Category Archives: F. Indian Philosophical Schools

a. Hinduism for the West, Other Yogas

Bikram Yoga and Bikram Choudhury

Bikram Yoga is a style of hatha yoga that was developed by Bikram Choudhury (Frey 1). Hatha Yoga emphasizes the outcome of yoga’s “…physical effects [such as] weight loss, physical stress reduction, muscle toning, and flexibility” (Fish 191). Additionally, it does not focus on the meditative aspects of yoga. These characteristics of the Hatha style of yoga are pronounced in Bikram Yoga and heightened. The purpose of Bikram Yoga is for the transformation of adults to improve health, rejuvenate the body, become fit, and therefore be “healthy”. These words are put in quotations as the controversy behind this style is vast. Varying research, which will be discussed further on, has been conducted and provides both negative and positive results from individuals that have performed this style of yoga. Moreover, beyond the controversy that has been publicized about the style, Bikram Choudhury himself has received negative public awareness, specifically in North America. This is owing to his methods of teaching, claims for Intellectual Property Rights (IPR’s) on the yoga style, and sexual assault and rape allegations that have been brought forth by previous students. While Bikram Yoga is still widely debated and its reputation has fluctuated, the popularity of this style cannot be questioned.

Bikram Choudhury was born in Kolkata/Calcutta, India in 1946 (Frey 1). Before Yoga encapsulated Choudhury’s life, he was well known for his weightlifting until a knee injury prevented him from continuing with his passion (Fish 194). It was then, when Choudhury was desperate for healing, that he met his yoga guru, Bishnu Charan Ghosh, who promised Choudhury he could fix his injury through yoga (Singleton 2010). He trained Choudhury at his College of Physical Education in Calcutta, which focussed on the modern and upcoming popular Hatha Yoga (Singleton 134). This style focussed on postures (asanas), muscle manipulation, and the physical culture of Yoga. Ghosh claimed that this style was a “weights-free method of physical training through will-power…” (Singleton 133). Miraculously, Choudhury’s injury healed. From this, there are claims that he participated in the National India Yoga Championship in which he won gold consecutively for several years (Frey 2012) and became a world champion yogi by the age of seventeen. This began the journey of Choudhury’s entrepreneurial yoga empire, which lead to the claim of a special invitation from President Richard Nixon in the 1970s for Choudhury to visit the United States of America (Fish 194). From this visit, Choudhury states to have helped Nixon with his injuries, as well as Shirley MacLaine, who was a famous actress, and obtained a green card as a thank you from the President.

From Choudhury’s acceptance into the U.S. began the creation of transnational commercial yoga, which as Fish (2006) states, is the yoga franchisee equivalent to McDonald’s. In 1974, Choudhury founded the Bikram Yoga College of India (BYCI) in Beverley Hills, California. Choudhury soon coined the name “Bikram Yoga” as he taught a very specific form that included 26 different postures (asanas) and 2 different breathing exercises (pranayamas), which were taught in ninety-minute durations (Fish 194). Additionally, Bikram Yoga is synonymous with Hot Yoga (Pizer 2018). This is due to the yoga practices being taught in studios that are heated at a temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit (40.5 degrees Celsius), which is above the normal temperature of the human body. Heat was said to be used because it was believed that the “inner heat” (tapas) produced through a physical activity could purify an individual and destroy imperfections of mental and sensorial faculties (Singleton, 175). Therefore, Choudhury believed that increasing the heat an individual was exposed to would produce more sweating, therefore leading to better physical health by cleansing one’s body and enhancing performance through the loosening of muscles (Pizer 2018). In 2006, Fish (194) reported that there was approximately 800 franchises of Official Bikram Studios, which operated in 33 different countries.

With the creation of this college and the popularity that exploded in the west of this particular style, he soon began to exploit North American’s for their wealth and became a multi-millionaire as a result (Pizer 2018). The new modern yoga that Bikram popularized was vastly different from traditional yoga practices. As stated previously, it “[did] not emphasize lineage or the rootedness of the tradition in the religious context, [but] [focussed] instead on the physical benefits of the practice with respects to fitness, beautification, and the like” (Singleton and Byme 173), which was exactly in-line with North American trends of being slimmer and fit during this era. His infamous teacher training classes cost individuals approximately ten-thousand dollars each for a nine-week course. Choudhury’s way of teaching, style of yoga, and exploitation of students (sisya) abandoned the rules of traditional yoga, which was primarily focused on “… dealing with aims, celibacy, scriptural study, and retreat from society or social norms” (Jain 10). Furthermore, the benefits from Bikram yoga began to reflect the dominant self-development desires of Choudhury. He transformed the teaching of yoga from “… the traditional guru-disciple relationship, usually in the isolated context of an ashram, [instead] to [marketing] yoga to mass audiences” (Jain 7) to obtain wealth.

In 2002, Bikram Choudhury attempted to obtain Intellectual Property Rights for his 26 postures and 2 breathing exercises (Fish 192). This took fruition after Choudhury became irate that studios were taking profits away from him by using his style of yoga, and in non-certified Bikram studios (Fish 195). Beyond the substantial profit he obtained from holding mass studios offering teacher training, Choudhury began franchising Bikram Yoga. Individuals that successfully passed, and paid, for the BYCI teacher training were allowed to open up Bikram Yoga studios by paying continuous franchisee and royalty fees to Choudhury (Fish 2006). Although groups such as the Open Source Yoga Unity (OSYU) initially fought Choudhury, claiming that yoga was knowledge of the public and not the private domain, Choudhury was able to settle these claims outside of court with a non-disclosure agreement between the parties (Fish 2006). Furthermore, in the present day, the Indian government is creating a digital library of all yoga mechanisms and yogic knowledge to preserve the public domain of yoga. This act has been described by Fish (2006) as a “reverse patent”, as it aims to preserve yoga for all people (i.e. the public) and to eliminate the possibility of yoga to become possessed by a singular individual or entity (Fish 2006).

As Bikram Yoga became increasingly famous, sexual assault and rape allegations, as well as the harmful dynamics from the classes, began to proliferate from former students and former legal representatives of Choudhury (Pizer 2). A quote from a student that attended a Bikram class publicly stated to a recognised U.S. magazine that Choudhury would introduce the class as follows: “Welcome to Bikram’s torture chamber, where you’ll kill yourself for the next ninety minutes”. Furthermore, students disclosed the intensity of the classes describing how Choudhury would make fun of students for their weight and appearance and did not allow bathroom breaks during lessons Additionally, students claimed that the physical expectations and heat conditions caused several participants to faint or vomit in class and feel severe pain during and after lessons. Bikram Yoga did not have beginner, intermediary, or expert classes and the students that failed were humiliated publicly in front of everyone in the mass studio. The sexual assault and rape claims came from six of Choudhury’s previous students and his previous lawyer. Choudhury denies all claims. The accumulating costly allegations eventually led Bikram Choudury Yoga Inc. to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, listing more than $16 million in legal judgments (Yerak 1). In 2017, an arrest warrant was issued for Choudhury in California, but Choudhury successfully fled the United States and has yet to pay Jafa-Bodden (Pizer 2018).

The controversy surrounding Bikram Yoga and Bikram Choudhury himself is exponential, but perhaps even more thought-provoking is the mixed results researchers have produced in verifying if this extreme style of yoga does in fact have the positive effects on the human body it claims to generate. Hewett (355) conducted a randomized experiment using an experimental and control group to compare the effects of Bikram Yoga on perceived stress, self-efficacy, and health-related quality of life in adults. Results were in favour of Bikram Yoga and concluded that individuals experienced improved perceived stress, general self-efficacy, and had an increase in overall health. Moreover, Abel’s (37) study on the physiological effects of Bikram Yoga continued the positive regard with findings that concluded participants had lower heart rate and blood pressure.  However, negative results from research have also been provided. Cramer’s (3) study indicated significant adverse effects on the human body due to postures performed in Bikram Yoga such as the headstand, shoulder stand, and the lotus position. Cramer (3) claimed that these positions have “… adverse [affects] [on] the musculoskeletal system and included fractures, ligament tears, joint injuries, fibrocartilaginous injuries, …” etc., as well as produced glaucoma and osteopenia in some cases. Cramer (6) continued to state that “Bikram yoga [was] the yoga [practice] that [was] most often associated with adverse events”. This study concludes by warning individuals to avoid forceful yoga practices such as Bikram Yoga, especially if they are beginners, are elderly, or have medical conditions (7).

Bibliography

Abel, Lloyd, Williams, and Miller, K. Brian (2012) “Physiological Characteristics of Long-Term Bikram Yoga Practitioners.” Journal of Exercise Physiology 32:39-15. Accessed January 31, 2020. ISSN:1097-9751

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Cramer, H., Krucoff, C., and Dobos, Gustav (2013) “Adverse Events Associated with Yoga: A Systematic Review of Published Case Reports and Case Series.” PLoS ONE 1:8-10. Accessed January 31, 2020. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0075515

Fish, Allison (2006) “The Commodification and Exchange of Knowledge in the Case of Transnational Commercial Yoga.” International Journal of Cultural Property 189:206-13. Accessed January 31, 2020. doi: 10.1017/S0940739106060127

Frey, Rebecca, J. (2012) “Bikram Yoga.” The Gale encyclopedia of fitness. 1:5-249. Accessed February 22, 2020.

Hewett, Pumpa, Smith, Fahey, and Birinder, S. Cheema (2018) “Effect of a 16-week Bikram yoga program on perceived stress, self-efficacy and health-related quality of life in stressed and sedentary adults: A randomised controlled trial.” Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport 352:357-21. Accessed January 31, 2020. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2017.08.006

Jain, Andrea (2016) “Modern Yoga.” Oxford Research Encyclopedias. Accessed February 22, 2020. doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.163

Pizer, Ann (2018) The Difference Between Bikram and Hot Yoga. New York: Dotdash

Singleton, Mark (2010) Yoga body: The origins of modern posture practice. New York: Oxford University Press USA – OSO.

Singleton, Mark, and Jean Byrne (2008) Yoga in the Modern World: Contemporary Perspectives. London: Routledge.

Yerak, Becky (2017) “Bikram Choudhury’s Yoga Business Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy; Hot Yoga Pioneer Bikram Choudhury Is Facing Millions in Legal Judgments.” Wall Street Journal. Accessed January 31, 2020.  

Related Research Topics

Bishnu Charan Ghosh

Hatha Yoga

Postural Yoga

Modern Yoga

Noteworthy Websites Related to the Topic

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bikram_Choudhury

https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/tv-movies/a29857796/where-is-bikram-choudhury-now-yoga-founder-netflix-documentary/

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2017/feb/18/bikram-hot-yoga-scandal-choudhury-what-he-wanted

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/bikram-choudhury-sexual-assault_n_5d4dc527e4b0fd2733f0286f?ri18n=true

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/netflix-doc-bikram-1.5280899

https://www.cinemablend.com/news/2485542/what-bikram-choudhury-thinks-about-netflix-scathing-new-yoga-documentary

https://www.popsugar.com/entertainment/where-is-bikram-choudhury-now-46899216

Article written by: Leila Methot (Spring, 2020) who is entirely responsible for its content.

2. Buddhism, Hinduism and Buddhism

Faxien (FA-Hsien): Chinese traveller

Shi Faxian wrote a detailed record of his travels from the years 399-418 C.E. after noticing that the Vinaya-Pitaka, a collection of Buddhist scripture, was unfinished, particularly, the Vinaya concerning monastic rules and precepts (Li, 157). Without this knowledge, those who wished to renounce and live religious life according to the Buddha’s teaching did not have the resources to do so. A completed Vinaya would provide monks or bhiksus with rules, daily activities and bhiksus ordination ceremonies. Faxian’s travels documented these rituals at the historical time that they happened. Through the culture and customs of the people he met. His major work is the translation of the Maha-samghika-Vinaya with the help of Buddhabhadra along with the recovery of the Sanskrit text Mahisasaka-Vinaya. Several pieces of his work appear in the collections of the Tripitaka (Li, 159).

