127. RELIGIOUS TEACHERS.

I venerate the man, whose heart is warm,

Whose hands are pure, whose doctrine and whose life Coincident, exhibit lucid proof

That he is honest in the Sacred Cause.

To such I render more than mere respect,

Whose actions say that they respect themselves.

-COWPER.

That holy man who stands immoveable,
As if erect upon a pinnacle,

His appetites and organs all subdued,
Sated with knowledge secular and sacred,
To whom a lump of earth, a stone, or gold,
To whom friends, relatives, acquaintances,
Neutrals and enemies, the good and bad,
Are all alike, is called 'one yoked with God.'
The man who aims at that supreme condition,
Of perfect yoking with the Deity

Must first of all be moderate in all things,
In food, in sleep, in vigilance, in action,
In exercise and recreation.*

-"BHAGAVAD-GÎTÂ."

Whoso is pure of heart and sweet of speech,

It matters not if he have a rosary on his neck or no.
Whoso has made clear the way of self-knowledge,
It matters not if he have clotted hair on his head or no.
Whoso is passionless towards his neighbour's wife,
It matters not if there be ashes on his body or no.

* From Indian Wisdom by Monier Williams.

Whoso is blind to another's wealth, and dumb in

blaming,

You may point to him as a saint, says Tukâ.*

-TUKÂRÂM.†

He who has forgiveness in him is blessed. Who does not lose his courage in times of difficulty, who calls no one good or bad, who sees everything as equal, who is pure externally as well as internally, whose heart is pure as the Ganga, Tuka says, at such a man's feet he will keep his head, and give him his body.

-TUKÂRÂM.†

He that negotiates between God and man,
As God's ambassador, the grand concerns
Of judgment and of mercy, should beware
Of lightness in his speech. 'Tis pitiful

To court a grin, when you should woo a soul;
To break a jest, when pity would inspire
Pathetic exhortation; and to address

The skittish fancy with facetious tales,

When sent with God's commission to the heart.

-COWPER.

He that preaches to man, should understand what is in man; and that skill can scarce be attained by an ascetic in his solitudes.

desire, and ought to make the prime object of life, and

• From Sir A. Grant's Translation in Fortnightly Review (1867). † A Marathi poet.

they never test the theory by their own individual experience and practice.

Unfortunately, popular teachers hold conflicting and diverse opinions, and the mass of the unthinking coming, under their influence are swayed hither and thither, and unable to judge for themselves which teacher is right and which is wrong, the general mind becomes thoroughly confused, and evils which are enormous in extent and disastrous in consequences, result alike result alike to individuals and to society at large.

When the master is the scholar? When the will fall into the well. *

-JANE HUME CLAPPERTON.

blind, what is to become of
blind leads the
the blind, both

-KABIR.

Cows are many-coloured; but the milk (of all) has one colour only. Look on knowledge as the milk, and on the teacher as the cows.

* From The Works of H. H. Wilson.

-"SHRUTI."

128. REST AND RECREATION.

Relaxation is profitable to all studies.

For the bow cannot possibly stand always bent, nor can human nature or human frailty subsist without some lawful recreation.

-CERVANTES.

Every one should endeavour so to vary his employments, and so to mix them up with amusement and recreation as to obviate the inevitable consequences of monotony.

-R. CHAMBERS.

Let none decry innocent amusements. They are the means of much real good to the human family. Social merry-makings, not intrinsically sinful, are good and healthful indeed. Let the laugh and innocent joke, the song, the tale go round, for blessings follow in their wake. Many have naturally craving for excitement, which if not satisfied in the manner referred to, will lead their subjects to scenes of sensuality, from which only wretchedness can follow. The producers of innocent amusements and recreation for the people are, then, benefactors of their fellow-men.

It were unjust and ungrateful to conceive that the amusements of life are altogether forbidden by its beneficent Author. They serve on the contrary important purposes in the economy of human life, and are destined

ness

to produce important effects both upon our happithe and character. They are "wells of the desert; " the kind resting places in which toil may relax, in which the weary spirit may recover its tone, and where the desponding mind may reassume its strength and its hopes. They are, in another view, of some importance to the dignity of individual character. In everything we call amusement there is generally some display of taste and of imagination; some elevation of the mind from mere animal indulgence or the baseness of sensual desire. Even in the scenes of relaxation, therefore, they have a tendency to preserve the dignity of human character, and to fill up the vacant and unguarded hours of life, with occupations, innocent at least, if not virtuous. But their principal effect, perhaps, is upon the social character of man. Whenever amusement is sought, it is in the society of our brethren, and whenever it is found, it is in our sympathy with the happiness of those around us. It bespeaks the disposition of benevolence, and it creates it. When men assemble, accordingly, for the purpose of general happiness or joy, they exhibit to the thoughtful eye, one of the most pleasing appearances of their original character. They leave behind them, for a time the faults of their station, and the asperities of their temper; they forget the secret views and the selfish purposes of their ordinary life, and mingle with the crowd around them with no other view than to receive and communicate happiness. It is a spectacle which it is impossible to observe without emotion; and while the virtuous man rejoices at that evidence which it affords of the benevolent constitution of his nature, the pious man is apt to bless the benevolence of that God, who thus makes the wilderness and the solitary place be glad, and whose wisdom renders even the hours of amuse