The Right Way to Acquire Psychic Powers (Yoga Siddhis)
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The Right Way to Acquire Psychic Powers (Yoga Siddhis)
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: Personal Development & Spiritual Growth
Lately I have been getting many requests with regard to psychic powers, their acquisition, value, purpose etc. Although I can’t cover all these aspects in one article, this post will kick off the series in which I will delve into these topics.
In Yoga terminology psychic powers are called Siddhis and they are addressed in detail in many books on Yoga and Tantra. A good resource for the study of these Yogic Powers is of course the Yoga Sutras (threads) of Sage Patanjali, where in Book 3 (Vibhuti Pada) Patanjali details the psychic powers and the methodology for their attainment. Swami Satchidananda has written a very nice book with commentaries on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras and I want to provide his view on Yogic Powers as they are quite in line with my views as well.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Integral Yoga Publications
Translation & Commentary By Sri Swami Satchidananda
Pages: 199-200
Patanjali Yoga Sutra 51 says that "By non-attachment to even Psychic Powers, the seeds of bondage are destroyed and independence gained." Here are Swami Satchidananda’s commentaries on this sutra and Yogic Siddhis in general.
"This means that all these siddhis are beautiful, but they will bind us, because siddhis are the outcome of the mind. The mind wants something. It wants to achieve this or that. What for? To be proud of itself. It develops ego. It makes your "I" and "mine" bigger. Selfish desires are still there. If you are after siddhis like astral traveling, clairvoyance and clairaudience, I ask you why. You may say, "Oh, I thought I could help people." I say that this is just an excuse. You want to show you can do something. You want to be proud of it.
Are the siddhis bad then? If so, why are they there? I say they are not bad. They are beautiful; they are good. When? Whey they come to you. When you run after them they are bad. That’s all the difference. Let the siddhis come and beg, "Hey, can’t I do something for you?" Then they are beautiful. If you don’t run after them and your don’t crave them, they are not yours. They want to have you as theirs. They want to be with you and serve you. Then they are okay. That’s why, even in the Bible, you come across these powers. Everything will come to you. When? When you seek the Kingdom. "Seek ye first the Kingdom of Heaven; everything else will be added unto you." You don’t need to run after them one by one. When you become the boss, you get everything. You don’t need to run after small jobs."
The above is the perfect place to start when studying the topic of Psychic Powers. This understanding will ensure that you are not being distracted by the acquisition of Yogic Siddhis and that you are aiming only for the Highest; only the Truth. Along the way let these powers come as they wish. When they come to you in this fashion, you will not misuse them for self aggrandization because your target is still God, which means you are passionate about egolessness.
Given the above I will provide techniques for obtaining psychic powers in future articles in these series. Hopefully having understood the reasoning above you will undertake their pursuit impersonally or for scientific study. Often, yogic siddhis are byproducts of prolonged practice of certain powerful meditations and kriyas (sets) and there are already several such meditations detailed on this website. Of these, the two that are highly reputed for bestowing such powers are Sodarshan Chakra Kriya - 3 Most Powerful Yoga Pranayamas & Kriyas and Ajana Chakra Meditation Technique (3rd Eye). I wonder if that is the reason why these are among the most popular articles on this website :-P.
Benefiting from Mastery of Meditation & Yoga? 
on September 3rd, 2007 at 11:24 am
You mean Patanjali, right? :)
on September 3rd, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Was actually referring to his lesser known twin :-D. Thanks for pointing that out.
on September 3rd, 2007 at 9:43 pm
Great article - so true. Psychic ability is a by-product of spiritual development, but should never be the desired end result of spiritual practice. It is easy to get hung up on “look what I can do” … of course, these abilities are obtainable by everyone. Like everything else, psychic ability can be a useful tool, or become our master.
Blessings,
Andrea
http://www.EmpoweredSoul.com
on September 4th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Perfectly said! Thank you for your insights.
Best,
Anmol
on September 4th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
[…] These six words of instruction are attributed to Tilopa, a 9th century Buddhist master of tummo, tantra, Tibetan dream yoga, resurrection and other siddhi. Technorati Tags: enlightenment, spirituality, meditation, zazen […]
on September 5th, 2007 at 12:34 pm
I’ve always found the siddhis to be a bit of a conundrum. They necessarily mark a certain level of spiritual attainment, therefore are sought after. Yet danger lies within becoming attached to the siddhis, for the attachment can stop true liberation.
