Is It Possible to Attain Yogic Superpowers?
Stories of highly devout and enlightened yogis having psychic or physical superpowers are not uncommon in India. The ability to fly, levitate, garner superhuman strength or effect telekinesis are all supposedly attainable abilities if one spends years meditating and practicing yoga. These abilities are described in Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and are referred to as the Siddhis. While achieving supernatural power sounds enticing, it is precisely for that reason why they are to be approached with caution.
When Siddhis are described by swamis or those who are well-versed in Vedic knowledge, they are spoken of as not actually being magical in any sense. These powers, which seem to be otherworldly, are actually inherent in all human beings and can be accessed with the proper discipline. Some people are even born with these powers, specifically when it comes to psychic abilities.
But these yogic abilities are thought to be a distraction and waste of time for those who are seeking a path to enlightenment. Getting distracted by these powers can lead people to worship the yogi and inflate their egos. Subsequently, it can prevent the yogi from realizing god and oneness with the universe.
Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras
According to the Sutras, once a yogi attains Samadhi or the state of divine union with meditation, there are several ways one can attain Siddhis.
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- Birth or Genetics – Due to one’s karma they may be born with psychic abilities.
- Herbs – Psychedelic drugs like mescaline or peyote can induce Siddhis, however they must be done under the supervision of a spiritual guide or with the proper knowledge.
- Mantras – This is the rational and desired method of attaining Siddhis paired with austerity and the repetition of mantras, basic or sometimes esoteric.
- Birth or Genetics – Due to one’s karma they may be born with psychic abilities.
Through these primary methods, one can gain abilities including:
- Becoming invisible
- Becoming as big or small as one desires
- Becoming as heavy or light as one desires
- Flying and levitating
- The power to manifest and control things
- The power to be in more than one place at once and more.
There are also psychic powers associated with Siddhis including telepathy, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, and precognition.
While these practices might sound otherworldly, Vedic teachers say they are not as bewildering as they sound. Much like the invisible phenomena in our everyday world, these powers represent realms that are pervasive around us, but not necessarily visible or obvious in our everyday state of consciousness. Because our reality is a product of our consciousness, according to Vedic philosophy, these powers can obviously be manifested by us.
When a yogi reaches the level of attaining these powers, they are said to have reached Samyama. It is a deeply absorbed meditative state where the mind is cleared from wandering thought—a state most people strive to attain just for short periods of time. For advanced yogis this state can be achieved for hours at a time, at which point their mind merges with the mind(s) of other yogis, eliminating the illusion of separation and showing universal oneness. This is the point where yogis can become either distracted by the powers of Siddhis or continue toward a path of enlightenment.
About the Author
Animals and Universal Consciousness
More often than I like to admit, I’m forced to realize that some people are simply a lot smarter than I am – doggone it. At other times, I catch myself in one of those moments of spontaneous prideful arrogance, thinking how much smarter I am than somebody else.
It’s easy for me to see that there are lots of people smarter than I am, and maybe a few who aren’t. I think, therefore I think I know what intelligence is – but that intelligence has let me down many times in the past, as it has for even “the greatest minds of their times” – former members of The Flat Earth Society and all.
For much of my life I thought that, at least, I was smarter than an animal – an assumption taken for granted in our modern, technological culture. Now, I think that assumption was wrong. I think animals are smarter than all of us, and it all has to do with the arrogant, typically human way I think about what intelligence is.
My intelligence seems to be a function of how well my senses and capabilities work, especially in terms of feeling “successful” about my life; but what if I could hear, see, or smell, thousands of times better than I can? What kind of world would I perceive, and how much more would I know about it? What if I didn’t have to worry about wearing clothes (believe me, I do), or whether I had a roof over my head? What if the supermarket were closed, or I was dropped in the middle of the ocean or the woods – could I feed myself, or would I end up becoming somebody’s dinner? Suddenly, I don’t sound much like ‘the top of the food chain.’
“Stay calm. Share your bananas.”—Koko the Gorilla
Profound Consciousness in Animals
One of the most difficult barriers for people to break is the one that prevents us from perceiving the profound levels of consciousness alive in our animal relatives. This kind of prison of the human ego that demands we place ourselves above all other creatures is possibly the most soul-depleting (and destructive) obstacle to human spiritual evolution there is, forcing us to live life through the limited filter of human sensory experience, generally misinterpreted by our collective and personal ego, and the delusions of “intellect.” As a result, we tend to destroy our home and hurt those from whom we could learn the most.
