IYENGAR YOGA ASSOCIATION (UK)

President Yogacharya Sri BK5 Iyengar

wwwiyengaryogaorguk

IYENGAR YOGA NEWS - Issue No4 - Winter 2003

Editorial Board

Kirsten Agar Ward Ros Bell

Alan Brown Joe Bum

Judith Jones Philippe Harari

Design Philippe Harari Rachel Lovegrove

Printed by Red Flag Press Cambridge

The photograph on the cover is of participants at the Manchester Convention in June 2003 with Jawahar Bangera

Contents Editorial 2

Interview with Geetaji by Judith Jones 3

An Explanation of the Invocations by Dr Geeta S Iyengar 8

Puja - Some Reflections by Kirsten Agar Ward 14

The Science of Life by Dale Rathbone 16

Interview with Jawahar i8 Manchester Convention - June 2003 by Betty Croston 20

Yorkshire Convention - August 2003 by Myka Ransom 22

June 2004 Convention - application form and details 25 Reflections by Shirley Daventry French 27

Geetaji in South Mrica by Sallie Sullivan 30

Institute listings 31

Seeing and Believing A Diary of Gurujis Practice by Kay Parry 33

Yoga Books - ]950 to the Present by Joe Burn 39

Readers Letters 40

IYA (UK) Interim Executive Council 42

Report from the Chairs of the IYA (UK) by Philippe Harari ampJudith Jones 44

Nominations for the IYA (UK) Executive Council 45

RIMYI Archive Project by Judith Jones 46

Report from Sheffield and District IYI by Dominic Batten 46

August 2004 Convention 46

Certification Mark Income by Ros Bell 47

Good News from the Treasurer by Judith Richards 47

Iyengar Jubilee 2002 - closing accounts by Paul Walker 48

Professional Development Days by Judi Sweeting 49

Introductory Assessors 51

Teacher Trainers and Courses 52 Assessment Congratulations 53 Application for classes at the RIMY Pune 55 Yoga Rahasya - Sll bscription details 57 Iyengar booksvideos for sale 57 Website information 58

IAdvertisements 58

Iyengar Yoga News No4 Winter 2003

--------------------

Editorial Message from Guruji

At last complete unification Although there is litshy

tle change in the format of the magazine and

none in the make-up of the editorial team this is the

first edition of IYN to be produced by the new Iyengar Yoga Association (UK) With that in mind

could we draw your attention to page 45 where there

is information about how to get on the Executive

Council and help us to run Iyengar Yoga in the UK

Please do put your name forward

There will be cwo conventions next year (see pages 25

and 46) and as these events are always popular

remember to book early Inside the magazine we have

several articles letters and interviews that we hope

will provide something of interest to everybody

There is material of great importance to teachers conshy

cerning professional development days asscsssments

etc to be found on page 47 and pages 49-54 so be

sure to read this carefully

For me it is g r e at satisfac t o r y j oy thae at ~ast the BKSIYTA and LO_A have combe d al l differences and doubes an d are fo rming i nto a s i ngle united organisat~on as Iye nga r Yoga Associa tion o f Unite d Kingdom

May this un i on build - up strong affecc i ons with o ne another and ma y t his ne w assoc iation grow f r om s~r en g ch to s e r ength in imparting the knowledge of yoga for one co live with right wo rds and r ight actions

I am pr ud of this union and I pray Almighty God to bless y OJ all to use t he ke ys of fpoundiendliress compassion a nd gladnes t o take pupils tOWards spiritual quest and ble s sednes s

May the As sociat ion serve al l

e J- )Y (~~t ) C~ (BK S1YFNG

We are very pleased to announce to members that the

IYA (UK) has now appointed a part-time (50) Admimistrator Leza Hatchard lives in London and

has nad extensive experience in administration Her

first task will be to son out our membership database

so members should send any change of address details

etc directly to her (see contact details below) Ros

Bell is acting as Membership Secretary so any queries

about membership should still go to her (contact details for all the EC are on page 42)

Could we also thank everybody who sent us material

from articles to adverts and listings and look forward

to more in the future (we are especially keen to receive

images and photographs that would be suitable for publication in IYN)

Copy deadline for next issue

26th March 2004

Items should be sent to IYA (UK) clo Leza Hatchard

21 Woodgrange Avenue EaLing

London W5 3NY

telephone 020 8354 3983 e-mail adminiyengaryogaorguk

Iyengar Yoga News No4 2

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Winter 2003

INTERVIEW WITH GEETAJI

Following Dr Geeta S Iyengars European Tour in April and May 2002 Judith Jones interviewed her for Iyengar Yoga News on 25th August 2002 in the library

of the Ramamani Iyengar Memorial Yoga Institute in Pune India In this final instalment of the interview Geetaji talks about AyuNeda and about women

oyou think thatyogapractice andayurveda I Dare incompatible with Weftern medicine

Geetaji No Undoubtedly they are differshyent branches We have to respect Western medicine respect yoga also and respect ayurveda as well I would say when all

these three subjects come together they can

Ibring a wonderful result It could do wonshyders But if this has to happen all the three branches have to be studied by all in order to do the research work They should do

yoga they should go for ayurveda and know modern medicine as well If these three subjects come together I think it will

be a great blessing to human kind But sepshyarately we develop only one side of it and that is why the problem comes Then it

appears as though one is against the other two

The doctors think onlv in the line of con-I

ventional Western medicine and medical

science The science of yoga is one of selfshyexperience To accept yoga one necessarily needs to practise it but doctors dont want to find out what yoga does and if they are doctors of ayurveda they dont know about

medical science and yogic science They want to go in their Ovn way If they are a yoga practitioner they dont know about

either medical science or ayurveda and they Iwant to go in their own way But I think as far as Guruji is concerned though he is not a medical practitioner or an ayurvedic docshytor still being a yoga practitioner he is always open for all these things

IISuppose if you are having a problem you are taking the medicine he has tried to find

out how to get rid of the side effects of these medicines Ifyou are trying to control

your problems or disease with medicines

he knows up to what level the yoga can be taught For instance you are controlling your high blood pressure with medication he will remind all the teachers that you being a patient of high blood pressure conshytrolled with medication what precautions

have to be taken He will try to see how it will be controlled through the practice He doesnr say to stop the medicines On the contrary he will say that if you are taking medicines what and how much to do As you begin to feel better and light and noshylonger getting palpitations or symptoms such as heavy perspiration dizziness etc he

asks you to reduce the medication and increase yogic doses As the pressure becomes normal medicine is no longer required Through yogic practice you mend

There are certain good concepts in ayurveshyda also which are universally applicable such as the three humours of the body If

modern medical science can pick up and

apply that it may help them to improve their own science Now medical science is

accepting certain household medicines For instance it is now agreed that turmeric powder is good for cancer ayurveda knew it from the very beginning That is how USA wants to patent these substances Instead of patenting - making money

holding possessing - instead of thinking on that line why not say We are all possesshy

sors for the knowledge which exists in this work for human upliftment Do we not

have a right to have the knowledge for the good of everyone

This is how the word veda also has come Veda means to know The vedas are not

Iyengar Yoga News No4 3 Winter 2003 --------~--------------~------------------~~

books Later they came in book form Veda is the ocean of knowledge which was

always existing Vedas do not belong to any

particular sect caste or religion The word

Hinduism is not found in any of the vedas

First of all understand this fact There is no word called Hinduism or Hindu in Vedic

literature Vedic literature speaks about

whole humanity

Universal truth

Geetaji Yes - absolutely It is universal

truth Ie is called as Saniitana Dharma - the

eternal religion Its eternity is meant for

this eternal world The vedas believe that

the whole world is one family Can you

imagine the idea coming in those days But

still they have said vasudhaiva kutumshybakam The whole earth the world is one

family Why did the idea come Do you mean to say that the vedic rishis considered

India as the whole world Vasudhii is earth

our planet The whole earth is one family

If that idea has to occur do you mean to

say they were not knowing this whole world Its only the question of Sanskrit

language Its not even Sanskrit Vedic lanshy

guage is not Sanskrit It is called girviinabshyhtisha - the language of the God Girvana means God and bhtisha means language The script too is called Devaniigari - script

of God This means the knowledge that

comes is coming from some higher energy

In this sense Sanskrit is the origin of other

languages

If suddenly something strikes me like it

struck Newton to say that an apple coming

down means some energy is pulling that

apple down Why did no one think about it and yet he could He could think about

it Do you mean to say the apples were not

falling before him But his thinking process began to think why did it come down It occurred to him that something is getting

pulled The word gravitation appeared

later He called it as gravitational force Do

you mean to say there was a language first

which called it gravity or gravitational

force and then Newton found it

Iyengar Yoga News No4

The language developed as the knowledge

came So the knowledge comes the lanshy

guage develops When you begin to undershy

stand something you develop the lanshyguage Yoga was existing before Patanjali

but it was scattered in several scriptures

But Patanjali developed the language He codified it In this sense Patanjali too was a

scientist He did a lot of experiments and

research work to put the whole ofyogic SCi- I ence in the sutra form

Therefore we human beings of developed

intelligence should not reject the subject just because it belongs to a foreign lanshy

guage For me if English is a foreign lanshy

guage to you Sanskrit is foreign language

But the subject matter is meant for

mankind

So if Ayurveda Western medicine yoga

come together they can do wonders We

should not be ignorant of it or make it an

ego problem If you take that earlier quesshy

tion regarding yoga for Indian and European women it comes from our own

ego To say that oh I am an Indian

woman you are a European woman

Does it make any sense We are the same

Our problems are same All of us want

health All of us want happiness It is only

our culture outer appearance language and nationality that might be making a few

differences Do you remember I said the

clouds are the same everywhere You dont

say this is an Indian cloud and thar is an

English cloud no chance it is impossible I The douds are the same The sky is same

So there is no difference We only have to

look into it In which way we are treating

through modern medical science in which

way we are treating through Ayurveda and

in which way we are treating through yoga

Now the recent progress is that doctors

have begun to recommend yoga They say that when you have a heart problem and

when you have diseases like cancer or you

have high blood pressure - do some yoga

and meditation Still this statement comes

from ignorance though yoga is recognised What is yoga and what is meditation Are

4 Winter 2003

they two separate things These (10 words

Iare used as (10 separate methods Is medishy

tation something different from yoga

IThen how did these twO words come into

existence - yoga and meditation Yoga includes meditation

I would like to say that yoga has to be the whole life style Apart from the medicinal

treatment on diseases Ayurveda has to be known since it has its own value which catshy

egorises the human constitution very clearshy

ly and distinctly based on three humours namely viita pitta and kapha as well as

three qualities sattva rajas and tamas No I other science has given this distinct constishy

tution Western medicine has made a great

Iprogress in the field of medicines and surshy

gery The subjective knowledge ofyoga and Ayurveda ifintermingled properly with the

Iobjective knowledge of western medical

science can do wonders for human beings

When teaching Indian and European

women do you perceille allY d~ffirences in their needs

IGeetaji There are twO ways to look at this question All women have the same probshy

lems Womens psychology is the same

Ieverywhere As far as the lifestyle is conshycerned there are differences based on culture

and custom The Indian lifestyle European or American lifestyle are changing and

when you compare from one country to

another you do find the lifestyles changing

As tbe environment changes the requireshyments of the human being toO change This

creates problems that may seem to be difshyferent and separate but when you go to the

root of the problems they are the same Emotional problems ageing problems

physical problems for all women such

problems are very similar

I But to some extent as I say the social

norms and environmental conditions difshyfer even in the countries like Europe and

America in spite of having the same relishy

gion or the same background there is a difshyference between the status of the women

There is a difference as far as their freedom is concerned In a similar manner the

Indian way of life might be showing some

changes but as far as women are concerned there is no difference Womens problems

are the same So while teaching yoga I would say the question of the cultural background has to be considered

For a long time when the country was not having Independence Indian women were

under social pressure and stress A fear complex was always present though hidshyden Now the women are coming out

there are quite a few women now who will boldly declare We are doing yoga But in

1961 when I was practising yoga very few

women came forward to do yoga When Guruji started in 36 some women preshyferred to learn from him because he was a

young boy They didnt want to learn from

eldedy men because they were shy and afraid to learn from men They preferred

an innocent boy to a grown-up man Now

rn modern times you dont find 16 year old

boys innocent anymore

When I started teaching only a few women

woutd come forward to learn I had to go

to their homes to teach they never came

out of their house to learn If at all they

wanted to learn they would take me to

their bedroom to teach so nobody looks at

them to see what they are doing hovv they

are doing Dress was a big problem then now it is not Gradually the women started

to form groups so they could come togethshyer and learn So like this the changes are occurnng

In Western countries women had much freedom They could choose to follow any

field of interest They could pick up games

They had not to worry about dress In this way Western women had much more freeshydom than Indian women

Sometimes freedom makes one to lose senshy

sitivity Often the freedom is misused

Women should recognise their femininity

it has its uwn beauty and own vigour They

Iyengar Yoga News No4 5 Winter 2003

Id ot lose the femininity under the

of freedom I f we recognise the n uenc

has

(here

h

uaJiC) of womanhood I dont think there

ro be any difference betvveen Eastern

nJ Wretem women Basically we should

D( t middotompare ourselves with men rather we

hr e to recognise our own potency our

0 n potential femininity If we say that we

equal to men and that we can do everyshy

ling that they do then we lose our selfshy

identity There are certain things which as

o men we can do better than men and

are certain things that only they

uld do Women now are exposed to

r stling weightlifting body-building and

o n Im not against it Women are entershy

ing in every field and perhaps it is apprecishy

artu also But still I feel on the other hand

th t we should recognise our own inner

identity I would call it a beauty Its not the

eXTernal body beauty but it is femininity

(1e have to protect our femininity as men

angt protecting their masculinity So this I

wuuld definitely say that in yoga practice I

have to make Indian ladies to come out of

their shyness timidity and fear complex

They stick to their femininity thinking

that these are the qualities of femininity

and dont want to come out In Western

countries women are courageous but want

to equate themselves vith men conseshy

quently they are getring more exposed to

masculinity than to their own femininity I

would say that Indian women should begin

ro pick up q uali ties such as vigour and

courage and add to their femininity and

Vestern women should drop masculinity

omen have to be non-aggressively active

They should be calm having positive tolershy

ance Negative tolerance kills their individshy

uality Submission is a negative rolerance

[n other words I think it is a question of

balance It is not a question of argument

but a kind of balance both ways so if a

wom an is going towards masculinity I

would say come back ro femininity and if

she is going too much towards femininity

she should develop more masculine qualishy

ties Take for instance if ve lose the horshy

monal balance and that begins to show its

changes on the outside are we not afraid at

Iyengar Yoga News No4

that time We definitely feel nervous if I

hormonal changes occur and lead us from

femininity to masculini ty when we dont

want to So this functional physiological

problem shakes our psychology Then it is

only our duty to protect While teaching

yoga I perceive this point mainly I dont

want the performance of Western women

going in a masculine way and I dont want

Indian women to go in an unbahnced femshy

inine way eidler Men use their physical

strength to perform asana or pranaJama Therefore their performance has a tinge of

aggressiveness and ego They should have

the emotional feeling in practice Women

have to build up physical strength with our

losing their emotional connection They

shou d not ose their softness Indian

women are soft but their softness should

not be at the cost of strength and Western

women are strong but they should not lose

softness - stubbornness and sturdiness

should be minimised

There is one more point If the people are

regularly in front of you you are able to

teach them with continuity it is different

to the situation when you go from place to

place and teach them just for a few days

then you may find the difference in teachshy

ing If am coming to UK just to teach for

four days obviously 111y method of teachshy

ing has to change because in four days I

have to convey and give maximum to bOth

men and women That teaching depends

on what they have practised what they

have learnt But when I have to teach only

women that too on a continuous basis I

will certainly see that the approach will be

more feminine On the whole I wont say

that Indian women and Western women

are different since their problems are the I

same My teach ~ng will be the same but I

would certainly see which group lacks what

and what sort of changes are required 111

teaching so that they are benefited

The cultural difference sometimes projects

the problem in a differenr way For instance

the menopause stage in womens life

Women 111 Western countries become

6 Winter 2003

1-__-=--_______

Iyengar Yoga News

nenous of menopause Their problem of nervousness is quite different from the same problem for women in India who tOo become nervous Qui te a few Western women who tell me that now they are

Iapproaching menopause are afraid that (heir men may divorce them The fear that the family may break that the husband may begin to dislike the wife and lose intershyest in her makes her situation worse Its a

fact which happens and there are quite a few whose family has been broken The men chose younger women whereas in India this is very rare to happen This land of fear may not exist But as far as the

physiological psychological and emotional problems are concerned all women are

undergoing the same changes

So when you are asking me the question about teaching Indian women and European women as far as their need is concerned there is no difference Everybody faces some sort of pain and problem Womens responsibilities do not differ as such Every woman faces menstrushyation and pregnancy When they have to

get married they are not sure whether the person they have chosen is right or wrong It is a different type of emotional problem along with the fear complex So I dont think as far as that is concerned there is any difference as such but as far as the envishyronment family life social life is concerned there is a difference Therefore one needs to

change ones mental set-up The mental

deliberation needs to be gravitating tOvlards yogic culture The yogic method does not differ whether one is an Easterner of a Westerner For every woman there is the household work and worries there is always the responsibility in the house You have to look after everyone you have to

rake care of family members Even if you are all alone not married or divorced you have to take care of yourself You have to cook yourself you have to get organised yourself everything is there If you have a family you have to look after the others also The needs ofwomen are similar as the

problems are

No4 7 Winter 2003

It is true that one cannot breallt the social norms or religious barriers easily but one can adopt a yogic method to establish inner peace I always feel that when they do some of the asanas and pranayamas they feel mentally peaceful they get some inner strength and moral courage to face the world If that happens whichever country you belong to which religion you belong to the question doesnt arise Then women are safe For me when I look in that way I feel they can be safe They can protect themselves

When emotionally distressed the Western women immediately express themselves whereas Indian women may not express

their emotions so suddenly

So do you think Western women are more emotional

Geetaji I wont say they are more emoshytional Indians have more emotional tolershyance compared to Western women Westerners express the emotions quickly and for Indian women it may take a Ilittle

longer time to express They want to hide these kind of problems to a great extent or solve them by pacifYing themselves Then

they may come and tell but certainly they wont instantly say Oh This is what hapshypened to me But when it is unbearable then they will say OK now I will tell you that this is what happened to me But that

doesnt make the problem to get diluted Fundamentally the problem remains the same So I will say that if they come to yoga whether this group or that group to

whichever culture they belong to it helps them because emotional stability gives some courage to them they build up their nerves to face all these problems

Westerners are physically strong whereas Indian women will not be that strong However emotionally they are strong I think thar both have to exchange this physshyical and emotional energy to have a perfect balance Intellectually they are quite balshy

anced

AN EXPLANATION OF THE INVOCATIONS

This is the transcript of a talk given by Dr Geeta S Iyengar on the opening morning of the main event of the Iyengar Yoga Jubilee at Crystal Palace on

Saturday 25th May 2002

Friends yoga lovers explore him according to our intelligence mental conshy

cept and calibre Therefore I wont say that Lord

We are first of all performing the puja since we are startshy Ganesha is a Hindu God He is a creation from the

ing the auspicious work I would like to share with you human brain for us to think how a Lord could be the

the background of the puja that we are going to pershy Lord Ganesha is the one who is elephant headed with a

form Puja is one of the methods of worshipping Lord huge brain and a huge skull encasing the big brain It is

Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that whatever we to indicate that human beings also have a completely

offer to the Lord such as leaves flowers fruits or water evolved brain and we consider that the human brain is

with devotion reaches him Here we will be offering the one which is completely developed a very intellecshy

prayers deepam (light) dhupam (agarbatti) flowers and tual centre of ours Ganesha is considered to be the one

garlands who has this huge brain of mankind Gana means peoshy

ple Ganesha means God of people He is also called as

When we know that we are starring some auspicious Ganapati the head or husband of people He is also

work such as the very practice of yoga the yoga sadshy named as Vinayak - the supreme leader So Ganesh leads

hana we have to offer our prayers to the Lord who is us guides us He is the God chosen by every one (gana)

omnipotent omnipresent and omnisciltnt Though all in a democratic way

of us know that the Lord is omnipotent omnipresent

and omniscien t and that he is everywhere and also Then he is considered to be huge as far as his body is

within us yet it is not possible to realise or see the God concerned This indicates that though our physical body

since the God hasnt got any is let us say six feet high two feet

form He does not appear in any broad Lord Ganeshas huge body

form in front of us Thus the is equal to that of the Universal

human mind begins to give Him Body It is true that when we are

some shape As we begin to worshy practising many a time we feel a

ship the Lord giving him a form state where we are going beyond

or shape according to out mental this body and in that sense we

creation with devotion He can experience Mahakaya Maha appear in that form given by us means big great and kaya means

for our sake body Ganapati with his huge

head and huge body indicates the

Here we are offering our prayers depth of largeness and intricacies

to Lord Ganesha Lord Vishnu of the human body and brain

Lord Hanuman Lord Patanjalj

and the Guru You may feel Lord Ganesha Vandanam His teeth are indicated as

Ganesha is a Hindu God and as Vakratuncl ma1lkaya SUlyakoti samaprabha Vakratunda Vakra means turned all of uS who have gathered here Nirvighnam kurttme deva subhakmyesu sarllada or crooked and tunda means to practise yoga belong to differshy tusk The elephant has one long

ent religions may hesitate to pray Oh elephant-ElCed Ganesha Mighty One tusk but human beings vont to Hindu Gods Let us be clear Thy effulgence is equal to a billion suns have such rusks This is to indishy

that God does nor belong to any Forever remove I pray thee all cate that Ganesh though elephant religion God is one but manshy impediments headed has not gOt the tusks of an

made religions are multiple God In the path of my auspiciolls deeds elephant It is a legendary story

is beyond the explanations but we ~ which says that Lord Ganesha lost

Iyengar Yoga News No4 8 Winter 2003 --~~----------------------

his o ne tusk when he opposed Parashurama from enter- it does not mean that the Lord is Hindu

i ng cile regim of Lord Shiva Ganeshas fath r

The Lord anesha is considered to be the one who

helps us in all auspiciolls work to overcome all the

obs tacles and hind rances which come in the vay So we

offer our prayers to Lord Ganesha asking the Lord to

remove all those obstacles which come in the wayan the

auspicious path of yoga H aying studied the Yoga Sunas

ofParanjal i you know that there are nine obstacles in the

path of yoga along with four distractive and destructive

m ntd l obsnuccions and we are

going to offer am p rayers to Lord

G an e ha asking h im to bless LIS so

that these obstacles can be faced

courageo usly and removed

Basical ly Lord Ganesh is the Cod

ofW isdom and remover Jf ohstashy

cles hence he is involved and

worshipped at the commenccshy

ment of every im portant progresshy

sive and auspicious undertaking

It is said that G anesha wrote the

Mahabharata at the dictation of

Vyasa on the condition that Vyasa

should not pause or break the

flow of narration even for a fracshy

cion of a second orhenvisl he will

stop wrIting furth er VyJsa

accep red the challenge and did

not pause even for a fraction

Then we offer our prayers to Lord

Vi~h llU Again the nU11e seems to

be a Sanskrit word indicating a

Hindu God but it is only a quesshy

tion of language Man thought of

having a language so that he can rela r what he understands to

o chers The language is m lCll1t for

commun ication Therefore if the

prayers are said in Sanskrit it does

nO[ mean that God belongs to

that particular community which

speaks or fo llows thJt particular

Iallguag W hen bible is trmslatshy

ed in all the languages it will be

ri diculous to say that Christ only

bclongs ro those who speak

H ebrew So in Sanskrit when we

offer the p rayers to Lord Vishnu

Has the Lord gOt any form or shape Here the stanza on

Lord Vishnu which explains it Here the word Vishnu

comes from the root verb vish which means to spread

through to extend to pervade Vishnu means all pershy

vader or worker Here worker means a functional facshy

tor in every aspect It also means to embrace Lord

Vishnu not only embraces the whole universe but also

remains above In this sense he is a protector

Vishnu Slow

Jyengar Yoga News No4 9

Shtmtakaram bfndagashtl)fllam pad11fmshyfzbhai11 5ureshfllll VishlJadharilm gagt1llllsadars)lam meghfl1Jflrnam shubhilllgam

LakshmikantfllJl kall1altllla)anam )ogihrid dh)anagamyalll

Vande Vismum bhaVflbha)flharam saiVa lokaika l1atham

I salute Vishnu the sale master of the

universe whose presence is very peaceful

who stretches Himself on a serpent-bed

who sprouts a lotus in his navel who is

the one Lord of all the Devas who is the

support of the worlds who is subtle and

all pervading like the sky whose comshy

plexion is like that of the clouds whose

form is very beautiful who is the consort

of Sri Laksmi whose eyes are like lotus

petals who is meditated upon by yogis

and who eradicates (he fear of samsara

The one who hasnt got a form

who hasnt got a shape yet he has

a figure He is santakaram Santi or santa means qUIetness peaceshy

fuln ess serenity So his form is of

serenity The serenity cannOt

show any form You dont say this

serenity is like a jar or like a cup

serenity is serenity In a similar

manner the Lord Vishnu is conshy

sidered to be santakaram who is

just the incarnation of serenity

and peace He is sleeping on

Bhujaga His couch is Adisesa

the serpent He is sleeping on that

serpent the Bhujaga Even in the

imagination it is impossible to

think that we can sleep on the sershy

pent But Lord Vishnu is not

afraid of anything He is fearless

because there is no enemy

for

Him It is we human beings who

have many enemies and that is

why we are afraid of each other

but Lord Vishnu is sleeping comshy

fortably and peacefully on the

couch of the serpent Adisesa

becJuse He is fearless Ftom His

navel emerges the lotus and this

lotus is the seat of the Creator -

Brahma The very Crearor is born

out of the navel of Vishnu

Apparently Lord Vishnu is the

Creator of this whole Universe

The seed (beeja) of that Universe

is in Him From his navel (the

embryo) we find the whole world

coming into existence Suresham

is another name of Lord Vishnu

Sura means God and Isha means

Winter 2003

Supreme God Lord Vishnu in this sense is the God of

Gods

He is the supporter of the whole Universe

Vishvadharam - Vishva is the entire Universe the

Universe which is known and unknown to us He is the

one who supports the known and unknown world

Adhara means to support

Now how big is He how small is He Is He six feet tall

and two feet broad like any other human being No He

is as vast as the sky You cannot measure the sky simishy

larly he cannot be measured GaganuJadar-~)am

Gagana means sky and sadarsyam means similar So he

is all pervading as the sky He is Meghavarnam Megha means cloud and varnam means colour How does he

look what is his

colour Is he brown

like Indians Is he

In other words the Universe the Universe which is full

of wealth and therdore nothing but Laksmi belongs to

Him The wealth that vve see on this Earth and the

wealth that we see in the Universe all belongs to him

because he is the husband of Laksmi

Kamaltlnayanam Kamal means lotus Nayana means

eyes He is lotus eyed His eyes are like lotus always

open and beautiful Is He the one who keeps the eyes

closed No Though He is sleeping on the bed of the sershy

pent Adisesa yet His eyes are always wide open because

he is seeing everything and witnessin g everything The lotus though remaining in water is untouched by it

Similarly the eyes of Lord Vishnu though seeing and

perceiving everything remains untai1tcd

Thcn if that is the

Lord how do we

him hrdsee Yogi dhyanagam)la72white like He the Lord can be Westerners Is he

black like Africans seen by a yogi

through the heart shyNo His colour is

similar to the the spiritual heart

clouds Xhen you only by practising see the clouds in the dhyana You can see

sky they are of the me I can see you

same colour You but what about dont find this cloud Him How to see

in England having a Him The yogi

different colour in though His heart America having a sees that Lord different colou r through the practice You dont say this is Indian cloud this is African cloud

or this is American cloud The cloud is the same everyshy

where It could be black white and could be with goldshy

en or silver lining or without lining So also Lord

Vishnu has no colour

Shubhangam Has he got arms like us Legs like us belly

like us chest like us Is His body like our body made out

of flesh and bone No anga means limbs Shubha means

auspicious or pure His body is JUSt the incarnation of

auspiciousness There is nothing inauspicious in Him

No inauspiciousness can touch him because He Himself

is auspicious The Lord is having the body of auspishy

CIousness

He is Lakshmikantam - the husband of Laksmi So who

is His wife His wife is Lakshmi The word indicates the

increase of good fortune prosperity success and wealth

of sadhana You necd to practise yoga do dhyana and

purif) the heart The velY core of the being Then you

will be able to see Him

Is it the eyes of the yogi that sees the Lord N it is the

heart the spiritual heart For the yogi the spiritual heart

is the eye and this eye of the spiritual heart has to open

Like His lotus eyes the lotus of the heart has to open

Vande Vishnum - let LlS salute Lord Vishnu (he All Pervader who never deteriorates who never diminishes

who is ever omnipresent who exists everywhere

Bhava Bha)aHamm - Bhava means worldly li fe It means (0 come in (0 existence or have birth after birth

(0 experience woddly life Bha)la means fear And

Haran] means to destroy What does He do for us H e

is the one who being fearless the ocean of fea rle n

Iyengar Yoga News No4 10

gives us courage to cross this world of pleasures and Lord Hanuman has a speed equal to the mind We pains This world in which we are caught and when we want that speed of the mind We often [hink that ve

cannot reach the other end of it the spiritual end of it should be qU1iet as a yoga practitioner but the quietness the very soul the very self then He is the one who also has a speed For a while we remain quiet and sudshy

destroys the fear of appearing in this world again and denly the mind thinks of something and the flow of

again getting caught in the cycles of births and deaths serenity is broken The speed of quietness breaks You

He destroys the fear which keeps us away from seeing say Oh we were sitting here but our mind was someshy

the soul where else The mind has a speed but doesnt flow with

a single attention swiftly So here is a god Lord

Sarvalokaikanatham - Sarva - whole entire Loka - heavshy Hanuman whose speed of the body and speed of the

en earth space Eka - one and only one Natham - posshy intelligence is just equal to the mind which has got a

sessor and protector He is the one who is the head of great speed to have a single minded attention I can be

the whole Universe the sole master of the Universe The here at this moment I can reach India because the mind

only One the only single One There is no other God can go that fast I may not even reach the airport but the

There is only one Isvara and we read this in the Yoga mind can reach so fast Lord Hanuman is the One who

Sutras He is untouched by klesa (afflictions) and karma has the speed of the mind He can physically reach with

(actions) The one who is untouched by this is above the speed that the wind can go Maruta Tulya Ve~tlm shyeveryone Isvara is the One and j1arut means wind or vayu Tulya

that is how in a poetic way the means similar or equal and vegam

sloka is presented to us means speed This is indicating

the vigour of Lord Hanuman and

I am taking a little longer time of the power of his body to be quick

yours so that you understand and swift When He is going with

because you are all yoga teachers that speed is he shaken Is He

and obviously this is something disturbed Is He perturbed No that the practi tioners have to He is stable in spite of having a know speedy mind jitendRiyam - jita

means conquered and indriya Then we are offering our prayers means senses and organs He has

to Lord Hanuman conquered His senses of percepshy

tion so His mind is not wavering The word Hanuman signifies the though He is reaching with that syllable AUM Ha stands for speed Buddhimatmn Varistham shyLord Vishnu nu stands for Lord Buddhi means intelligence and Shiva and ma stands for Lord Buddhirnatam means Brahma Lord Hanuman in this Intellectuals Varistham means sense signifies the confluence of excellent Lord Hanuman has the creator (Brahma) the protecshy excellence of intelligence in Him tor (Vishnu) and the destroyer Our intelligence has limitations (Shiva) in him He is above all the intellectuals

that we have in this world In We are all sadhakas We are all Lord Hanuman intelligence has practitioners We havent reached Lord Hanuman messenger of Shri reached to the exhausted level he the state of a yogi Ve are all on Rama son of the Wind God is on top as far as intelligence is that path So here is the reason Who is quick as the mind and swift as concerned He is the son of Vayu why we offer our prayers to Lord the wind Vatamajam - son of the wind Hanuman Conqueror of the senses foremost Atmaja - son

among the wise MmlOjavam - speed of the mind Commander of the monkey-army to Most important to a yogi is t11e Mana is mind and java means Him I surrender very practice of niYl112( and yama swiftness or speed He has to conquer his pral1a COrl-

Hammlan Vandalla1 Manojavam marutatulya vegan1 jitelldriya buddhimatam varistham Vatatmajal1l vl11ara)lttha mukhyam Sriramadutam Salll11am prapadye

Iyengar Yoga News No4 11 Winter 2003

~ hi energy We fi rst try to

quer more cautiously the

n

[JOI

ad

IT

Tg ar the subtle level We

to keep the vata under conshy

t rata is rhe cause of good and

behaviour Our character

~ pends upon the qu~iry and c of vata In order to have conshy

l over vata we offer prayers

ormally Lord Hanuman IS

tra nslated as Monkey God

be ause his face looks like a monshy

k y Vanara means monkey But

h re rhe vanara Hanuman is

human being Va means to blow

nd spread in all directions or to

procure or bestow anything by blowing Nara means human

being So vanara is above the

human being who is stronger

than human beings so vanara in

this sense is nor a monkey It is

said that it was a kind of uniform

given to the military force of

Sugiva which made the appearshy

ance of a monkey Rama was

given this army of all the lJanams If you read the Ramayana you

will know that they were given a

special dress to wear Though rhey

look like the monkey rhey had

rhe strength to cross the ocean

There vere engineers in the army

Lord Hanuman is rhe head of all

the vanaras Yer in spire of reachshy

ing thar level he remained all the

rime as a servant rendering service

to the Lord Sri Rama rhe Lord

He never lifted up his head wirh

ego or vaniry to say Look Im above everyone He is rhe incarshy

narion of humbleness and he

respecred the Lord and rhar is

how we offer our prayers to Lord

Hanuman

To Patanjali

Yogena citttll)a padenrl vacam MaLam sarhCllyaca vaidjlClkena Yopakarottam prrwara771 711ul1il1tlm PatanjaLim pranjaLimnatoJmi Abahu pUlwakaram Sal1lcha cakrasi dharinal1l Sahasra Iimsam sllettll11 Pnlntlmami Patanjtllim

Ler us bow before the noblest of sages

PatJnjali

who gave yoga for sereni ty and sancti ry

of mind

grammar for clarity and purity of speech

and medicine for perfection of health

Let us prostrate before Patanjali an

incarnation of Adisesa whose upper

body has a humll1 form whose arms

hold a conch and disk

And who is crowned by a thousand headshy

ed cobra

Lastly we are offering ollr prayers

to th Guru

Guru Vandanam GuruI Brahma Gurur Vishnu Guru DeIJo Maheshwarah Guru saksat Param Brahma TclS77Zal Sri Guravenamah

Guru is verily Brahma Guru is

verily Vishnu

Guru is verily Shin

Guru indeed is the Supreme

To him I bow

Brahmanandam Paramsukhadam kevamn jJ1tlnamurtim DIJczndlJatitam gagrlllsadllyam tattvamasyadi laksam Elwl1l nityam lJimalamacalam sarshyvadhi saksibhutam Bhavatitam trigunarahitam sadgurum tam namami

I salute the Guru who himself is a blissful state of Brahma who

gives only happiness is idol of

knowledge has crossed all the

dualities such as sorrow and hapshy

piness who is as vast as the sky

and untouched always drawn

into the thoughts of the Supreme

He is One and alone eternal

untainted straight-forward witshy

nessing the consciousness of all the living beings beyond the

emotional and physical entangleshy

ments unaffected by sattlJa rajas and tamas I salute that Guru

Isvara is One and only One who is

rhe Gurll of gurus because He is

omniscient in whom rhe seed of

knowledge exists The knowledge

flows only from Him He is rhe

Ocean of rhe knowledge and from

Him we are receiving rhe knowledge bir by bit So how

is rhis Guru He is rhe reator Brahma He is the proshy

Then we offer our prayers to Lord Patanjali Of course tector Vishnu and He is rhe destroyer of our ignorance

you know the meaning of that since YOll have read the Shiva or Maheshvara Then there is the guru who is

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali transforming that knowledge to LIS Because the God -

Isvara cannot be seen by us cannor be felt by us unless

Iyengar Yoga News No4 12 Winter 2003

-----------------

we realise through the sadhana Therefore we require somebody to guide us And it is our Guruji who guides us The one who guides us we have to salute him as well The Guru who is in the physical form right in front of our eyes (sakshat) is Param Brahma - the Ultimate Supreme God He is the guru who is always drawn in the thoughts of Brahman thinks of the supreme and is happy with that Supreme His all happiness is established only in that supreme SOutce He is again the incarnation of knowledge No dualities affect Him He has crossed the dualities He is as vast as the sky He aims at the Upanisadic truth Tat Tvam Ast That Thou Are He is only One - Ekam He is always eternal - nityam He is untouched by affiictions untouched by any bad or wrong actions or thoughts He is always pure He is stashybile and immovable He is always watching everything He is always witnessing everything

He is never caught emotionally He doesnt differentiate saying I like this person more so I will teach him more and I will not teach that person He transcends emoshy

tions We are always caught in the three gunas but Guru is the one who is above all so he has crossed these three

qualities Let us offer our prayers to the guru who shows the right path to us

I do understand that the doubt may arise in your mind whether you should say these prayers or not Therefore I thought it is better to understand the language and the meaning of these prayers At the end it is a Universal God We always create the God through our minds but when we cross our own mind we realise the Universal God If the

Supreme is understood in this sense then I dont think anyone need to have any doubts in their mind

Always as vve begin anything as auspicious work even the birthshyday celebrations the simple birthshyday celebrations we have candles We light the candles which shows us the light In the similar manner when we are offering the puja We will light the candles of knowlshyedge Let this knowledge always remain enllightening us The

flowers are offered with the sense of appreciation and affection So I ~--______________J

wiU perform the puja offering the flowers The Lord says in the Bhagavad Gita Dont offer me anything big Bur even if you offer me the flowers fruits leaves water I accept them because you have offered them to me with love and affection I return them back to you because Im not the one to enjoy them You have offered them to me but I will be giving them back to you That is what the Bhagavad Gita says

So when we are offering the light in the form of candles or flowers it is He who is going to return that back to us We do not ask for that but that is what His nature is to give He is not going to keep any account ofwhat we give He says in other words You try to tread the path of realshyisation you try to walk on the path of self-realisation and I will be guiding you I will be showing you me path

If we are absolutely agnostics having no faith then He is not going to force us But if a little feeling comes which says Let me do yoga let me know what it is

He is going to guide us The first time you came to

your yoga class some of you might have felt oh yoga cures diseases so let me try ifit helps me So we come

with that selfish approach Even though it might be a selfish approach God is not taking any objections to that He says Fine you have got a selfish approach it doesnt matter But be on the right path

Xhen your mind says Oh there

is something beyond the health and I want to know that Then He knows that the intention is changed He says Fine you are progressing further so I will help YOll further

So this is the dialogue which goes on between us and the Universal Soul and this inner dialogue is needed This is what the puja

means The puja means worshipshyping HIM the Supreme One While doing the sadhana we need to have dialogue with the Lord Sadhana is the language of dialogue between us and God

So having this in your minds let us offer the prayers

Iyengar Yoga News No4 13 Winter 2003

PUJA - SOME REFLECTIONS

Kirsten Agar Ward writes about her experiences and understanding of puja

wa rather surprised to have been asked to Tite this article as I am in no way any sort f authority on puja I write only from my

011 limited experiences which are of pershy- rming a puja most days as part ofour famshy -lif for around two years Before this I was cry much aware that I preferred to begin yo~ classes and my own practice with the inocation to Patanjali - it seemed and still does seem to be important to have this pause to quieten and prepare for the pracshyrice Later I also realised the importance of rhankfulness for which it provides an opporshy~unity I had also noticed and been interestshy-d in the pujas I saw talcing place in the homes of some of those with whom I stayed whilst travelling in India I found the notion of having a shrine in the home and daily ritshyuals associated with it very appealing rather than such activities being restricted to a sacred building and fIXed services I was impressed by how much a part ofdaily life it was to rhese people to pray

From what I understand at present me basic elements of puja include - a lamp (light) anointing incense food offerings (pra_iad) other offerings such as flowers chanting and prostration (pranam) There can be variashytions for example in the mantras chosen and the number of repetitions and the order in which they are performed the forms of God represented the element of silent prayer reading ofscriptures and some of the 111a terials used

In our case we have found it helpful to estabshylish a place in our home (in the yoga practice room) where we carry out the puja It is important to keep the area clean Our puja has developed over time for example we have gradually learned more chants We were helped greatly in this by having a tape recording of them Then we were able to refine our pronunciation by having the words written down It was necessary to make a consciOllS effort to learn them We are deeply grateful for the guidance we have received in puja from Guruji via Faeq Biria

I have to admit that what really got me startshy

ed with puja in my own life was the desire I for a child (our prayers were answered and we now have a beautiful son - Saut - which means asked for) Now later in parallel with my experiences of the invocation at the beginning of practice it is at east as much about thankfulness Its so easy in life isnt ir to forget all the many blessings one has and instead focus on tl1e trials and tribulations For me puja is a way of helping me rememshyber the blessings and more than this to be grateful at least for some of the time Maybe then it will spill over more and more into the rest of lite

Puja is also an opportunity to practise the fourth NiJlama - Svadhyaya - self study For exan1ple in that quietness when it is JUSt oneself talking to God one can observe ones inclinations and scrutinise them - am I conshycentrating Am I being properly reverential Am I savouring the moments or rushing to get on with something else Am I being mechanical Am I clean and pure in motivashytion Am I seelcing gratification

It seems to me that an essential aspect of puja is reverence This is not something we tend to make much of in our society The cult of the individual is very dominant and this can tend to make us feel that it is someshyhow demeaning to be reverential towards someone (or something) else To me howshyever reverence is about simple truthfulness and acceptance of truth and about showing due respect aDd appreciation Reverence is easier if we really have some understanding of our position in relation to the object of reverence This reverence (and corresponshydent lack of casualness and mechanical ness) in approach is manifested in how one preshypares for puja (the best time is after bathing) how one dresses and also in how one actushyally performs it For example the posture one assumes - is it casual Arrogant Or straight and firm and respectful I remember being Struck by how Guruji folds his hands in the Namaskar position - how beautifully he extends them - certainly not a casual or mechanical posture Posture cleanliness dress - these are some outward manifesta-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 14 Winter 2003 ------~--~~~~~-- ---------------------------shy

tions of how one is inside which is the crushycial thing If we truly in our heans revere God and strive to act in the puja as if God is really there (which I believe God is - being omnipresent) then reverence can be there It is a bit like the difference bervveen practising as if Guruji is there watching and not Through this reverence one is beginning to develop LmiddothVtlra Pranidhrma (surrender to

God)

It seems to me that puja is closely linked with all the NiJ1ilmas One observes cleanlishyness in body and endeavours to be pure in

thoughts and actions also (Saltcha) before shyand actually it seems to me the process itself has a purifYing effect Counting ones blessshyings involves a degree of Stmtosha (contentshyment) Tapas (determined effort and zeal) is required in order to be disciplined and not let the practice slip Through it one begins to develop more Svadhyaya andhhvara Pranidhana Isnt thi similar to asana and pmnayama practice Moreover I feel that by developing such qualites and personal discishyplines through puja ones practice of other aspects ofyoga can surely only be deepened As an example I remember Birjoo Mehta explaining to us how to prepare to take the

I in-bream in prartayarna and he likened it to the state one is in just at the moment one lights a prayer candle in church In this way experiences of Makti (devotion) assist our other yogic practices and I feel sure the conshyverse is also true

Puja is not about worshipping or revering a piece of stone or metal - [llse idols in C hristian terminology T he images are simshyply w heLp us remember God In much the same way in church there might be images of Christ or architecrur3l symbolic refershyences to God (for example windows being in threes to remind us subconsciously of the Holy Trinity) These things are to assist us tools rather than ends in themselves We surely need assistance otherwise we would be remembering God all the time and conshysequently being more spiritual than we are Similarly chaming and ritual itself are an assistance Coming from a protestant backshyground and not High C hurch it strikes me as somewhat curious that I have come round to valuing ritual and what may be loosely summed up as bells and smells Somehow though it seems to offer a strucshy

rure some scaffolding on which to build it touches the psyche I like the idea of chantshying in Sanskri t ancient prayers which have been chanted so many million times before It seems to me there is a great energy and purity in that My experience is that it is not essential to have to understand all the words (though having said this I am grateful that Gtetaji has given us such a clear and full explanation of several invocations) I was interested to discover that our neighbour who is an ordinand (trainee C of E priest) has had a similar experience During her training she has been involved in worship incorporating chants in Latin or Greek As she comes from a Low Church background she found this strange at first but she has discovered that it does not seem to matter that one does not understand the exact words more that it helps you focus on God In fact she pointed out to me that the Bible contains a number of references to how one docs not even need words to pray

I am still learning about puja and deepening my understanding and practice of these aspects I have mentioned If asked why pzda is important I dont think I could say any more at the moment than the points I have mentioned above - developing ones revershyence [Owards and appreciation of God and developi ng oneself to become closer to God In thinking about this article I have been struck by the many p~uallels with yoga pracshytice - from simply not being mechanical or casual to being reverenrial and appreciative and developing Svadhya)a and Ishvara Pranidhana through Tapas How also the Yanla) (for exanlple truthfulness non-covetshying) withdrawal from sense objects and the external world (Pratyahara) and concentrashytion (Dhaltlna) are involved in fact it seems to me aspects of yoga and pzda are not just parallel but interlinked the one assisting the other and vice versa

For me puja is rather like my experience of yoga when I first began - I was not exactly sure or able (0 explai n why it was so imporshytant to do it bur I just knew for me at least that it was In the same way I just know and fee that pIda is important for us not only for the blessings and insptration which come from it bur simply as the act itself for its own sake

Iyengar Yoga News No4 15 Spring 2003

THE SCIENCE OF LIFE

Inspired by Geetajl s talk in Madrid in May 2002 Dale Rathbone reflects on the basic principles and philosophy of Ayurveda

I n Madrid Geetaji discussed the basic principles and philosophy ofAyurveda and how this plays a role within our mind nature and with our practice of flSflnas Ayur-veda means science of life and a central principle of Ayurveda is the existence of the three doshas These are our 3 biological humours which are 3 primary life forces in the body In Sanskrit they are called Vflta Pitta and Kflpha which correspond primarily to the elements of Air Fire and Water These movable elements determine life processshyes of growth and decay When the humours are out of balance then this becomes a causative force in the disease process

Vara is described as the biological air eleshyment like the wind which moves things and motivates the other two forces It susshytains effort such as inhalation and exhalashytion which co-ordinates the senses impulses and vibrations The roOt of Viltfl is dealing with the waste materials in the pelvic and lower back area of the body Because the Vata is composed of ether it lives in the empty spaces in the body and fills up the subtle channels

Pitta is described as the biological fire eleshyment which is the bile that digests our food and is responsible for certain chemshyical energies and transformations in the body Modern medical science speaks of electrical energy running through our nervous system It also governs Ollr menshytal digestion heat visllal perception hunger thirst radiance understanding intelligence courage and softness of the body it is seated in [he stomach and digestive area

Kapha biologically exists in the earthshymedium like our skin bones and other tissue lining Our physical composition is mainly the water element which is conshytained within the boundaries of our skin Its origin is that which holds things

Iyengar Yoga News No4

together and so provides substance and gives support It also provides emotional traits such as love compassion modesty patience and forgiveness

Geetaji made an interesting point that if a person is Vata by nature then they may be unstable and indecisive in mind always wanting to learn something else An unstable Vatil nature person stays in asanas too long but they also want to finshyish for the next asana The Pitta nature person has discipline but jumps into one posture then to another and wants to learn moment by moment vcry quickly A Kilpha nature person slowly develops over a 70 year period

Geetaji most importantly spoke about keeping a balanced level in all three doshas Va ttl Pitta and Kapha within our daily practice

An ancient deity (arca-vigraha) of Lord Dhanvantari received the knowledge of Ayurveda from Indra the King of Gods Brahma composed Ayurveda in one hunshydred thousand siokLlJ and a thousand chapters But after considering the shorr span of life for any mortal to study Lord Dhanvantari divided Ayurveda into eight volumes

In the broad and profound Vedic science Ayurveda includes Herbal medicines dietics surgery (Shaiya Ttmtra) Psychiatry (Bhutil Vidya) toxicology (Agftela Tantra) spirituality midwifery gynaecology (Kaumarbhritya) general medicine (Kaya Chikitsa) rejuveshynation (Rasttyana) sexology (V~jikarana)

diseases of the eyes ears nose and throat (Shaiakya Ttmtra)

According to the ancient text Carakashysamhita this Science of Life and Longevity is eternal and is revealed in each universe in each of its infinite cycles of creation and destruction

16 Winter 2003

Iyengar Yoga Nevvs No4 17

These illustrations show Lord Dhanvantari in his four-armed form holding the wheel (Sudarsana Chakra) and Conch (sankha) in the upper right and left hands as do most Vishnu incarnashytions In the other two hands there are the necshytar pot (amrta-kalasha) and a herb According to

the Prapancha-sara sanshygraha the Lord holds a leech (jalauaka) in place of the herb in his fourth hand

Lord Dhanvantari was said to be an incarnation of the God Vishnu and appears in the famous myth of the churning of the milk ocean represhysenting this truth for the benefit of othe~ in the tradition of Ayurveda So to heal ourselves or others we must set It 111 motion within ourselves

Lord Dhanvantari has been worsh ipped for many years in India and is to be seen in most clinshyics and is a reminder that however much we know or skillful we become everything still depends on the grace of our spirishytual nature

Today in India the Diwali Festival is inaugushyrated with remembrance of Lord Dhanvantari For such during dusk time a lamp pointing toward North by North-East is lit at the entrance of the door step Such is the welcome to Lord Dhanvan tari to bestow on all health and happishyness in ensuing life

Winter 2003

INTERVIEW WITH JAWAHAR

Before his visit to the Manchester convention in May 2003 IYN interviewed guest teacher Jawahar Bangera

lVfiat drew you to Iyengar Yoga initialshyW (y

Honestly I was not drawn to Iyengar Yoga but dragged to it by my folks in the sumshymer of 1969 I spent the last five years of school life in a boarding school at Panchgani When I returned to Mumbai after finishing schoo the rest of the famshyily was already attending Gurujis classes (SatSun) and it was but natural for me to fall in line In those days Guruji used to spend a good part of the Indian summer teaching in Europe In the interim his senior students like the Motiwalas Burzo Taraporewala Ohun Palkhiwala conductshyed the Mumbai classes My brothers myself and the Motiwala sisters being the youngsters of the batch were singled out for special treatment especiall) an extra dose of back-bends

One day I was browsing through Light on Yoga (hardback) It fascinated me When Guruji returned to teach the class in Mumbai I was astonished to see that the person in the book (LOY) was the very same one teaching the Mumbai class I requested Guruji to accept me as a stushydent and since then there has been no Looking back In those days I used to look forward to the Saturday class as I hated getting up on a Sunday morning In boarding school we had a PT teacher who made us do postures like sirsasana arm balances and backbends So in tbe initial stages Iyengar yoga was more like PT for me until Guruji started explaining the nuances of the poses That made it intershyesting and gave me a reason to get hooked on Iyengar yoga

