CHAPTER XL

*'Not to commit any nn, to do good, and to purify one's mindf diat is die teadiing of the Awa- kened. . . .
'* Hetter than Sovereignty over the earth, better than going to heaven, better than lordship over all the worlds in the reward of the first step in holiness." — Dkamma^ada , verses 178-183.
Creator, where are diese tribunals, where do these courts proceed, where do these courts assemblci where do tiie tribunals meet to which the man of the embodied worid gives an account for his soul? — Persian Vcndidad^ xix. 89.
Hail to thee O Mao, who art come firom die transitory place to die imperishable I — Vendidad, farg: viL, Z36.
To the true believer, truth, wherever it appears, is welcome, nor will any doctrine seem the leas true or the li:»» precious, because it was seen not only by Moses or Christ, but likewise by Buddha or Lao-tse.— Max Mi'LLER.
UNLUCKILY for those who would have been glad to render justice to the ancient and modern religious philosophies of the Orient, a fair oi>portunity has hardly ever been given to them. Of late there has been a touching accord between philologists holding high ofRcial posi- tions, and missionaries from heathen lands. Prudence before truth when the latter endangers our sinecures I Besides, how easy to compromise with conscience. A State religion is a prop of government ; all State religions are " exploded humbugs " ; therefore, since one is as good, or rather as bad, as another, the State religion may as well be supported. Such is the diplomacy of official science.
Grote in his History of Greece^ assimilates the Pythagoreans to the Jesuits, and sees in their Brotherhood but an ably-disguised object to acquire ])olitical ascendancy. On the loose testimony of Herakleitus and some other writers, who accused Pythagoras of craft, and described him as a man ** of extensive research . . . but artful for mischief and destitute of sound judgment," some historical biographers hastened to present him to posterity in such a character.
How then if they must accept the Pythagoras painted by the satirical Timon : ** a juggler of solemn speech engaged in fishing for men," can they avoid judging of Jesus from the sketch that Celsus has em- balmed in his satire ? Historical impartiality has nought to do with creeds and personal beliefs, and exacts as much of posterity for one as for the other. The life and doings of Jesus are far less attested than
34
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those of Pythagoras, if, indeed, we can say that they are attested at all by any historical proof. For assuredly no one will gainsay that as a real personage Celsus has the advantage as regards the credibility of his tes- timony over Matthew, or Mark, or Luke, or John, who never wrote a line of the Gospels attributed to them respectively. Withal Celsus is at least as good a witness as Herakleitus. He was known as a scholar and a Nco-platonist to some of the Fathers ; whereas the very existence of the four Apostles must be taken on blind faith. If Timon regarded the sublime Samian as *' a juggler," so did Celsus hold Jesus, or rather those who made all the pretenses for him. In his famous work, addressing the Nazarene, he says : " Let us grant that the wonders were performed by you . . . but are they not common with those who have been taught by the Egyptians to perform in the middle of the forum for a few obolL" And we know, on the authority of the Gospel according to Matthew^ that the Galilean prophet was also a man of solemn speech, and that he called himself and offered to make his disciples *^ fishers of men/'
Let it not be imagined that we bring this reproach to any who revere Jesus as God. Whatever the faith, if the worshipper be but sincere, it should be respected in his presence. If we do not accept Jesus as God, we revere him as a man. Such a feeling honors him more than if we were to attribute to him the powers and personality of the Supreme, and credit him at the same time with having played a useless comedy with mankind, as, after all, his mission proves scarcely less than a complete failure ; 2,000 years have passed, and Christians do not reckon one-fifth part of the population of the globe, nor is Christianity likely to progress any better in the future. No, we aim but at strict justice, leaving all per- sonality aside. We question those who, adoring neither Jesus, Pythagoras, nor Apollonius, yet recite the idle gossip of their contemporaries ; those who in their books either maintain a pmdent silence, or speak of "our Saviour" and "our Lord," as though they believed any more in the made-up theological Christ, than in the fabulous Fo of China.
