Based on the process denominated INTER-TEXTUALITY term defined by Julia Kristeva this presentation intends to expose links between the Natha Yoga Sampradaya Tradition, with Dattatreya and Tantras.
Dattatreya and Natha Yoga Sampradaya starting with Dattatreya, sitting on the sacred hill of Girnar today still an important Centre was very much connected with the Devi worship and particularly with Western Nathism. The Gorakhnath peak being one of the Nathas important Centers.
It is supposed that Gorakhnath as well as Dattatreya were probably originally worshiped as sacred mountains.

The YOGISAMPRADAYAVISKRTI presents Dattatreya as the originator of the lineage of the nine Nathas, identified with the nine Narayanas of Avadhuta Sampradaya, apparently founded by himself (Dattatreya).
Scholars are divided on the question of locating these early Nathas the northerners, the Bengalis and the Maharastrians claiming that they belong to their respective region. It seems truer that like the early Sufis, they were itinerant mystics and the three provinces concerned must have been their temporary habitats.
As also the opinion of Dhere, Charles Pain and Eleonor Zelliot an early connection of Dattatreya with Nathism is observed.
According to Natha mythology Neminath and Parasnaths sons of Matsyendranath were born in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) were they were slain and restored to live by Gorakhnath. Invited by their father they became founders of the two Jain sects Neminath and Parasnaths (see Briggs and Mircea Eliade).
Dhere, in Datta Sampradayara Itihasa sees the Natha sect as a movement of reform against Tantric excesses, using the name of Dattatreya as its Satguru crediting him with the authorship of the Avadhuta Gita.
The Nathas though relatively dormant from the 14th to 18th Century produced some notable works even during Muslim rule: Yoga Martanda, Mula-Stambha, Siddhantarahasya, Navaratna Mala.
Another manuscript with the title Mula-Stambha but attributed to Dattatreya Avadhuta, is found as n.671 in the catalogue of the Marathi manuscripts in the Charles D’Uchoa Collection.
Concerning Dattatreya’s link to Nathism the Goraksa-Siddhanta-Samgraha - quoting the Tantra - Maharnava mentions him as one of the twelve great Nathas of Maha-Nathas, seventh in rank. Dattatreya is said to wield spiritual influence over a region nine Krosas wide in the Western direction and on the western banks of Sarasvati river. This in one of the legends.
The Avadhuta Gita in spite of being classified as a minor work praharana of Advaita Vedanta nonetheless, it’s heart lies in it’s Nathist inspiration and core philosophy of SAMA-RASYA (eveness, essence, sameness, equalness). As Avadhuta - Gita states echoing the Goraksa–Siddhanta-Samgraha its philosophy is beyond both dualism and nondualism (Dvaita and Advaita vivarjita). Similar statement are found in other Tantric text (Kularnava – Tantra) and intend to proclaim the religious superiority of Yogic and Tantric doctrine. The ultimate goal of Nathism is to surpass and abandon even the Natha and Siddha theoretical framework. The exemplary type of the Avadhuta is identified in Dattatreya.
Sama literally “same” “equal” is the goal of the Natha adept striving towards perfection. It is a key concept from the time of the Bhagawad Gita. In this text Yoga is defined as “samatva” and Krsna declares himself to be the same (samo-ham) towards all beings.

Gopinath Kaviraj whom I personally met in Benares coming out of a prolonged Samadhi explains:
“The ideal of SAMARASYA which implies obliteration of traces of all kinds of existing differences … by a positive process of what may be described as mutual interpretation. This ideal underlies the principle of unification between PURUSA and PRAKRTI…Siva and Sakti… It stands for Samata of the Avadhuta Yogis, which is real unification of the One and the beyond.”
In Natha texts, the progressive experience of SAMA-RASYA culminating in a condition with no relapse (VYUTTHANA) is described in four successive stages. To again quote Goponath Kaviraj describing the fourth stage describing that the first Natha ideal is to realize JIVANMUKTI through Pinda-siddhi which secures as Immaculate Body of Light free from influence of time … and then to realize para-mukti or the Highest Perfection through the process of mutual integration (SAMARASIKARANA).
In conclusion the link of Natha with Dattatreya as the paramount paradigm of Avadhuta, paradigm of Sama-rasya and Sahaja may be said to capture the heart of Dattatreya – for whom all paths and teachings ultimathy have the same taste, above and beyond all philosophies and theologies in his transcendental aspects as jñana-murti.

