Svātmārāma
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The ''Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā'' ( or Light on Hatha Yoga) is a classic fifteenth-century Sanskrit
manual Manual may refer to: Instructions * User guide * Owner's manual * Instruction manual (gaming) * Online help Other uses * Manual (music), a keyboard, as for an organ * Manual (band) * Manual transmission * Manual, a bicycle technique similar to ...
on haṭha yoga, written by Svātmārāma, who connects the teaching's lineage to Matsyendranath of the Nathas. It is among the most influential surviving texts on haṭha yoga, being one of the three classic texts alongside the ''
Gheranda Samhita ''Gheranda Samhita'' (IAST: gheraṇḍasaṁhitā, घेरंडसंहिता, meaning “Gheranda's collection”) is a Sanskrit text of Yoga in Hinduism. It is one of the three classic texts of hatha yoga (the other two being the ''Ha ...
'' and the '' Shiva Samhita''. More recently, eight works of early hatha yoga that may have contributed to the ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'' have been identified.


Title and composition

Different manuscripts offer different titles for the text, including ''Haṭhayogapradīpikā'', ''Haṭhapradīpikā'', ''Haṭhapradī'', and ''Hath-Pradipika''. It was composed by Svātmārāma in the 15th century as a compilation of the earlier haṭha yoga texts. Svātmārāma incorporates older Sanskrit concepts into his synthesis. He introduces his system as a preparatory stage for physical purification before higher meditation or
Raja Yoga ''Raja'' (; from , IAST ') is a royal title used for South Asian monarchs. The title is equivalent to king or princely ruler in South Asia and Southeast Asia. The title has a long history in history of South Asia, South Asia and History of ...
.


Summary

The ''Hatha Yoga Pradīpikā'' lists thirty-five earlier Haṭha Yoga masters ('' siddhas''), including Ādi Nātha, Matsyendranāth and Gorakṣanāth. The work consists of 389 '' shlokas'' (verses) in four chapters that describe topics including purification (Sanskrit: '' ṣaṭkarma''), posture ('' āsana''), breath control (''
prāṇāyāma Pranayama is the yogic practice of focusing on breath. In Sanskrit, ''prana'' means "vital life force", and ''yama'' means to gain control. In yoga, breath is associated with ''prana'', thus, pranayama is a means to elevate the ''prana'' ''shakt ...
''), spiritual centres in the body (''
chakra Chakras (, ; sa , text=चक्र , translit=cakra , translit-std=IAST , lit=wheel, circle; pi, cakka) are various focal points used in a variety of ancient meditation practices, collectively denominated as Tantra, or the esoteric or ...
''), ''
kuṇḍalinī In Hinduism, Kundalini ( sa, कुण्डलिनी, translit=kuṇḍalinī, translit-std=IAST, lit=coiled snake, ) is a form of divine feminine energy (or ''Shakti'') believed to be located at the base of the spine, in the ''muladhara'' ...
'', energetic locks ('' bandha''), energy (''
prāṇa In yoga, Indian medicine and Indian martial arts, prana ( sa2, प्राण, ; the Sanskrit word for breath, " life force", or "vital principle") permeates reality on all levels including inanimate objects. In Hindu literature, prāṇa is so ...
''), channels of the
subtle body A subtle body is a "quasi material" aspect of the human body, being neither solely physical nor solely spiritual, according to various esoteric, occult, and mystical teachings. This contrasts with the mind–body dualism that has dominated We ...
('' nāḍī''), and energetic seals (''
mudrā A mudra (; sa, मुद्रा, , "seal", "mark", or "gesture"; ,) is a symbolic or ritual gesture or pose in Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism. While some mudras involve the entire body, most are performed with the hands and fingers. As wel ...
''). * Chapter 1 deals with setting the proper environment for yoga, the ethical duties of a yogi, and the ''asanas''. * Chapter 2 deals with ''pranayama'' and the ''satkarmas''. * Chapter 3 discusses the '' mudras'' and their benefits. * Chapter 4 deals with meditation and '' samadhi'' as a journey of personal spiritual growth. It runs in the line of
Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
yoga (as opposed to the Buddhist and Jain traditions) and is dedicated to The First Lord (Ādi Nātha), one of the names of Lord
Śiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
(the Hindu god of destruction and renewal). He is described in several Nāth texts as having imparted the secret of haṭha yoga to his divine consort Pārvatī.


