The forty-third yogic sutra explains about the conquest of ether, or the power to become free to levitate in air. A yogi metamorphoses his mind and body in order to arrive at this state. This power is also regarded as supernatural, named laghima. The ancient, Hindu texts describe elaborately about instances of the Divine in conquering ether.
kaya body
akasayoh ether
sambhandha relation
samyamat constraint
laghu light
tula cotton fibre
samapatteh coalescence, becoming one
ca and
akasa space, levitation
gamanam passage, going, movement, motion
By knowing the relationship between the body and ether, the yogi transforms his body and mind, so that they become as light as cotton fibre. He can then levitate in space. This is the conquest of ether.
This is one of the supernatural powers called laghima, or becoming as light as cotton.
In the Puranas, it is said that Lord Hanuman (son of the Wind God) jumped up to the sky to fetch the sun, which he thought was an apple. There is also the story from the Ramayana that he had leaped to the Himalayas to fetch the elixir of life, called sanjivani, to save the life of Lord Rama`s brother who was wounded in a battle with Ravana`s son. Narada, who had composed the Bhakti Sutras, is known to wander in the three worlds from time immemorial, to this day.
