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Gorakhnath India (10th Century) Timeline Yoga / Hindu Buddhist Poems by Gorakhnath Books - Links |
Gorakhnath is traditionally said to be the originator of Hatha Yoga, the yogic system of asanas (physical postures) that are part of the Tantric alchemical process of physical perfection and energetic awakening.
He is one the semi-divine Siddhas and is considered to be the founder of the Nath Siddha lineages, the supreme guru of the Gorakhnathi Jogis. For some Gorakhnath is no less than an incarnation of Shiva himself.
Gorakhnath is also a lineage bearer of Buddhist Tantra in Tibet.
Gorakhnath is said to be the author of the Goraksha Paddhati ("Track of Goraksha" -- also called the Goraksha Samhita, a foundational treatise on esoteric Hatha Yoga, translated in Georg Fuerstein's excellent book The Yoga Tradition), Goraksha Shataka ("Goraksha's 100 Verses") , and several other works.
A traditional story is told about the appearance of Gorakhnath. He was not born in the normal sense. A holy man named Matsyendranath used to go door-to-door to beg for food and, in exchange, offered blessings and wisdom. At one house, the woman asked if she would ever have a child. Matsyendranath gave her some holy ash and said if she swallowed it she would have a child. The woman told her neighbor who derided her naivete in believing such things, so she threw the ash away on a dung heap. Twelve years later, Matsyendranath returned and asked how the child was doing. The woman confessed what she had done with the ash. The holy man went to the dung heap and prayed, calling to the boy. A beautiful 12-year-old boy emerged. Matsyendranath took the boy with him. That boy was Gorakhnath.
The name Gorakh means "protected by the earth," since it was the earth, in the form of a dung heap, that nurtured him.
Poems by Gorakhnath
Related Links
Rudraksha - Gorakh Mantra
http://www.rudraksham.com/Rudhraksha/gorakh.htm
An English translation of the Gorakh Bani.
Gorakh Bani Mantras
http://www.rudraksha-ratna.com/gorakhbani_mantra.php
Another source for the Gorakh Bani online.
Gorakh Nath - Death is Divine, Living in the Heart
http://www.energyenhancement.org/GorakhDeathisDivinech5.htm
A jarringly bright web page, but includes translation of hard-to-find writings by Gorakhnath.
Shri Amritnath Ashram
http://www.amritnath.org/
Website for an ashram in the Nath lineage. some info on Gorakhnath.
Gorakhnath
http://members.rediff.com/gorakhtilla/GorakhNathWho.htm
Story of the appearance of Gorakhnath
Gorakhnath
http://www.livewithyoga.net/gorakhnath.htm
Brief article on Gorakhnath and an overview of the subtle anatomy within Yoga.
Gorakhnathis
http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/hindu/devot/gorak.html
Article on the history and practices of followers within the Nath tradition established by Gorakhnath.
Sadhus - Gorakhnathis
http://www.adolphus.nl/sadhus/shiva.html#gorakhnathis
Brief note about Gorakhnathi Jogis within the larger sadhu culture.
The Gorakhbodh
http://www.religiousworlds.com/mandalam/gorakh.htm
English translation of the Gorakhbodh, a Tantric Buddhist text of a dialog between Gorakh and his teacher Matsyendra
