Divya Srotra in Hinduism is the extraordinary power of hearing subtle and distant sounds. Srotra means the organs of hearing and divya means brilliant, beyond natural, or extraordinary. We are normally endowed with the ordinary power of hearing by which we can hear sounds in our vicinity. Those who are adept practice the Yogic technique called samyamare, and are said to possess the ability to hear sounds from great distances, as also subtle sounds which other human beings fail to grasp or hear. It is supposed that such adepts or yogis have possessed Divya Srotra.
Patanjali has mentioned in his Yogasutra (III.42) how such a supra-natural power of hearing subtle and distant sounds is attained.
He says, “By absorption of mind called samyama on the relation of the organ of hearing with akasha (space) which is the abode of sound, one comes to possess divya srotra”.
Samyama is aYogic process of unification or steadiness of an adept’s mind with any object which may be gross or subtle, past, present or future. It is a technical term of Patanjali’s Yoga system, including three states of progressive concentration of citta (consciousness). The three states are called dharana, dhyana, and Samadhi (concentration, meditation and absorption) respectively.
Patanjali has argued that through the process of samyama, prajna (superior knowledge), the Yogic powers accrue (Yogasutra III.5). He has described such power in the third chapter of Yogasutra. Divya Srotra is one such power that of hearing otherwise imperceptible sounds. In a similar way, super natural powers pertaining to other sense organs may also be obtained.