Buddhism teaches that after a practitioner achieves a certain degree of realization, spiritual power develops. Furthermore, it is acknowledged as well that supernatural powers are not attainable exclusively JUST by Buddhists and Buddhists only, but possible for anyone who has deep religious and spiritual cultivation to develop some kind of "supernormal powers."
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Parkaya Pravesh means entering one’s soul in the body of some other person. Through this knowledge even a dead body can be brought to life.
Just about three thousand years back, Shankaracharya had to take help of this knowledge in order to defeat Mandan Mishra in a spiritual debate. But as time passed this knowledge became extinct in the society and today only a very few Yogis have full practical knowledge of this unique practice.
This knowledge is considered to be so important and secret that only a few Yogis, known to me, know of this practice and after them this practice shall perhaps vanish from this earth.
This Vidya or knowledge has been mentioned in several ancient texts. On acquiring this Vidya a person neither feels hungry nor thirsty and he can remain without eating food or drinking water for several days at a stretch.
Several Yogis of the Himalayas, remain engrossed in deep Sadhanas for months and years without eating or drinking anything. When they do not eat or drink, they do not even have to empty their bowels. Thus they are able to perform long penance for years and their bodies also remain healthy and fit, even without food. Acharya Vishnu Sarang, the famous Tantrik from Nepal and Yogi Manohar are proficient in this Vidya as well as the mysterious wandering Digambara monk Trailanga Swami. Although not always counted among Siddhis per se' several instances have been cited regarding Trailanga Swami's ability to spend hours under the water of the Ganges as he sought to teach men that human life need not depend on oxygen under the auspices of certain spiritual conditions and precautions (see Pranayama). It has been reported there is a yogi that lives on the peak of the holy mountain Arunachala that has not had anything to eat since 1990. See also Nirodha.
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. Thus a Sadhak can perform incessant penance without being affected by change of weather or seasons.
The Jain scholar, Pragya Sun had accomplished both the Haadi & Kaadi Vldyas. Guru Gorakhnath and Matsayendranath too had accomplished them.
Today the Jain scholar of Mahabalipuram Sun Maharaj and Yogi Vishambhar of Badrinath are accomplished in these Vidyas and have kept these practices alive.
On accomplishing this Vidya, a person becomes capable of increasing or decreasing the size of his body according to his wish. Lord Hanuman had miniaturised his body through this Vidya while entering the city of Lanka.
The average height of a human being is six feet. Through this Vidya a person can reduce the size of his body to the size of a mosquito and can even enlarge his body to a size of over hundred feet.
A few years back a conference of Yogis was held on the Bhairav hill, near Dehradun and in this conference Tailang Baba (an ascetic) demonstrated this miraculous practice before hundreds of Yogis. This Vidya is almost extinct today and in my opinion only Tailang Baba has accomplished it.
Anima Siddhi - The ability to decrease the size of one's body and become smaller than the smallest particle. Through this siddhi one may enter into stone or change the density in one's body, enabling one to pass through solid matter.
Mahima Siddhi - The ability to increase the size of one's body, ultimately enveloping the universe.
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. The Jain scriptures speak of Jain ascetics who could fly from place to place in a few seconds. Swami Divakarsuri and Swami Pragyasuri have been such accomplished ascetics. Although there are several occasions of individuals flying reported in the Sutras of classical Buddhism and Zen, the Venerable Pindola Bharadvaja is probably the person most commonly cited. For the movement or cross-transference of items between the conventional plane or physical plane and other possible environments see Apportation Revisited.
Swami Vishuddhanandji (d. 1937)(sometimes spelled: Vishuddhananda, Vishudhanandaaka; aka: Gandha Baba, Perfume Saint), well-known for his supernatural powers and said to be an adept associated with the mysterious Gyanganj (Jnanaganj) hermitage somewhere in Tibet -- a secret place of great masters -- demonstrated this practice in Varanasi and proved that it is not a myth.
