Acharya Karan V – The word ‘Siddhi’ signifies attainment or success. When an individual is following certain routine or Sadhana these Siddhi are ought to come. In a way Siddhi is the evident side effect of any Sadhana. There are numerous types of Sadhanas which are performed for a specific purpose or self realization in the spiritual world but as you start progressing on the track there are certain powers which your body or soul get blessed with during the journey.

Such powers are termed as Siddhi, sometimes a set of spiritual rituals are performed to attain certain Siddhi or otherwise you get blessed with some these powers on their own without specified or targeted approach. Like for example you are doing efforts to get Swapan Siddhi but eventually you will be blessed with some partial effects of Dhyan or Vaak Siddhi etc. So in a way any Siddh human, who has attained atleast one Siddhi in his life has automatically succeeded to attain the positive effects of some of the related Siddhis as well. Further if he or she continues its journey in the world if Siddhi then this path leads him to Moksha or the state of ultimate self realization.

In our social circle, if we observe some people are already blessed with certain Siddhi by birth, for example the most commonly found Siddhi is Aakarshan Siddhi (to attract people around you) or Vaak Siddhi (related to intuition) but for other less fortunate having string determination to achieve what is not blessed to them, there are these Tantrik Siddhi which can be attained with hard work, dedication and right guidance.

Since ages from our Hindu mythological books we have come across so many strong characters that possess most of these Tantrik Siddhi in one or the other forms. Be it a Siddh Roop / Divine Form or Leela or other instances mentioned where something extraordinary happened beyond normal human intellect understanding or certain act that exceeded beyond human body’s capabilities. In Ramayana we find characters transforming their body shape & sizes, making rocks float of water etc. to Mahabharata where there were incidents related to Euthanasia (Iccha Mrityu), Ghatotkacha transforming his body to various sizes and above all Lord Krishna himself exhibiting various leela or roop/forms etc.

Classification of Siddhi – YOGIC & TANTRIK
There are various classifications of Siddhis available in ancient books and literature, but the most popular being Yogic and Tantrik Siddhi.

The list of Yogic Siddhi goes like –
1. Anima – Transforming one’s body size to smaller to smallest size which is not visible with the naked eyes. It has its references in both Ramayana and Mahabharata.
2. Mahima – It is reverse of Anima where one transforms its body size from large to larger to gigantic. It has its references in both Ramayana and Mahabharata even later in the story of Vamana which was Lord Vishnu’s Avatar.
3. Garima – This is referred to as increasing the body weight. This Siddhi has various references in holy books.
4. Laghima – This word is derived from Laghu (Small), hence the ability to transform one’s body smaller.
5. Prapti – It means to acquire or get hold of, in a generic sense it is referred to attain whatever one wishes for.
6. Prakamya – It is related with realization of dreams or ambitions.
7. Iṣhiṭva – The word is derived from Ishwar (almighty), in a way it refers to get the powers of the creator himself or to create something.
8. Vashitva – Derived from the word ‘Vash’ means to control the basic five elements of the universe i.e. air, water, fire, earth and sky.

Tantrik Siddhi
They are basically divided into eight parts 4 Siddhi and 4 Riddhi. The Four Siddhis are Gyan, Karya, Kaya and Annpoorna. The Four Riddhis are Sarvoshadh, Baal, Ras and Vikriya. It is said that Lord Ganesha has eight wives (or power aspects) four of them are Siddhis and rest of four are Riddhis. We will discuss about them in details in upcoming article shortly…