It’s an interesting situation.
I think it is important to view them as a gift from God, and as with all gifts from God the proper thing to do with them is to use them in acts of service to the Lord. Laying the fruits of one’s labors at the feet of the Lord.
on September 6th, 2007 at 9:00 pm
Well said. With regard to siddhis here is some food for thought. Some schools assert that the onset of psychic powers imply that Kundalini is stuck in a particular chakra and the flow is actually imbalanced. Thus Yogic Powers indicate where more work is needed, as opposed to the yogi thinking they have acheived something special. Just another view to add to the conundrum :-D.
Blessings,
Anmol
on September 22nd, 2007 at 12:53 am
the Yoga terminology is very helpful, i just discovered “Psychic” Healing, early this summer in a Hatha based, Yoga Text book. I am a Metaphysical, Psychic, we use different terminology.
on September 23rd, 2007 at 7:00 pm
on October 10th, 2007 at 7:11 am
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on June 27th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
Sat Nam Anmol and all the other yogis and yoginis out there!
I find the siddhis very interesting. May be one day I wake up and I will have some of them? Who knows?
Does anybody of you know somebody who acquired any siddhis. I mean there are thousands of people meditating on a regular base. Or is it a very rare phenomena?
Curious Sotantar
on August 8th, 2008 at 7:34 pm
It is a very rare phenomena for sure. Also, these powers come and go. I have met a few yogis who have had some for some time, but no one who has mastered them yet :-D.
Cheers,
Anmol
on September 19th, 2008 at 4:34 pm
Hi there, I have to say I don’t know much about yoga siddhis, so I apologise for my ignorance. A few months ago I scanned the web trying to find out what my past experiences were (ie;from 10 years ago) and why I had them, and from other websites I finally found matches to what happened to me.I think it is siddhis,Due to migraines I taught myself to meditate (I was also interested in spiritual growth but unaware of all the possibilities).From just a few months of meditation, I experienced an out of body experience (a short jaunt around the room as it frightened me): possibly levitation (?) while wide awake and meditating I suddenly took off through the wall at a great speed, like in a carnival ride but at just above ground level:another time I saw animal faces and an aboriginal face stretch out of the wallpaper behind my then boyfriend as I discovered his infidelity: green luminous auras in the slipstream behind ice skaters:a ball of fiery red hiss from my chest and go through my blankets (anger at the x I think, but I thought it was the electric blanket on fire): a preminition of the route taken by a deadly spider I hadn’t yet seen,10 seconds before it happened (allowing me to move out of the way): spiritual questions being answered by the strangest messengers. I have to say my experiences were amazing but totally undeserved. I hadn’t earned them and haven’t had the time to meditate since with kids about. Can you tell me why this happened to me, for what purpose, and am I letting myself down in this life by not continuing the meditation. I would like to eventually, when the bills are paid and life gets quieter. thanks, Sue.
on September 26th, 2008 at 3:31 pm
You have listed many of the Yoga Siddhis as per Patanjali’s famous Yoga Sutras, and they certainly are psychic powers.
It is not unusual to actually have these powers emerge suddenly in early stages of practice, as often the pathways open up during that time and the powers are unleashed. They often do diminish though after that, and the practice becomes a deeper journey towards spiritual growth and the Truth.
If you are feeling from deep within that you are letting yourself down, I would say it is time to return to your meditation, in whatever capacity life allows you to at this point. It will grow on it’s own so don’t worry about doing it perfectly, but I would suggest that you do restart it. I understand the challenge of bills and kids, but by growing spiritually, you are doing them in fact the greatest service.
Thank you for sharing with us and keep us posted on your journey.
All Good Wishes,
Anmol
on October 3rd, 2008 at 8:03 pm
[…] If you are keen on developing psychic abilities, then you must also remember the following two most important rules with regard to psychic powers. First, don’t get attached to these powers and second, only use them for your spiritual growth or to help others. You can also read more about yoga and psychic powers in the article, The Right Way to Acquire Psychic Powers. […]
on December 3rd, 2008 at 5:00 am
You are all giving childish suggestions. Every human being has a special power which demands to be developed. Thats the basic one which can be obtained through meditation mainly through kundalini awakening. There are risks associated with it. Male or female who have 100% awakened their kundalini no longer have sexual needs. They reach upper consciousness, i.e estatic. If you are married, well, good luck with your love life, lol.
