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The Gorakhnath Enlightenment : The Path to Om
The Gorakhnath Enlightenment seeks to explore the teachings and philosophy of Gorakhnath, which form the backbone of yoga and the quest for immortality. While yoga is accessible to all, the path to becoming a true yogi is known only to a few. An esoteric practice, it requires years of learning, dedication, willpower and the thirst for a connection with the universal consciousness. This mystic science owes everything to two esoteric cults the Siddhas and the Buddhas, to Hatha Yoga and Buddhist Tantra. The philosophies, paths and deities of these two cults are intimately connected. A blend of these two paths can escalate an individual s consciousness and help one realise one s true potential. There are striking differences and similarities between these two cults, bound together by the heterogeneous spiritual thread of Gorakhnath, who devoted himself to the prolific knowledge of yoga and emerged as the greatest yogi ever.
312 pages, Paperback
Published January 10, 2019
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December 30, 2018
History w meaning
I chose to give this rating, just shy of perfection, for the enormous amount of work that was out into the creation of this book. It is a read of will, not of want. It's dry. It's educational. Siddhis should be granted for the completion of this book! No person can deny the dedication it took to complile and produce this history and ideological labor of love.
I chose to give this rating, just shy of perfection, for the enormous amount of work that was out into the creation of this book. It is a read of will, not of want. It's dry. It's educational. Siddhis should be granted for the completion of this book! No person can deny the dedication it took to complile and produce this history and ideological labor of love.
February 26, 2023
Book: The Gorakhnath Enlightenment: The Path to Om
Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (10 December 2018)
Language: English
Paperback: 312 pages
Item Weight: 399 g
Dimensions: 13.97 x 1.78 x 21.59 cm
Country of Origin: India
Price: 352/-
What an experience!!
Linguistically, the word nātha is concomitant with the Sanskrit root NĀTH, meaning “to have protectorate or power” but also “to entreat or demand.”
Nātha is also explained in old-fashioned sources consistent with a homiletic etymology. Thus the Rāja-guhya states that the syllable nā connotes the anādi (plainly “without origin”) — i.e., the primeval form, whereas the syllable tha connotes sthāpita, the “established.”
Nātha then would mean the primeval system or dharma recognized in the three worlds (bhuvana-trayam) according to this religious conjecture.
Most Naths are evidently Shaiva in alignment, but some Naths have assumed a more Vaishnava identity.
In numerous Nath texts, their principal God tends to be nirgunִa, a God without form who is basically inexpressible, a semi-monistic God.
In fact, a multifaceted web of manifold religious identities has been a constituting feature of the Nath Panth.
The history of the Nath Sampraday is not easy to reconstruct, in part because we cannot be sure that the exemplary Naths really lived (Matsyendra, Gorakh, Jalandhar, Chaurangi, etc.). Scholars tried to fix the year 800 CE as the emerging point. However, if the Nath legendary personalities existed at all, it is rather improbable that they lived at so early a date.
It is more reasonable to assume that the first Naths lived sometime between the 10th and the 11th century, in the northern part of the continent, somewhere between Punjab and Bengal.
Although some scholars have suggested, probably rightly, that a period of decline began in the 18th century, the Naths continue to occupy important sites in both North India and Nepal: Gorakhpur, Hardwar, and Mrigasthali in Kathmandu are just a few examples.
The following chapters make up this book:
I: Yogic and Tantric Gods and Goddesses
II: Gorakhnath: The Thread that Binds Shaivism and Vajrayana Buddhism
III: The Siddhas and the Buddhist Tradition
Tales and stories about legendary Nath yogis such as Gorakhnath, Matsyendra, Jalandhar, Gopicand, Bharthari, Kanhapa, and Chaurangi are still popular throughout most of South Asia. Contemporary Nath yogis who model their conduct on these earlier figures can still be seen in places such as Deccan, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Hardwar, Garhwal, Bihar, Bengal, Maharashtra, in addition to the pilgrimage sites in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tibet, and Nepal.
Traditionally, the ideal Nath yogi is considered to be a commanding miracle worker, an expert in controlling the senses and achieving a union with the Ultimate Reality, an individual proficient in exerting power over rulers and populace alike.
