CHAPTER II.

THE GRAND THEORY OF HINDUISM, WHICH IS ESSENTIALLY A STUPENDOUS SYSTEM OF PANTHEISM-WITH ILLUSTRATIONS OF SOME OF THE PRINCIPAL MODES IN WHICH THE THEORY IS EXEMPLIFIED IN PRACTICE.

The necessity of knowing the real condition of a people, in order to the adoption of effectual measures for their amelioration -This illustrated in the case of India-Religion the master-principle in moulding the character, opinions, and practices of the people-Their religion contained in writings believed to be divine -These writings locked up in the Sanskrit language-Enumeration of them-Attempt to unfold the orthodox theory of the Brahmanical faith-Foundation of the system in the belief of one great universal Spirit-Description of the nature and character of this Spirit-Shown to be an infinite nothing, yet substantially all things -Reflections on the fact that he is without any moral attributes— The manifestation of the universe, at a time when nought existed but the supreme Spirit-Four distinct views of this subject entertained in the orthodox schools-All of them Pantheistic-Spiritual Pantheism-Psycho-ideal Pantheism-Psycho-material Pantheism-Psycho-material-mythologic Pantheism-The geographical and astronomical construction of the universe, deduced from the substance of the supreme Spirit-The peopling of all worlds with animated beings-The immense epochs of the duration of the universe, with its successive destructions and renovations -Glance at the mode in which the grand theory of Hinduism is reduced to practice-Various exemplifications-A graduated scale of rewards and punishments-Transmigration of souls a vital and operative doctrine-The wicked sent to one or other of innumerable hells-They reappear on earth in mineral, vegetable, or brutal forms -Obedience and acts of merit recompensed by admission into one or other of the heavens of the gods-The highest reward is

absorption or refusion into the Divine Essence-A series of statements to show how the facts and doctrines of Christianity beautifully contrast with those of Hinduism—Appeal to Christians.

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It is related of the once petty Mogul chieftain, Sultan Baber, that, when fired with ambition, or, as the Mahammadan historian gravely assures us, "led by inspiration to attempt the conquest of Hindustan,-he first resolved to make himself thoroughly acquainted with the condition of its inhabitants,-their numbers, their national character and spirit, their government and laws, their territorial and other resources, their means of resistance and defence. The more effectually to serve this end, he actually assumed the guise of a religious mendicant; and, under the shelter of a character so sacred, he traversed, without detection or suspicion, the plains and cities, and strongholds of Northern India, surveying all with the eye of military genius, -already planning pitched battles and sieges-and treasuring up the information elicited by the ten thousand varied inquiries which the sagacity and foresight of the future 'General could devise. What was the result? With the light of facts so numerous, minute, and accurate, his measures of aggression were contrived and adapted with such skill and precision to the end in view, that the outcast exile from the confines of the Tartarian desert, speedily became the sovereign Conqueror seated on the throne of Delhi,-the founder of a dynasty, which, in the pomp and parade of royal magnificence, greatly outrivalled that of the Nebuchadnezzars of Babylon, the Caliphs of Bagdad, and the Cæsars of Imperial Rome!

If true to our

Have we no lesson to learn from an example such as this? Or, must we allow the children of this world to monopolise for ever the proud distinction of being "wiser in their generation than the children of light?" profession, are we not soldiers in the service of a great King? Are we not commanded to go forth on a war of conquest among all nations? True, our warfare is spiritual;

our weapons are spiritual; the issues of our conquest must be spiritual; and we have the promise of Almighty grace to sustain us in the conflict;—but have we on this account nothing in common with the warriors of this world? Have we nothing to do with the exercise of reason and judgment, discretion and forethought, in propounding inquiries, eliciting information, combining the varied items of intelligence, adjusting plans, watching times and seasons and opportunities for action;-and, as the general result of such exercises, applying the most suitable means for the accomplishment of specific ends? Nothing to do!—we have every thing to do with it. Reason and judgment, discretion and forethought, so employed, are the very instruments which Jehovah has been pleased to select; and which, when selected and sanctified, He has graciously promised to render efficacious for the execution of His plans of redeeming love. Hence it is that, if it be at once our duty and our privilege to determine on the spiritual invasion, and ultimate possession, of such a country as India,-there is the same demand for the exercise of all our powers, intellectual and moral, in surveying-though from different points of view, and for the realization of very different objects-the actual condition of the people, through every variety of relationship ;-the very same demand and necessity as existed in order to insure the triumph of that daring enterprise, which transferred to the fugitive Tartar the crown and sceptre of the Indian Monarchy.

