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Page 1: ,TheAMERICA,N ., -RAMABA! ASSOCIATIONimages.library.yale.edu/divinitycontent/dayrep/American Ramabai...the american ramabai association report of the eleventh annual meeting march

,TheAMERICA,N ., -RAMABA! .... -f. . ',;..

,'I'

ASSOCIATION " Report of the

EleveDtbAnnualMe~mg ,Mard,l ,2', 1909

Y~le 'f)ivmity li.bra r1j ,~ew· HaVefl,COOI1.i'

.... ; .

. , .- ~:~ :, :~,

',:' ..... ,

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THE

AMERICAN RAMABAI ASSOCIATION

REPORT OF THE

Eleventh Annual Meeting

MARCH 29, 1909

BOSTON

GEO. H. ELLIS Co., PRINTERS, 272 CONGRESS STREET

190<)

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,3dX' A Wvrg~-v, II

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BOARD OF MANAGERS, 1909.

President.

REv. HARLAN P. BEACH, D.D.. F.R.G.S., New Haven, Conn.

V ice-Pre side/us.

REv. LYMAN ABBOTT, D.D., New York. REV. DANIEL DULANEY ADDISON, D.D., Brookline. REv. GEORGE A. GORDON, D.D., Boston. REV. ALEXANDER MANN, D.D., Boston. REV. AUGUSTUS H. STRONG, D.D., Rochester, N.Y. MR.' EDWARD H. CLEMENT, Boston. MRs. JUDITH W. ANDREWS, Boston.

Treasurer.

?\1R. CURTIS CHIPMAN, 222 Boylston Street, Boston.

Corresponding Secretary.

MRS. S. B. CAPRON, Hotel Westminster, BOstOll.

Recording Secretary.

MISS ALlCE H. BALDWIN, 233 Fisher Avenue, Brookline •

REV. CHARLES G. AMES. CLARENCE JOHN BLAKE, ::\1.D. MISS CLEMENTINA BUTLER.

MISS ANNA H. CHACE. MRS. JOSEPH COOK. REV. EDWARD CUMMINGS. MR. GEORGE H. DAVENPORT.

• ~/ anagers.

MlI.s. SUSAN SNOWDEN FESSENDEN. MISS ANTOINETIE P. GRANGER.

MRs. DAVID P. KIMBALL. .YIISS KATE G. LAMSON. MRS. GEORGE MORTIMER. MRS. HENRY W. PEABODY. }1Rs. ARTHUR PERRY. JULlA MORTON PLUMMER, M.D. MISS E. HARRIET STANWOOD. ARTHUR K. STONE, M.D. REV. ROBERT A. HUME, D.D.

(Ahmecinagar, India.)

Executive Committee.

MISS CLEMENTINA BUTLER, Chairman, Newton Center, Mass. MISS ANNA H. CHACE. MRS. HENRY W. PEABODY. MlI.s. GEORGE MORTIMER. MISS E'. HARRIET STANWOOD.

MRS. S. B. CAPRON, Secretary.

Principal of ShQradJ Sadan and Mukti.

PANDITA RAMABAI D . .\iEDHAVI, Kedgaon, Poona District, India.

V ice-Prin.cipaZ of ShQraaa Sadan.

~IANORAMABAl M. MEDHAVI.

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AMERICAN RAMABAI ASSOCIATION.

THE Eleventh Annual Meeting of the American Rama­bai Association was held at Trinity Chapel, Boston, ,on March 29, I909, at 3.30 P.M. The Chair was taken by Rev. Harlan P. Beach, D.D., President of the Asso­·ciation, who opened the meeting with prayer.

The Recording Secretary, Miss Alice H. Baldwin, read :the formal call for the meeting.

The Recording Secretary then read the minutes of the 'Tenth Annual Meeting, ,yhich were approved.

The Corresponding Secretary; Mrs. S. B. Capron, pre­'sented her report, which was accepted an.d placed on :file.

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REPORT OF THE CORRESPONDING SECRETARY

Our constituency continues its contributions to the w0rk of Pandita Ramabai \yithout the stimulus of re­ports from her or from her daughter, or about her varied and remarkable work. \Ye were able during the year to circulate a leaflet, which was a reprint of an article furnished to Zion's Herald, Boston, by our President, who gaye a graphic and interesting account of his visit to Ramabai and her colony

We have the pleasure of announcing a new circle in Philadelphia, called the Mano Circle. The Manorama Circle in this city is the banner circle for large gifts. Some of the daughters of the long-time members met one day, and formed themselves into a band to be called the Mano Circle, as fittingly signifying their relationship to the older one. \\Te welcome the Mano Circle, who have already sent in their offering.

We desire to reverently and tenderly mention the bequest of $2,000 from Mrs. Margaret F. \Vaite, for many years the President of the Circle in Stamford, Conn. Her great and enthusiastic interest in Ramabai and her work was a continual overflow of sympathy and inspiration.

\\Te append the follmving sums as having been received after the Treasurer's books were closed:-

Wollaston, through Mrs. Lucy W. Pinkham Mothers' Meeting, First Baptist Church, Hartford,

Conn. . ... Stanstead, Que., and Derby Line, Vt. Plainfield, N.J.

S. B. CAPRON,

$20.00

22.00 16.00 50.00

Corresponding Secretary.

The Treasurer, Mr. Curtis Chipman, read his report, which was accepted and placed on_file.

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8 The American Ramabai Association

TREASURER'S .FOR THE YEAR ENDING

--------------------------------~

Receipts. 1908.

~larch 1. Balance on hand 1909.

Feb. 28. Subscriptions for support of Sharada Sadan, Subscriptions for support of Mukti School, Subscriptions for support of Kripa Sadan, Donations to the General Fund Rental of Poona property to Government, Interest on current account

CASH

$1,822.71

3,368.88 634.00 28.11 68.00

1,000.00 19.11

$6,940.81

AUSTRALIAN FUND FOR LEGAL AND 1909.

Feb. 28. Balance

1909. Feb. 28. Balance

1909. Feb. 28. Balance

$2,606.57

$2,606.57

J. "\Y AND BELINDA L.

$608.80

$608.80

MARGARET F.

$2,000.00

$2,000.00

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Report of the Eleventh A nnual Meeting 9

REPORT FEBRUARY 2B, 1909.

ACCOUNT.

1909. Payments.

Feb. 2B. Remittances for support of Sharadl1 Sadan (including $1,000, - rental of Poona property to Government) .

Remittances for support of Mukti School, Remittances for support of Kripa Sadan, Postage, stationery, and printing . General e),:penses of the Association,

co vering salaries, advertising, clerical assistance, etc. .

Balance March 1, 1909

$4,500.00 600.00

2B.11 229.13

576.70 1.006.84

$0,940.81 ----

MEDICAL AID OF LITTLE WIVES OF INDIA. 190B.

March 1. Balance Dec. 31. Interest

RANDALL TRUST. 190B.

