devotional (bhakti) conviction that
birth status was less important than
genuine love of God. Gora is reported to
have lived most of his life at Teradhoki
village in the state of Maharashtra, but
since he is a minor Varkari figure, little is
known about his life. For further infor-
mation see G. A. Deleury, The Cult of
Vithoba, 1960; and Justin E. Abbott and
Narhar R. Godbole (trans.), Stories of
Indian Saints, 1982.
Gorakhnath
(13th c.?) Medieval yogiand wonder-
worker who is the founder of the
Nathpanthi ascetics. There is little
doubt that Gorakhnath was a historical
person, and his teacher was named
Matsyendranath (also known as
Minanath). However, the accounts of his
life tell of him performing so many mir-
acles and wonders that they cannot be
taken as factual. He is generally believed
to have lived early in the thirteenth cen-
tury, since the Maharashtrian poet-saint
Jnaneshvar(1275–1296?) described his
own spiritual preceptor as one of
Gorakhnath’s disciples.
Tradition regards Gorakhnath not
only as a magician and a wonder-worker,
but also as the author of the
Gorakhshatakam. This text is a reli-
gious manual that gives instruction on a
specific type of yoga practiced
by Nathpanthi ascetics. The ultimate
goal of this yogic practice is to transform
the perishable elements in the physical
body into immortal elements. Whether
or not Gorakhnath authored this
text, the spiritual instructions therein
are consistent with those of the
Nathpanthi ascetics who claim to be
his disciples. According to legend,
Gorakhnath and his most accomplished
followers have never died, and their
victory over death is a sign of their
spiritual accomplishment. The most
complete source on Gorakhnath and
his followers, despite its age, is
George Weston Briggs, Gorakhnath
and the Kanphata Yogis, 1973;
and Shashibhushan B. Dasgupta,
Obscure Religious Cults, 1962. See
also Maharashtri.Gorakhnathi
Asceticcommunity who claim to be the
disciples of sage Gorakhnathand claim
to have conserved his teachings. These
ascetics are also known as the
Nathpanthis. See Nathpanthi.Gorakhshatakam
(“Gorakh’s Hundred”) Text attributed to
the sage Gorakhnath. Although his
authorship is ultimately unprovable, its
teachings are consistent with those of
the Nathpanthi asceticswho claim to be
his disciples. In at least one of its forms,
as translated by Briggs, the text has 101
verses, not 100 verses as the title sug-
gests. The Gorakhshatakam gives
instruction on the type of yogaprac-
ticed by the Nathpanthi ascetics in
which the major motif is the union of
polar opposites. It begins with instruc-
tion on the structure of the subtle body,
an alternate physiological system that
resides on a different plane of existence
than gross matter, but possesses certain
correspondences to the material body.
The subtle body is visualized as a set of
six psychic centers (chakras) running
roughly along the course of the spine.
Above and below these centers are the
bodily abodes of the two divine princi-
ples, Shiva (awareness) and Shakti
(power). The aspirant aims to awaken a
latent spiritual energy residing in the
shakti called kundaliniand move it to
union with the Shiva principle at the
crown of the head. The ultimate aim of
this practice is to gain control over the
forces that affect the body, allowing one
to become purified and immortal.Gosain
Vernacular form of the Sanskritword
goswami (“master of the senses”).
Although this epithet could be used to
refer to any ascetic, during British colo-
nial rule in the eighteenth and nine-
teenth centuries it was most commonlyGosain