HATHAYOGAMASTERS-AHALLOFFAME
NKSrinivasan
Introduction
Ihavebeenayogapractitionerfrommy
schooldaysinIndia.Enteringtheseventh
decadeofmylife,IfeltthatIshouldpay
tributestovariousYogamasters.Oneway
istolisttheirnamesina"virtualHallof
Fame"withsomebio-dataabouteachone.
Inthistask,onehastoemploysome
criteriatoselectthosewhosenameswould
beincluded.AsetofcriteriaIhaveused
ismentionedinthenoteattheendofthis
article.
Thislistis,ofcourse,notcompletesince
therewouldbemanymoremasterswhosenames
couldbeconsideredforinclusion.Iusethe
term"Master"todenotefemaleyogateachers
oracharyasaswell.
Whileseveralofthesemastersarefrom
India,therearemanymasterswhowereborn
indifferentcountriesandthecountryof
originismentionedforreference.
Ihavehadtheprivilegeofinteractingwith
someofthesemastersovertheyears,
eitherdirectlyorindirectly,andhave
visitedtheInstitutes/ashramsrunbysome
ofthem.
HALLOFFAMEFORYOGAMASTERS
1ParamahansaMadhavdasji
[Livedupto123years;settledinGujarat
afterattainingtheageofeighty;bornin
westbengal,hemovedtoBaroda,Gujarat.He
inspiredmanyyogastalwarts,includingSri
Aurobindo.MostnotablestudentsareSwami
KuvalayanandaandYogendra.[seelater]
2ThirumalaiKrishnamachari
[Considered"FatherofModernYoga",TK
establishedthefirstformalYogaschoolin
MysoreunderthepatronageoflocalMaharaja
in1927;after1950,cametosettlein
Chennai;livedupto102years.Hetraveled
toTibetandAssamregiontolearntheyoga
techniqueswithhisguru.Hisnotable
studentsincludeBKSIyengar,Pattabhi
Jois,IndraDeviandhissonTKV
Desikachar.Manytraditionsofyogastarted
withhisteachings.]
3IndraDevi
[BorninRussia,thisaristocraticlady
cametoIndiaandstudiedwithTKunder
tryingcircumstances;later,theGuruTK
senthertoteachoutside;Shetaughtin
China,startingaschoolthere,andlater
movedtoHollywood,USAandlaterto
Argentina.Shelivedupto102years.Her
booksbecameextremelypopularinthewest.
AnotablestudentofIndraDeviisMichael
VolininAustralia.Severalwesternladies
learnedyogawithher.]
4BKSIyengar
[Iyengar,astudentofThirumalai
Krishnamachari,taughtyogatoYehudi
Menuhinwhopromotedhiminvariousways.
"IyengarYoga"hasbecomeabrandnamefor
histradition---emphasizingprecisionand
alignment.Hisbook"LightonYoga"became
aclassic---almosttheBibleofYoga.His
instituteinPune,India,hasattracted
thousandofstudentsfromvariouscountries
oftheworld.Iyengaralsoresearchedon
manyaspectsofyoga,withemphasisonyoga
cureformanyillnessesandailments.
Iyengar,94yearsnow,stillteachesyoga
andtaughttheChinesestudentslastyearin
Beijingandotherplaces.Hisearlystudents
inEuropeincludeDianaClifton,Dona
Holleman,VandaScaravalliandSylvaMehta.
Theseladiesbecameimportantyogateachers
inlateryears.
5PattabhiJois
{PattabhiJois,followedadifferent
traditionofYoga,withrhythmicflowor
vinyasaandestablishedaschoolinMysore
[nearBangalore]inIndia.Hisbrandofyoga
iscalled'AshtangaYoga",thoughallstyles
ofhathayogaarebasedonSagePatanjali's
Ashtanga[eight-parts]yogasystem.
PattabhiJoistaughthundredsof
students--especiallyyoungerpeople--from
differentpartsoftheworld.Hepassedaway
attheageof95.
