Sayings of Gorakhnath: Annotated Translations from the Gorakh Bani

The medieval vernacular (non-Sanskrit) traditions of yoga represent an aspect of Hinduism that to date has received much less scholarly attention than classical and contemporary Hinduism. Gordan Djurdjevic here brings together a representative selection of medieval Hindi poetry attributed to the legendary guru Gorakhnath. Gorakhnath is famed as the founder of the influential order of the Nath yogis, who are credited with the development of hatha yoga. The poetry gathered in the collection, known as The Sayings of Gorakh Bani, reflects this worldview. Its major thematic concerns relate to the practice of yoga, engagement with the various chakras within the body, and the attempts to reverse the flow of seminal fluid, by which process yogis believe the state of immortality may be reached. These often-enigmatic texts on the one hand provide a criticism of religious authority based on bookish knowledge, while on the other hand they celebrate yogic engagement with the subtle body and its centers of occult energy and miraculous powers. Sayings of Gorakhnath offers translations or the complete sabad and pad sections from the Gorakh Bani, the two largest sections in the collection. Some additional texts from the collection are also provided. Translations are preceded by an introduction and accompanied by notes, which contextualize and elucidate the subject matter.

Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments Introduction Sayings of Gorakhnath "Sabads" "Pads" "The Overview of Teaching" "The String of Breaths" "Instruction to a King" "Self-Understanding" "'Measure of Fearlessness' Yoga" "Fifteen Days" "Seven Days" "Machindra's Instruction to Gorakh" "A Line of Hair" "The Ornament of Wisdom" "The Five Measures" Appendix: "The Victory of Goraksa" Notes Glossary Bibliography Index

About the Author :
Gordan Djurdjevic holds a PhD from the Department of Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia. He is co-editor, with Henrik Bogdan, of the collection of critical essays Occultism in a Global Perspective; and the author of Masters of Magical Powers, and India and the Occult. Shukdev Singh taught Hindi language and literature at the Benares Hindu University in India. He collaborated on the translations of The Bijak of Kabir with Linda Hess and The Deeds of Prahlad with David Lorenzen.

Review :
"Yogis and lay followers of the Nath yogi movement largely rely on vernacular songs and stories for religious instruction. Gordan Djurdjevic and Shukdeo Singh here translate the key anthology of early Hindi songs and verses by Gorakhnath into straightforward English. Djurdjevic gives an excellent introduction to the religious ideas of the text, including new insights into the yogic control of the yogis' vital fluid."--David N. Lorenzen, editor, with Adrian Muñoz, of Yogi Heroes and Poets "Compact wonders of mystic poetry, the banis of Gorakhnath provide a unique window onto a medieval and early modern yoga tradition that was far more influential for its time than were the Yoga Sutras of Patañjali. Gordan Djurdjevic and Shukdev Singh are to be commended for their lucid translations of these cryptic and compelling verses."--David Gordon White, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California, Santa Barbara "Gorakhnath was one of India's greatest yogis and the founding guru of a lineage that thrives to this day. Djurdjevic and Singh have skilfully made these enigmatic verses attributed to him accessible to a wide audience for the first time, while keeping them faithful to the yogi tradition. This book will be of great interest to scholars and serious practitioners of yoga alike."--James Maillinson, Senior Lecturer in Sanskrit and Classical Indian Studies, SOAS University of London.