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BAZAAR BOOK;'
Part X.
IDOLATRY SINFUL.
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by
Rev. H. M. SCUDDER, D.D.
AMERICAN ARCOT MISSION.
Translated from Tamil
by
Rev. J. AV. Scudder, m.d.
M A D R A S :
the religious tract and book society.
PRINTED BY GRAVES, cookson AND co.
1 869.
sat xxnx
Half Annfo
ADDRESS No. X.
IDOLATRY SINFUL.
Oh People! You worship idols. We propose to
show that such worship is treason against God, and a
heinous sin. To do this, we shall set before you six
propositions, and we ask you to give them your candid
and attentive consideration.
FIRST.
There is only one God.
The following is what one of your poets says of His
nature and attributes.
Literal Translation.
" Let us meditate on the all-pervading spirit, the fountain
of bliss, the incomparable one, eternal, immaculate, incorpo¬
real, free from disease, omnipresent, unalterably holy, distant
and yet near, light dwelling in tranquillity, all-comprehen¬
sive, possessor of perfect felicity, pure intelligence inexpres¬
sible and inconceivable."
General Meaning.
This verse tells us, that God is eternal, holy, with¬
out form, perfect, omnipresent, the preserver, spiritual
light possessor of perfect felicity, the omniscient.
All this is true. God is just such a being as is here
described. But do these attributes belong to the idols
you worship ? Is the image, which stands in your
temple, eternal, holy, all-wise, omnipresent ? No. Many
of your own sages have taught the existence of a God,
who is possessed of these exalted attributes. Why
then do you, deserting Him, bow down to stones, which
have not a single one of them ?_
ADDRESS NO. X.
Nitineri Vilakkam.
Literal Translation.
" What will not those affirm, who declare that a crow is
white ? Some even say, that it is honorable to kill one's
mother."
General' Meaning.
What will they not say, who affirm that the crow is
not black, but white ? There are not wanting some,
who declare it an excellent deed even to kill one's own
mother.
Absurd statements both of them you will allow; but
neither of them so absurd as to say, that an idol is God.
Oh People ! When there is a God, possessed of all
the most excellent attributes; how shall we character¬
ize your leaving Him, and worshipping a stone as God ?
Is it not sinful worship ?
SECOND.
God is a living God.
Why, leaving Him who has life, do you bow down to
lifeless stones? We know the common excuse you
make for so doing. Your plea is, that life enters into the
idol, when the Avahana Mantra* is pronounced over it.
The Brahmin especially, who recites that Mantra, is
very strong on this point. He asserts positively, that,
by the power of the Mantra, he gives life to the stone.
But is it indeed true, that life enters into the idol ? Exa¬
mine and see for yourselves. Everything that has life
moves. Go where you may in this land, you see the image of
Pillaiyar. If that image is really alive, it would some¬
times stretch out its hand : it would occasionally plant
its feet and walk: it would ever and anon swing its
trunk. (The trunk of an elephant you know is never
still). Or, as Pillaiyar has a good sized paunch, that at
least would shake a little now and then. If life has
* The Avahana Mantra is an incantation, by muttering which, the
Brahmins say, they cause the deity to enter into images, thus rendering
them proper objects of worship.
IDOLATRY SINFUL.
really entered his image, any or all of these movements
would at times certainly occur. But they do not occur.
Pillaiyar squats evermore motionless at the foot of some
, . tree, or on the bund of some tank. The same is true of
all the idols, which you worship. Lifeless and motion¬
less, they stay where you place them. Does any one of
, all the images you have set up with muttered incanta¬
tions ever come out and take a walk in the street \ No.
■ They do come forth occasionally it is true ; but only
when you yourselves place them on a frame, lift them
on your shoulders, and with panting breath, and flowing
perspiration, laboriously lug them about the streets,
n You construct immense cars for those idols. Did you
ever see any of them climb up into those cars ? No.
You yourselves lift them carefully into their places;
and you yourselves tie them fast with cords, lest they
should fall. IIow in the face of all this you can say,
that those images have life, we are at a loss to under¬
stand.
Again, you say that the Brahmin gives life to these
images. But if the Brahmin really gives life to a stone ;
o "- why, when his child dies, does he not give life to that ?
: i: Why, covering his face with his hands, does he weep
and utter cries of lamentation ? Surely he, who has
made stones to live, ought to he able to revivify a dead
rriji1 child.
tbest9
otffo Once more, if the Brahmin really gives life to stones;
has life ^ie must himself be God, for it is God's prerogative both
Dage0{ to give and take away life. But if the Brahmin is God,
some- h°w it that he has to work and toil for a livelihood ?
