| Hi Joshua,
Many people will tell you that some of the higher siddhis, namely the ones that effect physical reality are not possible, but this is far from the truth. The fact is many of the people who actually write about Yogic topics do not have a very high level of realization, even some of the so called 'arahats'. People often mistake enlightenment with the ultimate goal. Enlightenment is nowhere near the peak of liberation. Enlightenment is a state of knowing, gotten to through insight meditation, and it is through this that one can break the Karmic cycle and avoid rebirth. A lot of people regard this as the ultimate goal of Yoga, but this is not the case.
Whatever path is taken, whether it be through Insight, or Concentration, both will merge together at some point. After insight mastery, pure concentration can be VERY easily developed, if the meditator intends it to be. If concentration is mastered first, then obtaining perfect insight and enlightenment can occur with a single whim, as long as the proper intention is done.
The various powers and abilities come almost exclusively out of concentration, though some can be found during insight as concentration is partially developed during insight. The idea is, the more powerful a persons concentration and awareness is, the higher their vibratory state is, and the higher that state is, the higher the reality a person can effect.
In a sense, after consciousness is of a certain vibration, it will operate almost exclusively in a higher state, a higher dimension. Consciousness exists simultaneously in all dimensions. Though, in the higher dimensions, the rules are different. Changes can be made in the energy of the higher dimensions that would be impossible in the lower dimensions. The idea is that since energy exist in all dimensions, in a unique manifestation in each dimension, changing it in a higher dimension, will also change it in a lower dimension. Basically through thought, they can make a thought have such intensity in a higher dimension that a physical object manifest in the lower realm. Thoughts are energy, and all of reality is simply energy.
It is through this that a Yogi is able to defy various laws of the physical world. This is because the physical world exist in a very low vibratory state. At a certain point in consciousness development, a person can exist entirely without a physical body, and essence escape physical death. Manifesting or disappearing in any form at any time, at any place.
Many people will tell you these things are fantasy and not possible, but I can assure you this is not the case. Very few people have spent parts of their life seeking out true masters. The Himalayas are FILLED with them. Spend a few months searching the Himalayas and finding Yogis capable of these types of things is very easy, it just takes some time, and the true intention to want to travel the spiritual path.
I spent some time last year doing this very thing in Nepal. I saw many things I would have deemed miraculous at the time, but through my research, learning, and personal experience, I have understood them. One particular incident, I was traveling through the mountains on my first few days with a guide, and we both came across a group of monks sitting in circle. Not even a minute after we saw them from a few hundred yards away, they all begin to levitate off the ground. They sat in the air, about 10 meters up, for nearly 15 minutes, and slowly came back down. There were no hidden mechanisms, nothing suspicious. It was in the middle of an open forest, and they were above the trees. I knew what I saw. Before we even spotted the monks I could feel a great energy in the air.
What I'm getting at is, all of these abilities are easily possible, but it takes serious dedication to get to this level. As in, drop everything else in your life and go meditate, for many years.
People like to use the Buddha as an example, in an attempt to try to prove these powers don't exist, because the Buddha had back problems, and a ton of other health issues. He was in no way 'good' health when he died. What people don't realize is that while the Buddha was enlightened, he was not fully realized. There is a difference. He had the awareness, the knowledge, the knowing, to escape the Karmic cycle. His karma was pure, after his death there would be no 'karma' to pull him back to another physical body, it would be at his own choosing. While there are reports of the Buddhas siddhis, the siddhis that he is reported having aren't really too amazing, very minor things that don't involve direct manipulation of the laws of nature.
Many will tell you that while concentration practice can lead to many amazing powers, it does not lead to enlightenment. Only insight will lead to enlightenment. A yogi can have a whole host of demonstrable powers, but if he never practices insight, then he will never be enlightened. Though eventually once concentration is mastered, insight begins to happen automatically when there is nothing left to explore.
Hopefully this long...essay of mine that I have typed up will be able to answer all of your questions. If you truly wish to seek out a master, be ready to truly dedicate your life to these practices, and be willing to put in long hard months of searching. They are all over the world likely, but there tends to be a unusually high amount in the Himalayas. Find a master and you will witness many miracles. It is not an impossible task. |