Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya
Encyclopedia
Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (November 18, 1888 – February 28, 1989) was an Indian yoga teacher, ayurvedic healer and scholar. Often referred to as "the father of modern yoga," Krishnamacharya is widely regarded as one of the most influential yoga teachers of the 20th century and is credited with the revival of hatha yoga.
Krishnamacharya held degrees in all the six Vedic darśanas, or Indian philosophies. While under the patronage of the Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wadiyar, Krishnamacharya traveled around India giving lectures and demonstrations to promote yoga, including such feats as stopping his heartbeat. He is widely considered as the architect of vinyasa, in the sense of combining breathing with movement. Underlying all of Krishnamacharya’s teachings was the principle “Teach what is appropriate for an individual.” While he is revered in other parts of the world as a yogi, in India Krishnamacharya is mainly known as a healer who drew from both ayurvedic and yogic traditions to restore health and well-being to those he treated. He authored four books on yoga—Yoga Makaranda, Yogaasangalu, Yoga Rahasya, and Yogavalli—as well as several essays and poetic compositions.
Some of Krishnamacharya's students include many of yoga’s most renowned teachers: his son T.K.V. Desikachar (b. 1938), Indra Devi
(1900-2002), his brother-in-law B.K.S. Iyengar
(b. 1918), K. Pattabhi Jois (1915-2009), A. G. Mohan (b. 1945), and Srivatsa Ramaswami (b. 1939).
of Karnataka state
in India
, to an orthodox Iyengar
family. His parents were Sri Tirumalai Srivinasa Tattacharya, a well-known teacher of the Vedas
, and Shrimati Ranganayakamma. He was the eldest with two brothers and three sisters. At the age of six, he underwent upanayana
. He then began learning to speak and write Sanskrit
, texts such as the Amarakosha
and to chant the Vedas under the strict tutelage of his father.
Unfortunately at the age of ten, Krishnamacharya lost his father, and the family had to move to Mysore, the second largest city in [Karnataka], where Krishnamcharya's great-grandfather H.H. Sri Srinivasa Brahmatantra Parakala Swami acted as the head of the Parakala Mutt
. In Mysore, Krishnamacharya began a more formal schooling at the Chamaraj Sanskrit College and in the Maṭha. He made a practice of debating on the subjects of the Shastra
s with the professors and visiting Pandits. He passed his Vidvan
examination in Mysore, where he had studied Vyakarana
, vedanta
, and tarka
.
At the age of sixteen, Krishnamacharya had a strange dream in which his ancestor, the legendary yogi and Sri Vaishnava
saint Nathamuni
directed him to go to the town of Alvar Tirunagari
, in the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu
. Krishnamacharya obeyed the dream and traveled there. As he later told, when he arrived at his destination, he fell into trance and found himself in the presence of three sages. He requested them to instruct him in the Yoga Rahasya, a long lost yogic treatise by Nathamuni. One of the sages, whom he later identified as Nathamuni himself, started to recite the text. When Krishnamacharya later woke up from the trance, he could recall every single verse of this legendary treatise lost long ago.
or Indian philosophies: vaiśeṣika
, nyāya
, sāṃkhya
, yoga
, mīmāṃsā
and vedānta
. In 1906, at the age of eighteen, Krishnamacharya left Mysore to attend at the university of Benares
, a city of hundreds of temples also known as Vārāṇasī. While at the university, he focused his studies on logic and Sanskrit, working with Brahmashri Shivakumar Shastry, "one of the greatest grammarians of the age". He also learnt the Mimamsa from Brahmasri Trilinga Rama Shastri. He learned tarka from Vamacarana Bhattacharya. He also forged a strong friendship with the head of Kāśi
Sanskrit Vidyā Pīṭha
, Mahāmahopādhyāya Gaṅgānāth Jhā
.
After leaving the Benares, in 1909 he returned to Mysore and studied vedānta with the new pontiff of Parakāla Maṭha, H. H. Sri Krishna Brahmatantra. During this period he learned to play the vīṇā
, one of the most ancient stringed instruments in India. Besides Maṭha, Krishnamacharya also studied at the University of Mysore.
In 1914 he once again left for Benares to attend classes at Queens College, where he eventually earned a number of teaching certificates. During the first year he had little or no financial support from his family so in order to eat he followed the rules that were laid down for religious beggars: only approaching seven households each day and offering a prayer "in return for wheat flour to mix with water for cakes". Krishnamacharya eventually left Queens College to study the ṣaḍdarśana (six darshanas) in Vedic philosophy at Patna University. He also got a scholarship to study Ayurveda under Vaidya Krishnakumar of Bengal.
