As one of its own poets has said: [247]

Ah! long have ye slept, Sons of India, too long! Your country degenerate, your morals all wrong.

Its principal educational institutions are the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic College at Lahore and the Anglo-Vedic School at Meerut, a large orphanage at Bareilly, smaller ones at Allahabad and Cawnpore, and a number of primary schools. It employs a body of travelling teachers or Upadeshaks to make converts, and in the famine of 1900 took charge of as many famine orphans as the Local Governments would entrust to it, in order to prevent them from being handed over to Christian missionaries. All members of the Samaj are expected to contribute one per cent of their incomes to the society, and a large number of them do this. The Arya Samaj has been accused of cherishing political aims and of anti-British propaganda, but the writers quoted in this article unite in acquitting it of such a charge as an institution, though some of its members have been more or less identified with the Extremist party. From the beginning, however, and apparently up to the present time, its religious teaching has been directed to social and not to political reform, and so long as it adheres to this course its work must be considered to be useful and praiseworthy. Nevertheless some danger may perhaps exist lest the boys educated in its institutions may with youthful intemperance read into the instruction of their teachers more than it is meant to convey, and divert exhortations for social improvement and progress to political ends.



6. Prospects of the sect.

The census of 1911 showed the Arya Samaj to be in a flourishing and progressive condition. There seems good reason to suppose that its success may continue, as it meets a distinct religious and social requirement of educated Hindus. Narsinghpur is the principal centre of the sect in the Central Provinces, and here an orphanage is maintained with about thirty inmates; the local members have an ata fund, to which they daily contribute a handful of flour, and this accumulates and is periodically made over to the orphanage. There is also a Vedic school at Narsinghpur, and a Sanskrit school has been started at Drug. [248]



Brahmo Samaj

[Bibliography: Professor J. C. Oman's Brahmans, Theists and Muslims of India (1907); Cults, Customs and Superstitions of India (1908); Rev. F. Lillingston's Brahmo Samaj and Arya Samaj (1901). The following brief account is simply compiled from the above works and makes no pretence to be critical.]



List of Paragraphs

1. Ram Mohan Roy, founder of the sect. 2. Much esteemed by the English. 3. Foundation of the Brahmo Samaj. 4. Debendra Nath Tagore. 5. Keshub Chandar Sen. 6. The Civil Marriage Act. 7. Keshub Chandar's relapse into mysticism. 8. Recent history of the Samaj. 9. Character of the movement.



1. Ram Mohan Roy, founder of the sect.

Brahmo Samaj Religion.—This monotheistic sect of Bengal numbered only thirty-two adherents in the Central Provinces in 1911, of whom all or nearly all were probably Bengalis. Nevertheless its history is of great interest as representing an attempt at the reform and purification of Hinduism under the influence of Christianity. The founder of the sect, Ram Mohan Roy, a Brahman, was born in 1772 and died in England in 1833. He was sent to school at Patna, where under the influence of Muhammadan teachers he learnt to despise the extravagant stories of the Puranas. At the age of sixteen he composed a tract against idolatry, which stirred up such a feeling of animosity against him that he had to leave his home. He betook himself first to Benares, where he received instruction in the Vedas from the Brahmans. From there he went to Tibet, that he might learn the tenets of Buddhism from its adherents rather than its opponents; his genuine desire to form a fair judgment of the merits of every creed being further evidenced by his learning the language in which each of these finds its expression: thus he learnt Sanskrit that he might rightly understand the Vedas, Pali that he might read the Buddhist Tripitaka, Arabic as the key to the Koran, and Hebrew and Greek for the Old and New Testaments. [249] In 1819, after a diligent study of the Bible, he published a book entitled The Precepts of Jesus, the Guide to Peace and Happiness. Although this work was eminently appreciative of the character and teaching of Christ, it gave rise to an attack from the missionaries of Serampore. Strange to say, Ram Mohan Roy so far converted his tutor Mr. Adam (himself a missionary) to his own way of thinking that that gentleman relinquished his spiritual office, became editor of the Indian Gazette, and was generally known in Calcutta as 'The second fallen Adam.' [250]



2. Much esteemed by the English.

Ram Mohan Roy was held in great esteem by his English contemporaries in India. He dispensed in charities the bulk of his private means, living himself with the strictest economy in order that he might have the more to give away. It was to a considerable extent due to his efforts, and more especially to his demonstration that the practice of Sati found no sanction in the Vedas, that this abominable rite was declared illegal by Lord William Bentinck in 1829. The titular emperor of Delhi conferred the title of Raja upon him in 1830 and induced him to proceed to England on a mission to the Home Government. He was the first Brahman who had crossed the sea, and his distinguished appearance, agreeable manners, and undoubtedly great ability, coupled with his sympathy for Christianity, procured him a warm welcome in England, where he died in 1833. [251]



3. Foundation of the Brahmo Samaj.

Ram Mohan Roy, with the help of a few friends and disciples, founded, in 1830, the Brahmo Samaj or Society of God. In the trust deed of the meeting-house it was laid down that the society was founded for "the worship and adoration of the eternal, unsearchable and immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe, but not by any other name, designation or title peculiarly used by any men or set of men; and that in conducting the said worship and adoration, no object, animate or inanimate, that has been or is or shall hereafter become ... an object of worship by any men or set of men, shall be reviled or slightingly or contemptuously spoken of or alluded to either in preaching, or in the hymns or other mode of worship that may be delivered or used in the said messuage or building." [252] This well exemplifies the broad toleration and liberality of the sect. The service in the new theistic church consisted in the recital of the Vedas by two Telugu Brahmans, the reading of texts from the Upanishads, and the expounding of the same in Bengali. The Samaj, thus constituted, based its teaching on the Vedas and was at this time, though unorthodox, still a Hindu sect, and made no attempt at the abolition of caste. "Indeed, in establishing this sect, Ram Mohan Roy professed to be leading his countrymen back to the pure, uncorrupted, monotheistic religion of their Vedic ancestors; but his monotheism, based, as it was, essentially upon the Vedanta philosophy, was in reality but a disguised Pantheism, enriched as regards its ethics by ideas derived from Muslim and Christian literature and theology." [253]



4. Debendra Nath Tagore.

After the death of its founder the sect languished for a period of ten years until it was taken in hand by Debendra Nath Tagore, whose father Dwarka Nath had been a friend and warm admirer of Ram Mohan Roy, and had practically maintained the society by paying its expenses during the interval. In 1843 Debendra drew up a form of initiation which involved the renunciation of idolatry. He established branches of the Brahmo Samaj in many towns and villages of Bengal, and in 1845 he sent four Pandits to Benares to copy out and make a special study of the Vedas. On their return to Calcutta after two years Debendra Nath devoted himself with their aid to a diligent and critical study of the sacred books, and eventually, after much controversy and even danger of disruption, the Samaj, under his guidance, came to the important decision that the teaching of the Vedas could not be reconciled with the conclusions of modern science or with the religious convictions of the Brahmos, a result which soon led to an open and public denial of the infallibility of the Vedas.

"There is nothing," Professor Oman remarks, "in the Brahmic movement more creditable to the parties concerned than this honest and careful inquiry into the nature of the doctrines and precepts of the Vedas." [254]



5. Keshub Chandar Sen.

The tenets of the Brahmo Samaj consisted at this time of a pure theism, without special reliance on the Hindu sacred books or recognition of such Hindu doctrines as the transmigration of souls. But in their ordinary lives its members still conformed generally to the caste practices and religious usages of their neighbours. But a progressive party now arose under the leadership of Keshub Chandar Sen, a young man of the Vaidya caste, which desired to break altogether with Hinduism, abolish the use of sect marks and the prohibition of intermarriage between castes, and to welcome into the community converts from all religions. Meanwhile Debendra Nath Tagore had spent three years in seclusion in the Himalayas, occupied with meditation and prayer; on his return he acceded so far to the views of Keshub Chandar Sen as to celebrate the marriage of his daughter according to a reformed theistic ritual; but when his friend pressed for the complete abolition of all caste restrictions, Debendra Nath refused his consent and retired once more to the hills. [255] The result was a schism in the community, and in 1866 the progressive party seceded and set up a Samaj of their own, calling themselves the Brahmo Samaj of India, while the conservative group under Debendra Nath Tagore was named the Adi or original Samaj. In 1905 the latter was estimated to number only about 300 persons. [256]

Keshub Chandar Sen had been educated in the Presidency College, Calcutta, and being more familiar with English and the Bible than with the Sanskrit language and Vedic literature, he was filled with deep enthusiastic admiration of the beauty of Christ's character and teaching. [257] He had shown a strong passion for the stage and loved nothing better than the plays of Shakespeare. He was fond of performing himself, and especially delighted in appearing in the role of a magician or conjurer before his family and friends. The new sect took up the position that all religions were true and worthy of veneration. At the inaugural meeting, texts from the sacred scriptures of the Christians, Hindus, Muhammadans, Parsis and Chinese were publicly read, in order to mark and to proclaim to the world the catholicity of spirit in which it was formed. [258] Keshub by his writings and public lectures kept himself prominently before the Indian world, enlisting the sympathies of the Viceroy (Sir John Lawrence) by his tendencies towards Christianity.