6TKVDesikachar
[ThirumalaiKrishnamacharya'sson,
Desikacharstartedabitlateafterastint
ofworkasanengineer.HelearnedYoga
underhisfatherformanyyearsandstarted
teachingYogaafterhisfathersettledin
Chennai.His"TKYogaMandiram"isvery
popularinChennai[Madras],Indiaand
focusesonyogatherapy.
7SwamiKuvalayananda
[TrainedbyParamahansaMadhavdasji,
Kuvalayananda,bornin1883,established
theyogadhamoryogacenterinLonavla,near
Mumbai.Hedevelopedearlymethodsfor
scientificallystudyingtheeffectofhatha
yogaandfortreatingvariousillnessesor
yogatherapy.
Hebuiltcollegesandcreateduniversity
stylecoursesforyoga.Healsodidalot
foryogabeingintroducedinschoolsacross
thecountry.HehadbeeninspiredbySri
AurobindoinBaroda.
Hekeptclosecontactswithnationalleaders
intheirstruggleforfreedomfromthe
British.HewasvisitedbyMahatmaGandhiwho
soughthishelpforyogapracticeanddiet
andalsobymanyotherleaders.
Helaterexpandedhisyogadhaminother
cities--Mumbai,Bhopal,RajkotandDelhi.His
workhadbeencarriedonbyotheryoga
masterstoprovidethemuch-needed
medical/clinicalbasisforhealingthrough
yoga.SwamiKuvalayanadalivedupto85
years.OneofhischiefdisciplesisOm
PrakashTiwari.
8ShriYogedra
[ShriYogendra,ahouseholder,alsoa
studentofMadhavdasji,hastaughtyogato
thousandsofstudentsandtreatedpatients
inhisinstituteatSantaCruz,Mumbai.The
YogaInstituteisthefirstschoolforyoga
inmodernIndia,foundedin1918.Earlier
YogendraspentafewyearsinUSAstudying
thetherapeuticaspectsofhathayogaand
thenreturnedtoIndiain1922.Legendhas
itthatheestablishedtheInstitutewith
hisownincome,whichwasmainlyroyalties
fromhisinventionofanewbootpolish!
SwamiKuvalayanandaworkedwithYogendrafor
afewyearsbeforeheestablished
Kaivalyadham.
ShriYogendra'stechniqueshavebeenwidely
usedbyhisstudents,includingHansraj
Yadhavandhisfamilymembers.Heinteracted
withseveralforeignstudentsofyoga,
includingTheosBarnard.
TheYogaInstituteisalsowellknownfor
numerousbooksonyogaandforteaching
schoolandcollegestudentsinaformal
curriculum.
9MichaelVolin
[HelearnedyogawithIndraDeviwhile
shewasinChinaandlatermaintainedher
schoolinChina.Healsohadtrainingwith
IyengarandthensetupaschoolinSydney,
Australia.HisbookswerepopularinBritain
andAustralia.HealsoconductedaTVshow.
Amonghisseveralstudents,BetteCalman,
whoiscloseto90years,hasbeenawell
knownteacher.
10Swami(Dr)Gitananda
[SwamiGitananda[1907-1993]learnedyoga
inIndiaandservedasamedicaldoctor
forBritishRoyalNavyduringworldwarII
inEngland.HereturnedtoIndiain1968and
establishedtheAnandaAshraminPuducherry
nearChennaiin1972andtaughtthousandsof
students.Hisashram,ablyrunbyhiswife
SmtMeenakshiDevi,herselfayogastudent
withDrGitananda,hasattractedhundreds
ofstudentseveryyear.Hisseveralbookson
yogahavebeenverypopular.Heestablished
severalorganizationsinIndiatospreadthe
messageofyoga.
11SwamiSivananda
[SwamiSivananda[1887-1963]isthewell
knownmonkwhoestablishedDivineLife
SocietyinRishkesh.Trainedasamedical
doctor,heservedinMalayasiaplantations.
Laterherenouncedworldlylifeandbecamea
monkoftraditionalSankaramonasticorder.
Hewasdevotedtohathayoga,besidesJnana
andBhaktiyogas,andtrainedseveralyoung
monksinHathaYoga.
