ASCETICISM IN INDIA

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 83, 4 October 1924, Page 16

ASCETICISM IN INDIA

BURIED FOR DAYS IN HOT SAND.

The pitiless hot-weather eun, the brownbaked Indian fields, and a cloudless sky; hard blue enamel upon brass'! In front is the slow, broad reach of the sacred riyer. On the sands that stretch' between the alluvial "fields and the'water's edge in the full white glare is a crowd that has. gathered, this summer noon, to watch an annual rite and ceremonial maintained by the i-uler of the native State to which.the territory belongs.: Once a year at this place, on a day chosen by astrolpgers as auspic-: ious, a holy ascetic performs a perilous, and, to us, inexplicable act,of austerity and' selfvdiscipline, writes Otto Rotfifeld, in the "Daily Express."-^-He allows himself to "bo buried alive fori five days in the burning river sand.-And he survives! , ''-.-.. "'.-''. ZZZ''

- The ascetic himself is a lean man, grave, : unsmiling. He: sits upon' the sands, .cross-legged," supported' on the crook of "a'-.st'icK.' beneath his armpits. His hands are pinned, palms together, against his chest as if in adoration, and his eyes look out unseeing, and unmoving atTihetcrowd. '.'At his side'is a bowl of milk, and in. front of him the hole, some sft deep, in which he.is presently .to lie.,-, His hair is "greased and:matted. His only garment is the merest loincloth, and his body is smeared with ashes.- He takes a few sips of.tho milk, till he falls at last.;:iht6 a,'. deeper, motionless contemplation." He" begins now the deep breathing that is: the -most approved of all methods of the".art.-of selfmastery. Even quite ordinary Indians, with no pretensions'-to holiness or true asceticism, ,are able, often to achieve a respiratory .control,:.-.and.through if a control, over heart arid circulation, that, to ■. fc?le.;- European, is: almost astounding. They<practice this control mormhg after mornihg_ for years oh end, "combining it with religious mediation on some chosen sacred subject. They claim as a result to achieve, rphysically a higher "health and a greater mental concentration. The professed ascetic only carries the practice further by-. more consistent effort, and without distraction. His control over respiration and circulation becomes surer; the pauses in his heartbeats , longer . and more certainly controlled. .By the late afternoon our ascetic's ..breathing has'become almost imperceptible. He lets-himself slide slowly down upon; the sand, outstretched like a corpse; his' body: stiffens, and his muscles become rigid. He is allowed to he like this for another hour or two until the approach of sunset. At length two priests approach him. feel Ids pulse and heart, and watch his lips. His heart no longer beats', and his breathing has-ceased. Ho is lifted gently up, and placed in the open grave. The sand is then, trampled down--upon his body the head and meuthjbei'ng left to tho end. A small cloth-is placed upon the lips, and finally the head.is also buried. A guard of four men;"who must never, leave it, is placed: upon ;;tho grave, and many of the- crowd, -too,* are always present. There is hot the faintest possibiliy of trickery, nor: would itbe tried where all are earnest and all -believers. The ascetic lies-bene buried-for four full days and on the, afternoon of the fifth as ho had instructed, at .the fixed hour, the grave 1S opened. The body lies exactly as. it was placed within, untouched by corruption. But the dangerous process of awakening now begins. The body is.gently, lifted, and slow rubbing and massage are resorted to. ' the "" chest, throat, and diaphragm being handled with special care. The return of circulation, is painful, and must not be too much hastened. At last the lips be<nn to.move, the eyes open, and the man is once more alive. He is weak, weak m _the extreme; he needs nourishment and care;-but he lives! •