From the caves and jungles of Hindostan

FROM THE CAVES AND JUNGLES OF HINDOSTAN.

until then, he lived entirely secluded in the jungle, like the ancient naked philosophers original: "gymnosophists" mentioned by Greek and Latin authors. During that time, he was studying the chief philosophical systems of the Land of the Aryans original: "Aryavârtta" and the occult meaning of the Vedas with the help of mystics and hermits. All Hindus believe that on the Badrinath Mountains (22,000 feet above sea level) there exist spacious caves inhabited for many thousands of years by these hermits. Badrinath is situated in the north of Hindustan on the Bishegunj River and is famous for its temple of Vishnu in the heart of the town. Inside the temple there are hot mineral springs, visited yearly by about fifty thousand pilgrims who come to be purified by them.

From the first day of his appearance, Dayanand Saraswati made an immense impression and earned the nickname the "Luther of India." Wandering from one town to another—today in the South, tomorrow in the North, and moving from one end of the country to another with incredible speed—he has visited every part of India, from Cape Comorin to the Himalayas, and from Calcutta to Bombay. He preaches the One Deity and, "Vedas in hand," proves that in the ancient writings there was not a word that could justify the worship of many gods original: "polytheism". Thundering against idol worship, the great orator fights with all his might against the caste system, child marriages, and superstitions. Criticizing all the evils grafted onto India by centuries of sophistry original: "casuistry" and false interpretations of the Vedas, he blames the Brahmans for them. He says openly before crowds of people that they alone are guilty of the humiliation of their country—once great and independent, now fallen and enslaved. And yet, Great Britain finds in him not an enemy, but rather an ally. He says openly: "If you expel the English,

IN BOMBAY.

then no later than tomorrow, you and I and everyone who rises against idol worship will have our throats cut like sheep. The Muslims original: "Mussulmans" are stronger than the idol worshippers; but these last are stronger than we."

The scholar original: "Pandit" held many heated disputes with the Brahmans, those treacherous enemies of the people, and has almost always been victorious. In Benares Now Varanasi, secret assassins were hired to kill him, but the attempt failed. In a small town in Bengal, where he treated idol worship original: "fetishism" with more than his usual severity, a fanatic threw a huge cobra onto his naked feet. There are two snakes deified by Brahman mythology: the one that surrounds the neck of Shiva on his idols is called Vasuki; the other, Ananta, forms the couch of Vishnu. So the worshipper of Shiva, feeling sure that his cobra—trained specifically for the mysteries of a temple original: "pagoda" of Shiva—would at once end the offender's life, triumphantly exclaimed, "Let the god Vasuki himself show which of us is right!"

Dayanand jerked off the cobra twining around his leg and, with a single vigorous movement, crushed the reptile's head.

"Let him do so," he quietly agreed. "Your god has been too slow. It is I who have decided the dispute. Now go," he added, addressing the crowd, "and tell everyone how easily false gods perish."

Thanks to his excellent knowledge of Sanskrit, the scholar original: "Pandit" does a great service, not only to the masses by clearing up their ignorance about the monotheism of the Vedas, but to science as well. He shows exactly who the Brahmans are—the only caste in India which, for centuries, had the right to study Sanskrit literature and comment on the Vedas, and which used this right solely for its own benefit.