DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.9550#0368
3*8
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
being of the sacerdotal order by profession as well as by
birth, and of a family than which none holds a higher
rank in that profession, have up to the present day uni-
formly adhered to a life of religious observances and
devotion, preferring peace and tranquility of mind to
the excitements of ambition, and all the allurements of
wordly grandeur.
In conformity with the usage of my paternal race,
and the wish of my father, I studied the Persian and
Arabic languages,—
these being indispensable to those who attached them-
selves to the courts of the Mahommedan princes ; and
agreeably to the usage of my maternal relations, I devo-
ted myself to the study of the Sanscrit and the theolo-
gical works written in it, which contain the body of
Hindoo literature, law and religion.
When about the age of sixteen, I composed a manuscript
calling in question the validity of the idolatrous system
of the Hindoos. This, togather with my known senti-
ments on that subject, having produced a coolness bet-
ween me and my immediate kindred, I proceeded on
my travels, and passed through different countries,
chiefly within, but some beyond, the bonnds of Hindoo-
stan, with a feeling of great aversion to the establishment
of the British power in India. When I had reached
the age of twenty, my father recalled me, and restored
me to his favour; after which I first saw andbegan to
associate with Europeans, and soon after made myself
tolerably acquainted with their laws and form of govern-*'-!
ment. Finding them generally more intelligent, more
steady and moderate in their conduct, I gave up my
prejudice against them, and became inclined in their
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
being of the sacerdotal order by profession as well as by
birth, and of a family than which none holds a higher
rank in that profession, have up to the present day uni-
formly adhered to a life of religious observances and
devotion, preferring peace and tranquility of mind to
the excitements of ambition, and all the allurements of
wordly grandeur.
In conformity with the usage of my paternal race,
and the wish of my father, I studied the Persian and
Arabic languages,—
these being indispensable to those who attached them-
selves to the courts of the Mahommedan princes ; and
agreeably to the usage of my maternal relations, I devo-
ted myself to the study of the Sanscrit and the theolo-
gical works written in it, which contain the body of
Hindoo literature, law and religion.
When about the age of sixteen, I composed a manuscript
calling in question the validity of the idolatrous system
of the Hindoos. This, togather with my known senti-
ments on that subject, having produced a coolness bet-
ween me and my immediate kindred, I proceeded on
my travels, and passed through different countries,
chiefly within, but some beyond, the bonnds of Hindoo-
stan, with a feeling of great aversion to the establishment
of the British power in India. When I had reached
the age of twenty, my father recalled me, and restored
me to his favour; after which I first saw andbegan to
associate with Europeans, and soon after made myself
tolerably acquainted with their laws and form of govern-*'-!
ment. Finding them generally more intelligent, more
steady and moderate in their conduct, I gave up my
prejudice against them, and became inclined in their