Show A TEMPLE RITES AND ceremonies BY WHICH THE IDOL IS HONORED A complex institution over which ta chiefa cate exerile Ex ercle supreme receiver tj aad their method the hindai temple of any riza or pre ia x complex institution it is a grona of buildings within one or more walla it possesses certain privileges granted by native rulers in days glae by and baill respected by the present government it enjoys what may almost be termed a royal revenue from houses landa and offerings and aesha hoards of treasure in jewels gold and euver vessels and coins the property is in the bands of trustees who are elected or who claim an hereditary right to the office tebesa anva power over an enormous wealth under unscrupulous trustees jewels have disappeared or been replaced with glass pots of silver and gold coin have been refilled with copper rich lands have been let at a nominal rent to their relatives and offerings intended for the temple have been appropriated personally occasionally a arns tco is prosecuted for hia dishonest practices but it ia not often that he ia punished the erection of the hindmo temple is the work of a slow system of evolution some holy man perhaps dies on the spot or he has an ecstatic vision ol 01 the god in one of the incarnations the space is invested with sanctity and an image set up to the deity the landowner straightway builds a small shelter over it to propitiate the god in his favor the ground around the edifice is next with a fence by and by the shed ia removed and something more pretentious and lasting erected the dewan or prime minister of the province makes a pilgrimage to the shrine and leaves a rich offering in the handa of the brahmans Brah mans who have instituted themselves as receivers trustees and ministrants mini more pilgrims come offerings in kind aa well as in jewels and money pour in and new buildings are erected courts halls galleries a tank pillared platforms walls gateways and towers slowly grow around the shrine the center point of the edifice other shrines of affiliated deities may group themselves near the original but the mulas ia al ways the same the imago of the deity to I 1 whom the temple is dedicated and it is i tha scene of daily ceremonies at all risks it must be jealously guarded against the intrusion of any but the twice bora when olive took the temple of the largest in southern india and a powerful stronghold in those days 2000 fierce stood before the door of the Mulas declaring that the europeans should only pass in over their dead bodies their superstitions were respected and clive left the fanatics in possession in preserving the integrity of the sacred shrine the hindmo haa something more to consider than his religious scruples the restitution of the divine or maneric essence is a very expensive and lt l t suma of money for its different antes at V eaf lore there ia a handsome which was desecrated years ago by the mo hamm edans they a cow in the Mulas the building now stands empty and unoccupied and the european may go into outer and inner court as ha pleases the Mulas is a small hall richly decorated with carvings it contains nothing but a stone dais on the face of which ia a tortoise in outline the image rested formerly on the tortoise there ia a small gutter around the platform which conducted the ea cred water used for the ablutions of the idol into a reservoir outside pilgrims drank of this water eagerly in belief of its miraculous powers of healing and purification tho temple would probably bo used again by hindmo worship era if money were forthcoming sufficient to restore the divine essence the idol is not usually made of wood or stone it is molded in an amalgam of five metals gold silver brass copper and lead in size it is smaller than the human figare it is not called a swami antil the maneric essence has been infused into it by the proper ceremonies these are performed by the who claim the power of placing the essence in any object animate or inanimate that they choose sometimes the object is a man the chief trustee or he is then said to be divine and is called biami and moreover is worshiped as a god the daily ritual which con ceres only the idol takes place inside the shrine at intervals during the day no worshipers are present except those who are part in the function the image is tended in every minute particular as though it were a living human being nothing is omitted it is washed with water from the it is dressed and fed it is supposed to take pleasure in the company of the dancing girls it sleeps and wadres and finally is put to bed during its toilet hymns of praise are eung lamps are lighted camphor and incense burned and the ia frequently introduced part of the revenue of the temple pays for all of this and a great many brahmins Brah mins find their occupation and their living in it the ritual of the festival is much more imposing the image is covered with plates of gold and loaded with jew els it is carried in procession upon a huge car surmounted with a throne of it may now appear before the eyes of all and it makes a magnificent journey around the outer courts of the temple which are open to all casts and through the town offer angain kind and in money and jewels are received the dancing girls are to be been their charms enhanced by rich aad gold they are the daughters nd wives of the god and the children ot the devil the value of their charms tebea to swell tho offertory considerably chambers journal A postal tube across the english channel the proposed plan for the postal tuba between france and england isto suspend two tubes each about three fiefia diameter by means of thrown across the channel feet above the lavel of the water these cables are to be fixed to pillars choso whoso will be the rocky bottom 01 me cna anci each pillar yards from his fellow if the plan as proposed is consummated trains each carrying of mail matter will run thron yli tb blada |