1847.1 



Gosawees or Gosaeens. 



69 



pounded at Benares^ Jhansee, and Hyderabad,, and least so at Poona, 

 the mal administration, for several years under the Mahratta Govern- 

 ment, of the empire of which this was the capital, having it is said in- 

 duced a relaxation of principle on the part of the Gosawees, and oc- 

 casionally actuated the Dusname to give opinions at variance with 

 those of the same assembly at other places, although the customs and 

 privileges of the order are avowedly similar in all parts of India where 

 the members of it are to be found. 



MohunL 11. If any member of a Mut'h be particularly distin- 



guished by his acts of hospitality, veneration for his ancestors, and a 

 life of morality, he receives from the Dusname the honorary title Mo- 

 hunt. This distinction is not to be purchased at any other price, nei- 

 ther riches nor length of years giving any claim to it, if unaccompa- 

 nied by the qualities mentioned. There can only be one Mohunt in a 

 Mut'h, and his authority does not extend beyond the limits of his own 

 establishment. The Dusname being absolute, may at any time deprive 

 the Mohunt of his honorary degree, if he shall appear to the assembly 

 to have ceased to deserve it. It is generally conferred upon the Goo- 

 roos of Mufhs, who are the abbots of the Fiirrumpurogut Mutlis or 

 the monasteries, and supreme members of Mut'hs used as dwellings. 



^ ^ 12. Every Gosawee calls the person who chose 



Gooroo. ^ 



him for his disciple his Gooroo^' or spiritual mas- 

 ter ; of these Gooroos there may be many in one Mut'h whose res- 

 pective Cheelas or disciples are subordinate to them, while they as 

 well as their disciples are subject to the authority of the head of 

 the establishment who is called the Gooroo of the Mut'h. This 

 person has considerable power over his disciples, having the whole in- 

 ternal administration of the establishment. He can expel any disciple 

 who may be found guilty of misappropriating the common property, of 

 gambling, of drunkenness, of fornication, or contempt of his authority. 

 If his orders be disobeyed they are enforced by the assembly of the 

 Dusname, which has appellate jurisdiction in all such cases. 



13. If on the other hand the Gooroo establish any bye-laws for 

 his Mufh subversive of the fundamental principles of the order, he 

 may be dismissed by the authority of the Dusname^ which will nomi- 

 nate his successor from among his disciples, or leave it to their dis- 

 cretion to select the fittest member for the situation. 



* It may here be observed that whatever is said of the powers of the Gooroo of a MuVh 

 applies also to the authoritj' of any Gosawee who has pupils or disciples of hia own in 

 so far as under such circumstances he can exercise it. 