March 1. Balance Dec. 31. Interest

WAITE TRUST. 1909.

Feb. B. Received from executor under the will of Margaret F. Waite

$2,556.91 49.66

$2,606.57

$597.01 11.79

$608.8U

$:.?,OOO.OO $:!,OOO.UU ---_._--

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10 The American Ramabai Association

CONTRIBUTIONS OF RAMABAI CIRCLES, SOCIETIES, ETC.

CIRCLES. Sharadfr Sadan. Mukti. Kripa IGeneral

Sadan. Fund. Totals.

-----,--- ---- ---

Baltimore, Md. Brockport, K.Y. Brookline, Mass. Brooklyn, K.Y. Bryn Mawr, Pa. ,. Buffalo, N.Y., 'Voman's So-

ciety, Delaware Avenue Baptist Church .

Bunker Hill, Ill., through Mrs. R. M. Palmer

Canandaigua, N.Y. Cleveland, Ohio . Cleveland, Ohio, through

Miss Williamson Danville, Va. Dorchester, Mass.. . Fairmount, N.Y., Sunday

School . . . Fairport, N.Y., Baptist Mis-

sionary Circle Franklin, N.Y. Germantown, Pa. Honolulu, Hawaii . . Honolulu, Woman)s Board

of the Pacific Isles lthaca, K. Y. London, Onto Lyons, N.Y. . ... Moline, Ill., 1. H. K. Circle

King's Daughters Montclair, K.J. New Haven, Conn. . New York, N.Y., Columbia

University Teachers' Col-lege Sunday School .

Northampton, Mass., Smith College, Class of 1888 .

Northfield, Mass., through Record 01 Christian Work,

Pawtucket, R.1. Petaluma, Cal. Philadelphia, Pa.

$145.15, ... 23.00' .. 56.00! ...

28l.0U: .... _ 30.0U $4;).UO.

I 5.00

1

" .

20.00 3l.UU . 22.00; ...

211.00, . 11.00 ... 44.00~ ...

3.00i·· .

5.00: .... 42.50, ....

200.51. .. 300.00 ....

49.82' . 75.00i· 45.00' .

7.00 .

25.00 12.10 . 78.00 .

6.50'

268.50 30.00 10.00, . 30.00 .

i

.. 'i

; $5.00:

$145.15 23.00 56.00

28l.00 75.00

5.00

20.00 3l.00 22.00

211.00 11.00 44.00

3.00

5.00 42.50

200.51 300.00

49.82 75.00 45.00

7.00

25.00 12.10 78.00

5.00

6.50

268.50 30.00 10.00 3U.UO

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Report of the Eleventh A nnual ~tf eeting 11

CONTRIBUTIONS OF RAMABAI CIRCLES, SOCIETIES, ETc.-Continued.

I

I Sh~rada ! M kt' Kripa General Sadan. 1 u 1. Sadan. i Fund.

i I

CIRCLES. Totals.

---------------i--- ---:--- ----

I I Philadelphia, Pa., Minister­ing Circle of King's Daughters, St. Andrew's P. E. Church

Philadelphia, Pa., Mano­rama Circle

Philadelphia, Pa., Mano Circle

Philadelphia, Pa., Fifth Baptist Church, In Mem­ory of Mrs. Alice Tatem,

Plainville, Conn. Providence, R.I. Rochester, N.Y. Roselle, N.J. . Santa Barbara, Cal. Sherwood, N.Y. Springfield, Mass. Stamford, Conn. Stockbridge, Mass. Terryville, Conn. . Washington, D.C., through

Friends' Meeting (Ortho-dox) .

"\\T ellesley College, Mass. Wellesley College, Mass.,

Christian Association West Chester. Pa. . \Vest Newton, Mass., Pri­

marv Class Second Con­gre£ational Church Sun­day School

Wilmington, Del.. .' V,T ollaston, Mass., through

Mrs. Lucy W Pinkham 'Yorcester, Mass. *General Circle

Totals

I

S5.001···· .

225.00i $475.00:.

15.001... . i. I I

•••••••• 1 ••••••• 1. ··.·1 $10.00 12.00! 19.00: ......• 43.00i 42.00 $19.11. . . .'

208.30 1

... .. ....... I 9.00i 6.00 9.00' 6.00:

24.001 .. 100.00' .. 34.00' .. 78.00 1

••

29.00: .. 15.00 ..

...... " .. 73.50: ..

51.001

..

28.00! .. ••• 1 ...

2.00 · . 27.00 · . .. '. '1'"

I

22.00 · . .... i ...

16.00 1 · . ····1 .. · 285.00 47.00, ...

I 32.00

1

•• '1

I

.. .. I

15.66!

S5.00

700.00

15.00

10.00 31.00

104.11 208.30 30.00 24.00

100.00 34.00 78.00 29.00 15.00

32.00 73.50

51.00 28.00

2.00 27.00

22.00 16.00

347.00 ! 1 ----1---:-- --I ---

!$3,368.88 $634.001 $28.11 $68.00[$4,098.99 i ! I

* Covering contributions from individuals.

CURTIS CHIPMA...~.

Treasurer American Ramabai Association.

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12 The A. merican Ramabai A. s sociation

BOSTON, April 12, 1909. I have examined the accounts of the Treasurer of the American

Ramabai Association for the year ending February 28, 1909, and find the payments properly vouched for and receipts duly entered and credited, showing balances as of March 1, 1909, as below:-

General Fund $1,006.84 Australian Fund for Legal and Medical Aid of

Little Wives of India. . . J. W. and ~elinda L. Randall Trust Margaret F. Waite Trust

2,606.57 608.80

2,000.00

(Signed) GEORGE H. DAVENPORT,

Auditor.

Dr. STONE. Mr. President, referring to the bequest just mentioned by the Treasurer, I move you, sir, that the Corresponding Secretary be requested to convey to the officers of Stamford, Conn., Circle the apprecia­tion of this Association for the long and helpful inter­est shown in our work by Mrs. Margaret F. Waite, for so many years their President. It is indeed with a sense of tender and loving gratitude that we welcome this means of associating her name with our work for all time.

The motion, being duly seconded, was adopted.

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Report oj the Eleventh Annual Meeting 13

REPORT OF THE BOARD OF MANAGERS.

MR. PRESIDENT AND MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATION:-

Within a few hours after the last Annual Meeting of this Association, the sad news came that our beloved President, Dr. Charles Cuthbert Hall, had passed from his marvellously actiye career to the higher service. \Ve were indeed bereft, for Dr. Hall's intimate knowledge of the situation in India, his broad sympathy with the grave problems of that vast empire, and his visits to our Institution at Kedgaon made him the heart and centre of our work. Ramabai knew his love for India, and the great audiences which had listened to his lectures through­out the length of the peninsula had full confidence in his impartiality and trust in his fairness towards their point of view, for, while not for a moment admitting of any compromise regarding his loyalty to Christ as his divine leader, he was willing to concede their sincerity and to praise whatever of good intent and broad ideals which he found even among those who could not see as he did. All who came in contact with him honored and loved him truly.

