Sayings of Gorakhnath presents a translation of late-medieval texts in Old Hindi, traditionally attributed to one of the founders of the Order of Nath Yogis. The Naths are associated with the creation and development of hatha yoga, with important historical and ideological links to Hindu tantra and alchemy. The texts gathered in this collection on the one hand provide a criticism of religious authority based on external knowledge lacking personal experience, while on the other hand they celebrate the path of yoga and its methods of engagement with the subtle body and its centres of occult energy and miraculous powers. The ultimate goal of the style of yoga described in the Sayings of Gorakhnath concerns the attainment of immortality and divinization of its adepts. This is achieved by redirecting the trajectory of the seminal fluid, which in the process transforms into the elixir, the amrt. In order to accomplish that goal, a regime of yogic practices is suggested, consisting of the assumption of a steady posture, breathing exercises, mantra chanting, and meditation. Djudjevic and Singh's translations are preceded by an introduction and accompanied by notes, which contextualize and elucidate the subject matter.

Sayings of Gorakhnath: Annotated Translation of the Gorakh Bani

Religion & Spirituality

Djurdjevic, Gordan

Singh, Shukdev

Hinduism

Oxford University Press

India has traditionally occupied an important place in the imaginary of Western Esotericism. India and the Occult examines the reception of Indian spirituality, in particular Yoga and Tantra, among western occultists. Whilst most scholarship has focused on the activities of the Theosophical Society, India and the Occult surveys the writings and activities of Aleister Crowley, Dion Fortune, Kenneth Grant, and the British sadhu known as Mahendranath Dadaji. India and the Occult analyses how these practitioners incorporation of Indian yogic and tantric traditions into Western occultism rests on the family resemblance between the two regional forms of esotericism. The book argues that the more radical approach to Eastern teachings taken by these occultists is essential for understanding the contemporary explosion of interest in Yoga and related disciplines.

India and the Occult: The Influence of South Asian Spirituality on Twentieth Century British Occultism (Approaches to New Religions)

Other Eastern Religions & Sacred Texts

Acumen Publishing

The Nath yogis, with their roots in the tantric milieu of medieval North India, are the instigators of haaha yoga. Their ultimate goal is the transmutation of sexual fluids into the elixir of immortality. The masters of this yoga are siddhas, the possessors of siddhis, the occult powers that culminate in deification. Scholars have noticed the importance of the occult and magic among the Naths, but these categories are rarely given appropriate theoretical considerations. The academic study of esotericism, conversely, directly engages the occult but often restricts itself to Western traditions. This study argues that there are advantages in applying the conceptual vocabulary and theoretical conclusions of esoteric studies to the scholarship on tantra and yoga. The model of esotericism is applied to the Nath yogis through a threefold thematic division of the subject matter: their understanding of body and sexuality, speech and rhetoric, and mind and ideology. Yoga is comparable to magic understood as a quest for power, based on the cultivated imagination and the principle of unions. The study concludes by suggesting that esotericism should be seen as a cross-cultural phenomenon.

Masters of Magical Powers

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Exercise & Fitness

VDM Verlag Dr. Mueller e.K.

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