What do you think is the role ofYoga in the modern world

Most of the people I have met attend yoga classes with ulterior motives of improving health flexibility weight-loss or weight gain etc Those who have maintained a continuous practice have

been transformed from the mundane aspects to the subtle from the frivolous to the sublime These sadhakas have made the practice ofIyengar Yoga a part of their lives and mental make up Their food habits have changed Their attitude to felshylow workers and employees has improved Their clarity of thoughts and actions has improved Some atheists have become theists Not surprisingly they all attribute these changes (for the better) ro their practice and grace of yoga

The principals of yama and niyarna will give the modern world the instruments to lead a disciplined life especially yoga as taught by Guruji He makes no manshymade distinctions between races religion culture etc The tenets are strictly adhered to and this makes him a true yogi I am sure man) students have experienced this aspect of Guruji and Iyengar yoga Yoga as taught by Guruji will undo all the barshyriers we as ordinary humans are conshystantly erecting to form a protective fence between different peoples of the world Sage Patanjali states that yoga is not conshyditioned by class place time or concept of dut) Hence yoga plays an important role in the bonding of all mankind Therefore it is imperative to practice yoga for universal gain

How is the practice of Yoga general6 pershyceived in India

Though it is the birthplace of yoga India somehow is treated very lighdy The genshyeral concept of yoga in India is that it is meant for older people So )ou will notice very few youngsters in yoga classshyes When I started out practising Iyengar yoga I witnessed many youngsters come and go It was mostly those families where the parents and children attended classes together that there has been some adhesion to yoga My present experience is that youngsters have a major prob]em attending yoga classes because it does not

Iyengar Yoga News No4 18 ------------------~~-----

appear glam oro us And then th rt is the ego problem W h n it comes to doing difficul t po tures it exposes them (espeshycially d 1 C boysyo ung men) as wimps and this th ey cannot sto mach We see a lot of dropoU(s

So the concept of yoga needs to be changed Ask any layperson what he or she thinks of yoga and they con jur up an image of a yogi in meditation When I starred my first publi c class in M umbai in a very smalJ roo m 1 rece ived abo u thi rty srudenrs The men were dressed in office-wear and the women ca me in saris T hey had their own idea of what theIyoga lass was and I had mine I was the o nly person in the room in prop r yoga attire along with a handful of students who had some experi nce of Iyengar yoga The next class I was left with only th at handful of students Indians are hard working as Fa r lt15 materialism is conshycerned W hen it c mes to spiri rual pracshytice th ey do not want to work hard for sLI ce 55 O ne no tices many I ndians se tshytled abroad have made a success of their live fow man y have you not iced attend ing yoga classes They are Godshyfearing and many are temple-goers They prefer to pray thall undergo dle rigo urs of mana practice

There is a sign th ough that things are fi naJly changing with the p pulari ty of Iyengar yoga G uruji is now well known in India and inquiries for classes are speshycific ror I en gar yoga Most attend class with tb hope of achieving health Also there is now awareness for building good healrll w ithout the use of d rugs and docshyto L Some m end class with medical probshylems in the hope of curing themselves witho ut urger Yes rhe resp nse in a city like Mu mbai is encouraging and it has been a lo ng tim e coming All of uruJI s hard work is now paying div idends Very often you will no tice [h re are many expertS in Jnd ia who will eulogizecritishycise the subj ect without having practised it (1hen the p reacher is a well-known p rsonJ li it m akes an impact and someshytimes it can have a pos itive eHect on the efficacy of yoga

Then there is the colonial hangove G uruji has often said that yoga will b popular in this country when a Foreign teaches the subject One of the big obstashycles to the popularity of yoga is the me shyical profession W hen they are at a los ~ th ey as k rheir patients to attend yog classes At other times they advise the i patients to practise only certain poses Ie India a doctors -vord is like Gods an pat ients will approach yoga classes with presc ription from their doctors

Fortunately yoga is making some inroad in the medical profession and doctors ar now attending classes and nOficing th clifference in the non-invasive technique as taught by Guruji A renaissance is ir order

How do )ou feel about teaching large COl

ventions in contrast to smaller classes

Each has its own charm In conventions the students who attend have alread achieved a certain level in their practice They are more receptive to instruction and the degree of absorption is high E planations of subtle points are readiI understood due to the sincere practice 0

the partici )al1ts SmaHer classes have charm of th eir own There is a closer rapshyport between the teacher and the StLlshy

dents It is easier to monitor the class fo mistakes In convenrio ns though thert are rewer chances of errors from students mistakes can be glaring It happened in the last convention when a student modshyiried the pose as it was the way the stushydent was taught It also occurred that the student was not from the Iyengar yoga community [r was disturbing as well as amusll1g

There is a gut deal ofconflict in the wora crt the present time Do you think that Yoga practice and philosophy can be ofany help

T he answer to this question is connected to the earlier question of the role of yoga in the modern world If we all made a co ncerted effort to live our individual lives as per the principles laid down in the Yoga Sutras of sage Patanjali it would be a beginning Unless we lead exemplary lives we have no moral right to point fin-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 19 Winter 2003

books Later they came in book form Veda is the ocean of knowledge which was

always existing Vedas do not belong to any

particular sect caste or religion The word

Hinduism is not found in any of the vedas

First of all understand this fact There is no word called Hinduism or Hindu in Vedic

literature Vedic literature speaks about

whole humanity

Universal truth

Geetaji Yes - absolutely It is universal

truth Ie is called as Saniitana Dharma - the

eternal religion Its eternity is meant for

this eternal world The vedas believe that

the whole world is one family Can you

imagine the idea coming in those days But

still they have said vasudhaiva kutumshybakam The whole earth the world is one

family Why did the idea come Do you mean to say that the vedic rishis considered

India as the whole world Vasudhii is earth

our planet The whole earth is one family

If that idea has to occur do you mean to

say they were not knowing this whole world Its only the question of Sanskrit

language Its not even Sanskrit Vedic lanshy

guage is not Sanskrit It is called girviinabshyhtisha - the language of the God Girvana means God and bhtisha means language The script too is called Devaniigari - script

of God This means the knowledge that

comes is coming from some higher energy

In this sense Sanskrit is the origin of other

languages

If suddenly something strikes me like it

struck Newton to say that an apple coming

down means some energy is pulling that

apple down Why did no one think about it and yet he could He could think about

it Do you mean to say the apples were not

falling before him But his thinking process began to think why did it come down It occurred to him that something is getting

pulled The word gravitation appeared

later He called it as gravitational force Do

you mean to say there was a language first

which called it gravity or gravitational

force and then Newton found it

Iyengar Yoga News No4

The language developed as the knowledge

came So the knowledge comes the lanshy

guage develops When you begin to undershy

stand something you develop the lanshyguage Yoga was existing before Patanjali

but it was scattered in several scriptures

But Patanjali developed the language He codified it In this sense Patanjali too was a

scientist He did a lot of experiments and

research work to put the whole ofyogic SCi- I ence in the sutra form

Therefore we human beings of developed

intelligence should not reject the subject just because it belongs to a foreign lanshy

guage For me if English is a foreign lanshy

guage to you Sanskrit is foreign language

But the subject matter is meant for

mankind

So if Ayurveda Western medicine yoga

come together they can do wonders We

should not be ignorant of it or make it an

ego problem If you take that earlier quesshy

tion regarding yoga for Indian and European women it comes from our own

ego To say that oh I am an Indian

woman you are a European woman

Does it make any sense We are the same

Our problems are same All of us want

health All of us want happiness It is only

our culture outer appearance language and nationality that might be making a few

differences Do you remember I said the

clouds are the same everywhere You dont

say this is an Indian cloud and thar is an

English cloud no chance it is impossible I The douds are the same The sky is same

So there is no difference We only have to

look into it In which way we are treating

through modern medical science in which

way we are treating through Ayurveda and

in which way we are treating through yoga

Now the recent progress is that doctors

have begun to recommend yoga They say that when you have a heart problem and

when you have diseases like cancer or you

have high blood pressure - do some yoga

and meditation Still this statement comes

from ignorance though yoga is recognised What is yoga and what is meditation Are

4 Winter 2003

they two separate things These (10 words

Iare used as (10 separate methods Is medishy

tation something different from yoga

IThen how did these twO words come into

existence - yoga and meditation Yoga includes meditation

I would like to say that yoga has to be the whole life style Apart from the medicinal

treatment on diseases Ayurveda has to be known since it has its own value which catshy

egorises the human constitution very clearshy

ly and distinctly based on three humours namely viita pitta and kapha as well as

three qualities sattva rajas and tamas No I other science has given this distinct constishy

tution Western medicine has made a great

Iprogress in the field of medicines and surshy

gery The subjective knowledge ofyoga and Ayurveda ifintermingled properly with the

Iobjective knowledge of western medical

science can do wonders for human beings

When teaching Indian and European

women do you perceille allY d~ffirences in their needs

IGeetaji There are twO ways to look at this question All women have the same probshy

lems Womens psychology is the same

Ieverywhere As far as the lifestyle is conshycerned there are differences based on culture

and custom The Indian lifestyle European or American lifestyle are changing and

when you compare from one country to

another you do find the lifestyles changing

As tbe environment changes the requireshyments of the human being toO change This

creates problems that may seem to be difshyferent and separate but when you go to the

root of the problems they are the same Emotional problems ageing problems

physical problems for all women such

problems are very similar

I But to some extent as I say the social

norms and environmental conditions difshyfer even in the countries like Europe and

America in spite of having the same relishy

gion or the same background there is a difshyference between the status of the women

There is a difference as far as their freedom is concerned In a similar manner the

Indian way of life might be showing some

changes but as far as women are concerned there is no difference Womens problems

are the same So while teaching yoga I would say the question of the cultural background has to be considered

For a long time when the country was not having Independence Indian women were

under social pressure and stress A fear complex was always present though hidshyden Now the women are coming out

there are quite a few women now who will boldly declare We are doing yoga But in

1961 when I was practising yoga very few

women came forward to do yoga When Guruji started in 36 some women preshyferred to learn from him because he was a

young boy They didnt want to learn from

eldedy men because they were shy and afraid to learn from men They preferred

an innocent boy to a grown-up man Now

rn modern times you dont find 16 year old

boys innocent anymore

When I started teaching only a few women

woutd come forward to learn I had to go

to their homes to teach they never came

out of their house to learn If at all they

wanted to learn they would take me to

their bedroom to teach so nobody looks at

them to see what they are doing hovv they

are doing Dress was a big problem then now it is not Gradually the women started

to form groups so they could come togethshyer and learn So like this the changes are occurnng

In Western countries women had much freedom They could choose to follow any

field of interest They could pick up games

They had not to worry about dress In this way Western women had much more freeshydom than Indian women

Sometimes freedom makes one to lose senshy

sitivity Often the freedom is misused

Women should recognise their femininity

it has its uwn beauty and own vigour They

Iyengar Yoga News No4 5 Winter 2003

Id ot lose the femininity under the

of freedom I f we recognise the n uenc

has

(here

h

uaJiC) of womanhood I dont think there

ro be any difference betvveen Eastern

nJ Wretem women Basically we should

D( t middotompare ourselves with men rather we

hr e to recognise our own potency our

0 n potential femininity If we say that we

equal to men and that we can do everyshy

ling that they do then we lose our selfshy

identity There are certain things which as

o men we can do better than men and

are certain things that only they

uld do Women now are exposed to

r stling weightlifting body-building and

o n Im not against it Women are entershy

ing in every field and perhaps it is apprecishy

artu also But still I feel on the other hand

th t we should recognise our own inner

identity I would call it a beauty Its not the

eXTernal body beauty but it is femininity

(1e have to protect our femininity as men

angt protecting their masculinity So this I

wuuld definitely say that in yoga practice I

have to make Indian ladies to come out of

their shyness timidity and fear complex

They stick to their femininity thinking

that these are the qualities of femininity

and dont want to come out In Western

countries women are courageous but want

to equate themselves vith men conseshy

quently they are getring more exposed to

masculinity than to their own femininity I

would say that Indian women should begin

ro pick up q uali ties such as vigour and

courage and add to their femininity and

Vestern women should drop masculinity

omen have to be non-aggressively active

They should be calm having positive tolershy

ance Negative tolerance kills their individshy

uality Submission is a negative rolerance

[n other words I think it is a question of

balance It is not a question of argument

but a kind of balance both ways so if a

wom an is going towards masculinity I

would say come back ro femininity and if

she is going too much towards femininity

she should develop more masculine qualishy

ties Take for instance if ve lose the horshy

monal balance and that begins to show its

changes on the outside are we not afraid at

Iyengar Yoga News No4

that time We definitely feel nervous if I

hormonal changes occur and lead us from

femininity to masculini ty when we dont

want to So this functional physiological

problem shakes our psychology Then it is

only our duty to protect While teaching

yoga I perceive this point mainly I dont

want the performance of Western women

going in a masculine way and I dont want

Indian women to go in an unbahnced femshy

inine way eidler Men use their physical

strength to perform asana or pranaJama Therefore their performance has a tinge of

aggressiveness and ego They should have

the emotional feeling in practice Women

have to build up physical strength with our

losing their emotional connection They

shou d not ose their softness Indian

women are soft but their softness should

not be at the cost of strength and Western

women are strong but they should not lose

softness - stubbornness and sturdiness

should be minimised

There is one more point If the people are

regularly in front of you you are able to

teach them with continuity it is different

to the situation when you go from place to

place and teach them just for a few days

then you may find the difference in teachshy

ing If am coming to UK just to teach for

four days obviously 111y method of teachshy

ing has to change because in four days I

have to convey and give maximum to bOth

men and women That teaching depends

on what they have practised what they

have learnt But when I have to teach only

women that too on a continuous basis I

will certainly see that the approach will be

more feminine On the whole I wont say

that Indian women and Western women

are different since their problems are the I

same My teach ~ng will be the same but I

would certainly see which group lacks what

and what sort of changes are required 111

teaching so that they are benefited

The cultural difference sometimes projects

the problem in a differenr way For instance

the menopause stage in womens life

Women 111 Western countries become

6 Winter 2003

1-__-=--_______

Iyengar Yoga News

nenous of menopause Their problem of nervousness is quite different from the same problem for women in India who tOo become nervous Qui te a few Western women who tell me that now they are

Iapproaching menopause are afraid that (heir men may divorce them The fear that the family may break that the husband may begin to dislike the wife and lose intershyest in her makes her situation worse Its a

fact which happens and there are quite a few whose family has been broken The men chose younger women whereas in India this is very rare to happen This land of fear may not exist But as far as the

physiological psychological and emotional problems are concerned all women are

undergoing the same changes

So when you are asking me the question about teaching Indian women and European women as far as their need is concerned there is no difference Everybody faces some sort of pain and problem Womens responsibilities do not differ as such Every woman faces menstrushyation and pregnancy When they have to

get married they are not sure whether the person they have chosen is right or wrong It is a different type of emotional problem along with the fear complex So I dont think as far as that is concerned there is any difference as such but as far as the envishyronment family life social life is concerned there is a difference Therefore one needs to

change ones mental set-up The mental

deliberation needs to be gravitating tOvlards yogic culture The yogic method does not differ whether one is an Easterner of a Westerner For every woman there is the household work and worries there is always the responsibility in the house You have to look after everyone you have to

rake care of family members Even if you are all alone not married or divorced you have to take care of yourself You have to cook yourself you have to get organised yourself everything is there If you have a family you have to look after the others also The needs ofwomen are similar as the

problems are

No4 7 Winter 2003

It is true that one cannot breallt the social norms or religious barriers easily but one can adopt a yogic method to establish inner peace I always feel that when they do some of the asanas and pranayamas they feel mentally peaceful they get some inner strength and moral courage to face the world If that happens whichever country you belong to which religion you belong to the question doesnt arise Then women are safe For me when I look in that way I feel they can be safe They can protect themselves

When emotionally distressed the Western women immediately express themselves whereas Indian women may not express

their emotions so suddenly

So do you think Western women are more emotional

Geetaji I wont say they are more emoshytional Indians have more emotional tolershyance compared to Western women Westerners express the emotions quickly and for Indian women it may take a Ilittle

longer time to express They want to hide these kind of problems to a great extent or solve them by pacifYing themselves Then

they may come and tell but certainly they wont instantly say Oh This is what hapshypened to me But when it is unbearable then they will say OK now I will tell you that this is what happened to me But that

doesnt make the problem to get diluted Fundamentally the problem remains the same So I will say that if they come to yoga whether this group or that group to

whichever culture they belong to it helps them because emotional stability gives some courage to them they build up their nerves to face all these problems

Westerners are physically strong whereas Indian women will not be that strong However emotionally they are strong I think thar both have to exchange this physshyical and emotional energy to have a perfect balance Intellectually they are quite balshy

anced

AN EXPLANATION OF THE INVOCATIONS

This is the transcript of a talk given by Dr Geeta S Iyengar on the opening morning of the main event of the Iyengar Yoga Jubilee at Crystal Palace on

Saturday 25th May 2002

Friends yoga lovers explore him according to our intelligence mental conshy

cept and calibre Therefore I wont say that Lord

We are first of all performing the puja since we are startshy Ganesha is a Hindu God He is a creation from the

ing the auspicious work I would like to share with you human brain for us to think how a Lord could be the

the background of the puja that we are going to pershy Lord Ganesha is the one who is elephant headed with a

form Puja is one of the methods of worshipping Lord huge brain and a huge skull encasing the big brain It is

Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that whatever we to indicate that human beings also have a completely

offer to the Lord such as leaves flowers fruits or water evolved brain and we consider that the human brain is

with devotion reaches him Here we will be offering the one which is completely developed a very intellecshy

prayers deepam (light) dhupam (agarbatti) flowers and tual centre of ours Ganesha is considered to be the one

garlands who has this huge brain of mankind Gana means peoshy

ple Ganesha means God of people He is also called as

When we know that we are starring some auspicious Ganapati the head or husband of people He is also

work such as the very practice of yoga the yoga sadshy named as Vinayak - the supreme leader So Ganesh leads

hana we have to offer our prayers to the Lord who is us guides us He is the God chosen by every one (gana)

omnipotent omnipresent and omnisciltnt Though all in a democratic way

of us know that the Lord is omnipotent omnipresent

and omniscien t and that he is everywhere and also Then he is considered to be huge as far as his body is

within us yet it is not possible to realise or see the God concerned This indicates that though our physical body

since the God hasnt got any is let us say six feet high two feet

form He does not appear in any broad Lord Ganeshas huge body

form in front of us Thus the is equal to that of the Universal

human mind begins to give Him Body It is true that when we are

some shape As we begin to worshy practising many a time we feel a

ship the Lord giving him a form state where we are going beyond

or shape according to out mental this body and in that sense we

creation with devotion He can experience Mahakaya Maha appear in that form given by us means big great and kaya means

for our sake body Ganapati with his huge

head and huge body indicates the

Here we are offering our prayers depth of largeness and intricacies

to Lord Ganesha Lord Vishnu of the human body and brain

Lord Hanuman Lord Patanjalj

and the Guru You may feel Lord Ganesha Vandanam His teeth are indicated as

Ganesha is a Hindu God and as Vakratuncl ma1lkaya SUlyakoti samaprabha Vakratunda Vakra means turned all of uS who have gathered here Nirvighnam kurttme deva subhakmyesu sarllada or crooked and tunda means to practise yoga belong to differshy tusk The elephant has one long

ent religions may hesitate to pray Oh elephant-ElCed Ganesha Mighty One tusk but human beings vont to Hindu Gods Let us be clear Thy effulgence is equal to a billion suns have such rusks This is to indishy

that God does nor belong to any Forever remove I pray thee all cate that Ganesh though elephant religion God is one but manshy impediments headed has not gOt the tusks of an

made religions are multiple God In the path of my auspiciolls deeds elephant It is a legendary story

is beyond the explanations but we ~ which says that Lord Ganesha lost

Iyengar Yoga News No4 8 Winter 2003 --~~----------------------

his o ne tusk when he opposed Parashurama from enter- it does not mean that the Lord is Hindu

i ng cile regim of Lord Shiva Ganeshas fath r

The Lord anesha is considered to be the one who

helps us in all auspiciolls work to overcome all the

obs tacles and hind rances which come in the vay So we

offer our prayers to Lord Ganesha asking the Lord to

remove all those obstacles which come in the wayan the

auspicious path of yoga H aying studied the Yoga Sunas

ofParanjal i you know that there are nine obstacles in the

path of yoga along with four distractive and destructive

m ntd l obsnuccions and we are

going to offer am p rayers to Lord

G an e ha asking h im to bless LIS so

that these obstacles can be faced

courageo usly and removed

Basical ly Lord Ganesh is the Cod

ofW isdom and remover Jf ohstashy

cles hence he is involved and

worshipped at the commenccshy

ment of every im portant progresshy

sive and auspicious undertaking

It is said that G anesha wrote the

Mahabharata at the dictation of

Vyasa on the condition that Vyasa

should not pause or break the

flow of narration even for a fracshy

cion of a second orhenvisl he will

stop wrIting furth er VyJsa

accep red the challenge and did

not pause even for a fraction

Then we offer our prayers to Lord

Vi~h llU Again the nU11e seems to

be a Sanskrit word indicating a

Hindu God but it is only a quesshy

tion of language Man thought of

having a language so that he can rela r what he understands to

o chers The language is m lCll1t for

commun ication Therefore if the

prayers are said in Sanskrit it does

nO[ mean that God belongs to

that particular community which

speaks or fo llows thJt particular

Iallguag W hen bible is trmslatshy

ed in all the languages it will be

ri diculous to say that Christ only

bclongs ro those who speak

H ebrew So in Sanskrit when we

offer the p rayers to Lord Vishnu

Has the Lord gOt any form or shape Here the stanza on

Lord Vishnu which explains it Here the word Vishnu

comes from the root verb vish which means to spread

through to extend to pervade Vishnu means all pershy

vader or worker Here worker means a functional facshy

tor in every aspect It also means to embrace Lord

Vishnu not only embraces the whole universe but also

remains above In this sense he is a protector

Vishnu Slow

Jyengar Yoga News No4 9

Shtmtakaram bfndagashtl)fllam pad11fmshyfzbhai11 5ureshfllll VishlJadharilm gagt1llllsadars)lam meghfl1Jflrnam shubhilllgam

LakshmikantfllJl kall1altllla)anam )ogihrid dh)anagamyalll

Vande Vismum bhaVflbha)flharam saiVa lokaika l1atham

I salute Vishnu the sale master of the

universe whose presence is very peaceful

who stretches Himself on a serpent-bed

who sprouts a lotus in his navel who is

the one Lord of all the Devas who is the

support of the worlds who is subtle and

all pervading like the sky whose comshy

plexion is like that of the clouds whose

form is very beautiful who is the consort

of Sri Laksmi whose eyes are like lotus

petals who is meditated upon by yogis

and who eradicates (he fear of samsara

The one who hasnt got a form

who hasnt got a shape yet he has

a figure He is santakaram Santi or santa means qUIetness peaceshy

fuln ess serenity So his form is of

serenity The serenity cannOt

show any form You dont say this

serenity is like a jar or like a cup

serenity is serenity In a similar

manner the Lord Vishnu is conshy

sidered to be santakaram who is

just the incarnation of serenity

and peace He is sleeping on

Bhujaga His couch is Adisesa

the serpent He is sleeping on that

serpent the Bhujaga Even in the

imagination it is impossible to

think that we can sleep on the sershy

pent But Lord Vishnu is not

afraid of anything He is fearless

because there is no enemy

for

Him It is we human beings who

have many enemies and that is

why we are afraid of each other

but Lord Vishnu is sleeping comshy

fortably and peacefully on the

couch of the serpent Adisesa

becJuse He is fearless Ftom His

navel emerges the lotus and this

lotus is the seat of the Creator -

Brahma The very Crearor is born

out of the navel of Vishnu

Apparently Lord Vishnu is the

Creator of this whole Universe

The seed (beeja) of that Universe

is in Him From his navel (the

embryo) we find the whole world

coming into existence Suresham

is another name of Lord Vishnu

Sura means God and Isha means

Winter 2003

Supreme God Lord Vishnu in this sense is the God of

Gods

He is the supporter of the whole Universe

Vishvadharam - Vishva is the entire Universe the

Universe which is known and unknown to us He is the

one who supports the known and unknown world

Adhara means to support

Now how big is He how small is He Is He six feet tall

and two feet broad like any other human being No He

is as vast as the sky You cannot measure the sky simishy

larly he cannot be measured GaganuJadar-~)am

Gagana means sky and sadarsyam means similar So he

is all pervading as the sky He is Meghavarnam Megha means cloud and varnam means colour How does he

look what is his

colour Is he brown

like Indians Is he

In other words the Universe the Universe which is full

of wealth and therdore nothing but Laksmi belongs to

Him The wealth that vve see on this Earth and the

wealth that we see in the Universe all belongs to him

because he is the husband of Laksmi

Kamaltlnayanam Kamal means lotus Nayana means

eyes He is lotus eyed His eyes are like lotus always

open and beautiful Is He the one who keeps the eyes

closed No Though He is sleeping on the bed of the sershy

pent Adisesa yet His eyes are always wide open because

he is seeing everything and witnessin g everything The lotus though remaining in water is untouched by it

Similarly the eyes of Lord Vishnu though seeing and

perceiving everything remains untai1tcd

Thcn if that is the

Lord how do we

him hrdsee Yogi dhyanagam)la72white like He the Lord can be Westerners Is he

black like Africans seen by a yogi

through the heart shyNo His colour is

similar to the the spiritual heart

clouds Xhen you only by practising see the clouds in the dhyana You can see

sky they are of the me I can see you

same colour You but what about dont find this cloud Him How to see

in England having a Him The yogi

different colour in though His heart America having a sees that Lord different colou r through the practice You dont say this is Indian cloud this is African cloud

or this is American cloud The cloud is the same everyshy

where It could be black white and could be with goldshy

en or silver lining or without lining So also Lord

Vishnu has no colour

Shubhangam Has he got arms like us Legs like us belly

like us chest like us Is His body like our body made out

of flesh and bone No anga means limbs Shubha means

auspicious or pure His body is JUSt the incarnation of

auspiciousness There is nothing inauspicious in Him

No inauspiciousness can touch him because He Himself

is auspicious The Lord is having the body of auspishy

CIousness

He is Lakshmikantam - the husband of Laksmi So who

is His wife His wife is Lakshmi The word indicates the

increase of good fortune prosperity success and wealth

of sadhana You necd to practise yoga do dhyana and

purif) the heart The velY core of the being Then you

will be able to see Him

Is it the eyes of the yogi that sees the Lord N it is the

heart the spiritual heart For the yogi the spiritual heart

is the eye and this eye of the spiritual heart has to open

Like His lotus eyes the lotus of the heart has to open

Vande Vishnum - let LlS salute Lord Vishnu (he All Pervader who never deteriorates who never diminishes

who is ever omnipresent who exists everywhere

Bhava Bha)aHamm - Bhava means worldly li fe It means (0 come in (0 existence or have birth after birth

(0 experience woddly life Bha)la means fear And

Haran] means to destroy What does He do for us H e

is the one who being fearless the ocean of fea rle n

Iyengar Yoga News No4 10

gives us courage to cross this world of pleasures and Lord Hanuman has a speed equal to the mind We pains This world in which we are caught and when we want that speed of the mind We often [hink that ve

cannot reach the other end of it the spiritual end of it should be qU1iet as a yoga practitioner but the quietness the very soul the very self then He is the one who also has a speed For a while we remain quiet and sudshy

destroys the fear of appearing in this world again and denly the mind thinks of something and the flow of

again getting caught in the cycles of births and deaths serenity is broken The speed of quietness breaks You

He destroys the fear which keeps us away from seeing say Oh we were sitting here but our mind was someshy

the soul where else The mind has a speed but doesnt flow with

a single attention swiftly So here is a god Lord

Sarvalokaikanatham - Sarva - whole entire Loka - heavshy Hanuman whose speed of the body and speed of the

en earth space Eka - one and only one Natham - posshy intelligence is just equal to the mind which has got a

sessor and protector He is the one who is the head of great speed to have a single minded attention I can be

the whole Universe the sole master of the Universe The here at this moment I can reach India because the mind

only One the only single One There is no other God can go that fast I may not even reach the airport but the

There is only one Isvara and we read this in the Yoga mind can reach so fast Lord Hanuman is the One who

Sutras He is untouched by klesa (afflictions) and karma has the speed of the mind He can physically reach with

(actions) The one who is untouched by this is above the speed that the wind can go Maruta Tulya Ve~tlm shyeveryone Isvara is the One and j1arut means wind or vayu Tulya

that is how in a poetic way the means similar or equal and vegam

sloka is presented to us means speed This is indicating

the vigour of Lord Hanuman and

I am taking a little longer time of the power of his body to be quick

yours so that you understand and swift When He is going with

because you are all yoga teachers that speed is he shaken Is He

and obviously this is something disturbed Is He perturbed No that the practi tioners have to He is stable in spite of having a know speedy mind jitendRiyam - jita

means conquered and indriya Then we are offering our prayers means senses and organs He has

to Lord Hanuman conquered His senses of percepshy

tion so His mind is not wavering The word Hanuman signifies the though He is reaching with that syllable AUM Ha stands for speed Buddhimatmn Varistham shyLord Vishnu nu stands for Lord Buddhi means intelligence and Shiva and ma stands for Lord Buddhirnatam means Brahma Lord Hanuman in this Intellectuals Varistham means sense signifies the confluence of excellent Lord Hanuman has the creator (Brahma) the protecshy excellence of intelligence in Him tor (Vishnu) and the destroyer Our intelligence has limitations (Shiva) in him He is above all the intellectuals

that we have in this world In We are all sadhakas We are all Lord Hanuman intelligence has practitioners We havent reached Lord Hanuman messenger of Shri reached to the exhausted level he the state of a yogi Ve are all on Rama son of the Wind God is on top as far as intelligence is that path So here is the reason Who is quick as the mind and swift as concerned He is the son of Vayu why we offer our prayers to Lord the wind Vatamajam - son of the wind Hanuman Conqueror of the senses foremost Atmaja - son

among the wise MmlOjavam - speed of the mind Commander of the monkey-army to Most important to a yogi is t11e Mana is mind and java means Him I surrender very practice of niYl112( and yama swiftness or speed He has to conquer his pral1a COrl-

Hammlan Vandalla1 Manojavam marutatulya vegan1 jitelldriya buddhimatam varistham Vatatmajal1l vl11ara)lttha mukhyam Sriramadutam Salll11am prapadye

Iyengar Yoga News No4 11 Winter 2003

~ hi energy We fi rst try to

quer more cautiously the

n

[JOI

ad

IT

Tg ar the subtle level We

to keep the vata under conshy

t rata is rhe cause of good and

behaviour Our character

~ pends upon the qu~iry and c of vata In order to have conshy

l over vata we offer prayers

ormally Lord Hanuman IS

tra nslated as Monkey God

be ause his face looks like a monshy

k y Vanara means monkey But

h re rhe vanara Hanuman is

human being Va means to blow

nd spread in all directions or to

procure or bestow anything by blowing Nara means human

being So vanara is above the

human being who is stronger

than human beings so vanara in

this sense is nor a monkey It is

said that it was a kind of uniform

given to the military force of

Sugiva which made the appearshy

ance of a monkey Rama was

given this army of all the lJanams If you read the Ramayana you

will know that they were given a

special dress to wear Though rhey

look like the monkey rhey had

rhe strength to cross the ocean

There vere engineers in the army

Lord Hanuman is rhe head of all

the vanaras Yer in spire of reachshy

ing thar level he remained all the

rime as a servant rendering service

to the Lord Sri Rama rhe Lord

He never lifted up his head wirh

ego or vaniry to say Look Im above everyone He is rhe incarshy

narion of humbleness and he

respecred the Lord and rhar is

how we offer our prayers to Lord

Hanuman

To Patanjali

Yogena citttll)a padenrl vacam MaLam sarhCllyaca vaidjlClkena Yopakarottam prrwara771 711ul1il1tlm PatanjaLim pranjaLimnatoJmi Abahu pUlwakaram Sal1lcha cakrasi dharinal1l Sahasra Iimsam sllettll11 Pnlntlmami Patanjtllim

Ler us bow before the noblest of sages

PatJnjali

who gave yoga for sereni ty and sancti ry

of mind

grammar for clarity and purity of speech

and medicine for perfection of health

Let us prostrate before Patanjali an

incarnation of Adisesa whose upper

body has a humll1 form whose arms

hold a conch and disk

And who is crowned by a thousand headshy

ed cobra

Lastly we are offering ollr prayers

to th Guru

Guru Vandanam GuruI Brahma Gurur Vishnu Guru DeIJo Maheshwarah Guru saksat Param Brahma TclS77Zal Sri Guravenamah

Guru is verily Brahma Guru is

verily Vishnu

Guru is verily Shin

Guru indeed is the Supreme

To him I bow

Brahmanandam Paramsukhadam kevamn jJ1tlnamurtim DIJczndlJatitam gagrlllsadllyam tattvamasyadi laksam Elwl1l nityam lJimalamacalam sarshyvadhi saksibhutam Bhavatitam trigunarahitam sadgurum tam namami

I salute the Guru who himself is a blissful state of Brahma who

gives only happiness is idol of

knowledge has crossed all the

dualities such as sorrow and hapshy

piness who is as vast as the sky

and untouched always drawn

into the thoughts of the Supreme

He is One and alone eternal

untainted straight-forward witshy

nessing the consciousness of all the living beings beyond the

emotional and physical entangleshy

ments unaffected by sattlJa rajas and tamas I salute that Guru

Isvara is One and only One who is

rhe Gurll of gurus because He is

omniscient in whom rhe seed of

knowledge exists The knowledge

flows only from Him He is rhe

Ocean of rhe knowledge and from

Him we are receiving rhe knowledge bir by bit So how

is rhis Guru He is rhe reator Brahma He is the proshy

Then we offer our prayers to Lord Patanjali Of course tector Vishnu and He is rhe destroyer of our ignorance

you know the meaning of that since YOll have read the Shiva or Maheshvara Then there is the guru who is

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali transforming that knowledge to LIS Because the God -

Isvara cannot be seen by us cannor be felt by us unless

Iyengar Yoga News No4 12 Winter 2003

-----------------

we realise through the sadhana Therefore we require somebody to guide us And it is our Guruji who guides us The one who guides us we have to salute him as well The Guru who is in the physical form right in front of our eyes (sakshat) is Param Brahma - the Ultimate Supreme God He is the guru who is always drawn in the thoughts of Brahman thinks of the supreme and is happy with that Supreme His all happiness is established only in that supreme SOutce He is again the incarnation of knowledge No dualities affect Him He has crossed the dualities He is as vast as the sky He aims at the Upanisadic truth Tat Tvam Ast That Thou Are He is only One - Ekam He is always eternal - nityam He is untouched by affiictions untouched by any bad or wrong actions or thoughts He is always pure He is stashybile and immovable He is always watching everything He is always witnessing everything

He is never caught emotionally He doesnt differentiate saying I like this person more so I will teach him more and I will not teach that person He transcends emoshy

tions We are always caught in the three gunas but Guru is the one who is above all so he has crossed these three

qualities Let us offer our prayers to the guru who shows the right path to us

I do understand that the doubt may arise in your mind whether you should say these prayers or not Therefore I thought it is better to understand the language and the meaning of these prayers At the end it is a Universal God We always create the God through our minds but when we cross our own mind we realise the Universal God If the

Supreme is understood in this sense then I dont think anyone need to have any doubts in their mind

Always as vve begin anything as auspicious work even the birthshyday celebrations the simple birthshyday celebrations we have candles We light the candles which shows us the light In the similar manner when we are offering the puja We will light the candles of knowlshyedge Let this knowledge always remain enllightening us The

flowers are offered with the sense of appreciation and affection So I ~--______________J

wiU perform the puja offering the flowers The Lord says in the Bhagavad Gita Dont offer me anything big Bur even if you offer me the flowers fruits leaves water I accept them because you have offered them to me with love and affection I return them back to you because Im not the one to enjoy them You have offered them to me but I will be giving them back to you That is what the Bhagavad Gita says

So when we are offering the light in the form of candles or flowers it is He who is going to return that back to us We do not ask for that but that is what His nature is to give He is not going to keep any account ofwhat we give He says in other words You try to tread the path of realshyisation you try to walk on the path of self-realisation and I will be guiding you I will be showing you me path

If we are absolutely agnostics having no faith then He is not going to force us But if a little feeling comes which says Let me do yoga let me know what it is

He is going to guide us The first time you came to

your yoga class some of you might have felt oh yoga cures diseases so let me try ifit helps me So we come

with that selfish approach Even though it might be a selfish approach God is not taking any objections to that He says Fine you have got a selfish approach it doesnt matter But be on the right path

Xhen your mind says Oh there

is something beyond the health and I want to know that Then He knows that the intention is changed He says Fine you are progressing further so I will help YOll further

So this is the dialogue which goes on between us and the Universal Soul and this inner dialogue is needed This is what the puja

means The puja means worshipshyping HIM the Supreme One While doing the sadhana we need to have dialogue with the Lord Sadhana is the language of dialogue between us and God

So having this in your minds let us offer the prayers

Iyengar Yoga News No4 13 Winter 2003

PUJA - SOME REFLECTIONS

Kirsten Agar Ward writes about her experiences and understanding of puja

wa rather surprised to have been asked to Tite this article as I am in no way any sort f authority on puja I write only from my

011 limited experiences which are of pershy- rming a puja most days as part ofour famshy -lif for around two years Before this I was cry much aware that I preferred to begin yo~ classes and my own practice with the inocation to Patanjali - it seemed and still does seem to be important to have this pause to quieten and prepare for the pracshyrice Later I also realised the importance of rhankfulness for which it provides an opporshy~unity I had also noticed and been interestshy-d in the pujas I saw talcing place in the homes of some of those with whom I stayed whilst travelling in India I found the notion of having a shrine in the home and daily ritshyuals associated with it very appealing rather than such activities being restricted to a sacred building and fIXed services I was impressed by how much a part ofdaily life it was to rhese people to pray

From what I understand at present me basic elements of puja include - a lamp (light) anointing incense food offerings (pra_iad) other offerings such as flowers chanting and prostration (pranam) There can be variashytions for example in the mantras chosen and the number of repetitions and the order in which they are performed the forms of God represented the element of silent prayer reading ofscriptures and some of the 111a terials used

In our case we have found it helpful to estabshylish a place in our home (in the yoga practice room) where we carry out the puja It is important to keep the area clean Our puja has developed over time for example we have gradually learned more chants We were helped greatly in this by having a tape recording of them Then we were able to refine our pronunciation by having the words written down It was necessary to make a consciOllS effort to learn them We are deeply grateful for the guidance we have received in puja from Guruji via Faeq Biria

I have to admit that what really got me startshy

ed with puja in my own life was the desire I for a child (our prayers were answered and we now have a beautiful son - Saut - which means asked for) Now later in parallel with my experiences of the invocation at the beginning of practice it is at east as much about thankfulness Its so easy in life isnt ir to forget all the many blessings one has and instead focus on tl1e trials and tribulations For me puja is a way of helping me rememshyber the blessings and more than this to be grateful at least for some of the time Maybe then it will spill over more and more into the rest of lite

Puja is also an opportunity to practise the fourth NiJlama - Svadhyaya - self study For exan1ple in that quietness when it is JUSt oneself talking to God one can observe ones inclinations and scrutinise them - am I conshycentrating Am I being properly reverential Am I savouring the moments or rushing to get on with something else Am I being mechanical Am I clean and pure in motivashytion Am I seelcing gratification

It seems to me that an essential aspect of puja is reverence This is not something we tend to make much of in our society The cult of the individual is very dominant and this can tend to make us feel that it is someshyhow demeaning to be reverential towards someone (or something) else To me howshyever reverence is about simple truthfulness and acceptance of truth and about showing due respect aDd appreciation Reverence is easier if we really have some understanding of our position in relation to the object of reverence This reverence (and corresponshydent lack of casualness and mechanical ness) in approach is manifested in how one preshypares for puja (the best time is after bathing) how one dresses and also in how one actushyally performs it For example the posture one assumes - is it casual Arrogant Or straight and firm and respectful I remember being Struck by how Guruji folds his hands in the Namaskar position - how beautifully he extends them - certainly not a casual or mechanical posture Posture cleanliness dress - these are some outward manifesta-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 14 Winter 2003 ------~--~~~~~-- ---------------------------shy

tions of how one is inside which is the crushycial thing If we truly in our heans revere God and strive to act in the puja as if God is really there (which I believe God is - being omnipresent) then reverence can be there It is a bit like the difference bervveen practising as if Guruji is there watching and not Through this reverence one is beginning to develop LmiddothVtlra Pranidhrma (surrender to

God)

It seems to me that puja is closely linked with all the NiJ1ilmas One observes cleanlishyness in body and endeavours to be pure in

thoughts and actions also (Saltcha) before shyand actually it seems to me the process itself has a purifYing effect Counting ones blessshyings involves a degree of Stmtosha (contentshyment) Tapas (determined effort and zeal) is required in order to be disciplined and not let the practice slip Through it one begins to develop more Svadhyaya andhhvara Pranidhana Isnt thi similar to asana and pmnayama practice Moreover I feel that by developing such qualites and personal discishyplines through puja ones practice of other aspects ofyoga can surely only be deepened As an example I remember Birjoo Mehta explaining to us how to prepare to take the

I in-bream in prartayarna and he likened it to the state one is in just at the moment one lights a prayer candle in church In this way experiences of Makti (devotion) assist our other yogic practices and I feel sure the conshyverse is also true

Puja is not about worshipping or revering a piece of stone or metal - [llse idols in C hristian terminology T he images are simshyply w heLp us remember God In much the same way in church there might be images of Christ or architecrur3l symbolic refershyences to God (for example windows being in threes to remind us subconsciously of the Holy Trinity) These things are to assist us tools rather than ends in themselves We surely need assistance otherwise we would be remembering God all the time and conshysequently being more spiritual than we are Similarly chaming and ritual itself are an assistance Coming from a protestant backshyground and not High C hurch it strikes me as somewhat curious that I have come round to valuing ritual and what may be loosely summed up as bells and smells Somehow though it seems to offer a strucshy

rure some scaffolding on which to build it touches the psyche I like the idea of chantshying in Sanskri t ancient prayers which have been chanted so many million times before It seems to me there is a great energy and purity in that My experience is that it is not essential to have to understand all the words (though having said this I am grateful that Gtetaji has given us such a clear and full explanation of several invocations) I was interested to discover that our neighbour who is an ordinand (trainee C of E priest) has had a similar experience During her training she has been involved in worship incorporating chants in Latin or Greek As she comes from a Low Church background she found this strange at first but she has discovered that it does not seem to matter that one does not understand the exact words more that it helps you focus on God In fact she pointed out to me that the Bible contains a number of references to how one docs not even need words to pray

I am still learning about puja and deepening my understanding and practice of these aspects I have mentioned If asked why pzda is important I dont think I could say any more at the moment than the points I have mentioned above - developing ones revershyence [Owards and appreciation of God and developi ng oneself to become closer to God In thinking about this article I have been struck by the many p~uallels with yoga pracshytice - from simply not being mechanical or casual to being reverenrial and appreciative and developing Svadhya)a and Ishvara Pranidhana through Tapas How also the Yanla) (for exanlple truthfulness non-covetshying) withdrawal from sense objects and the external world (Pratyahara) and concentrashytion (Dhaltlna) are involved in fact it seems to me aspects of yoga and pzda are not just parallel but interlinked the one assisting the other and vice versa

For me puja is rather like my experience of yoga when I first began - I was not exactly sure or able (0 explai n why it was so imporshytant to do it bur I just knew for me at least that it was In the same way I just know and fee that pIda is important for us not only for the blessings and insptration which come from it bur simply as the act itself for its own sake

Iyengar Yoga News No4 15 Spring 2003

THE SCIENCE OF LIFE

Inspired by Geetajl s talk in Madrid in May 2002 Dale Rathbone reflects on the basic principles and philosophy of Ayurveda

I n Madrid Geetaji discussed the basic principles and philosophy ofAyurveda and how this plays a role within our mind nature and with our practice of flSflnas Ayur-veda means science of life and a central principle of Ayurveda is the existence of the three doshas These are our 3 biological humours which are 3 primary life forces in the body In Sanskrit they are called Vflta Pitta and Kflpha which correspond primarily to the elements of Air Fire and Water These movable elements determine life processshyes of growth and decay When the humours are out of balance then this becomes a causative force in the disease process

Vara is described as the biological air eleshyment like the wind which moves things and motivates the other two forces It susshytains effort such as inhalation and exhalashytion which co-ordinates the senses impulses and vibrations The roOt of Viltfl is dealing with the waste materials in the pelvic and lower back area of the body Because the Vata is composed of ether it lives in the empty spaces in the body and fills up the subtle channels

Pitta is described as the biological fire eleshyment which is the bile that digests our food and is responsible for certain chemshyical energies and transformations in the body Modern medical science speaks of electrical energy running through our nervous system It also governs Ollr menshytal digestion heat visllal perception hunger thirst radiance understanding intelligence courage and softness of the body it is seated in [he stomach and digestive area

Kapha biologically exists in the earthshymedium like our skin bones and other tissue lining Our physical composition is mainly the water element which is conshytained within the boundaries of our skin Its origin is that which holds things

Iyengar Yoga News No4

together and so provides substance and gives support It also provides emotional traits such as love compassion modesty patience and forgiveness

Geetaji made an interesting point that if a person is Vata by nature then they may be unstable and indecisive in mind always wanting to learn something else An unstable Vatil nature person stays in asanas too long but they also want to finshyish for the next asana The Pitta nature person has discipline but jumps into one posture then to another and wants to learn moment by moment vcry quickly A Kilpha nature person slowly develops over a 70 year period

Geetaji most importantly spoke about keeping a balanced level in all three doshas Va ttl Pitta and Kapha within our daily practice

An ancient deity (arca-vigraha) of Lord Dhanvantari received the knowledge of Ayurveda from Indra the King of Gods Brahma composed Ayurveda in one hunshydred thousand siokLlJ and a thousand chapters But after considering the shorr span of life for any mortal to study Lord Dhanvantari divided Ayurveda into eight volumes

In the broad and profound Vedic science Ayurveda includes Herbal medicines dietics surgery (Shaiya Ttmtra) Psychiatry (Bhutil Vidya) toxicology (Agftela Tantra) spirituality midwifery gynaecology (Kaumarbhritya) general medicine (Kaya Chikitsa) rejuveshynation (Rasttyana) sexology (V~jikarana)

diseases of the eyes ears nose and throat (Shaiakya Ttmtra)

According to the ancient text Carakashysamhita this Science of Life and Longevity is eternal and is revealed in each universe in each of its infinite cycles of creation and destruction

16 Winter 2003

Iyengar Yoga Nevvs No4 17

These illustrations show Lord Dhanvantari in his four-armed form holding the wheel (Sudarsana Chakra) and Conch (sankha) in the upper right and left hands as do most Vishnu incarnashytions In the other two hands there are the necshytar pot (amrta-kalasha) and a herb According to

the Prapancha-sara sanshygraha the Lord holds a leech (jalauaka) in place of the herb in his fourth hand

Lord Dhanvantari was said to be an incarnation of the God Vishnu and appears in the famous myth of the churning of the milk ocean represhysenting this truth for the benefit of othe~ in the tradition of Ayurveda So to heal ourselves or others we must set It 111 motion within ourselves

Lord Dhanvantari has been worsh ipped for many years in India and is to be seen in most clinshyics and is a reminder that however much we know or skillful we become everything still depends on the grace of our spirishytual nature

Today in India the Diwali Festival is inaugushyrated with remembrance of Lord Dhanvantari For such during dusk time a lamp pointing toward North by North-East is lit at the entrance of the door step Such is the welcome to Lord Dhanvan tari to bestow on all health and happishyness in ensuing life

Winter 2003

INTERVIEW WITH JAWAHAR

Before his visit to the Manchester convention in May 2003 IYN interviewed guest teacher Jawahar Bangera

lVfiat drew you to Iyengar Yoga initialshyW (y

Honestly I was not drawn to Iyengar Yoga but dragged to it by my folks in the sumshymer of 1969 I spent the last five years of school life in a boarding school at Panchgani When I returned to Mumbai after finishing schoo the rest of the famshyily was already attending Gurujis classes (SatSun) and it was but natural for me to fall in line In those days Guruji used to spend a good part of the Indian summer teaching in Europe In the interim his senior students like the Motiwalas Burzo Taraporewala Ohun Palkhiwala conductshyed the Mumbai classes My brothers myself and the Motiwala sisters being the youngsters of the batch were singled out for special treatment especiall) an extra dose of back-bends

One day I was browsing through Light on Yoga (hardback) It fascinated me When Guruji returned to teach the class in Mumbai I was astonished to see that the person in the book (LOY) was the very same one teaching the Mumbai class I requested Guruji to accept me as a stushydent and since then there has been no Looking back In those days I used to look forward to the Saturday class as I hated getting up on a Sunday morning In boarding school we had a PT teacher who made us do postures like sirsasana arm balances and backbends So in tbe initial stages Iyengar yoga was more like PT for me until Guruji started explaining the nuances of the poses That made it intershyesting and gave me a reason to get hooked on Iyengar yoga

What do you think is the role ofYoga in the modern world

Most of the people I have met attend yoga classes with ulterior motives of improving health flexibility weight-loss or weight gain etc Those who have maintained a continuous practice have

been transformed from the mundane aspects to the subtle from the frivolous to the sublime These sadhakas have made the practice ofIyengar Yoga a part of their lives and mental make up Their food habits have changed Their attitude to felshylow workers and employees has improved Their clarity of thoughts and actions has improved Some atheists have become theists Not surprisingly they all attribute these changes (for the better) ro their practice and grace of yoga

The principals of yama and niyarna will give the modern world the instruments to lead a disciplined life especially yoga as taught by Guruji He makes no manshymade distinctions between races religion culture etc The tenets are strictly adhered to and this makes him a true yogi I am sure man) students have experienced this aspect of Guruji and Iyengar yoga Yoga as taught by Guruji will undo all the barshyriers we as ordinary humans are conshystantly erecting to form a protective fence between different peoples of the world Sage Patanjali states that yoga is not conshyditioned by class place time or concept of dut) Hence yoga plays an important role in the bonding of all mankind Therefore it is imperative to practice yoga for universal gain

How is the practice of Yoga general6 pershyceived in India

Though it is the birthplace of yoga India somehow is treated very lighdy The genshyeral concept of yoga in India is that it is meant for older people So )ou will notice very few youngsters in yoga classshyes When I started out practising Iyengar yoga I witnessed many youngsters come and go It was mostly those families where the parents and children attended classes together that there has been some adhesion to yoga My present experience is that youngsters have a major prob]em attending yoga classes because it does not

