YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Gift of

Mrs. R. w. Hume

X A

SECOND EXPOSURE

HINDU RELIGION;

IN REPLY TO

m&m&"%&$t&. iba'cd of &&v&m&

INCLUDING STRICTURES ON THE VEDANTA.

BY THE
REV. JOHN WILSON,
OF THE SCOTTISH MISSION, BOMBAY.

" Oh ! bid the patient Hindu rise and live.
His erring mind that wizard lore beguiles.
Clouded by priestly wiles.
To senseless nature bows, for nature's God."
Sir W. Jones.

BOMBAY:
SOLD BY W. CHAPMAN, AMBROLIE, AND AT THE CIR
CULATING LIBRARY IN THE FORT.
PRINTED BY J. HUTCHINSON AT THE MISSION
PRESS SURAT.

1834.

TO

JAMES FARISH Esq.

OF THE BOMBAY CIVIL SERVICE,

THE FOLLOWING SMALL WORK

IS AFFECTIONATELY AND RESPECTFULLY

INSCRIBED

BY THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE:

The work to which the following pages are
a rejoinder, was lately published in Bombay.
It bears the English title of " A Reply to the
Rev. Mr. Wilson's Exposure of Hinduism ;"
and the Marathi signature of Svadeshadharmd-
bhimani, or An Espouser of his Country's Re
ligion. A copy of it was brought to me some
months ago by my old antagonist Mora Bhatta
Dandekara; and he declared to me that he
approved of it, and had acted as its editor.
On perusing it, I perceived that it correspon
ded with a manuscript tract which had been
sent to my friend R. C. Money, Esq. by Nar-
ayana Rao, the English teacher in the Semi
nary established by His Highness the Raja
of Satani; and, on inquiry, I found that this
individual was its author. Though, as I have
learnt, it is not satisfactory to the more intel
ligent natives, I have thought it right to reply
to it. This, I have been the more induced
to do, because it has afforded me an opportu
nity of considering several topics, especially
connected with the Vedanta, or esoteric system
of the Hindus, to which the pamphlet of Mora

VI PREFACE.
Bhatta did not particularly direct my atten
tion, and of thin enabling me to animadvert,
to a greater cr l^ss extent, on all t/ie most im
portant sub|e?ts whioh are the grounds of
discussion between the Hindus and Christians.
In the course of the argument which I have
pursued, I have been led to make some stric
tures on the writings of Rama Mohana Roy.
The sentiments of this remarkable character,
have been much misunderstood. No person,
however, who possesses the slightest acquaint
ance with the Vedanta, will fail to perceive in
his pamphlets the advocacy of its grossest
pantheism. The Reform which he desiderated,
if obtained even in its highest degree, would
deprive the more intelligent Hindus of their
idols ; but leave them in a state little superior
to that of Atheism. Gymnosophy, even in its
most refined forms, can contribute nothing to
the effectual amelioration of man in this life ;
and it affords nothing but the prospect of
dreary absorption after death.
Though it is my persuasion, that Hinduism

"  as dark as witch'ries of the night,
Was formed to harden hearts and shock the sight,"
I have endeavoured, when exposing it, to write
of it with feelings of Christian kindness to its
unhappy votaries. Nothing but a regard to
their welfare in time and eternity, has induced
me to take up my pen ; and I beg of them to
continue to extend credit to me, and my fel-

PREFACE. vii
low-labourers, for the benevolence of our in
tentions, and to believe that aliy thing which
is inconsistent with the deepest charity, is not
what we would for one moment seek to defend.
While I have attempted to turn the Hindus
from their idols, I have also endeavoured to
lead them to the service ofthe living God, and
the embracement of the salvation of his Son
from heaven. The contrast which I have pur
sued between Hinduism and Christianity, will
not, I trust, be without its use to candid in
quirers, and even to those Christians, who
may have been accustomed to survey their
own inheritance without casting their eye over
the dark places ofthe earth, where Satan's
right to empire has scarcely yet been dispu
ted. It may lead them, with an intensity of
gratitude, which they may never hitherto have
experienced, to adopt the language of the
Psalmist, "Their sorrows shall be multiplied
that hasten after another god : their drink of
ferings of blood will I not offer, nor take up
their names into my lips. The Lord is the
portion of my inheritance and of my cup: thou
maintainest my lot. The lines are fallen unto
me in pleasant places ; yea I have a goodly
heritage." For my former little work, there was a much
greater demand among the natives, than even
my experience of their readiness to engage in
religious discussions, led me to expect. Many

vm

copies were purchased by them ; aim, -
instances, penis ed with good effects. Several
natives haveWssured me, and some of my cor
respondents, that it has proved the occasion
of destroying their confidence in the religion
of their fathers. To all the well-wishers of
the natives who interested themselves in the
circulation of both its Marathi and English
editions, and especially to the friends who
have translated, or proposed to translate, parts
of it into some of the dialects in use in places
remote from this Presidency, I return my
cordial thanks. Their unsolicited, but kind,
exertions, have afforded me the greatest en
couragement in the prosecution of my labours.
To several friends, I am indebted for the
loan of several Sanskrita M. $.S., which were
not in my possession, and which I have used
for enabling me to judge of the fidelity of ex
isting translations, and opinions, and correctly
to make some original extracts. It was my
intention, at one time, to have quoted more
liberally from the Upanishads than I have
done. The inspection of a great number of
them, led me to perceive, that while they a-
bound in metaphysical errors, there is a great
accordancy in the few principles which they
respectively unfold, and to which attention
should be particularly directed. J. W.
Bombay. Oct. 1834.

SECOND EXPOSURE OF HINDUISM.

When I published the Exposure of the
Hindu Religion, in reply to Mora Bhatta Dan-
dekara, I expressed the hope, that I should
be ready, at any time, to answer what might
be said in reply. I did this, because I was
convinced, that, on all the essential points
which had passed before my notice, I had de
clared nothing but the truth; and, because I
was persuaded, that any attempts which might
be made to defend Hinduism, would prove
only the occasion of a fuller and more dis
tinct exhibition of its errors, and might issue,
through divine grace, in the embracement of
Christianity by those who might make them,
or by those who might witness them. Enter
taining these sentiments, I was by no means
sorry when I heard that a reply to my work
was published. I considered, that whatever
might be its nature, and whatever the ability
with which it was written, it would indirectly

10
advance the cause which I have at heart ; and
that the discussion of its merits, would serve
to destroy s{5pit> of the refuges to which su
perstition betakes itself in the hour of its
difficulties. .
On perusing the tract of "The Espousei*
of his country's Faith," I found, that no direct
attempt was made to remove any of the many,
and serious objections, which I have urged
against Hinduism. The fact proved inter
esting to my mind; and, considering the edu
cation which my opponent has received, and
the spirit with 'which he writes, I could not
avoid coming to the conclusion, that to the
badness ofthe cause of Hinduism, and to no
want of will to support it, the circumstance
is to be attributed. My convictions took this
turn, notwithstanding the apparent contempt
for my opinions which is expressed, when it
is declared, that " the Padre would have got
his doubts (on the subject of Hinduism) solved
by applying to any very learned individual."
They were confirmed, by my observing, that
my opponent is anxious to make his reader
believe, that I am actuated by "no other mo
tive than that of leading people to apostacy,
by conquering them through much speak
ing, and inveigling them into a snare;" by
my observing that impressions unfavourable
to Hinduism are extensively spreading in
consequence of the discussions which have

11
lately taken place ; by my knowing that sev
eral attempts to write a reply 'to me had been
in vain made ; and by my per«fei"ging that Nar-
ayana Rao would never have satisfied himself,
when professing to reply to me, with indirect
and obscure arguments, had he been able to
use others of a different kind. Nothing is a
greater proof of weakness, than boasting when
action is required.
Narayana Rao, in the introduction to his
tract, expresses his disapprobation of my re
mark:— "The generality of mankind, in this
country in particular, make little or no inqui
ry on the observances of religion. They regu
late their practice on the faith which they
repose on the words of their parents, and the
doctrines of their priests." He informs us that
the observation has no particular application
to the Hindus ; and that it extends with all its
force to Christians. I must be allowed to
express a different opinion. While it is a fact
that Christians do use, as is incumbent on
them, their parents and their teachers, as
helps in the acquisition of knowledge, they
are far from resting their faith on these pa
rents and teachers. Such of them as are
worthy ofthe name which they bear, are able
to give a reason ofthe hope which is in them.
They are all commanded in the Bible to read
and study it. They are encouraged to exam-

12
ine the evidences of Christianity, and to weigh
them with the greatest attention. ^They point
to works writfer/'by men of the greatest talent
and learning, in which' all the objections of
infidels are removed, and which are entitled
to command the assent of every candid mind.
Very different indeed, is the state of matters
among the Hindus. Ram Mohan Roy, one
of the most ingenious defenders of Hinduism,
makes the following remarks in reference to
its votaries: — " The greater part of Brahmans,
as well as of other sects of Hindus, are quite
incapable of justifying the idolatry which they
continue to practice. When questioned on
the subject, in place of adducing reasonable
arguments in support of their conduct, they
conceive it fully sufficient to quote their an
cestors as positive authorities !"* The com
mon people every-where declare, that they
know nothing of Hinduism independently of
what is told them by their parents and their
teachers. They are not permitted either to
read or listen to the Vedas. They must view
the Brahmans as the mouth of God with regard
to them on the most dreadful penalties. They
must, if they happen to contradict them, fall

* Are the Vedantist's to whom the Raja prided himself on belong
ing a whit more able to give a reason of the hope, or rather of the
doubt, which is in them? One of the most learned of their number
lately declared to me, that it never was intended by God, that the reli
gious profession of any one class should appear reasonable to another.

13
prostrate before them, and thus make an atone
ment for the expression of their own senti
ments. They must, if they *insagine ought
against a Brahman have " hot lead" accor
ding to Manu, " poured down their throats."
They are thus in a great degree prevented
from thinking for themselves. The " Gods
upon earth" are now-a-days scarcely in a bet
ter situation. Though they are permitted to
read, they are scarcely permitted to reason.
One of their most approved maxims is a pas
sage of the Gita : —
" One's own religion, though worthless, is bet
ter than the religion of another, however well
instituted (or followed:) one's own religion is
profitable at death, whilst that of another hear
eth fear."* The Hindu religion may be char
acterized as averse to investigation. The
words of Christ, "Every one that doeth evil
hateth the light, neither cometh to the light
lest his deeds should be reproved," may be
considered as an explanation of the attempt
• This verse is thus translated by the learned Sir Charles Wilkins : —
" A man's own religion, though contrary to, is better than the faith of
another, let it be ever so well followed, &c." Viguna cannot, how
ever, bear the interpretation which is put upon it. In Professor H.
H.Wilson's lexicon, it is thus rendered: — "Void of all qualities.
Bad, woithless, having no merit."

14
which was made by ita framers to preserve
its books in darkness. I hope that the time
is fast approaclfang, when men sh'all individu
ally examine i?s claims, and appear resolved
to yield their assent to nothing connected with
religion which does not appear to them to be
consistent with the dictates of eternal truth.
Narayana Rao represents me as coming to
the conclusion, that theHinduReligionis false,
from the general truth stated by Mora Bhatta,
that "all men are naturally stubborn, sinful
and ignorant." The assertions whichhemakes
on this subject are founded in error. I do not
say, as he represents the matter, that "all
men are naturally stubborn, sinful, and igno
rant and therefore the Hindu religion is false;"
but I say that "all men are naturally stub
born, sinful, and ignorant, and hence, it is not
to be wondered at, that many persons should
be found conducting themselves according to
a false religion ; that they should imagine
that by that religion they should be saved ;
and that they should shew no disposition to
enter into the true religion."* I would attri
bute the misquotation which has been made
of my remark to inadvertence, and not to wilful
perversion ; but I would remark, that in all
religious discussions, the effort should be made
to avoid misrepresentation.

Exposure of Hinduism, p. 30,

Having made these observations on tho
introduction to Narayana Rao's tract, I now
proceed to consider the arguments which he
has adduced with the View of supporting the
cause which he has espoused. They may be
briefly stated as follows. The different Reli
gions which are prevalent in the earth agree
in all essential points. To all of them res
pectively seeming objections may be stated.
The solution of the objections which may be
urged against Christianity, involves the solu
tion ofthe objections which have been urged
against Hinduism. With respect to these ar
guments, I go to issue with him.
In order to prove that the essential and
principal doctrines of the various religions
agree with one another, Narayana Rao has
constructed the following table of alleged
agreements.
The one God is the The one God is the
Lord. Lord.
Unchangeable.
Eternal. All-extended.
Imperceptible and in
describable in form ,
He is to be known by Omniscient.

16

his disposition ar
properties. . 1
» i

id Omnipotent.

. Holy.

Omniclement.

Omnificent.

Lord of the Universe
Modes of Worship.
Modes of Worship.
Ceremonies.
Merit, enjoyment, li
beration.
"All people," he observes, "who reckon
that their religion is ordained by God, observe
these essential principles, and forsake them
not." It will be observed that Narayana Rao, in
giving this illustration of his sentiments, does
not attempt to prove their correctness. It
was incumbent upon him, however, to have
done this, because I had directly stated my
opinion in opposition to his view in the fol
lowing terms. " It is a fact that the different
religions prevalent in the earth are, in gene
ral, directly opposed to one another in their
essential principles. Some of them exalt God ;
pthers evidently and directly dishonour him.
Some of them are Monotheistic; others are
Polytheistic. They give opposite accounts
of the character and attributes of God. Some
17
of them declare that he was at first destitute
of qualities ; others that he is unchangeable
in hjs nature, and that from'the beginning he
possesses every excellence. Some of them
teach that he never can sin; others that he
has sinned, but cannot be charged with ini
quity. Some of them declare that he is accep
tably worshipped by images; others, that idol
atry is the abominable thing which he hates.
They give contradictory statement^of the cre
ation, and duration ofthe world, and the vari
ous changes which have taken place upon it.
Their accounts of men are of a conflicting
kind. Some of them declare that the soul of
man is a part of God; others, that it is quite
distinct from the divinity. Some of them
teach that mankind are pure at birth ; others
that they are sinful from the commencement
of their existence. Some of them recognize
the system of caste ; others ascribe the same
origin to men, and declare that God requires
all men to love one another as brethren. Some
of them declare that men can work out a righ
teousness of their own ; others, that they must be
indebted for salvation entirely to divine grace.
In some instances, they teach that the soul of
man has its state unalterably fixed at death ; in
others, they inform us that it will pass through
a multitude of births. Each of them indi
vidually declares that the others are false."*
* Exposure, p. 102, &c. B

'.18
It certainly appears strange to me, that
Narayana Rao, with these remarks before
him, and withftlte statement respecting the re
proach of the Divine Being by the accounts
which are given in the Hindu religion of Brah
ma, Vishnu, and Shiva, could have satisfied
himself with a mere assertion. 1 cannot avoid
the conclusion, that he clearly saw that any
attempt to reason on the subject would be
attended with a complete failure; and I can
not with-hold the conviction, that a further
Exposure of the Hindu Religion., in connec
tion with the subjects to which he only adverts,
cannot but be profitable.
In entering oa this subject, I make a general
remark to which the Hindus rray find it advan
tageous to attend. Men have received from
God a religious constitution, and certain reli
gious endowments, vshieh are addressed by the
works of God, and the providence of God ; and
they eannot altogether avoid forming some re
ligious opinion?, and cherishing some religious
feelings. The light of Nature gives them
valuable instruction respecting the existence,
character, and providence of God, and the na
ture, duty, and destiny of man; and, conuected
with these subjects, they not unfrequently pos
sess some traditionary information. The voice
of conscience pleads within them for truth and
righteousness. It is consequently to be ex-

"4S*
pected, that among all the nations of the world
there should be some accordance in certain re-
ligious principles. This accordance, however,
can never reconcile the" different and conflicting-
accounts of God and man which are contained
in books respectively professing to be given by
inspiration of God. The inference to be drawn
from these differences, is, that some of the
books have not come from God. He must ever
declare the truth. His statements must ever
be consistent with one another.
When we compare two objects together,
with the view to form an estimate of their res
pective importance, we must dwell on the points
in which they differ from one another, as well
as on those in which they resemble one ano
ther. I shall illustrate this principle by put
ting a plain case. Suppose that any individual
were to declare that a monkey is as important
as Narayana Rao; and to construct a table of
resemblances to prove his assertion, he would
undoubtedly expose himself to universal deri
sion. Were he to say, that Narayana Rao and
the monkey had each one head, one mouth,
one tongue, two eyes, a skin, the faculty of eat
ing and walking, &c; and were he to maintain,
in consequence of these resemblances, that in
all essential points they were the same, he
would, if the folly of his remark would permit
an answer to be given at all, be immediately
told, that he had overlooked the most impor-

20
tant points, and particularly the mental and
moral constitution of Narayana Rao, which
exalts him iimnfensely above the object to
which be was compared.
Narayana Rao has proceeded exactly on this
principle in his comparison of Hind6ism and
Christianity. He has confined his attention
to what appeared to be resemblances, and he
has overlooked the striking differences which
exist. I shall now shew, that, in every one of
the points to which he adverts, Hind6ism is not
only opposed to Christianity, but even to reason.
I." I begin with what is said respecting the
Character of God.
The Christian Scriptures, in the accounts
which they give of the Character of God, and
which are to be found in a great variety of
places, and in a great variety of forms, exhibit it
in a very peculiar, and strikingly glorious, man
ner. They inform us, in opposition to all the
speculations of Polytheists, that "the Lord
our God is one God," who is " from everlasting
to everlasting," the "same yesterday, to-day and
for ever," and " with whom there is no variable
ness, neither shadow of turning." They attri
bute to him, both by direct language and by
the ascription of glorious works, every perfec
tion which we can imagine. They speak of
him as a "Spirit;" and, instead of confounding
him, like other ancient books, with his works

21
around us, and representing them as part of his
substance, and assigning to him a local habita
tion, they represent him as calling them into
existence, by his powerful energy and word,
to which nothing is impossible, and to which
nothing is difficult, as filling heaven and earth,
and as being every where present, They
speak of him as omniscient, as knowing the
thoughts and intents of man, as intimately ac
quainted with all his ways, and as inspecting,
directing, and observing every object which
exists. They speak of him as holy in his na
ture, his name, his word, and his works ; as inca
pable of committing sin, or encouraging sin,
cr of allowing it to pass without the manifesta
tion of its opposition to his pure nature. "He
is the rock," say they, "his work is perfect ;
for all his ways are judgement i a God of truth
and without iniquity, just and right is he."
They speak of him as good, by declaring, that
he " is good to all; and his tender mercies are
over all his works," and by extolling him as
" the Lord God merciful and gracious, long-
suffering, and abundant in goodness and in
truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression and
sin." They speak of him as the Universal
King and Governor, as saying " I, even I, am
He, and there is no God with me : I kill, and 1
make alive; I wound, and I heal: neither is
there any that can deliver out of my hand ;"
as doing according to his will in the armies of

heaven, and among the inhabitants of the
earth ; and as glorious in holiness, fearful in
praises, doing winders." They speak of him
as the universal 'Judge, 'who is ''just and true
in all his ways," and "who will render unto
every man according to his works" They
give, in short, an account both of his moral and
natural attributes which accords with reason,
at the same time that it surpasses its discover
ies; and, instead of degrading his perfections
by the acts and providence which they attri
bute to hiin, as is the case in all other books,
which profess to be a divine revelation, they
greatly exalt them. They are thus peculiar.
It has been found difficult to describe a perfect
character among men. How much more dif
ficult must it be to describe without error, the
perfect and infinitely glorious character of God.
himself, and to preserve consistency, with
that character, in the accounts ofthe great and
multifarious works ascribed to him ! In the
view of these circumstances, we are compelled
to admit, that the writers of the Bible were
divinely inspired, and that it is indeed the
word of God.
Different, indeed, notwithstanding the asser
tion of Narayana Rao, is the case with regard
to the Hindu Shasiras. They blaspheme the
divine Being iu regard to every one ofthe par
ticulars to which he adverts as proving their

23
agreement with the Bible. This proposition
I shall illustrate under several heads.
1. In the first place, the ilirwlu Religion is
decidedly Pantheistic?
The Hind6 Sbastras repeatedly say that
there is only one God; but they represent
every object which exists as that God. It is
scarcely necessary for me to enter into any ex
tended proof of this proposition. In my reply
to Mora Bhatta, I made a reference to several
passages which support it. The following
quotations from the Upanishads directly illus
trate it.
" Heaven is his (Brahma's) head, and the sun,
and moon are his eyes: space is his ears, the
celebrated Vedas are his speech; air is his
breath, the world is his intellect, and the earth
is his feet ; for he is the soul ofthe whole uni
verse." "The Supreme existence is himself
all — rites as well as their rewards: He there
fore is the Supreme and Immortal.-" " A wise
man knowing God as perspicuously residing
in all creatures, forsakes all idea of duality ;
being convinced t ha t- there is only one real exis
tence which is God."*
"That spiritual Being acts alwaysand moves
in heaven; preserves all material existence as
depending upon him; moves in space; resides
in fire; walks on the earth ; enters like a guest
* Mundak Upanisjjad ofthe AtharvanrVeda

24
into sacrificial vessels; dwells in rneii, in gods,
and in sacrifices; moves throughout the sky;
seems to be born in water as fishes, &c ; pro
duced on earth as vegetables, on the tops of
mountains, as rivers, and also members of sa
crifices : yet he is truly pure and great."*
''He who perceives the whole universe in
the Supreme Being; and who also perceives
the Supremo Being in the whole universe, does
not feel contempt. "f
"The Veda says, 'All that exists is iudeed
God/ i. e. nothing bears true existence except
ing God, 'and whatever we smell or taste is
the Supreme Being/ "\
" The omnipotent, omniscient, sentient cause
of the universe is (anandamayd) essentially
happy. He is the brilliant, golden person
seen within the solar orb and the human eye-
He is the etherial element (akhsha) from which
all things proceed, and to which all things re
turn. He is the breath (prana) in which all
beings merge, into which they all rise. He is
the light (jyotish) which shines in heaven,
and iu all places high and low, every where
throughout the world, and within the human
person. He is the breath (prana) and intelli-

* Katha Upanishad of the Yajura Veda.
t Ishopanishad of the Yajura Veda.
+ RamaMohana Roy's Abridgment ofthe Vedanta, p. 12. I have
compared the preceding quotations with the original, which I have
given in the Marathi edition of this Exposure.

25
gent self, immortal, undecaying, and happy,
with which Indra, in a dialogue with Pratar-
dana identifies himself."* <l f
With the doctrines of the Upanishads (the
great supports of the Vedanta system) on this
subject, agree the statements of the doctrinal
parts of the Vedas, the books of Law, and
the Puranas.^
This system of Pantheism, to which I have
now adverted, is alike impious and unphiloso-
phical, alike opposed to facts and appear
ances which are presented to our notice, and
calculated to obscure the divine character,
and injure the best interests of mankind.
Let us devote a little attention to the conclu-
* From several Upanishads quoted by Colebrooke oh the Philosophy
ftfthe Hindus. Transactions of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. ii. p. 11.
t In support ofthe assertion which is here made, I have collected
many passages from the works referred to ; but, after, reflection, I
have come to the conclusion that it is unnecessary to bring them for
ward. Ko Hindu will dispute the position which I have laid down.
Pantheism, in fact, except in the case ofthe lowest orders, is at the
bottom of all the polytheism which is practised.
"It is eve-n the substratum ofthe worship of Indra, and the elements,
which is recommended and exhibited in the Vedas properly so called.
I have been surprized that this fact should at any time have been over
looked. The Vedantists inform us that the four " great sentences"
maka waky&ni, on which they build their system, are actually to be
found in the Vedas. These sentences are the following. From the
Rig- Veda : — Brahmheti, [the object] is Brahma. From the Sara-
Veda : — Tattwam asi, thou art it [the Supreme Soul], From the
Yajur-Veda, Aliam Brahmasmi, I am Brahma. From the Atharvan-
Veda, Ayam atma Brahmeti, this soul is Brahma. Whether these sen
tences were originally to be found in the Veda remains to be deter
mined. They are daily bandied about by the learned Brahmans on
this side of India. There are sentences in the Veda similar to them.
C

26
sions which we are led to form respecting it
1. The doctrine of Pantheism either entire
ly destroys tiiePdoctrine of the spirituality of
God, which may be established by the clearest
arguments, or teaches that all visible objects
are mere illusions.* Inasmuch as it repre
sents every existing object as a part of the
divine nature, it leads us to infer, from what
is every moment presented to our view, that
God is capable of being torn asunder, cut in
pieces, bruised to ashes, scattered over the
face of the world, mixed together, and modi
fied, and changed, according to innumerable
circumstances. When it is said that the phe
nomena now referred to are mere illusions,
common sense, and true philosophy, are
alike outraged. God, according to the Hindu.
doctrine, must be both the illuded and the
illusor !f
2. Hinduism, as pantheistic, permits the
name of God to be given to every object which
exists, however insignificant it may be in its
own nature, or in its relations and dependen
cies. It encourages men, contrary to their
consciousness and moral suggestions, tospea&
and think of themselves as God, and to.arro- 1.
* I have put this into the hypothetical form, that the Hit!y xder
may have no evasion. I have no doubt, however, that t s 4h ' /,t
of the Vedanta, and of Hinduism in general, is a spiritual Pantheism.
t I have found, as a Missionary, that nothing is more perplexing to
the Vedautists and others, than this charge.

21
gate to themselves divine honours. One of
its own propounders thus writes: — "Some
celestial Gods have, in differerflt instances, de
clared themselves to be independent deities,
and also the object of worship; but these de
clarations were owing to their thoughts being
abstracted from themselves, and their being
entirely absorbed in divine reflection. The
Vedanta declares: 'This exhortation of Indra
(or the God of the atmosphere) respecting his
divinity, to be indeed agreeable to the autho
rity ofthe Veda;' that is every one, on having
lost all self-consideration in consequence of
being united with divine reflection, may speak
as assuming to be the Supreme Being; like
Wamadeva (a celebrated Brahman) who in con
sequence of such self-forgetfulness, declared
himself to have created the sun, and Manu
the next person to Brahma.' It is, therefore,
optional with every one of the celestial gods,
as well as with every individual, to consider
himself as God, under this state of self-forget
fulness and unity with the divine reflection,
as the Veda says, 'you are that true ^eing'
(when you lose all self-consideration,) and ' O
God I am nothing but you.' The sacred com
mentators have made the same observation,
viz. ' I am nothing but true Being, and am
pure understanding, full of eternal happiness,
and am by nature free from worldly effects.'"*
* Earn Mohana Roy. Translations oi' Vec&nta Tracts, p. 14.

