Amrit Desai
Encyclopedia
Amrit Desai is a Yoga
master who founded the Kripalu Center
and currently oversees the Amrit Yoga Institute in Salt Springs, Florida
, located in the Ocala National Forest
.
in 1932. At the age of 16 he began training with his guru, Swami Kripalvananda
.
In 1960, he went to the United States
to study art in Philadelphia. While pursuing an art and design career in the United States, he also taught hatha yoga
. In 1966, Yogi Desai founded the Yoga Society of Pennsylvania, a nonprofit organization
providing yoga classes and training for yoga teachers. The name of the Society was later changed to Kripalu, in honor of Swami Kripalvandanda. During his time with the Fellowship, Yogi Desai developed the yogic system popularly referred to as Kripalu Yoga.
After concluding that "holistic health" would be "an effective way to introduce yoga to people who needed it but were not yet open to its more traditional forms", in 1979 Desai started the Kripalu Center for Holistic Health in Lenox, Massachusetts
. The organization continues to operate in Stockbridge, Massachusetts
as a nonprofit entity under the name Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health
.
Desai was married to Urmila Desai, who was co-author (with Amadea Morningstar) of The Ayurvedic Cookbook (1990, Lotus Press, ISBN 978-0914955061). She died in 2006 at the age of 69.
Yoga
Yoga is a physical, mental, and spiritual discipline, originating in ancient India. The goal of yoga, or of the person practicing yoga, is the attainment of a state of perfect spiritual insight and tranquility while meditating on Supersoul...
master who founded the Kripalu Center
Kripalu Center
The Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health is a non-profit organization that operates a health and yoga retreat in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Its facility is a former Jesuit novitiate and juniorate seminary built in 1957. The center has described itself as North America's largest residential facility...
and currently oversees the Amrit Yoga Institute in Salt Springs, Florida
Salt Springs, Florida
Salt Springs is an unincorporated community in Marion County, Florida, United States. It is located near Lake George. The community is part of the Ocala Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, located in the Ocala National Forest
Ocala National Forest
The Ocala National Forest is the second largest National Forest in the U.S. state of Florida and covers approximately of Central Florida. It is located three miles east of Ocala and southeast of Gainesville...
.
Life and career
Desai was born in the state of Gujarat in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
in 1932. At the age of 16 he began training with his guru, Swami Kripalvananda
Kripalvananda
Kripalvananda , also known as Swami Kripalvanandji or Bapuji, was a renowned master of kundalini yoga and the namesake of the Kripalu Center and Kripalvananda Yoga Institute in the United States....
.
In 1960, he went to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to study art in Philadelphia. While pursuing an art and design career in the United States, he also taught hatha yoga
Hatha yoga
Hatha yoga , also called hatha vidya , is a system of yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a Hindu sage of 15th century India, and compiler of the Hatha Yoga Pradipika....
. In 1966, Yogi Desai founded the Yoga Society of Pennsylvania, a nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
providing yoga classes and training for yoga teachers. The name of the Society was later changed to Kripalu, in honor of Swami Kripalvandanda. During his time with the Fellowship, Yogi Desai developed the yogic system popularly referred to as Kripalu Yoga.
After concluding that "holistic health" would be "an effective way to introduce yoga to people who needed it but were not yet open to its more traditional forms", in 1979 Desai started the Kripalu Center for Holistic Health in Lenox, Massachusetts
Lenox, Massachusetts
Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. Set in Western Massachusetts, it is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,077 at the 2000 census. Where the town has a border with Stockbridge is the site of Tanglewood, summer...
. The organization continues to operate in Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Stockbridge, Massachusetts
Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County in Western Massachusetts. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,947 at the 2010 census...
as a nonprofit entity under the name Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health
Kripalu Center
The Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health is a non-profit organization that operates a health and yoga retreat in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Its facility is a former Jesuit novitiate and juniorate seminary built in 1957. The center has described itself as North America's largest residential facility...
.
Desai was married to Urmila Desai, who was co-author (with Amadea Morningstar) of The Ayurvedic Cookbook (1990, Lotus Press, ISBN 978-0914955061). She died in 2006 at the age of 69.
Resignation
In 1994 Amrit Desai resigned from the organization he had founded. The organization, with 350 residents, had grown into a diverse entity with no clear cohesion. Consultants indicated that he was remarkably unique in that he so willingly turned over control of the entity he founded. Desai suggested sexual restraint for those living in the yoga facility. He never condemned those who did not conform to the restraint rules developed by the residents. He was himself married to Urmila Desai and the father of three children. From time to time, in accordance with his tradition, he and his wife would commit to periods of celibacy. In 1994 a women came forth to acknowledge that she had reframed consensual sexual contact with Amrit Desai into abuse by a powerful figure and was seeking money damages. When the women came forth, he acknowledged that the contact had taken place. Three others made similar claims. Each time he acknowledged the contact. A fifth women acknowledged contact, but refused to claim money damages. Kripalu Center was a not for profit religious order well represented by lawyers and accountants. He was advised to create a corporate entity so as to develop a retirement fund. He received payment as the spiritual director of Kripalu and the details were well known. Those who joined the religious order were clearly informed of limited compensation available to residents, who were provided with medical insurance, a pool of vehicles, room and board, along with other benefits. Having left the Kripalu Center, Desai now teaches in Florida at the Amrit Yoga Institute in Salt Springs, FLExternal links
- Amrit Yoga Institute
- Yogi Amrit Desai - Entering The Yoga Zone (video)
- KBOO FM Healthwatch with Yogi Amrit Desai
Further reading
- Sukanya Warren, Peter Mellen, and Francis Mellen (1982). Gurudev: The Life of Yogi Amrit Desai. Kripalu Publications. 117 pages. ISBN 0940258072, ISBN 9780940258075