Faxian was originally named Kung but was sent to the Buddhist order at the age of three. There, he was given the religious name of Fa-hsien meaning, “Law Manifest” (Fa-hsien, 7). Fa-hsien departed from Chang-an in the year 399 C.E. at the age of sixty-five. The list of places he visited is numerous, starting from dangerous deserts to powerful kingdoms to a three-year long return voyage. He crossed deserts, the Pamir Plateau, travelled through North, Central and East India, then sailed across the Indian Ocean and the China sea, landed at Laoshan and reached Chienkang in 413 C.E. (Fa-hsien, 7). By the time he returned to China he was seventy-four years old. Before his travels, Chinese monks had yet to travel further than North India. When Fa-hsien arrived in North India, sutras were passed down orally which convinced Fa-hsien to press further into India in pursuit of monastic rules that Chinese monks deeply needed. These monastic rules are one of three main parts of the Tripitaka. The Sutra-Pitaka, contains the sayings of Buddha and his main disciples, the Vinaya-Pitaka contains Monastic rules and the Abhidharma-pikaka is known as the Basket of Commentaries (Fa-hsien, 15).

Fa-hsien’s first stop travelling west was the country of King Ju Tan where he would stay for his first summer retreat. It was a Buddhist custom for monks to take the summer or rainy days off. From there Fa-hsien would travel to Tunhaung after his summer retreat through a desert that was known to have evil spirits and hot winds that killed every man who encountered them. It was described to have skeletons of those who perished there to mark the way (Fa-hsien, 16). He visited the Country of Shenshen and Agni. Both Kings in these countries embraced Buddhism and had four thousand monks from the Hinayana School. Agni held monks who held traditions far more strictly than Shenshen and who prohibited Chinese Monks (Fa-hsien, 17). The Country of Khotan was largely prosperous and hospitable. Here they witnessed the image procession. Travelling to Khalacha, Fa-hsien witnessed the five-year assembly, a time in which the king presents offerings to monks. From Khalacha, the group journeyed west to North India where they crossed the Pamirs. (Fa-hsien, 18-22).

They arrived in Udyana, the northernmost part of India and found all the inhabitants to speak the language of Central India. Here it was rumoured that Buddha came to this country when he visited North India. After a summer retreat they travelled south to Suvastu, it is said that the king tested Buddha by transforming into a hawk and a dove. To ransom for the dove the Buddha cut off a piece of his flesh for the hawk (Fa-hsien, 26). Travelling East, the places they visited had many claims to former actions of the Buddha. He gave up his body for alms, his eyes in Gandhara and head in Takshasila. Travelling south the group eventually reached the city of Hilo where there was built a temple for Buddha’s skull. Here, the king worried about security assigned eight men of noble families each with a seal to seal up the relic. Every morning they would check to see if the seals were broken or tampered with. Fa-hsien would go on to lose a companion to the cold of the Lesser Snow Mountains (Fa-hsien, 28-34). Eventually, they reached Central India, also known as the Middle Kingdom. It is here that Fa-hsien would acquire the Maha-samghika-Vinaya. He also obtained the Sarvastivada-Vinaya (Li, 202).

Having arrived in Central India, they arrived at a country called Samkasya where Buddha descended from the Trayastrimsas Heaven after preaching the Law to his mother for three months. To the southeast, Kanyakubja was a city in which the Buddha taught the law to his disciples. Further on, the Country of Vaisakha where the Buddha planted a willow twig that he used to clean his teeth with. Heretical Brahmans would cut it down, but it would spring up in the same place as before. Northward to the City of Sravasti was a city that was scarcely populated. Southeast from here laid the city of Kapilavastu and the garden of Lumbini. Here, the Krakuchchanda Buddha was born while in the garden of Lumbini, the queen bathed in a pool. When she emerged she gave birth to a son who would be bathed by two dragon-kings. A well was made there where the monks would usually drink from. (Fa-hsien, 49). East of this is the country of Ramagrama, known for its relics. Further east they reached the city of Kushinagara, where the Buddha was said to have entered Nirvana. East, they reached the country of Vaisali, north of which is the storeyed Monastery where the Buddha lived. Eventually, they reached the country of Magadha and the city of Pataliputra which was King Asoka’s capital (Fa-hsien, 50-58). King Asoka (272-232 B.C.E.) was king during Buddhism’s spread to Asia. Heading west they arrived at the new city of Rajagriha which was mentioned to only have two monasteries (Fa-hsien, 62). Passing through the Gridhrakuta Mountain, where the Buddha used to sit in meditation at the summit, they reached the city of Gaya. This city, unfortunately, was deserted. Fa-hsien returned to Pataliputra and travelled west to reach the city of Varanasi, a short distance away to the deer park where Pratyka Buddha entered Nirvana. Fa-hsien ended his journey in central India in the country of Tamralipti where he spent three years on a voyage to Chang-an (Fa-hsien, 63-72).

Fa-hsien’s main purpose in travelling west was to obtain monastic rules in India. He travelled to India during the reign of King Chandragupta II. His account of his travels, the Record of Buddhist Countries is the earliest account of information that we have of this era besides a few coins and sculptures (Fa-hsien, 9). The places that he names are of great interest to those studying the trade routes between China and the west. One of the earliest cultural interactions noted during his time in Shenshen, was that the monks residing there all practised the religion of India, but some observed it more strictly than others. This was how it was visiting countries to the west. It was only the language that differed from country to country. One of the earliest recordings of a cultural event was the record of the image procession in the country of Khotan. The image procession has a resemblance to that of a parade. It begins on the first day of the fourth month with the cleaning of the streets. The monks that the king has favour (during this time it was the monks of Gomati Monastery) would prepare a four-wheel image car three li from the city. This image was adorned with precious substances such as gold, silver, lapis-lazuli etc. Buddha’s image would stand at the centre of the car attended by two Bodhisattvas while divas of gold, silver or carved jade are suspended in the air. When the car approached the city, the king would take off his crown and change into clean clothes. Then, carrying flowers would burn incense before them. There is a different car for each ceremonial and each monastery had one day to parade its images (Fa-hsien, 19).

During Fa-hsien’s time in Central India, he was able to acquire a copy of the Maha-samghika-Vinaya. The translation of this text would be his major contribution to Chinese Buddhism and the understanding of monastic rules. It was the most extensive and complete text of the Vinaya (Li, 202). First arriving in Central India he took the time to describe the environment. The customs of the region were that people were rich and contented and unaffected by any poll-tax or official restrictions. Only those who farmed on the land owned by the king would pay a land tax and they were completely free to go and come as they pleased. The king governed without resorting to capital punishment, but criminals were punished via fines according to their crimes. Those who committed high treason (a crime of the highest degree) would have their right hand cut off. The residents of this country did not kill living creatures, drink wine or eat onion or garlic. Although those with the title of, “chandalas” or “evil men” did. Chandalas would enter the town by announcing their presence by hitting a piece of wood. These people held the occupation of fishermen or hunters. The monks were lavishly treated by the king and devoted themselves to reciting scriptures or sitting in meditation. When a travelling monk arrived, they carried their robe and alms-bowl (Fa-hsien, 36).

Faxian’s records of his travels have undoubtedly played a key part in introducing a further understanding of Buddhism and Hinduism to the Chinese culture. From a country rich in Buddhists and poor in monastic understanding, it would be Faxian who would venture out further than North India into Central India where he would obtain and translate the Maha-samghika-Vinaya and bring back the Sanskirt text of Mahisasaka-Vinaya as well as numerous other Vinaya texts unknown to China. His journey was, therefore, a huge success. The list of counties that he travelled to were extensive and each country had its own story to tell. In the Northern parts of India, the countries all practiced religion but in different languages. Central India came with stories and claims of the Buddha’s travels through Central India. All of these can be considered to get a glimpse of what life was like in the fifth century.

REFERENCES AND FURTHER RECOMMENDATED READING

Waugh, Daniel (1999) “The Journey of Faxian to India.” The University of Washington. Accessed January 29, 2020. https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/faxian.html.

Li, J., and Dalia A. A. (2002) Lives of great monks and nuns. Berkeley: Calif. Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research.

Fa-hsien., and Li Yung-hsi (1957) A Record of the Buddhist Countries. Peking: Chinese Buddhist Association.

Related Topics for Further Investigation.

Vinaya-Pitaka

Monastic rule

Monks

Bhikshus

Mahasamghika-vinaya

Sanskrit

Mahisaska-vinaya

Tripitaka

Central India

Middle Kingdom

Buddhism in China

Sehi

Fa-hsien

Noteworthy Websites Related to the Topic.

https://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/texts/faxian.html

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Faxian

https://academic-eb-com.ezproxy.uleth.ca/levels/collegiate/article/Faxian/33506

https://search-credoreference-com.ezproxy.uleth.ca/content/entry/prdb/faxian/0

Article written by: Bennett Kubitz (February 2020), who is solely responsible for its content.

7. Yogananda Paramahansa, Other Yogas

Kriya Yoga

Paramahansa Yogananda, born in India in 1893, devoted his life to helping everyone he possibly could to realize the beauty, nobility, and true divinity of the human spirit (Yogananda 1946: 161). In 1946, he published his book titled The Autobiography of a Yogi, where he discussed the yoga science of meditation, the art of balanced living, and the underlying unity of all great religions (Yogananda 2007: vii). The spiritual book has circulated worldwide and it discusses the remarkable life story of Yogananda as he explores the world of saints and yogis, science and miracles, death and resurrection (Yogananada 1946: vii). The autobiography has allowed the spread of eastern spiritual thought on a global scale, opening up a discussion on yoga, meditation, and self-exploration. Kriya yoga is significant part of the Hindu tradition, and it integrates central concepts of the religion.

In Chapter 26, Yogananda gives a detailed account of his knowledge on the science of Kriya yoga and its involvement with karma, pranayama, concentration, and meditation (Yogananda 1946: 263-273). He looks to Patanjali, a philosopher and author of the Yoga Sutra on their study of Kriya yoga. Patanjali claims that Kriya yoga “consists of body discipline, mental control, and meditating on aum” (Yogananada 1946: 265). The chapter provides a detailed explanation of who should consider studying Kriya yoga and the effects that it will have on a yogi during this life, as well as in their next life.

Kriya yoga came to be widely known in India through the teachings of Lahiri Mahasaya, Yogananda’s guru’s guru (Yogananda 1946: 263). The Sanskrit word kriya comes from the root kri, which means to do, to act, and to react; the word yoga means the union of soul with God (Mangla 67). The concept of Kriya yoga is much more complex than most people believe it to be; it is a spiritual path of yoga, meditation, and ethical living. It was not until Yogananada set out across the world to enlighten and teach the ways of Kriya yoga to Westerners that his wisdom began to have an impact on millions of people.

The eventual goal in devoting one’s life to practicing Kriya yoga is to attain an uplift from human consciousness to cosmic consciousness; however, many do not achieve this goal because their life ends before they can reach it (Mangla 67). Kriya yoga is not for everyone; rather, it is only for those who are interested in seeking their soul and unifying it with God (Mangla 67). Unlike the Western concept of yoga which has been modernized over time and become popular for its physical aspects rather than for the spiritual growth, Kriya yoga is the complete devotion of oneself to their practice. When practicing and dedicating one’s life to Kriya yoga, an individual will experience joy, bliss, peace, happiness, and a soothing sensation in the spine (Yogananda 1946: 267).

