But he does not hasten to explain. Instead, he suddenly rolls the whites of his eyes upwards in a most alarming manner. There is another minute of intense silence, and only when he brings his eyes back to their normal appearance am I reassured.

When he addresses me again a faintly enigmatical smile hovers once more around his lips.

“Such is the greatness of this sacred trance that death cannot catch a man while he is in it. There are some Yogis on the Tibetan side of the Himalayas who have practised to perfection this path of Brahma Chinta. Because it pleases them to do so they have secluded themselves in mountain caves, where they have entered the profoundest degree of the sacred trance. In that condition, the pulse stops, the heart no longer beats and the blood does not flow through the unmoving body. Anyone finding them would think they are dead. Do not imagine that they have gone into a kind of sleep, because they are as fully conscious as you or I. They have entered the inner world, where they live higher lives. Their minds have become released from the limits set by the body and they discover the whole universe within themselves. One day they will come out of their trance, but then they will be many hundreds of years old!”

So once again I hear this incredible tradition of perennial human life. Apparently it will follow my feet wherever I go under this Eastern sun. But shall I ever track down one of these legendary immortals and behold him face to face? And will the West ever discover and accept, as a scientific and psychological contribution, this ancient magic cradled in the bleak climate of Tibet? Who knows?

REGULATED is the planetary system. No less dear to the God-Father and to Law is the human life of the Father’s children; and the care of each child is as well regulated and as precise as that which holds the stars in their courses.

BE AT PEACE. —J. H. H.