, plan Would it be unlawful for him, who creates life, to create a
little gold by way of appeasing his appetite ? Is it indeed
nevtl indispensable, that one, who gives life to stones, must
^ „ needs wander about from street to street, cheating peo-
jj'e p pie, and begging for a little rice, and a little tamarind,
and a little ghee ? Giving life to a stone is certainly a
hichjtb majestic action; but wandering about the streets beg-
eudern ging f00(] l00ks to us a little shabby. The two things do
4
address no. x.
not somehow or other, seem to accord. What then is
the upshot of the matter ? Why just this, namely, that
all this talk about giving life to stones is pure falsehood.
An idol is always lifeless.
Hear what a poet of yours sings,
Translation.
"Yon call the planted stone a god, and adorn it with vari¬
ous flowers. Whence, sirrah ! the Mantra, with which you
approach it muttering reverently ? Can the planted stone
speak ? Is God in it ? Do the cooking-pan and ladle know
the taste of the curry ?"*
Beloved ! God has graciously endowed you with life.
Is it reasonable then, that you, who have life, should
trust in a lifeless stone ? God has given you breath and
speech. Is it right then, that you, who have breath and
speech, should stand crying " Swami! Swami!" before
an image, which has neither the one nor the other ?
Oh People ! when there is a living God; how shall
we characterize your leaving Him, and worshipping a
lifeless stone as God ? Is it not sinful worship?
THIRD.
God is the Creator of the Universe.
He spread out the heavens above us. He formed the
earth beneath us. H e is the maker of all things visible
and invisible. Why, leaving Him, who sits enthroned
above all the Creator of the universe, do you worship
worthless images ? If the image really made you, you t
ought of course to adore it. But far from its making
you, you yourselves made it. When that image was a
mere stone in its natural state, it was without eyes or
mouth or nose or any other members. You yourselves
were the cause of its getting all these. When it was
destitute of eyes, you yourselves scooped them out for
it. When it was without a mouth, you yourselves tore
one open for it. When it was devoid of a nose, you
yourselves made one protrude from its surface. * Its
* See Appendix, page 12.
idolatry sinful. 5
me}v ^iallds, its feet, its eais, and in short all its members were
efaH *rame(^ an<^ ihshioned by you. And after having your-
^ selves thus given to it its form, you address it as a God.
\\ hat strange infatuation is this ? Since you made the
image, the image ought to fall at your feet and worship
you. Why then do you fall at its feet and worship it ?
a it with loll us, you who bow down to stones! if those stones
th wiici had a mouth that could speak, what would they say to
plank you ? \Y ould they not reproach you with some such
-■■; words as these ; " Oh People ! For what purpose did
you come and seek us out upon our native mountains ?
Wherefore did you rudely pluck us thence, and loading
us on carts bring us into the village ? Why, treading
on us with your feet, and rolling us over with your
hands, and wounding us with your chisels, have you
given us a form, and planted us in your temples, and
shut us up in darkness V A fit censure, could they only
give it utterance. But you worship that, which has
not a mouth to say even so much as this. If this be
not madness, what is it ? *
Oh People ! when there is a God, who created you ;
how shall we characterize your leaving Him and wor¬
shipping as God the idols, which your own hands have
made ? Is it not sinful worship ?
FOURTH.
God sustains and protects the universe.
He takes care of all that He has created. You your¬
selves are objects of His protection and providence.
From your conception until now, He has unremittingly
fed and nourished you. Even when, wrapped in profound
sleep, you are unconscious of everything, you still
breathe and live, sustained by His protecting mercy.
Why, leaving the God who thus keeps and cares for
you, do you prostrate yourselves before senseless idols ?
The images you have set up do not protect you.
They have not the power to protect even themselves.
It is no uncommon occurrence, as you are all aware, for
* See Appendix, page 13,
address no. x.
robbers to break into your temples, and carry oft the
jewels, which adorn your idols. Surely it would be
right for those idols to drive the robbers away, and pro¬
tect themselves from spoliation. Why then do they
not do so ? Or if they lack ability to protect them¬
selves, might they not at least give one good screech
for help ? But even this is beyond their power. The
fact is, they are utterly incapable of protecting either
themselves or others.
You yourselves are their protectors. You build houses
for them, which you call temples. You yourselves
carry them into those houses. You yourselves shut and
lock the doors. You yourselves lug them out again.
You yourselves lift them on your shoulders, cany them
around the village, and, bringing them back, carefully
deposit them in their places. The labor you undergo
for them is not a little.' Tell us now, did any of them
ever make you so much as a salaam, by way of repay¬
ing you for your trouble ?