Iyengar Yoga News No4 18 ------------------~~-----

appear glam oro us And then th rt is the ego problem W h n it comes to doing difficul t po tures it exposes them (espeshycially d 1 C boysyo ung men) as wimps and this th ey cannot sto mach We see a lot of dropoU(s

So the concept of yoga needs to be changed Ask any layperson what he or she thinks of yoga and they con jur up an image of a yogi in meditation When I starred my first publi c class in M umbai in a very smalJ roo m 1 rece ived abo u thi rty srudenrs The men were dressed in office-wear and the women ca me in saris T hey had their own idea of what theIyoga lass was and I had mine I was the o nly person in the room in prop r yoga attire along with a handful of students who had some experi nce of Iyengar yoga The next class I was left with only th at handful of students Indians are hard working as Fa r lt15 materialism is conshycerned W hen it c mes to spiri rual pracshytice th ey do not want to work hard for sLI ce 55 O ne no tices many I ndians se tshytled abroad have made a success of their live fow man y have you not iced attend ing yoga classes They are Godshyfearing and many are temple-goers They prefer to pray thall undergo dle rigo urs of mana practice

There is a sign th ough that things are fi naJly changing with the p pulari ty of Iyengar yoga G uruji is now well known in India and inquiries for classes are speshycific ror I en gar yoga Most attend class with tb hope of achieving health Also there is now awareness for building good healrll w ithout the use of d rugs and docshyto L Some m end class with medical probshylems in the hope of curing themselves witho ut urger Yes rhe resp nse in a city like Mu mbai is encouraging and it has been a lo ng tim e coming All of uruJI s hard work is now paying div idends Very often you will no tice [h re are many expertS in Jnd ia who will eulogizecritishycise the subj ect without having practised it (1hen the p reacher is a well-known p rsonJ li it m akes an impact and someshytimes it can have a pos itive eHect on the efficacy of yoga

Then there is the colonial hangove G uruji has often said that yoga will b popular in this country when a Foreign teaches the subject One of the big obstashycles to the popularity of yoga is the me shyical profession W hen they are at a los ~ th ey as k rheir patients to attend yog classes At other times they advise the i patients to practise only certain poses Ie India a doctors -vord is like Gods an pat ients will approach yoga classes with presc ription from their doctors

Fortunately yoga is making some inroad in the medical profession and doctors ar now attending classes and nOficing th clifference in the non-invasive technique as taught by Guruji A renaissance is ir order

How do )ou feel about teaching large COl

ventions in contrast to smaller classes

Each has its own charm In conventions the students who attend have alread achieved a certain level in their practice They are more receptive to instruction and the degree of absorption is high E planations of subtle points are readiI understood due to the sincere practice 0

the partici )al1ts SmaHer classes have charm of th eir own There is a closer rapshyport between the teacher and the StLlshy

dents It is easier to monitor the class fo mistakes In convenrio ns though thert are rewer chances of errors from students mistakes can be glaring It happened in the last convention when a student modshyiried the pose as it was the way the stushydent was taught It also occurred that the student was not from the Iyengar yoga community [r was disturbing as well as amusll1g

There is a gut deal ofconflict in the wora crt the present time Do you think that Yoga practice and philosophy can be ofany help

T he answer to this question is connected to the earlier question of the role of yoga in the modern world If we all made a co ncerted effort to live our individual lives as per the principles laid down in the Yoga Sutras of sage Patanjali it would be a beginning Unless we lead exemplary lives we have no moral right to point fin-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 19 Winter 2003

they two separate things These (10 words

Iare used as (10 separate methods Is medishy

tation something different from yoga

IThen how did these twO words come into

existence - yoga and meditation Yoga includes meditation

I would like to say that yoga has to be the whole life style Apart from the medicinal

treatment on diseases Ayurveda has to be known since it has its own value which catshy

egorises the human constitution very clearshy

ly and distinctly based on three humours namely viita pitta and kapha as well as

three qualities sattva rajas and tamas No I other science has given this distinct constishy

tution Western medicine has made a great

Iprogress in the field of medicines and surshy

gery The subjective knowledge ofyoga and Ayurveda ifintermingled properly with the

Iobjective knowledge of western medical

science can do wonders for human beings

When teaching Indian and European

women do you perceille allY d~ffirences in their needs

IGeetaji There are twO ways to look at this question All women have the same probshy

lems Womens psychology is the same

Ieverywhere As far as the lifestyle is conshycerned there are differences based on culture

and custom The Indian lifestyle European or American lifestyle are changing and

when you compare from one country to

another you do find the lifestyles changing

As tbe environment changes the requireshyments of the human being toO change This

creates problems that may seem to be difshyferent and separate but when you go to the

root of the problems they are the same Emotional problems ageing problems

physical problems for all women such

problems are very similar

I But to some extent as I say the social

norms and environmental conditions difshyfer even in the countries like Europe and

America in spite of having the same relishy

gion or the same background there is a difshyference between the status of the women

There is a difference as far as their freedom is concerned In a similar manner the

Indian way of life might be showing some

changes but as far as women are concerned there is no difference Womens problems

are the same So while teaching yoga I would say the question of the cultural background has to be considered

For a long time when the country was not having Independence Indian women were

under social pressure and stress A fear complex was always present though hidshyden Now the women are coming out

there are quite a few women now who will boldly declare We are doing yoga But in

1961 when I was practising yoga very few

women came forward to do yoga When Guruji started in 36 some women preshyferred to learn from him because he was a

young boy They didnt want to learn from

eldedy men because they were shy and afraid to learn from men They preferred

an innocent boy to a grown-up man Now

rn modern times you dont find 16 year old

boys innocent anymore

When I started teaching only a few women

woutd come forward to learn I had to go

to their homes to teach they never came

out of their house to learn If at all they

wanted to learn they would take me to

their bedroom to teach so nobody looks at

them to see what they are doing hovv they

are doing Dress was a big problem then now it is not Gradually the women started

to form groups so they could come togethshyer and learn So like this the changes are occurnng

In Western countries women had much freedom They could choose to follow any

field of interest They could pick up games

They had not to worry about dress In this way Western women had much more freeshydom than Indian women

Sometimes freedom makes one to lose senshy

sitivity Often the freedom is misused

Women should recognise their femininity

it has its uwn beauty and own vigour They

Iyengar Yoga News No4 5 Winter 2003

Id ot lose the femininity under the

of freedom I f we recognise the n uenc

has

(here

h

uaJiC) of womanhood I dont think there

ro be any difference betvveen Eastern

nJ Wretem women Basically we should

D( t middotompare ourselves with men rather we

hr e to recognise our own potency our

0 n potential femininity If we say that we

equal to men and that we can do everyshy

ling that they do then we lose our selfshy

identity There are certain things which as

o men we can do better than men and

are certain things that only they

uld do Women now are exposed to

r stling weightlifting body-building and

o n Im not against it Women are entershy

ing in every field and perhaps it is apprecishy

artu also But still I feel on the other hand

th t we should recognise our own inner

identity I would call it a beauty Its not the

eXTernal body beauty but it is femininity

(1e have to protect our femininity as men

angt protecting their masculinity So this I

wuuld definitely say that in yoga practice I

have to make Indian ladies to come out of

their shyness timidity and fear complex

They stick to their femininity thinking

that these are the qualities of femininity

and dont want to come out In Western

countries women are courageous but want

to equate themselves vith men conseshy

quently they are getring more exposed to

masculinity than to their own femininity I

would say that Indian women should begin

ro pick up q uali ties such as vigour and

courage and add to their femininity and

Vestern women should drop masculinity

omen have to be non-aggressively active

They should be calm having positive tolershy

ance Negative tolerance kills their individshy

uality Submission is a negative rolerance

[n other words I think it is a question of

balance It is not a question of argument

but a kind of balance both ways so if a

wom an is going towards masculinity I

would say come back ro femininity and if

she is going too much towards femininity

she should develop more masculine qualishy

ties Take for instance if ve lose the horshy

monal balance and that begins to show its

changes on the outside are we not afraid at

Iyengar Yoga News No4

that time We definitely feel nervous if I

hormonal changes occur and lead us from

femininity to masculini ty when we dont

want to So this functional physiological

problem shakes our psychology Then it is

only our duty to protect While teaching

yoga I perceive this point mainly I dont

want the performance of Western women

going in a masculine way and I dont want

Indian women to go in an unbahnced femshy

inine way eidler Men use their physical

strength to perform asana or pranaJama Therefore their performance has a tinge of

aggressiveness and ego They should have

the emotional feeling in practice Women

have to build up physical strength with our

losing their emotional connection They

shou d not ose their softness Indian

women are soft but their softness should

not be at the cost of strength and Western

women are strong but they should not lose

softness - stubbornness and sturdiness

should be minimised

There is one more point If the people are

regularly in front of you you are able to

teach them with continuity it is different

to the situation when you go from place to

place and teach them just for a few days

then you may find the difference in teachshy

ing If am coming to UK just to teach for

four days obviously 111y method of teachshy

ing has to change because in four days I

have to convey and give maximum to bOth

men and women That teaching depends

on what they have practised what they

have learnt But when I have to teach only

women that too on a continuous basis I

will certainly see that the approach will be

more feminine On the whole I wont say

that Indian women and Western women

are different since their problems are the I

same My teach ~ng will be the same but I

would certainly see which group lacks what

and what sort of changes are required 111

teaching so that they are benefited

The cultural difference sometimes projects

the problem in a differenr way For instance

the menopause stage in womens life

Women 111 Western countries become

6 Winter 2003

1-__-=--_______

Iyengar Yoga News

nenous of menopause Their problem of nervousness is quite different from the same problem for women in India who tOo become nervous Qui te a few Western women who tell me that now they are

Iapproaching menopause are afraid that (heir men may divorce them The fear that the family may break that the husband may begin to dislike the wife and lose intershyest in her makes her situation worse Its a

fact which happens and there are quite a few whose family has been broken The men chose younger women whereas in India this is very rare to happen This land of fear may not exist But as far as the

physiological psychological and emotional problems are concerned all women are

undergoing the same changes

So when you are asking me the question about teaching Indian women and European women as far as their need is concerned there is no difference Everybody faces some sort of pain and problem Womens responsibilities do not differ as such Every woman faces menstrushyation and pregnancy When they have to

get married they are not sure whether the person they have chosen is right or wrong It is a different type of emotional problem along with the fear complex So I dont think as far as that is concerned there is any difference as such but as far as the envishyronment family life social life is concerned there is a difference Therefore one needs to

change ones mental set-up The mental

deliberation needs to be gravitating tOvlards yogic culture The yogic method does not differ whether one is an Easterner of a Westerner For every woman there is the household work and worries there is always the responsibility in the house You have to look after everyone you have to

rake care of family members Even if you are all alone not married or divorced you have to take care of yourself You have to cook yourself you have to get organised yourself everything is there If you have a family you have to look after the others also The needs ofwomen are similar as the

problems are

No4 7 Winter 2003

It is true that one cannot breallt the social norms or religious barriers easily but one can adopt a yogic method to establish inner peace I always feel that when they do some of the asanas and pranayamas they feel mentally peaceful they get some inner strength and moral courage to face the world If that happens whichever country you belong to which religion you belong to the question doesnt arise Then women are safe For me when I look in that way I feel they can be safe They can protect themselves

When emotionally distressed the Western women immediately express themselves whereas Indian women may not express

their emotions so suddenly

So do you think Western women are more emotional

Geetaji I wont say they are more emoshytional Indians have more emotional tolershyance compared to Western women Westerners express the emotions quickly and for Indian women it may take a Ilittle

longer time to express They want to hide these kind of problems to a great extent or solve them by pacifYing themselves Then

they may come and tell but certainly they wont instantly say Oh This is what hapshypened to me But when it is unbearable then they will say OK now I will tell you that this is what happened to me But that

doesnt make the problem to get diluted Fundamentally the problem remains the same So I will say that if they come to yoga whether this group or that group to

whichever culture they belong to it helps them because emotional stability gives some courage to them they build up their nerves to face all these problems

Westerners are physically strong whereas Indian women will not be that strong However emotionally they are strong I think thar both have to exchange this physshyical and emotional energy to have a perfect balance Intellectually they are quite balshy

anced

AN EXPLANATION OF THE INVOCATIONS

This is the transcript of a talk given by Dr Geeta S Iyengar on the opening morning of the main event of the Iyengar Yoga Jubilee at Crystal Palace on

Saturday 25th May 2002

Friends yoga lovers explore him according to our intelligence mental conshy

cept and calibre Therefore I wont say that Lord

We are first of all performing the puja since we are startshy Ganesha is a Hindu God He is a creation from the

ing the auspicious work I would like to share with you human brain for us to think how a Lord could be the

the background of the puja that we are going to pershy Lord Ganesha is the one who is elephant headed with a

form Puja is one of the methods of worshipping Lord huge brain and a huge skull encasing the big brain It is

Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that whatever we to indicate that human beings also have a completely

offer to the Lord such as leaves flowers fruits or water evolved brain and we consider that the human brain is

with devotion reaches him Here we will be offering the one which is completely developed a very intellecshy

prayers deepam (light) dhupam (agarbatti) flowers and tual centre of ours Ganesha is considered to be the one

garlands who has this huge brain of mankind Gana means peoshy

ple Ganesha means God of people He is also called as

When we know that we are starring some auspicious Ganapati the head or husband of people He is also

work such as the very practice of yoga the yoga sadshy named as Vinayak - the supreme leader So Ganesh leads

hana we have to offer our prayers to the Lord who is us guides us He is the God chosen by every one (gana)

omnipotent omnipresent and omnisciltnt Though all in a democratic way

of us know that the Lord is omnipotent omnipresent

and omniscien t and that he is everywhere and also Then he is considered to be huge as far as his body is

within us yet it is not possible to realise or see the God concerned This indicates that though our physical body

since the God hasnt got any is let us say six feet high two feet

form He does not appear in any broad Lord Ganeshas huge body

form in front of us Thus the is equal to that of the Universal

human mind begins to give Him Body It is true that when we are

some shape As we begin to worshy practising many a time we feel a

ship the Lord giving him a form state where we are going beyond

or shape according to out mental this body and in that sense we

creation with devotion He can experience Mahakaya Maha appear in that form given by us means big great and kaya means

for our sake body Ganapati with his huge

head and huge body indicates the

Here we are offering our prayers depth of largeness and intricacies

to Lord Ganesha Lord Vishnu of the human body and brain

Lord Hanuman Lord Patanjalj

and the Guru You may feel Lord Ganesha Vandanam His teeth are indicated as

Ganesha is a Hindu God and as Vakratuncl ma1lkaya SUlyakoti samaprabha Vakratunda Vakra means turned all of uS who have gathered here Nirvighnam kurttme deva subhakmyesu sarllada or crooked and tunda means to practise yoga belong to differshy tusk The elephant has one long

ent religions may hesitate to pray Oh elephant-ElCed Ganesha Mighty One tusk but human beings vont to Hindu Gods Let us be clear Thy effulgence is equal to a billion suns have such rusks This is to indishy

that God does nor belong to any Forever remove I pray thee all cate that Ganesh though elephant religion God is one but manshy impediments headed has not gOt the tusks of an

made religions are multiple God In the path of my auspiciolls deeds elephant It is a legendary story

is beyond the explanations but we ~ which says that Lord Ganesha lost

Iyengar Yoga News No4 8 Winter 2003 --~~----------------------

his o ne tusk when he opposed Parashurama from enter- it does not mean that the Lord is Hindu

i ng cile regim of Lord Shiva Ganeshas fath r

The Lord anesha is considered to be the one who

helps us in all auspiciolls work to overcome all the

obs tacles and hind rances which come in the vay So we

offer our prayers to Lord Ganesha asking the Lord to

remove all those obstacles which come in the wayan the

auspicious path of yoga H aying studied the Yoga Sunas

ofParanjal i you know that there are nine obstacles in the

path of yoga along with four distractive and destructive

m ntd l obsnuccions and we are

going to offer am p rayers to Lord

G an e ha asking h im to bless LIS so

that these obstacles can be faced

courageo usly and removed

Basical ly Lord Ganesh is the Cod

ofW isdom and remover Jf ohstashy

cles hence he is involved and

worshipped at the commenccshy

ment of every im portant progresshy

sive and auspicious undertaking

It is said that G anesha wrote the

Mahabharata at the dictation of

Vyasa on the condition that Vyasa

should not pause or break the

flow of narration even for a fracshy

cion of a second orhenvisl he will

stop wrIting furth er VyJsa

accep red the challenge and did

not pause even for a fraction

Then we offer our prayers to Lord

Vi~h llU Again the nU11e seems to

be a Sanskrit word indicating a

Hindu God but it is only a quesshy

tion of language Man thought of

having a language so that he can rela r what he understands to

o chers The language is m lCll1t for

commun ication Therefore if the

prayers are said in Sanskrit it does

nO[ mean that God belongs to

that particular community which

speaks or fo llows thJt particular

Iallguag W hen bible is trmslatshy

ed in all the languages it will be

ri diculous to say that Christ only

bclongs ro those who speak

H ebrew So in Sanskrit when we

offer the p rayers to Lord Vishnu

Has the Lord gOt any form or shape Here the stanza on

Lord Vishnu which explains it Here the word Vishnu

comes from the root verb vish which means to spread

through to extend to pervade Vishnu means all pershy

vader or worker Here worker means a functional facshy

tor in every aspect It also means to embrace Lord

Vishnu not only embraces the whole universe but also

remains above In this sense he is a protector

Vishnu Slow

Jyengar Yoga News No4 9

Shtmtakaram bfndagashtl)fllam pad11fmshyfzbhai11 5ureshfllll VishlJadharilm gagt1llllsadars)lam meghfl1Jflrnam shubhilllgam

LakshmikantfllJl kall1altllla)anam )ogihrid dh)anagamyalll

Vande Vismum bhaVflbha)flharam saiVa lokaika l1atham

I salute Vishnu the sale master of the

universe whose presence is very peaceful

who stretches Himself on a serpent-bed

who sprouts a lotus in his navel who is

the one Lord of all the Devas who is the

support of the worlds who is subtle and

all pervading like the sky whose comshy

plexion is like that of the clouds whose

form is very beautiful who is the consort

of Sri Laksmi whose eyes are like lotus

petals who is meditated upon by yogis

and who eradicates (he fear of samsara

The one who hasnt got a form

who hasnt got a shape yet he has

a figure He is santakaram Santi or santa means qUIetness peaceshy

fuln ess serenity So his form is of

serenity The serenity cannOt

show any form You dont say this

serenity is like a jar or like a cup

serenity is serenity In a similar

manner the Lord Vishnu is conshy

sidered to be santakaram who is

just the incarnation of serenity

and peace He is sleeping on

Bhujaga His couch is Adisesa

the serpent He is sleeping on that

serpent the Bhujaga Even in the

imagination it is impossible to

think that we can sleep on the sershy

pent But Lord Vishnu is not

afraid of anything He is fearless

because there is no enemy

for

Him It is we human beings who

have many enemies and that is

why we are afraid of each other

but Lord Vishnu is sleeping comshy

fortably and peacefully on the

couch of the serpent Adisesa

becJuse He is fearless Ftom His

navel emerges the lotus and this

lotus is the seat of the Creator -

Brahma The very Crearor is born

out of the navel of Vishnu

Apparently Lord Vishnu is the

Creator of this whole Universe

The seed (beeja) of that Universe

is in Him From his navel (the

embryo) we find the whole world

coming into existence Suresham

is another name of Lord Vishnu

Sura means God and Isha means

Winter 2003

Supreme God Lord Vishnu in this sense is the God of

Gods

He is the supporter of the whole Universe

Vishvadharam - Vishva is the entire Universe the

Universe which is known and unknown to us He is the

one who supports the known and unknown world

Adhara means to support

Now how big is He how small is He Is He six feet tall

and two feet broad like any other human being No He

is as vast as the sky You cannot measure the sky simishy

larly he cannot be measured GaganuJadar-~)am

Gagana means sky and sadarsyam means similar So he

is all pervading as the sky He is Meghavarnam Megha means cloud and varnam means colour How does he

look what is his

colour Is he brown

like Indians Is he

In other words the Universe the Universe which is full

of wealth and therdore nothing but Laksmi belongs to

Him The wealth that vve see on this Earth and the

wealth that we see in the Universe all belongs to him

because he is the husband of Laksmi

Kamaltlnayanam Kamal means lotus Nayana means

eyes He is lotus eyed His eyes are like lotus always

open and beautiful Is He the one who keeps the eyes

closed No Though He is sleeping on the bed of the sershy

pent Adisesa yet His eyes are always wide open because

he is seeing everything and witnessin g everything The lotus though remaining in water is untouched by it

Similarly the eyes of Lord Vishnu though seeing and

perceiving everything remains untai1tcd

Thcn if that is the

Lord how do we

him hrdsee Yogi dhyanagam)la72white like He the Lord can be Westerners Is he

black like Africans seen by a yogi

through the heart shyNo His colour is

similar to the the spiritual heart

clouds Xhen you only by practising see the clouds in the dhyana You can see

sky they are of the me I can see you

same colour You but what about dont find this cloud Him How to see

in England having a Him The yogi

different colour in though His heart America having a sees that Lord different colou r through the practice You dont say this is Indian cloud this is African cloud

or this is American cloud The cloud is the same everyshy

where It could be black white and could be with goldshy

en or silver lining or without lining So also Lord

Vishnu has no colour

Shubhangam Has he got arms like us Legs like us belly

like us chest like us Is His body like our body made out

of flesh and bone No anga means limbs Shubha means

auspicious or pure His body is JUSt the incarnation of

auspiciousness There is nothing inauspicious in Him

No inauspiciousness can touch him because He Himself

is auspicious The Lord is having the body of auspishy

CIousness

He is Lakshmikantam - the husband of Laksmi So who

is His wife His wife is Lakshmi The word indicates the

increase of good fortune prosperity success and wealth

of sadhana You necd to practise yoga do dhyana and

purif) the heart The velY core of the being Then you

will be able to see Him

Is it the eyes of the yogi that sees the Lord N it is the

heart the spiritual heart For the yogi the spiritual heart

is the eye and this eye of the spiritual heart has to open

Like His lotus eyes the lotus of the heart has to open

Vande Vishnum - let LlS salute Lord Vishnu (he All Pervader who never deteriorates who never diminishes

who is ever omnipresent who exists everywhere

Bhava Bha)aHamm - Bhava means worldly li fe It means (0 come in (0 existence or have birth after birth

(0 experience woddly life Bha)la means fear And

Haran] means to destroy What does He do for us H e

is the one who being fearless the ocean of fea rle n

Iyengar Yoga News No4 10

gives us courage to cross this world of pleasures and Lord Hanuman has a speed equal to the mind We pains This world in which we are caught and when we want that speed of the mind We often [hink that ve

cannot reach the other end of it the spiritual end of it should be qU1iet as a yoga practitioner but the quietness the very soul the very self then He is the one who also has a speed For a while we remain quiet and sudshy

destroys the fear of appearing in this world again and denly the mind thinks of something and the flow of

again getting caught in the cycles of births and deaths serenity is broken The speed of quietness breaks You

He destroys the fear which keeps us away from seeing say Oh we were sitting here but our mind was someshy

the soul where else The mind has a speed but doesnt flow with

a single attention swiftly So here is a god Lord

Sarvalokaikanatham - Sarva - whole entire Loka - heavshy Hanuman whose speed of the body and speed of the

en earth space Eka - one and only one Natham - posshy intelligence is just equal to the mind which has got a

sessor and protector He is the one who is the head of great speed to have a single minded attention I can be

the whole Universe the sole master of the Universe The here at this moment I can reach India because the mind

only One the only single One There is no other God can go that fast I may not even reach the airport but the

There is only one Isvara and we read this in the Yoga mind can reach so fast Lord Hanuman is the One who

Sutras He is untouched by klesa (afflictions) and karma has the speed of the mind He can physically reach with

(actions) The one who is untouched by this is above the speed that the wind can go Maruta Tulya Ve~tlm shyeveryone Isvara is the One and j1arut means wind or vayu Tulya

that is how in a poetic way the means similar or equal and vegam

sloka is presented to us means speed This is indicating

the vigour of Lord Hanuman and

I am taking a little longer time of the power of his body to be quick

yours so that you understand and swift When He is going with

because you are all yoga teachers that speed is he shaken Is He

and obviously this is something disturbed Is He perturbed No that the practi tioners have to He is stable in spite of having a know speedy mind jitendRiyam - jita

means conquered and indriya Then we are offering our prayers means senses and organs He has

to Lord Hanuman conquered His senses of percepshy

tion so His mind is not wavering The word Hanuman signifies the though He is reaching with that syllable AUM Ha stands for speed Buddhimatmn Varistham shyLord Vishnu nu stands for Lord Buddhi means intelligence and Shiva and ma stands for Lord Buddhirnatam means Brahma Lord Hanuman in this Intellectuals Varistham means sense signifies the confluence of excellent Lord Hanuman has the creator (Brahma) the protecshy excellence of intelligence in Him tor (Vishnu) and the destroyer Our intelligence has limitations (Shiva) in him He is above all the intellectuals

that we have in this world In We are all sadhakas We are all Lord Hanuman intelligence has practitioners We havent reached Lord Hanuman messenger of Shri reached to the exhausted level he the state of a yogi Ve are all on Rama son of the Wind God is on top as far as intelligence is that path So here is the reason Who is quick as the mind and swift as concerned He is the son of Vayu why we offer our prayers to Lord the wind Vatamajam - son of the wind Hanuman Conqueror of the senses foremost Atmaja - son

among the wise MmlOjavam - speed of the mind Commander of the monkey-army to Most important to a yogi is t11e Mana is mind and java means Him I surrender very practice of niYl112( and yama swiftness or speed He has to conquer his pral1a COrl-

Hammlan Vandalla1 Manojavam marutatulya vegan1 jitelldriya buddhimatam varistham Vatatmajal1l vl11ara)lttha mukhyam Sriramadutam Salll11am prapadye

Iyengar Yoga News No4 11 Winter 2003

~ hi energy We fi rst try to

quer more cautiously the

n

[JOI

ad

IT

Tg ar the subtle level We

to keep the vata under conshy

t rata is rhe cause of good and

behaviour Our character

~ pends upon the qu~iry and c of vata In order to have conshy

l over vata we offer prayers

ormally Lord Hanuman IS

tra nslated as Monkey God

be ause his face looks like a monshy

k y Vanara means monkey But

h re rhe vanara Hanuman is

human being Va means to blow

nd spread in all directions or to

procure or bestow anything by blowing Nara means human

being So vanara is above the

human being who is stronger

than human beings so vanara in

this sense is nor a monkey It is

said that it was a kind of uniform

given to the military force of

Sugiva which made the appearshy

ance of a monkey Rama was

given this army of all the lJanams If you read the Ramayana you

will know that they were given a

special dress to wear Though rhey

look like the monkey rhey had

rhe strength to cross the ocean

There vere engineers in the army

Lord Hanuman is rhe head of all

the vanaras Yer in spire of reachshy

ing thar level he remained all the

rime as a servant rendering service

to the Lord Sri Rama rhe Lord

He never lifted up his head wirh

ego or vaniry to say Look Im above everyone He is rhe incarshy

narion of humbleness and he

respecred the Lord and rhar is

how we offer our prayers to Lord

Hanuman

To Patanjali

Yogena citttll)a padenrl vacam MaLam sarhCllyaca vaidjlClkena Yopakarottam prrwara771 711ul1il1tlm PatanjaLim pranjaLimnatoJmi Abahu pUlwakaram Sal1lcha cakrasi dharinal1l Sahasra Iimsam sllettll11 Pnlntlmami Patanjtllim

Ler us bow before the noblest of sages

PatJnjali

who gave yoga for sereni ty and sancti ry

of mind

grammar for clarity and purity of speech

and medicine for perfection of health

Let us prostrate before Patanjali an

incarnation of Adisesa whose upper

body has a humll1 form whose arms

hold a conch and disk

And who is crowned by a thousand headshy

ed cobra

Lastly we are offering ollr prayers

to th Guru

Guru Vandanam GuruI Brahma Gurur Vishnu Guru DeIJo Maheshwarah Guru saksat Param Brahma TclS77Zal Sri Guravenamah

Guru is verily Brahma Guru is

verily Vishnu

Guru is verily Shin

Guru indeed is the Supreme

To him I bow

Brahmanandam Paramsukhadam kevamn jJ1tlnamurtim DIJczndlJatitam gagrlllsadllyam tattvamasyadi laksam Elwl1l nityam lJimalamacalam sarshyvadhi saksibhutam Bhavatitam trigunarahitam sadgurum tam namami

I salute the Guru who himself is a blissful state of Brahma who

gives only happiness is idol of

knowledge has crossed all the

dualities such as sorrow and hapshy

piness who is as vast as the sky

and untouched always drawn

into the thoughts of the Supreme

He is One and alone eternal

untainted straight-forward witshy

nessing the consciousness of all the living beings beyond the

emotional and physical entangleshy

ments unaffected by sattlJa rajas and tamas I salute that Guru

Isvara is One and only One who is

rhe Gurll of gurus because He is

omniscient in whom rhe seed of

knowledge exists The knowledge

flows only from Him He is rhe

Ocean of rhe knowledge and from

Him we are receiving rhe knowledge bir by bit So how

is rhis Guru He is rhe reator Brahma He is the proshy

Then we offer our prayers to Lord Patanjali Of course tector Vishnu and He is rhe destroyer of our ignorance

you know the meaning of that since YOll have read the Shiva or Maheshvara Then there is the guru who is

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali transforming that knowledge to LIS Because the God -

Isvara cannot be seen by us cannor be felt by us unless

Iyengar Yoga News No4 12 Winter 2003

-----------------

we realise through the sadhana Therefore we require somebody to guide us And it is our Guruji who guides us The one who guides us we have to salute him as well The Guru who is in the physical form right in front of our eyes (sakshat) is Param Brahma - the Ultimate Supreme God He is the guru who is always drawn in the thoughts of Brahman thinks of the supreme and is happy with that Supreme His all happiness is established only in that supreme SOutce He is again the incarnation of knowledge No dualities affect Him He has crossed the dualities He is as vast as the sky He aims at the Upanisadic truth Tat Tvam Ast That Thou Are He is only One - Ekam He is always eternal - nityam He is untouched by affiictions untouched by any bad or wrong actions or thoughts He is always pure He is stashybile and immovable He is always watching everything He is always witnessing everything

He is never caught emotionally He doesnt differentiate saying I like this person more so I will teach him more and I will not teach that person He transcends emoshy

tions We are always caught in the three gunas but Guru is the one who is above all so he has crossed these three

qualities Let us offer our prayers to the guru who shows the right path to us

I do understand that the doubt may arise in your mind whether you should say these prayers or not Therefore I thought it is better to understand the language and the meaning of these prayers At the end it is a Universal God We always create the God through our minds but when we cross our own mind we realise the Universal God If the

Supreme is understood in this sense then I dont think anyone need to have any doubts in their mind

Always as vve begin anything as auspicious work even the birthshyday celebrations the simple birthshyday celebrations we have candles We light the candles which shows us the light In the similar manner when we are offering the puja We will light the candles of knowlshyedge Let this knowledge always remain enllightening us The

flowers are offered with the sense of appreciation and affection So I ~--______________J

wiU perform the puja offering the flowers The Lord says in the Bhagavad Gita Dont offer me anything big Bur even if you offer me the flowers fruits leaves water I accept them because you have offered them to me with love and affection I return them back to you because Im not the one to enjoy them You have offered them to me but I will be giving them back to you That is what the Bhagavad Gita says

So when we are offering the light in the form of candles or flowers it is He who is going to return that back to us We do not ask for that but that is what His nature is to give He is not going to keep any account ofwhat we give He says in other words You try to tread the path of realshyisation you try to walk on the path of self-realisation and I will be guiding you I will be showing you me path

If we are absolutely agnostics having no faith then He is not going to force us But if a little feeling comes which says Let me do yoga let me know what it is

He is going to guide us The first time you came to

your yoga class some of you might have felt oh yoga cures diseases so let me try ifit helps me So we come

with that selfish approach Even though it might be a selfish approach God is not taking any objections to that He says Fine you have got a selfish approach it doesnt matter But be on the right path

Xhen your mind says Oh there

is something beyond the health and I want to know that Then He knows that the intention is changed He says Fine you are progressing further so I will help YOll further

So this is the dialogue which goes on between us and the Universal Soul and this inner dialogue is needed This is what the puja

means The puja means worshipshyping HIM the Supreme One While doing the sadhana we need to have dialogue with the Lord Sadhana is the language of dialogue between us and God

So having this in your minds let us offer the prayers

Iyengar Yoga News No4 13 Winter 2003

PUJA - SOME REFLECTIONS

Kirsten Agar Ward writes about her experiences and understanding of puja

wa rather surprised to have been asked to Tite this article as I am in no way any sort f authority on puja I write only from my

011 limited experiences which are of pershy- rming a puja most days as part ofour famshy -lif for around two years Before this I was cry much aware that I preferred to begin yo~ classes and my own practice with the inocation to Patanjali - it seemed and still does seem to be important to have this pause to quieten and prepare for the pracshyrice Later I also realised the importance of rhankfulness for which it provides an opporshy~unity I had also noticed and been interestshy-d in the pujas I saw talcing place in the homes of some of those with whom I stayed whilst travelling in India I found the notion of having a shrine in the home and daily ritshyuals associated with it very appealing rather than such activities being restricted to a sacred building and fIXed services I was impressed by how much a part ofdaily life it was to rhese people to pray

From what I understand at present me basic elements of puja include - a lamp (light) anointing incense food offerings (pra_iad) other offerings such as flowers chanting and prostration (pranam) There can be variashytions for example in the mantras chosen and the number of repetitions and the order in which they are performed the forms of God represented the element of silent prayer reading ofscriptures and some of the 111a terials used

In our case we have found it helpful to estabshylish a place in our home (in the yoga practice room) where we carry out the puja It is important to keep the area clean Our puja has developed over time for example we have gradually learned more chants We were helped greatly in this by having a tape recording of them Then we were able to refine our pronunciation by having the words written down It was necessary to make a consciOllS effort to learn them We are deeply grateful for the guidance we have received in puja from Guruji via Faeq Biria

I have to admit that what really got me startshy

ed with puja in my own life was the desire I for a child (our prayers were answered and we now have a beautiful son - Saut - which means asked for) Now later in parallel with my experiences of the invocation at the beginning of practice it is at east as much about thankfulness Its so easy in life isnt ir to forget all the many blessings one has and instead focus on tl1e trials and tribulations For me puja is a way of helping me rememshyber the blessings and more than this to be grateful at least for some of the time Maybe then it will spill over more and more into the rest of lite

Puja is also an opportunity to practise the fourth NiJlama - Svadhyaya - self study For exan1ple in that quietness when it is JUSt oneself talking to God one can observe ones inclinations and scrutinise them - am I conshycentrating Am I being properly reverential Am I savouring the moments or rushing to get on with something else Am I being mechanical Am I clean and pure in motivashytion Am I seelcing gratification

It seems to me that an essential aspect of puja is reverence This is not something we tend to make much of in our society The cult of the individual is very dominant and this can tend to make us feel that it is someshyhow demeaning to be reverential towards someone (or something) else To me howshyever reverence is about simple truthfulness and acceptance of truth and about showing due respect aDd appreciation Reverence is easier if we really have some understanding of our position in relation to the object of reverence This reverence (and corresponshydent lack of casualness and mechanical ness) in approach is manifested in how one preshypares for puja (the best time is after bathing) how one dresses and also in how one actushyally performs it For example the posture one assumes - is it casual Arrogant Or straight and firm and respectful I remember being Struck by how Guruji folds his hands in the Namaskar position - how beautifully he extends them - certainly not a casual or mechanical posture Posture cleanliness dress - these are some outward manifesta-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 14 Winter 2003 ------~--~~~~~-- ---------------------------shy

tions of how one is inside which is the crushycial thing If we truly in our heans revere God and strive to act in the puja as if God is really there (which I believe God is - being omnipresent) then reverence can be there It is a bit like the difference bervveen practising as if Guruji is there watching and not Through this reverence one is beginning to develop LmiddothVtlra Pranidhrma (surrender to

God)

It seems to me that puja is closely linked with all the NiJ1ilmas One observes cleanlishyness in body and endeavours to be pure in

thoughts and actions also (Saltcha) before shyand actually it seems to me the process itself has a purifYing effect Counting ones blessshyings involves a degree of Stmtosha (contentshyment) Tapas (determined effort and zeal) is required in order to be disciplined and not let the practice slip Through it one begins to develop more Svadhyaya andhhvara Pranidhana Isnt thi similar to asana and pmnayama practice Moreover I feel that by developing such qualites and personal discishyplines through puja ones practice of other aspects ofyoga can surely only be deepened As an example I remember Birjoo Mehta explaining to us how to prepare to take the

I in-bream in prartayarna and he likened it to the state one is in just at the moment one lights a prayer candle in church In this way experiences of Makti (devotion) assist our other yogic practices and I feel sure the conshyverse is also true

Puja is not about worshipping or revering a piece of stone or metal - [llse idols in C hristian terminology T he images are simshyply w heLp us remember God In much the same way in church there might be images of Christ or architecrur3l symbolic refershyences to God (for example windows being in threes to remind us subconsciously of the Holy Trinity) These things are to assist us tools rather than ends in themselves We surely need assistance otherwise we would be remembering God all the time and conshysequently being more spiritual than we are Similarly chaming and ritual itself are an assistance Coming from a protestant backshyground and not High C hurch it strikes me as somewhat curious that I have come round to valuing ritual and what may be loosely summed up as bells and smells Somehow though it seems to offer a strucshy

rure some scaffolding on which to build it touches the psyche I like the idea of chantshying in Sanskri t ancient prayers which have been chanted so many million times before It seems to me there is a great energy and purity in that My experience is that it is not essential to have to understand all the words (though having said this I am grateful that Gtetaji has given us such a clear and full explanation of several invocations) I was interested to discover that our neighbour who is an ordinand (trainee C of E priest) has had a similar experience During her training she has been involved in worship incorporating chants in Latin or Greek As she comes from a Low Church background she found this strange at first but she has discovered that it does not seem to matter that one does not understand the exact words more that it helps you focus on God In fact she pointed out to me that the Bible contains a number of references to how one docs not even need words to pray

I am still learning about puja and deepening my understanding and practice of these aspects I have mentioned If asked why pzda is important I dont think I could say any more at the moment than the points I have mentioned above - developing ones revershyence [Owards and appreciation of God and developi ng oneself to become closer to God In thinking about this article I have been struck by the many p~uallels with yoga pracshytice - from simply not being mechanical or casual to being reverenrial and appreciative and developing Svadhya)a and Ishvara Pranidhana through Tapas How also the Yanla) (for exanlple truthfulness non-covetshying) withdrawal from sense objects and the external world (Pratyahara) and concentrashytion (Dhaltlna) are involved in fact it seems to me aspects of yoga and pzda are not just parallel but interlinked the one assisting the other and vice versa

For me puja is rather like my experience of yoga when I first began - I was not exactly sure or able (0 explai n why it was so imporshytant to do it bur I just knew for me at least that it was In the same way I just know and fee that pIda is important for us not only for the blessings and insptration which come from it bur simply as the act itself for its own sake

Iyengar Yoga News No4 15 Spring 2003

THE SCIENCE OF LIFE

Inspired by Geetajl s talk in Madrid in May 2002 Dale Rathbone reflects on the basic principles and philosophy of Ayurveda

I n Madrid Geetaji discussed the basic principles and philosophy ofAyurveda and how this plays a role within our mind nature and with our practice of flSflnas Ayur-veda means science of life and a central principle of Ayurveda is the existence of the three doshas These are our 3 biological humours which are 3 primary life forces in the body In Sanskrit they are called Vflta Pitta and Kflpha which correspond primarily to the elements of Air Fire and Water These movable elements determine life processshyes of growth and decay When the humours are out of balance then this becomes a causative force in the disease process

Vara is described as the biological air eleshyment like the wind which moves things and motivates the other two forces It susshytains effort such as inhalation and exhalashytion which co-ordinates the senses impulses and vibrations The roOt of Viltfl is dealing with the waste materials in the pelvic and lower back area of the body Because the Vata is composed of ether it lives in the empty spaces in the body and fills up the subtle channels

Pitta is described as the biological fire eleshyment which is the bile that digests our food and is responsible for certain chemshyical energies and transformations in the body Modern medical science speaks of electrical energy running through our nervous system It also governs Ollr menshytal digestion heat visllal perception hunger thirst radiance understanding intelligence courage and softness of the body it is seated in [he stomach and digestive area

Kapha biologically exists in the earthshymedium like our skin bones and other tissue lining Our physical composition is mainly the water element which is conshytained within the boundaries of our skin Its origin is that which holds things

Iyengar Yoga News No4

together and so provides substance and gives support It also provides emotional traits such as love compassion modesty patience and forgiveness

Geetaji made an interesting point that if a person is Vata by nature then they may be unstable and indecisive in mind always wanting to learn something else An unstable Vatil nature person stays in asanas too long but they also want to finshyish for the next asana The Pitta nature person has discipline but jumps into one posture then to another and wants to learn moment by moment vcry quickly A Kilpha nature person slowly develops over a 70 year period

Geetaji most importantly spoke about keeping a balanced level in all three doshas Va ttl Pitta and Kapha within our daily practice

An ancient deity (arca-vigraha) of Lord Dhanvantari received the knowledge of Ayurveda from Indra the King of Gods Brahma composed Ayurveda in one hunshydred thousand siokLlJ and a thousand chapters But after considering the shorr span of life for any mortal to study Lord Dhanvantari divided Ayurveda into eight volumes

In the broad and profound Vedic science Ayurveda includes Herbal medicines dietics surgery (Shaiya Ttmtra) Psychiatry (Bhutil Vidya) toxicology (Agftela Tantra) spirituality midwifery gynaecology (Kaumarbhritya) general medicine (Kaya Chikitsa) rejuveshynation (Rasttyana) sexology (V~jikarana)

diseases of the eyes ears nose and throat (Shaiakya Ttmtra)

According to the ancient text Carakashysamhita this Science of Life and Longevity is eternal and is revealed in each universe in each of its infinite cycles of creation and destruction

16 Winter 2003

Iyengar Yoga Nevvs No4 17

These illustrations show Lord Dhanvantari in his four-armed form holding the wheel (Sudarsana Chakra) and Conch (sankha) in the upper right and left hands as do most Vishnu incarnashytions In the other two hands there are the necshytar pot (amrta-kalasha) and a herb According to

the Prapancha-sara sanshygraha the Lord holds a leech (jalauaka) in place of the herb in his fourth hand

Lord Dhanvantari was said to be an incarnation of the God Vishnu and appears in the famous myth of the churning of the milk ocean represhysenting this truth for the benefit of othe~ in the tradition of Ayurveda So to heal ourselves or others we must set It 111 motion within ourselves

Lord Dhanvantari has been worsh ipped for many years in India and is to be seen in most clinshyics and is a reminder that however much we know or skillful we become everything still depends on the grace of our spirishytual nature

Today in India the Diwali Festival is inaugushyrated with remembrance of Lord Dhanvantari For such during dusk time a lamp pointing toward North by North-East is lit at the entrance of the door step Such is the welcome to Lord Dhanvan tari to bestow on all health and happishyness in ensuing life

Winter 2003

INTERVIEW WITH JAWAHAR

Before his visit to the Manchester convention in May 2003 IYN interviewed guest teacher Jawahar Bangera

lVfiat drew you to Iyengar Yoga initialshyW (y

Honestly I was not drawn to Iyengar Yoga but dragged to it by my folks in the sumshymer of 1969 I spent the last five years of school life in a boarding school at Panchgani When I returned to Mumbai after finishing schoo the rest of the famshyily was already attending Gurujis classes (SatSun) and it was but natural for me to fall in line In those days Guruji used to spend a good part of the Indian summer teaching in Europe In the interim his senior students like the Motiwalas Burzo Taraporewala Ohun Palkhiwala conductshyed the Mumbai classes My brothers myself and the Motiwala sisters being the youngsters of the batch were singled out for special treatment especiall) an extra dose of back-bends

One day I was browsing through Light on Yoga (hardback) It fascinated me When Guruji returned to teach the class in Mumbai I was astonished to see that the person in the book (LOY) was the very same one teaching the Mumbai class I requested Guruji to accept me as a stushydent and since then there has been no Looking back In those days I used to look forward to the Saturday class as I hated getting up on a Sunday morning In boarding school we had a PT teacher who made us do postures like sirsasana arm balances and backbends So in tbe initial stages Iyengar yoga was more like PT for me until Guruji started explaining the nuances of the poses That made it intershyesting and gave me a reason to get hooked on Iyengar yoga

What do you think is the role ofYoga in the modern world

Most of the people I have met attend yoga classes with ulterior motives of improving health flexibility weight-loss or weight gain etc Those who have maintained a continuous practice have

been transformed from the mundane aspects to the subtle from the frivolous to the sublime These sadhakas have made the practice ofIyengar Yoga a part of their lives and mental make up Their food habits have changed Their attitude to felshylow workers and employees has improved Their clarity of thoughts and actions has improved Some atheists have become theists Not surprisingly they all attribute these changes (for the better) ro their practice and grace of yoga

The principals of yama and niyarna will give the modern world the instruments to lead a disciplined life especially yoga as taught by Guruji He makes no manshymade distinctions between races religion culture etc The tenets are strictly adhered to and this makes him a true yogi I am sure man) students have experienced this aspect of Guruji and Iyengar yoga Yoga as taught by Guruji will undo all the barshyriers we as ordinary humans are conshystantly erecting to form a protective fence between different peoples of the world Sage Patanjali states that yoga is not conshyditioned by class place time or concept of dut) Hence yoga plays an important role in the bonding of all mankind Therefore it is imperative to practice yoga for universal gain

How is the practice of Yoga general6 pershyceived in India

Though it is the birthplace of yoga India somehow is treated very lighdy The genshyeral concept of yoga in India is that it is meant for older people So )ou will notice very few youngsters in yoga classshyes When I started out practising Iyengar yoga I witnessed many youngsters come and go It was mostly those families where the parents and children attended classes together that there has been some adhesion to yoga My present experience is that youngsters have a major prob]em attending yoga classes because it does not

Iyengar Yoga News No4 18 ------------------~~-----

appear glam oro us And then th rt is the ego problem W h n it comes to doing difficul t po tures it exposes them (espeshycially d 1 C boysyo ung men) as wimps and this th ey cannot sto mach We see a lot of dropoU(s

So the concept of yoga needs to be changed Ask any layperson what he or she thinks of yoga and they con jur up an image of a yogi in meditation When I starred my first publi c class in M umbai in a very smalJ roo m 1 rece ived abo u thi rty srudenrs The men were dressed in office-wear and the women ca me in saris T hey had their own idea of what theIyoga lass was and I had mine I was the o nly person in the room in prop r yoga attire along with a handful of students who had some experi nce of Iyengar yoga The next class I was left with only th at handful of students Indians are hard working as Fa r lt15 materialism is conshycerned W hen it c mes to spiri rual pracshytice th ey do not want to work hard for sLI ce 55 O ne no tices many I ndians se tshytled abroad have made a success of their live fow man y have you not iced attend ing yoga classes They are Godshyfearing and many are temple-goers They prefer to pray thall undergo dle rigo urs of mana practice

There is a sign th ough that things are fi naJly changing with the p pulari ty of Iyengar yoga G uruji is now well known in India and inquiries for classes are speshycific ror I en gar yoga Most attend class with tb hope of achieving health Also there is now awareness for building good healrll w ithout the use of d rugs and docshyto L Some m end class with medical probshylems in the hope of curing themselves witho ut urger Yes rhe resp nse in a city like Mu mbai is encouraging and it has been a lo ng tim e coming All of uruJI s hard work is now paying div idends Very often you will no tice [h re are many expertS in Jnd ia who will eulogizecritishycise the subj ect without having practised it (1hen the p reacher is a well-known p rsonJ li it m akes an impact and someshytimes it can have a pos itive eHect on the efficacy of yoga

Then there is the colonial hangove G uruji has often said that yoga will b popular in this country when a Foreign teaches the subject One of the big obstashycles to the popularity of yoga is the me shyical profession W hen they are at a los ~ th ey as k rheir patients to attend yog classes At other times they advise the i patients to practise only certain poses Ie India a doctors -vord is like Gods an pat ients will approach yoga classes with presc ription from their doctors

Fortunately yoga is making some inroad in the medical profession and doctors ar now attending classes and nOficing th clifference in the non-invasive technique as taught by Guruji A renaissance is ir order

How do )ou feel about teaching large COl

ventions in contrast to smaller classes

Each has its own charm In conventions the students who attend have alread achieved a certain level in their practice They are more receptive to instruction and the degree of absorption is high E planations of subtle points are readiI understood due to the sincere practice 0

the partici )al1ts SmaHer classes have charm of th eir own There is a closer rapshyport between the teacher and the StLlshy

dents It is easier to monitor the class fo mistakes In convenrio ns though thert are rewer chances of errors from students mistakes can be glaring It happened in the last convention when a student modshyiried the pose as it was the way the stushydent was taught It also occurred that the student was not from the Iyengar yoga community [r was disturbing as well as amusll1g

There is a gut deal ofconflict in the wora crt the present time Do you think that Yoga practice and philosophy can be ofany help

T he answer to this question is connected to the earlier question of the role of yoga in the modern world If we all made a co ncerted effort to live our individual lives as per the principles laid down in the Yoga Sutras of sage Patanjali it would be a beginning Unless we lead exemplary lives we have no moral right to point fin-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 19 Winter 2003

