Paul Brunton Philosophic Foundation homepage > Notebooks of Paul Brunton

---

The fact that ash-smeared fakirs or repulsive and dirty ascetics have been often mistaken for true yogis does not make them such. European travellers, as well as the ignorant native populace, are not always in a position to distinguish between the genuine and pseudo varieties. Stupid acts of self-martyrdom are not the true yoga. Their madnesses would be scorned by the genuine, who regard the body as a sacred temple for the holy Guest, the immortal Soul, and treat it accordingly.

-- Notebooks Category 15: The Orient > Chapter 2 : India Part 1 > # 184