Within Chapter 26, Yogananda explains the science behind Kriya yoga and why such feelings are created; he examines the science of breath and the effect that it has on the body: “it is a simple, psychophysiological method by which human blood is decarbonated and recharged with oxygen. The atoms of this extra oxygen are transmuted into life current to rejuvenate the brain and spinal centers. By stopping the accumulation of venous blood, the yogi is able to lessen or prevent the decay of tissues” (Yogananda 1946: 263). When a yogi is advanced in their practice and have mastered breathing and meditation, they are then able to turn the cells into energy. It is very rare for an individual to completely master their practice, and many yogis dedicate lifetimes to achieving cosmic consciousness.

Yogananada discusses how a yogi who faithfully practices the techniques of Kriya yoga is generally freed from karma or the lawful chain of cause-effect equilibriums (Yogananada 1946: 263). The concept of karma plays an integral part in the Hindu religion. Bad deeds, words, thoughts, or commands lead to harmful effects that may not occur immediately, but may follow you into future lives through reincarnation. Karma represents the ethical dimension of rebirth, also known as samsara, within the Hindu religion (Olivelle). The doctrine of karma directs devotees of Hinduism towards the common goal of moksa, which is the release from the cycle of birth and death (Olivelle). Moksa provides the motivation to behave righteously according to dharma, and to live a moral and ethical life. A yogi who dies before achieving full realization carries the good karma of their past Kriya effort, and in their new life, they are naturally propelled toward their Infinite Goal (Yogananada 1946: 267).

As individuals continues to advance in their Kriya yoga practice, they come closer to reaching samadhi (Yogananda 1946: 266). Samadhi comes from a Sankrit word that is used in yoga to refer to the state of pure awareness when all mental functions have ceased, except for consciousness (McGovern 1). Yogananada describes it as a state of God-communion, where the devotee’s consciousness merges in the Cosmic Spirit (Yogananada 1946: 266). Reaching samadhi is not common among yogis, and even those that dedicate their entire lives to practicing Kriya yoga may never reach it.

Ancient yogis of India have discovered that the secret to self-realization and cosmic super-consciousness are linked to the mastery of breathing known as pranayama (Mangla 68). Pranayama is a breathing technique that helps a devotee tune their consciousness into the six higher centers of perceptions in the spine (Mangla 71). The breath that is responsible for keeing the heart pumping must be freed for higher activities through a method of calming and controlling the constant demands for breath (Yogananda 1946: 267). Yogananda claims that sleep is rejuvenating because the body becomes unaware of breathing, which allows them to recharge themselves by using the cosmic energies; they unknowingly become a yogi in their sleep (Yogananda 1946: 269). Breath rate has been linked to a person’s lifespan, and depending on a person’s emotional state, their breath rate can cause a short or long lifespan. Yogananda uses animal’s breath rate in comparison to humans to explain how it can impact the longevity of one’s life. A restless monkey breathes at the rate of 32 breaths per minute, in comparison to a humans 18 times (Yogananda 1946: 268). An elephant, tortoise, snake, or other animals that are known for their longevity have a respiratory rate of 4 times a minute (Yogananda 1946: 268). Yogis have associated the rate of breath with lifespan, and by slowing their breath, they come closer to reaching consciousness.

Along with discussing pranayama and its relation to Kriya yoga, Yogananda also examines concentration and meditation. He claims that introspection, or sitting in silence, is a way of forcing the mind and senses apart, but it is not successful because the contemplative mind has a way of constantly being dragged towards the senses occurring in real life (Yogananada 1946: 270). A person does not realize the skill and practice required for concentrating for ten seconds, much less meditating for hours and hours. The individual practice of meditation can take a lifetime to master, and even then, an individual still has space to grow.

According to Yogananda, the most successful way to reach the Infinite is through Kriya yoga, by controlling the mind directly through the life force (Yogananda 1946: 270). Being able to have control over one’s mind and senses takes years of experience, but if a yogi is capable of this, they can begin to rid their soul of egoistic actions. Yogananada claims that an individual must disengage oneself from negative physical and emotion identifications in order to achieve soul individuality (Yogananada 1946: 271). In Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra, klesa is defined as the fivefold: avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego), raga (attachment), dvesa (aversion), and abhinivesa (body attachment) (Yogananda 2007: 41). In order for a yogi to seek union with God, they must first rid their consciousness of these obstacles (Yogananda 2007: 41). Individuals do not often consider that what they think, feel, wills, and digests reflects onto their karma, but it does, and at time goes on, the negative karmic actions accumulate and will after a person’s next life. According to the Hindu religion, reactions, feelings, moods, and habits that people experience on the daily are merely effects of past causes, whether in a past life or not (Yogananda 1946: 272). By freeing oneself from the cyclicality of birth and death, one can achieve moksa, which is the liberation and release from life. Yogananda details the fog that unenlightened people live in, and when they begin to practice Kriya yoga, they work towards rising out of the fog into self-realization and enlightened thinking (Yogananda 1946: 263).

Yogananda’s book on his self-realization journey is important to the Hindu religious culture. He brought global awareness to the enlightened thinking that has existed in India for centuries, and influenced many to study and take up the yogi lifestyle. His description of Kriya yoga provides readers with a detailed insight on the elements that constitute it, such as karma, pranayama, concentration, and meditation (Yogananda 1946: 263). Kriya yoga, unlike Karma yoga or Jnana yoga is about the union with God, and cleansing the soul and spirit. Yogananda says:

Kriya yoga is the real “fire rite” oft extolled in the Gita. The yogi casts his human longings into a monotheistic bonfire consecrated to the unparalleled God. This is indeed the true yogic fire ceremony, in which all past and present desires are fuel consumed by love divine. The Ultimate Flame receives the sacrifice of all human sacrifice of all human madness, and man is pure of dross. His metaphorical bones stripped of all desirous flesh, his karmic skeleton bleached by the antiseptic sun of wisdom, inoffensive before man and Maker, he is clean at last (Yogananda 1946: 273).

Those that commit their lives to the practice of Kriya yoga master their mind and body, and they achieve victory over the last enemy, Death (Yogananda 1946: 270). Through the perpetuation of Kriya yoga throughout time, yogis have experienced a sense of disconnection from the world and a unity with the divine realms, which has brought peace, nonviolence, and liberation to the world.

REFERENCES AND FURTHER RECOMMENDED READING

Bapat, Sarita (2016) “Pyschophysiological Analysis of Kriya Yoga as per Patanjala Yoga Sutra.” Yoga Mimamsa 48:18-25. Accessed October 27, 2018.

Foxen, Anya (2017) “Yogi Calisthenics: What the ‘non-Yoga’ Yogic Practice of Paramhansa Yogananada Can Tell Us about Religion,” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 85:494-526. Accessed October 27, 2018. doi:10.1093/lfw077.

Mangla, Dharam Vir (2003) Kundalini & Kriya Yoga. Geeta Colony Delhi: Geeta International Publishers.

McGovern, Una (2007) Samadhi: Chambers Dictionary of the Unexplained. London: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd.

Miller, Christopher (2018) “World Brotherhood Colonies: A Preview of Paramhansa Yogananda’s Understudies Vision for Communities Founded upon the Principles of Yoga.” Yoga Mimamsa 50:3-15. Accessed October 28, 2018.

Olivelle, Patrick (2018) Karma: Britannica Academic. https://academic-eb-com.ezproxy.uleth.ca/levels/collegiate/article/karma/44745. Accessed October 27, 2018.

Yogananda, Paramahansa (1946) Autobiography of a Yogi. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship.

Yogananda, Paramahansa (2007) The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita: An Introduction to India’s Universal Science of God-Realization. Los Angeles: Self-Realization Fellowship.

Zope, Sarneer and Rakesh (2013) “Sudarshan Kriya Yoga: Breathing for Health.” International Journal of Yoga 6:4-10. Accessed October 28, 2018. doi.10.4103/0973-6131.105935.

 

Related Topics for Further Investigation

Aum

Bhagavad Gita

Dharma

Karma

Kriya Yoga

Krshna

Meditation

Moksa

Patanjali

Pranayama

Reincarnation

Samsara

Self-realization

Yoga-sutra

 

Noteworthy Websites Related to the Topic

http://www.yogananda-srf.org/Paramahansa_Yogananda.aspx#.W9jvtS8ZPX8

https://www.ananda.org/about-ananda-sangha/lineage/paramhansa-yogananda/

https://www.expandinglight.org/meditation/kriya-yoga/

https://berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/karma-hinduism

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Patanjali

http://www.vedanta-seattle.org/articles/hindu-concept-of-reincarnation/

 

Article written by Jaylyn Potts (October 2018) who is solely responsible for its content.

4. The Renouncer, a. Asceticism and Renunciation, e. Other Sects, Related Topics in Yoga, Sacred Specialists

The Kanphata Yogis

 The Kanphata Yogis refers to a monastic order of Hindu renouncers, found predominantly throughout India and Nepal, who worship the god Siva. They are also known as the Darsanis, Gorakhnathi or Natha Yogis. The name Kanphata refers to the split through the hollow of their ears and Darsani refer to the large earrings they wear through these holes, their most distinctive feature. Gorakhnathi or Nath refers instead to their supposed founder, Gorakhnath, who is also credited as the founder of Hatha Yoga. Though he is said to be the author of a large number of books it is more likely that he authored only a few and other followers of his have since added to the collection. (Bouillier 2018:18-26).

Gorakhnath takes on both the roles of founder and deity in the Kanphata Yogi order. On the one hand he is a Guru praised for his purity and asceticism, and on the other he is said to be a being born through the miraculous power of Siva and is also a form of Siva (Bouillier 2018:14). The mythology surrounding Gorakhnath’s upbringing is extensive and not all of the stories agree on all points. One popular story is that a barren woman was given ashes from Siva to eat. Instead she threw them into a heap of cow dung and 12 years later upon searching the heap of dung, a 12 year old boy was found within it. The boy was then accepted as a pupil by the mighty guru, Matsyendranath, who named the child Gorakhnath meaning filth or lord of cattle (Briggs 182). His relationship to his Guru was complicated as he acted at times as a pupil and at times as an instructor or even savior of his master, saving his master from temptations of the flesh and other worldly influences (Bhattacharyya 285). In these ways the followers of Gorakhnath through legend and mythology deify him and simultaneously establish his teachings as being directly from the Gods. Actual historical data surrounding his birth, life, and death are however largely hypothetical and many scholars disagree on the date and location of his birth (Bouillier 2013:158). In the books accredited to his authorship, he appears to have borrowed inspiration from Jainism and from Vajrayana Buddhism, both in the strong focus on the obtainment of supernatural powers, through Yogic meditation, and on the incorporation of tantric doctrines into their core ideals (Bhattacharyya 285, Briggs 259, 274-276). Examples of this focus are found in the Gorakh-bani (Sayings of Gorakh), in which their quest for superhuman powers and immortality or divinity is explained (Bouillier 2013:161). Supernatural powers are considered a gratuity, rather than the actual end goal of Hatha Yoga, which is to reach mukti or enlightenment. The ordered discipline of yoga serves as a vehicle to assist or aid the Yogi as he or she endeavors in this quest (Briggs 2, 262-265).

