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vol. title: Vol Four of The Theosophical Society of The Arya Samaj of Arya-wart vol. period: Sept 1878 – Sept 1879 pages in vol.: 350 |
< On India’s Coral Strand (continued from page 8-258) >
influence of the leader of Brahmaism and broken up his church into factions. Though his first Arya Samaj was organized less than five years ago, to-day, what with the enrolled members and known sympathizers, there are now over a million natives who accept Dya Nand’s doctrines. Our Theosophical Committee held a week’s discussions with him at Saharanpore and Meerut, N. W. P. Suffice it to say that a close alliance of our two societies has been agreed upon. And speaking of alliances, we have just effected one with the Ceylon Buddhists, two of whose foremost men have accepted places in our General Council. All the treasures of their libraries are offered for our inspection, and their ablest scholars are ready to translate from Sanskrit and Palisach works as may appear most important that Western scholars should be made familiar with. Writes a venerable priest, sixty-five years of age, chief of a great vihara: “To use an Oriental simile, I and my many disciples anxiously wait your arrival at Point de Galle like a swarm of peacocks, who joyously long for the downpour of a shower.”
I have tried to give our people some general notion of the seething multitude which inhabits the peninsula of Hindostan, about which they know so little, and, for commercial reasons, should know so much. Poor as they are, the Hindoos still buy enormously of British manufactures, and are yearly taking increasing quantities from Germany, France, and other countries. At Bombay alone there were imported, in 1878, from Great Britain, 11,419,227 pieces of dry goods, shirtings, long cloths, prints, jacconets, madapollams, cambrics, T. cloths, domestics, mulls, figured shirtings, lappets, and dhoties. A customer, this, not to be despised.
I know an American lecturer on mesmerism who makes it a rule to always leave upon the mind of his “subject” some pleasant impression, to chase away any evil effects that might follow the excitation of the more turbulent mental organs. Let me imitate him so far as to tell you a comic misadventure that has befallen us. Some malignant agent of the idolaters, or perhaps of the missionaries, put into the head of somebody in authority the idea that we were—Russian spies! Our unprecedented intimacy with the natives could, of course, bear no other explanation. So, without their stopping to reason upon the transparent absurdity of the thing, our every movement has been dogged by detectives, who have even come, in what they imagined were disguises, into our semi-weekly durbars, and given an attentive ear to our debates with Shaivas, Vishnavas, Zoroastrians, Vedantists, Moslems, and Jains upon the esoteric meaning of their several Scriptures, and the points of their philosophies! More power to their elbows; if they have transcribed their notes, the future historian of the Theosophs will find a placer in the record books of the Bombay secret police! It has been hinted that Mme. Blavatsky’s Caucasian nativity is the bête noire, and I am pointed to the precedent of a poor Russian lady pianist, Mme. Duboin, who played magnificently all through India, but was incontinently set down as a secret emissary of Kauffmann! But our Russian friend spent the last six years in America on purpose to denationalize herself, and get under a flag that represented her republican principles; so it must be either of our distinguished friends, the idolaters or the missionaries, whom we have to thank for their distinguished attentions. Happily, however, time teaches sense even to the police, and baffles the fell designs of theological foes.
No. 272.
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Mofussil, „ „ 7
All Money Orders, Cheques, and other Remittances sent to this office should be made payable to the “Proprietor of the Indian Spectator.” And also all the letters should be addressed to D. RUTTONJEE Proprietor Indian Spectator, No. 46, Hornby Row, Fort, Bombay.
SOCIAL INTERCOURSE BETWEEN
EUROPEANS AND NATIVES.
This subject has now been before the public for a long time. We have been able to gather from the mass of correspondence that has passed through the newspapers, that both Europeans and natives are at length roused to a contemplation of the results arising from a want of cordial social intercourse. Many and various are the reasons assigned for this want; and many remedies suggested to fill it up. Whatever may be said of these reasons and remedies it is certain that the correspondence will achieve some good at a no very distant date. The writers, at any rate the majority of them, seem to be in earnest and determined to catch the bull by the horn. And we know, how much earnestness and determination can do. It is admitted on all sides, that there does exist a want of social intercourse between Europeans and Indians in India. But who is to blame for this? Europeans or natives or both? The European naturally throws the burden on the back of the Indian—the Indian returns the compliment; and thus it has happened that for years past the evil has been allowed to increase in its proportions, while much breath and more sophistry are wasted on a mere warfare of words. Surely, it were better to overlook faults and desist from seeking to know as to who is to blame. It were better to say—“friends, we both have erred; henceforth let us go hand-in-hand, and breast the high waves of life together.”
It were idle to say that either side was entirely free from blame. Natives and Europeans have erred alike, and both are alike responsible for the present state of Indian society. The European has shrouded himself under the cover of the right of conquest and existing good fortune; while the native takes refuge in pride, which is not virtuous, because it is not born of humility but of spleen. Europeans say to themselves:—Here we are, by force, and tolerated and suffered to remain because we are the stronger party. Our might is our right to this country. We cannot preserve this right better than by keeping aloof from the natives and by keeping them down. If we conciliate them, they will believe we are weak.” The natives reason in this wise:—“It is true, we are the conquered people. But how far does that affect our social position? The Europeans are in India by force and have no right to this country. Well, they are the stronger party, and let them therefore lord it over us. We shall show them by our demeanour, that we care not for them. They have conquered our lands, but not our souls. We’ll keep aloof from them, refuse to meet them, slight their overtures, and humiliate these proud Europeans in all possible ways”.
Such sentiments were entertained by Europeans and natives at the early stage of British rule in India. But as time progressed, the breach did not heal up, but widened more and <... continues on page 8-260 >
Editor's notes
- ↑ All Money Orders, Cheques... by unknown author, Indian Spectator, The, Sunday, July 13, 1879. Publication-office notice printed above the newspaper title. The adjacent publication strip includes the local and Mofussil subscription rates; the right edge after the numerals is clipped.
- ↑ Social Intercourse Between Europeans and Natives. by unknown author, Indian Spectator, The, Sunday, July 13, 1879. The source prints “at a no very distant date”; the opening quotation mark before “Here we are” is absent.