6. The Civil Marriage Act.

By this time several marriages had been performed according to the revised ritual of the Brahmic Church, which had given great offence to orthodox Hindus and exposed the participators in these novel rites to much obloquy. The legality of marriages thus contracted had even been questioned. To avoid this difficulty Keshub induced Government in 1872 to pass the Native Marriage Act, introducing for the first time the institution of civil marriage into Hindu society. The Act prescribed a form of marriage to be celebrated before the Registrar for persons who did not profess either the Hindu, the Muhammadan, the Parsi, the Sikh, the Jaina or the Buddhist religion, and who were neither Christians nor Jews; and fixed the minimum age for a bridegroom at eighteen and for a bride at fourteen. Only six years later, however, Keshub Chandar Sen committed the fatal mistake of ignoring the law which he had himself been instrumental in passing: he permitted the marriage of his daughter, below the age of fourteen, to the young Maharaja of Kuch Bihar, who was not then sixteen years of age. [259] This event led to a public censure of Keshub Chandar Sen by his community and the secession of a section of the members, who formed the Sadharan or Universal Brahmo Samaj. The creed of this body consisted in the belief in an infinite Creator, the immortality of the soul, the duty and necessity of the spiritual worship of God, and disbelief in any infallible book or man as a means of salvation. [260]



7. Keshub Chandar's relapse into mysticism.

From about this period, or a little before, Keshub Chandar Sen appears to have attempted to make a wider appeal to Indians by developing the emotional side of his religion. And he gradually relapsed from a pure unitarian theism into what was practically Hindu pantheism and the mysticism of the Yogis. At the same time he came to consider himself an inspired prophet, and proclaimed himself as such. The following instances of his extravagant conduct are given by Professor Oman. [261]

"In 1873 he brought forward the doctrine of Adesh or special inspiration, declaring emphatically that inspiration is not only possible, but a veritable fact in the lives of many devout souls in this age. The following years witnessed a marked development of that essentially Asiatic and perhaps more especially Indian form of religious feeling, which finds its natural satisfaction in solitary ecstatic contemplation. As a necessary consequence an order of devotees was established in 1876, divided into three main classes, which in ascending gradation were designated Shabaks, Bhaktas and Yogis. The lowest class, divided into two sections, is devoted to religious study and the practical performance of religious duties, including doing good to others. The aspiration of the Bhakta is ... 'Inebriation in God. He is most passionately fond of God and delights in loving Him and all that pertains to Him.... The very utterance of the divine name causes his heart to overflow and brings tears of joy to his eyes.' As for the highest order of devotees, the Yogis, 'They live in the spirit-world and readily commune with spiritual realities. They welcome whatever is a help to the entire subjugation of the soul, and are always employed in conquering selfishness, carnality and worldliness. They are happy in prayer and meditation and in the study of nature.'

"The new dispensation having come into the world to harmonise conflicting creeds and regenerate mankind, must have its outward symbol, its triumphal banner floating proudly on the joyful air of highly-favoured India. A flag was therefore made and formally consecrated as 'The Banner of the New Dispensation.' This emblem of 'Regenerated and saving theism' the new prophet himself formed with a yak's tail and kissed with his own inspired lips. In orthodox Hindu fashion his missionaries—apostles of the new Dispensation—went round it with lights in their hands, while his less privileged followers respectfully touched the sacred pole and humbly bowed down to it. In a word, the banner was worshipped as Hindu idols are worshipped any day in India. Carried away by a spirit of innovation, anxious to keep himself prominently before the world, and realising no doubt that since churches and sects do not flourish on intellectual pabulum only, certain mystic rites and gorgeous ceremonials were necessary to the success of the new Dispensation, Keshub introduced into his Church various observances which attracted a good deal of attention and did not escape criticism. On one occasion he went with his disciples in procession, singing hymns, to a stagnant tank in Calcutta, and made believe that they were in Palestine and on the side of the Jordan. Standing near the tank Keshub said, 'Beloved brethren, we have come into the land of the Jews, and we are seated on the bank of the Jordan. Let them that have eyes see. Verily, verily, here was the Lord Jesus baptised eighteen hundred years ago. Behold the holy waters wherein was the Son of God immersed.' We learn also that Keshub and his disciples attempted to hold communication with saints and prophets of the olden time, upon whose works and teaching they had been pondering in retirement and solitude. On this subject the following notice appeared in the Sunday Mirror:

"'It is proposed to promote communion with departed saints among the more advanced Brahmos. With a view to achieve this object successfully ancient prophets and saints will be taken one after another on special occasions and made the subject of close study, meditation and prayer. Particular places will also be assigned to which the devotees will resort as pilgrims. There for hours together they will try to draw inspiration from particular saints. We believe a spiritual pilgrimage to Moses will be shortly undertaken. Only earnest devotees ought to join.'"



8. Recent history of the Samaj.

Keshub Chandar Sen died in 1884, and the Brahmo Samaj seems subsequently to have returned more or less to its first position of pure theism coupled with Hindu social reform. His successor in the leadership of the sect was Babu P.C. Mazumdar, who visited America and created a favourable impression at the Parliament of Religions at Chicago. Under his guidance the Samaj seems to have gradually drifted towards American Unitarianism, and to have been supported in no slight degree by funds from the United States of America. [262] He died in 1905, and left no one of prominent character and attainments to succeed to the leadership. In 1911 the adherents of the different branches of the Samaj numbered at the census only 5500 persons.



9. Character of the movement.

The history of the Brahmo Samaj is of great interest, because it was the first attempt at the reform and purification of Hinduism made under the influence of Christianity, the long line of Vaishnavite reformers who strove to abrogate Hindu polytheism and the deadening restrictions of caste, having probably been inspired by the contemplation of Islam. The Samaj is further distinguished by the admirable toleration and broadness of view of its religious position, and by having had for its leaders three men of exceptional character and attainments, two of whom, and especially Keshub Chandar Sen, made a profound impression in England among all classes of society. But the failure of the Samaj to attract any large number of converts from among the Hindus was only what might have been expected. For it requires its followers practically to cut themselves adrift from family and caste ties and offers nothing in return but an undefined theism, not calculated to excite any enthusiasm or strong feeling in ordinary minds. Its efforts at social reform have probably, however, been of substantial value in weakening the rigidity of Hindu rules on caste and marriage.



Dadupanthi Sect. [263]

Dadupanthi Sect.—One of the sects founded by Vaishnava reformers of the school of Kabir; a few of its members are found in the western Districts of the Central Provinces. Dadu was a Pinjara or cotton-cleaner by caste. He was born at Ahmadabad in the sixteenth century, and died at Narayana in the Jaipur State shortly after A.D. 1600. He is said to have been the fifth successor in spiritual inspiration from Kabir, or the sixth from Ramanand. Dadu preached the unity of God and protested against the animistic abuses which had grown up in Hinduism. "To this day," writes Mr. Coldstream, "the Dadupanthis use the words Sat Ram, the True God, as a current phrase expressive of their creed. Dadu forbade the worship of idols, and did not build temples; now temples are built by his followers, who say they worship in them the Dadubani or Sacred Book." This is what has been done by other sects such as the Sikhs and Dhamis, whose founders eschewed the veneration of idols; but their uneducated followers could not dispense with some visible symbol for their adoration, and hence the sacred script has been enthroned in a temple. The worship of the Dadupanthis, Professor Wilson says, is addressed to Rama, but it is restricted to the Japa or repetition of his name, and the Rama intended is the deity negatively described in the Vedanta theology. The chief place of worship of the sect is Narayana, where Dadu died. A small building on a hill marks the place of his disappearance, and his bed and the sacred books are kept there as objects of veneration.

Like other sects, the Dadupanthis are divided into celibate or priestly and lay or householder branches. But they have also a third offshoot, consisting in the Naga Gosains of Jaipur, nearly naked ascetics, who constituted a valuable part of the troops of Jaipur and other States. It is said that the Nagas always formed the van of the army of Jaipur. The sect have white caps with four corners and a flap hanging down at the back, which each follower has to make for himself. To prevent the destruction of animal life entailed by cremation, the tenets of the sect enjoin that corpses should be laid in the forests to be devoured by birds and beasts. This rule, however, is not observed, and their dead are burnt at early dawn.



Dhami, Prannathi Sect.

Dhami, Prannathi Sect.—A small religious sect or order, having its headquarters in the Panna State of Bundelkhand. A few members of the sect are found in the Saugor and Damoh Districts of the Central Provinces. The name Dhami is simply a derivative from dham, a monastery, and in northern India they are called Prannathi after their founder. They are also known as Sathi Bhai, brothers in religion, or simply as Bhai or brothers. The sect takes its origin from one Prannath, a Rajput who lived in the latter part of Aurangzeb's reign towards the end of the seventeenth century. He is said to have acquired great influence with Chatra Sal, Raja of Panna, by the discovery of a diamond mine there, and on this account Panna was made the home of the sect. Prannath was well acquainted with the sacred books of Islam, and, like other Hindu reformers, he attempted to propagate a faith which should combine the two religions. To this end he composed a work in Gujarati called the Kulzam Sarup, in which texts from the Koran and the Vedas are brought together and shown not to be incompatible. His creed also proclaimed the abolition of the worship of idols, and apparently of caste restrictions and the supremacy of Brahmans. As a test of a disciple's assent to the real identity of the Hindu and Muhammadan creeds, the ceremony of initiation consists in eating in the society of the followers of both religions; but the amalgamation appears to be carried no further, and members of the sect continue to follow generally their own religious practices. Theoretically they should worship no material objects except the Founder's Book of Faith, which lies on a table covered with gold cloth in the principal temple at Panna. But in fact they adore the boy Krishna as he was at Mathura, and in some temples there are images of Radha and Krishna, while in others the decorations are so arranged as to look like an idol from a distance. All temples, however, contain a copy of the sacred book, round which a lighted lamp is waved in the morning and evening. The Dhamis now say also that their founder Prannath was an incarnation of Krishna, and they observe the Janam-Ashtami or Krishna's birthday as their principal festival. They wear the Radha Vallabhi tilak or sect-mark, consisting of two white lines drawn down the forehead from the roots of the hair, and curving to meet at the top of the nose, with a small red dot between them. On the cheeks and temples they make rosette-like marks by bunching up the five fingers, dipping them in a solution of sandalwood and then applying them to the face. [264] They regard the Jumna as a sacred river and its water as holy, no doubt because Mathura is on its banks, but pay no reverence to the Ganges. Their priests observe celibacy, but do not practise asceticism, and all the Dhamis are strict vegetarians.

