his habits of intoxication, in which he indulged to such a degree as to redden his eyes. He danced naked before Atri, and from the curse of that Rishi was punished in a way which is too shameful to be mentioned. He was ready to part with all the merit he had acquired by his austerities in order to gratify his evil desires but once with Mohini. Daksha gave in marriage the youngest of his daughters to Siva; but he became enraged when he saw the habits of his son-in-law-a beggar, smearing his body with ashes, living where the dead are burned, and wearing a necklace of skulls. When Daksha made a great sacrifice, his daughter came; but he abused her greatly on account of her dirty and beggarly appearance, on which account she threw herself into the fire and was reduced to ashes. Upon this Siva, it is said, produced an enormous giant with three eyes, called Virabhadra, who destroyed the sacrifice of Daksha and cut off his head. Brahma and Vishnu then came bending at the feet of Siva, and at their request he put a goat's head on Daksha's body. The story is told in various ways. The Harivansa, to glorify Vishnu, makes it end differently. The sacrifice was destroyed and the gods fled in dismay, till Vishnu seized Siva by the throat, and compelled him to desist and acknowledge his master.

A feeling of modesty, found in all men except the lowest savages, requires certain parts of the body to be covered. Among the Saivas, on the other hand, they are the favourite forms of worship. What must be the moral influence of the contemplation of such objects?

The Saiva ascetics, who profess to copy the example of their lord, are some of the worst men in India. The Hindus are cleanly in their habits; but, strange to say, they appear in certain cases, to regard filth as a proof of sanctity. The Saiva beggars are dirty and disgusting. Some of them wander about quite naked. Though strong and able to work, they live in idleness, preying upon the industrious. If any refuse them alms, they threaten them with most awful curses. They stupify themselves with bhang, and are guilty of the vilest immoralities. That such men should be regarded as holy, is a sad proof of the debasing influence of Hinduism.

GANESA.

Ganesa is said to be the son of Siva and Parvati. Soon after his birth, the gods came to see him. Sani, or Saturn, held down his head, and would not look at the child, on account of his evil influence. Parvati did not think of this, and scolded Sani. When Sani looked up, Ganesa's head was immediately reduced to ashes. Parvati, seeing her child headless, was overwhelmed with grief, and would have killed Sani. Brahma prevented her, and told Sani to go out and bring the head of the first animal he should meet lying

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with its head northward. Sani found an elephant in this position, cut of its head, and fixed it on Ganesa. Parvati was little soothed when she saw her son with an elephant's head; but, to please her, Brahma said that Ganesa should be the first worshipped of all the gods.

Another story is that Parvati made Ganesa from the scurf of her own body, and that his head was cut off by Siva, who did not know who he was. A third legend is so filthy that it cannot be mentioned.

The large belly of Ganesa denotes his gluttony. He is said to be very fond of sweetmeats. The story is related that Siva was, on a time, in deep distress, because one of the gods offered great sacrifices for his destruction. Siva told Ganesa how he might release him. The enemy of Siva delayed Ganesa by throwing down sweetmeats which he waited to pick up and eat.

School boys in South India pray to Ganesa to help them in their studies, and praise him by telling him how much he can eat.

An annual festival is held in his honour, called Ganesh Chaturthi. Many persons never commence a letter without praying to Ganesa.

Can we believe that God, like a spoiled child, is found of sweetmeats? that He is a glutton? Suppose that Ganesa gave one of his worshippers a son exactly like himself, would he be pleased? If

Ganesa cared more about filling his belly with sweetmeats than assisting even his own father, is it likely that he will help others?

Sir Monier Williams shows why every Indian book begins with the formula Sri Ganesaya namah :

"The writing of a book is among the Hindus a very serious and solemn undertaking, peculiarly liable to obstruction from spiteful and jealous spirits of evil, and the favour of Ganesa is invoked to counteract their malignity. It never occurs to any Hindu writer to suppose for a moment that the failure of his literary efforts is ever likely to be due to his own incapacity. In this, as in all other enterprises, want of success is attributed, not to want of skill, energy, or persistency, but to negligence in taking proper precautions against demonaical jealousy and obstruction."

GODDESSES.

The Hindus imagine their gods to be very much like themselves, having the same wants, and animated by the same passions. As a Hindu thinks it his most bounden duty to marry his sons; in like manner he has provided his gods with wives,-some of them with a great variety.

Sarasvati, the wife of Brahma, is represented as the goddess of learning; Lakshmi the wife of Vishnu, is the goddess of fortune. Space permits only the wife of Siva to be noticed in detail.