Such a loss was not easily to be remedied, and, until the fall of the year, no steps were taken to name any one for the office. Finally, when the Board of Managers did meet to consider the question, their choice fell unan· imously on one who holds a very similar fitness for the leadership of the American Ramabai Association, and some new qualities which, we believe, will be of the greatest help in our future work. Rev. Harlan P Beach is well acquainted from personal study with the great

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14 The American Ramabai Association

educational problems of India as well as with the work done at Mukti, and Ramabai may safely intrust her interests in his hands. The Executive Board was de­lighted when he finally consented to serve as President of the Association, and it is with peculiar pleasure that we welcome him to the Chair to-day. Mr. Beach's mem­bership in the Roya.! Geographical Society will make him persona grata to the educational authorities in India, while his years in China give him full knowledge of methods of mission work, and his position at Yale Uni­versity assures the public of the wise guidance of the affairs of this Association. We extend the most hearty thanks to this friend, whose hands are so full of other duties, that he has consented to give us of his time and advice.

Manorama left India in August for a tour in Great Britain in the interest of Ramabai's work. She was taken very ill with malarial fever in the Red Sea, and by the time she arrived at Naples was almost at death's door. A long siege in England left her too weak for much public work, though we saw her name down for several services in London. Evidently. the English circles expected her to make many addresses, as she states that she had about sixty letters of invitation from friends to whom she had written. The Association did not know of her presence in England until a postal came from Mr. Gadhre, saying that he hoped we should see her also. On receipt of this news I wrote to Rama­bai, urging that Mano come on here, and notified some of the Circles, which have been waiting therefore to have their meetings when she could be ,,,ith them. By God's blessing on the skill of her medical advisers she has recovered, though she is ordered to return to India as soon as possible. We are sorry, indeed, to miss the opportunity of hearing her again, but are grateful that she did not risk farther suffering by coming to this

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Report of the Eleventh A nnual Meeting 15

unfriendly climate. 'Ve shall look eagerly for news of her full recovery.

No definite word has reached us of the plans for ad­ministering the Sadan in the absence of our Vice-Prin­cipal, but we suppose that Ramabai took up the work which ':\lanorama usually carries. She has sent her report of the School and also some interesting notes on the present situation in India, which I add herewith. She must be a yery busy woman, for, in addition to all her work for the fourteen hundred women and girls, she is publishing a Dictionary of the Bible, translating from the Hebrew and Greek into Marathi. This is a stupen­dous work for one person to attempt. She has the print­ing done on the ground, as she has taught some of her boys and even the girls to set the Hebrew type and also the Greek. So that in the books they will be using three texts, as all the notes are in English.

As we have had in Boston press so many questions raised about the unrest in India, you will follow with peculiar interest Ramabai's views on the "National Movement," so called. I remember seeing something of this patriotism when two years ago I watched the enthusiastic welcome given to Dada Narouji., the "Grand Old Man of India," as the papers called him. He ar­rived from England to preside over the National Con­gress, and the city of Bombay went wild with its 'wel­come. The streets were festooned with banners, and "\'Velcome to our dear old Dada" was one of the in­scriptions frequently seen. Flowers decorated the houses, and his carriage as he drove from the pier was covered witi! festoons. My heart was stirred as I saw the dawnings of a real national spirit, as I supposed, and because Mr. N arou jee was from the smallest of the religious communities of India, the Parsee, I fancied that it was the day of union. Alas! for a few weeks later Mr. )Jaroujee's remarks were being assailed in the

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16 The Americqn Ramabai Association

press and the beautiful union was threatened with dissolution because he could not give to every division the full measure of power that they each thought they deserved!

While our work has changed in its lines, we still be­lieve that we are affording a chance to some of these poor child widows and orphan girls which will give them the opportunity of preparing for lives of useful­ness and happiness. Above all, we must sustain our ShAradA Sadan and make it one of the strong educa­tional forces of the Marathi country.

Respectfully submitted,

For the Board of Managers,

CLEMENTINA BUTLER,

Chairman of the Executive Committee.

Ramabai adds the following to her Report:-

You know all about the present unrest in India. I have known some of the makers of this unrest, and have been closely watching their career for the last twenty­seven years. The makers of this unrest are fine, well­educated people, trying to do good to the country in their own way. But it is sad to see that most of them do not seem to see what is wanting in us 3;s a people. I say as a people, for we are not a nation,-at least, not one nation. \Ve are wanting, first and foremost, in UNITY. \Ve are so many castes, so many clans, so many families, and so many individuals. Each one inter­ested in his or her own, each one looking out for some­thing for his or her own SELF. The religion of the Hindu is to try and save himself, to take no thought of others, not even of his wife and children. His religion is to make himself a god. Incidentally, he may of course do something for others, but it is his self that he loves

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Report of the Eleventh A nnual Meeting 17

above all things. In his secular life he follows certain rules laid down for him in the religious books. These rules are very pleasing to his flesh:-

"A man should take care of riches, that help may be afforded in times of distress.

"He should take care of his wife more than riches. "But he should take care of his self always more than

wife, more than riches."-MAHABHARATA.

This is the injunction of the Hindu's religion for his secular life. How different it sounds from John xii. 24-2 71-

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a com of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

, 'He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

"If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor."

"For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich."-2 COR.

viii. 9. "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us

from all iniquity."-TITUS ii. 14. "Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service

of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with you all."-PHIL. ii. 17.

The daily life, social rules, and manners of the Hindu, show that he follows the rules laid down for him by his religion. He very carefully protects his self, above all. At home he is a great lord over all. While his wife does all hard work, he very seldom, if ever, condescends to put his hand to the daily drudgery. If it pleases his lordship to let his wife accompany him sometimes, either to the idol temples or other places, he makes it. a rule to walk ahead, while his wife follows him respect-

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18 The American Ramabai Association

. fully, like a good, faithful slave, at some distance. His head is protected from the burning sun with a good head-dress and an umbrella, and his feet are protected from the burning sand and thorns with well-made shoes or boots, while his wife walks barefooted, and without any protection for her head saye a sheet of thin saree. If she happens to be the mother of a son, the son has his head protected with an umbrella, and his feet with shoes, while he rides comfortably on the hip of his mother or a servant. You never see Hindu gentlemen rising from their comfortable seats to make room for women on railway stations or in railway carriages or anywhere else. Men never come forward to help women out of pure good manner and respect for the "weaker vessel." There is a great want of thoughtfulness for others in the whole of the Hindu family life. In the ordinary speech the men may be heard saying, "I and my brother," "I and my neighbor," not "my neighbor and I," "my brother and I," "my wife and I," as is cus­tomary in Christian speech. There are a few exceptions of course, but they only prove the rule. Some edu­cated Hindu men are trying to imitate Christian men in their good manners. It is a good sign, and we are very thankful to see it. But imitations are only imi­tations, after all. They do not stand test. The change must come from within. Nothing but complete con­version, the turning away from all idols and idolatrous practices, and reverent love toward the only true God, will bring the desired effect.

