Introduction to Tantra Sastra - Aghori
Introduction to Tantra Sastra - Aghori
Introduction to Tantra Sastra - Aghori
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SIDDHI<br />
SIDDHI is produced by sādhana. The former term,<br />
which literally means “success,” includes accomplishment,<br />
achievement, success, and fruition of all kinds. A<br />
person may thus gain siddhi in speech, siddhi in<br />
mantra, etc. A person is siddhi also who has perfected<br />
his spiritual development. The various powers attainble—namely,<br />
aṇ imā, ahima, garimā, prapti, prākāmyā,<br />
īśitva, vaśtva—the powers of becoming small, great,<br />
light, heavy, attaining what one wills, and the like—are<br />
known as the eight siddhis. The thirty-ninth chapter of<br />
the Brahmavaivarta Purāṇ a mentions eighteen kinds,<br />
but there are many others including such minor accomplishments<br />
as nakhadarpaṇ asiddhi or “nail-gazing.”<br />
The great siddhi is spiritual perfection. Even the<br />
mighty powers of the “eight siddhis” are known as the<br />
“lesser siddhi,” since the greatest of all siddhis is full<br />
liberation (mahānirvāṇ a) from the bonds of phenomenal<br />
life and union with the Paramātmā, which is the<br />
supreme object (paramārtha) <strong>to</strong> be attained through<br />
human birth.