Are yogic siddhis real?

Rohini Bakshi, 495334

Introduction

Generations of Indian children have delighted in stories of the

monkey-god Hanuman1. When little, he jumped high into the sky to

eat the sun because it looked like a delicious fruit to him. In the

‘Ramayana’ he leapt over the ocean to Lanka. Becoming the size of an

atom, he wandered Ravana’s palace undetected. When Laksmana was

fatally wounded, he flew to the Himalayas to bring back a life-

restoring herb and when he couldn’t identify it, he carried the

mountain back to the battlefield. Culturally and traditionally

Hanuman’s super-powers are unquestioned, perhaps because he is part-

animal and part-god.2

The claim that such powers accrue to practitioners of Yoga (yogi)

however elicits strong and polarised reactions. On the one hand is

blind faith and/or fear, and on the other derision, scepticism and

disbelief.3 Conmen posing as yogis out to make a quick buck adds

complications. In the popular mindset as depicted in Hollywood and

Bollywood (India’s film industry), the yogi is often power hungry and

villainous or a fraud4. And in reality, wandering yogis are as likely

to be revered as spurned, what with frequent reports of swindling,

kidnap and rape perpetrated by someone who was, or claimed to be a

yogi.5

What are these powers that evoke such varied and visceral responses?

Are they real? Is it possible for human beings to acquire them? Can

yogis really fly? Become invisible? Enter another person’s body?

Understand the speech of birds and animals? Create ashes from thin

air? And can this be scientifically proved?

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1Hanuman, companion of the epic hero Rama, was the son of the wind-god Vayu. In childhood, he was blessed by each of the gods with a super power. When the exiled prince Rama’s wife Sita iskidnapped by demon king Ravana and held captive in Lanka, Hamuman helps to find and subsequently rescue her. A brief outline of his life and powers can be seen here: http://www.sanatansociety.org/indian_epics_and_stories/the_life_of_hanuman.htm

2 Every year street and stage plays (called ‘Ramlila’) are performed during the festival of Dussehra. Hanuman is a key player. A depiction of him bringing life saving herbs (sanjivani buti) tosave the life of Rama’s brother can be seen here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PIlJx8LjMs

3 Blind faith and scepticism are demonstrated the followers and detractors of Sai Baba. The following links explain:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13180011

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/this_world/3813469.stm

4 Mola Ram in Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom (1984), Bhairo Nath in Nagina (1986), Khokha Singh in Trimurti (1995), Victoria no. 203 (1972): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YLRi-whL6Nw (from the 2:50 position)

5 http://thecanaratimes.com/epaper/index.php/archives/8852

There are innumerable streams of yoga whose scriptures describe the

practices necessary to attain such powers.6 This essay will restrict

itself to yogic powers or accomplishments (siddhis) as laid out in

Chapter III of Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutras (Vibhuti-Pada).

This essay proposes that yogic powers are not merely religious

narrative, but correspond to actual phenomena that will be

investigated in this study. Further it is proposed that anyone

willing to follow the path and practices necessary, can attain these

siddhis. Placing the Vibhuti-Pada in its cultural context, I will

attempt to show that siddhis are not magical or super-natural. This

will be done by examining the philosophical underpinning of Yoga -

Samkhya ontology. The epistemology of the Samkhya-Yoga system will

be defined in order to demonstrate valid cognition of the siddhis. The

role that translation and interpretation have played in conveying

the nature of yogic powers to the English speaking community will

then be considered.7 For those inclined to be convinced

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scientifically, research and studies will be presented as proof of

the powers that accrue from the practice of Yoga.

I have chosen Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutras (PYS) because the text is not

associated with a specific deity, or any religious or social

superstructure.8 In the text, siddhis (accomplishments) are treated in

a dispassionate, neutral manner. The aspirant does not have to

belong to a cult, have any secret knowledge or any particular

religious beliefs to achieve them. Neither do gender, caste or

nationality matter. PYS is an inclusive text that speaks to human

beings qua human beings. The logical upshot is if practices are

followed diligently9 – anyone can acquire these powers.

Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Chapter III (Vibhuti Pada)

The word vibhuti, in normal Indic usage refers to ‘holy ash’ which

swamis or yogis produce miraculously out of thin air and smear on

devotees to transfer grace.10 The word actually has a

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6 I refer in particular to Hatha Yoga which is largely physical (Hatha Yoga Pradipika), Tantra which aims to empower and divinise the practitioner (Kiss of the Yogini, White, D; The Tantric Body, Flood, G),and Raja Yoga which is primarily mental, and treats yogic powers as a by-product of meditational practices (Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra)

7For instance, the word siddhi which has routinely been translated into English as ‘power’ alsomeans accomplishment, or achievement. This has a bearing on how siddhis are understood conceptually. (citations for translation are presented later in the essay)

8Staal, Fritz, Exploring Mysticism, 1975, University of California press, pg 149

9PYS – I.12-14; II.1; II.28-33; II.46-47; II.49-55; III.1-7

10For over 50 years, the recently deceased Satya Sai Baba has been India’s “most famous and most powerful holy man” (Brown, 2000), renowned for his production of vibhuti or “sacred ash,”... “out of thin air.” (source: http://www.strippingthegurus.com/stgsamplechapters/saibaba.asp)

semantic field beyond ‘miraculous’. While ‘ash’ is indeed one of its

meanings, vibhuti can mean: extensive, abundant, mighty, powerful;

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manifestation of might and power; sovereignty, greatness,

magnificence, splendour, fortune etc.11 Most Sanskrit words are

polyvalent and it seems reasonable to assume that in the context of

the Yoga-Sutras, of its various meanings, vibhuti refers to might and

its manifestation. Interpreted this way, an English speaker may

comprehend vibhuti as ‘might’ rather than ‘miracle’.

Of the 196 sutras in PYS, 56 are devoted to the Vibhuti-Pada. This

accounts for more than a quarter, suggesting the importance

Patanjali afforded this topic. However it has not received

commensurate scholarly attention. “Vibhuti...has historically been the

least studied portion of the Yoga-Sutras in-spite of the fact that it

comprises over one-fourth of the entire work.”12 While other areas

have received hair-splitting consideration, one can only speculate

that a lack of sufficient study has added to the mystery surrounding

this chapter and the ‘powers’ it defines.13 White points out that

post Patanjalian history has focused on philosophical works and the

cessative aspect of yoga at the expense of what he calls the this

worldly ‘numinous’ aspect – i.e. “...the attainments (sampattis) of

Buddhists and the Patanjalian tradition, as well as super-natural

enjoyment (riddhi, siddhi) or “omnipresencings” (vibhutis) of Buddhist,

Jain and Hindu traditions...”14. What he calls ‘dry contemplative

inquiry’ privileging over ‘wet’ yogic experience. For this his

finger points squarely at scholars such as Swami Vivekananda, a

thinker “who has cast the longest shadow on modern appreciations of

yoga and yogis...”15

The eight limbs (astanga) of Yoga described in PYS Chapter-II

(Sadhana-Pada) outline the socio-moral-ethical practices essential

and preparatory to the attainment of yogic liberation (Kaivalya). “The

first five angas (limbs) of Yoga eliminate step by step the external

causes of mental distraction. Yama and Niyama eliminate ...

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uncontrolled emotions and desires. Asana and Pranayama eliminate

disturbances arising from the physical body. Pratyahara by detaching

the sense organs from the

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11 Sanskrit English Dictionary, 2009 print., Arthur MacDonell, Asian Educational Services, pg 286

12White, David Gordon, Sinister Yogis, 2009, University of Chicago, pg 39

13 Swami Vivekananda’s commentary on PYS –devotes 16% of space and consideration to a chapterwhich constitutes nearly 30% of the text.

14 White, ibid pgs 45 & 42

15 ibid. Although I am greatly influenced by Swami Vivekanand, I have to agree with White. The Swami’s need to emphasise the rational, scientific and philosophical nature of Hinduism may well have led to yogic siddhis taking a back seat in the broader scope of his teachings. In similar vein, Vivekananda’s Vedantic focus led to a re-writing of Ramakrishna Paramhans’s life, as depicted in ‘Kali’s Child’, by JJ Kripal

mind, cuts off the external world and the impressions which it

produces on the mind.”16 Once the aspirant has cleansed and prepared

him/herself through incessant and reverent practice (II.29-32),

he/she can turn to his/her mind. The stages of samadhi (trance)

having been described in chapter I, Vibhuti-Pada now sets out

technical mental procedures, which when applied to the mind not just

allow the aspirant to achieve samadhi but endow him with special

accomplishments as an automatic by product. These are the yogic

siddhis.

