Insight Editions · No. 345
Philosophy of Gorakhnath
with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha
Akshaya Kumar Banerjea
Banerjea's classic exposition of Nath philosophy: the Absolute as Siva one with His own Sakti, the cosmic and individual bodies, Kundalini, Nada and Samarasya. All twenty chapters, a verse-by-verse reading of the Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha and a graded practice path.
A study guide to Philosophy of Gorakhnath by Akshaya Kumar Banerjea. Shared free for personal reading; not for sale and not endorsed by the author or publishers. Please read and buy the original.
CORE CLAIM
The Nameless Absolute, Para-Siva, is one with its own Nija-Sakti. That Power unfolds into the cosmic and individual bodies, so the human body holds the whole cosmos and the way back. Yoga is Samarasa-karana: tasting one Reality in all things.
SCOPE
The three prefatory essays, the Introduction, all twenty chapters, a verse-by-verse reading of the 172-verse Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha, the glossary and a master synthesis: about 80,000 words.
KEY FIGURES
Gorakhnath and Adinatha Siva; Matsyendranath; Gopinath Kaviraj, C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar and Sampurnanand; Krishna, Vyasa, Buddha, Mahavira, Kumarila, Sankara, the Bhakti acaryas and Ramakrishna.
BEST FOR
Readers who want the whole Nath system in one ordered study text: Sakti-vada against Maya-vada, the Pinda doctrine, Kundalini, Nada and Ajapa, and a graded practice path that keeps advanced work under a Guru.
How to Use This Guide
This guide is written for a serious reader who wants to absorb the book, not just skim it. It follows the book's own order, the three introductory essays, the Introduction, twenty chapters and two appendices, and for each part it gives:
- The core argument: what the author is trying to establish, in the order he establishes it.
- Detailed teaching notes: the main ideas unpacked one by one, with the Sanskrit technical terms explained.
- Insights: what is distinctive, subtle or easy to miss, and how the idea connects to the rest of the system.
- Key terms: a mini-glossary for the chapter.
- Reflection and practice: questions and contemplative exercises that turn the reading into sadhana, which is how Gorakhnath himself would want philosophy to be used.
Two warnings before starting. First, Banerjea writes in a long, cumulative, repetitive style, he states an idea, restates it from three angles, and returns to it chapters later. This guide compresses that repetition but keeps every distinct idea. Second, the book's Sanskrit passages were badly damaged in the scanned edition; where the original verses are unreadable, this guide works from Banerjea's English renderings and his transliterations. The Sanskrit anthology in Appendix I was read directly from the printed page images and is paraphrased verse by verse.
The Shape of the Whole Book in One Page
The book has a simple architecture once you see it:
- Method (Introduction, Ch. I–IV). Why a Yogi's knowledge differs from a philosopher's; who Gorakhnath was; what the source text (Siddha-Siddhanta-Paddhati) contains; how a realised Yogi forms a "conception" of what he has directly experienced.
- The Absolute (Ch. V–VII). Reality as Sat-Cit-Ananda, but dynamic; Para-Samvit with its own inherent Power (Nija-Sakti); Siva and Sakti in eternal, inseparable union.
- Cosmogony (Ch. VIII–XII). How the Power of the Absolute unfolds in stages, the five-fold Sakti, the five-fold Para-Pinda, the Cosmic Body of Siva, the evolution of world-systems, and the descent into individual bodies.
- The Body as Spiritual Field (Ch. XIII–XV). The constitution of the human body; nine cakras, sixteen adharas, three lakshyas, five vyomas; the cosmos within the body. This is where Nath philosophy and Hatha-yoga meet.
- The Soul and the Goal (Ch. XVI–XVII). Individual souls and their relation to the Cosmic Soul; the supreme ideal of life, Samarasya, Avadhuta-hood, Jivanmukti with a perfected body.
- Context (Ch. XVIII–XIX). The whole evolution of Hindu spiritual culture, Vedic, Upanishadic, Buddhist, Sankhya, Gita, Puranic, Agamic, Bhakti, medieval and modern, placing Nathism in that story.
- Conclusion (Ch. XX). The seven-fold message of Hinduism, Samarasa-karana as Gorakhnath's definition of Yoga, the eight limbs reshaped, and Siva-Sakti worship as a universal religion.
- Source texts (Appendix I and II). The Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha, 172 Sanskrit verses of Gorakhnath's sayings, and an English-Sanskrit glossary.
- Master Synthesis (end of this guide). A one-page map of the system, a graded practice path and key takeaways.
The single thread through all of it is one word: Samarasya, the "one-taste" unity in which Siva and Sakti, the transcendent and the manifest, spirit and body, the individual and the cosmic, are realised as one, not by denying either side but by their mutual interpenetration.
Why This Book Matters
Most popular images of Gorakhnath are of a wonder-working Hatha-yogi, the founder of the Kanphata (split-ear) order, the hero of legends with Matsyendranath. Banerjea's achievement is to show that behind the techniques there is a fully thought-out metaphysics, comparable in depth to Kashmir Saivism and Advaita Vedanta, yet with its own distinctive stance:
- The world is not illusion (against Mayavada); it is the real, free self-expression of the Absolute's own Power.
- The body is not a prison to be discarded; it is the microcosm of the cosmic body and can be transformed into a deathless body of light (Kaya-siddhi).
- The goal is not isolation of spirit from matter (against Sankhya and classical Yoga), nor the void (against some Buddhist schools), but the integral union of both.
- Philosophy is valued, but only as a discipline that prepares the mind to go beyond itself.
If you take one thing from this guide, let it be this: for Gorakhnath, the Absolute is not only to be known; it is to be become, in mind, in heart, and in the very cells of the body.
The Three Introductory Essays
The book opens with three short pieces by eminent figures of 1960s India. They are worth reading closely because each one frames the book differently, and together they anticipate most of the issues the main text raises.
Foreword by C. P. Ramaswami Aiyar (29 October 1961)
Ramaswami Aiyar, the statesman and former Dewan of Travancore, gives a reader's summary of the book. His points worth retaining:
- Same goal, different approach. The Yogi and the philosopher seek the same ultimate truth, but the philosopher's approach is intellectual, while the Yogi's is intuitive and spiritual. The Yogi does not need hypotheses and theories; his quest is direct experience on a higher plane.
- Samadhi is not "experience" in the usual sense. Aiyar notes that the word "experience" is itself inaccurate, because in Samadhi there is no relation between experiencer and experienced. The Yogi who returns from Samadhi may not have attained final Kaivalya, but he is illuminated, and if he teaches, he translates his experience into forms ordinary people can grasp.
- Gorakhnath did not indulge in controversial metaphysics. His teaching rests on experience "beyond the domain of mind and intellect."
- The book's main source is the Siddha-Siddhanta-Paddhati, written partly in aphorisms and partly as discourse, organised into Upadesas (lessons). Aiyar lists its sequence: the Supreme Spirit manifesting as the universe; the yogic centres of the body and Kaya-siddhi; identity of individual and cosmic body; the function of Sakti; unification; and the conduct of the Avadhuta.
- The problem of evil, Aiyar notes, is resolved in the book only through full realisation of "Tat tvam asi", that thou art.
- He highlights the later chapters: Buddha's teachings, Sankhya, the contrast of Pravritti-marga (path of action), Nivritti-marga (path of renunciation) and Bhakti-marga, the Gita, Vyasa and Valmiki, the Puranas, Siva-Sakti-vada and Brahma-Sakti-vada, the divine couples (Narayana–Lakshmi, Krishna–Radha, Rama–Sita), and the rationale of image worship.
- The closing message, in his reading: a comprehensive synthesis of Karma, Jnana, Yoga and Bhakti, and harmony of religious faiths based on the underlying unity of all true faith.
Aiyar treats the book as a work of synthesis, Bhakti "not irreconcilable" with Jnana. That is exactly the right lens. Banerjea is not a sectarian Nath apologist; he is using Gorakhnath as a vantage point from which the whole of Hindu spirituality can be seen as one.
Prefatory Note by Gopinath Kaviraj: The Key to the Whole Book
This is the most technically important of the three introductions, and it is easy to skip because it is dense. Do not skip it. Gopinath Kaviraj (1887–1976) was the greatest Tantric scholar of modern India, and in a few pages he gives the deepest statement in the whole volume of what Nath realisation actually is.
Samarasya: the defining ideal
Kaviraj says the supreme ideal of Yoga-sadhana in the Nath school differs essentially from Patanjali, from earlier and some later Buddhist systems, and even to a great extent from Sankara's Vedanta. It is closest to the non-dualistic Agamic (Tantric) systems. This ideal is described in one word: Samarasya.
Samarasya means the obliteration of all traces of difference, but:
- not by transcendence, as in Sankhya (where Purusha isolates itself from Prakriti);
- not by sublation, as in Vedantic Mayavada (where the world is shown to be unreal, as the rope-snake is negated);
- but by a positive process of mutual interpenetration.
This is the single most important distinction in the book. In Sankhya, you get free by separating. In Mayavada, you get free by seeing that the second thing was never really there. In Nathism, you get free by letting the two interpenetrate until they are one taste (sama-rasa). Siva and Sakti, Purusha and Prakriti, are not escaped from or cancelled; they are fused.
The attainment of this ideal is the Supreme Unity of Parama Siva, in which Siva and Sakti are "one undivided and indivisible Whole." In Sakta language it is Mahasakti; for the Avadhuta Yogis it is Samata (equality, sameness); logically it is the unification of Tattva and Tattvatita, "the One and the Beyond."
Samarasya across traditions
Kaviraj shows the ideal is pan-Indian and even universal:
- In Kalachakra Tantric Buddhism, the union of Prajna (wisdom) and Upaya (means), called Vajrayoga, is the state of supreme oneness (he quotes the Hevajra Tantra).
- Among the Vira Saivas (Lingayats) it is Samarasya-Bhakti, the self-luminous unity of delight, expounded in Mayideva's Anubhava-Sutra and Prabhudeva's works.
- The Svacchanda Tantra describes seven grades of unification culminating in supreme Samarasya.
- Svatantrananda Natha, author of the Matrika-Cakra-Viveka, describes Samarasya between Cit and Acit, consciousness and unconsciousness, which neutralise each other and appear as one. His example: a single picture that looks like an elephant to one onlooker and a bull to another, one reality, two readings, depending on viewpoint.
- In some Tantric lineages (the Ardhakali line), the two twelve-syllable mantras of the Guru-Paduka represent Unmani (upward movement toward the Supreme Purusha) and Samani (the Supreme Prakriti descending from the glance of Para-Brahman and flooding the Purusha with delight). The upward and downward triangles of the six-pointed star (Shatkona) are their union, symbolised by the twelve-petalled lotus above the pericarp of the thousand-petalled lotus. The "third Paduka," the higher one, is the integration of the two lower ones, Self-luminous Siva and Self-reflecting Sakti, as Samarasya.
- Even the Christian Trinity, Kaviraj suggests, is a partial manifestation of this truth. He cites St. Teresa's intellectual vision of the three Persons as one substance, and Henry Suso (disciple of Meister Eckhart) on the union of the soul with God: "I shall be they and they shall be I," and "the essence of the soul is united with the essence of the Nothing."
How the Nath Yogi reaches Samarasya: the sequence
Kaviraj gives a precise sequence:
- The true process begins only when the Sadguru's grace has produced mental quiet (citta-visranti). Nothing real can start while the mind is disturbed by identification with the body.
- With the mind at rest, Divine Bliss and the experience of pure infinite glory dawn on the soul "awakened from its age-long slumber." Duality disappears in undifferentiated light.
- This awakened universal consciousness produces perfect knowledge of the Yogi's own body, which leads to the illumination and stabilisation of that body. The body becomes immortal and immune from time. The Yogi is now a Siddha (adept).
- This luminous form, the essence of Caitanya, must then be made one with the uncreated universal light of Paramapada already revealed, through continuous investigation into the nature of Atma.
- Samarasya must become permanent, not momentary, no reversal possible.
He then lists four successive moments within the supreme experience before it becomes permanent:
- The transcendent reality is revealed as the universe: the difference between formless and formed disappears forever.
- In a transitional stage, the Powers tend to move outward; this must be restrained and the Powers held within the Atma.
- The Atma is realised as a continuum of unbroken Prakasa (light) with supreme dynamism.
- A unique vision of unborn Being arises, Nirutthana, the supreme integral vision in which infinite varieties are seen as the One and the One reveals itself at every point of the infinite.
Kaya-siddhi versus Patanjali's perfection of the body
Kaviraj makes a subtle point. Both the Nath Yogi and Patanjali speak of perfection of the body and mastery of the elements. But in Patanjali, physical perfection (kaya-sampat), however refined, remains a property of Prakriti and can never equal the natural purity of Purusha. In Nathism, by contrast, body-perfection results from the vision of Paramapada and precedes the unification of the two. So the Nath body is not simply refined matter; it is matter penetrated by the light of the Absolute.
He adds that the legends in some South Indian Saiva circles where Prabhudeva criticises Gorakhnath's ideal of body-perfection are "sheer sectarianism."
Two stages: Jivanmukti and Para-mukti
The Nath ideal, he concludes, is in two stages:
- Jivanmukti through Kaya-siddhi, securing an immaculate body of light free from time, "a deathless undecaying spiritual body."
- Para-mukti, the highest perfection, through mutual integration (Samarasya).
He cites a late Bengali Nath work (published by Prafulla Chandra Chakravarty) which says that attaining the Siddha-deha by drinking nectar after the "transcendence of the Moon" is only Jivanmukti, freedom from death, and is merely a prelude to the highest perfection through the culture of Omkara.
Kaviraj is telling you, before the book begins, that the famous "immortal body" of the Naths is not the summit. It is a stage. The summit is Samarasya. Keep this in mind when the book discusses Kaya-siddhi in Chapters XIII–XVII.
Introductory Remarks by Dr. Sampurnanand (Mount Abu, 19 June 1962)
Sampurnanand, then Governor of Rajasthan and himself a scholar of Yoga, offers a historian's and practitioner's frame.
- Gorakhnath's stature is proven by his rivals. Followers of later saints (Kabir, Nanak) invented stories of debates in which Gorakhnath was defeated. These are the work of followers, "remarkable more for their devotion than commonsense," but they prove that no one could be accepted as a great saint unless shown superior to Goraksha.
- Continuity of tradition. Tantriks were followed by Sadhs, Siddhas, Naths, and later Sant-mat. None brought an absolutely new message. Each learnt from its predecessors and passed the torch on. "The core of truth, which each cherishes, is sanatana, old as time itself."
- Two Vedic streams: orthodox (with exoteric Karma-kanda and esoteric Yoga/philosophy, complementary) and heterodox (the Vratyas, who spurned ritual and pursued esoteric disciplines). All later Hindu thought stems from these.
- Philosophy cannot go beyond absolute monism; the only alternative is absolute negation, posited by Buddhism.
- All spiritual discipline is Yoga. Even Bhakti, "to the extent that it is a genuine spiritual discipline," is Yoga with a new name.
- The labels Raja-, Hatha-, Jnana-, Laya-, Bhakti-, Karma-yoga are modern. They have needlessly elevated aspects of one practice into separate sciences. Patanjali defines Yoga as citta-vritti-nirodha leading to svarupe avasthanam, the seer abiding in its own nature. Any discipline with another aim is not Yoga.
- Hatha-yoga rightly understood is the asana and pranayama stage, necessary, not final. Gorakhnath's genius was to insist on not skipping the lower stages, which people neglect "by a process of wishful thinking."
- Research questions he poses: possible Sufi influence in Gorakhnath's Hindi works (which contain some words of foreign origin), and the passage of Nath technical terms into Kabir and the Nirguna saints.
Notice the tension between Sampurnanand and Kaviraj. Sampurnanand assimilates Nath Yoga to Patanjali (the goal is Moksha, self-realisation, Hatha is preparatory). Kaviraj insists the Nath ideal differs essentially from Patanjali. Banerjea's main text sides closer to Kaviraj: the Nath goal is not isolation but integration. Holding both views in mind will make you a sharper reader.
Key Terms from the Introductory Essays
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Samarasya | "Sameness of taste"; integral union of Siva and Sakti through mutual interpenetration |
| Kaya-siddhi / Deha-siddhi | Perfection of the body; a deathless body of light |
| Jivanmukti | Liberation while living |
| Para-mukti | Highest liberation, beyond Jivanmukti |
| Tattva / Tattvatita | The principle(s) / that which is beyond all principles |
| Unmani / Samani | Upward-moving and descending aspects of the Absolute |
| Nirutthana | State of no-return; the permanent integral vision |
| Vratya | Ancient non-ritualist ascetic stream |
| Citta-vritti-nirodha | Patanjali's definition of Yoga: stilling the movements of mind |
Reflection
- Write in your own words the difference between freedom by separation (Sankhya), freedom by sublation (Mayavada) and freedom by interpenetration (Samarasya). Which one has your own practice been assuming without your noticing?
- Kaviraj says real sadhana begins only after mental quiet is established through grace. What, in your life, prevents mental quiet more than anything else?
- Sampurnanand warns against skipping the "lower stages." Which foundational practice, posture, breath, diet, continence, regularity, have you been neglecting because it seemed unnecessary?
A Yogi and a Philosopher (pp. 1–22)
The Introduction is the methodological foundation of the whole book. Banerjea needs to justify writing a "philosophy" of someone who was not a philosopher. His answer: the Yogi and the philosopher seek the same Absolute Truth, but only the Yogi can reach it, because it is supra-intellectual. When an illumined Yogi teaches, however, he may adopt philosophy as a tool, a discipline of the intellect and a bridge to people who live on the intellectual plane. Gorakhnath's philosophy is exactly this: a Yogi's realisation translated into concepts for the sake of seekers.
The argument moves in eight steps:
- Yogi and philosopher share the same end.
- They differ in method.
- The philosopher's method has two built-in limits.
- The history of philosophy is therefore a "war of theories."
- The path of Yoga is the way out.
- Samadhi-experience is neither subjective nor objective nor a void.
- Samadhi transforms the Yogi's ordinary life when he returns from it.
- Some illumined Yogis become teachers and, for teaching purposes, philosophers.
1. The Same End: Breaking Out of the Prison
Both the Yogi and the philosopher refuse to be satisfied with "finite transitory relative truths." The human mind is, in Banerjea's image, imprisoned in a compound walled by space, time and relativity. Inside it can grow and enrich itself; it cannot go beyond the walls. Knowledge seems condemned to be finite and relative.
Both rebel against this. Both feel that the order and harmony visible in the universe cannot be meaningless chance; it points to:
- a dynamic Centre or Soul of the system,
- a Governing Principle or Power regulating its operations,
- a Supreme Ideal being realised through the process.
Notice the three-fold formulation, Centre, Power, Ideal. These anticipate the three things Gorakhnath's metaphysics will provide: Para-Samvit (the centre), Nija-Sakti (the power), and Samarasya (the ideal). The Introduction is quietly laying out the agenda of the book.
2. Different Methods
Banerjea draws a systematic contrast:
| Philosopher | Yogi |
|---|---|
| Approach: intellectual | Approach: spiritual |
| Path: rational logic | Path: moral and psychical self-discipline |
| Aim: a logically unassailable conception | Aim: direct experience |
| Interest: theoretical, satisfying the intellect | Interest: practical, satisfying the soul |
| Remains a philosopher even if his life contradicts his theory | Ceases to be a Yogi if his life is not disciplined according to his ideal |
| Knowledge: mediate (Paroksha) | Knowledge: immediate (Aparoksha Jnana) |
| Purifies reason from fallacies | Purifies body, senses, mind; suppresses desire; frees thought from preconceptions; concentrates attention; elevates consciousness |
| Makes Truth the object of refined conception | Becomes one with Truth; subject-object relation vanishes |
The fourth row is the most piercing. A philosopher can be a scoundrel and still be a good philosopher. A Yogi cannot. For the Yogi, knowledge and life are the same thing.
3. The Two Limits of Philosophy
The first limit: philosophy is always a theory (Vada)
The philosopher works by speculation (Yukti). He stands in the world of finite, relative facts and leaps, by imagination and intellect, to the Infinite. But the Infinite he arrives at remains a conjecture, valid only to the extent that it is necessary and adequate to explain the world. "The conclusion of philosophy, however well-reasoned, cannot rise above the status of a theory (Vada)."
The second limit: the categories belong to the relative world
To think about the Absolute the philosopher must use the concepts of his understanding, existent/non-existent, conscious/unconscious, active/inactive, changeless/changing, unity/plurality, substance/attribute, cause/effect, simple/complex, dynamic/static, personal/impersonal. But these concepts get their meaning from the relative objective world. Applying them to the Absolute "unconsciously brings down the Absolute within the domain of the relative."
So philosophers are forced into strange moves: inventing terms like "transcendent existence," "transcendent consciousness," saying the Absolute is "neither existent nor non-existent," or treating "inexplicability" itself as a category. Yet when they argue for these, they still rely on the laws of identity, contradiction, excluded middle, causation and sufficient ground, laws made for the empirical world. "It seems that they try to prove by means of logic what is above the sphere of logic."
This is not anti-intellectualism. It is a precise diagnosis. The categories of thought are tools calibrated for objects. The Absolute is not an object. Using object-tools on the non-object produces either distortion or paradox. Banerjea will later show Gorakhnath deliberately using paradox ("neither dual nor non-dual") as a way of pointing beyond the tools.
4. The War of Theories
Because no theory is unassailable, the history of philosophy is "a history of continuous warfare on the intellectual plane among the greatest and wisest rational truth-seekers of the world." Every philosopher must not only defend his view but refute all others, because he can only be sure of his own if no rival is equally good.
Banerjea lists the extraordinary range of conceptions of the Absolute:
- Pure Void (Sunya), Non-Being (Asat), Pure Being (Sat)
- Pure Transcendent Consciousness (Cit-matra)
- Pure Unconscious Matter (Acit Prakriti)
- Pure Primordial Energy (Maha-sakti)
- Consciousness with Power (Saktimat-caitanya)
- Creative Will, Absolute Idea, Absolute Spirit
- Supreme Personality (Parama Purusha)
- Morally and aesthetically perfect Personality, Satya-Siva-Sundara Purushottama, Premanandaghana Parameswara (Supreme Lord, a mass of love-bliss)
And likewise on the world (illusion, self-manifestation, creation, sole reality), on souls (eternal or created, atomic or all-pervading, different or non-different from God, pure or corruptible, independent of the body or evolved from it), and on the goal of life. "Nasau munir yasya matam na bhinnam", there is no sage whose opinion does not differ.
Every theory carries conviction to some class of seekers, and every theory has weak points that opponents exploit. "Every apparently well-reasoned theory about the Ultimate Truth is thus reduced merely into a particular view-point."
That last sentence is the seed of Gorakhnath's Pakshapata-vinirmukta-vada, the doctrine "freed from all partisanship", introduced in Chapter V. If each theory is a viewpoint, the realised teacher does not fight them; he honours each as a partial approach.
5. The Path of Yoga
Many philosophers, Banerjea says, realising the weakness of pure reasoning, have turned to spiritual self-discipline. He quotes a Western philosopher: "Learned ignorance is the end of philosophy and the beginning of religion" (an echo of Nicholas of Cusa's docta ignorantia). Religion here does not mean dogma or ritual but "systematic discipline of the body, the senses, the mind, the intellect and the heart, under expert guidance." That is Yoga.
Supporting witnesses:
- Socrates: his wisdom lay in knowing that he knew nothing.
- The word philosophy itself: love of wisdom, not possession of it. The philosopher "always searches and misses. His Eternal Beloved never unveils Himself to his logical intellect."
- The Upanishads (Katha/Mundaka): the Atma is not attained by discourse (pravacana), intellect (medha), or much learning (bahusruta), but only "by him whom It chooses" (yam evaisha vrinute tena labhyah). Yet the seeker must make himself fit: free of vice, mind pure and calm, consciousness turned with longing to the light, and above all free of the ego that thinks it will unveil the Atma by its own power. "The veil will remain in the form of his egoistic vanity."
- Upanishadic distinction: all intellectual knowledge, even the Vedas, is Apara Vidya (lower knowledge); Para Vidya is that by which the Imperishable is directly realised. Banerjea equates Para Vidya with Yoga-Vidya.
- The Brahma-sutras: "Tarka-apratishthanat", reasoning has no firm foundation; every argument can be met with a counter-argument. Hence all Indian systems accept the testimony of illumined seers (Agama, Aptavacana, Sruti).
- Warnings of the sages: the Truth is avang-manasa-gocaram, beyond speech and mind; "Acintyah khalu ye bhava na tams tarkena yojayet", do not apply reasoning to things that are inconceivable.
But Banerjea notes a twist. When philosophers base themselves on the saints' words, they must interpret verbal expressions of what the saints themselves said was inexpressible. So the Vedanta split into many sub-schools, each claiming the right reading of the Upanishads and Gita; Buddhism split similarly over the Buddha's words. "Logical argumentations almost invariably lead to differences of views."
The Yogi avoids this. He does not frame hypotheses, does not refute rivals, does not try to determine intellectually what is to be experienced supra-intellectually. He advances "with an indomitable faith in the possibility of such experience."
The argument from levels
How can one believe in something one cannot demonstrate? Banerjea's answer is the argument from levels of consciousness: what is natural on a higher plane appears impossible on a lower one.
- A child cannot imagine the emotional and aesthetic experiences of young adults, even when the objects are in front of him.
- A person with undeveloped artistic sense cannot enjoy a fine song, poem or painting.
- So too, the Yogi's experience cannot be conceived by one whose consciousness has not been refined.
Even the illumined Yogi cannot express it accurately in words. He can guide, but he cannot give the experience by language or prove it by logic.
The psycho-physical prison and the inner urge
Normally consciousness is conditioned by the body, senses, nervous system, brain, mind, intellect, heart and ego, the "psycho-physical embodiment." All our perceptions, reasonings, feelings and aspirations are confined within this. Yet in the innermost consciousness there is a persistent urge to transcend all limits and enjoy Absolute Truth-Beauty-Goodness-Bliss, something we cannot even positively conceive. This is the urge that makes no achievement permanently satisfying: "Tatah kim, tatah kim, what after this, what after this?"
This urge is itself the assurance (not argumentative, but felt) that the limits can be transcended.
This is one of the most practical ideas in the book. Your dissatisfaction is not a defect; it is evidence. The restlessness that follows every success is the Absolute calling you from within. The Nath path does not ask you to suppress this restlessness but to follow it to its source.
The Yogi's ideal state
The Yogi holds before himself an ideal state of consciousness that is perfectly free from:
- impurities, distractions, doubts and perplexities;
- desires, attachments, passions and propensities;
- argumentative thought and preconceived notions;
- the sense of individual ego and the distinction of subject and object, internal and external, self and not-self.
In that state the Absolute reveals itself "not as an object of the consciousness, but as the true Soul or Essence of the consciousness." There is no time or space, no causality, no distinction between Truth, Beauty, Goodness and Bliss. The experience "carries its certitude within itself."
This is Samadhi. Banerjea stresses that Samadhi is a "thoroughly practicable ideal": every step can be tested and verified. Bhishma in the Mahabharata: "Pratyaksha-hetavo yogah", direct experience is the basis of Yoga. And Samadhi is not static; there are higher and higher stages.
6. The Nature of Samadhi-Experience
This is the philosophical heart of the Introduction. Banerjea argues that highest Samadhi is:
Not merely subjective
Subjective experiences, dreams, reveries, imagination, illusion, hallucination, occur when the subject projects itself as objects under some stimulus. They occur in impure, restless states and have no correspondence with reality. Samadhi is the opposite: pure, calm, free from stimuli, without imagination or self-projection, without the functioning of mind or intellect, without the ego as experiencer. Since the individual consciousness rises to the universal plane, its content cannot be real to one person and unreal to others. Every consciousness that reaches this plane would have the same experience. Hence it is the Absolute Reality.
Not objective
Normal waking experience is conditioned by the psycho-physical embodiment and its objects are finite. In Samadhi consciousness transcends these limits; the Reality does not appear as an object distinct from the subject but as one with it.
Not a void, not deep sleep, not swoon
The obvious objection: if there is no subject-object relation, is there any experience at all? Is it the "suicide of consciousness," like deep sleep (sushupti) or fainting (murchha)? Banerjea answers: these doubts arise only in "fickle minds and speculative intellects" that have not tasted Samadhi. To the illumined Yogi it is:
- not vacant but full,
- not dark but perfect illumination,
- not unconsciousness but absolute knowledge (purnaghana, kevalaghana), in which knower and knowable are united and "nothing more remains to be known."
Why unity is the demand of consciousness
Banerjea then shows why this unity matters. In normal experience:
- Spirit and matter are essentially different (neither can be proven cause or effect of the other) yet essentially related (neither can be conceived without the other). Matter apart from the conscious subject has no character; spirit apart from the body seems contentless.
- Spirits seem innumerable and distinct yet obviously inter-communicating.
- Material things seem distinct yet inter-related.
Deep in consciousness there is a feeling that this plural knowledge is imperfect, that there must be an underlying Unity. This demand is at the root of all science and philosophy. Every science seeks a unifying principle in its field; every philosophy seeks the unity of all. But their methods yield only phenomenal, objective knowledge, while the Ground of all phenomena "cannot itself appear as a particular object of the empirical consciousness of a particular knowing subject."
Only Samadhi gives direct knowledge of this unity, transcending spirit/matter, subject/object, internal/external, one/many.
The fruits of Samadhi
The Yogi gains not only intellectual satisfaction but "fulfilment of life." Banerjea quotes Vyasa's commentary on the Yoga-sutras:
"Jnatam jnatavyam, praptam prapaniyam, kshinah kshetavyah klesah, karma-bandhanani sithilani.", What was to be known is known; what was to be attained is attained; the afflictions to be destroyed are destroyed; the bonds of karma are loosened.
The five Klesas (afflictions) of Patanjali:
- Avidya, ignorance, false knowledge
- Asmita, egoism, "I-am-ness"
- Raga, attachment
- Dvesha, aversion
- Abhinivesa, clinging to life, fear of death
These drive all our actions, good and bad, binding us to the law of Karma and rebirth. Samadhi destroys them. Hence the many names for the result: Mukti or Moksha (freedom), Nirvana (the extinguishing of the lamp of finite, mortal individuality), Kaivalya (attaining the character of the One without a second).
7. The Return: Enlightened Normal Life
This section is key for understanding the Nath ideal, which is not world-denying.
The Yogi's life does not end in Kaivalya. Consciousness descends from Samadhi to Vyutthana (the ordinary waking state). Outwardly he looks the same; inwardly everything has changed. Before, he saw plurality as plurality; now he sees the One shining through it. The illumination passes into the intellect, ego, mind and even the senses:
- The ego feels the Absolute One as its true Self and itself as an individualised self-expression of the One.
- The intellect no longer theorises but finds in the One the ultimate explanation of every problem.
- Thoughts, feelings and volitions revolve around the One.
- Sense-objects are experienced as appearances of the One.
Banerjea makes a precise distinction:
- In Samadhi, ego and world are both merged in one Absolute Consciousness.
- In the enlightened waking state, ego and world are both present, but both appear as pervaded by the One, as having their being in the One, as two-fold manifestations of the One.
Hence the Yogi "sees himself in all and all in himself" (cf. Gita 6.29), sees the Infinite in the finite, the Eternal in the temporal, the Changeless in change, spirit in matter, "and hence he loves all and hates and fears none."
In Samadhi time becomes one changeless Eternity and space one differenceless Infinity. In enlightened waking, he sees that Eternity manifesting in time and that Infinity pervading space. His mind seems to dwell in a supramental plane even while operating normally; an attitude of unconcern and disinterestedness prevails under all circumstances.
Siddhis
The disciplined Yogi often acquires extraordinary powers, which Banerjea lists without embarrassment: clairvoyance and clairaudience; seeing without eyes, hearing without ears; knowing past and future; reading and controlling minds; levitation and aerial travel; invisibility; passing through walls; assuming many bodies simultaneously; controlling natural forces and transforming things; creating by will; even creating a new world.
His attitude to them is balanced: truly enlightened Yogis seldom display them. Some teachers occasionally show minor powers to inspire "self-diffident people" with faith that great powers lie dormant in them too, and that by mastering themselves they can master nature.
Different temperaments of the enlightened
In transcendent experience there is no difference among Yogis; in normal life there are many, due to body, training, habits and environment. Two broad types:
- Those who withdraw, remaining in solitude in meditative bliss, seldom letting consciousness descend.
- Those moved by love and compassion, who go among suffering people to give them true light. Inwardly dwelling in the Infinite, outwardly active. These become Gurus.
8. Yogis as Makers of Civilisation and as Philosophers
Banerjea makes a sweeping claim: all the loftiest ideals of humanity, universal brotherhood, universal love, equality, sacredness of all life, the right to liberty and justice, truth for truth's sake, selfless service, unity of mankind and of the world-order, come from enlightened Yogis. From them we learn that:
- morality is not truly human until it transcends domestic, communal, racial and national limits;
- religion is not truly spiritual until it rises above sectarian exclusiveness, bigotry, dogmatism and fanaticism;
- self-control is superior to self-gratification, self-sacrifice to self-aggrandisement, self-conquest to conquest of others, spiritual self-fulfilment to material advancement, love to brute force, renunciation to power.
"These Yogis are the true makers of civilization."
When such a Yogi teaches, he must use the forms of lower planes: figures of speech, poetic imagery, parables, imperfect analogies, mystic formulas, exhortations. Sometimes his mere presence is enough. But usually he also bridges the gap with logical arguments and philosophical speculation. "Thus the Yogis convert themselves into Philosophers to suit the purpose of their teaching."
Very few build regular systems; usually disciples build systems from their aphorisms. Even those who do present a system do not overemphasise the concepts, since all concepts are imperfect expressions. Yet they value philosophy as a discipline that purifies the intellect of irrational ideas, superstition and "earth-bound dispositions," raising the seeker to the plane of refined intellect "very near" to realisation. Such Yogi-philosophers seldom engage in polemics: "To these enlightened teachers every well-reasoned system of philosophy is a particular mode of intellectual approach to the same supra-intellectual Truth." And the closing line of the Introduction: "When the intellect is properly disciplined and refined, it becomes much easier to transcend the domain of the intellect."
Deeper Insights from the Introduction
- Philosophy as sadhana. The book you are reading is itself meant to be a practice. Studying Nath metaphysics properly is a form of Jnana-discipline that refines the intellect enough to let it be transcended. Read slowly, contemplatively, not as information.
- The verification principle of Yoga. Banerjea insists Samadhi is "practicable" and every step "can be practically tested and verified." This is an empirical claim, not a dogmatic one. The Nath tradition is experimental: try the discipline, observe the results.
- The universality argument for the reality of Samadhi. Since the experience occurs on a supra-individual plane, it is the same for all who reach it. This is Banerjea's answer to the charge that mystical experience is private. It is not private; it is the most public thing there is, the ground of all subjects.
- Two kinds of non-duality. Distinguish "absorbed non-duality" (Samadhi: the world vanishes into the One) from "integrated non-duality" (enlightened waking: the world remains, but as the One's own expression). The Nath ideal of Samarasya, developed later, is a permanent fusion of these two, where there is no longer any going in and coming out.
- A warning against intellectual pride. The Upanishadic point, the ego that thinks it will unveil the Self by its own power is itself the veil, applies directly to readers of a book like this. Intellectual mastery of Nath philosophy can become a subtle obstacle.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Yukti | Speculative reasoning |
| Vada | Theory, doctrine |
| Aparoksha Jnana | Immediate, direct knowledge |
| Para / Apara Vidya | Higher (direct) / lower (intellectual) knowledge |
| Tarka-apratishthana | Reasoning has no final foundation |
| Agama / Aptavacana / Sruti | Testimony of illumined seers; scripture |
| Samadhi | Transcendent state of consciousness in which subject-object distinction vanishes |
| Vyutthana | The normal waking state after Samadhi |
| Klesas | Five afflictions: Avidya, Asmita, Raga, Dvesha, Abhinivesa |
| Kaivalya / Nirvana / Moksha | Aloneness / extinction / freedom, names for the result of Samadhi |
| Purnaghana / Kevalaghana | Fullness of consciousness; consciousness as a homogeneous mass |
Reflection and Practice
- "Tatah kim?" exercise. Recall three of your greatest achievements. For each, note how long the satisfaction lasted and what you wanted next. Contemplate the urge itself, not its objects. Where does it come from?
- Honesty test. Is there any gap between what you believe about the spiritual life and how you actually live? Banerjea's line, a Yogi ceases to be a Yogi if his life is not disciplined by his ideal, is a mirror.
- Viewpoint practice. Take a philosophical or religious view you strongly disagree with. Try to state the partial truth it sees, and the type of seeker to whom it carries conviction. This is training in the non-partisanship Gorakhnath embodies.
- Contemplation. Sit quietly and observe that every thought, feeling and perception you have appears within consciousness. Ask: can consciousness itself become an object? Rest in the not-knowing that follows. This is a small taste of the limit Banerjea describes, and of what lies beyond it.
Gorakhnath: A Mahayogi (pp. 23–25)
Gorakhnath was a Mahayogi, not a philosopher "in the commonly accepted meaning of the term." He did not seek truth through speculation, did not try to prove or disprove a noumenal reality, never entangled himself in metaphysical controversy, and never displayed his intellect against rival schools. Yet he taught a system of philosophy that "has a special place among the philosophical systems of India."
Gorakhnath's Attitude to Philosophy
Gorakhnath held a carefully balanced position:
- Philosophy is not primary as a means to realisation. Differences on the intellectual plane are inevitable, especially about what lies beyond the intellect.
- But philosophy is valuable as intellectual discipline, on four conditions: it must be pursued with sincerity, earnestness and humility, and without bigotry, arrogance, prejudice or partisanship.
- Its purpose is liberation from theories themselves. Unbiased pursuit of truth progressively refines the intellect, "leading gradually to the emancipation of the consciousness from the bondage of all intellectual theories and sentimental attachments."
- Hence Tattva-Vicara (philosophical reflection, "inquiry into principles") is a recognised part of yogic self-discipline. Its aim is to free consciousness from bias, narrowness, preconceived notions and emotional clinging, and raise it to the supra-intellectual plane.
The phrase "emancipation from the bondage of all intellectual theories" is the key. Gorakhnath uses philosophy the way one uses a thorn to remove a thorn, and then throws both away. The more theories you are attached to, the less free you are; the right philosophy loosens attachment to philosophy itself.
The Literature Problem
The Nath Sampradaya has a vast literature in Sanskrit and in regional languages (Hindi, Rajasthani, Bengali). But:
- which texts Gorakhnath actually wrote is disputed;
- his birthplace and native language are unknown;
- Banerjea's working assumption: literature long accepted as authoritative by the lineage was either written by him or faithfully represents his teaching; Sanskrit works are to be given more weight.
The striking fact is that almost none of these books is primarily metaphysical. They are manuals of Yoga. But Yoga, Banerjea explains, presupposes philosophy.
Banerjea's Definition of Yoga
This is one of the best definitions in the book and worth memorising:
Yoga is "a method of systematic discipline of all the external and internal organs of the physical body, of all the senses and vital forces and nerves and muscles, of all the psychical functions and natural propensities and subtle desires and passions and of all the intellectual ideas and judgments and reasonings, with a view to the establishment of perfect control over and harmony among all of them and the refinement and spiritualisation of the entire psycho-physiological organism and with the ultimate object of the realisation of Absolute Truth in the most tranquil and integral and illumined state of consciousness."
Notice the four layers it disciplines (body, vital/nervous, psychic, intellectual), the two immediate aims (control and harmony), the transformative aim (refinement and spiritualisation of the whole organism), and the ultimate aim (realisation of Truth in an integral illumined state). The word "spiritualisation of the organism" is characteristically Nath, Patanjali would not put it that way.
Because Yoga must know the structure of the organism and the ideal it is aiming at, "The Art of Yoga must have a scientific and philosophic background."
How Gorakhnath Presented His Philosophy
- Its basis is his Samadhi experience, not logic.
- It is an intellectual expression of that experience, "with due regard for the valid experiences of the normal life," and an attempt to link the two.
- He offered it as "an enlightening way of thinking and meditation", notice: philosophy as meditation.
- He used the terminology of the Siddha-Mahayogis and the Saiva and Sakta Agamas and Tantras.
- He never insisted that all seekers adopt the same terminology or way of thinking. Truth is the same in whatever language. He freely used other schools' terms and showed their inner meaning was the same.
- He used poetic imagery, similes, metaphors and analogies.
Reflection
- Do you use spiritual philosophy to become freer, or to become more certain you are right? The test Gorakhnath gives: does it reduce your bias, narrowness and emotional clinging?
- Try reading a passage of this book as meditation rather than information: one paragraph, then silence.
Literary Sources of Gorakhnath's Philosophical Views (pp. 26–28)
This short chapter is a bibliography with a thesis. It is valuable as a map of the Nath canon for anyone who wants to study further.
Sanskrit Works Traditionally Attributed to Gorakhnath
Goraksha Samhita, Goraksha Sataka, Siddha-Siddhanta-Paddhati, Yoga-Siddhanta-Paddhati, Viveka-Martanda, Yoga-Martanda, Yoga-Cintamani, Jnanamrita, Amanaska, Atmabodha, Goraksha-Sahasranama, Yoga-bija, Amaraugha-Prabodha, Goraksha-Pistika, Goraksha-Gita, and others.
Works Attributed to Matsyendranath (his Guru)
Matsyendra Samhita, Kaula-Jnana-Nirnaya, Kulananda Tantra, Jnana-Karika, Akula-Vira Tantra. (Note the "Kaula" and "Akula" names, these show Matsyendranath's roots in the Kaula Tantric tradition, from which the Nath path emerged.)
Yoga Upanishads Expounding Nath Ideas
Nada-Bindu, Dhyana-Bindu, Tejo-Bindu, Yoga-Tattva, Yoga-Cudamani, Yoga-Sikha, Yoga-Kundali, Mandala-Brahmana, Sandilya, Jabala Upanishads, and a Goraksha Upanishad.
Other Texts Connected with the Sampradaya
Natha Sutra, Siva Gita, Avadhuta Gita, Siva Samhita, Suta Samhita, Dattatreya Samhita, Sabara Tantra, Gheranda Samhita, Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika.
Regional Literature
Old poems in Bengali, Hindi, Rajasthani, and in Nepal and Tibet. Matsyendranath is regarded as the earliest poet in Bengali; the earliest poems in Hindi and Rajasthani are believed to be Gorakhnath's (the Gorakh-Bani). Many Nath-Siddha-Acharyas wrote Bengali poems.
The Three Philosophical Texts
| Text | Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Siddha-Siddhanta-Paddhati (SSP) | Sutras and verses, six Upadesas | The most systematic statement; claims Gorakhnath as author (some modern scholars doubt it); first printed Hardwar 1940 (VS 1996) by Yogindra Purnanath, with Sanskrit commentary by Dravyesa Jha Sastri and Hindi commentary by Yogi Bhishmanath; later edition with English summary by Dr. Kalyani Mallik (Calcutta) |
| Siddha-Siddhanta-Sangraha | Verse summary of SSP | Published 1925 by Gopinath Kaviraj; written by one Balabhadra at the bidding of Krishnaraja at Kashi; often reproduces SSP's language |
| Goraksha-Siddhanta-Sangraha | Prose | Quotes Matsyendranath, Gorakhnath, Jalandharnath, Bhartrihari and older Yoga texts; based mainly on SSP; edited by Kaviraj 1925; author unknown, a learned Nath teacher "a few centuries back" |
Why SSP Is the Basis
Banerjea chooses SSP because it is the most systematic and comprehensive, it claims to be Gorakhnath's own work and is generally accepted as such, and, importantly, it is "purely a constructive work," never disputing with other systems. It presents in order:
- the Ultimate Spiritual Ground of the universe;
- the evolution of the world's diversity from One Absolute Dynamic Spirit;
- the nature of individual souls and their psycho-physical bodies and relation to the cosmos;
- the highest ideal for self-fulfilment;
- the course of discipline of body, senses, vital forces, mind and intellect;
- and related problems.
And it insists that this discipline must be learned from a competent Guru, a Natha or Avadhuta who has himself realised the ideal. "Without the enlightened guidance of such a Guru, real progress in the path of spirituality can scarcely be expected."
Insight
The Nath literature has a striking feature: a great bulk of practical Yoga manuals and only a thin layer of philosophy. This tells you something about the tradition's priorities. The metaphysics exists to make the practice intelligible, not the other way round. When you study the philosophy chapters, keep asking: "What practice does this idea support?"
Contents of Siddha-Siddhanta-Paddhati (pp. 29–32)
The Opening Verse
"Adinatham namaskritya saktiyuktam jagadgurum Vakshye Gorakshanatho'ham Siddha-Siddhanta-Paddhatim." (SSP I.1)
"Having bowed down to Adinatha (Siva), Who is eternally possessed of Supreme Power and is the eternal Guru of the world, I, Gorakshanatha, will expound the Siddha-Siddhanta-Paddhati."
Three words in this verse carry the whole system:
- Adinatha, Siva as the First Lord, the source of the lineage. Every Nath traces his line to Siva himself.
- Sakti-yuktam, "united with Power." From the very first line, Siva is never without Sakti. This rules out a static Absolute.
- Jagad-guru, the Guru of the world. The Absolute is itself the Teacher; all human Gurus are its channels.
"Paddhati" means a path, method, or way of thinking; "Siddha-Siddhanta" means the settled conclusions of the perfected ones. So the title means "The Way of Thought of the Siddhas' Conclusions."
The Authorship Question
The Goraksha-Siddhanta-Sangraha quotes SSP and calls its author Sri-Natha and once Nitya-Natha, and clearly means Gorakhnath, whom it regards as an incarnation of Isvara/Adinatha/Siva. But there was another famous Nitya-Natha:
- named in the Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika among the Mahasiddhas who conquered death;
- regarded as author of the alchemical-medical Rasa-Ratnakara (as "Parvati-putra Nitya-Natha Siddha"), praised by Vagbhata in the Rasa-Ratna-Samuccaya;
- reputed author of Indrajala-Tattva (the science of magic);
- also called Nityananda, Nityapada, Dhyani-Natha.
Banerjea concludes there is no strong ground to attribute SSP to this Nitya-Natha; we may assume Gorakhnath wrote it or that it faithfully represents his views.
The Nitya-Natha connection points to the Rasayana (alchemical) dimension of the Siddha tradition, the belief that the body can be transmuted. This is the background to Kaya-siddhi. Whether or not the same person wrote both, the alchemical and the yogic quests for an imperishable body grew from the same soil.
The Six Upadesas: The Map of the Whole Philosophy
Memorise this table. The rest of the book unpacks it.
| Upadesa | Title | Meaning | Developed in |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | Pindotpatti | Origin of the bodies, cosmic (Samashti-pinda, Brahmanda) and individual (Vyashti-pinda), from the Absolute | Ch. IV–XII |
| II | Pinda-Vicara | Contemplation on the body's constitution: 9 Cakras, 16 Adharas, 3 Lakshyas, 5 Vyomas | Ch. XIII–XIV |
| III | Pinda-Samvitti | True insight into the body: identity of microcosm and macrocosm | Ch. XV |
| IV | Pindadhara | The Container and Sustainer of bodies: the one Sakti, non-different from Siva | Ch. VII–VIII, XV |
| V | Samarasa-karana | Perfect unification: body with Cosmic Body, bodies with Sakti, Sakti with Siva | Ch. XVII |
| VI | Avadhuta | Character and conduct of the perfected Yogi | Ch. XVII |
Notice that the word Pinda (body) appears in four of the six titles. Nath philosophy is a philosophy of embodiment. It begins with how bodies arise from Spirit, investigates the body, realises the body as cosmos, finds the Power that holds the body, unifies the body with the Absolute, and ends with a description of a person whose body and life have become the Absolute's expression.
Key Ideas from the Summary of the Upadesas
- Lesson I: the Supreme Spirit, above time, space and relativity and eternally changeless in His transcendent nature, manifests by His unique Power as a universe with countless individual bodies and as the Indwelling Soul in each.
- Lesson II: contemplation on the cakras etc. is of practical importance for "the progressive dematerialisation and spiritualisation of the physical body (Kaya-siddhi)." Gorakhnath attached special value to this, as seen also in Goraksha-Sataka, Goraksha-Samhita and Viveka-Martanda.
- Lesson III: "The yogi has to realise, not only the unity of the individual soul with the Cosmic Soul, but also the unity of the individual body with the Cosmic Body. The Yogi attains perfect freedom and bliss in the universe by becoming one with the universe." This is the distinctive Nath contribution, Vedanta speaks of Atma = Brahman; Nathism adds Pinda = Brahmanda.
- Lesson IV: The same Spirit "conceived as existing in and by Himself in His transcendent character, is called Siva, and when conceived as actively transforming Himself into a Cosmic Body and creating... is called Sakti." In Samadhi there is no difference between them.
- Lesson V: When Samarasa is realised, the differences between matter and spirit, finite and infinite, Jiva and Siva, self and world vanish. "His own body is spiritualised and the whole universe is spiritualised."
- Lesson VI: The Avadhuta has not only had Samadhi but has brought its light down into the intellectual, mental and vital planes. "His state of Samadhi seems to continue undisturbed and unclouded even in the midst of his outer activities." Such a one is a Natha in the true sense, master of himself and of circumstances, and alone worthy to be Sadguru.
The Epistemic Basis of Nath Philosophy
Banerjea closes the chapter by stating exactly what the philosophy is: "the explanation of the facts of the lower planes of normal human experience in the light of the Truth realised by himself and the other Siddha-Mahayogis in the perfectly illumined state," together with "the relative occult truths experienced in the super-normal states of consciousness intermediate between the normal sensuous plane and the perfectly illumined state."
There are three tiers of evidence here: (1) normal experience; (2) intermediate supernormal experiences (the occult anatomy of cakras, nadis, inner sounds and lights); (3) the transcendent experience. Nath philosophy uses the third to explain the first, and the second as a bridge. The cakra system, then, is not mere speculation for the tradition; it is reported data from intermediate states.
Conception of the Ultimate Reality (pp. 33–37)
How can a Yogi who has directly experienced the Absolute form a "conception" of it? Banerjea explains the relation between experience and conception, then presents the key verse in which Gorakhnath admits that, from the standpoint of truth, there is no creation at all, and yet he will explain creation for the world's sake.
Experience vs. Conception
- In direct experience (sensory or supersensory) there is no conception. Conception arises when the intellect (Buddhi) interprets experiences to form a system of knowledge.
- Isolated sense perceptions are not knowledge; the mind needs concepts to link them. As knowledge grows, we need more and more comprehensive concepts, until finally an all-integrating concept is needed to explain the whole of experience. That is the "conception of the Absolute."
- But it remains in the domain of theory and "can never amount to nor can it have the certitude of the direct experience."
- The Mahayogi needs no conception for himself, his experience is "the most perfectly integrated knowledge of all possible existences." But as a teacher, he must answer the intellectualist's questions: how can many material things arise from one Spirit; how can the timeless manifest in time; "how the One can become many and remain One all the same."
The Central Verse: No Creation, Yet Creation
"Nasti satya-vicare'smin notpattis canda-pindayoh Tathapi loka-vrittyartham vakshye sat-sampradayatah." (SSP I.2)
"In the true inquiry there is no origination of the cosmic egg (anda) and the bodies (pinda); nevertheless, for the sake of the world's conduct, I shall explain it according to the true tradition."
This verse is a doorway to Nath thought. It holds two truths at once:
- Paramarthika (from the standpoint of the Absolute): there is no origination of the cosmos or bodies, because everything is merged in the infinite self-shining Spirit.
- Vyavaharika (from the standpoint of the world): creation must be explained, and Gorakhnath will explain it.
It sounds like Sankara's two levels of truth. But note the difference that will emerge: for Gorakhnath the world is not "unreal" at the lower level; its non-origination at the higher level means it is never separate from the Spirit, not that it is false.
Banerjea's Argument That the World Has No Beginning
This is a careful piece of reasoning:
- Origination means coming into being of what did not exist before, which implies a pre-existing cause and a temporal change in that cause.
- Can we conceive a time when the world-order did not exist, in any form, gross or subtle, manifest or unmanifest? No. Time itself implies change, process, succession; and every change is within the world-order. So the world-order cannot have a temporal beginning.
- Any Reality beyond the world-order must be beyond time, hence free from temporal change, and so cannot be the cause of the world "in the phenomenal sense."
- So from both standpoints, transcendent and phenomenal, origination at a point in time is unthinkable.
- Yet the intellect cannot deny the world's objective existence, nor accept it as self-existent, self-revealing and self-harmonising. It is "derivative, contingent, relative, conditional and composite," and so demands a ground in a self-existent, self-revealing, dynamic, transcendent Reality.
This is subtle. The world is beginningless, yet dependent. Dependence is not temporal; it is ontological. Like light dependent on the sun at every instant without "starting" at some point, the world is always flowing from and resting in the Absolute. This prepares the doctrine of the eternal dynamic aspect of the Absolute in Chapter VI.
Para-Samvit
When the Reality unveils itself in Samadhi, it is experienced as Absolute Consciousness, in which time, space and all existences are merged, and "the One Infinite Eternal Undifferentiated Changeless Self-Effulgent Consciousness shines as the Ultimate Reality." The intellect can describe it only negatively, yet it still tries to conceive it as the ground of the world.
Gorakhnath, following earlier Siddhas, calls this Absolute Consciousness Para-Samvit ("Supreme Consciousness/Awareness"). The Yogis also call it the Perfect Union of Siva-Sakti.
Gorakhnath's purpose is to "link together the transcendent experience of an enlightened Mahayogi and the intellectual demand of a common man, with the practical purpose of refining and elevating the consciousness of the truth-seeking people."
Two Verses on the Pure Absolute
SSP I.4: "Yada nasti svayam karta karanam na kulakulam / Avyaktam ca param brahma anama vidyate tada."
"When there is no doer, no causation, no distinction of Kula and Akula (power and reality, the dynamic and static), and the Supreme Brahman is wholly unmanifest, then He exists as the Nameless One (Anama)."
Note the term kulakula: in Kaula Tantra, Kula is Sakti (the manifest family of powers) and Akula is Siva (beyond the family). In the absolute state even this distinction is absent.
SSP I.5: "Anama iti svayam anadi-siddham ekam eva anadi-nidhanam siddha-siddhanta-prasiddham. Tasya iccha-matra-dharma dharmini nija-saktih prasiddha."
"That Nameless One is self-existent, beginningless, one, without birth or death, this is well known as the conclusion of the Siddhas. His own Power (Nija-Sakti), whose nature is pure Will (Iccha-matra-dharma), inherent in Him (dharmini), is also well known."
So the summit of the system is: Anama (the Nameless) + Nija-Sakti (its own Power of pure Will). "The Ultimate Reality, though revealing Itself in the Samadhi state as pure changeless infinite eternal Consciousness, is not a static, but a dynamic Spirit with will. The Transcendent Spirit is eternally endowed with Sakti."
Deeper Insights
- Anama, the Nameless, is the Nath name for the Absolute. It precedes even "Siva." This is why the Naths could adopt any terminology: every name is secondary to the Nameless.
- The Will is "matra", pure, mere Will. Will without object, without process of willing, without manifestation. It is the potency of self-expression held in perfect rest. This is the single most important concept for the next three chapters.
- "Loka-vrittyartham", for the world's sake. All cosmology in the SSP is compassionate pedagogy. When you read the elaborate stages of creation in Chapters VIII–XII, remember Gorakhnath has already told you: in truth, none of this ever "happened." It is an explanation offered so the mind can rest and turn inward.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Buddhi | Intellect, the faculty that forms conceptions |
| Anda / Pinda | Cosmic egg (universe) / body |
| Para-Samvit | Supreme Consciousness, the Absolute |
| Anama | The Nameless, the Absolute before any designation |
| Nija-Sakti | The Absolute's own inherent Power |
| Iccha-matra-dharma | Having the nature of pure Will |
| Kula / Akula | Sakti and Siva in Kaula terminology |
Reflection and Practice
- Two-standpoint meditation. Sit and view your life from the standpoint of events, births, losses, achievements. Then shift: view it as the unchanging awareness in which all of it appears and to which none of it "happens." Practise moving between the two without denying either.
- Ask: is my sense of the world "beginning" (with my birth, each morning, each moment) actually a beginning, or a continuous emergence from awareness that never started?
- Contemplate "Anama." Drop every name you use for the Ultimate, God, Siva, Self, Brahman, and rest in what is left.
Sat-Cit-Ananda Brahma (pp. 38–55)
This is the first great philosophical chapter. It takes the classic description of the Absolute, Sat-Cit-Ananda, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, and does three things with it:
- It shows that, as normally stated (the Nirguna Brahman of Advaita), it is accepted by the Naths but considered incomplete: it is abstract, and it omits the dynamic aspect.
- It examines each of the three terms, Pure Existence, Pure Consciousness, Pure Bliss, answering the intellectualist objections to each.
- It concludes that the Absolute is beyond all logical categories, so Gorakhnath's philosophy is "Dvaitadvaita-vilakshana-vada" (the doctrine beyond both duality and non-duality) and "Pakshapata-vinirmukta-vada" (the doctrine freed from partisanship).
The Opening Verse
Quoted from SSP in the Goraksha-Siddhanta-Sangraha:
"Na brahma vishnu-rudrau na surapati-surah naiva prithvi na capah Naivagnir napi vayur na ca gaganatalam no diso naiva kalah No veda naiva yajna na ca ravi-sasinau no vidhir naiva kalpah Sva-jyotih satyam ekam jayati tava padam saccidananda-murte."
