A PHYSICAL CULTURE RELIGION,

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1888, 24 October 1913, Page 7

A PHYSICAL CULTURE RELIGION,

•■ ■ ♦ THE CREED OF "MAZDAZNAN.* . l Mr. Gilmer Beeler, a' ' high-bmwei I > young American, tho "Daily News') i described him, with gimlet eyes and af i envious blue button in tho lapel of. • his pale grey frock coat, opened a cant- .. paign for the conversion of England to ' Zoroftstrianisin recent. "Mazdazuan" 'is the name that lias been given to this new version of an s old religion, find tli'o Btct already flour-j ; ishes in Chicago, where they hot® I built a fine "temple." At present thol- - Masrtabnians only meet in «uj, upper room (where there ft re Some final ■ Oriental carpets and a piano), withiivj , a stone's throw of tho Marble AichJ , but they liopo for much greater things' i after Mr. Beeler delivered his lectures.' ' Mr. Beeler intends-to teach English-' men, in the first place, how to attain' mental and spiritual perfection by way ■ . of physical culture. "Tho mind ofmail," he remarked- to ftn inton icwei', ! "is already pcrfsct. Tho only thing! i lacking is' a physical instrument able'. to demonstrate that Breath--ing, exercise, prayer, and diet are means of supplying tho deficiency.' j ' Accordingly, tho Mawlftzniaiis learii'* to breathe 'rhythmically)" to feed hygieincally, to oxercisc both bodies an®. - minds wiili the help of, "Egyptian postures"' (a kilul of physical curturc in which tho lungs piny an important,, ; pa'rt), and to jiray "without ceasing. This last- is- tho . particular speciality ~ of tho "Order of Men in White Cloth*;. jug." "Modern men," Mr. Beeler explained, "have gotten -away from -tlw right kind'of playing—lost tho art. as it woro. What does prayer 'without- ' ceasing' mean? Theologians hav6 dis- ' putcd about it a good deal. It simply I means- saying your, . prayer on end ! breath, '• ' "Whatever your prayer is take a deep breath, .concentrate tho mind on tho prayer,' say it through, aiul then empty the lungs. Not.ivnly. does tho spiritual ' nature bonefit greatly 'by such ah act.: , but tlio body is cleansed of carbollised. products ami great good to the physwuoi results." The physical benefit, ho do-; clared, is often perceptvblo in threor f minutes. '• • One of tte luoiS-t frequently -used Mazdaznan prayers has 107 words, and i is thrico repeated, at a single breath 1 eadi- timoi by tho faithful every day.;. ;: Tho "Daily News" inquirer w.iio tried ■ .it* in tho presence of Mr. -Beeler China to tho conclusion that tlvo Mazdazmafis, ■ would make excellent deep-water diver,s.. jl-azdazinvn lias no formal ifeed. It may bo summed up as tl)6 religion of "howto.ge good by physical culture. ;, ' ■; A litt-lo lioy wa9 in the. habit of creeping through a hole in the orchard fenco ju wder to steal 'tho farmer's Apples. One (lay, unknown ti>„-fho thief, tho- farmer happened to bo immediately inside ike fence, -ami -as- tho boy's head simf BhouldorS appeared ho exclnimoi]—"Xofr, my lad, w-hero pro you Koin' ?' • 'Am goln' back!" tho lad replica, us he crawled backwards out of tlio holo. Stewed octopus, said the Rev. H. 0. l ? entdn, loctairinij «t tho Hoyal Ihotographic Soeiotv's exhibition on Hits subject of « recent visit to Portugal, Was ■ n common dish in thnt country, ana from personal experience he could say. ■ that it was quite appetising. .... Heart failure ns the result of . tiiflit laeine' was the vcrdict cn the body ot a , domestic servant, who, while visiting; Southampton, died .after drinking a glass of iomonado. - " ■