There were no Atheists in those days of old ; no disbelievers or matC' rialistSy in the modern sense of the word^ as there were no bigoted de- tractors. He who judges the ancient philosophies by their external phraseology, and quotes from ancient writings sentences seemingly atheistical, is unfit to be trusted as a critic, for he is unable to penetrate into the inner sense of their metaphysics. The views of Pyrrho, whose rationalism has become proverbial, can be interpreted only by the light of the oldest Hindu philosophy. From Manu down to the latest Swkb- h&vika, its leading metaphysical feature ever was to proclaim the reality and supremacy of spirit, with a vehemence proportionate to the denial of the objective existence of our material world — ^passing phantom of
COMPARATIVE THEOLOGY A TWO-EDGED WEAPON. 53 1
temporary forms and beings. The numerous schools begotten by Ka- pila, reflect his philosophy no clearer than the doctrines left as a legacy to thinkers by Timon, Pyrrho's " Prophet," as Sextus Empiricus calls him. His views on the divine repose of the soul, his proud indifference to the opinion of his fellow men, his contempt for sophistry, reflect in an equal degree stray beams of the self-contemplation of the Gymnosophists and of the Buddhist Vaibhdshika, Notwithstanding that he and his fol- lowers are termed, from their state of constant suspense, " skeptics," " doubters," inquirers, and ephectics, only because they postponed their final judgment on dilemmas, with which our modem philosophers prefer dealing, Alexander-like, by cutting the Gordian knot, and then declaring the dilemma a superstition, such men as Pyrrho cannot be pronounced atheists. No more can Kapila, or Giordano Bruno, or again Spinoza, who were also treated as atheists ; nor yet, the great Hindu poet, philoso- pher, and dialectician, Veda-Vyasa, whose principle that all is illusion — save the Great Unknown and His direct essence — Pyrrho has adopted in full.
These philosophical beliefs extended like a net-work over the whole j)re-Christian world ; and, surviving persecution and misrepresentations, form the corner-stone of every now existing religion outside Chris- tianity.
Comparative theology is a two-edged weapon, and has so proved itself. But the Christian advocates, unabashed by evidence, force com- parison in the serenest way ; Christian legends and dogmas, they say, do somewhat resemble the heathen, it is true ; but see, while the one teaches us the existence, powers, and attributes of an all- wise, all-good Father-God, Brahmanism gives us a multitude of minor gods, and Bud- dhism none whatever ; one is fetishism and polytheism, the other bald atheism. Jehovah is the one true God, and the Pope and Martin Luther are His prophets! This is one edge of the sword, and this the other: Despite missions, despite armies, despite enforced commercial inter- course, the " heathen " find nodiing in the teachings of Jesus — sublime though some arc — that Christna and Gautama had not taught them before. And so, to gain over any new converts, and keep the few already w^on by centuries of cunning, the Christians give the "heathen" dogmas more absurd than their own, and cheat them by adopting the habit of their native priests, and practicing the very " idolatry and fetishism " which they so disparage in the "heathens." Comparative theology works both ways.
In Siam and Bumiah, Catholic missionaries have become perfect Talapoins to all external appearance, /. ^., minus their virtues ; and throughout India, especially in the south, they were denounced by their
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own colleague, the Abb6 Dubois.* This was afterward vehemently denied. But now we have living witnesses to the correctness of the charge. Among others, Captain O' Grady, already quoted, a native of Madras, writes the following on this systematic method of deception : f " The hypocritical beggars profess total abstinence and horror of flesh to conciliate converts from Hinduism. ... 1 got one father, or rather, he got himself gloriously drunk in my house, time and again, and the way he pitched into roast beef was a caution." Further, the author has pretty stories to tell of " black-faced Christs," " Virgins on wheels," and of Catholic processions in general. We have seen such solemn ceremonies accompanied by the most infernal cacophony of a Cingalese orchestra, tam-tam and gongs included, followed by a like Brahmanic procession, which, for its picturesque coloring and mis^ en scint^ looked far more solemn and imposing than the Christian saturnalias. Speaking of one of these, the same author remarks : " It was more devilish than religions. . . . The bishops walked off Romeward, J with a mighty pile of Peter's pence gathered in the minutest sums, with gold ornaments, nose-rings, anklets, elbow bangles, etc., etc., in profusion, recklessly thrown in heaps at the feet of the grotesque copper-colored image of the Saviour, with its Dutch metal halo and gaudily -striped cummerbund and — shade of Ra- phael ! — blue turban." §
As every one can see, such voluntary contributions make it quite profitable to mimic the native Brahmans and bonzes. Between the worshippers of Christna and Christ, or Avany and the Virgin Mary, there is less substantial difference, in fact, than between the two native sects, the Vishnavites and the Sivites. For the converted Hindus, Christ is a slightly modified Christna, that is all. Missionaries carry away rich dona- tions and Rome is satisfied. Then comes a year of famine ; but the nose-rings and gold elbow-bangles are gone and people starve by thou- sands. What matters it ? They die in Christ, and Rome scatters her blessings over their corpses, of which thousands float yearly down the sacred rivers to the ocean. |j So servile are the Catholics in their iroita-
♦ " Edinburgh Review," April, 1851, p. 41 1. ,
f ** Indian Sketches ; or Life in the East," written for the ** Commercial Bulletin,* of Boston.
