1 46 HISTORY OF THE PANJAB.
2 pledge given by the members of the great Indian nation to one another.
3 Tt is the backbone of Indian society. It is the great inheritance bequeathed
4 to them by their forefathers. It is founded on the law of nature, the law
5 of nations, The Persian poet says :—
6 Slsyk Ure elt ere °° ans
7 BLL GLE Bgl sigh
8 “Every bird takes wing with one of its own species ;
9 Pigeons keep with pigeons, hawks with hawks,
10 Change of customs Some of the changes that have taken place among the Hindus of the
11 among the Hindus. nresent day are remarkable. The old Hindu dress is changed. It is now worn
12 only by the Brahmins. Under the civilization of the ancient Hindus, women
13 enjoyed full liberty. They were not condemned to live in seclusion, nor were
14 they treated as inferiors. A woman was poetically called “ the light of the
15 house” Women were not bought with money, as were Egyptian and Chinese
16 women, but they were treated on terms of equality with men, “ Where the
17 females are honoured,” said the ancient Hindu sages, “ there the deities are
18 pleased; but when they are dishonoured, then all religious rites become use-
19 Influence of Mahom- legs.” Influenced by the Mahomedan custom, Hindu women in many families
20 snore gastems ~~ are not allowed to appear in public; though the ourda custom among them
21 has never been very rigidly observed. The marriage of widows was not prohib-
22 ited. The king was the guardian of all widows and unmarried women. A
23 woman was the sole owner of property brought by her to her husband’s house;
24 and it was iuherited by her daughter. She could dispose of it at her pleasure
25 without any restriction, Hindus, in ancient times, never lent money for
26 gain. The taking of interest now forms the principal part of Hindu money
27 transactions. Following the Mahomedan custom, the rule of monogamy
28 has been relaxed among the wealthier Hindus,
29 Hing rustemeol the As an indispensable duty, a Hindu must wash before meals. For the
30 purpose of ablutions a running stream is preferred to standing water.
31 Men and women go to the riverside to bathe early in the morning, and
32 on their return bring a brazen vessel filled with water, the use of which
33 at home is considered most auspicious. If through old age, infirmity or
34 sickuess, a man cannot go to a stream to bathe, he must perform the neces-
35 sary ablutions at home. Hindus repeat their prayers with their faces turned
36 towards the east. Their mythology, side by side with the Egyptians, is the
37 oldest in the world, and it reaches the profoundest depths in its efforts to
38 ie ce sound the mysteries of the universe. In its purity it breathes a spirit of sub-
39 tnt the prutvun dest lime devotion and adoration to one immortal spirit, it inculcates benevolence
40 - to mankind, gentleness to all living creatures, and a spirit of self-denial and
41 indifference to this transient world. Some passages in the Code of Mant,
42 giving a description of mortal beings, of the woes and sorrows of this world,
43 and of the happiness of the world to come, are of singular beauty, and I quote
44 them here from the excellent work of Sir William Jones, Speaking of the
45 present state of being, the writer says :— -
46 “A mansion with bones for its i
47 r rafters and beams; with nerves and tendons for
48 cords ; with muscles and blood for mortar ; with skin for its outward covering ; filled
49 with no sweet perfume, but loaded with excrements ; a
50 anes mansion inhabited by age and sorrow, the-seat of matady,
51 oa with the quality of darkness, and incapable of standing lone 3 such a
52 a of the vital son] let the occupier always cheerfully quit ; ¥
53 eee a tree leaves the bank of a river, or as a bird leaves the branch of a tree, thus
54 eaves his body is delivered from the ravening shark of the world.” ;
55 harassed] with pains,
56 Sri Satguru J agjit Singh Ji eLibrary NamdhariElibrary@ gmail.com