Present-day Nath yogis, however, are often regarded basically as storytellers, singers, and religious beggars.
There is evidence to indicate that some Naths began to marry and create their own families as long ago as around 1500 or even earlier. Pitambar Datt Barthwal and Hazariprasad Dvivedi have suggested that the famous fifteenth and sixteenth-century religious poet Kabir may have come from such a family.
This book speaks to its readers about an enigma called Gorakhnath.
Dig this:
Tan ki kundi manka sota, gyanki ragad lagaataa hai |
panch pachis base ghat bhitar, unku ghot pilata hai||
Agan kund se tapasi taape, tapasi taapsaa karataa hai|
pancho chela phire akela, alakh alakh kar japtaa hai||
Ek apsara saamne ubhi ji, duji surma ho saare hai |
tisari rambha sej bichave, parnyaa nahi hai kuvaaraa hai||
Parnya pahile puttur jaya, maat pitaa man bhaayaa hai|
sharan machindar gorakh bole, ek akhandi dhyaya hai||
The philosophy of Gorakhnath has been beautifully summarised in this bhajan. The story is an allegory of the spiritual journey of man. Gorakhnath is on a pilgrimage with his favourite disciple.
As dusk arrives, they decide to spend the night in a fort. But by the time they reach the fort, it is quite dark.
The fort is huge with a city situated inside it. But the temple in which they decide to stay, and also the houses around, do not show any signs of human activity. All the people seem to be in deep sleep.
The disciple asks the guru how it is that everyone seems to be sleeping. Why is even a single soul not awake? What if an enemy attacks? How will they fight?
The guru answers, “Well, both of us are awake, isn’t it? It is the same with our bodies. The Brahma inside is always awake and the body is always in deep sleep.”
It is a beautiful city and the guru and his disciple are felicitated and well-cared for. They are also requested to stay for a few more days. They have come to a lake for a bath.
Pointing to some lotuses the guru says to his disciple, “Look how the lotuses are blooming and inviting the bee to taste the nectar. There are many lotus buds which will also bloom tomorrow.
So the bee can have the nectar even tomorrow. But the bee is never tempted to settle there. Because he too, like us, is a wandering monk. Likewise, we should not be tempted to stay in this luxurious city. Our body is like this city, it has ten doors. 'Ten doors' implies the ten senses that we have.
The enemy can attack through any door. 'Enemies' here mean the temptations and the hurdles which hinder our worship. So the yogi has to be alert at all times. All the doors have to be well-guarded.”
There are other yogis who are staying in the temple. Preparations for the cannabis begin in the evening. The guru tells the disciple that our mind should be like the pestle and the body like the mortar underneath, so that the mind continuously analyses and assimilates the knowledge, and only then can true knowledge come to light.
The five elements are present in our bodies in a subtle form. They are divided into twenty-five subtler forms by which our bodies are formed. There is a part of our intellect and mind in each cell of our body. When the true knowledge which we assimilate is accepted by us totally, it enters the body cells and then the truth is fully gained.
At night, a yogi is seen meditating in front of a light. The guru explains to his disciple that the yogi is meditating in front of the sacred fire.
He is burning all his desires by awakening his inner radiance. He has five disciples which are his mind, intellect, ego, heart (chitta) and his speech. All of them are free to roam but they are told to chant “Alakh Alakh” continuously. Whatever is seen is not necessarily the truth.
One has to reach the delicate truth behind every aspect.
This is true in case of the senses too. “Alakh”means not to depend on the senses. Every time, whatever is seen or appears, is because there is a subtle truth that is working underneath the appearance.
One has to keep on trying to figure it out with the help of meditation and deep contemplation.
To sum up, one of the reasons why the Naths are so interesting is that historically they have been associated with a complex mix of competing ideals, practices, and soteriologies. Their outward features (earrings, turbans, matted hair, etc.) are mere ornaments that symbolize what it means to be a Nath yogi.
Many Naths are ascetic renouncers, but others are householders; some stay in temple monasteries but other spend most of their time on the road; most are devotees of Shiva but some worship this god in anthropomorphic form and others as a formless spirit; some may even combine Muslim and Nath identities.
