We always link supernatural powers with saints, men of God, Gurus and Avatars. We expect men of God to have ability to read the mind, make changes in karma, help us to get jobs immediately, have our lost lover return, make the thief return the stolen goods, transform our quarrelsome neighbor into a loving citizen, have God walk with us and guide us at all times and turn stone into gold! Some men of God perform miracles and others do not perform external miracles. Visible miracles of healing and helping are done by saints as we are mostly influenced only by such happenings. The saints hope that when we see miracles, we realize the importance of love of God and walk the path to God. The others perform silent miracles of calming our minds and helping us transform ourselves so that we are worthy of going closer to God. Such miracles are not transparently visible to all and such saints are not popular with the masses.
Certain supernatural powers develop when we regularly practice meditation and other spiritual practices. But these are milestones on the way and not the goal itself. Abilities like reading mind, emitting perfumes, healing others with a touch etc develop in some of the disciples. God watches to see if we pay more attention to these little gifts or to Him. Many focus more on development of such abilities and not on love of God. When they display their abilities, the others fawn on them and compliment them. The ego gets a great boost and welcomes such attention. They forget God and chase the petty little gifts. The development of supernatural powers is NOT a sign of self realization. The following story of the two sages teaches us this lesson:
In the mountain regions of north India, two sages lived on a cliff in caves next to each other. They spent most of their time in meditation. People from neighboring villages visited them as they found peace of mind when they sat with them. They listened to the talks of the sages, felt blessed and went back home. All the visitors came for darshan as they felt peaceful and happy for a long time after visiting the sages.
One of the caves where the sages lived was dark like normal caves and the other cave had a peculiar golden light shimmering in it. It was mild but definitely visible. This unusual phenomenon puzzled the visitors as no one could find out the cause or source or reason of the light. When questioned, both the sages remained silent on this matter. The visitors admired both the sages but always believed that the one living in the illuminated cave possessed supernatural powers and was more advanced on the path.
One day, a great sage visited the village at the foothill of the cliffs. He was well known for his knowledge and wisdom. One of the villagers presented the puzzling question of the light in the cave to him. He wished to know if the sage in the cave with the light was more advanced and if he really possessed super natural powers. The great sage replied: Sometimes, when one works intensely and sincerely on the spiritual path and does a lot of meditation, various phenomena may occur around him and in him such as light, sound and visions. Some get them and others do not. Some of you who are sensitive to them can see or feel them and others do not. These phenomena happen in order to show the disciple that he is on the right track. These phenomena are not a goal unto themselves. They are not a sign of advancement in the path.
The wise sage gave further advice to all villagers: It is better to pay attention to our inner self and not outer phenomena. The outside world is eternally changing and the inner world is constant. When we are in the presence of a teacher or a Guru, we must listen to what he says and be aware of the power of his presence and words on us. Always in the presence of such persons, we become calm and peaceful and the mind stops racing.
When we walk on the path of God, we encounter such mysterious happenings and also see them in others. But these are not our goal. When we do the SitaRam mantra, meditation and follow the teaching of the Guru, we are at peace, the mind races less and we are less angry and more balanced. We feel great love for God and Guru in us. These are signs of advancement. Not lights or sounds.
