Another method by which the Yogi can determine the time of death is by ob-
serving a certain omen and performing Samyama on that. The coming of the scientific
age has relegated all such things as omens or portents to the realm of superstitions, and
there is no doubt that prior to the advance of Science the subject of portents had be-
come surrounded by the grossest superstitions and fancies of the ignorant masses. But,
it must be understood that there is nothing inherently absurd in obtaining an indication
of future events which are imminent by means of certain signs or symptoms that may
be available, because coming events do sometimes cast their shadows before they ac-
tually take place.
When a doctor is called in to see a patient in the last stages of a critical illness
he can by simply placing his hand on the pulse of the patient, sometimes say with cer-
tainty that the patient is about to pass away. The pulse gives an indication of his gen-
eral condition and on the basis of that he can, almost with certainty, foretell the death
of the patient. His prediction is not the result of guess work but of drawing an infer-
ence from certain observations he has made. Every man cannot foretell such an event.
It requires medical knowledge and experience. A real portent is a significant sign
which gives an indication of the coming event. In itself it may be trivial and have no
rational connection with the thing predicted but to the man who can peer into the inner
side of natural phenomena it may provide a definite indication of what is to come in
the future. But it is obvious that only those whose inner eyes have been opened and
who are able to trace effects to their causes by means of Samyama can recognize such
an omen and interpret it correctly.
- (By performing Samyama) on friendliness, etc. (comes) strength (of the
quality).
It is a well known law of psychology that if we think of any quality persistently
that quality tends to become more and more a part of our character. This effect is
heightened by meditation in which the concentration of mind is far more intense than