( Rawab Anm Yir Juno Bahadur. > 

LIBRARY 
in 1116 /or ike ; tl tf* L&raay* 




CHRIST VERSUS KRISHNA: 

A BRIEF COMPARISON 

BETWEEN THE 



OS 1 

THE BABE OF BETHLEHEM JUDJBA. 

AND 

THE BABE OP BRINDABUN MATHURAPURIs 

WITH 



A CONCISE REVIEW OF HINDOOISM, 

DERIVATION FROM CHRISTIANIT" 



BY 



/. ttA . A 

ffr "RWwfrf ^y~^ C.J 1 

JUBBULP^BB* 



fife's but alpan, 
Til every ifth 



Copyright secured, aU rights reserved. 



printed and published by F. T/'ATKiNfe, at thV "Mltf 
6, South-Boad/ Al 



1883. 



CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 
Preface . ... ... ... ... ... 112 

CHAPTER I. 

Early Christianity in India An Indian Missionary King The 
Policy of the early Brahmins Incarnation of Vishnu 
Krishna and Christ Juggernaut!* Rama Avatar Hindoo 
tenet of the Trinity whence derived Creation and deluge ... 13 20 
CHAPTER II, 

Origin of tho species -Who are Mahadeo and Parbuttoc ? The 
Gource fiunl-cr Sleeman*s " Recollections" Christianity 
an Eastern religion Sumo striking analogies Story of 
Krishna- Comparison M-wccn Krishna and Christ Krish- 
na's Fonts, Urahminical inventions Ancient Cliri-lianity 
in India Corritfjumdoncc between Hindoo and Roman 
Catholic ritual and usago ... ... ... 21 ,13 

CHAPTER in. 

Learned labor lost India in the past Assertions need proot 
Ancient Hindoo Geography Divisions of tlie Earth 
Astronomy Duddhism Xirwan and Mochh Hindi mi sin a- 
failure Raja Hurrischundra Thn JJcomau A Mural ^.^ f>| 39 

CHAPTER IV. 

Krishna's transfiguration. -Tim PanduvnH Judistir Rajah 
Represent,-* Simon Pater Bhcom tho glutton Judas, Jlosft.% 
and Jihcom Arjuna Striking rcsoiuUances Nookool the 
Wuxeor iFamcs companul with Nookool, lrulnninism and 
Christ ianity Tim sciirlut sign Sahadco Tho wanderings 
oS! the I/andavaij and ihuir ?igniiialion... ... ... 40 1G 

CHAPTER V. 

The five Paiularas Buydd tho fisherman Krishna's wives 
Arjana ihc beloved apostlo Krishna's ubiquity Assassina- 
tion of Kone RajahMassacre of the innocents Compari- 
son between Christ and Krishna ... ,* . 47 -61 



CHAPTER VI. PAGE. 

Concluding drama of Krishna's life Cunning of the priests 
The Sage's prophecy A strange conception Tho wounding 
of Krishna Comparisons between Krishna and Christ Tho 
Fisherman and Peter Why the Atonement has been 
hidden ... .. ... .. .. ... 52 58 

CHAPTEB VII. 

Hindooism and Christianity The UTiskalank Avatar Adjust- 
ments Epitome of Christianity Main differences "between 
Hindooism and Christianity Hindoo teaching regarding 
Heaven Transmigration of the soul ... ... ... fit) 01 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Transmigration according to the Vcdas Priestly craft, 
Tampering with the Vedas Modification of the Sh.istras 
Growth of priestly power Evil results Human sacrifice 
Retribution ... ... ... ... ... 05 70 

CHAPTER IX. , 

Human sacrifice The absurdities of tho doctrine of I ranem igni- 
tion The Moguls and their Mission 25,000 Christian 
families in India in 1CCG Tho Mahrattas Present _ rule 
Indian Mutiny Overruling Providence ... ... 71 75 

CHAPTER X. 

The Bhagavat Tho object of its teachings Foolishness of 
the Vcdas Inconsistencies ISLons Rajah The Massacro 
of the innocents -Christ's mission as compared with Krishna':* 
The da^fe and the sunlight ... ... .,, 7C78 

CHAPTER XI. 

A conclusion Modern Education Weaknesses of Educated 
Hindoos The School and the Bible The GREAT UNKNOWN 
Morality of the Bhagavat and the Vedas The Shaslur 
in the school-room Tho Hindoo religion in a uutahdl 
Origin of the species .. ... .*, ... 70 8G 

CHAPTER XII. 

The God Man Christ Jesus His Eternity Co-equal with the 
Father Very Man yet Vory GOD Tho perfect character 
Harmony of virtues and graces unalloyed by -weakness or 
failure Christ's Sacrifice Paradise and Hades Conclu- 
sion ... ... ... ... ... .,. 87 04 



PREFACE, 



ENTLE reader, the subject which I have under- 
taken to elucidate in the chapters of the little 
book now presented to you for perusal, is, I 
admit, a most difficult one, not only from its inherent 
abstruseness, but from its disconsonancewith the views 
generally entertained by the reading public. A firm 
conviction of duty, however, has nerved me with energy 
and perseverance to proceed with the task, which I 
feel has been entrusted to me by the Great Author of 
my being, and the performance of which, I am assured 
beyond a doubt, will materially assist to disabuse 
many minds of the vague and undefined ideas which 
arc cutcrtaittcd by thousands, who, not having had 
cither the time or opportunity to poro over and search 
through the accumulated mass of Hindoo mythologi- 
cal lore, as furnished by the Purans, Shatters and Vcdas, 
remain under the mistaken impression, that thft system 
known familiarly as llindooisui is unique in its orig- 
inality, and qualified by its singularity and its ancient 
origin, to occupy a position as impregnable and 
unassailable as the adamantine granite, or as firm as 
the immovable Himalayas. Wo live, however, man 
age of reason. Philosophic Enquiry, with an irresis- 
tible, uncompromising power, has dragged forth to the 
light of day many theories and beliefs, which, though 
hoary with age, are proved most conclusively to have 
been the offspring of imagination, and consequently as 



( 2 ) 

unreliable as the mutterings of the ancient augur, and 
as foundationless as the mysterious and unsatisfactory 
deliverances of the once famous, but now despised 
oracle of Delphi. 

Looming in the dim and distant past, wore 
manifold systems of Philosophy, once animate with 
the vigor begotten of darkness, ignorance and supersti- 
tion, but which received their death-blow long years 
ago at the hand of unflinching, unsparing criticism. 
That which is hutran must be susceptible of change, 
that, which is Divine alone may hope to endure. 
Where now is that hoary mystic Northland mythology, 
with its Jotiinhcim and its Asgard ; its Dounor, Thor 
and Woden ; its runic rhyme and fabulous creations ? 
Where are the fanciful conceptions of Egypt as em- 
bodied in Isis and Osiris, and that peculiar temple and 
river worship which lasted so many centuries ? Jove 
and Jupiter, Minerva and Juno, and tho va,st piinlheon 
of gods and goddesses, whose presence once was 
thoughtrfco betoken harm or good fortune, and whoso 
worship exercised the minds of ancient warriors and 
ancient sages ? Where are ye now, ye gods of ancient 
Greece and Rome? Your temples are in ruins ; 3*011 r 
names once acknowledged and feared, now fum'.sh tho 
school-boy with a lesson, or tho poet with material for 
a song ; and but for the weird and classic associations 
which cluster around you, and tho vast unfathomable 
Past, you would have long since been like the Past, 
forgotten. Where are now heard the once stentorian 
utterances of those ancient Philosophers, the sound of 



i 8 ) 

whose voices and teaching echoed far and wide, and 
were re-echoed by succeeding centuries ? Who regrets 
that those announcements of unique philosophy, embo- 
dying as they did many dignified thoughts, which 
were thundered forth so authoritatively by those wise 
men of Greece and Home, are now heard only in the 
faintest murmurs or the weakest whispers. Surrounded 
by the ruins of ancient crumbling temples., the 
remains of systems which moved for a time without 
real life, the skeletons of theories which have "lived 
their little day/' stands forth the Grout Pyramid of 
that one Divine systeift, whoso foundation, stone was 
laid in Eden, whose chief Corner iStuueis the Hunger 
King, and whose fair proportions unassailed by the 
1/a.si', are grand and inainuiiccul in the Present, ami 
shall emiuro becuuse Divine through all Future 
time, oven tiH time shall exist no longer. 

For imuiy years it has been my privilege to minis- 
ter to the physical needs of my fellow-creatures, and 
the bloom of returning health, the restoration lorobuM/ 
vigor which have so froqurutly uttendod my ^-worthy 
efforts, though they may not have enriched me with 
flic wealth that perishdh, have far more abundantly 
rewarded me in the calm satisfaction which arisen 
from the knowledge, that in some humble measure the 
tiih'iils givon have not been permitted to be idle and 
unused. For many years, however, the restless all- 
absorbing 1 ambition of my life has been that I might, 
under the leadings of Providence, be made still further 
a blessing to society, in a far higher sense than that 
which tho satisfactory discharge of the duties of a mere 



( 4 ) 

physician render me. The study of the ancient doc- 
trines and teachings embraced in the religious books 
of the Hindoos, had been for many years most 
congenial to my taste, and the conviction after a 
lengthened and most careful examination of the subjoct 
in all its multitudinous and important bearings hud 
irresistibly grown upon mo that, Hindooism, notwith- 
standing all that has been urged in support of its hoary 
antiquity, was after all not such an ancient system as 
it has been supposed by many; indeed, it was nothing 
more nor less than our Biblical Christianity, perverted 
and transformed by endless and unmeaning ceremonies, 
and a vast accumulation of aged but worthless legend, 
and superstitious teaching. My fluty was now plainly 
to extend the circle of my influence by communicating 
my convictions, and supporting the same by irrefru^i- 
ble proof from the legends themselves. * The aspira- 
tions of a lifetime might be realized in elucidating this 
great truth that so far from Christianity borrowing any 
of its light from the mistaken ancient grandeur of 
HindocJhm, Hindooism had really received its first 
inspiration from Biblical Christianity. The sun which 
had been shining for ages past had communicated 
some of His rays to the benighted East, which, unfor- 
tunately for the peoples of the past, had been shaded 
and dimmed by contact with gloomy superstitious 
thought, and the natural darkness and depravity of 
liuman nature. 

I know that in attempting to perform this unique 
and important duty, I have taken up a ponderous burden, 



( 6 ) 

and shouldered a weighty responsibility. Sneers and 
insult I have already encountered even from those 
whose learned leisure should have fitted them to add 
to the light of science, and the enforcement of those 
claims which our holy religion has on the attention 
of the thoughtful and reflecting. Fashion is a strange 
and powerful motive force, and fashion unfortunately 
has decided to consider Ilindooism as a system ancient 
and ago-worn, distinct in its character, and altogether 
independent of Biblical Christianity, which is received 
as a comparatively modern system purer no doubt 
than any other, grander in its conceptions of moral 
requirement, and Divine in its origin, but still inculca- 
ting a religion of yesterday, as compared with hoary- 
hcadcd, time-wrinkled IliudooLsm. This I firmly and 
honestly believe to be a mistake. Chronology, may 
deceive us "well us history, and giguntic untruth, 
solemnized by age, may remain untruth, notwithstand- 
ing musty documents, and, may be, absurd, notwith- 
standing ancient legend. The improbable often pays 
most remuneratively, and superstition, no Less than 
selfish interest, may combine to exclude the truth ; but 
truth cannot for ever rcmuirt concealed ; lies are of Sa- 
tanic origin, and may never even when embodied in 
revered Pimm and sacred Shaster expect a continued 
existence when opposed to that which is of God, that 
which is Truth. Any one who calmly and deliberately 
analyses and reasons out facts for themselves, not 
depending on the evidence and fallible dicta of others, 
bo they never BO erudite and qualified, must arrive at 
one conclusion when comparing the mythical legends 



and moral teachings of Ilindooism with our pure and 
holy religion, viz , that the Bible has furnished the 
basis of all the living truth embodied in the teaching* 
of the Hindoo religion, encumbered and well nigh 
buried beneath the accumulated weight of hoary 
fantastic impossibility, of absurd legendary Ions. 

The following theses may more forcibly illustrate 
the position which my researches have left mo in : 

1. The early families of the Earth possessed 
an unwritten but definite knowledge of tho irivjil 
Jehovah, and His requirements of the race, morally and 
spiritually. 

2. The Old Testament rccouls were disseminated 
and translated throughout the ancient world, and 
furnished the basis of all law and religion. 

3. The leading facts in Hindoo religious lore, 
divested of the fanciful and the obscene with which 
age, superstition, mid perverted imagination lutvu 
clothed them, are the leading facts of Holy Writ. 

4. ^Jn the game way the sculp turo in Hindoo 
temples was originally pure, chaste and lofty m con- 
ception, embodying elements which were elevating 
and noble. 

5. Originally, the intention on the part of those 
sages who were the early founders of Ilindooism, in 
the erection of sculptured representations of Deity, 
was a pure and legitimate one, viz,, in the absence; of 
any permanent and enduring memorial of holy things, 
arising from the scarcity and perishable nature of 



( 7 ) 

written MSS., to erect enduring monuments, illustra- 
tive of the leading personages of the Bible, and 
representing the leading features and characteristics 
of such personages, 

6. Their intention was also, further, to present 
to the lower and unlearned masses a tangible, visible, 
representation of Deity, 

7. Later ages had diminished the force and 
purity of these original -sculptures, by the addition of 
puerile and vulgar supplements, which were calculated 
to gratify the carnal ar^l degraded nature of the masses. 

8. The original intention of the representations 
In the course of time was forgotten and obscured by 
such innovations, and the pure bein^ rendered impure, 
the priests directed the worship of those sculptures 
which originally wero not intended to bo worshipped. 

9. Notwithstanding these fearful corruptions of 
tho primary, pure and legitimate representations of 
Deity, and the leading l>iblioal oh;iraci,crs 3 they yet 
retain many raleemmg features, which, .separated from 
the additions, furnish plain and irrcfragiblo testimony 
in favor of the Truth of Holy Writ. 

10. The Apostles of Christ, who are known to 

have disseminated religious truth throughout the entire 
known world of that time, commnuicaied such truths 
also to Eastern lands, 

11. Such knowledge* became also, in course of 
tlmo, appropriated by unscrupulous and designing men } 
who, aware of the purity and power of the spotless holy 



( 8 ) 

life of Jesus Christ, introduced a character whom they 
named Krishna, who was represented to have lived and 
performed deeds similar to those which Jesus Christ 
performed. 

Gentle reader, I cannot occupy much more of 
your time, or I would, with great pleasure to myself, 
and doubtless with profit to you, elucidate and enlarge 
upon these several theses, so as to render plain the 
concentrated meaning which lies hidden in each one of 
them. They are the result of much patient research, 
of great mental labor, and careful analysis. In the 
pages which follow, I have endeavored to illustrate the 
leading facts here stated, not only by argument, but 
by reference to several of the Hindoo legends them- 
selves. 

There are thoughts in these pages which may 
seem strange because of their exceeding novelty ; there 
are ideas which may never have occuiTod in print be- 
fore ; but the strangeness of a subject is no argument 
against either its importance or its correctness. In 
the perusal of the following -pages, I trust you will 
receive much pleasure; and, what is of far greater 
importance, that after a careful reading, you will rise 
convinced of the leading fact, that the blessed Holy Reli- 
gion of the Bible is THE ONLY ANCIENT RELIGION, and has 
claims which ingenious imitations and perverse misre- 
presentations can never possess ; while all those efforts 
which cupidity and corrupted ingenuity have used 
to diminish the power and tarnish the brightness of 
Biblical religion, have only served to render its light 
brighter, and its influence more powerful than ever. 



( 9 ) 

In conclusion, it affords rue very much pleasure 
to acknowledge the assistance which I have received 
at different times from the following gentlemen, to 
whom 1 am sincerely grateful. The Rev. J. W 
Adams, V. C. Minister of the Church of England, 
directed my attention to the necessity of pointing 
out the difference between the mission of Krishna 
and that of Christ, which I have done. Examin- 
ation into this important point led to much research, 
and the enquiry has more than ever convinced me 
that the light and beauty which shines so frequently 
from the moral teachings of the Vodas, arc nothing 
more nor less than reflections of that Greater Irjht, 
which has shone so* clearly through all ages, vise: 
the Old Testament, with its grand moral eoneoptiuns 
and heavenly radiance ; in short Bible truths transposed 
and modified- so as to suit Eastern tusto and fancy ; 
while the Krishna of the Vcdas is an importation of the 
Krishna of the Puranas, with a view to giro Vedrintic 
lore greater force and effect in the eyes and mimls of 
the masses. 

To Father O'Ncil, of the Cowtey Brotherhood 
(now deceased), and the llev. F. R. MIehell of Jub- 
bulpore, as also to James Belchambers, Esq., Regis- 
trar of the Calcutta High Court, and Chairman of the 
Doveton College, and to Messrs.Dawes and LisMaislro 
of Jubbulpore, I am also greatly indebted for help, 
encouragement and advice. Tho Rev. Mr. Hodgson, 
of the Church Mission, receives my best thanks for ro- 
ferring mo to the Nislcalank Avatar or the Sinless Incar- 
nation of the True God, which was very helpful to me, 



C 10 ) 

and also Baboos Madhub Clmnder Day, Radha Nath 
Bhose, Assistant Surgeon, and Beharee Lai Kajanchi, 
Honorary Magistrate of Jubbulporo, not omitting 
Messrs. Shepherd and Thornton of Agra, and Filth, 
Glaekan, Harcourt and Russell of Jubbulpore. I am 
also greatly indebted for assistance to many Pundits 
and Brahmin priests, who have spent much time and 
leisure in going over very difficult, but to me very in- 
teresting ground ; not forgetting Brother Heffernon, of 
St. Joseph's Chapel, Jubbulpore, who drew my atten- 
tion to the whispering of the serpent in the cars of 
Mahadeo and Parbati. The lie* M. Y. Bovard, B. S. of 
the M.E.C.j after reading my manuscript, very thought- 
fully suggested the most approbate title which ap- 
pears at the beginning of this work, instead of " Jottings 
from the Hindoo Shastras," as given in the Monthly 
Journal of Oriental Miscellany. 

Lastly, to do justice to one and all, whether they be 
in existence or not, I must refer to my nephew W. 
Barker, Esq., Assistant Engineer, now in England, and 
also to my late son-in-law Mr. H. W* Rooke, Barrister- 
at-Law and Advocate of the High Court of Calcutta, 
and to my late brother-in-law, Local Lieutenant Isaac 
Watts, the hero of the Central Provinces, whom Sir 
Hugh Kose had specially selected as his guide, and 
who had the honor of being presented with the Sword 
of Valour for distinguished services in the field during 
the memorable period of the mutiny of 1857. I may 
mention the fact that this work has been the means of 
bringing Lieutenant Watts to a, right understanding of 



( 11 ) 

the Christian religion. His tendency previously was to 
a belief in the Mahomedan faith, being a uiun of the 
sword he naturally inclined to the faith which inculcated 
and encouraged such a profession. On presenting the 
first portion of my work in manuscript for his opinion, 
lie criticised it severely, and made several remarks 
such for instance "Adam and Eve are not synonymous 
with Mahadeo and Parbati, &c.; Krishna was never 
married to any of those 1G ? 000 damsels, &c. J? " These 
numerous actions would not have been represented in 
an immoral light, had the object been a good one." 
"No other meaning is 'admitted by any of the learned 
Hindoo authors. A mere opinion of your own is no 
proof." "Krishna promulgated no religion, ho only 
fought with his enemies, played on the flute, and 
captivated the women of Grokul, &o, J ' u J low could this 
be when Krishna is said to have made his appearance 
before Christ?" " This goes further to prove that 
Krishna was not really Christ. The doctrine wns 
merely borrowed and made use of by the enterprising 
Brahmins of the Vaislmava sect.' 7 '^Tiio Shubtrus ut 
the Hindoos are said t<> have been written about 4S)uO 
years ago, and consequently their doctrine must bo 
older than the Christians." " One should study the 
Hindoo Shastras and other sacred books bulbro making 
a statement like this," 

He then brought forward numerous works ia order 
to disprove the principles which 1 had enunciated ; but 
with these weapons of his own I succeeded in disabus- 
ing his mind of all erroneous impressions which he hud 



( 12 ) 

formed, and thus, as my work progressed, lie became 
convinced of the truth tittered, thereby completing his 
re-conversion to the Christian faith ; and 1 am happy to 
record, two years previous to his demise^ he partook of 
the sacramental rites, which he had never done in his 
lifetime before, and lived and acted in harmony and la 
accordance with the Christian religion. 




