Full Defence of the Old Religions: Sectarian Movements

4. SECTARIAN MOVEMENTS IN HINDUISM

The rise of the modern spirit and the example set by the great movements we have already discussed had the effect of stirring each of the chief Hindu sects to self-defence and to various efforts for the strengthening of the community.

A. The Mādhvas

It was the Mādhvas of South India who first bestirred themselves to mutual help and organization. They are a Vishṇuite sect, and are followers of Madhva, a philosophic thinker, who formed his system and created his sect, in the Canarese country in Western India, in the thirteenth century. The sect is strongest in the part of the country where it arose, but it is found scattered throughout the South; and the Chaitanya sect of Bengal and Brindaban sprang from its influence. Like all the other theistic sects, they are Vedāntists, their form of the Vedānta being dualistic. Kṛishṇa is their favourite incarnation. A considerable number of cultured and well-to-do men are Mādhvas.

Thirty-seven years ago, a member of the sect, Mr. Kanchi Sabba Raoji, who had had a good English education, and was a Deputy-Collector of the First Grade under the Madras Government, conceived the idea of forming a society to unite the Mādhvas, to stimulate the systematic study of Mādhva literature, and to look after the Mādhva temples. In 1877 he succeeded in forming the Mādhva Siddhāntonnahinī Sabhā, or Association for the Strengthening of the Mādhva System. An annual Conference is held, at which speeches are delivered, examinations in the sacred books conducted, and prizes and honours conferred. A well-managed Bank, with a capital of three lacs of rupees, is connected with the society, and is able to give an annual grant in aid of its work. The Mahārājas of Travancore and Mysore, and a large number of wealthy titled gentlemen, are patrons and life-members of the society; and all the leading educated Mādhvas of the South are members. The Conference meets at Chirtanur, near Tirupati, in the Madras Presidency.

From the Thirty-Fourth Annual Report[^1] it appears that the founder of the society did all he could to stimulate the paṇḍits of the sect to study the literature. His hope was that, if the paṇḍits could be made educated men, it would be possible to bring the mass of the people to an intelligent knowledge of their religion, and to raise the whole standard of thought and life throughout the sect. The Report says that most of the men whom the founder dealt with have passed away, and that worthy successors are hard to find. All capable young Mādhvas seek an English education, and are altogether unwilling to become paṇḍits.

In recent years, the sect has produced a number of books to help its people in the circumstances of to-day. Most of these are in the vernaculars, but a few are in English. S. Subba Rao has translated Madhva’s Commentary on the Vedānta-sūtras,¹ and has done the work well; but the most noteworthy book is the Life and Teachings of Sri Madhvacharyar, by C. M. Padmanabha Char, of Coimbatore.²

B. The Chaitanyas

1. Early in the sixteenth century, a young Bengali sannyāsī, named Kṛishṇa Chaitanya, belonging to Nuddea (then, as now, celebrated as a seat of Sanskrit learning), founded a new sect which worships Kṛishṇa and Rādhā. The theology he taught was the system of Madhva, but in other matters he was a follower of the earlier Vishṇuites of Bengal. He was a man of extremely emotional temperament, and won his success by a tempest of devotion. He would repeat the sweet name of his Lord till he lost all self-consciousness, and imagined himself Kṛishṇa or his beloved Rādhā. He and his followers would sit together for hours, singing hymns in praise of Kṛishṇa with instrumental accompaniment, until they lost themselves in ecstasy and love. This was called saṅkīrtana, united praise. Then they would sally out, drums beating and flags flying, and would march through the streets, dancing and singing to Kṛishṇa with such contagious joy and holy rapture, that the whole town would be swept along on the tide of devotion. This was called nagarkīrtana, town-praise. The composition of popular hymns was thus as character-istic of Chaitanya’s followers as it is of the Salvation Army. In consequence there arose from his movement a new rich literature of religious song in the vernacular.¹ These poems and hymns did much to mould the mind of Rabindra Nath Tagore.² During Chaitanya’s lifetime, the movement was wholesome and uplifting, but it soon degenerated to carelessness and uncleanness. The pure flame was kept burning in a few families; but the fall had been so serious that during the first half of the nineteenth century, the sect was very little thought of in Bengal.

2. We have already seen that Keshab Chandra Sen belonged to one of the good old Vaishṇava families, that one of his earliest associates in his religious work was Bijay Kṛishṇa Gosvāmī, a lineal descendant of one of the personal companions of Chaitanya, and that they successfully introduced into the Brāhma Samāj the enthusiastic devotional methods which we have just described.³

Both these forms of praise have also been adopted by the Christian Church in Bengal. Saṅkīrtana may be witnessed in any gathering; and, when the annual united Conference is held in Calcutta in October, a nagarkīrtana procession passes through the northern parts of the city.

3. But the Neo-Kṛishṇa movement of Bengal is above all things a literary movement. When Bijay Kṛishṇa Gosvāmī finally left the Brāhma Samāj in 1886, he and some friends sought to create a modernized Vaishṇavism, a mystic Hinduism meant to be a revival of the Chaitanya spirit; and their preaching was not without result; but no organization resulted from their labours. The literary revival, on the other hand, has been very successful. It was Christianity and Christian criticism that led to the movement. The steady toil of the Mission Colleges of Calcutta had produced among educated Bengalis a distinct liking for the Gospels and a craving for a perfect character such as Christ’s for daily contemplation and imitation. The official Librarian of the Bengal Government wrote in 1899:

There is no denying the fact that all this revolution in the religious belief of the educated Hindu has been brought about as much by the dissemination of Christian thought by Missionaries as by the study of Hindu scriptures; for Christian influence is plainly detectable in many of the Hindu publications of the year.

On the other hand, Orientalists and missionaries had openly declared that the incarnation-stories of Rāma and Kṛishṇa were myths, and that the Gītā did not come from Kṛishṇa. The aim of the whole movement is to destroy this criticism, and to persuade the Bengali to put Kṛishṇa in the place of Christ and the Gītā in the place of the Gospels.

The new literature falls into three groups, dealing respectively with (a) the historicity of the traditional life of Kṛishṇa, (b) his life and character, regarded as an example for imitation, (c) the Gītā. Of all the books of the Neo-Kṛishṇa literature Kṛishṇacharitra, a Bengali prose work by the great novelist Baṅkim Chandra Chatterji, has been by far the most influential. The main purpose of the work is to prove the historicity of the man-God Kṛishṇa; and, though its reasoning is but a house of cards, it has been used as the critical arsenal of the whole movement. Many books have also been written in English on the life and character of Kṛishṇa, notably Lord Gaurāṅga by Sishir Kumar Ghose. A daily text-book, called The Imitation of Śree Kṛishṇa, acknowledges by its title and its form the Christian influence which inspired it. Of texts and translations of the Gītā there is an endless catalogue; and there have been several books written to prove that the Gītā lays the foundations of a universal religion.

But there is a wider interest connected with this literature. The Gītā has won its way to recognition throughout the world, and is widely read in Europe and America. It was one of the first Sanskrit books introduced to Europe; for it was translated into English in 1785 by Charles Wilkins. Since then it has received a great deal of attention from Western Scholars. Edwin Arnold’s translation, The Song Celestial, did much to make it known; and the Theosophical Society has introduced it to thousands.

A Bengali, named Surendranath Mukerji, a nephew of Mr. Justice Anukul Chandra Mukerji of Calcutta, had rather a romantic history in America. He was a follower of Chaitanya, and became a sannyāsī, taking the name Premānanda Bhāratī. He was usually called Bābā Bhāratī. He went to New York in 1902, and lectured on Kṛishṇa with great success not only in New York, but in Boston, Los Angeles (where he built a Hindu temple), and elsewhere. In 1907 he returned to India with a few American disciples, and opened a Mission in Calcutta. But funds failed, and he returned to America. He published two books, one on Kṛishṇa and one on Light on Life. He died in Calcutta in January, 1914.

The Vaishṇavas of Orissa and the Northern Telugu country held a Convention at least once. It took place at Berhampore, Ganjam, in December, 1910. The Chairman was Bābā Bhāratī. Religious education in schools and the translation of Vaishṇava literature into the vernacular seem to have been the chief matters under discussion.

LITERATURE.—Chaitanya’s Pilgrimages and Teachings, translated into English by Jadunath Sarkar, London, Luzac, 1913, 3s. net. (A translation of the central portion of the best of the early Bengali biographies of Chaitanya.) Gītā and Gospel, by J. N. Farquhar, Madras, C. L. S., 6 as. (The Appendix gives an account of the Neo-Kṛishṇa Movement in Bengal and a list of the chief books down to 1903.) Kṛishṇacharitra by Baṅkim Chandra Chatterji, Calcutta, 1886 and 1892. (Bengali prose. Meant to prove Kṛishṇa historical.) The Bhagavadgītā, translated by M. M. Chatterji, New York, 1887. (A Theosophic attempt to put the Gītā on a level with the New Testament.) Lord Gaurāṅga, by Shishir Kumar Ghose, Calcutta, 1897. Two vols. (A life of Chaitanya in English prose. A very inflated work.)

C. The Śrī-Vaishṇavas

The sect of Rāmānuja, called the Śrī-Vaishṇavas, holds a very striking position among the Hindus of the South. They own many of the greatest and wealthiest temples; a large proportion of the members of the sect are Brāhmans; and English education has made great headway amongst them. One would not have been surprised if they had become organized for self-defence and advance much earlier than most sects. But they are divided into a pair of very hostile sub-sects, called Vaḍa-galais, and Teṅ-galais; and many of the members of both subdivisions are strictly orthodox. They were thus rather late in developing modern movements.

They have had one scholar, however, who has done his very utmost to uphold the dignity of the sect by his writings both in English and the vernacular, Mr. A. Govindāchārya Svāmī of Mysore City. Since 1898 he has published a long list of books, the most noteworthy of which are: Rāmānuja’s Commentary on the Gītā, the Holy Lives of the Āzhvārs, and the Life of Rāmānuja. A little monthly in English, named the Viśishṭādvaitin, was also published for some time, but it has been discontinued.

Then in 1902 a group of Śrī-Vaishṇavas resident in the Mysore State formed a society named the Ubhayavedānta Pravartana Sabhā, or Association for the Promotion of both forms of the Vedānta, which has continued to do good work ever since. It is clearly modelled on the Mādhva Sabhā, as will be seen from the following statement of aims :

(1) To encourage the study of Viśishṭādvaita works in Sanskrit and Tamil ;

(2) To hold an annual examination at Melkote (Tirunārāyanapuram), the most sacred Vaishṇava Shrine in the Mysore State, and to award prizes to successful candidates ; and

(3) To facilitate the propagation of Viśishṭādvaita philosophy by providing, as funds permit, for the holding of religious classes, delivery of lectures, employment of itinerant teachers and preachers, etc.

Another society with similar aims was recently formed in Madras, the Śrī Viśishṭādvaita Siddhānta Saṅgam. From a report of a general meeting published in the Hindu on March 3rd, 1914, it seems clear that the society wishes to encourage religious education in the vernacular among the young people of the community, so that they may not lose their religion.

LITERATURE. — Śrī Bhagavadgītā with Śrī Rāmānuja’s Commentary, translated by A. Govindāchārya, Madras, Vaijayanti Press, 1898, Rs. 5. The Holy Lives of the Azhvārs (i.e. the Ālvārs), by A. Govindāchārya, Mysore, G. T. A. Press, 1902, Rs. 1 as. 8. — The Divine Wisdom of the Drāvida Saints (i.e. the Ālvārs), by A. Govindāchārya, Madras, C. N. Press, 1902, Rs. 2. The Life of Rāmānuja, by A. Govindāchārya, Madras, Murthy & Co., 1906, Rs. 2 as. 12. (A translation of a thirteenth-century Tamil life.)