Kanphata Yogis take their heritage from the Himalayan foothills and share common ancestry with the Siddhas in Tibetan Buddhism, as Gorakhnath is identified as Luipada by the Buddhist texts (Bhattacharyya 284-285). A rift in the teachings between the followers of Gorakhnath and the Siddhas is illustrated in the account of Gorakhnath saving his master from lust and sensual pleasures, and so doing, changing the guidelines for his followers from the overtly sexual tantric practices of his predecessors to a chaste focus in the internal development of oneself (Bouillier 2018:16-17).  There is however a large focus on the maintenance of one’s body physically and spiritually, sexual practice of any kind is forbidden (Bouillier 2018:301-302). Many members of the tradition try to keep as far away from women as possible (Bhattacharyya 287-288), though some women, mostly widows, do join the order (Briggs 4-5).

Heavy focus is also placed upon the large earrings that they wear through the hollows of their ears. Some explain that the split through the cartilage of the ear is done in such a place as to cut through a mystical channel, thus assisting the bearer in their path to enlightenment (Briggs 6). Strict care is placed on the Yogi to protect their ears after the split has been made. There are some indications that, in the past, if one of the Yogis had the earring pulled out or their ear was mutilated in some other way that they would either be killed outright or be buried alive, though more recently banishment is a more common punishment (Briggs 8-9). These earrings, or mudra, are traditionally made of clay, but as these are easily broken they can be substituted for rings made of antler, horn, wood, precious metals, or shells. Kanphata Yogis also differ from orthodox Hindus also in their death rituals, namely that they bury their dead rather than cremate them. This practice is substantiated by the legendary dispute between Muslims and Hindus over who were masters of the earth. In response to this dispute Gorakhnath sat on the ground and called on it to yield to him, the earth then opened up and he sank below the surface (Briggs 39-40).

Kanphata Yogis and their supernatural powers have also played a part in the development of various kingdoms in the areas of Northern and Western India as well as Nepal. In Nepal in particular, a powerful Yogi is credited with using supernatural powers to assist the king of a small nation to unify the Nepalese area under one crown (Bouillier 1991:154-156). Similar stories can be found throughout India, and each Nath Monastery will generally have its own myths about the supernatural powers of the founding Yogi. These supernatural powers include controlling the weather, changing the physical size of the Yogi, exorcism, healing, the power of flight, necromantic powers, and psychic or telekinetic abilities to name a few (Briggs 271). These stories of supernatural powers gave the yogis a certain notoriety among both commoners and nobility, causing them to be warily honored lest they curse the public just as in the story of Gorakhnath’s visit to Kathmandu when he caused a drought to befall the people as punishment for receiving him poorly (Bouillier 2018:16).

Modern Day Kanphata Yogis exist largely in monasteries throughout India and South-East Asia or very occasionally as wandering ascetics and renouncers. Disciples known as Aughars rather than Yogis are inducted into the order of monastics through several stages of discipleship (Briggs 7-11). Contrary to what their name may suggest many Kanphata Yogis do not actively practice yoga (Briggs 251). They possess no official cannon of texts but instead cite a mishmash of books with varied and dubious authorship, including many texts that are nearly identical but with different titles or authors (Bouillier 2018:18-26, Briggs 252-257). Exact knowledge of the contents of these texts are also not largely stressed, but focus seems to be more on an oral tradition of legends and secret techniques which are passed down from Guru to Aughar (Briggs 7-10,251). That is not to say that the Kanphata Yogis are without modernization as they have formed the Pan-Indian Nath Yogi Association, and in some ways attempted to organize themselves by the 12 panths or branches of their order. There are currently more than 12 branches in existence but this number likely refers to an original division rather than a current one (Bouillier 2018:54-56).

 

REFERENCES AND FURTHER RECOMMENDED READING

Bhattacharyya, Narendra Nath (1982) History of the Tantric Religion. New Delhi: Manohar Publications.

Bouillier, Véronique (1991) “Growth and decay of a Kanphata Yogi monastery in south-west Nepal” The Indian Economic and Social History Review 28,2: 151-170

Bouillier, Véronique (2013) “A Survey of Current Researches on India’s Nath Yogis” Religion Compass Vol 7 #5 (May): 157-168

Bouillier, Véronique (2018) Monastic Wanderers: Nath Yogi Ascetics in Modern South Asia. New York: Routledge.

Briggs, George W. (1938) Gorakhnath and the Kanphata Yogis. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Jacobsen, K.A. (2012) Yoga Powers. Extraordinary Capacities Attained through Meditation and Concentration. Leiden: Brill.

White, D.G. (1996) The Alchemical Body. Siddha tradition in Medieval India. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.

 

This article was written by Christopher J Boehmer (Fall 2018), who is entirely responsible for its content.

1. Sankhya

The Samkhya Karika

Samkhya is one of the earliest philosophical systems, or orthodox darsana born of the Hindu tradition. The word samkhya itself is translated directly as “enumeration” or “calculation,” thought to be referring to the philosophy’s attempt to ‘take account’ of the various components of reality (Rodrigues 143). While its origins are attributed to the ancient legendary sage Kapila, it is generally recognized that it was more likely born out of a variety of amalgamated speculative lines of thought. This historical development of Samkhya is shadowy and difficult to pinpoint, but some of the language and ideas can be found as early as the Rg Veda, although incredibly subtle and more ancestral to the philosophy itself than directly linked (Larson 76). More definitive early beginnings in Samkhya thought can be found in the Upanishads and the Mahabharata (Larson 75), and it is not until the late 3rd to 4th century C.E. that the defining classical text, the Samkhya Karika attributed to Isvara Krna, arises. The Samkhya Karika itself is the only extant classic text on the philosophy of Samkhya tradition, but it is clear that its synthesis and the philosophy were well-established and influential long before the Samkhya Karika was thought to be written (Ruzsa 2017).

The Samkhya Karika is a 72-73 verse work in arya meter that explicates the Samkhya philosophy as it stood during its most relevant period in its history (Ruzsa 2017). The content of the original text is relatively undisputed, with only the final two verses, which are absent in some commentaries, suggesting later addition. As these two verses only acclaim the value of the work, this later addition is relatively unproblematic (Burley 24). Otherwise, the content, and subsequent translations of the Samkhya Karika are largely established as they are to be found in most every commentary and discussion prior. The authorship of the Samkhya Karika by Isvara Krsna is also largely accepted, as the consistency of the text, excluding the last two verses, would indicate a single author (Ruzsa 2017).

The structure of the Samkhya Karika text is rather linear, and the divisions used by Gerald James Larson in Classical Samkhya: An Interpretation of its History and Meaning (14) are particularly clear in delineating the path of the work. It begins with a preliminary exposition; in the first verse establishing a three-fold permanent pain suffered by all that cannot be properly relieved through pleasures, medicines, etc. (Virupakshananda 2). This establishment of suffering as a human reality acts as the cornerstone for the entire Samkhya philosophical system outlined from this point forward.

The second verse further elaborates by dismissing Vedic methods as a means to end this pain, as ritual, sacrifice, imbibing in soma, etc. are similarly ineffective. As the text explains, Vedic methods are (most particularly, animal sacrifice) impure and their success dependent on the continued practice of Vedic ritual, which hence makes their relief impermanent. It is at this point that the work then puts forth the main tenant of its philosophy, which follows that the superior method by which to gain freedom from this permanent suffering is through discriminative knowledge of the vyakta (the Manifest), the avyakta (the Unmanifest, both Prakrti) and jna (the Spirit, or Purusa) (Virupakshananda 6). In asserting this, Samkhya is established as a philosophy dualist in nature, distinguishing most distinctively these entities of Purusa and Prakrti. The two are both eternal and independent of one another, translated as true Self or ‘supreme consciousness’ and Nature or ‘materiality’ respectively (Rodrigues 143). Purusa is unchangeable and inactive, pervading within each individual, inhabiting the physical body in the physical world known as Prakrti. Prakrti itself is divided into the Unmainfest, which is the substrate of the world, and the Manifest, which is the unconscious, changing, developing entity, subservient to Purusa (Ruzsa 2017). The third verse of the Samkhya Karika establishes the final significant focus of the Samkhya philosophy, which is the further division of Prakrti into the seven tattvas (principles of reality, or distinctions) which are created and uncreated, the other sixteen tattvas which are only created, and Purusa as neither created or uncreated, but just existing (Virupakshananda 10).

Verses 4 through 8 of the Samkhya Karika then go on to explain the epistemological basis of the Samhkya philosophy, describing the three modes of knowledge (perception, inference, and valid testimony) and the importance of understanding Prakrti not through perception (or, knowledge through base physical senses i.e. sight), but through inference (or, knowledge through meditation on perception) (Larson 14). It is through these means of knowledge that the work attempts to base itself.

Verses 9 through 14 establish the theory of causation and the ‘doctrine of the Gunas’. This section, following from the attempt to establish the methods of knowledge, further builds the foundation for the philosophical system later on. Verse 9 explains that, being that something cannot come from nothing, the effect of some phenomenon must be the same material as the cause of that phenomenon, and that a specific cause can only produce a specific effect (Larson 167). Verse 10 asserts that the Manifested (Prakrti) is active, multiform, dependent, and non-pervasive (Virupakshananda 38) and the Unmanifested (Purusa) is the reverse of this. This then establishes that the Manifest (Prakrti) must have a cause. Verse 11 then elaborates on this oppositeness of the Spirit and the Manifest of the Unmanifested further, in that the latter (Prakrti) has the three attributes sattva, rajas, and tamas and the Spirit (Purusa) does not, which hence distinguishes the two from one another. Verse 12 expands on the newly introduced Gunas; they correspond with pleasure, pain, and dullness, and are “mutually dominating and supporting, productive and cooperative” (Virupakshananda 42). The next two verses further describe the Gunas: sattva is buoyant and illuminating, rajas is movement and impulse, and tamas is dark and sluggish (Virupakshananda 45).

The Samkhya Karika then looks to describe the nature of Prakrti. Verses 15 and 16 assert that the Unmanifest (Purusa) is the cause of the Manifest (Prakrti) necessarily, and it expresses its creative power through the gunas in the manifest world. The continual interaction and transformation of this is creates what we see as the phenomenal (physical) world (Larson 166).

Verses 17 through 19 similarly look to describe and explain the nature of Purusa. Purusa exists as an entirely separate entity from Prakrti, and its existence spurs the disruption of the gunas in Prakrti, leading to their interaction and the Manifest world (Virupakshananda 55). This Spirit, or Purusa, must exist because consciousness exists, and Prakrti differentiates itself for the observation of Purusa. Purusa also exists separately because freedom from Praktri exists, and if Purusa did not, freedom from Praktri and subsequently suffering, would not be possible (Larson 169). Verse 18 asserts the multiplicity of the Spirit, arising from the reincarnations of spirit, because of different actions at different times, and because of the different proportions of the gunas. Verse 19 asserts that the Spirit (Purusa) is a “pure witness”, inactive and neutral (Virupakshananda 61). It is further worth noting that this is a significant departure from other Hindu philosophies; the nature of freedom, or kaivalya in Samkhya, is distinct in that the very observing faculty that allows experience in the first place is also that which allows relief from suffering (Larson 171).

It is the association between Purusa and Prakrti from which the world arises, and Verses 20-21 cover this aspect of the Samkhya doctrine. Verse 20 asserts that through the interplay of these two entities, Purusa appears as if it was an agent, and the insentient Prakrti appears intelligent. Creation, according to verse 21, is through the union of these principles, as in the lame man and the blind man cooperating to navigate through the forest (Virupakshananda 63). It is worth noting that Purusa still remains an inactive observer in this relationship, but its presence acts as a catalyst for change and transformation (Larson 173).