E.RIIATA. 
Pago Lino 

10 20 for has read had 
24 27 omit is 
32 13 mid to 

54 Head last note in connection "\vitL Cth and 7th lines 

p. 55. 

55 Head no to in connection "with SMlL line, p. 54. 




CHAPTER I. 

Early Christianity in India An Indian Missionary^ King- 
The Policy of the early Brahmins Incarnation of Vishnu 
Krishna and Christ Jugge,rnauth Rama Avaiar Hindoo 
tenet of the Trinity whence derived Creation aiui deluge. 

& 

^HATEVER opinion the antiquarian may venture on 
the subject of Christianity in India, there 115 very 
little doubt that a careful comparison of the ancient 
Hindoo religious manuscripts with thosin of NUHH*- 
what later date, furnishes irrefragible proof tliat 
the doctrines of Christianity had permeated India at the 
period when Homo was mistress of the world. This 
is so clear, that any argument to the ooni ntry would Iwj HUTU 
waste of words; because it can 1m refuted not only from 
analogy, but also from u vast array of factfl found both in 
written record and more enduring sculpture and epitaph, which 
not only prove tho existence of Christianity in several parts 
of India in bygone ages, but also warrant (he, assumption 
that at one time India boasted of ;i mwsionjjry king**; ono who, 
divested of all fanciful and unreal surroundings, whines forth 
brightly as a reformer of no moan typo, whose misnion was to 
restore religion to its pristine simplicity and purity, and in whidi 
he largely succeeded. 

Tho dispersion of the ten, and latnr on the. two tribes of luraol, 
while intended primarily as a national punishment, wan evidently 
over-ruled by Providence as a moans whereby tho knowledge of 
the Great Jehovah should receive a world-wide disHomination ; 
and India doubtless, as well as other nations, benefited by contact 
* Asoka at Indra-prashta, who published certain edicts regardiag religion. 



xvith those refugees who brought -with them the light of u 
Heaven-revealed religion. It is true that Hindoo chronology 
claims for Hindooism an origin dating many centuries before 
the time of the Jewish dispersion, but intelligent, impartial 
enquiry in these matter of fact times, refuses to concede a largo 
proportion of those demands, which are opposed to reason, and 
are entirely unsupported by collateral evidence. After all that 
has been urged by learned scepticism against Biblical chronology, 
it has signally failed (notwithstanding loud assumption and bois- 
terous But unfounded argument) to prove this world a year 
older so far as it is connected with the history of the human 
race* than the book of Genesis declares it to be. 

Following on the light communicated by the early Jewish 
settlers, caine the brighter and more glorious light of that 
reformation, which was kindled in Bethlehem's manger, and 
culminated in noon-day splendour on {he cross of Oalvary. In 
this case, too, dispersion was the instrument employed. The early 
Christians wore persecuted from city to city, and were compelled, 
in order to enjoy liberty of conscience, to flee to ?emote regions* 
Their wanderings, liko that of tho star which lit the wise men of 
the east until they reached the manger King, brought li^hf and 
knowledge to those with whom they sojourned, and eastern 
lands, prepared by tho light already received, welcomed them 
gladly. So that thocwandermgs of tho despised Nsixaronos, either 
as persecuted refugees, or marching in the ranks of the Roman 
army, were made a blessing to distant peoples. 

But, perhaps, to that active spirit of propagandtsm which 
characterised Christianity so notably, moro than to any other 
means, did India owo the light of Christianity which sho 
undoubtedly received in bygone days. The apostles of tlio 
Nazarene were wonderful travellers. Only a glimpse of their 
all-devouring zeal, and wonderful capacity for endurance and 
labour, is given us in the book which records some of their acts. 
Burning with devotion to the Founder of tho new dispensation, 



( 15 ) 

they counted not their lives dear unto them, but went about 
telling the wonderful story of tho Cross. Western lands, remote 
as Britain, were visited by some of them, and legends exist of 
the visit of one of them to India. Saint Thomas's Mount, in 
Southern India, has a tradition connected with it and national 
traditions, when viewed as the erabodiment of some great past 
truth, cannot be ignored in tho visit of that once faithless, but 
afterwards believing and earnest apostle, who in imitation of 
his Great Master preached to thousands for many days from tho 
mountain side ; while, to this day at Mylupur, a village not far 
distant from St, Tliomab's Mount, the apostle is said to have 
suffered martyrdom. 

The conclusion to bo arrived at from a careful consideration 
of tho facts above related is, that India once enjoyed the light of 
Christianity to somo extent ; that loft to herself for a time, 
owing to that paralysis of Irtio religion which followed tho 
success of Homo, certain innovations \VITO introduced, and certain 
sects created, which renounced some of tho established forms, 
and adopted forms peculiar to themselves. 

The Bmhminical priests, being uncontrolled, introduced in- 
novations to suit their own purposes, destroying morality and tho 
fundamental principles of tho true religion. That it Itfia been so, 
will be apparent, from the acts of their sovereigns, who, being 
shocked with certain immoral exhibitions, caused the destruction 
of those monumental representations which tended to the 
demoralization of tho people. For instance, the concupiscent 
representation of the full figure of Mahadoo and Parhutfy was 
demolished, and symbolical portions only permitted to remain 
on political grounds. 

In this way the original religion was corrupted; tho worship 
of Christ degenerated into that of Krishna, and there being no 
recognised head to maintain the settled form of religion, no 



( 16 ) 

defender of the faith as in England, the want of this precaution 
was one great cause of the fall of Christianity in India. 

The Hindoo belief of a Sut Joog is sufficiently established 
and also that of a KalJoog ; Virgil likewise speaks of Ihr two 
ages the golden and the iron ages. 

There was a period when true Christianity or Catholicity 
prevailed. But with the errors of the Church of Homo and 1ho 
selling of indulgences for sins, came- tho period of bondugo and 
persecution. The Bible was withheld from the la if y, and the 
people fell into utter ignorance us to the truths of th*ir religion; 
with this darkness came priestcraft, and with it tin* iron ag<, 
called by the Hindoos Kal Joog. Universality was no longer 
observed. The rule of love and forbearance ceased to be, and 
the age of Sut Joog passed away. With this ago came UH* era 
of tho Hindoo period. 

The Brahmins, who were evidently at first tho prk'sl.s of the 
Roinish Church, took advantage of tho dark times in their own 
country, and tampered with tho sacred rocofrls. But tho 
Hindoos, in their puzzle, say that they themselves aro not quito 
certain as to whether Krishna was tho incarnation of Ram or tho 
Deity himself, the self-existing Creator of tho Universe. On thin 
point, Ijpwever, we havo the satisfaction to know that thuir 
sacred recSrds describe Krishna as an inter-deity. 

According to the Shastra, Brahma and Siva had no in- 
carnation. Yishnu having only ten, as allowed by them, 
Ram being tho tonthj Krishna as a matter of fact becomes an 
interloper. 

Kennedy in his book on Christianity and tho religion** of 
India, mentions that Krishna " was the last and tho most eok- 
brated of tho incarnations of Vishnu or Brahma. If, aH is 
ascertained by the Brahmins, that Krishna compiled tho V<liw 
and wrote the Mahabharat and a few of tho Pooranu.s, ho 
must have lived at least fifteen hundred years." 



So far we have been contending on superficial analogies 
only ; but it is time now to look into weightier matters ; in 
other words to search into those fundamental principles on which 
each religion is based. 

According to the Scriptures, Christ's incarnation was for 
the atonement and justification of fallen man, ( Bom. iv., 25 ); 
Milton, in those beautiful opening lines of his magnificent poem, 
well describes the situation 

Of Man's first disobedience, and the fruit 
Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal tasto 
Brought death into tho world, and all our woe, 
With loss of Eden, till one greater Man 
Restore as, and regain tho blissful seat, 
Sing, heavenly Mnso ! 

The law had been dishonoured and broken, and tho transgressor 
had incurred tho death penalty. Christ carao, tho just for tho 
unjust, in order to atone for tho sins of Adam's {'alien race, and 
by Ilia perfect service and all-suflieient aiimomenl, rumlored it 
possible for a just and holy God to accept repentant sinful man, 
and yet be perfectly holy. Ilindooism asserts that Krishna's 
incarnation was for tho justification of man : and though it docs 
not directly admit tho doctrine of tho full, it nevertheless 
indirectly implies it. Tho Vodas and other religious^ lok of 
Ilindooism have frequent references to mankind as sinful and 
erring, and there is vciry little doubt that the earliest records 
had much clearer teaching on this important matter, than thoir 
more recent and corrupted versions now impart. If a fall is 
not admitted, whore is then the necessity of justification? for if 
there is no sin, a ju.stilior would bo unnecessary. If justification 
be admitted, then sin must bo admitted. Hence tho rejection 
of tho doctrine of fallen man and tho consequent necessity of 
atonement must be held to bo altogether untenable. Tho 
question also naturally arises Why was Krishna's nativity con- 
sidered an incarnation, and why did ho consent to suffer death ? 
8 



( 18 ) 

To the discriminating mind there arc manifold indications 
of the fact, startling and novel as it may appear to those who road 
the statement for the first time, that the history of the Hindoo's 
Krishna, is nothing more nor less than a perverted, contorted, and 
garbled history of the Christian's Christ, The knowledge of 
the Messiah with all the leading events of His wonderful lite, and 
His great mission, \vero gradually perverted by mythological 
and puerile fancy, until now it is almost impossible, underneath 
the overwhelming heap of rubbish, to discover the Groat Original; 
and it is only when one patiently sits down ami diverts tins 
narration of the impossible and the absurd, that the leading 
features of the Hindoo Krishna begin to assimilate somewhat 
with the Pure and the Divine, 

To illustrate, let me refer to Krishna in his trials anil suffer- 
ings, which at this stage of my work ljuivo forcibly struck m : 
and I mean to offer a few remarks on the similitude, of the two. 
Do they not hear resemblance to those endured by our Buviour ? 
The manner of Christ's trials in tlio wildornoss^hls sufferings, 
buffeting and uplifting on the cross, have a strong roswnhlunw to 
Krishna's banishment, indignities, and death. Ai the pre.-enf 
moment, in the yearly worship of the doit.y Jnggurnuidh, wi seo 
a strange course pursued. The image of Juggurnauth, which is 
made of wood* to bear rough treatment, is scourged, thu anus 
mutilated, then dragged out with a rope round its neck, 
lifted up into the car and adored as the Master of tho Universe, 
which the name Juggurnauth implies. Tho similitude seenn to 
be unquestionable. In both cases the arms of t ho inciiniutinn, 
the emblems of power, suffered mutilation. J uggumauth'H anus 
and legs were severed from the joints ; an evident rofrrcmoo to 
the punishment undergone by Christ who was nailed to tho crag*. 
In either case not a bone of the bodies was broken. And tho 
inscription of our Saviour on the cross was " King of the Jews," 
while that of Juggurnauth is " Master of tho Universe." 
* All other images of the Hindoo craft aro made of clay. 



Another similarity is to be found in tho hanging of the 
malefactors. With Christ two thieves were made to suffer the 
torture of death. With Juggurnauth, in other words Krishna, 
people under sense of guilt hung themselves round the great 
car by iron hooks at the time of worship. 

Further on we read the description of Christ's coming at 
the last day in the clouds with power and great glory, seated on 
a white horse, as the " King of Kings and Lord of Lords," 
followed by the armies of heaven on white horses to Finite the 
nations with the sword of his mouth, and to tread the wine- 
press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God ( liev. xuc, 
11 to 10). This is transmuted by Ilindooism into the descent on 
earth of a pale horse, riderless, surmounted by the State 
Umbrella or a (Jhattrco/' the insignia of royalty, which is to 
trample down ihe wickotf and destroy them indiscriminately ! 
This the Hindoos call "Niskulauk" avatar, or the sinlosn incarna- 
tion of the last ngos, 

Do not. ail thcso references tend to show that this characters of 
the personages, not to mention tho passion-plays of the Hindoos, 
bear sonio msemblanco to tho characters in the .Bible history ? 
No one can bo blind to such strong proofs of iho Brahmins hav- 
ing interpolated the Scriptures, as can bo found on careful 
enquiry. That it is so wiii Iw apparent from anothor^poTnt, vis. 9 
the way in which the Hindoo records doscritioiho death of the 
Gardener, and tho promise of tho incarnation, A description of 
tho Gardener's crime and consequent death will bo interesting 
to the reader, as a woman is concerned. With all their canning 
to thwart ihe detection of tho story being the IHble history, they 
could not bring about iho crime of murder without the woman. 

Tho death of Adam and tho promise of Christ is HO well 
illustrated in tho aneedoto of tho Hindoo allegory that it needs 
only to bo told without comment. 

Ram, one of tho ton " avatars," having formed an alliance 
with Sugrib, was persuaded by him to kill Baleo his brother, 



( 20 ) 

who had taken his wife and turned him out of house and home. 
Rain at his instigation shot the Gardener. On his doath the 
Gardener's son Ungud came and remonstrated with him, saying, 
" What did you gain by killing an innocent man, considering 
that you are a being of such valour : an ignoble act docs not 
become you." Ram on hearing this regretted his rash proceed- 
ing, and to compensate for tho injustice ho had done, he told 
the Gardener's son, " You can have your revenge at my next 
incarnation," So according to agreement, Ram in another age 
appeared in the person of Krishna, and met his death at tho 
hands of Bayad,* the descendant of Balee. 

The Hindoos also admit that the earth was in a chaotic state, 
and that utter darkness prevailed before light camo into the world. 
The only difference is that our Bible says that God said " Let 
there bo light, and it was so ;" while tho Hindoos haw it fhat 
" Brahma floated on tho surface of tho waters in a profound 
sleep, and on his awakening light broke forth." 

That tho dogma of tho Brahminical faith ha$ its origin in 
tho Christian doctrine is apparent from another point, r/~: 
They hold tho doctrine of a Trinity in the Godhead: although 
the attributes of tho third person differ from ours in I his 
respect, that we ascribe to tho Holy Ghost the attributes of a 
Sanctifier $ they have it that of a Destroyer and Regenerator. 

The delugo of the Scriptures as described by them iu tho 
Shasters is said to have occurred on Urahm's exhaustion 
and periodical rest in successive ages, after his work of each 
Creation. Hence it is asserted by tho Hindoos that, (hiring 
one of the periodical rests of Brahma, Siva, being uncontrolled, 
gave full scope to his destructive propensities, opened tho flood- 
gates of heaven, and caused tho delugo. And whon Brahma 
awoke and found what mischief his slumbers had causwl, ho wi 
to work to repair it. With the materials ready to his hand?*, 
he re-manufactured tho earth and its inhabitants ; and this Is 
what is intended by the secondary creation. 
* Fisherman, 




CHAPTER II. 

Origin of the spoeies Who are Mahadeo and Parbuttee ? 
The Gouree Sunker Sleoraan's " Recollections" Christianity 
an Eastern religion. Some striking analogies Story of 
Krishna. Comparison between Krishna and Christ, Krish- 
na's feats. Brahminical inventions Ancient Christianity in 
India Correspondence between Hindoo and Roman Catholic 
ritual and usage. 



HIE origin of the human race, according to sacred 
history, begins with two conspicuous personages as 
the authors of our first being, -ofe., a single pair, 
Adam and^Ere, man and wife, synonymous with 
Mahadoo and Parbutteo of the Hindoo Sliasiras. 
That Mahadeo and Parbuttee are our Adam and Eve is 
indubitable. The images in the temple of these august 
personages bespeak so emphatically the character of our first 
genitors, that the mind cannot possibly arrive at any other 
conclusion than that they were meant for Adam and Eve. And 
particularly so when wo sec the imago of Parlmttoo in connection 
with a snake whispering in her car. A remarkable* fact in 
connection with thoso representations is thatlhe reptile in either 
case emanates from under the thighs of the atigast personages, and 
stands erect on the right side of each of them, the lower 
portion of tho sorpnnts being hidden from view. This is evidently 
intended to symbolise that fertility which the Bible account at- 
tributes to our first parents in the command " increase and mul- 
tiply," as also tho cunning of tho evil one, who assumed tho ser- 
pent's guise in order to deceive our firat parents in tho gardon 
of Eden. 

This fact, strange as it may appear, was first noticed by 
Lieutenant-Colonel W. H, Sloemau, tjbo author of the " Ilaai- 



( 22 ) 

bles and Recollections of an Indian Official." In his letter to his 
sister, to whom he dedicated his volume, in his description of a 
temple on the banks of the Nerbudda * river he writes thus : 

" At the temple built on the top of a conical hill. 'it Beraghat 
overlooking the river, is a statue of a bull carrying Bowa, the 
god of destruction, and his wife Parbuttce f seated behind 
him : they have both snakes in their hands ; and Sewa has a 
large one round his loins as a waist band. There are. several 
demons in human shape lying prostrate under the belly of the 
bull, and the whole are well cut out of one large slab of hard 
basalt from a dyke in the marble rock beneath. They call the 
whole group ' Gouree Bunker, ' and I found in tho fair, exposed 
for sale, a brass model of a similar on'6 from Jypore ; but not ,o 
well shaped and proportioned. On noticing this, wo were fold 
that such difference was to be expected, cincetho brass representa- 
tions must have been made by man, whereas the Uouree Hunker 
of the temple above was a real py-kJww, or a convecsiun of living 
beings into stone by the gods ; they wore therefore the exact 
resemblance of living beings, while the others could only bo 
rude imitations." Gouroo, or the Fair, is the name of Par- 
buttee, or Davce, when she appears with her husband Kewii. 
On such occasions she is always fair and beautiful. Kimkur is 
another F na#ie of Sowa or Mahacleo or llooder. On looking 
into the temple at the statue, a lady expressed her Kiirprwo at 
the entireness, as well as the excellence of tho figures, while* all 
around had been so much mutilated by the Mahomedaris, 
* They are quite a different thing from tho other*/ said a re** 
spectable old landholder, ' they are conversion of real flesh und 
blood into stone, and no human hands can either imituto or 

* The waters of the Nerbudda are, according to the Hindoo belief, already 
so much more sacred than those of the Ganges, that to see thorn is sufficient to 
cleansa men from their sins, whereas the Ganges must be touched before it caa 
have that effect. 

t Parbuttee's auake is whispering to her, which Col Sleeman omitted to 
notice. 



( 23 ) 

hurt them ! ' Slio smiled incredulously, while lie looked very 
grave, and appealed to the whole crowd of spectators assembled, 
who all testified to the truth of what he had said ; and added, 
' that at no distant day the figures would be all restored to lifo 
again the deities would all come back without doubt and 
re-animate their old bodies again." This confirms their belief 
in the resurrection of the dead, so similar to our own. 

"The old Mahunt, or high priest, told us that ilaliadoo and his 
wife were in reality our Adam and Eve ; c they camo here to- 
gether,' said he, 4 on a visit from the the mountain Kylas (paradise 
or the abode of the gods) and being earnestly solicited to leave 
some memorial of their visit, got themselves turned into stone.' 
Tho popular belief is, that gome very holy man, who had been 
occupied on the top of this little conical hill, whore the temple 
now stands, in austere devotions for some few thousand years 
was at last honoured with a visit from Sewa and his consort, who 
asked him what they could do for him. lie begged thorn to wait 
till ho should bring some flowers from the woods, io make them 
a suitable offering. They promised to do so ; and lie ran down, 
plunged into the Nerbudda and drowned himself, in order 
that these august persons might for over remain and do honor 
to his residence and his name. They, however, left only their 
'mortal coiF ; but will one day return and resume it. I know not 
whether I am singular in the notion or not,^ut I think Maha- 
deo and his consort arc really our Adam and Evo ; and that 
the people have converted them into the god and goddess of 
destruction, from some vagao idea of their original sin, which 
involved all their race in destruction. The snakes, which form 
the only dross of Mahadoo, would seem to confirm this. It is 
indeed a striking representation of the samo .serpent which be- 
guiled our first parent Eve." 

Christianity first took its root and began in Aflia Minor, 
It is strictly speaking the religion of the Eastern world. Tho 
present to our view another character tantamount to 



( 24, ) 

that of the incarnation of our Saviour. In the last chapter 
several interesting references were made to the Hindoo deity 
Krishna. I shall now endoavour to shew more distinctly that 
the personification of Krishna avatar with Christ's incarnation is 
a perfect similitude. So closely indeed do the leading points of 
resemblance lie, that infidels have not heen wanting Brad laugh 
notably with others who have declared that Hindooism being 
reputedly more ancient than Christianity, Krishna must have 
lived many hundred years before Christ, and therefore Christ 
was a personage who took Krishna for his model, and performed 
great works in imitation of the Hindoo god. But such ideas 
are inconsonant with truth, and therefore cannot bo entertained. 
The Hindoo religion is not such an ancient religion after all, and 
any one who takes the trouble, as I luivo done, to search for 
incontestable documentary evidence an to tho very aneimii posi- 
tion which most of the Hindoo religious works uro estimated 
to occupy, they will find that so far from posit! vo proof huing 
afforded, there is a vast deal of assertion, without scarcely any 
detailed and reliable evidence in support. Assertion is far from 
being capable of conveying any conviction, unless the enquiring 
mind can grasp something tangible, something reliuhle. 

