Vedic Wisdom - Siddhas

Vedic Wisdom

Siddhas

Siddha means one who has achieved a high degree of physical as well as spiritual perfection or enlightenment. The ultimate demonstration of this is that siddhas have perhaps attained physical immortality.Thus siddha, refers to a person who has realised the goal of a type of sadhana and become a perfected being. Certain individuals are recognized as and called siddhas (or siddhars or chittars) who are on the path to that assumed perfection after they have taken special secret rasayanas to perfect their bodies, in order to be able to sustain prolonged meditation along with a form of pranayama which considerably reduces the number of breaths they take.

Prana Shakti

The Siddha philosophy says that when we inhale and exhale, the field of ‘prana’ is operated and with every breath an unit of ‘prana’ is depleted.Since every human being is born with pre determined quantum of ‘prana shakti’ the best way to elongate the life span is to control the number of breaths.For this yogic ‘pranayama’ is prescribed which can be achieved by training and practice.

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Ashtama siddhis:

Siddha were said to have special powers including flight. These eight powers are collectively known as ashtama siddhigal (ashtasiddhi) as under:

Anima (shrinking) — Power of becoming the size of an atom and entering the smallest beings.

Mahima (illimitability) — Power of becoming mighty and co-extensive with the universe. The power of increasing one’s size without limit.

Laghima (lightness) — Capacity to be quite light though big in size.

Garima (weight) — Capacity to weigh a lot, though seemingly being small in size

Prapti (fulfillment of desires) — Capacity to enter all the worlds from Brahma loka to the nether world. It is the power of attaining everything desired.

Prakamyam (irresistible will) — Power of disembodying and entering into other bodies and going to heaven and enjoying what everyone aspires for, simply from where he stays.

Ishitvam (supremacy) — Have the creative power of God and control over the Sun, Moon and the elements.

Vashitavam (dominion over the elements) — Power of control over kings and Gods. The power of changing the course of nature and assuming any form.

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These eight are the great siddhis or Great Perfections. Thiruvalluvar in his Tamil book Thirukkural says that these are, in fact the qualities of God himself.

The 18 siddhars are listed below.

Agastya

Kamalamuni

Tirumoolar

Kuthambar

Gorakkar

Dhanvantri

Konganar

Sattamuni

Vanmeegar

Ramadevar

Nandeeswarar

Edaikkadar

Machyamuni

Karuvoorar

Bhogar

Pambatti Siddhar

Sundarandandar

Patanjali

Siddhas have transcended the ahamkara (ego or I-maker), have subdued their minds to be subservient to their Awareness, and have transformed their bodies (composed mainly of dense Rajotama gunas) into a different kind of body dominated by sattva. This is usually accomplished only by persistent meditation.

Siddhas are great saints who lived and continue to live, during various times. They are beyond the mundane things. They seek only the attainment of salvation through persistent prayer to Lord Shiva.They are alchemists, who also gained various powers due to their penance. They can turn any metal into gold; walk on water; fly through air; enter into a dead

body and bring life to it; can bury themselves underground or submerge under water for years together. Like this the list can go on.

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But more importantly, they invented great medicines that ordinary humans cannot even fathom to understand other than realizing the benefits of it. They know the perfect combination to make life-saving medicines by yogic powers.A siddha obtains yogic powers called siddhi by constant practice of certain yogic disciplines and tapasya. The siddhars can be compared to mystics in Western culture.

They were knowledgeable in science, technology, astronomy, literature, fine arts, music, drama, dance, and provided solutions to common people in their illness and advice for their future. Some of their ideologies are considered to have originated during the First Sangam period.Typically Siddhars were saints, doctors, alchemists and mystics all in one. They wrote their findings in the form of poems in the Tamil language, on palm leaves which are collected and stored in what are known as the “Palm leaf manuscripts”.

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Siddhars are also believed to be the founders of Varmam - a martial art for self-defense and medical treatment at the same time. Varmam are specific points located in the human body which when pressed in different ways can give various results, such as disabling an attacker in self-defense, or balancing a physical condition as an easy first-aid medical treatment.

Tamil Siddhars were the first to develop pulse-reading (“naadi paarththal” in Tamil) to identify the origin of diseases. This method was later copied and used in Ayurveda.Siddhars have also written many religious poems. It is believed that most of them have lived for ages, in a mystic mountain called Chaduragiri, near Thanipparai village in Tamil Nadu.

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This article is a snippet from the Book Vedic Wisdom, Authored by Pandit Sri Rama Sharma. Vedic Wisdom is available online at www.giri.in and across Giri Trading Agency Private Limited, A chain of Speciality Stores dealing in all kinds of products needed in Indian Culture and Tradition.