To the Indians, as well as to other Orientals, America has been attractive on account of the far better living conditions. But the difficulty involved in the competition with American labor has caused stringent endeavors to be made to exclude them, For a time many arrived from Manila, having made, as it was believed, a brief residence in the Philippines, in order to meet the technical requirements of the immigration laws. This however, has now been stopped and the number of incoming Indians is not very large.

A Christian Hindu's Investigation -
Without regard to the economic complications, there is the practical question for American Christians that many of the sons of India are actually in California. It has been very difficult to secure missionary workers who could speak their language. Some time ago a converted Hindu, Dr. Paul Chauvey, acted as evangelist for three months among the Hindus on the Pacific Coast, working under the direction of the standing committee of American workers in oriental missions.

After investigating the conditions of the Hindus in California, Dr. Chauvey submitted his report as follows:

"I am not submitting a report of what I have done, but rather what I have attempted to do among my countrymen during the last three months. I have visited thirty camps. The first city was Sacramento. This city to me is the Benares of the Hindu laborers. Here I met three different types of East Indians, the Mohammedans, the Hindus, and the students. let me give you in the first place a general report of my work in Sacramento. In this city I note the stronghold of the Hindu professional crooks who prey on the poor laborers. Men make use of their college education to deceive the coolies who work by the sweat of their brows. I knew of a case where an M.A. of Harvard University had been living for seven years on the substance of laborers by flattering them. He is at present in the Dominion of Canada acting as a priest and will soon be coming back to California, when his supporters think they have paid him enough for one season. Of course, such a prominent man could not be brought to task, since he is supposed to be performing the religious rites of the Hindus.

"While among the laborers in this city I made no attempt to argue on religion. I simply started talking to them on the conditions in India, and then drifted to social matters. Then I drifted to practical teachings of Christ. I have never attempted to get them together in large congregations, for I think the best way to reach these types is by personal work. I get them in groups of five to seven, seldom more, and then I visit them the next day. Then by giving these few men the time to tell others of my aims, the next time I meet with real earnest enquirers. To those that are willing to buy the Gospels, I sell them, and to others I give them. I rarely give any Gospel to a person who says he will not read it, because I think the Gospel is too precious a book to be cast away before men who are of the type of whom we are warned by Christ. I am sorry to compare my countrymen to such types, but I must state facts. There are among the laborers a few people who cannot read or write their own language, and such people naturally find their amusement in undesirable houses and saloons. I have met laborers who, after my talk with them, have come to me and said, "Oh give me some knowledge that we may be free from political and social tyranny."

"When I again lay emphasis on the practical teachings of our Master, Jesus Christ, they say, But listen, sir! We are like outcasts in this country, and if some of us become Christians, we will lose our caste.'

"I had not the courage to tell them to suffer anything for Christianity in the foreign land where they are despised. All I could tell them was to be true to their conscience, to be faithful, and to read the Gospel of St. John which I had given them, and to live such lives that their fellow men might see the change, and if they should enquire, to hand them the little book and say that was responsible for the change in their lives.

"The Mohammedan laborers seem to be better dressed than the Hindus. They even put on the Mexican hats and try to pass off as Mexicans. The Mohammedan has the same old argument that he had in the Orient, viz., there is only one God, and Jesus Christ was one of the prophets. I distributed a few gospels among the Mohammedans. I hope the seed has not fallen on barren soil, because some of the Mohammedans do not know what thinking is.

"Among the students I met two distinct classes, the moderates and the extremists. The moderates are quiet, they are here as students, but the extremists are revolutionists. I do not wish to go into detail about the political views of the students, because I did not come to the coast as a detective, although I have often been taken for one. Some of the students are totally indifferent to religion. There are, again, students who are earnest enquirers. One Hindu told me, Yes, Christianity is a living religion.' I feel sure that this man will be led to Christ before long. He reads the Bible regularly and compares it with the teachings of his Shastras. A Mohammedan student whom I met in Marysville wanted to argue on religion with me, but when he found that I was not willing to enter into discussion with him, he was willing to listen to what I had to say, provided I gave him the same chance to talk. After I was through, he said he really felt that he was a Christian and had been thinking about this for a year or two. But he said if his parents and brothers knew that, they would stop sending him his monthly allowance, and he would be stranded in this country.

"I have simply endeavored to give you two of the main experiences I have had with students. Sirs, what is true of the Hindus in Sacramento, is true in the camps also. In saloonless towns I have been told the Hindus are better dressed and better behaved and not hated as they are in Sacramento.

