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Letters to the Editor
"The Successor of Samson"
Published in the Agnostic Journal London, England 9 February 1907 (page 93)
Sir,—In the cause of Truth, and for the sake of the high reputation the A.J. has always held in the ranks of Freethought, I feel it my duty to expostulate with "MM" against his most unjust attack on Mahatma Agamya. As it happens, the Mahatma is a personal friend of mine, but I will place this fact aside, merely stating it that it may not be thought that I speak without authority: and also during my three years' residence in the East, I came in constant contact with Fakirs and Yogins, both honest and dishonest, and so can fairly judge of the honesty of Mahatma Agamya, which I believe to be perfectly pure.
To state that the Mahatma brings with him a new religion is untrue; his principles are those of Patanjali.
To state that he asks for fees is absolutely incorrect. He asks for none. His disciples are collecting a small fund sufficient to pay for a meeting-room and his expenses, which are extremely small.
The Mahatma does not claim any miraculous or occult power; he has denied such practices to me personally many times. He merely claims that his powers are a purer form of those natural forces which we all possess. By the simple practice of Hatha Yoga, he can stop his heart's action and appear as dead, which he once did in the presence of Max Müller. Such displays are very common in the East.
He calls himself the Tiger-Mahatma, and does not pretend to tear tigers; this, evidently, is a part of the interviewer's obtusity. At least, I can say he has not the appetite of a tiger, for he is a strict vegetarian, partaking of one meal a day, which in India would cost less than one anna.—Yours truly
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