```json
{
    "title": "Monday Morning Greetings 2026 #34 – The Yoga-sūtras and Consciousness-Altering Herbs (Drugs)",
    "url": "https://wavesofdevotion.com/2026/08/24/the-yoga-sutras-and-consciousness-altering-herbs-drugs/",
    "datePublished": "2026-08-24",
    "dateModified": "2026-08-23",
    "language": "en-US",
    "description": "I recently watched a podcast in which a devotee talked about ayahuasca as a legitimate means of elevating consciousness. He supported his claim by quoting the Yoga-sūtras 4.1. My purpose…",
    "author": "Dhanurdhara Swami",
    "publisher": "Waves of Devotion"
}
```

# Monday Morning Greetings 2026 #34 – The Yoga-sūtras and Consciousness-Altering Herbs (Drugs)

I recently watched a podcast in which a devotee talked about ayahuasca as a legitimate means of elevating consciousness. He supported his claim by quoting the

*Yoga-sūtras*

4.1.

 

My purpose here is not to invalidate a person’s experience. Honestly, I don’t know enough about shamanistic practices to comment on that.

[\[1\]](https://wp.me/p2zwwk-1nV#_edn1)

 

I do know, however, the

*Yoga-sūtras*

. A close analysis of the text does not support the claim that drugs (herbal or chemical) are a legitimate means of yogic attainment. Here is the verse:

 

“Accomplishments (

*siddhis*

) arise from birth,

*auṣadhi *

(healing herb), mantra, austerity, and

*samādhi*

.”

 

The important thing here is to pay close attention to what Patañjali actually says.

 

He is not saying that

*auṣadhi*

elevates or purifies consciousness. All that he is saying is that

*siddhis *

(extraordinary accomplishments or powers) can arise from various sources such as birth,

*auṣadhi*

, mantra, austerity and

*samādhi*

.

 

What are these astonishing powers? They are certainly extraordinary, involving various ways of altering consciousness, but they remain material. This becomes clearer in the ancient commentator Vyāsa’s commentary on this verse. In his discussion of preparations that produce special abilities, Vyāsa includes

*asuras*

—beings who can acquire such powers through substances.

 

Vyāsa clearly is making the important distinction between mystic power (

*siddhis*

) and spiritual advancement. If an extraordinary capacity can be obtained through a substance, and even an

*asura*

can possess it, then the possession of that capacity cannot by itself be evidence of spiritual realization.

 

This is consistent with something Patañjali says earlier in the

*Yoga-sūtras*

.

 

“These powers may be accomplishments for the outward-moving mind, yet they become obstacles to the stillness of

*samādhi*

.”

*Y.S.*

3.37

 

In other words,

*siddhi*

, meaning perfection or power, can entice the mind outward into the realm of

*prak*

*ṛ*

*ti*

for wonder and pleasure, rather than encouraging it to withdraw from

*prak*

*ṛ*

*ti*

, or material nature. In this way,

*siddhis*

can become obstacles to the attainment of

*samādhi*

.

 

But why, then, does Patañjali introduce the fourth

*pāda *

of the

*Yoga-sūtras*

, the

*Kaivalya Pāda*

, by discussing the causes of

*siddhis*

in its first

*sūtra*

, when

*kaivalya*

literally refers to the final stage of liberation, in which the soul becomes free from the fetters of matter, especially when the first

*sūtra*

of a chapter usually indicates its theme?

 

To answer this, you must return to the previous chapter, the

*Vibhūti Pāda*

, which concerns extraordinary powers. There, Patañjali seeks both to inform and encourage the yogi: advanced yoga can produce

*siddhis*

that transform consciousness in extraordinary ways, but these powers should not be mistaken for the ultimate purpose of yoga, which is to withdraw the mind from external distractions and turn it inward toward liberation.

[\[2\]](https://wp.me/p2zwwk-1nV#_edn2)

 

Patañjali therefore begins the fourth and final chapter, on

*kaivalya*

(liberation), by returning to the subject of

*siddhis*

discussed in the previous chapter, precisely to distinguish extraordinary accomplishments from liberation. In doing so, he clears away a potential confusion: altering consciousness is not necessarily the same as liberating consciousness. Having clarified this distinction, he then turns to the subject of the final

*pāda *

and the ultimate goal of yoga: the nature of

*kaivalya*

itself.

[\[3\]](https://wp.me/p2zwwk-1nV#_edn3)

 

As my writing is grounded in the

*bhakti *

perspective of my own tradition, let me conclude by approaching this subject from a devotional viewpoint. Although heightened awareness and the perception of God in nature can certainly support the path of devotion, the devotee never seeks

*siddhis *

for their own sake, nor is the goal merely to attain some extraordinary state of awareness. The devotee’s single focus is a transformation of the heart—to become more humble, more compassionate, more eager to serve, and, ultimately, to awaken one’s loving relationship with God. Thus, in a manner consistent with Patañjali’s treatment of the subject, the devotee does not regard the experience of

*auṣadhi*

as an ultimate attainment.

 

[\[1\]](https://wp.me/p2zwwk-1nV#_ednref1)

Also, there are aspects of shamanistic meditation that seem consistent with certain elements of the Gauḍīya tradition, particularly the cultivation of an awareness of God’s presence within nature. This is something I am sure many of us feel the need to cultivate more deeply. As Śrī Nārada says:

“One can reach perfection by honoring even a blade of grass—provided one sees within it the presence of the Supreme Lord…”

*B*

*ṛ*

*had-bhāgavatām*

*ṛ*

*ta*

2.4.210

[\[2\]](https://wp.me/p2zwwk-1nV#_ednref2)

Although Patañjali warns that any outward awareness, however wondrous, can become an obstacle to yoga, the text does not treat every awareness produced by

*siddhis*

as categorically dangerous. Indeed, 1.35 explicitly develops a meditation technique from recognizing the utility of certain

*siddhi*

-born forms of awareness as the very object (

*ālambana*

) of continued meditation.

[\[3\]](https://wp.me/p2zwwk-1nV#_ednref3)

Although the profound alteration of ordinary consciousness produced by

*auṣadhi*

can be risky, it may also have an indirect spiritual effect by revealing to the user that ordinary perception does not exhaust the possibilities of experience, thereby opening the consciousness to the search for a more spiritual approach to life. For example, many older devotees have credited their experiences with LSD as impelling them to seek a mystical approach to life and ultimately leading them toward the path of

*bhakti*

.