Nathpanthi

Renunciant ascetic community founded
by the sage Gorakhnath. The
Nathpanthis are also known by many
names: as jogis (from their emphasis on
the practice of yoga), Gorakhnathis
(from the name of their founder),
Kanphatas (meaning “split-ear” by
virtue of the signature earrings placed in
the split cartilage of both ears), Gosains
(“master of the senses”), and simply as
Naths (“lord”) from the characteristic
suffix taken as part of their names upon
ascetic initiation. The Nathpanthis are a
very old organization and have a long
tradition in northern India, but their
historical record is relatively faint. The
organization has no single organizing
body; their emphasis on yoga has meant
that their practice has been internalized,
rather than focused on temples or other
material objects. Although the
Nathpanthis are usually described as
devotees (bhakta) of Shiva, they are distinct from the Shaiva Sanyasis.
The spiritual practice of the Naths
has traditionally focused on the mastery
466
Nath
of the subtle body as the means to final
liberation of the soul. The Naths believe
that liberation is physical immortality,
rather than escape from the cycle of
transmigration, which is more commonly accepted. The subtle body is an
alternate physiological system, believed
to exist on a different plane than gross
matter, but corresponding to the material body. It is visualized as a set of six
psychic centers (chakras) running
roughly along the spine; above and
below these centers reside two divine
principles, Shiva (awareness) and
Shakti (power). The aspirant aims to
join these two principles at the crown
of the head, thus transforming the
perishable elements in the gross body
into immortality.
Among the Nathpanthis, the dominant metaphor for talking about this
process is the union of sun and moon.
The sun, identified with Shakti, stands
for the processes of change and destruction, whereas the moon, identified with
Shiva, symbolizes stability and immortality. In some cases this union of sun
and moon is described in very abstract
terms; for example, in the definition of
hatha yoga “ha” refers to the sun and
“tha” refers to the moon. Other abstract
descriptions of this process speak of
gaining equilibrium of the vital winds
(prana), or yogic union in the subtle
body. In other cases this union is symbolized in concrete ways, as in the practice of vajroli mudra. This sexual
practice uses urethral suction or the
“fountain-pen technique,” by which a
man, having ejaculated into his female
partner, draws his semen back into his
body. The semen has been refined
through contact with the woman’s uterine blood.
The Nathpanthis have been important both as an ascetic community in
their own right, and as an influence on
many of the northern Indian bhakti
poet-saints, particularly Kabir. Their
religious practice has consistently
stressed internal religion, in which
individual realization has been deemed
far more important than performing
social duties or established worship.
The most complete source on
Gorakhnath and his followers is George
Weston Briggs, Gorakhnath and the
Kanphata Yogis, 1973.