126-609: A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga , including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions . The feminine form, sometimes used in English, is yogini . Yogi has since the 12th century CE also denoted members of the Nath siddha tradition of Hinduism , and in Hinduism , Buddhism and Jainism , a practitioner of tantra . In Hindu mythology, the god Shiva and
252-508: A 2016 review, that combine Vedic, yogic and meditative traditions from 5th-century Hinduism as well as rival Buddhist and Jain traditions. it is a neologism of western scholars and does not reflect the self-understanding of any particular tantric tradition. While Goudriaan's description is useful, adds Gray, there is no single defining universal characteristic common to all Tantra traditions, being an open evolving system. Tantrism, whether Buddhist or Hindu, can best be characterized as practices,
378-456: A central feature of tantric practice. According to Geoffrey Samuel, sramana groups like the Buddhists and Jains were associated with the dead. Samuel notes that they "frequently settled at sites associated with the dead and seem to have taken over a significant role in relation to the spirits of the dead." To step into this realm required entering a dangerous and impure supernatural realm from
504-486: A child which are concerned with the loss of male virility and power. David Gordon White views Yogini cults as foundational to early tantra but disagrees with scholars who maintain that the roots of such cults lie in an "autochthonous non-Vedic source" such as indigenous tribes or the Indus Valley civilization . Instead, White suggests Vedic Srauta texts mention offerings to goddesses Rākā, Sinīvālī, and Kuhū in
630-631: A composite model in which a pre-Aryan yoga prototype existed in the pre-Vedic period and was refined during the Vedic period. According to Gavin D. Flood, the Upanishads differ fundamentally from the Vedic ritual tradition and indicate non-Vedic influences. However, the traditions may be connected: [T]his dichotomization is too simplistic, for continuities can undoubtedly be found between renunciation and vedic Brahmanism, while elements from non-Brahmanical, Sramana traditions also played an important part in
756-673: A general of the Yadava king Ramacandra donated a village to a yogi in 13th-century. Near Mangalore, that later became a hub of Nath yogis, a monastery and temple was dedicated to yogis in the 10th century. David Lorenzen states that the Nath yogis have been very popular with the rural population in South Asia, with medieval era "tales and stories about Nath yogis such as Gorakhnath, Matsyendra, Jalandhar, Gopichand, Bharthari, Kanhapa and Chaurangi" continuing to be remembered in contemporary times, in
882-409: A greater length, in 18 instances, stating that its metaphorical definition of "warp (weaving), extended cloth" is relevant to many contexts. The word tantra , states Patanjali, means "principal, main". He uses the same example of svatantra as a composite word of "sva" (self) and tantra, then stating "svatantra" means "one who is self-dependent, one who is his own master, the principal thing for whom
1008-408: A group of early Buddhist tantrikas from Bengal ( mahasiddhas , siddhacaryas ), the alchemists of medieval India ( rasa siddha ), and a mainly north Indian group known as the Nath siddhas . The Nath siddhas are the only still existing representatives of the medieval Tantric tradition, which had disappeared due to its excesses. While the Nath siddhas enjoyed persistent popular success, they attracted
1134-801: A manner similar to a tantric ritual. Frederick Smith – a professor of Sanskrit and Classical Indian Religions, considers Tantra to be a religious movement parallel to the Bhakti movement of the 1st millennium AD. Tantra along with Ayurveda , states Smith, has traditionally been attributed to Atharvaveda , but this attribution is one of respect not of historicity. Ayurveda has primarily been an empirical practice with Vedic roots, but Tantra has been an esoteric, folk movement without grounding that can be traced to anything in Atharvaveda or any other vedic text. Pre-tantric Buddhism contains elements which could be seen as proto-tantric, and which may have influenced
1260-499: A parallel part of the Hindu tradition, independent of the Vedic corpus. The Vedic and non-Vedic (Tantric) paths are seen as two different approaches to ultimate reality , the Vedic approach based on Brahman , and Tantrika being based on the non-Vedic Āgama texts. Despite Bhatta attempt to clarify, states Padoux, in reality Hindus and Buddhists have historically felt free to borrow and blend ideas from all sources, Vedic, non-Vedic and in
1386-578: A sequential growth from an Aryan genesis"; traditional Hinduism regards the Vedas as the source of all spiritual knowledge. Edwin Bryant wrote that authors who support Indigenous Aryanism also tend to support the linear model. The twentieth-century scholars Karel Werner , Thomas McEvilley , and Mircea Eliade believe that the central figure of the Pashupati seal is in a Mulabandhasana posture, and
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#17327799085031512-536: A serious impediment to spiritual liberation ( moksha , nirvana , kaivalya ). These orthodox traditions teach renunciation of householder life, a mendicant's life of simplicity and leaving all attachments to become a monk or nun. In contrast, the Tantrika traditions hold, states Robert Brown, that "both enlightenment and worldly success" are achievable, and that "this world need not be shunned to achieve enlightenment". Yet, even this supposed categorical divergence
1638-423: A set of techniques, with a strong focus on rituals and meditation, by those who believe that it is a path to liberation that is characterized by both knowledge and freedom. According to Padoux, the term "Tantrika" is based on a comment by Kulluka Bhatta on Manava Dharmasastra 2.1 , who contrasted vaidika and tantrika forms of Śruti (canonical texts). The Tantrika, to Bhatta, is that literature which forms
1764-481: A specific tradition: According to Knut A. Jacobsen , yoga has five principal meanings: David Gordon White writes that yoga's core principles were more or less in place in the 5th century CE, and variations of the principles developed over time: According to White, the last principle relates to legendary goals of yoga practice; it differs from yoga's practical goals in South Asian thought and practice since
1890-702: A spiritualized sexuality are mentioned in the late Upanishads. According to Samuel, "late Vedic texts treat sexual intercourse as symbolically equivalent to the Vedic sacrifice , and ejaculation of semen as the offering." This theme can be found in the Jaiminiya Brahmana , the Chandogya Upanisad , and the Brhadaranyaka Upanisad . The Brhadaranyaka contains various sexual rituals and practices which are mostly aimed at obtaining
2016-493: A standard part of Yoga, but Tantric practices do not appear in it. Likewise, the Taittiriya Upanishad discusses a central channel running through the body and various Vedic texts mention the bodily pranas (vital breaths) that move around in the body and animate it. However, the idea of consciously moving the bodily pranas through yoga is not found in these sources. According to Lorenzen, Vedic ideas related to
