Siddhi-s (super-normal powers)

To a cow grazing on grass, the concept of man flying an airplane, manufacturing a cell phone, inventing the internet and creating software programs looks 'miraculous'. It cannot understand how these things are possible. It appears out of the ordinary and superfluous to the cow. It is very hard for a cow to believe these things. The cow can understand eating grass, giving milk, defending itself with its horns and taking a nap in the shade of a tree. It cannot understand these things which man does. If someone were to tell it and make it understand the things which man does using his intellect, the cow in its limited state of consciousness and minute intellect would exclaim - "These are miracles which are magical. It is very hard to really believe these things are possible". But to us using all these facilities, there is nothing miraculous. It is perfectly scientific and very rational. The cow however is in a much more limited state of 'Chith' (consciousness) as compared to us. Its mind, intellect and reasoning do not touch the boundaries of our intellect and reasoning. It cannot talk on the cell phone or pilot an airplane however hard it tries.

The siddhi-s (super-normal powers) which come to the Yogi in the journey of getting closer to the Atman (self) are very similar. There is an expansion in the ‘Chith’ (consciousness) and awareness of the Yogi as he dissolves layer upon layer of ‘Avidya’ (ignorance) surrounding his true self or the Atman. As the cow has its limitations, the normal human consciousness also has its limitations. In case of the Yogi, these limitations slowly dissolve with the dissolution of the layers that were obstructing their manifestation.

In reality, there is only one Supreme consciousness pervading all space and time. This is what is called as God-Almighty. When a part of this Supreme consciousness disociates itself from its entirety and associates itself with the limited body and mind, we have what is called as an ‘individual consciousness’. An individual ego, a person is formed. He now considers himself separate from the universal consciousness of which he really is a part of. This causes limitation, pain and delusion. The scope and reach of the part of Supreme consciousness restricted to the body and mind become very limited. The cow is in a very, very limited state of consciousness and hence cannot do much. The human being is in a much wider state of consciousness. He can do much more. A Yogi who has attained to a certain spiritual state of advancement finds himself in a much wider scope of consciousness than the normal man. He can do certain things which the common man cannot do and cannot understand. These abilities are called as Siddhi-s (super-normal powers). There is nothing miraculous here. They are perfectly scientific. Nothing in Yoga is unscientific, for Yoga is based on the truth of truths namely the Atman (pure self).

To the Yogi who has attained to some of these abilities, they are very natural. He does not find them outside his scope of operation. But then, these are abilities still within the realm of the world of bondage and illusion. They may be super-normal to the common man, but in terms of the absolute reality (of pure consciousness or the Almighty Brahman); they come nowhere close to the absolute. He can perform and use these powers only in the manifest world or in the higher planes of consciousness and not beyond. They do not help him transcend the planes of worldliness nor help merge into the final plane of pure consciousness (which is the only reality). Rather, he gets bound and attached to the scope derived from these powers and may waste his time and energy exhibiting them or indulging in them without a justified purpose (see: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Celibacy-Abstinence-3564/2012/1/siddhi-s-powers-yogi.). Such activity poses a very real risk of breaking his practice for attaining ‘Kaivalya’ (self-realization). All the years of his hard ‘Sadhana’ (practice) could now get negated and annulled from the karma derived from unwarranted and unjust use of such siddhi-s, for these involve the blossoming of ‘Ahamkara’ (ego) when used without justification. Hence the wise Yogi does not take pleasure in claiming to possess such powers, nor does he exhibit or perform super-normal actions as a mark of his accomplishments unless directed by God to do so. Those who do so prodded by the ego are not mature Yogi-s. They are novices who are yet to attain to spiritual maturity. The true Yogi conducts himself with great responsibility, for he knows the dangers of such unjustified use.

Sometimes, God himself commands the Yogi to use some of these abilities for the good of mankind. The world afterall is the stage where the Lord displays his ‘Leela-s’ (divine play) in the drama called life. Under such cases, under the blessings consent and will of the Almighty, the Yogi may perform some feats which appear out of the ordinary for his own betterment or that of a disciple or mankind. This being the will of God, the Yogi does not incur any personal karma. Then it is allright. There are various instances of Yogi-s who have resorted to such actions under the will of the Almighty.

