Jump to content

User:Stormbird/sandbox

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

==Origins== test

Earliest textual references

[edit]
Tibetan depiction of Tummo (candali, inner heat) practice showing the central channel, the sushumna

According to the Indologist James Mallinson, some haṭha yoga style techniques practised only by ascetics can be traced back at least to the 1st-century CE, in texts such as the Sanskrit epics (Hinduism) and the Pali canon (Buddhism).[1] The Pali canon contains three passages in which the Buddha describes pressing the tongue against the palate for the purposes of controlling hunger or the mind, depending on the passage.[2] However, there is no mention of the tongue being inserted further back into the nasopharynx as in true khecarī mudrā. The Buddha also used a posture where pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, similar to modern postures used to stimulate Kundalini.[a] In the Mahāsaccaka sutta (MN 36), the Buddha mentions how physical practices such as various meditations on holding one's breath did not help him "attain to greater excellence in noble knowledge and insight which transcends the human condition." After trying these, he then sought another path to enlightenment.[2] The term haṭha yoga was first used in the c. 3rd century Bodhisattvabhūmi, the phrase na haṭhayogena seemingly meaning only that the bodhisattva would get his qualities "not by force".[4]

Transition from tantric Buddhism to Nāth hatha yoga

[edit]

Tantric Buddhism

[edit]

The earliest mentions of haṭha yoga as a specific set of techniques are from some seventeen[b] Vajrayana Buddhist texts, mainly tantric works from the 8th century onwards.[4][5] In Puṇḍarīka's c. 1030 Vimalaprabhā commentary on the Kālacakratantra, haṭha yoga is for the first time defined[4] within the context of tantric sexual ritual:[5]

when the undying moment does not arise because the breath is unrestrained [even] when the image is seen by means of withdrawal (pratyahara) and the other (auxiliaries of yoga, i.e. dhyana, pranayama, dharana, anusmrti and samadhi), then, having forcefully (hathena) made the breath flow in the central channel through the practice of nada, which is about to be explained, [the yogi] should attain the undying moment by restraining the bindu [i.e. semen] of the bodhicitta in the vajra [penis] when it is in the lotus of wisdom [vagina].[5]

While the actual means of practice are not specified, the forcing of the breath into the central channel and the restraining of ejaculation are central features of later haṭha yoga practice texts.[5][4]

A folio of a medieval copy of the Amṛtasiddhi, written bilingually in Sanskrit and Tibetan

The c. 11th century Amṛtasiddhi is the earliest substantial text describing Haṭha yoga, though it does not use the term; it is a tantric Buddhist work, and makes use of metaphors from alchemy. A manuscript states its date as 1160.[6][7] The text teaches mahābandha, mahāmudrā, and mahāvedha which involve bodily postures and breath control, as a means to preserve amrta or bindu (vital energy) in the head (the "moon") from dripping down the central channel and being burned by the fire (the "sun") at the perineum. The text also attacks Vajrayana deity yoga as ineffective.[8][6] According to Mallinson, later manuscripts and editions of this text have obscured or omitted the Buddhist elements (such as the deity Chinnamasta which appears in the earliest manuscripts and was originally a Buddhist deity, only appearing in Hindu works after the 16th century). However, the earliest manuscript makes it clear that this text originated in a Vajrayana Buddhist milieu.[6] The inscription at the end of one Amṛtasiddhi manuscript ascribes the text to Mādhavacandra or Avadhūtacandra and is "said to represent the teachings of Virūpākṣa".[9] According to Mallinson, this figure is most likely the Buddhist mahasiddha Virupa.[10]

Early Hindu texts

[edit]

The c. 10th century Kubjikāmatatantra anticipates haṭha yoga with its description of the raising of Kundalini, and a 6-chakra system.[11][12]

Around the 11th century, techniques associated with Haṭha yoga also begin to be outlined in a series of early Hindu texts.[4] The aims of these practices were siddhis (supranormal powers such as levitation) and mukti (liberation).[8]

In India, haṭha yoga is associated in popular tradition with the Yogis of the Natha Sampradaya.[13] Almost all hathayogic texts belong to the Nath siddhas, and the important ones are credited to Gorakhnath or Gorakshanath (c. early 11th century),[14] the founder of the Nath Hindu monastic movement in India,[15] though those texts post-date him. Goraknath is regarded by the contemporary Nath-tradition as the disciple of Matsyendranath (early 10th century), who is celebrated as a saint in both Hindu and Buddhist tantric and haṭha yoga schools, and regarded by tradition as the founder of the Natha Sampradaya. Early haṭha yoga works include:[3][16]

Early Bindu Model of Hatha Yoga, as described in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and other texts[11]
Late Kundalini Model of Hatha Yoga, as described in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and other texts[11]

