The H arvest Field

A Magazine devoted to the interests of Missionary Work in the Indian Empire.

V o l . XXXIV, No. 5. M a y , 1914.

Editorial Notes

Religious Education. The minds of many are greatly exercised regarding the religious education of the children of this land. The various Governments have been compelled to be neutral; the Hindu system is practically impossible under present-day conditions; the Christian and Muhammadan have clearly-defined text-books, but even they are not always clear as to the best methods of imparting religious knowledge. Many Muhammadans are not satisfied with the repetition of the Arabic Qur’an, and would prefer something that would appeal more directly to the lad who does not know Arabic, Christian missionaries have not discovered the ideal plan of teaching the essentials of the Christian faith, but they are gradually perfecting their methods, and we believe that before long Christian children and the boys and girls in mission schools will receive a thoroughly $pund education in those facts and principles that form essential Christianity. Missionaries know the value of such an education, and they will not spare thought and effort in realising the ideal. But we are at present thinking more of the; Hindus. They, too, are demanding a religious education, and it is desirable and necessary that we should know what their wishes and ideals are. W e heard a Hindu teacher the other day ask for the teaching of “ cosmopolitan religion” to Hindus, whatever that religion may be. He did not carefully define his terms, but we gathered that such religious teaching should include the following,: all 154 EDITORIAL NOTES

religions lead to the same goal; a Brahman is not one who is a bom Brahman, but one who becomes such by his goodness; religion must be in harmony with man’s highest reason ; mere ceremonial religion is of little worth; the brotherhood of man must be emphasized; all existing religions must have the incrust­ ations that have gathered round them during the ages removed ; religion must not conflict with progress. This cosmopolitan religion must not be violent in its manifestations, but must deal gently with all. This is undoubtedly an advance upon the Hinduism that has dominated the land so long, the Hinduism of the Puranas and the caste system. The Mysore Government has had religion taught in its schools for a few years, and recently we heard a professor in a Government college give his experience as a teacher of religion. He had no definite text-book supplied to him ; religion was a subject to which he had not given much attention ; but as a Government Order had been received that religion should be taught by the professors, he proceeded to perform his duty. He read various books to pre­ pare himself for his new task, which he did not find congenial. Three things characterised his method. First, as there were students of different religions in the class, he sought to discover those doctrines and principles which were common to all religions, and to expound them. In the next place he proceeded to point out where the various religions differed, but in such a way as not to give offence or pain to any student. Thirdly, he had to avoid everything in religion that seemed to stand in the way of reform, for reform was necessary, and religion must not be made antagonistic to it. On this account he did not refer to religious ceremonies of any kind. His ex­ perience showed that some students would avoid the religious class altogether, some simply endured the religious address, but others were interested and profited. This statement of experience is helpful, and others who had been placed in similar circumstances have declared that religious instruction was necessary for the young, provided it was given by those who were competent to impart it. When it was given by pandits who had little disciplinary power and incompetent teachers, the religious lesson became a farce. In the article published last month we give the views of the Government of India on the question. They are prepared, to go forward; if the people are anxious for religious instruction to be EDITORIAL NOTES 155

given to their children. The concessions made in the United Provinces and Burma do not show any great desire on the part of parents to have religion taught to tbeir children. There is much cry, but the people do little and require the Government to do every­ thing. The Government finds it practically impossible to teach religion to scholars professing various faiths,'»■for the common ground is not large. W e believe, however, it might be possible to draw up a syllabus of religious instruction that would be acceptable to educated Hindus, though we can see that there would be a fine field for the display of the odium theologicum. It might be possible to introduce such instruction in certain schools for a time only and it should not be made compulsory. Educated India is prepared to reconsider the question of reli­ gion. The new ideas from the W est and the spread of materialism have put religion on a side track ; but men see that the possession of wealth and so-called enlightenment have not brought back the Golden Age. Man needs discipline ; he must be brought into true relation with G od; and something more than the power to pass examinations is needed for true progress. The new religion will not be the religion of the Puranas and the caste system. It must be of a nature to satisfy man’s highest aspirations and be in harmony with his purest reason. It must not be encumbered with much ceremony, nor must it be a block in the path of progress. W e are persuaded that the claims of Jesus Christ to meet the present need will be reconsidered. There is much objection to Christianity as such, for it is frequently misunderstood; but there is one religion, and only one, that will meet the needs of educated India to-day, and that is the religion that arises from honest, whole­ hearted devotion to Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ should therefore be fully made known to the youth of the land, so that they may know Him and His power to convert and create anew.

Training for Service. On another page we print an account of the dedication of the new buildings for the United Theological College, Bangalore. This marks another stage in providing adequate training for those who are to be leaders in the future Church in India. The site and buildings have cost about Rs. 1,40,000, of which about Rs. 99,000 have been raised, and an appeal is made for the remainder, as the 156 EDITORIAL NOTES

College ought not to be burdened with a debt. The main building consists of a lecture-hall, chapel, library and class-rooms. Behind is a hostel to accommodate thirty students, while in front, flanking the main building, are houses for the principal and two professors. This College is a united institution, and is supported by friends in Great Britain,' America, and the Continent of Europe. The London Missionary Society, the Wesleyan Missionary Society, the United Free Church of Scotland, the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, the Arcot Mission of the Dutch Reformed Church mainly support the College by providing professors or contributing sums of money. Experience has shown that a staff of professors from different missions, from continents wide asunder, and races radically different can unite for the purpose of preparing men to be ambassadors for Christ. Emphasis is placed on training for leadership, though this is a somewhat ambiguous term. If this is the paramount purpose, it seems as if the name Theological College is somewhat of a mis­ nomer. W e believe the young men are taught to understand the Bible, to follow the growth and development of the Christian Church, and to know the essentials of the various forms of religion prevalent in India. The knowledge imparted should fit them to take a high place in the Christian Church and to be foremost in proclaiming the evangel of Jesus Christ. To put in the first place the idea of leadership does not seem to us wise. Jesus Christ was also a teacher who prepared leaders. His disciples were eager for the chief places, but He curbed their ambition and showed them that he who would be chief must be the servant of all. Doubtless this is impressed upon the students, for the motto of the College is, ou diakonethenai alia diakoriesai. Leadership in India will mean for many a long day a position of suffering, of self-denial, of humiliation, where one will be exposed to many trying and bitter experiences. The teaching these young men have received will enable them to conduct themselves as true disciples of Him, who “ came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.” W e trust this College and its sister College at Serampur will have their class­ rooms filled with earnest students, whose chief aim shall be to make Christ known to their fellow-countrymen. Some Notes on Preaching the Death of Christ to Hindus*

By the Rev. E. W . Thompson, M.A.

II. T h e H e a r t o f t h e M e s s a g e o f t h e C ross

V E R Y T H IN G which has been said hitherto is merely prelimi­ E nary. W e have indicated a few lines of approach to the central mystery of the Cross; but we have made no attempt to set forth those truths which are most vital in Christian experience as they are most difficult to express in language. It has been shown that so far from the death of J esup as a righteous man being an abnormal and inexplicable event, it is in agreement with the universal experience and observation which sees and knows that in an imper­ fect world the good must suffer tribulation. Yet when we have shown that the death of Jesus on the Cross proves Him to have been the perfectly Righteous One, willing to surrender life rather than do wrong, that it exhibits the greatness of His spiritual knowledge and vision, which could not be dimmed even by the dark shadows of death but pierced through them into the life eternal, that it displays in its highest degree the gentleness and self-restraint of our Lord, and lastly that His laying down of His life in the service rendered to men as a teacher of truth is the measure of . His love for men, how little has been spoken of the deepest truth implicit in the Cross of Christ! If this were all that could be said, then the death of Jesus would be no more than a martyrdom : it might be the most tragic and moving martyrdom in history, but still no more than this. What, then, is the next step we should take in preaching Christ Crucified to the Hindu ? The next step seems to me inevitable and it will be taken naturally by the Hindu. He who showed forth -in His death all this righteousness, wisdom, patience and love must have been Divine : so much excellence can have been found only in one who was God Incarnate, an Avatára Purusha. W e are all aware how easily the Hindu will concede that Jesus is divine ; but that divinity is neither complete nor exclusive.

* Being the second part of the outline of an address to the Bangalore Missionary Conference. 158 SOME NOTES ON PREACHING THE DEATH OF CHRIST

It does not mean, as St. Paul wrote, that “ in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily ” ; still less that “ in all things he must have the pre-eminence .... who is the head of all princi­ pality and power.” But it is a great thing, if by our method of approach we have not only removed the Hindu prejudice against the Cross of Christ as an event which is meaningless and incredible but have also enabled the Hindu to see that it is so significant of human goodness and strength that He who died upon the Cross must have been in some sense divine. W e have travelled a long, way, if we have been able to reach this point together. Perhaps we do not always realise how essential to the Christian doctrine of the Cross is the belief that He who hangs upon it is God. It is God who speaks to us through this death. W e are contem­ plating upon this sacred hill more than the martyrdom of a prophet and hearing a directer voice than the words of a commissioned servant. “ Faith cries out," ’Tis He, ’tis He, My God, that suffers there.” This has always been the confession of the Church about the Cross, and we have brought the Hindu on to the threshold of this faith. The death of Jesus was not a mistake or a folly. It was intended by divine wisdom and, when we examine it, it is seen to be an act worthy of a god. It is worth our while to pause here for a moment and to point out what light is thrown upon the nature of the incarnation of Jesus by the death on the Cross. The mythology of Greece and Rome, as of India, is full of the stories of incarnations of the gods come down in the likeness of men. But what kind of incarnation is this? It is the assumption of a disguise for a little time, to be worn as long as it is not inconvenient and to be laid aside the moment that danger or disgrace threatens. The gods may appear as poor or old and diseased, but as soon as the jest begins to pall or the play be­ comes too serious, away goes the disguise and the real divinity flashes out. Incarnation is a sportive adventure, a part of the end­ less Ilia, of the gods. How different is all this from that view of God Incarnate which St. Paul puts forward in words which have been nobly paraphrased by Lightfoot. “ Though existing before the worlds in the Eternal Godhead, yet He did not cling with avidity to the prerogatives of His SOME NOTES ON PREACHING THE DEATH OF CHRIST 159