2142-531: A term generally applied to a practitioner ( sādhaka , sadhu ) who has, through his practice ( sadhana ), realized his dual goal of superhuman powers ( siddhis , 'realizations', 'perfections') and bodily immortality ( jivanmukti ). Archeological evidence suggests that in some contexts and regions, yogi of the Nath Siddha tradition were respected and recognized in India. For example, inscriptions suggest
2268-519: A yogi and yogini. One view asserts restraint in sexual activity, towards monk - and nun -like asexuality, as transmutation away from worldly desires and onto a spiritual path. It is not considered, states Stuart Sovatsky, as a form of moralistic repression but a personal choice that empowers the yoga practitioner to redirect his or her energies. The second view, found particularly in Tantra traditions according to David Gordon White , asserts that sexuality
2394-517: Is a 19th-century European invention not present in any Asian language; compare " Sufism ", of similar Orientalist origin. According to Padoux, Tantrism is a Western term and notion, not a category that is used by Tantrikas themselves. The term was introduced by 19th-century Indologists, with limited knowledge of India and in whose view Tantrism was a particular, unusual and minority practice in contrast to Indian traditions they believed to be mainstream. Robert Brown similarly notes that "tantrism"
2520-461: Is a bibliographic category, just like the word Sutra (which means "sewing together", mirroring the metaphor of "weaving together" in Tantra ). The same Buddhist texts are sometimes referred to as tantra or sutra; for example, Vairocabhisambodhi-tantra is also referred to as Vairocabhisambodhi-sutra . The various contextual meanings of the word Tantra vary with the Indian text and are summarized in
2646-411: Is a construct of Western scholarship , not a concept of the religious system itself. He defines Tantrism as an apologetic label of Westerners for a system that they little understand that is "not coherent" and which is "an accumulated set of practices and ideas from various sources, that has varied between its practitioners within a group, varied across groups, across geography and over its history". It
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#17327799085032772-435: Is a system, adds Brown, that gives each follower the freedom to mix Tantric elements with non-Tantric aspects, to challenge and transgress any and all norms, experiment with "the mundane to reach the supramundane". Teun Goudriaan in his 1981 review of Hindu Tantrism, states that Tantrism usually means a "systematic quest for salvation or spiritual excellence" by realizing and fostering the divine within one's own body, one that
2898-427: Is a wide gap between what Tantra means to its followers, and the way Tantra has been represented or perceived since colonial era writers began commenting on it. Many definitions of Tantra have been proposed since, and there is no universally accepted definition. André Padoux, in his review of Tantra definitions offers two, then rejects both. One definition, according to Padoux, is found among Tantra practitioners – it
3024-723: Is also mention of fierce demon like deities called rākṣasa and rākṣasī, like the children-eating Hārītī . They are also present in Mahayana texts, such as in Chapter 26 of the Lotus Sutra which includes a dialogue between the Buddha and a group of rākṣasīs, who swear to uphold and protect the sutra. These figures also teach magical dhāraṇīs to protect followers of the Lotus Sutra . A key element of Buddhist Tantric practice
3150-410: Is also used generically to refer to both male and female practitioners of yoga and related meditative practices belonging to any religion or spiritual method. The term yogini is also used for divine goddesses and enlightened mothers, all revered as aspects of the mother goddess , Devi . A yogi should not be confused with someone practicing asceticism and excessive self-mortification. In Hinduism
3276-687: Is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the Indian subcontinent from the middle of the 1st millennium CE onwards in both Hinduism and Buddhism . The term tantra , in the Indian traditions, also means any systematic broadly applicable "text, theory, system, method, instrument, technique or practice". A key feature of these traditions is the use of mantras , and thus they are commonly referred to as Mantramārga ("Path of Mantra") in Hinduism or Mantrayāna ("Mantra Vehicle") and Guhyamantra ("Secret Mantra") in Buddhism. In Buddhism,
3402-456: Is an additional means for a yogi or yogini to journey towards and experience the bliss of "one realized god-consciousness for oneself". In the second view, sexuality is a yogic practice, and one broadly revered through the lingam – yoni iconography of Shiva – Parvati , the divine yogi–yogini in Hindu mythology. Both a yogi and a philosopher are seekers of an absolute truth. But they differ in their modes of approach. A philosopher advances in
3528-470: Is any "system of observances" about the vision of man and the cosmos where correspondences between the inner world of the person and the macrocosmic reality play an essential role. Another definition, more common among observers and non-practitioners, is some "set of mechanistic rituals, omitting entirely the ideological side". Tantric traditions have been studied mostly from textual and historical perspectives. Anthropological work on living Tantric tradition
3654-682: Is available in the Vedas themselves is scanty and indirect. Nevertheless the indirect evidence is strong enough not to allow any doubt about the existence of spiritually highly advanced wanderers. According to Whicher (1998), scholarship frequently fails to see the connection between the contemplative practices of the rishis and later yoga practices: "The proto-Yoga of the Vedic rishis is an early form of sacrificial mysticism and contains many elements characteristic of later Yoga that include: concentration, meditative observation, ascetic forms of practice ( tapas ), breath control practiced in conjunction with
3780-403: Is called Āvāpa , such as massaging with oil. (...) Medieval texts present their own definitions of Tantra. Kāmikā-tantra , for example, gives the following explanation of the term tantra : Because it elaborates ( tan ) copious and profound matters, especially relating to the principles of reality ( tattva ) and sacred mantras, and because it provides liberation ( tra ), it
3906-516: Is called "sage" (muni). They wear clothes made of yellow rags fluttering in the wind, or perhaps more likely, they go naked, clad only in the yellow dust of the Indian soil. But their personalities are not bound to earth, for they follow the path of the mysterious wind when the gods enter them. He is someone lost in thoughts: he is miles away. The term yogin appears in Katyayana Shrauta-sutra and chapter 6 of Maitri Upanishad, where
