About Sri T.

Krishnamacharya,My Guru
fu RAMASWAMI, Trustc. Ktishnamacharya Toga Mandbam, MADRAS.

Srimatc Aaantala Nagaru- scho l ar s , Vam a na c h a r y a

ja2a Namo Namaha Bhattacharya, $auganatha
.Asmadacharlx bhyas Saraebhyo Jha and other well kr-own
scholar-teachers of Indian phi-
Namo Namaha,
losophy in the early vears ofthe
centur y .
fn the nex t l i r l ear s
Sri T. Krishnamacharya is Krishnamachar\ a was .iwar -
onc of Indie's best known ded several dcgrrc"., rrr luding'
Iiving authoritics of Yoga and Samk hv a Yoga Shi hhr r nar r i
Hindu Sastras in gene4al. Mimam s a T i r tha, N v ar ac ha-
Born in the village of Muchu- r},a, Vedarrta \,'aqeesa, Nvava
lunte, in Karnataka State in ratna :rnd Veda Kcsari f'ro:rr
1892,he hails crom the family utrir':rsities such as Kashi
of the Yogi Nathamuni, who Hirrdu Universitv, Allaha-
livcd during tbe 7th and 8th bad, Caltutta, Baroda and
centuries of our era and is Dar bhanga U ni v r r s i ti es .
temembered for such works
es Yoga Rzihasya'and Yoga INSEAR C H O F A GU R U
Tathva. As a boy, Sri Krishn-
th e M yso r c lr 4 a h a r a ja ' But ever sir.t:e the death of
amacharya's tcacher was his
Sanskrit College. At the same his flather he had been withont
fatl er, Srinivasa Tatacharya,
time he tcok up th€ study of a guru with whom he could
.a priest and a religious teac- continue his spiritual and
Sanskrit grammgr (Vyakarna)
hcr, who gavc his son a tho- Yogic studies and practice.
and logic inyaya) under Kris-
roughly traditional education Obviousli he was not satisfied
hna Brahmatantra, the Swami
and had begun instructirg with mere Shastragnana, but
of Parakala Mutt ard the
him in the elements of Yoga Yearned for the realisation as
Guru of the Maharaja.
when his untimely passing experien' ed by our attcient
away interrupted his dcep Rishis. He always hoped to
rtudy, unforturately. At thc After 6vc ycars of study, fi- d hi s G ur u ar d i n l 9l 7 he
agc of twelvc, therefore, Sri h e we n d e d l' is wa y to felt he had succeeded. He
Krirhna madc. hir way lo Kashi ar d continued his learned of the Yogi Ramamo-
Mysore City ard there joinrd stu d ie 6 u n d e r th c g r e a t hana Rrahmachari who lived