Here are some of the rules laid down for the man who wants to save himself, to be followed by him in his re­ligious life:-

"2. When a householder sees his (skin) vi'rinkled, and (his hair) white, and the sons of his sons, then he may resort to the forest.

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Report of the Eleventh A nnual Meeting 19

"3. Abandoning all food raised by cultivation and all his belongings, he may depart to the forest, either com­mitting his wife to his sons or accompanied by her (for a little while only)."

"29. These and other observances must a Brahmana who dwells in the forest diligently practise, and, in order to attain complete (union with) the (supreme) Soul, (he must study) the various sacred texts contained in the Upanishads."

"33. But, having thus passed the third part of (a man's natural term of) life in the forest, he may live as an ascetic during the fourth part of his existence, after abandoning all attachment to worldly objects. *

"42. Let him always wander alone, without any com­panion, in order to attain (final liberation), fully under­standing that the solitary (man, who) neither forsakes nor is forsaken, gains his end."

"44. A potsherd (instead of an alms-bowl), the roots of trees (for a dwelling), coarse worn-out garments, life in solitude and indifference towards everything, are the marks of one who has attained liberation."

"60. By restraint of his senses, by the destruction of love and hatred, and by the abstention from injuring the creatures, he becomes fit for immortality."

"79. Making over (the merit of his own) good actions to his friends and (the guilt of) his evil deeds to his ene­mies, he attains the eternal Brahman by the practice of meditation."-LAws OF MANU, Chap. 6.

This last in junction is very significant. This is very pleasing to him, it exalts his self.

I asked the following question of a number of persons the other day, "Tell me, please, how did the English come to this country and establish an empire?" "Oh, I know! They came under the pretence of trading with the people of this country. They traded and cheated our

* This ·means he must send away his wife who followed him to the forest to serve him. She may live or die, as best she can.

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20 The American Ramabai Association

people out of their riches and rule," came the quick answer. Indeed, is it thus that the English rule was established in this country? I suppose this is how you have learnt history! But let me ask you one question: "Why did you not go to England to trade with the English and establish Hindu rule? Why could we not be masters and mistresses of a glorious empire?1I They did not know why. Book history is always taught to our school children, without teaching them the true lessons that should be learned from it. The teachers and heads of schools do not seem to take the trouble to go to the root of the matter. A wrong impression is made on the mind of our children. They learn to think that king­doms and empires can be established by cheating, that to trade means to cheat others out of their rights. Fathers and mothers, teachers, lecturers, etc., do not take care to teach right principles to and build up the character of children at home and in school. They are all anxious for their children to have a great deal of book education and to pass in their examinations; but they do not even begin to be anxious for the build­ing up of their character. They care for good name, good reputation: they will do anything, suffer anything, for their reputation: but the true fear of God, the de­sire and persistent effort to follow what is right and what is true, is not in them. The causes that have effected English rule in this country are not lies and deceitfulness of a few unprincipled traders, but the right Christian principles, LOVE that "vaunteth not itself" and LOVE that "seeketh not her own," which)s taught and practised in the beautiful Christian homes in England; the care that is taken by parents, Sunday­school teachers, and religious instructors to build up good and true and unselfish characters in the children. The children grow up to be men and women. Follow-

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Report of the Eleventh Annual Meeting 21

ers of some right principle, they try to be true to it and to themselves.

Many- of them are not good Christians, I know; but, somehow, they cannot get out of the right training they have had in their childhood. The habitual love of right principles, gentle, good manners, the results of sound Christian teachings under which they were trained. become their second nature. This is wanting in the training of children in India. The Christian home influence and the Christian teaching are our great wants. The makers of unrest must be blind, indeed, not to see the visible and invisible causes of the greatness of the English in this country The English, however bitterly opposed they may be to each other and however differ­ent their individual opinions may be, yet they are in this country as one man, all working together with one consent, not for the greatness of their individual selves, to gain their own selfish little ends; but they seek, every one of them, from the lowest to the highest man, the greatness of their King. They work together to es­tablish his rule. The King whom everyone of them is so loyally serving and obeying is the embodiment of the whole nation, whose individual members are tied together with the love that vaunteth not itself and seeketh not its own.

I t took the English people more than fifteen hundred years of Christian training to arrive at the present stage of their love of the right principle. It is, therefore, no wonder if the Christians and non-Christians of India should not come up to the mark for some centuries yet. No one need, however, despair of India's people. "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever," and he "is able to save" us "to the uttermost."

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REPORT OF PANDITA RAMABAI.

MUKTI MISSION, KEDGAON,

POONA DISTRICT, INDIA,

Feb. 4, 190 9.

My dear and honored Friends,-I would have liked very much to be among you at this time, as it would have given me an opportunity to praise God for what He has done for us, and to thank you personally for the share you have taken in His work for our benefit. Twenty years have passed away since the Sharada Sadan saw light, and you have gone on faithfully helping us year after year without seeing much visible fruit of your labor. I greatly marvel at your FAITH. Surely, the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews is not finished: "Not having received the promises, but hav­ing seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them and embraced them." I see you and others who are spend­ing your money and your life in good faith, believing that what you have done for us will not be lost, but will bear fruit unto eternity,-are the people who make this wonderful chapter on Faith. You will be wanting to know what has been done in Sharada Sad an during the last twenty years. I cannot show any great results. Things move very slowly in this country, and our work is not one to be attractive by any outward appearance. Still, I am sure you will believe with me that some work has been done and is still being done here, not for a very large number of persons, but for a few. The foundation of building up sterling character is being laid in the name of the only true God. Your great life-work will be done and an abundance .of good fruit will be reaped

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Report of the Eleventh Annual 1\1 eeting 23

if some sterling characters are turned out of Sharada Sadan, however obscure they may be.

The girls are not all good angels, they are not perfect; but they are steadily growing in the Christian life, and some of them are doing really good work. Eternity will show how much has been done for them and by them. Some of them show signs of a very sound, good character developed in them; others are fickle and indifferent; and some are sadly inclined to be very bad. So we have a difficult work before us, but we are not shrinking from our duty. The Lord helping us, we will hold on to the end.

