(amongthemareYvonneMillerandand

GerardBlitz).

MyFathersYoga
ByT.K.V.Desikachar

ShriKrishnamacharya,theoldestandarguably
mostfamousamongthegreatyogisstillalive,
livesinMadrasandnextyearwillbe100
yearsold.

Hecites,asasourceofhisteaching,the
YogaRahasyabyNathamuni(thesilentsage),
wholivedinthesouthofIndiainthe7th
centuryandplayedapredominantroleinthe
definitionofYogaasthewesternknowsit
today.
ShriKrishnamacharyaistheguruofhisson,
ShriDesikachar,andofhisbrotherinlaw,
B.K.S.Iyengar.Hehasbeentheteacherof
severalwesternerswhosefirststepsheguided

Ifeelalittleuneasyaboutthetermyoginand
Iwouldliketosayafewthingsaboutit
beforetalkingaboutKrishnamacharya.This
wordisalmostpartoftheEnglishlanguage;
mostofthetime,whensomebodysays:Iam
ayogin,itisalmostasifhehassaidIam
aHindu.Andtheonlyrequirementto
becomeayogin,istoaddittoyourname.
Thatisthefirstproblem.Asforthesecond
problem:WhoamItodecidewhether
Krishnamacharyaisayoginorabhogi
(sensualist)?Wemustrememberthataminor
isincapableoftellingwhetheragemis
preciousornot,and,asfarasIam
concerned,Iamonlyaminor.Theword
yogin,intheBhagavadGitahastwomeanings.
Thefirstmeaningreferstothepersonwhois
preparingtostartwhatwecalltheyoga
sadhana.Hestillhasalotofproblemsbuthe
persistsinhisdesiretodosomethingabout
them.Thesecondmeaningreferstothe
personwhoisaboveanyworry,whoshuns
anyactivitybecauseheistotallyimmersedin
Yoga,andmeansthathebecomesdivineor
thatheisatonewiththedivine.
Then,Patanjaligoesmuchfurtherwhenhe
saysthatyoginisonewhohasachievedthe
higheststateofvairagya.TheyoginNathamuni
wasoftheoldsouthofIndia,fromtheregion
southofMadras,andissaidtoberesponsible
fortworemarkableworkstheYoga-Rahasya
andtheNyayaTattva.TheYoga-Rahasyahas
unfortunatelyneverbeenpublishedbutthere
isenoughprooftobesurethatNathamuniis
definitelytheauthor.Iwasveryluckyinsofar
asmyfatherkindlyexplainedtomethefour
sectionsofYoga-Rahasyawhichheknewby
heart.Anumberofcharacteristicelementsof
Krishnamacharyasteachingseemtofindtheir
rootsinthistext,forexampletheuseof
breathintheasana.
Myfathertellsofhissevenandahalfyear
stayintheHimalayas,atKailasha,afterhehad
receivediseducationinthenorthofIndia.He
saysthathismastersnamewasRamaMohana
Brahmachari.ThewordBrahmachariwaspart
ofhisnameandhadnoothermeaningashe
wasmarriedandhadagreatnumberof
children.Thegreatyogininstructedmyfather
intheuseofasanaandpranayamaforill
people.Afterwards,asmyfathersgreat

grandfatherwasakindofacharyawiththe
systemwecalltheShriVaishnavaSampradaya
andwhichassemblesNarayanasfaithful
thosewhobearthedistinctiveverticalmark
ontheirforeheadmyfatherwasableto
studyindetailthedifferentinterpretationsof
thevedanta.Ioughttotellyouthatsincehe
finishedhisstudies,nowalmostsixtyyears
ago,hehasneverstoppedteachingallthathe
hadlearned.
Sincetheproofofthepuddingisinthe
eating,wewillthenhavetofindoutwhether
hepossessescertainqualitiesoftheyogin.He
isnow99andiscapableofpractisingthe
headstandandcanremainforalongtimein
thisposition,whichisquiteremarkable,orin
mahamudra,orsittinginpadmasanaforthe
practiceofpranayama.Hemanagesthento
keepingoodshapeevenathisage,through
thepracticeofasana.Therearethreepossible
directionsinthepracticeofYoga.Inthefirst
onetheonewecallshaktikramaboth
mentalandphysicalstrengthandresistanceare
important.Iremember,whenIwasin
secondaryschool,havingspentoneortwo
monthswithhiminthestateofHyderabad,in
asmalltownwherethewaterwasrationed.I
stillrememberthisoldmanwithabig
containerfullofwateronhishead,holdinga
bucketfulineachhand,carryingthisload
everydayfromawellnearly5kilometres
away.
ADAYINTHELIFE
Letusnowconsideroneofmyfathers
extraordinarydays,inthecourseofwhichhe
hastocarryoutacertainrite.Itisthe
detailedritualbywhichmanyIndianscelebrate
theanniversaryoftheirparentsdeath.We
callitShraddha.Themanmustnottakeany
foodthepreviousevening,andthen,inthe
morninghecarriesoutthepuja,asusual.He
thenmustpracticevedicchantforthreeor
fourhoursnonstop,dependingonhiscast.
Thenthepriestcomesandmustbegiven
everythingthattheruleprescribes;somy
fatherliterallyremainssittingforthreehours,
withoutmissingasinglephaseofthe
ceremony.Finally,thebrahmansitsatthe
tableandmyfathercontinueswiththevedic
chant,stoppingonlywhentheotherhas
finishedeating,becausethisbraham
symbolizestheancestors.Itishardtobelieve
thatattheageof99thisoldmanhasthe

