Gorakhnath | |
|---|---|
 Statue of Gorakhnath performing yogicmeditation inlotus position at Laxmangarh temple, India | |
| Personal life | |
| Flourished | 11th,12th, or 14th century |
| Known for | Hatha yoga,[1][2] Nath Yogi organisation, Guru, Gorakhpur |
| Honors | Mahayogi |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Founder of | Nath monasteries and temples |
| Philosophy | Hatha yoga |
| Sect | Nath Sampradaya (sect ofShaivism) |
| Religious career | |
| Guru | Matsyendranath |
Gorakhnath (also known asGoraksanath (Sanskrit:Gorakṣanātha),[3] c. early 11th century) was aHinduyogi,mahasiddha andsaint who was the founder of theNath Hindu monastic movement inIndia.[4] He is considered one of the two disciples ofMatsyendranath. His followers are known asJogi,Gorakhnathi,Darshani orKanphata.[5]
He was one of nine saints, orNavnath, and is known in Maharashtra, India.[6]Hagiographies describe him to be a person outside the laws of time who appeared on earth during different ages.[7] Historians agree that Gorakhnath lived sometime during the first half of the 2nd millennium CE, but there is some disagreement about which century he lived. Estimates based on archaeological and textual evidence range from Briggs' estimate of the 11th to 12th century[7] to Grierson's estimate of the 14th century.[8]
Gorakhnath is considered aMaha-yogi (or "great yogi") in Hindu tradition.[9] He did not emphasise a specific metaphysical theory or a particularTruth, but emphasised that the search for Truth and the spiritual life is a valuable and normal goal of man.[9] Gorakhnath championedYoga, spiritual discipline and an ethical life ofself liberation as a means to reachingsamadhi.[9]
Gorakhnath, his ideas, and his yogis have been popular in rural India, with monasteries and temples dedicated to him found in many states of India, particularly in the eponymous city ofGorakhpur.[10][11]
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Historians disagree on when Gorakhnath lived. Briggs estimates 11th to 12th century,[7] while Abbott argues thatBaba Farid documents andJnanesvari manuscripts place Gorakhnath in the 13th century.[12] Grierson, relying on evidence discovered in Gujarat, suggests the 14th century.[12] Gorakhnath is referenced in the poetry ofKabir and ofGuru Nanak ofSikhism, which describe him as a very powerful leader with a large following.[13]
Historical texts imply that Gorakhnath was aBuddhist in a region influenced by Shaivism, but then converted to Hinduism, championingShiva andYoga.[14] Gorakhnath led a life as an exponent of ideas of Kumarila andAdi Shankara that championed the Yogic andAdvaita Vedanta interpretation of the Upanishads.[15] Gorakhnath considered the controversy betweendualism andnondualism in medieval India as useless from a practical point of view. According to Banerjea, He emphasised that the choice is that of the yogi, and that spiritual discipline and practice by either path leads to "perfectly illumined samadhi state of the individual phenomenal consciousness."[16]
Thehagiography on Gorakhnath describe his appearance on earth several times.[7] The legends do not provide a birth time or place, and consider him to be superhuman.[17] North Indian hagiographies suggest he originated from northwest India (Punjab, with some mentioningPeshawar).[17] Other hagiographies inBengal andBihar suggest he originated from eastern region of India (Assam).[17]
Available hagiographies offer varying records of the spiritual descent of Gorakhnath. All nameAdinath andMatsyendranath as two teachers preceding him, though one account lists fivegurus preceding Adinath, and another lists six teachers between Matsyendranath and Gorakhnath. Current tradition has Adinath placed withShiva as the direct teacher ofMatsyendranath, who was himself the direct teacher of Gorakhnath.[18]
TheNath existed before Gorakhnath, however the writings and works attributed to Gorakhnath are an important part of the Nath Jogi/Yogi heritage. It has been purported[weasel words] that Gorakhnath wrote the first books onLaya yoga. In India there are many caves, many with temples built over them, where it is said that Gorakhnath spent time in meditation. According toBhagawan Nityananda, the samadhi shrine (tomb) of Gorakhnath is at Nath Mandir near theVajreshwari temple about one kilometre from Ganeshpuri,Maharashtra,India.[19] Legends state that Gorakhnath and Matsyendranath did penance in Kadri Temple at Mangalore, Karnataka. They were also instrumental in laying Shivlingam at Kadri and Dharmasthala.
The temple ofGorakhnath is situated on hill called Garbhagiri near Vambori, Tal Rahuri; Dist Ahmednagar. There is also a temple of Gorakhnath in the state of Odisha.