Kali.-The wife of Siva has several names. Uma is one of the carliest. She is called Parvati and Haimavati, because supposed to be a daughter of Himavat, the Himalayas. She is called Durgā as having overcome the giant Durga; Kali as black, and Bhairavi as terrible. Often she is called simply Devi, the goddess, or Mahadevi. Calcutta derives its name from Kalighat, where there is a noted temple of Kali. She is represented as a black woman with four arms. In one hand she has a weapon, in another the head of the giant she has slain, with the two others she is encouraging her worshippers. For earrings she has two dead bodies, she wears a necklace of skulls; her only clothing is a girdle made of dead men's hands, and her tongue protrudes from her mouth. Her eyes are red as those of a drunkard, and her breasts are besmeared with blood. She stands with one foot on the thigh and the other on the breast of her husband. After her victory over the giant she danced for joy so furiously that the earth trembled beneath her weight. At the request of the gods, Siva asked her to stop, but as, owing to her excitement, she did not notice him, he lay down among the slain. She continued dancing until she caught sight of her husband under her feet; upon which she thrust out her tongue.

Saktis. It has been estimated that of the Hindus in Bengal, about three-fourths are devoted to the worship of Sakti, the power or energy of God as represented in some of the many female forms.

Parvati, Durga, and Kali are of all deities the most commonly worshipped by the masses of Bengal. The devotees of the goddesses say that they are the causes of all created things. As without the female the male is unproductive, the female is regarded as the real force in

nature.

There are two main divisions of the Saktas-the Dakshinas, or right hand worshippers, and the Vamacharis, or left hand worshippers. The former worship openly in accordance with the Puranas. The latter observe their impure rites in secret, following the Tantras, which profess to be a direct revelation from Siva to his wife Parvati. They will be noticed under another head.

The Yoni, either alone or in combination with the Linga, is an object of worship.

Remarks on the Hindu Gods.

The foregoing review shows the truth of the following extract from Sir Monier Williams :—

"There is not an object in heaven or earth which a Hindu is not prepared to worship-sun, moon, and stars; rocks, stocks, and stones; trees, shrubs, and grass; sea, pools, and rivers; his own implements of trade; the animals he finds most useful, the noxious reptiles he fears, men remarkable for any extraordinary qualities-for great valour, sanctity, virtue or even vice; good and evil demons, ghosts, and goblins, the spirits of departed ancestors; an infinite number of semi-human and semi-divine existences, inhabitants of the seven upper and the seven lower worldseach and all come in for a share of divine honours or a tribute of more or less adoration."*

"These be thy gods O India !" There is, however, one Being whom the Hindu does not worship-the one true God, the great Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the Universe. God indignantly said to the Jews in old times: est that I was altogether such an one as thyself." It is evident that the Hindu gods were conceived by wicked men, taking themselves as models.

"Thou thought

Brahm-A hot climate makes labour irksome, and gives an inclination to sleep. Brahm, the supreme divinity, is represented as sunk in unconscious slumber, like a king who spends his life within his palace in sloth, regardless of what goes on throughout his dominions. Christianity teaches that the more we resemble God the less selfish we shall be, and the more good we will do to our fellow creatures; but the more a Hindu is like Brahm, the more selfish he must become, and the less profitable to all around him.

Such a representation of the Supreme God is as untrue as it is derogatory. He never slumbers or sleeps; He never becomes un

* Religious Thought and Life in India, p. 350.

conscious and without attributes; the government of the universe is not a burden to Him; He "fainteth not, neither is weary;" He is continually showering down blessings upon men, notwithstanding their disobedience to His commands and base ingratitude.

Vishnu, Siva, &c.-The actions attributed to these supposed deities are still more dishonouring to God. They act like Hindu kings, contending with each other for power, each favouring his own party, and indulging in every vice or committing every crime their evil hearts may desire.

It is plain that the 33 crores of Hindu gods, goddesses, and demons have no existence.

Sin of Polytheism.-Polytheism means belief in many gods. Hindus blame Christianity for its intolerance in forbidding the worship of any other than the one true God. They consider themselves more liberal in allowing every one to worship any god or as many gods as he pleases. This is a point of very great importance; a mistake with regard to it is fraught with the most dangerous consequences.

But it may be remarked that the Hindus are tolerant only when the honour of God is concerned. People are at perfect liberty to neglect or despise Him all their lives, to charge Him with the foulest crimes. But let any one break their absurd caste rules, then they are most intolerant.

It has been stated that the Hindu gods resemble the Hindu kings. Under Native rule there never was among the Hindus one supreme universally acknowledged authority; so in religion they "never attained the imperial conception of a paramount, omnipotent, actively governing Power like the commanding personality of Christianity." Polytheists are quite willing to add a new god, but it is utterly inconsistent with monotheism.

The Queen of England rules over about one-fifth of the earth's surface, and over more than 30 crores of its inhabitants. Throughout all her dominions, it is considered an act of high treason to set up any other sovereign than herself. Such a rebellion would at once be suppressed, and all who took part in it would be punished. People are not at liberty to set up any king they please. It is the same in every well-regulated state. Any other course would be fatal to the welfare of its people.

The British Empire is a very faint emblem of the vast dominions of the great Lord of all. The universe belongs to Him by creation. He spread the heaven above us. He formed the earth beneath us.

He is the maker of all things visible and invisible. He first called us into existence. Asleep or awake, we are dependent upon Him for every breath that we draw. It is He who makes the rain to fall and the sun to shine. All that we have is His gift.

The nature of God's laws is an additional reason for obedience.