In addition to that, there are advanced siddhis that can be acquired through mantra meditation and through devotion. Each human being has some devtas and devis who most favour them. Doing a siddhi based on Yantra Mantra and asana will help bestow the blessing and acquire their blessing. For example siddhi of Kuber can allow people to see hidden treasures under the land. Additional siddhis of Shiva allows for a devotee to retrieve the treasure from the land without actually digging more than 60 cm deep. You should properly decide what you actually want.
on December 3rd, 2008 at 5:09 am
P.S. i have seen several miracles and siddhis in practice. Many things which i doubt any of you would ever even see in your lifetime. Never trust anyone about your siddhis, even my guru was a robber. Be careful. Also, never give you date of birth and time of birth to anyone or don’t be shocked if one day you find your siddhis diminish or becoming inexistant. And don’t flaunt it to anyone.
on February 10th, 2009 at 10:55 am
hey sue, i read about your experience. what type of meditation did/do u perform, how? etc. email me on bhavnababy2@hotmail.co.uk
on February 23rd, 2009 at 12:26 pm
Kingdom of heaven? That is sound weird, sorry if i said something wrong - but how do i fing it if the only soul can go there? Or it is achieved by meditation? I`m simply do not understand, if human able to gain such powers through the spiritual development, how i can spiritually develop? Meditation? Yoga training? And how i`ll know about my development? These chakras - how i can open them? And can i open them at all? I simply do now want to spend a time, spend it and after all that learn that all that was for nothing, i`m newbie to all this and very want to learn this.
Best,
Andrew
on April 12th, 2009 at 5:57 am
quit the crap and just tell us the actual techniques to practice it. Why not tell the military do not go after weapons and guns let the enemy bring you your guns then it is beautiful. Get real man. What you go after is what you achieve….This dogma will not work on us anymore. So watch out we are going to empower ourself with it……
on April 14th, 2009 at 12:13 am
anonymous,
such attitude clearly shows why you shouldn’t be allowed to acquire siddhis.
on April 20th, 2009 at 6:47 pm
[…] I have written previously about the Right Approach to the Development of Psychic Powers, so I suggest reading that article to understand how to avoid getting excessively distracted by yoga siddhis (powers) on your road to enlightenment. […]
on April 23rd, 2009 at 1:46 pm
A little searching on the website and you will find the techniques you so desire.
Peace & Love,
Anmol
on April 27th, 2009 at 5:53 pm
[…] In part 1, 4 Free Online Psychic & Clairvoyant Development Tools, I indicated that the acquisition of psychic powers as a primary goal in life, servers as nothing more than a distraction from the work you are actually here to do, which is Self Realization. So be warned that attachment to psychic powers and their use for ego enhancement or other material gain, just means more bondage to the world of duality and delusion. Please note that this does not mean that psychic powers in and of themselves are bad or negative, it just means that attachment to them or exclusive pursuit of them, is not the purpose of life and can easily turn into another obstacle for you. I have gone over this is more detail in the following article as well - The Right Way to Acquire Psychic Powers. […]
on April 28th, 2009 at 10:15 am
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on April 28th, 2009 at 10:19 am
[…] The Right Way to Acquire Psychic Powers (Yoga Siddhis) […]
on May 17th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
[…] I have written previously about the Right Approach to the Development of Psychic Powers, so I suggest reading that article to understand how to avoid getting distracted by yoga siddhis (powers) on your road to enlightenment. That article also discusses the right use of such powers. […]
on May 28th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
[…] Recently we took a voyage into the world of psychic phenomenon and psychic powers. We explored, in the series Online Guide to Psychic Development, how to attain real psychic powers of clairvoyance and how to enhance your psychic abilities if you are a psychic reader or other such practitioner. In the past, we have explored the philosophy behind psychic powers (yoga siddhis) in the article Right Way to Acquire Psychic Powers and also available online on Mastery of Meditation & Yoga are several powerful meditation techniques to develop such abilities. Below is a quick list of the most popular of these techniques to enhance your psychic abilities. […]
on June 15th, 2009 at 2:15 am
As you continue to develop your abilities you will find that your psychic experiences create less of a shock in your everyday life. In other words, they will become more “normal” and with that, you will be able to tune into this energy more easily and access information when you need it. Meditate to allow your mind to open up, recognize your emotions from those around you and, most importantly, keep your balance.