Divine Majesty, did not ambitiously display His equality with God ; but divested Himself of the glories of heaven and took upon Him the nature of a servant, assuming the likeness of men.” His death was the consummation of His service and the crowning proof of the reality of His human nature. If we may put this truth colloquially, we may say that Christ went through with the business of being man from the manger cradle to the garden tomb. He identified Himself completely with meu, even to the point of sharing our mortality and dying as man. Calvary is the place where God our Brother is revealed. “ Since then the children are sharers in flesh and blood, he also himself in like manner partook of the same; that through death he might bring to nought him that had the power of death; and might deliver all them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage...... Wherefore it behoved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren.” W e come now to consider Christ’s death in the aspect of sacrifice— a difficult topic which we cannot always make clear to our own consciousness, and Christian theologians as often confuse and perplex as they elucidate and convince. What elements are there in Hindu thought and practice upon which we may lay hold, which we may use for our purpose ? It seems to me of little value to refer to that mysterious hymn in the Rigveda in which the sacri­ fice and dismemberment of the primeval Male is described. That is a passage of ancient literature which is even more remote to the people of this country, including most Brahmans, than it is to us who are students, more or less, of the religious books of India. Its meaning is very uncertain, but it may be found useful occasionally in private and unhurried conversation with Brahmans and high- caste hearers to refer to the ancient hymn. Sacrifice, however, survives and is influential among all classes in two forms. First, the whole of the popular worship is permeated by the idea that sacrifice is the sustenance of the gods. The idol is waked, bathed, dressed and adorned, hymned and fed upon the offerings of the worshipper. The bloodless offerings of the daily service in the temple are the food of the god: he smells the fragrance of the incense and flowers and lives upon the fruits laid at his feet. The doctrine of the power and place of sacrifice as the force by which the whole round of nature is sustained and driven, on which the 160 SOME NOTES ON PREACHING THE DEATH OF CHRIST gods— equally with men— are dependent for their strength and wel­ fare, is found in its full development in the sacerdotal Brahmanas, but it is not merely the elaborated conception of old-time priests; for it underlies the cults of modem India. It is an idea universally present and intelligible to the average Hindu. It might seem, at first sight, that we can do nothing with a be­ lief such as this save denounce and reject it, Our attitude has been defined for us by St. Paul on the Areopagus, “ The God that made the world and all things therein, he, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands ; neither is he served by men’s hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he himself giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.” Yet, is there not a true sense in which God is dependent upon sacrifice ? Shall I remind you of Professor Hogg’s renewed protest against the view of God as “ an imperturbable self- sufficiency ” ? If His essence is love, there must be in Him an extra-regarding impulse. There must be something which He seeks in and requires of us ; and until that is given, His own being is incomplete and unsatisfied. If He be our Father, truly, then the love of His children, expressed in obedience, is desired by Him and is dear to Him. Wesley’s lines are rugged poetry, but they speak the accents of true religion— “ Yes, self-sufficient as thou art, Thou dost require my worthless heart — This, only this, dost thou require.” The bearing of this line of thought upon the death of Christ is very close and intimate ; for was not His death the most perfect example of that sacrifice of the self in the flame of devotion to the Lord of which the Bhagavadglta speaks ? Jesus rendered unto God His Father a whole burnt-offering of Himself : His death was the utmost act of loving obedience, and as such precious to God. For “ When he cometh into the world, he saith, In whole bumt-offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hadst no pleasure : Then said I, Lo, I am come . . . to do thy will, O God.” Christ submitted Himself wholly to His Father’s pure will in Gethsemane and upon the Cross; and this spiritual sacrifice of His is of the kind that alone has ever been pleasing to God. It was only as the ancient sacrifices partook of this spirit or were emblems of it that they were ordained. May we not say to the SOME NOTES ON PREACHING THE DEATH OF CHRIST 161

Hindu that his sacrifices of the temple are no longer required and that to-day the only offering he can render acceptably to God is the obedience of the heart after the pattern of Christ Jesus in His living, and pre-eminently in His dying ? In the gross sense, which widely prevails, the sacrifices of Hinduism have never been ordained; but where they have been and still are the tributes of a sincere, though darkened, love and devotion, they have not been offered in vain or rejected on high. But Christ will bring material sacrifice to an end in India as in Jewry, and substitute here also the substance for the shadow— righteous conduct for temple ritual. Second, there is another form of sacrifice in modern Hinduism which is even more repellent in its aspect than the form just considered, I refer to the animal sacrifices offered to certain deities or upon certain occasions by many Hindus. Hinduism has certainly undergone a process of refinement under the influence of the Brahman priesthood. There was a time when animal sacrifices were common or universal, and even man was among the lawful victims. The Brahmanas preserve in the form of a legend the memory of the process of eliminating from worship its most sanguinary and cruel rites. Man is said to have been the first -appointed offering, but sacrificial virtue has passed from him by way of the horse, goat and other animals into the bloodless grain and fruits. But the work of purifying popular religion has never been completed ; for what is necessary to a thorough reform is •a change not simply in the nature of the gift, but also in the character of the deity itself. If the Brahman would remove al­ together the offering of blood, then he must first take away and destroy the blood-loving god. As long as the belief in certain cruel gods and goddesses remains in India, so long we shall be horrified from time to time by stories brought to light in the police court of hideous murders or mutilations wrought to procure the favour of the deity. So long too will it be customary in special seasons of 'danger or distress for the whole community, from the Brahman downwards, to participate in sanguinary rites for the deliverance 'of the village or the city from the anger of the goddess of pestilence or famine; and shrines like those of the notorious Kalighat will abound and flourish. In the background of Hindu thought there is ■always the suspicion that after all the governing power of this world 162 SOME NOTES ON PREACHING THE DEATH OF CHRIST is malicious and envious of any good fortune or great achievement among men, so that the foundation of the new house or the great bridge must be laid in blood. Now, how can we in any sense associate our Lord’s death with sacrifices of this brutal and mean order ? Shall we not pollute the holy mystery of our faith by the lightest contact with these hidden things of darkness, in which lust dwells hard by hate ? W e must above all things avoid that degradation of Christian teaching which might make it appear that in the death of Jesus an angry Father was placated by a gracious Son, that God was all wrath and resent­ ment and Christ was all mercy and compassion. When we look at the animal sacrifices of Hinduism, we may well recall the words :— “ The things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God : and I would not that ye should have communion with devils. Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot partake of the table of the Lord, and of the table of devils...... What fellowship have righteousness and iniquity ? or what communion hath light with darkness ? And what concord hath Christ with Belial ?” W e shall be justified in putting into this quotation an English emphasis which is foreign to the original; for the blood offerings of modern Hinduism are more than “ demoniacal ” in the Pauline sense; they are devilish ” in our modern sense. But if we cannot use the sacrifice to Mari or Durga or Kali or Yellamma or Siva the destroyer, by way of comparison, yet we may use it by way of contrast; it may be made a point of departure for a conversation upon the sacrificial ideas of the Old Testament. The Hindu sacrifice of blood is an effort to overcome the cruelty of the god; the obstacle to the enjoyment of the divine favour lies in the malignant disposition of the deity. But in the case of the Jewish worshipper it was the righteousness of God which was present to his thought, and the hindrance to communion lay in a holy God’s opposition to sin on the one side and in man’s spiritual impurity on the other. If we speak of wrath in God, then we must remember it is the “ wrath revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.” Perhaps we are not well advised in o.ur revolt against a former misleading presentation of the doctrine of the Atone­ ment to insist that in the classical passages which speak of SOME NOTES ON PREACHING THE DEATH OF CHRIST 163- reconciliation, it is man that is reconciled to God, not God who- is reconciled to man. For though it be that there is nothing in God which needs, in the ethical sense, to be changed and much in man which must be changed before he can be one with God, yet is there not in God a hatred of all sin, an ineffable repugnance to every form of unrighteousness ? I had almost said that this is laid aside by our Heavenly Father when He receives us in Christ, so that there is, as it were, a change in Him, a reconciling of Him to us,, but I feel that this language both departs from Scripture and also- fails to convey my own imperfect understanding of this mystery. What I should rather say is that all the unalterable opposition of God to evil and His reverence for His own law has expressed itself in the death of Christ. God hated sin so much that, when He became flesh, He died rather than commit sin. In the death of the Cross God has “ shewed his righteousness ”, and that means— positively, His love of all things good, and negatively, His hatred of all things evil. God Himself says upon Calvary, “ It is better to lose one’s life than to sin.” And when sinful men who stand at the foot of the Cross and gaze upon Him who hangs there catch this glimpse of the meaning of this surprisingly strange death and this feeling of God towards sin enters into their own hearts and becomes their feeling too, the wonder of reconciliation has begun ; they are on the way to be saved and to be saved by the Cross of Christ. With regard to the removal of sin, the ordinary thought of the Hindu swings between two poles, inclining now to the one and now to the other. Sometimes he asserts the doctrine of karma, which denies that there is or can be any such thing as the removal of sin by forgiveness. According to this teaching the sinner must bear all the consequences of his wrong-doing: it can only be brought to an end when all these are exhausted. This idea will beget reck­ lessness or despair in many who accept it, though it may be claimed that its legitimate results are rather manly fortitude in taking one’s punishment for sin and self-exertion in avoiding further wrong­ doing and in accumulating merit by good deeds. At other times the Hindu will fall back upon a doctrine of the divine grace in its most extravagant and unqualified form- ** Siva, Siva,” said the impious fisherman and was at once cleansed from all the heinous sins of a lifetime. A visit to a celebrated 164 SOME NOTES ON PREACHING THE DEATH OF CHRIST

shrine, bathing in the sacred waters, the pronunciation of a sectarian formula— these and their like are said to be sufficient to remove the stain of the blackest guilt and to present the culprit blameless before his god. There is no time now to discuss either of these doctrines in detail. It is sufficient to say, that they are mutually exclusive and that each of them, in isolation, is false. From the Christian stand­ point the doctrine of karma is open to two far-reaching criticisms. First, its view of sin is incomplete, external or mechanical. If sin be not merely the violation of an impersonal order of the Universe but also more truly the transgression of the commandment of a personal God who is immanent in the Universe, then it is a rupture of personal relations— the sundering of a fellowship ; and whether or not the penalties of sin are borne, for the complete cancelling of sin there must be a resuming of the broken communion which can only come about by acts of repentance, confession and the seeking of forgiveness on man’s part and by free grace on God’s part. To the Hindu, therefore, who may object that forgiveness through the death of Christ is likely to increase sin, we may point out that, as a matter of fact, the death of Christ has been the means through which innumerable souls have undergone that change of heart which makes forgiveness right and possible and restores our relations with God. As nothing else it has moved men to contrition and humble trust in God. In the second place, the doctrine of karma appears to us to be true in affirming the existence of a law of retribution, but it is at fault in limiting the consequences of sin to the sinner himself. The area of its operation is wider than the life or lives of the wrong­ doer : it extends to more than we can recognise or reckon in the family and in society and in succeeding generations. This is a thought which has been elaborated by Professor Hogg in his Karma and Redemption : I merely allude to it now. Gbd Him­ self in Christ has entered into a world in which the law of retribu­ tion is at work : it-is so righteous and just a law that He does not seek to suspend its operation, but He places Himself under it and bears the consequence of sin in the human race. He is in­ volved, as it were, in those evil forces and tendencies which have been set up by other men’s disobedience and dies “ for sins not His own.” The consequences of sin are experienced by God Him­ self in Christ. A missionary friend of mine, a true evangelist of SOME NOTES ON PREACHING THE DEATH OF CHRIST 165

