The Guru – Disciple Tradition
Lecture given on 12th July 1987 - Guru Purnima Celebration
Ramamani Iyengar memorial Institute, Pune
by Geeta S. Iyengar.
Excerpt from 70 Glorious Year of Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar – (Commemoration Volume)
Gu is darkness and Ru is light. Guru is the one who leads us from darkness to light. He is the one who shows the light, who shows the path. The Guru is the one who opens the eyes of awareness of the shishya – the pupil.
Light is always there, but it is covered by darkness. Jnana (knowledge) is always there, but Ajnana (ignorance) covers it. The Guru comes to the rescue of the shishya to help remove the veil over Jnana. The Guru is the one who uplifts this shishya, purifies and clears the pupils intellect so that it may reveal the truth.
Modern thinkers always confuse people, declaring that a Guru is not needed at all. But paradoxically, when they say that, they are themselves acting as Gurus, advising others to renounce their Gurus. Though it is true that the Sadhaka has to tread the spiritual path to self-realisation alone, the Guru is essential to show the right path, and to safeguard the pupil while he follows it.
The Guru is essential for a pupil who has little or no knowledge, energy, or feeling – the pupil is often like a stone. A Guru exposes his or her weaknesses for them to see and feel. He evokes the wish to root out ignorance and opens new avenues of intelligence. This is called Prajna-Jagriti. Awakening awareness is intelligence, the Guru awakens this Prajna, this knowledge that is hidden in the envelope of ignorance in the pupil. The Guru uncovers it at the right moment so that the wisdom comes and the light dawns. The Guru enriches the pupils Prajna and makes every effort to uplift the pupil. The curiosity that he kindles awakens the pupils potential will, the will to know. The Guru pours his potential energy into this curiosity as one adds fuel to a fire.…
…Children used to be sent to the Gurukula for their education at the age of seven. They would stay with the Guru at his home and study the scriptures, art, and so on. Education was given in the house of a teacher. A pupil staying in a Gurukula was called an Antevasin, and learnt from the Guru by being near him. Unfortunately, we, have lost this method, and that is why the standard of education and intelligence has declined.
Geeta Iyengar and her father B.K.S.Iyengar
Our Guruji was lucky, as you know, since he was taught yoga in Mysore by his Guru, Sri T. Krishnamacharya, who lived in Madras. Being a brother-in-law of Guruji, he performed Guruji’s thread ceremony, which is a very important samskara – a sacred and sanctifying ceremony. It was considered to be a second birth, through which the Guru leads their shishya from darkness to light by giving him the Gayatri-Japa. It was a very significant and highly traditional religious initiation, which began the Brahmopadesham (instructions on Brahma). In Guruji’s case, his Guru sowed the seed of Yoga in him, which grew into a gigantic tree. It so happened that one of the senior pupils of Guru T. Krishnamacharya, named Keshhavamurthy, ran away and Guru chose our Guruji as a yoga teacher in the Yogashala, the place given by the king of Mysore for teaching yoga.
Guruji learn very little from his Guru, yet the Guru-Anugraha did not fail. Anugraha is the blessing by which the Guru passes on the knowledge without any direct contact or instruction. In fact I would say that the Guru’s indifference enlightened Guruji all the more, because he was not spoon fed.
Sometimes Guruji says in class that he was not taught much by his Guru, which is true. This suggests that their relationship was not fulfilling, but in fact Guruji was so devoted to his Guru that he used to prostrate himself 108 times in front of his photo. I was not born then, but my mother told me about it. Perhapes it is this Bhakti and Shraddha, devotion and faith, that have led him to such a high peak.
Now, some clarification is needed here about Guruji’s method; It is not his alone, but has some Parampara. It is considered a tough method, and people call it painful or vigorous because what it requires is 100% perspiration. What it actually requires is 100% involvement. Discipline and alertness is what Guruji demands, so he seems stern, but it is only what he has imbibed from his Guru, T. Krishnamacharya, and he from his Guru. Iyengar teachers are thought of as strict; I would say that it has come down as a Parampara.
