From the Caves and Jungles of HindostanBlavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna)
Religion
From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan
Blavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna)
Blavatsky, H. P. (Helena Petrovna), 1831-1891; India -- Description and travel; India -- Religion
The history of this English gentleman is truly incredible, and produced,
about twenty-five years ago, an unprecedented scandal in the records of
the British army in India. Captain Seymour, a wealthy and well-educated
officer, accepted the Brahmanical creed and became a Yogi. Of course he
was proclaimed mad, and, having been caught, was sent back to England.
Seymour escaped, and returned to India in the dress of a Sannyasi. He
was caught again, and shut up in some lunatic asylum in London. Three
days after, in spite of the bolts and the watchmen, he disappeared from
the establishment. Later on his acquaintances saw him in Benares, and
the governor-general received a letter from him from the Himalayas. In
this letter he declared that he never was mad, in spite of his being put
into a hospital; he advised the governor-general not to interfere
with what was strictly his own private concern, and announced his firm
resolve never to return to civilized society. "I am a Yogi," wrote he,
"and I hope to obtain before I die what is the aim of my life--to become
a Raj-Yogi." After this letter he was left alone, and no European
ever saw him except Dr. Paul, who, as it is reported, was in constant
correspondence with him, and even went twice to see him in the Himalayas
under the pretext of botanic excursions.
I was told that the pamphlet of Dr. Paul was ordered to be burned "as
being offensive to the science of physiology and pathology." At the
time I visited India copies of it were very great rarities. Out of a few
copies still extant, one is to be found in the library of the Maharaja
of Benares, and another was given to me by the Takur.
This evening we dined at the refreshment rooms of the railway station.
Our arrival caused an evident sensation. Our party occupied the whole
end of a table, at which were dining many first-class passengers, who
all stared at us with undisguised astonishment. Europeans on an equal
footing with Hindus! Hindus who condescended to dine with Europeans!
These two were rare and wonderful sights indeed. The subdued whispers
grew into loud exclamations. Two officers who happened to know the Takur
took him aside, and, having shaken hands with him, began a very animated
conversation, as if discussing some matter of business; but, as we
learned afterwards, they simply wanted to gratify their curiosity about
us.
Here we learned, for the first time, that we were under police
supervision, the police being represented by an individual clad in a
suit of white clothes, and possessing a very fresh complexion, and a
pair of long moustaches. He was an agent of the secret police, and had
followed us from Bombay. On learning this flattering piece of news,
the colonel burst into a loud laugh; which only made us still more
suspicious in the eyes of all these Anglo-Indians, enjoying a quiet and
dignified meal. As to me, I was very disagreeably impressed by this bit
of news, I must confess, and wished this unpleasant dinner was over.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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