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4032-563: Is called a tantra . The occultist and businessman Pierre Bernard (1875–1955) is widely credited with introducing the philosophy and practices of tantra to the American people, at the same time creating a somewhat misleading impression of its connection to sex. That popular sexualization is more accurately regarded as the western Neo-Tantra movement. In modern scholarship, Tantra has been studied as an esoteric practice and ritualistic religion, sometimes referred to as Tantrism. There
4158-401: Is compounded by the fact that it has been a historically significant part of major Indian religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism, both in and outside South Asia and East Asia. To its practitioners, Tantra is defined as a combination of texts, techniques, rituals, monastic practices, meditation, yoga, and ideology. According to Georg Feuerstein , The scope of topics discussed in
4284-551: Is considered the correct etymology by traditional commentators. In accordance with Pāṇini, Vyasa (who wrote the first commentary on the Yoga Sutras ) says that yoga means samadhi (concentration). Larson notes that in the Vyāsa Bhāsy the term "samadhi" refers to "all levels of mental life" (sārvabhauma), that is, "all possible states of awareness, whether ordinary or extraordinary." A person who practices yoga, or follows
4410-529: Is debatable, e.g. Bhagavad Gita v.2:48–53, including: "Yoga is skill in [the performance of] actions." The Keśin hymn of the Rig Veda (10.136) describes the "wild loner" who, states Karel Werner, "carrying within oneself fire and poison, heaven and earth, ranging from enthusiasm and creativity to depression and agony, from the heights of spiritual bliss to the heaviness of earth-bound labor". The Rigveda uses words of admiration for these loners, and whether it
4536-411: Is difficult to distinguish between the early Jain school and elements derived from other schools. Most of the other contemporary yoga systems alluded to in the Upanishads and some Buddhist texts have been lost. The Upanishads, composed in the late Vedic period , contain the first references to practices recognizable as classical yoga. The first known appearance of the word "yoga" in the modern sense
4662-475: Is far from the diverse and complex understanding of what Tantra means to those Buddhists, Hindu and Jains who practice it. David Gray disagrees with broad generalizations and states that defining Tantra is a difficult task because "Tantra traditions are manifold, spanning several religious traditions and cultural worlds. As a result they are also diverse, which makes it a significant challenge to come up with an adequate definition". The challenge of defining Tantra
4788-451: Is himself", thereby interpreting the definition of tantra. Patanjali also offers a semantic definition of Tantra, stating that it is structural rules, standard procedures, centralized guide or knowledge in any field that applies to many elements. Starting in the early centuries of the common era, newly revealed Tantras centering on Vishnu , Shiva or Shakti emerged. There are tantric lineages in all main forms of modern Hinduism, such as
4914-500: Is in the Katha Upanishad (probably composed between the fifth and third centuries BCE), where it is defined as steady control of the senses which – with cessation of mental activity – leads to a supreme state. The Katha Upanishad integrates the monism of the early Upanishads with concepts of samkhya and yoga. It defines levels of existence by their proximity to one's innermost being . Yoga
5040-495: Is related to Tantra or not, has been variously interpreted. According to David Lorenzen, it describes munis (sages) experiencing Tantra-like "ecstatic, altered states of consciousness" and gaining the ability "to fly on the wind". In contrast, Werner suggests that these are early Yoga pioneers and accomplished yogis of the ancient pre-Buddhist Indian tradition, and that this Vedic hymn is speaking of those "lost in thoughts" whose "personalities are not bound to earth, for they follow
5166-519: Is scarce, and ethnography has rarely engaged with the study of Tantra. This is arguably a result of the modern construction of Tantrism as occult, esoteric and secret. Some scholars have tried to demystify the myth of secrecy in contemporary Tantric traditions, suggesting new methodological avenues to overcome the ethical and epistemological problems in the study of living Tantric traditions. According to David N. Lorenzen, two different kinds of definitions of Tantra exist, narrow and broad. According to
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5292-418: Is simultaneous union of the masculine-feminine and spirit-matter, and has the ultimate goal of realizing the "primal blissful state of non-duality". It is typically a methodically striven system, consisting of voluntarily chosen specific practices which may include Tantric items such as mantras ( bijas ), geometric patterns and symbols ( mandala ), gestures ( mudra ), mapping of the microcosm within one's body to
5418-402: Is synonymous with physical stretching and little more. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali define yoga as "the stilling of the disturbances of the mind". Richard Payne states that Tantra has been commonly but incorrectly associated with sex, given popular culture's prurient obsession with intimacy. Tantra has been labelled as the "yoga of ecstasy", driven by senseless ritualistic libertinism . This
5544-637: Is the visualization of deities in meditation. This practice is actually found in pre-tantric Buddhist texts as well. In Mahayana sutras like the Pratyutpanna Samādhi and the three Amitabha Pure land sutras . There are other Mahāyāna sutras which contain what may be called "proto-tantric" material such as the Gandavyuha and the Dasabhumika which might have served as a source for the imagery found in later Tantric texts. According to Samuel,
5670-547: Is upright, the breath is restrained and the mind is meditatively focused, preferably in a cave or a place that is simple and quiet. The Maitrayaniya Upanishad , probably composed later than the Katha and Shvetashvatara Upanishads but before the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali , mentions a sixfold yoga method: breath control, introspective withdrawal of the senses, meditation ( dhyana ), mental concentration , logic and reasoning , and spiritual union . In addition to discussions in
5796-472: Is viewed as a process of interiorization, or ascent of consciousness. The upanishad is the earliest literary work which highlights the fundamentals of yoga. According to White, The earliest extant systematic account of yoga and a bridge from the earlier Vedic uses of the term is found in the Hindu Katha Upanisad (Ku), a scripture dating from about the third century BCE ... [I]t describes
5922-633: The Golden Light Sutra (c. 5th century at the latest) contains what could be seen as a proto-mandala. In the second chapter, a bodhisattva has a vision of "a vast building made of beryl and with divine jewels and celestial perfumes. Four lotus-seats appear in the four directions, with four Buddhas seated upon them: Aksobhya in the East, Ratnaketu in the South, Amitayus in the West and Dundubhīśvara in
