SOMETIMES the priest goes from house to house, visiting people in their homes, and these visits are a time for enriching himself. Let us make a call or two with our friend, Hiraloll Maharaj, and see how he is received. As he draws near to the house of, some of his people, they see him approaching and they come out and fall at his feet. He blesses them, then they rise and give him a seat outside. They then bring a pan of water, take off his slippers and wash his feet. Next they bring from a trunk or box inside, a handkerchief that has never been used, .and which has been kept for this purpose, and with this they wipe his feet. Then they lift his feet very carefully and place them on a bench which had been placed in front of him. This being done, they begin to pray over the water in the basin which is now holy since Hiraloll’s feet were washed in, it. They now put enough “bits” in the water, to equal a crown, or thereabouts.
Hiraloll then takes the money out of the water and puts it in his pocket, and this done, he gives the water, in which his feet had been washed, to the household to drink, and after this draught they are more holy”! Oh, the uncleanness of darkness!
After these preliminaries, Hiraloll enters the house and receives offerings from the household, who look upon him as a god. When this is through with, he tells the family what the gods say, and then he blesses the different members of it. All this being over, our young priest settles down and remains a day or two days, feasting on all the good things they are able to set before him, at the end of which time he passes on to another house to receive more money and offerings, and to be feasted afresh. This continues until he has made the round of his people.
When he comes to the house of a rich man, who has, cattle, the man will bring in a calf, and the priest will take hold of it by the tail. According to the dark teaching he has had, he believes that the calf will carry him over Jordan (death) into heaven, when the time of judgment comes. You would think the heaven of the Brahman, a very strange place, or perhaps I. should say rather, a strange thing. But I must leave this for another paper. I may tell you something of this, and a little more about their gods another time.
Before leaving you this time I will just say that the priest returns home after his round of visits, a rich man. And Hiraloll thought himself quite worthy of all, the homage, and all the offerings he received.
ML 10/30/1904