A Voyage to East India, Account of voyage · Section 16
SECTION. XVI.
Of their votaries, where of the voluntary and ſharpe Penances, that people undergoe. Of their Lent, and of their Faſts, and Feaſts &c.
AMong the Mahometans there are many Votaries they call Derve…ſes who relinquiſh the world, and ſpend all their dayes following in ſolitude, and retiredneſs, expecting a recompenſe (as they ſay and are very well content to ſuffer and wait for it) in that better life. Thoſe very ſharp and very ſtrict Penances which many of this people for the preſent voluntarily undergoe, far exceede all thoſe the Romaniſts boaſt of; for inſtance, there are ſome who live alone upon the tops of Hills (which are clothed or covered with trees, and ſtand remote from any Company) and there ſpend the whole time of their following lives in Contemplation, ſtirring not at all from the places they firſt fix on, but ad requiſita naturae, crying out continually in theſe or the like expreſſions Alla Achabar. &c. that is, God Almighty looke upon me, I love thee, I love not the world, but I love thee, and I do… all this for thy ſake, look upon mee, God Almighty.
Theſe, after they thus retire, never ſuffer the Razer or Sciſſers to come againe upon their heads, and they let their Na…les grow like unto Birds Claws, as it was written of Nebuchadnezzar. D…n. 4. When he was driven out from the ſociety of men.
This people after their retirement, will chooſe rather to famiſh then to ſtirr from their Cells: and therefore they are relieved by the Charity of others, who take care to ſend them ſome very meane covering for their bodies (for it muſt be ſuch otherwiſe they will not accept of it) when they ſtand in neede thereof, and ſomething for their bodily ſuſtenance, which muſt be of their courſer food, otherwiſe they will not take it, and no more of that at one time then what is ſufficicnt for the preſent ſupport of nature.
Some againe impoſe long times of faſting upon themſelves, and will take no food at all, till the strength of Nature in them be almoſt quite ſpent.
And others there are amongſt them they call religious men, who wear nothing about them but to hide their Shame, and theſe (like the mendicant Fryars) beg for all they eate. They uſually live in the skirts or out ſides of great Cities, or Townes, and are like the man our bleſſed Saviour mentions Luk: 8. 27. about the City of the Gadarens, which had Devills, and wore no cloths neither abode in any houſe but in the Tombes. And ſo doe theſe, making little fires in the day▪ ſleeping at night in the warm aſhes thereof, with which they beſmear and diſcolour their bodies. Theſe Aſh-men will ſomtimes take intoxicating things which make them to talk wildly, and ſtrangely (as ſome of our Quakers doe in their ſtrange diſtempers) and then the fooliſh common people will flock about them, and (believing they then Propheſie) hearken unto them with all attention.
A very great difference twixt that people and ours, for there they call mad-men Prophets, and amongſt us there are many prophets which are accounted but mad men.
There are another ſort among them called Mende…, carried on likewiſe meerly by miſs-takes and miſſ-conceiving in Religion; who like the Prieſts of Baal mentioned 1. K. 18. often cut their fl…ſh with knives and launcers.
Others againe I have there ſeen, who meerly out of Devotion put ſuch m…ſſie Fetters of Iron upon their leggs as that they can ſcarce ſtir with them, and then covered with blew mantles (the colour of mourners in thoſe parts) as faſt as they are able, goe many miles in Pilgrimage barefoote upon the hot parching ground, to viſit the ſepulchres of their deluding Saints: thus, putting themſelves upon very great Hardſhips, and ſubmitting unto extreme ſharp penances, and all to no purpoſe. O what pains will ſuperſtition put men unto! It is ſaid of Idolaters, that they haſten after another God. Pſ. 16. 4. or they make poſt-haſt after him. The Philiſtims flock't early, and in troopes to the Temple of their Dagon; A ſhame that Chriſtians ſhould goe ſingly and ſlowly, and many times late (as they doe) unto the houſe of God, dealing with religious duties, as ſchool-boyes doe very often with their leſſons, in minding every thing more than the buſineſs they are about. What pitty it is to ſee people ſo induſtrious in their miſs-devotion in doing things very hard to be done which God never required at their hands! which may make us to believe that if they were rightly made acquainted with what God would have them to doe, they would be carefull in doing it.