These conclusions, which are legitimately
formed from, on directly stated in, the system
under review' are alike unreasonable and im
pious. Certainly men's thoughts "are ab
stracted from themselves," and from common
sense, when they can imagine themselves to
be portions of the divinity, when they can
attribute to themselves, either directly or re
motely, the works of the most High; and
when they can appropriate to themselves, in
any degree, the praises of the Lord of all.
3. The degradation of the divine nature by
Pantheism, corresponds, of course, with the
undue exaltation of man. Man's ignorance
becomes God's ignorance; man's weakness
becomes God's weakness ; man's folly becomes
God's folly; man's passion becomes God's
passion; man's sin becomes God's sin; and
man's suffering becomes God's suffering. In
the brute creatures, even, we see the actings
of God. Moral dependence and moral res
ponsibility are consequently at an end. What
ever is done, is, necessarily done by God the
only entity.
In mitigation of the charge which is here
exhibited, several metaphysical distinctions
have been appealed to, by writers on the
Vedanta. In regard to man, for example, it
is maintained, that he is composed of (jiva,)
vitality, and (bud,dhi) intellect, as well as of
(paramatma) the divine spirit ; and that to the

29
tw© former, and similar, parts of his consti
tution, ignorance, weakness, folly, passion,
sin, and suffering, are to be attributed. The
difficulty however* is hot removed by this al
legation. On the principles of Pantheism, vi
tality, and intellect, must still remain parts of
God; and the divine nature must of course
be affected according to all their modifications
and vicissitudes. The attributing such a com
position to the mind of man, moreover, does
not accord with his sensation, consciousness,
or reflection, the only sources of the know
ledge of mind.
The Pantheistic degradation of God, to
which I have now alluded, extends to his moral
government, as well as to his nature. It is
when considered in this view that its odious-
ness must be particularly apparent. Accor
ding to it, man must not be considered as the
servant of God, for, in the Brahma-S6tra,
and other Vedanta works, it is said, "The
soul is a portion of the Supreme Ruler; the
relation is not that of master and servant ruler
and ruled, but as that of whole and part;"*
and the discipline which is pursued in refer
ence to him must not be considered as God's
testimony to his own holiness, and in opposi
tion to sin, but as the exhibition of an unin-

« See Colebrooke's Essay on the Vedanta. Transactions of fhe
Royal Asiatic Society. Vol. H, p, 23.

30
telligible fatality. Every proper excercise of
religion is consequently destroyed.*
2. In the sec6nd place, the Hindu Religion
is exceedingly absurd in the accounts which
it gives ofthe manner in which 3rahma,\ or
thc universal Sjnrit, developes itself in the objects
around us.
According to the Hindu Religion, Brahma
is essentially destitute of all qualities. Before
the commencement of a kalpa, it is found con
tracted into space so small in dimensions,
that it is "impenetrable to a needle's point,"
and has no volition, desire, or consciousness.
According to a principle of unavoidable fatal-
* Since I penned these observations, I have been kindly favoured
by Colonel Kennedy with a perusal of his Remarks on the Vedanta,
read before the Royal Asiatic Society. They contain a passage which
is so confirmatory of them, that I take the liberty of here introducing
it. After quoting a passage from Sir William Jones, on the resem
blance between the doctrines and language ofthe Mystics and Sufis,
and, according to Sir William's apprehension, the Ved^ntists, the
Colonel thus proceeds : — " This exquisite description applies no doubt
to the writings ofthe Sufis, and of all other mystics, but there is not a
trace of mysticism in the sacred books of the Hindus, nor, as far as I
am aware, in any Sanskrita work. It is even singular that such expres
sions as the Uve and fear of God never occur in those sacred books, nor in
any Vedanta treatise, although the terms themselves are frequently
tised ; but love is then referred to terrestrial objects, and fear denotes
the apprehension of being exposed to future states of apparent indivi
dual existence, previous to obtaining identification with the Supreme
Being." Colonel Kennedy and I formerly differed on the subject
ef Vedintism, (See Appendix, A); but it will now appear that we
are agreed as to its most important moral feature.
t Brahma Is neuter in Sanskrita.

31
ity, but by a process which cannot be under*
stood, Maya, or delusion, which was reposing
in it, begins to move. Brahma^becomes pos
sessed oiahankara, or self-consciousness. The
three qualities, Satwa, Raja, and Tama, truth,
passion and darkness, which belong to Maya,
are violently agitated. Brahma begins to
swell. From the Sativa Guna are produced
the waters and Brahma, or the spirit of God,
as their first Ayana, or place of motion, be
comes Narayana. Brahma places in the waters
a productive seed, which becomes an egg
bright as gold. This egg is brooded on for a
whole year of the Creator. Brahma is born
from it in the form of Brahma. When divided
it forms the heaven above, and the earth be
neath. How all this came about, or what
next followed, no person can tell, on account
ofthe conflicting statementsof the Shastras.
All objects, however, are declared to have been
spun out from God, as the web from the spi
der, or to be merely his expansion. They are
notwithstanding all dilusory. They only ex
ist while God is awake. The night of his
repose must come on. He must forget himself,
contract, and return to nothingness. All
things are absorbed, and then he placidly
slumbers, till such time as necessity obliges
him to go through the same process as has
now been briefly described.*
* The reader of Mann, and the PnrSnas, will see thattheif doctrine-?

32
An account of the Godhead such as that
which is given in the Hindu Shastras, is painful
in the extreme. That Being whom Narayana
Rao describes as the Supreme Lord, is moved
on by a blind and absurd fatality, which he
has neither the will nor the power to controul.
He who is declared to be "immutable" is the
most changeable being, both in regard to his
nature and operations, who can be imagined.
He who is described as "eternal," maybe
said, in reference to every one of his attributes,
to have beginning, middle, and end. He who
is spoken of as "omnipresent," is limited
in his bulk by existing objects. He who is
characterized as "imperceptible and indescri
bable in his form," has every form. He who
is extolled as "omniscient," frequently knows
nothing, and understands nothing, and is not
even conscious of his own being. He who is
described as the "almighty," has no power
but in delusion. He who is spoken of as
" holy," is also passionate and foul. He who is
praised as "omniclement," has no being but
en this subject accord. The quotations given from the Upanishads, un
der the preceding head, will also shew that their doctrine is not different
in its essential features. " As the spider puts forth and draws in his
thread, as vegetables spring from the earth and return to it, as hair and
down proceed from a man, «o does the universe come of the unperish-
able." Mundaka Vpanisliad near the beginning. Rama Mohana Roy,
in rendering this verse, speaks ofthe universe as produced by the
Supreme Being. The original will not bear this translation. The pas
sage is rightly rendered by Mr. Colebrooke in the Transactions of the
R. A. S. Vol ii. p. 13. Accountsof the developement of the god-head,
as given in the Vedas, may be seen in the Asiatic Researches, Vol 8.

33
himself on which to exercise his mercy. He
who is declared to be " omnificent," merely
sleeps, awakes, expancfs, and contracts. — Who
can contemplate this reproach of God without
the utmost horror? Its sinfulness cannot be
described. 3. In the third place, the Hindu Shastras
are directly opposed to truth, in the accounts
which they give of what have been called the
active energies qf God.
Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, and the other
Gods, are sometimes considered as Beings
who derive their existence from Brahma, and
who live in a state distinct from one another ;
and they are sometimes considered, as by the
Vedantists, as merely personifications ofthe
divine attributes, or of the divine Being, crea
ting, preserving, and destroying. Viewing
them with a reference to the former opinion,
which is certainly consistent with numerous
assertions in the Puranas, it has been shewn
at length, in the reply to Mora Bhatta, that
the accounts which are given of their origin,
dignity, rank, service, and character, are un
reasonable, shameful, contradictory, and dis
graceful in the highest degree. Viewing them
with regard to the latter opinion, I now
declare, that the accounts which are given of
them are calculated to produce the greatest
injury to all those who, in any degree, repose
any confidence in them. They are so incon-
D

34
sistent, that they must bewilder the under
standing of every person who attends to them.
Rama Mohana Roy, "the late leader of the
modern Vedantists, appears to have been in
volved in the greatest difficulty when consir
dering this subject. In many passages of
his controversial works, he speaks of the gods
merely as personifications of the attributes;
but he also adds, that "the Veda, having in
the first instance personified all the attributes
and powers of the deity, and also the celestial
bodies and natural elements, does, in confor
mity to this idea of personification, treat of
them in the subsequent passages as if they
were real beings, ascribing to them birth,
animation, senses, and accidents, as well as
liability to annihilation."* He also makes
the following quotations, which appear to me
to teach the distinct, though not the separate
existence ofthe gods. "The Vedanta (c. 1st,
s. 3d. to 26th.) has the following passage:
' Vyasa affirms that it is prescribed also to
celestial gods and heavenly beings to attain
a knowledge of the Supreme Being, because
a desire of absorption is equally possible for
them.' And the Veda, in the Mundaka Upan-
ishad, thus declares; From him who knows
all things generally and particularly, and who
* The Vedas certainly treat the gods as if they were real beings.
So much do they do this, that some will not admit, that they are in any
degree pantheistic. See Appendix, B.

35
only by his omniscience created the universe
Brahma, and whatever bears ftppellation and
figure as well as food, all are produced.'"
The discoursing on personifications as if
they were real Beings, cannot but be attended
with the greatest mischief. Not to insist on
this point, however, let me ask, What is the
moral of the fables, or personifications, which
are actually framed ? If they have any mean
ing at all, they must be intended to exhibit,
or illustrate the divine nature. And what
exhibitions, and illustrations do they make
or furnish I They pourtray all that is base,
irrational, and impious. Rama Mohana Roy,
when descanting against the evils of the vulgar
superstition, gives the following account of
the guilt of the gods: — "As I have already
noticed the debauchery of Krishna, and his
gross sensuality, and that of his fellow-deities,
such as Shiva and Brahma, in the 147th,
148th, and 150th pages of my reply to the
observations of Shankarashastri, instead of
repeating them here, I refer my readers to
that reply, and also to the tenth division of
the Bhagavata, to the Harivansha, or last di
vision ofthe Mahabharata, and to the Nigams,
as well as to the several A' gams, which give
a detailed account of their lewdness and de
bauchery. As to falsehood, their favourite
deity Krishna is more conspicuous than the
rest. Jara-Sandha, a powerful prince of Behar,

36
having heard of the melancholy murder of his
son-in-law, perpetrated by Krishna, harassed,
and at last drove him eut of the place of his
nativity, (Mathura) by frequent military ex
peditions. Krishna, in revenge, resolved to
deprive that prince of his life, by fraud and
in a most unjustifiable manner. To accom
plish his object, he and his two cousins, Bhima
and Arjuna, declared themselves to be Brah
mans, and in that disguise entered his palace;
where finding him weakened by a religious
fast, and surrounded only by his family and
priests, they challenged him to fight a duel.
He accordingly fought Bhima, the strongest
ofthe three; who conquered and put him to
death. — Vide Sabha, Parva, or second Book of
the Mahct Bhdrata. Krishna again persuaded
Yudhisthira his cousin, to give false evidence,
in order to accomplish the murder of Drona,
their spiritual father. — Vide Drona Parva, or
seventh Book qf the Mahdbhdrata. Vishnu,
and others, combined in a conspiracy against
Bali, a mighty emperor; but finding his power
irresistible, that deity was determined to ruin
him by stratagem, and for that purpose ap
peared to him in the shape of a dwarf, begging
alms. Notwithstanding Bali was warned of
the intention of Vishnu, yet, impressed with
a high sense of generosity, he could not refuse
a boon to a beggar; that grateful deity in
return not only deprived him of his whole

37
empire, which he put himself in possession of
by virtue of the boon of Bali, but also inflicted
on him the disgrace of bondage and confine
ment in Pat&la. — Vide latter part ofthe Hari
Vansha, or last book ofthe Mahabhctrata. When
the battle of Kurukshetra was decided by the
fatal destruction of Duryodhana, the remaining
part ofthe army of his rival Yudhisthira return
ed to the camp to rest during the night, under
the personal care and protection of Mahadeva.
That deity having, however, been cajoled by
the flattery offered him by Ashwatharna, one
of the friends of the unfortunate Duryodhana,
not only allowed him to destroy the whole
army that was asleep under the confidence of
his protection, but even assisted him with his
sword to accomplish his bloody purpose. — Vide
Sauktika Parva, or eleventh book qf Mahd-
bhdrata. When the Asuras, at the churning
of the ocean, gave the pitcher of the water of
immortality in charge to Vishnu, he betrayed
his trust by delivering it to their step-brothers
and enemies, the celestial gods. — Vide first
book, or Mi Parva qf the Mahabhdrata.*''1
The Raja revolts at these narratives, when
he considers the vulgar interpretation of them,
as ascribing sin to beings held to be Incarna
tions of God. Why does he not revolt from
them, when he admits, his own theory, that
* Translations, p. 187—189.

38
the crimes are attributed merely to personifi
cations of the divine attributes ? The moral
effect, according to his principles, is in my
opinion worse, than that which is recognized,
when the literal interpretation is made. Cer
tain am I, that no such personification of his
own attributes would have pleased Rama Mo-
hana Roy. His indignation would have been
excited at the imagination ofthe possibility of
it. He, and the other admirers of the Vedanta,
may say, that no such personification is neces
sary for us. But, since the propagation of truth
is the only way of defeating error, I ask why
have the Shastras exhibited the narratives for
the vulgar ; and since the Gitk is a part of the
Mahabharata,from which the worst ofthe narra
tives is derived, why do the Vedantists cling so
fondly to that work?* They consider themselves
wise, but they are the abettors of a system
which may be characterized as downright folly.
* Rama Mohana Roy (Translations, p. 1 10.) has dignified the Hindu
Puranas with the denomination of " didactic parables.*' Will some of
the admirers of his theology favour us with an exposition of them ?
" The Purana and Tantra," says the Raja, in his preface to the trans
lation of the Ishopanishad, " are of course to be considered as Shastra,
for they repeatedly declare God to be one and above the apprehension
of external and internal senses." Is this the language of a "divine"
claimed by Dr. Lant Carpenter & Co ? Let them by all means have
him in a present. It is a curious fact, that for a reply to the question,
What were the religious opinions of Rama Mohana Roy, reference has
seldom been made to his own writings. His opposition to some ofthe
more horrid practices ofthe Hindus, has commonly been considered as
indicative of a dissent on his part from all the religious opinions of
the Hindus.

39
II. Narayana Rao has spoken of Modes
of worship.
He discovers, he says, a great resemblance
among those observed in different religions.
In illustration of his view, he constructs the
following table :-—
Hinduism. Muhammad- Christianity.
ism.
Sanskdra. Circumcision, Baptism.
&c.
Instruction. Recitation of Same.
the word.
Hearing, read- Same . Same.
ing, reflection.
Abstract con- Same. Same.
templation.
Sectaries. Shia & Suni. Roman Catho
lics, Presbyte
rians, Protes
tants, &c.
Abstinencies. Fasts, (RozS) Lent, &c.
Offerings. Fatiha* Offering to
God at the be
ginning of a
meal.
Music. Same. Same.
Praise. Same. Same.
* The Arabic word fatiha is here used in the vulgar sense of oblations
made to saints.

40

Adoration. Same.

Same.

Repentance. "Same. '

Same.

Taking refuge Same.
and asking
pardon.

Same.

Festivals, or Jumarat* Sabbath, or
days of Vows. Sunday.
"There are also other resemblances," he as
serts ; " with respect to these matters, the for-
eigu Padres &c. are notable to give any thing
new to the followers of the heavenly appointed
religion [Hinduism]."
All this is very plausible ; but it will not
stand investigation. Before Modes of Worship
can be declared to be proper and acceptable,
they must have a proper object, be divinely
appointed, and be rightly regulated. In none
of these respects can those which are prevalent
among the Hindus be approved.
In my reply to Mora Bhatta, I have proved
at length that God is the only object of divine
honours; and I have now to remark, that the
Hindus, who do not worship the Supreme Spi
rit and Him alone, are guilty of the greatest
sin. This charge comes home against the
great body ofthe people of all castes and of
all ranks, who follow what is called the Kar-
mamdrga, or way of works. On the authority

* Jumarat means Thursday. Narayana Rao has used it for Friday.

41
of numerous passages of their sacred books,
they have divested him of all attributes, rob
bed him of all service, and placed in his stead,
Brahma, Vishnu, and 'Shiva, and their various
Incarnations, and numerous other objects, to
whose adoration they most unreasonably and
sinfully devote themselves. Whatever they do
in regard to worship, then, is entirely misdi
rected. They read about, and listen to, and
meditate on, and praise, and betake themselves
to, and confess before, and entreat, and vow
to, persons and objects who have either no ex
istence, or are entirely unworthy of their re
gard. Their minds are polluted, and injured,
by the services iu which they engage, which
are all founded on the greatest degradation of
the only living and true God, which are asso
ciated with impure narratives, and which are
connected with false promises. They can nei
ther grow in religious knowledge, and in pious
feeling, nor receive a single blessing, by their
ceremonies however numerous, various, and
long protracted they may be. They are, in fact,
guilty of positive sin in all which they do con
nected with them.
The followers of the Jnanmctrga, cr the way
of wisdom, such as the Vedantists, are not en
titled to be considered as in more favourable
(Circumstances. It is their doctrine, like that
of their brethren, that the human soul is a
dependant emanation of the divine nature.

42
"As from a blazing fire," it is said in the Mun-
daka Upanishad,rf>ne of their authorities, "thou
sands of spark's,of the same nature proceed, so
from the eternal Supreme Being (O beloved
pupil) various souls come forth." "The soul
is not liable to birth nor to death," says the
KathakaUpanishad,another of their authorities :
*fit is mere understanding : neither does it take
its origin from any other or from itself: hence
it is unborn, eternal without reduction, and
unchangeable." Their very proposal, then, to
engage in worship, must originate in their
desire to adore the separated parts of their own
nature, or the part of God which remains after
they are detached from him. With equal pro
priety may they adore themselves, or any
object around them, on account of the degree
of the divinity which they respectively contain.
The ultimate end which they have in view in
their service of God, is absorption into the
divine nature, which is tantamount to annihi
lation; which is opposed to the instinctive
desires and feelings of men, according, to which
fruition is necessarily desired; which over
comes the most powerful motives to human
action; and which destroys all idea of future
responsibility, by which man is controuled in
his actions in this world. The modes of wor
ship which they observe, for the attainment of
the object in view, are abstract meditation, self?
forgetfulness, the renouncement of the desire

43
of the enjoyment of the fruit, and, according
to some commentators, of the practice of rites,
which lead only to what is caUed the inferior
species of bliss, and which do not free from
the reiteration of births after the period of car
nal enjoyment is expired. The following pas
sages illustrate their views on this subject.
"The Vedanta declares that 'Vyasa is of
opinion that the adoration of the Supreme
Being is required of mankind as well of the
celestial gods ; because the possibility of self-
resignation to God is equally observed in both
mankind and the celestial deities.' The Veda
also states, that ' Of the celestial gods, ofthe
pious Brahmans, and of men in general, that
person who understands and believes the Al
mighty Being, will be absorbed in him.'"*
"Engaged in various manners of rites and sa
crifices, the ignorant are sure of obtaining their
objects: but as the observers of such rites,
from their excessive desire of fruition, remain
destitute of a knowledge of God, they, afflicted
with sorrows, descend to this world after the
time of their celestial gratification is expired.
Those complete fools believe," that the rites
prescribed by the Vedas in performing sacrifi
ces, and those laid down by the Smritis, at
the digging of wells and other pious liberal
* Rama Mohana Roy'* Abridgement of the Vedanta, p. 17. Both
tbe passages quoted are from the Brihadaranya Upanithad, denomina
ted by the Raja Brehdarunnuc

44
actions, are the most beneficial, and have no
idea that a knowledge of, and faith in God, are
the only true s&urces of bliss : They after death
having enjoyed the consequences of such rites
on the summit of heaven, transmigrate in the
-human form, or in that of inferior animals,
or of plants.
"Mendicants and hermits, who residing in for
ests, live upon alms, as well as householders
possessed of a portion of wisdom, practising
religious austerities, the worship of Brahma
and others, and exercising a controul over the
senses, freed from sins, ascend through the nor
thern path to the highest part of heaven, where
the immortal Brahma, who is coeval with the
world, assumes his supremacy^-- — «~- — _
"Having taken into serious consideration the
perishable nature of all objects within the world,
which are acquirable from human works, a
Brahman shall cease to desire them; reflecting
within himself, that nothing which is obtained
through perishable means can be expected to
be eternal: hence what use of rites?"*
"He, the origin qf all the senses, the true and
unchangeable Supreme Being, should be med
itated upon; and do thou (O beloved pupil)
apply constantly thy mind to him. Seizing
the bow found in the Upanishads, the strongest
of weapons, man shall draw the arrow (ofthe
* Mundaka Upanishad, part 1st. R. M. Roy's Translation. Shan-
kara's gloss seems to be mixed up with the text. The sense ofthe
original, however, is given.

4a
soul), sharpened by the constant application
of mind to God. Do thou (Q- pupil), being in,
the same practice, withdrawing* all the senses
from worldly objects, through the mind directed
towards the Supreme Being, hit ihemark which
is the eternal God. The word Om, signifying
God, is represented as the bow, the soul as the
arrow, and the Supreme Being as its aim, which
a man of steady mind should hit: he then shall
be united to God as the arrow to its mark. In
God, heaven, earth, and space reside, and also
intellect, with breath and all the senses. Do
you strive to know solely the One Supreme
Being, and forsake all other discourse; because
this (a true knowledge respecting God) is the
only way to eternal beatitude. The veins of
the body are inserted into the heart, like the
radius of a wheel into its nave. There the Su
preme Being, as the origin of the notion of
individuality, and of its various circumstances,
resides ; Him through the help of Om, you all
contemplate. Blessed be ye in crossing over
the ocean of dark ignorance to absorption into
God."* "The saints who, wise and firm, were satisfied
solely with a knowledge of God, assured of
the soul's divine origin, exempt from passion,
and possessed of tranquillity of mind, having
found God the omnipresent every where, have
* Mundaka Upanishad, part 2nd.

46
after death been absorbed into hira ; even a&
limited extension^ within a jar is by its destruc
tion united to universal space.. All the votaries
who repose on God alOne their firm belief,
originating from a knowledge of the Vedanta,
and who, by forsaking religious rites, obtain
purification of mind, being continually occu
pied in divine reflection during life, are at the
time of death entirely freed from ignorance
and absorbed into God. On the approach of
death, the elementary parts of their body, being
fifteen in number, unite with their respective
organs : their corporeal faculties, such as vision
andfeeling, fyc. return into their original sources,
the sun and air, fyc. The consequences of their
works, together with their souls, are absorbed
into the supreme and eternal spirit, in the same
manner as the reflection qf the sun in water re
turns to him on the removal of the water. As
all rivers flowing into the ocean disappear and
lose their respective appellations and forms, so
the person who has acquired a knowledge of,
and faith in God, freeing himself from the sub
jugation of figure and appellation, is absorbed
into the supreme immaterial and omnipresent
existence. "He who acquires a knowledge ofthe Supreme
Being according to the foregoing doctrine, shall
inevitably be absorbed into him, surmounting
all the obstacles that he may have to encounter.
None of his progeny will be destitute of a true

4?
knowledge of God. He escapes from mental
distress and from evil propensities; he is also
relieved from the ignorance ^which occasions
the idea of duality."*
"I will now explain to you," says Shiva to
Vishnu, "in a few words the means of obtain
ing final beatitude, listen therefore, with faith
and devotion. Final beatitude is obtained by
a knowledge of the real nature of the soul and
not by works, and that knowledge is acquired
from understanding the important meaning of
the Vedanta doctrines. The soul having thus
become enlightened, it will be manifest to it
that it is Btahma. From having acquired this
knowledge man's belief in the individuality of
his own soul will cease, and on such belief
ceasing, the belief in duality will be also de
stroyed. This being destroyed nothing will
longer appear lovely or unlovely, and thus af
fection and hate will be also annihilated. Then
from their cessation will end the distinction of
virtue and vice, and hence will finally be de- ¦
stroyed the senses and sensible objects. Thus
solely by a knowledge of the soul's real nature
is the belief in its individuality destroyed ; and
by this means ignorance, the radical cause of
the apparent existence of this universe, is like
wise destroyed. From this knowledge, also,
proceeds that of the real nature of Brahma, in

Conclusion ofthe Mundaka Upanishad.

48
the same manner as certainty convinces us that
the cord is not a serpent or the post a man {as
it was at first .supposed) and as seoil as this
knowledge is acquired, it is perceived that ig
norance was the origin of the belief that there
are causes and effects, a maker and things made>
and it is ascertained that nothing really exists
except Brahma"*
All these remarks are absurd in the highest
degree. There are only two ways of acquiring
a knowledge of God, the consideration of his
works, and the consideratiohof his word. The
meditation recommended by the quotations
which I have given, is entirely of a mystical
kind; audit seems to "consist in its most ex
cellent state in the forgetfulness of personal
identity, the destruction of all thought, and
the annihilation of all feeling, in the regulation
of which piety principally consists. Viewed
in this light, it has no claim to the denomina
tion of wisdom, which is so frequently bestow
ed upon it in the Vedanta writings. It is
supreme folly-
These general remarks on the Modes of
Worship referred to by Narayana Rao, contain,
I conceive, a sufficient reply to any argu
ment which he may be desirous of founding
on the table which he has constructed. With
* Skanda Purana, quoted in Colonel Kennedy's Remarks on
the Vedanta. Innumerable passages, similar to those given above,
are to be found in all the Hindu writings,

49
the view of still more exhibiting the wretch
edness ofthe system against which I contend,
and impressing still more deeply on the minds
of the natives the necessity of abandoning it,
I think it right to advert with particularity to
the topics which he has brought before our
notice. 1. The Sanskdra, or "Sacraments," prevalent
among the Hindus, are sometimes reckoned.
eighteen, sometimes sixteen, and sometimes
twelve. Viewing them agreeably to the last
estimate, which is that most commonly known,
they are the following: — GarbhddMna, sacri
fice on or before conception ; Punsavana, sacri
fice on vitality in the foetus; Simantonnyana,
sacrifice in the fourth, sixth, or eighth month
after pregnancy; jatakarma, giving the infant
clarified butter out of a golden spoon at the
cutting of the navel string; ndmakarana, na
ming the child on the tenth, eleventh, twelfth,
or hundred and first day; nishkramana, carry
ing him out to see the moon on the third lunar
day ofthe third fortnight, or to see the sun in
the third or fourth month ; annaprdshana, feed
ing him with rice in the sixth, or eighth month,
or when he has cut teeth ; chuddkdryya* ton
sure in the second or third year; sdvitri, in
vestiture with the string in the fifth, eighth,
or sixteenth year, accompanied with the com-
* Sometimes called chaula.
F

50
munication ofthe gayatri ; Samdwarttana, loos
ing the munja f/om the loins in preparation
for marriage ; vivdha, marriage, and swargar-
ohana, funeral ceremonies.*
The most intelligent natives are utterly at
a loss to shew the moral meaning of most of
these ceremonies. They can point, however,
to absurd promises connected with them.
Many of them refer to such delicate subjects,
that I cannot mention them here in any other
tray than by remarking, that the sex, form of
the body, the mental and moral constitution
of the soul, the felicity or infelicity of the
birth, the health, the possessions, the power,
the enjoyments, the age, the employments,
and even the future destiny of men, are made
to depend on a few trifling and absurd cere
monies, performed generally by friends, with
out the slightest reference to the spirit with
which they are conducted, One of the most
important of them, namely that denominated
Sdvitrl, may be discussed, however, without
any violation of modesty.
In the sdvitrl there are two ceremonies, the
investiture with the Munja, or sacred string,
and the communication of the Gayatri. Its
declared effects are truly wonderful, and in
the highest degree absurd. By its intrinsic
* In the more extended lists vre find anawalobhana, practised in the
third month of pregnancy ; upanayana, practised as preparatory to the
investiture ; and a few others connected with marriage and death.

