Misplaced Pages

Yogi: Difference between revisions

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
Browse history interactively← Previous editContent deleted Content addedVisualWikitext
Revision as of 00:53, 7 December 2005 view source154.20.47.129 (talk) →Historically← Previous edit Latest revision as of 07:04, 31 January 2024 view source AtramentousAlabaster (talk | contribs)44 editsm The sole, casual mention of only the author's surname is confusing; as neither they nor their book have their own Misplaced Pages page to link, I snipped it. 
(639 intermediate revisions by more than 100 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|Practitioner of Yoga}}
''This page is '''Yogi''' as advanced practitioners of ]. For other meanings, see ].''
{{Other uses}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{EngvarB|date=March 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2015}}
] (meditation) by ]]]
{{Contains special characters|Indic}}


A '''yogi''' is a practitioner of ],{{sfn|White|2012|p=8}} including a ] or practitioner of ] in ].<ref name="Banerjea">A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', ], {{ISBN|978-8120805347}}, pp. xxiii, 297–299, 331</ref> The feminine form, sometimes used in English, is ].
{{Main2|Yoga|List of yoga schools}}
One who practices yoga is called a '''yogi''' or in ], a yogin (masculine) or yogini (feminine). These designations are mostly reserved for advanced practitioners.
The word "yoga" itself --from the Sanskrit root yuj ("to yoke")--is generally translated as "union" or "integration" and may be understood as union with the Divine, or integration of body, mind, and spirit.


Yogi has since the 12th century ] also denoted members of the ] ] tradition of ],{{sfn|White|2012|p=8-9}} and in ], ] and ], a practitioner of ].<ref name=ritagross87>Rita Gross (1993), ''Buddhism After Patriarchy'', SUNY Press, {{ISBN|978-0791414033}}, pages 85–88</ref><ref>] (2013), ''Tantra in Practice'', ], {{ISBN|978-8120817784}}, pp. xiii–xv</ref> In Hindu mythology, the god ] and the goddess ] are depicted as an emblematic yogi–yogini pair.<ref>Stella Kramrisch (1994), ''The Presence of Siva'', ], {{ISBN|978-0691019307}}, pp. 305–309, 356</ref>
Yogi is my dog and she's cool. and stuff.


== Modern Yogis == ==Etymology==
{{Hinduism small}}
Beginning with the arrival of the great ] in ], there has been a steady flow of learned teachers that have brought the transcendental message of Yoga to the West. Although the influence of these Yogins is deeply inscribed into the surface of the modern yogic ethos, both in India and America, a proliferation of 'yoga clinics' and non-spiritual yoga systems has been seen in the West, especially in the United States. While many Americans view it as an exercise system that simply enhances one's health, a much greater number in India (and a minority in America) still see it as it has been for over 5,000 years, whether in the Bhagavad Gita, the Yoga Sutras, the writings of the ], or the "Yoga Boom" of the ], a system of spirituality universal in its application.
In ], the word ''yogi'' (]: masc ''{{IAST|yogī}}'', ]; fem ''{{IAST|]}}'') is derived from ''yogin'', which refers to a practitioner of yoga. ''Yogi'' is technically male, and ''yoginī'' is the term used for female practitioners.<ref name=ritagross87/> The two terms are still used with those meanings today, but the word ''yogi'' is also used generically to refer to both male and female practitioners of yoga and related meditative practices belonging to any religion or spiritual method.


The term yogini is also used for divine goddesses and enlightened mothers, all revered as aspects of the ], ].<ref>Vidya Dehejia and Thomas B. Coburn (1999), ''Devi: The Great Goddess'', Smithsonian Institution, {{ISBN|978-3791321295}}, p. 386</ref>
First brought to America by the great yogi and disciple of Shri ] Paramahamsa, ] (]-]), the Hindu representative at the ] ] in ], Yoga has also been transported in the arms of many other great yogis and formed into stratified schools seeking to propagate Yoga in its great spiritual context. These teachers have made their imprint in both India and America, and continue to serve as modern embodiments of Yoga.


A yogi should not be confused with someone practicing ] and excessive self-mortification.<ref name="Banerjea" />{{rp|297}}
Many modern schools of Hatha Yoga derive from the school of ], who taught in ], ] from 1924 until 1947, at which time he moved to Madras, where he taught until his death in 1989. Among his students prominent in popularizing Yoga in the West were ] famous for popularizing the vigorous Ashtanga Vinyasa style, ] who emphasizes alignment and the use of props, ] and Krishnamacharya's son ] who developed the ] style. Desikachar founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Madras (now ]), with the aim of making available the heritage of yoga as taught by Krishnamacharya.