He was invited to the coronation of the Rajah of Dikkanghat (a principality within Darbhanga
), defeated a scholar called Bihari Lal in a debate; and received rewards and honors from the Raja. His stay in Kāśi
lasted 11 years.
. At the suggestion of Gaṅgānāth Jhā, he decided to find Yogeshwara Ramamohan Brahmachari, a yoga teacher rumored to live in the mountains beyond Nepal. He had to obtain the permission of the Viceroy
, Lord Irwin; who was then suffering from diabetes. At the request of the Viceroy, he travelled to Simla and taught him yogic practices for six months. The viceroy developed respect and affection for him, and made all arrangements for his travel to Tibet in 1919; supplying three aides and taking care of the expenses.
Eventually, after two and a half months of walking, Krishnamacharya found Sri Brahmachari’s school which consisted of a cave at the foot of Mount Kailash
. Ramamohana Brahmachari was a family man, and Gaṅgānātha Jhā had written to him earlier. He spent seven and a half years studying the “Yoga Sūtras
of Patañjali
, learning āsanas
and prāṇāyāma
, and studying the therapeutic aspects of yoga”. He was made to memorize the whole of the Yoga Kuruntha in the Gurkha language. As tradition holds, at the end of his studies with Sri Ramamohan, Krishnamacharya asked what payment would be – Ramamohan responded that Krishnamacharya was to "take a wife, raise children and be a teacher of Yoga".
He then returned to Vārāṇasī
. Mahārāja of Jaipur called him to serve as principal of the Vidyā Śālā in Jaipur; but as he did not like being answerable to many people, he again returned to Vārāṇasī shortly. Impressed with his mastery, Amarnātha Jhā, the son of Gaṅgānāth Jhā, introduced him to various monarchs and he was widely honoured. In accordance with his Guru's wishes that he should live a life of a householder - he married Namagiriammal in 1925.
, Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV
was in Varanasi
to celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother. The Maharaja was impressed by the young man's demeanor, authority and scholarship. In 1924 he was asked by the Maharaja, a man who looked to yoga to help cure his many ailments, to open a yoga school where he taught until 1955. The Maharajah was so impressed with Krishnamacharya that he was hired to teach the royal family and given the wing of a nearby palace to start the Yogashala or yoga school. At the Maharaja's request, he wrote several books including Yoga Makaranda, Yoganjali, and Yogasanalu.
Unwilling to fall under the obligation of the Maharaja, Krishnamacharya was forced to take a job as a foreman at a coffee plantation. Krishnamacharya held many demonstrations to stimulate popular interest in the subject. These included suspending his pulse, stopping cars with his bare hands, performing difficult asanas, and lifting heavy objects with his teeth.
Because many of his students at this point in his life were active boys he developed a vigorous style of yoga aimed at building strength and stamina that is known today as the popular Ashtanga (Vinyasa) Yoga
. He soon became a trusted advisor of the Maharajah as well as a sought after yoga instructor and healer.
Upon his return to Southern India, he went on to study Ayurveda
, the traditional medical practice of India, as well as Nyaya
, a school of Indian philosophy
concerned with logic
and epistemology. After winning its independence from the United Kingdom
one of the first acts of the new Indian political establishments was to dethrone the Maharaja ending the long reign of support that Krishnamacharya received from the ruler. By this time Krishnaraja Wadiyar had died and his nephew, Jayachamaraja Wadiyar had become Maharaja. The chief minister, K.C. Reddy, ordered the school to be closed within three months.
for two years and then was invited to relocate to Chennai
, the fourth largest city in India, by a well known lawyer who sought his help in healing from a stroke. Now in his sixties, Krishnamacharya’s reputation for being a strict and intimidating teacher mellowed: although he was still considered strict concerning his practice and teaching, he showed a more gentle compassionate side. Although many considered him a Yoga Master he continued to call himself a student because he felt that he was always “studying, exploring and experimenting” with the practice.
At the age of 96, he slipped on a damp stone while checking the mail, and fractured his hip. Refusing surgery, he treated himself and designed a course of practice that he could do in bed. Krishnamacharya lived and taught in Chennai until he slipped into a coma and died in 1989 at one hundred years of age. His cognitive faculties remained sharp until his death; and he continued to teach and heal when the situation arose.
