Other Yogic Practices in Post Classical Era - Hatha Yogic Pillers
Many other forms of literature came into surface during the post classical period and one of them is ‘Ama rougha Prabodha’ which is a 12th century Shaivite Sanskrit text on hatha yoga, attributed to Gorakshanath. It is closely related to the 11th century Amri tasiddhiVajrayanaBuddhist work, describing the same physical yoga practices, but adding Shaivite philosophy, subsuming hatha yoga under raja yoga. The Amaraugha Prabodha is the earliest text that combines hatha yoga with raja yoga. It was likely used by Svatmarama when he wrote the 15th century Hatha yoga Pradipika. The ‘Dattatreya Yoga Shastra’is another popular text that relates to the post classical era. It is the first text to describe and teach yoga as having three categories, namely Mantra yoga, Layayoga and Hatha yoga. All the three leads to Samadhi the goal of Raja Yoga.
A Vaishnava text composed in the 13th century CE, is the earliest text which provides a systematized form of Hatha yoga under that name and the earliest to place its yoga techniques under the name Haṭha. Dattātreya Yogaśāstra, in a dialogue form between Sānkriti and Lord Dattātreya, is a unique classical yogic text. It imparts the right concept and rational knowledge of yoga with a heavy focus on practice with great effort. It clearly outlines that everyone is entitled to yoga practice regardless of one's age, sex, faith, belief, religion, and physical appearance. The text defines hatha yoga as distinct from mantra yoga, laya yoga, and raja yoga, which works on controlling the breath and the bindu (semen).
Comments