New Testament track · step 4b of 6 · ← matching OT step
New Testament · Step 4b · a side path
Miracles and the siddhis
The Gospels describe Jesus walking on water, knowing people’s thoughts, healing, stilling a storm and multiplying food. Book III of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras (the Vibhuti Pada, “chapter of powers”) lists strikingly similar siddhis (“perfections” or “powers”). This page sets them side by side. It also shows that both traditions frame these powers with the same caution.
Translations and sutra numbering
- Woods (1914): J. H. Woods, The Yoga-System of Patañjali, Harvard Oriental Series 17. This page uses its numbering, which matches most modern editions. archive.org scan.
- Johnston (1912): Charles Johnston, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: The Book of the Spiritual Man. Its Book III numbering matches Woods for every sutra used here. Project Gutenberg #2526.
- Vivekananda (1896): Raja Yoga, Complete Works vol. 1. From III.22 onward his numbers run one higher, because he counts an extra sutra (III.22, on the disappearance of sounds) that Woods and Johnston do not number separately. Woods III.37 (powers as obstacles) is therefore Vivekananda III.38; Woods III.39 (Udana, water) is Vivekananda III.40; Woods III.40 (radiance) is Vivekananda III.41, and so on. Book III · Book IV.
- So “III.38” means different things in different books. It is entering another’s body in Woods and Johnston, but powers as obstacles in Vivekananda.
First, how each tradition frames power
Jesus: the Father does the works; faith is the condition
“Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.”— John 14:10-12, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”— Matthew 17:20, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.”— Mark 6:5-6, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
Jesus also refuses display and warns against prizing powers
“Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone. Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”— Matthew 4:5-7, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:”— Matthew 12:39, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”— Luke 10:20, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.”— Matthew 7:22-23, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
Patanjali: where powers come from (IV.1)
Sources of the siddhis: IV.1
| Woods 1914IV.1 · public domain | “Perfections proceed from birth or from drugs or from spells or from self-castigation or from concentration.” | source |
|---|---|---|
| Johnston 1912IV.1 · public domain | “Psychic and spiritual powers may be inborn, or they may be gained by the use of drugs, or by incantations, or by fervour, or by Meditation.” | source |
| Vivekananda 1896IV.1 · public domain | “The Siddhis (powers) are attained by birth, chemical means, power of words, mortification, or concentration.” | source |
Patanjali: powers are obstacles to samadhi (III.37) and must be let go (III.50–51)
Powers as obstacles: Woods/Johnston III.37 = Vivekananda III.38
| Woods 1914III.37 · public domain | “In concentration these [supernal activities] are obstacles ; in the emergent state they are perfections (siddhi).” | source |
|---|---|---|
| Johnston 1912III.37 · public domain | “These powers stand in contradistinction to the highest spiritual vision. In manifestation they are called magical powers.” | source |
| Vivekananda 1896III.38 · public domain | “These are obstacles to Samadhi; but they are powers in the worldly state.” | source |
Vivekananda’s commentary adds: “These powers, however, are obstructions to the attainment of the highest goal, the knowledge of the pure Self, and freedom.”
Dispassion even toward powers: Woods III.50–51 = Vivekananda III.51–52
| Woods 1914III.50–51 · public domain | “As a result of passionlessness even with regard to these [perfections] there follows, after the dwindling of the seeds of the defects, Isolation. … In case of invitations from those-in-high-places, these should arouse no attachment or pride, for undesired consequences recur.” | source |
|---|---|---|
| Vivekananda 1896III.51 · public domain | “By giving up even these powers comes the destruction of the very seed of evil, which leads to Kaivalya.” | source |
The frames differ. In John, the works come from the Father “that dwelleth in me.” They are relational and depend on faith, and they act as signs pointing to who Jesus is. In Patanjali, siddhis are the natural results of samyama (concentration, meditation and absorption held together) on a chosen object. They are a by-product of technique and are not given by a person.