Further it is very ſad to conſider, if we thinke of many others borne in the viſible Church of Chriſt that might be happie, and Gods Freemen; yet make themſelves the drudges and ſlaves of Satan, who leades them Captive at his will. For the works of their Father the Devill, they will doe, though never ſo full of trouble and difficulty. The way of tranſgreſſors is hard. Pr: 13. 15. Thus the heart ſet upon covetouſneſs diſquiets it ſelf in vaine; is early up, late at reſt, fares hard and labours hard, to get a little wealth, and it knows not for whom. So it may be further ſaid of many other groſs ſinners, who engage themſelves far, and deepely in other ſervices or rather drudgeries of the Devill, even wearying themſelves to commit iniquity. As of ſtarv'd beggers who make that a calling, which God makes a curſe, to be fugitives & vagabonds; who are ſo in love with their Raggs, and Scabs, and Lice as that they will ſet themſelves in no good way, wherein they might live comfortably; certainely abundance of theſe, as of others I before named (their preſent ſtate and condition rightly conſidered) endure two Hells, one here, and the other, hereafter.
But to returne againe to thoſe Indian Votaries who undergoe ſuch hard things and out of this groſs miſs-take that they doeGod good ſervice in the things they doe. Concerning which actings, Lucretius (though accounted an epicurean and an Atheiſt) in his firſt book, ſpeaks to purpoſe about the Error of Religion.
—Saepius olim
Relligio peperit ſceleroſa atque implafacta▪
oft of old,
Religion bred acts impiouſly bold.
And preſently after he inſtances in Iphigenia ſacrificed to Diana by her owne Father, to procure a winde for the Grecians more ſafe, and more ſpeedy paſſage to Troy.
Nam ſublata virum manibus tremebunda que ad aras
Deducta eſt, non ut ſolenni more ſacrorum.
Perfecto, poſſit claro comitari Hymenoeo:
Sed Caſta inceſte nubendi tempore in ipſo.
Hoſtia concideret mactatu moeſta Parentis:
Exitus ut claſſi felix fauſtus que daretur.
Tantum religio potuit ſuadere malorum.
For in mens armes born to the Altar ſhee,
Was trembling brought; not with fayre rights to be
To famous Hymen led: but the Chaſt maid,
Now ripe for Marriage, fouly thus betrayd,
Fell a ſad Sacrifice by her owne Sare,
So a ſafe voyage might the Fleet acquire;
To that dire fact perſwaded on,
By error of Religion.
When Dionyſius the Tyrant had a ſafe and a proſperous voyage by Sea, as he was returning home from the ſpoyle of a rich Temple, he preſently concluded that the Gods lov'd Sacriledg.
Honeſta quaedam ſcelera ſucceſſus facit, Sen. Trag.
Thus good ſucceſs
Could Rapine bleſs.
Tamberlaine, the Mogols great Anceſter (of whom more afterward) might have drawn as good arguments from ſucceſs as ever any before or ſince him. And who ſo is acquainted with the Hiſtorie of the Turks, as with many other people who have been great in the world, (yet not own'd at all by Almighty God) might from their ſtories draw the like concluſions. But ſuch as have learned Chriſt, and conſequently know better, are taught to conclude better, they having learned of Wiſdome to make Demonſtrative Syllogiſmes a Priori from Cauſes, and not from folly to make Parallogiſmes á Poſteriori, from events and ſucceſſes.
If I enlarge any more on this argument, I muſt further add, that to judg any cauſe good becauſe the ſucceſs is ſo, is to conclude beſides, & againſt, the rule of Chriſt, who commands us to judg not according to appearance, but to judg righteous judgment, Joh. 7. 24. For there is very much deceipt in appearance.