Although throughout his life the Enlightened sage Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi never exhibited the slightest interest in Siddhis, occult abilities, or psychic powers to outsiders, he had a fully conscious bilocation experience he rarely discussed wherein he was translocated from his ashram in a matter of minutes to a devotee many, many miles away. Arthur Osborne, Ramana's biographer writes in Ramana Maharshi And The Path of Self-Knowledge (York Beach: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1995, pages 96-97):
"One day, some years ago, I (Sri Ramana) was lying down and awake when I distinctly felt my body rise higher and higher. I could see the physical objects below growing smaller and smaller until they disappeared and all around me was a limitless expanse of dazzling light. After some time I felt the body slowly descend and the physical objects below began to appear. I was so fully aware of this incident that I finally concluded that it must be by such means that Sages using the powers of Siddhis travel over vast distances in a short time and Appear and Disappear in such a mysterious manner. While the body thus descended to the ground it occurred to me that I was at Tiruvottiyur though I had never seen the place before. I found myself on a highroad and walked along it. At some distance from the roadside was a temple of Ganapati and I entered it."
A second equally interesting incident, cast in in a similar vein, and involving the Maharshi but a little too long to put here, can be found by going to: THE MEETING: An Untold Story of Sri Ramana. See also The Sun Dagger.
It is said there are a few yogies living near Kanya Kumari who are known to have accomplished this practice and seen to do so on a regualar basis. But, it seems, the teaching of such practices to others will most likely perish with them.
Laghima Siddhi - The ability to make one's body lighter than air and fly at will. The perfection of this siddhi enables one to travel on the sun's rays.
LAGHIMA: TO HAVE NO WEIGHT. Laghima is the control of the effect of the earth's attraction on the body by developing in each cell the opposite (centrifugal) tendency. Said to be implemented for the performed act of levitation, the Vayu Gaman Siddhi and the Laghima Siddhi. According to one of the eighteen main Puranas, the Markandeya Purana, Laghima means "to have an extreme speed."
Although it is not widely known, it should be brought to the attention of the reader that there are recorded instances of people in the Bible that accomplished the means of flight, even Jesus --- with another being one Simon Magus. (see)
One can acquire immense and unlimited wealth through this Siddhi. It’s said that once Shankaracharya saw a very poor and destitute woman and with the help of the Kanakdhara Yantra he showered gold in her house. This Yantra is made on a silver plate and 36 squares are formed by drawing 7 lines each, horizontally and vertically. Then the Beej Mantra is written in these squares. Today only a very few people have full and authentic knowledge of this Siddhi.
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. Several Yogis have thus blessed infertile women with children. Swami Vishuddhanand had accomplished this Sadhana and had used it to bring happiness into the lives of several women. But today only two or three persons are accomplished in this Sadhana.
This Solar science is one of the most significant sciences of ancient India. This science has been known only to the Indian Yogis and using it, one substance can be transformed into another through the medium of sun rays.
Swami Vishudhananda had demonstrated the miracles of this science about 50-60 years ago, by transforming a paper into rose and a cotton ball into gold.
This science has been kept alive by Divyendu Ghosh and some other Yogis, otherwise it has become almost extinct.
This Vidya was created by Adi Shankaracharya. Through it even a dead person can be brought back to life. This practice may seem to be a myth but it had been used by Guru Gorakhnath several times. Today only a few persons have practical knowledge of this Vidya.
Prapti Siddhi - The ability to manifest any object one desires within one's hand. This siddhi removes the limitations of space which seperate two objects from each other. It is said one will even be able to touch the moon with one's finger [i.e. the limitation of distance is removed].
Prakamya Siddhi - The ability to attain anything one desires.
Ishita Siddhi - The ability to control the sub-potencies of the laws of nature. This enables one to control various energies and seemingly defy the laws of nature. See White Light Shields as well as Apportation. The Swami Ramalinga, more popularly known as Vallalar is recorded to have moved a whole contingent of followers from the wrath of a terrible storm to the safe harbor of a distant shrine in an instant. See also 'la Catalina' whose abilities allowed her, among other things, to turn into a wisp of smoke as though a blackened silhouette and sail through the air only to dissipate into the night sky.