D. Four Vaishṇava Sects

In the month of May, 1911, the four chief Vaishṇava sects, the Śrī-Vaishṇavas, the Mādhvas, the Vallabhas and the Nimbārkas, took part in a united Vaishṇava Conference held at Allahabad. Several papers of considerable interest were read, and were afterwards published in the Brahmavādin for October and November, 1912. The Conference met also in 1913, at Jaora in Malwa, but no Report has yet been published.

E. The Śaiva Siddhānta

Among the many sects which honour Śiva the Śaiva Siddhānta is decidedly the most interesting; for it has a great history, and possesses a very rich literature, both in Sanskrit and Tamil. It is also one of the largest and most influential bodies in South India. A considerable proportion of its people are now cultured men of position and influence. English education is spreading steadily amongst them; and the pressure of European thought is keenly felt.

Śaiva Sabhās, i.e. Śivaite Associations, have sprung up in several places, notably at Palamcottah and Tuticorin. The Śaiva Sabhā of Palamcottah dates from 1886, and has had an honourable history. Its objects are the propagation of the principles of the Śaiva Siddhānta among Śaivas and others, the supervision of religious institutions, when funds are mismanaged, the cultivation of the Dravidian languages and the betterment of social conditions in South India. The means employed are classes, lectures, the publication of literature, a library, and in recent years, an annual Conference (see below). The Sabhā owns a printing press.

The sect has been fortunate in drawing the attention of a number of scholarly missionaries; and in recent years they have had several scholars of their own, who have worked faithfully for the elucidation of the literature. Of these the chief have been Mr. V. V. Ramanan and Mr. J. M. Nallasvāmī Piḷḷai.

Until 1895 very little was known about the sect. A few essays had appeared by Hoisington, Pope and Cobban, but that was all. In that year, however, Mr. Nallasvāmī Piḷḷai published an English translation¹ of what is regarded as the fundamental scripture of the Siddhānta, the Śiva-jñāna-bodha, “Instruction in Śiva-Knowledge.” It is a short manual of dogma in Sanskrit, accompanied by an elaborate Tamil commentary by Mey-kaṇḍa-devar, a famous theologian of the thirteenth century. In 1900 Mr. Nallasvāmī Piḷḷai and his friends succeeded in starting a monthly English magazine, The Siddhānta Dīpikā, or Lamp of the Siddhānta, for the purpose of giving expression to the best thought of the sect. It has done good work. Many translations are published in it. An English translation of the Śivaite commentary on the Vedānta-sūtras, which is by Nīlakaṇṭhāchārya and is called the Śaiva Bhāshya, appeared in its pages, and is now being issued in book form. In 1900 Dr. G. U. Pope’s edition and translation of Māṇikka Vāchakar’s Tiruvāchakam² drew wide attention to the sect. Three years ago Mr. Nallasvāmī Piḷḷai published a very useful volume, called Studies in Śaiva Siddhānta.³ We ought also to mention a booklet by the Hon. Mr. P. Arunachulam, of the Ceylon Civil Service, Studies and Translations from the Tamil.⁴

Since 1906 the sect has held an annual Conference, the Śaiva Siddhānta Mahāsamājam, at various towns in the north of the Tamil country. The last for which a Report has reached me was held at Conjeeveram in December, 1912. Papers are read and resolutions passed, and the whole Conference helps to encourage and uplift the sect. The last Conference was held at Vellore on the 26th, 27th, and 28th December, 1913. An interesting appreciation of the gathering appeared in The Harvest Field for January, 1914. Since 1909 the Śaiva Sabhā of Palamcottah has held an Annual Conference in Palamcottah, which is very similar in character to the Mahāsamājam. The latter draws its supporters mainly from the north, while the former influences the south of the Tamil country.

In March last I had the privilege and pleasure of interviewing the head of the Tirujñāna Sambandha Svāmī Maṭha in Madura. His name is Svāminātha Deśika. He received me most courteously, explained the course of instruction followed in the monastery, and also told me about his own tours among his disciples. He said that he sympathized with the Śaiva Siddhānta Mahāsamājam, but could not agree with it in all things, and that he did not attend the annual gathering, because, among other reasons, he does not feel that, as a sannyāsī, he can travel by railway.

F. The Liṅgāyats

In the twelfth century, at Kalyān in the south of the Bombay Presidency, Basava, the prime minister of the state, founded a new Śaiva sect called the Vīra Śaivas, i.e. the heroic, or excellent Śaivas. No Brāhman was allowed to act as priest in the sect,¹ and the members renounced caste altogether; but the old poison has crept in amongst them again, and they demand recognition for their caste distinctions in the census papers. There seems to be no theological doctrine marking them off from other Śivaites; but each person wears a miniature liṅga (Śiva’s phallic symbol) in a reliquary hung around his neck, and holds it in the palm of his left hand during his private worship. Hence they are usually called Liṅgāyats. The men who act as their priests and gurus are called Jaṅgamas and may belong to any caste. Jaṅgama-worship is one of the most essential parts of the cult of the sect. The Jaṅgama sits down in yoga-posture, and his disciple sits down before him and performs the sixteen operations of worship, precisely as is done in the case of an idol. The chief books of the sect are Siddhānta Śikhāmaṇi, Kriyasāra, Liṅgadhārana Chandrikā, Vīra Śaiva Dharma Śiromaṇi, and the bhāshya mentioned below. The Basava Purāṇas are popular books of far less consequence.

Thirty years ago the Liṅgāyat Education Association was formed for the promotion of modern education within the community. Large gifts from the wealthiest members of the sect, supplemented by smaller sums from others, sufficed to create an endowment (now amounting to Rs. 225,000), the proceeds of which are used to help poor Liṅgāyat boys to get an education. This central fund has its office in Dharwar. In recent years other organizations have arisen elsewhere, notably the Mysore Liṅgāyat Education Fund, which was organized in Bangalore in 1905, and a hostel for Liṅgāyat students, the Virashaiva Ashram, Kalbadevi, Bombay. In consequence, the community is making progress in education, and many of the younger Liṅgāyats are getting into Government service.

Some ten years ago the All-India Liṅgāyat Conference met for the first time to discuss problems, both religious and secular, which affect the life and standing of the sect. In 1905 the Conference met at Bangalore, and the organization of the Mysore Education Fund was one of the results of the gathering. The Conference of 1913 met at Belgaum. There have been divisions of opinion on various questions, especially religious questions; and, in consequence the Conference has resolved to restrict itself to educational, economic and other secular problems; and all religious subjects are to be dealt with by the Śivayogmandir, which is clearly under the control of the Jaṅgamas.

Literature is not being neglected. The Liṅgāyat commentary on the Vedānta-sūtras is by Śrīpati Paṇḍitārādhya and is called Śrīkara Bhāshya. One-half of this commentary was printed many years ago in Canarese character, but, until recently, no copy, either manuscript or printed, of the second half was known to exist. A good Ms. of the latter has now been found, and Dewan Bahadur Putana Chetty, until recently one of the Councillors of the Mysore State, has arranged to have the whole text edited by competent paṇḍits and printed in devanāgarī. The philosophic standpoint of this commentary is said to be śakti-viśishṭādvaita. Liṅgāyats state that there were two earlier Liṅgāyat commentaries, by Renukāchārya and Nīlakaṇṭhāchārya respectively, but no Mss. of these works now exist.

G. The Left-hand Śāktas

Śakti is a Sanskrit word meaning strength, energy. It is used in every Hindu sect to designate the wife of a god as his energy in action. Lakshmī is the śakti of Vishṇu; while Umā is the śakti of Śiva. But a number of sects give nearly all their attention to the śakti of Śiva, to the neglect of Śiva himself. These sects are known as Śāktas. They usually call the śakti Devī, i.e. the Goddess; but Kālī, or Durgā, is also frequently used. Their sectarian books are called Tantras.

These Devī-worshipping sects fall into two groups, distinguished the one from the other as the Right-hand Śāktas and the Left-hand Śāktas. The Right-hand Śāktas are scarcely distinguishable from ordinary Hindus, except in this that they worship Kālī; but the Left-hand Śāktas have several very distinct characteristics. We need not discuss their theology here in detail: for us the significant point is their worship. According to them Moksha, i.e. release from transmigration, can be achieved in this evil age only by their peculiar ritual. They meet in private houses, and worship in secret. A group of worshippers is known as a chakra or circle. In the room there is either an image of the goddess or a yantra, that is, a diagram which mystically represents the goddess. The actual cult consists in partaking of the Pañchatattva, i.e. the five elements. They are also called the Pañchamakāra, i.e. the five m’s, because the Sanskrit names of the elements all begin with the letter m : they are wine, meat, fish, parched grain and sexual intercourse. A worship-circle always consists of both men and women; and people of any caste or of no caste are admitted. The actual observances are foul beyond description, always involving promiscuity, and often incest.

No modern organization, so far as the writer is aware, has undertaken to modernize or defend this system; yet there have been tentative defences by two individuals. By far the greatest and best book belonging to the sect is the Mahānirvāna Tantra. A translation of this work was published in 1900 by Manmatha Nath Dutt Śāstrī, M.A.¹ In his Introduction² the following paragraph occurs :

However abhorrent these rites may appear on the face of them, there is no doubt that there is a great esoteric meaning behind them. All these, meat, wine, fish and women are objects of temptation. If a worshipper can overcome this temptation, the road to eternal bliss is clear for him. It is not an easy affair for a man to have a youthful and beautiful damsel before him and worship her as a goddess without feeling the least lustful impulse within him. He is to take wine, after dedicating it to the goddess, not for the purpose of intoxicating but for that of concentrating his mind on the object of his devotions. He is to take meat and fish, not because they are palatable dishes but because he must be in good health for performing religious rites.

Thus we see that in Tantrik religion, a worshipper is to approach God through diverse objects of pleasure. He is to relinquish his desire and self and convert the various pursuits of enjoyment into instruments of spiritual discipline.

Last year, a European published, under a nom de plume, a new translation¹ of the same work, with an Introduction, in which, while he does not openly state that he regards the system as good or right, he yet suggests some sort of defence at every point.

H. The Smārtas

The word smārta is an adjective formed from smṛiti. The Smārtas are those Hindus found in many parts of India who follow Śaṅkara, the great mediæval exponent of the Vedānta, in his monistic exposition of the Vedānta, his unsectarian recognition of all the gods of Hinduism, and his insistence on strict adherence to the rules of ritual and of conduct laid down in the ancient sūtras, which come under that section of Hindu sacred literature which is called smṛiti.

Many Hindu scholars seek to commend Śaṅkara’s philosophy to the world. Here we mention briefly an organization of a more practical character, which seeks to strengthen and defend the whole Smārta position, namely, the Advaita Sabhā of Kumbakonam. The best thing I can do to bring this movement vividly before readers is to transcribe the following passage from a most courteous letter which reached me last January from Mr. K. Sundararaman, who was a Professor of History in a college, but has now retired and lives in Kumbakonam.

The Society was started in 1895 — chiefly at the instigation of some of the learned Pandits of the Tanjore District — among whom must be mentioned first and foremost, the greatest modern Vedantist of South India, Raju Sastri of Mannargudi town.

