In Raipur, on 11 July, Baba gave an explanation of the powers of yogis (siddhis) compared to spiritual powers:
Through different yogas, one can attain strange powers such as walking on water, talking with persons who are at a distance, becoming immune to snake venom through chanting mantras, et cetera. These powers, attained through yoga, control different vibrations, which have different effects. Each yogi controls one particular vibration through which he is able to perform certain feats impossible for an ordinary human being.
But the peculiarity of this yogic power is that it can control only one particular vibration. So that a yogi who, through his control of a certain vibration, can walk on water, can do nothing else. Likewise, one who can nullify the effects of the poison of a snakebite, can do nothing other than that. All these different powers attained through yoga practices are phenomenal, and hence transient and unreal. These have nothing to do with spirituality or spiritual powers, which are already latent in all but manifest only in a few select ones who have realized the Self.
All life depends on certain subtle vibrations [pran]; their connection is more universal through the ether*. For instance, a yogi wants to obtain a certain connection to something which he desires.
Just as there are infinite varieties of things in the gross world, so there are an infinite variety of things in the subtle realm. A yogi gets hold of one of these things [powers] and gains control over the vibration pertaining to that particular thing.
The spiritualists — true spiritual aspirants, saints and Masters — on the other hand, do NOT indulge in these petty playthings, because once Realization of God is attained, all powers come to him and emanate from him. It is all bliss which he himself experiences, and that bliss permeates everything and flows from none other than himself!
-www.lordmeher.org, p2417
July, 1944; Raipur
[*Footnote: Gas in its finest state in the mental world is tej; gas in a very fine state in the subtle world is pran. The vibration of ether, gross gas in a fine state, can be accessed in the gross world through deep concentration. A yogi who attains the vibration of ether does not need to eat gross food, since the ether helps him maintain his body. A yogi can thus live on ether alone. Similarly, poets, writers and artists attain vibrations of subtle inspiration temporarily, inspiring them to write poems, epics and create art. But they do not attain permanent experience which can only be experienced in the subtle planes through the transformation into subtle consciousness. Yogis attain a different vibration from the subtle world in a more concentrated form, as a power (form of energy), but that too is temporary (although it can last for years).]