LIFE IN INDIA by Saurabh Tankha

Life iru India^

filrc" KRISIINA LAITIJ.

"LIFE {N {ND[A"

,Jil

Mns. Knrsp"inla Latru.

TC)

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1lF:

.r. P. LAITU Esq., District Electrical Engineer,

\lartin & Co,, itluzaffarnagar.

?rinteil by Bai:u l*am Sharrna at ihe "Swatantra" Press, ffuzafarnagai',

Life in nroderrr & oncient India. ---ct\tt

l*=--_-__

If istorv a,nd ottrer sources of informat,ion :::'ucli me n,ith wonder to note the tlifferences i":i\reen the lives oi rnodern and a,ncienb Hindus. t )f course. the wheel of [irle tras taken a tuur ilti chauges are bo talre place according to the ,:rw of Nature, u,iricir indicabes its chang-efulness, :::rs is niceiy described in tlre rvords of a well i-::,-,rrn I{nglish poet:-

"Old order cha,ngeLtr, Yielding place 11, r)ew," 1,r: it should be bor:ne' in mind that, "VirLue is rirtue" in whatet,er stabe it rnay be. It should

rvell being and the rraiisation of seif and truth. It is not oniy the mrlerial objecbs (which,are receiving t]-re most rtiention of the modern peopie) which heJp to r:nise the standard of rnorali ty ar+ progress enr.)ng the nations of the world, but the practice t',i tiutv f.or, "Duty is virtue, virtue is dut;2". Because after all maberiai objects; being changefui. ean afiord nothing which is of a perm.anent Fs carefully sbuch to, for the

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comfc'rts value, t,hey ca,n only yield' plea'sures :r'trd which a,re shorb lived aucl serve as obst'a'cles a't' every st,a,ge in t,tre rva'y of securing the ultirna'te gootl.

This itlea a,bout t'ire ever cha'ngirrg va'lues of by the rna,terial objects was thoroughly realiserl They Hindus or t,he Aryans of Ancienb Irtdia' it' right,ly disca,rded the life of luxury' lvtrich oJ aooUt, desir:r,ble bub not indispensable a'nd lea,dstotbelossoIrnentalbalance.'l,heypreferred the lif e of siurpleness along witir rnoral n'ntI spiribual advancement t'o the present tnot'to of "eat drink antl be merrY"' tlealth. We have seen tirat' t'he Aryaus of healt'hy Ancienb India were a strong, active aud people, full of life a'nd vigour, born of hea'ithy pra'yed for a uncl-brave mot,hers, rvho not only to long iived progency, bub took practicai steps longevit'y for thernselves and their "r."or. chiidren. Ilealth was oonsider:ed the main item upon as of man's liie, and ttre body was looketi effort the seat, of health and disease and every proper correlawas made to secure, not only the tion of all the humours of man's body' but also essentials for peace of mind, which is one of t'he jit e mairrten&nce of life' Not only the preservation of health, but subjugation of senses' was

prirnrrrv r.rb'iecb of the Aryans. tr'or this purpose the pracLices of tire goocl and tire wise rvere urosb sbr:ictly errjoirred (not only in rnr,ttets spirit,ur I but a,lso in physica,l;) t,he neglect of rvhich hrr,s lerl us to t,his pibeous stabe. 'l'o-day, rve find people preferring rnaterial enjoyment,s to tfreir mora I and. pbysical cleveloprnenb. !'or instR,rrce, if a persou hea,rs of a tlu,ncing parby or: any such a,rnusernent, he rvoulcl feel interested and would bry to abbend even at bhe cost of his rvfrole night,'s sieep, but if you go and request hirn to abtencl a sa,crr:d ga,thering, intended for tire good of tire public, ire wiil not get tirne. This indiffere nce to righreousness ancl duty seelns to be one of bhe ciruses of bhe gradua,i shorr,ening of rnan's iife. For, if a person wishes to preserve r, thiug fora longer iirne, he cieans it daily, purifies iL, in tkre s:Irne \\,ay the body is purified by gooti actions and the rnind by goocl thougirts. a,lsc, bire