Pivotal to this process is ‘samyama’, a technical term that defines

the integration of three stages of concentration. It comes from

‘sam’ meaning ‘with’ and ‘yama’ which means restraint or control.

Together they mean “a sharp focusing of psychic energy.”17 Sutras

III.1-4 explain the different levels of concentration, each being

higher than the previous. These are concentration (dharana),

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contemplation (dhyana) and mental absorption (samadhi) – a state where

there is only consciousness of the object of contemplation and not

of the self (mind) as it were.18 Concentration here is not just

intensely focussed, but of such a nature that the mind of the yogi

penetrates the core of the object, rather than staying at the

superficial level of the name (nama) and form (rupa).19

Importantly, these three stages are external to seedless Samadhi

(nirbija), in which even the image of the object of concentration is

completely suppressed and removed (PYS III.8). In nirbija-samadhi

there is absolutely no content in the mind, allowing it to dive into

the deepest layers of consciousness and see the ‘Self’ (purusa) in

all its glory. In fact siddhis draw the mind outward and are obstacles

in the way of Samadhi (III.38) They are to be transcended and

dropped to reach the final goal. This is in contrast to Tantra

where... “power suffuses the concerns of the...tradition. The Tantra

offer their followers power to achieve world transcendence or

magical powers over supernatural entities in order to achieve

worldly success, such as seduction of a desired woman or destruction

of enemies for a king.”20

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16 I.K Taimini, 2005, Pgs 275 [The eight limbs or angas of Yoga are yama (restraints) niyama (observances), asana (postures) pranamyama (regulation of breath) pratyahara (abstraction), dharana (concentration) dhyana (contemplation) and trance (Samadhi). PYS II.29]

17 The Sadhakas, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, 2006, pg 126

18 Taimini, ibid, 275-287

19 Prof. Neel Magnani, Mumbai University, ‘Foundation of Yoga’ Lecture Series, February 2008

20Flood, G, The Tantric Body, pg 10

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Samyama, being the light of wisdom (prajnalokah, III.5) is like a

powerful searchlight of the mind, which when turned on any object,

reveals its innermost core.21 It is like the rays of the sun

concentrated through a magnifying glass – so intense as to be able

to pierce the superficial and expose the reality of matter to the

yogi. Applying samyama to the transformation of matter reveals the

past and the future of the object being studied. (III.16)

From sutra III.16 on, we learn what the siddhis are. By applying

samyama to sound and to its underlying meaning, a yogi can understand

the speech/sounds of any living being (III.17). By samyama, latent

impressions in the subconscious mind are perceived, and a knowledge

of previous births arises.(III.18) Mind reading (III.19-20),

invisibility (III.21), knowledge of the time of death (III.22),

knowledge of the small, the hidden or the distant, (III.26),

knowledge of solar system and arrangement of the stars (III.27-29)

are a few of the accomplishments.

By applying the same searchlight of wisdom on one’s own body, one

can understand its organisation and control its urges (III.30-31).

One can attain steadiness of the body (III.32), awareness of the

mind and knowledge by intuition. One is able to see perfected beings

(siddhas) (III.33) who are no longer on our empirical plane. The yogi

can levitate, fly, attain super-physical hearing, become as tiny as

an atom, as strong as an elephant.* The question arises, how does

this come about.

Samkhya Ontology and the Mastery of Prakrti

To understand how yogic siddhis come about, we need an understanding

of Samkhya22 ontology. Samkhya is the system of Indian philosophy,

that Pantanjali’s Yoga is based on. Simply put, Samkhya posits two

ontological principles – a material principle (prakrti) and a

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spiritual principle (purusa). It traces the entire physical universe

with its infinite diversity to a single source – prakrti. This

substance is complex, all-pervasive and in its primordial form,

imperceptible to us.23

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21 The Sadhakas, ibid, pg 127

* PYS enumerates eight siddhis – anima (becoming the size of an atom), mahima, (becoming infinitely large), laghima (weightlessness), garima (becoming infinitely heavy), prapti (unrestrictedaccess to all places), prakamya (realising whatever one desires), isitva (Lordship over all things), vasitva (being able to subjugate all things)

22 For a detailed explanation of Samkhya philosophy, please see The Essentials of Indian Philosophy, Hiriyanna, M, 2005 print, Motilal Banarasidass, pgs 106-128. Here I have only taken those elements which are relevant to explaining how yogic siddhis work.

