ri te of sat i was once pract ised in n ear lyevery part of Indiaon t h e autho ri ty of c e rtain t extsand inj unct i on s in th e sacre d books of t h e H indu s

from th e Rig Vedadownwards ? Someaut ho ri t i e s,

h owever , main tain t hat t h e Vedas do not sanct i on

I T heabove detai ls have been taken fromth e narrat i ve ofaneye witness, D r. J . M . H onigb erger, wh o was Physic ian to th eCourt of Lahore . See h is “

T h irty-three Years in the East .”H . Bailliere , 2 19 , Regent Street, London, 1852 .

I Colebroke’s“Essays,” vol. i . p . 135.

164 THE CENOTAPH OF

h e i rs t o use eve ry possib l e m eans t o accomp l ish th ed esi re d sacr ifice ? But t h e o rig in of th e cu stom

must b e looked for deep e r and furth e r back . From

th e ve ry ear l i est ages down to our own t im es i t hasb een t h e p ract ic e amongst many barbaro us peop l es,who be li eve In th e ex ist enc e of th e so u l aft e r d eath ,

to k i l l t h e wivesand favou ri t e slaves ofak ing , ch i e f,or o th e r p e rson on th e o c casion of h is funeralobsequ i es, in o rde r that t h ey m igh t at t end t h e d ec ease d and min ist e r to h is wants in th e shadow- landbeyond t h e grave . The p ract ic e is st i l l in fu l l forc eand carri e d to t e rri b l e excessamongst many Africant r ib e s . I t wasat one t im e ve ry wi de l y sp read , bu tcame in many count r i es to b e gradual ly rep lac e d byc e remon i es d e rive d from th e o rig inal Ob se rvances,bu t not invo lving loss of l i fe . For instanc e , t h ewi dow wou l d b e lai d up on th e pyre , b u t remove db efore th e flames actual ly reach e d h e r ; or i magesr ep resent ing wives and slaves woul d b e consumed

wi th t h e co rpse . Th e re wou l d appear t o b e some

ground for conc l ud ing that in t h e Ved i c age in Ind iat h e p ract i c e of widow-bu rn ing had gone somewhato ut of fash i on ,

though,p erhaps

,neve r qu i t e given

u p , and that mod ifi e d ce remon i e s l i ke t hose t o wh ichrefe renc e has j ust b een made were com ing into

favou r . The subsequen t rev ival , under B rahman icalinflu en c es, of widow-bu rn ing , and its cont inuanc e toour own day, may b e large ly du e t o th e causespo int e d out by S i r Henry Maine . O f c ou rse

,t h e

d egradat i on of t h e wi dow who chose t o su rvive h e r

h usband wou ld b e anecessary comp l emen t to sat i .I B ishop H eber’s narrat i ve of ajourney through th e Upper

Prov inces of Ind ia, 1824—25.

M AHARA/AH RUN/E E T SINGH . 165

Make th e posi t ion of t h e widow into l e rab l e , and sat iwou l d b e chosen by eve ry h igh -spi ri t e d woman ast h e l esse r of two ev i ls. T o t h e affec t ionat e wi fe andto t h e t im i d sou l , t h e p ri est o ffe re d rerrnion with th e

d ead and l ong ages of happ ine ss in t h e c e l est ialmansions

,t h e reby th rowing t h e halo of re l igious

sanct ions ove raho rr i dand revo l t ing custom . Indeed,

sat i wou l d se em to b e asu rvival of ave ry anc i entr i t e

,fost e re d and main tained for se lfish ends. Um

fortunat e ly,t h e women ofInd iahave not only suffe re d

in p e rson by t h e c rue l r i t e of sat i,b ut have had a

sl u r— no doub tan unmeri t ed one— cast u pon t h em byh isto rians seek ing to accoun t for th e o rigin of t h e

h ideous custom . S trabo I t e l ls us,and seve ral

t rave l l e rs hav e repeat e d t h e same sto ry , 2 t hat sat iwas int roduce d by law in o rde r t o pu t astop to th ewidespread crime of h usband -p orsonrng,

to which

I nd ian wiveswh o fe l l in love wi th young men weresai d to b e part icu larly given .

I am not aware t hat any one of t h e many re

ligious refo rm ers wh o have app eared from t ime t ot ime in Ind ia, loud ly p reach ing theo logical doct rinesmore or l ess lreterodox , mad e any effo rt what eve r tosupp ress

, or even to d iscou rage , t h e inhuman r i t eof sat i . I t is t ru e t h e autho r of t h e Dabistan (A .D .

1 6 15—1670) obse rves t hat

T h e enl i ghtened doctors say that b yawoman ’

s becomingsuttee ismeant that on h er h usband’s decease sh e sh ou ld corr

I Strabo , bk . xv . chap . 30. T h e great geographer h imsel fdoubts th e ex istence of th e law,and , necessarily, o f th e reasonassigned for its enactment .

I For i nstances, see D r. N orman Clrever’s Ind ian Med ical

J uri sprudence,” p . 104 .

166 TH E CE N OTAPI I OF

sume in the fire along with h imall h er desires, and th us d iebe fore th e peri od assi gned by nature as in metaphysi callanguage woman si gn ifies ‘passion ’

or in other words Sh e is tocastall h er passions into th e fire bu t not throw herse l f into i talong with th e deceased, wh i ch is far frombe ing praiseworthy.

Probably Musl im influ enc e s and fee l ings oppose d

t o sat i we re find ing expression in t h e doct rines t h us

re fe rred t o by Moshan Fan i ; bu t it remaine d forfore ign ru l e rs, unhampe red by unh eal thy B rahmani cal t rad i t i ons, t o d iscoun t enanc e and event ual lyabo l i sh th e barbarous p ract i c e . The Empero r

Akbar , we l earn from Abu -l-Faz l,appo in t e d in

sp ecto rs t o p reven t women be ing fo rc ib ly bu rntwi th th e i r d ead '

husband s and , on one o ccasi on h emount e d h i s h o rse and rod e at fu l l spe e d to p revent ,in p erson , an unwi l l ing woman be ing sacr ifice d on

th e pyre t o t h e unnat u ral b igo t ry of h e r son? But

what eve r th e Mogu l ru le rsmay have don e towardsmit igat ing th e ho rr i b l e c ust om ,

th e c red i t ofabo l ishing i t b e longs t o t h e Eng l ish .

I n 1824—25, B ishop H ebe r , t rave l l ing th rough t h e

Uppe r Prov inc es of Ind ia, l earnt from Dr . Marshmant hat sat i s had lat t e r ly b ecome mo re frequ en t inBengal , and that t h e famous m issionary at t ri b u t e dt h is unhappy fac t to t h e increas ing luxury of t h e

uppe rand m idd l e c lasses,and th e i r expensive i mi ta

t ion of Eu ropean hab i ts,wh i ch oft en so narrowed

th e i r means as t o make th em anx ious t o b e fre e dfrom th e ne c e ssi ty of support ing the i r wi dowed

re lat i ons. I f t h e p resenc e of t h e Eu ropean in Ind ia

I Dab istan,translated by Sheaand T roye l‘, V ol 11 p . 7 7 °

2 Akbar-namaof Ab u -l-Faz l , ” E l l iot’s M uhammadanH istorians of I nd ia

”by D owson

,vol. v i . pp . 68

BAZAAR GUR ; OR , R UM OURS OF

THE MARKET-PLA CE.

Wh en th e oak is fe l led th e who le forest ech oeswi th its fal l,

but ah undred acornsare sown in si lence by an unnot icedbreez e .

”— CARLYLE .

T HE st o r i es that c i rc u lat e in t h e bazaars of Ind ia,

and find c red enc e amongst t h e p eop l e , are p e rhapsafai r ind icat i on ,

i f not ameasu re , of t h e int e l l ect ualcond i tion of t h e masses,and affo rd , in add i t ion ,

i d eaof t h e standpoin t from wh ich th ey regard t h eact ions of t h e i r fore ign ru l e rs. F or t h ese reasons Ihav e t hough t i t worth wh i l e t o not e down he re afewsampl es of bazaar gap wh ich have come to my knowl edge wi t h in t h e last few years.

My grass-cut t e r came to me one dayand begge dearnest ly t hat I wou l d ge t h imapass to cu t grassin t h e Lawrence Park , as h e d readed go ing into t h el ess frequ en t e d parts t o obtain grass, sinc e t h e

Mann’

yai Sahib wasgomgabou t wi th h is myrm idons.

The Mamiyai Sahib ! I had n eve r h eard of h im,

and nat u ral ly inqu ire d wh o and what h e was, and

RUJWOURS OF THE [MARKE T -PLA CE . 169

why h is presence in t h e ne ighbou rhood shou l d int e r

fe re wi t h my get t ing grass for my horses as usual .My quest ions e l ic i t e d t h e fo l lowing c i rcumstan t iald e tai lsThe Eu rop ean in qu est ion ,

known t h roughou t

th e count ry as t h e Mumiyai Sah ib , has ahost ofagents wh o go abou t d ressed in b lack , each armedwit h asho r t st ick having th e p ecu l iar powe r of

causing any p erson wh o smel ls i t to fo l low its p os

sessor,in sp i t e ofwhat fr i endsand n e ighbou rs might

sav to d issuade h im from so do ing .

Unde r t h e spe l l of t h is magic wand th e unhappyv ict im fo l lows t h e Mumiyai Sah ib

sagen t on and on

unt i l h e is l e d to some so l i tary p lace , usual ly ad istant t op e or j ungl e

,far removed from human hab i ta

t ions. Here th e m ise rab l e man is se ized,hasaho l e

b ore d th rough th e top of h is sku l l,and is t h en sus

pended , h ead downwards, ove r acal d ron of bo i l ing

oil, wit h aroaring fi re unde r i t . Into t h e h ot o i l t h e

d ri pp ings from th e v ict im ’

s b rain are al lowed to fal land form amost val uabl e med ic ine , known asmanayaz

,and also as sz

lajz’

t. Th is is bad enough,but

mark ! t h ese p ro ceed ings are all carri ed out by ord er

of the Sirkar (Gove rnment ) , as t h e m ed ic in e is muchp rize d by Eu ropeans.

Al l t h e se rvan ts in my estab l ishmen t,except a

Muhammadan cook somewhat above th e average ine ducat ion

,cou l d confi rm th e ab ove stat emen ts

, andwere ab l e to ad d some in t e rest ing detai ls, as, forinstance , t hat ve ry b lack p eop l e were part icu larlyp rized for th e manufact u re of silajit. One of myinformants had act ual ly p ossessed al i tt l e of t h e

p rec ious med i c ine made ou t of t h e b rains of black

170 BAZAAR GUP; 013 ,

men . H e got i t from ase rvan t conne ct e d wi thastat e d ispensary

,and b e l i eved that what h e re ce ived

m ust have b een sto l en from th e Government stock .

Lat t e r ly p eop l e have b ecome wary of t h e dange rousmen d resse d in b lack ; so t h e w i ly Sah ib now emp loyswomen to carry out h is nefari o us obj e c t

,wh o go

abou t wit h fl owers, mz

e,sow/ma

,and such - l i ke

th ings,and , unde r p re t ence of se l l ing th ese n ece ssaryart ic l esofan Ind ian to i l e t

,get th e i r inno cen t v i c t ims

t o sme l l some of that fatal magi c substance wh ichl ead s to inev i tab le d e st ruct i on . My se rvants wereaware of one o r two p ersons who had somewhatsu dden ly d isappeared ,and must hav e be en k i dnapp e dby th e t e rri b l e Mumiyai Sah i b , t hat st range pharmac ist , t o l erat ed , i f not empl oye d by, th e B ri t ishGove rnment . I n fact th e fatal snare s of t h is objectional gent l emanappeare d t o th em t o b e t h e rat ionaland on ly exp lanat i on of th e d isapp earanc e of t h e

p e rsons refe rre d to . Wh en I p ressed my servan tst o say wheth e r th ey real ly b e l i ev ed th e S i rkar wou ldau tho rize , wou l d even al l ow ,

su ch d est ruct i on ofinnocen t p eop l e , one man prompt ly obse rved : “Why

not, H uz z oor ? th e Mumiyai Sah ib pays asp ec ialtax to t h e S i rkar for p e rm ission to carry on h is

business,and t h is se emed to set t l e t h e mat t e r con

e lusi ve lyas faras t h e sp eake rand h is fe l low-servan tswere conc e rned .

Now it happen s t hat t h e re are s u ch substan cesknown t o t h e Ind ian d ruggistasmamiyai and sz

lajz’

b lack , hard , h eavy , b i tuminous so l i ds (AsphaltumPersicamand Asp/minimsz

lajzt) , obtained from Persiao rth e H imalayas, which enj oy agreat rep u tat ion fo rth e i r cu rat i ve p rop e rt i es, par ticu lar ly in case s of

172 BAZAAR GUP ,

‘ OR .

to gove rnmen t base d on narrow se lfishness,t h e mass

of t h e p eop l e of Ind iaare not ye t ab l e to unde rstandor apprec iat e t h e pr inc ip l es of Bri t ish ru l e . I t is

vain to end eavou r to p e rsuad e even t h e to l e rab lywel l - inform ed t hat t h e Engl ish au t ho ri t i es arehonest ly d esi ro us of p romot ing th e pub l ic good .

Th ey may acqu i esc e in t h e stat em en t,bu t t he i r

manne r shows too p lain ly how far t h ey are frombel i ev ing i t . And

,aft e r all

,t h is is not to b e

wonde re d at, in t h e fac e of th e haughty and unsympat h eticat t i t u d e of Bri t ish offi ce rsand of Europeansgeneral ly t owards t h e p eop l e of t h e coun t ry ;for i t isce rtain ly hard t o b e l i eve t hat men wh o ke e p t h eloaves and fish es to t h emse lv es and sh rink , alm ost

n e rvously,from con tac t wi th t h e p eop l e

,real ly care

ve ry much abou t t h e i r we l fare or happ iness. Owingno doub t to t h is want of cord ial i ty b e tween t h eru l e rsand th e ru l e d , mal ic i o us falsehoodsare oft en

c i rcu lat e d by d esign ing p e rsons with th e obj e c t of

mak ing th e Engl ish gove rnmen t unpop u lar .D uring t h e summe r of 1 87 8 , when smal l pox was

go ing about Lahore , I was to l d by one of my domes

tic se rvants,

not wi t hou t atouch of suppresse d

fe e l ing , t hat t h e S i rkar had given o rd e rs t hat t h e

under h is power in some sin istermanner with av i ew to k i dnaph im, amob of men got together to assau lt h im,and h e had to

seek shelter inash op . A simi lar rumour was spread ab road,

and general ly bel i eved in among th e poorer c lasses o f th e

nat i ves,wh en th e Madras Pier was in course of construct ion .

I t is an i deaprevalent among th e i gnorant masses 3 f th e

nat i ves that no large work , su ch as th e Pier or th e Harbourworks

,can b e carried to completion without th e sacri fice of

h uman l i fe hence th e ready credence gi ven to th e rumour wehave al l uded to .

RUJ I OURS OF TH E [MARKE T -PLA CE . 17 3

nat i ve women shou l d all b e vacc inat e d , not,as usual ,on th e arm. but on the breast.N o t infrequ ent ly th e S i rkar’s name is used t o se rve

some pu re ly p r ivat e end ,as t h e fo l lowing part icu lars,wh i l e t h rowing l igh t u pon o t he r mat t e rs, wi l l v e ryc l early sh ow. I t app ears that whenawedd ing is totake p lace in t h e fami ly ofafai rly we l l-t o -d o man ,

t h e re co l l ect to t h e exp ect ed feast , from many m i l esround

,ahost of i d l e and i gnoran t B rahmans ;alsoa

numbe r of bards, wh o chant t h e p raises of t h e

fami ly ; st ro l l ing m inst re l s wi th danc ing gi rls, andwande ring sannyasies } Al l th ese se l f- inv i t e d guests

are feast e d by th e host , and p resent e d wit h mon eyand o th e r g ifts, at an expense oft en ve ry d isp ropor

tionate to h is means. T o ad d t o t h e t roub l es of t h e

b ri de’

s fami ly , Muhammadans fromt h e ne ighbou ringv i l lages and low cast e p eop l e from all si d es flock info r backsheesh . For th e c red i t of th e house th e host

wi l l d o h is u tmost to grat i fy t h ese unscrupu lousharp i es, b u t i t is notalways possi b l e to d o so . Atav i l lage wedd ing at wh ich my info rman t—aUn i ve rsity graduat e—was presen t , anumbe r of sannyasiesp resent e d th emse lves, and insist e d upon hav ing not

l ess t han one rup ee each . The host d ec lare d h ecou l d notaffo rd so mu ch as t hat

,bu t offe red to give

hal farupe e to each man. The offe rwas indignan t lysp urn ed . As t h e ho s t h e ld ou t, t h e sannyasiesresorte d to t h e i r usual tact ics. One man beat h isforeh ead wi th asharp stone t i l l t h e b lood flowed .

I n t h is stat e h e moved aboutamongst t h e assemb l e dguests, wh i l e h is compan ions commence d chant ing afune ral d i rge . Su ch ad i rge at awedding

, and t h eMen ofany castemay jo in th is sect .

174 BAZAAR GUP; OR,

d isgust ing aspe c t of t h e b l e ed ing man , effe ct e d th ep u rpose of t h e unsc ru pu lous sannyasies, and , t o getr i d of t h em , th e i r d emands were sat isfi e d as qu ick lyas possi b l e by t h e unwi l l ing host . The evi l is

cou rse , no new one,and i t wou ld nee d ad eal of

cou rage and conc e rt e d act i on t o make asu ccessfu l

stand agains t t h e imposi t ions of t h ese wo rth l essmend i cants. Unde r t h e st im u l u s of West e rn i d easand fe e l ings, some educat e d young men at Laho reformed t h emse lves in t o asoc i ety fo r th e p u rposeof regu lat ing marr iage exp enses, wh ich at pre sentsom et im es p lunge afami ly into hope l ess ru in . A

tar i ff was d rawn up . The max imum amount t o b egi ven to each Brahman was du ly fixed , and i t wasd ec ide d t hat th e bards, who on account o f t h e i r sarcastic t ongue s are much feared , shou l d re ce i ve twi ceas much as any o rd inary B rahman , inst ead of, ash i th e rto , fou r or five t im esas much ;wh i l e t h e s t ro l ling minst re ls, Muhammadans, and l ow cast e p eop l e

were t o b e sent away empty -handed . The propose d

sch em e met wi th favou r in many quart e rs,but fear

of th e B rahmans r est raine d agreat many personsfrom openly accept ing th e p roposed ru l esand scaleof rat es. To gain th e i r obj ec t , t h e p romot e rs of t h e

sch em e gave out that t h e ru l es had been framedby Government, and t hat any infringem en t of t h emwou l d b e pun ish e d wit h aheavy fine , t h us d eliberately set t ingafloat one more unt ru e repo rt regarding t h e S i rkarand its do ings.

O ffi c ial recordsand t h e p ro ce ed ings of th e cou rts

ofjusticeabound in instance s of t h e p ropagat i on ,for

fraudu l en t pu rpo ses, of false rumours regard ing orde rssai d t o have emanat e d from th e Gove rnment . A few

76 BAZAAR GUP ,

‘ OR,

e l ephant t h rough t h e wo r l d , and wou l d “ b e th e

empero r ove rall t h e k ings.

” I I we l l remembe r wi t hwhat exc i t e d eage rness I was c ross-q ue st i on ed abou tt h e Maharajah and h is movements, when I wen t onemorn ing t o v isi t t h e t omb of t h e S ikh Guru ArjanS ingh

,hard by t he fort of Lahore .

As amat t er of fac t , Dh uleep S ingh , inst ead ofb e ing made ru l e r of Kashm i r by th e Bri t ish Governmen t , was, on accoun t of c e rtain grave ind isc re t ionson h is part

,not even al lowed t o land in Ind ia,and at

t h e p re s ent t im e is, in h is own wo rds,Eng land ’s

i mp lacab l e en emy,

” somewhere on t h e cont in ent of

Europe,m ost p robab ly in Russia.

As are l i c of t h e t roub l e d t imes wh ich p reced e dth e B ri t ish conquest of Ind ia, abe l i e f l inge rs abou tth e bazaars of U ppe r Ind iathat D e l h i is fat e d t o b eloot e d ” eve ry hund re d years, Laho re eve ry fi fty

years, and Mu l tan eve ry t h i rty years. Regard l ess

of h isto ry and ch rono logy,t h e p eop le are p e rsuad e d

t hat t h e dest ined p er iod hasarr ived forall t h re e c i t i e s ,and t h e Punjab i m ind

,I amt o ld , is, or was re c en t ly ,

on t h e t i p -toe of exp ectat i on,wat ch ing wi th anxi e ty

fo r t h e in ev i tab l e b l oodsh ed and d iso rd e r .I n war t ime th e bazaar gap in an Ind ian t own is

espec ial ly int e rest ing and sign ifi can t . At such at ime rumou rs of reve rses or d isast e rs are always int h e air, are eage rly l ist ene d t o , and p e rhaps mal ic iously kept afloat . Let m e give one instanc e ou t ofany numbe r that m igh t b e cit ed . D u ring t h e Afghanwar of 1 8 78

—1 880 we had,for afew days, no n ews

of Gene ral Rob ertsand t h e fo rc es i mmediat e ly unde rI “ T h e Sak hee B ook , translated by S irdar Attar S ingh ,Ch ief of Bhad our

,pp . 35

—37 .

RUiWOURS OF TH E MARKE T -PLA CE . 177

h is command . The bazaar was, as usual on such

occasions,t e em ing wi th th e most c i rcumstant ial

accoun ts of what was go ing on at t h e front . Thegal lan t G ene ral had b een murde red near Cabu l

h is l i ttl e army to tal ly d est royed by th e t ri besmen .

Such was t h e sto ry that found ready acceptance int h e mark e t -p lace , whi l e in real i ty th e General wasmakingaqu i e t and comp l e t e ly successfu l ent ry in tot h e Afghan cap i tal , in com pany wi th Yakub Khan .

S i r john Kaye has deal t wi th t h is subj ec t of bazaarnews inasp i r i t of someth ing l i ke poet ical exaggerat i on ,

wh ich th e real c i rc umstances of t h e case by nomeans j ust i fy . This h ist o rian says

“ I t isafact that there isacertain descri pt ion of news,wh ich

trave ls in Ind ia,fromone stat ion to another

,with arapi d ity

almost e lectri c . Before th e days of th e ‘l i ghtn ing post ’ there wassomet imes inte l l i gence in th e bazaars of th e nat i ve dealersandth e l ines of th e nat i ve so ld iers

,espec ial ly i f th e news imported

someth ing d isastrous to th e Brit i sh , days before i t reached , inany offic ial shape, th e h igh funct ionaries of government . W e

cannot trace th e progress of th ese ev i l t i d ings. T he nat i ves o fInd iahavean expressi ve say ing that ‘it is in theair.

’ I t o ftenhappened thatan uneasy fee l ing—an impression that someth inghad happened

,though they ‘cou ld not d iscern th e shape th ere

of -pervaded men ’

sminds,in obscureant ic i pat ion of th e news

that was trave l l ing towards theminall its tangi b le proport ions.

Allalong th e l ine of road,fromtown to town, fromv i l lage to

v i l lage,were tho usands to whomth e feet of those wh o brought

th e glad t i d ings were beaut i fu l and we lcome . T h e B ri tishmagistrate return ing fromh is even ing ri de

,was perhaps met

o n th e road near th e bazaar by avenerab le nati ve on

an amb l ing pony—anat i ve respectab le ofaspect, with wh itebeard and wh iter garments

,wh o salaamed to ! th e Engl ish

gentleman as h e passed ,and went on h is way fre i ghted wi thinte l l i gence re fresh ing to th e sou ls of those to whom i t wasCommun icated

,to b e used with j udgment and sent on wi th

17 8 BAZAAR GUP; OR,

despatch . T h is was but one ofmany costumes worn by th e

messenger of ev i l . I n whatever shape h e passed , there wasnoth ing o utward ly to d ist ingu ish h im.

N ext morn ing therewasasensat i on in th e bazaar

,and avague exc itement in th e

Sepoy l ines. B ut when rumours of d isaster reached th e housesof th e ch ief E ng l ish o fficers

,they were common ly d iscred ited .

T he ir own letterswere si lent on th e subject . I t was not l i ke lyto b e true , they sai d,as th ey had heard noth ing abou t i t. But

i t was true,and th e news had trave l led another hundred mi les

wh i lst th ewh ite gentlemen,with b land scept i c ism, were shaking

the ir heads o ver th e l ies of th e bazaar.

I t se ems ap ity to p ry t oo c l ose ly int o t h ismyst e r ious syst em of d issem inat ing in t e l l i gence

wh ich , som e wou l d act ual l y have us b e l i eve , wascarri e d on by t h e imaginary mahatmas of t h e H imalayas by th e i r own methods,

” 2 that is, i f I amnot

mistaken,along st range magnet i c c u rrents in t h e

atmosphe re ; b ut as t h e c i rcumstance deal t w i th byS i r john Kaye is oft en re fe rre d t o in Ind iaas some

th ing more or l ess inexpl icab l e , and as t h e p lainmat t e r-of—fac t exp lanat ion of t h e wh o l e t h ing is so

obv ious, I cannot refrain from pausing amoment toconsi de r i t h e re .

I n t h e t ime of th e t e rrib l e Ind ian mut iny andrebe l l ion to wh ich S i r J ohn Kaye ’s remarksapp ly ,d isast e r fo l lowed d isast e r , and t h e p red ic t ions or

guesses of t h e bazaar,always hostile to the B ritish

were unfo rt unat e ly too oft en verifi ed ; b ut , t h e cir

cumstances of t h e case b e ing consi de re d , t h e re wassu re ly noth ing st range or myst e rious in t h is. When

ar ising at any stat ion was p re -arrange d t o takep lac e on ace rtain dat e , i t was obvi ously qu i t e

3I Kaye s Sepoy W'ar

, vol. i . pp . 49 1, 492 Sinnett

s O ccu l tW'

orld ,” p . 2 1,foot-note .

1 80 BAZAAR GUP ,

’ OR,

unab le to prosecute th e ir journeyswi th th e news. I talso causedapprehension and misg i v ings to spread among th e troops,an dstori es were carri ed fromone to another. U bai d th e poet,an dShai kh Zada- i D imash k i

,two ev i l -d isposed and turbu lent

fe l lows, wh o by somemeans had been introduced to th e Khan ,

fanned th e stri fe,and spread false reportsamong th e so ld iersto th e e ffect that th e S u ltan was dead , that th e government hadbeen overthrown , thatanew prince now sat upon th e throne of

D e lh i,an d that th e way was qu ite c losed against all couriers

and messengers. So everyman took h is own course . T hesetwo mal i c iousmen trumped upanother false story. T hey wentto Mal i k Tamar, Mal i k T igin ,

Mal i k Mal l Afghan,and Mal i k

Kafur,keeper of th e seal

,and to ld these nob les that U lugh

Khan looked upon themwi th envyand suspic ion,as generalsand nob les of th e re ign of A lan -d d in

,and as obstac les to h is

attain ing th e throne that th e i r names were written down in al istasmen to b e d isposed of, and that they wou l d b eall se i z edat once and beh eaded . T hese nob les were aware that thesetwo treacherous men were constantlyabout U lugh Khan, andso they cred ited the ir statements. T hey therefore agreed to

take fl i ght,and jo i n ing together the ir fo l lowers they left th e

camp . T hrough th is defect ion apan ic fe l l upon th e army,troub le and tumu lt arose, and no man thought ofanother.T h is event was very opportune for th e besi eged H indus, andsaved th em. T hey sal l ied forth and p l undered th e baggage of

the army, and U lugh Khan , wi th h is immediate fo l lowers,retreated to D eogir. T h e so ld iers were worn out

,and fe l l in

all d irect ions. As they retreated,couriers arri ved fromth e

court , bringing news of th e health and safety of th e S u ltan .

I t i s unne cessary to remark that th e rumou r seton foo t by th e consp i rato rs m igh t have t u rne d out tob e t ru e , as indee d i t d id in t h e fo l lowing case

Wh i le th e Emperor was on th is campai gn against KhanZainun, th e author’s father remained at Agra

,in th e p er

From th e“ Tar i kh -i Feroz Shah i ” of Zian-d d in Barn i .

E l l iot’s M uhammadan H istorians of I nd ia,

”vol. i i i . pp . 23 1,

RU. l{OURS OF TH'

E [MARKE T -PLA CE . 18 1

formance of h is duty to th e Emperor,an d th e au th or h imsel f

was at Agrawith h im. E very day turbu lent and d esi gn ingmen spread d isastrous news. One day I sai d to one ofmy

compan ions,

‘S uppose we set some favourab le reportsafloat

and h e asked what we shou ld say,and I repl ied,Let us say

that news has come that theyare bringing in th e heads of KhanZaman and Bahadur Khan .

’ I to ld th is story to several p ersons. T hree days afterwards, Abdu l lah , son of M urad Beg,b ro ught in th e heads of Khan Zaman and Bahadur Khan .

T h e rumour was started in Agraon th e very day they wereslain .

