The Gorakhnath Enlightenment: The Path to Om

By Jayraj Salgaokar

While yoga is accessible to all, the path to becoming a true yogi is known only to a few. An esoteric practice, it requires years of learning, dedication, willpower and the thirst for a connection with the universal consciousness. This mystic science owes everything to two esoteric cults - the Siddhas and the Buddhas, to Hatha Yoga and Buddhist Tantra. The philosophies, paths and deities of these two cults are intimately connected. A blend of these two paths can escalate an individual's consciousness and help one realise one's true potential. There are striking differences and similarities between these two cults, bound together by the heterogeneous spiritual thread of Gorakhnath, who devoted himself to the prolific knowledge of yoga and emerged as the greatest yogi ever.The Gorakhnath Enlightenment seeks to explore the teachings and philosophy of Gorakhnath.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Dec 25, 2018
• ISBN: 9789353024857

Jayraj Salgaokar

Jayraj Salgaokar is the editor, publisher, co-founder, and managing director of Kalnirnay, the world's largest-selling multilingual publication, published in nine languages. His interests include reading, spirituality, and mountaineering.

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Yogic and Tantric Gods and Goddesses

1.1 Adinath: The Founder of the Nath (Master) Sampradaya, the First Guru of the Siddhas (The Proven Ones)

One of the most powerful gods of the holy Hindu trinity, Lord Shiva, has many fascinating forms and awe-inspiring avatars. Each and every facet of this powerful god is mystical, magnificent and motivates mortals to rise, reach their highest potential and gain freedom from the shackles of life and death.

His philosophy of destruction, his music, his earth-shaking Tandava Nritya, his omnipresent Third Eye, the snake skin clothing, the human skull garland around his chest and the snake around his neck with the mighty Ganga flowing out of his crown, all describe his larger-than-life persona. He can digest any poison or drink (his favourite being bhang—a drink mixed with cannabis), his unique musical instrument damaru, his wife Sati (reincarnated into Parvati, Kali), his sons Ganesh (elephant-headed god) and Kartikeya (god with six heads), his vehicle Nandi, the ash of human body on his forehead and arms, and his residence either at the holy mountain Kailash in the Himalayas or at a crematorium, everything is beyond imagination like a sci-fi hero who comes to life, or has been existing since the beginning of time.

Shiva means auspicious, and just chanting his name with all your being is said to wash away sins—such is his power and so pure is his soul. It is he alone who had the strength to endure the mighty Ganges, and the sacred waters of this holy river flow through his matted hair. (01)

His mantra is Om Namah Shivaya.

A five-syllable mantra, it is a potent uttering for warding off negativity and forms the crux of many yogic and Tantric practices. In simple words, it means, I bow to Shiva. Since Shiva means auspicious and pure, every time we chant this mantra, we acknowledge and bow to the purity of our own self, our soul, and get closer to the divinity within us. It deeply cleanses the mind and chanting it 108 times is especially practised to gain blessings, empowerment, and enlightenment. (02)

Sacred scriptures describe Shiva’s exalted intuitiveness, his sixth sense, how his Third Eye watches all the goings-on of the world, even though he meditates on Mount Kailash with his hypnotic eyes half closed in contemplation. Part of the Trimurti or Hindu Trinity, along with Brahma (the Creator) and Vishnu (the Preserver), Shiva is considered to be the Destroyer or the Transformer. He is also called Bholenath which means the innocent master or, The Lord who is Easily Pleased, and who easily forgives even the gravest sins of those with the substance and willpower to change. As Neelkanth, the "Blue-Throated One"’, who drank all the poison of the ocean, he became the saviour of all mankind. It is because of his resilience and passionate persona, that he is also called Mahadeva (the God of Gods or the Great God) because he is beyond the cycles of birth and death, and helps humans reach immortality. Folklore describing his blessings and powers is plentiful.

Trimurti or Hindu Trinity

His forms are both quiet and angry. In his quiet, sombre form he is described as a yogi, an ascetic meditating alone on Mount Kailash. He is also described as a householder with his consort Parvati (Kali, Shakti), residing with his two children Kartikeya and Ganesh. He is Natraj (the King of Dance) who expresses his anger, his passion, and his ecstasy. When he dances the Lasya he is gentle and benevolent, spreading joy and beauty everywhere; but when he dances the Tandav he is fierce, angry, violent, and on a mission to destroy the stagnant views of the world and its people. These two opposing aspects are in tandem with his persona which destroys and then transforms with compassion, and it is these self-realised devotees whom he protects and nurtures.

He is also called Maha-Kaal. Kaal is time, and it also means death. He controls death. His wife is called Mahakali. He goes to war rarely, to help the creator God Vishnu fight against evil; generally he commissions his wife Kali or Durga to fight the enemy. If and only if she cannot handle the situation, which is a rarity, does he takes charge. He opens his Third Eye to burn the enemy and the enemy territory, plays his percussion instrument—the damaru, and dances his wild dance—the Tandav that shakes the whole earth. He is the Mahayogi.

He is also called Adinath or first guru and founder of the Siddha cult. In this context, the word can be interpreted as powerful ruler or lord, and it’s this reverential name that Lord Shiva is known by among the yogis.