23 Hiriyanna ibid. pg 107

It is made up of components called guna (sattva, rajas, tamas), which are

inseparable and inextricably linked. It is due to changes in these

gunas that all transformations take place. In addition, nothing is

created anew, everything is the result of a transformation within

the primal substance (sat-karya–vada).24 Nothing ever comes into being

afresh or passes away finally. Everything is latent and merely

becomes manifest when the right conditions arise.

When purusa (the spiritual principle) comes into contact with prakrti,

it becomes the cause of a transformation, and prakrti begins to

evolve. Purusa being a mere witness (saksin) and not a participant in

the evolution, needs organs to think, appropriate, and apprehend.

Hence prakrti evolves into intellect (mahat), ego (ahamkara),

individual intellect (buddhi) and then further into the mind, (manas)

the sensory organs (jnana-indriyani) the motor organs (karma-indriyani) and

into subtle elements (bhutani) which are imperceptible to us and the

gross elements which our senses can apprehend. 25

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Critical to note here is that everything other than purusa is made of

the same material – including our organs or perception and thinking.

Our mind, our ego is made of prakrti. Our eye as well as our sense of

sight is made of prakrti. In that sense there is an unbroken continuum

of the same material. It is this continuum that the yogi gains

mastery over through samyama (I.40). In the same manner that he

masters his mind, he gains mastery over the fields of the elements

and the organs (bhutendriyani). This enable him to control and

manipulate natural phenomena. He is then able to exercise

extraordinary powers – which are siddhis.26

All physical objects are made of the elements (bhutani) and these are

apprehended by the sense organs (the nose, the eye, the skin, the

tongue, the ear) and transmitted to the thinking organ, the mind

(manas). It passes them on to the organ of intellect (buddhi) – which

is contiguous to purusa, the passive enjoyer (bhoktr) of this play. In

the case of the yogi this channel of apprehension and perception

(sense organs) become two-way.

24 ibid. pgs 108-109

25 ibid. pgs 111, 115-116

26 Taimini, ibid. pg 301

By the same route that his mind apprehends information from the

outside, he is able to transmit messages and control that same world

– which is identical to his mind in that it is made of the same

substratum, prakrti. “From samyama upon the gross, the manifested, the

subtle, the correlative and the purposive (comes) mastery over the

elements” (III.43). He now becomes the lord of prakrti. Things don’t

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‘disappear’, they become latent in prakrti. Whether they are manifest

in elements and compounds, or un-manifest, they are present

eternally in prakrti. This might happen due to natural forces, or the

will of the yogi, which we now understand to be natural, being part

of prakrti. Natural but enhanced.

Verse III.15 leaves absolutely no room for miracles in the Yogic system.

“It refers to an underlying sequence, or natural law (krama) a

hidden framework that even the most evolved scientist recognises.

That scientist knows that if he can find the underlying laws in any

sphere of natural phenomena he can control and manipulate them with

utter certainly.”27 This doesn’t make him a magician, only a skilled

scientist. Similarly, a skilled yogi can control and manipulate

natural phenomena. This makes him a skilled yogi. Not a magician.

By focusing on the element of ether and its relationship to his

body, the yogi attains the lightness of cotton and can walk on water

or fly. (III.42) Vyasa’s commentary explains: “Where there is body

there is ether because it gives space to the body; the relation is

obtained thereby. After conquering that relation by the performance

of samyama and by obtaining transformation into light things such as

cotton (laghu) ...he walks on water, then walking on each line of the

spider’s web, he walks over the rays, then he moves through the sky

at will.”28 Likewise, by focusing on the element of akasa and its

relation to the ear, the yogi acquires super-physical hearing.

(divyam srotram, III.42)

Epistemology, and Valid Means of Knowing

Not all siddhis are difficult to swallow, even for the sceptic. Verse

III.22 tells of the power of ‘friendship etc’ (maitryadi) developed

through samyama on the qualities of friendship, compassion and

joy.29

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27 Taimini, ibid. pg 305

28 Bengali Baba, trans, Yogasutra Patanjali, with the commentary of Vyasa, 2005 print, Motilal Banarasidass pgs 87-88

29 Bengali Baba, ibid, pg 80

Simple enough. The yogi’s complexion becomes fine and his body

adamantine, beautiful (III.47) Also understandable, much like an

athlete or swimmer who acquires a toned body as a by product of

training.