The caution is shared. Jesus refuses to leap from the temple to prove himself, refuses a sign to a generation that demands one, and tells the seventy not to rejoice that spirits obey them. Patanjali calls the powers “obstacles” to samadhi and makes dispassion toward them a condition of liberation. In both, power is not the point. Jesus points to the Father and Patanjali to kaivalya (isolation, freedom).
What the Indian witnesses said
“Captain says I haven't acquired any occult powers because I eat fish. I tremble with fear lest I should acquire those powers. If I should have them, then this place would be turned into a hospital or a dispensary.”— Sri Ramakrishna, Gospel, ch. 23 “Festival at Surendra’s” · source
“Right you are. Only the small-minded seek them.”— Sri Ramakrishna, same passage, agreeing with M. that “a man cannot realize God if he possesses even one of the eight occult powers” · source
“Therefore I prayed to the Divine Mother for pure love only, a love that does not seek any return. I never asked for occult powers.”— Sri Ramakrishna, Gospel, ch. 14 “Instruction to Vaishnavas and Brahmos” · source
“Ostentatious display of unusual powers are decried by masters.”— Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi, ch. 5 · source
“Miracles of a permanent and beneficial nature are performed by true saints because they have attuned themselves to the omnipotent Creator.”— Sri Yukteswar as quoted by Yogananda, Autobiography of a Yogi, ch. 18 · source
“The operation of subtle laws which are unknown to people in general should not be publicly discussed or published without due discrimination.”— Lahiri Mahasaya as quoted in Autobiography of a Yogi, ch. 35 · source
1. Walking on water ↔ Udana mastery and lightness (III.39, III.42)
Gospel
“And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went unto them, walking on the sea.”— Matthew 14:25, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus. But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me. And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”— Matthew 14:29-31, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
Yoga Sutra
Udana: Woods/Johnston III.39 = Vivekananda III.40
| Woods 1914III.39 · public domain | “As a result of mastering the Udana there is no adhesion to water or mud or thorns or similar objects, and [at death] the upward flight.” | source |
|---|---|---|
| Johnston 1912III.39 · public domain | “Through mastery of the upward-life comes freedom from the dangers of water, morass, and thorny places, and the power of ascension is gained.” | source |
| Vivekananda 1896III.40 · public domain | “By conquering the current called Udana the Yogi does not sink in water or in swamps, he can walk on thorns etc., and can, die at will.” | source |
Johnston’s commentary: “there comes the ability to walk on water.” He then reads a “deeper meaning”: the one who “passes safely over the waters of death and rebirth.”
Lightness / passing through air: Woods/Johnston III.42 = Vivekananda III.43
| Woods 1914III.42 · public domain | “Either as a result of constraint upon the relation between the body and the air, or as a result of the balanced-state of lightness, such as that of cotton-fibre, there follows the passing through air.” | source |
|---|---|---|
| Johnston 1912III.42 · public domain | “By perfectly concentrated Meditation em [sic: on] the correlation of the body with the ether, and by thinking of it as light as thistle-down, will come the power to traverse the ether.” | source |
| Vivekananda 1896III.43 · public domain | “By making Samyama on the relation between the Akasha and the body and becoming light as cotton-wool etc., through meditation on them, the yogi goes through the skies.” | source |
Woods renders akasha as “air”; Johnston has “ether” and Vivekananda keeps “Akasha.” The OCR slip “em” is in the Gutenberg text.
Strength of parallel: strong verbal parallel (water); different stated cause (faith vs. prana mastery).
This is the closest verbal match on the page. The sutra literally says “water.” Ramakrishna, independently, told a parable “how powerful faith is”: a man walks “easily on the water of the sea — such is the strength of faith,” then sinks the instant he belittles what carried him (Gospel, ch. 3). That is the same shape as Peter’s story. Notice that in Matthew the deciding factor is faith and fear, while in Patanjali it is mastery of a vital current.