An annual assembly of Brahman Pandits of the school of Sankaracharya is convened usually in the month of July. It has always met in the town of Kumbakonam, where there is a Mutt (or monastery) presided over by one who claims to be a lineal successor of the famous founder of the Advaita School of Vedanta. The Pandits who attend are chiefly drawn from the Southern or Tamil Districts of the Madras Presidency. Others are welcome, and there have been years during which Pandits have come in from Godavery and Krishna Districts which form part of the Telugu country. In the year 1911, the Annual Session met at Palghat, as an exceptional case.

There are four permanent Examiners for the Sabha, who are all of them men of great merit and fame. They prefer to conduct their examinations orally, on the ground that such examinations are more efficacious as a test of worth. They also set papers to such as are unwilling or unable to stand the searching oral test. Some time is also given to the older and abler Pandits to carry on Vakyartha or scholastic disputations on selected topics under the superintendence of the four Examiners.

In the evenings, popular lectures are given by Pandits to spread a knowledge of the Vedanta religion among the lay members and the women of the Brahman Community, and also to interest them in the work of the society.

The annual session lasts usually for a week, but sometimes it has lasted 2 or 3 days more. During its course, the assembled Pandits are fed at the Society’s expense. At its close, presents are made to them according to merit, and their travelling expenses are also paid. The Examiners are at present paid Rs. 50 each, besides their travelling expenses.

The Pandits are attracted, not by the money gifts, but by their devotion to the branch of learning for the cultivation of which they spend their time and energy, and by their earnest desire to help forward its more systematic and thorough study. The spectacle is one rare in an age when men’s interests are predominantly materialistic.

The sabha has engaged a learned Pandit — who is one of the four Examiners of the Sabha and who resides at Kumbakonam — to teach the Vedanta philosophy as contained in the writings of Sankaracharya and of some of the later writers of his school. He has also the obligation to deliver every year a course of lectures on a selected topic or work in two leading centres of one of the Tamil Districts. There is a small endowment of Rs. 5,000 out of which this Pandit is paid one half of his salary. The other half of his salary is met from the subscriptions sporadically collected each year. The entire annual income from all sources does not exceed Rs. 2,000.

The work of the society is very humble in its character, and it also works too much on antique lines. Its work may, in course of time, get modernized; and then it will live. As at present carried on, it gives not much of a promise for the future.

Professor Sundararaman’s own position will also be of interest. He believes that the whole of the ritualistic system of Hinduism comes from God, that every detail of it is right, that the punctilious observance of all its rules would bring health, strength and prosperity to the Indian people, and that the decline of India during the last two thousand years is the direct outcome of the neglect of these rules by large masses of the population. The following is a paragraph from one of his letters to the press:¹

The consequences of rebellion against ritualistic Hinduism are writ plainly on the face of the history of India for two thousand years and more. Buddha began the first revolt, and since then he has had many successors and imitators. The unity and might of the once glorious fabric of Hindu society and civilization have been shattered, but not beyond hope of recovery. That recovery must be effected not by further doses of “Protestant” revolt,² but by the persistent and patient endeavour to observe the injunctions and precepts of the ancient Dharma³ in its entirety.

I have been informed that, in Kathiawar, there is another Smārta organization, the leader of which is Mr. Nathu Sarma of Porebandar and Bilkha.

5. CASTE ORGANIZATIONS

A. Caste Conferences

The modern spirit and the difficulties of the times have stirred the leading castes, as well as the leading sects, of Hinduism to united action. The earliest of all the Caste organizations was the Kāyastha Conference, which was first held in 1887. These gatherings were already very common by 1897; for Ranade refers to them in an address delivered that year.¹ Caste Conferences may be local, or provincial, or may represent all India. Like other conferences, they are held during the cold season, very often during the Christmas week. Printed reports of these gatherings are very seldom issued; so that I have had to rely on notices in the newspapers for my information.

I have noted Conferences of Brāhmans and of Brāhman sub-castes, Kshatriyas, Rājputs, Vaiśyas, Kāyasthas and Kāyastha sub-castes, Vellālas, Reddys, Nairs, Jats, Patidars, Daivadnyas, Namaśūdras, etc.

There are two main motives in these conferences. On the one hand, they share the widespread impulse to defend the whole of Hinduism, and, very naturally, within that wider object, their own caste privileges. But on the other, there is a strong desire to promote the prosperity of the caste; and that of necessity demands the introduction of such reforms as may help the caste in the difficult circumstances of the present. Frequently the caste appeals to the Government for special privileges which they once enjoyed or which they would like to obtain. Resolutions are passed on the subject of the age of marriage, of funeral expenses, and of marriage expenses. Education usually bulks rather large, and female education is frequently advocated. There is a great desire to attain greater unity in the caste. Frequent proposals are made for making marriages possible between sub-castes which at present do not intermarry.

For some time social reformers were inclined to disapprove of these Caste Conferences. The following is from a leader in the Indian Social Reformer:

The idea of caste conferences has always been repugnant to us, even when they have for their object the prosecution of social reforms. The caste sentiment is so ingrained in the Hindu mind, it so deeply permeates every fibre of our being, and it so thoroughly colours our outlook, that it seems to us that the only effective course for those who wish to see this state of mind altered, is resolutely to cut themselves off from anything savouring of the idea. . . .

An occasional European like Mrs. Annie Besant may allow her intellect to play with the idea of caste without much practical effect. Her nervous system is strung to different social ideals, and mere intellection does not produce conduct. But with one who is born a Hindu and who believes caste to be the great monster we have to kill, only one attitude is safe and possible. He must not associate himself with any movement which, under whatever name or pretext, aims at setting up caste as its goal and standard. To the subtle poison of caste, its self-complacency, and its pharisaism, the Hindu nervous system has for centuries been accustomed to respond. Unconsciously, the best and most resolute of reformers are apt to have the old monster taking liberties with them if they slide into the attitude of acquiescence in such movements. These observations apply to caste conferences which meet with the object of effecting reforms in the habits and customs of their respective castes. They apply more forcibly to such movements as the Saraswat Conference recently held at Belgaum, whose sole object is to amalgamate and perpetuate this particular caste. The charac-ter of the movement is sufficiently clear from the fact that the one resolution about social reform, regarding the marriageable age, which was sought to be introduced, had to be dropped for fear of breaking up the Conference.¹

But experience seems to show that the progressive tendency is in most Conferences stronger than the conservative. The following is from the same journal as the above :

Judging however by the broad lines on which the resolutions passed at the annual gatherings of most of these bodies are based, there is good reason to think that they all tend to the propagation of liberal ideas on religious and social questions throughout the land.²

Most magazines are inclined to take quite a hopeful view of these gatherings. How the leaven works even among rather backward communities, may be seen from the following brief report of a meeting of one group of Sikhs in the Panjab :

The Sikh Jats assembled the other day in a meeting held at Budhi, District Jullundar, with the object of giving up the evil customs prevalent among them and effecting useful and necessary reforms. Resolutions were passed enjoining the curtailment of expense on occasions of marriages and other festivities and forbidding drink and nautches on such occasions. It was further resolved that the siapa should also be abolished, and that on no occasion should indecent songs be allowed.³

Two groups of people which, strictly speaking, belong to the great Outcaste population of India must find mention here ; and that for two reasons. First, both of these communities are amongst the very best of the Outcastes. Secondly, there have arisen among them organizations of sufficient energy and value to raise them to a place in modern India alongside caste people. See the other Outcaste stirrings below.⁴

B. The Tiyas

Scattered up and down the west coast of Southern India there live three Outcaste communities which are of the same stock, and which, taken together, number 1,800,000. In South Kanara they are called Villavas, in Malabar Tiyas and in Travancore Elavas. They now differ from each other in a variety of ways, and neither intermarry nor dine together, but originally they were one. The new movement aims at emancipating them from the disabilities of their position as Outcastes, advancing them economically and educationally, and fusing the three groups into one body. The spirit of the race and the position in which the awakening found them are both clearly reflected in the following extracts from an address presented by them to Mrs. Besant, the Theosophic leader, in 1904:

We are very pleased to hear that although born a Christian you are prepared to die a Hindu. . . . When you visited Calicut you were admitted as a guest in one of the palaces belonging to a member of the Zamorin’s family. This was rendered possible by the fact of your having become a convert to Hinduism. But as we are Hindus by very birth we are prevented from approaching the place. . . . Even the sight of us within close proximity is a source of pollution. . . . If under such circumstances we are to gain admission to places accessible to you, we find a way to it through you. And it is this: — It is impossible for us to be born Christians. We shall therefore become Christian converts first and then turn Hindus as you have done. This will relieve us of our disability as you have cured yourself of your disability.

Although they are Outcastes, they have long been recognized as possessing the right of studying and practising the old Hindu medicine, and also Astrology. Consequently, in many families a knowledge of Sanskrit is handed down from father to son. For this and other reasons they have not been nearly so crushed and depressed as most Outcaste tribes are.

In one of the old medical families, settled three miles north of Trivandrum in Travancore, a boy was born who was called Nanu Ashan. He knew a little Sanskrit, having been taught the medical lore traditional in his family. But, besides that, he managed one way or another to persuade some Hindu scholar or scholars to give him something of a Hindu theological training. I have failed to learn who his teachers were, or what sect or school they belonged to. He became an ascetic, taking the name of Nārāyaṇa. He is now known as Śrī Nārāyaṇa Gurusvāmī.

About 1890 he began to urge his community to make a new beginning religiously. Hitherto they had been devilworshippers like the mass of the Outcastes. He urged them to build temples for themselves, and to worship the Hindu gods in orthodox fashion, but to appoint members of their own community as priests. Gradually the movement caught on. It has spread to the North and the South; and there are now thirty temples in all. A small Sanskrit school is usually attached to each temple. The movement is thoroughly orthodox in everything except in its nonBrahman priests. So much for the religious leader.

The other leader is a layman. Within Travancore State the Eḷavas were under serious disabilities. Government service was closed to them, and their children were not allowed to study in the schools. A young man’ (now Dr. Palpu of the Mysore Medical Service) succeeded, in extremely difficult circumstances, in getting an education for himself; and then set to work to get the disabilities removed. Government service under the Travancore Government is now open to the community, and most of the schools are open also.

An organization was started in 1903 to draw the people together and to work for their betterment. It is called the S. N. D. P. Yogam, or in full, the Śrī Nārāyaṇa Dharma Paripālana Yogam, i.e. Union for the Protection of the Śrī Nārāyaṇa Religion. This union, which represents the three sections of the community, has its headquarters in Trivandrum. Local Yogams have been started in some thirty-three places, notably in Parur, Calicut and Tellicherry. An Annual Conference is held, now at one place, now at another. Sometimes an Industrial Exhibition accompanies the Conference. The Yogam supports a number of preachers, some of whom are sannyāsīs. They move about the country, giving lectures in the temples and elsewhere, and teaching the people. Most of the temples are related one way or another to the Yogam, and some are directly managed by it. They have an educational fund, from which money is advanced as loans to poor students. At Alwaye, where Śaṅkara, the great Vedāntist, was born, they have a monastery which they wish to transform into a Sanskrit-English College. A good deal of money and effort is being used to spread industrial and agricultural education and to advance the community economically. Social reform is also sought. A magazine, the Vivekodaya, is published from the office in Trivandrum.