6048-673: The Satipatthana Sutta (the four foundations of mindfulness sutta) and the Anapanasati Sutta (the mindfulness of breathing sutta). The chronology of these yoga-related early Buddhist texts, like the ancient Hindu texts, is unclear. Early Buddhist sources such as the Majjhima Nikāya mention meditation; the Aṅguttara Nikāya describes jhāyins (meditators) who resemble early Hindu descriptions of muni ,
6174-703: The Atharvaveda and in the Brahmanas (the second layer of the Vedas, composed c. 1000–800 BCE). According to Flood, "The Samhitas [the mantras of the Vedas] contain some references ... to ascetics, namely the Munis or Keśins and the Vratyas." Werner wrote in 1977 that the Rigveda does not describe yoga, and there is little evidence of practices. The earliest description of "an outsider who does not belong to
6300-516: The Hindu , Jain , and Buddhist traditions. Yoga may have pre- Vedic origins, but is first attested in the early first millennium BCE. It developed as various traditions in the eastern Ganges basin drew from a common body of practices, including Vedic elements. Yoga-like practices are mentioned in the Rigveda and a number of early Upanishads , but systematic yoga concepts emerge during
6426-784: The Kapalikas ("skull men", also called Somasiddhatins or Mahavartins ). Besides the shocking fact that they frequented cremation grounds and carried human skulls, little is known about them, and there is a paucity of primary sources on the Kapalikas. Samuel also states that the sources depict them as using alcohol and sex freely, that they were associated with terrfying female spirit-deities called yoginis and dakinis , and that they were believed to possess magical powers, such as flight. Kapalikas are depicted in fictional works and also widely disparaged in Buddhist, Hindu and Jain texts of
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#17327799085036552-471: The Katha Upanishad , dated to the fifth to first centuries BCE. Systematic yoga concepts begin to emerge in texts dating to c. 500–200 BCE, such as the early Buddhist texts , the middle Upanishads, and the Mahabharata 's Bhagavad Gita and Shanti Parva . According to Geoffrey Samuel , the "best evidence to date" suggests that yogic practices "developed in the same ascetic circles as
6678-596: The Kaulas Tantric practices are rare. Reference is made in the early 9th century to vama (left-hand) Tantras of the Kaulas. Literary evidence suggests Tantric Buddhism was probably flourishing by the 7th century. Matrikas, or fierce mother goddesses that later are closely linked to Tantra practices, appear both in Buddhist and Hindu arts and literature between the 7th and 10th centuries. According to Gavin Flood ,
6804-680: The Mahabharata contains no uniform yogic goal, the separation of self from matter and perception of Brahman everywhere are described as goals of yoga. Samkhya and yoga are conflated , and some verses describe them as identical. Mokshadharma also describes an early practice of elemental meditation. The Mahabharata defines the purpose of yoga as uniting the individual ātman with the universal Brahman pervading all things. Tantra Traditional Tantra ( / ˈ t ʌ n t r ə / ; Sanskrit : तन्त्र , lit. 'expansion-device, salvation-spreader; loom, weave, warp')
6930-650: The Shaiva Siddhanta tradition, the Shakta sect of Shri Vidya , the Kaula , and Kashmir Shaivism . The ancient Mimamsa school of Hinduism uses the term tantra extensively, and its scholars offer various definitions. For example: When an action or a thing, once complete, becomes beneficial in several matters to one person, or to many people, that is known as Tantra . For example, a lamp placed amidst many priests. In contrast, that which benefits by its repetition
7056-557: The Vajrayana traditions are known for tantric ideas and practices, which are based on Indian Buddhist Tantras . They include Indo-Tibetan Buddhism , Chinese Esoteric Buddhism , Japanese Shingon Buddhism and Nepalese Newar Buddhism . Although Southern Esoteric Buddhism does not directly reference the tantras, its practices and ideas parallel them. In Buddhism, tantra has influenced the art and iconography of Tibetan and East Asian Buddhism, as well as historic cave temples of India and
7182-442: The jnana yoga of Vedanta . While yoga is often conflated with the "classical yoga" of Patanjali's yoga sutras, Karen O'Brien-Kop notes that "classical yoga" is informed by, and includes, Buddhist yoga. Regarding Buddhist yoga, James Buswell in his Encyclopedia of Buddhism treats yoga in his entry on meditation, stating that the aim of meditation is to attain samadhi, which serves as the foundation for vipasyana , "discerning
7308-584: The 11th and 12th centuries, when Buddhists in South India converted to Nath siddha traditions and helped establish Shiva Hindu temples and monasteries. Yoga Traditional Yoga ( / ˈ j oʊ ɡ ə / ; Sanskrit : योग , Sanskrit pronunciation: [joːɡɐ] , lit. "yoke" or "union") is a group of physical , mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated in ancient India , aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as practiced in
7434-776: The 1st century CE. The Mahabharata , the Harivamsa , and the Devi Mahatmya in the Markandeya Purana all mention the fierce, demon-killing manifestations of the Great Goddess, Mahishamardini , identified with Durga - Parvati . These suggest that Shaktism , reverence and worship for the Goddess in Indian culture, was an established tradition by the early centuries of the 1st millennium. Padoux mentions an inscription from 423 to 424 CE which mentions
7560-796: The 1st millennium CE. In Hāla 's Gatha-saptasati (composed by the 5th century AD), for example, the story calls a female character Kapalika, whose lover dies, he is cremated, she takes his cremation ashes and smears her body with it. The 6th-century Varāhamihira mentions Kapalikas in his literary works. Some of the Kāpālika practices mentioned in these texts are those found in Shaiva Hinduism and Vajrayana Buddhism, and scholars disagree on who influenced whom. These early historical mentions are in passing and appear to be Tantra-like practices, they are not detailed nor comprehensive presentation of Tantric beliefs and practices. Epigraphic references to
7686-507: The Brahminic establishment" is found in the Keśin hymn 10.136, the Rigveda 's youngest book, which was codified around 1000 BCE. Werner wrote that there were ... individuals who were active outside the trend of Vedic mythological creativity and the Brahminic religious orthodoxy and therefore little evidence of their existence, practices and achievements has survived. And such evidence as
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#17327799085037812-494: The Buddha borrowed from the śramaṇa tradition. The Pāli Canon contains three passages in which the Buddha describes pressing the tongue against the palate to control hunger or the mind, depending on the passage. There is no mention of the tongue inserted into the nasopharynx , as in khecarī mudrā . The Buddha used a posture in which pressure is put on the perineum with the heel, similar to modern postures used to evoke Kundalini . Suttas which discuss yogic practice include
