Here is the complete, simplified rewrite of Rammohan Roy's writings titled "Humble Suggestions". It is written in clear, modern English, and I have made sure to keep every single argument, detail, and footnote from the original text.
Humble Suggestions
(Footnote: Just like the previous treatise, Raja Ram Mohun Roy was the actual author of this text, which is obvious from even a superficial reading of it. He put the name Prasanna Kumar Thakur on it because the Raja enjoyed writing anonymously and attributing his own works to other people. — Editor)
Unity Among Believers of One God
There are people who firmly believe—based on the authority of the Vedas—that "God is exactly ONE without any equal," and that "He cannot be known through language, thought, or physical vision, but can only be known as the existing origin and support of the universe." These same people also try to guide their behavior by the following rule: "He who desires eternal happiness should treat others the way he treats himself, and view the happiness and misery of others as his own."
People who hold these beliefs should show the warmest affection to any of their fellow countrymen who share this exact same faith and practice. We should do this even if these countrymen have not personally studied the Vedas for themselves, but have simply come to believe in one God by learning the general message of the scriptures.
Respecting Different Languages of Worship
Many people among the ten classes of Sannyasis (monks), as well as all the followers of Guru Nanak, Dadoo, Kabir, and Santu, profess these exact same religious beliefs. It is our unquestionable duty to always treat them as our brothers. We should never doubt their future salvation simply because they receive their spiritual instruction and practice their sacred music in their local, everyday dialects rather than in classical Sanskrit.
To support this, the sage Yajnavalkya said the following regarding those who cannot sing the original hymns of the Vedas: "The divine hymns Rik, Gatha, Panika, and Daksha-vihita should be sung, because by constantly using them, a person achieves supreme happiness." He also noted: "Anyone who is skilled at playing the lute (veena), who deeply understands various tones and harmonies, and who can keep time in music, will easily enter the path of salvation."
Furthermore, the Shiva Dharma (as quoted by Raghunandan) states: "A true Guru is someone who instructs his disciple according to the disciple's own capacity to understand—whether that means using pure Sanskrit, corrupted Sanskrit, the current local language of the country, or any other method."
How to Treat Different Sects of Foreigners (Christians)
Regarding foreigners, there are Europeans who believe God is entirely ONE, who worship HIM ALONE in spirit, and who believe that showing kindness to humanity is the highest form of service to God. We should view these Europeans with affection because the object of their worship is exactly the same as ours. We should not hesitate to cooperate with them in religious matters just because they consider Jesus Christ to be the Messenger of God and their Spiritual Teacher. Sharing the exact same object of worship and the same religious practices should naturally create a strong bond between worshippers.
Among Europeans, there are also those who believe that Jesus Christ is God Himself, who believe He possesses a specific physical form, and who maintain that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost make up one God. We should not treat these people in an unfriendly manner. Instead, we should treat them exactly the same way we treat those of our own countrymen who meditate on Ram and other supposed incarnations—believing they are united as one—without actually building external physical idols of them.
Furthermore, there are Europeans who believe Jesus Christ is the Supreme Being and who also construct various statues and images of him. We should not hate these people either. On the contrary, it is our duty to act toward these Europeans in the exact same way we act toward Hindus who believe Ram and others are incarnations of God and who do build external physical idols of them. The core religious principles of these last two groups of foreigners are exactly the same as the principles of the two similar groups of Hindus, even though they are dressed up in different cultural clothing.
Responding to Conversion Attempts
Sometimes, people belonging to these second and third groups of Europeans will try to convert us—the believers in the one living and true God—to their religion. Even when this happens, we should not feel angry or resentful toward them. Instead, we should feel compassion for them because they are blind to the errors they have fallen into. As our everyday experience teaches us, it is almost impossible for people who possess great wealth and power to recognize their own flaws and defects.
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