Monastic Wanderers : Nath Yogi Ascetics in Modern South Asia Paperback / softback
by Veronique Bouillier
Paperback / softback
Description
How have the premodern Shaiva ascetic sect of the NÄth YogÄ«s (known also as the YogÄ«s with splitted ears) succeeded in maintaining its presence and importance until today?
This book intends to give a general survey of this sampradÄya which is said to have been founded by the Siddha GorakhnÄth, known for his strong link to Haá¹ha Yoga.
However, rather than to Yoga, the history and expansion of the NÄth sect are linked to its rich legendary corpus.
Dealing first with the marks of belonging (such as the huge earrings worn by the fully initiated YogÄ«s) which give the sect its unity, the book then focuses on its organization and explores the dialectics between the wandering YogÄ«s and the monastic settlements. The NÄth monasteries belong to two categories: the pañcÄyati maá¹hs, collectively owned and managed by the sectarian authorities, which ensure the permanency of the sect, and the nÄ«jÄ« maá¹hs, owned on a personal basis and transmitted from guru to disciple, which permits innovative initiativesThe book gives a detailed account of two pañcÄyati monasteries, the Kadri Maá¹h of Mangalore where its head’s enthronement is spectacularly performed every twelve years, and the Caughera Maá¹h of Dang Valley in Nepal, the royal foundation of which gives a glimpse of the complex relationships that can exist between monasteries and kingdoms.
It then focuses on three nÄ«jÄ« maá¹hs: Amritashram in Fatehpur (Rajasthan), Ashtal Bohar in Rohtak (Haryana) and the Gorakhpur mandir (UP).
Each of them shows a different mode of adaptation to a modern context and attests of the present importance and continuity of this pluri-secular tradition of asceticism.
Information
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Pre-Order
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:376 pages
- Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication Date:25/06/2024
- Category:
- ISBN:9781032652610
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Information
-
Pre-Order
- Format:Paperback / softback
- Pages:376 pages
- Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd
- Publication Date:25/06/2024
- Category:
- ISBN:9781032652610