2. Knowing thoughts ↔ knowledge of other minds (III.19; III.34)
Gospel
“And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?”— Matthew 9:4, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.”— John 2:24-25, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.”— John 1:47-48, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
Yoga Sutra
Other minds: III.19
| Woods 1914III.19 · public domain | “[As a result of constraint] upon a presented-idea [there arises intuitive] knowledge of the mind-stuff of another.” | source |
|---|---|---|
| Johnston 1912III.19 · public domain | “By perfectly concentrated Meditation on mind-images is gained the understanding of the thoughts of others.” | source |
| Vivekananda 1896III.19 · public domain | “By making Samyama on the signs in another's body, knowledge of his mind comes.” | source |
The heart: Woods III.34 = Vivekananda III.35
| Woods 1914III.34 · public domain | “[As a result of constraint] upon the heart [there arises] a consciousness of the mind-stuff.” | source |
|---|---|---|
| Vivekananda 1896III.35 · public domain | “In the heart, knowledge of minds.” | source |
Strength of parallel: good for Matt 9:4 and John 2:25; looser for Nathanael (remote seeing).
Nathanael “under the fig tree” is closer to seeing at a distance than to reading thoughts. The yogic list has related items for that: knowledge of the “subtile and the concealed and the obscure” (Woods III.25). III.20 adds a limit: one perceives the thought but “not also that on which the thought rests.” The Gospels set no such limits.
3. Healing, raising the dead, calming the storm ↔ mastery of the elements (III.44–45)
Gospel
“And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.”— Mark 5:41-42, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.”— John 11:43-44, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and said, Who touched my clothes?”— Mark 5:30, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.”— Mark 4:39, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm. But the men marvelled, saying, What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him!”— Matthew 8:26-27, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
Yoga Sutra
Mastery of the elements: Woods/Johnston III.44 = Vivekananda III.45
| Woods 1914III.44 · public domain | “As a result of constraint upon the coarse and the essential-attribute and the subtile and the inherence and purposiveness, there is a mastery of the elements.” | source |
|---|---|---|
| Johnston 1912III.44 · public domain | “Mastery of the elements comes from perfectly concentrated Meditation on their five forms: the gross, the elemental, the subtle, the inherent, the purposive.” | source |
The eight powers: Woods/Johnston III.45 = Vivekananda III.46
| Woods 1914III.45 · public domain | “As a result of this, atomization and the other [perfections] come about, [there is] perfection of body ; and there is no obstruction by the properties of these [elements].” | source |
|---|---|---|
| Johnston 1912III.45 · public domain | “Thereupon will come the manifestation of the atomic and other powers, which are the endowment of the body, together with its unassailable force.” | source |
| Vivekananda 1896III.46 · public domain | “From that comes minuteness and the rest of the powers, "glorification of the body," and indestructibleness of the bodily qualities.” | source |
Strength of parallel: storm: moderate; healing and raising the dead: loose (no specific sutra).
The storm fits “mastery of the elements” well: wind and sea “obey.” Healing and raising the dead are not named in the Yoga Sutras. The elemental sutras are about the yogi’s power over matter and his own body, so the mapping is an extension. Ramakrishna explicitly ranked healing low: “With healing and the like one may do only a little good to others” (Gospel, ch. 14). Mark’s “virtue had gone out of him” (NRSVue/ESV/NIV: “power”; Greek dynamis) also suggests something the sutras do not describe: power flowing outward to another person. Indian tradition describes that kind of transmission elsewhere, in the guru’s touch (shaktipat, sparśa dīkṣā). See Step 5: the jivanmukta and the holy touch.
4. Passing through a hostile crowd ↔ invisibility (III.21)
Gospel
“And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. But he passing through the midst of them went his way,”— Luke 4:29-30, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.”— John 8:59, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
Yoga Sutra
Invisibility: III.21
| Woods 1914III.21 · public domain | “As a result of constraint upon the [outer] form of the body, when its power to be known is stopped, then as a consequence of the disjunction of the light and of the eye there follows indiscernibility [of the yogin's body].” | source |
|---|---|---|
| Johnston 1912III.21 · public domain | “By perfectly concentrated Meditation on the form of the body, by arresting the body’s perceptibility, and by inhibiting the eye’s power of sight, there comes the power to make the body invisible.” | source |
| Vivekananda 1896III.21 · public domain | “By making Samyama on the form of the body, the perceptibility of the form being obstructed and the power of manifestation in the eye being separated, the Yogi's body becomes unseen.” | source |
Strength of parallel: loose; the texts can be read without anything supernatural.