There are some , I amqu i t e aware , wh o regard th erumou rs of d isast e r wh ich fi l l t h e bazaars in t im eof waras ind i cat ions of t h e host i l e fe e l ings of th e

p eop l e towards t h e i r fo re ign ru l e rs. I myse l fat tachno such importance to t h e mat te r . The vastmaj ori ty of t h e p eop l e know not h ing and careno t h ing about po l i t ical or m i l i tary mat t e rs. The

p ict u re somet im es d rawn of th e two hund re d andfi fty millions

of our Ind ian fe l low-subj ects,or even

of t h e fo rty m i l l ions of Ind ian Muhammadans,

watch ing t h e po l i t ical horizon wi t h ke en and intelligen t in t e rest , is superlat iv e ly r i d icu lous. D u ringt hat crit ical period , t h e early part of 1 8 85, I oft en

asked Eng l ish -speak ing nat iv esabou t t h e n ews, andfound that t h ey were as ignoran t and ind i ffe rentabou t i t as i f they had been dwe l l e rs in t h e Fij iI slands. The to tal ly uneducat e d are , i f possi b l e ,even more ind i ffe ren t . The gossi p in war t im ec omes from th e camp and cam p - fo l lowe rs, and t h erumou rs of d isast e rare c i rcu lat e d in t h e towns by afew mal ic iou s p e rsons. Somet imes t h e bazaar gaporig inat es wi th d ishonest sp ecu lators, wh o hope top rofi t by apan i c ; bu t is pe rhaps mo re frequ ent ly

182 BAZAAR GUP.

setafloat by wagsand foo l ish fe l lows who wish to

get u p al i t t l e exc i t emen t . At t h e same t im e i t isn ot to b e d en i e d t hat t h e re are in th e Engl ish pressi tse l f e l em en ts su ffic i en t to unse t t l e t h e m inds of t h eInd ian peop l e . F or h ow is i t possi b l e that th e massesof t h e large towns in Ind iashou l d l earn wi th ind iffe rence

,t h rough th e d isto rt ing m ed i um of t h e ve r

macu lar p ress, t h e complain ts constan t ly' mad e in

England , for party pu rp oses, of t h e naval and m i l itary weakness of t h e coun t ry

,of t h e u t t e r ly unp ro

tected stat e of t h e B ri t i sh I sl es,and of t h e vast

sup e ri o ri ty of fo re ign nat i ons in men and weapons ?I have

,p erhaps

,sai d enough in t h is pap e r to

ind icat e t h e nat u re of t h e rumou rs wh i ch, o riginat ing

in var i ous waysand c i rcu lat e d for var ious pu rposes,float abou t t h e Ind ian bazaars in o rd inary t imesas wel l as on sp ec ial occasions. That such falserumou rs

,howeve r base l ess and absu rd , might at a

c ri t ical m omen t b e p roduct i ve of grave consequenc esto t h e stat e , no one wi l l quest i on . Th e re is, h oweve r

,b ut one remedy —education . Much hasal ready

been don e by schoo ls, co l l eges, and un ive rsi t i es, bu tagreat d eal ye t remains to b e done to en l igh t en t h emasses— not t h e coun t ry fo l ks on l y , bu t t h e u rbanpopu lat i onsas wel l .

184 A T THE PLA Y :

I URDAY AN D SUNDAY , 2ST H AND 2 9’

1H MAY .

NAT IONAL T HEAT RE ,6,BRAD ON ST REET .

Saturday the 28 ih May ,188 1 .

At 9 R M . wi l l b e repeated wi th necessary improvementsandadd it ional grandeur

,that new and ori g inal h istorical dramaby

Babu Grish Chunder GhoshANUND O ROH O

,OR AKBAR .

T h is new dramais no stale story to ld in du l l monotonousd ialogue

,nor is th e work crammed wi th tremendo us t ir ing

octavo speechesand so l i loqu i es. T h e greatest statesman andmi ght i estmonarch Akbar is portrayed with atruely h i stri on i cp en .

T h e dying speech of RanaPratap wi l l bring tears fromeveryh uman eye I

T h e scene where Akbar suffers fromthe effects of p oison, fal lingav ict imto h is own mal ic io us mach inat ions

,that monarch

o f monarchswhose sing le breath cou ld one day change th e fortune of th is vast Ind ian Empi re su fferingall th e unto ld torturesof he l l in h is secl uded pav i l ion in th e centre of atank

now so pooras so conso le h is burn ing sou l or pouradrop of

water on h is scalded tongue , th isawfu l ly grand scene we saywi l l havean imp ression

in th emind of th e spectators never to

b e e ffaced,and impart alesson i l l ustrat i ve of th e T ruth , that

the crooked path o fp oh'

ey isalways peri lousBET AL .

—A qu ite ori g inal and strictly nat ional character,

sub l ime and magnan imous,wi l l b e p layed by Babu Grish

Chunder Ghosh .

Sou l d isso lv ing songs—where rel i g ion and love are barmoniously b lended together—wi l l even for th e instant inspire con

fid enceand love for Good in th e heart of th emost ungod lySCENES .—AS for our scen i c grandeur, we need on ly sayCome and see l ”N EXT DAY

, SUNDAY ,AT 6 P.M . , T HAT SPARKLINGMELODRAMA ,

MAG I C ST AT UE .

All th e local papers have spoken very h i gh ly of th is pi ece,

both asapract ical prod uct ionand stage p lay .

Please note—T h is is that we l l rece i ved p lay in th efinaleofwh ich marb le statuesare transformed into l i v ing beaut ies.

G . C . GHOSH ,

A]anage;

THE [ VE VV I ND IAN TH EA TRE . 5

On t h e 3 rd of March , 1 883 , I went , accom pan i e dby afri end

,to wi tness t h e p e rfo rmance of “ Aladd in ,

or t h e Wonde rfu l Lamp,

in t h e t emporary t heat ree rect e d not far from th e Mayo H osp i tal at Laho re ,byaParse e d ramat ic company . The th eat re was ah uge shed

,ve ry d im ly l igh t ed by asingl e chande l i e r

of on ly fou r lam ps,suspended in t h e c en t re of t h e

room , and acoup l e ofwal l -lampswi th refl ectors fixed

against si de -posts. These six lamps, wi th t h e rowof foot - l ights on t h e stage

,const i t u t ed th e ent i re

l igh t ing arrangements of t h e t h eat re,and , as might

b e read i ly imagined,eve ry par t of th is b ig sh ed , wi th

t h e except ion of t h e stage,was in sem i -darkness.

When my fri end and Iarri ved,abou t twen ty m inutes

b efo re t h e t ime appo int e d for t h e commen cement of

t h e p lay , t h e p lace was al ready t h ronged wi t h anaud i enc e rep resen t ing all ranks of t h e nat i ve commun i ty excep t t h e h igh est . There were also p resen t ,occu py ing for t h e most part t h e fron t rows, asmal lnumbe r of Eu ropeans and Eurasians of t h e lowe rc lasses, inc l ud ing asp rinkl ing of respectabl e rep resentatives of t h e gen t l e r sex ,

some of t h em in dem i

to i l e t t e and ev i d ent ly d ressed for t h e occasion .

The stage , as we soon had an opport un i ty of l earning, was got up aft e r t h e Europ ean mode l , and wasp rov i d ed wi thanabundanc e of t rap -doorsand l i fts, son ecessary for t h e su dden appearance and d isappearance of t h e gen i i wh o figu re in t h e sto ry of Aladd in .

The p i ece was pe rformed in t h e U rd u language,

and th e who l e of i t,with t r ifl ing except ions, was sung

to t h e accompan imen t ofasarnngeeand ad rum . I

had not been prepared for t h is mu sical p e rfo rmance ,and found i t rat h e r more d i ffi cu l t to fo l low the

186 A T TH E PLA Y :

words as th ey reach ed us not al i t t l e d isgu ise dby th e i r passage th rough th e nasal o rgans of t h e

p e rfo rmers.

The t roupe consist e d of ten Parse e men and one

young Eu ropean woman , whom ast range fat e hadb rough t in to assoc iat ion wi t h th is roving company of

men ofan ent i re ly al i en race and c re ed .

The cu rtain rose - to d iscove r ab lack , t h icklyb eard ed

,wel l -feat u re d man stand ing atasmal l tab l e ,

with al embicsand c ruc i b l es in t h e background, en

gaged in som e magic r i t es. I n h is han d h e h e l d anhou r-glass. This was t h e famous magic ian of th e

story . Aft e r consu l t ing th e hou r-g lass at t ent i ve lyonce o r twice

,h e fi red ap isto l be low th e tab l e

i mmed iat e ly up rose afai ry , from whom ,afterashort

co l loquy,h e rece ive d ar ing . The fai ry th en van ish e d

as sudden l y as sh e had appeared . Rubb ing t h e r ing

and again d ischarg ing t he p isto l b rought u p , t h ist ime

,t h e vene rab l e k ing of t h e gen i i

,from whom the

magic ian l earne d part icu larsas to h ow p ossessi on o ft h e wonderfu l lamp migh t b e secu red .

D u ring these p roce ed ings,t h e re lay unno t i c e d a

dark figu re p rost rat e on t h e floo r . A kick fromt h emagic ian brough t t h e sl e ep er to h is fe et in apparentconfusion ,

and introd uced to t h eau d i enceadumb hal fwi tt e d Abyssin ian slave , who h ence fo rward p layed apart

,more or l ess i rre l evan t and absu rd

,in eve ry su c

ceed ing sc ene .

Th is charact e r has,as faras I remembe r

, no warran t what eve r in t h e “ Arab ian N igh ts.

” I t isapparen t ly int roduc ed asaconce ssion to t h e ru l es of t h e

m odern Indian t h eat re , wh ich , l i ke t h eanc i en t , hasits bid ushakaor p riv i leged b uffoon

,t h e compan i on of

188 A T THE PLA Y :

As I m ent i one d b efore,t h e re was bu t one woman

in t h e t roup e, and sh e aEu rop ean . Women neve r

appear now on t h e regu lar stage in Ind ia, and

on ly,as faras I know ,

take part in t h e pane/zaly p e rformances in t h e B engal zenanas. N o r n e e d we b esu rp rised at t h is

,when we reco l l ec t that i t was not

un t i l t h e Resto rat ion t hat femal esappeare d on th e

boards ofan Engl ish t h eat re . But I shou ld ad d that ,acco rd ing to Professo r H . H . W i lson

,femal e charac

t e rswere gene ral ly rep resen t e d on t h e old H indu stageby femal es, al t hough i t was not uncommon formeno r lads to p ersonat e femal es in c e rtain cases. N onat iv e wom en were

,as faras I cou l d see , p resen t at

t h e p e rfo rmanc e of A ladd in ; not even hetaree,wh o ,

i t is c e rtain , frequ ent e d t h e G re ek t h eat re , fromwh i ch respectab l e femal es were exc l u de d .

Very d i ffe ren t from A ladd in,and perfo rmed byan

ent i re ly d i fferent company,was t h e p lay I now

procee d to d esc rib e , ave ry popu lar modern d rama,Indu r Sabha, ” composed , i t is sai d , by aMussu l

man p oe t , by command of Waj i d Al i S hah , ex-kingof O udh .

The th eat re was ahuge framework of bamboos,bad ly put togeth e r and cove red wi t h t h in sh e e t ing .

The stage was good enough,and was l igh t e d by

some fi ft e en lamps wi th refl ecto rs. The re were no

o t h e r lamps in t h e b ig enc losu re,b u t at ropi cal

moon sh in ing t h rough th e ce i l ing-c lo t h gav e asubdu ed l igh t wh i ch was far from disagreeab l e .

The rese rve d seats consist e d of ad oub l e row of

chai rs, t h e fi rst c lass of asim i lar doub l e rowal i t t l efu rth e r back ; t h en came abarri e r , and beh ind i tarud e arrangemen t of s eats fo r t h e bu l k of th e

TH E NE W [ ND TAZV TH EA TRE . 189

spectato rs. The charges for seats vari e d from th re eru p e es to fou r annas each , and t h ere was asp ec ialp lace reserved

, at e igh t annas aseat , for nat i vefemal es ” but I d i d not seeany t h e re , oranywhe ree lse in t h e t h eat re . The perfo rmance was ad vertised to commence at n ine . At about two m inut est o that hou r , I took my seat in what appeare d analmost em p ty house . A quart e r ofan hou r went by ;I v ent u red to inqu i re of an at t endant connect e d

wit h th e th eat re when t h e performance commence d .

“ At n ine,h e sai d , b u t add ed sign ifican t ly

“ You

see t h ey don’t com e t i l l lat e —re fe rring

,as I unde r

stood , to t h eaud i enc e . And so you wai t for t h em ?I obse rved .

“Yes,

” h e rep l i ed,

“ we must wai t fort h em .

” Twenty m inu t es past n ine,t h e hal f-past

n ine gun ,and no sign of business nor t h e sl igh t est

ind icat ion of impat i ence on t h e part of t h e aud i ence,

wh ich had now inc rease d consi d e rab ly . Th is,atany

rat e,gave m e t im e to study my company . I n t h e

fi rst row of all, and j u st b efo re me , was ayoungEurasian woman in aye l low sat in d ress

,ev i d en t ly

got u p for t h e “opera”

;aport ly compan ion in ase rvi c eab l e stu ff d ress chaperoned h e r ;al i t t l e boyabou t twe lve years ofageand anat iv e gi rl

,p erhaps

at rifl e younge r , d ressed in asaree of flar ing red,

comp l et e d th e party . The l i t t l e gi r l took h e r seatqu i t e nat u ral ly w i t h h e r b eau t i fu l b ig eyes r ive t e d

in mute wonde r, on t h e glori es of t h e d rop -screen ,

when sh e was rud ely awakene d from he r fai ryd reams by one of t h e at tendants

,who to l d h e r t o

go fu rthe r backand not t o sit with th e sahibs Very

re l uctant ly t h e l i tt l e gi rl , whose “ fi rst op e ra t h is

ev i dent ly was, ret i red , wit hou t wi thd rawing he r eyes

190 A T THE PLA Y :

from th e stage where evi d ent ly sh e expe ct e d someth ing wonderfu l to take p lac e . A quart e r t o tent ink l e ! tinkle l t inkl e ! and up goes t h e scre en t o

reveal to ade l igh t e d aud i ence aso rt of fai ry palac egard en

,where

,on acomfo rtab l e sofa

,layasl e eping

p rince, Goolfam of H ind . Bang ! and b eho l d a

fai ry all in gre en,and gl i t t e ring wi th t inse l , float s

down from th e uppe r air on cords, alas ! too v isi b l e .The p rinc e does not awake , and Sub z Peri— fo r t hatis h e r name— hove rs round h im enamou red of h is

b eauty . I n song and dance (t h e slow vo lupt uousmeasu re p ecu l iar to t h e East ) sh e gives exp ressi onto he r t ende r fe e l ings, t o t h e accompan im ent of

an unseen o rch estraof st ringe d inst rumen ts andtablas.

The nex t scene rev eals t h e cou rt of Indu r . Seat e don h is t h rone , wit h court i e rs and at t endan ts abou th im

,appears t h e K ing of H eaven ,

against ast ri k ingbackground of forke d l igh tn ing , starsand suns

,wi th

t h e most impossi b l e of mountain ranges t hat sc ene

paint e r eve r pu t on canvas. St i ff, uncomfortab l e ,and v ery mu ch bore d looked poo r Indu r— “

one of

th e p rinc i pal d e i t i es of h eaven ” accord ing to t h e

p laybi l l—as h e sat in stat e u pon h is t inse l l e d t h rone ,and i t d i d not su rp rise m e when h e o rde re d ademonat t endan t t o summon ah eaven ly nautch-girl t oamuse h im . I mmed iat e ly t h e re app eared , from at rap -d oo r . aperi all in gauz e and gl i t t e ring t ins e l ,wi th enough c lo th ing on t o sat isfy t h e most p rud ishtast e , decke d wi t h j ewe l l ery of var i ous so rts,amongstwh ich t inkl ing ank le ts and wrist l ets were not

omi tt ed ; but t h e re were no shoe s on h e r fee t . She

danced , or rat her gl i d ed , wi th c l ink ing ank l e ts,

192 A T THE PLA Y :

slumbe ring Goolfam. The d emon awakes h im, and

t h en conceals h imse l f. The myst ifi e d and aston ish e dp rince , lost in wonde r at h is new su rro und ings

,fe e ls

as one wou l d fe e l q u i t e nat u ral ly in th e East,t hat

h e is in th e to i ls of some magic ian . The gre en

p e r i appears and at t empts t o reassu re h im ,offe ring

h im h e r love in t h e most fo rward , unb l ush ing , andd isagreeab l e style ,

I bu t t h e p rince canno t recon c i l eh im se l f to h is new si t uat ion , looks regretful ly to

wards h is nat iv e H ind , and rep u lse s h e r wi th co ldd isdain . Learn ing , howeve r , t hat t h e p e r i c omesfrom I nd ur

s court , h e is carri e d away by adesi ret o see t h e wond e rs of t h e c e l est ial kingdom , andp romises to re t u rn t h e p e ri ’s affect ion i f sh e wi l l

on ly take h im t he re . Bu t to in t roduce amo rtalamongst t h e ce l est ials was ase ri ous business, bese t

wi t h th e gravest d i fficu l t i es, and Sub z Pe r i p rot estsh er inab i l i ty to grat i fy h is wh im . T o gain h is p o in t ,t h e p r inc e h ints t hat far from be ing ap er i of

I nd ur’

s heaven ,h rs adm ire r must b e at best on ly

t h e m ist ress of some wre tch e d d emon ;an insinuat i on wh ich S ub z Per i resen ts by gi ving h im asmartbox on t h e ear. I n vain t h e p e r i dec lares t hat no

h uman be ing cou l d gain adm i ttance to I nd ur’

c ou rt ; Goolfam is obdu rat e , and in t h e end Gre enp e ri— poo r enamou red p eri— yi e l ds to h is importun i

t i es, and conceals h im in ap lac e from wh ich h e can

v i ew th e gl i t t e ring spe c tac l e h e so longed to see .

I T h is is notan uncommon feature of th e p layswh i ch de l i ghtamodern Ind ian aud ience . \Vomen in love are frequent lyrepresentedas pursu ing th e object of the ir passion in th e mostunb lush i ng manner, notwithstand ing th e rudest rebu ffs. See

th e story of Puran Bhagat,at th e end of th is paper .

TH E NE W INDIAN THEA TRE . 193

Here in t h e m idst of t h e usual enjoyments,t h e

singing and danc ing of t h e ce l est ial nautch-girls, ademon at t endan t smel ls t h e human int rude r andd rags h im b efo re t h e king . A l l is now apparen tto an ind ignant ly v i rt uous cou rt . The wan ton peri

wi th wings c l ip p ed,is ban ished , and t h e Princ e of

Hind sent en ce d to pass h is l i fe in aso l i tary cave .

I n t h e last act eve ryth ing is pu t right . The fameof t h e beau ty and p owe r of song of ace rtainwandering femal e d evo t e e reach es K ing Indu r

, andh e re qu ests h e r p resenc e at h is cou rt . She comes

and charms t h e god with bo th h e r p e rson and he rvo ice . T o r eward h e r , Indu r offe rs h e r one cost ly

gift aft e r anoth e r , bu t sh e d ec l ines t h em all. Heth en offe rs to give h e r what eve r sh e m ight ask for.

Give m e Goolfam,

says t h e happy yognee, wh o is,of cou rse , no ot h e r than Sub z Peri , and t h e Princ eof Hind is du ly restore d to h er loving arms.

O f th e two p lays I have j ust d esc ri b ed , A ladd in ,

t hough O r i ental in its gen i usand su rroundings,and

wi t h alarge e l emen t of t h e sup ernat u ral in i t,was

acte d by men wh o had , I fancy , fo rmed th e i r sty l e

u pon Eu rop ean mode ls, and wh o acco rd ingly int rod uced agood d eal of v ivac i ty and human in t e restint o t h e p i ece . The act ing and singing in “ Indu r

Sabha” was du l l and stat e ly , without an imat ion ,

act ion,or exp ression ; but , as I have al ready sai d

unqu est ionably su i te d th e tast e of t h e aud ience . The

music was at t imes dec i d ed ly p l easan t even to my

ears. all unt rained in th e myst e ri es o f East e rnharmony . The rep resentat ion c losed wi th amelodywh ich is certain ly not wi thou tab eauty of its own ,

and fai r ly carr i e d t h e aud i ence away .

94 A T THE PLA Y .

Somehow t h e cou rt of Indu r , when t h e l i ft e d

c u rtain d isc losed to our v i ew th e O lymp ians si t t ing

in so l emn stat e , rem inded m e forc ib l y of t h e finalr esu l t of t h e Katputlee hataniasha, an Ind ian p e rformance of marione t te s not unfami l iar to mostAnglo-Ind ian ch i ldren , wh ich main ly consists in alot of t inse l l e d Rajahs com ing ou t and taking th e i rseats, in so l emn stat e , onarow of t inse l l e d th rones.

As each h igh and migh ty Rajah floats in to t h erecep t i on -hal l , suspended byafine wi re wh i ch ought

to b e inv isi b l e , t h e manage r announces th e manygrand -sound ing t i t l es wh i c h i t is h is happy p ri v i l egeto p ossess, and t h e p ompous grande e slow ly subsi d esinto h is seat . The at t endan t m usic ians p lay v igorously on t h e i r tablahs, and anoth e r slowand so l emnch i e f - of wor l d -wide fame en t e rs ;and so on

,t i l l at

last th e en t i re row of seats is o c cup i e d by t h e gau dydo l ls, whose appearance , as t h ey sit in stat e on th e i rt iny thrones, isas r i d icu lousas th e i r t i t l es.

One more ac co un t ofan Ind ian t h eat r i cal repre

sentation ,and I have done . Th is t ime th e p lay was

act e d at t h e expense ofasu ccessfu l trad esrnan,who

h oped to acqu i re some re l ig i ous meri t by having amoral d ramap roduce d for t h e b enefi t of h is fe l l owt ownsmen . Adm ission b e ing fre e

,t h e aud i ence was

by no means se l e c t b u t i t was as o rde r ly and wel lb ehaved as t h e b e st-b red aud i ence cou l d have b een .

There was astage for th e act ors ; bu t t he re wereno seats for t h e aud i enc e

,who cont ent ed ly squat t e d

down on at e rrac e floo r b efo re t h e stage,unde r th e

open canopy of al ove ly star l i t h eaven—and amoresu i tab l e aud itorium co u ld not be imagined fo r asu l t ry n igh t of an Indian summer.

196 A T THE PLA Y :

h oweve r , cou l d shake h is reve rence for Rama, whosename wasalways on h is l i ps.

The scene in t h e B rahman ’

s schoo l,brought on

t h e stage be fo re u s, was int ended to b e ahumorousone. The boys cuffe d one anot h e r beh ind th emast e r ’s back , made faces at t h e p edagogu e whenh e cou l d not s e e t h em , and so on . Prah lad h imse l f t ook no great part in t h e p ranksand ho rsep layof t h e oth e r boys, b ut frequen t ly exc laim e d RamaRama! ” for wh i ch uns easonab l e int e r rup t i on t h emas t e r wou l d give h imatast e of t h e cane . H e was

h oweve r,inco rrig ib l e . Ti red ou t by h is refracto ry

pup i l,t h e B rahman wen t t o th e k ing , wh o t ook t h e

boy in hand h imse l f,and

,aft e r t rying argumen t and

p ursuasion in vain ,o rde re d h im to b e pu t to deat h .

Th e p ious young p rince , t h e d evot e d adore r of

Rama, was taken out t o b e hanged— was, in fact ,act ual ly hanged b efo re u s, b ut t h e rop e b roke ; h e

was t h rown from ah i l l , bu t not h u rt ; h e was st ru ck

by t h e execut i on e r’s swo rd , b ut remain e d unharmed .

En raged b eyond end urance,

~ th e fath e r d rew h is

own mighty sab re upon h is obst inat e son . At th is

c ri t ical momen t t h e ground Op ened , and Rama(Vishnu ) , in t h e fo rm ofafo rm i dab l e t ige r , app earing upon t h e scen e , to re t h e imp ious king to p i eces.

Cou l d anyth ing in t h e wo rl d be m ore re l igious, moret ed ious

, and m ore u tt e r ly Ind ianAs for t h e act ing in t h is ve ry seri o us and moralp i e c e

,i t was enough t o make one laugh ou t right ;

t hough th e aud i ence,to j udge from the i r almost

rev eren t at t en t ion ,se emed ve ry much imp resse d by

i t . I n t h e op en ing scene,when t h e d ialogu e t ook

p lace b etween th e p r inc e and t h e pott e r’s wife , th e

TH E IVE W I NDI AN T H E A TRE .

speake r always stood near th e l eft -hand corne r of

t h e stage , beh ind wh ich th e p rom p t e r was conceal ed .

The p rince , abou t to take u p th e d ial ogu e , wou l dst ep slowly to t h e l eft-hand co rne r and t h e pot t e r’swife wou ld go , as slowly , to th e right hand corn e r of

t h e stage . Afte r h e had sai d h is say,t h ey wou l d

change p laces, slow ly and maj est ical ly,and t h e

woman wou l d repeat what t h e p rompte r to ld h e rfrom behind th e c u rtain . Al though th is r id i cu lous

int e rchange of p laces went on for eve r so l ong , not

asou l amongst t h e aud i ence app eared in t h e l eastd egre e amuse d by i t .As my obj ec t in t h is sho rt paper has been to givean - i d ea, howeve r inadequat e and imp e rfect , of t h e

popu lar mode rn Ind ian d rama, at l east in t h e

Punjab , I make no apo logy for rep roduc ing he re t h eargumen t of t h e favou ri t e opera, Puran Bhagat , asgiven in t h e p lay-b i l ls, sinc e it wi l l p e rhaps affordsome insigh t int o t h e cond i t ions of East e rn l i fe andth e tast e of t h e p eop l e in regard to t h e subj ects bestsu i t ed for d ramat ic rep resentat i on .

The p lay-b i l l says,in regard t o th e Op era

,Puran

Bhagat ”

T h is p iece,wh ich is in th e mouth of every one in th e

Prov ince , is expressly translated with some alterat ions fromaPunjabi domest ic true story. I t gi vesan examp le of th e p ro

verb ial say i ng Murder wi l l ou t,

’and the au thor has no doubtintended to int imate that though secrecy may ve i l the d eedof th e murderer for at ime

‘Prov i dence,

’ that su ffers not asparrow to fal l to th e ground unnot iced , wi l l by some meansor other both exposeand pun ish th e ev i l -doer. T h e tri umph ofv irtue over v i ce isalso represented inanaffect ing manner.

ARGUMENT OF T H E OPERA .

I n Sealkote (Punjab ) there wasaK ing cal led Salrwan who

98 A T THE PLAY .

had aQueen by name Lona(daughter ofacobb ler) , sh e wasboth accomp l ished and fai r, but equal ly crue l and incont inent .T h e K ing had no issue b y h er.

“ H e had ason cal led Puran b y h is first Queen . T h e K ingwas very fond of Lonahav ing never loved h is first Queen sinceespousing h er. One day th e K ing ordered h is son Puran to

v isit h is stepmother. T h e Prince wished to obey th e commandof h is royal father, but wasadv ised b y h is mother to avo i dQueen Lona, as she was awoman of an intri gu ing natureH owever h e obeyed his father’s orders, and was recerved in avery k ind manner. Queen Lonafe l l in love with h im,

an dthereand then declared h er passion . Puran refused h er p roposal wi th d isdain ; sh e , d i sappo inted and thwarted in h er

desires, accused Puran of" d ishonourab le conduct and of

attempts against h er honour and constancy. K ing Saliwanentering th e palace finds h is wi fe in asorrowfu l mood

be l iev ing h er words to b e true , orders Puran to b e kept in c loseconfinement . Lona, mad with love , again wishes to persuadePuran

,andafter obtain ing permi ssion fromth e K ing

,v isits h im

in prison 011 apretence to adv ise h im to desist from suchimmoral conduct, and instead of adv ising urges h imagain to

sat isfy h er passion . T he Prince refuses,and sh e on see ing th e

K ing and Puran ’

s mother eavesdropping , pretend s h er loveto Puran as that ofamother

,b ut Puran was st i l l bad and

wanted to love h er as amistress ; th e K ing gets incensedbeyond measure , orders th e poor Prince to b e thrown intoawe l l . T h e Queen mother -tries to get h impardoned , butth e K ing gets angry with h er also , and turns h er out to th e

j ungles.

Some hermi ts d iscover Puran in th e we l l rel ieve h imfromh is confinement ; h e jo ins th emas aFaqueer. Puran entersac ity as aD erv ish and asks charity in ahouse

,where th e

owner isabeaut i fu l orphan lady cal led Soond ra, sh e pit ies h imand fal ls in love ,and urges Puran toaccept h er proposal . H e

adv ises h er to abstain fromsu ch abad passion . Sh e supp l icates. At th is t ime Puran ’

s Saint enters,and adv ises Puran to

desist fromth isworld’s p leasures. She in d isappo intment goesafter Puran in th e d isgu ise ofaN un .

“One n i ght K ing Saliwan dreams

,and sees Puran’s Saint

revealing to h im th e intri gues of Lonaand Purau ’s innocence .

T he Saint by h is power,as ap unrshment makes h im b l ind ,

THE M OST SACRED SPOT ON

EARTH ; OR,B UD DH GA YA

AN D B UD DHISM

I F i t were possi b l e to asce rtain , by any means, whatpart icu lar spot on eart h is t h e most sacre d in t h eo p in ion of mank ind , t h e re is eve ry reason to t h ink

that th e maj o ri ty of vot es wou ld b e given in favou rof Buddh Gaya.Leav ing th e busy town of Bankipo re one aft e rnoon

in Apri l , I t rave l le d some fifty-seven m i l es to Gaya,

by t h e b ran ch rai lway , ove r al eve l u n int e rest inglook ing count ry ,

un red e em ed in its drear monotonvexc ept by p ic t u resqu e groups of sl ende r pal m t rees

wh ich always and eve rywhe re l end grac e and beau tyt o th e landscap e th ey ado rn .

