The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1932, Page 104

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104. THE LUTHERAN PIONEER

Helen Woodsmall Eldridge in Travel. Here is what
she has to say about the temple and the pilgrims
that worship there, especially at the time of one of
the Melas: —

“From the Mela grounds there was a constant
procession winding up the hill and along the road
to the left, which leads to the old river gate of the
fort. Entering the fort by this gate, the pilgrims
found themselves on a road running directly to the
celebrated underground temple, where there is a
sacred banyan-tree, supposed by these devotees to
be eternally growing and blossoming in the dark
dungeon. In reality it is a stump of a tree, fre-
quently renewed at night by the priests, one or more
items added to the long list of deceptions practised
by the priests on these gullible people.

“he tree is in a low, dark inner chamber. It is
decked with banners, tinsel, and flowers, so that
in the dim light of sputtering candles only the out-
line of the trunk is visible. In front of it is the
brass image of Mahadeva, and hung upon it are
masks of various other gods. A priest sits by the
side of the tree and receives the offerings. If the
gift of money is sufficiently large, the devotee is
allowed to offer his gifts personally and to do puja
in front of the tree, where he kneels before the idol,
bowing his forehead to the floor. He then rises,
leans over Mahadeva, and embraces the tree. He
also touches it with the flowers he has brought, after
which he presses these to his lips and then casts
them upon the head of the idol.

“Poor pilgrims, without the money with which
to satisfy the greed of the priests, are herded in
droves along the narrow passage back of the tree.
Many of them catch only a fleeting glimpse of the
precious object, although they all frantically en-
deavor to touch it.

“Just back of the tree is a narrow underground
passage said to lead in a straight line to the sacred
city of Benares, seventy miles away. The gods are
supposed to make their private entry into the temple
by means of this passage. The niches in the walls
of the central chamber of the temple and along the
narrow passage leading to it are filled with grotesque
images of the noted Hindu gods and and famous
fakirs. To each of them the pilgrims make SETS
and do puja.

_ “During the Mela ‘the temple .is- under police

Lore. are admitted until. the;crowd-has passed out.

lid, struggling jam of pilgrims waiting to-be

‘Tegulation, and when the central hall.is full, no

dark passageway is constantly: blocked with -

admitted, those inside are hurried along at a furious
rate. The walls are low, and the reverberation of
their voices makes a curious roar. Indeed, the hur-
rying figures of strange people from many nations,
the gloomy temple with its mysterious shadows and
flickering lights from wicks placed in oil, the crafty
priests, the images of deities, crowned with garlands,
which stare at one from every nook and corner, and
the fiendish shouting, all vividly resembles a picture
from Dante’s Inferno.”

“Yet a Little While.’’

“Yet a little while is the light with you.” So
spoke Jesus to the Jews in the days of His flesh,
just prior to His Passion. But He did not only
say this to the Jews. This was written for us also
who are living in the twentieth century. The Lord
in these words also tells us in most solemn tones
that we should make the most of present oppor-
tunities.

First of all, we should apply them to ourselves
as individuals. We have the light with us; let us
put it to the best possible use. Let us not neglect
to read our Bibles; let us believingly accept the
Gospel which is preached to us. Let us not waste
our Sundays in idleness and amusements, but turn
the hours of worship to sacred use. We have the
light about us and around us and near us on every
side. -Let us make the solemn resolution to walk
by this light while we have it lest we find it taken
from us because we do not appreciate it. An old
Father of the Church once said that the recollection
of lost and misspent opportunities will be the very
essence of hell. Think of the rich man!

But that word of Jesus may be applied also to
the whole Church on earth. The time given to the
Church to carry out its program is short and
limited. ‘The throne of grace will not always be
standing; some day it will make room for the
throne of judgment. The door of salvation by faith
in Christ will-not always be open; some day it
will be shut, never to be opened again. The foun-
tain whence flows the cleansing flood to wash away
sin and all uncleanness will not always flow; and
there -will be nothing but the lake that burns with
fire unquenchable. These are. solemn thoughts,
thoughts that may well fill us with fear and trem-

“bling. “But they are true.

“Yet alittle while is the light with you.”

‘Should not these solemn words arouse us to action?
Should. they not. prompt each one of us to earnest