==Hinduism==
] (]-]), a practitioner of ], moved to America purporting a pluralist ideology with Yoga as the binding force, specificaly trying to reconcile ] and ]. Yogananda founded the ] in ], in ]. His is considered a spiritual classic. His chief disciple was ], a great yogi born in the West.
In ] the term ''yogi'' refers to an adherent of ].{{sfn|White|2012|p=8}}


===Textual references===
]'s translations and interpretations of Hindu and Yogic scriptures, such as the ] and ], reflect his background as a Western-reared Bengali who later embraced his homelands spiritual traditions, focusing on the goddess Srii. His epic Hindu/Yoga poem ''Savitri'' is a treasure of Hindu Yogic literature, formally being the longest poem ever written in English. Besides his influence and scholarly writing on Yoga, he also founded Sri Aurobindo Ashram in ], that continues to propagate the practice of ]. This is Aurobindo's synthesis of the four main Yogas (Karma, Jnana, Bhakti and Raja).
{{Further|Yoga Vasistha|Yoga Yajnavalkya|Yoga-kundalini Upanishad|Yogasutra}}
The earliest evidence of yogis and their spiritual tradition, states ],<ref name=karelwernerkesinrv>{{cite journal |first=Karel |last=Werner |author-link=Karel Werner |date=1977 |title=Yoga and the Ṛg Veda: An Interpretation of the Keśin Hymn (RV 10, 136) |journal=Religious Studies |volume=13 |issue=3 |pages=289–302 |doi=10.1017/S0034412500010076 |s2cid=170592174 |quote=The Yogis of Vedic times left little evidence of their existence, practices and achievements. And such evidence as has survived in the Vedas is scanty and indirect. Nevertheless, the existence of accomplished Yogis in Vedic times cannot be doubted.}}</ref> is found in the ] hymn 10.136 of the ],{{refn|group=note|Sanskrit Original: ( of the Keśin hymn); Rigveda 10.136, 2nd millennium BCE}} though with the terminology of ] who evolved into ] worshipped as the lord of Yoga in later Hinduism.<ref name="karelwernerkesinrv" /> The Hindu scripture Rigveda uses words of admiration for the Yogis, whom it refers to as Kesin, and describes them as follows (abridged):<ref name="karelwernerkesinrv" />


{{Quote|
] (born ]) brought a similar synthesis of elements to the West, after spending twenty years at the ] ashram in ]. His teachings emphasize love for God, meditation on the heart, and religious tolerance rooted in modern ] principles.
Carrying within oneself fire and poison, heaven and earth, ranging from enthusiasm and creativity to depression and agony, from the heights of spiritual bliss to the heaviness of earth-bound labor. This is true of man in general and the Keśin in particular, but the latter has mastered and transformed these contrary forces and is a visible embodiment of accomplished spirituality. He is said to be light and enlightenment itself. The Keśin does not live a normal life of convention. His hair and beard grow longer, he spends long periods of time in absorption, musing and meditating and therefore he is called "sage" (muni). They wear clothes made of yellow rags fluttering in the wind, or perhaps more likely, they go naked, clad only in the yellow dust of the Indian soil. But their personalities are not bound to earth, for they follow the path of the mysterious wind when the gods enter them. He is someone lost in thoughts: he is miles away.
|Karel Werner (1977)|"Yoga and the Ṛg Veda: An Interpretation of the ]"<ref name="karelwernerkesinrv" />}}


The term yogin appears in ''Katyayana Shrauta-sutra'' and chapter 6 of Maitri Upanishad, where the implied context and meaning is "a follower of the Yoga system, a contemplative saint".<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607113955/https://www.sanskrit-lexicon.uni-koeln.de/cgi-bin/tamil/recherche |date=7 June 2019 }}, ''Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary'' (2008 revision), Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany</ref>
] (born in Pattamadai, ], on September 8, ], attained ] in ], ], on July 14, ]), one of the greatest yoga masters of modern times, authored over 300 books on yoga and spirituality. Sivananda also established Sivananda ashram in ], and founded .
His disciple, ] (born in Almora, ], in ]), has established the International Yoga Fellowship Movement, and the ] School of Yoga. Satyananda's main disciple ] (born in Rajnandgaon, ] in ]) later founded , the world's first yoga university.
Another disciple of Swami Sivananda's, ] (]-]), was sent by his ] to the West in ], where he founded the . He authored , first published in 1960. He is also known as the Flying Swami for personally flying a small airplane over conflict areas in the name of peace.


The term sometimes refers to a person who belongs to the Natha tradition.{{sfn|White|2012|p=8-9}} They usually belong to ] tradition, but some Natha belong to the ] tradition.<ref name="lorenzenmunozx" /> In both cases, states David Lorenzen, they practice yoga and their principal god tends to be ], that is a god that is without form and semi-],<ref name="lorenzenmunozx" /> influenced in the medieval era by the ] school of Hinduism, ] school of Buddhism, as well as Tantra and Yogic practices.<ref>David Lorenzen (2004), ''Religious Movements in South Asia, 600–1800'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195664485}}, pp. 310–311</ref><ref>David N. Lorenzen and Adrián Muñoz (2012), ''Yogi Heroes and Poets: Histories and Legends of the Naths'', SUNY Press, {{ISBN|978-1438438900}}, pp. 24–25</ref>
] was the founding spiritual head of the Himalayan Institute. He was the first yogi to come to America and be subjected to the scrutiny of modern science. He allegedly stunned doctors by stopping the beating of his heart completely for several minutes.