I arrived at Gayaaft e r dark . I t was qu i t e anearly hou r ; bu t t h e town ,

wit h its popu lat ion of

sou ls, wasal ready b eginn ing to ret i re to rest .The atmosp h e re was Oppressiv e , and t h e d im lyl igh te d st re e ts

,wh ich we re b e ing t u rned in to do rm i

to ri es for t h e n i gh t , present e danyth ing bu t agre eab l ep ic t u res. Here and t h e re ap e rsp i r ing hal f-c ladhulwai, who had not yi e l ded to t h e ear ly c losing

B UDDH GA YA AND B UDDH I S IW. 201

m ovem en t , squat t e d l ist l essly in h is fly swarmedsweetmeat shop beh ind afew t rays of un invi t ing

c onfect ionary ; or ad rowsy bunneah , wi th h is kne esd rawn u p to h is ch in ,

doz ed over h is uncove re d h eapso f rice , a’all, atah , and ghee. These hal f-awake sh0pmen were apparent ly th e p rinc ipal , if not t h e on ly ,r epresentat iv es of t rade in Gayaat t hat hou r .Char/pays in sco res we re al ready occupying th e maint horoughfare in ve ry unp ic tu resqu e d iso rde r . On

some of th ese ricke ty beds, unp rovid e d wi th matt resses or p i l lows, t h e owne rs were st retch e d fu l l

l ength ; on o th e rs, two or t h re e almost naked mensat si l ent ly fann ing themse lves in ad rowsy waywi t h l i t t l e pal m -l eaf fans or wi th th e fre e end s

of th e i r dhoties. What was t h e b urd en of t h e i r

t houghts, as th ey sat t h e re on t h ese charpoys in t h eh otand dusty st re e t of t h e sacre d c i ty Were t hey

t h inking,as so many of t h e i r nat ional sages had

t hought before t h em ,t hat ,aft e rall, l i fe was not worth

l i v ing ? or were t h ey p e rfo rm ing t hat act of cogitat ion on t h e m eri tsand defects of th e Bri t ish Gove rn

men t wh ich S i r R ichard Templ e se ems to t h ink th e

two hund re d and fi fty m i l l ions of t h e Ind ian peop l ep erfo rm eve ry day ? I Not be ingab l e to d iv ine t h e i r

1 I t is d i fficu lt to summari z e conc iselywhat two h undredandfi ftymi l l ions of people are presumab ly say ing to themse lvese very day. B ut probab ly th e sum of th err th oughts amountsto th is

,that theyare b y th e wi l l of an unscrutab le fate l i v ing

under fore i gn ru le ;that they are ineffab ly better, n icer, p leasanterpeople than th e ir ru lers that they haveapurity of d escent

grandeur of trad it ion,an antiqurty o f system, with wh i ch a

E uropean nat ion has noth ing to compare ; that, d esp rte the i ru n ion , soc ial lyand moral ly, they cannot ho ld togeth erpo l i t ical ly8z e .

”— F ortnigh tly Review, january , 18 83 .

202 THE M OS T SA CRED SPO T ON'

EARTH ;

t houghts,I can only say t hat my own mind was

occup i ed with asort of vague anx i e ty as to wheth e r

I shou l d be ab l e to ge t accommodat ion for th e n i gh t

in t h e Gove rnmen t b ungalow for t rave l l e rs,as Buddh

Gayad id not contain asingl e hot e l .Fortunat e ly I foundavacan t room in t h e t rave l l e rs’

bungalow , where I passe d amost uncomfortab len igh t unde r t h e punkah . The fu rn i t u re of t h e room

consi st e d of t h e u sual tab l e , acoup l e of chai rs, andabed ; bu t t h e re we re two photographs

of t h e greatBuddh Gayat emp l e on t h e wal l at t h e foot ofmybed , which at t ract e d my at t ent ion and somehow

m ingl ed in amost fantast ic and d isagre eab l e manne rwi thall my dreams du ring that rest l ess n ight .

As early as possi b l e n ext morn ing I start e d forBuddh Gayain aone -ho rse carriage

,asort of cab

wi th doub l e seatsand sl i d ing doors.

The d im twi l i gh t of approach ing dawn reveal e dst re e t scenes even mo re un love ly than t hose I hadwitn essed th e n ight b efo re . Peop l e sl e ep ing out on

t h e d i rty road upon co ts or mats, b trt more frequ ent lyupon t h e bare sand or mud . Cowsand oxen cal m lyreposing in t h e m i dd l e of t h e h ighway ; goats alsoand pou l t ry , q u i t e at home u pon t h e st ree ts, u nder

t h e open canopy of h eaven . I n t h e h ot swe l t ry

atmosph ere men and women lay asl e ep , con tort e d

in eve ry ungain ly posi t ion imaginab l e . From some

th e l ight cove ring had sl i p p e d away , and l eft t h emalmost i f not qu i t e naked . I had oft en be en t h roughInd ian townsatave ry ear ly hou r of t h e morn ing , buthad n eve r before se en such acomb inat ion of squal o rand rep u lsiveness. There was j ust l i gh t enough to

show th e h id eous n igh tmare sp e ctac l e in all its

204 THE III OS T SACRED SPO T ON E ARTH,

obtain h igh meri t for t h emse l ves, and t ranslat e th e irancesto rs, b l esse d wi th all t hat is d esi rab l e , and salvat ion , to t h e region of B rahma.

”I Th is foo l ishand

uned i fying l egend is, we are to l d by D r. Raj end raLalaM it ra, i m p l i c i tly b e l i eve d by t h e p eop l e ; bu tt h e l earned gent l eman h imse l f se es in i t an allegorical refe rence to t h e ove rth row ,

by ar tifi ce and force ,of t h e re l igion ofB u d d haby th e B rahman ical p riesthood . Any way, t h e far-sight e d and n eve r-to -b e

conqu e re d B rahmans have in t h is case, as in many

anot h e r one , succe e de d in app rop riat ing to t h e i r owng lory and profi t p laces h e ld sac re d by h e re t ical secede rs from th e fo l d of H indu ism , and Gayais now afavou ri t e p lace of H indu p i lgrimage , where hundredsof t housands flock annual ly to th e V ishnupadaTem p l e , to p rost rat e th emse l ves befo re t h e footp rintsof th e god and to perfo rm t h e fune ral ceremon i es of

t h e i r d ead re lat ions ? This t emp l e , su rmount e d by ad ome and gi l d e d p innac l e , stands 011 one of t h e

r i dges. Th e Temp l e of t h e Sun , wi th its sac re dtank , occup i es t h e low ground wi th in t h e town .

The p rinc i pal obj ec t of my visi t was, howeve r ,Buddh Gaya

,whe re five hundred years befo re t h e

b i rth of Christ t h e i mmortal found e r of t h e B uddh istre l i gi on had obtaine d en l ight enment aspo t

consi de re d t h e most sacre d p lace on t h is eart h o f

o u rs by p erhapsafou r th of t h e ent i re human race .

Even in t h is mat t e r-of-fact age , wh i ch is supposed

I “B uddh Gaya, by D r. RajendraLalaM itra,pp . 10—17 .

2 “ T h e b irth o f thatman is th e occasion of sat isfact ion to h is

progen itors, wh o performs, at th e d ue t ime, the ir obsequ ial ritesat Gaya.

” —Pro f. H . H . \V ilson’s translat ion of th e V ishnu

Purana,” book iri. chap . 16 .

on, B UDDH GA YA AND B UDDH /5 -11. 205

to have eyesand ears on ly for u t i l i t i es, one may b epardone d for l eav ing th e d i rect road to Cal cuttainorde r to visi t aspot round wh ich so many memori esc l ust e r .

My way layalongadusty road th rough op en fi e lds,and for some d istance alongsi d e t h e d ry sandy b edof t h e ri ve r Phalgu . The count ry th rough wh ich I

passed p resent e d th is Ap ri l morn i ng av ery d i ffe ren tapp earance , no doubt , from what it wears duringt h e b r i e f wint e r wh ich succ ee ds t h e rainy season in

Ind ia. Unde r th e mi l d wint e r sky, man and beast ,fi e l d and fo rest , seem to revi ve al i t t l e

,and t h e

Eu ropean tourist flits t h rough th e ve rdant count ry ,charmed with t he m i ld sunsh i n e of t h ese favou re dc l im es. And i f h e wri t es abook of h is t rave ls

,i t s

pages refl ec t t h e charm ing b lue sky and t h e soft ,mi l d c l imat e h e has been enj oying . I n Apri l i t is

o th e rwise , as t h e resi den t in Ind iaknows on ly too

we l l . As I p roceeded on my way ,acar ved stone

h e re and anoth e r t h e re on t h e roadsi d e , or bu i l tin to amud hu t , se rve d to ind icat e my approach to

Buddh Gayaand itsanc i en t t emp l e .A drive ofabou t six mi l es from th e Gove rnmen t

Dak Bungalow b rought m e to alarge group of

bu i l d ings enc losed wi th in ah igh mason ry wal l , wh ichthe d rive r of my cab se emed to t h ink must b e t h e

obj ec t of my v isi t . I t wasaH indu monast e ry , wel lsi t uat e d in agard en on t h e rive rsi d e . I wen t in

t h rough th e wi d e -op en gat eway , accompan i e d by mycoachman . On t h e t e rrace d roof of abu i l d ing of

some th re e or fou r storeys,t h e Mahan t or Abbo t

Maharaj t h ey stvled h im—was taking h is ease,and

aft e r be ing info rmed by my loquac ious coachman ,

206 TH E M OS T SA CRED SPOT ‘ON EARTH ;

who knew no th ing what eve r abou t m e , that I wasav isi to r from Calcu t ta

,d i rect e d h is se rvants t o

show me ove r t h e p lac e . Lat e r on h e expresse d awish to make my acquain tance . He aske d manyinqu isi t ive qu est ionsabou t myse l fandabou t t h e obj ec tofmy v isi t , and showed m e wi t h mu ch prid e acopyof Dr . Mitra’s book on Buddh Gaya, wh ich hadbeen p resen t ed t o h im by th e Gove rnmen t of BengalH e cou ld not read Engl ish , and se em ed t o care l i t t l efor th e Buddh ist t empl e , b u t h e cou l d appre c iat e thecomp l iment pai d h im by th e Bri t ish autho ri t i es, andI dare say found p l easu re in t h e b ig p ict u re—bookt h ey had given h im,

wh i ch was in all p robab i l i ty th eon ly i l l ust rat e d vo l ume in h is possession .

The monast e ry ove r wh ich th isabbot p resi d eswas,acco rd ing to D r . Mit ra, o ri ginal ly estab l ishe d in t h eear ly part of t h e last c entu ry by amend i cant of th eo rde r of Giri . A successo r app ropriat e d th e t henn egl ect e d B uddh ist t emp l e , wh i ch b ecame asou rc e

of large income to‘

h im from t h e gifts of H indu

p i lgrims to t h e sacre d B o-t re e . I n t h e co u rs e of

t ime th e soc i ety acqu ire d consi d e rab l e p rope rty , an dH indu t em p l es sp rang u p in t h e ne ighbou rhood .

A very short wal k from the H ind u monast e ryb rought m e to t h e anc i en t t empl e I had come to see ,

t h e hoary re l ic of many fl ee t ing cent u ri es. As i t

s tood t h e re b efore m e i t looked qu i t e new, and I

must confess that afe e l ing of d isappo intm en t t ookpossession of me as I cont emplat e d th e resto rede d ifi c e

,wi th t h e fresh st ucco mou ld ings and Port

land c emen t add i t ions of t h e D epartm ent of Pub l i c\Vorks. I n my d isappo intm en t I cou l d not h el p

t h inking that t h e renovat e d t em p l e m igh t , pe rhaps,

208 THE III OS T SA CRE D SPO T ON EART H ;

of fortun e had b rough t wi th in its j u risd ict ion,re

so lved to have i t carefu l ly examine d and t horough lyrepai red . Th e resu l t of t h is d e t e rm inat ion ~ wasbefo re m e ; asort of rev ised , abbrev iat ed , andamended ed i t ion of t h e orig inal t emp l e of Buddh

Gayap repare d by o rde r of Governmen t .D efaced by t im e and t h e hand ofman

,t ransformed

agood deal t h rough we l l -mean t resto rat ions, th e

ce l eb rat e d t emp l eat Buddh Gaya, even in its mode rnd isgu ise d cond i t i on ,

wi th its n in et e ent h centu ry

st ucco abou t i t and its b rand -new gi l t finial , is anim p osing st ruct u re abou t one hund re d and seven ty

fee t h igh and fi fty fe e t wide at its base . Al l t h ingsconsi d e red

,i t has ce rtain ly last e d remarkab ly wel l

t h e mat e rial of wh i ch it is const ruct e d b e ing on ly

we l l -bu rn t b rick c ement e d wi th mud . Ston e hasbeen u sed on ly in t h e door-framesand flooring . Th e

bu i l d ing is p last e red wi th l im e -mortar . I t is bu i l t

in t h e fo rm ofapyramid of n ine sto reys, embe l l ish e don t h e out e r si d e wi t h n ich esand mou ld ings. Fac ingt h e rising sun is t h e en t rance doorway , and above i t ,at an e l evat ion great e r t han t h e roof of t h e po rchwh ich onc e adorned t h e t emp l e , t he re isat r iangu laropen ing to adm i t t h e morn ing glory to fall upon t h eimage in t h e sanct uary .

Around t h e base of t h is anc i ent st ru ctu re th e

debris of c ent u r i es had ent i re ly cove re d , t o adept hof near ly twenty fe e t , ahost of int e re st ing sh rines

and memorials which th e recen t excavat ions carri e do ut by t h e Gove rnment have b rough t t o l i gh t—vo t i v eS tupas, I images of Buddhain d iffe rent at t i t udes, and

1 “ M odels or min iatures of tumu l t and graves varying insi z e

,at B uddh Gaya, fromthree i nches toabout three feet, th e

OR,B UDDH GA YA AND B UDDH I S J I . 209

asubstan t ial and o rnamen te d stone rai l ing as o ld ast h e t ime of Asoka. With in t h e shadow of t h e greatt emp l e many mode rn bu i l d ingsare also to b e se enH indu t emp l es and th e b urial-p lace of t h e H indu

abbots of t h e n e ighbou ring.

m onast e ry ; I wh i l emonuments seen by th e early Ch inese p i l grims haveent i re ly d isappeared . And where is t h e B o-t re e ?Gone

,l i ke t he o l i ves of Gethsemane , cen tu r i esago ,

with manyasuccessor fab l e d to beal ineal d escendan tof t hat o riginal B o-t re e whose tremblingleaves were ,in Buddh ist be l i ef, wi tnesses of t h e great est even tsin th e h isto ry of th e wor ld . A raised p lat fo rmat tach ed to th e t emp l e now su pports ayoung andvigorous Peepu l -t re e (Ficus religiosa) , asort of sent i

mental r ep resen tat i v e of t h e B o- t re e of t h e si xt h

c en t u ry b efore C hrist , wh ich in its day stood ove r

th e m i racu lous d iamond th rone , ast ructu re as o ld

as t h e wo rl d i tse l f,nearly ahundred fe et in c i rcum

ference , and reach ing down to th e bot tom of t he

earth . An at t endant m en t ion ed to me , not wi thoutat race of d issat isfact ion in h is t on e and manne r

t hat th e young t re e b efore me was not even ad esc endant of its predecessor on t h e same spo t ,which had at taine d agreat age , but had p erish ed , hesai d

,from i l l -usage during th e excavat i ons. I ts

wood,h e assu red me , had fo r th e most part b e en

taken by th e K ing of Burmah for t h e fash ion ing of

i mages of t h e sage . Professo r S i r Mon i e r Wi l l iams,

o ldest be ing hemispherical , l i ke awater-bubb le .

- D r. Raj end raLalaM rtra’s B uddh Gaya.”

“ T h e dead bod ies of th e monks, unl i ke those of oth erH indus

,are bur ied . T h e body is buried in asi tt ing

posture .

—I dem,p . 4 .

10 TH E YII OS T SA CRED SPO T ON EARTH ;

who v isi te d t h e p lace , was t o ld t hat t h e t re e hadb e en d est royed by t h e excess ive d evot ion of Budd

h ist p i lgrims,who wat e red its roots wi th Eau d e

Co logne .

Howeve r stat e ly may b e th e venerab l e fane wh ichhas for so many cent u ri es ado rn e d Buddh Gaya

real c laim s upon th e at t ent i on of t h e t rave l l e r ared ue to t h e si t e on wh ich i t is bu i l t . On t hat spo t

n ear t h e old Narainjanaof th e Buddh ist wri t e rs,andby t hose low, dreary h i l ls, Gau tamasuccessfu l lyd efi ed t h e t e rrorsand resist e d th e t emptat ions of t h e

Evi l One . Here h e at tained B uddha-hood, and from

th is spot h e wen t fort h to proc laim t o t h e wo rl d t hatt h e way of de l iv e rance from deat h was found .

For such as may b e int e reste d in th e h ist o ry or

doct rines of Buddh ism,an amp l e l i t e ratu re , gat h e re d

from many landsand t ranslat e d from many d iffe ren tanc i entand mode rn languages ofCentraland East e rnAsia

,is nowavai lab l e— t hanks t o t h e research esand

labours of t h e many l earne d O ri en tal ists who haveto i l e d in t h is fru i t fu l fi e l d . Poss ib ly

,howeve r , fo r

t h e maj o ri ty of even we l l -informed p e rsons, th e on l ysou rc e of Buddhist lo re has been S i r Edwin Arno l d ’sb eau t i fu l and charm ing poem ,

“ The Ligh t of Asia, ”

which embod i es in arefined , Europ ean i zed form ,

but wi th gl owing O ri ental i mage ry and r ich localco lou ring , su ch an out l ine of t h e B uddh ist ic l egend

as canno t b u t b e acc eptab l e t o eve ry lover of th eb eau t ifu l in language or sent iment . But i t must

he confessed , h owever re luctan t ly , that t h e PriméeS id darthawi th whose p e rson ,

l i fe, and t ho ughts we

hav e of lat e grown fami l iar , is, for t h e most part ,acr eat ion of Europ ean l i t e rat u re and scho larsh ip .

2 12 THE MOS T SA CRED SPO T ON EAR TH ;

pu t t o th e t est h e easi ly su rpasse d all compet i t o rs,

p erform ing th e most wonderfu l and start l ing feats of

daringand st rength . Aft e r t h e b i rth of h is fi rst son,

Gau tamareso l ve d upon what has b een cal l ed “ th e

great renunc iat ion ,

” and abandon ing h is l i fe of

p l easu re , went fo rthalone , at t h e fat e d ho u r , from h isfat h e r ’s cap i tal , to d iscove r in t h e u sual Ind ian way,

by so l i tary cont emp lat ion , aremedy for t h e m ise r i esof ex ist ence . B efo reand since t h e great renunc iat i onof Gautamamen hav e gon e ou t in to t h e wi l d e rness inquest of p eac e or in search of knowl edge . Befo re

and since Gau tama’s t im e nob l es l i ke S t . Bernardohave

,in afit of p i e ty , given up th e pomps and

van i t i es of abri l l ian t and l uxu riou s worl d of

ch ival ry and fash ion for t h e so l i tud e of t h e caves,

and round th em too t h e chron i c l e r and poe t havewoven th e i r g l i t t e r ing cu rtain oflegend and romance .

Such an even t as t h e great renunc iat ion affo rd e dampl e mat e rials for ah igh ly d ramat ic t reatm ent ,and good use has b een made of t h e si t uat ion by th eEast e rn poets. Even t o t h is day m i l l ions of h eartsme l t wi t h t ende r p i ty as they re cal l t h e scen e in

wh ich th e p rinc e takesalast fond l ook at h is love lywi fe sl e ep ing with h e r infan t on h e r arm,

I and st ealst h rough t h e lo rd ly chambers of h is sumptuous palac eaway into t h e si l en t moon l igh t , to find out in pove rty

and so l i t ud eaway of d e l ive ranc e fo r mankind . Bu t

t h e d e l i ve rance of mank ind was an obj ect by no

means ac cep tab l e to Mara,th e Evi l One , who ,

1 Yearsafterwards B uddharev isited h is nat i ve c ityand hadamost affect ing interv iew with h is wi fe

,whose conj ugal love,

equal to any sacri fice, led h er to become one of the first of th eB uddh ist nuns.

OR,B UDDH GA YA AND B UDDH I S III . 2 13

app earing in t h e sky,u rged Gautamato give up h is

mission and acce p t un i ve rsal sove re ignty inst ead .

Unmove d by th e gl i t t ering o ffe r of t empo ral power,

t h e p rince , bu rdened wi th th e so rrow of t h e wor l d,

and wi th t h e th i rst of th e wi l d e rness upon h im,

pu rsue d h is way from Kap elavastu to t h e l i tt l e h i l lsn ear Rajagriha, and th e re st ud i e d H indu ph i losophywi t h t h e B rahman h e rm i ts in t h e caves. Havingl earn t what t h ese wisemen had to t each

,he removed

wi th five d isc i p l es to t h e ne ighbou rhood of t h e p lacewh ere t h e t em p l e of Bu d dh Gayanow stands. \Whateven ts occu rred h e re ; why t h is part i cu lar spo t isregard ed by afou rt h part of t h e h uman race as t h emost sac re d p lace on earth , we l earn from theLal i taV istara

,awork wh ich is su pposed to dat e

from the th i rd c en t ury befo re Ch rist,and wh ic h I

shal l fo l low in t h e next few pages.

I n accordance wi th th e requ i rements of H indu

re l ig ious op in ion in such mat t e rs, Gau tamanow

reso l ved to carry outasix years’ penance ormortificat ion of th e fl esh . Se l ect ing asu itab l e p lace

sat t h ere c ross- l egged for t h e appo int e d pe riod ,exposed , th rough summer and wint e r

,to sun

and rain ,pract ising th e seve rest p enancesand se l f

mortifications,in which fast ing and suspension of

t h e b reat h are esp ec ial ly m en t ioned , t i l l h e wasreduced almost to t h e ve rge of d eath . A scarce ly

T h e h ighestauthority on th e l i fe of Sftk yais th e Lal itaV istara. Parts of i t were compi led e ither in h is lrfetirn e or

immed iately after h is death,and others witln nacenturyand a

hal f of that event ” (D r. M rtra’s “ B uddh Gaya,

” p . A

French translat ion of th e Lal itaV istara,pub l ished in Paris

in 1848 , b y M . Foucaux , introduced th is anc i ent work to th e

\Yestern world .

2 14 TH E [ MOS T SA CRED SPO T OIV E AR TH ;

l iv ing skeleton ,

I naked and cove red wi th d i rt , t h e

sage , who looked l i ke achurchvard ghost , was, weare t o l d in t h e Lal i taV istara, an obj e c t of cont empteven t o th e i gno ran t v i l lage rs of Uruvilva, who camet o gat h e r l eavesand st i cksabou t t h e p lac e in wh ichh e had estab l ish e d h imse l f. But t h e gods were

watch ing th e asce t ic with'

int ense int e rest,and fear

ing h e wou ld d i e , h is mother , now Maya-D evi ,descende d from heaven in great d ist ress, at t ended byt roupes ofApsaras. The h erm i t reassu re d h e r , howeve r , and aft e r c ove ring h im with fl owers from t h eE lysian groves, sh e grac efu l ly ret i re d to t h e sound ofd iv ine music . D u ring h is long penance t h e Gods,t h e Nagas

,th e Asouras, and t h e o t h e r heaven l y

hosts, wai t e d u pon Gautaman igh t and day, andoffe re d sac rific es t o h im ; wh ile,

on t h e ot h e r hand ,t h e wi cke d d emons lost no oppo rt un i ty of wh ispe r

ing doubts and d iscou ragemen ts int o h is ear,and

making t empt ing sugge st ions in regard to easi e rand p l easan t e r ways of at tain ing v i rt u e and its

rewards.

H is painfu l aust e ri t i es were at l ength su ccessfu l lyaccompl ished , b ut , redu ced t o acond i t i on of greatenfe eb l em en t

,h e fe l t t hat h e cou ld not t hus reach

t h e goal of h is endeavou rs. He reso lved,th e refore ,

to abandon all fu rt h e r se l f-mortifications, and d i d so ,t o t h e great aston ishment and d isgust of h is five

compan i ons, who t h e reupon l eft h im and wen t away .

I t wou ld , to say t h e l eas t , b e both t ed ious and

I An interest ing l itt le p iece of scu lpture from th e Yusu fzaid istrict, now in th e Brit ish M useum (case N o . representsth e emac iatedand repu lsi ve formof Gautamaafter h isarduouspenance of six years on th e banks of th e Narainjana.

2 16 THE IV OS T SA CRED SPOT ON EARTH,

gust ing shapes,hu rr i ed to t h e B o-t re e . Armed with

all sorts of dead ly weapons, t h e i r hands and fe e tentwin ed with venomous se rp en ts, t h e i r ugly featu resst i l l more d eformed by passion , t h e i r eyes re d andflaming

,t h e i r m isshapen mouths b rist l ing wi th

eno rm ous t e e thand sp i t t ing fo rt h flamesand venom ,

t h e h ost of Mara,howl ing savage ly

,amidstat e rrib l e

war of e l ements,su rged around Gautamaon t hat

event fu l n igh t.

I But th e d emons cou l d not dauntor even d ist u rb t h e sage

,against whom the i r

weapons we re power l ess ; th e i r ve ry missi l es d is

charged against h im be ing changed to flowers. Th e

Evi l One , fo i l ed and d isappo int e d , essayed to compass Gautama’s defeat by oth e r means. Inst eadof t h e d efo rm ed and t e rr i b l e monst e rs who hadt h reat ened h is pe rsonal safe ty , the re nowappeare dbefore h im

,near th e B o -t re e , form s ofvolup tuousand

en t ran c ing beauty , femal e fo rms of d i ffe ren t agesfrom gi rl hood to rip e matu r i ty , who end eavou re d toat t rac t h isat tent ion by t h e witch ery

of t h e i r charms.

Some exposed th e i r rounded bustsand shape ly formswhi l e p ret ending to adj ust t h e i r garmen ts, oth erscoquett ish ly v e i l e d th e i r b eaut i es unde r d iaphanousd rap eri es. S ome artfu l ones t r i e d th e power of

flat t e ry . Some bo lde r t han t h e rest d rew at t en t i onto t h e i r own charms of pe rson ,

and inv i t e d t h e saget o share wi th t h em th e de l i gh ts of love . Two andt h i rty mode s of seduct i on were t ri e d by t hese love lysyrens, but t ri e d in vai n . A l l th e i r soft woo ing , allt h e i r lasc i vi ou s b land ishmen ts

,all t h e i r “

W insome

T h e reader wi l l hard ly fai l to recal l to mind,and to contrast

wi th th is, M i lton’s descri pt ion of th e temptat ion in th e wi lder

n ess.

OR,B UDDH GA YA A IVD B UDDH I S JII . 2 17

beau ty and subt l e arts of love , we re powe rl ess

agai nst Gautama, wh o had conque red and wassuperior t o all sensuous passions, all carnal d esi resand weaknesses

,and met th e i r advances with a

homi ly on t h e ev i ls to wh i ch th e passions giveb i rth .

The au tho r of th e Lal i taV istaral ingers ove r th e

detai ls of th e vo l u p t uou s scene , wh ich affordsampl eopportun i t i es for p oet ical and art ist ic t reatm en t .Human nat u re changes l i t t l e

,and wh i l e I wri t e t h is,

The Temptat ion of S t . Ant hony ,” by aFrench

art ist , represent ing th e fat h e r ofWest ern monach ism '

surrounded by abevy of at t rac t i ve gi r ls in t h e

cost ume of Eve before t h e fal l , is be ing exh ib i t e d to '

adm i ring hundreds in aLondon show - room .

Afte r th e d iscomfiture of t h e fai r t emptresses, t h e '

demons made one more fur ious at tack upon Gautama, and t ri e d to ove rwhe lm h im wi th , amongsto t h e r t h ings

,red -h ot globes of fi re of t h e siz e of

M ount M eru ; but t h e Sage had on ly to st ri ke the

ground wi th h is hand to p rost rat e h is enem ies inh e l p l ess ru in .

A cu rious fresco paint ing fromt h e caves ofAjan ta,

rep rodu ced in D r . Mit ra’s Buddh Gaya,

is sup

posed to rep resen t Mara’sassau l t on Gautamaunde rt h e B o-t re e . I n t h e c ent re of t h e p ict u re is th e

co lossal and convent ional figure of Buddhain con

temp lation , seat e d c ross-l egged on araised th rone .The demons

, arm ed with swo rdsand ot h e r weapons,’

c rowd abou t h im with th reat en ing gest u res. Some1

of th em , in arath e r ch i l d ish way,are making ,

grimacesat h im . One monst e r , wi th astup i d face , ‘is pu l l ing down h is l owe r eye l ids wi th h is finge rs in

2 18 THE rlI OS T SA CRED SPO T OrV EARTH ;

o rd e r t o d isp lay th e wh i t es of h is eyes ;ano th e r isst re t ch ing h is own mou th , as naughty boys some

t im es do,wi th h is two forefingers, and glaring at

t h e sage wi th fi end ish eyes. At each si d e of t h e

th rone , and l ean ing on it,

stands an exub erant lyd eve loped

,b ej ewe l l e d woman

,wh i l e fou r o t h e r

langu ish ing and charact e r l ess b eau t ies o f th e sametyp e occ upy

,in al ist l essand obj ec t l ess manne r , t h e

foreground of th e p ict u re in front ofand be low th eth rone . Apparen t ly t h e art ist has endeavou re d t ocomb in e in t h is one p ict u re t h e twofo l d t rial towh ich Gautamais sai d t o have b een exposed ; b utth e gro tesqu e arrangement of figures h e has p ro

d uced,though not wantrng rn some good t ou ch es

fai ls ent i re ly to do j ust ic e t o t h e poe t ’s concept ionof e i t h e r ordeal in t h e wi ld e rne ss at Gaya.From h is confl i cts wi th t h e powers of evi l , Gautamaeven tual ly arose wi th t h e assu ranc e of comp l e t e enligh tenmentand know l edge of t h e way of de l ive rancefrom th e ills of ex ist enc e . H ewas nowaB uddha. Al lnatu re t h r i l l e d wi th int ense raptu reat th e glad event ,and to t h is day t h e large long-s tal ked l eaves of th e

peepu l t re es eve rywhere qu ive r wi th exc i t em en t att h e reco l lec t i on of t h e scenes wh ich we re w i tnesse d

unde r th e Bo-t re e at Gaya. Al l forme r Buddhasrejo ice d exceed ingly , and hosts of h eaven ly b e ingshastened t o pay t h e i r respects to t h e new Buddha.