"When I see my countrymen on the coast going about like friendless people in the streets, my heart goes out to them, and I think of the Master who went about doing good with a loving spirit. He went to rescue the lost and the described. To me Christianity is not a religion to be merely preached, but it is a religion to be lived and practiced by ourselves and by our neighbors irrespective of caste, color, or race.

"I am strong for securing a native evangelist who will work among these people. He will naturally understand his people better than others. I know a consecrated man who is known to be a man of power in the Punjab. He comes from the same part of India as these laborers, and if he could be secured along with a European missionary, I believe they could work together splendidly as a team. Although they may not succeed in baptizing all the Hindus, they will surely do effective work and succeed in leading a majority to Christ. This work must be continued prayerfully."

Scholarships for Hindu Students -
An interesting effort on behalf of the Indians has been made by one of their own countrymen. Sirdar Jawala Singh, a farmer from India, established the Guru Singh Sahib educational scholarship in the State University at Berkeley. The San Francisco Call, of May 26, 1912, described some of the letters received from the six Hindus who were to have the benefit of the scholarships. The Hindus had been chosen in a national contest, and represented, not only various provinces, but the Brahmans, the Sikhs, the Kshatriyas. One of the Hindus in his letter laid stress on his inherited abstemiousness. "Vegetarianism and total abstinence from alcoholic drinks and other injurious habits," he wrote, "have been my birthright. In addition to this, I may respectfully admit that I am a great lover of simplicity in dress, diet, etc., and have been living on unleavened whole meal bread and fruits for the last two years."

Hindu Propaganda in America -
It is not, for the benefit of the Hindu student especially, or that of the Hindu laborer, that there has been carried on in San Francisco for many years the services of the Hindu temple. That Hindu temple exists for Americans. Whereas, the Japanese has his Buddhist temples mainly for his own countrymen, and the Chinese here inaugurates his joss-house mainly for the use of the Chinese, the Hindu swamis openly aver that their Temple is for Americans. This Temple was erected in August, 1905, by the San Francisco Vedanta Society, "under the auspices of the Ramakrishna Mission, Calcutta, India," and advertises itself as "The First Hindu Temple in the Whole Western World."

I have in my possession a clipping from the San Francisco Chronicle of Monday, April 6, 1908, concerning the dedication of this building under the heading "First Hindu Temple in the West Formally Dedicated." "Swami Trigunatita Expounds the Views of His Sect to a Large Crowd." The Chronicle went on to say, "Under the auspices of the Rama-Krishna Mission, Calcutta, the first Hindu temple in the Western world was dedicated last night. The temple, which is situated at Filbert and Webster streets, is the meeting place of the San Francisco Vedanta Society, which was organized by Yogi Swami Vivekananda in the spring of 1900.

"The auditorium of the temple was packed to the doors last night by members of the society and their friends who had come to witness the dedication exercises. The only speaker was Swami Trigunatita, teacher of the society."

After reporting part of the Swami's dedication address, the Chronicle continued, "After the service, which concluded with the singing of America,' all were invited to inspect the temple, and most of the audience took advantage of the invitation."

At how many varied services does "America" become useful! Did good old Dr. S.F. Smith, when he wrote "Our Fathers' God to Thee," ever suppose that his hymn would be used at the dedication of a Hindu temple in San Francisco?

One day I stopped at the front door of this Hindu temple, and Swami Trigunatita gave me a little brown pamphlet entitled, "A Message From the Hindu Temple." He also gave me a list of Sunday lectures. The "Message" describes the Temple, which was designed by Swami Trigunatita, and which, as the "Message" says, "may be considered as a combination of a Hindu temple, a Christian church, a Mohammedan mosque, a Hindu math or monastery and an American residence."

The "Message" contains various explanations of the different symbols and towers of this Hindu temple. For instance: "The canopy over the mosaic and marble entrance to the auditorium represents the supposed thousand-petalled Lotus in the brain. Some of the Hindu yogis claim that when this Lotus opens through the intense power of concentration and meditation, they get the highest spiritual illumination and perfection."

Again: "The Sangskrita inscription on the mosaic arch to the entrance reads, Om Nama Bhagavatey Ramakrishnaya. Om is the symbolic word for "The Absolute." Many Hindus chant or repeat the word as a spiritual practice, to give rise to the thoughts of the Absolute. It also means an effective sign of blessing. Nama means salutation. Bhagavatey Ramakrishnaya means to the blessed Lord Ramakrishnaya, who is worshiped by many in India at the Christians worship the Lord Christ, and who was the spiritual master of Swami Vivekananda, born 1833 A.D.; departed 1886 A.D."

