हठयोग प्रदीपिका (योगी स्वात्माराम - ज्योत्स्ना टीका सहित सटीक)

6 HAṬHAYOGAPRADĪPIKĀ and the ādhibhautika, those caused by creatures like tigers, serpents, etc. 11. The Yogin desirous of obtaining siddhi should keep the Haṭha-yoga very secret. For it is potent when kept secret and ineffective when [injudiciously] revealed. In this book, the author describes these processes in detail, but still he says that the Yogin should keep them secret. So it is plain that everything is not revealed and the most important processes are to be learnt direct from the Guru. It follows that he who begins to practise Haṭha-yoga after a theoretical study of it and without a Guru will come to harm. The adhikārin or candidate should have the following qualifications: He should perform his duties, and be free of personal motives and attach- ments. He should have perfected himself in Yama and Niyama, to be described later, and cultivated the intellect. He should have conquered anger. He should be entirely devoted to his Guru and the Brahmavidyā. No wonder that the Masters refuse to admit all candidates indiscriminately and say that an adept is the rare efflorescence of an age. Siddhi refers either to the eight siddhi-s or psychical powers, or to Kaivalya or Nirvāṇa, which is the attainment of spiritual perfection. The eight siddhi-s are: aṇiman, the power to assume a minute form; mahiman, the power to assume an extensive form; gariman, the power to become weighty; laghiman, the power to become light; prāpti, the power to reach the proximity of even distant objects; prākāmya, the power to obtain what is desired; īśitā, the power to shape anything as desired; and vaśitva, the power to control anything. 12. He who practises Haṭha-yoga should live alone in a small maṭha (monastery) situated in a place free from rocks, water and fire to the extent of a bow's