"No Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, nor Indra and the gods; no earth, nor water, nor fire, nor air, nor sky; no directions, no time; no Vedas, no sacrifices, no sun and moon, no laws, no cosmic cycles. Your own state alone triumphs, self-luminous, true, one, O You whose form is Existence-Consciousness-Bliss."
Notice what this verse removes: all deities (including the Trimurti), all five elements, space and time, scripture and ritual, the luminaries, cosmic law and cosmic cycles. What remains is "sva-jyotih", self-light. This is the Nath's statement of the transcendent: even the gods and the Veda are within the manifest.
Why Pure Sat-Cit-Ananda Is Not Enough
This conception agrees with Advaita Vedanta's Nirguna Brahman: timeless, spaceless, changeless, differenceless, processless, without power, will or action. The Naths accept it as true to Samadhi experience. But they say it does not "fully represent the entire nature of the Absolute," for two reasons:
- It is negative and abstract. It tells us the Absolute is different from all we know, but gives no positive intelligible content.
- It omits dynamism. A perfect Absolute must have a dynamic element sufficient to ground the cosmos. This description has none.
This is the moment where the Nath path parts company with pure Advaita. The disagreement is not about the experience of Samadhi, both agree on that, but about whether that experience is the whole of the Absolute. For the Naths, the silent transcendent is one face; the creative dynamism is the other face; and the Absolute is both.
(a) Pure Existence (Sat)
The objection: Existence without something existing is meaningless. "Existence exists" says nothing. Existence is always predicated of a subject; pure existence is as good as non-existence.
The answer: The Rishis and Mahayogis mean Perfect Existence, eternal, infinite, changeless, differenceless, absolute self-existence. This negates not only non-existence but all imperfect existence. But careful: this does not mean there are other imperfect existents beside it, from which it is distinguished, that would make it limited. Rather, it is perfect because it is the sole non-dual Reality; all temporal, spatial, derivative, mental and material existences are merged in and unified with it.
Those who hold that existence means only empirical existence, or that "practical efficiency" (artha-kriya-karitva, a Buddhist criterion) is the test of existence, will call the transcendent Asat (non-existent) or Sunya (void). But they cannot explain where things come from or vanish into; they ignore that originated things imply a self-existent ground.
Sunya and Purna: Void and Fullness
The Yoga-Sastras describe Nirvikalpa (Asamprajnata) Samadhi in both terms:
"Antah-sunyo bahih-sunyah sunya-kumbha ivambare Antah-purno bahih-purnah purna-kumbha ivarnave."
"Empty within, empty without, like an empty pot in the sky; full within, full without, like a full pot submerged in the ocean."
- It is Sunya because there is no object, no subject-object relation, no process, no inside/outside, no before/after, empirically a total negation.
- It is Purna because it fulfils every endeavour, gives complete satisfaction, perfect calm and bliss; nothing remains to be known or enjoyed.
So "what appears to be Sunya or Asat from the empirical view-point is really the Purna-Sat (Perfect Existence)." And this Perfect Existence is immanent in all empirical realities, which are its "partial imperfect conditioned self-manifestations."
The two pots are among the most beautiful images in Yoga literature. Contemplate them carefully. The empty pot in the sky: no content, boundless space inside and out, that is the experience as seen from the side of the mind (nothing there). The full pot in the ocean: water inside and out, the pot's wall meaningless, that is the experience as seen from the side of Reality (only fullness). The pot is the individual. In both images, inside and outside are the same.
Gorakhnath's freedom from categories
Gorakhnath's school is "not fanatically infatuated" with any category, Sat or Asat, Purna or Sunya, Dvaita or Advaita. They call the Absolute Sat in some contexts, Asat in others, Purna and Sunya, Advaita and Dvaita, and often beyond both. The Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika (Svatmarama) says: "Sunya-asunya-vilakshanam sphurati tat tattvam param sambhavam", the supreme Sambhava principle shines forth, distinct from void and non-void, realised through Sambhavi-mudra. And immediately after: "Bhavec citta-layanandah sunye cit-sukha-rupini", there arises the bliss of the mind's dissolution in the Void, whose form is consciousness-bliss. "Sunya and Brahma are often used synonymously."
This explains why the Nath tradition could live comfortably alongside Buddhist Siddhas (the Sahajiyas) and Vedantins. Its vocabulary of Sunya is Buddhist-sounding; its vocabulary of Brahman is Vedantic; it insists both words point to the same experience.
(b) Pure Consciousness (Cit)
This is the most philosophically rich section of the chapter. Banerjea first states six objections to the idea of self-existent consciousness, and then five arguments for it.
Six objections from normal experience
- Consciousness appears as an attribute of conscious beings, not a reality in itself.
- Conscious beings are not always conscious (deep sleep, swoon).
- Many mental operations happen subconsciously or unconsciously (memories, dreams).
- We never find consciousness except in a living body, so we cannot conceive unembodied consciousness.
- Even in a body it originates, develops, degrades and ceases under conditions, it looks like a temporal process.
- Consciousness always involves subject-object relation; even self-consciousness requires distinguishing self from objects. How could a Reality with no object be conscious?
Five arguments for a self-existent Witness-Consciousness
- The argument from the distinction itself. To know the difference between conscious and unconscious beings, both must be objects of one Consciousness that witnesses both affirmation and negation of empirical consciousness. "There must be one self-luminous Consciousness underlying and illumining consciousness as well as unconsciousness."
- The argument from the unity of the world. The objective world is a vast organisation of changing diversities. It can only be conceived as existing "to and by and for" one universal Subject-Consciousness that organises, illumines and unifies it without itself changing. Our individual experiences are partial participations in its infinite experience; without a universal consciousness harmonising them, they would have no objective validity.
- The argument from the unconscious. Who witnesses deep sleep, swoon, and subconscious operations? If the mind were self-luminous by nature, it could have no unconscious state. The mind passes through waking, dream, sleep and swoon, and through countless modifications; its very existence consists in continuity amid change. What witnesses and links all these? There must be a changeless Sakshi-Caitanya (Witness-Consciousness) behind and within the changing Vritti-Caitanya (modification-consciousness, i.e. empirical consciousness). It is "a Changeless Mind behind as well as immanent in the changing mind... the Soul of the psycho-physical organism."
- The argument from the memory of sleep. On waking we say, "I slept soundly and peacefully; I knew nothing." This is a remembrance. Remembrance requires prior experience. So in deep sleep there was some non-mental experience of the mind's unconsciousness, the ever-awake Witness. In sleep the mind remains unified with the Witness, keeping its samskaras (impressions), and re-emerges from that unity. "All the mental states and processes are like waves and ripples on the surface of the sea of Consciousness."
- The argument from time and space. The Witness cannot itself be a temporal process, or another witness would be needed (infinite regress). For there to be any idea of time, past, present and future must be present together to one consciousness that does not change with the succession. "The knower of time must transcend time." Likewise, it is the illuminer of space, not an occupant of it, "illuminer of the body and not a dweller within it."
Argument 5 is the most powerful and the most useful in meditation. To notice that "a moment ago" is different from "now," something must hold both. That which holds both moments is not itself in either. This is the doorway from Vritti-Caitanya to Sakshi-Caitanya, and every meditator can test it directly.
Pure Consciousness and Pure Existence are the same
Banerjea concludes that Pure Consciousness alone is the self-existent Reality, beyond time, space, causality and relativity; all phenomena are what they are "as revealed by and to this Consciousness." Space, time, co-existence, succession, causality and relativity are "real only so far as they are illuminated and revealed" by it. They are "the diversified forms in which this One... Consciousness unfolds and manifests Itself to Itself."
Nirvikalpa Samadhi is not unconsciousness
The highest Samadhi is Nirvikalpa (without differentiation) and Asamprajnata (without empirical cognition). If there were empirical knowledge in it, it would be relative and the Absolute could not be realised. So empirical consciousness is absent or transcended. But it is not unconscious: it is "the perfect unification of the empirical consciousness and its perfect identification with and illumination by the Absolute Existence-Consciousness", the perfect fulfilment of empirical consciousness and individuality.
Gorakhnath's great verse on Samvit (SSP IV.28)
"Sattve sattve sakala-racana rajate samvid eka Tattve tattve parama-mahima samvid evavabhati Bhave bhave bahula-tarala lampata samvid eka Bhase bhase bhajana-catura brimhita samvid eva."
- In every substance, it is one Samvit that reigns as the organiser of all its parts.
- In every principle (tattva), it is Samvit alone, of supreme glory, that shines.
- In every existent, it is one Samvit that, abundant and tremulous, eagerly manifests in diverse changing forms.
- In every appearance (mental experience), it is Samvit alone, expanded, skilfully assuming its various roles.
This verse is worth learning by heart. It is a complete meditation: look at any object (sattva), any principle (tattva), any being (bhava), any mental appearance (bhasa), and see Samvit. Note the playful adjectives: "lampata" (eager, almost lustful), "tarala" (tremulous, wave-like), "bhajana-catura" (clever at taking roles). Consciousness here is not cold; it is playful, eager to become everything.
(c) Pure Bliss (Ananda)
The difficulty
Our pleasures are conditional on objects, limited, temporary and mixed with pain. We cannot conceive unconditioned bliss. Sorrow seems more permanent than joy. How can Bliss be the essence of Reality?
Bliss as the ideal of life
We always seek more intense, durable, qualitatively superior happiness; it is always alloyed with pain, desire for more, and fear of loss. Pure happiness, no sorrow, no fear, no craving, no sense of limitation, is always an ideal, never an actual fact in normal life. Perfect happiness means the consciousness of the perfect fulfilment of life, with no imperfection of knowledge, power, goodness, beauty or life (no possibility of death).
The Mahayogis discovered that this ideal "eternally pertains to the essential character of the Pure Transcendent Consciousness," which is our Source and True Self, and that every consciousness has the inherent capacity to realise it by identification with that Consciousness. The key sentence:
"What is the Supreme Ideal of our practical life is the Essential Character of our Soul, i.e. the Supreme Spirit. Hence Self-realisation means the attainment of perfect Bliss."
Negative vs. positive bliss
If Ananda just meant absence of sorrow, a stone would have it, as would a sleeper. That cannot be the ideal. True Ananda must be the positive presence of blissfulness, "the feeling of perfection, infinity, immortality and sweetness within the self." But that seems incompatible with a subject-object-less consciousness. The Mahayogis assert, on the strength of experience, that it is not. Ananda is both the fulfilment of empirical consciousness and the nature of the Transcendent.
The ideals as the engine of evolution
Perfect Existence, Consciousness and Bliss, one in essence, are "the supreme Ideals immanent in the nature of all spatio-temporal existences." All beings are moved by an inherent urge to realise them. "The whole process of evolution in the cosmic system is governed from within by these Ideals," because they are the true Self of everything. "It is the character of all to seek for self-realisation."
This makes the Nath view of evolution teleological. Evolution is not a blind process that accidentally produced consciousness; it is the Absolute's own nature drawing every being toward itself from within. Every struggle for survival is, at root, the urge for perfect life; every search for knowledge is the urge for perfect consciousness; every pursuit of pleasure is the urge for perfect bliss.
The paradox of the perfect
Banerjea then shows the paradox for each term:
- Perfect Life, infinite, without decay or death, no need for development, no distinction of soul and body, no struggle or effort, seems not to be life at all, since all life we know is struggle. "Life which we experience... is always imperfect life, life shadowed by death."
- Perfect Consciousness without subject-object or process seems self-contradictory, though consciousness itself longs to assimilate all objects and be free of distinctions.
- Perfect Bliss without enjoyer, enjoyed and process seems self-contradictory, yet "we can never rest fully satisfied till this Ideal is realised."
We cannot form logically consistent concepts of these, yet we cannot deny their ideal reality, since they "irresistibly urge us on towards self-transcendence at every stage."
Intellectual thinkers, groping, become agnostics, the Absolute exists but is unknowable, some refusing even "existence" to it. The Absolute is presupposed as the background of all, yet declared unknowable.
(d) Above Logical Conception
Neither dogmatic nor agnostic
The Mahayogis do not care whether Sat-Cit-Ananda is logically self-consistent and do not argue with other schools. They admit the Absolute is beyond speech and mind ("Yato vaco nivartante aprapya manasa saha", from which words turn back with the mind, not reaching it). They know that intellectual attempts produce conflicting views and quarrels: "Anye bhedarata vivada-vikalas tattvato vancitah", others, delighting in difference and distressed by dispute, are cheated of the truth.
But they reject agnosticism, "the view of despair." They speak with authority from experience. The Absolute is experienced "not as object of experience, but as perfectly self-luminous Experience Itself."
Why the Yogi falls back from Samadhi
As long as the body continues, the lower forces, suppressed during Samadhi practice but "not totally destroyed or radically assimilated", pull consciousness back down. From Nirutthana-dasa (the state of no rising, absorption) consciousness descends to Vyutthana-dasa (the risen, ordinary state). The light is clouded, not lost. The Yogi carries "some sweet and blissful memory" of the Absolute and his outlook is transformed.
Note the phrase "not totally destroyed or radically assimilated." Suppression is not enough. The Nath programme of Kaya-siddhi and Samarasya is precisely the radical assimilation of the lower forces, so that there is no more falling back. This is why the Naths emphasise the body: the forces that pull consciousness down live in the body, and they must be transformed, not merely suppressed.
Beyond Dvaita and Advaita
Avadhuta Gita (1.36): "Advaitam kecid icchanti dvaitam icchanti capare / Samam tattvam na vindanti dvaitadvaita-vivarjitam" (Banerjea's version: "param tattvam na vindanti dvaitadvaita-vilakshanam").
"Some want non-duality, others want duality; they do not know the supreme truth, which is distinct from both duality and non-duality."
Gorakhnath in the Amanaska:
"Bhavabhava-vinirmuktam nasotpatti-vivarjitam Sarva-sankalpanatitam param brahma tad ucyate."
"Free from being and non-being, devoid of destruction and origination, beyond all conceptions, that is called Para-Brahman."
And SSP: "Pakshapata-vinirmuktam brahma sampadyate tada", then (in Samadhi) one attains Brahman, freed from all partisanship.
Hence the two names of Nath philosophy:
- Dvaitadvaita-vilakshana-vada, the doctrine that the Truth is distinct from both duality and non-duality.
- Pakshapata-vinirmukta-vada, the doctrine freed from partisanship (adherence to any one intellectual view).
Why still use Sat-Cit-Ananda?
For guidance, concepts are inevitable, and Sat, Cit and Ananda are the most fundamental and the best approximation in the intellectual plane. In normal experience they seem separate (things exist without consciousness; conscious beings lack bliss), but perfect existence involves perfect consciousness and bliss, and in transcendent experience there is no distinction. The Yogi-Guru addresses the Absolute as "Sat-Cit-Ananda-Murti", One who reveals Himself as Sat, Cit and Ananda, and warns against imagining these as three separate attributes.
The final sentence of the chapter: "Sat-Cit-Ananda is regarded as the highest form of self-manifestation of the Formless and Manifestationless One, as Brahma, Siva, Paramatma, Paramesvara, etc. are the holiest names of the Nameless One."
Note the hierarchy: Anama (the Nameless) → Sat-Cit-Ananda (its highest self-manifestation, still a concept) → divine names. Even Sat-Cit-Ananda is not the last word; it is the first word.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sat / Asat | Being / non-being |
| Purna / Sunya | Fullness / void |
| Nirvikalpa / Asamprajnata Samadhi | Samadhi without differentiation / without object-cognition |
| Sakshi-Caitanya | Witness-consciousness |
| Vritti-Caitanya | Consciousness as mental modification (empirical consciousness) |
| Samskara | Latent impression of past experience |
| Sushupti / Murchha | Deep sleep / swoon |
| Nirutthana / Vyutthana | Non-emergence (absorption) / emergence (return to ordinary state) |
| Sambhavi-mudra | Yogic "seal" of Sambhu (Siva); open-eyed inward absorption |
| Dvaitadvaita-vilakshana-vada | Doctrine beyond duality and non-duality |
| Pakshapata-vinirmukta-vada | Doctrine free from partisanship |
| Sat-Cit-Ananda-Murti | The One who manifests as Existence-Consciousness-Bliss |
Reflection and Practice
- Witness of the gap. Close your eyes. Notice a sound, then notice its ending, then silence. What knew all three? Rest as that.
- The sleep inquiry. Tonight, before sleep, resolve to notice the moment of waking. In the morning, before thinking, ask: "Who knew I slept well?"
- Two-pot contemplation. Visualise an empty clay pot in open sky. Feel the space inside and outside as one. Then visualise a pot filled and sunk in the ocean. Feel the water inside and outside as one. Then dissolve the pot.
- Recite SSP IV.28 slowly. With each line, look at a different object in the room, a thing, a principle (e.g. gravity, colour), a living being, a thought, and see Samvit as its real nature.
- Partisanship audit. Which spiritual position do you defend most strongly, dualist devotion or non-dual knowledge? Hold it lightly for a week and observe what happens to your practice.
Para-Samvit with Unique Power (pp. 56–61)
Having established Para-Samvit as transcendent, Banerjea now establishes the second pillar: the Absolute has a Unique Power (Nija-Sakti) by which it manifests as the cosmos without ceasing to be transcendent. This chapter is the hinge between Advaita and Saiva-Sakta non-dualism.
The World Is Not Illusion: Banerjea's Argument
"Gorakhnath and the Siddha-Yogis do not, like some metaphysical schools, discard the phenomenal cosmic system as false or illusory, or as having only subjective reality." The argument:
- Illusion presupposes an imperfect, finite consciousness that can mis-observe or mis-think.
- All such imperfect consciousnesses are within the cosmic system, integral parts of it.
- There is no imperfect consciousness outside the cosmos, nor any inside or outside the Absolute, to which the Absolute could falsely appear as a world, or which could superimpose a world upon it.
- So it is unreasonable to say the entire cosmos originates from the ignorance of the individual consciousnesses, they are themselves part of the cosmos.
- Therefore the cosmos, subjects and objects together, must be recognised as phenomenally real and explained from the nature of the Absolute.
This is a direct challenge to the Advaitic doctrine of Adhyasa (superimposition). The problem it points to is the classic "whose is Avidya?" (asraya-anupapatti) problem: if ignorance belongs to individual souls, but souls are themselves products of ignorance, we are in a circle; if ignorance belongs to Brahman, Brahman is not pure. The Nath answer cuts the knot: there is no ignorance generating the world; there is Power expressing itself.
What the Absolute Does
The self-existent, self-shining, self-perfect Consciousness "reveals Itself as a spatio-temporal cosmic system, wherein It originates and develops and sustains and destroys diverse orders" of existences and embodied consciousnesses. While doing this:
- it never loses its transcendent unity and perfection;
- it shines as the changeless Soul of the whole system and of every individual;
- the process is beginningless and endless in time;
- its transcendent non-dual character is in no way affected.
How?: The Nature of Power
The answer is Nija-Sakti. Banerjea gives a fine general analysis of power:
- Power is known only from its action (kriya) or product (karya).
- Until manifested, a power is hidden in and undifferentiated from the nature of the thing.
- A thing may have many powers revealed under different conditions and in relation to different things.
- The power of a thing includes all its possibilities under all possible conditions, which can never be fully known.
- Power is essentially identical with the nature of a thing, and also has differentiated self-manifestations.
- We cannot create a new power in a thing; we can only create conditions for existing powers to express themselves.
He notes that modern science, physics, chemistry, heat, light, electricity, magnetism, biology, medicine, psychology, is the progressive discovery of powers hidden in things since their creation. Many thinkers East and West concluded that "a thing is nothing but a seat or centre of powers, and the entire world is constituted of powers (condensed into material forms), which are ultimately diversified manifestations of One Supreme Power or Energy."
The point "we cannot create new powers, only conditions for their expression" has a spiritual application. Sadhana does not create the Divine in you; it only creates conditions for the Power already in you to manifest. This is exactly the Nath view of Kundalini, discussed later.
Two Eternal Aspects
The Absolute has:
- an eternal transcendent aspect: pure changeless Sat-Cit-Ananda;
- an eternal dynamic aspect: eternally manifesting in the ever-changing, "ever-old and ever-new" cosmos.
By the dynamic aspect "the super-temporal super-spatial super-personal Absolute... freely and eternally comes down to the spatio-temporal plane and manifests and enjoys Itself as the Personal Creator and Governor and Destroyer," endowing itself with one continuous cosmic body and innumerable individual bodies.
So the Absolute is both "a changeless differenceless transcendent super-personal Sat-Cit-Ananda" and "an ever-self-evolving ever-self-differentiating ever-self-phenomenalising ever-self-embodying active personal Sat-Cit-Ananda."
What the Returning Yogi Sees
In Samadhi only the transcendent is present. In Vyutthana, the Power-aspect "becomes revealed to the Yogi with all its glories and beauties and splendours":
- He finds the absolute Goodness of the Spirit expressed in all apparent evils, its Beauty in all apparent deformities and horrors.
- His senses perceive as others do, and his heart may respond in different ways, but he perceives one Sat-Cit-Ananda in all, so remains calm under "apparently catastrophic changes."
- By intensive practice he may enjoy the transcendent experience of Samadhi and the diversified experience of the normal plane at the same time.
That last possibility, simultaneous Samadhi and normal experience, is the Avadhuta state described in Chapter III and the Sahaja state of later Nath and Sant poetry. Note also the honesty: the Yogi's normal heart still "responds in different ways." Enlightenment in this view does not make one a stone; feelings arise, but on the surface of an unshaken depth.
(a) Pure Will (Iccha-matra)
The objection: will means desire, which implies want, imperfection and sorrow. How can perfect Sat-Cit-Ananda desire anything? What motive could impel the timeless to manifest as imperfect beings?
The answer: Iccha-matra does not mean empirical desire. It means "the immanent urge for self-expression, which is inherent in the perfect transcendent nature of the Supreme Spirit."
- Desire is associated with want; Pure Will is associated with fullness.
- "Desires originate from sorrow, while Pure Will is inherent in Ananda."
- Perfect Existence urges toward diverse existences; Perfect Consciousness toward diverse consciousnesses; Perfect Ananda toward diverse joys.
Self-expression necessarily proceeds through evolution and involution, expansion and contraction, diversification and unification, vikasa and sankoca. "What is eternally unified in transcendent perfection is temporally manifested through diverse orders of empirical realities."
The analogy that fits best is creative overflow: an artist full of joy who sings not because she lacks anything but because joy expresses itself. Desire says "I am incomplete; I need this." Pure Will says "I am complete; let it be expressed." The difference between these two motives is the difference between bondage and freedom, and it applies to human action too: the liberated person acts from overflow, not lack.
Gorakhnath's Balanced Homage
What Gorakhnath especially emphasises:
- the entire cosmos is the self-expression of Divine Power, which is identical with the Divine Spirit;
- he pays equal homage to transcendent and dynamic aspects;
- the dynamic is immanent in the transcendent, and the transcendent in the dynamic and all its expressions;
- therefore one should "see the Divinity of the world and all existences in it, he should see God in all and all in God."
In Samadhi, diversity merges in Unity; in enlightened waking, Unity is perceived unfolded in names and forms.
The Siddha teachers base their conception not only on Samadhi but also on normal experience, to give the most comprehensive conception. So the Absolute is:
| Aspect 1 | Aspect 2 |
|---|---|
| Nirguna (without qualities) | Saguna (with qualities) |
| Nishkriya (actionless) | Sakriya (active) |
| Impersonal | Personal |
| Transcendent | Immanent |
| Pure Spirit | Spirit revealed through Power |
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Nija-Sakti | The Absolute's own unique Power |
| Kriya / Karya | Action / product (by which power is known) |
| Iccha-matra | Pure Will, urge of fullness for self-expression |
| Vikasa / Sankoca | Expansion / contraction |
| Nirguna / Saguna | Without / with qualities |
| Nishkriya / Sakriya | Actionless / active |
Reflection and Practice
- Desire vs. Will. For one day, before each significant action, ask: is this coming from lack or from fullness? Notice how it feels in the body.
- The calm under catastrophe. Recall a distressing event. Can you allow the heart's response fully while also sensing the unchanging witness in which the response appears?
- Power meditation. Look at a seed. Contemplate that the whole tree is in it as power, undifferentiated, invisible, real. Then contemplate yourself as a seed of the Absolute's power.
Siva and Sakti in Eternal Union (pp. 62–74)
This is the theological centre of the book. The changeless, nameless, self-luminous One is called Siva; the self-modifying, self-differentiating, self-multiplying dynamic Source of all phenomena is called Sakti. The Absolute Reality is neither alone, it is Siva with Sakti eternally immanent in Him, or Sakti in eternal union with Siva. The chapter gives Gorakhnath's images for this union (moon and moonlight; water and bubbles), defines Kula and Akula, contrasts the Nath view with Sankhya, Mayavada, Dvaita and the "attribute" view, and closes with the Nath attitude to the world: it is not sorrow or illusion but Cid-vilasa, the joyful play of Consciousness.
Why We Don't See It
In ordinary life we see only the multiform expressions (vilasa) of Sakti. We do not see the transcendent Siva; we do not even see Sakti truly, because we don't experience all forces and phenomena as the self-expressions of One Self-unfolding Power. We don't know where the world came from, what sustains it, or where it is going. Yet reason is impelled to find one Reality, one Power, one Law behind all, the urge behind all science and philosophy. The Yogis claim to have found methods by which that One Reality and that Ultimate Power are directly experienced.
The Moon and the Moonlight
"Sivasya abhyantare saktih sakter abhyantare sivah Antaram naiva janiyac candra-candrikayor iva."
"Sakti is within Siva, Siva is within Sakti. Know no difference between them, as between the moon and moonlight."
Banerjea's exposition of this verse:
- The moon is light in its most concentrated form, shining by itself and within itself; moonlight is its self-expression as rays radiating in all directions.
- There is no essential difference between them, just as between a flame (dipa-sikha) and its diffused light (dipaloka).
- Moonlight has no existence apart from the moon; the moon, though self-shining, has no self-manifestation except through moonlight.
- So Siva is "Sakti in the most concentrated self-centred self-conscious self-enjoying transcendent form"; Sakti is the dynamic Power pervading Siva and His self-manifestation as the cosmic process.
- "Siva may be described as the Spirit or Soul of Sakti, and Sakti as the Body of Siva", with no essential difference, since the body is the soul's self-expression.
- "Siva may be spoken of as Sakti in the transcendent plane, and Sakti as Siva in the phenomenal plane."
The moon image is chosen with great care. The Naths could have used sun and sunlight, but the moon is cool, serene, and in Yoga it symbolises the nectar (amrita) at the crown. It is a light that does not burn. Sakti, in this image, is not a fierce force disturbing Siva's peace; she is his own serene radiance.
Siva without Sakti: and Sakti without Siva
- Apart from Siva, Sakti has no existence.
- If Sakti is negated, Siva has "no self-expression, no manifold self-manifestation, and even no self-conscious personality."
- It is by Sakti that Siva becomes conscious of Himself as omnipotent, omniscient, blissful Personal God, Creator, Governor and Enjoyer.
- In the transcendent, Sakti is hidden (avyakta) in Him; in the cosmos He is the Indweller (antaryami) in Sakti and all Her plays.
- In cosmic expression Siva conceals Himself behind Sakti's sportive operations; in His transcendence, Sakti is concealed in Him, "Antarlina-Vimarsah" (with Vimarsa, self-reflective awareness, merged within).
The famous verse (SSP IV.13)
"Sivo'pi sakti-rahitah saktah kartum na kincana Sva-saktya sahitah so'pi sarvasyabhasako bhavet."
"Even Siva, bereft of Sakti, cannot do anything at all; but united with His own Sakti, He becomes the manifester of all."
(Compare the opening of Sankara's Saundarya-Lahari: "Sivah saktya yukto yadi bhavati saktah prabhavitum / na ced evam devo na khalu kusalah spanditum api", if Siva is united with Sakti, he is able to create; otherwise the god cannot even stir.)
And: "Siva, the Supreme Spirit, does not even experience Himself as the Supreme Spirit without being reflected on His Sakti, Which serves as the spiritual mirror to His nature."
This "mirror" idea is the doctrine of Vimarsa from Kashmir Saivism. Prakasa (light, pure consciousness) needs Vimarsa (self-reflection) to know itself as itself. Without Vimarsa, consciousness would be like a crystal that shines but does not know it shines. Sakti is the Absolute's self-awareness. That is why, without her, Siva has "no self-conscious personality."
"Iti atah saktiman": Therefore He has Power
SSP: "Ata eva parama-karanam paramesvarah paratparah sivah, sva-svarupataya sarvatomukhah sarvakarataya sphuritum saknoti, ity atah saktiman."
"Hence Siva, Supreme beyond the supreme, is the supreme cause and Supreme Lord; by His own nature He is able to shine forth facing all directions and in all forms, therefore He is possessed of Power."
Gorakhnath argues here: Siva's capacity to remain eternally absorbed in His changeless transcendence and at the same time manifest as the Personal God creating countless orders, and as the Indwelling Self of all, is itself the evidence of infinite Power.
SSP IV.12: The One who plays as many and remains One
"Ata eva ekakarah ananta-saktiman nijanandataya avasthitah api nanakaratvena vilasan sva-pratishtham svayam eva bhajati iti vyavaharah. Alupta-saktiman nityam sarvakarataya sphuran, punah svenaiva rupena eka evavasishyate."
Banerjea's reading:
- Siva, single in form, possessed of infinite power, abiding in His own bliss, playfully (vilasan), without effort, out of fullness, manifests in manifold forms;
- thus He appears as enjoyer and enjoyed, creator and created, supporter and supported, soul and body;
- He never abandons Sakti, nor is Sakti ever alienated from Him (alupta-saktiman nityam, "whose power is never lost");
- though eternally (in time) shining in all forms, He eternally (timelessly) remains "one alone" (eka evavasishyate), Nirguna Brahman.
Note the two kinds of "eternal": "in time" (everlasting, the endless cosmic process) and "timeless" (beyond time). The Absolute is everlastingly manifesting and timelessly unmanifest at once. This dissolves the apparent contradiction between the Saguna and Nirguna views: they refer to two dimensions of eternity, not two different times.
Gorakhnath's Method: Equilibrating Two Planes
Banerjea describes Gorakhnath's philosophical method in a phrase that is the key to the whole system: he equilibrates (samarasa-karana) the two planes of experience.
- He brings down the light of transcendent experience to the phenomenal plane.
- He raises up the contents of phenomenal experience to the supra-phenomenal plane.
- He gives "almost equal value" to Samadhi and to enlightened waking experience.
In Nirvikalpa Samadhi there is no difference, change, duality or Power. It may look like Siva without Sakti, Kevala Siva, Nirguna Brahman. That is the Ultimate Truth, the goal of the search.
Why the world cannot be absolutely false
But the world transcended in that experience cannot be "absolutely false," because:
- then there would be no real seeker, no real urge, no real discipline, no real attainment, no real ascertainment of the Absolute;
- "All affirmations and denials belong to the domain of phenomenal experience. The denial of duality and relativity would itself imply the existence of duality and relativity";
- the transcendent experience is the fulfilment of phenomenal experience; if the latter were absolutely false, the former would be meaningless.
Why the world cannot be independent
Nor can the world be self-existent or have an independent source, otherwise the search for its truth would not end in Siva, and phenomenal consciousness would not find its fulfilment in transcendent experience. So Siva must contain the ground and source of the world in His nature, "the Dynamic Urge and Power for manifesting Himself phenomenally... and enjoying the infinity of His transcendent nature in infinite forms."
This two-sided argument is elegant. Against the Mayavadin: if the world is false, your liberation is false too, you cannot saw off the branch you are sitting on. Against the materialist or dualist: if the world is independent, the spiritual search could never terminate in the One. So the world is real and dependent, the real self-expression of the One.
Siva's two natures
The Siddhas therefore proclaim that Siva has eternally:
| Nature 1 | Nature 2 |
|---|---|
| Non-dual (advaita) | Dual (dvaita) |
| Transcendent | Phenomenal |
| Self-absorbed | Self-active |
| Self-concentrated | Self-diversifying |
| Inwardly self-enjoying | Outwardly self-enjoying |
| Nameless, formless, changeless | Freely self-manifesting in innumerable names and forms |
The Mahayogi "sees and recognises and makes self-offering to Siva in both these aspects... and does not disown or disregard either."
Sakti Is Not an Attribute
Sakti is not "any distinct attribute or quality or any special feature" of Siva. "Siva's Sakti is no other than Siva Himself. To the Yogis Siva is Sakti and Sakti is Siva." In transcendence, Siva appears without Sakti only because Sakti has no outer expression; actually Sakti is "perfectly identified with and indistinguishable from His transcendent aspect." In manifestation, the dynamic aspect predominates; Siva appears as Sakti, "the Cosmic Player, the Cosmic Dancer."
"Though eternally playing various games and eternally dancing in various rhythms, Siva is eternally in the state of perfect Samadhi. He is thus worshipped as Maha-yogisvaresvara, the eternal Guru and Ideal of all Mahayogis."
Here is the image of the Nath ideal in its divine form: dancing while in Samadhi. Nataraja's dance and Dakshinamurti's silence are the same being. The Avadhuta Yogi is the human reflection of this: active in the world while never leaving Samadhi.
Kula and Akula
SSP IV.1–2: "Saiva saktir yada sahajena svasmin unmilinyam nirutthana-dasayam vartate, tada sivah sa eva bhavati. Ata eva kula-akula-svarupa samarasya-nija-bhumika nigadyate."
"That same Sakti, when she abides naturally (sahajena) in herself in the state of unfolding/opening (unmilini) in the condition of Nirutthana, becomes Siva himself. Hence she is called of the nature of Kula and Akula, the very ground (bhumika) of Samarasya."
Banerjea's definitions:
| Akula | Kula |
|---|---|
| Eternal Being | Eternal Becoming |
| Noumenal essence | Phenomenal self-expression |
| The Infinite Eternal Absolute One | The One as finite temporal relative derivative existences |
| Changeless transcendent Sat-Cit-Ananda | Sat-Cit-Ananda revealed in orders of existences, consciousnesses and enjoyments |
"Kula exhibits Akula under various kinds of limitations and makes these limitations also materials for the self-enjoyment of Akula." In Kula, existences are limited by birth, death and change; consciousnesses by ignorance, error, process and psycho-physical conditions; joys by sorrow, want and dependence on objects. Through these freely self-imposed limitations, Akula delightfully realises and enjoys Himself; in His Akula aspect He shines untouched.
Sakti pervades both and links them, hence she is Kula-Akula-Svarupa.
"Makes these limitations also materials for self-enjoyment." This is a profound idea for the problem of suffering. Limitation is not a defect in the divine plan; it is the very medium of the divine play. A game without rules or obstacles is no game. A story without conflict is no story. The Absolute, full in itself, enjoys itself also as the struggle toward fullness. This does not make suffering trivial; it makes it meaningful.
Moving Between the Planes
- In Nirutthana (Samadhi), Sakti is revealed as Siva.
- In Vyutthana, Siva appears as Sakti.
- In the highest plane the Yogi experiences pure Advaita, unity without difference.
- In lower planes he experiences Dvaita-Advaita, unity with differences, "the Absolute playing freely and delightfully in the world of relativity."
- In the highest plane individuality merges in Pure Experience; in lower planes the ego is at the centre of experience.
- An expert Mahayogi passes easily between planes "by the concentration of his attention," and so feels their inner harmony: Sakti in Siva, Siva in all of Sakti's evolutions; Kula in Akula and Akula in Kula. "Kula and Akula are in the closest and most delightful embrace with each other in the spiritual experience of a Maha-Yogi."
Water and Bubbles (SSP IV.11)
"Akulam kulam adhatte kulam cakulam icchati Jala-budbuda-van nyayad ekakarah parah sivah."
"Akula holds Kula; Kula longs for Akula. By the analogy of water and bubbles, the Supreme Siva is of one form."
- It is the inherent nature of the non-dual Spirit to manifest and enjoy itself as dualities.
- It is the inherent nature of all dualities to seek union with the non-dual Spirit, "since they are in truth one and the same."
The bubble image, unpacked by Banerjea:
- Water remains water and appears as bubbles.
- Bubbles seem different things, born from water, dancing on its surface, related to each other, then losing identity in it.
- We witness these phenomena and cannot deny them as false.
- Yet even as bubbles, water does not become anything other than water; it does not really change or really become many.
So Siva's akhanda-satta (undivided existence) remains the same through the appearance and disappearance of all khanda-satta (divided existences). Amid all cosmic manifestations the Mahayogi experiences "Ekakarah Parah Sivah", the One undifferentiated Supreme. "There is perfect samarasya of the Transcendent and the Dynamic in his experience."
Two halves of the verse, two movements of the spiritual life. "Akula holds Kula", descent, grace, creation: the One embraces the many. "Kula longs for Akula", ascent, aspiration, sadhana: the many yearn for the One. Your spiritual longing is not your private project; it is the cosmic Kula longing for Akula, as natural as a bubble rejoining the sea.
Siva as Efficient and Material Cause; Father and Mother
- Siva is "Himself the Efficient-cum-Material Cause of the universe, and in this aspect He is called Sakti."
- Sakti, Siva in this aspect, "is eternally devoted to the service of Siva in His transcendent aspect."
- They are "eternally wedded to each other, eternally in loving embrace."
- Siva illumines and spiritualises Sakti and her evolutions; Sakti reveals Siva's infinite existence, consciousness, beauty and goodness in names and forms and contributes to His enjoyment.
- Transcendent Siva is the Soul of the cosmos; dynamic Siva (Sakti) is its body and all individual bodies.
- Siva is Father (transcendent efficient cause), Sakti is Mother (dynamic material cause, assuming forms, sustaining, nursing, re-absorbing), with "no question of gender in the sensuous sense."
Sakti's two tendencies
Sakti has a diversifying tendency (prasarana) and a unifying tendency (sankocana):
- She diversifies the One and unifies the many.
- She creates many existences from One, and unveils their unity "through a process of illumination."
- "She materialises the Spirit and again spiritualises matter."
- She furnishes Spirit with physical, vital and mental bodies, and reveals their spiritual character.
- "She finitises the Infinite and again exhibits the One Changeless Infinite in all changing finites."
This is the theoretical foundation of Nath sadhana. The same Power that brought you into the body is the Power that will spiritualise the body. You do not fight Sakti to reach Siva; you invite Sakti's unifying movement. This is why Kundalini, Sakti in the individual, is the agent of liberation, not an obstacle to it.
How the Nath View Differs from Others
Banerjea carefully lists four views the Nath school rejects:
| View | Its account of the world's source | Nath objection |
|---|---|---|
| Sankhya (Kapila) | Unconscious Prakriti, eternally associated with many inactive Purushas, evolving spontaneously | Source is not non-conscious matter |
| Advaita of Sankara | Maya, inscrutable cosmic ignorance, neither real nor unreal, veiling Brahman and projecting an illusory world | Source is not ignorance or illusion |
| Some Dvaita schools | A non-spiritual power eternally and existentially different from God, transforming under His direction | Source is not a second reality |
| "Attribute" view | Power as an abstract quality of a substance | Sakti is not an attribute; she is Siva |
The Nath positive view, contrasting term by term:
- not material substance, but Spiritual Reality;
- not Acit-Sakti (unconscious power), but Cit-Sakti (conscious power);
- not Avidya/Maya, but Vidya/Samvit (knowledge, consciousness);
- not avarana-vikshepatmika (veiling and projecting), but prakasa-vimarsatmika (revealing and self-reflecting).
Gorakhnath's definition: "Parapara-vimarsa-rupini samvit nana-sakti-rupena nikhila-pindadharatvena vartate iti siddhantah.", "Samvit, whose form is the self-reflection of the higher and the lower, exists in the form of many powers as the support of all bodies; this is the settled conclusion."
So the Divine Mother and Nurse of the universe is Sat-Cit-Ananda-mayi, made of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.
Kinship with Tantra
The Nath view is "generally akin to that of the Tantrik school." Both see Sakti as Cit-Sakti, the self-unfolding, self-delighting Power, "Atma-vilasini Sat-Cid-Ananda-Svarupini Sivani-Sakti", in eternal union with Siva. Both hold the cosmos is the product:
- not of a Power of Darkness but of Light,
- not of Evil but of Supreme Goodness,
- not of a Power that veils and distorts Truth but one that reveals its goodness and richness,
- not of a Power antagonistic to Spirit but one "delightfully devoted to the loving service of the Spirit."
Cid-Vilasa: The World as Play of Consciousness
The enlightened of both schools describe the cosmos, "with all its apparently bewildering complexities and catastrophes", as Cid-vilasa: "the luxuries as it were of the Spirit." Matter, life, mind and intellect are forms in which the Spirit plays. "Thus they look upon the whole world as Spiritual, they look upon their own bodies also as spiritual, they enjoy all phenomena of mundane experiences as the joyful play of Siva-Sakti."
Renunciation Without Pessimism
This final section of the chapter deserves careful attention because it resolves an apparent paradox.
The Siddha-Yogis have always been upholders of Nivritti-marga (the path of renunciation) and the ideal of Kaivalya/Moksha/Nirvana, absolute Sivahood. They practised and preached abstinence, calm, mastery of body, senses, vital forces and mind, freedom from worldly desire, unconcern with outer affairs, and ever-deeper concentration inward.
But they never taught:
- that all is sorrow, evil, ugly and repulsive;
- that the world arose from ignorance, illusion or deceptive power;
- that the world-order is devilish or satanic;
- that the world is the chance product of blind material energy against which man must always struggle.
Many schools teaching Moksha and renunciation deliberately cultivate such views. "Whatever may be their practical values in the path of spiritual self-discipline," they are "repugnant to the spiritual philosophy of the Siddha-Yogi school."
Instead, the world originated "not from Ignorance, but from Fullness of Knowledge," and is "the delightful plays of One Supremely Loving Motherly Power, Who is eternally full of affection and mercy for Her children," leading them through various stages toward illumination and realisation of Siva in themselves. The world is to be appreciated as Cid-vilasa, saundarya-lahari (wave of beauty), ananda-lahari (wave of bliss).
This is one of the most practically important teachings in the book. You can renounce without hating. Nath renunciation is not disgust; it is maturity, the way an adult "renounces" toys without despising them or the child who played with them. Many seekers fuel their detachment with aversion (Dvesha), which is itself one of the Klesas. The Nath way detaches through love and insight: seeing everything as the Mother's play, one stops grasping it, because one no longer needs to grasp what one already is.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Siva | The transcendent, changeless, self-luminous aspect of the Absolute |
| Sakti | The dynamic, self-manifesting aspect; Siva's own Power |
| Vilasa | Play, sportive self-expression |
| Avyakta | Unmanifest |
| Antaryami | Inner controller, Indweller |
| Vimarsa | Self-reflective awareness; the "mirror" by which consciousness knows itself |
| Prakasa | Light; pure self-luminous consciousness |
| Antarlina-vimarsa | With self-reflection merged within |
| Kula / Akula | Becoming / Being; manifest / transcendent |
| Akhanda-satta / Khanda-satta | Undivided existence / divided existences |
| Prasarana / Sankocana | Diversifying / unifying tendency of Sakti |
| Cit-Sakti / Acit-Sakti | Conscious / unconscious power |
| Avarana-vikshepa | Veiling and projecting (Maya's two functions in Advaita) |
| Cid-vilasa | The play/luxury of consciousness; the world |
| Maha-yogisvaresvara | Lord of the lords of Yogis, Siva |
Reflection and Practice
- Moon meditation. On a moonlit night, look at the moon and then at the moonlit ground. Feel the light on the ground as the moon itself, extended. Then turn this toward yourself: your thoughts, sensations and body as the radiance of a centre of awareness.
- Bubble contemplation. Watch bubbles in water. Notice their birth, play, and dissolution. Then watch thoughts arising and dissolving in consciousness in the same way.
- Renunciation audit. List what you are trying to renounce. For each, ask: am I renouncing it from aversion or from fullness? Try replacing aversion with "This too is the Mother's play; I no longer need to grasp it."
- "Kula longs for Akula." When spiritual longing arises, do not treat it as personal. Feel it as the whole universe's movement toward the One, passing through you.
- Daily recitation. "Sivasya abhyantare saktih, sakter abhyantare sivah." Say it at the start of meditation, and let it set the tone: no part of experience is to be rejected.
Gradual Unfoldment of Sakti (pp. 75–87)
The first Upadesa of the SSP describes how Sakti, immanent in Siva, unfolds step by step toward the cosmic body and individual bodies. This chapter covers the first great sequence, the five stages of Sakti, each with five qualities (gunas). Before that, Banerjea explains the theory of causation the Naths hold (Satkarya-vada), the cyclic view of creation, why the Absolute's causation is unique, and how the Nath "Cid-vilasa" differs from the Vedantic "Vivarta."
Satkarya-vada: The Effect Pre-exists in the Cause
Gorakhnath's school holds Satkarya-vada: effects exist in an unmanifest (avyakta) state in their material cause (upadana-karana) before production. The Spiritual Power of Siva, in His dynamic aspect, is both the material and efficient cause of the cosmos. So before manifestation, all orders of reality exist undifferentiated in the Divine Power, which, being actionless, is identical with Siva. Siva-Sakti then has no outer manifestation; Siva does not even experience Himself as Owner of Sakti or as a dynamic personality. This is Para-Samvit, pure Sat-Cit-Ananda.
Two ways of describing this state:
- Metaphysically: the eternal transcendent nature of Reality.
- Phenomenally (temporally): the pre-creation state (srishteh prak) or Maha-pralaya (absolute dissolution).
Since creation and dissolution occur, the seed (bija) of the world must exist in the Spirit even before creation and after dissolution, as His Power, without expression, identical with Him.
The Cosmic Cycle
From the temporal viewpoint:
- Causation/evolution progresses from unity to plurality, simplicity to complexity, homogeneity to heterogeneity, potentiality to actuality, unmanifest to manifest.
- Dissolution regresses the opposite way.
- Pre-creation and post-dissolution look the same, as good as non-being, Avyakta, Sunya. So it is fair to say the cosmos starts in Sunya and ends in Sunya, starts in Avyakta and ends in Avyakta, "even that it starts from Nothing and ends in Nothing."
But time has no beginning in time or end in time. Every dissolution was preceded by a creation and will be followed by another. Every dissolution contains the seed of the next creation; every creation contains the ground of its own destruction. This Srishti-sthiti-pralaya-cakra (cycle of creation, maintenance, dissolution) is temporally eternal, this is the cosmic system. Gorakhnath accepts it phenomenally.
The Unique Causal Relation
Metaphysically, the Cause is not temporally prior and does not change into effects. All spatio-temporal processes are within the cosmos. So the Absolute's causation cannot be compared to:
- seed → tree,
- milk → curd,
- thread → cloth,
- clay → pots,
because in all these, cause and effect are on the same plane, both subject to space-time and natural law, and the cause changes. Here the Cause is supra-temporal, one, infinite, free, perfect, blissful; the Effect contains all differences, conditions, bondages, sorrows, evils and deformities. "The Cause is unique and the Effect also is unique." The whole beginningless cycle is the effect, related to the Supreme as His effect, without change and without effort on His part.
The Nath answer: Cid-vilasa or Siva-Sakti-vilasa, perfectly free, delightful, sportive self-manifestation. This "unfoldment" is not like a bud into a flower; in the transcendent plane there is no folding or unfolding at all, those concepts belong to the phenomenal plane.
Progressive realisation
"The Truth that is absolutely realised in Itself above time, space and relativity in the transcendent plane, is always in the process of realisation under conditions of time, space and relativity in the phenomenal plane."
It is the progressive realisation of the perfect One as imperfect many, the unconditioned One as the conditioned many, the spiritual One as the psycho-physical many, "enjoyment in innumerable instalments as it were of the infinite riches of Its nature enjoyed as one undifferentiated whole in the higher plane."
"Enjoyment in instalments", this is a memorable image. What is enjoyed all at once in eternity is enjoyed piece by piece in time. Time is the Absolute's way of savouring itself. Every moment of your life is one instalment of an infinite richness.
Vivarta vs. Cid-Vilasa
Banerjea gives a precise comparison of causal theories:
| Theory | Meaning | Who holds it | Nath position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arambha-vada | Creation of a new effect by the cause's wish/act | Nyaya-Vaiseshika | Rejected |
| Parinama-vada | Real transformation of cause into effects of the same order | Sankhya, some Vedanta | Rejected |
| Vivarta-vada (Sankara) | Appearance of the cause as effects of a lower order without change in the cause; but understood as illusory, like rope-snake, shell-silver, mirage (adhyasa) | Advaita | Accepted only if Vivarta means real self-manifestation of a higher reality as lower realities, not illusion |
| Cid-vilasa | Free, delightful self-manifestation through Cit-Sakti | Naths, Tantra | Accepted |
The Advaitins conclude the world is an illusory appearance to those suffering from positive ignorance (avidya), and posit Maya, not the real Power of Brahman, but a "neither-real-nor-unreal positive entity somehow mysteriously existing with Him."
The Yogis agree that the Supreme is one, changeless, non-dual, and that the world is neither His wishful creation nor His self-transformation. But:
- They see no reason why self-manifestation should be illusory.
- They see no need for an inexplicable extraneous entity called Maya "essentially unrelated to the Supreme Spirit."
- They give Maya "a much more exalted position": she is Cit-Sakti, immanent in the Spirit, adored as Mahamaya or Yogamaya.
- They reject the rope-snake type analogies because these "irrationally pre-suppose the existence of imperfect observers before the appearance of this phenomenal system."
- "Maya, if conceived as the Mother of the Cosmic order, must be regarded as the real Power of Brahma."
Banerjea's objection to the rope-snake analogy is sharp. In the analogy, someone must be there to mistake the rope for a snake. But in cosmogony, the "someones", individual minds, are themselves part of what appears. Who mistook Brahman for the world before there were any minds? The analogy explains individual illusion within the world, not the world itself.
Absolute Freedom of the Will
The exposition starts with the Absolute in whom Power is utterly unmanifest, Pure Will "which wills nothing" and is indistinguishable from the Willer (Dharmin). Its presence indicates the Spirit's absolute freedom: there is no second power to limit Him, and no necessity forcing Him to manifest in any particular way at any particular time. The unfoldment is perfectly free and so is rightly called ananda-vilasa, the expression of infinite joy.
The Five Stages of Sakti
This is the first of the book's great "pentads." Learn this table thoroughly; Chapter IX builds the next pentad on it.
| Stage | Name | Arises through | Five Gunas (SSP I.10–14) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nija-Sakti | , (original, identical with Siva) | Nityata, Niranjanata, Nishpandata, Nirabhasata, Nirutthanata |
| 2 | Para-Sakti | Unmukhatva, mere turning-toward | Astita, Aprameyata, Abhinnata, Anantata, Avyaktata |
| 3 | Apara-Sakti | Spandana, mere vibration | Sphurata, Sphutata, Spharata, Sphotata, Sphurtita |
| 4 | Sukshma-Sakti | Ahamta, mere I-ness | Niramsata, Nirantarata, Niscalata, Niscayata, Nirvikalpata |
| 5 | Kundalini-Sakti | Vedana, the nature of experiencing | Purnata, Pratibimbata, Prabalata, Proccalata, Pratyagmukhata |
Stage 1: Nija-Sakti (Own Power)
The Divine Power in her original form, pure Will, wholly indistinguishable from Siva. Her five qualities:
- Nityata, eternity: inalienably present in the Spirit.
- Niranjanata, stainlessness: absolutely pure, sharing the Spirit's self-luminosity.
- Nishpandata, vibrationlessness: no internal change, not even an urge for change. "She is perfectly calm and tranquil and enjoying sound sleep as it were within the bosom of Siva."
- Nirabhasata, non-reflection: not yet distinct from Siva, so Siva is not reflected in her.
- Nirutthanata, non-arising: her own character is not yet awakened as distinct from Siva.
"At this stage Siva is Sakti and Sakti is Siva. This is pure Para-Samvit."
Stage 2: Para-Sakti (Supreme Power)
"Tasya unmukhatva-matrena para-saktir utthita" (SSP I.6), by His mere turning-toward (unmukhatva, an inclination to look outward), Para-Sakti arose.
- A very subtle impulse arises to activate herself. The "sleeping" Will awakens to her infinite phenomenal possibilities with an inner urge to realise them.
- Siva becomes "dimly conscious of Himself as the Possessor of this infinite Sakti." A "distinction without difference" arises.
- The Power becomes an object of delightful experience to Him within Himself. "Sakti then exists no longer perfectly as Siva, but in and for Siva."
- No actual movement yet. This is the first utthana-dasa (state of arising) from Nirutthana.
- She is the Supreme Mother of all powers, existences and consciousnesses.
Her five qualities:
- Astita, existence: only now can "existing" be predicated of her (before, she was identical with pure Existence, which is not a quality).
- Aprameyata, immeasurability: as the source of all determinations, she is not determinable.
- Abhinnata, undifferentiatedness: nothing outside or inside to distinguish her from; not distinct from Siva.
- Anantata, infinity, inexhaustibility: "there will continue to be ever-new creation from within Herself."
- Avyaktata, unmanifestedness: all this richness is still wholly unmanifest.
She holds infinite wisdom, beauty, goodness, splendour, power, life, love and happiness, "all the supreme ideals of conscious existence perfectly realised", but unmanifest. She stands "at the junction, as it were, of the transcendent and the phenomenal planes."
Banerjea links this to the Upanishad, "Tad aikshata, bahu syam prajayeya" (That saw: may I be many, may I be born), noting "to the Transcendent Spirit willing and witnessing are the same", and to the Nasadiya Sukta of the Rig Veda: "Kamas tad agre samavartatadhi, manaso retah prathamam yad asit", "Desire first arose in That, which was the first seed of mind."
Stage 3: Apara-Sakti (the Other/Next Power)
"Tasya spandana-matrena apara-saktir utthita" (SSP I.7), by its mere vibration (spandana), Apara-Sakti arose.
An internal vibration or agitation arises in Para-Sakti, an inner push toward external self-manifestation, but no outward transformation yet. The five qualities all derive from the root "sphur/sphut" (to throb, burst, flash), a deliberate poetic cluster:
- Sphurata, throbbing existence: existence agitated by an inner movement for self-revelation.
- Sphutata, distinctness: a more explicit presence in Siva's self-experience.
- Spharata, expansiveness: an incessant pull toward progressive externalisation.
- Sphotata, bursting forth: the ideally present realities seeking realisation.
- Sphurtita, exhilaration: inner delight and enthusiasm for unfolding her glories.
Still no earth, water, fire, air, ether; no sun, moon, stars, day, night, light, darkness, heat, cold; no subject or object. Siva "has, as it were, just been awakened from the state of Nirvikalpa-Samadhi and become conscious of Himself as possessed of infinite power... and also of a sort of pulsation and thrill within Himself." His consciousness is still immersed in transcendent bliss, yet dynamic.
Spanda (vibration) is the central concept of the Kashmir Saiva Spanda school (Vasugupta's Spanda-karikas). Gorakhnath places it at stage three: it is the first "movement" of the Absolute, a throb without displacement. In meditation, this corresponds to the subtle pulsation felt when the mind has become very still but before thought arises, the "throb" of awareness itself.
Stage 4: Sukshma-Sakti (Subtle Power)
"Tatah ahamta-matrena sukshma-saktir utpanna" (SSP I.8), then, by mere I-ness, Sukshma-Sakti arose.
Pure I-ness evolves: "I am conscious of myself", but with no differentiation between "I" as subject and "myself" as object. Siva is now revealed as "the sole self-conscious self-determining dynamic Personality", a Personal God, yet still "the One without a second," without parts, body, or distinction of in and out.
Five qualities:
- Niramsata, partlessness: no duality, plurality or relativity in this I-consciousness.
- Nirantarata, continuity: no temporal or spatial gap.
- Niscalata, steadiness: no fluctuation, expansion or contraction, no rise or fall of intensity.
- Niscayata, certitude: perfect self-knowledge, without doubt or error.
- Nirvikalpata, non-conceptuality: no empirical process, abstract concept or speculation, no subject-object relation. "This is pure omniscience; the Supreme Spirit with His Sakti being all that really exists, His self-knowledge is truly all-knowledge."
At this stage the Vimarsa-Sakti, Siva's power of self-reflection and self-experience, is revealed. This divine I-consciousness is "altogether of a distinct character from the ego-consciousness of individual persons"; that is why Gorakhnath carefully lists the absence of all the features of finite ego. Human self-consciousness is under Avidya and involves duality, process, change, limitation. The divine I-consciousness is Suddha-Vidya (pure self-illumination). It is what the Upanishad means by "Aham Brahmasmi." A Yogi can participate in it through knowledge and meditation, when all limits of his individual ego vanish, and that ascent is itself a form of Sakti's self-expression.
This stage is the heart of Nath spirituality. The way to the Absolute is not to destroy "I" but to purify it, from "I am this body, this person" to "I" alone, partless, continuous, steady, certain, non-conceptual. The five gunas of Sukshma-Sakti are a perfect checklist for testing one's meditation on "I": Is my sense of "I" divided? Is it continuous or interrupted? Does it fluctuate? Is there doubt? Is it a concept? When all five answers are right, one's I-sense has become the divine Aham.
Stage 5: Kundalini-Sakti (the Coiled Power)
"Tato vedana-sila kundalini-saktir udgata" (SSP I.9), then arose Kundalini-Sakti, whose nature is experiencing (vedana).
