Gorakhnath and the Kanphata Yogis c7.23

c7.23

Gorakhnāthīs are under a vow of celibacy. At Dhinodhar the rule is strictly enforced. It was reported in 1880,⁴ that women were not allowed to enter the precincts of the monastery. In 1924, the author saw women doing menial work of various kinds there; but there was no reason to believe that the rule of celibacy was broken through their presence. At Devī Pātan and at Gorakhpur the rule is enforced that Aughars and Yogīs are not allowed to marry. And probably at most monasteries of the Gorakhnāthīs celibacy is enforced. At the maṭha in Benares, however, the residents (1924) married men who had their wives with them. And Kāśīnāth, who attended the temple of Kāl Bhāiroṁ (in Benares), lived in his own house in the city.