It Has Nearly Died Out
In India, Though Many Ruins Of Its Temples Remain.
The Jains agree
with the Buddhists as to the transmigration of souls, and carry
their respect for life to the still greater extent, that besides a
strainer to remove all animalculae from the water they imbibe, they
carry a broom to sweep away the insects from their path.
They differ
from the Brahmins in repudiating their minor incarnations and gods,
as the following translation will serve to show: - "A rajah, of the
name of Gondshekur, had a minister, Abhuechund, who converted him to
the Jain religion. He prohibited the worship of Vishnu, and all gifts
of cows, land, and balls of flour and rice, and would not allow any one
to carry away bones to the Ganges. One day the minister began to say,
'O great king, be pleased to listen to the judgments and explanations
of religion: Whosoever takes another's life, that other takes his life
in another world. The birth of a man after he has again come into the
world does not escape from this sin; he is born again and again, and
dies again and again. For this reason it is right for a man, who has
been born in the world, to cultivate religion. Behold! Brahma, Vishnu,
and Mahadeo, being under the influence of love, anger, and fascination,
descend upon the earth in various ways; but a cow is superior to them
all, for it is free from anger, enmity, intoxication, rage, avarice,
and inordinate affection, and affords protection to the subject; and
her sons also behave kindly to, and cherish the animals of the earth,
and therefore all the gods and sages regard the cow with respect. For
this reason, it is not right to regard the gods - in this world,
respect the cow. It is virtuous to protect all animals, from the
elephant to the ant, and from beasts and birds to man. In the world
there is no act so impious as for men to increase their own flesh by
eating the flesh of other creatures. They who do not sympathise in the
griefs of animated beings, and who kill and eat other animals, do not
live long on the earth, and are born lame, maimed, blind, dwarfs, and
humpbacked, &c.; and it is a great sin to drink wine and eat flesh;
wherefore to do so is improper. The minister, having thus explained
his sentiments to the rajah, converted him to the Jain religion,
so that he did whatever the minister said, and no longer paid any
respect to Brahmins, Fukeers, Jogies, Dervishes, &c., and carried on
his government according to this religion."
Next among the religions of the East, whose outward observances so
forcibly attract attention, comes that of the Moslem - "The marvellous
reformation wrought by Mahomet and the Koran in the manners, morals,
and religious feelings of so many millions."
Mahomet, in truth, although "THE False Prophet," would appear to
have been a considerable benefactor to his species. The Arabs,
at the time of his birth, were sunk in idolatry and the worship
of the stars, while their morals were under no control either of
law or religion. The Prophet's aim appears, in the first instance,
to have been, to secure a system of orderly government, and at the
same time to gain, for his own family, a dignity which should be
exalted beyond all fear of competition-the dignity of lordship over
the holy city of Mecca. This was then held under no higher tenure
than the sufferance and caprice of the Arab tribes. To perpetuate
this lordship by assuming an hereditary and inviolable pontificate
was Mahomet's first idea, and at a banquet given to the whole of his
kinsmen he revealed his scheme. They, however, rejected his appeal,
and he then proclaimed himself as an apostle to all, and setting
aside existing forms and traditions proceeded to a higher flight of
ambition. For election by blood, he substituted election of God;
and assuming a direct revelation from on high, he, by force of an
ardent and ambitious will, carried out his project even at Mecca
itself, where, to all who visited his shrine, he preached without
distinction. From the powerful opposition brought against him, Mahomet
was at last obliged to fly; but before doing so, and casting off the
high position he held among his own tribe and kinsmen, he assembled
his followers together on a mountain near Mecca, and there, without
distinction of blood or calling, he enrolled them as equal followers
in one community, and entered with them into a solemn and binding
agreement. "That night Mahomet fled from Mecca to Medina, and then
took its rise a pontificate, an empire, and an era." This hegira, or
"flight," is believed to have occurred on the 19th June, A.D. 622[39]
but has been variously stated; it is, however, the era now in general
use among no less than one hundred and sixty millions of people.
Although himself an undoubted impostor, and the Koran a manifest
forgery, Mahomet would appear to deserve a larger share of
appreciation, or at least of charitable judgment, than he usually
receives.
"He was one richly furnished with natural endowments, showing
liberality to the poor, courtesy to every one, fortitude in trial, and,
above all, a high reverence for the name of God. He was a preacher of
patience, charity, mercy, beneficence, gratitude, honouring of parents
and superiors, and a frequent celebrator of Divine praise." The great
doctrine of the Koran is the Unity of God, and in this creed Mahomet
himself seems to have been a sincere believer. "Its design was to
unite the professors of the three different religions then followed in
Arabia - who for the most part were without guides, the greater number
being idolaters, and the rest Jews and Christians, mostly of erroneous
and heterodox belief - in the knowledge and worship of one eternal
and invisible God, and to bring them to obedience of Mahomet as the
only prophet and ambassador of the truth." The "fatiha," or opening
chapter of the Koran, is said to contain the essence of the whole,
and forms part of the daily prayers of all zealous Mussulmans.
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