The truth being, that you yourselves are the constant
protectors of those idols ; it is to us an unceasing won¬
der how the conception of their being your protecting
deities ever originated in your minds.
Oh People ! When there is an all-po werful God, who
continually protects you by night and by day; how
shall we characterize your leaving Him, and worship¬
ping as God an image, of which you yourselves are the
protectors ?
FIFTH.
God is the Benefactor of the Universe.
It is He, who makes the rain fall and fill your tanks.
It is He, who, sending forth His light and heat, covers
your fields with luxuriant grain. It is He, who clothes
and feeds you. It is He, who showers upon you the
comforts and luxuries you enjoy. The daily blessings
which He vouchsafes to you are so many as to baffle
computation. Why, leaving the God who confers all
idolatry sinful.
7
these favors upon you, do you bow down to carved
images of wood and stone ?
\ our idols are incapable of shewing you the smallest
favor. They can do no more than stay quietly in the
places, where you yourselves carry and put them down.
All the homage you render them is, " like tamarind
fruit dissolved in the river," utterly vain and profitless.
We quote what one of your poets says of them.
Translation.
" Gods there are baked and unbaked ; gods there are
planted and unplanted ; tied gods there are, can they loose
their fastenings P All they can do is to lie where you put
them."
You confer many favors on these images. You wash
them with water. You scour them with acids. You
tie on their clothes. You put garlands and jewels on
them. You anoint them with fragrant oil. You adorn
them with flowers. All these kindnesses you do to
them ; but they do not in turn a solitary kindness to
you. Are they your gods then, or are you their gods %
Reflect and answer the question.
Oh People ! When there is a God, who bestows num¬
berless benefits upon you every day of your lives; how
ishall we characterize your leaving Him, and worship¬
ping as God a carved image, which never has and never
can confer upon you a single favor ? Is it not sinful
worship ?
SIXTH.
God is the Punisher of Sin.
He blesses those, who walk in accordance with His
will. He punishes those, who walk contrary to His will.
Why, leaving Him whom all are bound to worship with
reverential awe, do you tremblingly offer supplications
to stocks and stones ?
Your idols are incapable of inflicting any punishment
whatsoever. They cannot punish even the bats, which
mute upon them, and make the room they occupy
offensive. They cannot punish even the rats, which
s
ADDRESS NO. X.
climbing up their faces in search of ghee, lick and cover,
them over with spittle. They cannot punish even the
dogs, which, without either shame or fear, publicly
defile their persons. How then can these images, which
are powerless to punish offending dogs, and bats, and
little rats, punish grown up men like you ? What
possible ground can there be for your being afraid of
them ?
Oh People ! When there is a God, Almighty both to
save and to destroy; how shall we characterize your
leaving Him, and worshipping as God a lifeless stock,
which is powerless to inflict even the smallest penalty ?
Is it not sinful worship ?
Beloved! In what respect do the stones placed in
your temples differ from other stones lying about upon
the earth's surface ? In none. May we then worship
all the stones, which we see scattered about everywhere,
in the streets and in the fields, on the mountains and
in the valleys ? No, we may not. And just so you may
not worship the stones, which occupy your temples.
We quote again from one of your sages.
Literal Translation.
" You break a sounding stone, and make idols of it. The
stone, that forms your door-step, you tread upon and wear
away with your feet: the stone, which is worshipped, you
adorn with flowers and sacred ashes. Know that God takes
delight in neither of these stones."
General Meaning.
You break a stone into two pieces- Placing one of them
as a door-step in front of the house, you tread it beneath
your feet; carrying the other to your temple, you set it
up, bathe it with water, offer it flowers, and pronounce
it to be a god. Know that the one piece is no more ac¬
ceptable to God than the other. Both are stones and
only stones. Such is the meaning of this verse.
Let stones be used for all the purposes to which God
has appointed them. Let the washerman beat your
soiled clothes on them. Let your women grind curry -
IDOLATRY SINFUL.
9
stuft on them. Let your masons build them up into
stone-walls. All this is right. God created stones for
just such purposes as these, but you, diverting them
from their natural uses, set them up and worship them
undei the pretext, that they are gods. Of all the follies
pi evalent upon earth, what folly is there greater than
this ? &
One of your poets sings as follows :
Translation.