7938-657: The Deccan, western and northern states of India and in Nepal. In some contexts, adds White, the term yogi has also been a pejorative term used in medieval India for a Nath siddha, particularly on the part of India's social, cultural and religious elites. The term siddha has become a broad sectarian appellation, applying to Saiva-devotees in the Deccan ( Maheśvara siddhas ), alchemists in Tamil Nadu ( siddhars or sittars ),
8064-431: The Indian perspective. This association with death remains a feature of modern Buddhism, and in Buddhist countries today, Buddhist monks and other ritual specialists are in charge of the dead. Thus, the association of tantric practitioners with charnel grounds and death imagery is preceded by early Buddhist contact with these sites of the dead. Some scholars think that the development of tantra may have been influenced by
8190-452: The Kesin and meditating ascetics, but the meditation practices are not called "yoga" in these texts. The earliest known discussions of yoga in Buddhist literature, as understood in a modern context, are from the later Buddhist Yogācāra and Theravada schools. Jain meditation is a yoga system which predated the Buddhist school. Since Jain sources are later than Buddhist ones, however, it
8316-587: The North." A series of artwork discovered in Gandhara , in modern-day Pakistan , dating from about the 1st century CE, show Buddhist and Hindu monks holding skulls. The legend corresponding to these artworks is found in Buddhist texts, and describes monks "who tap skulls and forecast the future rebirths of the person to whom that skull belonged". According to Robert Brown, these Buddhist skull-tapping reliefs suggest that tantric practices may have been in vogue by
8442-683: The Principal Upanishads, the twenty Yoga Upanishads and related texts (such as Yoga Vasistha , composed between the sixth and 14th centuries CE) discuss yoga methods. Alexander the Great reached India in the 4th century BCE. In addition to his army, he brought Greek academics who wrote memoirs about its geography, people, and customs. One of Alexander's companions was Onesicritus (quoted in Book 15, Sections 63–65 by Strabo in his Geography ), who describes yogis. Onesicritus says that
8568-543: The Sanskrit root tan means the warping of threads on a loom. It implies "interweaving of traditions and teachings as threads" into a text, technique or practice. The word appears in the hymns of the Rigveda such as in 10.71, with the meaning of " warp (weaving) ". It is found in many other Vedic era texts, such as in section 10.7.42 of the Atharvaveda and many Brahmanas . In these and post-Vedic texts,
8694-498: The Tantras is considerable. They deal with the creation and history of the world; the names and functions of a great variety of male and female deities and other higher beings; the types of ritual worship (especially of Goddesses); magic, sorcery, and divination; esoteric "physiology" (the mapping of the subtle or psychic body); the awakening of the mysterious serpent power (kundalinî-shakti); techniques of bodily and mental purification;
8820-758: The Upanishads (composed during the late Vedic period ). Alexander Wynne agrees that formless, elemental meditation might have originated in the Upanishadic tradition. An early reference to meditation is made in the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad (c. 900 BCE), one of the Principal Upanishads . The Chandogya Upanishad (c. 800–700 BCE) describes the five vital energies ( prana ), and concepts of later yoga traditions (such as blood vessels and an internal sound) are also described in this upanishad. The practice of pranayama (focusing on
8946-403: The Western world often entails a modern form of Hatha yoga and a posture-based physical fitness, stress-relief and relaxation technique , consisting largely of asanas ; this differs from traditional yoga, which focuses on meditation and release from worldly attachments. It was introduced by gurus from India after the success of Swami Vivekananda 's adaptation of yoga without asanas in
9072-465: The analysis, understanding and cultivation of those altered states of awareness that lead one to the experience of spiritual liberation." Another classic understanding sees yoga as union or connection with the highest Self ( paramatman ), Brahman, or God, a "union, a linking of the individual to the divine." This definition is based on the devotionalism ( bhakti ) of the Bhagavad Gita, and
9198-408: The appended table. The 5th-century BCE scholar Pāṇini in his Sutra 1.4.54–55 of Sanskrit grammar, cryptically explains tantra through the example of "Sva-tantra" (Sanskrit: स्वतन्त्र), which he states means "independent" or a person who is his own "warp, cloth, weaver, promoter, karta (actor)". Patanjali in his Mahābhāṣya quotes and accepts Panini's definition, then discusses or mentions it at
9324-713: The art of Southeast Asia . Tantric Hindu and Buddhist traditions have also influenced other Eastern religious traditions such as Jainism , the Tibetan Bön tradition, Daoism , and the Japanese Shintō tradition. Certain modes of non- Vedic worship such as Puja are considered tantric in their conception and rituals. Hindu temple building also generally conforms to the iconography of tantra. Hindu texts describing these topics are called Tantras, Āgamas or Samhitās . Tantra ( Sanskrit : तन्त्र ) literally means "loom, warp, weave". According to Padoux,
9450-493: The beginning of the Common Era in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophical schools. James Mallinson disagrees with the inclusion of supernatural accomplishments, and suggests that such fringe practices are far removed from the mainstream Yoga's goal as meditation-driven means to liberation in Indian religions. A classic definition of yoga comes from Patanjali Yoga Sutras 1.2 and 1.3, which define yoga as "the stilling of
9576-399: The body for toil in order that his opinions may be strengthened", that "there is no shame in life on frugal fare", and that "the best place to inhabit is one with scantiest equipment or outfit". According to Charles Rockwell Lanman , these principles are significant in the history of yoga's spiritual side and may reflect the roots of "undisturbed calmness" and "mindfulness through balance" in
9702-577: The body later diversified into the "mystical anatomy" of nadis and chakras found in Tantra. The yogic component of Tantrism appears clearly in Bāṇabhaṭṭa 's Harshacharita and Daṇḍin 's Dashakumaracharita . In contrast to this theory of Lorenzen, other scholars such as Mircea Eliade consider Yoga and the evolution of Yogic practices to be separate and distinct from the evolution of Tantra and Tantric practices. According to Geoffrey Samuel ,
9828-518: The breath) is mentioned in hymn 1.5.23 of the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad, and pratyahara (withdrawal of the senses) is mentioned in hymn 8.15 of Chandogya Upanishad. The Jaiminiya Upanishad Brahmana (probably before the 6th c. BCE) teaches breath control and repetition of a mantra . The 6th-c. BCE Taittiriya Upanishad defines yoga as the mastery of body and senses. According to Flood, "[T]he actual term yoga first appears in