Christ in the villages, has two favourite illustrations of this aspect of the death of Christ. In the one he speaks of a father whose son for his crime was cast into prison ; and in a night, through suffer­ ing and grief at the wrong-doing of one dear to him as his own life, the father’s hair was blanched white. In the other he tells the story of Nanjunda, the god who for the benefit of mankind drank up the poison in the world, which could not indeed destroy him but turned his throat blue. It may seem a dangerous experiment to resort to a puranic legend in this way and the story may appear crude, when thus outlined, but I have heard it wisely and carefully used among Hindu, and especially among Lingayat, audiences in such a manner as to create a profound impression. It has been the means of bringing home for the first time to the Hindu hearers some of the meaning of those strange words, “ Him who knew no sin, he made to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in him.” “ He was wounded for our trans­ gressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes we are healed.” Let us come lastly to the Hindu doctrine of divine grace. That doctrine obviously errs by defect; for while it magnifies the sovereign grace of God, it overlooks the conditions of forgiveness on man’s side. As commonly taught and believed, it is an altogether unethical doctrine which weakens the sense of moral responsibility and encourages men to think lightly of sin. What can be so easily forgiven cannot be very serious in its nature. It would be out of place for me to attempt here any exposition of the views of the Old Testament sacrificial system which have been formulated by Biblical scholars. I wish, however, to state a personal conviction in language as simple and untechnical as may be. Could we place ourselves once again under that obsolete dispensation, what impression would it make upon us ? Could we stand in the Temple court, say on the great Day of Atonement, what thought would be borne in upon our minds by its solemn ritual ? Would not the truth be suggested irresistibly to us that whatever sin may or may not be, it is not trivial in its nature or in its consequences ; that whatever be the method of its removal that method is not easy or painless ? It is so costly that the most precious thing in the world, life itself, is alone fit to be the symbol of it. If we happened to be among the crowd of the less enlightened 166 SOME NOTES ON PREACHING THE DEATH OF CHRIST and spiritual, we might imagine that sin was some kind of subtle physical impurity which was magically conveyed by the priest to the scape goat and carried away by it ; but if the message of the Prophets was understood and remembered by us, we should know that such physical transference of guilt was impossible, and we should feel that the forgiving power lay in God Himself who had appointed the ritual to convey to us the assurance that sin was indeed removed, while teaching at the same time that its nature is terrible and the cost of its annulment is great. One is tempted to think that a clue to the idea underlying the whole fabric ot the sin- offerings of blood is given by the story of Cain and Abel, though the commentators give one little encouragement to so think. It is not by the inexpensive and graceful way of the gift of flowers and fruits that sinful man finds acceptance with God, but by the rugged and heroic path of suffering and death. A Hindu will tell you that it is easy for God to forgive sin. He can do it by a word, a touch, a mere look. Cleansing can be effected by a syllable, a pilgrimage, a bath. But the Cross of Christ in which the sacri­ ficial system of the Jews culminates, in which their sin-offerings are abolished for ever, is utterly opposed to. all such modes of thought. It says, with a voice that strikes awe into the soul, that sin is not trivial and that the forgiveness of sin is not easy to God Himself. There has been no way to undo its consequences save at the cost of untold suffering to Himself. He died upon the Cross that He might forgive. Thus the Christian doctrine of the Cross combines elements of the two Hindu doctrines of karma and kripct, of the law of retri­ bution and the operation of divine grace. It corrects and supple­ ments what is false or lacking in each doctrine in isolation, - by the fusion of what is true in either. This address consists of what are merely notes upon a number of great topics, to every one of which the Cross of Christ is central. Each of them is large enough to be made the subject of a separate address in speaking to Hindus in the schoolroom or the,home upon the passion and dying of pur Lord. Some of them are scarcely fit for a casual audience of the street or the bazaar, and all of them require of the preacher that he shall search out the matter for himself, discover and choose his. own illustrations,, prepare his own quotations, and clothe his whole discourse in dignified and RELIGION IN INDIA 167 appropriate language. The Indian evangelist cannot be spoon-fed, the ideas and the words of another man being put into his brain and mouth without change or assimilation on his part. It is im­ possible for any teacher to show to us an easy and ready-made plan for preaching the death of Christ to Hindus. The necessity for each one of us to think out his own line of thought and to make his own preparation and effort will never be removed. I have done no more in this address than assemble a number of the great themes of the Cross and arrange them in a certain order and connection of thought. It may be that they will be found of some help in the way of suggestion to others, as certainly the exercise of thought and meditation has been profitable to the speaker.

Religion in India as Revealed by the Census Returns

By the Rev. H. Gulliford.

H E chapter on Religion, Volume I of the India Census T Report, is full of important and interesting information, especially to the Indian missionary. W e purpose giving some of the main facts as revealed by the Census, and first it will be best to give the numbers of those returned as professing the various religions at the last two censuses. 1911 1901 Gain or Loss. Actual. Per cent.

Hindu 217,586,892 207,147,026 4- 10,439,866 - f 5-04

Sikh 3,014,466 2,195,339 + 819,127 4 37-3 Jain 1,248,182 1,334,148 — 85,966 — 6-4 Buddhist 10,721,453 9,476,750 + 1,244,703 -f 13-1 Zoroastrian 100,096 94,190 4 5,906 -f 6-3

Musalman 66,647,299 62,458,077 4- 4,189,222 -r 6-7 Christian ... 3,876,203 2,923,241 + 952,962 + 32-6 Jew 20,980 18,228 + 2,752 4- 15-1 Animistic ... 10,295,168 8,584,148 + 1,711,020 + 19-9 Minor Religions, &c. 37,101 129,909 — 92,808 — 71-4 Not enumerated by Religion 1,608,556 ...... 315,156,3% 294,361,056 W e shall next take the different faiths and extract what the census report has to tell us regarding the increase or decline of 168 RELIGION IN INDIA

their adherents. Hinduism comes first. There is a mighty follow­ ing, but it is not a unity. Hinduism is amorphous, and the only thing that appears to be common is caste. Every Hindu belongs to some caste or other, but these castes may hold the most opposing religious opinions and follow diverse practices, yet all the members are classified as Hindus. An effort was made to find a unity along the following lines :— Provincial Superintendents were asked to prepare a list cf castes which “ (l) deny the supremacy of the Brahmans, (2) do not receive the mantra from a Brahman or other recognized Hindu guru, (3) deny the authority of the Vedas, (4) do not worship the great Hindu gods, (5) are not served by good Brahmans as family priests, (6) have no Brahman priests at all, (7) are denied access to the interior of ordinary Hindu temples, (8) cause pollution (a) by touch, (b) within a certain distance, (9) bury their dead, (10) eat beef and do not reverence the cow.” It is interesting to read how this enquiry worked out in different parts of India. W e will quote the result. “ In the Central Provinces and Berar a quarter of the persons classed as Hindus deny the supremacy of the Brahmans and the authority of the Vedas ; more than half do not receive the mantra from a recognized Hindu guru; a quarter do not worship the great Hindu gods, and are not served by good Brahman priests; a third are denied access to temples ; a quarter cause pollution by touch ; a seventh always bury their dead, while a half do not regard cremation as obligatory ; and two-fifths eat beef. Some castes satisfy certain tests but not others. Of the thirteen castes whose touch causes pollution, nine do not eat beef, while of the eight who eat beef, four are not regarded as polluting, and two are allowed access to temples.” “ In Bengal and Bihar and Orissa Mr. O ’Malley says that there are 59 castes, including seven with a strength of a million and upwards, who do not conform to some of the ten tests, and there are fourteen beef eating castes all of whom are denied access to temples. “ In the south of India the supremacy of the Brahmans is denied by the Lingayats, an important sectarian group, and also by certain artisan castes who themselves claim to be Brahmans. Numerous castes are excluded from the temples, and the theory of pollution generally is carried to a much greater length than in Northern India.” There are millions of persons in India whose touch will com­ pel others to bathe in order to remove the pollution caused, who RELIGION IN INDIA 169 are refused all religious ministrations by the Brahman priests, and yet they are classified as belonging to the same religion as the Brahman 1 The term Hindu is verily difficult to define. But there are still further complications. “ There are many so-called Hindus whose religion has a strong Muhammadan flavour.” The Panchpiriyas in the Panjab worship five Muhammadan saints of uncertain name and identity, and sacrifice cocks to them. The Malkanas around Agra are reluctant to call themselves Musal- mans. Their names are Hindu and they worship chiefly in Hindu temples, but they sometimes frequent a mosque and practise cir­ cumcision. In Gujarat there are communities who call in Brah­ mans for their chief ceremonies but are followers of the Pirana Saint Imam Shah and his successors. How are all these classified as to their religion ? Those who told the enumerator they were Hindus were classed as such, and those who said they were Muhammadans were so entered on the schedule. The boundary line between Hindu and Sikh is still more difficult to determine, and this has caused considerable confusion, as we shall see later. Hindus, who include persons that hold every variety of religious opinion, and practise all kinds of religious ceremonies,, have increased only by 5 per cent, during the decade. The writer of the report, Mr. Gait, believes that Hindus are less prolific than “ other communities, owing mainly to their social customs of early marriage and compulsory widowhood.” They do not allow of their community beiDg increased by conversion, and as at the pre­ sent time there are many deflections from Hinduism, “ chiefly the result of conversions to Christianity,” there ought to be a loss. But “ these losses .... are counterbalanced by gains from the ranks of the Animists.” In South India “ the majority of the so- called Hindus are still in essentials Animists.” How these are absorbed into Hinduism is thus described : “ An aboriginal tribe in an environment where Hindu in­ fluences are strong comes gradually and half unconsciously to adopt Hindu ideas and prejudices, to take part in Hindu festivals, to attend at Hindu temples and to pay a certain amount of homage to the Brahmans. Some degraded member of the priestly caste, or perhaps some Vaishnava Gosain in search of a livelihood, becomes their spiritual guide; and. as time goes oa the difference between them and their Hindu neighbours, in respect 170 RELIGION IN INDIA of their social customs and outward religious observances, becomes less and less marked, until at last they are regarded by themselves and their neighbours as, regular Hindus. The change takes place so slowly and insidiously that no one is conscious of it. There is no formal abandonment of one ritual for another.” In addition to the gain in this way it appears that small communities of Muhammadans and Christians have been received back into Hinduism. “ The Urap and Varap Agris of the Thana district of Bombay are said to have reverted to Hinduism from Christianity rather less than a century ago. The Kirpal Bhandaris of the same district were forcibly converted to Christianity by the Portuguese, but were afterwards accepted back into Hinduism.” It is evident that Hinduism as such is not holding its own, and but for accessions in the way indicated it would show a large decline. “ The Punjab Superintendent estimates that during the last decade Hinduism has given 40,000 converts to Muhammadanism and nearly three times that number to Christianity.” “ In the whole of India the proportion of Hindus to the total population has fallen in thirty years from 74 to 69 per cent., but this is due partly to the inclusion at each succeeding census of new areas in which Hindus, if they are found at all, are in a great minority. In the area enumerated in 1881 the proportion of Hindus is now 71 per cent., or only 3 per cent, smaller than it then was. This figure represents the loss they have sustained owing to a relatively slower rate of increase and to conversions to other religions.” Another way of showing how Hinduism is declining propor­ tionately and Christianity increasing is made clear in the table which shows the proportion per 10,000 of the population in the several years that the census has been taken. W e give the figures for Hindus, Musalmans, and Christians. 1881 1891 1901 1911 Hindus ...... 7,432 7,232 7,037 6,939 Musalmans ...... 1,974 1,996 2,122 2,126 Christians 73 79 99 124 Jn 1881 out of every 10,000 persons 7,432 were Hindus, 1,974 Musalmans, and 73 Christians ; in 1911 the figures were for Hindus 6,939, a loss of 493; Musalmans, 2,126» a gain of 152 ; Christians 124, a gain of 31. It will be seen that in the last decade Hindus have lost 98, Musalmans have gained 4, and Christians 25. RELIGION IN INDIA 171