The Nath Panth has been historically linked to several different religious movements in South Asia. Its origins are to be found in the tantric schools of diverse traditions (Shaiva, Shakta, Buddhist). As the Nath Panth became consolidated, it influenced, and was influenced by, several devotional movements, both in the north (especially with the Nirgunis) and in the south (with the Varkaris and Nayanars).
They even mixed with non-Hindu traditions such as Islam and Jainism.
These complex ideas have been exceptionally researched and analyzed in this book ……
I am indeed lucky to have been able to terminate my reviewer’s block with this book.
Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (10 December 2018)
Language: English
Paperback: 312 pages
Item Weight: 399 g
Dimensions: 13.97 x 1.78 x 21.59 cm
Country of Origin: India
Price: 352/-
What an experience!!
Linguistically, the word nātha is concomitant with the Sanskrit root NĀTH, meaning “to have protectorate or power” but also “to entreat or demand.”
Nātha is also explained in old-fashioned sources consistent with a homiletic etymology. Thus the Rāja-guhya states that the syllable nā connotes the anādi (plainly “without origin”) — i.e., the primeval form, whereas the syllable tha connotes sthāpita, the “established.”
Nātha then would mean the primeval system or dharma recognized in the three worlds (bhuvana-trayam) according to this religious conjecture.
Most Naths are evidently Shaiva in alignment, but some Naths have assumed a more Vaishnava identity.
In numerous Nath texts, their principal God tends to be nirgunִa, a God without form who is basically inexpressible, a semi-monistic God.
In fact, a multifaceted web of manifold religious identities has been a constituting feature of the Nath Panth.
The history of the Nath Sampraday is not easy to reconstruct, in part because we cannot be sure that the exemplary Naths really lived (Matsyendra, Gorakh, Jalandhar, Chaurangi, etc.). Scholars tried to fix the year 800 CE as the emerging point. However, if the Nath legendary personalities existed at all, it is rather improbable that they lived at so early a date.
It is more reasonable to assume that the first Naths lived sometime between the 10th and the 11th century, in the northern part of the continent, somewhere between Punjab and Bengal.
Although some scholars have suggested, probably rightly, that a period of decline began in the 18th century, the Naths continue to occupy important sites in both North India and Nepal: Gorakhpur, Hardwar, and Mrigasthali in Kathmandu are just a few examples.
The following chapters make up this book:
I: Yogic and Tantric Gods and Goddesses
II: Gorakhnath: The Thread that Binds Shaivism and Vajrayana Buddhism
III: The Siddhas and the Buddhist Tradition
Tales and stories about legendary Nath yogis such as Gorakhnath, Matsyendra, Jalandhar, Gopicand, Bharthari, Kanhapa, and Chaurangi are still popular throughout most of South Asia. Contemporary Nath yogis who model their conduct on these earlier figures can still be seen in places such as Deccan, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Hardwar, Garhwal, Bihar, Bengal, Maharashtra, in addition to the pilgrimage sites in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Tibet, and Nepal.
Traditionally, the ideal Nath yogi is considered to be a commanding miracle worker, an expert in controlling the senses and achieving a union with the Ultimate Reality, an individual proficient in exerting power over rulers and populace alike.
Present-day Nath yogis, however, are often regarded basically as storytellers, singers, and religious beggars.
There is evidence to indicate that some Naths began to marry and create their own families as long ago as around 1500 or even earlier. Pitambar Datt Barthwal and Hazariprasad Dvivedi have suggested that the famous fifteenth and sixteenth-century religious poet Kabir may have come from such a family.
This book speaks to its readers about an enigma called Gorakhnath.
Dig this:
Tan ki kundi manka sota, gyanki ragad lagaataa hai |
panch pachis base ghat bhitar, unku ghot pilata hai||
Agan kund se tapasi taape, tapasi taapsaa karataa hai|
pancho chela phire akela, alakh alakh kar japtaa hai||
Ek apsara saamne ubhi ji, duji surma ho saare hai |
tisari rambha sej bichave, parnyaa nahi hai kuvaaraa hai||
Parnya pahile puttur jaya, maat pitaa man bhaayaa hai|
sharan machindar gorakh bole, ek akhandi dhyaya hai||
The philosophy of Gorakhnath has been beautifully summarised in this bhajan. The story is an allegory of the spiritual journey of man. Gorakhnath is on a pilgrimage with his favourite disciple.
