Chapter XXVIII

CHRIST CRISHNA AND CHRIST JESUS COMPARED.

Believing and affirming, that the _mythological portion_ of the history of Jesus of Nazareth, contained in the books forming the Canon of the New Testament, is nothing more or less than a copy of the mythological histories of the Hindoo Saviour _Crishna_, and the Buddhist Saviour _Buddha_,[278:1] with a mixture of mythology borrowed from the Persians and other nations, we shall in this and the chapter following, compare the histories of these _Christs_, side by side with that of Christ Jesus, the Christian Saviour.

In comparing the history of Crishna with that of Jesus, we have the following remarkable parallels:

1. "Crishna was born of a chaste virgin, called Devaki, who was selected by the Lord for this purpose on account of her purity."[278:2]

1. Jesus was born of a chaste virgin, called Mary, who was
selected by the Lord for this purpose, on account of her
purity.[278:3]

2. A chorus of Devatas celebrated with song the praise of Devaki, exclaiming: "In the delivery of this favored woman all nature shall have cause to exult."[278:4]

2. The angel of the Lord saluted Mary, and said: "Hail Mary!
the Lord is with you, you are blessed above all women, . . .
for thou hast found favor with the Lord."[278:5]

3. The birth of Crishna was announced in the heavens by _his star_.[278:6]

3. The birth of Jesus was announced in the heavens by _his
star_.[278:7]

4. On the morn of Crishna's birth, "the quarters of the horizon were irradiate with joy, as if moonlight was diffused over the whole earth;" "the spirits and nymphs of heaven danced and sang," and "the clouds emitted low pleasing sounds."[279:1]

4. When Jesus was born, the angels of heaven sang with joy,
and from the clouds there came pleasing sounds.[279:2]

5. Crishna, though royally descended, was actually born in a state the most abject and humiliating, having been brought into the world in a _cave_.[279:3]

5. "The birth of Jesus, the King of Israel, took place under
circumstances of extreme indigence; and the place of his
nativity, according to the united voice of the ancients, and
of oriental travelers, was in a _cave_."[279:4]

6. "The moment Crishna was born, the whole cave was splendidly illuminated, and the countenances of his father and his mother emitted rays of glory."[279:5]

6. The moment Jesus was born, "there was a great light in the
cave, so that the eyes of Joseph and the midwife could not
bear it.[279:6]"

7. "Soon after Crishna's mother was delivered of him, and while she was weeping over him _and lamenting his unhappy destiny_, the compassionate infant assumed the power of speech, and soothed and comforted his afflicted parent."[279:7]

7. "Jesus spake even when he was in his cradle, and said to
his mother: 'Mary, I am Jesus, the Son of God, that _Word_
which thou didst bring forth according to the declaration of
the Angel Gabriel unto thee, and my Father hath sent me for
the salvation of the world.'"[279:8]

8. The divine child--Crishna--was recognized, and adored by cowherds, who prostrated themselves before the heaven-born child.[279:9]

8. The divine child--Jesus--was recognized, and adored by
shepherds, who prostrated themselves before the heaven-born
child.[279:10]

9. Crishna was received with divine honors, and presented with gifts of sandal-wood and perfumes.[279:11]

9. Jesus was received with divine honors, and presented with
gifts of frankincense and myrrh.[279:12]

10. "Soon after the birth of Crishna, the holy Indian prophet Nared, hearing of the fame of the infant Crishna, pays him a visit at Gokul, examines the _stars_, and declares him to be of celestial descent."[279:13]

10. "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, behold,
there came wise men from the East, saying: Where is he that is
born King of the Jews, for we have seen his _star_ in the East
and have come to worship him."[279:14]

11. Crishna was born at a time when Nanda--his foster-father--was away from home, having come to the city to pay his tax or yearly tribute, to the king.[279:15]

11. Jesus was born at a time when Joseph--his
foster-father--was away from home, having come to the city to
pay his tax or tribute to the governor.[279:16]

12. Crishna, although born in a state the most abject and humiliating, was of royal descent.[280:1]

12. Jesus, although born in a state the most abject and
humiliating, was of royal descent.[280:2]

13. Crishna's father was warned by a "heavenly voice," to "fly with the child to Gacool, across the river Jumna," as the reigning monarch sought his life.[280:3]

13. Jesus' father was warned "in a dream" to "take the young
child and his mother, and flee into Egypt," as the reigning
monarch sought his life.[280:4]