mentalstrengthtoremainwithouteating
anythingandstillkeephistoneofvoice
entirelyclear,andthathecanremainaffable
towardsthepriestsandcarryoutallthe
rituals.
Letusnowexaminehowheteaches.Hesits
throughout,withouteverchangingposition;this
maylastfrom60to90minutes.Hisbackis
straightandhismemoryissogoodthatI,
beingmuchyounger,feelashamed.Theway
heremembersthisorthatpassageofthe
Ramayana,insuchandsuchsectionorverse,
isreallyremarkableanditisabsolutely
surprisingathisagetopossesssuchpowerof
memory.Ifyouweretoaskmewhichisthe
thirteenthsutraofthethirdchapterof
PatanjalisYogasutra,Iwouldneedtothink,
eventhough`Ioftenteachthischapter.
Krishnamacharyasreligiousbehaviouris
anotherinterestingaspect.Foreachactionhe
firmlybelievesthatitisGodwhoaskshimto
actandthatthefruitsbelongtoGodonly.
HereistheShriVaishnavaSampradayamain
articleoffaith;everythingcomesfromGod
andreturnstoGod.Forexample,whenthe
priestscome,hemakessurethathegives
themmorethananyoneelsebecause,he
says,theyarenotmerelypriestsbutGod
himselfandonemustthereforeseektomake
themhappy.Andthesearenotmerelywords;
hepainstakinglycarriesouthisdailyrituals,
preparinghimselfthelustralwaterwithsaffron,
camphor,etcandtakingmuchmorecare
overitthanIhaveeverseeninthetemples.
Hethusdoesjustice,aswellashecanand
throughhisownexample,totheShaktikrama
aswellastotheadhyatmikakrama.
ADAPTATIONS
IshallnowturntohiscontributionstoYoga.
Since1934,myfatherhasbeensayingthat
Yogahadtobeadaptedtotheindividualand
nottheindividualtoYoga.Theadaptationis
basedondifferencesofculture,age,sex,
illness,interest,profession,etcIfsomebody
feelsunabletoadapttoaparticularsituation,
heshouldnotinsist.Myfathertoldmethat
oneofthereasonswhyhedecidedtostayin
Indiawasthathewouldbeincapableof
understandingothercultures.Theotherreason,
ofcourse,isthatnormally,abrahmanfrom
Indiamustnotcrosstheocean.Through
adaptinghehashighlystressedthevalidityof
individualteaching.Astherearenottwo