W i thou t t h e aid of gods o r men ,Gautamahad , by

persist ent e ffort t h rough many l ives,at las t found

the su re pat h fo r h imse l f, and had reach e d th e

go l d en summ its whenc e h e cou l d look down uponcare and sorrow

,upon b i rt h and death . Emane i

pat ed , en l igh t ene d , h e had now on ly t o ent e r int o

220 T I IE M OS T SA CRED SPO T ON'

EA RTH ;

t emptat ion unde r t h e Tre e of Knowl edge at Gaya,and of t h e h esi tat ion wh ich Buddhafe l t to p roc lai mh is d iscove ry to t h e wo rl d , ove r lai d t hough i t b e wi t harank growt h of sickly l egend , has aperman en tint e rest wh i ch t im e cannot d est roy .

By aj ud ic ious,i f necessar i ly arb i t rary

, syst em of

e l iminat ion and p run ing—asyst em , howeve r , by no

means to b e d epend e d u pon for t rut h fu l r esu l tst h e l egend of t h e B uddhamay b e made to yi e l d anat t ract iv e p i c tu re ofan earn est h uman sou l st r i v ingnob ly, honest ly , and fearl essly to unde rstand and to

exp lain t h e myst e ry of sorrow ,and happ iness of

v i rt u e and wickedness. The son ofaprin ce ly,i f not

v e ry p owerfu l house,b rought u p in comfort and“

honou r,ofasp ecu lat i v e t u rn of m ind , caring l i t t le

for t h e mart ial pursu i ts of h is pee rs,comes

,t h rough

c i rcumstances whi ch it is ne ed l ess to specu lateabou t

,to ask h imse l f, as d i d t h e p reach e r of old ,

What p rofi t hat h aman ofall h is labou r wh ich h etaketh unde r th e sun ?An h e i r having been born t o h im

,h is duty to h is

fami ly and soc i e ty was fu lfi l l ed . He had at taine dt h e mat u re age of twen ty-n ine . I t was t im e to re t i refrom the wo rl d with its ho l low van i t i es, its stal ep l easu res, and its unp rofi tab l e d ut i es ; i t was t im eto j o in t h e soc i e ty of ho ly he rm i ts, wh o ,

in t h e so l i

t u d e of t h e fo rest , were st r iv ing for peace of m ind

and for commun ion wi th th e D e i ty . T o t h e fo rest

h e goes, and aft e r years of se l f- impose d p enanc e,of

stu dy, of in t e rcou rse wit h d reamers and t eache rs,

o rthodox and h et e rodox , t h e nob l e d evo t e e arri vesatc e rtain conc lusions of h is own in respec t t o re l igiousdoct rinesand p ract i c es. Afte r som e nat u ral h esi ta

ore, B UDDH GA YA AND B UDDH I S YII . 2 2 1

t ion as to t h e p ru dence or desi rab i l i ty of mak ing h isoprnrons known t o an ignoran t and sinfu l worl d , h e

d ec i d es to d o so ,and se ts up asaregu lar t eache r in

t h e ho ly c i ty of Benares.

As I recal l e d t h e old story in t h e shadow of t h e

t emp l e at B trd d h Gaya, I fe l t i t apriv i l ege to standon aspot connect e d w it h so many poet ic and re

ligiou s assoc iat i ons, so many ep isodes embalmed inv erse

,recorde d in scu l p t u re , and st i l l l iv ing in t h e

h earts of many nat ions. N ear t h is memorab l e spo t ,t h e ri ve r mav st i l l b e found as of yore— somet im es

flowing, somet imes d ry— ave ri tab l e embl em of t h e

i nstab i l i ty of t h ings t e rrest r ial ;and t h e et e rnal , i fnot ve ry im posing , h i l lsare t h e re also , st i l l d reaming ,p e rhaps, of t h e sain t ly h e rm its wh o once p eop l e dt h e i r dark caverns. A substan t ial t em p l e commemorates, rat h e r inadequat e ly , t h e great d e l i ve ranceof gods and men ; but no Buddh ist p i lgrim

Buddh ist monk . is t o be found in th e ne ighbou rhood ,and notasingl e worsh ipp e r wi th in many and manyascore of l eagues of i t . The memory of oth e r daysl inge rs on ly in t h e name . The re l igion ofB ud dha

p lant e d by H indu ism at Gayaabou t fi ft e en hundre dyearsago ,

has near ly forgot t en its b i rthp lace , whi l e ,unde r t h e unsparing cri t ic ism of mode rn Europeaninvest igat ion , t h e p e rsonal i ty of Buddhah imse l f assumes t he most unce rtain ou t l ine in t h e d im background of Ind ian h isto ry. N ot on ly has t h e B uddha’sfo rm b ecome shadowy beh ind t h e m ist of l egendsraise d by h is fo l lowers, bu t th e i r ve ry endeavou r toglo ri fy h im has l ed some scho lars to doubt wheth e rt h e ent i re sto ry abou t h im is not, aft e r all, on ly aso lar al l ego ry , as t h e l earned M . Senart maintains.

222 THE M OS T SACRED SPO T ON EARTH ;

I s th e Bu ddh ist ic l egend on lyasun myth ? wast h e unwelcome though t wh ich flitted t h rough mym ind as I sat down on an old memorial s tone t ocont emp lat e t h e t emp l e as t h e sun (th e realBuddha? ) flooded t h e old bu i ld ing and its sur

sound ings wi th aglo ry wh i c h ennob l ed and t ransfigured what eve r i t t o uche d

,even t h e rest o re d t emp l e

hard ly venerab l e now in its n inet e enth c ent u ry gi l tand p last e r . Th e p l easan t vo ic es of t h re e or fou rbrown-l imbed ch i ld ren , with large soft eyes

had wondering ly fo l lowed m e to th e t emp l e,and

were now t im id ly asking fo r backsh eesh,

” re cal l e dme gen t ly from th e regi ons of so lar al l ego ry .

When imaginat i on , l i t erary ingenu i ty ,and d estruct i ve c ri t i c ism have done th e i r u tmost

,th e re st i l l

remains t h e fac t of t h e B uddh ist re l igi on,beh ind

wh i ch averi tab l e B uddhatoo is d isce rn ib l e,oh

scured , i t i s t ru e , by such absu rd l egends as t hose,

amongst aho st of oth e rs, wh ich reco rd how , beforeh is b i rth , t h e emb ryo Buddhap reach ed to th e

ange ls wh o wat ch e d ove r h im ,and . how in t h e

si xt h year of h i s B uddhahood h e v isi t e d h eavent o t each h is dead moth e r th e way of de l i ve r

ance . B ub notwith stand ing t h e l egends, we mayp erhaps

b e ab l e , und e r t h e gu idanc e of modern

research , t o form amore or l essacc u rat e i d eaof t h ec i rcumstance s unde r wh i ch B uddh ism arose , andof t h e ear l i e st form of are l igion wh i ch , l i ke eve ryoth er re l igi on

,has pass ed th rough d iffe ren t phases

and unde rgone much modifi cat i onand al t e rat i on .

The common ly ac c ept e d i d eawh ich findsap lacein near ly every t ex t -book of gene ral or O r i en tal h isto ry

,and in spec ial works on t h e h istory of re l i gi ons ,

224 THE I II OS T SA CRED SPO T ON EAR T I I ;

‘fluences t han t h e count ry wh i ch lay fu rt h e r westward . This East e rn ,

and pe rhaps h e t e rodox , landb ecame the t h eat re of t h e act iv i t i es of r ival re l igioust each ers, wh o i t wou l d appear were ,acco rd ing to t h efash ion of t h e t ime , founde rs or im portan t m embersof compet ing m onast i c o rd e rs. Amongst t h ese

l eaders ofmen ,wh o were not n ecessari ly B rahmans,

t h e nob l e Gau tamaat tained ap re -em in en t posi t ionnot to t h e exc l usion of o th e rs, however , foracertaincon t empo rary and r i val of h is, Natap utta, founded asect ( t h e jains) wh ich ex ists in Ind iaeven to t h isday ;and one of Gautama's own fo l lowers, D ewadat ta, b roke wi t h h is mast e r and founded an orde r of

h is own du ring Buddha’s l i fe t im e .The commun i ty in wh i ch Buddhaand h is cont em

poraries labou red had al ready attarned its mat u ri ty .

I t had grown fam i l iar wi t h d iscussi ons on all t h eimportant p rob l ems of ex ist ence ;and i t is ev id en tfrom th e extan t l i t e rat u re t hat d isputat ious ph i losoph e rs

,conce i t ed soph ists, overbearing and vain

glor ious d ial ec t i c ians, not sl ow to slande r one

anot h e r or u se op probious ep i th ets, were on ly too

common in t h e t im e of Bu d d ha.

I The re l igi o usandph i losoph ical Op in ions cu rren t in t hat land we renot t hose wh ich find favou r wi th afresh , v igo rous,and progressi ve race , an h isto rical p eop l e confident in

th em se lvesand in t h e i r p rot e ct ing gods bu t rat h e rt hose wh ich are nat u ral to aworn-out soc i e ty

,on ly

anxiou s for peaceand rest . The old ch ild likejoy in

l i fe so man ife st in t h e Vedas had d ie d away .

” 2 The

I See D r. Fausb o ll’s S utta-N i pata,

” pp . 164—174 .

2 Mr. Rhys Dav i ds in “Encyc lopaed iaBr itann ica, art ic le

B uddh ism.

OR,B UDDH GA YA AND B UDDH I S M. 2 25

Aryas in t h e i r new home had ponde re d and d isput edt i l l t h ey had ph i losoph iz ed away all t hat makes l i feb eaut i fu l

,enj oyab l e , glor ious ; l eaving on ly aresi du e

of m ise ry and deat h as t h e undesi rab l e h e ri tage of

unhappy man . Whence t h is pessim ism ? Sure ly

th e end l ess monotonous p lains, t h e b razen sky of

summer, t h e soppy ground and st eamy heat of t h e

rains, t h e malaria- laden atmosphere of autumn ,

rede emed on ly by th e b ri efest of mi l d wint e rs,is

suffic i en t to accoun t , in agood measu re , for t h efe e l ing . Where eve ryth ing grows u p rapi d ly and asrap i d ly decays, where men and women wh o reckonnot many years of l i fe have al ready , in t h e re laxingc l imat e of East e rn Ind ia, passed th e i r p rim e , haveal ready out l i ve d passions and ambit ions, th e d esi refor rest and ret i rem en t comes early . T o l ive aqu ie t inact i ve l i fe in ashady grove , honou re d ofmen ,

and with l i t t l e i f anyth ing to d o ,se ems

,unde r th e

c i rcumstances, to be th e most d esi rab l e ex ist ence possib l e , when once th e too shor t days ofyou thand vigou rare gon e . A l l exc i t emen t

,even int e l l ec t ual exc i t e

m ent,becomes d istast e fu l . Qu i e t con t emp lat ion and

myst ic reveri e are alon e to l e rab l e . “ There is,

says t h e Dhammapada, no happ iness h igh e r thanrest . But th e c l imat e

,unfavou rab l e though i t b e ,

does not accoun t forall. Those o th e r and impo rtan t factors

,th e l eaden weigh t of d espot i sm, r ig i d

cast e d ist inct ions, avegetarian d i e t , and t h e c ir

cumscribed , unevent fu l l i fe , mustalso have p roduce dt h e i r fu l l effect . The p revai l ing p essimism ofwh ich

I wri t e gives u s t h e key to Buddh ism, wh ich is“to

be regarded as pessim ism pu re and simp l e , and1 Professor Max M u l ler’s “

D hammapada, verse 202 .

226 THE M OS T SA CRE D SPOT ON EARTH ;

as t h e d i re c t p rogen i t o r of th e mode rn Germansyst ems.

N o twi t hstand ing th e re l igi ous act iv i ty of ah eret ical charact e r in B ehar du ring th e t im e of

Buddha, t h ere is agood deal of ev id enc e to showthat t h e B rahmans, far from be ing t reat e das enem i esin t h e early B uddh ist ic l i t e rat u re , were alwaysmentioned wit h th e great est resp ect ;and as for cast e , i tdo es not appear t hat t h e B uddh ists, in t h e i r day of

power , eve r at tempte d to abo l ish i t . Cast e ex istsw i t h Buddh ism in Cey lon ,

and indeed i t is doubtfu lwheth e r i t was not int roduced in to the island by th eB uddh ists t h emse lves ?

There was,as we shal l p resen t ly se e

,no p lac e in

t h e syst em estab l ish e d by B uddhafor any act iveopposi t ion to cast e , any open host i l i ty to Brahman ism , or any revo l t against d esp ot ism . There

was no spec ial t hought of t h e r igh ts ofman, or of

t h e b ro th e rhood of men and nat ions. The obj ect of

Buddh ism was to escapefromt h e soc ial and po l i t icalworl d— not t o imp rove i t . D e l i veranc e from sufferingand d eat h— t hat was t h e keyno t e of Buddh ism

that was all i t aim e d at.

“ As t h e vast ocean ,O

d isc i p l es, is impregnat e d wi th one tast e , t h e tast e ofsal t , so also , my d isc i p l es, t h is Lawand D o ct r ine isimp regnat e d wit h one tast e

,t h e tast e of d e l i ve r

ance .

Buddhawas n e i th e r asoc ial nor ap o l i t ical reformer ! He professe d on ly t o po int ou t t h e m eansI Su l ly

’s Pessirn isrn

,p . 3 8 .

3arth ’s

“Re l i g ions of I nd ia

,p . 125.

Cullavaggaix . 1 , 4 , quoted in D r. O ld enb urgh’

s“ Buddha,

p . 205.

2 28 TH E [ MOS T SA CRED SPO T ON EARTH ;

‘Greeks. P lato (429—34 7 as eve ry one knows,indu lged in fanc i fu l sp ecu lat ions abou t t h e h umansou l , argu ing for its p re -ex ist ence on t h e basis of t h e

cu r ious doct rine of remin iscenc e . He also be l i eve din th e immortal i ty of t h e sou l , and h e ld that itst ransmigrat ion int o succ essiv e bod i es took p lace forits pun ishmen t or its p u rifi cat ion ? And i t isaveryremarkab l e fac t in t h e h istory of human op in ions

t hat t h e re have be en sects (e.g. t h e fo l l owers of Carp ocrates) who have b e l i eve d that su cc essi v e re-b i rths

were n ecessary in o rd e r t hat sou ls shou l d passth rough eve ry form ofac t ion usual ly reput e d sinfu l ,in o rde r to com p l e t e t h e i r d efianc e of t h e powe rs

wh i ch ru l e t h e wor ld . When 'and h ow th e d oct rine o riginat e d in Ind iais not known . I t has atany rat e b een an art ic l e of fai t h t h e re for at l easttwenty-five cen t u ri es. I f not d e rive d d i rec t ly from

Egypt or t h e ind igenous pop u lat i onsamongst whomth e Aryas set t l ed

,i t se ems p robab l e t hat t h e in t ense

d e ep-root ed pan th e ism of t h e B rahmans may havesuggest e d t h e i dea,asan infe renc e from th e b e l i ef int h e un i ty of all l i fe

,human or oth e r , and t h e inde

structib ility of l i fe as such . Th e e th ical j ust ificat ionof t h is doct r ine is t h eapparent inj ust ice of t h e d istribution of r i ch esand pove rty

,of happ inessand m ise ry

in t h is p resen t l i fe . The su ffe r ings of t h e v i rt uous

b ecome int e l l igib l e i f t h ey are t h e pun ishmen t ihflicted for ev i l done in ap rev ious ex i s t ence ; so also

I Meno,pp . 260- 27 3 Phaedo

,pp . 4 18 , 429 , 430, 463 Phae

drus, pp . 582 , 583 , of Pro fessor jowett’

s translat ion of th e D ralogues, vol . i. , 187 1 .

2 D ean Mansel’s "T h e Gnost ic H eresies of th e F irstandSecond Centuries (London john Murray,

OR,B UDDH GA YA AND B UDDH I S J I . 2 29

th e t ri um ph and happ iness of t h e wicke d are reconc ilab le wi th th e sense of abst rac t j ust ic e , i f th e l i feof t h e p resent t im e is on ly one phase ofase ri es of

su ccessive ex ist ences. That in t h e Op in ion of t h e

O ri ental worl d th e doct rine of metempsychosis cou l d

affo rd conso lat ion and t each fort i t ud e in t roub l e , wemay judge from the story of Queen Samavati, who ,

when he r palace was on fi re and all hope of escap ecu t off

,exho rt e d h e rat t endants to bear in mind that

“in t h e count l ess ex ist ences t hat have had no begin

n ing i t wou l d b e im possi b l e to reckon th e numbe r oft im es t hat t h ey had p er ish ed by fi re .

Whereve r t h e doct rin e may have come from , or

h oweve r i t may have o ri ginat ed,its early accep t

ance in Ind iais c e rtain , and equal ly ce rtain t hatwh i l e accept ing i t as t h e decre e ofaFat e sup erior toall gods, t h e Ind ian ,

in asort of despai r , cast abou tfor some means of escape from its p i t i l ess round of

format ion and d isso l ut i on . Life,in t h e Op in ion of

t h e Ind ian sage,b e ing not wort h l iv ing , t h e i d eaof

an end l ess succession of l i veswas simp lv into l e rab l e ,and t h e obj ect of ev e ry re l igious t eache r was to show

away ou t of th is gloomy vort ex of end l ess b i rthsandend l ess d eat hs ? Buddhaaccep t e d th e doct rin e of

t h e t ransmigrat ion of sou ls. He had h imse lf— l i keeve ry one e lse— passe d th rough along seri es of p re

vious exist ences, and we are in possession of abigsto ry -book contain ing accoun ts of h is p rev ious l i ves,asto ry-book so anc i en t t hat i t is be l i eved to be th e

1 Captai n Rogers’ translat i on ofBud d hagh osha’s “ Parab lesp . 56 .

2 “ Re l i g ious T h ough t and e e in I nd ia, by Sir M on ierp . 4 1.

2 30 TH E [MOS T SA CRED SPO T ON EARTH ;

o l d e st co l l ect i on of fo l k -tal es in t h e worl d . O l dt hough i t b e

,i t has not ye t lost its charm for t h e

simp l e ch i ldren of th e East , wh o , in t h e love ly palmgroves of Cey lon and e lsewh e re , st i l l l ist en to its

rec i tal wi th wonde r and de l ight .I n respect to t h e Buddh ist doct r in e of Metempsy

ch osis,we are warne d by comp et en t invest igators

t hat,accord ingto Buddha

s t each ing , i t is not oneandt h e same sou l wh ich inhab i ts in su ccession ase ri e sof d iffe rent forms ; b u t t hat , by th e ope rat ion of ap rimord eal, inexorab l e , and , no doubt , inexp l icab l elaw,

t h e act ion of one sent i ent b e ing gives rise‘at

its d isso l u t ion to t h e b i rt h ofanoth e r sen t i en t b e ing ,whose stat e or cond i t ion is good or bad in acco rdance wit h t h e m eri ts or dem eri ts of t h e be ing or l ong

chain of sent i en t b e ings whom i t succe eds ? Like

t h e flame ofalamp,wh ich is not t h e same flame at

successi v e m omen ts,b u t is, as i t we re , be ing un in

I Karma, fromaB uddh ist po int of v iew,avo i ds th e superstitious extreme

,011 th e one hand

,of those wh o bel ieve in th e

separate ex istence of some ent ity cal led th e sou l ;and th e irrelrgious extreme , 011 the other

,o f those wh o d o not be l ieve in

moraljusticeand retribut ion . B uddh ismc laims to have lookedthrough th e word sou l for th e fact i t purports to cover and tohave found no fact atall

,but on ly one or oth er of twenty d i f

feren t delusi ons wh ich b l ind th e eyes ofmen . N everthe less,B uddh ismis conv inced that i faman reaps sorrow

,d isappo int

ment,pain , h e h imse l f,and no oth er

,mustat some t ime have

sown fo l ly, error, sin and i f not in th rs l i fe , then in some formerb irth . Where

,th en

,in th e latter case

,is th e i dent ity between

h imwh o sows and h imwh o reaps ? I n that wh ich alone re

mains whenaman d ies, and th e const ituent parts of th e sen

t i ent be ingare d isso lved ; in th e resu lt, name ly, o f h is act ion ,

speech ,and thought , in h is good or evrl Karma(lrterally h isdo ing ’

) wh ich d oes not d re” “ B uddh ism,

"by T . \V . Rhys

Davrd s, p . 103 .

23 2 TH E I II OS T SACRED SPOT ON EAR TH ;

in p rev i ous l i ves have be en men ,or an imals, or

plants, or may again in futu re l iv es pass t h roughl ike forms

,so i t is use l ess to look to t h em for assist

ance . True,th e gods enj oy avery much l onge r and

happ i e r ex ist ence t han men do , bu t th e wo r ld of th e

gods,l i ke t h e o t h e r worl ds, has its l im i t of d urat ion

and is reorgan i z ed at t h e end of each Kalpa.

Unde r su ch asyst em of b e l i ef t h e gods dwind l eaway into insignificance , and with t h e d egradt i on o f t h e old gods t h e i r p ri ests n ecessari ly sink

into t h e background . Indeed “ God and t h e Un i

verse t roub l e not t h e Buddh ist h e knows on ly one

qu est ion ,H ow shal l I in th is wor l d of suffe r ing be

del ive red from suffer ing ? I

The moral i ty of Buddhism is of t h e h igh est typ e .I t wi l l not b e de eme d rash , ” says t h e RomanCatho l ic B ishop Brgand et, “

to asse rt that m ost of

t h e moral t ru th s prescr ibed by t h e gosp e l are to b e

met wit h in t h e B uddh ist ic sc ri p tu res.

’ I t shou l d

b e born e in mind,howeve r , in t h is conne ct ion , t hat

Buddhasays co l d ly : Let no man love anyth ing ;l oss of t h e b e loved is ev i l . Those wh o love no th ingand hat e not h ing have no fet t e rs. From affect ion comes gri ef

,from affect ion comes fear ; h e who

is fre e from affec t i on knows n e i th e r gri ef nor fear , ” 2

wh ich may be wise counse l from Buddha’s po int of

vi ew, bu t is assu red ly se lfish, and d i ffe rs from that

o t h e r inj unct ion : Love t hy ne ighbou r as t hyse l f. ”

But l eaving comparisons asi d e,t h e ac c ep t e d B udd

h ist doct rine of m oral retrib ut i on must have had awho l esome effe c t upon t h e l i fe of t h e fo l lowe r of

1 D r. Old enb erg’

s“B udd ha

,p . 130.

2 Pro fessor Max M u l ler’s D hammapada,verses

on,B UDDH GA YA AND B UDDH I SM . 233

Gau tama, wh o is warned that not in t h e h eavens,

not in t h e m idst of th e sea,not i f t hou h idest t hy

se l f away in th e c l efts of t h e moun tains,wi l t t hou

find aplace on earth wh ere thou canst escape th efru i t of t hy ev i l actions.

” I On t h e o th e r hand ,good ac t ions as ce rtain ly brough t th e i r reward in

t h e p resent or some futu re l i fe ; in th is or some

o th e r wo rl d . But even good ac t ions canno t re l i ev eaman from the necessi ty of re-b i rth

,t hough th ey

m ight h el p h im to t h e at tainmen t of that frame of

mind wh ich l eads to en l ight enmen t and event ualemanc ipat ion from bi rt h and d eath . Final andcomp le t e d e l ive rance cou l d b e at tained on ly t h rough

N irvana, wh ich (we here fo l low Mr . Rhys Davi ds)is asin l ess

,cal m state of mind ; p erfec t peace ,

goodness, and wisdom ; to be fo l lowed aft e r t h enat u ral d isso lut i on of th e body by “ utt e r death ,wit h no new l i fe to fo l low.

” Professo r Max Mu l l e r ,wh i l e adm it t ing that acco rd ing to th e B uddh ist

canon “ N i rvana, t h e h ighest aim,t h e su znnzunr

bonuzn of Buddh ism,is th e abso l u t e no t h ing ,

lieves t hat t h e popu lar v i ew of N i rvanarepresentst h e original t each ing of Buddha, and t hat acco rd ingto t h is popu lar V i ew N i rvanais “ t h e ent rance of t h esou l int o rest , asubdu ing ofall wishes and desi res,ind iffe rence to joy and pain , to good and evi l , anabso rp t ion of t h e sou l in i tse l f and afre edom fromth e c i rc l e of ex ist ences from b i rt h to deat h , andfrom deat h to anew b i rth .

” 2 But an ex ist encewi thou t wishes and desi res

,wi thou t joy and pain ,

I “ D hammapada, verse 127 .

I ntroduct ion to Captain Rogers translat i on of B uddhagh osha’s Parab les

” pp . x l .,xlv . T rub nerand Co .

, 1870.

234 TH E rlI OS T SA CRED SPOT ON EAR TH ;

wi thou t even ap refe rence for good or ev i l,i f not

ann i h i lat ion is ve ry n ear i t ind e ed . Professo r

O l d enbu rg , on h is part,t rys to show that B uddha

h imse l f pu rpose ly and de l ib e rat e ly evaded t h is imp o rtan t q u est ion .

What eve r may hav e b een t h e st e rn cre ed of theph i losoph e r , t h e rank and fi l e of Buddh ists d i d not

look forward to ann i h i lat ion , even as afinal stat e,

to b e reach ed by t h e sou l “ aft e r hav ing passe dt h rough t h e wor l ds of t h e gods and of t h e h igh est

sp i ri ts,” I and i t was p e rhaps rare ly i f eve r se riously

sought aft e r even by th e ph i losoph e r . The popu larm ind neve r d i d accep t t h e ph i losoph i cal negat ion ,

bu t imagine d for i tse l f p l easan t h eavens of enj oy

men t b eyond t h e dark val l ey . And t h e re were h e l ls,too ,

for t h e wicked . Some peop l e are born again ;ev i l -doe rs go to he l l , right eous peop l e go to h eavent hose wh o are fre e fromall wo rl d ly d esi res ent e rN i rvana.” 2 Vi rtu e and good works h e re wou l den tai l , as anatu ral consequ ence , happ iness andreward in t h e next ex ist ence : wickednessand wrongac t ions t h e re ve rse . Th is was enough , sure ly , fo rt h e o rd inary man . He was by no means unde rt h e n ecessi ty of se eking aft e r ann i h i lat ion , and i f i twas real ly—as t h e i r ph i losoph e rs perhaps h e l d— t h eh ighest at tainab l e good why,

l e t t hose wh o want e di t st r i ve for i t . The layman , at any rat e , had no

hop e of at tain ing N i rvanaand ann i h i lat ion as t h eresu l t of h is labou rsand condu ct in t h is l i fe . I t wasth e monkand t h e m onk al on e wh o , cut off from con

tac t wi th th e wor l d and its t em p tat ions, cou l d have

rofessor Max M u l ler’s “Essay on B uddh ist i c N ih i l ism.

I PProfessor Max Mu l ler’s D hammapada

” verse 126 .

23 6 THE M OS T SA CRED SPOT OIV EARTH ;

and bound to abstain from wi l l ingly taking the l i feof any creatu re , have passe d t h e rainy season in

qu i e t m ed i tat ion and so l i tary st udy,or p erhaps not

l ess frequ en t ly in quarre l l ing,ev i l -speaking , and

cu rsing,for we l earn from th e st o ry of Tissa-Thera

and o t h ers t hat t h e m onks were not above such

weaknesses ? From th is p lac e t h ey wou l d go dai ly ,almsbowl in hand

,to t h e n e ighbou ring v i l lages

b eg th e morse ls for th e i r dai ly m eal of rice , bread ,fish

,or even meat ;2 and h e re , in acco rdanc e wit h th e

ru l es of t h e orde r,t h ey wou l d punct ual ly m ee t twice

amonth , at n i gh t,for th e p e rfo rmance of t h e most

impo rtan t d uty of t h e pub l ic confessional . N uns,too, probab ly avai le d t h emse l ves of t h e sh e l t e r

affo rded by th e Veharaat Buddh Gaya, for womenwere adm itt e d in to t h e o rd e r , al though always re

gard ed as in subord inat ion to th e monks.

When t h e rainy season was ove r , t h e monks wou l dbegin t h e i r annual wande rings t hrough th e country ,carry ing wi th t h em th e doct r ines of t h e i r chu rch .

Doubt l e ss i t was th ese annual missi onary wanderings whi ch h e l p ed so much to spread th e re l igionof Buddhaamongst apeop l e wh o , weary of Brahman ical tyrannyand int e rfe rence , must have sigh ed

fo ral i t t l e fre edom of t hought and act ion .

The Buddh ism whi ch spread farand wi d eamongst

ascet i c orders wasalso open to men ofall castes,afact wh i ch

looks lrk eastand ing protestagainst th e prou d excl usi veness of

th e Brahman .

I Bud d hagh osha’s Parab les.

2 T h e use of meat as food does not appear to have b eenproh i b ited

,although th e monks themse lves were requ ired not

to k i l l any Irv ing th ing . B uddhah imsel f dred after aheartymeal of young pork .

ore, B UDDH GA YA AND B UDDH I SM . 2 37

t h e p eop l e cou l d not, howeve r , have b een t h e ph i losoph ical cre e d wh ich has as its h igh est aimN irvanaand ann ihilation , to b e at taine d on ly aft e r compl et e

e xt inc t ion ofall desi re fo r l i fe ,all p refe renc e for goodor evi l , r igh t or wrong . Such acre ed was nu

doub ted ly calcu lat e d t o p roduc e on ly anarrow ,

se lfish, and exce ed ingly l im i t ed sect . What t h e

Buddh ism was wh ich mad e its way to popu lari ty wemay gat h e r from such awork as Bud d haghosha’sParab l es, ” aco l lect i on of ve ry anc i en t stories

signed , it wou l d se em , t o i l l ust rat e h ow v i rt u e , andespec ial ly l ib eral i ty t o monks, is rewarded and howwickedness, bu t more part icu lar ly offences againstt h e monks

,is pun ish ed in succe ed ing ex ist enc es.