Verses 22 through to 38 in Larsons divisions of the text cover the emergence of the principles or tattvas. According to Samkhya, all of Manifest reality can be explained through these various principles. These 25 tattvas or distinct principles described in the Samkhya Karika are what is referred to when Samkhya is said to derive its name from “enumeration” or “calculation”. According to the text, all of these tattvas emerge from Praktri, increasingly less subtle as they unfold from the Manifest substrate (Virupakshananda 65). The first of these is the buddhi or mahat principle, which characterizing discerning intelligence, or a consciousness of consciousness (Larson 179). Ahamkara is the second principle, which then emerges from buddhi, roughly translated as “I”, or the ego-maker; it is the principle that creates the self (Larson 185). From ahamkara emerges manas, or the heart-mind. From manas emerges the five buddhindriyas, or sense organs (seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, touching), the five karmendriyas or organs of action (reproduction, excretion, locomotion, appropriation, and communication), and the five tanmantras, or subtle elements (odor, flavour, shape/colour, texture, and sound) (Rodrigues 144). From the tanmantras, which are developed from the gross, tamasic aspect of ahamkara are the five mahabhuta, or material elements (ether, air, fire, water, and earth). All of these apparent tattvas or principles constitute human beings, and the rest of Prakrti (Ruzsa 2017).

Verses 39 to 59 cover a three-fold nature theory of reality based on the above principles established. Verse 39 distinguishes three types of objects: the subtle body, the “body born of parents” or physical body, and the gross elements (everything else) (Virupakshananda 88). The following verses explain the relationship between the subtle body and its relationship with the dispositions and the physical body. Verse 42 compares the subtle body being propelled by Purusa into different roles like that of a performer being propelled into different roles, interacting with the causes in Nature (Virupakshananda 91). Verses 44 through 46 explain the associations between Purusa, Prakrti, and the ‘self’ as the product of Prakrti, and following from this, develop a theory of fifty different principles based on ideas of mental phenomena (e.g. ignorance, contentment, incapacity, etc.) that arise from varied dispositions of the subtle body (Virupakshananda 97). Verses 48 through 54 further elaborate on these distinctions. Verse 55 reasserts the experience of pain, now within the framework of the subtle body, and verses 56-59 further re-establish the notion of a possibility of release from this pain. The Karika characterizes Purusa as an observer of Prakrti, Prakrti acting as a dancer for the entertainment of Purusa. According to Verse 59, Prakrti “ceases to operate after having exhibited herself to Purusa”, which allows for freedom or kaivalya as the ultimate goal of Samkhya philosophy (Virupakshananda 115).

Verses 60 through 69 go on to discuss discrimination and the freedom of Purusa from Praktri. Verse 62 in particular establishes the knowledge that will lead to ‘salvation’ or freedom: or, that while Purusa and Praktri appear as intertwined and bound, Purusa is never bound or held by Praktri- it only appears as such (Larson 204). Liberation from suffering, according to Samkhya philosophy, is the recognition of Praktri as a manifold creation that is bound and then released (Virupakshananda 118). In Verse 64, knowledge of this Absolute and pure truth is developed from the study of the tattvas, and in doing so bases the release of suffering in the permanent knowledge that Purusa is unbound, as opposed to Prakrti (Larson 204). Verses 65 through 69 reiterate the notion of Purusa being freed, continuing to exist, the material Prakrti and Purusa having fulfilled their purposes to one another (Virupakshananda 125).

Verses 70 through 72 go on to conclude that this knowledge is a doctrine imparted by the sage Kapila, and revealed in the above work by Isvara Krsna (Virupakshananda 128-129).

REFERENCES AND RELATED READING

Burley, Mikel (2007) Classical Samkhya and Yoga: an Indian Metaphysics of Experience. New York: Routledge.

Larson, Gerald James (1969) Classical Samkhya: an Interpretation of its History and Meaning. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Rodrigues, Hillary (2016) Hinduism – The eBook: An Online Introduction. Journal of Buddhist Ethics Online Books.

Ruzsa, Ferenc (2003) “Inference, Reasoning and Causality in the ‘Samkhya-Karika’” Journal of Indian Philosophy 31 (1/3): 285-301.

Ruzsa, Ferenc (2017) “Sankhya” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. http://www.iep.utm.edu/sankhya/.

Virupakshananda, Swami (1995) Samkhya Karika of Isvara Krsna: with the Tattva Kaumudi of Sri Vacaspati Misra. Mylapore: Sri Ramakrishna Math Printing Press.

Related topics

Samkhya

Kapila

Yoga

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

Noteworthy websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samkhyakarika

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samkhya

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Samkhya

http://www.iep.utm.edu/sankhya/

This article was written by: Katelyn Hamm (Spring 2017), who is entirely responsible for its content.

1. Sankhya

Sankhyakarika

          The Sankhyakarika is a text in the Sankhya darsana. The title derives from the stylistic form of the work, karika, and the word sankhya, which came to describe the darsana due to its reliance on descriptive enumeration (Radhakrishnan 249). The karika is attributed to Isvarakrsna and must have been composed prior to the sixth century of the Common Era as it was translated into Chinese by the Buddhist monk Paramartha in 560 C.E (Frauwallner 225). Some scholars have placed the work as early as the first century of the common era, but that is, as of this writing, unverifiable (Eliade 367-368). In the context of the literature of the Sankhya darsana, the karika holds a place of prominence as one of the oldest extant texts of any substance (Eliade 368-370), as well as the first Sankhya text in the karika format, which is a type of aphoristic verse (Frauwallner 219-220).

            Little can be said about the Sankhyakarika’s author Isvarakrsna, aside from what is stated in the last verses of the karika itself; that he received his teachings from Pancasikha, who received them from Asuri, who in turn received them from the system’s semi-mythical founder, Kapila (Eliade 368). It is also mentioned in a Chinese commentary on the work that Isvarakrsna was a brahmin of the Kausika family (Larson 19).

The system laid out in the Sankhyakarika is considered normative, however it likely presents the summary of Sankhya as it was when the text was written, rather than an innovation, as the text is more of a poetic elucidation of Sankhya teaching than a discourse attempting to prove those teachings (Larson and Potter 149). Stylistically, the Sankhyakarika presents fundamental concepts of the darsana in poetic aphorisms composed in the arya meter, making use of simile and metaphor throughout in order to illustrate points (Larson and Potter 149-150). The Sankhyakarika has been passed down with a variable number of verses, between sixty-nine and seventy-two, though it must be noted that the Chinese commentary of Paramartha refers to the text as the “Golden-Seventy”, although it omits the sixty-third verse (Larson and Potter 150).

The Sankhyakarika follows a logical and orderly format, presenting basic doctrines and then building upon them to create larger networks of concepts, and here some of the content shall be summarized in brief. The Sankhyakarika’s first three verses introduce the darsana by explaining it as a philosophical attempt to escape three kinds of dissatisfaction, while briefly countering initial arguments against the use of philosophy to counter dissatisfaction as well as a preliminary mention of the darsana’s characteristic cosmology (Larson and Potter 151-152). The second section, consisting of verses four to eight, explains the epistemological basis of the system consisting of three pramanas, under which Sankhya includes the other pramanas present in Indian philosophical systems and, through which all knowable phenomena must be proven (Larson and Potter 152-153). These pramanas are: 1) drsta, or perception 2) anumana, or inference 3) aptavacana, or reliable testimony (Larson and Potter 152-153). The third section of the karika consists of only one verse which lays out the Sankhya theory of causality, which relies on material basis for effects as well as the nature of a cause and an effect being essentially the same (Larson and Potter 153). In the two verses composing the fourth section, the concepts of manifest and unmanifest are explained and their attributes are described (Larson and Potter 153-154). The characteristics and activity of the three constituent factors of reality, or gunas, are explained in the two verses of the fifth section; the metaphor of a lamp is used to illustrate their function as a single whole with individual parts (Larson and Potter 154). The sixth section, consisting of five verses, begins the process of inference based on the concept already explained which lays the basis for the dualistic cosmology of the Sankhya darsana (Larson and Potter 154-156). Having established this basis, the two verses of the seventh section explain how the proximity of consciousness and unmanifest materiality acts to produce manifest reality (Larson and Potter 156-157). The next two sections explain the manifestation of the mind and sensory organs, as well as describing their characteristics and activity as constituents of the mental and sensory portions of manifest reality (Larson and Potter 157-159). The gross elements of material reality, or mahabhutas, and the three kinds of aggregate manifestation into which they arrange themselves are described in the tenth section (Larson and Potter 159). The concept of the subtle body which animates living beings is introduced in the eleventh section, which explains it as a kind of blueprint of dispositions which transmigrates through a multitude of material bodies (Larson and Potter 159-160). The nine verses of the twelfth section describe and explain the varieties of predisposition, both innate and acquired, which create the conditions of the temporary bodies in which the subtle body incarnates (Larson and Potter 160-161). The thirteenth section presents groupings of manifest beings based on preponderance of the three gunas, as well as explaining that frustration is natural to the functioning of the subtle body (Larson and Potter 161). In the fourteenth, section there are five verses using similes to describe the reaction of material to the presence of consciousness (Larson and Potter 162) The fifteenth section presents the concept of isolating consciousness from material through the action of the intellect (Larson and Potter 162-163). The final four verses give the Sankhya lineage from Kapila, as well as stating that sixty traditional Sankhya topics have been included in the karika while parables and criticisms of opposing darsanas have been left out (Larson and Potter 163).

The Sankhyakarika has been cited authoritatively since as early as the seventh century of the Common Era up to the present day (Frauwallner 226). There are eight extant commentaries on the karika dating from between the sixth and the tenth centuries of the Common Era, though many have not been dated at this time (Larson 20). The Suvarnasaptati, included in Paramartha’s Chinese translation of Sankhyakarika, may be the oldest having been completed in the mid sixth century of the Common Era (Larson 20). The Sankhyatattvakaumudi of Vacaspati is likely the most recent of the commentaries as Vacaspati Misra is known to have been writing during the ninth or tenth century of the Common Era (Larson 20). For the other commentaries, the dating is less clear and though theories have been advanced based on the evidence available, no consensus has been reached on dating the Sankhyavrtti, the Sankhyasaptativrtti, the bhasya of Gaudapada, the Yuktidipika, the Jayamangala, or the Matharavrtti (Larson 20-22).

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Eliade, Mircea (1969) Yoga: Immortality and Freedom. Translated by Willard R. Trask. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.

 

Frauwallner, Eric (1973) History of Indian Philosophy: Volume I. Translated by V.M. Bedekar. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass

 

Larson, Gerald James. 1987. “Introduction to the Philosophy of Samkhya.” In Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Volume IV, edited by Gerald James Larson and Ram Shankar Bhattacharya, 3-83. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass

 

Larson, Gerald James, and Potter, Karl H. 1987. “Isvarakrsna” In Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies: Volume IV, edited by Gerald James Larson and Ram Shankar Bhattacharya, 149-164. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass

 

Radhakrishnan (1930) Indian Philosophy: Volume II. Edited by H.D. Lewis. New York: Humanities Press Inc.

 

 

 

Related Topics for Further Investigation

Ajivika

Arya meter

Astika

Buddhism

Carvaka

Darsana

Guna

Isvarakrsna

Kapila

Karika

Kaivalya

Laws of Manu

Mimamsa

Moksa

Nastika

Nyaya

Pramana

Sankhya

Sutra

Tattva

Upanishad

Vedanta

Visesika

Yoga

 

 

 

Related Websites

 

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Samkhya-karika

 

http://www.easterntradition.org/samkhya%20karika%201933.pdf

 

http://estudantedavedanta.net/Samkhya-Karika.pdf

 

http://www.iep.utm.edu/sankhya/

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samkhyakarika

 

http://www.yogastudies.org/yoga-text-freenotes/sa%E1%B9%83khya-karika-freenotes/

 

 

 

This article was written by: Logan C. Page (Spring 2017), who is entirely responsible for its content.

