Excerpt from “The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali”, by Sri Swami Satchidananda:
Siddhis are born of practices performed in previous births, or by herbs, mantra repetition, asceticism or by samadhi.
Patanjali begins this [fourth and final] book by reviewing the methods by which the siddhis can be obtained by the Yoga practitioner. Some people attain the siddhis without even doing any practices in this life. They don’t know what they did to have these kinds of powers. That is the proof that they have done something in their past lives to merit such powers in this one. He also gives us some clues about the people who get some experiences through their LSD and marijuana. The so-called “grass” is an herb, is it not? Mushrooms could be considered herbs also.
Or siddhis come by the practice of mantra japa or by asceticism. Asceticism, or tapas, means accepting suffering willingly, thus exercising your will power and gaining control over the mind.
So, there are various ways of accomplishing the psychic powers. But normally it is recognized that all the others except Samadhi are not natural. For example, using herbs means including siddhis by the use of certain external stimuli. It’s not an “organic” siddhi. It may come and then fade away. So, siddhis should come in the regular process of Yoga, not through external stimuli.
Sanskrit:
Janmausadhi mantra tapah samadhijah siddhayah.
Janna = birth; ausadhi = herbs;
mantra = sacred speech, Vedic hymn, incantation;
tapah = consume or destroy by heat, purification by austerity, undergo penance, acceptance of sufferings;
samadhi = concentration of thoughts, intense contemplation on a particular object, absorption; jah = born, produced or caused by;
siddhayah = psychic powers, accomplishments, attainments.
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