The appearance or face is of things as of men, Fronti nulla fides (is an old proverb) we ſee mens faces, wee cannot ſee their hearts, and therefore there is no certain judgement to be drawn from their Countenances. No more can we make a judgment from the face of things, till wee looke further into them; becauſe, vitia virtutes mentiuntur, vice too oft makes a Maſke of the ſkin of virtue, and lookes lovely, like ſome houſes o… entertainment that have Angels for their ſignes, and Devills for their Gheſts.
A man is naturally apt to think that God is with him while he proſpers though in evill. And tis obſerved of wicked men that they have enjoyed as much, nay more than their hearts could wiſh. The poſterity of Cain before the Flood, were the mighty men, the men of Name, the men of renown, the triumphing men in that old world, and ever ſince that ſpurious race have been the great ingroſſers of outward proſperity: behold, (ſaith the Pſalmiſt, 73. 12) theſe are the ungodly that proſper in the world; But many of the mercyes they receive, if not all, come out of Gods left hand, not in love but anger, as the mutinous Iſraelites had Qvailes in the wilderneſs not to feed them ſo much, as to choake them; they being dealt withall herein much like as the Old Heathens dealt with their Sacrifices, firſt they fed them, and then they crownd them, and then they kild them, the ſubſtance of which I finde thus rendred; Thus Beaſts for ſacrifice they feed, Firſt they are crown'd, and then they bleed.
Thus God advanced and lifted up Pharaoh not in Mercy, but Diſpleaſure, that he might firſt ſhew his Judgments before him; and then upon him. Thou haſt lifted me up and caſt me down, lifted me up very high, that my fall might be greater.
It is moſt true, that nothing comes to paſs, neither can be done without the Knowledge and Permiſſion of Almighty God; thus Good things are done by his Privity, Aſſiſtance and Approbation; things that are Evill, by his Privity, Permiſſion, but not Liking. The wicked are called the ſword of God. Pſ. 17. &c. They do his will in executing his vengeance, ſo Babylon was called the Hammer, and Aſſyria the Rod of the Lord; But theſe Swords, and Hammers, and Rods when they have done the ſervice which was appointed for them to doe, are thrown into the fire, and meet with greater Vengeance afterward, then they had formerly executed. They did the ſecret Will of God, in doing what they did; as no doubt but the Devill did in afflicting of Iob; in winnowing of Peter; in buffetting of Paul; but his recompenſe for theſe and all other his works, is Chains under darkneſs and that for ever and ever. And thus Iudas did the will of God in betraying his innocent Maſter, the Son of God; and conſequently furthering the Redemption of Mankind, but his Reward was ſad for ſo doing; his End, Perdition.
And therefore in all our undertakings, we muſt learn wiſely to diſtingviſh twixt God's approving and permiting will, the firſt of theſe muſt limit us in all the things we ſet about, his ſignifyed, declared, approved will laid down in his Word; We may do the Will of God otherwiſe as it were againſt his Will; do the will of God and have little thanks for our labour in doing things which God permits but approves not,
It muſt needs be therefore a ſin tranſcendently wicked, for any who know God and his Truth, to entitle God and Religion unto actions that are Evill, by fathering proſperous wickedneſs upon them, as if they did at all countenance ſuch things as Reli…ion flatly forbids, and Almighty God profeſſedly abhors.
Religion is the beſt Armour in the World, but the worſt Cloak, and all they who thus put it on, ſhall, firſt or laſt, find no more comfort in it than Ahab found in the Harneſs he put on him as a Diſguiſe, aſwell as for his Defence. 1. K. 22. which he had no ſooner don, but immediately an Arrow (though ſhot at random) found a paſſage through the Joints thereof, and ſo carried away his Life.