B.K.S. Iyengar with his Guru Tirumalai Krishnamacharya
You will be interested to hear about Guru T. Krishnamacharya’s Guru, as told to me in 1961, when Guru T. Krishnamacharya came to Pune and used to tell us stories about him.
Guruji’s Guru T. Krishnamacharya, learnt yoga somewhere in the Himalayas in Nepal, from his Guru, Rama Mohan Brahmachari. He was a family man and a very strict teacher. He used to wake Guru T. Krishnamacharya and ask him to do asanas in the middle of the night. Sometimes he would give him lots of sweets to eat, or ghee (clarified butter) to drink, and then ask him to do asanas. He spoke in Hindi, which is why Guruji’s Guru knows the language well. In his high-pitched voice, Guru Rama Mohan Brahmachari used to order his pupil, ”Now do means do!” There was no argument. Similarly in his turn Guru T. Krishnamacharya used to demand discipline and practice, and he would suddenly ask Guruji to do asanas he had not been taught. This sudden demand made their Prakriti (nature) supply abundant energy, which one cannot even imagine. Guru T. Krishnamacharya’s method mellowed with age, but as he often told us, he himself had a tremendous struggle to learn Yoga.
The Gurus in those days were very strict, and their pupils obeyed them without question. If you look in the Prasnopanishad, you will find that each pupil serving at the Gurukula would not even ask a question unless the Guru Pippalada told him to. That was how It used to be. They had to wait a long time for such an opportunity, because the Guru himself used to clarified doubts at the right time, when the pupil was ready. You find open discussions in the Upanishads when the pupils have the capacity to take part in them, and they are quite friendly affairs: “Acharyaha Suhrida Bhutva Achasthe” – The Acharya becomes friendly when he finds the pupil is devoted. That is why disciples in the Upanishads used to serve the Guru, and this is how the relationship between Guru and Shishya was strengthened at the right time.
Guruji has imbibed strictness, seriousness, sincerity, discipline, and capacity for hard work from his Guru alone. Our Guruji is strict, but not rigid. His strictness is simply for the sake of discipline; it is not meant to harm anyone; he never misuses it. Due to the strict training from Guru T. Krishnamacharya, Guruji developed a good scientific method to give us. His methodology is now a well-organized and ready-made programme for anyone and everyone.
The old film of Guruji, taking in 1938 or so, shows an illogical sequence of asanas. The asanas are not at all interconnected as far as the anatomy and physiology of the body is concerned, and Guruji has worked a lot on this. He evolved the sequence of asanas categorized them according to anatomical structure, psychological functioning and psychological effect, so that they could bring the expected changes in the body and mind and in the spiritual search for realisation.
The method of our Guru T. Krishnamacharya was a hard one. He used to stand on pupil’s stomachs when they were doing Urdhva Dhanurasana and Kapotasana etc. Some time ago he told us that his Guru, Rama Mohan Brahmachari, used to keep heavy weights on the legs and ask him to lift his legs in Mayurasana. He used to ask him to climb a mountain and then do Pranayama. This was the method in those days to test the willpower of a pupil to continue the tapas. This harsh method taught him to think in a new way. The main thing he did was to reform it and refine it without losing the link with tradition. Thank goodness Guruji did not give up practicing when he faced those tough techniques. His inner Guru guided him to continue the Sadhana and as a result we all have benefited.
Guruji evolve the method; he brought changes. He realized that attempting certain asanas suddenly without preparation can harm the body and the mind too. So he evolved the sequences of asanas scientifically. Many doctors agree with the principles. He developed a progressive approach from simple to difficult and complicated asanas. He categorisedthem by their effects, as being purifying, pacifying, stimulative, nourishing, or cleansing. He made the practice of asana’s rhythmic and balanced without forsaking tradition. His Guru taught that the asanas should be done with quick movements. Guruji developed this further, introducing proper linking. This brisk movement, jumping from one asana to another, awakened the artist in Guruji. He had always wanted to become a dancer, and has once even approach Udayshankar, a great dancer of the time, with that in mind.
