Pattabhi Jois

Dear Friends,

 

After discussing the origins of Ashtanga yoga and the yoga Korunta, today's email will discuss Pattabhi Jois, his life, and how he made this esoteric practice move from single-teacher to single-student to teaching Ashtanga at a global student body.

 

When Rama Mohan Bramachari took on Krishnamacharya as a student, he told him that he must become a grihasta - he must get married and have a family.  And he said that Krishnamacharya would have to introduce yoga to the rest of the world - it musn't remain in the hands of the few.  Interestingly enough, 2 of Krishnamacharya's students were BKS Iyengar, and Pattabhi Jois, who both branched 2 of the major styles of yoga that are practiced around the world.  Just to see Krishnamacharya in action, you can see the following Youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd_eTupTCbI

 

Pattabhi Jois was born in 1915 in Kowshika - a small hamlet in Southern India.  His father was a Brahmin farmer, astrologer, and priest who taught his 9 children to read and write Sanskrit and the art of chanting the Vedas.  Note: Brahmins are at the top of the Indian Caste System.

 

When Pattabhi was 12, he came across a yoga demonstration by Krishnamacharya - he was so impressed that he followed the Yogi to his hotel and asked him if the master would teach him.  Krishnamacharya agreed, but Pattabhi would not be allowed to practice at home, or even let his parents know he was practicing, because Raja yoga was not work cut out for Brahmins - it was for the sadhus or sannyasis.  To practice, Pattabhi would wake up at 3 or 4 in the morning and practice every day while his family slept.

 

When he was 14, Pattabhi ran away from home to go to the Sanskrit College in Mysore.  He travelled over 100 kilometers with 2 other friends on one bike with 2 rupees in his pocket.  For the first 2 years he was studying, he begged for food every day as he had no source of income.  When he was 16, Pattabhi went to see a yoga master who came to demonstrate at Mysore - it was Krishnamacharya.  They would train together for the next 22 years.  After Krishnamacharya healed the Maharaja of Mysore, the Maharaja set up a Yoga Shala in the palace, giving both Krishnamacharya and Pattabhi Jois an income.  After 23 years of studying Sankrit at the college in Mysore, the College asked Pattabhi if he would teach.  Pattabhi said "I have to ask my guru first."  Krishnamacharya gave his blessings, and Pattabhi Jois was finally able to have a full time teaching position at the College.  For Pattabhi's final examination with his yoga teacher, however, Pattabhi was given a sick man, and was given the instructions to "fix him." 

 

 A younger Pattabhi Jois in Purna Matseyandrasana

After openning up his yoga Shala in Mysore India, it was common for people with diabetes, elephantitis and leprosy to come to the shala.  Many students protested their presence, so Pattabhi told his other students to either come, or come back later - most of the people with leprosy were healed within 3 months.  Pattabhi would wake up at 3am and start teaching at the shala at 4:30 until noon.  He would teach every day except moon days (full and new moons), until his family begged him to spend more time with them, so he started to take Saturdays off as well.  

 

Guruji was married in 1937 when he was 22 to Savitramma, known to all of his students as Amma.  They had 3 children (Manju, Ramesh, and Saraswati) and were supported by his work in the Shala which made very little money. Westerners didn't start coming until the 1970s, and they were few in number.  Communication was difficult further still because Pattabhi didn't speak English.  It wasn't until the 1990s when Ashtanga went viral and students came from all over the world by the hundreds that Pattabhi Jois became a wealthy man.  In 1973, Pattabhi's second child, Ramesh, died tragically.  In the Brahmin tradition, if the child of a Brahmin dies, the Brahmin must give up something he loves.  Pattabhi Jois gave up his practice.  He did, however, continue to teach.  As students from the west come en mass to Mysore,  many of them brought sweets for Guruji.  After several years, he developed diabetes as a result.  Side note: In Chinese medicine, it is believed that if a child dies, the parent develops diabetes because they have lost the sweetness in their life.

 

Despite his limited English, Pattabhi was dedicated and determined to teach Asthanga to his Western students.  Here is a clip of Pattabhi Jois discussing the significance of Ashtanga yoga: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxiQxzW1l2k&feature=related  Part of the miracle of Ashtanga is how despite the language barrier, it has been so effectively communicated to the rest of the world. It would still be a few years after this film clip that his book Yoga Mala would be published in English.

He often chided people for calling him Guruji - he would say "You are telling (calling) me Guruji, but I am not Guruji.  I am student."  He wasn't seeking fame or power, he was merely doing his duty as a fellow student to the rest of us, and teaching all that he knew, so the real Guru, the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga tradition, would continue to exist and be experienced by the world.

Pattabhi Jois passed away on May 18, 2009, at the age of 94. He taught up until he was 92 because he believed that not working was bad for the mind.  Despite the wealth accumulated towards the end of his life, Pattabhi Jois didn't take exotic vacations.  He gave his money to charity and kept teaching.

I think the most appropriate way to end this email is to end with a quote from Guruji:  "Yoga is showing where to look for the soul - that is all.  Man is taking a human body - this is a very rare opportunity.  Don't waste it.  We are given a hundred years to live; one day you have the possibility to see God.  If you think in this way, it is giving you good body, good nature, and good health."

Guruji's story is what inspires my practice.  I do my utmost to be a good link in this chain of the Ashtanga Yoga tradition that connects us to Guruji, and all of his teachers past.

Peace and blessings to you all,

Mark