F. Indian Philosophical Schools

Gaudapada (and Advaita Vedanta)

Legendary Life

Of the many philosophers in the history of Hinduism, Gaudapada is one of whom little is known, although he had a large effect on the tradition as a whole. His origin is the most prominent feature in legends concerning him; however, due to liberties taken in the oral tradition, they are rarely a strong source of factual information (Pande 96). For example, some legends state that Patanjali himself taught Gaudapada, and due to his disobedience, had cursed him until Gaudapada could find a suitable student (Pande 96). Of course, there is great scepticism surrounding this story, as the timelines in which Patanjali and Gaudapada are proposed to have lived are separated by hundreds of years (Pande 96). Other sources seem to believe that he was, at some point, the student of a sage named Suka. However not much is known about Suka, other than he was believed to be the son of the legendary Vyasa (Comans 2). As such, Gaudapada emerges as more of a pseudo-legendary person, than a concrete historical figure. There is virtually no indication of his existence other than his works, or reference to him by his students later in history (Comans 1).

The estimated periods when Gaudapada lived varies greatly, according to different sources. Generally, it is calculated in relation to the dates of his distant student Sankara, who was believed to live around 780-820 CE. This placed Gaudapada at around 680 CE, although it shifts based on estimation of Sankara’s life time (Isayeva 15). Scholars also examine motifs used by Gaudapada in his works, which seem to reflect particular Buddhist values. They thus propose that Gaudapada had lived during the time when certain Buddhist philosophies flourished (Isayeva 15).

Similarly, we are uncertain as to where Gaudapada came from or lived. Some propose that he lived in northern Bengal, near the Hiraravati River, where a tribe known as the Gaudas resided. As such, some propose Gaudapada lived as a master, taking his name from the tribe of which he was a part of (Isayeva 15).

Although we know little about how, when, or where he lived, we know more about whom he influenced via his philosophical ideas. The most well-known of these is the great thinker Sankara, whos strong influence from Gaudapada is evident in his own work (Isayeva 14). The time gap between Sankara and Gaudapada leads scholars to generally agree that Gaudapada perhaps taught a man named Govinda, who went on to teach Sankara (Isayeva 14).

 

Philosophy

Gaudapada is most well-known for his commentary on the Mandukya Upanisad. Of the ten Upanisads, the Mandukya is the shortest, and deals with cosmology as well as absolute truth known as brahman (Isayeva 16). His works, known as the Mandukya-Karika, is made up of four chapters: “treatise concerning the scriptural text”, “treatise concerning unreality”, “treatise on non-duality”, and “treatise on the quelling of the fire brand” (Comans 2). Of the four chapters, only the first is tied to a text, which Gaudapada discusses, namely the Mandukya Upanisad. The other three chapters are not involved directly with any other text, but expand on the ideas developed in the first chapter (Comans 2).

The basis of Gaudapada’s philosophy, which makes up Advaita Vedanta, is concerned with the illusory nature of things. In particular, this stem of Hindu philosophy focuses on absolute reality, brahman, the inner self, atman, and maya, which is the illusion that holds us in the cycle of samsara, rebirth (Rodrigues 94). Gaudapada explains four stages, or steps, that one would go through in order to achieve the state of absolute reality. As well, he holds that the concept of absolute truth or reality is already in each individual (Isayeva 23).

The first stage, called vaisvanara, means waking self or waking state (Comans 3). This stage pertains to the self as it lives within the illusion of maya, unaware of its illusory nature (Isayeva 21). In essence, it is the spiritual ignorance of the self that this stage speaks of. The Mandukya Upanisad describes atman here as having “seven limbs, nineteen mouths, and who experiences gross objects” (Comans 3). Gaudapada explains that it is these extremities that the atman uses to experience illusory existence. In this waking state, the atman is unaware and so it thrashes about, attempting to experience everything it can. In this way, the consciousness of the atman is seen as external here (Comans 3).

The next stage pertains to the dream like state, taijasa, where the atman notices the illusory nature of everything (Comans 4). In this state, Gaudapada would maintain that consciousness begins to move inward as it starts to realize the nature of itself (Comans 4). It is essentially at this stage that one could say the atman, previously external and ignorant, begins its journey inward towards truth, as it begins to see the existence of maya (Isayeva 21).

Prajna, stage three, speaks of deep sleep, or slumber (Comans 4). In this stage, Gaudapada holds that one is saved from illusion, though not truly liberated (Isayeva 22). In contrast to the previous two states, in which the self is separated due to its interaction with illusion, self, illusion, and consciousness all become one here; just one “lump of consciousness” (Isayeva 22). Instead, he cautions about this stage because those on their way to truth may get caught up in the bliss of freedom from maya, thinking they are liberated just because they have become aware that they were ignorant before. He says that although it is a wonderful state to be in, even greater bliss comes from full understanding of the nature of the atman, which cannot be obtained whilst in this stage (Isayeva 22).

Finally, the last stage is where the main concept of advaita emerges. Advaita means non-dualism, and refers to absolute truth, or brahman (Isayeva 23). In essence, brahman is seen as the only thing, rather than multiple aspects of reality, as described in more dualistic philosophies of Hinduism like Sankhya (Rodrigues 199). This stage is called turiya, although Gaudapada would argue that even giving this state a name undermines the very idea of it (Comans 5). Examples such as, “brahman is neither here nor there”, “living nor dead”, “waking or asleep”, are all given by Gaudapada to illustrate this view. As an absolute truth, there is nothing but it, which in turn means it is all, and it is nothing (Comans 5). This is the essence of what advaita means as well, which conflicts with the general dualistic orthodox view of brahman and atman (Absolute Reality, and Self) being two different things (Rodrigues 71).

 

Later Influences

Hundreds of years after his time, Gaudapada’s philosophies live on through his students. The most noted of these distant students was Sankara, whose teacher was taught by Gaudapada. Within Sankara’s Advaita Vedanta, we see many parallels between the two philosophers. A major similarity is that Sankara proposed that the only absolutely real thing is brahman, which is the only thing in existence (Rodrigues 374). Although this may seem completely identical to Gaudapada’s belief, the emphasis Gaudapada put on the paradoxical nature of brahman varies slightly with Sankara’s viewpoint. Instead Gaudapada held that brahman neither exists, or exists, among other examples of his extreme non-dualistic viewpoint or darsana (Comans 5). Sankara still held many other core values that were quite similar to Gaudapada’s viewpoint. The concept of neti-neti­, meaning not one or the other, in regards to absolute truth (Rodrigues 374). This is more aligned with the idea that Gaudapada seems to be conveying in regards to brahman, as well as the abstract concept of understanding brahman. It is in this unification of brahman that causes Advaita Vedanta to be considered so radical. Many other philosophies, such as Sankhya, propose that brahman is made up of many aspects that make up our reality. In the particular example of Sankya, prakrti and purusa, the creator and observer (Rodrigues 199). Although Advaita Vedanta seems to undermine philosophies such as this, the Vedas themselves are not openly criticized, and as such Advaita Vedanta is accepted within the Hindu orthodoxy (Rodrigues 376).

 

References

Comans, Michael (2000) The Method of Early Advaita Vedanta: A Study of Gaudapada, Sankara, Suresvara and Padmapada. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.

Isayeva, Natalia (1995) From Early Vedanta to Kashmir Shaivism: Gaudapada, Bhartrhari, and Abhinavagupta. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Pande, Govind (1994) Life and Thought of Sankaracarya. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.

Rodrigues, Hillary (2006) Hinduism: the EBook. Journal of Buddhist Ethics Online Books Ltd.

Tenzin, Kencho (2006) Shankara: A Hindu Revivalist or a Crypto-Buddhist? Atlanta: Georgia State University.

 

Related Topics

Atman

Avaita

Brahman

Govinda

Mandukya-Karika

Maya

Prajna

Sankara

Suka

Upanisads

Vedanta

Vedas

 

Noteworthy Websites / Additional Readings

Banerji, Sures (1989) A Companion to Sanskrit Literature. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers.

Dvivedi, Manilal (trans.) (1894) Mandukya-karika. Boimbay: Tatva-vivechaka Press.

Karmarkar, Raghunath (trans.) (1953) Mandukya-karika. Poona: Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.

Lochetfeld, James (2002) The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism. The Rosen Publishing Group.

Rodrigues, Hillary (2011) Studying Hinduism in Practice. Abingdon: Routledge.

Wilson, Horace (trans.) (1837) Samkhya-karika. London: Valpy.

http://scholarworks.gsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=rs_theses

http://prajnaquest.fr/blog/sanskrit-texts-3/sanskrit-hindu-texts/

 

Article written by: Jordan Wingfield (February 2016) who is solely responsible for its content.

1. Sankhya, d. Moksa (Spiritual Liberation), Other Concepts

Avidya (Ignorance)

Avidya is a Sanskrit word most commonly defined as ignorance. This can be misleading if we think of ignorance as a lack of knowledge. Avidya is not simply a lack of knowledge; it is a lack of  what Hindu philosophers sometimes refer to as true knowledge (Singh 394-395). The knowledge we have of the material world around us, our minds, thoughts, bodies, and emotions is worldly knowledge. Avidya is our mistaken belief that these things make up reality, or our true self (Puligandla 218).  Avidya, then, is not simply ignorance, but spiritual ignorance (Lipner 246). It is ignorance of our true selves and of the true nature of reality (Puligandla 244). “It is no accident that light and the reflection of light are common symbols in Hinduism of vidya and the knowing process, respectively. Avidya is spiritual ignorance, symbolized by darkness” (Lipner 247).

Frequently in literature on Hinduism, avidya is said to be synonymous with, ajnana, prakrti, and maya (Nikhilananda 43). There are fine distinctions that need to be made between these words in order to better understand Hindu literature and philosophy. Ajnana is a Sanskrit word that can also be translated to ignorance or without knowledge. More specifically, without true knowledge, or knowledge of one’s true self. Avidya is also a lack of higher knowledge. Both terms allow for lower, or worldly knowledge. Avidya and ajnana can be used synonymously (Chatterjee and Datta 49).

The Sankhya or Samkhya system of Hindu philosophy is based on the dualistic principles of purusa and prakrti (Singh 75). Purusa and prakrti are separate and distinct. Purusa is pure consciousness, spirit, or self. Prakrti is nature or matter. In Sankhya, prakrti is the cause of our minds, bodies, thoughts, and feelings (Puligandla 115). The elements that make up the universe as well as all the physical properties in the universe are prakrti (Chatterjee and Datta 257).  The air we breathe, sunlight, our physical as well as mental composition are all prakrti. Our bodies and minds, and our interaction with the finite, ever-changing world in which we live cause us to have a perception of ourselves and the world that is not true reality. The way we look, feel, and behave is not the true essence of who we are.  In this way, prakrti is the same as avidya, as these are the causes of our false knowledge, or false sense of reality; our ignorance of purusa, the true self. The only way to know purusa is to rid one’s self of avidya (Puligandla 123).

The Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism can be traced to the Upanisads, which are the last part of the Vedas.  Advaita means oneness or non-dualism. It is here that the concept of avidya is explored and tied to the concepts of maya, Atman, and Brahman (Puligandla 244). Unlike the separate and distinct entities prakrti and purusa in the Sankhya system, Atman and Brahman are identical. In Advaita Vedanta, the non-dualism comes from the belief that Atman (the true self) is Brahman (reality, pure consciousness). They are not separate, but one (Puligandla 244). That is to say, we are always Brahman, but because of the delusion caused by maya, or avidya, we are ignorant. Avidya is our ignorance to the fact that we are Brahman. When avidya is extinguished, we recognize Atman, which is Brahman (Puligandla 244).