51
efficacy, the son of the Brahman becomes
instantaneously, and ex opere operato, a twice-
born or regenerate man, and* art object of ven
eration and even worship. The words, the
communication of which are said to be thus
marvellous in their effects, are the following,
i«P*fl<Riw! wit ^w vfife
These words may be thus translated, "Om!
Earth! Sky! Heavens! We meditate on that
adorable light of the resplendent Sun, may it
direct our intellects."* With the exception
of om-bhur-bhuvah-svaah, they are to be found
in the third Ashtaka, fourth Adhyaya, ofthe
Rig- Veda. The word om, which is composed

* Mr. Colebrooke (Asiatic Researches, Vol. 8. p. 400) thus trans
lates the G&yatri, " Let us meditate on the adorable light ofthe divine
ruler (Savitri :) may it guide our intellects." He observes that Shay.
anacharya, the great commentator of the Vedas, considers that the pas
sage admits of two interpretations, " the light, or Brahma constituting
the splendour of the supreme ruler, or creator of the universe," ov
" the light or orb ofthe splendid sun.'' The latter interpretation, I
think, is that best warranted by the context. The Vedanta writers
incline to the former; Sir William Jones's interpretation agrees with
them. Rama Mohana Roy (in his Translations p. 109 — 118) has given
some of their comments. In a Sanskrita MS in my possession, entitled
Gayatri vyakhya, the Oayatri is thus paraphrased : " I meditate dn the
splendour of the all-glorious God, who is the source of all sensation .
and, who, as the destroyer ofthe misery produced by birth, and indi
viduated existence, is worthy, to be praised and served, and who directs
by his splendour our intellects, [in matters pertaining to] practice
i'-'dharma), property (artha), desire (kima), and liberation (moksha).'.'

52
ofthe letters a, u, and m, is denominated pra-
nava, or, high praise. The words bhur-bhuvah-
svaah are denominated the vydhriti, or all-
comprehending. They are prefixed to the
Gayatri to render it complete. The recitation
of the mantra is said to be fraught with the
greatest blessings. As explanatory of this
point I give the following quotations.
" A Brahman who shall know the Veda,
and shall pronounce to himself both morning
and evening, that syllable (om) and that holy
text preceded by the three words, shall attain
the sanctity which the Veda confers ; and a
twice-born man, who shall a thousand times
repeat those three (or om, the vyahritis, and
the gayatri) by himself, shall be released in a
month even from a great offence, as a snake
from his slough. The Brahman, the Ksha-
triya, and the Vaishya, who shall neglect this
mysterious text, and fail to perform in due
season his peculiar acts of piety, shall meet
with contempt among the virtuous.
"Whosoever shall repeat, day by day, for
three years without negligence that sacred
text, shall hereafter approach the divine es
sence, move as freely as air, and assume an
etherial form. The triliteral monosyllable is
an emblem ofthe supreme, the suppressions of
breath with a mind fixed on God, are the high
est devotion ; but nothing is more exalted than
the Gayatri: a declaration qf truth is more

53
excellent than silence. All rites ordained in
the Veda, oblations to fire, and solemn sacri
fices pass away; but that which passes not
away, is declared to be the syllable om. . .The
four domestic sacraments which are accom
panied with the appointed sacrifice, are not
equal, though all be united, to a sixteenth
part of the sacrifice performed by a repetition
ofthe Gayatri. By the sole repetition ofthe
Gdyatri a priest may indubitably obtain be
atitude, let him perform, or not perform, any
other religious act.'*
" The primary triliteral syllable, in which
the three Vedas themselves are comprized,
must be kept secret, as another triple Veda:
he knows the Veda who knows that word."f
"Superior to all learning is the difficultly
obtained invocation, named Gayatri, preceded
by the mystic syllable; nothing in the Vedas
is more excellent than the Gayatri; no invo
cation is equal to the Gayatri, as no city is
equal to Kashi ; the Gayatri is the mother of
the Vedas and of Brahmans; from repeating
it man is saved, (gayantam trdyati) and hence
it is celebrated under the name of Gayatri.
By the power of the Gayatri the Kshatriya
Vishvamitra from being a Rajarshi, became a
Brahmarshi, and even obtained such a power
as to create a new world. What is there in-
* Manu. 1, 73—87. t Manu. Chap. 11, 265.

54
deed that cannot be effected by the Gayatri ?
for the Gayatri is Vishnu, Brahma, and Shiva,
and the three Vedas."*
" He who seated opposite to the Sun repeats
it, is liberated from fear and sickness; mis
fortune ceases; and unlawful meats, drinks,
intercourse, and connections, become pure
and lawful. Whoever in the morning repeats
that invocation, which ought never to be com
municated to another, becomes prosperous,
and obtains every temporal and spiritual ad
vantage, and whoever repeats it continually
at morning, noon, and night, obtains the fruit
of a hundred sacrifices, and passes over the
dreadful sea of mortality."!
* Skanda Purina. Kennedy on Mythology, p. 345.
t The Surya Narayana Upanishad. ThLsHymnispartofthe.lt/iami
Shiras Upanishad, which as remarked by Colonel Kennedy, is prefaced
in the same manner as the hymns in the Vedas, by stating that Brahma
is the Rishi and A'ditya the Devata, and by specifying the rythm, &c.
Mythology, p. 346, The Colonel has drawn no conclusion from these
facts. Rama Mohana Roy, I may here observe, has denominated the
Upanishads the " principal books of the Vedas." He has no good
authority, however, for the designation which he has given to them.
Some of them differ somewhat from the Vedas in vocables, style, and
grammatical structure. The antiquity of some of them, notwithstand
ing, is very considerable. Mr, Colebrooke, in his Essay on the Vedas,
speaks of them as extracts from the Brahmanas. They are referred
to by Manu, one of the most ancient Hindu Lawgivers, in such pas
sages as the following: — "With various modes of devotion, and with
austerities ordained by the Law, must the whole Veda be read, and
above all the sacred Upanishads, by him who ha» received a new
birth." Cliap. 2, 165. " Of all those duties, answered Bhriga, the
principal is to acquire from the Upanishads a true knowledge of the
one Supreme God ; that is the most exalted of allsciences." Chap. 12,85.

55
More passages of a like nature could easily be
produced, but these are sufficient for the object
which I have in view in quoting them. What
can be more hurtful in a moral point of view
than the doctrine, that the repeating a brief
form of words, addressed to the sun, or even to
Brahma, will make an atonement for the most
heinous crimes, purchase the greatest earth
ly blessings, alter the relations of truth and
righteousness, and procure eternal salvation?
Why did the framers of this mantra conceal
it from Shudras, and interdict them from re
peating it, or listening to it, on the pain of hell's
torment? No good reason can be assigned for
this reserve; but the Shudras ought to be
thankful, that in consequence of it, they have
been preserved from one ofthe strongest delu
sions under which their Brahmanical brethren
labour. They will excuse me for quoting it,
and giving a translation. It is not to involve
them in difficulties, but to excite them to in^
quiry, that I have placed it before them.*
2. The" Instruction," "Hearing" and" Reflec
tion" of the Hindus are in the highest degree
injurious. They refer to narratives of the
most disgraceful nature, and to a preceptive,
proverbial, and judicial morality which is
deserving of the utmost abhorrence and re
probation.
* A note on the use of the Gayatri, &c. by Missionaries is given in
the Appendix, C.

56
On the immoral narratives of the Shastrast
I have dwelt at, considerable length in the
neply to Mora Bhatta ; and, I may afterwards
have occasion again to advert to them. I
direct the attention of the reader at present
to some instances in which a practical moral
ity of the loosest mind, is inculcated or coun
tenanced by them. We have just seen, that
to him who repeats the Sdvitri opposite the
sun, " unlawful meats, drinks, intercourse,
and connections, become pure and lawful."
Suicide is highly recommended by the pro
mises which are given in behalf of Satis, and
those individuals who destroy their lives un
der the pretence of freeing themselves from
temptation, terminating their misery, and
pleasing God.* The basest falsehood and
theft are sanctioned by the following passages
from the Manu Sanhita,
*l ^FIT^n^ ^T^T|ft ^N <Kptff(l*fl|
" A giver of false evidence from a pious mo
tive, even though he know the truth, shall
not lose a seat in heaven: such evidence men
call divine speech. "f
^Tf*Wt* f^T^ *RTO^ rT^ST^ II
5rFfurP*JW^T ^^%^Tf^ 'TfRi II
* See Appendix, D. t Manu. viii. 103,

57
*' In the case of courtezans, of marriages, of
food eaten by cows, of fuel for a sacrifice, of
benefit or protection accruing. to a Brahman,
there is no sin in an oath."*
^^pTPtfnft^^l "5T^T ^T II
"A Brahman may live by rita and amrita, or
fey mrita and prafnrita, or even by satyd-nrita
(truth and falsehood); "but never let him sub
sist by dog-living (hired service.")!
*' A Brahman may without hesitation take the
property of a Shudra. He (the Shudra) has,
indeed, nothing of his own: his master may,
doubtless, take his property.'^ The Phal-
guna, Mahatmya, and the Puranas teach that
at the Holl festival, the most filthy, disgust
ing, and obscene language, and the most
abominable conduct are praiseworthy and
becoming. They license gambling, and riot
ing, and mischief, during three days of the
Divdli. Some of the natives are positively
ashamed of what they say on these subjects.
Both the Puranas and the Tantras, which are
* Manu. viii, 112v This, in the comment of Kulluka Bhatta, is ex
plained by vritha shapathi piipann bhamfi, " there is no sin in a false
oath." t Manu. iv, 4. t Manu. Viii, 417.
G

58
respected as proper for certain classes, even
by those who donot observe them, teach, that,
in the presence, of some celebrated idols, such
as Jagannatha, all distinctions of sex and caste
&c. are abolished, and that men may, in this
situation, gratify their evil lusts with impu
nity; and permit men to violate the laws of
chastity under the pretence of blunting the
passions. In the Kularnava,* we find the
most licentious precept which can be imagined.
*fa*ftn ^^13mt^rT%TSgt^t^lTWII
"Of those who constantly perform t-ie sacri
fice of inward [contemplation], the salvation
at last is only by the sexual embrace. Mur
der is a virtue : drinking is a good deed : he
who is outwardly an apostate is internally a
saved man."-]" In the Shyama Rahasya, we
* " ' The Vedas aTe pre-eminent over all works, the Vaishnava sect
excels the Vedas, the Shaiva sect is preferable to that of Vishnu, and
the right hand Shakta to that of Shiva — the left hand is better than
the right hand division, and the Siddhanta is better still — the Kaula is
better than the Siddhanta, and there is none better than it.' Kular
nava. The words Kaula and Kulina are both derivatives from Kula
family ; and the latter is especially applied to imply of good, or high
family : these terms have been adopted to signify, that those who
follow this doctrine are not only of one, but of an exalted race." Pro-
fessor H. H. Wilson's Sketch ofthe Religious Sects ofthe Hindus. Part
second. Asiatic Transactions, Vol. 17. p. 222.
t This verse is contained in a paper in the Oriental Christian Spec
tator, for May 1834, by the late C. M. Whish, Esq. He does not state
the source from which he has taken it ; but he observes that the mor
ality of it is "not impugned." I have only the authority of a learned
native for attributing it to the Kularnava.

59
find a doctrine no less to be abhorred.
"Wine, flesh, fish, women, and Maithuna, are
the five-fold Makdra which takes away all
sin." The worshippers of the Shaktls rejoice
in these precepts, and claim the authority of
their sacred books for many of a similar kind.
The other Hindus, on the authority of their
sacred books, say that these practices are not
unbecoming those who addict themselves to
them. In the current books of Law, implicit
obedience to husbands, without any reference
to the principles of rectitude, is inculcated
on wives.
" The supreme duty of a wife is to obey the
mandate of her husband."* Similar injunc
tions are given respecting children. Cove-
tousness and rapacity are encouraged by the
laws of property, according to which those
labouring under certain diseases and infirmi
ties are disinherited, and allowed merely what
is necessary for their sustenance.^ A barba-
* Yajnawalkya Smriti, Chapter 4. For an illustration of this doc
trine, see the Appendix E.
f " The foUowing persons are excluded from inheritance, unless the
defect can be removed by medicaments or penance : Any one whether
male or female who is blind, deaf, dumb, unable to walk, leprous, im
potent ; insane or idiotic, &c." Steele's Summary ofthe Law and Cus-

60
rous treatment of the lower orders, and unbe
coming leniency towards Brahmans, are shewn
in the sacred* writings. "A priest shall be
fined five hundred, (panas) if he slander a
soldier ; twenty-five, if a merchant, and twelve,
if he slander a man of the servile class. For
abusing one of the same class, a twice-born
man shall be fined only twelve ; but for rib
aldry not to be uttered, even that and every
one shall be doubled. A once-born man, who
insults the twice-born with gross invectives,
ought to have his tongue slit ; for he sprang
from the lowest part of Brahma; If he mention
their name and class with contumely, as if he
say "Oh! Devadatta, thou refuse of Brah
mans," an iron style, ten fingers long shall be
thrust red hot into his mouth. Should he,
through pride, give instructions to priests
concerning their duty, let the king order some
hot oil to be dropped into his mouth and ear."*
"A man of the lowest class, who shall inso
lently place himself on the same seat with
one of the highest, shall, either be banished
with a mark on his hinder parts, or the king
shall cause a gash to be made on his buttuck;
should he spit on him through pride, the king
shall order both of his lips to be gashed;
should he wrine on him, his penis ; should he
torn of Hindi. Castes, p 67. Mr. Steele gives the " sacred" authorities
on which his statement is founded.
* Manu, viii, 268—27*. Sir William Jones' translation.

61
break wind against him, his anus. If he seize
the Brahman by the locks, or by the feet, or
by the beard, or by the throat, or by the
scrotum, let the king without hesitation cause
incision to be made in his hands."* "Igno
minious tonsure is ordained, instead of capital
punishment, for an adulterer of the priestly
class, where the punishment of other classes
may extend to loss of life. Never shall a
king slay a Brahman, though convicted of all
possible crimes; let him banish the offender
from his realm ; but with all his property
secure and his body unhurt. No greater
crime is known on earth than slaying a Brah--
man; and the king, therefore^ must not even
form in his mind an idea of killing a priest."f
"A Brahman, who, by his power and through
avarice, shall cause twice-born men, girt with
the sacrificial thread, to perform servile acts,
such as washing his feet, with their consent,
shall be fined by the king six hundred panas.
But a man ofthe servile class, whether bought
or unbought, he may compel to perform ser
vile duty ; because such a man was created by
the self-existent for the purpose of serving
Brahmans. A Shiidra, though emancipated by
his master, is not released from a state of ser
vitude: for of a state, which is natural to him
by whom can he be divested 1"\ Kshatriyas

Manu, viii, 281—283. t Manu, viii, 879—381.
J Mann, viii, 412<— 414.

6g
may practise the marriages denominated Gan~
dharva and Rdkshasa. " For a military man
the before mentioned marriages of Gandharva
and Rakshasa, whether separate, or mixed,
as when a girl is made captive by her lover, after
a victory over her kinsmen, are permitted by
law."* The reciprocal connection of a youth
and a damsel, with mutual desire, is the mar
riage denominated Gdndharva contracted for
the purpose of amorous embraces, and pro
ceeding from sensual inclination.''^ Nothing
worse than the examples which I have now
stated can be imagined; but the matter is
rendered still more deplorable by the trifling
atonements which are prescribed for what are
actually considered as transgressions.
s^r sp^wtft *p fqf^rw 11
wfo mm ^?FW ^M" STOT II
"In the moment in which a person shall med
itate in his heart, I am God, all his sins are
annihilated, as the darkness, at the rising of
the Sun." "But men who have committed
offences, and have received from kings the
punishment due to them, go to pure heaven,
and become as clear as those who have done
well. "J Sinners are delivered from all fear
of retribution by the assurance which is
given to them, that their posterity may de-
* Manu, iii, 26. f Manu, iii. 32, + Manu viii,

63
liver them from future punishment by their
shrdddhas and other funeral services. The
Brahman who studies the Veda," says Manu,
"confers purity on his living family, on his
ancestors, and on his descendants, as far as
the seventh person."* "The scripture," em-
bracipg that part of the Veda which relates
to, sacrifice, that which treats of subordinate
deities, that which reveals the nature ofthe
supreme God, and whatever is declared in the
Upanishads, "is a sure refuge eveu foi those
who understand not its meaning."-}*
It is not possible, I am certain, for the reader
to observe the facts, to which we have now
adverted, without grief and shame. They are
shocking in the extreme. They are in the
highest degree hurtful to morality. When
contrasted with the declarations of the Chris
tian scriptures, they must appear as the dark
ness of hell when compared with the light of
heaven. The bible loudly protests against
murder of every kind, and teaches that tempta
tion must be resisted, and humble resigument
to the will of God manifested, and improve
ment sought, for, in every affliction. It allows
in no case a violation of the laws of truth,
honesty, or chastity. Instead of teaching

* Manu, i, 105. See also iv, 4.
t Manu, vi, 84. Numerous passages similar to those quoted, can
easily be produced. For Rama Mohana Roy'sopinion ofthe penances
prescribed among the Hindus, see the Appendix, F.

-64
that a motive, even though good, will hallow
a sinful act, it declares that of those who do
evil that good Y-nay come, " the damnation is
just." Instead of teaching that any act of wor
ship gives a licence to sin, it teaches that, if we
regard iniquity even in our hearts, the Lord
will not hear us. Instead of teaching, that
God's presence in his temple, breaks down all
moral distinctions, it proclaims, "Who shall
ascend into the hill of the Lord, and who shall
stand in his holy place? He that hath clean
hands and a pure heart, who hath not lifted up
his soul unto vanity nor sworn deceitfully."
Instead of teaching, that those who possess
more knowledge than their neighbours, are less
guilty when they sin, and are to be treated with
greater leniency, it gives the equitable decla*
ration, "That servant which knew his Lord's
will, and prepared not himself, neither did
according to his will, shall be beaten with
many stripes. But he that knew not, and did
commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten
with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much
is given, of him shall be much required;- and
to whom men have committed much, of him
will they ask the more." Instead of permit
ting us to rob the afflicted, it calls upon us to
sympathize with them. Instead of permitting
men to gratify their passions to their fullest
extent, and thus to sin as long as the power of
sinning is possessed, it declares, that "he that

65
iooketh on a woman to lust after her, hath com
mitted adultery with her already in his heart."
Instead of requiring wives and children to
obey their superiors, without a reference to
the morality ofthe injunctions which are laid
upon them, it requires them to obey them only
in the Lord. Instead of teaching that sin is
such a light matter as to be atoned for by the
punishment of a magistrate, it teaches that it is
so tremendously evil in its nature, that it de
serves eternal punishment. Instead of allow
ing the sinner to delude himself by imagining
that he can work out a righteousness of his
own, or that his friends may deliver him from
his woes after death, it declares that all his
righteousness is as filthy rags, and that the
state of man, as saved or lost, is irrevocably
fixed at death ; and, in reference to that event,
it gives the solemn declaration, " He that is
unjust, let him be unjust still : and he which is
filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is
righteous, let him be righteous still: and he
that is holy, let him be holy still." In short,
it condemns sin of every kind. Its morality
is not only partially good, like that which men
may teach according to the discoveries of the
light of nature, but it \s perfectly good. The
examples which it approves are good; the pre-
. cepts and proverbs which it gives are good;
and ihe motives and sanctions which it fur
nishes are good. It exhibits a divine law,
H

66
which is in every respect a transcript of the
holy and pure character of God himself.
S. The "abstract contemplation," which Nar
ayana Rao has inserted in his list, of similitudes,
I have already condemned. Nothing similar
to it is spoken of in the Christian scriptures.
4. The existence of different "sects" in dif
ferent religions, cannot, by any process of
logic to which I can advert, prove that these
religions are the same in all essential points,
1 would take the liberty of remarking in this
place, in passing, however, that ihe sects among
real christians are divided on points which are
comparatively unimportant; and that the dif
ferences which do exist are principally caused
by deficiency in the attention and respect which
are paid to the bible. Among Hindus, how
ever, the case is widely different. Their "sa
cred" books, though they profess to have all
the same authority, are frequently opposed to
one another, and to themselves. To explain
this fact, it is sometimes alleged, that God ac
tually designed to bewilder men ; and that the
Puranas, have proceeded from the different
qualities of God, truth, passion, and foulness!*
5. "Fasting ," I admit to be, in certain cir-
. ¦ — ' — :  ^  '  '¦  -**-  -¦».'¦""
* Much valuable information on the Sects of the Hindus is to be
found in Prof. H. H. Wilson's papers in the Transactions ofthe Asia
tic Society, The subject, however, merits still further investigation.

ffl
cumstances, a religious duty. Our grief on
account of our own sins, or those of our fellow*
creatures, may proceed to such a length, as
that we shall, for a season, lose all relish, for
the means of our sustenance. We may find it
necessary on various occasions, to engage so
diligently in the service of God, as to find little
time for taking our ordinary meals. And we
may be required to humble our souls, and to
be sparing in our diet, or even to suspend it
for a tittle, that we may be more successful in
our opposition to those lusts which war against
the soul. I do not, then, object to Hinduism,
merely because fasting is prescribed in it; and*
at the same time, I do not admit that the pre
scription of fasting is any thing in its favour.
Fasting is exhibited in the Hindu Shastras as
a meritorious work ; and to the doctrine of hu
man merit, even as connected with general
obedience, as will appear from another part of
thi3 work, there are the strongest objections.
Christianity recognizes the propriety of fasting;
but it attaches no merit to it, and prescribes
no regular seasons for it. The observance of
Lent, to which Narayana Rao adverts as cor
responding with the practices of the heathen,
is by no means universal among Christians.
Those who do in any degree respect it, with
the exception of the Roman Catholics, who, I
am sorry to say, shew no great respect for the
Rule of Faith, in general, frankly admit that

68
their regard to it is to be attributed to their
particular views of Christian expediency. They
do not profess to find a single precept in the
bible inculcating its observance.
6. With regard to "offerings, music, praise
and worship," spoken of by Narayana Rao, and
which I take the liberty of classing under one
head, I am not required to say any thing in this
plaee. In my reply to Mora Bhatta Dande-
kara, I have contrasted at length the services
of Hindus and Christians with regard to them;
and shewed the impiety ofthe former, and the
excellence of the latter. In regard to the ob
servance of "holy days, or festivals," to which,
though mentioned last in the list of my oppo
nent, I shall here, for the sake of order, allude,
I feel that any thing like a lengthened discus
sion is uncalled for. The quiet, and decorum,
and holiness of a Christian Sabbath, observed
according to the divine commandment, when
contrasted with the bustle, uproar, confusion,
riot, and folly, and positive wickedness of the
Hindu festivals and yattras, are so strikingas to
attract universal attention where the opportu
nity of observing them is enjoyed.* The Chris
tian Sabbath is a day of holy rest, and a day
in which God is worshipped and served by his
people in spirit and in truth. The Hindu fes-
* The Yattras bear a great resemblance, in their mercantile tran
sactions, amusements, &c, to Fairs in Britain. Perhaps the Fairs
had a similar origin.