X See chapter iL of this voL , p. na
§ It would be worth the trouble of an artist, while travelling around the world, to make a collection of the multitudinous varieties of Madonnas, Christs. saints, and mar- tyrs as they appear in various costumes in different countries. They would furnish models for masquerade balls in aid of church charities !
I Even as we write, there comes from Earl Salisbury, Secretary of State for India, a report that the Madras famine is to be followed by one probably still more severe m Southern India, the very district where the heaviest tribute has been exacted by the
HIGH-CASTE AND LOW-CASTE CHRISTIANITY. 533
tion, and so careful not to give ofifense to their parishioners, that if they happen to have a few higher caste converts in a Church, no pariah nor any man of the lower castes, however good a Christian he may be, can be admitted into the same Church with them. And yet they dare call themselves the servants of Him who sought in preference the society of the publicajis and sinners ; and whose appeal — " Come unto me all ye that are heavy laden, and I will give you rest " has opened to him the hearts of millions of the suffering and the oppressed I
Few writers are as bold and outspoken as the late lamented Dr. Thomas Inman, of I^iverpool, England. But however small their number, these men all agree unanimously, that the philosophy of both Buddhism and Brahmanism must rank higher than Christian theology, and teach neither atheism or fetishism. " To my own mind," says Inman, " the assertion that Sakya did not believe in God is wholly unsupported. Nay, his whole scheme is built upon the belief that there are powers above which are capable of punishing mankind for their sins. It is true that these gods were not called Elohim, nor Jah, nor Jehovah, nor Jahveh, nor Adonai, nor Ehieh, nor Baalim, nor Ashtoreth — yet, for the son of Suddhadana, there was a Supreme Being." *
There are four schools of Buddhist theology, in Ceylon, Thibet, and India. One is rather pantheistical than atheistical, but the other three are purely theisticaL
On the first the speculations of our philologists are based. As to the second, third, and the fourth, their teachings vary but in the external mode of expression. We have fully explained the spirit of it elsewhere.
As to practical, not theoretical views on the Nirvana, this is what a ra- tionalist and a skeptic says : " I have questioned at the very doors of their temples several hundreds of Buddhists, and have not found one but strove, fasted, and gave himself up to every kind of austerity, to perfect himself and acquire immortality ; not to attain final annihilation.
•* There are over 300,000,000 of Buddhists who fast, pray, and toil. . . . Why make of these 300,000,000 of men idiots and fools, macerating their bodies and imposing ui)on themselves most fearful privations of every nature, in order to reach a fatal annihilation which must overtake them anyhow ? " f
As well as this author we have questioned Buddhists and Brahmanists and studied their philosophy. Apavarg has wholly a diflferent meaning
Catholic missionaries for the expenses of the Church of Rome. The latter, unable to retaliate otherwise, despoils British subjects, and when famine comes as a consequence, makes the heretical British Government pay for it.
♦ *• Ancient Faiths and Modern," p. 24.
f ** F^tichisme, Polytheisme, Monoth^isme.*'
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firom annihilation. It ig but to become more and more like Him, of whom he is one of the refulgent sparks, that is the aspiration of every Hindu philosopher and the hope of the most ignorant is never to yield up his distinct individuality. " Else," as once remarked an esteemed cor- respondent of the author, " mundane and separate existence would look like God's comedy and our tragedy ; sport to Him that we work and sufifer, death to us to suffer it."