There is also a branch of the sect in Gujarat, where the founder is known as Meheraj Thakur. He appears to have been identical with Prannath, and instituted a local headquarters at Surat. [265] It is related by Mr. Bhimbhai Kirparam that Meheraj Thakur was himself the disciple of one Deo Chand, a native of Amarkot in Sind. The latter was devoted to the study of the Bhagwat Puran, and came to Jamnagar in Kathiawar, where he founded a temple to Radha and Krishna. As there is a temple at Panna consecrated to Deo Chand as the Guru or preceptor of Prannath, and as the book of the faith is written in Gujarati, the above account would appear to be correct, and it follows that the sect originated in the worship of Krishna, and was refined by Prannath into a purer form of faith. A number of Cutchis in Surat are adherents of the sect, and usually visit the temple at Panna on the full-moon day of Kartik (October). Curiously enough the sect has also found a home in Nepal, having been preached there, it is said, by missionary Dhamis in the time of Raja Ram Bahadur Shah of Nepal, about 150 years ago. Its members there are known as Pranami or Parnami, a corruption of Prannathi and they often come to Panna to study the sacred book. It is reported that there are usually about forty Nepalis lodging in the premises of the great temple at Panna. [266]



Jain Religion

[Bibliography: The Jainas, by Dr. J.G. Buehler and J. Burgess, London, 1903; The Religions of India, Professor E.W. Hopkins; The Religions of India, Professor A. Barth; Punjab Census Report (1891), Sir E.D. Maclagan; article on Jainism in Dr. Hastings' Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics.]



List of Paragraphs

1. Numbers and distribution. 2. The Jain religion. Its connection with Buddhism. 3. The Jain tenets. The Tirthakars. 4. The transmigration of souls. 5. Strict rules against taking life. 6. Jain sects. 7. Jain ascetics. 8. Jain subcastes of Banias. 9. Rules and customs of the laity. 10. Connection with Hinduism. 11. Temples and car festival. 12. Images of the Tirthakars. 13. Religious observances. 14. Tenderness for animal life. 15. Social condition of the Jains.



1. Numbers and distribution.

Jain.—The total number of Jains in the Central Provinces in 1911 was 71,000 persons. They nearly all belong to the Bania caste, and are engaged in moneylending and trade like other Banias. They reside principally in the Vindhyan Districts, Saugor, Damoh and Jubbulpore, and in the principal towns of the Nagpur country and Berar.



2. The Jain religion. Its connection with Buddhism.

The Jain tenets present marked features of resemblance to Buddhism, and it was for some time held that Jainism was merely a later offshoot from that religion. The more generally accepted view now, however, is that the Jina or prophet of the Jains was a real historical personage, who lived in the sixth century B.C., being a contemporary of Gautama, the Buddha. Vardhamana, as he was commonly called, is said to have been the younger son of a small chieftain in the province of Videha or Tirhut. Like Sakya-Muni the Buddha or enlightened, Vardhamana became an ascetic, and after twelve years of a wandering life he appeared as a prophet, proclaiming a modification of the doctrine of his own teacher Parsva or Parasnath. From this time he was known as Mahavira, the great hero, the same name which in its familiar form of Mahabir is applied to the god Hanuman. The title of Jina or victorious, from which the Jains take their name, was subsequently conferred on him, his sect at its first institution being called Nirgrantha or ascetic. There are very close resemblances in the traditions concerning the lives of Vardhamana and Gautama or Buddha. Both were of royal birth; the same names recur among their relatives and disciples; and they lived and preached in the same part of the country, Bihar and Tirhut. [267] Vardhamana is said to have died during Buddha's lifetime, the date of the latter's death being about 480 B.C. [268] Their doctrines also, with some important differences, present, on the whole, a close resemblance. Like the Buddhists, the Jains claim to have been patronised by the Maurya princes. While Asoka was mainly instrumental in the propagation of Buddhism over India, his grandfather Chandragupta is stated to have been a Jain, and his grandson Sampadi also figures in Jain tradition. A district which is a holy land for one is almost always a holy land for the other, and their sacred places adjoin each other in Bihar, in the peninsula of Gujarat, on Mount Abu in Rajputana and elsewhere. [269] The earliest of the Jain books belongs to the sixth century A.D., the existence of the Nirgrantha sect in Buddha's lifetime being proved by the Cingalese books of the Buddhists, and by references to it in the inscriptions of Asoka and others. [270] While then M. Barth's theory that Jainism was simply a later sect of Buddhism has been discarded by subsequent scholars, it seems likely that several of the details of Vardhamana's life now recorded in the Jain books are not really authentic, but were taken from that of Buddha with necessary alterations, when the true facts about their own prophet had been irrevocably lost.



3. The Jain tenets. The Tirthakars.

Like the Buddhists, the Jains recognise no creator of the world, and suppose it to have existed from eternity. Similarly, they had originally no real god, but the Jina or victor, like the Buddha or Enlightened One, was held to have been an ordinary mortal man, who by his own power had attained to omniscience and freedom, and out of pity for suffering mankind preached and declared the way of salvation which he had found. [271] This doctrine, however, was too abstruse for the people, and in both cases the prophet himself gradually came to be deified. Further, in order perhaps to furnish objects of worship less distinctively human and to whom a larger share of the attributes of deity could be imputed, in both religions a succession of mythical predecessors of the prophet was gradually brought into existence. The Buddhists recognise twenty-five Buddhas or divine prophets, who appeared at long epochs of time and taught the same system one after another; and the Jains have twenty-four Tirthakars or Tirthankars, who similarly taught their religion. Of these only Vardhamana, its real founder, who was the twenty-fourth, and possibly Parsva or Parasnath, the twenty-third and the founder's preceptor, are or may be historical. The other twenty-two Tirthakars are purely mythical. The first, Rishaba, was born more than 100 billion years ago, as the son of a king of Ajodhya; he lived more than 8 million years, and was 500 bow-lengths in height. He therefore is as superhuman as any god, and his date takes us back almost to eternity. The others succeeded each other at shorter intervals of time, and show a progressive decline in stature and length of life. The images of the Tirthakars are worshipped in the Jain temples like those of the Buddhas in Buddhist temples. As with Buddhism also, the main feature of Jain belief is the transmigration of souls, and each successive incarnation depends on the sum of good and bad actions or karman in the previous life. They hold also the primitive animistic doctrine that souls exist not only in animals and plants but in stones, lumps of earth, drops of water, fire and wind, and the human soul may pass even into these if its sins condemn it to such a fate. [272]



4. The transmigration of souls.

The aim which Jainism, like Buddhism, sets before its disciples is the escape from the endless round of successive existences, known as Samsara, through the extinction of the karman or sum of actions. This is attained by complete subjection of the passions and destruction of all desires and appetites of the body and mind, that is, by the most rigid asceticism, as well as by observing all the moral rules prescribed by the religion. It was the Jina or prophet who showed this way of escape, and hence he is called Tirthakar or 'The Finder of the Ford,' through the ocean of existence. [273] But Jainism differs from Buddhism in that it holds that the soul, when finally emancipated, reaches a heaven and there continues for ever a separate intellectual existence, and is not absorbed into Nirvana or a state of blessed nothingness.



5. Strict rules against taking life.

The moral precepts of the Jains are of the same type as those of Buddhism and Vaishnavite Hinduism, but of an excessive rigidity, at any rate in the case of the Yatis or Jatis, the ascetics. They promise not to hurt, not to speak untruths, to appropriate nothing to themselves without permission, to preserve chastity and to practise self-sacrifice. But these simple rules are extraordinarily expanded on the part of the Jains. Thus, concerning the oath not to hurt, on which the Jains lay most emphasis: it prohibits not only the intentional killing or injuring of living beings, plants or the souls existing in dead matter, but requires also the utmost carefulness in the whole manner of life, and a watchfulness also over all movements and functions of the body by which anything living might be hurt. It demands, finally, strict watch over the heart and tongue, and the avoidance of all thoughts and words which might lead to disputes and quarrels, and thereby do harm. In like manner the rule of sacrifice requires not only that the ascetic should have no houses or possessions, but he must also acquire a complete unconcern towards agreeable or disagreeable impressions, and destroy all feelings of attachment to anything living or dead. [274] Similarly, death by voluntary starvation is prescribed for those ascetics who have reached the Kewalin or brightest stage of knowledge, as the means of entering their heaven. Owing to the late date of the Jain scriptures, any or all of its doctrines may have been adopted from Buddhism between the commencement of the two religions and the time when they were compiled. The Jains did not definitely abolish caste, and hence escaped the persecution to which Buddhism was subjected during the period of its decline from the fifth or sixth century A.D. On account of this trouble many Buddhists became Jains, and hence a further fusion of the doctrines of the rival sects may have ensued. The Digambara sect of Jains agree with the Buddhists in holding that women cannot attain Nirvana or heaven, while the Swetambara sect say that they can, and also admit women as nuns into the ascetic order. The Jain scripture, the Yogashastra, speaks of women as the lamps that burn on the road that leads to the gates of hell.



