General Coordination Maria Helena de Bastos Freire Ruy Alfredo de Bastos Freire Filho

Preface

The release of the first volume of the Natha School is the result of the Yoga Specialization Group created by the Narayana Yoga Studies Centre and the Yoga Collegiate Dharmaparishad of Brazil. The Natha literature is not unknown to the Brazilian public. In the beginning of the sixties of the twentieth century the Yoga Teacher Caio Miranda translated and published in his book ‘Hatha Yoga, the science of perfect health’, the two most popular texts of this important school of the Tantric thought: the Hatha Yoga Pradipika by Svatmarama and the Gheranda Samhita (the first recently republished by Yoga Teacher Pedro Kupfer). Both works are essential to those who dedicate themselves to the study of Hatha Yoga.

Nowadays, when Yoga is being treated as an industrial commodity in the West, a revision of its classical literature has double importance. First by demonstrating that yoga is not traditionally suitable to sectarism. Nathism illustrates this in a global way. The school has its origin in Tantric Budhism of the so-called eighty-four Maha Siddhas (siddhi = perfect). Nine of them are masters of the Natha School. One is Matsiendra Natha who according to the mythology learns the techniques of Hatha Yoga as a fish when the Hindu god Siva was conveying them to his wife Parvati. Goraksha Natha was his most important disciple who systematized Hatha Yoga and is considered the main guru among the Nathas and who declared Siva as Adinatha, the first great guru of this lineage. The religious and philosophical mixture do not stop here. Nathism expanded to the Muslim mystic movement and was at the beginning of the synthesis between Islam and Hinduism that constituted the Sikquism of Guru Nanak. The second important aspect of taking up again the tradition is to remember the principles of Hatha Yoga seeking to correct the current practices that over stressed some of its aspects as compared to others, such as the predominance of asana practices in the detriment of pratyahara, dharana and dhyana.

The selection of texts of this first volume begins with a masterly essay by Mahopadhya Gopinah Kaviraj that gives the reader an insight to the tradition of the Nathas. It is the key element for making good use of the texts that come afterwards. The second choice was the Goraksha Shatakam (the one hundred verses by Goraksha) the main tutor of the order, a compendium of the Natha doctrines and practices. The text introduces the subtle physiology that guides to the practice of asana, mudra, bandha and pranayama; it explores the relationship between mind and breath; it explains bhutashuddhi as a purifying practice and the evidence of the samadhi state. It is an introduction to the Natha doctrine in the words of its greatest exponent.

Next there comes, perhaps, the most poetical work of Nathism: the Shiva Samhita. The text that has a strong influence of the Kaula thought and explains the conflict among the doctrines leading to moksha; it discusses the Karma and the Jñana Kanda; it also explains the Gita with recommendation on the correct action; it discusses the phenomenal world; it takes up again the subtle physiology; it talks about the siddhis; it mentions the adhikarabheda ( the differences in ability) and what temperamental tendencies make the aspirant pursuit one of the four tantric ways of yoga: mantra, hatha, laya and raja yoga. It is an impressive text of great inspiration and the authorship is attributed to Shiva.

The yogic practice most forgotten in the West is in a small text on kriyas or shat karmas. The Shat Karma Samgraha by Chidghanananda Natha is a small compendium on shat karmas and reminds us of it’s enormous use in therapeutic processes. It is a work whose value exceeds the interest of those who dedicate themselves to yoga; it is a curiosity that can also be exploited by those so-called “biologists of the tradition”, that is, those who exploit the traditional knowledge by means of an academic method.

This book was a group work and intends to re-start the study of the Nathism. But I believe that it is a great demonstration for the public that speak Portuguese of the extent of a branch of thought that possibly began in the middle of the fifth century of our Era and is perpetuated until the present days.