This is someone who has had a large influence on much of my life.
Yogacharya B.K.S. Iyengar passes away at 95
The Hindu,
20
August, 2014
The nonagenarian yoga guru was admitted last Tuesday after complaining of breathlessness.
World
renowned yoga exponent B.K.S. Iyengar passed away at a private
hospital in Pune on early Wednesday morning. He was 95.
Mr.
Iyengar, who was admitted to the Prayag Hospital last week, breathed
his last at 3.15 a.m., doctors attending to him said.
He
was put on dialysis since Sunday owing to renal failure. Mr. Iyengar,
who abhorred hospitals and clinics, failed to respond to the
treatment owing to heart problems brought on by advanced age.
Despite
suffering two massive heart-attacks in 1996 and 1998, Mr. Iyengar,
with his near-legendary regimen and discipline, rebounded and kept up
a punishing teaching schedule, touring Russia and China in recent
years.
Born
Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar in Karnataka’s Kolar
district in 1918 and debilitated by illnesses since his childhood, he
codified Patanjali’s yoga sutras in an innovatively dynamic yoga
style which came to be known as Iyengar Yoga, winning millions of
followers in more than 70 countries of the globe in the process.
He
set forth its principles in Light on Yoga (1966), which has since
been regarded as the bible of yoga. The book has been translated into
19 languages and has sold more than three million copies.
Most
importantly, he opened the doors for his discipline, making it
accessible to all regardless of class, caste and religion.
Mr.
Iyengar, who was awarded the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan,
gritted his teeth to master English and exposed yoga to the West,
teaching such luminaries like violin maestro Yehudi Menuhin and
author Aldous Huxley.
“I
have lived a majestic life,” were reportedly his last words
according to his family physician and disciple, Dr. Manoj Naik.
Deeply
religious, he always kept yoga and religion separate, said his family
priest and disciple, Natraj Shastri.
“He
was a phenomenal person, compassionate, sensitive, caring and
broad-minded. He was instrumental in revitalizing an ancient art and
taking it to an international level,” said Harit Iyengar, his
grandson.
Over
the last decade, he strove to transform his ancestral village of
Bellur by building a free hospital and ushering in water and
education facilities.
His
last rites were performed at the Vaikunth crematorium here at 1: 30
in the afternoon. The sandalwood pyre was lit by his son Prashant.
“He
was a one-person movement…we will strive to keep his Sadhana
(legacy) alive. He has achieved eternal peace. He was open to
everyone even till his last breath,” said Geeta Iyengar, his eldest
daughter.
She
said that Mr. Iyengar’s family members and others associated with
him would keep the institute going on.
Our
New Delhi Special Correspondent adds:
President
Pranab Mukherjee led the nation in expressing grief on the demise of
Yoga guru BKS Iyengar, who passed away after an illness in Pune on
early Wednesday morning. In a condolence message to his son, Prashant
Iyengar, the President said he was deeply saddened to learn about the
passing away of Mr. Iyengar.
"He
was well known as one of the foremost yoga teachers in the world. He
is credited with establishing and popularising modern yoga first in
India and then across the world. He created a unique school of yoga
popularly known as ‘Iyengar Yoga’ and authored several books on
yoga practice and philosophy which are considered authoritative texts
used by practitioners, young and old," the President wrote.
Prime
Minister Narendra Modi also condoled the passing away of Yogacharya
Iyenger. In his message to the Yoga guru’s followers, Prime
Minister Modi said: “Generations will remember BKS Iyengar as a
fine Guru, scholar and a stalwart who brought Yoga into the lives of
many across the world.”
Union
Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Prakash Javadekar hailed
him as a “great lion of Indian yoga”.
Mr.
Iyengar was honoured with Padma Shri in 1991, the Padma Bhushan in
2002 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2014 in recognition of his services
to spreading knowledge of Indian culture and tradition globally.
Here is a yoga demonstration by Mr. Iyengar in Mysore in 1938
Krishnamacharya & B.K.S. Iyengar in 1938 with Yoga Sutras
Tirumalai
Krishnamacharya was 50 when this film was made and is arguably the
most influential yogi in establishing what yoga has become today. His
students include Pattabhi Jois the founder of Asthanga yoga, BKS
Iyengar, Indra Devi, and his son Desikachar. Most of todays leading
yogis have studied under one or more of Krishnamacharya students.
Krishnamacharya was born in 1888 in a remote Indian village and lived
to be over 100 years old until his death in 1989. He is known as not
only as a most influential yoga teacher, but a scholar, and a healer.
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.
The Yoga Sutras of Patanajali spoken In Sanskrit by Kausthub Desikachar.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.