Within Siva's self-conscious Personality, Sakti unfolds as a distinct Psychic Power, characterised by knowing, feeling and willing, though no external objects have yet evolved. Five qualities:
- Purnata, fullness: infinite possibilities of self-manifestation; the material cause of the universe; containing "in a coiled form as it were" the entire spatio-temporal order; the seed (bija) of the cosmos, which is her "uncoiling."
- Pratibimbata, reflectiveness: a mirror on which Siva's self-luminous character is reflected in infinite forms, material, vital, mental, intellectual.
- Prabalata, mightiness: omnipotence; power to create, sustain, regulate and re-absorb.
- Proccalata, dynamism: self-transforming, self-expanding, self-multiplying, and self-harmonising, self-unifying; free and controller of all finite movements.
- Pratyagmukhata, inward-facedness: "even while unfolding Herself in the direction of phenomenal creation... Her face is always directed towards the Supreme Spirit, Siva, Who is Her Soul and Lord."
From the last quality follows a key spiritual consequence: "As the playful Sakti has Her face invariably towards Siva... all the children of Sakti, all Her phenomenal self-manifestations, also have an inherent yearning for conscious union with Siva, all consciously or unconsciously move towards blissful union with Him." Sakti creates every individual body as "a specialised seat for the self-expression and self-enjoyment of Siva."
Deeper Insights on the Five Stages
- The map of creation is the map of meditation, reversed. Creation goes: Nija → Para → Apara → Sukshma → Kundalini → cosmos. Sadhana goes: body and world → awakened Kundalini → pure I-ness (Sukshma) → pure vibration (Apara/Spanda) → mere inclination (Para) → Nija-Sakti in Siva. Each stage is a level of meditative absorption. A practitioner can recognise these states: the experiencing psyche (Kundalini), the pure I (Sukshma), the throb (Apara), the pure potential (Para), and utter stillness (Nija).
- Kundalini is cosmic before she is individual. Popular yoga treats Kundalini as a power sleeping at the base of the spine. Gorakhnath first presents her as a cosmic principle, the fifth stage of the Absolute's self-unfoldment, the seed of the whole universe. The individual Kundalini (Chapter XIV) is this same cosmic power, coiled in each body. Awakening Kundalini is therefore not a private physiological event; it is the cosmic Power turning back toward Siva within you.
- "Pratyagmukhata" is the reason liberation is possible. Because Sakti's face is always toward Siva, every being has a built-in orientation toward the Divine. Sin, error, and ignorance can obscure this orientation but never remove it. Spiritual practice is the conscious alignment with an orientation already present.
- The "matra" pattern. Each stage arises by "mere" (matra), mere turning, mere vibration, mere I-ness. This emphasises effortlessness. Nothing is added; nothing is laboured. Each stage is a slight intensification of what was already there. In practice, the higher stages of meditation are similarly "mere", not effortful achievements but subtle allowings.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Satkarya-vada | Doctrine that the effect pre-exists in the cause |
| Upadana-karana / Nimitta-karana | Material cause / efficient cause |
| Maha-pralaya | Great dissolution |
| Srishti-sthiti-pralaya-cakra | Cycle of creation, maintenance, dissolution |
| Arambha / Parinama / Vivarta-vada | Theories of new creation / transformation / appearance |
| Adhyasa | Superimposition (error) |
| Mahamaya / Yogamaya | Maya as the Divine Power itself |
| Unmukhatva | Turning-toward; first inclination to manifest |
| Spanda / Spandana | Vibration; throb of consciousness |
| Ahamta | I-ness |
| Vedana | Experiencing; psychic awareness |
| Suddha-Vidya | Pure knowledge; divine I-consciousness |
| Utthana / Nirutthana | Arising / non-arising |
Reflection and Practice
- Memorise the pentad. Write the five stages and their arising-causes (mere turning, mere vibration, mere I-ness, experiencing). Recite them in descending order before meditation and ascending order at its end.
- Checking your "I." During meditation, rest in the sense "I am" without adding "this" or "that." Test it against the five gunas of Sukshma-Sakti: partless, continuous, steady, certain, non-conceptual.
- Spanda practice. When the mind becomes still, notice the subtle pulsation of aliveness in awareness itself. Don't make it into an object; rest in it.
- Pratyagmukhata. In difficult moments, recall that your very being "faces" Siva. Ask: in this situation, where is my face turned? Turn it back.
Self-Manifestation of Siva as Cosmic Purusha (pp. 88–99)
The five-fold unfoldment of Sakti produces the Para-Pinda, the "Supreme Body" of Siva, his self-conscious divine Personality. Gorakhnath describes this Personality first as five forms of consciousness (Aparampara, Paramapada, Sunya, Niranjana, Paramatma), then as the Anadi-Pinda unfolding five self-revelations (Paramananda, Prabodha, Cid-udaya, Prakasa, Soham-bhava), culminating in the Adya-Pinda, the Universal Soul with an ideal cosmic body, equivalent to the Vedic Hiranyagarbha. Along the way Banerjea contrasts the Nath Siva with Patanjali's Isvara and Kapila's atheistic Sankhya, and explains the meaning of the key word Pinda.
The Birth of Para-Pinda
"Evam ca sakti-tattve panca-panca-guna-yogat parapindotpattih" (SSP I.15), Thus, from the union of the five-times-five qualities in the Sakti-principle, the Para-Pinda arises.
Quoting an earlier authority: "Nija-para-apara-sukshma-kundalinishu pancadha / Sakti-tattva-kramenottho jatah pindah parah sivah", Through the five-fold sequence of the Sakti-principle, Nija, Para, Apara, Sukshma, Kundalini, Siva was "born" as the Supreme Body.
A key caution: no real time
Because of the limits of thought and language, we describe the unfoldment as temporal succession. But:
- time in the empirical sense does not exist there;
- every stage, and Siva's vilasa in it, is eternal;
- Siva's "birth" as Para-Pinda is not a temporal event;
- later stages do not supersede earlier ones; all are eternally present together;
- the gradualness is "a mere mental analysis and reconstruction."
The qualities of different stages may look contradictory to us, but "Siva's Consciousness is the meeting-ground of all contradictory qualities (Sarva-virodhi-gunasraya). He enjoys nirvikalpa samadhi along with the active waking state."
This is an essential reading instruction for the whole cosmology. When the text says "first this, then that," read it as "underneath this, that; within this, that." The stages are layers of the present, not episodes of the past. This is what makes them usable in meditation: they are all available now.
Parama-Purusha: the Divine Individual
Para-Pinda is "the self-manifestation of the Supreme Spirit as the Supreme Individual (Parama-Purusha) with all His eternal and infinite glorious powers... while retaining the perfect calmness... of His self-luminous transcendent nature."
In Patanjali's language (Yoga-sutra 1.24) He is "Klesa-karma-vipakasayair aparamrishtah purusha-visesha isvarah", untouched by:
- Klesa (the five afflictions),
- Karma (actions born of desire aimed at desired results),
- Vipaka (the fruits of such actions),
- Asaya (subconscious deposits that generate new klesa, karma and vipaka),
yet a Purusha-visesha, a special Person, perfectly self-conscious. He has no imperfection in existence, power, knowledge, moral and aesthetic excellence, or illumination. And the paradoxes of His nature:
- perfectly active and perfectly inactive;
- enjoying transcendent bliss within, yet with an urge to manifest in diversity;
- absolutely calm, yet feeling "a tremendous upheaval, as it were, for creative action";
- absolutely indifferent to cosmic affairs and in eternal Samadhi, yet the Indwelling Spirit, Inspirer and Regulator;
- seeing the whole system in Himself and Himself in every part, with no perturbation in His unity;
- dwelling in phenomenal and transcendent planes at once.
Gorakhnath vs. Kapila and Patanjali
This section is one of the clearest comparative passages in the book.
Kapila's Sankhya
Kapila was revered by the Siddha-Yogis as Adi-Vidvan (the first sage/philosopher); the Gita says "Siddhanam Kapilo munih" (among Siddhas I am the sage Kapila, 10.26). But his system, as taught by his followers, has no place for God:
- the ultimate material cause is Mula-Prakriti, non-spiritual and self-modifying;
- innumerable inactive pure spirits (Purushas) are somehow eternally associated with it through aviveka (non-discrimination);
- all bodies, senses, minds, egos and intellects are products of unconscious Prakriti; souls are mere witnesses;
- through Avidya, souls falsely identify with bodies and suffer, until true knowledge releases them;
- "Isvara-siddheh pramanabhavat", God cannot be proven, there being no valid means of proof; nor is God needed to explain the cosmos.
Patanjali's Yoga
Patanjali largely adopted Sankhya metaphysics but recognised Isvara as eternally self-existent Purusha-visesha:
- the supreme ideal for all Yogis and source of illumination;
- eternally omniscient; the Guru of all ages;
- meditation on Him (Isvara-pranidhana) is one of the fastest means to Samadhi;
- He is Maha-yogisvara, Maha-jnanisvara, Maha-tyagisvara;
- Lord of Prakriti in that He transcends her and she can never bind Him;
- compassionate, delivering souls by bestowing enlightenment.
But Patanjali does not admit Him as the sole cause of the cosmos, nor as governing Prakriti's evolution, nor Prakriti as depending on Him. For Kapila and Patanjali, Prakriti is a self-existent, self-evolving non-spiritual reality.
The Nath position
| Issue | Kapila / Patanjali | Gorakhnath |
|---|---|---|
| Prakriti | Independent, non-spiritual | One aspect of Siva's inherent Sakti; essentially spiritual; no existence apart from Purusha |
| Evolution | Prakriti evolving by herself | Self-unfoldment of the Divine Power |
| Cosmos | Prakriti's product | Self-manifestation of Isvara |
| Isvara's mastery | Transcends Prakriti only | Absolute Master in every sense |
| Individual souls | Many independent eternal Purushas | Individualised self-manifestations of the One, each is "essentially Siva in a particular psycho-physical embodiment" |
| Liberation | Kaivalya: soul dissociated from Prakriti, retaining its individuality as pure Cit, distinct from other souls and Isvara | Realisation of identity with Siva; Sivahood; Sakti experienced as non-different from oneself |
"Thus the conception of Isvara as given in Yoga-Sutra represents only a partial aspect of Siva or Isvara as conceived by Gorakhnath."
This table explains why Nath Yoga, though it uses Patanjali's eight limbs, is not Patanjali's Yoga. In Patanjali, liberation is the soul's isolation (kaivalya) from nature. In Nathism, liberation is the soul's discovery that it is Siva and that nature is its own Sakti. Same techniques, opposite metaphysical direction: one separates, the other integrates. This is exactly Kaviraj's point in the Prefatory Note.
The Meaning of "Pinda"
Gorakhnath uses the word Pinda constantly and deliberately. Banerjea's analysis is one of the most important passages in the book for understanding the Nath worldview:
- A Pinda is "an organised whole, a living unity of many parts, a one consisting of and unifying a plurality."
- The whole exists in every part; the one pervades, enlivens and harmonises each part, though the parts have distinct qualities.
- All parts exist in and for the whole; their fulfilment lies in the whole.
- Parts may multiply, be wholes of smaller parts, change and transform, all within the whole, participating in its life.
- Parts contribute to the life-history of the whole; the whole's life-power determines the parts' changes.
- Parts are parts only in relation to the whole; the whole is whole only in relation to parts.
- "The primary point to be noted is that unity pervades the diversities."
Gorakhnath applies this everywhere, from the highest spiritual plane to the lowest physical plane:
- In the highest plane he rejects pure non-dualism (extreme Vedanta), pure dualism (Dvaita) and pure pluralism (Bahupadartha-vada).
- In the lowest plane he rejects the doctrine of unrelated atoms (paramanus) integrated and disintegrated by external causes (Vaiseshika atomism).
- The non-dual Spirit is embodied with His own Sakti. "The Absolute Reality is therefore neither purely non-dual nor purely dual nor plural."
- Confirmed by living organisms from bacilli to the majestically great. "The whole universe is conceived as one organism, comprising countless orders of organisms, one Samashti-Pinda comprising innumerable orders of Vyashti-Pindas."
"Pinda" is the Nath equivalent of what modern thinkers call an organism or a holon, something that is a whole in itself and a part of a larger whole. Nath philosophy is thus an organic philosophy: reality is neither a heap of separate things nor a featureless unity but a living, nested organism in which unity pervades diversity at every level. This is the theoretical basis of "Pinda = Brahmanda": if reality is organic, the whole is present in every part, so the cosmos is present in the human body.
The Five Forms of Para-Pinda Consciousness
SSP I.17: "Aparamparam paramapadam sunyam niranjanam paramatmeti", Aparampara, Paramapada, Sunya, Niranjana, Paramatma. These five forms "all shine at the same time without overshadowing each other" in Siva's all-comprehensive consciousness. Each corresponds to a stage of Sakti:
| Form of consciousness | Defined as | Corresponds to | How Yogis use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aparampara ("beyond the highest and lowest") | Sphurata-matram, mere self-effulgence | Nija-Sakti (power completely hidden) | Pure self-less consciousness, the "chief constituent" of Siva's personality |
| Paramapada ("Supreme State") | Bhavana-matram, mere contemplation/reflection | Para-Sakti | Siva as pure disinterested Witness of His Power; His mere witnessing inspires her creative urge. Often meditated on as the supreme goal |
| Sunya ("Void") | Sva-satta-matram, mere self-existence | Apara-Sakti | Siva as empty background of vibrating Sakti, "hiding Himself behind the scene"; meditated on to be free of "me and mine", a practice of self-annihilation |
| Niranjana ("Stainless") | Sva-sakshatkara-matram, mere self-realisation | Sukshma-Sakti | Siva experiencing Himself as pure I, Seer of His evolving Power; a dvaita-advaita relation within; felt pulsations, yet unmoved. Meditated on to realise pure, free, blissful I-consciousness |
| Paramatma ("Supreme Self") | Universal Soul | Kundalini-Sakti | Soul and Lord of the Divine Mother; conscious of infinite power, wealth, goodness, beauty, wisdom, love; delight to play with them in the cosmos |
Each of these has five gunas; Siva as Para-Pinda is the perfect harmony of all twenty-five. "He is the Supreme Divinity comprising all Divinities."
This table is extraordinarily useful because it explains the different names for the Absolute in Nath and Sant literature. When Kabir or the Gorakh-Bani speak of "Sunya," "Niranjana," "Paramapada," they are not using vague synonyms. Each names a specific level of divine consciousness, and each is associated with a specific style of meditation: witnessing (Paramapada), emptying (Sunya), pure-I (Niranjana), universal-self (Paramatma). The Nath practitioner may meditate on any; the Para-Pinda contains all.
Anadi-Pinda's Five Self-Revelations
Para-Pinda is also called Anadi-Pinda (beginningless body, without cause or higher source) and Adi-Pinda (the first body, source of all others). It unfolds five glorious self-revelations, each again with five attributes (SSP I.25–30):
1. Paramananda (Supreme Bliss)
An upheaval of emotional delight in His tranquil nature. Attributes: Spanda (agitation), Harsha (thrill), Utsaha (enthusiasm), and at the same time Nishpanda (perfect calm) and Nitya-sukhatva (unemotional eternal bliss). "A great wave of emotional ananda seems to activate His nature without disturbing the inner current of tranquil self-enjoyment."
2. Prabodha (Awakening)
As if newly awakened from deep sleep (which is really Samadhi), the light of His consciousness illuminates all aspects of His nature seeking expression. Attributes: Udaya (rising above the horizon of the undifferentiated state), Ullasa (upsurge toward objective manifestation), Avabhasa (experiencing His spiritual contents as objective realities), Vikasa (experiencing Sakti's self-evolution), Prabha (shedding lustre on all aspects).
3. Cid-udaya (Rising of Consciousness)
Self-manifestation as the self-knowing and all-knowing, self-determining and all-determining Conscious Subject. Attributes: Sadbhava (knowing Himself as sole Reality), Vicara (reflecting on Himself as source of all phenomena), Kartritva (agency, source of all action), Jnatritva (knowership of objects), Svatantrya (freedom, self-governance).
4. Prakasa (Light)
Amid all these upheavals, He remains inwardly untouched; His transcendent consciousness dwells beyond the phenomenal. Attributes: Nirvikaratva (changelessness), Nishkalatva (partlessness), Nirvikalpatva (freedom from doubt), Samata (harmony, evenness), Visranti (perfect rest). "While on the one hand the dynamic aspect... is developing and becoming more and more conspicuous, the transcendent aspect of His Consciousness is on the other hand wholly undisturbed."
5. Soham-bhava ("He-I-am-ness")
Attributes:
- Ahamta, all-comprehending I-ness: the whole cosmic order ideally manifested in His consciousness as an integral part of His Self; His ego "expanded as it were into all."
- Akhanda-aisvarya, undivided sovereignty and prosperity: absolute lordship (Isvaratva) over the universe as His self-expression.
- Svatmata, selfhood: feeling all His lordship as non-different from Himself. "His consciousness of the universe never overshadows the consciousness that He is Himself the universe."
- Visvanubhava-samarthya, the capacity to experience the universe: Svatmanubhava (self-experience) evolves into Visvanubhava (world-experience) without disturbing its unity. Space, time, plurality and change arise within His self-consciousness.
- Sarvajnatva, omniscience: in His self-knowledge He becomes all-knowing. "He knows all within Himself and Himself in all."
This unfoldment into a Universal Soul with an ideal Cosmic Body Gorakhnath names Adya-Pinda.
Soham ("I am He" or "He am I") is the famous mantra of the breath in Nath practice, "so" on inhalation, "ham" on exhalation (the Ajapa-gayatri, repeated unconsciously by every being 21,600 times a day). Here it is revealed as a cosmic stage: the point where the divine I-consciousness embraces the whole universe as itself. When the Yogi attends to the natural Soham of the breath, he is aligning his personal breath with the divine self-recognition through which the universe is held in Siva's consciousness.
Note how the pattern of "Prakasa" (fourth revelation) stands within the flow: right in the middle of growing dynamism, a stage of perfect rest is named. Gorakhnath never lets the dynamic run away from the static. This is the Samarasya principle structurally built into the cosmology.
Adya-Pinda and Hiranyagarbha
The awakening and activation in the Absolute is what the Vedas call Tapas: "Ritam ca satyam cabhiddhat tapaso'dhyajayata" (Rig Veda 10.190.1, Right and Truth were born from kindled Tapas). The Absolute reveals Himself as a glorified, self-conscious, omnipotent, omniscient, playful Divine Personality embodied with an ideal universe.
This corresponds to the Vedic Hiranyagarbha (Golden Womb): "Hiranyagarbhah samavartatagre bhutasya jatah patir eka asit" (Rig Veda 10.121.1, Hiranyagarbha arose in the beginning; born, he was the one Lord of all that exists). Also: "Sa vai sariri prathamah, sa vai purusha ucyate", He is the first embodied one; He is called the Person. In Vedanta he is Saguna Brahman or Karya-Brahman.
Why every non-dualist needs a personal God
Even schools holding an impersonal Absolute find themselves under "the rational and spiritual necessity" of a Divine Personality as the link between transcendent and phenomenal. Between One and many, infinite and finite, changeless and changing, there must be a self-conscious Person who:
- is One and unifies many within Himself;
- is conscious of Himself as infinite and changeless and of infinite finite possibilities within Himself;
- experiences Himself manifest in all forms, and as their Soul and Lord, and as disinterested Witness.
The Yogis conceive Him as eternal Maha-yogisvara, Adi-Natha, Adi-Guru, Adi-Siddha, "the perfect embodiment of the Yogic Ideal which they all seek for realising." This is Kaya-Pinda or Cosmic Purusha.
Adinatha is therefore not merely a mythic founder of the lineage; he is a precise metaphysical entity, the Absolute as perfectly realised Yogi, harmonising both planes. When a Nath Yogi bows to Adinatha, he bows to the very pattern he is trying to become.
Creation as Descent and as Glorification
Creation is the progressive descent of the Transcendent into more differentiated self-expressions. It can be seen two ways:
- As self-veiling, self-limiting, self-conditioning, self-finitising, self-despiritualising.
- As self-expanding, self-diversifying, self-magnifying, self-glorifying, self-delighting.
Two images:
- One infinite Light projecting shades of various characters which, "while offering resistance to it, add to its brilliance and exhibit it in various colours."
- One infinite Ocean creating big and small waves which, "while disturbing its calmness... greatly magnify its grandeur."
Undivided knowledge divides into numberless subjects and objects and so "manifests and enjoys in all possible details" the Truth that shines undivided above. Impersonal Bliss multiplies into enjoyers and enjoyables. "Thus the Transcendent seems to take delight as it were in manifesting Himself as the Phenomenal. This is the root of creation."
The Divine Existence, Knowledge, Power, Bliss, Beauty, Magnificence, Love and Magnanimity are unified in the transcendent and manifested under limits in the cosmos. "The Sakti unfolded becomes His manifested Body, and the more is the Power diversified, the more magnificent does the Divine Body appear to be."
The prism image deserves meditation. White light passing through a prism is "limited" into colours, and yet the colours reveal what was hidden in the white. Your individuality is one such colour. It is a limitation of the infinite, and also a revelation of it. Both views are true. The mature seeker holds both: humility (I am a limitation) and dignity (I am a revelation).
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Para-Pinda / Anadi-Pinda / Adi-Pinda | Supreme / beginningless / first Body, Siva's divine Personality |
| Adya-Pinda | Primal Body, Universal Soul with ideal cosmic body (= Hiranyagarbha) |
| Kaya-Pinda | Cosmic Purusha as embodied Mahayogi |
| Purusha-visesha | Special Person, Patanjali's Isvara |
| Klesa / Karma / Vipaka / Asaya | Afflictions / desire-driven actions / their fruits / latent deposits |
| Aviveka | Non-discrimination (Sankhya's cause of bondage) |
| Sarva-virodhi-gunasraya | Abode of all contradictory qualities |
| Aparampara, Paramapada, Sunya, Niranjana, Paramatma | Five forms of Para-Pinda consciousness |
| Paramananda, Prabodha, Cid-udaya, Prakasa, Soham-bhava | Five self-revelations of the Anadi-Pinda |
| Visvanubhava | Experience of the universe as oneself |
| Tapas | Creative heat; the Absolute's self-activation |
| Samashti-pinda / Vyashti-pinda | Collective (cosmic) body / individual body |
Reflection and Practice
- Organic seeing. Choose something you consider separate from you (a tree, a colleague, the city). Contemplate it as a part of a Pinda that includes you both. Where is the "whole" present in it? In you?
- Five meditations. Over five days, take one form of Para-Pinda per day: (a) rest as mere luminosity (Aparampara); (b) witness your inner energies without interfering (Paramapada); (c) let go of "me and mine" and rest as empty space (Sunya); (d) abide as pure stainless "I" (Niranjana); (e) feel yourself as the soul of all beings (Paramatma). Note which is most natural to you.
- Soham breathing. Sit and listen to the breath. Inhaling, hear "so"; exhaling, "ham." Let it carry the meaning: "That am I." Do not force the breath.
- Prism contemplation. When you feel limited by your personality, recall the prism: the colour is a limitation of white light, and also its revelation. Ask: what of the Infinite is being revealed through this particular limitation of mine?
Evolution of the Cosmic Body of Siva (pp. 100–114)
Having described the Adya-Pinda in the ideal, supra-physical plane, Gorakhnath now traces how Siva as Cosmic Purusha unfolds from within Himself a physical cosmic body extending in space and changing in time. This body is called Maha-Sakara-Pinda, the Great Embodied (form-possessing) Body. It is built from the five Great Elements, each with five qualities. Gorakhnath then declares "Sa eva Sivah", this physical cosmos is Siva Himself, and names the eight Divine Personalities (Ashta-Murti) through which Siva governs it.
The Yogi's Way of Seeing the World
Before the technical account, Banerjea gives the experiential point. The enlightened Yogi:
- sees the delightful self-expression of Maha-Sakti-Vilasi Siva (Siva who plays with His great Power) in every affair of the physical world;
- sees and loves this world as the Divine Body that can be perceived by the senses;
- treats it as an opportunity to appreciate the beauties and excellences of the Divine in particular forms, and to participate in the Divine play through "loving performance of good works in His world for His sake in a desireless sportive spirit";
- feels he lives, moves and has his being in the Divine Body, never alienated from Him, in waking, dream or sleep;
- finds all phenomena, all pleasant and unpleasant circumstances, sacred, "because they pertain to the Divine Body."
"The conception of the physical universe as the Cosmic Body of Siva is a most magnificent idea of the philosophy of Siddha-Yogis."
This is the decisive difference from world-denying spirituality. A Nath Yogi does not have to leave the world to find Siva; the world is Siva's sensible body. Renunciation in this tradition is renunciation of ego and desire, not of the world as such. Even unpleasant circumstances are sacred, because they too are parts of the Body.
The Sequence of Elements
"Adyan Mahakaso, Mahakasan Mahavayuh, Mahavayor Mahatejo, Mahatejaso Mahasalilam, Mahasalilan Mahaprithvi" (SSP I.31).
From Adya-Pinda evolves Maha-Akasa (Great Ether), from it Maha-Vayu (Great Air), from that Maha-Tejas (Great Fire), from that Maha-Salila (Great Water), from that Maha-Prithvi (Great Earth). Banerjea warns the English equivalents are "of course inaccurate."
The principle of the sequence:
- each element is grosser and more complex than the one before;
- each earlier element pervades the later ones (Akasa pervades Vayu; Akasa and Vayu pervade Tejas; and so on, until Prithvi contains all);
- Adya-Pinda inwardly pervades, enlivens, harmonises and organises them all;
- the result is the Pancabhautika-Jagat (world of five elements) or Parthiva-Jagat (earthly world, since earth contains all five).
The Twenty-Five Qualities of the Cosmic Body
| Element | Five gunas (SSP I.32–36) | Meaning and notes | Form of Siva-Sakti |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maha-Akasa | Avakasa, Acchidra, Asprisatva, Nila-varnatva, Sabdatva | Room/penetrability (non-resisting); gaplessness, continuity (cannot be cut); untouchability (contains all yet untouched); "blue" = truly colourless; possibility of all sound (Maha-Nada) | Vyoma-Pinda, Etherial Body, first manifestation in space-time |
| Maha-Vayu | Sancara, Sancalana, Sparsana, Soshana, Dhumra-varnatva | Motion (all agitation, vibration, wave); causing motion (source of all forces, physical, chemical, electrical, biological); touch; absorption of qualities of grosser elements (heat, cold, scent); "smoke-colour" | Aerial Body; source of all forces; inside us as Prana-Vayu |
| Maha-Tejas | Dahakatva, Pacakatva, Ushnatva, Prakasatva, Rakta-varnatva | Burning (destroys cohesion); "cooking", assimilation and transformation (digestion, ripening, firing of clay); heat; light; red | Jyotirmaya / Tejomaya Rupa, Fiery Body |
| Maha-Salila | Pravaha, Apyayana, Drava, Rasa, Sveta-varnatva | Flow; fertilising/nourishing; fluidity; taste; white | Drava-Rupa, cool soothing Fluid Body, Tejas "cooling down" to support living bodies |
| Maha-Prithvi | Sthulata, Nanakarata, Kathinya, Gandha, Pita-varnatva | Grossness; multiformity; solidity; smell; yellow | Sthula-Murti, the Gross Form |
The puzzle of colours
Why does Gorakhnath give colours to Akasa and Vayu, which are invisible? Banerjea's explanation: whatever is sakara (possessed of form) must have some colour, visible or not. Akasa and Vayu are the first constituents of the form-body of the cosmos, so they have subtle invisible colours from which visible colours later evolve. Indian thought often gives colours to invisible realities: Sankhya calls Sattva, Rajas and Tamas white, red and black; Sruti (Chandogya) assigns red to Tejas, white to water, black to earth (food).
In meditation, these colours are not decorative. Many Nath and Tantric practices visualise the elements in their colours at different body centres. Banerjea's explanation suggests why: the colours are the subtle signatures of the elements before they become visible, and the meditator works at that subtle level.
Sound and its four stages
Sabda (sound) is the essential quality of Akasa, not any particular sound but the possibility of all sound. Yoga-Sastras recognise four stages:
- Para, the subtlest, beyond all differentiation;
- Pasyanti, "seeing" sound, sound as vision-intent;
- Madhyama, the intermediate, mental sound;
- Vaikhari, gross audible speech.
In its subtlest form, sound is the "one unproduced unbroken continuous Maha-Nada, the origin of all particularised sounds." This Nada pertains to Akasa itself.
This is the theoretical root of Nada-yoga, which is central in Nath practice (the inner sounds heard in deep meditation, culminating in the "anahata" unstruck sound). If the Nada belongs to Akasa, then listening inward to subtle sound is a way of tracing the cosmos back up its own ladder, from gross to subtle to the Etherial Body of Siva.
Gorakhnath's distinctive emphasis
All Indian schools link the five elements to the five senses: Akasa–sound, Vayu–touch, Tejas–form/colour, water–taste, earth–smell, with each later element containing the qualities of the earlier ones (the process of Pancikarana, quintuplication, in which each element partly enters all others). Gorakhnath accepts this but gives more primary importance to: the vacuity of Akasa, the motion of Vayu, the heat of Tejas, the fluidity of water and the solidity of earth. He thinks of the elements less as sense-qualities and more as dynamic principles.
How Did the Cosmos Arise? Five Answers Compared
All Indian schools agree that the five Mahabhutas are the material constituents (jada upadana) of the world. They disagree on origin. Banerjea's survey:
| School | Origin of the elements and cosmos | Place of consciousness and God |
|---|---|---|
| Lokayata / Carvaka (materialists) | Elements (four or five) are ultimate; the cosmos arose by nature (svabhava) or chance (yadriccha, niyati) | Consciousness is a quality of certain organised material bodies; no God needed |
| Nyaya–Vaiseshika | Elements are eternal substances existing as inert atoms (paramanu); inert atoms cannot organise themselves | Isvara is the efficient cause, arranging uncreated atoms; souls and Manas are also eternal substances; the world is not God's body; in mukti, souls lose even phenomenal consciousness |
| Sankhya | Elements arise from Tanmatras (pure subtle elements), which arise from Aham-tattva (Ego-Principle, "Bhutadi"), which arises from Mahat, the first manifestation of Mula-Prakriti | Purushas are separate, eternally associated with Prakriti; no supervising Lord |
| Upanishads | "Tasmad va etasmad atmana akasah sambhutah, akasad vayuh, vayor agnih, agner apah, adbhyah prithivi" (Taittiriya 2.1), from the Self, Akasa; from Akasa, air; then fire, water, earth | Brahman is the sole material, efficient and final cause |
| Some Vedantins (Advaita) | The world of elements is an illusion born of inexplicable Maya/Avidya | Brahman is merely the substratum (adhishthana) of the illusion |
| Ramanuja, Srikantha and others | The cosmos is a real self-manifestation and embodiment of the Supreme Spirit by His real Sakti | Follow the Mahayogis |
The Nath position is exactly the Upanishadic one: Brahman is "a-sabda, a-sparsa, a-rupa, a-rasa, a-gandha" (without sound, touch, form, taste, smell) and yet Bhuta-yoni (the womb of the elements); "a-prana, a-manah" (without life and mind) and yet the sole source of life and mind, and the Antaryami (Indwelling Self). From Brahman the elements are born, by Him sustained, towards Him they move, into Him they merge.
Notice how cleanly the Sankhya scheme sits inside the Nath scheme, once you add Siva on top. Sankhya's Ego-Principle (Bhutadi) as the "meeting-ground of subject and object" is a genuinely profound idea, that the senses and their objects arise from a common root. The Naths keep this insight but say the root of that root is Siva's own Sakti. This is a recurring pattern in the book: Gorakhnath's philosophy is not a rejection of other darsanas but a wider frame that includes their partial truths.
Why Matter from Spirit Is No Problem for a Yogi
Why do some Vedantins call the world illusory? Because they are "so much under the influence of the idea of the fundamental difference between Spirit and Matter" that they cannot conceive how one could really originate from the other.
For the Mahayogis, the origin of matter from spirit and the dissolution of matter in spirit "do not present insurmountable conceptual difficulties," because:
- through systematic discipline and refinement of body, mind and intellect, and deep meditation, they pass easily from one plane of experience to another, from matter to spirit and back, from diversity to unity and back;
- the transition becomes natural to them;
- "Matter also is experienced by them as ultimately a spiritual entity."
The Svetasvatara Upanishad testifies: "Te dhyana-yoganugata apasyan devatma-saktim svagunair nigudham" (1.3), Through dhyana-yoga they saw the Divine Self's own Sakti, hidden by her own qualities. And: "Parasya saktir vividhaiva sruyate svabhaviki jnana-bala-kriya ca" (6.8), His supreme Power is heard to be manifold; knowledge, strength and action are natural to it.
This is the epistemological heart of the Nath approach. The spirit–matter problem is a problem for a mind that knows only one plane. A practitioner who has repeatedly moved between gross and subtle states in his own body has direct evidence of continuity. Philosophy that seems paradoxical to the armchair becomes obvious to the meditator, which echoes the Introduction's thesis that the Yogi's experience, not the philosopher's logic, is the final court.
"Sa Eva Sivah": He Is Siva Himself
After describing the Cosmic Body, Gorakhnath says emphatically: "Sa eva Sivah" (SSP I.37), this Maha-Sakara-Pinda is Siva Himself.
The reasoning, by analogy with soul and body:
- the soul transcends space and time; the body is in space and time;
- the soul is changeless; the body continuously changes;
- yet the body has no separate existence apart from the soul; it exists by and for the soul; the soul manifests through it;
- the soul is both transcendent to and immanent in the whole body and every part;
- when an intelligent person sees a body, he also sees the soul manifested in it.
Likewise, when an enlightened Yogi sees the physical world, he sees Siva manifested through His Sakti in it. "Siva with His Spatio-temporal Cosmic Body being conceived as Siva Himself, the Oneness of Siva is never hidden from view. The One comprehending the many is One all the same."
The physical cosmic body is the grossest (sthulatama) form of His self-manifestation; in it His infinite Wisdom, Power, Goodness, Beauty, Purity, Bliss, Love and Compassion are shown in infinite finite forms, while He in serene self-consciousness enjoys them all.
The analogy invites a practice of perception. When you look at a friend, you do not see a mere arrangement of flesh; you see your friend. The Nath Yogi trains himself to look at the world the same way, not as an arrangement of matter but as the face of Siva. This is not imagination added onto perception; it is, on the Nath view, a more accurate perception.
The Eight Forms (Ashta-Murti)
"Sivad Bhairavo, Bhairavat Srikanthah, Srikanthat Sadasivah, Sadasivad Isvarah, Isvarad Rudrah, Rudrad Vishnuh, Vishnor Brahma, iti Maha-Sakara-Pindasya murtyashtakam" (SSP I.37).
| No. | Divine Personality |
|---|---|
| 1 | Siva |
| 2 | Bhairava |
| 3 | Srikantha |
| 4 | Sadasiva |
| 5 | Isvara |
| 6 | Rudra |
| 7 | Vishnu |
| 8 | Brahma |
Through these, Siva appears to perform different cosmic functions:
- creation, preservation, destruction, and their harmonising;
- maintaining law and order in an ever-changing system;
- establishing justice among living beings and distributing happiness and misery equitably;
- conferring blessings, setting before beings the ideals of Truth, Beauty, Goodness, Love and Absolute Unity, and providing opportunities to realise them.
All eight are non-different from Siva; the same Power operates in each. Different names reflect different self-manifestations of the one Sakti.
The best-known triad:
- Brahma, God of Creation: creates the diverse orders of individual bodies within Siva's cosmic body.
- Vishnu, God of Preservation: maintains harmonious relationships and rules over behaviour and destiny according to Dharma immanent in the system; "the Divine Administrator."
- Rudra, God of Destruction: dissolves individual bodies into their elements in due course.
"Creation is the process of diversification and destruction is the process of unification. All these processes are continuous in the Cosmic Body of Siva."
This reframing of destruction is worth holding onto. Rudra's work is not annihilation but unification, returning the many to the one. Seen this way, every ending in life (of a phase, a relationship, a body) is a movement of unification within Siva's body. Creation and destruction are both continuous and both needed for the "ever-newness" of the cosmos.
The Ashta-Murti list also shows the Nath reconciliation of sects. Saiva, Vaishnava and Brahma-worship are all placed within one hierarchy of Siva's self-manifestation, without hostility. This anticipates the closing chapters on the evolution of Hindu spiritual culture.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Maha-Sakara-Pinda | Great embodied Body, the physical cosmos as Siva's body |
| Maha-Bhuta / Maha-Tattva | Great Element |
| Pancabhautika-Jagat / Parthiva-Jagat | World of five elements / earthly world |
| Vyoma-Pinda | Etherial Body of Siva-Sakti |
| Maha-Nada | Unbroken, unproduced primal sound |
| Para, Pasyanti, Madhyama, Vaikhari | Four levels of sound/speech |
| Pancikarana | Quintuplication, mutual intermixture of elements |
| Tanmatra | Subtle, pure element (Sankhya) |
| Aham-tattva / Bhutadi | Ego-Principle, source of senses and elements (Sankhya) |
| Paramanu | Atom (Nyaya–Vaiseshika) |
| Adhishthana | Substratum (of illusion, in Advaita) |
| Bhuta-yoni | Womb or origin of the elements |
| Antaryami | Indwelling Controller |
| Sa eva Sivah | "That itself is Siva" |
| Ashta-Murti | Eight forms of Siva governing the cosmos |
Reflection and Practice
- Element meditation (Bhuta-suddhi lite). Sit still and feel, in sequence: the solidity of the body (earth); its fluids (water); its warmth and digestion (fire); its breath and movements (air); the space in which all of this happens (ether). Then rest as the awareness that contains even space.
- Listening to Nada. In silence, close the ears gently and listen inward. Do not seek a particular sound; simply notice subtle inner tones. Treat them as echoes of Maha-Nada.
- Seeing the Body of Siva. For one day, practise the soul–body analogy: whatever you look at, remind yourself that you are seeing the body of Siva, as you see a friend in their face. Note any change in how you treat things and people.
- Reframing endings. Recall a recent loss or ending. Contemplate it as Rudra's work of unification rather than mere destruction. What has been returned to the whole?
- Comparative study. Using the table of five cosmologies, write which one you implicitly live by in daily life (most modern people are functional materialists). What would change if you lived by the Nath view for a week?
Evolution of a System of Worlds in the Cosmic Body (pp. 115–128)
Within Siva's Cosmic Body we experience distinct orders of existence, "worlds" (lokas), that are interrelated and harmonised. Banerjea presents seven ascending worlds: Matter, Life, Mind, Reason, Dharma (moral order), Rasa (aesthetic order) and Ananda (spiritual bliss). Each higher world manifests more of Siva-Sakti and rightly governs the lower. He then discusses the traditional fourteen lokas and Gorakhnath's higher spiritual worlds, the ideal of Samarasa-karana (realising the same rasa in the individual and the cosmic body), and the threefold aspect of every world: adhyatmika, adhibhautika and adhidaivika.
The Seven Worlds at a Glance
| World | Governed by | Key features | Relation to lower worlds |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Jada-Jagat (Matter) | Natural laws, mechanical, chemical, thermal, electrical | No distinct life, mind or spirit; no visible morality or purpose; creation, preservation, destruction going on everywhere | Base level |
| 2. Prana-Jagat (Life) | Biological laws, laws of Prana | Teleological; same life pervades seed and tree, semen and full body; birth, growth, decay, death belong to bodies, not to Life | Life rules over material laws; death = vital force weaker than natural forces |
| 3. Mano-Jagat (Mind) | Empirical consciousness | Sensation, instinct, feeling, desire, emotion, will, memory, dream, imagination; waking, dream, sleep; love, hatred, fear, generosity | Not located in space; does not die with the body; uses the body as an instrument (karana); passes through many bodies |
| 4. Vijnana-Jagat (Reason, Buddhi) | Ascertainment of truth (adhyavasaya, satya-niscaya) | Discriminates valid from invalid knowledge; judges and corrects the mind; drives the search for Truth | Has inherent right to rule mind; pure Buddhi can rise above body, life, mind and unite with Truth |
| 5. World of Dharma (Moral Order) | Ideal of goodness | Distinctions of good/evil, right/wrong, ought/ought-not; Law of Karma; rebirth | Converts the cosmic body into a Moral Body; originator of moral dualism |
| 6. World of Rasa (Aesthetic Order) | Beauty | All forms, including evil and destruction, appreciated as elements of beauty; nine and more rasas | Moral dualities are merged and beautified |
| 7. World of Ananda (Spiritual Bliss) | Siva-Sakti's real nature | Perfect fulfilment of existence, life, mind, morality, beauty; joys and sorrows both as Ananda | Everything is born of, sustained by, moving towards and merging in Ananda |
Matter and Life
The material world is governed by natural laws showing no obvious morality or purpose. Life is different. We never meet life except in bodies, yet "that life is distinct from matter as such admits of no doubt":
- life organises and enlivens matter and directs it toward an immanent ideal, living phenomena are teleologically governed;
- the same life pervades the whole and every part at every stage, from seed to tree, from minute semen to adult body;
- biological laws rule over natural laws and prove more powerful; when vital force grows weaker than natural forces, the body dies, it is reduced to pure matter;
- "Living bodies have birth and growth and decay and death, but Life has not." Life is embodied in matter but is not material;
- "Prana is superior to Sarira. Sarira is a seat and an instrument of the manifestation of Prana." Prana seems to come down from a higher plane and pull matter partly up to its own plane.
This passage is the philosophical justification for Pranayama and Hatha Yoga. If Prana rules over the physical laws of the body, then mastering Prana means gaining some mastery over the body's decay, which is precisely the Nath aim of Kaya-siddhi. The Naths' claims about long life and bodily transformation rest on this hierarchy: the higher governs the lower.
Mind
Mind includes the full range of empirical consciousness. It and the body interact, but:
- mind does not occupy any particular part of body or space;
- mind does not die when the gross body dies; it is "not mortal, in the sense in which a living body is mortal";
- mind uses the organism as an instrument for self-expression; it can leave one body, exist disembodied, and take a new one, passing through many bodies until merged in the Cosmic Mind of Siva or the Absolute;
- the super-ordinary mind of a Master-Yogi can create by will any number of physical bodies at once and use them as instruments (the yogic nirmana-kaya or "created bodies").
All mental phenomena, ordinary or extraordinary, are Cid-vilasa. Mind has a higher order of reality than Matter and Life and so can control them.
Reason (Buddhi)
Buddhi, the Higher Mind, ascertains truth. It sits in judgment on the mind's operations with its standard of truth, condemns errors and urges the search for truth. In animals it is relatively unmanifest (avyakta). Indian philosophers hold that Buddhi is present in all creatures, but its manifestation depends on the organism and the mind's development; in humans it appears as individual reason with a distinct sense of self. Cosmic Buddhi, Mind and Life pervade even apparently inorganic matter. "Buddha-Buddhi", pure and enlightened reason, can rise above physical, vital and mental embodiments and unite with Supreme Truth.
Dharma: the Moral Order
What Dharma does
Dharma judges the actual by an Ideal with inherent authority. Because of Dharma:
- natural evolution moves from lower to higher orders despite resistance, and harmony is maintained by overcoming disharmony;
- forces of union are declared superior to forces of disunion; love and compassion to hatred and cruelty; peace and non-violence to war and violence; creation and preservation to destruction;
- all these forces appear naturally from the dynamic nature of the Absolute and play their roles, but Dharma makes the higher victorious;
- Dharma "appears to convert... the spatio-temporal psycho-physical Body of the Spirit into a Moral Body." It is "the originator of all sorts of Moral Dualism."
Grades of freedom
Perfect freedom belongs to the essential nature of Spirit. In the cosmos, freedom appears by grades:
| World | Manifestation of freedom |
|---|---|
| Matter | Practically unmanifest |
| Life | Very slightly manifest; no consciousness of freedom |
| Animal mind | Greater freedom, but no distinct consciousness of it and hence no moral consciousness |
| Rational mind (man) | Freedom consciously manifest, though limited; moral consciousness arises |
Man feels that he is, or can be, master of his psycho-physical embodiment and to a great extent of circumstances; that "freedom is his birth-right"; and that he can greatly expand freedom through wise use of the limited freedom he has. The sphere of conscious relative freedom is the special sphere of Dharma.
Karma and Rebirth
Moral consciousness has an inherent faith that the cosmos is ruled by Dharma: virtue brings happiness and favourable conditions for growth; vice brings misery and unfavourable conditions; "every individual is the builder of his own destiny." This is the Law of Karma, moral justice ruling even apparently non-moral physical phenomena, insofar as they affect the experience of free beings.
Two key arguments:
- As intellectual consciousness (valid perception and inference) guarantees the objective reality of the natural order, so moral consciousness guarantees the objective reality of the moral order. The cosmos reveals itself to the intellect as a natural order and to the moral sense as a world of Dharma.
- This faith underlies the doctrine of Rebirth, accepted by practically all Indian schools: each birth reaps fruits of past deeds and offers fresh opportunities, until the individual rises to a higher plane and transcends the domain of Dharma. A Yogi can recollect past births, his own and others', by concentration.
Note the phrase "transcends the domain of Dharma." In this scheme Dharma is not the highest world. It is the fifth of seven, beneath Rasa and Ananda. This does not license immorality; it means the moral struggle is a stage. A person who has truly passed through it, like the Avadhuta of Chapter XVII, acts spontaneously in harmony, no longer from the tension of ought versus ought-not.
Rasa: the Aesthetic Order
Rasa pervades the whole cosmic body and makes it a magnificently beautiful order. All moral distinctions "are merged and beautified" in the world of Rasa. The refined aesthetic consciousness:
- finds as much beauty in destruction as in creation, in violent forces as in benign ones, in agonies as in prosperity;
- sees the whole reflected in every part;
- lives in "a world of all-harmonising and all-sweetening Beauty," whatever the outer appearances;
- feels deep love and admiration for all who play their roles in this order.
The forms of Rasa (from Indian aesthetics):
| Rasa | Character | Feeling evoked |
|---|---|---|
| Madhura | Sweet, lovable | Joy |
| Karuna | Pathetic, tragic | Compassion, sadness |
| Vira | Heroic | Admiration |
| Rudra (Raudra) | Majestic | Awe |
| Bhishana | Dreadful | Fear |
| Hasya | Comic | Laughter |
| Adbhuta | Strange | Wonder |
| Santa | Calm, serene | Tranquillity |
| Bibhatsa | Loathsome | Disgust |
What normally appears as loathsome, dreadful or pathetic is also a form of Rasa, enjoyed as such by an enlightened aesthetic consciousness. We fail to enjoy it because our minds and senses are "not properly disciplined and illumined to see them in their true perspective, to view them in relation to the whole."
Those with developed aesthetic sense describe the universe as a Great Work of Art, an ever-continuous flow of the finest Music, a great Epic Poem or Drama. A Mahayogi calls it Cid-vilasa.
The image of a tragedy in the theatre is helpful. Audiences weep at a tragic play and yet call it beautiful and return to see it again. The sorrow is real and the beauty is real at once. The Nath aesthetic vision asks us to see life as the theatre-goer sees a great drama, fully feeling, yet savouring the whole. This is a stage of vision, not an excuse for indifference to suffering: the same Yogi acts compassionately within the drama.
Ananda: the World of Bliss
The Cosmic Body is finally a world of Ananda, revealed to the illumined consciousness of Mahayogis, Mahajnanis and Mahabhaktas. Ananda means perfect fulfilment, of existence, life, power, mind, reason, morality, religion, goodness and beauty.
Ananda is the real nature of Siva in union with Sakti; all grades of manifestation are its expressions. All Mahabhutas, all matter, life, mind and reason, all dualities, all aesthetic enjoyments, even the apparent imperfections, evils and miseries, "have got Ananda as the Reality behind and within them. In truth, there is no reality save and except Ananda in this universe."
This echoes the Taittiriya Upanishad (3.6): from Ananda beings are born, by Ananda they live, into Ananda they go and merge. "The universe is nothing but Ananda in a variety of forms in time and space."
The seven worlds can be read as a ladder of how a human being relates to life: as mere matter (cynic), as biology (survival), as mind (pleasure and pain), as reason (truth), as morality (duty), as beauty (appreciation), as bliss (fulfilment). Each stage includes and transforms the previous. A practical self-test is: at which of these levels do I usually meet the events of my day?
The Humility of Classification
Banerjea stresses that yogi-philosophers regard any classification of worlds as never complete, exhaustive or certain:
- different viewpoints yield different classifications;
- different orders of consciousness reveal different worlds;
- all classifications are based on human experience, and who can certify that human thought reaches every aspect of the cosmos?
Even an enlightened Mahayogi, united with the Supreme Spirit, does not thereby have exhaustive phenomenal knowledge of the entire cosmic body. A Mahayogi's sarvajnata (omniscience) "does not mean the phenomenal knowledge of all the details of this Cosmic System, but the intuitive or spiritual knowledge of the Ultimate Truth of all existences."
This is an important corrective to popular notions of the "all-knowing" guru. In Banerjea's account, enlightenment is knowing the Truth of everything, not knowing every fact. A realised being may not know astrophysics or your phone number. This keeps the tradition honest and protects students from credulity.
Fourteen Lokas and the Higher Worlds
Scriptures speak of innumerable Brahmandas (world-eggs, universes); human experience is confined within one, itself too rich to be fully comprehended. Within it, fourteen lokas (SSP III.2–4):
| Upper worlds (ascending) | Lower worlds |
|---|---|
| Bhuh (our world) | Atala |
| Bhuvah | Vitala |
| Svah | Sutala |
| Mahah | Mahatala |
| Jana | Talatala |
| Tapah | Rasatala |
| Satya | Patala |
Each is inhabited by higher (or lower) orders of beings and presided over by divine personalities. Various orders of Svarga (heavens) and Naraka (hells) are also enumerated.
Gorakhnath adds still higher worlds: Vishnu-loka, Rudra-loka, Isvara-loka, Nilakantha-loka, Siva-loka, Bhairava-loka, Anadi-loka, Kula-loka, Akula-loka, Para-Brahma-loka, Parapara-loka, Sakti-loka.
These lists are suggestive, not exhaustive. They show how to contemplate the infinite greatness of the Cosmic Body. And importantly, Gorakhnath shows that all these worlds can be experienced by a Yogi within the individual body, the epitome of the Cosmic Body (Chapter XV).
Samarasa-karana: The Grand Ideal
"Samarasakarana of the Vyashti-pinda (individual body) with the Samashti-pinda (Cosmic Body), the realisation of the same rasa or the same spiritual infinity and beauty and bliss within the self and the universe, is the grand ideal preached by the Siddha-Yogi school."
The contrast with Advaita:
| Advaita-Vedanta: Brahmatma-jnana | Siddha-Yoga: Samarasa-karana | |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmos | Illusory | Real manifestation of Siva's Sakti |
| Identity | Brahman (free of the cosmic upadhi) = Atman (free of the false individual body and mind) | Brahman with all His cosmic manifestations is in samarasa with the individual Atman |
| Individual mind and body | Removed as false limiting adjuncts | Mind illumined by Brahman-consciousness; body reflecting the glories of the Cosmic Body |
| Message to us | You are not this world | You are a real participator in the glory of Mahasakti; what is in the cosmos is in you |
"Sama-rasa" literally means "same taste" or "same flavour." The ideal is that the individual body and the cosmic body come to have the same taste, the same bliss. It is not that the individual disappears; it is that its "flavour" becomes identical with the cosmic flavour. Hold onto this word: Samarasya is the culminating ideal of the whole book (Chapter XVII).
The Three Aspects of Every World
The Siddha school, with most Indian schools, holds that every world has three interrelated aspects:
| Aspect | Meaning | Example in our world |
|---|---|---|
| Adhyatmika | A plane of consciousness with its own instruments (indriyas, karanas) of knowledge, feeling and action | Our senses, minds and intellects |
| Adhibhautika | The order of objective realities revealed to that consciousness, its embodiment and field | Space, time, sounds, colours, tastes, heat, light, species, history |
| Adhidaivika | The presiding divine agency that designs, governs and harmonises the world and guarantees the correspondence of subject and object | Adhishthatri Devata (Presiding Deity) with Anga-Devatas (limb-deities) |
The first two are proven only in relation to each other. "The eyes are the proof of the existence of colours and the perception of colours is the proof of the existence of the eyes." Being so interrelated, they are legitimately supposed to have a common source. Each world's Presiding Deity keeps up its organic unity and shines as its life and soul; minor Deities govern particular departments. All Devatas are specialised spiritual self-revelations of Siva-Sakti, non-different from Him, and of a higher order of reality than ourselves. All worlds are harmonised by the Supreme Devata, Paramatma, Para-Brahma, Siva.
"The entire Cosmic System... is thus a magnificent self-manifestation of the Absolute Spirit and is therefore rightly conceived as essentially a spiritual system."
The eyes–colours argument is philosophically sharp. Neither subject nor object is primary; they arise together and need a common ground. Modern philosophy often oscillates between idealism (only mind is real) and materialism (only matter is real). The Nath solution is a third option: both are real, correlative, and grounded in a spiritual source that also guarantees their fit, the Devata, ultimately Siva. This is also why, in Nath and Tantric practice, honouring the deities of the senses and elements is not superstition but a way of honouring the harmony that makes experience possible.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Loka / Jagat | World, order of existence |
| Jada-, Prana-, Mano-, Vijnana-Jagat | Worlds of matter, life, mind, reason |
| Dharma | Moral order; ideal of goodness |
| Karma | Law of moral cause and consequence |
| Rasa | Aesthetic essence, beauty-as-experienced |
| Ananda | Spiritual bliss, fulfilment |
| Adhyavasaya | Ascertainment (function of Buddhi) |
| Brahmanda | World-egg, universe |
| Samarasa-karana | Making of "same taste" between individual and cosmic body |
| Brahmatma-jnana | Advaita's knowledge of Brahman–Atman identity |
| Upadhi | Limiting adjunct |
| Adhyatmika / Adhibhautika / Adhidaivika | Subjective / objective / divine-governing aspects |
| Adhishthatri Devata / Anga-Devata | Presiding deity / limb-deity |
| Sarvajnata | Omniscience (in the yogic sense: knowing the ultimate truth) |
Reflection and Practice
- The seven-world audit. Take a recent difficult event. Write how it appears at each level: as matter, as life, as mind (feelings), as reason (what is true here?), as Dharma (what ought I to do?), as Rasa (what is its beauty or drama?), as Ananda (how is it, at bottom, fulfilment?).
- Prana over matter. Notice how your breath changes when you are tired or ill, and how deliberate slow breathing alters your bodily state. Treat this as daily evidence that Prana governs the body.
- Freedom practice. Identify one area where you feel unfree. Use the small freedom you do have there, consciously, once a day for a week. Observe whether freedom expands.
- The theatre view. At the end of the day, review it as if you were watching a play: feel each scene, but appreciate the drama as a whole.
- Eyes and colours. Look at a coloured object and contemplate that seeing and colour arise together from a common source. Rest in the sense of that common ground.
The Evolution of Individual Bodies in the Cosmic Body (pp. 129–138)
This chapter is a hinge. It first recapitulates the whole cosmology (Chapters III–XI) in a few pages, then gives a deeper interpretation of the eight cosmic Deities, mapping each onto one of the worlds of Chapter XI. Finally it explains how individual bodies arise from Brahma's "Conscious Will" (avalokana) as the Prakriti-Pinda, and why the human body is of supreme importance: it is the most developed body, an epitome of the cosmos, and the place where the descending Sakti turns and ascends back to Siva.
The Recapitulation in One Map
Banerjea's summary is worth committing to memory, because everything after this rests on it:
| Level | Name | Content |
|---|---|---|
| 0 | Anama, the Nameless One | Beyond time, space, duality, causality, quality, number, activity, change |
| 1 | Para-Samvit (Siva, Brahma, Paramatma, Adinatha) | Sat-Cit-Ananda; transcendent yet the ground of all; with Sakti immanent |
| 2 | Five pre-cosmic stages of Sakti | Nija (pure will that wills nothing) → Para → Apara → Sukshma → Kundalini |
| 3 | Para-Pinda / Anadi-Pinda | Siva with names Aparampara, Paramapada, Sunya, Niranjana, Paramatma |
| 4 | Adya-Pinda (Causal Body) | Paramananda, Prabodha, Cid-udaya, Prakasa, Aham-bhava; the cosmos as ideal seed |
| 5 | Maha-Sakara-Pinda (Cosmic Body) | Five Mahabhutas; seven worlds; continuous creation, preservation, destruction |
| 6 | Ashta-Murti | Eight Cosmic Personalities ruling the worlds |
| 7 | Prakriti-Pinda | Brahma's avalokana as male–female principle; source of individual bodies |
| 8 | Vyashti-Pindas | Individual bodies, the 84 lakh species, culminating in the human body |
Key reminders from the recapitulation:
- "Without Sakti, Siva would have no phenomenal self-expression... and without Siva Sakti would have no existence at all."
- "Siva is eternally Being and eternally Becoming."
- While His upadhis (qualifying attributes) develop through Sakti's play, Siva, "the Soul and Master of all these upadhis, always transcends them and enjoys in Himself the bliss of His eternal perfection."
- The Siva name has special sanctity in this school because it adopts the Siva-cult for discipline; but the Reality is the same as Brahma, Paramatma or Adinatha.
