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Natha, also calledNath (Sanskrit:नाथसम्प्रदाय,romanized: Nāthasaṃpradāya), are aShaiva sub-tradition withinHinduism in India and Nepal.[1][2] A medieval movement, it combined ideas fromBuddhism,Shaivism,Tantra andYoga traditions of theIndian subcontinent.[3] The Naths have been a confederation of devotees who considerShiva as their first lord orguru, with varying lists of additional gurus.[1][4] Of these, the 9th or 10th centuryMatsyendranatha and the ideas and organization mainly developed byGorakhnath are particularly important. Gorakhnath is considered the originator of the Nath Panth.[4]
The Nath tradition has an extensive Shaivism-relatedtheological literature of its own, most of which is traceable to the 11th century CE or later.[5] However, its roots are in a far more ancientSiddha tradition.[1][6] A notable aspect of Nath tradition practice has been its refinements and use of Yoga, particularlyHatha Yoga, to transform one's body into asahaja siddha state of an awakened self’s identity with absolute reality. An accomplishedguru, that is, a yoga and spiritual guide, is considered essential,[3] and the Nath tradition has historically been known for its esoteric and heterodox practices.[4][7]
The unconventional ways of the Nath tradition challenged all orthodox premises, exploring dark and shunned practices of society as a means to understanding theology and gaining inner powers.[8] They formed monastic organizations, itinerant groups that walked great distances to sacred sites and festivals such as theKumbh Mela as a part of their spiritual practice. The Nath also have a large settled householder tradition in parallel to its monastic groups.[5] Some of them metamorphosed into warrior ascetics during theIslamic rule of the Indian subcontinent.[9][10][11]
The Nath tradition was influenced by other Indian traditions such asAdvaita Vedanta monism,[12] and in turn influenced it as well as movements withinVaishnavism,Shaktism andBhakti movement through saints such asKabir andNamdev.[13][14][15][16]
The Sanskrit wordnātha नाथ literally means "lord, protector, master".[17][18] The related Sanskrit termAdi Natha means first or original Lord, and is a synonym forShiva, the founder of the Nāthas. Initiation into the Nāthasampradaya includes receiving a name ending in-nath,[19]-yogi, or-jogi.
According to the yoga scholarJames Mallinson, the termNath is a neologism for various groups previously known asyogi orjogi before the 18th century.[20] Within the Natha tradition, however, it is said that the identifier Nath began with the figures of Matsyendranatha in the 10th century and his guruShiva, known as Adinath (first lord). During East India Company and later British Raj rule, itinerant yogis were suppressed and many were forced into householder life. Many of their practices were banned in an attempt to limit their political and military power in North India.
During colonial rule the termYogi/Jogi became a derisive word and they were classified by British India census as a "low status caste". In the 20th century, the community began to use the alternate termNath instead in their public relations, while continuing to use their historical term ofyogi orjogi to refer to each other within the community. The termNath orNatha, with the meaning of lord, is a generic Sanskrit theological term found in all the dharmic religions that utilize Sanskrit. It is found inVaishnavism (e.g. Gopinath, Jagannath),Buddhism (e.g. Minanath), and inJainism (Adinatha, Parsvanatha).[21]
The termyogi orjogi is not limited to Natha subtradition, and has been widely used in Indian culture for anyone who is routinely devoted to yoga.[21] Some memoirs by travelers such as those by the Italian traveler Varthema refer to the Nath Yogi people they met, phonetically asIoghes.[22]
Nath are a sub-tradition within Shaivism, who trace their lineage to nine Nathgurus, starting with Shiva as the first, or ‘’Adinatha’’.[23] The list of the remaining eight is somewhat inconsistent between the regions Nathsampradaya is found, but typically consists of c. 9th century Matsyendranatha and c. 12th century Gorakhshanatha along with six more. The other six vary between Buddhist texts such asAbhyadattasri, and Hindu texts such asVarnaratnakara andHathapradipika. The most common remaining Nath gurus include Caurangi (Sarangadhara, Puran Bhagat), Jalandhara (Balnath, Hadipa), Carpatha, Kanhapa, Nagarjuna and Bhartrihari.[24]
The Nath tradition was not a new movement, but one evolutionary phase of a very old Siddha tradition of India.[6] The Siddha tradition exploredYoga, with the premise that human existence is a psycho-chemical process that can be perfected by a right combination of psychological, alchemy and physical techniques, thereby empowering one to a state of highest spirituality, living in prime conditionad libitum, and dying when one so desires into a calm, blissful transcendental state. The termsiddha means "perfected", and this premise was not limited to the Siddha tradition but was shared by others such as theRasayana school of Ayurveda.[6]
According to Mallinson, "the majority of the early textual and epigraphic references to Matsyendra and Goraksa are from the Deccan region and elsewhere in peninsular India; the others are from eastern India".[25] The oldest iconography of Nath-like yogis is found in theKonkan region (near the coast ofMaharashtra,Goa,Karnataka).[25] TheVijayanagara Empire artworks include them, as do texts from a region now known as Maharashtra, northern Karnataka and Kerala. The Chinese traveller, namedMa Huan, visited a part of the western coast of India, wrote a memoir, and he mentions the Nath Yogis. The oldest texts of the Nath tradition that describe pilgrimage sites include predominantly sites in the Deccan region and the eastern states of India, with hardly any mention of north, northwest or south India.[26] This community also can be found in some parts of Rajasthan but these are normal like other castes, considered as other backward castes.
