nd kind on them, in the
hopes of gaining their favour for the attainment of some benefit or
cure, or other object.

Then, there are the political faqirs, who use their position to
disseminate political propaganda, usually of a seditious nature. From
their habit of travelling all over the country they have special
opportunities of becoming the channels for the transmission of news,
and before the days of telegraph and post-office the people would
get most of their news of the rest of the country through these
pilgrims and ascetics; and even at the present day they are able
to disseminate secret intelligence and transmit the orders of the
organizing authorities in such a way as to be very difficult of
detection. When I travelled as a faqir I was frequently shadowed by
the police, and sometimes a talkative and inquisitive companion would
join me who eventually proved to be a detective in his disguise.

As examples of the superior Sadhu--the man who from high aspirations
has voluntarily given up position, honour, and wealth in the world
for the life of a recluse--I will give the two following instances.

I met a man at Rishikes who had been the Prime Minister of a Native
State. While in that capacity he had to deal with bands of robbers
who infested the highways, and had committed some cold-blooded
murders for the sake of the money and goods of the travellers. When
a number of these men had been caught and participation in murders
proved against them, he found it his duty to condemn them to death
by hanging. The sentence was duly executed, but from that day he got
no rest at nights. Visions of the culprits would rise before him as
soon as he lay down on his couch, and they would appear to be pointing
their fingers at him as the cause of their death. This so unnerved him
that he could not get a night's rest, and dreaded going to sleep. Want
of rest and nervous perturbation prevented him from duly carrying on
the work of the State, and he asked for leave, nominally to attend
the funeral of his mother, but really to expiate his sin, and gain
repose of mind by a pilgrimage to a noted holy place. But he failed
to get ease of mind there, and had it impressed on him that only by
leaving the world and spending the rest of his days in seclusion,
meditating on God, would he find rest from the blood-guiltiness that
was tormenting him. He forthwith resigned his position in the State,
divided his property amongst his family, put on t