69
tivals, even when observed according to the
Shastras, are days of mere amusement, frivolity,
and dissipation, in which sin is "practiced to an
extent which must be in the highest degree
painful to every reasonable mind. We have
already alluded to the permission of wicked
ness during the Holi and Divdll.
7. In the enumeration of "Modes of Wor
ship," Narayana Rao has included "repentance"
and the "asking qf forgiveness," which are not
unfrequently considered by Hindus as "Means
of Salvation." What his intention was in doing
this, I do not exactly know. 1 shall consider,
both these subjects however, both as they may
be viewed as connected with the divine worship,
and as the means of procuring certain blessings.
Repentance is a moral duty. It is incumbent
on all those who have sinned against the ma
jesty of heaven, and who have broken the di
vine commandments. It becomes them to be
wail their transgressions, to mourn over their
guilt, to hate their sinfulness, to turn unto the
Lord, and to devote themselves to the divine
service. Respecting the production of repent
ance, and respecting its effects, the Hindu
religion errs most egregiously.
That Hinduism presents no suitable motives
to repentance, will I think, be admitted by
every person who will candidly attend to the
subject. True repentance involves a complete

70
change of the moral state of man ; and it can
only arise from a right view ofthe divine cha*-
racter, and ofthe divine law. The change
which it supposes is beyond the moral power
of man, who is acknowledged to be depraved
in lis iidture, and to be filled with kdma lust,
krodha wrath, lobha avarice, moha delusion^
mada pride, and matsara envy. No assistance
for bringing about this change is offered by
Hinduism. On the contrary, this system pre
sents many obstacles to its production and
advancement. The sinner can only be very
imperfectly convinced of sin who has imperfect
views of morality, and ofthe consequences of
transgressing the law of God. When the Hin
du feels the movements of natural conscience,
he can immediately set them at rest. "Why
should I be troubled about sin," he may say,
"when I advert to the principles of the religion
which I profess. My character, however bad
it may be, is no worse than that of the Gods
whom I profess to serve. It is, in fact, superior
to that of most of them. I have not yet addic
ted myself to the low and loathsome practices
of Shiva, and been banished from the society
of my friends aiid acquaintances I have not
yet. like Brahma, abandoned all moral restraint,
and degraded my nature, and lost my powers,
and becoming respect, by sins which I blush
to thii.k of. I have not yet surrendered myself
to the uncontrouled gratification of my eVil

71
lusts and passions, like Krishna, the incarnate
Vishnu; and I cannot, like him, be charged
with deliberate falsehood, cruel murder, and
repeated dishonesty. I have never, like Rama,
broken my solemn engagements; ami banished
from my care the innocent and unprotected
wife of my bosom. I have never, hke Gan-
esha, engaged in the councils of deliberate
wickedness, and contrived to spread atheism
and impiety through the length and breadth of
the world on which I move. 1 have never, like
the host of heaven, devoted myself to war,
confusion, and destruction. Many ofthe sins
which I have actually committed, are of a very
trifling nature, and are directly sanctioned by
my Shastras. My prevarication certaiulv is to
be little thought of, as if has had the bem fit
of the Brahmans, and of cows, and my own
pleasure, as its object. Of my unjust gaius I
have regularly devoted a tithe to the deity,
and thus procured his favour. When I have
violated the laws of chastity, 1 have done this
in the divine presence, aud with the divine
countenance, and as a partial Brahmacharyya.
For the offences to which I must simply plead
guilty, I have innumerable remedies in my own
power. The atonements which are within my
own reach will settle all God's demands. In
yonder lake or river, I shall wash away all my
sins. With part of the money which God has
given to me, I can purchase a stock of merit,

and a mansion in the regions of happiness.
Should I perchance fall a victim tothe injured
laws of my country, the punishments which
will be inflicted on me by my fellow- creatures,
will amply satisfy God's justice. Should I die
in sin, I shall certainly be liberated from it by
a succession of future births. My nature arid
that of God are the same. He cannot cast me
off for ever, without dooming himself to woe,
and inflicting on himself positive misery. Why
then, should I mourn over sin? Why should I
greatly fear it? Why should 1- distress myself,
by seeking to get deliverance from it, and by
anxiously labouring to avoid it?" Such is the
legitimate reasoning of a devoted Hindu. How
is it possible for him with the Vedas and Pu
ranas in his hands, to repent of his sia. The
emotions which are excited within him origi-
nate, as the voice of truth, independently of
his religion. For them no better name has yet
been found in the Sanskrita vocabulary than
that of after-heat, or after-fever.* Into this
after heat, not a single element of godly con
trition may enter. It may spring from the fear
of man, and natural shame.
The view of repentance as connected with
Hinduism, which I have now taken, is exceed
ingly important; but I shall not further insist
upon it at present. I shall suppose, for the
* Pashchattapa,

13
sake of argument, that repentance is really
produced. When I have done this, I cannot
perceive how repentance, indispensable though
it be as a condition of our acceptance with God,
can purchase the pardon of sin. It does not
make an atonement for the sin which is com
mitted against the divine majesty by a viola
tion ofthe divine laws, and which, as directed
against an infinitely glorious and good Being,
must be considered, in a very important sense,
as an infinite evil. It does not, and cannot,
remedy the evil effects of transgression, either
as they are connected with the dishonour done
to God, or the encouragement which is af
forded to partial or general disobedience. It
is frequently unavailing even among our own
species. A man who squanders away his
substance and his health in sinful courses,
does not recover them on repentance. A man
who loses his character, does not regain the
affection and the confidence of his fellow-crea
tures, when he confesses his guilt, and pro
fesses to bewail over it. The criminal who
is condemned to death, generally suffers his
merited punishment, notwithstanding all his
tears, regrets, and entreaties. No earthly
governor, to use an illustration to which I have
formerly referred, would, in announcing his
laws, declare to his subjects, that, while these
laws ought to be obeyed, you have only to get
sorry for your sins, and then I will pardon

74
you. His authority would not be respected
were he to recognize repentance as an atone
ment ; and God's majesty and authority would
not be manifested and respected, were he to
recognize repentance as an atonement. If
man were to have the power of sinning, and
of removing his sin when he pleases, it is
manifest, that he would never continue obe-
e
dient ; and that angels and other intelligent
beings, on seeing his conduct and success*
might be tempted to disrespect the divine
authority, and to rebel against the divine law.
Genuine repentance, it may be said, leads
to obedience. This is certainly the case, but
the obedience which is practised will not, and
cannot be accepted by God as a ground of
our pardon. It can have no retrospective ef
fect. God demands from us, at every moment
of our existence* the observance of the pre
cept, "4Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all thy
strength, and with all thy mind-." and he thus
intimates, that, when we have done our best
in any given circumstances, we have done
nothing which can have any referenee to the
past period of our lives, but only that which
is demanded of us at the present moment.
He informs us, moreover, by the voice ef rea
son and of conscience within us, that at the
best we are unprofitable servants; that our
obedience is never perfect at any period of

75
our lives; and that all our righteousness is as
filthy rags in his pure sight. He thus testifies
to the necessity of our divorcement from all
self-righteousness ; and teaches us, that if we
be saved at all, we must be saved entirely
through the divine mercy and grace.
The convictions of men, notwithstanding
all the pride which is naturaLto them, and all
the evasions to which they have recourse, are
in favour of the conclusion which I have now
stated. Nar&yana Rao himself has included
in his list, as I have already noticed, the "tak
ing refuge and imploring forgiveness. We
find among the liturgical books circulated
among the Hindus, such confessions and pe
titions as the following.
"I am sin, I commit sin, my soul is sinful, I
am conceived in sin; O thou lotus-eyed, O
Hari, deliver me from all my sins."
^ren *&P\ *rrf^r <^^ *i?^m h
"I have no refuge but thee, O God, wherefore
save me in the exercise of thy compassion."

76
" O Lord, there is none sinful like myself,
and there is no destroyer of sin like thee ; I
thus regularly recognize thee, with the con
templation of my soul."

' ' O Lord, I am the chief of sinners ; and thou
art the chief of the compassionate. Beside
myself, there is no one in the three worlds
needful of thy mercy."
s-JWM WITfoifsir^ ^fftf^IT II
"O Lord, I daily and nightly commit innu
merable sins against thee ; but esteeming me
thy servant, do thou forgive me."*
Forgiveness, it will not be disputed, then,
requires to be exercised. The questions con
nected with it which demand our attention
are, Who can forgive, and On what terms can
forgiveness be imparted?
God, the Supreme God, alone can extend
forgiveness. It is his law which is violated
by sin. It is against his government and au
thority, that the sinner rebels. If he with
hold pardon none else can interfere, and none
* From the Pujapaddhati, a work containing daily and occasiona]
prayers and mantras, for the use ofthe Brahmans. The passages con
tained in it, appear to be selected from several ofthe "sacred"
writings.

77
else can dispense it. The prayers ofthe Hin-
d6s, however, are not directed to him. The
preceding supplications are addressed to the
imaginary gods Vishnu and Shiva, who are
described in the Puranas as monsters of wick
edness ! Other supplications of a like nature,
offered up by the Hindus, are likewise mis
directed. Some of them are addressed to
stocks and stones, and others to gods who
are no gods.
God cannot extend mercy to the guilty, I
beg it to be observed, without a display of his
justice, which is essential to his nature; with
out a manifestation of his holiness, which is
altogether opposed to sin; without a vindica
tion of his veracity as connected with his de
claration that he will punish sin. Neither
the repentance nor obedience of man, we have
seen, can give the satisfaction which is de
manded. We ourselves, by our own reason,
are unable to discover away of salvation. A
divine Revelation on the subject, is conse
quently needed by us. Hinduism, which for
many reasons is to be rejected, presents a
way of salvation which has been proved to be
false. Christianity, which may be shewn to
be of divine origin by infallible signs, unfolds
a scheme of salvation which recommends itself
as possessed of all the requisites to which we
can refer.
In the reply to Mora Bhatta Dandekara, I

78
remarked, that "according to the fundamental
principles of Christianity, ' God so loved the
world as to give his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish,
but have everlasting life.' Christ became the
willing, and sufficient surety, and substitute
of those whom God determined to save, and
assumed a body and a human soul, without
which he could not have suffered the punish
ment due for their sins. God is just in accep
ting the works, sufferings, and death of Christ,
because, being those of a divine person, they
were infinitely meritorious. God, in pardon
ing sin, for the sake of Christ, shows that it
is an infinite evil, for, if he spared not his
own Son, when he stood in the room of the
guilty, he will not spare sinners when they
stand on their own footing; and, because, if
sin is not restrained throughout the universe
by the exhibition of God's dealing with Christ,
his own Son, it must be evident that sinners
must infallibly be left, in all time to come, to
suffer the punishment which is due to them."*
The scheme of salvation which Christianity
thus proposes, is one which is calculated in
the highest degree to promote the glory of
God, and to advance the best interests of man.
Observe how it displays ihe grace, and mag
nifies the goodness of God. Christ, the Son
of God, was the Father's greatest and dearest
* Exposure, p. 66.

possession, and the Father's greatest gift.
He was an unspeakable gift, infinitely more
valuable than that of all the unnumbered and
innumerable glorious worlds which creative
power hath called into being. He was given
to suffer and to die for man. We had no right
to expect him as our Saviour. It is with a
reference to this circumstance, that the Apos
tle Paul, one of the disciples of Christ, ob
serves, " For when we were without strength
in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For
scarcely for a righteous man will one die ; yet
peradventure for a good man some would even
dare to die. But God commendeth his love
toward us in that while we were yet sinners
Christ died for us." When God was led
to interpose in behalf of men, they had no
claim to his compassion, and no claim to his
regard. They had alienated themselves from
his favour, and rebelled against his authority.
They had become possessed of corrupt and
depraved natures ; and had devoted themselves
to their unrestrained exercise. The command
ments of God, they had esteemed grievous,
and every one of them they had trampled un
der their feet. They had become deserving
of punishment, and worthy of hell. Their
wretchedness excited the pity and compassion
of God; and it was in the exercise of his in
finite goodness, that he devised a way by
which they might escape from the curse of

80
sin, and from the power of sin,, and be raised
to a state of happiness and glory beyond
the grave.
Observe how Christianity magnifies the holi
ness and justice of God. It shews in the clear
est manner how God can allow the sinner to
escape, and yet manifest the unspeakable evil
and danger of sin. The testimony which it
gives to the unswerving justice of God is stri
king in the highest degree. Before God, with
safety to his own interests as the moral gover
nor of the universe, could save man, he was
required to give his Son, (voluntarily and cheer
fully yielding his consent) for sinful man. He
did not merely send his Son ou a particular
mission, exact from him a particular work, and
subject hira to particular sufferings; but he
devoted him in such a manner, that he may be
said to have made an entire surrender of him.
He gave to him, who was his well-beloved Son
the commandment, that he should leave the
bosom of his Father; that he should assume the
lowly nature of man, with all its weaknesses,
and with all its infirmities; that he should take
upon himself the form, and accomplish the
work of a servant; that he should tabernacle
among the sinful children of Adam; that he
should bear their reproach, scorn, aud perse
cution, while seeking their salvation ; that he
should be subjected to the base assaults and
temptations of the devil, and required to main-

81
tain in the midst of them, and all his othef
trials, a uniform^ consistent, and perfect piety ;
that he should labour, and toil, and agonize, to
accomplish the work of human redemption;
that he, who knew no sin, should be made sin,
or reckoned sinful, and treated in every res
pect as a sinner, that we might be made the
righteousness ofGedinhim; that he should
become accursed for man> and take upon him^
self the load ofthe world's guilt; that he should
be so constituted the substitute and surety of
man, as that there should be exacted from
him the whole of the punishment due for our
sins; that he should endure the wrath of God
poured out on his head without mixture; that
he should be so afflicted as to exclaim in the
anguish of his heart, 'My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me;' and that he should
part with his life, and deliver it as a sacrifice.
In the appointment and surrender which God
thus made of his Son, we have the "great
mystery of godliness ? The justice and holi
ness of God, the dignity of his law, and the
glory of his moral government, which are per
fect and unchangeable, demanded an offering
of this nature, ere pardon could be vouchsafed
to the guilty without the impeachment of the
divine charaeter, and without the injury of
the best interests of the universe, as they are
connected with the hatred and fear of sin, and
its tremendous consequences. No created
K

83
being could have been the substitute of man,
because no merit could have been connected
with his services, however great in extent
they might be, inasmuch as being demanded
by that law according to which he owes per
fect and unvarying obedience to his maker,
they could not have sufficed for more than his
own justification. Men are taught that sin
is an infinite evil, when they learn the costly
sacrifice at which an atonement was made on
their behalf. They see God's determination
to punish sin when they find him demanding
the full penalty of the law from his own Son,
when he stood in the room of the guilty.
They see that they can cherish no hope of
escape, if they neglect the great salvation
which God has proposed in the gospel, which
must ever be considered as his ultimatum.
They are thus led to perceive that God is
just, while he is the justifier ofthe ungodly;
and that his authority and law are vindicated
and made honourable, even when men escape
the punishment which asm threatened for their
violation. Christianity is a system which is admirably
calculated to promote the best interests of
men. God offers to them the Saviour whom
he has provided, and to all who will exercise
faith in his name, and trust in his infinite
righteousness, he is ready to extend a free
and full pardon of every transgression. He

83
delivers all those who take refuge in his grace
from hell, and from the eternal punishment
which they have merited. He views them as
righteous in his sight; he receives them into
his favour, and adopts them into his family;
he grants them the enjoyment of spiritual life ;
he sanctifies their souls and prepares them
for heaven ; and he confers on them unspeak
able and eternal happiness in the regions of
glory. For the begetting of that faith, which
consists in a simple and heartfelt acquiesc
ence in the plan of redemption which he pro
poses, and in an humble reliance on the
Saviour, and which leads to a godly repent
ance, and to a diligent pursuit of holiness, he
is ready to give his Holy Spirit to them who
ask him. This heavenly teacher, and guide,
works powerfully within them. He enlightens
and renews their minds, directs them to Chris
tian obedience, and prepares them for heaven.
Under his influence, believers rejoice and
glory in the Lord. Inasmuch as God has
given his only-begotten Son for them, they
entertain the assurance, founded on his own
infallible word, that with him, he will freely
give them all things, which can add to their
happiness here or hereafter. "Who can lay
any thing," they say " to the charge of God's
elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he
that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, yea
rather that is risen again, who is even at

m
the right hand of God, who also maketh inter
cession for us. Who shall iseparate us from
the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or dis
tress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,
or perils or sword . . .Nay, in all these things we
are more than conquerors through him that
loved us. For I am persuaded that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present nor things to
come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate tis from
the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus
our Lord."
The religion, in which is contained the glo
rious scheme of salvation which we have now
briefly noticed, is divine. The invention of
this scheme may certainly be pronounced to
be beyond the unaided power of man. If this
scheme be overlooked, -the anxious sinner will
in vain inquire for a way of satiation. It
becomes him to devttte to itlhis most serious
and solemn attention,
I have now concluded my remarks on Nar
ayana Rao's classification of the " Modes of
Worship, and Means «f Salvation." He ¦will
learn from my remarks, that there is not only
a mighty difference, between those prescribed
by Hinduism and 'Christianity ; but, thatthose
which are proposed by the former 'system
cannot stand the test of sober inquiry, while

85
those ofthe latter system appear the more
glorious the more they are contemplated. I
pray that the discoveries which he may make
on the subject may be blessecl to his soul.
If he yield to their influence, he will no longer
esteem Hinduism as "holy and light-diffu
sing." He will perceive that it is opposed to
God. He will forsake it; and will betake
himself to the mercy of God, as it is revealed
in his Son Jesus Christ.
III. I now proceed to consider the objec
tions which Narayana Rao has urged against
the Christian Scriptures. He conceives, that
they are of a ggaaaeg serious character, and that
the solution of them will involve the solution
of the objections which are urged agaiust Hin
duism. In the opinion which he holds on this
subject, he is entirely mistaken. The consid
eration of them will not only shew that they
are altogether unfounded ; but will place those
which are urged against Hinduism in a stronger
light, and lead men more clearly to see their
justice and propriety.
Narayana Rao commences with the books
of Moses, which stand first in the bible.
I. His first objection against them he states
in these words :— "It is written in the Old
Testament, that God was employed six days
in the creation of heaven and earth &c; and
that having completed his work on Sunday he

86
took rest. And rince the universe was not
created at once, but by degrees, it may have
happened that the infinite being may have
rested times without number. The conclusion
is manifest, that God must be lazy. He got
tired when engaged in creation; and conse-
quently appears as reproached in his omnipo
tence and omniscience." A more silly objection
than this against the divine record, I have never
seen ; and it cannot be difficult to make it
appear in this light to the Hindus themselves.
In the world around us, we perceive the
works of God, and we constantly acknowledge
them to be his, even though they are not com
pleted at once, but carried on by degrees. We
allow that trees flourish, and that men grow,
by the divine power, while we perceive that
they do not attain to their full stature and per
fection at the first moment at which God begins
to act upon them. We see, in fact, a progres
sion in every work throughout the universe
with which we are acquainted; and we con
stantly refer it to the sovereign will of God.
We can even discern in it the proofs of su
preme wisdom. God acts in order that he may
display his own glory; and he acts in such
manner as is suitable to the nature of thc
intelligent beings who ara called to witness
that glory, and in such a manner as is calcu
lated to shew the importance of his work, and
to encourage reflection upon it. Before he

.87
commenced the work of forming the world, he
had called into being numerous exalted angels,
who. Could watch its progress, rejoice over its
manifestations, and praise him on its accom
plishment. He created the world particularly
for the sake of man; and it is evident, that we,
on reflecting on the display of his power con
nected with it, can survey it with more interest,
than we could do, were we merely informed,
that God accomplished his work in the twink
ling of an eye. We cannot imagine for a
moment that it was a want of power which led
God to employ six days in the work of creation.
We have iu the narrative of Moses itself, thc
most striking illustrations ofthe divine omni
potence. We find God saying "Let there be
light, and there was light ;' and in every in
stance commanding and all things standing
fast. When we read that God rested from his
work on the seventh day, we only learn that.
he ceased from his work, and that he was in
that state which we denominate rest, when
contrasted with his previous engagement. The
word rest, as used by our translators, is not
rightly rendered by visdvd ghetald.* The
Hebrew word denotes mere cessation from
work, or those feelings which are experienced
when work is completed, without any refer
ence to the feelings of the agent as wearied.
God, without doubt, after the completion of
* The MaratM words used by Narayana R6o*

88s
his glorious work, must have viewed it, as he
actually did, as«" very good," and manifested
in connexion with it divine complacency. That
he was tired is an inference which is not war
ranted by any ofthe statements in Genesis. It
is in the Puranas that the divine power in
connexion with creation is reproached. They
represent Brahma, to whom they give the name
of" Goo," oras&ome would have it, " the crea
tive energy of God," as labouring under ex
treme difficulties, and subjected to the greatest
disappointments when engaged in the work of
creation. Respecting him they give us such
information as the following. He performed
frequent 'austerities before he could do any
thing. He was non-plussed for want ofthe
Vedas. He was so. perplexed, according to the
Lainga and other Puranas, because he was
unable to carry on the work of creation, that
he began to cry ; and Shiva, under the name of
Rudra, was produced from his sighs, who at
tempted it and also failed, and who forced his
father to resume it. He lost his power also by
an incestuous passion ; and he left his ten
sons to proceed according to the best of their
ability, while for a hundred years of the gods
he lived wilh his own daughter in a state
which I blush to mention in this place.* 1

* The statement given on these subjects in the Bhagavata, is trans
lated by Col. Kennedy. See bis Mythelogteal R»sean:hes, p. 229 &c.

89
•defy all the Hindus in the country to give a
satisfactory explanation of these statements,
and of those about God's contracting and ex-
panding at the conclusion ©fa Kalpa.
2. The second objection against the books
of Moses, is thus stated:: — "God created the
first man after his own likeness, by forming an
image of clay, and breathing life into it. It
appears from this circumstance, that God has
a figure like that of man,— a fact which is in
consistent with his invisibility."*
The reasoning which is here pursued, is deci
dedly erroneous. A likeness may be either
moral or natural. That likeness of God after
which Adam was created, was a moral likeness,
and, as we learn from Paul's Epistles,f con
sisted in knowledge, righteousness,, and true
holiness. The inference to be made from the
fact, is that God at first created man without
any moral blemish or defect, and with the most
excellent constitution and properties.
3. The third objection to the books of Moses,
is as follows: — "God' after some delay and in
quiry, having involved' Adam in deep sleep,
broke, and took out, one of his bones, and
made a wife for him, — a circumstance Which is
incon^stent with the divine omniscience; inas-

* The very urging of sueh an objection as this by Hindus, shews
that troth is beginning to make some impression on their minds.
t Cel. iii, 10. EpneLiv, 23.

90
much as when Adam's image was formed, it
did not occur to God that a wife ought to be
given to him, and that part of the clay should
be allotted to this purpose. Overlooking all
this, God, after making Adam's image complete,
breaks one of his bones, and deceives him, and
steals his bone. He ought to have asked per
mission, and to have proceeded honeslly. He
was, however, blameable in his conduct, and
was guilty of theft, all which is inconsistent
with his omniscience and holiness."
This reasoning must be characterized as that
which has preceded it. God, without doubt,
had the best reasons for fhe creation of Eve
posterior to Adam ; and it is not difficult for
us, when reflecting on the circumstances ofthe
case, to discover some of them. It was desi
rable, that Adam should feel the want of a
"help meet" for hiin, that he might appreciate
her when given to him. God did not deceive
Adam when he involved him in deep sleep : he
only placed him in that situation in which his
bone could be extracted with the greatest ease
to himself. Adam held all his possessions
under the recognition of God's right to dispose
of them according to his sovereign aud holy
will. God did not rob him of his bone; but
he put it into a form which rendered it much
more valuable to him thau formerly. He gave
him a wife who was "bone of his bones and
flesh of his flesh;" and consequently recom-

91
mended her to his affection, and his regard, in
the most emphatic manner. 'He manifested
supreme wisdom, and not ignorance, and good
ness, and not injustice, in the whole transaction.
For any thing which we know, he may have
acquainted Adam with his will before engaging
in it, and received his praise and adoration on
its account.
To the Hindu Pur&nas, I again point for an
illustration ofthe reproach of God in connex
ion with creation. When Brahma, to whom
we have already alluded, had formed the dai-
vyashristi of ten persons, he was, according to
the testimony ofthe Matsya and other Puranas,
miserably disappointed to find that they could
not propagate. In a fit of anger and despair, he
cut himself in twain, converted one half of his
body into a female named Shatarupa, and thus
procreated men and animals. If Narayana
Rao had been able to find any story of this
kind, or any story with a similar effect, in the
books of Moses, he might have justly objected
to them. Will he inform us how he can ex
plain the sins attributed to the Hindu. Creator,
and the sins of the Hindu Incarnations, which
I have noticed in the reply to Mora Bhatta?
If he will again peruse my remarks upon them,
he will perceive, that his objection does not
affect them. They shew that the Hindu Shds-
tras ascribe such conduct to God as is incom
patible with the possession of a holy nature,

92
arid incompatible with that exemplary conduct
which, as the HindusthemseLves admit, should
beexhibited by God, manifest in hurmnfornrw*
, <f. A fourth objection to the books of Moses,
is thus propounded -—"No one can break the
commandment of God; but though thjs be the
case, and though God interdicted Adam from
eating ofthe tree of the knowledge of good
and evil, a^ serpent endo-wed with the ability of
breaking the commandment, intimated to Adam
and Eve^that they should not die, all which is
inconsistent with the omnipotence and omnis-
cienpe of God. Had God fore-declared, and
; fqre-appoipted this, it might have been recon-
cileable with his word. It appears that the
devil is the rival of God ; and, moreover, that
his declaration has more truth in if than that
pf God, and that the divine curse is of no avail.
Though God said, that 'In the day thou eatest
thou shalt die,' they (Adam and Eve) died not.
This is inconsistent with the threatening of
Qod, which fell to the ground."
We have in this passage several gratuitous
and absurd assertions. The, decree of God
cannot be broken; but the command of God
can be, and is, alas I daily broken by sinful
beings. The devil, who was permitted by God
to fall fronj his first estate of holiness, and, who
notwithstanding all his opposition to holiness,
* See Exposure of Hinduism, frpm p. 33 to p. 61.

98
is still under the supremacy of God's provi
dence, deceived our first parents by declaring
a positive falsehood, and they sinned grievously
by listening to him, and following his evil sug
gestions. The threatening of God was fulfilled
as soon as they transgressed. They became
liable to death the moment they ate the for
bidden fruit. They even actually died spiritu
ally. Their souls, which we have seen, were
formed in perfect holiness after the image of
God, became depraved, and, as far as they
themselves were concerned, worthy of hell.
This is a death infinitely more awful than that
of the separation of the soul from the body,
which afterwards followed.
5. A fifth objection to the books of Moses
is founded on the allegatipn, that as God con
versed with our first parents, walked in the
garden of Eden, and made a visible appearance
to them, and to Noah, he must be considered,
in opposition to his omnipresence and spiritu
ality, to be corporeal in his nature, and limited
in his extension, and capable of destruction.
This objection is also groundless. Though
God is an omnipresent spirit, and though no
form is essential to him, he can, when it is con
sistent with his holy purposes, assume any
form, whether corporeal and material, or other-;
wise, and lay it aside without his destruction.
His revelation of himself in any particular

94
place, is not inconsistent with his being present
in every place. ' Perhaps Narayana Rao, when
he stated what he conceived to be an objection
to this view, had some hope that it would miti
gate our censures of the Gods possessed of
form which are spoken of in the Hindu Shis-'
tras. He is entirely mistaken, if this be the
case. We object to the accounts of the Hindu
Gods, because they represent them as not only
acting absurdly and wickedly in the forms
which they assumed, but as forced to assume
these forms, and as limited to these forms.
Brahma can positively do nothing without a
form* Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, and all the
other Gods, are essentially associated with local
ity, and have distinct habitations. They are
represented as sometimes driven even from the
places which they wish to occupy I Of Shiva
it is said in the Skanda Purana, that he lamen
ted almost to death his absence from KAshi,
from which he was banished by the piety of
Divodasa; and that Vishnu was confined to the
sea of milk, and could not budge till Divodasa
had expended his merit I*
6. The sixth objection which is urged against
* The power of Cod to assume any form he pleases, is undeniable.
In the fact, then, there is an answer to any arguments against idolatry,
founded on the mere spirituality of God. From overlooking this cir
cumstance, some Europeans have given the natives an apparent tri
umph in argument. It should always be shewn, that it is not a form
alleged to have been assumed by God which is to be worshipped, but
God himself.

