Do Unique Powers Hinder Spiritual Growth? - Part I

Ramana Maharshi

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By Super Admin

Thursday, June 23, 2011, 17:03

Although powers appear to be wonderful to those who do not possess them, yet they are only transient. It is useless to aspire for the transient. All these wonders are contained in the one changeless Self.

'Master, can I perform miracles as Sri Krishna and Jesus did before?' asked Humphreys, the first westerner to come to Maharshi. 'There are yogis with occult powers. What does the Maharshi think of them?' queries Evans Wentz, a research scholar from oxford. Is it not good to acquire occult powers? Is not invisibility evidence of advanced wisdom? Does Self-realisation imply occult powers?

Leadbeater describes his past births by clairvoyance. Is it useful to acquire such powers? Does the jnani have only peace, or does he have powers also? Can we not regenerate the world by power of austerities? These are some of the questions which are typical of our hankering, overt or secret, for acquiring more powers through spiritual practices.

One sometimes wonders whether we care as much for peace and happiness as we do for power, the exercise of which fills us with a sense of well-being. The display of super-natural powers is always a matter of wonder. It dazzles the mind and leads to the adoration of such powers.

However, a seeker of truth should not give in to the undeniable attraction of 'siddhis' but must ponder over their real utility. One has to ask oneself some basic questions. Why am I a sadhaka? What am I seeking? Is it Self-knowledge? Will siddhis lead to a conscious linking with the divine? Is the siddhi-path a by-lane or a royal path? Will it distract one from the search for truth or would it help in spiritual practice?