Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Table of Contents
- Foreword
- Note on Transliterations
- Introduction
- 1 Current Research on Nāth Yogīs: Further Directions
- 2 Powerful Yogīs: The Successful Quest for Siddhis and Power
- 3 Kingly Corruption and Ascetic Sovereignty in the Telugu Account of the Nine Nāths
- 4 In Siddhis and State: Transformations of Power in Twentieth-Century Gorakhpur Temple Publications
- 5 The Search for the Jugi Caste in Pre-Colonial Bengal
- 6 Back When We Were Brahmins: Historical and Caste Critique Among Bengali Householder Nāths
- 7 Shades of Power: The Nāth Yogīs in Nepal
- 8 Yogī, Paṇḍit, and Rāṣṭra-Bhakta: Some Reconstructions of Yogī Naraharināth’s Religious Career
- 9 The Evocative Partnerships of a Monastic Nāth Temple in Contemporary Rajasthan
- 10 Towards a Nāth Re-Appropriation of Haṭha-Yoga
- Index
8 - Yogī, Paṇḍit, and Rāṣṭra-Bhakta: SomeReconstructions of Yogī Naraharināth’s ReligiousCareer
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 19 November 2022
- Frontmatter
- Table of Contents
- Foreword
- Note on Transliterations
- Introduction
- 1 Current Research on Nāth Yogīs: Further Directions
- 2 Powerful Yogīs: The Successful Quest for Siddhis and Power
- 3 Kingly Corruption and Ascetic Sovereignty in the Telugu Account of the Nine Nāths
- 4 In Siddhis and State: Transformations of Power in Twentieth-Century Gorakhpur Temple Publications
- 5 The Search for the Jugi Caste in Pre-Colonial Bengal
- 6 Back When We Were Brahmins: Historical and Caste Critique Among Bengali Householder Nāths
- 7 Shades of Power: The Nāth Yogīs in Nepal
- 8 Yogī, Paṇḍit, and Rāṣṭra-Bhakta: Some Reconstructions of Yogī Naraharināth’s Religious Career
- 9 The Evocative Partnerships of a Monastic Nāth Temple in Contemporary Rajasthan
- 10 Towards a Nāth Re-Appropriation of Haṭha-Yoga
- Index
Summary
Abstracts
Yogī Naraharināth (2013/15-2003), mahant of the Nāth maṭh in Kathmandu, was animportant cultural icon in twentieth-centuryNepal, acclaimed as an avatār of Gorakhnāth by his disciples.Controversial among advocates of multipartypolitical representation in Nepal, Naraharināthwas committed to preserving Nepal as a uniquelyHindu monarchy, modeled on a notion of Vedicdharma that he regarded as the primordial religionof the Himalayan region. Articulated on the modelof the karma-yogī,his religious persona combined Nāth asceticism,Sanskrit scholarship, and Hindu nationalism, andappealed to a variety of followers. This articleexamines accounts of Yogī Naraharināth's life anddiscusses his work as a yogī, as a paṇḍit, and as rāṣṭra-bhakta,underscoring the centrality of his commitment toHinduness in Nepal.
Keywords: Nepal, Naraharināth, ImaMātā, Mrigasthali, Hindu-rāṣṭra, Hinduness
Hagiographical representations of Yogīs have oftenstressed the theme of power as central to thecharisma of a particular guru. Often depicted asenabling the rise and fall of locale potentatesthrough their blessing or curse, Nāth Yogīs featureprominently in stories that depict the tensionbetween renunciation and lay life, ascetic potencyand worldly power, magic and politics. In Nepal,discourses on Yogī Naraharināth (1915-2003)represent a contemporary embodiment of thehagiographical tradition, presenting him as anexceptional guru of great achievement. But if muchNāth lore had focused on stressing the elements thatposition a Yogī abovemundane matters, centering his charisma around thepivot of renunciation, Naraharināth's devoteesconstrue their guru’ religious career as very muchin the midst of the concerns of twentieth-centuryNepal, highlighting those features, such as hisscholarship and his nationalist commitment, thatspeak of his involvement in worldly affairs. YogīNaraharināth is discussed therefore not only as ayogī, but also as apaṇḍit and as araṣṭra bhakta– thetension between mundane and ascetic power beingmediated by the notion of the karma-yogī.
Ima's poster
For the contemporary visitor of his āśram, the firstacquaintance with Yogī Naraharināth is mediated by abig poster that features his picture along with acondensed summary of his work, making sense of hiscultural significance through a list ofachievements.
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- Information
- The Power of the Nath YogisYogic Charisma, Political Influence and SocialAuthority, pp. 227 - 248Publisher: Amsterdam University PressPrint publication year: 2022