95
the books of Moses, is of this kind : — "As God
did not forbid Adam and Eve to eat ofthe fruit,
and did not warn them against the wiles ofthe
serpent, and yet cursed both them and the
serpent, he must, as far as this is concerned,
be considered unjust, and vainly troublesome."
The object, I reply, for which man was cre
ated, endowed, and blessed, was undoubtedly
the display of the glory of God. The mani
festation ofthe divine excellence, the compla
cency and delight which God has in his works,
and the enjo yment of the creature, must be
considered as the end which God has in view
in all his actings. In disposing of man for
these objects, it pleased God, in the exercise
of his infinite wisdom and sovereign pleasure,
to place hiin in circumstances of peculiar moral
probation. He had the most perfect right to
act in this manner; and in the arrangements
which he made for the accomplishment of his
purposes, we perceive grounds for our highest
admiration and praise. He did not change, iu
the slightest degree, the nature which he had
conferred on our progenitors; he did not de
prive that nature of any of the enjoyments
which he had provided for it ; and he did not
place it under any restrictions which could
be injurious to it. He granted our first pa
rents every thing which their heart could
rightly desire, and he merely interdicted them
from eating of the fruit of a single tree,

96
which grew in the midst of the garden. He
did not deprive them of their free will and
agency. He warned them against disobedi
ence, by declaring in the most express terms,
that in the day they should eat of the for
bidden fruit, they should surely die. In aU
these circumstances, we see the divine wisdom
and goodness. We perceive the manifestation
of these attributes, even in the peculiar trial to
which Adam was subjected. It was such as
his circumstances permitted, and was calcu
lated to mark the unspotted holiness of God,
and allow an illustration of the dreadful nature
of sin. The more insignificant we consider
the article interdicted to be, so milch the more
do we shut up Adam to obedience, and so
much the more do we mark that justice which
will not suffer with impunity the violation of
the least cf the divine commands. These cir
cumstances have all been overlooked by Nar
ayana Rao. He even forgets what he himself
had admitted, that God forewarned Adam a-
gainst disobedience. He can never explain1
the innumerable instances of deceit practiced
by thc Hindu Gods, as in the cases of Bali,
Divcdas, and Drona, &c.
7. The seventh objection against the books
of Moses, runs in these words: — "Adam had
two sons, Abel a shepherd, and Cain an agri
culturist. They both offered to God the first-

97
lings of their flocks and their fields. God had
respect to Abel ; but to Cain, he had not res
pect ; and was thus guilty of partiality."
Narayana Rao does not come to a right con
clusion about the transaction of God with Cain
and Abel. God respected Abel because his
offering, as we are informed in the epistle to
the Hebrews, was presented m faith, and in a
spirit of obedience.* Had he put him on the
same level with Cain, he would have acted
contrary to his holiness. It is the peculiar glory
of the books of Moses, and of the other books
in the Bible, that they represent God as the
searcher of hearts, and as displeased with those
offerings which are not presented according to
the divine command, and in the exercise of
that confidence, and the cherishing of that
pious feeling, which God ever demands from
all his worshippers. God shewed no undue
preference to Abel. When "Cain was very
wroth and his countenance fell, the Lord said
unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is
thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well,
shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest
not well a sin-offering lieth at tbe door. And
unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt
rule over him."-f
Narayana Rao will find no passages in the
Christian Scriptures, similar to those contained
* Hebrews, xi, 4. t Genesis, iv, 5-7.
M

98
in the Hindu Shastras, which teach that offer
ings to God will call down the divine blessing,
without any reference to the faith and moral
feelings of these who present them. He will
never read, for example, of men obtaining sal
vation by unintentionally shaking down leaves
upon a Linga, as, according to the Shiva-rktri*
kathd, was the case with a Kaiwarttaka who
was sitting upon a tree, and watching birds
which he wished to shoot.*
8. The eighth objection against the books
of Moses is founded on the sin of the prophet
Noah.
* The passages in the Vedas and Puranas which teach the intrinsic
efficacy of rites and offerings, are very numerous. It is of no use to
produce instances. Their effect is strikingly apparent in the mode in
which worship is performed by the people. They shew the greatest
irreverence when entering into the temples. They summon the atten
tion ofthe gods either by muttering something in a careless manner,
or bawling, and even chiding, in a stentorian voice. They throw
down their offerings without the least concern ; and they leave the
idol-dens without the slightest sober impression. " There is nothing
like a religious service," says Prof. H. H. Wilson, " and the rapid
manner in which the whole is performed, the quick succession of wor
shippers, the gloomy aspect of the shrine, and the scattering about of
water, oil, and faded flowers, inspire any thing but feelings of rever
ence or devotion." Any person may satisfy himself of the truth of
these remarks, by repairing to any ofthe " sacred courts."
To the belief in the intrinsic efficacy of offerings, is to be ascribed
the superstitious regard which the Thags, Ramoshis, and other robbers
and murderers, pay to them. These poor deluded creatures think
that they can procure the assistance ofthe gods in their deeds of dark
ness, or an atonement for their sins, by promising them a part ofthe
spoil. The whole system of Brahmanical atonement, indeed, is foun
ded on the same kind of faith.

99
I agree with Nar&yahaRao, that in as far
as Noah sinned, he abused the divinegoodness,
and is worthy of reprehension. The scrip
tures, however, condemn the sin of Noah.
Instead of blaming them for recording it, we
ought to admire them for their fidelity. Their
object is to exalt God and to humble the
pride of man, to teach him watchfulness even
in the most highly favoured circumstances,
and to lead him to depend on the divine grace
for deliverance from the power, as well as from
the curse, of sin. They do not, in any case,
like the Hindu Shastras, call evil good, and
good evil, and vindicate the most glaring
transgressions. Leaving the books of Moses, Narayana Rao
proceeds to the New Testament.
1. His first objection against the New Tes
tament is thus stated: — "The birth of Jesus
took place in this manner. Joseph, who was
an upright man, found his wife, before their
union, with child; and being desirous that
the matter should not be publicly known, he
thought of dismissing her privately. When
he was exercising his thoughts on the subject,
an angel of the Lord, appearing to him in a
dream, said, Fear not to take unto thee Mary
thy wife, for that which is conceived within
her is of God, and then departed. Here is
the fault. It is very incongruous that God

too
should take a righteous man's wife, for there
is no sin equal to this, which is opposed to
the original commandment of God. It is the
established law, that no virgin can conceive;
and consequently God by violating his own
law, has subjected himself to the charge of
deceit. If God really required the woman, he
ought, according to the Christian religion, to
have got her liberated from Joseph, and then
have devoted her to himself. As he did not
act in this manner, he acted by stealth, and
committed adultery by stealth. God, (taking
these matters into account) is accused of adul
tery, deceit, and theft; and the Christian
religion, instead of exalting him, has dishon
oured him. It appears probable, that the
Christian scripture irritates God."
The reasoning which is here pursued, is
founded on the two mistakes, that God made
Mary his wife, and that God is not almighty,
which are not countenanced in the Christian
scriptures, but which are to be attributed to
Narayana Rao himself. All idea of carnality
in the conception of the virgin Mary, is dis
tinctly opposed by the declaration ofthe angel,
'iThat which is conceived in her is of the
Holy Ghost," as recorded in Matthew,* and
by the narrative of the first chapter of Luke,
which is as follows: — "The angel Gabriel was
sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named
* Chap, i, 20.

101
Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose
name was Joseph, of the house of David; and)
the virgin's name was Mary. ' And the angel
came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that
art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee:
blessed art thou among women. And when
she saw him, she was troubled at his saying,
and cast in her mind what manner of saluta
tion this should be. And the angel said unto
her, Fear not, Mary : for thou hast found fa
vour with God. And, behold, thou shalt con
ceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and
shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be
great, and shall be called the Son ofthe High
est : and the Lord God shall give unto him
the throne of his father David : and he shall
reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of
his kingdom there shall be no end. Then
said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be,
seeing I know not a man? And the angel
answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost
shall come upon. thee, and the power of the
Highest shall overshadow thee : therefore also
that holy thing which shall be born of thee
shall be called the Son of God."* It is no
doubt wonderful that a virgin should conceive;
but the power of God is sufficient to account
for the fact : with him nothing is impossible.
For the miraculous conception of the virgin, a
reason is apparent. It was necessary that
* Luke i, 26—35.

102
the Saviour of men should be free from all sin,
and from all tendency to sin ; and hence her
conception was' brought about, not according
to ordinary circumstances, but by the power
of the Holy Ghost. There was no occasion
for her being liberated from her espousement,
before her conception. It was enough that
Joseph should be informed of her fidelity.
God did not tempt her to infidelity, and he
did not lead her to infidelity. He had a right,
as God, to dispose of her according to his sov
ereign will, but without sin. He employed
that which belonged to him, and he employed
it without violating any of the conditions on
which it had been bestowed on man.
It is probable that Narayana Rao thought,
that by his perversion of the narrative of the
holy scriptures which I have now noticed, he
could put something like a good face on the
narratives of alleged divine transactions con
tained in the Puranas. If such was his pur
pose, he has completely failed to accomplish
it. By referring to my consideration ofthe
excuses which are urged in behalf ofthe sins
of the Hind6 gods, he will find, that the
charge of every one of them rests on the fact,
that they consist in transactions which are
directly and decidedly opposed to the holy
nature of God. I do not think it necessary
to extend my former observations in this place.
I would only remark, that Krishna's transac-

IOS
tions with the female sex, were those of the
grossest adultery, as connected with surrep
titious and deceitful acquisition, corruptive
and depraving influence, and sinful carnal
enjoyment; and that Krishna's abstraction of
various articles from those with whom he came
into contact, was that of gross theft, as foun
ded on his disregard of the laws of honesty,
which, as a professed incarnation of God, he
was bound to obey, and to illustrate for the
sake of the instruction of men. His general
conduct was so base, that a serious defence of
it can scarcely be undertaken by any person
who has any regard to the principles of mo
rality, and that an exposure of it cannot be
made without producing feelings of shame
in the minds of those who may consider it a
duty to unfold it.*
2. The second objection against the books
of the New Testament is thus stated : —
" With reference to the general circumstan
ces of Jesus after his birth, we find the follow
ing account. ' The Magi in the east having
seen a star distinctive of him came to King
Herod, and told him all the circumstances of
the case. His fears having been thus aroused,
* Let the Hindu reader peruse the tenth section of the Bhagawata,
and especially its accounts of occurrences on the banks of the Yamu
na, and he will perceive the justice of these remarks. I have refrained
from making quotations, solely from the wish not to stain my pages
with the corrupt narratives.

104
fee deceptively instructed the Magi fo go and
search for him, and worship him, and to give
him information on the subject, that he, too,
might come and worship. On this the Magi
left him ; and the star, coming in front of
them, showed them the way, till it remained
stationary over the place where Jesus was.
They then went in, and seeing the child with
his mother, they worshipped him, and hon
oured him with presents of gold, silver, &e.
While the Magi slept, an angel of God having
come to them in a dream, and having com
manded them to leave the country without
giving information to King Herod, they went
away accordingly. After this, the (reputed)
father of Jesus had a dream to this effect,
that, for fear of Herod, he should take the
child and go to Nazareth (Egypt,) and should
make his appearance in his own country after
Herod's death. When Joseph awoke from
his dream, he took the child and went to Naz
areth (Egypt.) Herod, in the mean time, was
waiting for the Magi; and, on account of their
non-appearance, he laid hold of all the chil
dren of the age of two years, belonging to the
inhabitants of the district, which had been
pointed out, and put them to death.'
" To this account, the following objection
presents itself. Seeing an Incarnation of God
makes his appearance to promote the happi
ness of all, there ought to happen in connexion

105
Vith him no calamity whatever, and he
ought to be distinguished from all other men
in that, with him, nothing is impracticable.
Notwithstanding all this, he is no sooner born
than a great number of infants, from their
birth unstained with sin, are, in connexion
with him, unreasonably put to death. When
an Incarnation had been taken to communi
cate happiness, such a slaughter of children
ought by no means to have taken place. In
connexion with him, what a lamentation for
children must have occurred in all the families
that suffered ! The cause of all this lamen
tation was nothing else than the flight of
Jesus. If he was a real Incarnation, he ought
to have feared no one, and his appearance as
an Incarnation ought to have turned the hearts
of all men to God. Not only was this not
realized ; but what might at least have been
expected, that no one should have an inclina
tion to kill him, [is expected in vain. J And,
as long as Herod lived, Jesus did nothing
whatever towards the establishment of [his]
religion, but, ran away and lived in Nazareth
(Egypt.) It hence appears that Herod was
more powerful than Jesus. It is impossible,
therefore, that he, who by his flight, became
a murderer of children, and was so despicable
in power, can be either the Son of God, or
bear any relation to God whatever.
The position, that "Seeing an Incarnation
N

106
of God makes his appearance in the world to
promote the happiness of all, there ought to
happen in connexion with him no calamity,"
requires some explanation. No Christian
will admit either the premises, or the conclu
sion. All men are sinners, and consequently
undeserving of happiness. God may, accor
ding to his sovereign will, determine to confer
happiness, either on all the human family, or
on a limited portion of it. The very occurence
of a calamity, he may make the occasion of
conferring this happiness, in conformity with
his ability to bring light out of darkness,
strength out of weakness, and order out of
confusion. In regard to the murder of the Bethlehemi-
tish children, it must be observed, that Christ
was not the guilty cause of this murder, but
the innocent occasion of it. It was not he
who sinned, but Herod the king who sinned.
He neither encouraged that wicked tyrant to
commit murder, nor excused him after he had
accomplished his atrocious purposes. It is
in the highest degree absurd to blame Christ
for not preventing the murder, because it
must appear to every one who will reflect
with any degree of attention on the course of
God's providence in this world, that while
God testifies against sin, and punishes it, he
yet permits it to exist. For the permission,
on the part of God, of the murder ofthe infants,

107
blame can no more be attached to him, than
for the permission of murder in our own day.
He is the sovereign of life ; and he can re
move it whenever it may seem fit to his sov
ereign pleasure. He had no doubt the best
of reasons for permitting Herod to destroy
the children. Considering the temptations
to which they might have been exposed, and
the trials to which they might have been sub
jected had they lived, he may have wished to
remove them from an evil world, and intro
duce them into a state of happy existence in
another w&rld. He may have wished to pun
ish their parents by their bereavement, for
the sins which they had committed, and for
their ingratitude for the mercies which they
had received. The infants, moreover, had
been conceived in sin, and brought forth in
iniquity, and possessed a depraved nature.*
In God's providence, there is a " wheel within
a wheel." He frequently accomplishes many
ends by one act, or by the sufferance of one act.
" Respecting man, whatever wrong we call
May, must be right, as relative to all.
In human works, though laboured on with pain,
A thousand movements scarce one purpose gain :
In God's, one single can its end produce ;
Yet serves to second too some other use,"t
• The doctrine of original sin is generally admitted by the Hindus.
A striking oonfession of it, is found in one of the quotations from the
Brahman's daily prayers, quoted in p. 75.
t Pope's Essay on Man. Some of this poet's sentiments, as well as
those of his matter Bolingbroke, approach to those ofthe Hindus.

108
The objection which Narayana Rao attempts
to urge against the power of Christ, has no
foundation. Christ's humiliation, and appa
rent helplessness as a child, and all his suf
ferings were entirely voluntary. There was
in him no want of power, but there was the
will to conceal his power till such time as the
appointed season for manifesting it had arri
ved. Neither all the kings of the earth, nor
all the devils in hell, could have destroyed his
life without his consent. We must not dictate
to God, however, the means to be employed
in preserving any individual. He may employ
men, or angels, or even inanimate objects, to
accomplish his purposes. He could have
preserved Jesus in the land of Judea ; but it
was his will that he should go into Egypt,
that, amidst other purposes, the prophecy,
"Out of Egypt have I called my Son" might
be fulfilled. It was his will, also, that Jesus,
for the fulfilment of prophecy, should be con
veyed to Nazareth, and reside there. To his
holy will we cannot object; and to his accom
plishment of it through the warning of an
angel, and the efforts of Joseph, we cannot
object. By these remarks, Narayana Rao's objec
tions are completely removed. He has not
only failed, however, to support his cause by
the reasoning which he has pursued, but he
has laid down principles which most directly

109
militate against it. Let us attend to two
of them.
1. An Incarnation of God^ according to
Narayana Rao, should be possessed of great
power, i hold that this is a truth ; and while
I hold that an Incarnation may either exer
cise, or not exercise, his power, according to
the pleasure of his will, I maintain with him
that an Incarnation should be possessed of
infinite power. I call upon him, with these
facts before his eyes, to contemplate the re
ported achievements of the Hindu Avataras.
In every one of them God is represented as
destitute of power at the time at which he
wished to exercise it !
The Matsya, or fish Incarnation, took place
in most extraordinary circumstances. The
recovery of the Vedas, which are said to have
remained at the bottom of the sea, at one of
the periodical renovations of the world, is said
to have been its object. God, according to
the account which is given in the fable, could
neither discover where the Vedas were, nor
restore them to his possession at the time at
which he needed them to instruct him in the
work of creation. He was in consequence
compelled to assume the form of a fish, and
to search for them for thousands of years be
fore he could obtain them ! Here is weakness
with a witness. Weakness was the cause of
the Incarnation, and weakness was displayed

no
in all the conduct ofthe Incarnation.
To prevent the mountain Mandara from
sinking into the bowels of the earth, when it
was employed in churning the sea of milk*
Vishnu became incarnate as a Ktirma, or tor
toise, and supported it upon his back. This
same Vishnu, however, could not prevent the
Asuras from stealing the amrita, or elixir of
immortality after it was produced by the chur
ning; and he could not recover it from them
till he deceived them by assuming the form of
a beautiful woman.
The story of the assumption of the Varaha
(boar), the Vdmana, (dwarf), and the Pardshu-
rdma Avataras, for the purpose of respectively
killing the Ashuras Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakas-
hipu, and Bali; and the Kshatriyas, does not
give us very exalted ideas of Vishnu's power.
Its foundation rests on the assertion of the
vanquishment ofthe Suras, and their expulsion
from heaven, by the Asuras, and on the neces-;
sity of God's taking a form to destroy them J,
It is consequently opposed to those ideas which
should ever be formed respecting the Almighty
power of God, and, in particular, respecting
his ability to take away life at his pleasure.
I have shewn the weakness of Rdma Chandra,
and Krishna, in the reply to Mora Bhatta Dan-
dekara. The reason of the assumption of the Buddha
Avalara is similar to that which is stated as

Ill
explanatory of the Varaha and Vamana Ava»
taras. The Kalki Avatara, is said to have not
yet taken place; and respecting it, 1 have to
say nothing.
The power of God, it must now appear, is
not manifested by the stories of the Hindu.
Avataras ; and I have only to call ou Narayana
Rao to apply his own principle, and to renounce
all faith in them.
2. Narayana Rao declares that an Avatara
ought to "turn the hearts of all men to God."
I admit that he ought to do nothing directly
to turn the hearts of man from God; and find
ing Narayana Rao agreed with me on this
point, 1 ask him to acknowledge that all the
defences, by the Hindus, of the sins ofthe Hin-
d6 Gods, which I have noticed in my former
work, are inadmissible, and absurd. I ask hiin
also to renounce all faith in the Buddha Ava
tara, which took place for the express purpose
of turning the hearts of men from God, and
which is thus spoken of in the Agni Purana :
" The Suras, being defeated in battle by the
Asuras, sought the protection of Vishnu ; who,
in consequence was born under the delusive
form of Buddha, the son of Jina, by whom the
Asriras were deceived ; and, being induced to
abandon the religion of the Vedas, lost all
power as warriors. From that time has the
faith of Buddha flourished ; and many are the
heretics who have forsaken the sacred ordinan-

112
ces of the Vedas."* I refer to this story not
because I believe that the forsaking of the
Vedas is sinful, (for the very contrary is my
opinion,) but for the purpose of shewing that
there is no right principle admitted by Nara
yana Rao which is not destructive of Hinduism.
How will he stare, when, with the sentiment
which he is forced to adopt, he not. only sees
that the Hindu Avataras are represented as
sinful ; but that Vishnu was forced, according
to thc fictions, to assume the mortal births
because of his sin. On this latter point, I think
it right to introduce the following extract from
the Matsya Purana. "The Asuras having been
repeatedly defeated by the Suras, and deprived
of all share in sacrifices, were meditating to
withdraw from the unavailing contest, when
Shukra, their spiritual preceptor, determined
to propitiate Shiva by a severe tapdsa, and to
procure from him a charm by means of which
the Asuras might obtain victory over the Suras.
Shukra having departed for this purpose, the
Asuras began thus deliberating amongst them
selves: — fAs our preceptor has laid aside his
arms, and assumed the barken dress and the
black skin of an ascetic, how shall we be able
to conquer the Suras in battle? Let us, there
fore, with our arms seek refuge with the mother
ofKAvja, and endure this distress until our
preceptor, Shukra, having finished his tapdsa,
* Kennedy on Mythology, p. 441.

113
•shall return to us; and then let us, bracing on
our armour, engage in combat with the Suras.
Having thus resolved, they, alarmed, hastened
to the mother of Kavya, who taking them
under her protection, thus spoke: — 'Fear not,
fear not; but remain near me, and no danger
shall approach you.' The Suras, beholding
the Asuras thus received under the safe guard
of the mother of Kavya, were proceeding to
attack them, when the goddess, perceiving the
Asuras encompassed by the Suras, in anger
thus addressed Indra, — c\f thou desist not, I
will deprive thee ofthe sovereignty of heaven/
And Indra, alarmed at her angry words, and
dreading her magic power, was yielding to her
desire, when Vishnu appeared among the im
mortal bands, and said to him, — ' Yield not,
for I will assist thee.' On observing Indra
protected by Vishnu, the goddess thus angrily
spoke- — '"Now let the contending foes behold
how the power of my devotion shall subdue
both India and Vishnu.' Thus finding them
selves likely to be overcome, they asked each
other, — 'How shall we liberate ourselves from
this difficulty?' And Indra said, * Hasten, O
Vishnu ! to conquer before she has finished her
invocations, or we shall be defeated.' Then
Vishnu, considering the detriment that must
be incurred by the gods should the mother of
Kavya bring her incantations to a successful
conclusion, deemed that the slaying of a woman
©

114
under such circumstances was allowable, and
immediately seizing his disc smote off her head
with it. But, on beholding so horrid a deed
as the murder of a woman and the death of his
wife, Bhrigu was violently incensed, and thus
cursed Vishnu:— ' Since thou hast knowingly
committed so impious an act as the murder of
a woman, thou shalt be seven times born a-
mongst men;' and then added, as a mitigation
of the curse, ' but each birth shall be for the
advantage ofthe world, and for the restoration
of justice.'"* Sin is here expressly assigned
as the cause of Vishnu's mortal births. "The
restoration of justice" spoken of, we have shewn
to be nothing else than a restoration of justice
by injustice.
3. The third objection against the New Tes
tament, is thus stated: — "A star pointed out
the road to the Magi seeking to find Jesus.
This is a wonderful concern. According to
the description ofthe universe given by Chris
tians, the stars are the suns of other worlds. If
a star, that is to say a sun, move in the slightest
degree from ils place, it will be the occasion of
a great calamity; and if thestar (spoken of) real
ly came near thc earth, it is impossible to see how
the world could remain unconsumed. Is it
not unreasonable, that religion and astronomy
should be thus opposed to one another?"
* Kennedy on Mythology, p, 244, 245.

115
Inattention to the nature of popular lan
guage, is the cause of the difficulty which has
occurred to Narayana Rao, and which he has
here expressed. The word nakshatra, which
he uses, is not that which corresponds with the
original Greek word, and not that which is
used in tbe Marathi translation of the New
Testament. Tard is the proper word. This
may mean, as Narayana Rao well knows, either
a meteor, or a fixed star. On the supposition
that a meteor, or any luminous body of a like
nature, appeared to the wise men who came
from the east to see Christ, no difficulty is
experienced iu the consideration of the narra
tive which is given in the New Testament.
On the supposition that a new fixed star ap
peared in the heavens to the Magi, at the time
at which the Messiah was born, it is not diffi
cult to see, that when they discovered that the
star went before them, they merely ascertained
that they had not arrived at its precise zenith
point in the heavens, till " they came to the
house where the young child was." The use
of figurative language, according to which the
star is viewed as moving, is popularly correct,
and is similar to what we employ when we
speak of the sun rising and setting. The birth
of Christ, the Saviour of men, was such a grand
event that it might well be signalized by the
creation of a new star. In the appearance of
this star, or even in its disappearance, suppo-

116
simr it no longer to exist, there is nothing in-
consistent with .the power of God, and nothing
even inconsistent with the experience of astro
nomers. "Several new stars," says Mr. Barlow,
one of the Professors of Mathematics at the
Royal Military Academy at Woolwich, "have
appeared for a time, and then vanished; some
that are given in the ancient catalogues, are no
longer to be found; while others are constantly
and distinctly visible, which have not been
described by the ancients; some stars like beta
in the whale, have gradually increased in bril
liancy; others like delta in the great bear, have
been constantly diminishing in brightness; and
a great number sustain a periodical variation
in their brilliancy. The new star which was
seen by Tycho in 1572, in the constellation
Cassiopeia, suffered very remarkable changes.
On a sudden it became so brilliant that it sur
passed in brightness even Venus and Mercury,
and was visible on the meridian in the day
time. Its light then began to diminish, till it
disappeared, about sixteen months after it had
been observed. The new star which appeared
in 1603(1604,) in the constellation Serpentarius,
exhibited similar phenomena, and disappeared
after being visible for some months."*
* Mathematical Dictionary. For an account of " temporary stars,"
see also Sir John F. W. Herschel's Treatise on Astronomy, p.p. 38S-3?4.
This is a work, which, being written in a popular style, and illustrating
the mechanism of the heavenly bodies, by an appeal to familiar ana-

117
4. The fourth objection against the New
Testament is thus propounded :— "The Padre
informs us, that Jesus ascended with his body
to heaven. But ascension into the sky with a
body, is impossible en account ofthe attraction
of the earth. What are we really to make of
this astronomical and biblical opposition 1"
Narayana Rao, it will be remembered, for
merly objected to Christ, because he did not
exercise his divine power, when it was his will
that it should be at rest. He now objects to
him because he did exert his divine power, and
go up to heaven, when it was his will to ascend
thither ! Had Jesus been unable to ascend to
heaven, he might have been objected to. Be
cause he did ascend to heaven, he should be
acknowledged as having come from God.
The two silly and groundless objections
which I have now noticed, include every thing
which the Hindu writer has to offer against the
philosophy of the Bible. His attempt to urge
them leaves him in a sorry plight with regard
to Hinduism. This system is, in many parti
culars, directly opposed to science and philo
sophy. On no tenable suppositions, can it be
explained as consistent with them. It may
conduce to the destruction of a ruinous system
of superstition, to enter into some particulars
on this subject.
logies, may be circulated with great advantage among the native youth
acquainted with the English language.

