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Natha (other)
Natha, also called Nath (), are a Shaiva sub-tradition within Hinduism in India and Nepal. A medieval movement, it combined ideas from Buddhism, Shaivism, Tantra and Yoga traditions of the Indian subcontinent.Natha: Indian religious sect
Encyclopedia Britannica (2007)
The Naths have been a confederation of devotees who consider as their first lord or , with varying lists of additional gurus. Of these, the 9th or 10th century

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Matsyendranatha
Matsyendranātha, also known as Matsyendra, Macchindranāth, Mīnanātha and Minapa (early 10th century) was a saint and yogi in a number of Buddhism, Buddhist and Hinduism, Hindu traditions. He is considered the revivalist of hatha yoga as well as the author of some of its earliest texts. He is also seen as the founder of the natha ''sampradaya'', having received the teachings from Shiva. He is associated with Kaula (Hinduism), Kaula Shaivism. He is also one of the eighty-four mahasiddhas and considered the guru of Gorakshanath, another known figure in early hatha yoga. He is revered by both Hindus and Buddhists and is sometimes regarded as an incarnation of Avalokiteśvara. In the Siddhar tradition of Tamil Nadu, Matsyendranath is revered as one of the 18 Siddhars of yore, and is also known as Machamuni. The Kasi Viswanathar Temple in Thiruparankundram, Madurai, Tamil Nadu is home to his Jiva, Jeeva Samadhi. Early life Little is known about the life of Matsyendra: he is also ...
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Maharashtra
Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to the southeast and Chhattisgarh to the east, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh to the north, and the Indian union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu to the northwest. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India, the third most populous country subdivision in South Asia and the fourth-most populous in the world. The state is divided into 6 divisions and 36 districts. Mumbai is the capital of Maharashtra due to its historical significance as a major trading port and its status as India's financial hub, housing key institutions and a diverse economy. Additionally, Mumbai's well-developed infrastructure and cultural diversity make it a suitable administrative center for the state, and the most populous urban are ...
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Konkan
The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the east. The hinterland east of the coast has numerous river valleys, riverine islands and the hilly slopes known as the Western Ghats; that lead up into the tablelands of the Deccan. The Konkan region has been recognised by name, since at least the time of Strabo, in the third century CE. It had a thriving mercantile port with Arab tradesmen from the 10th century onwards. The best-known islands of Konkan are Ilhas de Goa, the site of the Goa state's capital at Panjim; also, the Seven Islands of Bombay, on which lies Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra & the headquarters of Konkan Division. Definition Historically, the limits of Konkan have been flexible, and it has been known by additional names like " Aparanta" and "Gomanchal", the lat ...
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Rasayana
In early ayurvedic medicine, ''rasāyana'' (Pali and Sanskrit: रसायन, "path of essence") is one of the eight areas of medicine in Sanskrit literature. The 11th-century Persian scholar Abū Rayhān Bīrūnī noted an Indian science named ''Rasāyana'', focused on restoring health and rejuvenation through plant-derived medicines. Nagarjunacharya conducted experiments in his laboratory called "Rasashala" and authored ''Rasaratanakaram'', detailing alchemical transformations of metals. Al-Bīrūnī conflated the earlier rasāyana practices with rasaśāstra alchemy. Rasaśāstra utilized alchemical processes involving substances like mercury and cinnabar. This practice extended beyond metals, incorporating the preparation of medical tinctures from plants. Rasaśāstra's goals included longevity, health, cognitive enhancement, virility, and extraordinary abilities. Its historical influence was evident in the Ajanta and Ellora cave paintings, the Vishnustambha monumen ...
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Jainism
Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four , supreme preachers of ''dharma''. The first in the current time cycle is Rishabhadeva, who tradition holds lived millions of years ago; the 23rd is Parshvanatha, traditionally dated to the 9th century Common Era, BCE; and the 24th is Mahāvīra, Mahavira, who lived . Jainism is considered an eternal ''dharma'' with the guiding every time cycle of the Jain cosmology, cosmology. Central to understanding Jain philosophy is the concept of ''bhedavijñāna'', or the clear distinction in the nature of the soul and non-soul entities. This principle underscores the innate purity and potential for liberation within every Jīva (Jainism), soul, distinct from the physical and menta ...
