MISSION WORK IN INDIA

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Mar 4, 1897

MISSION WORK IN INDIA.

IN the case of India there are peculiar conditions to be met. The confusion of religions in that country is to be accounted for principally by its political history. India has never been organized, as a whole, into one great State, and it has been dilapidated by incessant wars. The population is distributed, not into great governments, or nationalities, or religious denominations, but into many various denominations of tribes, clans, septs, castes and sub-castes, religious orders and devotional brotherhoods. The essential characteristics which decide a man's state of life and position among the people are two, namely, his kinship and his religion.

The religion of India is not a national one. As the country has been under the empire of different nations, its worship has received an influence from the conquering power, consequently there is a confusion of religions, which dates back of the partial conquest by the Mohammedans. But the Mohammedans, while they disorganized Hinduism, failed to establish a strong, religious faith of their own in India, and Brahmanism and Buddhism still held their devotees.

Thus in the introduction of Christianity into India there are several distinct forces to combat beside the original superstition and polytheism. The mere decay of Hinduism is not the advance of Christianity, and there must be persistent activity of the church to obtain evangelization. It must battle against a restoration of pure Vedic Hinduism, against Agnosticism, which is gaining tremendous force, and against Christian reform which accepts the ethics of Jesus but ignores the divinity of Christ. The conflict must be against Hinduism with its schools of philosophy rivaling the learning and lofty pride of the ancient Greeks, and looking with contempt upon the religion and civilization of the west. It must be against Buddhism, with its ethics and atheism and self-righteous millions, and against Mohammedanism, the old enemy of Christianity.

When the East India Company received its charter from Queen Elizabeth in 1600, it was formed for purposes of trade, but while only a commercial body, it seems to have taken considerable interest in the religious instruction of the natives. A few missionaries were allowed to go to India in its ships and were even encouraged in their labors, but the policy of the company on the whole was non-interference with the religion of the natives. However, in the toleration of British rule the Indians saw the superiority of Christian mercy to heathen selfishness, and the way began to be prepared for the Christian missionaries who came later.

It would take volumes to even touch upon the work of the different missions, and of the missionaries, like Carey and Scudder, who have given their lives to the cause of the evangelization of India's millions. But let us look at some of the results in the condition of the people of India to-day, where a beginning, at least, has been made for the conquest of the country for Christ.

There is an army of hundreds of Christian workers in the land, and thousands of converts are gathered into the fold every year. But what are these among the hundreds of millions of heathen that fill this great empire! We have heard much in the last few years about the mild and gentle Hindu, especially those who belong to the Brahmo-Somaj, respectful toward Christianity and admirers of Jesus. But while they are gentle, there is combined with this gentleness a cunning which makes use of gross deception in opposing the truth which does not harmonize with their forms of religion. The Gospel of Christ is the only thing that will work the reformation needed.

The enlightening influences of the schools contribute much to the breaking down of idolatry and the caste system; and these are not only the mission schools but also those of the government.

One great Christian influence in India is the school of Pundita Ramabai. Ramabai is a Christian widow who was converted from Hinduism, and possessing great gifts of mind and heart, and a strong desire to help her downtrodden sisters, came to this country in 1887 and spent more than a year in traveling about to interest American people in the sad condition of the women of India, especially the widows. She was very successful in her mission; the Ramabai Association was formed, with headquarters in Boston, and she was assisted to found a school at Poona for the benefit of high-caste child widows. She is herself principal of this school.

A recent visitor to the school says that of the 57 pupils, 43 are widows and 39 are Brahmins. About one-half of the pupils attend daily prayers in Ramabai's own room, to which the door is always open and where any one may come in, and the shyness are not noticed until familiarity has done away with the shyness. The teacher does not put the new pupils at books for some time, but turns them into the beautiful garden in connection with the school, to learn of God's wonderful works. Next they are told about themselves and their Creator, and then come the books.

A missionary in India writes that the outlook for Protestant missions there was never so favorable as now, because "caste is breaking down; the poor are coming up; the people are broadening out; Christ is honored more; Christian missions are succeeding; the native hold; all feel it is worth the effort."

A great assistance to the work of the missionaries is the Calcutta Press. From the report of translation and literary work, prepared by Dr. Rouse, we learn that the revision and printing of the Bengali Bible is now far advanced. A tentative edition of the Psalms has been issued, and the printing of a commentary on Genesis is just completed. The Cattuck Press has issued during the year over 35,000 tracts and 6,000 Scripture portions.—Union Gospel News.