14. The ruler of the country in which Crishna was born, having been informed of the birth of the divine child, sought to destroy him. For this purpose, he ordered "the massacre in all his states, of all the children of the male sex, born during the night of the birth of Crishna."[280:5]

14. The ruler of the country in which Jesus was born, having
been informed of the birth of the divine child, sought to
destroy him. For this purpose, he ordered "all the children
that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof," to be
slain.[280:6]

15. "Mathura (pronounced Mattra), was the city in which Crishna was born, where his most extraordinary miracles were performed, and which continues at this day the place where his name and _Avatar_ are held in the most sacred veneration of any province in Hindostan."[280:7]

15. Matarea, near Hermopolis, in Egypt, is said to have been
the place where Jesus resided during his absence from the land
of Judea. At this place he is reported to have wrought many
miracles.[280:8]

16. Crishna was preceded by _Rama_, who was born a short time before him, and whose life was sought by Kansa, the ruling monarch, at the time he attempted to destroy the infant Crishna.[280:9]

16. Jesus was preceded by _John_ the "divine herald," who was
born a short time before him, and whose life was sought by
Herod, the ruling monarch, at the time he attempted to destroy
the infant Jesus.[280:10]

17. Crishna, being brought up among shepherds, wanted the advantage of a preceptor to teach him the sciences. Afterwards, when he went to Mathura, a tutor, profoundly learned, was obtained for him; but, in a very short time, he became such a scholar as utterly to astonish and perplex his master with a variety of the most intricate questions in Sanscrit science.[280:11]

17. Jesus was sent to Zaccheus the schoolmaster, who wrote out
an alphabet for him, and bade him say _Aleph_. "Then the Lord
Jesus said to him, Tell me first the meaning of the letter
Aleph, and then I will pronounce Beth, and when the master
threatened to whip him, the Lord Jesus explained to _him_ the
meaning of the letters Aleph and Beth; also which where the
straight figures of the letters, which the oblique, and what
letters had double figures; which had points, and which had
none; why one letter went before another; and many other
things he began to tell him and explain, of which the master
himself had never heard, nor read in any book."[281:1]

18. "At a certain time, Crishna, taking a walk with the other cowherds, they chose him their _King_, and every one had his place assigned him under the new King."[281:2]

18. "In the month Adar, Jesus gathered together the boys, and
ranked them as though he had been a KING. . . . And if any one
happened to pass by, they took him by force, and said, Come
hither, and worship the King."[281:3]

19. Some of Crishna's play-fellows were stung by a serpent, and he, filled with compassion at their untimely fate, "and casting upon them an eye of divine mercy, they immediately rose," and were restored.[281:4]

19. When Jesus was at play, a boy was stung by a serpent, "and
he (Jesus) touched the boy with his hand," and he was restored
to his former health.[281:5]

20. Crishna's companions, with some calves, were stolen, and hid in a cave, whereupon Crishna, "by his power, created other calves and boys, in all things, perfect resemblances of the others."[281:6]

20. Jesus' companions, who had hid themselves in a furnace,
were turned into kids, whereupon Jesus said: "Come hither, O
boys, that we may go and play; and immediately the kids were
changed into the shape of boys."[281:7]

21. "One of the first miracles performed by Crishna, when mature, was the curing of a leper."[281:8]

21. One of the first miracles performed by Jesus, when mature,
was the curing of a leper.[281:9]

22. A poor cripple, or lame woman, came, with "a vessel filled with spices, sweet-scented oils, sandal-wood, saffron, civet, and other perfumes, and made a certain sign on his (Crishna's) forehead, _casting the rest upon his head_."[281:10]

22. "Now, when Jesus was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the
leper, there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of
very precious ointment, _and poured it on his head_, as he sat
at meat."[281:11]

23. Crishna was crucified, and he is represented with arms extended, hanging on a cross.[281:12]

23. Jesus was crucified, and he is represented with arms
extended, hanging on a cross.

24. At the time of the death of Crishna, there came calamities and bad omens of every kind. A black circle surrounded the moon, and the sun was darkened at noon-day; the sky rained fire and ashes; flames burned dusky and livid; demons committed depredations on earth; at sunrise and sunset, thousands of figures were seen skirmishing in the air; spirits were to be seen on all sides.[282:1]

