he garb of a Sanyasi,
and was spending the rest of his days in contemplation and religious
exercises.

The other case I met in a village on the Pir Pangal Range, where
he had built himself a cottage with a garden, in which he spent his
days in religious studies and contemplation, and receiving the many
people who used to come to him for advice, or to derive advantage
from contact with his superior sanctity and wisdom. He had been
Risaldar-Major in one of the regiments of Bengal Cavalry, and had
fought under the British flag in several campaigns, and won wounds
and medals. On retirement he forsook his home and relations and all
worldly pursuits, and spent his time in the contemplation of the
Deity and such works of charity as came in his way.

Both these men were truly devout, unostentatious spirits, who had
found that the delights of Divine communion exceeded the pleasures
of this transitory world.

Some Sadhus are set aside from birth for this life by their parents,
and as a good example of such a one I will tell the story of a man
who joined company with me on the road near Ludhiana. I will relate
it in his own words:

"My father is a small Hindu farmer in the State of Patiala, and
when three sons had been born to him, he made a vow that he would
consecrate the fourth to the service of God. When I was born he
allowed me to stop with my mother only till I was four years old,
and then he took me to a certain large city, where there is a famous
shrine, and a very holy man who is renowned for his piety and deep
learning. At first I wept much at being taken away from my brothers
and sisters, but the Swami treated me kindly and gave me sweetmeats,
and I used to fetch his mat and books and put oil in his lamp and do
other little services for him. Then, as I got older, he taught me to
read, first in Bhasha and then in Sanskrit, and he taught me all the
laws of worship and guides to bhagti (devotion). When I became a lusty
young man, he told me to make pilgrimages to various sacred places
and to visit other sages and holy men, and I went forth on my first
journey, taking with me only a staff, a gourd for drinking-water,
a blanket, and a couple of shasters (holy books).

"I had never been out in the world before, and at first I was very
timid of asking people for food in new places that I had never hitherto
seen; but people were nearly always kind to me and gave me food to
eat and shelter at night, and so I got bolder, a