The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-05-11

OF the ground and squatted down on
It, eastern fashion, with his legs cross
ed, which was at nee interpreted by
! address them. The Hindus squatted
the people as a sign that he wanted TO
down likewise, and most Of them came
around to the side where they could
face him.
Once" he began, when Brahmad-
alta was king in Benares, the BOdhis-
alta was born as a white crane, far
in the NeilgherTy mountains, near a
lake where the lotus never fares" And
then he went ON, giving the details Of
Of those strange and beautiful
.Jatakas, or birth tales Of Buddha, Of
which an incredible number are cir
culating in India showing how the
great teacher, for the hundreth time,
resolved to quit blessed repoSe Of
Nirvana, out Of divine compassion, TO
be once more incarnated in an earthly
form and undergo the suffering and
sorrow which all terrestrial existence
involves.
It was easy to perceive that the list
eners were profoundly impressed with
the Sadhu's preaching, and as for my.
self | had become so absorbed in it
that l seemed to forget time and space
Icertainly did not notice what after
ward startled me more than anything
else, viz. The disappearance Of the
tree. When the Sadhu had finished his
discourse the tree was gone. It must
nave vanished suddenly, and yet the
precise moment of its disappearance
nobody could tell. The adept quietly,
rose, folded up his mat, then went to
the spot where the tree had stood and
I-oolt Iou,n roIinp from q email h1nHfa
which he held under his arm a short
stick. With this he stirred up the earth
and in a few moments brought out
again the fruit which he had planted.
| was very close to him at the time
and he allowed me to take it in my hand
twas an ordinary mango, al unripe
one, apparently, for it felt rather hard.
I expressed my surprise at his wonder
full powers and complinTented him 81
his eloQuence, bue he merely smiled.
/ her offered him two rupees and
tried to engage him III conversation,
but he refused the present on the
, ground that a Sahu who practiced
Yoga Vidya was not in need Of money,
and he begged to be excused, as he had
7 a great way to go.
TOOK A CLIMB.
, 1t was my first experience OF the ia
4 nous mango feat, which | witnessed
five times in various parts Of India.
On one occasion l saw it performed in
a little village in the Valley of Kash-
imir, near Srinagar, in the Himalayas,
by a certain Rarh Surash an adept
famous throughout the Punjab, and
, | am almost afraid TO record this
:. experience, as it may be deemed utter
!, ly incredible. Yet I am telling here
no idle fairy tales. The mango tree
which this adept produced did not van
ish in proportion as [ approached It,
but retained it's full realism, n 1
not only touched it, but actually climb
h er several feet up its stem.
q On the West Coast of India, about
go miles north of Bombay. lies the
city of Baroda. 1t is the capital OF one
of the semi-independent native states,
. Guzerat. and is ruled ny a Maharatta
u prince who bears the title Of GeakWaT
which in plain English means "sOw-
herd" 1t was in front Of the Geak-
wars palace, in the open air and in
broad daylight that l first witnessed
e the illusion which in the opinion OF
e the Hindus themselves is the climax
a of Sadhu achievement viz. the celebrat-
l I'll IODo lIICh. l. DcS IA1ucfo" AoS
: cause the performance gives one any
such impression or as if that word
afforded some kind of explanation but
n for want Of a better term at the pres
ent moment. What I saw appeared
S to me Just as real as the fact that l
am now engaged in penning these
= lines.
A "Sadhu," after having addressed a
= large assemblage os people and preach
ed one of the most impressive ermOn
~ l ever listened to took a rope about
= fifteen feet long and perhaps an inch
! thick. One end Of the rope he held in
- his left hand, while with the right he
- threw the other end up in the air. The
'. ropes, instead of coming down again
= remained suspended, even after the
adept had removed his other hand
and it seemed to have become as rigid
as a pillar.
CLIMBED OUT OF SIGHT
e Then the adept seized it with both
e hands and, to my utter amaZementl
d climbed up his rope, suspended al
d the time, in defiance of gravity, witt
IS the lower end at least five feet from
the ground. And in proportion as he
J. climbed up, it seemed as if the rope
i was lengthening out indefinitely above
a him and disappearing beneath him
for he kept on climbing till he was
II fairly out of sight, and the last ]
" could distinguish was his white turba1
y and a piece of this n~ever-ending rope
a Then my eyes could endure the glare
If of the sky no longer, and when I look
S. ed again he was gone.
lie I have. seen this marvellous feat
. on four different occasions, performed
" in precisely the same manner, and thu
,: mystery seemed only to deepen Will
- every repetition. 1t has been thu
. standing wonder of India from a time
:, antedating perhaps the building Of the
first pyramid. Marco Polo was pro
&c foundly impressed with it and Tavern
IL Ter. who visited India about the mid