24. At the time of the death of Jesus, there came calamities
of many kinds. The veil of the temple was rent in twain from
the top to the bottom, the sun was darkened from the sixth to
the ninth hour, and the graves were opened, and many bodies of
the saints which slept arose and came out of their
graves.[282:2]

25. Crishna was pierced with an arrow.[282:3]

25. Jesus was pierced with a spear.[282:4]

26. Crishna said to the hunter who shot him: "Go, hunter, through my favor, to heaven, the abode of the gods."[282:5]

26. Jesus said to one of the malefactors who was crucified
with him: "Verily I say unto thee, this day shalt thou be with
me in paradise."[282:6]

27. Crishna descended into hell.[282:7]

27. Jesus descended into hell.[282:8]

28. Crishna, after being put to death, rose again from the dead.[282:9]

28. Jesus, after being put to death, rose again from the
dead.[282:10]

29. Crishna ascended bodily into heaven, and many persons witnessed his ascent.[282:11]

29. Jesus ascended bodily into heaven, and many persons
witnessed his ascent.[282:12]

30. Crishna is to come again on earth in the latter days. He will appear among mortals as an armed warrior, riding a white horse. At his approach the sun and moon will be darkened, the earth will tremble, and the stars fall from the firmament.[282:13]

30. Jesus is to come again on earth in the latter days. He
will appear among mortals as an armed warrior, riding a white
horse. At his approach, the sun and moon will be darkened, the
earth will tremble, and the stars fall from the
firmament.[282:14]

31. Crishna is to be judge of the dead at the last day.[282:15]

31. Jesus is to be judge of the dead at the last day.[282:16]

32. Crishna is the creator of all things visible and invisible; "all this universe came into being through him, the eternal maker."[282:17]

32. Jesus is the creator of all things visible and invisible;
"all this universe came into being through him, the eternal
maker."[282:18]

33. Crishna is Alpha and Omega, "the beginning, the middle, and the end of all things."[282:19]

33. Jesus is Alpha and Omega, the beginning, the middle, and
the end of all things.[282:20]

34. Crishna, when on earth, was in constant strife against the evil spirit.[282:21] He surmounts extraordinary dangers, strews his way with miracles, raising the dead, healing the sick, restoring the maimed, the deaf and the blind, everywhere supporting the weak against the strong, the oppressed against the powerful. The people crowded his way, and adored him as a _God_.[283:1]

34. Jesus, when on earth, was in constant strife against the
evil spirit.[282:22] He surmounts extraordinary dangers,
strews his way with miracles, raising the dead, healing the
sick, restoring the maimed, the deaf and the blind,
everywhere supporting the weak against the strong, the
oppressed against the powerful. The people crowded his way and
adored him as a _God_.[283:2]

35. Crishna had a beloved disciple--_Arjuna_.[283:3]

35. Jesus had a beloved disciple--_John_.[283:4]

36. Crishna was transfigured before his disciple Arjuna. "All in an instant, with a thousand suns, blazing with dazzling luster, so beheld he the glories of the universe collected in the one person of the God of Gods."[283:5]

Arjuna bows his head at this vision, and folding his hands in reverence, says:

"Now that I see thee as thou really art, I thrill with terror! Mercy! Lord of Lords, once more display to me thy human form, thou habitation of the universe."[283:6]

36. "And after six days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John
his brother, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart,
and was transfigured before them. And his face did shine as
the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. . . While he
yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and
behold, a voice out of the cloud, which said: &c." "And when
the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces, and were
sore afraid."[283:7]

37. Crishna was "the meekest and best tempered of beings." "He preached very nobly indeed, and sublimely." "He was pure and chaste in reality,"[283:8] and, as a lesson of humility, "he even condescended to wash the feet of the Brahmins."[283:9]

37. Jesus was the meekest and best tempered of beings. He
preached very nobly indeed, and sublimely. He was pure and
chaste, and he even condescended to wash the feet of his
disciples, to whom he taught a lesson of humility.[283:10]

38. "Crishna is the very Supreme Brahma, though it be a _mystery_ how the Supreme should assume the form of a man."[283:11]

38. Jesus is the very Supreme Jehovah, though it be a
_mystery_ how the Supreme should assume the form of a man, for
"Great is the mystery of Godliness."[283:12]

39. Crishna is the second person in the Hindoo Trinity.[283:13]

39. Jesus is the second person in the Christian
Trinity.[283:14]

40. Crishna said: "Let him if seeking God by deep abstraction, abandon his possessions and his hopes, betake himself to some secluded spot, and fix his heart and thoughts on God alone."[284:1]

40. Jesus said: "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy
closet, and when then hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father,
which is in secret."[284:2]

41. Crishna said: "Whate'er thou dost perform, whate'er thou eatest, whate'er thou givest to the poor, whate'er thou offerest in sacrifice, whate'er thou doest as an act of holy presence, do all as if to me, O Arjuna. I am the great Sage, without beginning; I am the Ruler and the All-sustainer."[284:3]

41. Jesus said: "Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or
whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God"[284:4] who is
the great Sage, without beginning; the Ruler and the
All-sustainer.