0ustoms. Of course, many of the ideas of ttrose tirnes r:ega,rding gifts and. external puriby, are everr no\\, currenb arnong the I{indu society. but how vastly inferior is the present life of a Hindu to rvirat it rvas in bhe epic or even Puranic period. Tirere were, then no early marriages (the system being inbrocloced wit,h the predorninence of tire lloharnrnadans in India for bhe sake .-.-4 ./:

----ar:--/

of protecting. the yollng girls a,uti Ia,clir:s fr:orn the cruel a,rrd iurnrrr.iil o,tto,ri., ,rf ;; yav:r,rrs.) In fa,ct, t,ire yeda,s never a,ilory a rna, Itra'rrra'ge of rr' giri ' belorv sixbee. .,';":l:^"

";,,;. period,r u,-*.,ll,"lrJL

:f r,,,:;;_0,;;';i" :il;

\yere cor)rpeiled to intr.oduce this into religiorr, rvhich $,as rhe ,;;i;

ing "

12217,,.

Societ.v \y:rs a,

;ll;t:I;::::I

r,,l,pl" societ.1,,

not lelinquisb tt,.ir, aur,,i,, rl,here people t F a,sts rrr,,l p,r,,Jn".;,;;,;'",;,;ir:t, ;;l.1,'# l:l; of people fasting. everr for a l.hole rrron th, brrt Iheir airn rvas righteousness ou,1 lruti, insteatl of lnere rnortification of body, as \ye lirci t,dav. 'Ihis syste,: .f fa,sti,,g iru. 'U..urrr_ ,;:;:;, ;;;; corr)molt totla,y than a,[ arrv orlter "t, tirrre a,s I believel tirough irr its rvor.s, ..,,... fa,st, do ,or 1ui,e ,,r,y bhing in the l::i:i:::T? the evening, l,trey u,uula ]" Or"Uuro differerb kinds of rich footl and joad their .-tur.,,,"i, over t'iir'i

and above, thinliing that rhey tool< nor,hing in the rnornilg, rviti-r the .u.ott ti.ut instead of doing any good tire fasting do., tl,.,rl ha,rrn. Of course, fasting done a,ccordiug. to its best ..u*, as done by our greatest lea,der Llahabura G:r,ndhi is rnost profitable, But none seems to care for that.

Visits bo sn,cretl places were colnnlon, :l,s now, but the objeob wa,s quite differenb. Ab presenb to a, iittle cuittrrecl cl:lss a,nd to the peasantt';r, ib siurply offers a,n excrtse for wandering to riifferent pla,ces for the sake of allluserYlent, these plrr,ces seern iike the ager-rcies of I'Ioliti or: Salvrlbion; rvithout lrrvittg ttlly idea of it,s rneaning. Had tlris system been given 1rp with t]re prop&ga,Iiorr of rrrohrt,trtma,dilus in Inclia, ib rvould have treen fal bebber. ior horv odd it looks, at lea,st, for tlre lldies to ba,rhe in the open rivers, especialiy on sucir occasions. rvhere bhousancls of rogues flocii si,rnpl,v u,ith a vierv bo have sira,meful sights. I irave lr, good experience, gained at several holy plrces, lilie Hariirvar, ){ut1,m etc. Why to bla,me rhe oursiders ? \{ireu tirose rascals I adopting t,ire na,ues ol Pa,ndits tr,nd Pandas &1'e no less rvicked. \1'biie lire counlry is under suctr a crisis, and half of her 1:opulation gets a rnorsei once & da,y only, these Prr,ndas live Iiiie kings ancr princes, t hey sacrifice hundreds in irnmoral \ya,ys. They are healtb;,, rich and fearless under tire naures of differenb gods. I see no advanta,ge :r,ctluired f rorn this custotn, rvhen harrily five per cenb. have any spiritua,l object in view. For it is said in bhe ]Ia,habharat that merely rvashing the body in water (even if it is nectar)