" Will the God of light, whose habitation is above all
worlds, dwell in a broken image npon earth ? Will the
Deity, who fills illimitable space, reside in contemptible
stocks and stones P Why, oh servants of the gods ! do you
believ-e such ridiculous fables ? Heaven there is none either
for those who tell, or for those who listen to them. If you
will but devote yourselves to the divine Guru upon earth, you
may dwell for ever happy amid the changeless delights of
heaven." *
Listen, while we recapitulate in brief the details of
the foregoing pages. God is a real being. He is a
living God. He is the Creator of all worlds. He is
the Preserver of all things. He is the Benefactor ot
the universe. Him, and Him only should we adore
and worship and praise. But an idol is a false being.
It is destitute of life. It neither creates nor preserves
anything. It can confer no good. It can inflict no
injury. Leaving the true God, and worshipping idols
is the folly of all follies. It is sinful worship. It is
treason against God.
God has forbidden the worship of images. All those
therefore, who bow down to wood and to stone, violate
the divine law. They are despisers of God. They have
reached the lowest deeps of the sea ot sin.
God is a Spirit universal and everywhere present. As
«mch we are to apprehend and adore and worship Him
with our hearts. To worship Him aright, we must first
See Appendix page 13.
10
ADDRESS NO. X.
know Him aright. He is invisible to our bodily eyes.
A true Veda is essential to a true knowledge of God.
Such a Yeda He has graciously bestowed upon men.
The Christian Veda is the only true Sastra. It is to us
instead of an eye. Without it, we are like blind men.
If we read, and understand, and believe, and walk
according to this Christian Veda, we shall know the
true God. With the Holy Bible, as with an eye, we
shall visibly behold Him. And thus-beholding, we shall
joyfully worship Him, who is a Spirit, in spirit and in
truth.
God is an infinitely holy and just being. In Him
there is no sin. But men are sinful souls. They have
ruined themselves by the practice of lying, fraud, theft,
idolatry and other crimes. They are enemies and trai¬
tors to God.
Because men have thus sinned, they are heirs of hell.
Hell is their proper destiny, for their souls are defiled
with sin. How then can those, who are thus sin-pollu¬
ted and worthy only of hell, come into the presence of
the Most Holy ? How can they attain to heaven ?
There is but one way, and that is the removal of their
sins. Thus and thus only can they approach God, and
obtain eternal bliss. But men are utterly without
power to remove their sins. They can find among them¬
selves no way of escape from hell. They have no means
of cleansing their guilty souls. What alas ! shall they
do ? The punishment, to which they are hastening, is a
never-ending punishment. Once in hell, all hope of escape
is cut off for ever.
These things being so, a Mediator is required to
stand between us and God. We need a Saviour, a hea¬
venly Guru, who is able to expiate our sins, purify our
souls, and bring us near to God. If such a one can be
found; we, though ruined by sin, may through Him at¬
tain to holiness and to heaven.
If such a Mediator undertakes to remove our sins, He
must Himself bear, in our stead, the penalty due to
those sins. Otherwise our sins cannot be expiated.
IDOLATBY SINFUL.
11
% eif God is a just God. He hates sin. He inflicts punish-
°i G, ment for sin. Should He fail so to do, His justice would
5onma thereby be proved defective. The penalty He inflicts
c is ton is a terrible penalty. It plunges sinners into the
"d met depths of hell. He, who would avert that penalty from
ad wail us, must himself suffer its equivalent in our behalf. If
aowtl he does so, the justice of God will be satisfied. It will
i eye, i know no detriment. And thus the way will be open
, we ski for God to pardon our sins.
it andii Such a Mediator must have both a divine and a hu¬
man nature. For if he be not man, how can he suffer
In Hi for us ; and if he be not God, how can he bear and car-
hey k ry away the fearful burden of men's sins ? He, who
ud, M would expiate our guilt, must be both God and man in
and trai- the person of one all-meritorious Guru.
There is one only such Mediator. That Mediator is
sofhelt the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the true God. Yet He
re Mkd became incarnate as a man, and lived upon earth thirty -
sin-poll' three years. He came as the Saviour of the world to
Kence r remove our sins, cleanse us from impurity, and bring us
, vilOT unto God. While on earth, He taught true wisdom.
- - He pointed out the way of life. He shewed mercy to
• all. He cured incurable diseases and distempers. He
r; cast out devils. He averted calamities. He scattered
• t'K blessings with a liberal hand. He did all these things
-if the simple power of His word. Thus while truly a
: man upon earth, He proved Himself, by many wonders
. ^ and miracles, to be as truly God. He showed abundant
' reasons why the whole world should trust in Him and
" love Him as its Saviour. Finally, He gave Himself as
a sacrifice for our sins. He was nailed to the cross.
