Yoga Powers is a collection of cutting-edge articles by seventeen authors on (the interpretation of) yogic – and in general, supernatural, superhuman – powers or siddhis (Sanskrit and Prakrit synonyms: aiśvarya, vibhūti, guṇa, bala, jñāna, iddhi, ṛddhi, abhiññā, labdhi, bhukti, etc.). This volume seeks to change the apparent situation whereby siddhis in yoga are often treated as marginal in the secondary literature, and “many scholars have been uncomfortable with the yoga powers” (p. 14). Two of the authors (Angelika Malinar and David Gordon White) focus on the early yogic tradition of the Mahābhārata, three on powers in Buddhism (Bradley S. Clough, David V. Fiordalis, Ryan Richard Overbey), one on Jaina ṛddhis/labdhis (Kristi L. Wiley), three on classical/Pātañjala yoga (Stuart Ray Sarbacker, Christopher Key Chapple and Lloyd W. Pflueger), one on the Śaiva tantric traditions (Somadeva Vasudeva), two on haṭhayoga (Sthaneshwar Timalsina, James Mallinson), two on yoga powers in Sufi and bhakti hagiographies (Patton Burchett, Antonio Rigopoulos), two on contemporary views of yogic powers in India (Ramdas Lamb, Knut A. Jacobsen) and one on teachings about miraculous powers as exported to the West (Jeffrey J. Kripal). Each one of these articles, including those not touched on below, is a valuable contribution to the field.
Jacobsen's informative introduction attempts to distinguish between yogic siddhis, i.e. powers reached as a result of yogic concentration (the main topic of the book), which are mostly unintentional (akalpita) and are only signposts on the yogin's way to the final goal, and magical or tantric ones, which usually result from ritual activity and are thus intentional (kalpita). A struggle to mark the boundaries between these two categories runs through the book, but this struggle is of a high standard and enjoyable. It is indeed very difficult to tell where magical rituals end and yogic mental attainments begin.
A typical example of this search for clear-cut distinctions between magic and yoga is Vasudeva's analysis of the three-fold classification of siddhis (minor, middling, superior) and related problems recurring in (Bhairava-)tantras. He himself raises the question as to what extent and in what context powers arising from tantric/magical rituals and tantric dhyāna (“visualization” rather than “meditation”) can be called “yogic” (p. 282), and shows that yogic powers in early tantras tend to be labelled as the “eight guṇas” (guṇāṣṭaka). This article stands out from the rest through its use of a vast number of unpublished manuscripts and is a treasure-house for data on tantric siddhis.
Mallinson, a leading researcher of haṭhayoga and the Nāth sampradāya, examines the distinction between kalpita and akalpita siddhis in two texts from what he identifies as the earliest stratum of haṭhayoga, the Dattātreyayogaśāstra and the Yogabīja, and draws also on his experiences from fieldwork among Indian yogins. His main conclusion is that haṭhayoga usually focuses on unintentional (akalpita) powers if any. He emphasizes the ambiguity of the term siddhi in haṭhayogic texts: it often designates the mundane benefits of practice rather than superhuman powers. He also contrasts akalpita siddhis of the Amṛtasiddhi, which may well be the oldest surviving haṭhayoga text (12th c.?), and the often Kaula-type siddhis of the Śivasaṃhitā.
Malinar demonstrates that yogic powers in the Mahābhārata (12.309–320, 228, 289), and especially in Bhagavadgītā chapter 5, are often related to the notion of the Sāṃkhya's prakṛti and can be “explained as resulting from gradually gaining access to powers of the cosmic cause…”, i.e. prakṛti (= brahman here, p. 56). David Gordon White rightly challenges the general assumption of historians of yoga philosophy that the vibhūtis of the Yogasūtra are marginal to yoga. Half of his article centres around his interpretation of vibhūti in the Mahābhārata as “omni-presencing” (instead of perhaps “glorious manifestation[s]”?), which does not always seem to work perfectly. Some of his translations are also disputable, e.g. yogiṃs [yogin] is a vocative in Bhagavadgītā 10.17a (see p. 62) and vibhūti and yoga in 10.7 and 10.18 are probably two concepts (ibid.). He emphasizes the importance of the ability to assume new bodily forms and to enter others' bodies as crucial elements in early yoga. Chapple appends a new translation of Yogasūtra ch. 3 to his analysis of Pātañjala siddhis with some doubtful choices of words, see e.g. “extension of one's intention” for pratyayaikatānatā in sūtra 3.2 and “purpose” for artha in 3.3.
Jacobsen discusses the practice of a Sāṃkhya-Yoga tradition revived by Hariharānanda Āraṇya (1869–1947), who was mostly critical of yoga powers although he himself is said to have experienced them. A fascinating description of manifestations of kaivalya (isolation) by the gurus of this tradition who confine themselves to caves for decades can be found here.
Clough focuses on samatha-bhāvanā in Pali Buddhist sources, and clearly defines what he means by “yoga powers”: “extraordinary abilities directly gained from meditation” (p. 78). Fiordalis' treatment of the dichotomy of Mahāyāna miracles vs. magic (as supernatural vs. natural) reminds us again of the thin dividing lines between intentional and unintentional yogic powers, magical rituals and trickery. Wiley's detailed essay focuses on supernatural powers in Jainism attained through austerities, especially fasting, and also on labdhi/ṛddhi-related gender issues.
The volume contains a considerable number of minor typos, e.g. read a corrected dhīmān on p. 37 n. 12, svapañ on p. 48 n. 34, ahaṃ and matsthāni on p. 51 n. 42, buddhavacana on p. 77, -veśana on p. 288, Saiddhāntika on p. 292, Dyczkowski on p. 298, janmauṣadhi- on p. 327 n. 4, etc. Nevertheless this book is definitely a fresh, colourful and thought-provoking overview of exciting questions on one aspect of yoga that has often been neglected or treated unfairly in research.