The siddhi that is hardest even for a sympathiser to get his/her head

around is a yogi entering another’s body (parsariravesa, III.37). White

(Sinister Yogis) draws a distinction between ‘hostile takeovers’ and

‘benevolent’ ones – as might be in the case of a the salvific power

of a teacher entering the mind-body of his student during

initiation. Both presuppose that he believes it is possible. A large

section of his book is devoted to scriptural evidence and literary

narrative. This raises the question, what is a valid source of

knowledge? How do we trust a source of information?

White (Kiss of the Yogini, Sinister Yogis), Samuel (Origin of Yoga and Tantra) and

Flood (The Tantric Body) have stressed the importance of understanding a

system in its cultural, linguistic and historical context. Taking a

cue from them, we shall examine the authority of the sources that

present siddhis to us, using the epistemological tools of the Yoga

system. PYS I.7 states: (The facts) of right knowledge (are based

on) direct cognition, inference or testimony. (pratyaksanumanagmah

pramanani)

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Pramana translates approximately as right knowledge or knowledge

related to facts, and it is obtained in the Samkhya/Yoga system30

either by direct perception-pratyaksa (I see the fire with my eyes),

inference-anumana (I see smoke, I infer there is fire) and verbal

testimony-agama, where the authority of the testifier comes into

question. One’s guru, an expert e.g. a doctor, scientist, economist,

archaeologist etc. and the scriptures are cited as reliable sources.

All the Indian darsanas (systems of philosophy) have extensive

theories of epistemology, but the only source of pramana they all

agree on is direct perception or pratyaksa – the etymological source

of which is ocular: prati - before, in front of, and aksa – eye.31

Unfortunately the opportunities for us to see these siddhis through

pratyaksa are limited. As Samuel points out, “ Persons who have

achieved such conditions, if they do exist, are not generally

available (for scientific investigation)”32 Neither do they seem to

consider it necessary to provide us with visual proof. Swami Rama in

his personal account of “Living with the Himalayan Masters” informs

us similarly. According to him, the ‘real masters’ are high up in

the caves of the Himalayas far from

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30 Hiriyanna, ibid, pg 121

31 White, David ibid, pg 124

32 Samuel, G The Origins of Yoga and Tantra, 2008, Cambridge University Press, pg 352

prying eyes. “Most (people) do not reach these caves, however, for

there is something about the Himalayas which protects the teachers

from those who are merely curious or who are not prepared for the

higher teachings.”33

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We then turn to agama (authoritative testimony) and sastras

(scriptures). The account of Dr Tadeusz Skorupski34 is agama.

Skorupski’s academic credentials are impeccable (PhD-London), and he

has personally witnessed the siddhis of Buddhist monks while

travelling in the remotest parts of the Himalayas. Here is an

extract from an email exchange with him (printed with Dr.

Skorupski’s permission)  “I have material culled from original

sources…I have started to write about the powers derived from yogic

practices. Currently I am writing about the control over fire

element and the related yogic powers. In Buddhism there are six

super-powers. In Sanskrit they are called super-knowledges (abhijñā)

and include magic powers or abilities such as flying or walking on

the water…”

Examples of Yogic Siddhis in Indic Scriptures

The Vedas, Upanisads, Epics and Puranas abound with instances of yogic

siddhis. Yogi lore features even in Kautilya’s classic work on

statecraft (Artha-Sastra) where with the help of love potions and

invisibility salves yogis could penetrate royal harems or crime

rings. Adi Sankaracarya’s hagiographies tell of his takeover of the

body of a king called Amaruka, in order to learn about sexual

intercourse to win a debate with Mimamsaka Mandana Misra and his

wife.35

Rsis, sages and warriors described as yoga-yukta (yoked to yoga)

choose their time of death for instance Bhisma and Drona in the

Mahabharata. Events are described as yogically-caused (yogena), by

the mastery of yoga (yogaisvaryam), strength of yoga (yoga-balam) and

being yoked to yoga (yog-yukti). In the Bhagavata Purana, Pariksit,

(grandson of the Pandava warrior Arjuna) decides the exact moment of

when to give up his life.36

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33 Swami Rama, Living with the Himalayan Masters, 1999 print, Himalayan Institute Press, pg 38

34 SOAS Lectures, February 15th and 22nd 2011 (Mystical Traditions)

35 White, ibid pg 26 & 27

36 ibid, pgs 68 and 71

In the Bhagavada-Gita, ‘vibhuti-yoga’ is the term employed to describe

the yoga that Krsna practices when he reveals himself in his

universal form (visvarupa) – in which all souls are within him, all of

existence is within him.37

The description of instances involving siddhis in the scriptures is

exhaustive, and we will not be able to delve into all the examples.

