THE MYSTERY OF YOGA AND THE BOUQUET OF SIDHIS

Yoga means the union of the individual soul with the cosmic soul who is otherwise called God. When numbers are added up, their value increases manifold. Man is a descendent of apes. In the Adam Age he was like this only. In New Guinea even today there are some Adivasis (Aborigines) who have the culture of Adam’s era. The males/females are stark naked. For food they depend on animal flesh, roots, fruits etc. They run miles away from so called civilized men and hence their language too is not evolved. They can utter only a few words and they mainly communicate by sign language and gestures. But from the bodily viewpoint they are more powerful because they can tolerate intense heat, cold rain etc. In a certain manner even man follows the culture of Adam’s era. He is well versed in eating, procreating and manifesting greed, attachment etc. He detests imbibing human values that augment the glory of all mankind.

The glories of greatness and ethics are always conjoined to God. When man unites with God via faith he definitely rises above the culture of Adam’s era. Just as when husband-wife cooperate with one another so as to make their home heavenly in the same way when man unites with God he becomes divine. Hence greatness of Yogic practise is eulogized and those understanding the importance of soul upliftment walk on this path.

Yoga is classified in 2 ways. The first is external Yoga and the second internal Yoga. External Yoga is that in which bodily exercises are given importance. This external Yoga encompasses posture, breathing exercises, Bandha, Mudras, chanting of Mantras, Yajna, worship of God, pilgrimages, singing God’s name etc. Another name for this external Yoga is Kriya Yoga. One of its branches is called Hatha Yoga. Here external bodily activities are emphasized upon. Emphasis is laid on its mode and rules. Its results depend on how aptly it was made use of. Kriya Yoga influences our health, radiance, intellectual sharpness etc. Some control of the mind also takes place.

The second class is internal Yoga. Here the scattered mind and vital force are concentrated and focused. Vile psychic imprints have to be purified and our thinking has to be made high. There are many types of meditations. All of them come under the flagship of internal Yoga.

Generally in meditation one pours one’s loving devotion towards an imaginary image of God and one tries to experience it as very close to oneself. Further experiences involve Naad Yoga (sound), Soham (that I am) spiritual practise, drinking of Soma juice via Khechri Mudra etc. Internal Yoga also involves Chakravedhan (journey through the 6 Chakras), Kundalini awakening, Granthi Vedhan etc. because over here one’s thought waves are given a proper focused direction. In it there is no need of Kriya Yoga which involves bodily exercises.

Kriya Yoga is limited to the energy and ordinary extrasensory potential of the gross body. The sense organs are gross in nature. It is counted as a bodily part. Its power too is gross only. The subtilization of sensory potentials does only this much that without any other paraphernalia and with the help of any other sense organ the intellectual nerves of the brain solves certain gross problems. For example if one is blind one can utilize the sense organ of touch and with the fingers know of the presence of objects, letters etc. (i.e. in Braille). Within Suprapsycho Sciences, hearing distant sounds, seeing distant objects, telepathy are looked upon as extrasensory perception (ESP). All this is a play of the intellect. The difference only is this that in comparison to direct mediums one attains the potential of identifying and catching waves of heat, sound and light. This can come under material benefit and success. Although this is looked upon as spiritual yet it is not true. The activities of God are very extraordinary and mysterious. God cannot be understood by our material apparatus. According to the great scientist Albert Einstein, Particle Physics is yet very crippled and lame. It cannot give us information of the cosmic divine power i.e. God. There is a cosmic consciousness that rules over our entire cosmos. This consciousness can be called God, Brahman, all pervasive cosmic soul etc. The entire family of Ridhi-Sidhi (divine powers) is a mere glimpse of God.

According to the material science scholar and philosopher Sir James Jeans all materialistic events in the world are apt. That which we call an accident is actually the above mentioned. Its creator is definitely a great calculator, very powerful and an invisible power. It should be called God. This world cannot be an inert machine because every object, creature, living being etc. of the world has consciousness inherent in them and that they are always active. When the individual consciousness works in tandem with the cosmic consciousness (God) it is called Yoga.