Krishnamacharya was not only a yoga instructor, he was also considered a physician of Ayurvedic medicine and “possessed enormous knowledge of nutrition, herbal medicine, the use of oils, and other remedies”. This gave him the ability to approach an individual’s problem in a well-informed manner. When he began working with a person he would conduct a very detailed examination to determine the most efficient path to take. He would take the persons pulse, examine the color of the skin, listen to the quality of the breath, among many other things. During the time of diagnosis, Krishnamacharya would look for what “upset or hindered the harmonious union of the body, mind, and spirit” – even though a disease is focused in a particular area, he knew that it would affect many other systems in the body, both mental and physical. At some point during or after the initial examination, he would eventually ask the person, if he or she will be able to follow his guidance. This question was asked because he knew that if the person could not trust him fully there was little chance of being healed. If the answer was “yes” the “healing relationship would begin” but if the person showed hesitation he would send him or her away.
Once a person began seeing Krishnamacharya, he would work with him or her on a number of levels including adjusting their diet; creating herbal medicines; and setting up a series of yoga postures that would be most beneficial. When instructing a person on the practice of yoga, Krishnamacharya particularly stressed the importance of combining breath work (pranayama
) with the postures (asanas) of yoga and meditation
(dhyana
) to reach the desired goal. He would continue to see the person approximately once a week to monitor the progress until he or she was healed.
Krishnamacharya taught Yoga to people of all religions. He always took time to understand the religion and the culture of the people he taught. For example, when he was invited to teach the Nizam of Hyderabad, he spoke to him in Urdu. The Nizam was so impressed that his entire family practiced Yoga.
K. Pattabhi Jois and BKS Iyengar teach based on their own experiences with Krishnamacharya in the 1930s in Mysore, when they were both young men; their styles are reflective of yoga that is appropriate to younger students and thus heavily emphasise asana
practice. However, teachers such as T.K.V. Desikachar, A. G. Mohan and Srivatsa Ramaswami teach a broader part of Krishnamacharya's teachings, noting that yoga is more than just asana and must be tuned to the student, taking account of health, energy, physique, gender, place and age.
He also had excellent knowledge of orthodox Hindu rituals. In fact, the current seer of the Parakala Mutt
underwent Upanayana
under his supervision.
Due to his great scholarship in various darshanas of orthodox Hindu philosophy, he was acquired titles such as Sāṃkhya-yoga-śikhāmaṇi, Mīmāṃsā-ratna, Mīmāṃsā-thīrtha, Nyāyācārya, Vedāntavāgīśa, Veda-kesari and Yogācārya.
throughout the world, Krishnamacharya never left his native India over the course of his life. As Yoga Journal described in an article entitled, "The Legacy of 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 B.K.S. Iyengar, the classical postures of Indra Devi, or the customized vinyasa of Viniyoga, 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." By developing and refining different approaches, Krishnamacharya made yoga accessible to millions around the world.
Although Krishnamacharya stressed that the most important Yoga texts were the traditional Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
, Nathamuni
’s Yoga Rahasya and the Bhagavad Gita
(from the Mahabharata
), his greatest strength was the ability to take the ancient teaching of yoga and Indian philosophy and combine them within a modern day framework.
Other works (essays and poetic compositions):
Krishnamacharya held degrees in all the six Vedic darśanas, or Indian philosophies. While under the patronage of the Maharaja of Mysore, Krishnaraja Wadiyar, Krishnamacharya traveled around India giving lectures and demonstrations to promote yoga, including such feats as stopping his heartbeat. He is widely considered as the architect of vinyasa, in the sense of combining breathing with movement. Underlying all of Krishnamacharya’s teachings was the principle “Teach what is appropriate for an individual.” While he is revered in other parts of the world as a yogi, in India Krishnamacharya is mainly known as a healer who drew from both ayurvedic and yogic traditions to restore health and well-being to those he treated. He authored four books on yoga—Yoga Makaranda, Yogaasangalu, Yoga Rahasya, and Yogavalli—as well as several essays and poetic compositions.
Some of Krishnamacharya's students include many of yoga’s most renowned teachers: his son T.K.V. Desikachar (b. 1938), Indra Devi
Indra Devi
Indra Devi ; May 12, 1899 - April 25, 2002) was an early disciple of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, and herself became a renowned yoga teacher. Born in Riga, she also acted in some Hindi films.-Early Years:...
(1900-2002), his brother-in-law B.K.S. Iyengar
B.K.S. Iyengar
Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar , is the founder of Iyengar Yoga, although he himself would not call it Iyengar Yoga. He is considered one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world and has been practising and teaching yoga for more than 75 years...
(b. 1918), K. Pattabhi Jois (1915-2009), A. G. Mohan (b. 1945), and Srivatsa Ramaswami (b. 1939).
Early life
Krishnamacharya was born on 18 November 1888 in Muchukundapuram, in Chitradurga districtChitradurga district
Chitradurga district is an administrative district of Karnataka state in southern India. The city of Chitradurga is the district headquarters. Chitradurga gets its name from Chitrakaldurga, an umbrella-shaped lofty hill found there. Tradition dates Chitradurga District to the period of the...
of Karnataka state
Karnataka
Karnataka , the land of the Kannadigas, is a state in South West India. It was created on 1 November 1956, with the passing of the States Reorganisation Act and this day is annually celebrated as Karnataka Rajyotsava...
in India
India
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...