The educational work of the Sharada Sadan is carried on as usual, according to the Government Standard, with the exception that the school is not registered; but a way out of this difficulty is made by the kind per­mission of the Government. Although the new rules of the Government do not permit any school to send, its pupils to the matriculation examination without its being registered, yet any school not registered, but teaching its pupils according to the Government Stand­ard, is allowed to send its pupils to some recognized school for the preliminary examination, and the pupils can appear for the matriculation examination from that school. Krishnibai is one of our pupils who was sent to the Taylor High School of Poona under the new con­ditions. She has successfully passed the matriculation examination, and is now doing good work in our school. We praise God for His goodness, and thank our good friends in the Taylor High School for receiving our girl for some months to prepare her for the examination. I hope to prepare pupils for the matriculation examina­tion, and let them appear for it at some such school under the new conditions. I do not wish to have my schools registered, as it cannot be done without sacrificing the principle on which this special work is carried on~

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24 The American Ramabai Association

There are one hundred and sixty-one pupils enrolled in Sh~rad~ Sadan School at present. My aim is to educate them all as well as I can and train them to be good women. Each one of them has some work assigned her, as a pupil-teacher, matron, office girl, or assistant of the teachers in school. No one is allowed to be idle, and, what is better, no one likes to remain idle. It is a pleas­ure to see the girls and young women working in school and in the office or Industrial Department. Some of the Sharada Sadan girls are married and gone away from this place. Others, who haye for the present set­tled near us, are working in school and in the printing­office with their husbands. They are proving themselves worthy of the honorable position they occupy It would gladden your hearts to see these girls working to the honor and glory of God, and you would feel repaid for all the labor and money which YOU have spent for the Sharada Sadan.

Now, my dear friends, I must end this story by thank­ing and praising God for the multitude of His loving kindnesses toward us, and thanking you with all my heart for your continued love and help. The Lord richly reward you for all that you have done and are doing for us. Friends, pray for us, for we are living in troublous times,-we may be called upon to make good our confession; pray for us, that we Christians living in this place may glorify God and our Saviour Jesus Christ, whether in life or in death. I hear the voice of the dear Lord saying, "I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not." May the Lord help you and me to be true to Him to the end! Believe me

SHARADA SADAN

KEDGAON

Very gratefully yours in His service, RAMABAI.

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THE PRESENT STATE OF THE SHARADA SADAN SCHOOL.

Sh~rad!l. Sadan. Resident Helpers. Married.

Propel'.

Pupils in school, 161. Of these 98 are learn­

ing in higher stand­ards.

What they are doing.

Pupil teachers 33 Matrons and teachers 4 Compositors . 20 Bible office girls 31 Office girls. -l Industrial School matrons, 3 Learning different kinds of

work 45 Weaving 21

161

Not learning in School.

Head teachers 3 Head office worker, 1 Head matrons 7 Head compositor 1

12

Not learning in School.

Teachers . 3 Bible office girls 4 First assistant compositor 1 Domestic service 8 Occasionally employed for

different kinds of service 14

30

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26 The American Ramabai Association

MISS BALDWIN. Mr. President, I had the pleasure of visiting Mrs. Andrews at her home within a few days, and to me she expressed her keen disappointment at not being able to attend this meeting, and asked that her kindest remembrances be given to her friends.

This is the first annual meeting of this Association or its predecessor, the Ramabai Association, which has not been fayored with her gracious presence for twenty-one years, and I am sure that all here will join me in sending to Mrs. Andrews our greetings and best wishes for her good health.

MISS STANWOOD. Mr. President, I move that a letter be sent to Mrs. Andrews expressing our regret that she is not present, with appreciation of her continued service.

The motion being duly seconded, it was adopted by a rising vote.

Miss Baldwin presented the report of the Nominating Committee, which was accepted; and, on motion duly seconded, it was voted to suspend the by-law requiring election by ballot and instruct the Recording Secretary to cast one ballot for the persons named in the report of the Nominating Committee.

The Secretary deposited the ballot as authorized, and the persons nominated by the committee were declared to be unanimously elected to serve as officers of the Associa­tion for the ensuing year.

(The names of the officers elected appear on page 3 of this Report.)

THE PRESIDENT. I would like to say a word at this point as one of those who have just been elected.

I appreciate very greatly your kindness in asking me to take a position which has been so well filled by one

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Report of the Eleventh Annual J1 ccting 27

who was superlatively fitted for its duties. I do not know how fully the members of this Association realize the great esteem in which Dr. Hall is held in India. All through that empire I met people who were ex­tremely cordial in their feeling for him. And not the missionaries only,-that would be a ,-ery natural thing,­but the Indian himself. I suppose that no foreigner going there and having so little opportunity to become acquainted with India and its people has ever known the country as Dr. Hall did. He understood India almost as well as he understood his own country Cer­tainly, he did not understand Japan as well as India, and his work there was extremely fruitful. :J10reover, he was a man who would particularly appeal to an in­tellectual and spiritual woman like the leader of our work in that empire. Pandita Ramabai had a very high respect for Dr. Hall, and he in tUrn had the very highest regard for her. You can see, therefore, that it is with great diffidence that I accept this position left vacant by his transfer to a larger service and a greater kingdom. I shall do all I can to aid in the work. I shall give you of my best. I happen to be President, but you are really the ones who are carrying on this exceedingly important enterprise.

The President then addressed the meeting as follows :--

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28 The American Ramabai Association

ADDRESS BY REV HARLAN P BEACH, F.R.G.S.

According to the programme .before the President, he must say something to you at this point.

I want to give, in the time which is allotted to me, some reasons why I believe very thoroughly in the work of this Association. I realize, as you do far better than I, that it is a human Association, or rather the combina­tion is a human combination. Vv' e are on one side of the earth: the work which is being supported is in an­other part of the world. You have there as your repre­sentative a woman of remarkable strength, wonderful achievement, and great spiritual power. If you study the Christian leaders of our time, you will know that a good portion of them have been persons of such strong character, persons who are so able to impress themselves upon others, that their influence, perhaps, has been greater than it should be. And so in the case of the Pandita her unique strength makes it somewhat diffi­cult for an Association pretty thoroughly American and so remote from her to work most efficiently with her. I acknowledge that there are difficulties in the situation, and I knew that before I had any thought whatever of becoming your President. What I have to say is along another line. I am not going to talk of our relations to her, but rather of her relations to India and to the non-Christian world.

1. I believe in the work which this Association has done so much to foster, in the first place, because it is a tremendous philanthropy. ,\\Te read the figures fifteen

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hundred, eighteen hundred, persons out there, in that village of hers, and we think of Boston and New York, or of India with its three hundred millions, and we say, That certainly is an inconsiderable work, a matter of no great importance whether done or left undone. But I think, when one goes through India in a famine season, this opinion entirely disappears. It is true that, when I was there a year ago, the famine was not serious. In only one or two sections was there any great amount of suffering. Yet even in this semi-famine year I saw what hunger meant and what suffering really was. Starving is a yery hard \\"ay of dying, and the misery of those tens of thousands VI'ho eyen last year were suffer­ing from famine is more than I can tell you.

Now you know that a good proportion of those whom you have been aiding ha\re been famine waifs. Some of them come under the requirements that Ramabai at first made so stringent, while all of them come under the requirements of her final understanding with this Association. But if those girls had not been rescued by you, if they had not been cared for by Ramabai, something which cannot be spoken of, something un­speakably worse than famine, would haye been the inevitable result in most cases. To saye a soul from death, and from a death while one is living for years in sin, is something well worth our while. In other philanthropic realms she has done much for India; and you, through the institution there, have been the motive power and have accomplished a great deal in the matter of philanthropy But, of course, your original intent, here in Boston especially, was some­what different from what I have just mentioned.

