Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1877-09-13

l
with their husband.
Then, again, the increase in the num-
Ter OF girls who cannot find suitable hus.
bands IS now causing much embarrass-
inent in some districts; and even the
lepers, whose lives We preserve, involve
US in peculiar difficulties. These un.
fortunate creatures often roam about the
country exacting food from the people
by threatening 10 touch their children.
Here and there We have built leper vii.
iages-rows of cottages under trees de-
voted to their use; and we make the
towns contribute from local funds 10
support them, while charity ekes ou:
the miserable pittance they receive.
Formerly, IL was possible for devotees
with the object Of exciting admiration
or cxtorting aims, or Under the delusion
that their ss.f-torture was an act of re-
iigious merit-to swing in the air at
tached to a lofty pole by means of a
rope and hook passed through the mus
cles of the back. Such selt-inficted
mutllation Is now prohibited. Yet,
even IN the present day, to ccquire a
! reputation for sanctity, or to receive
homage and offerings ffcm the multi
tude, or under the idea of accumulatlns
a store of merit, all sorts of bodily suf-
| terlngs, penanCes, and austerities, even
to virtual suicide, are undergone-the
latter being sometimes actually pcrpe-
trated out OF mere revenge, ns rs con-
sequences are supposed TO fall on the
enemy whose action has driven the de-
| ceased TO self-immolation.
| saw man not long since at ALA
habad who has sat in one position for
nifty years on stone pedestal exposed
TO sun, wind and ram. He never moves
except once l day, when his attendants
| lead hlm tothe Cages. He Is an object
of worship to thousands, and even high
caste Brahmas pay him homage.
saw two rdhya-tahus, one at Gaya
and the other at henares-that;> i. deyo-
tees who hold their arms with clcnched
fists above their heads for wears, until
they become shrivelled and the finger
nails penetrate through the back of the
bands. Another man was prostrating
| himself aud measuring every inch ofthc
ground with his body round the hill OF
Govarihnn when passed.
Two attempts at samadh occurred in
Mr.. Sheppard district. 4 devotce an
nounced his intention OF adopting this
extraordinary method OF securing per-
feet abstraction and beatitude. and = as
actually buried alive in the neirhbor-
hood of village. Hi friends were de-
tccted by the villagers in pouring milk
down a hollow bamboo which had been
arranged to supply the buried man with
AR aud food. The bamboo was remov-
ed, and the Inferred man was found dead
when his friends opened the grave short
ly at,crward. The other attempt is still
more recent and | will conclude this
communication by giving Mr.. Shep-
pard own account of it almost in his
own words:
AS | was shooting near nv camp
one morning. 4 mounted orderly came
up with news that Bhat had performed
.>&inadh that afternoon in a neirhboring
village. and that there were much con-
scqucnt excitement there. Not having a
horse with me, | directed the ORDERLY 10
ri1c oil 10 the village ana to dig up the
buried man, taking INTO CUSTODY any per-
sons who might ende vor to oppose the
execution ot my orders. On returning
to my camp ordered the apprehension
of all those who had assisted in The "A.
madh and soon attcrward received \
report that the man had been actually
buried in 4 vault i'll his own house. bu;
bad been taken out alive. He was
however, very weak, and died the fol-
lowing morning. II Vas iiieh reported
to me that the limbs, though cold. had
not >'lticned, and the people, ready as
of old To be deceived, and always IN
clincd TO attribute the smallest depar
ture from the ordinary course of events
TO supernatural agency, declared that
the Bhat was not dead, but living in the
samadh trance. There was, however.
no pulse. aud As it was clear that. even
1t the suppo>ition of the villagers was
correct, medical treatment would be de-
slrable, | sent the body in a cart TO the
nearest dl>pensary, distant some six or
seven miles, and in due time received
a certificate of death from the hospital
assistant in charge of that institution.
together with report Of post r,ortem
examination OF the body, which showed
that death had resulted from heart dis
case. Meanwhile | visited the village
and a>cer,ained the following facts:
The deceased was man IN fairly
comfortable circumstances. and with
some religious preten>ions. waswell
known that he a>pired 20 a still higher
reputation for sanctity. and that with
thi. view he had for several months
been contemplating samadh. The pro-
per date for this rite had been finally
settled after many solemn ceremonies
and the due observance offa>:ing. PRAYER
and charity. On the afternoon fixed
for the >amadh he assembled the villa
gers. and told them that il had been i'm
parted II him in vision that the Deity
required him u pass SIX weeks in reli-
gious abstraction, and that he felt COM
PEELED 10 obey the Divine Command. and
10 remain in the vault prepared for him
during the period. He then produced
and worshipped small earthen vessel
containing the sacred Tul>i plant. and al
tcrward carefully planted therein twenty
grams Of barler, telling the villagers 10
wa.ch for their growth. as IL had been
revealed 10 hum that the grains repre-
senied his life. II, at the end Of the
six weeks. the grains had >prouted, the
villagers were TO understand that the
bhas was still alive. He was then IN
oe removed from the vault. and wor-
shiPPco a. SAINT. IL, or the other