There is a description in the Ashwamedha Parva of Mahabharat that there are divine saints (Sidhas) who with their divine eye can see the giving up of the body, its taking up a fresh new body and entering the body of another species. People with strong will power are capable of establishing goodwill and cooperation of subtle bodied souls with human beings. One of the characteristics of realized-seer saints is that they can contact the subtle world.

It is a divine power to “tie up” time which is a result of Kundalini awakening. Yogi Changdev during the times of Saint Janneshwar was 400 years old due to the power of Yogic penance. Later as per the advice of Saint Jnaneshwar he gave up his mortal coil. Our subtle bodied revered preceptor who lives in the tough terrain of the lofty Himalayas is beyond the limits of time and space.

The great saint Tailang Swami at the age of 280 years had given up his mortal coil in Varanasi according to the Indian calendar on Paush Shukla Ekadashi Vikram Samvat 1944. He was born in Vikram Samvat 1644 in the household of a Brahmin landlord. In the Pushkar region he had taken Sanyas initiation from Bhagirath Swami. His preceptor had named him Ganapati Swami but he was well known as Tailang Swami. He was a great spiritual aspirant, Yogi and server of all beings. Many miraculous events are associated with him. Even Swami Vivekanand had mentioned his name and he was alive during Swami Dayanandji’s life too. By attaining the highest spiritual goal of Yoga he attained many divine powers too. Once, Tailang Swami performed austerities in the jungles of Nepal. The King of Nepal had come hunting there along with his army. A tiger saved its life when attacked by the King. But the army chief followed the tiger. The tiger entered the hermitage of Tailang Swami. It placed its head at the feet of the Swamiji and sat down quietly. Swamiji started fondling the tiger. When the army chief and the King saw this scene they were wonderstruck.

This incidence is related not for idle curiosity but for the fact that via spiritual powers generated from austerities one can actually change the direction of the flow of the subtle world. Also one can to a great extent ward off one’s ill fate and become a medium for letting those events occur which were otherwise not destined to take place. It is said that the demi-gods have the power to bless and cure. But in fact a Yogi, saint etc. of high spiritual stature too can accomplish this. If you connect an inactive wire to another wire in which electric current flows the former too will become active. Hence if one conjoins to the divine power of demi-gods then that person too attains those powers and thus enters the storehouse of divine powers that belongs to God. This entrance into the region of divine powers is not superficial but is a kind of partnership. If there is a shop with many business partners each one can take goods from it. Definitely partnership gives you this right but if you are just a lay devotee and have not merged deeply into God, he only has the right to beg for things from God.

External Yoga or Kriya Yoga involves only the external world that is visible. It can grow, shift, raise or decrease things. It can also sometimes hide or manifest things but does not have the power to enter the recesses of another’s psyche. It is easy to lead anyone to his downfall. This is easily accomplished by criminals, gamblers, looters etc. But it is a totally different story when it involves materially and spiritually uplifting others. It is the word arrows that reach the target on dot. If you throw a pile of mud it can go anywhere and that too at a long distance. There is no control over it. Only apt hands can measure true control of things. It is entirely their decision as to in what direction and how high someone is to be uplifted. Such a person knows exactly how to dive deep into an oil well and measure it according to their capability. A small jump can be executed by anybody but it is possible only for gigantic rockets to rise higher up in the sky and even cross over the atmospheric covering of the earth so as to enter interstellar space. The relationship of the individual soul uniting with God via Yoga is proof of all the divine powers that manifest (like Ridhi-Sidhi). Great Sidhas are no doubt divine men. Their grace full of discrimination (Viveka) can either spiritually uplift someone or even bestow the blessing of material well being. Only such divine saints can reach great heights of divine powers.

