The above interesting account of the Bishnois by Mr. Wilson shows that
Jhambaji was a religious reformer, who attempted to break loose from
the debased Hindu polytheism and arrogant supremacy of the Brahmans
by choosing one god, Vishnu, out of the Hindu pantheon and exalting
him into the sole and supreme deity. In his method he thus differed
from Kabir and other reformers, who went outside Hinduism altogether,
preaching a monotheistic faith with one unseen and nameless deity. The
case of the Manbhaos, whose unknown founder made Krishna the one
god, discarding the Vedas and the rest of Hinduism, is analogous
to Jhambaji's movement. His creed much resembles that of the other
Hindu reformers and founders of the Vaishnavite sects. The extreme
tenderness for animal life is a characteristic of most of them,
and would be fostered by the Hindu belief in the transmigration of
souls. The prohibition of liquor is another common feature, to which
Jhambaji added that of all kinds of drugs. His mind, like those of
Kabir and Nanak, was probably influenced by the spectacle of the
comparatively liberal creed of Islam, which had now taken root in
northern India. Mr. Crooke remarks that the Bishnois of Bijnor appear
to differ from those of the Punjab in using the Muhammadan form of
salutation, _Salam alaikum_, and the title of Shaikhji. They account
for this by saying they murdered a Muhammadan Kazi, who prevented
them from burning a widow, and were glad to compound the offence
by pretending to adopt Islam. But it seems possible that on their
first rupture with Hinduism they were to some extent drawn towards
the Muhammadans, and adopted practices of which, on tending again to
conform to their old religion, they have subsequently become ashamed.