on July 25th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
i have discovered 9 byproducts of meditation. I have been meditating for 12 years now. Words like teleportation, levitation are but metaphors to the experiences generated from constant practice. For example, teleportation is nothing more than going back to a deep memory and this memory permeates all of you where, well, it as if you are there…sort of like the movie frequency. For me, levitation has been nothing more than feeling a deep sense of lightness and it feels like you are floating upon the objects of perception. Somtimes i can see the karmic past life patterns of other humans. I don’t know what embodiment they had, but i get an idea where one came from to where they are going. I have experienced clairvoyance twice or what you would coin the future. I am very psychic and intune with humans and animals in particular. The sixth sense is what others coin obe experiences. In case you are not familiar with obe, it is an outer body experience. I don’t physically leave but my sense and depth perception can become so intense that i merge with a persons body, mind, and intellect. Clairaudience or supernal hearing is the seventh. I am so intuned with another persons consciousness that i heat them ‘audiently’ or hear their voice in my mind. #8-what patanjali refers to as dissapperaing or invisibility is nothing more than not being able to being perceived by another. I suppose that your language is different, but not unhealthy. The last is unity and becoming a part of the whole picture, - my experience in this is life is perfect and you are the witness to all of creation and who you are and that it’s one-big-cosmic dance
on July 27th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Great to have your insights and valuable thoughts on the intriguing subject of psychic powers and yoga siddhis. Thanks for sharing your experiences with us.
Best,
Anmol
on January 22nd, 2010 at 4:48 pm
[…] I have written about how to approach psychic powers previously and emphasized that their use should be only for spiritual growth or truly helping others. You can read the following 2 articles for more on this topic, The Right Way to Acquire Psychic Powers and Free Psychic and Clairvoyant Development Tools. But, the other "enhancements" one gets from meditation should also be wisely used. […]
on January 25th, 2010 at 11:31 am
Particularly this said above just brought me a bit of comfort
“It is not unusual to actually have these powers emerge suddenly in early stages of practice, as often the pathways open up during that time and the powers are unleashed. They often do diminish though after that, and the practice becomes a deeper journey towards spiritual growth and the Truth.”
Near the beginning of my practices, it was as if I almost didn’t realize I was practicing anything. It started with experiencing for the first time true lucid states, and quickly lead accidentally falling into out of body experiences. It was always a pleasant experience, because it was brought on by newly found happiness in my life. The one thing that has been hard to grasp lately is that these experiences really have diminished significantly. I do see somewhat of a balance though. I feel much more conscious then I was two years ago (time period stated above), as if the experiences I had have become less of single moments of clarity (like a single moment in a dream), and become something I can relate with from here on out.
Thanks for your simple and clear words.
on February 3rd, 2010 at 8:06 am
Thank you for this page! My greed for power has been enormous… The way I got into meditation was through martial arts because many of them are meditating. But you helped me realize that power is not the purpose of meditation. You kinda saved me from my own greed. I am still not that cold hearted, Ive been planing to be a doctor and go to Africa when I am an adult. But still I wanted power.
By the way I am 12 years old, just a kid.
on February 3rd, 2010 at 3:15 pm
I understand what you say Christopher because I can do those things, but have been able to even well before I discovered meditation. When small, I was so frightened by what I saw in others. I just knew things like karmic issues, when death was coming, what others thought of me, I have always loved animals and have had talks with them ever since I could remember. Now, I just do not wish to give readings anymore and believe that there is so much more out there for me to release. This class has already opened me up to looking with my heart instead of my head, which usually ended up at the brick wall (bouncing off of it quite a lot)…
I see what others have been saying about psychic abilities and have been involved with obtaining them my self. I cannot do that anymore. They are there and have become stronger and have gained momentum here and there, but life is taking me somewhere else. Loving this meditation/yoga class.
Thanks!
on February 3rd, 2010 at 10:29 pm
Dear Amos,
It’s great you have realized the true purpose of meditation which is self realization. The wonderful thing about walking this path to awakening is that life provides us all else as she sees fit.
You may be pleasantly surprised at being granted Fame, Power and Importance but these are things you will not be attached to.
Great to hear that you want to become a doctor and help others. All the best.
Trupti.