Tho analogy becomes very striking when we come to consider 
the similarity in the names Christ and Krishna, In Bengal 
Krishna is called Kristo. (Qr. Clmstot). Tho little? alter- 
ation in tho sound may bo explained by tho difference in tho 
language and people ; and also that tendency to poetic ornit- 
mentalismwhichissocharacterLsticjis of Hindoo authors, who u#o 
the vowel "a" at the conclusion of tho namo Krishna, to nmko it 
rhyme well in their poetical sentences, Tho difference between 
the two charactersKrishna and Christ, may also bo found in tho 
love of the miraculous which induced ancient Hindoo write 
to transform and add to the original description, thus producing 
for Krishna a character which was calculated to attract tho 



masses. 



( 25 ) 

Another notable similarity exists in tlio attempts -of the 
parents to save their children. Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt 
with the infant Christ, to escape the cruel mandate of Herod 
the king. Bal (in Hindi, infant) Krishna was taken by his 
parent JBasdeo to Gokool, to avoid a similar fate at the hands of 
Kons Rajah. 

The analogy becomes more strikingly obvious when we see 
both the children in cattle sheds away from Lome, and both of 
the royal lineage. Krishna's birth, though not actually in a 
manger, was almost so, because he tvas eventually transferred 
to one. 

The history of Krishna's birth may be briefly related here to 
show 11 10 strange resemblance it has to the conception, birth 
and peregrinations referred to in tho Scriptural account of the 
Messiah. 

Kons, a Chhotrco (tho royal raoo) Uajali of Miii.hu rapuri, 
having boon informed by a voioo from heaven, that ho would 
moot his death at the hands of a son of his sister, Dookeo, who 
was married to Basdeo, ordered them to bo placed under a guard 
and their offspring to bo destroyed (an allusion to tho massacre 
of tho innocents). Dcokoo had a friend, Jasoda, (evidently a cor- 
rupi.e.d roforoneo to the friendship which existed befwoflri Mary 
tho mother of our Lord and her cousin Elizabeth) who, being with 
child at the same time with JDeokoo, promised to save Deokco's 
child from being destroyed, by offering her own. It is said that 
Krishna had to remain 13 months in his mother's womb waiting 
for tho birth of Jasoda's child. As soon as they were lorn, the 
guard placed by Kons llajah fell asleep, and JSasdeo ran away 
with Krishna to Jasoda, made him over to hur^ and brought away 
far child (A oinL * ) who was given to Dookoo and supposed to 

* Jjtsoda's child must of necessity bo a girl Otherwise slio would hay* been 
looked down upon as act unnatural mother yielding up bar eon to death, albeit to 
aavo a prince, 



( 26 ) 

bo tier offspring. Jasoda and her husband Nand were of the 
Aheer* caste, and they adopted Krishna as their son. Krishna at 
the ago of 12 returned to his birthplace, as it is said to kill Kons 
and iisurp the throne. Basdeo (evidently the Joseph of 
Scripture, who had to flee to Egypt with the infant Jcssu.s in ordor 
to avoid the persecuting Herod) in his flight from Mathura to 
Gokool, had to cross the river Jumna, carrying Krishna on his 
head, and while in the act of fording, went beyond his depth ; 
Krishna's feet, touching the waters caused them to recede, and en- 
abled Basdeo to walk across on dry land. (In this 1 see a reference 
to the miracle at the Red Sea, and again at Jordan, where the 
waters started back and the dry land appeared. The Old 
Testament legend was doubtless imported by ancient Hindoos into 
the story of Krishna to add to his importance.) It is also sfnf <*d 
that the flight was so precipitate that Basdoo whipped otl* the 
babe as soon as it was born, without, detaching the scrtmdun'S, or 
ligaturing the cord. In the rainy season, in Ilie month of Bhudro 
(August), he was taken at midnight across a flooded river, (o the 
distance of 3 coss, or miles. 

Having touched upon the subjee.t of incarnations by alluding 
to the incarnation of Krishna, the last and the most</ei<hrule<l of 
the Hindoo triads, with an unbiased mind und purely from dis- 
interested ^notivoff, it behoves me now to show the merits and de- 
merits of each case' by putting thorn in juxtaposition ; the truth 
of the incarnation of the Gospel Christ, and the fiction of the 
Krishna incarnation being apparent. 

*The Aheor (cowherd) cnste commnml rospoct from Hindoo* TVy hnvo 
been connected with many of the events in the 'lives of tho Hindoo PM!H, mid 
are representatives of an early civilization, when tho pastoral condition jr<s vailed 
universally. The cattle they tend servo to supply them with milk nnd butter, 
the staple of their food, while tho ox ploughs the ground nnd giv<* an out-turn 
of rain. The orthodox Hindoos are strictly vegetarians, and worship tht) cow 
and the bull. 

The Hindoos are not the only nation which has n respect, for thn hull. In 
the Grecian mythology we have images of bulls, and in a Oredftn pit'tttro before 
me, tbe figure of a female riding on a bull led by a man is to bo seen. It, srnms 
symbolical of our Adam and Eve in their fallen state, affcer having been drmti 
out of Eden, 



Christ of the Gospels. 

a. THE incarnation of Christ 
was for the atonement and justi- 
fication of fallen men according 
to a promise made to our first 
progenitors when they trans- 
gressed the law of God, and 
brought a cur.se on their off- 
spring, and death was the retri- 
bution. Eve boars tluv blame 
of having eaten the fruit of the 
forbidden tree, and her hus- 
band Adam shared in it. The 
Almighty suffers for the curse ; 
inasmuch as God gave his Son 
Jesus Christ to boar the pun- 
ishment of death, given 4>y 
himself to his creation. 



lh Christ in duo course of 
time is conceived in the Virgin 
Mary's womb; six months al- 
ter t ho concept itfu of John, who 
becomes his forerunner. 



0, The conception begins 
with a miracle. (Jhrist.'s his- 
tory begins with John's father 
being tl limb-stricken, and lOli- 
ssaheth who had passed the 
period of life for conception, 
conceived, and her child leaped 
in her womb on hearing 
Mary's voice when they met, 

<L Christ came* from tho 
tribe of Juda. The seeptre, of 
the house of Jacob of King 
David's line. 

e. Christ was born in a man- 
ger, in a guarded citadel. His 
lather escaped with him to 



Krishna <>f the SJtastras. 

a. THE incarnation of Krish- 
na was for the justification of 
man. Ram, one of the ton ava- 
tars, having formed an- alliance 
with Sugrib the Gardener's bro- 
ther, was persuaded to shoot his 
brother Balce the Gardener for 
taking away his wife, and turn- 
ing him out of hotwo and home. 
When tho Gardener's son remon- 
strated with him for killing an in- 
nocent man on hearsay, Uam re- 
gretted his rash act, and said in 
his present state he could not 
touch him, but that in his next 
incarnation in a human body, ho 
would have his revenge. Bulee 
being invulnerable, nono but 
could kill him. 



b. Deokee conceives "Krishna ; 
fonr months subsequently her 
friend Jnsoda conceives a child 
which happens to boa yirl, to bo 
given in exchange for Krishna *a 
head. 

t\ Tim conception of Krishna, 
begins wit.b a miracle, his renutin- 
inglfi months in th(* \voiah, wait- 
ing for tlici birih rf Jasoda\s 
child, is proverbial. It happens 
to be a girl to disabuse tho mind 
of the public of tiny deception as 
regards tho exchange. 

d. Krishna claims alliance* 
1c> the royal nice of Hindoostun 
(tho Ohliotri'o (iante) and u ne- 
phew to Kons Jtujah then on tho 
throne. 

e< Krishna, though born in a 
guarded tower was eventually 
removed to a manger, in tho 



( 28 ) 

Egypt, by a circuitous route, Aheer's house, to effect winch his 
across the river Jordan. futlier had to cross tho river 

Jumna. 

/. There was a massacre of /. Kriahna's hirth anrl coiw- 
infants at the nativity and quont escape called forth tho 
escape of Christ. destruction of infants. 

g. King Herod hears of the g. Kons Itajah hears a 

birth of Christ from the wise voice from heaven announcing 

men of the East, and dreads his dethronement by a noplww 

his dethronement. in conception, a son of his sister. 

k. Christ's return to his h. Krishna returned to his 

birth-place is not mentioned in birth-place at the ago of 12 

the Scriptures, but wo read of years to kill Kons and usurp f hn 

his mother finding him in throne. It is related that li 

the temple with the Jewish lifted Kons by tin* hairoftlu* 

doctors, holding a controversy htwl, and dashed him io the 

with them at the age of 12 ground and killed him. 
years, on the demise of Herod. 

It is remarkable that the incidents of ih after life 
of both these Great Personages are as corrohoraihv, inas- 
much as the love that Jesus bore to mankind influenced him 
in suffering for their redemption ; and KrishrtU likewise was 
taken prisoner (banished as the Hindoo version luis if, but 
which means tho same thing,) and saflcrod death for flm 
love he is said to have borne to females, his preferuwc' for this 
sex an4> their regard for him indicating that ho had also th<* 
adoration ?)f the dominant or malo sex. The mere fact of his lining 
in love with females does alone testify that hin followers \vro 
indiscriminate, and the allegation of immorality thrown against 
him is merely a poetical misrepresentation of tho religion. 
Love in religion, as in every thing else, becomes profound whero 
females are concerned, consequently poots give u lingo of im- 
morality as they describe any other love, although thin low of 
Krishna, borne by and for tho females, was purely a holy lovo. 

The account in the Hindoo Shastra of Krishna's marriage 
with 16,000 damsels at one time is purely figurative, and m 
intended to convey to the reader's mind the degree of universal 



( 29 ) 

love of his female votaries alone, irrespective of the attachment 
felt for him by the male portion. The Shastra states that 
Krishna kept all the women and treasures of Narak to himself, 
and married 16,000 damsels at one time. Now it is the taking 
of this in a literal sense that destroys the original meaning of 
the author. The explanation is obvious, that the whole population 
of Narak came with one accord to accept the religion promul- 
gated by Krishna, and thoir fidelity to this new movement was 
such, that thny brought all their worldly goods and laid them at 
the foot of Krishna to bo made use of for one common purpose. 

I leave with confidence *to all unprejudiced minds to judge 
whether the explanation given is satisfactory or not. The 
Hindoo rests his main defence of Hindooism on its being 
a symbolical and representative religion, and in order to make 
the characters of the gods more prominent, attributes to them 
a great variety of actions, which so complicates and intensify the 
plan of redemption Unit the whole sphoro of tho mental vision 
ig filled, and God disappears from view. Thus Hindoos arc un- 
willing to acknowledge a complete sacrifice, as too humiliating to 
the conception of tho mass of people, much tlio samo way 
that tho Jows looked for tho appearance of tho Messiah as an 
earthly king, come to relie.vo thorn with pomp and splendour, and 
rejected the low .state of their real Messiah. 4Leuco tTie Hindoos 
bring about no less than ten separate incarnations of their 
Krishna, to keep up tho delusion of his ultimate re-appoaranco in 
much grandeur ; whereas thoir system of theology would havo 
boon more complete had it rested solely on tho ono incarnation, 
represented as that which began at tlio Ahecr, or cowherd's 
house. Thin theory of theirs conwiitutoH the point whore tho 
analogy between tho Christian plan of redemption an compared 
with tkoira ceases, and more plainly than anything el#e, proves 
the prvorion of tho doctrines imparted to thorn by tho Christians 
who camo to India nine centuries ago. Wo have the authority 



( 30 ) 

of the Rev. Krisno Mohun Bancrjee, the author of the Dialogues 
on the Hindoo Philosophy; in support; of this very fact ; 
who states that " In the eighth or ninth century, it was in the 
South of India that the Brahininiual genius was in tho<e days 
most active, as is apparent from the history of Sankamchurya 
Ramanuja, and their followers. Large congregations of 
Christians calling themselves after the name of St. Thomas, 
had, for some centuries before the formation of the Vakhnava 
sects, been maintaining the doctrine of the great sacrifice for 
sin. It is not at all improbable that some enterprising Brah- 
mins had fallen in with them, and struck by the. doctrine in 
question, made use of it in giving it a more imposing character 
to their popular god Krishna." 

Lieutenant-Colonel W. IT. Slocman relates the same thing 
but in a different way. He confirms UK? fact thai the incarnation 
of Krishna is a myth, and in support of it he quotes Bent ley. 
Given in his words 

"Bentley supposes that the incarnations, particularly thai 
of Krisna, were invented by the Brnhmin.s of'Ojeyn with ;i view 
to check the progress of Christ ianity in that part of the world 
See his historical view of Hindoo astronomy. That w< Hiul in 
no histCry^any account of the alarming progcss of Christianity 
about the time tKbse fables were written, w no proof that 
Bentloy was wrong. When Mons. Thiovcmot wan al Agm in 
10GC, the Christian population was roughly e,siiniaiedjii twenty- 
five thousand families. They had all passed away before it became 
one of our civil and military stations in the beginning of thn pre- 
sent century, and we might search history in vain for any men- 
tion of them," See his Travels in India, part third, " One hingl^ 
prince veil disposed to give Christians encouragement and 
employment might, in a few yeara, get the sumo muntar 
around his capital ; and it is probable that the early Christians 
in India occasionally found such princes, and gave 



( 31 ) 

of alarm to the Brahmin priests who wore then in tlio infancy 
of their despotic power. During the war with Nepaul in 1814 
and 1815, the division with which I served came upon an 
extremely interesting colony of about two thousand Christian 
families at Beeteeah ? in tho Tirhoot District, on tho borders of 
tho Tarai forest. This colony had been created by one man, 
the Bishop, a Venetian by birth, under the protection of a small 
Hindoo prince, the Rajah of Boeteeah. This holy man had 
been some fifty years among these people, with little or no sup- 
port from Europe or from any other quarter. Tho only aid ho 
got from the Rajah was a pledge that no member of his Church 
should be subject to the Purveyance system, under which tho 
people everywhere suffered jo much ; and this pledge, tho Rajah, 
though a Hindoo, had never suffered to bo violated There were 
men of all trades among them, and they formod one very 
large street, remarkable for the superior style of its buildings, 
and tho sober industry of its inhabitants. The masons, carpen- 
ters, nnd blacksmiths of this lit tin colony wore working in our 
camp every day, while wo remained in tho vicinity, and butter 
workmen I have never seen in India ; but they would all insist 
upon going to divino service at tho prescribed hours. They 
had built a splendid pucka dwelling house for tlieir Bishop, and 
a still more splendid Church, and lorn KM I for him tin finest 
garden I have soon in India, .surrounded with a good wall, and 
provided with an admirable pucka .well. The native Christian 
servants who attended at tho Bishop's table, taught by himself, 
spoke Latin to him ; but he was become very feeble and spoke 
himself a mixture of Latin, Italian, (his native tongue,) and 
Hindoos! aneo. Wo used to have him at our mosses, mid took 
as much care of him as of an infant, for ho was become almost 
as frail as one. Tho joy and the excitement of being once 
more among Europeans, and treated by thorn with so much 
reverence in the midst of his flock, were perhaps too much for 
him, he sickened and died suon after." 



( 32 ) 

" The Rajah died soon after him, and in all probability the 
flock has disappeared. No Europeans except a few indigo 
planters of the neighbourhood had ever before known or heard 
of this colony ; and they seemed to consider them only as a set 
of great scoundrels who had better carts and bullocks than 
any body else in the country, which they refused to let out at 
the same rate as the others, and which they (the indigo lords) 
were not permitted to seize and employ at discretion. Roman 
Catholics have a greater facility in making converts in India 
than Protestants, from having so much more in their form of 
worship to win the affections through the medium of the ima- 
gination." 

A very singular point not r be forgotten, is that the 
ritos and ceremonies of the Church of Rome resemble those 
observed by the Hindoos so closely in some respects, that a Hindoo 
priest on witnessing the ceremonies, onco exclaimed that no 
difference existed between his worship and that of the Romish 
Church. The ringing of bells during the service, the burning of 
incense, the sprinkling of water, the genuflections, the passion 
plays and the carrying of images, are identical with the observ- 
ances of the Hindoo worship. Another marked coincidence is 
found in the tonsure ; a portion of the head being shaved as one of 
the indications of the office of the head priesthood. And also in 
the custom of wearing seamless clothes as an indispensable 
requirement of the office of the priesthood, to enforce reverence 
of the people for sanctity. One of the habiliments of the Jewish 
priests was a seamless robe, such as that worn by our Saviour, for 
which the soldiers cast lots at the crucifixion. The Hindoo priests 
wear seamless dlwties* of which they have two, one encircles the 
waist, and the other is thrown over the shoulders : their going 
barefooted is also another characteristic of the office of the 
priesthood in Hindooism as also in that of the Mosaic order. 

* Native upper cloth or garment, worn by males, 



( 33 ) 

The most remarkable of all is the ,ir//,..r >:ui-titary M*. 
which is used by the Boman Catholics, Jews, MV\ Hinl<w in 
their temples, suspended from the centre before tlu> images. 

The Hindoos also make their nuns in the samo way as 
Eoman Catholics do, by shaving the heads of their females al tho 
shrine of the altar on tho banks of tho Ganges. 




CHAPTER III. 

Learned labor lost India in the past Assertions need proof 
Ancient Hindoo Geography Divisions of the Earth Astro- 
nomy Buddhism Nirwan and Mochh Hindooisin a failure 
Eaja Hurrischundra The Beeman A Moral. 



VAST deal of learned labor has been lost by 
several very wise and hair-splitting philosophers in 
endeavouring to proverthat the Hindoos possosscd 
vast scientific acquirements ages before the date 
fixed in Genesis as the period? of the Creation of the 
human race. Those restless spirits have searched the 
globe, and rummaged the bowels of mother earth, in the 
endeavour to find the fossilized remains of some magnificently pro- 
portioned human skeletons, which might compare proportionately 
with the huge mastodon and the mighty megatherium, and so 
help the learned men to deduce the fact that man existed ages 
prior t$ Adam, and that the Bible is not true. But these renowned 
earth burrOwers htvve, up to date, been sadly disappointed, for 
nothing can be traced connectedly, not even the few stone im- 
plements which they have diligently brought to light, to shew 
that the earth so far as its history is connected with the human 
family is a year older than Moses under Divine inspiration, 
declares it to be. 

Similarly grand and erudite endeavours have been made to 
prove that India possessed a civilization vastly in advance of 
other nations, and a knowledge of art, science and religion, 
which might, but for the absence of a knowledge of steam, 
electricity, and Christianity, compare very favorably with the 



( 35 J 

present century. All sueh boas-ed assort iun ;i are u* empty ana 
void of support as any assertions possibly can b-s Lot ir Kik<- 
the trouble to soareh Jbr some proofs of this wonderful paM. 
as found in the national records. We turn to Biography, anrl 
what do wo find ? 

It will bo sufficient to show, from the- geography of the 
secondary creation, tliat the Hindoos .'ire entirely in error \\irh 
regard to their notions of tho physical geography of this earth. 
The description of the phenomena of UK- secondary creation in- 
cludes an account of the disposal ion ofthe Universe: of IhedjjT'Tent 
spheres or worlds; of the situation and size of the planet's; and of 
tins divisions of the earth. ^ As long as the geography of ih<> 
Hindoos is restricted to Indi,'i ? ii. is sui3i(aciiily accfinitr, but 
as soon as it extends beyond those limits it is wholly funeifn! 
and absurd. The earth is divided by them into s< i ven <:o!}er-nin<' 
circles or rings, each forming an annular eoniiwuU ;m*i IH-MI*. 
separated from the next in succession by a cir<Mimnmbietii u<>aii. 
These oceans vary also as to their oonstiiwnt puris ; ami brsidcN 
seas of salt anil fresh water, \vu have tJu^in of treacle, lunn-y, 
milk and wine. The whole is oneompiissed by a stupendous hi'U, 
l)oyond whi<^h lies tin* region of darkness ; ami in the eonlri* 
of all, whi(^h is also the ce.ntre of tlm c.oniiiiftii. \\e i^buliiU 
towers Mount Mern, to l.h(^ height, of (M^OOO inflcs. The 
astronomy is more moderate, but the my tho. logic astronomy 
of the Hindoos is as incompatible with true scientific astronomy :is 
it is with tho Copernican system. Much of the astronomy of 
tho Hindoos, properly so called, however, agrees with that of 
JQitrope, and advantage has judiciously been taken of the 
difference between the invention of their priests, and the facts of 
their astronomers to convict the former, emu on native testi- 
mony, of absurdity and error. It is also through geography 
and astronomy that the first and strongest impressions have 
been made upon the minds of native youths who have received 



( 36 ) 

an English education. Acquaintance with the extent and divi- 
sions of the earth, and with the leading phenomena of the 
heavens, however superficial, is fatal to all faith in the ex- 
travagances of the Shastras, and affixes discredit to whatever 
they inculcate. 

