Benares is the most sacred town of India.  It is to the Hindoos what Mecca is to the Mahomedans, or Rome to the Catholics.  The belief of the Hindoos in its holiness is such that, according to their opinion, every man will be saved who remains twenty-four hours in the town, without reference to his religion.  This noble toleration is one of the finest features in the religion and character of this people, and puts to shame the prejudices of many Christian sects.

The number of pilgrims amounts annually to 300,000 or 400,000, and the town is one of the most wealthy in the country, through their trading, sacrifices, and gifts.

This may not be an improper place to make some remarks upon the religion of these interesting people, which I extract from Zimmerman’s “Handbook of Travels.”

“The foundation of the Hindoo faith is the belief in a superior primitive being, immortality, and a reward of virtue.  The chief idea of God is so great and beautiful, its moral so pure and elevated, that its equal has not been found among any other people.

“Their creed is to worship the highest Being, to invoke their guardian gods, to be well-disposed towards their fellow-men, to pity the unfortunate and help them, to bear patiently the inconveniences of life, not to lie or break their word, to read the sacred histories and to give heed to them, not to talk much, to fast, pray, and to bathe at stated periods.  These are the general duties which the sacred writings of the Hindoos enforce, without exception, upon all castes or sects.

“Their true and only god is called ‘Brahma,’ which must not be confounded with Brahma who was created by the former, who is the true, eternal, holy, and unchangeable light of all time and space.  The wicked are punished and the good rewarded.

“Out of the Eternal Being proceeded the goddess Bhavani, i.e., Nature, and a host of 1,180 million spirits.  Among these there are three demi-gods or superior spirits, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, the Hindoo Trinity, called by them Trimurti.

“For a long time, happiness and content prevailed; but they afterwards revolted, and many gave up their allegiance.  The rebels were cast down from on high into the pit of darkness.  Hereupon succeeded the transmigration of souls; every animal and every plant was animated by one of the fallen angels, and the remarkable amiability of the Hindoos towards animals is owing to this belief.  They look upon them as their fellow-creatures, and will not put any of them to death.

“The Hindoo reverences the great purpose of nature, the production of organized bodies, in the most disinterested and pious manner.  Everything tending to this end is to him venerable and holy, and it is in this respect alone that he worships the Lingam.

“It may be affirmed, that the superstitions of this creed have only gradually become an almost senseless delusion through corruption and misunderstanding.