Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c7.s7.t11.65

v1.c7.s7.t11.65

supernormal power, aka *siddhis*. The force differs depending on the specific objects of samyama. The *Yoga-sūtra* mentioned many types of *siddhis*, which refer primarily to certain knowledge or abilities normal people could rarely acquire. For instance, through samyama on one’s body, one can become invisible; via samyama on differences between speeches and objects, one can understand animals’ sounds; through samyama on perception, one can read minds; through samyama on behaviour and consequences thereof, one can gain valuable insights into death; via samyama on the latent force, one can acquire knowledge about his or her former life; and, through samyama on animals, the sun, the moon, the stars, body organs and functions thereof, etc one can accordingly obtain a wealth of supernatural knowledge and miraculous ability. In addition, one may also acquire the viveka-khyati to distinguish between *sattva* (prakriti) and *purusa* (purusha). Once the yogis achieve this particular “viveka-khyati”, he can gain a mastery over all existences and infinite knowledge. If yogi went further and got rid of “viveka-khyati”, he could destroy the seeds of evil and entre into an absolute independent state. In this state, sattva (prakriti) and purusa (purusha) have the same nature of cleanness. Both of them exist independently without combination. Thus there is no basic condition for reincarnation, which makes suffering elimination possible. This is a state pursued by the Samkhya school and the Yoga school.