42. Crishna said: "I am the cause of the whole universe; through me it is created and dissolved; on me all things within it hang and suspend, like pearls upon a string."[284:5]

42. "Of him, and through him, and unto him, are all things."
"All things were made by him; and without him was not anything
made that was made."[284:6]

43. Crishna said: "I am the light in the Sun and Moon, far, far beyond the darkness. I am the brilliancy in flame, the radiance in all that's radiant, and the light of lights."[284:7]

43. "Then spoke Jesus again unto them, saying: I am the light
of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness,
but shall have the light of life."[284:8]

44. Crishna said: "I am the sustainer of the world, its friend and Lord. I am its way and refuge."[284:9]

44. "Jesus said unto them, I am the way, the truth, and the
life. No man cometh unto the Father, but by me."[284:10]

45. Crishna said: "I am the Goodness of the good; I am Beginning, Middle, End, Eternal Time, the Birth, the Death of all."[284:11]

45. "I am the first and the last; and have the keys of hell
and of death."[284:12]

46. Crishna said: "Then be not sorrowful, from all thy sins I will deliver thee. Think thou on me, have faith in me, adore and worship me, and join thyself in meditation to me; thus shalt thou come to me, O Arjuna; thus shalt thou rise to my supreme abode, where neither sun nor moon hath need to shine, for know that all the lustre they possess is mine."[284:13]

46. Jesus said: "Be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven
thee."[284:14] "My son, give me thine heart."[284:15] "The
city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in
it; for the glory of God did lighten it."[284:16]

Many other remarkable passages might be adduced from the Bhagavad-gita, the following of which may be noted:[284:17]

"He who has brought his members under subjection, but sits
with foolish minds thinking in his heart of sensual things, is
called a hypocrite." (Compare Matt. v. 28.)

"Many are my births that are past; many are thine too, O
Arjuna. I know them all, but thou knowest them not." (Comp.
John, viii. 14.)

"For the establishment of righteousness am I born from time to
time." (Comp. John, xviii. 37; I. John, iii. 3.)

"I am dearer to the wise than all possessions, and he is
dearer to me." (Comp. Luke, xiv. 33; John, xiv. 21.)

"The ignorant, the unbeliever, and he of a doubting mind
perish utterly." (Comp. Mark, xvi. 16.)

"Deluded men despise me when I take human form." (Comp. John,
i. 10.)

Crishna had the titles of "Saviour," "Redeemer," "Preserver," "Comforter," "Mediator," &c. He was called "The Resurrection and the Life," "The Lord of Lords," "The Great God," "The Holy One," "The Good Shepherd," &c. All of which are titles applied to Christ Jesus.

Justice, humanity, good faith, compassion, disinterestedness, in fact, all the virtues, are said[285:1] to have been taught by Crishna, both by precept and example.

The Christian missionary Georgius, who found the worship of the crucified God in India, consoles himself by saying: "That which P. Cassianus Maceratentis had told me before, I find to have been observed more fully in French by the Living De Guignes, a most learned man; _i. e._, that _Crishna_ is the very name corrupted of Christ the Saviour."[285:2] Many others have since made a similar statement, but unfortunately for them, the name _Crishna_ has nothing whatever to do with "Christ the Saviour." It is a purely Sanscrit word, and means "_the dark god_" or "_the black god_."[285:3] The word _Christ_ (which is not a name, but a title), as we have already seen, is a Greek word, and means "the Anointed," or "the Messiah." The fact is, the history of Christ Crishna is older than that of Christ Jesus.

Statues of Crishna are to be found in the very oldest cave temples throughout India, and it has been satisfactorily proved, on the authority of a passage of _Arrian_, that the _worship_ of Crishna was practiced in the time of Alexander the Great at what still remains one of the most famous temples of India, the temple of Mathura, on the Jumna river,[285:4] which shows that he was considered a _god_ at that time.[286:1] We have already seen that, according to Prof. Monier Williams, he was _deified_ about the fourth century B. C.