Two Hindu sects were carefully enumerated at the last census — those of the Brahmos and the Aryas. “ The Brahmos have grown in number by 36 per cent, during the last decade, but their total strength is still only 5,504.” “ About half the decennial increase -comes from the Punjab, where it is due mainly to the fact that in 1901 Brahmos were not distinguished from ordinary Hindus.” This cultured sect is evidently not progressing, and the reasons are thus set forth :— “ The gain, in Bengal is extremely small. This is accounted for by the greater latitude of thought and action which is now allowed to the advanced Hindus of that province; large numbers of them have thrown off many of the trammels of caste, especially those concerned with food, without let or hindrance from their neighbours. Brahmoism is thus no longer needed as a refuge for the Hindu nonconformist, and the present tendency is for Brahmos, other than those of the Sádháran Samáj to be reabsorbed in Hinduism. Another reason for the stagnation of the sect is that the intolerance of idolatry, which was so strong a characteristic of the founders of the Samáj, has lost its force. Idolatry is now regarded by many advanced Hindus as a stage in the evolution of religious beliefs ; and they no longer think it necessary to sever connection with their society merely because most of its members are in what they consider to be a lower stage than that to which they have themselves attained.” Has Brahmoism already had its day? Is it on the way of being reabsorbed into Hinduism ? Doubtless much of the virility of its early days has passed, and there are no outstanding propagandists to-day. The Aryas, on the other hand, are a vigorous and rapidly growing community. Their chief doctrines are two— monotheism and the infallibility of the Vedas. “ Their total strength now exceeds 243,000, or about two and a half times what it was ten years ago.” They are found chiefly in Meerut, Agra, Rohilkhand and the Pan jab. They have a complete organisation, and they devote much energy and money to education. Caste distinctions are becoming less rigid; early marriage is denounced; and widow marriage is countenanced. The lower castes and converts from other faiths are purified by a ceremony called “ shuddhi.” The , vitality of this sect is great; it is said to have political as well as religious: tendencies; but it has bound itself to a credal position tháfcánnpt abide— the Vedas as expounded by the founder of the Aryk Samáj, Dáyáriand Sarasvati. 172 RELIGION IN INDIA

Taking the religions in the census order, the next is the Sikh,, which is represented as having gained 37*3 per cent, during the decade. This was a great puzzle to many, when the figures were first published, but the report gives the explanation. There are two sects of Sikhs— one which wears the hair long and eschews tobacco, and one which does not follow these practices. In the previous census, only the former sect was returned as Sikh, but in the last census both sects were included. This partly accounts for the large increase. There has been, however, a revival of Sikhism, and it is estimated that the true increase is about 15 per cent. This leaves Christianity as the most progressive faith during the last decade. Jainism is the only religion that declined in numbers during the decade. In the previous decade it lost 5'8 per cent of its mem­ bers, and in the last decade 6*5 per cent. more. The cause is thus described: “ The Jains form an integral part of the Hindu social system and are thus often disposed to regard themselves as Hindus. In quite recent times a number of them have joined the Arya Samaj. In the Punjab, United Provinces and Bombay they are prone to take part in Hindu festivals, and are likely gradually to become merged in that religion...... There can be no doubt that a good deal of their recent losses is due to plague. The Jains are, to an exceptional degree, a town-dwelling community, and many of the places in which they are numerous have been repeatedly stricken by that disease.” Buddhism is practically unknown in India proper. Burma and the Himalayan region contain most of the followers of Buddha enumerated in the Indian census. “ The only survivors of purely Indian Buddhism are the small community in the Orissa States known as Sarak (from sravaka, ‘ a hearer,’ the designation of the Buddhist monks who lived in monasteries), of whom nearly two thousand claimed to belong to that religion.” The increase has been 13 1 per cent. There is apparently a Buddhist propaganda in South India, though little is heard of the matter locally. The report says, One of the most significant of recent religious dievelopments is the formation of the South India Sakya Buddhist Society with the object of converting the people to Buddhism. The Society began work in Bangalore in 1906 and established a branch at Kolar in 1909. They already number 622 converts in the Mysore RELIGION IN INDIA 173

State. The disciples belong to the Indian Church of Buddhists, which is akin to the Buddhist Church of Burma and Ceylon.’ ” W e do not think that there is much proselytising by Buddhists in the Indian Empire, and the increase is such as is natural to the growth of the people. The Parsis are a small but influential coitnmunity, living chiefly in the Bombay Presidency. Religiously they are conservative, receiving no proselytes and rarely giving up converts to other faiths. They increased by 6‘3 per cent, and now number only 100,096. The distribution of Muhammadans in India is far from uniform. The map shows that they are found in largest numbers proportionately in Baluchistan, the North-West Frontier Province, Kashmir, part of the Panjab, and East Bengal. In Mysore, Central Provinces and Berar, Bihar and Orissa they do not form 6 per cent, of the population. Their total number is large, and the increase is 6‘7 per cent. The reason assigned in the report is as follows— “ There is a small but continuous accession of converts from Hinduism and other religions, but the main reason for the relatively more rapid growth of the followers of the Prophet is that they are more prolific. This may possibly be due partly to their more nour­ ishing dietary, but the main reason is that their social customs are more favourable to a high birth-rate than those of the Hindus.” The secessions from Muhammadanism are not numerous, and probably the number received into Islam are counterbalanced by those who embrace Christianity. The Jews are a small but active community, and are chiefly found in Bombay and on the W est Coast. Their increase has been very irregular. The report does not give any explanation. The term Animism is now used to cover all those beliefs and practices which consist chiefly in propitiating evil spirits. “ From the point of view of the census it will suffice to say that Animism is used as the name of the category to which are relegated all the pre- Hindu religions of India. The practical difficulty is to say at what stage a man ceases to be an Animist and becomes a Hindu.” The Animists are found chiefly in Assam, East Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, and the Central Provinces and Berar. They are said to have increased nearly 20 per cent, during the decade, but the un- 174 RELIGION IN INDIA certainty of classification makes comparison of little value. “ In Bombay, where more care was taken than at the previous census to discriminate between Animists and Hindus, the former have an increase of 238 per cent., while in Central India, where in 1901 all Bhils had been treated as Animists without regard to the entry in the religion column, they are only half as numerous as they were then shown to be. A third of the increase of 30 per cent, in the Central Provinces and Berar is attributed by Mr. Marten to changes of classification; Korea and the Udaipur States now return 40 and 48 thousand Animists respectively, against only 10 and 4 thousand in 1901. Although the figures for individual provinces are marred by these errors due to the personal equation, it is pro­ bable that the net gain recorded for India as a whole is not far wide of the mark. The social customs of the Animistic tribes are favourable to a rapid growth of population. Child marriage is rare and widows remarry freely.” This is the class that can be brought most readily into the Christian Church. As a rule they are in a rude state of civilisa­ tion, are outside the pale of caste, have no definite creed, and are in bondage to evil spirits. They feel the need of rising in the social scale and of a higher civilisation; and if the Christian Church would spend part of her energies on those rude but sincere people, they might speedily be led to cast off the yoke of evil spirits and enter into the liberty of the children of God in Jesus Christ. (To be continued.) The Year’s Harvest

AMERICAN MARATHI MISSION The yearly report is chiefly occupied with a record of the Centenary, services held during the year. On February 12, 1813, a small sailing vessel entered Bombay harbour, having on board two men and one woman, who were the first missionaries sent to India by the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions. These met with a most dis- heartening reception, for the Governor of Bombay, Sir Evan Nepean, acting under orders, forbad the missionaries to land or to stay. At that time England was at war with America, and in those good old days the East India Company did not desire the presence of missionaries in India. But an appeal was made to England, and ultimately the missionaries were permitted to stay and begin their work of evangelising the people. From that day the work has grown steadily ; a succession of able and devoted workers has been sent from the United States; station after station has been occupied; church after church has been organised; and to-day the mission rejoices in a strong, growing, progressive Christian community. A few figures will give some idea of the size and strength of the mission. Foreign missionaries, 41; ordained preachers, 43 ; unordained preachers, 46; teachers, 364; Bible women, 57 ; other Christian workers, 32; organised churches, 62; churches entirely self-supporting, 10 ; communicants, 7,921, a gain on the year of 222; adherents, 14,317 ; pupils in schools, 7,437 ; contributions for Christian work, Bs. 9,580; patients treated, 35,077. There are no reports of the work carried on during the year in the different stations and institutions; but these figures speak plainly of the work of the century.