Buddhists, who broke away from Brahminism, have not 
been more successful. Their atheism was no improvement on 
the abstract deity of the Hindoos, and while they did good 
service by their opposition to caste, and by their moral code, 
they failed to find a foundation for their morality, because they 
failed to recognize the Moral Governor of the world. Then how 
dreary was the goal to which they looked ! It is difficult to dis- 
tinguish their Nirwan from the Hindoo Mochh, In the Nirwsm 
of Buddhism, tho souls of the departed just are absorbed into 
the essence of the Deity, und become a part of God. In the 
Hindoo Mochh the same idea is entertained, only that the 
absorption occurs in the case of those souls, whoso good actions 
when in a human state out- weighed the ovil. In the case of 
those whose evil deeds preponderate, absorption is not accorded, 
but a limited period of enjoyment, after which they retire into 
tho bodies of certain animals, and after undergoing a state of 
punishment, are again permitted to assume human shape, with 
another cnTmce of "gaining true Mochh. The Hindoos and Bud- 
dhists compose at the present time a largo portion of the human 
race, and it is sad to think they have been and are strangers to 
the very notion of a happy, holy, conscious, eternal existence, 
set forth in the Christians' Bible and enjoyed iu the Christians* 
Heaven. 

From our enquiry into the state of the Hindoo religion as 
compared with tho doctrines of Christianity we may safely assort, 
that Hindooism all through is spotted with human error, while 
Christianity all through reflects the holiness, wisdom, and love 
of God. The founders of Hindooism had every conceivable 



( 37 ) 

advantage. They received the highest social consideration. All 
classes looked up to them with reverence. Their want? were 
supplied without any labor on their part, and they had in conse- 
quence abundance of learned leisure. They used a language of 
vast compass and power, perhaps the most perfect instrument 
for the expression of human thought ever possessed in this 
world. They had keen, acute, and highly cultivated minds. 
Their industry was great. Just think of the toil involved in 
the composition of whole poems with such studied obscurity 
that they may be understood as relating to two entirely different 
and oven opposite subjects I 

What is the result of a|l this talent and industry ? What- 
ever may be said for them as poets and philosophers, wo arc 
fully justified in saying that as religious teachers and guides, 
they have boon a signal failure. They have not attained to Ihe 
first principles of true religion. They have promulgated error* 
which have done untold mischief, a.ml would unchecked havo 
reduced society to chaos. The course of their literature hits 
been downward. The later writers of the Hindoos, instead of 
improving on their predecessors, have plunged more deeply 
into the mire. 

As one out of many hundreds of available illui?7 rations in 
proof of the craft and cunning of the Hindoo priests, 1 shall 
briefly refer to the following intrusting legend interesting, too, 
because of the knowledge evidently possesst ;d by the writer of 
the story, with the Scriptural account of the prophet Elijah's 
ascent to heaven in the whirlwind in a iiery chariot \vhieh is 
typified in Rajah Hurrisclmndra of Sahabad going up to heaven 
in a beeman.* The account of this miraculous occurrence is 
pathetically told, inasmuch us it concerns the well-being and 
interest of the alms-receiving or imposing class, whoso domi- 



* A chariot in n whirlwind of lire, 



( 38 ) 

neering craftiness is proverbially known as priept-ernfi. The 
story runs thus : Rajah Ilurrischundra, tho renowned devotee, 
acquired great fame for hospitality and unbounded charity, so 
much so, that according to popular tradition, his hands 'wore 
always in his pockets, and ho eventually became penniless. While 
in this condition an object of charity presented itself, and 
Hurrischundra, overwhelmed with feelings of benevolence, 
determined to relieve him, and to effect which he, wont into 
slavery to a sweeper ; in which state he had to work for his 
master. His master, having respect to the person of his s^lavo, 
would not degrade him by putting him to any manual labour, 
but delegated to him the work of command and f rust. He was 
placed on the bank of the Ganges afrBonaros, on Mun Karnaka 
Ghat, to collect fees from the pyre. It happened that the slave's" 
own child died and was brought to the pyre by his wife, -who, 
having nothing in hand on account of her penury, begged to bo 
let off tho fee, but as a faithful servant of his master, and without 
any regard to the nuptial tie, he insisted on payment being made 
at once. She, having nothing else but the clothes she wore, 
stripped herself of her apparel to meet the demand. The 
moment this was done, down came a flaming chariot (the bee- 
man) from heaven, and took them up in a whirlwind of lire. Ho 
the husband, the wife, and the master, who then happened to be 
present, disappeared altogether. The master was inseparable, 
owing to his claim on the llajah, and the Dlmrm* Rujak to 
prevent injustice to the master took him also into biks. 

The mind of the Hindoo genius is never better road than in 
the anecdote just related. Tho keen eye of the Brahmin sees a 
gain oven in the miracle of the ascension. Whether they be iho 
originators of it, or that it is a borrowed idea from the Christian's 
Scriptures, one thing is certain, that they have converted this 
miracle into a mercenary device. The Mun Karnaka Oliut, 



* The just king. 



( 39 ) 

instead of being a pyre where fees were collected by the sweep- 
ers, has now become a den of Brahininicul robbers ; where scores 
of opulent Hindoos have been fleeced of all their wealth ; and 
fanatic husbands, regardless of their duty as protectors of their 
families, in their zeal to serve the mendicant Brahmins as 
servile slaves, have sacrificed even the chastity of their wives. 
The cunning Brahmin, iu sympathizing with the character of 
the Rajah in his misfortune, applauds his unremitting zeul and 
distinguished honesty thus encouraging the people io follow Ids 
footsteps, with an eye to business. 

Apart from any mercenary device, there is a moral which 
this anecdote very aptly teaches. That which if inculcates 5s 
applicable to man in every sphere of his life, whether as a master, 
a slave, or a wife ; as a private individual or iu his public 
capacity. Our actions in our dealings with mankind, in I he puff, 
present, and future must conform to the law which ivguluins 
nature. The sun shines and the (low falls equally <m the 
righteous as well as the wicked, without respect to rank or 
person, and the moral governor the God of Nature moles out lo 
each ono accordingly as ho renders to his neighbour his due. 

The master, though a sweeper, did not forgot himself when 
he got the sovereign in his grasp, but hud duo regard *lo his 
former greatness, and failed not to treat him with respect while a 
dependent on him, and the Rajah in gratitude did not ppare 
any sacrifice to render his master service. 




CHAPTER IV. 



Krishna's transfiguration. -The Pandavas - Judistir Rajah 
Represents Simon Peter Bheem the gluttonJudas, Moses, 
and Bhccm Arjuna striking resemblances Nookool the 
Wuzecr James compared with Nookool. JJrahmmisiu and 
Christianity The scarlet sign Sahadeo The wanderings of 
the Pandavas and their signification. 



SHALL now briefly refer to the transfiguration of 
Krishna as compared .with the transfiguration of 
Christ on the summit of a high mountain in tlie 
presence of Peter, James and John, and also that of 
Elias and Moses, who appeared on the same occasion 
(Mark ix. 1 7.) It will bo seen from the references 
which will bo made, how closely allied are some of the 
leading circumstances in both events. 

The alleged transfiguration of Krishna on* the summit of the 
Tapobun Mountain is said to have transpired in the following 
mamiei: : Five Pandavas or apostles, brothers of one family, * 
but of twoljGLothcrS} three of one tind two of the other ; the three 
former claiming precedence of birth, lived together, the two 
latter being twins. I shall place them in their order of standing 
by birth. With regard to the twins the perusal of the legend 
instinctively leads one to remember the Scriptural account of 
Pharez and Zarab, where the midwife tied a scarlet thread round 
the arm of one that was expected to bo born first, but the other 
took its place (Genesis xxrriii. 27 30.) 

Of the five brothers, Judistir Rajah, the holy man, was the 
eldest ; Bheem, the glutton, the second ; Arjuna, a hero and fa- 

* A reputed father, the sons being incarnations of four deities* 



( 41 ) 

vourite of Krishna, tho third ; Nookool, liu- Wuzt-er, the fourth ; 
and Sahadeo, a Soothsayer, the fifth, 

Kajah Judistir the holy man represents Simon Peter in many 
striking respects, notably with reference to a change of minie, ami 
in the denial of his Master. On account of his groat faith in the 
divinity of Krishna, Judistir was honored with the title of llajah, 
as Simon was surnamod Peter by our Lord, fur hi.s great faith 
in him as the Christ* of God. This asseveration Christ declared 
was not the dictate of a carnal mind but of tho Holy Ghost, who 
suggested it. After having so distinguished hiinsolJ' it i,- 1 nut ex- 
traordinary that Peter should have suffered ileuth, which (.'hiirch 
history tells us ho endured bravely, and iillhuiigli hi denied (Jhrisi, 
not from moral but physical JJpar, he nevertheless roiiiuineil ,itnd l\ 
steadfast in faith as to the opinion lie iuul ibnued, and jr.-eHe'l 
that Christ was the Son of God ; and in testimony oi* wiiieh 1m 
longed for and submitted with delight io the tori tiro' oi' msiri yr- 
dom, of which ho had a foreknowledge, in tho eau.se of \\rni Ahi.-frr 
whom ho had so shamefully denied. Christ indeed albre, caution- 
ed him of his impending apostasy temporarily, hut doubted not 
his faith, notwithstanding the severe trial to which it was <o he 
subjected. In Peter's case liiith did not deteriorate in the slightest 
degree, but shone forth as an adamantine rook, iho rock on which 
Christ assured the apostle he would build his Church. Muilw 
Hindoo version it is made to appear that ItnjaJ! Judlstir's punish- 
ment of death by mortification was duo to his having uiterod u 
falsehood, which was influenced by Krishna; tint! although Kri.shn:i 
did not apparently deny tho influence thus exercised, yet ho pun- 
ished Judistir for having fallen into temptation. In ilio OhriKtijui 
version, Christ is shown to have known that Voter wouVl deny him, 
whereas in the Hindoo version this part of tho Gospel ha# heen 
perverted, and Krishna is shown to hnvc tempted Judisiir io sin. 
This emphatically shows the higher moral excellence oi' the Cliris- 
tian version of the Gospel over that of UK* Brahmins. 



* Slatthew xvi, 13 to 20, Mark viii,, 2U, Luke ix., 18 to 20, 
6 



( 42 ) 

Bliecm the glutton is meant to represent a depraved man, and 
as Christ had a traitor in Judas so one of the disciples of Krishna 
is described as a vicious individual. The Hindoos recognize 
only five apostles instead of twelve ; and as Judas was one of the 
most important characters, and an absolutely necessary one, 
so he is employed among the five apostles of the Brahmins and 
made to be present at Krishna's transfiguration. This is what I 
would infer from it, although, at some points, one would be led 
to imagine that the Hindoo priests intended a reference to 
Moses and not to Judas. It is possible thai the Brahmins, mis- 
taking the character of Moses, have stigmatized him with the oppro- 
brium of a glutton ; if HO, would not this obloquy be obnoxious 
to the charuetor of this great man? From circumstances it would 
appear that both Judas and Moses by appointment, wore born to 
execute an important purpose. Moses was most miraculously 
saved to be sumptuously brought up in tho King's palace, from 
which circumstance tho inference might h;ive been, incorrectly 
drawn by the Brahmins that he surfeited, as he became the adopted 
son of Pharaoh's daughter ami consequently had the opportunity, 
if he was desirous at all, of becoming a sensualist and an epicure. 
Judas was received into the fellowship of Christ. ITc was tho 
purse bearer, and in the character that is given of him he is called 
a thief.* He evidently took care to live sumptuously himself at the 
public cosi^tbr whenever he was asked to supply provisions to the 
multitude that followed Christ, he produced as the Scripture show, 
but a meagre allowance. On one occasion only seven loaves and 
a few fishes, and on another five loaves and twelve fishes, and if 
there was no misappropriation and self-indulgence in tho account 
of his stewardship why should there be any reason for remark on 
the uprightness of his character ? As to their acts of ingratitude 
(in the case of Moses, the seeming ingratitude was incumbent, 
since he acted under a mighty influence from above) towards 
their benefactors, both Moses and Judas are found, one indirectly 
and without guilt, the other direct ly and personally to have been 



( 43 ) 

the means of destruction, one to his benefactor and the other to 
his Lord and master. Both these men would easily appear, to the 
evil-minded Brahmins, to have "been pre-ordained to be traitors to 
benefit the cause. In the one case Moses was bound to rc.-cuo 
the Israelites from bondage, and to achieve which he had to 
endure the painful necessity of seeing his benefactor, in his 
determined obstinacy in pursuing them, drowned in the Red 
Sea. While Judas, as predicted by Christ, to fulfil the pre- 
diction, in his anger left the supper table to betray his Lord and 
thus satisfy his lust for gain, which he would not forego at any 
cost; being a thief he would not let this opportunity escape. He 
wondered at the composure of Christ in the foreknowledge of 
His coming suffering, and knew, from the Saviour's own sfute- 
ments, that the time had arrived that Christ should die a.s predict*-'!. 
Christ himself directly informed the disciples of the! jet nival, before 
and at the institution of his holy supper. Proved * by f'hrNi 
to bo the traitor, and goaded by him to hasten the exi-ctiiioii of hi* 
purpose, he lost no time in revenging himself on account of 1 1 it- 
exposure made of his evil intentions, and with uu uiidaunird 
spirit he carried out Iho command of Christ. JFost'.s wu- 
destined to rescue his nation, and in doing this hu Lad it) prove 
unkind to Pharoah his quondam benefactor. He did not dare, 
even if he some times wished it, to indulge in \vuaUh ami 
idleness, but was carried by Divine direction U> lull i Mils <le>tim. 
The parallel in Judas being thai he had to beiray Christ lo full! I 
the Scriptures t and rescue mankind from 1lie curse of the fall ; 
the difference between the two characters being this : ilial jMosi-.-: 
worked for the benefit of his people, and gavoup we;iiih and com. 

* Matthew xxvi.. 21. And as they did eat, ho said, Verily J say unto 3011 
that one ot yon shall bel.ray me. 2:!. And Ux i y wer^cw'd'ing,Wro\vl'ul urui 
began every one of them to say unio him, Lord, is it I ? 1:9, And he :msw<M'<:<l 
and said. He that dippeth hi & hand with mo in the dish, the name shall bt-f ray mo, 

f Mark xiv,, IS. 19, 20. And as tlioy sat and did cat, JCHHS said, Vcjiljr 1 
say unto you, one erf you which catdh with me, ahall betray me, ku iiJ. Tl, 
Son of Man goeth indeed, HH it is written of him : but woe bo to that wan hy 
whom the Son of Man in betrnyed 1 <!ood wore it fur thai rimii, if he had iirvcV 
been bom, 



fort ioi llic public good, Whorca? Judas thought of himself 
only, and sold his Muster for his private aggrandizement. 

Arjuna, a hero and favorite, as may be understood, repre- 
sents St. John the Evangelist. Arjuna, like John, has the promise 
of never tasting death, but when ho reaches the summit of the 
Himalayas, as he is to do, the promise is made that he would he 
preserved there until the last day in the eternal snow of this chain 
of mountains. In this respect Arjuna, too, resembles Moses, a 
character whom the writers of the Hindoo works evidently ad- 
mired, and desired to import into their writings. The incident 
regarding the death and burial of Moses on Mount Nebo bears a 
.striking resemblance to that of Arjuna's end. 

Nookool the Wuzeer, that is to say, the right hand man, 
represents James the Apostle, who afterwards occupied tho 
high position of Bishop in Jerusalem. Nookool as one of the 
twins, is important. To allege that Elias, the last prophet of the 
Pcntatoucluil order, who existed nine hundred and ten years 
before the advent of Christ, being made to form an alliance 
with the Apostle in the incumbency of Christ at the period A. D. 
32, is a mythological explanation of the characters which formed 
the subject of Christ's transfiguration. Moses, as we know, waw 
the fiifSt of the prophets and law-givers, and Elias the last. 
Moses vorp*n,ppropriately was placed as Elias' senior, and be- 
came in one way or another one of the twins in importance. But 
the Brahmins, for reasons best known to themselves, have introduc- 
ed Nookool representing James as one of tho twins in importance, 
and have placed him in order of antecedence to Elias. Assuming 
that tho account of Pharez and Zarah is typical of James and 
Elias, and the scarlet thread represents the Brahminical thread, 
showing that although Brahminism first exhibited itself in the 
Eastern world, Christianity according to prophecy over-stepped 
its progress and established itself in Asia. Brahminism and 
Christianity struggled together, tho one sprung from Judaism 



the other originated from the Aryans. The Brahmins, although 
the most civilized fraternity of the time, fell before the Western 
civilization. Hence the latter takes precedence of the former, 
by its stupendous advancement in science and education, no less 
than the singleness and truth of its religious creed. Kevorting 
to the scarlet thread that it is typical of impurity, may be infer- 
red from the following passages in Scripture : " And they strip- 
ped him and put on him a scarlet * robe :" is a sign that ho ww 
condemned as a malefactor | As also in Rahnb's case, Joshua 
iii. 18. The covenant with Bahal) the harlot was the line of 
scarlet thread on her window desecrating her house us such. Tho 
scarlet woman of Babylon is proverbial, Uov. xvii., 4, hav- 
ing a golden cup of abomination and filthinoss in her hand. Jn 
like manner the Brahminical thread bespeaks the chur;ieUT,s di.-- 
played as a sect, whether as a keen-eyed Brahmin or thai of an 
erudite pundit, these soothsayers represent the abomination of the 
nation among whom they dwell ; but the prophet Elias, whom 
they mean to represent, does not suit the position in which ho lias 
been placed here by the Brahmin. 

Sahadeo, as the name implies, moans a supernatural being, 
the Elias that was present at the transfiguration of Christ and 
the prophet of the Old Testament whom the Brahmins in virtue 
of his office termed the soothsayer. 

A circumstance which marred the even tenor of their life 
befell the five brothers. It so happened that a cousin challenged 
the brothers to a game of hazard, under the condition that, ia 
the event of their losing the game they wore to he wand<'ivi\s 
for fourteen years, and on their return to their own eouniry limy 
were, as a test of their perfection, to remain incognito for a whole 
year, but should any be recognized by tho people, Ihoy were to 

* Scarlet is also employed as a royal colour in tho Kast, and in Cluist's case 
it was used in derision. 

f John xviii. 30. They answered and 'aaid unto him, If he were not 
a malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thcc. 



go over their wanderings again for another fourteen years. Ra- 
jah Jtidistir accepted this challenge, and having lost the game 
took to wandering, his brothers accompanying him with the ono 
woman who was wife to all. 

The legend of the wife story runs thus. On account of their 
unity and extreme attachment for each other they had to adopt the 
practice of equally dividing all they possessed among themselves, 
ThuSj in the matter of wedlock, as they could not well divide the 
wife, they had to hold her as common to all. 

A MORAL. 

The Hindoos, in perverting the Scriptures, have left us the 
means of pointing a moral which will ho beneficial to posterity. 
For instance, the moral sin of JudisUr Rajah, who was otherwise 
a good and truthful man, and like Peter devoted to his Master, 
from sycophancy, or want of moral courage, consented to utter 
a falsehood io another's .hurt, which eventually brought its 
punishment. Satan, who is the father of lies, delights in 
misleading hirf proselytes from the path of rectitude, and then the 
punishment follows, as all offences involve a punishment. Hence 
this should be a warning in all our intercourse with mankind to 
emulate the virtues, and shun the vices, of distinguished men. 




CHAPTER T. 

The five Pandavas Bay ad the fisherman Krishna's wives 
Arjuna the beloved apostle Krishna's ubiquity Assas- 
sination of Konso Uajah Massacre of the innocents Com- 
parison between Christ and Krishna. 

