Life and religion of the Hindoos. : $b With a sketch of my life and experience.Gangooly, Joguth Chunder
Religion
Life and religion of the Hindoos. : $b With a sketch of my life and experience.
Gangooly, Joguth Chunder
Hindus; India -- Social life and customs
Again, I do not--though I have tried to do so--observe the formalities
and use the local phrases as much as they do here. There are some fixed
set of words which the people use, such as “How are you?” “Fine day, or
weather,” etc. These do not show real warmth of the heart, but come out
of the national disease of loquacity, I believe. My training has been
quite different, so I am liable to make a great many mistakes. Once
more, I would say, Christian friends, if I have done any wrong to any
of you, take it as unintentional and overlook it charitably.
Let it be known to you once more, that I go to India, but not to my
_Home_. You have frequently heard me say that on account of my
embracing the Christian religion I cannot live with my Hindoo mother
and other dear friends,--or rather, they cannot live with me. I am
going as a lamb among wolves; and in days of trials, sorrows, and
discouragements, I shall look first to my Father in heaven, and then to
you as my brothers and sisters. I go to preach and teach the truth to
my beloved countrymen, in your name and under your auspices, and I look
to _you_ for your help, prayers, and blessing.
The cause of Christ suffers severely from the injudicious preaching of
the Missionaries who go out to India from western countries. They think
that anything outside the Bible is _humbug_, _untrue_, and
_nonsensical_. They tell the Hindoos that their Holy Books contain
no truth, and that they themselves are going headlong to everlasting
damnation. These errors and follies I will carefully avoid. I would not
offend a Hindoo by insulting his gods, or puzzle him with a doctrine of
a Triune God and its attendant absurdities. I know the best way for me
will be to take a Hindoo saying, and present its truth in a practical
way. In order to attract respect, I would rather appeal to the Hindoo
Scripture, if it serve my purpose, than to Isaiah, Job, or Solomon. St.
Paul, while in Greece, appealed to a poet of the country, and thereby
secured the attention of the people. One can preach years from texts
taken from Hindoo proverbs, such as, “If you wish to be the greatest,
be the humblest,” “Feel for the world as you do for yourself.” Will you
say these are _humbugs_ because they belong to the Hindoos? No.
Christ uttered these very things. What I most earnestly want to do, is
to take Truth wherever I find it, and present it to my brethren in the
spirit of Christ, and show its applicability to our lives. If we are
faithful and labor patiently and prayerfully, aiming at the glory of
God and the good of Man, success will be ours. Our part is to sow and
water, and our Father will give the increase.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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