Rev. J. P. Lundy says:

"If we may believe so good an authority as Edward Moor (author
of Moor's "Hindu Pantheon," and "Oriental Fragments"), both
the name of Crishna, and the general outline of his history,
were long anterior to the birth of our Saviour, _as very
certain things_, and probably extended to the time of Homer,
nearly nine hundred years before Christ, or more than a
hundred years before Isaiah lived and prophesied."[286:2]

In the Sanscrit Dictionary, compiled more than two thousand years ago, we have the whole story of Crishna, the incarnate deity, born of a virgin, and miraculously escaping in his infancy from Kansa, the reigning monarch of the country.[286:3]

The Rev. J. B. S. Carwithen, known as one of the "Brampton Lecturers," says:

"Both the name of Crishna and the general outline of his story
are long anterior to the birth of our Saviour; and this we
know, _not on the presumed antiquity of the Hindoo records
alone_. Both Arrian and Strabo assert that the god Crishna was
anciently worshiped at Mathura, on the river Jumna, where he
is worshiped at this day. But the emblems and attributes
essential to this deity are also transplanted into the
mythology of the West."[286:4]

On the walls of the most ancient Hindoo temples, are sculptured representations of the flight of Vasudeva and the infant Saviour Crishna, from King Kansa, who sought to destroy him. The story of the slaughtered infants is also the subject of an immense sculpture in the cave temple of Elephanta. A person with a drawn sword is represented surrounded by slaughtered infant boys, while men and women are supplicating for their children. The date of this sculpture is lost in the most remote antiquity.[286:5]

The _flat roof_ of this cavern-temple, and that of Ellora, and every other circumstance connected with them, prove that their origin must be referred to a very remote epoch. The _ancient_ temples can easily be distinguished from the more modern ones--such as those of Solsette--by the shape of the roof. The ancient are flat, while the more modern are arched.[286:6]

The _Bhagavad gita_, which contains so many sentiments akin to Christianity, and which was not written until about the first or second century,[287:1] has led many _Christian_ scholars to believe, and attempt to prove, that they have been borrowed from the New Testament, but unfortunately for them, their premises are untenable. Prof. Monier Williams, _the_ accepted authority on Hindooism, and a thorough Christian, writing for the "Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge," knowing that he could not very well overlook this subject in speaking of the _Bhagavad-gita_, says:

"To any one who has followed me in tracing the outline of this
remarkable philosophical dialogue, and has noted the numerous
parallels it offers to passages in _our_ Sacred Scriptures, it
may seem strange that I hesitate to concur to any theory which
explains these coincidences by supposing that the author had
access to the New Testament, or that he derived some of his
ideas from the first propagaters of Christianity. Surely it
will be conceded that the probability of contact and
interaction between Gentile systems and the Christian religion
of the first two centuries of our era must have been greater
in Italy than in India. Yet, if we take the writings and
sayings of those great Roman philosophers, Seneca, Epictetus,
and Marcus Aurelius, we shall find them full of resemblances
to passages in our Scriptures, while their appears to be no
ground whatever for supposing that these eminent Pagan writers
and thinkers derived any of their ideas from either Jewish or
Christian sources. In fact, the Rev. F. W. Farrar, in his
interesting and valuable work 'Seekers after God,' has clearly
shown that 'to say that Pagan morality kindled its faded taper
at the Gospel light, whether furtively or unconsciously, that
it dissembled the obligation and made a boast of the splendor,
as if it were originally her own, is to make an assertion
wholly untenable.' He points out that the attempts of the
Christian Fathers to make out Pythagoras a debtor to Hebraic
wisdom, Plato an 'Atticizing Moses,' Aristotle a picker-up of
ethics from a Jew, Seneca a correspondent of St. Paul, were
due 'in some cases to ignorance, in some to a want of perfect
honesty in controversial dealing.'[287:2]

"_His arguments would be even more conclusive if applied to
the Bhagavad-gita_, the author of which was probably
contemporaneous with Seneca.[287:3] It must, indeed, be
admitted that the flames of true light which emerge from the
mists of pantheism in the writings of Indian philosophers,
must spring from the same source of light as the Gospel
itself; but it may reasonably be questioned whether there
could have been any actual contact of the Hindoo systems with
Christianity without a more satisfactory result in the
modification of pantheistic and anti-Christian ideas."[288:1]

Again he says:

"It should not be forgotten that although the nations of
Europe have changed their religions during the past eighteen
centuries, _the Hindu has not done so, except very partially_.
Islam converted a certain number by force of arms in the
eighth and following centuries, and Christian truth is at last
slowly creeping onwards and winning its way by its own
inherent energy in the nineteenth; _but the religious creeds,
rites, customs, and habits of thought of the Hindus generally,
have altered little since the days of Manu, five hundred years
B. C._"[288:2]

These words are conclusive; comments, therefore, are unnecessary.