], and her eyes are closed in meditative state.]]
] (]-]) was a Kashmiri office worker and spiritual seeker. He wrote autobiographical of his spiritual experiences with Yoga. His most famous one is '']: Path to Higher Consciousness. ''Gopi Krishna's graphic accounts of his experiences stand out as among the clearest journals documenting a spiritual transformation. They are highly recommended as reading for anyone interested in Yogic phenomena.
The Yoga-Bhashya (400 CE),{{sfn|Rosen|2012|p=72}} the oldest extant commentary on the Yoga-Sutra offers the following fourfold classification of yogis:{{sfn|Feuerstein|2000|p=343}}<ref>SH Aranya (1983), ''Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali'', SUNY Press, {{ISBN|978-0873957281}}, pp. 334–337</ref>
# Prathama-kalpika (neophyte/beginner, devotional)
# Madhu-bhumika (one who has begun to enjoy the spiritual pursuits without effort)
# Prajna-jyoti (the advanced practitioner who knows spiritual concepts)
# Atikranta- bhavaniya (those who have attained what can be taught, achieved ]s, and are on their personal path to ultimate insights)


===Sexuality===
Swami Ramdevji Maharaj is a modern Indian yogi who follows the tradition of ] discovered by ]. While the important aspect of ] was neglected due to its lack of popularity and fear of potential negative side-effects, Swami Ramdevji Maharaj has broadcast teachings about it over a satellite channel AASTHA and held mass campainings all over the country. He claims to have used these techniques to cure various diseases.
A yogi or yogini aspires to ] (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मचर्य), which means celibacy if single, or non-cheating on one's partner.<ref name=ad>Arti Dhand (2002), "The dharma of ethics, the ethics of dharma: Quizzing the ideals of Hinduism", ''Journal of Religious Ethics'', 30(3), pp. 347–372</ref><ref>Yajnavalkya tells Gargi in verse 1.55 of ] that one who copulates (मैथुन) only with and always with one's sexual partner is a Brahmachari; see " {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120221014/http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_yoga/yogayAjnyavalkya.pdf |date=20 January 2016 }}" (Sanskrit text of "Yoga Yajnavalkya"), ''SanskritDocuments Archives'' (2009)</ref>


There have been two parallel views, in Hindu texts, on sexuality for a yogi and yogini. One view asserts restraint in sexual activity, towards ]- and ]-like asexuality, as transmutation away from worldly desires and onto a spiritual path.<ref name=sovatskybrahmacharya/> It is not considered, states Stuart Sovatsky, as a form of moralistic repression but a personal choice that empowers the yoga practitioner to redirect his or her energies.<ref name=sovatskybrahmacharya>Stuart Sovatsky (1987), "The pleasures of celibacy", ''Yoga Journal'', March/April Issue, pp. 41–47</ref> The second view, found particularly in ] traditions according to ], asserts that sexuality is an additional means for a yogi or yogini to journey towards and experience the bliss of "one realized god-consciousness for oneself".{{sfn|White|2012|pp=1–6}} In the second view, sexuality is a yogic practice,<ref>Machelle Seibel and Hari Kaur Khalsa (2002), ''A Woman's Book of Yoga'', Penguin, {{ISBN|978-1583331378}}, pp. 108–109</ref> and one broadly revered through the '']''–'']'' iconography of ]–], the divine yogi–yogini in Hindu mythology.<ref>Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty (1981), ''Siva: The Erotic Ascetic'', Oxford University Press, {{ISBN|978-0195202502}}, pp. 262–263</ref>
], ], ], ]-] incorporated within Raja Yoga, advanced meditation techniques from the tantras. He is the founder of ].


===Ethical duties===
] popularised the process of ] in many countries around the world through his movement called the ], (more popularly known as the ] movement) which he founded in ].
{{Quote box |width=30em | |align=right |salign = right
|quote=Both a yogi and a philosopher are seekers of an absolute truth. But they differ in their modes of approach. A philosopher advances in the path of rational logic (theory) and wants to intellectually understand the Truth. A yogi advances in the path of self discipline (practice) and aspires to spiritually realize truth.|source=—Akshaya Banerjea, ''Philosophy of ]''<ref name="Banerjea" />}}
A yogi or yogini lives by other voluntary ethical precepts called ] and ]s.<ref>K. N. Aiyar (1914), ''Thirty Minor Upanishads'', Kessinger Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1164026419}}, chapter 22, pp. 173–176</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Lorenzen |first=David |title=The Kāpālikas and Kālāmukhas |date=1972 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0520018426 |pages= |url=https://archive.org/details/kapalikaskalamuk0000lore/page/186 }}</ref> These include:<ref name=sanskrityogayajna1>" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120221014/http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_yoga/yogayAjnyavalkya.pdf |date=20 January 2016 }}" (Sanskrit text of "Yoga Yajnavalkya"), ''SanskritDocuments Archives'' (2009)</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Āgāśe |first=K. S. |title=Pātañjalayogasūtrāṇi |date=1904 |publisher=Ānandāśrama |location=Puṇe, India |page=102 |url=https://archive.org/stream/patanjaliyoga/yoga_sutras_three_commentaries#page/n111/mode/2up}}</ref><ref name=svatmaram>{{cite book |title=The Hatha Yoga Pradipika |author=Svātmārāma |first2=Pancham |last2=Sinh |edition=5th |date=1997 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9sBFttVx6ukC |isbn=9781605066370 |page=14 |publisher=Forgotten Books |quote=अथ यम-नियमाः अहिंसा सत्यमस्तेयं बरह्यछर्यम कश्हमा धृतिः दयार्जवं मिताहारः शौछम छैव यमा दश १७}}</ref>
* ] (अहिंसा): ], non-harming other living beings<ref name=jl>James Lochtefeld, "Yama (2)", ''The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism'', Vol. 2: N–Z, Rosen Publishing. {{ISBN|9780823931798}}, p. 777</ref>
* ] (सत्य): truthfulness, non-falsehood<ref name=ad/><ref name=jl/>
* ] (अस्तेय): not stealing<ref name=jl/>
* ] (दया): kindness, compassion<ref name=ss/>
* ] (आर्जव): non-hypocrisy, sincerity<ref>J Sinha, {{Google books|VCwmmWXJBqEC|Indian Psychology|page=142}}, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidas, {{oclc|1211693}}, p. 142</ref>
* ] (क्षमा): forgiveness<ref name=ss>Stuart Sovatsky (1998), ''Words from the Soul: Time East/West Spirituality and Psychotherapeutic Narrative'', State University of New York, {{ISBN|978-0791439494}}, p. 21</ref>
* ] (धृति): fortitude
* ] (मितहार): moderation in diet both in terms of quantity and quality
* ] (शौच): purity, cleanliness
* ]: austerity, persistence and perseverance in one's purpose<ref>W. O. Kaelber (1976). "'Tapas', Birth, and Spiritual Rebirth in the Veda", ''History of Religions'', 15(4), pp. 343–386</ref><ref name=sabha>S. A. Bhagwat (2008), "Yoga and Sustainability". ''Journal of Yoga'', Fall/Winter 2008, 7(1): 1–14</ref>
* ]: contentment, acceptance of others and of one's circumstances as they are, optimism for self<ref name=nt>N. Tummers (2009), ''Teaching Yoga for Life'', {{ISBN|978-0736070164}}, p 16–17</ref>
* ]: generosity, charity, sharing with others<ref>William Owen Cole (1991), ''Moral Issues in Six Religions'', Heinemann, {{ISBN|978-0435302993}}, pp. 104–105</ref>