identicalbeings,wemustrespectevery
individualsrequirement.
Hehasdevelopedveryimportantprinciples
forthepracticeofasana.Heisstill
discoveringnewposturestosuchanextent
thatIamnotabletokeeptrackofhisnew
discoveries.Oneday,heaskedmewhetherI
hadtriedKhagasana.Ihadneverheardofthe
termbefore.Moreover,hechangesthe
postures.Itishewhotaughtmehowtovary
thepostures,howtobendmylegs,turnmy
head,whotaughtmeallthesimpleor
complicatedvariations.Whichmayprove
necessary.Itisimportanttomodifyevery
postureaccordingtoindividualrequirements.
Furthermore,itishewhointroducedtheuse
ofsupportsoraids,sothatthepersonmay
benefitfromaposturewhenunabletopractice
withoutthoseaids.Thisincludes,forexample,
theuseofachairtositdownupon,ofa
rolled-upcloth,ofcertainsupports,etc.He
exploredthelimitsoftheuseofbreathinthe
postures,whichisevenmoreimportant.Heh
asdiscoveredandstressedthefactthat
breathingisanessentialpartinthepracticeof
asana.Throughchangingthewayandlength
ofbreathing,byusingcombinationsof
posturesandofdifferentrespiratoryrhythms,
hehasprovedthatitispossibletomodify
theposturesinordertomeetindividual
requirements.Forhim,breathingislikethe
wheelinacar.
LINKINGASANAS
Hehasunderstoodsomethingelsewhichis
important;wemustnotviewasanaalonebut
withinagrouporacombinationofasanas.
Thismeansthatwearenotgoingtopractise
theheadstandonMonday,theshoulderstand
onTuesday,etc,butthatwelinktheasanas
together,likethewordsofasentence.Hehas
alsopassedontoustheconceptof
pratikriyasana,ofcompensationorcounterposture.Aseveryactioncreatesreactions,we
havetofindacompensationtothose
reactions.Lastly,hehasconceivedtheideaof
vinyasa;infact,sincethebeginningofhis
teaching,around1932,hehasgivenalistof
postureswhicheitherleadinto,oroutofa
particularposture.Thatistheideaoflinking
differentasanastogetherwithinastructureso
thateachpostureleadstothefollowingone.
Andthisstructureitselfisquiteimportant
especiallyforchildrenwhofinditparticularly

interesting.Hestilltrustsit,althoughitisa
structurewhichcannotbepractisedbyadults
orbysickpeopleoften.However,theideaof
vinyasaremainsvalid:tostartfromwherewe
are,reachacertainpointandthencomeback
towhereweshouldbe.
Healsoputforwardtheideathattheasanais
svadhyaya;thatistosayitallowsusto
understandsomethingaboutourselves.He
stronglybelievesthatthebeginningof
pranayamaisinasana,ifweuseparticular
breathingtechniques.Asana,andasanaonly,
accompaniedbytheadequatebreathing
techniques,leadsustopranayama.In
pranayamaassuch,heputsintopracticethe
differenttypessuchasvaikhari,thedifferent
vrittis,thedifferentkarmasIwouldsaythat
Krishnamacharyasmajorcontributiontothe
practiceofpranayama,istheuseofBahya
Khumbakaandthestressingofrechaka,or
breathingout.Becauseofhisownknowledge
oftheayurveda,hehasconceivedpranayama
asabramhanaorasalanghanakriya.The
useofthebandhasisoneofthemost
complexaspectsinthepracticeofYoga.He
couldcorrectlylinktogetherseveralideason
thebandhasscatteredthroughoutmanytexts,
andhecouldindicatewhichbandhascouldbe
introducedincertainpartsofpranayama.I
mustfurthermoreaddthatnobodyisasclear
asheisaboutthemulabandha.
INSPIRATION
Moreover,headdedtheideaofBhavanato
thepracticeofpranayamaalongtimeago.A
long,longtimeago,hesaidthatbreathingin
andout,andtheretentionofbreath,are
related,inaway,tothesupremepower,the
Lord`Narayana.Breathinginislikean
inspirationofGodHimself.Retentionisthusa
kindofmeditationbecauseyouarenearHim;
breathingoutislikeamovementtowards
God,andretentionatthispointislikegiving
oneselftoGod.Hemadetheuseofthe
Mahamudrasimpleandpracticaltoo.Although
itistodayaverywell-knownposture,when
youlookinthetexts,youfindnoclear
explanationatall.Heincludedtheasana
aspect,thebreathingaspectandthemudra
aspect;hethinksthat,whenpractiseddaily,
themahamudragivesprotectionfromillness.
ThepracticeofYogaisrelatedtothenadi
thepulse,andthereforehestillthinksthatthe
heartbeatindicateswhetherthepracticehas

