A few years ago, a Deccan Yogi, named Sishal, was seen at Madras, by
many Hindus and Englishmen, to raise his Asana, or seat, up into the
air. The picture of the Yogi, showing his mode of seating, and other
particulars connected with him, may be found in the Saturday Magazine on
page 28.
His whole body seated in air, only his right hand lightly touched a deer
skin, rolled up in the form of a tube, and attached to a brazen rod
which was firmly stuck into a wooden board resting on four legs. In
this position the Yogi used to perform his japa (mystical meditation),
with his eyes half shut. At the time of his ascending to his aerial
seat, and also when he descended from it, his disciples used to cover
him with a blanket. The Tatwabodhini Patrika, Chaitra, 1768 Sakabda,
corresponding to March 1847.