The earliest haṭha yoga methods of the Amṛtasiddhi, Dattātreyayogaśāstra and Vivekamārtaṇḍa are used to raise and conserve bindu (semen, and in women rajas – menstrual fluid) which was seen as the physical essence of life that was constantly dripping down from the head and being lost.[19] This vital essence is also sometimes called amrta (the nectar of immortality).[3] These techniques sought to either physically reverse this process (by inverted postures like viparītakaraṇī) or use the breath to force bindu upwards through the central channel.[19]

In contrast to these, early Nāth works like the Gorakṣaśataka and the Yogabīja teach a yoga based on raising Kundalinī (through śakticālanī mudrā). This is not called haṭha yoga in these early texts, but Layayoga ("the yoga of dissolution"). However, other early Nāth texts like the Vivekamārtaṇḍa can be seen as co-opting the mudrās of haṭha yoga meant to preserve bindu. Then, in later Nāth as well as Śākta texts, the adoption of haṭha yoga is more developed, and focused solely on the raising of Kundalinī without mentioning bindu.[3]

Mallinson sees these later texts as promoting a universalist yoga, available to all, without the need to study the metaphysics of Samkhya-yoga or the complex esotericism of Shaiva Tantra. Instead this "democratization of yoga" led to the teaching of these techniques to all people, "without the need for priestly intermediaries, ritual paraphernalia or sectarian initiations."[3]

Classical haṭha yoga

[edit]

Haṭhayogapradīpikā

[edit]
Main article: Hatha Yoga Pradipika

The Haṭhayogapradīpikā is one of the most influential texts of Haṭha yoga.[20] It was compiled by Svātmārāma in the 15th century CE from earlier Haṭha yoga texts.[17][12] Earlier texts were of Vedanta or non-dual Shaiva orientation,[21] and from both, the Haṭha Yoga Pradīpika borrowed the philosophy of non-duality (advaita). According to Mallinson, this reliance on non-duality helped Haṭha yoga thrive in the medieval period as non-duality became the "dominant soteriological method in scholarly religious discourse in India".[21] The text lists 35 great yoga siddhas starting with Adi Natha (Hindu god Shiva) followed by Matsyendranath and Gorakshanath.[22] It includes information about shatkarma (six acts of self purification), 15 asana (postures: seated, laying down, and non-seated), pranayama (breathing) and kumbhaka (breath retention), mudras (internalized energetic practices), meditation, chakras (centers of energy), kundalini, nadanusandhana (concentration on inner sound), and other topics.[23] The text includes the contradictory goals of raising Bindu, inherited from the Amritasiddhi, and of raising Kundalini, inherited from the Kubjikamatatantra.[11][12]

Post-Hathayogapradipika texts

[edit]
18th century yoginis in Rajasthan

Post-Hathayogapradipika texts on Haṭha yoga include:[24][25]

  • Amaraughasasana: a Sharada script manuscript of this Haṭha yoga text was copied in 1525 CE. It is notable because fragments of this manuscript have also been found near Kuqa in Xinjiang (China). The text discusses khecarimudra, but calls it saranas.[26] It links the squatting pose Utkatasana, rather than the use of mudras, with the raising of Kundalini.[27]
  • Yogacintamani: an early 17th-century text on the eight auxiliaries of yoga; the asana section describes 34 asanas, and variant manuscripts add another 84, mentioning most of the non-standing asanas used in modern yoga.[28]
  • Hatha Ratnavali: a 17th-century text that states that Haṭha yoga consists of ten mudras, eight cleansing methods, nine kumbhakas and 84 asanas. The text is also notable for dropping the nadanusandhana (inner sound) technique.[26]
  • Hathapradipika Siddhantamuktavali: an early 18th-century text that expands on the Hathayogapradipikạ by adding practical insights and citations to other Indian texts on yoga.[29]
  • Gheranda Samhita: a 17th or 18th-century text that presents Haṭha yoga as "ghatastha yoga", according to Mallinson.[29][30] It presents 6 cleansing methods, 32 asanas, 25 mudras and 10 pranayamas.[29] It is one of the most encyclopedic texts on Haṭha yoga.[31]
  • Jogapradipika: an 18th-century Braj-language text by Ramanandi Jayatarama that presents Haṭha yoga simply as "yoga". It presents 6 cleansing methods, 84 asanas, 24 mudras and 8 kumbhakas.[29]

Modern era

[edit]

According to Mallinson, Haṭha yoga has been a broad movement across the Indian traditions, openly available to anyone:[32]

