Sahajiya

Sahaja (Sanskrit: sahaja), meaning "coemergent; spontaneously or naturally born together" is a term of some importance in Indian and Tibetan Buddhist spirituality. Sahaja practices first arose in Bengal during the 8th century among Buddhist yogis called Sahajiya siddhas.

Ananda Coomaraswamy describes its significance as "the last achievement of all thought", and "a recognition of the identity of spirit and matter, subject and object", continuing "There is then no sacred or profane, spiritual or sensual, but everything that lives is pure and void."

The Buddhist siddha Saraha (8th century CE) was the founder of the Buddhist movement termed "Sahajayana" which flourished in Orissa and Bengal. Sahajiya mahasiddhas like Saraha, Kanha, Savari and Luipa were tantric Buddhists who expounded their beliefs in songs and dohas in the Apabhraṃśa languages and Bengali. Many of the songs in this tradition are preserved in the Charyapada.

Sahajiyas such as Saraha believed that enlightenment could be achieved in this lifetime, by laypersons living in samsara. Though he was a famed Buddhist sage,. The sahajiyas practiced a form of ritual union which was supposed to bring the female and male elements together in balance.

Saraha and his disciples were also master practitioners of Mahamudra meditation, and Saraha composed a famous Mahamudra meditation text along with his 'Three Cycles of Doha', a series of yogic songs. Sahajiyas also criticized the Hindu caste system. Sahajayana Buddhism became very popular in the Pala Empire, especially among commoners.

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