> 

?IIE five Pandavas, in their wanderings happened to 
arrive at the summit of Tapobun Mountain, where 
they bewailed tlieir hard fate. Before proceed ing 
further, let me^ remark that this travelling up ihu 
mountain by these five Puudnvas, corresponds as far 
as numbers go with the number present on the Mount of 
Transfiguration, when our Saviour received that baptism of 
divine glory which was preparatory to 1 1 is grruf suiloringfs* 
Peter, James and John, wil.li Moses and Kllias (in spiritj, mudo 
five persons present, and the crafty Brahmins have arranged tiio 
same number on the summit of Tapobun Mountain. At thitf 
moment Krishna appeared in the glory of tlio (Jodhead and 011- 
couraged them to endure tlieir sufferings, saying ilia I Ihero was 
no help for it, but on tho expiration of its term there wuwlil lie a 
retribution for the challenger. In this I vfew a dTTn und uu- 
cortain rofcrenco to the proniLs<i tliat the seed of ilio woman 
should bruise tho serpent's head, made to fallen man, and to 
the promise made by our Saviour to his despondent disciples, 
which while it told them that they would hu,\c. io en< I uro suf- 
fering and persecution, at tho same time promised (Uem tho 
Divine Comforter, who was io dwell with them and in ihcm, 
Krishna then returned to Dwarka, the scut of tho sovereignty, 
and in due course of time the war ensued in which Krishna be- 
came the chief actor. Ills rctre.at from tho scene brought 
him in contact with tho Bayad (fisherman) who wounded him 



( 48 ) 

with the harpoon, piercing the sole of his foot,* while ho was 
resting from fatigue on the sand-bunk. Krishna was mortally 
wounded, and as he was becoming moribund, and about to ascend 
into heaven, he called Arjuna and gave over charge of his wives 
to him. It is to be observed how extraordinary the semblance of 
tho transfer of the Mother to the charge of the Beloved Disciple. is 
to that of Krishna's wives to the person held in similar estimation, 
thus vividly declaring an innovation of the Bible. Arjuna, the 
favorite, was always with Krishna, and so he was present at the 
time along with his wives. It is worthy of note that Arjuna 
was always present with Krishna, just as John, the beloved 
apostle, was always near Jesus, and even lay in His bosom at 
tho institution of tho last supper* Even during the fourteen 
years wandering, Arjuna was with him. This is evidently allego- 
rical; Arjuna never missed him fora single moment, and Krishna 
never left the capital, being ever and anon present there, and yet 
absent on certain occasions. Is it possible that Arjuna never left 
the country but remained concealed for fourteen years until tho 
return of his brothers ? I think not. It is impossible to be 
concealed even in a crowded town, and not to bo discovered by 
any of one's household for such a lengthened period. Again, if 
all the five Paudavas were not present at the transfiguration 
of KrMma, the similarity which tho Hindoos evidently intend 
to convey would fro perfect with that of Ohrist, where three 
apostles and two saints play their part in his trans figuration. 
To intensify the divinity of Krishna, the Brahmins have described 
him as appearing to Arjuna whenever he wanted his presence 
and thought of him. Krishna is said to have had and used tho 
power of ubiquity, while Christ is never shown to have cm- 
ployed this power. Another great difference being that Krishna 
only thought of hid earthly kingdom, while Christ's entire consi- 
deration was for his spiritual kingdom. The transfiguration and 
the ensuing war with Krishna opens the opisudo of tho Bhagavat, 
* The exclamation ol 1 " Padha- Krishna" is common among the Hindoos, 



( 49 ) 

of which there are three books, viz : Sreemut Bhagavadgeeta, 
Pandubgeeta, and Sargeeta. These record the life and times of 
Krishna and his discourse and lectures to his apostles, us Ihe 
Gospels dg of our Christ, 

Krishna of the Shastras is put forth as the Autocrat of the 
world, and as such he usurps the throne of his uncle Kons, at 
the tender age of twelve, by assassination, in single-handed com- 
bat : and provides himself with a mistress, the well-known 
Eadha* as a necessary adjutrix to his cm*c ; and. wiHi si multi- 
plicity of wives, as an indispensable requirement oi' his inoiiar- 
chial life in the eastern world, he is content to rt'iga in Dwar- 
ka, the capital of Mathura Brindabun, over a fabulous period 
of life prolonged beyond the limits of human existence ; and 
when in his prime of 125 years, ho suddenly collapses by an ac- 
count so singularly corroborative of the crucifixion, which though 
actually not the Christian's crucifixion is neverthless in imita- 
tion of the great prototype. 

How shall I reconcile this account of tho Hindoo incarna- 
tion personified in the legend of Krishna with that of Christ ? 
The history of tho nativity of Krishna is inatlo to correspond as 
closely as possible with tho ominous birth of Christ, particularly 
in the tragical massacre of infants, consequent on tlya escape u( 
the august personages. The change in tho mode of lift) of both 
begins at the ago of twelve. Krishna exhibits himself on the 
stage of the world as absolute sovereign of tho universe, and us 
characteristic of tho oriental ideal ho is dubbed with the ignomi- 
ny of a regicide and a poly gam ist. 

How different from tho life of Christ, whose uniform aoiit AO 
of life from beginning to end is the theme of universal admiration I 
To this day all have agreed in recognising the profound humility 
of Christ, in his admiration of the widow who put into tho troa- 

* The exclamation of " Badha-Kriehna" ia common among the Hindoos* 
7 



( 50 ) 

sary the feeble gift of her poverty, rather than for the rich who 
cast in much of their abundance. 

Similarly as with Krishna so Christ returns to his native 
land, but not till the death of Herod : and instead of big usurping 
the throne, he is otherwise engaged, i. e., in establishing himself 
in the eyes of the doctors as the prophetical personage, sym- 
bolized in the Pentateuchal doctrine. His holding controversy 
with the Jewish doctors in the temple, at the age of twelve, is 
proverbial. But does not this appear to be a mystery ? The 
apparent incongruity of the two subjects under discussion having 
a common object for tho benefit of mankind needs elucidation. 
The criterion to go by is to abstract the most prominent circum- 
stances as a chemist might in tasting the virtues of drugs, 
Tho salt, for instance, which does not lose its characteristic quality 
by being mixed in a nostrum. 

The wit of the Hindoo genius, as I mentioned in my former 
chapters, is worthy of note. He surpasses all other persons of 
every nation in his aptitude for innovation. He deals with the 
circumstances of tho tacts with such ingenuity that he confounds 
the one and improves the other. In other words, while he is 
making nonsense of one subject he is virtually improving tho 
other. ^ He makes light of a grave matter and intensifies those of 
less importwce. For instance, the ascension of Elijah, as given 
in the Scriptures, is a mero passing account of the occurrence, but 
that given of Hurrishchundra is a glaring description of tho 
devotee, whose undeniable pretension to holiness becomes tho 
theme of universal admiration. Thus he aggrandizes his own, 
and disparages another's. 

I need not repeat the history of Krishna, as it has already been 
shown to be typical of tho Lord. The part that requires eluci- 
dation is the period when it is alleged he returns to Dwarka and 
by an extraordinary feat of strength kills his uncle by lifting him 
"by the hair of his head, and dashing him to the ground, when a 



( 51 ) 

more urchin of twelve* Assuredly this is a metaphor and not 
a bona fide assertion ! Christ's return to Jerusalem, and his 
strength of inind even In His minority, in successfully combating 
in a controversy of divine law with the Jewish doctors Is not a 
metaphor. The lifting by the hair of the head on tho one hand 
"by a mere boy ? and testing the faculties and Intellects of the 
Jewish doctors on the other, also by a mere boy, is a matter of no 
small importance. 

In regard to any worldly aggrandizement, and any earthly 
ties, Christ must In this Instance be exclusively exceptcd, on ac- 
count of his elevation above all equal partnership and tho uni- 
versality of His character and mission, which require community 
of the redeemed as his brido^ instead of an individual daughter 
of Eve. 




CHAPTER VI. 




Concluding drama of Krishna's life Cunning of the priests 
The Sage's prophecy A strange conception The wounding 
of Krishna Comparisons between Krishna and Christ 
The Fisherman and Peter "Why the Atonement has been 
hidden. 



HAVE now to refer to a gigantic tragedy of the 
Hindoo religion. Please cease to condemn me, 
dear reader, if you have already done so, of 
entertaining a party spirit, for I have already told 
you these facts, and you can now judge for yourself 
whether I am acting otherwise than as an honest enquirer 
after truth. My only object for drawing tho comparison 
"between the Christian and the Hindoo religion is, as I have al- 
ready stated, to prove that our beloved Christianity, is really of 
Divine origin, while HindooLsm is a more travesty of the sacred 
Bible. Seeing that tho two religions have, in many instances, a 
similapty of incidents, some have asserted that the facts of the 
Christian ligioiv have been borrowed from those of the 
Hindoos, and to satisfy myself that they are not so, I have devo- 
ted eight years to tho examination of all tho leading incidents, 
and have come to the conclusion that Christianity forms no 
part of any other religion in our world; it can stand tho test 
of tho deepest enquiry, and can hold its ground for stability and 
truth against all others. This will be proved by a reference 
to the concluding drama of Krishna's life. My object in tho 
publication of my sentiments and convictions on those points is, 
that I may in my humble efforts carry conviction to others who 
may feel an interest; in tho subject. 



( 53 ) 

The story of Krishna's ascension is the subject of this tra- 
gedy, which bears so close a resemblance to the death and 
ascension of our Lord, that it leaves scarcely any doubt as to the 
main facts having been borrowed from the Gospel, Though the 
borrowers have tried to impose on the credulity of the people by 
altering some of the incidents, yet at the same time they have 
kept to the main facts, such for instance as the piercing with n 
spear, a fisherman, and the miraculous* incident of taking the 
fish, after the failure of a whole night's efforts in securing 
any. 

The story runs thus : Krishna, who was reigning supreme 
in Dwarka, the capital of Muthra Bindrabun, from the age of 
twelve, and whose ascension to the throne was alleged to be by 
usurpation, now in his prime (125 years) meets with a calamity, 
and as fatality would have it, the boys of the place became the 
promoters of this catastrophe. In a jocular play at the jubilee t 
acted before the Sago, a curse was entailed not only on the 
heads of the juvenile actors, but on the Crown-head and the 
people generally. One of the boys in the pluy, disguised as a 
pregnant woman expecting her confinement, in order to deceive 
.the Sage, asked him to forotel the gender of her progeny, whether 
a boy or a girl, The Sage replied that what the person who 
addressed him should bring forth would be neither a girl 
nor a boy, but a strange thing, a " buazur" (a iiutf,eoric iron) 
which would be the instrument of destruction^ of tlio sovereignly 
and the people. This singular event did not take long for itn 
fulfilment, as predicted by the prophot, occurring as it did on 
the return of the person homo who was acting the drama. 

* John XXI., from 1 to 18. Christ shows himself to the disciples the tlurd 
time after he had risen from the dwid at the Sea of Tiberias, whore the mlracu- 
culous draught of fishes arc netted at His command after a fruitless toil all the 
night. 

f A tragi-comedy of Kons Rajah's death is enacted periodically at this 
place on the spot where tho murder was committed, An image of the Kaiah, 
is made and destroyed by beating it down. 

f Luke XXI. The prophecies contained in this chapter are agrovQ*, The 
destruction of Jerusalem for the iniquity of the people is u 
typified in this melancholic drama. 



( 54 ) 

The news of this miraculous occurrence caused a consterna- 
tion in the household of the great* ruler. Krishna's reputed 
father, determined to annihilate the anomalous birth, ordered 
the "faizzur" to be produced, and had it reduced to powder, 
by having it rubbed down on a stone. A small piece, which had 
not been rubbed down, was cast into the sea with the powdered f 
portion of the iron. A fish swallowed this piece. And a 
fisherman, who happened to be fishing in the neighbour- 
hood, netted this particular fish after unsuccessfully toiling 
all night. In ripping open the stomach the piece of the 
" buzzur" was discovered, which the fisherman fixed to the 
end of his staff and used as his spear, and with which 
he speared Krishna during his ascei^ion, mistaking him for a 
bird in flight. As Krishna was ascending he speared him in the 
side and the soles of tho feet, probing upwards. Krishna 
became insensible during the ascension to heaven. In this age 
of high civilization who can deny that this part of the tragedy 
does not apply to the crucifixion : and the prediction in Psalm, 
xxii. 16, " They pierced my hands and iny feet" which was 
fulfilled in Christ ? 

There are so many versions of the tragedy that one feels 
diffident which one to accept. One version of it is that Krishna 
was hiding in the thicket, when the Bayad, mistaking him for a 
"mrig" (astag{), r shot the arrow and wounded him in the sole 
of the foot. In this description one cannot but trace very dis- 

* Krishna Avatar, unlike the incarnate Christ, reigns happily as an earthly 
ting, with a family around him of brothers, mother, and father, and a host of 
other worldly encumbrances. But, most remarkable 1 although the dramatist 
confers numberless mistresses to bis memory, unfortunately they leave no 
progeny as the sequence of his affection. This has been purposely omitted, and 
in fact may be viewed as a metaphorical connection. Krishna, in order to 
personate Christ, has no progeny. 

f The powder germinated and a grass grew out of the water called Kush, 
from which rope is manufactured. This grass is tough as iron. The inhabitants 
are said to have plucked and used it in belabouring each other in an international 
quarrel and thus destroyed themselves ; fulfilling the curse. 

J Acts v. 30 & X. 39 Authorized Version" The God of our fathers raised 
up Jesns, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. " " And we are witnesses of all 
things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem ; whom 
they Blew and hanged on a tree." 



( 55 ) 

tinct allusions to the arrest of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, 
Matthew xxvi. 36. Another, version is that Krishna trans- 
formed himself into a monkey : while on the top of a tree, and 
was wounded with an arrow in his side by the Baydd. Christ's 
uplifting on the cross, and subsequently being wounded by one 
of the soldiers, is fully illustrated by Krishna in the guise of the 
monkey on a tree.* The third version is that as Krishna was 
going up to heaven on the wings of an eagle, ho was attacked 
and wounded with a spear by the Baydd in the soles of his feet 
and in his side, probing upwards. The last story is more in 
keeping with the views of the Hindoos as set forth in their 
worship, and in the passion-shows. In their annual represen- 
tation of images, the image of a huge bird is modelled, having 
also the image of a fair man in his prime seated on it. That 
they believe this to be the lond fid& ascension is vorificxl from 
the fact of their commemorating it annually with the other re- 
presentations of Krishna in the Doorga Poojali season. 

In reading tho story of Krishna's ascension and wounding, 
the question presents itself to every thoughtful mind, why did 
the Brahmins bring about the wounding of Krishna at tho ascen- 
sion ? Was it not sufficient to have wounded him in tho arrest 
and on tho tree ? No ! this is not sufficient. There was a sub-, 
rosa wounding severer than that inflicted on tho cross. 'Oiomas 
speared the Saviour with tho bitterness of his tongue, after know- 
ing Christ so well ho doubted tho resurrection as a sceptic, thus 
endeavouring to undo all that had been done, and to prove Christ 
an impostor. This was a deadly wound, and if it was not for 
Christ's divine power to enforce the conviction, tho wound that 
was so sceptically dealt would have been a fatal blow to his 
interest. Again, why should a fisherman figure as tho principal 
actor in this tragedy ? The fisherman (Peter) of tho Scriptures 

* Another author contradicts the stagnant, t and says, that the lUjid har- 
pooned him on the banks of the river on a sand-bank, the mark of a fish on tho 
soles of his feet made him mistake him for a merman. I think this is a more 
consistent version. What has a Bayad in connection with * sta# hunt 1 



( 56 ) 

was Christ's favored friend, ho was made the custodian of the 
keys of heaven, and ho it is whom the Brahmins represent to he the 
man by appointment to enact the drama. They could not point 
their finger to a more appropriate person to wound the Lord 
than Peter who unfortunately had done so with the arrow of 
hid tongue, at the judgment hall, by his denial of the Lord. 
(John xvin. 25.) He had wounded the spirit of Christ by 
saying, ho was not one of his disciples; while he swore just 
before that to Christ himself at the Supper that he would rather 
follow him to death than deny him. Hence the Brahmins 
ironically select the fisherman to hunt Krishna in the thicket, 
on the tree, and in the ascension. 

The monkey lias a prominent piace in the category of Hin- 
doo legendary, nob only does it occupy a position in the weird 
imagery with which these legends are. so replete, but the monkey 
genus is really adored and regarded very highly as divine beings. 
Monkeys are fed and cared for even in the wild state, and arc not 
allowed to bo molested or shot at, even when they aro mischiev- 
ously inclined. The opulent and well-to-do Hindoos pay more 
profound respect to them than tho lower clashes do. They wor- 
ship Krishna also more profoundly than any other class known, 
because Krishna is the god of good luck. Since ho was so pros- 
perou^ in achievements, and acquirement of worldly goods, 
his worship is indfipensablo, and every act and transformation 
of his nomination, such as the monkey for instance, is sacred to 
their memory. The stag forms no part of their worship: as 
Krishna evidently was not transfigured into the stag, but tradition- 
ally was shot at by a mistake, there being a congenital mark of 
the doer's eye on the soles pf his feet. The legend lias it that 
as Krishna was lying concealed in the thicket, hiding from his 
enemies, the soles of his feet being exposed, the B&yad shot his 
arrow at the feet believing he was aiming at the head of a deer. 
The peacock is worshipped in place of the eagle, because he is 
such a handsome bird; so eminent for the beauty of his feathers, 



( 57 ) 

and particularly those, of his tail, that his presence in a group 
of images is thought to give an imposing appearance to the 
whole imagery: the display being calculated to force an imposing 
impression on the minds of the ignorant, so that they become 
awe-stricken, and, coupled with the sensational performance of 
varied music, &c., of an exciting nature, they thereby become in a 
manner spell-bound thus the Brahmins win the affections of 
the people through the 'medium of the imagination. 

The Christian version of the tragedy as given in John xxt. 
bears so close a resemblance to the reputed ascension of Krishna, 
it leaves no doubt on reasoning minds that the Brahmins 
have borrowed the incidents of Christ's death and ascension 
from the Gospel narrative, jSst in the same way as they have 
every other incident of our Lord's life. 

The Brahmins in adopting the Scriptures and slightly vary- 
ing the incidents kept on the safe side, in not violating the 
injunctions of Holy Writ : in neither adding nor subtracting 
therefrom any of the materials which form the subject. This 
contrivance on their part makes the whole history of Krishna 
fabulous and dramatic, thereby rendering it meaningless as 
regards the purport of Krishna's mission. Tho mysterious dis- 
play of his supernatural power, displayed in the usurpation^ his 
uncle's throne at the tender age of twelve yea*s, by^Sngle hand- 
ed conflict, and other miraculous incidents of his Ufa, would lead 
to the impression. that a glorious future lay beyond, but every-* 
thing collapses suddenly. He is, as it were, driven from his 
throne, where he was reigning in pomp and splendour, to the 
thicket, there to be overtaken and arrested under infliction of 
wounds and insults, hunted down like a stag, and again to bo 
attacked and wounded in the ascension without revenging 
himself, is unaccountable this mystery remains to be explained, 
showing that all the actions attributed to Krishna are without the 
achievement of an object. Whereas, in tho death and ascension 

8 



( 58 ) 

of our Lord, the cause and effect of Christ's incarnation is at 

once made known, without semblance of disguise, to be the atone- 
ment and justification of fallen man* Hindoo priests , are 
chary on this point, not "because it is too humiliating, but 
because it forms a chasm over -which the Hindoos if they wished 
hereafter to affiliate with the mother Church (Christianity) from 
"which they had departed would never be able to accomplish, 
owing to the gap formed by their rejection of the atonement. 




CHAPTER. VIL 

Hindooism and Christianity The Niskalank Avatar Adjust- 
mentsEpitome of Christianity Main differences between 
Hindooism and Christianity Hindoo teaching regarding Hea- 
ven Transmigration of the 1 soul. 

> 

)HE Hindoo religion, though corrupt and demoraliz- 
ing, traditionally bears nevertheless the testimony of 
\f having been established on sound religious princi- 
ples, offering peace, unity, and universal happiness 
to mankind ; in which sense it chimes with the Christian 
doctrine of faith and charity, which the all-powerful influ- 
ence of the Brahmins failed to destroy. With all their inno- 
vations introduced with a view to secure present gain, thoy have 
failed virtually to destroy the sanctity of the religion. For in- 
stance, the principles of their religion are the same as ours. 
They have every thing essential in religion, if it only could bo 
divested of the multitudinous absurdities with which they liavo 
seen fit to surround it. Hindoos believe in a God as well as 
we, although they worship him after IJjoir wu fashion* 
Their religion, like ours, condemns lying, stealing, drunken- 
ness and every other species of immorality. They believe that 
the wicked will be punished, and the righteous rewarded, * in 
another world. They believe in miracles. Thoy believe in the 
resurrection of the dead, by their confession that the statues of 
Mahadeo and Parbutty will be re-animated at no distant day. 
They believe also in the coming event of the last day. A most 
remarkable coincidence occurs in the Hindoo belief of the 

* Their sacred books teach most definitely that the future state i one in 
which there will be decisions dependent on the Actions performed during the 
time of probation. 