Id ot lose the femininity under the

of freedom I f we recognise the n uenc

has

(here

h

uaJiC) of womanhood I dont think there

ro be any difference betvveen Eastern

nJ Wretem women Basically we should

D( t middotompare ourselves with men rather we

hr e to recognise our own potency our

0 n potential femininity If we say that we

equal to men and that we can do everyshy

ling that they do then we lose our selfshy

identity There are certain things which as

o men we can do better than men and

are certain things that only they

uld do Women now are exposed to

r stling weightlifting body-building and

o n Im not against it Women are entershy

ing in every field and perhaps it is apprecishy

artu also But still I feel on the other hand

th t we should recognise our own inner

identity I would call it a beauty Its not the

eXTernal body beauty but it is femininity

(1e have to protect our femininity as men

angt protecting their masculinity So this I

wuuld definitely say that in yoga practice I

have to make Indian ladies to come out of

their shyness timidity and fear complex

They stick to their femininity thinking

that these are the qualities of femininity

and dont want to come out In Western

countries women are courageous but want

to equate themselves vith men conseshy

quently they are getring more exposed to

masculinity than to their own femininity I

would say that Indian women should begin

ro pick up q uali ties such as vigour and

courage and add to their femininity and

Vestern women should drop masculinity

omen have to be non-aggressively active

They should be calm having positive tolershy

ance Negative tolerance kills their individshy

uality Submission is a negative rolerance

[n other words I think it is a question of

balance It is not a question of argument

but a kind of balance both ways so if a

wom an is going towards masculinity I

would say come back ro femininity and if

she is going too much towards femininity

she should develop more masculine qualishy

ties Take for instance if ve lose the horshy

monal balance and that begins to show its

changes on the outside are we not afraid at

Iyengar Yoga News No4

that time We definitely feel nervous if I

hormonal changes occur and lead us from

femininity to masculini ty when we dont

want to So this functional physiological

problem shakes our psychology Then it is

only our duty to protect While teaching

yoga I perceive this point mainly I dont

want the performance of Western women

going in a masculine way and I dont want

Indian women to go in an unbahnced femshy

inine way eidler Men use their physical

strength to perform asana or pranaJama Therefore their performance has a tinge of

aggressiveness and ego They should have

the emotional feeling in practice Women

have to build up physical strength with our

losing their emotional connection They

shou d not ose their softness Indian

women are soft but their softness should

not be at the cost of strength and Western

women are strong but they should not lose

softness - stubbornness and sturdiness

should be minimised

There is one more point If the people are

regularly in front of you you are able to

teach them with continuity it is different

to the situation when you go from place to

place and teach them just for a few days

then you may find the difference in teachshy

ing If am coming to UK just to teach for

four days obviously 111y method of teachshy

ing has to change because in four days I

have to convey and give maximum to bOth

men and women That teaching depends

on what they have practised what they

have learnt But when I have to teach only

women that too on a continuous basis I

will certainly see that the approach will be

more feminine On the whole I wont say

that Indian women and Western women

are different since their problems are the I

same My teach ~ng will be the same but I

would certainly see which group lacks what

and what sort of changes are required 111

teaching so that they are benefited

The cultural difference sometimes projects

the problem in a differenr way For instance

the menopause stage in womens life

Women 111 Western countries become

6 Winter 2003

1-__-=--_______

Iyengar Yoga News

nenous of menopause Their problem of nervousness is quite different from the same problem for women in India who tOo become nervous Qui te a few Western women who tell me that now they are

Iapproaching menopause are afraid that (heir men may divorce them The fear that the family may break that the husband may begin to dislike the wife and lose intershyest in her makes her situation worse Its a

fact which happens and there are quite a few whose family has been broken The men chose younger women whereas in India this is very rare to happen This land of fear may not exist But as far as the

physiological psychological and emotional problems are concerned all women are

undergoing the same changes

So when you are asking me the question about teaching Indian women and European women as far as their need is concerned there is no difference Everybody faces some sort of pain and problem Womens responsibilities do not differ as such Every woman faces menstrushyation and pregnancy When they have to

get married they are not sure whether the person they have chosen is right or wrong It is a different type of emotional problem along with the fear complex So I dont think as far as that is concerned there is any difference as such but as far as the envishyronment family life social life is concerned there is a difference Therefore one needs to

change ones mental set-up The mental

deliberation needs to be gravitating tOvlards yogic culture The yogic method does not differ whether one is an Easterner of a Westerner For every woman there is the household work and worries there is always the responsibility in the house You have to look after everyone you have to

rake care of family members Even if you are all alone not married or divorced you have to take care of yourself You have to cook yourself you have to get organised yourself everything is there If you have a family you have to look after the others also The needs ofwomen are similar as the

problems are

No4 7 Winter 2003

It is true that one cannot breallt the social norms or religious barriers easily but one can adopt a yogic method to establish inner peace I always feel that when they do some of the asanas and pranayamas they feel mentally peaceful they get some inner strength and moral courage to face the world If that happens whichever country you belong to which religion you belong to the question doesnt arise Then women are safe For me when I look in that way I feel they can be safe They can protect themselves

When emotionally distressed the Western women immediately express themselves whereas Indian women may not express

their emotions so suddenly

So do you think Western women are more emotional

Geetaji I wont say they are more emoshytional Indians have more emotional tolershyance compared to Western women Westerners express the emotions quickly and for Indian women it may take a Ilittle

longer time to express They want to hide these kind of problems to a great extent or solve them by pacifYing themselves Then

they may come and tell but certainly they wont instantly say Oh This is what hapshypened to me But when it is unbearable then they will say OK now I will tell you that this is what happened to me But that

doesnt make the problem to get diluted Fundamentally the problem remains the same So I will say that if they come to yoga whether this group or that group to

whichever culture they belong to it helps them because emotional stability gives some courage to them they build up their nerves to face all these problems

Westerners are physically strong whereas Indian women will not be that strong However emotionally they are strong I think thar both have to exchange this physshyical and emotional energy to have a perfect balance Intellectually they are quite balshy

anced

AN EXPLANATION OF THE INVOCATIONS

This is the transcript of a talk given by Dr Geeta S Iyengar on the opening morning of the main event of the Iyengar Yoga Jubilee at Crystal Palace on

Saturday 25th May 2002

Friends yoga lovers explore him according to our intelligence mental conshy

cept and calibre Therefore I wont say that Lord

We are first of all performing the puja since we are startshy Ganesha is a Hindu God He is a creation from the

ing the auspicious work I would like to share with you human brain for us to think how a Lord could be the

the background of the puja that we are going to pershy Lord Ganesha is the one who is elephant headed with a

form Puja is one of the methods of worshipping Lord huge brain and a huge skull encasing the big brain It is

Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that whatever we to indicate that human beings also have a completely

offer to the Lord such as leaves flowers fruits or water evolved brain and we consider that the human brain is

with devotion reaches him Here we will be offering the one which is completely developed a very intellecshy

prayers deepam (light) dhupam (agarbatti) flowers and tual centre of ours Ganesha is considered to be the one

garlands who has this huge brain of mankind Gana means peoshy

ple Ganesha means God of people He is also called as

When we know that we are starring some auspicious Ganapati the head or husband of people He is also

work such as the very practice of yoga the yoga sadshy named as Vinayak - the supreme leader So Ganesh leads

hana we have to offer our prayers to the Lord who is us guides us He is the God chosen by every one (gana)

omnipotent omnipresent and omnisciltnt Though all in a democratic way

of us know that the Lord is omnipotent omnipresent

and omniscien t and that he is everywhere and also Then he is considered to be huge as far as his body is

within us yet it is not possible to realise or see the God concerned This indicates that though our physical body

since the God hasnt got any is let us say six feet high two feet

form He does not appear in any broad Lord Ganeshas huge body

form in front of us Thus the is equal to that of the Universal

human mind begins to give Him Body It is true that when we are

some shape As we begin to worshy practising many a time we feel a

ship the Lord giving him a form state where we are going beyond

or shape according to out mental this body and in that sense we

creation with devotion He can experience Mahakaya Maha appear in that form given by us means big great and kaya means

for our sake body Ganapati with his huge

head and huge body indicates the

Here we are offering our prayers depth of largeness and intricacies

to Lord Ganesha Lord Vishnu of the human body and brain

Lord Hanuman Lord Patanjalj

and the Guru You may feel Lord Ganesha Vandanam His teeth are indicated as

Ganesha is a Hindu God and as Vakratuncl ma1lkaya SUlyakoti samaprabha Vakratunda Vakra means turned all of uS who have gathered here Nirvighnam kurttme deva subhakmyesu sarllada or crooked and tunda means to practise yoga belong to differshy tusk The elephant has one long

ent religions may hesitate to pray Oh elephant-ElCed Ganesha Mighty One tusk but human beings vont to Hindu Gods Let us be clear Thy effulgence is equal to a billion suns have such rusks This is to indishy

that God does nor belong to any Forever remove I pray thee all cate that Ganesh though elephant religion God is one but manshy impediments headed has not gOt the tusks of an

made religions are multiple God In the path of my auspiciolls deeds elephant It is a legendary story

is beyond the explanations but we ~ which says that Lord Ganesha lost

Iyengar Yoga News No4 8 Winter 2003 --~~----------------------

his o ne tusk when he opposed Parashurama from enter- it does not mean that the Lord is Hindu

i ng cile regim of Lord Shiva Ganeshas fath r

The Lord anesha is considered to be the one who

helps us in all auspiciolls work to overcome all the

obs tacles and hind rances which come in the vay So we

offer our prayers to Lord Ganesha asking the Lord to

remove all those obstacles which come in the wayan the

auspicious path of yoga H aying studied the Yoga Sunas

ofParanjal i you know that there are nine obstacles in the

path of yoga along with four distractive and destructive

m ntd l obsnuccions and we are

going to offer am p rayers to Lord

G an e ha asking h im to bless LIS so

that these obstacles can be faced

courageo usly and removed

Basical ly Lord Ganesh is the Cod

ofW isdom and remover Jf ohstashy

cles hence he is involved and

worshipped at the commenccshy

ment of every im portant progresshy

sive and auspicious undertaking

It is said that G anesha wrote the

Mahabharata at the dictation of

Vyasa on the condition that Vyasa

should not pause or break the

flow of narration even for a fracshy

cion of a second orhenvisl he will

stop wrIting furth er VyJsa

accep red the challenge and did

not pause even for a fraction

Then we offer our prayers to Lord

Vi~h llU Again the nU11e seems to

be a Sanskrit word indicating a

Hindu God but it is only a quesshy

tion of language Man thought of

having a language so that he can rela r what he understands to

o chers The language is m lCll1t for

commun ication Therefore if the

prayers are said in Sanskrit it does

nO[ mean that God belongs to

that particular community which

speaks or fo llows thJt particular

Iallguag W hen bible is trmslatshy

ed in all the languages it will be

ri diculous to say that Christ only

bclongs ro those who speak

H ebrew So in Sanskrit when we

offer the p rayers to Lord Vishnu

Has the Lord gOt any form or shape Here the stanza on

Lord Vishnu which explains it Here the word Vishnu

comes from the root verb vish which means to spread

through to extend to pervade Vishnu means all pershy

vader or worker Here worker means a functional facshy

tor in every aspect It also means to embrace Lord

Vishnu not only embraces the whole universe but also

remains above In this sense he is a protector

Vishnu Slow

Jyengar Yoga News No4 9

Shtmtakaram bfndagashtl)fllam pad11fmshyfzbhai11 5ureshfllll VishlJadharilm gagt1llllsadars)lam meghfl1Jflrnam shubhilllgam

LakshmikantfllJl kall1altllla)anam )ogihrid dh)anagamyalll

Vande Vismum bhaVflbha)flharam saiVa lokaika l1atham

I salute Vishnu the sale master of the

universe whose presence is very peaceful

who stretches Himself on a serpent-bed

who sprouts a lotus in his navel who is

the one Lord of all the Devas who is the

support of the worlds who is subtle and

all pervading like the sky whose comshy

plexion is like that of the clouds whose

form is very beautiful who is the consort

of Sri Laksmi whose eyes are like lotus

petals who is meditated upon by yogis

and who eradicates (he fear of samsara

The one who hasnt got a form

who hasnt got a shape yet he has

a figure He is santakaram Santi or santa means qUIetness peaceshy

fuln ess serenity So his form is of

serenity The serenity cannOt

show any form You dont say this

serenity is like a jar or like a cup

serenity is serenity In a similar

manner the Lord Vishnu is conshy

sidered to be santakaram who is

just the incarnation of serenity

and peace He is sleeping on

Bhujaga His couch is Adisesa

the serpent He is sleeping on that

serpent the Bhujaga Even in the

imagination it is impossible to

think that we can sleep on the sershy

pent But Lord Vishnu is not

afraid of anything He is fearless

because there is no enemy

for

Him It is we human beings who

have many enemies and that is

why we are afraid of each other

but Lord Vishnu is sleeping comshy

fortably and peacefully on the

couch of the serpent Adisesa

becJuse He is fearless Ftom His

navel emerges the lotus and this

lotus is the seat of the Creator -

Brahma The very Crearor is born

out of the navel of Vishnu

Apparently Lord Vishnu is the

Creator of this whole Universe

The seed (beeja) of that Universe

is in Him From his navel (the

embryo) we find the whole world

coming into existence Suresham

is another name of Lord Vishnu

Sura means God and Isha means

Winter 2003

Supreme God Lord Vishnu in this sense is the God of

Gods

He is the supporter of the whole Universe

Vishvadharam - Vishva is the entire Universe the

Universe which is known and unknown to us He is the

one who supports the known and unknown world

Adhara means to support

Now how big is He how small is He Is He six feet tall

and two feet broad like any other human being No He

is as vast as the sky You cannot measure the sky simishy

larly he cannot be measured GaganuJadar-~)am

Gagana means sky and sadarsyam means similar So he

is all pervading as the sky He is Meghavarnam Megha means cloud and varnam means colour How does he

look what is his

colour Is he brown

like Indians Is he

In other words the Universe the Universe which is full

of wealth and therdore nothing but Laksmi belongs to

Him The wealth that vve see on this Earth and the

wealth that we see in the Universe all belongs to him

because he is the husband of Laksmi

Kamaltlnayanam Kamal means lotus Nayana means

eyes He is lotus eyed His eyes are like lotus always

open and beautiful Is He the one who keeps the eyes

closed No Though He is sleeping on the bed of the sershy

pent Adisesa yet His eyes are always wide open because

he is seeing everything and witnessin g everything The lotus though remaining in water is untouched by it

Similarly the eyes of Lord Vishnu though seeing and

perceiving everything remains untai1tcd

Thcn if that is the

Lord how do we

him hrdsee Yogi dhyanagam)la72white like He the Lord can be Westerners Is he

black like Africans seen by a yogi

through the heart shyNo His colour is

similar to the the spiritual heart

clouds Xhen you only by practising see the clouds in the dhyana You can see

sky they are of the me I can see you

same colour You but what about dont find this cloud Him How to see

in England having a Him The yogi

different colour in though His heart America having a sees that Lord different colou r through the practice You dont say this is Indian cloud this is African cloud

or this is American cloud The cloud is the same everyshy

where It could be black white and could be with goldshy

en or silver lining or without lining So also Lord

Vishnu has no colour

Shubhangam Has he got arms like us Legs like us belly

like us chest like us Is His body like our body made out

of flesh and bone No anga means limbs Shubha means

auspicious or pure His body is JUSt the incarnation of

auspiciousness There is nothing inauspicious in Him

No inauspiciousness can touch him because He Himself

is auspicious The Lord is having the body of auspishy

CIousness

He is Lakshmikantam - the husband of Laksmi So who

is His wife His wife is Lakshmi The word indicates the

increase of good fortune prosperity success and wealth

of sadhana You necd to practise yoga do dhyana and

purif) the heart The velY core of the being Then you

will be able to see Him

Is it the eyes of the yogi that sees the Lord N it is the

heart the spiritual heart For the yogi the spiritual heart

is the eye and this eye of the spiritual heart has to open

Like His lotus eyes the lotus of the heart has to open

Vande Vishnum - let LlS salute Lord Vishnu (he All Pervader who never deteriorates who never diminishes

who is ever omnipresent who exists everywhere

Bhava Bha)aHamm - Bhava means worldly li fe It means (0 come in (0 existence or have birth after birth

(0 experience woddly life Bha)la means fear And

Haran] means to destroy What does He do for us H e

is the one who being fearless the ocean of fea rle n

Iyengar Yoga News No4 10

gives us courage to cross this world of pleasures and Lord Hanuman has a speed equal to the mind We pains This world in which we are caught and when we want that speed of the mind We often [hink that ve

cannot reach the other end of it the spiritual end of it should be qU1iet as a yoga practitioner but the quietness the very soul the very self then He is the one who also has a speed For a while we remain quiet and sudshy

destroys the fear of appearing in this world again and denly the mind thinks of something and the flow of

again getting caught in the cycles of births and deaths serenity is broken The speed of quietness breaks You

He destroys the fear which keeps us away from seeing say Oh we were sitting here but our mind was someshy

the soul where else The mind has a speed but doesnt flow with

a single attention swiftly So here is a god Lord

Sarvalokaikanatham - Sarva - whole entire Loka - heavshy Hanuman whose speed of the body and speed of the

en earth space Eka - one and only one Natham - posshy intelligence is just equal to the mind which has got a

sessor and protector He is the one who is the head of great speed to have a single minded attention I can be

the whole Universe the sole master of the Universe The here at this moment I can reach India because the mind

only One the only single One There is no other God can go that fast I may not even reach the airport but the

There is only one Isvara and we read this in the Yoga mind can reach so fast Lord Hanuman is the One who

Sutras He is untouched by klesa (afflictions) and karma has the speed of the mind He can physically reach with

(actions) The one who is untouched by this is above the speed that the wind can go Maruta Tulya Ve~tlm shyeveryone Isvara is the One and j1arut means wind or vayu Tulya

that is how in a poetic way the means similar or equal and vegam

sloka is presented to us means speed This is indicating

the vigour of Lord Hanuman and

I am taking a little longer time of the power of his body to be quick

yours so that you understand and swift When He is going with

because you are all yoga teachers that speed is he shaken Is He

and obviously this is something disturbed Is He perturbed No that the practi tioners have to He is stable in spite of having a know speedy mind jitendRiyam - jita

means conquered and indriya Then we are offering our prayers means senses and organs He has

to Lord Hanuman conquered His senses of percepshy

tion so His mind is not wavering The word Hanuman signifies the though He is reaching with that syllable AUM Ha stands for speed Buddhimatmn Varistham shyLord Vishnu nu stands for Lord Buddhi means intelligence and Shiva and ma stands for Lord Buddhirnatam means Brahma Lord Hanuman in this Intellectuals Varistham means sense signifies the confluence of excellent Lord Hanuman has the creator (Brahma) the protecshy excellence of intelligence in Him tor (Vishnu) and the destroyer Our intelligence has limitations (Shiva) in him He is above all the intellectuals

that we have in this world In We are all sadhakas We are all Lord Hanuman intelligence has practitioners We havent reached Lord Hanuman messenger of Shri reached to the exhausted level he the state of a yogi Ve are all on Rama son of the Wind God is on top as far as intelligence is that path So here is the reason Who is quick as the mind and swift as concerned He is the son of Vayu why we offer our prayers to Lord the wind Vatamajam - son of the wind Hanuman Conqueror of the senses foremost Atmaja - son

among the wise MmlOjavam - speed of the mind Commander of the monkey-army to Most important to a yogi is t11e Mana is mind and java means Him I surrender very practice of niYl112( and yama swiftness or speed He has to conquer his pral1a COrl-

Hammlan Vandalla1 Manojavam marutatulya vegan1 jitelldriya buddhimatam varistham Vatatmajal1l vl11ara)lttha mukhyam Sriramadutam Salll11am prapadye

Iyengar Yoga News No4 11 Winter 2003

~ hi energy We fi rst try to

quer more cautiously the

n

[JOI

ad

IT

Tg ar the subtle level We

to keep the vata under conshy

t rata is rhe cause of good and

behaviour Our character

~ pends upon the qu~iry and c of vata In order to have conshy

l over vata we offer prayers

ormally Lord Hanuman IS

tra nslated as Monkey God

be ause his face looks like a monshy

k y Vanara means monkey But

h re rhe vanara Hanuman is

human being Va means to blow

nd spread in all directions or to

procure or bestow anything by blowing Nara means human

being So vanara is above the

human being who is stronger

than human beings so vanara in

this sense is nor a monkey It is

said that it was a kind of uniform

given to the military force of

Sugiva which made the appearshy

ance of a monkey Rama was

given this army of all the lJanams If you read the Ramayana you

will know that they were given a

special dress to wear Though rhey

look like the monkey rhey had

rhe strength to cross the ocean

There vere engineers in the army

Lord Hanuman is rhe head of all

the vanaras Yer in spire of reachshy

ing thar level he remained all the

rime as a servant rendering service

to the Lord Sri Rama rhe Lord

He never lifted up his head wirh

ego or vaniry to say Look Im above everyone He is rhe incarshy

narion of humbleness and he

respecred the Lord and rhar is

how we offer our prayers to Lord

Hanuman

To Patanjali

Yogena citttll)a padenrl vacam MaLam sarhCllyaca vaidjlClkena Yopakarottam prrwara771 711ul1il1tlm PatanjaLim pranjaLimnatoJmi Abahu pUlwakaram Sal1lcha cakrasi dharinal1l Sahasra Iimsam sllettll11 Pnlntlmami Patanjtllim

Ler us bow before the noblest of sages

PatJnjali

who gave yoga for sereni ty and sancti ry

of mind

grammar for clarity and purity of speech

and medicine for perfection of health

Let us prostrate before Patanjali an

incarnation of Adisesa whose upper

body has a humll1 form whose arms

hold a conch and disk

And who is crowned by a thousand headshy

ed cobra

Lastly we are offering ollr prayers

to th Guru

Guru Vandanam GuruI Brahma Gurur Vishnu Guru DeIJo Maheshwarah Guru saksat Param Brahma TclS77Zal Sri Guravenamah

Guru is verily Brahma Guru is

verily Vishnu

Guru is verily Shin

Guru indeed is the Supreme

To him I bow

Brahmanandam Paramsukhadam kevamn jJ1tlnamurtim DIJczndlJatitam gagrlllsadllyam tattvamasyadi laksam Elwl1l nityam lJimalamacalam sarshyvadhi saksibhutam Bhavatitam trigunarahitam sadgurum tam namami

I salute the Guru who himself is a blissful state of Brahma who

gives only happiness is idol of

knowledge has crossed all the

dualities such as sorrow and hapshy

piness who is as vast as the sky

and untouched always drawn

into the thoughts of the Supreme

He is One and alone eternal

untainted straight-forward witshy

nessing the consciousness of all the living beings beyond the

emotional and physical entangleshy

ments unaffected by sattlJa rajas and tamas I salute that Guru

Isvara is One and only One who is

rhe Gurll of gurus because He is

omniscient in whom rhe seed of

knowledge exists The knowledge

flows only from Him He is rhe

Ocean of rhe knowledge and from

Him we are receiving rhe knowledge bir by bit So how

is rhis Guru He is rhe reator Brahma He is the proshy

Then we offer our prayers to Lord Patanjali Of course tector Vishnu and He is rhe destroyer of our ignorance

you know the meaning of that since YOll have read the Shiva or Maheshvara Then there is the guru who is

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali transforming that knowledge to LIS Because the God -

Isvara cannot be seen by us cannor be felt by us unless

Iyengar Yoga News No4 12 Winter 2003

-----------------

we realise through the sadhana Therefore we require somebody to guide us And it is our Guruji who guides us The one who guides us we have to salute him as well The Guru who is in the physical form right in front of our eyes (sakshat) is Param Brahma - the Ultimate Supreme God He is the guru who is always drawn in the thoughts of Brahman thinks of the supreme and is happy with that Supreme His all happiness is established only in that supreme SOutce He is again the incarnation of knowledge No dualities affect Him He has crossed the dualities He is as vast as the sky He aims at the Upanisadic truth Tat Tvam Ast That Thou Are He is only One - Ekam He is always eternal - nityam He is untouched by affiictions untouched by any bad or wrong actions or thoughts He is always pure He is stashybile and immovable He is always watching everything He is always witnessing everything

He is never caught emotionally He doesnt differentiate saying I like this person more so I will teach him more and I will not teach that person He transcends emoshy

tions We are always caught in the three gunas but Guru is the one who is above all so he has crossed these three

qualities Let us offer our prayers to the guru who shows the right path to us

I do understand that the doubt may arise in your mind whether you should say these prayers or not Therefore I thought it is better to understand the language and the meaning of these prayers At the end it is a Universal God We always create the God through our minds but when we cross our own mind we realise the Universal God If the

Supreme is understood in this sense then I dont think anyone need to have any doubts in their mind

Always as vve begin anything as auspicious work even the birthshyday celebrations the simple birthshyday celebrations we have candles We light the candles which shows us the light In the similar manner when we are offering the puja We will light the candles of knowlshyedge Let this knowledge always remain enllightening us The

flowers are offered with the sense of appreciation and affection So I ~--______________J

wiU perform the puja offering the flowers The Lord says in the Bhagavad Gita Dont offer me anything big Bur even if you offer me the flowers fruits leaves water I accept them because you have offered them to me with love and affection I return them back to you because Im not the one to enjoy them You have offered them to me but I will be giving them back to you That is what the Bhagavad Gita says

So when we are offering the light in the form of candles or flowers it is He who is going to return that back to us We do not ask for that but that is what His nature is to give He is not going to keep any account ofwhat we give He says in other words You try to tread the path of realshyisation you try to walk on the path of self-realisation and I will be guiding you I will be showing you me path

If we are absolutely agnostics having no faith then He is not going to force us But if a little feeling comes which says Let me do yoga let me know what it is

He is going to guide us The first time you came to

your yoga class some of you might have felt oh yoga cures diseases so let me try ifit helps me So we come

with that selfish approach Even though it might be a selfish approach God is not taking any objections to that He says Fine you have got a selfish approach it doesnt matter But be on the right path

Xhen your mind says Oh there

is something beyond the health and I want to know that Then He knows that the intention is changed He says Fine you are progressing further so I will help YOll further

So this is the dialogue which goes on between us and the Universal Soul and this inner dialogue is needed This is what the puja

means The puja means worshipshyping HIM the Supreme One While doing the sadhana we need to have dialogue with the Lord Sadhana is the language of dialogue between us and God

So having this in your minds let us offer the prayers

Iyengar Yoga News No4 13 Winter 2003

PUJA - SOME REFLECTIONS

Kirsten Agar Ward writes about her experiences and understanding of puja

wa rather surprised to have been asked to Tite this article as I am in no way any sort f authority on puja I write only from my

011 limited experiences which are of pershy- rming a puja most days as part ofour famshy -lif for around two years Before this I was cry much aware that I preferred to begin yo~ classes and my own practice with the inocation to Patanjali - it seemed and still does seem to be important to have this pause to quieten and prepare for the pracshyrice Later I also realised the importance of rhankfulness for which it provides an opporshy~unity I had also noticed and been interestshy-d in the pujas I saw talcing place in the homes of some of those with whom I stayed whilst travelling in India I found the notion of having a shrine in the home and daily ritshyuals associated with it very appealing rather than such activities being restricted to a sacred building and fIXed services I was impressed by how much a part ofdaily life it was to rhese people to pray

From what I understand at present me basic elements of puja include - a lamp (light) anointing incense food offerings (pra_iad) other offerings such as flowers chanting and prostration (pranam) There can be variashytions for example in the mantras chosen and the number of repetitions and the order in which they are performed the forms of God represented the element of silent prayer reading ofscriptures and some of the 111a terials used

In our case we have found it helpful to estabshylish a place in our home (in the yoga practice room) where we carry out the puja It is important to keep the area clean Our puja has developed over time for example we have gradually learned more chants We were helped greatly in this by having a tape recording of them Then we were able to refine our pronunciation by having the words written down It was necessary to make a consciOllS effort to learn them We are deeply grateful for the guidance we have received in puja from Guruji via Faeq Biria

I have to admit that what really got me startshy

ed with puja in my own life was the desire I for a child (our prayers were answered and we now have a beautiful son - Saut - which means asked for) Now later in parallel with my experiences of the invocation at the beginning of practice it is at east as much about thankfulness Its so easy in life isnt ir to forget all the many blessings one has and instead focus on tl1e trials and tribulations For me puja is a way of helping me rememshyber the blessings and more than this to be grateful at least for some of the time Maybe then it will spill over more and more into the rest of lite

Puja is also an opportunity to practise the fourth NiJlama - Svadhyaya - self study For exan1ple in that quietness when it is JUSt oneself talking to God one can observe ones inclinations and scrutinise them - am I conshycentrating Am I being properly reverential Am I savouring the moments or rushing to get on with something else Am I being mechanical Am I clean and pure in motivashytion Am I seelcing gratification

It seems to me that an essential aspect of puja is reverence This is not something we tend to make much of in our society The cult of the individual is very dominant and this can tend to make us feel that it is someshyhow demeaning to be reverential towards someone (or something) else To me howshyever reverence is about simple truthfulness and acceptance of truth and about showing due respect aDd appreciation Reverence is easier if we really have some understanding of our position in relation to the object of reverence This reverence (and corresponshydent lack of casualness and mechanical ness) in approach is manifested in how one preshypares for puja (the best time is after bathing) how one dresses and also in how one actushyally performs it For example the posture one assumes - is it casual Arrogant Or straight and firm and respectful I remember being Struck by how Guruji folds his hands in the Namaskar position - how beautifully he extends them - certainly not a casual or mechanical posture Posture cleanliness dress - these are some outward manifesta-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 14 Winter 2003 ------~--~~~~~-- ---------------------------shy

tions of how one is inside which is the crushycial thing If we truly in our heans revere God and strive to act in the puja as if God is really there (which I believe God is - being omnipresent) then reverence can be there It is a bit like the difference bervveen practising as if Guruji is there watching and not Through this reverence one is beginning to develop LmiddothVtlra Pranidhrma (surrender to

God)

It seems to me that puja is closely linked with all the NiJ1ilmas One observes cleanlishyness in body and endeavours to be pure in

thoughts and actions also (Saltcha) before shyand actually it seems to me the process itself has a purifYing effect Counting ones blessshyings involves a degree of Stmtosha (contentshyment) Tapas (determined effort and zeal) is required in order to be disciplined and not let the practice slip Through it one begins to develop more Svadhyaya andhhvara Pranidhana Isnt thi similar to asana and pmnayama practice Moreover I feel that by developing such qualites and personal discishyplines through puja ones practice of other aspects ofyoga can surely only be deepened As an example I remember Birjoo Mehta explaining to us how to prepare to take the

I in-bream in prartayarna and he likened it to the state one is in just at the moment one lights a prayer candle in church In this way experiences of Makti (devotion) assist our other yogic practices and I feel sure the conshyverse is also true

Puja is not about worshipping or revering a piece of stone or metal - [llse idols in C hristian terminology T he images are simshyply w heLp us remember God In much the same way in church there might be images of Christ or architecrur3l symbolic refershyences to God (for example windows being in threes to remind us subconsciously of the Holy Trinity) These things are to assist us tools rather than ends in themselves We surely need assistance otherwise we would be remembering God all the time and conshysequently being more spiritual than we are Similarly chaming and ritual itself are an assistance Coming from a protestant backshyground and not High C hurch it strikes me as somewhat curious that I have come round to valuing ritual and what may be loosely summed up as bells and smells Somehow though it seems to offer a strucshy

rure some scaffolding on which to build it touches the psyche I like the idea of chantshying in Sanskri t ancient prayers which have been chanted so many million times before It seems to me there is a great energy and purity in that My experience is that it is not essential to have to understand all the words (though having said this I am grateful that Gtetaji has given us such a clear and full explanation of several invocations) I was interested to discover that our neighbour who is an ordinand (trainee C of E priest) has had a similar experience During her training she has been involved in worship incorporating chants in Latin or Greek As she comes from a Low Church background she found this strange at first but she has discovered that it does not seem to matter that one does not understand the exact words more that it helps you focus on God In fact she pointed out to me that the Bible contains a number of references to how one docs not even need words to pray

I am still learning about puja and deepening my understanding and practice of these aspects I have mentioned If asked why pzda is important I dont think I could say any more at the moment than the points I have mentioned above - developing ones revershyence [Owards and appreciation of God and developi ng oneself to become closer to God In thinking about this article I have been struck by the many p~uallels with yoga pracshytice - from simply not being mechanical or casual to being reverenrial and appreciative and developing Svadhya)a and Ishvara Pranidhana through Tapas How also the Yanla) (for exanlple truthfulness non-covetshying) withdrawal from sense objects and the external world (Pratyahara) and concentrashytion (Dhaltlna) are involved in fact it seems to me aspects of yoga and pzda are not just parallel but interlinked the one assisting the other and vice versa

For me puja is rather like my experience of yoga when I first began - I was not exactly sure or able (0 explai n why it was so imporshytant to do it bur I just knew for me at least that it was In the same way I just know and fee that pIda is important for us not only for the blessings and insptration which come from it bur simply as the act itself for its own sake

Iyengar Yoga News No4 15 Spring 2003

THE SCIENCE OF LIFE

Inspired by Geetajl s talk in Madrid in May 2002 Dale Rathbone reflects on the basic principles and philosophy of Ayurveda

I n Madrid Geetaji discussed the basic principles and philosophy ofAyurveda and how this plays a role within our mind nature and with our practice of flSflnas Ayur-veda means science of life and a central principle of Ayurveda is the existence of the three doshas These are our 3 biological humours which are 3 primary life forces in the body In Sanskrit they are called Vflta Pitta and Kflpha which correspond primarily to the elements of Air Fire and Water These movable elements determine life processshyes of growth and decay When the humours are out of balance then this becomes a causative force in the disease process

Vara is described as the biological air eleshyment like the wind which moves things and motivates the other two forces It susshytains effort such as inhalation and exhalashytion which co-ordinates the senses impulses and vibrations The roOt of Viltfl is dealing with the waste materials in the pelvic and lower back area of the body Because the Vata is composed of ether it lives in the empty spaces in the body and fills up the subtle channels

Pitta is described as the biological fire eleshyment which is the bile that digests our food and is responsible for certain chemshyical energies and transformations in the body Modern medical science speaks of electrical energy running through our nervous system It also governs Ollr menshytal digestion heat visllal perception hunger thirst radiance understanding intelligence courage and softness of the body it is seated in [he stomach and digestive area

Kapha biologically exists in the earthshymedium like our skin bones and other tissue lining Our physical composition is mainly the water element which is conshytained within the boundaries of our skin Its origin is that which holds things

Iyengar Yoga News No4

together and so provides substance and gives support It also provides emotional traits such as love compassion modesty patience and forgiveness

Geetaji made an interesting point that if a person is Vata by nature then they may be unstable and indecisive in mind always wanting to learn something else An unstable Vatil nature person stays in asanas too long but they also want to finshyish for the next asana The Pitta nature person has discipline but jumps into one posture then to another and wants to learn moment by moment vcry quickly A Kilpha nature person slowly develops over a 70 year period

Geetaji most importantly spoke about keeping a balanced level in all three doshas Va ttl Pitta and Kapha within our daily practice

An ancient deity (arca-vigraha) of Lord Dhanvantari received the knowledge of Ayurveda from Indra the King of Gods Brahma composed Ayurveda in one hunshydred thousand siokLlJ and a thousand chapters But after considering the shorr span of life for any mortal to study Lord Dhanvantari divided Ayurveda into eight volumes

In the broad and profound Vedic science Ayurveda includes Herbal medicines dietics surgery (Shaiya Ttmtra) Psychiatry (Bhutil Vidya) toxicology (Agftela Tantra) spirituality midwifery gynaecology (Kaumarbhritya) general medicine (Kaya Chikitsa) rejuveshynation (Rasttyana) sexology (V~jikarana)

diseases of the eyes ears nose and throat (Shaiakya Ttmtra)

According to the ancient text Carakashysamhita this Science of Life and Longevity is eternal and is revealed in each universe in each of its infinite cycles of creation and destruction

16 Winter 2003

Iyengar Yoga Nevvs No4 17

These illustrations show Lord Dhanvantari in his four-armed form holding the wheel (Sudarsana Chakra) and Conch (sankha) in the upper right and left hands as do most Vishnu incarnashytions In the other two hands there are the necshytar pot (amrta-kalasha) and a herb According to

the Prapancha-sara sanshygraha the Lord holds a leech (jalauaka) in place of the herb in his fourth hand

Lord Dhanvantari was said to be an incarnation of the God Vishnu and appears in the famous myth of the churning of the milk ocean represhysenting this truth for the benefit of othe~ in the tradition of Ayurveda So to heal ourselves or others we must set It 111 motion within ourselves

Lord Dhanvantari has been worsh ipped for many years in India and is to be seen in most clinshyics and is a reminder that however much we know or skillful we become everything still depends on the grace of our spirishytual nature

Today in India the Diwali Festival is inaugushyrated with remembrance of Lord Dhanvantari For such during dusk time a lamp pointing toward North by North-East is lit at the entrance of the door step Such is the welcome to Lord Dhanvan tari to bestow on all health and happishyness in ensuing life

Winter 2003

INTERVIEW WITH JAWAHAR

Before his visit to the Manchester convention in May 2003 IYN interviewed guest teacher Jawahar Bangera

lVfiat drew you to Iyengar Yoga initialshyW (y

Honestly I was not drawn to Iyengar Yoga but dragged to it by my folks in the sumshymer of 1969 I spent the last five years of school life in a boarding school at Panchgani When I returned to Mumbai after finishing schoo the rest of the famshyily was already attending Gurujis classes (SatSun) and it was but natural for me to fall in line In those days Guruji used to spend a good part of the Indian summer teaching in Europe In the interim his senior students like the Motiwalas Burzo Taraporewala Ohun Palkhiwala conductshyed the Mumbai classes My brothers myself and the Motiwala sisters being the youngsters of the batch were singled out for special treatment especiall) an extra dose of back-bends

One day I was browsing through Light on Yoga (hardback) It fascinated me When Guruji returned to teach the class in Mumbai I was astonished to see that the person in the book (LOY) was the very same one teaching the Mumbai class I requested Guruji to accept me as a stushydent and since then there has been no Looking back In those days I used to look forward to the Saturday class as I hated getting up on a Sunday morning In boarding school we had a PT teacher who made us do postures like sirsasana arm balances and backbends So in tbe initial stages Iyengar yoga was more like PT for me until Guruji started explaining the nuances of the poses That made it intershyesting and gave me a reason to get hooked on Iyengar yoga

What do you think is the role ofYoga in the modern world

Most of the people I have met attend yoga classes with ulterior motives of improving health flexibility weight-loss or weight gain etc Those who have maintained a continuous practice have

been transformed from the mundane aspects to the subtle from the frivolous to the sublime These sadhakas have made the practice ofIyengar Yoga a part of their lives and mental make up Their food habits have changed Their attitude to felshylow workers and employees has improved Their clarity of thoughts and actions has improved Some atheists have become theists Not surprisingly they all attribute these changes (for the better) ro their practice and grace of yoga

The principals of yama and niyarna will give the modern world the instruments to lead a disciplined life especially yoga as taught by Guruji He makes no manshymade distinctions between races religion culture etc The tenets are strictly adhered to and this makes him a true yogi I am sure man) students have experienced this aspect of Guruji and Iyengar yoga Yoga as taught by Guruji will undo all the barshyriers we as ordinary humans are conshystantly erecting to form a protective fence between different peoples of the world Sage Patanjali states that yoga is not conshyditioned by class place time or concept of dut) Hence yoga plays an important role in the bonding of all mankind Therefore it is imperative to practice yoga for universal gain

How is the practice of Yoga general6 pershyceived in India

Though it is the birthplace of yoga India somehow is treated very lighdy The genshyeral concept of yoga in India is that it is meant for older people So )ou will notice very few youngsters in yoga classshyes When I started out practising Iyengar yoga I witnessed many youngsters come and go It was mostly those families where the parents and children attended classes together that there has been some adhesion to yoga My present experience is that youngsters have a major prob]em attending yoga classes because it does not

Iyengar Yoga News No4 18 ------------------~~-----

appear glam oro us And then th rt is the ego problem W h n it comes to doing difficul t po tures it exposes them (espeshycially d 1 C boysyo ung men) as wimps and this th ey cannot sto mach We see a lot of dropoU(s

So the concept of yoga needs to be changed Ask any layperson what he or she thinks of yoga and they con jur up an image of a yogi in meditation When I starred my first publi c class in M umbai in a very smalJ roo m 1 rece ived abo u thi rty srudenrs The men were dressed in office-wear and the women ca me in saris T hey had their own idea of what theIyoga lass was and I had mine I was the o nly person in the room in prop r yoga attire along with a handful of students who had some experi nce of Iyengar yoga The next class I was left with only th at handful of students Indians are hard working as Fa r lt15 materialism is conshycerned W hen it c mes to spiri rual pracshytice th ey do not want to work hard for sLI ce 55 O ne no tices many I ndians se tshytled abroad have made a success of their live fow man y have you not iced attend ing yoga classes They are Godshyfearing and many are temple-goers They prefer to pray thall undergo dle rigo urs of mana practice

There is a sign th ough that things are fi naJly changing with the p pulari ty of Iyengar yoga G uruji is now well known in India and inquiries for classes are speshycific ror I en gar yoga Most attend class with tb hope of achieving health Also there is now awareness for building good healrll w ithout the use of d rugs and docshyto L Some m end class with medical probshylems in the hope of curing themselves witho ut urger Yes rhe resp nse in a city like Mu mbai is encouraging and it has been a lo ng tim e coming All of uruJI s hard work is now paying div idends Very often you will no tice [h re are many expertS in Jnd ia who will eulogizecritishycise the subj ect without having practised it (1hen the p reacher is a well-known p rsonJ li it m akes an impact and someshytimes it can have a pos itive eHect on the efficacy of yoga

Then there is the colonial hangove G uruji has often said that yoga will b popular in this country when a Foreign teaches the subject One of the big obstashycles to the popularity of yoga is the me shyical profession W hen they are at a los ~ th ey as k rheir patients to attend yog classes At other times they advise the i patients to practise only certain poses Ie India a doctors -vord is like Gods an pat ients will approach yoga classes with presc ription from their doctors

Fortunately yoga is making some inroad in the medical profession and doctors ar now attending classes and nOficing th clifference in the non-invasive technique as taught by Guruji A renaissance is ir order

How do )ou feel about teaching large COl

ventions in contrast to smaller classes

Each has its own charm In conventions the students who attend have alread achieved a certain level in their practice They are more receptive to instruction and the degree of absorption is high E planations of subtle points are readiI understood due to the sincere practice 0

the partici )al1ts SmaHer classes have charm of th eir own There is a closer rapshyport between the teacher and the StLlshy

dents It is easier to monitor the class fo mistakes In convenrio ns though thert are rewer chances of errors from students mistakes can be glaring It happened in the last convention when a student modshyiried the pose as it was the way the stushydent was taught It also occurred that the student was not from the Iyengar yoga community [r was disturbing as well as amusll1g

There is a gut deal ofconflict in the wora crt the present time Do you think that Yoga practice and philosophy can be ofany help

T he answer to this question is connected to the earlier question of the role of yoga in the modern world If we all made a co ncerted effort to live our individual lives as per the principles laid down in the Yoga Sutras of sage Patanjali it would be a beginning Unless we lead exemplary lives we have no moral right to point fin-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 19 Winter 2003

1-__-=--_______

Iyengar Yoga News

nenous of menopause Their problem of nervousness is quite different from the same problem for women in India who tOo become nervous Qui te a few Western women who tell me that now they are

Iapproaching menopause are afraid that (heir men may divorce them The fear that the family may break that the husband may begin to dislike the wife and lose intershyest in her makes her situation worse Its a

fact which happens and there are quite a few whose family has been broken The men chose younger women whereas in India this is very rare to happen This land of fear may not exist But as far as the

physiological psychological and emotional problems are concerned all women are

undergoing the same changes

So when you are asking me the question about teaching Indian women and European women as far as their need is concerned there is no difference Everybody faces some sort of pain and problem Womens responsibilities do not differ as such Every woman faces menstrushyation and pregnancy When they have to

get married they are not sure whether the person they have chosen is right or wrong It is a different type of emotional problem along with the fear complex So I dont think as far as that is concerned there is any difference as such but as far as the envishyronment family life social life is concerned there is a difference Therefore one needs to

change ones mental set-up The mental

deliberation needs to be gravitating tOvlards yogic culture The yogic method does not differ whether one is an Easterner of a Westerner For every woman there is the household work and worries there is always the responsibility in the house You have to look after everyone you have to

rake care of family members Even if you are all alone not married or divorced you have to take care of yourself You have to cook yourself you have to get organised yourself everything is there If you have a family you have to look after the others also The needs ofwomen are similar as the

problems are

No4 7 Winter 2003

It is true that one cannot breallt the social norms or religious barriers easily but one can adopt a yogic method to establish inner peace I always feel that when they do some of the asanas and pranayamas they feel mentally peaceful they get some inner strength and moral courage to face the world If that happens whichever country you belong to which religion you belong to the question doesnt arise Then women are safe For me when I look in that way I feel they can be safe They can protect themselves

When emotionally distressed the Western women immediately express themselves whereas Indian women may not express

their emotions so suddenly

So do you think Western women are more emotional

Geetaji I wont say they are more emoshytional Indians have more emotional tolershyance compared to Western women Westerners express the emotions quickly and for Indian women it may take a Ilittle

longer time to express They want to hide these kind of problems to a great extent or solve them by pacifYing themselves Then

they may come and tell but certainly they wont instantly say Oh This is what hapshypened to me But when it is unbearable then they will say OK now I will tell you that this is what happened to me But that

doesnt make the problem to get diluted Fundamentally the problem remains the same So I will say that if they come to yoga whether this group or that group to

whichever culture they belong to it helps them because emotional stability gives some courage to them they build up their nerves to face all these problems

Westerners are physically strong whereas Indian women will not be that strong However emotionally they are strong I think thar both have to exchange this physshyical and emotional energy to have a perfect balance Intellectually they are quite balshy

anced

AN EXPLANATION OF THE INVOCATIONS

This is the transcript of a talk given by Dr Geeta S Iyengar on the opening morning of the main event of the Iyengar Yoga Jubilee at Crystal Palace on

Saturday 25th May 2002

Friends yoga lovers explore him according to our intelligence mental conshy

cept and calibre Therefore I wont say that Lord

We are first of all performing the puja since we are startshy Ganesha is a Hindu God He is a creation from the

ing the auspicious work I would like to share with you human brain for us to think how a Lord could be the

the background of the puja that we are going to pershy Lord Ganesha is the one who is elephant headed with a

form Puja is one of the methods of worshipping Lord huge brain and a huge skull encasing the big brain It is

Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that whatever we to indicate that human beings also have a completely

offer to the Lord such as leaves flowers fruits or water evolved brain and we consider that the human brain is

with devotion reaches him Here we will be offering the one which is completely developed a very intellecshy

prayers deepam (light) dhupam (agarbatti) flowers and tual centre of ours Ganesha is considered to be the one

garlands who has this huge brain of mankind Gana means peoshy

ple Ganesha means God of people He is also called as

When we know that we are starring some auspicious Ganapati the head or husband of people He is also

work such as the very practice of yoga the yoga sadshy named as Vinayak - the supreme leader So Ganesh leads

hana we have to offer our prayers to the Lord who is us guides us He is the God chosen by every one (gana)

omnipotent omnipresent and omnisciltnt Though all in a democratic way

of us know that the Lord is omnipotent omnipresent

and omniscien t and that he is everywhere and also Then he is considered to be huge as far as his body is

within us yet it is not possible to realise or see the God concerned This indicates that though our physical body

since the God hasnt got any is let us say six feet high two feet

form He does not appear in any broad Lord Ganeshas huge body

form in front of us Thus the is equal to that of the Universal

human mind begins to give Him Body It is true that when we are

some shape As we begin to worshy practising many a time we feel a

ship the Lord giving him a form state where we are going beyond

or shape according to out mental this body and in that sense we

creation with devotion He can experience Mahakaya Maha appear in that form given by us means big great and kaya means

for our sake body Ganapati with his huge

head and huge body indicates the

Here we are offering our prayers depth of largeness and intricacies

to Lord Ganesha Lord Vishnu of the human body and brain

Lord Hanuman Lord Patanjalj

and the Guru You may feel Lord Ganesha Vandanam His teeth are indicated as

Ganesha is a Hindu God and as Vakratuncl ma1lkaya SUlyakoti samaprabha Vakratunda Vakra means turned all of uS who have gathered here Nirvighnam kurttme deva subhakmyesu sarllada or crooked and tunda means to practise yoga belong to differshy tusk The elephant has one long

ent religions may hesitate to pray Oh elephant-ElCed Ganesha Mighty One tusk but human beings vont to Hindu Gods Let us be clear Thy effulgence is equal to a billion suns have such rusks This is to indishy

that God does nor belong to any Forever remove I pray thee all cate that Ganesh though elephant religion God is one but manshy impediments headed has not gOt the tusks of an

made religions are multiple God In the path of my auspiciolls deeds elephant It is a legendary story

is beyond the explanations but we ~ which says that Lord Ganesha lost

Iyengar Yoga News No4 8 Winter 2003 --~~----------------------

his o ne tusk when he opposed Parashurama from enter- it does not mean that the Lord is Hindu

i ng cile regim of Lord Shiva Ganeshas fath r

The Lord anesha is considered to be the one who

helps us in all auspiciolls work to overcome all the

obs tacles and hind rances which come in the vay So we

offer our prayers to Lord Ganesha asking the Lord to

remove all those obstacles which come in the wayan the

auspicious path of yoga H aying studied the Yoga Sunas

ofParanjal i you know that there are nine obstacles in the

path of yoga along with four distractive and destructive

m ntd l obsnuccions and we are

going to offer am p rayers to Lord

G an e ha asking h im to bless LIS so

that these obstacles can be faced

courageo usly and removed

Basical ly Lord Ganesh is the Cod

ofW isdom and remover Jf ohstashy

cles hence he is involved and

worshipped at the commenccshy

ment of every im portant progresshy

sive and auspicious undertaking

It is said that G anesha wrote the

Mahabharata at the dictation of

Vyasa on the condition that Vyasa

should not pause or break the

flow of narration even for a fracshy

cion of a second orhenvisl he will

stop wrIting furth er VyJsa

accep red the challenge and did

not pause even for a fraction

Then we offer our prayers to Lord

Vi~h llU Again the nU11e seems to

be a Sanskrit word indicating a

Hindu God but it is only a quesshy

tion of language Man thought of

having a language so that he can rela r what he understands to

o chers The language is m lCll1t for

commun ication Therefore if the

prayers are said in Sanskrit it does

nO[ mean that God belongs to

that particular community which

speaks or fo llows thJt particular

Iallguag W hen bible is trmslatshy

ed in all the languages it will be

ri diculous to say that Christ only

bclongs ro those who speak

H ebrew So in Sanskrit when we

offer the p rayers to Lord Vishnu

Has the Lord gOt any form or shape Here the stanza on

Lord Vishnu which explains it Here the word Vishnu

comes from the root verb vish which means to spread

through to extend to pervade Vishnu means all pershy

vader or worker Here worker means a functional facshy

tor in every aspect It also means to embrace Lord

Vishnu not only embraces the whole universe but also

remains above In this sense he is a protector

Vishnu Slow

Jyengar Yoga News No4 9

Shtmtakaram bfndagashtl)fllam pad11fmshyfzbhai11 5ureshfllll VishlJadharilm gagt1llllsadars)lam meghfl1Jflrnam shubhilllgam