===Nath siddha===
] (Swamiji) comes from ], ], and has been living in ], ] since 1972. Swamiji is the author of the scientific master-system ] and founder of the ] and ''Yoga in Daily Life'' ashrams and centres worldwide. He also inspired the foundations of the ''Yoga in Daily Life Youth Union'' and the ''Ayurveda Academy of Yoga in Daily Life''.
], a celebrated yogi of Nath tradition and a major proponent of Hatha yoga.<ref>{{cite book|author=Akshaya Kumar Banerjea|title=Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ljn1koKa0CQC |year=1983|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0534-7 |pages=xxi }}</ref>]]


According to David White,
] (born ]) is an important yoga master and guru in both his native India and the West, developing a physical and mental relaxation technique called ], which literally means "sleep of the yogis".
{{Quote|'']'' means 'realized, perfected one',{{refn|group=note|Compare Siddhartha Gautama, one of the names of ].}} a term generally applied to a practitioner ('']'', '']'') who has, through his practice ('']''), realized his dual goal of superhuman powers ('']s'', 'realizations', 'perfections') and bodily immortality ('']'').{{sfn|White|2012|p=2}}}}

====Respect====
Archeological evidence suggests that in some contexts and regions, yogi of the ] Siddha tradition were respected and recognized in India. For example, inscriptions suggest a general of the Yadava king Ramacandra donated a village to a yogi in 13th-century.{{sfn|White|2012|p=94}} Near Mangalore, that later became a hub of Nath yogis, a monastery and temple was dedicated to yogis in the 10th century.{{sfn|White|2012|p=94}}

David Lorenzen states that the Nath yogis have been very popular with the rural population in South Asia, with medieval era "tales and stories about Nath yogis such as Gorakhnath, Matsyendra, Jalandhar, Gopichand, Bharthari, Kanhapa and Chaurangi" continuing to be remembered in contemporary times, in the Deccan, western and northern states of India and in Nepal.<ref name=lorenzenmunozx>David N. Lorenzen and Adrián Muñoz (2012), ''Yogi Heroes and Poets: Histories and Legends of the Naths'', SUNY Press, {{ISBN|978-1438438900}}, pp. x–xi</ref>

====Persecution====
In some contexts, adds White, the term ''yogi'' has also been a pejorative term used in medieval India for a Nath siddha, particularly on the part of India's social, cultural and religious elites.{{sfn|White|2012|p=8-9}} The term ''siddha'' has become a broad sectarian appellation, applying to Saiva-devotees in the ] (''] siddhas''), alchemists in Tamil Nadu (]), a group of early Buddhist ] from Bengal ('']s'', ''siddhacaryas''), the alchemists of medieval India (''rasa siddha''), and a mainly north Indian group known as the ''Nath siddhas''.{{sfn|White|2012|p=2}} The Nath siddhas are the only still existing representatives of the medieval Tantric tradition, which had disappeared due to its excesses.{{sfn|White|2012|p=7}} While the Nath siddhas enjoyed persistent popular success, they attracted the scorn of the elite classes.{{sfn|White|2012|p=7}}

]
According to White, the term ''yogi'', has "for at least eight hundred years, been an all-purpose term employed to designate those Saiva specialists whom orthodox Hindus have considered suspect, heterodox, and even heretical in their doctrine and practice".{{sfn|White|2012|p=8}} The yoga as practiced by these Yogis, states White, is more closely identified in the eyes of those critics with black magic, sorcery and sexual perversions than with yoga in the conventional sense of the word.{{sfn|White|2012|p=9}}