II. Secondly, our work is important because of its relation to reforms, particularly in the matter of child­widowhood. As a victim of that terrible system, Pan-

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30 The American Ramabai Association

dita Ramabai herself felt-most keenly the woes of child­widows, and of others who, like herself, later in life became widows. That was her great burden.

It is very easy for us in this beautiful city to go to the library yonder and take out books and read about these child-widows. Even the harrowing stories which we find in these volumes are easy to read. They do not disturb us a great deal. One really needs to see in order to realize, and I am glad that there are a few here this. afternoon who have actually seen child-widows and know what it means in India. If you have not seen them, I wish that you would take the reports of this Association and read them. I had occasion the other day to read the last five annual reports. I think Kip­ling can paint India as very few people can, but I do not think that he can do any better than Miss Butler in making vivid before you here in Boston conditions there as they affect our enterprise. If you look back over the reports of the last few years, you will get a conception of what child-widowhood and Indian woman­hood in general mean.

Well, to have done something toward bringing that great wrong prominently before the Indian public is well worth all the money that has been expended upon this Association, had we accomplished nothing more. We think of our work, perhaps, in the light of what we have accomplished at Mukti or at Poona or at Bombay, in the earlier stages of this enterprise, and say, That has to do with only a few widows, -a mere drop in the bucket. You could thus speak concerning the work we have accomplished if it ended only with those comparatively few child-widows. But, if you go to India and, as I did on my last trip, interview some of the leading Indians,-not Christians,-you would find that the object-lesson of that ex-Brahmin widow is an argu-

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Report of the Eleventh A.nnual NJeehng 31

ment which the reform moyements are constantly using. They find in that one Christian woman their tremendous argument. The vernacular newspapers are very apt to make use of the object-lesson that we see at Ked­gaon. They do not mention names: I think they '",'ould prefer not to haye it known that it is the work of a Christian aided by Americans; but they can mention it, and they do mention it. Nothing counts so much in a case of this kind. as actual experience. Here you have a real tangible case before you, and you can quote and give details concerning it. This is especially true of Christian papers and of those who argue from a Chris­tian poin t of view.

III. Let me pass on to a third reason for my firm belief in the work that you have been doing all these years. \\That you have done in the matter of educa­tion is something hardly believable. Remember, we have taken not the best class of people, though you have gotten a good many young women of high caste, but we have taken persons of any caste,-we have taken persons who had no chance. Here in America educa­tion is pretty widely diffused. Heredity will do pretty much anything here, but in a caste-ridden country heredity acts against people, especially the depressed classes. They have been obliged to intermarry from year to year and from generation to generation those who have been debarred by caste rules from study and an intellectual life. The result is a situation which it is extremely difficult to meet.

We have taken into our institution there a large number from these lower castes. It is not an easy thing to teach them. Sometimes the teachers work for months to accomplish with one girl what it takes not more than a few days, or at most a few weeks, to accomplish with a Brahmin girl. You have no idea how much we Ameri-

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32 The A.merican Ramabai A.ssociation

cans have to be thankful for in that we are not cursed with that result of caste. But our efforts have not been in vain, even with the lowest. I was surprised to note the degree of intelligence that one saw there in Mukti. Those girls--especially after they ha ve been there a year or two-are said by the workers to undergo a marked change. You can see immediately the differ­ence between the faces of the girls who have been longer under this influence and those who have but recently come. And you can see a change in the person as well as in the face, so they say; and I know it is true.

This Christian education is very broadening. These girls have been taught to see nature and to see God in nature. I do not believe that it ever occurred to us that we are seeing God in nature as they do not see Him there. It is true they see God in nature in a very literal way, because a million stones picked out of the highway and daubed with red paint are gods to the Hindus at the present time; but that is not what I mean. I am talking of seeing God as we see Him, and that is something which the Oriental does not know much about. Ramabai is teaching those young women to see God. That is the great object of her institution. "God" is written large over the portals of that school, though one doesn't see it in English or Marathi letters.

Our educational work is especially desirable under the conditions obtaining in Western India because of its relation to the industrial situation. H~re is a little woman whom some of you have seen,-a woman who, you might think, would be a good Sanskrit scholar, but not much else. Well, we talk of a "Jack of all trades," but Ramabai seems to have mastered all the trades of man. She keeps all the wheels going. She is teaching many studies there and also many trades. I happen to have made a specialty of two or three of those trades,

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Report oj the Eleventh A nnual Meeting 33

and I could judge whether her work was worthily done. I am glad to say that, if all the trades are cared for as well as those that I happen to know, ~he is a master mechanic, so to speak. Those trades are not like some of the industries one sees introduced into India. They are desirable for the continuous use of those who go out from her schools. Of course, she has not gone as far as some of the schools. I saw eight or ten in India that had gone farther than hers; but the Government appreciates that side of her efforts. It is philanthropy, you might say, ~but it is also business. It is bringing into the lives of her pupils an opportunity to gain a usefu1live1ihood when they leave Mukti.

IV Another item which makes me beHeve very strongly in this movement is the contribution which you have made, without knowing it, perhaps, to the cause of literature in India. If you look at some of the specimens of printing which Miss Butler has here, you will say that the Pandita has gone into a useless line of work. Perhaps she is too far ahead of her time, and has been too ambitious, in this polyglot Bible of hers, and especially in her scheme for teaching her stu­dents Hebrew. She certainly has done something which, so far as I could learn, no Protestant Missionary in India has undertaken, and no Catholic. I did not find any institution that was teaching its students Hebrew. But the Pandita has worked out this thing, and has herself prepared a Hebrew grammar in Marathi. You may say that this is a work which is perfectly use­less in India. I do not think so. I believe that the time is coming when each one of the Indian versions of the Scripture is to be a native version, and it can never be so until the students there know the original languages of the Scriptures. The time has come to start that preparation which must come sooner or later, and you

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have the honor to have a representative who is hard at work at it. I believe that her desire to have her Bible students-the leading ones-know as nearly as possible the reai words of Scripture is of value. Per­haps many of those workers are only imperfectly ac­quainted with the English language. I grant that. But they are being taught Greek and Hebrew by the Pandita and Manoramabai, who know their language. Such teachers can make clear to them what is not under­stood in their study because of their meagre English. But the object-lesson is there, and some of the Indian missionaries are being put to shame by the fact that the first one to teach Hebrew there is an Indian woman,­and perhaps the first to teach Greek.

There is another aspect of this undertaking. We say our institution is at Mukti. Do you know what Mukti means? Mukti is no place at all: it is simply a secondary name of Ramabai's creation. She is an in­tensely pious woman, and so she called that collection of buildings which you have done so much to erect and keep in order "Salvation." That word "Mukti" is an extremely interesting one. You say that is a fine name; but really it is a very troublesome one. What do nine hundred and ninety-nine women out of a thousand think it means? They think that it is a place to go so that they may in time reach that end so greatly de­sired by the Indians, when they shall be one with the great Spirit of all. They want to be absorbed in God, as they understand Him. But even this they do not expect to attain in the lowly estate of womanhood. The wheel of transmigration must stop because, if it does not, in the next life who knows but that they will be dogs or goats or sheep? Perhaps, if they have been exceptionally holy, they may be born as a man, but that is very doubtful.