, to an orthodox Iyengar
Iyengar
Iyengar or Ayyangar is a caste given to Hindu Brahmins of Tamil origin who follow the Visishtadvaita philosophy propounded by Sri Ramanujacharya. They are found mostly in Tamil Nadu as they are generally native to the Tamil Nadu state of the Republic of India...
family. His parents were Sri Tirumalai Srivinasa Tattacharya, a well-known teacher of the Vedas
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
, and Shrimati Ranganayakamma. He was the eldest with two brothers and three sisters. At the age of six, he underwent upanayana
Upanayana
Upanayana is the initiation ritual by which initiates are invested with a sacred thread, to symbolize the transference of spiritual knowledge .- Significance of the sacred thread :...
. He then began learning to speak and write Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
, texts such as the Amarakosha
Amarakosha
The Amarakosha from amara "immortal" and kosha "treasure, casket, pail, collection, dictionary", also Namalinganushasana from nama-linga-anu-shasana "instruction concerning nouns and gender") is a thesaurus of Sanskrit written by the Jain or Buddhist scholar Amarasimha...
and to chant the Vedas under the strict tutelage of his father.
Unfortunately at the age of ten, Krishnamacharya lost his father, and the family had to move to Mysore, the second largest city in [Karnataka], where Krishnamcharya's great-grandfather H.H. Sri Srinivasa Brahmatantra Parakala Swami acted as the head of the Parakala Mutt
Parakala Mutt
The Bramhatantra Parakala Mutt is an ancient Hindu Monastic order established in South India. It was the first monastery of the Sri Vaishnava sect of Brahmin Hindu society....
. In Mysore, Krishnamacharya began a more formal schooling at the Chamaraj Sanskrit College and in the Maṭha. He made a practice of debating on the subjects of the Shastra
Shastra
' is a Sanskrit term used to denote rules in a general sense. The word is generally used as a suffix in the context of technical or specialized knowledge in a defined area of practice; e.g., Bhautika Shastra , Rasayana Shastra , Jeeva Shastra , Vastu Shastra , Shilpa Shastra , Artha Shastra ' is a...
s with the professors and visiting Pandits. He passed his Vidvan
Vidwan
A vidwan is a person who has vidya of a particular science or art. This term is usually used for Indian Classical Musicians to denote their scholarship and experience in performing classical music concerts. Vidwan may also be referred to as a doctorate in layman's terms....
examination in Mysore, where he had studied Vyakarana
Vyakarana
The Sanskrit grammatical tradition of ' is one of the six Vedanga disciplines. It has its roots in late Vedic India, and includes the famous work, The Sanskrit grammatical tradition of ' is one of the six Vedanga disciplines. It has its roots in late Vedic India, and includes the famous work, ...
, vedanta
Vedanta
Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...
, and tarka
Indian logic
The development of Indian logic dates back to the anviksiki of Medhatithi Gautama the Sanskrit grammar rules of Pāṇini ; the Vaisheshika school's analysis of atomism ; the analysis of inference by Gotama , founder of the Nyaya school of Hindu philosophy; and the tetralemma of Nagarjuna...
.
At the age of sixteen, Krishnamacharya had a strange dream in which his ancestor, the legendary yogi and Sri Vaishnava
Sri Sampradaya
Sri Sampradaya or Sri Vaishnavism is a Vaishnava sect within Hinduism. Its origin and codification is generally traced back to Sri, Mahalakshmi eternal consort of Lord Vishnu. Around the 10th century when a collection of the devotional hymns and songs by Alvars was organized by Sri Nathamuni, who...
saint Nathamuni
Nathamuni
Nathamuni was a Tamil Vaishnava scholar who founded the Sri Vaishnava tradition.According to Sri Vaishnava history, Acharya Shriman Nathamunigal was born at Veera Narayana Puram near Kattumannarkoil...
directed him to go to the town of Alvar Tirunagari
Alwarthirunagiri
Alwarthirunagiri is a panchayat town in Thoothukudi district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.It is next to Srivaikuntam on the Tirunelveli - Tiruchendur Highway, Tamil Nadu, southern India. It's about 31 km from Tirunelveli and 29 km from Tiruchendur, on the banks of the river...
