‘Desikachar taught yoga without religious bias’

If his father, the late Sri T Krishanamachary, was considered the ‘Father of Modern Yoga’, Sri Desikachar was the torchbearer for his father’s work. He lived with his father till this legend breathed his last at the age of 100, having imbibed from him all the nuances of yoga. 

Sri Desikachar revolutionised yoga by removing the shackles of rigidity in its practice. His approach was called ‘ViniYoga’, and it was based on the principle that the student need not suit the yoga, but the yoga should be suitable for the student. He firmly believed that it was a personal practice and must be taught individually, taking into consideration the  age, health, job and other specifications of the student. This was a win-win situation as it made the practice safe for the student, yet challenging for the teacher. He later gave up the label of ‘ViniYoga’ because it was misused after being taken to be ‘Miniyoga’ — which it is not. 

Sri Desikachar was a storehouse of stories and parables. He could reduce the complicated ideas contained in Patanjali’s Yogasutras to a nutshell, using a story appropriately so that even a 10-year-old could understand and appreciate the philosophy. This made him a master of this vital text. Once one had attended his class one could not think of staying away from any. 

He also taught yoga without religious bias; he truly believed that it was a universal spiritual practice. He felt that spiritualism could not be taught nor forced on anyone — “Let us sow the seed of spiritualism, create the necessary conditions for it to germinate, and see what happens,” he said. 

His true nature can be learnt from the following incident. We were selecting candidates for a PG Diploma course in Yoga at our institute, Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram. There was a candidate who was highly educated and believed that he knew everything. Some members of the committee felt that he was too rigid and not suitable for the course, which bore a semblance to the Gurukula style. Sri Desikachar heard both sides of the argument, then said,  “You say that he will not bend. That is our job: to make people flexible and make them touch their toes. I want him first on the list.” That sums up the spirit of his work.

The writer is  former director of yoga studies, KYM, and founder of Yoga Rakshanam