Tag Archives: Desikachar

Visit the Theosophical Society in Chennai

The most important world headquarters of Theosophical Society worldwide was designed to facilitate and encourage Comparative Religious Studies, as well as Philosophy and Science and rational thinking.

The Society is located on the magnificent wild banks of the river Adyar. Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott founded the Society in the United States; in 1882 it moved to Adyar.

Apart from the remains of the different faiths and beliefs and the peaceful Commemoration Garden, there is a 95-year old Library with an excellent collection of rare oriental manuscripts written on palm leaves and parchment paper.

Timetable Closed on Telephone
10hOO – 12h0014h00 – 17h00 Sunday 2491 2904 / 2491 8431.
Theosophical Society, entrance

Theosophical Society, entrance

Sri Tirumalai Krishnamarcharya, one of the greatest masters of yoga (1888 – 1988)

Sri T. Krishnamacharya, one of the greatest masters of yoga, the light of his knowledge has profoundly influenced the whole world.

He has never left anyone indifferent. In the course of a life that would easily fill several ordinary lives, he had many extraordinary encounters. A descendant of the great priests serving at the temple of the Lord of the Seven Hills, who in turn were descendants of Nâthamuni, Sri Venkateshvara of Tirumalai, this teacher had been promised an exceptional destiny at his birth. Nothing commonplace could happen to him.

Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya was born on 18 November 1888, the eldest of six children (four boys and two girls).

His father, Sri Tirumalai Srinivasa Thathacharya, a great religious master teaching the knowledge of the holy books (the Vedas), takes charge of the child’s education with his wife Shrimati Ranganayakamma.

The young Krishnamacharya is gifted with great physical force, coupled with extraordinary temperament and intelligence. He also suffused with an intense ardour to know and… to know how.

Still an adolescent, Krishnamacharya sets off to discover his country, its sages, its scholars, its artists and its mystics.

An incredible journey is the life of this young man who will by and by discover, then master, the most varied disciplines, from close-quarters combat to astrology to Vedic rituals.

A well of sciences, fluent in seven languages, an eminent pundit, he will successively explore each of the classical viewpoints of Indian philosophical thought, obtaining the highest distinctions in the most celebrated traditional schools.

Benares, Varanasi, India in 1922

Benares, Varanasi, India in 1922

Varanasi

When he left for Benares for the first time, around the age of 18, he was fortunate to be instructed in certain secrets of Sanskrit grammar in the course of a single night by a sort of genius, Shivakumar Shâstri. Back in Mysore, he received an exhaustive three-year education in the philosophy of Vedânta by the director of Parakala Mutt, Brahmatantra Sri Krishna Brahmatantra Swâmi. Once again back to Benares, he found there a deeply enlightened tutor, Sri Vamacarana Bhattâchârya who, while teaching him philosophy, alsohelped him for years giving him advice on how to live his life.

The holy lake of Mânasarovar…

As advised by his tutor at the University of Patna, he then set off on foot for the Himalayas. By difficult paths and rope bridges over spanning torrents, he arrived at the foot of Kailash, the mythical mountain considered to be the abode of Shiva and the axis of the universe, and at the holy lake of Mânasarovar.

Yoga

He learns and practices intensively all the different aspects of yoga. Thus, in the second phase of his life, he will become one of the greatest (Maha) yogi (âcharya) of his time.

Maharaja of Mysore, painting

Maharaja of Mysore, painting

The maharajah of Mysore

In 1924, he is invited by the maharajah of Mysore who viened yoga as a help in treating his numerous physical ailments. He opened a yoga school in his palace in 1955.

He established himself in Mysore

He is already in his forties when he established himself in Mysore, in the South of India, there he marries the very young Srimati Namaginammal. She will give him six children, three boys and three girls.

Srimati Namaginammal wife of Krishnamacharya

Srimati Namaginammal wife of Krishnamacharya

Madras (Chennai)

When he established himself in Madras in the fifties, he once again had the opportunity to treat two men in very senior positions. Both suffered from paralysis: an eminent lawyer Sri T.R. Venkatarâma Shâstrî and Sir Alladi Krishnaswâmi Iyer, the celebrated jurist who had participated in the drafting of the Indian constitution. Both, causing him stay Madras, added themselves to the long list of crucial encounters that influenced the course of his life. (Extract of N° 24 of Viniyoga, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of Sri T. Krishnamacharya).

 

The legend of Yoga-Rahasya

Of the Yoga-Rahasya, an important work on yoga that had been lost for several centuries, only a few excerpts were known. Krishnamacharya declared having received the whole of this original teaching in a dream from the mouth of Sri Nâthamuni, this Vishnu saint who lived in the 9th century

It was not until 1965 that T. Krishnamacharya wrote the verses of Yoga Rahaysa down on paper.

The important concepts of this text are:

  • The importance of yoga for women
  • The yoga practices to follow during pregnancy
  • The adaptation of yoga to make it suitable for everyone in different stages of his life
  • Yoga is an essential therapeutic tool

It contains the main ideas of the teachings of Krishnamacharya on techniques such as āsana and Prāṇāyāma.

T.K.V. Deskachar & Shri Bhashyam

Two of their sons also became yoga instructors.

The elder one, T.K.V. Deskachar, lives in Madras, and manages an important yoga therapy centre – the Krisnamacharya Yoga Mandiram – officially recognized by the Health Ministry of Tamil Nadu.

Sri Bhashyam, his pupil, lives in Nice (France). He has married a Frenchwoman and teaches yoga mainly in France and Switzerland – Yogakshemam, a school teaching traditional Indian philosophy – Ayurveda and Yoga.

 Dissemination…

Compared to the occident, the dissemination of the teachings of T. Krishnamacharya incurred a strange fate.