The same with the doctrine of metempsychosis, so distorted by Euro- pean scholars. But as the work of translation and analysis progresses, fresh religious beauties will be discovered in the old faiths.
Professor Whitney has in his translation of the Vedas passages in which he says, the assumed importance of the body to its old tenant v^ brought out in the strongest light. These are portions of hymns read at the funeral services, over the body of the departed one. We quote them from Mr. Whitney's scholarly work :
*^ Start onward ! bring together all thy members ;
let not thy limbs be left, nor yet thy body ; Thy spirit gone before, now follow after ;
Wherever it delights thee, go thou thither."
Collect thy body; with its every member ;
thy limbs with help of rites I fashion for thee.
If some one limb was left behind by Agni,
When to thy Fathers* world he hence conveyed yoo.
That very one I now again supply you ;
rejoice in heaven with all your limbs, ye Fathers 1 *
The " body " here referred to is not the physical, but the astral one— a very great distinction, as may be seen.
Again, belief in the individual existence of the immortal spirit of man is shown in the following verses of the Hindu ceremonial of increma- tion and burial.
*' They who within the sphere of earth are stationed,
or who are settled now in realms of pleasure. The Fathers who have the earth — the atmosphere — the heaven for their seat, The •* fore-heaven " the third heaven is styled,
and where the Fathers have their seat." — {Rig- Veda, x.)
With such majestic views as these people held of God and the immor- tality of man's spirit, it is not surprising that a comparison between the
♦ ** Oriental and Linguistic Studies," " Vedic Doctrine of a Future Life," by W. Dwight Whitney, Pro£ of Sanscrit and Comparative Philology at Yale College.
PROF. W. D. WHITNEY'S IMPORTANT DISCOVERY. 535
Vedic hymns and the narrow, unspiritual Mosaic books should result to the advantage of the former in the mind of every unprejudiced scholar. Even the ethical code of Manu is incomparably higher than that of the Pentateuch of Moses, in the literal meaning of which all the uninitiated scholars of two worlds cannot find a single proof that the ancient Jews believed either in a future life or an immortal spirit in man, or that Moses himself ever taught it. Yet, we have eminent Orientalists who begin to suspect that the '* dead letter " conceals something not apparent at first sight. So Professor VVhitney tells us that " as we look yet further into the forms of the modern Hindu ceremonial we discover not a little of the same discordance between creed and observance ; the one is not explained by the other," says this great American scholar. He adds : " We are forced to the conclusion either that India derived its system of rites from some foreign source, and practiced them blindly, careless of their true import, or else that those rites are the production of another doctrine of older datCy and have maintained themselves in popular usage after the decay of the creed of which they were the original expression." *
This creed has not decayed, and its hidden philosophy, as understood now by the initiated Hindus, is just as it was 10,000 years ago. But can our scholars seriously hope to have it delivered unto them upon their first demand ? Or do they still expect to fathom the mysteries of the World- Religion in its popular exoteric rites ?
No orthodox Brahmans and Buddhists would deny the Christian incarnation ; only, they understand it in their own philosophical way, and how could they deny it ? The very corner-stone of their religious system is periodical incarnations of the Deity. Whenever humanity is about merging into materialism and moral degradation, a Supreme Spirit incar- nates himself in his creature selected for the purpose. The ** Messenger of the Highest " links itself with the duality of matter and soul, and the triad being thus completed by the union of its Crown, a saviour is born, who helps restore humanity to the path of truth and virtue. The early Christian Church, all imbued with Asiatic philosophy, evidently shared the same belief — otherwise // would have neither erected into an article of faith the second advent^ nor cunningly invented the fable of Anti-Christ as a precaution against possible future incarnations. Neither could they have imagined that Melchisedek was an avatar of Christ. They had only to turn to the Bagavedgitta to find Christna or Bhagaved saying to Arjuna : " He who follows me is saved by wisdom and even by works. . . , As often as virtue declines in the worlds I make myself manifest to save it.''
* '* Oriental and Linguistic Studies,'* p. 48.