does not purify one, hu, regar.ded as pure, who

on the other haud is has wa,shed hirnself by

l'Self-deninl,'. (Becau.o,,S.rf a.rrr, ,_ in. garment, with which ""0,r_1 a man ma,y clotire l,irrr*ulf;; ,Ihey, sal,s Srniles). who *horu no anxiety for the past, nor feel any attach;; for rhe presen6, and are free fronr desire, or" *uid to " bu por*esserl of highest purity. r<"r*r.agu i. conduci'e t_o the purity of body as wel I *, tJ th. freedorn frorn desire and cheerfulness *;;. The purity that one aibains by ablutio". "f in-.u"red. waters is infericr to thai atbained by iinowiedge. I,he aUutions, one perforurs *icl u Uf .riog_ rniud in the wa,ters of the knowiedge oi:,Sronrrr,, the "Tirtha" Gii?i) calleJ ,,JIansa,, (aH) i1 (nrcr) or "Self" are Lhe tnre ablutious of those that are conversant with trubh.

life. One may feel sur.prised to see how arrificiai and. devoij rrirllrn"'i"u love our rndia has Among ;:]rT,:::'jJ.',lo," ,llode of

u..,*3

rhey p,,.ti*u ii

.fii:; ?i,'H:'#f.':ffiffi?

their hunger b.y looring ,h" ;;;;;,"tnrorgr, rhe names of different ceremonies and iesrivals wibh_ ouu at all understandiug their rer,l ldeal*. And --Orr,d rhey be btarned ? Wt en they :lI have no money, ro rneans to gain a good education.

Poor pa,rents ! they sorne horv or obher tnake them able to earn their livings. lt offers a pibiable sight to see t,hose who lvete orre rlay a,b the head of t,he Hindu nation, expert in phiiosophy and science and tl'hose spiritualit,;' fn,r exceed'ed, a,re begging f rorn door bo docir. 'l'irey, &ltlotlg wltorn rvere born men, iike Viyas, Kaiidas et,c.' !lle greatesb philosophers ancl poet,s of their ages a,nd' lvlrose lrlelrlor.)/ even no\Y encourages India t,o stantl rrnong the ad.r,a,nced na,tious of the r'r'orld, occupy tlre r,vorst pirlce in the presenl lndia,n cottrtnuuity' 'I'he reilsons leadilg Io t,his deoiine a,re n]any, but self-indulgeuoe and lacli o{ trtoney seems io be the <;hief. I}-rose, who Lrave rnoney, have no consid.era[ron for reiigion or thirst for knowledge. They themselves rvarrL to eujoy a iife of ease a,nt1 indulgence with a,n inclination to teach o[hers ouly by precepbs; bub horv far d.o you expect the people t,o be guided only by precept,s, unless strihing illustrabions &re bef,-ire then. For a,fter all, "exatnple is bebter than precept."

'l'ire attcient mode of Iiving is wholiy solelv upseb. People ca,nnot manage

a,nd

make both ends meet. Not oniy olcl wants have increased, but many nerv and artificial ones have aiso been creabed. Indrrlgence in arbicles of food

and drink, which are entirely unsuited to Indian

clirnabe a,nd constitution, are even more popular among the Hindus of today tira,n aurong [heir predecessors. I arn not a,t ail againsb the presenb refinement, but it shouitl be followed. to tha,t; exbent which suits our constitution, for a,fter all, it tras come wibh foreigners and czlnno[ exacbly rneet our neecls. But who cares for that ! everyt,hing should be done in bhe nall)e of fashion whether it is beneficial or ruinous. Take tea, for instance, as it is gebtirrg ver.y cornmon in every Inclian horne, be it a cott,age or a palace I drre say, it is not at ali in accordance with our climate and is inno way less harmful bo us than it is useful to ttrem (the people of westem eountries). Bub none seelns to pa,y any atbention to these ordinary t,hings, N'hictr produce disastrous consequences. Beca,use we are dresserl like Europeans; we musb lrave a, cup of tea no matter even if ib be the rnonLh of I\{a,y or June. But we never think of ample fruits etc. which a,re talren by the foreigners, AS a supplement to tea in order to moderate ibs evii effect.