  • Indra Devi
  • Yvonne Millerand
  • K.V. Desikachar
  • K. Sribhashyam
  • Sri B.K.S. Iyengar
  • Sri K. Pattabhi Jois

Mainly due to the engagement of his two sons and their pupils, it is firmly rooted in French speaking countries (France, Switzerland & Quebec).

In Anglo-Saxon countries, this teaching is better known through the interpretation provided by his brother-in-law and pupil, B.K.S. Iyengar with his worldwide reputation – as well as that of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, also known worldwide.

 abtkym_sandals

His death

He died on 28 February 1989 in Chennai in the South of India. He was nearly 101 years of age. The teacher Sri T. Krishnamacharya will for many remain an unmatched and irreplaceable master of yoga…

In accordance with tradition, he never left his native India in his life. Nevertheless, the light of his knowledge of yoga has profoundly influenced the whole world.

“Yoga is the greatest gift of India to the world.”

Sri T. Krishnamacharya

Sources:

  • The Yoga of the Yoga The legacy of T Krishnamacharya by Kausthud Desikachar – Edition: K. Y. M – Chennai – India
  • Shri T. Krishnamacharya 1888 – 1988 Cent ans de Béatitude
  • Notebook
    Edition: K. Y. M – Chennai – India
  • La revue « Viniyoga » n° 24
  • Yoga Sutra de Patanjali – Translation and commentary by K.V. Desikachar – Edition du Rocher – 1986
  • Reflection on Yoga Sutra – s of Patanjali – By K.V. Desikachar
    KYM – ISBN: 81.87847.20.4
  • The Heart of Yoga – Developing a Personal Practice – By K.V. Desikachar
    KYM – ISBN: 0.89281.681.3
Breath Of The Gods

Breath Of The Gods

Film:

Breath of the Gods, A Journey to the Origins of Modern Yoga, by Jan Schmidt – Garre Film – Length 105 minutes

  • K.S. IYENGAR
  • PATTABHI JOIS
  • K. SRIBHASHYAM
  • KRISHNAMACHARYA

Very beautiful and moving testimony to the life of Sri T. Krishnamacharya as recalled by his students, his children…

Websites:

Kollywood, the major movie studios to visit in Chennai

The major film studios are nicknamed Kollywood. They compete with those of Bombay …(Bollywood). There are the AVM studios and the Prasad studios. Unlike the Bombay studios, they are generally open to visitors.

You must have the luck to pass by on a day where there is a shooting.

I attended a filming in the Prasad studios, and found it very amusing, especially because of the contrast between some very basic logistics and some hyper sophisticated equipment. The cardboard decorations with the colour remaining stuck on my fingers were not bad either !

 

India remains the largest producer of films in the world.
The film industry in India is the largest in the world, 4 times that of Hollywood

These films have a huge success in India, but also in Indonesia, Iraq, Africa: Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria etc..

Why do we know almost nothing of this cinema, here?

It has the reputation of being superficial, kitsch, without artistic creativity. Always the same stories with variations on the theme of love or the struggle of good against evil, and the actors play very stereotypical roles. The characteristics of these movies are: they last over 3 hours; the scenarios are always interspersed with songs (5-6 songs), music and sumptuous choreographies, a finely tuned mixture as the spices in a curry

Movies, songs

Very commercial, this cinema meets the public expectations who require several dances, a love story, comedy, melodrama, all according to a carefully balanced mixture like the spices in a “masala” or a “curry”.
Unlike Hollywood where music is a genre in itself, in Indian cinema, songs and dances are an integral part of the unfolding of the story and screenplay.
It is a cinema, standardized to the extreme and famous for it’s kitsch. In fact, it is simply a different cinematic language to ours. As explained by Anne-Gaëlle Doshi, consultant in the seventh art of the subcontinent :
“Indian cinema has very strict and very Indian codes traveling poorly in the West, which is what causes the reluctance, but once these codes are acquired and have been accepted, it can be lots of fun.”

 

The year 2013 saw the centenary of the Indian film industry: “100 Years Of Indian Cinema industry.”

 

Photos :

Videos :

South India and music :

A glimpse on Madras – Chennai :

For Tamil movies :

And also the site :

We recommend that you visit Chennai, a big sprawling town, near Mahābalipuram.

Chennai,

Like many other large towns in India, Madras which has been renamed “Chennai” in 1996 (7 millions inhabitants), may seem at first disconcerting and hostile for the traveller who has just arrived.

Road traffic as in any other Indian town is dense, noisy and colourful. Notwithstanding the town has some charm. The cultural life is vibrant and the beaches are beautiful.

The gateway to South India

In fact to appreciate Chennai one has to accept to spend some time, enough to discover the wealth of its cultural heritage. Though the absence of major monuments means few tourists visit the capital of Dravidian art.

Some of the great and exciting things to do and see in Chennai:

  • Going for a stroll on the immense Marina Beach on a Friday or Saturday after sunset. It attracts a huge crowd of Indians in festive mood. On offer are: shooting, riding horse, foodstalls, drinks (sugar cane juice), merry-go-round for children and adults, shops with flashy and twinkling gadgets. One can also have his or her photograph taken with a cardboard cut effigy of a Bollywood star. Expect a long queue, etc…
  • The Governement Art Gallery, a must see
  • The temple of Kapaleeswarar
  • the Theosophical Society, south of Chennai
  • the Kollywood Studios which compete with Bollywood in Mombai. The first silent film in Tamil was shot in 1916. The AVM and Prasad Studios are opened to the public.
  • The factory of the legendray Royal Enfield motorbikes
  • San Thome Cathedral (St. Thomas), Mount St. Thomas (for its view of the city of Chennai and Little Mount.


Little Mount.