The "Message" further describes the four towers of the Hindu temple, the first of which has an arrow on its weathervane. In the Bhakti Yoga, one of the Hindu systems of philosophy, there is a lesson that the minds of the world's people are like a weathervane, always unsteady, being drifted round by the slightest disturbance. As the polar star is always steady at the north, so the mind should be steadily fixed on God. This tower has also a little similarity with the top of the temple of the Goddess Kali at Dakshineshwara." [Readers of missionary books on India have some sort of an idea of what a bloody "Mother" the goddess Kali is, but of this the "Message" says nothing.]

The second tower of the San Francisco Hindu temple bears three symbols - a crescent, a sign, like the sun, and a trident. The "Message" says that this second tower is "like one of the Shivamandirs of the Kali Temple of Dakshineshwara." First the crescent: one of the Indian sects has the modified crescent as its emblem, "since it looks like the moon, it expresses the idea of softness, tenderness, love and affection, in short, the path of devotion. Second: the middle sign looks like the sun: without the sunlight and heat we cannot grow, we cannot work well; so it means the path of Karma or work. Third: the trident: In Roman mythology, the trident is the scepter of Neptune, the monarch of the ocean. In Hindu mythology, this particular kind of trident is the scepter of Shiva, the destroyer. It stands for the symbol of the destruction of ignorance, or the path of Jnana Yoga."

But it is when the "Message" proceeds to describe the "Third Tower" of the Hindu temple that the amazed reader, especially if informed by previous reading of books on India, is somewhat taken aback at the plain language used, and wonders if this can indeed be an American city, in which such words are printed and given away to women. The "Message" states that the Third Tower "is a little specimen of the style of some of the old fashioned temples of the province of Bengal." "To many a Hindu," the "Message" says, "this tower together with the shed in its front, has a great meaning. It means the great Shiva-Lingam (here produced in architecture). Shiva means the destroyer of ignorance, and Lingam means the sign or symbol. Most of the Hindus worship first Shiva in their prayers, every day. They make a little figure of clay every day, of Shiva-Lingam, and then worship it. Just as some of the Christians make crosses out of metal as the symbol of Jesus." "Now Shiva-Lingam consists of three principal parts: the Gauri-pattam, or the female principle, and the Lingam, or the male principle, and the Vajram, or the thunderbolt, destruction. It may be interpreted this way that unless we worship male and female principles alike, and then go beyond both, we cannot get rid of birth and death. The lower huge building part around the tower, together with the shed projecting from its southwest part forms clearly the Gauri-pattam, or the female principle; the upper little bulging dome, with its neck, clearly forms the Lingam, or male principle; and the ball of the flag-pole serves the purpose of the Vajram, or the thunderbolt. Many Hindus attach a great importance to the north-east corner of a place; therefore, they would prefer such a corner for an important worship or ceremony. This important tower has therefore been placed on the north-east corner of the building."

Probably many a person has passed the Hindu temple without knowing that the north-east tower has any such significance, for Americans are not accustomed to embody such ideas in architecture.

The little folder containing the list of Sunday lectures, given me by the swami, stated that three lectures were given every Sunday, free to all, Swami Trigunatita to lecture in the afternoon, and Swami Prakshananda in the morning and evening. Some of the subjects of the lectures in the long list were: ""Sri Ramakrishna, the Embodiment of Universal Religion." "Christianity, Is It the Only True Religion?" "The God of the Upanishads." ""The Necessity of Symbols in Religious Culture." ""Trance vs. Samadhi." "Do We Reincarnate?" " The Soul is Sexless." "The Mystery of Human Vibrations." "Turiya, or the Fourth State of Realization." ""the Wheel of Karma." "The Breathing: Its Science in Short." "Ecstasy." "The Philosophy of the Gita (Song Celestial)."

It seems blasphemous that so-called pictures of Jesus Christ in "Yoga-posture" are to be had at the Sunday services of the Hindu temple. "Pictures of Jesus and Sri Ramakrishna in Yoga-Postures," says the folder, for the Swamis seem determined to try to make people believe that the worship of Christ can be combined with that of Sri Ramakrishna, and moreover that the latter individual is preferable.