One gem t h e re is in t h is co l l e ct ion , t h e story of

Kisagotamiand he r dead ch i ld , in wh ich th e un ive rsality of deat h is tou ch ingly and beaut i fu l ly b rough thome to t h e understand ing of t h e b e reaved mot h e r.But apart from such l i t e rary int e rest as t h ey maypossess, t h ese so-cal led parab l es are almost all of

t hem extravagan t , stup id , and t i resome , fu l l of marve lsand pu er i l i t i es. For examp l e

,in t h e s e tal es t h e

monks flyabou t and t ransp o rt t hemse lves from p lacet o p lace in an incred i b ly short space of t im e . One

monk forb ids t h e sun to rise,and i t obeys anoth e r ,

to grat i fy awh im , p eop l es amonast e ry wi t h at housand phant om monks of h is own c reat ion

,and so 011 .

I d o not th ink that scho lars cal l ing these parab les th e parab les o fMah inda

,i f not of B uddhah imse l f

,and referring the ir

date to th e th ird century B . C .

,cou ld expose themse lvesat p re

sent to any formi dab le critrcism.

— Professor Max M u l ler’sI ntroduct ion to Captain Rogers’ translat ion of Bud d hagh osha’sParab les,” p . xv i i .

238 TH E [ MOS T SA CRED SPOT ON EARTH ;

What t h ese parabl es real ly d o in cu lcat e is l i b eral i tyand kindn ess to monks. Be l i b e ral to t h e monks

and you wi l l get an immed iat e and man i fo l d reward ,or p erhaps as soon as you d i e you wi l l b e re

-bornt h e son ofagreat k ing , or ot h e r importan t p e rsonage . D o ev i l , and esp ec ial ly b e n i ggard ly towardst h e monks, and you must exp ect poverty and wan tin you r nex t l i fe , or you may be cond emne d to bo i lfo r ages, l i ke agrain of ri ce

,in th e great h ellpot

prepare d for ev i l -doers. Such asyst em,l ead ing

inev i tab ly to t h e p ri d e , luxu ry , i gnorance , and cor

rup t ion of th e monks, containe d wi th in i tse l f th ese eds of its own d ecay, and i t is not su rp rising thatwh en i t d egene rat e d—as i t se ems to have done qu icklyenough in to d ev i l-worsh ip I and wit chcraft , t h e powerfu l he red i tary Brahman i cal p ri esthood were ab l e toext e rm inat e Buddh ism in I nd iadu ring th e e igh thand n in t h c ent u ri es of our era. O f t h e h istorv of

th is per iod we know no th ing . H i st o ry was, formany reasons, n eve r cu l t ivat e d in Ind ia; but i f D r .Mit rais r igh t , we have , alas inst ead of th e h isto ryof t h e st i rr ing events ofam o st impo rtan t p eriod

, amonst rous and absu rd al l ego ryabou t agian t someh undreds of mi l es h igh .

I f t h e forego ing accoun t of early Buddh ism be afai r ly correct one , t h e reade r may wel l ask whythere is any t emp l e at all at Buddh Gaya. I f t h e

gods cannot h e lp men ,t o whom has t h e t empl e b een

e rect ed ? Let u s exp lore th e fane i tse l f for ananswe r . Ent e ring th e cellaby t h e east e rn and on l y

I In B ud d hagh osha’

s parab les we are to ld that “all wh omake o fferings to th e guard ian-Nats of trees wi l l b e rewardedParab les

” p .

240 THE [ MOS T SA CRED SPO T ON EAR TH ;

act ual ly taught , some fou rand twenty c entu ri esago ,

must eve r remain doubtfu l mat t e rs, and doubtfu l toowi l l always b e t h e vexed quest ion of t h e ext en t to

wh ich Ch rist ian i ty has been influence d by Buddh ism

and Buddh i sm by Chri s t ian i ty . I n t h e absence of

any re l iab l e ch rono logy to h el p u s, and wi th amassof l egendsat our d isposal inst ead of h isto ry

,we shal l

n eve r b eab l e t o know , with any degre e ofaccu racy ,at what part icu lar t im e sp ec ial inst i t u t i ons

,c e re

mon ials, or c re e ds came into ex ist ence in t h e East ;

we shal l n eve r have any reasonab l e confidence in t h e

dat esassign ed , by th is or t hat scho lar, to t h e anc i ent

works on wh ich we must fal l back for our fac tsabou tt h e East e rn wo r l d ; nor probab ly wi l l scho lars eve rb e ab l e to t e l l u s to what exten t t h ese works haveunde rgone al t e rat ion and modificat ion in comparatively mode rn t imes. Unde r such c i rcumstances

t h e in t e rest ing cont rove rsy as to wheth e r t h e u n

doubt e d resemb lances between t h e Buddh ist andChrist ian monast ic syst ems are du e to t h e influence

of Buddh ism on Christ ian i ty , or t h e reve rse , wi l lp robab ly remain unfru i t fu l in its resu l ts. O f t h is,however

,we can assu re ou rse lves, t hat p rim it i ve

Buddh ism was someth ing d iffe ren t from , someth ing

sup e r ior to,mode rn Buddh ism , of wh ich , as migh t

have b een expect e d,t h e reare many ex ist ing var i et i es.

Even t h e stay -at-home Engl ishman has becomefam i l iar wi th th e B uddh ist i do ls in t h e muse ums,and t h e i r so

-cal l e d p raye r-whee ls, ho l low cyl inde rs

c on tain ing wri t ten p raye rs, wh i ch , set revo l v ing bywat e r powe r or o th e r m eans, grind ou t t h e p raye rsof ahouseho ld or av i l lage . H e wi l l even find

t h e nat ional co l l e c t ions, t h e h i d eous masks use d in

OR,B UDDH GA YA AND B UDDH I S/lI . 24 1

Ceylon I and e lsewh e re by mode rn Buddh ists in t h e i rd ev i l -wo rshi p ;and h e can see su p pose d sac red re l icsof Buddhah imse l f in th e B ri t ish Museum ? The

wo rshi p of re l ics early obtaine d favou r in t h e Buddh ist Chu rch , and has not lost its fe rvou r

,i f I may

j udge from what I saw in 1874 , when I had t h e goodfort une to wi tness t h e p rocession of e l ephan ts carrying, by to rch l igh t , t h e supp osed toot h of Buddhat h rough t h e st re e ts of t h e beaut i fu l mountain townof Kandy

,in Ceylon

,with th e usual accom pan im en t

of d rums and o th e r equal ly no isy inst ruments of

music . \Vi th respec t to t h ese wo rsh ippers of t h e

tooth re l ic , arecen t wri t e r says I n p ract i ce th eCeylon Buddh ist

,among th e masses

,is bot h b ett e r

and worse t han h is cre ed . Bett e r,b ecause inst ead of

ad istan t N i rvana, orase ri es of b i rt hs,h e has before

h im th e next b i rt h on ly,wh ich h e th inks wi l l b e in

h eaven i f h e is good,and in he l l i f h e is bad ; because

h e cal ls on God in t imes of d ist ress,and has asort

of fai th in t h e One C reato r , whom h is p ri e sts wou l dt each h imto deny . Wo rse

,b ecause h is real refuge is

n e i t he r Buddha,nor h is books, nor h is o rd e r

d ev i ls and devi l -p ri ests,and charms and ast ro logy ,

and eve ry form of grove l l ing supe rst i t ion .3

Preparing to l eav e t h e t emp l e about wh ich I haveb e en wri t ing

,I wi tnesse d ascene wh ich showed m e

h ow compl et e ly H indu ism had app rop r iat ed to itsown u se t h is ho ly p lace of t h e Bud dh ists, and howfut i l e had been t h e t each ing of Buddhato l i ft fromoff t h e shou l de rs of h is coun t rymen t h e b u rden of

I B rrtish M useum,case 19

—26 .

2 I b i d .

,case 155.

3 Art ic le on Buddh ismb y th e B ishop of Co lombo in N ine

teenth Century for ju ly, 1888

2 42 TH E M OS T SA CRE D SPO T ON EARTH .

t h e B rahman i cal r i t ual . N ear t h e old t em p l e two

men were p e rfo rm ing th e c e remony of t h e shraad .

Th ey had come from long d istances, and were bo the l de rly men . A boy Brahman offi c iat e d . These

t h re e sat down on t h e ground toge th e r ; t h e b oyrep eat e d th e p resc r ibe d fo rmu lar i es, and from t im et o t im e took l um ps of wheat -flour mixed wi th wat e rfrom ab rass p lat e and p lac ed t h em on t h e ground

b efo re h im . The two men rep eat e d th e wo rd s of t h e

B rahman you th , and p u t l i t t l e pats of flou r on t h e

ground as h e d id , and t h e i rancesto rs had gained onemore st e p t owards t h e at tainment of happ in ess.

A last look at t h e old t em p l e wi t h its new fac e ,and t h en homewards. My pat h lay by t h e tombs of

t h e Mahants,wh o had approp riat e d to t h e i r own use

t h is sacre d spot at Buddh Gaya. I f t he B uddh ists

are r igh t , t hose d e funct Mahants must st i l l hav e b eenn ear m e

,t hough somewhat t ransfo rmed

,for Buddha

gh oshaassu res u s t hat “ whoeve r shal l take forh im se l f or for ano t h e r any consec rat e d land , shal lb ecom e amit e , or wh i t e ant, u pon t hat consec rat e dland for t h e who l e of ahundre d t housand cyc l es.

Perhaps I inadvert ent ly c rush ed th em unde r foot ,on ly to be re-born t h e re an d t h en .

I rV TROD UCTOR Y NOTE .

I N awork pub l ished afew years ago , Mr . TalboysWhee l e r wro te

As amatter o f fact,p lots and intri gues of one sort or

anotherare th e dai ly l i fe of th e nat i ves of I nd ia. T here aremore p lots and intri gues in asing le estab lrshment of nat i veservants than mahundred Engl ish ho useho lds. An Engl ishman in Ind ia,wh o chooses to study th e character of h is servants

wi l l knowmore in afew months o f nat i ve thoughts and waysthan h e can learn in books fromth e study ofalrfetrme .

No one who knows anyth ing abou t t h e mat t e rwi l l hesi tat e to endorse th is op in ion

,with th e very

n ecessary caut i on ,however

,t hat al t hough nat ive

se rvan ts in t h e househo l ds of E u ropeans in Ind iapossess, to t h e ftrll exten t , t h e gene ral characteristics of t h e i r fe l l ow-count rym en

,t h ey fo rm , aft e r

all,avery smal l c lass out of t h e vast popu lat ion of

t h e coun t ry regard ing whose d omest ic l i fe , wh e the rin t h e hu t of t h e p easan t or t h e z enanaof t h e

gen t l eman ,Eu rop eans in Ind iahave l i t t l e d i rect

knowl edge . At th e same t im e i t has to b e bOrne

1 N ote at page 6 28 ofMr. Talb oys \V heeler’s Short H istoryo f I ndra. Macmi l lan 81 Co .

,1880.

246 LVTROD UCT ORY NO TE .

in m ind that t h e nat i ve se rvan ts of Europ eans inInd iafo rm ac lass ve ry consi d e rab ly above th eaverage of t h e i r fe l low- coun t rymen in int e l l igence

and expe ri enc e of t h e worl d . S o that howeve rignoran t and sup erst i t i ous t h ey may app ear in t hesepages, t h e bu lk of th e Ind ian p eop l e— t h e agricu lt u ral popu lat i on— must b e p lac e d u pon adec i d e d lylowe r int e l l ect ual l eve l .The fo l lowing ske tch es of t h e domest ic l i fe of th e

lowe r ord e rs are , in eve ry case,based on fu l l not es

j o t t e d down at t h e t im e at wh i ch t h e events d escr ibedac t ual ly occu rred or t h e anecdot es were re lat e d tome , and , what e ve r t h e i r val u e , mayat l east c laim to

embody , as accu rat e l y as p ossib l e , th e facts wh ichcame unde r my ob se rvat i on .

W] T CH CRAF T , DEM ONTA CAL POSSE S S I ON,

brought home awi fe to che e r h is so l i tu d e andp repare h is rotee. The woman was in rags

, andfi l t hy rags too , wh en sh e came to l ive wi t h th e

ch owkeedar, bu t h e bough t h e r anew c lo t h as anupt ial p resen t on t h e day sh e j o ine d h im . Whenh e made h e r acquain tanc e— shal l I say fe l l in lovewit h h er -sh e was emp loyed in grind ing corn for

ami l l e r in t h e bazaar , wh o p rov i d ed h e r wi t h foodin ret urn for h e r labou r . F or mont hs

,pe rhaps for

years, sh e had labou red for h imat t h e m onotonous

drudge ry of grind ing corn in ahan d -mi l l . Frommorn ing t i l l even ing he r du ty had b een to maket h e u pp er revo l v e upon t h e n eth e r m i l l -stone wi t hone hand , wh i l e sh e fed th e ho pp e r w it h t h e o th e r ,b ut ye t sh e was in t h e m i l le r’s deb t to t h e e xten t offou r ru pe es. Leave h im sh e cou l d not unt i l. she hade i t h e r pai d or wo rked off t h e am oun t , wh ich lastwasan impossi b l e task , see ing that , acco rd ing to t h emi l l e r’s cal cu lat ion

,h e r ke ep was at best on ly j ust

covere d by t h e wo rk sh e d id . As t h e m i l l e r ’s c laimto t h e woman ’

s se rvi ces was not to b e d ispu t ed , th e

ch owkeedar bo rrowe d t h e mon ey n e ed ed to fre e h e r ,and

,having pai d it to t h e m i l l e r

,qu i e t ly march e d

h er off. B ut t h e match was an unfo rtunat e one .

The hal f-starve d woman ,as soon as sh e got t h e

opportun i ty ,began to make up for t h e scan ty m eals

sh e had so long been force d to l ive upon . Sh e

d evou red th e chowkeedar'

s prov isions in amanne rh e had not cal cu lat e d upon ,

so h e t o l d h e r to go

back to h e r o ld mast e r , from whom he wou l d

c laim arefund of t h e fou r rup ees h e had pai don h e r accoun t . The d iscard ed wi fe , now afre ewoman

,wen t h e r way,

b u t t h e ch owkeedar neve r

AND 0THER S UPERS TJ T JON S . 49

got back h is pu rchase m oney . The mat t e r,h ow

eve r,d i d not end t h e re . M ont hs wen t by

, andth e fri ends from whomt h e ch owkeedar had borrowedt h e mon ey wh ich h e pai d to th e m i l l e r want e d tobe se tt l e d wi t h . They (aman and h is wi fe) cameto th e ch owkeedar to demand payment . A dispu t earose

,ab usive language was fre e ly reso rte d to ; t h e

quarre l ended in afight,in which th e chowkeedar

came off v ictorious. The en raged and i l l -used cred i

to rs b eat ahasty re t reat , h eap ing d i re cu rses u pont h e d evot ed h ead of t h e ch owkeedar

,and t h reaten ing

t hat aday of reckon ing wou l d soon come . Two or

t h ree days aft e r th is fracas t h e v icto r was st ruck

down by arath e r sharp at tack of feve r . He comp laine d of seve re pain in t h e chest

,and dec lared

that wh en alone at n igh t dem ons u sed to come andr id e u pon h is breast . I t was p i t i fu l to see t h e poo rman ly ing upon asc rap of mat, without ap i l low for

h is h ead , and wi th on lyarag ofaqu i l t to cove r h im .

H is cab in con tained b u t afew earth en pots and one

b rass lotah for wat e r,and t h ese were all h is earth ly

p ossessions. O ccasional ly afe l low-se rvant wo u l dgive h im ad rop of wat e r , and p erhaps, once aday,

o ffe r to bake h im some b read . As h e lay tossing inh igh feve r on h is wretched mat

,h e cal l e d to mind

th e cu rses t hat had been hu r l ed at h imby h is two

baffled c red itors, and h e was convinc ed that h isi l lness was bu t t h e fu lfi lment of those cu rses. H e

was,in fac t , acco rd ing to h is own i d ea, possessed ,

and cou l d not p ossi b ly recove r un l ess t h e cu rses

were wi thd rawn . H e begged p i t eously that t h ec red i tors h e had so summar i l y got ri d of on ly afewdays befor e shou l d b e b rought to h im

, and when

250 WI T CH CRA F T,DEM ONIA CA L POS SE SS I ON;

t h ey came h e grove l l e d at t h e i r fe e t,b egging of t h em

to remove th e cu rses. At fi rst t h ey se emed rath e rsu rp rised

,p rofi t ing by t h e occasion ,

t h ey p ro

mised to d o so ,p rov i d ed h e pai d th em up in fu l l

t h e ve ry n ex t t ime h e rece i ved h is wages from me .

The chowkeedar read i ly consent ed . There up on th ewoman sat down besi d e h im ,

sp rinkle d al i t t l e wat e ron h im , made seve ral passes ove r h is p e rson in ade l ib erat e manne r wi t h asmal l b ranch of the necin

t re e , and wi thdrew th e cu rses t hat had be en p i l edu pon h is d evo t e d h ead . Re l i eve d in m ind by t h is

sim p l e c e rem ony of exorc ism,t h e si ck man began to

ral ly rap i d ly, and in afew days was restored to

h eal th and to h is round of n igh t ly duty .

One morn ing in june my coachman fe l l down in afi t not far from the door of t h e room in wh ic h I wasseat ed . I wen t out to see h im

,and found seve ral

nat i ves stand ing round t h e prost rat e figure , bu t ,wi th charac t e rist ic apat hy , simp ly looking on withou t

at t empt ing to rende r th e sl igh t est assistance . When

I suggest e d t hat th ey shou l d sp lash some wat erupon h is face , all of t h em obj ect e d on th e ground

that t h ey were not of t h e same cast e as t h e coachman , and t h e refore ought not to do i t . Amongst

t h e ou -looke rs was an o ld woman , who stat e d in ave ry posi t i ve t one that wat e r was by no meansn ecessary , t h e p rop e r remedy for t h e fi t b e ing mere l yto take th e man ’

s shoes off h is fe et and make h imsmel l t h em . Th is r emedy , al t hough cu rious, wasnot so revo l t ing as t hat recommended for t h e fal ling

-si ckness ”

in some old books of med ic ine , viz .,

an ounce o r two of t h e b rains ofavoung man

252 WI T CH CRAF T,DE MONTA CAL POSSE SS J OA ,

ing some spe l ls,squ eeze d ou t t h e j u i ce of th e fru i t

in to t h e we l l , accompanying th e act wi t h t h e exp ression of awi sh that t h e b lood of so and so (namingh er) m igh t pou r ou tas t h e j u i c e had j ust oozed ou t

of t h e l emon unde r t h e p ressure of t h e i r hands. .

The cu rse , of course , had its e ffect , and t h e u nfortu

nat e woman wasamise rab l e su ffe re r for he r v i rt uousconduc t . I t on ly remains to b e ad ded t hat th ehap l ess woman l earn t t h e d etai ls above given fromt h e wi fe of t h e man who ai d e d h e r enemy andqu ondarn love r in carry ing ou t t h e m isch i evous andwicked ri t es wh i ch cost h e r so dear .

Not on l y have th e powe rfu l spe l ls of t h e wicked

to b e d readed ; t h e d ead are not l e ss capab l e of

resen t ingany n egl ec t or affron t , and when offended

have to be du ly p rop i t iat e d hy gi ftsand offe r ings. A

se rvan t of mine at Lahore had be en absen t fromh is dut i es for some days on account of i l l -heal th .

Inqu i ring into h is cond i t ion and t h e t reatmen t h ehad been rece iving , I l earne d that h e had ,afew daysp rev iously , been p rost rat e d by an at tack of feve r .

On t h e second day of h is i l lness h e was, ap parent ly,

d e l i r ious, and in t hat stat e reveal e d th e fac t t hat h isfeve r was du e to h is hav ing pu l l e d down some

branche s from ababool t re e (A caciaA rabica) wh i chgrew ove r aSynd ’s grave j ust ou tsi d emy compound .

I t wasamise rab l e d i lap i dat e d st ru ct u re th is Synd’

grave,bu t th e d ead occupan t was non e th e l ess

j ealous of its honou r . Accord ing to t h e sick man t h eSyu d had taken possession of h im

,and waswreak ing

h is vengeanc e u pon h im for having dare d to d is

honou r h is sh rine . Someth ing had to b e done to

AND O THER S UPE RS T I T I OA’

S . 253

ap p ease th e irate sain t , and so t h e inval i d ’s affl ic t edwi fe cause d amussuh ( l eath e r bag) of wat e r to bepou red over t h e Synd ’s grave , ap parent ly to coo l h is

t em p e r . At th e same t ime afe l low -se rvan t , ski l l e din such mat t e rs

,adm in ist e redacharmed c love to t h e

pat i en t in o rd e r to break th e sp e l l wh ich had beencast u pon h im by th e ind ignan t Syud . But th e

inval i d , inst ead of improving, b ecame wo rse , and inh is de l i ri um th e sp i r i t of t h e Syud , which had now

taken fu l l p ossession of h im,kep t u t te ring through

th e mouth of t h e feve r-st ri cken man such cont em pt uons remarks as t h ese -

“ Oh , indeed ! you hav eeat en acharmed c love , have you I wi l l give you astomach fu l l of charmed c loves !The unsu cc essfu l exo rc ist was cal l e d in to t ry

ano t he r spe l l,bu t as, aft e r t h e c love ep isode

,t h e

e ffi cacy of h is sp e l ls ap p eare d somewhat doubtfu l,

t h e p recau t ion was also taken of endeavouring to

pac i fy t h e Syu d with gifts. He was p romise d acheragh , or l igh t , upon h is tomb , forace rtain numbe r

of successi ve Thu rsday even ings, wi t h an offe ring of

sweetmeats in add i t ion , i f h e wou ld bu t forgi ve t h e

offende r . St i l l t h e inval i d d i d not mend,and h is

wife was making up h e r m ind to p romise t h e Syud amo re worthy p eace-offe ring (acock or ak id ) i f h ewou l d on ly restore h e r h usband to h eal th , when Ib ecame acquain t e d wi t h th e part icu lars of t h e case ,and recommended h e r to postpon e h e r vow ofacost lyo ffe ring t i l l sh e had fi rst t r i e d th e effects of su l phat eof qu in ine . I gave h e r some of t h e d rug wi t h d i rcet i ons h ow to use i t . She fo l lowed my inst ru ct ions,and , to h e r great sat isfact ion , found that t h e b i t t e rwh i t e p owde r had t h e powe r e i the r of exp e l l ing th e

254 DEM ON IA CAL POS SE S S J ON ,

sp i ri t o r of appeasing i t , for h e r h usband qu ick lyral l i e d , and was ab l e to resum e wo rk aft e r afewdays. I have reason to b e l i eve , howeve r , t hat , aft e rall, t h e recove ry was at t ri bu t e d more t o t h e spe l ls

t hat had been em p loyed and to t h e p romises madeto t h e sain t t han to t h e drug I had adm in ist e red .

Anot h e r int e rest ing case came unde r my not ice atLahore . A se rvan t , apunkah -pu l l e r of t h e meh t e r

cast e , was repo rted dying in an out -office in my compound . The man had been at work on lyafew hou rsb efore . I wen t down to see h im

, and found h imst re tche d out on alow cot wi t h h is eyes shu t . H is

weeping wifeand son were endeavou ring t o rouse h im ,

b ut h e cou l d not or wou l d not move , or give any sign

of consc iousness. A dose of b randy and wat e r , p u tinto h is month by spoonfu ls

,fo l lowed aft e r al i t t l e

wh i l e by ast rong cup of tea, b rough t h im round .

On qu est ion ing h im as to t h e nat u re and cau ses of

h is i l ln ess,h e asse rt e d thataSyud took p ossession

of h im eve ry nowan d t h en,and was pe rsecu t ing h im

on account of t h e non -fu lfilment of ce rtain vows. I t

ap peared t hat t h re e or fou r mont hs p reviously h iswi fe was ve ry i l l , and wh i l e si t t ing b esi d e h e r , withsome m embers of t h e fami ly and afew v isi to rs

,t h e

sp i ri t of t h e Syud took possession of h im . He beganto be v io l en t ly agi tat ed , and t h en spoke , not in h is

own pe rson ,bu t in t hat o f t h e sp i r i t t hat p ossesse d

h im. He tal ke d abou t many t h ings,and in h is

d iscou rse p red ict ed that t h e sick woman,h is wife ,

wou l d d i e w i th in aweek . Th is pred ict ion u tt e red in

h e r h ear ing so alarmed h e r t hat sh e begge d p i t eouslyfor l i fe , promising, i f sh e were spared , to offe r five

256 l/VI T CH CRAF T,DE rlI OIVIA CAL POS SE SS I ON

ing day t h e dhoby was taken i l l , and h is wo rk gotin to arrears. I wan t ed to know what was t h emat t e r w i t h t h e man

,and found o ut t hat h is i l lness

was du e so l e ly to h is hav ing n egl ec t e d t o give t h e

customary fun e ral feast in memory of h is decease dwife , wh o had d i e d in h e r nat i v e v i l lage some m on t hsp rev iousl y . The snake wh ich had v isi t e d th e ser

van ts’ quart e rs was none o th e r t han t h e lat e wi feh e rse l f,and had come to wreak h ervengeance on t h e

woman , who ,i t wou l d appear

,had stood ve ry mu ch

in t h e way of t h e fun e ral feast, and was, mo reove r ,

r esponsi b l e for t h e n egl ec t wh i ch th e d ecease d hadexp eri enced du ring h e r l i fet ime . Somehow , and forunknown reasons

,t h e Fat es had p rot ect e d t h e offend

ing sist e r-in-law,bu t t h e n egl ect fu l h usband was

suffering th e pun ishmen t of h is sins of omission andcomm ission

, and i t was qu i t e c l ear t hat i t wou l d gohard wi t h h im i f h e d i d not v ery soon make amendsfor h is past m i scondu ct . The fi rst t h ing to b e don e

was to rescu e th e suffe re r from the v ind ict i ve c l u tchesof t h e spi r i t of t h e d epart e d wife . An exo rc ist wascal l e d in

,and imm ed iat e ly commence d op e rat ions.

I n t h e open air, b esi d e t h e b ed of t h e sick man,h e

p lace d al igh t e d cheragh , or lam p , and j ust b efore i t ,d rew on t h e ground asmal l c i rc l e abou t t h re e inch esacross

,wi th two d iamet ers at righ t angl es to each

o th e r . He pu t acoup l e of c lovesat one end of eachd iamet e r . O utsi d e t h e c i rc l e h e lai d afew m orec loves and also t h re e smal l packets, one con tain ingfl owers

, ano t h e r cam phor , and t h e t h i rd incense .

Stand ing up , with h is face t u rned t o t h e fu l l m oon,

wh ich was j ust r ising , t h e exo rc ist rubbed an Op enp enkn i fe b etween h is handsand kept u t t e r ing some

AND OTH ER S UPE RS T I T I ON S . 257

t h ing wh ich was meant fo r magi cal wo rds or incantatory phrases. He then app l i ed t h e b lad e to h i sforeh ead and sat down ,

st i l l mut t e ring to h imse l f in

al ow tone . He nex t passe d th e c loves round andove r th e flame of t h e lamp . Aft e r wh ich h e gash edh is own armwith t h e p enkn i fe , and co l l e ct ing th eb lood on th e b lad e , wet th e c loves with i t . N ext h etook all th e c l oves in h is r igh t han d and , c losing h i sfi st

,passed i t , h eav i ly and slowly

,ove r t h e sick man

beginn ing from al i t t l e above t h e kne e and go inggradual ly up t o and round t h e h ead , as i f d rawing orgath e ring someth ing up towards th e top of th e h ead .

Wh eneve r t h e inval i d groaned , and h e d i d so p re tty

oft en,part ly from exc i t ement and part ly , no doubt ,

from th e pain exper i ence d und er th e rough t reatmentof h is physi c ian

,t h e lat t e r exp ressed h is sat isfact ion,

and s e emed to coax th e sp i ri t t o come out. Somet imes t h e sp i ri t which had taken possession of t h e

si ck man wou ld , as i t we re , st ruggl e unde r t h e graspof t h e exorc ist , and se em as i f abou t t o sl i p awayfrom h im . At t h is h is i re wou ld b e roused

, and ,apparent ly much exc i t ed , h e wou l d add ress the

enemy in no comp l im entary t e rms, wh i l e h e h imse l fgroaned and puffe d as i f in aseve re and exhaust ingconfl ict . At l ength th e spi ri t was safe ly conduct e d

to th e c rown of th e inval i d ’s h ead ,and was t h en suc

cessfully d rawn out of h im .

Afte r t h e com p l e t ion of t h is sat isfacto ry ope rat i on,

th e exorc ist offe re d th e c loves to t h e bystande rs,bu t t h ey p rudent ly dec l ine d th e p roffe red gifts

obj ect ing to b e mad e th e rec i p i ents of t h e sick man ’

cast-out spi ri t . Afte r some wrangl ing , the exorc istd et ermine d t o retain t h e c loves h imse l f, and con

258 WI T CH CRAF T , DEM ONIA CAL POS SES S I OIV,

elud ed t h e c e remony by burn ing some camp ho r int h e flame of t h e lamp .

Th e personal appearanc e of th e exo rc ist wasanyth ing bu t prepo ssessing . H e looked from th e verycommenc ement of h is p roce ed ings wi ld and exc i t ed ,b u t du ring h is st rugg l es wi th t h e refracto ry sp i ri t h e

was like amadman .

The reade r fami l iar w i th th e cust om s of savages,

as descr ib e d by t rave l l e rs, and r ep rod uc e d in mostmodern works on t h e p rim i t iv e cond i t i on ofman ,

wi l l at onc e re c ogn i z e in ou r exo rc ist t h e med icine7nan of savage coun t ri es

,of t h e w i l ds of Sou t h

America, t h e islands of t h e Pac ifi c O cean , of Au s

traliaand Africa; b u t h e se ems p e cu l iar ly ou t of

plac e in Ind ia, in contac t wi t h Eng l ish c iv i l izat i on ,

and in t h e broad l igh t of t h e n ine t e en t h cen t u ry .

H oweve r, in Ind iah e is, and , I doub t not, wi l l longcont inu e t h e re

,shar ing wi th nat iv e and Europ ean

d rugs,t h e c red i t of d riv ing away d isease and of

rest oring th e si ck to h eal t h and st rength .

