Theos-Talk Archives (March 1998 Message tl00076)

Bart and Estrella

I think we need to be more specific about what siddhis we're talking about,
and why one would use them, before we metaphorically sweep them all off the
desk into the trash can.

Take for example the ability to immerse one's awareness in another being, to
experience what it is like to be that being. The value or the danger of this
siddhi depends very much on why it is being used, on the quality of the
underlying intentions.

If it were used to pry into other people's lives and use the information
gained that way to write magazine articles for large sums of money to be
spent selfishly, then that would clearly be unwise and potentially harmful.
If on the other hand it were used by a counsellor or healer to understand
more deeply why someone is suffering and then wisely help them or maybe just
offer some truly healing words and the sense that they are not alone, that
is clearly a very different transaction.

Sure, there are lots of weird and silly siddhis we hear about, like being
able to see through your ears etc, that some people spend huge amounts of
time trying to develop. There might be something admirable about the
perseverance that this takes, and the demonstration that we can develop in
all sorts of ways, but the needs of this world cry out far more pressingly
for assistance by methods that offer a greater return for the time and
energy invested, in my opinion.

There are also the well-known (to theosophical people) traps for the person
who is drawn to the idea of gaining unusual powers. The question, as always,
is what is the target of their desires and aspirations? What do they want to
achieve, and why?

I think it helps to remember that Consciousness and Energy inevitably go
together; where there is a movement of consciousness, there is a release or
flow of energy at some level or another. They have been interlocked from the
time of the very emergence of the universe.

The classical siddhis are simply examples of powers that are at present
beyond most people, that have caught our attention because they seem so
dramatic. But there are countless numbers of ways that we mobilise and
direct energy in everyday life, all of them coming under the category of
consciousness interacting with energy, all being ways that intention leads
to action on the different planes. Isn't this the prime generator of karma?
And isn't it true that one of the great lessons we are learning in the whole
field of evolution is how to wield power wisely and lovingly?

I do not think that siddhis are necessarily easy to get. Some people are
born with certain abilities, but to be really useful as tools of service and
ways of furthering humanity's situation, they still seem to need hard work
to make them effective and reliable. There's no easy ride, here.

Finally, I believe that seeking to be of service is the best way for
spiritual growth to occur, provided any desire to acquire additional power
is wholly enveloped within and aligned towards that goal. Furthermore, I
suspect that seeking to be of service is a great pathway on which to
approach the inner Teacher, but that's another topic.

With best wishes to you both.

Murray

>> Virtually all the literature considers siddhi's to be "spiritual dead
>> ends". They may be useful, but they do not lead to spiritual growth, at
>> least not directly (check out Blavatsky's cautionary tale, "An Enchanted
>> Life", located in NIGHTMARE TALES, and also somewhere in the COLLECTED
>> WRITINGS, for an example).
>>
>>     Bart Lidofsky
>
>AHHHHHH.....I taught you didn'nt understood me,Bart.
>You are right!
>I believe siddhis (Paranormal faculties) are like "cooking recipes" in
>esoteric and spiritual books like some theosophy authors write about
>them, and sometimes in how they work.For me, is no big deal to develop
>them, so i see them very easy to get them. The thing is, as i put in the
>other post, if we are "allowed to do it" speccialy pepole, as my friend,
>who wants to persuade very far away, in that "narrow and golden path"
>The temptations, thus, are that, the "can i??"
>Estrella
>P.S. I get your point in what you mean in A.C. i think he taught was the
>correct way. anyway, the route he (In his personal life) Demostrated
>that truth, was incorrect.you know.