The Eight Murtis Interpreted
Here Banerjea gives his own illuminating reading of SSP I.37: each Murti is a cosmic consciousness ruling one plane.
| Murti | Represents | World ruled | Why worshipped |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Siva | All-transcending, all-comprehending consciousness | All worlds | Supreme Cosmic Personality |
| 2. Bhairava | Perfect spiritual consciousness: the whole cosmos full of Ananda and Caitanya, without veil | Ananda | Perfect ideal of yoga and jnana; the plane every aspirant aims at; Gorakhnath's ideal of the yogi |
| 3. Srikantha | Perfect aesthetic consciousness; Raseswara, Lord of Beauty | Rasa | Ideal of artistic sadhana; perfect Musician, Poet, Painter, Dancer; the yogi harmonises his whole being to be in tune with the beautiful universe |
| 4. Sadasiva | Perfect moral consciousness | Dharma | All evils so regulated as to contribute to perfect Goodness; sees aberrations in a sportive mood, kind and forgiving; inspiration for purity and forgiveness for lapses |
| 5. Isvara | Fullness of rational consciousness | Buddhi | Supreme ideal of truth-seekers, omniscient Guru of all times; by His grace all sciences, philosophies, languages and literatures develop |
| 6. Rudra | Cosmic Mind | Mind | Worshipped for mind-power, fulfilment of desires and ambitions, expansion of knowledge; not directly concerned with the higher ideals |
| 7. Vishnu | Cosmic Life (Visva-Prana) | Life | Worshipped for elevation of life-power and peace and harmony in the vital atmosphere |
| 8. Brahma | Soul and Lord of the gross material world | Matter | Designer and Creator of gross individual bodies; we are born from His will and governed by His law, and so owe Him homage |
This table is one of the most practically useful ideas in the book. It tells us that the various deities of the Hindu world are not rivals but different "addresses" of the one Siva, each suited to a different level of need. Someone seeking health may naturally turn to the Life-principle; a scholar to the Truth-principle; an artist to the Beauty-principle; a yogi to Bhairava, the plane of unveiled bliss. A seeker can thus see their current prayer as an indication of the level at which they are presently living, and gently aim higher.
Banerjea is careful to add that for Rudra-worshippers, Rudra is the name for the Supreme; for Vishnu- or Narayana-worshippers, Vishnu is; for Krishna- or Rama-devotees, Krishna or Rama is. "True Yogis and Jnanis and Bhaktas never quarrel about these names. The significance of each name is to be understood in the light of the conception attached to it by the respective sects." The hierarchy above is Gorakhnath's cosmological usage, not a ranking of sects.
Descent, then Ascent
The order of the Murtis, from Siva down to Brahma, shows that cosmic development is not an ascent from lower to higher but "a process of descent from the highest plane of Spiritual Consciousness... till the lowest sensuous plane of consciousness and material plane of existence is reached."
Why? Because the Ultimate Reality is eternally in the highest plane; His self-manifestation can only proceed toward lower planes, unfolding in diversified forms the richness perfectly unified above. But:
- in every plane, "the urge for return to the highest plane of infinite bliss remains in the innermost nature of phenomenal realities and acts as the immanent Ideal";
- so there is both a downward and an upward process, a tendency towards variety and a tendency towards unity.
This reverses the Darwinian picture without denying evolution. Biological evolution (lower forms giving rise to higher) is real, but it is the upward return-current within a prior downward involution. The higher was there first; the lower strives back toward it. Sri Aurobindo later made this "involution–evolution" scheme famous, but it is already explicit here in Gorakhnath's cosmology as read by Banerjea.
Whole First, Then Parts
Another remarkable feature: the cosmic body and its universal principles (tattvas) are evolved first; individual bodies come afterwards. The Samashti-Pinda (collective organism) as one whole is manifested first, then the Vyashti-Pindas (individual organisms) appear within it in temporal succession and spatial co-existence. "The absolute Unity of the Supreme Spirit becomes... more and more diversified and variegated Unity."
This is the organic logic of the Pinda concept again. In an organism, the whole is prior to its cells' specialisation, the embryo is one before it is many. Likewise the cosmos is one before it is many individuals. You are not a separate unit that later joins the universe; you are a later differentiation within a universe that was always one.
Prakriti-Pinda: the Origin of Individual Bodies
The plane of Brahma is the lowest and closest to the gross world, so individual bodies arise from Brahma's Conscious Will:
"Tad Brahmanah sakasad avalokanena nara-nari-rupah Prakriti-Pindah samutpannah, tacca panca-pancatmakam sariram" (SSP I.38), From Brahma, through His glance (avalokana, conscious will), the Prakriti-Pinda arose in the form of male and female; and that body is constituted of five-times-five.
Interpretation:
- Prakriti-Pinda is a union of male and female principles (nara-nari-rupa).
- All individual living bodies are born of a union of paternal and maternal principles and so contain both male and female elements.
- Each individual body is a particularised manifestation of Prakriti-Pinda, with both principles united by Brahma's will.
- Innumerable species evolve from it; all are individualised manifestations of Siva's Cosmic Body and essentially non-different from Him.
Note that every body contains both the male and female principle. This is the embodied echo of Siva–Sakti, and it prepares for the yogic work of uniting the two inner currents (Ida and Pingala, Sun and Moon, Siva and Sakti) within one's own body. The goal of Hatha Yoga, "Ha" (sun) and "Tha" (moon), is implicit in this single line about the Prakriti-Pinda.
Why Gorakhnath Focuses on the Human Body
Banerjea gives three reasons, which together justify the long chapters that follow.
1. It is the most developed body
- Scriptures speak of eighty-four lakh (8.4 million) species; the human body is the most developed, complex, organised and harmonised.
- In it all external and internal organs are fully manifest; in lower species many remain potential.
- Physical, vital, psychical and intellectual organs are proportionately developed and cooperate.
- Life, Mind and Reason are prominently individualised; moral, aesthetic and spiritual consciousness have ample room to develop.
- Hence man has "an exceptional opportunity for dwelling in all the various orders of worlds," and through self-discipline can pass easily from one world to another.
2. It is an epitome of the Cosmic Body
- Through intensive contemplation a Yogi can realise the whole universe within himself and identify with it.
- All worlds, orders of existence and planes of experience are "in some mysterious way represented within the fully developed human body."
- Though small and short-lived, the human body is "a fine mirror of the Maha-Sakara-Pinda," reflecting the entire cosmic order in miniature.
- When consciousness is freed from lower limitations and enlightened about this richness, a person "perceives all in himself and himself in all, and to him there is nothing which restricts his freedom."
3. It is the turning-point of Sakti's journey
- Sakti descends step by step from the highest plane of unity and bliss to the lowest material plane.
- In the human organism, through the self-conscious processes of Yoga, Jnana and Bhakti, she ascends again and unites with Siva.
- The descending, diversifying Sakti is seen in cosmic creation, regulation and destruction; the ascending, unifying Sakti is seen most brilliantly in "the spiritual urge in the phenomenal consciousness of man."
- "Man with his developed individuality can experience Siva, the Supreme Spirit, as his own true Soul as well as the true Soul of the universe."
The third reason is the crown of the chapter. The whole cosmic descent can be pictured as a great arc going down; the human being stands at the bottom of the arc, where the movement turns upward. Your spiritual longing is not a private psychological quirk, it is Sakti herself beginning the return journey. This is why the tradition calls human birth precious (durlabha): only here is the turning-point fully available.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Upadhi | Qualifying attribute, limiting adjunct |
| Vilasa-rupa | Form of play |
| Causal Body | Adya-Pinda, containing the cosmos as ideal seed |
| Ashta-Murti | Eight cosmic Divine Personalities |
| Raseswara | Lord of Rasa (Srikantha) |
| Visva-Prana | Cosmic Life (Vishnu) |
| Avalokana | Conscious will, "glance" (of Brahma) |
| Prakriti-Pinda | Male–female body-principle from which individual bodies arise |
| Nara-nari-rupa | Of male–female form |
| Vyashti-Pinda / Samashti-Pinda | Individual / collective organism |
| 84 lakh yonis | Traditional count of species of living bodies |
Reflection and Practice
- Locate your prayer. When you pray or wish for something, ask which Murti you are effectively addressing: Brahma (material needs), Vishnu (health and vitality), Rudra (mental power and success), Isvara (truth), Sadasiva (goodness), Srikantha (beauty), Bhairava (unveiled bliss). Do not judge; simply notice, then add one aspiration from a level higher.
- Arc contemplation. Visualise the descent of Sakti from Siva down through the planes to your body; then feel your aspiration as her turning upward. Sit with the sense that your seeking is the cosmos returning to itself.
- Inner masculine and feminine. Notice in yourself qualities you associate with the "male" (assertion, structure) and "female" (receptivity, nourishment) principles. Contemplate them as two currents of one Prakriti-Pinda, not as rivals.
- Gratitude for the human body. Spend a few minutes appreciating the body as the rarest instrument in the cosmos, the place where the return journey can be made consciously.
The Constitution of the Individual Body (pp. 139–168)
This long chapter is Gorakhnath's yogic anatomy and psychology. He analyses the human individual into seven constituents, nearly all in his favourite pattern of five groups of five (SSP I.39–67). The purpose is not academic: "the viewpoint of the yogi school is primarily practical." To master body and mind you must first map them. The chapter ends with one of the most beautiful teachings of the whole Nath tradition: the Ajapa-Gayatri, the mantra "Hamsah–Soham" that every being repeats unconsciously 21,600 times a day, which dissolves in deep stillness into OM, the Anahata-Nada.
The Seven Constituents of the Human Organism
| No. | Constituent | What it is | SSP reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bhuta-Pinda | Gross material body of five elements | I.39–43 |
| 2 | Antahkarana-Pancaka | Fivefold inner instrument (mental body) | I.44–49 |
| 3 | Kula-Pancaka | Five hidden determining forces | I.50–55 |
| 4 | Vyakti-Pancaka | Five forms of self-expression | I.56–61 |
| 5 | Pratyaksha-Karana-Pancaka | Five perceptible causes sustaining the body | I.62–67 |
| 6 | Nadi-Samsthana | System of subtle channels | , |
| 7 | Vayu-Samsthana (Dasa-Vayu) | Ten vital airs, the vital body | , |
1. Bhuta-Pinda: The Gross Body
The gross body is made of the five elements, purposefully organised by Brahma's creative will with life and mind immanent. Different elements predominate in different parts (SSP I.39–43):
| Element | Its five "gunas" in the body |
|---|---|
| Prithvi (earth) | Asthi (bones), Mamsa (flesh), Tvak (skin), Nadi (tissues), Roma (hair), the solid parts |
| Ap (water) | Lala (saliva), Mutra (urine), Sukra (semen), Sonita (blood), Sveda (sweat), the fluids |
| Tejas (fire) | Kshudha (hunger), Trishna (thirst), Nidra (sleep), Kanti (lustre), Alasya (sloth) |
| Vayu (air) | Dhavana (running), Bhramana (fidgeting), Prasarana (expansion), Akuncana (contraction), Nirodhana (suppression) |
| Akasa (ether) | Raga (attraction), Dvesha (repulsion), Bhaya (fear), Lajja (shame), Moha (callousness/delusion) |
Banerjea notes that several of these, hunger, sleep, attraction, fear, shame, look vital or psychological. Gorakhnath lists them under the elements because they depend largely on changing physical conditions and can be regulated through treatment and discipline of the body. "The gross physical body exercises a great influence upon our life and mind, upon our temperaments and habits." Hence Yogis attach great importance to regulating the body for moral and spiritual upliftment.
The placing of attraction, aversion, fear, shame and delusion under Akasa (space) is striking. These are the subtlest bodily states, almost atmospheric moods that "fill the space" of the body. Practically it suggests that fear and craving can be worked on through the body itself, through posture, breath and the felt sense of inner space, not only through thinking. This is an ancient form of somatic psychology.
The Whole Before the Parts: Satkarya-vada Applied to the Body
Before analysing the mind, Banerjea restates the governing principle: "the whole is essentially prior to the parts, which are its self-manifestations."
- Siva with Sakti is one Reality; He becomes the Cosmic Soul with a Cosmic Body; then many deities and worlds; then countless individual bodies, minds and souls.
- At each stage He becomes "a greater and greater whole through the origination of parts within parts," all initially present unmanifest in Him.
- Each individual body likewise is one whole with all possibilities inherent from the start; it becomes more complex as organs and powers unfold.
- "The cause becomes the effects and is enriched by them... Nothing absolutely new is added to the ultimate Reality."
Does mind arise from the body?
Empirically, mind appears after the body has developed suitable organs, senses, nervous system, brain. But on the yogic view:
- mind already exists unmanifest even in the living germ or protoplasm;
- only its outer expression depends on the organs;
- even unmanifest, mind exercises a determining influence on how the organs develop, that is why they become suitable vehicles for it.
The great reversal
"In the cosmic process of evolution, Mind is prior to Life, and Life is prior to the Material Body, while in the process of the evolution of individual existences, the material body appears first, and it is followed by the appearance of life and thereafter by the appearance of the mind... What is first in the Cosmic Order is revealed last in the process of the evolution of individual existences."
This one sentence reconciles the spiritual and scientific pictures. Science, studying individual development (embryology, biological evolution), sees matter first, then life, then mind. The Yogi, looking at the cosmic order, sees mind first, then life, then matter. Both are right about their own direction. Individual evolution is the mirror image of cosmic involution, which is exactly the arc described in Chapter XII.
2. Antahkarana-Pancaka: The Fivefold Mind
Mind (antahkarana, inner instrument) is essentially one but appears in five forms according to function (SSP I.44–49). Gorakhnath extends the usual schemes: Sankhya counts three (Manas, Buddhi, Ahamkara), Vedanta four (adding Citta), Gorakhnath five (adding Caitanya).
| Division | Five expressions | Banerjea's yogic reading |
|---|---|---|
| Manas (lower, undisciplined mind) | Samkalpa (desire-will), Vikalpa (doubt, hesitation), Murccha (swoon, senselessness), Jadata (dullness, confused thinking), Manana (reflection) | The animal mind and lower human mind, to be controlled and transcended |
| Buddhi (higher, disciplined mind) | Viveka (discrimination of true/untrue, right/wrong, good/evil, beauty/ugliness), Vairagya (voluntary restraint of desire), Santi (calmness), Santosha (contentment), Kshama (forgiveness) | The higher mind, including elevated moral, aesthetic and spiritual consciousness; regulates Manas |
| Ahamkara (ego-sense) | Abhimana (I-ness), Madiyam (mine-ness), Mama-sukham (brooding over my happiness), Mama-duhkham (brooding over my sorrow), Mama-idam (this is mine, possession, monopoly) | Gives the sense of individuality, unity and permanence amid change; owner and master of experiences and possessions; to be enlightened and transcended |
| Citta (subconscious) | Mati (disposition, habitual tendency), Dhriti (conservation of energy and experience), Smriti (memory), Tyaga (renunciation, forgetting), Svikara (assimilation, appropriation) | Retention and revival of old samskaras; subconscious operations; to be purified and ennobled |
| Caitanya (higher consciousness) | Vimarsa (rational reflection), Silana (systematic self-discipline), Dhairya (patience, self-control), Cintana (contemplation, meditation), Nihsprihatva (cultivated desirelessness) | Higher consciousness to be further enlightened and concentrated for direct experience of the Supreme |
The mind so characterised is the antahkarana (inner instrument); the physical body with sense-organs and nerves is the bahihkarana (outer instrument). The physical body is the Sthula-sarira (gross body); antahkarana with psychical and vital forces is the Sukshma-sarira (subtle body). "The individualisation of the Soul... consists in its apparent self-identification with these phenomenal embodiments. Essentially the Soul is no other than Siva Himself."
Look at what Gorakhnath counts as Buddhi: not cleverness but discrimination, dispassion, peace, contentment and forgiveness. In this tradition, intelligence is a moral and emotional achievement as much as a cognitive one. A person who cannot forgive is, on this map, not fully intelligent.
The five faces of Ahamkara form a precise diagnostic. Notice the progression: I, mine, my happiness, my sorrow, this is mine. Much suffering is the fourth item, "Mama-duhkham": brooding over my sorrow. The Yogi does not deny sorrow; he notices the "my" and the brooding.
Caitanya's five qualities are effectively a sadhana programme: reflect, discipline yourself, be patient, meditate, become desireless. By listing them as a level of mind, Gorakhnath implies they are natural capacities to be developed, not foreign impositions.
3. Kula-Pancaka: The Five Hidden Determinants
"Kula" here has a different sense from the Kula/Akula of Chapter VII. Here it names five forces that act "from behind the scene," giving inclinations and aptitudes (SSP I.50–55): Sattva, Rajas, Tamas, Kala and Jiva.
| Kula | Five manifestations | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Sattva | Daya (compassion), Dharma (righteousness), Kriya (pious habits, noble deeds), Bhakti (devotion), Sraddha (faith) | Inspires higher ideals; urges control of passions; directs toward truth, beauty, goodness, freedom; predominant in Daivi-prakriti (divine nature) |
| Rajas | Dana (gifts given with egoistic superiority), Bhoga (hankering for enjoyment), Sringara (love of decoration and luxury), Vastu-grahana (acquiring property), Svartha-sangrahana (accumulating for selfish ends) | Makes one active, energetic, ambitious, self-aggrandising; predominant in Asuri-prakriti |
| Tamas | Vivada (useless controversy), Kalaha (quarrelsomeness), Soka (melancholy), Vadha (killing), Vancana (deception) | Source of evil, ignoble propensities |
| Kala (Time) | Kalana (calculating numbers, periods, coexistence and succession), Kalpana (appreciating temporal order in nature), Bhranti (confusion at particular times), Pramada (periodical insanity), Anartha (accidental misfortune) | Time shapes development, fruition of actions, favourable and unfavourable conditions |
| Jiva | Jagrat (waking), Svapna (dream), Sushupti (deep sleep), Turiya (the fourth, mind concentrated on and illumined by the transcendent Spirit), Turiyatita (beyond the fourth, absolute union with Siva) | The higher reality that witnesses and sustains identity across all states |
On the five states:
- Jagrat, mind contacts external realities through the senses;
- Svapna, experiences within the mind from subconscious operations, without sense-contact;
- Sushupti, mind at the unconscious level, without objective or subjective experience, in complete rest;
- Turiya, perfect concentration on the transcendent Spirit; phenomenal consciousness illumined;
- Turiyatita, concentration elevated to absolute union; the mind realises itself as one with Siva.
"The possibility of the same individual mind passing through all these widely different states without losing its individuality indicates... a higher power and reality immanent in it and determining and witnessing these changes of states, and this he gives the name of Jiva."
These five Kulas are immanent from the embryonic state, evolve from the Divine Sakti, and lead individuals "stage by stage towards their highest fulfilment according to the cosmic design."
Note that Rajasic dana (charity) is charity given with a sense of superiority. The same outer act can be sattvic or rajasic depending on the inner spirit. Gorakhnath's psychology is thus always about motive, not merely behaviour.
Including Time among the hidden determinants is realistic and humane. Some confusions and misfortunes are not moral failures but the influence of Kala, phases and periods. A wise practitioner neither over-blames himself nor ignores timing.
The Turiya/Turiyatita distinction matters greatly. Turiya is the fourth state of pure witnessing; Turiyatita is beyond even witnessing, union. Many meditation systems stop at the witness. Gorakhnath's scheme, consistent with its non-dualism-with-Sakti, goes one step further, where the witness and the witnessed are one.
4. Vyakti-Pancaka: Five Forms of Self-Expression
Vyakti means self-expression of the individual mind (SSP I.56–61). Its five forms are Iccha, Kriya, Maya, Prakriti and Vak.
| Vyakti | Five forms |
|---|---|
| Iccha (volition) | Unmada (uncontrolled impulses, as in children, the insane, the intoxicated, the dreamy), Vasana (deep-rooted desires from instinct or habit), Vancha (desire for particular alluring objects), Cinta (voluntary planning for desired objects), Cesta (resolute effort toward a purpose) |
| Kriya (action) | Smarana (active remembrance of the goal), Udyoga (preparation), Karya (active pursuit), Niscaya (pursuit with determination and perseverance), Svakulacara (doing duties according to family and social norms, even sacrificing personal desire) |
| Maya (pretension, false self-importance) | Mada (vanity, pride), Matsarya (envy and malice at others' happiness or good qualities), Dambha (conceited display of superiority), Kritrimatva (artificiality, duplicity, appearing what one is not), Asatya (untruth for self-aggrandisement) |
| Prakriti (temperament) | Asa (hope), Trishna (thirst for more), Spriha (desire for specific enjoyments), Kanksha (ambition for greatness), Mithya (false dreams of things beyond reach) |
| Vak (speech) | Para, Pasyanti, Madhyama, Vaikhari, Matrika |
Notes:
- In every individual, Dharma and Adharma both evolve naturally according to the cosmic plan. As consciousness develops, one must "voluntarily and deliberately and actively put down the forces of Adharma."
- The direction of Iccha and Kriya depends on which Kula (Sattva, Rajas, Tamas, Kala, Jiva) predominates at a given time, so desires differ between persons and in the same person at different stages.
- Maya here is not cosmic illusion but a moral trait: giving undue importance to one's own self and dealing falsely with others. Its five forms show the predominance of Rajas and Tamas. They "play their parts in the growth of the individuality... in the lower planes; but they are there to be conquered and transcended."
- Prakriti's five forms (hope, thirst, desire, ambition, fantasy) "may be directed towards earthly things or towards higher ideals."
Gorakhnath's use of "Maya" is refreshingly ethical. Instead of a metaphysical veil over the world, Maya is vanity, envy, showing off, fakeness and lying. The practical lesson: the illusion that most binds us is the illusion we create about ourselves for others. Removing it is ordinary moral work, honesty, humility, sincerity.
Prakriti's list contains the seed of transformation. Hope, thirst and ambition are not destroyed in sadhana; they are redirected. Thirst for more can become thirst for God; ambition for greatness can become aspiration for Sivahood.
Vak: The Five Stages of Speech
| Stage | Nature |
|---|---|
| Para | Speech wholly identified with consciousness; an urge for self-expression without even subtle sound or idea; Sabda-Brahman; the ultimate self-shining form of Pranava (OM), "the Sound of all sounds"; no differentiation of Vak from Cit |
| Pasyanti | Subtle ideas directly "seen" by consciousness; speech differentiated from consciousness and its inner object; mental plane only, no physical or vital expression, though the urge acts on the body |
| Madhyama | Upheaval in the physiological system; organised vibrations in vital and physical instruments; subtle sounds within the body as inner speech moves to outer expression |
| Vaikhari | Articulate audible speech through the vocal organs; the most valuable means of human self-expression, without it there would be no culture, civilisation, society, enlightenment or self-realisation; all languages embody it |
| Matrika | The ultimate phonetic units, letters (varna, akshara); regarded as eternal (nitya) while words and sentences are non-eternal; the seeds (bija) of all languages |
The Siddha and Tantric view of Matrika goes further: each letter is a particular sound-embodiment of Siva-Sakti, associated with a centre in the body, charged with vital force and spiritual meaning. Each is pronounced with a Bindu (the "m" sound) attached:
"Bindu Sivatmako Bija Saktir Nadas tayor mithah / Samavaya iti khyatah sarvagama-visaradaih", Bindu is Siva, Bija is Sakti; Nada is the union between them, so declare those versed in all the Agamas.
Siva is the unchanged soul of all sounds, indicated by the Bindu; Sakti takes the diversified forms of sounds and letters. In Mantra-Yoga these root-letters become Mantras, "not mere symbols... but charged with great potency." Correct repetition reveals their powers and develops psychic and spiritual capacities. Among Bija-mantras, OM (Pranava) is unique, "the perfect embodiment of Siva-Sakti."
The four stages of speech can be observed in yourself. Before you say something, there is a wordless intention (Para), then an inner "seeing" of what you mean (Pasyanti), then a subtle forming in the throat and breath (Madhyama), and finally the spoken word (Vaikhari). Practising awareness of this sequence slows speech, purifies it, and turns ordinary talking into a path back to its silent source.
5. Pratyaksha-Karana-Pancaka: Five Perceptible Causes
These are subsidiary efficient and material causes that maintain, develop and renew the body, and which also need regulation (SSP I.62–67): Karma, Kama, Candra, Surya and Agni.
Karma
Five characters of Karma: Subha (good actions with beneficial results), Asubha (bad actions with harmful results), Yasah (actions praised, bringing fame), Apakirti (actions condemned, bringing notoriety), Adrishta-phala-sadhana (actions producing invisible merit and demerit, punya and papa, shaping future happiness and misery).
Every action produces three kinds of effect:
| Effect | Nature | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Drishta-phala (visible) | Directly perceivable outer results | Food satisfies hunger; an injury harms the victim |
| Samskara-phala (psychological) | Impressions shaping dispositions, desires, habits, character, "As we act, so we become" | Habits moulded by repeated action |
| Adrishta-phala (unseen moral) | Merit and demerit (punya/papa, dharma/adharma), also called Apurva, rewarded and punished by cosmic law in this life and future lives | What the scriptures usually call "Karma" |
Key points:
- The psychical organism does not die with the physical body; it carries its samskaras, may exist in a subtle body (linga-sarira) for a time, then associates with a new physical body.
- Our present nature is largely shaped by past-life samskaras; our future by present deeds.
- But "in the human life there is ample scope for the exercise of freedom... for the destruction of the old evil Samskaras and the development of new good samskaras", a considerable transformation is possible.
- The constitution of the physical body itself is influenced by all three effects of action.
The three-effect analysis frees Karma from fatalism. Even if you are sceptical about the unseen moral effect, the psychological effect ("as we act, so we become") is plainly observable. Every action is a vote for the person you will be tomorrow. The yogic emphasis is less on accounting past debts than on consciously creating new samskaras now.
Kama
Here Kama means the sexual instinct, through which living beings multiply, "one of the fundamental laws of the cosmic play of Siva-Sakti." Through union, Bindu (Bija, Sukra, semen) from the father combines with Rajas (Sonita, blood) of the mother to form a new body, with the potentiality to develop the parents' and species' features. Beings are jarayuja (womb-born, of which humans are highest) or andaja (egg-born).
Five characteristics of Kama in higher animals and humans: Rati (sexual attachment), Priti (shared pleasure and companionship), Krida (love-play), Kamana (desire for more), Aturata (exhaustion and reaction after excess). Kama is also instrumental in developing many physical, vital and mental attributes.
Gorakhnath's frank, non-condemning description of Kama is typical of the Nath outlook. Sex is part of Siva-Sakti's cosmic design and is honoured as such. Yet the fifth characteristic, Aturata (exhaustion), quietly points to the yogic concern with conserving Bindu, a key theme of Nath Hatha Yoga, where preservation and upward transformation of vital essence is central to Kaya-siddhi.
Candra, Surya, Agni: Moon, Sun, Fire
Physically, life depends on Sun, Moon and Fire: day and night, seasons, rain, tides, fertility, the earth's inner heat. The Veda calls the Sun the soul of all that moves and is still ("Surya atma jagatas tasthushas ca"); "Adityaj jayate vrishtih, vrishter annam, tatah prajah", from the Sun comes rain, from rain food, from food creatures. In the Gita (15.13) Krishna says: "Pushnami caushadhih sarvah somo bhutva rasatmakah", Becoming Soma, full of sap, I nourish all plants. Heat is the sign of a living body.
For the Yogis, these three are also inner forces:
- The body is built from food (annamaya-kosha). Food becomes rasa (chyle), then rakta (blood), meda (fat), mamsa (muscle), asthi (bone), majja (marrow/nerve-substance), sukra (semen), the sapta-dhatu (seven tissues) of Ayurveda.
- Candra (Moon), also called Soma, is the power that makes food assimilable and supplies the material for building the body; source of rasa, nourishment, delight, vivacity, the bhogya (enjoyable/consumable).
- Surya and Agni are the powers that consume, assimilate and transform food into tissues, and draw from it the materials for vital, mental, intellectual, moral and spiritual powers, the bhokta (consumer).
- Every living body is Bhoktri-Bhogyatmaka (consumer-and-consumed) or Agni-Somatmaka (fire-and-soma); the whole world is "Agni-Somatmakam Jagat."
Their Kalas (powers):
| Force | Total kalas | Active kalas | Transcendent kala |
|---|---|---|---|
| Candra (Moon) | 17 | 16: Ullola, Kallolini, Uccalanti, Unmadini, Tarangini, Soshini, Lampata, Pravritti, Lahari, Lola, Lelihana, Prasaranti, Pravaha, Saumya, Prasannata, Plavanti | Nivritti, also called Amrita-kala, the ultimate bhogya, whose attainment brings cessation of struggle and immortality (amritatva) |
| Surya (Sun) | 13 | 12: Tapini, Grasika, Ugra, Akuncani, Soshini, Prabodhani, Smara, Akarshini, Tushti-vardhini, Urmirekha, Kiranavati, Prabhavati | Nija-kala: Svaprakasata (self-luminosity), in which Surya is one with the Supreme Enjoyer |
| Agni (Fire) | 11 | 10: Dipika, Rajika, Jvalini, Visphulingini, Pracanda, Pacika, Raudri, Dahika, Ragini, Sikhavati | Jyoti (pure light), in direct union with the Supreme |
Banerjea declines to translate the active kalas ("No clear conception can be expected therefrom"). The key teaching is the transcendent kala of each: through it each is in direct touch with the Supreme Spirit; in it all three are one; and ultimately consumer and consumed are one. "The aim of a Yogi is to transcend the domain of all the other phenomenally active 16 kalas and to enjoy the bliss of the 17th Amrita-kala, through the practice of the deepest concentration of energy."
The 17th kala of the Moon, Amrita, nectar of immortality, is the key to many Nath practices and to the famous image of the moon at the crown of the head dripping nectar, which the Yogi preserves (for instance through Khecari-mudra) instead of letting it be consumed by the "sun" at the navel. Banerjea's philosophical treatment explains the logic behind that imagery: in ordinary life the Sun-Fire consumes the Moon's nectar (we "eat" our vitality); the Yogi reverses this so that he "tastes" the nectar itself.
Every living thing is both eater and eaten. Seeing life as Agni–Soma, fire and its offering, turns eating, digestion and even ageing into a sacred exchange, an inner yajna. The Gita line below makes this explicit.
6. Nadi-Samsthana: The System of Channels
The nadis organise the body into a unity, "the finest and most sensitive substances evolved within the individual living body." They carry mind's impulses to every limb and organ, and bodily impressions back to the mind, extending to the tips of hair and nails. Some are afferent, some efferent; some serve sensation, others emotion, movement, respiration, metabolism, energy distribution, but all have one centre, source and purpose.
Key facts:
- Nadis are countless; at least 72,000 are named.
- All originate from the Mula-Kanda, "the most vital part of the body," above the root of the generative organ and below the navel, within the spinal column.
- The brain is the Sahasrara-Cakra (thousand-petalled lotus), the instrument through which reason, moral consciousness and enlightened mind influence the whole.
- The spinal cord is Brahma-danda or Meru-danda, keeping the balance of the organism.
- Of the 72,000, seventy-two are prominent; ten are principal.
| Nadi | Connection and role |
|---|---|
| Sushumna (Brahma-nadi) | Central; from Mula-Kanda through Muladhara, up the spine to Brahma-randhra in the Sahasrara; the path of Kundalini to Siva's "capital-city"; when all energy ascends through it, consciousness is illumined by Siva |
| Ida (Candra-nadi) | Left side of Sushumna, left nostril; respiration |
| Pingala (Surya-nadi) | Right side, right nostril; respiration; Ida and Pingala unite at a centre between the eyes |
| Sarasvati | Mouth, organ of speech |
| Pusha and Alambusha | The two eyes |
| Gandhari and Hastijihvika | The two ears |
| Kuhu | Anus, excretion |
| Sankhini | Generative organ |
Ida and Pingala pulsate with Prana-Vayu. Vital energy normally moves restlessly through them with every breath, and mental energy moves restlessly with it. Through breath-control the Yogi can bring both to perfect rest, and "Ida and Pingala can be unified in Sushumna and thereby the whole energy may be concentrated for truth-realisation."
Banerjea's important caveats:
- The yogic analysis is made for practice; "it would be futile to attempt any empirical verification of the details... by the experimental methods generally adopted by modern sciences," since viewpoints, methods and purposes differ.
- Gorakhnath himself was not rigid about names and locations: in the Viveka-Martanda he connects Gandhari to the left eye, Hastijihva to the right eye, Pusha to the left ear, Yasasvini to the right ear, Alambusha to the mouth, Kuhu to the sexual organ, Sankhini to the anus, omitting Sarasvati.
This caveat is a gift to the modern practitioner. The nadi map is a practical guide for attention and energy, not an anatomical claim to be defended against dissection. Gorakhnath's own inconsistency shows that the experiential functions, the left–right balance, the central channel, the movement upward, matter more than exact labels.
7. Vayu-Samsthana: The Ten Vital Airs
Vayu activates all internal organs, draws fresh material from the atmosphere, helps assimilation and distribution of food, maintains circulation and secretions, keeps the organism active in waking, dream and sleep, and serves the nadis and Candra, Surya and Agni. In the body it is Prana-Sakti. It is one, but named ten according to function (vritti).
| Vayu | Seat | Function |
|---|---|---|
| Prana | Hridaya (heart, not the anatomical heart) | Respiration; works with Ida and Pingala; "breath is life"; the main channel between individual vital energy and the cosmic storehouse |
| Apana | Near the anus | Energises the lower body; expels impurities and used-up energy; complementary to Prana |
| Samana | Navel | Kindles the digestive fire (dipana) and increases assimilation (pacana) |
| Udana | Throat | Swallowing, vomiting, spontaneous movement of speech organs |
| Vyana | Whole body | Distributes energy and nourishment; keeps balance among parts |
| Naga | Whole body | Stoutness, strength, balanced movement |
| Kurma | , | Involuntary shaking; blinking; eyeball movement; spontaneous adjustment |
| Krikala (Krikara) | , | Expels gases through throat and mouth; generates hunger |
| Devadatta | , | Relieves abnormal conditions through spontaneous outbursts (e.g. yawning) |
| Dhananjaya | Whole body | Produces the continuous inner sound (nada) accompanying the body's operations |
The first five are primary, the last five secondary. Banerjea quotes the Gita (15.14): "Aham vaisvanaro bhutva praninam deham asritah / Pranapana-samayuktah pacamyannam caturvidham", I, becoming the Vaisvanara fire in the bodies of creatures, united with Prana and Apana, digest the four kinds of food. The import: even digestion is performed by God; the powers of assimilation, respiration and excretion are self-expressions of Siva-Sakti. "That is also the real import of all these dissertations of Gorakhnath about the apparently most complicated bodily system."
The living body is "a field of continuous warfare, continuous constructive and destructive and reconstructive operations, continuous explosions and their wonderful assimilations," yet so regulated that one harmonious system results.
The Gita line transforms the whole anatomy. Every page of this chapter, from the 25 gunas of the gross body to the ten Vayus, is meant to lead to a single recognition: the body's intelligence is God's intelligence at work. To study the body yogically is to watch Siva-Sakti operating in you.
The Ajapa-Gayatri: Hamsah–Soham
This is the summit of the chapter.
The natural mantra
Every breath has three phases: puraka (inhalation), recaka (exhalation), kumbhaka (a brief suspension between). Normally a breath takes about four seconds, so we breathe 21,600 times in 24 hours (an approximate, traditional figure).
Gorakhnath teaches that every out-breath goes out with the sound "Ham" and every in-breath comes in with the sound "Sah." Careful attention reveals this. So every being, "naturally and unconsciously," repeats "Hamsah, Hamsah" day and night. This is a Divine design.
- "Ham" = Aham, I, the individual self (jiva).
- "Sah" = He, the Cosmic Self, Brahma, Paramatma, Siva.
- With every out-breath the jiva frees itself from bodily limits, goes forth to the cosmos and identifies with Siva.
- With every in-breath Siva enters the body and reveals Himself as the individual "I."
- If exhalation is taken first, the mantra is Hamsah; if inhalation first, Soham. Both mean the identity of jiva and Siva.
"Ham-karena bahir yati Sah-karena viset punah / Hamsah So'ham imam mantram jivo japati sarvada", With the sound Ham it goes out, with Sah it enters again; thus the jiva always repeats this mantra, Hamsah–Soham.
"Shat-satani diva-ratrau sahasrany eka-vimsatih / Etat sankhyanvitam mantram jivo japati sarvada // Ajapa nama gayatri yoginam moksha-dayini / Asyah samkalpa-matrena narah papaih vimucyate" (Viveka-Martanda), Day and night the jiva repeats this mantra 21,600 times. This Gayatri named Ajapa gives liberation to Yogis; by mere resolve upon it a person is freed from sins.
"Kundalinyam samudbhuta gayatri prana-dharini / Prana-vidya mahavidya yas tam vetti sa yogavit // Anaya sadrisi vidya anaya sadriso japah / Anaya sadrisam jnanam na bhutam na bhavishyati", This Gayatri, arising from Kundalini, sustains the life-breath. Its knowledge is Prana-vidya, the great wisdom; whoever knows it knows Yoga. There has never been and will never be wisdom, japa or knowledge equal to this.
It is called Ajapa ("un-repeated") because no oral repetition, volition or effort is required, it sings itself. Gayatri means a sacred song by which one is delivered from bondage. The sadhaka "has only to pay deep attention to the inner meaning of his natural breath, in order to realise the identity of the individual self and the Cosmic Self and attain liberation." This is Ajapa-Yoga.
From Hamsah to OM
When body and mind are calm and the nerves and organs balanced, the breath becomes mild, slow, rhythmical and almost soundless. It seems to stop producing Ham and Sah. Then Hamsah/Soham resolves into a continuous, waveless, monotonous sound: OM, Pranava, "the complete unification of Aham and Sah, of the individual self and the Universal Self, of Jiva and Siva." In kumbhaka nothing remains but this unproduced OM.
Authorities:
- Patanjali: "Tasya vacakah pranavah" (Yoga-sutra 1.27), OM is His name.
- Gita: OM is Ekakshara-Brahma, Brahman in one syllable (8.13).
- Mandukya Upanishad: OM is all, past, present, future and what is beyond time; Brahman, Atman, the universe and the Supreme beyond it.
The Siddha school calls this Pranava Anahata-Nada, the eternal sound, not produced by friction or collision, not broken into pieces, "one beginningless and endless natural monotonous integral Sound," the original self-expression of the Supreme in sound. It pervades Mahakasa, is immanent in the five-element universe, all sounds arise from it and merge in it, and it is the essence of all Vedas and Vedantas. This Sabda-Brahman shines in the heart of every jiva and underlies the Ajapa-Gayatri.
When in-breath and out-breath are in equilibrium, Prana and Apana united in the heart without tension, and Ida and Pingala united with Sushumna, "every person can internally hear this Pranava, this Anahata-Nada, this Brahma-in-Sound-form, within himself, and can realise this as the essence of his being."
"Mahayogis thus point out how the Ultimate Reality and the Ultimate Ideal of our life presents Himself every moment in the constitution of our body and is within our easy reach. We can realise Him in ourselves through mere concentration of our attention."
This is perhaps the most practically valuable teaching in the entire book. It requires no equipment, no special posture, no Sanskrit, no initiation into complex rituals. It needs only attention. And it carries the entire metaphysics: every exhalation is the individual giving itself to the cosmos; every inhalation is Siva entering as "I." Twenty-one thousand six hundred times a day you are already performing the union that the whole philosophy describes, the only thing missing is awareness.
Note the threefold progression: Hamsah (individual and universal alternating) → Soham (He am I, identity affirmed) → OM (identity beyond alternation, in stillness). It mirrors the movement from duality through dvaitadvaita to Samarasya.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Bhuta-Pinda | Gross body of elements |
| Antahkarana / Bahihkarana | Inner instrument (mind) / outer instrument (body and senses) |
| Sthula-, Sukshma-, Linga-sarira | Gross, subtle, and transmigrating subtle body |
| Manas, Buddhi, Ahamkara, Citta, Caitanya | Five divisions of the mind |
| Kula-Pancaka | Sattva, Rajas, Tamas, Kala, Jiva |
| Jagrat, Svapna, Sushupti, Turiya, Turiyatita | Five states of consciousness |
| Vyakti-Pancaka | Iccha, Kriya, Maya, Prakriti, Vak |
| Para, Pasyanti, Madhyama, Vaikhari, Matrika | Five stages of speech |
| Bindu / Bija / Nada | Siva / Sakti / their union as sound |
| Drishta-, Samskara-, Adrishta-phala | Visible, psychological, unseen moral effects of action |
| Apurva | Unseen moral potency of action |
| Sapta-dhatu | Seven bodily tissues |
| Bhokta / Bhogya; Agni-Soma | Consumer / consumed |
| Kala | Power, digit (of Moon, Sun, Fire) |
| Amrita-kala (Nivritti) | Seventeenth, immortal digit of the Moon |
| Mula-Kanda | Root-bulb, origin of all nadis |
| Sushumna, Ida, Pingala | Central, lunar (left), solar (right) channels |
| Brahma-danda / Meru-danda | Spinal column |
| Brahma-randhra | Aperture of Brahman at the crown |
| Prana, Apana, Samana, Udana, Vyana | Five primary vital airs |
| Naga, Kurma, Krikala, Devadatta, Dhananjaya | Five secondary vital airs |
| Puraka, Recaka, Kumbhaka | Inhalation, exhalation, retention |
| Ajapa-Gayatri / Ajapa-Yoga | Natural mantra Hamsah–Soham and the yoga of attending to it |
| Anahata-Nada | Unstruck sound, OM |
| Sabda-Brahman | Brahman as sound |
Reflection and Practice
- Body-mood mapping. When you feel fear, craving, aversion or shame, locate it in the body and notice the sense of space around it. Breathe into that space for a minute without trying to change the feeling.
- The five faces of ego. For one day, catch yourself in each of: I, mine, my happiness, my sorrow, this is mine. Simply note "Ahamkara" with a smile when you see it.
- Sattva audit. Before a generous act, check whether the spirit is sattvic (humble service) or rajasic (superiority). Adjust the inner attitude, not just the act.
- Speech awareness. Before speaking in an important conversation, pause for one breath and sense the wordless intention beneath your words (Para). Speak from there.
- Samskara creation. Choose one small good action and repeat it daily for forty days, consciously as "creating a new samskara." Notice how it becomes natural.
- Eating as offering. Before a meal, recall the Gita line: the divine fire, united with Prana and Apana, digests this food. Eat with that awareness.
- Ajapa-Yoga (core practice). Sit comfortably, or practise anytime during the day. Let the breath be natural. On the inhalation, hear "So" (or "Sah"); on the exhalation, hear "Ham." Do not force or pronounce it; simply listen. With exhalation, feel yourself flowing out into the whole; with inhalation, feel the whole entering as your "I." As the breath grows subtle, let the syllables dissolve into a continuous hum or silence, OM. Rest there. Begin with ten minutes daily and extend gradually.
- Left–right balance. Notice which nostril is more open at different times of day. Before meditation, a few rounds of gentle alternate-nostril breathing can help balance Ida and Pingala, the prerequisite for energy entering Sushumna.
The Esoteric Aspects of the Body (pp. 169–194)
Having described the body as the outer anatomy of Siva-Sakti's self-manifestation, Gorakhnath now gives the inner, esoteric map he calls Pinda-vicara (deep reflection on the body). It is based "not on ordinary observation and experiment, but on yogic introspection and meditation," and is meant for those initiated or seeking initiation. Its core is the teaching:
"Nava-cakram kala-dharam tri-lakshyam vyoma-pancakam / Samyag etat na janati sa yogi nama-dharakah" (SSP II.31), One who does not thoroughly know the nine cakras, the sixteen adharas, the three lakshyas and the five vyomas is a yogi in name only.
These four groups are the practical heart of Nath sadhana. This chapter of the guide sets them out in full, with Banerjea's cautions.
Important caution before reading: Banerjea stresses repeatedly that "without the guidance of competent Gurus it is very difficult and often unsafe to venture to practise these yogic methods merely in reliance upon the study of books." The descriptions below are for understanding. Physical practices such as bandhas, Khecari-mudra and prolonged kumbhaka should be learned only from a qualified teacher.
Why the Cakras Exist: Spiritual Psychology
Sushumna and its whirls
Sushumna, the central channel from Muladhara to Sahasrara, is the Brahma-marga (path to Brahman). Seen grossly, it looks straight and its current smooth. Seen deeply, it has "divisions and turning points" and, at certain centres, "wheels or whirls", the cakras. They:
- influence the speed and direction of the flow of energy in one's inner life;
- sometimes create revolutions in vital propensities and mental dispositions;
- act sometimes as hurdles and sometimes as steps;
- represent planes of experience: when energy moves in a lower cakra, one sees from a sensuous, materialistic or lustful viewpoint; as it rises, one's outlook becomes more refined and spiritual.
"Spiritual progress essentially consists in piercing through all the lower Cakras (Cakra-bheda) and ascending to the highest Cakra." When they are crossed, the Sushumna current straightens and the yogi easily rises to Samadhi.
The sleeping spiritual urge
- The spiritual urge is inherent in every being, because each is Siva's self-manifestation, meant to pass through mundane experience to supra-mundane unity.
- In sub-human beings this urge never reaches distinct consciousness, though it inwardly shapes their development.
- Even in humans with developed moral and intellectual consciousness it may remain unperceived.
- "In the normal course this spiritual urge rises upon the surface of the empirical consciousness of a man through contact with spiritually enlightened persons." Before awakening, it acts "from below the threshold."
- When awakening comes, a person consciously feels he is a spiritual being and directs all his energy toward union with Siva.
This awakening is what the yogis call the awakening (bodhana, jagarana) of Kundalini-Sakti.
Kundalini
- Kundalini exists in every individual in a dormant state, "as if in the form of a coiled serpent," embracing the lowest centre.
- She is the immanent power even in the minute first body in the womb (the Bindu); from her all energies, tissues, organs, mind and intellect develop.
- She is essentially Cinmayi Sakti, conscious power, with Siva as her soul, but she does not reveal herself as such until awakening.
- She is imagined coiled three (or three and a half, or eight) times around a Siva-linga.
- When awakened, spiritual yearning becomes intense; energy concentrates almost spontaneously in Sushumna; outward and downward impulses come under the control of spiritual urge and disciplined will; determination is greatly strengthened; obstacles are conquered.
- This is the sacred Yatra (pilgrimage) of Kundalini to her Beloved, Siva, in the Sahasrara.
Banerjea's reading of Kundalini awakening is notably psychological and humane: it is the moment when a person's latent spiritual urge becomes conscious and begins to organise their whole life. Spectacular energetic experiences may or may not accompany it; the essence is a re-orientation of all one's energies upward. And the usual trigger is contact with an awakened person, the root of the tradition's emphasis on satsang and the Guru.
A. The Nine Cakras (Nava-Cakra)
Yoga and Tantra texts "are not dogmatic with regard to the number of Cakras", six, seven, eight or nine are given. Experiences of yogis may differ on such points; Gurus sometimes omit steps and stress others. Older texts say "Nava-cakramayam vapuh" (the body consists of nine cakras), and Gorakhnath says "Pinde nava cakrani."
| No. | Cakra (SSP) | Location | Form and presence of Sakti | Fruit and danger |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brahma-Cakra (Muladhara) | Between rectum and generative organ; base of Sushumna, near Mula-Kanda | Conical, apex downward, three coils with Bindu at centre; Sakti blazing like fire or steady lightning; union of Kamesvara and Kamesvari, Kamarupa-pitha | All desires fulfilled (sarva-kama-prada); hence danger: worldly desires must not arise |
| 2 | Svadhishthana | Near root of generative organ | Fine bright red Siva-linga facing backward; union of Siva-Sakti so beautiful it is the source of all attraction in the universe | The yogi becomes magnetic (jagad-akarshanam); aesthetic and creative faculties blossom; danger: pride and contentment with attraction |
| 3 | Nabhi-Cakra (Manipura) | Navel | Five whirls, like a five-coiled serpent; Sakti brilliant as a crore of morning suns; called Madhyama-Sakti (intermediate stage) | All siddhis, changing form, transforming matter, becoming light or heavy or invisible, aerial travel; danger: intoxication with powers |
| 4 | Hridaya-Cakra (Anahata) | Heart region | Eight-petalled lotus facing downward; Sakti as steady Siva-linga-shaped light; named Hamsa-Kala, also Sri-Sakti | Mastery of all senses; calm; free of ego and even of attachment to powers; experience that aham (I) is non-different from Sah (He). "True spiritual enlightenment... really begins" here |
| 5 | Kantha-Cakra (Visuddha) | Throat | Sushumna shines most brilliantly between Ida (left) and Pingala (right); Anahata-Kala of Kundalini | Anahata-Siddhi: transcending all worldly forces; realising the all-pervading Anahata-Nada (OM) |
| 6 | Talu-Cakra | Root of the palate | Continuous flow of ambrosia (amrita-dhara) from Sahasrara; Ghantika-linga with a tiny hole, Sankhini-vivara, the Dasama-dvara (tenth door) | Absorption in amrita can free from hunger and thirst, even give physical immortality, but Gorakhnath instructs concentration on Sunya here for Citta-laya, dissolution of empirical mind |
| 7 | Bhru-Cakra (Ajna) | Between the eyebrows | Thumb-sized steady lamp-flame; Jnana-netra (eye of wisdom) | Illumined outlook on returning to normal life; Vak-siddhi, whatever one says comes true |
| 8 | Nirvana-Cakra | Brahma-randhra within Sahasrara | Individual consciousness merges in Sat-Cit-Ananda; Kundalini perfectly united with Siva; differences of light and darkness, motion and rest, finite and infinite vanish; Jalandhara-pitha | Moksha or Nirvana: realising oneness with Jalandhara, "Holder of the Net" of the cosmos; full freedom in this very world |
| 9 | Akasa-Cakra | Highest point of Sahasrara | Sixteen-petalled lotus facing upward; at centre the trikuta (threefold) Sat-Cit-Ananda-mayi Maha-Sakti in perfect union with Siva; Purna-giri-pitha | Plane of Para-Samvit; Parama-Sunya; phenomenal consciousness transformed into Absolute Consciousness; Kundalini's journey complete |
Notes on individual cakras
Muladhara and the triangle. "Bindu-rupa-kundalini-sakteh prathamavirbhava-sthanam Muladharah", Muladhara is the place of the first manifestation of Kundalini as Bindu. The conical shape matters philosophically: what is unified in the Bindu (a point) unfolds as the three sides of a triangle, subject (vishayi), object (vishaya) and their relation (sambandha); knower, known and knowing; doer, deed and doing; enjoyer, enjoyed and enjoying. "All evolutions occur in such a triangular way." A cone is many triangles with a common apex. Three coils because Sakti is trigunamayi (of three gunas); three and a half because she also transcends them; eight because of the eight evolutes of Prakriti (five elements, Manas, Buddhi, Ahamkara).
The Muladhara hymn: "Vidyud-vilasa-vapushah sriyam avahantim / Yantim sva-vasa-bhavanac Siva-rajadhanim / Saushumna-marge kamalani vikasayantim / Devim bhajed hridi paramrita-sikta-gatram", Worship in the heart the Goddess whose body shines like steady lightning, whose limbs are bathed in supreme nectar, who journeys from her own home to Siva's capital, opening the lotuses on the path of Sushumna. (In worldly life the lotuses bloom downward; in awakened life upward.)
On temptation at Muladhara: "It is Sakti that offers these temptations, it is Sakti that fulfils all the desires... and it is Sakti again that delivers him mercifully from all such temptations." If the yogi becomes infatuated with powers and enjoyments, progress is blocked and a fall is possible; he may be rescued by an enlightened Guru and renewed renunciation.
Svadhishthana and attraction. Even without wanting honour, the yogi becomes attractive because the Divine Power shows through him, "a great hindrance in the way of higher spiritual progress." He must not be elated, must "never attribute the credit for these experiences to his individual self," must value them as merciful revelations of Siva-Sakti, and pray for higher orders of experience.
Manipura and words. Banerjea observes that differences between the bliss of one plane and another cannot be understood by reasoning or imagination from the sensuous plane, nor fully described in words. Yogi-teachers use similes and poetry to inspire earnest seekers to undertake the discipline themselves under guidance.
Anahata and Samadhi at every level. A key teaching: Samadhi, the most concentrated state, in which differences apparently vanish, can be attained at every cakra. "But the results of the Samadhi in the different planes... are not the same... Samadhi in every plane and upon every object of meditation does not lead to spiritual illumination." Perfect illumination is attainable only in the highest plane.
Talu and the tenth door. Unlike the nine doors of the body that open toward mundane objects, the tenth door opens toward spiritual truth. "Here the empirical consciousness should die, as it were, to be perfectly illumined by Transcendent Light." Note that Gorakhnath subordinates the bodily benefits of amrita (freedom from hunger, physical immortality) to the higher aim of Citta-laya.
Nirvana-Cakra and the Net. Jalandhara means "Holder of the Net (jala)." The cosmos is a net originating from, sustained and harmonised by the Supreme. "An individual remains jala-baddha (bound in... this net), so long as he does not realise Jalandhara (the Supreme Net-holder) in himself and the cosmic system." Liberation is not escaping the net but realising oneness with its Holder.
Akasa-Cakra and the end of the journey. In Banerjea's moving account: Sakti had, as it were, separated herself from Siva in her worldward journey, "put on veils over veils," and with face turned outward and downward saw her Lord only reflected in her changing manifestations. "Though never out of touch with Siva, She seemed to have been bearing at heart a painful feeling of the want of direct and perfect spiritual union with Him." She created the human body as "the most suitable channel for Her return-journey." In Akasa-Cakra she becomes one with Siva again. This is Para-Samvit, which Gorakhnath also calls Parama-Sunya, "Sunya does not mean absence of existence, but perfect subject-object-less space-time-less unconditioned Existence."
The repeated warnings at the first three cakras form a precise spiritual psychology of the early path: first, the temptation of desire-fulfilment (Muladhara); then, of personal charisma and creativity (Svadhishthana); then, of power (Manipura). Only at the heart (Anahata) does "true spiritual enlightenment really begin," marked by mastery of the senses, freedom from ego and freedom even from attachment to powers. This is a sobering corrective for anyone who equates spiritual progress with charisma or psychic abilities.
The idea of Sakti's longing gives the whole path an emotional and devotional colouring. Your spiritual yearning is her yearning for her Beloved. Sadhana, on this view, is not a cold technique but a love story, the Goddess going home.
The Goraksha-Sataka version: six cakras
Banerjea adds in a footnote that the Goraksha-Sataka, also authentic, enumerates six cakras:
"Shat-cakram shodasadharam tri-lakshyam vyoma-pancakam / Sva-dehe ye na jananti katham sidhyanti yoginah" (GS 13), How can yogis who do not know the six cakras, sixteen adharas, three lakshyas and five vyomas in their own body attain perfection?
| Cakra | Petals (GS 15–16) |
|---|---|
| Muladhara | 4 |
| Svadhishthana | 6 |
| Manipura (navel) | 10 |
| Anahata (heart) | 12 |
| Visuddha (throat) | 16 |
| Ajna (between eyebrows) | 2 |
| Sahasrara (Brahma-randhra) | 1000 |
The six are within Sushumna, exclusive of Sahasrara, and must be pierced (cakra-bheda); the ideal is realised in the seventh, Sahasrara. SSP reaches nine by adding Talu-Cakra and splitting Sahasrara into Nirvana-Cakra and Akasa-Cakra. SSP mentions petals only for the heart (eight, downward) and Akasa-Cakra (sixteen, upward).
The house with one pillar: "Eka-stambham nava-dvaram griham panca-adhidaivatam / Svadeham ye na jananti katham sidhyanti yoginah" (GS 14), How can yogis who do not know their own body as a house with one pillar, nine doors, and five presiding deities attain perfection?
- One pillar = the spinal column (with Sushumna and its cakras), Sahasrara as roof.
- Nine doors = two eyes, two ears, two nostrils, mouth, generative organ, excretory organ, linked by the nine principal nadis other than Sushumna.
- Tenth door = at the root of the palate, opening to the spiritual region.
- Five deities = Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra, Isvara, Sadasiva, governing planes of cosmos and body.
The body is also described as a seven-storied building: from Muladhara to the throat, five storeys governed by those five deities; Ajna and Sahasrara under Srikantha and Bhairava; Siva the soul of all. A perfectly enlightened yogi moves freely up and down all storeys, enjoys any plane at will, may identify with any deity, and participates in Siva-Sakti's play in all planes "in this very embodied state." He may at will leave the house and embrace death, "as good as immortality to him", or retain the body as long as he likes, since it is spiritualised and freed from the bondage of physical and moral laws.
The variation between six and nine cakras, and between petal counts, is not a contradiction to be resolved; Banerjea explicitly says not to attach undue importance to the number. The map serves the journey. What matters is the movement from the base to the crown and the inner transformation at each stage.
