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BKS Iyengar

Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja (BKS) Iyengar was born into a poor Brahmin family in the village of Bellur, in Karnataka, on 14 December 1918, during the deadly influenza outbreak. Sickly and weak from birth BKS Iyengar was not blessed with good health in his childhood and youth. Recurrent bouts of malaria, typhoid and tuberculosis made him weaker and weaker and doctors feared he might not survive beyond his twenties. In 1934 a life changing event: his sister married a well respected Yoga Master and Scholar, Shri T. Krishnamacharya, who introduced him to Yoga. He started a stern regimen of practice under his guru’s guidance to regain his health. In 1936, when he was only 18 and not fully recovered he was sent to Pune on his guru's request to teach yoga in the renowned Deccan Gymkhana, a training Academy for wrestlers. Without the guidance of his guru BKS Iyengar was forced to deepen his practice and learn directly from his experience. In 1943 he married Ramamani. The religious fervor with which he devoted himself to the practice and teaching of yoga soon gained him respect and admiration.

In 1952 he met the internationally renowned violinist Yehudi Menhuin, which would be crucial for the spreading of yoga in Europe and worldwide. From 1954 BKS Iyengar was regularly invited to hold classes in Switzerland, homeland of the violinist, but also in England and France. His reputation grew and the number of followers increased dramatically. In 1965 his first book Light on Yoga was published and turned out to be an international best seller. It included the widest range of illustrations of asana (yoga poses) and detailed instructions for practice. In 1975 the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune was founded, in memory of his recently departed wife. The Institute became a place of pilgrimage for yoga students from all over the world to study at the feet of the Master. BKS Iyengar continued tirelessly in his mission to spread yoga beyond India’s borders giving yoga demonstrations and holding classes worldwide.

In 1984, after nearly 50 years of intense teaching, he announced his intention to leave to the next generation, his daughter Geeta and his son Prashant, the responsibility to teach classes at the Institute. In reality BKS Iyengar since then and up till today has continued to have a very active role at the Institute, in particular in therapeutic classes where his knowledge remains unsurpassed. He is also actively involved in the projects of the Bellur Trust, a charitable organisation founded to help the people of his native village Bellur. At the glorious age of 93 BKS Iyengar continues with his genius to inspire and guide generations after generations of yoga practitioners. His religious fervor has never left him and his practice is still intense. He is acclaimed as the greatest living yoga master in the world.

Shri BKS Iyengar Uvaca

` Hard work and humility are essential for spiritual sadhana
` When I practice I am a philosopher, when I teach I am a scientist, when I demonstrate I am an artist
` All may be able to do yoga but only one in a million is fit to be called a yogi
` Knowledge has no end
` My words should not be listened but reflected upon
` For a yogi his body is a laboratory for perpetual experiment and research
` Yoga helps to endure what cannot be cured and to cure what need not be endured
` The art of teaching is tolerance. Humbleness is the art of learning
` Confidence, clarity and compassion are essential qualities for a teacher
` A good teacher helps you to explore to the maximum
` A good book is better than a bad teacher
` Training of mind and body leads to awareness of the soul
` Each movement is my mantra
` The body is my temple, asanas are my prayers
` Freedom is to be free from the chains of fears and desires
` The mind must always remain in the state of present
` Self realization must exist in each pore of the skin
` Intelligence should be uniform in each posture
` Do not allow mistakes to take deep root, but watch for and eradicate them by training and experience
` If there is no wind in our sails, the only way out is to row
` Intellectuals tend to be arrogant. Intelligence, like money, is a good servant but a bad master
` The body is your temple. Keep it pure and clean for the soul to reside in
` When you inhale, you are taking the strength from God. When you exhale, it represents the service you are giving to the world
` The rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind & the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life
` It is through your body that you realize you are a spark of divinity
` Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured
` The Light that Yoga sheds on Life is something special. It is transformative. It does not just change the way we see things; it transforms the person who sees
` All of us have a dormant spark of divinity in us which has to be fanned into flame by yoga
` Health is a state of complete harmony of the body, mind and spirit. When one is free from physical disabilities and mental distractions, the gates of the soul open
` Words cannot convey the value of yoga. It has to be experienced
` We can rise above our limitation, only once we recognize them
` He who has learnt to control his tongue has attained self-control in a great measure. When such a person speaks he will be heard with respect and attention. His words will be remembered, for they will be good and true. When one who is established in truth prays with a pure heart, then things he really needs come to him when they are really needed: he does not have to run after them. The man firmly established in truth gets the fruit of his actions without apparently doing anything. God, the source of all truth, supplies his needs and looks after his welfare