Matter is nothing but energy in a state of vibration. The lesser the frequency of vibration, the more dense matter is. The higher the frequency, the less dense matter becomes. Hence matter in reality is neither solid, liquid or gas but energy in a frequency of vibration. This is why the world of objects is unreal and an illusion of energy. When the Yogi reaches a stage where he can manipulate the frequency governing the energy holding the atoms of objects together at his will, he can make matter behave as he wishes (provided he has developed the ability through the required ‘Samyama’ (Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi meditations and provided the same is possible in destiny or the will of God). He does this using his willpower and enormous ‘Prana’ (vital energy) which comes from conserved and transmuted semen. He has a clear understanding of how these forces of nature function in holding the particles of an object together. For example, in the ‘Bhuchari-siddhi’ (siddhi of translocation of men or objects) he can make himself or a distant object cover great distances in no time. He can reduce or increase the size of an object and shift it. Using 'Adrishya siddhi' the Yogi can disappear out of sight of the naked eye by preventing light from being reflected off his body or rather being unaccepted by the eye of the observer through manipulating the frequency of transmitted and reflected substratum of light. Using his Pranic energy, he connects to the energy holding and working on the object and makes it work as per his will. It is fully within the laws of science, though outside the understanding of the common man.

Using ‘Saraswathi siddhi’ (the siddhi by which the essence of great scriptures becomes known to him) along with 'Vak siddhi' (the siddhi of superlative communication) the Yogi can cast a strong impression in the minds of people as regards imparting knowledge and virtue to them. Peole who hear the words or read material written by the Yogi proficient in this siddhi become mesmerized and willfully compelled to follow his instructions or directions. They are so impelled and charmed by the vivacity and clarity of the words that they immediately consent from within to abide by his advice. Knowledge and truth flow seamlessly and effortlessly from the mouth of such a Yogi like the clear waters of a free flowing river. There is great impact on people when he uses this siddhi. Using this siddhi, the Yogi can turn a non-beleiver of God into a believer, a worldly man into one spiritually minded (if possible in the recipient's karma). With his words, he can turn an evil and dishonorable person into one who adopts the principles and tenets of ‘Dharma’ (righteousness). It is not possible for people to find fault or go against the teachings of such a Yogi, for his words are a reflection of ‘Saraswathi’ (The goddess of knowledge) and backed by the absolute truth of Brahman (Almighty). Spiritual masters sometimes use this siddhi to reform the society or their students. They use these with good and honorable intentions, for the well being and betterment of mankind and under the will of God.

An Urdhvareta Yogi who has tirelessly transmuted his semen and attained to ‘Prana siddhi’ (power of control over Prana) can command such siddhi-s. Those with the most surrender and devotion to the Almighty get wide access to these siddhi-s. When the Yogi masters ‘Savikalpa Samadhi’ to perfection, the gates to these siddhi-s start opening up. His ‘Linga Sharira’ (astral body) is dense with Ojas from this stage onwards. Much Ojas is required to manipulate Prana this way. There are numerous other siddhi-s which are within the reach of a ‘Samadhi Yogi’ (one established in Samadhi). However, none of them help reach ‘Kaivalya’ (self-realization). Rather, they are distractions and impediments if used without justification and for questionable, unwarranted purposes. They prevent his ascension to liberation. Hence the wise Yogi does not focus much on these.

Further to self-realization, the Yogi has become one with God and a new vista of siddhi-s open up to him, to which he never had access before, say the scriptures. He then simply wills and things bear fruit. All his former siddhi-s are then nothing in comparison to the many powers of the Almighty that he has access to. ’Maya’ (illusion) is then his servant and not the reverse. He is then never prone to misuse these powers, for he has become one with the Godhead. He is a ‘Jivan-mukta’ (liberated while alive), an extension of God and at the pinnacle of human accomplishment. This is a state beyond description and should be the only aim of the Yogi. Everything else pales in comparison to this objective.

ॐ तत् सत्
(That Supreme being is the absolute truth)