{"id":1032,"date":"2025-03-04T16:05:54","date_gmt":"2025-03-04T16:05:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/?p=1032"},"modified":"2025-03-04T16:08:09","modified_gmt":"2025-03-04T16:08:09","slug":"an-example-of-synthesising-elements-of-several-traditions%ef%bf%bc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/?p=1032","title":{"rendered":"An example of synthesising elements of several traditions."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I am very impressed by the figure and works of one yogi<\/em>, about whom there are many legends exist. This is a siddhapuru\u1e63a<\/em>, who is known among the N\u0101thas<\/em> as K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47an\u0101th<\/em> or K\u0101n\u012bpn\u0101th<\/em>. In Maharashtra, he is revered as one of the Nine<\/em> N\u0101thas<\/em>, who are the Nine manifestations of Narayana<\/em>, he is known as Prabuddha Narayana<\/em>. There is a lot of similar and at the same time contradictory information about him. For example, he was a k\u0101p\u0101lika<\/em> and practiced the methods of Vajrayana in Bengal. K\u0101nhapa<\/em> is also known as K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47\u0101c\u0101rya<\/em> among Buddhists, and he is a very significant teacher of the Hevajra and Cakrasamvara Tantra<\/em> practices. He contributed a lot to the development of such a practice as tummo<\/em>, which became fundamental in the practices of the completion stage (Yoga of Naropa<\/em>). In \u015aaiva-\u015aakta<\/em> yoga<\/em> this is the practice of Ku\u1e47\u1e0dalini-yoga<\/em>, which is in many ways identical to the tummo<\/em> methods. In this regard, he was in many ways a follower of the same methods practiced by his guru<\/em>, Jalandharn\u0101th<\/em>, who was significant for both the N\u0101thas<\/em> and the Buddhists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Ha\u1e6dha-yoga-prad\u012bpik\u0101<\/em> we find a description of the stages of “untying” the knots (granthi<\/em>), which is accompanied by different types of bliss, such as \u0101nanda<\/em>, param\u0101nanda<\/em>, viram\u0101nanda<\/em> and sahaj\u0101nanda<\/em>. This is accompanied by the experience of different emptinesses, such as \u015b\u016bnya<\/em>, ati\u015b\u016bnya<\/em>, mah\u0101\u015b\u016bnya<\/em>, sarva\u015b\u016bnya<\/em>. All these experiences of bliss and emptiness are the goal of the practices of I am very impressed by the figure and works of one yogi<\/em>, about whom there are many legends exist. This is a siddhapuru\u1e63a<\/em>, who is known among the N\u0101thas<\/em> as K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47an\u0101th<\/em> or K\u0101n\u012bpn\u0101th<\/em>. In Maharashtra, he is revered as one of the Nine<\/em> N\u0101thas<\/em>, who are the Nine manifestations of Narayana<\/em>, he is known as Prabuddha Narayana<\/em>. There is a lot of similar and at the same time contradictory information about him. For example, he was a k\u0101p\u0101lika<\/em> and practiced the methods of Vajrayana in Bengal. K\u0101nhapa<\/em> is also known as K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47\u0101c\u0101rya<\/em> among Buddhists, and he is a very significant teacher of the Hevajra and Cakrasamvara Tantra<\/em> practices. He contributed a lot to the development of such a practice as tummo<\/em>, which became fundamental in the practices of the completion stage (Yoga of Naropa<\/em>). In \u015aaiva-\u015aakta<\/em> yoga<\/em> this is the practice of Ku\u1e47\u1e0dalini-yoga<\/em>, which is in many ways identical to the tummo<\/em> methods. In this regard, he was in many ways a follower of the same methods practiced by his guru<\/em>, Jalandharn\u0101th<\/em>, who was significant for both the N\u0101thas<\/em> and the Buddhists. All these experiences of bliss and emptiness are the goal of the practices of Ku\u1e47\u1e0dalini-yoga<\/em> or tummo<\/em> (Ca\u1e47\u1e0d\u0101l\u012b<\/em>). In his commentaries on the Hevajra Tantra<\/em>, describing these experiences of bliss, K\u0101nhapa<\/em> identifies the special state of sahaj\u0101nanda<\/em> with the state of mah\u0101mudr\u0101<\/em>, as the peak of realisation in the completion stage.

Besides K\u0101nhapa<\/em> we find the state of sahaj\u0101nanda<\/em> praised by Matsyendran\u0101th<\/em> in the Akulav\u012bratantra<\/em>, by Gorak\u1e63an\u0101tha<\/em> in the Amanaska-yoga<\/em>, in the Amaraugha-prabodha<\/em>, etc. K\u0101nhapa<\/em> seems to have been a very important figure in what was formerly known as Sahajayana<\/em>, the Sahaja<\/em> practice followed by him, as well as Matsyendran\u0101th<\/em>, Gorak\u1e63an\u0101tha<\/em> and other \u015aaivas<\/em> and Buddhist yogis<\/em>. Their methods seem to have had a great influence later on the Vai\u1e63\u1e47ava sahajiyas<\/em>, also on one of their branches, the Baul<\/em> tradition. As one of the gurus<\/em> in Bengal explained to me, the meaning of the term comes from \u2018Ba<\/em>\u2019 (Va<\/em> \u2013 v\u0101yu<\/em>) and \u2018Ul<\/em>\u2019 (ulta<\/em> \u2013 back), the reverse direction of pr\u0101\u1e47a<\/em>, i.e. inward, into the central channel, the su\u1e63um\u1e47a<\/em>. They told me that the practice of pr\u0101\u1e47\u0101y\u0101ma<\/em> is also very important to them.

