India, Its Life and Thought

by John P. Jones

"His death on the cross affords the highest practical illustration of self-sacrifice. He sacrificed His life for the sake of truth and the benefit of the world. In obedience to the will of His Father, He laid down His life, and said, Thy will be done! And surely there is deeper meaning in the fact than even the orthodox attach to it, that the death of Christ is the life of the world...."

In many of the lectures which he gave, and in many of the articles which he wrote, we have evidence of the wonderful place which Christ had in his heart and of the power which He exercised over his thoughts. He exclaims:—

"Blessed Jesus, immortal Child of God! For the world He lived and died. May the world appreciate Him and follow His precepts!... All through my inner being I see Christ. He is no longer to me a doctrine, or a dogma, but, with Paul, I cry, 'for me to live is Christ!'" On another occasion he says:—

"Where, then, is Christ now? He is living in all Christian lives, and in all Christian influences at work around us.... You cannot resist His influence; you may deny His doctrines, you may even hate and repudiate His name, but He goes straight into your hearts, and leavens your lives."

Other leaders of this movement are imbued with the same spirit. The editor of the New Dispensation remarks:—

"As a matter of fact the Brahmoists have accepted Christian truth in a more special sense than Hindus, or even some Christian sects, have any idea of.... The organization of the Brahmo Somaj of India is framed upon an essentially Christian basis. Its missionary staff is Christian, being guided entirely by the principle of 'Take no thought for the morrow.' In its mission office, mottoes are found upon the walls which are all Christian. Almost every Brahmo household has a picture of Christ. The only Life of Jesus in Bengali is by a missionary of the Brahmo Somaj of India. Its truly evangelistical work, the life and conversation of its members, breathe distinctly the spirit and influence of Christ...."

Another Theist writes:—

"Reverently have I sat at the feet of the Jesus of the Gospels to learn the exalted ethics of the Sermon on the Mount. But Jesus, other than a moral force, the truer and higher Jesus, long remained a sealed book to me. Who could know the veritable Christ of God without light from above?...

"Jesus forms the heart-blood of many a Brahmo.... We are ready to sacrifice anything if only by that we are enabled to love and cherish Jesus in our hearts.... The Brahmo Somaj is born to honour and revere Jesus, whatever the result may be."

From these quotations, which might be multiplied indefinitely, it may be seen that the movement has been, to a considerable extent, under the Christ spell and imbued with much of His Spirit. Inasmuch, however, as the movement is an avowedly eclectic one, the Brahmoist was never willing to rest completely under the Christ influence. He gave to Christ, perhaps, a supreme place, but not a unique position, in his life and thought. Jesus was to him one of many, though perhaps a primus inter pares.