Gymnosophists - the naked philosophers

When Alexander the Great's army invaded India, sometime around 320 BC, his Greek followers were puzzled to find what they called 'naked philosophers' - the gymnosophists.

The Greek found nothing out of the ordinary in 'street philosophy'; after all, Alexander had been tutored by the great Aristotle. They also found nothing out of the ordinary in male nakedness since there was no concept of shame associated with the body. The word 'gymnos' - naked - can be found in gymnasium - a place to exercise naked.

As happens many times, it was the conjunction of two common things that felt, maybe, odd: naked philosophers...

We can easily imagine those gymnosophists to be the ancestors of modern naga babas.

https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/155514993357883219/

One Greek philosopher, a member of Alexander's court, seemed to be especially struck by Indian philosophy: Pyrrho of Elis, known today as the founder of skepticism.

https://alchetron.com/Pyrrho-807275-W#-

Not much is known today about Pyrrho. In fact, what remains of his philosophy is a fourth-hand report: a summary of Pyrrhonism which was preserved by Eusebius, quoting Aristocles, quoting Pyrrho's student Timon, in what is known as the "Aristocles passage:"

"Whoever wants to live well must consider these three questions: First, how are pragmata (ethical matters, affairs, topics) by nature? Secondly, what attitude should we adopt towards them? Thirdly, what will be the outcome for those who have this attitude?" Pyrrho's answer is that "As for pragmata they are all adiaphora (undifferentiated by a logical differentia), astathmeta (unstable, unbalanced, not measurable), and anepikrita (unjudged, unfixed, undecidable). Therefore, neither our sense-perceptions nor our doxai (views, theories, beliefs) tell us the truth or lie; so we certainly should not rely on them. Rather, we should be adoxastous (without views), aklineis (uninclined toward this side or that), and akradantous (unwavering in our refusal to choose), saying about every single one that it no more is than it is not or it both is and is not or it neither is nor is not."

This exposition has led Christopher Beckwith to find some parallel with the Buddhist three marks of existence: anicca (impermanence), dukkha (suffering), anatta (absence of an inherent, independent self), and to infer an influence of early Buddhism on Pyrrhonism.

While there is a clear formal similarity - three characteristics that are negatively defined - and we can equate adiaphora with anatta and astathmeta with anicca, anepikrita and the following consequences, which seem to be the core of Pyrrho's thought, remain unpaired, as does the Buddhist view of suffering.

We can find, however, a perfect parallel between anepikrita and one of the tenets of a less known religion that was contemporary with Buddhism: Jainism. These are

Ahimsa - non-violence,

Aparigraha - non-possessiveness,

Tapas - asceticism, and

Anekantavada - many-sidedness, pluralism, pluralism of viewpoints.

Not only anekantavada is strikingly analogous to Pyrrho's anepikrita but the primitive Jains (and some today) were naked ascetics - gymnosophists.

http://jainteerth.com/photo-gallery-mahaveerji-rajasthan/

https://theatuljain.wordpress.com/2016/08/29/myths-of-jainism-demystifying-jainism-for-a-layman/

I will return to Jainism some time in the future. This beautiful religion deserves to be better known in the West. For the time being, you can freely browse the online Jain Library.

Savasana - the corpse

The hardest yoga pose

The corpse posture, savasana, is said to be the hardest yoga pose to fully accomplish.

But, well, anything is hard to fully accomplish!

Savasana should always be at the beginning and at the end of your physical (hatha) yoga sessions.

Undress and lie down on your back, with your arms beside you and your legs slightly apart - somewhere between 2 inches (5cm) and one foot (30cm) between your heels.

Take a few deep and slow breaths.

Your hands may rest on the floor palm up or palm down, whatever feels more comfortable and, most of all, effortless. Remember you are a corpse.

You also have to find the best position for your head by trial and error, sliding the back on the floor, so that it is closer or further away from the shoulders - but always looking up.

Now, close your eyes and feel.

Feel the touch of the floor on your body, feel gravity's pull down.

And... Relax.

This is easier said than done. As with everything, there are methods.

Begin feeling your right foot. Is it relaxed? Does it tilt naturally to the right side or are you unconsciously trying to keep it up? Let it go. Are there any points of stress on your right foot? Relax them. Are you curling up your big toe? Let it go.

Slowly move your attention - your mindfulness - up your right leg, until you reach the hip. Identify and relax all points of stress. When your right leg is totally relaxed, move to the left foot, leg and hip, slowly, the same way as before.

You get the idea.

