The Inner Life

IN A RECENT letter a friend asked me if, during my several visits to India, I had witnessed any magic of the fakirs and, if so, would I describe some of their phenomena.

The fakirs in the streets of India’s villages are almost as common a part of the life, as the beggar organizes are in the west. The tricks of the former are recorded on many pages of history and story, so I shall not repeat what you can read there. However, I witnessed a “miracle” of another kind which I think will not be without real interest to occultists.

From time to time one hears of the fakirs walking on fire, and crowds of people under the “spell” of a magician being illusioned into imagining that a thing took place when in reality it never happened at all; but it is quite different when one is actually present oneself. It would have been difficult indeed for my three friends and me to believe that we had been hoodwinked at the following occurrence. We went to see it with the intention of investigating; we kept our wits about us and deliberately tested each stage of the proceedings. One day we heard that at sunset there was to be an exhibition of “fire-walking” a few miles from Madras. We arrived early enough, not only to watch the performance itself, but to see all the preparations made for it.

Several Hindus selected a piece of ground about fifty feet square, cleared it and excavated to the depth of several inches. This was covered with dry straw, palm leaves and wood, over the whole was spread a thin layer of coal upon which they poured kerosene. They lighted it and for a time the flames covered the entire space, then died away, leaving a surface of red glowing coals.

At a certain moment a procession emerged from a nearby temple. The chief priest was being carried on a large golden dais seated at the feet of a figure of some deity. There followed a concourse of people in gala dress, surrounding about twenty youths in white robes decked with wreaths and garlands. They came running, dancing and singing along the way, until finally the procession halted in front of the burning enclosure. The priest stepped down from the dais and approached the fire; he removed a thin scarf or drapery from around him and holding to one end of it, threw the other onto the burning surface and it caught fire. He jerked