India on the March

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1922 Excerpt: ...the Hindu community. Lala Lajpat Eai, the best known leader of the Arya Samaj, frankly acknowledges that educated Hindus are alarmed at the numbers of outcastes who are becoming Christian. He calls upon his countrymen to give up their prejudices and admit the outcaste. He says, The Christian missionary is gathering the harvest, and no blame can attach to him for doing so. He is in this country with the message of his God, and if the Hindus forsake their own people, he, in any case, will not fail them. The following is from a vivid description of the ceremony whereby an outcaste group was actually converted to Hinduism by a member of the Arya Samaj. The account tells of the steps taken for the purification of the outcastes and of the assembly of the higher caste people to see the final ceremony. After taking the vow of clean living and clean thinking, and pouring in his libation to the fire, the hour-before-human-shapedsoulless animal rises up at the command of the teacher, metamorphosed into a full-fledged human being, with a distinctly perceptible light of the soul shining in his features. The high-caste men of the village take candies offered by his hands, lead him to the village well, and permit him to draw water out of it. The body, with its newly possessed soul, quivers at the unexpected indulgence and hesitates for a moment; but the fraternal encouragement of the whole village community gives him heart, and, led by the Guru, he walks up the steps of the well and pulls the rope. His centuries-old disabilities are removed by this one act, his self-respect is restored to him, and his sense of humanity completed. For though a Sudra still, he is no longer untouchable, his touch pollutes no more. How many have thus been r...