Vermont Telegraph

From the New England Spectator.

SOUTHERN ASIA.

The following letter was furnished the Cincinnati Journal by the society of Inquiry, in Lane Seminary—Anacan is a country of Asia in the East coast of the bay of Bengal, bounded on the east by Burmah, to whose king it is subject. Mr. Comstock is a Baptist Missionary. This letter is rich in facts and will reward a faithful perusal.

Kyouk Phyoo Anacan Sept. 30, 1836.

To the Society of Inquiry, Lane Seminary.

DEAR BRETHREN:—The inhabitants of this Province, like those of Burmah, to whose king they were formerly subject, are considerably advanced in civilization and their system of worship is free from those cruel sights which too frequently attend paganism. I cannot therefore, tell of human sacrifices, and other scenes of suffering and blood, as connected with the idolatry of this land. Of the materials which kindled, and have led the missionary flame in America, for years, I am destitute. I know that the accounts which have reached us from the vicinity of the great temple of Juggernaut, from the banks of the Ganges, &c., are startling, and call loudly for the benevolent action of the philanthropist and Christian, but do they present the principal or real evils of idolatry? They tell only of bodily suffering, while the blighting and fatal influence of heathenism upon the mental and moral powers is unnoticed. Perhaps my feelings on this subject, result entirely from my circumstances. Boodhism is one of the mildest forms of idolatry. I have not therefore, witnessed any peculiar wretchedness as constituting a part of the worship of this people; on this account, I have been led to investigate the influence of their religion upon those noble faculties which distinguish man, till I begin to look almost with indifference, upon the other, and less important effects of paganism.

But, leaving myself, let me say something about the heathen.

Among all the women of Burmah and the adjoining provinces, I presume there is not one in a thousand who can read. Their knowledge is confined to cultivating the earth, taking fish, preaching vice, selling a few cents worth of articles in the market &c. Ask them if they can read, and probably a loud laugh at the absurdity of the question will be your only answer. Most of them are strenuous supporters of idolatry, why they know not, except that their fathers were so. Mrs. C. sometimes asks them where their God is, or some similar question, and they not unfrequently reply with a laugh or vacant stare, "I am a woman, what do I know about such things?" There is, I am told nothing in the law of Gaudama forbidding woman to read, but the priests, who have the principal charge of education, are expressly prohibited teaching them. This provision is considered necessary on account of the celibacy of the priests, & the result is, that the women are almost universally untaught. As they cannot read, they are considered by the men as knowing nothing, and in this opinion they heartily acquiesce. They, therefore, believe whatever they are told to, and seem to think that they have no right to investigate any thing for themselves, or to believe differently from the men. In short, they are in a state of perfect mental bondage, through the direct influence of their religion.

Boys commence learning to read when they are ten or twelve years old. Previous to this, they are to be found playing in the street or loitering about the market. They are not, however, allowed to express an opinion on any subject, the result of their own thought, till they are about twenty years old. I have sometimes been pained, after a long conversation with young men, in which their judgments seemed convinced of the truth of the Christian religion, by the final answer, "I am young and cannot come to any definite conclusion, till the old men have expressed their opinion.' This results from the instructions which are given in the sacred books in reference to the respect which the young are to entertain for the opinions, &c. of the aged; and these instructions are enforced by threatened punishment on the one hand, promised blessings on the other.

Of the men, perhaps a majority can read, but all their books are of such a character—that it is a matter of serious doubt whether they derive any real benefit from their reading. I am not fully acquainted with their system of astronomy, but, I know nothing in it which is true. They believe that the earth is flat, that the sun and moon move round it, &c. &c. They say that when the sun is eclipsed, it is caught by a great Nat (a being superior to man,) who lives on an undiscovered planet and occasionally in sport swallows the sun or moon.

The system of geography is as false and fabulous as that of astronomy. They tell of a great central mount, surrounded by four great islands, &c. They live on the island, which is more than 125,000 miles in width. To this, their geographical knowledge is principally confined. In locating countries, &c., they begin with the great banyan tree, under which Gaudama became a god, and calculate distances in all directions from it, by day's journeys. They say that it is impossible for the inhabitants of one great island to pass to another on account of the immense distance between them. Should a child start for Abyssinia mount, he would be an old man before he reached it. It is impossible to go and return in one lifetime. On this account, together with the fact that my face is not six feet long, (as they say the faces of those who live on the western continent are,) the nations refuse to believe that I came from America.

Some days since, I asked an old priest what was under the earth, he said air, under the air fire, under the fire water, under the water a great stone, and what was under the great stone no one could tell.

You can judge from the above facts, of scientific knowledge of this people. Their books, however, are principally religious. They consist of very fanciful and foolish descriptions of hell, the Nat country, &c. and contain an account of the feats performed by their gods before they arrived to godship. The Burman gods were some such heroes as Gulliver and Sinbad the sailor. I should also observe that the astronomy and geography of the nations are revealed by their god, and of course are regarded with as much sacredness as truths more strictly religious.

You can now form some idea of the knowledge of those who understand all the Burman books. One of the most learned men in all this region called on me a short time since, and I asked him why he believed his sacred books? He hesitated a long time, and finally said, that he believed them, because they declared if men did not perform good works in one state of existence, they would be poor, in the next. &c. and as he observed men poor in this world, he believed the sacred books, and said I, do you know any thing about the existence of these poor men, he answered no; how do you know then, I asked that their poverty is the result of neglecting to procure merit in a former state. Because, he replied, the sacred books say so. This was the only reason he could give for his belief. My teacher tried to excuse him the next day, by saying that I asked hard questions. The truth is that the people do not know any reason for believing the religion of Gaudama, except that their fathers did so before them; and this they consider, the very best of reasons.

Some of the natives possess naturally fine mental powers, they are palsied and destroyed. You may, therefore, contemplate these millions, created in the image of God, with natural powers which might fit them to associate with seraphs, groping their way in darkness down to the regions of everlasting night: and is there nothing in the destruction of so many minds, to excite to efforts for the diffusion of true science, which necessarily include their religion, over these dark places of the earth?

These minds are all to act throughout eternity, and is there nothing desirable in turning them to a course of action which will secure their endless progression in knowledge and happiness? I have not time to pursue the subject farther now.—Think of it dear brethren, pray over it and act benevolently and promptly in reference to it.

Yours, in a precious Savior,

G. S. COMSTOCK