Page 265 - Complete Works of Dr. KCV Volume 1

and the spiritual method of worship of the Supreme in the Heart, and ended up in a serious conflict with one of those many individuals, self styled saviours of dharma through lectures and orations, and other occult practices intended to enhance worldly power and so on. Still another Mr. T who deemed himself to be directly in touch with the highest powers and claimed visions and so on, found that these were not given to him by the present practice of thoughtless and egoless condition. He also had ambition to become a preceptor and when denied that, turned away from the sadhana. It is also known that many seek entrance into new societies to meet with more opportunities for their ego. Humility is the essence of spiritual evolution, and any ambition should be recognized as a hindrance to the Ultimate realisation, because these are known by seers to be obstacles and perversions of the real aspiration. This is the first difficulty.
The basic fault of most seekers seems to be this subtle obstruction proceeding from oneself entrenching itself on traditional and other conventions and complexes of worships and customs.
The second source of difficulties is the lack of siddhis (attainments) such as are exhibited by miracles. These siddhis are said, by the Yoga Sutras themselves, to be hindrances to the Ultimate realisation. The usual yoga practices sometimes lead to the awareness of one's miraculous powers, and this, in its train, brings into play more and more of egoism, concealed under the name of service to humanity and amelioration of misery of man. To be able to give man his life, his progeny, the preservation of his wealth or its acquisition, and health and so on is undoubtedly a great service. So men go to saintly men or spiritual men to gain these, as in the opinion of the ordinary man, it is one of the basic acquisitions of a spiritual man to have the miraculous power to give these necessities and needs of man.
The sadhaka therefore may find that these miraculous powers are not exhibited by Masters of the Sri Ramchandra's Rajayoga. And even those who are said to have evolved or gone up the ladder of spiritual ascent high enough do not exhibit them.
The Yoga of the Kundalini school almost affirms that for one who has awakened his kundalini the power of omniscience and omnipotence is available. Perhaps it would be claimed that these purely Godly attributes are