In
Hinduism the term
yogi refers to an adherent of
yoga.
Textual references The earliest evidence of yogis and their spiritual tradition, states
Karel Werner, is found in the
Keśin hymn 10.136 of the
Rigveda, though with the terminology of
Rudra who evolved into
Shiva worshipped as the lord of Yoga in later Hinduism. The term sometimes refers to a person who belongs to the Natha tradition. They usually belong to
Shaiva tradition, but some Natha belong to the
Vaishnava tradition. , and her eyes are closed in meditative state. The Yoga-Bhashya (400 CE), the oldest extant commentary on the Yoga-Sutra offers the following fourfold classification of yogis: • Prathama-kalpika (neophyte/beginner, devotional) • Madhu-bhumika (one who has begun to enjoy the spiritual pursuits without effort) • Prajna-jyoti (the advanced practitioner who knows spiritual concepts) • Atikranta- bhavaniya (those who have attained what can be taught, achieved
siddhas, and are on their personal path to ultimate insights)
Sexuality A yogi or yogini aspires to
Brahmacharya (Sanskrit: ब्रह्मचर्य), which means celibacy if single, or non-cheating on one's partner. There have been two parallel views, in Hindu texts, on sexuality for a yogi and yogini. One view asserts restraint in sexual activity, towards
monk- and
nun-like asexuality, as transmutation away from worldly desires and onto a spiritual path. The second view, found particularly in
Tantra traditions according to
David Gordon White, asserts that sexuality is an additional means for a yogi or yogini to journey towards and experience the bliss of "one realized god-consciousness for oneself". In the second view, sexuality is a yogic practice, and one broadly revered through the
lingam–
yoni iconography of
Shiva–
Parvati, the divine yogi–yogini in Hindu mythology.
Ethical duties {{Quote box |width=30em | |align=right |salign = right A yogi or yogini lives by other voluntary ethical precepts called
Yamas and
Niyamas. These include: •
Ahiṃsā (अहिंसा):
nonviolence, non-harming other living beings •
Satya (सत्य): truthfulness, non-falsehood •
Kṣamā (क्षमा): forgiveness •
Dhṛti (धृति): fortitude •
Mitāhāra (मितहार): moderation in diet both in terms of quantity and quality •
Śauca (शौच): purity, cleanliness •
Tapas: austerity, persistence and perseverance in one's purpose •
Santoṣa: contentment, acceptance of others and of one's circumstances as they are, optimism for self •
Dāna: generosity, charity, sharing with others
Nath siddha , a celebrated yogi of Nath tradition and a major proponent of Hatha yoga. According to David White,
Respect Archeological evidence suggests that in some contexts and regions, yogi of the
Nath Siddha tradition were respected and recognized in India. For example, inscriptions suggest a general of the Yadava king Ramacandra donated a village to a yogi in 13th-century. Near Mangalore, that later became a hub of Nath yogis, a monastery and temple was dedicated to yogis in the 10th century. David Lorenzen states that the Nath yogis have been very popular with the rural population in South Asia, with medieval era "tales and stories about Nath yogis such as Gorakhnath, Matsyendra, Jalandhar, Gopichand, Bharthari, Kanhapa and Chaurangi" continuing to be remembered in contemporary times, in the Deccan, western and northern states of India and in Nepal.
Persecution In some contexts, adds White, the term
yogi has also been a pejorative term used in medieval India for a Nath siddha, particularly on the part of India's social, cultural and religious elites. The term
siddha has become a broad sectarian appellation, applying to Saiva-devotees in the
Deccan (
Maheśvara siddhas), alchemists in Tamil Nadu (
siddhars or sittars), a group of early Buddhist
tantrikas from Bengal (
mahasiddhas,
siddhacaryas), the alchemists of medieval India (
rasa siddha), and a mainly north Indian group known as the
Nath siddhas. The Nath siddhas are the only still existing representatives of the medieval Tantric tradition, which had disappeared due to its excesses. While the Nath siddhas enjoyed persistent popular success, they attracted the scorn of the elite classes. According to White, the term
yogi, has "for at least eight hundred years, been an all-purpose term employed to designate those Saiva specialists whom orthodox Hindus have considered suspect, heterodox, and even heretical in their doctrine and practice". The yoga as practiced by these Yogis, states White, is more closely identified in the eyes of those critics with black magic, sorcery and sexual perversions than with yoga in the conventional sense of the word. The Nath Yogis were targets of Islamic persecution in the
Mughal Empire. The texts of Yogi traditions from this period, state Shail Mayaram, refer to oppressions by Mughal officials such as governor. The Mughal documents confirm the existence of Nath Yogis in each
pargana (household neighborhoods), and their persecution wherein Nath Yogis were beheaded by
Aurangzeb.
Resistance to persecution According to David Lorenzen, the religious groups in Hinduism that militarized and took up arms following the
Muslim conquest of India, to resist persecution, appeared among the Nath or Kanphata yogis, often called simply yogis or jogis. The warrior
ascetics were institutionalized as a religious order by Gorakhnath and were expanding in the 13th century, after the establishment of the first Islamic Sultanate in India. They interacted and cooperated with
fakirs of Sufi Muslims. The yogis feature prominently in Delhi Sultanate and Mughal Empire period official documents, states David White, both in terms of impressing the ruling elite in the Muslim administration and awards of receiving land grants in some cases such as by
Akbar, as well as those yogis who targeted the elite merchants and disrupted the business of administrative Islamic elites in urban areas. In other cases, yogis from the Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism traditions of Hinduism marshaled armed resistance against the Mughal and British colonial armies.
Cultural contributions: founding Hindu temples The history of Nath yogis has been diverse, such as in the 11th and 12th centuries, when Buddhists in South India converted to Nath siddha traditions and helped establish Shiva Hindu temples and monasteries. ==See also==