, in the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
. Krishnamacharya obeyed the dream and traveled there. As he later told, when he arrived at his destination, he fell into trance and found himself in the presence of three sages. He requested them to instruct him in the Yoga Rahasya, a long lost yogic treatise by Nathamuni. One of the sages, whom he later identified as Nathamuni himself, started to recite the text. When Krishnamacharya later woke up from the trance, he could recall every single verse of this legendary treatise lost long ago.
Scholastic Education
Krishnamacharya spent much of his youth traveling through India studying the six darśanaHindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy is divided into six schools of thought, or , which accept the Vedas as supreme revealed scriptures. Three other schools do not accept the Vedas as authoritative...
or Indian philosophies: vaiśeṣika
Vaisheshika
Vaisheshika or ' is one of the six Hindu schools of philosophy of India. Historically, it has been closely associated with the Hindu school of logic, Nyaya....
, nyāya
Nyaya
' is the name given to one of the six orthodox or astika schools of Hindu philosophy—specifically the school of logic...
, sāṃkhya
Samkhya
Samkhya, also Sankhya, Sāṃkhya, or Sāṅkhya is one of the six schools of Hindu philosophy and classical Indian philosophy. Sage Kapila is traditionally considered as the founder of the Samkhya school, although no historical verification is possible...
, yoga
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...
, mīmāṃsā
Mimamsa
' , a Sanskrit word meaning "investigation" , is the name of an astika school of Hindu philosophy whose primary enquiry is into the nature of dharma based on close hermeneutics of the Vedas...
and vedānta
Vedanta
Vedānta was originally a word used in Hindu philosophy as a synonym for that part of the Veda texts known also as the Upanishads. The name is a morphophonological form of Veda-anta = "Veda-end" = "the appendix to the Vedic hymns." It is also speculated that "Vedānta" means "the purpose or goal...
. In 1906, at the age of eighteen, Krishnamacharya left Mysore to attend at the university of Benares
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
, a city of hundreds of temples also known as Vārāṇasī. While at the university, he focused his studies on logic and Sanskrit, working with Brahmashri Shivakumar Shastry, "one of the greatest grammarians of the age". He also learnt the Mimamsa from Brahmasri Trilinga Rama Shastri. He learned tarka from Vamacarana Bhattacharya. He also forged a strong friendship with the head of Kāśi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
Sanskrit Vidyā Pīṭha
Government Sanskrit College , Varanasi
Government Sanskrit College was the first college in Benares. Established in 1791, it was a landmark college in India from where several notable teachers emerged. In 1958 it merged with Sampurnanand Sanskrit University.-History:...
, Mahāmahopādhyāya Gaṅgānāth Jhā
Ganganath Jha
Sir Gaṅgānāth Jhā was an eminent scholar of Sanskrit, Indian Philosophy, Buddhist Philosophy and paṇḍit of Nyāya-Śāstra.-Early life:...
.
After leaving the Benares, in 1909 he returned to Mysore and studied vedānta with the new pontiff of Parakāla Maṭha, H. H. Sri Krishna Brahmatantra. During this period he learned to play the vīṇā
Veena
Veena may refer to one of several Indian plucked instruments:With frets*Rudra veena, plucked string instrument used in Hindustani music*Saraswati veena, plucked string instrument used in Carnatic musicFretless...
, one of the most ancient stringed instruments in India. Besides Maṭha, Krishnamacharya also studied at the University of Mysore.
In 1914 he once again left for Benares to attend classes at Queens College, where he eventually earned a number of teaching certificates. During the first year he had little or no financial support from his family so in order to eat he followed the rules that were laid down for religious beggars: only approaching seven households each day and offering a prayer "in return for wheat flour to mix with water for cakes". Krishnamacharya eventually left Queens College to study the ṣaḍdarśana (six darshanas) in Vedic philosophy at Patna University. He also got a scholarship to study Ayurveda under Vaidya Krishnakumar of Bengal.
He was invited to the coronation of the Rajah of Dikkanghat (a principality within Darbhanga
Darbhanga
Darbhangā is a twin city and a municipal corporation and the capital city of the Darbhanga district and Darbhanga Division in the state of Bihar, India. It is one of the most important districts of North Bihar situated in the very heart of Mithilanchal. According to the latest 2011 census, the...
), defeated a scholar called Bihari Lal in a debate; and received rewards and honors from the Raja. His stay in Kāśi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
lasted 11 years.