'tnspite of all the present inventions, rliseases a1rd vices, quite unknown to our predecessors, gven in the immediate past, not to speak of the remoter ages, are cutting oft the flowers of the nation in their prirne amid their career of use-

I fulness. Every t1a), br:ings its t,ale of a, 1e\,\: disease and the foreigrrers have to invent aremedv for ttre saure, in order to fill their pockets. I

r,r.oncler ! rvhat it is, bhab prevents us frorn appreciating t,he ancienb mode of iife in fndia. In rny opinion we oughb to balie iessons from the past history of India and. should apply tLeur to orrr charrging circuurshauces, our ne\\, rvants and rrerv a,spirabions. Tirab tLrere rviil yet be found a larger porbion of t,he oltl order of things, rv[rictr will be of great use even lolv, is pateut to ever,v observer. Fol inst,ance, bhe value of bhe rules of life given in ,,Charali,, ar.e recogr.rised b1, tbe medical authoribies of Etrrope antl Auerica, if tirey are siurulbaneousl), foliowed they rvoulci give less work to underLakers antl ferver chronic invalids bo the s-orid. 'I,he sanre rnay be said of tire rules of rnolaliiy, and reiigion inculcated in our revered. boolis. If follorvecl, they rviil noI only conduce to the well-being of the nation but sha,ll also pave the rvay towards its pr:ogress in future. Onl}, 61r.re rnust be the will to fcillow thern. "Aflluehce, pro"sperity, modesty,'contentment and fame drveli in labour and skill and not in idieness. Friends are not compebent to give happiness nor foes misery. Thou hast been crerted bv t,he l,Iaker to engage

l0 thyself in rvork". 'l'hese words of Grea,t "Vyas" ougtrt to be kept in hearb by every true Indian'

THE STAGES OF LIFE. of a Hindu in ancieut' lndin' clivided into four Parts:(i) Bra,hma,cha,rYa or PuPilage.

'['he

life

(ii) Gra,sttta,-ashra,rn or Householclership' (iii) Yanprastha or Asceticism. (iv) Saoya,s or Wandering-fri;rrship'

lhild

and fourth were enjoined {or the Brahrlans, I(sha.t,t'ryas and Vyashya's, but

The first,

t,he second, t,hird and fourth \Yere occ&-

sionally {oliou'ed even by Sudras. The first sta,ge began at the a,ge of 12, rvhen the boy was sent, to reside with his Guroo for stuclying and undergoing a,ll physical, nrental a,ncl spiritual cliscipiine. 'I'his Guroo, wir,s no doubt, a grea,t learneil-sa,ge, whose love and ca,re for tLre pupils was even greater than those of the parents. Ile fed, ciothecl, ancl lcclgecl thenr in his own abocle, free of any charge. The pupils were forbidrten to urix with worlclly Inen and were orally taught the different branches of knowledge in accordance with the taste of the stuclents' Of

1t tra've been course, the trretlrocl of be:lctring tnust very pra,ise-wortltv, wtrich insbea'tl of irtjuring t'he heaith las is bhe cese with the rnodern way of ttre t,eaching) inrproved it. '1'his stage ended a't learning' age of 24 rvith the accornplishrnent of pupil with t'he perrnission of his Guroo

1ih"

returned to his farrril;', bub not before maliiug hitn a pt'esent, s'hictr was cailed Guroo Dakstrina not as a fee, for learning \Ya's never sold in ttris countr;', bub a,s a marh of respect' The rr]oney! the t,hus bestorved, was utilisecl to mainblr'in Gurkuls, rather bha,n t'o be spent in his selfinterest. An exa,rnplary parting advice wa's given b"Y bhe Guroo to lris PuPil' the 'l'hen beg*n t,he seconrl stage of life, wlren antl youbh rva,s ntirrried to a girl of suitabie &ge not like the modern custotr, which is prevalenb utt't'ion' among many a, colllmtlnit'ies of the Hinclu to & Lhat a girl of 8 or I is given in marriage man of even 50 or 60 in reburn of money also because gill's fabher's financial condition suit'able does not allow l-rirn to negotiabe wibh a rvitir varies rnatch. Eo*, the price of a husbantl if a' his educational at't'ainurents' For instance' person's son is trl. A', he will proudl5' say' why! my sou is M" A., I have spent so tnuch on his education, he rnust get a bride wiblr a ca'sh

