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Krishna said to Arjuna: ‘Brother, you will not realize Me if you possess even one of the eight siddhis.’ These give only a little power. With healing and the like one may do only a little good to others. Therefore, I prayed to the Divine Mother for pure love only, a love that does not seek any return. I never asked for occult powers.
It is very troublesome to possess occult powers. Nangta [who taught Sri Ramakrishna the Advaita sadhana] taught me this by a story. A man who had acquired occult powers was sitting on the seashore when a storm arose. It caused him great discomfort; so he said, ‘Let the storm stop.’ His words could not remain unfulfilled. At that moment a ship was going full sail before the wind. When the storm ceased abruptly the ship capsized and sank. The passengers perished and the sin of causing their death fell to the man. And because of that sin he lost his occult powers and went to hell.
Occult Power
Once upon a time a sadhu acquired great occult powers. He was vain about them. But he was a good man and had some austerities to his credit. One day the Lord, disguised as a holy man, came to him and said, ‘Revered Sir, I have heard that you have great occult powers.’ The sadhu received the Lord cordially and offered him a seat. Just then an elephant passed by. The Lord, in the disguise of the holy man, said to the sadhu, ‘Revered Sir, can you kill this elephant if you like?’ The sadhu said, ‘Yes, it is possible.’ So saying, he took a pinch of dust, muttered some mantras over it, and threw it at the elephant. The beast struggled awhile in pain and then dropped dead. The Lord said: ‘What power you have! You have killed the elephant!’ The sadhu laughed. Again the Lord spoke: ‘Now can you revive the elephant?’ ‘That too is possible’, replied the sadhu. He threw another pinch of charmed dust at the beast. The elephant writhed about a little and came back to life. Then the Lord said: ‘Wonderful is your power. But may I ask you one thing? You have killed the elephant and you have revived it. But what has that done for you? Do you feel uplifted by it? Has it enabled you to realize God?’ Saying this the Lord vanished. — The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
October 2021
eople of small intellect seek occult powers—powers to cure disease, win a lawsuit, walk on water, and such things. But the genuine devotees of God don’t want anything except His Lotus Feet.
9 The Vedanta Kesari
PA G E D O N O R : S R I M AT S WA M I G A U TA M A N A N D A J I , S R I R A M A K R I S H N A M AT H , C H E N N A I
Yugavani
