{"id":814,"date":"2012-07-27T17:12:48","date_gmt":"2012-07-27T21:12:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/omsweetom\/?p=814"},"modified":"2012-07-27T17:13:14","modified_gmt":"2012-07-27T21:13:14","slug":"ashta-siddhis-are-recipes-for-success-without-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/omsweetom\/2012\/07\/ashta-siddhis-are-recipes-for-success-without-stress.html","title":{"rendered":"Ashta siddhis are recipes for success without stress"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Last night, I had the opportunity to attend an amazing talk by Swami Swaroopananda of the Chinmaya Mission. \u00a0Swamiji has a lovely way of seamlessly integrating various stories into his talk as he makes his point. \u00a0His talk was entitled \u201cSuccess without Stress,\u201d and he based it on specific parts of the <em>Hanuman Chalisa<\/em>. \u00a0\u00a0For those who are unfamiliar, Hanuman is one of the most popular figures in the Hindu epic <em>Ramayana<\/em>, and he is forever beloved by children and adults for his youthful antics and energy. \u00a0The <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=SqHiyRxykZw\">Hanuman Chalisa<\/a><\/em> extols the glories of Hanuman in his selfless service to Lord Ram.<\/p>\n<p>Swamiji began his discussion by explaining to us the eight siddhis (<em>ashta siddhi<\/em>) that are mentioned in Patajanli\u2019s <em>Yoga Sutras<\/em> and can be obtained by very few through countless years of practice and devotion to all eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga. \u00a0Siddhi can loosely be translated as accomplishment or a special power or unusual skill. \u00a0The eight siddhis Swamiji described are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Anima<\/em>: Reducing one\u2019s physical self to the size of an atom<\/li>\n<li><em>Mahima<\/em>: Growing one\u2019s physical self to incredibly large size<\/li>\n<li><em>Garima<\/em>: Making one\u2019s physical self so heavy as immovable by others<\/li>\n<li><em>Laghima<\/em>: Becoming almost weightless<\/li>\n<li><em>Prapti<\/em>: Being able to go\/travel wherever one wants<\/li>\n<li><em>Prakamya<\/em>: Being able to obtain whatever one wants<\/li>\n<li><em>Istva<\/em>: Possessing lordship<\/li>\n<li><em>Vastva<\/em>: Being able to control the minds of others<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Hanuman not only possessed all eight siddhis, but was also blessed by Sita as \u201cAshta Siddhi Nau Nidhi Ke Daata,\u201d or one who can bestow <em>astha siddhi<\/em> upon others. \u00a0When Hanuman first reaches to Lanka on his mission to find Sita, he makes use of <em>anima<\/em> so as to be discrete in enemy territory. \u00a0He uses it again when he approaches Sita for the first time &#8211; reducing his size to that of a schoolboy, so as not to scare her. \u00a0He uses <em>mahima<\/em> to outwit and overpower demons. \u00a0He uses <em>garima<\/em> to show his power when Ravana, the demon king, temporarily captures him and brings him to the main court of palace. \u00a0Not even the mighty Ravana could lift Hanuman\u2019s tail.<\/p>\n<p>The stories of Hanuman are many, and Swamiji could have continued on. \u00a0But instead, he told us that these eight siddhis are the key to success without stress in our life. \u00a0We just needed to extrapolate the meaning:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Anima<\/em>: \u00a0Reduce the ego and be humble in front of elders, parents, teachers, and gurus.<\/li>\n<li><em>Mahima<\/em>: Think big, and aim for large goals.<\/li>\n<li><em>Garima<\/em>: Be immovable and unshakeable in values and principles.<\/li>\n<li><em>Laghima<\/em>: Don\u2019t take everything in life too seriously. \u00a0Have some lightness and laughter in life. To that end, I should note that Swamiji provided us quite a bit of laughter with his amusing anecdotes.<\/li>\n<li><em>Prapti<\/em>: Focus mental energies on achieving the goal.<\/li>\n<li><em>Prakamya<\/em>: Always speak the truth, and don\u2019t be afraid to express aims and goals. \u00a0Swamiji gave a beautiful example to explain his point. Most people say what they want to achieve and immediately follow it with \u201ctouch wood,\u201d because they fear by saying it out loud, it won\u2019t come true. \u00a0Yet, when those same people approach a Swami, their entire view shifts. \u00a0They suddenly believe if the Swami says it will happen, then it actually will. \u00a0Hinduism is replete with stories of great sages and rishis whose utterances &#8211; curses and blessings &#8211; would come true. Swamiji\u2019s point was that while the same may not be true for us, we should still strive to be like these great rishis by always speaking the truth and having a \u201ccan do\u201d attitude in life.<\/li>\n<li><em>Istva<\/em> and <em>Vastva<\/em>: \u00a0Swamiji combined the last two siddhis and focused on the power of leadership, respect, and love &#8211; all of which go hand in hand. \u00a0A true leader inspires others. \u00a0And that inspiration causes people to follow and be loyal to that leader (<em>istva<\/em>). \u00a0And finally, with respect to <em>vastva<\/em>, Swamiji said that if a person truly loves you, there isn\u2019t anything he won\u2019t do for you.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In a short 90 minutes, Swamiji beautifully explained some key principles to being successful in life. \u00a0He also made it a point to explain that success should not be measured in terms of wealth. \u00a0Money is necessary for sustenance and \u201ceven for God\u2019s work&#8230;temples just don\u2019t build themselves!\u201d \u00a0But wealth that is obtained through dishonest means causes destruction of the person and those around him. \u00a0And when one acquires wealth, he shouldn\u2019t horde it. \u00a0It should be used to benefit society.<\/p>\n<p>Hindus pay homage to wealth in the form of Goddess Laxmi, the consort of Lord Vishnu. \u00a0And Laxmi comes and goes as She pleases. \u00a0The only place She always remains is at the side of Vishnu. \u00a0In the <em>Ramayana<\/em>, Swamiji explained, Ravana captures Sita, the avatar of Laxmi, for himself only. \u00a0His greed and lust for Sita leads to the destruction of his kingdom and family, and his ultimate demise. \u00a0On the other hand, Hanuman comes to find Sita in the name of Lord Ram, the avatar of Vishnu. \u00a0And he is rewarded with Sita\u2019s blessings &#8211; not wealth, which is of no importance to him, but the promise that he will always be in service of and near to Ram.<\/p>\n<p>With a twinkle in his eye, Swamiji concluded by saying, \u201cSo, you can practice Ashtanga Yoga for hundreds of years to achieve one or two of these siddhis&#8230;or you can just worship Hanuman.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Last night, I had the opportunity to attend an amazing talk by Swami Swaroopananda of the Chinmaya Mission. \u00a0Swamiji has a lovely way of seamlessly integrating various stories into his talk as he makes his point. \u00a0His talk was entitled \u201cSuccess without Stress,\u201d and he based it on specific parts of the Hanuman Chalisa. \u00a0\u00a0For&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":390,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hinduism-101"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - 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