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siddhi
siddhi or siddhi (Sanskrit:; "perfection", "accomplishment", "attainment", or
"success") extraordinary powers of the atma (Self), developed through consistent
meditation and deliberate, grueling, often uncomfortable tapas, or awakened
naturally through spiritual maturity and yogic sadhana. Through the repeated
experience of Self Realization,siddhis naturally unfold according to the needs of
the individual. Before Self Realization, the use or development of siddhis is among
the greatest obstacles on the path because it cultivates ahankara, I-ness, and
militates against the attainment of prapatti, complete submission to the will of God,
Gods and guru. The mastery of specific Siddhis is taught to be attained through the
right kind of Samyama. There are eight primary siddhis, and ten secondary siddhis
and five siddhi's specific for concentration in yoga.
Fold
Table of Contents
Nine main siddhis
Eight Primary Siddhis
Ten Secondary Siddhis
Five Siddhis of Yoga and Meditation
Obtaining Siddhis

Nine main siddhis

As mentioned in the Puranas there are nine forms of Siddhis. They are:
Parkaya Pravesha: Parkaya Pravesh means ones soul entering into the
body of some other person. Through this knowledge even a dead body can
be brought to life.
Haadi Vidya: This Vidya or knowledge has been mentioned in several
ancient texts. On acquiring this Vidya, a person feels neither hunger nor
thirst, and can remain without eating food or drinking water for several
days at a stretch.

 Kaadi Vidya: Just as one does not feel hungry or thirsty in Haadi Vidya,
similarly in Kaadi Vidya a person is not affected by change of seasons, i.e.
by summer, winter, rain, etc. After accomplishing this Vidya, a person shall
not feel cold even if he sits in the snow-laden mountains, and shall not feel
hot even if he sits in the fire.
Vayu Gaman Siddhi: Through this Siddhi a person can become capable of
flying in the skies and traveling from one place to another in just a few
seconds.
Madalasa Vidya: On accomplishing this Vidya, a person becomes capable of
increasing or decreasing the size of his body according to his wish. Lord
Hanuman had miniaturized his body through this Vidya while entering the
city of Lanka.
Kanakdhara Siddhi: One can acquire immense and unlimited wealth
through this Siddhi.
Prakya Sadhana: Through this Sadhana a Yogi can direct his disciple to
take birth from the womb of a woman who is childless or cannot bear
children.
Surya Vigyan: This solar science is one of the most significant sciences of
ancient India[citation needed]. This science has been known only to the
Indian Yogis; using it, one substance can be transformed into another
through the medium of sun rays.
Mrit Sanjeevani Vidya: This Vidya was created by Guru Shukracharya.
Through it, even a dead person can be brought back to life.

Eight Primary Siddhis

There is the concept of the Ashta Siddhi (eight siddhis) in Hinduism. These are:
Aim: reducing one's body even to the size of an atom
Mahim: expanding one's body to an infinitely large size
Garima: becoming infinitely heavy
Laghim: becoming almost weightless
Prpti: having unrestricted access to all places
Prkmya: realizing whatever one desires
Iva:
possessing absolute lordship;

Vatva: the power to subjugate all.

In Hinduism, Hanuman possesses the ability to bestow the eight siddhis and
the nava nidhi (nine types of wealth).

Ten Secondary Siddhis

In the Srimad Bhagavatam Lord Krishna describes the Ten Secondary Siddhis as:
anrmi-mattvam: Being undisturbed by hunger, thirst, and other bodily
disturbances
dra-ravaa: Hearing things far away
dra-daranam: Seeing things far away
mana-javah: Moving the body wherever thought goes (teleportation)
kma-rpam: Assuming any form desired
para-kya praveanam: Entering the bodies of others
sva-chanda mtyuh:
Dying when one desires

devnm saha kr anudaranam: Witnessing and participating in the

pastimes of the Apsaras
yath sakalpa sasiddhi: Perfect accomplishment of one's determination
j apratihat gati: Orders or Commands being unimpeded

Five Siddhis of Yoga and Meditation

In the Srimad Bhagavatam the Five Siddhis of Yoga and Meditation are described
as:
tri-kla-jatvam: Knowing the past, present and future;
advandvam: Tolerance of heat, cold and other dualities;
para citta di abhijat: Knowing the minds of others and so on;
agni arka ambu via dnm pratiambha
: Checking the influence of

fire, sun, water, poison, and so on;

aparjayah: Remaining unconquered by others;

Obtaining Siddhis
Siddhi powers are said to be obtainable by meditation, control of the senses,
devotion, herbs, mantras, pranayama, or good birth.
A detailed instruction for obtaining various Siddhis is given in the Vibhuti Pada (the
3rd Chapter) of the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali. The mastery of specific Siddhis is
attained through properly aimed Samyama.
Lord Krishna states that:
"For a sage who has conquered his senses, breathing and mind, who is selfcontrolled and always absorbed in meditation on Me, what siddhi could possibly be
difficult to achieve?"[4]
Seeking siddhi powers is often discouraged and considered to be an impediment to
spiritual advancement. J Krishnamurti warned about siddhis in the context of
meditation, comparing them to candlelight in the Sun. Six siddhis in particular are
considered primary obstacles to samadhi:
adarsha siddhi or divya siddhi (clairvoyance),
shravana siddhi or divyashravana (clairaudience),
pratibha siddhi (divination),
vedana siddhi (super-feeling),
asvadana siddhi (super-taste),
varta siddhi (supersmell).

References
Bibliography
1. Siddhi, Wikipedia.
2. Siddhis, indianetzone.com.