The Nath Yogis were targets of Islamic persecution in the ]. The texts of Yogi traditions from this period, state Shail Mayaram, refer to oppressions by Mughal officials such as governor. The Mughal documents confirm the existence of Nath Yogis in each ''pargana'' (household neighborhoods), and their persecution wherein Nath Yogis were beheaded by ].<ref>Shail Mayaram (2003), ''Against History, Against State'', Columbia University Press, {{ISBN|978-0231127301}}, pp. 40–41, 39</ref>

====Resistance to persecution====
According to David Lorenzen, the religious groups in Hinduism that militarized and took up arms following the ], to resist persecution, appeared among the Nath or Kanphata yogis, often called simply yogis or jogis.<ref>David Lorenzen (2006), ''Who Invented Hinduism?'', Yoda Press, {{ISBN|978-8190227261}}, pp. 51–63</ref>

The warrior ]s were institutionalized as a religious order by Gorakhnath and were expanding in the 13th century, after the establishment of the first Islamic Sultanate in India. They interacted and cooperated with '']s'' of Sufi Muslims.<ref name="whitesyogi198">David Gordon White (2011), ''Sinister Yogis'', University of Chicago Press, {{ISBN|978-0226895147}}, pp. 198–207</ref> The yogis feature prominently in Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire period official documents, states David White, both in terms of impressing the ruling elite in the Muslim administration and awards of receiving land grants in some cases such as by ], as well as those yogis who targeted the elite merchants and disrupted the business of administrative Islamic elites in urban areas.<ref name="whitesyogi198" /><ref name="williampinchwarascetic">William Pinch (2012), ''Warrior Ascetics and Indian Empires'', Cambridge University Press, {{ISBN|978-1107406377}}, pp. 4–9, 28–34, 61–65, 150–151, 189–191, 194–207</ref> In other cases, yogis from the Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism marshaled armed resistance against the Mughal and British colonial armies.<ref name="whitesyogi198" /><ref name="williampinchwarascetic" />

====Cultural contributions: founding Hindu temples====
The history of Nath yogis has been diverse, such as in the 11th and 12th centuries, when Buddhists in South India converted to Nath siddha traditions and helped establish Shiva Hindu temples and monasteries.{{sfn|White|2012|pp=94–101}}

==See also==

* ]
* ]
* ]
* ]

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
{{Refbegin}}
* {{Citation |last=Feuerstein |first=Georg |author-link=Georg Feuerstein |date=2000 |title=The Shambhala Encyclopedia of Yoga |publisher=Shambhala Publications}}
* {{Citation |last=Rosen |first=Richard |author-link=Richard Rosen (yoga teacher) |date=2012 |title=Original Yoga: Rediscovering Traditional Practices of Hatha Yoga |publisher=Shambhala Publications |isbn=9780834827400 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=6ZeOYkgOQTUC&q=Yoga-Bhashya}}
* {{Citation |last=White |first=David Gordon |author-link=David Gordon White |date=2012 |title=The Alchemical Body: Siddha Traditions in Medieval India |publisher=University of Chicago Press |isbn=9780226149349 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=pQuqAAAAQBAJ}}
{{Refend}}

==External links==
*{{Wikibooks-inline|Yoga/Yoga Tales}}
*{{Commons category-inline}}

{{Yoga}}
{{Worship in Hinduism}}
{{Authority control}}


In the ] teaching of G. I. ] the word ''yogi'' is used to denote the specifically ] path of development, compared with the word '']'' (which Gurdjieff used for a path of ] development) and '']'' (which he used for the path of ]al development).
]
]
] ]
]
]
]
]

Latest revision as of 07:04, 31 January 2024

Practitioner of Yoga For other uses, see Yogi (disambiguation).

Bronze figure of a Yogi in Dhyana (meditation) by Malvina Hoffman
This article contains Indic text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks or boxes, misplaced vowels or missing conjuncts instead of Indic text.

A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions. The feminine form, sometimes used in English, is yogini.

Yogi has since the 12th century CE also denoted members of the Nath siddha tradition of Hinduism, and in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, a practitioner of tantra. In Hindu mythology, the god Shiva and the goddess Parvati are depicted as an emblematic yogi–yogini pair.

Etymology

Part of a series on
Hinduism
OriginsHistorical

Traditional

Sampradaya (Traditions)
Major Sampradaya (Traditions)
Other Sampradaya (Traditions)
Deities
Absolute Reality / Unifying Force
Trimurti
Tridevi
Other major Devas / Devis
Vedic Deities:
Post-Vedic:
Devatas
Concepts
Worldview
Ontology
Supreme reality
God
Puruṣārtha (Meaning of life)
Āśrama (Stages of life)
Three paths to liberation
Liberation
Mokṣa-related topics:
Mind
Ethics
Epistemology
Practices
Worship, sacrifice, and charity
Meditation
Yoga
Arts
Rites of passage
Festivals
Philosophical schools
Six Astika schools
Other schools
Gurus, Rishi, Philosophers
Ancient
Medieval
Modern
Texts
Sources and classification of scripture
Scriptures
Vedas
Divisions
Upanishads
Rigveda:
Yajurveda:
Samaveda:
Atharvaveda:
Vedangas
Other scriptures
Itihasas
Puranas
Upavedas
Shastras, sutras, and samhitas
Stotras, stutis and Bhashya
Tamil literature
Other texts
Hindu Culture & Society
Society
Hindu Art
Hindu Architecture
Hindu Music
Food & Diet Customs
Time Keeping Practices
Hindu Pilgrimage
Other society-related topics:
Other topics
Hinduism by country
Hinduism & Other Religions
Other Related Links (Templates)

In Classical Sanskrit, the word yogi (Sanskrit: masc yogī, योगी; fem yoginī) is derived from yogin, which refers to a practitioner of yoga. Yogi is technically male, and yoginī is the term used for female practitioners. The two terms are still used with those meanings today, but the word yogi is also used generically to refer to both male and female practitioners of yoga and related meditative practices belonging to any religion or spiritual method.

