The Powers(अष्ठ सिद्धि) of lord Hanuman

In Hinduism eight siddhis (Ashta Siddhi) or Eight great perfections (mahasiddhi) are known.
The powers that lord Hanuman acquired through the process of his development gave him supernatural god-like powers. There are eight primary powers that are mentioned in the scriptures in relation to lord Hanuman. Those who have studied Kundalini Yoga, Gnosis, or Tantra will recognize these powers because these are the same powers that one acquires when the Kundalini awakens. They are:

1. Anima: the ability to shrink ones size
2. Mahima: the ability to increase ones size
3. Lagima: the ability to be weightless
4. Garima: the ability to increase ones weight
5. Brapti: the ability to travel anywhere and acquire anything
6. Parakamya: an irresistible willpower
7. Vastiva: mastery over all creatures
8. Istiva: the ability to become godlike with the power to create and destroy

Clearly, this is an impressive list of powers, and throughout the stories of lord Hanuman he uses all these powers in service of Rama, always in service to God, never for himself. This is precisely what is interesting about these powers and about the stories of lord Hanuman.

When we hear about spiritual powers, when spiritual people study spirituality, yoga, Tantra, we immediately begin to imagine, "That would be so cool if I had that ability. If I could shrink myself tiny or make myself huge or leap to the sun..." Yet notice that we want powers for ourselves, for our pleasure, and so others will admire us, fear us, and envy us. That is our first impulse. We want spiritual powers for ourselves. This is a very important thing to notice about ourselves.