Vol 3 Page 85

COMMENT ON “YAKSHNI”

[The Theosophist, Vol. II, No. 7, April, 1881, p. 144]

[The writer, Thakur Ganesh Singh, tells the story of a fakir who had for some time frequented the neighborhood of Jahanobad, and owed certain sums of money to the shopkeepers for food supplied to him. He was finally taken into custody by order of the Tehsildar. In order to obtain his release, he commenced to perform such feats as the changing of water into wine or syrup, the materialisation of fresh fruits and flowers, etc. He further promised to cause the appearance of a tiger, whereupon he was threatened that if he continued such performances he would be beheaded. He produced no other phenomena after that. The writer says that he was told such phenomena could be done by obtaining control over Yakshni, and requests an explanation of what this power is, and “whether it is worth aspiring to.”]

It certainly is not worth the while of any sensible man to spend time in learning such puerilities as are above described. These are the baser branches of occultism. A Yogi who gets frightened at any threat is no Yogi, but one of those who learn to produce effects without knowing or having learnt what are the causes. Such men, if not tricksters, are simply passive mediums—not adepts !