We shall therefore limit ourselves to a few examples of parakayavesa,

or parasariravesa (entering another person’s body), as this seems to

be the sine qua non of a yogi’s practice.38 White traces the concept of

inter-body penetration from Vedic times to medieval Indian writings

in Sinister Yogis. The Maitriyani Upanisad tells of the aged king Brhadratha

who implores the sage Sakayanya to teach him how to become a ‘knower

of the self’ (atmavit) and Sakayanya instructs him by entering his

heart.39

In the Mahabharata, after the battle, Yuddhistira withdraws to the

forest. He comes upon his uncle Vidura (both are incarnations of the

god Dharma). Vidura: ‘fully fixed his gaze upon the king... and

fixing his breaths in his breaths and his senses in his senses

verily entered [Yuddhistira’s] limbs with [his own] limbs. Applying

his power of Yoga (yoga-balam) Vidura, who was as if incandescent

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with fiery splendour, entered into the body of the king’.

(Mahabharata 15.3.24-29)40

Another encounter occurs in the Anusasan Parva of the Mahabharata

(13.40-41). The young hermit Bhargava Vipula is left to look after

his guru’s wife Ruci. The lascivious god Indra keen on amorous

adventure appears, and she is attracted to him. But the virtuous

pupil ‘restrains her senses by the bonds of yoga’. His mind leaves

his own body and enters hers: ‘He abides in her limb by limb, like a

shadow, like a person stopping in an empty house which he finds on

his way, soiling her as little as a drop of water soils a lotus-

leaf, standing in her like a reflection in a mirror’ In that state

he changes the words she wishes to utter, with the result that she

against her own inclination rejects the God. 41

Gopinath Kaviraj synthesises his intellectual and experiential

knowledge in a chapter on ‘parakayapravesa’: “... An ordinary

person’s mind does not leave his body until the time of death; this

is not so for a yogi whose mind body connection has been loosened

through initiation,

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37 Bhagavada Gita Chapter 10 is called Vibhuti Yoga, and is translated by Gita Press Gorakhpur as “Yoga of Manifestation”

38 White, ibid, pg 37

39 ibid., pgs 91 & 143

40 ibid., pg 142

41 Staal, ibid, pgs 79-80

practice etc. ... it is not the case that (mind bearing) channels

are only inside the body. They also fan out from the body into the

entire cosmos. By means of this network of channels every man in

[joined] together with every [other] man. Why is this so? Because

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everything is connected to everything else.42 Not only does this

extract give us an insight into the siddhi of entering another’s

body, but links us back to the concept of lordship of Prakrti – where

the entire universe is a continuum because it is formed of one

substance, which the yogi’s mind controls as a result of his

practices.

Scientific Proof

One of the underlying arguments of this essay is that there are no

‘un-natural’ occurrences – only unexplained ones.43 Yogic siddhis are

as super-natural or magical as a solar eclipse, shooting stars or

Aurora Borealis were once considered to be. It is only a matter of

time before science catches up and ‘proves’ or explains such

phenomena. The Mahabharata and the Srimada Bhagavatam (1.7.30) speaks

of a weapon (astra) so deadly that it would wipe out every armed

person in sight and kill embryos in the wombs of their mothers.

Considered a figment of imagination for centuries, World War II

changed all that. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that when the

first atomic bomb was tested, Robert Oppenheimer recalled Krsna’s

words from the Bhagavada Gita (Now, I am Death, the Destroyer of worlds).44

However, there are those who require rational, scientific and

empirical evidence of a phenomenon before believing it. Being

informed by a philosophical system that prakrti can be manifest

(vyakta) or unmanifest (avyakta) and that only transformations take

place between the two states is not enough. Let a Nobel Laureate

propose that matter and energy are constant and interchangeable,

well, that is quite a different matter.45 For their satisfaction, I

quote here several studies that have been conducted in the recent

past that irrefutably prove the reality and existence of yogic

siddhis.

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Dr. Elmer Green (Menninger Foundation, Topeka, Kansas) conducted

extensive physiological studies on yogis. Working with Swami Rama,

using autogenic and biofeedback, he demonstrated under laboratory

conditions what had hitherto been considered claims.