Mechanisms

The ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'' presents two contradictory models of how Hatha Yoga may lead to immortality ('' moksha''), both culled from other texts, without attempting to harmonise them. The earlier model involves the manipulation of Bindu; it drips continually from the moon centre in the head, falling to its destruction either in the digestive fire of the belly (the sun centre), or to be ejaculated as semen, with which it was identified. The loss of Bindu causes progressive weakening and ultimately death. In this model, Bindu is to be conserved, and the various mudras act to block its passage down the Sushumna nadi, the central channel of the
subtle body A subtle body is a "quasi material" aspect of the human body, being neither solely physical nor solely spiritual, according to various esoteric, occult, and mystical teachings. This contrasts with the mind–body dualism that has dominated We ...
. The later model involves the stimulation of Kundalini, visualised as a small serpent coiled around the base of the Sushumna nadi. In this model, the mudras serve to unblock the channel, allowing Kundalini to rise. When Kundalini finally reaches the top at the Sahasrara chakra, the thousand-petalled lotus, the store of Amrita, the nectar of immortality stored in the head, is released. The Amrita then floods down through the body, rendering it immortal.


Modern research

The ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'' is the hatha yoga text that has historically been studied within
yoga teacher training Yoga teacher training is the training of teachers of yoga as exercise, consisting mainly of the practice of yoga asanas, leading to certification. Such training is accredited by the Yoga Alliance in America, by the British Wheel of Yoga in the U ...
programmes, alongside texts on classical yoga such as Patanjali's ''Yoga Sutras''. In the twenty-first century, research on the history of yoga has led to a more developed understanding of hatha yoga's origins. James Mallinson has studied the origins of hatha yoga in classic yoga texts such as the ''
Khecarīvidyā The ''Khechari Vidya'' (Sanskrit: खेचरीविद्या, , knowledge of Khechari), an early tantric text on Hatha yoga written around the 14th century, teaches only khecarīmudrā, one of several yogic seals or mudras, and is a maj ...
''. He has identified eight works of early hatha yoga that may have contributed to its official formation in the ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika''. This has stimulated further research into understanding the formation of hatha yoga.
Jason Birch Jason Birch is a scholar of medieval hatha yoga and a founding member of SOAS's Centre for Yoga Studies. Biography Jason Birch gained his bachelor's degree in Sanskrit and Hindi at the University of Sydney. He won a Clarendon Scholarship to att ...
has investigated the role of the ''Hatha Yoga Pradīpikā'' in popularizing an interpretation of the Sanskrit word ''haṭha''. The text drew from classic texts on different systems of yoga, and Svātmārāma grouped what he had found under the generic term "haṭha yoga". Examining Buddhist tantric commentaries and earlier medieval yoga texts, Birch found that the adverbial uses of the word suggested that it meant "force", rather than "the metaphysical explanation proposed in the 14th century ''
Yogabīja The ''Yogabīja'' (Sanskrit: योगबीज, "Seed of Yoga") is an early Haṭha yoga text, from around the 14th century. It was the first text to propose the derivation of ''haṭha'' from the Sanskrit words for sun and moon, with multiple es ...
'' of uniting the sun (''ha'') and moon (''ṭha'')".


References


Sources

*


External links


Iyangar et al 1972 Translation with Jyotsnā commentary


* ttp://static.libripass.com/read/yoga/#/9-1 ''Hatha Yoga Pradipika'' Pancham Sinh edition from LibriPass
Sample of new translation by Brian Akers

2003 translation with Jyotsnā commentary


{{Yoga Hindu texts Sanskrit texts 15th-century Indian books Hatha yoga texts