Last time, I wrote about some of the differences between Siddha Yoga and Patanjala Yoga. In both cases, the body must be made a participant, but they differ in how thoroughly the body and mind are asked to cooperate. Patanjali would have the practitioners of his system completely disentangle body and mind, thus allowing the mind to function entirely separately from the body and, thus positioned, to sever all identity with the body.
Gorakhnath has to say of the Siddha school’s approach that
By the constant practice of contemplation on one’s own true nature, the great Siddha yogis get possessed of that form. By possessing such form, there arises the great state of undisturbed consciousness. Thence by the glory of Being-Consciousness-Bliss, the flash of a miraculous glow appears. Thereby the illuminating state of consciousness called the Absolute Way, which is beyond all appearances and duality and non-duality supervenes. This is the truth.
That is how the great Siddha yogis, who having earned the grace of the guru in the manner stated, by the strength of constant practice of unity and adherence to it instantly experience the Absolute Way.
By the strength of this experience, gaining full and perfect knowledge of one’s own body, uniting it with the Absolute Way and having intuitively experienced this unity again and again, the yogis realize the significance of controlling the body.
(Siddhasiddhantapaddhati V.8 - 10
The remainder of this article will be concerned with unpacking aspects of the above quotation.
In the West, Yoga is almost entirely equated with one or two specific aspects of Hatha-Yoga, namely those of asana and pranayama. Hatha-Yoga is an aspect of the Siddha-Nath tradition, and the systematization of Hatha-Yoga is often considered to be one of the great innovations of the Naths. Patanjali also discusses asana, but for him it is only the a comfortable and stable posture in which to sit for deep meditation. When you read of the Astanga-Yoga in the Yoga Sutras, the asana discussed there is just such a sitting position and nothing else. Likewise, Patanjali’s pranayama is a very simple type of rhythmic breathing intended to relax the body so that the mind may become quieter.
For the Naths, however, these two elements are greatly expanded upon. It is important to understand, however, that Hatha-Yoga is not concerned primarily with physical fitness, nor with mind-body unity. In fact, it is at most a more protracted method of achieving the same goal as in Patanjali’s eight limbed Yoga. Patanjali stills the body by stilling the mind; Hatha-Yoga stills the mind by stilling the body. To do this, Hatha-Yoga focuses on bodily movements and breathing patterns which not only relax the body and put the mind at ease, but which gradually clear obstructions from the subtle energy channels. Remember, though, that Hatha-Yoga in its full extension is neither mandatory nor fundamental to the Siddha-Nath system; it is one tool among many which is appropriate to the needs of some but with the potential to be deeply disruptive to others. What perhaps most distinguishes Nath from Patanjala schools is that Patanjala Yoga is directed entirely to the needs of celibate renunciates, while Siddha Yoga, with its roots in Tantra, is adaptable to many living circumstances.
Whether with the aid of Hatha-Yoga practices or not, the Siddha does not merely identify their mind with the Absolute but does so with their body, as well. Cleansing the energy channels (nadis) may occur through practices both physical (Hatha-Yoga) and internal (Raja-Yoga), and doing so brings out the identity of the individual body (pinda) with the Absolute Body (Parapinda). The principal reason to learn about the cakras and adharas is not to “activate”, “cleanse”, or “balance” them — things which cannot be done to them and which they do not require in any case — but to come to an ever greater and deeper understanding of the actual identity of the microcosm in the form of the individual yogi’s body with the macrocosm in the form of the Cosmos as the body of God. By this means, the individual mind also comes to realize its identity with the Cosmic Mind and, most fundamentally, the individual consciousness knows itself as the Absolute Self.
Ultimately, then, meditation on the cakras is not important unto itself but as one of several means of identifying with the Absolute Body and, so, with the Absolute Way as-such. Once such unity is experienced in any level, it is instantly realized at all levels because, in truth, there are no separate levels on the Absolute Way.
Hatha-Yoga, then, is a form of physical conditioning, but one which is intended, with the proper focus, to get the practitioner out of their own way to prepare for such deeper experiences. No classic on the topic of Hatha-Yoga makes the claim that physical posture and breathing alone can bring one to the Goal, or even move one significantly along the path. In all cases, these methods are an aid to meditation, a means of setting aside some of our gross obstacles so that we may turn fully inward.
Image source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gorakshanath.jpg
Well-written and explained. This should be required reading for thousands of Hatha yoga practitioners . Jus' sayin'.