TheGorakhnath Math is a monastery of the Nath monastic group named after the medieval saint, Gorakhnath (c. 11th century), of the Nath sampradaya. The math and town ofGorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh is named after him. The monastery and the temple perform various cultural and social activities and serve as the cultural hub of the city. The monastery also publishes texts on the philosophy of Gorakhnath.[20]
A shrine existed at the site from older times which was converted into a mosque by Ala-ud-din Khilji.[21] A smaller shrine was built by Nath Sampraday's followers at a later time. Later additions were made in 18th, 19th and 20th century by devotees and yogis of the order. The math is situated in a Muslim majority area and is a centre of syncretism among devotees and visitors from diverse communal background.[22]
Some scholars associate the origins ofHatha yoga with theNath yogis, in particular Gorakhnath and his guruMatsyendranath.[2][23][24] According to BritishindologistJames Mallinson, this association is false.[23] In his view, the origins of hatha yoga should be associated with theDashanami Sampradaya ofAdvaita Vedanta[25] (Hinduism), the mystical figure ofDattatreya,[26] and theRāmānandīs.[27]
While the origins of Hatha yoga are disputed, according to Guy Beck, a professor of Religious Studies known for his studies on Yoga and music, "the connections between Goraknath, the Kanphatas and Hatha yoga are beyond question".[1]
According to Arvind-Pal Singh Mandair, a professor in Asian languages and cultures, the Gorakhnath orders were operating free community kitchens inPunjab before Guru Nanak founded Sikhism.[28][29] Gorakhnath shrines have continued to operate alangar and provide a free meal to pilgrims who visit.[30]
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TheGurkhas of Nepal take their name from Gorakhnath.[31]Gorkha, a historical district of Nepal, is also named after him. A cave exists in Gorkha with his paduka (footprints) and an idol.[32] Every year, on the day of Baisakh Purnima, a celebration known as Rot Mahotsav takes place in the cave; it has purportedly been celebrated for the last seven hundred years.[33][34]
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According to William Northey and John Morris, legend states that a disciple of Machendra by name Gorakhnath once visited Nepal and retired to a small hill near Deo Patan. There, he meditated in an unmovable state for twelve years. The locals built a temple in his honour there.[35]
Dang valley of Nepal, located in the south-west of the country close to India, is regarded as one of the historically significant place for the disciples of Gorakhnath for over 1300 years.[36] As per the legend, the king of Dang named Ratnaparikshak was initiated by Gorakhnath in the valley's forest and later became a famed siddha called Ratnanath, and built a temple. Ratnanath travelled across the sub-continent to spread the teachings ofHatha yoga.[37]
In theSiddhar tradition ofTamil Nadu, Gorakhnath is one of the 18 esteemedSiddhars of yore, and is also known asKorakkar.[38]SiddharAgastya andSiddharBhogar were hisgurus. There is a temple in Vadukku Poigainallur,Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu which specifically houses hisJeevaSamadhi.[39] According to one account, he spent much of his youth in theVelliangiri Mountains,Coimbatore.
There are various other shrines honouringKorakkar, including ones located inPerur,Thiruchendur andTrincomalee.Korakkar Caves are found in bothSathuragiri and theKolli Hills, where he is noted to have practised his sadhana. Like his colleagues, the 18Siddhars,Korakkar wrote crypticTamil poetry pertaining tomedicine,philosophy andalchemy. He was one of the first to usecannabis in his medicinal preparations for certain ailments; as a result, it gained the name Korakkar Mooligai (Korakkar's Herb).[40]
TheBengali Hindu community in the states ofWest Bengal,Tripura, andAssam, and the countryBangladesh have a sizeable number of people belonging to theNath Sampradaya, named asNath orYogi Nath, who have taken the name from Gorakhnath.[41][42] They were marginalised in Medieval Bengal.[43]
Romola Butalia, an Indian writer of Yoga history, lists the works attributed to Gorakhnath as including theGorakṣaśataka,Goraksha Samhita,Goraksha Gita,Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati,Yoga Martanda,Yoga Siddhanta Paddhati,Yogabīja,Yogacintamani.[citation needed]
TheSiddha Siddhanta Paddhati is aHatha Yoga Sanskrit text attributed to Gorakhnath by theNath tradition. According toFeuerstein (1991: p. 105), it is "one of the earliest hatha yoga scriptures, theSiddha Siddhanta Paddhati, contains many verses that describe theavadhuta" (liberated) yogi.[44][45]
TheSiddha Siddhanta Paddhati text is based on anadvaita (nonduality) framework, where the yogi sees "himself in all beings, and all in himself" including the identity of the individual soul (Atman) with the universal (Brahman).[31] This idea appears in the text in various forms, such as the following:
The four varna (castes) are perceived to be located in the nature of the individual, i.e. Brahmana insadacara (righteous conduct), Ksatriya insaurya (valor and courage), Vaisya invyavasaya (business), and Sudra inseva (service). A yogin experiences all men and women of all races and castes within himself. Therefore he has no hatred for anybody. He has love for every being.
— Gorakhnath,Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati III.6-8 (Translator: D Shastri)[46]
That these Nāth Yogīs were the originators and foremost exponents of haṭhayoga is a given of all historical studies of yoga. But these Yogīs were in fact the willing and complicit beneficiaries of the semantic confusion which has caught out White and many other scholars
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