B. The Sixteen Adharas (Shodasa-Adhara)
Adhara means "that which holds or supports." The sixteen are principal seats of vital and psychic functions to be brought under voluntary control and transcended. For each, Gorakhnath gives a brief practice; Banerjea notes these processes have far-reaching consequences and are elaborated elsewhere, and must be learned under a Guru.
| No. | Adhara | Location | Practice indicated | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Padangushtha | Big toes | Imagine a luminous circle at the tip; gaze steadily | Concentration of sight, steadiness of attention (vital link between toes and optic nerves) |
| 2 | Muladhara | Base | Press the perineum with the left heel; sit erect and steady (asana) | Kindling of fire (agni-dipana) pushing energy upward |
| 3 | Gudadhara | Rectum | Methodical expansion and contraction (vikasa-sankocana), the basis of Mula-bandha | Regulates Apana; helps union of Apana with Prana; cures abdominal diseases |
| 4 | Medhradhara (Svadhishthana) | Root of generative organ | Linga-sankocana (contraction), a mudra | Bindu-stambhana (conservation of vital essence); energy pierces the three granthis and rises |
| 5 | Uddiyana | Between generative root and navel | Appropriate control (Uddiyana-bandha) | Control of intestines and urinary organs; purification |
| 6 | Nabhyadhara | Navel (Manipura) | Withdraw from diverse sounds; concentrate on subtle Nada; novices may chant prolonged OM with ears closed | Nada-laya, mind merged in sound |
| 7 | Hridaya-adhara | Heart (Anahata) | Concentrate Prana here through kumbhaka | Lotus petals turn upward; energy moves spontaneously upward; enlightened outlook |
| 8 | Kanthadhara | Throat (Visuddha) | Jalandhara-bandha: contract throat, chin on chest | Control of Prana in Ida and Pingala; energy pushed up Sushumna |
| 9 | Ghantikadhara | Root of soft palate | Turn the tongue-tip inward to touch the channel through which amrita flows from Candra-mandala | Tasting amrita that would otherwise flow down and be wasted; cures bodily ills; draws attention inward |
| 10 | Talu-adhara | Deeper in the palate | Khecari-mudra: tongue gradually softened, lengthened, turned back and inserted into the aperture | Body becomes still "like a piece of wood" (Jada-Samadhi) while inner consciousness is intoxicated with nectar; not yet the highest state |
| 11 | Jihvadhara | Root of tongue | Fix tongue-tip at its root | Relief from various diseases |
| 12 | Bhru-madhyadhara | Between eyebrows (Ajna) | Contemplate a cool, white, tranquil moon-disc | Body and mind cooled and calmed; a bright cool jyoti illumines consciousness |
| 13 | Nasadhara | Nose-tip | Gaze at and concentrate on the tip of the nose | Restlessness removed; fitness for deep meditation |
| 14 | Kapatadhara | Root of nose | Focus vision and attention | After six months, a mass of serene light (jyotih-punja) is seen |
| 15 | Lalatadhara | Centre of forehead | Contemplate a mass of self-shining light | Vital and mental strength; radiance (tejasvi bhavati) |
| 16 | Brahma-randhra | Crown (Akasa-Cakra) | "Sri-Guru-caranambuja-dvayam sada avalokayet", meditate always on the lotus-feet of the Guru | "Akasavat purno bhavati", one becomes full and perfect like space |
On Bindu (vital essence)
Banerjea's discussion of Medhradhara is one of the most emphatic passages in the book:
- Bindu or Virya (semen, vital essence; also Retas) is "the most vital substance in the body," saturated with Prana-Sakti, the source of vital strength; mental development also depends greatly on its preservation and assimilation.
- "Maranam bindu-patena jivanam bindu-dharanat", Death by the fall of Bindu, life by its retention.
- Any lustful indulgence or excitement, even in dreams, dislodges it and drives it downward.
- Svadhishthana means "dwelling place of Sva (self)", here, the vital self (Prana), conserved in Bindu.
- Through linga-sankocana the downward passage is blocked and the upward opened; waste (bindu-ksharana) stops, conservation (bindu-stambhana) is achieved.
- The energy pierces three knots, Brahma-granthi, Vishnu-granthi, Rudra-granthi, and rises.
- It reaches the Bhramara-guha (bee-cave) at the top of the spinal column in the lower Sahasrara, the true seat of Virya, where it is fully assimilated and "makes the body invincible."
For a modern reader, the Bindu doctrine can seem merely ascetic. Banerjea's framing shows its inner logic within Nath philosophy: Bindu is Sakti in her most condensed bodily form. Her "fall" outward and downward is the microcosm of her cosmic descent; her conservation and upward movement is the microcosm of her return to Siva. Brahmacarya, in this view, is not suppression for its own sake but redirection of the same creative power that makes the cosmos, now turned toward Self-realisation. Householders in the tradition apply the principle as moderation and mindfulness rather than total abstinence.
On Nada in the adharas
"Aksharam paramo nadah sabda-brahmeti kathyate" (Yoga-sikha Upanishad), The supreme Nada is the Imperishable; it is called Sabda-Brahman.
"Muladhara-gata saktih svadhara bindu-rupini / Tasyam utpadyate nadah sukshma-bijad ivankurah", Sakti in Muladhara, her own support, takes the form of Bindu; from her Nada arises like a sprout from a subtle seed.
The progression of Nada through the centres:
| Centre | Nada's state |
|---|---|
| Muladhara | Identified with Sakti; indistinguishable |
| Svadhishthana | Identified with Bindu/Bija, undifferentiated essence of form and name |
| Manipura (Nabhi) | First subtle continuous sound perceptible to a refined yogi: Pranava, OM |
| Anahata (Hridaya) | Quite distinct, still monotonous and unbroken |
| Vocal organs | Diversified into innumerable sounds |
On the Guru in the Brahma-randhra
The culmination of the sixteen adharas is not a technique but devotion: meditation on the Guru's feet at the crown. By Sri-Guru, Banerjea explains, is meant "the Holy Spiritual Personality in whom the yogi has found the Union of Siva and Sakti... perfectly realised, and who has been the source of his inspiration and wisdom and strength all along." To the disciple, the Guru is identical with Siva-Sakti; meditation on the Guru is concentration on their union "in the most concrete personal form." It culminates in the highest Samadhi, in which the yogi realises himself and the universe as identical with Guru and Siva-Sakti, becoming like Akasa.
It is significant that the most technical yoga system of medieval India places the Guru at the very summit of its map, above all techniques. The Nath tradition understands that the abstract union of Siva-Sakti is hard to love; a realised human being makes it concrete and lovable. The disciple's devotion to the Guru is the bridge by which personal love becomes cosmic realisation.
C. The Three Lakshyas (Tri-Lakshya)
Lakshya means "that which deserves attention", an object on which attention is temporarily fixed to develop concentration. They have no anatomical significance but great practical value. They are of three kinds:
1. Antar-lakshya (internal objects)
| Object | Practice | Fruit |
|---|---|---|
| Kundalini in Sushumna | Withdraw attention from everything and concentrate on Maha-Sakti Kundalini rising through Sushumna with her self-luminous body | She reveals herself as Mahesvari, Maha-Kali, Maha-Lakshmi, Maha-Sarasvati and other forms, giving blessings, until united with Siva; becomes Sarva-siddhi-da, giver of all perfections |
| Gollata-mandapa | Above the forehead, front of Sahasrara; imagine a steady brilliant light; forget environment and body; be absorbed in it | Consciousness illumined by Divine Light; spiritualisation of the whole being |
| Bhramara-guha | Upper spine, back of Sahasrara; imagine life-power as a red bee, representing Siva-Sakti | Tranquil ecstasy compared to which sense-pleasures seem insipid; Bindu-stambhana and Brahmacarya become natural |
| Dhum-dhum-kara Nada | Close the ears with forefingers; hear a continuous "dhum-dhum" sound in the head | Sound becomes OM; ecstatic joy; realisation of Spirit in Nada |
| Nila-jyoti | Blue self-luminous light at the inner centre of the eyes | Illumination and spiritualisation |
On the body's spiritual nature: "The body is perceived as a non-spiritual reality, so long as the mind is concentrated upon its material spatio-temporal character. When the mind is concentrated upon the Spirit within it, not only the mind, but the body also is spiritualised, i.e. its spiritual nature is unveiled."
On Bindu: "Waste of energy gives momentary pleasure, while conservation of energy is the source of permanent joy and strength."
2. Bahir-lakshya (external objects)
Many options (anekavidham bahir-lakshyam):
- a bright red light imagined two fingers in front of the nose-tip;
- a white sheet of water ten fingers away;
- a yellow metal twelve fingers away;
- the blue tranquil sky, gazed at steadily;
- a mass of brilliant rays between oneself and the sky;
- wherever the eyes fall, see only empty space (akasa, sunya), making the mind free of diversity even with open eyes;
- with open ears, listen to one undifferentiated Nada or perfect stillness amid noise;
- a vast golden expanse at the limit of sight;
- the sun, moon, a star or planet, a lamp or fire, a divine image, or the figure of an adorable person.
Whatever object is chosen, "a yogi should try to see the manifestation of the Supreme Spirit or Siva-Sakti in that form. The ultimate purpose should be to see the Supreme Spirit manifested in all forms."
3. Madhyama-lakshya (objects without location)
An object neither inside nor outside the body (sthana-varjitam), formed in the mind and chosen freely (yathesta, yathabhimata, yatharuci): white, red or black; a flame, a light, lightning, the solar corona, a crescent moon, anything.
The fundamental point: during practice the mind must be wholly occupied with the chosen object. One must forget body, environment and even ego; keep all other thoughts, desires and memories in abeyance; keep the body motionless in a posture and the senses at rest. "By the strength of his determination he has to be, as it were, fast asleep with regard to all other objects... and wide awake with regard to the one particular object."
Once concentration is developed, the mind can rise to higher planes. Powers may develop that seem supernatural, "but the yogi must not be intoxicated with them." He must never forget the ideal: the blissful union of Siva and Sakti in himself and in all existence.
The lakshyas are remarkably flexible and non-dogmatic. The object can be real or imaginary, inner or outer, of any form or none, chosen by the practitioner's own taste. What Gorakhnath insists on is not the object but the quality of attention: totally absorbed in one thing and "asleep" to all else. This is close to what modern psychology calls single-pointed or focused-attention meditation, but always held within the larger aim of seeing Siva in all forms.
D. The Five Vyomas (Vyoma-Pancaka)
Concentration on Vyoma (ether, space, Sunya, void) is "a very effective method for the purification and refinement of the individual empirical consciousness and its liberation from unsteadiness and restlessness and the bondage of spatio-temporal limitations." Space underlies all sounds, touches, sights, tastes and smells; it is "the Adhara of all adharas." Attention withdrawn from all particulars and fixed on infinite undifferentiated space elevates consciousness into universal consciousness (vyoma-sadrisho bhavati).
Vyoma is one, but conceived in five ways for meditation:
| Vyoma | To be conceived as |
|---|---|
| Akasa | Perfectly pure (atyanta-nirmala), formless (nirakara) empty space pervading and unifying inner and outer worlds |
| Parakasa | Absolute undifferentiated darkness (atyanta-andhakara-nibha), obliterating all diversity |
| Mahakasa | Infinite contentless fiery space, like that of Pralaya (kalanala-sankasam) |
| Tattvakasa (Cidakasa, Atmakasa) | Infinite eternal changeless self-luminous Spirit, Witness-Consciousness |
| Suryakasa | One infinite sun shining alone with the brilliance of a crore of suns (surya-koti-nibham) |
In each meditation the meditator becomes one with the object, he becomes that Akasa. The ultimate stage of each is Samadhi. But again: "each Samadhi does not lead to the spiritual goal... The fruit of meditation greatly depends upon the chosen object of meditation." Only Samadhi in the Absolute Consciousness gives perfect illumination and bliss. "If there is any upadhi (conditioned character) in the object of meditation, the individual consciousness cannot attain the nirupadhika (unconditioned) Transcendent state." All other meditations prepare the mind for this.
The principle repeated twice in this chapter, that Samadhi on a conditioned object yields only conditioned results, may be its most important theoretical lesson. One becomes what one meditates on. Absorption alone is not liberation; the object of absorption determines the fruit. This is why the Nath path always points beyond lights, sounds, nectar and powers to the unconditioned union of Siva-Sakti, and why it subordinates all techniques to the Guru and to devotion to the Supreme.
The Shape of the Whole Chapter
The four groups can be seen as complementary approaches:
| Group | Approach | Emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| Nine Cakras | Vertical ascent of Kundalini | Stages of the path and their temptations |
| Sixteen Adharas | Bodily control points | Bandhas, mudras, gazes; mastery of body and Bindu |
| Three Lakshyas | Objects of attention | Training concentration, inside, outside, nowhere |
| Five Vyomas | Spaces of consciousness | Purifying mind into universal, unconditioned awareness |
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pinda-vicara | Deep reflection on the body |
| Brahma-marga | Sushumna as path to Brahman |
| Cakra-bheda | Piercing of the cakras |
| Kundalini-bodhana / jagarana | Awakening of Kundalini |
| Cinmayi Sakti | Conscious power |
| Kamarupa-, Jalandhara-, Purnagiri-pitha | Sacred seats at Muladhara, Nirvana-Cakra, Akasa-Cakra |
| Hamsa-Kala / Sri-Sakti | Sakti in the heart-centre |
| Anahata-Kala / Anahata-Siddhi | Sakti at the throat / mastery of the unstruck sound |
| Dasama-dvara | Tenth door at the palate |
| Citta-laya | Dissolution of the empirical mind |
| Jnana-netra | Eye of wisdom (Ajna) |
| Vak-siddhi | Power that one's words come true |
| Parama-Sunya | Supreme Void = unconditioned Existence |
| Adhara | Support, control point |
| Mula-, Uddiyana-, Jalandhara-bandha | Root, abdominal, throat locks |
| Khecari-mudra | Tongue-seal moving in "space" |
| Bindu-stambhana / -ksharana | Conservation / waste of vital essence |
| Granthi (Brahma, Vishnu, Rudra) | Three knots in Sushumna |
| Bhramara-guha | "Bee-cave," seat of Virya in the head |
| Lakshya (Antar, Bahir, Madhyama) | Inner, outer, unlocated objects of attention |
| Vyoma / Akasa | Space (five modes) |
| Upadhi / Nirupadhika | Condition / unconditioned |
Reflection and Practice
These suggestions are limited to safe, attention-based practices. For bandhas, mudras, Khecari and extended kumbhaka, seek a qualified teacher.
- Diagnose your cakra. Over a week, notice from which "plane" you view most situations: desire (Muladhara), attraction and creativity (Svadhishthana), power and control (Manipura), love and calm (Anahata), truth-expression (Visuddha), insight (Ajna). Without judgment, note the pattern.
- The three temptations. When you experience success, admiration or influence, recall the warnings of the first three cakras. Inwardly offer the credit to Siva-Sakti.
- Nada practice. Sit quietly, close the ears gently with the fingers, and listen for an inner sound. If none appears, softly chant a long OM and then listen to the silence after it. Practise five to ten minutes.
- Nose-tip or eyebrow gaze. For a few minutes, rest the gaze gently at the nose-tip (Nasadhara) or between the eyebrows (Bhru-madhya), with a cool white moon imagined there. Stop if there is strain.
- Open-eye space meditation. Wherever you are, let the eyes rest on the scene, but attend only to the space in which objects appear. Then do the same with sound: listen to the silence in which sounds arise.
- Single-object concentration (Madhyama-lakshya). Choose any image you love, a flame, a crescent moon, a deity, and hold it in mind for five minutes, "asleep" to everything else. When distracted, return gently.
- Five spaces. On successive days, contemplate one of the five Vyomas: pure space, absolute darkness, fiery space, consciousness-space, infinite sun. End each by resting as the awareness that contains the image.
- Guru at the crown. End meditation by bringing to mind the teacher or realised being who most inspires you, imagining their feet at the crown of your head, and resting in gratitude.
The Cosmos in the Individual Body (pp. 195–205)
This chapter draws the philosophical conclusion of all the yogic anatomy: the human body is not a mere material object but "a spiritual entity revealed in a material form," capable of being liberated from its material limitations. Because Siva-Sakti is present as the soul of every grade of existence, the whole cosmos, all lokas, deities, beings, oceans, mountains, stars, can be experienced within the individual body. Gorakhnath's formula: "Pinda-madhye caracaram yo janati, sa yogi pinda-samvittir bhavati", the yogi who knows all moving and unmoving things within the body is the true knower of the body.
Not Physiology but the Science of Yoga
Gorakhnath's cakras, adharas, nadis and vayus are not "merely physical or even vital parts of the physical body," nor purely physiological concepts. He is concerned not with physiology but with the science and philosophy of yoga.
The critique of materialist science
Banerjea's argument:
- Materialist sciences assume matter to be essentially distinct from and independent of life, mind and spirit.
- They observe that inorganic matter appears in cosmic history before life, and mind long after; so they infer that matter is the original substance and life and mind its products.
- But on their own concept of matter as lifeless, inert and insentient, they can find "no rational ground" for the emergence of life, intellect, moral, aesthetic and spiritual consciousness.
- Such emergence is explicable only if "there is in the inner nature of matter some active conscious living Principle, which gradually unfolds itself by transforming matter."
The yogic view of matter
"In the view of the enlightened yogis there is no pure and simple matter (as conceived by the scientists) anywhere in the universe."
- Even Akasa, the ultimate form of matter, is an embodiment of Siva-Sakti, "charged with a creative urge and filled with immense possibilities."
- So Vayu evolves from it, and so on, each element ensouled and creatively urged.
- Every chemical element is a combination of the five Mahabhutas and an embodiment of Siva-Sakti; though no life or mind appears in it, the Source of life and mind is present as its soul.
- Life emerges from matter, mind from life, intellect from mind, and moral and aesthetic consciousness from intellect, because Siva-Sakti is immanent throughout.
- Evolution ends when spiritual consciousness awakens in individuals and is illumined by Siva-Sakti's self-luminosity, "accomplished in the lives of enlightened yogis."
This is a clear statement of what philosophers today call panpsychism or, more precisely, "pan-en-theism of matter": consciousness is not added to matter at some late stage but is its hidden inner nature from the start. The argument is a classic one, that you cannot get something out of nothing; if mind emerges from matter, matter must have harboured mind. Banerjea, writing in the mid-twentieth century, anticipates a debate that has revived strongly in contemporary philosophy of mind.
Degrees of Unveiling
To the yogi, the differences between living and non-living, conscious and unconscious, rational and non-rational are "not fundamental and insurmountable," only grades of the Spirit's self-manifestation.
- The Spirit is more expressed in life than matter, more in animal mind than plant life, more in the human mind and intellect, still more in moral, aesthetic and religious consciousness.
- "That level of existence is regarded as relatively higher, in which the essential nature of the Spirit is comparatively more unveiled."
- "What is known by the name of evolution in the present age follows the course of the urge... for more and more unveiling of the Spirit."
- But "both self-veiling and self-unveiling are equally prominent aspects of His cosmic play."
The yogi "sees the Timeless in time, the Spaceless in space, the Changeless in all changes, the Infinite in all finites." Time and space are real only in relation to the phenomenal; the Spirit is timeless and spaceless.
The veils are His own
The yogi uses his relative freedom to penetrate the veils of forms at every level and experience Siva-Sakti's play directly. But:
- the veils are not superimposed by any foreign power;
- they are not produced by any Primordial Matter, Prakriti or Maya distinct from the Spirit;
- nor are they mere illusions to finite minds, for those minds are themselves products of the same process and presuppose it.
"Since the Spirit is the sole Ultimate Reality, all forms... must be His own free self-manifestations, and hence they are also essentially spiritual... The bodies are essentially no less spiritual than the Soul."
Here is a neat logical argument against the doctrine that the world is illusion. If the world were an illusion produced in finite minds, then the finite minds themselves, being part of the world, would also have to be illusions, and then who is having the illusion? The Nath position avoids this regress: veils, minds and bodies are all real self-manifestations of the one Spirit.
Yoga as an Experimental Science
The yogi first seeks the Supreme within his own body, the highest product of evolution. Through moral and spiritual discipline, his physical, physiological and psychical concepts are "gradually transformed... into spiritual concepts"; bodily centres are revealed as "dynamic centres of diverse orders of spiritual experience and spiritual enjoyment." Through meditation on specific centres, normally dormant powers and knowledge are awakened.
Banerjea's analogy:
| Modern science | Yogic science |
|---|---|
| Invents fine instruments and experimental methods | Invents Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha, Vedha, Neti, Dhauti, and Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi |
| Studies the inner structure of matter, plants, animals, human bodies | Studies the subtle operations within one's own body |
| Discovers normally imperceptible physical, chemical, electrical, biological phenomena | Discovers the deeper potentialities of each part and its relation to the spiritual ideal |
| Splits the atom, dematerialising matter into energy | "Dematerialises" the body, transforming it into a spiritual body, a seat of infinite powers |
"The science of yoga is a special science, based on special types of observation and experiment... It destroys the deep-seated notion about the fundamental difference between spirit and matter and shows how spirit is materialised and matter is spiritualised. It enables a man to realise the infinite in the finite body."
The atom-splitting analogy is apt. Physics showed that "solid" matter is in fact energy; yoga claims to show, by direct experience, that the "solid" body is in fact Sakti, conscious energy. Both are experimental disciplines with their own instruments; yoga's instrument is the trained human organism itself. This framing invites the modern reader to approach yoga not as belief but as a disciplined first-person experiment, while respecting that it has its own methods and cannot be reduced to laboratory physiology.
Pinda-Samvitti: Knowing the Body Truly
In ordinary sensuous experience, differences between part and whole, individual and cosmos, matter and spirit seem insurmountable. As experience and thought rise, these differences lose importance and their identity is unveiled. When consciousness is refined:
- the whole is experienced in every part;
- the entire cosmos in every individual body;
- the unity of all individual bodies is revealed;
- matter, life, mind and spirit appear as differences only in outer form.
The yogi's vision "does not turn back from the surface of things, as is the case with all normal experiences (including scientific observations and experiments), but enters into the spirit of all things."
"Pinda-madhye caracaram yo janati, sa yogi pinda-samvittir bhavati", He who knows all that moves and is unmoving within the body is the yogi who truly knows the body.
Complete knowledge of the body consists in rising above its spatial and temporal limits and identifying it with the boundless universe. "The real glory of the human body... lies in the possibility of realising the presence of this whole universe in it... the macrocosm is realisable in the microcosm."
When this vision is attained, the individual feels himself as Visvarupa or Virat-Purusha (Cosmic Personality). Just as an ordinary person feels all phenomena of his body as expressions of his personal self, the yogi feels all phenomena of the cosmos, beneficent and cataclysmic, harmonious and destructive, magnificent and loathsome, as expressions of his Cosmic Self. "There is not only perfect adjustment of the individual body with the Cosmic System, but perfect spiritual identification of the one with the other."
The Gita (6.29): "Atmanam sarva-bhuteshu sarva-bhutani catmani / Ikshate yoga-yuktatma sarvatra sama-darsanah", The one established in yoga sees the Self in all beings and all beings in the Self; he sees the same everywhere.
The Siva-Samhita has Siva describe to Parvati how a yogi experiences within his body all lokas, suns, stars, planets, Devas, Asuras, Yakshas, Rakshasas, Rishis, Siddhas, Gandharvas, men, beasts, seas, mountains, rivers and forests.
The Map of the Cosmos in the Body (SSP Pinda-Samvitti)
| Cosmic reality | Location in the body | Presiding deity / inner form |
|---|---|---|
| Kurma (the cosmic Tortoise supporting the universe) | Beneath the feet, supporting the body | Self-manifestation of Siva-Sakti |
| Seven lower worlds, Patala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rasatala, Sutala, Vitala, Atala | From the toes up to the thighs | Rudra as Kalagni-Rudra; dwells in the body as Krodha (wrath) |
| Bhuh, Bhuvah, Svah (Triloka) | Guhya-sthana, Linga-sthana, Nabhi-sthana (Muladhara, Svadhishthana, Manipura) | Indra, ruling the three worlds and, within, all the senses (indriyas) |
| Mahah, Jana, Tapah, Satya | Higher and deeper regions of the spinal cord | Brahma and other deities |
| Higher lokas: Vishnu-, Rudra-, Isvara-, Nilakantha-, Siva-, Bhairava-, Anadi-, Kula-, Akula-, Para-Brahma-, Parapara-, Sakti-loka | Planes above ordinary and even supernormal experience, accessible in deep meditation | Vishnu, Rudra, Isvara, Nilakantha, Siva, Bhairava, Anadi, Kulesvara, Akulesvara, Para-Brahma, Paramesvara, Para-Sakti |
Note the mapping of Rudra to wrath and Indra to the senses. These are not arbitrary. Indra is king of the gods, as the senses are "kings" of ordinary experience; the very word indriya (sense) derives from Indra. Kalagni-Rudra, the fire of time that destroys worlds, dwells in us as anger. To master anger is, in this symbolism, to master the destructive fire that burns the lower worlds. Mythology here becomes inner psychology.
Siva's many faces in the planes
In different lokas, Siva reveals himself differently: perfectly calm and actionless in one; ever-active with waves of activity in another; a stern God dispensing justice in another; ever-joyful in another; an abstract Principle in one, a good, beautiful and majestic Personality in another; pure Sunya in one, perfect Purna (fullness) in another. "The enlightened Yogi accepts all His glorious self-revelations as phenomenally real and enjoys Him in all these forms."
This explains how the same tradition can speak of God as Void and as Person, as stern and as loving, without contradiction. These are different planes of revelation of one Reality. Rather than forcing a single image, the Nath practitioner learns to enjoy each as true at its own level.
The Ethical Consequence
Banerjea draws a striking social conclusion. An enlightened yogi "experiences all men and women and children of all classes and castes and races and tribes within himself or as diversified manifestations of himself. He is therefore completely free from hatred and fear, competition and rivalry, selfishness and hostility, casteism and communalism and racialism and nationalism. In his practical behaviour he becomes an embodiment of love and sympathy to all."
He experiences within his body:
- the seven dvipas (continents) and seven oceans (of salt, milk, curd, ghee, honey, sugarcane juice and nectar);
- the nine khandas (regions, including Bharata-khanda), the eight Kula-parvatas (great mountains) and lesser hills, the nine great rivers;
- the 27 Nakshatras, 12 Rasis (zodiac signs), 9 Grahas, 15 Tithis;
- the 33 crore Devatas, Danavas, Yakshas, Pisacas, Bhutas, Pretas, Gandharvas, Kinnaras, Kimpurushas, Apsaras;
- all trees, plants, creepers and grasses.
"Heaven and hell, bondage and salvation, all these are enjoyed by him as conditions of his own experience."
"Evam sarva-deheshu Visva-rupah Paramesvarah Paramatma akhanda-svabhavena ghate ghate Cit-svarupi tishthati", Thus the Supreme Lord, the Supreme Self, of the nature of Cit, the Cosmic Form, dwells in every body (in every "pot," ghate ghate) with His undivided nature.
The Visvarupa that Krishna revealed to Arjuna by giving him divine sight (divya-cakshu, Gita ch. 11) exists in every individual body. A perfectly enlightened yogi sees it "not only in the body of an exceptionally Divine Purusha like Sri Krishna, but also in his own body as well as in every other individual body." So long as consciousness moves in the sensuous planes, differences predominate and the Whole seems an abstract principle; "to spiritual insight the Whole is vividly visible in every part, the Infinite in every finite manifestation."
This is the most socially radical passage in the book, and it follows strictly from the metaphysics. If every body contains the whole cosmos with undivided Siva (akhanda-svabhava), then caste, race, community and nation are distinctions on the surface of a single reality. Historically, the Nath sampradaya admitted members across caste and even religious lines, and its influence on the Sant poets (Kabir and others) carried this egalitarianism into popular devotion. Banerjea makes clear that this is not a social programme added to yoga; it is what yoga sees.
The phrase "ghate ghate" (in every pot) evokes the ancient image of one sky in many pots. Break the pot and the space inside is found never to have been separate. But note the Nath nuance: here the pots themselves are also Siva's self-expression, not mere illusory containers.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pinda-Samvitti | True knowledge (realisation) of the body |
| Caracara | Moving and unmoving, all beings |
| Visvarupa / Virat-Purusha | Cosmic Form / Cosmic Person |
| Sama-darsana | Seeing the same everywhere |
| Kalagni-Rudra | Rudra as the fire of time; inwardly, anger |
| Indra / Indriya | King of gods / senses |
| Sapta-dvipa, Sapta-samudra, Nava-khanda | Seven continents, seven oceans, nine regions |
| Akhanda-svabhava | Undivided nature |
| Ghate ghate | In every "pot", every body |
| Divya-cakshu | Divine sight |
| Purna / Sunya | Fullness / Void, two faces of the Supreme |
| Vedha, Neti, Dhauti | Piercing practices; nasal and internal cleansing |
Reflection and Practice
- The matter question. Hold any object, a stone, a cup. Contemplate: "This is Siva-Sakti at a stage where life and mind are hidden but not absent." Notice whether your relationship to objects shifts.
- Body as cosmos. Lying down, move attention from the feet upward, recalling the map: lower worlds in legs, Bhuh–Bhuvah–Svah in the pelvis and navel, higher worlds along the spine, the highest lokas at the crown. Let the body feel vast.
- Anger as Kalagni-Rudra. When anger arises, recognise it as the inner presence of the world-destroying fire. Do not suppress it; hold it with awareness until its energy can be redirected.
- Visvarupa in others. When you meet someone, especially someone you find difficult, silently recall "ghate ghate", the undivided Siva dwells here too. Observe how your response changes.
- Social audit. Honestly list any attachments you hold to caste, community, race or nation that create hostility. Contemplate them in the light of this chapter. Which could you begin to release?
Individual Souls (pp. 206–223)
Having shown that the whole cosmos lives within every body, Banerjea now asks: what is the individual soul (Jeevatma) that dwells in each body? The answer of the Siddha-yogis is uncompromising: it is Siva Himself, existing in His undivided (akhanda) pure spiritual nature in every body. "Siva is really the Soul of all creatures." The chapter then faces the hard questions this answer raises. If every soul is Siva, why does it seem bound, ignorant and suffering? Why is there evil? Is God cruel? The answers rest on the twofold nature of Siva's Sakti, Prakasa and Vimarsa (Vidya and Avidya), and on the image of the Divine as a free artist who plays every role in His own drama. The chapter ends with the meaning of the Nath greeting "Adesa": the unity of Jeevatma, Atma and Paramatma.
Three Findings Recapitulated
Banerjea opens by summarising three earlier conclusions:
- The one non-dual transcendent Siva, through His free Will-Power (non-different from Him), eternally reveals and enjoys Himself as a diversified, harmonised Cosmic Body, and as its sole Indwelling Spirit and Lord.
- Within this Cosmic Body He creates many orders of worlds (planes) and reveals Himself as many Deities who govern and harmonise them. He plays all the parts: World-Souls and World-Bodies, rulers and regions, deities and domains.
- The same Siva reveals Himself as finite, transitory individual bodies, simple and complex, and dwells in them as their individual souls.
Hence "the Mahayogis do not even admit any fundamental difference of matter from spirit. Matter or body is no less a form of self-manifestation of the Supreme Spirit than spirit or soul." All psycho-physical organisms are Siva's particularised bodily self-manifestations; in each He plays the part of an individual soul with differentiating characteristics.
Soul and Body: Empirical Difference
Though both are ultimately non-different, from the empirical viewpoint they differ a great deal:
| Body | Soul |
|---|---|
| Physical manifestation of the Spirit | Spiritual manifestation of the Spirit |
| Finite, composite, material | Single, simple, self-luminous |
| Occupies a portion of space | No spatial characteristics |
| Changes and transforms in time | Free from temporal modification |
| Integrates and disintegrates | Gives unity, continuity and identity to the body through all its changes |
| Servant and instrument | Master, dynamic centre and owner |
The soul does not occupy any particular part of the body, yet its presence can be realised in every part. "From the state of the minutest seed (bija) to the state of the fully developed and amazingly complicated organism, it is the same soul that reigns and shines in the body," regulating all functions and maintaining harmony and identity.
All bodily functions are "immanently directed towards the fuller and fuller self-realisation of the soul." That self-realisation does not mean any change in the soul, only its gradual self-emancipation from veils upon its divine nature and from the limits imposed by its connection with body and environment.
The size of the soul: a question set aside
Indian schools long debated the soul's size: atomic (anu-parimana), thumb-sized (angushtha-parimana), body-sized (madhyama-parimana), or all-pervading (vibhu-parimana). The yogis consider the debate "useless and beside the point." Being sizeless, shapeless and without magnitude, "the soul may be conceived in any suitable way for the practice of meditation and contemplation or for the purpose of practical behaviour."
This is typical of the Nath temperament: practical rather than scholastic. The Upanishadic "thumb-sized Purusha in the heart" becomes a meditation support, not a metaphysical measurement. You may picture the soul as a flame in the heart or as boundless space; both are instruments, neither is the literal truth.
Soul Beyond Life, Mind, Ego and Intellect
The soul is distinguished not only from the gross body but from Prana (life), Manas (mind), Ahamkara (ego) and Buddhi (intellect). These are its embodiments and instruments. The soul is their centre, support, master, unifier, and their "sleepless and unfailing witness and illuminator and controller."
Two important points follow:
- Life, mind, ego and intelligence also exist cosmically: the whole cosmic system is pervaded by them, as instruments of Siva's cosmic self-revelation. In individuals they take particular functions.
- Even Moral Consciousness, Aesthetic Consciousness and Spiritual Consciousness are distinguished from the soul. They are its noblest forms of phenomenal self-expression, but still phenomenal and subservient. "It is in the state of perfect illumination of the Spiritual Consciousness that the soul realises its absolutely blissful identity with the Supreme Spirit, Siva."
The second point is subtle and easily missed. Spiritual experience itself, however exalted, is not the Self; it is the medium in which the Self is recognised. This guards the seeker against identifying with states, visions or refined feelings, a danger every contemplative tradition warns about.
Avidya: What It Is Not
The soul is essentially free from birth and death, growth and decay, hunger and thirst, disease, passion, attachment, aversion, virtue and vice, error and anxiety. These are revealed and experienced in bodies, lives, minds and intellects by the light of the soul, but the soul is not affected by them. Normally, though, they are attributed to the soul, which is then regarded as subject to them. This is called Avidya.
The Siddha-yogi school rejects three common accounts of Avidya:
| School | Its view of Avidya | Why the Nath school rejects it |
|---|---|---|
| Extreme (Kevala-Advaita) Vedanta | An inscrutable power, extraneous to the Spirit, veiling it so that it illusorily appears as many souls in an illusory world | Makes Avidya mysterious and the world unreal |
| Buddhist | The first link in a cyclic chain of causation (dependent origination) accounting for experience | Leads to the illusoriness of world and permanent souls, and denies the Supreme Spirit as ground; ends in the Sarva-vainasika Siddhanta ("all-destroying conclusion") that the harmonious world-order is a changing appearance with no substratum |
| Sankhya | An unaccountable cause of non-discrimination (aviveka) between two independent realities, Purusha and Prakriti | Presupposes an untenable dualism |
"But nevertheless it accepts Avidya as a real phenomenon in this phenomenal world of cosmic and individual self-expression of Siva-Sakti."
Avidya as Siva's Own Power
"In the view of the Siddha-Yogi, Avidya is as much an essential element as Vidya in the delightful phenomenal self-manifestation of the absolutely free (Swatantra) Will-Power (Iccha-Sakti)" of Siva.
What true transcendence means
The Absolute, though beyond time, space, causality and relativity, and of the nature of Absolute Existence, Consciousness and Bliss, has in Itself the free power to manifest as innumerable orders of phenomenal existences, consciousnesses and joys "shadowed by sorrows." The very idea of the Absolute implies this freedom.
- "The Absolute and Transcendent does not imply negation of or opposition to or incompatibleness with the relative and phenomenal." It indicates the perfect assimilation (Samarasa), unification (Ekatwa) and identification (Abhinnatwa) of all relative realities within Itself.
- "The Infinite that excludes the finites and even the possibility of the finites can not be reasonably conceived as the real Infinite."
- "The Eternal that excludes all temporal beings and becomings, or that means only beginningless and endless continuity in time, is not the real Eternal in the metaphysical sense."
- So the Absolute is "transcendent as well as dynamic," eternally enjoying Itself above time and eternally revealing Itself in finite forms.
This is the philosophical heart of the chapter. An infinite that stands opposed to the finite is limited by the finite, and so is not truly infinite. Hegel made a similar argument about the "bad infinite." The Nath answer is that the true Infinite includes and expresses the finite without being reduced by it. This is why the world need not be denied in order to affirm Brahman.
Revelation requires concealment
Manifestation in many forms (nanakarataya vilasah) implies partial revelation and partial concealment (apekshika prakasa tatha apekshika avarana). "Without partial self-concealment and self-imposed self-limitation there cannot possibly be any phenomenal self-manifestation." So the Swatantra Sakti must be conceived as twofold:
| Revealing aspect | Concealing aspect |
|---|---|
| Prakasa (illumination) | Avarana-Sakti (power of obstructing light) |
| Revelation | Concealment |
| Self-experience as unity of subject and object | Self-experience as diverse subjects and objects |
| Sankoca / Samhara (contraction into unity) | Prasara (expansion into many souls and bodies) |
| Vidya-Sakti | Avidya-Sakti (Avarana and Vikshepa: veiling and projecting) |
"Vidya and Avidya are both real aspects of the nature of the Sakti." Without either, the self-manifestation and self-enjoyment of the Ultimate Reality would be impossible.
in Banerjea's table of expansion and contraction, expansion (Prasara) is the movement into multiplicity and contraction (Sankoca or Samhara) the movement back into unity of existences and consciousnesses.
Prakasa and Vimarsa
Gorakhnath more often uses Prakasa and Vimarsa for these two aspects.
- Vimarsa means reflection or detailed thinking. The Absolute is "as it were reflecting upon the infinite contents of His eternally perfect transcendent nature," objectifying them to His own consciousness, "discovering Himself by thinking about Himself in a detailed way." This is His phenomenal aspect.
- In His transcendent aspect He is absolutely One: no distinction between knower and known. In this aspect He "cannot even be said to be self-conscious," because self-consciousness as we know it involves a subject-object relation.
- Vimarsa makes the Absolute phenomenally self-conscious: it is "His Power of Self-consciousness or Self-reflection or the Power of His revelation of Himself to Himself." By it He "comes down as it were" from non-duality and divides Himself into Subject and Object.
- This objective self-reflection "appears as His Creation." The whole universe of time, space, joys and sorrows, love and hatred, successes and failures "is nothing but the Absolute Spirit objectively reflecting upon and experiencing and enjoying His infinite spiritual nature." Hence Vimarsa-Sakti is also called Maya-Sakti, the power of self-diversification.
Gorakhnath's conclusion in SSP Lesson IV: "Kim uktam bhavati? Para-para-vimarsa-rupini Samvit nana-sakti-rupena nikhila-pinda-dharatwena vartate." What has been said? The one self-luminous Samvit, as Para-Vimarsa (collective self-reflection) and Apara-Vimarsa (differentiated self-reflection), manifests as various orders of Sakti and through them exists as the sole Adhara (upholder) of all the numberless Pindas, individual and collective.
Note how this redefines Maya. In the Nath view Maya-Sakti is not a cosmic deception but God's power of self-reflection: the universe is God thinking about Himself in detail. A useful analogy: a mathematician who understands a theorem in a single flash (Prakasa) may then write out every step of the proof (Vimarsa). The steps are not false; they are the same truth unfolded.
Siva as soul of every Pinda
By Vimarsa He manifests all Pindas, from Para-Pinda to Vyashti-Pindas; by Prakasa He exists in them as their illumining soul. "Siva is as much the Soul of Para-pinda, Anadi-pinda, Maha-sakara-pinda, as of the bodies of individual gods and men and beasts and birds and insects, and even of the material bodies which outwardly appear to be lifeless and soulless."
In the phenomenal world Prakasa and Vimarsa limit each other. So the soul in each body appears conditioned by the nature and limits of that body. "All kinds of limitations and imperfections which are actually found in an individual soul are due to the bodily organism, through which it realises and expresses itself." Inwardly, every soul transcends the organism, being essentially Prakasa.
The SSP Lesson III verse returns: "Evam sarva-deheshu Viswarupah Parameswarah Paramatma akhanda-swabhavena ghate ghate Cit-swarupi tishthati." Hence no individual soul in its essential character is ever particularised, polluted, bound or sorrowful; each "participates in the pure existence and pure consciousness and pure bliss of the Supreme Spirit."
The Problem: Why Does Siva Seem Bound?
Phenomenally, souls appear subject to the five kleshas (afflictions) known from Patanjali:
| Klesha | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Avidya | Ignorance, false knowledge |
| Asmita | Particularised egohood |
| Raga | Desire and attachment |
| Dwesha | Aversion and hostility |
| Abhinivesa | Clinging to the present form of existence; fear of death |
They also appear bound by Karma (physical, mental, intellectual; virtuous and vicious) and its fruits, passing through many births and deaths, heavens and hells, and needing hard self-discipline for liberation. How is this consistent with the presence of the undivided Supreme Spirit in every body?
The answer: Siva, by the Vimarsa aspect of His free Will, experiences and enjoys Himself both in absolute perfection and under every kind of limitation of existence, consciousness, knowledge, power, time, space, qualities and relations. He is "the greatest of the great (mahato mahiyan) and the minutest of the minute (anor aniyan)," and everything between, as Paramatma, Viswatma, Lokatma, Jeevatma, and all Pindas.
Gorakhnath: "Alupta-saktiman nityam sarvakarataya sphuran / Punah swenaiva rupena eka eva vasishyate." Eternally possessed of undiminished Power, shining forth in all forms, He remains in His own nature as the One without a second.
So Avidya is "nothing but a form of self-imposed limitation, which His own Vimarsa-Sakti creates for His self-experience and self-enjoyment in the forms of the plurality of individual souls." From it arises particularised ego, so that one soul may distinguish itself from others and have its own career. Raga, Dwesha, Abhinivesa, actions and consequences, births and deaths, joys and sorrows are "concomitants of the sense of finite individuality." They belong to phenomenal consciousness. "The Soul behind the individual phenomenal consciousnesses is the same Supreme Spirit, Who is the ultimate Experiencer and Enjoyer of them all."
Two Analogies
The idealist who chooses suffering
A good, wise, happy person, inspired by a lofty ideal, freely takes up austerities, privations, abandons comfort, and may even embrace torture and death. However terrible his sufferings look, "he inwardly enjoys them, since he has freely and voluntarily adopted this path." "In the human history those who suffered most for great ideas are universally adored." Likewise, there is no reason to hold that the limitations and miseries of creatures are inconsistent with the divinity of their Soul. The Divine Self has freely put Himself into all kinds of imperfect bodies, enjoys partial experiences through them, and "likewise enjoys all kinds of struggle and self-discipline on the part of individuals for liberation from them."
The dramatist who plays every part
A wealthy, talented person writes dramas and stages them. All characters and incidents are products of his mind. He assigns roles, controls all players, and himself takes any part he chooses. He delights equally in playing slave or king, saint or sinner, oppressor or victim, the rich man or the starving man. He creates every rasa, not only pleasure, laughter, admiration, love and reverence, but also disgust, horror and hatred. All are material for his self-expression and for giving joy to others. "In the light of the variegated self-expression and self-enjoyment of a great artist we may form some idea of the perfectly free and delightful phenomenal self-manifestation and self-enjoyment of Siva in the forms of various orders of finite and sorrowful individual creatures."
The drama analogy connects directly with Indian aesthetics (rasa theory). In a great tragedy, the audience enjoys the experience of grief (karuna rasa) because they are not personally bound by it; they taste it from a position of freedom. The Nath claim is that the Soul is always in that position, even while the empirical person is drowning in the role. Liberation is the empirical person discovering that he is also the audience and the author.
The Problem of Evil
Banerjea calls the Problem of Evil "a puzzling problem to all philosophical schools, and particularly the theistic schools." Natural evils (catastrophes, suffering) and moral evils (vices) are undeniable. Explanations offered by theists are found inadequate by critics. Some posit a second power, Satan or Ahriman, to acquit God. But this is incompatible with God's absolute creatorship: if He is One without a second, He must be the sole ultimate cause of whatever is experienced, and He cannot be compelled by any other cause, material, efficient, final or formal.
The yogi solution has four parts.
1. Natural evil exists only for sentient consciousness
Pains and miseries exist only for the empirical consciousness of sentient bodies; moral evils only for the moral consciousness of rational beings. Pleasure and pain are mutually related modes of experience in the sentient and psychical planes. The desire to escape pain and gain happiness drives development to higher planes. "Pains and miseries are no more evils and play no less significant roles than pleasures and happinesses."
In inanimate nature "there are really no catastrophes and disasters," only changes, integrations, disintegrations and reorganisations by physical, chemical and electrical forces. These prepare the ground for life and mind. They are called catastrophic by sentient beings "in accordance with their particular likes and dislikes and standards of values."
2. Sorrow is Ananda overshadowed
In living and conscious planes there are grades of self-revelation and self-concealment. Pain, want, disease, death, anxiety and bereavement are indications of limitations of life and consciousness in individual bodies. The implication of all sorrow is that it is sought to be transcended; sorrow stimulates effort to rise to higher planes, until the plane of Ananda is reached. "Sorrow is from this point of view nothing but Ananda overshadowed by limitations created by the Divine Power and is instrumental in the progressive phenomenal realisation of Ananda."
3. Moral evil is a judgment, not a bare fact
Virtue and vice, right and wrong, justice and injustice, belong to the moral plane of consciousness. "But for the evolution of moral consciousness in individual bodies, these notions would not arise." They are "not of the nature of actual facts of phenomenal experience, but are of the nature of judgments upon facts by reference to some ideal or standard of value." Moral Consciousness, imbued with the Ideal of Dharma, judges phenomena by that ideal.
What is judged bad and must be abandoned or conquered also has its importance in raising life and mind to higher planes. "Just as sorrows are only His self-imposed veils and limitations upon His infinite bliss, so the vices are His self-imposed veils and limitations upon His infinite goodness and purity." He freely imposes these shadows, gradually removes them, and enjoys the whole process as its all-illumining witness.
4. Ugliness is beauty under limitation
Aesthetic consciousness, likewise, experiences beauty and ugliness, rasas from the sweetest (madhura) to the most loathsome (bibhatsa). These too are judgments relative to an ideal. "What appears as relatively ugly or loathsome is... really nothing but beauty experienced under various forms of limitations and distortions." "There is nothing absolutely ugly or abominable in the world-system, just as there is nothing which is absolutely evil or absolutely sorrowful." There may be a standpoint from which all realities are enjoyed as good, beautiful and pleasant. All possible forms, from the most permanent to the most momentary, most beautiful to most ugly, most glorious to most inglorious, are evolved in the play of Vimarsa-Sakti. "This is the amazing and bewildering glory of Maha-Sakti of Siva."
It is important to read this correctly. Banerjea is not saying that cruelty is acceptable or that moral effort is pointless. He explicitly keeps the moral plane real: vices "have to be abandoned or conquered or suppressed," and the struggle against them is itself part of the divine play. What he denies is that evil is an absolute, independent reality that could indict God or overthrow the unity of the Real. The ethical life continues at its own level; the yogi's vision adds a deeper level from which it is seen whole.
Is God Cruel?
People in the plane of ignorance and egoism often murmur that "what is play to God is death to His creatures." They charge Him with cruelty, partiality and injustice in shaping characters, environments and destinies. For them the Law of Karma is not a satisfactory ultimate explanation, since the desires and actions of creatures in all births are as much governed by the Divine Will as their consequences: God must be responsible for the deeds as well as for the fruits. Some lose faith and think the world a chance product of blind forces.
The Mahayogi answer: "the questions of cruelty, partiality, injustice, etc., vanish, because the creatures of God are not other than or separate from God Himself. God or the Supreme Spirit is the Creator as well as the created." Cruelty, injustice and oppression do occur, but "as He is the individual soul in every body, He is the perpetrator of cruelty and injustice and He is the victim of cruelty and injustice; in every warfare He fights against Himself and He is both the victor and the vanquished." He is master and slave, parent and child, teacher and pupil, wise and foolish, strong and weak.
Notice that Banerjea concedes the critics' point about Karma. Karma cannot be the final explanation, because karma itself unfolds within the Divine Will. Rather than defend God as an external judge, the Nath view removes the externality. The charge of injustice assumes a God who does something to others; there are no others. This is a radical answer, and it shifts the problem from theodicy to self-knowledge.
Differences Belong to Bodies, Not to the Soul
"According to the Siddha-Yogis all differences are phenomenally real; but they lie in the bodily manifestations of the Spirit, and not in their Soul or Atma." All physical, vital, sensuous, psychical, intellectual, moral, aesthetic and even so-called spiritual differences pertain to the bodies. "Smallness and greatness, sorrow and happiness, ignorance and knowledge, vice and virtue, and even bondage and liberation, are experienced in the bodies, and not in the Soul or Spirit, Which reveals them."
Consequently: "All spiritual exercises and advancements also essentially consist in the elevation and refinement and purification of the bodies," raising them to higher planes of spiritual experience. And "bodies" here include not only the physical organism but vital, mental and intellectual embodiments and all forms of phenomenal consciousness.
As reflected in finite bodies, the Soul appears many; in truth it is one and the same in all. Phenomenally identifying with bodies, it appears individualised, but never loses its transcendent character; it is "only the impartial witness to and enjoyer of them all."
What Moksha really is
"What is called Moksha is not essentially the liberation of the Soul from bondage and sorrow, but the liberation of the individual empirical consciousness from ignorance and impurity and limitations and bondages and sorrows, and the realisation in it of the essential purity and goodness and infinity and blissful character of the Soul, i.e. the identity of the Soul with the Supreme Spirit."
This explains why the Nath path is so body-centred. If the Soul is never bound, there is nothing to do to the Soul. All practice, from Hatha-yoga to Samadhi, works on the "bodies" in the wide sense, purifying and refining them until they transmit the Soul's light without distortion. This is the theoretical foundation of Kaya-sadhana: the body is where bondage is experienced, so the body is where liberation is accomplished.
Paramatma, Atma, Jeevatma, and Adesa
The Absolute is conceived from three standpoints:
| Name | Standpoint |
|---|---|
| Paramatma | The One Soul and Lord, Illuminer and Enjoyer, of His free self-evolving Maha-Sakti (the Prakasa-Vimarsatmika Sakti that is the source of all phenomena) |
| Atma | The Soul pervading the entire Cosmic Body, Indwelling Spirit of all orders of existence |
| Jeevatma | The plurality of individual souls in individual bodies |
These distinctions lie only in the upadhis (limiting adjuncts) and imply no real difference or change in the Spirit. "He always transcends the parts He plays, transcends the situations which He creates for Himself." Spiritual enlightenment of the empirical consciousness consists in realising the oneness of Jeevatma, Atma and Paramatma.
Gorakhnath: "Atmeti Paramatmeti Jeevatmeti vicarane / Trayanam aikya-sambhutir adesa iti kirtitah." In reflection we distinguish Atma, Paramatma and Jeevatma; the realisation of the unity of the three is called Adesa.
"Whenever Yogis greet one another, they utter the words Adesa Adesa. By this form of salutation Yogis constantly remind one another of the identity of every individual soul with the Cosmic Soul and the Transcendent Spirit."
The Nath greeting "Adesa" (often "Adesh") is thus a compressed teaching, the way "Namaste" honours the divine in the other. Each time two yogis meet, they affirm the whole metaphysics of this chapter: you, I, the cosmos and the Absolute are one. A simple practice is to remember this meaning whenever you greet anyone.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Jeevatma | Individual soul |
| Atma / Paramatma | Cosmic Soul / Supreme Soul |
| Akhanda-swarupa | Undivided essential nature |
| Anu / Angushtha / Madhyama / Vibhu-parimana | Atomic, thumb-sized, body-sized, all-pervading measure of the soul |
| Prana, Manas, Ahamkara, Buddhi | Life, mind, ego, intellect: instruments of the soul |
| Avidya / Vidya | Concealing / revealing aspects of Sakti |
| Avarana / Vikshepa | Veiling / projecting |
| Prasara / Sankoca (Samhara) | Expansion into many / contraction into unity |
| Prakasa / Vimarsa | Pure illumination / self-reflection |
| Para- and Apara-Vimarsa | Collective and differentiated self-reflection |
| Maya-Sakti | Power of self-diversification (Vimarsa) |
| Kleshas | Avidya, Asmita, Raga, Dwesha, Abhinivesa |
| Sarva-vainasika Siddhanta | "All-destroying" Buddhist conclusion rejected by the Naths |
| Madhura / Bibhatsa | Sweetest / most loathsome rasa |
| Upadhi | Limiting adjunct |
| Adesa | Realisation of the unity of Jeevatma, Atma, Paramatma; the Nath greeting |
Reflection and Practice
- Witness the instruments. Sit quietly and observe in turn the breath (Prana), passing thoughts (Manas), the sense of "I am doing" (Ahamkara), and decisions or judgments (Buddhi). Ask each time: who is aware of this? Rest as that awareness.
- Do not identify with states. When a pleasant meditative state arises, note: "This too is a refined body of consciousness, not the Soul." Let it come and go.
- The dramatist exercise. Recall a painful role you are currently playing (illness, conflict, loss). For a few minutes view it as a part in a drama the Self has freely chosen. Do not deny the pain; notice whether a quieter witness is present behind it.
- Rethinking evil. Choose one event you consider evil. Separate the bare facts from the judgment. Then ask how the struggle against it might be part of the upward movement of consciousness. Keep acting ethically while you contemplate.
- Adesa. For one week, silently say "Adesa" when greeting people, remembering its meaning: the unity of the individual, cosmic and transcendent Self.
The Supreme Ideal of Life (pp. 224–250)
This is the culminating chapter of the philosophical part of the book. Banerjea starts from the universal fact of sorrow and the universal Indian ideal of Moksha (liberation). He shows that this apparently negative ideal is really a positive one: perfect Ananda, the fulfilment of life and mind, not their extinction. He then surveys how each major Indian school understands liberation: Buddhist, Jaina, Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya-Vaiseshika, Advaita Vedanta and the Bhakti schools. Against this background he presents Gorakhnath's distinctive ideal. Samadhi, the union of Jeeva and Siva, is necessary but not final. The highest ideal is Samarasa-karana, also called Sahaja-Samadhi or Jagrat-Samadhi: Siva-consciousness brought down into every plane of waking life, so that the yogi enjoys all diversity with equal relish while never losing sight of its unity. Such a person is a Natha or Avadhuta. The chapter closes with the Nath claim that perfect yoga also brings mastery over body and nature. Yoga aims not only at knowing the Absolute but at sharing in its Power.
Sorrow: The Universal Starting Point
Moksha or Mukti literally means freedom, liberation, deliverance. As commonly understood it is "rather a negative term": it says what we escape from, not what we gain. What do we seek deliverance from? Sorrow, "the most universal fact of experience," not only for humans but for all sentient beings.
Banerjea's analysis of sorrow:
- Its causes are external and internal and present from birth to death; life seems a continuous struggle with them.
- Humans have extra sources: mental, intellectual and moral imperfections.
- Temporary victories bring temporary relief, but the roots are never removed.
- Even death gives no permanent relief, because the Law of Karma ensures continuity in a subtle body and rebirth in a new one.
Sorrow as the engine of civilisation
"Truly speaking, Sorrow is at the basis of all human culture and civilization." Sorrow creates desire; desire drives action; action relieves particular sorrows but creates new ones, "perhaps ad infinitum." In this struggle dormant human powers awaken: mind, heart and intellect develop; knowledge expands; humans gain control over nature; sciences, arts, technologies, and social, political, military and religious organisations evolve. "The goading power of Sorrow is at the root of all these developments."
Yet "Sorrow has never acknowledged defeat." In the most civilised state it seems no weaker than in the least. Every new source of pleasure brings new sources of sorrow. "All human efforts for the conquest of Sorrow by means of the improvements of the external conditions of physical existence appear to have utterly failed."
Must we conclude that humans are born only to suffer? That pessimism would itself be another sorrow, and the most illumined minds have rejected it.
This passage reads strikingly well today. Material progress has multiplied comforts and also anxieties: abundance of food alongside lifestyle disease, connectivity alongside loneliness. Banerjea's point is not anti-progress; he credits sorrow with all of civilisation's glories. His point is that the root of sorrow cannot be reached from outside.
The Inward Turn
All the greatest saints of India and all the major philosophical systems agree:
- Sorrow can be absolutely conquered, and this is the ultimate ideal of life.
- It cannot be conquered by physical improvements, empirical knowledge, wealth, worldly power, organisations, or science and technology.
- To destroy the root of sorrow, one must turn all energy and wisdom inward and concentrate on the innermost essence of one's being.
"This inward turning of the human energy and wisdom and their concentration upon the innermost essence of being is called Yoga, and this is the essence of Religion."
The innermost essence of the individual and the universe "is untouched by Sorrow... perfectly calm and tranquil and blissful." Sorrow rules over minds to which this essence is veiled. Illumination by the direct experience of the Truth of self and universe, Tattwa-sakshatkara, is the condition of the absolute conquest of sorrow. This is a positive ideal.
Why teachers seem to disagree
The Absolute and its realisation are beyond subject-object relation and so cannot be defined by empirical thought. When enlightened Gurus describe the experience negatively, their teachings agree. When they try to give a positive idea in empirical language, their words convey different meanings to seekers. Followers then divide into schools and sects and fight with "logical weapons." "The disputes are never settled, because they are not soluble on the intellectual plane."
This gives a generous hermeneutic for reading all the schools that follow. Their differences are largely differences of translation from a realisation that exceeds language. Banerjea does not say all views are equally adequate; he will argue for Gorakhnath's. But he frames the debate as one between descriptions, not between experiences.
Moksha Is Positive: Ananda, Not Annihilation
On deeper reflection, absolute sorrowlessness means, for a self-conscious mind, "perfect Ananda, perfect self-enjoyment, a perfectly blissful state of being, perfect fullness of existence."
- No normal person seeks to reduce himself to insensate matter or to annihilate himself to escape sorrow.
- All assume life and mind are superior to matter and life is preferable to death, even if full of sorrow.
- So the ideal "must refer to the perfect fulfilment of life and mind, and not the annihilation of life and mind." One must "not go down to the state of stocks and stones to be released from sorrows nor commit suicide for this purpose."
