Even a cursory comparison of the teachings of Jesus and those of the Siddhas by anyone familiar with the two reveals remarkable similarities:
• Jesus taught in parables, metaphor, paradox, and parody, conveying profound teachings in a way that illiterate listeners could easily understand and remember. He was an iconoclast, who sought to move His listeners to realize the spirit, not merely the letter of the Jewish law and worship practices.
The Yoga Siddhas taught in the form of poems, in the vernacular language of the illiterate people, in a way that they could easily understand, memorize and recall. Several layers of meaning could be attributed to both the teachings of Jesus and the Siddhas. The deepest layers could be understood only by the initiate, who had been taught by a spiritual master how to access the inner reality through such practices as meditation and silence.
• Jesus severely condemned the Pharisees and the merchants in the temple, physically assaulting their shops. When challenged by the Pharisees on what authority did he speak, he replied: “I shall destroy this temple, and within three days, raise it up!” His resurrection from the cross proved His point, that the real temple is within oneself.
The Yoga Siddhas also condemned emphasis on temple worship and idol worship. Nowhere in any of their writings do they sing in praise of any of the popular Hindu deities or images of God. They taught that the human body is the true temple of God and it is only through a process of inner purification that one can come to know the Lord.
• Neither Jesus nor the Siddhas intended to create a new religion. They taught that God is present in the world. They taught how to realize God through self discipline and self awareness, and through our connection to others.
• Jesus taught forgiveness of sins or transgressions. One of his most important parables, that of the prodigal son, exemplifies this.
The Siddhas taught how to “detach” from the influence of samskaras (subconscious tendencies), which collectively are referred to as karma (the consequences of actions, words and thoughts). Forgiveness and dispassion are synonymous at a deep level of understanding, and central to both the teachings of Jesus and such Siddhas as Patanjali.
• Jesus repeatedly referred to himself modestly as the “son of man,” but later, the writers of the Gospels, as well as Paul referred to him as “son of God.”The Siddhas distinguished, the “lower self,” the body-mind-personality, held together by egoism (asmita), from the higher self, pure consciousness, incarnated as an individual soul, but bound by many imperfections.
• In what scholars consider to be the most authentic parts of the New Testament, the three synoptic Gospels, Mark, Matthew and Luke, Jesus says little about himself and when He does, it is always modestly.
The Siddhas also have little to say about themselves in their writings. They spoke of freeing themselves from ignorance, egoism and delusion. Consequently, they enjoyed an expanded consciousness and became instruments of the Divine, working “miracles.”
• Jesus taught that the Lord, whom he referred to as the Father, not only existed, but that He loves you. He also taught that to know Him, one must overcome egoism and attachment to the things of this world.
The Siddhas also taught that by a progressive process of self study, discipline and purification, one can realize the Lord.
They did not fear the Lord. They loved Him. To them, God was Love and Love was God. Surrender to the Lord was the means of their progressive transformation. They realized the Lord as Absolute Being, Consciousness and Bliss within themselves.
• Jesus repeatedly emphasized that “the Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” The theme of Jesus’ teachings in the synoptic gospels as well as the Gospel of St Thomas is “the Kingdom of Heaven.” But in the Epistles of Paul, as well as the Gospel of John, which are considered by the vast majority of reputable scholars to contain only interpolations (statements put into the mouth of Jesus by unknown sources) the theme is Jesus himself, his mission and his person.
The Siddhas repeatedly taught that the Lord was to be found within oneself, as Absolute Being, Consciousness and Bliss, and that this state could only be realized through the cultivation of samadhi (God consciousness). This is not a creation of the mind. It is the realization of the Divine Witness within, and the cultivation of a divine life, from the perspective of this God consciousness. They taught that the Lord is, unlike our soul, unaffected by desires and karma. Being one with everything, the Siddhas retained no more inclination to be of special personage. The Siddhas rarely spoke of their person, and they never encouraged the worship of their person, but rather of that omnipresent Reality within them.
• Jesus used the metaphor of Light to represent consciousness of his true identity; “when thine eye is single, thy whole body shall be full of light.” (Luke 11.34).
