Category Archives: nātha

The main meaning of Kuṇḍalas among Nāthas.

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When speaking about emptiness (śūnya), the very first thing that comes to mind in connection with the Nāthas is the ślokas from the Siddha-siddhānta-paddhati (Upadeśa 6, Śloka 9):

चित्प्रकाशपरानन्दौ यस्य वै कुण्डलद्वयम्।

That whose two kuṇḍalas are the light of consciousness and the supreme bliss, whose rosary is the calmness of the gaze (immersed in the Ātman), is called avadhūta.

It is about the earrings, which are often called “kuṇḍala, darśana, mudrā”, are spoken of as the light of the highest consciousness (citprakāśa) and the highest bliss (parānanda). It can be said that out of 36 tattvas of Śivadarśana, these are the two highest principles of Citśakti or Prakāśa (Śiva) and Ānanda Śakti (Vimarśa or Śakti, reflecting the greatness of Śiva). Judging by the mantra associated with the kuṇḍalas of the Nāthas, the power of space, khecarī or the heavenly power (spatial) and the earthly bhūcarī are mentioned there. Mudrā in one of the interpretations from the basis “mud” – ‘to mix,’ ‘to connect,’ i.e. that which unites the main polarities. This can be the fusion of japa and ajapa, prāṇa and āpaṇa, sun and moon, nāda (vibration) and anāda (silence), Śiva and Śakti, śunya (emptiness) and pūrṇatā (fullness, abundance) in oneself. In essence, this level of realisation implies the realisation of the fusion of the main polarities and being in a state above which there is nothing (anuttara). Here, of course, we are not talking about just a piercing, which even hippies can do for themselves, the value is only in the “piercing”, “absorption” of the basic elements in each other. Such a yogi, right in the place where he is, can gain knowledge of everything that is in the “brahmāṇḍa” (macrocosm). Physically, kuṇḍalas can be made of different materials, they can symbolise alchemical principles (internal alchemy), but this is already beyond the scope of a short explanation. Internal alchemy is what a realised Guru teaches spiritually matured students and, in any case, the basis of everything is the fusion of polarities, i.e. the realisation of yoga.

Interesting etymology of the term “karṇa” according to Yāska

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Looking through Yāska’s work, I found another interesting point related to the interpretation of the word “karṇa” (कर्ण – an ear), which, in my opinion, very clearly indicates the rite of “kaṇ-chira” – one of the the Nātha saṃskāras.

कर्णः कृन्ततेः। निकृत्तद्वारो भवति ।

Karṇa (an ear) comes from the root कृत् “krit” (to cut through), this is cutting a hole.

The rite of karṇa-vedhana (piercing the earlobes) is included in the Vedic saṃskāras, along with receiving the sacred thread, etc., so it is not surprising that there is such a definition here. However, Yāska further gives another version:

ऋच्छतेरित्याग्रायणः ।

“Ricchha” means “to move,” says Āgrāyaṇa (ācārya).

ऋच्छन्तीव खे उदगन्ताम् ।

Just as if there was movement in space (sound or nada).

In the śābar-mantra of the Nāthas, for the “kuṇḍala” (earrings) that are worn during such a ritual, it refers to the sound vibration “nada” and its connection with khecarī–mudrā, but in the context of the fact that the sound “moves” in ākāśa (space). At the end it is said that above the ears of Gorakṣanāth is ākāśa, and below them is the earth, i.e. he is an image of the confluence of these polarities. He combines (mudrā) khecarī and bhūcarī (Śakti in the manifest world and in emptiness).

I would also like to note that the Sun and Moon are luminaries that constantly move in space, just like the Earth itself with the Moon, rotating around it and reflecting the light of the Sun. All these movements are time (kalā), which is sometimes translated as “death” in Sanskrit. Therefore, one who has gone beyond polarity and time comprehends the reality of immortality beyond the manifest and the unmanifest. The Gorakṣa-siddhānta-saṅgraha says that the true Brahman in this sense is beyond dvaita and advaita, bheda and abheda, etc., which Gorakṣanāth calls “Pakṣapāta-vinirmukta”.

About the “tantrikas”, saying that Yoga is “the path of paśu”.

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I have translated a short passage from the Rudrayamalatantra Uttarakāṇḍa, dedicated to those “tantrikas”, who criticise the Yoga path:

श्वासाभ्यासं विना नाथ अष्टाङ्गाभ्यसनेन च ।
विना दमेन धैर्येण कुलमार्गो न सिद्ध्यति ॥१६-३६॥

O Nātha, without the breathing practice along with the practice of the eight limbs [of yoga];
Without control and stability, there will be no perfection in the Kula path. (16-36)

तथा पूरकयोगेन रेचकेनापि तिष्ठति ।
विना कुम्भकसत्त्वेन यथैतौ नापि तिष्ठतः॥१६-३७॥ 

The same is true with inhalation and exhalation.
Without the essence of holding [breathing], these two are also unstable. (16-37)

तथा योगं विना नाथ अष्टाङ्गाभ्यसनं विना ।
कुलमार्गो महातत्त्वो न सिद्ध्यति कदाचन ॥१६-३८॥ 

O Nātha, also without yoga, without practicing its eight parts.
The Kula path will never be successful in the highest essence. (16-38)

