P.D. Ouspensky went “in search of the miraculous” in the early Twentieth Century and found Gurdjieff, a semi-developed individual who had studied under Sufi teachers in Central Asia.  Neither Ouspensky nor other students of Gurdjieff, including J.G. Bennett, became miracle-working people of Divine consciousness and power or what are called Godmen.  Since then, Western Seekers flocked to Idries Shah, who seems to have had some impressive personal powers and insights, but not on the level of the Divine, which he was very evasive about.  However, he and his associates were able to induce some developments in some people to some degree, which is certainly better than nothing.

Indian Gurus came and went, often scandalized for a variety of reasons.  The Tibetans also came with Chögyam Trungpa and the Gyalwa Karmapa with their exotic rituals and psychological advices to Western students.  No one became very miraculous, but a lot of people developed peculiar attitudes about their emotional life.  Working on their emotions became a substitute for human development.  Tibetan Magic was turned into Tibetan Mystification.  Which Lama was being reborn when and where became a convenient peg on which to hang claims of miraculous authority when the miracles are not happening.

Then there was Carlos Castaneda, who seemed to experience some miraculous things in the hands of Juan Matus and other mysterious and elusive personages in Mexico.  Castaneda died in the midst of his disoriented and confused cult composed mainly of his various girlfriends he enjoyed sex with before he died of cancer from wrong living.  Of course, the Sorcerers of Mexico never made it beyond the Third Attention, which is the level of the causal body.  They could not conceive or access the Fourth Attention as outlined in the Shiva Sutras.  So being a Nagual is good to get you to the Third Attention, but you will need a more advanced tradition to get into the level of Atman, non-dual Spirit of Being-Awareness-Bliss.

In India, Muktananda never became a miraculous Godman on the level of his Guru, Nityananada.  Muktananda had glimpses of the White Star or Godself, but leveled out on the causal level of the Blue Pearl, the Causal Body.  His realization of the Third Attention and its lofty ego-image was claimed as the Fourth Attention, but wasn’t.  He could give a little Shaktipat (until he had a stroke from giving it to the wrong people) but he never became a full-blown Siddha or Godman.  So, it’s back-to-the-drawing-board for Muktananda in the causal world.  The followers of Muktananda should pay more attention to the obscure but potent teachings of Swami Nityananda and try to avoid the kind of vainglorious trip Muktananda went on.

Herakhan Baba Goraknath was wonderfully miraculous, but he is now inaccessible as he struggles with his new incarnation in a Western body, which is a very heavy, difficult trip.  Maybe he will emerge again in some way with his new body for some of our readers in a few years.

I could go on and on about various famous spiritual personages of differing traditions, but what we need to look at here is that Human Beings in general do not develop, even when blessed or energized by reasonably developed people.  Also, the actual level of the developed people remains a crucial factor, but even then the most important cause of higher human development is within the latent Godself of a human being as Atmashakti, Divine Spirit Power.  Without it, even having a personal relationship with a Godman or Godwoman will not get the job done.  As the Ancient Zen Masters put it, the primary cause of Buddhahood is in our own Self-Nature and the action of the Master upon us, however luminous and powerful or energetic, is an auxiliary cause, which however indispensable is just not the main central cause.

Human beings do not develop for the most part in spite of learning great teachings or performing great spiritual exercises or having great teachers.  Going in search of the miraculous isn’t good enough.  Atmashakti, Godself Power, must awaken in us, which is actually Five Divine Powers of Consciousness, Bliss, Divine Free Will, All-Knowingness and All-Doingness.  If these Five Great Powers are awake and our causal body, individuality, gets unclogged of the three blockages of Social Egotism, Socially Constructed Reality and Karmic Bondage, then the Twenty-Four Siddhis or miraculous abilities can happily emerge on the road to acquiring the Three Buddha Bodies, the triple perfection of the Causal, Subtle and Physical levels of our existence as described but not realized by Aurobindo and realized pragmatically by Padma Sambhava, who is purportedly still alive and hanging out somewhere in Latin America, perhaps even as Xoxonapo, the Death Defier, whom Juan Matus introduced Carlos Castaneda to.  The miraculous is not there to be merely “found” but to sprout-out from within our Godself once we are awake in the Fourth Attention.  The miraculous is thus a set of twenty-four byproducts of a central Divine Self-awakening of Self-activation of Five Divine Powers.  Any other orientation where a causal ego gets some temporarily impressive faculties is rather misleading and usually a dead-end road.

If you have the real potential to become a Godman or Godwoman with the twenty-four Siddhis, then get on with your Sadhana, making use of useful teachings, methods and contacts with Great Gurus without prejudice or excessive exclusivity of tradition.  If you have the real feeling and taste of the Divine Development, then feel and drink ever deeper and more directly within yourself!  If you have a budding Q within you, then freely join the Q-continuum as a New Star in the Galaxy.  The supramental goal within yourself is ultimately inevitable, so start thinking beyond wanting name and fame amongst pitiful, emotional little mortals on the backward, unhappy planet Earth.  To be welcome in the company of the Gods and Goddesses is a much loftier and more lasting achievement than sitting about blessing crowds of idiots on Earth who are usually a million years away from real personal development.  Enter the God-making school if you are really serious about superhuman development.  The activation of your Atmashakti is everything.  Without the core awakening of Godself, Shivatma, all is just a clumsy rehearsal carried out by a frustrated and fragmented causal ego wandering in the Maze of Time and Circumstance.  Without the core awakening and divine empowerment there is just an endless struggle of confusion and pretence, of wanting to be publicly impressive rather than privately realized.

Hint: there are mantras that help you set up vibratory conditions in your consciousness that help stimulate Godself Awakening and Divine Empowerment.  Find the right mantras for yourself and irradiate your mind and body with them with your highest and best intentions.  Beware of any famous spiritual teachers who speak against Mantra Yoga, for they want you to concentrate on their teachings instead of on your development.  But also beware of the T.M. people who are lacking the Divine Awakening, but are told to give mantras to people.  Only a full-blown Godman or Godwoman can give a useful mantra for your Yoga.  Even better is to get it direct from the Infinite Guru through your own Godself during a Divine Awakening coupled with your own self-education in the Science of Mantra, Mantravidya, plus learning AUI, Cosmic Language, if you can understand it.