Maya is most often translated as illusion. Maya is also sometimes referred to as magic, magical power, and even fraud. Much like prakrti, maya presents us with a material or false reality that keeps us from seeing our true self or Absolute Reality (Atman and Brahman) (Deutsch 28-29). “Maya generally signifies the cosmic illusion on account of which Brahman, or Pure Consciousness, appears as the Creator, Preserver, and Destroyer of the universe. It is under the influence of avidya that Atman, or Pure Consciousness, appears as the jiva, or individual self. Prakrti is the material out of which the universe is evolved. But Vedantic writers do not always strictly maintain these distinctions” (Nikhilananda 43). So prakrti is to purusa as maya is to Brahman, they are both illusions that keep us from seeing our true self.

Dualist or non-dualist, avidya is what keeps one from seeing one’s true self. Avidya is the cause of samsara, the endless cycle of death and rebirth that keeps us trapped in a worldly existence (Chatterjee and Datta 18). In order to be freed from samsara, avidya must be destroyed. Samsara is caused by illusion and once the illusion is destroyed, moksa, or liberation from samsara is achieved (Deutsch 75-76). Once you realize that worldly existence is not reality, there is nothing tying you to it. Avidya is the antithesis of vidya, which is the Sanskrit word for knowledge, or insight.       According to all Indian schools of philosophy, humanity’s state of suffering is due to ignorance (avidya) of his true being and nature (Puligandla 22-23). The Upanisads teach that a person’s true being is Atman (Brahman), which is infinite, eternal, and immortal (Nikhilananda 35). But in ignorance (avidya), one identifies themselves with perishable things such as their mind, body, ego, and thereby develop attachments to them and suffer sorrow when they inevitably lose them (Puligandla 22-23).

Buddhism also recognizes avidya, and it is also defined as ignorance. Buddhists believe that there are four Noble Truths. These are: 1) Sorrow/Suffering: All living, sentient beings experience suffering; 2) Origin/Cause: The major cause of suffering is craving or desire for the illusory; 3) Cessation/Ending: The ending of suffering is the ending of the craving that causes it. This ending of craving, which is an ending of the condition of ignorance at its root, is described as nirvana. 4) Path: The Noble Eightfold Path is prescribed in Buddhism as a means of attaining nirvana (Robinson and Rodrigues 192).  The ignorance referred to in the third Noble Truth is avidya, and its cause is also the illusory. In Buddhism, the ending of the illusion is nirvana, or enlightenment. Just as in Hinduism, liberation from samsara comes through the ending of avidya.

The fact that the end of avidya is the path to liberation (moksa), or enlightenment (nirvana) does not mean that these can only be achieved at the end of one’s life or after death. Ideally, it can be achieved in this lifetime and then one can live without the suffering caused by avidya (Puligandla 23). Siddhartha Gautama achieved nirvana in his lifetime and this is how he came to be known as the Buddha (Enlightened one) (Chatterjee and Datta 115).

 

REFERENCES AND FURTHER RECOMMENDED READING

Chatterjee, S., & Datta, D. M. (1968) An introduction to Indian philosophy. Calcutta: University of Calcutta.

Deutsch, E. (1969) Advaita Vedanta: A philosophical reconstruction. Honolulu: East-West Center Press.

Indich, William M. (1995) Consciousness in Advaita Vedanta. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Kumar, R., & S. Ram (2007) Hinduism-religion and philosophy. New Delhi: Crescent Publishing Corporation.

Lipner, J. (1994) Hindus: Their religious beliefs and practices. London: Routledge.

Murthy, B. S. (1985) The Bhagavad Gita. Long Beach, CA: Long Beach Publications.

Nikhilananda (1963) The Upanishads: Katha, Isa, Kena, Mundaka, Svetasvatara, Praśna, Mandukya, Aitareya, Brihadaranyaka, Taittiriya, and Chhandogya. New York: Harper & Row.

Puligandla, R. (1975) Fundamentals of Indian philosophy. Nashville: Abingdon Press.

Robinson, T. A., & H. Rodrigues (2006) World religions: A guide to the essentials. Peabody, MA: Hendrickson.

Singh, S. P. (2004) Vedic vision of consciousness and reality. New Delhi: Centre for Studies in Civilizations.

 

Related Topics for Further Investigation

Advaita Vedanta

Atman

Brahman

Moksa

Maya

Nirvana

Prakrti

Purusa

Sankhya

Upanisads

 

Noteworthy Websites Related to the Topic

http://www.indiadivine.org/content/topic/1393680-prakriti-maya-avidya/

http://www.advaitayoga.org/AdvaitaPhilosophy.html

http://hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/concepts/advaita.asp

http://hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/essays/knowledge.asp

http://www.hinduism.co.za/ignoranc.htm

http://www.iep.utm.edu/adv-veda/

http://www.swami-krishnananda.org/moksha/moksh_04.html

http://sivanandaonline.org/public_html/?cmd=displaysection&section_id=808

 

Article written by: Robin Wilcox (April 2016) who is solely responsible for its content.

6. Vedanta, a. Asceticism and Renunciation, b. Significant Hindu Organizations, b. The Four Goals/ Aims of Life, d. Moksa (Spiritual Liberation), I. The Hindu Temple and Worship Rituals, Sacred Specialists

Hindu Monasteries (Matha)

Hindu monasteries or mathas are any residential monastic establishments or educational centre for renouncers or sannyasis; even though, the ideal monk is classified as a wanderer. A matha can also refer to a single hut with only one ascetic or a large community of ascetics and their disciplines and students. They were founded by Sankara, a great teacher, in the 8th century. The original four mathas were strategically placed in India to be used as bulwarks for the missionaries and centres for Sankara’s ten religious groups: on the east coast, in Puri, the Govardhana matha for the Aranyakas and the Vana orders; in the Himalayas, near Badrinath, the Jyotih matha for the Giri, Parvaya, and Sagara orders; on the west coast, in Dvaraka, the Sarada matha for the Tirtha and Asrama orders; and lastly, in south India the Srngeri matha for the Bharati, Puri, and Sarasvati orders (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Later a fifth matha arose in Kancipuram, near Madras, called the Saradaptha matha (Encyclopaedia Britannica).

Each matha that was founded by Sankara is led by either a teacher or a spiritual leader also known as a Sankaracarya or a Jagadguru. Individual mathas and their history are directly associated with the succession of its spiritual leader; therefore each matha operates completely independent to any other matha. Typically, the current Sankaracarya appoints one of his followers to become the new spiritual leader in the event of his passing; however, issues can arise if no successor was named and the Sankaracarya passes away unexpectedly. Eventually gurus were even given the responsibility of providing social and economic services to the community. Each Sankaracarya has their own set of followers and their goal is to meet their own religious needs such as “focus on ritual activity and devotional worship rather than renunciation or meditative realization of non-dual brahman” (Fort 613).

There are several important initiations rites to the ascetic life. According Miller and Wertz the first being that after one has determined they want to enter the ascetic life they need to acquire a guru who is willing to take them as his discipline (84). The guru can either be an ascetic from one’s village, a religious teacher or in some cases an uncle (Miller and Wertz 84). Then the discipline must cut all his family ties by performing death ceremonies with his parents (Miller and Wertz 85). After the death ceremony the discipline will no longer be allowed to perform any household services (Miller and Wertz 85). The head ascetic of a monastery will then administer a ritual called diksa (Miller and Wertz 84). The head ascetic must be a man who has already performed his last vows of renunciation (Miller and Wertz 84). The two forms of diksa are when the guru administers the ritual to a lay disciple and the other is only given to ascetic disciples (Miller and Wertz 84). This recognizes the “would be” ascetic and that he is permanently separating himself from his former life (Miller and Wertz 84). Finally, the discipline must acquire a religious name that ends with his sub-order’s name (Miller and Wertz 84). After performing these basic initiation rites a man can enter the ascetic life.

According to Guru Saccinananda the main function of a matha is to give ethical advice and moral teachings to the disciples in hopes of creating “honest, peace-loving, independent, moral, and well behaved” people (Miller and Wertz 25). However, according to Saccinananda several other functions are “to provide education in Sanskrit, to feed guests, to give money to the poor, shelter to the helpless, and the burial to the dead who have no family’ (Miller and Wertz 25). He also claimed that there are ten daily practices that are basic steps to liberation. The first is that the discipline must get up before sunrise each morning (Miller and Wertz 26). The second is that they must pay respect every morning and evening to the sun God Savitri (Miller and Wertz 26). The third is each day while bathing the discipline must recite sacred mantras or verses to a deity of their choice (Miller and Wertz 26). The fourth is that they must perform daily sacrificial fire offerings and yoga postures (Miller and Wertz 26). The fifth is that they must service all their guests (Miller and Wertz 26). The sixth is that the funeral offerings to one’s ancestors must be performed at noon (Miller and Wertz 26). The seventh is that they must take sacred food in the  afternoon and before each evening (Miller and Wertz 26). The eighth is that each evening the disciples’ deity of choice must be worshipped (Miller and Wertz 26). The ninth is that each evening before they go to bed they must perform meditation for the welfare of humanity (Miller and Wertz 26). Lastly, they are only allowed to sleep from the hours of 11pm to 4pm (Miller and Wertz 26).

According to Jagadananda, in a Hindu matha, there a ten precepts of ethical behaviour that one must follow. The first is that you must act kind towards a harsh and unpleasant man and by doing so you have the ability to change him (Miller and Wertz 34). The second is that even if others do not like you that does not mean you have to dislike them back. Eventually these people will lose their power and someday feel bad for their negative actions (Miller and Wertz 34). The third is that you need to ensure you are using the appropriate dialogue when conversing with others as this is a main factor when determining if they will be an enemy or a friend (Miller and Wertz 35). The fourth is that you must respect others when it is their turn to talk as everyone was created equally and by God (Miller and Wertz 35). The fifth is that you should not be disrespectful to people in lower classes as you might be born into that class or position on your next rebirth (Miller and Wertz 35). The sixth is that only ignorant men are prejudiced to one’s caste and skin colour (Miller and Wertz 35). The seventh is that you must consider your “superiors as well wishers and your inferiors as blessed” (Miller and Wertz 35). The eighth is that you need to be independent but also care for your parents needs at the same time as they were the ones who made you into the man you are by giving up their money, time and resources (Miller and Wertz 35). The ninth, is that when you pray to a deity you should be praying for the greatness and happiness of humanity  and not for yourself; the deity will only listen and respond to a man who is concerned about the welfare of others (Miller and Wertz 35). Lastly, “do not grasp onto things” or be materialistic; Brahman, the Vedic creator god, is always around and is everywhere in the universe (Miller and Wertz 35).

Even though numerous mathas have been established over the years as either additions to other institutions or by an individual guru, the original four mathas created by Sankara are still the main ones. Srngeri, Dvaraka, Badrinath and Puri are special and are also known as the amnaya mathas as they are connected with the four Vedas, the matching Upanisad Mahavakyas and Sankara’s four main followers (Sundaresan 110). The most famous and influential matha is Srngeri, in Karnataka State, in South Asia. It is also known as the centre of the Sankaran Vedanta tradition and was originally used as a place to stay and study for samnyasins. In the Srngeri matha the samnyasins who reside there highly regard the Vivekacudamani (Sawai 22).  However, since the fourteenth century it became a place for pilgrimage, worship and philosophical study (Fort 613). The main goddess that is now worshipped at Srngeri is Sri Sarada (Fort 613). The lay adherents of the Vedic tradition or smartas also now visit Srngeri for advice and boons from the Sankaracaryas (Fort 613).

 

REFERENCES AND FURTHER RECOMMENDED READING

Fort, Andrew (1994) The Faith of Ascetics and Lay Smartas: A Study of the Sankaran Tradition of Srngeri. Journal of Asian Studies 53.2: 613. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.