9954-419: The broad array of definitions and usage in Indian religions, scholars have warned that yoga is hard, if not impossible, to define exactly. David Gordon White notes that "'Yoga' has a wider range of meanings than nearly any other word in the entire Sanskrit lexicon." In its broadest sense, yoga is a generic term for techniques aimed at controlling body and mind and attaining a soteriological goal as specified by
10080-474: The case of Buddhism, its own canonical works. One of the key differences between the Tantric and non-Tantric traditions – whether it be orthodox Buddhism, Hinduism or Jainism – is their assumptions about the need for monastic or ascetic life. Non-Tantrika, or orthodox traditions in all three major ancient Indian religions, hold that the worldly life of a householder is one driven by desires and greeds which are
10206-584: The commonest use of the term "yoga" refers to "a dying warrior transferring himself at death to the sphere of the sun through yoga, a practice that links up with Upanisadic references to the channel to the crown of the head as the pathway by which one can travel through the solar orb to the World of Brahman." This practice of transferring one's consciousness at death is still an important practice in Tibetan Buddhism. Samuel also notes that sexual rituals and
10332-523: The contextual meaning of Tantra is that which is "principal or essential part, main point, model, framework, feature". In the Smritis and epics of Hinduism (and Jainism), the term means "doctrine, rule, theory, method, technique or chapter" and the word appears both as a separate word and as a common suffix, such as atma-tantra meaning "doctrine or theory of Atman (Self)". The term "Tantra" after about 500 BCE, in Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism
10458-565: The conventional sense of the word. The Nath Yogis were targets of Islamic persecution in the Mughal Empire . The texts of Yogi traditions from this period, state Shail Mayaram, refer to oppressions by Mughal officials such as governor. The Mughal documents confirm the existence of Nath Yogis in each pargana (household neighborhoods), and their persecution wherein Nath Yogis were beheaded by Aurangzeb . According to David Lorenzen,
10584-449: The cosmology and anthropology of a much older pre-Aryan upper class of northeastern India [Bihar] – being rooted in the same subsoil of archaic metaphysical speculation as Yoga, Sankhya , and Buddhism, the other non-Vedic Indian systems." More recently, Richard Gombrich and Geoffrey Samuel also argue that the śramaṇa movement originated in the non-Vedic eastern Ganges basin, specifically Greater Magadha . Thomas McEvilley favors
10710-480: The cremation places. Samuel states that transgressive and antinomian tantric practices developed in both Buddhist and Brahmanical (mainly Śaiva ascetics like the Kapalikas) contexts and that "Śaivas and Buddhists borrowed extensively from each other, with varying degrees of acknowledgement." According to Samuel, these deliberately transgressive practices included, "night time orgies in charnel grounds, involving
10836-559: The cults of nature spirit-deities like Yakṣas and Nagas . Yakṣa cults were an important part of early Buddhism . Yakṣas are powerful nature spirits which were sometimes seen as guardians or protectors. Yakṣas like Kubera are also associated with magical incantations. Kubera is said to have provided the Buddhist sangha with protection spells in the Āṭānāṭiya Sutta . These spirit deities also included numerous female deities (yakṣiṇī) that can be found depicted in major Buddhist sites like Sanchi and Bharhut . In early Buddhist texts there
10962-554: The development of a number of yoga satellite traditions. It and other aspects of Indian philosophy came to the attention of the educated Western public during the mid-19th century. Heinrich Zimmer was an exponent of the synthesis model, arguing for non-Vedic eastern states of India . According to Zimmer, yoga is part of a non-Vedic system which includes the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy , Jainism and Buddhism : "[Jainism] does not derive from Brahman-Aryan sources, but reflects
11088-472: The development of the Buddhist Tantric tradition. The use of magical chants or incantations can be found in the early Buddhist texts as well as in some Mahayana sutras. These magical spells or chants were used for various reasons, such as for protection , and for the generation of auspiciousness . Mahayana incantations are called dhāraṇīs . Some Mahayana sutras incorporate the use of mantras ,
11214-535: The earliest date for the Tantra texts related to Tantric practices is 600 CE, though most of them were probably composed after the 8th century onwards. According to Flood, very little is known about who created the Tantras, nor much is known about the social status of these and medieval era Tantrikas. Flood states that the pioneers of Tantra may have been ascetics who lived at the cremation grounds, possibly from "above low-caste groups", and were probably non-Brahmanical and possibly part of an ancient tradition. By
11340-425: The early śramaṇa movements ( Buddhists , Jainas and Ajivikas ), probably in around the sixth and fifth centuries BCE." This occurred during India's second urbanisation period. According to Mallinson and Singleton, these traditions were the first to use mind-body techniques (known as Dhyāna and tapas ) but later described as yoga, to strive for liberation from the round of rebirth. Werner writes, "The Buddha
11466-464: The early Upanishads of the first half of the first millennium BCE, with expositions also appearing in Jain and Buddhist texts c. 500 – c. 200 BCE . Between 200 BCE and 500 CE, traditions of Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain philosophy were taking shape; teachings were collected as sutras , and a philosophical system of Patanjaliyogasastra began to emerge. The Middle Ages saw
11592-426: The early Vedic period and codified between c. 1200 and 900 BCE, contain references to yogic practices primarily related to ascetics outside, or on the fringes of Brahmanism . The earliest yoga-practices may have come from the Jain tradition at ca. 900 BCE. The Rigveda 's Nasadiya Sukta suggests an early Brahmanic contemplative tradition. Techniques for controlling breath and vital energies are mentioned in
11718-415: The early medieval times, their practices may have included the imitation of deities such as Kali and Bhairava, with offerings of non-vegetarian food, alcohol and sexual substances. According to this theory, these practitioners would have invited their deities to enter them, then reverted the role in order to control that deity and gain its power. These ascetics would have been supported by low castes living at
11844-488: The fifth and sixth centuries BCE in ancient India's ascetic and Śramaṇa movements, including Jainism and Buddhism. The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali , the classical text on Hindu yoga, samkhya -based but influenced by Buddhism, dates to the early centuries of the Common Era . Hatha yoga texts began to emerge between the ninth and 11th centuries, originating in tantra . Yoga is practiced worldwide, but "yoga" in