6. Jain sects.

The Jains are divided into the above two principal sects, the Digambara and the Swetambara. The Digambara are the more numerous and the stricter sect. According to their tenets death by voluntary starvation is necessary for ascetics who would attain heaven, though of course the rule is not now observed. The name Digambara signifies sky-clad, and Swetambara white-clad. Formerly the Digambara ascetics went naked, and were the gymnosophists of the Greek writers, but now they take off their clothes, if at all, only at meals. The theory of the origin of the two sects is that Parasnath, the twenty-third Tirthakar, wore clothes, while Mahavira the twenty-fourth did not, and the two sects follow their respective examples. The Digambaras now wear ochre-coloured cloth, and the Swetambaras white. The principal difference at present is that the images in Digambara temples are naked and bare, while those of the Swetambaras are clothed, presumably in white, and also decorated with jewellery and ornaments. The Digambara ascetics may not use vessels for cooking or holding their food, but must take it in their hands from their disciples and eat it thus; while the Swetambara ascetics may use vessels. The Digambara, however, do not consider the straining-cloth, brush, and gauze before the mouth essential to the character of an ascetic, while the Swetambara insist on them. There is in the Central Provinces another small sect called Channagri or Samaiya, and known elsewhere as Dhundia. These do not put images in their temples at all, but only copies of the Jain sacred books, and pay reverence to them. They will, however, worship in regular Jain temples at places where there are none of their own.



7. Jain ascetics.

The initiation of a Yati or Jati, a Jain ascetic, is thus described: It is frequent for Banias who have no children to vow that their first-born shall be a Yati. Such a boy serves a novitiate with a guru or preceptor, and performs for him domestic offices; and when he is old enough and has made progress in his studies he is initiated. For this purpose the novice is carried out of the tower with music and rejoicing in procession, followed by a crowd of Sravakas or Jain laymen, and taken underneath the banyan, or any other tree the juice of which is milky. His hair is pulled out at the roots with five pulls; camphor, musk, sandal, saffron and sugar are applied to the scalp; and he is then placed before his guru, stripped of his clothes and with his hands joined. A text is whispered in his ear by the guru, and he is invested with the clothes peculiar to Yatis; two cloths, a blanket and a staff; a plate for his victuals and a cloth to tie them up in; a piece of gauze to tie over his mouth to prevent the entry of insects; a cloth through which to strain his drinking-water to the same end; and a broom made of cotton threads or peacock feathers to sweep the ground before him as he walks, so that his foot may not crush any living thing. The duty of the Yati is to read and explain the sacred books to the Sravakas morning and evening, such functions being known as Sandhya. His food consists of all kinds of grain, vegetables and fruit produced above the earth; but no roots such as yams or onions. Milk and ghi are permitted, but butter and honey are prohibited. Some strict Yatis drink no water but what has been first boiled, lest they should inadvertently destroy any insect, it being less criminal to boil them than to destroy them in the drinker's stomach. A Yati having renounced the world and all civil duties can have no family, nor does he perform any office of mourning or rejoicing. [275] A Yati was directed to travel about begging and preaching for eight months in the year, and during the four rainy months to reside in some village or town and observe a fast. The rules of conduct to be observed by him were extremely strict, as has already been seen. Those who observed them successfully were believed to acquire miraculous powers. He who was a Siddh or victor, and had overcome his Karma or the sum of his human actions and affections, could read the thoughts of others and foretell the future. He who had attained Kewalgyan, or the state of perfect knowledge which preceded the emancipation of the soul and its absorption into paradise, was a god on earth, and even the gods worshipped him. Wherever he went all plants burst into flower and brought forth fruit, whether it was their season or not. In his presence no animal bore enmity to another or tried to kill it, but all animals lived peaceably together. This was the state attained to by each Tirthakar during his last sojourn on earth. The number of Jain ascetics seems now to be less than formerly and they are not often met with, at least in the Central Provinces. They do not usually perform the function of temple priest.



8. Jain subcastes of Banias.

Practically all the Jains in the Central Provinces are of the Bania caste. There is a small subcaste of Jain Kalars, but these are said to have gone back to Hinduism. [276] Of the Bania subcastes who are Jains the principal are the Parwar, Golapurab, Oswal and Saitwal. Saraogi, the name for a Jain layman, and Charnagar, a sect of Jains, are also returned as subcastes of Jain Banias. Other important subcastes of Banias, as the Agarwal and Maheshri, have a Jain section. Nearly all Banias belong to the Digambara sect, but the Oswal are Swetambaras. They are said to have been originally Rajputs of Os or Osnagar in Rajputana, and while they were yet Rajputs a Swetambara ascetic sucked the poison from the wound of an Oswal boy whom a snake had bitten, and this induced the community to join the Swetambara sect of the Jains. [277]



9. Rules and customs of the laity.

The Jain laity are known as Shrawak or Saraogi, learners. There is comparatively little to distinguish them from their Hindu brethren. Their principal tenet is to avoid the destruction of all animal, including insect life, but the Hindu Banias are practically all Vaishnavas, and observe almost the same tenderness for animal life as the Jains. The Jains are distinguished by their separate temples and method of worship, and they do not recognise the authority of the Vedas nor revere the lingam of Siva. Consequently they do not use the Hindu sacred texts at their weddings, but repeat some verses from their own scriptures. These weddings are said to be more in the nature of a civil contract than of a religious ceremony. The bride and bridegroom walk seven times round the sacred post and are then seated on a platform and promise to observe certain rules of conduct towards each other and avoid offences. It is said that formerly a Jain bride was locked up in a temple for the first night and considered to be the bride of the god. But as scandals arose from this custom, she is now only locked up for a minute or two and then let out again. Jain boys are invested with the sacred thread on the occasion of their weddings or at twenty-one or twenty-two if they are still unmarried at that age. The thread is renewed annually on the day before the full moon of Bhadon (August), after a ten days' fast in honour of Anant Nath Tirthakar. The thread is made by the Jain priests of tree cotton and has three knots. At their funerals the Jains do not shave the moustaches off as a rule, and they never shave the choti or scalp-lock, which they wear like Hindus. They give a feast to the caste-fellows and distribute money in charity, but do not perform the Hindu shraddh or offering of sacrificial cakes to the dead. The Agarwal and Khandelwal Jains, however, invoke the spirits of their ancestors at weddings. Traces of an old hostility between Jains and Hindus survive in the Hindu saying that one should not take refuge in a Jain temple, even to escape from a mad elephant; and in the rule that a Jain beggar will not take alms from a Hindu unless he can perform some service in return, though it may not equal the value of the alms.



10. Connection with Hinduism.

In other respects the Jains closely resemble the Hindus. Brahmans are often employed at their weddings, they reverence the cow, worship sometimes in Hindu temples, go on pilgrimages to the Hindu sacred places, and follow the Hindu law of inheritance. The Agarwal Bania Jains and Hindus will take food cooked with water together and intermarry in Bundelkhand, although it is doubtful whether they do this in the Central Provinces. In such a case each party pays a fine to the Jain temple fund. In respect of caste distinctions the Jains are now scarcely less strict than the Hindus. The different Jain subcastes of Banias coming from Bundelkhand will take food together as a rule, and those from Marwar will do the same. The Khandelwal and Oswal Jain Banias will take food cooked with water together when it has been cooked by an old woman past the age of child-bearing, but not that cooked by a young woman. The spread of education has awakened an increased interest among the Jains in their scriptures and the tenets of their religion, and it is quite likely that the tendency to conform to Hinduism in caste matters and ceremonies may receive a check on this account. [278]



11. Temple and car festival.

The Jains display great zeal in the construction of temples in which the images of the Tirthakars are enshrined. The temples are commonly of the same fashion as those of the Hindus, with a short, roughly conical spire tapering to a point at the apex, but they are frequently adorned with rich carved stone and woodwork. There are fine collections of temples at Muktagiri in Betul, Kundalpur in Damoh, and at Mount Abu, Girnar, the hill of Parasnath in Chota Nagpur, and other places in India. The best Jain temples are often found in very remote spots, and it is suggested that they were built at times when the Jains had to hide in such places to avoid Hindu persecution. And wherever a community of Jain merchants of any size has been settled for a generation or more several fine temples will probably be found. A Jain Bania who has grown rich considers the building of one or more temples to be the best method of expending his money and acquiring religious merit, and some of them spend all their fortune in this manner before their death. At the opening of a new temple the rath or chariot festival should be held. Wooden cars are made, sometimes as much as five stories high, and furnished with chambers for the images of the Tirthakars. In these the idols of the hosts and all the guests are placed. Each car should be drawn by two elephants, and the procession of cars moves seven times round the temple or pavilion erected for the ceremony. For building a temple and performing this ceremony honorary and hereditary titles are conferred. Those who do it once receive the designation of Singhai; for carrying it out twice they become Sawai Singhai; and on a third occasion Seth. In such a ceremony performed at Khurai in Saugor one of the participators was already a Seth, and in recognition of his great liberality a new title was devised and he became Srimant Seth. It is said, however, that if the car breaks and the elephants refuse to move, the title becomes derisive and is either 'Lule Singhai,' the lame one, or 'Arku Singhai,' the stumbler. If no elephants are available and the car has to be dragged by men, the title given is Kadhore Singhai.