Not on l y is exo rc ism common ly p ract ise d fo r th ecu re of th e sick ; bu t also for t h e re l i e f o f su ffe re rsfrom th e effec ts of snake b i t es

,t h e b i t es of dogs or

t h e st ings of v enomous insectsand o th e ran imals.

A femal e servant at t ract e d my at tent ion one n i gh t,

by h e r lou d c ri es. She had be en stung on t h e foot

by someth ing in t h e dark—ascorp ion sh e sai d—andwasapparent ly in great pain . Her fi rst t hought wasto obtain t h e assistance ofaman who happene d tobe l iv ing in my compound

, and was wel l-ski l l e d inafford ing re l i e f in such case s . My aid not b e ing

requ i red , I d i d not int e rfe re . The man whoseservices were in requ est came as sooon as h e was

260 l/VI TCH CRAF T,DEM ON IA CA L POS SE S SI ON,

ence of magi cal r i t es ; bu t must ob ey the b eh est s ofth e powerfu l magi c ian .

Synds,be ing l ineal d e s c endan ts of th e great

Proph et of Arab ia, have , as we have al ready se en ,

sp ec ial influence on t h e fat e ofmen , b ut t h ey by no

means enj oyamonopo ly of powe r for good or evi l

ove r t h e l i v ing . The d isembod i ed sp i ri t ofanymanor woman may b ecom e t roub l esome or dangerous.

A decease d wi fe is part icu lar ly to b e d readed by h e rsuccessor .

A femal e s ervant al l ud ing t o th e d eath of aman ’s

th i rd wife , remarked to me that such th ings alwaysoccu rred amongst t h e wretch ed Muhammadans,bu t t hat p eop l e of he r cast e avo i d ed dangers of

t hat sort . Sh e exp laine d t hat t h e d eath of t h e

second and sub sequ en t wives was usual ly cause dby t h e sp i ri t of t h e fi rst wi fe , whose j ealous sp it e

b rough t th em to an un t im e ly end . To avert dange rfrom th is quarte r th e sp i ri t of t h e d eceased wife hadto b e p rop i t iat ed

, and i t was customaryamongst h e rpeop l e t o do i t in t h is wise . Th e l i keness of awoman done in s i lve r (known asathuppa) was wornasalocke t by t h e s econd wi fe . Th is image rep re

sen t e d th e fi rst wi fe, and had t o b e constant ly p ro

p itiated . At eve ry meal t h e second wife offe re d ap inch of food to t h e “

thup pa” before sh e h e rse l f

b egan to eat, and when sh e wasabou t t o p ut on new

c lo th es or o rnaments t h e second wife fi rst o ffe red

th em in due fo rm to th e “th up pa.

” Appeased andgrat ifi ed by th ese at t ent ions, t h e sp i ri t of t h e fi rst

w ife waswon ove r t o spare h e r su cc essor .

There appears t o b e akind of possession known

AND O THE R S UPERS TI T I OYVS . 26 1

amongst t h e Muhammadans in Ind ia. T h e symptoms are t h ese . Some man , u sual ly one of b lamel ess l i fe and st ric t hab i ts, rs se l ect e d by ad eparte dP i r or Syud as t h e veh ic l e for conveying h is

wishes to t h e l iv ing . The ent ry of t h e sain t ’sspi ri t into th e body of h is chosen vesse l i s ae companied with v io l en t convu lsions. Theman posse ssedof t h e sp i ri t is th rown int o astat e of uncont ro l lab l eagitat i on . He foams at t h e mouth

, and usual lytosses h is h ead from si d e to s id e

,or up and down ,

afrant ic manne r . At l ength h e speaks, asse rt ingenerget ical ly that h e is some P i r or ot he r , anddemand ing that ace rtain o ffe ring shal l b e made ath isgrave , which seems to b e all th e P i r caresabout .The awe-st r icken bystanders p romise eve ryth ing

requ i red,and th e sp i ri t d eparts, l eaving h is med ium

in astat e of much p hysicial p rost rat i on . I havehad pe rsonal knowl edge of seve ral cases of t h is

k ind .

The 24ih of N ovember , 1886 , be ing aMuhammadan fest ival , I pai d avi si t t o t h e shrin e of DadaGunge Baksh at Lahore . I found alarge concou rseof peop l e seat e d near th e out e r wal l o f th e sh rinein th e open air. Thre e musi c ians, two p layingon st ringed inst ruments and one on ad rum ,

singing away lust i lyahymn in praise of t h e sain t .Several greybeards sat in asort of so l emn abst raet ion c lose to t h e wal l

,whi l e amidd le-age d man ,

d ressed in green,with ast ring of beads round h is

neck, occup iedap rominent posi t ion al i t t l e in front

of t h e e lders . The congregat i onand on looke rs, consist ing of two or t h re e h und red pe rsons, sat hudd l edtogeth e r on d urries or carpe ts in t h e foreground . As

262 WI T CH CRAF T,DE J I ON IA CAL POS SE SS I ON,

t h e mu sic went on wi th apecu l iar sor t of th rob , oneh ere and ano th e r t h e re from th e midst of t h e con

gregation seemed convu lsed ,as i f by gal van ic shocks.

Present ly t h e i r movements b e came m ore ene rge t icand v io l ent . I n one case aman t h rew h imse l f forward

,rest ing, in ac rouch ing posi t ion , on h is hands

and kn ees. H e swayed h is h ead inafrant ic mann e rfrom si d e to si d e , and i t wasamarve l to me how itescap ed co l l i s i on with t h e ground . But escape itd id . Exhaust e d at l ength by t h e wi l d ene rgy of h ismovements

,th e man fe l l in afi t u pon t h e ground .

One of h is compan ions now came forward and beganto shampoo h is l imbs

,in o rd e r

,I p resume , t o calm

th e exc i t ement of h is ove rwrought n erves. Anothe r

man, aft er t h e usual p remon i t o ry convu lsions,

wri th e d on t h e ground in wi l d cont ort ions. Two

men rush ed forward,apparent ly t o p revent h im from

hu rt ing h imse l f, and ho ld ing h im up by th e waist ,al lowed h im to fl ing h imse l f backwardsand fo rwardsin t h e wi l d est manne r possi b l e . Seve ral oth e r menbecame exc i t e d and convu lsed und e r t h e influence o fth e Pi r , b u t all th e cases of possessi on I no t ice d

cou l d b e referre d to one or o t h e r o f t h e typ es I havej ust d escribed . N on e of t h e convulsionnaires u tt e redasingl e word t h roughou t t h e p rocee d ings. On ap revious occasion I visited one of t h e favou ri t e p lacesfor th e exh ib i t i on of su ch man i festat ions. On

reach ing t h e ground,I found seve ral p e rsons congre

gat e d round aboy ofabou t ten years ofage , whoappeared to be in asem i -unconsc i o us stat e . Th is

p oor l i t t l e fe l low had been hanging , I don’t know

for how long,susp ended h ead downwards from the

b ranch of at re e . I n th is uncomfortab l e posi t ion h e

264 WI T CH CRAF T ,DE /WON IA CAL POSSE S S I OIV,

r e ce iv ing arep ly to th e e ffect t hat t h e faqu i r kn ewno th ing abou t h im beyond what h e had h imse l fstat ed , h e sai d h e was in real i ty ajin . My fri end

rece ived t h e stat em en t w i th in c redu l i ty . N ot longaft e r t h is b e ing d ist u rbe d in h is d evo t ions by th e

no isy chat t ering of two nn’

nas,my informan t aske d

h is d isc ip l e to d rive t h emaway , wh en what was h issu rp rise to find t h e p ret end ed d evot e e put forth h is

handand catch th e b i rdsal though th ey were ten or

twe lve fe et above h i s h ead . Anoth e r t im e th e jin , t o

ob l ige h im,caugh t ayoung fox by simp ly pu t t ing

out h is foo t and p lac ing i t u pon its neck . Th e

jin con t inue d to wear t h e gre en shad e,b ecause h e

w ished t o escape b e ing re cogn i ze d by that we l lknown p ecu larity of jins, t h e i r inab i l i ty t o wink .

Du ring h is soj ou rn wit h t h e faqu i r t h e jin fe l l outwi t h one of t h e p ersons , achupprasee, who was inth e hab i t of visi t ing the ho ly man , and havrng beenabused by h is adve rsary cau se d th e deat h of h is

ch i ld ren , by l i t e ral ly passing int o t h e poo r fe l low’

hou se , t h rough c l ose d doors,and st rangl ing h is nu

offend ing in fan ts. T he moth e r,in great d ist re ss

came and comp laine d to t h e faqu i rabou t t h e c rue l

wrong sh e had suffered . Th e ho ly man suggest e d

that sh e shou l d go for red ress to t h e ‘ law courts, bu tsh e exp laine d that i t was acase of magi c , and not

one wi th wh ich th e magist rat es cou l d deal . On

t h is th e faqu i r rep roved the jin , and d esi re d h im to

d i s con t inue h is v isi ts ; b ut t h e jin p romise d b e t t e rb ehav iou r in fu ture , and , t o make amends for t h emurde r h e had comm i tt ed

,p rom ise d t o give th e

obj e ct of h is ange r— th e fat h er of th e st rang l e dbabe s—what eve r h e asked for

,prov i de d h e never told

AND O THER S UPERS T I T I ON'

S . 265

any one h ow h e came by i t . The aggri eved fat h e rlooked upon t h isas unemauvaise plaisanterie ; bu t oneday be ing in sore ne ed of fou r ru p e es, h e h e l d out

h is c lothand cal l e d u pon t h e jin t o fu lfi l h is promise .

I mmed iat e ly fou r ru p ees fe l l into h is c lot h . Afte r

th is h e asked for seve ral o the r t h ings and rece ivedth em but one of t h e pry ing women of h is househo l d

hav ing found out how t he money came , made aboastof i t to some of h e r fri ends. The spe l l was broken .

N oth ing mo re was ever re ce i ved , and t h e jin , en

ragedat h is secre t having be en made p ub l ic , dest royedtwo more m embe rs of t h e chup prasee

s fami ly . At

t he faqu i r’s ve ry u rgen t and posi t i v e requ est , t h e jinat l ength mad e h imse l f scarce . Eve ry wo rd of t h is

wonderfu l sto ry t h e holy faqu i r assu red me wasabsolutely true.

Asagene ral ru l e,nat i ves of Ind iaofall c lasses be

l i eve in t h e real i ty of possession ,demon iacal or ot h e r

wise . They unhesi tat inglyadm i t t hat some favou redmen and women are chosen as t h e med iaof communication b etween depart e d sain ts and th e h umanrace ; bu t th ey are not equal ly ready to re cogni ze th eval i d i ty of t h e p re t ensions of part icu lar ind ivi duals.

I n fact t h e re is often an odd m ixt u re of supe rst i t ionand sh rewed

scep tiC rsm— or shal l I say susp ic iousn ess — in t h e Ind ian charact e r. I we l l remembe raMussu lman t e l l ing m e

,wi th agood deal of humou r

and se l f-sat isfact i on , t h e fo l low ing story . A Pathanfrom beyond t h e west e rn bo rde r had arr ived in h is

n e ighbou rhood . The rumou r wen t ab road that att imes t h e sp i ri ts of ce rtain de parte d Syu d s descendedu p on th e Musl imvisi tor , or, as t he nat i ve exp ression

266 WI T CH CRAF T,DE Y

II ONIA CAL POS SE S S I OA

is, got upon h im . He was unde r t h e influenc e

now of one and now ofanot h e r d epart e d saint . O f

co u rse h e b ecame at once an obj ect ofawe and v enerat ion to t h e p eop l e . Eve ry one wh o l onged for t h e

grat ificat i on of some cherish ed desi re approach edh im in h is hou r of possession

,and h oped , by homage

and gi fts, to obtain th e assistanc e of h is c ont ro l l ingsp i ri ts. My info rman t

,l i ke oth e rs

,had h is end to

gain , and one n i gh t,unknown to t h e m embers of h is

own househo l d , sto l e out to pay h is respe cts to t h ePathan . I t was warm summer- t ime

,so h e wen t ou t

ve ry l igh t ly c lad , and h e d i d not wear t h e usual t u rban , in t h e hop e t hat t h e absence of t h is cust omaryhead-dress migh t render h im l ess easi ly r ecogn i zab l eby any acquaintances h e m ight chance t o m eet .Wh en h e got near t h e Pat han h e found alargenumbe r of p e rsons, ch i efly femal es, congregat e d on

th e spo t . Th e Pat han , of cou rse , had h is sat e l l i t esand at tendants. Some were b eat ing d rums, o t h e rstalking confiden t ial ly t o t h e bystande rs in p raise oft h e i r mast e r and ac t ing gen eral ly as go-betweens.

My info rmant , who watche d t h e p roce ed ings wit hke en in t e rest , p resen t ly t hough t h e d e t ect e d man i festsigns of impost u re , and no longe r fe l t d isposed ‘

c rave t h e assistan ce of t h e Synds t h rough th e i r

Pathan medi um . I n t h e l i tt l e gat h ering we re some

persons not unknown to h im,at l east by sigh t , and

ofwhose h istory h e had l earned someth ing fromt h egossi ps of t h e t own . He cou ld , h e t hought , gu ess

pret ty we l l what t h ey want e d from the saint , and ash e fe l t su re that h e was unrecogn i zed by any one

p resent,h e was t empte d to p e rp e t rat e aprac t ical

j oke . H e sat down near one of t h e d rummers, and ,

268 WI T CH CRAF T,DE J I OTV IA CAL POS SE SS I OTV,

and barbarous p e rsecut ions wh ich resu l te d from it, Icannot h e l p not ic ing , wh en brough t in t o con tact wi t hwitchc raft in Ind ia, t hat i t stands upon an ent i re lyd iffe ren t foot ing th e re . The cause of th is is not

far to seek . I n Christ ian E u rope magic ians, necromancers

,wi tch es, were regarded as t h e en em i es o f

God,as m onst e rs in l eagu e wi t h Satan and con

d emmed to e t e rnal damnat ion . They we re accordingly d est royed , at t h e inst igat i on of th e c l e rgy ,wi thout me rcy , and upon t h e warrant of Ho ly S c r ipt u re . T o r i d t he eart h of wi tch e s was are l igiou sduty wh ich t h e p ri estsand m in ist e rs (Protestan t andRoman Cat ho l ic al i ke ) carri e d ou t wi th abu rn ingz eal and aho rri d eage rness worthy ofab e tt e r cause .

I n Ind ia,on t h e o t h e r hand , esp ec ial ly amongst t h e

H indus,magic and wi tchc raft are not wi thou t a

ce rtain respectab i l i ty . The B rahmans th emse lvesare t h e possesso rs of Sp e l ls (mant ras) which event h e godsare unab l e to resist . I t is t ru e that in t h eV ishun Puranai t is sai d “ he who pract ises magicr i t es for t h e harm of o the rs wi l l b e pun ishe d in t h eh e l l cal l e d Krimisa (that of insec ts) .

2 But th is

t h reat is n e i th e r gene ral ly known nor doe s i t p raet ical ly affec t t h e at t i t u d e of t h e peop l e towardswizards and n ecromance rs. The prac t ise rs of t h e

b lack art in Ind iamay b e obj ec ts of t e rro r t o t h e

peop l e , b u t t h ey d o not insp i re t hem wi th fe e l ingsof religious horror.

A ccord ing to pop u lar b e l i e f,magic ians

,s o rce re rs,

and conj u rersabound in Ind ia. Most of th e calam i

Lecky’s“ R isean d I nfluence o f th e Spiri t of Rationalisrn

in E urope .

Pro fessor H . H . \V rlson’s translat ion

,bk . i i . chap . iv.

AND O TH ER S UPE RS T I TI ONS . 269

t i es of l i fe are at t r i but e d to t h em,and i t is wo rth

not ing that among ce rtain of th e aboriginal t ribes“ even t hose who are accuse d of being witch es donot deny th e impeachment , but accep t th e posi t ionread i ly wit h all its pains and p enalties.

”I Yet t h e

evi l is not without aremedy,for so rce re r may b e

p i tt e d against sorc e re r , and th e spe l ls of one b e

nu l l ifi ed by t h e coun t e r-spe l ls ofanot he r . Thusalsoin Eu rop e

,ho ly wat e r , church ce remon i es, couse

c rat e d re l ics, and p ri est ly exorc ismwere emp loyedagainst sorce ry

,wi tch craft

, and demon iacal possession .

The more powerfu l conj u re rs in Ind ia insp i red read and command respect . These , t h erefo re , l i veat ease on th e c re du l i ty of t h e many , bu t occasional lyth e popu lar vengeanc e is wreaked u pon some

wretch ed man or woman who is suspec t e d of having caused m isch i ef

, and who at t h e same t ime isno t suffi c i ent ly d readed to ho l d t h e rabb l e in ch eck .

The re cords of our c rim inal cou rts contain manycases of th is kind . The fo l lowing may b e c i t e d asan examp l e

Wal i,an old Bh eel woman

,about 70 years ofage, and h er

sister Ch itri , resi dents of D eshgaon , Nassick D istrict,were

bel ieved b y th e v i l lagers to b e witches possessed ofah iddencharm

,bywh ich theywere supposed to have worked th e sorcery

to wh i ch the deaths of several persons in th e v i l lage wereattri b uted A re l i g ious mend icant arri ved at th e v i l lageand denounced th e sistersaswitches,an d forthwith th e v i l lagerslai d ho ld of Ch itri

,swung h er byarope to amango tree

beat h er to extort the h idden charm. Sh e escaped withoutserious consequences. Wal i , th e other sister

,wh o had gone to

I Bal l’s “jungle L i fe in I nd ia, p . 1 15.

2 70 WI T CH CRAF T,DE III OIVIACAL POSSE S S I ON

ane i ghbouring v i l lage to b eg, was fetched to D eshgaon th e

same even ing ,and was th e fo l lowing morn ing swung by th e feetto atree near the v i l lage p olrce -stat ion ,

wasmaltreated in th e

presenceand with th e conn i vance ofmany of th e v i l lagers, andwas requ ired to d isc lose th e h idden charm b y wh ich sh e andh er sister caused deaths in th e v i l lage . Sh e was removed inafaint ing cond it i on to h er ho use , where sh e d ied th e same day.

T hree persons were instrumental in causing h er death . O ne,

apo l i ce constab le , swung h er toatree b y th e feet with aropeand struck h er several b lows with ahempen thong

,another

struck h er with ashoe,wh i le th e th ird , th e p olrce pate! of th e

v i l lage,superi ntended th e proceed ingsand inst i gated v io lence

to th e wretched woman . T hese three persons were tried , andsentenced to ri gorous imprisonment .” I

I f i t we re not fo r t h e p rot e c t ion affo rd ed even t owi t ch es ” by t h e Bri t ish law

,cases of t h is k ind

wou l d undoubt ed ly b e m u l t ip l i e d t o ave ry greate xt ent . At th e b eginn ing of t h e p resen t c ent u ry

(1802 ) ase l f-const i t u t e d nat iv e t ri b unal t ri e d five

women at Patnafor s orce ry , found t h em gu i l ty ,andp ut t h em to death . The case at t rac t e d th e at t enti on of t h e B ri t ish authori t i es, and ap roclamat ionwas issu ed bv t h e Governo r-Gene ral , de c laring thatany persons taking u pon t h emse lves to act as t h em embers of t h e i rregu lar Patnat ri bunal had done ,wou ld b e consi d e re d gu i l ty of murd e r ? Th e re is noreason to doub t t hat t h is o rde r has had t h e effe ct ofsaving t h e l i ves ofagreat many women who wou l do the rwise have fal l en v i c t im s to t h e pop u lar b e l i e fin witches and wi t chc raft , ye t since t h e dat e of t h e

proc lamat i on t h ousands u pon t housands must havep erished in out-of-t h e-way p laces, at t h e hands of

B ombay Gaz ette , 188 1.

Med ical jurisprudence for I nd ia, by D r. N ormanChevers

,p . 12

2 72 W'

I T CH CRAF T,DE IWONIA CAL POS SE S S I OIV,

back . Withou t rep lying to t h e quest i on ,t h e ch i l d

observed that h e h imse l f was qu i t e ready to answe rany qu est i ons t h e st range r d esi re d t o pu t . The

ange l aske d whe re Gab ri e l wasat t hat t im e . Afte rashort pause , t h e boy rep l i e d wi t h at ho ughtfu l exp ression on h is fac e , “ I have scanne d th e fou r quart e rsof t h e un i ve rse , even to t h e t h rone of th e A lmighty ,bu t no Gab ri e l cou l d I find . Therefore

,e i th e r I am

or youare Gabri e l . The messenge r depar te d in astonishment, and carri e d t o h eaven areport of h ismi ssi on ; upon wh i ch th e A lmighty dec re e d t hatth e gu i l ty c i ty

,wi th its inhab i tan tsand its t housands

of vo l ume s of unhal lowed l ore , shou l d b e whe lmedin one common ru in . A t roop ofange ls was sen t

to overtu rn th e c i ty from its ve ry foundat ions, and

bu ry it wi th its inhab i tan t s for eve r . There e scap ed ,h oweve r

,from th e gene ral d est ru ct i on , ast ray l eaf

o r two of t h e books of d iv inat ion,and on t h e im

pe rfect h in ts d e r iv ed from the s e , t h e modern sc i ences

of magi c . and ast ro logy hav e b een reare d du ring asu ccession ofages.

On t h e supe rst i t ions of th e p eop l e of Ind iavo lumes migh t b e wri t t en ; for Ind iais st i l l whereEu rope was in t h e dark ages, and be l i e f in wi tchcraft , demon iacal possession , t h e t ransmutat ion of

metals, t h e e fficacy of charms, spe l ls,and love filtres,is qu i t e gene ral amongst all c lasse s of t h e p eop l e .Let m e ad d afew instance s to t hose al ready given.

N ot long ago anat iv e , refe rring to th e wast ingd isease (marasmus) from wh ich an infant seemed tob e suffe ring , assu red me that even t h e shadow of t h e

l i t t l e ch i l d fal l ing upon one in h eal t h m igh t p rov efatal t o th e lat t e r . The d isease , h e sai d , might in

AND O THER S UPE RS T I TI ON S . 2 73

some cases b e cu red at t h e expense of t h e vegetab l eworl d ; for exam p l e , i t was we l l known t hat i f ach i l d suffering from marasmus were take n into a.sugar-can e fi e l d , t h e re undressed and bat h ed , and itscast -off c lo th es l eft on t h e ground , t h e ch i l d might

recove r , bu t in t hat case t h e sugar-cane would all beblighted . I subse qu en t ly l earne d ano th e r mode of

cu ring th e d isease Th e m ot h e r of t h e suffe re r

shou l d sec u re ab lack ‘

d og and d ecap i tat e i t in t h ed ead of n igh t . She shou l d t h en bo i l its h ead inwat e r, and bat h e h e rse l f and ch i l d in t h is broth

exac t ly at t h e hou r of midn ight .

D u ring an exc ess i ve ly d ry summer, as I was

si t t ing one even ing in t h e open air, t h e c louds

began gath e ring rap id ly overh ead . Every one wasanxiously looking out for rain . The su l t ry h eathad cause d an ou tbreak of sickness, and t h e p r ice offood had gone up consi d e rably . I remarked to anat ive stand ing b esi d e m e that we woul d now in allp robab i l i ty have th e much d esi re d rain . He looked

u p towards th e dark ove rcast sky above , and t h enshaking h is h ead doubtfu l ly

,exp ressed h is fear that

t h e rascal ly bunneahs— vendors of food-grains ando th e r art i c l es of consumpt i on— wou l d not l e t i t rain .

The i deawas anew one t o me . I was fami l iarwit h th e old H indu not ion t hat th e dark c loudsaremal ic ious demons wh o obst ruc t or int e rcep t t h e rainfal l , and are on ly ove rcome by Ind ra’s flash ingt hunderbo l ts, wh ich rend t hem asunde r in t h e irrterests of t h e human race and t h e parched andgap ing earth . But I had n eve r h eard that t h eb unneahs were c red i t e d wi th m et eo ro logical powe rs

2 74 WI T CH CRAF T , DEM ONIA CA L POS SE SS I OA

of so very important acharact e r . I p ressed t h eman t o exp lain h is remarks. D on

’t you know ,h e

sai d , “ that i t is to t h e in t e rest of t h e b unneah s t hatt h e p ric es of all art ic l es of consumpt ion shou l d b e

as h igh as possi b l e , and t hat rain shou l d not fal l ?Wel l

,toat tain t h e i r obj e ct , t h ey make cakes ofwheat

flour and o th e r t h ings, and t h en de l ib erat e ly dealwi t h t h ese h eaven-sent gi fts in such amanne r as t oo ffend t h e gods and make th em wi thho l d t h e rain .

H e went in to detai ls wi th resp ec t to th e proce ed ingsof th e bunneah s wh ich I need not ment ion h e re .

At ano th e r trme I l earne d t hat ab unneah hadrecou rse to ast i l l m ore e ffec t ual method ofke ep ing offt h e rain . He had achukra, or sp inn ing-whee l

ou tofth e bonesofd eadmen . Suchanart ic l e cou ld on lyb e made ve ry secre t ly and foralarge sumof money

b ut its act i on was most po t ent . When eve r t h e

c louds were gat h e ring th e bunneah set h is vi rgin

daught e r to work th e chukrat h e reverse way , and byt hat m eans unwound or unwove t h e c louds

,as i t

we re,t h us d riv ingaway t he rain and t h is ove r and

ove r again ,notwi thstand ing that t h e young H ind u

mai d ens had gone fo rth,harn essed them se l ves to

t h e p lough,and wi th su i tab l e ce rem on i esand offe r

ings had invoked t h e gods for rain ,wh i l e t h e

Muhammadans on th e i r part had assemb l e d in t h eM usj i d and offe red u p p raye rs to Al lah for t h e m uchne eded showers.

Where credu l i tyabounds, i mposto rsare of cou rsenot wan t ing to take advan tage of t h e c red u lous, ast h e fo l lowinganecdo t e amusingly i l l ust rat es.

A cowhe rd report e d in h is vi l lage t hat h e often

276 IVI T CH CRAF T ,AND O TH ER S UPERS T I TI ONS .

I have frequ ent ly b e en qu est ioned abou t th e practicability of convert ing copp er in to si lve r o r go l d

, andI hav e found t hat ave ry st rong and widespreadconfiden c e p revai ls

,even amongst th e educat ed

regard t o th e ex ist enc e of ase c ret art of t ransmut ing m etals known to afew adepts. Ind ee d

some men have as su re d m e t hat they have seen

th e p rocess successfu l ly carri e d out, al though th eywe re notadm it t e d int o th e s ec re t of th e art.

OLD FAREERAH AN D H I S

CON yUGAL TROUBLES.

YEARS ago , when I was qu it e ach i ld , our old home

of p l easan t m emor i es was b roken up,and t h e

numerous se rvan ts of acomfortab l e Anglo -I nd ianhouseho l d had , nearly all of t h em , to b e d ischarged .

Amongst t hose wh o were to l d t hat t h e i r se rv ices

wou l d not b e requ i red any longe r was Fakeerah ,who

had be en my fat h e r’s beare r , ” or val e t . H e was aMuhammadan of Co l gong, or Kahalgaon , and ownedasmal l b i t of land in h is nat ive v i l lage . Wh en t h et im e for se tt l ing up accoun ts arri ved h e came , wi tht ears in h is eyes, to rece ive h is wel l -earned wages.

Palm j o ine d to palm ,h e st ood before my mothe r

and respec tfu l ly sai d , with unfe igned emot ion ,For

years I have eat en t h e sah ib ’s sal t , and now t hath e is gone shal l I d ese rt t h e ch i l d ren You canno td o wi t hou t se rvants. Some you must have , howeve rfew in numbe r . I wi l l stay with you for smal lwages, or even fo r non e at all. Have I not my bi t

of land at Co l gong The man was t ho rough ly inearnest , and , t ru e to h is gene rous reso lve , remained

278 OLD FAREERAH

in our se rvice on much smal l e r wages than h e hadbefore ; H e accompan i e d us to Cal cu tta, was in allth ings t horough ly honest and t rustwo rthy , evinced agenu ine affect ion for u s ch i l d ren

,and seemed con

t ent e d and happy . Bu t as years went byahomesickness came upon h im . The p ict u resqu e l i t t l ev i l lage , unde r t h e shadow of t h e low h i l ls, on t h e

banks of t h e Ganges, whe re th e no isy r ive r rush es

mad ly amongst t h e nob l e gran i t e rocks h e knew so

wel l,seemed to d raw h im wi t h i rresist i b l e power

and so one day h e exp laine d , in h is usual d eferent ialway, wi th many apo logi esand much h esi tat i on ,

thath e wishe d to v isi t h is moolluk ,

” and begge d l eaveof absenc e for t h re e months. Acco rd ing to Ind iancustom h e b rought u s abudlee, o r subst i t u t e

, andarranged to p roce ed 011 his j ou rney wi th some compan ions who were go ing towards t h e same part of

t h e coun t ry as h imse l f. There were b u t afew m i l esof rai lway open in Ind iaat t hat t im e ; t h e j ou rneyt o Co lgong was t o b e ‘

pe rformed on foo t by easystages. As Thugs and o t h e r h ighway robbe rs wereunfortunat e ly t oo common ln t h ose days

,no t rave l l e r

wou l d make aj ou rn ey wi thou t compan i ons ; few

wou ld ven t u re on t h e road wi thout arms.

The appo in t ed day arri ved . Fakeerah came tomake h is farewe l l salaauzs. H e was asl im man

, al i t t l e ove r five fe et in he igh t , wi th fine , wel l -cu tfeat u res, and ac l ean b rown comp l ex i on . H is

moustach e , excep t at th e two ends,was c l i pp ed

c l ose and part ly shaven , soas to l eave ac l ear narrowspac e immed iat e ly ove r t h e u ppe r l i p . Th is is t h e

o rthodox M uhammadan sty le of d ress ing th e mous

ach e,and has fo r its obj ect t o p revent food eat en by

280 OLD FAR’

passed away , and ye t Fakeerah d i d not re t u rn. We

began to specu lat e amongst ou rse l ves wheth e r h e

had been detaine d by th e charms of home , orwh eth e r

sickness was t h e cause of h is p ro longe d absence .