Education in Yoga
During all this time Krishnamacharya continued to practice the yoga that his father had taught him as a young boy. Krishnamacharya had also learnt Yoga from shri Babu Bhagwan Das, and passed the Sankhya Yoga Examination of Patna. Many of his instructors recognized his abilities in this area and supported his progress and asked that he teach their children. During his vacation time he would take pilgrimages into the HimalayasHimalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. At the suggestion of Gaṅgānāth Jhā, he decided to find Yogeshwara Ramamohan Brahmachari, a yoga teacher rumored to live in the mountains beyond Nepal. He had to obtain the permission of the Viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
, Lord Irwin; who was then suffering from diabetes. At the request of the Viceroy, he travelled to Simla and taught him yogic practices for six months. The viceroy developed respect and affection for him, and made all arrangements for his travel to Tibet in 1919; supplying three aides and taking care of the expenses.
Eventually, after two and a half months of walking, Krishnamacharya found Sri Brahmachari’s school which consisted of a cave at the foot of Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash is a peak in the Gangdisê Mountains, which are part of the Himalayas in Tibet...
. Ramamohana Brahmachari was a family man, and Gaṅgānātha Jhā had written to him earlier. He spent seven and a half years studying the “Yoga Sūtras
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali are 194 Indian sūtras that constitute the foundational text of Rāja Yoga. Yoga is one of the six orthodox āstika schools of Hindu philosophy, and Rāja Yoga is the highest practice....
of Patañjali
Patañjali
Patañjali is the compiler of the Yoga Sūtras, an important collection of aphorisms on Yoga practice. According to tradition, the same Patañjali was also the author of the Mahābhāṣya, a commentary on Kātyāyana's vārttikas on Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyī as well as an unspecified work of medicine .In...
, learning āsanas
Asana
Asana is a body position, typically associated with the practice of Yoga, originally identified as a mastery of sitting still, with the spine as a conduit of biodynamic union...
and prāṇāyāma
Pranayama
Pranayama is a Sanskrit word meaning "extension of the prana or breath" or more accurately, "extension of the life force". The word is composed of two Sanskrit words, Prāna, life force, or vital energy, particularly, the breath, and "āyāma", to extend, draw out, restrain, or...
, and studying the therapeutic aspects of yoga”. He was made to memorize the whole of the Yoga Kuruntha in the Gurkha language. As tradition holds, at the end of his studies with Sri Ramamohan, Krishnamacharya asked what payment would be – Ramamohan responded that Krishnamacharya was to "take a wife, raise children and be a teacher of Yoga".
He then returned to Vārāṇasī
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
. Mahārāja of Jaipur called him to serve as principal of the Vidyā Śālā in Jaipur; but as he did not like being answerable to many people, he again returned to Vārāṇasī shortly. Impressed with his mastery, Amarnātha Jhā, the son of Gaṅgānāth Jhā, introduced him to various monarchs and he was widely honoured. In accordance with his Guru's wishes that he should live a life of a householder - he married Namagiriammal in 1925.
Yogashala in Mysore
The Maharaja of MysoreMaharaja of Mysore
Maharaja of Mysore was the principal title of the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in India.The Wodeyar dynasty founded a feudatory principality in 1399, which grew into the Kingdom of Mysore...
, Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV
Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV
Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV , also known popularly as Nalvadi Krishna Raja Wadiyar , was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Mysore from 1902 until his death in 1940. He is regarded as one of the most celebrated rulers among the Indian States when India was still under British rule...
was in Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
to celebrate the 60th birthday of his mother. The Maharaja was impressed by the young man's demeanor, authority and scholarship. In 1924 he was asked by the Maharaja, a man who looked to yoga to help cure his many ailments, to open a yoga school where he taught until 1955. The Maharajah was so impressed with Krishnamacharya that he was hired to teach the royal family and given the wing of a nearby palace to start the Yogashala or yoga school. At the Maharaja's request, he wrote several books including Yoga Makaranda, Yoganjali, and Yogasanalu.
Unwilling to fall under the obligation of the Maharaja, Krishnamacharya was forced to take a job as a foreman at a coffee plantation. Krishnamacharya held many demonstrations to stimulate popular interest in the subject. These included suspending his pulse, stopping cars with his bare hands, performing difficult asanas, and lifting heavy objects with his teeth.
Because many of his students at this point in his life were active boys he developed a vigorous style of yoga aimed at building strength and stamina that is known today as the popular Ashtanga (Vinyasa) Yoga
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga
Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga or Ashtanga Yoga is a system of yoga popularized by K. Pattabhi Jois, and which is often promoted as a modern-day form of classical Indian yoga...
. He soon became a trusted advisor of the Maharajah as well as a sought after yoga instructor and healer.
Upon his return to Southern India, he went on to study Ayurveda
Ayurveda
Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...
, the traditional medical practice of India, as well as Nyaya
Nyaya
' is the name given to one of the six orthodox or astika schools of Hindu philosophy—specifically the school of logic...