( 60 ) 

descent on this earth in the latter days of a pale horse, riderless, 
which they term the "Niskalank" Avatar. This magnificent 
Avatar will appear at the end of the age in order to trample 
down the wicked and destroy them indiscriminately at the great 
judgment. Hindoos also firmly believe in the divinity of 
Krishna, and view him as the self-existing Creator of the 
Universe. 

Notwithstanding this agreement there are nevertheless those 

I trust it will not be out of place traditional differences which, 
to insert the following correspond- m } 

en.ce, to show the great desire of however slight, cannot hut be 

the public to know what religion the , . . i 

Hindoos really profess. Those who o bjectiona ble to the Christian dis- 



Potion of fifth. May not 

culcates, these differences be explained 
CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE AUTHOR, , _ . , 10A -, . / T" 

Many thanks for wauling mo ttl co )'i8 anc * ^JUSted I And 11 SUCh Jimal- 
of tho "Oriental Miscollany" containing 

articles written by yourself on the Hindoo IJ>lLUatlOn, Or adlUStmcnt. CIU1 ho 

Shashtros Tueso jottings, besides being of to > J J 

W^SSSSSS&ZSTSiSSi effected > the contending parties 

one to deal with, and about whioh there , -71 > L .,1 

exists among us, aa a body, thu grossest W 1U more Or leSS, D6 One With 

IS 1&. ' each other, and thus the Chris- 

B15PLT. } 

To find tliat my articles entitled Hindoo tiail doctrine will bo e>Stablished. 
jottings aw approoiatod by you is to njo an 

To effect a compromise on the 
twTrcUtfionrS 'SSp^SSSl score of there being an agroeiuont 

I -will indeed feel that my labour is rewarded. ' 

a-e-82. r or some sort would be highly 

desirable, and the difference if slight might be split by arbitration. 
But, on due deliberation, an important question suggests itself. 
In the event of a compromise, which party should offer tho hand of 
concession first. The Christian ? No, certainly not. Christian- 
ity cannot conform to tho traditions and Brahrninical dovicos, 
which, in the compromise, must as a matter of course be conform- 
ed to in some degree. It will again be unfair to burden the Hin- 
doos with the strictures of the Christian doctrine and receive 
nothing of thoirs by way of fair play. Such would prove a sad 

* How onn this great judgment come, when the spirit^ will all be purified 
and absorbed into tbe Deo lufiuitum according to the transmigration of souls ? 



( 61 ) 

disappointment to them after centuries of despotic ruling, 
to find themselves bound down hand .and foot to the rack of the 
Christian dispensation, to the Gospel from which there is no 
flinching. Taking the pros and cons of the two doctrines, and 
placing the Christian' religion as the standard of faith from which 
there can be no deviation, and to which all other religions must 
eventually submit, the Hindoo religion must purge itself of all 
offensive innovations before it can hope to compare favorably 
with the Christian doctrine. Whether this unanimity will ever 
take place time alone must show. For while, in the language of 
the people and in their sacred books, there is a good deal to coun- 
tenance the views thus ascribed to them, it is yet inconceivable 
that any one can take the trouble of studying one of their stan- 
dard books, and mark well the tenor of their conversation, 
without coining to the conclusion, that, while on the subjects God, 
Man, the relation of man to God, Sin, Retribution and a Future 
State, their views on many points assimilate closely to the teach- 
ing of Holy Writ on those important subjects ; still on the other 
hand in very essential aspects of the doctrines, the views adopted in 
the Purans and Shasters are really diametrically opposed to ours, 
so much so, that if in these diverging points we be right they aro 
wrong, and if thoy be right we are certainly wrong. Such 
being the case, it will be readily admitted that while un a&imila- 
tion of Hindooism to Christianity is essentially desirable, there 
are difficulties which present themselves in this agreement in 
some points, while in others there is an essential and irreconcil- 
able difference. 

To recapitulate : While there may bo only a superficial agree- 
ment between Hindooism and Christianity in several very essen- 
tial points ; in concerns of weightier importance, such as the 
fundamental doctrine of Faith, the Christian doctrine is one as 

* Acto such as the Suttee the indiscriminate massacre under the car of 
Jaggurnauth, and the roasting of people in the stomach of the giant** 0ffi#y 
known as Rawana at the annual festival of Kam-Lela or the drama of the 
god Ram. 



( 62 ) 

compared with Hindooism, and also in the doctrine of tho Divi- 
nity, the Christian acknowledging the Divinity of Christ and the 
Hindoo acknowledging the Divinity of Krishna. But, on 
the other hand, tho strictest scrutiny testifies to the inahi- 
lity of the Hindoo system, in its plan of salvation, to cope 
with the more definite Christian system of redemption. That 
a clear view, or rather a definite estimate of the two systems, 
be formed by tho world at large in an impartial manner, however, 
is a desideratum highly desirable, the attainment of which how- 
ever involves tho placing of the systems in question side by 
side as to their primd facie merits and demerits, these of the one 
with those of the other ; thus Christianity speaks for itself. 

No religion, or system of religion, has ever recognized the 
incapacity of man to be good. The Christian religion is tho 
only one that starts with man's helplessness, his looking up to 
hin Maker as a being deserving punishment and therefore abso- 
lutely needing tho offering up of a sacrifice as a propitiation. 
The Christian points not to his works for his safety or redemp- 
tion, but to his Christ as his sacrifice. In all religions it in 
works and rewards. Other religions have no plan of redemption, 
as for instance the saving of men's souls ; thoy have festivities 
and sacrifies to avert evil, by propitiating evil gods. Tho Chris- 
tian religion is the only one that says Do all you can, perform 
whatever you think is good, and all that is good, and at iho end 
of it recognize yourself a sinner and one needing an offering. 

Thus it is evident that man since his fall has become* de- 
praved, and there is nothing in reality commendable in himself 
in the sight of God, and this doctrine theologians call tho doctrine 
of human depravity. 

Works do not save, any more than one can save himself by 
swimming in an ocean. 

Fuith itself dooB not save, because faith is only the repre- 
sentation of works, The two, works and faith, are inseparable. 



( 63 ) 

The Christian religion shortly stated, is : 
(1.) Recognize yourself a sinner. 

(2.) Recognize that there is no reward for you by all your 
good works, and that God's justice must be appeased. 

(3.) Recognize Christ as the Son of God, having all the 
qualities of divinity in him. 

(4.) Recognize Christ as your offering. 

(5.) Recognize that if you do wrong you offer up Christ 
afresh. 

(6.) The belief that anything man can do cannot save him- 
self, the belief that God is to bo propitiated, the belief that God 
supplied the victim ; His Son ; the taking of that Son as our an- 
swer to God for shortcomings, any fresh sin will be simply 
calling upon us to sacrifice Christ afresh ; all these will produce 
their exact equivalent. 

The Hindoo religion, on the other hand, evades the doctrine 
of the great Sacrifice for sin, by denying the full and consequent; 
atonement : and proscribes to man the power of indemnifying 
himself by his own meritorious acts of austerity and devotion, 
abstractly and tragically, by observance of certain rules Descri- 
bed by the sages, viz : Poverty ; Chastity, and Obe3ionee. For 
the fulfilment of these conditions the devotee needs to abandon 
his position in the world, break away from relative ties, become 
entirely indifferent to earthly beings and things, have recourse- 
to the desert, and lead there a life of austerity and meditation, 
If the rules prescribed be implicitly obeyed, liberation will 
bo gained. This according to the Hindoo faith is the right road 
to deliverance, but as thoro arc many, who are neither able nor 
willing to tread this high path, to them tho circuitous road of 
faith, ritos and good works is open. Let thorn servo the gods, 
perform rites, go on pilgrimages, revere and food tho Brahmins, 



give alms to the poor and miserable, and assuredly they will have 
thoir reward. In their next birth they will rise to a higher 
position. If low-caste now, they may be born the next time in 
the family of a Brahmin, it may be in their next birth they will 
be gods. They will bo thus nearer their coveted liberation, If, 
however, they act an irreligious or unworthy part, they are sure 
to descend in the scale of births. They will be born low-caste, 
demons, beasts, or even be imprisoned in a stone or a clod. Es- 
cape from the misery of births, even from, the birth of a god, is 
the aim of the truly wise man. 

Annihilation of self and identity with Brahm are the final 
reward of all the austerities and contemplations of the Vedanta. 

"What are wo to conclude from itll this ? We learn the two 
most important facts : the merits and demerits of the two doctrines 
under review, viz : the eternal existence of the human soul or 
otherwise its nonentity. The Christian faith as laid down in the 
article explained above, impresses upon the mind of the reader the 
certainty and awfuluess of an eternity ; and the awfulness of sin, 
calling forth for an immediate redress in the promise of an atone- 
ment in the sacrifice of tho Son of God, fulfilled in the person 
of Clirist, whereby the Mosaic or Ceremonial law of tho Jews 
was abrogated. 

The Hindoo theory of tho existence and non-existenco of tho 
human soul after death is an idea of no little consequence, as it 
bears out the testimony in tho Biblo teaching, with reference to 
the spiritual part of man, which exists apart from his material 
body after death. The Vcclantic doctrine, and all tho subsequent 
doctrines of the Hindoo or Brahminical religion, current among 
that body, treat on tho subject of transmigration. 




CHAPTER VIII. 

Transmigration according to the Vedas Priestly craft Tam- 
pering with theVedas Modification of the Shastras Growth 
of priestly power Evil results Human sacrifice Retribu- 
tion. 



CCORDING to the Vedas, the most ancient doctrine 
of the Hindoos transmigration of the soul from one 
body into another is not the work of a day. The 
soul, after leaving the body, migrates to one of the 
two resting places, either of bliss or of woo, which 
is tantamount to Paradise or Gehenna of ihe Scriptures, or, 
more properly, Elysium or Tartarus. Tim soul which by 
alms and devotion had gained the favor of the Deify on earth, 
is admitted after death into the place of bliss to rest there, 
until called forth in duo time to re-appear in iis now birih. The 
same process is said to follow the less favored soul. Of course, 
to the one a high status inlifo is assigned, to the oilier a low one. 
The modern Hindoos, however, differ on this point tin is* some 
assert that the soul after leaving one body enters ^directly into 
another. The mode in which they have tested this theory is in 
itself interesting. The priesthood who Imvo leisure to study the 
human mind (for they have not to labour as other men for 
their wants) find it no groat trouble to instil into their proselytes 
the doctrine they would have them believe. Thus in the matter 
of the transmigration of souls, on the demise of any one of the 
family taking the death of the husband for an example the 
wife is required to throw some flour so as to cover ilio floor of tho 
room in which the husband died overnight. Next morning 

whatever footprints arc found marked on the floor, indicates that 
9 



( 66 ) 

the scml of tlio dead lias transmigrated into the body of that 
animal It may bo a snako, a rat, or any other animal that 
infests human habitations* And thus superstition induces a 
desire to avoid killing such animals, as they believe the soul of 
tho dead to have entered, even at the risk of serious danger to 
tho occupants of tho house, as would be the case if it were a 
snake or any other venomous reptile, as the following instance 
will illufctrato. A woman allowed such a snako to continue in 
her house. The snake at a certain time of the day would come 
out of its hole from one of the corners of the house and roll about 
her grinding-mill and retire. In verification of tho well-known 
proverb. When the cat's away the mice will play one day the 
mother happened to be away at tjio time tho snako used to 
emerge- from his hole. Tho children happening to see it danc- 
ing round tho mill came near to kick it, when tho snako became 
irate and stood up in its defence. Tho elder children got fright- 
ened and ran away, but tho smallest of them could not escape, 
and tho snako wound round him and bit him to death. With 
whatever motive the modern Hindoos have altered tho period of 
transmigration, it certainly controverts tho Vcdautiuo doctrine, 
and it goes further to prove tho undeniable fact that Iho Brah- 
mins did this as a check to the progress of tho Cluisiian religion. 
This coincides with tho opinion held by the liev, Krisno Mohon 
Banorjcc, wEb mentions in his dialogues on the Hindoo philoso- 
phy, that the Brahmins, struck by tho doctrine of Christianity, 
made two of such by giving to their popular god Krishna a 
more imposing character. In like manner,, to strengthen thtilr 
innovation, they have gone to the extent of tampering with their 
most sacred record (tho Vedanta ) by changing transmigration 
from a probationary period to instantaneous .existence. By this 
change of doctrine tho Brahmins can givo tho proof of what they 
would now inculcate. Tho absence of proof in tho previous 
doctrine was unsatisfactory to tho people who looked for proofs. 
In tho Christian's Scriptures, when tho people looked for signs 



( 67 ) 

and tokens, Christ authoritatively rebuked, " An evil and adul- 
terous generation seeketh after a sign and there shall no sign bo 
given to it but the sign of the prophet Jonah : for as Jonah was 
three days and three nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son 
of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. " 
The Brahmins forced by circumstances could not meet the en- 
quiry, and so contrived a vague alteration in their modified Shas- 
tras, and so ingeniously too that they believed they had fully met 
the difficulty in the doctrine they now promulgate, and thus try 
to ignore the Christian doctrine of eternity. 

I believe it has been satisfactorily shown that the theory of 
the modern Hindoos as regards transmigration of souls with in- 
stantaneous results is a religious fraud. It needs no further com- 
ment than that it is a practice common with all nations to work 
on the credulity of the ignorant. The tacit observance of those 
innovations by the more enlightened classes, is the wise observ- 
ance of the good old adage, " leave well alone." Iteligious toler- 
ation is the safest for all Governments. The Hindoo Sover- 
eignty was lax and pusillanimous. This pusillanimity encouraged 
the priesthood, who eventually usurped sovereign power under 
the cloak of religion. The Brahmins to keep the people in u\ve of 
them, and to ensure subniissiveness from the Sovereign as woll as 
the people, imposed human* sacrifice as tho most acceptable to 
their gods, as performed in the temple at Kamrtfop Kamykha 
on the occurrence of any severe visitation from thoir gods. 
Whether men, women or children wore immolated in tho tomplo of 
the goddess Kutcha Khity (or the goddess who desireth not a burnt 
sacrifice), the offering was considered accepted when it disappeared 
from the temple at a given period, otherwise tho offering was 
returned to the sacrifices, and a more acceptable ono demanded 
in its place. This would appear to be priest-craft, for tho gain 
of the temple, and to strike terror, according to tho necessity of 
the case, by naming tho particular sacrifice of his fondest hopes, 
* In the Vernacular, Bull, 



( 68 ) 

which may bo a child, or the favoured prop of the family 
as a punishment, to appease not the gods, but the priests 
under whoso displeasure the unfortunate person had fallen. 
The priests being emboldened, gradually introduced other forms 
ol massacre at their festivals. Besides the offering of goats, sheep, 
doves, pigeons and buffaloes, they introduced human sacrifices 
such as the roasting of persons in the abdomen of Ha wan in the 
Ilainleela, and those wholesale massacres under the wheels of 
the great car of Juggurnauih ; not to mention Suttee, and the 
indiscriminate destruction of female children at their birth as the 
exclusive right of the Rajput class, which they imposed as reli- 
gious rites and to which the Sovereign had to submit. They 
thus raised their own position while they reduced the Sovereign 
power to a mere shadow. Just consider the unnecessary loss of 
life, the country drained of its lusty able men in the rudest health, 
the bulwark of Hindoos tan. Thousands of men, women and 
children annually perished in this way, and for what ? To ap- 
pease the insatiate Brahmins, who to stop an impertinent spirit 
of enquiry or opposition among the people, enforced rigid laws of 
rcvorcnco and sanctity, that the laymen in awe of them and the 
dread of tho impending punishment would shrink from any offi- 
cious questions, such as the one already mooted, regarding tho 
existence of the human soul, and which had caused such a son- 
sation in thoTSrahrtimioal clique, that in trying to prevent tho 
impending catastrophe, vis : the downfall of Brahminism, they 
exercised their cruelty to mankind. And not unlike tho Jewish 
sufferings in Egypt Exodus 1. 15 to 22, where tho IsnuOii.o male 
children were destroyed at birth and themselves made to ioil for 
tho king without payment. The service was rendered more and 
more rigorous until it came to pass that they had to bake their 
tale of bricks without straw. This was the punishment for their 
impertinence for asking Pharoah to set them free from bondage, 
so that like other nations they might worship thoir Uod in free- 
dom even if it were in the wilderness, The cruelty tho Egyp- 



tians exercised recoiled upon themselves. The entire Egyptian 
army with the king succumbed before the Israelites in the Red 
Sea. Such is the resemblance in the two characters as regards 
retribution for tyranny and evil doing. The cruelty exercised by 
the Brahmins to secure a status for their prestige among their 
own countrymen, made the place so insecure for them that they 
could not hold out against the inroads of hostile nations, and the 
invasion of the Mahomcdans was nothing more than a visitation 
from the Almighty to sweep off the evil-doers. As they them- 
selves had destroyed the fighting population by wanton human 
sacrifices, so they had personally to bear the brunt of llie inva- 
sion. Thus God brought home the punishment to tlio Brahmins. 
India must have been swarflyng with the priestly tribe to judge 
from the number found even in these enlightened times. The Fort 
of the Nizam was manned by the Eajpoots, who when they could 
not prevail against the besieging forces, opened the gates and fell 
on the swords of the besieging army. Before doing ihis tiny 
took their wives under the walls of tlio fortress and decapitated 
them there. But all those who did not join in tlio attack did not 
fare bettor, they were all put to the sword. Tlio Moguls did not 
sparo any. As the Jews dealt with tlio Ammonites, so the Moguls 
effaced the Rajpoots from that part of India altogether. The 
fortress has since been occupied by the Moguls, and iho conquer- 
ors or the conquerors' descendants called Mogkicks^always wear 
two swords out-of-doors, one on either side, as the symbol of 
superiority and mark of the conqueror. The Mahomcdans had 
this special province to meto out the punishment ordained by tlio 
Almighty to the cruel and perfidious Brahmins, who to gain 
their own ends had inflicted untold misery on the people of the 
country. Their cup of iniquity was full to the biiui, even to 
overflowing, and their remedy was the adoption of a retribution. 
The Lord deals with his creatures in this wise. 

Taking a retrospective view of human sacrifice, it appears 
that the Hindoos were not the first to introduce it in their wor- 



( 70 ) 

ship. Milton, in his " Paradise Lost," alludes to the human sacri- 
fices offered by the ancient Ammonites in the worship of their god 
Moloch, which bears a striking parallel to the amount of Hindoo 
sacrifices: 

" First Moloch ; horrid king, besmeared with blood 
Of human sacrifice, and parents' tears ; 
Though, for the noise of drums and timbrels loud, 
Their children's cries unheard, that passed through firo 
To his grim idol." 

Moloch, the name of the chief god of the Phoenicians, fre- 
quently mentioned in Scripture as the god of the Ammonites, and 
probably the same as the Saturn of the Syrians and Carthaginians. 
Human sacrifices were offered at the shrine of this divinity ; and 
it was chiefly in the valley of Tophet, to the east of Jerusalem, 
that this brutal idolatry was perpetrated. Brazen figures (set 
with springs and with hollows below, or in the abdomen for the 
purpose of heating) were connected with sacrificial rites, or with 
the burning of incense. When brought to red heat children 
were deposited in the arms of the images, which by means of the 
springs were drawn close to the body and cremated. 



( 72 ) 

to show itself on the stage of the world in activity. Can the 
caterpillar while in the cocoon, transforming into a butterfly, 
appear on its wings and exhibit itself? But if the Brahmins 'will 
have it that the soul enters another body after birth, the problem 
becomes still more difficult to solve. The mind at once resents 
tho deception, and enquires: Can the soul of the departed enter the 
body of another animal while it is already occupied ? It may be 
a cat for instance, and tho soul of a dog entering the body of a cat 
what would be tho consequence ? A tremendous fight, for the 
separate possession of the cat's body would most assuredly bo the 
result, and such a desperate condition of things would be enough 
to kill tho cat in spite of its nine lives. 

