Mystical Powers

Levitation The practice of yoga and meditation are supposed to lead the diligent student to the acquisition of mystical powers (also called sidhis). Some of these supernatural powers are (as explained by Patanjali):

knowledge of past and future
understanding the sounds of animals
recalling the experiences of one's previous incarnations
knowing the thoughts of another mind
making oneself invisible
strength of an elephant
ability to live without eating or drinking
ability to consciously enter the body of another person
levitation
ability to heal physical and spiritual diseases
ability to become as minute as an atom or to expand oneself and become very large
insensitive to pain
ability to see auras and other powers of extrasensory perception

The photo opposite is that of Akasha Giri levitating.

Are such powers possible? I am going to discuss the possibility of attainment of some of these below, however I should first point out that the objective of yoga and spiritual practice is the attainment of Samadhi - students are warned about these supernatural powers in the same way that Ali Baba was warned about the jewels in the treasure cave. There is only one treasure worth having, and it isn't glittering gold or precious stones.

I have already discussed in the framework section the different regions of the brain that we all have, and can gain more access to through yoga and meditation.

Auras

A small percentage of the population do indeed see auras, which trouble those unfortunate people who suffer from migraine headaches. There has been a lot of medical research into migraines and the conditions which can give rise to seeing auras. Slow cortical excitatory waves can traverse the regions of the brain from near the brain stem, and this can affect the occipital lobe (visual). Migraines can occur without auras, and migraines can occur with auras. For some people the appearance of auras and visual impairment can signal the arrival of a migraine. Sometimes auras can appear, but does not develop into a migraine - ie auras are seen without pain and discomfort. The precise mechanism is not understood and research continues, but it is certainly a medical fact that some people see auras. However, this is a result of an excitatory effect in their brain and not the eyes detecting subtle external radiation (though it may appear this way to the viewer). It is quite possible that long periods of meditation could result in brain conditions in the meditator that bring on this effect.

Sensitivity to Pain

There are many well documented cases of people who can enter a trance state and apparently become insensitive to pain. In the Hindu festival of Thaipusam in Malaysia many worshippers stick metal rods through their cheeks or other parts of their body in order to demonstrate devotion to their spiritual cause.

Extreme piercing

In some well documented cases, the person is said to be able to slow their heart rate and enter an altered state of mind. They seem to gain control over the vagus nerve. Some autistic people are remarkably insensitive to pain. Despite the abundant evidence the mechanisms are not well understood. It is possible that in an altered state of mind the nerve impulses are not responded to by the brain. Sustained pain does result in heightened levels of endorphins in the body - natural painkillers. Indeed, some people can become addicted to pain and the release of the endorphins. One theory is that the insensitivity to pain shown by autistic's is due to altered brain chemistry with continually high levels of endorphins, hence when they touch a stove hot-plate they aren't aware of the skin burning. Long periods of meditation or trance could alter brain chemistry and result in similar levels of endorphins.

Levitation, Walking on Water

I have no explanation for the ability of the body to defy the laws of gravity! I have never seen it and I do doubt if it is possible. Bouncing on mattresses in a cross-legged position does not pass as levitation! It is possible that "walking on water" refers to some initiation or spiritual practice that has since been misinterpreted.

Making oneself bigger and smaller

Whilst rejecting the ability of the physical body to spontaneously change size, this may refer to experiential changes that can take place inside the brain during long periods of meditation. Contrary to popular belief, we have many more than 5 senses. Proprioception (sometimes called kinesthesia) is the sense of the relative position of neighbouring parts of your body. It is pretty important. In a dark room you are still able to touch your index finger to your nose. It isn't a sense we think about very much, but it operates all the time and is important in motion. During rapid teenage growth many people become clumsy - the brain is constantly having to relearn where the body is! Malfunction of this sense can be induced, such as the Pinocchio illusion - the illusion can be induced that the nose (or another part of the body) is growing longer. Through long periods of meditation in a still position the nerves feeding information to the brain on the position of the body may become quiet - and the region of the brain responsible for proprioception may become confused. Unable to determine where the body is any more, the meditator may experience sensation of growing or shrinking. They may even gain some control over this ability. It is not uncommon whilst meditating to have some experiences along these lines - they are inner sensations, not actual changes in the size of the physical body.

Ability to live without eating and drinking

Inedia or breatharianism is the ability to live without eating or drinking. Many have claimed this ability, but in a strictly controlled test environment they have failed. Yogananda wrote in Autobiography of a Yogi of Hindu saints who were buried alive for several months in a state of deep meditation, and when revived they were fine. The body is certainly capable of entering lower metabolic rates (like the hibernation of some animals), and there is no doubt that many of us eat and drink far more than we need in order to survive. I saw David Blaine suspended in a glass container near the river Thames in London - he survived only on a small amount of water for 44 days. He lost 24.5 kg during the time. It is quite likely that advanced yogi practitioners become attuned to their body and eat and drink only what they actually need to survive - and when compared to the rest of us, they appear to eat and drink virtually nothing!

Access to inner knowledge

With reference to the first couple of sidhis (knowledge of future and past, understanding animals, recalling previous incarnations, knowing the thoughts of another person), such experiences will be familiar to anyone who has practices meditation for a period of time. The knowledge that arises is not that, for example, that allows you to correctly pick the Lotto numbers for the next draw. But knowledge does arise that seems to be appropriate to the situation, and in many cases seems to be information that could not possibly have been known - at least consciously. As noted in the framework, the conscious brain is only a small portion of a much larger intelligence inside each and every one of us. The subconscious portion of the brain is receiving and processing many more inputs. Meditation practices may simply still the outer mind long enough for us to listen to the inner mind. The knowledge may not necessarily be coming from another world or plane, it may be coming from the inner mind. Savants have demonstrated that it is possible to memorize, for example, the complete contents of a telephone book. What seems to be divine inspiration may in fact be us coming into contact with our subconscious minds - and this does not seem to be a bad thing. However, as I also note in the framework, it does seem that there may be both subconscious and superconscious connections that can be made through the inner mind - and the superconscious is truly access to supernatural knowledge.

Healing ability

Yoga and meditation strengthen the inner vital energy, also known as prana or chi. It is this energy that is used when one person attempts to heal another, eg through Reiki or Zenith. In advanced masters, the transfer of energy is known as Shakti. There is no doubt that practice of yoga and meditation, or Tai Chi, improves general health and well-being. A healthy person seems to radiate energy and vitality. Sexual energy is often stronger. On an bio-electrical level, this can be measured as a greater flow of electrical impulses through the nerve channels throughout the body. Perhaps this is the chi, or an indication of a strong chi. If you have been fortunate enough to have been touched by a master/guru, you may have experienced the power of Shakti. It certainly seems real to me.

Ability to enter the body of another person

I have seen several excellent examples of channellers, but never a demonstration of a person taking over the consciousness of another. However, hypnosis is a well documented phenomena, and a person with disciplined mind control may well enhance their ability to influence the mind of another through hypnosis.