It was the year 2004 or 2005 I think. There was this serial on sun TV called Sivamayam. It was about siddhars and how they exist even at that point of time and what their powers are. It spoke of Ashtama Siddhi which roughly translates to eight levels of yogic achievement I suppose. Like it dealt with manipulating matter, alchemy, teleportation and so on. My father being a siddha doctor who practiced and wished to become a yogi some day read extensively on these. He would tell me all about it. I have always wanted to explore the science side of these things. I used to wonder why would someone write about these things if it were not possible?
Cut to 2014-2015. I was watching some random movie on the TV. Sometimes my father would join me and most of the times he would walk away within 15 minutes. I was watching this one particular film called Lucy, a Scarlett Johansson starrer. After all the marvel movies I was ofcourse a fan and began watching this movie not knowing anything about it. This was one of the rare Hollywood movies that my dad sat through fully. He kept talking here and there but when the movie got over he had so much to say. He said this reminded him of that serial we used to watch. It also spoke about concepts that siddha system basically listed out.
Interesting, don’t you think? In the movie this Lucy character ingests a new kind of powerful drug that allows her to utilize more than just the 10% of brain that we humans actually use. This gives her all sorts of powers. She is able to control radio waves, see through cell passages, learn stuff at an unbelievable rate, control inanimate objects, control humans and so on. The whole movie feels like some fantasy novel and you cannot try and locate even 1% logic anywhere. It’s a good one time watch if you ask me. But for me the theory I got after I saw this movie makes it a wonderful experience every single time I watch it.
The theory is that Lucy from that story attained all 8 Siddhis. What siddhas and yogis attain through intense meditation, this girl attains thanks to the drugs she accidentally ingests in large amounts. Due to the shortcut she dies. The last of the 8 powers is Vaśtva and its the power to control everything. You pretty much become god. In the movie Lucy gets to that level in the very last scene and sends a message saying “I am everywhere” I was fascinated by this theory actually. It made sense to me honestly. It still does. I believe that there is a super power above us, I also believe that we Indians had too much knowledge about a lot of things during the earliest civilizations. Most of the tamil poetry and texts by these 18 siddhas/yogis talk about herbs and habits that help with the efficient functioning of the human body. They talk about healing and meditation and focus with utmost importance. They tell us how to slowly achieve each of these siddhis/powers.
Thousands of years ago some guy with a long ass beard wrote that with a little bit of intense practice you can manipulate cells and matter, become big or small, heavy or light weight, teleport and get any place any time, go through time and space. And then you watch a movie that shows a character do all of that… Fascinating don’t you think?
I read your piece with interest.
Not sure about Teleportation but controlling the cells seems plausible.
The placebo effect shows the effect of our mind and spirit over body. We experience this on day to day basis too. We encounter something startling and our entire body is primed to address it.
If you want to read / listen about the human body. Read Bill Bryson. The Body – a guide for occupants.
He makes me chuckle and ponder with his poetic prose. He is an quintessential travelogue and his book on human body feels like an exciting guided tour to non touristy places.