THE SACRED TANK AT MADURA 



Perhaps the most striking feature in it is the 

 " Golden Lily Tank," in which every pilgrim who 

 wishes to cleanse himself of sin has to bathe. For 

 some three hundred years, though the sick and the 

 unclean have visited it in countless millions, the water 

 has never been changed ; only fresh water has been 

 added to replace that which has evaporated. The 

 filth and the germs have remained. There is no 

 word in the EngHsh language to describe the condition 

 of the liquid in that tank. 



As I was being conducted round, my guide, 

 after a whispered conversation with a strange-looking 

 native, informed me that the High Priest himself would 

 receive me. 



I shall never forget the incident. The old man, 

 one of the greatest of India's spiritual chieftains, 

 received me with a grave dignity in a gloomy building. 

 A small door in front of me was opened, and I was 

 permitted to look into one of the most holy of Madura's 

 shrines, a tiny chamber. At the far end was a god, 

 grim and repellent. The only light came from two or 

 three smoky oil-lamps. On the floor were trays of 

 food-stuff, sweet-meats and greasy things. When the 

 door had been closed again the High Priest took his 

 stand on the sacred " moonstone " which formed 

 part of the floor, an immense chaplet of flowers was 

 put round my neck, and I was blessed at great 

 length in some unknown tongue. Really, it was very 



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