Siddha Siddhanta Paddhati

Author(s): Kalyani Mallik
Publisher: Poona Oriental Book House Poona

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This state is beyond description as it is beyond the dual and the non-dual conception which are common, and so the yogis call this state यादृशः एव तादृश एवेति सर्वविलक्षण एवैतादृशो नाथो महासिद्धानां लक्ष्यः i. e., It is what it is (vide Goraksa-Siddhānta Sangraha, p. 73.).
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Another common background in mediaeval times was the idea of the human body being the epitome of the universe, thus naming the nerves and nerve centres in the body as rivers, mountains etc. The idea was to search for Truth within one's self. If God was to be found in the universe, we may very well look for Him within ourselves. This was the central idea of the preachings in mediaeval times.
The reverence of the preceptor or guru was another striking feature in mediaeval times, though the conception of different schools vary from one another. The Natha yogi's guru is addressed as i. e., he in whom nada and bindu have mingled together, such a gura is as great as Śiva. Nada and Bindu are the audible and inaudible forms of sound, and as sound is taken as the basis of creation, the guru is considered to be as good as the Creator, and is honoured as such. This is the special feature of the guru in the Natha cult. In Sahajia Buddhism the guru is thought of in the form of Yuganaddha i. e., in the state of union with his consort (as that of the Buddhist icons).
Gopichandra's renunciation depict the unquestionable authority of the guru over his pupil. The rescue of Matsyendranath from evil company by Gorakhnath while uttering the guru's name is another example where a guru, though fallen, is yet a guru to his disciple. Such is the high esteem in which aguru' was held by his sishyas or disciples.
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Not only in the guru aspect but also in some of their practices, the Sahajia Buddhists thought of the Yaganaddharupa. But the Natha Yogis were strict celebates and avoided the company of women, examples of which we find in the ballads in Bengal and elsewhere.
The story of the great yogi Matsyendra, being ensnared by the women of Kadali in Assam, only shows that worldly pleasure leads a man to death, his forgetfulness of 'yoga' shows, we are by nature forgetful of our immortal self. The women