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Report oj the Eleventh A nnual Meeting 35

But why do I mention that Mukti stands for that idea of salvation? Because all like precious words have such different meanings in the Indian languages. They use different names for God. Thus they employ Swami a great deal in South India. The trouble is, it is also a name applied to Brahmins and others, like Vivekananda, who are not even Brahmins. That kind of god is too numerous, and so the term does not con­vey a good impression. There is another term, Isvara, which is used, meaning Lord. That sounds like a very good word; but, as a matter of fact, that term is so con­stantly used in philosophy to indicate that phase of Brahma which is connected with Maya, or illusion, that it practically destroys its usefulness. The question of terminology is thus a very serious one. I do not mean that the native pandits are not helping; but a person who is a thorough -going Chris tian can sense the subtle meaning of words that are not as obvious as those just mentioned, and we need such translators in the near fu ture.

In 1895 there was a meeting of the British mission­ary societies at which they considered the question of literature. Rev. E. P Rice, of India, was one of the speakers. He told them what exceedingly difficult situations the writers of native books faced, and he held that practically very little over there is adapted to Indian modes of thought. If that had been the opinion of Mr. Rice only, it would not have had much ,,'eight. But most writers are asserting that what is written there is not indigenous. One of the strongest of the Wesleyans, Rev. Henry Haigh, has said:-

"Those who are baptised as children and have a long training in our schools gain some conception of the meaning of our books. That is, they are really receiv-

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ing an English training through the medium of the ver­nacular. But they are by that very means made stran­gers and foreigners to their Hindu brethren. There are no points of approach between them. The Christian Church of India is in great danger of having a language of its own. Vle may call it 'the language of Canaan' if we please, bu t it is only English metamorphosed and sadly attenuated in the process."

I believe that if Pandita;'Ramabai could be led to see "" that, instead of going on with this valuable yet rela-

tively unnecessary translation of the Old Testament, she should turn her attention to this other line, you would have accomplished a vastly greater work. If she could prepare a few books which would serve as samples for other native writers to follow, books which are thoroughly indigenous, the Christian Church would be a great gainer. It may be that, Manoramabai, after her mother passes away, will be the one to take hold of this, though she does not have all that her mother possesses in the direction of Sanskrit.

V. Let me pass on to another service you are render­ing India. I believe that India needs very greatly, and above all other things, Christianity. The Brahmo­Somaj members talk of Jesus as we rarely speak of Him. A year ago last Christmas I was in Calcutta. A friend, secretary of the Baptist Missionary Society, was going out after luncheon to play tennis. He had been to church in the morning. Just at the door he met a Brahmo. The Brahmo looked at him in astonishment. Said he, "Are you going out to play tennis on Christmas Day?" "Why, yes," my friend said: "what of that?" "Why," said he, "we of the Brahmo-Somaj are meeting together by twos and threes to pray to Jesus and to talk about Him." That is a most significant remark.

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Report of the Eleventh Annual 1\1 eeting 37

If he were but one individual, that would be one thing; but he is a type. Jesus is a tremendous factor in India, and you kn",ow that some of the finest specimens of Indian writing that have appeared in English have been eUlogies of Jesus. One of the strongest of the young preachers of Bengal, one who couI'd sway an audience of stones, was a man of the most pronounced Chris tian character. I talked with him after hearing him. I wanted to know how he came into that deep Christian life. He said, "If it were not for the Brahmo­Somaj, I should not be here tOJday." One of the very strongest men I met in 'Vestern India was another man who had been led to Jesus through the Brahmo-Somaj.

Why do I mention this? Because I want to make it evident to you that the great potential factor in India, as many look upon it, is Jesus Christ. Ramabai is doing all that she can to bring Jesus Christ to the front. Some of our workers would not agree with me, perhaps, as I look upon the situation; but I feel that her contri­bution to India in this direction is more important than anything else that she has ever done. I do not care what our beliefs may be. I am perfectly sure of that. You have no idea what an influence she has as a relig­ious factor in the empire. Of course, you have read many things in connection with recent revival move­ments that you do not approve of; and I do not ap­prove of some of the "manifestations" that have oc­curred. But Ramabai herself did not approve of them. I have not time to quote to you the opinion of a medi­cal authority of London who has had a great deal to do with nervous disorders. It is his idea, after study­ing the situation thoroughly, that those irregularities are something that are not wholly objectionable from the standpoint of the Indian.

But set that phase of her work aside, and look at the

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38 The American Ramabai Association

Pandita's work to-day. Is hers not the life which Jesus would wish to have led before those people? How are you going to win India or any other cQuntry to the Christian life? It is simply by living and teaching the Christian life there: it is doing as you think Jesus would do, if He were living in India at this moment. There is something wonderfully powerful in that. I could tell you of missionaries-men and women-who have been driven by the experience and attainments of that Indian Christian to seek higher things for themselves. Christian leaders have been saved, in a way: they have been brought from a lower plane up to higher levels by the simple faith of that woman whom we so honor. I do not say that all of us ought to believe precisely the things she believes; but I do say that we all ought to admire the great, deep 19ve for Jesus which mani­festly dominates her life. If we had that same domi­nation of our lives] I am sure Boston would not be large enough to contain us. Our activities would go out so that the whole United States would be full of our in­tense love for Jesus Christ, and conditions in America would rapidly change.

You know that Ramabai can hear nothing at all prac­tically. Hence, when they have morning prayers and her fifteen or sixteen hundred pupils come together in that immense room, and the time for prayer arrives, they pray simultaneously, and it is a great bedlam; though I cannot understand why God cannot just as well hear people when audibly praying as when they pray inaudibly. Well, the Pandita cannot hear a word, but she has with her her note-book. That note-book contains the names of workers in India, as well as of her own girls; and then that great heart of hers goes further afield, and she prays for people all over the world. Mis­sionaries from various countries, especially from China

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Report of the Eleventh A nnual AI eeting 39

and Africa, consider it a great privilege to have their names in the Pandita)s book and be remembered before God. I may be old-fashioned, but I believe that God is a hearer of prayer, and I believe that prayer is a mode of work; and as that widow sits there in white, with her prayer list before her, I believe that she is work­ing far away,-that she is working in my dear old China even. I believe somebody in those distant lands is being blessed by the prayers she is offering. I believe this, and that is one great reason why I believe in her, and say again that her great contribution, as it seems to me, to the future of India is this, that she is bringing Jesus closer to men, women, and children, not merely through her prayers, not merely through the girls who are there preparing for their future work, but also through that larger ministry, which is the ministry of in­spiration and intercession.

