Land of the Lingam by Arthur Miles

292 Pages·2010·7.74 MB·English

UANUA
THE LAND OF THE LINGAM
by Arthur Miles
(Gerv" Baronte)
Number IX
The PATERNOSTER LIBRAR Y

THE LAND OF THE LINGAM
'ye'
1ft 1M of 1M world. India Iuu neon bem tke '''''''.
and perhaps MV<r will be again. sine, 1M publicali.. of
K.theri"" Mayo's startling book Moth.r India, some
years ago. To Western civllisatiorl Me full UpoSUft of
lJtZTWUJ aspects of India's interior life came as an almost
IUlhtli,,,,bl, shack, and world-jt,ling latterly has be",
intmsifod by th' march of politi<al 'vrols. Yet wiIe"as
Katheri"" Mayo d,alt with Ike subjecl in an eminently
clear, concise, almost scimlific maMt'T, Arthur Jfiles goes
forther, and reveals tke very roots from which 1IfIIICh of
India and Ike Indians has spnmg.
This book is nol concerned with India either ,,!!,sti<al{1
or politically. II treals mainly of Hmm.ism. Ike mosl
hopelus conglomeration of .superstitions since llu world
began. TN author aims at exposing the insanity and
filth that is corrupting two-thirds of India's populalioft
to-day. In the author's conapt;o", it if the caste v'stern,
1IIJt Great Britain, ~ich is_lt¥iia'~ &!~aJt.It~nnny. Until
Hind~ism~ J!!ok!E __~ wn, nothing ClJ!L he Q,fcomp-,jJ!¥d.
In addition to a grtat iIiiil -of informalion of a concrete
and sociological natuTt, lJu autho, retlfa/s lhi tangled,
age-old, superstitious [OTt which is the very warp and
woof of Ihe nation's lif" Blood sacrifice. JaMli<ai $tll
torture, sex hysteria, magic and superstitions, religious
ceremony-all art examintd and dealt with, atld gilltn
an inuresling, explanatory background by an accou~t of
1M l'gend,· q( tke god •.
First PvhlisJud Awpst 1933
Secotttl Impress,;,ok Augt4st I9JJ
TII"d SepteMber 1933
Fourt4 Sepk ... ber 1913
First CAe,," EtlitiOft jaftt4a"y IrJJ7
Mad" .ad I'tio.tcd ,n Gr.t Britain for Hunt" In.cllett, Ltd.,
... ~tenlO5ter HOI15e, Londoo, E.C .••
Loy GUM. WbitcA~ &Gd (.g., LimjLed, N .... Elt. ... CD. 5.£.9-
INTRODUCTION
XK any Hindu to explain his religion, and he wiD
wander off into a labyrinth of words from which
nothing will extricate him but the end of your
endurance. If you comment on his belief, he will tell you
that you do not understand. "You do not understand" is
always the last word of the Hindu.
In spite of the veil drawn over W estero understanding,
when it tries to peer into that conglomeration of superstitions
and myths known as Hinduism, it can at least witness the
working out of a religion which may be ever so idealistic in
theory, hut is quite another thing in praetice. Hinduism
has no definite tenets, and it seems to have no end. The
Vedas, the sacred books of Hinduism, are repudiated by the
Gita in strong language. The Charvakas make fun of them,
calling them the works of lunatics. The Sikhs, a strong
Hindu sect, reject them. Belief in God is not necessary in
Hinduism; for none of the orthodox systems of thought
recognize a supreme being, with the exception of Yoga
(meaning the control of the emotions through postures, etc.),
which is one of the late works.
'It is only necessary for a flood to stop just short of a certain
tree, for the tree to be known thereafter as the reincarnation
of some god. Were the tree not holy, it would have been
destroyed. A temple might be built under it to shelter the
god who had reincarnated in it. Anything may become the
abode oCa god at a moment's notice, and be taken straightway
into the religion. In one of the native states of south India,
a Maharaja Cound a stone in the form of a serpent. A snake
temple was immediately erected on the spot.
A caste may also be formed at any time. The advent of
motor·cars in Bombay started negotiations for a motor·
driver's caste. The men who drove the cars felt superior to
the ,drivers rf e&rriages, .
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8 INTRODUCTION
When a Hindu tells you that you cannot understand his
religion, he is speaking the truth. Neither can he understand
it. You might acquaint yourself with the myths, legends
and creeds derived from Brahmanic sources; you might
study the Vedic, Epic and Puranic periods; you might read
the hymns of the Rig· Veda, the oldest literary document; or
you might wade through the Ramayana, which is to India
what the Divine Cmnedy is to Italy. But even then you
would know nothing of Hinduism, for Hinduism does not
exist outside the impressions made by ever-increasing super
stitions on each individual mind.
No doubt the early Hindus were engrossed by the might