The term yogini is also used for divine goddesses and enlightened mothers, all revered as aspects of the mother goddess, Devi.

A yogi should not be confused with someone practicing asceticism and excessive self-mortification.

Hinduism

In Hinduism the term yogi refers to an adherent of yoga.

Textual references

Further information: Yoga Vasistha, Yoga Yajnavalkya, Yoga-kundalini Upanishad, and Yogasutra

The earliest evidence of yogis and their spiritual tradition, states Karel Werner, is found in the Keśin hymn 10.136 of the Rigveda, though with the terminology of Rudra who evolved into Shiva worshipped as the lord of Yoga in later Hinduism. The Hindu scripture Rigveda uses words of admiration for the Yogis, whom it refers to as Kesin, and describes them as follows (abridged):

Carrying within oneself fire and poison, heaven and earth, ranging from enthusiasm and creativity to depression and agony, from the heights of spiritual bliss to the heaviness of earth-bound labor. This is true of man in general and the Keśin in particular, but the latter has mastered and transformed these contrary forces and is a visible embodiment of accomplished spirituality. He is said to be light and enlightenment itself. The Keśin does not live a normal life of convention. His hair and beard grow longer, he spends long periods of time in absorption, musing and meditating and therefore he is called "sage" (muni). They wear clothes made of yellow rags fluttering in the wind, or perhaps more likely, they go naked, clad only in the yellow dust of the Indian soil. But their personalities are not bound to earth, for they follow the path of the mysterious wind when the gods enter them. He is someone lost in thoughts: he is miles away.

— Karel Werner (1977), "Yoga and the Ṛg Veda: An Interpretation of the Keśin Hymn"

The term yogin appears in Katyayana Shrauta-sutra and chapter 6 of Maitri Upanishad, where the implied context and meaning is "a follower of the Yoga system, a contemplative saint".

The term sometimes refers to a person who belongs to the Natha tradition. They usually belong to Shaiva tradition, but some Natha belong to the Vaishnava tradition. In both cases, states David Lorenzen, they practice yoga and their principal god tends to be Nirguna, that is a god that is without form and semi-monistic, influenced in the medieval era by the Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism, Madhyamaka school of Buddhism, as well as Tantra and Yogic practices.

A 10th-century Yogini statue from Tamil Nadu, India. She is seated in an asana, and her eyes are closed in meditative state.

The Yoga-Bhashya (400 CE), the oldest extant commentary on the Yoga-Sutra offers the following fourfold classification of yogis:

  1. Prathama-kalpika (neophyte/beginner, devotional)
  2. Madhu-bhumika (one who has begun to enjoy the spiritual pursuits without effort)
  3. Prajna-jyoti (the advanced practitioner who knows spiritual concepts)
  4. Atikranta- bhavaniya (those who have attained what can be taught, achieved siddhas, and are on their personal path to ultimate insights)

Sexuality

A yogi or yogini aspires to Brahmacharya (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मचर्य), which means celibacy if single, or non-cheating on one's partner.

There have been two parallel views, in Hindu texts, on sexuality for a yogi and yogini. One view asserts restraint in sexual activity, towards monk- and nun-like asexuality, as transmutation away from worldly desires and onto a spiritual path. It is not considered, states Stuart Sovatsky, as a form of moralistic repression but a personal choice that empowers the yoga practitioner to redirect his or her energies. The second view, found particularly in Tantra traditions according to David Gordon White, asserts that sexuality is an additional means for a yogi or yogini to journey towards and experience the bliss of "one realized god-consciousness for oneself". In the second view, sexuality is a yogic practice, and one broadly revered through the lingam–yoni iconography of Shiva–Parvati, the divine yogi–yogini in Hindu mythology.

Ethical duties

Both a yogi and a philosopher are seekers of an absolute truth. But they differ in their modes of approach. A philosopher advances in the path of rational logic (theory) and wants to intellectually understand the Truth. A yogi advances in the path of self discipline (practice) and aspires to spiritually realize truth.

—Akshaya Banerjea, Philosophy of Gorakhnath

A yogi or yogini lives by other voluntary ethical precepts called Yamas and Niyamas. These include:

  • Ahiṃsā (अहिंसा): nonviolence, non-harming other living beings
  • Satya (सत्य): truthfulness, non-falsehood
  • Asteya (अस्तेय): not stealing
  • Dayā (दया): kindness, compassion
  • Ārjava (आर्जव): non-hypocrisy, sincerity
  • Kṣamā (क्षमा): forgiveness
  • Dhṛti (धृति): fortitude
  • Mitāhāra (मितहार): moderation in diet both in terms of quantity and quality
  • Śauca (शौच): purity, cleanliness
  • Tapas: austerity, persistence and perseverance in one's purpose
  • Santoṣa: contentment, acceptance of others and of one's circumstances as they are, optimism for self
  • Dāna: generosity, charity, sharing with others

Nath siddha

A sculpture of Gorakhnath, a celebrated yogi of Nath tradition and a major proponent of Hatha yoga.

