I don’t understand the objection to the validity of Vivekananda’s experience; it was exactly the realisation which is described in the Upanishads as a supreme experience of the Self. It is not a fact that an experience gained in samadhi cannot be prolonged into the waking state.
Ramakrishna had the siddhi himself before he began giving to others—so had Buddha. I don’t know about the others [Vivekananda, Ramatirtha, Ramdas, Mahavir, Shankara]. By perfection of course is meant siddhi in one’s own path—realisation. Ramakrishna always put that as a rule that one should not become a teacher to others until one has the full authority.
[Sri Aurobindo: Letters on Yoga]