, a school of Indian philosophy
Hindu philosophy
Hindu philosophy is divided into six schools of thought, or , which accept the Vedas as supreme revealed scriptures. Three other schools do not accept the Vedas as authoritative...
concerned with logic
Logic
In philosophy, Logic is the formal systematic study of the principles of valid inference and correct reasoning. Logic is used in most intellectual activities, but is studied primarily in the disciplines of philosophy, mathematics, semantics, and computer science...
and epistemology. After winning its independence from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
one of the first acts of the new Indian political establishments was to dethrone the Maharaja ending the long reign of support that Krishnamacharya received from the ruler. By this time Krishnaraja Wadiyar had died and his nephew, Jayachamaraja Wadiyar had become Maharaja. The chief minister, K.C. Reddy, ordered the school to be closed within three months.
Chennai Years
After leaving Mysore Krishnamacharya moved to BangaloreBangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
for two years and then was invited to relocate to Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
, the fourth largest city in India, by a well known lawyer who sought his help in healing from a stroke. Now in his sixties, Krishnamacharya’s reputation for being a strict and intimidating teacher mellowed: although he was still considered strict concerning his practice and teaching, he showed a more gentle compassionate side. Although many considered him a Yoga Master he continued to call himself a student because he felt that he was always “studying, exploring and experimenting” with the practice.
At the age of 96, he slipped on a damp stone while checking the mail, and fractured his hip. Refusing surgery, he treated himself and designed a course of practice that he could do in bed. Krishnamacharya lived and taught in Chennai until he slipped into a coma and died in 1989 at one hundred years of age. His cognitive faculties remained sharp until his death; and he continued to teach and heal when the situation arose.
Approach to Healing
Krishnamacharya “believed Yoga to be India’s greatest gift to the world” – although many people approach it as a spiritual practice he also incorporated a great deal of physical healing because it is difficult for a person to grow if they have a great deal of discomfort from illness. Through the teachings Krishnamacharya received from his father and other instructors he realized that every person is “absolutely unique” and he felt that the most important part of teaching yoga was that the student must be “taught according to his or her individual capacity at any given time”. This means that the path of yoga will mean different things for different people and each person must be taught in a manner that they understand clearly. Because of this individualized approach, it is impossible to explain Krishnamacharya’s process of teaching in full.Krishnamacharya was not only a yoga instructor, he was also considered a physician of Ayurvedic medicine and “possessed enormous knowledge of nutrition, herbal medicine, the use of oils, and other remedies”. This gave him the ability to approach an individual’s problem in a well-informed manner. When he began working with a person he would conduct a very detailed examination to determine the most efficient path to take. He would take the persons pulse, examine the color of the skin, listen to the quality of the breath, among many other things. During the time of diagnosis, Krishnamacharya would look for what “upset or hindered the harmonious union of the body, mind, and spirit” – even though a disease is focused in a particular area, he knew that it would affect many other systems in the body, both mental and physical. At some point during or after the initial examination, he would eventually ask the person, if he or she will be able to follow his guidance. This question was asked because he knew that if the person could not trust him fully there was little chance of being healed. If the answer was “yes” the “healing relationship would begin” but if the person showed hesitation he would send him or her away.
Once a person began seeing Krishnamacharya, he would work with him or her on a number of levels including adjusting their diet; creating herbal medicines; and setting up a series of yoga postures that would be most beneficial. When instructing a person on the practice of yoga, Krishnamacharya particularly stressed the importance of combining breath work (pranayama
Pranayama
Pranayama is a Sanskrit word meaning "extension of the prana or breath" or more accurately, "extension of the life force". The word is composed of two Sanskrit words, Prāna, life force, or vital energy, particularly, the breath, and "āyāma", to extend, draw out, restrain, or...
) with the postures (asanas) of yoga and meditation
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
(dhyana
Dhyana in Hinduism
According to the Hindu Yoga Sutra, written by Patanjali, dhyana is one of the eight limbs of Yoga, ....
) to reach the desired goal. He would continue to see the person approximately once a week to monitor the progress until he or she was healed.
Approach to Yoga
Krishnamacharya was known to be able to voluntarily stop his visible heart beat/ pulse for over two minutes, probably by drastically reducing venous return to the heart.Krishnamacharya taught Yoga to people of all religions. He always took time to understand the religion and the culture of the people he taught. For example, when he was invited to teach the Nizam of Hyderabad, he spoke to him in Urdu. The Nizam was so impressed that his entire family practiced Yoga.
