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aware that in whatever Zillah you may inquire, the supreme authority therein will be found to be in the Lands of Christians from Europe. How has it happened that they are in possession of such dignity, wealth, and power* If you reflect a little on this point you will be able to judge for yourselves which religion is regarded with favour by the God of all worlds, and also to learn something respecting
His thoughts and will in general.
The state of the case is as follows. Hindiism, or the worship of Siva and Vishnu, prevails in this one country only. The people of this one country alone worship as gods Siva and Krishna, Hanumin, Vinayika, Subrahmanya, and various similar gods. The very names of these divinities are unknown in every other country. If vou ask the people of other nations whether there is a God by whom they have been created, they will generally answer that there is, seeing that Ilis eternal power and Godhead are understood by the things that he has made; but if you ask them about Siva and Vishnu, they will reply,“ We know nothing about theiie. Who or what are they? Are they men or beasts> In what country do the people worship them as
gods?”’
Seeing then, that Siva, Vishnu and the rest of the Iindu divinities are worshipped as gods by the people of this country alone, if they were really gods they would certainly be very gracious to the people of this country. They are always represented in the Purinas as influenced by human friendships and aversions, and, therefore, if they possessed any strength at all, they would certainly give proof of it by abasing the white men who do not worship them, and
by exalting their worshippers, the people of this country.