118
In the reply to Mora Bhatta, 1 gave a few
hints as to the astronomical and geographical
system ofthe Hindus. I refer the reader to
them, and also direct his attention to the fol
lowing extraordinary passage in the Skanda
Purana, which is similar to others which I have
observed in the Bhagawata, &c.
"O King, armed with the leaf-like dart, lis
ten without inquiring concerning things pre
existent to matter. From matter, sprang in
telligence; from intelligence, the three quali
ties ; from the three qualities, the five senses,
and the five elements. The Andas such as
the earth, which sprung from the five elements,
are in number, 100,000,000,000. These Andas
are not one above another, but all on a level ;
they are like gold.
" Of these 100,000,000,000 Andas, you have
1008. The nature of one of these I will de
scribe, so that you may perceive it as clearly
as you can look throughout the most trans
parent fruit.
"24 rays make one hair's breadth; 8 hairs,
a nit ; 4 nits, a louse ; 8 lice, a rice corn ; 3 rice
corns, a finger's breadth : 24 finger's breadth,
an arm, or cubit; 4 arms, a bow; 2 bows, a
rod ; 2000 rods, a krosha; 4 kroshas, a yoj ana.
" The length and breadth of the Anda are
equal, each being 1,000,000,000 yoj anas ; and
the other Andas are of like dimensions. I now
describe this Anda, and its inhabitants ; listen

119
attentively. " To the earth there are seven continents, c*r
Islands, Jambu, Kusha, Plaksha, Shdlmali,
Krauncha, Shdka, and Pushkara. Around
Jambu Island, is a sea of salt water; around
Kusha, a sea of liquor; around Plaksha, a sea
of sugar-cane juice; around Shdlmali, a sea of
clarified butter; around Krauncha, a sea of
curds ; around Shdka, a sea of milk ; and a-
round Pushkara, a sea of fresh water. All
are in a circular form.
"Around the sea of good water, is a wide
extent of gold land, beyond which is the sur
rounding wall of mountains, and perpetual
darkness. " The first Island (Jambu) is 100,000 yoja
nas, and the sea that surrounds it is ofthe same
breadth; the next is double, and so on ; in all
they are 25,400,000.
" Mount Meru, which is situated in the cen^
tre of Jambu, is in form like the fruit of the
lotus. Its height is 84,000 yojanas ; its depth
in the earth 16,000 ; its breadth at the summit*
3»200,000, and the base, 16,000. It has three
swelling cones, on the highest of which there
are many peaks.
" Above the earth is the world of Ether, &c.
" Then comes the place where dwells the
Celestial Ganges, and next the region of the
Sun 100,000 yojanas from the earth. Here
are the 330,000,000 gods. Above this, 100,000

120
yojanas, is the moon ; 100,000 more, the stars *,
200,000 more, Mercury ; 200,000 more, Venus ;
200,000 more, Mars ; 200,000 more, Jupiter^
200,000 more, Saturn. Above this, at the
distance of 100,000 yojanas, is the region of
the seven Rishis (the great bear ;) and still,
above that 100,000, is the world of Dhruva,
the Polar-star.
It is difficult to enumerate all the gross
blunders contained in this passage. The
springing of intelligence from matter ; of the
three qualities, from intelligence; of the five
senses, and the five elements, from the three
qualities, is a doctrine which I leave to the
examination of the followers of the Rishis
who framed it* Those who have the sligh
test knowledge of geography, and astronomy,
will admit that the statements which follow
it, misrepresent the form of the earth, — mis
represent the divisions ofthe earth, — and mis
represent the distances of the planets, the
stars, the moon, and the sun. The seven
continents, or islands, are unknown to the
most extensive travellers, and the seven seas
of salt water, liquor, sugar-cane juice, cla
rified butter, curds, milk, and fresh water,
are unknown to the most extensive voy-
agers.f The dimensions of the world are
* See Appendix G.
t Lieut. Col. Wilford, from the best of motives, endeavours in his

121
exaggerated to a degree, which shews that the
framers ofthe Puranas erred most eggregious-
ly in their astronomical observations-. The
height of mount Meru is given at the enormous
estimate of 84,000 yojanas, while by trigono
metrical observations, it has been found that
the highest peak ofthe Himalaya range does
not point above 27,000 feet above the level of
the sea. Its breadth, and other dimensions,
are stated with equal erroneousness. The
sun which is about 17,125,000 yojanas distant
from the earth, is stated as only 100,000 dis
tant. The moon which is only about 30,000
yojanas from the earth is represented as 200,
000 yojanas distant, and twice more remote
than the sun. The position of the planets is
given with corresponding error. The real dis
tance of the Great Bear and Polar Star from
the earth, is so great, that it cannot be mea
sured. It does not bear, any ascertainable
proportion to the planets^*
papers, in the Asiatic Society's Transactions, $S)0 to turn the Hindu.
Geography to some good account. Not to Speak, however, ofthe
manner in which he was deceived by his Pandit, his attempt may be
said to be foolish, and his failure complete. Col. Kennedy has with
propriety observed, " It is, indeed, difficult to determine whether the
Puranic description ofthe system of the universe, or the attempt to
reduce its extravagance torationality is most absurd." Mythology, p. 234.
* Assuming the earth's orbit as a diameter, the amount ofthe annual
parallax, even ofthe nearest fixed star which has hitherto been ex
amined with attention, is so small that it has escaped observation. This
could not have been the case had it equalled a single second. Assu
ming this quantity, however, as the measurement of the angle subtend
ed, and expressing it thus, Radius is to the sign of 1, as 200,000 to 1,
P

The Purana, from which I have extracted
the passage on which I have now commented,
gives the following account of an eclipse: —
"Vishnu [after the churning of the ocean]
gave the Devas the ambrosia ; on which two
Asuras also, standing in the company of the
Devas, received and ate it. but without re
peating the incantations. This Surya and
Chandra [the sun and the moon] perceived,
and, by a wink, informed Vishnu, that they
were not Devas, but Asuras in disguise, who
had thus received and eaten ambrosia. Then
Vishnu saw the deception, and coming to them
among the crowd of Devas, he cut off their
heads with the darvi, or spoon, in his hand, and
gave the rest of the ambrosia to the Devas.
The ambrosia which the Asuras had eaten,
had not descended below their necks, when
their heads were cut off: and though their
bodies perished, their heads could not die.
Seeing this, Vishnu, who once measured the
earth at one step, said, that having eaten am
brosia, they would remain in the sky: and he
gave them the station of planets. Those two
and considering the earth's radius as 4,000 of our miles, tbe distance of
the stars cannot be so small as 4800000000 radii of the earth, or 19200
000000000 miles ! How much greater it may be, we know not. The
error ofthe Hindu sages respecting the Great Bear and Polar-Star, is
consequently eggregious.
According to the Puranas, the planets, &c. revolve round Dhruva,
or the pole, to which they are attached by cords of air, as the potters'
vi heel turns on its pivot !

heads from that time, in the form of red and
black serpents, seize Surya and Chandra who
betrayed them." The eclipses which are here
attributed to an attempt made by the heads
of Rahu and Ketu to devour the moon, are
caused by the interposition of the earth be
tween the sun and the moon, or of the moon
between the sun and the earth. The passage
of the moon between the earth and the sun
causes the eclipse of the sun ; and the shadow
of the earth, intervening between the sun and
the moon causes an eclipse of the moon.*
According to the Bhagavata, and other Pu
ranas, the moon shines by its own inherent
light, and its waxing and waning are caused
by the increase and decrease of a rust pro
duced by the curse of Dahsha. The moon,
however, is not inherently luminous. Its
crescent form is to be attributed to the position
in which we are with regard to that half of it
which is enlightened by the sun. The sun's
distance and light, suffice to account for all
the appearances. It is always observed that
the bright edge ofthe crescent of the moon is
towards the sun, and that in proportion as the
moon in her monthly course' becomes distant
* The causes of an eelipse are well known to intelligent Joshis, and
are even admitted in their Siddhantas. How strange, then, is it that
they do not reject the Pm-anas, whose statements, in this instance, can
not be explained, even on the plea ofthe use of strong figurative lan
guage. Their practice of judicial astrology, however, it must be re
membered, is the source of their livelihood.

124
from the sun, the breadth of the crescent in
creases and vice versa.
According to the Bhagavata, Brahma emp
tied the contents of his water-vessel on the
three feet of Trivikrama, or Vishnu extended,
after he got the power from Bali, the Daitya,
of planting them on heaven, earth, and hell.
They were disposed so as to form three rivers,
Akdsha Ganga in the heavens, the Ganga on
the earth, and Bhogaivati in hell. The milky
way, however, has been ascertained to be the
diffused and united light of a great assemblage
of stars.* The Ganges has been found to have
its rise, in a manner similar to that of other
rivers, in the Himalaya range of mountains.
Of either the existence or nature of Bhoga-
wati, nothing can be said.
The. tides, according to the Puranas, are
caused by the heavings and contractions of
an immense tortoise, the Kurma- Avatara, or
by the absorption and rejection of a large
quantity of the water of the sea by the Brah
ma Aurwa. According to science, however,
the tides are caused by the attraction of the
moon and the sun, and particularly by that of
the former body.!
* " The milky way when examined through powerful telescopes; is
found (wonderful to relate !) to consist entirely of stars scattered by mil-
lions, like glittering dust, on the black ground ofthe general heavens. "
Sir John Herschell's Astronomy, p. 163.
+ The Parsis have got a way of accounting for the tides no less
absurd than that ofthe Hindus. " Whenever the fish named Karma-

125
The mountains, according to the Bhagavata
and other Puranas, are placed on the earth,
to hold it steady.* Geography teaches us,
that they have no such use. They are merely
inequalities on the surface of the globe, an
swering most important purposes, in diversi
fying and beautifying terrestrial scenery,
attracting the clouds, modifying the atmos^
phere and climate, and giving origin to rivers
by the facilities which they afford for the
collection and transit of water, f
Thunder, according to the Puranas, is
caused by Indra, the god of the atmosphere,
literally striking the concreted clouds with
his thunderbolts. Meteorology teaches us
that it is caused by the transit of the electric
fluid to the different clouds which are near
one another.
The Puranas teach that a water-spout is
caused by the clouds, according to the direc
tions of Indra, assuming the form of an ele-
nik," it is said in the Bundeshne, " goes down to the bottom ofthe sea,
the tide flows ; and when he rise s up again, it; becomes ebb-tide.
This fish is as long as the distance which a vigorous man can walk
between the rising and the setting of the sun." For this and similarly
precious doctrine, the Bundeshne has been happily rejected by some
of the followers of Zoroaster in Bombay. See the Oriental Christian
Spectator, for Nov. 1831.
* Muhammad gives a similar account of them. Kuran, chapter
entitled Lokman.
t The inclination ofthe Vindhyadri range of mountains, is the con
sequence of their nodding out of respect to Agastya Bishi as he passed
them on a certain occasion !

126
phant, and his drinking up the waters of the
sea or of rivers by his proboscis. Meteorology
teaches, that it is to be ascribed to electric
influence, or to the meeting of different cur
rents of air in the atmosphere.
*' If you teach the Hindus," says the Editor
ofthe Enquirer newspaper, "that the lightning
is but the sparkling ofthe electric fluid ofthe
cloud, you destroy a religious prejudice by
showing them the folly of calling the light
ning a beautiful goddess. Show that water
is composed of hydrogen and oxygen, and the
air, of nitrogen and oxygen, and you will de
stroy a prejudice which says that water and
air are elements. Prove to them that the
earth is suspended in the air and preserved
by a reaction of two opposite attractions
against each other from going astray, and you
will destroy a religious prejudice by showing
them the fallacy of supposing that the earth
is supported upon the heads of serpents. Let
them know that the earthquake is occasioned
by an explosion of combustible matter under
the earth, and you will destroy a religious
prejudice that it is the nodding of a serpent
that supports the earth, which occasions the
phenomenon." The religious prejudices which
are here spoken of, are all sanctioned by the
Puranas. Rain, according to the Aitareya Br&hmana,
"having fallen evaporates and disappears

127
within the moon,"* and according to the Pu
ranas, it is felled by the influence ofthe moon
during the monsoon. The waters exhaled by
the sun, and accumulated during eight months
ofthe year, are, at that season, according to
Manu, diffused over the world by the moon.
The monsoon, however, is caused by the par
ticular position of the sun in the ecliptic, and
by the currents of wind which are caused by
the heat proceeding from that luminary. f
Concerning the corporeal and mental pro
perties of men, the most curious and absurd
accounts are given in the Puranas, and other
sacred works. A hundred and one arteries,
it is said, issue from the heart, one of which
passes to the crown of the head. It is called
* Colebrooke on the Vedas. Asiatic Transactions, vol. viii, p. 417.
The commentator on the Aitareya Brahmana remarks, " Rain enters-
the lunar orb which consists of water ; and at a subsequent time, it is
reproduced from the moon." Ibid. p. 418.
t Many more instances of errors in the Hindu Shastras, connected
with the system ofthe universe, could easily be enumerated. For"
those which I have brought forward, the plea of figurative language
cannot be urged with any success. The following blunder in the
Brahma Vaivertta Pus-ana may be taken in connexion with them. I
quote from Prof. H. H. Wilson's Analysis. " Goloka is said to be 50O
millions of yojanas above the Lokas of Shiva and Vishnu. It is a sphere
of light tenanted by Gopas, Gopis, and cows; the only human persons
admissible to its delights, are pure Vaishnav.is, the faithful votaries of
Krishna. It appears, however, that the author of this Purana, who in
all probability is the inventor of Goloka, had no very precise notions of
his own work, as he calls it in one place square, and in another round ;
and whilst he is content in one passage to give it the moderate diameter
of 30 millions of yojanas, he extends its circumference in another to a
thousand millions." Journal ofthe Asiatic Society. June, 1832. p. 22W-

128
mshumnd. A Yogi is declared to have the
power of drawing up his life by it to the crown
of his head, and preserving it ad libitum in
that position, without taking any sustenance,
and also of uniting his soul with the Supreme !*
Connected with the heart, there are sixteenf
pericardial leaves ! The antahkarana or soul,
moves from one to another of these leaves.
According to the place of its rest, so are its
thoughts, desires, and emotions ! When seat
ed on some of them it sleeps; when it alights
on others, it becomes awake! When it mounts
on one, it sins; when it rests on another, it
produces a stock of merit! "When nourish
ment is received into the corporeal frame, it
undergoes a three-fold distribution, according
to its fineness or coarseness : corn and other
terrene food becomes flesh ; but the coarse
portion is ejected, and the finer nourishes the
mental organ. Water is converted into blood ;
the coarser particles are rejected as urine;
the finer support the breath. Oil or other
combustible substance, deemed igneous, be*
comes marrow ; the coarser part is deposited
as bone, and the finer supplies the faculty of
* This doctrine is laid down in many of the sacred books. Some of
them declare, however, that the Yoga is no longer practicable. I
have seen a pretender to it at Mumbaidevi. The Mahapurusha of Kid-
derpore, who attracted so much attention last year, and who lately
xlied, was another.
t The heart is sometimes reckoned as ashtadah, possessed-of-eight-
leaves.

129
speech."* These instances are specimens oi
the absurdities which may be brought forward,!
The Hindu Shastras give many incorrect
views of the properties of different animals,
vegetables,^ and minerals. Any native who
will peruse them, and at the same time prose
cute to any extent the study of Natural His
tory, will not fail to discover them; I allude
to the subject, merely for the purpose of awa
kening inquiry.
In connexion with the topics to which I
have now adverted, I Cannot refrain from
making the following observations.
(1.) The Christian Scriptures "principally
teach us what man is to believe concerning
God, and what duty God requires of man."
All the information which they give, has a
moral connexion < They communicate instruc
tion on those subjects which it is of most im
portance for man to know; and they leave
almost altogether untouched those subjects
to the discovery of which the light of nature
is adequate. The Hindu scriptures recognize
another principle. The writers of them have
condescended to notice subjects which it is of
no importance for man to know; and they
* This is a morsel of Vedanta wisdom. Brahma Sutra, 2. 4. v. 9.
Colebrooke on the Vedanta.
t See Appendix, H.
X If any European gentleman will examine an intelligent Brahman
about the human frame, he will make the most marvellous discoveries.
The Rishis of old, he will find, beat Dr. Monro hollow.
Q

130
have committed innumerable blunders res
pecting them.
(2.) The spread of science and philosophy
in India, will, as I have stated in the reply to
Mora Bhatta, contribute much to the over
throw of Hinduism. This is to be expected
from the nature ofthe case; and facts accord
with the natural anticipation. In Calcutta,
and even in Bombay, a disbelief of the Shas
tras, and even apostacy from their injunctions,
are prevailing to a great extent among the
educated classes. May God grant that they
may greatly increase.
(3.) There is a great inconsistency in the
practice of the principal supporters of the
educational institutions from which Christi
anity is excluded. They refrain, they say,
from interfering with the religious belief of
the natives, and yet they deliberately teach
the elements of Geography and Astronomy,
which will inevitably prove its destruction.
They will not present any system of truth on
which the soul may repose, by which it may
be delivered from sin, and by which it may
be prepared for the duties of life, and the ser
vices of heaven ; but they will congratulate
themselves, like "the General Committee of
Public Instruction in Bengal," when an im
patience of Hinduism, and a disregard of its
ceremonies, are openly avowed by many young
men of respectable birth and talents, and

131
entertained by many more who outwardly
conform tothe practices of their countrymen."*
The eyes of the principal natives, I trust, will
soon be open to their best interests. The
question, they should perceive, is not whether
their religion shall be destroyed by education,
but, whether they are to receive any sub
stitute for it.
4. The fourth objection against the books
of the New Testament is thus stated : — "They
call Jesus the Son of God. In consequence
of this relation, God appears material and cor
poreal : He has also messengers ; and has the
heaven for his dwelling place, and is thus de
based, and like one of ourselves."
Christ is undoubtedly frequently called the
Son of God in the New Testament. It does
not follow from this circumstance, however,
that they ascribe any corporeality to God.
The human nature of Christ even, we have
already seen to have been conceived by the
"power of the Holy Ghost;" and there is
nothing connected with the birth of Christ
which will countenance the gross ideas which
are in the mind of Narayana Rao.
Christ, I remark in explanation of his Son-
ship, stands in the closest relation to his Fa
ther. He is one of the personal essences of
the glorious Trinity. The constitution of the

* Report for 1832.

132
Godhead is most intimate, for the three persons
who compose it, are, as is unequivocally taught,
the same in substance, equal in power and
glory; and they have alike the names of God,
the titles of God, the attributes of God, the
works of God, the relations of God, and the
honours of God. The intimacy of the connex
ion between the Father and the Word, or Jesus,
is particularly revealed by the denomination
of Son and Only-begotten Son, which he has
received, and which is conferred upon him in
numerous passages ofthe scriptures. These
appellations have not been given without the
most important purpose. A very inadequate
and erroneous idea is formed of them, when
they are considered merely as referring to the
incarnate Word,* whcse manhood was con
ceived by the Holy Ghost, and who, when he
revealed himself among men, was on that ac
count called, but not constituted, the Son of
God. The doctrine of the essential and eternal
Sonship of Christ is directly recognized in the
sacred scriptures. Some ofthe inspired writers
mention that the love of God is exhibited in
his giving, and in his sending forth that person
who was his Son.'f" John speaking of the re
velation of Jesus, connects it with the display
of what was essential to him, by observing,

* One of the names of Christ. John, i, 1. &c.
t John, iii, 10. Gal,iv, 4.

133
that "We beheld his glory, the glory as ofthe
only-begotten ofthe Father, full of grace and
truth."* Christ himself, evidently with a ref
erence to his essential connexion with the Fa
ther, said, " I am in the Father, and the Father
in me."t The Apostle Paul, in his epistle to
the Hebrews, writes, "God. ...hath in these last
days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom, also, he
made the worlds ; who being the brightness of
his glory, and the express image of his person,
when he had by himself purged our sins, sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;
being so much better than the angels, as he
hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent
name than they."| We must consider Christ,
then, as necessarily the Son of God; and, we
must, as I have said, view this appellation as
explanatory to a certain extent of the eternal
relation which exists between the Father and
the Word. Men and angels are the Sons of
God by creation and preservation; and believ
ers are the Sons of God by adoption ; but Christ
is the Son of God in a much higher sense than
they. He who is ofthe same nature as the Fa
ther, who is the object ofthe Father's peculiar
love, and who is the manifestation of the Fa
ther's glory, may be allowed to be the Son of
God, in the highest sense of the term. He is
the Son of God, not by creation, or ordinary
* John, i, 14. t John, xiv, 10. \ Heb. i, 4,

131
generation, but by eternity of nature and pro
cession, and intimacy of connexion.* It be
hoved him, who is the Saviour of men, to have
all the divine dignity to which I have now
alluded ; for if he had not been a divine person,
he could not have been the Saviour of a single
individual of the human race. All creatures,
however exalted may be their station and en
dowments, are bound, according to the un
changeable law of their Creator, to love God
with all their hearts, and to serve him according
to the full extent of their powers, and capa
cities, and opportunities. They can never
exceed their duty, and consequently can never
perform works of supererogation, which can
avail to pay the debt of others.
The conclusion which Narayana Rao draws
from the fact that heaven is the dwelling-place
of God, is inadmissible. He has overlooked
what I stated in reply lo Mora Bhatta, that
God is every where present, and heaven is "the
place where God peculiarly displays his glory."
* I have found a statement ofthe Sonship of Christ, similar to that
which I have now given, of great use when reasoning with intelligent
Muhammadans. Some of them, however, have declared, that it is
entirely novel, and framed for the express purpose of removing one of
Muhammad's objections to the Gospel as found in the hands of Chris
tians in his day. This I have denied, and maintained that the expla
nation is similar to what was given by Cyril, Tertullian, Justin Martyr,
Athenagoras, Athenasius, Cyprian, Dionysius, Lactantius, Augustine,
and other Fathers of the Christian church, who flourished long before
Muhammad appeared. Refutation of Muhamrnadism, in Reply to Hajl
Muhammad Hashim, in the Oriental Christian Spectator for July 1833,

135
The angels, or messengers, form part ofthe
inhabitants of that blessed abode. Though
God does not need their services, he glorifies
himself, and communicates happiness to them,
by employing them.
The objection which I have now noticed,
brings to mind, like those which have preceded
it, the wretchedness and indefensibleness of
Hind6ism, According to this system, the Gods,
as we have seen, are confined to localities and
frequently cannot move, notwithstanding the
violence of their wishes, from the places which
they occupy. The most filthy and disgusting
accounts are given of their actual intercourse
CT
with their Shaktis. They are ignorant, like
Vishnu, iu the case ofthe disguised Daityas, of
what passes before their observation, and par
ticularly of what is beyond their reach, They
require the Rishi Narada to convey tidings to
them, Chitragupta to take notes and observa
tions for them, and Brihaspati to act as their
Guru and Instructor!
The five objections to which I have now
directed attention, and which I have shewn to
be unfounded, form the amount of all which
Narayana Rao has to offer against the books of
theNewTestameut. Leaving these writings,
he proceeds to object to Missionary operations.
1. In entering on this subject, he expresses
his surprize that the Gospel of Jesus has been

136
made known iu India only at this late period
of the world. "If the Christian Shaslra be
true," he observes, "and if, according as is
written in it, God be omnipotent and the di
rector of the heart, it. was necessary that Chris
tian Teachers, or Padres, should have been
sent forth into all the world at the time of
Christ. They arc sent into Hindustan eighteen
hundred years after Christ ; and they are not
yet seut into Russia, Persia, China, Turkey,
and Arabia. In consequence of this circum
stance, innumerable millions of people have
gone, and will continue to go, into hell This
is no fault of theirs, for being ignorant of Chris
tianity, they have had no remedy. As God is
omnipotent, he was able to have sent them
Padres long ago. As he has the hearts of all
men at his disposal, it seems wonderful that
he should not have convinced people ofthe
truth of the doctrine of the Padres who have
come. — The alternative is evidently this. God
is either merciless and cruel, ai.d desirous that
men should go into hell; or the Christian reli
gion is false, and on that account God has shut
up its religious shops, and does not counte
nance its wares. That God is merciless, is op
posed to all philosophy and common sense.
The unavoidable conclusion, consequently, is,
that the Christian religion is false, and that the
Padres, taking advantage of the sovereignty
of the people of their caste, have come to this

13^
country for the express purpose of practising
deceit, and leading the people to apostacy."
Before I reply to the argument which is
involved in these observations, it is necessary
for me to explain some facts which Narayana
Rao has misunderstood and misrepresented,
and which, when understood, will be seen to
testify to the divine origin of the Gospel.
The religion of Christ, did not originate at
the time at which he became incarnate in the
land of Judea. A promise of his advent, and
an account of his work, and the blessings to
be derived from him, were given to Adam and
Eve, the progenitors ofthe human race. They,
and their immediate descendants, as well as
Noah and his sons, who survived the deluge,
which took place about 1562 years after the
creation, and who formed the Patriarchs of
the different nations of the world, were com
manded by God to offer up sacrifices, as a
token of their own worthiness of death on
account of sin, and as typical ofthe death of
Jesus, who should appear in the world at the
appointed time, and give his life as a ransom
for sinners. Had men not loved iniquity, and
forsaken the way of God, and framed to them
selves false gods, the -blessing of God would
have continued with them, as with the seedof
Abraham, the friend of God. God would
have saved them, like the pious Jews who be
lieved in the .coming Messiah, and who re-
E

13^
joiced to see his day afar off.
When Christ had made an atonement for
the sins of mankind by his death, and when
he was about to ascend into heaven, he com
manded his disciples to go and teach all na
tions, baptizing them in the name of the Fa
ther, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.*
The injunction which he thus gave, is general
in its application. Christ, in the spirit of
universal benevolence, placed the whole hu
man race under the influence ofthe exertions
which he required from his followers. He
shewed no partial regard to clime, or colour,
or habit, or pursuit, or rank, or power, or cul
ture, or enjoyment. He looked to the most
remote and inaccessible parts of the earth, as
well as to Judea, the land in which he became
incarnate, and the adjacent countries. He
embraced the nations the most barbarous in
their habits and customs, the most degraded
in their morals, the most brutish in their su
perstitions, and the most limited in power and
territory, as well as the nations the most dis
tinguished for their intellectual culture and
refinement, for their progress in the arts and
sciences, and for their actual resources. He
viewed all mankind throughout the world as
involved in guilt, wretchedness and ruin;
and he required, that " repentance and remis
sion of sins should be preached among all
* Matthew^ xxviii, 19.

139
nations beginning at Jerusalem." He con
sidered the gospel, on account of the simpli
city of its doctrines, precepts, and institutions,
as capable of being understood and felt by
all moral agents, when brought home to their
hearts and consciences in demonstration of
the spirit and with power; and he gave the
injunction that it should be preached to every
creature. A short time after his ascension to heaven,
and when his apostles were "all with one ac
cord in one place, they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other
tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance."*
They then commenced their ministry among
their countrymen, the Jews. They were made
instrumental in leading many of them to ac
knowledge, that Jesus whom they had cruci
fied, was the true Messiah; so that "thenunu.
ber of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem ;
and a great company of the Priests were
obedient to the faith." At length, they began
to extend their labours. The apostles viewed
the Gentiles as embraced within the object of
their ministry ; and they laboured to promote
their salvation. Paul and Barnabas were
particularly separated by the Holy Spirit for
the great work of preaching among them the
unsearchable riches of Christ. None of the
Apostles, however, forgot the command of
-  ¦ ¦  '  . i' ¦¦¦"»— !¦¦¦¦»!¦¦¦ H»WI-J»UII*i
* See Acts ii, 1-4,

140
their Master, and none of them forgot to ren
der obedience to it. "They went forth," as
stated by Mark, "and preached every where
the Lord working with them, and confirming
the word with signs following."*
They were instant in season, and out of sea
son, in striving to win souls to Christ. They
propounded the statements of the gospel to
those who were best qualified for investigating
its claims, as well as to those who were least
capable of exercising thought. Among their
enemies, as well as among their friends, they
declared the truth. To audiences, great and
small, they made known their message. A-
mong their countrymen, and among strangers,
they remembered their commission. To the
bond and to the free, to the rich and to th©
poor, to the barbarian and civilized, they un
folded the doctrines of grace. In the syna
gogues, in private apartments, in the court
houses, in the streets, in the market places,
in the fields, in ships, and in prisons, they
preached repentance toward God, and faith
toward our Lord Jesus Christ. At Jerusalem,
at Antioch, at Lystra, at Ephesus, at Athens,
at Rome, and at many other places, they pro
claimed the glad tidings of peace. They
shewed no disposition to neglect their duties
on account of the difficulties which attended
their discharge. Dangers and trials the most
* Mark, xvi, 20.