12. Images of the Tirthakars.

In the temples are placed the images of Tirthakars, either of brass, marble, silver or gold. The images may be small or life-size or larger, and the deities are represented in a sitting posture with their legs crossed and their hands lying upturned in front, the right over the left, in the final attitude of contemplation prior to escape from the body and attainment of paradise. There may be several images in one temple, but usually there is only one, though a number of temples are built adjoining each other or round a courtyard. The favourite Tirthakars found in temples are Rishab Deva, the first; Anantnath, the fourteenth; Santnath, the sixteenth; Nemnath, the twenty-second; Parasnath, the twenty-third; and Vardhamana or Mahavira, the twenty-fourth. [279] As already stated only Mahavira and perhaps Parasnath, his preceptor, were real historical personages, and the remainder are mythical. It is noticeable that to each of the Tirthakars is attached a symbol, usually in the shape of an animal, and also a tree, apparently that tree under which the Tirthakar is held to have been seated at the time that he obtained release from the body. And these animals and trees are in most cases those which are also revered and held sacred by the Hindus. Thus the sacred animal of Rishab Deva is the bull, and his tree the banyan; that of Anantnath is the falcon or bear, and his tree the holy Asoka; [280] that of Santnath is the black-buck or Indian antelope, and his tree the tun or cedar; [281] the symbol of Nemnath is the conch shell (sacred to Vishnu), but his tree, the vetasa, is not known; the animal of Parasnath is the serpent or cobra and his tree the dhataki; [282] and the animal of Mahavira is the lion or tiger and his tree the teak tree. Among the symbols of the other Tirthakars are the elephant, horse, rhinoceros, boar, ape, the Brahmani duck, the moon, the pipal tree, the lotus and the swastik figure; and among their trees the mango, the jamun [283] and the champak. [284] Most of these animals and trees are sacred to the Hindus, and the elephant, boar, ape, cobra and tiger were formerly worshipped themselves, and are now attached to the principal Hindu gods. Similarly the asoka, pipal, banyan and mango trees are sacred, and also the Brahmani duck and the swastik sign. It cannot be supposed that the Tirthakars simply represent the deified anthropomorphic emanations from these animals, because the object of Vardhamana's preaching was perhaps like that of Buddha to do away with the promiscuous polytheism of the Hindu religion. But nevertheless the association of the sacred animals and trees with the Tirthakars furnished a strong connecting link between them and the Hindu gods, and considerably lessens the opposition between the two systems of worship. The god Indra is also frequently found sculptured as an attendant guardian in the Jain temples. The fourteenth Tirthakar, Anantnath, is especially revered by the people because he is identified with Gautama Buddha.



13. Religious observances.

The priest of a Jain temple is not usually a Yati or ascetic, but an ordinary member of the community. He receives no remuneration and carries on his business at the same time. He must know the Jain scriptures, and makes recitations from them when the worshippers are assembled. The Jain will ordinarily visit a temple and see the god every morning before taking his food, and his wife often goes with him. If there is no temple in their own town or village they will go to another, provided that it is within a practicable distance. The offerings made at the temple consist of rice, almonds, cocoanuts, betel-leaves, areca, dates, cardamoms, cloves and similar articles. These are appropriated by the Hindu Mali or gardener, who is the menial servant employed to keep the temple and enclosures clean. The Jain will not take back or consume himself anything which has been offered to the god. Offerings of money are also made, and these go into the bhandar or fund for maintenance of the temple. The Jains observe fasts for the last week before the new moon in the months of Phagun (February), Asarh (June) and Kartik (October). They also fast on the second, fifth, eighth, eleventh and fourteenth days in each fortnight of the four months of the rains from Asarh to Kartik, this being in lieu of the more rigorous fast of the ascetics during the rains. On these days they eat only once, and do not eat any green vegetables. After the week's fast at the end of Kartik, at the commencement of the month of Aghan, the Jains begin to eat all green vegetables.



14. Tenderness for animal life.

The great regard for animal life is the most marked feature of the Jain religion among the laity as well as the clergy. The former do not go to such extremes as the latter, but make it a practice not to eat food after sunset or before sunrise, owing to the danger of swallowing insects. Now that their beliefs are becoming more rational, however, and the irksome nature of this rule is felt, they sometimes place a lamp with a sieve over it to produce rays of light, and consider that this serves as a substitute for the sun. Formerly they maintained animal hospitals in which all kinds of animals and reptiles, including monkeys, poultry and other birds were kept and fed, and any which had broken a limb or sustained other injuries were admitted and treated. These were known as pinjrapol or places of protection. [285] A similar institution was named jivuti, and consisted of a small domed building with a hole at the top large enough for a man to creep in, and here weevils and other insects which the Jains might find in their food were kept and provided with grain. [286] In Rajputana, where rich Jains probably had much influence, considerable deference was paid to their objections to the death of any living thing. Thus a Mewar edict of A.D. 1693 directed that no one might carry animals for slaughter past their temples or houses. Any man or animal led past a Jain house for the purpose of being killed was thereby saved and set at liberty. Traitors, robbers or escaped prisoners who fled for sanctuary to the dwelling of a Jain Yati or ascetic could not be seized there by the officers of the court. And during the four rainy months, when insects were most common, the potter's wheel and Teli's oil-press might not be worked on account of the number of insects which would be destroyed by them. [287]



15. Social condition of the Jains.

As they are nearly all of the Bania caste the Jains are usually prosperous, and considering its small size, the standard of wealth in the community is probably very high for India, the total number of Jains in the country being about half a million. Beggars are rare, and, like the Parsis and Europeans, the Jains feeling themselves a small isolated body in the midst of a large alien population, have a special tenderness for their poorer members, and help them in more than the ordinary degree. Most of the Jain Banias are grain-dealers and moneylenders like other Banias. Cultivation is prohibited by their religion, owing to the destruction of animal life which it involves, but in Saugor, and also in the north of India, many of them have now taken to it, and some plough with their own hands. Mr. Marten notes [288] that the Jains are beginning to put their wealth to a more practical purpose than the lavish erection and adornment of temples. Schools and boarding-houses for boys and girls of their religion are being opened, and they subscribe liberally for the building of medical institutions. It may be hoped that this movement will continue and gather strength, both for the advantage of the Jains themselves and the country generally.



Kabirpanthi

[Bibliography: Right Reverend G. H. Westcott, Kabir and the Kabirpanth, Cawnpore, 1907; Asiatic Researches, vol. xvi. pp. 53-75 (Wilson's Hindu Sects); Mr. Crooke's Tribes and Castes, article Kabirpanthi; Central Provinces Census Report (1891), Sir B. Robertson.]



List of Paragraphs

1. Life of Kabir. 2. Kabir's teachings. 3. His sayings. 4. The Kabirpanthi sect in the Central Provinces. 5. The religious service. 6. Initiation. 7. Funeral rites. 8. Idol worship. 9. Statistics of the sect.



1. Life of Kabir.

Kabirpanthi Sect.—A well-known religious sect founded by the reformer Kabir, who flourished in the fifteenth century, and is called by Dr. Hunter the Luther of India. The sect has now split into two branches, the headquarters of one of these being at Benares, and of the other at Kawardha, or Damakheda in Raipur. Bishop Westcott gives the date of Kabir's life as A.D. 1440—1518, while Mr. Crooke states that he flourished between 1488 and 1512. Numerous legends are now told about him; thus, according to one of these, he was the son of a virgin Brahman widow, who had been taken at her request to see the great reformer Ramanand. He, unaware of her condition, saluted her with the benediction which he thought acceptable to all women, and wished her the conception of a son. His words could not be recalled, and the widow conceived, but, in order to escape the disgrace which would attach to her, exposed the child, who was Kabir. He was found by a Julaha or Muhammadan weaver and his wife, and brought up by them. The object of this story is probably to connect Kabir with Ramanand as his successor in reformation and spiritual heir; because the Ramanandis are an orthodox Vaishnava sect, while the Kabirpanthis, if they adhered to all Kabir's preaching, must be considered as quite outside the pale of Hinduism. To make out that Kabir came into the world by Ramanand's act provides him at any rate with an orthodox spiritual lineage. For the same reason [289] the date of Kabir's birth is sometimes advanced as early as 1398 in order to bring it within the period of Ramanand's lifetime (circa 1300-1400). Another story is that the deity took mortal shape as a child without birth, and was found by a newly-married weaver's wife lying in a lotus flower on a tank, like Moses in the bulrushes. Bishop Westcott thus describes the event: "A feeling of thirst overcame Nima, the newly-wedded wife of Niru, the weaver, as after the marriage ceremony she was making her way to her husband's house. She approached the tank, but was much afraid when she there beheld the child. She thought in her heart, 'This is probably the living evidence of the shame of some virgin widow.' Niru suggested that they might take the child to their house, but Nima at first demurred, thinking that such action might give rise to scandal. Women would ask, 'Who is the mother of a child so beautiful that its eyes are like the lotus?' However, laying aside all fears, they took pity on the child. On approaching the house they were welcomed with the songs of women, but when the women saw the child dark thoughts arose in their heads, and they began to ask, 'How has she got this child?' Nima replied that she had got the child without giving birth to it, and the women then refrained from asking further questions." It is at any rate a point generally agreed on that Kabir was brought up in the house of a Muhammadan weaver. It is said that he became the chela or disciple of Ramanand, but this cannot be true, as Ramanand was dead before his birth. It seems probable that he was married, and had two children named Kamal and Kamali. Bishop Westcott states [290] that the Kabir Kasauti explains the story of his supposed marriage by the fact that he had a girl disciple named Loi, a foundling brought up by a holy man; she followed his precepts, and coming to Benares, passed her time in the service of the saints. Afterwards Kabir raised two children from the dead and gave them to Loi to bring up, and the ignorant suppose that these were his wife and children. Such a statement would appear to indicate that Kabir was really married, but after his sect had become important, this fact was felt to be a blot on his claim to be a divine prophet, and so was explained away in the above fashion.