11970-407: The first use of the root of the word "yoga" is in hymn 5.81.1 of the Rigveda , a dedication to the rising Sun-god, where it has been interpreted as "yoke" or "control". Pāṇini (4th c. BCE) wrote that the term yoga can be derived from either of two roots: yujir yoga (to yoke) or yuj samādhau ("to concentrate"). In the context of the Yoga Sutras , the root yuj samādhau (to concentrate)
12096-438: The formation of the renunciate ideal. The ascetic traditions of the eastern Ganges plain are thought to drew from a common body of practices and philosophies, with proto-samkhya concepts of purusha and prakriti as a common denominator. According to Edward Fitzpatrick Crangle, Hindu researchers have favoured a linear theory which attempts "to interpret the origin and early development of Indian contemplative practices as
12222-526: The founding of a temple to terrifying deities called "the mothers". However, this does not mean Tantric rituals and practices were as yet a part of either Hindu or Buddhist traditions. "Apart from the somewhat dubious reference to Tantra in the Gangadhar inscription of 423 CE", states David Lorenzen, it is only 7th-century Banabhatta's Kadambari which provide convincing proof of Tantra and Tantric texts. Shaivite ascetics seem to have been involved in
12348-413: The goddess Parvati are depicted as an emblematic yogi–yogini pair. Traditional In Classical Sanskrit , the word yogi ( Sanskrit : masc yogī , योगी ; fem yoginī ) is derived from yogin , which refers to a practitioner of yoga. Yogi is technically male, and yoginī is the term used for female practitioners. The two terms are still used with those meanings today, but the word yogi
12474-480: The heights of spiritual bliss to the heaviness of earth-bound labor. This is true of man in general and the [Vedic] Keśin in particular, but the latter has mastered and transformed these contrary forces and is a visible embodiment of accomplished spirituality. He is said to be light and enlightenment itself. The Keśin does not live a normal life of convention. His hair and beard grow longer, he spends long periods of time in absorption, musing and meditating and therefore he
12600-536: The hierarchy of mind-body constituents—the senses, mind, intellect, etc.—that comprise the foundational categories of Sāmkhya philosophy, whose metaphysical system grounds the yoga of the Yogasutras, Bhagavad Gita, and other texts and schools (Ku3.10–11; 6.7–8). The hymns in book two of the Shvetashvatara Upanishad (another late-first-millennium BCE text) describe a procedure in which the body
12726-594: The implied context and meaning is "a follower of the Yoga system, a contemplative saint". The term sometimes refers to a person who belongs to the Natha tradition. They usually belong to Shaiva tradition, but some Natha belong to the Vaishnava tradition. In both cases, states David Lorenzen, they practice yoga and their principal god tends to be Nirguna , that is a god that is without form and semi- monistic , influenced in
12852-509: The initial development of Tantra, particularly the transgressive elements dealing with the charnel ground. According to Samuel, one group of Shaiva ascetics, the Pasupatas , practiced a form of spirituality that made use of shocking and disreputable behavior later found in a tantric context, such as dancing, singing, and smearing themselves with ashes. Early Tantric practices are sometimes attributed to Shaiva ascetics associated with Bhairava,
12978-462: The inner development of a spiritual energy called tapas becomes a central element of Vedic religion in the Brahmanas and Srauta texts. In these texts, ascetic practices allow a holy man to build up tapas, a kind of magical inner heat, which allows them to perform all sorts of magical feats as well as granting visions and divine revelations. Samuel also notes that in the Mahabharata , one of
13104-456: The late 19th and early 20th centuries. Vivekananda introduced the Yoga Sutras to the West, and they became prominent after the 20th-century success of hatha yoga. The Sanskrit noun योग yoga is derived from the root yuj ( युज् ) "to attach, join, harness, yoke". According to Jones and Ryan, "The word yoga is derived from the root yuj, “to yoke,” probably because the early practice concentrated on restraining or “yoking in”
13230-589: The later works of Patanjali and Buddhaghosa . Nirodhayoga (yoga of cessation), an early form of yoga, is described in the Mokshadharma section of the 12th chapter ( Shanti Parva ) of the third-century BCE Mahabharata . Nirodhayoga emphasizes progressive withdrawal from empirical consciousness, including thoughts and sensations, until purusha (self) is realized. Terms such as vichara (subtle reflection) and viveka (discrimination) similar to Patanjali's terminology are used, but not described. Although
13356-454: The macrocosmic elements outside as the subtle body ( kundalini yoga ), assignments of icons and sounds ( nyasa ), meditation ( dhyana ), ritual worship ( puja ), initiation ( diksha ) and others. Tantrism, adds Goudriaan, is a living system that is decidedly monistic , but with wide variations, and it is impossible to be dogmatic about a simple or fixed definition. Tantrism is an overarching term for "Tantric traditions", states David Gray in
13482-593: The medieval era by the Advaita Vedanta school of Hinduism, Madhyamaka school of Buddhism, as well as Tantra and Yogic practices. The Yoga-Bhashya (400 CE), the oldest extant commentary on the Yoga-Sutra offers the following fourfold classification of yogis: A yogi or yogini aspires to Brahmacharya (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मचर्य), which means celibacy if single, or non-cheating on one's partner. There have been two parallel views, in Hindu texts, on sexuality for
13608-465: The movements of the mind," and the recognition of Purusha, the witness-consciousness, as different from Prakriti, mind and matter. According to Larson, in the context of the Yoga Sutras , yoga has two meanings. The first meaning is yoga "as a general term to be translated as "disciplined meditation" that focuses on any of the many levels of ordinary awareness." In the second meaning yoga is "that specific system of thought (sāstra) that has for its focus
13734-416: The narrow definition, Tantrism, or "Tantric religion", is the elite traditions directly based on the Sanskrit texts called the Tantras, Samhitas, and Agamas. Lorenzen's "broad definition" extends this by including a broad range of "magical beliefs and practices" such as Yoga and Shaktism . The term "yoga" is broadly attributed to many traditions and practices, including the western assumption that yoga
13860-409: The nature of enlightenment; and not least, sacred sexuality. Hindu puja , temples and iconography all show tantric influence. These texts, states Gavin Flood, contain representation of "the body in philosophy, in ritual and in art", which are linked to "techniques of the body, methods or technologies developed within the tantric traditions intended to transform body and self". The term tantrism
13986-519: The origins of yoga. The linear model holds that yoga has Vedic origins (as reflected in Vedic texts), and influenced Buddhism. This model is mainly supported by Hindu scholars. According to the synthesis model, yoga is a synthesis of indigenous, non-Vedic practices with Vedic elements. This model is favoured in Western scholarship. The earliest yoga-practices may have appeared in the Jain tradition at ca. 900 BCE. Speculations about yoga are documented in