Isaeva, Natalia (1993) Shankara and Indian Philosophy. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. Web. 5 Feb 2016.

Matha (2016) Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. Web. 07 Feb. <http://www.britannica.com/topic/matha>.

Miller, David M., and Dorothy C. Wertz (1976) Hindu monastic life: The monks and monasteries of Bhubaneswar. McGill-Queen’s Press-MQUP. Web. 5 Feb 2016.

Prasad, Leela (2006) Text, Tradition, and Imagination: Evoking the Normative in Everyday Hindu Life. Numen 53.1: 1–47. Web. 5 Feb 2016.

Sawai, Yoshitsugu (1987) The Nature of Faith in the Sankaran Vedanta Tradition. Numen 34.1: 18–44. Web. 5 Feb 2016.

Sears, Tamara (2008) Constructing the Guru: Ritual Authority and Architectural Space in Medieval India. The Art Bulletin 90.1: 7–31. Web.7 Feb 2016.

Shankara (2016) Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. Web. 07 Feb. 2016 <http://www.britannica.com/biography/Shankara>.

Sundaresan, Vidyasankar (2000) Conflicting Hagiographies and History: The Place of Sankaravijaya Texts in Advaita Tradition. International Journal of Hindu Studies 4.2: 109–184. Web. 7 Feb 2016.

 

Related Topics for Further Investigation

Sankara

Guru

Samnyasin

Smarta tradition

Jadadguru

Advaita Tradition

Srngeri matha

Amnaya mathas

Sankaracarya

Diska

 

Noteworthy Websites Related to the Topic

https://www.himalayanacademy.com/monastery/about

http://indiafacts.org/the-hindu-matha-a-introduction/

http://indology.info/papers/sundaresan/shank-jyot-ascii/

http://www.sringeri.net/history/sri-adi-shankaracharya

http://www.bhagavadgitausa.com/sringeri.htm

http://www.advaita-vedanta.org/avhp/sankara-life.html

 

Article written by: Hailey McLean (March 2016) who is solely responsible for the content

 

 

 

1. Dharma, 1. The Student (Sisya), a. Asceticism and Renunciation, a. Dharma and the Dharma Sastras, b. The Four Goals/ Aims of Life

Celibacy (Brahmacarya)

In classical Hinduism, the origins of ascetic practices such as celibacy are highly debated. Chastity is defined as the abstinence of all sexual intercourse and celibacy was used to describe the single relationship status of an individual, but now more recent descriptions are approaching the definition of chastity (Olivelle 151). In Hinduism, the Sanskrit word Brahmacarya is used interchangeably to describe celibacy and chastity even though it is not the direct application of the use of the word. The word Brahmacarya more precisely refers to the first of four “religiously sanctioned modes of life” (Olivelle 158) called Asramas. These Asramas are prescribed phases of life originating from laws written in the first century CE. These were treatises written on the moral duty, and the nature of righteousness, called Dharma Sastras. Dharma is the proper actions, rituals, social and personal behaviors that are supported by the cosmic order (Rta), the natural rightness of things. One example would be The Laws of Manu containing several rules of proper social and personal conduct which include the four phases of life (Asramas). The Laws of Manu was written in the first century CE therefor “reflect the social norms of the time” and were “seldom followed strictly”. While in the Asrama known as the student stage, or Brahmacarya, it is the “student’s Dharma not to work for a living and to remain celibate” and in the second stage “a householder’s Dharma to be employed and lead a conjugal life with his partner” (Narayana 50).

The Laws of Manu go into great detail of many restricting rules and systems such as the caste and class system that are supported by even older highly regarded Vedic texts such as the Rg Vedas. The laws state, that only certain classes are permitted to commence the once highly regarded religious journey of studying the Vedas through the four Asramas. Studying the Vedas is a privilege only granted to the religious classes belonging in the greater classification group named the Twice-Born. The story of creation entitled ‘Hymn of the supreme person’ from the Rg Vedas can accommodate the origin of various elements of the universe such as the class system. It is the Purusa Sukta, Purusa is believed to be the original being of the universe from which the ultimate sacrifice was made to create man. The dismemberment of Purusa is the origin of the class system. “From his mouth came the priestly class, from his arms, the rulers. The producers came from his legs; from his feet came the servant class” (Narayanan 27). The Brahmin (priestly) class, Ksatriya (ruler) class, and Vaisya (producer) class make up the twice born, but do not include the Sudras (servant) class. The Twice Born have the privilege of following the prescribed Asramas to pursue the ultimate goal of complete liberation (Moksa) following a spiritual re-birth.

A ceremony must be performed to mark the second birth of a Twice-Born male into the studies of the Vedas. The sacred threat ritual (Upanayana) is the first ritual marking the rite of passage into the first Asrama (Brahmacarya). The Upanayana and marriage are examples of Samskara; a ritual that marks the rite of passage into the next Asrama. A different stage marks the pursuit of different goals and the attainment of a different set of knowledge or values. This can be better understood with the apprehension of Dharma. The first goal is to abide by the dharmic principles of sexual asceticism while studying the Vedas, but in the second Asrama (Grhastha), the focus shifts to the pursuit of sensory pleasure (Kama) and self-empowerment (Artha). In the third Asrama (Vanaprastha) one begins to practice various methods of gaining transformative insight, and in the last Asrama (Samnyasin) the goal is to attain the highest level of complete liberation.

If an individual were to attain moksha, through devoting one’s life to following the Asramas or other practices, the individual is then liberated from Samsara. In most Hindu philosophies (Darasanas) it is believed that every action has Karmic consequences, and after death in this world the Karmic seeds will bear fruit, and be the ultimate deciding factor of the realm of rebirth. Samsara is the cycle of endless rebirth in another realm unless the cycle can be broken by attaining Moksa (Olivelle 156). Liberation from endless cycles of Karmic rebirth is attained by dispelling illusion, and gaining transformative insight on the self (Atman) or knowledge about ultimate reality (Brahman) (Narayanan 52). Those that practice sexual asceticism tend to have as a goal the pursuit of liberation (Moksa). Since detaching from the sensual world is the first step toward renunciation, “the sexual impulse was viewed as the greatest source of attachment and the greatest impediment to progress on the spiritual path” (Olivelle 160). The biggest obstacle to ascetic detachment is the natural attraction towards the opposite sex, and the sexual nature of the body which is seen as impure (Olivelle 160). One of the five preliminary restraints (Yama) that need to be practiced is abstinence as highlighted in Yoga Sutra for the pursuit of liberation. Time and time again we see that sexual asceticism is clearly favored as one of the key practices in the bigger goal of attaining liberation, nonetheless during the householder (Grhastha) Asrama stage the practice of celibacy and chastity is disregarded.

It is the dharma of a married householder to raise children, therefor there are no negative karmic consequences. Offspring and marriage are undesirable to a renounced individual seeking liberation because they cannot help nor hinder the present Karmic state of the individual. Choosing not to practice celibacy, or believing in the institution of marriage and the action of procreation,  is closely tied to the rejection of ritual activity, and is seen as harmful to spiritual progress. This can explain why the acceptance of householder ideals such as procreation bears no fruit in the search for Moksa but one can also argue that it is indeed necessary for some Hindu religious practices. The Vedas talk about a great spiritual and physical debt that is owed to the gods since birth. Two of them are “offering sacrifices and procreating sons” (Olivelle 154). Vedic religion used sons for death rituals and thus, the birth of a son is “viewed as ensuring immortality of the father” (Olivelle 153). Some Vedic theology promotes the married householder way of life as being the ideal, while other Vedic theology also supports ascetic and celibate ideologies. These contrasting principles warrant different outcomes, but are supported and followed equally.

An unbalanced ratio of renouncers who neglect the benefits of the householder stage would be devastating for the continuity of the population and would require adjustments to the Asrama system over time to promote healthy proliferation. The four Asramas were originally meant for an individual wanting to pursue a sacred ascetic life; free of unnecessary ties with the artificial world. In the old Asrama system, after graduating from Vedic studies, the individual was able to choose between four modes of life to pursue permanently for this persons entire lifetime. There was the option to continue the Asrama of a student through adulthood and devote one’s life to the study of the Vedas while remaining celibate (Olivelle 159). Another Asrama was the forest-hermit, where the individual could roam the forest, and most texts mention the ability to have a wife or family while other texts order celibacy. And the last Asrama from the old system was the world renouncer, marked by celibacy and no familial ties (Olivelle 159). Years after the Common Era, the reformed version of the four Asramas were known to be temporary stages of life. Nonetheless, celibacy and chastity played a major role in all four Asramas. In the second Asrama, the Householder (Grhastha) stage, the pursuit of sensory pleasure (Kama) and self-empowerment (Artha) is permitted. The aims of each Asrama can be pursued in moderation and in the order prescribed (Narayanan 50). If one chooses, Brahmacarya is also practiced during the householder stage, as the term is adapted to justify the Dharmic duty to create offspring. Throughout time, The Laws of Manu closely guarded by the Brhamin class needed to change in order to more accurately parallel other popular Vedic beliefs. To further promote the highly reputed concept of Brahmacarya in the context of sexual asceticism, Brahmanical adaptations were made to integrate sexual asceticism in all Asramas including Grhastha. The householder equivalent to sexual asceticism is sexual intercourse with one’s wife at night if the sole purpose is procreation (Olivelle 162).  Domesticating the practice of Asceticism during the householder stage would be justified with Dharma. The Third Asrama is the Forest-Dweller (Vanaprastha) and the last is the renouncer (Samnyasin) Asrama, where death rituals are performed to shed the bonds of family, marriage, kids or sexual activities to facilitate the detachment from the world in the pursuit of Moksa (Olivelle 159).

Mental and Physical powers such as the ability to fly, the ability to see into the future and read minds are said to be related to the retention of semen, while the opposite effect of physical and mental impotence is related to sexual relations (Olson 165). “The celibate body is extremely fit, and as such evokes a divine and heroic mystique of epic proportion” (Alter 46). The internal, unnatural heat (Tapas) found in a celibate renouncer can lead to the acquisition of powers. Comparing the celibate renouncer to the sexually active householder, who generates a different kind of natural heat with no control over the excessive indulgence of sexual behavior, reveals a theme. The heating of the renouncer and cooling of the householder is the tension visible throughout the history of devotional Hinduism (Olson 167).

Brahmacarya is used to describe the model example of celibacy in Hinduism, referring to the stage of ascetic study of the Vedas, but not directly meaning chastity or celibacy (Olivelle 152). Brahmacarya comes prior to the accepted but unstable sensual release in the householder Asrama. This is followed by the necessary condition of sexual continence for the pursuit of liberation while renouncing the world. Celibacy, chastity, marriage, and procreation are all supported by the Hindu tradition, but at specific times throughout life and also within moderation.

 

Bibliography

Alter, Joseph (1994) “Sexuality and the Transformation of Gender Into Nationalism in North India.” The Journal of Asian studies 53:45-66.Accessed 07/01/2009.

Buswell. R, Lopez. D (2014) The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Narayanan, Vasudha (2002) “Chapter One: The Hindu Tradition.” In World Religions, Eastern Religions, edited by Willard G. Oxtoby, 12-125. Oxford: Oxford University Press

Olivelle, Patrick (2008) “Celibacy in Classical Hinduism.” In Celibacy and Religious Traditions, edited by Carl Olson, 151-164. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Olson, Carl (2008) “Hindu Devotionalism, Tantra, and Celibacy.” In Celibacy and Religious Traditions, edited by Carl Olson, 165-180. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

 

Article written by: Uriel Karerwa (April 2016) who is solely responsible for its content.