The plain speaking of Kabir and his general disregard for religious conventions excited the enmity of both Hindus and Muhammadans, and he was accused before the Emperor Sikandar Lodi, by whose orders various attempts were made to kill him; but he was miraculously preserved in each case, until at last the Emperor acknowledged his divine character, asked his forgiveness, and expressed his willingness to undergo any punishment that he might name. To this Kabir replied that a man should sow flowers for those who had sown him thorns. Bishop Westcott continues:—"All accounts agree that the earthly life of Kabir came to a close at Maghar, in the District of Gorakhpur. Tradition relates that Kabir died in extreme old age, when his body had become infirm and his hands were no longer able to produce the music with which he had in younger days celebrated the praises of Rama.

"A difficulty arose with regard to the disposal of his body after death. The Muhammadans desired to bury it and the Hindus to cremate it. As the rival parties discussed the question with growing warmth Kabir himself appeared and bade them raise the cloth in which the body lay enshrouded. They did as he commanded, and lo! beneath the cloth there lay but a heap of flowers. Of these flowers the Hindus removed half and burnt them at Benares, while what remained were buried at Maghar by the Muhammadans."



2. Kabir's teachings.

The religion preached by Kabir was of a lofty character. He rejected the divine inspiration of the Vedas and the whole Hindu mythology. He taught that there was no virtue in outward observances such as shaving the head, ceremonial purity and impurity, and circumcision among Muhammadans. He condemned the worship of idols and the use of sect-marks and religious amulets, but in all ordinary matters allowed his followers to conform to usage in order to avoid giving offence. He abolished distinctions of caste. He enjoined a virtuous life, just conduct and kindly behaviour and much meditation on the virtues of God. He also condemned the love of money and gain. In fact, in many respects his creed resembles Christianity, just as the life of Kabir contains one or two episodes parallel to that of Christ. He prescribed obedience to the Guru or spiritual preceptor in all matters of faith and morals. His religion appears to have been somewhat of a pantheistic character and his idea of the deity rather vague. But he considered that the divine essence was present in all human beings, and apparently that those who freed themselves from sin and the trammels of worldly desires would ultimately be absorbed into the godhead. It does not seem that Kabir made any exact pronouncement on the doctrine of the transmigration of souls and re-birth, but as he laid great stress on avoiding the destruction of any animal life, a precept which is to some extent the outcome of the belief in transmigration, he may have concurred in this tenet. Some Kabirpanthis, however, have discarded transmigration. Bishop Westcott states that they do believe in the re-birth of the soul after an intervening period of reward or punishment, but always apparently in a human body.



3. His sayings

He would seem never to have promulgated any definite account of his own religion, nor did he write anything himself. He uttered a large number of Sakhis or apothegms which were recorded by his disciples in the Bijak, Sukhanidhan and other works, and are very well known and often quoted by Kabirpanthis and others. The influence of Kabir extended beyond his own sect. Nanak, the founder of the Nanakpanthis and Sikhs, was indebted to Kabir for most of his doctrine, and the Adi-Granth or first sacred book of the Sikhs is largely compiled from his sayings. Other sects such as the Dadupanthis also owe much to him. A small selection of his sayings from those recorded by Bishop Westcott may be given in illustration of their character:

1. Adding cowrie to cowrie he brings together lakhs and crores.

At the time of his departure he gets nothing at all, even his loin-cloth is plucked away.

2. Fire does not burn it, the wind does not carry it away, no thief comes near it; collect the wealth of the name of Rama, that wealth is never lost.

3. By force and love circumcision is made, I shall not agree to it, O brother. If God will make me a Turk by Him will I be circumcised; if a man becomes a Turk by being circumcised what shall be done with a woman? She must remain a Hindu.

4. The rosaries are of wood, the gods are of stone, the Ganges and Jumna are water. Rama and Krishna are dead. The four Vedas are fictitious stories.

5. If by worshipping stones one can find God, I shall worship a mountain; better than these stones (idols) are the stones of the flour-mill with which men grind their corn.

6. If by immersion in the water salvation be obtained, the frogs bathe continually. As the frogs so are these men, again and again they fall into the womb.

7. As long as the sun does not rise the stars sparkle; so long as perfect knowledge of God is not obtained, men practise rites and ceremonies.

8. Brahma is dead with Siva who lived in Kashi; the immortals are dead. In Mathura, Krishna, the cowherd, died. The ten incarnations (of Vishnu) are dead. Machhandranath, Gorakhnath, Dattatreya and Vyas are no longer living. Kabir cries with a loud voice, All these have fallen into the slip-knot of death.

9. While dwelling in the womb there is no clan nor caste; from the seed of Brahm the whole of creation is made.

Whose art thou the Brahman? Whose am I the Sudra? Whose blood am I? Whose milk art thou?

Kabir says, 'Who reflects on Brahm, he by me is made a Brahman.'

10. To be truthful is best of all if the heart be truthful. A man may speak as much as he likes; but there is no pleasure apart from truthfulness.

11. If by wandering about naked union with Hari be obtained; then every deer of the forest will attain to God. If by shaving the head perfection is achieved, the sheep is saved, no one is lost.

If salvation is got by celibacy, a eunuch should be the first saved. Kabir says, 'Hear, O Man and Brother; without the name of Rama no one has obtained salvation.'

The resemblance of some of the above ideas to the teaching of the Gospels is striking, and, as has been seen, the story of Kabir's birth might have been borrowed from the Bible, while the Kabirpanthi Chauka or religious service has one or two features in common with Christianity. These facts raise a probability, at any rate, that Kabir or his disciples had some acquaintance with the Bible or with the teaching of Christian missionaries. If such a supposition were correct, it would follow that Christianity had influenced the religious thought of India to a greater extent than is generally supposed. Because, as has been seen, the Nanakpanthi and Sikh sects are mainly based on the teaching of Kabir. Another interesting though accidental resemblance is that the religion of Kabir was handed down in the form of isolated texts and sayings like the Logia of Jesus, and was first reduced to writing in a connected form by his disciples. The fact that Kabir called the deity by the name of Rama apparently does not imply that he ascribed a unique and sole divinity to the hero king of Ajodhia. He had to have some name which might convey a definite image or conception to his uneducated followers, and may have simply adopted that which was best known and most revered by them.



4. The Kabirpanthi Sect in the Central Provinces.

The two principal headquarters of the Kabirpanthi sect are at Benaires and at Kawardha, the capital of the State of that name, or Damakheda in the Raipur District. These appear to be practically independent of each other, the head Mahants exercising separate jurisdiction over members of the sect who acknowledge their authority. The Benares branch of the sect is known as Bap (father) and the Kawardha branch as Mai (mother). In 1901 out of 850,000 Kabirpanthis in India 500,000 belonged to the Central Provinces. The following account of the practices of the sect in the Province is partly compiled from local information, and it differs in some minor, though not in essential, points from that given by Bishop Westcott. The Benares church is called the Kabirchaura Math and the Kawardha one the Dharam Das Math.

One of the converts to Kabir's teaching was Dharam Das, a Kasaundhan Bania, who distributed the whole of his wealth, eighteen lakhs of rupees, in charity at his master's bidding and became a mendicant. In reward for this Kabir promised him that his family should endure for forty-two generations. The Mahants of Kawardha claim to be the direct descendants of Dharam Das. They marry among Kasaundhan Banias, and their sons are initiated and succeed them. The present Mahants Dayaram and Ugranam are twelfth and thirteenth in descent from Dharam Das. Kabir not only promised that there should be forty-two Mahants, but gave the names of each of them, so that the names of all future Mahants are known. [291] Ugranam was born of a Marar woman, and, though acclaimed as the successor of his father, was challenged by Dhirajnam, whose parentage was legitimate. Their dispute led to a case in the Bombay High Court, which was decided in favour of Dhirajnam, and he accordingly occupied the seat at Kawardha. Dayaram is his successor. But Dhirajnam was unpopular, and little attention was paid to him. Ugranam lives at Damakheda, near Simga, [292] and enjoys the real homage of the followers of the sect, who say that Dhiraj was the official Mahant but Ugra the people's Mahant. Of the previous Mahants, four are buried at Kawardha, two at Kudarmal in Bilaspur, the site of a Kabirpanthi fair, and two at Mandla. Under the head Mahant are a number of subordinate Mahants or Gurus, each of whom has jurisdiction over the members of the sect in a certain area. The Guru pays so much a year to the head Mahant for his letter of jurisdiction and takes all the offerings himself. These subordinate Mahants may be celibate or married, and about two-thirds of them are married. A dissenting branch called Nadiapanthi has now arisen in Raipur, all of whom are celibate. The Mahants have a high peaked cap somewhat of the shape of a mitre, a long sleeveless white robe, a chauri or whisk, chauba or silver stick, and a staff called kuari or aska. It is said that on one occasion there was a very high flood at Puri and the sea threatened to submerge Jagannath's temple, but Kabir planted a stick in the sand and said, 'Come thus far and no further,' and the flood was stayed. In memory of this the Mahants carry the crutched staff, which also serves as a means of support. When officiating they wear a small embroidered cap. Each Mahant has a Diwan or assistant, and he travels about his charge during the open season, visiting the members of the sect. A Mahant should not annoy any one by begging, but rather than do so should remain hungry. He must not touch any flesh, fish or liquor. And if any living thing is hungry he should give it of his own food.



