The Right Way to Acquire Psychic Powers (Yoga Siddhis)
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.
I am interested in leaning how to more effectively get more money. Is it bad to think this way?
Thanks Amol and all who contributed realistically! Internet can get better and helpful only if we all write to express ourselves truthfully and not to impress others.
I am on the side of freedom I will empower myself and do WHAT I want with it no need for silly religious dogma.
Hail Satan and our true pagan gods who desire freedom for the world.
Seek ye first the King of God. And all shall be added unto you…The prophets.. They all seeked for God, and in knowing Him they were blessed,bestowed,given incredible Power. Not because they solely wanted power, but because they knew God… Bless to all Pastors, guru’s, swami’s,imams,rabbi’s. Om namah Shivaya.
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.
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!
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.
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.
Hi Christopher,
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
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
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.
Hello Anonymous Friend,
A little searching on the website and you will find the techniques you so desire.
Peace & Love,
Anmol
Hi anmol I have read your so darshan chakra kriya which give 18 occult power is it real.
anonymous,
such attitude clearly shows why you shouldn’t be allowed to acquire siddhis.