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VARNA, he claims, has deteriorated into the present perverted caste sys¬ tem “ as understood and practiced to-day, a monstrous parody of the original, a distortion to be demolish¬ ed ”, requiring urgent reform, “ to which the Brahmin priests, custo¬ dians of religion ” are opposed. They do not wish the “ rampant tyranny of caste” to cease, for, as Gandhi claims, “ the law of VARNA is a special discovery made by Hindu seers by means of severe austerities ”, What then is the original ‘VARNA- ASHRAM-DHARMA ’ advocated by Gandhi ? (The meaning may be given as the religious duty of remain¬ ing in the inherited religion, profes¬ sion and social group of one’s father and ancestors). Gandhi defines it as follows : “ The law of VARNA means that every one shall follow as a matter of DHARMA (duty) the here¬ ditary calling of his forefathers, in so far as it is not inconsistent with fundamental ethics. It ordains that every one shall fulfill the law of one’s being by doing in a spirit of duty and service that to which one is bom, and this only for the purpose of earning one’s livelihood. Failure to follow the law of VARNA is large¬ ly responsible both for our economic and spiritual ruin. VARNA means pre-determination of the choice of man’s profession. These professions can be brought under four main divisions : (1) That of teaching, the duty of the Brahmins, occupying the top position of the social and religious pyramid. (2) That of defending and ruling, the Kshatryas : King's and soldiers. (3) That of wealth-producing, the tradesmen, wage earners, called Vaishyas. (4) That of service and labour, the Sudras : serfs, coolies,, sweepers, etc. The VARNAS are to be four in number, but may be more or less. The only profession of a man’s heart should be the profession of his fathers. By changing this profession he de¬ grades himself and falls from VARNA. He is not to arrogate a VARNA to which he is not born. A tailor for instance may not become a blacksmith, even though both belong to the Vaishya class.” So far Gandhi. Opponents of his VARNA system claim that it preserves caste and of necessity leads to untouchability. Gandhi admits that “ VARNA- BHARMA having become distorted gave rise to untouchability ; not due to deliberate wickedness, but the result was a human tragedy. ” Ex¬ actly ! It cannot be otherwise. The picture explains in graph-form that the VARNA system advocated by Gandhi also condemns generation after generation in every profession to prison-cells in each tier of the pyramids structure. No man must ever be free to move from one profes¬ sion to another, nor aspire to a higher or lower class. A sweeper’s children and children’s children must remain sweepers eternally, being assigned to this calling by the law of VARNA. It is the vicious caste-system over again in the same old mould. No pei son should ever desire to earn a livelihood in any other than his in¬ herited profession, irrespective of the special gifts God may have given him. -The Biahmin must retain his posi¬ tion on top ! M.P.D. IN PREPARATION. India's struggle for freedom is by no means only political. Should complete independence come tomorrow, India will not be internally free. Freedom involves much more than merely eliminating a foreign ruler. Internal unity and freedom are hindered not only by the great gulf between the 250 million Hindus and all other groups. There still remain the 3,000 caste divisions among the Hindus themselves. Even Mr. Gandhi’s proposal to decrease the number to four will not bring complete unity and freedom. The caste system will continue to hinder political, economic, social as well as religious freedom. Freedom of social movements and freedom of conscience are not encouraged by Hinduism. A recent book on sociology appeared in America in which the author frequently uses the word ‘ caste ’ when he evidentally means ‘ class and nothing