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dowly of Rs. Z0OO/_ or so. fn rbis way poor girls are kept awa,y from gerting goorl husbands, in_ spit,e of all their vr'rbues and beauty. Why shquid the poor be blamed, rvhen

eao*t.a ooi

influerrtial pel'sors have no consider.at i,,,, iu,, ,il bet,terruent, of t,he uation. ,t'he gi,,_ t,fr,,. t"pi frorn being married to suilabie ruatches, :,wa,y become the victims of tbe indulgence ,i rogues, with the result bhat, rvl_ren "ia"rl"i bbe girl comes

youth,

t,be old fellow has to leave .t_o [he 'world a.d poor thing ! srre has to fa,ce ail troubrel and calamities of rvidovhood throughout }rer life, living ab tbe charitv of her relatives a,nd is highi;z criticised if given to corruption. Br.rt a,la,s ! no_ bocly dare iuy resbriction or blarne on these rogues, tire 'destructors of the nation, Tbus we see that our country contains ,h. ;;.;;;; rrumber of widorvs. ,,,no1. of *ho^ a,re e\-en below the. age of g or: g. The ie.lic laws of marriage irrt,roduce us to a st,a,te ,l ;;r;, where men aud women acled as fr.. *g.or. i; rnatrirnonia,l rnatters and where women lyere treated not ns inferior, but as equlrls ,;;;, There was, then, no injunction "f _;*. to ,ourrf age of 8 or 9 or t0 nor was she considered to be a, "Gauri', 1rftt) at-rbe age of s,-unoniri (iife"ft) at the age of g and a majtlen at the age of 10,

a,tta,ining puberty afber: that a,ge as she is supposed to do nor,v. lf girls in a,ncient India had cleveloped so earlv as t,hese days seeru to inilicate, they would nob have produced lrealthy a,nd st,rong sons like Arjun a,nd Bhirn. Both rnen and women were careful in observing their Brahmchan,a for a proper period a,nd entered household on11,' ab bhe proper a,ge. T'he father of the girl had uot to borrow or to b"g for his daughLer''s ruarlia,ge, bub land, cows, jv,ells etc. were gir.en to the best of his rne&ns. Thus the new pa,ir led a rnost dutiful anrl pious life.

nor

After t,rveive ye&rs of householclership, the 3rd stage 'i.e. i' Vanprasbha " bega,n. 'l'here he gradually brierl t,o iessen his wants and to deny hiurself as nruch as possible. At this stage he lelated ail his experience to his sons and daughtersin-law. Without being at, ail a hinderance in their rvills and ciesires, and tnost of his tirne was spent in meclitation.

Thus he caure down to the 4th st,age called " Sanyas " or renuncia,tion. fn this period he rvholly ancl soleiy retired from the rvorld, seaking afber truth, unattached to ali u'orldly objecbs, clnd in rags, living in solitude, rneilitating on God- ancl awaiting his end. 'lire school of Sanvas

was so muclr in fa,slrion ttra,t the best intellectg of the country were found among it. Yyas,

Bhisbma, Yagvalka et,c. who ieft their marks on the minds of the public, rvere all Sanyasis, and no doubt, tire custom is still so prevalent in fndia, but mostly in a rer,terse sense. 'I'trere are, many of tho so-called Sanyasis still,

leailing

a life of slothful ignorance, or even

something worst, cheating the public a,nd especially women of all cla,sses, rvho floci< to them in numbers, solne with the desire for a son, scme for a da,ughter and sorne for riches. Disregarcling the truths of religion, they enjoy secretly the rnost indulging life. But ib shoulcl be borne in urind that though X{other India is in her autumn, yet eyen now, a ferv flowers of her spring bloom here ancl there to remincl the world of the great stanclard of ancient times. Aurong others, the name of Srvami Bhaskaranand of Bena,res is largely honoured. Though not very learnecl, he had a clear knowledge of the subjects of

religion and philosophy and his renuncin,tion and equal love for all was unsur.pa,ssecl.

