Siddhi

(“attainment”) The most common word
used to denote a superhuman power
or faculty. The siddhis are first referred
to in yoga’s founding text, the Yoga
Sutras of Patanjali (3.45), and are
traditionally said to number eight:
minuteness (anima), lightness (laghima), greatness (madhima), acquisition
(prapti), irresistible will (prakamyam),
control (vashitvam), superiority (ishitvam), and suppression of desire
(kamavasayitvam).
The possession of such siddhis is
generally seen as the evidence of high
spiritual attainment, but the attitude
toward the powers is mixed. They give
one great abilities, but they are also seen
as being highly seductive, since they can
be used for both good and evil. The ability to keep from being beguiled by them
is the true sign of spiritual maturity, and
a spiritually immature person could easily fall into using them for selfish purposes. For this reason, religious aspirants are discouraged from aiming to
gain such powers, since the very act of
seeking is considered a selfish desire. In
contrast, when one has gained such
powers as a by-product of spiritual
attainment, one is believed to be able to
keep them in proper perspective.