The religious side of the movement has very little reality in it. Most of the leaders have adopted it, as some of them said to me, merely to catch the interest of the masses,¹ and to keep them from becoming Christians. On the other hand, the new system is perhaps a little better than the old devil-worship. It is also of considerable interest to the student as a modern parallel to the rise of the Liṅgāyats.²

C. The Vokkaligas

The Vokkaligas also are technically Outcastes, but really are as fine a people as great masses of Śudras are. They are the peasant class of the Mysore State, and number about a million and a quarter, one fourth of the whole population of the State. They are a simple, hardy, kindly people, but, otherwise, they were very backward until the new movement waked them.

In 1906 seven individuals came together, and said, “It is time that we bestir ourselves to see that the poor have the benefit of education.” They found a rich man, and promised to work, if he would provide money. He promised to give Rs. 10,000.

It was resolved to hold a Conference in Bangalore. The peasants came in thousands; enthusiasm grew; and Rs. 50,000 were subscribed on the spot. Thus the Vokkaligara Sangha, or union, was formed, and the work began. The aims of the movement are as follows:

(1) To adopt means for the awakening of the people by sending lecturers into the villages to preach to them the value of education, the advantage of improving their methods of cultivation, the benefit accruing from paying attention to sanitation, hygiene, domestic science, etc.

(2) To hold periodical Conferences in different parts of the State, at which all questions relating to the amelioration of the community are dealt with. A spirit of unity, concord, and brotherly feeling is sure to result from such meetings.

(3) To establish the headquarters of the Association in Bangalore, where arrangements will be made for the boarding and lodging of the students coming from the country for study. It is intended to make it the centre of activity. Courses of illustrated lectures on all useful subjects, a reading room, a library, a museum, on a small scale, of the arts and crafts of the community, a gymnasium, athletic grounds, evening classes in technical subjects, are all proposed to be instituted. Similar institutions on a smaller scale may be erected in the principal towns of the State as funds permit.

(4) To establish and maintain Demonstration Farms, showing modern methods of cultivation and machinery employed for the purpose. The organisation of exhibitions to show to the people how to secure better housing conditions, and better sanitary and healthy surroundings are also intended.

(5) The publication of a newspaper and other periodicals to educate the people and to spread among them wholesome and progressive ideas. It is intended to make illustrated journalism a feature of this branch of work.

(6) To work in co-operation with the Government in their efforts to bring about the progress of the State.

The Sangha now owns a press which does printing in both English and Canarese, a building worth Rs. 30,000, with a hostel for one hundred boys on a site given by Government, and a newspaper, the Vokkaligara Patrika, one of the best in the State. The aim of the movement is to get the peasant boys to come for education. They live at the hostel; those who can afford it pay; those who cannot are paid for by the Society. The boys attend the Government schools; there is the closest coöperation and good will between the Government and the Peasants’ Movement. The best methods of Western organization have been adapted to the needs of the organization and the spirit of service dominates all the work. After seven years, with its position now well established, the Peasants’ Movement realizes how much work is yet to be done. The special development now to be undertaken is the improvement of agricultural education and methods, and the simple, sober, religious, intelligent character of the peasants makes them good material on which to work. Four Conferences have been held. Lecturers go into the interior on the occasions of fairs and festivals where large numbers of people collect to make known to them the aims and objects of the Association, to enrol new subscribers for the Association’s newspaper, and also new members of the Association.¹

6. THE BHĀRATA DHARMA MAHĀMAṆḌALA

A bold attempt has been made during recent years to gather together the whole of the Hindu people in a single organization, partly in self-defence, partly for further instruction in religion.

1. By the year 1890, as a result of the work of the Ārya Samāj, of Rāmakṛishṇa and the Theosophists, there was a general uprising of the educated Hindu spirit in defence of Hinduism. Out of this widespread desire to strengthen the old faith there sprang a number of organizations. In the Panjab the movement was started by Paṇḍit Dīn Dayāl Śarma, who has proved an energetic and successful organizer. Infuriated by the attacks of the Ārya Samāj on orthodox Hinduism, he attacked the Samāj in turn, and taught the people to retain their idols and live in orthodox fashion. He had had no Sanskrit training nor English education, but he was a brilliant speaker and he was so successful that a number of paṇḍits and titled men gathered round him. Then in 1895 they founded the Sanātan Dharma Sabhā in Hardwar and Delhi. In 1896 Svāmī Gyānānandaji started in Muttra a movement called the Nigamagama Maṇḍalī. In Bengal the Dharma Mahāmaṇḍalī² arose. In Southern India Paṇḍit Śāstrījī Pade founded the Bhārata Dharma Mahāparishad. All these organizations aimed at defending orthodox Hinduism, but they were not connected with one another.³

By 1900 these movements had made so much progress that a national Conference was held at Delhi under the presidency of the Mahārāja of Darbhaṅga. One noteworthy episode in the Conference was a great procession in which the President walked barefooted, carrying a copy of the Vedas, and attended by nearly a hundred thousand people.¹

2. In 1902 it became possible to unite the various bodies in one large organization, and the Bhārata Dharma Mahāmaṇḍala was formed at Muttra. Svāmī Gyānānandaji became Organizing Secretary, and Gopīnāth, a graduate, worked along with him. Paṇḍit Dīn Dayāl continued to do very valuable work for the movement. The Mahāmaṇḍala was registered, and a constitution was drawn up. In 1905 the headquarters of the Association were moved to Benares, where they are to-day.

The following are said to be the objects of the Association :

(a) To promote Hindu religious education in accordance with the Sanatan Dharma, to diffuse the knowledge of the Vedas, Smritis, Purans and other Hindu Shastras and to introduce, in the light of such knowledge, useful reforms into Hindu Life and Society.

(b) To promote and enrich the Sanskrit and Hindi literatures in all the branches.

(c) To introduce such useful reforms as may be warranted by the Shastras in the management of the Hindu Charitable and religious institutions and Tirthas, i.e. sacred places.

(d) To establish, affiliate and control Branch Sabhas in different parts of India.

(e) To found and maintain new and to support the existing Hindu Colleges, Schools, Libraries and publishing establishments in consonance with the object of the Association.

(f) To adopt all proper and lawful means and measures to carry out the above objects.

The work of the Association is distributed among five departments, The Preaching Department, The Religious Endowments Department, The Department of Sacred Learning, The Library and Research Department, and The Publishing Department.

The Mahāmaṇḍala publishes an Anglo-Hindi monthly, the Mahāmaṇḍal Magazine, and several provincial magazines, in the vernacular; and the Research Department has its own organ, called Vidyā Ratnakar. One of the chief difficulties of the Association is to find preachers “worthy of the name”: an attempt is being made to meet this need by means of a training-school at headquarters.

The Mahāmaṇḍala advertises a long list of books for sale; and the following note comes at the end of the advertisement:

For UPANISHADS VEDAS SMRITIS PURANAS TANTRAS HINDI PHILOSOPHICAL WORKS and all kinds of Sanskrit and Hindu religious books, Apply to the Manager, Gurudham, Benares City.

Numerous booklets for free distribution are also appearing.

Under the general supervision of this great national body come a number of Provincial Associations, and under these in turn are some 600 local societies, called Sabhās in the towns and villages. There are provincial offices and organizations in Calcutta, Bombay, Lahore, Ajmere, Muttra and Darbhanga. There is no provincial organization in Madras.

For eight years the newly formed organization enjoyed abounding prosperity under the guidance of Svāmī Gyānānandaji. In 1910, however, he decided to retire from the position of organizing secretary. He was able to give a very satisfactory account of his stewardship during the eight years. The Association had been recognized as a body representing the whole Hindu community by the heads of the chief Hindu sects and religious orders. Some 600 branches had been opened, and about 400 institutions had become affiliated. Nearly 200 preachers were employed; a considerable literature had been put into circulation; and large sums of money had been subscribed.

The Mahāmaṇḍala has never recovered from the loss of this organizer’s work. For two years after his retirement there was constant weakness, and bickering. In 1912 the chief secretary was forced to resign through vigorous action taken by the Bengal Provincial Organization, and Mr. Sarada Charan Mitra, who was until recently a Justice of the High Court of Calcutta, became Chief Secretary in his place; and it is hoped that work will now go on satisfactorily. The Mahārāja of Darbhaṅgā is the General President of the Mahāmaṇḍala, and by his wealth and prestige adds greatly to its strength; but the leading personality in the movement at present is Paṇḍit Madan Mohan Malavīya, who is one of the most prominent men in the United Provinces as an educationalist and politician, and who has been the leading spirit in all that has been done to found a Hindu University.

3. Through its extreme orthodoxy the Mahāmaṇḍala has won the adherence of numerous ruling princes and sectarian pontiffs; and tens of thousands of young Hindus are ready to applaud both its theological position and its propaganda; but of the many thousands who shout approval there are very few indeed who are willing to lay a hand to the work. The contrast between orthodoxy and such bodies as the Brāhma Samāj or the Ārya Samāj in this regard is very striking, and very significant: there is no spontaneous living energy in the orthodox community. Then, thinking Hindus all over the country disapprove very seriously of the reactionary character of its teaching. The editor of the Indian Social Reformer, referring to the fact that the Mahāmaṇḍala wishes to uphold the old rule, that no Hindu may cross the sea, comments severely on the unhealthy character of the whole propaganda;¹ while the Leader of Allahabad says:

We receive from time to time papers relating to the internal strife in the Bharat Dharma Mahamandal with the request that we should express our opinion on the merits of the personal controversies that have been going on. We are sorry we must decline the courteous invitation. To our mind the best that could happen to the country, the Hindu community and the Mahamandal itself is that that organization should decree its own abolition. It is so very reactionary in its religious and social tendencies and activities that far from promoting the well-being and advancement of the community, it does a lot of harm — whenever it does anything at all, that is to say. Its members are so wealthy and influential that if they are so minded they can make themselves a powerful help to progress. But the misfortune and mischief is that they do not.²

The Mahāmaṇḍala stands above all things for the defence of the whole of Hinduism, the Sanātana Dharma, the Eternal Religion, as they call it. The foundation of such an organization is in itself almost a portent. Hinduism has never in the course of its whole history been a single organization. It has been a natural growth, springing up and spreading like the grass, the flowers and the forests of India. No one has ever been able to count its sects, or to classify its multitudes of wandering ascetics. Nor until now has the Hindu ever felt the need of union for defence. Apologetic against Jains and Buddhists one does find in the ancient literature; and there are frequent references to persecution also; but these things were left to philosophers and kings: the ordinary Hindu went his way unheeding. How great then is the pressure of the modern spirit and of Christian criticism to-day!

It is also worthy of notice that, although the purpose of the organization is to defend and maintain the ancient religion unchanged, the modern spirit shows itself in much of the work of the Association. First of all, like every other modern religious movement in India, the Mahāmandal find itself driven to set forth the Hindu system as the religion for all mankind. To defend a religion which is but the religion of the Hindus is felt to be impossible for the modern mind. Hence we have the extraordinary spectacle of this organization, created for the express purpose of defending the religion which in all its own sacred books is expressly restricted to the four highest castes — Brāhmans, Kshatriyas, Vaiśyas and Śūdras, — making the following declaration :

But the Sanatan Dharma is not marked by any such spirit of narrowness or exclusiveness. It is not a particular creed promising salvation to its followers alone; it is the universal Dharma for all mankind.¹

Again, in all the sacred literature of Hinduism the rule is laid down that the Vedas must not be made known to any one except initiated members of the three twice-born castes, Brāhmans, Kshatriyas and Vaiśyas. No woman, and no Śūdra may hear the sacred words, not to speak of Outcastes and foreigners. This rule may be found thou-sands of times in all the great books, legal and philosophical. In the earliest of Hindu law-books we read :

If a Śūdra listens intentionally to a recitation of the Veda, his ears shall be filled with some molten tin or lac. If he recites Veda texts, his tongue shall be cut out. If he remembers them, his body shall be split in twain.¹

Yet this most orthodox movement, backed by the heads of all the greatest Hindu sects, sells copies of any part of the Vedas to any one who cares to buy them, and encourages their study, no matter what a man’s caste may be.² Clearly, the freedom as well as the universality of Christianity is working with irresistible force within the very citadel of Hinduism.

