for his doings, and in doing so rises to his feet—­still commanding the najo to appear; meanwhile he reels about; then falls on the ground and is quite still except for an occasional whine, and a muttered, “I see him!” “He is coming!” This state may last for an hour or more till at last the bhagat sits up and announces the najo has come; as he says so, a man, apparently mad with drink, rushes in and falls with his head towards the bhagat moaning and making a sort of snorting as if half stifled.  In this person the bewitched parties often recognize a neighbour and sometimes even a relation, but whoever he may be they have bound themselves to punish him.  The bhagat then speaks to him and tells him to confess, at the same time threatening him, in case of refusal, with his staff.  He then confesses in a half-stupefied manner, and his confession tallies with what the bhagat has told in his frenzy.  The najo is then dismissed and runs out of the house in the same hurry as he came in.  The delegates then hold a council at which the najo usually is sentenced to a fine—­often heavy enough to ruin him—­and expelled from his village.  Before the British rule the convicted najo seldom escaped with his life, and during the mutiny time, when no Englishmen were about, the Singbhoom Hos paid off a large number of old scores of this sort.  For record of which, see “Statistical Account of Bengal,” vol. xvii. p. 52.

In conclusion I have merely to add that I have derived this information from people who have been actually concerned in these occurrences, and among others a man belonging to a village of my own, who was convicted and expelled from the village with the loss of all his movable property, and one of his victims, a relation of his, sat by me when the above was being written.

—­E.D.  Ewen

Mahatmas and Chelas

A Mahatma is an individual who, by special training and education, has evolved those higher faculties, and has attained that spiritual knowledge, which ordinary humanity will acquire after passing through numberless series of re-incarnations during the process of cosmic evolution, provided, of course, that they do not go, in the meanwhile, against the purposes of Nature and thus bring on their own annihilation.  This process of the self-evolution of the mahatma extends over a number of “incarnations,” although, comparatively speaking, they are very few.  Now, what is it that incarnates?  The occult doctrine, so far as it is given out, shows that the first three principles die more or less with what is called the physical death.  The fourth principle, together with the lower portions of the fifth, in which reside the animal propensities, has Kama Loka for its abode, where it suffers the throes of disintegration in proportion to the intensity of those lower desires; while it is the higher Manas, the pure man, which is associated with the sixth and seventh principles, that goes into