18/11/2019
HONORING THE BIRTHDAY OF T.KRISHNAMACHARYA
'You may never have heard of him, but Tirumalai Krishnamacharya influenced or perhaps even invented your Yoga. Whether you practice the dynamic series of Pattabhi Jois, the refined alignments of BKS Iyengar, the classical postures of Indra Devi, or the customized ViniYoga approach of TKV Desikachar, your practice stems from one source: a five-foot, two-inch Brahmin born more than one hundred years ago in a small South Indian village.'
18 November marks the auspicious birthday of Professor T Krishnamacharya. We pay tribute to one of the greatest yogis of the modern era, known to Yoga students everywhere as a “master of masters.”
In the early twentieth century when India’s traditional teachings were in danger of being lost, Krishnamacharya revived the ancient tradition of Yoga for the modern world. He was a yogi par excellence, a dedicated healer, a ferocious debater, a master of Indian philosophy, and a talented poet and author. Little has been written about his life or his work, but the names of his most famous students - Indra Devi, Pattabhi Jois, BKS Iyengar, and TKV Desikachar – are known all over the world. Yet, the full promise of Krishnamacharya’s legacy, unfamiliar to many Yoga practitioners in the West, is still waiting to be explored.
To honour his birthday, we would like to share 5 little known facts about T Krishnamacharya.
FACT ONE - His first book was not on the topic of Yoga.
Although T Krishnamacharya is now well-known all over the world as the father of modern Yoga, the first book he wrote is not on the topic of Yoga. In fact, it’s on the topic of Mantra. While graduating from the Benares University in the early part of the 20th century, he composed a book called Mantra-padārtha-tattva-nirṇaya. This is a book about the secrets and nuances on the meaning of Mantra-s, how to use and what are the right procedures of practising them. Unfortunately for us, this book is not available today as it is lost.
FACT TWO - T Krishnamacharya did not scribe in Sanskrit.
When Krishnamacharya wrote, he would do something very curious. He would write in the Sanskrit language, however, the script he used was not Sanskrit, but his native script, Telugu (the language used in the state of Andra Pradesh, the home of Krishnamacharya’s ancestors). This is because of a promise he made to his Vedānta teacher who initiated him. This is very common in the tradition that T Krishnamacharya belongs to, that the teachings are in one language but the script used is in another language. It was also a way to protect the teachings from negative students or those who were not fully committed to the teachings, who would be dissuaded by the effort that is required to translate such work.
FACT THREE – The Amazing Yogavalli
T Krishnamacharya wrote his own commentary on the Yogasūtra of Patañjali. Among his most amazing contributions to Yoga is this brilliant philosophical commentary on Patañjali’s aphorisms. Late in his nineties, he started working on this commentary and called it Yogavalli. Every day, he would call his son and successor, TKV Desikachar, to dictate his commentary. TKV Desikachar would sincerely listen to it and write down the commentary. He would then read out the lines to his teacher so that the teacher could verify it was correct. These precious notes are currently in our archives and we are sincerely working on publishing this text with a translation into English.
FACT FOUR – He never travelled abroad!!!
There is no doubt that T Krishnamacharya is currently well-known in all parts of the world today. However, whether you believe it or not, he never left the Indian sub-continent. Although he travelled far and wide within the country, he never travelled abroad. This is because there was a rule in traditional Brahmin households of that time that a true Brahmin must not cross the ocean. This is why, although he got many invitations to go abroad, he always declined and stayed within India. However, we are very grateful that his teachings continue to touch the hearts of the people in every part of the world.
FACT FIVE – A Champion of Women’s Empowerment in Yoga
T Krishnamacharya opened the doors of Yoga to women. Today Yoga is practised by millions of people around the world, especially women. More than 90% of the current global Yoga practitioners are women. However, this was not the case at the beginning of the 20th century when T Krishnamacharya was a young teacher. This was because Yoga and other spiritual teachings were reserved exclusively for men. T Krishnamacharya was a pioneer, teaching women Yoga way back in the early 20th century. He taught his wife, his daughters, and his sisters-in-law, as well as western students, like Indra Devi. Thus he opened the doors of Yoga for many women and the trend was continued later by others. One would find it difficult to imagine that without his pioneering efforts to welcome them to embrace Yoga, it would not have been possible that it is so popular among women worldwide.
Saluting him on this special day, we continue our dharma in brining his Viniyoga® tradition worldwide from our hearts to yours.
Namaste.
Dr. Kausthub Desikachar
Krishnamacharya Healing & Yoga Foundation
The Viniyoga® Tradition
