One evening our conversation takes a turn which is destined to have important results for me. He describes on occasions the queer customs and peculiar traditions of his countrymen; sometimes he portrays in words a few of the types whom people his amazing land. He drops a remark this evening which enters a strange type, Yogi. I possess but a vague and incoherent idea of what the term really means. It has come to my notice a few times during the course of my reading, but in each occasion the terms of reference differ so much from the others that confusion is the natural result. So when I hear my friend use the word I stop him short and beg for further information.

“That I shall do with pleasure,” he answers, “but I can hardly tell you, in a single definition, what constitutes a Yogi. No doubt, a dozen of my countrymen will define the word in a dozen different ways. For instance, there are thousands of wandering beggars who pass by this name. They swarm through the villages and attend the periodic religious fairs in droves. Many are only lazy tramps and others vicious ones, while the most are totally illiterate men, unaware of the history and doctrines of the science of Yoga, and under whose shelter they masquerade.”

He pauses to flick the ash off his cigarette.

“Go, however, to some place like Rishikesh, over which the mighty Himalayas keep eternal guard. There you will find a totally different class of men. They live in humble huts or caves, eat little food and constantly pray to God. Religion is their breath; it occupies their minds day and night. They are mostly good men studying our sacred books and chanting prayers. Yet they, too, are called Yogis. But what have they in common with the beggars who prey on the ignorant masses? You see how elastic the term is! Between these two classes there are others who partake of the nature of both.”

“And yet there seems to be much made of the mysterious powers possessed by Yogis,” I remark.

“Ah! how you must listen to a further definition,” he laughs back at me. “There are strange individuals in solitary retreats far from the big cities, in the seclusion of lonely jungles or mountain caves, men who devote their entire existence to practices which they believe will bring marvelous powers. Some of these men will eschew all mention of religion and scorn it; others, however,