VI. Looking back over these few reasons that I have adduced, it seems to me that the most important thing that we are doing for India has been left unsaid. Sup­pose Alexander Duff had lived in Calcutta to the present time, or suppose that he had been there for seventy­five years, and had been just such a Scotchman as the Pandita has been an Indian. His influence would have been great, but it could not compare with the influence of that man if he had been an Indian. You know the present watchword is, "India for the Indians!" The great movements of the future there are certainly to be movements which have as their bases great and power­ful native leaders. The coming leaders will not be foreigners, English or American, but persons to the manner born, who fully know their own people. We know the difficulties that confront the people there from a religious point of view, and can sympathize with them. We, as Americans, know God, and this has

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40 The American Ramabai Association

enabled us to lead others to Him, as one who has not himself come to God could not do. So the Pandita's peculiar Indian experiences have prepared her to lead Hindus to God. There are two points in her history which are exceedingly interesting. The first is when she went up and down the sacred rivers with her father, as he explained the sacred texts to the pilgrims: that was a preparation for a time when she was to be a leader of those Indian seekers after truth. And the second is the day when she reached Calcutta, and went into that first meeting with a number of gentlemen and ladies met together to pray. You remember what she says: "I got down on my knees because all the rest did. I did not know what it meant. I thought all those women and men were worshipping the chairs before them." That was the first opening of her eyes, in a way, to what Christian prayer meant; and see how mightily she has used that long lever ever since. With all her frailties-and she has them-she has tremen­dous strength, and I hope we all believe that her prayers and ours will be heard, and that our joint intercessions will be mutually helpful in personal living and in the important work at Mukti.

I think there is no further business before us. There is none to my knowledge. I want to thank you all for your patience. You have been as long-suffering as an Indian audience in listening to this long address.

On motion duly seconded the meeting then adjourned.

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Report oj the Eleventh Annual !1fccting 41

BY-LAWS.

ARTICLE 1. The mem bers of the Association shall be such persons as are mentioned in the certificate of incorporation, such persons as shall from time to time be elected by the Association or by the Board of l\Ianagers, and such persons as shall be selected for membership by the Ramabai Circles now or hereafter existing, provided that no more than one person shall be so selected by each circle in anyone year, and that no person so selected shall become a member of the Association till notice of the selection has been received by the Recording Secretary of the Association.

ART. II. The officers of the Association shall consist of a Presi­dent, not less than five Yice-Presidents, a Recording Secretary, a Corresponding Secretary, a Treasurer, and Twenty Managers, all of which officers together shall constitute a Board of Managers. All said officers shall be elected at the Annual ?lIeeting, and shall hold their office one year, and until others are elected and qualified in their stead. Any yacancy occurring in any of the offices may be filled by the Board of Managers. The election of officers shall be by ballot, and all or any of them may be yoted for on the same ballot.

ART. III. The Board of Managers shall manage and control all the property, business, and affairs of the Association. The Presi­dent of the Association shall be Chairman of the Board. The Board shall meet at such times and places as the President shall appoint. The Board shall mak~ an annual report to the Association.

ART. IV The Annual l\leeting of the Association for the elec­tion of officers and the transaction of any business shall be held in March of each year at such time and place in Boston as the Presi­dent shall appoint. Special meetings of the Association may be called by the Presiden t or by the Board of Managers, notice of the purpose of the meeting being included in the notice of the meeting. Notice of the time and place of the Annual Meeting or of any special meeting shall be given by pUblication in hvo Boston newspapers at least a week before the meeting.

ART. V. Seven members shall constitute a quorum of the Board of Managers.

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42 The American Ramabai Association

ART. VI. Voting by proxy shall be allowed at meetings of the Associa tion.

ART. VII. The Ramabai Circles shall be such voluntary and unincorporated Associations as now do or hereafter may exist in different localities for the purpose of maintaining interest in, and providing funds for, the work of this Association.

ART. VIII. The By-laws may be amended by vote of two-thirds· of the members present and voting, proyided that notice of the proposed amendment shall be included in the notice of the meeting.

ART. IX. There shall be on the Board of Managers representa­tives, not exceeding six, from societies contributing to the funds· of the Association.

ART. X. There shall be an Executive Committee of the Associa-­tion, consisting of not less than five members of the Board of Managers.

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YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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, ' ,

(t~mmonweaItb of il'ass3cbilsetts.

'B~IT XNOW~, ·Tba.twhereasE. ;Winchester nonald~ E. J{~yward,' FeIty,'Pauline Agassiz Shaw, Judith W. Atidrew~.Antoinette P. 'Granger~CleIhentin~B~tler,Catherine E. RusSell, Abbie B; Child, ".William~ V.Kellen,Martha: Silsbee, Comelia C. nbnald, Meta

Neilson, 'Mary : Rogers 'Bangs. Clarence John' Blake,'] osephine Dex:ter, and others,have:associated themselves with the intention of formJng a corPor~tion Unqer.the· name of ~ AMBRIC4N. R~-, ABAIAssoCIATION'forthe purpose of promoting .and ',a:ssistIDg ,.~ :ihe edu~tion, ,and to amelioratetheconditicmof \;vidows; deserted wiv~s, -and unmarried women and girls, all of the higher 'castes"in' India, ~d haye'compIied with the provisions6fth~ statutes of this' Commonwealth in such, case, made ~ proyided, as appears ' from

'tne.ceWficate ofiheProPer()fficers. of said corporation; , duly approved by the ,cOmmissioner of Cotporations, ~d reeord~ in this 'office:- " -',', " , " '

, ,Now, THBREFORE, I, Williatri 'M~Olin. Secretary {)f the Common­wealth of Massachusetts, do hereby certify that said E. Winchester Dqnald, E. Hayward Ferry, Pauline Agassiz Shaw, ]udith.W.' Andrews,- Antoinette,P.G~ger, Clementinil Butler, Catherine E. Russell,' Abbie B. Child,\Vil1~1,ll V. Kellen,. :M:ar~, Silsbee, Cor­nelia C.Dona;1d, Me.ta Neilson, Mary'Ro~Bangs, Clarence John Blake; Josephine· Dextei-, andothets, 'their associates . and succes­sors" are ,legally organized and e~tablished as and are hereby made an existing corpQtation under, the name 'of THEAJ.iEIucAN RAMA­

BAlAsSOClATION, with the, 'powers, rights, and privileges, and subject- to ,the'limitations, c:ii,ities, and 'l"eStrictions which by, law appertam ther~to. ' , ', '

,',:WITNBSS~ my officialsiin.~ttii'e h~eto'subscnOed . . and the'seatof the Commonwealth of Massa­

chuscetts.hereunto afEXedtbis ~ twenty-sixth day of J an~ry dn the year of our Lord one thousSncl eigh~ bundre4and ~etY-1t~'e~ ,

.':,:WlLLIAMM~ ,OLIN .. , S~eiaf''J' of the'q~mo.'fIJealth.