Gorakhshanatha is traditionally credited with founding the tradition of renunciate ascetics, but the earliest textual references about the Nath ascetic order as an organized entity (sampradaya), that have survived into the modern era, are from the 17th century.[27] Before the 17th century, while a mention of the Nath sampradaya as a monastic institution is missing, extensive isolated mentions about the Nath Shaiva people are found in inscriptions, texts and temple iconography from earlier centuries.[27]
In the Deccan region, only since the 18th century according to Mallison,Dattatreya has been traditionally included as a Nath guru as a part of Vishnu-Shiva syncretism.[24] According to others, Dattatreya has been the revered as the Adi-Guru (First Teacher) of theAdinath Sampradaya of the Nathas, the first "Lord of Yoga" with mastery ofTantra (techniques).[28][29]
The number of Nath gurus also varies between texts, ranging from 4, 9, 18, 25 and so on.[24] The earliest known text that mentions nine Nath gurus is the 15th century Telugu textNavanatha Charitra.[24] Individually, the names of Nath Gurus appear in much older texts. For example, Matsyendranatha is mentioned as a siddha in section 29.32 of the 10th century textTantraloka of the Advaita and Shaivism scholar Abhinavagupta.[30]
The mention of Nath gurus as siddhas in Buddhist texts found in Tibet and the Himalayan regions led early scholars to propose that Naths may have Buddhist origins, but the Nath doctrines and theology is unlike mainstream Buddhism.[30][4] In the Tibetan tradition, Matsyendranatha of Hinduism is identified withLuipa, one referred to as the first of Buddhist Siddhacharyas. In Nepal, he is a form of Buddhist Avalokiteshvara.[31]
According to Deshpande, the Natha Sampradaya, is a development of the earlier Siddha or Avadhuta Sampradaya, an ancient lineage of spiritual masters.[32] They may be linked to Kapalikas or Kalamukhas given they share their unorthodox lifestyle, though neither the doctrines nor the evidence that links them has been uncovered.[31] The Nath Yogis were deeply admired by the Bhakti movement saintKabir.[33]
The Nath Sampradaya is traditionally divided into twelve streams orPanths. According toDavid Gordon White, thesepanths were not really a subdivision of a monolithic order, but rather an amalgamation of separate groups descended from either Matsyendranatha, Gorakshanatha or one of their students.[34] However, there have always been many more Natha sects than will conveniently fit into the twelve formalpanths.[34]
In Goa, the town calledMadgaon may have been derived from Mathgram, a name it received from being a center of Nath SampradayaMathas (monasteries). Nath yogis practiced yoga and pursued their beliefs there, living inside caves. TheDivar island andPilar rock-cut caves were used for meditation by the Nath yogis. In the later half of the 16th century, they were persecuted for their religious beliefs and forced to convert by the Portuguese Christian missionaries. Except for few, the Nath yogi chose to abandon the village.[35][36]
TheInchegeri Sampradaya, also known as Nimbargi Sampradaya, is a lineage of Hindu Navnath teachers fromMaharashtra which was started by Shri Bhausaheb Maharaj.[37] It is inspired bySant Mat teachers asNamdev,Raidas andKabir. The Inchegeri Sampraday has become well-known through the popularity ofNisargadatta Maharaj.[citation needed]
The Nath tradition has two branches, one consisting of sadhus (celibate monks) and other married householder (laypeople). The householders are significantly more in number than monks and have the characteristics of an endogamous caste.[27] Both Nath sadhus and householders are found in Nepal and India, particularly in West Bengal, Nepal, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Karnataka. The ascetics created an oversight organization called theBarah Panthi Yogi Mahasabha in 1906, based in the Hindu sacred town ofHaridwar.[27] According to an estimate by Bouillier in 2008, there are about 10,000 ascetics (predominantly males) in the Nath ascetic order, in about 500 monasteries across India, mainly in the northern and western regions of India, along with a much larger householder Nath tradition.[38] The oldest known Nath monastery still in use is Kadrimatha nearMangalore in Karnataka.[39], which houses Shaiva iconography from the 10th century.[39]
A notable feature of the monks is that most of them are itinerant, moving from one monastery or location to another, never staying in the same place for long.[27] Many form floating groups of wanderers who participate in festivals together, share work and thus form a collective identity. They gather in certain places cyclically, particularly duringNavaratri,Maha Shivaratri andKumbh Mela. Many people walk for months across India, covering long distances between sacred locations in their spiritual pursuits.[27]