K. Pattabhi Jois and BKS Iyengar teach based on their own experiences with Krishnamacharya in the 1930s in Mysore, when they were both young men; their styles are reflective of yoga that is appropriate to younger students and thus heavily emphasise asana
Asana
Asana is a body position, typically associated with the practice of Yoga, originally identified as a mastery of sitting still, with the spine as a conduit of biodynamic union...
practice. However, teachers such as T.K.V. Desikachar, A. G. Mohan and Srivatsa Ramaswami teach a broader part of Krishnamacharya's teachings, noting that yoga is more than just asana and must be tuned to the student, taking account of health, energy, physique, gender, place and age.
Accomplishment as a scholar
Krishnamacharya was also well regarded as a scholar; he was twice offered the position of an important Acharya in the Srivaishnava sampradaya, but he declined in order to stay with his family.He also had excellent knowledge of orthodox Hindu rituals. In fact, the current seer of the Parakala Mutt
Parakala Mutt
The Bramhatantra Parakala Mutt is an ancient Hindu Monastic order established in South India. It was the first monastery of the Sri Vaishnava sect of Brahmin Hindu society....
underwent Upanayana
Upanayana
Upanayana is the initiation ritual by which initiates are invested with a sacred thread, to symbolize the transference of spiritual knowledge .- Significance of the sacred thread :...
under his supervision.
Due to his great scholarship in various darshanas of orthodox Hindu philosophy, he was acquired titles such as Sāṃkhya-yoga-śikhāmaṇi, Mīmāṃsā-ratna, Mīmāṃsā-thīrtha, Nyāyācārya, Vedāntavāgīśa, Veda-kesari and Yogācārya.
Legacy
Although his knowledge and teaching has influenced yogaYoga
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...
throughout the world, Krishnamacharya never left his native India over the course of his life. As Yoga Journal described in an article entitled, "The Legacy of 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 B.K.S. Iyengar, the classical postures of Indra Devi, or the customized vinyasa of Viniyoga, 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." By developing and refining different approaches, Krishnamacharya made yoga accessible to millions around the world.
Although Krishnamacharya stressed that the most important Yoga texts were the traditional Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
Yoga Sutras of Patanjali
The Yoga Sūtras of Patañjali are 194 Indian sūtras that constitute the foundational text of Rāja Yoga. Yoga is one of the six orthodox āstika schools of Hindu philosophy, and Rāja Yoga is the highest practice....
, Nathamuni
Nathamuni
Nathamuni was a Tamil Vaishnava scholar who founded the Sri Vaishnava tradition.According to Sri Vaishnava history, Acharya Shriman Nathamunigal was born at Veera Narayana Puram near Kattumannarkoil...
’s Yoga Rahasya and the Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
(from the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
), his greatest strength was the ability to take the ancient teaching of yoga and Indian philosophy and combine them within a modern day framework.
Works of Krishnamacharya
Books on yoga:- Yoga Makaranda
- Yogaasanagalu
- Yoga Rahasya
- Yogavalli
Other works (essays and poetic compositions):
- “Yogaanjalisaaram”
- “Disciplines of Yoga”
- “Effect of Yoga Practice”
- “Importance of Food and Yoga in Maintaining Health”
- “Verses on Methods of Yoga Practice”
- “Essay on Asana and Pranayama”
- “Madhumeha (Diabetes)”
- “Why Yoga as a Therapy Is Not Rising”
- “Bhagavad Gita as a Health Science”
- “Ayurveda and Yoga: An Introduction”
- “Questions and Answers on Yoga” (with students in July 1973)
- “Yoga: The Best Way to Remove Laziness”
- “Dhyana (Meditation) in Verses”
- “What Is a Sutra?”
- “Kundalini: Essay on What Kundalini Is and Kundalini Arousal (sakti calana) Based on Texts Like the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Gheranda Samhita, and Yoga Yajnavalkya”
- “Extracts from Raja Yoga Ratnakara”
- “Need for a Teacher”
- “Satvika Marga” (“The Sattvic Way”; philosophy/spiritual/yoga)
- “Reference in Vedas to Support Vedic Chanting for Women” (philosophy/technical)
- “Fourteen Important Dharmas” (philosophy)
- “Cit Acit Tatva Mimamsa” (philosophy)
- “Sandhya-saaram” (ritual) “Catushloki” (four verses on Sankaracharya)
- “Kumbhakonam Address” (catalog) “Sixteen Samskaras” (rituals)
- “Mantra Padartha Tatva Nirnaya” (rituals)
- “Ahnika Bhaskaram” (rituals)
- “Shastreeya Yajnam” (rituals)
- “Vivaaha” (marriage rituals)
- “Asparsha Pariharam” (rituals)
- “Videsavaasi Upakarma Nirnaya” (rituals)
- “Sudarshana Dundubhi” (devotional)
- “Bhagavat Prasadam” (devotional)
- “Narayana Paratva” (devotional)
- “About Madras” (miscellaneous)