Geo. W. Cox, in his "Aryan Mythology," speaking on this subject says:

"It is true that these myths have been crystallized around the
name of Crishna in ages subsequent to the period during which
the earliest _vedic_ literature came into existence; _but the
myths themselves are found in this older literature associated
with other gods_, and not always only in germ. _There is no
more room for inferring foreign influence in the growth of any
of these myths than, as Bunsen rightly insists, there is room
for tracing Christian influence in the earlier epical
literature of the Teutonic tribes._ Practically the myths of
Crishna seems to have been fully developed in the days of
Megasthenes (fourth century B. C.) who identifies him with the
Greek Hercules."[288:3]

It should be remembered, in connection with this, that Dr. Parkhurst and others have considered _Hercules_ a type of Christ Jesus.

In the ancient epics Crishna is made to say:

"I am Vishnu, Brahma, Indra, and the source as well as the
destruction of things, the creator and the annihilator of the
whole aggregate of existences. While all men live in
unrighteousness, I, the unfailing, build up the bulwark of
righteousness, as the ages pass away."[288:4]

These words are almost identical with what we find in the _Bhagavad-gita_. In the _Maha-bharata_, Vishnu is associated or identified with Crishna, just as he is in the _Bhagavad-gita_ and _Vishnu Purana_, showing, in the words of Prof. Williams, that: the _Puranas_, although of a comparatively modern date, are nevertheless composed of matter to be found in the two great epic poems the _Ramayana_ and the _Maha-bharata_.[288:5]

FOOTNOTES:

[278:1] It is also very evident that the history of Crishna--or that part of it at least which has a _religious aspect_--is taken from that of Buddha. Crishna, in the ancient epic poems, is simply a great hero, and it is not until about the fourth century B. C., that he is _deified_ and declared to be an incarnation of Vishnu, or Vishnu himself in human form. (See Monier Williams' Hinduism, pp. 102, 103.)

"If it be urged that the attribution to Crishna of qualities or powers belonging to the other deities is a mere device by which his devotees sought to supersede the more ancient gods, _the answer must be that nothing is done in his case which has not been done in the case of almost every other member of the great company of the gods_, and that the systematic adoption of this method is itself conclusive proof of the looseness and flexibility of the materials of which the cumbrous mythology of the Hindu epic poems is composed." (Cox: Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. p. 130.) These words apply very forcibly to the history of Christ Jesus. He being attributed with qualities and powers belonging to the deities of the heathen is a mere device by which _his_ devotees sought to supersede the more ancient gods.

[278:2] See ch. xii.

[278:3] See The Gospel of Mary, _Apoc._, ch. vii.

[278:4] Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 329.

[278:5] Mary, _Apoc._, vii. Luke, i. 28-30.

[278:6] Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. pp. 317 and 336.

[278:7] Matt. ii. 2.

[279:1] Vishnu Purana, p. 502.

[279:2] Luke, ii. 13.

[279:3] See ch. xvi.

[279:4] Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 311. See also, chap. xvi.

[279:5] See ch. xvi.

[279:6] Protevangelion, _Apoc._, chs. xii. and xiii.

[279:7] Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. 311.

[279:8] Infancy, _Apoc._, ch. i. 2, 3.

[279:9] See ch. xv.

[279:10] Luke, ii. 8-10.

[279:11] See Oriental Religions, p. 500, and Inman's Ancient Faiths, vol. ii. p. 353.

[279:12] Matt. ii. 2.

[279:13] Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 317.

[279:14] Matt., ii. 1, 2.

[279:15] Vishnu Purana, bk. v. ch. iii.

[279:16] Luke, ii. 1-17.

[280:1] Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 259. Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 310.

[280:2] See the Genealogies in Matt. and Luke.

[280:3] See ch. xviii.

[280:4] Matt. ii. 13.

[280:5] See ch. xviii.