T h e C e n t e n a r y C elebrations The Centenary meetings were held in Bombay and Ahmednagar in November, 1913. There was a strong deputation from the parent society, and many of the missions in India sent representatives to rejoice with the mission on attaining its centenary The President of the United States sent the following letter to the Secretary of the Society in Boston :— “ M y D e a r D r . B a r t o n ,—I have learned with deep interest that begin­ ning on November 7th next there will be celebrated at Bombay the Centenary of the establishment of the first American Mission in India. “ I feel that I should not let the occasion pass without a word of re­ cognition of the great educational, Christianizing and civilizing benefits which have accrued to that part of the world through the devotion of those self-sacrificing and self-forgetting men and women who, for the sake of a righteous cause and the good of humanity, exiled themselves from home and frieuds and country. 176 THE YEAR’S HARVEST

“ I should be very glad if the gentlemen who will represent your Board at the coming celebration could find occasion to make known my entire sympathy with the great work which the Christian missionaries have done and are still doing for the advancement of the welfare of the people of India. “ Sincerely yours, (Signed) '‘W o o d r o w W il s o n .” The Governor of Bombay sent the following communication through his private secretary : — “ Government House, Mahableshwar, 6th November, 1913. “ I am desired by His Excellency Lord Willingdon to send his congratu­ lations and good wishes to the American Marathi Mission on the occasion of the celebration of the Centenary of their landing in India. “ His Excellency wishes to express his grateful recognition and cordial appreciation of the excellent work accomplished by your Mission in the various branches of education and social service to which you have all given so much time, thought and devoted effort. Lord Willingdon hopes that the knowledge that your work in the directions mentioned is valued by all classes throughout the country will not onty stand to you as a reward for efforts in the past, but will serve as a stimulus to you in the labours of the future. “ Again thanking you most cordially on His Excellency’s behalf for the self-sacrifice and devotion that has always characterised your efforts. “ I am, sincerely yours, (Sd.) “ R. E. G i b s o n .” The addresses, sorue of which are printed in full, and two of which have appeared in the The H a r v e s t F i e l d , were worthy of the occasion, and the report forms a suitable record of the unique event. One of the services held at Ahmednagar was for the new converts. A few had come on foot a hundred and fifty miles to attend the festival. “ It was reported that at least 709 adults had entered into covenant with churches of the mission within a year.”

T h e C e n t e n a r y F u n d The total amount received and promised is Rs. 17,914-5-3, of which only Rs. 1,534-15-0 were sent from America and Great Britain. “ This Centenary Fund was entrusted to a body of carefully selected Indian Trustees, with Dr. R. A. Hume and Rev. William Hazen as additional advisory members. The Trustees have allottee the money now in the Fund as follows: “ Rupees 10,000 to a Sustentation Fund for the support of pastors of weak Churches. “ Rupees 1,000 to a Scholarship in a Higher Educational Fund with the expectation of being able to assign more toward a second scholar­ ship. “ The balance, after these two assignments are made, to an Evangelistic Fund for work.for non-Christians “ Further gifts to the Fund are to be allotted according to the wish of the donor. Undesignated gifts will be allotted by the Trustees.” THE YEAR’S HARVEST 177

AMERICAN UNITED PRESBYTERIAN MISSION The clear map at the end of the report indicates that Christianity has spread in a marvellous manner in certain districts of the Panjab. In Sialkot and Gujranwala the little crosses, showing villages where Christians live, are scattered very thickly over the area. The work is still spreading among certain sections of the community. But the numbers added yearly must decrease, if what one missionary writes is typical. He says, “ there have been comparatively few baptisms, because there are not many remaining in the caste from which the Christians have principally come.” There are 1,524 villages where Christians reside, and the total community is 58,034, an increase of 3,794 on the year. The number of adult baptisms was 1,163, infant 1,483. The total membership is 31,631, a gain of 2,106. These figures imply either that the people are more intelligent and advance more rapidly in Christian experience and knowledge than the lower classes elsewhere, or that the standard required for full membership in the Church is not so high as in most missions working among these classes. The contributions of the Christians amounted to Rs. 16,809. The totaj number of pupils in the schools is 11,617, of whom only 3,241 are Christians. In the hospitals and dispensaries 1,980 in­ patients and 48,827 out-patients were treated, while the total attendance at the dispensaries was 123,760.

T h e D ifficulties o f t h e W o r k Though the people have responded so heartily and in such large numbers to the appeal of the missionaries, yet the task is beset with peculiar difficulties. There is, first, the impossibility of supplying the multitudes with suitable teachers and preachers. It is sad to read such statements as these:—“ Some villages, remote from a worker, have not been visited for several years in succession.” “ The provision for their instruction, which is at our command, is wholly inadequate.” “ It is only with great difficulty that we can see once in the year every village in which there are Christians.” “ One worker, whose salary is rupees ten per month, has an area of over a hundred square miles to cover, in order to sec the Christians under his care.” “ About half of the Christians have the privilege of attending a weekly service.” A second obstacle is the proselytising work of the Romanists, Salvationists, and the Arya Samaj. Remarks of this nature are frequent:— The proselytising agents of the Roman Catholics and of the Salvation Army have taken away some of our disaffected people and those under ■discipline!” “ The Roman Catholics have been busy and have succeeded in winning over some of our people.” “ The successes of the Roman Catholics in winning away our Christians have been largely due to the exemption offered them from the obligation to learn the Bible or conform to a high moral standard.” “ There has been a reduction in contributions 178 THE. YEAR’ S HARVEST. owing to the teaching given by Romanizers that these are not necessary.” “ Quite a few losses to the Romanists must be recorded. They have baptized children in the street without the knowledge of their parents.” “ The Arya Sam&j has a flourishing school and has made every effort to get all the Hindu girls away from us.” There is, thirdly, the desire for material improvement on the part of the Christians which does not always harmonise with groAvth in grace. “ Despite the materialism of the Christians as shown in their craze for land and their willingness to leave their first love for anyone or anything which offers them worldly advantages, I believe that many of our people are making real advance in the spiritual life.” “ There is much restlessness among the Christians, due to their desire to obtain land. There is also in their hearts that natural desire for liberty, which comes to all people who are influenced by the Gospel. These downtrodden people are awakening to their rights as human beings, and if they are not educated, the Church of India will have a great problem in the future.” In spite of many difficulties there are many encouragements. The Christians are rising in the social scale. “ One of the encouraging features in the situation is the way the Christians are being allowed to enroll in the government schools. It will be a glad day for them when all caste objections have been over­ come, and when Hindus, Muhammadans, and Christians m ay,sit down and study together. Another encouragement is found in the number oi villages that are asking for a teacher. Many are still sadly indifferent, but the desire is growing to have their children able to read and write, and so take their stand with educated non- Christians.”

I n t e r a c t io n o f E a s t a n d W e s t There is a great amount of travel, and East and West are influencing each other in many ways. Movements in the West are soon reported in the East, and are not understood. We quote two instancies given in the report. “ We have entered a number of new houses and have been well received ; but we have also found opposition, and one day it was of rather an unusual kind. I was sitting in a quiet street with a group of women who were listening well. A Hindu woman came up and warned the others against my teaching. She said, ‘ In their own land they burn buildings, destroy property and are lawless.’ After a little questioning I learned that she had heard of the doings of the suffragettes! ” “ The man was a Muhammadan lawyer who had been to England and America. He said that before going to America, he had thought we missionaries represented the overflow of the abundance of A m e r ic a ’ s religion, but having seen the great indifference to religion there, he hp,d been compelled to change his mind. Such a criticism is hard to meet ”

W o r k A m o n g W o m e n There is a zealous band of women who are eager to help their Indian sisters, and they strive in every way to bring to them the teaching that will THE YEAR’S HARVEST 179'

both comfort and inspire. The women are frequently very boorish, but all classes of non-Christians are met with, “ from the dull earth-soiled creature who says that women are only animals, to the fair sister with charming: manners, who seats us on a Persian rug and gracefully serves tea.” A. great deal is done for Muhammadan women, and one lady writes, “ This has been a year of unprecedented opportunity for giving the message to all classes. All are ready to hear, but the eagerness with* which the Muhammadans listen is most marked. In one village we were called from one Muhammadan home to another, and spoke to- crowds of women in five places. Even after staying much longer than we had intended we could scarcely get permission to leave. A Sikh' woman remarked that it was worth something when the missionaries camped at a village long enough for the people to learn what their teaching was. She bad made good use of her opportunity and was- satisfied that the Christian teaching was very good. Alas 1 the majo­ rity of villages can have only an hour or two.” The report says, “ In some villages the workers find the women very friendly and hospit­ able ; in others very inhospitable and uncivil, . not even permitting: them to sit in their houses. Many times they hear the Muhammadan creed repeated as "they are presenting the claims of Christ. The re­ ligious zeal and ardour of the people are shown by such statements as ‘ Muhammad will get us to heaven. He is our only intercessor.’ ‘ You want us to believe in Christ. Never ! You may cut our heads off, but> we will never forsake Muhammad.’ And yet there are encourage­ ments and evidences of the working of the Spirit.” All of the women do not listen from the purest motives, for it is re­ corded— “ In the last two months four Muhammadan women in Lyallpur have sought baptism, that through this outward change of religion they might obtain divorce from their husbands.”