According to David White,

[S]iddha means 'realized, perfected one', a term generally applied to a practitioner (sādhaka, sadhu) who has, through his practice (sadhana), realized his dual goal of superhuman powers (siddhis, 'realizations', 'perfections') and bodily immortality (jivanmukti).

Respect

Archeological evidence suggests that in some contexts and regions, yogi of the Nath Siddha tradition were respected and recognized in India. For example, inscriptions suggest a general of the Yadava king Ramacandra donated a village to a yogi in 13th-century. Near Mangalore, that later became a hub of Nath yogis, a monastery and temple was dedicated to yogis in the 10th century.

David Lorenzen states that the Nath yogis have been very popular with the rural population in South Asia, with medieval era "tales and stories about Nath yogis such as Gorakhnath, Matsyendra, Jalandhar, Gopichand, Bharthari, Kanhapa and Chaurangi" continuing to be remembered in contemporary times, in the Deccan, western and northern states of India and in Nepal.

Persecution

In some contexts, adds White, the term yogi has also been a pejorative term used in medieval India for a Nath siddha, particularly on the part of India's social, cultural and religious elites. The term siddha has become a broad sectarian appellation, applying to Saiva-devotees in the Deccan (Maheśvara siddhas), alchemists in Tamil Nadu (siddhars or sittars), a group of early Buddhist tantrikas from Bengal (mahasiddhas, siddhacaryas), the alchemists of medieval India (rasa siddha), and a mainly north Indian group known as the Nath siddhas. The Nath siddhas are the only still existing representatives of the medieval Tantric tradition, which had disappeared due to its excesses. While the Nath siddhas enjoyed persistent popular success, they attracted the scorn of the elite classes.

17th century Hindu female Nath yogis. The earliest records mentioning female Nath yogis (or yogini) trace to 11th century.

According to White, the term yogi, has "for at least eight hundred years, been an all-purpose term employed to designate those Saiva specialists whom orthodox Hindus have considered suspect, heterodox, and even heretical in their doctrine and practice". The yoga as practiced by these Yogis, states White, is more closely identified in the eyes of those critics with black magic, sorcery and sexual perversions than with yoga in the conventional sense of the word.

The Nath Yogis were targets of Islamic persecution in the Mughal Empire. The texts of Yogi traditions from this period, state Shail Mayaram, refer to oppressions by Mughal officials such as governor. The Mughal documents confirm the existence of Nath Yogis in each pargana (household neighborhoods), and their persecution wherein Nath Yogis were beheaded by Aurangzeb.

Resistance to persecution

According to David Lorenzen, the religious groups in Hinduism that militarized and took up arms following the Muslim conquest of India, to resist persecution, appeared among the Nath or Kanphata yogis, often called simply yogis or jogis.

The warrior ascetics were institutionalized as a religious order by Gorakhnath and were expanding in the 13th century, after the establishment of the first Islamic Sultanate in India. They interacted and cooperated with fakirs of Sufi Muslims. The yogis feature prominently in Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire period official documents, states David White, both in terms of impressing the ruling elite in the Muslim administration and awards of receiving land grants in some cases such as by Akbar, as well as those yogis who targeted the elite merchants and disrupted the business of administrative Islamic elites in urban areas. In other cases, yogis from the Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism marshaled armed resistance against the Mughal and British colonial armies.

Cultural contributions: founding Hindu temples

The history of Nath yogis has been diverse, such as in the 11th and 12th centuries, when Buddhists in South India converted to Nath siddha traditions and helped establish Shiva Hindu temples and monasteries.

See also

Notes

  1. Sanskrit Original: (Wikisource of the Keśin hymn); Rigveda 10.136, 2nd millennium BCE
  2. Compare Siddhartha Gautama, one of the names of Buddha.

