THE GODS OF THE HINDOOS.
My dear Children--The word heathen is applied to those who worship
idols, or who do not know any thing about the true God. This is the case
with this people. They say that there is one supreme being, whom they
call BRAHM; but he is very different from Jehovah, and is never
worshipped. Generally, he is fast asleep. In the place of Brahm, they
worship many gods--gods of all colors: some black, some white, some
blue, some red--gods of all shapes and sizes: some in the shape of
beasts, some in the shape of men; some partly in the shape of beasts,
and partly in the shape of men, having four, or ten, or a hundred, or a
thousand eyes, heads, and hands. They ride through the air on elephants,
buffaloes, lions, sheep, deer, goats, peacocks, vultures, geese,
serpents, and rats. They hold in their hands all kinds of weapons,
offensive and defensive, thunderbolts javelins, spears, clubs, bows,
arrows, shields, flags, and shells. They are of all employments. There
are gods of the heavens above and of the earth below, gods of wisdom and
of folly, gods of war and of peace, gods of good and of evil, gods of
pleasure, gods of cruelty and wrath, whose thirst must be satiated with
torrents of blood. These gods fight and quarrel with one another. They
lie, steal, commit adultery, murder, and other crimes. They pour out
their curses when they cannot succeed in their wicked plots, and invent
all kinds of lying tales to hide their wickedness.
There are three principal gods, who compose what is called the Hindoo
triad. Their names are Brumha, Vrishnoo, and Siva. They were somehow
drawn from Brahm's essence, on one occasion when he was awake. Brumha,
they say, is the creator of the world, Vrishnoo the preserver, and Siva
the destroyer. Brumha has no temple erected for his worship, on account
of a great falsehood which he told. I will tell you what it was. Once,
as it is said, there was a dispute between him and Vrishnoo, as to who
is the greatest. While thus disputing, Siva appeared between the two as
a fire-post and told them that he who would find the bottom or the top
of the post first, would show that he is the greatest. Vrishnoo
immediately changed himself into a hog, and began to root up the earth
with the hope of finding the bottom of the post. Brumha changed himself
into a swan, flew up towards the top of the post, and cried out, I have
found it, when he had not. This, you know, my dear children, was a
falsehood. For this falsehood, it is said, no temple is erected for his
worship.
Vrishnoo was a thief and a liar. He was once dwelling in the house of a
dairyman, and he used constantly to be stealing butter and curdled milk
from the dairyman's wife. She did not know, for a long time, what became
of her butter and curdled milk; but at last she found out that Vrishnoo
was the thief. To punish him for his theft, she tied him to a rice
mortar.
Siva's conduct was very bad. I will tell you but one thing about him. On
one occasion he was playing at cards with his wife Parvathe. Vrishnoo
was appointed to determine who was the best player. After playing for a
little season Parvathe won the game. Siva then beckoned to Vrishnoo to
declare that he, instead of Parvathe, had won it. This he did. In
consequence of this falsehood, he was cursed by Parvathe, and changed
into a snake.
And now, my dear children, why do I tell you about these gods? I tell
you for the purpose of making you thankful that you were born in a
Christian land, where you have the Bible to teach you better things. Had
you not the Bible, you would worship just such wretched beings as these
poor Hindoos worship. Perhaps you know that our Saxon fathers, before
they had the Bible, were as great idolaters as are this people. They
worshipped Thor and Woden and other similar idols, and they were even in
the habit of offering up human sacrifices Surely, if there is any thing
which should make you give your hearts to your Saviour and love him
above all things, it is God's gift of the Bible to you.