We are all familiar with the fact that man in former days

readily believed in the existence of an unseen world, a world

of ghosts, demons, nature-spirits which were worshipped as gods,

and a host of other supernatural beings. This world lay all about him

and in some respects was more real to him than the physical world.

It was his belief in it, and in the power of the forces it contained, that

gave birth first to primitive magic and later to religion.

Even today, vast numbers of people all over the world, and not

merely among savage tribes or backward peasantry, but in

advanced and educated communities, particularly in Asia, still

believe in this mysterious realm and in various classes of beings

that inhabit it, to an extent that would surprise most Westerners

apart from those who have made a study of the subject. To the

Asian mind it is equally surprising that Westerners, with the

exception of spiritualists, are sceptical regarding it.