LakshmikantfllJl kall1altllla)anam )ogihrid dh)anagamyalll

Vande Vismum bhaVflbha)flharam saiVa lokaika l1atham

I salute Vishnu the sale master of the

universe whose presence is very peaceful

who stretches Himself on a serpent-bed

who sprouts a lotus in his navel who is

the one Lord of all the Devas who is the

support of the worlds who is subtle and

all pervading like the sky whose comshy

plexion is like that of the clouds whose

form is very beautiful who is the consort

of Sri Laksmi whose eyes are like lotus

petals who is meditated upon by yogis

and who eradicates (he fear of samsara

The one who hasnt got a form

who hasnt got a shape yet he has

a figure He is santakaram Santi or santa means qUIetness peaceshy

fuln ess serenity So his form is of

serenity The serenity cannOt

show any form You dont say this

serenity is like a jar or like a cup

serenity is serenity In a similar

manner the Lord Vishnu is conshy

sidered to be santakaram who is

just the incarnation of serenity

and peace He is sleeping on

Bhujaga His couch is Adisesa

the serpent He is sleeping on that

serpent the Bhujaga Even in the

imagination it is impossible to

think that we can sleep on the sershy

pent But Lord Vishnu is not

afraid of anything He is fearless

because there is no enemy

for

Him It is we human beings who

have many enemies and that is

why we are afraid of each other

but Lord Vishnu is sleeping comshy

fortably and peacefully on the

couch of the serpent Adisesa

becJuse He is fearless Ftom His

navel emerges the lotus and this

lotus is the seat of the Creator -

Brahma The very Crearor is born

out of the navel of Vishnu

Apparently Lord Vishnu is the

Creator of this whole Universe

The seed (beeja) of that Universe

is in Him From his navel (the

embryo) we find the whole world

coming into existence Suresham

is another name of Lord Vishnu

Sura means God and Isha means

Winter 2003

Supreme God Lord Vishnu in this sense is the God of

Gods

He is the supporter of the whole Universe

Vishvadharam - Vishva is the entire Universe the

Universe which is known and unknown to us He is the

one who supports the known and unknown world

Adhara means to support

Now how big is He how small is He Is He six feet tall

and two feet broad like any other human being No He

is as vast as the sky You cannot measure the sky simishy

larly he cannot be measured GaganuJadar-~)am

Gagana means sky and sadarsyam means similar So he

is all pervading as the sky He is Meghavarnam Megha means cloud and varnam means colour How does he

look what is his

colour Is he brown

like Indians Is he

In other words the Universe the Universe which is full

of wealth and therdore nothing but Laksmi belongs to

Him The wealth that vve see on this Earth and the

wealth that we see in the Universe all belongs to him

because he is the husband of Laksmi

Kamaltlnayanam Kamal means lotus Nayana means

eyes He is lotus eyed His eyes are like lotus always

open and beautiful Is He the one who keeps the eyes

closed No Though He is sleeping on the bed of the sershy

pent Adisesa yet His eyes are always wide open because

he is seeing everything and witnessin g everything The lotus though remaining in water is untouched by it

Similarly the eyes of Lord Vishnu though seeing and

perceiving everything remains untai1tcd

Thcn if that is the

Lord how do we

him hrdsee Yogi dhyanagam)la72white like He the Lord can be Westerners Is he

black like Africans seen by a yogi

through the heart shyNo His colour is

similar to the the spiritual heart

clouds Xhen you only by practising see the clouds in the dhyana You can see

sky they are of the me I can see you

same colour You but what about dont find this cloud Him How to see

in England having a Him The yogi

different colour in though His heart America having a sees that Lord different colou r through the practice You dont say this is Indian cloud this is African cloud

or this is American cloud The cloud is the same everyshy

where It could be black white and could be with goldshy

en or silver lining or without lining So also Lord

Vishnu has no colour

Shubhangam Has he got arms like us Legs like us belly

like us chest like us Is His body like our body made out

of flesh and bone No anga means limbs Shubha means

auspicious or pure His body is JUSt the incarnation of

auspiciousness There is nothing inauspicious in Him

No inauspiciousness can touch him because He Himself

is auspicious The Lord is having the body of auspishy

CIousness

He is Lakshmikantam - the husband of Laksmi So who

is His wife His wife is Lakshmi The word indicates the

increase of good fortune prosperity success and wealth

of sadhana You necd to practise yoga do dhyana and

purif) the heart The velY core of the being Then you

will be able to see Him

Is it the eyes of the yogi that sees the Lord N it is the

heart the spiritual heart For the yogi the spiritual heart

is the eye and this eye of the spiritual heart has to open

Like His lotus eyes the lotus of the heart has to open

Vande Vishnum - let LlS salute Lord Vishnu (he All Pervader who never deteriorates who never diminishes

who is ever omnipresent who exists everywhere

Bhava Bha)aHamm - Bhava means worldly li fe It means (0 come in (0 existence or have birth after birth

(0 experience woddly life Bha)la means fear And

Haran] means to destroy What does He do for us H e

is the one who being fearless the ocean of fea rle n

Iyengar Yoga News No4 10

gives us courage to cross this world of pleasures and Lord Hanuman has a speed equal to the mind We pains This world in which we are caught and when we want that speed of the mind We often [hink that ve

cannot reach the other end of it the spiritual end of it should be qU1iet as a yoga practitioner but the quietness the very soul the very self then He is the one who also has a speed For a while we remain quiet and sudshy

destroys the fear of appearing in this world again and denly the mind thinks of something and the flow of

again getting caught in the cycles of births and deaths serenity is broken The speed of quietness breaks You

He destroys the fear which keeps us away from seeing say Oh we were sitting here but our mind was someshy

the soul where else The mind has a speed but doesnt flow with

a single attention swiftly So here is a god Lord

Sarvalokaikanatham - Sarva - whole entire Loka - heavshy Hanuman whose speed of the body and speed of the

en earth space Eka - one and only one Natham - posshy intelligence is just equal to the mind which has got a

sessor and protector He is the one who is the head of great speed to have a single minded attention I can be

the whole Universe the sole master of the Universe The here at this moment I can reach India because the mind

only One the only single One There is no other God can go that fast I may not even reach the airport but the

There is only one Isvara and we read this in the Yoga mind can reach so fast Lord Hanuman is the One who

Sutras He is untouched by klesa (afflictions) and karma has the speed of the mind He can physically reach with

(actions) The one who is untouched by this is above the speed that the wind can go Maruta Tulya Ve~tlm shyeveryone Isvara is the One and j1arut means wind or vayu Tulya

that is how in a poetic way the means similar or equal and vegam

sloka is presented to us means speed This is indicating

the vigour of Lord Hanuman and

I am taking a little longer time of the power of his body to be quick

yours so that you understand and swift When He is going with

because you are all yoga teachers that speed is he shaken Is He

and obviously this is something disturbed Is He perturbed No that the practi tioners have to He is stable in spite of having a know speedy mind jitendRiyam - jita

means conquered and indriya Then we are offering our prayers means senses and organs He has

to Lord Hanuman conquered His senses of percepshy

tion so His mind is not wavering The word Hanuman signifies the though He is reaching with that syllable AUM Ha stands for speed Buddhimatmn Varistham shyLord Vishnu nu stands for Lord Buddhi means intelligence and Shiva and ma stands for Lord Buddhirnatam means Brahma Lord Hanuman in this Intellectuals Varistham means sense signifies the confluence of excellent Lord Hanuman has the creator (Brahma) the protecshy excellence of intelligence in Him tor (Vishnu) and the destroyer Our intelligence has limitations (Shiva) in him He is above all the intellectuals

that we have in this world In We are all sadhakas We are all Lord Hanuman intelligence has practitioners We havent reached Lord Hanuman messenger of Shri reached to the exhausted level he the state of a yogi Ve are all on Rama son of the Wind God is on top as far as intelligence is that path So here is the reason Who is quick as the mind and swift as concerned He is the son of Vayu why we offer our prayers to Lord the wind Vatamajam - son of the wind Hanuman Conqueror of the senses foremost Atmaja - son

among the wise MmlOjavam - speed of the mind Commander of the monkey-army to Most important to a yogi is t11e Mana is mind and java means Him I surrender very practice of niYl112( and yama swiftness or speed He has to conquer his pral1a COrl-

Hammlan Vandalla1 Manojavam marutatulya vegan1 jitelldriya buddhimatam varistham Vatatmajal1l vl11ara)lttha mukhyam Sriramadutam Salll11am prapadye

Iyengar Yoga News No4 11 Winter 2003

~ hi energy We fi rst try to

quer more cautiously the

n

[JOI

ad

IT

Tg ar the subtle level We

to keep the vata under conshy

t rata is rhe cause of good and

behaviour Our character

~ pends upon the qu~iry and c of vata In order to have conshy

l over vata we offer prayers

ormally Lord Hanuman IS

tra nslated as Monkey God

be ause his face looks like a monshy

k y Vanara means monkey But

h re rhe vanara Hanuman is

human being Va means to blow

nd spread in all directions or to

procure or bestow anything by blowing Nara means human

being So vanara is above the

human being who is stronger

than human beings so vanara in

this sense is nor a monkey It is

said that it was a kind of uniform

given to the military force of

Sugiva which made the appearshy

ance of a monkey Rama was

given this army of all the lJanams If you read the Ramayana you

will know that they were given a

special dress to wear Though rhey

look like the monkey rhey had

rhe strength to cross the ocean

There vere engineers in the army

Lord Hanuman is rhe head of all

the vanaras Yer in spire of reachshy

ing thar level he remained all the

rime as a servant rendering service

to the Lord Sri Rama rhe Lord

He never lifted up his head wirh

ego or vaniry to say Look Im above everyone He is rhe incarshy

narion of humbleness and he

respecred the Lord and rhar is

how we offer our prayers to Lord

Hanuman

To Patanjali

Yogena citttll)a padenrl vacam MaLam sarhCllyaca vaidjlClkena Yopakarottam prrwara771 711ul1il1tlm PatanjaLim pranjaLimnatoJmi Abahu pUlwakaram Sal1lcha cakrasi dharinal1l Sahasra Iimsam sllettll11 Pnlntlmami Patanjtllim

Ler us bow before the noblest of sages

PatJnjali

who gave yoga for sereni ty and sancti ry

of mind

grammar for clarity and purity of speech

and medicine for perfection of health

Let us prostrate before Patanjali an

incarnation of Adisesa whose upper

body has a humll1 form whose arms

hold a conch and disk

And who is crowned by a thousand headshy

ed cobra

Lastly we are offering ollr prayers

to th Guru

Guru Vandanam GuruI Brahma Gurur Vishnu Guru DeIJo Maheshwarah Guru saksat Param Brahma TclS77Zal Sri Guravenamah

Guru is verily Brahma Guru is

verily Vishnu

Guru is verily Shin

Guru indeed is the Supreme

To him I bow

Brahmanandam Paramsukhadam kevamn jJ1tlnamurtim DIJczndlJatitam gagrlllsadllyam tattvamasyadi laksam Elwl1l nityam lJimalamacalam sarshyvadhi saksibhutam Bhavatitam trigunarahitam sadgurum tam namami

I salute the Guru who himself is a blissful state of Brahma who

gives only happiness is idol of

knowledge has crossed all the

dualities such as sorrow and hapshy

piness who is as vast as the sky

and untouched always drawn

into the thoughts of the Supreme

He is One and alone eternal

untainted straight-forward witshy

nessing the consciousness of all the living beings beyond the

emotional and physical entangleshy

ments unaffected by sattlJa rajas and tamas I salute that Guru

Isvara is One and only One who is

rhe Gurll of gurus because He is

omniscient in whom rhe seed of

knowledge exists The knowledge

flows only from Him He is rhe

Ocean of rhe knowledge and from

Him we are receiving rhe knowledge bir by bit So how

is rhis Guru He is rhe reator Brahma He is the proshy

Then we offer our prayers to Lord Patanjali Of course tector Vishnu and He is rhe destroyer of our ignorance

you know the meaning of that since YOll have read the Shiva or Maheshvara Then there is the guru who is

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali transforming that knowledge to LIS Because the God -

Isvara cannot be seen by us cannor be felt by us unless

Iyengar Yoga News No4 12 Winter 2003

-----------------

we realise through the sadhana Therefore we require somebody to guide us And it is our Guruji who guides us The one who guides us we have to salute him as well The Guru who is in the physical form right in front of our eyes (sakshat) is Param Brahma - the Ultimate Supreme God He is the guru who is always drawn in the thoughts of Brahman thinks of the supreme and is happy with that Supreme His all happiness is established only in that supreme SOutce He is again the incarnation of knowledge No dualities affect Him He has crossed the dualities He is as vast as the sky He aims at the Upanisadic truth Tat Tvam Ast That Thou Are He is only One - Ekam He is always eternal - nityam He is untouched by affiictions untouched by any bad or wrong actions or thoughts He is always pure He is stashybile and immovable He is always watching everything He is always witnessing everything

He is never caught emotionally He doesnt differentiate saying I like this person more so I will teach him more and I will not teach that person He transcends emoshy

tions We are always caught in the three gunas but Guru is the one who is above all so he has crossed these three

qualities Let us offer our prayers to the guru who shows the right path to us

I do understand that the doubt may arise in your mind whether you should say these prayers or not Therefore I thought it is better to understand the language and the meaning of these prayers At the end it is a Universal God We always create the God through our minds but when we cross our own mind we realise the Universal God If the

Supreme is understood in this sense then I dont think anyone need to have any doubts in their mind

Always as vve begin anything as auspicious work even the birthshyday celebrations the simple birthshyday celebrations we have candles We light the candles which shows us the light In the similar manner when we are offering the puja We will light the candles of knowlshyedge Let this knowledge always remain enllightening us The

flowers are offered with the sense of appreciation and affection So I ~--______________J

wiU perform the puja offering the flowers The Lord says in the Bhagavad Gita Dont offer me anything big Bur even if you offer me the flowers fruits leaves water I accept them because you have offered them to me with love and affection I return them back to you because Im not the one to enjoy them You have offered them to me but I will be giving them back to you That is what the Bhagavad Gita says

So when we are offering the light in the form of candles or flowers it is He who is going to return that back to us We do not ask for that but that is what His nature is to give He is not going to keep any account ofwhat we give He says in other words You try to tread the path of realshyisation you try to walk on the path of self-realisation and I will be guiding you I will be showing you me path

If we are absolutely agnostics having no faith then He is not going to force us But if a little feeling comes which says Let me do yoga let me know what it is

He is going to guide us The first time you came to

your yoga class some of you might have felt oh yoga cures diseases so let me try ifit helps me So we come

with that selfish approach Even though it might be a selfish approach God is not taking any objections to that He says Fine you have got a selfish approach it doesnt matter But be on the right path

Xhen your mind says Oh there

is something beyond the health and I want to know that Then He knows that the intention is changed He says Fine you are progressing further so I will help YOll further

So this is the dialogue which goes on between us and the Universal Soul and this inner dialogue is needed This is what the puja

means The puja means worshipshyping HIM the Supreme One While doing the sadhana we need to have dialogue with the Lord Sadhana is the language of dialogue between us and God

So having this in your minds let us offer the prayers

Iyengar Yoga News No4 13 Winter 2003

PUJA - SOME REFLECTIONS

Kirsten Agar Ward writes about her experiences and understanding of puja

wa rather surprised to have been asked to Tite this article as I am in no way any sort f authority on puja I write only from my

011 limited experiences which are of pershy- rming a puja most days as part ofour famshy -lif for around two years Before this I was cry much aware that I preferred to begin yo~ classes and my own practice with the inocation to Patanjali - it seemed and still does seem to be important to have this pause to quieten and prepare for the pracshyrice Later I also realised the importance of rhankfulness for which it provides an opporshy~unity I had also noticed and been interestshy-d in the pujas I saw talcing place in the homes of some of those with whom I stayed whilst travelling in India I found the notion of having a shrine in the home and daily ritshyuals associated with it very appealing rather than such activities being restricted to a sacred building and fIXed services I was impressed by how much a part ofdaily life it was to rhese people to pray

From what I understand at present me basic elements of puja include - a lamp (light) anointing incense food offerings (pra_iad) other offerings such as flowers chanting and prostration (pranam) There can be variashytions for example in the mantras chosen and the number of repetitions and the order in which they are performed the forms of God represented the element of silent prayer reading ofscriptures and some of the 111a terials used

In our case we have found it helpful to estabshylish a place in our home (in the yoga practice room) where we carry out the puja It is important to keep the area clean Our puja has developed over time for example we have gradually learned more chants We were helped greatly in this by having a tape recording of them Then we were able to refine our pronunciation by having the words written down It was necessary to make a consciOllS effort to learn them We are deeply grateful for the guidance we have received in puja from Guruji via Faeq Biria

I have to admit that what really got me startshy

ed with puja in my own life was the desire I for a child (our prayers were answered and we now have a beautiful son - Saut - which means asked for) Now later in parallel with my experiences of the invocation at the beginning of practice it is at east as much about thankfulness Its so easy in life isnt ir to forget all the many blessings one has and instead focus on tl1e trials and tribulations For me puja is a way of helping me rememshyber the blessings and more than this to be grateful at least for some of the time Maybe then it will spill over more and more into the rest of lite

Puja is also an opportunity to practise the fourth NiJlama - Svadhyaya - self study For exan1ple in that quietness when it is JUSt oneself talking to God one can observe ones inclinations and scrutinise them - am I conshycentrating Am I being properly reverential Am I savouring the moments or rushing to get on with something else Am I being mechanical Am I clean and pure in motivashytion Am I seelcing gratification

It seems to me that an essential aspect of puja is reverence This is not something we tend to make much of in our society The cult of the individual is very dominant and this can tend to make us feel that it is someshyhow demeaning to be reverential towards someone (or something) else To me howshyever reverence is about simple truthfulness and acceptance of truth and about showing due respect aDd appreciation Reverence is easier if we really have some understanding of our position in relation to the object of reverence This reverence (and corresponshydent lack of casualness and mechanical ness) in approach is manifested in how one preshypares for puja (the best time is after bathing) how one dresses and also in how one actushyally performs it For example the posture one assumes - is it casual Arrogant Or straight and firm and respectful I remember being Struck by how Guruji folds his hands in the Namaskar position - how beautifully he extends them - certainly not a casual or mechanical posture Posture cleanliness dress - these are some outward manifesta-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 14 Winter 2003 ------~--~~~~~-- ---------------------------shy

tions of how one is inside which is the crushycial thing If we truly in our heans revere God and strive to act in the puja as if God is really there (which I believe God is - being omnipresent) then reverence can be there It is a bit like the difference bervveen practising as if Guruji is there watching and not Through this reverence one is beginning to develop LmiddothVtlra Pranidhrma (surrender to

God)

It seems to me that puja is closely linked with all the NiJ1ilmas One observes cleanlishyness in body and endeavours to be pure in

thoughts and actions also (Saltcha) before shyand actually it seems to me the process itself has a purifYing effect Counting ones blessshyings involves a degree of Stmtosha (contentshyment) Tapas (determined effort and zeal) is required in order to be disciplined and not let the practice slip Through it one begins to develop more Svadhyaya andhhvara Pranidhana Isnt thi similar to asana and pmnayama practice Moreover I feel that by developing such qualites and personal discishyplines through puja ones practice of other aspects ofyoga can surely only be deepened As an example I remember Birjoo Mehta explaining to us how to prepare to take the

I in-bream in prartayarna and he likened it to the state one is in just at the moment one lights a prayer candle in church In this way experiences of Makti (devotion) assist our other yogic practices and I feel sure the conshyverse is also true

Puja is not about worshipping or revering a piece of stone or metal - [llse idols in C hristian terminology T he images are simshyply w heLp us remember God In much the same way in church there might be images of Christ or architecrur3l symbolic refershyences to God (for example windows being in threes to remind us subconsciously of the Holy Trinity) These things are to assist us tools rather than ends in themselves We surely need assistance otherwise we would be remembering God all the time and conshysequently being more spiritual than we are Similarly chaming and ritual itself are an assistance Coming from a protestant backshyground and not High C hurch it strikes me as somewhat curious that I have come round to valuing ritual and what may be loosely summed up as bells and smells Somehow though it seems to offer a strucshy

rure some scaffolding on which to build it touches the psyche I like the idea of chantshying in Sanskri t ancient prayers which have been chanted so many million times before It seems to me there is a great energy and purity in that My experience is that it is not essential to have to understand all the words (though having said this I am grateful that Gtetaji has given us such a clear and full explanation of several invocations) I was interested to discover that our neighbour who is an ordinand (trainee C of E priest) has had a similar experience During her training she has been involved in worship incorporating chants in Latin or Greek As she comes from a Low Church background she found this strange at first but she has discovered that it does not seem to matter that one does not understand the exact words more that it helps you focus on God In fact she pointed out to me that the Bible contains a number of references to how one docs not even need words to pray

I am still learning about puja and deepening my understanding and practice of these aspects I have mentioned If asked why pzda is important I dont think I could say any more at the moment than the points I have mentioned above - developing ones revershyence [Owards and appreciation of God and developi ng oneself to become closer to God In thinking about this article I have been struck by the many p~uallels with yoga pracshytice - from simply not being mechanical or casual to being reverenrial and appreciative and developing Svadhya)a and Ishvara Pranidhana through Tapas How also the Yanla) (for exanlple truthfulness non-covetshying) withdrawal from sense objects and the external world (Pratyahara) and concentrashytion (Dhaltlna) are involved in fact it seems to me aspects of yoga and pzda are not just parallel but interlinked the one assisting the other and vice versa

For me puja is rather like my experience of yoga when I first began - I was not exactly sure or able (0 explai n why it was so imporshytant to do it bur I just knew for me at least that it was In the same way I just know and fee that pIda is important for us not only for the blessings and insptration which come from it bur simply as the act itself for its own sake

Iyengar Yoga News No4 15 Spring 2003

THE SCIENCE OF LIFE

Inspired by Geetajl s talk in Madrid in May 2002 Dale Rathbone reflects on the basic principles and philosophy of Ayurveda

I n Madrid Geetaji discussed the basic principles and philosophy ofAyurveda and how this plays a role within our mind nature and with our practice of flSflnas Ayur-veda means science of life and a central principle of Ayurveda is the existence of the three doshas These are our 3 biological humours which are 3 primary life forces in the body In Sanskrit they are called Vflta Pitta and Kflpha which correspond primarily to the elements of Air Fire and Water These movable elements determine life processshyes of growth and decay When the humours are out of balance then this becomes a causative force in the disease process

Vara is described as the biological air eleshyment like the wind which moves things and motivates the other two forces It susshytains effort such as inhalation and exhalashytion which co-ordinates the senses impulses and vibrations The roOt of Viltfl is dealing with the waste materials in the pelvic and lower back area of the body Because the Vata is composed of ether it lives in the empty spaces in the body and fills up the subtle channels

Pitta is described as the biological fire eleshyment which is the bile that digests our food and is responsible for certain chemshyical energies and transformations in the body Modern medical science speaks of electrical energy running through our nervous system It also governs Ollr menshytal digestion heat visllal perception hunger thirst radiance understanding intelligence courage and softness of the body it is seated in [he stomach and digestive area

Kapha biologically exists in the earthshymedium like our skin bones and other tissue lining Our physical composition is mainly the water element which is conshytained within the boundaries of our skin Its origin is that which holds things

Iyengar Yoga News No4

together and so provides substance and gives support It also provides emotional traits such as love compassion modesty patience and forgiveness

Geetaji made an interesting point that if a person is Vata by nature then they may be unstable and indecisive in mind always wanting to learn something else An unstable Vatil nature person stays in asanas too long but they also want to finshyish for the next asana The Pitta nature person has discipline but jumps into one posture then to another and wants to learn moment by moment vcry quickly A Kilpha nature person slowly develops over a 70 year period

Geetaji most importantly spoke about keeping a balanced level in all three doshas Va ttl Pitta and Kapha within our daily practice

An ancient deity (arca-vigraha) of Lord Dhanvantari received the knowledge of Ayurveda from Indra the King of Gods Brahma composed Ayurveda in one hunshydred thousand siokLlJ and a thousand chapters But after considering the shorr span of life for any mortal to study Lord Dhanvantari divided Ayurveda into eight volumes

In the broad and profound Vedic science Ayurveda includes Herbal medicines dietics surgery (Shaiya Ttmtra) Psychiatry (Bhutil Vidya) toxicology (Agftela Tantra) spirituality midwifery gynaecology (Kaumarbhritya) general medicine (Kaya Chikitsa) rejuveshynation (Rasttyana) sexology (V~jikarana)

diseases of the eyes ears nose and throat (Shaiakya Ttmtra)

According to the ancient text Carakashysamhita this Science of Life and Longevity is eternal and is revealed in each universe in each of its infinite cycles of creation and destruction

16 Winter 2003

Iyengar Yoga Nevvs No4 17

These illustrations show Lord Dhanvantari in his four-armed form holding the wheel (Sudarsana Chakra) and Conch (sankha) in the upper right and left hands as do most Vishnu incarnashytions In the other two hands there are the necshytar pot (amrta-kalasha) and a herb According to

the Prapancha-sara sanshygraha the Lord holds a leech (jalauaka) in place of the herb in his fourth hand

Lord Dhanvantari was said to be an incarnation of the God Vishnu and appears in the famous myth of the churning of the milk ocean represhysenting this truth for the benefit of othe~ in the tradition of Ayurveda So to heal ourselves or others we must set It 111 motion within ourselves

Lord Dhanvantari has been worsh ipped for many years in India and is to be seen in most clinshyics and is a reminder that however much we know or skillful we become everything still depends on the grace of our spirishytual nature

Today in India the Diwali Festival is inaugushyrated with remembrance of Lord Dhanvantari For such during dusk time a lamp pointing toward North by North-East is lit at the entrance of the door step Such is the welcome to Lord Dhanvan tari to bestow on all health and happishyness in ensuing life

Winter 2003

INTERVIEW WITH JAWAHAR

Before his visit to the Manchester convention in May 2003 IYN interviewed guest teacher Jawahar Bangera

lVfiat drew you to Iyengar Yoga initialshyW (y

Honestly I was not drawn to Iyengar Yoga but dragged to it by my folks in the sumshymer of 1969 I spent the last five years of school life in a boarding school at Panchgani When I returned to Mumbai after finishing schoo the rest of the famshyily was already attending Gurujis classes (SatSun) and it was but natural for me to fall in line In those days Guruji used to spend a good part of the Indian summer teaching in Europe In the interim his senior students like the Motiwalas Burzo Taraporewala Ohun Palkhiwala conductshyed the Mumbai classes My brothers myself and the Motiwala sisters being the youngsters of the batch were singled out for special treatment especiall) an extra dose of back-bends

One day I was browsing through Light on Yoga (hardback) It fascinated me When Guruji returned to teach the class in Mumbai I was astonished to see that the person in the book (LOY) was the very same one teaching the Mumbai class I requested Guruji to accept me as a stushydent and since then there has been no Looking back In those days I used to look forward to the Saturday class as I hated getting up on a Sunday morning In boarding school we had a PT teacher who made us do postures like sirsasana arm balances and backbends So in tbe initial stages Iyengar yoga was more like PT for me until Guruji started explaining the nuances of the poses That made it intershyesting and gave me a reason to get hooked on Iyengar yoga

What do you think is the role ofYoga in the modern world

Most of the people I have met attend yoga classes with ulterior motives of improving health flexibility weight-loss or weight gain etc Those who have maintained a continuous practice have

been transformed from the mundane aspects to the subtle from the frivolous to the sublime These sadhakas have made the practice ofIyengar Yoga a part of their lives and mental make up Their food habits have changed Their attitude to felshylow workers and employees has improved Their clarity of thoughts and actions has improved Some atheists have become theists Not surprisingly they all attribute these changes (for the better) ro their practice and grace of yoga

The principals of yama and niyarna will give the modern world the instruments to lead a disciplined life especially yoga as taught by Guruji He makes no manshymade distinctions between races religion culture etc The tenets are strictly adhered to and this makes him a true yogi I am sure man) students have experienced this aspect of Guruji and Iyengar yoga Yoga as taught by Guruji will undo all the barshyriers we as ordinary humans are conshystantly erecting to form a protective fence between different peoples of the world Sage Patanjali states that yoga is not conshyditioned by class place time or concept of dut) Hence yoga plays an important role in the bonding of all mankind Therefore it is imperative to practice yoga for universal gain

How is the practice of Yoga general6 pershyceived in India

Though it is the birthplace of yoga India somehow is treated very lighdy The genshyeral concept of yoga in India is that it is meant for older people So )ou will notice very few youngsters in yoga classshyes When I started out practising Iyengar yoga I witnessed many youngsters come and go It was mostly those families where the parents and children attended classes together that there has been some adhesion to yoga My present experience is that youngsters have a major prob]em attending yoga classes because it does not

Iyengar Yoga News No4 18 ------------------~~-----

appear glam oro us And then th rt is the ego problem W h n it comes to doing difficul t po tures it exposes them (espeshycially d 1 C boysyo ung men) as wimps and this th ey cannot sto mach We see a lot of dropoU(s

So the concept of yoga needs to be changed Ask any layperson what he or she thinks of yoga and they con jur up an image of a yogi in meditation When I starred my first publi c class in M umbai in a very smalJ roo m 1 rece ived abo u thi rty srudenrs The men were dressed in office-wear and the women ca me in saris T hey had their own idea of what theIyoga lass was and I had mine I was the o nly person in the room in prop r yoga attire along with a handful of students who had some experi nce of Iyengar yoga The next class I was left with only th at handful of students Indians are hard working as Fa r lt15 materialism is conshycerned W hen it c mes to spiri rual pracshytice th ey do not want to work hard for sLI ce 55 O ne no tices many I ndians se tshytled abroad have made a success of their live fow man y have you not iced attend ing yoga classes They are Godshyfearing and many are temple-goers They prefer to pray thall undergo dle rigo urs of mana practice

There is a sign th ough that things are fi naJly changing with the p pulari ty of Iyengar yoga G uruji is now well known in India and inquiries for classes are speshycific ror I en gar yoga Most attend class with tb hope of achieving health Also there is now awareness for building good healrll w ithout the use of d rugs and docshyto L Some m end class with medical probshylems in the hope of curing themselves witho ut urger Yes rhe resp nse in a city like Mu mbai is encouraging and it has been a lo ng tim e coming All of uruJI s hard work is now paying div idends Very often you will no tice [h re are many expertS in Jnd ia who will eulogizecritishycise the subj ect without having practised it (1hen the p reacher is a well-known p rsonJ li it m akes an impact and someshytimes it can have a pos itive eHect on the efficacy of yoga

Then there is the colonial hangove G uruji has often said that yoga will b popular in this country when a Foreign teaches the subject One of the big obstashycles to the popularity of yoga is the me shyical profession W hen they are at a los ~ th ey as k rheir patients to attend yog classes At other times they advise the i patients to practise only certain poses Ie India a doctors -vord is like Gods an pat ients will approach yoga classes with presc ription from their doctors

Fortunately yoga is making some inroad in the medical profession and doctors ar now attending classes and nOficing th clifference in the non-invasive technique as taught by Guruji A renaissance is ir order

How do )ou feel about teaching large COl

ventions in contrast to smaller classes

Each has its own charm In conventions the students who attend have alread achieved a certain level in their practice They are more receptive to instruction and the degree of absorption is high E planations of subtle points are readiI understood due to the sincere practice 0

the partici )al1ts SmaHer classes have charm of th eir own There is a closer rapshyport between the teacher and the StLlshy

dents It is easier to monitor the class fo mistakes In convenrio ns though thert are rewer chances of errors from students mistakes can be glaring It happened in the last convention when a student modshyiried the pose as it was the way the stushydent was taught It also occurred that the student was not from the Iyengar yoga community [r was disturbing as well as amusll1g

There is a gut deal ofconflict in the wora crt the present time Do you think that Yoga practice and philosophy can be ofany help

T he answer to this question is connected to the earlier question of the role of yoga in the modern world If we all made a co ncerted effort to live our individual lives as per the principles laid down in the Yoga Sutras of sage Patanjali it would be a beginning Unless we lead exemplary lives we have no moral right to point fin-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 19 Winter 2003

AN EXPLANATION OF THE INVOCATIONS

This is the transcript of a talk given by Dr Geeta S Iyengar on the opening morning of the main event of the Iyengar Yoga Jubilee at Crystal Palace on

Saturday 25th May 2002

Friends yoga lovers explore him according to our intelligence mental conshy

cept and calibre Therefore I wont say that Lord

We are first of all performing the puja since we are startshy Ganesha is a Hindu God He is a creation from the

ing the auspicious work I would like to share with you human brain for us to think how a Lord could be the

the background of the puja that we are going to pershy Lord Ganesha is the one who is elephant headed with a

form Puja is one of the methods of worshipping Lord huge brain and a huge skull encasing the big brain It is

Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita that whatever we to indicate that human beings also have a completely

offer to the Lord such as leaves flowers fruits or water evolved brain and we consider that the human brain is

with devotion reaches him Here we will be offering the one which is completely developed a very intellecshy

prayers deepam (light) dhupam (agarbatti) flowers and tual centre of ours Ganesha is considered to be the one

garlands who has this huge brain of mankind Gana means peoshy

ple Ganesha means God of people He is also called as

When we know that we are starring some auspicious Ganapati the head or husband of people He is also

work such as the very practice of yoga the yoga sadshy named as Vinayak - the supreme leader So Ganesh leads

hana we have to offer our prayers to the Lord who is us guides us He is the God chosen by every one (gana)

omnipotent omnipresent and omnisciltnt Though all in a democratic way

of us know that the Lord is omnipotent omnipresent

and omniscien t and that he is everywhere and also Then he is considered to be huge as far as his body is

within us yet it is not possible to realise or see the God concerned This indicates that though our physical body

since the God hasnt got any is let us say six feet high two feet

form He does not appear in any broad Lord Ganeshas huge body

form in front of us Thus the is equal to that of the Universal

human mind begins to give Him Body It is true that when we are

some shape As we begin to worshy practising many a time we feel a

ship the Lord giving him a form state where we are going beyond

or shape according to out mental this body and in that sense we

creation with devotion He can experience Mahakaya Maha appear in that form given by us means big great and kaya means

for our sake body Ganapati with his huge

head and huge body indicates the

Here we are offering our prayers depth of largeness and intricacies

to Lord Ganesha Lord Vishnu of the human body and brain

Lord Hanuman Lord Patanjalj

and the Guru You may feel Lord Ganesha Vandanam His teeth are indicated as

Ganesha is a Hindu God and as Vakratuncl ma1lkaya SUlyakoti samaprabha Vakratunda Vakra means turned all of uS who have gathered here Nirvighnam kurttme deva subhakmyesu sarllada or crooked and tunda means to practise yoga belong to differshy tusk The elephant has one long

ent religions may hesitate to pray Oh elephant-ElCed Ganesha Mighty One tusk but human beings vont to Hindu Gods Let us be clear Thy effulgence is equal to a billion suns have such rusks This is to indishy

that God does nor belong to any Forever remove I pray thee all cate that Ganesh though elephant religion God is one but manshy impediments headed has not gOt the tusks of an

made religions are multiple God In the path of my auspiciolls deeds elephant It is a legendary story

is beyond the explanations but we ~ which says that Lord Ganesha lost

Iyengar Yoga News No4 8 Winter 2003 --~~----------------------

his o ne tusk when he opposed Parashurama from enter- it does not mean that the Lord is Hindu

i ng cile regim of Lord Shiva Ganeshas fath r

The Lord anesha is considered to be the one who

helps us in all auspiciolls work to overcome all the

obs tacles and hind rances which come in the vay So we

offer our prayers to Lord Ganesha asking the Lord to

remove all those obstacles which come in the wayan the

auspicious path of yoga H aying studied the Yoga Sunas

ofParanjal i you know that there are nine obstacles in the

path of yoga along with four distractive and destructive

m ntd l obsnuccions and we are

going to offer am p rayers to Lord

G an e ha asking h im to bless LIS so

that these obstacles can be faced

courageo usly and removed

Basical ly Lord Ganesh is the Cod

ofW isdom and remover Jf ohstashy

cles hence he is involved and

worshipped at the commenccshy

ment of every im portant progresshy

sive and auspicious undertaking

It is said that G anesha wrote the

Mahabharata at the dictation of

Vyasa on the condition that Vyasa

should not pause or break the

flow of narration even for a fracshy

cion of a second orhenvisl he will

stop wrIting furth er VyJsa

accep red the challenge and did

not pause even for a fraction

Then we offer our prayers to Lord

Vi~h llU Again the nU11e seems to

be a Sanskrit word indicating a

Hindu God but it is only a quesshy

tion of language Man thought of

having a language so that he can rela r what he understands to

o chers The language is m lCll1t for

commun ication Therefore if the

prayers are said in Sanskrit it does

nO[ mean that God belongs to

that particular community which

speaks or fo llows thJt particular

Iallguag W hen bible is trmslatshy

ed in all the languages it will be

ri diculous to say that Christ only

bclongs ro those who speak

H ebrew So in Sanskrit when we

offer the p rayers to Lord Vishnu

Has the Lord gOt any form or shape Here the stanza on

Lord Vishnu which explains it Here the word Vishnu

comes from the root verb vish which means to spread

through to extend to pervade Vishnu means all pershy

vader or worker Here worker means a functional facshy

tor in every aspect It also means to embrace Lord

Vishnu not only embraces the whole universe but also

remains above In this sense he is a protector

Vishnu Slow

Jyengar Yoga News No4 9

Shtmtakaram bfndagashtl)fllam pad11fmshyfzbhai11 5ureshfllll VishlJadharilm gagt1llllsadars)lam meghfl1Jflrnam shubhilllgam

LakshmikantfllJl kall1altllla)anam )ogihrid dh)anagamyalll

Vande Vismum bhaVflbha)flharam saiVa lokaika l1atham

I salute Vishnu the sale master of the

universe whose presence is very peaceful

who stretches Himself on a serpent-bed

who sprouts a lotus in his navel who is

the one Lord of all the Devas who is the

support of the worlds who is subtle and

all pervading like the sky whose comshy

plexion is like that of the clouds whose

form is very beautiful who is the consort

of Sri Laksmi whose eyes are like lotus

petals who is meditated upon by yogis

and who eradicates (he fear of samsara

The one who hasnt got a form

who hasnt got a shape yet he has

a figure He is santakaram Santi or santa means qUIetness peaceshy

fuln ess serenity So his form is of

serenity The serenity cannOt

show any form You dont say this

serenity is like a jar or like a cup

serenity is serenity In a similar

manner the Lord Vishnu is conshy

sidered to be santakaram who is

just the incarnation of serenity

and peace He is sleeping on

Bhujaga His couch is Adisesa

the serpent He is sleeping on that

serpent the Bhujaga Even in the

imagination it is impossible to

think that we can sleep on the sershy

pent But Lord Vishnu is not

afraid of anything He is fearless

because there is no enemy

for

Him It is we human beings who

have many enemies and that is

why we are afraid of each other

but Lord Vishnu is sleeping comshy

fortably and peacefully on the

couch of the serpent Adisesa

becJuse He is fearless Ftom His

navel emerges the lotus and this

lotus is the seat of the Creator -

Brahma The very Crearor is born

out of the navel of Vishnu

Apparently Lord Vishnu is the

Creator of this whole Universe

The seed (beeja) of that Universe

is in Him From his navel (the

embryo) we find the whole world

coming into existence Suresham

is another name of Lord Vishnu

Sura means God and Isha means

Winter 2003

Supreme God Lord Vishnu in this sense is the God of

Gods

He is the supporter of the whole Universe

Vishvadharam - Vishva is the entire Universe the

Universe which is known and unknown to us He is the

one who supports the known and unknown world

Adhara means to support

Now how big is He how small is He Is He six feet tall

and two feet broad like any other human being No He

is as vast as the sky You cannot measure the sky simishy

larly he cannot be measured GaganuJadar-~)am

Gagana means sky and sadarsyam means similar So he

is all pervading as the sky He is Meghavarnam Megha means cloud and varnam means colour How does he

look what is his

colour Is he brown

like Indians Is he

In other words the Universe the Universe which is full

of wealth and therdore nothing but Laksmi belongs to

Him The wealth that vve see on this Earth and the

wealth that we see in the Universe all belongs to him

because he is the husband of Laksmi

Kamaltlnayanam Kamal means lotus Nayana means

eyes He is lotus eyed His eyes are like lotus always

open and beautiful Is He the one who keeps the eyes

closed No Though He is sleeping on the bed of the sershy

pent Adisesa yet His eyes are always wide open because

he is seeing everything and witnessin g everything The lotus though remaining in water is untouched by it

Similarly the eyes of Lord Vishnu though seeing and

perceiving everything remains untai1tcd

Thcn if that is the

Lord how do we

him hrdsee Yogi dhyanagam)la72white like He the Lord can be Westerners Is he

black like Africans seen by a yogi

through the heart shyNo His colour is

similar to the the spiritual heart

clouds Xhen you only by practising see the clouds in the dhyana You can see

sky they are of the me I can see you

same colour You but what about dont find this cloud Him How to see

in England having a Him The yogi

different colour in though His heart America having a sees that Lord different colou r through the practice You dont say this is Indian cloud this is African cloud

or this is American cloud The cloud is the same everyshy

where It could be black white and could be with goldshy

en or silver lining or without lining So also Lord

Vishnu has no colour

Shubhangam Has he got arms like us Legs like us belly

like us chest like us Is His body like our body made out

of flesh and bone No anga means limbs Shubha means

auspicious or pure His body is JUSt the incarnation of

auspiciousness There is nothing inauspicious in Him

No inauspiciousness can touch him because He Himself

is auspicious The Lord is having the body of auspishy

CIousness

He is Lakshmikantam - the husband of Laksmi So who

is His wife His wife is Lakshmi The word indicates the

increase of good fortune prosperity success and wealth

of sadhana You necd to practise yoga do dhyana and

purif) the heart The velY core of the being Then you

will be able to see Him

Is it the eyes of the yogi that sees the Lord N it is the

heart the spiritual heart For the yogi the spiritual heart

is the eye and this eye of the spiritual heart has to open

Like His lotus eyes the lotus of the heart has to open

Vande Vishnum - let LlS salute Lord Vishnu (he All Pervader who never deteriorates who never diminishes

who is ever omnipresent who exists everywhere

Bhava Bha)aHamm - Bhava means worldly li fe It means (0 come in (0 existence or have birth after birth

(0 experience woddly life Bha)la means fear And

Haran] means to destroy What does He do for us H e

is the one who being fearless the ocean of fea rle n

Iyengar Yoga News No4 10

gives us courage to cross this world of pleasures and Lord Hanuman has a speed equal to the mind We pains This world in which we are caught and when we want that speed of the mind We often [hink that ve

cannot reach the other end of it the spiritual end of it should be qU1iet as a yoga practitioner but the quietness the very soul the very self then He is the one who also has a speed For a while we remain quiet and sudshy

destroys the fear of appearing in this world again and denly the mind thinks of something and the flow of

again getting caught in the cycles of births and deaths serenity is broken The speed of quietness breaks You

He destroys the fear which keeps us away from seeing say Oh we were sitting here but our mind was someshy

the soul where else The mind has a speed but doesnt flow with

a single attention swiftly So here is a god Lord

Sarvalokaikanatham - Sarva - whole entire Loka - heavshy Hanuman whose speed of the body and speed of the

en earth space Eka - one and only one Natham - posshy intelligence is just equal to the mind which has got a

sessor and protector He is the one who is the head of great speed to have a single minded attention I can be

the whole Universe the sole master of the Universe The here at this moment I can reach India because the mind

only One the only single One There is no other God can go that fast I may not even reach the airport but the

There is only one Isvara and we read this in the Yoga mind can reach so fast Lord Hanuman is the One who

Sutras He is untouched by klesa (afflictions) and karma has the speed of the mind He can physically reach with

(actions) The one who is untouched by this is above the speed that the wind can go Maruta Tulya Ve~tlm shyeveryone Isvara is the One and j1arut means wind or vayu Tulya

that is how in a poetic way the means similar or equal and vegam

sloka is presented to us means speed This is indicating

the vigour of Lord Hanuman and

I am taking a little longer time of the power of his body to be quick

yours so that you understand and swift When He is going with

because you are all yoga teachers that speed is he shaken Is He

and obviously this is something disturbed Is He perturbed No that the practi tioners have to He is stable in spite of having a know speedy mind jitendRiyam - jita

means conquered and indriya Then we are offering our prayers means senses and organs He has

to Lord Hanuman conquered His senses of percepshy

tion so His mind is not wavering The word Hanuman signifies the though He is reaching with that syllable AUM Ha stands for speed Buddhimatmn Varistham shyLord Vishnu nu stands for Lord Buddhi means intelligence and Shiva and ma stands for Lord Buddhirnatam means Brahma Lord Hanuman in this Intellectuals Varistham means sense signifies the confluence of excellent Lord Hanuman has the creator (Brahma) the protecshy excellence of intelligence in Him tor (Vishnu) and the destroyer Our intelligence has limitations (Shiva) in him He is above all the intellectuals

that we have in this world In We are all sadhakas We are all Lord Hanuman intelligence has practitioners We havent reached Lord Hanuman messenger of Shri reached to the exhausted level he the state of a yogi Ve are all on Rama son of the Wind God is on top as far as intelligence is that path So here is the reason Who is quick as the mind and swift as concerned He is the son of Vayu why we offer our prayers to Lord the wind Vatamajam - son of the wind Hanuman Conqueror of the senses foremost Atmaja - son

among the wise MmlOjavam - speed of the mind Commander of the monkey-army to Most important to a yogi is t11e Mana is mind and java means Him I surrender very practice of niYl112( and yama swiftness or speed He has to conquer his pral1a COrl-

Hammlan Vandalla1 Manojavam marutatulya vegan1 jitelldriya buddhimatam varistham Vatatmajal1l vl11ara)lttha mukhyam Sriramadutam Salll11am prapadye

Iyengar Yoga News No4 11 Winter 2003

~ hi energy We fi rst try to

quer more cautiously the

n

[JOI

ad

IT

Tg ar the subtle level We

to keep the vata under conshy

t rata is rhe cause of good and

behaviour Our character

~ pends upon the qu~iry and c of vata In order to have conshy

l over vata we offer prayers

ormally Lord Hanuman IS

tra nslated as Monkey God

be ause his face looks like a monshy

k y Vanara means monkey But

h re rhe vanara Hanuman is

human being Va means to blow

nd spread in all directions or to

procure or bestow anything by blowing Nara means human

being So vanara is above the

human being who is stronger

than human beings so vanara in

this sense is nor a monkey It is

said that it was a kind of uniform

given to the military force of

Sugiva which made the appearshy

ance of a monkey Rama was

given this army of all the lJanams If you read the Ramayana you

will know that they were given a

special dress to wear Though rhey

look like the monkey rhey had

rhe strength to cross the ocean

There vere engineers in the army

Lord Hanuman is rhe head of all

the vanaras Yer in spire of reachshy

ing thar level he remained all the

rime as a servant rendering service

to the Lord Sri Rama rhe Lord

He never lifted up his head wirh

ego or vaniry to say Look Im above everyone He is rhe incarshy

narion of humbleness and he

respecred the Lord and rhar is

how we offer our prayers to Lord

Hanuman

To Patanjali

Yogena citttll)a padenrl vacam MaLam sarhCllyaca vaidjlClkena Yopakarottam prrwara771 711ul1il1tlm PatanjaLim pranjaLimnatoJmi Abahu pUlwakaram Sal1lcha cakrasi dharinal1l Sahasra Iimsam sllettll11 Pnlntlmami Patanjtllim

Ler us bow before the noblest of sages

PatJnjali

who gave yoga for sereni ty and sancti ry

of mind

grammar for clarity and purity of speech

and medicine for perfection of health

Let us prostrate before Patanjali an

incarnation of Adisesa whose upper

body has a humll1 form whose arms

hold a conch and disk

And who is crowned by a thousand headshy

ed cobra

Lastly we are offering ollr prayers

to th Guru

Guru Vandanam GuruI Brahma Gurur Vishnu Guru DeIJo Maheshwarah Guru saksat Param Brahma TclS77Zal Sri Guravenamah

Guru is verily Brahma Guru is

verily Vishnu

Guru is verily Shin

Guru indeed is the Supreme

To him I bow

Brahmanandam Paramsukhadam kevamn jJ1tlnamurtim DIJczndlJatitam gagrlllsadllyam tattvamasyadi laksam Elwl1l nityam lJimalamacalam sarshyvadhi saksibhutam Bhavatitam trigunarahitam sadgurum tam namami

I salute the Guru who himself is a blissful state of Brahma who

gives only happiness is idol of

knowledge has crossed all the

dualities such as sorrow and hapshy

piness who is as vast as the sky

and untouched always drawn

into the thoughts of the Supreme

He is One and alone eternal

untainted straight-forward witshy

nessing the consciousness of all the living beings beyond the

emotional and physical entangleshy

ments unaffected by sattlJa rajas and tamas I salute that Guru

Isvara is One and only One who is

rhe Gurll of gurus because He is

omniscient in whom rhe seed of

knowledge exists The knowledge

flows only from Him He is rhe

Ocean of rhe knowledge and from

Him we are receiving rhe knowledge bir by bit So how

is rhis Guru He is rhe reator Brahma He is the proshy

Then we offer our prayers to Lord Patanjali Of course tector Vishnu and He is rhe destroyer of our ignorance

you know the meaning of that since YOll have read the Shiva or Maheshvara Then there is the guru who is

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali transforming that knowledge to LIS Because the God -

Isvara cannot be seen by us cannor be felt by us unless

Iyengar Yoga News No4 12 Winter 2003

-----------------

we realise through the sadhana Therefore we require somebody to guide us And it is our Guruji who guides us The one who guides us we have to salute him as well The Guru who is in the physical form right in front of our eyes (sakshat) is Param Brahma - the Ultimate Supreme God He is the guru who is always drawn in the thoughts of Brahman thinks of the supreme and is happy with that Supreme His all happiness is established only in that supreme SOutce He is again the incarnation of knowledge No dualities affect Him He has crossed the dualities He is as vast as the sky He aims at the Upanisadic truth Tat Tvam Ast That Thou Are He is only One - Ekam He is always eternal - nityam He is untouched by affiictions untouched by any bad or wrong actions or thoughts He is always pure He is stashybile and immovable He is always watching everything He is always witnessing everything

He is never caught emotionally He doesnt differentiate saying I like this person more so I will teach him more and I will not teach that person He transcends emoshy

tions We are always caught in the three gunas but Guru is the one who is above all so he has crossed these three

qualities Let us offer our prayers to the guru who shows the right path to us

I do understand that the doubt may arise in your mind whether you should say these prayers or not Therefore I thought it is better to understand the language and the meaning of these prayers At the end it is a Universal God We always create the God through our minds but when we cross our own mind we realise the Universal God If the

Supreme is understood in this sense then I dont think anyone need to have any doubts in their mind

Always as vve begin anything as auspicious work even the birthshyday celebrations the simple birthshyday celebrations we have candles We light the candles which shows us the light In the similar manner when we are offering the puja We will light the candles of knowlshyedge Let this knowledge always remain enllightening us The

flowers are offered with the sense of appreciation and affection So I ~--______________J

wiU perform the puja offering the flowers The Lord says in the Bhagavad Gita Dont offer me anything big Bur even if you offer me the flowers fruits leaves water I accept them because you have offered them to me with love and affection I return them back to you because Im not the one to enjoy them You have offered them to me but I will be giving them back to you That is what the Bhagavad Gita says

So when we are offering the light in the form of candles or flowers it is He who is going to return that back to us We do not ask for that but that is what His nature is to give He is not going to keep any account ofwhat we give He says in other words You try to tread the path of realshyisation you try to walk on the path of self-realisation and I will be guiding you I will be showing you me path

If we are absolutely agnostics having no faith then He is not going to force us But if a little feeling comes which says Let me do yoga let me know what it is