In 1961 Guru T. Krishnamacharya came to Pune, together with his third son. He gave lectures on Yoga in general and a series of lectures on Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras too, and his son and I used to give demonstrations. I noticed that he would ask us to do any asana, in no predictable order. We could not guess which asana was coming. There was no connection, but I quietly did what he said. For me, giving demonstrations was a new experience at the time, but later, when I started giving demonstrations with my father, I realized the vast difference in the approach.
Guruji is a born artist. That is why he can guide us in his chosen art. Even now he can guide musicians, instrumentalist, singers and dancers towards improving their art through Yoga. To give a Yoga demonstration is also an art; if it were not, no one would appreciate this dry subject. There is a grace, a rhythmic tempo, a slow evolution in Guruji’s presentation. He will do the asanas fast when they demand vigorous movement, and do them slowly when they demand grace. He will do them swiftly when they demand attention. He will interconnect the asanas, keeping to the scientific base, such as spinal movements, physiological and organic effects.
In his demonstrations, the running commentary he gives is something unusual. Spectators are held spell-bound. He spins the asanas, maintaining their individuality. The demonstration with commentary with commentary is a suburb combination of yogic philosophy, elaboration of the utility of asanas and their effects, the intricacies of them, and comparisons with other Yoga schools. Why am I saying this? Because it is the duty of Guruji’s pupils to maintain this method and preserve this art. Let us not forget it. Guruji’s art of presentation is totally original. Even if somebody tries to imitate it, the credit goes to Guruji, as he was the first man to do it. Swami Shivananda of Rishikesh called him ‘Yogi Matsyendranath’ after seeing his demonstration.
When Guru T. Krishnamacharya was in Pune one day in 1961, it happened that my cousin and I were practicing, preparing for a yoga demonstration. Guruji was there looking at us, as he had free time, which was unusual. As I was practicing, Guruji started explaining the points in each asana, correcting it, improving it, giving the clues leading towards precision and perfection. Guruji’s Guru was observing his explanations. Afterwards he went to my mother and praised my father for his precision. He appreciated the hard work that Guruji had put into the postures to improve them so much. The very next day, without telling anybody, he went to a goldsmith and asked him to make a gold medal with the inscription of Yogagan-Shikshak-Chakrvarti engraved upon it, meaning ’Emperor of Teachers of Yoga’. Guruji was presented with it at a specially arranged public function. It was a golden day in his life, a Guru praising a pupil as ’Emperor’.
Guruji has not studied medical science, but even so he has helped many patients. He has worked on different diseases, including AIDS. A shadow-reader from Bombay once study Guruji’s shadow, according to the Surya-Samhita. He concluded that Guruji had been an Ayurvedic doctor in his previous life in Kashi (Banaras) near the Ganges. Though Guruji has not studied Ayurveda, his line of treatment is very close to it. You will find this topic elaborated in the new edition of Body the Shrine, Yoga Thy Light, re-titled Iyengar, His Life and Work. I will not go into the details now, because that needs a separate discussion all to itself. Today we are discussing Parampara.
I can only say one thing Guruji was able to develop the therapy side because of his own practice. He explained the Asanas and Pranayama, totally merging into them. While practicing, he felt his own circulation, his own inner organ’s, their capabilities, their movements, the breath, the energy throbbing, the involvement of the chitta. He felt the details of his body in mind and made his intelligence flow through both. Thanks to his hard work, his Sadhana, we his pupils, have actually come closer to our bodies, minds and intellects. He has given us a method whereby we can experience them subjectively.
How did Guruji think of taking patients with disabilities: polio, paralysis, atrophy and dystrophy etc? The idea struck him when he was going through the Hatha Yoga Pradipika.The Guru Matsyendranath picked up a pupil, Chourangi, who was lame. By a mere touch of Matsyendranath, Chourangi was cured. The example was enough for Guruji to work upon.Though he has no Siddhi, he was inspired by it. He has taken on many cases and improved them tremendously.