beencorrectlyfollowed.Hesuggeststhe
possibilityofmeasuringoutourexistencewith
thefrequencyoftheheartbeats.Ifwewantto
livewellandforalongtime,wehaveto
maketheeffortofslowingdownthepulse
rate.Thisis,ofcourse,relativelydifferent
fromtheopinionoftheaerobic(progressive
programmeofphysicalexercises)adeptswho
thinkoneshouldbringonesheartbeatupto
130/140pulsesperminute.Thewayheuses
theteachingoftheYogasutrainthepractice
is,Ibelieve,anotherofhiscontributions.I
rememberatthetimeofZinalsfirstmeeting,
whenIusedthiswordYogasutraIunderstood
thatparticipantsbelievedIwasdiscussingan
aspectofGreekcivilisationorsomethinglike
that.Imyselfwouldhavethoughtthisbook
useless,justasmanyothersinIndia,hadI
notstudieditwithhim.Hecouldlinkeach
sutratothepractice.
UPDATEDVIEWS
Letusnowstudyhisideasoncertain
importantpoints.Hethinksthattheonlytext
thatpresentsYogaclearlyisPatanjalis
yogasutra.HeaddsthatRajaYogaconsistsof
merewordswithsadhana;wasInotreading
theotherdaythatphilosophyismuchmore
interestingforitselfthanfortheresultsthat
mayensuefromit?Ontheotherhand,when
thereissadhana,RajaYogabecomesidentical
toBhaktiYoga.Asforyamasandniyamas,he
thinksthat,exceptfortwoofthem,todaythey
arenolongerofanyvalue.Thefirstoneis
calledsatyaniyama(knowingwhattosay,
whatnottosay,towhom,howtowriteand
hownottowrite).Thisisthesatyaniyama,
thecorrectuseofwords.Theotherniyama
thatonemustrespectistheaharaniyama
whattoeat,inwhatquantity,dependingon
whichage,profession,etcTheancients,
believedthatayoungboycouldeatasmuch
asheliked.Butasannyasinmusttakeonly
eighthandfulsofriceadaynotonemore.
MyfathersattitudeconcerningtheShat-kriya
andthemudraisperfectlyclear.Hethinks
thatwhensomebodypractisestheasana
correctly,alongwithproperbreathingand
certainfoodrestraint,thereisnoneedfor
thosekriyas.Moreover,theuseofthekriya
whenonedoesnotknowtheindividuals
dosha,coulddomoreharmthangood.Dosha,
tobebrief,meanstheindividualsconstitution;
onemaybefat,ormaycatchcoldeasily;we

maywellhaveproblemsofacidityorelsebe
nervous.Thereisadominanttraitinevery
humanbeingsdosha,andthekriyamustbe
consideredaccordingtothedifferent
constitutions.Hethenaddsthis;vedanta
sometimescondemnsYoga,hereorthere,
becauseofthepropagationofamudralike
thekhechari,thevajroliortheamaroli.
HehascertainideasabouttheKundalinitoo.
Thisenergyistheprana;wecallthisstrength
ShaktiorKundalini,butitisinfacttheprana.
Pranayama,throughstressingbreathingoutand
thebandhas,andbackingthisupwith
devotionalchants,istheonlyefficientmethod
ofaction.Theevolutionofkundalini,onthe
otherhand,dependsalotonthefollowers
stateofmindandonhisvairagya.
CERTAINFORMS
Thenhehashisopinionsaboutdhyana.Since
thedhyanaisonecharacteristicstateofmind,
andsincethemindislimitedinitsformand
cannotgraspwhatisbeyondform,thedesha,
orobjectofmeditation,mustbesagunaand
notnirguna.Ordinaryhumanbeingsneed
certainforms,certainvisualisationsforthe
dhyanaandtherefore,anydhyanathatis
nirgunaisonlyvikalpa.
Hestressesthefactthatitisessentialfor
everyhumanbeingtoexperiencefamilylife.
Itisonlythroughaprofoundunderstandingof
familylifethatonecantranscendit.He
himselfwasofferedtwicetheimportant
positionofacharyaandrefuseditinorderto
staywithhisfamily.
Itishewhomadeitpossibletosaythat
therearedifferencesbetweenYogaand
Hinduism.Therearefundamentaldifferences
betweenYogaandthevedanta.And,ifwe
mustreallylinkthemtogetheritshallbeas
follows:Yogaisthewaythatleadsthose
interestedtovedanta.Vedantaimpliesmuch
investigationandmuchreflection;italso
requiresonetodeveloponesbhakti,and
Yogaleadsboththemindandtheindividual
tothebhakti.Vedanta,finally,isajnanamarga
anditisonlythroughashtangathatthestate
ofmindrequiredforthejnanacanbe
developed.
Thisconcludesourbriefaccountof
KrishnamacharyaandhisYoga.Itisuptoyou,
however,tojudgethemasterandtheteaching
foryourselves.