- That fulfilled state may be "incognisably unlike" our present state, transcending normal conditions, yet in it the full possibilities of life and mind are realised. "This is the state of Ananda, which every person inwardly aspires after."
Is Desire the Root of Sorrow? A Critique
The common answer, following the Buddha, is that we suffer because we have desires that are never satisfied. Banerjea questions this on the basis of ordinary experience:
- Desires are experienced as arising out of sorrows. When sorrow is felt, the urge to remove it arises.
- Do our desires create hunger, thirst, disease, old age, harsh climates, cruel natural forces, wild animals, bereavement and death? No. Desires for food, health, shelter and security follow sorrows produced by those causes.
- Artificial desires and ambitions do produce further sorrows in more developed minds.
- So "Desire may be said to be the first step in the struggles against sorrows, but not its invariable antecedent or cause."
Could we neutralise sorrow by accepting it without desiring escape, becoming "practically dead" to it? Even if possible, that would not prove desire causes sorrow. It would mean "abject self-surrender to Sorrow and helpless contentment under the reign of Sorrow." A desireless, actionless life of indifference "would amount to the reduction of life into lifelessness, and the degradation of consciousness to the unconscious plane." Mere freedom from the distinction of desirable and undesirable, without realising a positively blissful state, "is no inspiring ideal of human life."
This is a pointed criticism of a certain popular reading of renunciation: numbing oneself until nothing hurts. Banerjea insists that genuine liberation must be more alive, not less. Whatever one thinks of his reading of Buddhism, the practical warning is valuable: emotional shutdown can masquerade as detachment.
The Schools on Liberation: A Survey
Buddhism
Mahayogi Buddha taught ordinary sufferers that all existence is sorrow and that to escape sorrow one must escape existence and all future existence. By existence he meant phenomenal existence: impermanent, momentary, insecure. Desire for and attachment to impermanent objects, and hankering for permanence, make life sorrowful. When awareness of momentariness is rooted in the mind and desires and attachments are expelled, the mind is not disturbed by change; it transcends desirable and undesirable, good and evil, virtue and vice; Karma has no hold on it; there is no rebirth and no sense of permanent ego. This tranquil state is Nirvana, synonymous with Moksha.
What happens after the body ends? Verbally, the illumined mind passes into non-existence (maha-parinirvana). But Banerjea reads the Buddha as pointing not to absolute negation but "to the indefinable transcendent existence, which is perfectly calm and tranquil... absolutely peaceful and blissful."
The philosophical problem: in Buddhist philosophy the mind is a temporary continuity of momentary units. How can it transcend time? If what sustains its continuity is destroyed, there is nothing left to attain Nirvana. The Buddha generally kept silent here, to avoid metaphysical puzzles and keep seekers on the practical path of discipline, desirelessness, non-attachment, selflessness and universal sympathy. He was "determined to observe absolute silence about the Atma or Soul behind the phenomenal mind," often using "atma" to mean the empirical ego, which is indeed changeable and perishable.
The Hindu conception of Atma
All great Hindu teachers gave utmost importance to the Atma existing permanently behind the phenomenal mind (Manas, Buddhi, Ahamkara):
- the changeless, indestructible, self-luminous centre of every creature;
- untouched by the vicissitudes of manas, buddhi, ahamkara, prana and sarira;
- pure consciousness by nature, while the ego's consciousness is derivative, a reflected consciousness;
- the real seer (drashta), witness to the knowledge and the ignorance of the mind, to all knowing, feeling, willing, acting and suffering, but itself undisturbed;
- apparently individual but really universal and limitless.
The Hindu systems proclaim to every man, woman and child: "You are not this physical body... not the vital system... not the mind... not the intellect... nor are you the organised unity or totality of all or some of them; you are in your essential nature above them all."
These attributions to the Self arise from Ignorance of its transcendent character. Knowledge must be attained by the ego itself, through purifying its instruments and concentrating on the true Self until the ego is "perfectly absorbed with and merged in" that thought. "Know thy Self, be thy Self" is the ideal of all Hindu systems since the Vedas.
Jivanmukti: liberation while living
While embodied one should be active, but with the enlightened awareness of the transcendent Self, and so "without any desire and attachment, without any care and anxiety, without any affection or aversion, and without any sense of difference between man and man and even between man and other creatures." This is Jivanmukti.
The Jivanmukta:
- inwardly free of bondage, want, sorrow, good and evil, virtue and vice;
- in the world but above it;
- inwardly enjoying fullness and bliss amid change;
- acting from universal love and compassion for the welfare of the distressed;
- yet inwardly aware "that he neither acts nor is acted upon," with no sense of "me and mine";
- seeing the same free Soul in everyone.
"The life of a Jivanmukta is a life of inaction in action... a life of universal love and sympathy and fellow-feeling in this world of struggle for existence."
After death
At ordinary death only the gross body (sthula-deha) perishes. The Soul stays associated with the subtle body (sukshma-deha): the ego with its vasanas or trishna (subtle desires), samskaras (impressions) and merits and demerits, which cause new births. But when death follows perfect realisation in the deepest Samadhi, the ego with all its concomitants dies out, and there is no cause for new birth in any loka.
So far, little disagreement. But how does the Soul exist after total disembodiment? "This is obviously not so much a matter of direct spiritual experience as of metaphysical speculation." A Soul dissociated from all phenomenal consciousness cannot be said to have consciousness in any sense we understand, and the phenomenal consciousness cannot make it an object. The problem "appears to be insoluble." Here the schools diverge:
| School | Nature of the liberated, disembodied soul |
|---|---|
| Buddha | Refused to describe it as existent or non-existent, conscious or unconscious, since all such terms are phenomenal |
| Jaina | The liberated soul ascends to ever higher planes of transcendent spiritual existence toward absolute Kaivalya; an ideal of infinite inward progress in freedom |
| Sankhya (Kapila) | Purusha, cut off from Prakriti, "apparently becomes what it essentially and eternally is": pure changeless self-luminous consciousness, free of joy, sorrow, knowledge, emotion and will. Purushas remain many and separate, each in Kaivalya; the world ceases to exist for the liberated but continues for others |
| Yoga (Patanjali) | Follows Kapila: after perfect intuition, the Seer (drashta) is established in its transcendent nature, freed from Prakriti, through practice culminating in Samprajnata and Asamprajnata Samadhi. Patanjali is the author of the Yoga-Sutras, "but not of course the founder of the Yoga system" |
| Nyaya-Vaiseshika (Gautama, Kanada) | World from eternal atoms (paramanus) of four kinds; ether, space, time eternal; countless atomic minds and countless infinite souls; one Isvara who creates freely and intelligently. Souls are seats of consciousness, will and effort but need minds and senses to have them. In liberation, by devotion, meditation and Divine Grace, the soul's link with mind and senses is cut; it then has "no knowledge, no will, no effort, and even no consciousness," existing eternally free of sorrow and joy |
| Advaita Vedanta (Upanishads, Sankara) | Essential identity of the individual soul with Brahma. Self-realisation (atma-sakshatkara) is God-realisation (Brahma-sakshatkara). Plurality, difference, birth, death, time, space and causality are illusory, products of Maya. On realisation, Cosmic Illusion vanishes; Brahma alone exists. Jivanmukti while living; Videha-mukti at death |
| Bhakti schools (qualified non-dualism, etc.) | World is a real self-manifestation of a real Sakti inherent in Brahma. Souls are eternally individual, atomic, eternal parts (amsa) or sparks (jyoti-kana) of Brahma. Mukti is not identity but realisation of the soul's pure blissful nature in Brahma, and loving communion with Him |
On Isvara in the different systems
- In Buddhism and Jainism there is no place for Brahma as Absolute Spirit.
- In Sankhya, "Brahma" is only a common name for the many liberated Purushas.
- Patanjali's Isvara is a special Purusha (Purusha-visesha), eternally free, the ideal and inspirer of yogis; liberated souls become like Him but not identical.
- The Nyaya Isvara is the efficient cause (designer, artificer) of the world but not its material cause, ground or noumenal Soul. He rules and dispenses justice and grace, but souls are not His self-manifestations and never merge in Him.
The forms of Mukti in Bhakti
Devotees enumerate forms of Mukti according to sadhana:
| Form | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Sarshti | Dwelling blissfully in the kingdom of Brahma (sharing His glory) |
| Salokya | Enjoying the proximity of Brahma (same world) |
| Sarupya | Enjoying the likeness of Brahma (same form) |
| Sayujya | Conscious union with Brahma |
| Ekatwa | Perfect identity with Brahma |
Some love-intoxicated devotees spurn every form of Mukti and wish only to serve the Lord eternally, relating to Him as wife to husband, mother to child, friend to friend, servant to master, without the limitations of this world.
Reconciling Personal and Impersonal
Banerjea argues that these forms of Mukti are not inconsistent with non-dualistic Vedanta, nor is Vedanta averse to a Personal Brahma:
- Maya can be conceived as Brahma's eternal Sakti. Brahma with Maya is Personal Brahma, Isvara.
- Since Sakti is non-different from Brahma, Brahma is not essentially conditioned by it and can be thought of as Impersonal in His ultimate character.
- When nothing is contemplated as other than Brahma, He is Impersonal; when contemplated as Self-shining Spirit endowed with Power, He is Personal. "Evidently He is eternally both."
- Advaita gives more weight to non-difference and regards the Personal aspect as phenomenal; Bhakti schools regard the Personal as essential and the Impersonal as "a logical abstraction."
- For practical discipline all accept the Personal Brahma.
- According to Vedanta, the higher forms of Mukti are still within Maya and so are not atyantika mukti (absolute liberation), which lies only in absolute identification with Brahma.
Sadyo-mukti and Krama-mukti
- Sadyo-mukti (immediate liberation): union with Brahma immediately at the death of the body, for those whose consciousness is fully illumined in this life and free of Root-Ignorance and ego.
- Krama-mukti (gradual liberation): for those refined and free of earthly desire but not fully illumined, ascent through higher planes in subtler bodies until final merger.
The fourteen lokas and the path of souls
Of fourteen lokas, seven are sub-human. One is Bhuh, our world of endeavour. Above it: Bhuvah, Swah, Mahah, Jana, Tapah, Satya. Bhuh, Bhuvah and Swah form the Trailokya.
- Departed souls with subtle bodies pass to Bhuvah, experiencing pleasure and pain according to deeds, and many are reborn.
- Those of great merit ascend to Swah and enjoy long rewards, but must also be reborn.
- Those who transcend Swah by spiritual merit enter the domain of Mukti and progress through the higher lokas until absolute Mukti, never to be reborn.
This survey is one of the most useful compact comparative accounts of Indian soteriology in the book. Keep the table handy: it shows that the decisive differences are about (1) whether there is a Supreme Spirit at all, (2) whether souls are ultimately many or one, and (3) whether the world is real. Gorakhnath's answers are: yes, one, and real as Siva's self-expression.
Gorakhnath's Position
Gorakhnath agrees with the other systems that Moksha is life's ultimate goal and consists in realising the transcendent character of the Self. He agrees with the Upanishads and Vedanta that Siva or Brahma is the true Self in every body, but rejects the view that the Jeeva-hood of Siva is an illusion born of inexplicable Maya. Siva, by His Nija Sakti, really manifests as cosmos, cosmic soul, and infinite individual souls, and in all phenomena Gorakhnath saw Siva-Sakti-Vilasa, the free play of Siva with His Power.
In this play, every soul, being Siva's own self-manifestation, has "a potentiality and an urge to realise its oneness with Siva." "Sorrow has a very great spiritual value as a moving force," impelling the soul to struggle and advance toward realising its Sivahood. "Siva seems to play the game of losing Himself, then seeking Himself and finally finding Himself out."
"Losing Himself, seeking Himself, finding Himself" is perhaps the best one-line summary of the whole Nath cosmology. It turns the human spiritual search into Siva's own game of hide-and-seek. Your seeking is His seeking.
Yoga as End and as Means
The Supreme Ideal is the perfect realisation of Sivahood by the individual soul through the purification, refinement, concentration and illumination of the empirical consciousness. This realisation is Yoga in the true sense.
Gorakhnath's definition: "Samyogo yoga ityahuh kshetrajna-paramatmanoh", Yoga is the union of the knower of the field (the soul of the body) and the Supreme Soul: the union of Jeeva and Siva, of Aham and Brahma.
- Yoga as end: this union.
- Yoga as means: systematic discipline of body, senses, vital forces, mind and intellect to purify consciousness and raise it to Siva-consciousness.
The discipline is essentially Patanjali's eightfold path (ashtanga-yoga-marga), elaborated by the Nath sampradaya with many forms of Asana, Pranayama, Mudra, Bandha, Vedha, Dharana, Dhyana, Ajapa, Nadanusandhana (pursuit of inner sound), and Kundalini-Sakti-Jagarana (awakening of Kundalini). Yama and Niyama, universal moral principles for all human beings whether practising yoga or not, were also amplified.
Patanjali and Gorakhnath on Samadhi
| Patanjali | Gorakhnath | |
|---|---|---|
| Emphasis | Perfect suppression of mental functions (citta-vritti-nirodha) | Perfect mastery over mental functions and cosmic forces, and perfect illumination of consciousness |
| Result | Transcendent Soul revealed as Seer, isolated from Prakriti | Individual consciousness elevated to Universal Consciousness; Jeeva-consciousness to Siva-consciousness; the mind realises itself as Supermind (Unmani) |
Suppression of the mind's vagaries is common to all forms of Samadhi in all schools, including Buddhist and Jaina. But "mere suppression of the mental functions, even if complete, does not necessarily lead to the spiritual illumination." Hence Samadhi must be practised "under the expert guidance of an enlightened Guru, who can save the disciple from the possible dangers and misunderstandings and wrong estimates of successes."
Gorakhnath: "Durlabho vishaya-tyago durlabham tattwa-darsanam / Durlabha sahajavastha Sad-Guroh karunam vina." Without the compassion of a true Guru, renunciation of sense-objects is hard to attain, vision of Truth is hard to attain, and the natural state (Sahaja) is hard to attain.
The distinction between suppression and illumination is critical for modern practitioners. A blank mind is not enlightenment. Deep absorption states can be reached by many techniques and can even produce spiritual pride ("wrong estimates of successes"). The Guru's role, in this view, is diagnostic as much as instructive: to tell the difference between a quiet mind and an illumined one.
Stages and the descent of Siva-consciousness
Temporary suppression can occur even in lower planes. The Divine Light liberates consciousness only when it has refined itself and reached Samadhi in the highest spiritual plane, and even there are stages. Only in the highest Samadhi is there complete transfiguration into Siva-consciousness.
But here is the key Nath teaching: "the supreme Ideal of human life is not fully realised, even if the Siva-consciousness is attained and enjoyed in the deepest state of Samadhi. So long as the bodily existence continues, this Siva-consciousness has to be brought down to all the lower planes, the mental and vital and even the material planes, of the empirical consciousness."
Gorakhnath's Definitions of Samadhi
From the Viveka-Martanda:
- "Yat samatwam dwayoratra jeevatma-paramatmanoh / Samasta-nashta-samkalpah samadhih so'bhidhiyate." Samadhi is the state in which the unity of individual soul and Universal Soul is realised and all mental processes (cognitive, emotional, volitional) dissolve.
- "Ambu-saindhavayor aikyam yatha bhavati yogatah / Tathatma-manasor aikyam samadhir abhidhiyate." As salt and water become one when mixed, so the union of mind and Self through deepest concentration is Samadhi.
- "Yada samliyate jeevo manasam ca viliyate / Tada samarasatwam hi samadhir abhidhiyate." When the individuality of the jeeva is merged in the Absolute and the mind wholly dissolved in Eternal Consciousness, Samarasatwa (the essential unity of all existences) is realised; this is Samadhi.
From the Siddha-Siddhanta-Paddhati: "Sarva-tattwanam samavastha nirudyamatwam anayasa-sthitimattwam iti Samadhi-lakshanam." The marks of Samadhi are: the realisation of the equal state (spiritual unity) of all tattwas, perfect effortlessness, and abiding in a state of ease and equanimity.
Notice that the SSP definition is not about trance at all. It names unity of all principles, effortlessness, and natural ease. These are qualities that can characterise a whole life, not just a sitting. This prepares for the idea of Sahaja.
Samarasa-karana: Higher Than Samadhi
"Gorakhnath's Samarasakarana is a grand Ideal and he seems to assign to it a position superior even to that of Samadhi. Samadhi is of course a condition precedent to the realisation of Samarasa."
What Samarasa-karana is:
- Not merely rising above differences to experience transcendent unity in deep meditation (that is Samadhi).
- It is "the enjoyment, with equal relish and joy and with perfect equanimity and tranquillity, in the normal waking state of phenomenal consciousness, of all orders and forms of phenomenal self-manifestations of the Absolute Spirit."
- A permanent illumined state in which consciousness neither withdraws from the world's diversities (as in meditation), nor forgets that they are Siva's self-revelations, nor loses sight of the identity of souls with the Absolute and the unity of all diversities.
The Yogi in Samarasa:
- sees and enjoys differences, and at the same time their inner unity;
- deals consciously with many finite things, and sees the One Spirit in them;
- experiences particular objects, and experiences himself and Siva manifest in all of them;
- outwardly shares the joys and sorrows of people, and inwardly enjoys supreme bliss;
- "sees and enjoys himself in all and all in himself."
Gorakhnath calls this Sahaja-Samadhi and Jagrat-Samadhi (Samadhi in the waking state). "This is the true character of a Natha or Avadhuta."
This is the single most important idea in the book for practical life. Many paths treat the world as an obstacle and the meditation cushion as the place of truth. Gorakhnath reverses the hierarchy: the cushion prepares, but the market, the family, the office, the street are where realisation is completed. Samarasa means "equal taste": the same rasa of Siva tasted in sweet and bitter alike. The test of realisation is not how deep you go in meditation but how fully the depth stays with you when you open your eyes.
Moksha as Nathahood
The Goraksha-Siddhanta-Samgraha defines Moksha as "Natha-swarupena avasthiti": abiding in the nature of Natha. This means the same as Sivahood and is also called the state of Avadhuta.
Three verses on the Natha
- "Nirgunam vama-bhage ca savya-bhage adbhuta nija / Madhya-bhage swayam purnas tasmai Nathaya te namah." On His left (transcendent consciousness) lies the Nirguna, the attributeless Absolute; on His right (illumined phenomenal consciousness) lies the wondrous innate Power, self-revealing and self-diversifying; in the middle, combining both, shines Natha Himself, complete. Salutation to that Natha.
- "Muktah stuvanti padagre nakhagre jeeva-jatayah / Muktamukta-gater muktah sarvatra ramate sthirah." The liberated praise Him at His feet; all classes of beings pray at the tips of His toenails. Free from the condition of both the bound and the liberated, He delights everywhere, steady. Banerjea reads this: all beings, consciously or not, aspire to Natha-consciousness as the end of evolution; even those liberated into higher worlds still strive toward it; Natha dwells in a plane above both baddha (bound) and mukta (liberated).
- "Vama-bhage sthitah Sambhuh savye Vishnuh tathaiva ca / Madhye Nathah param jyotih tad jyotir me tamo-haram." On His left is Sambhu (the transcendent, self-absorbed aspect), on His right Vishnu (the immanent, all-pervading aspect); in the middle Natha shines as the supreme Light. May that Light destroy my darkness.
The structure left-right-middle is a recurring Nath pattern. It parallels Ida-Pingala-Sushumna and Siva-Sakti-Samarasa. The Natha is not one pole but the living union of both: transcendent and immanent, Nirguna and Saguna, Sambhu and Vishnu. Note the striking claim that Nathahood is beyond even "mukta" status. Mere liberation from the world is a lower attainment than freedom in and as the world.
The Siddha-Yogi (SSP)
- "Prasaram bhasate Saktih samkocam bhasate Sivah / Tayor yogasya karta yah sa bhavet Siddha-yogirat." Sakti shines in expansion (the cosmos unfolding), Siva in contraction (harmonisation and absorption). One who unites them, seeing Siva in every expression of Sakti and Sakti as non-different from Siva, is king among Siddha-yogis.
- "Viswatitam yatha viswam ekam eva virajate / Samyogena sada yas tu Siddha-Yogi bhavet tu sah." The supra-cosmic and the cosmic, Nirvikalpa unity and the spatio-temporal diversity, shine as one. One who realises this oneness by perfect yoga is a Siddha-Yogi.
- "Paripurna-prasannatma sarvasarva-padoditah / Visuddho nirbharanandah sa bhavet Siddha-yogirat." One whose self is full and serene, risen to the state of being all and beyond all, pure and full of joy, is king among Siddha-yogis.
Banerjea's commentary on the second verse is one of the most beautiful passages in the book. The Siddha-Yogi "always sees that Time is ceaselessly moving on the breast of the Timeless, Plurality is dancing on the bosom of Unity, Matter is playing in the heart of Spirit, Maha-Kali is eternally marching onward and playing various parts of creation and preservation and destruction and revealing various kinds of Rasa on the eternally unmoved and calm and tranquil and self-enjoying breast of the Supreme Spirit, Maha-Kala, Siva."
On the third verse: the Siddha-Yogi sees all in himself and himself in all, shares the joys and sorrows of all, feels compassion and love for all, yet always dwells above all in peace. "To him this world is, empirically speaking, transformed into a perfectly beautiful and blissful spiritual world. This is the state of Jeevanmukti." In the disembodied state "he becomes perfectly identified with Siva, because every individual soul is nothing but an individualised self-expression of Siva."
The image of Kali dancing on the breast of the motionless Siva is a well-known icon in Bengal, where Banerjea lived and taught. He reads it as a picture of Samarasa: dynamic Power playing on unmoved Spirit, neither cancelling the other. Meditating on that image with this meaning is itself a contemplative practice.
Siddhis: Mastery over Body and Nature
According to Gorakhnath's school, perfect yoga brings further attainments. The Natha becomes complete master of his body and of physical forces:
- making the body as small as an atom or as large as a colossus;
- lighter than air or heavier than a mountain without change of size;
- impervious to weapons and natural forces;
- creating many bodies at once and acting through each;
- influencing other minds and even entering other bodies;
- transforming one physical thing into another by will;
- perceiving beyond the senses;
- greatly lengthening life and conquering death.
These follow from the metaphysics: since matter is Spirit's self-objectification, the difference between them "is only relative and apparent." Humans have dormant spiritual power to convert physical to vital or mental bodies, produce physical bodies from a mental one, spiritualise the body, and transform material things. "The rational Will in man can be so strengthened as to appear all-powerful in this phenomenal world."
The final statement of the chapter: "The aim of Yoga is not merely to perfectly enlighten the cognitive aspect of the phenomenal consciousness, but also likewise to perfectly realise all the potentialities of the volitional and dynamic aspect of the consciousness, not merely to attain perfect experience of the Absolute Spirit, but also to participate in the Supreme Power of the Absolute Spirit."
Many traditions, including Patanjali (Yoga-Sutra 3.37), warn that siddhis are obstacles to Samadhi. The Nath view as Banerjea presents it is different in emphasis: the powers are a natural expression of realisation, since Siva is both Prakasa (Light) and Vimarsa (Power). One who realises Siva shares both. Readers should hold this in balance with the chapter's own insistence on Guru guidance and with the warning against "wrong estimates of successes." The pursuit of powers for ego-gratification is the opposite of the Natha ideal; their appearance in a person established in Samarasa is a different matter.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Moksha / Mukti | Liberation |
| Tattwa-sakshatkara | Direct realisation of the Truth |
| Nirvana / Maha-parinirvana | Buddhist liberation / final passing |
| Drashta | The Seer, the witness Self |
| Jivanmukti / Videha-mukti | Liberation while living / at death |
| Sthula-deha / Sukshma-deha | Gross body / subtle body |
| Vasana, Trishna, Samskara | Subtle desires, thirst, impressions |
| Kaivalya | Isolation, absoluteness (Sankhya, Jaina, Yoga) |
| Purusha-visesha | Patanjali's special Purusha, Isvara |
| Amsa / Jyoti-kana | Part / spark of Brahma (Bhakti view of soul) |
| Sarshti, Salokya, Sarupya, Sayujya, Ekatwa | Forms of Mukti in Bhakti |
| Atyantika mukti | Absolute liberation |
| Sadyo-mukti / Krama-mukti | Immediate / gradual liberation |
| Kshetrajna | Knower of the field, the embodied soul |
| Citta-vritti-nirodha | Suppression of mental modifications (Patanjali) |
| Unmani | Supermind, the mind beyond itself |
| Nadanusandhana | Pursuit of the inner sound |
| Samarasa-karana / Samarasatwa | Making all of equal taste / unity of all existence |
| Sahaja-Samadhi / Jagrat-Samadhi | Natural Samadhi / waking Samadhi |
| Natha-swarupena avasthiti | Abiding as Natha: the Nath definition of Moksha |
| Avadhuta | One who has shaken off all bondage; the perfected Natha |
| Baddha / Mukta | Bound / liberated |
| Prasara / Samkoca | Expansion (Sakti) / contraction (Siva) |
| Maha-Kali / Maha-Kala | Power of Time / the Timeless Siva |
Reflection and Practice
- Sorrow audit. List three sorrows in your life. For each, ask whether a desire caused it or followed it. Notice the difference between natural sorrows and those created by artificial desire or ambition.
- Not this, not this. Sit quietly and repeat inwardly the Hindu teaching: "I am not this body, not this breath, not this mind, not this intellect, not their totality." Then rest in whatever remains aware.
- Waking Samadhi. After a meditation, try to carry its quality into one ordinary activity such as washing dishes, a meeting, or a commute. Ask: can I taste the same stillness here? This is the first step toward Sahaja.
- Equal taste. Choose one pleasant and one unpleasant experience today. Without denying either, try to sense the same underlying presence in both. This is Samarasa practised in miniature.
- Kali on Siva. Contemplate the image: ceaseless activity dancing on unmoved stillness. Use it in a busy moment: let the activity continue while you identify with the stillness beneath.
- Guru and honesty. Write down any spiritual experiences you have had and honestly ask: was this illumination or merely a quiet mind? Bring such questions to a qualified teacher rather than judging alone.
- Adesa again. Recall that Nathahood lies beyond both bound and liberated. Reflect: am I seeking to escape the world, or to realise Siva within it?
The Evolution of Hindu Spiritual Culture, Part I (pp. 251–280)
With the philosophy of Gorakhnath fully laid out, Banerjea steps back to place it in history. This chapter and the next trace the evolution of Hindu spiritual culture from the Vedas to the age of Gorakhnath, showing where the Nath Yogi sampradaya comes from and why it mattered. Part I covers the Vedic foundation, its fundamental truths, its modes of discipline, and the early division of interpreters into three currents: Karma (action and sacrifice), Jnana-Yoga (knowledge, meditation and renunciation), and Bhakti (devotion). It then examines how the Karma current dominated society, how the Jnana-Yoga current grew in forests and gave rise to Agama and Tantra (traced to Adi-Natha, Siva as the first Guru), how Kapila's Sankhya gave it a philosophical system, how the Upanishads and Vedanta transformed Sankhya into non-dualism, and how the devotional sects developed. The reader should watch for one thread: the Yogi tradition that Gorakhnath later revitalised is presented as one of the oldest streams of Indian spirituality, traced to Siva himself.
I. The Vedas as Foundation
For thousands of years the Vedas have been accepted as the starting point and foundation of the spiritual culture of Bharatavarsha.
- Their date cannot be fixed even approximately. It was debated three thousand years ago, and modern Western and Indian scholars differ "not merely by centuries, but by millenniums."
- Some archaeological discoveries suggest a pre-Vedic Indus Valley civilisation; other equally eminent scholars find the grounds inadequate.
- What is not in dispute: the Vedic texts are the earliest literary records of the spiritual and intellectual achievements of the Aryan race and of humanity, and the ethical and spiritual currents of India have flowed from them.
- Hindus regard the Vedas as self-revealed linguistic embodiments of the eternal Truth and Law (Satyam and Ritam) underlying the universe, and as the supreme authority on moral and spiritual questions.
More than three thousand years ago, the most influential sages accepted the Vedas as infallible guides to super-sensuous truths beyond normal experience and logic. They held that such sublime ideas could not be the products even of the greatest geniuses and must have been revealed to the pure consciousness of the Rishis from an unerring spiritual Source.
- The Rishis were never regarded as composers but as "specially selected recipients" of aspects of eternal Truth in their most illumined states, "mediums" through which Truth descended to intellect, emotion and speech.
- The mantras were remembered and transmitted with the utmost care, with their rhythms, accents and musical notes, for centuries and millennia.
The idea that the Rishis "saw" (drashta) rather than composed the mantras connects directly with the yogic theory of knowledge developed in this book: supra-mental truth is received in an illumined consciousness, not constructed by reasoning. Gorakhnath's own authority rests on the same principle of direct realisation.
II. Fundamental Vedic Truths
Banerjea lists three fundamental truths, "accepted as well as verified by the most enlightened saints and sages of all times."
1. The world is a spiritual, moral and aesthetic system
- The universe, without conceivable temporal beginning or end, is not merely physical and mechanical but "essentially a spiritual and moral and aesthetic system."
- The apparently material and plural universe is the spatio-temporal self-manifestation of One Self-existent, Self-luminous, Infinite, Eternal, Transcendent Spirit.
- All finite things are born of, sustained, governed and pervaded by the Spirit; their origin, destruction, evolution and involution are regulated by the Supreme Law of the Spirit's self-expression.
- What appear lifeless are "particular embodiments of the Spirit and as such full of inner life and light."
- The mantras teach us to see the Spirit in Earth, Water, Fire, Air, Ether, suns, moons, stars, mountains, seas, rivers, forests, and in all physical, vital, mental, social and political forces. The one Spirit is called by different Divine Names (Devata) according to the embodiment and powers through which He appears.
2. The world is governed by universal laws, including moral and spiritual laws
- All phenomena are governed by inviolable laws, not merely physical, mechanical or biological, but mental, moral, aesthetic and spiritual.
- Behind the appearance of catastrophes, violence, conflict and suffering, there are eternal Principles of Harmony, Co-operation, Service, Sacrifice, Justice, Benevolence and Mercy; the triumph of order over disorder, virtue over vice, good over evil, love over hatred, beauty over ugliness, joy over sorrow; and the gradual realisation of Truth, Good, Beauty and Bliss.
- Virtue is rewarded with happiness and favourable conditions that impel life upward; vice with sorrow that stimulates struggle to transcend lower levels.
- Anti-moral forces exist "only for adding to the glories" of the moral and spiritual forces. The terrible aspects are acknowledged but treated as "subordinate and auxiliary features" of the Great System.
- So the Vedas taught an adhidaivika and adhyatmika (moral and spiritual) outlook rather than a merely adhibhautika (materialistic) one. Man participates in an ethico-spiritual scheme and must fulfil his mission through free self-discipline and the development of knowledge, character and enlightenment.
3. Man has a unique position
- His developed body lets the spirit play its part and realise itself with comparative freedom.
- His intellect can pierce the veils of appearance and commune with the Spirit; its fulfilment lies not merely in discovering natural laws but in comprehending moral and spiritual laws and ultimately in the illumined experience of the Absolute.
- His moral consciousness gives him a sense of freedom, responsibility, duty, dharma and adharma, which distinguishes him "perhaps more prominently than his intellectual consciousness."
- It assures him that he is "not merely a creature of the natural circumstances, but a real builder of his own destinies."
But moral consciousness also creates puzzles:
- How can there be real freedom in a world governed by inviolable natural laws or an omnipotent Divine Power?
- How to resolve conflicts between moral demands and natural desires and ambitions (Kama and Artha)?
- What does moral consciousness ultimately demand? What is the Highest Good, the supreme character of Dharma?
These three truths correspond closely to the Nath philosophy already studied: the world as Siva's self-manifestation (truth 1), the adhidaivika and adhyatmika view of the cosmos discussed in Chapter XI (truth 2), and the special value of the human body explained in Chapter XII (truth 3). Banerjea is showing that Gorakhnath's system is a continuation of the deepest Vedic vision, not a departure from it.
III. The Key: The Inner Secret of the Universe
The Vedas solved these puzzles by unveiling to the Rishis or Mahayogis the secret of the universe:
- The universe is the free self-manifestation, in many grades and levels, of One Eternal, Infinite, Self-shining, Perfect Spiritual Super-Personality, in whose nature Absolute Knowledge, Goodness, Beauty and Happiness are eternally realised along with Absolute Freedom and Power of self-expression.
- He is not only the Source and Sustainer but "the Supreme Ideal immanently operative in and regulating all processes of evolution and involution." The Absolute Cause is also the Supreme Ideal that our intellectual, moral, aesthetic and spiritual consciousness seeks.
- All existences come down from Him, live in Him, are inspired by the ideal of realising Him, advance toward union with Him, and finally merge in Him.
- The world-order offers individual spirits (jeevas) ample scope for free self-development. They are finite self-manifestations of the same Spirit, inwardly transcending their embodiments and impelled by a "mysterious inner urge" to realise their True Self.
The ladder of evolution
| Level | Status of the soul |
|---|---|
| Inorganic matter | Souls completely veiled, but not non-existent; their spiritual urge invisibly governs physical evolution and leads to the emergence of life |
| Plants | Souls rudimentarily manifested: vital organisation, sensitivity, central control and common purpose |
| Animals | Higher grades of mind, consciousness and freedom of movement |
| Human beings | Most suitable physical, vital and mental instruments, capable of infinite development; at each stage the ego becomes more self-conscious, self-determining and expansive; intellectual, moral, aesthetic and spiritual consciousness emerge more powerfully |
At the highest stages, "the laws of necessity are revealed to be subordinate to the higher laws of freedom." Natural laws, though inexorable at their level, "have provisions for the individual spirits' transcending them." "The phenomenal universe itself is not a wholly closed system, but has openings for the individual spirits' rising above it."
Finally: "The individual spirits are no other than the Absolute Spirit Himself... The Absolute Spirit seems to have freely and voluntarily sacrificed Himself, i.e. His Transcendent Unity and Perfection, in a great Cosmic Sacrifice, and became many imperfect spirits within this Cosmic Order, in order as it were to enjoy Himself in infinite ways and forms."
"The universe is not a wholly closed system" is a memorable formula. It answers the freedom-versus-determinism puzzle not by denying law but by layering laws: lower laws are real but open upward. The Cosmic Sacrifice idea echoes the Purusha-Sukta of the Rig Veda, in which the cosmic Person is sacrificed to become the world. Note how close this is to the Nath "game of losing Himself, seeking Himself and finding Himself."
IV. The Principal Modes of Discipline in the Vedas
(a) Yajna in practical life
The path of Karma or Pravritti (action), sublimated by the spirit of Yajna (sacrifice) and progressively refined.
The spirit of Yajna means sacrificing:
- lower sensuous desires for higher moral and spiritual aspirations;
- smaller and transitory interests of physical life for the wider well-being of the inner life;
- individual pleasures and possessions for the happiness of society;
- enjoyments of lower planes for the soul's innermost urge.
Principles:
- Sacrifice (Yajna and Tyaga) is "the only sure and effective means" for becoming worthy of higher achievements.
- Only by sacrificing what one has for the common good does one deserve more; only by perfect self-sacrifice, giving away everything for universal good, can one reach perfect self-realisation.
- All possessions, including physical and intellectual capacities and social, political and economic powers, are "materials Divinely given to us for the performance of sacrifices."
- Sacrificial works were graded to people's capacities and circumstances.
- All duties should be performed with devotion and humility, so that "the whole human life from birth to death... should be lived as a religious life."
(b) Aspiration for higher worlds through Yajna
- The hierarchy of lokas: above Bhuh are Bhuvah, Swah, Mahah, Jana, Tapah and Satya; below are seven Patalas. The higher worlds are sometimes collectively called Swarga (Heaven).
- Through sacrifice and moral refinement one earns ascent; abuse of human powers leads to degradation. "Swarga-kamo yajeta": let one who desires heaven perform sacrifice.
- A life governed by earthly desires leads to repeated births and deaths. "An individual reaps what he sows," while retaining relative freedom to rise or fall through new actions.
- Death is not the end: the soul with its subtle psycho-vital body, moral deserts, tendencies and spiritual yearnings, takes up a new body, until released from Karma.
(c) Devotion and worship
- Cultivating wonder, admiration, reverence, love and self-offering toward the Devatas, the divine powers in Nature, and ultimately toward the One Supreme Devata of all Devatas.
- This appreciation of the Divine play in Nature liberates one from the materialistic outlook. "Just as Self-sacrifice in practical life is one pathway... so Self-surrender through love and devotion to the Supreme Spirit is another pathway."
- India's poetry, drama, epics, lyrics, music, painting, sculpture and architecture, and its millions of temples, grew from this devotional spirit.
- Even ploughing, harvest, laying a foundation, entering a new house, a child's schooling, marriage and funerals are performed as worship. "All men and women of this land are born with religion, grow in religion... breathe their last with the Name of the Supreme Spirit in the mouth."
These two paths are Karma-Kanda (Yajna-Kanda) and Upasana-Kanda (Bhakti-Kanda), not separated in practice but different in emphasis. "Actions should be sacrificial and the attitude of mind should be devotional." The Supreme Spirit is Sarva-yajneswara, Lord of all sacrifices.
(d) Yoga, Jnana and Vairagya
A third, extraordinary path: austerity, asceticism, deep meditation, intense reflection and absorption in the Absolute. At its final stage it demands abandoning domestic and social duties, prosperity, even sacrificial works and public service; complete restraint of worldly and other-worldly ambitions; mastery of body, senses and mind; and exclusive concentration on realising the identity of soul and Supreme Spirit. This is the path of Yoga, Jnana, Vairagya and Sannyasa, leading directly to Moksha, the Parama-Purushartha (supreme human goal).
The Vedas set proper values on all the Purusharthas (Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha), enjoining each according to one's adhikara (capacity, merit and position).
(e) An ideal language
The Vedas also gave humanity an ideal language, unique in beauty and sublimity, inexhaustible in vocabulary, scientific in its varnas (letters), matras, roots and derivations, swaras (tones) and chandas (metres). It has been the bond of unity of the Indian people and "the mother and nurse of all the popular dialects (prakrita bhasha)." It is revered as Deva-bhasha; Classical Sanskrit is its later form.
V. Influence on Aryan Practical Life
The Indo-Aryans were "a virile and adventurous race," intellectual, imaginative, moral and religious. Most people were busy with pleasure, prosperity, homes, society, food, cattle, defence and expansion; the gifted had higher political, economic and social ambitions; poets and thinkers sought the origin and destiny of creation.
But the Vedic ideals governed and limited these secular ambitions:
- "They earned Artha and Kama with all earnestness and diligence, but with a view to sacrifice them for the sake of Dharma and Moksha."
- They did their duties faithfully, but as means, not ends.
- "Their worldly life also was governed by an other-worldly attitude."
VI. Controversies over Interpretation
Even early on, there were serious controversies about interpretation and even the wording of the texts. Out of the effort to interpret, recite and apply the Vedas correctly arose the six Vedangas (limbs of the Veda):
| Vedanga | Concern |
|---|---|
| Siksha | Phonetics |
| Kalpa | Ritual |
| Vyakarana | Grammar |
| Nirukta | Etymology |
| Chandas | Metre |
| Jyotisha | Astronomy and timing |
The Brahmanas and Aranyakas elaborated the mantras and brought them nearer to ordinary understanding and practice. The Upanishads unveiled their deeper metaphysical meaning and became known as Vedanta. The literature was divided into branches (Sakha), all respected as authoritative.
VII. Three Schools of Interpretation
(a) The Karma viewpoint
- All Vedic revelation is chiefly concerned with regulating behaviour in Dharma. Every instruction is either an injunction (do this) or a prohibition (don't do that).
- Devotional, metaphysical and narrative passages are to be interpreted as connected with injunctions. Purely theoretical statements for the sake of knowledge have no place.
- "Man is essentially an active being." Knowledge and devotion are useful mainly to ennoble action. "Man's destiny is determined by his karma (action), and not by his mere knowledge of Truth or by his mere devotion."
- This school was not much interested in Moksha, Kaivalya, Amritatwa or Nirvana as the Jnanis understood them. For it, Moksha meant "the Perfect Fulness of Life in the highest Swarga," attainable by the highest righteous actions. Jnana, Yoga and Upasana were subsidiary to Karma.
(b) The Jnana-Yoga viewpoint
- The metaphysical truths are supreme; injunctions, rules and devotional praises are subordinate.
- The Vedas reveal one Supreme Spirit as Absolute Reality; the universe as His self-manifestation; the many Deities as His glorified self-expressions, ultimately one; individual souls as non-different from Him; and the fulfilment of life as realising this identity.
- Knowledge of these truths is "the end in itself," not a means to better action. Moksha lies in this Knowledge, which "cannot be the effect of any Karma, however noble and virtuous." Body, mind, intellect and ego must be purified so the Self is unveiled to a calm consciousness.
- It advocated renunciation of worldly concerns, restraint of desires, and exclusive devotion to reflection and meditation under competent Gurus. Karma-Kanda is preparatory to complete renunciation.
- "All fruits of Karma, whether in this world or in higher heavenly worlds, are originated in time and must be exhausted in time"; eternal Moksha cannot be produced by Karma. It is the essential nature of Atma, realised by getting rid of Karma and its effects.
This school divided into two sections:
| Jnanis | Yogis |
|---|---|
| Emphasise metaphysical reflection and intellectual refinement | Emphasise practical discipline of body, senses, vital system and mind, and regular concentration and meditation |
Both were austere, indifferent to worldly affairs, followers of Nivritti-Marga and Jnana-Kanda. Their face was "not towards Kama, Artha and Dharma, but exclusively towards Moksha." Their shared motto: "Atmanam viddhi" (Know the Self).
(c) The Devotion viewpoint
- Charmed by the beautiful aesthetic and devotional utterances of the Vedas, this school saw loving self-surrender to the Supreme Spirit and His glorious manifestations as the essence.
- Neither duties and rites alone, nor renunciation and speculation alone, suffice. Moksha and Tattwa-Jnana are "a gift of Divine Mercy and the highest reward for whole-hearted devotion."
- Devotion itself demands purification of body and senses and illumination of intellect and spiritual consciousness. Other Vedic teachings are useful for developing true devotion, but devotion is the centre.
"Even in the present day these three main currents prevail in the domain of religious thought in Hinduism."
This threefold division maps directly onto the Gita's Karma-yoga, Jnana-yoga and Bhakti-yoga, and onto the later Hindu scene: Mimamsa ritualism, Vedantic and yogic renunciation, and the devotional movements. Gorakhnath's school belongs to the second stream, specifically the Yogi rather than the Jnani section, but as later chapters show, it also absorbs elements of the other two.
VIII. The Karma Interpretation Prevailed in Society
During the expansion and consolidation of the Aryan race, people were naturally more interested in action than renunciation or emotional devotion: Pravritti-Marga rather than Nivritti or Bhakti; Abhyudaya (worldly and heavenly prosperity) rather than Nihsreyasa (the highest good, Moksha); an optimistic view of life here and hereafter rather than the "indifferent and pessimistic view of earthly life implied in the cult of renunciation."
So the exponents of Karma-Kanda were acclaimed as the true interpreters. Their achievements:
- elaborating and systematising Karma-Kanda;
- composing works organising economic, political, domestic and communal life on Vedic ideals;
- Smritis or Dharma-Sastras defining the duties of each section and penalties for violations, of which Manu's Smriti (Manava-Dharma-Sastra) was most authoritative;
- Srauta-Sutras and Grihya-Sutras guiding public and domestic ritual;
- elaborate rites graded to people's calibre and resources;
- the Mimamsa-darsana, with Maharshi Jaimini as its greatest exponent;
- Varnasrama as the social system, with Manu its most illustrious expounder.
The Dharma of Pravritti-Marga was accepted as the true Vedic Dharma. As Aryan society spread across the subcontinent and influenced non-Aryan peoples, "it carried the banners of its Vedic Dharma everywhere with wonderful success," claiming to be Sanatana-Dharma, the eternal and universal religion.
IX. The Growth of Jnana and Yoga, and the Birth of Agama and Tantra
The Nivritti school of Jnana, Yoga, Vairagya and Tapasya developed "silently but steadily, more outside the social environments than within them."
- Its earnest advocates left domestic and social duties early and retired to hills and forests for Atma-Jnana and Moksha.
- Society's leaders resisted, fearing the brilliant young would be drawn away from social well-being.
- Yet the yogis were not cut off from society; "the spiritual appeal of their calm and simple and care-free and peaceful life and their message of perfect purity and goodness and non-violence and universal love and absolute bliss was irresistible."
- Their literature on Jnana and Yoga greatly developed but "was not however recognised in the prevailing society as Vedic literature. It came to be known as Agama and Tantra."
The divine origin of the Agamas
The Agama literature developed chiefly through Yogis of the highest order concerned with practical methods of liberation. Its origin was traced to one Personal God, Maha-Yogiswara:
- in whose consciousness the Absolute is eternally realised;
- eternally untouched by ignorance, egoism, attachment, aversion, sorrow or bondage;
- full of love and mercy for all creatures;
- source of all true knowledge and of the human urge for Truth, Beauty, Goodness, Freedom and Bliss;
- "the Guru of all Gurus, the First Guru of Jnana and Yoga, the First Author of Agama-Sastras";
- variously named Iswara, Maheswara, Rudra, Hiranya-Garbha, Siva, Adi-Natha.
The original Agamas were lost, "perhaps due to the hostile attitude of the exponents of Karma-Kanda," but the school continued through generations of yogis and jnanis, and its influence within Vedic society grew. Many thoughtful people found Nivritti, Jnana and Yoga superior to Pravritti, Yajna and Swarga. "It is obvious that the great teachers of the Upanishads... got their inspiration mainly, if not wholly, from the all-renouncing saints and philosophers who spent their lives in spiritual self-discipline and deep meditation in mountain-caves and forest-asramas."
This is a key historical claim for understanding the Nath tradition. Adi-Natha, the first name in the Nath lineage, is here identified with the primordial Maha-Yogiswara, the source of all Agama and yoga. The Nath sampradaya thus understands itself as heir to the most ancient yogic stream of India, older than and partly independent of the Vedic ritual establishment, and as the source from which even the Upanishads drew inspiration. Whatever one makes of this historically, it explains why the Naths combine respect for the Vedas with independence from Vedic ritual and caste rules.
X. Kapila and the Sankhya Darsana
Kapila, founder of Sankhya, "was probably the first philosopher who gave a complete system of philosophy on the strength of independent rational speculation," covering the world's origin, the soul as transcendent self-luminous spirit, and the meaning and means of Moksha. He accepted the Vedas but strongly supported Nivritti-Marga. He did not need to postulate an Iswara to explain the cosmos. Patanjali later built his Yoga system on Kapila's metaphysics and the practical teachings of earlier Mahayogis.
Sat-karya-vada
Kapila observed that all phenomena pass from an unmanifested state to a manifested state and back again in a cycle. Before production and after destruction a thing is not non-existent but exists in an undifferentiated, potential state. This is Sat-karya-vada: the effect pre-exists in the cause. Causation is manifestation, not new origination; destruction is dissolution into the cause, not annihilation. Some subtle activity exists even in apparent rest.
The three Gunas
| Guna | Moment of existence |
|---|---|
| Tamas | Potentiality, the unmanifested state |
| Sattwa | Actuality, the manifested state |
| Rajas | Activity, the unrest of passing from one state to another |
They are not attributes of a substance, nor substances with attributes, but "the ultimate characteristics of all phenomenal existences." When they are in perfect equilibrium there is no manifestation: the Avyakta (unmanifest) state before creation and after dissolution. Reality in this state is Mula-Prakriti, the ultimate material cause.
The 24 Tattwas
| No. | Tattwa | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prakriti (Mula-Prakriti) | Unmanifested, self-modifying, non-spiritual (but not material or physical) causal reality with the three Gunas; never directly perceivable since all instruments of perception evolve from it; not Matter or Energy, since both evolve from it |
| 2 | Mahat-tattwa (Buddhi-tattwa) | First effect: one universal cosmic phenomenal Intelligence without subject-object differentiation; Sattwa predominant |
| 3 | Ahamkara (Aham-tattwa) | Universal active Ego-principle; Rajas predominant; source of both subjective instruments and objects |
| 4 | Manas | Mind, presiding over the senses |
| 5–9 | Five Jnanendriyas | Senses of perception |
| 10–14 | Five Karmendriyas | Senses of action |
| 15–19 | Five Tanmatras | Subtle objective realities: Sound, Touch, Visibility, Taste, Smell |
| 20–24 | Five Mahabhutas | Gross elements, evolved from the Tanmatras |
All material things are combinations of the Mahabhutas. Instruments and objects of perception have a common source in Ahamkara, which comes from the ego-less consciousness Mahat, the first manifestation of Prakriti. Evolution and involution go on eternally; the cosmos had no absolute beginning and will have no absolute end. No omnipotent Supreme Spirit is needed for this process.
The Purushas
- Kapila posits an infinite number of Purushas: pure transcendent consciousness, changeless, without joy, sorrow, will, action, name or form, without causal relation to phenomena, without real bondage.
- They are eternally associated with Prakriti "in a mysterious way," as if forgetful of their nature. Through non-discrimination (aviveka), Prakriti's changes are falsely attributed to them.
- By their actionless, self-luminous presence they stimulate and illumine Prakriti, enabling it to evolve consciousness, intelligence and ego. Without them there would be no experience, no knowledge, no cosmic system.
- Prakriti may be said to be "eternally in the service of the Purushas."
- Moksha or Kaivalya comes only through discrimination of soul from Prakriti (Viveka-khyati): self-knowledge, not pious action.
- Every individual consciousness, ego, mind, living body, and organised panca-bhautika object needs an individual Purusha as the ground of its unity and identity; hence the plurality of Purushas.
- When a Purusha is liberated, "the entire world-order becomes as good as non-existent" to it, though it continues for the others.
Sankhya "gave a powerful and permanent lead to the philosophical approach to the Ultimate Truth" and strengthened Jnana, Yoga, Sannyasa and Nivritti over Karma, Yajna, Garhasthya (householder life) and Pravritti. The Yogis adopted Sankhya's method of reflection while emphasising austerity, mastery of body, senses, vital forces and mind, and progressive purification, as the means of realising the Purusha in dissociation from Prakriti.
XI. The Upanishadic Transformation of Sankhya
The Upanishads agreed that Brahman or Atman is realisable by the path of Sankhya and Yoga, not by Karma and Yajna. But they rejected two Sankhya doctrines:
| Sankhya | Upanishads |
|---|---|
| Many Purushas in the transcendent plane | One Purusha, Atman, Brahman, appearing as many only in the phenomenal plane |
| Prakriti independently real | Prakriti is the inscrutable Power (Sakti) of Brahman, existing in, by and for Brahman, non-different from Him |
The arguments:
- In the totally unmanifest state, Prakriti cannot be distinguished from the Absolute, who then shines alone with the possibility of self-manifestation. Prakriti unmanifest "is nothing but this possibility... and as such should reasonably be conceived as the Sakti (Power) of Brahman."
- "It is also rationally meaningless to speak of the plurality of Purushas or self-shining spirits in the transcendent plane, wherein there is no sense of individuality." Individuality belongs only to the phenomenal plane.
The Brahma-Sutras of Badarayana (Vedanta-Darsana) gave the Upanishads authoritative philosophical form. They argued that the Ultimate Truth is not ascertainable by metaphysical argument alone, but must be accepted on faith from revelation, reflected upon, and directly experienced in deepest meditation.
Sankhya and Vedanta together "constructed permanently the philosophical foundation of Nivritti-Marga." Neither denied the relative value of household duties or of Dharma, Artha and Kama in the early stages; both emphasised renunciation and exclusive Yoga and Jnana at higher stages, once body, mind and intellect were purified through duties performed according to the Dharma-Sastras.
Notice the parallel with Gorakhnath's own critique of Sankhya in Chapter IX. The Nath view, like the Upanishadic one, absorbs Prakriti into the Sakti of the Absolute. But it goes a step further than the Vedantic reading Banerjea described in Chapter XVI: Sakti is not inscrutable Maya but Siva's own delightful self-expression, and the world is fully real as such.
XII. The Development of the Bhakti Cult
The Upasana-Marga also grew from early times:
- At first the many Vedic Gods were worshipped ceremonially, each conceived by his devotees as possessing all divine powers.
- Gradually emphasis shifted to the One Supreme Spirit, of whom the Vedas themselves call the Gods special manifestations. The worshippers of the Supreme gradually assimilated the devotees of particular Gods, recognising that they were indirectly worshipping the same Spirit.
- These devotees in turn conceived Him in different ways, with different Holy Names (not always Vedic) and modes of worship, but with a common devotional spirit.
So in very early times arose many Upasaka Sampradayas, devoted to Siva, Rudra, Pasupati, Maheswara, Vishnu, Narayana, Bhagavan, Sakti, Surya and others. Each had:
- distinctive features;
- its own religious philosophy;
- a complete code of moral and spiritual discipline for Moksha;
- devotion to the Absolute as Supreme Source and Lord;
- acceptance of Vedic authority;
- its own foundational literature, also called Agama.
Key trends: the Supreme Spirit was "gradually more and more personalised and humanised," and among His attributes "Love and Mercy were more and more emphasised." Truth-realisation and liberation were seen as gifts of Divine Mercy. These developed into the widespread Bhakti schools of later centuries. In time the devotees of Siva, Krishna, Rama and Sakti (as Kali and Durga) became the most popular.
Note that the word Agama is used both for the yogic-tantric literature traced to Adi-Natha and for the foundational texts of the devotional sects. This overlap is historically significant: the Saiva, Vaishnava (Pancaratra) and Sakta Agamas blend yoga, ritual and devotion, and this blended world is the immediate environment from which the Nath Yogis emerged.
Summary Map: Three Currents from the Vedas
| Current | Vedic section | Goal | Means | Literature and systems | Social position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Karma / Pravritti | Karma-Kanda (Yajna-Kanda) | Abhyudaya; Swarga as "Moksha" | Righteous action and sacrifice | Brahmanas, Smritis (Manu), Srauta and Grihya Sutras, Mimamsa (Jaimini), Varnasrama | Dominant in society |
| Jnana-Yoga / Nivritti | Jnana-Kanda | Moksha, Kaivalya, Atma-Jnana | Renunciation, austerity, reflection, meditation | Agama and Tantra (from Adi-Natha), Sankhya (Kapila), Yoga (Patanjali), Upanishads, Brahma-Sutras | Forests and hills; resisted but influential |
| Bhakti / Upasana | Upasana-Kanda | Moksha as gift of Divine Mercy | Love and self-surrender to the Supreme | Agamas of the sects (Saiva, Vaishnava, Sakta, Saura) | Grew into popular mass movements |
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Satyam and Ritam | Eternal Truth and cosmic Law |
| Rishi / Drashta | Seer of mantras |
| Devata | Divine power; a Name of the one Spirit |
| Adhibhautika / Adhidaivika / Adhyatmika | Material / divine-cosmic / spiritual outlook |
| Yajna, Tyaga | Sacrifice, renunciation |
| Swarga | Heaven, the higher worlds |
| Karma-Kanda, Upasana-Kanda, Jnana-Kanda | Sections of the Veda on action, worship, knowledge |
| Sarva-yajneswara | Lord of all sacrifices |
| Pravritti / Nivritti | Path of outgoing action / of withdrawal |
| Abhyudaya / Nihsreyasa | Prosperity / the highest good |
| Purusharthas | Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha |
| Adhikara | Capacity, qualification |
| Vedangas | Siksha, Kalpa, Vyakarana, Nirukta, Chandas, Jyotisha |
| Sakha | Branch of Vedic recension |
| Smriti, Dharma-Sastra | Law codes |
| Mimamsa | Philosophy of Vedic action (Jaimini) |
| Varnasrama | System of social classes and life stages |
| Agama, Tantra | Yogic and devotional scriptures outside the Vedic canon |
| Maha-Yogiswara, Adi-Natha | Siva as primordial Lord of Yoga and first Guru |
| Sat-karya-vada | Doctrine that the effect pre-exists in the cause |
| Sattwa, Rajas, Tamas | The three Gunas |
| Avyakta, Mula-Prakriti | Unmanifest; root nature |
| Mahat, Ahamkara, Tanmatra | Cosmic intelligence, ego-principle, subtle elements |
| Aviveka / Viveka-khyati | Non-discrimination / discriminative knowledge |
| Garhasthya | Householder stage |
| Upasaka Sampradaya | Devotional sect |
Reflection and Practice
- Three currents in you. Which current is strongest in your own temperament: action and service, knowledge and meditation, or love and devotion? Which is weakest? Consider how to bring the weakest into your life.
- Yajna today. Choose one possession, skill or privilege and use it this week as an offering for the welfare of others, with an attitude of worship rather than charity.
- Ritualise the ordinary. Before one routine act (beginning work, cooking, starting a journey) pause and offer it inwardly to the Supreme, as traditional Indian life does.
- Sankhya contemplation. Sit and observe sensations, thoughts and the sense of "I." Each time, recognise it as an evolute of Prakriti and rest as the witness. Then, in the Upanishadic and Nath manner, recognise that the witness and what is witnessed are both the one Spirit.
- Adi-Natha. Reflect on the idea of Siva as the first Guru of Yoga. How does seeing your practice as part of a lineage that began with the Divine change your attitude to it?
