The Yoga of Force: Tantra and Medieval Haṭhayoga Flashcards
Haṭhayoga facts
Haṭha = force, forceful
Jason Birch on Haṭha (2011)
12th-18th century CE
Building upon earlier yogic and ascetic traditions, and tantra
A new emphasis on the body and bodily techniques used to harness subtle energy
New texts emerge which sought to systematize and promote these yoga teachings and techniques
We are only now in the beginning stages of identifying and translating many of these texts and traditions
Early References to Haṭha in Sanskrit texts
The term haṭhayoga first occurs in Buddhist tantras from the 8th century
haṭhayoga is referred to as a “last-resort” soteriological practice, if the path of mantras does not work
Earliest definition of haṭhayoga: Puṇḍarīka’s Vimalaprabhā (11th cent) commentary on the Kālacakratantra
haṭha “forces” energy/breath inwards and upwards or “restrains” it in place
Haṭhayoga’s Tantric Buddhist Source Text
Recent findings from the Amṛtasiddhi (early 12th cent) by Mādhavacandra - James Mallinson and Peter Daniel-Szanto
Earliest known text to teach the practice of bodily mudrās: mahāmudrā, mahābandha, and mahāvedha (each seated postures)
With bandhas: throat-lock (kaṇṭhabandha) and root-lock (mūlabandha)
Used to make breath enter central channel and rise upwards
Taught in all subsequent Hathayoga texts
Haṭhayoga Corpus (14 texts with 3 main ones)
Amṛtasiddhi (12th cent)
Datātreyayogaśāstra (13th cent)
Amaraughaprabodha (13th cent)
Gorakṣaśataka (13th cent)
Vivekamārtaṇḍa (13/14th cent)
Khecarīvidyā (13/14th cent)
Yogayājñavalkya (13/14th cent)
Yogabīja (14/15th cent)
1) Śivasaṃhitā (15th cent)
2) Haṭhapradīpikā (15th cent)
Śivayogapradīpikā (15th cent)
Yogacintāmaṇi (17th cent)
3) Gherandasaṃhitā (18th cent)
Haṭhābyāsapaddhati (18th cent)
Mallinson’s Theory: 2 Ascetico-yogic Historical Streams
1) Muni (“sages”)
Ancient ascetic yoga
Descriptions in the late Upanishads, Epics, Pali Canon, Puranas
Developped from early shramana groups
“orthodox”, brahmanical
Vedic ṛṣis/munis like Vasiṣṭha, Yajñavalkya, Hiranyagarbha, etc
Siddha ("adepts")
Tantric yoga
Vajrayana Buddhism
Tantric Śaivism
Kaula, Śri Vidyā, Kubjikā traditions
"heterodox", antinomian
Mahāsiddhas like Matsyendranāth, Gorakhnāth, etc
Ancient Sages (munis)
Largely male, celibates, ascetics
Developped from Śramaṇa traditions
Cultivation of tapas (lit. “heat”)
Physical and mental austerities
Forerunners of physical techniques of haṭha, eg: standing on one foot, raising the arms above the head, hanging upside-down
Attainment of boons from deities, supernatural powers (siddhi), immortality, heaven, or “release” (mokṣa) from saṃsāra
Ancient Inversions: Bindu-dhāraṇa
The retention of:
bindu = life-force, semen
rajas = female equiv.
Associated with immortality (amṛta)
Stored in the cranial vault
Practice aimed at reversing and retaining its power
Ancient inversion practice
eg: “Bat-Penance” (Pāli vagguli-vata) = later in Hathayoga: tapkar-āsan
Tantra definition of David White (Tantra in practice, 2000)
Tantra is that Asian body of beliefs and practices which, working from the principle that the universe we experience is nothing other than the concrete manifestation of the divine energy of the godhead that creates and maintains the universe, seeks to ritually appropriate and channel that energy, within the human microcosm, in creative and emancipatory ways”
Tantric yoga
Hundreds of Tantras, Āgamas, Saṃhitā, many have yoga sections (pādas)
Begin 6th century
Tāntrika vs. Vaidika, scriptural authority outside of the Vedas
Tantric Śaivism, Vaiṣṇavism, and Vajrayāna Buddhism
“The Śaiva Age”, 6th/12th cent CE (Prof Alexis Sanderson)
Many different schools/streams (see Sanderson 1988 article “Śaivism and the Tantric Traditions”)
Mantramārga (“path of mantras”)
Dual and non dual systems
Soteriological goals of becoming equal to, union with, or becoming the deity (i.e Śiva)
The diviniation of the yogic/tantric body
The Tantric Body
Tantric visualization/map of the subtle energy body:
Layayoga (“yoga of dissolution“)
Cakras = “lotuses/wheels”
Nādis = “channels” (around 72 000)
Iḍa/Piṅgalā/Suṣumnā
Prāna = “life force/breath”
Vāyu = “winds”
Ādhāra = “mental fixations”
The awakening, falling, or rising of:
Kuṇḍalinī-śakti “goddess/serpent power”
Ascends to the crown of the head, nectar of immortality (amṛta) flows throughout the entire body
Nāth Yogīs
Offshoot of Kaula Yoginī Tantra
left-handed “transgressive”
Matsyendranāth (c 9th cent)
Gorakhnāth (c 12th cent)
Many of the Haṭhayoga texts are attributed to Gorakhnāth
eg: Gorakṣaśataka, Vivekamārtaṇḍa, Gorakṣasaṃithā, Yogabīja, Amaraughaprabodha, etc
Nāths today: aka Kaṇphatās (split eared), Gorakhpanthis, Nāth yogīs, etc
A Yogic Merger
Mallinson (2011) posits that in the early Haṭhayoga texts, the later tantric kuṇḍalini-śakti system is “overlaid” onto the earlier bindu/dhāraṇa system
Merger of the Muni and Tantric Siddha streams
Haṭhayoga techniques
Āsana = “postures”
Ṣaṭkarma = “six actions” for cleansing/purifying
Prāṇāyāma = breath extension/control
Kumbhaka = breath retention
Mudrā = bodily seals
Bandha = bodily locks
Nādānusandhāna = concentration on the inner sound
Dhāraṇā = fixation
Dhyāna = meditation/visualiyation
Samādhi = soteriological goal (eg: Rājayoga)
Āsana
= seat, posture
from sanskrit ās = to sit, lay down, rest
Early textual sources describe āsana as seated postures, for the purpose of meditation, breath control, visualization practices
Āsana in the Yogasūtra
sthira-sukhaṃ āsanam
“posture is firm and comfortable”
Commentary lists 12 āsanas, including: padmāsana, bhadrāsana, svastikāsana, ādi (etc)
