When a person from outside the Indian subcontinent hears the word yoga, they think that it is just another form of exercise to stay fit, relaxed, and to enhance concentration. And if you ask someone who has basic knowledge of yoga, they’d say that yoga is an exercise to bring mind and body together. Well, both are wrong and right!
The word yoga is a Sanskrit word that means union, but it has a much broader definition than just body and mind. To understand that, we need to understand the basics of Vedic philosophy. The Vedic philosophers call the god by the name Tat (That). They believe that God is omnipresent, he is everywhere and everything which is/was present in the universe. They believe that our Soul (Atma) is different and pure from our worldly body, our human soul is a fraction of God himself, and our ultimate goal is to realize our soul (godliness) and merge back with God(Paramatma), without deluding into the worldly pleasures.
So, in a yogic sense yoga is a union between Atma (soul), and Paramatma (Universal soul). The Yogic sages indulge in an intense form of meditation and use yoga postures as a tool to reach the higher state of consciousness, as a result, they can see, hear, feel, do things that most people cannot. There are many scriptures, witnesses, and pieces of evidence stating how a normal person did an incredible act after attaining yogic powers.
These are a few of the most common yet mysterious powers held by ancient yogic sages:
Communicating with Otherworldly beings:
Vedic scriptures speak about divine vision, when achieved humans can see, feel, and hear things of which normal human senses cannot. There are many stories recorded in ancient scriptures when enlightened sages with divine vision communicated with different worldly beings from different lokas(worlds).
 |
| Sage vasishta seated with creator god Brahma. |
Creation and destruction of life:
Few stories from Puranas mentions few highly revered beings able to create and destroy life forms with Maya(illusion). Vishwamitra, a highly revered sage, went a step further to create a parallel universe, about which you can check here. How Ancient Gods Cloned a Parallel Universe.
 |
| sages creating Draupadi and Dhrishtadyumna out of Yagna(fire sacrifice) |
Death by will:
Yogic sages, when they realized their divinity, had complete control over their physical body and their surroundings to such an extent that they were able to control their death. Apart from yogic sages, there were few individuals who had received a boon from gods of death by well. One such person can be found in the book Mahabharata, Bhishma, who was fatally injured in the war of Kurukshetra, slept on a bed made out of arrows, and waited for 51 nights to leave his body on an auspicious day as he intended.
 |
| Bhishma lying on the bed of arrows, waiting for his death. |
Traveling without a body:
It is mentioned in many stories that those revered sages were not bound or limited to their physical body, they can leave their physical body and revert at their will. They were able to appear and disappear to any place they intended, and appear in multiple places at the same time. Also, They were able to travel to any place which includes different worlds at the speed of their thoughts.
Knew past, present, and Future:
The highly revered sages were often called by the name Trikala Gnani (the one who is aware of past, present, and future), so many people would consult the sages in difficult times, even ancient kings would approach those sages for advice when making a critical decision.
 |
| Sage vashista giving guidance to king karalajanaka. |
Click here for free study materials
Comments
Post a Comment