The Evolution of Hindu Spiritual Culture, Part II (pp. 281–320)
The final chapter carries the history from Sri Krishna to the twentieth century. Its main theme is synthesis. Through the ages, the three Vedic currents (Karma, Jnana-Yoga and Bhakti) kept splitting apart and being reunited by great teachers. The first and greatest synthesis was the Bhagavad-Gita. Vyasa spread it through the Vedas' arrangement, the Brahma-Sutras, the Mahabharata and the Puranas. Valmiki's Ramayana gave the ideal of the God-Man. Buddha and Mahavira revived the ancient Yogi path and broke away from Vedic authority. Then three giants appeared at roughly the same time and revitalised all three currents: Kumarila (Karma), Sankara (Jnana) and Gorakhnath (Yoga). Banerjea's most important historical claim for this book follows. Gorakhnath's Sakti-vada, the doctrine that the world-creating Power is real and is Siva's own, deeply shaped the later Bhakti theologians and popular worship, more than Sankara's Maya-vada did. The chapter ends with medieval and modern Hinduism and the modern synthesis seen in Ramakrishna and Vivekananda.
this chapter states the author's own mid-twentieth-century views on history, including views on Islam, Christianity and Western civilisation. They are summarised here faithfully as Banerjea's opinions. Readers will want to weigh them against modern historical scholarship.
I. Sri Krishna's Grand Synthesis
As Aryan society spread across the subcontinent, its culture became more varied. All its aspects were still shaped by the Vedic currents, and faith in the Vedas was the strongest bond. Controversy and co-existence made each path appreciate the others and borrow from them. Each cult became "more and more liberalised and assimilative."
Earnest seekers always felt a psychological, social, moral and spiritual need for a synthesis of:
- Karma, Jnana, Yoga and Bhakti;
- Pravritti-Marga, Nivritti-Marga, Vicara-Marga (reflection), Dhyana-Marga (meditation) and Upasana-Marga (worship);
- the duties demanded by moral consciousness, the detachment demanded by spiritual consciousness, and the love and reverence demanded by aesthetic and emotional consciousness.
Many early attempts were made, but "the most successful attempt in this direction was made by Lord Sri Krishna in the small Divine Song, Bhagavad-Gita."
Sri Krishna was "the truest representative of the Spirit of the Vedic Revelations": statesman, strategist, hero, man of action, philosopher, sage and Yogi, adored even in his lifetime as an Incarnation. Vyasa placed the Gita at the centre of the Mahabharata. He described it as Brahma-Vidya, Yoga-Sastra, Bhakti-Sastra and Karma-Sastra all at once, giving the essence of the Vedas "without dishonouring or doing injustice to any aspect of their teachings or any school of thought."
Yoga for everyone
Sri Krishna "protested against all the one-sided and narrow interpretations." His central teaching: "every man, whatever may be his social status or intellectual attainments or domestic and social obligations or environmental and economic conditions, should become a Yogi in his practical life."
- Yoga is not only for the few who renounce and meditate in solitude. It is "living a God-centric life": a spiritual outlook on all affairs, a spiritual ideal for all activities, and whole-hearted devotion and self-offering to the Supreme Spirit revealed in everything.
- Each person is a particular self-manifestation of God, given particular capacities and placed in a particular situation to do Divinely allotted duties for His sake, without attachment to works or desire for their fruits, aiming at union with Him.
- Different people have different Swadharma (one's own duty): household duties, public works, contributions to literature, art, science or philosophy, or retirement for esoteric yoga. But "Yoga can and should be the regulative principle in the lives of all men."
Ending the quarrel of Pravritti and Nivritti
- Pravritti rests on the fact that humans are active by nature and cannot even survive without action. But no one should be content with actions that merely sustain life. The Vedas prescribe nobler and nobler actions for progressive self-elevation, and their aim, moral and spiritual perfection, is also the aim of Nivritti.
- Krishna reinterprets Yajna. It does not consist "merely or even mainly in the scrupulous performance of certain ritualistic ceremonies." It is the spirit of sacrifice and selfless service, offering one's possessions for the common good as worship. "The highest form of Yajna is the absolute sacrifice of the ego... with the awakened idea that everything belongs to God. The true spirit of Yajna makes a man a Yogi."
- "Whatever is God's should be humbly offered to God." The materials of Yajna include not only outer goods but Japa, Dhyana, Tapasya, Brahmacarya, Vidya-dana (gift of knowledge), Pranayama, Samaja-seva (social service), Rashtra-seva (national service), Dharma-yuddha (righteous war), and Prana-dana (giving one's life for others).
- Worship of other Deities also reaches the Supreme indirectly. One should see the One God in all Gods, "but there must not be any condemnation of the diverse modes of worship."
- So enlightened Pravritti leads to the same goal as enlightened Nivritti; both can be practised as true Yoga.
The true test of spirituality
A householder who does his many duties free from pride, selfish desire and anxiety about results, playing his allotted part "as His humble servant or as an instrument in His hands," is "a true Yogi and a true Bhakta, a true Tyagi and Sannyasi." A cave-dwelling or wandering ascetic who cannot free himself from ego, desire, pride, hatred, fear and anxiety "is not worthy of being regarded as a true Yogi."
Spiritual advancement is judged "not by the outer modes of his life, not by his outer action or inaction, not by his outer bhoga or tyaga, not by his home-dwelling or forest-dwelling, but by his genuine internal transformation." One must see Karma in Akarma and Akarma in Karma (Gita 4.18). Inaction full of ego or hatred of active life binds; action as selfless devotional service "cuts asunder the bondage of the world."
All paths (duties, rites, devotion, ceremonial worship, yogic discipline, philosophical reflection, renunciation) are diverse ways for diverse temperaments to the same ideal. But attention must be freed from their outer forms and directed to their inner spirit. Outer forms of Vedic injunctions conflict; "the inner intention of all of them is the same." Undue emphasis on outer forms produced controversies, sects and sub-sects. The inner spirit of them all is the spirit of Yoga.
Yoga made universal
Krishna made Yoga "practicable to every man and woman, to the humblest Sudra or labourer as much as to the most learned Brahmana or the most warlike Kshatriya or the most commercialist Vaisya," to householder and Sannyasi alike. He brought God near to everyone, so that even an unlettered person could feel His presence in home, society, nature, events, mountains, rivers and the elements. "God is everywhere, within and without."
Everyone should remember that he lives in God and for God, plays his role for God's sake, and leaves the fruits to God. He should love God as Father, Mother, Brother, Friend, Lord, Soul of his soul, Beloved, Ruler and Guide. In this "popular and universal Yoga," Bhakti "plays the most predominant part," supplying the motive force for all noble endeavour. It must be purified by knowledge and moral goodness.
Krishna's philosophy
Krishna combined the Prakriti-Purusha-vada, Kshetra-Kshetrajna-vada and Kshara-Akshara-vada of earlier Sankhya with the Brahma-vada of the Upanishads, enriched by the Yogi and Bhakta conceptions of Paramatma, Iswara, Maheswara, Maha-Yogiswara, Bhagavan, Narayana and Purushottama. His God satisfies both intellect and heart:
- personal and impersonal, active and inactive, transcendent and immanent, nirguna and saguna;
- infinite, yet revealed in finite forms; unmoved by emotion, yet infinitely loving;
- the absolute cause (material, efficient, final and formal) of the cosmos, yet above time and space;
- possessing infinite wisdom, goodness, beauty, power, love, justice and creative will, of which the universe is a finite expression.
Whatever specially attracts notice is His Vibhuti (special manifestation). "Instead of cursing the world as an ugly and dreadful place of bondage and sorrow, Sri Krishna gives a glorified account of the world." Bondage and sorrow come from the egoistic attempt to turn the world into an object of sensuous enjoyment, which "amounts to a revolt against God."
Avatara-vada
Krishna also gave the message of Divine Incarnation. Whenever unrighteousness prevails, whenever "materialism and militarism and dishonesty and hypocrisy and arrogance" dominate and spiritual idealism weakens under the Asuric powers, the Supreme incarnates to subdue unrighteousness, strengthen righteousness, reinterpret the eternal Truth for the age, and restore conditions for spiritual growth (Gita 4.7–8).
Divine and anti-divine forces are in continuous tug-of-war, but "both kinds of forces are self-manifestations of the inscrutable Divine Power in His Cosmic Play," arrayed as rival parties to maintain the drama. When the play seems endangered, there are special interventions. In the Avataras, "The Infinite comes down to us in a finite form, the Birthless takes birth, the Blissful participates in our joys and sorrows... How merciful and loving He is to us!"
The Gita's synthesis anticipates Gorakhnath's Samarasa in a different key. Krishna teaches inner yoga in the midst of outer action; Gorakhnath teaches Siva-consciousness in waking life. Both reject the idea that spirituality belongs only to the forest. The Gita's emphasis is Bhakti and Karma; the Nath emphasis is Yoga and Kaya-sadhana. Both treat outward forms as secondary to inner transformation.
II. Vyasa, Valmiki, the Epics and the Puranas
Vyasa's four works
Sri Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, a senior contemporary of Krishna who lived on after him, was Mahayogi, Maha-Jnani, Maha-Bhakta, Maha-Premi, philosopher, poet, preacher and organiser. He compiled and synthesised earlier achievements, assimilated non-Vedic and non-Aryan developments, and reconciled Pravritti and Nivritti in the light of Krishna. After the destruction of the ruling military powers in the Mahabharata war, Vyasa and his followers carried out "the gigantic work of the cultural reconstruction of the country." He is still "adored as the immortal Guru by all sections of the Hindu community."
| Work | Achievement |
|---|---|
| 1. Compilation of the Vedas | Collected and arranged all Vedic mantras with early commentaries and treatises scientifically; linked the Upanishadic Brahman-centred thought and the cults of Sannyasa, Yoga, Jnana and Bhakti with the mantras to many Deities and with practical injunctions; trained disciples in each branch. Hence the title Vyasa (arranger) |
| 2. Vedanta-Darsana (Brahma-Sutras) | Established the Vedic outlook on a rational basis; showed the Upanishads and Gita as the essence; argued that Brahma is the sole Reality, Ground, Cause, Soul and Lord, and that Truth-realisation is the supreme ideal |
| 3. Mahabharata | The great national epic and authoritative popular interpretation of Hindu culture, with Krishna and the Gita at its centre; nearly every domestic, social, political, economic, ethical, religious and metaphysical problem discussed and solved in the light of the spiritual outlook |
| 4. Puranas | Began their composition and spread; a "popular encyclopaedia of ancient and mediaeval Hinduism," bringing the Spirit of the Vedas to every door in many Names and Forms |
On Vedanta's practical programme:
- From the viewpoint of the supreme ideal, Nivritti is superior to Pravritti, Yoga and Tattwa-vicara to Karma, Tyaga and Sannyasa to Bhoga. This idea "has given a special mould" to Hindu minds and customs.
- But only the advanced can renounce. For most, Pravritti is necessary, and it is also necessary for Abhyudaya, the progress of society, which provides the conditions for the gifted to pursue deeper discipline.
- So people should follow their Swadharma with the supreme ideal in view, preparing for higher stages. Those unable to reach Nivritti in this life need not despair. Faithful Swadharma ensures better capacities and opportunities in future births.
The Mahabharata contains discussions of Karma-, Atma- and Brahma-Mimamsa, Sankhya, Yoga and Nyaya, the Pancaratra, Bhagavata, Narayaniya, Saiva and Pasupata cults, the materialism of the Carvakas, Varnasrama-, Sannyasa- and Bhakti-Dharma, and the ethics of Ahimsa, Satya, Tapasya, Asteya, Dana, Yajna and Jiva-seva. Even now, "an intensive study of the Mahabharata can impart an all-round education (excepting of course scientific and technological education of the present age)."
The Puranas have a leaning toward Bhakti but harmonise Pravritti and Nivritti, Karma and Jnana-Yoga, Bhoga and Tyaga. They pay due homage to all sects worshipping the Supreme as Vishnu, Narayana, Hari, Vasudeva, Siva, Rudra, Pasupati, Kali, Durga, Krishna, Rama, Skanda, Ganapati, Surya, Agni, Vayu and others. "The unity of Hinduism has never been lost in these differences."
Valmiki's Ramayana
The first national epic, as popular and inspiring as the Mahabharata though less encyclopaedic. Valmiki sought to present "an ideal man, in whom there should be a combination of Humanity with Divinity," and found him in Sri Rama: ideal son, brother, friend, husband, king and hero, compassionate, truthful, pure, self-sacrificing, "an ideal man of action with the spirit of a Yogi." Rama carried Aryan ethico-spiritual culture to the southern tip of the subcontinent after vanquishing "the materialistic self-aggrandising military powers."
Everywhere the epic shows "the all-conquering power of the Spirit, the supremacy of Dharma and Moksha over Artha and Kama, the superiority of love to hatred... of sacrifice to possession." Rama came to be seen as one of the greatest Incarnations and is worshipped by some as the Supreme Spirit.
What the epics and Puranas achieved
They belonged to no single school and destroyed none. They linked and reconciled all currents, "aryanised all the non-aryan peoples in course of a few centuries," and taught to everyone the Yama and Niyama of the Yoga-Sastras as universal principles (sarva-bhauma mahavrata):
| Yama | Niyama |
|---|---|
| Ahimsa: harmlessness | Sauca: purification |
| Satya: truthfulness | Santosha: contentment |
| Asteya: non-stealing | Tapah: austerity |
| Brahmacarya: control of sexual and sensual propensities | Swadhyaya: search for true knowledge |
| Aparigraha: non-hoarding | Iswara-pranidhana: devotion to God in any Name and Form |
They also taught compassion and selfless service to all creatures as worship, and the superiority of Dharma and Moksha over political and economic power. Varna and Asrama were organised on the basis of spiritual culture, with Brahmanas and Sannyasis most honoured. Before Buddha and Mahavira, Hindu society-building on a spiritual basis "was (at least theoretically) almost complete."
It is worth noticing that Banerjea traces the universal ethics of Hinduism, the Yamas and Niyamas, to the Yoga-Sastras. The Yogi tradition, in his account, supplied the moral backbone of popular Hinduism through the epics and Puranas. This is part of his larger argument that the Yogi stream, culminating in Gorakhnath, is central rather than marginal to Indian culture.
III. Buddha and Mahavira
More than a thousand years after Krishna and Vyasa (in Banerjea's chronology), Buddha and Mahavira led two powerful movements. Both were Mahayogis who "followed the line of the ancient Yogi school and the Nivritti-marga of the Vedas."
Their affinities with the ancient Siddha-Yogis:
- renunciation, self-control, purification, concentration, abandonment of desire for this world and other worlds;
- little interest in metaphysical speculation about the ultimate source, a transcendent Reality or the soul; chiefly interested in practical means of liberation;
- convinced of the inefficacy of Vedic ritual, ceremonial worship and metaphysical reasoning for permanent liberation;
- convinced that ceremonial Karma-Kanda, metaphysical Jnana-Kanda and complex Upasana were impracticable for common people, "who were the worst sufferers";
- accepted that worldly objects are transitory and that desire and attachment, rooted in ignorance of transitoriness, cause sorrow;
- taught that Yoga "must not be confused with excessive self-mortification" nor Jnana with "hair-splitting metaphysical argumentation."
Their ethical rules were essentially those of the Agamas and the old Yogi Sampradaya. Ahimsa was the first Yama of the Yogi school. The old Yogis had disapproved of animal sacrifice but had not loudly protested; Buddha and Mahavira rebelled against all killing, all sacrifices involving himsa, and the distinction between vaidha (sanctioned) and avaidha (unsanctioned) himsa. They openly revolted against Vedic authority. "This revolt against the Vedas was the main cause of the separation of Buddhism and Jainism from Hinduism." Hinduism allowed any philosophy or practice but could not tolerate rebellion against the Vedas, its strongest bond of unity: "Revolt against the Vedas meant to the Hindus revolt against the cultural and spiritual unity of Bharatavarsha."
Their aim was a "non-dogmatic non-ritualistic non-metaphysical non-communal system of ethico-religious discipline for the common people," consistent with Yogi traditions. So they criticised ritualism, belief in Vedic infallibility and the miraculous effects of rites, contradictory metaphysics, privileges based on birth, cruelties in the name of religion, and all narrowness and violence. They bore no ill-will and considered it irreligious to hurt others, yet "fought with their Yogic calmness."
Organised monasticism
Each founded a monastic organisation "not far off from populous localities" to train renunciants in purity, desirelessness, harmlessness, chastity and friendliness. Monks depended on householders for food; householders came to monks for teaching. "Though renunciation had been quite familiar to Hindu spiritual culture, such organised monasticism was rather new." Both claimed lineages of earlier Mahayogis (Buddhas and Tirthankaras).
Emperor Asoka made Buddhism a state religion and sent missionaries throughout India and abroad. His contribution to the gospel of non-violence, love and compassion for men and animals "is unparalleled." Service to the helpless became central to the Buddhist Sangha.
Later developments
- Despite the founders' intentions, philosophical schools and Tantric rituals developed.
- Buddha's teaching of impermanence, his non-committal stance on Brahma or Atma, and his silence about Nirvana were construed into doctrines of momentariness (kshanikatwa), the non-existence of eternal Reality, the annihilation of the soul in Nirvana, and Sunya as Absolute Void.
- Schisms: Sarvastitwa-vadi, Vijnana-vadi, Sunya-vadi and others; Maha-yana, Hina-yana, Vajra-yana and Sahaja-yana. Some worshipped Buddha as eternal Divine Person; some personified Dharma as Supreme Goddess.
- They weakened in India mainly through internal conflicts and conflicts with Hinduism. But Buddhism's ideal life and philanthropic and educational work "exercised a great liberalising influence" on Hindu philosophy, society, religion and morality.
- Jainism developed Anekanta-vada (many-sidedness), Syad-vada (conditional predication) and Saptabhangi-naya (sevenfold predication), and a distinctive theory of Karma, but did not spread beyond India.
The common ground
These doctrines were "neither foreign to Hinduism nor new to the enlightened Yogis." Sunya-vada, Catushkoti-vinirmukta-vada (the Real is free from the four alternatives), Syad-vada and Anekanta-vada are formulations of the same supra-conscious experience and Vedic revelation: the Absolute is beyond thought and speech, cannot be called existent, non-existent, both or neither. When the intellect tries to describe the Indescribable, "Truth reveals Itself differently to different viewpoints." "Spiritually enlightened persons do not mind these differences, because they see the Ultimate Truth behind all philosophical views... it is on this account that the Hindus have the capacity and tendency to assimilate all differences."
Healthy competition enriched all sides. Ordinary people revered a Buddhist Bhikshu or Jaina Muni as much as a Hindu Sannyasi. Maha-Yogiswara Siva "was worshipped by all classes as a most popular God accessible to all." Buddha was accepted by many Hindus as an Avatara.
The Nath tradition grew up in exactly this environment, especially in eastern India, where the later Buddhist Vajrayana and Sahajayana Siddhas flourished. The Nath and Buddhist Siddha lists overlap (Matsyendranath, for example, appears in both), and terms like Sahaja and Sunya are shared. Banerjea's view that both streams descend from a common ancient Yogi tradition helps explain this overlap.
IV. Kumarila, Sankara and Gorakshanatha
A few centuries later, "some exceptionally talented super-human saintly personalities appeared as exponents of all the currents of Vedic spiritual culture and marvellously revivified them."
| Teacher | Current revived | Achievement |
|---|---|---|
| Kumarila Bhatta | Pravritti / Karma-Marga | Revived Mimamsa and Smriti; refuted attacks on Vedic authority, sacrifices and Varnasrama; countered the belief, spread by monastic schools, that early renunciation was the only path; restored faith in the life of Dharma within society as necessary for Moksha |
| Acarya Sankara | Nivritti / Jnana-Marga | Adwaita-vada; founded a nationwide monastic order; revived pilgrimage centres; reorganised Hinduism after the Buddhist challenge |
| Mahayogi Gorakshanatha (Gorakhnath) | Yoga-Marga | Popularised yogic culture throughout India and beyond; taught Siva or Adinatha as supreme Ideal and Ultimate Truth; Sakti-vada in place of Maya-vada |
Sankara's Adwaita-vada
Based on the Upanishads, Gita and Brahma-Sutras, Sankara established that they reveal "One Infinite Eternal Changeless Differenceless Actionless Attributeless Self-luminous Transcendent Spirit (or Brahman)" as the Absolute, and that all phenomena are illusory appearances of Brahman through Maya, which is Mula-Avidya (Root-Ignorance), "not explicable either as existent or as non-existent." Individual souls appear finite and bound because of this Ignorance; they are really Brahman.
Its spiritual value, as Banerjea sees it:
- It awakened the consciousness of the unity of mankind "irrespective of caste or creed or race or sex," and the unity of humans with all creatures.
- It proclaimed that differences are only in names and forms, and every Jeeva is in reality Siva or Brahman.
- It did not deny the practical value of other schools, devotional worship or Pravritti duties. Brahman qualified by inexplicable (anirvacaniya) Maya appears as Iswara, the Personal God, who may be worshipped in all Names and Forms and loves His devotees. "Sankara himself worshipped Saguna Brahma in all Names and Forms." But Moksha lies in transcending Saguna and realising Nirguna Brahman.
Sankara and Buddhism
| Buddha | Sankara | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of "existence" | Phenomenal existence with practical efficiency (artha-kriya-karitwa) | Eternal, noumenal existence |
| Name for the Beyond | Sunya, a negative term | Brahman: Sat, Cit, Ananda |
| Phenomena | Existent but impermanent | Asat, illusory |
| Root of the world | Avidya, beginning of the causal chain | Avidya / Maya |
| Liberation | Nirvana, freedom from Avidya; silent on who is liberated and whether Nirvana is annihilation | Moksha; the permanent soul realises identity with Brahman: a "positive message of hope" |
Adwaita "assimilated Sunya-vada of Buddhism, supplied positive spiritual significance to the Buddhist conceptions of Sunya and Nirvana," assimilated Jaina Anekanta-vada (the one Reality appears many-faced from different standpoints), and assimilated dualistic schools by revealing their common Ground. It sought to end sectarian quarrels by showing that all Gods are the same Brahman. Bhakti was valued but subsidiary to Jnana, since it rests on Saguna Brahman conditioned by Maya and implies difference; "Bhakti finds its fulfilment in Jnana." Karma was useful for householders living in Avidya, to purify the mind for Jnana.
Gorakhnath
"Near about the same time Mahayogi Gorakshanatha (commonly spoken of as Gorakhnath) appeared as a great teacher of Yoga and popularised the Yogic culture throughout the length and breadth of India and even beyond its borders."
- As a true Mahayogi, he was not much interested in metaphysical controversies. He taught the yoga system of moral and spiritual discipline and "demonstrated by the example of his own extraordinary life the miraculous effects of the practice of yoga."
- He placed Maha-Yogiswara Siva or Adinatha before all seekers as the supreme Ideal and Ultimate Truth.
- Siva is cinmaya (self-luminous), samadhimaya (self-concentrated), anandamaya (self-enjoying) and swayampurna (self-perfect), eternally transcending the cosmos. By His infinite Power, "without any effort or motive," He manifests as a diversified, harmonious cosmic order and as innumerable individual souls capable of transcending it and sharing His bliss.
- So Siva has a transcendent character and a playful, dynamic, self-revealing character; each soul too has a transcendent and a conditioned character, and must realise its Sivahood through Yoga and illumined Samadhi.
- He regarded the controversy between Dwaita (dualism), Adwaita (non-dualism) and all other "isms" (vadas) "as useless from the spiritual point of view," since the Absolute is beyond intellectual conception yet realisable in subject-object-less experience in Samadhi.
- "Philosophically his doctrine was described as Dwaita-Adwaita-Vilakshana" (beyond both dualism and non-dualism). While fully accepting the Adwaita view of the Absolute, he did not look down on Dwaita as illusion caused by a Maya or Avidya unrelated to the non-dual Reality.
- "In the place of Maya-Vada of Sankara, Gorakhnath and his Sampradaya preached Sakti-Vada, Sakti being the real Absolute Power of the Absolute Spirit for His diversified self-manifestation."
This is the clearest single statement of where Gorakhnath stands in the history of Indian thought. Kumarila restored action, Sankara restored knowledge, and Gorakhnath restored yoga, and with it a metaphysics that keeps the world real. "Dwaita-Adwaita-Vilakshana" should not be misread as a compromise between dualism and non-dualism. It is a refusal to let either intellectual formula stand in for realisation, while affirming non-duality in experience and the reality of manifestation in play.
V. Medieval Hinduism
The social order
Kumarila and Mimamsa helped re-establish society on Catur-varna (four varnas: Brahmana, Kshatriya, Vaisya, Sudra, each with its Swadharma) and Catur-asrama (four stages: Brahmacarya, Garhasthya, Vanaprastha, Sannyasa). The Brahmana varna was given the most dignified position on the principle that those devoted to learning and higher culture should be voluntarily honoured by those holding political and economic power. Mutual dependence and co-operation among varnas were essential.
Banerjea adds two important remarks:
- The division of each Varna into hundreds of castes, created by professions and geography, "had no spiritual significance, and... such casteism was no essential factor in Hinduism."
- "Hinduism with its fundamental spiritual outlook, though admitting adhikara-bheda in respect of duties and rights, does not and can not look down upon any section of people as untouchable or unworthy of offering worship to God, Who is the Indwelling Spirit of every man and every living being."
Popular religion
- For the masses, Vedic Yajna took the forms of Seva, Puja and pilgrimage. Elaborate Srauta sacrifices were impracticable; works of public utility done as worship became Smarta-Yajna.
- Puja of many Gods and Goddesses became widespread: "a splendid amalgamation of Karma and Bhakti, of ritualism and devotion." Many yogic practices are part of the worship, and the mantras imply the One Spirit as the Soul of all Deities.
- Image worship awakened the feeling that the Infinite was present in finite forms. "The Divine Images, even though products of imagination, are of immense help in making the people heartily feel the presence of God."
- Pilgrimage kept alive the unity of Hindus across the country.
Sankara's influence
Since Sankara, "the Vedanta became the prevailing philosophy of Bharatavarsha and Hinduism became essentially the Religion of the Vedanta." He is said to have met most leading philosophers and religious heads, including Buddhists and Jainas. Mandana Misra, Kumarila's chief disciple and the greatest Mimamsaka of the time, after "a stiff intellectual fight" accepted the superiority of Nivritti and Vedanta and became a monk. Sankara revived centres of learning and pilgrimage and made provisions for contact between Sannyasis and householders. His Vedanta did not disturb the social order but taught "Tyaga and Vairagya even in the midst of their Karma and Bhoga."
His key contention, accepted by all Hindu schools: the Vedas are the supreme authority on ultimate truths, and the Upanishads, Gita and Brahma-Sutras unveil their essence. These are the Prasthana-traya:
| Prasthana | Text |
|---|---|
| Sruti-prasthana | Upanishads |
| Smriti-prasthana | Bhagavad-Gita |
| Nyaya-prasthana | Brahma-Sutras |
Thereafter a sampradaya not demonstrably consistent with these three was not recognised as genuinely Hindu. So the Acaryas of the devotional sects wrote their own commentaries to establish their Vedantic credentials.
Mutual influence
After Kumarila, Sankara and Gorakhnath, Pravritti and Nivritti influenced each other. Rites and duties were enlightened by the spirit of renunciation, and Sannyasis and Yogis built more Maths, Mandirs and Asramas amid society and joined in social welfare as part of their discipline.
The Bhakti saints
Upasana and Bhakti received a great impetus from many saints: Ramanuja, Nimbarka, Madhwa, Vallabha, Caitanya, Jnanadeva, Nanak, Kabir, Ramananda, Tulsidas, Mirabai and others. "Bhakti became the predominant note of popular Hinduism in this age." They preached Divine Love and its practical expression in compassion and service to creatures: "All men and all creatures ought to be adored as living Temples of the Supreme Spirit." They popularised worship of Incarnations and Images, and the Puranas, especially the Bhagavata, gained prominence.
| Acarya | Vedantic school |
|---|---|
| Ramanuja | Visishta-adwaita-vada (qualified non-dualism) |
| Nimbarka | Dwaita-adwaita-vada (dualism-in-non-dualism) |
| Madhwa | Dwaita-vada (dualism) |
| Vallabha | Suddha-adwaita-vada (pure non-dualism) |
| Baladeva Vidyabhushan (follower of Caitanya) | Acintya-bheda-abheda-vada (inconceivable difference-in-identity) |
Gorakhnath's influence on the Bhakti theologians
This is a central historical thesis of the book. The Bhakti Vedantins' "fundamental difference from Sankara's view lay in this that they did not regard the Creation and the Creative Power of Brahma as illusory nor did they regard the individual souls as absolutely identical with Brahma. Instead of the Maya-vada of Sankara, they preferred to accept the Sakti-vada of Gorakhnath, though neither Gorakhnath nor any of his direct yogi-followers wrote any commentary on the Vedanta."
- They all accepted Brahma as the sole Reality and Ground, and His Sakti as a real Power eternally inherent in Him, differing on the logical relation of Sakti to Brahma.
- They held souls to have eternal spiritual individuality within and for Brahma.
- They revived the Vaishnava or Bhagavata cult under the names Hari, Vishnu, Narayana, Vasudeva, Krishna and Rama.
- The Saiva cult was also revived: Saiva-Siddhanta, Vira-Saiva and Kashmiri Saiva. Srikantha wrote a Saiva commentary on the Vedanta; Abhinavagupta wrote many treatises on Saiva philosophy.
- There was a great revival of Tantra and Sakti worship as Kali, Durga and others; Buddhism too was "greatly tantricised." Buddhism and Jainism were almost wholly assimilated.
The Divine Couple
"The Siva-Sakti-Vada or Brahma-Sakti-Vada, as preached by Gorakhnath and his Yogi-Sampradaya and the Tantric Sampradaya, appears to have had far-reaching influence, not only upon the philosophical thought-current of the age, but also upon the popular mode of devotional worship."
- The Supreme was represented as a Divine Couple (Yugala), the Spirit and His Power "eternally wedded to and in loving embrace with each other."
- "Brahma is eternally non-dual and also eternally reveals Himself in the duality of forms. He is one in two and two in one."
- His Sakti is the Divine Mother; He is the Divine Father.
| Tradition | Divine Couple |
|---|---|
| Vaishnava | Narayana–Lakshmi, Krishna–Radha, Rama–Sita |
| Saiva / Sakta | Siva with Maha-Sakti as Sati, Uma, Gauri, Kali, Tara, Tripura-Sundari, Bhairavi, Chinnamasta, Shodasi, Bhuvaneswari, Dhumavati, Bagala, Chandi, Matangi, Kamala, Kamakhya and others |
Siva is usually worshipped in the Linga form, "which perhaps stands for a flame of light representing the transcendent spiritual character of Siva."
Banerjea is making a bold and important claim: the theology of Radha-Krishna, Sita-Rama and Lakshmi-Narayana, which defines so much of popular Hindu devotion, owes its philosophical basis to Nath and Tantric Siva-Sakti-vada rather than to Sankara's Maya-vada. Whether or not historians accept the direct line of influence, the structural parallel is clear. "One in two and two in one" is the devotional expression of what Gorakhnath called Samarasa.
The divinisation of the world
- Image worship trained the mind "to feel the shining presence of the Infinite Eternal Absolute Spirit in the finite transitory... material objects."
- Worship of Incarnations and saints trained the mind in the Divinity of Man.
- Worship of rivers, mountains, forests and pilgrimage sites brought home the Divinity of Nature.
- Bharatavarsha as a whole was worshipped as a self-manifestation of the Divine Maha-Sakti.
Banerjea criticises "so-called rationalist thinkers, lacking in spiritual insight" who dismissed these as superstitions.
Islam (the author's view)
Banerjea writes that Islam in its deeper aspects is a religion of faith in and surrender to One merciful God, and of unity, peace, brotherhood, social equality and compassion. In his view, however, it reached India mainly through conquerors who exploited religion for military and political ends, so it appeared to Hindus as iconoclastic and coercive. He judges that it converted many but "had little to contribute to the spiritual culture of the Hindus." Readers should note that this assessment is contested by modern historians, who point to significant cultural and spiritual exchange, some of which Banerjea himself describes in the next section.
VI. Modern Hinduism
Under Muslim rule
During Afghan and Mughal rule, Banerjea says, Hinduism suffered destruction of images, temples and monasteries and forced conversions, but "never lost its vitality." Maha-Yogis, Maha-Jnanis, Maha-Bhaktas and Maha-Karmis flourished. Social rules became stricter for defence, while religious interpretation became more liberal.
- Hindu teachers formulated doctrines that assimilated Islam's essential truths and appealed to sincere Muslims.
- Muslim saints of deep experience found that Islam's inner spirit had more in common with Vedanta, Yoga and Bhakti than with political or fanatical Islam.
- Hindu saints had Muslim disciples and Muslim saints had Hindu disciples. "Sufism was one of the products of the spiritual union of Hinduism and Islam." (Modern scholarship generally sees Sufism as originating outside India, while recognising strong Indian interactions.)
The Nath Yogis themselves were an important part of this meeting. Kabir, Nanak and many Sufis engaged with Nath ideas and vocabulary such as Sahaja, Sunya, Anahata-nada and the inner body, and Nath shrines in north India were frequented by Hindus and Muslims alike. Banerjea does not develop this here, but it illustrates his point that yogic experience crosses religious boundaries.
The Western challenge
- Western European nations came with "materialistic outlook and scientific and technological achievements," and the British gained sovereign power. In Banerjea's view, they professed Christianity but were "far from being guided by the exemplary life and the spiritual teachings of Christ."
- Early Christianity, which reached India before it reached Western Europe and before Islam arose, was preached by sincere people and "accommodated itself quite easily" with Hinduism. Banerjea calls Jesus "a true Yogi with emphasis on Bhakti" and mentions a tradition that he studied in India. (This is a legend without historical support; it is reported here as the author wrote it.)
- Modern missionary Christianity was, in his view, tied to Western political domination and "Western civilization."
- Some Western-educated Hindus wanted to adopt Western religion and customs; more far-sighted leaders wanted Western science but a modernised Hinduism based on its own ideals. The British largely maintained outward religious neutrality.
- Western scholars discovered Sanskrit and translated the Vedas, Upanishads, Gita, Mahabharata, Puranas and Tantras, which "reawakened the consciousness of the glories of Hindu culture" among Western-educated Hindus.
- The Theosophical Society (Blavatsky, Olcott, Annie Besant), the Brahmo Samaj (Ram Mohan Roy) and the Arya Samaj (Dayananda Saraswati) tried to reshape Hinduism. "But Hinduism as a whole was little affected," though socially liberalised.
The modern saints
Great saints "re-established the intrinsic supremacy of spirit over matter, of Dharma and Moksha over earthly power... of spiritual self-realisation over scientific and technical knowledge." They showed that old ideals and practices remain valid. They encouraged learning Western sciences and technologies for Abhyudaya, but warned that losing the spiritual heritage would be a tragedy for humanity. For civilisation to rise, "scientific and technological knowledge must be enlightened and regulated by the supreme spiritual ideal"; "power and wealth must be placed in the voluntary and loving service of the living self-manifestations of the Supreme Spirit."
Features of modern Hinduism
- Synthesis of Karma, Jnana, Yoga and Bhakti on the model of the Gita. Householders do their duties as worship with the spirit of Yoga and Sannyasa inwardly; Sannyasis and Yogis do humanitarian work. Pravritti increasingly takes the form of charity and social service.
- Decline of Varna. "The Varna-Dharma has greatly lost its healthy spiritual influence... and it has been practically degraded into a secular caste-system." The rise of saints from lower castes "seem[s] to have laid an axe at the sacredness of the Varna-based structure." Society is being steadily liberalised.
- Harmony of all religions. "All religious paths lead ultimately to the same spiritual goal." This is "a message, not only of universal tolerance, but of universal acceptance and respect and love. Pursue your own Swa-Dharma in the right spirit to the end."
Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa practised and reached Siddhi in Bhakti, Yoga and Jnana; in Saktism, Saivism, Vaishnavism and the Rama cult; and in Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity and Islam. He saw the same Spirit in all Gods and all Images, often entering Samadhi at the sight of the One in the many. He taught that sincere sectarian practice is good, but "sectarian bigotry and narrowness and fanaticism was horribly bad." He made no distinction between East and West, Hindus, Muslims and Christians, or Brahmanas, Sudras and Pariahs. "He brought down the Vedanta and the Gita to the plane of our practical life."
Swami Vivekananda carried the message to the West, founded the Ramakrishna Math and Mission and many institutions, and warned that Western civilisation was heading toward catastrophe from which only Vedanta could save humanity. Sri Aurobindo, Rama Tirtha, Rabindranath, Gandhi, Yogananda and others have interpreted Hinduism to the modern world in the same line. "Hinduism is thus going ahead towards bringing about a real transformation in the outlook of the modern people and elevating their minds to a higher spiritual plane of unity and peace and harmony amidst the diversities of the modern age."
Ramakrishna is a fitting end to the book. His life embodies what Gorakhnath called Samarasa: tasting the one Siva in every form and every path, without rejecting any. His famous attitude, "as many faiths, so many paths," echoes Gorakhnath's dismissal of the quarrels between "isms" as spiritually useless. Banerjea does not draw this connection explicitly, but the reader of this book is well placed to see it.
Timeline Summary (as presented by Banerjea)
| Era | Figures and movements | Contribution |
|---|---|---|
| Vedic | Rishis | Revelation of Satyam and Ritam; three currents |
| Ancient | Adi-Natha (Siva), Agama, Kapila, Patanjali | Yoga and Jnana; Sankhya; Agama and Tantra |
| Epic | Sri Krishna, Vyasa, Valmiki | Gita synthesis; Vedas arranged; Brahma-Sutras; Mahabharata; Puranas; Ramayana |
| Sramana | Buddha, Mahavira, Asoka | Popular yoga, Ahimsa, organised monasticism; break with Vedic authority |
| Revival | Kumarila, Sankara, Gorakhnath | Karma, Jnana and Yoga revived; Maya-vada vs. Sakti-vada |
| Medieval | Ramanuja, Nimbarka, Madhwa, Vallabha, Caitanya, Jnanadeva, Kabir, Nanak, Tulsidas, Mirabai; Saiva and Tantric schools | Bhakti dominant; Sakti-vada and Divine Couple; image worship; pilgrimage |
| Muslim period | Hindu and Muslim saints; Sufism | Spiritual exchange and endurance |
| Modern | Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Aurobindo, Rama Tirtha, Tagore, Gandhi, Yogananda | Gita-style synthesis; harmony of religions; social liberalisation |
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Vicara-, Dhyana-, Upasana-Marga | Paths of reflection, meditation, worship |
| Swadharma | One's own duty according to nature and station |
| Karma in Akarma | Seeing action in inaction and inaction in action (Gita) |
| Vidya-dana, Samaja-seva, Rashtra-seva, Prana-dana | Gift of knowledge, social service, national service, giving one's life |
| Vibhuti | Special manifestation of God |
| Avatara-vada | Doctrine of Divine Incarnation |
| Asuric | Anti-divine, demonic |
| Kshetra-Kshetrajna, Kshara-Akshara | Field and knower; perishable and imperishable |
| Purushottama | Supreme Person |
| Sarva-bhauma mahavrata | Universal great vows (Yama-Niyama) |
| Vaidha / Avaidha himsa | Sanctioned / unsanctioned violence |
| Kshanikatwa | Momentariness |
| Catushkoti-vinirmukta | Free from the four logical alternatives |
| Anekanta, Syad-vada, Saptabhangi | Jaina many-sidedness, conditional and sevenfold predication |
| Artha-kriya-karitwa | Practical efficiency (Buddhist criterion of existence) |
| Anirvacaniya | Indescribable (status of Maya in Advaita) |
| Dwaita-Adwaita-Vilakshana | Beyond both dualism and non-dualism: Gorakhnath's position |
| Sakti-vada / Maya-vada | Doctrine of real Power / doctrine of illusion |
| Catur-varna, Catur-asrama | Four classes, four life stages |
| Adhikara-bheda | Difference of qualification |
| Srauta- / Smarta-Yajna | Vedic sacrifice / socially useful work as sacrifice |
| Prasthana-traya | Upanishads, Gita, Brahma-Sutras |
| Visishtadwaita, Dwaitadwaita, Dwaita, Suddhadwaita, Acintya-bhedabheda | The Bhakti Vedanta schools |
| Yugala | Divine Couple |
| Linga | Aniconic symbol of Siva, a flame of light |
Reflection and Practice
- Inner test. Using Krishna's criterion, assess your spiritual life not by outward practices but by your freedom from "me and mine," pride, anxiety and hatred. Where do you stand honestly?
- Yajna in work. Choose one regular duty and do it this week explicitly as an offering, without concern for recognition or results.
- Yama-Niyama review. Take the ten principles in the table. Choose one Yama and one Niyama to practise deliberately for a month.
- Beyond the "isms." Notice when you argue about whether God is personal or impersonal, or whether the world is real or illusory. Recall Gorakhnath's view that such controversies are spiritually useless, and return to practice.
- The Divine Couple. Contemplate an image of Siva-Sakti, Radha-Krishna or Sita-Rama as a picture of the One in two and two in one. Feel stillness and dynamism, transcendence and manifestation, as a single embrace.
- Harmony of paths. Visit or read about a tradition other than your own with the aim of finding the same Spirit there, as Ramakrishna did.
Conclusion (pp. 321–332)
The concluding chapter pulls the whole book into one statement. Hindu culture since prehistoric times rests on one discovery: all orders of phenomenal reality are self-manifestations of One self-existent, self-conscious, self-perfect, self-enjoying Absolute Spirit, "One Dynamic Sat-Cit-Ananda". The supreme ideal of life is to realise this One Spirit in every individual body, every object and the entire Cosmic Order. Gorakhnath is presented as one of the most powerful exponents of this message. His definition of Yoga as Samarasa-karana (perfect assimilation) and his ideal of Samarasya are offered as a universal religion and a "panacea for all the evils of the world."
The chapter has four movements:
- the seven-fold message of Hinduism;
- Gorakhnath and his Sampradaya;
- Samarasya and the eight limbs of Yoga as Gorakhnath reshaped them;
- Siva and Sakti as a universal religion.
The Message of Bharatavarsha
Banerjea says that every sphere of Hindu life (religious, domestic, social, political, economic, artistic) was meant to be organised in the light of this spiritual outlook. So spiritual values were held above economic and hedonistic ones, inner self-expansion above outward domination, and renunciation above attachment. As civilisation grows more complex, differences come to the fore and "material differences over-cloud the spiritual oneness." Yogis, Jnanis and Bhaktas in every age devised means to realise oneness in the midst of difference.
He sums up the message of Hinduism in seven points:
| No. | Message |
|---|---|
| 1 | One self-shining, self-revealing Supreme Spirit pervades and transcends all diversities and is sought, consciously or unconsciously, by all people under many Names and Forms |
| 2 | One beginningless, endless Cosmic Order, enlivened by One Divine Life and governed by One Divine Law |
| 3 | The identity of every individual soul with the Supreme Spirit, of which every soul is an individualised finite self-expression |
| 4 | The sacredness of all living bodies, in all of which the same Spirit shines as the Soul |
| 5 | Direct realisation of the Supreme Spirit in individual consciousness, and actual experience of the unity of all existence, as the supreme ideal |
| 6 | Devotion to and sacrifice for the common good, with love for all and as worship of the Spirit in all, as the most effective path to each person's true good |
| 7 | All human institutions (religious, social, economic, political, educational) and all codes of discipline ought to rest on this spiritual outlook |
He condenses this into a formula: "Spirit in Matter, Unity in Diversities, Tranquillity in Action, Renunciation in Loving Service." This, he says, is "the message of the Heart of Bharatavarsha to the Human World."
Each of the seven points maps onto a doctrine developed earlier in the book. Point 1 is Para-Samvit and the Anama. Point 2 is Cosmic Order as the Maha-Sakara-Pinda. Point 3 is the Siva-Jiva identity. Point 4 is the doctrine of Pinda, the body as a temple of Siva-Sakti. Point 5 is Samadhi and Samarasya. Point 6 is Yama-Niyama and the Gita-style Yajna of Chapter XIX. Point 7 is the social application. The conclusion is a compressed restatement of the whole system.
Gorakhnath and His Sampradaya
- Banerjea calls Gorakhnath "a veritable Incarnation of the eternal Maha-yogiswara Adinath Siva" and one of the most illustrious exponents of this message. His teachings are "as fresh and as appealing and effective in the present age" as they were "more than a thousand years back."
- He founded the monastic order of all-renouncing Yogis known as the Siddha-Yogi, Natha-Yogi or Avadhuta-Yogi Sampradaya. In the author's time it was one of the most widespread living monastic orders in India, with centres in every province. It has produced Maha-Siddha Yogis "almost in every generation."
- Gorakhnath and many disciples are believed to be immortal in their physical bodies. They are thought to be still living, hidden from worldly view, and to bless sincere seekers and the distressed.
Kaya-siddhi in its place
The possibility of "immortalising and spiritualising the physical body," making it invulnerable to natural forces through esoteric yogic processes, is a special teaching of the Siddha-Yogi school, called Kaya-siddhi. "But they never speak of it as the highest ideal of the life of a Yogi."
What they valued more were the universal principles of Yoga. These can be practised by anyone, whatever their philosophy, creed, country or community, whether householder or sannyasin, in city, village, hill or forest. Gorakhnath initiated aspirants "from all classes of people irrespective of their social strata or religious creeds."
This is an essential corrective for modern readers. Popular images of the Naths focus on miracles, immortality and extreme hatha practices. Banerjea insists that the Nath ideal is Samarasya, and that Kaya-siddhi is a by-product and a demonstration of latent power, never the goal. The same order of priorities appears in the Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha in the Appendix, where the Avadhuta is defined by inner states rather than powers.
The Siva-Sakti cult and Yoga-Vidya
Gorakhnath's followers are popularly known as expert teachers of esoteric yoga and as powerful preachers of the Siva-Sakti cult. But "his conception of Yoga... is most universal and perfectly spiritual and his philosophy of Siva-Sakti is absolutely non-dogmatic and thoroughly rational." Yoga-Vidya and the Siva-Sakti cult "represent the whole spiritual message of the heart of Humanity." This is the Vidya known as Adhyatma-Vidya, Brahma-Vidya, Para-Vidya, Atma-Vidya and Nihsreyasa-Vidya, the knowledge that leads to:
- self-fulfilment, freedom, peace and bliss in individual life;
- unity, liberty, happiness and the reign of love and mutual service among people;
- right relations between person and person, person and nature, and person and all creatures.
Samarasa-karana: The Definition of Yoga
Gorakhnath "placed before mankind the ideal of Yoga as the end as well as the means in human life." His definition of Yoga is Samarasa-karana, "superficially translated as perfect assimilation."
What it means:
- All objects of inner and outer experience, all the changing diversities of life and world, are to be "thoroughly transformed in our experience into the unity of the spiritual substance of our essential being by the power of our enlightened spiritual consciousness."
- We then "realise and enjoy the play of Unity in all diversities, the play of Spirit in matter, the play of the Changeless in all changes, the play of the Transcendent One in all the phenomena of the world."
- It is not mere adjustment of ourselves to the world, nor of the world to ourselves. It is "perfect assimilation of the world within ourselves," and so freedom from slavery to the world's forces and the sorrows of that slavery.
- "The Yogi sees himself in the world and the world within himself, and thus perfect love and friendliness is established between a yogi and the world, between man and nature."
| Approach to the world | What it does | Banerjea's verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Adjusting self to world | Conformity, coping | Not Yoga; still bound |
| Adjusting world to self | Domination, conquest | Not Yoga; the root of sorrow |
| Escaping the world | Withdrawal, denial | Partial; Gorakhnath does not call the world illusion |
| Assimilating the world within | Samarasa-karana: seeing all as the play of one's own spiritual essence | Yoga as end and means |
The Ultimate Truth Restated
Gorakhnath calls the Ultimate Truth Sama-Tattwa, Para-Tattwa, Para-Samvit, Para-Brahma, Parama-Pada, Parama-Sunya or Para-Siva. It is "the Nameless and Formless and Subject-Objectless Perfect Unity of Existence and Experience, free from all Contradiction and Relativity, all Qualification and Limitation and Negation." By His Nija-Sakti, His infinite eternal dynamic aspect, the same Sama-Tattwa (Sarva-Tattwatita-Tattwa, the Reality beyond all realities) eternally and freely manifests in all Names and Forms and all dualities. He harmonises and unifies them all "in His perfectly calm and tranquil all-comprehending all-unifying Self-Consciousness."
No controversy with any school
Gorakhnath "does not enter into any controversy with any philosophical school or any religious community; he assimilates all views with his yogic insight." Some advocate non-dualism and some dualism. Different schools defend different vadas by logic, try to demolish others "in a partisan spirit," and so "fail to realise the Sama-Tattwa which is above any conflict among Adwaita and Dwaita and other intellectual isms and which assimilates as well as transcends them all."
- Every intellectual concept of the Ultimate necessarily negates rival concepts, so it is inadequate, though it may be "a more or less reasonable approach."
- The Truth is realisable in the Ultimate Experience attained through Yoga, in which "all isms will vanish and absolute assimilation (Samarasya) will be established."
- So seekers should not divide into groups by belief and accentuate difference (bheda and vaishamya). They should emphasise the common spiritual principles in all sound approaches, and practise Samarasa-karana in knowledge, action and feeling at every stage of life.
The opening verses of the Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha make the same point (see the Appendix): "Some desire Advaita, others desire Dvaita; they do not know the Sama-Tattwa, beyond both Dvaita and Advaita."
Samarasya in Every Sphere
Samarasya is "the sweetest and most perfect adjustment and harmony and unification in our entire life and experience." It has practical importance at every stage:
- in physical, psychical, intellectual, moral and religious life;
- in domestic and social life;
- in relations to fellow humans, to all creatures and to the whole world.
Whatever diversities surround us, we must "experience and enjoy unity and beauty in them." This is done by regulating and enlightening the instruments of action, knowledge and feeling, by seeing all as "beautifully interrelated self-expressions of One Dynamic Saccidananda," by keeping inner equanimity, by behaving with "the utmost cordiality and love," and by playing our parts joyfully, knowing that "we and they all belong to the Cosmic Body of One Universal Soul."
Self-control and power over nature
To realise Samarasa, body, senses, vital forces and mental functions must be controlled and systematised, the intellect refined, and consciousness raised. The Yogi school "asserts and practically demonstrates" that a person has the capacity for perfect control over their own nature and over outer nature, and that self-control is the surest route to mastering outer forces. Will-power developed through self-control "has practically no limit."
Yet there is a paradox. The perfected yogi becomes so calm, harmonised and "attuned to the life of Cosmic Nature" that he "seldom finds any occasion for exercising his personal will for bringing about any revolutionary change in this world-order." The reason: "the human individuality and the cosmic process are evolved from and regulated by the same Supreme Power of the same Supreme Spirit."
This answers a natural question: if yogis have such powers, why don't they reshape the world? Banerjea's answer is that the power and the motive to use it mature in opposite directions. The more power one gains through Samarasya, the less one feels the world as something alien that needs forcing. Power grows from self-mastery, and self-mastery dissolves the egoistic will that would misuse it.
Yoga as a Universal Discipline
The Yoga system, "as old as the spiritual culture of Bharatavarsha" and widely popularised by Gorakhnath, "is not conditioned by any metaphysical theory or any particular religious belief or creed." It is:
- compatible with every philosophical and religious system;
- open to all who seek fulfilment, peace and harmony;
- "the most scientific and comprehensive method of self-discipline" for mastery over body, senses, vital functions, mental tendencies and outer nature, and for purifying and universalising consciousness up to absolute Samarasya;
- never antiquated in any modern circumstances;
- suitable for the man of action (Karma-marga), the emotional temperament (Bhakti-marga) and the philosophical temperament (Jnana-marga), strengthening each on the path they choose.
The Eight Limbs, as Gorakhnath Reshaped Them
Banerjea presents the Ashtanga in four pairs.
First pair: Yama and Niyama
These are universal ethical principles for regulating character and conduct. Gorakhnath's school formulated ten Yamas and ten Niyamas (listed in full in the Appendix), binding on every aspirant of any sect, society, country or age. Their fruits are immense moral power and will, mastery of passions, calm of body and mind, noble relations with all beings, and a liberalised outlook. When they become habitual, a person gains "extraordinary personal magnetism" and "the world becomes a land of beauty and harmony to him."
Second pair: Asana and Pranayama
These steady the body, subdue its habitual restlessness and harmonise the vital functions through regulated breathing. They are needed by all cultured people and all aspirants. Gorakhnath's school "immensely developed and elaborated" these limbs with Mudra, Bandha, Vedha and other practices. Through them all bodily and vital functions can be brought under rational will, and one can master the physiological organism and gain extraordinary powers.
- These esoteric processes "have of course to be practised under competent guidance" from an adept Guru.
- But "nobody is debarred from practising them by reason of his birth or social strata or religious creed or nationality."
- These developments earned recognition as a distinct branch called Hatha-Yoga, and the school became "the Hatha-Yogi school par excellence."
On powers: the enlightened members "never attach primary importance to the miraculous or supernatural" powers. Such powers show what latent capacities lie asleep in human nature, "but they are not meant for display." They are "only partial manifestations of One Supreme Divine Power." The purpose of Hatha-Yoga is twofold: to make a person aware of their hidden infinite potency, and to enlighten their whole being for realising Siva, with Maha-Sakti immanent in Him, as their own soul and the Soul of the universe.
Third pair: Pratyahara and Dharana
These check the mind's restlessness and outward movement and concentrate it on a chosen object or ideal, so that it is purified and "opened to the self-revelation of the Truth." Attention is to be withdrawn:
| From | To |
|---|---|
| finite transitory diversities of sense-experience | relatively infinite, permanent unities behind them |
| lower planes of experience | higher planes |
| petty and gross interests of outer life | wider and subtler interests of inner life |
| hedonistic and materialistic values | moral and spiritual values |
| egoistic desires and ambitions | the Universal Good and self-fulfilment in Samarasya |
The form of Pratyahara-Dharana that Gorakhnath emphasised most: see "one infinite and eternal self-shining and self-revealing Atma" in all objects, withdraw attention from their differentiating outer features, and concentrate on the one Atma revealed in and through them. The Appendix verses give the method sense by sense: whatever the eye sees, pure or impure, the yogi withdraws by knowing it as the Self, and likewise for ear, tongue, nose and skin.
This is a distinctive definition of Pratyahara. In Patanjali's classical sense, Pratyahara is the senses withdrawing from their objects, like a tortoise drawing in its limbs. Gorakhnath keeps that image (it appears in the Appendix), but adds a positive, assimilative version: the senses stay open, and their objects are recognised as Atma. Withdrawal happens through recognition, not shutting out. It is Samarasa-karana applied to perception.
Fourth pair: Dhyana and Samadhi
Dhyana is "a continuous stream of calm and tranquil consciousness with only one objective content." Samadhi is "absolute unity of consciousness, in which the container and the content, the subject and the object, are completely identified," in which even the process of consciousness stops and consciousness reveals itself as One Infinite Eternal Transcendent Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.
- Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and even Samadhi may be practised on any plane and on the basis of any metaphysics or creed. They always develop inner power, temporary self-mastery and elevation.
- Any object, concept or ideal can serve. Fix on it, lengthen and deepen the concentration until consciousness "may flow on in a still peaceful luminous current" and is identified with its content. "Such identification is possible, because in every plane the consciousness and its content are of the same spiritual essence."
- The mind naturally falls back into fickleness, so the effort "has to be repeated strenuously again and again."
The whole system
"A Yogi with the highest spiritual aspiration is not to be satisfied with the attainment of Samadhi in any but the highest spiritual plane of transcendent experience or with the acquisition of supernatural powers in the lower planes. The Yoga system has to be taken as a whole." This requires:
- purification of consciousness through Yama, Niyama and the other subsidiary limbs;
- a refined idea of the supreme Ideal, formed by studying scripture and the experiences of the great Mahayogis, Mahajnanis and Mahabhaktas;
- inspiration and guidance from personal contact with saints "having no sectarian bias or prejudice";
- Samarasya as the guiding Ideal, so that Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi lead consciousness to transcend all limits and be "permanently established in the state of Samarasya."
The Journey Yoga Offers
Yoga-Sadhana as Gorakhnath popularised it is "a form of universal physical and psychical and moral and spiritual self-discipline." It seeks to lead humanity:
| From | To |
|---|---|
| darkness | pure Light |
| ignorance | self-shining Truth |
| struggle for existence | all-comprehensive Existence |
| limited egoistic consciousness | infinite Universal Self-Consciousness |
| cares, fears and death | calmness, fearlessness and immortality |
| differences, rivalries and hostilities | unity, harmony and love |
It shows each person the path of identifying with humanity and the universe, "vividly experiencing the mankind and the whole cosmic system within himself." The whole universe is "one magnificent and beautiful spiritual Entity, being the phenomenal Cosmic Body of One Supreme Spirit (SIVA), with Whom his own individual Soul is identical."
Siva and Sakti: A Universal Religion
Through popular devotional worship of Siva and Sakti, Gorakhnath brought the Yoga ideal before all classes of people.
- "Siva is Samarasa-Tattwa personified." He is eternal Maha-Yogiswara. He transcends the world and enjoys the bliss of non-dual existence, and also eternally reveals and enjoys His glories as diverse phenomena through His immanent Sakti.
- His Sakti is His eternally wedded Consort, in constant union with Him, serving His delight in endless ways, though He is "totally indifferent to and disinterested in all Her affairs." She is the eternally active Mother and He the eternally indifferent Father of all beings, never separate.