The Nath monks wearloincloths anddhotis and little else. Typically they also cover themselves with ashes, tie up their hair in dreadlocks, and when they stop walking, they keep a sacred fire called dhuni.[38] These ritual dressing, covering body with ash, and the body art are, however, uncommon with the householders. Both the Nath monks and householders wear a woolen thread around their necks, calledSingnad Janeu, with a small horn, rudraksha bead and a ring attached to the thread.[38] The small horn is important to their religious practice and is blown during certain festivals, rituals and before meal. Many Nath monks and a few householders also wear notable earrings.[38][20]
Some Nath ascetics who do tantra include smoking cannabis in flower (marijuana) or resin (charas, hashish) as an offering to Shiva and as part of their practice.[38] The tradition is traditionally known for hatha yoga and tantra, but in contemporary times, the assiduous practice of hatha yoga and tantra is uncommon among the Naths. In some monasteries, the ritual worship is to goddesses and to their gurus such as Adinatha (Shiva), Matsyendranatha and Gorakhshanatha, particularly through bhajan and kirtans. They greet each other withades (pronounced: "aadees").[40]
The Yogis and Shaiva sampradayas such as Nath metamorphosed into a warrior ascetic group in the late medieval era, with one group calling itselfshastra-dharis (keepers of scriptures) and the otherastra-dharis (keepers of weapons).[10] The latter group grew and became particularly prominent during the Islamic period in South Asia, from about the 14th to 18th century.
The Nath tradition revere nine, twelve or more Nath gurus.[24][8] For example, nine Naths are revered in the Navnath Sampradaya.[41][42] The most revered teachers across its various subtraditions are:[43][44]
| Guru[44] | Depiction | Alternate names | Notability[44] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adiguru | Shiva,Bhairava | Shiva is a pan-Hindu god | |
| Matsyendra | Mina, Macchandar, Macchaghna | 9th or 10th century yoga siddha, important toKaula tantra traditions, revered for his unorthodox experimentations | |
| Goraksha |  | Gorakh | founder of monastic Nath Sampradaya, systematized yoga techniques, organization and monastery builder,Hatha Yoga texts attributed to him, known for his ideas onnirguna bhakti, 10th or 11th century |
| Jalandhara |  | Jalandhari, Hadipa, Jvalendra, Balnath, Balgundai | 13th century siddha (may be earlier), from Jalandhar (Punjab), particularly revered inRajasthan andPunjab regions |
| Kanhapa |  | Kanhu, Kaneri, Krishnapada, Karnaripa, Krishnacharya | 10th century siddha, from Bengal region, revered by a distinct sub-tradition within the Natha people |
| Caurangi |  | Sarangadhara, Puran Bhagat | a son of King Devapala of Bengal who renounced, revered in the northwest such as the Punjab region, a shrine to him is in Sialkot (now in Pakistan) |
| Carpath |  | Charpath | lived in theChamba region of the Himalayas, Himachal Pradesh, championedAvadhuta, taught that outer rituals do not matter, emphasized inner state of an individual |
| Bhartrihari |  | king ofUjjain who renounced his kingdom to become ayogi, a scholar | |
| Gopichand |  | son of the Queen of Bengal who renounced, influential on other Indian religions | |
| Revannath | Hajji Ratan | a 13th-century siddha (may be earlier), revered in medieval Nepal and Punjab, cherished by both Naths andSufis of north India | |
| Dharamnath | a 15th-centurysiddha revered in Gujarat, founded a monastery inKutch region, legends credit him to have made Kutch region liveable | ||
| Mastnath | founded a monastery inHaryana, an 18th-century siddha |
The establishment of the Naths as a distinct historical sect purportedly began around the 8th or 9th century with a simple fisherman,Matsyendranatha (sometimes called Minanath, who may be identified with or called the father of Matsyendranatha in some sources).[34]
One of earliest known Hatha textKaula Jnana Nirnaya is attributed to Matsyendra, and dated to the last centuries of the 1st millennium CE.[46][47] Other texts attributed to him include theAkulavira tantra,Kulananda tantra andJnana karika.[48]