Tantra and Natha Yogas
Advanced Hatha Yoga with Special reference to the Natha Yoga Tradition is a very important aspect on this analysis of the links with Tantra.
(b) Although Goraksanatha (as also his Natha-pantha) is specially famous for Hathayoga practices and the followers of Natha-yoga are known as Hathayogis, it is no ordinary Hathayoga. It is actually advanced Hathayoga that includes Rajayoga and specially Adhyatma-yoga. Goraksanatha modified the ordinary Hathayoga and elevated it to the spiritual level. Hathayoga is the base that holds every other form of Yoga. Hathayoga is the body of yoga and Adhyatma-yoga (spiritual yoga) is the soul of yoga; and body and soul cannot be separated. So, the picture of yoga presented by Goraksanatha is holistic or integral that incorporates within itself all the levels or dimensions of yoga –physical, mental and spiritual.
(c) One of the reasons of the great influence of Goraksanatha on the society and the easy acceptance of his yoga by the people (even by the uneducated common person), is that Goraksa was a great synthesizer and simplifier. Jñanayoga, Bhaktiyoga and Karmayoga were the three most popular forms of the spiritual yoga, and they were held to be separate and different from one another. But Goraksanatha presented the synthesized form of all the three, and made it much simpler for even the ordinary person to understand. This made his yoga quite attractive and easily intelligible. Actually, Gorakha belongs to the line of saints and mystics who present the truth in a synthetic and simple way. Perhaps this is the reason why Goraksanatha, along with writing in Sanskrit which was the official language of scholars at his time, very often spoken and were written in the language of the people. He used the same folk language (generally used by saints) known as "Sadhukkadi-bhasa" which is a mixture of different dialects.
(d) The most significant factor with Natha-yoga, initiated by Goraksanatha, is that it came as a social-spiritual movement. Goraksanatha explained that yoga is not just an individual sadhana in isolation but is necessarily related with the attitude and behavior of the sadhaka (yoga-practitioner) towards the people around and towards the society in general. In order to attain Self-realization, the sadhaka is required to practice the feeling of one's unity with the so-called others. Naturally therefore he/she is required to love and serve all people. For the good of the society, if it needs to be, the sadhaka would try to bring reformation in the society, trying to eradicate social inequality, casteism and untouchability. By loving and serving the society, the sadhaka attains "sarvatma-bhava" which is the ingredient factor of the state of Self-realization. Goraksanatha freed yogic practice from individualism and showed its necessary relation with universal love and social service. This is a great contribution of the Natha-yoga.
(e) Since the line of Matsyendranatha-Goraksanatha belongs to the Tantric tradition and Natha-pantha is clearly an off shoot of Tantra, as it inherits all the characteristics of the Tantric philosophy and sadhana. The world is the manifestation the Divine Power (Siva-Sakti), the attitude of the sadhaka should be that the world too is holy and divine and therefore there should be attitude of worship towards the objects of the world. Kundalini is the same divine Sakti lying dormant in us. It has to be awakened and made to flow and meet Siva, leading to the state of the unity of Siva-Sakti (Siva-Sakti-Samarasya) which is the goal of the yoga practitioner.
Moreover, Goraksanatha, following the line of Tantra, maintains that desires (specially the sex-desire) has to be controlled not by rejection and repression but by sublimation. Brahmacarya (retention of sexual energy) is necessary for the preservation of the vital energy, but it has to be achieved not by suppressing sex but by sublimating it and making it flow through the sublime channels of love, Bhakti, aesthetic creativity, etc. Woman is to be looked not as an object of Bhoga (enjoyment) but as the object of respect and reverence; she has to be taken as the earthly incarnation of the Divine Mother.