l -,- .
with his family hear the a married lifc, As he was s became his disciples.
They
Manasa Sarovar in the Wesr- rcholar in Sarulrit, hc natu- in turn kndlcd in their
ern Tibctan region. As soon rally bcgan to rcccive offerr pcoplc a rencwed respcct
rs he found the necessary from various universiticg to for this ancient subjcct.
means to make the travel, he head thcir dcpartments ofphi-
proceeded to meet Yogi Bra- losophy and religion, posts for This had repcrcussions in
hmachari, who accepted him which he was so emine4tfy thc wqt. Some d.lhe Britis-
as his dirciplp. Un{cr hiq gusliflcdi but to r*nlecment hers end Euloiiatrs who wcre
Guru's tutelagc Krishnama- of everyonc he. chosc to ta&ing interest in Indology
charya was initietcd iniq ell teaph Ypgn inrtord. Wh en fttqucntly. visltecl him. Wcst-
aspectsof Yoga, including its professional colleagues and ern scientistsand doctors rcad
therapeutic applications. He relatives found him stcadfast with great intcrcst about the
roamed about thc vast vege- in his decision, their amaze. reputed ,powers' of India's
tation kingdom ofthe mount- ment turned to ridicule and logir, an{. qtany eamo to
ains and learned about the Gycn opcn abure. S*$, his India to verify tho claims
extraordinaly herbs 4nd theil frrm rorolve, his erudltisn itid themselves. $ri Krishnarnach-
efficacies. He learned hun- profcicncy woq sornc t!hc- arya submitted himself will-
dreds of . Asanas, varieties oft4nt r$pect, and eAe by ont, ingly to all such legitimate
Pranayamas, Dandhas and hir criticg grcw les6 6tpcrrlF. scicntific curioritics. To people
Mudras and number of vari- Indced, somo evcn bocggq. lis suth as Proftssor Wenger of
ations in posturcs, breaths students. Califbrrrla and Doctor Theresc
etc. and achieved a complcte Brosseof Pdris. he showed that
mastery over body and mind, frrtT tg64 c$|*f|tl srechanical and electricay
to such an extent that hc actlom ofth€ heart could tic
could control the invol-
As Krishnanacbarya\$ilr-
modified at will, and to other
untary funetions as well. tation grew, eo drd l|e
.carnest professionals" he de-
These siddhis^ horlever, did sprcad ofclassical Yoga. in
monstrated stoppege of the
not detcr him from his comp 1930, thc Mahqraja of &lfr$e
pillso for ov.f two drinutcs,
lete dcvotion to his Guru and bcceme his studcnt. So nr3h
(hith did hc place in thc &mr' and so on..
total surrcnder to Lo d Nara-
yana. His faith in .the Sastras,lsy-scholar'r grasrqq$ conqrc- ErtOIrVlD NElt SYITEU
even got strengthened by his hension of Yoga, Sanskrit arid
actual physit.al, physiological,a wide rangc of our Sastrasr There are special rparks of
rnental and spiritual experien- that he considcred Krishna- Sri Krishnamacharya's teach-
basgd.on tradition, his
ces. At this ripe age of85, he '!ach.4rya as his Gwu. At the ings,
continucs to do his Nitya, Nai- Maharaja's 3uggestbn hc €sta- own expiricnc.e and irr\ovative
mithika Karmas and his daily, blished a school of Ycgc m experirpentttiorls. Apart from
elaborate pooja of Lord Nara- the palace, itself- tho A4ysorc his Guru,. hd stude{ various
yana during the three hours Sri Yogashela and ftorn this lystcms ofYogic pradtices in
base,Krfuhnamacharya ca:ried differcnt parts oflndiit, cspc-
Prior tr) sunrisc, apart from
yojic vyay2ya6a. on his tcachings for the next clally in the Punjab and
twen-tyfive years. From timc Ncpal. -€ relcarched. many
to time, hc travelled in parts rncidnt Yoga to(ts in palio
He returned to Sputh Indiar of India, preaching. Yoga lcaves and evolYcd a rystem
in l924and, on tbc eommand and in thir procols, maoy d which h uniquc, The numb6
of his Guru, sattlcd down to thc Mabaraias of thoae dalr of annae and dreir'variarion'c'
 in his repertoirc is enormous. B.K.S. Iyengar and the Acha- rding to our Ac-
For instance in Padmasana rya's son S{i T. K. V. Desika- harya, such Para-
alone, or in Sawangasana char are well known yoga vairagyt is not
thcre are very many varia- cxPonents' Some ofhis long possiblc in this
tions possible. Furthcr the standingstudents have had the kali Yuga How-
usc of brcath to synchronise benefit of not only learning ever aparavaira$-
with movements in asana, thc the pactical aspects, but also ya can be practised, which
urodrfication of aganas and tbe theoretical wor}s like the is not desiring anything be-
brcathing pattern to suit each Gita, Yoga Sutras, Yogara- yond ones own Dharmic
individual. case-as if tailor haoya ard alrc the Yogic duties.
. made- and an appreciation of UPanishads like thc Chandog-
ga, Svetaswatara*.cLal. His Samadhi is also possible
intirnate relationship between
lccturcs on our .trama Dhar* ffi of intense devotion to
bdy, mind and brcith, which
mas and the Drahrmsutras lswam or the Cosmic princi-
is accomplished by combining
and Yogasutrat hase bcen ple. $uch devotees as Thyaga-
amuar,breathinganddharana-,
well appreciated" Hc hos aho raja, Prahlada and others get
es enrrnciated in the Sastras,
the emphasis on (imaging' written many books on Yoga into Samadhi easily due to
peacefut Devatakara (srbh3-" * YqSr Meleranda, Yogasa, their extremely pure heart,
sraF) Bre F+r of rhc qpqi*;, nas, Yoganjati, Shastriya Yo- How about thc restnVyuthana
marks
ofhismethodorosy- Chittas, the Kriya Yoga is
$li,il*ll*::?JXll; rncntioncd, as the ste?pint
cull ron iltTBUA. Tatwr Niraaya. stone,

TAPAS
Wlth this Y"f; f. was aHb Sinec Yoga is knorrn efthtl
to' curc rrnrty fulctional for Asanas or fot Sanladhi If one considerssamahita
disordcr: including lomc types this serieswas started to show chittas as fit for Samadhi and
ofdiabetes, asthms, patalyfu the place ofallyogic. practi- therefore Uttama adhiharis fm
chrotic hcadachc, inrcmnir, cer. samadhi or intcnrc con- yoga, Patanjali suggests kriya
certain stc!ility casesin wo: ccntration, is possible only for yoga for mild practitioners
man, hy'pertension, hcart ail- a tbw Samahita Chithasj and (Mridu) and ashtanga yoga.
med& ctc. Often hic hclp was' . who can practice vairagya. lor madhya adhikaris.
souglht when llt othcr mtdie*. .,EJen among those, if there is
mcthods had failcd; hdeed Controlled activity, study of
an ultinrate purposc oiattain- .
srriptures leading to self-reali-
many of Yoga stfrdqfr mcnt of Sidhi in Yoga, such
sation and total dedication to
to -hjs originatly 5, ?ar princeFhru*., ,u"h yogi,
:."* -hin the cosmic principle are the
the cure ofone rcrious alhnbnt arc llable for rebirth. aspectsof Kriya Yoga.
or sther. In frct, my o,
rrudy wirh tt. e"h""y. r.q:l YoGA StItHAr^s Tapas Saad\taya Ishwara-