[280:6] Matt. ii. 16.

[280:7] Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 317. Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 259.

[280:8] Introduc. to Infancy, Apoc. Higgins: Anacalypsis, vol. i. p. 130. Savary: Travels in Egypt, vol. i. p. 126, in Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 318.

[280:9] Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 316.

[280:10] "Elizabeth, hearing that her son John was about to be searched for (by Herod), took him and went up into the mountains, and looked around for a place to hide him. . . . But Herod made search after John, and sent servants to Zacharias," &c. (Protevangelion, Apoc. ch. xvi.)

[280:11] Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 321.

[281:1] Infancy, Apoc., ch. xx. 1-8.

[281:2] Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 321.

[281:3] Infancy, Apoc., ch. xviii. 1-3.

[281:4] Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 343.

[281:5] Infancy, Apoc., ch. xviii.

[281:6] Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 340. Aryan Mytho., vol. ii. p. 136.

[281:7] Infancy, Apoc., ch. xvii.

[281:8] Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 319, and ch. xxvii. this work.

[281:9] Matthew, viii. 2.

[281:10] Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 320.

[281:11] Matt. xxvi. 6-7.

[281:12] See ch. xx.

[282:1] Prog. Relig. Ideas, vol. i. p. 71.

[282:2] Matt. xxii. Luke, xxviii.

[282:3] See ch. xx.

[282:4] John, xix. 34.

[282:5] See Vishnu Purana, p. 612.

[282:6] Luke, xxiii. 43.

[282:7] See ch. xxii.

[282:8] See Ibid.

[282:9] See ch. xxiii.

[282:10] Matt. xxviii.

[282:11] See ch. xxiii.

[282:12] See Acts, i. 9-11.

[282:13] See ch. xxiv.

[282:14] See passages quoted in ch. xxiv.

[282:15] See Oriental Religions, p. 504.

[282:16] Matt. xxiv. 31. Rom. xiv. 10.

[282:17] See ch. xxvi.

[282:18] John, i. 3. I. Cor. viii. 6. Eph. iii. 9.

[282:19] See Geeta, lec. x. p. 85.

[282:20] Rev. i. 8, 11; xxii. 13; xxi. 6.

[282:21] He is described as a superhuman organ of light, to whom the superhuman organ of darkness, the evil serpent, was opposed. He is represented "bruising the head of the serpent," and standing upon him. (See illustrations in vol. i. Asiatic Researches; vol. ii. Higgins' Anacalypsis; Calmet's Fragments, and other works illustrating Hindoo Mythology.)

[282:22] Jesus, "the Sun of Righteousness," is also described as a superhuman organ of light, opposed by Satan, "the old serpent." He is claimed to have been the seed of the woman who should "bruise the head of the serpent." (Genesis, iii. 15.)

[283:1] See ch. xxvii.

[283:2] According to the New Testament.

[283:3] See Bhagavat Geeta.

[283:4] John, xiii. 23.

[283:5] Williams' Hinduism, p. 215.

[283:6] Ibid. p. 216.

[283:7] Matt. xvii. 1-6.

[283:8] "He was pure and chaste in _reality_," although represented as sporting amorously, when a youth, with cowherdesses. According to the pure Vaishnava faith, however, Crishna's love for the Gopis, and especially for his favorite Radha, is to be explained allegorically, as symbolizing the longing of the human soul for the Supreme. (Prof. Monier Williams: Hinduism, p. 144.) Just as the amorous "_Song of Solomon_" is said to be _allegorical_, and to mean "Christ's love for his church."

[283:9] See Indian Antiquities, iii. 46, and Asiatic Researches, vol. i. p. 273.

[283:10] John, xiii.

[283:11] Vishnu Purana, p. 492, _note_ 3.

[283:12] I. Timothy, iii. 16.

[283:13] Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva. _Crishna is Vishnu in human form._ "A more personal, and, so to speak, _human_ god than Siva was needed for the mass of the people--a god who could satisfy the yearnings of the human heart for religion of faith (_bhakti_)--a god who could sympathize with, and condescend to human wants and necessities. Such a god was found in the second member of the Tri-murti. It was as _Vishnu_ that the Supreme Being was supposed to exhibit his sympathy with human trials, and his love for the human race.