The Gospel texts do not say Jesus became invisible. Luke says only that he passed “through the midst of them.” John’s “hid himself” can be read naturally. (The KJV’s closing words, “going through the midst of them, and so passed by,” are absent from NRSVue, ESV and NIV, which follow a different Greek text. Compare the links.) The parallel is suggestive at most.
5. Transfiguration ↔ radiance (III.40)
Gospel
“And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.”— Matthew 17:2, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
Yoga Sutra
Samana and radiance: Woods/Johnston III.40 = Vivekananda III.41
| Woods 1914III.40 · public domain | “As a result of mastering the Samana [there arises] a radiance.” | source |
|---|---|---|
| Johnston 1912III.40 · public domain | “By mastery of the binding-life comes radiance.” | source |
| Vivekananda 1896III.41 · public domain | “By the conquest of the current Samana he is surrounded by a blaze of light.” | source |
Strength of parallel: strong image parallel; different framing.
A close image: light shining from the body. The settings differ. Luke places the Transfiguration “as he prayed” (Step 4), and the Gospels present it as a revelation given to the three disciples, with the voice from the cloud. They do not present it as a technique. Yogananda’s own comment on the scene concerns Elias and Moses, not the light (Autobiography, ch. 35).
6. Multiplying food, water into wine ↔ elemental mastery and the eight powers (III.44–45)
Gospel
“And he commanded the multitude to sit down on the grass, and took the five loaves, and the two fishes, and looking up to heaven, he blessed, and brake, and gave the loaves to his disciples, and the disciples to the multitude. And they did all eat, and were filled: and they took up of the fragments that remained twelve baskets full.”— Matthew 14:19-20, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water knew;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom,”— John 2:9, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
Yoga Sutra
See the III.44–45 sutras in §3 above.
Strength of parallel: loose; relies on commentary, not the sutra text.
Patanjali does not mention producing food. Later commentators’ lists of the eight powers include creative will (Johnston’s commentary on III.45 lists “the power of creative will”), and Yogananda ties materialisation to his “Law of Miracles” (Autobiography, ch. 30). In the Gospel, Jesus “looking up to heaven … blessed” before the multiplication. The act is framed as thanksgiving, not as mastery.
7. Foreknowledge of death and events ↔ knowledge of the time of death (III.22)
Gospel
“From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.”— Matthew 16:21, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.”— Matthew 26:34, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
Yoga Sutra
The latter end: Woods/Johnston III.22 = Vivekananda III.23
| Woods 1914III.22 · public domain | “Advancing and not-advancing is karma ; as a result of constraint upon this [twofold karma] or from the signs of death [there arises an intuitive] knowledge of the latter end.” | source |
|---|---|---|
| Johnston 1912III.22 · public domain | “The works which fill out the life-span may be either immediately or gradually operative. By perfectly concentrated Meditation on these comes a knowledge of the time of the end, as also through signs.” | source |
| Vivekananda 1896III.23 · public domain | “Karma is of two kinds — soon to be fructified and late to be fructified. By making Samyana [sic] on these, or by the signs called Arishta, portents, the Yogis know the exact time of separation from their bodies.” | source |
Strength of parallel: good for his own death; moderate for other events.
Knowing one’s own death fits the sutra closely. Peter’s denial is knowledge of another person’s future, which comes closer to III.16 (“knowledge of the past and the future,” Woods). The Gospels frame Jesus’ foreknowledge as necessity (“he must go”), meaning a calling accepted, not merely information gained.