of the elements; and agni (fire), maTuts (winds), 8urya (the
sun), and ushas (the dawn) were invoked to obtain their
desires. They sought the assistance of the elements, not for
their spiritual but for their material welfare. A sinner was
a man who failed to address praises to these elemental
deities. He might have been a robber or a murderer, but
traits of character received no more attention, either spiritual
or mllndane, than they do to-day. The elemental beings
Were content with the offering of the moon-flower (soma),
and the inebriated condition caused by the juice of this
exhilarating plant was the form of worship bestowed upon
the gods.
Later, there creeps into the mystica1language of the Vedic
hymns a desire to penetrate into the mysteries of creation.
But it does not get beyond wondering why the world was
created, and whither it is going. The gods, being subsequent
to the origin of the world, cannot explain its mysteries. The
Upanishads try to explain the meaning of a supreme deity,
but after much metaphysical soaring they acknowledge
the inability of the human mind to comprehend its
essence.
The Puranic period is the decline of Hinduism so far as the
ancient, simple beliefs are concerned. It erects a very
elaborate pantheon with Brahma, Vishnu and Siva as the
principal gods. At this period the occupants of the divine
spheres engage in discord and destruction. Vishnu and Siva
contend for the highest rank. Any divine element seems to
have left them. They are mixed up with worldly concerns,
and disfigured with personal interests.
INTRODUCTION II
A philosophical creed arose at this period called Vedanta.
It was supposed to appeal to the educated classes. It is
based on the belief in one supreme deity, whose perfection is
beyond the comprehension of the human mind.
The popular faith of India to·day is founded upon the
worship of Siva and Vishnu. The head of the triad, Brahma,
seems now to have faded into an abstraction. Practical
adoration is divided between the other two. Vishnu the
preserver and Siva the destroyer.
The Sivaite worship consists chiefly in the worship of the
wives of the god, under the names of Kali, Durga and Parvati.
These so·called wives represent the female energies of the god.
Such energy is used in the performance of the aakta, than
which no more disgusting orgy is known.
The caste system was unknown in the original religion.
It came into being to permit the priests (now included in the
Brahman caste) to exploit the members of all other castes.
The Brahman caste is supposed to be divine, and even the
humblest member of it is sacred.
But if Hinduism is something too divine for comprehension.
the worship of the lingam (phallus) and the yoni (female
generative organ), as practised throughout the length and
breadth of India, is obvious to all who understand sex
hysteria, The lingam stands before most of the temp-re!l;'
ii'ild its ~arious representatipns (sometimes even a pile of
stones) are scattered at intervals along the roads. It exists
everywhere in India, but mostly in the consciousness of the
people.
Sex is the keynote of the Indian's life, from the moment
of birth until at his death he leaves Siva's lingam wrougbt in
some material he can afford (anything from clay to gold).
to win merit for him in the hereafter. His mind must be
continually focussed upon the lingam. In his social and
economic life he must consider it at all times. He must eat
nothing which in any way resembles its form. He must
fight impotency as he would an assassin, for only loss of
physical power can close the door of Siva's heaven.
India can never be a nation until Hinduism, with its
superstitions and beastly rites, is wiped out. India will
remain as she is to·day, ,until her castes, from the corrupt
intelligen,sia of the Brahman cast to the Reddi Bhumalu
10 INTRODUCTION
and Pokunativaru (whose progenitor was bom from one of
the unclean cloths discarded by the goddess Parvati). be
recognized for just what they are. trade unions. Until the
people are divided (if any division is needed at aU) simply
by their trades. and not by any social and .. religious"
barriers existing only in the mind. of the degenerate Brahmans.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
T
HANKS are due to Edgar Thunton, Esq., C.I.E., and
Mr. Govinda Das, M.A., also to the Editors of the
Indian NeW$papers from which extracts have been
quoted; and to my friends, English and Indian, who have
80 kindJ): permitted me to mention certain of their
e.xperiences.
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