The method that Guruji followed was given him by his Guru, and though it was a hard and painful road, he did not give up or let it get him down. In fact, practicing asana and pranayama to the limit, and sometimes even over-doing it in the early stages, made him understand the students’ capacities. That is why he can point out exactly what is over stretching and what is understretching; what has to be done and what has to be avoided. He thought of the various props and aids when he went through this painful process, though he himself practiced without any supports. The props are intended to produce in the body the full effects of asana and pranayama when a person is unable to do the full practice. Though Guruji invented the props, this method was already known in a crude form. Guru T. Krishnamacharya had a unique manuscript book called Yoga Kuranta. The clues it contained were enough for Guruji to develop the idea further.
Twenty years ago, when this institute did not exist, we lived in a small house with two rooms. When he was teaching, Guruji would often ask my mother for certain household things like a grinding stone, a chapatti-roller, wooden planks and stone hand-mill, pillow, mattresses, and so on. My mother used to wonder what my father was doing. He used all these props on patients, to make different parts of the body function properly. The experiments evolved, and now we have props which are sophisticated and accurate. He used to use Chambers’ thick, heavy dictionary in Pranayama to open the chest, and we now have specially shaped pillows and slanting boxes for heart patients. All the props are his invention, thought up for the sake of his pupils. He proved to be a great scientist, so that even doctors wondered about his highly sensitive, imaginative power. Guruji’s approach and various methods are a precious gift to humanity.
Guruji has also considered women’s problems. Sometime ago, Yoga was prohibited for woman by some Yoga teachers, but Guru T. Krishnamacharya was always for it. He used to insist in public lectures that ladies should take up Yoga. As a further step, Guruji laid down a scientific and systematic program for women in menstruation and pregnancy, as well as after delivery. Here lies his originality. Many women were unaware 25 years ago that certain asanas and pranayama could be done during menstruation. It is all Guruji’s discovery and nobody else can claim it.
Never forget that our Guruji was the first to introduce Yoga in schools for children. He was often criticized in the 1930s and 40s by Swami Kuvalayananda of Lonavalia, but Guruji never conceded the argument. Now the government is thinking about Yoga, discussing a syllabus and doing a lot of paperwork. But Guruji worked all this out long ago. He knows exactly what asana to give to children of different age groups. He wants them to develop speed, skill, balance, enthusiasm, courage, discipline, physical and mental health, alertness, oneness with the work they do, and attention. It is a unique method. If not today, then in a few years time, people will realize it; I am sure they will be forced to adopt it because there will be no successful alternative...
Swadhyaya Pravachanachyam Na Pramaditavyam
Swadhyaya indicates studying by oneself. The Guru asks the pupil to be a student forever; never to miss one’s lesson or practice. Then Pravachana indicates imparting the knowledge to others. Here it is the teaching. It is a double responsibility. Even if you become a Guru, a teacher, you are not supposed to give up your practice.
Whatever has been taught by the Guru, do it. That will guide you. It is a duty of every pupil to preserve and protect this tradition. The same Upanishads says ’Acharyam Ptiyam Dhanam Ahritya Prajatantum ma Vyavachchetsihi’ – ‘After presenting gifts pleasing to the teacher, take care that the thread of your lineage does not break.’
After all, what does the Guru want from you? It is the knowledge (vidya), the art that he has given you. In return he wants moral, ethical, honest and religious practice as a gift. He wants you to preserve the art. Why does he say, do not break the lineage? So that you can transfer the knowledge to the next generation.
Never compete with a Guru. On the contray, when you get closer to the Guru, or when you are almost equal to your Guru, The Upanishads says:
Here, the Guru and Shishya both pray together.
May Brahma protect us both.
May both enjoy the Brahmananda.
May we both work together.
May we not hate each other.
Om shanty shanti shanti
Peace peace peace
Sri Krishna Pana mastu
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Lastly, I have observed the teacher training that is going on here with both Abhijata and Rajlaxmir. Their trainees are doing really well. In every class that their particular mentor teaches, they quietly move around the room adjusting us all with such firm but sensitive hands. Many of the trainees are young with other jobs as well, but they are always there when their mentor conducts a class and they also often spend practice times together.