Kanphat

Kanphat

कानफट, kānphaṭ, or कानफटा, kānphaṭā, or कनफटा, kanphaṭā (hindi) — consists of two words कान, kān – ear, and the verb form फटना, phaṭnā – to break, to cut, to tear.

also दर्षनी, darṣanī, or दर्शनी, darśanī

Kanphatas or Darshanis are the ones who wear special earrings in the center of their ears. Earrings are important in the ritual worship of Guru and Gorakshanath. These sadhus are sannyasi-avadhuta. Two earrings (kundalas) are symbols of sun and moon, as well as the fact that nath is realizing himself as a form of Shiva (Shiva-svarupa).

According to Nathas, kundalas have several meanings, the main – moon and sun, Shiva and Shakti. When Shiva and Shakti unite, the creation of the body takes place, through the junction point "bindu". In bindu there are Shiva and Shakti tattvas, bindu is neither a manifested aspect, nor an unmanifested one, but all at once. When Nath is initiated into Darshani, he becomes like this one reality, the kundalas are sealed directly into the body, they are aspects of this body. Nath should meditate on himself as one with Ishta-devata.

Also, darshani is the power received from the Guru, and it should not be lost, that is why Briggs also writes about the "inner wearing of kundalas". Kundalas are a symbol of Siddha and Shiva, a yogi becomes one with the Absolute, the removal of kundalas is equivalent to the rejection of mercy.

Bhartrihari spread the tradition of wearing kundalas throughout the panthas, but the custom itself came from Matsyendranath and Gorakshanath. It is believed that one category of naths called pīrs or aughars are naths, which, to a greater extent, are associated with other schools, for example aghoris, shaktas, etc. But kanphathas are precisely yogis who are fully committed to the Nath line.