He is going to guide us The first time you came to

your yoga class some of you might have felt oh yoga cures diseases so let me try ifit helps me So we come

with that selfish approach Even though it might be a selfish approach God is not taking any objections to that He says Fine you have got a selfish approach it doesnt matter But be on the right path

Xhen your mind says Oh there

is something beyond the health and I want to know that Then He knows that the intention is changed He says Fine you are progressing further so I will help YOll further

So this is the dialogue which goes on between us and the Universal Soul and this inner dialogue is needed This is what the puja

means The puja means worshipshyping HIM the Supreme One While doing the sadhana we need to have dialogue with the Lord Sadhana is the language of dialogue between us and God

So having this in your minds let us offer the prayers

Iyengar Yoga News No4 13 Winter 2003

PUJA - SOME REFLECTIONS

Kirsten Agar Ward writes about her experiences and understanding of puja

wa rather surprised to have been asked to Tite this article as I am in no way any sort f authority on puja I write only from my

011 limited experiences which are of pershy- rming a puja most days as part ofour famshy -lif for around two years Before this I was cry much aware that I preferred to begin yo~ classes and my own practice with the inocation to Patanjali - it seemed and still does seem to be important to have this pause to quieten and prepare for the pracshyrice Later I also realised the importance of rhankfulness for which it provides an opporshy~unity I had also noticed and been interestshy-d in the pujas I saw talcing place in the homes of some of those with whom I stayed whilst travelling in India I found the notion of having a shrine in the home and daily ritshyuals associated with it very appealing rather than such activities being restricted to a sacred building and fIXed services I was impressed by how much a part ofdaily life it was to rhese people to pray

From what I understand at present me basic elements of puja include - a lamp (light) anointing incense food offerings (pra_iad) other offerings such as flowers chanting and prostration (pranam) There can be variashytions for example in the mantras chosen and the number of repetitions and the order in which they are performed the forms of God represented the element of silent prayer reading ofscriptures and some of the 111a terials used

In our case we have found it helpful to estabshylish a place in our home (in the yoga practice room) where we carry out the puja It is important to keep the area clean Our puja has developed over time for example we have gradually learned more chants We were helped greatly in this by having a tape recording of them Then we were able to refine our pronunciation by having the words written down It was necessary to make a consciOllS effort to learn them We are deeply grateful for the guidance we have received in puja from Guruji via Faeq Biria

I have to admit that what really got me startshy

ed with puja in my own life was the desire I for a child (our prayers were answered and we now have a beautiful son - Saut - which means asked for) Now later in parallel with my experiences of the invocation at the beginning of practice it is at east as much about thankfulness Its so easy in life isnt ir to forget all the many blessings one has and instead focus on tl1e trials and tribulations For me puja is a way of helping me rememshyber the blessings and more than this to be grateful at least for some of the time Maybe then it will spill over more and more into the rest of lite

Puja is also an opportunity to practise the fourth NiJlama - Svadhyaya - self study For exan1ple in that quietness when it is JUSt oneself talking to God one can observe ones inclinations and scrutinise them - am I conshycentrating Am I being properly reverential Am I savouring the moments or rushing to get on with something else Am I being mechanical Am I clean and pure in motivashytion Am I seelcing gratification

It seems to me that an essential aspect of puja is reverence This is not something we tend to make much of in our society The cult of the individual is very dominant and this can tend to make us feel that it is someshyhow demeaning to be reverential towards someone (or something) else To me howshyever reverence is about simple truthfulness and acceptance of truth and about showing due respect aDd appreciation Reverence is easier if we really have some understanding of our position in relation to the object of reverence This reverence (and corresponshydent lack of casualness and mechanical ness) in approach is manifested in how one preshypares for puja (the best time is after bathing) how one dresses and also in how one actushyally performs it For example the posture one assumes - is it casual Arrogant Or straight and firm and respectful I remember being Struck by how Guruji folds his hands in the Namaskar position - how beautifully he extends them - certainly not a casual or mechanical posture Posture cleanliness dress - these are some outward manifesta-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 14 Winter 2003 ------~--~~~~~-- ---------------------------shy

tions of how one is inside which is the crushycial thing If we truly in our heans revere God and strive to act in the puja as if God is really there (which I believe God is - being omnipresent) then reverence can be there It is a bit like the difference bervveen practising as if Guruji is there watching and not Through this reverence one is beginning to develop LmiddothVtlra Pranidhrma (surrender to

God)

It seems to me that puja is closely linked with all the NiJ1ilmas One observes cleanlishyness in body and endeavours to be pure in

thoughts and actions also (Saltcha) before shyand actually it seems to me the process itself has a purifYing effect Counting ones blessshyings involves a degree of Stmtosha (contentshyment) Tapas (determined effort and zeal) is required in order to be disciplined and not let the practice slip Through it one begins to develop more Svadhyaya andhhvara Pranidhana Isnt thi similar to asana and pmnayama practice Moreover I feel that by developing such qualites and personal discishyplines through puja ones practice of other aspects ofyoga can surely only be deepened As an example I remember Birjoo Mehta explaining to us how to prepare to take the

I in-bream in prartayarna and he likened it to the state one is in just at the moment one lights a prayer candle in church In this way experiences of Makti (devotion) assist our other yogic practices and I feel sure the conshyverse is also true

Puja is not about worshipping or revering a piece of stone or metal - [llse idols in C hristian terminology T he images are simshyply w heLp us remember God In much the same way in church there might be images of Christ or architecrur3l symbolic refershyences to God (for example windows being in threes to remind us subconsciously of the Holy Trinity) These things are to assist us tools rather than ends in themselves We surely need assistance otherwise we would be remembering God all the time and conshysequently being more spiritual than we are Similarly chaming and ritual itself are an assistance Coming from a protestant backshyground and not High C hurch it strikes me as somewhat curious that I have come round to valuing ritual and what may be loosely summed up as bells and smells Somehow though it seems to offer a strucshy

rure some scaffolding on which to build it touches the psyche I like the idea of chantshying in Sanskri t ancient prayers which have been chanted so many million times before It seems to me there is a great energy and purity in that My experience is that it is not essential to have to understand all the words (though having said this I am grateful that Gtetaji has given us such a clear and full explanation of several invocations) I was interested to discover that our neighbour who is an ordinand (trainee C of E priest) has had a similar experience During her training she has been involved in worship incorporating chants in Latin or Greek As she comes from a Low Church background she found this strange at first but she has discovered that it does not seem to matter that one does not understand the exact words more that it helps you focus on God In fact she pointed out to me that the Bible contains a number of references to how one docs not even need words to pray

I am still learning about puja and deepening my understanding and practice of these aspects I have mentioned If asked why pzda is important I dont think I could say any more at the moment than the points I have mentioned above - developing ones revershyence [Owards and appreciation of God and developi ng oneself to become closer to God In thinking about this article I have been struck by the many p~uallels with yoga pracshytice - from simply not being mechanical or casual to being reverenrial and appreciative and developing Svadhya)a and Ishvara Pranidhana through Tapas How also the Yanla) (for exanlple truthfulness non-covetshying) withdrawal from sense objects and the external world (Pratyahara) and concentrashytion (Dhaltlna) are involved in fact it seems to me aspects of yoga and pzda are not just parallel but interlinked the one assisting the other and vice versa

For me puja is rather like my experience of yoga when I first began - I was not exactly sure or able (0 explai n why it was so imporshytant to do it bur I just knew for me at least that it was In the same way I just know and fee that pIda is important for us not only for the blessings and insptration which come from it bur simply as the act itself for its own sake

Iyengar Yoga News No4 15 Spring 2003

THE SCIENCE OF LIFE

Inspired by Geetajl s talk in Madrid in May 2002 Dale Rathbone reflects on the basic principles and philosophy of Ayurveda

I n Madrid Geetaji discussed the basic principles and philosophy ofAyurveda and how this plays a role within our mind nature and with our practice of flSflnas Ayur-veda means science of life and a central principle of Ayurveda is the existence of the three doshas These are our 3 biological humours which are 3 primary life forces in the body In Sanskrit they are called Vflta Pitta and Kflpha which correspond primarily to the elements of Air Fire and Water These movable elements determine life processshyes of growth and decay When the humours are out of balance then this becomes a causative force in the disease process

Vara is described as the biological air eleshyment like the wind which moves things and motivates the other two forces It susshytains effort such as inhalation and exhalashytion which co-ordinates the senses impulses and vibrations The roOt of Viltfl is dealing with the waste materials in the pelvic and lower back area of the body Because the Vata is composed of ether it lives in the empty spaces in the body and fills up the subtle channels

Pitta is described as the biological fire eleshyment which is the bile that digests our food and is responsible for certain chemshyical energies and transformations in the body Modern medical science speaks of electrical energy running through our nervous system It also governs Ollr menshytal digestion heat visllal perception hunger thirst radiance understanding intelligence courage and softness of the body it is seated in [he stomach and digestive area

Kapha biologically exists in the earthshymedium like our skin bones and other tissue lining Our physical composition is mainly the water element which is conshytained within the boundaries of our skin Its origin is that which holds things

Iyengar Yoga News No4

together and so provides substance and gives support It also provides emotional traits such as love compassion modesty patience and forgiveness

Geetaji made an interesting point that if a person is Vata by nature then they may be unstable and indecisive in mind always wanting to learn something else An unstable Vatil nature person stays in asanas too long but they also want to finshyish for the next asana The Pitta nature person has discipline but jumps into one posture then to another and wants to learn moment by moment vcry quickly A Kilpha nature person slowly develops over a 70 year period

Geetaji most importantly spoke about keeping a balanced level in all three doshas Va ttl Pitta and Kapha within our daily practice

An ancient deity (arca-vigraha) of Lord Dhanvantari received the knowledge of Ayurveda from Indra the King of Gods Brahma composed Ayurveda in one hunshydred thousand siokLlJ and a thousand chapters But after considering the shorr span of life for any mortal to study Lord Dhanvantari divided Ayurveda into eight volumes

In the broad and profound Vedic science Ayurveda includes Herbal medicines dietics surgery (Shaiya Ttmtra) Psychiatry (Bhutil Vidya) toxicology (Agftela Tantra) spirituality midwifery gynaecology (Kaumarbhritya) general medicine (Kaya Chikitsa) rejuveshynation (Rasttyana) sexology (V~jikarana)

diseases of the eyes ears nose and throat (Shaiakya Ttmtra)

According to the ancient text Carakashysamhita this Science of Life and Longevity is eternal and is revealed in each universe in each of its infinite cycles of creation and destruction

16 Winter 2003

Iyengar Yoga Nevvs No4 17

These illustrations show Lord Dhanvantari in his four-armed form holding the wheel (Sudarsana Chakra) and Conch (sankha) in the upper right and left hands as do most Vishnu incarnashytions In the other two hands there are the necshytar pot (amrta-kalasha) and a herb According to

the Prapancha-sara sanshygraha the Lord holds a leech (jalauaka) in place of the herb in his fourth hand

Lord Dhanvantari was said to be an incarnation of the God Vishnu and appears in the famous myth of the churning of the milk ocean represhysenting this truth for the benefit of othe~ in the tradition of Ayurveda So to heal ourselves or others we must set It 111 motion within ourselves

Lord Dhanvantari has been worsh ipped for many years in India and is to be seen in most clinshyics and is a reminder that however much we know or skillful we become everything still depends on the grace of our spirishytual nature

Today in India the Diwali Festival is inaugushyrated with remembrance of Lord Dhanvantari For such during dusk time a lamp pointing toward North by North-East is lit at the entrance of the door step Such is the welcome to Lord Dhanvan tari to bestow on all health and happishyness in ensuing life

Winter 2003

INTERVIEW WITH JAWAHAR

Before his visit to the Manchester convention in May 2003 IYN interviewed guest teacher Jawahar Bangera

lVfiat drew you to Iyengar Yoga initialshyW (y

Honestly I was not drawn to Iyengar Yoga but dragged to it by my folks in the sumshymer of 1969 I spent the last five years of school life in a boarding school at Panchgani When I returned to Mumbai after finishing schoo the rest of the famshyily was already attending Gurujis classes (SatSun) and it was but natural for me to fall in line In those days Guruji used to spend a good part of the Indian summer teaching in Europe In the interim his senior students like the Motiwalas Burzo Taraporewala Ohun Palkhiwala conductshyed the Mumbai classes My brothers myself and the Motiwala sisters being the youngsters of the batch were singled out for special treatment especiall) an extra dose of back-bends

One day I was browsing through Light on Yoga (hardback) It fascinated me When Guruji returned to teach the class in Mumbai I was astonished to see that the person in the book (LOY) was the very same one teaching the Mumbai class I requested Guruji to accept me as a stushydent and since then there has been no Looking back In those days I used to look forward to the Saturday class as I hated getting up on a Sunday morning In boarding school we had a PT teacher who made us do postures like sirsasana arm balances and backbends So in tbe initial stages Iyengar yoga was more like PT for me until Guruji started explaining the nuances of the poses That made it intershyesting and gave me a reason to get hooked on Iyengar yoga

What do you think is the role ofYoga in the modern world

Most of the people I have met attend yoga classes with ulterior motives of improving health flexibility weight-loss or weight gain etc Those who have maintained a continuous practice have

been transformed from the mundane aspects to the subtle from the frivolous to the sublime These sadhakas have made the practice ofIyengar Yoga a part of their lives and mental make up Their food habits have changed Their attitude to felshylow workers and employees has improved Their clarity of thoughts and actions has improved Some atheists have become theists Not surprisingly they all attribute these changes (for the better) ro their practice and grace of yoga

The principals of yama and niyarna will give the modern world the instruments to lead a disciplined life especially yoga as taught by Guruji He makes no manshymade distinctions between races religion culture etc The tenets are strictly adhered to and this makes him a true yogi I am sure man) students have experienced this aspect of Guruji and Iyengar yoga Yoga as taught by Guruji will undo all the barshyriers we as ordinary humans are conshystantly erecting to form a protective fence between different peoples of the world Sage Patanjali states that yoga is not conshyditioned by class place time or concept of dut) Hence yoga plays an important role in the bonding of all mankind Therefore it is imperative to practice yoga for universal gain

How is the practice of Yoga general6 pershyceived in India

Though it is the birthplace of yoga India somehow is treated very lighdy The genshyeral concept of yoga in India is that it is meant for older people So )ou will notice very few youngsters in yoga classshyes When I started out practising Iyengar yoga I witnessed many youngsters come and go It was mostly those families where the parents and children attended classes together that there has been some adhesion to yoga My present experience is that youngsters have a major prob]em attending yoga classes because it does not

Iyengar Yoga News No4 18 ------------------~~-----

appear glam oro us And then th rt is the ego problem W h n it comes to doing difficul t po tures it exposes them (espeshycially d 1 C boysyo ung men) as wimps and this th ey cannot sto mach We see a lot of dropoU(s

So the concept of yoga needs to be changed Ask any layperson what he or she thinks of yoga and they con jur up an image of a yogi in meditation When I starred my first publi c class in M umbai in a very smalJ roo m 1 rece ived abo u thi rty srudenrs The men were dressed in office-wear and the women ca me in saris T hey had their own idea of what theIyoga lass was and I had mine I was the o nly person in the room in prop r yoga attire along with a handful of students who had some experi nce of Iyengar yoga The next class I was left with only th at handful of students Indians are hard working as Fa r lt15 materialism is conshycerned W hen it c mes to spiri rual pracshytice th ey do not want to work hard for sLI ce 55 O ne no tices many I ndians se tshytled abroad have made a success of their live fow man y have you not iced attend ing yoga classes They are Godshyfearing and many are temple-goers They prefer to pray thall undergo dle rigo urs of mana practice

There is a sign th ough that things are fi naJly changing with the p pulari ty of Iyengar yoga G uruji is now well known in India and inquiries for classes are speshycific ror I en gar yoga Most attend class with tb hope of achieving health Also there is now awareness for building good healrll w ithout the use of d rugs and docshyto L Some m end class with medical probshylems in the hope of curing themselves witho ut urger Yes rhe resp nse in a city like Mu mbai is encouraging and it has been a lo ng tim e coming All of uruJI s hard work is now paying div idends Very often you will no tice [h re are many expertS in Jnd ia who will eulogizecritishycise the subj ect without having practised it (1hen the p reacher is a well-known p rsonJ li it m akes an impact and someshytimes it can have a pos itive eHect on the efficacy of yoga

Then there is the colonial hangove G uruji has often said that yoga will b popular in this country when a Foreign teaches the subject One of the big obstashycles to the popularity of yoga is the me shyical profession W hen they are at a los ~ th ey as k rheir patients to attend yog classes At other times they advise the i patients to practise only certain poses Ie India a doctors -vord is like Gods an pat ients will approach yoga classes with presc ription from their doctors

Fortunately yoga is making some inroad in the medical profession and doctors ar now attending classes and nOficing th clifference in the non-invasive technique as taught by Guruji A renaissance is ir order

How do )ou feel about teaching large COl

ventions in contrast to smaller classes

Each has its own charm In conventions the students who attend have alread achieved a certain level in their practice They are more receptive to instruction and the degree of absorption is high E planations of subtle points are readiI understood due to the sincere practice 0

the partici )al1ts SmaHer classes have charm of th eir own There is a closer rapshyport between the teacher and the StLlshy

dents It is easier to monitor the class fo mistakes In convenrio ns though thert are rewer chances of errors from students mistakes can be glaring It happened in the last convention when a student modshyiried the pose as it was the way the stushydent was taught It also occurred that the student was not from the Iyengar yoga community [r was disturbing as well as amusll1g

There is a gut deal ofconflict in the wora crt the present time Do you think that Yoga practice and philosophy can be ofany help

T he answer to this question is connected to the earlier question of the role of yoga in the modern world If we all made a co ncerted effort to live our individual lives as per the principles laid down in the Yoga Sutras of sage Patanjali it would be a beginning Unless we lead exemplary lives we have no moral right to point fin-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 19 Winter 2003

his o ne tusk when he opposed Parashurama from enter- it does not mean that the Lord is Hindu

i ng cile regim of Lord Shiva Ganeshas fath r

The Lord anesha is considered to be the one who

helps us in all auspiciolls work to overcome all the

obs tacles and hind rances which come in the vay So we

offer our prayers to Lord Ganesha asking the Lord to

remove all those obstacles which come in the wayan the

auspicious path of yoga H aying studied the Yoga Sunas

ofParanjal i you know that there are nine obstacles in the

path of yoga along with four distractive and destructive

m ntd l obsnuccions and we are

going to offer am p rayers to Lord

G an e ha asking h im to bless LIS so

that these obstacles can be faced

courageo usly and removed

Basical ly Lord Ganesh is the Cod

ofW isdom and remover Jf ohstashy

cles hence he is involved and

worshipped at the commenccshy

ment of every im portant progresshy

sive and auspicious undertaking

It is said that G anesha wrote the

Mahabharata at the dictation of

Vyasa on the condition that Vyasa

should not pause or break the

flow of narration even for a fracshy

cion of a second orhenvisl he will

stop wrIting furth er VyJsa

accep red the challenge and did

not pause even for a fraction

Then we offer our prayers to Lord

Vi~h llU Again the nU11e seems to

be a Sanskrit word indicating a

Hindu God but it is only a quesshy

tion of language Man thought of

having a language so that he can rela r what he understands to

o chers The language is m lCll1t for

commun ication Therefore if the

prayers are said in Sanskrit it does

nO[ mean that God belongs to

that particular community which

speaks or fo llows thJt particular

Iallguag W hen bible is trmslatshy

ed in all the languages it will be

ri diculous to say that Christ only

bclongs ro those who speak

H ebrew So in Sanskrit when we

offer the p rayers to Lord Vishnu

Has the Lord gOt any form or shape Here the stanza on

Lord Vishnu which explains it Here the word Vishnu

comes from the root verb vish which means to spread

through to extend to pervade Vishnu means all pershy

vader or worker Here worker means a functional facshy

tor in every aspect It also means to embrace Lord

Vishnu not only embraces the whole universe but also

remains above In this sense he is a protector

Vishnu Slow

Jyengar Yoga News No4 9

Shtmtakaram bfndagashtl)fllam pad11fmshyfzbhai11 5ureshfllll VishlJadharilm gagt1llllsadars)lam meghfl1Jflrnam shubhilllgam

LakshmikantfllJl kall1altllla)anam )ogihrid dh)anagamyalll

Vande Vismum bhaVflbha)flharam saiVa lokaika l1atham

I salute Vishnu the sale master of the

universe whose presence is very peaceful

who stretches Himself on a serpent-bed

who sprouts a lotus in his navel who is

the one Lord of all the Devas who is the

support of the worlds who is subtle and

all pervading like the sky whose comshy

plexion is like that of the clouds whose

form is very beautiful who is the consort

of Sri Laksmi whose eyes are like lotus

petals who is meditated upon by yogis

and who eradicates (he fear of samsara

The one who hasnt got a form

who hasnt got a shape yet he has

a figure He is santakaram Santi or santa means qUIetness peaceshy

fuln ess serenity So his form is of

serenity The serenity cannOt

show any form You dont say this

serenity is like a jar or like a cup

serenity is serenity In a similar

manner the Lord Vishnu is conshy

sidered to be santakaram who is

just the incarnation of serenity

and peace He is sleeping on

Bhujaga His couch is Adisesa

the serpent He is sleeping on that

serpent the Bhujaga Even in the

imagination it is impossible to

think that we can sleep on the sershy

pent But Lord Vishnu is not

afraid of anything He is fearless

because there is no enemy

for

Him It is we human beings who

have many enemies and that is

why we are afraid of each other

but Lord Vishnu is sleeping comshy

fortably and peacefully on the

couch of the serpent Adisesa

becJuse He is fearless Ftom His

navel emerges the lotus and this

lotus is the seat of the Creator -

Brahma The very Crearor is born

out of the navel of Vishnu

Apparently Lord Vishnu is the

Creator of this whole Universe

The seed (beeja) of that Universe

is in Him From his navel (the

embryo) we find the whole world

coming into existence Suresham

is another name of Lord Vishnu

Sura means God and Isha means

Winter 2003

Supreme God Lord Vishnu in this sense is the God of

Gods

He is the supporter of the whole Universe

Vishvadharam - Vishva is the entire Universe the

Universe which is known and unknown to us He is the

one who supports the known and unknown world

Adhara means to support

Now how big is He how small is He Is He six feet tall

and two feet broad like any other human being No He

is as vast as the sky You cannot measure the sky simishy

larly he cannot be measured GaganuJadar-~)am

Gagana means sky and sadarsyam means similar So he

is all pervading as the sky He is Meghavarnam Megha means cloud and varnam means colour How does he

look what is his

colour Is he brown

like Indians Is he

In other words the Universe the Universe which is full

of wealth and therdore nothing but Laksmi belongs to

Him The wealth that vve see on this Earth and the

wealth that we see in the Universe all belongs to him

because he is the husband of Laksmi

Kamaltlnayanam Kamal means lotus Nayana means

eyes He is lotus eyed His eyes are like lotus always

open and beautiful Is He the one who keeps the eyes

closed No Though He is sleeping on the bed of the sershy

pent Adisesa yet His eyes are always wide open because

he is seeing everything and witnessin g everything The lotus though remaining in water is untouched by it

Similarly the eyes of Lord Vishnu though seeing and

perceiving everything remains untai1tcd

Thcn if that is the

Lord how do we

him hrdsee Yogi dhyanagam)la72white like He the Lord can be Westerners Is he

black like Africans seen by a yogi

through the heart shyNo His colour is

similar to the the spiritual heart

clouds Xhen you only by practising see the clouds in the dhyana You can see

sky they are of the me I can see you

same colour You but what about dont find this cloud Him How to see

in England having a Him The yogi

different colour in though His heart America having a sees that Lord different colou r through the practice You dont say this is Indian cloud this is African cloud

or this is American cloud The cloud is the same everyshy

where It could be black white and could be with goldshy

en or silver lining or without lining So also Lord

Vishnu has no colour

Shubhangam Has he got arms like us Legs like us belly

like us chest like us Is His body like our body made out

of flesh and bone No anga means limbs Shubha means

auspicious or pure His body is JUSt the incarnation of

auspiciousness There is nothing inauspicious in Him

No inauspiciousness can touch him because He Himself

is auspicious The Lord is having the body of auspishy

CIousness

He is Lakshmikantam - the husband of Laksmi So who

is His wife His wife is Lakshmi The word indicates the

increase of good fortune prosperity success and wealth

of sadhana You necd to practise yoga do dhyana and

purif) the heart The velY core of the being Then you

will be able to see Him

Is it the eyes of the yogi that sees the Lord N it is the

heart the spiritual heart For the yogi the spiritual heart

is the eye and this eye of the spiritual heart has to open

Like His lotus eyes the lotus of the heart has to open

Vande Vishnum - let LlS salute Lord Vishnu (he All Pervader who never deteriorates who never diminishes

who is ever omnipresent who exists everywhere

Bhava Bha)aHamm - Bhava means worldly li fe It means (0 come in (0 existence or have birth after birth

(0 experience woddly life Bha)la means fear And

Haran] means to destroy What does He do for us H e

is the one who being fearless the ocean of fea rle n

Iyengar Yoga News No4 10

gives us courage to cross this world of pleasures and Lord Hanuman has a speed equal to the mind We pains This world in which we are caught and when we want that speed of the mind We often [hink that ve

cannot reach the other end of it the spiritual end of it should be qU1iet as a yoga practitioner but the quietness the very soul the very self then He is the one who also has a speed For a while we remain quiet and sudshy

destroys the fear of appearing in this world again and denly the mind thinks of something and the flow of

again getting caught in the cycles of births and deaths serenity is broken The speed of quietness breaks You

He destroys the fear which keeps us away from seeing say Oh we were sitting here but our mind was someshy

the soul where else The mind has a speed but doesnt flow with

a single attention swiftly So here is a god Lord

Sarvalokaikanatham - Sarva - whole entire Loka - heavshy Hanuman whose speed of the body and speed of the

en earth space Eka - one and only one Natham - posshy intelligence is just equal to the mind which has got a

sessor and protector He is the one who is the head of great speed to have a single minded attention I can be

the whole Universe the sole master of the Universe The here at this moment I can reach India because the mind

only One the only single One There is no other God can go that fast I may not even reach the airport but the

There is only one Isvara and we read this in the Yoga mind can reach so fast Lord Hanuman is the One who

Sutras He is untouched by klesa (afflictions) and karma has the speed of the mind He can physically reach with

(actions) The one who is untouched by this is above the speed that the wind can go Maruta Tulya Ve~tlm shyeveryone Isvara is the One and j1arut means wind or vayu Tulya

that is how in a poetic way the means similar or equal and vegam

sloka is presented to us means speed This is indicating

the vigour of Lord Hanuman and

I am taking a little longer time of the power of his body to be quick

yours so that you understand and swift When He is going with

because you are all yoga teachers that speed is he shaken Is He

and obviously this is something disturbed Is He perturbed No that the practi tioners have to He is stable in spite of having a know speedy mind jitendRiyam - jita

means conquered and indriya Then we are offering our prayers means senses and organs He has

to Lord Hanuman conquered His senses of percepshy

tion so His mind is not wavering The word Hanuman signifies the though He is reaching with that syllable AUM Ha stands for speed Buddhimatmn Varistham shyLord Vishnu nu stands for Lord Buddhi means intelligence and Shiva and ma stands for Lord Buddhirnatam means Brahma Lord Hanuman in this Intellectuals Varistham means sense signifies the confluence of excellent Lord Hanuman has the creator (Brahma) the protecshy excellence of intelligence in Him tor (Vishnu) and the destroyer Our intelligence has limitations (Shiva) in him He is above all the intellectuals

that we have in this world In We are all sadhakas We are all Lord Hanuman intelligence has practitioners We havent reached Lord Hanuman messenger of Shri reached to the exhausted level he the state of a yogi Ve are all on Rama son of the Wind God is on top as far as intelligence is that path So here is the reason Who is quick as the mind and swift as concerned He is the son of Vayu why we offer our prayers to Lord the wind Vatamajam - son of the wind Hanuman Conqueror of the senses foremost Atmaja - son

among the wise MmlOjavam - speed of the mind Commander of the monkey-army to Most important to a yogi is t11e Mana is mind and java means Him I surrender very practice of niYl112( and yama swiftness or speed He has to conquer his pral1a COrl-

Hammlan Vandalla1 Manojavam marutatulya vegan1 jitelldriya buddhimatam varistham Vatatmajal1l vl11ara)lttha mukhyam Sriramadutam Salll11am prapadye

Iyengar Yoga News No4 11 Winter 2003

~ hi energy We fi rst try to

quer more cautiously the

n

[JOI

ad

IT

Tg ar the subtle level We

to keep the vata under conshy

t rata is rhe cause of good and

behaviour Our character

~ pends upon the qu~iry and c of vata In order to have conshy

l over vata we offer prayers

ormally Lord Hanuman IS

tra nslated as Monkey God

be ause his face looks like a monshy

k y Vanara means monkey But

h re rhe vanara Hanuman is

human being Va means to blow

nd spread in all directions or to

procure or bestow anything by blowing Nara means human

being So vanara is above the

human being who is stronger

than human beings so vanara in

this sense is nor a monkey It is

said that it was a kind of uniform

given to the military force of

Sugiva which made the appearshy

ance of a monkey Rama was

given this army of all the lJanams If you read the Ramayana you

will know that they were given a

special dress to wear Though rhey

look like the monkey rhey had

rhe strength to cross the ocean

There vere engineers in the army

Lord Hanuman is rhe head of all

the vanaras Yer in spire of reachshy

ing thar level he remained all the

rime as a servant rendering service

to the Lord Sri Rama rhe Lord

He never lifted up his head wirh

ego or vaniry to say Look Im above everyone He is rhe incarshy

narion of humbleness and he

respecred the Lord and rhar is

how we offer our prayers to Lord

Hanuman

To Patanjali

Yogena citttll)a padenrl vacam MaLam sarhCllyaca vaidjlClkena Yopakarottam prrwara771 711ul1il1tlm PatanjaLim pranjaLimnatoJmi Abahu pUlwakaram Sal1lcha cakrasi dharinal1l Sahasra Iimsam sllettll11 Pnlntlmami Patanjtllim

Ler us bow before the noblest of sages

PatJnjali

who gave yoga for sereni ty and sancti ry

of mind

grammar for clarity and purity of speech

and medicine for perfection of health

Let us prostrate before Patanjali an

incarnation of Adisesa whose upper

body has a humll1 form whose arms

hold a conch and disk

And who is crowned by a thousand headshy

ed cobra

Lastly we are offering ollr prayers

to th Guru

Guru Vandanam GuruI Brahma Gurur Vishnu Guru DeIJo Maheshwarah Guru saksat Param Brahma TclS77Zal Sri Guravenamah

Guru is verily Brahma Guru is

verily Vishnu

Guru is verily Shin

Guru indeed is the Supreme

To him I bow

Brahmanandam Paramsukhadam kevamn jJ1tlnamurtim DIJczndlJatitam gagrlllsadllyam tattvamasyadi laksam Elwl1l nityam lJimalamacalam sarshyvadhi saksibhutam Bhavatitam trigunarahitam sadgurum tam namami

I salute the Guru who himself is a blissful state of Brahma who

gives only happiness is idol of

knowledge has crossed all the

dualities such as sorrow and hapshy

piness who is as vast as the sky

and untouched always drawn

into the thoughts of the Supreme

He is One and alone eternal

untainted straight-forward witshy

nessing the consciousness of all the living beings beyond the

emotional and physical entangleshy

ments unaffected by sattlJa rajas and tamas I salute that Guru

Isvara is One and only One who is

rhe Gurll of gurus because He is

omniscient in whom rhe seed of

knowledge exists The knowledge

flows only from Him He is rhe

Ocean of rhe knowledge and from

Him we are receiving rhe knowledge bir by bit So how

is rhis Guru He is rhe reator Brahma He is the proshy

Then we offer our prayers to Lord Patanjali Of course tector Vishnu and He is rhe destroyer of our ignorance

you know the meaning of that since YOll have read the Shiva or Maheshvara Then there is the guru who is

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali transforming that knowledge to LIS Because the God -

Isvara cannot be seen by us cannor be felt by us unless

Iyengar Yoga News No4 12 Winter 2003

-----------------

we realise through the sadhana Therefore we require somebody to guide us And it is our Guruji who guides us The one who guides us we have to salute him as well The Guru who is in the physical form right in front of our eyes (sakshat) is Param Brahma - the Ultimate Supreme God He is the guru who is always drawn in the thoughts of Brahman thinks of the supreme and is happy with that Supreme His all happiness is established only in that supreme SOutce He is again the incarnation of knowledge No dualities affect Him He has crossed the dualities He is as vast as the sky He aims at the Upanisadic truth Tat Tvam Ast That Thou Are He is only One - Ekam He is always eternal - nityam He is untouched by affiictions untouched by any bad or wrong actions or thoughts He is always pure He is stashybile and immovable He is always watching everything He is always witnessing everything

He is never caught emotionally He doesnt differentiate saying I like this person more so I will teach him more and I will not teach that person He transcends emoshy

tions We are always caught in the three gunas but Guru is the one who is above all so he has crossed these three

qualities Let us offer our prayers to the guru who shows the right path to us

I do understand that the doubt may arise in your mind whether you should say these prayers or not Therefore I thought it is better to understand the language and the meaning of these prayers At the end it is a Universal God We always create the God through our minds but when we cross our own mind we realise the Universal God If the

Supreme is understood in this sense then I dont think anyone need to have any doubts in their mind

Always as vve begin anything as auspicious work even the birthshyday celebrations the simple birthshyday celebrations we have candles We light the candles which shows us the light In the similar manner when we are offering the puja We will light the candles of knowlshyedge Let this knowledge always remain enllightening us The

flowers are offered with the sense of appreciation and affection So I ~--______________J

wiU perform the puja offering the flowers The Lord says in the Bhagavad Gita Dont offer me anything big Bur even if you offer me the flowers fruits leaves water I accept them because you have offered them to me with love and affection I return them back to you because Im not the one to enjoy them You have offered them to me but I will be giving them back to you That is what the Bhagavad Gita says

So when we are offering the light in the form of candles or flowers it is He who is going to return that back to us We do not ask for that but that is what His nature is to give He is not going to keep any account ofwhat we give He says in other words You try to tread the path of realshyisation you try to walk on the path of self-realisation and I will be guiding you I will be showing you me path

If we are absolutely agnostics having no faith then He is not going to force us But if a little feeling comes which says Let me do yoga let me know what it is

He is going to guide us The first time you came to

your yoga class some of you might have felt oh yoga cures diseases so let me try ifit helps me So we come

with that selfish approach Even though it might be a selfish approach God is not taking any objections to that He says Fine you have got a selfish approach it doesnt matter But be on the right path

Xhen your mind says Oh there

is something beyond the health and I want to know that Then He knows that the intention is changed He says Fine you are progressing further so I will help YOll further

So this is the dialogue which goes on between us and the Universal Soul and this inner dialogue is needed This is what the puja

means The puja means worshipshyping HIM the Supreme One While doing the sadhana we need to have dialogue with the Lord Sadhana is the language of dialogue between us and God

So having this in your minds let us offer the prayers

Iyengar Yoga News No4 13 Winter 2003

PUJA - SOME REFLECTIONS

Kirsten Agar Ward writes about her experiences and understanding of puja

wa rather surprised to have been asked to Tite this article as I am in no way any sort f authority on puja I write only from my

011 limited experiences which are of pershy- rming a puja most days as part ofour famshy -lif for around two years Before this I was cry much aware that I preferred to begin yo~ classes and my own practice with the inocation to Patanjali - it seemed and still does seem to be important to have this pause to quieten and prepare for the pracshyrice Later I also realised the importance of rhankfulness for which it provides an opporshy~unity I had also noticed and been interestshy-d in the pujas I saw talcing place in the homes of some of those with whom I stayed whilst travelling in India I found the notion of having a shrine in the home and daily ritshyuals associated with it very appealing rather than such activities being restricted to a sacred building and fIXed services I was impressed by how much a part ofdaily life it was to rhese people to pray

From what I understand at present me basic elements of puja include - a lamp (light) anointing incense food offerings (pra_iad) other offerings such as flowers chanting and prostration (pranam) There can be variashytions for example in the mantras chosen and the number of repetitions and the order in which they are performed the forms of God represented the element of silent prayer reading ofscriptures and some of the 111a terials used

In our case we have found it helpful to estabshylish a place in our home (in the yoga practice room) where we carry out the puja It is important to keep the area clean Our puja has developed over time for example we have gradually learned more chants We were helped greatly in this by having a tape recording of them Then we were able to refine our pronunciation by having the words written down It was necessary to make a consciOllS effort to learn them We are deeply grateful for the guidance we have received in puja from Guruji via Faeq Biria

I have to admit that what really got me startshy

ed with puja in my own life was the desire I for a child (our prayers were answered and we now have a beautiful son - Saut - which means asked for) Now later in parallel with my experiences of the invocation at the beginning of practice it is at east as much about thankfulness Its so easy in life isnt ir to forget all the many blessings one has and instead focus on tl1e trials and tribulations For me puja is a way of helping me rememshyber the blessings and more than this to be grateful at least for some of the time Maybe then it will spill over more and more into the rest of lite

Puja is also an opportunity to practise the fourth NiJlama - Svadhyaya - self study For exan1ple in that quietness when it is JUSt oneself talking to God one can observe ones inclinations and scrutinise them - am I conshycentrating Am I being properly reverential Am I savouring the moments or rushing to get on with something else Am I being mechanical Am I clean and pure in motivashytion Am I seelcing gratification

It seems to me that an essential aspect of puja is reverence This is not something we tend to make much of in our society The cult of the individual is very dominant and this can tend to make us feel that it is someshyhow demeaning to be reverential towards someone (or something) else To me howshyever reverence is about simple truthfulness and acceptance of truth and about showing due respect aDd appreciation Reverence is easier if we really have some understanding of our position in relation to the object of reverence This reverence (and corresponshydent lack of casualness and mechanical ness) in approach is manifested in how one preshypares for puja (the best time is after bathing) how one dresses and also in how one actushyally performs it For example the posture one assumes - is it casual Arrogant Or straight and firm and respectful I remember being Struck by how Guruji folds his hands in the Namaskar position - how beautifully he extends them - certainly not a casual or mechanical posture Posture cleanliness dress - these are some outward manifesta-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 14 Winter 2003 ------~--~~~~~-- ---------------------------shy

tions of how one is inside which is the crushycial thing If we truly in our heans revere God and strive to act in the puja as if God is really there (which I believe God is - being omnipresent) then reverence can be there It is a bit like the difference bervveen practising as if Guruji is there watching and not Through this reverence one is beginning to develop LmiddothVtlra Pranidhrma (surrender to

God)

It seems to me that puja is closely linked with all the NiJ1ilmas One observes cleanlishyness in body and endeavours to be pure in

thoughts and actions also (Saltcha) before shyand actually it seems to me the process itself has a purifYing effect Counting ones blessshyings involves a degree of Stmtosha (contentshyment) Tapas (determined effort and zeal) is required in order to be disciplined and not let the practice slip Through it one begins to develop more Svadhyaya andhhvara Pranidhana Isnt thi similar to asana and pmnayama practice Moreover I feel that by developing such qualites and personal discishyplines through puja ones practice of other aspects ofyoga can surely only be deepened As an example I remember Birjoo Mehta explaining to us how to prepare to take the

I in-bream in prartayarna and he likened it to the state one is in just at the moment one lights a prayer candle in church In this way experiences of Makti (devotion) assist our other yogic practices and I feel sure the conshyverse is also true

Puja is not about worshipping or revering a piece of stone or metal - [llse idols in C hristian terminology T he images are simshyply w heLp us remember God In much the same way in church there might be images of Christ or architecrur3l symbolic refershyences to God (for example windows being in threes to remind us subconsciously of the Holy Trinity) These things are to assist us tools rather than ends in themselves We surely need assistance otherwise we would be remembering God all the time and conshysequently being more spiritual than we are Similarly chaming and ritual itself are an assistance Coming from a protestant backshyground and not High C hurch it strikes me as somewhat curious that I have come round to valuing ritual and what may be loosely summed up as bells and smells Somehow though it seems to offer a strucshy

rure some scaffolding on which to build it touches the psyche I like the idea of chantshying in Sanskri t ancient prayers which have been chanted so many million times before It seems to me there is a great energy and purity in that My experience is that it is not essential to have to understand all the words (though having said this I am grateful that Gtetaji has given us such a clear and full explanation of several invocations) I was interested to discover that our neighbour who is an ordinand (trainee C of E priest) has had a similar experience During her training she has been involved in worship incorporating chants in Latin or Greek As she comes from a Low Church background she found this strange at first but she has discovered that it does not seem to matter that one does not understand the exact words more that it helps you focus on God In fact she pointed out to me that the Bible contains a number of references to how one docs not even need words to pray

I am still learning about puja and deepening my understanding and practice of these aspects I have mentioned If asked why pzda is important I dont think I could say any more at the moment than the points I have mentioned above - developing ones revershyence [Owards and appreciation of God and developi ng oneself to become closer to God In thinking about this article I have been struck by the many p~uallels with yoga pracshytice - from simply not being mechanical or casual to being reverenrial and appreciative and developing Svadhya)a and Ishvara Pranidhana through Tapas How also the Yanla) (for exanlple truthfulness non-covetshying) withdrawal from sense objects and the external world (Pratyahara) and concentrashytion (Dhaltlna) are involved in fact it seems to me aspects of yoga and pzda are not just parallel but interlinked the one assisting the other and vice versa

For me puja is rather like my experience of yoga when I first began - I was not exactly sure or able (0 explai n why it was so imporshytant to do it bur I just knew for me at least that it was In the same way I just know and fee that pIda is important for us not only for the blessings and insptration which come from it bur simply as the act itself for its own sake

Iyengar Yoga News No4 15 Spring 2003

THE SCIENCE OF LIFE

Inspired by Geetajl s talk in Madrid in May 2002 Dale Rathbone reflects on the basic principles and philosophy of Ayurveda

I n Madrid Geetaji discussed the basic principles and philosophy ofAyurveda and how this plays a role within our mind nature and with our practice of flSflnas Ayur-veda means science of life and a central principle of Ayurveda is the existence of the three doshas These are our 3 biological humours which are 3 primary life forces in the body In Sanskrit they are called Vflta Pitta and Kflpha which correspond primarily to the elements of Air Fire and Water These movable elements determine life processshyes of growth and decay When the humours are out of balance then this becomes a causative force in the disease process

Vara is described as the biological air eleshyment like the wind which moves things and motivates the other two forces It susshytains effort such as inhalation and exhalashytion which co-ordinates the senses impulses and vibrations The roOt of Viltfl is dealing with the waste materials in the pelvic and lower back area of the body Because the Vata is composed of ether it lives in the empty spaces in the body and fills up the subtle channels

Pitta is described as the biological fire eleshyment which is the bile that digests our food and is responsible for certain chemshyical energies and transformations in the body Modern medical science speaks of electrical energy running through our nervous system It also governs Ollr menshytal digestion heat visllal perception hunger thirst radiance understanding intelligence courage and softness of the body it is seated in [he stomach and digestive area

Kapha biologically exists in the earthshymedium like our skin bones and other tissue lining Our physical composition is mainly the water element which is conshytained within the boundaries of our skin Its origin is that which holds things

Iyengar Yoga News No4

together and so provides substance and gives support It also provides emotional traits such as love compassion modesty patience and forgiveness

Geetaji made an interesting point that if a person is Vata by nature then they may be unstable and indecisive in mind always wanting to learn something else An unstable Vatil nature person stays in asanas too long but they also want to finshyish for the next asana The Pitta nature person has discipline but jumps into one posture then to another and wants to learn moment by moment vcry quickly A Kilpha nature person slowly develops over a 70 year period

Geetaji most importantly spoke about keeping a balanced level in all three doshas Va ttl Pitta and Kapha within our daily practice

An ancient deity (arca-vigraha) of Lord Dhanvantari received the knowledge of Ayurveda from Indra the King of Gods Brahma composed Ayurveda in one hunshydred thousand siokLlJ and a thousand chapters But after considering the shorr span of life for any mortal to study Lord Dhanvantari divided Ayurveda into eight volumes

In the broad and profound Vedic science Ayurveda includes Herbal medicines dietics surgery (Shaiya Ttmtra) Psychiatry (Bhutil Vidya) toxicology (Agftela Tantra) spirituality midwifery gynaecology (Kaumarbhritya) general medicine (Kaya Chikitsa) rejuveshynation (Rasttyana) sexology (V~jikarana)

diseases of the eyes ears nose and throat (Shaiakya Ttmtra)

According to the ancient text Carakashysamhita this Science of Life and Longevity is eternal and is revealed in each universe in each of its infinite cycles of creation and destruction

16 Winter 2003

Iyengar Yoga Nevvs No4 17

These illustrations show Lord Dhanvantari in his four-armed form holding the wheel (Sudarsana Chakra) and Conch (sankha) in the upper right and left hands as do most Vishnu incarnashytions In the other two hands there are the necshytar pot (amrta-kalasha) and a herb According to

the Prapancha-sara sanshygraha the Lord holds a leech (jalauaka) in place of the herb in his fourth hand

Lord Dhanvantari was said to be an incarnation of the God Vishnu and appears in the famous myth of the churning of the milk ocean represhysenting this truth for the benefit of othe~ in the tradition of Ayurveda So to heal ourselves or others we must set It 111 motion within ourselves

Lord Dhanvantari has been worsh ipped for many years in India and is to be seen in most clinshyics and is a reminder that however much we know or skillful we become everything still depends on the grace of our spirishytual nature

Today in India the Diwali Festival is inaugushyrated with remembrance of Lord Dhanvantari For such during dusk time a lamp pointing toward North by North-East is lit at the entrance of the door step Such is the welcome to Lord Dhanvan tari to bestow on all health and happishyness in ensuing life

Winter 2003

INTERVIEW WITH JAWAHAR

Before his visit to the Manchester convention in May 2003 IYN interviewed guest teacher Jawahar Bangera

lVfiat drew you to Iyengar Yoga initialshyW (y

Honestly I was not drawn to Iyengar Yoga but dragged to it by my folks in the sumshymer of 1969 I spent the last five years of school life in a boarding school at Panchgani When I returned to Mumbai after finishing schoo the rest of the famshyily was already attending Gurujis classes (SatSun) and it was but natural for me to fall in line In those days Guruji used to spend a good part of the Indian summer teaching in Europe In the interim his senior students like the Motiwalas Burzo Taraporewala Ohun Palkhiwala conductshyed the Mumbai classes My brothers myself and the Motiwala sisters being the youngsters of the batch were singled out for special treatment especiall) an extra dose of back-bends

One day I was browsing through Light on Yoga (hardback) It fascinated me When Guruji returned to teach the class in Mumbai I was astonished to see that the person in the book (LOY) was the very same one teaching the Mumbai class I requested Guruji to accept me as a stushydent and since then there has been no Looking back In those days I used to look forward to the Saturday class as I hated getting up on a Sunday morning In boarding school we had a PT teacher who made us do postures like sirsasana arm balances and backbends So in tbe initial stages Iyengar yoga was more like PT for me until Guruji started explaining the nuances of the poses That made it intershyesting and gave me a reason to get hooked on Iyengar yoga

What do you think is the role ofYoga in the modern world

Most of the people I have met attend yoga classes with ulterior motives of improving health flexibility weight-loss or weight gain etc Those who have maintained a continuous practice have

been transformed from the mundane aspects to the subtle from the frivolous to the sublime These sadhakas have made the practice ofIyengar Yoga a part of their lives and mental make up Their food habits have changed Their attitude to felshylow workers and employees has improved Their clarity of thoughts and actions has improved Some atheists have become theists Not surprisingly they all attribute these changes (for the better) ro their practice and grace of yoga

The principals of yama and niyarna will give the modern world the instruments to lead a disciplined life especially yoga as taught by Guruji He makes no manshymade distinctions between races religion culture etc The tenets are strictly adhered to and this makes him a true yogi I am sure man) students have experienced this aspect of Guruji and Iyengar yoga Yoga as taught by Guruji will undo all the barshyriers we as ordinary humans are conshystantly erecting to form a protective fence between different peoples of the world Sage Patanjali states that yoga is not conshyditioned by class place time or concept of dut) Hence yoga plays an important role in the bonding of all mankind Therefore it is imperative to practice yoga for universal gain

How is the practice of Yoga general6 pershyceived in India

Though it is the birthplace of yoga India somehow is treated very lighdy The genshyeral concept of yoga in India is that it is meant for older people So )ou will notice very few youngsters in yoga classshyes When I started out practising Iyengar yoga I witnessed many youngsters come and go It was mostly those families where the parents and children attended classes together that there has been some adhesion to yoga My present experience is that youngsters have a major prob]em attending yoga classes because it does not

Iyengar Yoga News No4 18 ------------------~~-----

appear glam oro us And then th rt is the ego problem W h n it comes to doing difficul t po tures it exposes them (espeshycially d 1 C boysyo ung men) as wimps and this th ey cannot sto mach We see a lot of dropoU(s

So the concept of yoga needs to be changed Ask any layperson what he or she thinks of yoga and they con jur up an image of a yogi in meditation When I starred my first publi c class in M umbai in a very smalJ roo m 1 rece ived abo u thi rty srudenrs The men were dressed in office-wear and the women ca me in saris T hey had their own idea of what theIyoga lass was and I had mine I was the o nly person in the room in prop r yoga attire along with a handful of students who had some experi nce of Iyengar yoga The next class I was left with only th at handful of students Indians are hard working as Fa r lt15 materialism is conshycerned W hen it c mes to spiri rual pracshytice th ey do not want to work hard for sLI ce 55 O ne no tices many I ndians se tshytled abroad have made a success of their live fow man y have you not iced attend ing yoga classes They are Godshyfearing and many are temple-goers They prefer to pray thall undergo dle rigo urs of mana practice

There is a sign th ough that things are fi naJly changing with the p pulari ty of Iyengar yoga G uruji is now well known in India and inquiries for classes are speshycific ror I en gar yoga Most attend class with tb hope of achieving health Also there is now awareness for building good healrll w ithout the use of d rugs and docshyto L Some m end class with medical probshylems in the hope of curing themselves witho ut urger Yes rhe resp nse in a city like Mu mbai is encouraging and it has been a lo ng tim e coming All of uruJI s hard work is now paying div idends Very often you will no tice [h re are many expertS in Jnd ia who will eulogizecritishycise the subj ect without having practised it (1hen the p reacher is a well-known p rsonJ li it m akes an impact and someshytimes it can have a pos itive eHect on the efficacy of yoga

Then there is the colonial hangove G uruji has often said that yoga will b popular in this country when a Foreign teaches the subject One of the big obstashycles to the popularity of yoga is the me shyical profession W hen they are at a los ~ th ey as k rheir patients to attend yog classes At other times they advise the i patients to practise only certain poses Ie India a doctors -vord is like Gods an pat ients will approach yoga classes with presc ription from their doctors

Fortunately yoga is making some inroad in the medical profession and doctors ar now attending classes and nOficing th clifference in the non-invasive technique as taught by Guruji A renaissance is ir order

