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
istories 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.)