5. The religious service.

A Kabirpanthi religious service is called Chauka, the name given to the space marked out for it with lines of wheat-flour, 5 or 7 1/2 yards square. [293] In the centre is made a pattern of nine lotus flowers to represent the sun, moon and seven planets, and over this a bunch of real flowers is laid. At one corner is a small hollow pillar of dough serving as a candle-stick, in which a stick covered with cotton-wool burns as a lamp, being fed with butter. The Mahant sits at one end and the worshippers sit round. Bhajans or religious songs are sung to the music of cymbals by one or two, and the others repeat the name of Kabir counting on their kanthi or necklace of beads. The Mahant lights a piece of camphor and waves it backwards and forwards in a dish. This is called Arti, a Hindu rite. He then breaks a cocoanut on a stone, a thing which only a Mahant may do. The flesh of the cocoanut is cut up and distributed to the worshippers with betel-leaf and sugar. Each receives it on his knees, taking the greatest care that none fall on the ground. If any of the cocoanut remain, it is kept by the Mahant for another service. The Hindus think that the cocoanut is a substitute for a human head. It is supposed to have been created by Viswamitra and the buch or tuft of fibre at the end represents the hair. The Kabirpanthis will not eat any part of a cocoanut from other Hindus from which this tuft has been removed, as they fear that it may have been broken off in the name of some god or spirit. Once the buch is removed the cocoanut is not an acceptable offering, as its likeness to a human head is considered to be destroyed. After this the Mahant gives an address and an interval occurs. Some little time afterwards the worshippers reassemble. Meanwhile, a servant has taken the dough candle-stick and broken it up, mixing it with fragments of the cocoanut, butter and more flour. It is then brought to the Mahant, who makes it into little puris or wafers. The Mahant has also a number of betel-leaves known as parwana or message, which have been blessed by the head guru at Kawardha or Damakheda. These are cut up into small pieces for delivery to each disciple and are supposed to represent the body of Kabir. He has also brought Charan Amrita or Nectar of the Feet, consisting of water in which the feet of the head guru have been washed. This is mixed with fine earth and made up into pills. The worshippers reassemble, any who may feel unworthy absenting themselves, and each receives from the Mahant, with one hand folded beneath the other, a wafer of the dough, a piece of the parwana or betel-leaf, and a pill of the foot-nectar. After partaking of the sacred food they cleanse their hands, and the proceedings conclude with a substantial meal defrayed either by subscription or by a well-to-do member. Bishop Westcott states that the parwana or betel-leaf is held to represent Kabir's body, and the Kabirpanthis say that the flame of the candle is the life or spirit of Kabir, so that the dough of the candle-stick might also be taken to symbolise his body. The cocoanut eaten at the preliminary service is undoubtedly offered by Hindus as a substitute for a human body, though the Kabirpanthis may now disclaim this idea. And the foot-nectar of the guru might be looked upon as a substitute for the blood of Kabir.



6. Initiation.

The initiation of a proselyte is conducted at a similar service, and he is given cocoanut and betel-leaf. He solemnly vows to observe the rules of the sect, and the Mahant whispers a text into his ear and hangs a necklace of wooden beads of the wood of the tulsi or basil round his neck. This kanthi or necklace is the mark of the Kabirpanthi, but if lost, it can be replaced by any other necklace, not necessarily of tulsi. One man was observed with a necklace of pink beads bought at Allahabad. Sometimes only a single tulsi bead is worn on a string. The convert is also warned against eating the fruit of the gular [294] fig-tree, as these small figs are always full of insects. Kabir condemned sect-marks, but many Kabirpanthis now have them, the mark usually being a single broad streak of white sandalwood from the top of the forehead to the nose.



7. Funeral rites.

The Kabirpanthis are usually buried. Formerly, the bodies of married people both male and female were buried inside the compound of the house, but this is now prohibited on sanitary grounds. A cloth is placed in the grave and the corpse laid on it and another cloth placed over it covering the face. Over the grave a little platform is made on which the Mahant and two or three other persons can sit. On the twenty-first day after the death, if possible, the Mahant should hold a service for the dead. The form of the service is that already described, the Mahant sitting on the grave and the chauka being made in front of it. He lays a cocoanut and flowers on the grave and lights the lamp, afterwards distributing the cocoanut. The Kabirpanthis think that the soul of the dead person remains in the grave up to this time, but when the lamp is burnt the soul mingles with the flame, which is the soul of Kabir, and is absorbed into the deity. When breaking a cocoanut over the grave of the dead the Kabirpanthis say, 'I am breaking the skull of Yama,' because they think that the soul of a Kabirpanthi is absorbed into the deity and therefore is not liable to be taken down to hell and judged by Chitragupta and punished by Yama. From this it would appear that some of them do not believe in the transmigration of souls.



8. Idol worship.

Ordinarily the Kabirpanthis have no regular worship except on the occasion of a visit of the guru. But sometimes in the morning they fold their hands and say 'Sat Sahib,' or the 'True God,' two or three times. They also clean a space with cowdung and place a lighted lamp on it and say 'Jai Kabir Ki,' or 'Victory to Kabir.' They conceive of the deity as consisting of light, and therefore it seems probable that, like the other Vaishnava sects, they really take him to be the Sun. Kabir prohibited the worship of all idols and visible symbols, but as might be expected the illiterate Kabirpanthis cannot adhere strictly to this. Some of them worship the Bijak, the principal sacred book of their sect. At Rudri near Dhamtari on the Mahanadi one of the Gurus is buried, and a religious fair is held there. Recently a platform has been made with a footprint of Kabir marked on it, and this is venerated by the pilgrims. Similarly, Kudarmal is held to contain the grave of Churaman, the first guru after Dharam Das, and a religious fair is held here at which the Kabirpanthis attend and venerate the grave. Dharam Das himself is said to be buried at Puri, the site of Jagannath's temple, but it seems doubtful whether this story may not have been devised in order to give the Kabirpanthis a valid reason for going on pilgrimage to Puri. Similarly, an arch and platform in the court of the temple of Rama at Ramtek is considered to belong to the Kabirpanthis, though the Brahmans of the temple say that the arch was really made by the daughter of a Surajvansi king of the locality in order to fasten her swing to it. Once in three years the Mahar Kabirpanthis of Mandla make a sacrificial offering of a goat to Dulha Deo, the bridegroom god, and eat the flesh, burying the remains beneath the floor. On this occasion they also drink liquor. Other Kabirpanthis venerate Brahma, Vishnu and Siva, and light a lamp and burn camphor in their names, but do not make idols of them. They will accept the cooked food offered to Vishnu as Satnarayan and a piece of the cocoanut kernel offered to Devi, but not the offerings to any other deities. And a number even of illiterate Kabirpanthis appear to abstain from any kind of idol-worship.



9. Statistics of the sect.

About 600,000 Kabirpanthis were returned in the Central Provinces in 1911, this being equivalent to an increase of 19 per cent since the previous census. As this was less than the increase in the total population the sect appears to be stationary or declining in numbers. The weaving castes are usually Kabirpanthis, because Kabir was a weaver. The Brahmans call it 'The weaver's religion.' Of the Panka caste 84 per cent were returned as members of the sect, and this caste appears to be of sectarian formation, consisting of Pans or Gandas who have become Kabirpanthis. Other weaving castes such as Balahis, Koris, Koshtis and Mahars belong to the sect in considerable numbers, and it is also largely professed by other low castes as the Telis or oilmen, of whom 16 per cent adhere to it, and by Dhobis and Chamars; and by some castes from whom a Brahman will take water, as the Ahirs, Kurmis, Lodhis and Kachhis. Though there seems little doubt that one of the principal aims of Kabir's preaching was the abolition of the social tyranny of the caste system, which is the most real and to the lower classes the most hateful and burdensome feature of Hinduism, yet as in the case of so many other reformers his crusade has failed, and a man who becomes a Kabirpanthi does not cease to be a member of his caste or to conform to its observances. And a few Brahmans who have been converted, though renounced by their own caste, have, it is said, been compensated by receiving high posts in the hierarchy of the sect. Formerly all members of the sect took food together at the conclusion of each Chauka or service conducted by a Mahant. But this is no longer the case, and presumably different Chaukas are now held for communities of different castes. Only on the 13th day of Bhadon (August), which was the birthday of Kabir, as many Kabirpanthis as can meet at the headquarters of the Guru take food together without distinction of caste in memory of their Founder's doctrine. Otherwise the Kabirpanthis of each caste make a separate group within it, but among the lower castes they take food and marry with members of the caste who are not Kabirpanthis. These latter are commonly known as Saktaha, a term which in Chhattisgarh signifies an eater of meat as opposed to a Kabirpanthi who refrains from it. The Mahars and Pankas permit intermarriage between Kabirpanthi and Saktaha families, the wife in each case adopting the customs and beliefs of her husband. Kabirpanthis also wear the choti or scalp-lock and shave the head for the death of a relative, in spite of Kabir's contempt of the custom. Still, the sect has in the past afforded to the uneducated classes a somewhat higher ideal of spiritual life than the chaotic medley of primitive superstitions and beliefs in witchcraft and devil worship, from which the Brahmans, caring only for the recognition of their social supremacy, made no attempt to raise them.