- So Siva is at once "an eternal Sannyasi and Mahayogi as well as an eternal Householder." This ideal Sannyasi-Yogi in an ideal worldly life is offered as the supreme Deity, and the worshipper seeks His inspiration for progress on the path of Samarasya.
The most accessible God
Though God of Gods, Siva is "the most cosmopolitan and most easily accessible and lovable Deity."
- Men, women and children, Brahmanas, Sudras and Chandalas, Devas, Asuras and Rakshasas all have equal and unrestricted access to Him.
- "There is no untouchability or unapproachability in the domain of Siva. He is the indwelling Soul in every individual body and in every body it is His own Sakti that is manifested... How can any body be untouchable to Him or He unapproachable to any body?"
- No correctly pronounced Sanskrit mantra, no Brahmana priest and no elaborate ritual is needed. "A sincere and devoted heart with purity of character is enough to please Him."
- His names (Viswa-Natha, Loka-Natha, Maheswara, Maha-Deva, Bhuta-Natha, Preta-Natha, Pasu-Pati) express both supreme lordship and compassion for every creature in life and death.
- The enlightened yogi meditates on His transcendence and seeks Sivahood. The common person worships Him as the loving, easily pleased Divine Father and prays for relief.
- His symbols are the simplest: "A burning lamp, a lump of clay, a piece of stone, etc. may be enough, for He shines as the Soul of everything." He may also be worshipped in artistic images.
The book's final claim: Gorakhnath and the enlightened Yogis of his school "have placed before mankind a pattern of Universal Religion which can solve all the problems of religious differences in the modern world," inspiring humanity with Samarasya amid outward differences. "The yogic ideal of life is the panacea for all the evils of the world and this is the message of Bharatavarsha to mankind in all ages and particularly in the present age."
The last pages join the two faces of the Nath tradition: the austere metaphysics and hatha discipline of the yogi, and the warm, open, casteless devotion of the villager at a Siva shrine. In Banerjea's reading these are one thing. The Siva the villager approaches with a lamp and a pure heart is the same Sama-Tattwa the yogi realises in Samadhi. Siva-Sakti worship is Samarasya made visible.
Key Terms
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Samarasa-karana | The process of perfect assimilation of all diversity into spiritual unity: Gorakhnath's definition of Yoga |
| Samarasya | The state of perfect harmony, unity and "equal taste" in all experience |
| Sama-Tattwa | The Ultimate Reality beyond all opposition |
| Sarva-Tattwatita-Tattwa | The Reality beyond all categories |
| Nija-Sakti | The Absolute's own inherent Power |
| Kaya-siddhi | Perfection and immortalisation of the body |
| Siddha-, Natha-, Avadhuta-Yogi Sampradaya | Names of the order Gorakhnath founded |
| Adhyatma-, Brahma-, Para-, Atma-, Nihsreyasa-Vidya | Names of the supreme spiritual knowledge |
| Mudra, Bandha, Vedha | Seals, locks and piercings: advanced hatha techniques |
| Bheda, Vaishamya | Difference, inequality |
| Bhuta-Natha, Pasu-Pati | Lord of beings/spirits, Lord of creatures |
Reflection and Practice
- Seven messages. Read the seven-point summary slowly. Which one is most alive in your life, and which is most absent?
- Assimilation, not adjustment. Pick a situation you are struggling with. Notice whether you are trying to adjust yourself to it, adjust it to yourself, or escape it. Then try the fourth way: hold it within awareness as part of your own larger being, without resistance.
- Assimilative Pratyahara. For ten minutes, let each sight, sound and sensation arise, and greet each with the recognition "this too is the Self," without reaching for it or pushing it away.
- One-pointed stream. Choose one object or ideal for Dharana. Each time the mind drifts, return without self-reproach. Note the gradual change from effort to a "still peaceful luminous current."
- Simplest worship. Light a lamp and sit before it as a symbol of the self-shining Light in all. Let this be the whole ritual.
- Powers in their place. If you notice any unusual capacity growing in your practice (calm, intuition, energy), offer it back to the One Power rather than putting it on display or holding on to it.
Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha: A Guided Reading (pp. 333–344)
What This Appendix Is
The Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha ("Collection of the Sayings of Goraksha") is a Sanskrit anthology of about 172 verses attributed to Gorakhnath and his tradition. It appears at the end of the book in Devanagari, without translation. It works as the scriptural source-book behind Banerjea's exposition. Almost every doctrine in the twenty chapters (Dwaita-Adwaita-Vilakshana, the inseparability of Siva and Sakti, the five Saktis, the Pinda doctrine, Ajapa, the cakras, Kundalini, Nada, Samadhi and the Avadhuta) is stated here in compressed verse.
The anthology is arranged under 26 headings. Below, each section gets its Sanskrit title, the verse range, a faithful paraphrase of the content, and a note linking it to the chapters of the book. Verse numbers follow the printed edition. The paraphrases are close renderings for study, not a word-for-word scholarly translation. Readers who know Sanskrit should consult the printed text.
Map of the Anthology
| No. | Section (Sanskrit) | English | Verses | Book chapters |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dvaitadvaita-vilakshanam Parama-tattvam | The Supreme Reality beyond dualism and non-dualism | 1–4 | Intro, Ch. IV, XIX, XX |
| 2 | Abhinna-Siva-Sakti-tattvam | Siva and Sakti are not different | 5–11 | Ch. V–VII |
| 3 | Sakti-parinama-kramena Samashti-Vyashti-pindotpattih | Origin of cosmic and individual bodies through the unfolding of Sakti | 12–16 | Ch. VIII–XII |
| 4 | Para Samvit | Supreme Consciousness | 17 | Ch. VI |
| 5 | Sarvatmakam Atma-tattvam | The all-pervading Self | 18–23 | Ch. XV–XVI |
| 6 | Jivatma-Paramatmanor Abhedah | Non-difference of individual and Supreme Self | 24–25 | Ch. XVI |
| 7 | Atma-jnanan Muktih | Liberation through Self-knowledge | 26–29 | Ch. XVI–XVII |
| 8 | Omkara-rahasyam | The secret of Om | 30–35 | Ch. XIII–XIV |
| 9 | Deha-rahasyam | The secret of the body | 36–41 | Ch. XIII–XIV |
| 10 | Vyashti-pinde Samashti-pinda-darsanam | Seeing the cosmos in the individual body | 42–47 | Ch. XV |
| 11 | Swasa-rahasyam (Ajapa) | The secret of the breath | 48–51 | Ch. XIII, XVII |
| 12 | Parama-padasya Swasamvedyata | The Supreme State is known only by itself | 52–53 | Ch. IV, XVII |
| 13 | Samadhi-swarupam | The nature of Samadhi | 54–61 | Ch. XVII |
| 14 | Shadanga-Yogah | Six-limbed Yoga | 62–77 | Ch. XVII, XX |
| 15 | Dasavidha Yamas and Niyamas | Ten restraints and ten observances | 78–85 | Ch. XVII, XX |
| 16 | Deha-madhyastha Cakrani | The cakras within the body | 86–92 | Ch. XIII–XIV |
| 17 | Deha-madhye Atma-dhyana-sthanani | Places for meditating on the Self within the body | 93–101 | Ch. XIII–XIV |
| 18 | Upadhi and Tattwa | Limiting adjunct and Reality | 102–104 | Ch. XVI |
| 19 | Kundalini-prabodhah | Awakening of Kundalini | 105–113 | Ch. XIII |
| 20 | Dasavidha Mudrah | The ten Mudras | 114–119 | Ch. XIII |
| 21 | Sambhavi Mudra | The Sambhavi Seal | 120–123 | Ch. XVII |
| 22 | Pranayama-bhedah | Kinds of Pranayama | 124–131 | Ch. XIII, XX |
| 23 | Mano-layah | Dissolution of mind | 132–140 | Ch. XVII |
| 24 | Nadanusandhanam | Following the inner sound | 141–149 | Ch. XIII–XIV |
| 25 | Avadhuta-yogi-lakshanani | Marks of the Avadhuta Yogi | 150–164 | Ch. XVII |
| 26 | Sadguru-mahima | Glory of the true Guru | 165–172 | Ch. XVII, XX |
The movement of the anthology mirrors the book. It begins with metaphysics (the Absolute, Siva-Sakti, the five Saktis and the Pindas), moves into the Self and its identity with Siva, then the body as microcosm and the breath, then the practical yoga (limbs, ethics, cakras, Kundalini, mudras, pranayama, laya, nada), and ends with the perfected person (the Avadhuta) and the Guru who makes it possible.
1. The Supreme Reality Beyond Dualism and Non-dualism (vv. 1–4)
- v.1: "Some desire Advaita (non-duality), others desire Dvaita (duality). They do not know the Sama-Tattwa (the Reality of perfect equality), which is beyond both Dvaita and Advaita (Dvaitadvaita-vilakshana)."
- v.2: If God is all-pervading, steady, full and without break, then "Oh, what Maya, what great delusion is this imagining of Dvaita and Advaita!"
- v.3: Free from being and non-being, free from origination and destruction, beyond all mental constructions (sarva-sankalpa-atita): that is called Para-Brahma.
- v.4: Free from reasons and illustrations (hetu-drishtanta), beyond the reach of mind and intellect: the knowers of Reality call it Vyoma-Vijnanam-Anandam (sky-like, consciousness, bliss).
This is the source of the label Dwaita-Adwaita-Vilakshana that Banerjea uses in Chapters XIX and XX. Notice the irony of verse 2. In Sankara, Maya is the cosmic illusion. Here the "great delusion" is the intellectual quarrel between dualists and non-dualists. Gorakhnath turns the charge of illusion back on the philosophers.
2. Siva and Sakti Are Not Different (vv. 5–11)
- v.5: Sakti is within Siva, and Siva within Sakti. One should know no difference between them, as between the moon and moonlight.
- v.6: Siva without Sakti cannot do anything. United with His own Sakti, He becomes the maker of all.
- v.7: When the Power is dormant (alupta-sakti) and immanent, it is the shining cause of all, and again by His own nature He alone remains as One.
- v.8: From Akula (Siva, the undifferentiated) comes Kula (Sakti, the differentiated), and Kula longs for Akula. As water and its bubbles, the Supreme Siva is one in essence.
- v.9: When Sakti expands, Sakti appears; when She contracts, Siva appears. He who brings about their union is the king of Siddha-yogis.
- v.10: As the Power is seen in its thousands of forms gathered into one, Siva becomes His own transcendent, perfectly free (svacchanda) Self.
- v.11: He Himself, to know and to make the world, turns outward. The nature of Sakti is described as the sweet, full delight in the triangle of the heart.
These verses are the textual basis of Chapters V–VII. The moon-moonlight image shows that Sakti is not a second thing. Akula and Kula show that the transcendent and the manifest long for each other. Verse 9 (which comes back almost unchanged as v.163 in the Avadhuta section) gives the dynamic. Expansion (prasara) is the world appearing as Sakti, contraction (sankoca) is the return to Siva, and the Siddha-Yogi is the one who unites them in himself.
3. The Origin of Cosmic and Individual Bodies (vv. 12–16)
- v.12: In the true reflection there is no origination of the cosmic and individual Pindas. Still, for the enlightenment of people, I speak according to the right tradition.
- v.13: When there was no maker, no cause, no Kula or Akula, there was the Unmanifest Para-Brahma, the Anama (Nameless).
- v.14: Nija, Para, Apara, Sukshma and Kundalini: these are the five. From the unfolding of this wheel of Saktis arises the Pinda, and Para-Siva.
- v.15: Creation is called Kundalini, and the divine Power is twofold. One form is gross, forming the worlds.
- v.16: The other is all-pervading and subtle, free from the distinction of pervader and pervaded. People deluded by belief do not know this distinction.
This is the compressed source of Chapters VIII–XII: the Anama, the five Saktis (Nija, Para, Apara, Sukshma, Kundalini) and the Pindas. Verse 12 is philosophically important. It openly says that the account of creation is a teaching concession. From the highest standpoint nothing originates; the cosmogony is a ladder, not a final description.
4. Supreme Consciousness (v. 17)
- v.17: In every being, in every object, Samvit (Consciousness) shines as the author of all forms. In every principle, Consciousness alone shines as the supreme glory. In every state Consciousness flows in many waves; in every appearance it is skilled in loving worship.
Para-Samvit, the subject of Chapter VI, is shown here as both the ground and the content of every experience, the One Light shining in every form.
5. The All-pervading Self (vv. 18–23)
- v.18: The Atma is the root of the universe. Its proof is itself; no other proof is needed. Who that is immersed in the Ganga can feel thirst?
- vv.19–23: Whatever the eye sees, pleasant or unpleasant, the knower of yoga withdraws (pratyahara) by knowing it as the Self. The same is said of whatever the ears hear, the tongue tastes, the nose smells and the skin touches, rough or soft.
This is the assimilative Pratyahara Banerjea highlights in Chapter XX. The senses are not shut down. Their objects are recognised as Atma. The Ganga image makes the point: someone standing in the river does not look for water. The Self needs no proof, because it is that by which everything is proved.
6. Non-difference of Jivatma and Paramatma (vv. 24–25)
- v.24: Reflecting on the Atma, the Paramatma and the Jivatma, the realisation of the oneness of the three is called Adesa.
- v.25: Adesa means the true teaching that removes all duality. It tells the yogi that his Self is the Lord.
"Adesh" is still the traditional greeting among Nath yogis. These verses explain its meaning: each greeting is a reminder that the individual self, the Supreme Self and the Self as such are one.
7. Liberation Through Self-knowledge (vv. 26–29)
- v.26: Meditating on the Atma as stainless, sky-like, all-pervading and appearing like the water of a mirage, the yogi attains liberation.
- v.27: When all limiting adjuncts are destroyed by constant practice, the Self shines by itself, the liberator, through the breaking of the Power's bonds.
- v.28: Free of all dust, more vast than the great sky, the Self is known as Reality by yogis through contemplating it as all in all.
- v.29: This is the Brahman-light, Siva, the supreme Light. Meditating on and knowing it, one is liberated. So says Goraksha.
8. The Secret of Om (vv. 30–35)
- v.30: Bhur, Bhuvah and Svah, these three worlds, and moon, sun and fire as deities, are established in That: that supreme Light is Om.
- v.31: The three times, three Vedas, three worlds and three tones are established there.
- v.32: Sattva, Rajas and Tamas, and Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara: all the gods are established there.
- v.33: Kriya, Iccha and Jnana, and Brahmi, Raudri and Vaishnavi, the threefold Sakti, is established there.
- v.34: Pure or impure, whoever repeats it always is not touched by sin, as a lotus leaf by water.
- v.35: Sitting in the lotus posture, body and head held straight, gaze on the nose-tip, alone, one should repeat the imperishable Omkara.
Om contains every triad: worlds, times, Vedas, gunas, gods and powers (action, will, knowledge). The treatment of Pranava in Chapters XIII–XIV as the sound-form of Siva-Sakti rests on these verses. Verse 35 gives a complete posture instruction.
9. The Secret of the Body (vv. 36–41)
- v.36: Bindu is the root of the body. Established in the head, the nerves sustain the bodies from the soles of the feet to the crown.
- v.37: Bindu is of two kinds, white and red. The white is called Sukra (semen), the red is Rajas.
- v.38: Bindu is Siva, Rajas is Sakti. Bindu is the moon, Rajas the sun. From the union of the two the supreme state is attained.
- v.39: Sukra joined with the moon, Rajas with the sun: one who knows their unity in Samarasa is the knower of Yoga.
- v.40: As long as Bindu remains in the body, where is the fear of death? Death comes from the fall of Bindu; life from holding Bindu.
- v.41: The house of one pillar and nine doors with five presiding deities (the body). Those who do not know their own body, or the six cakras, sixteen adharas, three lakshyas and five vyomas within it, how can they attain Siddhi?
This is the physiology of Kaya-sadhana. The male-female, moon-sun and Siva-Sakti polarities are found inside the one body, and their union (Samarasa) is the goal. Verse 41 lists the full Nath map of the subtle body (6 cakras, 16 adharas, 3 lakshyas, 5 vyomas) that Chapters XIII–XIV discuss.
10. Seeing the Cosmos in the Individual Body (vv. 42–47)
- v.42: Whoever knows the moving and unmoving world within the Pinda is a yogi. Pinda-samvitti, awareness of the body as cosmos, arises from this, as Siva-samvitti does.
- vv.43–46: In this body are Mount Meru with its seven islands, the rivers, oceans, mountains and guardian deities, the rishis and munis, the stars and planets, the holy places, pithas and deities, the sun and moon that create and dissolve, sky, wind, fire, water and earth. All beings of the three worlds are in the body, and all activity revolves around its Meru (the spine).
- v.47: One who knows all this is a yogi; there is no doubt.
This is the doctrine "yatha pinde tatha brahmande" (as in the body, so in the cosmos), which underlies Chapter XV. The pilgrimage, astronomy and geography of the outer world are all located within. That is why the Nath yogi can practise without depending on outer temples.
11. The Secret of the Breath: Ajapa (vv. 48–51)
- v.48: The breath goes out with the sound "ha" and comes in again with "sa". The jiva always repeats the mantra "Hamsa, Hamsa."
- v.49: Twenty-one thousand six hundred times in a day and night the jiva repeats this mantra.
- v.50: This is called the Ajapa Gayatri, giver of liberation to yogis. By merely resolving on it, a person is freed of sins.
- v.51: There is no knowledge equal to it, no japa equal to it. Nothing like it has been or will be.
Ajapa (the "unrepeated" mantra) is the natural mantra of breathing, repeated without effort about 21,600 times a day (15 breaths per minute). Practice consists only in becoming aware of what is already happening. That is why it is open to everyone and the simplest of all Nath practices.
12. The Supreme State Is Self-revealed (vv. 52–53)
- v.52: Where intellect does not reach and there is not even the least fragment of thought, what can speech, which argues for and against, do?
- v.53: How can even the Guru properly speak of what is beyond speech? So the supreme state is declared to be Siva alone, svasamvedya, known only by itself.
13. The Nature of Samadhi (vv. 54–61)
- v.54: The sameness of the two, the individual and the Supreme Self, in which all mental constructions have vanished, is called Samadhi.
- v.55: As salt and water become one when united, so the oneness of Self and mind is called Samadhi.
- v.56: When the jiva and the mind dissolve, that very Samarasatva is called Samadhi.
- vv.57–58: When the senses and the mind stop their activity, when prana and mind rise upward, the yogi united in Samadhi knows neither cold nor heat, neither sorrow nor pleasure, neither honour nor dishonour.
- v.59: The yogi in Samadhi cannot be harmed by any weapon and is beyond the reach of all mantras.
- v.60: Into the support-less, base-less, form-less, flawless Para-Brahma the yogi dissolves by the method of Yoga.
- v.61: As ghee poured into ghee becomes ghee, and milk into milk becomes milk, so the yogi becomes the Reality.
The salt-water, ghee and milk images give the precise meaning of Samarasa: union as sameness of taste, not as one thing swallowing another. Verse 56 says it directly: Samadhi is Samarasatva.
14. Six-limbed Yoga (vv. 62–77)
- v.62: Asana, Prana-samrodha (breath control), Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana and Samadhi: these are called the six limbs of Yoga.
Note that the Goraksha tradition counts six limbs, leaving Yama and Niyama as the ground of the whole rather than separate steps. Banerjea presents eight in Chapter XX for general readers.
| Limb | Fruit (vv. 63–64) |
|---|---|
| Asana | destroys disease |
| Pranayama | destroys sin |
| Pratyahara | frees the mind from disturbance |
| Dharana | steadiness of mind |
| Dhyana | wondrous consciousness |
| Samadhi | liberation, beyond good and bad karma |
- v.65: There are as many asanas as there are kinds of living beings; Maheswara alone knows them all.
- v.66: Two are best: Siddhasana and Kamalasana (Padmasana).
- v.67: Seated in Padmasana, bowing to Guru Siva, gaze on the nose-tip, alone, one should practise Pranayama.
- v.68: Drawing the Apana upward and directing the Prana down, raising it by Sakti, one is freed from all sins.
- v.69: Pranayama is the great dharma of yogis, the giver of liberation; it burns away faults day and night.
- vv.70–71: Properly done Pranayama destroys all disease; improper practice produces all disease. Release, fill and hold the breath correctly and one attains Siddhi.
- vv.72–73: Withdrawing the eyes and other senses from their objects is Pratyahara, as a tortoise draws its limbs into its body.
- vv.74–75: Steady in posture, with Pranayama and Pratyahara, one should practise Dharana in the heart on the five elements one by one. Fixity of mind is Dharana.
- v.76: When thought in the yogi's heart becomes motionless on the Reality, that is called Dhyana.
- v.77: Dhyana is twofold, Saguna and Nirguna. Saguna uses distinctions of colour and form; Nirguna is pure and absolute.
The warning in v.70 is the textual root of Banerjea's repeated insistence on a qualified Guru. Pranayama done wrongly is said to cause disease.
15. Ten Yamas and Ten Niyamas (vv. 78–85)
| Ten Yamas (v.78) | Ten Niyamas (v.79) |
|---|---|
| Ahimsa: non-harming | Tapas: austerity |
| Satya: truthfulness | Santosha: contentment |
| Asteya: non-stealing | Astikya: faith |
| Brahmacarya: continence | Dana: giving |
| Daya: compassion | Isvara-pujana: worship of God |
| Arjava: straightforwardness | Siddhanta-sravana: hearing the true doctrine |
| Kshama: forgiveness | Hri: modesty |
| Dhriti: steadfastness | Mati: discerning intellect |
| Mitahara: moderate diet | Japa: repetition of the sacred word |
| Sauca: purity | Huta: sacrificial offering |
| Six destroyers of Yoga (v.80) | Six bringers of success (v.81) |
|---|---|
| over-eating | enthusiasm (utsaha) |
| over-exertion | boldness / determination (nischaya) |
| idle chatter (prajalpa) | patience (dhairya) |
| rigid clinging to rules (niyamagraha) | knowledge of Reality |
| company of worldly people | firm resolve |
| greed / restlessness (laulya) | giving up worldly company |
- v.82: Mitahara means pleasant, sweet food, leaving a quarter of the stomach empty, eaten as an offering for Siva's pleasure.
- v.83: One who is celibate, moderate in diet, renouncing and devoted to Yoga becomes a Siddha after a year; no doubt about it.
- v.84: He who knows the One Truth, unborn and eternal, and speaks of it is called truthful.
- v.85: He who knows Siva as pure, peaceful, formless, supreme bliss, ever-risen, becomes a pure Saiva.
The Nath lists add Daya, Arjava, Kshama, Dhriti and Mitahara to Patanjali's five Yamas, and greatly widen the Niyamas. Listing "niyamagraha" (rigid attachment to rules) among the destroyers of yoga is telling. Discipline that hardens into compulsive rule-following undermines yoga as much as indulgence does. Verses 84–85 redefine moral words spiritually: "truthful" means one who knows the Truth, and "Saiva" means one who knows Siva.
16. The Cakras (vv. 86–92)
| Cakra | Location | Petals (v.88–89) |
|---|---|---|
| Adhara (Muladhara) | base | 4 |
| Swadhishthana | genitals | 6 |
| Manipura | navel | 10 |
| Anahata | heart | 12 |
| Visuddha | throat | 16 |
| Ajna | between the brows | 2 |
| Mahacakra (Sahasrara) | Brahmarandhra, crown | 1,000 |
- v.90: Between Adhara and Swadhishthana is the Yoni-sthana, called Kamarupa.
- v.91: In the Adhara at the anal region is a lotus; in its middle is the Yoni called Kamakhya, worshipped by the Siddhas.
- v.92: In the middle of the Yoni stands the great Linga facing west. One who knows the jewel-like disc in the head is a knower of Yoga.
The great Sakti-pitha Kamakhya (Kamarupa in Assam) is placed inside the body at the base cakra, with the Linga within the Yoni. This is the Siva-Sakti union at the root of the subtle body, an inner equivalent of the outer sacred geography described in section 10.
17. Places for Meditating on the Self in the Body (vv. 93–101)
Each verse repeats a refrain, "nasagra-drishtir atmanam dhyatva" (gazing at the nose-tip and meditating on the Self), and names a fruit:
| Place | Visualisation | Fruit |
|---|---|---|
| Adhara | golden, four fingers in size | happiness |
| Swadhishthana | auspicious, jewel-like | becomes like Brahma |
| Manipura | like the rising sun | shakes the world |
| Anahata | twelve-petalled great lotus | becomes immortal |
| Visuddha | steady, like a lamp | freed from sorrow |
| Lambika (palate) | full of nectar, the moon-disc | freed from death |
| Bhru-madhya (between brows) | blue-like Paramesvara | masters prana, attains Yoga |
| Brahmarandhra (Sahasrara) | the great thousand-petalled lotus | becomes a Siddha |
- v.101: Anus, genitals, navel, heart, throat, ghantika (uvula), lambika (palate), between the brows and the sky-aperture (nabho-bila): these are the nine meditation-places of yogis.
18. Upadhi and Tattwa (vv. 102–104)
- v.102: Upadhi (limiting adjunct) is said to be colour and the like; Tattwa (Reality) is the Atma.
- v.103: Upadhi is one thing and knowledge of Reality another. Just as a crystal looks coloured by the colour of something beside it,
- v.104: so when all upadhis are destroyed by constant practice, the Self shines by itself.
The crystal image (sphatika) is shared with Advaita, but here it supports the Nath teaching that the Jiva is Siva covered by conditioning (Chapter XVI), not that the world is unreal.
19. Awakening of Kundalini (vv. 105–113)
- v.105: Kutilangi (the coiled one), Kundalini, Bhujangi (the serpent), Sakti, Isvari, Kundali and Arundhati are her synonyms.
- v.106: The path by which one goes to the stainless seat of Brahman: the Paramesvari sleeps there, covering that door with her mouth.
- v.107: Above the Kanda (bulb) sleeps the Kundali Sakti: for liberation of yogis, for bondage of the ignorant. One who knows her knows Yoga.
- v.108: Kundali is coiled like a serpent. One who sets that Sakti in motion is liberated; no doubt.
- vv.109–110: Between the Ganga and the Yamuna sits a young widow, an ascetic. One should seize her forcibly; that is the supreme state of Vishnu. Ida is the holy Ganga, Pingala the Yamuna, and between them the young widow is the Kundali.
- v.111: Seizing the serpent by the tail, one should awaken her. Leaving her sleep, that Sakti rises upward by force.
- v.112: When the sleeping Kundali awakens by the Guru's grace, all the lotuses and the knots (granthis) are pierced.
- v.113: Then prana travels the path of the Void (Sunya, the Sushumna). Then the mind is supportless. Then death is cheated.
The "young widow between Ganga and Yamuna" is a classic piece of Nath twilight language (sandhya-bhasha). She is a "widow" because, though she is Siva's Sakti, she sleeps separated from Him at the base. Awakening is her reunion. Verse 112 makes the Guru's grace decisive, which ties back to the final section.
20. The Ten Mudras (vv. 114–119)
| The ten Mudras |
|---|
| Mahamudra, Mahabandha, Mahavedha, Khecari, Uddiyana, Mulabandha, Jalandhara, Viparitakarani, Vajroli, Sakti-calana |
- v.115: These ten mudras destroy old age and death.
- v.116: Taught by Adinatha, they bestow the eight divine powers.
- v.117: Dear to all Siddhas, hard to obtain even for gods, they must be guarded with care like a jewel-casket and told to no one.
- v.118: Mudra (from mud, joy, and ra, giving) is so called because it gives joy to the Jivatma and Paramatma; it is described as the one awareness of both.
- v.119: Gods rejoice and demons flee; therefore it is called Mudra, always the giver of welfare.
The secrecy requirement explains why Banerjea, in Chapters XIII–XIV, discusses these practices in principle without giving technique. The folk etymology in v.118 makes a theological point: a mudra is a seal of union between the individual and Supreme Self, not just a physical technique.
21. Sambhavi Mudra (vv. 120–123)
- v.120: Inner aim, outer gaze free of blinking: this is the Sambhavi Mudra, hidden in the Vedas and Sastras.
- v.121: With the mind turned within and the eyes outward, posture steady and the body balanced, it is also called Dhyana-mudra.
- v.122: The yogi whose mind and prana are dissolved in the inner aim, with steady unmoving gaze, looking outward and below, sees yet does not see.
- v.123: This is Sambhavi, obtained by the Guru's grace. In it shines the Reality beyond both void and non-void (Sunya-asunya-vilakshana): the supreme Sambhava.
Sambhavi Mudra is Samarasya in a single gesture. The eyes stay open to the world while awareness rests in Siva. This is "Jagrat Samadhi" (waking Samadhi), the Nath ideal of Chapter XVII. "Beyond void and non-void" parallels verse 1's "beyond Dvaita and Advaita."
22. Kinds of Pranayama (vv. 124–131)
- v.124: Pranayama is threefold: Recaka (exhalation), Puraka (inhalation) and Kumbhaka (retention). Kumbhaka is twofold: Sahita (with inhalation and exhalation) and Kevala (pure).
- v.125: Until Kevala is mastered, practise Sahita.
- v.126: Holding the breath easily without exhalation or inhalation is Kevala Kumbhaka.
- v.127: When Kevala is perfected, nothing in the three worlds is hard to attain.
- v.128: One able to hold the breath at will by Kevala attains the state of Raja-Yoga.
- v.129: From Kumbhaka Kundalini awakens, the Sushumna becomes unobstructed and Hatha-siddhi arises.
- v.130: Without Hatha there is no Raja-Yoga, and without Raja-Yoga no Hatha. Practise both until fruition.
- v.131: One whose gaze is steady without an object, whose breath is steady without effort, whose mind is steady without support: he is a yogi, a Guru, worthy to be served.
Verse 130 settles the supposed opposition between Hatha and Raja Yoga. They are two halves of one discipline. Verse 131 is one of the most useful definitions of the true teacher in the whole tradition.
23. Dissolution of Mind (vv. 132–140)
- v.132: When the mind is steady, the breath is steady; when the breath is steady, Bindu is steady; from steadiness of Bindu comes steadiness of the whole body.
- v.133: Mind is lord of the senses; breath is lord of the mind; Laya (absorption) is lord of the breath, and Laya depends on Nada.
- v.134: When inhalation and exhalation have ceased and the grasping of objects is destroyed, motionless and changeless, the Laya of yogis triumphs.
- v.135: When all intentions are cut off and all activity has ceased, a Laya arises that is known only to oneself and is beyond speech.
- v.136: Between the brows is the place of Siva; there the mind dissolves. That state is to be known as Turya, where time does not exist.
- v.137: Place the Self in the sky (kha), and the sky in the Self. Make everything sky-like, and think of nothing at all.
- v.138: Do not think of outer things, nor inner ones. Giving up all thought, think of nothing.
- v.139: All this moving and unmoving world is seen by the mind. When the mind reaches Unmani (the no-mind state), duality is no longer perceived.
- v.140: By giving up the knowable, the mind dissolves; with the dissolution of the mind, Kaivalya alone remains.
| Hierarchy of control (v.133) |
|---|
| Senses are governed by Mind |
| Mind is governed by Breath |
| Breath is governed by Laya |
| Laya rests on Nada |
24. Following the Inner Sound (vv. 141–149)
- v.141: Seated in Muktasana, holding the Sambhavi Mudra, the yogi should listen attentively with the right ear to the inner sound.
- v.142: Wherever the mind first clings to a sound, it should become steady there and dissolve along with it.
- v.143: Closing the ears with the hands, the sage hears a sound; he should fix the mind on it until it reaches the steady state.
- v.144: At first many loud sounds are heard; as practice grows, subtler and subtler ones.
| Stage | Sounds heard (vv. 145–146) |
|---|---|
| Beginning | ocean, thunder-cloud, kettle-drum, jharjhara (cymbal) |
| Middle | mardala (drum), conch, bell, kahala (horn) |
| End | small bells, flute, vina, humming of bees |
- v.147: Even while great sounds like clouds and drums are heard, one should attend to the subtler one.
- v.148: The resonance of the Anahata (unstruck) sound is perceived. Within the resonance is the knowable, within the knowable the mind. There the mind dissolves: that is the supreme state of Vishnu.
- v.149: Whatever is heard as sound is Sakti. That in which the sounds end, the formless, is Paramesvara.
Verse 149 states the whole Siva-Sakti doctrine in acoustic terms. Every audible vibration, inner or outer, is Sakti. The silence in which it ends is Siva. Following Nada is following Sakti back to Siva.
25. Marks of the Avadhuta Yogi (vv. 150–164)
This is one of the most beautiful passages in Nath literature. Each outer emblem of the wandering Nath yogi is given an inner meaning, and the refrain is "so'vadhuto'bhidhiyate", "he is called an Avadhuta."
- v.150: One who has cut through the waves of afflictions (klesa) and bonds (pasa), and is free of every state.
- v.151: Steadily seated in the world, free of all mental fabrication.
| Outer emblem | Inner meaning (vv. 151–155) |
|---|---|
| Kaupina (loin-cloth) and begging-bowl (kharpara) | non-attachment and the openness of the sky |
| Paduka (sandals) | awareness of the feet: the steady ground of awareness |
| Mrigatvak (deer-skin seat) | the Anahata, the unstruck sound |
| Seli (sacred thread worn by Naths) | the supreme Samvit |
| Mekhala (girdle) | Nivritti, withdrawal |
| Kantha (patched cloak) | his own essential nature |
| Kundala-dvaya (the two great earrings of the Kanphata yogi) | Cit-prakasa (light of consciousness) and Para-ananda (supreme bliss) |
| Japa-mala (rosary) | inner rest (visranti) |
| Danda (staff) | patience and steadiness |
| Kharpara (bowl) | the Supreme Space |
| Yoga-patta (meditation band) | his own Sakti |
| Bhiksha (alms) | taking both difference and non-difference as alms and enjoying them as the taste of his own Self |
| Jarana (digestion / assimilation) | becoming one with all (tanmayi-bhava) |
- v.156: He constantly repeats (japa) within himself and knows the world with equality (samatva).
- v.157: He goes into his own Self and remains in his own Self; he is never-rising (anutthana-maya, never falling out of the state), luminous and established in joy.
- v.158: He plays in the world as sport (lila).
- v.159: Sometimes an enjoyer, sometimes a renouncer, sometimes naked, sometimes like a ghoul, sometimes a king, sometimes seeming ill-behaved.
- v.160: Beyond the world yet shining as the world, ever in union: he is a Siddha-Yogi.
- vv.161–162: Indifferent, ever calm, healthy, inwardly self-luminous, full of great bliss, steady, complete, serene, ever-risen, pure, full of bliss: he is the king of Siddha-yogis.
- v.163: (repeating v.9) When Sakti expands, She appears; when She contracts, Siva appears. One who brings about their union is the king of Siddha-yogis.
- v.164: When wealth is gone he does not grieve, when it comes he does not rejoice. Full of bliss, absorbed in his own awakening, he is never bound by the path of time.
This section is the textual heart of Chapter XVII's portrait of the Avadhuta. Banerjea's point there, that Nath ideals are inner and their outer symbols are pointers, is shown here emblem by emblem. The famous earrings of the Kanphata (split-ear) yogi are said to be the light of consciousness and supreme bliss. The repetition of v.9 as v.163 is deliberate. The perfected Avadhuta is himself the living union of Siva and Sakti described in the metaphysical opening, so the anthology comes full circle.
26. Glory of the True Guru (vv. 165–172)
- v.165: Sahaja (the natural state) is awareness of one's own Self. Samyama is restraint of oneself. The means is resting in one's own Self. Advaita is the supreme state. These are to be known from the Sadguru's mouth, not otherwise, not even through millions of scriptures.
- v.166: Without the compassion of the Sadguru, all Siddhis are unattainable. Therefore the Sadguru should be served; this is the truth spoken by the Lord.
- v.167: One who has experienced his own rest, take refuge at that Guru's lotus feet. By following him, the supreme state and the process of Samarasi-karana are not far.
- v.168: Through words, through the descent of power (sakti-pata), through the touch of the feet or through a glance, by the grace of the Sadguru the supreme state is properly attained.
- v.169: From a word, a glance or a touch of his, the clear Sambhava-vedha (piercing by Siva's power) and the self-known supreme state arise.
- v.170: He who with the sword of compassion cuts the eight fetters (pasa-ashtaka) and brings forth perfect bliss is called the Sadguru.
- v.171: What need of many words or millions of scriptures? Rest of the mind is rare without the Guru's grace.
- v.172: Rare is renunciation of objects, rare the vision of Reality, rare the Sahaja state, without the compassion of the Sadguru.
The anthology ends where the path begins: the Guru. Verse 167 names Samarasi-karana, Gorakhnath's own definition of Yoga, as what the Guru's grace makes accessible. The four modes of transmission (word, sakti-pata, touch, glance) are the classic forms of Diksha. This is why every chapter of the guide's practice sections urges working with a qualified teacher.
The Anthology as a Whole
| Theme | Key verses | One-line essence |
|---|---|---|
| The Absolute | 1–4, 52–53 | Beyond dualism and non-dualism, known only in itself |
| Siva-Sakti | 5–11, 149, 163 | Moon and moonlight; expansion is Sakti, contraction is Siva |
| Cosmogony | 12–16 | Anama → five Saktis → Pindas; taught as a concession |
| Self | 18–29, 102–104 | Atma is self-proving; Jiva = Paramatma; upadhis are like colour on crystal |
| Body as cosmos | 36–47, 86–101 | The universe and its pilgrimages are within the Pinda |
| Natural practices | 30–35, 48–51, 141–149 | Om, Ajapa, Nada: practices of what is already sounding |
| Technical yoga | 62–77, 105–131 | Six limbs, Kundalini, mudras, kumbhaka; Hatha and Raja inseparable |
| Ethics | 78–85 | Ten Yamas, ten Niyamas, six destroyers, six helpers |
| Goal | 54–61, 132–140 | Samadhi as Samarasa: salt in water, ghee in ghee |
| Perfected person | 150–164 | The Avadhuta: inner meaning of every emblem |
| Means of grace | 165–172 | The Sadguru |
Glossary of Philosophical Terms (pp. 345 onward)
What the Glossary Does
Banerjea's second appendix is an English–Sanskrit glossary. For each English philosophical term he uses, it lists the Sanskrit equivalents found in Indian philosophical literature. Its value is that it shows how carefully he chose his English vocabulary. Where a reader might think "Consciousness" is a single idea, the glossary distinguishes noumenal from phenomenal consciousness, individual from cosmic, mental from supramental, and so on, each with its Sanskrit counterpart.
Below the glossary is reorganised by theme, with its key distinctions explained. (The Sanskrit is given in transliteration, following the printed entries where they are clear.)
Absolute and Reality
| English term | Sanskrit equivalents (selection) | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Absolute | Parama, Carama, Kevala, Nirapeksha, Anavacchinna, Advaita, Nirupadhika, Desa-kala-sambandhatita | "Absolute" means unrelated, unlimited, beyond space-time relation |
| Absolute Reality / Truth | Paramartha-tattva or satya; Brahma; Paramatma; Siva | Siva is listed with Brahman as a synonym for the Absolute |
| Absolute Existence / Being | Parama-satta, Sat-swarupa, Swatantra-satta; Brahma, Paramatma, Siva | |
| Absolute Consciousness / Spirit | Para-caitanya, Para-Samvit, Kevala or Swatantra Cit-tattva, Vishaya-vishayi-bheda-rahita parama caitanya; Paramatma, Brahma, Siva, Paramesvara | Para-Samvit is the Nath term at the top of the hierarchy |
| Absolute Bliss | Paramananda, Ananda-swarupa, Bhoktri-bhogya-bheda-virahita Ananda, Bhumananda, Brahmananda, Advaya-ananda | Bliss without the split between enjoyer and enjoyed |
| Absolute Cause | Parama nirapeksha advaya karana, Sarva-karana-karana, Mula-karana | Cause of all causes |
Kinds of existence and reality
The glossary distinguishes many grades of existence. This matters because Banerjea's disagreement with Maya-vada hangs on whether phenomenal existence is called "illusory" or "relative but real":
| Category | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Transcendental / Unconditional / Eternal Existence | The Absolute in itself |
| Phenomenal / Relative / Conditional / Contingent / Derivative Existence | Real, but dependent on the Absolute |
| Spatial / Temporal vs. Supra-spatial / Supra-temporal Existence | Existence in or beyond space and time |
| Illusory Existence / Reality | Mithya: appearance without a basis of its own (e.g., rope-snake) |
| Imaginary Existence | Kalpita: purely mental fabrication |
| Inexplicable Reality | Anirvacaniya: the Advaita status of Maya |
| Both-real-and-unreal; Neither-real-nor-unreal | Logical categories used in Buddhist, Jaina and Vedantic debates |
| Objective / Subjective / Internal / External Reality | Epistemic distinctions |
| Planes of Existence; Higher / Lower plane | The Nath and Tantric hierarchy of levels |
| Realities of the same order / of different orders | Whether two things belong to one level of being |
For Banerjea, the world is "phenomenal," "relative" and "derivative," but never "illusory" or "imaginary." Keeping these categories distinct is the technical basis of Sakti-vada.
Consciousness
| Term | Sense |
|---|---|
| Consciousness (noumenal) | Cit, Caitanya, Samvit, Jnana-tattva, Bodha-tattva: pure awareness, without modification, self-luminous, beyond subject-object |
| Consciousness (phenomenal) | Vritti-caitanya, Jnana-vritti, Anubhava: changing, conditioned by space-time and object, practical consciousness |
| Individual, Cosmic, Universal, Divine Consciousness | Vyashti-, Samashti-, Viswa-, Iswara-caitanya |
| Sensuous, Mental, Intellectual, Moral, Aesthetic, Spiritual, Supramental, Transcendental Consciousness | The ladder of levels |
| Manifested / Unmanifested Consciousness | Vyakta / Avyakta Cit |
| Non-dual, Pure, Self-luminous Consciousness | Advaya-, Suddha-, Swaprakasa-caitanya |
| Witness-Consciousness | Sakshi-caitanya |
| Dynamic Consciousness; Consciousness-Power | Cit-Sakti: consciousness as power, central to the Nath view |
| Momentary Consciousness | Kshanika-vijnana: the Buddhist notion |
Mind
The glossary separates Mind in the general sense (Antahkarana, Citta) from Mind in a restricted sense (Manas), and lists the mind in waking, dream, sleep, swoon, subconscious, unconscious and super-conscious states, along with Individual Mind, Cosmic Mind, the Supreme Mind, Pure Mind, Enlightened and Illumined Mind, and Supermind. This vocabulary underlies the discussion of states of consciousness in Chapters XIII, XVI and XVII.
Body
| Term | Sanskrit |
|---|---|
| Body | Sarira, Deha, Pinda |
| Physical / Gross Body | Sthula-sarira |
| Subtle Body | Sukshma-sarira |
| Causal Body | Karana-sarira |
| Individual Body | Vyashti-sarira / Vyashti-pinda |
| Cosmic Body | Samashti-sarira / Viswa-sarira / Brahmanda |
Power
The longest group is the list of Powers. Power is central to the Nath system, so Banerjea names every function of Sakti:
| Power of ... | Function |
|---|---|
| Self-manifestation, Self-expression, Self-unfoldment, Self-expansion | Sakti coming forth as the world |
| Self-contraction, Self-veiling | Sakti concealing the Infinite in the finite |
| Self-illumination, Self-enjoyment | Sakti revealing and enjoying itself |
| Preservation, Destruction, Dissolution, Annihilation | Cosmic functions |
| Assimilation, Harmonisation, Spiritualisation | The powers that drive return and Samarasya |
| Materialisation | Becoming gross |
| Supreme, Free, Inscrutable, Unique (of Siva), Spiritual, Moral, Will-, Subtle, Sleeping, Awakened Power | Kinds and states of Sakti; Sleeping and Awakened Power correspond to dormant and awakened Kundalini |
Cause
Cause, Efficient Cause (nimitta), Material Cause (upadana), Efficient-cum-Material Cause (abhinna-nimittopadana), Auxiliary Cause, Illusory Cause (vivarta), Phenomenal vs. Metaphysical Cause, Root Cause, First Cause, Causa Sui, Cause-effect relation, Law of Causality, Invariable coexistence and succession. The key entry is "Efficient-cum-Material Cause." Siva-Sakti is both the maker and the stuff of the world, which is different from the Advaita "illusory cause" (vivarta).
Action
The Mimamsa and Gita vocabulary of Karma: Action; Actions enjoined (vihita) and prohibited (nishiddha); Daily (nitya), Occasional (naimittika) and Desire-motivated (kamya) actions; Desireless actions (nishkama); Sacrificial actions; Virtuous, Vicious, Mixed and Neither-virtuous-nor-vicious actions; Accumulated (sancita), Matured / Fructifying (prarabdha) and Current (kriyamana) actions; Visible, Invisible, Moral and Psychological effects of actions; Duties of perfect obligation.
Isms and other entries
Dualism, Pluralism, Non-dualism, Dualism-cum-non-dualism, Qualified Non-dualism, Pure Non-dualism, Theism, Materialism; Attribute and Attributeless (Saguna / Nirguna); Space, Time, Substance, Void (Sunya); Experience in its kinds (Normal, Phenomenal, Intuitive, Super-normal, Supersensuous, Supramental, Transcendental); Fulness (Purnata); Self-Consciousness, Self-Existence, Self-Perfect Reality.
How to Use the Glossary
- When Banerjea writes an English abstraction (for example "Dynamic Consciousness" or "Power of Self-veiling"), look up the Sanskrit to see which traditional concept he means.
- Pay attention to the grades of existence. They are the key to his critique of Maya-vada.
- Use the list of Powers as a map of Sakti's functions in Chapters VI–XII.
The Whole System on a Few Pages
The System in One Sentence
The Nameless Absolute (Anama, Para-Siva) is eternally one with its own Power (Nija-Sakti). That Power, unfolding in stages, becomes the cosmic body and every individual body without ceasing to be Siva's own. The human body therefore contains the whole cosmos and the path back. By Yoga, which Gorakhnath defines as Samarasa-karana (assimilating all diversity into one's own spiritual essence), and by the Guru's grace, the individual awakens the sleeping Sakti (Kundalini), returns to Siva, and lives as an Avadhuta in Samarasya: transcendent and fully present in the world, "beyond the world yet shining as the world."
The Map of Descent and Return
The chart below joins the cosmology of Chapters VI–XII with the yoga of Chapters XIII–XVII.
| Level | Descent (Sakti unfolding) | Return (Sadhana) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anama / Para-Brahma: the Nameless, beyond Dvaita and Advaita (GVS 1–4, 13) | Samarasya: "ghee in ghee, milk in milk" (GVS 61) |
| 2 | Para-Samvit with Nija-Sakti: Consciousness with its own Power (Ch. VI) | Sahaja and Jagrat-Samadhi: awareness resting in itself with eyes open (Sambhavi) |
| 3 | Five Saktis: Nija, Para, Apara, Sukshma, Kundalini (Ch. VIII; GVS 14) | Unmani and Laya: mind dissolved, "think of nothing" (GVS 137–140) |
| 4 | Para-Pinda: the transcendent body of Siva (Ch. VIII–IX) | Nada-anusandhana: following the inner sound to its silent source (GVS 141–149) |
| 5 | Adya-Pinda and Maha-Sakara-Pinda: the Cosmic Purusha and cosmic body (Ch. IX–X) | Brahmarandhra / Sahasrara: the thousand-petalled lotus |
| 6 | Ashta-Murti: Siva as the eight forms (elements, sun, moon, self) (Ch. X) | Ajna, Visuddha, Anahata: higher cakras and lakshyas |
| 7 | Prakriti-Pinda: world-systems and nature (Ch. XI) | Kundalini awakened by the Guru's grace, rising through the Sushumna (GVS 105–113) |
| 8 | Vyashti-Pinda: the individual body with its cakras, adharas, lakshyas and vyomas (Ch. XII–XV) | Pinda-samvitti: knowing the cosmos in one's body (GVS 42–47) |
| 9 | The bound Jiva: Siva covered by upadhis (Ch. XVI) | Yama-Niyama, Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara: the purification of the body-mind (GVS 62–85) |
Read from top to bottom, the left column is how Siva becomes you. Read from bottom to top, the right column is how you become Siva again, or rather, recognise that you never stopped being Siva.
Five Positions That Define Gorakhnath's Philosophy
| Question | Gorakhnath's answer | Contrast |
|---|---|---|
| Is Reality dual or non-dual? | Dwaita-Adwaita-Vilakshana: beyond both; the quarrel itself is the "great delusion" (GVS 2) | Sankara (non-dual), Madhva (dual) |
| Is the world real? | Real as the free self-expression of Siva's own Sakti (Sakti-vada) | Sankara's Maya-vada: illusory appearance |
| What is the body? | A Pinda, the microcosm of the cosmic body, the field of Sadhana, capable of perfection (Kaya-siddhi) | Classical asceticism: a prison to be discarded |
| What is Yoga? | Samarasa-karana: assimilating everything into one's spiritual essence | Patanjali: cessation of mental modifications; Sankhya: isolation of spirit from matter |
| What is the goal? | Samarasya and Avadhuta-hood: living liberation, transcendent and immanent at once | Kaivalya as isolation; Nirvana as extinction |
Key Takeaways
- Experience is primary. Banerjea's Introduction makes the Yogi's direct realisation, not the philosopher's reasoning, the final authority. Philosophy is a preparation and a description after the fact.
- The Absolute is dynamic. Sat-Cit-Ananda is not static. Its Power is its own nature, as moonlight belongs to the moon.
- Creation is play, not a fall. Sakti's unfolding is spontaneous self-expression (lila), "without any effort or motive." Nothing is lost when the One becomes many.
- The cosmology is a ladder. The Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha itself says that from the highest standpoint nothing originates, and the account of creation is given "for the enlightenment of people" (GVS 12). Its stages are maps for meditation.
- The body is sacred. Every pilgrimage site, mountain, river and planet is inside the body. The Linga stands within the Yoni at the base of the spine. The body is the temple.
- Sakti sleeps within. Kundalini is the cosmic Power in individual, dormant form. Awakening her is the reversal of creation, done within one life and one body.
- Yoga is universal. It does not depend on creed, caste, sex, nationality or way of life. Householder and renunciant, Karma-yogi, Bhakta and Jnani can all practise it.
- Ethics come first. Ten Yamas and ten Niyamas are the foundation. Over-eating, over-exertion, idle talk, rigid rule-clinging, worldly company and greed destroy yoga.
- Powers are by-products. Kaya-siddhi and the Siddhis are real for the tradition but never the goal. The Avadhuta is defined by inner freedom, not miracles.
- Hatha and Raja are one. "Without Hatha no Raja-Yoga, without Raja-Yoga no Hatha" (GVS 130). The physical and the contemplative are two halves of one discipline.
- The natural practices are the deepest. Ajapa (the breath's own Hamsa mantra), Om and Nada are practices of becoming aware of what is already happening.
- Samadhi is not the end of the world. Jagrat-Samadhi and Sambhavi Mudra, Samadhi with eyes open, make Samarasya a way of living.
- Sakti-vada shaped Hindu devotion. Banerjea's historical thesis is that the Bhakti Vedanta schools and the worship of the Divine Couple drew more on Gorakhnath's Sakti-vada than on Sankara's Maya-vada.
- Siva is the God of all. No priest, no Sanskrit and no ritual are required, and there is no untouchability in his domain. A lamp, a lump of clay and a pure heart are enough.
- The Guru is indispensable. The anthology ends with the Sadguru: without his grace, rest of mind, the vision of Reality and the Sahaja state are "rare."
A Graded Path of Practice
The following path is drawn from the book and the Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha. It is a study framework, not a substitute for initiation. The tradition is explicit that Pranayama done wrongly causes disease (GVS 70), that the Mudras are to be learned only from an adept, and that Kundalini awakens "by the Guru's grace" (GVS 112). Stages 1–4 are safe for any sincere reader. Stages 5 onward, and any intensive breath-retention, bandha, mudra or Kundalini work, should be undertaken only under a qualified Guru, with attention to health.
Stage 1: Foundation: Yama and Niyama
- Take the ten Yamas and ten Niyamas (GVS 78–79) as a monthly practice cycle, focusing on one Yama and one Niyama at a time.
- Watch for the six destroyers (GVS 80) and cultivate the six helpers (GVS 81).
- Begin Mitahara: moderate, pleasant food, leaving a quarter of the stomach empty, eaten as an offering to Siva (GVS 82).
- Daily reflection: "Am I adjusting to the world, forcing the world to adjust to me, or assimilating it?"
Stage 2: Steadiness: Asana and gentle breath
- Learn one steady seat, Siddhasana or Padmasana, or a comfortable cross-legged posture if those are not accessible (GVS 66).
- Sit daily with spine and head straight, gaze softly at the nose-tip (GVS 35, 67), and simply breathe evenly. No forced retention.
- Begin with a mental bow to Guru Siva (GVS 67).
Stage 3: Ajapa and Om
- Sit and simply notice the breath's own sound: "ham" going out, "sa" coming in (GVS 48). Do not control it; only listen. This is the Ajapa Gayatri, practised by the breath itself 21,600 times a day.
- During the day, return to this awareness for a few breaths at a time.
- At other times, repeat Om slowly, feeling it hold all triads: waking, dream and sleep; past, present and future; action, will and knowledge (GVS 30–33).
Stage 4: Assimilative Pratyahara and Dharana
- Practise the Goraksha form of Pratyahara (GVS 19–23): whatever is seen, heard, tasted, smelt or touched, pleasant or unpleasant, recognise it as the Self.
- Practise Dharana on a chosen object or on the Atma as "stainless, sky-like, all-pervading" (GVS 26). When the mind wanders, return without reproach.
- Contemplate the body as cosmos (GVS 42–47): the spine as Meru, the breath as wind, the warmth as fire, the fluids as rivers and oceans.
Stage 5: Inner Sound and Laya (with guidance)
- Nada-anusandhana (GVS 141–149): in a quiet place, listen inwardly, at first with the ears gently closed, to whatever inner sound arises. Follow it from the gross to the subtle, and let the mind dissolve into it. Treat any sound as Sakti and its silent source as Siva.
- Laya practice (GVS 137–138): "place the Self in the sky and the sky in the Self," and rest without thought, inner or outer.
Stage 6: Cakra awareness and Lakshyas (with guidance)
- Under a teacher's direction, use the nine places of meditation (GVS 93–101), learning the cakras and lakshyas as contemplative fields, not as places to force energy.
- Study Chapters XIII–XV alongside, to understand the map before working with it.
Stage 7: Pranayama, Mudra, Kundalini (only under a qualified Guru)
- Sahita and Kevala Kumbhaka (GVS 124–129), the ten Mudras (GVS 114–119) and Kundalini-prabodha (GVS 105–113) belong to the esoteric core of the tradition. The text itself insists on secrecy, competent guidance and the Guru's grace. They are listed here so the reader understands their place in the system, not as instructions.
Stage 8: Sahaja and Jagrat-Samadhi
- Sambhavi Mudra (GVS 120–123): eyes open, awareness turned within, "seeing yet not seeing." This is the bridge from sitting practice to living practice.
- Let Samadhi become a way of being: equal in honour and dishonour, gain and loss (GVS 57–58, 164), playing one's part in the world as Siva's Lila.
Stage 9: The Guru and the Avadhuta ideal
- Seek a teacher whose "gaze is steady without an object, breath steady without effort, mind steady without support" (GVS 131), without sectarian bias (Ch. XX).
- Hold the Avadhuta as an inner ideal (GVS 150–164): every outer symbol of the yogi read as an inner state.
How Banerjea's Book Fits in the Wider Literature
| Text | Relation to this book |
|---|---|
| Siddha-Siddhanta-Paddhati (attributed to Gorakhnath) | The main source Banerjea expounds (Ch. II–III) |
| Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha | The anthology of sayings in Appendix I, a verse summary of the whole system |
| Goraksha-Sataka, Hatha-Yoga-Pradipika | Practical hatha manuals in the same lineage; many verses in the Appendix overlap with them |
| Kashmir Saiva texts (Abhinavagupta) | Closest philosophical cousin: Prakasa-Vimarsa, Spanda and Sakti as Siva's own freedom |
| Sankara's Advaita | The main foil: same Absolute, different status for the world (Maya vs. Sakti) |
| Bhagavad-Gita | The model of synthesis Banerjea sees renewed in Nath Samarasya (Ch. XIX) |
| Hindi and Bengali Nath poetry (Gorakh-Bani) | Popular vernacular expression of the same teachings |
Questions for Final Reflection
- Which of the five defining positions (non-dual vs. dual, world real or illusory, body, definition of yoga, goal) most changes your own view, and why?
- Banerjea calls the quarrel of "isms" a delusion. Is there a belief you hold so tightly that it has become an obstacle to experience?
- Where in your daily life could you practise Samarasa-karana: assimilation rather than adjustment, domination or escape?
- What would it mean for you to treat your body as a Pinda, a microcosm and temple, rather than as a tool or a burden?
- The tradition ends with the Guru. What would a trustworthy teacher look like for you, and how will you recognise one?
Closing Note
Banerjea wrote this book as a philosopher in the service of a Yogi's vision. His conviction, on almost every page, is that Gorakhnath's message is not an archaic curiosity but "as fresh and as appealing and effective in the present age" as a thousand years ago. Its core is simple enough for a villager with a lamp and deep enough for a lifetime of Samadhi. The One is not elsewhere. It is playing as everything, including you. The work of Yoga is to taste that one flavour (Samarasa) in all things until nothing in experience is foreign to the Self. As the anthology's last verse puts it, without the true Guru's grace the Sahaja state is rare. That is a reminder that this guide, like the book, can only point toward the path, which still has to be walked.