Lord Vishnu

Nath yogis often address Adinath as Alakh Niranjan which is a title that commands great respect and faith. Of Sanskrit origin, Alakshya is the original word, of which Alakh is a regional form. It means invisible, indiscernible or unseen; basically something that is not easily perceived by the human eye or senses. Niranjan means pure, untainted or void of passion. Together, Alakh Niranjan implies a pure omnipresent yogic consciousness.

He is also called Adi Guru or first guru of the Nath Sampradaya, and even identified as Yogeshvara, which means Lord of the Yogis, which only reflects his dominion over mystic sciences, spirits and souls. In a broader sense, Adinath can also be taken to mean The lord of the whole creation.

A lot of legends related to Adinath or Lord Shiva are passed on by the Nath yogis through the oral tradition and among these the most important one is the story of Matsyendranath who was mysteriously blessed and initiated by Lord Shiva, and who gained first-hand knowledge of the "Doctrine of Immortality" or Amar Katha (story) and Tatva (principle) which encompasses the deeper nuances of yoga and Tantra.

1.2 Matsyendranath and Avalokiteshvara: Parallel Powers and Philosophies

It is stated in folklore that Lord Avalokiteshvara Padmapani Bodhisattva was taught by Lord Shiva the intrinsic knowledge of yoga. One day, by the banks of the Kshira Samudra (Ocean of Milk), Goddess Parvati asked Lord Shiva to share his learning of the Doctrine of Immortality of yoga and Tantra with her alone. While listening to the many nuances, the soothing sounds of the ocean waves coerced the goddess to fall asleep. But Lord Shiva’s instructions did not go unheard. Secretly disguised in the form of a fish was Lokeshvar or Avalokiteshvara, hearing every precious word. He thus became the first disciple and Siddha to receive his teachings directly from the greatest yogi Lord Shiva, who named him Matsyendranath (also known as Macchendranath)—Lord of the Fishes.

Interestingly, the name Matsyendranath has three names conjoined as one—Matsya which means fish or born into fish, Indra the lord of lightning (vajra), and Nath’ which means master, lord or guru. His legends are also very popular in the northeast regions of India, especially in Nepal and Tibet where he has many followers flocking to his shrines and singing his praises.

His mantra is Om Siddha Yogi Matsyendra Nathaya Namaha (I pray from my soul, Om siddhi Matsyendranath).

Matsyendranath was the founder of the Nath tradition and the Siddhas that empower yogis with grand powers and spiritual attainment. He is also the main link for the merging of Pashupata Shaivism with later Buddhism in Nepal. He is renowned as a Tantric practitioner and also known for possessing some unusual magical powers. This particular Tantra is called the Bhairav Tantra in Shaivate Hinduism, or Haruka Tantra in Vajrayana Buddhism.

In Tibet, Matsyendranath is also called Luipa or fish gut eater. The root of this word is considered to be "Lohita" in old Bengali, which means a type of fish. Luipa is thus synonymous with Minapa and Macchendra/Matsyendra. Luhipa, Lohipa, Luyipa, Loyipa, are other variants of this name and are used by devotees during their prayers around the world.

Another legend describing Matsyendranath or Luipa’s journey into Vajrayana can be traced back to the land of Sri Lanka. Luipa was a king who renounced the throne of his wealthy father’s kingdom and chose the path of enlightenment. Like Sakyamuni, he too escaped in the night with a single attendant to become a yogi, took a krsnasara (deer-skin) as a mat, a throne, and a shawl.

Luipa was handsome and charming, and begged for alms quite easily. He wandered through the length and breadth of India and arrived at Vajrasana, where Shakyamuni Buddha had achieved enlightenment. He attached himself to the hospitable and wise dakinis, who transmitted their feminine insights to him. From Vajrasana he then travelled to Pataliputra, the king’s capital on the river Ganges, where he lived on the alms he begged for, and slept in a cremation ground. One day while he was begging in the bazaar he came near a brothel and his karma invited this fateful encounter as this courtesan was a dakini incarnated as a courtesan. The dakini gazed at him deeply and after reading the nature of his mind said, Your four psychic centres and their energies are quite pure, but there is a pea-sized obscuration of royal pride in your heart. She then poured some putrid food into his clay bowl and asked him to leave. Luipa threw the inedible food into the gutter. The dakini saw what he did and angrily shouted as he was leaving, How can you attain nirvana if you’re still concerned about the purity of your food?

After listening to this, Luipa was mortified and realised that his critical and judgemental mind was still subtly active, and that was the obstacle to his attainment of Buddhahood. Thus, for him, some things were perceived more intrinsically desirable than others. Soon after this realisation, he went to the river Ganga and began a twelve year sadhana to destroy his rigid thought-patterns, prejudices and preconceptions. He thus began to eat the entrails of the fish that the fishermen disembowelled, to transform the fish guts into the nectar of pure awareness by insight into the nature of things as emptiness. This is how the fisherwomen gave him the name Luipa or eater of fish guts. This practice gave him his name along with power and realisation. Luipa became a renowned guru, and there is great mention of him in the legends of Darikapa and