He shed His holy blood. He endured unspeakable
suffering and anguish. He died. Rising again alive
on the third day, He appeared to many on earth, bless-
1 ®e® ed His disciples, and ascended up to heaven. Such was
ir® the divine work, which this glorious Mediator accom¬
plished in our behalf.
1TSW D0 y0U ask why Jesus Christ thus suffered and died ?
M"el Listen while we reply to your question. He took the
exphte
12
address no. x.
burden of our sin, and carried it for us. That we
might escape the eternal punishment of hell, He was
punished in our stead. " But how is this," some of you
will perhaps inquire, "was His human nature ca¬
pable of bearing punishment equivalent to the eternal
punishment of hell ?" We answer, No, not of itself.
If He were merely man, His nature would not have
been equal to the task. But He was also God. His divine
nature strengthened His human nature, in order that it
might sustain the full weight of the penalty. It is by
virtue of His being thus God and man in the same per¬
son, that He appears both fit and able to expiate our
sinS. The salvation effected by Jesus C hrist avails for
all, who believe on Him as their Saviour. It is confined
to no one country ; it is limited to no one nation. It is
of world-wide application. All, of whatever land or
tongue, who accept and love and follow Christ, are
saved from falling into hell. That those who believe in
Him might escape punishment, He was punished in
their stead. He expiated their sins. To all such He
gives His Holy Spirit. That Holy Spirit, dwelling in
their hearts, makes them holy, and fits them to enter
heaven. Thus they become the children of God, and
will, at the moment of death, enter, through Christ, the
world of bliss. There they will remain for ever happy
in the presence of God.
Oh People ! Cast away your worthless idols. Accept
the Lord Jesus Christ, the all-powerful and all-loving
Saviour of the world, as your God, your soul's friend,
and your sin-destroyer. Embrace His holy religion.
If you do so, you will by His grace attain to the trans-
cendant joys of heaven. If not, you must inevitably fall
into the" flames of hell.
APPENDIX to No. X.
Illustrations and Examples.
(1.) External religious observances are in themselves
profitless.
idolatry sikffl.
13
iiTint
Pattanattu Pillai.
Literal Translation.
u Religious rites and observances ; the Yedas and the
Agamas ; morality and sacrifices ; offerings to the dead and
daily worship ; prayers and incantations ; with the divine
services, which men, having put on the Namam, or rubbed
sandal and white ashes, perform at stated times every day •
all these are worthless delusions."
General Meaning.
The abovementioned religious ceremonies and so
forth are of no value.
(2.) The worship of idols is extreme folly.
Vemanar, 3 : 238.
Literal Translation.
" Oh Vemanar beloved of the gods ! What shall we say
of those fools, who, having brought stones from the mourn
tains, rolled them over with their hands and feet, and vex¬
ed them with masons' tools, afterwards bow down to those
unpolished blocks ?"
General Meaning.
How shall we describe the folly of those, who bring¬
ing stones from the mountains, roll them over with
their hands, tread upon them with their feet, cut them
with chisels, and then bow down and worship them as
gods ?
(3.) A resolution to forsake idolatry.
Pattanattu Pillai.
Literal Translation.
tl No longer will 1 adore chiselled stones, nor plastered
images fashioned to resemble the Deity, nor copper idols
polished with acids. I have clearly demonstrated, that true
worship consists in fixing firmly in one s mind the two feet
(of the divine Being) which glitter like fine gold. (1 here-
fore) I desire nothing moi*e.
General Meaning.
Idolatry is not worship. Heart worship alone is true
Worship,
address no- x.
Scripture Texts.
Idols are not gods.
Psalm 115. 4 to 8. Psalm 185. 15 to 18.
Isaiah 44. 9 to 20. Isaiah 46. 1 to 8.
Jeremiah 10. 14. Jeremiah 51. 17,18.
Habakkuk 2. 18, 19.
God forbids the worship of idols.
Exodus 20. 4 to 6, 23. Leviticus 19. 4.
Leviticus 26. 1. Deuteronomy 16. 22.
/
\
g
THE BAZAAR BOOK
Consists of Thirteen Parts, each of which is
complete in itself.
They are as follows
I. The Guru.
II. The S astra.
III. Sin.
IV. Man.
Y. God.
VI. Expiation.
VII. Mantras.
VIII. Transmigration.
IX. Fate.
X. Idolatry Sinful.
XI. Idolatry Ruinous.
XII. Caste.
XIII. Brahminism.
Of these the first ten are already issued
and the others are in the Press.
>■ /xy , '.m%y