POSITION OF WOMEN. Such a prosperous conclition of society could alone have prod.ucecl women like Sita, Savitri,

Ilr I)raupiLi et,c. Above all is, "Viswara", a lady of the farnily of " Attri B,ishi " ( q* mf\ ) r,vho disbinguished herself by cornposing hyrnus in honour of Agni 'i.e. the "God of fire" in the Rig Yeda. The wife was reckoned as one of the first membels of the sacrifice and the dictiur of -N[anu that, "Where womel) are honoured, there the gods rejoice and rvhere husband. is pleased with his u,ife and vice versa, there drveiis aii prosperit,y", \y&s not an jdeai but bhe description of :ln nctLrai condition of society of bhat tirne.

Women, insbead of being forced to obey their husbands, were obedient out of their sincere devotion. 'I'he more t,hey clepencled the more t,bey rn,ere honouretl. l\Ien did not take adva,ntage of ttreir dependence ancl wheu occasion iiemanded they (wornen) served them as their best helpers and advisers and rnanaged their affairs in'a way, rvhich will be creditable to t,he best superintendent of even the largest modern estabiishnrent. 'I'ake Draupadi, accordirrg to her own account, she had bhe charge of the enorlrous

household of king "Yudhishtara" (giq&) and she very successfully managed all affairs of the state also. Another striiring instance which is fresh in our rninds is t,hat of Airilya Bai, rvho ha,d bo mle the kingdom after her husband's

death, which I believe, does rrob reqnire rnore explanation. IMomen in tirose d,r;.s, not oriy appeared in bhe public, but their advice rvas also sought for in rnatbers of state as rvas that of Gandhali, the wife <,,f ,,Dhratra,shtrir,,, (EaTTp) on bhe eve of the proposed war between Ka,uravas and Pandvas. I t indica[es t,trlr,t nob only in ";;il;'

householdership, but e.l,en ir, *;;;;;, were expert. I{ow can you expect to have suc}r heroines without a good educaiioo ? Ib shos.s that sons and daughters were equally educabed with a little difference, for instance girls *"ru most,ly given the trainings, useful to lhem in their period of householdership. Napolean sais, "The progress of a lation depends mostly on women". How can we expect sons like ,Abhimanu, (afiro-g) &'Bharat, (Shakuntla,s son) afber whose name India is called tsharat_kha,nd (u<aeqe) from our modern mothers, a considerable dumber of whom are ill-literate or nominally educated ? It should be borne in rnind,that molher's lap i, th; very first school for the child and its training sholld be the best, being most lasting on the mind of the child. The chiid is a great imitalor, he simply copies h'is parents and especially the mother, fo, she is his comph,nion throughout ihe day and night. Not only his educatior; buihis healbh, constitution

1Y' on rpolhel.*?d it ls lrttr-i1 an6 his nature depe*ds Ga1dh1' i"";"U- to niake his character: Mahatrnaatt'ained ' use{ui trainingiis-'

:'""::-;;;; ,i. *"" #;. ";ild du'i"g

his

firsi

wfile,we

1e.ars' him'' to 'be t'oo ,.';*i."0 thrrt' qeriod'' supposino"tr'aining' Mothers and young fot: anv rnsbruction understlnd t!9se lac!.s'i1 should be educat,ecl to

generation: Bgb.lnsteld. ;J;;-;;.'; "r* . better have becor,.e an object :f :i; 'ou*u" an{ c::rs}I,,io3',,,.ot oua iild'ulgence'. "ttll::t rather tttan U"l-it"" of their health ot'etlrtcabion' of a qiri's in man's life. "rirr9 a pq,rrner

$1t1'

end withh-er marlia;g1' narents seerns bo begin'and tinv '''" simplv 'sit,vt: ",; f*:.::t 'i'h; hous6'is lier'r'vortd and serving' ;;i;. i*itru **Lu of boarding, a'*{ Iodgiqg,is-bqy',aim

:#;;-t"*- '

f"-or1re\iabie souf:-ces

, Puldah syst'err5 x'e iearn ancien5 l4dia,.., I!'"q!tu' waB quite *rrk.norru in nredgmi, to,havor:oo,r.ne rnio exislence lvith,the, gi':3t ;;;.. of il'f'oh"'madans and. agt'q -*t.,* of Indian hiod.rro.u io the deveiopment ^life' at1y" frorn Wo*"r; :ii.ying,in ,Purda\ atg kepb, of the world' even having any idea whatsoever ;;;;ffi thb 'fut" walis"of' 't'htii""'horase" r"'fheir .nn*,'n.is..simplY.spoiled,byliving.in..t,he.oloceil is antl oonsequently' e&ucation for tirenr ra r

