Book Title: World of Philosophy
Author(s): Christopher Key Chapple, Intaj Malek, Dilip Charan, Sunanda Shastri, Prashant Dave
Publisher: Shanti Prakashan
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represents the state of perfect divinity, then at that stage all 64 arts of life are incorporated. Hence it is more than an art.
Yoga offers the technique of mastering mind. Besides mastering mind, it takes care of ethical development also, hence it is higher then technology. Yoga is a psycho-philosophic system and has dynamism of its own. It provides a technique for the search of reality by all psychic means.
In scriptures we speak of the two kinds of knowledge by different terms like “higher” (Para) & Lower (apara), simply knowledge (vidya) and non-knowledge or ignorance (Avidya). Yoga is a . exercise of consciousness on consciousness itself and attempts to find keys to peep into the inner recesses of the unconsciousness too. Yoga heightens the consciousness and tries to get rid of Avidya by making everything in psych fully conscious. Thus, yoga is meant for understanding Avidya and eliminates it by bringing in Avidya and finally transform it to para vidya. Thus, yoga is a science par excellence, Yoga unfolds, human psyche, enlivens it, expands it, strengthens it, makes it dynamic and thereby transforms it completely by means of meditation, spiritual ethics and special inner process.
Patanjali has mentioned in ch-3, siddhi as mystic or supernormal powers. Aspirant of yoga acquire these power as a by-product of his yogic sadhana. He has to surpass the siddhi and pursue the ultimate Goal of Yoga.
Sri Aurobindo has clearly explained the difference between yogic experience and yogic realization. According to him experience is a word that covers almost all the happenings in yoga; only when something gets settled then it is no longer an experience but part of the siddhi, e.g. peace. When it is settled and goes no more is siddhi. Realization is different; it is when something for which you are aspiring becomes real to you, e.g. you have the idea of the divine in all but it is only an idea, a belief when you see or feel the divine in all it is realization.
Hence, Yogi is one who is already established in realization, the sadhak is one who is getting or still trying to get realization. Hence, it can be said that an aspirant of yoga when he is settled internally at higher plane of consciousness then he starts realizing siddhis depending upon his advancement in sadhana. If a yogi stops and settles at that particular point of sadhana then he reaches to that state of realizing that siddhi.
In yoga sadhana, there are eight major siddhis which only comes to great yogi who is in the last stage of liberation.
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