कुलमार्गं विना मोक्षं कः प्राप्नोति महीतले ।
कुलमार्गं न जानाति योगवाक्यागमाकुलम् ॥१६-३९॥ 

How can one achieve spiritual liberation on this earth without the Kula path who knows neither the path of kula, nor the doctrine of yoga, nor the kaula-agama? (16-39)

The Amṛtasiddhi as a Nātha text

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Not long ago student of mine sent me a curious article by Kurtis R. Schaeffer The Attainment of immortality: from Nāthas in India to buddhists in Tibet. It is dedicated to a text, which James Mallinson identified as ‘buddhist one’, which is, in my opinion, not quite correct. I also find his another claim, when during an online interview he said that the Haṭha-yoga-pradīpikā is the Vīraśaiva text only because Allama Prabhudeva is mentioned there, to be also incorrect. An attempt to take only one name related to Vīraśaivism from a huge number of listed names, ignoring all the others, and attribute the whole text to Vīraśaiva, seems very strange to me. Especially when the text itself is quite distant from the main doctrine of Vīraśaivism and its goals. The same thing is with the text Amṛtasiddhi, a conclusion that this is a Buddhist text is based on the fact that it contains several Buddhist elements, at the same time completely ignoring the huge number of Śaiva elements. This text is more Nātha related, and Virūpakṣanāth (one of the famous Nāthas) could add some elements from Buddhism there. I believe that texts of this kind should be judged primarily by the number of prevailing elements of a particular tradition. And it is obvious there, that the elements of Nāthism are dominant. But for me, even without reading the article, it is clear that the text is not Buddhist, not least because there was the Mahāmudrā practice in Buddhism in those times and it was not in the form of haṭha-yoga practice. All Vajrayāna Buddhists perfectly understand what it is. So what was the point in calling completely different levels of practice in Vajrayāna with the same term? Here is another example from the Amṛtasiddhi:

म्रियन्ते मेरुवेधेन  ब्रह्माद्या देवता ध्रुवम्
आदौ संजायते क्षिप्रं वेधो ऽयं ब्रह्मग्रन्थितः॥

mriyante meruvedhena  brahmādyā devatā dhruvam 
ādau saṃjāyate kṣipraṃ vedho ‘yaṃ brahmagranthitaḥ॥

By piercing Meru (suṣumnā with prāṇa), Brahma and other Gods are getting killed.
First, this (prāṇa) quickly pierces the Brahma-granthi (Brahma knot).

ब्रह्मग्रन्थिं ततो भित्त्वा विष्णुग्रन्थिं भिनत्यसौ
विष्णुग्रन्थिं ततो भित्त्वा रुद्रग्रन्थिं भिनत्यसौ ॥

brahmagranthiṃ tato bhittvā viṣṇugranthiṃ bhinatyasau
viṣṇugranthiṃ tato bhittvā rudragranthiṃ bhinatyasau॥

Thus, when the Brahma-granthi is pierced, the Viṣṇu-granthi (Viṣṇu knot) is pierced.
When the Viṣṇu-granthi is pierced, the Rudra-granthi (Rudra knot) is pierced.

रुद्रग्रन्थिं ततो भित्त्वा छित्वा मोहमयीं लताम्
उद् घाटयत्ययं  वायुर्ब्रह्मद्वारं सुगोपितम् ॥

rudragranthiṃ tato bhittvā chitvā mohamayīṃ latām 
ud ghāṭayatyayaṃ  vāyurbrahmadvāraṃ sugopitam ॥

Thus, piercing the Rudra-granthi, the “vines of illusion” (the intricacies of Māyā) are getting cut off. Further, ascending upward, Vāyu (air) penetrates into the super secret, Brahmadvāra (the door of Brahma).

The question is, what is so ‘Buddhist’ in these images of Purāṇic Devatās, and where in Buddhism such names of granthas are being mentioned?

There are also many other arguments in the article, for example, mentions of jīvanmukti, when a practitioner is likened to Śiva in yogic realisation etc. That is why I consider the statement of attribution of the text to Buddhism to be incorrect. Of course, some borrowings could come to Indian yoga or tantra from Buddhism, but we also have to consider the main goals of different sampradāyas. For instance, we cannot call Pancharātra ‘a yogic tradition’, if it is in fact a Vaiṣṇava bhakti oriented sect full of its specific karma–kāṇḍa etc. If I take, let’s say, Yogi Bhajan’s Kundalini-yoga and claim that it belongs to a Sikh tradition, it will be an incorrect statement. Even if you find a Sikh lineage Sant Mat, where meditation on light and sound is practiced, it doesn’t make it the main practice of the whole tradition. And again, we cannot conclude from this that it is the rationale for what Yogi Bhajan developed while living in California. Just as it is not entirely accurate to say that the Ashtanga Vinyasa style is a ‘tradition’, it is more correct to say that it is rather a modern yoga style. It could be called a tradition being spread in the West on the condition Iyengar or Pattabhi Jois would have transmitted the same sacred threads (janeū), which they had from their Gurus – to their students. Which didn’t happen, and most likely couldn’t have happened. But, if this did happen, I doubt that such disciples would have the same discipline and practice that they exercise on masse today. And although these teachers were good innovators, we should not confuse a style and gymnastic exercises with dīkṣā, discipleship, nitya sādhanā and etc. For those who want to seriously understand these things, I highly recommend taking these factors into account, although there are actually a lot of them.