Number 3. Caste.
YOU cannot read very much about India, without hearing the word “Caste.” Let us try and find out what this word means, for it will help us very much in understanding the state of things in that great country, and we shall also know better the difficulties which all who try to teach the “Hindoos,” or people of India have to contend with.
Well, you must know that the Hindoos have one god whom they say is greater than all the others; his name is Brahma. They believe that this Brahma created men, long, long ago. This is the story they tell about it. They say that out of his mouth came the best and most holy men, the priests or Brahmins. Then the soldiers came out of his arms, the merchants and farmers from his legs; and last of all from his feet came the lowest people, called Sudras, who sweep and do all the commonest work.
People talk of the “Brahmin caste,” “the soldier caste” and so on.
By and by these castes got more divided, and now there are hundreds of castes such as, the weaver caste, the carpenter caste, the washermen caste, and many more.
No one can alter his caste; a child has to be what his father and grandfather were before him, and you will hardly believe it when I tell you that there are robber castes, and even murderer castes, and the little boy whose father belongs to the robber caste, must be a robber too. The Brahmins are by far the most powerful caste; they are treated almost as if they were gods; great blessings are promised to all who are kind to them. Anyone who gives an umbrella to a Brahmin will never more be scorched by the sun, but if a cow is given to him, the giver will go to heaven.
How strange all these stories sound to us who have read the Bible, and who know, because God has told us so, that we are all descended from one father, even Adam, and who also know that there is but one way to heaven, and that is by having faith in the work of our Lord Jesus Christ upon the cross, “Who was delivered for our offences, and raised again for our justification.”
But I must tell you more about the Brahmins; they are not all rich, some of them are very poor, and some of the Sudras are very rich. Does this make any difference in their behavior? Oh! no, a Brahmin is just as proud, even if he has to be a beggar, and a Sudra, if as rich as a prince, is never allowed to eat with anyone belonging to a higher caste, nor would he dare to eat with you, for that would cause him to lose his caste altogether, and he would become an outcast, or “pariah” as those who have lost caste are called.
It often makes a missionary smile when he enters a cottage, to see the people putting away their food with haste, lest it should be defiled by his touch, or even by his shadow falling across it.
If a Hindoo becomes a Christian, he loses caste altogether; he is driven from his home and friends, and has to go through terrible suffering and trial. So you see it is not an easy thing for a Hindoo boy or girl to say, “I believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.”
There was one little girl named Rajee. She went to a missionary’s school, but she would not eat with the other children because she was of a higher caste; so her mother brought her food every day, and she sat under a tree and ate it all alone. At the end of two years, Rajee told her mother that she could no longer worship idols, that she had learned to know the true God, and His Son Jesus Christ. Her mother was very angry when she heard it: She begged her little daughter not to bring disgrace on the family by becoming a Christian.
But Rajee was really in earnest; she wanted to know that her sins were put away, and she was sure that only Jesus could do this; she cared no longer for her caste, and one day she sat down and ate with her school-fellows. When the mother heard of this, she hastened to the school; and seizing Rajee by the hair, she beat her severely, then she was brought home, and cruel sufferings awaited her. The Brahmins, or priests, pretended they could cleanse the child and give her back her caste. Her tongue was burned, and she was treated with the greatest cruelty. At last she was allowed to go back to school, but she was so ill she could not leave her bed. When her mother came to see her, the little child said, “I am going to Jesus, He has washed away my sins, and I am glad to go to Him.” Then she begged her mother to give up her idols, and turn to God, and “then” she said, “we shall meet in heaven.” This was all she could say, and in a short time she was with the dear Lord, who had saved her and given her grace to suffer for His Name.
“Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” Phil. 1: 29.
ML 03/10/1912