Perhaps the most striking evidence of the working of the leaven that has yet appeared is a paper which occurs in the first number of the official organ of the movement, The Mahāmaṇḍal Magazine. It is a clear, well-written, forcible paper by Professor Phani Bhusan Adhikari, M.A., on The Need of a Critical History of Hinduism. The following quotations from this article will show where this thoughtful defender of orthodox Hinduism stands ; but the paper as a whole is most significant and well worth study :

But Hinduism has erred too much on the side of its catholicity. Its philosophy has made it unpractical, as every philosophy does its adherents. What would have otherwise been an excellent virtue has proved to be a pernicious vice. Hinduism is unpractical, and who knows to what extent the unpractical nature of the Hindu character may have been due to the catholicity of its religious spirit? In adopting everything within itself, it does not appear to have made a selection between the useful and the useless ; and in cases where this selection has been of the useful, it is reluctant to give up what, once so useful, has now become not only useless but positively injurious. . . .

Now, if we take a somewhat wide survey of what popularly goes by the name of Hinduism (and Hinduism is now too much popular), we find that it consists mostly in the observance of certain practices, the meaning of the use of which is hardly known to or can be explained even by those who pose as authorities on the religion. . . .

Those who have eyes to see will observe that the present-day Hinduism of the popular type consists in the scrupulous performance of certain rites and the unquestioning maintenance of certain forms the meaning of which is almost unknown. It is these which under the name of Sanatana Dharma is the all of popular Hinduism. . . .

For permanent results of a beneficial nature, some other method of action has become desirable to adopt. The method that suggests itself for the purpose is historical and critical (although both go hand-in-hand in a subject like religion). This is the method which has been found highly useful in preserving the essentials of Christianity.

The Hindu nation is passing now through what may be called a transition-period. The situation is very critical. There are signs all around of a break with the old which has been found to be effete and in some cases positively unhealthy for the life of the nation in the present altered conditions. . . .

What is wanted is a band of scholars forming an association with a common object. . . .

7. THE ALL-INDIA ŚUDDHI SABHĀ

In the nineties a movement arose in the Panjab for re-admitting to the Hindu community people who had passed over to other faiths.¹ Since a Hindu becomes impure through embracing another religion, the method adopted is to subject those who return to a purifying ceremony. Hence the name Śuddhi Sabhā, purification society. At a later date other provinces formed similar organizations; and now there is an All-India Śuddhi Sabhā, which holds an annual Conference. In 1913 the Conference was held at Karachi in the Christmas holidays. The Ārya Samāj still take a large share in the work ; but other bodies, and notably the Prārthanā Samāj, are interested.

8. THE JAINS

The Jain system arose within Hinduism in the sixth century B.C., a little before Buddhism ; and, like Buddhism, broke away from the parent faith at an early date and became a distinct religion. It is, like Buddhism, an atheistic system. The supreme religious aim of the system is to free the soul from matter. Its chief doctrine is that there are souls in every particle of earth, air, water and fire, as well as in men, animals and plants ; and its first ethical precept is, Do not destroy life. In consequence, the Jain has to obey many rules in order to avoid taking life in any of its forms. Another of the original beliefs is that the endurance of austerities is a great help towards salvation. From the very beginning, the community was divided into monks and laymen, the former alone subjecting themselves to the severest discipline. In Jainism the Tīrthakaras hold the place which the Buddhas hold in Buddhism. By the Christian era the Jains, like the Buddhists, had begun to use idols. Images of the Tīrthakaras are worshipped in their temples.

The above brief account of the rise of Jainism is drawn from the writings of Western scholars who have studied the original authorities. But there is a group of scholarly Jains who do not accept these statements. Their account of the history runs as follows:

The Jain system was founded in Ayodhyā untold ages ago by Rishabha. It was reformed by Pārśvanāth in the eighth century. The last reformer, Mahāvīra, rose in the sixth century. Jainism has been a rival of Hinduism from the beginning.

All my information about modern movements among the Jains I owe to two friends, Mrs. Sinclair Stevenson of Rajkot, Kathiawar, and Mr. J. L. Jaini, Barrister-at-Law. Mr. Jaini has revised and accepted as correct the whole of my essay from this point onwards.

At an early date the Jain community broke into two sects. What divided them was the question whether Jain monks should wear clothes or not; and the names of the sects still indicate this difference. One sect is called Śvetāmbara, that is, clothed-in-white; the other Digambara, that is, clothed-in-atmosphere, because their monks wear no clothes.

After the Christian era the Jain community seems to have grown rapidly in numbers and influence. They were prosperous and wealthy business people. In various parts of India they obtained royal patronage, and abundance of resources. In both the North and the South there are remains of architecture from the early centuries which show that the sect was very prominent. They had numerous scholars who created a great literature on the original sacred books of the sect, and also cultivated with success all the sciences which were current in India in mediæval times.

But their power was broken in the South by the rise of the Śivaite and Vishṇuite sects; and at a later date the same cause steadily weakened and depressed them in the North. It seems clear that for many centuries there has been a continuous drift of the Jain population into Hinduism; while Hindu thought and practice have as continuously found their way into Jain temples and homes. In Śvetāmbara temples to-day the ministrants are usually Hindus; and nearly all Jain families call in Brāhmans to assist them in their domestic ceremonies.

The steady drift towards Hinduism is still in progress, as the following table will show. The three last Reports of the Census of India give the following as the figures for the Jain population :

In 1473 A.D. a movement arose amongst Śvetāmbara Jains in Ahmadabad against idolatry, with the result that a group broke away and formed a non-idolatrous sect. They are called Sthānakavāsīs. The three sects, Digambaras, Śvetāmbaras and Sthānakavāsīs, divide the Jain community fairly evenly between them, each numbering about 400,000 souls.

Colebrooke published a certain amount of information about the Jain sect early in the nineteenth century, but their early history was not understood until the Pali literature of Ceylonese Buddhism became available towards the end of the century. A number of the Jain texts have been translated into English in recent years, and many Jain inscriptions have been deciphered ; but much still remains to be done to make the history and the teaching of the sect fully intelligible.

2. Jains began to take advantage of Western education both in Bengal and in Bombay almost as early as any other community ; and they have prospered exceedingly in business under British rule. They are a very wealthy community. The pearl trade of the East is almost altogether in their own hands. Hence Jains are scattered in many parts of the world, notably in Britain, France and South Africa. One Jain has received the honour of knighthood, Sir Vasonji Tricumji of Bombay.

Yet the better men of the community are deeply conscious that the Jains are in a very perilous position. The following quotations will show what some of the leaders think:

Are we on our way to attain that level of life? I think we are not. Firstly, because we are dwindling down year after year. Secondly, our little community is a house divided against itself. Thirdly, we have reduced our power to the lowest limit by cutting the community into numberless castes.¹

Alas! the body of Jainism is in a very bad way. It is not only ill, but perhaps it is already lifeless. . . . Knowledge of Jainism is almost extinct. Very few original texts are extant; they are unknown to the Jaina masses, even to their learned leaders, and are very rarely read even in private, not to speak of public meetings. The spiritual or rather anti-spiritual food of the masses is derived partly from crude half Jaina, half non-Jaina truths or half truths and partly superstitions upon which their lives are based in our towns and villages. . . . The Jaina community is dying; perhaps it is already dead; at any rate its condition is very serious.²

In consequence, a keen desire for organization and reform began to manifest itself about 1890; and rather valuable results have followed. There has been no movement created comparable with the Brāhma Samāj or the Ārya Samāj; nor have the Jains had noteworthy leaders like Ram Mohan Ray or Dayānanda Sarasvatī. Yet for the last twenty years there have been groups of young men who have earnestly worked for the uplifting of the community, and there has been one Jain leader who is well worthy of mention here.

This notable man, Rajchandra Ravjibhai,³ was a Sthānakavāsī, and was born in Morvi State, Kathiawar, in 1868. He received no English education. He was a jeweller in Bombay for some eight or nine years and died in 1900.

He was a gifted man and a poet, and so is usually called Rajchandra Kavi: “Kavi” means poet. A good deal of his influence was due to his extraordinary memory which enabled him to attend to one hundred things at once. He was a reformer, and yet more of an idealist than a reformer. Although a Sthānakavāsī, he was so eager to see the three sects united that he used to say there was no harm in worshipping in a Śvetāmbara temple. He declared that neither mūrti (idol) nor mumati (mouth-cloth ¹) led to mokṣa (release) but a good life. He held that the moral ideal underlying the legends was the great thing, not the legends themselves. He thus sought to weaken the religious sanction of old customs rather than to produce any immediate and radical change in conduct. The following quotation gives his attitude towards reform:

His views on the social and political questions of the day were liberal. He said that there ought not to be anything like caste distinctions amongst the Jains, as those who were Jains were all ordered to lead a similar life. Among all the agencies for reform, he assigned the highest place to the religious reformer, working with the purest of motives and without ostentation. He found fault with the religious teachers of the present day, because they preached sectarianism, did not realise the change of the times, and often forgot their real sphere in the desire to proclaim themselves as avatars (incarnations) of God, and arrogated to themselves powers which they did not possess. In his later years, it was clear that he was preparing to fulfil his life’s mission in that capacity. But unfortunately death intervened and the mission remained unfulfilled.²

As a result of English education and the influence of such advanced men as Kavi, there is a common leaven working throughout the Jain community, and especially among the educated men. This new spirit manifests itself in various ways, first of all, in sectarian conferences.

3. The Digambara sect were first in the field. They held their first annual Conference about 1893. A year or eighteen months later, as a result of the work of the Conference, a group of the younger men belonging to all the three sects organized themselves as the Jain Young Men’s Association. Then in 1903 the Śvetāmbara sect began to hold a Conference; and the Sthānakavāsīs followed in 1906. These three sectarian conferences have proved on the whole the most successful of all the efforts made during this period; but a good deal has also been done by local groups unconnected with any conference; and it is probable that in the future still greater things will be accomplished by those who are seeking to unite the three sects in one.

The aims which these organizations have in view are, in the main, to unite, strengthen and build up the community, so that individuals may not drift away from it, and to introduce such education and fresh life as will adapt the Jains to modern conditions. All parties seem to recognize that these great ends cannot be achieved unless their religious teachers, whether sādhus (celibate ascetics) or priests, receive a good modern education, so as to enable them to lead the community in the difficult circumstances of to-day, and to meet, on the one hand, the assaults of materialism, and, on the other, the criticism of the Ārya Samāj and of Christianity. Jains want their sādhus to become educated, capable, modern men like missionaries. All realize also that it is of the utmost importance that the boys and girls of the community should receive not only a modern education, but such religious and moral training as shall make them good Jains. There is also a clear realization that the old religion must be uplifted; but as to how this is to be done there is no unanimity. The policy advocated by the educated young men is a good deal different from that favoured by conservatives, whether sādhus, priests or laymen.