As dusk arrives, they decide to spend the night in a fort. But by the time they reach the fort, it is quite dark.
The fort is huge with a city situated inside it. But the temple in which they decide to stay, and also the houses around, do not show any signs of human activity. All the people seem to be in deep sleep.
The disciple asks the guru how it is that everyone seems to be sleeping. Why is even a single soul not awake? What if an enemy attacks? How will they fight?
The guru answers, “Well, both of us are awake, isn’t it? It is the same with our bodies. The Brahma inside is always awake and the body is always in deep sleep.”
It is a beautiful city and the guru and his disciple are felicitated and well-cared for. They are also requested to stay for a few more days. They have come to a lake for a bath.
Pointing to some lotuses the guru says to his disciple, “Look how the lotuses are blooming and inviting the bee to taste the nectar. There are many lotus buds which will also bloom tomorrow.
So the bee can have the nectar even tomorrow. But the bee is never tempted to settle there. Because he too, like us, is a wandering monk. Likewise, we should not be tempted to stay in this luxurious city. Our body is like this city, it has ten doors. 'Ten doors' implies the ten senses that we have.
The enemy can attack through any door. 'Enemies' here mean the temptations and the hurdles which hinder our worship. So the yogi has to be alert at all times. All the doors have to be well-guarded.”
There are other yogis who are staying in the temple. Preparations for the cannabis begin in the evening. The guru tells the disciple that our mind should be like the pestle and the body like the mortar underneath, so that the mind continuously analyses and assimilates the knowledge, and only then can true knowledge come to light.
The five elements are present in our bodies in a subtle form. They are divided into twenty-five subtler forms by which our bodies are formed. There is a part of our intellect and mind in each cell of our body. When the true knowledge which we assimilate is accepted by us totally, it enters the body cells and then the truth is fully gained.
At night, a yogi is seen meditating in front of a light. The guru explains to his disciple that the yogi is meditating in front of the sacred fire.
He is burning all his desires by awakening his inner radiance. He has five disciples which are his mind, intellect, ego, heart (chitta) and his speech. All of them are free to roam but they are told to chant “Alakh Alakh” continuously. Whatever is seen is not necessarily the truth.
One has to reach the delicate truth behind every aspect.
This is true in case of the senses too. “Alakh”means not to depend on the senses. Every time, whatever is seen or appears, is because there is a subtle truth that is working underneath the appearance.
One has to keep on trying to figure it out with the help of meditation and deep contemplation.
To sum up, one of the reasons why the Naths are so interesting is that historically they have been associated with a complex mix of competing ideals, practices, and soteriologies. Their outward features (earrings, turbans, matted hair, etc.) are mere ornaments that symbolize what it means to be a Nath yogi.
Many Naths are ascetic renouncers, but others are householders; some stay in temple monasteries but other spend most of their time on the road; most are devotees of Shiva but some worship this god in anthropomorphic form and others as a formless spirit; some may even combine Muslim and Nath identities.
The Nath Panth has been historically linked to several different religious movements in South Asia. Its origins are to be found in the tantric schools of diverse traditions (Shaiva, Shakta, Buddhist). As the Nath Panth became consolidated, it influenced, and was influenced by, several devotional movements, both in the north (especially with the Nirgunis) and in the south (with the Varkaris and Nayanars).
They even mixed with non-Hindu traditions such as Islam and Jainism.
These complex ideas have been exceptionally researched and analyzed in this book ……
I am indeed lucky to have been able to terminate my reviewer’s block with this book.
March 6, 2021
Really well put together. Very educational. Only down fall is at times it can get dry.
November 22, 2023
Would’ve liked more information about the Nath Sampradaya and the Navnaths within the realm of Sanatana Dharma, instead of digressing into Buddhism repeatedly.
The author here is more of a compiler than the former.
Expected more from this work. A tad disappointed in this regard. Also, it is offensive when the author refers to Hinduism as a cult.
The author here is more of a compiler than the former.
Expected more from this work. A tad disappointed in this regard. Also, it is offensive when the author refers to Hinduism as a cult.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews