Siddhis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A collection of supernatural powers or abilities often attributed to spiritual practitioners in Hinduism and Buddhism
2. Extraordinary capabilities that can include telepathy, levitation, or healing, as said to be achieved through advanced meditation
3. Mystical accomplishments or phenomena that are believed to arise from deep spiritual mastery and practice, showcasing extraordinary skills

Etymology: Siddhi comes from Sanskrit "siddhi," a noun formed from the verb root "sidh," meaning roughly "to accomplish" or "to succeed," with the suffix "-ti" that turns an action into a noun. The original sense is simply "accomplishment" or "success," so a siddhi was whatever a practitioner had managed to bring about through effort or discipline. Over time the word came to mean the extraordinary abilities that such accomplishment was thought to yield. In Hindu, Buddhist and Jain traditions, siddhis are described as powers gained through meditation, asceticism or yogic practice, such as levitation, invisibility or great physical strength. Texts often treat them as distractions on the path to liberation, which is why accomplished practitioners are traditionally warned against seeking them. In English the word is a learned borrowing from Sanskrit, used mainly in discussions of yoga and Indian religious traditions.