Aurora Dawn Newsletter

Hinduism is known to be the oldest surviving Asian religion and can be traced back to four ancient works of sacred teachings called the Veda. The Rig-Veda was the first to be written with the largest collection of hymns, at 1,028 in total. These hymns were recited by the priests to invite the gods to participate in sacrificial ceremonies. Written sometime between the twelfth and eight centuries BC, and passed along by word of mouth through scholars who studied and interpreted sacred texts were so meticulous that they were successful at preserving the sound of the ancient Sanskrit hymns with near perfect accuracy. Even though the meanings of some of the words were lost, it was not considered important. The sounds not the meanings were believed to carry supernatural power.

The Rig-Veda describes sacrificial rituals including the slaying of animals to please the gods. Another part of these rituals was consuming the juice of a climbing vine, called soma (Asclepias acida). The juice was mixed with milk, filtered through sheep skin and imbibed. Soma is considered a powerful hallucinogen and it seems to give the drinker supernatural powers.

Two other Veda texts also gave a lot of attention to sacrificial rites but it was in the fourth Veda, Atharva-Veda, written around the second century BC that exposed the most interesting aspect of the Hindu religion. The teachings in the Atharva Veda were devoted to magical spells and charms designed to get rid of disease causing demons, renew the affections of a lover, win victory in battle and generate financial success. As you can guess, these incantations were a valuable political tool for the priests serving the rulers of their day.

The quest for magical powers led to asceticism in Indian thought and religion. Those who learned these magical abilities were commonly called munis (wonder workers) in the Rig-Veda. It was said they knew the secrets of the gods.

These ascetics learned these secrets through the discipline of fasting, celibacy and drinking poisons. Munis were said to accumulate these supernatural powers, called tapas, through holding uncomfortable positions for long periods of time. Their abilities included magical feats such as levitation, healing, telekinesis, translocation, and much more. Tapas were also obtained through extreme forms of self torture including sitting or lying on a bed or nails or holding a leg or arm motionless for months until it started to waste away.

Transmigration (reincarnation) came about through these ascetics and became the central doctrine of Hinduism and Buddhism. With transmigration the devout is able to escape from samsara, their undesirable condition, and achieve a state of enlightenment. A person becomes conscious of the essential identity (atman) of his or her individual soul through this mystical experience. Then he or she unites with the impersonal Supreme Being known as Brahman.

There are many paths leading to this enlightenment, but it is said that the path of the ascetic is the truest path, living a solitary life, eating very little, keeping body and mind under control through the extensive practice of meditation.

At the time of the final portion of the Veda, Upanishads, the practice of yoga consisted of sitting completely still and erect, with the eyes focused on the tip of the nose. The objective was to bring thought and senses under complete control until the mind became a single point.

Between 200 BC and 200 AD, yoga in the Bhagavad-Gita had become a name given to any practice designed to reunite the soul with God. Yoga had evolved away from its classical paths and spread across India. Yogis were gaining great respect even though traditional Hindu priests believed them to be no more than mere magicians (illusionists).

Yoga adepts were regarded as proficient masters over the force of gravity to levitate themselves right off the ground. They were also known to make certain events happen without any physical effort, solely through the force of will. Many other supernatural abilities were also attained through this practice.

At the core of the yoga techniques for obtaining supernatural abilities was strict control of the breath. It was said that through the control of the breath these accomplishments were made possible. Using special techniques the yogi would make his breathing as slow as possible, always extending the period between breaths. Some yogis would even reach the ability to hold their breath for hours.

Oprah had David Blain on her show April 30, 2008. If you were watching then you know David held his breath for 17 minutes. David is known as a stage magician but this was no magic trick.

You don’t have to be a spiritually evolved individual to learn these supernatural abilities but this is not the practice of yoga. Instead these exhibitions of supernatural ability are traps on the path to enlightenment. The Buddha himself warned of the dangers of “showing off” magical abilities. Showing off is from the ego and when the ego is under your mastery, you will not have any desire to “show off” your abilities.

Disciplining the body and the mind to attain these supernatural abilities does not get you closer to realizing your true spiritual Self. These abilities could even be used to harm others. The greatest reward one can gain from developing these special abilities is to learn them after properly learning to be the master of the ego.

While I was learning yoga I was discouraged from seeking psychic abilities because it would only make me a slave to my ego. Many yoga masters will not teach their disciples these supernatural abilities until the disciple has proven mastery over his or her ego. Once the ego was under control, it was considered safe to teach the disciple these powerful abilities.

I do want to note that each individual always be building and expanding his or her psychic abilities to communicate with the spirit world. The spirit world is actually more real than our 3 dimensional world and it holds all the answers to any question any of us could have ask. Being able to communicate with the spirit world will help you on your spiritual path to greater enlightenment and empowerment.

If you’re interested in building your supernatural powers using yoga then I suggest studying Kriya or Kundallini yoga. It is best to use the guidance of a teacher to properly prepare for this path. Also Sri Auribindo taught the importance of spiritual evolution which can be found in developing psychic abilities.

Dawn Michele Ziemer is a Certified Spiritual Life Coach, Witchcraft Teacher, Yoga and Meditation Instructor, Karuna and Usui Reiki Master/Teacher and Clairvoyant living in Delhi, IA. To learn more about Dawn and to join her newsletter go to Aurora Dawn.
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