Gorakshanatha is considered aMaha-yogi (or great yogi) in the Hindu tradition.[49] Within the Nath tradition, he has been a revered figure, with Nath hagiography describing him as a superhuman who appeared on earth several times.[50] Thematha and the city ofGorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh is named after him. TheGurkhas of Nepal andIndian Gorkha take their name after him, as doesGorkha, a historical district of Nepal. The monastery and the temple in Gorakhpur perform various cultural and social activities and serves as the cultural hub of the city, and publishes texts on the philosophy of Gorakhnath.[51] Gorakshanatha did not emphasize a specific metaphysical theory or a particular Truth, but emphasized that the search for Truth and spiritual life is valuable and a normal goal of man.[49] Gorakshanatha championedYoga, spiritual discipline and an ethical life ofself-determination as a means to reaching siddha state,samadhi and one's own spiritual truths.[49] Gorakshanatha, his ideas and yogis have been highly popular in rural India, with monasteries and temples dedicated to him found across the country, particularly in the eponymous city ofGorakhpur,[52][53] whereas among urban elites, the movement founded by Gorakhnath has been ridiculed.[52]
According to Muller-Ortega (1989: p. 37), the primary aim of the ancient Nath Siddhas was to achieve liberation orjivan-mukti while alive, and ultimately "paramukti" which it defined as the state of liberation in the current life and into a divine state upon death. Muller-Ortega describes this as embodied realization: "It also allows thejivanmukta to become an embodied, powerful siddha, who possesses not just an ultimate vision, but is empowered by that vision to act and create as Siva himself".[54] The Natha Sampradaya is an initiatoryGuru-shishya tradition.[citation needed]
According to contemporary Nath Guru, Mahendranath, another aim is to avoid reincarnation. InThe Magick Path of Tantra, he wrote about several of the aims of the Naths:
Our aims in life are to enjoy peace, freedom, and happiness in this life, but also to avoid rebirth onto this Earth plane. All this depends not on divine benevolence, but on the way we ourselves think and act.[55]
The earliestHatha yoga texts of the Naths, such asVivekamārtaṇḍa andGorakhshasataka, are fromMaharashtra, and these manuscripts are likely from the 13th century. These Nath texts, however, have an overlap with the 13th centuryJnanadeva commentary on theBhagavad Gita, the Jnanesvari. This may be the result of mutual influence, as both the texts integrate the teachings ofYoga andVedanta schools ofHindu Philosophy in a similar way.[22]
Numerous technical treatises in the Hindu tradition, composed in Sanskrit about Hatha Yoga, are attributed toGorakshanatha.[56]
The Hatha Yoga ideas that developed in the Nath tradition influenced and were adopted byAdvaita Vedanta, though some esoteric practices such askechari-mudra were omitted.[13] Their yoga ideas were also influential on Vaishnavism traditions such as theRamanandis, as well as Sufi fakirs in the Indian subcontinent.[13][14] The Naths recruited devotees into their fold irrespective of their religion or caste, converting Muslim yogins to their fold.[13][57]
The Nath tradition was influenced by theBhakti movement saints such asKabir,Namdev andJnanadeva.[14][15][58]
TheSiddha-siddhanta-paddhati (SSP) byGoraksanatha is a key text for thenathayogis. It explores their philosophy, the concept of the Absolute, the universe from their perspective, and the traits of anavadhutayogi.[59]
Goraksanatha rejects the traditional four-class system (caturvarna) ofbrahmanas,ksatriyas,vaisyas, andsudras, which are defined by their respective qualities ofsadācāra - सदाचार (good conduct),śaurya - शौर्य (bravery),vyavasāya - व्यवसाय (trade and commerce), andsevā - सेवा (service). Instead, he introduces sixty-four additional classes based on the practice of sixty-fourkalas (arts). As ayogi, he believes in an inclusive order that goes beyond these class distinctions.[60]
sadacara-tattve brahmana vasanti | saurya ksatriyah | vyavasaye vaisyah | seva-bhave sudrah | catuh-sasti-kalasvapi catuh-sasti-varnah ||
Good conduct signifiesbrahmanas, braveryksatriyas, trade and commercevaisyas, servicesudras and the sixty-four arts sixty-four (additional)varnas.
— Chapter III: Verse 6
na vidhir-naiva varnas-ca na varjyavarjya-kalpana | na bhedo nidhanam kincin-nasaucam nodaka-kriya ||
yogisvaresvarasyaivam nitya-trptasya yoginah | cit-svatma-sukha-visrantibhava-labdhasya punyatah ||
To an eminentyogi who is ever contented and who has attained the state of bliss of consciousness by his own merit, to that lord of theyogis there are no (binding) injunctions, no (distinction of)varna, no (conception of) prohibition and non-prohibition, no distinction (of any sort), no death or impurity, nor any libation (enjoined).
— Chapter V: Verses 53-54
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