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Indeed, it is more than difficult to avoid sharing this -doctrine of periodical incarnations. Has not the world witnessed, at rare intervals^ the advent of such grand characters as Christna, Sakya-muni, and Jesus ? Like the two latter personages, Christna seems to have been a real being, deified by his school at some time in the twilight of history, and made to fit into the frame of the time-honored religious programme. Compare the two Redeemers, the Hindu and the Christian, the one preceding the other by some thousands of years; place between them Siddhdrtha Buddha, reflecting Christna and projecting into the night of the future his own luminous shadow, out of whose collected rays were shaped the out- lines of the mythical Jesus, and from whose teachings were drawn those of the historical Christos ; and we find that under one identical garment of poetical legend lived and breathed three real human figures. The individual merit of each of them is rather brought out in stronger relief than otherwise by this same mythical coloring ; for no unworthy character could have been selected for deification by the popular instinct, so unerr- ing and just when left untrammeled. Vox popiUu vox Dei was once true, however erroneous when applied to the present priest-ridden mob.
Kapila, Orpheus, Pythagoras, Plato, Basilides, Marcian, Ammonius and Plotinus, founded schools and sowed the germs of many a noble thought, and disappearing left behind them the refulgence of demi-gods. But the three personalities of Christna, Gautama, and Jesus appeared like true gods, each in his epoch, and bequeathed to humanity three religions built on the imperishable rock of ages. That all three, especially the Christian faith, have in time become adulterated, and the latter almost unrecogniz- able, is no fault of either of the noble Reformers. It is the priestly self- styled husbandmen of the " vine of the Lord " who must be held to account by future generations. Purify the three systems of the dross of human dogmas, the pure essence remaining will be found identical. Even Paul, the great, the honest ai>ostle, in the glow of his enthusiasm either unwittingly perverted the doctrines of Jesus, or else his writings are dis- figured beyond recognition. The Talmud^ the record of a people who, notwithstanding his apostasy from Judaism, yet feel compelled to acknow- ledge Paul's greatness as a philosopher and religionist, says of Aher (Paul),*
♦ In his article on ** Paul, the Founder of Christianity," Professor A. Wilder, whose intuitions of truth are always clear, says: **In the person of Aher we recog- nize the Apostle Paul. He appears to have been known by a variety of appellations. He was named Saul^ evidently because of his vision of Paradise— Saul or Sheol being the Hebrew name of the other world. Paul^ which only means * the little man/ was a species of nickname. Aher, or other ^ was an epithet in the Bible for persons outside of the Jewish polity, and was applied to him for having extended his ministry to the Gentiles. His real name was Elisha ben Abuiah."
THE LEGENDS OF THREE SAVIOURS.
S37
in the Yerushalmi^ that " he corrupted the work of that man " — meaning Jesus.*
Meanwhile, before this smelting is completed by honest science and future generations, let us glance at the present aspect of the legendary three religions.
THE LEGENDS OF THREE SAVIOURS.
Christna.
Epoch: Uncertain. Euro- pean science fears to commit itself. But the Bralimanical calculations fix It at about 6,877 years ago.
Christna descends of a royal family, but is brought up by shepherds ; is called the Shepherd God, His birth and di- vine descent are kept secret from Kansa.
An incarnation of Vishnu, the second person of the Trimurti (Trinity). Christna was worshipped at Mathura, on the river Jumna (See Strabo and Arrian and Hampton Lectures, pp. 98- 1 00.
Christna is persecuted by Kansa, Tyrant of Ma- dura, but miraculously escapes. In the hope of destroying the child, the king has thousands of male innocents slaugh- tered.
Christ na*s mother was De- vaki, or Dcvanagui, an immaculate virgin (but bad given birth to eight sons before Christna).
Gautama- Buddha.
Epoch: According to Eu- ropean science and the Ceylonese calculations, 2,540 years ago.
Cautama is the son of a king. His first disciples are shepherds and men- dicants.
According to some, an in- carnation of Vishnu; according to others, an incarnation of one of the Buddhas and even of Ad' Buddha, the Highest Wisdom.
Buddhist legends are free from this plagiarism, but the Cath«>lic legend that makes of him St. Josa- phat, shows his father, king of Kapilavastu, slaying innocent young Christians (! !). (See Golden Legend. )
Buddha's mother was Maya, or Mayadeva ; married to her liusband (yet an immaculate vir- gin).
Jesus of Nazareth. Epoch: Supposed to be 1877 years ago. His birth and royal descent are concealed from Her- od the tyrant.
