SIDDHA OR NATHA TRADITION- FOUNDED BY GURU GORAKHNATH

SIDDHA OR NATHA TRADITION- FOUNDED BY GURU GORAKHNATH

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Natha sect is one of the well known spiritual sects in india and know for his various masters and of all these Masters through the ages, Guru Gorakhnath is one acknowledged Master who has been referred to in the ancient scriptures, in legends and mystic tales, in writing / mentioning by many renowned masters, Purana & Scriptures, he is known as Guru Gorakhnath. The Nath Sampradaya, among many others, revere him as Shiva Goraksha.

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In the scriptures this is said Mata Parvati saw Guru Gorakhnath in Samadhi and asked Lord Shiva about the yogi i.e Guru Gorakhnath. Then Lord Shiva stated that the yogi is nothing but his own yogic manifestation. The Nine Naths and 84 Siddhas of Siddha Sampraday / tradition are aspects of Shiva himself, and old scriptures / legends suggests that they predate creation. Siddha Tradition was founded by Shiva Gorakshanath .

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The Names of these nine Naths are given in Nath Rahasya as:.

1. Adinath: Omkar Adinath, Sakshat Shankar, nirakar, alakh niranjan swarup
2. Udayanath: Parvati-swaroop
3. Satyanath: Brahma swaroop
4. Santoshnath: Vishnu swaroop
5. Achal Achambaynath: Naukul nagon ke Raja
6. Gajveli-Gajkantharnath: Ganesh swaroop
7. Siddha Chowringhee Nath
8. Dada Macchendranath: Maccha avatara swaroop
9. Shiva-Gorakshanath (Guru Gorakhnath)

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There are innumerable examples of Guru Gorakhnath’s various miraculous acts in Legends. Even though there is no written record about the Guru Gorakhnath that when he was Born, and from where he came from. or any historical facts associated with events in his life. The mentioning about him can be found in reference to Adi Shankaracharya, and even with Kabir too.

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Pt. Rajmani Tigunait referred to the divine birth of Guru Gorakhnath in his book, From Death to Birth. He wrote, "The eternal sage Narayana himself walks in the flesh in the form of Matsyendra Nath. Realizing the depth of human ignorance and misery he resolved to help the human race through a beloved disciple who had already left his body and become one with universal consciousness."

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The doctrine of yoga was given by Shiva to Gorakhnath's guru Matsyendranath, but in an unusual way which is told in a story. The legend of Matsyendranath is that he was thrown into the sea by his parents because he was born on an unlucky day and he was swallowed by a fish. His name was then Lokesvara. By the sea Shiva was teaching the secrets of yoga to Parvati. She fell asleep but Lokesvara heard everything while hidden in the fish. In a carving of the legend at Srisailam he is shown with his head out of the head of the fish listening to the secret doctrine. From then Lokesvara was called Matsyendranath, 'Lord of the Fish.'

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There are innumerable stories, one of the legend about Matsyendranath is:.Saga Matsyendranath walked through a village and stopped at a house in the village where he was given a meal. Sage Matsyendranath lessing the woman who gave it and asked the woman that he would grant her any wish she had. The women mentioned that she was barren, he gave her some ash from the fire pit and told her to eat it. In the excitement the women rushed to tell her neighbors, who ridiculed and cursed her, that this ash may harm her. She afraid that they would now call her insane as well as barren, and threw the ash into the compost pit.

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After Twelve years, Saga Matsyendranath decided to visit the child who was his eternal disciple. On visiting the same house, he asked for the boy and was surprised to know that the woman did not have a child. Then he asked, "What happened to the ash I gave?" The women told her the story and told that she had thrown it into the compost pit, he asked women to be taken there. On reaching near the compost pit he called, "Alakh Niranjan" (Meaning “one who cannot be seen nor tainted”). A young boy emerged from the compost pit and bowing to his master and walked away with him. SUCH A MIRACULOUS WAS THEY.

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SIMILARLY there are many legends about Guru Gorakhnath:.Guru Gorakhnath exercised great powers over nature. Mayana (Gopicand legend) a boon that she would not sink in water. He turned the water of a well into gold and then into crystal. In Mewar they still treasure a sword of the hero, Bappa, which is said to have been presented to him by Gorakhnath, who pronounced over it an incarnation, thereby making it possible for Bappa to sever rocks with it.' When Gorakhnath and his company came into the royal garden at Sialkot (where Puran Bhagat was imprisoned in the well) everything became green, and the lakes were filled with water. And at another time when he came into a dried-up garden, he scattered ashes on it, and it began to bloom. His having caused a twelve years drought in Nepal has become famous. Again, he caused the very walls and all the instruments of a certain place to chant: 'Awake, Macchendra, Gorakhnath has come.

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(Once he took the form of a fly in order to avoid guards on the border of a certain king's country; at another time he changed himself into iron, and again into a frog. He transformed certain of his disciples so that half of their bodies became gold and the other half iron." He turned himself into a leper before Vachal. The disciples, who were sent by Gorakhnath to Karu to get the thread with which to draw Puran from the well, were turned by magic into bullocks. This was reported to him and he took ashes from his bag, charmed them and tossed them into the air. Thereupon the bullocks came to him and he patted them and changed them back into men. In return, being angry, he dried up all the wells, bringing their water into the one near himself. When the women came, all together, at his request to draw water, he took charmed ashes and, in the name of Matsyendranath, turned the women into asses.

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Gorakhnath left his body asleep on his mat, and descended to the under-world of the god of snakes and there obtained the magic incense for Bachal

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Guru Gorakhnath is thought to have authored several books including:

Goraksha Samhita

Goraksha Gita

Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati

Yoga Martanada

Yoga Siddhanta Paddhati

Yoga-Bija

Yoga Chintamani.

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Guru Gorakhnath is believed to be the founder of the Nath Sampradaya and it is stated that the nine Naths and 84 Siddhas are all human forms created as yogic manifestations to spread the message of yoga and meditation in the world. It is they were yogis, who reveal samadhi to mankind.

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It is widely believed that Guru Gorakhnath has been there for thousands of years, watching over the welfare of mankind from behind the scenes and occasionally appearing to accomplish a specific goal. Guru Gorakhnath is a legend in the world of everyday reality where logic prevails, where the senses determine the truth of existence and where reality is limited by the measurable. In the world of man he is spoken of in tones that vary from wonder and incredulity to sheer disbelief.