application to a Gosáin, with a payment varying from 2s. 6d. to 14s., and with the help of the Gosáin arranges to give the usual feast (mahotsab) to other Vaishnavs, generally some of the flock of the Gosáin. He eats with them, and is then a Vaishnav. A very large number of prostitutes are Vaishnavs. It is frequently the case, however, that a woman of this class does not become a Vaishnav until the near approach of death, or at least until she finds herself seriously ill. She sends for the Gosáin, pays her fee, and arranges with him about the mahotsab. She is then easy in mind as to her decent burial after death. The teachings of Chaitanya enjoined celibacy; but very many Vaishnavs are married, while those who are not married generally lead an immoral life as regards the sexual relations.
‘The position of the Gosáins is peculiar. They are Bráhmans, and they do not eat food cooked by persons of the Vaishnav sect. They are, however, regarded by the Vaishnavs as a part of their sect. They are no doubt Vaishnavs according to the wider meaning of the term, i.e. followers of Vishnu, and apparently they owe the respect and honour shown to them by the Vaishnav caste to the fact of their descent, and not to the accident of their being Bráhmans. A Gosáin often has a math or small temple, where the worship of Krishna is carried on. In this case he is generally styled mahant, and often has a considerable following of Vaishnavs. These maths are often well endowed, so that he does not merely support his own flock of Vaishnavs, but can also make it a resting-place for wandering Bairágís. The word Bairágí has come to mean peculiarly beggars and wanderers, or vagabonds. As a caste, it denotes the same thing as Vaishnav, and includes many persons who are not beggars or vagabonds; but to speak of a person as a Bairágí, is to imply that he is a beggar or a vagabond. They often hire themselves out to sing kirttans, or religious songs, at the time of sráddhas, pujás, and other festivals. They perform the part of undertakers when there is no one willing to dispose of a dead body. It is but a step from the plan by which, as above stated, professional harlots ensure their own burial after death. There can be no doubt that the Vaishnavs occupy a position very far below that contemplated by Chaitanya, both socially, intellectually, and morally; but it is apparent that the sect has its uses. Its followers open their arms to those who are rejected by all others,—the outcasts, the crippled, the diseased, and the unfortunate.’ The census
