If one were to scrutinize yogic literature, especiallythat associated with haṭha yoga, it would quicklybecome apparent that the acquisition and developmentof powers is an important motif, if not utterlyrequisite for the yogic quest. Haṭha yoga oftenimplies some sort of ascetic practice that canproduce various results. The main objective inseveral haṭha texts is to master the vital breath soas to gain immunity and immortality, which impliesabsolute perfection. Thus, a driving, underlyingmotif in yogic idiom relies on the material andsymbolical imaginings of power, perfection, andsuccess, all of which can be rendered by theSanskrit word siddhi.Even though Carl Olson (2015, 4) identifies threebig D's in asceticism (detachment, denial,discipline), it seems that in various contexts andexamples yogic power does not necessarily have toimply all three, although discipline is allegedlyone big D that conditions yogic success.

This chapter aims to comprehensively address thequestion of power in the yogī milieu of the Nāthsampradāya, with theintention of probing into the material consequencesof the symbolical imaginings of power, perfection,and success. Its starting point is to see siddhi not as an asceticgoal that only takes place in ontological and/orspiritual contexts, but one that transcends andincorporates other realms of human activity.