141
alarming to flesh and blood, were not able to
damp their courage, or abate their zeal. They
were set forth as appointed to death, were;
made a spectacle to the world, and to angels,
and to men ; were reckoned fools for Christ's
sake; were subjected to hunger and thirst;
were naked and buffeted, had no certain dwel
ling place, and laboured working with their
hands; but they murmured not against the
divine dispensations. Being reviled, they
blessed; being persecuted, they suffered it;
being defamed, they entreated. They sought
not worldly ease ; and cherished not the desire
of increasing their fame and worldly influence.
As strong, they bore the infirmities of the
weak, and sought not to please themselves.,
They preached the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth. Having renounced the
hidden things of dishonesty, they walked not
in craftiness, nor handled the word of God
deceitfully ; but by manifestation of the truth
commended themselves to every man's eon^
science in the sight of God. They gave no,
offence in any thing that the ministry might
not be blamed : but in all things approving
themselves as the ministers of God, in much
patience, in imprisonments, in tumults, in
labours, in watchings, in fastings; by pure^
ness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by
kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love un
feigned, by the word of truth, by the power ¦

142
of God, by the armour of righteousness on
the right hand and on the left, by honour and
dishonour, by evil report and good report: as
deceivers, and yet true ; as unknown, and yet
well known ; and as dying, and behold they
lived; as chastened, and not killed; as sor
rowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet
making many rich; as having nothing, and
yet possessing all things.
In obeying the divine command, therefore,
they received the divine blessing. They went
forth preaching the word ; and God gave tes
timony to it. The implacable malevolence of
infidel Jews, the "terrible vengeance ofthe
Roman arm," and the ungovernable fury of
licentiousness, in vain opposed their efforts.
They brought the pretensions of a proud phi
losophy and vaunting eloquence to naught;
and silenced the oracles which deceived the
nations. As instruments in the hands of God,
they overturned, in many places, superstition,
and delusion though supported by their alli
ances to the depravities of human nature, by
all the power of empire, and by all the wis
dom of the world. They raised the banner of
the cross in many of the countries of Satan's
empire; and by its means they attracted sin
ners to the Saviour. Immortal minds, which
had long been held in the dire bondage of
satan, and subjected to the greatest degrada
tion, were liberated by their exertions, and

143
raised to a state of dignity, corresponding with
their high origin and destiny. Bloody altars,
abominable idols, and impure temples fell
before their triumphant march. They took
the prey from the mighty, and delivered the
captive ; turned the habitations of cruelty into
the dwelling places of righteousness ; and in
troduced civilization, peace, happiness, and
morality, into the regions of barbarity, war,
misery, and corruption. The propagation of
the gospel, through their instrumentality,
forms a decided proof of its divine origin. It
is impossible, that, while the means of ascer
taining its rise and progress existed, and while
there was every motive to inquire into its his
tory, it could have gained credit had it not
been true; and it is impossible that it could
have been so signally blessed by God, had it
not been agreeable to his will.
Among the countries in which the triumphs
of the Gospel, to which I have now alluded,
were exhibited, were Persia, Turkey, and Ara
bia. The present darkness and degradation
of these lands, are to be attributed to the neg
lect and abuse of that Gospel which, to a con
siderable extent, they had formerly received.
Christianity is the professed religion of a great
part of Russia. To India, the gospel was
brought in the early ages of Christianity, It
is asserted by many of the ancient Fathers
of the Christian Church, that it was preached

144
in this country by Thomas and Bartholomew,
two of the disciples who had witnessed the
personal ministry of Christ, and who were
commissioned by him as apostles.* The same
authorities also mention: that the former of
these persons died at the hill of Calamina,
which is supposed to be Maliapura near Mad
ras, and to which ignorant and superstitious
Christians to this day repair as to a dharmac-
puri.-\ Pantsenus, aeon vert to Christianity from
the stoical philosophy, who flourished about
tie year 180 a. d., visited India, and found
in this country the gospel of Matthew in use
among professing Christians.^ Theophilus,
"who was present at the council of Nice in the
year a. d. 325, was bom at Diu in Gujarat.^
Johannes, a bishop, who was present at the
same synod, is described as bishop of India,
* The authors who relate that the apostle Thomas visited India are
specifically mentioned by Fabricius in his Lux Evangelii p. 104, 105,
and by Assemanis in his Biblia Orientalis, iv, p. 204. Fabricius also
gives most ofthe testimonies relative to the apostle Bartholomew.
Those of Eusebius (lib. v. cap. 10.), of Socrates (lib. i,-cap. 19), and of
Sozomen, (lib. ii, cap. 24), which are not the least valuable, are omit
ted by him.
t Alfred, at the end of the ninth century, as mentioned by Gibbon,
(vol. xii, p. 236.) on the authority of the Saxon Chronicle, and Wil
liam of Malmsbury, sent ambassadors to visit the apostles " tomb.''
¦$ Eusebius, lib. v. cap. 10. Archdeacon Robinson, in an interest
ing paper on the Malabar Christians in the 2nd number of the Madras
Journal-of Literature and Science, says, that Pantcenus found the gos
pel of Matthew in Malabar. I do not see that his authority bears him
•nt in this position, % Philostorgius, lib. iii.

145
Maxima, and Persia.* Frumentius, from Edes*
sa, laboured as a preacher in India about the
same time, was successtul in turning many of
its inhabitants to a knowledge of Christianity,
and, on a visit to Alexandria in Egypt, was
appointed a bishop. He returned to India, and
founded "many churches in it."-|~ Many Hin
dus were converted to Christianity in the early
part of the sixth century, by Christians from
Syria. Cosmas who visited the country in the
year 522, speaks of the existence of Christian
churches, both in Ceylon and Quilon.J Serun
Perumal, the founder of Calicut, conferred
great privileges on the Christians in his domi
nions iu the ninth century, and ranked them
among his nobles. § From that period, the his*
tory ofthe Malabar Christians can be distinctly
traced. They are at present a numerous and
respectable body. Mr. Baber, in his evidence
before the Select Committee of the House of
Lords, estimates them at 100,000, and says,
"They are the best subjects the Travancore
and Cochin Raja's have; they are the most in-
* Archdeacon Robinson's History.
t Socrates, lib. i, cap. 19. Sozomen, lib. ii, cap. 24. Theodoritus,
lib. ii, cap. 23. Frumentius' labours in India, seem to have been over*
looked by late writers. The account which Socrates gives of them, is
very interesting.
t Robinson gives an extract from Cosmas. The Topographia Chris
tiana of Cosmas is printed in full in the Nova Collectio Patrum, pub
lished at Paris in 1707.
§ Archdeacon Robinson says, that " they took precedence ofthe
Nairs." S

146
dustrious, moral, and obedient, and many of
them I believe opulent."
It is without doubt to be lamented that the
disciples of Christ, with the command and pro
mise of God on their side, have done so little
to extend the gospel. It is also to be lamen
ted, that many of those to whom it has been
announced, have been so disregardful of it, so
slow to examine into its claims, and so averse
to yielding to its authority. With regard to
those, however, who die without the knowledge
of the gospel, and who have no opportunity of
becoming acquainted with it, it is to be obser
ved, that they are condemned not for their ig
norance of the gospel, but for their depravity
and actual violations of that law which God
has written on the human heart, and which
forbids all iniquity.
Begging the reader to keep these remarks
in mind, I now proceed directly to meet the
argument of Narayana Rao. He thinks that
Christianity, if true, would not have been given
by a merciful God to so few, and impressed on
the hearts of so few, of the human race.
(1.) In reply, I remark in thefirst place, that
God cannot be said to be under any obligation
to his mercy, if I may use such an expression,
to grant any direct revelation to men.
It cannot be disputed, that we are all sinners
The testimony which is furnished respecting
our guilt is direct and intelligible, and it is im-

147
possible for us altogether to weaken its influ
ence. In the view of it, we must admit that
we are obnoxious to the divine displeasure,
and that we deserve none ofthe divine favours;
and we must consequently perceive, that, inas
much as a direct revelation is a great mercy,
we have no right to demand it of God. We
are particularly called upon to come to this
conclusion, when we advert to the fact, that,
even according to the principles of natural re
ligion, it is not probable that we are in our
primitive condition. God, according to his
unchangeable goodness, created our race free
from sin ; and the sin which exists is undoubt
edly to be attributed to man. God is conse
quently freed from any obligation to deal with
us in mercy. We cannot accuse him of injus
tice, on the supposition that he determines to
leave us in the midst of our natural darkness,
and a prey to our natural misery. His sover
eign grace alone, must be that whieh can lead
him to interpose in mercy on our behalf, to
repeat the lessons which we have forgotten,
and to unfold to us a way of deliverance from
our sin.
(2;.) These observations support the second
remark which 1 make, that on the supposition
that God does actually give a direct revelation
to men, he is under no obligation to commu
nicate it to the whole human race.
.. If God is under no obligation to grant any

148
divine revelation, he is under no obligation to
grant a divine revelation to all mankind. Jus
tice can be sovereign in its distributions with
out any impeachment. It can give, and it eau
withhold, when there is no claim and no en
gagement. In urging his objection, Narayana Rao has
probably overlooked the circumstance, that it
militates against the idea that any revelation
has been actually given by God ; for no books
professing to be divinely inspired, have, as yet,
been universally received by all, or even uni
versally pressed on the attention of all man
kind. He has overlooked the fact, that there
are thousands who live and die ignorant of
even the most important doctrines of natural
religion. He has overlooked the whole of the
analogy ofthe natural and moral world around
us. The bounties of providence, such as health
and property, mental endowments, and the
means of improvement, are distributed in a very
unequal manner among maukind. Some have
them in abundance, some in moderation, and
some in deficiency. Specific cures for diseases
have their origin in nature, and yet they are
gradually and partially propagated. If Nara
yana Rao were to act up to his principles, he
would step forward and maintain, that the
science of chemistry had no foundation iu truth,
because his fathers were ignorant of it. It is
his duty to inquire into the evidence which

149
Christianity offers, and to decide according to it.
As in other instances, Narayana Rao has laid
Hinduism open to censure by the argument
which I have now noticed. Hinduism is an
exclusive system It is by its precepts, and
principles, coufined to the Bharat-Khanda, or
India. It teaches that a man, born among the
Mlechas, even though he were to receive and
rest upon every one of its principles, could
never attain to Moksha (deliverance) ! The
Mlechas, it teaches, are all excluded from bliss
by the necessity of their nature. Their birth
in the Mlecha-desh, is the consequence of a sin,
or sins, which, iu this life, can never be par
doned. Hinduism most certainly was never
given by God as the religion of men. I do not
make this observation because it is only par
tially known in the world; but because it ex
cludes those from God who might even receive
it. It is, perhaps, well that this should be its
character. It has carried moral devastation
along with it, wherever it has been propagated
in the bounds prescribed for it. It has tram
pled on the reason of man, perverted even the
truths of natural religion, added to the deprav
ity of human feelings, and fearfully increased
the practice of iniquity.
2. In continuing his endeavours to prejudice
his readers against the cause of Christ, Nara
yana Rao alludes to the expense, and alleged

150
fruitlessness of Missionary operations. "The
Padres are aware, that, notwithstanding a great
expense of money and strength, their labours
are comparatively fruitless. They ought to be
aware, that few learned Hindus have aban
doned their religion, and embraced Christian
ity, and that the people of this country will
not, like the savage inhabitants of New Zea
land and America, be easily converted; and
they ought to be particularly aware, that the
inhabitants of this country have scriptures
which are complete in their information ou
every topic."
Notwithstanding what is here said, I am de
cidedly of opinion, that Narayana Rao is con
scious, that, both in regard to the dissemination
of knowledge, and the awakening of convic
tions, and actual conversions, Christianity has
made a vast deal more progress in India, than
is agreeable either to himself or his friends, or
is consistent with the confidence in Hinduism
which they at one time entertained. He knows
that with regard to many towns and villages,
the Christian preacher has not in vain lifted up
his voice, and used his pen. He knows that
the gospel is advancing, notwithstanding all
the opposition which it experiences both from
those who deliberately, and those who ignorant-
ly oppose it. He knows that in the South of In
dia, its triumphs have of late been signal. Con
nected with Neyur, for example, there are 985

151
families, containing 3667 persons, which pro
fess to follow it; and in the course of last" year,
285 families in that district have abandoned
their idols. In Nagercoil, a similar success
has been experienced; and there are in the
neighbourhood of that district, 160 towns and
villages in which native Christian congrega
tions are to be found.* Around Tennavelly,
there is a Christian population of upwards of
11,000 souls.
It may be a fact, that as yet few learned
Hindus have embraced Christianity; and yet
this fact may not be greatly wondered at. The
learned form only a small portion of the com
munity; they are particularly interested in up
holding the prevailing superstition; they are
naturally proud of their attainments; their
minds are contracted from their despising the
literature of other countries; and they are not
the most ready to devote themselves to the pur
suit of truth. Some of the learned, and those
of no mean character, however, have embraced
Christianity, and adorned it by their life and
conversation. I shall bring a few of their cases
before the notice of the reader. They will il
lustrate the nature of conversion, as well as
support the assertion which I have now made.
A late Biographer of Swartzf observes that
"the converts at Tanjore are ofthe most res-

* Oriental Christian Spectator, August 1834. pp. 279, 280, 281.
t Carne.

152
pectable classes of the natives ; many of them
ofthe highest." The testimony which I have
received from a friend at that place, is similar
to what is here given.
One of the first converts in Tranquebar, was
Modaliapa, whose grandfather had been a
prince ofthe country, and his father a man of
considerable wealth. This individual was "well
versed in the theology and philosophy" of In
dia, and after his embracement of Christianity,
he exercised a happy influence over many with
whom he came into contact. Another learned
native, who was greatly distinguished as a poet,
was converted in the same district about the
year 1715. He powerfully felt the influence
of divine truth, declared that the Puranas con
tain nothing but a " pack of lies," and em
braced the gospel and adhered to the profession
of it,amidst the fiercest opposition of his friends
and acquaintances. About the year 1765, a
similar convert was obtained. He was a person
of the highest caste, and well skilled in Hiu-
duism, and embraced Christianity after delib
erating about it for four years.* The case of
Arunasalam, a Pandaram who embraced the
faith of Christ, is deserving of particular notice.
He had studied under a celebrated guru for
five years, and had become a learned and dis
tinguished priest. The absurdity and obscen
ity of the Hindu Shastras, excited his suspicion
* Carne's Lives of Eminent Missionaries, vol i, p. 118.

153
Of their veracity; and Christianity, after he
became acquainted with it at Kadalur, "not
only commended itself to his understanding,
but spoke peace to his conscience and his
heart. He yielded to the influence of divine
truth, and made a public profession of Chris
tianity. The Matha of Pandarams at Tarma-
buram, were greatly grieved at the change of
his sentiments, and practices, and with the
view of inducing him to return to his errors,
they addressed to him the following letter.
" The grace of Shiva, the creator* preserver,
and destroyer, be effectual in the soul of Aru-
nasalam. If you inquire into the reasons of
bur writing this letter to you, know then: You
were on a journey to the holy place of Kashi,
and, behold, by the cunning fraud of that arch
enemy, the devil, your great wisdom and un
derstanding have been so blinded, that you
were not ashamed to go to Kadalur, to the low
and base nation of Franks and Europeans,
who are no better than the Pariars, and that
to hear and be instructed in their despicable
religion. Oh, into what amazement were we
thrown on hearing this! The moment we
heard it, we met in the divine presence of the
head of the sacred College of Pandarams, and
consulted on this event. Indeed we are sunk
in an ocean of sorrow. It is needless to write
many words on the subject, to a man of your
understanding. Did you belong to the cursed
T

154
populace, many words might be necessary.
Remember, Arunasalam, your change is like
a king turning Pariar. What have you wanted
amongst us ? Had you not honour and sub
sistence sufficient? It is inconceivable what
could induce you to bring such a stain on the
character of a Pandaram. We must impute
this misfortune that has befallen you, to a
crime that you have committed against God
in some former generation. Consider, Aru
nasalam, the noble blood of the Tondamar,
from whence you sprang. You associate your
self to the basest people, who eat the flesh of
cows and bullocks. Can any wisdom be a-
mongst them ? The moment you receive this
letter, return again to this place ; may Shiva
give you understanding." To this letter, Aru
nasalam returned a reply, of which the follow
ing is an extract: "The grace of Paratpara
Wastu, Jehovah the living God, the blessed
creator and preserver of the universe, fill the
souls of all the Pandarams at Tarmaburam,
I have received your letter, and have read the
contents with sincere compassion. Will you
know the reason ? It is this : You have unac
countably forsaken the living God, the eter
nal Creator of all that exists ; and have given
the honour due to him to the creature. You
think yourselves wise, though fallen into the
most dreadful foolishness. You worship the
Devil, the arch-enemy of all that is good. You

155
give divine. honour to men who were born of
father and mother, and who, during their life,
have been notorious fornicators, adulterers,
rogues, and murderers. In your religious
books are related the obscenest facts, whereby
lust, the fire of Satan, is furiously kindled in
an instant. My heart melts within me : I weep
over you. Fourteen years have I been wit*
ness of your infamous worship in your pago
das; and I am in my conscience convinced,
that you are on the road that leads directly to
hell and eternal ruin. How holy, how majes
tic is- God, as described in the sacred books
of the Christians ? You call them a base and
ignorant people, but this is owing to your
pride, which cometh from that proud spirit
Satan. Come, my dear friends, and worship
with me the God who made you. Be not de
ceived to expiate your sin by the washing
and sacrifice of the Linga: the Christians
alone have an expiatory sacrifice worthy of
God. When I think on your blindness, my
heart pities you. You know the integrity of
my life ; you never heard scandal of me.
Could you then think I would renounce the
religion of my fathers, without conviction of
its falsehood and dreadful tendency? The
God of infinite compassion hath delivered me,
a wretched sinner, out of the captivity of the
devil. Your promises of honour and riches
touch me not. I have the hopes of an ever-

156
lasting kingdom: you also may inherit it, if
you will repent. I have changed my religion,
but not my caste. By becoming a Christian,
I did not turn an Englishman : I am still a Ton-
damar. Never did the priest of this place de
sire of me any thing contrary to my caste.
Never did he bid me eat cow-flesh, neither have
I seen him eat it, or any of the Tjimalian Chris-
tians^ though such a thing is not in itself sinful.
Turn to the living God : so writeth Arunasalam,
formerly a Pandaram, but now a disciple of
the blessed Jesus."*
Avery interesting account of a converted
Brahman named Krishappa, was lately publish
ed by the Rev. Mr. Reid of Bellary. He was
a young man of excellent talents and education;
and, after much anxious iuquiry in several
places, "he became convinced of the inspira
tion and divine authority of the vtord of God.
His benighted understanding was enlightened
by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. He
saw his guilt, helplessness, and misery; the
utter insufficiency of his own (punya), merito
rious works, to recommend him to the favour
of the true God ; the folly and sin of idol wor
ship ; the impossibility of salvation by any of
the various means on which his fathers had
fixed their hopes; and, under the influence of
•these convictions, he looked to the only Savi
our of sinners, the suitableness of whose work,
* Brown's Propagation of Christianity, vol i. p. 183 — 187.

157
the efficacy of whose merit, and the power of
whose grace, had been recommended to his
regard, and impressed upou his heart. He be
came a regular attendant upon the means of
instruction, and lived in the habitual exercise
of private prayer. After the lapse of a short
time, having expressed an earnest desire to
make a public profession of his faith in Christ,
he and his brother (to whom the conversations
had also been made useful), were baptized, and
admitted into church fellowship, throwing off
the Brahmauica} thread, and all the outward
marks of his caste at the same time, with the
inward prejudices of heathenism." "After his,
admission into the church, he manifested the
ardour of the love which he bore to his Re
deemer, by his unremitted zeal and activity in
the promotion of his glory, and the advance
ment of his cause amongst his idolatrous coun
trymen. He accompanied the missionaries to
their preaching stations, and took an active
part in exposing the degrading nature of the
heathenish ceremonies, proclaiming the glad
tidings of mercy, and directing them to that
Saviour, whose preciousness he had himseli
experienced. In order to qualify himself more
fully for these duties, he applied, with great
diligence and perseverance, to the study of the
Scriptures, from which exercise he became
more firmly established in the faith, and at
tained more clear, extensive, and practical

158
viewsof the Christian religion." — "Afterseveral
changes in his circumstances," says Mr. Reid,
"1 engaged him as my munshi, and fouud his
services in this capacity very valuable. He
entered with much animation into the active
duties of the mission, and laid himself out to
serve his Redeemer. In the month of March,
1831, he left Bellary, iu company with the mis
sionaries, with the intention of attending the
Hampi festival, and of declaring to the multi
tudes who visit it the unsearchable riches of
Christ. But at the first stage, while the party
were awaiting the arrival of one of their num
ber, who had been obliged, by domestic cir
cumstances, to return to Bellary, he was seized
with cholera, and, in the course of five hours
from the period of attack, was removed to an
eternal world. The last few days of his life
were eminently characterized by spirituality of
mind and intensity of zeal, so much so as to at
tract the particular notice and remarks of those
around him. On the morning before he was
taken ill, he was asked to engage in social
worship, and his prayer was strikingly earnest
and heavenly. During his last few hours he
continued sensible, and, when in any degree
relieved from his agonizing sufferings, his lan
guage was that of an humble, contrite sinner,
who had found peace through the blood of the
cross. His confidence in the Saviour was un
shaken, and his hopes of heaven bright and

159
steady." His lasts words were, "I am going
to my beloved Saviour."*
The adult converts connected with the Se-
rampore Mission, amounted in 1818 to six
hundred. "It is a common idea," says Dr.
Brown, in his History of Missions, " that none
but the lowest orders of the people will em
brace Christianity, but this is a gross mistake :
among the converts there were a number of
Brahmans, and others of the highest castes."
Ofthe class now mentioned, several are at
present engaged in preaching the gospel to
their benighted countrymen.
At Calcutta, several of the native youth, of
respectable family, who have been educated
in the higher seminaries of education, have
embraced Christianity. The Bombay Darpan
has occasionally contained notices of their
baptism. The Editor of the Enquirer news
paper, is one of their number.
In this Presidency, the converts are as yet
comparatively few. Among those, however,
who have abandoned their idols and false gods,
there have been some Brahmans of good tal
ents and acquirements.
I could mention other instances of the con
version of learned Hindus ; but the reader will
receive these as specimens of the accounts
which can be given respecting them. When
the value of immortal souls, is taken into
* Evangelical Magaaine for February, 1833. pp. 79—81.

160
consideration ; when the numbers of persons
belonging to the middling and lower classes
of society, who in the sight of God are not
despised, is adverted to; and when the pro
gress of Christian knowledge and conviction,
to which I have already alluded, is properly
weighed, then it will appear, that a great and
a mighty work is advancing in this land. It
is of infinitely more importance, than all the
wealth, and all the labour, which have been
expended in its production. The Christians
who give this wealth, and this labour, know
that it is a duty and a privilege, to serve the
Redeemer, and to promote the welfare of men.
Zeal for the divine glory, and a tender love
for their Hindu brethren, will, I trust, lead
them to increase both their gifts and exertions.
The command of God urges them to the work ;
and the promises of God assure them of com
plete success.
Narayana Rao has not expressly objected
to Christianity because it views the poor with
equal favour as the rich. I am inclined, how
ever, to think, from the passage on which I
have now commented, that he is disaffected
with it on this account. I would, therefore,
observe to him, and to all others like-minded
with himself, that the very feature of Chris
tianity to which I refer, forms one of its most
remarkable excellencies. Christianity dis
penses its blessings to all who will receive

161
them, and it accepteth not the person of men.
It is a mark of the human, and base origin of
Hinduism, that it undervalues the poor. It
informs them that their poverty is the conse
quence of sin in a former birth, of which they
have no remembrance, and that they must be
contented to live deprived of those means of
salvation which the rich enjoy. It informs
the rich, that their possessions are the conse
quences of accumulated merit, and that they
may, and must be, carnally used, with impu
nity. It confers its highest religious advan
tages on the Brahmans, and detracts from
the Shudras.*
In concluding his pamphlet, Narayana Rao
makes a few remarks which are scarcely wor
thy of notice.
His observations on Madhob Chandra Ma-
*> This fact I have seen viewed as an objection to Hinduism by in
telligent natives, and the attempt made to conceal it. The following
curious letter, extracted from the Bombay Darpan ofthe 11th May
1832, refers to it.
" From the 27 th day ofthe present month, I have received an ac
cession to my joy. In your paper of that day, it is thus written : — ' A
Shudra who rightly perforins the religious and moral duties of his life,
obtains the same reward for his actio s as a Brahman does with all his
shatkarmas and other laborious rites and penances.' It appears evident
to me from this, that the condition of a Shudra is better than that of a
Brahman. A Brahman must perform his ' laborious rites and penances
and shatkarmas' ; but a Shudra has little to do, and yet he gets the same
reward. We ought to thank God for our state; but I wish to see some
proof from the Shastra. If E. N. R. will adduce a few Shlokas, I
shall feel thankful to him. Your servant, A Shudra." The request
of this wag, has not till this day been complied with.
U

162
lik shew, that he is hopeful, that that indivi
dual, and his friends, will again return to
Hind6ism. It is by no means probable that
this will be the case; but not to insist on this
point, I beg to call to Narayana Rao's recol
lection, that Hind6ism is by no means scru
pulous about the terms on which it will receive
back apostates. A few dinners to Brahmans,
a liberal distribution of rupees, a short jour
ney, the repetition of some unmeaning man
tras, a thorough bathing in some pool or tank,
and the swallowing of a few pills of cow-dung,*"
are, unless the apostate has used liberties in
eating, in general, considered as quite suf
ficient. Moral circumstances are seldom, or
never, taken into the account.
In assuming, that there are mistakes in
the Bible which have not been pointed out,
Narayana R&o goes on the supposition that
there are some, the existence of which he has
substantiated. By reflecting on the preceding
pages, he will, perhaps, see that he is in error.
It appears to me, that he suspected that this
was his situation, He would fain strike a
bargain with the opponents of Hinduism, so
as to support his cause. He observes that
those who are skilled in Hinduism, see nomore
difficulties in it, than those who are skilled
in Christianity, see in that system. It is
strange, that professing to entertain this per-

163
suasion, he should have answered none ofthe
objections which are urged against Hinduism.
He must not be offended, when, in conclusion,
I say, that neither he nor any other Brahman
in the country, however learned and ijigenious,
can establish Hinduism by fair argument and
proof. The system, like the tower of Babel
of which we read in the bible, is the erection
of human pride, and folly, and wickedness ;
and it is destined to fall, and is quickly falling.
None need, however, regret its overthrow.
There is a sanctuary erected by God, and
secure as his eternal throne, in which the
wretched sons of men may take refuge, in
which they may dwell in safety, and in which
they may enjoy indescribable, and everlasting
felicity. God solemnly declares to them, that
those who enter not within its portals must
perish ; and, at the same time, with all the
love in which the scheme of human redemption
originated, he beseeches them by his word,
spirit, providence, and servants, to repair to
it. I would, in obedience to the divine com
mand, affectionately and earnestly direct Nar
ayana Rao to the path which leads to it ; and
I take my leave of him, by thus expressing
my wishes for his welfare in time and eternity.
May God, in his abundant grace, lead him,
and many of his countrymen, to perceive that
they stand in need of salvation ; and that it
can be found only in the Lord Jesus, who so

164
loved the world as to assume our nature and
give his life as a sacrifice for sin, whose mercy
is sufficient for the most unworthy of the hu
man race, and who is ready to sanctify, by
his Spirit, all who will believe on him, and to
impart to them the joys of heaven. John Wilson.

APPENDIX.

