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RELIGIOUS SECTS
nor wrath, neither fool nor sage to him. JAGJIVANDÁS asks, does any one know a man so exempt from infirmity who lives apart from mankind and indulges not in idle speech?"
ŚIVA NÁRÁYANÍS. This is another sect professing the worship of one God, of whom no attributes are predicated. Their unitarianism is more unqualified than that of either of the preceding, as they offer no worship, pay no regard whatever to any of the objects of Hindu or Mohammedan veneration. They also differ from all in admitting proselytes alike from Hindus or Mohammedans, and the sect comprises even professed Christians from the lower classes of the mixed population.
Admission into the sect is not a matter of much ceremony, and a Guru, or spiritual guide, is not requisite; a few Siva Náráyanís assemble at the requisition of a novice, place one of their text books in the midst of them, on which betel and sweetmeats have previously been arranged. After a while these are distributed amongst the party, a few passages are read from the book, and the sect has acquired a new member.
Truth, temperance, and mercy are the cardinal virtues of this sect, as well as of the Sádhs; polygamy is prohibited, and sectarial marks are not used: conformity to the external observances of the Hindus or Mohammedans, independently of religious rites, is