Having been tempted to this ."digression, which I hope is 
interesting to my readers, I may now resume the consideration of 
the Hindoo tragedy of human sacrifice and God's severe dealings 
with them in consequence. Bat on ilio other hand it is manifest 
that God is not only severe but merciful. In tho retribution for 
crimes and unpardonable offences, God has most miraculously 
spared the innocent. Tho determination of tho Moguls to exter- 
minate tho idolaters appears to have stayed as soon as Ihe rulers 
of tho people ceased to be. Here God interposes. Tho bloody 
edict of tho Koran was not carried out to the letter. God's pur- 
poses r ro therefore ful filled. In tho second chapter of Miikchi tho 
priests are bfcincd-only for the people's evil doing, it was they who 
sot them going wrong by wilful misintorprotation of the law, and 
God's anger was justly kindled against the law-givers and not 
the people whom thoy had corrupted, accordingly tho retribution 
of Bins was rightly visited on tho luuids of the ministers. Tho 
Mahomedan antipathy to idolatry was so great that hi every 
instance they destroyed tho idols and images they came across* 
Tho following account from Colonel Modows Taylor's story of his 
life is an instance in point : " A lingo imago of Ilunooman, tho 
monkey-god, stands alono, carved out of a granite boulder, Tlio 
king on seeing it surrounded by Brahmins charged and dispersed 



( 73 ) 

thorn ; then dismounting he struck the image with his .siecl mace, 
breaking off a portion of the right log. " For this act," cried a 
dying Brahmin, u thou shaltdie before thou reach the city." The 
prophecy was strictly fulfilled, for King Mujalrid was assassinated 
on his march to " Gulburgah," Tho work of destruction and re- 
tribution having been accomplished as much as it was necessary, 
God now unconditionally holds out the sceptre of mercy to protect 
the innocent and inoffensive. These were heathens still, but 
they were not the originators nor tho instigators of the evil 
doings. Having imbibed the religion from their ancestors, and 
receiving such as the orthodox belief of the country, they are 
excusable. The Hindoos wero extremely tenacious as regards 
their faith, and voluntarilydid not join the Mogul army, but if 
they acceded at all, it was under bodily fear. They were as zea- 
lous as their forefathers were, and would rather have accepted 
the sword than the Koran. Whence did the Moguls then get 
thoir Indian forces? Tho unfortunate native Christians who 
were loft unprotected on the downfall of the Roman Empire, foil 
a prey to deportation and served to supply the wants of tho 
mighty Mogul army. Twenty-five thousand families of nativo 
Christians that were at Agra in 1(>GG all disappeared before that 
station came under British nilo. The Moguls wore arbitrary; 
with the best intentions thoy exercised cruelty ; they could not 
help it, theii creed was such, that the law which governed their 
own people was measured out differently to strangers, at least 
those that did not belong to their faith. So there was perversion 
of justice, for which they in their turn received the just retribu- 
tion for their sins at tho hands of the Mahnittas ; and, as a finals, 
the Ruler of this great Universe now ushers in the paternal British 
Government to give security to all uudor the banner of (Jhriwton- 
dom. The British fltig floats now proudly over tho forts and cities 
where once the Rajpoot, the Mogul and the Mahratta revelled 
in their short-lived power, and under its protection Christian 
merchants are not ouly permitted to carry on free trade, btii.il 
30 



physically, morally and mentally enfranchises the slaves of this 
vast empire, and vouchsafes security to all, so that, so to speak, the 
lion and the lamb drink at the same pool together without moles- 
tation. But this was not all ; it was a mere preliminary of the 
great events to follow. God had so arranged that this boon was 
not to be enjoyed by those- who doubted his mercy. Its recipients 
are thoso whose hearts would be lifted up in thankfulness to the 
Almighty Giver of all those benefits their forefathers were strang- 
ers to. As a body, Indians, though apparently loyal at heart, 
were treacherous savages, and revelled in their natural desire for 
freebooting and pillage, and only waited the opportunity to en- 
sure sufficient confidence in the minds of their benefactors. The 
enfranchised slaves, forgetting the sufferings of their ancestors 
in the everlasting bondage of opulent and unscrupulous rulers, 
rose in a body to plunder the State treasure throughout the length 
and breadth of Hindoostan. This is a case similar to that of the 
Israelites in the wilderness, and the punishment which followed. 
While under God's protection they rebelled against him, 
and also against Moses, whom they knew so well. The 
bondsmen of Ilindoosian like the Israelites wcro slavish 
in mind, and showed themselves in their true colors a.s 
the Israelites did in the "wilderness. They have been according- 
ly punished and the leaders exterminated. Moses suffered for the 
sins of the Israelites. In like manner the British Government 
suffered in their delegate the East India Company. I3ut God, 
who is even merciful in his anger, has not withdrawn his mercies 
from them, but has granted India a free, liberal Government, and 
security of person and property, and also brought before the poo- 
pie the manly religion of (Jhrtetianity, which inculcates the, prin- 
ciple of morality and rectitude to the most scrupulous perfection; 
it also elevates man to a sublimity in the sphere of life which no 
other doctrine yet professed by any learned man of modern time 
can possibly achieve* Atheism, theism and other mock forms of 
morality aro mere innovations of the true religion, and possess no 
permanent basis. In exemplification of the theory advanced, I 



( 75 ) 

may mention a most striking fact, An atheist who was about 
leaving India for the shores of England, went to an acquaintance 
of his who had embraced the Christian religion, and requested of 
him a favor, which was to undertake the charge of his mother- 
less daughter during his temporary absence* The Christian, 
taken by surprise at such a request, begged to know what caused 
the man to come to him in preference to his intimate friends, who 
professed the same doctrine as himself, The query so naturally 
put was as honestly answered: " We cannot divest our religion 
of its dross, whereas Christianity, though professedly objected to 
by us, is at the same time secretly admitted not to have its origin 
in chance, but to possess sound principles, having a more direct 
influence on the daily life gf its adherents," 




in- T'hagavat Tho object of its teachings Foolishness of the 
Vedas inconsistencies Kons Kajah The Massacre of ihe 
innocents Christ's mission as compared with Krishna's The 
dawn and the sunlight. 




io Ihe Bhagavat all the three books 
n Krishnn, inscribe him, Io all inient and 
a]) ine.'miafion having n speeial mission io 
i'uKilj and that \\as io ^irogate tho ruling of the 
'Vedas. Tho Pdia^a vat-Git a, 1 he first book in the. or- 
1 of writing, is a discourse purporting to he addressed 
hy Kri-hna, to Arjuna (tdltts John Evangelist;) and steadily 
maintains throughout a well-defined depreciation of the. Vedas. 
Thr divine hvturer spake, in disparagement of those Vedantie, 
taue.hiiigs \\hie,h b:id exnroi.u-d sneh mighty inlluence and \von 
so greaily revered, ilie intention evidently being to weaken tlio 
authority whieh pres<trilu k d and enforced unnecessary rites and 
ceremonies, and thus ignore, rather than revile, its contents. 
" Thoso who, relying on i.he proiniscs of the Vedas, engage in 
the performance or'prrseribed rites and ceremonies, are denounced 
UK fools" The infallibility of the antiquated Vedas which the, 
people heretofore believed to be unquestionable, and from whence 
they drew all their articles of faith, became on Krishna's autho- 
rity an anathema to those performing the vows and ceremonies 
demanded therein. Inconsistent as it may appear to read the 
history of Krishna, which exhibits him in one part, as an Autocrat 
and in another as a divine lecturer and a beneficent Ruler, the 
whole, story when viewed logically cannot but bo viewed as u 
myth, For according to tho oriental Ideal, if Krishna had 
come to judge the quick and the dead, he nuibt apropos prove 



( 77 ) 

himself to be the man. This lie has not clone. One incident 
among many others in Krishna's life dispossesses 1dm of any 
claims to divinity, viz : His revenging himself for the murder 
of the infants consequent on his nativity. It is true that the 
eyes of the bereaved parents were said to have been looking up 
to him as their avenger at some future period of his maturity, 
and so in would seem to have become incumbent on him to re- 
deem their hopes, but this might have boen clone by the exercise 
of his divine power, had he possessed the same in the restoration 
to life of the massacred innocents, The ire of the people against 
Kons Raj is so bitter that up to this time their descendants com- 
memorate his brutal murder of the infants by making an effigy of 
him and beating it downannually in their set festivity. How 
striking the coincidence between this and Herod's slaughter of the 
children in Bethlehem and the coasts thereof ! It may be thought 
that the Hindoos have got the better of me regarding the above 1 
infantic transaction by explaining their act (viz,, the annual beat- 
ing and murder of Kons Rajah in effigy ;) it. behoves mo now 
to explain the Christian version of the story, and to remove the 
impression of apparent apathy on the part of Ihc Jews to deal 
with such an outrageous proceeding as the slaughter of their 
children. Their not avoiding themselves is a .singular anomaly 
in the annals of history. In whatever light the circumstances 
of the massacre are viewed, and however wwciliatory the 
knowledge that such suffering had been predicted by tho pro- 
phet Jeremiah, might have rendered a few of the sufFurors, the 
natural fooling of revenge could not possibly have boon absent 
as a general thing. Supposing the majority of the Jews, oven in 
the midst of the Roman oppression, did entertain a retaliatory in- 
tention, would Christ have acquiesced in their wishes, had ho boon 
selected as their leader, as in the foregoing case ? No, certainly 
not! His tenure of office was that of a high-priest sifter the 
order of M olchizedek, and not that of an earthly monarch. lie 
had no mission of a political nature. Had ho consented to ihoir 



( 73 ) 

wishes he would not have been exemplified as the prophetical 
Christ of whom Moses and the prophets wrote, According to 
prophecies Christ was to be the " man of sorrows and acquainted 
with grief," Christ was not to be an avengeful actor, but merely 
the quiescent object of Herod's deep and intense hatred. Christ 
thus fulfils the conditions of the prophecy by leaving the retribu- 
tion in the hands of the Father. The world which was darkened 
by the curse of the fell was, however, not destined to be fully ob- 
scured. There was a moonlight of hope under the promise of 
redemption which was now being fulfilled in the person of Christ. 
The bright effulgent light, the dawning of the day of Christian 
happinoss was at hand, But as the dawning of the bright sun 
light, which is preceded by inevitable darkness, would to 
the ignorant appear inexplicable ; so the life and time of Christ 
until His final act of redemption were not understood by the 
Jews. After His crucifixion the light brightened and the dawn 
of Christianity spread over the country, and eventually over the 
known world. 





A conclusion Modern Education- Weaknesses of Educated 
Hindoos The School and the Bible The GUEAT UNKNOWN 
Morality of the Bhagawafc and tho Vodas The Shastor in the 
school-room The Hindoo religion in a nutshell Origin of 
the species. 


i AVING concluded the biography of the incarnation?, 
viz : that of Krishna ;md Christ, allow me now 
in conclusion to establish from the annals of their 
history, sineo<Ho sine furo d> fnUnci<i howo, 
(without hatred to the one or partiality to the oilier, u 
a man without guile and deceit) : and unless I can do ihis 
my labour shall be in vain. As -without the, concomitants 
of wine and food, love would soon peri>li, so without an explana- 
tory conclusion to my imioh cherished article, all my writings 
must prove a failure for want of such support. Every class has 
its own views and predilections. The, Hindoos have their lapfo 
for innovation in manifestly endeavouring to pervert I he. inculca- 
tion of true know tad go. The modern educated Hindoo is a 
Hindoo still ; although he is adorned \viih wisdom ami intelli- 
gence, ho is prone to imitate the views tmd weaknesses of 
Europeans without adopting Ihe.ir viriues. 1I denies iho 
existence of Qod, because ho thinks it fashional)lo to aver such 
a profession. Rejecting tho religion of IIIH forefathers he 
pretends to adopt the philosophy, (if such a term can be applied 
to a want of true knowledge,) which little* minds imagine as 
indicative of deep learning and research. One set of young men 
affect to admire and belie vo in the superiority of tho eccentric 
impossibilities of Darwinism, and arc willing to accept tho ape 
as a progenitor; when the theory is argued in scientific and choice 
language, while another set, not content with tho Darwinian 



( 80 ) 

nonsense, persistently swallow the blasphemous and illogical con- 
clusions of the irrepressible Bradlaugh, or any other eccentric 
and demonstrative individual who is bold enough to defy the 
thought and erudition of the ages, provided he does it wilh 
sounding flourishes and bombastic effrontery. Sir Richard 
Temple, the late Governor of Bombay, in one of his interesting 
speeches made allusion to the absence on the part of Professors 
and Principals of Colleges of that most important element of 
education, viz : the moral training of the young. Possessing an 
untoward turn of mind every knowledge imparted is turned 
into misuse : as uncleanness in a vessel vitiates and renders 
useless its contents ; similarly if the youthful mind is not pro- 
perly prepared, the lessons of infraction however carefully 
imparted must eventually prove futile. We see daily instances 
of it in the perverted use of the arts of reading and writing. 
The exclusion of the Bible from our public schools, and tho ab- 
sence of any moral teaching, have proved tho shipwreck of 
thousands of our Indian youth. As intelligence dawns, and tho 
young mind becomes imbued with a knowledge of science, 
Hindoo youths grow dissatisfied with the teachings of ihoir 
puranas and Blasters. They see plainly how ftirfetchod Jiro 
most of its vaunted authorities, and how lean and meagre it is of 
all that is satisfying and abiding. Under these convictions, and 
having no settled convictions of those great leading truths of 
Holy Scripture, which have reformed society and revolutionized 
the world, they grasp at such nonsense as is afforded in the 
" National Reformer " or tho works of some ancient traducor 
of morality, and, misled by the glare of sentences, while dazzled 
by the blasphemous audacity of the sentiments, they seize upon 
these men as loaders of thought, and straightway bow down and 
worship them and their baseless and long since exploded 
theories. 

Memento mori " remember you must die." Anything 
which reminds us of our end is a memento mori. At their 



( 81 ) 

banquets the Egyptians were in the liaLit of introducing a 
mummy or a skeleton, and thus addressing their guests. The 
Egyptians, at the time the above practice was current, were evi- 
dently heathens, yet they apparently acknowledged the exis- 
tence of God and from the nature of the address, Implying 
immortality of the soul, one cannot but believe thai they 
admitted the doctrine. Is it nut disgraceful to see the pre- 
sent result of the education of Hindoo youths tending not only 
to demoralize, hut to make them in every respect complete 
infidels ? What greater benefit can \vo confer upon the State, or 
what more valuable help can we afford than to teach and train 
up the young in the path of morality ? Morality is the best and 
safest fundamental policy tjiat any Government could pursue, 
much less ours, and yet they have heretofore neglected this 
important principle. At a great financial cost their educational 
systems havo been inaugurated and prosecuted. Thousands upon 
thousands of rupees have been spent in planning and organizing. 
Teachers from the leading schools have been selected, and 
institutions second to none in the world havo been working now 
for years. Hindoos now exist in thousands who have drunk 
at the Pierian spring, and who are fitted to adorn society and 
be leaders of social and political thought, but, alas ! alas ! amid 
all. the splendours of thtws fair schemes thw is one greutVant, 
amid all tlio pleasant smios there is OHO desolate spot, and this 
want, this spot, this blot on all tho planning lies in the utter 
want of provision for sound moral and religious training. 

The character of a community is solely dependent on that of its 
ruler. The British Government, as is universally acknowledged, 
rules on high moral principles, and according to an old adage of 
* like producing like,' the education that is imparted to the subjects 
of their Eastern possession will, it is hoped, more than prove to 
be a pattern of their Ruler. Nowhere, however, can we acquire 
this principle of high moral attainments save in the Bible. All 
the good law, and good government, observable in Western lands 

11 



( 82 ) 

originates from the BOOK of Books. Heathenism and idolatry 
have never made any of those gigantic revolutions of thought and 
morality, which come from the great Bevelator the Booh of God. 
Greece was a grand country, its philosophers were numerous, 
and their theories are, some of them, immensely inspiring. But a 
certain Jew of humble position, possessed of the living Light, 
mourns over the sad moral darkness and destitution of that be- 
lauded land. Amidst all the multitudinous temples, amidst all 
the grandeur and pomp, amidst all the seeming abundance of 
culture, the people did not know themselves, much less know God, 
and they confessed their ignorance like the Hindoos of this 
country in the erection of a temple to the GREAT UNKNOWN,* 
a temple without images but with analtar, whore devotion was 
performed without any figurative representation of that Great 
Bciny whom man with all his wisdom could never know except 
through the medium of a Divine communication. This tho 
Apostle possessed, and so ho could call upon those grave* and 
reverend know-nothings, whose altar, " To tho Unknown God,'* 
was visible in tho distance from the top of Mars Hill, to listen to 
the declarations of that Unknown God mado by Himself. Tho 
insufficiency of man is without guise delineated in tho TViblo, 
and that only, and the sufficiency of a Rupromo Power which 
rules ttie destiny of man is so vividly impressive of tho fact that 
the mind cannot bolie the truth. How oarly in the Biblo is God 
set forth as a righteous holy God, who demands holiness from 
His worshippers. We may travel wearily through tho labyrinths 
and intricacies of the Vedas in search of such teaching, and find it 
not. Nor do wo see it in any of thcworks of the Bhaga vat: although 
the Bhagavat speaks disparagingly of the ancient Vedas, it nover- 

* tt is a strange coincidence that in Ilindoostnn there is also a temple to 
the UNKNOWN GOD. otherwise known as BBAHM. Hindoos, besides their medita- 
tions on Brahma, Vislmoo and Shiva in their representative fonnn, obnorve the 
devotion of JBra,7im t the Great Unknonm Ood of Infinity, whose povvors aro 
boundless and illimitable. This ONE temple suffices for the whole of Hiudpostan, 
and from that place Brahm is supposed to preside overall the wond. Whether 
this be copied from Greece, or is a more recent imitation of tbo one great 
temple at Jerusalem, it is difficult to say. 



( 83 ) 

theless has failed to prove its own morality and rectitude 5 on the 
whole it has a greater tendency to depreciate its own standard 
of morality than that of the Vedas, which it has had the audacity 
to impeach. It is incumbent on the teachers in many prominent 
private schools to continue the study of the Shastras, the fallaci- 
ous policy of which is carried out, much to the detriment of tho 
students, who are thus taught much which in after years, in moro 
advanced schools, they have to unlearn. It is hoped the practice 
will sooner or later be a thing of the past. Tho students them- 
selves have become sufficiently enlightened to perceive tho 
absurdity of its inculcation. While on this subject we may 
refer to the time which is perhaps unnecessarily consumed in 
tho study of Latin, and which has similarly become burdensome 
to English students. Being a dead language they sec the 
absurdity of its teaching and therefore endeavour as much as 
possible to shirk it, boing conscious that the prosecution of it 
will be of no avail to them hereafter in public lifi*, nnkss it be 
for an ecclesiastical position, and how low thurc are who follow it, 
Jn like muiiner native students have an antipathy to an interrup- 
tion in their study of the higher attainments by tho introduction 
of the absurd teaching of the Shastras, and Sanskrit. 

Tho Hindoo of tho day can only too well appreciate the 
policy embodied in the old phraso, " following the plan ?>f the 
polypus, " that is, to accommodate yourself to changes of 
circumstances, and the dispositions of those around you. Tho 
polypus was supposed to bo able to assume the colour of the rock 
to which it adhered, and thus to be able to escape notice. As 
tho separation of tho descent of an inheritance from a grand- 
father is inadmissible, so is tho inculcation of Latin considered 
inseparable from tho English language. Tho adoption of this 
practice which was at one time so iudispenably necessary to 
overcome the prejudices of a class so tenacious in their orthodox 
belief of the Shastras, was not only commendable but highly 
plausible in itself, and has so far conferred a boon that by its 



( 84 ) 

means the Government has secured sufficient confidence in the 
minds of the public that it will not interfere in their caste 
prejudice in the Educational Department, over which the Govern- 
ment directly presided, and this alone enabled them to get the 
children of the better class of natives admitted into their semi- 
naries; and notwithstanding the defect in their religious train- 
ing, they are however sufficiently advanced in the acquirement 
of English education to be a source of help to the Government 
in the efficient discharge of responsible duties in the civic depart- 
ment. 

To render the Shastras interesting, and within the scope of 
all, I shall endeavour to place it in a nutshell, divesting it of all 
its dross as to be able to be understood by one and all. 

Pantheism is the main feature of the Hindoo religion, both 
modern and ancient. I shall introduce this tenet as the acknow- 
ledged philosophy or the rationale of Pantheism. m It being : 
" Where'er you turn your eyes, where'er you move, 'tis God 
you see." 

The Yedantine philosophy prevailed in ancient times, and 
the Puranic holds sway in the present ago. Of all other 
philosophies which struggled into existence from time to time as 
revivajs of the Shastras, and died out, the Vedic stood its ground, 
as in its genial ^character, it bears the most religious tone, 
the others resting more on scientific researches and logical 
conclusion. 

An insight into the Vodic Pantheism may be gained from 
what follows : 

Tho existence of Brahma is a point which the Vodantic 
authorities take not the slightest trouble to prove, ovon although 
the Sdnkhya had already mado its heretical assertion that no 
evidence can bo offered of such existence. All arc employed 
rather in enumerating his attributes, which are numerous, both 
in negative and positive terms.. 