References

  1. ^ White 2012, p. 8.
  2. ^ A. K. Banerjea (2014), Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120805347, pp. xxiii, 297–299, 331
  3. ^ White 2012, p. 8-9.
  4. ^ Rita Gross (1993), Buddhism After Patriarchy, SUNY Press, ISBN 978-0791414033, pages 85–88
  5. David Gordon White (2013), Tantra in Practice, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120817784, pp. xiii–xv
  6. Stella Kramrisch (1994), The Presence of Siva, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0691019307, pp. 305–309, 356
  7. Vidya Dehejia and Thomas B. Coburn (1999), Devi: The Great Goddess, Smithsonian Institution, ISBN 978-3791321295, p. 386
  8. ^ Werner, Karel (1977). "Yoga and the Ṛg Veda: An Interpretation of the Keśin Hymn (RV 10, 136)". Religious Studies. 13 (3): 289–302. doi:10.1017/S0034412500010076. S2CID 170592174. The Yogis of Vedic times left little evidence of their existence, practices and achievements. And such evidence as has survived in the Vedas is scanty and indirect. Nevertheless, the existence of accomplished Yogis in Vedic times cannot be doubted.
  9. yogin Archived 7 June 2019 at the Wayback Machine, Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary (2008 revision), Cologne Digital Sanskrit Lexicon, Germany
  10. ^ David N. Lorenzen and Adrián Muñoz (2012), Yogi Heroes and Poets: Histories and Legends of the Naths, SUNY Press, ISBN 978-1438438900, pp. x–xi
  11. David Lorenzen (2004), Religious Movements in South Asia, 600–1800, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195664485, pp. 310–311
  12. David N. Lorenzen and Adrián Muñoz (2012), Yogi Heroes and Poets: Histories and Legends of the Naths, SUNY Press, ISBN 978-1438438900, pp. 24–25
  13. Rosen 2012, p. 72.
  14. Feuerstein 2000, p. 343.
  15. SH Aranya (1983), Yoga Philosophy of Patanjali, SUNY Press, ISBN 978-0873957281, pp. 334–337
  16. ^ Arti Dhand (2002), "The dharma of ethics, the ethics of dharma: Quizzing the ideals of Hinduism", Journal of Religious Ethics, 30(3), pp. 347–372
  17. Yajnavalkya tells Gargi in verse 1.55 of Yoga Yajnavalkya that one who copulates (मैथुन) only with and always with one's sexual partner is a Brahmachari; see "योगयाज्ञवल्क्य १-५५ Archived 20 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine" (Sanskrit text of "Yoga Yajnavalkya"), SanskritDocuments Archives (2009)
  18. ^ Stuart Sovatsky (1987), "The pleasures of celibacy", Yoga Journal, March/April Issue, pp. 41–47
  19. White 2012, pp. 1–6.
  20. Machelle Seibel and Hari Kaur Khalsa (2002), A Woman's Book of Yoga, Penguin, ISBN 978-1583331378, pp. 108–109
  21. Wendy Doniger O'Flaherty (1981), Siva: The Erotic Ascetic, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195202502, pp. 262–263
  22. K. N. Aiyar (1914), Thirty Minor Upanishads, Kessinger Publishing, ISBN 978-1164026419, chapter 22, pp. 173–176
  23. Lorenzen, David (1972). The Kāpālikas and Kālāmukhas. University of California Press. pp. 186–190. ISBN 978-0520018426.
  24. "योगयाज्ञवल्क्य प्रथमोऽध्याय Archived 20 January 2016 at the Wayback Machine" (Sanskrit text of "Yoga Yajnavalkya"), SanskritDocuments Archives (2009)
  25. Āgāśe, K. S. (1904). Pātañjalayogasūtrāṇi. Puṇe, India: Ānandāśrama. p. 102.
  26. Svātmārāma; Sinh, Pancham (1997). The Hatha Yoga Pradipika (5th ed.). Forgotten Books. p. 14. ISBN 9781605066370. अथ यम-नियमाः अहिंसा सत्यमस्तेयं बरह्यछर्यम कश्हमा धृतिः दयार्जवं मिताहारः शौछम छैव यमा दश १७
  27. ^ James Lochtefeld, "Yama (2)", The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 2: N–Z, Rosen Publishing. ISBN 9780823931798, p. 777
  28. ^ Stuart Sovatsky (1998), Words from the Soul: Time East/West Spirituality and Psychotherapeutic Narrative, State University of New York, ISBN 978-0791439494, p. 21
  29. J Sinha, Indian Psychology, p. 142, at Google Books, Volume 2, Motilal Banarsidas, OCLC 1211693, p. 142
  30. W. O. Kaelber (1976). "'Tapas', Birth, and Spiritual Rebirth in the Veda", History of Religions, 15(4), pp. 343–386
  31. S. A. Bhagwat (2008), "Yoga and Sustainability". Journal of Yoga, Fall/Winter 2008, 7(1): 1–14
  32. N. Tummers (2009), Teaching Yoga for Life, ISBN 978-0736070164, p 16–17
  33. William Owen Cole (1991), Moral Issues in Six Religions, Heinemann, ISBN 978-0435302993, pp. 104–105
  34. Akshaya Kumar Banerjea (1983). Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. xxi. ISBN 978-81-208-0534-7.
  35. ^ White 2012, p. 2.
  36. ^ White 2012, p. 94.
  37. ^ White 2012, p. 7.
  38. Alf Hiltebeitel; Kathleen M. Erndl (2000). Is the Goddess a Feminist?: The Politics of South Asian Goddesses. New York University Press. pp. 40–41. ISBN 978-0-8147-3619-7.
  39. White 2012, p. 9.
  40. Shail Mayaram (2003), Against History, Against State, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0231127301, pp. 40–41, 39
  41. David Lorenzen (2006), Who Invented Hinduism?, Yoda Press, ISBN 978-8190227261, pp. 51–63
  42. ^ David Gordon White (2011), Sinister Yogis, University of Chicago Press, ISBN 978-0226895147, pp. 198–207
  43. ^ William Pinch (2012), Warrior Ascetics and Indian Empires, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-1107406377, pp. 4–9, 28–34, 61–65, 150–151, 189–191, 194–207
  44. White 2012, pp. 94–101.

Sources

External links

Yoga
Subtle body
Hinduism
Three Yogas
Philosophy
Concepts
Tantra
Hatha yoga
Buddhism
Theravada
Mahayana
Vajrayana
Modern
As exercise
Related
Related
Worship in Hinduism
Main topics
Rituals
Puja
Homa
Other
Mantras
Objects
Materials
Instruments
Iconography
Places
Roles
Sacred animals
Sacred plants
Trees
Fruits and other plants
See also
Categories: