Book Title: Comparative and Critical Study of Mantrashastra
Author(s): Mohanlal Bhagwandas Jhaveri, K V Abhayankar
Publisher: Sarabhai Manilal Nawab
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possessed by the Shaikh, and that he can readily exercise them over the willing mind and body of the disciple. How the Shaikh can produce such strange results on a distant and unconscious person is left to the admiration and imagination of the faithful disciple, as an incentive to exertions in the same true path as that of his Shaikh.
MYSTICISM OF DARVISHES: SPIRITUAL POWERS
"To exercise the power of the will, it is necessary to contract(concentrate) the thoughts suddenly upon the object designed to be effected, so perfectly as to leave no room for the mind to dwell, possibly, upon any other. The mind must not doubt, for an instant, of the success of this effort, nor the possibility of failure; it must, in fact, be completely absorbed by the one sole idea of performing the determination strongly taken, and firmly relied upon. The persons must, from time to time, practise this; and as they proceed, they will be able to see how much propinquity exists between themselves and the Hazrat-eAsma (God?) and how much they are capable of exercising this power,"
As an instance Brown quotes from Rashahat (3rd maqsad, 1st faşl) the miraculous achievements of Maulānā Sa'id-ud-Din Kāshgari and in particular his taskhir or the subduing faculty making powerful princes to conform to his will and his powers to make his protegés victorious against heavy odds. He could "commune with persons widely separated from him, predict coming events, and aid those in whose welfare and success he felt a pious interest for good." Similar is the instance of 'Ubaid-Ullah, the Khwajah Ahrar who caused murrain among Mirza Babur's horses when he attacked Sultān Abū Sa'īd at Samarqand; and caused a typhoon which caused the younger son of Sultan Abu Sa'id to raise the siege of Samarqand which was in charge of his elder brother Sultan Ahmad. The powers of Maulānā Sa'īdud-Din Kashgari were connected with his prayers offered up to Allah, to whose supreme will he attributed his powers. He constantly performed the Zikr jehr or 'audibly called God's name,' and the frequent repetition fitted him for holy purposes. He had such mesmeric powers that he could, when he so desired, send an individual into a species
