2022, Vol. 8, Issue 1, Part A

author(s)
Dr. Rubina Saxena

abstract
The ‘Extra Sensory Perceptions’, ESPs are the extraordinary powers or qualities present in each and every being in latent form. People with good self-awareness or higher Consciousness levels, are aware of these powers and they experience it in day-to-day life. These powers are prominent in man as human body is well developed and human mind has an urge to acquire knowledge beyond the material world. That is the knowledge of ‘Para-vidya’ as mentioned in Upanishads. Though word ‘ESP’ was coined by J.B.Rhine in 1934 for the psychic powers people have without using physical senses. But such powers were already mentioned in most of the ancient scriptures of Indian philosophy such as Vedas, Upanishads, Puranas, Great Epics like Mahabharata & Ramayana, and many others. In fact these ESP powers are the qualities of ‘Atman’ and when one diverts attention from physical /material world away from all five sense perceptions, one is diverted to self-awareness or self-consciousness. And there is nothing higher than the knowledge of Self-Consciousness. In this paper, I want to highlight some cases of ESPs mentioned in Great Indian Epic ‘Mahabharata’.