Matsyendran\u0101th<\/em>, Jalandharn\u0101th<\/em> and K\u0101nhapa<\/em> all practiced the methods of v\u0101mam\u0101rga<\/em> (pa\u00f1camak\u0101ra<\/em>–sevana<\/em>, karma-mudr\u0101<\/em>, etc.), the purpose of which is to awaken the Ku\u1e47\u1e0dalini<\/em> \u015aakti<\/em>. From an interreligious dialogue with Australia\u2019s most renowned researcher of Kashmir<\/em> \u015aaivism<\/em>, John Dupushe, we discovered in the Vij\u00f1\u0101nabhairava-tantra<\/em> (\u015aloka<\/em> 68) and commentaries on it that the expansion of pr\u0101\u1e47a<\/em> is directly related to sexual energy. Therefore, the practices of prana expansion (pr\u0101\u1e47\u0101y\u0101ma<\/em>) and kaul\u0101c\u0101ra<\/em> have very deep connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

K\u0101nhapa<\/em> wrote many verses, charyapadas<\/em> and dohas<\/em>, related to Sahajayana<\/em>. In some Bengali texts (the Gorakhbijay<\/em> and the M\u012bnacetan<\/em>), the appearance of K\u0101n\u012bp\u0101<\/em> is described as part of the universal genesis process. I think this is a reproduction of the meaning similar to Puru\u1e63as\u016bktam<\/em> of the \u1e5aigveda<\/em>. It talks about the original puru\u1e63a<\/em>, from which the entire universe emerged, and from the parts of his body \u2013 different forms of living beings. Matsyendran\u0101th<\/em> appeared from the navel of Adin\u0101th<\/em>, Gorak\u1e63an\u0101th<\/em>  \u2013 from the hair, H\u0101\u1e0dip\u0101<\/em> (Jalandharn\u0101th<\/em>) \u2013 from the bones, Chaurangin\u0101th<\/em>  \u2013 from the feet, K\u0101nhapa<\/em> (K\u0101n\u012bp\u0101<\/em>) appeared from the ears. Although, in the myths of Maharashtra it is about the ear of an elephant in the Him\u0101layas<\/em>. It is clear that this is symbolism, \u0449therwise, where would elephants come from in the Him\u0101layas<\/em>?)) All Nine<\/em> N\u0101thas<\/em> revered in Maharashtra, according to legends, are “ayonija<\/em>“, i.e. they were not born from the womb of ordinary women. They are born from different natural objects, i.e. self-manifested (svayambh\u016b<\/em>). I think this all goes back to the worship of nature by the \u0100div\u0101s\u012bs<\/em> in India. Also, many gods are associated with natural forces in Vedism. All this should be understood as symbols of energies, natural elements, through which \u015aakti<\/em> and Brahman<\/em> manifest in different forms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although there is information about the birth of K\u0101n\u012bpn\u0101th<\/em>, which will cause less skepticism in the minds of Western people, for example, that he was born in Somapura<\/em> (Bangladesh).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, there is a version that he was born in the South India, that his skin was dark in color, therefore he was called K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47an\u0101th<\/em>. However, he truly had many names: K\u0101\u1e47er\u012bp\u0101<\/em>, Pa\u1e47\u1e0ditac\u0101rya<\/em>, Yogasiddh\u0101c\u0101rya<\/em>, K\u0101n\u012bp\u0101<\/em>, K\u0101nhapa<\/em>, Up\u0101dhy\u0101ya<\/em>, Kana\u1e0d\u0101p\u0101<\/em>. Sant Kab\u012br<\/em> wrote that Bhart\u1e5bhari<\/em> received much inspiration on the path of yoga from K\u0101n\u012bp\u0101<\/em>. Of course, I have mentioned only a small part of what this yogi<\/em> is famous for. There is much that is valuable and inspiring about him, his teachings, and practices in n the Hindi and Sanskrit literature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am very impressed by the figure and works of one yogi, about whom there are many legends exist. This is a siddhapuru\u1e63a, who is known among the N\u0101thas as K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47an\u0101th or K\u0101n\u012bpn\u0101th. In Maharashtra, he is revered as one … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[343],"tags":[356,352,358,357,349,350,353,347,344,290,346,359,326,293,355,348,351,361,354,360,345],"class_list":["post-1032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-kanipnath","tag-baul","tag-jalandharnath","tag-kanaapa","tag-kaeripa","tag-kanhapa","tag-kanipnath","tag-kapalika","tag-kacarya","tag-kanath","tag-kualini-2","tag-nava-nathas","tag-paitacarya","tag-sahaja","tag-sahajananda","tag-sahajayana","tag-saiva-sakta","tag-tummo","tag-upadhyaya","tag-yoga-of-naropa","tag-yogasiddhacarya","tag-yogi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1032"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1035,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1032\/revisions\/1035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/matsyendranatha.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}