Pages: 189 About the Book There are very few studies on the Natha philosophy which is still not much known specially among the educated in India. It is a complex field of study but can be made more understandable by suitably clarifying the matter under the principal heads. The works of Matsyendranatha and his great disciple Gorakshanatha form a significant contribution to the exposition of the theory of the creation of the universe, the working of man"s mind and nature and the Astuiinga Yoga. These have been described in the present work in a simple language, while tracing the-origin of nearly all the concepts of the Natha philosophy to the Vedas, Upanishads, Smritis esc., and in a much more comprehensive form to Pataiijali"s Yoga Siara. About the Author V.S. Bhatnagar received his Master"s degree in History in 1955 and a doctorate in 1960 from the University of Rajasthan. Recipient of various honours, he retired as Professor from the University Deptt of History (1992) and was" a Fellow at I.I.A.S., Shimla (2002-2005). The special area of his interest includes the Eighteenth century. His research papers have been published in regional and national journals, Felicitation Volumes and Proceedings of Seminars. His publications include Life and Times of Sawai Jai Singh (Impex India, Delhi 1974) and translation and annotation of the 15th century Historical epic "Kiihadade Prabandha - India"s Greatest Patriotic Saga of Medieval Times (Aditya Prakashan, Delhi, 1991). Preface These are brief studies in the philosophy of the Natha Sampradaya, a socio-religious movement, if one may like to call it, which spread fast with its hundreds of dsanas or monasteries transcending borders and boundaries and cutting across regions and historical times from Afghanistan to Bengal and from Kedarnath in the north to the deep down south, having a central body to serve as a