M e d ic a l W o r k Several lady doctors use their time and talents in relieving the suffer­ ings of their sisters ; and bow cruelly the women are sometimes treated only doctors really know. Men frequently regard their wives as mere servants or worse, and the following story reveals the selfishness of one man. “ In March a woman, suffering from tuberculosis of the leg, came from Jammu. As she was unable to do heavy work, her husband had re­ fused to support her and turned her out. For a year she had crawled; from place to place, suffering much from hunger and abuse, as well as from the open undressed sores. After six weeks, when she was able- for the operation, the leg was amputated and she made a good recovery.- Her husband, hearing of this and seeing a chance to increase his income by having his wife sit with her crutche« and beg by the way­ side, hastened to the hospital and after convincing her of his friendship’ took her away.” Much more might be written of the work of this mission, which is- labouring under conditions that will demand the highest Christian states­ manship, patience and zeal of those who are called to train and govern thfr churches. 180 THE YEAR’S HARVEST

CHURCH OF ENGLAND ZANANA MISSION, BANGALORE AND MYSORE The report is short but interesting, and records how several elect ladies strive to help their Muhammadan sisterB. The following extract shows what these ladies have to face in carrying their message to the homes of the people. “ The house to which you will go is some four miles away and is the only Muhammadan one in that village. It belongs to the butcher, and at one time you would have had to make your way carefully through legs of mutton or goat, odd pieces of raw meat and countless flies, into a tiny courtyard on to which opens the room where you would find the women folk, this room also being ornamented with bunches of raw meat suspended from the roof. Of late the people have become more prosperous and have removed the shop on to the main road. It is doubtful if the Bibi will be at home, as she often goes to her relations, but you are sure of a welcome if she is there, for she is one who likes to read and seems anxious to find out the truth. Alas ! to-day she is absent, but her young married daughter invites you to come in and take a seat upon a high stooi which she brings forward for you. ‘ Oh ! ’ she says, ‘ my mother will have no leisure to read for six months as she is preparing for my brother’s wedding! ’ But she herself consents to sit down on a mat ‘ for a little while, and you will find it is easier to get down from your stool and sit cross-legged on the mat with her. As you have been talking of marriage, the parable of the marriage feast in Matt, xxii suggests itself as one likely to interest her: you soon find, however, that she is not really interested but Is full of what Muhammad has done for her, and soon she fetches down from a shelf a book of Hawddith—Traditions—which she declares is Ehuda ka kalam—‘ the word of God ’—in which Muhammad is spoken of as the nur or light, created before the world was ; and, if you speak of Christ having died for our sins, she affirms that Muhammad also has done this. How weary you get of hearing these absolutely false statements! Time is passing, so you must say ‘ salaam ’ and go to some houses in another village nearer Bangalore. “ After a good deal of knocking on one door and calling out ‘ Koi hai ? ’ (Is any one there ?) a voice responds and the door is opened. Only one woman is present, and she is rather excited as she explains that her husband brought a second wife to the house a few days ago, who could do nothing, not even prepare the curry, but just sat and moped and finally ran away, apparently in broad daylight, even though she was ‘ gosha’ (secluded). The husband ran after her, but she vowed she would throw herself in the tank close by if he did not let her go ; so he allowed her to depart. You ask, ‘ "Was not this older woman angry at her husband bringing home another wife ? ’ but she shrugged her shoulders as much as to say, ‘ What can I do ? ’ “ A young woman hears from over the wall a sound of singing, and when she finds out that you have been paying her neighbour a visit, she climbs up, and from the other side begs you to come to her. With some difficulty you find the entrance to her house in a back street, and on going inside you see a bright young girl with her brother and her little boy, just recovering from small-pox. On enquiry you hear that the girl is a widow with two children : you then take out the heart book and begin to explain the four colours. The brother can read some THE YEAR’S HARVEST 181

English and spells out ‘ sin ’ as the meaning of the ‘ black,’ and they seem quite interested in what you are telling them. All at once the street door is pushed open to let in an elderly man : the boy explains that he is their ‘ pir ’ or ‘ guru,’ in other words their ‘ holy man He looks angry and, addressing the girl, says, ‘ Uth jao’, (Get up and go!)> but she wants to hear more and does not think it is at all fitting for the man to apeak so loudly and angrily before the Mem Sahiba. She tries to soothe him, but he will not listen and storms at the entrance, thereby attracting passers by, and another Muhammadan begins a tirade from the street. Then again the pir urges her to go. ‘ "Why are you so foolish, Hafasa Bi ? ’ he says, and calls out that we want to take them away. ' Have they not carried off a girl to Peshawar ? ’ he cries; ‘ Was not this in all the papers ?’ At last the girl gets up and re­ tires a few paces, but the brother still sits on and during our talk another boy, the pir’s son, has come in. He says nothing, but looks rather ashamed of his father. There is no use in staying longer, so you get up to go, asking the boy to come and see you at your bunga­ low, and as you go down the road the man in the street begins to shout out that you are not to come again to that quarter, ‘ Were they not all belonging to the Islamiya religion ? ’ but you tell him to speak respectfully and walk quickly away before be has time to say more.”

S o m e L a m b a r d i W a if s One day a friend who lives near, and who is deeply interested in our work, brought us three little Lambardi waifs, asking if we could take them ; they were orphans and much needing love and care. As they knsw Hindustani, as well as their own peculiar language, it gave them a special claim on us ; but they had only seen two or three English people in their lives, and were so terrified at our every attempt to show friendliness, that we felt rather doubtful about their willingness to stay. There were three of them—‘ Babee,’ aged about seven years ; ‘Krishna’, six years ; and a baby brother of about two and a half years, who looked very ill, and clung to his sister with piteous little cries. However we left them with Anboo Matron to manage, and, though they shrank from all her advances at first, after twenty-four hours in the compound, they had been prevailed upon to dress in clean gar­ ments and take food, and not do more than shrink back a little if we spoke to them. Children as they were, they had strong caste prejudices and this made things extra difficult. But two weeks worked a great change : they found out that we loved them, and they gave us their unreserved love and trust in return, and no gentler, happier children could now be found. We know none of their nationality who are Christian in this part of the country, so, if we are allowed to keep them, it will be & privilege to train them, to be, we hope, witnesses for Christ amongst their own people. An old uncle one day turned up, and, feigning great affection, tried by tears and inducements to get them to go with him, but they nestled up to Anboo Matron, and when told they must decide, Babee, as the elder, simply said one little sentence. We asked what it meant. The old man looked helplessly at us and replied, ‘ She tells me to go.’ We heard that he would only sell them to some of his people if he got them, and they probably knew how hard their lot could be. The youngest, little Somlia, was received into our hospital, but it was too 1 8 2 TH E YEAR’S H ARVEST

late to save him. He very soon died, and was probably the first little Lambardi child, who has had a Christian funeral.” In the Mysore school a normal class has been opened, and four -candidates appeared for the Teachers’ Certificate Examination. There are many indications that a knowledge of the Gospel is spreading in the zananas.

C. M. S. HINDUSTANI MISSION, BANGALORE The Rev. L. Dhan Singh works in Bangalore, and visits Channapatna, Mysore, and other places. The report contains the following account of the baptism of a Muslim convert: — “ S,yed Andrias, aged about fortj^-three years, was baptized by Canon Goldsmith on Easter Tuesday, 1913. He was dissatisfied with the Muhammadan religion and was seeking after truth. While he was in Rangoon he came in contact with Bahais and after some enquiry he became a Bahai. As he was thirsting after truth, he was constantly plying them with questions regarding Bahau’llah. They affirm that Christ has come back in the person of Bahau’llah, and to prove that statement they asked him to read the Bible. He did so diligently for more than five years, and used to come to us for explanation of difficult passages of Scripture, specially on prophecy. Thus he was gradually led to see that Jesus and not Rahau’llah is the Christ, who alone could save him. In 1912 he asked for baptism, but was detained by us in order that he might learn more of Christ. A few months after his own baptism his two daughters were baptized at his own request. He is confirmed and witnesses for Christ. He was turned out of his brother’s house for becoming a Christian. Besides this he has to undergo some persecution, but he cheerfully bears it. The Muhammadan religion can tolerate anybody but a Christian.”

LONDON MISSION CHURCH, BANGALORE The pastor and elders have issued a report of the church in Kanarese This is the first report of the kind that we have seen, and we think the example set might well be followed in many organised churches. The names of the 92 Indian members are printed, and a statement of the work done and the various accounts of the church are published. This church has been established seventy-six years, but at present it has not an ordained Indian pastor. The year has been a fairly successful one, there being an increase of ten members, seven of them having been newly admitted to the •church. Literature •Ghuldm Jabbar's Renunciation, a Tale of Eastern Bengal, by the Rev. W il l ia m G o l d s a c k . Christian Literature Society for India, Madras, Price, 6 as. This is a story with a purpose, which said purpose is to show that the 'Qur’an has not declared that the Taurat and Injil have been corrupted and abrogated. The Qur’an bears testimony to the authority of the sacred book of both Jew and Christian. A Muhammadan young man meets a mission­ ary and it* eager to convert him to Islam, but he finds the arguments on which he has been brought up fail. There is a public discussion between the missionary and a maulavl, and finally the young Muhammadan -embraces Christianity, is driven from his home, and is baptised. His companion follows his example. The story deals with the matter in hand in a practical way and there is very little of the art of a story-teller in the book. There is not much of local colour in the tale, and the story might be related of any place, where Muslim and Christian meet. There is ample scope for the story-teller to .relate how Christian influences are changing the social and religious life of the people of In dm, and we await the arrival of the skilled writer to set this forth in an attractive and compelling way.

The Umayyad and the ‘ A bhdsid Khali fates, b y the Rev. Canon S ell, d.d.,

m . r .a . s . The Christian Literature Society for India. Price, 8 as. a n d Re.l. Canon Sell tells us that this book is a continuation of the history con­ tained in “ The Four Rightly-guided Khalifas.” It gives us the story of Islam in Damascus and Baghdad, under the Umayyads who ruled in Syria, and the ‘Abbasids, who retained power in Arabia and Persia. Canon Sell traces the working of the clan feeling among the Arabs, which was suppressed under the sway of Muhammad and Abu Bakr and ‘Umar, the two first Kalifas, but ultimately broke out and destroyed the unity of Isltim. Those interested hr the history of the Muhammadan power will find in Canon Sell a safe and interesting guide.