The chief methods employed by the various organizations are (a) institutions for giving a religious education to the sādhus and priests, (b) hostels for students, in which each student is required to study Jain books and live a Jain life, (c) newspapers in the vernaculars and in English, (d) the publication of literature, both the ancient sacred texts and modern books, and (e) the introduction of religious and social reform. We had better now look at the leading organizations in turn.

4. The All-India Digambara Jain Conference, Bhāratvarshīya Digambara Jain Mahāsabhā, the office of which is at Khurai, C.P., was founded about 1893. It has proved a very useful organization; yet it has had its difficulties. At the annual gathering at Muzaffarnagar in 1911 there was a tremendous dispute, which ended in a suspension of the Conference. Later on peace was made. It has succeeded in creating several valuable institutions, notably the Syādvāda Mahāvidyālaya at Benares, in which the priests of the sect receive something of a modern training, an orphanage in Delhi, a number of Hostels in various parts of the country, and a Widows’ Home in Bombay. The Digambaras support a number of newspapers, the Digambara Jain, a monthly magazine, published in Surat, and containing articles in several languages, the Hindi Jain Gazette, the Jain Mitra, and a woman’s paper called the Jain Nārī Hitkārī.

5. The Śvetāmbaras met for the first time in Conference at Marwar in 1903, and they have met seven times since then. The Conference has an office in Bombay, and issues a paper, the Conference Herald. Books for the moral and religious training of Jains in school and college are being produced in five grades. Hostels for students have been organized in several places, and a training college for sādhus at Benares, the Yasovijaya Jain Pāṭhśāla, in which they receive an English education and a training in the sacred books. The Conference has also undertaken to index the books in the Treasure-houses, i.e. libraries, at Cambay, Jessalmir, Patan, and elsewhere. This work is attended with considerable difficulty, owing to the Jain habit of concealing their sacred books.

One of the chief points of Jain devotion is the building of temples. These are not erected to meet the needs of the population, but as works of piety. Consequently, there are vast numbers of Jain temples, quite out of proportion to the number of Jains. The Conference sees to the restoration and repair of the most important of these.

Like Hindus, the Śvetāmbara Jains have discovered that a large amount of the income of their temples is misused, and various plans are being tried by the Conference to rectify the matter. At Palitana and Junagadh Committees have been formed to supervise the disbursement of these monies.

There is a desire among certain laymen to lessen the prominence given to idol-worship. Two well-known men ventured to publish something on this subject about five years ago, but the result was a storm of opposition, which has not yet died down.

Laymen are also rather eager to lessen the power of the sādhus in the Conference, because they are uneducated and reactionary. This too has led to quarrelling.

Śvetāmbara laymen are doing a good deal of useful work apart from the Conference. They issue four or five monthly papers, and one vernacular fortnightly, the Jain Śāsana, published at Benares. They also are doing what they can in the way of bringing out versions of their Scriptures, and revising and correcting them. Rich merchants provide the necessary funds. They depend a good deal on English and German scholars for the work of editing and translating these texts.

6. The Sthānakavāsīs met first in Conference in 1906. The office of Conference is at Ajmere, and their paper is called Conference Prakāsh. The subjects discussed at the Conferences fall under the following heads, education (boarding schools, religious education for boys and girls, orphanages, a training college for teachers), libraries, publication of sacred texts and a proposed union of all Jains. Though idolatry is the subject on which this sect feels most keenly, it is never mentioned in Conference, because there are always members of the other sects present whom they do not wish to offend. Many feel also the need of dealing with caste, but they do not venture to raise the question. Certain other aspects of social reform are, however, eagerly pressed. A Jain history from the Sthānakavāsī point of view is being prepared. The Conference sends out itinerant preachers to acquaint the people with the decisions of Conference and to collect fourpence from every house towards the expenses of the annual gathering and the preaching scheme.

Outside the Conference, small groups of Sthānakavāsīs are doing useful work. In many towns and large villages libraries are being founded. They are meant specially for Jain books, but secular works are also admitted. Local Jain societies establish hostels for Jain boys, and arrange for religious teaching to be given an hour before the ordinary schools meet. A monthly paper, the Jain Hitecchi, is supported; and another is being started. The objects sought by these papers are, to remove the superstitions and increase the knowledge of the people, and to insist on a higher standard of training for sādhus.

7. But the more advanced men are by no means satisfied with what is being done in the Conferences belonging to the three sects. They feel that the three groups must become united, if the community is to survive, and that there is far greater need for reform and modernization than the average Jain realizes. The following quotations will show what these leaders think :

Obviously our orthodox people are very anxious about our religion; and could they grasp the situation, we should not be far from a satisfactory solution of the crucial problem of Jain progress. The failure of the orthodox is due to one cause. They are attempting the hopeless task of transforming the twentieth century into the days of Shri Mahaveer. They would forget the history of twenty-six centuries. By founding Pathashalas of the primeval type, they would think of producing our Akalanks and Nikalanks. What is the result? They hardly attract any intelligent boys to these antiquated seminaries and after years of arduous toiling, they find themselves as far from their ideal as ever before. The experience is discouraging not only to the orthodox but to every one who cherishes the sublime hope of vivifying Jain ideals.

What is the remedy? To my mind it consists in modernising the institutions where we have to train up typical Jain spirituality through the ages to come. That is not done by the absurd insertion of a few readers or book-keeping in the curriculum of our Pathashalas. The aim of these nurseries of Jain lives ought to be to associate the best in the discoveries of the West with the highest in the lore of the past. They should be Colleges in which the Jain boys would imbibe Jain principles in their best form and yet would become able to hold their own against the literary and scientific savants of the west. Such should be the place from which Jain types would be evolved — types that shall not be at a disadvantage in any walk of life and shall yet live up to Jain ideals. That would be the Aligarh of the Jains.¹

Like certain Muḥammadan leaders whom we have mentioned above,² these men think it necessary to lay stress on the spirit of Jainism, rather than on the literal observance of all the old rules. Here is an attempt to state what the spirit of Jainism is :

Well, then, what is the Light left in our custody by Lord Mahavira? . . . Briefly characterised the Light teaches us (1) Spiritual independence which connotes individual freedom and unlimited responsibility. The soul depends upon none else for its progress, and none else is responsible for the degradation and distress which the soul may be affected with. . . . (2) It teaches us the essential universality of the Brotherhood of not only all men but of all that lives. The current of life in the lowest living organism is as sacred, subtle, sensitive, mighty and eternal as in Juliet, Cleopatra, Cæsar, Alexander, Christ, Mahomet, and Lord Mahavira himself. This is the undying basis of our fraternity for all.¹

This advanced group became organized in 1894 or 1895 as the Jain Young Men’s Association. It is now called the Bhārata Jaina Mahāmaṇḍala, or All-India Jain Association. Its office is in Lucknow, and it is governed by its Officers and a Managing Committee. The chief officer is the General Secretary, but he is assisted by three Joint Secretaries, one from each of the three sects. The objects of the Association are :

(a) The union and progress of the Jaina community. (b) The propagation of Jainism.

The Association holds an anniversary, usually about Christmas. There are also provincial and local organizations affiliated to the main body. Special men are told off to do departmental work of several types, one of the most prominent being female education. The Association issues a monthly magazine in English, the Jain Gazette.

The Association has been peculiarly active during the last three years. The energy of Mr. J. L. Jaini, Barrister-at-Law, has proved of very great value to it in various directions. In 1910 the International Jain Literature Society was founded in London. All the leading Jains in Europe and all the chief European Jain scholars have become members. They propose to edit and publish Jain literature. In 1911 the Rishabha Brahmacharya Āřrama was founded at Meerut for the training of sādhus. The same year a branch of the Jain Literature Society was formed in India ; and the Central Jain Library was founded at Arrah in Behar, for the purpose of collecting books and manuscripts, and cataloguing Jain literature. The Library issues a monthly magazine in Hindi, which is named the Jaina Siddhānta Bhāskara, and is published in Calcutta. Finally, as these words are being written, August 24, 1913, the Mahāvĩra Brotherhood is being founded in London, for the purpose of uniting Jains resident in Europe and helping them to live the Jain life.

It may be well to notice that books in English are being published by Jains to introduce Jainism to Europeans. Of these we may mention an Introduction to Jainism, by A. B. Latthe,[^1] M.A., Jainism in Western Garb, as a Solution to Life’s Great Problems,[^2] by Herbert Warren, an Englishman who has become a Jain, and a third volume by Mr. J. L. Jaini, which is about to be issued by the Jain Literary Society.

Modern Indian religious movements find very close parallels among the Buddhists of Burma and Ceylon ; but my knowledge of the religion and of the local conditions is too scanty to enable me to sketch the religious situation in those lands with accuracy.

9. THE SIKHS

1. Nānak (1469–1538), the founder of the Sikh sect, was a disciple of the famous teacher Kabīr. Except in two matters, his system is practically identical with that of many other Vaishṇava sects. It is a theism, and the main teaching of the founder is highly spiritual in character. Yet the whole Hindu pantheon is retained. The doctrine of transmigration and karma and the Indian social system remain unaltered. The guru holds the great place which he has in all the later Vaishṇava and Śaiva systems. He is not only a teacher but a saviour, and receives worship. The two points on which Kabīr and Nānak were unlike earlier teachers were these: they condemned the whole doctrine of divine incarnations; and they never ceased to protest against idolatry, thus preventing their followers from using Hindu temples. On one other point the two men seem to have been agreed: they did not wish their followers to become ascetics, but advised them to go on with their ordinary avocations.

Since the guru held such a great place in Nānak’s teaching, it was necessary to appoint another man to succeed him at his death. Nine gurus were thus appointed, one after the other; and the series would have gone on indefinitely, had it not been for a momentous change introduced by the tenth guru. Nānak had left behind him a liturgy for the sect called the Japjī, and also a considerable body of religious poetry. In this matter he was like many of the teachers of North India who lived before him. These poems were carefully treasured by the Sikhs; the second guru invented the Panjābī alphabet, called Gurumukhī, as the script for them; and the fifth guru gathered them together and made a book of them, including also a large number of pieces from Kabīr and fifteen other saints. This volume is called the Ādi Granth, or “Original Book.” The tenth guru added a great deal of fresh material; and the result is the Granth Sāhib, or Noble Book of the Sikhs. Before he died, this guru told the Sikhs that they must not appoint another guru, but must take the Granth for their guru. Since that time this sacred book has been the centre and the inspiration of the sect.

But Govind Singh, the tenth guru, introduced another change of still greater importance. At the time when he was Sikh leader, at the end of the seventeenth and the beginning of the eighteenth century, Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal Emperor, was pressing the sect very hard. He did all in his power, by means of persecution and administrative pressure, to turn them into Muslims. Govind Singh had the genius to perceive how the Sikhs could be organized so as to be able to resist the Mughals. He formed all those who were willing to enter into a covenant with him into what he called the Khālsā. The ceremony of initiation, Khanda-di-Pāhul, Baptism of the Sword, gave it a religious character. Within this league Caste disappeared, and each man became a warrior, vowed to fight for his faith to the death, and to regard every other member of the league as a brother. They called themselves “Lions,” each adding the word Singh to his name. The result was an army of heroes as unconquerable as Cromwell’s Ironsides. Certain definite customs were laid upon them, which marked them off from other men, and increased the feeling of brotherhood among them. Infanticide, widow-burning and pilgrimage were prohibited. Wine and tobacco were proscribed. The consequences were two. The Khālsā became strong to resist the Mughals, but their organization cut them off from their fellow-countrymen, and made them practically a new caste.