A. [p. 30. J Estimate of Vedantism by Eu
ropeans.
In a review of" Works on Egypt," published in the Oriental Chris
tian Spectator for September 1832, I made the following observations.
" Our modern European infidels have not been a Httle ashamed ofthe
absurdities of mythology. With every disposition to vindicate them
and apologize for them, even in instances in which they were partially
condemned by ihe wiser heathen of olden times, they have displayed
great uneasiness. They have tried to rest their anxious frame on the
old devised esoteric theory, on the allegation that there was a philoso
phical and concealed system materially different from, and far surpas
sing, the popular system. They have supported this theory without ever
adverting for one moment to the fact, that they indirectly impeach the
persons acquainted with these mysteries with a studied concealment of
the truth which must have been considered beneficial, and continued
falsehood and deception in avowing, propagating, and supporting tenets
opposed to those which they really held. They have supported the
theory, moreover, without the slightest ground. We have heathenism
before us in this land ; and, if we make a distinction between the Brah-
manical and the popular belief, we must strike the balance in favour of
the latter. Among the common people, we find amidst all their poly
theism, some feeble convictions and acknowledgements of a supreme
God, but among the learned priesthood, we find both a pantheism
which substantially does not differ from atheism, and at the same time
a polytheism, (the seeming contradiction is easily accounted for) recog
nizing a host of gods only distinguished from the worst of men by a
much worse character, and licensed to commit all kinds of atrocities
without the application to them ofthe principles of eternal justice. We
have the illiterate labourer, theslave of superstition, avowing respecting
his gods, that they ought to be honoured as 'God's messengers,* and
'men of business,' but we have the 'divine,* the ' holy,* the 'sin con
suming' Brahman, 'the master of the Vedas and all the treasurers of
Knowledge,' to use the words of Plutarch ' transforming, dissolving,
SBd ssattering the divine nature into rivers, winds, or bodily forms

166
aad" motions,' and misrepresenting almost every indication of the di
vine working, which is presented to our view."
Colonel Kennedy, probably erroneously viewing me as accusing the
Brahmans of materialism, accused ineof an " extravagant distortion of
truth," and attempted to vindicate the Vedanta system by the follow
ing remarks.
"These absurdities, however, have attracted the admiration of a Sir
William Jones, and a Sir James Mackintos'.i, the former of whom has
observed, (Works vol. i. p. 16.5.) ' I have not sufficient evidence on
the subject to profess a belief in the doctrine ofthe Vedanta, which
human reason could, perhaps neither demonstrate, nor disprove; but
it is manifest that nothing can be further removed from impiety, than
a system wholly built on the purest devotion.' Sir James Mackintosh,
also, observed with respect to the same system, — ' What struck me
was, that speculations so refined and abstruse should in a long course
of ages, have fallen through so great a space, as that which separates
the genius of their original inventors from the mind of this weak and '
unlettered man. The names of these inventors have perished ; but
their ingenious and beautiful theories, blended with the most mou-
struous superstitions, have descended to men very little exalted above
the most ignorant populace, and are adopted by them as a sort of arti
cles of faith, without a suspicion of their philosophical origin, and with
out the possibility of comprehending any part ofthe premises from
which they are deducted.' "
In reply to these observations, I remarked, Col. Kennedy "calls
out for the help of Sir William Jones, and Sir James Mackintosh, both
of whom he represents as admiring the absurdities of the Vedanta. All
this he may consider as an excellent ruse de guerre : but it will not avail
him. When Sir William Jones penned the remarks which he quotes,
the Vedanta system was comparatively unknown to Europeans. In
the observations which he has made upon it, to use the words of Du-
gald Stewart, ' there is a great deal of indistinctness and contradiction.'
The observations cf Sir James Mackintosh, as he himself states were
founded on ' a conversation with a young Brahman of no great learn
ing ;' and they were qualified by the admission, studiously withheld by
Col. Kennedy, which entirely destroys their authority. ' I intended
to investigate a little,' says Sir James, ' the history of these opinions, /or I
am not altogether witlwut apprehension, that ice may all the while be
mistaking the hyperbolical effusions of mystical piety, for the technical
language of a philosophical system.' "
Had I seen Colonel Kennedy's admission, that " such expressions as
the love and fear of God never occur in those sacred books, nor in any
Vedaif,ta treatise," I should certainly not have thought of making any

167
reply to him. In the able paper frcm which I have quoted in p. 80,
he has taken a much more correct view of Vedantism than Sir William
Jones did, in the early period of his residence in India; and every
enlightened person who may peruse his remarks will admit, that
Vedantism destroys every proper exercise of religion.

B. [p. 34.J Theology qf the Vedas.
As illustrative of the statement of Rama Mohana Roy, that the Ve
das, having personified the elements &c, treat them as if they were
real beings, I make the following quotation from a meritorious
translation of part of the Saohita ofthe Rig- Veda, lately published
in Bombay. " V. HYMN. 30th and 31st PARAGRAPHS.
"to indra. the rishi and metre, as before.
1. "O Indra, rainer down of blessings, let thy two horses, named
Hari, bring thee to the moonplant banquet, and let the sacrificers,
glorious as the sun, extol thee.
2. " O ye two horses of Indra, named Hari, goers to the sacrifice, do
ye come for the grain, sprinkled with the clarified butter, we give you.
3. "We invite Indra to our morning sacrifice, also to our mid-day
sacrifice, and lastly, to our evening moonplant banquet.
4. " O India, with thy two long maned horses Hari, come to our
moonplants, for we invite thee.
5. "O India, come to accept of this our praise, for the moonplant
morning sacrifice is getting ready, therefore come with the eagerness
ofthe thirsty deer.
6. " The savoury juice, of thess properly prepared moonplants, are
put in the vessels placed on the sacrificial grass. O Indra, drink of
it for the attainment of strength.
7. " O Indra, consider the especial praise we have offered ; do tbou
attain great happiness, and after drink the prepared moonplant juice.
8. "Indra, the destroyer of foes, goes to the morning sacrifice, for
the joy to be derived from the prepared morning sacrifice.
9. " O all meritorious Indra, do thou satisfy our desire of cows,
horses, &c. and then we with devoted minds will praise thee.

VI. HYMN. 32nd and 33rd PARAGRAPHS.
TO INDRA AND WARUNA. RISHI AND METRE AS BEFORE.
1. "I pray to thee all-glorious Indra and Waruna, that they may
protect me. It is gods like they who confer on me happiness.

16S
2. " O ye upholders of men, ye are in very deed setting out for the
protection ofthe Brahmans our friends.
3. " O Indra and Waruna, satisfy us with riches. Do this without
delay, such is our petition.
4. " Therefore accept of our sacrificial moonplant juice mixed with
water, aid flour, &c. and rendered sacred by the word ofthe learned
sacrifices, and other illustrious qualities ; and grant that we be the
thief among the benevolent suppliers to the necessity of others.
5. " O Indra, thou art the chief among the theusands of benevolent,
and thou Waruna, the m st famed among the famed.
6. "Through their protection enjoy wealth and treasure, more
than sufficient ; and may they confer on me still greater wealth.
r. " O Indra and Waruna, I call on yo;i for all various kinds of
wealth ; render us gloriously victorious over all our enemies.
8. " O Indra and Waruna, quickly confer upon us great happiness,
as much as we desire, upon us who desire to perform thy service. •-
9. "May the glorious praises, to which we invite you, meet with
acceptance from you, and prosper those excellent praises in which
you are extolled.

IV- anuwa'k.
I. HYMN. 34th and 35th PARAGRAPHS.
TO THE GOD GANESHA. RIjIJI AND METRE, AS BEFORE.
1. " () Brahmanaspati,* do thou render the performer of the moon
plant sacrifice all-glorious as Usija's son, rendered Kakshiwana.
2. " May the rich, disease-destroying, body-increasing, ready-grant-
er of the fruit of merit, Brahmanaspati, favour us, by accepting our
service. 3. " May the distress which proceeds from enemies and murderers
never reach us ; O Brahmanaspati, do thou preserve us.
4. " He to whom India, and Brahmanaspaii, and Soma are favour
able, being induced by them with valour, shall never fall into distress.
5. " Let Brahmanaspati, Soma, and Dakshana-dewa, without fail
deliver the sacrificer from sin.
•6. " I approach Sadasaspati, the miraculous, the friend of Indra,
the enchanting, the giver of riches, that I may obtain intelligence.
7. " For without Sadasaspati the wise, our sacrifice can never be
perfected, since it is he who enlarges our minds, so that we are able to
bring them in contact with the rites of worship.
8. " Sadasaspati exalts the offerer, and brings the sacrifice safely to
* A oame of Gancsha.

169
a conclusion, without misfortune ; and he also, having satisfied the
chanter ofthe invitation hymns, goes to praise the sacrifice before the
gods. I beheld Narashansa by the eye of faith. He was most mighty,
all glorious, and resplendent as the heaven of heavens.

II. HYMN. 36th and 37th PARAGRAPHS.
TO AGNI, AND THE MARUTS. R1SHI AND METRE, AS BEFORE.
1. " O Agni, thou invitestthe gods to our faultless sacrifice, thatthey
may partake ofthe moonplant juice. Therefore do thou, O Agni, along
with the Maruts come (to our sacrifice.)
2. 'O Mighty Agni, he who neglects thy solemnities, be he god or
man, can never be respectable : therefore, O Agni, come accompanied
by the Maruts.
3. "Glorious, resplendent, void of enmity, and suppliers of water
are they ; therefore, O Agni, come accompanied by the Maruts.
'4. " Fierce, suppliers of waters, and indomitable are they ; therefore
O Agni, come accompanied by the Maruts.
5. "Of glorious qualities, the assumers of frightful forms, the pos
sessors of excellent riches, and the devourers of murderous foes are
they ; therefore, O Agni, come accompanied by the Maruts.
6. " Free from pain, more resplendent than the solar regions : the
dwellers in heaven, shining by unborrowed light are they; wherefore,
O Agni, come accompanied by the Maruts.
7. " Wafters along of the clouds, and agitators of the sea are they ;
wherefore, O Agni, come accompanied by the Maruts.
8. " Scattered abroad over the whole heavens, like rays of light, and
agitating the ocean by their mighty power are they ; wherefore, O Agni,
come accompanied by the Maruts.
9. " I am preparing the pleasant moonplant juice for the early ban
quet : therefore, O Agni, come accompanied by the Maruts.*'
(END OF THE FIRST ADHYAYA, OF THE FIRST ASHTAKA,
OF THE SANH1TA, OF THE RIG-VEDA.)
These passages sufficiently illustrate the idea which the Raja has ex
pressed ; but neither they, nor the others which accompany them, nor
any others which I have perused, warrant the following remark ofthe
editor of the Three-fold Science : — " The style of the hymns here given
[from the Sanhita of the Rig-veda] is quite antiquated when compared
with that of the treatise called the Upanishads : these are evidently of
a more modern date, and differ in doctrine from the genuine hymns of
the Vedas in containing a monstrj^ons philosophical pantheism, quite
opposed to the ancient half-elemental, half-heroic worship of the Ve
das." In opposition to this, I have no hesitation in stating that the
X

170
Vedas are decidedly pantheistic. In addition to the remarks which I
have made on this subject in p. 25 &c, I take the liberty of submitting
the following considerations.
I . The Vedas contain passages which directly imply the doctrine of pan
theism. The following quotations are from the translation to which I
have referred. " O Wayu and Indra, whose residence is in sacrificial
iriands." " Saraswati, who resides in the sacrificial fuod." "Indra, who
is manifested in tlie sun, the fire, the wind, and the stars which shine in
heaven." " Indra, who is over all the nations ofthe earth." " Drink, O
Agni, along with Indra, Wayu, and all the suns manifestations."
2. The Vedas recognize the Hindi. Triad. They speak of Brahma the
Expander, of Vishnu the Upholder, and of Rudra* fee Dissolver ; and of
that which is expanded, upheld, and contracted, as the divine nature.
3. The Vedas speak qf" deliverance from the senses," (Rig- Veda, 3rd
hymn ofthe 3rd anuwak,) the summum bonum ofthe Vedantists.
While I make these remarks, I readily grant, that the doctrine cr
Pantheism is not so expressly developed in the hymns ofthe Sanhita of
the Vedas, as in the Upanishads ; and that there are passages in the
Upanishads and Gita which disparage the Vedas.
This difference is attributed by learned natives to the different ob
jects of these works. The Vedas relate to rites, and the Upanishads
to contemplation. The Vedas are only detrimental to those who aspire
after divine meditation. I have observed that those who deny the
consistency of this explanation, are in general viewed by the Shastris
as deficient in candour. Its admission weakens no legitimate argument
against Hinduism ; and still leaves hundreds of discrepancies between
the Vedas, Puranas, and Upanishads unaffected.

C. [p. 55. J Repetition qf the Gayatri by
Missionaries.
The Gayatri appears to me to correspond with the secret symbols
used by the Greek and Roman priests, and similar in its communication
and uses to those mentioned by Arnobius, Clemens Alexandrinus, and
Julius Firmicus Maximus.t It must, in ordinary circumstances, be
distressing for the Brahmans to listen to it from the mouth of an impure
Mlecha. Cases, however, frequently occur in which it is proper to
adduce it. When speaking ofthe vanity ofthe mantras, I have fre
quently repeated it, and commented on the folly ofthe trust which is

- s

n the fourth hymn of the sixth Anuwak, Rudra is spofecn of as a form of Agni.
ce King on the Apostles' Creed, pp. 14—20.

171
reposed in it; but whils I have found astonishment 'expressed at thc
acquisition of it, I have not seen offence taken. On one occasion, I
quoted it, to silence a man who had spoken very impudently to me.
He, and all my Brahmanical auditors, put their fingers in their ears
and fled in all directions !
Since writing this, I have received the following note from my friend
the Rev. James Mitchell. " I have found the repetition ofthe Gayatri
useful in impressing the common people with an idea of superior at
tainments, and thus inclining them to listen with more reverence, to
what I had to say ; but, on the other hand, 1 have found the repetition
of it irritating to the Brahmans, and higher castes, and would not use
it with them, unless I wished to get quit of them. My experience
would lead me, on the whole, to use it only on particular occasions,
when addressing a mixed multitude ofthe natives."
I may here observe, that I have uniformly found, that when the
jnost sacred writings ofthe Hindus are appealed to without any taunt
ing, the quotations are listened to with respect. Ridicule and irony,
though sometimes proper, are seldom expedient when discussion is
conducted with the Hindus.
" Though mists profane obscure their narrow ken,
" They err, yet feel, though Pagans, they are men."

D. [p. 56.] Suicide and Murder encouraged
by the Hindu Religion.
An impression prevails among many Europeans, that the practice of
Sati is not countenanced and enjoined by the Hindu Shastras. This
impression is erroneous. Their are many passages in the Puranas and
Law Treatises, and some in the Vedas, which recommend it to all fe
males who are desirous of saving their husbands from hell, or living
with them for long periods in a state of bliss in any ofthe abodes of the
immortals. Translations of these passages may be found in Rama Mo
hana Roy's Tracts, and in the 3rd volume of Mr. Ward's View. The
manner in which all rites are spoken of in the^Vedanta treatises and
the allusions which are made in other works to the special duties of
surviving widows, and which have been stated as one ofthe grounds of
the interference with the practice by the British authorities, are such
as to shew that Sati is not in every case imperative. They do not,
however, affect the charge which I have brought against Hinduism,
and which is founded on the texts which recommend it. " All those
passages" says Rama Mohana Roy, the opponent of Sati, "are indeed

172
sacred law."* Their authority is only modified, and not destroyed, by
passages of an opposite character.
The prevention of Sati in the British Possessions, is now, happily,
completely effective. Measures, however, require to be adopted to
prevent British subjects from repairing to the Native Territories with
the view of perpetrating it. There have been two instances of dead
bodies having been conveyed from Bombay to Revadanda, with the
express purpose of allowing widows to burn with them. There have
been similar instances in other parts of the country. It would be the
easiest thing in the world, even according to the existing Regulations
of Government, to convict the parties concerned in this removal. The
expression of a wish, would lead to the adoption of preventive measures
by the native Princes, in their own territories.
Sati, as is well known, is not the only case of suicide encouraged by
the Hindu Shastras. These authorities represent the self-destruction
ofthe aged, infirm, distressed, devoted, and revengeful, as meritorious^.
The practice of it, is fearfully prevalent ; and it becomes a parental
government to extend the means of its prevention. Hinduism is not
altogether free from a connexion with Infanticide, and some other
species of murder.

E. [p. 59.] Subjection and degradation qf
Hindu Females.
The following verses illustrate this subject.
Tlrthasn&narthinl nari patipadodakam pibet
Sliankaradapi vishnor-va patireko-dhikah striyah.
Bliarttadevo guru-bhartta dharmatirtha vratanicha
Tasmdtsarvam parityajya pati-mekam samarchayet.
Vishnostu pujanam karyam patibudhya nacha-nyatha
Pati-meva soda dhayed-vishnurupa dliaram hariam.
" Let the wife who wishes to perform sacred ablution wash the feet of
her lord, and drink the water, — for a husband is to a wife greater than
Shankara or Vishnu. — The husband is her god, and guru, and religion
and its services, wherefore abandoning every thing else, she ought
chiefly to worship her husband. — If [after the death ofthe husband]
the wife wish to worship Vishnu, let her abstain, or worship him in the
character of her husband ; and let her always remember her husband
as assuming the form of Vishnu, and denominated Hari."t
• Translations, p. 202. + Ska n :1a Purana, iv, 35, 49,32.

173
I have found some of the Brahmans ashamed of these precepts ; and
I find the experience of others accords with this circumstance. AVhen
my friend Mr. Nesbit was at Mayuni in February last, a Brahman
declared to him, that "if a child should be commanded by his parent
to steal, or a wife commanded by her hus'iand to commit adultery,
neither of them should obey." The priest, however, was in this case
corrected by a layman. " In saying so," said a Maratha, " you con-
tradict scripture. There are several instances on record ofthe best of
women cohabiting with other men, when their husbands bade them.
And how do you excuse Parashurama for murdering his mother? Do
you not say that in doing so, he was only fulfilling his father's com
mand? And if this is a good excuse in one case, why is it not so in
another.''* I have several extracts from the Puranas before me,
which illustrate the Maratha's remark ; but they are so impure that I
i-smiiot quote them. — We need not wonder at the degradation of fe
males in India, and at the consequent depravity of the population in
general.

F. [p. 63.] Rdma Mohana Roys estimate
of the Penances qf the Hindus.
" The chief part ofthe theory and practice of Hinduism, I am sorry
to say, is made to consist in the adoption of a peculiar mode of diet ; the
least aberration from which (even though the conduct of the offender
may in other respects be pure and blameless) is not only visited with
the severest censure, but actually punished by exclusion from the
society of his family and friends. In a word, he is doomed to undergo
what is commonly called loss of caste.
" On the contrary, the rigid observance of this grand article of Hin
du faith is considered in so high a light as to compensate for every
moral defect. Even the most atrocious crimes weigh little or nothing
in the balance against the supposed guilt of its violation. Murder,
theft, or perjury, though brought home to the party by a judicial sen
tence, so far from inducing a loss of caste, is visited in their society
with no peculiar mark of infamy or disgrace.
"A trifling present to the Brahman, commonly called Prayashchitta,
with the performance of a few idle ceremonies, are held as a sufficient
atonement for all those crimes ; and the delinquent is at once freed
from all temporal inconvenience, as well as all dread of future retri
bution." Translations, pp. 98, 99.
• Oriental Christian Spectator, vol. v. p. 181.
Y

174
" He who pronounces Durga (the name ofthe goddess) though he
constantly practice adultery, plunder others of their property, or com
mit the most heinous crimes, is freed from all sins.*
"A person pronouncing loudly ' Reverence to Hari,' even involun
tarily, in the state of falling down, of slipping, of labouring under ill
ness, or of sneezing, purifies himself from the foulest crimes.t
" He who contemplates the Ganges, while walking, sitting, sleeping,
thinking of other things, awake, eating, breathing, and conversing is
delivered from sins."} Translations, p. 187.

G. [p. 120.] Hindu doctrine of the formation
of Sensation and Intellect.
In the Puranas, and Upanishads, the most extraordinary accounts
are given of this subject. Unless the Hindus had been the most
credulous of pcop'e, they never could have been received. The fol
lowing is a specimen of them. " That Being (Brahma), knowing that
the time of creation had arrived, effected a change in his own essence,
whence proceeded Prakriti, intellect, and the three qualities of purity,
impurity, and darkness. From the three qualities agitated by Prak
riti were produced the five elementary atoms ; and, in the same man
ner from intellect was generated ahankara, consciousness of individual
existence; and from these atoms combining with the three qualities,
and undergoing the requisite permutations, were originated the five
senses, — hearing, sight, touch, smell, and taste, — with their respective
organs, and also ether, fire, air, water, and earth  Purusha and Prak-
liti gave origin to an egg in which these elements were enclosed ; and
this floating like a bubble on the abyss of waters, gradually increased
in size until it acquired maturity ; and then the Supreme Being without
beginning or end issued from it, for the purpose of creation in a visible
form as Vishnu."4

H. [p. 129.] Extraordinary Trees on Mount
Meru.
For the following extract from the Bhagawata, I am indebted to my
friend Mr. Law.
-' On the acclivity of Mount Mandara, is the mango tree ofthe gods,

* Vide Durga Nam Mahatmya. t Vide Bhagawata. J Vide Mahabtiarata.
i Padma Pu'ana. Ka-hi Khanda, in Kennedy's Mythology.

175
1100 yojanas high, from which immense mangoes,* delicious as nectar,
fall. "From these mangoes, as they rot, flows a sweet, perfumed juice
which is the source of the river Arunoda, so called from the red colour
of the mango juice. Flowing down mount Mandara, this river waters
Ilavrita on the East. From drinking its waters, the perfume which
emanates from the persons of holy men, pervades the country round to
the distance of ten yojanas.
" In the same manner, from the juice ofthe fruit of the Jambu or
rose-apple tree, large as elephants with very large stones, and bursting
by their fall from such a height, proceeds the river Jambu, which flow
ing down to the earth from the summit of Meru Mandara, a distance
ef 100,000 yojanas, waters Ilavrita on the South. The earth over
which these two rivers pass, penetrated by their water, and refined by
*he conjoined action of the sun and wind, becomes gold, the ornament
of the world of immortals, which from this circumstance is called Jam-
biivada. It is worn by the gods and nymphs in the shape of crowns,
girdles, zones, and other ornaments.
" From the hollow of the great Kadamba tree, proceed five streams
each five fathoms wide, which gladden Ilavriti on the West."
* In the gloss, a passage from the Vayu Purana is quoted, stating the size of each
of these mangoes to be 861 cubits 1 1

INDEX.

Page.
Preface,  5
Introduction,  9
No direct reply to the Exposure of Hinduism made by Nara
yana Rao,  10
Christianity favourable to inquiry, Hinduism unfavourable, 11
* Misquotation by Narayana Rao,  ,  14
Statement of N. Rao's argument,  15
N. Rao's table of accordances in different religions  15
Accordances in differe t religions do not reconcile the con
flicting statem?nts of different Shastras,  46
Accordances in different religions explained,  18
Differences to be viewed in judgement as well as agreements, 19
Hinduism shewn to be opposed to Christianity and to Reason, 20
I. From its description of the Character ofbod,  20
1. Hinduism decidedly Pantheistic,  23
Objections to Pantheism,  26
2. Hinduism exceedingly absurd in the accounts which it
gives of the manner in which Brahma is developed,  30
3. Hinduism opposed to truth in the accounts which it gives
cf the active energies of God,  33
II. From its Modes of Worship,  39
N. Rao's table of resemblances in modes of worship,  39
General objections to the Hindu niodes of worship,  40
Particular consideration of the Hindu modes of worship, .... 49
1. Sacraments, particularly the Gayatri,  49
2. " Instruction," " Hearing," and Reflection,  55
Gross immorality sanctioned by Hinduism,  56
Contrast between the morality of the Bible and the
Shastras,  63
3. Abstract contemplation,  G6
4. "Sects,"  66
5. Fasting,  66
6. Offerings, music, praise, and worship,  68
Z

178
Page.
1. Repentance, and asking forgiveness,  CO
Hinduism presents no suitable motive to repentance,. . 69
Repentance cannot p..rc;iase the pardon of sin, even
when accompanied by obe iience,  74
Mercy acknowledged by the Hindus as needful,  75
Conditions on which mercy can be extended,  77
Glory and suitableness ot Christianity as a scheme of
salvation,  77
III. From its vulnerableness by the very arguments urged by
N. Rao against the Christian scriptures, and Missionary
operations,  85
Objections against the books ef Moses considered and turned
against Hindui m,  85
1. Objection from God's "resting" on the seventh day,.,. 85
2. Objection from God's creatingman in "his own likeness," SQ
3. Objection from God's creating Eve from Adam's rib, . . 92
4. Objection from God's preserving man after he sinned, 92
5. Objection from God's making a visible appearance to
Adam and Eve, &c,  93
6. Objection from God's accepting the sacrifice of Abel,
and rejecti: g the offering of Cain,  97
Objections against the New Testament considered and turned
against Hinduism,  99
1. Objection from the birth of Christ,  99
2. Objection from the murder of the Bethlehemitish
children,..,  103
Ten Hindu Avataras considered,  109
3. Objection from the star which appeared tothe Magi.. 114
4. Objection from. Christ's ascension into heaven,  117
Scientific objections to Hinduism,  117
Astronomical and Geographical objections,  118
Meteorological objections,  125
Anatomical, and Botanical objections,  127
Observations on the spread of-Science in India,  129
5. Objection from the. Sonship of Christ,  131
Objections against Missionary operations considered and
turned against Hinduism,  135
1. Objection from the limited propagation of Christianity, 135
Early and extensive propagation of Christianity, a proof
of its divine origin,  137
Early propagation of Christianity in India,  148
Sovereignty of God in the communication and propaga
tion of a divine revelation,  ,  146

179 Page.
Hinduism limited to India,  149
2. Objection from the expense and limited success of Mis
sionary operations in India,  j.49
Instances of success even among the learned natives,. . 151
Hinduism over-indulgent to the rich,  loO
Conclusion,  161
Terms on which Apostates are received back by the Hindus, 161
The destruction of Hinduism contemplated,  163
Appendix. Estimate of Vedantism by Europeans,  165
Theology ofthe Vedas,  . . . . 1  167
Repetition of the Gayatri by Missionaries,  170
Suicide and Murder encouraged by the Hindu Religion, .... 171
Subjection and degradation of Hindu. Females,  172
Rama Mohana Roy's estimate of the penances of the Hindus, 173
5 Hindu doctrine of the formation of sensation and intellect, . . 174
Extraordinary Trees on Mount Meru  174

FINIS.

J. Hutchinson, Printer.
Mission Press, Surat.

ERRATA.
Page 12, note, for " Vedanti't's," read "Vedantists."
(8, line 6, for " Brahma," read " Brahma."
„ 31, „ 2, for " Maya," read " Maya."
,, » „ 19, /or "staiement," read" st tements,"
„ 30, „ 1, for " Narayana," read " Narayana."
„ 67, „ 4, dele the comma after " relish."
, 73, „ 3, for " indispensably," read • ' indispensable."
„ 82, „ 23, for " are," read " is "
„ 95, „ 18, for " the most," read " a,"
„ 121, „22, dele" tries."
„ 124, „ 22, for " Brahma," read " Brahman."
„ 144, „ 18, dele comma after " India "
„ 169, „ 39, fur " monstruous,"' read " monstrous."
•#* Add to the second note in page 145 : — Many have erro
neously conside.ed the "India" in which Frumentius la
boured as A^byssiiiia.

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