Rabindranath Tagore ; Toru Dutt ; Mrs. Sarojini Naidu.—Messrs. G. A» Natesan and Co., Madras, have sent us three booklets, containing sketches of the lives of these three great Indian poets and an apprecia­ tion of their works. The sketches are very slight and give but little personal knowledge of the poets, and the appreciations chiefly applaud. The booklets will, however, be useful to those who wish to know some­ thing about these three famous Indians. Toru l)utt was a Christian; Rabindranath.Tagore is a Brahmo ; and Mrs. Sarojini Naida, in one of her speeches, says, “ I was born' in Bengal. I belong to the Madras Presi­ 184 LITERATURE

dency. In a Mahomedan gity I was brought up and married, and there I live. Still I am neither a Bengalee, nor Madrasee, nor Hyderabadee, but I am an Indian, not a Hindu, not a Brahman, but an Indian to whom my Mahomedan brother is as dear and as precious as my Hindu brother.” In the sketch of Mrs. Sarojini Naidu there is a discussion of the place of English poetry by Indians in modern life. The writer believes that the poetry that will come home to the heart of the Indian must be written in Sanskrit or in the polished vernaculars; but he maintains that “ high-class English poetry by Indians has a great and valuable place in individual and national life in India.” New thoughts and ideals from the West are com­ mingling with those of the East, and these “ can be best expressed only in the English language, having regard to our present day environments, until we build them up into our inner life, when they will seek and find vital ex­ pression in our beloved and beautiful vernaculars.” English poetry by Indians will also interpret Indian life to the West, and allay racial strife. Rabindranath Tagore “ is the son of Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and was born fifty-two years ago,” but the writer does not condescend to tell us where. “ As a boy he did not like school life. .... It is said the poet often used during his youth to soak his boots with water so that he might fall ill and be spared the trouble of going to school.” The poet has founded a school at Bolepur, some ninety-three miles from Calcutta, and he has devoted the ¿68,000 he received as the Nobel Prize entirely to the development of this school. The three poets have had literary artists to introduce them to the English people. Mr. Edmund Gosse discovered Miss Toru Dutt, Mr. Arthur Symons and Mr. Gosse have written introductions to Mrs. Sarojini Naidu’s volumes of poems, and Mr. W. B. Yeats has stood sponsor for Rabindranath Tagore. AJ1 three loved their country and are true patriots, and Indians who study their writings will learn much that will broaden their vision and lift them upward. We should like to see a thoughtful criticism of these poets from those who can appreciate true poetry, in which should be set forth how far the teaching and ideals of these poets will help the sons and daughters of India to rise to higher levels of thought, of patrotism, of pure morality and true devotion to God. There is now abundant material for such a critic. Each of the booklets is priced at 4 annas, but we wish the catalogue of books at the end were not so long. In some cases they occupy nearly as much space as the text.

Messrs. Macmillan have sent us a copy of A First Booh o f English Literature, by George Saintsbury. The price is Is. 6d. The book should prove of great use to those teachers who wish to guide their pupils to a clear and useful knowledge of the treasures of English literature. Current Mission News

SERAMPORE COLLEGE, Founded by Carey, Marshman and Ward, 1818. Incorporated by Royal Charter, 1827. Higher Theological Department preparing for the Serampore Degree of Bachelor of Divinity. A new Session begins with the Bains Term, June 29th. Students of all denominations are eligible for admission to the College Classes and Hostel, and the College authorities will be glad to make arrangements with any missionary society for the training of its own students. The teaching, while evangelical, is of a non-sectarian character, and various denomina­ tions are represented on the professorial staff. Four scholarships are available for eligible candidates desirous of en­ tering the Christian ministry and not directly supported by any missionary society. The scholarships cover the normal expenses of student life during term and vacation. Applicants should be graduates, or, at least, have passed the Intermediate Arts Examination, and must furnish satisfactory references as to character and conduct, intellectual fitness for the course, and aptitude for Christian work. Candidates are excused the Preliminary Divinity course, with the exception of New Testament Greek, and in certain cases, Hebrew or Syriac Grammar. To meet these special requirements a short course is arranged to be taken by graduates prior to the commencement of the regular session. Early application for admission to the theological classes and for further particulars regarding scholarships, &c., should be made to the Principal, Serampore College, Serampore, Bengal.

SECRETARIES OF THE NATIONAL AND PROVINCIAL COUNCILS Our readers will be interested in knowing the names and addresses of the secretaries of the new organisation that has been inaugurated by the Continuation Committee Conferences held by Dr. Mott. They are National Council, Rev. H. Anderson, Baptist Mission House, 48, Ripon Street, Calcutta. Madras, Dr. W. L Ferguson, American Telugu Baptist Mission, Bishop- ville, Vepery, Madras. Bombay, the Rev. William Hazen, Byculla, Bombay. 14 186 CURRENT MISSION NEWS

Mid-India, the Rev. G. W. Brown, Ph.D., Jubbulpore. United Provinces, the Rev. Edwin Greaves, Zahur Bakhsh, Lucknow. Panjab, Miss M. Rose Greenfield, A. P. Mission, Naulakha, Lahore. Bihar and Orissa, the Rev. A. E. Collier, Monghyr, Bihar. Bengal, the Rev. A. Willifer Young, 28, Chowringhee, Calcutta. Burma, Oliver H, McCowen. Esq., Student Y. M. C. A. Hostel, Godwin Road, Rangoon, Burma (on furlough, 13, Russell Sq., London).

MADRAS REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL OF MISSIONS We extract from the Minutes of the meeting held on Feb. 20th, 1914, in the C. L. S. Library, Madras, the following information :— The first half hour was spent in prayer and praise, led by the Rev. G. E. Phillips. The Rev. D. A. Rees was voted to the chair. On the Secretary reporting that no replies had been received from some societies to the invitation to join the Council, Mr. Kneidoff said that the invitation had not been received by the Secretary of the Rajahmundry Lutheran Mission. The Secretary was instructed to send another invitation. The Council elected its officers, as follows—President, Bishop of Madras; Vice-President, Rev. G. Pittendrigh; Secretary, Dr. Ferguson; Treasurer, Rev. J. Bittman. The following nominations were all unanimously accepted :—To be asked to join the Council as co-opted members :—For one year, Mr. Paul Appasawmy, Mr. E. S. Hensman; for two years, Revs. L. P. Larsen, D. G. M. Leith; for three years, the Bishop of Madras, Dr. Wyckoff. Members of the Committee on Comity and Co-operation:—Rev. J. H. Maclean (convener), the Bishop of Madras, Dr. Pamperrien, Dr. Wyckoff. Members of the Committee on Survey and Occupation :—Rev. D. G. M. Leith (convener), Rev. J. Cooling, Dr. Chandler, the Bishop of Dornakal, and the Rev. R. E. Smith. Members of the Committee on Public Questions :—Rev. G. E. Phillips, (convener), Mr. Paul Appaswamy, Rev. H. Gulliford, Rev. B, Lucas. Members of the Committee on Christian Literature :—Rev. J. Pass- more (convener), Mrs. Archibald, Rev. A. C. Clayton, Rev. G. Marler. Members of the Committee on the Indian Church Mr. K. T. Paul (convener), Miss Chrisilieb, Mr. E. S. Hensman, Rev. A. W. Brough. Members of the Committee on Mass MovementsDr. Aberly (conve­ ner), Miss Inglis, Rev. F. Lamb, Rev. C. H. Monahan, Rev. S. Nicholson. Members of the Committee on Medical Work :—Dr. R. L. Scudder (convener), Dr. A. S. Kugler, Dr. Macphail, Dr. T. V. Campbell. The following three were elected as representatives to the National Council, to take office after the next meeting of that Council in October CURRENT MISSION NEWS 187

next:—Miss Swift for one year, Dr. Ferguson for two years, Dr. Wyckoff for three years. The Rev. H. G-ulliford was elected to take the place of the Rev. J. Cooling, who is going on furlough, on the present representation to the National Council. In accordance with Sec. (2) of the Bye-Laws, the following persons were chosen the Executive Committee for the ensuing year :—The President, Vice- President, Secretary, and Treasurer, Miss Christlieb, Miss Grover, Dr. Aberly, Dr. Pamperrien, Rev. B. Lucas, Rev J. H. Maclean, Rev. C. H. Monahan, and Mr. K. T. Paul. It was decided that the Secretary should send copies of the Minutes of the National Council, as soon as they were available, to the Conveners of the various standing Committees, so that these Committees should have matter on which to work; that their reports on these matters should be sent to the Secretary not later than August 15th, to enable him to report to the Executive and circulate to the members, and have a report ready for the National Council Meetings in October next. The Committee on Comity and Co-operation was asked to report upon the question of holding in South India a Conference on Faith and Order. The Rev. J. Cooling stated that a sum of £ 500 had been placed by Dr. Mott at the disposal of the National Council, specially to enable that Council to carry out investigations on Survey and Occupation, and that probably funds would be forthcoming for this Council, for its work in South India. The questions on Divorce raised by the petition to the Governor- General in Council were remitted to the Committee on Public ■ Ques­ tions. The question of holding an All India Decennial Conference, at an early date was discussed. On the motion of the Rev. J. H. Maclean, seconded by Mr. K. T. Paul, it was decided that with reference to the re­ quest of the National Missionary Council for suggestions regarding the holding of an AH India Conference, it is resolved to express the view that it is not desirable to pronounce an opinion on the matter until experience of the working of the National and Provincial Councils shows how far they meet the needs hitherto met by the Decennial Conferences. The Rev. J. Cooling informed the meeting that the Bombay Council had invited the National Council to hold its next meeting in Bombay, and proposed that this Madras Council invite the National Council to Madras m 1915. This was carried unanimously. The Rev. J. Cooling read extracts from the Proceedings of the fourth meeting of the Edinburgh Continuation Committee held at the Hague, from Nov. 14th to 20th, 1913, of paras IV and V, pp. 5, 6 and 7, referring to the relation of the National and Provincial Councils to Mission Boards and Societies. It was resolved that these be incorporated in the Minutes of this Council. 188 CURRENT MISSION NEWS

