Armed ascetics, yoga and the British Raj

In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries several armed ascetic orders such as the Dasnamis, Satnamis, and Naths emerged from erstwhile reclusive religious spaces. The loss of respectable lifestyle tied to temples and state patronage, following the foreign invasions of the previous century, had perhaps led to this evolution. Some orders were newly founded to resist invaders bent on iconoclasm and forcible conversion. These orders soon controlled major trade routes and access to major pilgrimage sites. Caste was not much of a concern for these orders, and core principles were based on the Saiva and Tantric streams. Many orders utilised Hatha Yoga and other physical training routines to prepare themselves for both ascetic life and combat. The training regimes nurtured in the orders’ akharas (training congregations) were reportedly similar to military drills. The militarised orders did not hesitate to contest state power, or fight between themselves, to preserve their interests. Some orders were mobile, roving across different regions and a few of these gained notoriety as mercenaries, albeit with a mystical veneer.

Till the mid-19th century, the armed orders stoutly resisted the rising socio-economic control by the British. Bankim Chandra’s Anandamath, featuring the Sanyasi Rebellion, drew from this history. The Hatha Yoga practicing orders were perceived as prime threats due to their physical prowess and organisation. It took the British over a century to eliminate or disband the orders. A handful managed to survive by relocating to remote locations where they could retain their core practices. Most renounced their militarised nature and settled as seminaries, still calling themselves akharas. A popular disdain for such orders developed following these events. 

However, as a result of unintended consequences, yoga soon re-emerged. Victorian era had ushered in the idea of “Muscular Christianity”, coinciding with the rise of fitness culture in the West. The belief of “sound mind in a sound body” gelled with nationalistic ideas of “defence through strength” and emerging eugenics. Also, colonial interests necessitated portraying strong conquerors against conquered weaklings. Consequently, Indians were depicted in demeaning manner. These factors, and the colonial yoke itself, provoked many Indians to promote India’s own yoga by developing a culture of nationalistic physical prowess.

The efforts of Aurbindo Ghosh, Swami Raghavendra, etc. soon created an evolved, modern yoga. Here, modern practices and training regimens were developed and blended with ancient principles. Some schools of yoga, and certain popular asanas of today were rebooted, if not invented, in modern times. The global physical culture wave also helped increase the acceptance of yoga in this period. The martial nationalism of these modern akharas attracted many and soon influenced organisations such as the RSS and Arya Samaj.

Yoga also became a cover for training religiously inclined revolutionaries. Early revolutionary groups, such as the Anushilan Samiti and Jugantar displayed institutionalised militancy and rigor similar to the ethos of the old orders. Yoga was in the government’s crosshairs again and revolutionaries had to disguise themselves as travelling gurus, dispensing training in new akharas disguised as gymnasiums. Both modern yoga and military training was combined under the heading of ‘Yoga’ to evade detection. Brazilian Capoeira was similarly secretly developed and disguised as dance to prevent colonial crackdown.

The militant nationalistic streams never became as popular as the mainstream nationalist movement. Therefore, the efforts to create an army of trained Indians to forcefully wrest power never materialized, and by the mid-40s Independence was in grasp. However, these efforts of the covert and overt proponents of Yoga had successfully created a system which produced many yoga luminaries, thereby leading to global popularity of yoga. Naga sadhus and other akharas, more visible today due to Kumbh Mela and the new socio-political scenario, are the remnants of the armed orders of yore.

The author works in the power and energy sector