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James Mallinson (author)
Sir James Mallinson, 5th Baronet, of Walthamstow (born 22 April 1970) is a British Indologist, writer and translator. He is Boden Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Oxford, and recognised as one of the world's leading experts on the history of medieval Hatha yoga. Early life Mallinson became interested in India by reading Rudyard Kipling's novel ''Kim (novel), Kim'' as a teenager; the book describes an English boy travelling India with a holy man. He was educated at Eton College and the University of Oxford, where he read Sanskrit and Old Iranian for his bachelor's degree, and studied the ethnography of South Asia for his master's degree at SOAS University of London. Mallinson is described as "perhaps the only baronet to wear dreadlocks"; he let his hair grow out from 1988 on his first visit to India during his gap year. He cut his hair in 2019 after the death of his guru, Mahant Balyogi Sri Ram Balak Das, who had initiated him into the Ramanandi Sampradaya at the Ujjai ...
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Sampradaya
''Sampradaya'' (/ səmpɾəd̪ɑjə/,; ), in Indian-origin religions, namely Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism, can be translated as 'tradition', 'spiritual lineage', 'sect', or 'religious system'. To ensure continuity and transmission of dharma, various ''sampradayas'' have the Guru-shishya parampara in which a parampara or lineage of successive ''gurus'' (masters) and '' shishyas'' (disciples) serves as a spiritual channel and provides a reliable network of relationships that lends stability to a religious identity. Shramana is vedic term for seeker or shishya. Identification with and followership of ''sampradayas'' is not static, as ''sampradayas'' allows flexibility where one can leave one ''sampradaya'' and enter another or practice religious syncretism by simultaneously following more than one ''sampradaya''. '' Samparda'' is a Punjabi language term, used in Sikhism, for ''sampradayas''. Guru-shishya parampara Sampradayas are living traditions of both teac ...
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Adi Natha
The Adinath Sampradaya was a sadhu sub-sect of the greater Nath tradition. Followers of this tradition were given Sannyasa diksha, thus renouncing householder life, and thereafter lived as naked sadhus. Believing that sadhus should live alone until they had attained the goal, they lived in caves, huts, ruined buildings, or empty houses, and always away from towns and villages. Reference to the Adinath Sampradaya is pointed out by Rajmohan Nath (1964) who lists them among the twelve traditional sub-sects of the Nath Sampradaya.Bandyopadhyay, P. K. (1992). ''Natha Cult and Mahanad''. page 73, Delhi, India: B.R. Publishing Corporation. The Adinath Sampradaya is also listed among the sub-divisions of Nath sects in the Census Report, Punjab, 1891, p. 114.Briggs, G. W. (1973). ''Gorakhnath and the Kanphata Yogis''. page 75, (Chart A) Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. The last sadhu holding authentic guru status in the Adinath Sampradaya was Shri Gurudev Mahendranath, who ...
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Namdev
Namdev (Pronunciation: aːmdeʋ, also transliterated as Nam Dayv, Namdeo, Namadeva, (traditionally, ) was a Marathi Vaishnava saint from Narsi, Hingoli, Maharashtra, Medieval India within the Varkari tradition of Hinduism. He was as a devotee of the deity Vithoba of Pandharpur. Namdev was influenced by Vaishnavism and became widely known in India for his devotional songs set to music (''bhajan-kirtans''). His philosophy contains both ''nirguna brahman'' and ''saguna brahman'' elements, with Vedanta themes. Namdev's legacy is remembered in modern times in the ''Varkari'' tradition, along with those of other ''gurus'', with masses of people walking together in biannual pilgrimages to Pandharpur in Maharashtra. He is also recognised in the North Indian traditions of the Dadu Panthis, Kabir Panthis and Sikhs. Some hymns of Namdev are included in the Guru Granth Sahib. Life Details of the life of Namdev are vague. His family name was believed to be as Relekar which is commo ...
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Kabir
Kabir ( 15th century) was a well-known Indian devotional mystic poet and sant. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das, and Kabir Sagar of Dharamdas. Today, Kabir is an important figure in Hinduism, Sikhism and in Sufism. He was a disciple of Ramananda, the founder of the Ramanandi Sampradaya. Born in the city of Varanasi in what is now Uttar Pradesh, he is known for being critical of organised religions. He questioned what he regarded to be the meaningless and unethical practices of all religions, primarily what he considered to be the wrong practices in Hinduism and Islam. During his lifetime, he was threatened by both Hindus and Muslims for his views. When he died, several Hindus and the Muslims he had inspired claimed him as theirs. Kabir suggested that "truth" is with the person who is on the path of righteousness, who considers everything, l ...
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