The transformation of the Church into an army produced another evil result; living preaching ceased among the Sikhs, and their religious life began to go down. Hinduism began to reappear among them. Though their founder had condemned the doctrine of incarnations, they soon came to regard each of their ten gurus as an incarnation of the Supreme; and, in spite of his advice, orders of ascetics began to appear among them.

The recognition of the Granth Sahib as the guru of the community has also proved unhealthy. The book is worshipped like an idol in the Golden Temple at Amṛitsār: a priest fans it, while the people throw offerings of flowers to it, and bow down before it. At night it is put to bed, to be waked in the morning for another day of worship. In a Sikh monastery in Conjeeveram, I was shown the altar where fire-sacrifice is regularly performed to the Granth. Nor is the rule against pilgrimage kept. Here and there one meets groups of Sikh ascetics on pilgrimage, visiting all the chief Hindu temples. When asked how they, as Sikhs, opposed to all idolatry, go to idolatrous temples, they answer that they go to look at the idols, not to worship them. This is surely as clear a case of the fascination of idols as one could wish to have.

After the fall of the Mughal Empire, the Sikhs became organized in two small democratic republics, called Taran Dal and Budha Dal. Then these subdivided into twelve missils, or petty states. Finally, Ranjit Singh united them all, and became the king of the Panjab. He ruled from 1800 to 1839. To their religious memories and warlike pride there was thus added the consciousness of nationality.

2. Ranjit Singh had been statesman enough to keep the peace with the British, who already held all the territory to the east of the Panjab; but he was not long dead before the Sikh leaders, in the pride of their old military prowess, began to make raids on British territory. This the British would not endure. War followed in 1845, and the Sikhs were defeated ; but even that was not sufficient. They would not keep the peace. Hence a second war, in 1848–1849, resulted in the annexation of the Panjab to British India.

The province was singularly fortunate in the British officers sent to administer it. John Lawrence, Eadwardes, Nicholson, Montgomery, Reynell Taylor were men of striking character, of great capacity and of Christian life. Hence the Panjab remained quite loyal throughout the Mutiny in 1857–1858; and the Sikhs have been one of the stoutest and most valuable elements in the Indian army ever since the annexation of the province.

3. Fresh religious influences came in with the empire. Christian missionaries entered the province in 1849, and since then have spread all over it; the Brāhma Samāj appeared in Lahore in 1863; the Ārya Samāj began its aggressive and stormy career in 1877; and since 1898 the atheistic Deva Samāj has made its influence felt not only in Lahore city but in some of the country districts.

4. The Sikh community, for various reasons, has tended to become weak and impoverished. The following paragraphs are from their own paper :

They are poorer than their Hindu or Moslem brothers. They borrow money from the village Sahukars or moneylenders, to carry on their agricultural occupation, under very hard and exacting terms. All grain in excess of their bare necessities is snatched from them by some device or another. ‘A person who has to be anxious for his livelihood cannot aspire to be wealthy’ goes the Punjabi saying. Sikh peasantry could, therefore, hardly support their children for higher education. There are very few Sikh merchants and traders, and Sikh banking and trading companies hardly exist. This general state of poverty prevailing among them is the greatest hindrance in their way to progress and prosperity. Calamities, such as famine, locusts, plague, war, etc., have added to their burdens and anxieties and rendered the condition of the Sikhs indescribably wretched.

We have often been drawing the attention of our leaders to the comparatively backward state of education, and daily decreasing number of the Sikh young men who receive instruction in the public and private schools of the Punjab.

With the decline of spiritual religion among them, there has come to them what has come to every other reformed Hindu sect, an overpowering tendency to drift back into ordinary Hinduism. Hatred of Muḥammadans is traditional amongst them, and quite strong enough to influence conduct. The Hindu community is big and influential; and Hindu worship is showy and attractive, and appeals to the feelings, while Sikh worship is exceedingly simple. There are only four places of worship of any size belonging to the sect in the whole of the Panjab. For a long time very little was done to strengthen the Sikhs in their religion. The chiefs tended to become cold. The Gyānīs, or learned men, who knew the Granth and interpreted it, had lost a great deal of their fervour and learning. The drift towards Hinduism thus became almost irresistible. Idols found their way not only into the homes of the people but into the Sikh temples. Caste crept back, and all the evils of Hindu social life. Education was not increasing among them.

5. But the new forces set in motion by the British Government, Christian Missions and the Samājes at last began to tell upon the Sikhs. Above all, the provocative attacks of Dayānanda and the Ārya Samāj stirred them to fury. About 1890 a body of reformers arose amongst them, and summoned their leaders to action for the revival of Sikhism and the uplifting of the community. A college for Sikhs called the Khālsā College was founded at Amritsār. A central association called the Chief Khālsā Diwān, with its office at Amritsār, was created; and local associations, called Singh Sabhās, were formed all over the country for the strengthening and purification of Sikh life. An agitation was started in favour of the extension of education and of social reform.

Considerable results have already arisen from this reforming policy. A weekly paper in English, the Khālsā Advocate was started in 1903, and still continues to express the views of the progressives. In 1869 the Government of India commissioned a German missionary, Dr. Ernest Trumpp, to translate the Ādi Granth into English, in order that they might understand their Sikh subjects better; and the volume was published in 1877. Trumpp found the work exceedingly difficult for various reasons, and acknowledged that his translation must be imperfect in many particulars. When Western education spread among the Sikhs, they became very dissatisfied with his work; and in 1893 they asked Mr. A. M. Macauliffe, a member of the Indian Civil Service, to make a new translation for them. Mr. Macauliffe, who was deeply impressed with the value of the Sikh religion, agreed to do so. He worked in the closest possible collaboration with the Sikh Gyanis, and published his work in six volumes in 1910.

By 1905 the reforming spirit had gone so far that the Sikh leaders found it possible to cast out the Hindu idols which had found their way into the central place of Sikh worship, the Golden Temple at Amritsār. By word and action they have shown that they wish to revive the spirit of their military organizer, the tenth guru. They want to reincarnate the courage, the freedom and the independence of these days. They wish to be truly Sikhs. They realize that they must resist Hinduism as well as the Ārya Samāj, if they are to escape from caste and the other social evils of the Hindu system.

The chief lines of reform which are being pressed by the leaders are the same as those advocated by Hindu social reformers. They protest against caste and child-marriage; they plead that widows ought to be allowed to remarry, if they choose to do so: they agitate against expensive weddings; they plead for temperance; and a good deal of progress has been made. They have a Widows’ Home with thirty inmates at Amr̥itsār; also Orphanages; and attempts are made to help the Depressed Classes.

It is in education that the Sikhs have made most progress. The Khālsā College in Amr̥itsār is under a European Principal and is carefully governed by a representative Committee. It has done good service to the community. The latest available report, that for 1911-1912, gives the number of students as 159. Everything seems satisfactory except the religious instruction. There is a large hostel in connection with the college, and another in Lahore. In addition to the college, the community supports 46 boys’ schools, High, Middle and Primary.

There is a large and very successful Boarding School for Girls at Ferozepore. It has 305 pupils, 273 of them boarders. There are 32 other girls’ schools.

Two Theological Seminaries, one at Tarn Tarn and another at Gujranwala, receive grants from the Chief Khālsā Dīwan.

For many years Sikh educational institutions languished for lack of financial support. In 1908 the leaders started a Sikh Educational Conference, which meets annually, now in one town, now in another. It reviews the educational situation, suggests improvements, and keeps Government informed of its wishes; but the chief service it renders to the community is the raising of funds. About Rs. 15,000 are now handed to the Chief Khālsā Dīwan every year to be divided amongst their educational institutions.

The Chief Khālsā Dīwan also publishes a fair amount of literature, mainly in Panjābī, but partly in English, setting forth the lives of the gurus and the Sikh faith in its early purity. It has a Tract Society with a dépôt for the sale of this literature in Amritsar, and another in Lahore. There is a Sikh Bank. There is a Young Men’s Sikh Association in Lahore and a Khālsā Young Men’s Association in Amritsar, imitations of the Y. M. C. A.; and a young men’s paper, The Khalsa Young Men’s Magazine, is published. Finally the Chief Khālsā Dīwan has some twelve or fifteen missionaries in the Punjab, and about as many more in other parts of India, who preach to Sikhs and others.

Fresh life is stirring in the Sikh community, and the activities we have detailed all tend towards progress. Yet a very great deal remains to be done. The chief question of all is, Can the Sikh faith be made a living and inspiring force in the circumstances of modern India or not?

LITERATURE.—The Ādi Granth, by Dr. Ernest Trumpp, London, Trübner, 1877, 63s. The Sikh Religion, a translation of the Granth, with lives of the Gurus, by M. A. Macauliffe, Oxford University Press, 1912, 63s. net. Sri Guru Nanak Dev, by Sewaram Singh Thapar, Rawalpindi, Commercial Union Press, 1904, Re. 1 as. 4. Sikhism, A Universal Religion, by Rup Singh, Amritsar, Coronation Printing Works. Bhai Mahnga or the Search after Truth, Amritsar, The Chief Khalsa Diwan, 1911.

10. THE PARSEES

1. There were certain parts of the programme of the Rahnumai Mazdayasnan Sabhā[^1] and of the teaching of Mr. K. R. Cama[^2] which many Parsees thought rather dangerous. They were afraid that the removal of certain parts of the traditional system as superstitions, the laying of extreme emphasis on the Guthas and on the moral elements of Zoroastrianism, and the proposal to pray in Gujarati instead of in the ancient sacred language of the Avesta, would weaken the religion itself and shatter the faith of the masses.

One of the leaders of this party in early days was Mr. Hormusji Cama (a member of the same family to which Mr. K. R. Cama belonged), who in Europe in the sixties came into contact with the best Zoroastrian scholars and published, at his own expense for gratuitous distribution, Professor Bleeck’s English rendering of Professor Spiegel’s German translation of the Avesta. A society, the Rahe Rust, or True Way, was organized to oppose the reformers; and a journal, the Suryadaya, or Sunrise, carried on vigorous controversy with the Rast Goftar¹ on all the chief points of dispute. Mr. Hormusji Cama was the conservative protagonist in this long-continued fight.

2. When the Theosophical Society transferred its headquarters to India in 1879,² a number of this type of Parsees joined it, and in the course of years the new system got a firm hold. The Theosophic policy in Zoroastrianism was the same as in Hinduism, — full defence of the whole religion. The crudest and most superstitious observances were allegorically explained as expressions of the highest spiritual wisdom:

They preach to the less educated classes of people that there is high efficacy in offering flowers and milk and cocoanuts to the waters; they preach to the people as an act of special religious merit to fall prostrate before and kiss imaginary pictures of their prophet; they exhort people to make a show of penitence by a vigorous slapping of cheeks. They represent to the people that the sole efficacy of their prayers consist in the material form resultant upon the physical vibrations created by their utterances.¹

As in Hinduism, so here, the mounting spirit of nationalism and community-feeling coalesced with the impulse to defend the whole of the traditional faith; and there arose the cry: “Everything Zoroastrian is good; everything Western is bad; we must defend ourselves against the pestilential materialism of Europe.” Behind this bulwark of patriotic communal feeling all the conservative elements of the Parsee race ranged themselves; and the tide of nationalism swept for a time the mass of the young educated men into the party, and carried away even a few of the older members of the reforming group.