Like the visible world there is a hidden subtle world and we sometimes get a glimpse of it in the dream state or in Nirvikalpa Samadhi (thought free trance). Scriptural scholars call it the other world. They are subtle in nature. They are invisible. There is no world of this sort in our stars and galaxies. That means that there is no Shiv Loka, heaven, hell, Brhama Loka over there as described in our scriptures. This is because all the 7 worlds are invisible in the cosmos. They cannot be seen by our gross eyes. In these subtle invisible worlds one finds demi-gods, Pitrus, Sidhas, spiritually liberated ones etc. These worlds are not materialistic but are at the divine emotional level. Those living in these worlds are full of bliss, enthusiasm, peace, vigour etc. Those divine aides (Parshads) of God dwell in these subtle worlds. At an appropriate time these aides manifest on earth when God himself incarnates as a great saint, prophet, uplifter of all etc. Their invisible body remains only as long as their specific task is to be executed and they later become invisible and subtle as before. This group of aides is not small. In comparison to the number of creatures living in this gross material world, the number of beings residing in these subtle, invisible worlds is not less. Just as amongst worldly men there are very capable and radiant people so too in the subtle, invisible world there are classes of souls with divine glories. These divine glories are not just stored by these great souls but that they generously donate it to other souls who are imbued with apt credentials.

Narsinh Mehta wanted wealth for spiritual purposes. Some mendicants approached him and said that some village folks had asked them (mendicants) to approach Narsinh. We are going to Dwarka. Please keep Rs. 700/00 with you and give us a bill of exchange so that we do not face danger of getting looted on the way and that in the city of Dwarka we can get back our cash. Narsinh thinking that this was some sort of help from God accepted the cash. He wrote the bill of exchange in the name of his beloved friend Lord Shri Krishna. In Dwarka Lord Krishna disguised as a businessman accepted the bill of exchange and gave the mendicants Rs. 700/00. In reality it is God who propels great spiritual aspirants via their pure hearts to overcome the sorrow of those in need.

Yogiraj Maharshi Aurobindo said that the departed soul of Swami Vivekanand gave him many inspiring thoughts. In 1901 the soul of Paramhans Ramkrishna inspired him to perform spiritual practices for cosmic welfare. The Divine Mother too had come to reside in Pondicherry with him due to a divine inspiration of God. Socrates always maintained that a Dayman dwelt in his psyche and inspired him to carry out various tasks. He always gave credit to the Dayman for all the tasks carried out by him.

The great Theosophist C.W. Leadbeater always researched into the movements of the invisible world. He said that ancestral souls protected innocent children and pious souls and bestows many beneficial blessings on them. Once there was a great inferno in a room. Hence the room got totally burnt. But one particular child continually slept in it and yet was saved. A divine power kept protecting him and thus the fire could not burn the child. In 1959 a well known journalist and writer called Bernard Hutton wrote about a particular incident in his book called “Holding Hands”. He had lost his eyesight and the doctors could not help him. Hutton had heard that Dr. Lang’s departing soul making Mr. Chapman an instrument, performed eye operations and thus many blind people had regained their eyesight. So Hutton went there. Dr. Lang by entering the psyche of Chapman operated Hutton and thus Hutton regained his eyesight.

The above description shows us that a spiritual aspirant of internal Yoga makes his soul so light, clean and penetrative that he easily enters the invisible world. Despite having a gross body a master of internal Yoga can keep in touch with the invisible world via his subtle and casual bodies. As per their needs they contact divine powers. They make this contact very deep and easily imbibe those divine blessings. The first leg of Yoga practise is purification of the soul. As a result very easily such a person gets the blessings of Sidhas which further helps him to uplift himself and work for cosmic welfare. When water becomes steam it can move freely in the atmosphere. Later it can condense as clouds and pour down as rain in any area of earth. Similarly Yogis never stray away from God. They walk in the footsteps of great saints who have experienced Yoga (union with God). Thus it is not that they themselves only become self fulfilled but that they can bestow this extraordinary experience to others too. The fruits of Kundalini awakening have their basis in this. Instead of divine powers (Ridhi-Sidhi) just activating our idle curiousity it should inspire us to fulfil the supreme goal of human life.