‘Siddhi’ means ‘Perfection’ and those who had attained perfection are known as ‘Siddhars’.Jesus Christ himself says in the Holy Bible;Matthew 5,48:”Be ye perfect therefore as your heavenly Father is perfect.”None excepting the Siddhars of India had attained that state Jesus refers to.And it is the Siddhars of south India who had conquered death by “internal breathing”known as “ull moochi” in Tamil(whereby ‘outside’ air is not necessary for breathing),the art popularly known in the U.S. as “Kriya Yoga” popularised by ‘Yogananda Paramahamsa’ in his book “Autobiography of An Yogi”

Siddhars have clearly studied the science of the breath and have even calculated the number of breaths a person expends in his entire life-term.The normal person takes four seconds for one breath cycle(inhalation and exhalation),so works out to 15 per minute,900 per hour and 21,600 per day.If the cycle was slowed down to a breath for every 2 ½ hours,we’d be able to live for thousands of years like Markandeya,Thirumoolar and Babaji who had all lived for thousands of years in their physical body and are living even now amidst us in their “glorious radiant body”.

The new born baby is perfect for its breath measures 12 inches long(from nose-tip to the crown of the head),but after six months or so,the secret mystical opening between the palate of the mouth and the crown of the head(kanown as ‘unnakku’ or ‘annakku’ in Tamil gets blocked,thus making us lose 4 inches of breath for the 21,600 breaths per day for our entire life-term and this loss increases greatly when we walk,run,sleep and make love.If the secret mystical opening were re-opened,the ‘third-eye’ too(which lies on its axis)would open and man would be the perfect person he really is;Thirumandiram 1780:

“ To His west (right-side) He seated me

“Daily meditate on Me” – said He,

“That is the but the Truth that lies seated

Between the crown of the head and the palate of

The mouth

This the Word True,

Cherish it as secret divine.”

The Siddhar at first attains the eight great supernatural powers known as ‘Ashtanga siddhis’ in Sanskrit and ‘Attama siddhis’ in Tamil,they are,“anima,mahima,laghima,

garima,prapti,prakamya,isatvam,and vasitvam.”

These powers and other ‘minor’ powers are explained in detail in various yogic as well as religious texts;Thirumandiram 668:

“ To become tiny as the atom within the atom (Anima)

To become big in unshakeable proportions (Mahima)

To become as light as vapour in levitation (Laghima)

To become as heavy as the mountain (Garima)

To enter into other bodies in transmigration (Prapti)

To be in all things,omni-pervasive (Prakamya)

To be lord of all creation in omnipotence (Isatvam)

To be everywhere in omnipresence (Vasitvam)

_ These eight are the Great Siddhis.”

Siddhars could be broadly based into three categories:

1) First Siddhar ( mudhal Siddhar ‘Moola marabu);

2) Intermediary Siddhars ( idai siddhars ‘Bala marabu’)

3) Final Siddhars ( ‘Kailai marabu’)

Before the act of creation,there was nothing,there was no light,no darkness.From ‘The infinite Light’ emerged the five ‘boothas’,the five elements- space,air,fire,water and earth.From the five elements emerged the seven forms of life.

The cause of this emergence which being the infinite Light is the first Siddhar or perfect being.

The intermediary Siddhars are those that are not born of the womb,but enter into other bodies and for the welfare of the world and various life-forms perform various noble acts.

The final Siddhars are those that are born of the womb and by the strength of the Spirit attain the ‘deathless-state’ (‘Saha kalai’),all the supernatural powers and all the arts and branches of knowledge (’64 kalai jnanam’ or 64 branches of knowledge) without being ‘taught’ by themselves or anybody else(like Mahakavi Kalidasa and st,Arunagirinathar),St.Ramalingam in his ‘Thiru Arutpa:

“ The Holy infinite Light full of Grace,

The Holy infinite Light full of Grace,

Most compassionate infinite Light

Full of Grace;

Everything will be revealed to you,

I swear

When you take your breath with all tattvas

In the name of the Almighty

To Chitrambalam .”

‘Chitrambalam’has a very deep hidden meaning,’Chit’ means knowledge and ‘Ambalam’ means space,in the human body that place is in the centre of the forehead, in- between the eyes,otherwise known as the ‘third-eye’,the eye of ‘jnana’,wisdom.When one through yogic means takes the breath through the ‘sushumna nadi’,an astral nerve located at the centre of the spinal column along with all the tattvas,which are the instruments or concepts of for example the five elements in nature whose concepts are correspondingly located in each of the five lower ‘chakras’(subtle energy-centres) to the centre of the forehead,everything is revealed to that person.The person in a flash becomes the source of all knowledge !

‘Akasa’ or space in its gross form is known as ‘bootha akasa’,but the yogi is able to perceive not only the thoughts,but also the intentions and experiences (in their totality) of others by looking at the finer form of space around the person known as the ‘chit akasa’ which is beyond the experiences of the five senses.

There is even a finer aspect of space known as ‘chitta akasa’ which is beyond that of the mind also known as the above mentioned ‘Chitrambalam’.Its form is that of Divine Wisdom,in this state there is no distinction between the seeker and the object.

Man becomes pristinely pure when he sheds off the five ‘malas’ or stains:

So he becomes the perfected person,the Siddhar.They are the ones who attain liberation,they are not bound to any likes or dislikes,so are free from the endless misery that is the cycle of birth and death.They realize the nine states of the Lord,;Thirumandiram 497:

“ They who get rid of difficult five malas(stains),

Themselves become Siva ;

They become blemishless,

They are the Siddhars who

Attain state of Mukti (liberation) Finale,

They uproot Soul’s bondage

End cycle of births,

They alone realize

The nine states of the Lord.