more than this. These terms are not at all iden¬ tical and cannot be used interchangeably. The basis and structure of caste are vastly different from ordinary social and economic ‘ class ’ distinctions and differences. In the latter a person is free to move vertically into a higher class, or horizontally to any other class. It is not so in the rigidly static caste system. Fundamentally caste and class are poles apart, and not to be confused with each other as if they mean the same thing. The title of the proposed book, “ UNTWISTING A 2,000-YEAR TWIST ”, is adapted from a sentence from Dr. Ambedkar’s recent book : ‘ What Congress and Gandhi Have Done To The Uutouchables “ You cannot untwist a 2,000-year twist of the human mind and turn it in the opposite direction. ” The contemplated book will give the history of the origins and growth of the caste system, the disabilities it has inflicted on the Untouchables, and the efforts put forth to un¬ twist the ancient twist. The proposed chapters are : 1. The Strands — presenting the various origins of caste. 2. Twisting Begins— caste taking on definite religious, social and economic forms. 3. Twisting Continues. 4. Untwisting Attempted— by reformers, including Gandhi. 5. Retwisting— reaction against attempts to end caste. 6. The Twist Untwisted— relating some facts how Christianity is actually untwisting the ancient and modern twist of caste- mind. M.P.D. *• Marvel Not ! ” “ God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son.” John 3 : 16. It is not strange that we have detached the above Christmas message from Jesus’ midnight conversation with Pandit Nicodemus, the seeker. ‘ God gave His Son this Christmas gift we readily and gladly appropriate, but the preceding intro¬ ductory ‘ must ’ we relegate to the distant background of our thinking. Like Gandhi and many others who are ‘ nearly persuaded we welcome the new Kingdom of God with its fruits and gifts of an enriched and abundant life, but ignore the condi¬ tion imposed. We all alike crave union and fellowship with God, eternal life, peace of mind and happiness, a New Day. To this God says : ‘ Yes, but marvel not, ye must be born again ! — It wounds man’s dignitjr to admit it ; Christians often evade it ; twice-born Brahmins resent it ; the natural man objects to it : ‘ Give us a New Order, God’s Kingdom, without the need of being born again.’ Like Nicodemus in the fading moon of the early morning hours we stand perplexed : “ How can these things be ? ” Christ’s disturbing answer will not leave us : “ Ye must be born again, — the Son of Man must be lifted up, — because God so loved the world that He gave Him.” To make this Christmas message real, lest the festival be a hollow celebration, the Church must keep John 3 : 1-21 intact, a complete whole, for only when God’s prescribed conditions are observed can His Christmas gift and His Kingdom become a reality. (M.P.D.) “ How can these things be? 343 Fairfield Ave. Bellevue, Ky. Raipur, C. P. India On the way ! -pn. Rev. K. W. Nottrott and Family — 1914 The Church at Bisrampur, India (Rev. Nottrott served as pastor from 1905 - 1914) ££***.1^1*. fa-*. Cs&. /870 . I 1 i pAS ; J^USVBi>ew^l!Ui^liawraS£tf^SSWm<!BMRRlR!M^;l!Ui^GaMIUL'l|Si0!!ra*i!&07;.GaMULlGaKUrp KlSSjj ^ ^ I ?srew; gn wwn*i I GOD'S WAY OF LOVE 8 By M.P. DAVIS i - - - — - i 1 I i I 8 f^: qft srtf toot % fror to ro *|jtt i | sr§ i \ i | esGwaffiKSiGms: fis^ia^min^i’ca*^ fiSKunsM&l neon O'"5* sm II ( \ ) STRffa JTat^, cTl^t 9*JR 5RI^ I ws ctr^ sm rrf^wir, ritt n ( * ) srfecr, sitfta smjt If, I SRI 3ufa JTlfi ITR STSJf 3it, '+TR 3[Hfr II ( 3 ) sm 5K?jr sigfaF; *tt 31^ gfa> w ^ f ^ 3^ *& ^ n ( y ) srrc^K ^rr *it, sgfa 3f| i 3q\ fe^R qft Tft STT, JT^Il5? 51^1$ II ( i ) WlfMcT TR \, *f Tf<ft S3 tiraTOCT, *R gfa Sft^ll ( % ) 3 sro zmi ^f, 9§srr ^hjh I ‘^na’ fi fir^ smfo ma\ m, vu <i<smj <3^ n ( Eev. P. D. Gottlieb, sigsr^ ) A-D. /A/0/A* ARTiif' A®. of® /a . DAILY WORSHIP