At present, however, we have neither time nor space for an enlarged, comprehensive, and yet minutely accurate survey of the existing condition of the millions of India;viewed geographically, in relation to the multifarious influences of soil and climate on their physical and mental constitution, habits, and pursuits-or civilly and politically, in relation to the multiplied details of social and domestic economy; as well as the complicated operations of varying systems of government, revenue, and police. Nor is such a survey necessary for our immediate design. The people

of India are allowed, on all hands, to be sunk into the depths of a demoralization which has become endemic and universal, manifested in aggravated forms, and perpetuated from age to age, as if engraven with a pen of iron upon their character. To account for such an unhappy condition, speculators on the subject have resorted, some to one theory, and some to another. Works have been written, to prove that it has arisen solely from misgovernment-from the grinding tyranny of a despotism so intense and unmitigated, that, compared with it, "the autocracy of the Peters and Pauls of Russia may be called liberty and license." Volumes have been published, to demonstrate that the revenue and financial system of India, and that alone, is at "the bottom of the whole evil,"-alone has generated the present state of "moral degradation." To one who really knows India, this must sound very much like the paradoxical theory of the Naturalist, who would contend that icebergs are generated without frost, and that tropical vegetation shoots up in wildest luxuriance without heat. Misgovernment, in its various departments, has had its own share in imprinting hideous scars on the mind and heart of the people of India;-but it is only one of many causes ;and that by no means the most influential. In many respects it is itself only the natural effect of a more potent antecedent cause;-and that, beyond all debate, is false religion. As the instrumental cause in originating and perpetuating the past and present extraordinary condition of the people of India, their scheme of religious fatth and polity is almost the all in all.

But, how are we to ascertain what the religious faith of the people of India is in its theory and practical tendency? Let this question be answered by another. Suppose a native of India were to visit Europe, how could he assure himself as to the nature and character of the religious faith of its inhabitants? He would soon discover that, with certain exceptions, one faith, or at least a faith under one generic denomination, prevailed over all its kingdoms and provinces. Is this, he might ask, a mere traditionary creed, founded on

no better authority than the senseless fetish of the Moor, or the witching spells of the Kaffer? No: right or wrong, the great mass of the people would be found appealing to a common written standard,-an authoritative record, believed by them to contain a divine revelation. The stranger wishes to know what the system is. How is he to proceed? There are two ways, either of which he may choose. He may consult with professors of the faith, and endeavour, from oral communication, to deduce his conclusions; or, he may at once refer to the original written standard itself. Which of these modes is likely to furnish the speediest and most satisfactory result? Surely the latter. In the former case, he soon finds not only endless variety, but such interminable contrariety, that he is utterly puzzled and bewildered,--a hundred schools of theology; a thousand sects; ten thousand varying opinions; and the standard itself treated with deference or indifference through all gradations, between the extremes of absolute reverence or of absolute abhorrence. What then is he to do? What can he do, but resolve to apply to the standard and judge for himself? As an impartial investigator, he may soon perceive which class of Christians hold most nearly by its plain and obvious announcements,-which practically conceal these under a load of redundancies,—and which virtually annihilate them by countless omissions. With his acquired knowledge of the contents of the common standard, he may then look abroad; and employing such knowledge as a clew to unravel the labyrinth, he may be able to trace his way along its most intricate windings. Or, to change the figure, there is, after all, as he cannot fail to observe, a central stream of orthodoxy,-though, as it rolls along over many soils, in widely distant realms, it ever and anon receives some new and peculiar tinge in the passage. And if there are numberless rills drawn off from the main current, he can now mark the points of divergence; and can trace many of the interposing obstacles that force them to pursue devious courses. Whether he believe in it or not, he now sees what Christianity really is; and he understands how it operates in stamping its impress on the mind and manners of Christendom.