Further Reading

 The Meaning of Siddhis, by Swami Amritananda Saraswati, Sivananda

Math.
Glossary of Terms

Backlik
sdhana

Page Map

Ashta Siddhi Mantra

men Hinduism Topics

Ashta Siddhis & other supernatural powers

Siddhi can be translated as perfection or accomplishment. All religions

the phenomenon of supernatural powers.

8 main powers acquired by a spiritual person as listed in the Indian sc

are Aim, Mahima, Garima, Laghima, Prpti, Prkmya, Ii va

.
There are other lists of such powers too, however these are the most
discussed yogic powers.

Ashta Siddhis are:

1. Aim:
Ability to reduce the size of the body, sometimes even to the size of the
atoms. ('Becoming smaller than the smallest' as described in Srimad
Bhagavatam by Lord Krishna)
Example: Hanuman had reduced the size of his body while he was
searching for Sita in Lanka.

2. Mahima:
Ability to assume a gigantic form ('Becoming larger than the largest' as
described in Srimad Bhagavatam by Lord Krishna)
Example:

1. Hanuman assumed a huge form to burn Lanka, he also assumed big

form to fight Kumbha Karna
2. In Vaamana avatar Lord Vishnu increased his form which was so
gigantic that it only took him three steps to cover all three worlds

3. Garima

Ability to become very heavy in weight by will

Example: Lord Hanuman made his tail very heavy that even Bhima
couldn't life it (Bhima who was climbing the GandhaMadana mountains to
get Saugandhika flowers for Draupadi was stopped by a monkey whose tail
was on the way, Bhima orders the monkey to take the tail off the road,
monkey being old tells him to move it himself, but Bhima couldn't even lift
the monkey's tail)

4. Laghima
Laghima comes from the word laghu, which means small or light. Laghima
is the ability to make the body very light ('Becoming lighter than the
lightest'). Levitation and flying in the air are its subsidiary powers

5. Prpti
Word praapti means 'to obtain', 'having obtained', 'to have got'. Thus
praapti is the ability to acquire anything anywhere.

6. Prkmya
The ability to obtain anything desired, ability to have realized the dreams

7. Iiva

Isa=lord; isitva=lordship; The power of absolute lordship over entire

creation

8. Vaitva
The ability to have everything under control, especially the physical
manifestation made up of 5 elements

Supernatural powers mentioned in Bhagavata Purana

1. Tri-kla-jatvam: Knowledge of past present and future
2. Advandvam (non-duality): not being subject to dualities of heat/
cold, pain/ pleasure, sweat/ bitter, good/ bad

3. Para citta di abhijat: Knowing of others' minds

4. Agni arka ambu via dnm pratiambha
: having fire, sun,

water, poison in control and stopping their effect

5. Aparjayah: becoming unconquerable
6. Anrmi-mattvam: Being undisturbed by hunger, thirst, and other
body generated cravings
7. Dra-ravaa: Hearing things/ events happening very far
8. Dra-daranam: Seeing things/ events happening very far
9. Mana-javah (manojvitva): Moving physical body wherever one
wants
10.

kma-rpam: Attaining/ assuming desired form

11.
Para-kya praveanam (vikranabhav): Entering another
persons body (spirits are believed to enter a person's physical body
whose astral body is weak, but the power mentioned here is
different and superior)
12.
Sva-chanda mtyuh:
To die only on one's wish (like that of

Bhishma from Mahabharat, like that of many sages who left their
bodies by their own wish)
13.
Devnm saha kr anudaranam: Witnessing the pastimes
of demi-gods (or Witnessing the events of 3 worlds as pastimes like
god does)
14.

Yath sakalpa sasiddhi: Achieving as one determines

15.

j apratihat gati: One's commands unstopped

Other powers
Memories of past lives
Clairvoyance
Levitation
Bi-location/ multi-location

 Materialization
Control over natural phenomenon like raining, sunrise/ sunset
Prakhya Siddhi: ability to chose the womb to be born in before birth
Surya Vijnan: Transforming one material into another by the use of
sun rays

Ways to attain Supernatural powers

In Patanjali's Yoga Sutras IV: 1, Patanjali mentions ways to attain
supernatural powers
Yoga Sutra Chapter 4: Verse 1

English translation

Janma auadhi mantra tapa samdhij

siddhaya

Birth, medicine (drugs/ herbs), mantra

(incantations), penance (self-discipline) and
born are Supernatural powers

As stated in the verse, here are the ways to attain supernatural powers:

By birth: Those born of spiritually advanced parents receive the

powers through birth because of the womb they are born in and the
genes. (This can also be translated as 'some may have supernatural
powers from birth because of their attainments in previous
lives')
Medicine: Use of special drugs (herbs in particular) help one attain
some miraculous powers. (In the story of Rama there is an episode
of Sanjeevini herb brought by Hanuman bringing back Laxman to
life)
Mantra: Incantation of mantras (powerful syllables or words) is said
to grant powers to the one chanting them, Early part of Vedas has
many of such mantras. It is believed that mantras work in two
ways: 1) Because of the power of sounds (word) 2) because of the
self-discipline it brings
Penance: Self-disciplining is believed to clarify the cloud of mind so
that one is able to control the 5 elements just by the wish, it is
possible by unperverted thinking.

 Samadhi: When one achieves oneness with consciousness it is said

to grant one with extra-ordinary powers
Note: Lord Gautama Buddha stressed that it is wiser to achieve freedom
from bondage than to attain any or all of the powers

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