How do )ou feel about teaching large COl

ventions in contrast to smaller classes

Each has its own charm In conventions the students who attend have alread achieved a certain level in their practice They are more receptive to instruction and the degree of absorption is high E planations of subtle points are readiI understood due to the sincere practice 0

the partici )al1ts SmaHer classes have charm of th eir own There is a closer rapshyport between the teacher and the StLlshy

dents It is easier to monitor the class fo mistakes In convenrio ns though thert are rewer chances of errors from students mistakes can be glaring It happened in the last convention when a student modshyiried the pose as it was the way the stushydent was taught It also occurred that the student was not from the Iyengar yoga community [r was disturbing as well as amusll1g

There is a gut deal ofconflict in the wora crt the present time Do you think that Yoga practice and philosophy can be ofany help

T he answer to this question is connected to the earlier question of the role of yoga in the modern world If we all made a co ncerted effort to live our individual lives as per the principles laid down in the Yoga Sutras of sage Patanjali it would be a beginning Unless we lead exemplary lives we have no moral right to point fin-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 19 Winter 2003

Supreme God Lord Vishnu in this sense is the God of

Gods

He is the supporter of the whole Universe

Vishvadharam - Vishva is the entire Universe the

Universe which is known and unknown to us He is the

one who supports the known and unknown world

Adhara means to support

Now how big is He how small is He Is He six feet tall

and two feet broad like any other human being No He

is as vast as the sky You cannot measure the sky simishy

larly he cannot be measured GaganuJadar-~)am

Gagana means sky and sadarsyam means similar So he

is all pervading as the sky He is Meghavarnam Megha means cloud and varnam means colour How does he

look what is his

colour Is he brown

like Indians Is he

In other words the Universe the Universe which is full

of wealth and therdore nothing but Laksmi belongs to

Him The wealth that vve see on this Earth and the

wealth that we see in the Universe all belongs to him

because he is the husband of Laksmi

Kamaltlnayanam Kamal means lotus Nayana means

eyes He is lotus eyed His eyes are like lotus always

open and beautiful Is He the one who keeps the eyes

closed No Though He is sleeping on the bed of the sershy

pent Adisesa yet His eyes are always wide open because

he is seeing everything and witnessin g everything The lotus though remaining in water is untouched by it

Similarly the eyes of Lord Vishnu though seeing and

perceiving everything remains untai1tcd

Thcn if that is the

Lord how do we

him hrdsee Yogi dhyanagam)la72white like He the Lord can be Westerners Is he

black like Africans seen by a yogi

through the heart shyNo His colour is

similar to the the spiritual heart

clouds Xhen you only by practising see the clouds in the dhyana You can see

sky they are of the me I can see you

same colour You but what about dont find this cloud Him How to see

in England having a Him The yogi

different colour in though His heart America having a sees that Lord different colou r through the practice You dont say this is Indian cloud this is African cloud

or this is American cloud The cloud is the same everyshy

where It could be black white and could be with goldshy

en or silver lining or without lining So also Lord

Vishnu has no colour

Shubhangam Has he got arms like us Legs like us belly

like us chest like us Is His body like our body made out

of flesh and bone No anga means limbs Shubha means

auspicious or pure His body is JUSt the incarnation of

auspiciousness There is nothing inauspicious in Him

No inauspiciousness can touch him because He Himself

is auspicious The Lord is having the body of auspishy

CIousness

He is Lakshmikantam - the husband of Laksmi So who

is His wife His wife is Lakshmi The word indicates the

increase of good fortune prosperity success and wealth

of sadhana You necd to practise yoga do dhyana and

purif) the heart The velY core of the being Then you

will be able to see Him

Is it the eyes of the yogi that sees the Lord N it is the

heart the spiritual heart For the yogi the spiritual heart

is the eye and this eye of the spiritual heart has to open

Like His lotus eyes the lotus of the heart has to open

Vande Vishnum - let LlS salute Lord Vishnu (he All Pervader who never deteriorates who never diminishes

who is ever omnipresent who exists everywhere

Bhava Bha)aHamm - Bhava means worldly li fe It means (0 come in (0 existence or have birth after birth

(0 experience woddly life Bha)la means fear And

Haran] means to destroy What does He do for us H e

is the one who being fearless the ocean of fea rle n

Iyengar Yoga News No4 10

gives us courage to cross this world of pleasures and Lord Hanuman has a speed equal to the mind We pains This world in which we are caught and when we want that speed of the mind We often [hink that ve

cannot reach the other end of it the spiritual end of it should be qU1iet as a yoga practitioner but the quietness the very soul the very self then He is the one who also has a speed For a while we remain quiet and sudshy

destroys the fear of appearing in this world again and denly the mind thinks of something and the flow of

again getting caught in the cycles of births and deaths serenity is broken The speed of quietness breaks You

He destroys the fear which keeps us away from seeing say Oh we were sitting here but our mind was someshy

the soul where else The mind has a speed but doesnt flow with

a single attention swiftly So here is a god Lord

Sarvalokaikanatham - Sarva - whole entire Loka - heavshy Hanuman whose speed of the body and speed of the

en earth space Eka - one and only one Natham - posshy intelligence is just equal to the mind which has got a

sessor and protector He is the one who is the head of great speed to have a single minded attention I can be

the whole Universe the sole master of the Universe The here at this moment I can reach India because the mind

only One the only single One There is no other God can go that fast I may not even reach the airport but the

There is only one Isvara and we read this in the Yoga mind can reach so fast Lord Hanuman is the One who

Sutras He is untouched by klesa (afflictions) and karma has the speed of the mind He can physically reach with

(actions) The one who is untouched by this is above the speed that the wind can go Maruta Tulya Ve~tlm shyeveryone Isvara is the One and j1arut means wind or vayu Tulya

that is how in a poetic way the means similar or equal and vegam

sloka is presented to us means speed This is indicating

the vigour of Lord Hanuman and

I am taking a little longer time of the power of his body to be quick

yours so that you understand and swift When He is going with

because you are all yoga teachers that speed is he shaken Is He

and obviously this is something disturbed Is He perturbed No that the practi tioners have to He is stable in spite of having a know speedy mind jitendRiyam - jita

means conquered and indriya Then we are offering our prayers means senses and organs He has

to Lord Hanuman conquered His senses of percepshy

tion so His mind is not wavering The word Hanuman signifies the though He is reaching with that syllable AUM Ha stands for speed Buddhimatmn Varistham shyLord Vishnu nu stands for Lord Buddhi means intelligence and Shiva and ma stands for Lord Buddhirnatam means Brahma Lord Hanuman in this Intellectuals Varistham means sense signifies the confluence of excellent Lord Hanuman has the creator (Brahma) the protecshy excellence of intelligence in Him tor (Vishnu) and the destroyer Our intelligence has limitations (Shiva) in him He is above all the intellectuals

that we have in this world In We are all sadhakas We are all Lord Hanuman intelligence has practitioners We havent reached Lord Hanuman messenger of Shri reached to the exhausted level he the state of a yogi Ve are all on Rama son of the Wind God is on top as far as intelligence is that path So here is the reason Who is quick as the mind and swift as concerned He is the son of Vayu why we offer our prayers to Lord the wind Vatamajam - son of the wind Hanuman Conqueror of the senses foremost Atmaja - son

among the wise MmlOjavam - speed of the mind Commander of the monkey-army to Most important to a yogi is t11e Mana is mind and java means Him I surrender very practice of niYl112( and yama swiftness or speed He has to conquer his pral1a COrl-

Hammlan Vandalla1 Manojavam marutatulya vegan1 jitelldriya buddhimatam varistham Vatatmajal1l vl11ara)lttha mukhyam Sriramadutam Salll11am prapadye

Iyengar Yoga News No4 11 Winter 2003

~ hi energy We fi rst try to

quer more cautiously the

n

[JOI

ad

IT

Tg ar the subtle level We

to keep the vata under conshy

t rata is rhe cause of good and

behaviour Our character

~ pends upon the qu~iry and c of vata In order to have conshy

l over vata we offer prayers

ormally Lord Hanuman IS

tra nslated as Monkey God

be ause his face looks like a monshy

k y Vanara means monkey But

h re rhe vanara Hanuman is

human being Va means to blow

nd spread in all directions or to

procure or bestow anything by blowing Nara means human

being So vanara is above the

human being who is stronger

than human beings so vanara in

this sense is nor a monkey It is

said that it was a kind of uniform

given to the military force of

Sugiva which made the appearshy

ance of a monkey Rama was

given this army of all the lJanams If you read the Ramayana you

will know that they were given a

special dress to wear Though rhey

look like the monkey rhey had

rhe strength to cross the ocean

There vere engineers in the army

Lord Hanuman is rhe head of all

the vanaras Yer in spire of reachshy

ing thar level he remained all the

rime as a servant rendering service

to the Lord Sri Rama rhe Lord

He never lifted up his head wirh

ego or vaniry to say Look Im above everyone He is rhe incarshy

narion of humbleness and he

respecred the Lord and rhar is

how we offer our prayers to Lord

Hanuman

To Patanjali

Yogena citttll)a padenrl vacam MaLam sarhCllyaca vaidjlClkena Yopakarottam prrwara771 711ul1il1tlm PatanjaLim pranjaLimnatoJmi Abahu pUlwakaram Sal1lcha cakrasi dharinal1l Sahasra Iimsam sllettll11 Pnlntlmami Patanjtllim

Ler us bow before the noblest of sages

PatJnjali

who gave yoga for sereni ty and sancti ry

of mind

grammar for clarity and purity of speech

and medicine for perfection of health

Let us prostrate before Patanjali an

incarnation of Adisesa whose upper

body has a humll1 form whose arms

hold a conch and disk

And who is crowned by a thousand headshy

ed cobra

Lastly we are offering ollr prayers

to th Guru

Guru Vandanam GuruI Brahma Gurur Vishnu Guru DeIJo Maheshwarah Guru saksat Param Brahma TclS77Zal Sri Guravenamah

Guru is verily Brahma Guru is

verily Vishnu

Guru is verily Shin

Guru indeed is the Supreme

To him I bow

Brahmanandam Paramsukhadam kevamn jJ1tlnamurtim DIJczndlJatitam gagrlllsadllyam tattvamasyadi laksam Elwl1l nityam lJimalamacalam sarshyvadhi saksibhutam Bhavatitam trigunarahitam sadgurum tam namami

I salute the Guru who himself is a blissful state of Brahma who

gives only happiness is idol of

knowledge has crossed all the

dualities such as sorrow and hapshy

piness who is as vast as the sky

and untouched always drawn

into the thoughts of the Supreme

He is One and alone eternal

untainted straight-forward witshy

nessing the consciousness of all the living beings beyond the

emotional and physical entangleshy

ments unaffected by sattlJa rajas and tamas I salute that Guru

Isvara is One and only One who is

rhe Gurll of gurus because He is

omniscient in whom rhe seed of

knowledge exists The knowledge

flows only from Him He is rhe

Ocean of rhe knowledge and from

Him we are receiving rhe knowledge bir by bit So how

is rhis Guru He is rhe reator Brahma He is the proshy

Then we offer our prayers to Lord Patanjali Of course tector Vishnu and He is rhe destroyer of our ignorance

you know the meaning of that since YOll have read the Shiva or Maheshvara Then there is the guru who is

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali transforming that knowledge to LIS Because the God -

Isvara cannot be seen by us cannor be felt by us unless

Iyengar Yoga News No4 12 Winter 2003

-----------------

we realise through the sadhana Therefore we require somebody to guide us And it is our Guruji who guides us The one who guides us we have to salute him as well The Guru who is in the physical form right in front of our eyes (sakshat) is Param Brahma - the Ultimate Supreme God He is the guru who is always drawn in the thoughts of Brahman thinks of the supreme and is happy with that Supreme His all happiness is established only in that supreme SOutce He is again the incarnation of knowledge No dualities affect Him He has crossed the dualities He is as vast as the sky He aims at the Upanisadic truth Tat Tvam Ast That Thou Are He is only One - Ekam He is always eternal - nityam He is untouched by affiictions untouched by any bad or wrong actions or thoughts He is always pure He is stashybile and immovable He is always watching everything He is always witnessing everything

He is never caught emotionally He doesnt differentiate saying I like this person more so I will teach him more and I will not teach that person He transcends emoshy

tions We are always caught in the three gunas but Guru is the one who is above all so he has crossed these three

qualities Let us offer our prayers to the guru who shows the right path to us

I do understand that the doubt may arise in your mind whether you should say these prayers or not Therefore I thought it is better to understand the language and the meaning of these prayers At the end it is a Universal God We always create the God through our minds but when we cross our own mind we realise the Universal God If the

Supreme is understood in this sense then I dont think anyone need to have any doubts in their mind

Always as vve begin anything as auspicious work even the birthshyday celebrations the simple birthshyday celebrations we have candles We light the candles which shows us the light In the similar manner when we are offering the puja We will light the candles of knowlshyedge Let this knowledge always remain enllightening us The

flowers are offered with the sense of appreciation and affection So I ~--______________J

wiU perform the puja offering the flowers The Lord says in the Bhagavad Gita Dont offer me anything big Bur even if you offer me the flowers fruits leaves water I accept them because you have offered them to me with love and affection I return them back to you because Im not the one to enjoy them You have offered them to me but I will be giving them back to you That is what the Bhagavad Gita says

So when we are offering the light in the form of candles or flowers it is He who is going to return that back to us We do not ask for that but that is what His nature is to give He is not going to keep any account ofwhat we give He says in other words You try to tread the path of realshyisation you try to walk on the path of self-realisation and I will be guiding you I will be showing you me path

If we are absolutely agnostics having no faith then He is not going to force us But if a little feeling comes which says Let me do yoga let me know what it is

He is going to guide us The first time you came to

your yoga class some of you might have felt oh yoga cures diseases so let me try ifit helps me So we come

with that selfish approach Even though it might be a selfish approach God is not taking any objections to that He says Fine you have got a selfish approach it doesnt matter But be on the right path

Xhen your mind says Oh there

is something beyond the health and I want to know that Then He knows that the intention is changed He says Fine you are progressing further so I will help YOll further

So this is the dialogue which goes on between us and the Universal Soul and this inner dialogue is needed This is what the puja

means The puja means worshipshyping HIM the Supreme One While doing the sadhana we need to have dialogue with the Lord Sadhana is the language of dialogue between us and God

So having this in your minds let us offer the prayers

Iyengar Yoga News No4 13 Winter 2003

PUJA - SOME REFLECTIONS

Kirsten Agar Ward writes about her experiences and understanding of puja

wa rather surprised to have been asked to Tite this article as I am in no way any sort f authority on puja I write only from my

011 limited experiences which are of pershy- rming a puja most days as part ofour famshy -lif for around two years Before this I was cry much aware that I preferred to begin yo~ classes and my own practice with the inocation to Patanjali - it seemed and still does seem to be important to have this pause to quieten and prepare for the pracshyrice Later I also realised the importance of rhankfulness for which it provides an opporshy~unity I had also noticed and been interestshy-d in the pujas I saw talcing place in the homes of some of those with whom I stayed whilst travelling in India I found the notion of having a shrine in the home and daily ritshyuals associated with it very appealing rather than such activities being restricted to a sacred building and fIXed services I was impressed by how much a part ofdaily life it was to rhese people to pray

From what I understand at present me basic elements of puja include - a lamp (light) anointing incense food offerings (pra_iad) other offerings such as flowers chanting and prostration (pranam) There can be variashytions for example in the mantras chosen and the number of repetitions and the order in which they are performed the forms of God represented the element of silent prayer reading ofscriptures and some of the 111a terials used

In our case we have found it helpful to estabshylish a place in our home (in the yoga practice room) where we carry out the puja It is important to keep the area clean Our puja has developed over time for example we have gradually learned more chants We were helped greatly in this by having a tape recording of them Then we were able to refine our pronunciation by having the words written down It was necessary to make a consciOllS effort to learn them We are deeply grateful for the guidance we have received in puja from Guruji via Faeq Biria

I have to admit that what really got me startshy

ed with puja in my own life was the desire I for a child (our prayers were answered and we now have a beautiful son - Saut - which means asked for) Now later in parallel with my experiences of the invocation at the beginning of practice it is at east as much about thankfulness Its so easy in life isnt ir to forget all the many blessings one has and instead focus on tl1e trials and tribulations For me puja is a way of helping me rememshyber the blessings and more than this to be grateful at least for some of the time Maybe then it will spill over more and more into the rest of lite

Puja is also an opportunity to practise the fourth NiJlama - Svadhyaya - self study For exan1ple in that quietness when it is JUSt oneself talking to God one can observe ones inclinations and scrutinise them - am I conshycentrating Am I being properly reverential Am I savouring the moments or rushing to get on with something else Am I being mechanical Am I clean and pure in motivashytion Am I seelcing gratification

It seems to me that an essential aspect of puja is reverence This is not something we tend to make much of in our society The cult of the individual is very dominant and this can tend to make us feel that it is someshyhow demeaning to be reverential towards someone (or something) else To me howshyever reverence is about simple truthfulness and acceptance of truth and about showing due respect aDd appreciation Reverence is easier if we really have some understanding of our position in relation to the object of reverence This reverence (and corresponshydent lack of casualness and mechanical ness) in approach is manifested in how one preshypares for puja (the best time is after bathing) how one dresses and also in how one actushyally performs it For example the posture one assumes - is it casual Arrogant Or straight and firm and respectful I remember being Struck by how Guruji folds his hands in the Namaskar position - how beautifully he extends them - certainly not a casual or mechanical posture Posture cleanliness dress - these are some outward manifesta-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 14 Winter 2003 ------~--~~~~~-- ---------------------------shy

tions of how one is inside which is the crushycial thing If we truly in our heans revere God and strive to act in the puja as if God is really there (which I believe God is - being omnipresent) then reverence can be there It is a bit like the difference bervveen practising as if Guruji is there watching and not Through this reverence one is beginning to develop LmiddothVtlra Pranidhrma (surrender to

God)

It seems to me that puja is closely linked with all the NiJ1ilmas One observes cleanlishyness in body and endeavours to be pure in

thoughts and actions also (Saltcha) before shyand actually it seems to me the process itself has a purifYing effect Counting ones blessshyings involves a degree of Stmtosha (contentshyment) Tapas (determined effort and zeal) is required in order to be disciplined and not let the practice slip Through it one begins to develop more Svadhyaya andhhvara Pranidhana Isnt thi similar to asana and pmnayama practice Moreover I feel that by developing such qualites and personal discishyplines through puja ones practice of other aspects ofyoga can surely only be deepened As an example I remember Birjoo Mehta explaining to us how to prepare to take the

I in-bream in prartayarna and he likened it to the state one is in just at the moment one lights a prayer candle in church In this way experiences of Makti (devotion) assist our other yogic practices and I feel sure the conshyverse is also true

Puja is not about worshipping or revering a piece of stone or metal - [llse idols in C hristian terminology T he images are simshyply w heLp us remember God In much the same way in church there might be images of Christ or architecrur3l symbolic refershyences to God (for example windows being in threes to remind us subconsciously of the Holy Trinity) These things are to assist us tools rather than ends in themselves We surely need assistance otherwise we would be remembering God all the time and conshysequently being more spiritual than we are Similarly chaming and ritual itself are an assistance Coming from a protestant backshyground and not High C hurch it strikes me as somewhat curious that I have come round to valuing ritual and what may be loosely summed up as bells and smells Somehow though it seems to offer a strucshy

rure some scaffolding on which to build it touches the psyche I like the idea of chantshying in Sanskri t ancient prayers which have been chanted so many million times before It seems to me there is a great energy and purity in that My experience is that it is not essential to have to understand all the words (though having said this I am grateful that Gtetaji has given us such a clear and full explanation of several invocations) I was interested to discover that our neighbour who is an ordinand (trainee C of E priest) has had a similar experience During her training she has been involved in worship incorporating chants in Latin or Greek As she comes from a Low Church background she found this strange at first but she has discovered that it does not seem to matter that one does not understand the exact words more that it helps you focus on God In fact she pointed out to me that the Bible contains a number of references to how one docs not even need words to pray

I am still learning about puja and deepening my understanding and practice of these aspects I have mentioned If asked why pzda is important I dont think I could say any more at the moment than the points I have mentioned above - developing ones revershyence [Owards and appreciation of God and developi ng oneself to become closer to God In thinking about this article I have been struck by the many p~uallels with yoga pracshytice - from simply not being mechanical or casual to being reverenrial and appreciative and developing Svadhya)a and Ishvara Pranidhana through Tapas How also the Yanla) (for exanlple truthfulness non-covetshying) withdrawal from sense objects and the external world (Pratyahara) and concentrashytion (Dhaltlna) are involved in fact it seems to me aspects of yoga and pzda are not just parallel but interlinked the one assisting the other and vice versa

For me puja is rather like my experience of yoga when I first began - I was not exactly sure or able (0 explai n why it was so imporshytant to do it bur I just knew for me at least that it was In the same way I just know and fee that pIda is important for us not only for the blessings and insptration which come from it bur simply as the act itself for its own sake

Iyengar Yoga News No4 15 Spring 2003

THE SCIENCE OF LIFE

Inspired by Geetajl s talk in Madrid in May 2002 Dale Rathbone reflects on the basic principles and philosophy of Ayurveda

I n Madrid Geetaji discussed the basic principles and philosophy ofAyurveda and how this plays a role within our mind nature and with our practice of flSflnas Ayur-veda means science of life and a central principle of Ayurveda is the existence of the three doshas These are our 3 biological humours which are 3 primary life forces in the body In Sanskrit they are called Vflta Pitta and Kflpha which correspond primarily to the elements of Air Fire and Water These movable elements determine life processshyes of growth and decay When the humours are out of balance then this becomes a causative force in the disease process

Vara is described as the biological air eleshyment like the wind which moves things and motivates the other two forces It susshytains effort such as inhalation and exhalashytion which co-ordinates the senses impulses and vibrations The roOt of Viltfl is dealing with the waste materials in the pelvic and lower back area of the body Because the Vata is composed of ether it lives in the empty spaces in the body and fills up the subtle channels

Pitta is described as the biological fire eleshyment which is the bile that digests our food and is responsible for certain chemshyical energies and transformations in the body Modern medical science speaks of electrical energy running through our nervous system It also governs Ollr menshytal digestion heat visllal perception hunger thirst radiance understanding intelligence courage and softness of the body it is seated in [he stomach and digestive area

Kapha biologically exists in the earthshymedium like our skin bones and other tissue lining Our physical composition is mainly the water element which is conshytained within the boundaries of our skin Its origin is that which holds things

Iyengar Yoga News No4

together and so provides substance and gives support It also provides emotional traits such as love compassion modesty patience and forgiveness

Geetaji made an interesting point that if a person is Vata by nature then they may be unstable and indecisive in mind always wanting to learn something else An unstable Vatil nature person stays in asanas too long but they also want to finshyish for the next asana The Pitta nature person has discipline but jumps into one posture then to another and wants to learn moment by moment vcry quickly A Kilpha nature person slowly develops over a 70 year period

Geetaji most importantly spoke about keeping a balanced level in all three doshas Va ttl Pitta and Kapha within our daily practice

An ancient deity (arca-vigraha) of Lord Dhanvantari received the knowledge of Ayurveda from Indra the King of Gods Brahma composed Ayurveda in one hunshydred thousand siokLlJ and a thousand chapters But after considering the shorr span of life for any mortal to study Lord Dhanvantari divided Ayurveda into eight volumes

In the broad and profound Vedic science Ayurveda includes Herbal medicines dietics surgery (Shaiya Ttmtra) Psychiatry (Bhutil Vidya) toxicology (Agftela Tantra) spirituality midwifery gynaecology (Kaumarbhritya) general medicine (Kaya Chikitsa) rejuveshynation (Rasttyana) sexology (V~jikarana)

diseases of the eyes ears nose and throat (Shaiakya Ttmtra)

According to the ancient text Carakashysamhita this Science of Life and Longevity is eternal and is revealed in each universe in each of its infinite cycles of creation and destruction

16 Winter 2003

Iyengar Yoga Nevvs No4 17

These illustrations show Lord Dhanvantari in his four-armed form holding the wheel (Sudarsana Chakra) and Conch (sankha) in the upper right and left hands as do most Vishnu incarnashytions In the other two hands there are the necshytar pot (amrta-kalasha) and a herb According to

the Prapancha-sara sanshygraha the Lord holds a leech (jalauaka) in place of the herb in his fourth hand

Lord Dhanvantari was said to be an incarnation of the God Vishnu and appears in the famous myth of the churning of the milk ocean represhysenting this truth for the benefit of othe~ in the tradition of Ayurveda So to heal ourselves or others we must set It 111 motion within ourselves

Lord Dhanvantari has been worsh ipped for many years in India and is to be seen in most clinshyics and is a reminder that however much we know or skillful we become everything still depends on the grace of our spirishytual nature

Today in India the Diwali Festival is inaugushyrated with remembrance of Lord Dhanvantari For such during dusk time a lamp pointing toward North by North-East is lit at the entrance of the door step Such is the welcome to Lord Dhanvan tari to bestow on all health and happishyness in ensuing life

Winter 2003

INTERVIEW WITH JAWAHAR

Before his visit to the Manchester convention in May 2003 IYN interviewed guest teacher Jawahar Bangera

lVfiat drew you to Iyengar Yoga initialshyW (y

Honestly I was not drawn to Iyengar Yoga but dragged to it by my folks in the sumshymer of 1969 I spent the last five years of school life in a boarding school at Panchgani When I returned to Mumbai after finishing schoo the rest of the famshyily was already attending Gurujis classes (SatSun) and it was but natural for me to fall in line In those days Guruji used to spend a good part of the Indian summer teaching in Europe In the interim his senior students like the Motiwalas Burzo Taraporewala Ohun Palkhiwala conductshyed the Mumbai classes My brothers myself and the Motiwala sisters being the youngsters of the batch were singled out for special treatment especiall) an extra dose of back-bends

One day I was browsing through Light on Yoga (hardback) It fascinated me When Guruji returned to teach the class in Mumbai I was astonished to see that the person in the book (LOY) was the very same one teaching the Mumbai class I requested Guruji to accept me as a stushydent and since then there has been no Looking back In those days I used to look forward to the Saturday class as I hated getting up on a Sunday morning In boarding school we had a PT teacher who made us do postures like sirsasana arm balances and backbends So in tbe initial stages Iyengar yoga was more like PT for me until Guruji started explaining the nuances of the poses That made it intershyesting and gave me a reason to get hooked on Iyengar yoga

What do you think is the role ofYoga in the modern world

Most of the people I have met attend yoga classes with ulterior motives of improving health flexibility weight-loss or weight gain etc Those who have maintained a continuous practice have

been transformed from the mundane aspects to the subtle from the frivolous to the sublime These sadhakas have made the practice ofIyengar Yoga a part of their lives and mental make up Their food habits have changed Their attitude to felshylow workers and employees has improved Their clarity of thoughts and actions has improved Some atheists have become theists Not surprisingly they all attribute these changes (for the better) ro their practice and grace of yoga

The principals of yama and niyarna will give the modern world the instruments to lead a disciplined life especially yoga as taught by Guruji He makes no manshymade distinctions between races religion culture etc The tenets are strictly adhered to and this makes him a true yogi I am sure man) students have experienced this aspect of Guruji and Iyengar yoga Yoga as taught by Guruji will undo all the barshyriers we as ordinary humans are conshystantly erecting to form a protective fence between different peoples of the world Sage Patanjali states that yoga is not conshyditioned by class place time or concept of dut) Hence yoga plays an important role in the bonding of all mankind Therefore it is imperative to practice yoga for universal gain

How is the practice of Yoga general6 pershyceived in India

Though it is the birthplace of yoga India somehow is treated very lighdy The genshyeral concept of yoga in India is that it is meant for older people So )ou will notice very few youngsters in yoga classshyes When I started out practising Iyengar yoga I witnessed many youngsters come and go It was mostly those families where the parents and children attended classes together that there has been some adhesion to yoga My present experience is that youngsters have a major prob]em attending yoga classes because it does not

Iyengar Yoga News No4 18 ------------------~~-----

appear glam oro us And then th rt is the ego problem W h n it comes to doing difficul t po tures it exposes them (espeshycially d 1 C boysyo ung men) as wimps and this th ey cannot sto mach We see a lot of dropoU(s

So the concept of yoga needs to be changed Ask any layperson what he or she thinks of yoga and they con jur up an image of a yogi in meditation When I starred my first publi c class in M umbai in a very smalJ roo m 1 rece ived abo u thi rty srudenrs The men were dressed in office-wear and the women ca me in saris T hey had their own idea of what theIyoga lass was and I had mine I was the o nly person in the room in prop r yoga attire along with a handful of students who had some experi nce of Iyengar yoga The next class I was left with only th at handful of students Indians are hard working as Fa r lt15 materialism is conshycerned W hen it c mes to spiri rual pracshytice th ey do not want to work hard for sLI ce 55 O ne no tices many I ndians se tshytled abroad have made a success of their live fow man y have you not iced attend ing yoga classes They are Godshyfearing and many are temple-goers They prefer to pray thall undergo dle rigo urs of mana practice

There is a sign th ough that things are fi naJly changing with the p pulari ty of Iyengar yoga G uruji is now well known in India and inquiries for classes are speshycific ror I en gar yoga Most attend class with tb hope of achieving health Also there is now awareness for building good healrll w ithout the use of d rugs and docshyto L Some m end class with medical probshylems in the hope of curing themselves witho ut urger Yes rhe resp nse in a city like Mu mbai is encouraging and it has been a lo ng tim e coming All of uruJI s hard work is now paying div idends Very often you will no tice [h re are many expertS in Jnd ia who will eulogizecritishycise the subj ect without having practised it (1hen the p reacher is a well-known p rsonJ li it m akes an impact and someshytimes it can have a pos itive eHect on the efficacy of yoga

Then there is the colonial hangove G uruji has often said that yoga will b popular in this country when a Foreign teaches the subject One of the big obstashycles to the popularity of yoga is the me shyical profession W hen they are at a los ~ th ey as k rheir patients to attend yog classes At other times they advise the i patients to practise only certain poses Ie India a doctors -vord is like Gods an pat ients will approach yoga classes with presc ription from their doctors

Fortunately yoga is making some inroad in the medical profession and doctors ar now attending classes and nOficing th clifference in the non-invasive technique as taught by Guruji A renaissance is ir order

How do )ou feel about teaching large COl

ventions in contrast to smaller classes

Each has its own charm In conventions the students who attend have alread achieved a certain level in their practice They are more receptive to instruction and the degree of absorption is high E planations of subtle points are readiI understood due to the sincere practice 0

the partici )al1ts SmaHer classes have charm of th eir own There is a closer rapshyport between the teacher and the StLlshy

dents It is easier to monitor the class fo mistakes In convenrio ns though thert are rewer chances of errors from students mistakes can be glaring It happened in the last convention when a student modshyiried the pose as it was the way the stushydent was taught It also occurred that the student was not from the Iyengar yoga community [r was disturbing as well as amusll1g

There is a gut deal ofconflict in the wora crt the present time Do you think that Yoga practice and philosophy can be ofany help

T he answer to this question is connected to the earlier question of the role of yoga in the modern world If we all made a co ncerted effort to live our individual lives as per the principles laid down in the Yoga Sutras of sage Patanjali it would be a beginning Unless we lead exemplary lives we have no moral right to point fin-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 19 Winter 2003

gives us courage to cross this world of pleasures and Lord Hanuman has a speed equal to the mind We pains This world in which we are caught and when we want that speed of the mind We often [hink that ve

cannot reach the other end of it the spiritual end of it should be qU1iet as a yoga practitioner but the quietness the very soul the very self then He is the one who also has a speed For a while we remain quiet and sudshy

destroys the fear of appearing in this world again and denly the mind thinks of something and the flow of

again getting caught in the cycles of births and deaths serenity is broken The speed of quietness breaks You

He destroys the fear which keeps us away from seeing say Oh we were sitting here but our mind was someshy

the soul where else The mind has a speed but doesnt flow with

a single attention swiftly So here is a god Lord

Sarvalokaikanatham - Sarva - whole entire Loka - heavshy Hanuman whose speed of the body and speed of the

en earth space Eka - one and only one Natham - posshy intelligence is just equal to the mind which has got a

sessor and protector He is the one who is the head of great speed to have a single minded attention I can be

the whole Universe the sole master of the Universe The here at this moment I can reach India because the mind

only One the only single One There is no other God can go that fast I may not even reach the airport but the

There is only one Isvara and we read this in the Yoga mind can reach so fast Lord Hanuman is the One who

Sutras He is untouched by klesa (afflictions) and karma has the speed of the mind He can physically reach with

(actions) The one who is untouched by this is above the speed that the wind can go Maruta Tulya Ve~tlm shyeveryone Isvara is the One and j1arut means wind or vayu Tulya

that is how in a poetic way the means similar or equal and vegam

sloka is presented to us means speed This is indicating

the vigour of Lord Hanuman and

I am taking a little longer time of the power of his body to be quick

yours so that you understand and swift When He is going with

because you are all yoga teachers that speed is he shaken Is He

and obviously this is something disturbed Is He perturbed No that the practi tioners have to He is stable in spite of having a know speedy mind jitendRiyam - jita

means conquered and indriya Then we are offering our prayers means senses and organs He has

to Lord Hanuman conquered His senses of percepshy

tion so His mind is not wavering The word Hanuman signifies the though He is reaching with that syllable AUM Ha stands for speed Buddhimatmn Varistham shyLord Vishnu nu stands for Lord Buddhi means intelligence and Shiva and ma stands for Lord Buddhirnatam means Brahma Lord Hanuman in this Intellectuals Varistham means sense signifies the confluence of excellent Lord Hanuman has the creator (Brahma) the protecshy excellence of intelligence in Him tor (Vishnu) and the destroyer Our intelligence has limitations (Shiva) in him He is above all the intellectuals

that we have in this world In We are all sadhakas We are all Lord Hanuman intelligence has practitioners We havent reached Lord Hanuman messenger of Shri reached to the exhausted level he the state of a yogi Ve are all on Rama son of the Wind God is on top as far as intelligence is that path So here is the reason Who is quick as the mind and swift as concerned He is the son of Vayu why we offer our prayers to Lord the wind Vatamajam - son of the wind Hanuman Conqueror of the senses foremost Atmaja - son

among the wise MmlOjavam - speed of the mind Commander of the monkey-army to Most important to a yogi is t11e Mana is mind and java means Him I surrender very practice of niYl112( and yama swiftness or speed He has to conquer his pral1a COrl-

Hammlan Vandalla1 Manojavam marutatulya vegan1 jitelldriya buddhimatam varistham Vatatmajal1l vl11ara)lttha mukhyam Sriramadutam Salll11am prapadye

Iyengar Yoga News No4 11 Winter 2003

~ hi energy We fi rst try to

quer more cautiously the

n

[JOI

ad

IT

Tg ar the subtle level We

to keep the vata under conshy

t rata is rhe cause of good and

behaviour Our character

~ pends upon the qu~iry and c of vata In order to have conshy

l over vata we offer prayers

ormally Lord Hanuman IS

tra nslated as Monkey God

be ause his face looks like a monshy

k y Vanara means monkey But

h re rhe vanara Hanuman is

human being Va means to blow

nd spread in all directions or to

procure or bestow anything by blowing Nara means human

being So vanara is above the

human being who is stronger

than human beings so vanara in

this sense is nor a monkey It is

said that it was a kind of uniform

given to the military force of

Sugiva which made the appearshy

ance of a monkey Rama was

given this army of all the lJanams If you read the Ramayana you

will know that they were given a

special dress to wear Though rhey

look like the monkey rhey had

rhe strength to cross the ocean

There vere engineers in the army

Lord Hanuman is rhe head of all

the vanaras Yer in spire of reachshy

ing thar level he remained all the

rime as a servant rendering service

to the Lord Sri Rama rhe Lord

He never lifted up his head wirh

ego or vaniry to say Look Im above everyone He is rhe incarshy

narion of humbleness and he

respecred the Lord and rhar is

how we offer our prayers to Lord

Hanuman

To Patanjali

Yogena citttll)a padenrl vacam MaLam sarhCllyaca vaidjlClkena Yopakarottam prrwara771 711ul1il1tlm PatanjaLim pranjaLimnatoJmi Abahu pUlwakaram Sal1lcha cakrasi dharinal1l Sahasra Iimsam sllettll11 Pnlntlmami Patanjtllim

Ler us bow before the noblest of sages

PatJnjali

who gave yoga for sereni ty and sancti ry

of mind

grammar for clarity and purity of speech

and medicine for perfection of health

Let us prostrate before Patanjali an

incarnation of Adisesa whose upper

body has a humll1 form whose arms

hold a conch and disk

And who is crowned by a thousand headshy

ed cobra

Lastly we are offering ollr prayers

to th Guru

Guru Vandanam GuruI Brahma Gurur Vishnu Guru DeIJo Maheshwarah Guru saksat Param Brahma TclS77Zal Sri Guravenamah

Guru is verily Brahma Guru is

verily Vishnu

Guru is verily Shin

Guru indeed is the Supreme

To him I bow

Brahmanandam Paramsukhadam kevamn jJ1tlnamurtim DIJczndlJatitam gagrlllsadllyam tattvamasyadi laksam Elwl1l nityam lJimalamacalam sarshyvadhi saksibhutam Bhavatitam trigunarahitam sadgurum tam namami

I salute the Guru who himself is a blissful state of Brahma who

gives only happiness is idol of

knowledge has crossed all the

dualities such as sorrow and hapshy

piness who is as vast as the sky

and untouched always drawn

into the thoughts of the Supreme

He is One and alone eternal

untainted straight-forward witshy

nessing the consciousness of all the living beings beyond the

emotional and physical entangleshy

ments unaffected by sattlJa rajas and tamas I salute that Guru

Isvara is One and only One who is

rhe Gurll of gurus because He is

omniscient in whom rhe seed of

knowledge exists The knowledge

flows only from Him He is rhe

Ocean of rhe knowledge and from

Him we are receiving rhe knowledge bir by bit So how

is rhis Guru He is rhe reator Brahma He is the proshy

Then we offer our prayers to Lord Patanjali Of course tector Vishnu and He is rhe destroyer of our ignorance

you know the meaning of that since YOll have read the Shiva or Maheshvara Then there is the guru who is

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali transforming that knowledge to LIS Because the God -

Isvara cannot be seen by us cannor be felt by us unless

Iyengar Yoga News No4 12 Winter 2003

-----------------

we realise through the sadhana Therefore we require somebody to guide us And it is our Guruji who guides us The one who guides us we have to salute him as well The Guru who is in the physical form right in front of our eyes (sakshat) is Param Brahma - the Ultimate Supreme God He is the guru who is always drawn in the thoughts of Brahman thinks of the supreme and is happy with that Supreme His all happiness is established only in that supreme SOutce He is again the incarnation of knowledge No dualities affect Him He has crossed the dualities He is as vast as the sky He aims at the Upanisadic truth Tat Tvam Ast That Thou Are He is only One - Ekam He is always eternal - nityam He is untouched by affiictions untouched by any bad or wrong actions or thoughts He is always pure He is stashybile and immovable He is always watching everything He is always witnessing everything

He is never caught emotionally He doesnt differentiate saying I like this person more so I will teach him more and I will not teach that person He transcends emoshy

tions We are always caught in the three gunas but Guru is the one who is above all so he has crossed these three

qualities Let us offer our prayers to the guru who shows the right path to us

I do understand that the doubt may arise in your mind whether you should say these prayers or not Therefore I thought it is better to understand the language and the meaning of these prayers At the end it is a Universal God We always create the God through our minds but when we cross our own mind we realise the Universal God If the

Supreme is understood in this sense then I dont think anyone need to have any doubts in their mind

Always as vve begin anything as auspicious work even the birthshyday celebrations the simple birthshyday celebrations we have candles We light the candles which shows us the light In the similar manner when we are offering the puja We will light the candles of knowlshyedge Let this knowledge always remain enllightening us The

flowers are offered with the sense of appreciation and affection So I ~--______________J

wiU perform the puja offering the flowers The Lord says in the Bhagavad Gita Dont offer me anything big Bur even if you offer me the flowers fruits leaves water I accept them because you have offered them to me with love and affection I return them back to you because Im not the one to enjoy them You have offered them to me but I will be giving them back to you That is what the Bhagavad Gita says

So when we are offering the light in the form of candles or flowers it is He who is going to return that back to us We do not ask for that but that is what His nature is to give He is not going to keep any account ofwhat we give He says in other words You try to tread the path of realshyisation you try to walk on the path of self-realisation and I will be guiding you I will be showing you me path

If we are absolutely agnostics having no faith then He is not going to force us But if a little feeling comes which says Let me do yoga let me know what it is

He is going to guide us The first time you came to

your yoga class some of you might have felt oh yoga cures diseases so let me try ifit helps me So we come

with that selfish approach Even though it might be a selfish approach God is not taking any objections to that He says Fine you have got a selfish approach it doesnt matter But be on the right path

Xhen your mind says Oh there

is something beyond the health and I want to know that Then He knows that the intention is changed He says Fine you are progressing further so I will help YOll further

So this is the dialogue which goes on between us and the Universal Soul and this inner dialogue is needed This is what the puja

means The puja means worshipshyping HIM the Supreme One While doing the sadhana we need to have dialogue with the Lord Sadhana is the language of dialogue between us and God

So having this in your minds let us offer the prayers

Iyengar Yoga News No4 13 Winter 2003

PUJA - SOME REFLECTIONS

Kirsten Agar Ward writes about her experiences and understanding of puja

wa rather surprised to have been asked to Tite this article as I am in no way any sort f authority on puja I write only from my

011 limited experiences which are of pershy- rming a puja most days as part ofour famshy -lif for around two years Before this I was cry much aware that I preferred to begin yo~ classes and my own practice with the inocation to Patanjali - it seemed and still does seem to be important to have this pause to quieten and prepare for the pracshyrice Later I also realised the importance of rhankfulness for which it provides an opporshy~unity I had also noticed and been interestshy-d in the pujas I saw talcing place in the homes of some of those with whom I stayed whilst travelling in India I found the notion of having a shrine in the home and daily ritshyuals associated with it very appealing rather than such activities being restricted to a sacred building and fIXed services I was impressed by how much a part ofdaily life it was to rhese people to pray

From what I understand at present me basic elements of puja include - a lamp (light) anointing incense food offerings (pra_iad) other offerings such as flowers chanting and prostration (pranam) There can be variashytions for example in the mantras chosen and the number of repetitions and the order in which they are performed the forms of God represented the element of silent prayer reading ofscriptures and some of the 111a terials used

In our case we have found it helpful to estabshylish a place in our home (in the yoga practice room) where we carry out the puja It is important to keep the area clean Our puja has developed over time for example we have gradually learned more chants We were helped greatly in this by having a tape recording of them Then we were able to refine our pronunciation by having the words written down It was necessary to make a consciOllS effort to learn them We are deeply grateful for the guidance we have received in puja from Guruji via Faeq Biria

I have to admit that what really got me startshy

ed with puja in my own life was the desire I for a child (our prayers were answered and we now have a beautiful son - Saut - which means asked for) Now later in parallel with my experiences of the invocation at the beginning of practice it is at east as much about thankfulness Its so easy in life isnt ir to forget all the many blessings one has and instead focus on tl1e trials and tribulations For me puja is a way of helping me rememshyber the blessings and more than this to be grateful at least for some of the time Maybe then it will spill over more and more into the rest of lite

Puja is also an opportunity to practise the fourth NiJlama - Svadhyaya - self study For exan1ple in that quietness when it is JUSt oneself talking to God one can observe ones inclinations and scrutinise them - am I conshycentrating Am I being properly reverential Am I savouring the moments or rushing to get on with something else Am I being mechanical Am I clean and pure in motivashytion Am I seelcing gratification

It seems to me that an essential aspect of puja is reverence This is not something we tend to make much of in our society The cult of the individual is very dominant and this can tend to make us feel that it is someshyhow demeaning to be reverential towards someone (or something) else To me howshyever reverence is about simple truthfulness and acceptance of truth and about showing due respect aDd appreciation Reverence is easier if we really have some understanding of our position in relation to the object of reverence This reverence (and corresponshydent lack of casualness and mechanical ness) in approach is manifested in how one preshypares for puja (the best time is after bathing) how one dresses and also in how one actushyally performs it For example the posture one assumes - is it casual Arrogant Or straight and firm and respectful I remember being Struck by how Guruji folds his hands in the Namaskar position - how beautifully he extends them - certainly not a casual or mechanical posture Posture cleanliness dress - these are some outward manifesta-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 14 Winter 2003 ------~--~~~~~-- ---------------------------shy

tions of how one is inside which is the crushycial thing If we truly in our heans revere God and strive to act in the puja as if God is really there (which I believe God is - being omnipresent) then reverence can be there It is a bit like the difference bervveen practising as if Guruji is there watching and not Through this reverence one is beginning to develop LmiddothVtlra Pranidhrma (surrender to

God)

It seems to me that puja is closely linked with all the NiJ1ilmas One observes cleanlishyness in body and endeavours to be pure in

thoughts and actions also (Saltcha) before shyand actually it seems to me the process itself has a purifYing effect Counting ones blessshyings involves a degree of Stmtosha (contentshyment) Tapas (determined effort and zeal) is required in order to be disciplined and not let the practice slip Through it one begins to develop more Svadhyaya andhhvara Pranidhana Isnt thi similar to asana and pmnayama practice Moreover I feel that by developing such qualites and personal discishyplines through puja ones practice of other aspects ofyoga can surely only be deepened As an example I remember Birjoo Mehta explaining to us how to prepare to take the

I in-bream in prartayarna and he likened it to the state one is in just at the moment one lights a prayer candle in church In this way experiences of Makti (devotion) assist our other yogic practices and I feel sure the conshyverse is also true

Puja is not about worshipping or revering a piece of stone or metal - [llse idols in C hristian terminology T he images are simshyply w heLp us remember God In much the same way in church there might be images of Christ or architecrur3l symbolic refershyences to God (for example windows being in threes to remind us subconsciously of the Holy Trinity) These things are to assist us tools rather than ends in themselves We surely need assistance otherwise we would be remembering God all the time and conshysequently being more spiritual than we are Similarly chaming and ritual itself are an assistance Coming from a protestant backshyground and not High C hurch it strikes me as somewhat curious that I have come round to valuing ritual and what may be loosely summed up as bells and smells Somehow though it seems to offer a strucshy

rure some scaffolding on which to build it touches the psyche I like the idea of chantshying in Sanskri t ancient prayers which have been chanted so many million times before It seems to me there is a great energy and purity in that My experience is that it is not essential to have to understand all the words (though having said this I am grateful that Gtetaji has given us such a clear and full explanation of several invocations) I was interested to discover that our neighbour who is an ordinand (trainee C of E priest) has had a similar experience During her training she has been involved in worship incorporating chants in Latin or Greek As she comes from a Low Church background she found this strange at first but she has discovered that it does not seem to matter that one does not understand the exact words more that it helps you focus on God In fact she pointed out to me that the Bible contains a number of references to how one docs not even need words to pray

I am still learning about puja and deepening my understanding and practice of these aspects I have mentioned If asked why pzda is important I dont think I could say any more at the moment than the points I have mentioned above - developing ones revershyence [Owards and appreciation of God and developi ng oneself to become closer to God In thinking about this article I have been struck by the many p~uallels with yoga pracshytice - from simply not being mechanical or casual to being reverenrial and appreciative and developing Svadhya)a and Ishvara Pranidhana through Tapas How also the Yanla) (for exanlple truthfulness non-covetshying) withdrawal from sense objects and the external world (Pratyahara) and concentrashytion (Dhaltlna) are involved in fact it seems to me aspects of yoga and pzda are not just parallel but interlinked the one assisting the other and vice versa

For me puja is rather like my experience of yoga when I first began - I was not exactly sure or able (0 explai n why it was so imporshytant to do it bur I just knew for me at least that it was In the same way I just know and fee that pIda is important for us not only for the blessings and insptration which come from it bur simply as the act itself for its own sake

Iyengar Yoga News No4 15 Spring 2003

THE SCIENCE OF LIFE

Inspired by Geetajl s talk in Madrid in May 2002 Dale Rathbone reflects on the basic principles and philosophy of Ayurveda

I n Madrid Geetaji discussed the basic principles and philosophy ofAyurveda and how this plays a role within our mind nature and with our practice of flSflnas Ayur-veda means science of life and a central principle of Ayurveda is the existence of the three doshas These are our 3 biological humours which are 3 primary life forces in the body In Sanskrit they are called Vflta Pitta and Kflpha which correspond primarily to the elements of Air Fire and Water These movable elements determine life processshyes of growth and decay When the humours are out of balance then this becomes a causative force in the disease process

Vara is described as the biological air eleshyment like the wind which moves things and motivates the other two forces It susshytains effort such as inhalation and exhalashytion which co-ordinates the senses impulses and vibrations The roOt of Viltfl is dealing with the waste materials in the pelvic and lower back area of the body Because the Vata is composed of ether it lives in the empty spaces in the body and fills up the subtle channels

Pitta is described as the biological fire eleshyment which is the bile that digests our food and is responsible for certain chemshyical energies and transformations in the body Modern medical science speaks of electrical energy running through our nervous system It also governs Ollr menshytal digestion heat visllal perception hunger thirst radiance understanding intelligence courage and softness of the body it is seated in [he stomach and digestive area

Kapha biologically exists in the earthshymedium like our skin bones and other tissue lining Our physical composition is mainly the water element which is conshytained within the boundaries of our skin Its origin is that which holds things

Iyengar Yoga News No4

together and so provides substance and gives support It also provides emotional traits such as love compassion modesty patience and forgiveness

Geetaji made an interesting point that if a person is Vata by nature then they may be unstable and indecisive in mind always wanting to learn something else An unstable Vatil nature person stays in asanas too long but they also want to finshyish for the next asana The Pitta nature person has discipline but jumps into one posture then to another and wants to learn moment by moment vcry quickly A Kilpha nature person slowly develops over a 70 year period

Geetaji most importantly spoke about keeping a balanced level in all three doshas Va ttl Pitta and Kapha within our daily practice

An ancient deity (arca-vigraha) of Lord Dhanvantari received the knowledge of Ayurveda from Indra the King of Gods Brahma composed Ayurveda in one hunshydred thousand siokLlJ and a thousand chapters But after considering the shorr span of life for any mortal to study Lord Dhanvantari divided Ayurveda into eight volumes

In the broad and profound Vedic science Ayurveda includes Herbal medicines dietics surgery (Shaiya Ttmtra) Psychiatry (Bhutil Vidya) toxicology (Agftela Tantra) spirituality midwifery gynaecology (Kaumarbhritya) general medicine (Kaya Chikitsa) rejuveshynation (Rasttyana) sexology (V~jikarana)

diseases of the eyes ears nose and throat (Shaiakya Ttmtra)

According to the ancient text Carakashysamhita this Science of Life and Longevity is eternal and is revealed in each universe in each of its infinite cycles of creation and destruction

