The Nath-Yogi Community and The Gorakhnath temple, Gorakhpur, UP.

Part - 3

Now, in the sacred literature of the nath-yogi sampradaya, Mahayogi Matsyendranath   is mentioned as a direct disciple of the eternal Mahayogishwara Adinath Shiva himself, and is chief disciple Gorakhnath as a veritable incarnation of Shiva , who in his infinite mercy to mankind appears to have revealed himself to Mahayogi Matsyendranath and initiated him into the deepest secrets of yoga and gnagna  in a miraculous way and to have directed and empowered him to preach them to all worthy people of the world for emancipating them from the darkness of ignorance and showing them the way to real peace and bliss.

In old Bengali literature there is a legendary but amusing story as to how, while Adinath Shiva was expounding the innermost secrets ‘yoga’ and ‘Tattwa-gnana’ to his eternal consort Parvati (the mother of the universe) on a boat in the sea (bay of Bengal, off Chittagong). Matsyendranath overheard the lessons cleverly in the form of a fish (matsya) from underneath the boat quietly without causing any disturbance to the divine guru’s inspiring discourses. Thereafter Matsyendranath appeared before the guru and surrendered himself to his mercy.

The infinitely merciful guru blessed him and entrusted him with the noble mission of preaching the gospel for the suffering humanity. In his mercy and love for the distressed people of the world suffering from ignorance and doubt and perplexities and disquietude and consequent weakness and misery, the  divine guru incarnat3ed himself as  Gorakhnath and helped the latter in  carrying on the great work which had been entrusted to him.

Matsyendranath and Gorakhnath had a number of disciples and fellow workers, who were all mahayogis with super-human talents and who were of great help to them in preaching the yoga- system and the Shiva culture through out the length and breadth of the country, home and abroad , and particularly to the countries to India’s north and west and east. They organized the powerful monastic order. Some of them were Jalandharnath, Chowranginath, kannapada, Luipada, Dharamnath etc. In the last past of the nineteenth and first part of twentieth century, came the renowned gurus like Gambhirnath, Digvijainath, and Brahmanath etc.

In the old treatises on yoga and in old literary works in different regional languages, special mention is always found of nine Nathas  (Nava Nathas) and eighty-four Maha-Siddhas , who are venerated as Gurus  and Acharyas of this Sampradaya and who contributed to the spread of its truth in all directions.

The time when Matsyendranath and Gorakhnath and co-working Mahayogis flourished and the localities in which they were born, could not as yet been approximately ascertained by modern historians, though they were historical figures and their philosophy and preachings have been going on. It is presumed that these gurus had the intentions of remaining reluctant to speaking about themselves.  Even their devoted followers today hardly speak anything about themselves, their parents, birth etc.

However, depending on from different kinds of data they arrive at different hypotheses. In old Tibetan Buddhist traditions Matsyendranath was identified with Bodhisattva Avalokiteswar and the names 84 Maha Siddhas also are on record. In several old authoritative Tantras the holy names of Aadinath, Matsyendranath, Goraknath and a good many other Mahasiddha Nathas are recited with veneration. Many of the great nath-yogis were revered equally as Shiva saints and Buddha saints and Tantrika saints by the followers of the different sects. This shows that those Nath-gurus had no sectarian narrowness and that their practical religious views were equally acceptable to the earnest spiritual aspirants of the different sects. The greatest Maharastrian saint Gnanadeva in his celebrated commentary of the Geeta traced his spiritual descent from Gorakshanath. Kabir and Nanak also often referred to the nath-gurus respectfully as highly adorable saints of old times and adapted their yogic methods of discipline with their own Bhakti-cult. They are said to have got the direct vision of Gorakshanath in their meditative moods.

By- 

      Mr. Ramani Mohan Nath

           (Retired Teacher)

(To be continued...)