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On Wednesday, several students from New York to Mumbai were present at the Yashwantrao Chavan hall at Kothrud to honour their guru, who was also appointed as the President of the Indian Yoga Association.
The yogacharya, who uses his body as a laboratory and even at this age practises yoga for three hours and pranayam for an hour, inaugurated an exhibition on Wednesday, which flags off the birthday celebrations organised by his students. Commending the effort taken by the students of the Iyengar institute in organising the celebrations, he said, “Yoga is immeasurable and it is beyond human approach to reach the divine state.'”
While he felt that that disciplined teachers of yoga were doing their best, the yogacharya rued that he has still not seen anyone living yoga practitioner who has attained that zenith.
“The dedication may be less,” he felt while advising that anyone who practises any art needs to get absorbed. A certain vibration should emanate within you, the yogacharya says. “Asana is not just physical exercise. Even at this age, it is now my body that has been trained in yoga that guides me. My blood cells send me a message to practise yoga,” Iyengar smiles when asked about the level of his fitness. And while he feels yoga should be made compulsory in schools and colleges, the yogacharya also quips that he is a mere tenant on earth and had worked according to God’s plan.
Recalling his early days as a teacher in Pune, the yogacharya says that it was difficult to popularise yoga in the late 1930s. “People felt that yoga was meant for small groups. I had to convince them that yoga was for all age groups, he says. Even as Dr D B Deodhar, the famous cricketer from Pune is one of the famous names who learnt yoga from Iyengar it is renowned violinist Yehudi Menuhin who has been his most high-profile student ever. The two met in 1952 in a Mumbai hotel and after the yogacharya gave him a few lessons that helped free his violin playing arm, the violionist was the yogacharya's student for life. While the Australian Iyengar Yoga Association has asked all members to perform 90 minutes of yoga on December 14 to commemorate the guru’s birthday, in Pune, a series of events have been organised that include a dance recital, premier of thefilm Leap of Faith and a play by Naseeruddin Shah as Khalil Gibran's The Prophet.
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Dearest Anuradha, love for yoga transcends all boundaries and knows no limitations of caste, colour or sex. it is also a means to reach the divine, the angelic state or isa madhyam. if we wish to become superhumans, we must tune into the finer aspects of yoga to help us exercise and also optimize ourselves. BKS Iyengar may no doubt be 90, but he does have the fitness levels of a 30 year old. and i must thank you for having brought him to our notice. the health of the entire pune city and his many followers worldwide, lies in the hands of a fitness exponent and expert like BKS Iyengar. indeed in these terror stricken times we need his aid and his help. chronic back ache, leg aches, cramps, menstrual problems, eye disorders, obesity, hair loss, circulation problems can all be efficiently tackled using yoga. it also increases vigour and stamina of the practitioners. it allows a freer digestive system. they say yoga was taught by a God. i say long live yoga