8. Post-resurrection appearances ↔ created minds and bodies (IV.4), offered cautiously
Gospel
“Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.”— John 20:19, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.”— Luke 24:31, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
“Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.”— Luke 24:39, KJV · source · compare: YLT · NRSVue · ESV · NIV
Yoga Sutra
Created minds: IV.4
| Woods 1914IV.4 · public domain | “Created mind-stuffs may result from the sense-of-personality and from this alone.” | source |
|---|---|---|
| Vivekananda 1896IV.4 · public domain | “From egoism alone proceed the created minds.” | source |
Vivekananda’s commentary: “With a view to exhausting their Karma quickly, Yogis create Kaya-vyuha, or groups of bodies, in which to work it out.” Johnston translates IV.4 quite differently, as “vestures of consciousness” built up around the self; the Gutenberg text also has an OCR error in that sutra (“Boston”), so it is not quoted here.
Strength of parallel: very loose; theologically sensitive.
This is the weakest pairing, and it is kept with care. IV.4 is about a yogi projecting extra bodies during life to work out karma. The Gospels describe resurrection: the same Jesus, raised after death, insisting “it is I myself … flesh and bones.” For Christian faith that is a unique act of God, not a yogic technique. The only shared feature is a body that appears through shut doors and vanishes, and Yogananda wrote about resurrected masters in that vein (Autobiography, ch. 43). Read this as a question to keep open, not an equation.
Summary table
| Gospel | Sutra (Woods numbering) | Fit |
|---|---|---|
| Walking on water | III.39 Udana (no adhesion to water); III.42 lightness | strong |
| Knowing thoughts | III.19 other minds; III.34 the heart | good |
| Stilling the storm | III.44 mastery of the elements | moderate |
| Healing, raising the dead | (none specific); III.44–45 by extension | loose |
| Passing through a crowd | III.21 invisibility | loose |
| Transfiguration | III.40 radiance | strong image |
| Loaves, wine | III.45 eight powers (via commentary) | loose |
| Foreknowledge of death | III.22 knowledge of the latter end | good |
| Resurrection appearances | IV.4 created minds | very loose |
| Refusing display | III.37 obstacles; III.50–51 dispassion | strong (in spirit) |
For the practitioner. Both sources put powers on the side of the path, not at its end. If something unusual shows up in meditation, Patanjali’s advice is not to cling to it (III.50–51), and Jesus’ is “rejoice not” in it (Luke 10:20). The lasting fruit both traditions point to is the abiding state of Step 5, not the wonder.
Eastern perspective · Upanishads · Gita
Whose power is it? The fire god and the straw
In the Kena Upanishad the gods take credit for a victory that was not theirs. A mysterious being puts down a single straw, and the god of fire cannot burn it.
“Now, Brahma won a victory for the gods. Now, in the victory of this Brahma the gods were exulting. They bethought themselves: ‘Ours indeed is this victory! Ours indeed is this greatness!’”— Kena Upanishad 3.1, tr. R. E. Hume, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads (1921) · source
“‘In such as you what power is there?’ ‘Indeed, I might burn everything here, whatever there is here in the earth!’ It put down a straw before him. ‘Burn that!’ He went forth at it with all speed. He was not able to burn it.”— Kena Upanishad 3.5–6, tr. R. E. Hume, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads (1921) · source
“‘It is Brahma,’ she said. ‘In that victory of Brahma, verily, exult ye.’ Thereupon indeed he knew it was Brahma.”— Kena Upanishad 4.1, tr. R. E. Hume, The Thirteen Principal Upanishads (1921) · source
“Whatever thing (there is) of power, or glorious, or splendid, know all that to be produced from portions of my energy.”— Gita 10.41, tr. K. T. Telang (1882) · source
“Ours indeed is this greatness!” is exactly the temptation the Gospels guard against when the seventy return rejoicing that demons obey them (“rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you”, Luke 10:20), and when Peter says “why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power … we had made this man to walk?” (Acts 3:12). The straw that fire cannot burn is a picture of every power without its source.
Where the traditions differ
The Kena’s point is metaphysical: all power is Brahman’s. The New Testament’s point is relational: power is given by the Spirit and is to be used in love (1 Cor 13:2). Patanjali’s siddhis are by-products of concentration; the apostles’ signs are gifts.
Light thread
“And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.”— Matthew 17:2, KJV · source
At the Transfiguration the light is not something Jesus does but something he is seen to be. Indian teachers call the highest power not a siddhi but realisation itself.