So, I've been thinking about heat (no surprise, considering the weather in Philadelphia.) I'm wondering if anyone else has heard about this phenomena, of holy men and women releasing heat when they are deep in meditation. Anyone know any neat stories about this or a book where I could find out more?
Actually it's called Tummo and means 'fierce woman' because it's a practice where one as if mates with the sun. Sometimes spelled gtummo. There are yes, various practices in Hinduism where heat can be generated in the body as well. They may be called Tapas, or heat, generating. But it's not called Tapas Shakti. If one is looking for a quality of Shakti which is brilliant then the word would be 'Tejas.' Tapas is another generic word for sadhana, or austerity.
Chodpa, the word tapas is used to mean sadhana, mainly austerity and meditation, but it's root is in taapa or burning heat. The word tapas itself evolved out of the endurance required to perform meditation in the days of the upanishads, because this was often done in front of a big fire. And shakti in this case does not refer to the goddess, but means strength, power, or simply quality, and is a common enough usage in both the upanishads and puranas. The word tejas has little application in this context.
it would be good if everyone could learn these techniques so we could minimize our dependence on fossil fuels for heating. also, through development of yogic powers, one can learn to translocate which would as greatly reduce our need for fossil fuels as we could go wherever we wanted without the need for cars or jets
Two things - the word Tapasya is more often used in the context of sadhana - at least in my own limited experience. Also - the whole concept of shakti as energy or power cannot be separeted from the Goddess/Divine Mother. ALL energy and power are through Her. The Tapas of the Vedas is very similar to heat in modern physics. It means really a concentration of energy or force.
I was speaking etymologically. The meditative heat thing is not common anyway. In some sampradayas, yes, which is why the name of the goddess is shakti. I was responding to Chodpa referring to shakti as a proper noun meaning the goddess, rather than the ability weilded by the individual.
From Glossary, Bhagavad-gita as It Is: tapasya: Voluntary acceptance of some material trouble for progress in spiritual life.
Thats a good definition - Sri Aurobindo says there are basically two ways to do yoga - through tapasya or personal austerity and effort, and the way of surrender, where one just tries to surrender everything to the Divine. Of course, the process of surrender requires that some personal effort is there, but the goal is reached through the grace and power of God, rather than exclusively through personal effort, as in the case of Hatha Yogis for example. These two ways are also spoken of by Sri Ramakrishna, and he calls them the way of the baby monkey and the way of the baby cat or kitten. The baby monkey has to hold onto the mother, and if it releases its grip, it will surely fall. The kitten on the other hand simply mews, and it is carried about by the mother.
Yes they do, but the phenomena is not just limited to holy men or women, anybody who eats will release some heat after metabolizing, you should go get yourself a biochemistry book if you don't believe me but other than that kind of heat, any other kind is purely what some people may call Hoopla. Hinduism is not about releasing heat with tapas, it is about realizing the essential truth that exists around us.
Nobody said that the idea was to become a heat source. But to dismiss yogic siddhis as hoopla does not become you.
Too often, so called yogic siddhis are a hoopla. Without naming names and getting into all those controversies again, let's just say 'not all is gold that glitters'.
I know. I wasn't trying to soundbyte Hinduism. I just never heard of this phenomena until I studied Hinduism and meditation. I think it's possible, since the mind and body are connected in an inexplicable way.
Bill, yoga sutras have details of all the different possible siddhis that might crop up, how to develop them through specific exercises, etc. It is something that has been sufficiently tried and found true by seekers for centuries. The yogic siddhis are not hoopla. There are those who fake them for self-promotion, that is hoopla. And one who has sufficiently cultivated the spirit of truth, these things become clear.
In that case, there are many things then, especially siddhis that are quite interesting. It is said... there is no evidence for this but there are supposedly rishis in the himalayas- whom some people may have seen, they stay there with out any clothing. There are people who gain yogic powers that enable them to read minds, there are people who gain powers that enable them to materialize matter on their command. I read about this in Vashista yoga where in some of the stories, you have these self realized people just thinking about something and materializing it, because they realize the nature of everything or something like that. So, yea i guess they can gain siddhis .
Yes but then again, when you really think about it, what makes them not a 'hoopla' because you are not supposed to want them, they are only byproducts of your yoga - which takes you to the ultimate truth upon reaching that you have no use for them, and besides there is no evidence for their existence even in this supposedly unrealistic world. Therefore, i ask you, why isn't it a hoopla?
It is mainly those who pretend to have powers I was getting at. But also to pursue the siddhis is often said to be a diversion from the true goal of divine realization. It seems to me to descend into 'occultism' or 'magic' in the worst cases. Do we really want some infated egoist wielding such powers? An interesting account of a confrontation with such a person can be found in D.K.Roy's 'Pilgrims of the Stars', where Ma Indira came under attack from a tantric 'guru' who wanted to recruit her for his own purposes.
Of course the pursuit of these siddhis is not the aim, in facvt we are told to actively ignore them as they are a terrible distraction. However, they are very much real, in the same relative level as the rest of the world. If you wish to talk from the absolute standpoint, then they are of course as unreal as the world. But it is not helpful in such discussion to confuse standpoints, a common error. As for no proof, I have seen some of these things for myself. My guru on more than one occasion has very clearly read my innermost thoughts, things he had no way of knowing. And his teacher spent many years wandering barefoot in the himalayan heights wearing nothing but a thin orange robe. Believe it or not, it is true. As much as anything else we see or do is true.
'Thought reading' is common enough - I myself have experienced this. It is like an extension of what people call empathy. But the more exotic powers like levitation, changing size etc seem to elude most who seek them. But I didn't say that ther siddhis don't exist - simply that many claim to have them who in actual fact don't. Stuff like regurgitating golden lingams etc.
Maybe, I guess it is foolishness on one's part to dismiss something just because one has not seen it in his life.
