Yogi

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For other uses, see Yogi (disambiguation).

Bronze figure of a Yogi in Dhyana (meditation)

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A yogi (sometimes spelled jogi) is a practitioner of yoga.[1] In Vedic Sanskrit,
yoga (from the root yuj) means to add, to join, to unite, or to attach in its most
common literal sense, where in recent days, especially in the West, yoga often
refers to physical exercises only. The term yogi is used broadly to refer to
sannyasi or practitioners of meditation in a number of Indian religions.[2] The
feminine form is yogini, but is not always used, especially in the West.

Yogi, or jogi, since the 12th century CE, while meaning those dedicated to Yoga
practice, has also referred to members of the Nath siddha tradition of Hinduism.[3]
Alternatively, in tantra traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, a
practitioner of tantra (a tantrika) may also be called a yogi.[4][5] In Hindu
mythology, god Shiva and goddess Parvati are depicted as an emblematic yogiyogini
pair.[6]

Contents [hide]
1 Etymology
2 Hinduism
2.1 Textual references
2.2 Sexuality
2.3 Ethical duties
2.4 Nath siddha
2.4.1 Respect
2.4.2 Persecution
2.4.3 Resistance to persecution
2.4.4 Cultural contributions founding Hindu temples
3 List of yogis
4 See also
5 Notes
6 References
7 Sources
8 External links
Etymology
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Glossary of Hinduism terms
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v t e
In Classical Sanskrit, the word yogi (Sanskrit masc yogi, ????; fem yogini) is
derived from yogin, which refers to a practitioner of yoga. Yogi is technically
male, and yogini is the term used for female practitioners.[4] The two terms are
still used with those meanings today, but the word yogi is also used generically to
refer to both male and female practitioners of yoga and related meditative
practices belonging to any religion or spiritual method.

The term yogini is also used for divine goddesses and enlightened mothers, all
revered as aspects of the mother goddess, Devi.[7]

A yogi, states Banerjea, should not be confused with someone practicing asceticism
and excessive self-mortification.[2]297

Hinduism
In Hinduism the term yogi refers to an adherent of yoga.[1]

Textual references
Further information Yoga Vasistha, Yoga Yajnavalkya, Yoga-kundalini Upanishad, and
Yogasutra
The earliest evidence of yogis and their spiritual tradition, states Karel Werner,
[8] is found in the Kesin hymn 10.136 of the Rigveda,[note 1] though with the
terminology of Rudra who evolved into Shiva worshipped as the lord of Yoga in later
Hinduism.[8] The Hindu scripture Rigveda uses words of admiration for the Yogis,
whom it refers to as Kesin, and describes them as follows (abridged)[8]

Carrying within oneself fire and poison, heaven and earth, ranging from enthusiasm
and creativity to depression and agony, from the heights of spritual bliss to the
heaviness of earth-bound labor. This is true of man in general and the [Vedic]
Kesin in particular, but the latter has mastered and transformed these contrary
forces and is a visible embodiment of accomplished spirituality. He is said to be
light and enlightenment itself. The Kesin does not live a normal life of
convention. His hair and beard grow longer, he spends long periods of time in
absorption, musing and meditating and therefore he is called sage (muni). They wear
clothes made of yellow rags fluttering in the wind, or perhaps more likely, they go
naked, clad only in the yellow dust of the Indian soil. But their personalities are
not bound to earth, for they follow the path of the mysterious wind when the gods
enter them. He is someone lost in thoughts he is miles away.

?Karel Werner (1977), Yoga and the ?g Veda An Interpretation of the Kesin Hymn[8]
The term yogin appears in Katyayana Shrauta-sutra and chapter 6 of Maitri
Upanishad, where the implied context and meaning is a follower of the Yoga system ,
a contemplative saint.[9]

The term sometimes refers to a person who belongs to the Natha tradition.[3] They
usually belong to Shaiva tradition, but some Natha belong to the Vaishnava
tradition.[10] In both cases, states David Lorenzen, they practice yoga and their
principal god tends to be Nirguna, that is a god that is without form and semi-
monistic,[10] influenced in the medieval era by the Advaita Vedanta school of
Hinduism, Madhyamaka school of Buddhism, as well as Tantra and Yogic practices.[11]
[12]

A 10th-century Yogini statue from Tamil Nadu, India. She is seated in an asana, and
her eyes are closed in meditative state.
The Yoga-Bhashya (400 CE),[13] the oldest extant commentary on the Yoga-Sutra
offers the following fourfold classification of yogis[14][15]

Prathama-kalpika (neophytebeginner, 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 ??????????), which means
celibacy if single, or non-cheating on one's partner.[16][17]

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.
[18] It is not considered, states Stuart Sovatsky, as a form of moralistic
repression but a personal choice that empowers the yoga practitioner to redirect
his or her energies.[18] 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.[19] In the second view, sexuality is a yogic practice,
[20] and one broadly revered through the lingamyoni iconography of ShivaParvati,
the divine yogiyogini in Hindu mythology.[21]

Ethical duties
Yogi versus Philosopher

Both a yogi and a philosopher are seekers of an absolute truth. But they differ in
their modes of approach. A philosopher advances in the path of rational logic
(theory) and wants to intellectually understand the Truth. A yogi advances in the
path of self discipline (practice) and aspires to spiritually realize truth.
Akshaya Banerjea, Philosophy of Gorakhnath[2]
A yogi or yogini lives by other voluntary ethical precepts called Yamas and
Niyamas.[22][23] These include[24][25][26]

Ahi?sa (??????) nonviolence, non-harming other living beings[27]

Satya (????) truthfulness, non-falsehood[16][27]
Asteya (??????) not stealing[27]
Daya (???) kindness, compassion[28]
Arjava (?????) non-hypocrisy, sincerity[29]
K?ama (?????) forgiveness[28]
Dh?ti (????) fortitude
Mitahara (??????) moderation in diet both in terms of quantity and quality
Sauca (???) purity, cleanliness
Tapas austerity, persistence and perseverance in one's purpose[30][31]
Santo?a contentment, acceptance of others and of one's circumstances as they are,
optimism for self[32]
Dana generosity, charity, sharing with others[33]
Nath siddha