We even began t o fear t hat h e m ight have fal l eninto t h e hands ofThugsand b een st rangl ed by th em .

Many asto ry of th ese d readfu l assassins had weh eard and rem embere d on ly too wel l

,for Co l gong

(Kahalgaon) , was anot ed cen t re of t h e i r c rim inalp ract icesat t h e t im e of wh ich I wri t e , and , indeed ,

had enj oyed an unenv iabl e noto ri e ty in t h is respect

at l east as far back as t h e days when t h e Ch inesep i lgrim

,H iu en Tsiang , v isi t e d Ind ia(A .D .

So much was Thuggee in our t houghts in connect i on

wi t h th e p ro longed absenc e of our fai t h fu l o ld ser

van t , and so in t e rest ing,for many reasons

,is t hat

u nparal l e l e d syst em of assassinat ion and robbe rythat I t rust t h e reade r wi l l pardon ashort d igress ion on th e subj e c t in th is p lace . Thugge e is aninstitu t ion p ecu l iar t o Ind ia. Amongst t h e cus

t oms of most barbarous races t h e re have ex ist e dp ract ices of acharact e r revo l t ing to ou r modern

i d eas ; bu t no th ing more repugnant to fe e l ings of

human i ty cou ld b e imagine d than t h e co l d-b loode dassassinat ions wh ich , for pu rposes of gain , but und er

religious sanctions, and with religious ceremonies, we resyst emat ical ly comm i t te d by t h e Thugs in alandwhe re c i v i l i zat ion had al ready mad e consi d e rab l ep rogress. Thuggee was not confine d t o any one

part of Ind ia, but ext ended far and wi d e , and ,

cu riously enough , embrace d bo t h H indus and Mn

I General Cunn ingham’

s“Archaeo logical S urvey of I nd ia,

vol. xv . p . 35.

AND H I S CON/ UGAL TROUB LE S . 28 1

hammadans in t h e great b ro th erhood of c rime . A

secre t d ial ec t and aset of secre t signs fac i l i tat e dint e rcourse be tween t h e in i t iat ed from di ffe rent partsof t h e count ry , wh i l e ashare in t h e spo i ls of th e i rmurde rous exped i t ions, or t h e sup e rst i t iousawe insp i red by_

th eir myst e r ious cal l ing , secu red for th emth e p rot e ct ion of t h e Zem indars, or landho lders, andth e nat i ve po l ice . Strange to say, t h e members of t h eThug frat e rn i ty b e longed to many grad es of soc i e ty ,t o d i ffe rent cast es

,inc l ud ing B rahmans

,and gene ral ly

fo l lowed some p eacefu l and resp ectab l e avocat ion .

They were artizans, agricu l t u rists, and t rade rs, afact wh ich se riously h inde re d th e B ri t ish auth ori t i esin t h e i r endeavours to b ring th e crim inals t o j ust ice ;for whenasuspe ct e d gang was fo l lowed up it soon

d isappeare d in t h e mass of t h e apparent ly respec tab l e popu lat ion 1 Wheneve rap lunde ring exp ed i t ionwas t o be undertaken

,anumbe r of t h e b roth e rhood

assemb l ed by appo intm en t at some conve’

n i en t spot ,and t rave l l ing al ong the road in vari ous d isgu isesand for various ost ensi b l e obj ects

,fe l l in with

trave l l e rs along the h ighway . Traine d in every

I D r. Cheek had ach i ld’s bearer, i.e.

,ah e -nurse

,wh o had

c harge of h is ch i ldren . T h e man was aspec ial favourite,re

markab le for h is k indand tender ways with h is l itt le charges,

gentle in manner,and unexcept ionab le in all h is conduct .

E very year h e obtained leave fromh rs master and mistress, ash e sai d

,for th e fi l ial purpose of v isit ing h is aged mother, for

o ne month and return ingafter th e expiry of that t ime, with th eutmost punctual ity, resumed with th e accustomed affect i on andtenderness th e charge of h is h ttle darl ings. T h is mila’andex emp lary being was the missing T hug

r K ind,gentle , corr

scientious,and regu lar at h is post for e leven months in th e

year, h e devoted the twe l fth to strangu lat i on .

” — Tayler'sT h irty-e ight Years in I ndra, ’ p . 194 .

2 82 OLD FARE ERAH

art ifi c e requ i re d to p romot e th e su cce ss of t h e ir

ho rri b l e t rade , t h e Thugs easi ly gained t h e con

fid ence of t h e unsusp ect ing wayfare rs wi th whomt hey fe l l in along th e d usty h igh -roads of t h e

coun t ry , and when asu i tab l e opport un i ty— for ih

stance,ase c l u de d local i ty— p resent e d i tse l f, t rea

ch erously st rangl ed t h e i r v ict ims in co l d b lood . No

fe e l ing of p i ty eve r stayed t h e fatal noose wh en once

t h e omens were p rop i t ious. What mat t e re d i t tothe Thugs that t h e compan ions who t ru dged by t h e irs ide were , afte r years ofabsenc e , re t u rn ing to th e ird istan t v i l lage homes, and to t h e i r expectan t wivesand ch i l d ren ? What mat t e re d i t to t h em that th emen t h ey wish ed to murde r we re fe l low -count rymen

and co -re l igion ists ? Had not t h e godd ess Kal id e l ive re d t h e v ict ims into t h e i r hands ? and we reth ey not bound , unde r p enal ty of incu rring he r d is

p l easu re,to take t h e i r l i ves wi t h t h e consec rat e d

roomal,or handke rch i ef. The deedaccomp l ish ed , the

murderers at once se cu re d th e p rop e rty of t h e ir

v i c t ims,even t o t h e c lot h ing on t h e i r p e rsons, and

then with th e sacred axe buri e d t h e bod i es out of

sigh t as qu ick ly as possi b l e . I n most cases an impene t rab l e myst e ry sh rouded for eve r th e fat e of th eunfort unat e wayfare rs, and t h e Thugs, embo ldenedby suc cess and immun i ty from pun i shment , push e dt he i r c rue l t rade wi th great e r audac i ty than befo re .

The re was amethod in t h e p e rp e t rat i on of t h ese

revo l t ing c rim es,and an obse rvanc e of re l igious

c e remon i e s,which exc i t es ast on i shmen t and l ends

spec ial and p ecu l iar int e rest t o th e p rac t i c es of t h is

ext rao rd inary sec t ofassassins. I t is d i fficu l t to t e l lwhen th e T hugee syst em fi rst b egan to d eve lop

284 OLD FAKE ERAH

them to st rang l e t h e d emons. When th ey had d u lyaccompl ish ed t h e i ral lot e d task , and came t o give upth e rooznals t o Kal i , t hat grat efu l goddess bad e t h emkeep t hose se rviceab l e weapons and hand t h em downt o t he i r descendants wi th ins t ru ct i ons to use t h em

for t h e i r own profi t , in th e dest ruct ion o f all menwh o were not of t h e i r k ind red .

T o t h e goddess Kal i , t h e refo re , t h e Thugs l ooke dfor p rot e ct ion , and t h ey b e l i eved t hat i f t h ey carri e dout t h e i r horri d mu rde rs on ly wh en th e omens werep rop it iou s and t h e p rop e r ri t es and c e remon i es hadb een obse rved , t h ey wou l d enj oy both safe tyand p rosp erity . With what revo l t ing ind iffe rence t h e i r c o ldb looded and who l esal e assassinat ions were carr i e dout, and aft e rwards tal ke d ove r wi th p ri d e andp l easu re , became known to t h e world when t h e taskof supp ressing Thugge e was taken in han d by t h eEast Ind iaCompany

,and t h e secre t do ings of t h e

fraternity‘

were d ragged to t h e l igh t of day.

Once at tacke d wi th v igou rand d et e rm inat ion ,t h e

t im id i ty and t reach ery of memb ers of t h e infamousb ro t h erhood he l p e d th e Gove rnmen t o ffi ce rs mat e rial ly t owards t h e suppressi on of t h e abominat ion .

Many Thugs app re h ended u pon susp i c ion ,l osing

fai t h in t h e i r pat ron goddess, t u rned k ing’s evi denceand reveal e d t h e sec rets of th e frat e rn i ty , t h e i r slangvocabu lary , the i r p ri vat e signs

,t h e i r re l igi o us ce re

mon i es,

sup erst i t ions, and methods of p rocedure .

From th e mout hs of t h ese app rove rs part icu larswereobtaine d which , wh i l e enab l ing th e p o l ice auth orit i es to t rack th e cr im inals and b r ing them back to

j ust ice , afforded t he B ri t ish o ffic e rs t h e opport un i ty

of unfo l d ing apage in t h e secre t h istory of human

AND H I S CoNjUGAL TAOUELE S . 285

inst i t u t i ons wh ich cou l d hard ly b e su rpassed in

gloomy int e rest ?

Howeve r, al though t h e p eri ls of th e road bese twi th Thugsand haunt e d by wi l d beasts were realenough , Fakeerah d i d come back at last

, and p resent e d h imse l f at t h e door we l l and h earty . H is

face , wh ich was nat u ral ly l igh t -complex ioned for anat i ve of Ind ia, was burn t b lack by th e sun , h is grey

beard looke d ragged ,and h is moustach e ove r-grownb u t h e was not much th e worse for 'b is long j ou rney

and in h is undemonst rat i v e wayappeare d p l ease d tosee t h e babalogue (ch i ld ren) again . We want e dto know what had kep t h im away so l ong

, andwere fort hwi t h admi t t e d to atal e of domest ic woe .When h e reach ed h i s v i l lage h is old fri ends were re

so l ved upon giving h im awife . Probab ly h e wasnot r e l uctan t to ge t one , al though h e prot est e d t hatsuch was not t h e cas e . A wife was found for h im

and , evi den t ly p l eased wi t h h is partne r , h e determ ine dto bring h e r wi th h im to Calcu tta. Th is t ime t h e

j ou rn ey was to be made by wat e r . A boat bound fo rCal cu ttawas found at Co lgong , and Fakeerah eu

gaged p laces in i t for h imse l f and h is wi fe . The re

were seve ral o th e r pass engers for t h e cap i tal andint e rmed iat e p laces ; bu t Fakeerah ’

s wife was t h eon ly woman on board . Hard ly had t h e boat p roceed ed aday ’s j ou rn ey from its start ing p lace wh enastorm arose , and i t was comp l e t e ly wrecked upon

asand -bank in th e r ive r . E i th e r b ecause sh e wast h e on ly woman on board , or on accoun t of some

I For ashort account of T huggee th e reader may consu ltMr. james H utton’

s“T hugs

,Daco its, and Gang robbers of

I nd ia.” W . H . Al lenand C0.

,London .

286 OLD FAKEERAH

un l ucky marks about h e r fac e or pe rson ,Fakeerah ’

wi fe was fixed upon by t h e t rave l l e rs as t h e causeof t h e i r m isfortune . Her husbandapparent ly share dth is Op in ion , and , re l uctant ly we may presume , conduc t e d he r back to h e r v i l lage , whence , aft e r some

d e lay,h e start e d once m ore for Calcut ta

,b ut t h is

t ime alone . I t was use l ess to argu e wi t h t h e old

man abou t t h e absu rd i ty of supposing that h is wifecou l d possi b ly b e th e cause of t h e wreck of t h e boat .H is rep ly was t hat all t h e passenge rs sai d so , andt hat se emed to set t l e t h e mat t e r for h im . With t h e

lapse of t im e , h is op in ion in regard to t h e b lameat t rib u tab l e to h is young wi fe for t h e i r m ishap on t h eGanges se ems t o have undergone some mod ificat ion ,

for h e asked and obtaine d perm ission to go and fe tchh e r . The longjourney homeand back was t h is t im esucc essfu l lyaccom p l ished , and t h e coup l e arr ived atCalcu ttaapparent ly qu it e we l land happy . The wi fe

was rat h e r good -look ing ,andat t ract e d someat t en t ionby h e r cost ume , wh ich was t hat worn in h er nat ivevi l lage ;afu l l ski rt and sho rt bod ice

,wi th ash e et

or chud d er t h rown gracefu l ly ove r t h e h ead , qu i t eun l i ke t h e sare e of Bengal . She was ve ry shy, andkep t h e r face conc eal e d as much as p ossi b l e , whi lstsh e made t h e ve ry best u se of apai r of handsomeb lack eyes. H owever , t h e t reache rous chudde rreveal e d enough of h e r face

,from t im e to t ime , to

enab l e u s to say t hat i t was dec i d ed ly b righ t andpre tty . Absorbed in he r domest ic dut i es, we sawandh eard l i t t l e enough of Fakeerah ’

s w ife . But aft e r afew mon t hs t h e c l imat e of Calcu ttabegan to d isagre ewi th he r . Sh e was constant ly i l l . Her husbandgrumb l ed . What was t h e use , ” h e sai d , ofawife

288 OLD FAKE ERAH

tot t e ring , as I am, 011 t h e b rink of t h e grave . The

son sai d no mo re . That even ing h e carefu l ly spreadt h e cont ents of h is bag und e r t h e mat 011 wh ich h ism ot h e r was to sl e ep . I n t h e cou rse of t h e n ight sh e

sai d to h im,

Son , I have be en t h inking ove r whatyou sai d t o m e to -day. Tru e , I aman old woman

bu t not so very old afte r all,and , i f I marri ed , I

wou l d b e no l onge r aburd en on you ,my dear boy.

Do you know anybody in t h is v i l lage wh o wou l dmake an e l igib l e match for me ? ” “ I shal l see

abou t t h e mat t e r t o -m orrow ,

sai d th e young man .

On ment ion ing th e prOp osal to t h e old woman next

day,sh e looked rath e r foo l ish and d isconce rt ed , bu t

t reat e d t h e affai rasamere j oke . You su re ly d i dnot t h ink I was in earnest ? was all sh e sai d , andt h e son heard neve r aword mo re abou t th e mat t e r .At Cal cu t tashe had been eage r for marriage

away from t h e naughty c i ty th e d esi re had passe daway , excep t when t h e long ext ingu ished fi res were

t empo rari ly rev i ve d by t h e p rox im i ty of t h e m ere so i lof t h e Ind ian Baby lon , wh ich th e son had carr i e d inh is bagand spread unde r t h e o ld woman ’

s mat byway of exp e riment .T o r e tu rn t o old Fakeerah h imse l f. Whethe r h is

wife d i e d 011 he r re tu rn home I amnotaware , butt h e lone ly b eare r sud den ly conso l e d h imse l f wi th anewwife . We were at t h is t ime l iv ingat t h e l i t t l eFrench set t l em en t of Chandernagore . The new

wife was stout , and byi

no means young accord ing toInd ian not ions

,afact wh ich se emed to requ i re some

exp lanat ion . I t was no use, t h e garru l ou s old mansai d

,to marryamere gi r l who kn ew noth ing, whose

t houghts wou ld run upon finery ,and who wou l d

AND H I S CON/ UGAL TROUB LE S . 289

negl ec t t he house and h is in t e rests ; nor wou l d i t d o

t o se ek awife from amongst h is own p eopl e , for t h eair and wat e r (hawa, panee) of Calcu ttawou l d not

agre e wi t h th e up -count ry woman ,as h e had al ready

found ou t to h is cost . The new wi fe wasanat iv e ofBengal , was not too young , and in all p robab i l i tywou l d ke ep good h eal t h and be use fu l . K eep goodh eal t h sh e d id

,and p roved i t by hav ingaremarkab ly

goodapp et i t e . B eingin h er own c ount ryandamongsth e r own ki t h and kin ,

sh e had many fri endsand visitors

,and rat he r l i ked to ent e rtain t h em and showhe r

hosp i tal i ty . Poor o ld Fakeerah was in despai r . Al lt h is was more t han he had bargaine d for.

\Vhath e want e d was at h ri fty wi fe wh o wou l d save h imfrom some domest ic du t i es, look afte r h im when h ehappened to b e si ck , and save money . Great wash is d isappo intm ent . At t h e end of t h e fi rst mon t h

of h is wedded l i fe h e came,wit h t ears in h is eyes, to

re lat e t h e de tai ls of t h e consumpt i on of rice , dal l ,ghee , &c .

,t hat had taken p lac e in h is househo l d ,and

prot est e d that h e mu st certain ly get r i d of th e woman ,

who wasno bet t e r t han avo rac i o us gl ut tonand wou l dassured ly land h im in jai l i f h e kept h e r muchl onge r .

just at th is t ime we remove d t o Calcu tta, and ,taking advantage of t h e opportun i ty, Fakeerah gaveh is wife th e sl i p ,and congratu lat e d h imse l f upon h isfort unat e re l ease from su ch at e rr i b ly ext ravagan twoman . Howeve r , h e n eve r dared to show h is facein Chand ernagore again , fo r fear of t h e pe rsonalv engeance of t h e re lat i ves of h is d ese rt e d wi fe .

Legal p rocee d ings h e seems neve r t o have d readedo r d reamt of.

290 OLD FAKEERAH

Al laloneagain,t h e oldman wen t on qu i e t ly enough

for al i t t l e t ime , bu t p resen t ly set up aconstantcomp laint of t h e hard sh ip of hav ing to cook h i s own

food . Aft e r our past expe ri ence we cou l d guessp ret ty we l l what all t h is wou l d l ead to , and one fine

day Fakeerah aske d aweek’s l eave t o ge t marri e dagain .

A young woman ofarat h e r flashy app earanc e wash is new partne r . Sh e was qu i e t enough , and apparently t h e coupl e got on fai r ly we l l toget h e r. One

morn ing th e old man came wi t h ave ry myst er iousl ook on h is fac e , and kep t mutt e ring to h imse l f ash e wen t abou t h is dut i es. Inqu i ry e l i c i t e d t h e

wh i sp e re d stat emen t t hat h is wife had t h e ext rao rd inary hab i t of st eal ing out '

on moon l i gh t n igh tsin to t h e garden

,and co l l e ct ing flowers. Th e re was

no doub t abou t i t h e had wat ch e d h e r h imse l f ove rand ove r again and cou l d not get r i d of t h e i d eathatsh e was awitch— for d i d any one eve r h ear of anord inary woman do ing such th ings ? I t was too

t e rr i b l e ; h e cou l d not consent to l i ve wi th h eranyl onge r . We suggest e d t hat sh e migh t b e asomnamb u list, but t hat d i d not mend mat t e rs at all.What arrangements h e mad e wit h h e r I do not know,

bu t ge t r i d of h e r h e d i d,at t h e exp ense , I fancy , of

ap ret ty b ig s l i c e out of h is hoarded sav ings. For

two or th re e years t h e old man cont inu ed ac ru s ty,

grumbl ing so l i tary . H e l ived very parsimon i ousl y,

and out of h is wages (wh i ch had by t h is t im e b eenconsi d e rab ly inc rease d ) and l i t t l e ext ras in t h e wayof dustooree had mad earesp ectab l e hoard . The

ren t d e r ived from h is l i t t l e b i t of land at Co lgong hadalso b een care fu l ly p u t away . S i lve r and go l d o rna

292 OLD FAR EERAH

subj ec t of my narrat i v e wasaMuhammadan b u t I

b e l i eve h e had b een born aH indu and p ossesse d asort of doubt fu l b e l i ef in t h e H indu gods, t hough ,l i ke o t h e r renegades, h e was d ispose d t o show u p h iso ld re l i gion .

H is l ingering fai t h in th e gods of t h e H indu

pant h eon , as we l l as h is desi r e t o v ind i cat e t h esupremacy of I slam

,may b e i l l ust rat e d by acoup l e

ofanecdo t es.

I was obse rving t o h im one day, that in ac e rtaind ist r i c t of Bengal t h e women seemed h eal th i e r andst ronger than t h e men ; to wh ich h is i mmed iat e rep lywas, t hat p robab ly t h e d istri c ts where su ch was t h ecase we re t hose in which p ecu l iar resp ectwas pai d tosom e femal e d iv in i ty , Kal i p e rhaps, who wou l d of

cou rse favou r h e r own sex . The re cogn i t ion ,in t h is

way, by Ind ian Mussalmans of t h e p owe r of H indude i t i es is by no means uncommon . Islam,

o r iginal lyd eep ly imbued wi th sup erst i t i ons of its own,

hasacqu i re d afu rth e r t inct u re of th e same e l emen t fromits contac t w it h H indu ism

,and from its H indu con

ve rts. So that manyan Ind ian Musl i m of t h e lowe rc lasses read i lyacknow l edges t h e t ru th of t h e H indu

l egends, assign ing ap lac e t o t h e i r gods amongstt h e numerous demonsand mal ignan t sp i ri ts in h is

cal endar , p rec ise ly as t h e ear ly C h r ist ians d i d inrespec t t o t h e d e i t i es he l d in est e em by th e Pagans.

Accord ing to Fakeerah , t h e H indu god jagannat h ,of who se t e rri b l e car so much has b e en wri tt en bythe missi onar i es

,was or iginal ly noth ing more nor

l ess t han at h i ev ish,lying cook in t h e se rv ice ofa

Muhammadan Pi r . Onc e jagannat h , t empted by th esavoury odou r of some de l i cacy wh i ch h e was p re

AND H I S CON/ UGAL TROUB LE S . 293

paring for h is mast e r,i ndu lge d h imse l f by partaking

ofaport ion of i t . The Pi r d etect ed t h e de l inquency,

and took h is servan t seve re ly to task for h is miscond uct . jagannat h p rot est e d vehemen t ly that h ewas innocen t of th e fau l t im pu t ed to h im . He hadnot even tast e d th e d ish . The Pi r became angry ,and

,p iousman t hat h e was, d i rec t e d t hat jagannat h

handsan d re e t shou ld be cut offasapun ishmen t forh is t heft and mendac i ty . I n t h ismut i lat e d stat e th ewre tched man (no longe r in acond i t i on t o h e l p h imse l f) imp lored h is mast e r e i th e r to assist h im to drag011aweary ex ist ence

, or e lse to pu t an end to h is l i fe

and h is suffe rings wi thou t de lay . The P i r ’s h eartwas t ouche d wi th remorse and p i ty . He advised h isunhappy cook to p roceed to ace rtain p lace , where h ep red ict e d h e wou l d b e t reat e d wi t h th e h ighest con

si d e ration by th e H indus— wou l d , in fac t , be venerat e dby them asade i ty . O f cou rse t h e P i r cou l d not bewrong ,and t h is is t h e o rigin ofjagannat h th e famousd iv in i ty of Pure e , worsh i ppe d by t h e H indus unde rt h e fo rm of t h e m isshap en torso ofaman with merestum ps forarmsand l egs.

The perp e tual r i val ry and hat re d ex ist ing b etweent h e H indusand Muhammadans in India, wh ich hasgiven r ise to many asangu inary scene and many ab i t te r m emo ry

,wh ich even with in recent years has

caused se rious r iots,and wh ich at t h e p resent

momen t d iv i d es t h em in to two host i l e cam ps, hasno t been barren of fru i ts ofal ess t ragic charact e r .Stori es ho l d ing u p one si d e or t h e o t h e r to ri d icu l e

are comm on . Here is one from aMuhammadan.sou rc e

Some H indu and Muhammadan sepoys were

2 94 OLD FAREE RA H .

t rave l l ing toge th e r . At awel l t h e H indus of t h e

party not ic e d at u lasi p lan t , and , afte r p e rform ingth e i r usualab l ut ions

,wen t and pai d t h e i r respe cts to

i t,p rost rat ing t hemse l v es on t h e ground befo re it.

The Muhammadans laugh ed at t h em . A disput e

arose , and t h e fol lowers of t h e Proph et of Mecca,

app ly ing th e logic so common ly use d in such casesto p rove t h e van i ty of i do lat ry , pu l l e d up th e p lan tby t h e roots

,to estab l ish th e i r cont en t ion t hat i t was

amere stock and had no p ower to resen t an out rage .

T h e occu rrence nat u ral ly l e d to much i l l -fe e l ing an dst raine d re lat ions in t h e l i t t l e party . Th e H indus

l ooked confident ly for t h e vengeance of t h e offende dde i ty u pon t h e sac r i legious Musl ims, bu t t h e i r e xp ectations were not real i z ed . Some daysaft e r t h einc i d en t of t h e t u lasi p lant , one of t h e M uhammadansepoys p rost rat e d h im se l f wi th great vene rat ionb efore some bush es on t h e waysi d e . The H indusnot iced th is, and com ing fo rward b egan ,

by wav of

r e tal iat i on,to t ear up th e p lan ts wh ich had be en t h e

o bj ec t of h is ado rat ion . He warn ed t h em that h isgods were not so sup in eas t h e t u lasi p lan t resp ect e dby th em se l ves

,bu t wou l d take sp eedy revenge for t h e

o ut rage ;and , t ru e enough , t h ey soon had '

cause to

re p en t of t h e i r rashness,fo r th e Musl imwag had got

t h em to hand l e al o t of st inging-n et t l es.

296 EH UjN U AND CHEROREEAH ,

c e rtain nat u ral grace wh ich won favou r for h e r andou tweigh e d all he r d efic i enc i es. Sh e was du ly eu

gaged and pu t to work , aft e r sh e had changed h erKotgu rh costume for t h e customary d ress of h e r

new occupat ion .

Bhujnu ,fo r t hat was h e r name

,mad e h e rse l f ve ry

u sefu l , and , be ing qu ick of appreh ensi on ,t u rned ou t

an exce l l ent se rvant . On l eaving S im laat t h e end

o f t h e season ,my wife p rom ised to re-engage h e r on

our re t u rn from Calcut tain t h e fo l lowing summer .

At t h e app roach of th e h ot weat h e r , wh en coatswere becom ing aposi t i v e encumb ranc e , and ice andpunkah-wallahs were in demand , b egan t h e usualexodus from Calcut taof t h e Gov e rnmen t estab l ishmen ts. Great and smal l h u rri e d eager ly to t h e h i l ls,scornfu l ly regard l ess of t h e annual ly recu rring grow lsof t h e Calcut tapub l i c , and equal ly ind i ffe rent to t h eeconomical obj ect ions of t h e Ind ian press . Ove rc rowded rai lway t rains carri e d us 1 150 m i l es to Umbal lah

,and dale gharries conveyed u s

,j o l t e d , du sty ,

and t i red,along th i rty-six mi l es of road to t h e foo t of

t h e H imalayas. But S im lawas st i l l along way off.

The luxu ry of d riv ing rap id ly u p to t h e Ind ianCapua, over fi fty m i l es of good h i l l - road , was not

known at t hat t im e . T h e regu lar postal rout e toSimlawas by th e m i l i tary stat ion of Kussowlee, andz igzagged ove r one al p ine range and t h en anoth e r

with manyasp l end i d v i ew of mountain sc ene ry , andmanyalove ly b i t of l igh t and shade and co lou r uponth e glorious h i l ls to charm th e eye of t h e ap prec iative t rave l l e r .The sun was l ow in t h e heavens as we we re

passingalong th e t h ickly wooded road wh ich l ead s

OR MAN AND lV I FE . 297

in to B oileaugunge , t h e “ west end of S imla, and wewere si l ent ly admi r ing th e b laze of c rimson wi t h

wh i ch th e rhododend rons in fu l l b looml it e ral ly l i t u pt h e h i l lsi d es from base to summi t

,wh en two figures

in wh i t e hu rri e d u p to u s wi th low salaams. Theywe re B h ujnu and h e r h usband Ch erokeeah ,

had been pat i ent ly wai t ing fo r u s, day afte r day, at

th is spo t . Ch erokeeah , wh o was unknown to u s

p rofesse d to b e alcztrnatgar, or tab l e se rvant , and ,

un ro l l ing asmal l pocke t -handke rch ie f, p rodu ce d afew d i rty - looking p i eces of pap e r for u s to read

which were c ert ificat es from fo rme r em p loye rs. \Ve

took th e pai r into our service,and on reach ing ou r

h ouse assigne d t h em an ou t-office to l ive in . The

man d i d h is wo rk p re tty we l l,t h e woman very

sat isfactori ly . But t h ey d i d not l ive in harmony .

There arose constant b ickerings and quarre ls b e

tween t h em,wh ich somet im es d i st u rb ed th e qu i e t

of ou r compound . Annoyed by t h e i r conj ugal d ifferences, we cal l e d t h e pai r b efo re u s

,and warned

t h em that t h ey wou l d bo t h b e summari ly d ismisse di f t h ey al lowed th e i r quarre ls to t roub l e u s. The

man re ce ive d th is warn ing in si l ence , and wen t off

qu i et ly to pe rform h is usual du t i es. Not so t h e

woman , whose h eart was too fu l l , or whose tongue

was l ess unde r con t ro l . She se ize d th e oppo rt uni tyto exp lain ,

rn detai l,h ow ve ry m ise rabl e sh e was.

Her narrat ive reveal e d domest i c arrangements of so

p ecu l iar ak ind, and affo rd e d gl impses of i d eas and

fee l ings so ve ry un l i ke t hose ent e rtained by t h eWest e rn worl d , t hat I t hought i t worth wh i l e to not e

down h er stat emen ts, which I now rep roduce .

Acco rd ing to B hujnu’

s story , sh e had been marr i e d

298 EH U/N U AND CHE ROKEE /I I I ,

to Cherokeeah for seve ral years, when h e took afancyto h e r younge r siste r and indu ce d h er also to l ivewi th h im ? A l though t h e newarrangemen t was not

qu i t e to h e r l i k ing , Bh ujnu managed for some

mont hs to l ive am icab ly wit h h e r more favou redsist e r

,and for awhi l e t h ings wen t on smooth ly

enough in t h e i r l i t t l e v i l lage home , till t h e younge rsist e r t ransfe rre d h e r affec t ions and h erse l f to

ano th e r man , and now,st range to say, b egan t h e

d iscord b e tween t h e husband and h is wi fe .

Ch erokeeah was deep ly wounded by t h e dese rt ionof h is favou ri t e , and wou l d have i t t hat h is e lde rwi fe had e i th e r p revai l e d u pon h e r sist e r t o go away ,or had d riven h er ou t of t h e house by unkindness.

