<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Bodhi as an aside is there a rule that the head of the Gorakhnath mutt has to be unmarried?<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Yes. Goraksh Peeth follows strictly the rules set forth by Adi Sankar for Dashnami Sannyasis. Goraksha Peethadheeshwar (commonly known as Mahant) is nominated at a very young age, follows Bramhacharya and directly moves from Bramhacharya into Sannyasa. There are various very interesting things related to this process, which I will describe later. One of these is a ceremony for "kanphata". The nominee gets his ears pierced in a ceremony. (actually all sannyasi yogis of Nath order get this done as part of the Siddha initiation)
Like Adi Sankar Mathas, Goraksha Peeth also has two Mahants at a time. One is the Pradhan Mahant, and the other Uttaradhikari Mahant or to-be Mahant. Present Mahant is Swami Avedyanath who is very aged. Yogi Adityanath is the uttaradhikari.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->matsyendra is the Adi-guru the first promulgator of haTha yoga<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Hauma Hamiddha ji, the first promulgator, according to Nath sampraday, is Guru Sri Adinath, and Guri Sri Matsyendra Nath (or Machhendar) was his disciple. Guru Sri Adinath is considered to be an Avatara of Bhagwan Shiv, who took sthool Sharir for the purpose of giving the hathayog to people. Guru Adinath was initiated in yog by Bhagwan Shiv Himself. Guru Sri Matsyendranath gave the doctrines and structure to Nath practice. Several Nath literature is attributed to him and his disciple Guru Sri Gorakhsa. He also discovered various Asans, Pranayams and Shatkarma techniques of Hathyoga. Another important aspect of Sri Matsyenda was synthesis of Bauddh, Tantra, and Hatha in a common Natha sampraday. Guru Adi, Matsyendra and Goraksha are very respected amongst Bauddhas, as well as Shaktas.
Someone interested in Rajput connection, Bappa Raval was a nath sampradayi too. The then Gorakhnath had initiated him at a young age in Hathyog but forbade into Sannyas. Instead he instructed Bappa to fight the invading muslims.
Yes. Goraksh Peeth follows strictly the rules set forth by Adi Sankar for Dashnami Sannyasis. Goraksha Peethadheeshwar (commonly known as Mahant) is nominated at a very young age, follows Bramhacharya and directly moves from Bramhacharya into Sannyasa. There are various very interesting things related to this process, which I will describe later. One of these is a ceremony for "kanphata". The nominee gets his ears pierced in a ceremony. (actually all sannyasi yogis of Nath order get this done as part of the Siddha initiation)
Like Adi Sankar Mathas, Goraksha Peeth also has two Mahants at a time. One is the Pradhan Mahant, and the other Uttaradhikari Mahant or to-be Mahant. Present Mahant is Swami Avedyanath who is very aged. Yogi Adityanath is the uttaradhikari.
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->matsyendra is the Adi-guru the first promulgator of haTha yoga<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Hauma Hamiddha ji, the first promulgator, according to Nath sampraday, is Guru Sri Adinath, and Guri Sri Matsyendra Nath (or Machhendar) was his disciple. Guru Sri Adinath is considered to be an Avatara of Bhagwan Shiv, who took sthool Sharir for the purpose of giving the hathayog to people. Guru Adinath was initiated in yog by Bhagwan Shiv Himself. Guru Sri Matsyendranath gave the doctrines and structure to Nath practice. Several Nath literature is attributed to him and his disciple Guru Sri Gorakhsa. He also discovered various Asans, Pranayams and Shatkarma techniques of Hathyoga. Another important aspect of Sri Matsyenda was synthesis of Bauddh, Tantra, and Hatha in a common Natha sampraday. Guru Adi, Matsyendra and Goraksha are very respected amongst Bauddhas, as well as Shaktas.
Someone interested in Rajput connection, Bappa Raval was a nath sampradayi too. The then Gorakhnath had initiated him at a young age in Hathyog but forbade into Sannyas. Instead he instructed Bappa to fight the invading muslims.