Proceed slowly through the buttocks, the pelvis, the abdomen, the thorax, right hand, arm, and shoulder, left hand, arm, and shoulder, and the neck. The trickiest part is probably the head, especially the face. Depending on your head's pitch your jaw may fall a bit when you relax it. If you're very good at this, after relaxing the neck muscles, the jaw, and the tongue, you may even begin to snore! Stay awake.

After letting go all the stress in the facial muscles, take a fast tour of the whole body. It should feel completely relaxed. Corpse-like...

The Buddha advised to contemplate death (maranasati) with each in and out breath - and this is an easy and refreshing way to begin doing it.

Savasana is a good practice before formal sitting meditation because it allows for a smooth transition between the struggle of daily life and the peacefulness of meditation.

For the same reason, you should do it before your hatha yoga practice. Try this:

1. When you feel fully relaxed, spread your arms to the sides while inhaling; take three full breaths, then
2. Bring your hands to the chest in 'anjali' while exhaling; take three full breaths, then
3. Project your arms up while exhaling; take three full breaths, then
4. Stretch your arms back while inhaling; take three full breaths, then
5. Do the previous steps in reverse order until you are back in savasana.

Respiration might seem too complicated but in fact is simple: the general 'rule' is to inhale with expansive, outward, or upward movements and to exhale with contractile, inward, or downward, movements. In time, you'll find your own respiratory rhythm to accompany your asana practice.

Just remember two things: slow down and sustain. It is much better to sustain a pose for three breaths than to repeat it three times. This is not calisthenics. Eventually your 'yoga rhythm' will extend to your life.

Naked body, naked mind

As you saw in the first post 'naga' means, among other things, 'naked'.

The Naga Babas are well known all over India, their naked bodies covered in ash from the sacred fires, most of the time alone except when there is one of the great Khumb Mela festivals.

Naga babas at Khumb Mela in Haridwar, 2010.

https://www.pinterest.pt/pin/551128073122317762/

The Buddha was not fond of the physical body. He taught that it was a strong source of attachement and hence of suffering. The monastic rules (Vinaya) specify that monks must never be naked, not even when alone. Of the forty meditation subjects He defined, one is on the loathsomeness of the body (patikkulamanasikara), as an antidote for sensual passion.

"He said: 'Nakedness is unbecoming, unsuitable, improper, unworthy of an ascetic, not allowable and not to be done'. He objected to it on two grounds. The first was because like all austerities or surface changes, nudity does not lead to significant inner change. He said: 'Not nakedness nor matted hair, not mud nor fasting, not lying on the ground, being unwashed or squatting on the heels will purify one who has not passed beyond doubt'. He also objected to nudity because it contravened the norms of polite society for no good reason." [From 'Nudity' in the Guide To Buddhism A To Z]

As we can see, the Buddha's arguments agaist nudity are mostly cultural and so, while they made sense in 500 BC India, they can be reverted in today's Western society.

First, being accustomed to a life of comfort, any discomfort is a worthwhile subject for meditation and hence inner change. Then, our society has fewer and fewer norms against nudity, to a point where almost no one is shocked by the sight of a naked body.

Clothes are a form of societal discrimination by enforcing consumerism. I don't like clothes, so I try to be naked whenever possible.

And, of course, I try to practice naked whenever possible.

Yoga asanas (postures) are best practiced naked. Without the bindings of clothes, movements are more free and I can focus on the exact sets of muscles and sinews that are being stretched or contracted.

The pranayama (breath control) techniques that I practice are strongly heat-inducing; even in winter I perspire profusely. By the way, it's pranayama, in part, that allows Tibetan yogis to practice naked in the Himalayas.

Meditation is also best practiced naked: legs lock best and your body is in direct contact with the environment.

If you look for a patron Saint of naked Buddhist yoga you'll find him in Tibet: Jetsun Kabum, Milarepa - who, by the way, was not a monk.

Rechungpa meets Milarepa - http://www.rinpoche.com/mp1.html

I am a Theravada Buddhist in my heart but my attitude towards the body sympathizes with Tibetan Vajrayana... The different flavors of Buddism (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana, Zen, and much more) are not that different, after all, as you can read in Buddhism: One Teacher, Many Traditions, by H. H. the XIV Dalai Lama. Highly recommended.

Mind you: all this talk about nakedness has nothing to do with sex! See the 'Brahmachari' in my name? It means one who has vowed total sexual abstinence.

Does this mean that I am 'against' sex? Heck, no! It just is distracting, for the time being, in my spiritual life.