Descends of the Royal family of David. Is worshipped by shepherds at his birth, and is called the "Good Shepherd" (See Gospel according to John).
An incarnation of the Holy Ghost, then tlie second person of the Trinity, now the third. But the Trinity was not invented until 325 years after hi:* birth. Went to Mathura or Matarea. Egypt, and produced his first miracles there (See Gospel of Infancy).
Jesus is persecuted 1^ Herod, King of Judaea, but escapes into Egypt under conduct of an angel. Tu assure his slaughter, Herod orders a massacre of innocents, and 40,000 were slain.
Jesus' mother was Mariam, or Miriam ; married to her husband, yet an im- maculate virgin, but had several children liesides Jesus. (See Matthew
*»!• 55» 56- )
♦ '*In the * Talmud* Jesus is called AUTU h-ais, B"'»ri imBtj ^^^ man.**— A, Wilder.
538
ISIS UNVEILED.
Christna. Christna is endowed with beauty, omniscience, and omnipotence from birth. Produces miracles, cures the lame and blind, and casts out demons. Wash- es the feet of the Brah- mans, anrl descending to the lowest regions (hell), liberates the dead, and returns to Vaiconiha — the paradise of Vishnu. Christna was the God Vishnu himself in human form.
Christna creates boys ont of calves, and vice versa (Maurice's Indian An- tiquities^ vol. ii., p. 332). He crushes the Serpent's head. (Ibid.;
Christna is Unitarian. He persecutes the clergy, charges them with am- bition and hypocrisy to their faces, divulges the great secrets of the Sanc- tuary— the Unity of God and immortality of our spirit. Tradition says he fell a victim to their vengeance. His favor- ite disciple, Arjuna, never deserts him to the last./ There are credible traditions that he died on the cross (a tree), nailed to it by an arrow. The best scholars agree that the Irish Cross at Tuam, erected long be- fore the Christian era, is Asiatic. (See Round Towers^ p. 296, ei seq.^ by O'Brien; also Reli-
Gautama-Buddha.
Buddha is endowed with the same powers and qualities, and performs similar wonders. Passes his life with mendicants. It is claimed for Gauta^ ma that he was distinct from all other Avatars, having the entire spirit of Buddha in him, while ail others had but a part (ansa) of the divinity in them.
Gautama crushes the Ser- pent's head, 1. ^., abol- ishes the Naga worship as fetishism; but, like Jesus, makes the Serpent the emblem of divine wisdom.
Buddha abolishes idolatry ; divulges the Mysteries of the Unity of God and the Nirvana, the true meaning of which was previously known only to the priests. Perse- cuted and driven out of the country, he escapes death by gathering al>out him some hundreds of thousands of believers in his Buddhaship. Finally, dies, surrounded by a host of disciples, with Ananda, his beloved dis- ciple and cousin, chief among them all. O'Brien believes that the Irish Cross at Tuam is meant for Buddha's, but Gau- tama was never cruci- fied. He is represented in many temples, as sit*
Jesus of Nazareth.
Jesus is similarly endowed. (See Gospels and the Apocryphal Vestament.) Passes his life with sin- ners and publicans. Casts out demons like- wise. The only notable difference between the three is that Jesus is charged with casting out devils by the power of Beelxebub, which the others were not. Jesus washes the feet of his disciples, dies, descends to hell, and ascends to heaven, after liberating the dead.
Jesus is said to have cmsh- ed the Serpent's head, agreeably to original rev- elation in Genesis. He also transforms boys into kids, and kids into boy!^ {Gospil of Infancy, )
Jesus rebels against the old Jewish law ; de- nounces the Scribes, and Pharisees, and the syna- gogue for hypocrisy and dogmatic intolerance. Breaks the Sabbath, and defies the Law. Is ac* cused by the Jews of di vulging the secrets of the Sanctuary. Is put to death on a cross (a tree). Of the little hand- ful of disciples whom he had converted, one be- trays him, one denies him,and the others desert him at the last, except John — the disciple he loved, Jesus, Christna, and Buddha, all three Saviours, die either on or under trees, and are con- nected with crosses which
NUMERICAL STRENGTH OF THREE RELIGIONS. 539
Christna. Gautaha-Buddha. Jesus of Nazareth.
gions de V Antiquity ; ting under a cruciform are symbolical of the
Creuzer*s Symboiik^ voL tree, which is the *' Tree three-fold powers of cre-
1, p. 2oS; and engraving of Life/* In another im- ation.
in Dr. Lundy's Monu- age he is sitting on Naga
weutal Christianity^ p. the Raja of Serpents with
1 60. a cross on his breast. *
Christna ascends to Swarga Buddha ascends to Nir- Jesus ascends to Paradise,
and becomes Nirguna. vana.
