from Yogacarya Krishnamacharya - The Purnacarya. Edited by Mala Srivatsan
The first biography of Krishnamacharya
Unfortunately long out of print
"Krishnamacharya went searching for the ashram of Rama Mohana Brahmacari. In a cave, a very tall hermit with a long beard, wearing wooden shoes stood at the entrance. It was evident to Krishnamacharya that this was his guru. He prostrated before him, gave his name and asked to be his disciple. Krishnamacharya was questioned in Hindi on the reason for his visit. After he expressed his desire to learn yoga he was called in. He met his guru's wife and three children. he was given fruits called Ankula to eat and the escorts who accompanied him were dismissed with a cup of tea.
Krishnamacharya's first instruction from his guru was, to take a bath and perform acamana. The first precept of pranayama was then taught. For eight days, the master said he would not teach him anything else and that Krishnamacharya should eat only fruits.
Thereafter Krishnamacharya became a part of the Rama Brahmacari's family who belonged to the Kasyapa gotta (family lineage). His daily food was chapathu (Indian bread), halwa ( a paste of vegetable or fruits sweetened along with ghee and tea). His period of gurukulam (stay with the guru ) in Tibet lasted for seven and a half years. Rama Mohana Brahmacari made him memorise the entire Yoga Kurantam in the Gurkha language. The various stages of Patanjali's Yoga Sutra were dealt with in that book. Various kinds of of yoga practises were also described with great clarity. Only with the help of Yoga Kurantam' could he understand the inner meanings and science of the Yoga Sutra. The first three years he was made to memorise the Yoga texts in the form of adhyayanam ( to memorise and recite correctly, with proper accents). His focus was in the study of the Yoga Sutra, Vyasa Bhasya and the Samkhya Darsana. In the next three years he practiced yogabhyasa and for the next one and a half years he studied the siksana krama (planning of practices based on the stage of life of an individual) and the cikitsa krama (therapeutic approach).
During his seven and a half year stay with his guru, Krishnamacharya learnt all aspects of yoga practice, therapy and philosophy. His capacity to learn, his previous education and his discipline made him an ideal student.
Having spent seven and a half years with his guru he would happily have spent the rest of his life learning and serving him but Rama Mohana Brahmacari then told him to go back to society, lead the life of a married man and spread the message of Yoga. Following his guru's words he returned from Tibet in 1922"
Yogacarya Krishnamacharya - The Purnacarya. Edited by Mala Srivatsan p26-28
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from Yoga Makaranda T. Krishnamacharya
"This text contains the essential concepts from many texts of antiquity listed below.
I have studied the texts listed below under the blessing of a great teacher and have explained the truths contained in them that I have personally experienced. I request that the Lord of the auspicious Karnataka throne, the great Lord and Emperor, the fourth Sri Krishna Rajendra, accept this work and allow my
humble self to fulfil my endeavor and bless me.
More than this, I have nothing to say in this preface.
Bibliography
1. Rajayoga Ratnakaram
2. Hathayoga Pradipika
3. Yoga Saravalli
4. Yoga Balaprathipikai
5. Ravana Nadi (Nadi Pariksa of Ravana) 6. Bhairava Kalpam
7. Sri Tattvanidhi
8. Yoga Ratnakarandam
9. Mano Narayaneeyam
10. Rudrayameelam (Rudrayamalam)
11. Brahmayameelam
12. Atharvana Rahasyam
13. Patanjala Yogadarshanam
14. Kapilasutram
15. Yogayajnavalkyam
16. Gheranda Samhita
17. Narada Pancharatra Samhita
18. Satvata Samhita
19. Siva Samhita
20. Dhyana Bindu Upanishad
21. Chandilya Upanishad
22. Yoga Shika Upanishad
23. Yoga Kundalya Upanishad
24. Ahir Buddhniya Samhita
25. Nada Bindu Upanishad
26. Amrita Bindu Upanishad
27. Garbha Upanishad
Thirty Minor Upanishads
tr. by K. Narayanasvami Aiyar
[1914]
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from Yogasanagaly T. Krishnamacharya
I did not attempt a detailed review of all ancient yoga treatises since it will make this book very long and perhaps cause boredom to the readers. Please forgive. This writing is mainly based on the following texts:
Patanjalayogasutra
Hathayogapradipika
Rajayogaratnakara
Yogakuranti
Upanishads related to yoga
Learning’s from my Guru and self-experience
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Feel free to come through with any links you have to online editions in the comments, unfortunately I didn't make a note of where mine came from and will have to hunt them down again.
8 comments:
wonderful!
So much detail in this little book Claudia, strange that so much was left out of the the other biographies. More excerpts to come.
Intrigued by the following: "He met his guru's wife and three children. he was given fruits called Ankula to eat and the escorts who accompanied him were dismissed with a cup of tea," I researched this plant on the web and found this:
>>SAGE LEAVED ALANGIUM
Common name: Sage Leaved Alangium • Hindi: Ankol अंकोल • Urdu: Ankula • Malayalam: Arinjl •Telugu: Urgu • Kannada: Ankolamara • Sanskrit: Ankolah • Tamil: Alandi
Botanical name: Alangium salviifolium Family: Alangiaceae (Alangium family)
Sage Leaved Alangium is a tall thorny tree native to India. It grows to a height of about 3 to 10 meters.The bark is ash colored, rough and faintly fissured. The leaves are elliptic oblong, elliptic lanceolate or oblong lanceolate. The flowers are greenish white, fascilcled, axillary or on old wood. The berries are ovoid, ellipsoid or nearly globose.glabrous, smooth and violet to purple. The flowering season is February to June.
Medicinal uses: In Ayurveda the roots and the fruits are used for treatment of rheumatism, and hemorrhoid.Externally it is used for the treatment of bites of rabbits, rats, and dogs.<<
There's a picture here: http://www.globalhinduism.com/2012/12/04/medicinal-herbs-names-and-uses-part-1/
Are there any lurking botanists/ayurvedists here who've used this plant's fruit in a decoction? If so, what are the effects and why do you think this was given to Krishnamacharya upon arrival? Any historical cases of use?
Kinda found mys own answers. A helpful site here lists the properties in more detail:
http://www.dabur.com/Ayurveda-Herbdetails?herbName=Ankol
Perhaps he was given these berries as a courtesy to relieve high blood pressure due to being in higher altitude of Tibet?
;)
Looks like a fascinating book; shame it's out of print. Thank you for taking the time to share it. I'm definitely looking forward to more.
--Nick
thanks for this Anon, checked myself and it does seem that the plant grew on the slopes and valleys of the Himalayas
"and for the next one and a half years he studied the siksana krama (planning of practices based on the stage of life of an individual)"
This is also the subject of Ramaswami's first book, _Yoga for the Three Stages of Life_ (it's pretty dense, and its layout doesn't make it any easier, but contains a lot of information).
That's my favourite book by Ramaswmi, keep coming back to it and finding new riches. Must be one of the best books on yoga on the market. I've been intending to do a series on it a post for each chapter.
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