Demand comes up to acknowledge Jalandhara Yogi

Deepkamal Kaur
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, June 18

Ahead of International Yoga Day on June 21, the Jalandhar Welfare Society has urged the district administration to have a memorabilia in the name of Jalandhara Nath Yogi.

He was a saint after whose name Jalandhara Bandha, a typical asana of Yoga, is believed to have been named.

Secretary of the Jalandhar Welfare Society, Surinder Saini has demanded from officials of the Smart City project to either have a painting or statue of the saint at one of the landmarks to the entry of the city.

He said, “We have installed caricatures of other prominent people from Jalandhar, but there is nothing in the name of Jalandhara Nath Yogi, who gave such a powerful Yoga Kriya that the entire world is following and will be performing on June 21.”

Who was Jalandhara  Nath Yogi?

Books on mythology point out that Jalandhara, whose name means ‘Brother of the Net’ and is also known in Bengal as Hadipa, was born from a hada (bone) of Shiva. He is named after one of the four most sacred pithas (sites) of tantric practice.

Jalandhara is located in the Kangra valley of northwest India and close to the modern city of Jalandhar. In the Nath legends, Hadipa was a sweeper of Bengal, who became a guru to the young king Gopichand. Jalandhara was a great exponent of Hatha and Kundalini Yoga.

A founder of Nath tradition, Gorakhnath was a chela of Satendra Nath, who was Gurubhai of Jalandhara Nath. Jalandhara Nath is learnt to have meditated at ‘Nathan di Bagichi’ near the old jail site here.

About the Jalandhara Bandha

According to experts, there are three bandhas (controlling of breath and flow of fluids in body) practised in Yoga – Udyan Bandha, Mool Bandha and Jalandhar Bandha.

Padmasan or Siddhasan are considered as the best positions to practise this bandh. In this, the neck is to be bent a little. This bandha is performed by extending the neck and elevating the breastbone before dropping the head so that the chin may rest on the chest.

Meanwhile, the tongue pushes up against the palate in the mouth. This bandha is believed to prolong a healthy life and defies age.

Prominent city-based Yoga expert Paramjit Singh said, “Jalandhara Bandh is practised by all Yoga performers. I cannot really say much about its origin.”