KAIVALYA PAAD SUTRA-1

                 JANMA  AUSHADHI  MANTRA  TAPAH  SAMADHIJAH  SIDHYAH

SPECIFIC BIRTH, MEDICINE, MANTRA ,TAPAH (AUSTERITY), AND  SAMADHI  ARE THE 

    FIVE   THINGS   THAT  ARE  THE CAUSE OF  THE SIDHHIS OR SPECIAL  POWERS 

      In this Sutra we are told that the special powers arise out of different things .The five things that are mentioned are in ascending order of 'achievements' and their relation to efforts . Some people feel that JANMA or birth is related to specific family or specific KARMAS that we have done in past that give us the certain powers .The example would be a child who has very high musical ability  or talent.  But  the specific Birth is related to different animals - and man is socialized animal- has certain powers . The birds can fly and no one has to tech them , The fish can swim and no one has to teach them . So the power to fly -which is not there with ordinary human beings , is purely related to being born as BIRD . Same is with fish and swimming . So this is the BIRTH giving rise to certain POWER . and as one can see this does not need any special effort. So this is the lowest level of the powers . 

       The next one is related to AUHSHADHI or medicines. The medicines have EFFECTS . In this SUTRA , they are refereed to as powers or SIDHHIS . We know of mention of certain ointment that gives Vision which is far reaching that ordinary human beings can --or so called X- RAY vision . The vision will become ordinary when the effect of the medicine is gone . We can think of modern day medicines like anabolic steroids which help gain weight or medicines that stimulate appetite or medicines like Viagra . These powers are dependent upon external help and one does need to do some effort - take medicine - to get the power. So this is little higher than the last one , but still at lower level . 

      The next one is MANTRA or Chanting . The chanting of Mantra doe give one the powers . There are 2 kinds . One where the MEANING is very important and other where the specific Sound or pronunciation is very important to generate the powers . It is stated that to have the 'effect' after chanting or to get POWERS , one needs to do the chanting of the Mantra which full concentration for 100000 times the number of letters . So NA MO SHI VA Y has five letter per Sanskrit script . So one needs to do the chanting for 500000 times to be effective . One will get the powers , but then to have effects one will have to do the Mantra when one wants to have effective powers .The powers that are obtained by this method are higher than last 2 as one has to make concentrated efforts and has to keep on doing the chanting .

    The next one is TAPA .With Tapa one gets powers and they are superior to last three, namely the one that are due to Birth or due to medicines or the one related to Mantra . With Mantra chanting the SIDHHIS are limited .  But with Tapa one can get much more . The example would the one that was obtained by Vishwamitra or many other sages or even Rawan and other bad characters in our scriptures . When one has DESIRE to do or obtain certain things , then that desire makes it inferior level than one obtained without the desire .

     So the last one is the SIDHHI that that is achieved by SAMADHI . When one reaches the highest level of the meditation , than he has many powers and thew will not be used by him or her for fulfilling ordinary desires .  When one does use the power to satisfy theses desires , then he goes gown and may even loose the powers as whenever there is desire , there is attachment and that leads to karma ans then that takes us away from the goal of one with HIM.