RESULT. About the middle of the present century, the followers of these three religions were reckoned as follows : f
Of Christna. Of Buddha. Of Jesus.
Brahmans, 60,000,000. Buddhists, 450,000,00a Christians, 260,000^000.
Such is the present aspect of these three great religions, of which each is in turn reflected in its successor. Had the Christian doginatizers stopped there, the results would not have been so disastrous, for it would be hard, indeed, to make a bad creed out of the lofty teachings of (vau- tama, or Christna, as Bhagaved. But they went farther, and added to pure primitive Christianity the fables of Hercules, Orpheus, and Bac- chus. As Mussulmans will not admit that their Koran is built on the substratum of the Jewish Bible^ so the Christians will not confess that they owe next to everything to the Hindu religions. But the Hindus have chronology to prove it to them. We see the best and most learned of our writers uselessly striving to show that the extraordinary similarities — ^amounting to identity — between Christna and Christ are due to the spurious Gospels of the Infancy and of St, Thomas having " probably circulated on the coast of Malabar, and giving color to the story of Christna." J Why not accept truth in all sincerity, and reversing mat- ters, admit that St. Thomas, faithful to that policy of proselytism which marked the earliest Christians, when he found in Malabar the original of the mythical Christ in Christna, tried to blend the two ; and, adopting in his gospel (from which all others were copied) the most important de- tails of the story of the Hindu Avatar, engrafted the Christian heresy on the primitive religion of Christna. For any one acquainted with the spirit of Brahmanism, the idea of Brahmans accepting anything from a stranger, especially from a foreigner, is simply ridiculous. That they, the most fanatic people in religious matters, who, during centuries, cannot be compelled to adopt the most simple of European usages, should be suspected of having introduced into their sacred books unveri-
♦ See Moor's plates, 75, No. 3. f Max Miiller's estimate.
X Dr. Lundy: " Monunnental Christianity," p. 153.
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fied legends about a foreign God, is something so preposterously illogi- cal, that it is really waste of time to contradict the idea !
We will not stop to examine the too well-known resemblances between the external form of Buddhistic worship^-especially Lamaisra — and Roman Catholicism, for noticing which poor Hue paid dear — ^but proceed to compare the most vital points. Of all the original manu- scripts that have been translated from the various languages in which Buddhism is expounded, the most extraordinary and interesting are Buddha's Dhammapada^ or Path of Virtue^ translated from the Pali by Colonel Rogers,* and the IVJieel of the Law, containing the views of a Siamese Minister of State on his own and other religions, and translated by Henry Alabaster, f The reading of these two books, and the dis- covery in them of similarities of thought and doctrine often amounting to identity, prompted Dr. Inman to write the many profoundly true pas- sages embodied in one of his last works. Ancient Faith and Modern.\ " I speak with sober earnestness," writes this kind-hearted, sincere scholar, *' when I say that after forty years' experience among those who profess Christianity, and those who proclaim . . . more or less quiedy their disagreement with it, I have noticed more sterling virtue and moral- ity amongst the last than the first. ... I know personally many pious, good Christian people, whom I honor, admire, and, perhaps, would be glad to emulate or to equal ; but they deserve the eulogy thus passed on them, in consequence of their good sense, having ignored the doctrine of faith to a great degree, and having cultivated the practice of good works. ... In my judgment the most praiseworthy Christians whom I know are modified Buddhists, though probably, not one of them ever heard of Sidd&rtha.'' g
Between the Lamaico-Buddhistic and Roman Catholic articles of faith and ceremonies, there are fifty-one points presenting a perfect and striking similarity ; and four diametrically antagonistic.
As it would be useless to enumerate the " similarities,'- for the reader may find them carefully noted in Inman's work on Ancient Faith and Modern, pp. 237-240, we will quote but the four dissimilarities, and leave every one to draw his own deductions therefrom :