( 85 ) 

The universe, on the Vedantine theory, as we shall presently 
see, is not the real universe but is only an apparent one i. <?., 
the universe is God, THE GODDISM OF NATURE ? Yet the relation 
of Brahma to that unreal world, is fully and frequently mentioned 
in the Vedantic authorities. He is declared to be its Creator. 
" When there was neither day nor night, He was, -who is without 
darkness and is pure goodness alone." But when the time 
arrived he made all. "One God produced the heaven and tho 
earth.*' " He is the Almighty Creator of the world, and the all- 
wise author of the Sliastrns." " llis will alono is a sufficient 
cause of the uni verso : and ho has made it for sport." Tho 
Shastras say, that he first conceived the desire to create, and 
employed special words in* the process. u From Vcdic word*, 
the universe beginning with the gods, has .sprung/' u Uttering 
the word bhur (fill up) ho created the earth." Tho Aitoeya 
Upanishad (ii. 4) enters fully into the subject of tho creation, 
and describes the formation of the great ohjocts of tho universe 
with minute detail ; especially tho struct uro of man. The pas- 
sage is too long to quota here, and too indelicate to describe in 
detail. Colebrooko's Essay on tho Vedas gives it in full. Tho 
Brihad Aranyaka also describes the formation of the animated 
creation, and the mode in which the nwlo and female of each 
kind were produced. With regard to ilu rrcation of wan, I 
shall for tho enlightenment of my readers tut'aiwm, that accord- 
ing to tho Vedantic writings, " Brahma " tho embodied creative 
attribute, or agent in formal creation in fabled to have divided 
himself into two creatures, one male and tho other female, 
and by tho union of these two, our first parents are Haiti to have 
been born, who, on their marrying, begot children/ and from 
thoin not only mankind, but all living creatures of the irrational 
or lower order, are said to have sprung. This doctrine, as may 
be seen, is quite opposed to the Darwinian theory of tho im- 
provement of the lower or irrational order of creatures, into 

* According to tradition the children were born two u-day, until population 
advanced, a male in the morning and a female in the evening, 



( 86 ) 

the higher or rational for instance a monkey being improved 
into a man. The two theories under review, though opposed 
to each other with reference to the ascent or descent in the 
scale of progeny, yet nevertheless agree on one point, and 
that is the absurdity of making an impossibility possible. 
The ascent or descent of beings in a scale, in the Christian 
religion, however, is not with regard to progeny, but morality; 
for example, a person can so demoralize himself as to lower 
himself to the scale of a brute or devil, such as man in his fallen 
state, or the angels that kept not their first estate, and who were 
cast out of heaven or on the other hand, one can so elevate 
himself through Christ as to become a son of God in his justi- 
fied and sanctified state. 




CHAPTER XII. 

The God man Christ Jesus His Etornity Oo-equal with tho 
Father very Man yet Very GOD The perfect character 
Harmony of virtues and graces unalloyed by weakness or 
failure Christ's Sacrifice Paradise and Hades Conclusion. 



fAVING prepared your minds I now introduce to you 
the guileless Man of my discourse, and who is 
identified as the Christ of the Gospel, who represents 
Himself, as ftyt being of this world, but sent from 
God, and as being in heaven while living on eurth. 
lie not only announces ami proclaim* the {ruth as otlu-r 
messengers of God, but declares Himself to be '* the 
Light of the World," " tho Wny, the Truth, ;md LiiV " the 
Resurrection and the Lift*." lie claims ;uid admit> himself 
to ho "the Christ or tho Messiah," of whom Moses and Ihe 
prophets of old testified, and " the king of Israel," " The Law- 
giver of the New and Last dispensation," " the Founder" of a 
Spiritual Kingdom, co-extensive with tho race, ami everlasting 
as eternity itself, " the appointed Judge" of the <[uiek atit the 
dead, " the only Mediator" betwcnn God tfiid man, a the, 
Savior of the world." Ho claims such a relation to God, ;ia 
implies both tho equality of substance and tho distinction of 
person, and which, in connection with his declaration:* concerning 
the Holy Spirit, loads with logical necessity, an it won*, to tho 
doctrine of the Holy Trinity, in which exclaimed the centurion, 
Truly, this was the Son of God. 1 For ho claimed as tho 
Son a real self-conscious pre-oxistonco before man, and even 
before the world, consequently also before time, for time \VUH 
created with the world, in his sacerdotal prayer ho asks to bo 
clothed again with the glory which he hud with the Father 



( 88 ) 

before the foundation of the world. He assumes Divine names 
and attributes. As far as consistent with his state of humiliation, 
he demands and receives Divine honours. He freely and re- 
peatedly exercises the prerogative of pardoning sins in his own 
name, which the unbelieving scribes and Pharisees, with a logic 
whose force is irresistible on their premises, looked upon as 
blasphemous presumption. He also makes the bold declaration, 
that " I and my Father are one," co-ordinating himself, in the 
baptismal formula, with the Divine Father and Divine Spirit, and 
allowing himself to be called by Thomas, in the name of all the 
apostles, " My Lord and my God." 

There is but one rational explanation of this sublime mys- 
tery. And this is found in Christ's ^>wn testimony concerning 
His superhuman and Divine origin. This testimony challenges 
at once our highest regard and belief, from the absolute veracity 
which no one yet denied him, or could deny, without destroying 
at onco the very foundation of His universally conceded moral 
purity and greatness, 

Christ strongly asserts His Humanity, and calls himself in 
innumerable passages, the Son of Man. This expression, while 
it places him in one view on a common ground with us as flesh of 
our flesja and bone of our bone, already indicated, at the same time 
that he is more Aau an ordinary individual, not merely a son of 
man, like all other descendants of Adam, but the Sou of Man, 
the man in the highest sense, the ideal, the universal, the absolute 
man, the second Adam descended from heaven, tho head of a 
new and superior order .of the raco, the King of Israel, the 
Messiah, 

TJho phrase " the Son of Man " (and the cognate term " the 
son of David) " used in a special and peculiar sense as an humble 
epithet, is a title of the Messiah. It marks out JGSUH as the 
model representative man, and as adapted from tho words of 
Daniel vn. 13, 14 is employed as a title of the Messiah. 



( 89 ) 

The perfect innocence and sinlessness of Christ is based, 
not only negatively on the absence of any recorded word or 
act to the contrary, and his absolute exemption from every trace 
of selfishness and worldliness, but positively also on the unanimous 
testimony of John the Baptist and Apostles, who bowed before 
the majesty of His character in unbounded veneration, and 
declared him " just," "holy," and "without sin." 

His life is one unbroken service to God, in active and passive 
obedience to his holy will, one grand act of absolute love to God 
and lovo to man, of personal self-consecration to the glory of 
his heavenly Father and the salvation of a fallen race. In the 
language of the people, who were " beyond measure astonished 
at his works," we may say, the moro we study his life, " He 
did all things well." In a solemn appeal to his heavenly 
Father in the parting hour, h could proclaim to the world that 
" he had glorified him on earth, and finished the work ho gave 
him to do." 

The first feature in this singular perfection of Christ's 
character which strikes our attention is the perfect harmony of 
virtue and piety, of morality and religion, or of love to God and 
love to man. Every action in him proceeded from supreme love to 
God, and looked to the temporal and otornal welfare of man. 
The ground-work of his character was the most intimate 
and uninterrupted union and communion with his heavenly 
Father, from whom he derived, to whom he referred, every thing. 
Already in his twelfth year he found his life-element and delight 
in the things of his Father. It was his daily food " to do the 
will of him that sent him, and to finish his work." To him he 
looked in prayer before every important act, and taught his 
disciples that model prayer, which for simplicity, brevity, com- 
prehensiveness, and suitableness, can never be surpassed. He 
often retired to a mountain, or solitary place ; for prayer, and 
spent days andi nights- in this blessed privilege* , But so constant 

12 



( 90 ) 

and uniform was his habit of communion with the Great JEHOVAH 
that he kept it up amid the multitude, and converted the crowded 
city into a religious retreat. Even when he exclaimed, in 
indescribable anguish of body and soul, and in vicarious sympathy 
with the misery of the whole race. " My God, my God, why hast 
thou forsaken me ?" the bond of union was not broken, or even 
loosened, but simply obscured for a moment, as the sun by a 
passing cloud, and the enjoyment, not the possession, of it, was 
withdrawn from his feelings ; for immediately afterwards he 
commended his soul into the hands of his Father, and triumphant- 
ly exclaimed, " It is finished. '' So strong and complete was this 
union of Christ with God at every moment of his life, thai ho 
fully realized, for the first time, the* ideal of religion, whoso 
object is to bring about such union, and that ho is the personal 
representative and living embodiment of Christianity as tlio true 
and absolute religion. 

It must not be supposed, however, that a complete catalogue 
of virtues wotild do justice to the character under consideration. 
It is not only the completeness, but still more the, even propor- 
tion and perfect harmony of virtues and graces, apparently 
opposite and contradictory, which distinguishes Him especially 
fromraH other men. This feature has struck with singular force 
all the more, enifoevt writers on tho subject. It gives tho finish 
to that beauty of holiness which is tho sublimest picture presented 
to our contemplation. 

He was free from all ono-sidodnoss, whieh constitutes tUo 
weakness as well as the strength of the most eminent men. II o 
was not a man of one idea, nor of one virtue, towering over all 
the rest. Tho moral forces woro so woll tempered and modm'iited 
by each other, that none was unduly prominent, none can led 
to excess, none alloyed by tho kindred failing. Each was cheeked 
and completed 'by tho opposite grace. His character never lost 
its even balance and happy equilibrium, never needed modifies^ 



( 91 ) 

tion or re-adjustment. It was thoroughly sound, and uniformly 
consistent from the beginning to the cud. Wo cannot properly 
attribute to him any one temperament. Ho combined the 
vivacity without the levity of the sanguine, the. vigour without 
the violence of the choleric, tho seriousness* without tho austerity 
of the melancholic, tho calmness without the apathy of <ho 
phlegmatic temperaments. Ho- was equally far removed from 
the excesses of the legalist, the pietist, the asnetir*, and tho 
enthusiast. With the strictest obedience io the law, ho moved 
in tho clement, of freedom ; with all the fervour of the eniliu^iast 
ho was always calm, sober, and self-possessed. Xot wit brand- 
ing his complete and uniform elevaiion above the affair* of this 
world, ho freely mingled flJth sociefr, male and female, dined 
with publicans and sinners, sat at ihe wedding fea^i, .-bed tears 
at tho soptilohre, dolighied in Ood"^ nature, admired ilia hpauiies 
of the lilies, and used ihn occupation of (lie husbandman for the 
illustration of tho sublimest irnflis of ihe kingdom of heu\en. 
ITis xoal never degenerated info passion or rashness, nor hirf 
constancy info obstinaey, nor bis benevolence, into weakness, 
nor his tenderness into sentimmilalitv. His world liness was free 
from indiiforenco and nnsocMabilitv, bis dignitv from pride jind 
presumption, bis affabilil.y from undue familiarity, bis self-denial 
from morosonoss, bis tetnporance, from austerity. He ooinbined 
childlike innoeenco wiih manly strengfb, all-abs(>rbing devotion 
to God with untiring interest in tlm welfare of man, fender 
lovo to tho sinner with uncompromising .severity agninst sin, 
commanding dignity with winning hinnilify, fearless eourago 
with wise caution, unyielding firmness with sweef gentleness, 
He, is justly compared with the lion in sfrenglh, and with that, 
equally possessed 1ho wisdom of the serpent, tin* meekness of 
tho lamb, and the simplicity of tho dove. 

IIo brought tho sword against overy form of wickedness, 
and tho poaco which the world cannot givo. lie was the mont 
effective and ye.t the least noisy, the most radical and yet the 



most conservative, calm, and patient of all reformers. He came 
to fulfil every letter of the old law ; yet he made all things new. 
The same hand which drove the profane traffickers from the 
temple blessed little children, healed the lepers, and rescued the 
sinking disciple, the same ear which heard the voice of appro- 
bation from heaven, was open to the cries of the woman in trou- 
ble ; the same mouth which pronounced the terrible woe on the 
hypocrites, and condemned the impure desire and unkind feeling, 
as well as the open crime, blessed the poor in spirit, announced 
pardon to the adulteress, and prayed for His murderers ; the same 
eye which beheld the mysteries of God, and penetrated the 
heart of man, shed tears of compassion over ungratefuUerusalem, 
and tears of friendship at the grare of Lazarus, These are 
indeed opposite, yet not contradictory traits of character, as 
little as the different manifestations of God's power and good- 
ness in the tempest and the sun-shine in tho towering Alps and 
the lily of tho valley, in the boundless ocean and the dew-drop 
of the morning. They are separated in imperfect man, indeed, 
but united in Christ, the universal model for all. 

Finally he unites with tho activo or heroic virtues tho 
passive and gentle, and thus his life and death furnish the highest 
stan&wd of all true martyrdom, 

Now that fflis "guileless man has paid for with his blood 
your passport to heaven, He now offers it to you uncondi- 
tionally on your accepting, with implicit and unsophisticated 
faith, the ticket of pardon thus preferred. As responsible debt- 
ors we take upon ourselves the onus of the debt, if we hesitate 
to accept the offer of pardon, we voluntarily deny the great 
benefit and blessing which such pardon would undoubtedly bestow 
on us. 

The misrepresentation of the Bible passages of the soul 
going to heaven or hell as soon as the life becomes extinct, is 
never better explained than in the death and promise of our 



( 93 ) 

Saviour to the believing thief, Luke xm, 48. For u Jesus 
said unto him, Verily, I say unto thee to-day &hall thou bo with 
me in Paradise. 5 * 

And there the Lord Jesus ChnVt preached to the souls that 
were already in waiting ; speaks emphatically of the tenet 
the Roman Catholics hold of thu existence of a purgatory 
1 Peter m. 12. And in Acts II 30 it is U!M> drelaivd " that, 
God had sworn with an oath to tho patriarch David, that of the 
fruit of his loins, according to tin? fle^h, ho would raise up Christ, 
to sit on his* Uirono : tfl. He, seeing this before, spake of the 
resurrection of (Jlirist, that his soul was not left in hell, neither 
his flesh did so corruption^ tt2. This JCSUH God raised up, 
whereof wo all arc witnesses,," By winch we conclude thai there 
is an intermediate place where the HOU! is purged but only those, 
of believers, whose debt has been discharged by His sacrifi- 
cial offering. Those who reject this grout merry so freely 
offered must, take the consequences as traitors. In verification of 
this belief 1 may quote* the instance of Lazarus And the rich 
man, who were evidently in tho same place within Bight of one 
another, and, like tho civil and tho criminal prisoners in tho 
earthly jail, under different administrations One is waiting for 
his release, and tho other for his punishment on account *rf his 
treasonable offence. The former in perfect inwwnity from any 
suffering, while tho latter is groaning under tho weight of the 
fetters with "which he is shackled. 

This subtantiatos tho presumptive belief that tho souls of 
tho departed, prior to and after the flood, inhabited Paradise until 
the resurrection of Christ, Hence it goes further to prove that 
tho souls of tho departed ones will ascend on the coming re- 
ascension of Christ, as has been so clearly predicted. 

And now, gentle reader, my work has boon accomplished. 
You have kindly followed me through these chapters, and I trust 
have been interested in my humble attempts to elucidate the 



great truth, viz : thut the Christian religion, with Its sublime 
teachings, and its illimitable HEAD and FOUNDER, when com- 
pared with one of the most ancient religions this old world of 
ours knows of, loses not one whit of its grandeur and sublimity, 
and that Krishna, with all the close copying of the GREAT MODEL, 
is little better than an egregious failure ; while facts are evident 
of the borrowed light with which Hindooism shines. 

I now finish my little work. It has cost me much thought 
and no little anxiety, but the hope of elucidating the great 
truths just named has buoyed me up, and rendered my pains 
and mental cxcdion a pleasure. Commending therefore these 
truths to your kind keeping, I close my little book on Christ 
twits Krishna, 



NOTES. 

(Seepage 32, 2nd para.) 

THE Hindoo festivals have no specific dates fixed for them, 
as is the case with the great feasts of Christianity ; and what is 
still more strange, the anniversaries of their great anthropo- 
morphic deity Krishna are reckoned,' not with reference to 
ordinary fixed time, but in accordance with lunar calculations 
which render them moveablo. The idea was doubtless to connect 
the actions of Krishna with celestial influence, though it is ex- 
ceedingly difficult to see Lftw* while the moon may exercise a 
power over tidal actions, it could possibly affect tho arbitrary 
will of such a potent deity. 

The birth and death of Krishna do not possess a fixed date, 
and the commemoration of tho annual festivals of Dewalce and 
Holi (signifying tho nativity and death of their god) depend 
upon the lunar cycles. This year, 1883, our Lent and their Holi 
come together. This fact, taken in connection with other 
strange coincidences, impresses ono with tho conviction that one 
is tho prototype of the other, viz : the Christian Lent, a$d tho 
Hindoo Holi, and I would call attention to thojfollowing facts. 
Both feasts have the same period of continuance (i. &, forty days) 
the kst three, in both instances, being the significant days. 
In tho Lenten solemnities the Christian views his Savior cruci- 
fied, buried and resurrected ; while the Holi is a timo of great 
solemnity to tho truly devoted Hindoo, at least that part of it ia 
which the HOLI is burnt a significant reference to the burning 
of the dead, according to the custom prevailing among thorn, and 
still more important '-in the- .cremation of tho Holi (signifying 
the HOLY-MAN.) Contrary to all tho feast customs there is no torn- 
tomwg or noise at this to them solemn and important ceremony, 



( 2 ) 

the burning being effected in a silent reverential manner. There 
is sorrow and mourning on our GOOD FBIDAY, just as there is 
sorrow and mourning at the Holi fire. Tho FHIDAY PASSION 
and, the HOLI CREMATION occurred this year at one and the 
same time. 

Again, the Hindoos fast on the day of the cremation, and 
approach the fire with gloom and sorrow on their countenances. 
The fast is a very strict one. The priests go to such lengths 
that they will not allow oven water to come in contact with the 
mouth until Teen prafiar or the ninth hour of the day, when they 
perform thoir ablutions and prepare for the ovoning ceremony. 
At sunset the Holi is burnt, after which tho time of rejoicing 
immediately commences. In like -manner Christians fast on 
Good Friday, and view with great sorrow tho fact that their sins 
brought the Lord of Life and glory down to this sin blighted 
world to suffer and to die. In faith they travel up Calvary's 
side, and with penitential awe and sorrow gaze upon that awful 
form suspended on tho Cross in mortal agony. In faith they 
follow to Joseph's tomb and behold tho prostrate form of tho Son" 
6f God, and weep with Mary over their shun Lord ; but not long. 
Soon tho merry bolls are pealing, tho world rejoices over a risen 
Lord, and with holy joy tho humble Christian looks up into tho 
face^f his risen MASTBB ? Ho who is " alive for cvermovc, and 
hath the keys ofTRath and hell." 

To mark their joy the Hindoos prepare a red powdor called 
abeer, which is manufactured from " singara," in tho sumo way 
as violet hair powder. This is sold largely in the markets on 
the occasion, and the people exhibit their joy and merriment by 
rubbing fistsfull of iihis powder on each other's faces and sprinkle 
their bodies and clothes with it. On tho first day dry powder 
alone is used, which is a reference to the ashes of the Holi burnt* 
But on the two following days, they use tho prepared powdor ; 
they dissolve the powder in water and squirt it on thoir clothes, 



( 3 ) 

besmearing their persons. Although the Holi commences and 
continues forty days, the sprinkling of abeerfod. powder) is gone 
through from the time the Holi is burned, and is continued for two 
further days: the red colour being typical of blood. On the third 
day from the burning of the Holi it ceases, and their merry- 
making also ends, and there is no allusion to the Holi : but the 
" Kutha," or the reading of the Shastra to the assemblage is 
proceeded with, symbolical of tho assembly of the apostles after 
the Ascension. What is our sorrow is their jubilee. For 
forty days they are permitted to revel in obscene songs in public 
and in their places of worship. It must be here remarked that 
tho poor people have evidently been led astray by their priests, 
who, losing sight of tho great truths of tho passion of Christ, 
have added a number of unmeaning ceremonies, and tho rejoicing 
over the redemption by tho resurrection, which should be a pure 
and holy joy, has been reduced to the sinful and olwcono. As 
a proof of tho benighted condition of tho people, I adduce the 
case of a poor drunkard, who in palliation of his vico of drunk- 
enness expressed himself in these terms, " I drink to convince 
myself that I am a sinner," In liko manner tho Hindoos kcop 
up their Lent in revelry and obscenity, taking pleasure in tho con- 
viction that tho sacrifice of tho Holi in some way assists thorn to 
pardon. Not such is tho Christian's rejoicing. He knogg that 
tho debt of sin has all been paid to the uttermost farthing by 
Him who said " It is finished/' and whilo mourning over tho 
cross and the crucifixion, ho rejoices at tho sepulchre, and thanks 
God for tho groat gift of Jesus, who " ever livoth to make inter- 
cession at tho right hand of tho Father " in heaven.