Vashita Siddhi - The ability to bring others under one's control.
Kamavasayita Siddhi - The ability to attain anything anywhere. This is the highest of the eight and contains most of the abilities of the other perfections.
In the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, Chapter IV, verse 1 it is stated as well that the supernormal perceptual powers of Siddhis CAN be reached through the use of certain herbs, that is DRUGS, called Aushadhis in Sanskrit, replicating on the short term a mind-strength ability and potential execution of powers similar to or equal to that of a person versed in Siddhis garnered via the highest levels of Spiritual Attainment. See:
AUSHADHIS: Awakening and the Power of Siddhis Through Herbs
DO YOU THINK FLYING IN THE SKY IS MAGICAL?
The majority ot the above information regarding THE NINE MAIN SIDDHIS, with many thanks and much appreciation, has been researched through the many fine and thorough page and offerings of MANTRA TANTRA YANTRA VIGYAN.
The following is offered on their Disclaimer Page, however:
- The articles appearing here have been penned by wandering saints and ascetics.
- Hence it is not possible to give their addresses or any other information about their whereabouts.
- The Sadhana articles mentioned in the magazine can be obtained from any place.
With some assist from INDIA DIVINE as well.
Disclaimer & Copyright Notice
"When people conjure of thoughts related to the life of the Buddha, after Enlightenment, usually India and the vast southern reaches of the Himalayas where he lived and taught comes to mind. When they think of Buddhism, most people turn their thoughts to China. With Zen, typically Japan --- with credit going to China from which it sprang. However, although it is not exclusively Buddhist, there is a broad band of Buddhism beyond those three countries that forms a huge crescent-like swath from India through southeast Asia, passing through Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam. Within that crescent-like swath are hundreds of Buddhist and Zen Buddhist monasteries with thousands of monks. However, high in the mountains and plateaus bordering up and behind that swath there exists many ancient and unknown to the outside world and all its turmoil, basically unhindered and unmolested, a smattering of monasteries operating almost independent of time."
Gyanganj, a home for immortals, is said to be hidden in a valley in the remote Himalayas.
In Tibet, this legendary land of Spiritual Enlightenment is known as Shambala, a Sanskrit word which means "the source of happiness". It is NOT heaven on earth but said to be a mystical kingdom that guards the most sacred and secret spiritual teachings of the world, including the Kalachakra (Wheel of Time), the pinnacle of Buddhist wisdom.
Various Buddhist texts give instructions for finding Shambala, though directions are obscure. It is assumed that only accomplished yogis will find it. The kingdom is hidden in the mists of the snow mountains and can be reached only by Flying over them with the help of Siddhis or spiritual powers. James Hilton's novel, Lost Horizon, about the lost kingdom of Shangri-La, was inspired by the legend of Shambala.
For a comprehensive account of Gyanganj, refer to the writings of Gopinath Kaviraj (d. 1976). A renown Sanskrit scholar, Kaviraj wrote a book titled Siddhabhoomi Gyanganj, which has been translated from Bengali into Hindi, published by Bharatiya Vidya Prakashan.
Kaviraj's main source of information was his own guru, Swami Vishudhananda, a contemporary of fellow Benares siddhi master Trailanga Swami. Vishudhananda is believed to have sojourned many times to Gyanganj where he mastered Surya Vigyan, #8 above, as well as Vayu Gaman, #5 above. Surya Vigyan gave him powers to manifest objects or transform one object into another by manipulating the sun's rays. In his book Autobiography of a Yogi the venerated Indian saint Paramahansa Yogananda describes HIS meeting with Gopinath's guru Vishudhananda in Calcutta, and witnessing first hand Vishudhananda's feat of creating any perfume on demand out of thin air. Paul Brunton in his book A Search in Secret India wrote that he not only witnessed Vishudhananda create perfumes, but also bring a dead bird back to life.
Refer also to Jnanaganj, Shangri-La, Siddhashram, Shambala.
SEE:
SHAMBHALA
GYANGANJ information researched and adapted from an article by Parveen Chopra, Life Positive Magazine