Haṭha yoga, like other methods of yoga, can be practiced by all, regardless of sex, caste, class, or creed. Many texts explicitly state that it is practice alone that leads to success. Sectarian affiliation and philosophical inclination are of no importance. The texts of Haṭha yoga, with some exceptions, do not include teachings on metaphysics or sect-specific practices.[33]

Haṭha yoga represented a trend towards the democratization of yoga insights and religion similar to the Bhakti movement. It eliminated the need for "either ascetic renunciation or priestly intermediaries, ritual paraphernalia and sectarian initiations".[32] This led to its broad historic popularity in India. Later in the 20th century, states Mallinson, this disconnect of Haṭha yoga from religious aspects and the democratic access of Haṭha yoga enabled it to spread worldwide.[34]

Between the 17th and 19th century, however, the various urban Hindu and Muslim elites and ruling classes viewed Yogis with derision.[35] They were persecuted during the rule of Aurangzeb; this ended a long period of religious tolerance that had defined the rule of his predecessors beginning with Akbar, who famously studied with the yogis and other mystics.[36] Haṭha yoga remained popular in rural India. Negative impression for the Hatha yogis continued during the British colonial rule era. According to Mark Singleton, this historical negativity and colonial antipathy likely motivated Swami Vivekananda to make an emphatic distinction between "merely physical exercises of Haṭha yoga" and the "higher spiritual path of Raja yoga".[37] This common disdain by the officials and intellectuals slowed the study and adoption of Haṭha yoga.[38][39][c]

A well-known school of Haṭha yoga from the 20th century is the Divine Life Society founded by Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh (1887–1963) and his many disciples including, among others, Swami Vishnu-devananda – founder of International Sivananda Yoga Vedanta Centres; Swami Satyananda – of the Bihar School of Yoga; and Swami Satchidananda of Integral Yoga.[41] The Bihar School of

  1. ^ Mallinson 2011, pp. 770–781.
  2. ^ a b Mallinson 2008, pp. 17–19.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Mallinson 2016, pp. 109–140
  4. ^ a b c d e f Mallinson 2020, pp. 177–199.
  5. ^ a b c d Birch 2011, pp. 527–558
  6. ^ a b c Mallinson 2016b, pp. 1–14
  7. ^ Mallinson & Szántó 2021, pp. 3–5, 20–23.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g Mallinson 2011, p. 771.
  9. ^ Jacobsen 2011, p. 331.
  10. ^ Mallinson 2019, pp. 1–33.
  11. ^ a b c d Mallinson & Singleton 2017, pp. 32, 180–181.
  12. ^ a b c Singleton 2020.
  13. ^ "Mallinson, James (2011) "Nāth Saṃpradāya". In: Brill Encyclopedia of Hinduism Vol. 3. Brill, pp. 407-428" (PDF). Retrieved 1 April 2023.
  14. ^ White 2012, p. 57.
  15. ^ Briggs 1938, p. 228.
  16. ^ Mallinson 2011, pp. 771–772.
  17. ^ a b Mallinson 2011, p. 772.
  18. ^ Mallinson 2007, pp. ix–x.
  19. ^ a b Mallinson 2011, p. 770.
  20. ^ Wernicke-Olesen 2015, p. 147.
  21. ^ a b Mallinson 2014.
  22. ^ Svatmarama 2002, pp. 1–7.
  23. ^ Mallinson 2011, pp. 772–773.
  24. ^ Mallinson 2011, pp. 773–774.
  25. ^ Singleton 2010, pp. 27–28.
  26. ^ a b Mallinson 2011, p. 773.
  27. ^ Mallinson & Singleton 2017, p. 493.
  28. ^ Birch, Jason. "118 Asanas of the mid-17th century". The Luminescent. Retrieved 5 March 2022., which cites Birch, J. (2018). "The Proliferation of Āsana-s in Late Mediaeval Yoga Texts". In Karl Baier; Philipp A. Maas; Karin Preisendanz (eds.). Yoga in Transformation: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Unipress. ISBN 978-3847108627.
  29. ^ a b c d Mallinson 2011, p. 774.
  30. ^ Singleton 2010, p. 28.
  31. ^ Mallinson 2004, pp. ix–x.
  32. ^ a b Mallinson 2012, p. 26.
  33. ^ Mallinson 2011, p. 778.
  34. ^ Mallinson 2011, pp. 778–779.
  35. ^ White 2012, pp. 8–9.
  36. ^ Mayaram 2003, pp. 40–41.
  37. ^ Singleton 2010, pp. 69–72, 77–79.
  38. ^ Singleton 2010, pp. 77–78.
  39. ^ White 2011, pp. 20–22.
  40. ^ Singleton 2010, pp. 78–81.
  41. ^ Mallinson 2011, p. 779.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=User:Stormbird/sandbox&oldid=1261479062"