The Siddhas referred to the Supreme Being as all pervasive light or as the supreme grace light. They referred to the Supreme Being as Shiva Shakti (Conscious Energy), and taught that it could be realized within oneself as the sublime, divine kundalini light energy within the subtle body.
• Jesus was reported to have ascended bodily into heaven 40 days after he rose from the dead. During these 40 days he appeared to his disciples. Doubting Thomas verified his corporeal nature by touching his hands. The body of Jesus was not buried.
The Siddhas sing repeatedly of their total surrender to the Lord, a surrender, which includes the very cells of their physical body, which creates a transformation begetting immortality.
• Jesus was reportedly opposed and crucified by those who ruled the temple founded by David in Jerusalem - the priests and Pharisees. They saw him as a threat to their privileged position. Jesus sought to liberate the Jews not from the Romans, but from their spiritual ignorance, fear, and domination by the priests. He taught them through his parables, and initiated chosen disciples into how to know God by turning within, in esoteric practices.
The Siddhas have been opposed to this day by the vested interests of Hinduism, the Brahmins, who control the temples and serve as intermediaries between the common person and the “gods” of the Hindu pantheon. The Siddhas are condemned and ridiculed as “miracle workers,” fakirs and worse, by the Brahmins, who fear their popular appeal among the masses. The Siddhas and other yogic adepts initiate the most qualified students into the esoteric practices of Kundalini Yoga and meditation.
• Jesus emphasized love and the inner experience or communion with God, rather than the law of the Old Testament.
The Siddhas rejected the Vedic scripture’s emphasis on external fire sacrifice and ritual; they emphasized the inner path to the Lord through love and Yoga.
• Jesus performed many miracles as a result of his powers, or siddhis.
So did the Siddhas. The ordinary person dissipates their energy through the senses, attracted by desires. When one realizes the Presence of the Lord within, one gains access to unlimited power and consciousness. Unmanifest and potential, it is known as kundalini. When it is awakened, one becomes an instrument of the Divine.
• Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness in meditation and prayer, and as a result acquired great powers.
The Siddhas performed similar tapas (penance) with resulting siddhis (powers). Even the number 40 is of particular significance with regard to a period of practice of penance in the yogic tradition.
• Both the Siddhas and Jesus exhibited great social concern. Jesus left John the Baptist, and returned to the urban areas and consorted with tax collectors and other disreputable types. He encouraged counter-cultural movements against established tradition.
The Siddhas sought to show the path to the Lord to everyone, by teaching what one must do, especially through Yoga and hygienic living standards and medicine, and also what one must avoid.
• Jesus accepted Mary Magdalene as a disciple when he allowed her to wash and to anoint his feet. He initiated his most worthy disciples, like Thomas, into esoteric teachings, which enabled them to realize the Supreme Being, beyond the creator God.
The Siddhas showed their surrender to their Gurus by washing, anointing or touching their feet. They initiated their disciples into advanced techniques of Yoga to expand their consciousness and bring about Self realization.
• Jesus was not merely a teacher or rabbi to his disciples, but a God-man, who remained an enigma to all of his direct disciples. They struggled to comprehend his teachings, his parables, and referred to him variously as a prophet or the Messiah, the anointed one who would deliver them from the yoke of Roman tyranny. Their confusion lead to the formation of a multiplicity of sects in early Christianity, until the fourth century C.E., when the Church, in alliance with the Roman emperor, seeking to unify Christianity and the Roman Empire, defined Christian dogma and creeds, and declared as heretics those who did not adhere to its dogma.
Article - Courtesy - www.jesusandyoga.com. A book in the name "The Wisdom of Jesus and Yoga Siddhas" have been published. Very Interesting.The Siddhas were Gurus (dispellers of darkness) who showed the path to the Lord, and were also revered as ones who embodied divinity. They extolled the authority of one’s own inner spiritual experience, rather than the authority of the Vedas (scriptures). For this reason, the orthodox condemned them. The Siddhas continue to be an enigma for most Hindus.
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