sharath jois Archives - yogawithpragya

The Guru’s Light: Remembering Sharath Jois

November 18, 2024

vande gurūnām caranāravinde….

I got the news of Sharath’s passing early morning on a Tuesday. In this age of AI and fake news I thought it was fake news. But as the truth settled in, so did an unexpected and profound sense of loss. Even though I had only met Sharath in passing (during my brief brush with Ashtanga Yoga in Mysore), I feel strangely bereft, as though the loss was personal.

I’ve followed the Ashtanga lineage closely and have drawn inspiration from countless teachers within it. I have many friends who are devoted to the Ashtanga yoga practice. As practitioners we never think of teachers as human, bound by the same mortality that binds us all. The passing of legends is a vivid reminder of life’s impermanence. As history shifts and the ground beneath our feet starts to shake – I find myself asking how I want to step into the future.

Yoga is a practice where teachers and gurus play a central role. Sharath’s passing has forced many to contemplate on the figure of the guru. What is a guru? What does it mean to have a guru? Does the head of a lineage I follow become my guru? Can my guru be someone I’ve never met? Many of us are blessed to have beacons of light in our lives, but only truly value them when their presence becomes a memory. Others remain on an eternal quest, busy doubting the teacher, oblivious to the answers right before them.

Sharath Jois was a phenomenal teacher, one of the most powerful of the 21st century. He was an example – finding joy in life and yoga amidst the ups and downs. He touched countless lives, including those he had never met. I never learned asana from him, but I learned so much yoga.

But that’s the thing about yoga legends. Their purpose transcends asanas. The exist to connect you, unite you and bring you peace. And maybe that’s why with Sharath’s passing, I feel bereft of a teacher, even though I never studied with him….

Sharath Jois was more than a teacher; he was a beacon. His presence, his practice, and his joy in both yoga and life were transformative. He touched countless lives, including those he never met—mine among them. I never learned asana from him, but I learned so much yoga.

And that’s the thing about true yoga teachers. Their purpose transcends the postures. They exist to unite us, to help us find peace within ourselves and the world around us. That’s why, even though I never studied directly under Sharath, I feel the emptiness of his absence as if I had.

I revisited a conference recording from 2015. Listening to it again transports me back to those 15 transformative days in Mysore. It almost brings Sharath back to life again. But I guess Sharath doesn’t need to be brought back to life. He lives on in his students and in their yoga.

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Yoga

How Yoga Can Help Create a Better India…and a Better World

January 25, 2016

I’ve been watching a lot of videos of master teachers Saraswati and Sharath Jois lately to glean wisdom from their philosophy. Yoga is a living breathing philosophy. The way it was taught and practiced a hundred years ago was different from how it is being taught and practiced now. The world is changing. And with that, yoga’s role in this changing world.

Just 50 years ago perhaps the greatest challenge in the yoga world was the lack of awareness of the practice. Now the challenges are greater. Advances in science, increases in population, changes in lifestyle etc., have brought along an increase in stress and psychosomatic diseases. Which has resulted in an increase in crime.

Sharath Jois, in one of his many interviews says that besides asanas we have to practice Ahimsa and Satya. And if hundreds of people practiced Satya and Ahimsa, then it will be good for society. There will be no violence and no bad things happening. That’s the message that yoga is trying to give us. Sharath goes on to say that our responsibility is not only to think about ourselves but also to think about the plants and the animals and other living beings. I guess here he’s trying to tell us that to live in harmony is perhaps the best way to co-exist with each other and with the life around us. And if every one of us practices Satya and Ahimsa, we can change the world.

In recent years a lot of young people have started coming forward to drive change. Whether it’s in politics, entrepreneurship, social work, education etc., the youth has made an impact. However, at a deeper level, to make a change in the fabric of the social psyche itself, maybe we need to practice Ahimsa and Satya with ourselves. Know when to push forward and to hold ourselves back. To know which battles are worth fighting and which are just fueling our ego. To sometimes accept that though we tried our best, but our best wasn’t good enough. (Which is OK because there are too many more mountains to climb so wallowing in self pity isn’t a good idea.)

Sharath also says, “Life is very precious, life is very important. So how you lead your life is very important.”

A little more Satya and Ahimsa with the usual Asana will help us create a better world.

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Travels Yoga

Mysore Diaries – Day #12

December 11, 2015

In the Ashtanga style you are supposed to practice every day. There is one day off in a week (mine is tomorrow) and on ‘Moon Days (which was today). Moon days are days of the full or new moon and happen biweekly. The practice is so intense, that I feel that it’s good to have more than one day off every once in a while.

Once a week, we have what is called a ‘conference’ where Sharath addresses all the yoga students. I’m not sure if he has a fixed agenda; sometimes it sounds like he is just rambling and going off on a tangent. The tone is light hearted and he keeps these ‘lectures’ very interactive. For me it is a chance to listen to an eminent teacher and get insight into philosophy. And for most of the people who have converged here from different parts of the world it is a chance to interact with a teacher who they highly revere. I can feel that reverence spreading through the room whenever any of the teachers walk into the room. It’s a very strong feeling that pervades the room, it’s very palpable. I could feel it today as well as soon as Sharath walked into the room. All heads turned to him and conversation died down. All eyes followed him as he made his way to the stage to sit on a chair. He adjusted the microphone and almost looked like a king addressing his subjects. He wore a sparkling white kurta, and his ‘throne’ was an ornately carved chair. He scanned the room and then started to speak.

He started talking about Moon days. He began by saying that Moon days are crazy days with crazy energy. Last week he spoke about how he had an oil bath on a moon day, and he was a bit under the weather for 4 days. (An ‘oil bath’ is nothing but Abhiyangam. So an oil self-massage before a shower.) Today he told us that the reason we don’t practice during moon days is because moon days are days of elevated energy levels. This extra energy makes you behave uncharacteristically. People go crazy, they do crazy things, say crazy things. He said we should make an extra effort to relax on moon days. Keep the body and the mind calm. He was expecting crazy questions and told us we can expect crazy answers.

As I said, the conference didn’t focus on any particular topic. He spoke about various topics. He discussed where we should practice yoga. He told us that the quality of oxygen is really important. So yoga in the mountains is great. A lot of people want to close windows when they practice in the morning because they feel cold, but Sharath advises us to practice in a ventilated room so that our lungs have fresh oxygen available. He says that you should generate heat in your body though the practice instead of cutting off fresh air. He also said you shouldn’t practice out in the open, or in the forest. Also, he said, do not practice where other people can see you. The practice is private.

During the Q&A, two students asked about the bandhas. Ashtanga yoga is a very physical style, the asana practice is intense 6 days a week. However, the asanas are done with vinyasas (breath coordination), bandhas and drishti (where you rest your gaze). Since I’ve just started the practice, I practicing asana and vinyasa. A student asked Sharath that he has heard about and learned the bandhas from various teachers and he wanted to know how he can practice the bandhas in the asanas. Sharath reiterated that you must stick to one style and teacher because mixing styles can confuse you. He said he never went to another teacher to confirm if what his grandfather was saying is correct. He then said that when we practice we must put in our best. The bandhas will happen on their own. Another student asked about how we can tell that we are doing the bandhas right. Sharath once again said you will know. Just practice. I suppose this is along the lines of Shri K Pattabhi Jois’s famous quote: Practice and all is coming.

After the conference all of us got together and headed for a quick snack to a café nearby. What was supposed to be a quick snack turned into a three-hour long conversation about our practice, our inspiration, our lives, our students, our teachers, India…

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