'Mani jītai jagu jītu’ 

"Who has conquered the own mind, he has conquered the world"

(Guru Nanak Japuji Sahib 28)

If... 

The composition by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

Natha Cult

Natha Cult Article (Introduction to Jnaneshvari commentary on Bhagavat Gita)
source

Shri Jnaneshwar has mentioned briefly his cult (Sampradaya) at the end of Jnaneshwari (18.1750-61): In very ancient times, Shri Shankara, the slayer of demon Tripura, whispered in the ears of goddess Parvati the secret knowledge on the shore of the Milky Sea. Vishnu who was in the stomach of a fish heard it and attained knowledge and as Matsyendranath he imparted it to Goraksanath, who in turn bestowed it upon Gahininath and that knowledge came down from Gahininath to Nivrittinath and from Nivrittinath to me, fulfilling our desires". When this Natha cult arose, there were many Tantra cults such as Shakta, Kapalika. Bauddha Tantra. etc. All these cults arose out of the Shaiva scriptures (agamas) and claimed their origin from Lord Shiva, the Primal Guru (Adinatha). Massyendra-natha was the first human Guru of the Natha tradition and was a prophet of the Kaula sect. It is not possible to explain fully the nature of the philosophy of the Shaiva scriptures, what changes were wrought in it by the Kaula sect, and how the Natha Sampradaya originated from the latter. But we must take into account the permanent impressions, which the Natha sect left on the mind of Shri Jnaneshwar.

Shankara-Digvijaya about the time of Matsyendra Nath

'Shankara Digvijaya' about the time of Matsyendranath
source


"Sri Vidyaranya coming five centuries after Shankara Bhagavatpada was the 12th Jagadguru of the Sringeri Sharada Peetham from 1380 to 1386 A.D... Sri Vidyaranya was a great force in the regeneration of our spiritual, moral and cultural values. He built temples at Sringeri and Hampi and established Mutts to propagate Vedanta. He was not only a sage and empire builder, but also a savant and a scholar par excellence."

"Madhaviya Shankara Vijaya is the work of Sri Vidyaranya. The Madhaviya Shankara Vijayam is the most popular and widely accepted account of Sri Adi Shankara’s life... Because of its high poetic merit and objectivity, it is considered the best for recitation during Shankara Jayanti."

Shankara Digvijaya summary of the complete text (part3)


Shankara Digvijaya verses 77-100

source

When Adi Shankara declared his decision of entering the dead body of King Amaraka to learn Kama Shastra, his disciple Padmapada put forward the following argument to dissuade him.
"There is nothing unknown to you, O Omniscient Guru. Yet out of love and devotion, let me say a few words. Thousands of years ago, in ancient times, a great yogi named Matsyendra, entered the fresh corpse of a dead king, leaving his own body in the care of his disciple yogi Gorakhnath. Gradually the king became immersed in sensual pleasures and the company of women and soon forgot his life as a Yogi. His knowledge of advanced yoga and samadhi was lost in oblivion. Goraksha, when he came to know of his master's sad plight, decided to save him. Gorakhnath carefully preserved his masters body in a hidden cave and appeard in the court of the king, disguised as a dance instructor. He attracted the king's attention and made him remember the yoga of Kaya Sadhana. The memories of Yoga cured the king of his thirst for sense enjoyments. After regaining his lost yogic power, Matsyendra left the king's body and reentered his own. So, beware of the strong irresistable power of sense attraction."
To which Shankara replied,
"In one, who is immersed in non-duality and dispassion, the desire of pleasure does not arise. The celibacy of one who is established in the yogic practice of Vajroli, remains unbroken. One who is without Samkalpa, may live in samsara and yet be unaffected by it. All fruits of karma are without effect for him, who has realised the world as a mere appearence..... Fear not. Even if I indulge in sexual love in this body, no evil will result from it. But the world may be misled if I set such an example of a monk indulging in sensual pleasure. So, my proposal is to gain the experiences of sex-life through the body of another person, whose dead-body I will enliven temporarily by para-kaya-pravesha."

Compositions of Natha Siddhas

Nath Siddho ki Baniya
The Book Compositions of the Natha Siddhas in the local dialects of the Northern India

source

इस संग्रह में जिन नाथ सिद्धों की रचनाएँ संग्रहीत हैं, उनमें से अधिकांश चौदहवीं शताब्दी (ईशवी) के पूर्ववर्ती हैं। कुछ चौदहवीं शताब्दी के हैं और बहुत थोड़े उसके बाद के। भाषा की दृष्टि से इन पदों का महत्त्व स्पष्ट है। यद्यपि इन रचनाओं के रूप बहुत विकृत हो गए हैं, परंतु भाषा का कुछ न कुछ पुराना रूप उनमें रह गया है। खड़ी बोली का तो इन पदों में बहुत अच्छा प्रयोग हुआ है। खड़ी बोली के धाराप्रवाहिक प्रयोग का नया स्रोत इन पदों में पाया जाएगा।