But to return again to theſe Mohometans; They keep a ſolemn Lent, they call the Ram-jan, or Ramdam, which begins the firſt Newmoon, which happens in September, and ſo continues during that whole Moon. And all that time, thoſe that are ſtrict in their Religion, forbear their Women: and will not take either Meat or Drink any Day during that time, ſo long as the Sun is above their Horizon, but after the Sun is ſet they eat at pleaſure. The laſt day of their Ramjan, they conſecrate as a day of mourning to the memory of their deceaſed friends, when I have obſerved many of the meanner ſort, ſeeme to make moſt bitter lamentation. But when that day of their general mourning is ended, & begins to dye into night, they fire an innumerable company of lamps, and other lights; which they hang or fix very thick, and ſet upon the tops of their houſes, and all other moſt conſpicuous places near their great Tanks, that are ſurrounded with buildings, where thoſe lights are doubled by their Reflection upon the water, and when they are all burnt out; the ceremoy is done, and the people take food.
The day after this Ram-jan is fully ended, the moſt devout Mahometans in a ſolemn manner aſſemble to their? Miſquits, where by their Moolaas, (ſome ſelected parts of the Alcoran) are publickly read unto them, which book the Moolaas never touch without an expreſſion of much outward reverence.
For their works of charity, there are ſome rich men that build Sarraes in great Cities, and Towns (ſpoken of before) where paſſengers may find houſe-room and that freely, without a return of any recompence, wherein themſelves, and goods may be in ſafety.
Others make wells and Tanks for the publick benefit; Or maintain ſervants, which continually attend upon road-wayes that are much travelled, and there offer unto Paſſengers water for themſelves and beaſts, which water they bring thither in great skins hanging upon the back, of their Buttelos, which as it is freely given, ſo it muſt be freely taken by all thoſe, who deſire to refreſh themſelves by it.
There are ſome which build rich Monuments to preſerve the memories of thoſe whom they have eſteemed eminent for their auſterity and holineſs, theſe they call Paeres or Saints, amongſt whom ſome of thoſe (before mentioned) help to fill their Number, who ſequeſter themſelves from the world (as they think) and ſpend their life alone upon the tops of Hills, or in other obſcure corners.
Now laſtly for a cloſe of this ſection. I ſhall intreat my Reader to call to mind, and to take a ſecond, and a very ſerious view of the reverence and a we which ſeemes (ſo far as eyes can judge) to be in that people; Reverence and awe (I ſay) of the Majeſtie before whom they appear when they are in their devotions.
Whoſe moſt ſubmiſſive carriage in that duty, doth very much condemn infinite numbers of thoſe. who profeſſe Chriſt while they are in Religious ſervices, ruſhing upon, and continuing, in thoſe holy duties, without any ſeeming reverence or regard at all of the dreadfull Majeſtie before whom they appeare, as if God were not, or as if he were not worth the regarding; As if Death, and Hell, and judgment, an everlaſting ſeparation from the prelence of God for evermore, were tearms meerely invented to affright people withall, and as if there were no ſuch places and no ſuch things.
I confeſſe it is true that external Ceremonies, by bowing the body in the performances of Religious duties and the like may be found in the falſhood of Religion, and when a man reſts in theſe alone eaſy performances, it is to complement with Almighty God, & not to worſhip him, yet as he looks for more than theſe in our humble addreſſes to him: So he expects theſe likewiſe, for without all doubt the moſt ſubmiſſive geſture of the body in this caſe may both expreſſe and further the piety of the ſoul.
And therefore though the God of ſpirits, doth moſt regard the ſoul of our devotions, and looks moſt at the heart, while holy duties are performing, yet it is true likewiſe that it is not only unmannerly, but moſt irreligious, to be miſgeſtured in them, the carleſs and uncomly carriage of the body in this caſe, making the ſoul to be prophane & ſignifying it ſo to be. To him will I look even to him, that is poor and of a contrite ſpirit, that trembleth at my words Eſ. 66. 2. I ſhall therefore never be of their mind in this caſe, who think the heart may be devout, when the outward man ſhews no regard.
Sancta Sancté, holy duties muſt be done in an holy manner, great reverence muſt be uſed in them, and therefore when the hands, and knees, and mouth, and eyes, and tongue forget to do their offices as they ſhould, they diſcover an ungodly, as well as a negligent heart, that ſhould command them to do otherwiſe, for as God will be worſhipped in ſpirit; ſo in the outward man likewiſe; otherwiſe St. Paul might have ſpared that precept, which commands thus 1 Cor. 6. 20. Glorifie God in your bodies, and in your ſpirit which are Gods, as if he had ſaid, both are bought with a price, the body redeemed as well as the ſoul, and therefore God looks for, and expects reverence from both.
