Advice to the Indian Aristocracy/Chapter 5
SOME BAD HABITS.
I. DAY versus NIGHT.
In former times, on account of constant battles between neighbouring Zamindars and on account of the frequent troubles caused by Fituridars and gangs of robbers, petty Zamindars living in the forests and near to the hills, used to wake all night to protect their property and to spend the day-time in sleeping. Their descendants even up to the present day have the same habit, and keep to it because it was the habit of their fathers. But they never think of the necessity which bred the habit in their ancestors. Their officials, ordinary visitors, etc., have to keep awake till after midnight to see such Zamindars. The Zamindar may have got accustomed to such an extraordinary habit, but how trying it is for officials and others to turn night into day! The poor ordinary visitors who go to see the Zamindar must wait till midnight. I hope such Zamindars will think over the matter and change their habits so as to fit them for modern times,
2. MARRIAGES.
In consideration of the vast demands that modern civilisation makes on our energies and thoughts, I need hardly say that no man should have more than one wife at the same time. But some of our present-day Zamindars, I regret to say, marry more than one, generally two wives. I knew a Zamindar (who died lately), who had seven married wives at the same time. But that is an extraordinary case. They marry more than one simply because their fathers did so. But they never think of the circumstances which led their fathers to marry more than one. It might be that the first wife was found to be barren or a sickly woman; or that some other Zamindar offered his daughter in marriage with a large dowry—a temptation too strong to be resisted.
In the ancient days, about the time of the battle described in the Mahabharata, there was a custom that on invitation every Rajah should go to the Swayamvaram (self choice). It was a grand assemblage called for by the bride's father or brother for the bride to elect a bridegroom from among the Rajahs invited. If then the bride elected any one of them, he should marry her whether he was already married or not.
In those days there was another custom too. If one Rajah went against, and conquered another one, the conquered used to offer his daughter or sister in marriage as a mark of his allegiance or homage to the conqueror. It was optional on the part of the conquered to make the offer or not, but it was not so on the part of the conqueror to accept the offer. Under the above two customs, Sri Krishna, the Pandavas and some others of those days married more than one wife. There might also be some other reasons which were not known to any one except the husband.
3. IDLE WAYS OF SPENDING TIME.
It may be that some members of a family in olden times spent all the day in chatting with Pandits and others and in listening to music. They may have been in some way or other incapacitated from taking out-door exercise or may have been utterly lazy.
It may be that some one ancestor was whimsical enough to spend too much time in bathing, in anointing with oil, and in shampooing and so forth. That person perhaps had some nervous defect or was a sufferer from rheumatism.
In cases like these we must not simply take the precedent from the habits of our forefathers, but think over their habits and consider whether they are worth following or not. If they are good ones, we must certainly follow them; otherwise we need not follow them.
4. CRUEL ENJOYMENTS.
It is a more or less general practice especially among youths to seek enjoyment in some cruelty shown to a man, beast, bird or insect. The attendants also take a keen interest in such sports. This is a brutal sport. You are simply committing sin by which you will injure yourselves if you hurt a living creature for nothing but for your imaginary enjoyment. By cruel sports, I refer not to ram- or cock-fighting, etc., cruel though they be, but to the torture inflicted in so-called fun on living objects by some people of diseased imagination.
Again there are some people who, though not actually giving pain to the bodies of other people as said above, wound their feelings by practical jokes as, for example, shaving the head of a person who takes a pride in his hair, shaving the moustache, eyebrows and beard. Sometimes the joke is made worse by shaving only one side of the moustache or one eyebrow. This kind of low and vulgar amusement sorely hurts the feelings of the one who becomes unfortunately subject to this barbarous treatment. India knew very little of such cruel enjoyments in the old days. But in the later days I believe these enjoyments were adopted from the Romans and the Mahommedans. However, my friends, young or old, whichever you may be, don't take to such amusements, nor ever allow your children to go in for them. Those kinds of enjoyments are simply sinful acts and far from giving any real pleasure or amusement.
5. RACES IN EATING.
Eating in competition is a general practice among Brahmins and also to some extent among other classes of Hindus. These people go to a rich man and say they will eat so much rice, so much ghee and so much of other things at one time, or in a given time, and for amusement the rich man provides the required articles and watches the eating of them. Though this kind of amusement is not a cruel one, yet it hurts the general health, and in a few cases it may kill the person who eats to such an excess. On the other hand, some people make a vow to fast for so many days and weeks. To fast so long is beyond human nature. If a strict watch be kept, it will be found that food is secretly obtained, and that the fast is a sham. Long fasting hurts the body much, or may even kill the person who tries to fulfil such a vow for the sake of obtaining notoriety.