Origins A lost Indian text named
Amrtakunda () written in either
Hindi or
Sanskrit was supposedly translated into
Arabic as ''Hawd ma' al-Hayāt
() in Bengal in 1210; though the scholar Carl Ernst suggests that the translation was actually made by a Persian scholar, perhaps in the 15th century, who had travelled to India and observed Nath yogis
practising hatha yoga
. The qadhi
of Lakhnauti, Ruknuddin, is said to have converted the famous Kamarupan yogi
known as Bhojar Brahman to Islam. The Amrtakunda
was then given to the qadhi
who then translated it into Arabic as Hawdh al-Hayat
. He also translated it into Persian as Bahr al-Hayat''. However, there are other theories as well. It is suggested that in the 16th century, the Indian
Sufi master
Muhammad Ghawth Gwaliyari translated the Arabic text into Persian, and expanded the text greatly (paralleling, Ernst observes, the change in title from
Pool to
Ocean). Among other extensions, the account of
yoga increased from 5 to 21
asanas.
Illustrated handbook of hatha yoga The
Bahr al-Hayāt is of interest as the first illustrated handbook of
hatha yoga. It depicts a yogi performing 22
asanas; it describes and illustrates postures including
Gorakshasana;
Kukkutasana, the cockerel pose, which it calls Thamba āsana; Kurmasana, the turtle pose;
Uttana Kurmasana, which it calls Vajrasana; the
yoga headstand; and
Garbhasana, the embryo in the womb pose. It mentions also the seated asanas
Padmasana and
Siddhasana. Among other practices, it describes the
khecarī mudrā, the elongation and folding back of the tongue so as to seal the passage to the nose; and
anahad, blocking the ears so as to hear the unstruck sound of the eternal. File:Kukkutasana in Bahr al-hayat 16.10.jpg|
Kukkutasana File:Garbhasana in Bahr al-Hayat 16.10.jpg|
Garbhasana Parallels between yoga and Sufism Ghawth presents yoga as in many ways equivalent to
Sufism; for example, he equates the 7 Sanskrit
mantras that are linked to the 7
chakras with some of the Arabic names of God; the unconscious mantra
so ham (सो ऽहम्, "I am That") which is the sound made as one breathes in and out, is equated to the Arabic
rabb al-arbab, "the Lord of Lords"; and as one last example of many, the Hindu sage
Matsyendranath (his name meaning "Lord of Fishes" in Sanskrit) is equated to
Jonah, who is swallowed by
a great fish. More directly, Ghawth states that the personal
mystic experiences of yogins and Sufis are alike. ==Notes==