"If _Siva_ is the great god of the Hindu Pantheon, to whom adoration is due from all indiscriminately, _Vishnu_ is certainly its most popular deity. He is the god selected by far the greater number of individuals as their Saviour, protector and friend, who rescues them from the power of evil, interests himself in their welfare, and finally admits them to his heaven. But it is not so much _Vishnu_ in his own person as _Vishnu_ in his _incarnations_, that effects all this for his votaries." (Prof. Monier Williams: Hinduism, p. 100.)

[283:14] Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Jesus is the Son in human form.

[284:1] Williams' Hinduism, p. 211.

[284:2] Matt. vi. 6.

[284:3] Williams' Hinduism, p. 212.

[284:4] I. Cor. x. 31.

[284:5] Williams' Hinduism, p. 213.

[284:6] John, i. 3.

[284:7] Williams' Hinduism, p. 213.

[284:8] John, viii. 12.

[284:9] Williams' Hinduism, p. 213.

[284:10] John, xiv. 6.

[284:11] Williams' Hinduism, p. 213.

[284:12] Rev. i. 17, 18.

[284:13] Williams' Hinduism, p. 214.

[284:14] Matt. ix. 2.

[284:15] Prov. xxiii. 26.

[284:16] Rev. xxi. 23.

[284:17] Quoted from Williams' Hinduism, pp. 217-219.

[285:1] It is said in the Hindoo sacred books that Crishna was a religious teacher, but, as we have previously remarked, this is a later addition to his legendary history. In the ancient epic poems he is simply a great hero and warrior. The portion pertaining to his religious career, is evidently a copy of the history of Buddha.

[285:2] "Est Crishna (quod ut mihi pridem indicaverat P. Cassianus Maceratentis, sic nunc uberius in Galliis observatum intelligo avivo litteratissimo De Guignes) nomen ipsum corruptum Christi Servatoris."

[285:3] See Williams' Hinduism, and Maurice: Hist. Hindostan, vol. ii. p. 269.

[285:4] See Celtic Druids, pp. 256, 257.

[286:1] "Alexander the Great made his expedition to the banks of the Indus about 327 B. C., and to this invasion is due the first trustworthy information obtained by Europeans concerning the north-westerly portion of India and the region of the five rivers, down which the Grecian troops were conducted in ships by Nearchus. Megasthenes, who was the ambassador of Seleukos Nikator (Alexander's successor, and ruler over the whole region between the Euphrates and India, B. C. 312), at the court of Candra-gupa (Sandrokottus), in Pataliputra (Patna), during a long sojourn in that city collected further information, of which Strabo, Pliny, _Arrian_, and others availed themselves." (Williams' Hinduism, p. 4.)

[286:2] Monumental Christianity, p. 151. See also, Asiatic Researches, i. 273.

[286:3] See Asiatic Researches, vol. i. pp. 259-273.

[286:4] Quoted in Monumental Christianity, pp. 151, 152.

[286:5] See chapter xviii.

[286:6] See Prichard's Egyptian Mythology, p. 112.

[287:1] In speaking of the antiquity of the _Bhagavad-gita_, Prof. Monier Williams says: "The author was probably a Brahman and nominally a Vishnava, but really a philosopher whose mind was cast in a broad and comprehensive mould. He is supposed to have lived in India during the first and second century of our era. Some consider that he lived as late as the third century, and some place him even later, _but with these I cannot agree_." (Indian Wisdom, p. 137.)

[287:2] In order that the resemblances to Christian Scripture in the writings of Roman philosophers may be compared, Prof. Williams refers the reader to "Seekers after God," by the Rev. F. W. Farrar, and Dr. Ramage's "Beautiful Thoughts." The same sentiments are to be found in _Mann_, which, says Prof. Williams, "few will place later than the fifth century B. C." The _Mahabhrata_, written many centuries B. C., contains numerous parallels to New Testament sayings. (See our chapter on "Paganism in Christianity.")

[287:3] Seneca, the celebrated Roman philosopher, was born at Cordoba, in Spain, a few years B. C. When a child, he was brought by his father to Rome, where he was initiated in the study of eloquence.

[288:1] Indian Wisdom, pp. 153, 154. Similar sentiments are expressed in his Hinduism, pp. 218-220.

[288:2] Indian Wisdom, p. iv.

[288:3] Cox: Aryan Mythology, vol. ii. pp. 137, 138.

[288:4] Ibid. p. 131.

[288:5] Williams' Hinduism, pp. 119-110. It was from these sources that the doctrine of _incarnation_ was first evolved by the Brahman. They were written many centuries B. C. (See Ibid.)