14112-481: The path of rational logic (theory) and wants to intellectually understand the Truth. A yogi advances in the path of self discipline (practice) and aspires to spiritually realize truth. —Akshaya Banerjea, Philosophy of Gorakhnath A yogi or yogini lives by other voluntary ethical precepts called Yamas and Niyamas . These include: According to David White, [S]iddha means 'realized, perfected one',
14238-632: The path of the mysterious wind". The two oldest Upanishadic scriptures of Hinduism, the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad in section 4.2 and Chandogya Upanishad in section 8.6, refer to nadis ( hati ) in presenting their theory on how the Atman (Self) and the body are connected and interdependent through energy carrying arteries when one is awake or sleeping, but they do not mention anything related to Tantric practices. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad describes breath control that became
14364-523: The performance of the sacrifice " may be precursors of yoga. "The ecstatic practice of enigmatic longhaired muni in Rgveda 10.136 and the ascetic performance of the vratya-s in the Atharvaveda outside of or on the fringe of the Brahmanical ritual order, have probably contributed more to the ascetic practices of yoga." According to Bryant, practices recognizable as classical yoga first appear in
14490-556: The real from the unreal," liberating insight into true reality. Buswell & Lopez state that "in Buddhism, [yoga is] a generic term for soteriological training or contemplative practice, including tantric practice." O'Brien-Kop further notes that "classical yoga" is not an independent category, but "was informed by the European colonialist project." There is no consensus on yoga's chronology or origins other than its development in ancient India. There are two broad theories explaining
14616-472: The recitation of sacred hymns during the ritual, the notion of self-sacrifice, impeccably accurate recitation of sacred words (prefiguring mantra-yoga ), mystical experience, and the engagement with a reality far greater than our psychological identity or the ego." Jacobsen wrote in 2018, "Bodily postures are closely related to the tradition of ( tapas ), ascetic practices in the Vedic tradition"; ascetic practices used by Vedic priests "in their preparations for
14742-721: The religious groups in Hinduism that militarized and took up arms following the Muslim conquest of India , to resist persecution, appeared among the Nath or Kanphata yogis, often called simply yogis or jogis. The warrior ascetics were institutionalized as a religious order by Gorakhnath and were expanding in the 13th century, after the establishment of the first Islamic Sultanate in India. They interacted and cooperated with fakirs of Sufi Muslims. The yogis feature prominently in Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire period official documents, states David White, both in terms of impressing
14868-448: The roots of yoga are in the Indus Valley civilisation . This is rejected by more recent scholarship; for example, Geoffrey Samuel , Andrea R. Jain, and Wendy Doniger describe the identification as speculative; the meaning of the figure will remain unknown until Harappan script is deciphered, and the roots of yoga cannot be linked to the IVC. The Vedas , the only texts preserved from
14994-630: The ruling elite in the Muslim administration and awards of receiving land grants in some cases such as by Akbar , as well as those yogis who targeted the elite merchants and disrupted the business of administrative Islamic elites in urban areas. In other cases, yogis from the Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism marshaled armed resistance against the Mughal and British colonial armies. The history of Nath yogis has been diverse, such as in
15120-464: The scorn of the elite classes. According to White, the term yogi , has "for at least eight hundred years, been an all-purpose term employed to designate those Saiva specialists whom orthodox Hindus have considered suspect, heterodox, and even heretical in their doctrine and practice". The yoga as practiced by these Yogis, states White, is more closely identified in the eyes of those critics with black magic, sorcery and sexual perversions than with yoga in
15246-457: The senses. Later the name was also seen as a metaphor for “linking” or “yoking to” God or the divine." Buswell and Lopez translate "yoga" as "'bond', 'restraint', and by extension "spiritual discipline." Flood refers to restraining the mind as yoking the mind. Yoga is a cognate of the English word "yoke," since both are derived from an Indo-European root. According to Mikel Burley ,
15372-623: The term yogi refers to an adherent of yoga . The earliest evidence of yogis and their spiritual tradition, states Karel Werner , is found in the Keśin hymn 10.136 of the Rigveda , though with the terminology of Rudra who evolved into Shiva worshipped as the lord of Yoga in later Hinduism. The Hindu scripture Rigveda uses words of admiration for the Yogis, whom it refers to as Kesin, and describes them as follows (abridged): Carrying within oneself fire and poison, heaven and earth, ranging from enthusiasm and creativity to depression and agony, from
15498-402: The verbal root Tan means: "to extend", "to spread", "to spin out", "weave", "display", "put forth", and "compose". Therefore, by extension, it can also mean "system", "doctrine", or "work". The connotation of the word tantra to mean an esoteric practice or religious ritualism is a colonial era European invention. This term is based on the metaphor of weaving , states Ron Barrett, where
15624-403: The yoga philosophy with a high level of commitment, is called a yogi ; a female yogi may also be known as a yogini . The term " yoga " has been defined in different ways in Indian philosophical and religious traditions. "Yoga is skill in action" (2.50) "Know that which is called yoga to be separation from contact with suffering" (6.23) Due to its complicated historical development, and
15750-457: The yogis were aloof and adopted "different postures – standing or sitting or lying naked – and motionless". Onesicritus also mentions attempts by his colleague, Calanus , to meet them. Initially denied an audience, he was later invited because he was sent by a "king curious of wisdom and philosophy". Onesicritus and Calanus learn that the yogis consider life's best doctrines to "rid the spirit of not only pain, but also pleasure", that "man trains
15876-566: Was the founder of his [Yoga] system, even though, admittedly, he made use of some of the experiences he had previously gained under various Yoga teachers of his time." He notes: But it is only with Buddhism itself as expounded in the Pali Canon that we can speak about a systematic and comprehensive or even integral school of Yoga practice, which is thus the first and oldest to have been preserved for us in its entirety. Early Buddhist texts describe yogic and meditative practices, some of which
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