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42 Gopinath Kaviraj quoted in White, ibid pg 165

43 Tullio Lobetti, (Senior Teaching Fellow, SOAS) one-on-one conversation, 29.03.2011

44 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f94j9WIWPQQ ;

45 http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/equivME/#2.5

The swami, a yogic master, demonstrated his ability to stop his

heart from pumping blood for 16.2 seconds. He produced an 11 degree

temperature difference between different parts of his palm. In one

experiment, using only his mental faculty he caused a 11” aluminium

needle on a shaft five feet away to spin.46

In the same series of experiments, he voluntarily produce and

maintained specific brain wave patterns on demand. He first

generated brain wave patterns that were predominately characterized

by beta waves; then he produced alpha waves, which are generally

associated with a relaxed state. Finally, he was able to demonstrate

the production of theta waves. Theta waves are associated with

unconscious states, in contrast to alpha and beta waves, which are

associated with conscious states. While producing theta waves, Swami

Rama appeared to be in a state of deep sleep. However, he was able

to recall everything that had transpired in the room during that

period.47 

This is supported by the findings of “the very detailed and very

careful research of Brosse (1963)”. Brosse studied a few yogis in

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great depth over a period of 25 years. His studies “establish and

confirm beyond doubt that a yogin can influence not only his

breathing but his pulse and heartbeat as well as his brain waves,

and in very specific ways can also bring about changes in his blood

(e.g. increase urea, sugar, potassium, carbon dioxide, and decrease

nitrogen)”48. White quotes the instance of the yogic master

Krishnamacarya permitting two French doctors to place electrodes on

his body. The yogi ...”proceeded to stop his heartbeat, change the

rhythm of his pulse and hold his breath for as many as five

minutes.”49 Scientific proof does have its detractors, though.

“Despite the impressive amount of research that has gone in to the

study of Yoga … through EEG and ECG, and similar methods, one cannot

help feeling that it is like studying art films through of the eye

movement of art viewers. Even if the results are valid, their

significance is minute.”50

__________________________________________________________________________________46 http://www.neilslade.com/Papers/Rama.html ; and Swami Rama, ibid, pg 460

47 http://www.kumbhamelatimes.org/swami/researcher.html

48 Staal, ibid, pg 104

49 White, ibid pg 247

50 Staal, ibid, pg 104

Lost in Translation

In this section we will touch upon the difficulties related to

transferring both philosophical and popular concepts efficiently

across a language barrier. The meaning assigned by translation can

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have an impact on how a phenomenon is regarded by a speech community

other than the one to which it is native. Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutras

are written in Sanskrit. “Most Sanskrit words are polyvalent making

translation complex.”51 This becomes particular relevant if the word

chosen has a negative connotation post translation. For instance,

yoga–sakti is normally translated as yogic power. “The word ‘power’

has perhaps a more negative semantic field in English than

‘energy’ ...although both can be renderings of the Sanskrit

‘sakti’.52 While it can mean power, sakti can accurately be rendered

into English as accomplishment, perfection, ability, skill,

strength, force, efficacy and energy, to name a few.53 The same

applies to the word siddhi.

Thus it could be that yogic siddhis are considered somehow unreal or

possibly fake because of the words that have been used to describe

them in English. Super-natural is a word often used to describe

siddhis. In common English parlance this is not understood in the

sense of ‘extra-ordinary’. It is understood in the sense of

hauntings, demons, ghosts, typified in the title of the 2005

American TV series of the same name. Webster’s dictionary defines

supernatural as: 

“1.of or relating to an order of existence beyond the visible

observable universe; especially of or relating to God or a god,

demigod, spirit, or devil

2 a)departing from what is usual or normal especially so as to

appear to transcend the laws of nature

b) attributed to an invisible agent (as a ghost or spirit)”

This second sense is in complete contradiction to the Samkhya/Yogic

understanding of the entire universe manifest and un-manifest being

part of prakrti and subject to a framework of natural law. I would

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suggest that instead of supernatural, siddhis be considered

‘extraordinary’, a word which is not loaded against a Samkhya-Yogic

understanding of them. When the Cuban Javier Sotomayo set the high

jump world record in 1993 (8’ 0.46” or 2.45 meters)54 no one thought

it was magic or supernatural in any way.

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51 Dr. Whitney Cox, SOAS, in a ‘Sanskrit Kavya’ discussion, February, 2011.