Gradually this party began to pose as the expounders of orthodox Zoroastrianism. The original message of the prophet, they asserted, was identical with the Ancient Wisdom, and included pantheism, the practice of yoga, and the doctrine of reincarnation and karma. They flouted the scientific methods of exegesis pursued by scholarly Parsees, and endeavoured to defend superstitious and even idolatrous practices in the light of Theosophy. They stood by Mrs. Besant when she brought Mr. Leadbeater back into the Theosophical Society in January 1909.² A clear expression of the position of this group of Parsees will be found in The Message of Zoroaster, by A. S. N. Wadia, published by Dent.

It was this group that caused the violent scenes that marred the first and second Zoroastrian Conferences.³ After that Conference, they separated themselves from the reformers; and, in consequence, the Parsee community has been rent into two parties.

This conservative group works mostly through the Zoroastrian Association, an old organization which has fallen into their hands. They are toiling eagerly for the amelioration of the community. They are doing good work by erecting houses for the poorer classes; and they have started a Census to discover how much poverty there is in the community. The paper which represents their position is The Jami Jamshed.

3. A Zoroastrian propaganda has arisen in America. The name used for the system is Mazdaznan. The founder, who calls himself His Humbleness Zar-Adusht Hannish, is said to be a man of German and Russian parentage, whose real name is Otto Hannisch. He called himself a Persian, and said he had come from Tibet (like Madame Blavatsky and M. Nicolai Notovitch), where he had penetrated the deepest secrets of the Dalai Lama.¹ His teaching is a mixture of Zoroastrian, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and Muslim elements. The side most emphasized in America seems to be the effect of breathing and other exercises on health. They celebrate the birth of Jesus on the 23rd of May. Mazdaznan Temples have been erected in a few places. In the Boston temple there is a brilliant representation of the sun. Perhaps the following may serve as a sample of Mazdaznan teaching:

As an introductory step Mazdaznan offers the formula of “Assurance, or Ahura’s Prayer,” which when uttered on the breath, assures oxygenation and purification of the blood, increased circulation and rhythmic heart action.

ASSURANCE, OR AHURA’S PRAYER

Our Father who art in Peace, Intoned be Thy name; Thy realm arise;

Thy will incarnate upon the earth as in heaven. This day impart Thy Word And remember not our offenses That we may forgive those who offend us. Thru temptation guide us And from error deliver us. Be it so.

The movement seems to have a few adherents in India.

II. THE MUḤAMMADANS

The rise of the spirit which finds expression in the Hindu movements we have dealt with above led to similar activity among Muḥammadans. Many observers agree in saying that most educated Muslims are turning away from the rationalism of Sir Syed Ahmad Khan¹ to orthodoxy.

1. In 1885 there was founded in the city of Lahore the Anjuman-i-Himayet-i-Islam, i.e. the Society for the Defence of Islam; and since that date branch associations have been formed in many towns throughout India. The objects of the Association are set forth as follows in a prospectus of the society:

I. (a) Rationally and intelligently to answer, through verbal discussion or in writing, any accusations advanced against Islam, and to further its propagation.

(b) To impart suitable and necessary education to Muslim boys and girls, and save them from abjuring their own true faith.

(c) To take upon itself the maintenance and education, to the best of its ability, of Muhammadan orphans, and to render all possible educational aid to poor Muslim boys and girls, so as to save them from falling into the hands of the followers of other religions.

(d) To improve the social, moral and intellectual condition of the Muslim community and initiate measures conducive to the creation and preservation of friendly feelings and concord between the different sects of Islam.

(e) To bring home to the Muhammadans the advantages of loyalty to the British Government.

II. For the realisation of its objects, the Anjuman shall appoint preachers, issue a monthly magazine, establish educational institutions and orphanages, and make use of other necessary means.

Several accounts of the working of the parent Association in Lahore have been placed in my hands, which give information about its educational activities. The purpose, clearly, is to give Muslims a good modern education, and, along with it, religious instruction of a more orthodox type than is given in Aligarh institutions. They are eager to increase female education, and have nine girls’ schools in Lahore. They have two very large boys’ schools in the same city, and also an Arts College, called the Islamia College, with 200 pupils on the rolls and a European Principal. Islamic Theology is taught daily in each of the classes. Attached to the College is the Rivaz Hostel with 131 boarders. There is then the Hamidia School with 27 pupils, an academy for advanced Arabic scholarship. They have also an Orphanage in the city in which some simple industrial training is given. Of the educational efforts of the associations in other towns I have failed to get reports.

Nor have my Muslim correspondents told me anything about the other activities of the Anjuman. I am therefore driven to give here the experience of missionaries:

The methods of defence adopted by this great organisation have been, in brief, the establishment of Muhammadan vernacular and Anglo-vernacular schools for the education of Muslim youth, the publication of a literature, books, tracts and newspapers, for the refutation of anti-Muslim publications as well as for the commendation and propagation of the religion of Islam. In addition to this a Muslim propaganda has been organized, especially to withstand and hinder the work of missions. Even Zenana teachers are supported, whose first duty is to break up, if possible, the missionary Zenana and Girls’ Schools. Pressure is brought to bear upon Muslim parents and families to exclude the Christian ladies and workers. Moreover, preachers are supported and sent here and there to preach against the Christian religion and to use every effort to bring back to the Muslim fold any who have been converted to Christianity. Christian perverts are sent out as the chosen agents of this propaganda.

The results of the labours of the Anjuman-i-Himayat-ul-Islam are apparent in a revival of interest among Muslims in their own religion. The Mosques have been repaired and efforts have not been fruitless in securing a better attendance. The boycott inaugurated against missionary work has reduced the attendance of Muslims at the chapels and schools, and has no doubt closed many doors once open to Christian teaching.[^1]

Clearly this organization is a Muslim parallel to the Bhārata Dharma Mahāmaṇḍala, though it has not gained so much publicity.

2. In recent years the chief efforts made by Muslims in defence of their religion have had as their object the production of preachers, teachers and missionaries of a more modern type. They wish them to be cultured men, fit to lead and teach those who have had an English education ; and they wish them to be well-trained theologians, able to defend Islam against Christian, Ārya and Hindu criticism, and to carry the war into the enemy’s territory.

In 1894 a Defence Association was formed, the Nadwat-ul-Ulama, or Society of Muslim Theologians, which has its central office in Lucknow. The principal objects of the Association are stated as follows:

(1) The advancement and reform of education in Arabic Schools. (2) The suppression of religious quarrels. (3) Social reform. (4) The pursuit of the general welfare of Mussulmans and the spread of Islam.

The methods which this society employ for the defence and strengthening of Islam are five :

(1) Most of their money and activity has been spent in founding and maintaining in Lucknow a divinity school of a new type meant to provide a more enlightened education for the Muḥammadan clergy. It is called the Dar-ul-ulum (i.e. School of Theology) of the Nadwat-ul-Ulama and dates from 1898. They wish to establish such institutions elsewhere. A branch has already been opened at Shahjahanpur, and another in Madras. The young men undergo a very serious training, lasting at least eight years, in all branches of Muḥammadan theology; and in addition they are taught English, Geography and Mathematics. They receive no training in Christianity or Hinduism. The curriculum as a whole is a great advance on the old education. There are about 100 students at present; but much larger numbers are expected in future. A great building is being erected for the Seminary on the north bank of the Goomti River.

(2) Missionaries are sent out to preach.

(3) An Urdu monthly magazine, En Nadwa, is published, in which attempts are made to reconcile Muslim thought with modern science and thought.

(4) There is an orphanage in Cawnpore.

(5) An Annual Conference is held.

Under another society a theological seminary, the Madrasa-i-Ilāhiyāt, has been organized in Cawnpore. I understand it owes its existence mainly to a desire to repel the attacks of the Ārya Samāj, several Muslims, including one Moulvie at least, having gone over to Hinduism under Ārya influence. The aims of the institution are two :

a. To protect Islam from external attacks. b. To send missionaries to preach Islam among Non-Muslims, and ignorant Muslims.

Six subjects are taught, the Koran, Islamic theology and philosophy, the defence of Islam, Christianity, Western science, and Sanskrit. There are seven students at present. None of them know English; but I was told that some of the missionaries already sent out do know English. A printing press is attached to the school; and a series of tracts has already been published against the Ārya Samāj.

A third seminary recently founded is the Anjuman-i-Naumania, which is carried on in the Shahi Mosque, Lahore. The Secretary writes, “Ours is a purely religious school teaching Arabic literature and sciences through the medium of our vernacular.” From another source I learn that the institution receives considerable financial help from Muslims who have had a university education.

Fourthly, a learned Muhammadan, named Hakim Ajmal Haziq-ul-Mulk, who is a doctor and resides in Delhi, has the idea of combining Orthodox Muhammadanism with Western culture. He has already trained four graduates of Aligarh as Moulvies.

The most important and most orthodox of all Muslim seminaries in India is the Dar-ul-ulum, or School of Theology, at Deoband, near Saharanpur. It has about 500 students. All Muslims acknowledge that it is very old-fashioned. Yet even here the pressure of modern times is being felt: an English class has recently been opened, and attempts are being made to reform the divinity course in several directions.

In Jubbulpore there is a little group of Muslims who have had an English education and are very eager to defend their religion. They told me that they had already started a High School in the town, the purpose of which is to preserve and to spread Muᤧammadanism. They have also opened a little school on the same lines as the seminary in Lucknow. It is as yet but a little venture; but they hope to raise the standard and train young men to know the Koran thoroughly, and also to deal with men of other religions.

An All-India Muslim Students’ Brotherhood with its headquarters at Aligarh has just been formed.

Finally, there is a Muᤧammadan Book and Tract Depot in Lahore, where a large variety of volumes, both in Urdu and English, are offered for sale. Any English work which can be used apologetically, e.g. Carlyle’s Hero as Prophet, is published and sold cheap.

3. The movements already dealt with are all among Sunnis; but the Shiahs are also active. They hold an annual Conference[^1] which is meant mainly to rouse their community on the subject of education and to find money for its extension. I am told also that there is at present a great upward movement of the Feringhi Mahal School. Their work is mostly literary. They translate English works into Urdu. They are approaching far more than formerly the philosophy of the West.

12. SECTARIAN UNIVERSITIES

The most successful of the educational efforts yet made for the defence and strengthening of Hinduism has been the Central Hindu College, Benares, founded by Hindus under the leadership of Mrs. Besant and the Theosophical Society.

It is strong, efficient, successful, and it actually teaches Hinduism. Hence a desire has arisen to take the further forward step of creating a Hindu University which should arrange curricula, hold examinations and confer degrees. In this way, not the actual work of teaching only, but the aims of education, the subjects taught and the standards demanded would be under Hindu control. Naturally the Muḥammadan community at once followed suit and proposed a Muslim University. Both parties began the collection of funds.

These proposals are so contrary to the spirit of University culture and so likely to stand in the way of every movement for the increasing of friendliness and harmony amongst the various religious communities of India that it seems certain that the Government of India would have vetoed them absolutely, had there not been something (all unknown to the public) to hinder their action. They have, however, definitely decided that, if such Universities are set up, they shall be local teaching Universities, and not territorial organizations like the existing Universities. This obviates the most serious dangers. Meantime Mrs. Besant has fallen from her high place in Benares;¹ and the proposals for the present seem to hang fire.

Footnotes