UOO-e*

l8 tlring, unreachable, with the result that everv new generation is no better ibs p.uoiom one. It is a u.eli_lrnown factttran tlrat wornen and rnen ,,re said to be the brvo rvheels of the wor.lciiy carriage, then whai is tf.u ,=,r,.o, that lr)en

should,enjoy so rrruch liberty, *fr,,u *r*;,,";;" supposed to be simply sllves. As f_. ; ;; Irn.wledge is concerned it is onry sei{is}ruess of nren rvho tra,ve fully impressed ii. rninds; We are not q,,ite uua\yare ,r.u. ;;;; of the brave of,Ahalya Bai, ialist mi nai .;;."i;;;;;; {egds

tields which the purdah r, ouia have never. allorved. Take Sita for instance, -at the tirne oi her husband.'s exile.shu *".o*pr,io.a ,,l.rr, through rvoods and cit,ies r,vithoub even a veil.

No doubb it would have beerr of benefit iir the centur,v of its birth, but now it is i a great hinderance in rhe ud-,ur.uo,i;rtJfil"Jli Strame and blushfulness is a giit Uu.to*.a to lvornen by Na,ture to raise h; position and cornmand respect but purdah is a .r..u.

REFORMS NECESSARY. fndian civilisation cannot be said to be quite ead, but it requires some ne\y life to be infusecl f into ib, and some changes io suib

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Inen[s. \Yhab such chtnges are, I shall now briefl,v a,tbernpb to sliorv:We have seen t,Itrt,t the life of a sbudent was rurr,rl<et1 by strict obserr''it,nce of tire' r'ow of cha'stity' 'I'he saine oughb t,o be the cAse uo\Y.

I{arringe, should non', l.t,s a,lso in bhose da1's be postponed tili the youth is capabie of managing his own a-ffilirs. I'irere tt'ere then uo extrtvrlgances in rturrria,ges a,ird ib should also be sr-r now. Womein were t,hen and ought also to be noq' educated and given bhe plar:e t,hey are fitted for in socieby. Purd.ah system shoulcl be a,Lroiished. Beca,use it is nabural bha,t, the nrore yorl rvish to avoid a thing the more you feei desirous for thllt; for instance if a, persou is forbiclden to eat

for some rellson, he rviil be rnosbiS' t,emphed lo take that, and if he ca.n do so,

rnango

will not even care for

bhab.

The }lindus of thcse bimes were not very mindful o{ personal ease and cortrforts as of their duties, Why shoultl the sa,ure not be the case now ? Of cottrse, we cRttttob revive grea[ sact'iflces, but we can usefully revive their ruies aboub marryir:g at a proper age a,nd having a thorough

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knowledge of t,he principles gf religion and dt1iy. The class which has receivecl the advanba,ge of a rvestern educa,tion, should have more.,consideration forrnation i,ncl no doubt some signs a,rb se,en on the horizon; for pa,renbs and children a,re now a- days qhowilg greaber ea,gerness to st,ud;, t,heir ancien t.ciassics th n l bheir irl u ediate pr:ede..**o.* did, aud a rrovernerrt in filvour of edncrbion in schools and'colleges courbinirrg tLre scientifio t,minirrg of the west with r"lre religious anri philosophical trainirrg of the east is conring iuto proruinence.

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At this junclure India

needs stout anrl brave sons to figirt the babtle 4ranfuli;1, corrrbn,ting evil and securing their orvn good.

to regain tbe place, we once occupied among the civilised nationsof the rvorid is by cherishing the good arorrnd us and dinii_ nishing the evil that surrouucls us, working u.ith a stour heart, as our forefabhers clirl. ff we do so. , , ' =''oir success is assured. ' ,t May He, who is ihe Sovereign, I:ord,o,f allr leacl us from the uureal ro the ,Ll, frour darkj ness to light, froru death to immorbaliby, ,is,the only prayer of bhis humble soul of a d,evotee_ of i\{otherland. l'he only way

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