ro,"-r.i,,il;;:;t.il ll,iffin,ry;1,.T
when he was consulted byl ptanidhanani
r",r,u, j
olll;.il Kila Togaha 'r
nervous dcblity. Thcn ilt the
faith i" th;;c;i;ir""., .",r,*l Tapa is very important for
ofour.family becarne asm, constant thinking, intense practitioners ofYoga. Vyasa
I*h:"
his ltudents- Apart from yogrc points out that without Tapas.
concentration and an awarerr-
therapy,hchasbcnefitcdurany i"iri"g-;"a"ir*,ii, one is a non - startcr in'Yoga
onry
othcr rcnowned teachers,Somc "r.
wih lead tl chitta Nl"oaf,., 'Na AtaPanino fogaha
of his own studentslike Sri propundedUyfatariati. ^
ec.o. Sid@ati n
 science. He is the first teacher,
The inipurities or the drosr S WARAPRAM IDHANA
but unlimited by time. He is
in the inind and bodl' arising
The yogabhYas's ultimate k-own by tha repetition ol
out of conta4ts with worldlY
aim ir clf realization, as an His sacred uord Pranava. the
objerts which are inimical to
experience. However, since japa being done by contempla-
off
)'oga cannot be got rid tingon the meanirg of the
without the Practice of taPas onc i8 uonstantly distracted bY
the bornbardment of stimul mystic syllable, OM.
or austerities. TaPas literallY
means to 'heat uP" Patanjali from the external world, the Klesa karma oipaka Asayihi
m€ntionedthe benefit of taPas separate distinctive characte-
as the purill(ation ofbodY and ristics of thc Purusha is lost to Aparamrsuhataha Punsha
the mind which is thc root- ViscshahaIswaraha!
the senses.
cause (kshetra) ofall aflictions Tatra Niatisalam Saraaggna
physical and mental-as con
K ayendra suddhi hi Asuddhiksha- Bijam!
iuslon (Avidya), idcntitY with
)ath Taqasaha I
one s mental Projection of sclf Pnoashimapi Guruhu halcna
SVADHYAYA (Asmita), indiscriminate infa- Anaouhcdhaha!
tuation( ftaaga), Preju.dicedav' Tasya Va chakahdPranattaha
crsion(Dvesha) and innumcra'
However, the various Pic- Tat Japaha Tadanta Bhava-
ble anxitties including thc fear
tures and storiesof TaPaswis nam I
of'losing possessions, Prestige
make onc feel that taPas is
and l,fe (Abhinivesa). Thus Since, it may notbe possiblc
mor; difficult than Yoga itsclf'
it is necessary for the Yoga' for onc to contcmplatc on an
But what, in practical tcrms is
blil'asis to rePeatedlY rcfrbsh attributcless Iswara, Vyasa in
tapas ?
his mind of the distinction of his commcntery, intcrPrctr
Pr4kriti.and Purusha bY the Iswarapramidhana as the
The fint step in thc Prac'
study of Vaidic scriptures, rurrcndcring of all actions to
tice ofyoga is tapas and it
and other Sastras' . the Grcat Mastct and t h c
is control ofdiet and sPeech. abandonmcnt of all hanketing
Pr anidhanaha Bhaktioisesha' after thc fruits of action.
Mithananam Mithabhasha'
namchatl
ha. IswarcP amidhaxgn, Sarvak-
ilanam,
Immense devotion or love
Githcharya also emPhasises
towards thc Univsnal Lord P aramaguuo atPanut, TatPh'
thc importancc of ProPer food;
so also the various HathaYo- (Iswara) is. anothcr imPortant closaalosanuha I
factor in kriya yoga. It has
gis. Satwic food in limited The kriya yoga rcduces the
alreadv becn mentioncd that
-quantities, and PrirPoreful fiv.c mcntal aflictiors such as
Iswara according to Piatanlali
conversation is taPas for a confusion, (AvidYa) and others
is a special Purusha, unaflc-
yogabhyasi. mentioned earlicr .and PrePar-
cted by Klesa, Karma, rcsult
of action, or desire for activt- cr thc mind Q1 Ekagra.
Jtfat\ann astu fo gost ha
ty. In him are containcd all Sonarlhi Bhaoanarthaha
fuktahara Vihoarya Togo
potential knowledgc or Omni- K bs atan uk at ananl hotcli a
Bhauathi n
 When an abhyasi becomes
In the II article on Yoga
established in kriya
Yoga, Therapy, a mistake has crept
on€ can start on
Ashtan; in, on page 31, under the
yoga, which is
the step by step headingto "Calm the Mind".
progression The reader is requested to
in
Yoga read the fourth line from the
enuncia-
ted by Patanjali. bottom/as follows :
In the'next issue,
the priliminary " In this practice, the em-
angas namely yama phasis is on breath control,
and
Niyama, will be dealt with to especially long exhalation
start (Pracharohana) and reten:'
chapter on the prac-
trce ol^the tion of breath after exhala-
asanas (Asanapraka_
rana). tion (Vidharana)".