In all our addreſſes to God, he expects at once familiarity, and feare; familiarity in the expreſſion of our prayers, for we ſpeak not to an implacable an inexorable judge, but to a tender Father, and there fear and reverence to accompany thoſe expreſſions; hence it is ſaid that God is greatly to be feared in the aſſembly of his Saints, and to be had in reverence of all that are about him Pſ. 89. 7▪ and ſerve the Lord in fear, and rejoyce with trembling Pſ. 2. 11. and again, let all the earth fear the Lord, let all the inhabitants of the world ſtand in awe of him Pſ. 33. 8. in awe of him at all times, and in all places, but eſpecially there, where he is in a more ſpecial manner preſent, as he hath promiſed to be in his ordinances. The Lord is in his holy Temple, Heb. 2. 20. when Jacob was in his journey to Padan-Aran, he had a viſion in the way, which ſignified and ſhewed unto him nothing but love, merciemercy, and comfort, and peace, yea, he cried out how dreadfull is this place, &c. Gen. 28. 17. Almighty God is altogether as awfull to his own in his mercies, as he is in his judgements. Great is thy merci…, O Lord, that thou mayeſt be feared, not ſlighted, not neglected, but feared. For to them who have a through acquaintance with God, there is no leſſe Majeſty ſhines in the favours of God, than in his judgements and juſtice, the wicked heart never fears God, but thundring, or ſhaking the eartl; never but then when he appears moſt terrible, but the good can dread him in his Sun-ſhine, when he appears moſt gracious, and ſo they do, and ſo they muſt.
Primus in orbe Deos fecit Timor,—it is a ſaying that hath much truth in it, though ſpoken by a Heathen, becauſe the foundation of Religion is fear, without which there can be no Religion; as Lactantius wiſely argues, ſaying, quod non metuitur contemnitur, quod contemnitur non colitur; that which is not feared is contemned, and that which is contemned cannot be worſhipped, from whence it comes to paſſe, that Religion and earthly power muſt needs be very much ſupported by fear. Firſt Religion expreſſed in all our duties to God, if I be your father where is my honour? if your maſter, where is my fear, Mat. 1. 6. Secondly obedience manifeſted in our ſubjection to men, unto the powers here below, whom God hath appointed to bring, & to keep men in order, is very much regulated by fear, for were it not for this prop that holds up governments, it would preſently be diſſolved: were it not for this curb to reſtrain men, for that cord to lead ſome, and to compel & binde others, all ſocieties of men would preſently run into diſorder, Kingdoms and Common-wealths would immediately come to confuſion.
I ſhall conclude this digreſſion with a moſt remarkable example, when Ehud came to Eglon (though an idolater, and a Tyrant) and told him that he had a meſſage to him from God, Judg. 3. 20. he aroſe preſently out of his ſeat or Chair of ſtate, and though the unwildineſs of his fat body was ſuch, that he could not ariſe with readines and eaſe, yet no ſooner doth he hear news of a meſſage from God, but he riſeth as faſt as he was able from his Throne (that he might not ſhew himſelf unmannerly in the buſineſs of God) and reverently attend to the tenor thereof; though it proved as ſharp a meſſage as could be delivered, or received. Now
How ſhall thoſe Mahometans before mentioned, and this Heathen mans carriage condemne thouſands, nay, moſt of thoſe which call themſelves Chriſtians, that ſhew no more reverence nor regard at the hearing of meſſages from God whatſoever they be, than if they heard an old wives fable; that neither when they ſpeak unto God by the mouth of their Mininiſters, nor when God ſpeaks to them by the ſame mouth, ſhew any outward regard, reverence, or reſpect, ſuch an Atheiſme for the generality poſſeſſeth their hearts. But I return again to that people, and in the next place ſhall ſpeak.