16 Winter 2003

Iyengar Yoga Nevvs No4 17

These illustrations show Lord Dhanvantari in his four-armed form holding the wheel (Sudarsana Chakra) and Conch (sankha) in the upper right and left hands as do most Vishnu incarnashytions In the other two hands there are the necshytar pot (amrta-kalasha) and a herb According to

the Prapancha-sara sanshygraha the Lord holds a leech (jalauaka) in place of the herb in his fourth hand

Lord Dhanvantari was said to be an incarnation of the God Vishnu and appears in the famous myth of the churning of the milk ocean represhysenting this truth for the benefit of othe~ in the tradition of Ayurveda So to heal ourselves or others we must set It 111 motion within ourselves

Lord Dhanvantari has been worsh ipped for many years in India and is to be seen in most clinshyics and is a reminder that however much we know or skillful we become everything still depends on the grace of our spirishytual nature

Today in India the Diwali Festival is inaugushyrated with remembrance of Lord Dhanvantari For such during dusk time a lamp pointing toward North by North-East is lit at the entrance of the door step Such is the welcome to Lord Dhanvan tari to bestow on all health and happishyness in ensuing life

Winter 2003

INTERVIEW WITH JAWAHAR

Before his visit to the Manchester convention in May 2003 IYN interviewed guest teacher Jawahar Bangera

lVfiat drew you to Iyengar Yoga initialshyW (y

Honestly I was not drawn to Iyengar Yoga but dragged to it by my folks in the sumshymer of 1969 I spent the last five years of school life in a boarding school at Panchgani When I returned to Mumbai after finishing schoo the rest of the famshyily was already attending Gurujis classes (SatSun) and it was but natural for me to fall in line In those days Guruji used to spend a good part of the Indian summer teaching in Europe In the interim his senior students like the Motiwalas Burzo Taraporewala Ohun Palkhiwala conductshyed the Mumbai classes My brothers myself and the Motiwala sisters being the youngsters of the batch were singled out for special treatment especiall) an extra dose of back-bends

One day I was browsing through Light on Yoga (hardback) It fascinated me When Guruji returned to teach the class in Mumbai I was astonished to see that the person in the book (LOY) was the very same one teaching the Mumbai class I requested Guruji to accept me as a stushydent and since then there has been no Looking back In those days I used to look forward to the Saturday class as I hated getting up on a Sunday morning In boarding school we had a PT teacher who made us do postures like sirsasana arm balances and backbends So in tbe initial stages Iyengar yoga was more like PT for me until Guruji started explaining the nuances of the poses That made it intershyesting and gave me a reason to get hooked on Iyengar yoga

What do you think is the role ofYoga in the modern world

Most of the people I have met attend yoga classes with ulterior motives of improving health flexibility weight-loss or weight gain etc Those who have maintained a continuous practice have

been transformed from the mundane aspects to the subtle from the frivolous to the sublime These sadhakas have made the practice ofIyengar Yoga a part of their lives and mental make up Their food habits have changed Their attitude to felshylow workers and employees has improved Their clarity of thoughts and actions has improved Some atheists have become theists Not surprisingly they all attribute these changes (for the better) ro their practice and grace of yoga

The principals of yama and niyarna will give the modern world the instruments to lead a disciplined life especially yoga as taught by Guruji He makes no manshymade distinctions between races religion culture etc The tenets are strictly adhered to and this makes him a true yogi I am sure man) students have experienced this aspect of Guruji and Iyengar yoga Yoga as taught by Guruji will undo all the barshyriers we as ordinary humans are conshystantly erecting to form a protective fence between different peoples of the world Sage Patanjali states that yoga is not conshyditioned by class place time or concept of dut) Hence yoga plays an important role in the bonding of all mankind Therefore it is imperative to practice yoga for universal gain

How is the practice of Yoga general6 pershyceived in India

Though it is the birthplace of yoga India somehow is treated very lighdy The genshyeral concept of yoga in India is that it is meant for older people So )ou will notice very few youngsters in yoga classshyes When I started out practising Iyengar yoga I witnessed many youngsters come and go It was mostly those families where the parents and children attended classes together that there has been some adhesion to yoga My present experience is that youngsters have a major prob]em attending yoga classes because it does not

Iyengar Yoga News No4 18 ------------------~~-----

appear glam oro us And then th rt is the ego problem W h n it comes to doing difficul t po tures it exposes them (espeshycially d 1 C boysyo ung men) as wimps and this th ey cannot sto mach We see a lot of dropoU(s

So the concept of yoga needs to be changed Ask any layperson what he or she thinks of yoga and they con jur up an image of a yogi in meditation When I starred my first publi c class in M umbai in a very smalJ roo m 1 rece ived abo u thi rty srudenrs The men were dressed in office-wear and the women ca me in saris T hey had their own idea of what theIyoga lass was and I had mine I was the o nly person in the room in prop r yoga attire along with a handful of students who had some experi nce of Iyengar yoga The next class I was left with only th at handful of students Indians are hard working as Fa r lt15 materialism is conshycerned W hen it c mes to spiri rual pracshytice th ey do not want to work hard for sLI ce 55 O ne no tices many I ndians se tshytled abroad have made a success of their live fow man y have you not iced attend ing yoga classes They are Godshyfearing and many are temple-goers They prefer to pray thall undergo dle rigo urs of mana practice

There is a sign th ough that things are fi naJly changing with the p pulari ty of Iyengar yoga G uruji is now well known in India and inquiries for classes are speshycific ror I en gar yoga Most attend class with tb hope of achieving health Also there is now awareness for building good healrll w ithout the use of d rugs and docshyto L Some m end class with medical probshylems in the hope of curing themselves witho ut urger Yes rhe resp nse in a city like Mu mbai is encouraging and it has been a lo ng tim e coming All of uruJI s hard work is now paying div idends Very often you will no tice [h re are many expertS in Jnd ia who will eulogizecritishycise the subj ect without having practised it (1hen the p reacher is a well-known p rsonJ li it m akes an impact and someshytimes it can have a pos itive eHect on the efficacy of yoga

Then there is the colonial hangove G uruji has often said that yoga will b popular in this country when a Foreign teaches the subject One of the big obstashycles to the popularity of yoga is the me shyical profession W hen they are at a los ~ th ey as k rheir patients to attend yog classes At other times they advise the i patients to practise only certain poses Ie India a doctors -vord is like Gods an pat ients will approach yoga classes with presc ription from their doctors

Fortunately yoga is making some inroad in the medical profession and doctors ar now attending classes and nOficing th clifference in the non-invasive technique as taught by Guruji A renaissance is ir order

How do )ou feel about teaching large COl

ventions in contrast to smaller classes

Each has its own charm In conventions the students who attend have alread achieved a certain level in their practice They are more receptive to instruction and the degree of absorption is high E planations of subtle points are readiI understood due to the sincere practice 0

the partici )al1ts SmaHer classes have charm of th eir own There is a closer rapshyport between the teacher and the StLlshy

dents It is easier to monitor the class fo mistakes In convenrio ns though thert are rewer chances of errors from students mistakes can be glaring It happened in the last convention when a student modshyiried the pose as it was the way the stushydent was taught It also occurred that the student was not from the Iyengar yoga community [r was disturbing as well as amusll1g

There is a gut deal ofconflict in the wora crt the present time Do you think that Yoga practice and philosophy can be ofany help

T he answer to this question is connected to the earlier question of the role of yoga in the modern world If we all made a co ncerted effort to live our individual lives as per the principles laid down in the Yoga Sutras of sage Patanjali it would be a beginning Unless we lead exemplary lives we have no moral right to point fin-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 19 Winter 2003

~ hi energy We fi rst try to

quer more cautiously the

n

[JOI

ad

IT

Tg ar the subtle level We

to keep the vata under conshy

t rata is rhe cause of good and

behaviour Our character

~ pends upon the qu~iry and c of vata In order to have conshy

l over vata we offer prayers

ormally Lord Hanuman IS

tra nslated as Monkey God

be ause his face looks like a monshy

k y Vanara means monkey But

h re rhe vanara Hanuman is

human being Va means to blow

nd spread in all directions or to

procure or bestow anything by blowing Nara means human

being So vanara is above the

human being who is stronger

than human beings so vanara in

this sense is nor a monkey It is

said that it was a kind of uniform

given to the military force of

Sugiva which made the appearshy

ance of a monkey Rama was

given this army of all the lJanams If you read the Ramayana you

will know that they were given a

special dress to wear Though rhey

look like the monkey rhey had

rhe strength to cross the ocean

There vere engineers in the army

Lord Hanuman is rhe head of all

the vanaras Yer in spire of reachshy

ing thar level he remained all the

rime as a servant rendering service

to the Lord Sri Rama rhe Lord

He never lifted up his head wirh

ego or vaniry to say Look Im above everyone He is rhe incarshy

narion of humbleness and he

respecred the Lord and rhar is

how we offer our prayers to Lord

Hanuman

To Patanjali

Yogena citttll)a padenrl vacam MaLam sarhCllyaca vaidjlClkena Yopakarottam prrwara771 711ul1il1tlm PatanjaLim pranjaLimnatoJmi Abahu pUlwakaram Sal1lcha cakrasi dharinal1l Sahasra Iimsam sllettll11 Pnlntlmami Patanjtllim

Ler us bow before the noblest of sages

PatJnjali

who gave yoga for sereni ty and sancti ry

of mind

grammar for clarity and purity of speech

and medicine for perfection of health

Let us prostrate before Patanjali an

incarnation of Adisesa whose upper

body has a humll1 form whose arms

hold a conch and disk

And who is crowned by a thousand headshy

ed cobra

Lastly we are offering ollr prayers

to th Guru

Guru Vandanam GuruI Brahma Gurur Vishnu Guru DeIJo Maheshwarah Guru saksat Param Brahma TclS77Zal Sri Guravenamah

Guru is verily Brahma Guru is

verily Vishnu

Guru is verily Shin

Guru indeed is the Supreme

To him I bow

Brahmanandam Paramsukhadam kevamn jJ1tlnamurtim DIJczndlJatitam gagrlllsadllyam tattvamasyadi laksam Elwl1l nityam lJimalamacalam sarshyvadhi saksibhutam Bhavatitam trigunarahitam sadgurum tam namami

I salute the Guru who himself is a blissful state of Brahma who

gives only happiness is idol of

knowledge has crossed all the

dualities such as sorrow and hapshy

piness who is as vast as the sky

and untouched always drawn

into the thoughts of the Supreme

He is One and alone eternal

untainted straight-forward witshy

nessing the consciousness of all the living beings beyond the

emotional and physical entangleshy

ments unaffected by sattlJa rajas and tamas I salute that Guru

Isvara is One and only One who is

rhe Gurll of gurus because He is

omniscient in whom rhe seed of

knowledge exists The knowledge

flows only from Him He is rhe

Ocean of rhe knowledge and from

Him we are receiving rhe knowledge bir by bit So how

is rhis Guru He is rhe reator Brahma He is the proshy

Then we offer our prayers to Lord Patanjali Of course tector Vishnu and He is rhe destroyer of our ignorance

you know the meaning of that since YOll have read the Shiva or Maheshvara Then there is the guru who is

Yoga Sutras of Patanjali transforming that knowledge to LIS Because the God -

Isvara cannot be seen by us cannor be felt by us unless

Iyengar Yoga News No4 12 Winter 2003

-----------------

we realise through the sadhana Therefore we require somebody to guide us And it is our Guruji who guides us The one who guides us we have to salute him as well The Guru who is in the physical form right in front of our eyes (sakshat) is Param Brahma - the Ultimate Supreme God He is the guru who is always drawn in the thoughts of Brahman thinks of the supreme and is happy with that Supreme His all happiness is established only in that supreme SOutce He is again the incarnation of knowledge No dualities affect Him He has crossed the dualities He is as vast as the sky He aims at the Upanisadic truth Tat Tvam Ast That Thou Are He is only One - Ekam He is always eternal - nityam He is untouched by affiictions untouched by any bad or wrong actions or thoughts He is always pure He is stashybile and immovable He is always watching everything He is always witnessing everything

He is never caught emotionally He doesnt differentiate saying I like this person more so I will teach him more and I will not teach that person He transcends emoshy

tions We are always caught in the three gunas but Guru is the one who is above all so he has crossed these three

qualities Let us offer our prayers to the guru who shows the right path to us

I do understand that the doubt may arise in your mind whether you should say these prayers or not Therefore I thought it is better to understand the language and the meaning of these prayers At the end it is a Universal God We always create the God through our minds but when we cross our own mind we realise the Universal God If the

Supreme is understood in this sense then I dont think anyone need to have any doubts in their mind

Always as vve begin anything as auspicious work even the birthshyday celebrations the simple birthshyday celebrations we have candles We light the candles which shows us the light In the similar manner when we are offering the puja We will light the candles of knowlshyedge Let this knowledge always remain enllightening us The

flowers are offered with the sense of appreciation and affection So I ~--______________J

wiU perform the puja offering the flowers The Lord says in the Bhagavad Gita Dont offer me anything big Bur even if you offer me the flowers fruits leaves water I accept them because you have offered them to me with love and affection I return them back to you because Im not the one to enjoy them You have offered them to me but I will be giving them back to you That is what the Bhagavad Gita says

So when we are offering the light in the form of candles or flowers it is He who is going to return that back to us We do not ask for that but that is what His nature is to give He is not going to keep any account ofwhat we give He says in other words You try to tread the path of realshyisation you try to walk on the path of self-realisation and I will be guiding you I will be showing you me path

If we are absolutely agnostics having no faith then He is not going to force us But if a little feeling comes which says Let me do yoga let me know what it is

He is going to guide us The first time you came to

your yoga class some of you might have felt oh yoga cures diseases so let me try ifit helps me So we come

with that selfish approach Even though it might be a selfish approach God is not taking any objections to that He says Fine you have got a selfish approach it doesnt matter But be on the right path

Xhen your mind says Oh there

is something beyond the health and I want to know that Then He knows that the intention is changed He says Fine you are progressing further so I will help YOll further

So this is the dialogue which goes on between us and the Universal Soul and this inner dialogue is needed This is what the puja

means The puja means worshipshyping HIM the Supreme One While doing the sadhana we need to have dialogue with the Lord Sadhana is the language of dialogue between us and God

So having this in your minds let us offer the prayers

Iyengar Yoga News No4 13 Winter 2003

PUJA - SOME REFLECTIONS

Kirsten Agar Ward writes about her experiences and understanding of puja

wa rather surprised to have been asked to Tite this article as I am in no way any sort f authority on puja I write only from my

011 limited experiences which are of pershy- rming a puja most days as part ofour famshy -lif for around two years Before this I was cry much aware that I preferred to begin yo~ classes and my own practice with the inocation to Patanjali - it seemed and still does seem to be important to have this pause to quieten and prepare for the pracshyrice Later I also realised the importance of rhankfulness for which it provides an opporshy~unity I had also noticed and been interestshy-d in the pujas I saw talcing place in the homes of some of those with whom I stayed whilst travelling in India I found the notion of having a shrine in the home and daily ritshyuals associated with it very appealing rather than such activities being restricted to a sacred building and fIXed services I was impressed by how much a part ofdaily life it was to rhese people to pray

From what I understand at present me basic elements of puja include - a lamp (light) anointing incense food offerings (pra_iad) other offerings such as flowers chanting and prostration (pranam) There can be variashytions for example in the mantras chosen and the number of repetitions and the order in which they are performed the forms of God represented the element of silent prayer reading ofscriptures and some of the 111a terials used

In our case we have found it helpful to estabshylish a place in our home (in the yoga practice room) where we carry out the puja It is important to keep the area clean Our puja has developed over time for example we have gradually learned more chants We were helped greatly in this by having a tape recording of them Then we were able to refine our pronunciation by having the words written down It was necessary to make a consciOllS effort to learn them We are deeply grateful for the guidance we have received in puja from Guruji via Faeq Biria

I have to admit that what really got me startshy

ed with puja in my own life was the desire I for a child (our prayers were answered and we now have a beautiful son - Saut - which means asked for) Now later in parallel with my experiences of the invocation at the beginning of practice it is at east as much about thankfulness Its so easy in life isnt ir to forget all the many blessings one has and instead focus on tl1e trials and tribulations For me puja is a way of helping me rememshyber the blessings and more than this to be grateful at least for some of the time Maybe then it will spill over more and more into the rest of lite

Puja is also an opportunity to practise the fourth NiJlama - Svadhyaya - self study For exan1ple in that quietness when it is JUSt oneself talking to God one can observe ones inclinations and scrutinise them - am I conshycentrating Am I being properly reverential Am I savouring the moments or rushing to get on with something else Am I being mechanical Am I clean and pure in motivashytion Am I seelcing gratification

It seems to me that an essential aspect of puja is reverence This is not something we tend to make much of in our society The cult of the individual is very dominant and this can tend to make us feel that it is someshyhow demeaning to be reverential towards someone (or something) else To me howshyever reverence is about simple truthfulness and acceptance of truth and about showing due respect aDd appreciation Reverence is easier if we really have some understanding of our position in relation to the object of reverence This reverence (and corresponshydent lack of casualness and mechanical ness) in approach is manifested in how one preshypares for puja (the best time is after bathing) how one dresses and also in how one actushyally performs it For example the posture one assumes - is it casual Arrogant Or straight and firm and respectful I remember being Struck by how Guruji folds his hands in the Namaskar position - how beautifully he extends them - certainly not a casual or mechanical posture Posture cleanliness dress - these are some outward manifesta-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 14 Winter 2003 ------~--~~~~~-- ---------------------------shy

tions of how one is inside which is the crushycial thing If we truly in our heans revere God and strive to act in the puja as if God is really there (which I believe God is - being omnipresent) then reverence can be there It is a bit like the difference bervveen practising as if Guruji is there watching and not Through this reverence one is beginning to develop LmiddothVtlra Pranidhrma (surrender to

God)

It seems to me that puja is closely linked with all the NiJ1ilmas One observes cleanlishyness in body and endeavours to be pure in

thoughts and actions also (Saltcha) before shyand actually it seems to me the process itself has a purifYing effect Counting ones blessshyings involves a degree of Stmtosha (contentshyment) Tapas (determined effort and zeal) is required in order to be disciplined and not let the practice slip Through it one begins to develop more Svadhyaya andhhvara Pranidhana Isnt thi similar to asana and pmnayama practice Moreover I feel that by developing such qualites and personal discishyplines through puja ones practice of other aspects ofyoga can surely only be deepened As an example I remember Birjoo Mehta explaining to us how to prepare to take the

I in-bream in prartayarna and he likened it to the state one is in just at the moment one lights a prayer candle in church In this way experiences of Makti (devotion) assist our other yogic practices and I feel sure the conshyverse is also true

Puja is not about worshipping or revering a piece of stone or metal - [llse idols in C hristian terminology T he images are simshyply w heLp us remember God In much the same way in church there might be images of Christ or architecrur3l symbolic refershyences to God (for example windows being in threes to remind us subconsciously of the Holy Trinity) These things are to assist us tools rather than ends in themselves We surely need assistance otherwise we would be remembering God all the time and conshysequently being more spiritual than we are Similarly chaming and ritual itself are an assistance Coming from a protestant backshyground and not High C hurch it strikes me as somewhat curious that I have come round to valuing ritual and what may be loosely summed up as bells and smells Somehow though it seems to offer a strucshy

rure some scaffolding on which to build it touches the psyche I like the idea of chantshying in Sanskri t ancient prayers which have been chanted so many million times before It seems to me there is a great energy and purity in that My experience is that it is not essential to have to understand all the words (though having said this I am grateful that Gtetaji has given us such a clear and full explanation of several invocations) I was interested to discover that our neighbour who is an ordinand (trainee C of E priest) has had a similar experience During her training she has been involved in worship incorporating chants in Latin or Greek As she comes from a Low Church background she found this strange at first but she has discovered that it does not seem to matter that one does not understand the exact words more that it helps you focus on God In fact she pointed out to me that the Bible contains a number of references to how one docs not even need words to pray

I am still learning about puja and deepening my understanding and practice of these aspects I have mentioned If asked why pzda is important I dont think I could say any more at the moment than the points I have mentioned above - developing ones revershyence [Owards and appreciation of God and developi ng oneself to become closer to God In thinking about this article I have been struck by the many p~uallels with yoga pracshytice - from simply not being mechanical or casual to being reverenrial and appreciative and developing Svadhya)a and Ishvara Pranidhana through Tapas How also the Yanla) (for exanlple truthfulness non-covetshying) withdrawal from sense objects and the external world (Pratyahara) and concentrashytion (Dhaltlna) are involved in fact it seems to me aspects of yoga and pzda are not just parallel but interlinked the one assisting the other and vice versa

For me puja is rather like my experience of yoga when I first began - I was not exactly sure or able (0 explai n why it was so imporshytant to do it bur I just knew for me at least that it was In the same way I just know and fee that pIda is important for us not only for the blessings and insptration which come from it bur simply as the act itself for its own sake

Iyengar Yoga News No4 15 Spring 2003

THE SCIENCE OF LIFE

Inspired by Geetajl s talk in Madrid in May 2002 Dale Rathbone reflects on the basic principles and philosophy of Ayurveda

I n Madrid Geetaji discussed the basic principles and philosophy ofAyurveda and how this plays a role within our mind nature and with our practice of flSflnas Ayur-veda means science of life and a central principle of Ayurveda is the existence of the three doshas These are our 3 biological humours which are 3 primary life forces in the body In Sanskrit they are called Vflta Pitta and Kflpha which correspond primarily to the elements of Air Fire and Water These movable elements determine life processshyes of growth and decay When the humours are out of balance then this becomes a causative force in the disease process

Vara is described as the biological air eleshyment like the wind which moves things and motivates the other two forces It susshytains effort such as inhalation and exhalashytion which co-ordinates the senses impulses and vibrations The roOt of Viltfl is dealing with the waste materials in the pelvic and lower back area of the body Because the Vata is composed of ether it lives in the empty spaces in the body and fills up the subtle channels

Pitta is described as the biological fire eleshyment which is the bile that digests our food and is responsible for certain chemshyical energies and transformations in the body Modern medical science speaks of electrical energy running through our nervous system It also governs Ollr menshytal digestion heat visllal perception hunger thirst radiance understanding intelligence courage and softness of the body it is seated in [he stomach and digestive area

Kapha biologically exists in the earthshymedium like our skin bones and other tissue lining Our physical composition is mainly the water element which is conshytained within the boundaries of our skin Its origin is that which holds things

Iyengar Yoga News No4

together and so provides substance and gives support It also provides emotional traits such as love compassion modesty patience and forgiveness

Geetaji made an interesting point that if a person is Vata by nature then they may be unstable and indecisive in mind always wanting to learn something else An unstable Vatil nature person stays in asanas too long but they also want to finshyish for the next asana The Pitta nature person has discipline but jumps into one posture then to another and wants to learn moment by moment vcry quickly A Kilpha nature person slowly develops over a 70 year period

Geetaji most importantly spoke about keeping a balanced level in all three doshas Va ttl Pitta and Kapha within our daily practice

An ancient deity (arca-vigraha) of Lord Dhanvantari received the knowledge of Ayurveda from Indra the King of Gods Brahma composed Ayurveda in one hunshydred thousand siokLlJ and a thousand chapters But after considering the shorr span of life for any mortal to study Lord Dhanvantari divided Ayurveda into eight volumes

In the broad and profound Vedic science Ayurveda includes Herbal medicines dietics surgery (Shaiya Ttmtra) Psychiatry (Bhutil Vidya) toxicology (Agftela Tantra) spirituality midwifery gynaecology (Kaumarbhritya) general medicine (Kaya Chikitsa) rejuveshynation (Rasttyana) sexology (V~jikarana)

diseases of the eyes ears nose and throat (Shaiakya Ttmtra)

According to the ancient text Carakashysamhita this Science of Life and Longevity is eternal and is revealed in each universe in each of its infinite cycles of creation and destruction

16 Winter 2003

Iyengar Yoga Nevvs No4 17

These illustrations show Lord Dhanvantari in his four-armed form holding the wheel (Sudarsana Chakra) and Conch (sankha) in the upper right and left hands as do most Vishnu incarnashytions In the other two hands there are the necshytar pot (amrta-kalasha) and a herb According to

the Prapancha-sara sanshygraha the Lord holds a leech (jalauaka) in place of the herb in his fourth hand

Lord Dhanvantari was said to be an incarnation of the God Vishnu and appears in the famous myth of the churning of the milk ocean represhysenting this truth for the benefit of othe~ in the tradition of Ayurveda So to heal ourselves or others we must set It 111 motion within ourselves

Lord Dhanvantari has been worsh ipped for many years in India and is to be seen in most clinshyics and is a reminder that however much we know or skillful we become everything still depends on the grace of our spirishytual nature

Today in India the Diwali Festival is inaugushyrated with remembrance of Lord Dhanvantari For such during dusk time a lamp pointing toward North by North-East is lit at the entrance of the door step Such is the welcome to Lord Dhanvan tari to bestow on all health and happishyness in ensuing life

Winter 2003

INTERVIEW WITH JAWAHAR

Before his visit to the Manchester convention in May 2003 IYN interviewed guest teacher Jawahar Bangera

lVfiat drew you to Iyengar Yoga initialshyW (y

Honestly I was not drawn to Iyengar Yoga but dragged to it by my folks in the sumshymer of 1969 I spent the last five years of school life in a boarding school at Panchgani When I returned to Mumbai after finishing schoo the rest of the famshyily was already attending Gurujis classes (SatSun) and it was but natural for me to fall in line In those days Guruji used to spend a good part of the Indian summer teaching in Europe In the interim his senior students like the Motiwalas Burzo Taraporewala Ohun Palkhiwala conductshyed the Mumbai classes My brothers myself and the Motiwala sisters being the youngsters of the batch were singled out for special treatment especiall) an extra dose of back-bends

One day I was browsing through Light on Yoga (hardback) It fascinated me When Guruji returned to teach the class in Mumbai I was astonished to see that the person in the book (LOY) was the very same one teaching the Mumbai class I requested Guruji to accept me as a stushydent and since then there has been no Looking back In those days I used to look forward to the Saturday class as I hated getting up on a Sunday morning In boarding school we had a PT teacher who made us do postures like sirsasana arm balances and backbends So in tbe initial stages Iyengar yoga was more like PT for me until Guruji started explaining the nuances of the poses That made it intershyesting and gave me a reason to get hooked on Iyengar yoga

What do you think is the role ofYoga in the modern world

Most of the people I have met attend yoga classes with ulterior motives of improving health flexibility weight-loss or weight gain etc Those who have maintained a continuous practice have

been transformed from the mundane aspects to the subtle from the frivolous to the sublime These sadhakas have made the practice ofIyengar Yoga a part of their lives and mental make up Their food habits have changed Their attitude to felshylow workers and employees has improved Their clarity of thoughts and actions has improved Some atheists have become theists Not surprisingly they all attribute these changes (for the better) ro their practice and grace of yoga

The principals of yama and niyarna will give the modern world the instruments to lead a disciplined life especially yoga as taught by Guruji He makes no manshymade distinctions between races religion culture etc The tenets are strictly adhered to and this makes him a true yogi I am sure man) students have experienced this aspect of Guruji and Iyengar yoga Yoga as taught by Guruji will undo all the barshyriers we as ordinary humans are conshystantly erecting to form a protective fence between different peoples of the world Sage Patanjali states that yoga is not conshyditioned by class place time or concept of dut) Hence yoga plays an important role in the bonding of all mankind Therefore it is imperative to practice yoga for universal gain

How is the practice of Yoga general6 pershyceived in India

Though it is the birthplace of yoga India somehow is treated very lighdy The genshyeral concept of yoga in India is that it is meant for older people So )ou will notice very few youngsters in yoga classshyes When I started out practising Iyengar yoga I witnessed many youngsters come and go It was mostly those families where the parents and children attended classes together that there has been some adhesion to yoga My present experience is that youngsters have a major prob]em attending yoga classes because it does not

Iyengar Yoga News No4 18 ------------------~~-----

appear glam oro us And then th rt is the ego problem W h n it comes to doing difficul t po tures it exposes them (espeshycially d 1 C boysyo ung men) as wimps and this th ey cannot sto mach We see a lot of dropoU(s

So the concept of yoga needs to be changed Ask any layperson what he or she thinks of yoga and they con jur up an image of a yogi in meditation When I starred my first publi c class in M umbai in a very smalJ roo m 1 rece ived abo u thi rty srudenrs The men were dressed in office-wear and the women ca me in saris T hey had their own idea of what theIyoga lass was and I had mine I was the o nly person in the room in prop r yoga attire along with a handful of students who had some experi nce of Iyengar yoga The next class I was left with only th at handful of students Indians are hard working as Fa r lt15 materialism is conshycerned W hen it c mes to spiri rual pracshytice th ey do not want to work hard for sLI ce 55 O ne no tices many I ndians se tshytled abroad have made a success of their live fow man y have you not iced attend ing yoga classes They are Godshyfearing and many are temple-goers They prefer to pray thall undergo dle rigo urs of mana practice

There is a sign th ough that things are fi naJly changing with the p pulari ty of Iyengar yoga G uruji is now well known in India and inquiries for classes are speshycific ror I en gar yoga Most attend class with tb hope of achieving health Also there is now awareness for building good healrll w ithout the use of d rugs and docshyto L Some m end class with medical probshylems in the hope of curing themselves witho ut urger Yes rhe resp nse in a city like Mu mbai is encouraging and it has been a lo ng tim e coming All of uruJI s hard work is now paying div idends Very often you will no tice [h re are many expertS in Jnd ia who will eulogizecritishycise the subj ect without having practised it (1hen the p reacher is a well-known p rsonJ li it m akes an impact and someshytimes it can have a pos itive eHect on the efficacy of yoga

Then there is the colonial hangove G uruji has often said that yoga will b popular in this country when a Foreign teaches the subject One of the big obstashycles to the popularity of yoga is the me shyical profession W hen they are at a los ~ th ey as k rheir patients to attend yog classes At other times they advise the i patients to practise only certain poses Ie India a doctors -vord is like Gods an pat ients will approach yoga classes with presc ription from their doctors

Fortunately yoga is making some inroad in the medical profession and doctors ar now attending classes and nOficing th clifference in the non-invasive technique as taught by Guruji A renaissance is ir order

How do )ou feel about teaching large COl

ventions in contrast to smaller classes

Each has its own charm In conventions the students who attend have alread achieved a certain level in their practice They are more receptive to instruction and the degree of absorption is high E planations of subtle points are readiI understood due to the sincere practice 0

the partici )al1ts SmaHer classes have charm of th eir own There is a closer rapshyport between the teacher and the StLlshy

dents It is easier to monitor the class fo mistakes In convenrio ns though thert are rewer chances of errors from students mistakes can be glaring It happened in the last convention when a student modshyiried the pose as it was the way the stushydent was taught It also occurred that the student was not from the Iyengar yoga community [r was disturbing as well as amusll1g

There is a gut deal ofconflict in the wora crt the present time Do you think that Yoga practice and philosophy can be ofany help

T he answer to this question is connected to the earlier question of the role of yoga in the modern world If we all made a co ncerted effort to live our individual lives as per the principles laid down in the Yoga Sutras of sage Patanjali it would be a beginning Unless we lead exemplary lives we have no moral right to point fin-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 19 Winter 2003

-----------------

we realise through the sadhana Therefore we require somebody to guide us And it is our Guruji who guides us The one who guides us we have to salute him as well The Guru who is in the physical form right in front of our eyes (sakshat) is Param Brahma - the Ultimate Supreme God He is the guru who is always drawn in the thoughts of Brahman thinks of the supreme and is happy with that Supreme His all happiness is established only in that supreme SOutce He is again the incarnation of knowledge No dualities affect Him He has crossed the dualities He is as vast as the sky He aims at the Upanisadic truth Tat Tvam Ast That Thou Are He is only One - Ekam He is always eternal - nityam He is untouched by affiictions untouched by any bad or wrong actions or thoughts He is always pure He is stashybile and immovable He is always watching everything He is always witnessing everything

He is never caught emotionally He doesnt differentiate saying I like this person more so I will teach him more and I will not teach that person He transcends emoshy

tions We are always caught in the three gunas but Guru is the one who is above all so he has crossed these three

qualities Let us offer our prayers to the guru who shows the right path to us

I do understand that the doubt may arise in your mind whether you should say these prayers or not Therefore I thought it is better to understand the language and the meaning of these prayers At the end it is a Universal God We always create the God through our minds but when we cross our own mind we realise the Universal God If the

Supreme is understood in this sense then I dont think anyone need to have any doubts in their mind

Always as vve begin anything as auspicious work even the birthshyday celebrations the simple birthshyday celebrations we have candles We light the candles which shows us the light In the similar manner when we are offering the puja We will light the candles of knowlshyedge Let this knowledge always remain enllightening us The

flowers are offered with the sense of appreciation and affection So I ~--______________J

wiU perform the puja offering the flowers The Lord says in the Bhagavad Gita Dont offer me anything big Bur even if you offer me the flowers fruits leaves water I accept them because you have offered them to me with love and affection I return them back to you because Im not the one to enjoy them You have offered them to me but I will be giving them back to you That is what the Bhagavad Gita says

So when we are offering the light in the form of candles or flowers it is He who is going to return that back to us We do not ask for that but that is what His nature is to give He is not going to keep any account ofwhat we give He says in other words You try to tread the path of realshyisation you try to walk on the path of self-realisation and I will be guiding you I will be showing you me path

If we are absolutely agnostics having no faith then He is not going to force us But if a little feeling comes which says Let me do yoga let me know what it is

He is going to guide us The first time you came to

your yoga class some of you might have felt oh yoga cures diseases so let me try ifit helps me So we come

with that selfish approach Even though it might be a selfish approach God is not taking any objections to that He says Fine you have got a selfish approach it doesnt matter But be on the right path

Xhen your mind says Oh there

is something beyond the health and I want to know that Then He knows that the intention is changed He says Fine you are progressing further so I will help YOll further

So this is the dialogue which goes on between us and the Universal Soul and this inner dialogue is needed This is what the puja

means The puja means worshipshyping HIM the Supreme One While doing the sadhana we need to have dialogue with the Lord Sadhana is the language of dialogue between us and God

So having this in your minds let us offer the prayers

Iyengar Yoga News No4 13 Winter 2003

PUJA - SOME REFLECTIONS

Kirsten Agar Ward writes about her experiences and understanding of puja

wa rather surprised to have been asked to Tite this article as I am in no way any sort f authority on puja I write only from my

011 limited experiences which are of pershy- rming a puja most days as part ofour famshy -lif for around two years Before this I was cry much aware that I preferred to begin yo~ classes and my own practice with the inocation to Patanjali - it seemed and still does seem to be important to have this pause to quieten and prepare for the pracshyrice Later I also realised the importance of rhankfulness for which it provides an opporshy~unity I had also noticed and been interestshy-d in the pujas I saw talcing place in the homes of some of those with whom I stayed whilst travelling in India I found the notion of having a shrine in the home and daily ritshyuals associated with it very appealing rather than such activities being restricted to a sacred building and fIXed services I was impressed by how much a part ofdaily life it was to rhese people to pray

From what I understand at present me basic elements of puja include - a lamp (light) anointing incense food offerings (pra_iad) other offerings such as flowers chanting and prostration (pranam) There can be variashytions for example in the mantras chosen and the number of repetitions and the order in which they are performed the forms of God represented the element of silent prayer reading ofscriptures and some of the 111a terials used

In our case we have found it helpful to estabshylish a place in our home (in the yoga practice room) where we carry out the puja It is important to keep the area clean Our puja has developed over time for example we have gradually learned more chants We were helped greatly in this by having a tape recording of them Then we were able to refine our pronunciation by having the words written down It was necessary to make a consciOllS effort to learn them We are deeply grateful for the guidance we have received in puja from Guruji via Faeq Biria

I have to admit that what really got me startshy

ed with puja in my own life was the desire I for a child (our prayers were answered and we now have a beautiful son - Saut - which means asked for) Now later in parallel with my experiences of the invocation at the beginning of practice it is at east as much about thankfulness Its so easy in life isnt ir to forget all the many blessings one has and instead focus on tl1e trials and tribulations For me puja is a way of helping me rememshyber the blessings and more than this to be grateful at least for some of the time Maybe then it will spill over more and more into the rest of lite

Puja is also an opportunity to practise the fourth NiJlama - Svadhyaya - self study For exan1ple in that quietness when it is JUSt oneself talking to God one can observe ones inclinations and scrutinise them - am I conshycentrating Am I being properly reverential Am I savouring the moments or rushing to get on with something else Am I being mechanical Am I clean and pure in motivashytion Am I seelcing gratification

It seems to me that an essential aspect of puja is reverence This is not something we tend to make much of in our society The cult of the individual is very dominant and this can tend to make us feel that it is someshyhow demeaning to be reverential towards someone (or something) else To me howshyever reverence is about simple truthfulness and acceptance of truth and about showing due respect aDd appreciation Reverence is easier if we really have some understanding of our position in relation to the object of reverence This reverence (and corresponshydent lack of casualness and mechanical ness) in approach is manifested in how one preshypares for puja (the best time is after bathing) how one dresses and also in how one actushyally performs it For example the posture one assumes - is it casual Arrogant Or straight and firm and respectful I remember being Struck by how Guruji folds his hands in the Namaskar position - how beautifully he extends them - certainly not a casual or mechanical posture Posture cleanliness dress - these are some outward manifesta-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 14 Winter 2003 ------~--~~~~~-- ---------------------------shy

tions of how one is inside which is the crushycial thing If we truly in our heans revere God and strive to act in the puja as if God is really there (which I believe God is - being omnipresent) then reverence can be there It is a bit like the difference bervveen practising as if Guruji is there watching and not Through this reverence one is beginning to develop LmiddothVtlra Pranidhrma (surrender to

God)

It seems to me that puja is closely linked with all the NiJ1ilmas One observes cleanlishyness in body and endeavours to be pure in

thoughts and actions also (Saltcha) before shyand actually it seems to me the process itself has a purifYing effect Counting ones blessshyings involves a degree of Stmtosha (contentshyment) Tapas (determined effort and zeal) is required in order to be disciplined and not let the practice slip Through it one begins to develop more Svadhyaya andhhvara Pranidhana Isnt thi similar to asana and pmnayama practice Moreover I feel that by developing such qualites and personal discishyplines through puja ones practice of other aspects ofyoga can surely only be deepened As an example I remember Birjoo Mehta explaining to us how to prepare to take the

I in-bream in prartayarna and he likened it to the state one is in just at the moment one lights a prayer candle in church In this way experiences of Makti (devotion) assist our other yogic practices and I feel sure the conshyverse is also true

Puja is not about worshipping or revering a piece of stone or metal - [llse idols in C hristian terminology T he images are simshyply w heLp us remember God In much the same way in church there might be images of Christ or architecrur3l symbolic refershyences to God (for example windows being in threes to remind us subconsciously of the Holy Trinity) These things are to assist us tools rather than ends in themselves We surely need assistance otherwise we would be remembering God all the time and conshysequently being more spiritual than we are Similarly chaming and ritual itself are an assistance Coming from a protestant backshyground and not High C hurch it strikes me as somewhat curious that I have come round to valuing ritual and what may be loosely summed up as bells and smells Somehow though it seems to offer a strucshy

rure some scaffolding on which to build it touches the psyche I like the idea of chantshying in Sanskri t ancient prayers which have been chanted so many million times before It seems to me there is a great energy and purity in that My experience is that it is not essential to have to understand all the words (though having said this I am grateful that Gtetaji has given us such a clear and full explanation of several invocations) I was interested to discover that our neighbour who is an ordinand (trainee C of E priest) has had a similar experience During her training she has been involved in worship incorporating chants in Latin or Greek As she comes from a Low Church background she found this strange at first but she has discovered that it does not seem to matter that one does not understand the exact words more that it helps you focus on God In fact she pointed out to me that the Bible contains a number of references to how one docs not even need words to pray

I am still learning about puja and deepening my understanding and practice of these aspects I have mentioned If asked why pzda is important I dont think I could say any more at the moment than the points I have mentioned above - developing ones revershyence [Owards and appreciation of God and developi ng oneself to become closer to God In thinking about this article I have been struck by the many p~uallels with yoga pracshytice - from simply not being mechanical or casual to being reverenrial and appreciative and developing Svadhya)a and Ishvara Pranidhana through Tapas How also the Yanla) (for exanlple truthfulness non-covetshying) withdrawal from sense objects and the external world (Pratyahara) and concentrashytion (Dhaltlna) are involved in fact it seems to me aspects of yoga and pzda are not just parallel but interlinked the one assisting the other and vice versa

For me puja is rather like my experience of yoga when I first began - I was not exactly sure or able (0 explai n why it was so imporshytant to do it bur I just knew for me at least that it was In the same way I just know and fee that pIda is important for us not only for the blessings and insptration which come from it bur simply as the act itself for its own sake

Iyengar Yoga News No4 15 Spring 2003

THE SCIENCE OF LIFE

Inspired by Geetajl s talk in Madrid in May 2002 Dale Rathbone reflects on the basic principles and philosophy of Ayurveda

I n Madrid Geetaji discussed the basic principles and philosophy ofAyurveda and how this plays a role within our mind nature and with our practice of flSflnas Ayur-veda means science of life and a central principle of Ayurveda is the existence of the three doshas These are our 3 biological humours which are 3 primary life forces in the body In Sanskrit they are called Vflta Pitta and Kflpha which correspond primarily to the elements of Air Fire and Water These movable elements determine life processshyes of growth and decay When the humours are out of balance then this becomes a causative force in the disease process

Vara is described as the biological air eleshyment like the wind which moves things and motivates the other two forces It susshytains effort such as inhalation and exhalashytion which co-ordinates the senses impulses and vibrations The roOt of Viltfl is dealing with the waste materials in the pelvic and lower back area of the body Because the Vata is composed of ether it lives in the empty spaces in the body and fills up the subtle channels

Pitta is described as the biological fire eleshyment which is the bile that digests our food and is responsible for certain chemshyical energies and transformations in the body Modern medical science speaks of electrical energy running through our nervous system It also governs Ollr menshytal digestion heat visllal perception hunger thirst radiance understanding intelligence courage and softness of the body it is seated in [he stomach and digestive area

Kapha biologically exists in the earthshymedium like our skin bones and other tissue lining Our physical composition is mainly the water element which is conshytained within the boundaries of our skin Its origin is that which holds things

Iyengar Yoga News No4

together and so provides substance and gives support It also provides emotional traits such as love compassion modesty patience and forgiveness

Geetaji made an interesting point that if a person is Vata by nature then they may be unstable and indecisive in mind always wanting to learn something else An unstable Vatil nature person stays in asanas too long but they also want to finshyish for the next asana The Pitta nature person has discipline but jumps into one posture then to another and wants to learn moment by moment vcry quickly A Kilpha nature person slowly develops over a 70 year period

Geetaji most importantly spoke about keeping a balanced level in all three doshas Va ttl Pitta and Kapha within our daily practice

An ancient deity (arca-vigraha) of Lord Dhanvantari received the knowledge of Ayurveda from Indra the King of Gods Brahma composed Ayurveda in one hunshydred thousand siokLlJ and a thousand chapters But after considering the shorr span of life for any mortal to study Lord Dhanvantari divided Ayurveda into eight volumes

In the broad and profound Vedic science Ayurveda includes Herbal medicines dietics surgery (Shaiya Ttmtra) Psychiatry (Bhutil Vidya) toxicology (Agftela Tantra) spirituality midwifery gynaecology (Kaumarbhritya) general medicine (Kaya Chikitsa) rejuveshynation (Rasttyana) sexology (V~jikarana)

diseases of the eyes ears nose and throat (Shaiakya Ttmtra)

According to the ancient text Carakashysamhita this Science of Life and Longevity is eternal and is revealed in each universe in each of its infinite cycles of creation and destruction

16 Winter 2003

Iyengar Yoga Nevvs No4 17

These illustrations show Lord Dhanvantari in his four-armed form holding the wheel (Sudarsana Chakra) and Conch (sankha) in the upper right and left hands as do most Vishnu incarnashytions In the other two hands there are the necshytar pot (amrta-kalasha) and a herb According to

the Prapancha-sara sanshygraha the Lord holds a leech (jalauaka) in place of the herb in his fourth hand

Lord Dhanvantari was said to be an incarnation of the God Vishnu and appears in the famous myth of the churning of the milk ocean represhysenting this truth for the benefit of othe~ in the tradition of Ayurveda So to heal ourselves or others we must set It 111 motion within ourselves

Lord Dhanvantari has been worsh ipped for many years in India and is to be seen in most clinshyics and is a reminder that however much we know or skillful we become everything still depends on the grace of our spirishytual nature

Today in India the Diwali Festival is inaugushyrated with remembrance of Lord Dhanvantari For such during dusk time a lamp pointing toward North by North-East is lit at the entrance of the door step Such is the welcome to Lord Dhanvan tari to bestow on all health and happishyness in ensuing life

Winter 2003

INTERVIEW WITH JAWAHAR

Before his visit to the Manchester convention in May 2003 IYN interviewed guest teacher Jawahar Bangera

lVfiat drew you to Iyengar Yoga initialshyW (y

Honestly I was not drawn to Iyengar Yoga but dragged to it by my folks in the sumshymer of 1969 I spent the last five years of school life in a boarding school at Panchgani When I returned to Mumbai after finishing schoo the rest of the famshyily was already attending Gurujis classes (SatSun) and it was but natural for me to fall in line In those days Guruji used to spend a good part of the Indian summer teaching in Europe In the interim his senior students like the Motiwalas Burzo Taraporewala Ohun Palkhiwala conductshyed the Mumbai classes My brothers myself and the Motiwala sisters being the youngsters of the batch were singled out for special treatment especiall) an extra dose of back-bends

One day I was browsing through Light on Yoga (hardback) It fascinated me When Guruji returned to teach the class in Mumbai I was astonished to see that the person in the book (LOY) was the very same one teaching the Mumbai class I requested Guruji to accept me as a stushydent and since then there has been no Looking back In those days I used to look forward to the Saturday class as I hated getting up on a Sunday morning In boarding school we had a PT teacher who made us do postures like sirsasana arm balances and backbends So in tbe initial stages Iyengar yoga was more like PT for me until Guruji started explaining the nuances of the poses That made it intershyesting and gave me a reason to get hooked on Iyengar yoga

What do you think is the role ofYoga in the modern world

Most of the people I have met attend yoga classes with ulterior motives of improving health flexibility weight-loss or weight gain etc Those who have maintained a continuous practice have

been transformed from the mundane aspects to the subtle from the frivolous to the sublime These sadhakas have made the practice ofIyengar Yoga a part of their lives and mental make up Their food habits have changed Their attitude to felshylow workers and employees has improved Their clarity of thoughts and actions has improved Some atheists have become theists Not surprisingly they all attribute these changes (for the better) ro their practice and grace of yoga

The principals of yama and niyarna will give the modern world the instruments to lead a disciplined life especially yoga as taught by Guruji He makes no manshymade distinctions between races religion culture etc The tenets are strictly adhered to and this makes him a true yogi I am sure man) students have experienced this aspect of Guruji and Iyengar yoga Yoga as taught by Guruji will undo all the barshyriers we as ordinary humans are conshystantly erecting to form a protective fence between different peoples of the world Sage Patanjali states that yoga is not conshyditioned by class place time or concept of dut) Hence yoga plays an important role in the bonding of all mankind Therefore it is imperative to practice yoga for universal gain

How is the practice of Yoga general6 pershyceived in India

Though it is the birthplace of yoga India somehow is treated very lighdy The genshyeral concept of yoga in India is that it is meant for older people So )ou will notice very few youngsters in yoga classshyes When I started out practising Iyengar yoga I witnessed many youngsters come and go It was mostly those families where the parents and children attended classes together that there has been some adhesion to yoga My present experience is that youngsters have a major prob]em attending yoga classes because it does not

Iyengar Yoga News No4 18 ------------------~~-----

appear glam oro us And then th rt is the ego problem W h n it comes to doing difficul t po tures it exposes them (espeshycially d 1 C boysyo ung men) as wimps and this th ey cannot sto mach We see a lot of dropoU(s

So the concept of yoga needs to be changed Ask any layperson what he or she thinks of yoga and they con jur up an image of a yogi in meditation When I starred my first publi c class in M umbai in a very smalJ roo m 1 rece ived abo u thi rty srudenrs The men were dressed in office-wear and the women ca me in saris T hey had their own idea of what theIyoga lass was and I had mine I was the o nly person in the room in prop r yoga attire along with a handful of students who had some experi nce of Iyengar yoga The next class I was left with only th at handful of students Indians are hard working as Fa r lt15 materialism is conshycerned W hen it c mes to spiri rual pracshytice th ey do not want to work hard for sLI ce 55 O ne no tices many I ndians se tshytled abroad have made a success of their live fow man y have you not iced attend ing yoga classes They are Godshyfearing and many are temple-goers They prefer to pray thall undergo dle rigo urs of mana practice

There is a sign th ough that things are fi naJly changing with the p pulari ty of Iyengar yoga G uruji is now well known in India and inquiries for classes are speshycific ror I en gar yoga Most attend class with tb hope of achieving health Also there is now awareness for building good healrll w ithout the use of d rugs and docshyto L Some m end class with medical probshylems in the hope of curing themselves witho ut urger Yes rhe resp nse in a city like Mu mbai is encouraging and it has been a lo ng tim e coming All of uruJI s hard work is now paying div idends Very often you will no tice [h re are many expertS in Jnd ia who will eulogizecritishycise the subj ect without having practised it (1hen the p reacher is a well-known p rsonJ li it m akes an impact and someshytimes it can have a pos itive eHect on the efficacy of yoga

Then there is the colonial hangove G uruji has often said that yoga will b popular in this country when a Foreign teaches the subject One of the big obstashycles to the popularity of yoga is the me shyical profession W hen they are at a los ~ th ey as k rheir patients to attend yog classes At other times they advise the i patients to practise only certain poses Ie India a doctors -vord is like Gods an pat ients will approach yoga classes with presc ription from their doctors

Fortunately yoga is making some inroad in the medical profession and doctors ar now attending classes and nOficing th clifference in the non-invasive technique as taught by Guruji A renaissance is ir order

How do )ou feel about teaching large COl

ventions in contrast to smaller classes

Each has its own charm In conventions the students who attend have alread achieved a certain level in their practice They are more receptive to instruction and the degree of absorption is high E planations of subtle points are readiI understood due to the sincere practice 0

the partici )al1ts SmaHer classes have charm of th eir own There is a closer rapshyport between the teacher and the StLlshy

dents It is easier to monitor the class fo mistakes In convenrio ns though thert are rewer chances of errors from students mistakes can be glaring It happened in the last convention when a student modshyiried the pose as it was the way the stushydent was taught It also occurred that the student was not from the Iyengar yoga community [r was disturbing as well as amusll1g

There is a gut deal ofconflict in the wora crt the present time Do you think that Yoga practice and philosophy can be ofany help

T he answer to this question is connected to the earlier question of the role of yoga in the modern world If we all made a co ncerted effort to live our individual lives as per the principles laid down in the Yoga Sutras of sage Patanjali it would be a beginning Unless we lead exemplary lives we have no moral right to point fin-

Iyengar Yoga News No4 19 Winter 2003