हजारीप्रसाद द्विवेदी

भूमिका

नाथ सिद्धों की हिन्दी रचनाओं का यह संग्रह कई हस्तलिखित प्रतियों से संकलित हुआ है। इसमें गोरखनाथ की रचनाएँ संकलित नहीं हुईं, क्योंकि स्वर्गीय डॉ० पीतांबर दत्त बड़थ्वाल ने गोरखनाथ की रचनाओं का संपादन पहले से ही कर दिया है और वे ‘गोरख बानी’ नाम से प्रकाशित भी हो चुकी हैं (हिन्दी साहित्य सम्मेलन, प्रयाग)। बड़थ्वाल जी ने अपनी भूमिका में बताया था कि उन्होंने अन्य नाथ सिद्धों की रचनाओं का संग्रह भी कर लिया है, जो इस पुस्तक के दूसरे भाग में प्रकाशित होगा। दूसरा भाग अभी तक प्रकाशित नहीं हुआ है अत्यंत दुःख की बात है कि उसके प्रकाशित होने के पूर्व ही विद्वान् संपादक ने इहलोक त्याग दिया। डॉ० बड़थ्वाल की खोज में निम्नलिखित 40 पुस्तकों का पता चला था, जिन्हें गोरखनाथ-रचित बताया जाता है। डॉ० बड़थ्वाल ने बहुत छानबीन के बाद इनमें प्रथम 14 ग्रंथों को निसंदिग्ध रूप से प्राचीन माना, क्योंकि इनका उल्लेख प्रायः सभी प्रतियों में मिला। तेरहवीं पुस्तक ‘ग्यान चौंतीसा’ समय पर न मिल सकने के कारण उनके द्वारा संपादित संग्रह में नहीं आ सकी, परंतु बाकी तेरह को गोरखनाथ की रचनाएँ समझकर उस संग्रह में उन्होंने प्रकाशित कर दिया है। पुस्तकें ये हैं-

Tiruvunthiar

Tiruvunthiar

Tiruvunthiar is the work of the Southern Indian Shaiva tradition written from the perspective of the Southern Indian Siddha Yogis.

Thiruviyalur and Thirukkadavur Uyyavandhadevar
from

Thiruviyalur Uyyavandhadevar

It is said that this Shaivite philosopher came from the North of Bharath to Rameshwaram to bathe in the sea. on his way back he came to Thiruviyalur. There a devotee by name Aludaiya Dheva Nayanar approached him to become his disciple. Blessing him Uyya Vandha Dhevar composed Thiruvundhiyar, which is one of the santhana texts (1). later he returned back to north. This is one story about him, but there are no evidences for the same. The style of his work Thiruvundhiyar has some resemblence with the style of Thirumandhiram and is in the old thamizh literature style. The time Thiruvundhiyar was written is said to be 1147 A.C..

Thirukkadavur Uyyavandha Devar

This shaivite philosopher was the disciple of aludaiya dheva nayanar, who was the disciple of thiruviyalur uyyavandhadeva nayanar (2), who authored the thiruvundhiyar. This saint elaborated thiruvundhiyar in his work thirukkalirrup padiyar . These two books are the first two in the santhana books. The time this book was written is said to be 1177 a.C.e.

TIRUVUNTHIAR
from

1.To know Siva as Akalam (in his Formless form) is rare indeed; he comes as Sakalam, sporting many forms, appearing in images and gracing as Guru. Siva drives the shuttlecock of karmic deeds out of sight, and bestows grace unsought by his deserving devotees.
2. O Girl, give up your old habits; there is no gain being mired in defunct worldly habits. He drove the shuttlecock out of sight; take to his Grace; he is the First Principle in this universe.
3. They who expunged the Karma will never return to this world; there is no birth or death for them.
4. How could I tell, "This it is"? There it was, the intelligence of intelligence.

Osho about Guru Goraksh Nath

Osho about Gorakhnath

Source - Osho Book "Death is Divine" 10 Chapters, Year Published : 1994

The great Hindi poet, Sumitranandan Pant, once asked me: who in the vast sky of Indian religion are the twelve people, who in my opinion are the brightest shining stars? I gave him this list: Krishna, Patanjali, Buddha, Mahavira, Nagarjuna, Shankara, Gorakh, Kabir, Nanak, Meera, Ramakrishna and Krishnamurti. Sumitranandan Pant closed his eyes and slipped into thought..... 

 Making a list is not easy , because the Indian sky is filled with  so many stars! Who to cut, who to include?... Sumitranandan was a lovely man  -- extremely soft, extremely sweet  --  feminine. Even in old age a freshness remained on his face  --  just as it should remain  --  he had become more and more beautiful. 

 I began to read the expressions appearing and disappearing on his face: it was difficult for him too. Some names, which should naturally be included, were not there. Rama's name was missing! He opened his eyes and said to me: "You have excluded Rama!" 

 I said: "If I am allowed to choose only twelve; many names will have to be cut. So I have chosen those twelve people who have made some original contribution. Rama has made no original contribution, Krishna has. This is why Hindus call Krishna a complete incarnation, but not Rama." 

 He asked me further, "Next, could you give me seven names?" Now the question had become more difficult!