52 David White quoted in Gavin Flood, The Tantric Body, pg 9

53 Macdonnell, A pg 305

54 http://www.cleavebooks.co.uk/databank/worldrec/mhjump.htm

No one felt that the law of gravity had been transcended or

contravened. Why then is it so difficult to see that a yogi who has

been through arduous training can achieve ‘extraordinary’

accomplishments? A simple switch of phrase can go a long way in

changing the English speaker’s perspective.

Another word that is often used to describe siddhis is ‘magical’. The

Oxford dictionary defines magic as:

a) the power of apparently influencing events by using mysterious of

supernatural forces: suddenly, as if by magic, the doors start to

open

b) mysterious tricks, such as making things disappear and reappear,

performed as entertainment

In the Indic cultural context, words for ‘magic’ are rarely, if ever

applied, to siddhis. Magic translates into Sanskrit (and this flows

effortlessly into languages like Hindi which derive from Sanskrit)

as: indrajal (Indra’s web – the vedic god Indra being notorious for

deceit on and off the battlefield); Maya (illusion) Vamacar (black

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magic); Abhicara (spell, incantation) and Riddhi, (magical power,

success) which is often paired with siddhi and is clearly understood

to be different from siddhi.55

A slavish or pedantic following of dictionary meanings is not being

suggested. Rather a plea when translating for the usage of the

truest or at least the closest meaning of the word in the original

language of the phenomenon. A complex and difficult task, as Patrick

Olivelle admits in the introduction to his translation of the

Pancatantra. He says every act of translation is an act of

interpretation, whether we admit it or not.

I’d like to conclude this section with an examination of a family of

words related to siddhi. Siddhi comes from the root sidh which means to

accomplish, succeed, fulfil, to be established, to attain one’s end.

Related to this are words like sadhana which means leading straight

to a goal, accomplishment, effective, efficient (Monier Williams

online dictionary). In fact PYS chapter II which deals with the

astanga, (eight limbs) of yoga that enjoin followers of the path to

follow a strict socio-ethical-moral code is called Sadhana-Pada.

Similarly sadhya means that which has to be achieved or attained, and

a sadhaka is what an aspirant on the path of yoga is called.*

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55 Apte online English-Sanskrit dictionary: (http://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/aequery/index.html)

* Macdonell, pgs 346 & 350

Conclusion

In this essay, I have proposed and tried to prove that yogic siddhis

are not miraculous or super-natural in any way. They are the by-

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product of arduous yogic sadhana (practices). To establish the

reality of siddhis, we examined Samkhya ontology, which holds that

everything in this universe is made of the same material (prakrti)

including subtle processes like thinking and feeling. It is possible

for a yogi to achieve mastery over this material principle, and

therefore on natural phenomena. Valid means of knowing siddhis were

stated as being direct perception and verbal as well as scriptural

testimony. While the scriptures quoted in this essay are rejected by

some Indic systems (e.g. Buddhism, Jainism) these have their own

meditation methodologies, scriptures and special powers.56

A plea for careful consideration during translation was made, since

the semantic fields of words in a speech community other than the

tradition of a system can cause conceptual distortion as we saw with

the word sakti being taken as power rather than energy. Finally for

those who insist on scientific proof, case studies conducted under

laboratory conditions were presented. I regret to say I could not

find a laboratory study of parsariravesa (entering another’s body). Like

other unexplained phenomema, this siddhi will have to wait its turn

before scientists ‘discover’ and ‘prove’ it. Meanwhile I draw the

reader’s attention to ‘The Tao of Physics’ by Fritjof Capra, Chapter

18 of which is entitled ‘Interpenetration’. In it Capra says “One

can imagine a network of future theories covering an ever increasing

range of natural phenomena with every increasing accuracy. A network

which will contain fewer and fewer unexplained features … Someday …

a point will be reached where the only unexplained features of this

network of theories will be the elements of the scientific

framework….”57

I close this study by quoting Fritz Staal: “It would be nice if

open-mindedness and the right frame of mind were all that were

required of a student of mysticism. But the training ... demands ...

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strenuous and specific discipline and exercises..”58. The reader is

invited to read Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutras. The ability to follow

practices outlined in it is all that stands between us and yogic

siddhis. The aspirant is warned, however not to be distracted by these

powers on the path to Kaivalya (yogic isolation), the ultimate goal of

Yoga.(III.38; III.50-51)

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56 e.g. Lotus Sutra

57 Capra, F, The Tao of Physics, pg 333; 58Staal, ibid, pgs 123 & 149;

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