The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-12-26
.HINDOO YOG|ES PASSING
AWAY RAPIDLY IN INDIA
Sect of Brahmins Which Has Mys-
tilted the World for Centuries
with Occult Power.
LEAD HERMITS' LIVES

TOLEDO, o., Dec. 25.-'Ot the hundreds
of thousands of Yogies, or Hindoo jugglers,
as they commonly called. only about
10000 survive" said Mr.. NJ. V. Tissera.
For centuries the Yogies, a sect of
Brahmins. have mystifed the world. and
even the late Magician Keller, who made
trip to India to learn something of their
art, was completely baffied The Yogies
are the philosophers the ascetics of India.
They seldom marry, have little in common
with the world and their sect is dying out
Mr.. Tissera Is wholesale tea merchant,
having houses in Colombo, London, New
York and Chicago. He is a Singhaleses
gentleman and, although he was born
within few miles of the land of the Io-
gies. and has frequently seen manifesto
tons of the power of these wonderful peo-
pie, with whom he converses in their native
tongue, he processes TO be utterly unable
to explain their marvellous performances
except in a general way. He says their
accomplishments Illustrate the power Of
mind over matter.
'It was during the $685." said Mr.. Tis-
sera, that Magician Keller went to India
to study what he termed the tricks of the
Yogies. Mr.. Keller went TO the palace of
the Maharajah of Travancore. The ma
harajah invited one of the greatest of the
Yogies. Ramasevanie by name, to meet the
great American prestidigateur. The ma
harajah and Keller walked to the entrance
of the palace grounds to meet the Yogie
man, who came, clad as the people of this
sect always are, in garments of pure white
The Yogie bowed low and in twinkling
disappeared. Keller, expecting to see Won
ders, was alert but this completely mysti-
fed him. With the maharajah he turned to
enter the palace and, behold, the Yogie
was approaching from the building to meet
them. Keller told me afterward that he
heard little rustic when the man of the
East disappeared. but to him the feat was
utterly incomprehensible.
AN INCREDIBLE STORY.
cit is matter of history that, during the
Sepoy rebellion in India. the Yogies, who
were distributed all through the country.
told all of the important happenings of the
war Immediately after their occurrence
hundreds of miles away. There were no
telegraphs in the country: the fieetest re-
lays of messengers could not have carried
the news with the rapidity with which
they proclaimed it unerringly, and the man.
ner in which it was done has never been
there is abundant evidence of the truth of
the statement
AT my home in Colombo, Ceylon, 1 have
frequently witnessed the work of the Yo-
gies and have tested their powers myself
Three years ago / was at my residence with
my two sisters and Yogie. Taking ring
from my finger, the man of mystery cast
it into we'll on the premises. L saw him
do ii myself Handing few seeds of
variety of which / had no knowledge to
my sister, he instructed her to throw them
did so, and Immediately after they touched
the surface of the water, began TO sprout.
Pointing to a locked tin cash box. which
the Yogie had not had in his possession, he
said: You will find your ring in that box
L unlocked the box and the ring dropped
out.
I handed him gold chain. This he also
cast into the well and gave my other sister
more seeds. with instructions as to how
this part OF the performance was of no
special consequence. she threw them care
iessly into the water. failing to observe the
directions of the Yogie. Although he had
not seen what she did. a panied look In
stantly overspread his face. Did you do
as / drected?' he asked. My sister ad-
mitted that she had not Then | cannot
recover your chain said the Yogie. Later
L fished it from the bottom Of the we'll my
self.
Another very ordinary feat performed
by common fakirs and Togies who have
not obtained distinction is to lie in a ceme-
terry all night and in the morning bring
messages from the dead to their friends
and relatives. That these messages are
genuine L once had proof myself. One of
my relatives, little child, died. and 1t
which she had worn had been lost. We
made use of the services of a Yogie to To-
| cate II. The fellow went to the cemetery,
| Frustrated himself all night at the grave
and returned to the house early in the
morning with the information that the
locket was buried in a certain sand pile in
| which the child played shortly before her
death. We found the locket just where the
Yogie said 1t was.
The mangoe trick and the string trick,
concerning which so much has been said.
are practiced not by the Yogies, but by
| the common fakirs. You know they make
| mangoe tree grow instantly from seed
and send man up string into the clouds,
| Where ne disappears from view
BELIEVE IN REINCARNATION.
1.-THE Yogies firm believers in rein
| carnation and thought transference. For
| centuries they have been subjugating their
| bodies In order that the human soul may
obtain emancipation from further migra-
! tons and effect junction with the univer-
sal spirit. Their evolution, or development
has been wonderful, and along certain lines
| they have attained to high state Of per-
| lection. Undoubtedly their dissemination
of news during the Sepoy rebellion, as well
as the mystery of many of the other SEEM
| ingly incomprehensible things they do, is
| explained by the theory of thought trans
| ference, now recognized by science. You
| western people-some of you-have this
power, but 1t is yet undeveloped. You call
| it telepathy, and. by contact with an
| other, mind reading may be done here to
| a limited extent, but the comparison Of
| what is done here with the accomplish
| ments of the Yogies of India, is of light
| and grand opera.
Christian Science Is not new thing.
| Under another name IL has been prac-
| ticed in India for centuries. Even the
setting of broken bones without pain or
| pulling was accomplished This is now
| a lost art-lost during Mohammedan inva-
sions and other disturbances in the country.
| Theosophy is old there too. and even the
| resurrection of the dead has been accom-
| plished. / have seen Yogie wrapped
| much after the fashion Of an Egyptian
| mummy and buried alive for weeks. Dur
| ing that period respiration was suspended
| and seeds sprouted over the place where he
| was buried When he was eXhumed, an
| other Yo61e renewed respiration within him
| and he revived. This was done in the same
| manner in which the prophet, Elijah re-
stored the son of the Shunamite woman TO
life. You will remember that the child
| died, and in III Kings, 5:34. are told that
| Elijah went up and lay upon the child
and put his mouth upon his mouth and
his eyes upon his eyes. and his hands upon
his hands, and the flesh of the child waxed