A resolution of the S. I. M. A., dated Dee. 20th, 1913, asking the Council to collect the statistics usually collected by itself, from the various missions after those for 1913 had been completed by the Secretary of the S. I. M. A., was agreed to, and the work delegated to the Standing Com­ mittee on Survey. It was further proposed by the Rev. J. EL Maclean and passed that such statistics when collected should form an appendix to the Annual Report of the Council. An application from the London Missionary Society to be allowed to count their Tamil, Telugu, and Kanarese Committees as three separate Missions, for the purposes of representation on the Council, was agreed to. With reference to the letter from the Rev. V. McCaulay reported in the Minutes of the Council held on Aug. 15th and 16th, 1913, suggesting that the Constitution should be so changed that every Women’s Society shall have a representative, it was agreed that the newly drafted Constitu­ tion largely met this request. On the further question raised in that letter that Indian workers should be the basis of representation for Indians, rather than Indian pastors, it was decided that Indian workers could not be regarded as the basis of representation, and further that each organisa­ tion invited to send representatives must make its own definition of Indian pastor. It was decided that the Secretary should send an invitation to the South Indian United Church to send representatives to the Council accord­ ing to the rules now in force. The Rev. J. Cooling proposed that a bulletin be published and circu­ lated, through the representatives, embodying matters decided upon by this Council, and selections from the proceedings of the National Council, and the Conference of the Edinburgh Continuation Committee held at the Hague in 1913. This was carried. Dr. Aberly'brought forward a request that the Council should arrange for a Conference of Missionaries ior the Telugu area during the next cool season, and explained at some length the scope of such a Conference. There were the following Societies working in that area, namely, the S. P. G., L. M. S., W. M. S., American Baptist, Canadian Baptist, Leipzig Mission, Arcot Mission and four Lutheran Missions. Representatives of most of these Missions had. already expressed a desire for such a Conference. They might discuss with profit, too, all such things as a Telugu Language School, the standard of the Telugu Examinations for Missionaries, a United Christian College for the Telugu area, a College for Women, (Training Schools for Teachers, Literature in Telugu, Mass Movements, Village Education, Survey and Occupation, &e. After discussion the Rev. G. E. Phillips proposed the following resolution, which was carried :—That this Council having heard a statement of the need for a Conference of mis­ sionaries in the Telugu area, to consider many practical questions affecting their work, approves of the proposal that such a Conference be held ; it appoints a committee of all the members of the Council working in that CURRENT MISSION NEWS 189 area, with power to add to their number, to make the necessary arrange: mente. It is understood that1 this Council assumes no financial responsi­ bility for this Conference, also that the Conference will report its resolutions to the Council. Dr. Aberly was appointed Convener of this Committee. A report of the finances of the Council was given by the Hon. Treasurer, the Rev. J. Cooling, showing a deficit balance of Rs. 96. It was only after a discussion of this question, n,nd in view of the coming budget, that the sum “ Rs. 20 ” was inserted in para, vi- of the Constitution.

DEDICATION OF THE NEW BUILDINGS OF THE UNITED THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE, BANGALORE For some time there has been gradually rising a series of buildings in Miller's Road, not far from the Cantonment Station, Bangalore, to provide accommodation for the students and professors of the United Theological College, which was founded four years ago. These were formally opened on April 4, when a large company assembled to do honour to the occasion. From the Madras Mail we copy the following account of the proceedings. The meeting was presided over by the Rev. J. Chandler, Chairman of the College Council, supported on the platform by the members of the College Council. The Rev. D. S. Herrick read a historical ’ statement concerning the inception and founding of the College, the proposals for which were first outlined eight years ago by a group of missionaries. It indicated that a very hopeful beginning has been made in an enterprise calculated to have very far reaching results. Greetings which had been sent by post and telegraph from far and wide from Europe and America, as well as from various parts of India, were then read by the Chairman after which four representatives of the Societies supporting the College voiced the good wishes of their bodies in short speeches. For the London Missionary Society, the Rev. E. P. Rice showed how this United College embodies a principle cardinal to the L. M. S. from the beginning, quoted happily an utterance of his own in 1895, which was a striking prophecy of this Gollege, and emphasised full co-operation as the note of the second century of missionary work upon which we have now entered. The Rev. Benjamin Wesley, as Chairman of the Provincial Synod of the Wesleyan Church, read a letter from the Foreign Secretary of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, and spoke of the progress of the work with which he is connected in Hyderabad. Dr. G. G. Brown, Principal of the JafiEha College, speaking on behalf of the American Board, emphasised the breadth of vision of the men who 190 CURRENT MISSION NEWS made large plans for this College, and described the type of man who, it is expected, will be available for Christian service in India and Ceylon as the result of the training the College gives. On behalf of the American Arcot Mission, Dr. L. R. Scudder spoke of the great ideals for the College for the Indian Church, and for the methods of missionary work, of which the erection of these noble buildings is a reminder. An address was then given by the Principal, the Rev. L. P. Larsen, of which the following were the main points :—This College is established not to demonstrate unity, which would be a wrong way of using an ideal, nor merely to foster the study of theology, necessary as this is as a means to a higher end, but to help in the training of Indian Christian leaders, fully recognising t h a t by d o means all the training can be given in a College. He spoke of the fact that there has been in the past a deplorable lack of Indian Christian leadership, not discussing whose fault this may have beeij but showing the importance of getting the defect remedied. The obief characteristics of such leadership, which this College exists to foster, will be the possession of information which can offer guidance from all the long experience of the past, discernment which qualifies men to understand problems and find for themselves the way to a right solution of them, and strength, the kind of strength which enables men when necessary to take a solitary stand for a principle. What is most required is suggested by the two words “ Christian ” and “ Indian,” including under the term “ Christian,” the master thoughts of God, service, and selflessness, and under the term “ Indian,” the knowledge of, and sympathy with, the people of India which will make men work not to win victories, but to help their brethren. The Chairman then spoke briefly of the way in which these new build­ ings symbolise the truths expressed in three Bible metaphors concerning the Church, the body, the family, the Kingdom of God, after which the meeting closed, with the singing of a hymn and the pronouncing of the Benediction. On April 5th at 8 a.m., a prayer meeting was held in the new college chapel. At 10-30 there was a dedicatory service, at which a most in­ spiring sermon was preached by the Rev. B. Lucas, of the London Mission, Bellary. The exercises concluded, as did also the work of the whole college year, with an impressive valedictory service, in which the Princi­ pal of the College spoke last words of counsel and help to the students who now are leaving the College to take up work in different parts of South India and Ceylon. Gleanings from the Field

The Rev. George Pittendrigh.—We heartily join in the many con­ gratulations that have been given to the Rev, George Pittendrigh on his election to a seat on the Madras Legislative Council by the Madras Uni­ versity.

Exhibition of Women’ s Work.—The Industrial Missionary Associ­ ation intends having an exhibition of work done by women and girls in various schools in India at Kodaikanal on May 26th. The committee of ladies in charge of the exhibition has tried to give notice to every school, but if there are any missions or schools that would like to send samples of their work and have not been asked to do so, they can obtain all informa­ tion from the chairman of the committee, Miss Lodge, Salem.

An Indian Paper on Sacrifice.—The Mysore Patriot writes, “ It seems that His Holiness the Parakaliswamy has arranged for the sacrifice of goats and secured material help for the purpose. The real Vedic sacrifices are the sacrifices of those turbulent animals in us, namely, our beastly passions. What a pity that so many sacred idiots think that sacrifices mean sacrifice of poor animals which never give offence to men or gods. It is a downright sin to abet such sacrifices. Those who declaim against slaughter-houses are to be ashamed of themselves to make Yagna- salas virtual slaughter-houses.”

A Christian Dewan.—Mr. Joseph William Bhore, B.A., I. C. S., who has just been appointed Dewan of the Cochin State in succession to Mr. A. R. Bannerjee, is an Indian civilian who, as his surname indicates, belongs to the Bombay Presidency, being a member of the Indian Christian community of Mahratta origin. Mr. Bhore entered the Indian Civil Service towards the close of 1902. During the last five years he has been mostly in the Ganjam District of the Madras Presidency and was acting as the Divisional Officer of Chicacole at the time of his new appointment. Prom all reports, Mr. Bhore has earned for himself great popularity with the people of the district under his charge. Mr. Bhore acted with credit in the Madras Secretariat under Sir William Meyer, the present Finance Minister. He earned the gratitude of the people at the time of the Krishna floods and he showed his judicial independence in questioning the security proceedings against App$mma Patnaik of Parlakimidi during the troublous days of swadeshism and deportations. Mr. Bhore is said to be a keen 192 CURRENT MISSION NEWS

sportsman also. In Mrs. Bhore, too, Cochin ladies, we are told, will find a very sympathetic and genial personality. Her good work as lady doctor, when she was attached to the Zenana Mission, is remembered w'tb feelings of affection by all who came in contact with her.— The Bombay Chronicle.

A Home for S ick Missionaries.—Dr. Wanless, of tbe American Presbyterian Mission at Miraj, writes :—“ I desire fco invite your co-opera­ tion in the erection of a proposed ‘ Union Cottage ’ for sick missionaries in connection with the Miraj Mission Hospital. For many years we have beer» receiving for treatment missionaries from a considerable number of mis­ sionary societies and working in various parts of India. We have always been glad to offer them such accommodation as has been available. We have made no stipulated charges to missionaries, but have always been glad to accept such gifts towards the work as missionaries have felt able or disposed to offer. We have two cottages for missionaries. One of these is intended for the missionaries of thé Presbyterian Mission, but it has frequently been put at the disposal of missionaries of other societies when available. The other is temporarily occupied by a member of our staff, but this will be released as soon as another contemplated missionary resi­ dence is erected. But even with this at the disposal of missionaries, we have at times been unable to offer accommodation to missionaries desirous of coming to us for treatment. We now propose to erect a third cottage at a cost of about Rs. 4,000 to be used entirely for missionaries of societies other than our own. The present cottages will also be at the disposal of other missions ; but this new one will be known as ‘The Union Cottage.’ Missionaries of all societies will be eligible for admission free of rent, only charges for board and special nursing will be made. No charges will be made for professional services, though missionaries may, if so disposed, make any contributions they feel led to towards the upkeep. I might add that the climate of Miraj for most of the year is one of the most e q u a b le in India and is especially suited to surgical work. Missionaries have not unfrequently been able to avoid expense and loss of time by coming to us for operations. Our desire in the erection of another cottage is to promote the work of missions in general and in this way make a contribution to the work of unity and co-operation. There are at present two American physicians and two American trained nurses in addition to the Indian staff, and others are likely to be added in the near future. Any contribu­ tions you can secure for us will be gratefully received and duly acknow­ ledged.” We commend this scheme, and trust Dr. Wanless will soon secure the sum he asks for.

Printed at the Wesleyan Mission Press, Mysore—-1

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