I n m oments of v exat ion h e u se d to d raw con t rastsb etween t h e two sist e rs

,much t o th e d isadvan tage

of th e e lde r one,l i ken ing th e younge r to an elephant

I Po lygamy is not th e general ru le amongst th e inhab itantsof th e H imalayas. Po lyandry is, i f anyth ing, more common .

A woman is often marri ed to awho le fami ly of brothers. I t issai d that fathers obj ect strong ly to gi ve the ir daughters to menwh o have no brothers

,b ecause th e death of th e sing le h usband

wou ld leave th e wi dowwitho ut anatural protector. T he p re

valence of th e custom of po lyandry in many countries in

Britain in th e trrn e of Caesar) rs we l l known, and its ori g in hasgeneral ly beenattri buted to th e poverty of th e peop le

,co up led

with th e hab i t,so general amongst barbarians

,o f longabsences

from home on predatory or other excursions, and th e necessi tythence arising of ap lural ity of guard ians for th e domest ichearth . T ouch ing po lyandry, H erbert Spencer says :

“Some

wh o have had ‘good opportun it i es o f judg ing’

contend that incertain p laces i t isadvantageous. I t wou ld seemthat j ust asthere are hab itats in wh ich on ly in ferior forms ofan imals canex ist , so in soc iet ies physi cal ly cond it ioned in part icu lar ways,th e inferior forms of domest ic l i fe surv i ve because they aloneare pract icab le ”

(“Princ ip les of Soc i o logy,” i .

300 B I I U/N U AND CH E ROA’

E EA I I ,

five rupees fo r h e r to h e r parents, and h e p ro t est e dt hat h e was not go ing to be done ou t of h is money .

I suggest e d to th e woman t hat , as t h is pu rchasemoney seemed to b e th e great d i fficu l ty in t h e wayof h e r emanc i pat ion ,

sh e had be tt e r pay t h e amoun tand b e done wi th i t . With ab lank look 011 h e r face ,sh e inqu i red wh e re sh e was to ge t t h e n ecessaryrup ees from . I po int e d ou t to he r t hat sh e earne deve ry mon t h twi ce as mu ch as h e r h usband c laime don accoun t of pu rchase money , and migh t easi ly payh im th e five rup ees h e gave for h er . “ Oh

sh e sai d,wit h someth ing l ike d espai r in h e r tone ,

“ don ’t you see all my earn ings are h is ? I canno tpay h im ou t of what is h is own p rop erty . I t wasno u se exp lain ing to h e r t hat sh e wasafre e womanand not aslave . Amongst u s, sh e wou l d say,

i t is

d i ffe ren t,for with h e r t h e customsand u sages of h e r

cast e and t r ib e we re eve ryth ing,l e t Acts of Par l ia

men tand of t h e Ind ian Legislat u re b e what t h eymay .

Lo th to int e rfe re too act ive ly in apecu l iar d isput eof t h is kind

,I refraine d from pre ssing t h e po in t , and

l e t t h e mat t e r d rop , hop ing t hat t h e t h reat of d ismissal wou l d keep t h e bad ly -yoked parr in o rde r .

But fu rth e r d isp ut es soon arose , fo l lowe d by

app l icat ions for my arb i t rat ion now t hat t h e factsof th e case had been made known t o m e . The

cou rse ofac t ion gene ral ly adopt e d in such cases byEu rop eans in Indiais ave ry simp l e one . They

haught i ly or petu lant ly d ec l ine to l ist en to t h e

stat em en ts of t h e t roub l e some d isp utants ; d ismisst h emat amomen t ’s not ice , and engage o th e r ser

van ts in t h e i r p lac es. Th is cou rse was open to me ,but I h esi tat e d t o d rop th e cu rtain in t h is summary

OR MAN AND lV/FE . 3 9 1

fash ion u pon al i t t l e domest ic d ramaso characteristic of East e rn l i fe

,and I th e refore adop te d

anot h e r p lan . T o t h e great joy of t h e ayah,I

o ffe re d to pay off th e into l e rab l e d eb t of five ru peeswhich hung l ike ami l lston e round h e r neck . Che

rokeeah accep t ed th e offe r— not, howeve r , wi thou t

great re l uctance , and on ly aft e r h is c laim to all t h ewoman ’

s worl d ly possessions on t hat day,inc l ud ing

h e r o rnaments and even he r ve ry c lo th es,had been

adm i t t ed . Wi l l ingly d id B hujnu part wi th all h e rworl d ly possessions to be free d from abondagewh ich had become in to l e rab l e to h er . The m oney

was pai d , and t h e p rope rty handed over to Chero

keeah . H enceforward th e two l ived apart ,and p eacere igned in our com pound .

At t h e end of t h e Siurlaseason ,wh en t h e t im e

arr iv e d for our re tu rn to Calcu tta, t h e woman earnestly begged to b e fu rn ished wi t h awri t t enstat ement

,si gne d by me

,to t h e effect that Che ro

k eeah had rece ived back,in fu l l

,t h e five rup ees h e

had pai d to he r parents on t h e occasion of th e i r

marriage . Th is wasap recaut ionary measure . She

was go ing for t h e wint e r months to h e r nat i vev i l lage , and feare d that h e r lat e h usband wou l dc laim he ragain and deny hav ing rece ived payment .I gav e he r t h e pape r sh e want ed , and we had reasonto know that

,armed wi th th is importan t documen t ,

sh e wasab l e , withou t th e int e rvent ion ofany of Her

Maj esty’s d ivo rc e cou rts, t o ke ep herse l f free from

th e c l u tch es of h e r forme r lo rd and mast e r, and to

en te r into o t h e r mat r imon ial arrangements 011 he r

own account .

THE SLA VE GIRL .

T H E part icu lars embod ie d in t h e fo l lowing br i e f narrative wi l l h e l p th e reade r t o unde rstand t h e est imat ion in wh i ch women , atany rat e t hose of th e l owe rc lasses, are h e l d in Ind ia.

I n t h e summer of 187 ayoung man of the

Meht e r I cast e made ov e rtu res for th e hand of ayoung gi r l wi th whom , we may suppose

,h e had

fal l en in l ove . Her guard ians, d istan t re lat ions of

h ers,we re wi l l ing enough to get h e r marr i e d ; b u t t h e

opport un i ty wasal egit imat e one for makingal i t t l emoney , and th ey were not go ing to fo rego t h e i r righ tto se l l t h e gi r l whom th ey had main taine d for som e

years. The young man’

s p rOp osal was acco rd inglyrece i ved wi th favou r , and h e was info rmed that h em igh t take th e gi r l to wi fe on paying h e r guard ianst h i rty rupe es in hard cash .

O u r swain was abso l u t e ly p enn i l ess,and t h i rty

rupe esalarge sumin h is eyes, see ing that h e wou l dprobab ly n eve ratany t im e of h is l i fe earn more thanfive or six rupe es amon t h ; bu t t h en h e cou l dI T h e Meh tersarealow caste, mostly emp loyedas sweepersand scavengers. T heyare aspec ial ly inte l l i gent c lass, strong ,p lucky

,and somewhat quarrelsome .

3 9 4 TH E SLA VE GIRL.

p erienced ,and

,pe rhaps

,became st i ff-necked and

obst inat e , for even t ual ly h e r m ot he r-ih -law p ro

nounced h e r incorrigib l e . D omest i c p eac e b e ingimpossi b l e und e r t h e c i rcumstances, h e r h usbandt urne d he r adri ft , l eaving Lahore at t h e same t im eto avo i d b e ing cal l e d to accoun t for h is condu ct by

t h e panchyat of h is caste .

T h e bunneah had not been pai d asing l e fract i onof t h e sum o riginal ly borrowed froni h im

,t hough

h e had managed to extort arespec tab l e amount ofm oney unde r t h e name of in t e rest . Gh usseetah ,

t h e su rety , was warn ed t hat as t h e p r inc i pal hadabsconded , h e wou l d b e requ i re d to pay up to t h eu tt e rmost cowrie. Al ready in t h e to i ls of t h e

b unneah on accoun t of o t h e r t ransact ions, andoften

,when short of cash , d epend ent upon h im for

th e bare n ecessari es of l i fe , t h e poo r man acknowl edged h is ob l igat ionsand h umb ly p rom ised to pay .

But was t h e re no compensat ion to b e had for th eloss o ccasi one d by t h e base ingrat i t u d e of h is

d efau l t ing fri end ? H e pondere d t h e mat t e r , andst ruck u pon t h e i d eaof bo l d ly annex ing th e gi rlwh o was t h e innocen t cause of h is indeb tedn ess.

He to l d h e r that as he r h usband had absconde dwi thou t paying t h e m oney , and had l eft h im so l e ly

responsib l e to t h e b unneah for t h e amoun t wh erewi t h sh e had been p u rchase d from h e r guard ians

was now h is (Gh usseetah ’

s) p rop erty . Theargumen tappeare d unanswerab l e , and , fu l ly p e rsuaded of t h e

j ust i c e and lawfu lness of t h is conc l usion , the young

woman accompan i e d h e r new mast e r t o h is home,

and was in du e cou rse made ove r t o th e t ende r

merc i es of h i s wi fe . The s lave thus acqu i re d— for

TH E SLA T’

E GIRL . 3 9 5

slav e she pract ical ly was,be th e law of t h e land

what i t may— had now to d o all t h e hou seho l d wo rkof alarge and ve ry poor fami ly . I n such aposi t ionh e r dut i eswere by no means l igh t . She had to fetchwat e r for domest ic p u rposes, grind corn into flou rfor th e dai ly consum p t i on of t h e who l e fami ly ,

p reparet h e meals

,wash th e po t sand pans, sweep th e room

and at any rat e once aweek p last e r i t ove r wi th

amixtu re of c lay and cow-dung, and last , t hough

not l east , sh e had to look aft e r t h e l i t t l e ones. Hers

was one incessan t round of to i l,and al t hough recog

niz ed as amembe r of t h e househo l d and en t i t l e d toashare of food , she had to wear rags, to endu re t h eangry v i t up e rat ion of h er m ist ress

,an d oft en t h e

b lows of th e ch i l d ren ,wh o d i d not fai l to remind he r

of h er se rv i l e cond i t ion .

When Gh usseetah and h is wi fe ent e red my se rvice

as sweep e r an d ayah resp ect ive ly , t h ey we re th eowne rs of th e slave gi rl . They took u p th e i r abod ein aroom in my se rvants’ quarte rs or ou t-offices.

The room was abou t e igh t or n ine fe e t square . I t

had one en t rance -doo r , and on t h e opposi t e si d e al i t t l e window,

wi t h st rong wooden barsacross i t . Att h is t ime t h e fami ly consist e d ofason , abou t e l evenyears ofage , and h is ch i l d wife ; two younger boys,an infan t in arms, and t h e slave , whose age was p robab ly not more than sevent e en or e ight een . I n my

compound th e fami ly l iv e d quretly enough , and wehad no knowl edge of th e p ecu l iar posi t ion t h e youngwoman occup i ed in t h e ayah ’s househo l d . The debt

howeve r , st i l l remaine d unpai d , and t h e b unneaht h reat ene d l egal p roce ed ings.

Al though no beau ty , t h e h ou seho l d d rudge was20

3 9 9 TH E SLA VE GIRL .

young;and you th , c lo th ed even in d i rty rags, has itsat t ract ions for t h e opposi t e sex . A t ende r fe e l ing forth e gi r l sp rang u p in t h e im p ressionab l e h ear t of h e rmast e r

,an e l d e r ly grey-h eade d man , wi th arat h e r

gaunt appearance . Certain ind isc re t ion s on his partaroused ayah ’s susp ic ions. Sh e th e re upon ,

unknownto h er h usband

,suggest e d to t h e bunneah that h e

shou l d arrange,i f possib l e , to pass t h e young woman

on to som e man or o th e r who wou l d engage to takeove r t h e d eb t . The b unneah , wh o had p robab lyb een pai d aport ion of t h e in t e rest on t h e money

advance d by h im,found awi l l ing bach e lo r , and

arranged th e mat t e r sat isfacto ri ly . Bu t now acu ri ous d i fficu l ty arose — Gh usseetah was not aswi l l ing as h is wife that t h e young woman shou l dl eave h is house . He t h rew what obstac l es h e cou l din t h e way of t h e final conc l usion of t h e new

arrangem en t . He d i d not ap p rove of t h e fut u re

h usband,h e d id not fe e l su re t hat t h e bargain was

asafe one . Mat t e rs had ,howeve r , unde r h is wi fe

gu idanc e,advance d too far to b e easi ly set asi d e .

The gi rl—

was made ove r to h e r new lo rd , wh o;when

h e came to conduct h e r home , brought agaudy su i t

of c lot h es for h er . Arrayed in he r new fin e ry , andesco rt ed by asmal l party of fri ends, sh e wen t off

chee rfu l ly to h e r new lo rd ’s home , and t h e fat e thatm igh t b e in store for h e r t h e re .

On t h e young woman ’

s d epartu re Ghusseetahbroke down comp le t e ly . He refuse d to eat or drink

and became redu ced t o av e ri tab l e ske l eton . D is

conso lat eand down -h earted , h e wrapped h is ex -slave ’sragged and d i rty sh eet abou t h is lo ins, took astaff inh is hand , and wande re d fo rth al one , t h reat e ning t o

39 8 THE SLA VE GI RL .

Howeve r,h e d i d not d i e . With t ime h e re covere d

h is senses. H e no longer refuse d food , and gradual lygot as st rong as h e had formerly b een . But now

comes ano th e r curious feat u re of t h e case . H e

so l emn ly ave rred t hat h e had no reco l l ec t ion ofwhath e had sai d or done in t h e mat t e r of Subratun . He

protest e d t hat h e had b een b ewi tched by some

enemy , wh o had given h im po ison to eat,and had

mad e h im r i d icu lous in th e eyes of eve rybody . He

cou l d not b e prevai l ed upon to acknowl edge h is own

responsi b i l i ty for h is sayings and do ings ; stout lymaintaining t hat h e had been unde r evi l influences

and not h is own mast e r .When Ghusseetah got mad—as h is wi fe cal l ed i tand cou l d not do h is work , I inqu i re d into t h e c i rcum

stances of t h e case, and t h en , wi thout any d iffi

cu l ty or c ross-qu est ion ing,l earn t all th e part icu lars

detai l ed above . I was care fu l to not e down i mme

d iately t h e factsas t h ey were commun icat e d to me ,for t h ey seemed to affo rd agl impse of t h e inne r l i fe

of t h e peop l e wh ich m igh t b eas int e re st ing to ot h e rsas i t was to m e .

THIEF-CA TCHING .

TH I EF—CAT CH ING carri ed out in at ho roughly Ind ianway has its pecu l iari t i es not devo i d of int e rest .Fift een rupees had been abst ract ed ou t ofabox

in my st udy . I cal l e d my se rvan ts togethe r, madeknow the loss, and t h reat ene d apo l ic e invest igat ion .

What such an inqu iry invo l ved th e se rvants werewe l l aware . The faces of t hose upon whom ,

the nat u re of t h e i r d ut i es,susp ic ion wou l d nat u ral ly

fal l , showed on ly t oo we l l t hat t he i r imaginat ionswere al ready busy , conj u ring u p t h e d isgracefu lscene in which th e nat i ve constab l es wou l d endeavou rto e l ic i t the t ru th from them ,

l i t e ral ly at t h e po in tof t h e baton , dug into t h e i r unfo r tunat e si d es. The

magist rat e and h is sent ence u pon t h e offender aresecondary consi de rat ions in t h ese cases. I t is t h e

p re l im inary po l ice invest igat ion t hat is most d readed .

I had not t h e sl igh test in t ent ion of hand ing myse rvants ove r to t h e t ende r merc i es of t h e constabl es.

My th reat was merely int ended to fright en ou t aconfession ,

i f possi b l e , and I wi l l ingly acceded to aproposal , made by one or two of th e se rvants, to

invest igat e t h e mat t e r t hemse lves.

3 10 TH IE F -CA T CH I N G .

Afte r p erfo rm ing c e rtain re l igiou s ab l u t i ons, t h ecook

, agrave Mussu lman much resp ect e d in t h e

household , p roduc ed ashoe into t h e insid e of

which h e st uck ashoemake r s awl, and with t h isinst rument p ro ce ed ed wi t h great so l emn i ty to t h e

det ec tion of t h e t h i e f. The names o f t h e seve ralservan ts were wri t t en up on separat e sc raps ofpap er.

The cook and one o t h e r man , act ing jointlv,l i ft e d

th e sho e , each man ap plying on ly one finge r unde r

t h e round h ead of th e hand l e of t h e awl. Susp endedin t h is way , t h e scraps of pap er wi t h t h e se rvan ts’

names were d roppe d in to t h e shoe in succession ,and

i t was wel l understood by all p resen t t hat when t h eth i ef’s name was p u t in to t h e shoe it wou l d t u rn

round in ahorizon tal p lane . I t t u rn ed ve ry d is

tinctly at t h e name of ac e rtain se rvan t , and ,as

might have been exp ec t ed , t h e resu l t was rece ivedby h im wi th anvth ing bu t sat isfact ion . H oweve r ,h e was aH indu

,and affe c te d to be l i eve t hat t h is

Mussu lman mod e of t h i ef-catch ing was not qurte

fai r,atany rat e to H indus, and it was agreed that

arefe rence shou l d b e mad e on th e subj ec t to aBrahman in th e c i ty , whose ve rd ict wou l d b e con

si d e red conc l usive . N ex t day t h e B rahman wasappeal e d to . H e wen t t h rough afo rm of d iv inat ion ,

and t h en o racu larly dec lare d that t h e th i e f was aman ,

not awoman , t hat h e was more t han t h i rtyand l ess than fo rty years ofage ,and so on . He ve ry

impressive ly affi rmed h isab i l i ty to lay hands on t h e

t h i ef t h e re and t h en,bu t h e re fraine d from do ing so ,

advising th e cu lp ri t to resto re t h e money with in th enext two days, o th e rwise h e wou l d expose h im andl e t t h e law take its cou rse . The Brahman ’

s d escrip

A YOUTHFUL SAINT.

AT T RACT ED by t h e vo ices of some peop l e passing mywindow, and espec ial ly no t ic ing ah igh t reb l e vo i ce ,l i ke t hat ofach i ld , speaking in rat h e r more au th oritative t ones t han h is years seem ed to j ust i fy , I lookedoutand sawasmal l boy ofabout twe lve vears ofage ,d ressed in c l ean c loth es, at t ended by seve ral of myse rvan ts, allapparen t ly most at t ent i ve t o h im . One

man, of whom he inqu i re d wh e re h is mangoes we re ,

ran offat once,apparen t ly to fe tch th em

,but real ly

to pu rchase some in t h e bazaar . The you th fu lc ent re of t h is l i t t l e group was saunt e ring in ave ryl e isu re ly manne r t owards t h e gat e , conve rsing wi t hh is com pan ions

,when su dden ly , in t h e most capr i

c ions manne r , h e t u rne d rou nd and took an Opposi t ed i rect i on towards t h e out-offices at t h e back of th e

house . H is fu l l fac e was now in v i ew,and st ruck

m e st rongly as be ing very want ing in int e l l igence , i fnot hearing v isi b l e t rac es of insan i ty .

The b oy had been l iv ing in my out-h ouses for two

or t h re e days. He had come in t h e re of h is own

accord, and was b e ing feaste d and fet e d to t h e fu l l

ext ent of t h e i r m eans by my poor bu t eve r imp rov i

A YOUTH F UL SA I N T . 3 13

den t domest ics, wh o were neve r t i re d of su pp ly ing

h is wan ts or humouring h is cap rices : for, i t wou l dseem , t h e b oy was aremarkab l e pe rson , one esp ec ially favoured by Al lah .

I n h is nat i ve v i l lage nearGujranwallah ,h is fath e r

had recen t ly been engaged in e rect ing th e mud wal lsof ahu t for h imse l f. H is humb l e

,i f usefu l , wo rk

requ i re d ap l ent i fu l sup p ly of wat e r,and t h is t h e

own e r of t h e we l l hard byabso l u t e ly refuse d to giveh im . Withou t wate r th e wo rk cou ld not be carri edon . The bu i l d e r was in great p e rp l ex i ty , when h isyoung son came to h is rescue wi th wo rds of comfort , t e l l ing h im that what h is fe l low-man re

fused Al lah wou l d give fre e ly ;and so saying , h ep lan t e d h is l i t t l e foo t down vigo rously on t h e ground ,o u t ofwhich asp ring of fresh wate r instant ly we l l e du p ,and cont inu es flowing to t h is day . So remark

ab l e an even t cou l d not fai l to at t rac t at t ent ion .

The sp ring became famo us all t h rough th e n e ighb ourhood . Visi tors from near and far flocked to see

i t . I t b ecame ap lace of p i l grimage . The wat e rwas found to have wonderfu l cu rat ive p owe r . Evenl e p rosy was cu red by bath ing in i t , and quant i t i eswere sto redand carr i e daway for t h e benefi t ofsuffe re rsunab l e to come to t h e ho ly spot

,where Al lah had so

remarkab lyman i fest e d H is powe rand H is beneficentremembrance of t h e wants of t h e poor . One miserab l e l ep e r

,cu red of h is d isease at t h e sp ring , carri ed

away some of t h e wat e r to Amri tsarand so l d i t th e re

to ano t h e r suffe re r fromt h e same gri evousaffl ict ion .

The pu rchase r was d trly restored to asound cond i t ion

by t h e use of t h e wat e r ; bu t alas, t h e me rcenaryvendo r of G od ’s p re c ious, bu t fre e ly given , gift of

3 14 A YOUTHF UL SA IN T .

h eal ing wasat tacke d again by t h e h id eo us maladyasap un ishmen t for h isavaric e .As sudden ly and capric iouslyas h e came

,so sud

d enly and cap ri c i o u sly th e b oy wen t away, and Il ost all fu rth e r t rac e of t h is in t e rest ing l i t t l e worke rof m i rac l es, who , i f h e does not go mad , wi l l p e rhaps h ereaft e r ad d anew sect or sub -sect t o th e

innum erab l e onesal ready flou rish ing in Ind ia.

3 16 TH E DA UGH T ER-IN -LA W.

A sho rt t im e aft e r th e inc i d en t re fe rre d to above .

my at t ent ion was at t ract e d by awoman’

s vo ice

c ry ing in loud and p i ti fu l tones. I nan Ind ian househo l d such an even t wou l d gene ral ly b e not i ced on ly

by ap e remptory o rd e r to stop t hat no ise , ” aecompanied byat h reat of summary ej ectm en t or worse

p un ishmen t in t h e even t of arepe t i t ion of t h e

nu isance . But hav ing no t h ing part icu lar on hand,

I t hought i t wort h wh i l e to go down to t h e out

o ffices,wh ich were at some distanc e from my dwe l l

ing-house , and make inqu i r i es int o th e up roar . As

soon as I app eared , t h e servants began re lat ing ado l e fu l tal e of syst emat ic opp ressi on and c rue l ty .

The vi ct im was t h e gi rl I had p rev iously se en

t u rne d out to eat h e r d inn e r in t h e co l d . The

o ppressor was he r mot h e r-in-law. N eve r adaywen t

,so sai d t h e se rvan ts

,withou t t h e young

woman be ing sound ly thrashed,wi th ast ick i f i t

we re at hand , or wi t h b lows and k icks, as migh t b ec onven i en t . The reasons for t h ese assau l ts weremany and various : no fau l t

,no offence , n egl ect or

oversi gh t,b e ing too t r ivial to exc i t e t h e moth e r-in

law’

s ange r and cause h e r to become vio l en t . Icou l d not find o ut what was t h e real ground for t h eassau l t on t h is part icu lar occasion , bu t i t was qu i t eapparen t t hat t h e gi r l had b een seve re ly beat enabout t h e face , as i t was swo l l en u p

, and t h e re wassome b lood about h er p e rson . The mot h e r-in-lawwas not to be found , and t h e gi rl ’s h usband , in am ost abj ec t way,

t r i e d to exp lain t hat t h e p un ishmen t was wel l meri t ed

,as h iswife had not p erfo rmed

t h e tasks wh ich had been al lo t t e d h e r . H is fe l low

se rvants stat e d that t h e young woman was up eve ry

THE DA UGH TER-l N -LA W. 3 17

day hou rs befo re dayl ight to grind th e co rn for t h e

ent i re househo l d ; that sh e had to swe e p t h e houseand lay on afresh wash of c lay over th e floor eve ry

day ; t hat sh e had to cook th e food , carry i t h e rse l ftwo -and -a-hal f m i l es to th e ri ve r whe re t h e washe rrnen we re engaged , bring back th e p lat es, and cook

th e even ing meal against t h e re t u rn of t h e dhob ies.

Acco rd ing to allaccounts sh e wo rked early and lat e ,bu t cou l d neve r p l ease h e r mot h e r-in-law. I insist e d

t hat th e o ld woman shou l d b e p roduced . Her son

swore sh e had gone out ; p resen t ly , howeve r , I d iscove red that sh e was conceal ed in one of th e rooms

and sh e was b rought fo rward mu ch against h e r wi l l .The old wi tch— I had neve r se en he r befo re— was awi ry woman abou t fi fty years ofage ,

wi t h i l l -nat u restam p ed on eve ry featu re of he r face . I sco l ded h e r

for he r c ru e l ty to t h e gi rl ; I po int ed out t hat h e rdaugh t e r-in-law was 110 slave

,and t hat sh e had no

l egal r i gh t W hat eve r to st r ike h e r . But th e o ld hagwas not to be pu t down so easi ly . She assumed adefian t air

,and sai d she had sp en t he r m oney in

gett ing th e gi rl and wou l d have he r wo rk out of

h er . T o argu e wi t h t h e o ld t e rmagant was use l ess.

When amast e r does not get h is wo rk done , doesn’t

h e beat h is se rvants ? and wh en I don ’t ge t my

work done I shal l of course b eat t h e gi rl . ” Such wash er con t ent ion . She insist e d that as sh e had spen t

h ermoney in gett ing the gi rl for he r son ,sh e had a

c l ear righ t to h e r se rvic es. The gi rl was from adi stan t v i l lage , and possi b ly h e r paren ts had rece ivedfi fte en or twenty rupe es on th e occasion ofhand rnghe rove r to h er husband , and had ,

in all l i ke l i hood , sp en tt h e amoun t in p rovid ing asim p l e feast of rice and

3 18 THE DA UGH TER IN -LA W.

sugar for t h e i r rust ic fri endsand n e ighbou rs. Yet on

th e st rength of t h is smal l sumof money t h e gi rl wasareal slave to he r mo th er-in -law. I t h reat ene d tosend for th e po l ice , to c l ear u p t h is po int for h e r ,bu t th e old woman was not to b e int im idat e d . The

son stood by makingapo logi es with h is palm s j o ine d

togethe r in th e most abj ect manne r,b u t th e old

wi tch affi rmed bo l d ly , and wit h asign ificance not to

b e m istaken,t hat whateve r t h e p o l ice m igh t do , t h e

S irkarwou ld not take h e r daught e r-in-lawaway fromhe r . The girl had not aword t o say. With h e r

h ead bowed down and h e r fac e almost q u i t e eon

cealed , sh e sat sc rubb ing abrass lotah,as i f afrai d

t hat any int e rrupt i on of h e r labou rs wou l d entai lfu rt h e r pun ishmen t . Withou t doubt sh e consi d e re d

h erse l f apu rchased slave , av i ew in wh ich th e bystandersap parent lyacqu i esced , t h ough th ey though tsh e ought to b e t reat e d wi th al i t t l e l ess c ru e l ty .

And as sh e sat th e re,in h e r coarse , fi l thy rags

p resent e d asad con t rast to h e r mot h e r- in-law in he rgreen and b lack ch in tz p et t icoat , wh it e bod ice , andred sh eet . The con t rast b etwe en t h e two womenwas so marked , t hat I b egan to take not e of t h e

ap p earance of t h e oth e r m embers of t h e fami ly .

The men were d ressed in c l ean whi t e c lot h es, t h e

mo th e r-in-lawas al ready stat ed , and h e r own l i t t l egi rl in an ice ye l low p et t icoat , wi th awh i t e sh ee t

ove r h e r h ead . Al l looke d c l ean and resp ectab l e ,excep t t h e young wife

,t h e domest ic d rudge

,t h e

slave that had been purchase d for so many rupe es,

si l en t ly b usy c l ean ing th e b rass p ot even wh i l e he rwrongs were b e ing d iscussed in he r p resenc e . I

began se riously to regre t my in t e rfe renc e in t h e

329 THE DA UGH TER-I N-LA W

as eve ry p recau t ion wh ich common sense wou l d

suggest . D ese rt ed by h e r h usband , and c ru e l ly

i l l -use d by he r mo th e r-in -law even when t h e ch i l l

hand of death was unmistakab ly u pon h er,t h e poo r

gi r l d i e d asad og might d i e , uncare d for and alone.

O ft en had sh e been h eard to wish h e rse l f dead , andto conso l e h erse l f wi th th e t hough t t hat sh e wou l d

ret u rn as achoorail to p erse cu t e and dest roy h e rtyran t , re lying u pon awi d e ly sp read su p e rst i t ion ,

wh ich somet imes has t h e who l esome e ffec t of re

st rain ing,in some degre e , t h e han d of t h e domest ic

op p ressor . But in t h e ease I amwri t ing about t h evengeance of t h e poor d ead woman was compl et e ly

and effectual ly guard e d against by m eans of approprinte ceremonies. At t h e var ious hal t ing p laces to

t h e grave mustard se ed had be en scat t e red abou t ,and afew i ron tacks had be en d riven in to t h e groundwi th t h e p raye r that t h e sp i ri t of th e decease d m igh tnot be p e rm i tt ed to d ist u rb th e l iv ing. The ghost of

t h e inj u re d woman might haunt t h e graveyard,b ut

in se ek ing its fo rm er earth ly hab itat ion i t wou l dhave to re t rac e th e road along wh ich its corpse hadb een bo rn e . Here i t wou l d always find asp i r i t ualgarden of mustard p lants

,begu i l ed in to co l l ect

ing t h e flowe rs,wou l d lose t h e p rec i o us hou rs of t h e

n igh t , and be forc ed by app roach ing dawn to hast enback to t h e land of t h e d ead .

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