7rcTIX1xP

The Eleventh Lesson: Hindu Wonder-Working.1345
instructors to preserve the secrets of their craft, and besides they are afraid
of the vengeance sure to be meted upon them by their brethren of the
craft should they divulge their methods. A fakir will die rather than tell his
secrets. But nevertheless the secrets are known to the advanced occultists
among the Hindu sages and adepts, who are acquainted with the laws and
methods of development concerning the production of the feats. But these
advanced souls would not think of exhibiting these powers, as does the fakir,
nor would they make the methods public, for fear that they might be used
for improper purposes.
But there is no doubt in the minds of the Hindu investigators that the
feats are mere illusions, in fact the process and general methods are known
to some who have investigated closely along these lines. The fact that
photographs snapped during the performance of these feats have failed
to reveal anything but the fakir sitting still in the centre, with his eyes fixed
in a concentrated glare, and an entire absence of the many illusory features,
shows conclusively that the “feats” exist merely in the minds of the audience
upon which they have been super-imposed by the mind of the fakir. Many
experiments in photography have been made along these lines, but the
result is always the same—the plate shows nothing unusual—in the boy
and rope feat there is seen no rope, no boy, no climbing, nothing but the
fakir sitting still and concentrating, concentrating, CONCENTRATING.
Moreover, other experiments have been made along these lines. It has
been discovered, accidentally, that if the spectators move in too close
upon the fakir the illusion vanishes from the minds of those approaching
him, although remaining as fresh and strong as ever in the minds of those
remaining in the “charmed circle.” And the same is true in the case of those
who retreat beyond a certain distance of the circle. People have tried this
experiment in numerous cases, and with the same result. Moreover, some
have witnessed the performance from the roofs of buildings higher than the
average, and have seen nothing unusual, while their friends on the ground