Lingayat Sect

Lingayat Sect.—A sect devoted to the worship of Siva which has developed into a caste. The Lingayat sect is supposed [295] to have been founded in the twelfth century by one Basava, a Brahman minister of the king of the Carnatic. He preached the equality of all men and of women also by birth, and the equal treatment of all. Women were to be treated with the same respect as men, and any neglect or incivility to a woman would be an insult to the god whose image she wore and with whom she was one. Caste distinctions were the invention of Brahmans and consequently unworthy of acceptance. The Madras Census Report [296] of 1871 further states that Basava preached the immortality of the soul, and mentions a theory that some of the traditions concerning him might have been borrowed from the legends of the Syrian Christians, who had obtained a settlement in Madras at a period not later than the seventh century. The founder of the sect thus took as his fundamental tenet the abolition of caste, but, as is usual in the history of similar movements, the ultimate result has been that the Lingayats have themselves become a caste. In Bombay they have two main divisions, Mr. Enthoven states: [297] the Panchamsalis or descendants of the original converts from Brahmanism and the non-Panchamsalis or later converts. The latter are further subdivided into a number of groups, apparently endogamous. Converts of each caste becoming Lingayats form a separate group of their own, as Ahir Lingayats, Bania Lingayats and so on, severing their connection with the parent caste. A third division consists of members of unclean castes attached to the Lingayat community by reason of performing to it menial service. A marked tendency has recently been displayed by the community in Bombay to revert to the original Brahmanic configuration of society, from which its founder sought to free it. On the occasion of the census a complete scheme was supplied to the authorities professing to show the division of the Lingayats into the four groups of Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya and Sudra.

In the Central Provinces Lingayats were not shown as a separate caste, and the only return of members of the sect is from the Bania caste, whose subcastes were abstracted. Lingayat was recorded as a subcaste by 8000 Banias, and these form a separate endogamous group. But members of other castes as Gaolis, Malis, Patwas and the Telugu Balijas are also Lingayats and marry among themselves. A child becomes a Lingayat by being invested with the lingam or phallic sign of Siva, seven days after its birth, by the Jangam priest. This is afterwards carried round the neck in a small casket of silver, brass or wood throughout life, and is buried with the corpse at death. The corpse of a Lingayat cannot be burnt because it must not be separated from the lingam, as this is considered to be the incarnation of Siva and must not be destroyed in the fire. If it is lost the owner must be invested with a fresh one by the Jangam in the presence of the caste. It is worshipped three times a day, being washed in the morning with the ashes of cowdung cakes, while in the afternoon leaves of the bel tree and food are offered to it. When a man is initiated as a Lingayat in after-life, the Jangam invests him with the lingam, pours holy water on to his head and mutters in his ear the sacred text, 'Aham so aham,' or 'I and you are now one and the same.' The Lingayats are strict vegetarians, and will not expose their drinking water to the sun, as they think that by doing this insects would be bred in it and that by subsequently swallowing them they would be guilty of the destruction of life. They are careful to leave no remains of a meal uneaten. Their own priests, the Jangams, officiate at their weddings, and after the conclusion of the ceremony the bride and bridegroom break raw cakes of pulse placed on the other's back, the bride with her foot and the bridegroom with his fist. Widow-marriage is allowed. The dead are buried in a sitting posture with their faces turned towards the east. Water sanctified by the Jangam having dipped his toe into it is placed in the mouth of the corpse. The Jangam presses down the earth over the grave and then stands on it and refuses to come off until he is paid a sum of money varying with the means of the man, the minimum payment being Rs. 1-4. In some cases a platform with an image of Mahadeo is made over the grave. When meeting each other the Lingayats give the salutation Sharnat, or, 'I prostrate myself before you.' They address the Jangam as Maharaj and touch his feet with their head. The Lingayat Banias of the Central Provinces usually belong to Madras and speak Telugu in their houses. As they deny the authority of Brahmans, the latter have naturally a great antipathy for them, and make various statements to their discredit. One of these is that after a death the Lingayats have a feast, and, setting up the corpse in the centre, arrange themselves round it and eat their food. But this is not authenticated. Similarly the Abbe Dubois stated: [298] "They do not recognise the laws relating to defilement which are generally accepted by other castes, such, for instance, as those occasioned by a woman's periodical ailments, and by the death and funeral of relations. Their indifference to all such prescriptive customs relating to defilement and cleanliness has given rise to a Hindu proverb which says, 'There is no river for a Lingayat,' meaning that the members of the sect do not recognise, at all events on many occasions, the virtues and merits of ablutions." The same author also states that they entirely reject the doctrine of migration of souls, and that, in consequence of their peculiar views on this point, they have no tithis or anniversary festivals to commemorate the dead. A Lingayat is no sooner buried than he is forgotten. In view of these remarks it must be held to be doubtful whether the Lingayats have the doctrine of the immortality of the soul.



Muhammadan Religion

[Bibliography: Rev. T.P. Hughes, Notes on Muhammadanism, and Dictionary of Islam, London, W.H. Allen, 1895; Bombay Gazetteer, vol. ix. Part II. Muhammadans of Gujarat, by Khan Bahadur Fazalullah Lutfullah Faridi; Qaun-i-Islam, G.A. Herklots, Madras, Higginbotham, reprint 1895; Muhammadanism and Early Developments of Muhammadanism, by Professor D.S. Margoliouth; Life of Mahomet, by Sir. W. Muir; Mr. J.T. Marten's Central Provinces Census Report, 1911. This article is mainly compiled from the excellent accounts in the Bombay Gazetteer and the Dictionary of Islam.]



List of Paragraphs

1. Statistics and distribution. 2. Occupations. 3. Muhammadan castes. 4. The four tribal divisions. 5. Marriage. 6. Polygamy, divorce and widow-remarriage. 7. Devices for procuring children, and beliefs about them. 8. Pregnancy rites. 9. Childbirth and naming children. 10. The Ukika sacrifice. 11. Shaving the hair and ear-piercing 12. Birthdays. 13. Circumcision, and maturity of girls. 14. Funeral rites. 15. Muhammadan sects. Shiah and Sunni. 16. Leading religious observations. Prayer. 17. The fast Ramazan. 18. The pilgrimage to Mecca. 19. Festivals. The Muharram. 20. Id-ul-Fitr. 21. Id-ul-Zoha. 22. Mosques. 22. Mosques 23. The Friday service. 24. Priest. Mulla and Maulvi. 25. The Kazi. 26. General features of Islam. 27. The Koran. 28. The Traditions 29. The schools of law. 30. Food. 31. Dress. 32. Social rules. Salutations. 33. Customs. 34. Position of women. 35. Interest on money. 36. Muhammadan education.



1. Statistics and distribution.

Muhammadan Religion.—The Muhammadans numbered nearly 600,000 persons in the Central Provinces in 1911, or about 3 per cent of the population. Of these about two-fifths belong to Berar, the Amraoti and Akola Districts containing more than 70,000 each; while of the 350,000 returned from the Central Provinces proper, about 40,000 reside in each of the Jubbulpore, Nagpur and Nimar Districts. Berar was for a long period governed by the Muhammadan Bahmani dynasty, and afterwards formed part of the Mughal empire, passing to the Mughal Viceroy, the Nizam of Hyderabad, when he became an independent ruler. Though under British administration, it is still legally a part of Hyderabad territory, and a large proportion of the official classes as well as many descendants of retired soldiers are Muhammadans. Similarly Nimar was held by the Muhammadan Faruki dynasty of Khandesh for 200 years, and was then included in the Mughal empire, Burhanpur being the seat of a viceroy. At this period a good deal of forcible conversion probably took place, and a considerable section of the Bhils nominally became Muhammadans.

When the Gond Raja of Deogarh embraced Islam after his visit to Delhi, members of this religion entered his service, and he also brought back with him various artificers and craftsmen. The cavalry of the Bhonsla Raja of Nagpur was largely composed of Muhammadans, and in many cases their descendants have settled on the land. In the Chhattisgarh Division and the Feudatory States the number of Muhammadans is extremely small, constituting less than one per cent of the population.



2. Occupations.

No less than 37 per cent of the total number of Muhammadans live in towns, though the general proportion of urban population in the Provinces is only 7 1/2 per cent. The number of Muhammadans in Government service excluding the police and army, is quite disproportionate to their small numerical strength in the Provinces, being 20 per cent of all persons employed. In the garrison they actually outnumber Hindus, while in the police they form 37 per cent of the whole force. In the medical and teaching professions also the number of Muhammadans is comparatively large, while of persons of independent means a proportion of 29 per cent are of this religion. Of persons employed in domestic services nearly 14 per cent of the total are Muhammadans, and of beggars, vagrants and prostitutes 23 per cent. Muhammadans are largely engaged in making and selling clothes, outnumbering the Hindus in this trade; they consist of two entirely different classes, the Muhammadan tailors who work for hire, and the Bohra and Khoja shopkeepers who sell all kinds of cloth; but both live in towns. Of dealers in timber and furniture 36 per cent are Muhammadans, and they also engage in all branches of the retail trade in provisions. The occupations of the lower-class Muhammadans are the manufacture of glass bangles and slippers and the dyeing of cloth. [299]