Manyofthesemonksbecamewellknownyoga
masterstospreadyogaindifferentpartsof
theworld.Thelistofhisdisciplesislong
,butincludesSwamiVishnudevananda
[Canada],SwamiSatyananda[Biharschoolof
yoga,India],SwamiVenkatesananda[south
Africa&Australia]andSwamiSatchdananda
[USA].
Thebrandofyoga,"SivanandaYoga"is
beingtaughtinseveralSivanandaYoga
centresinUSAandelsewhere,mainlydueto
thepioneeringeffortsofSwami
Vishnudevananda.
SwaminiSivanandaRadhawasafemale
discipleofSwamiSivanandawhoestablished
YashodaraAshraminCanadaandtaughtyoga
formanyyears.
SwamiSivanandawrotemorethan100small
booksandpublishedthematlowcostin
RishikeshandfoundedtheYoga-Vedanta
ForestUniversityforseveraltraining
programsandcourses.Hisbooksarewidely
readeventoday.
12SelvarajanYesudian
Yesudian,bornin1897,wasasicklyboy
andstudiedmedicineinChennai,India.
Meanwhilehepractisedyogatostrengthen
hisbody.Hebecameconvincedofthe
enormousbenefitofyogaonbodyandmind.He
cametoBudapest,Hungaryforgraduate
studiesinmedicine,onlytofindthe
gatheringstormofWorldWarIIin1936,
whenhewasarrestedbytheRussianarmy.He
startedteachingyogatoafewstudents.
Later,akindlady,ElizabethHaichfounda
placeforhiminZurichandthetwotogether
startedthefirstyogaschoolinEurope
there.Itisstillthelargestschoolin
Europe.
Yesudian'syogabookandhisbookon"Sports
andYoga"becamefamousinEuropeandhe
couldteachthousandstheyogatechniques
forhealingandcuringdiseases.Hediedin
1994.
13SwamiVishnudevananda
AnillustriousdiscipleofSwami
Sivananda,hejoinedtheashraminRishkesh
atayoungageof20years.Laterswami
SivanandasenthimawaytoCanadatoteach
yogawithjustrupeesten.[Rupeestenwas
clsoetotwoUSDollarsatthattime.]He
developedseveralSivanandaYogaCenters
acrossCanadaandUSAandintheBahamas,
teachingtheyogatraditionthatbearsthe
nameof"Sivananda"anddevelopedteacher
trainingprograms.
Thischarismaticyogiwasapeaceactivist
andwouldflyhisownplaneacrossthe
BerlinwallandovertheMiddleEastand
showerflowersandpeacepamphlets,chanting
themantra"OmNamoNarayana"!
HisbookonYogabecameastandardtextfor
manyyearsinYoga--"TheComplete
IllustratedBookofYoga".Hisbookon
"mantras'iswidelyused.
Inlateryears,hereturnedtohisnative
stateofKeralaandestablishedayoga
schoolnearNayyardam.Hebuiltasmall
cottageforhimselfinUttarkashionthe
banksoftheGangeswherehehadhismortal
endbydrowningintheholyriver{Jala
Samadhi}---in1993--attheageof65.
14SwamiSatyananda
[OneoftheforemostdiscipleofSwami
Sivananda,Satyananda,bornin1923,joined
hisGuru'sashraminRishikeshattheageof
20andworkedhardtodevelopthejungle
retreat.From1959,hewanderedtomany
landsinSouthAsia,Tibetandlaterto
severalcountriesintheWest,LatinAmerica
andAfrica.In1963,heestablishedtheYoga
school,'BiharSchoolofYoga',inMunger.
Hetaughtseveralyogatechniquesand
focusedonyoganidra,tantraandkundalini
yoga.Hewrotenearly80booksandhisbook
"Asana,Mudra,PranayamaandKriyas"has
becomeaclassictextbook.
In1988,hechangedhimselfintoasecluded
hermit,leavinghisinstitutions,andwent
toRikhia,Jharkahandtofoundasmall
ashramandthe"SivanadaMath"devotedto
socialserviceforthevillagers.Heleft
hismortalbodyin2009.
15YogiGupta[SwamiKailashananda]
YogiGuptawasasuccessfullawyeranda
friendofMahatmaGandhi.Heleftsecular
life,wenttoBenaras[Varanasi]tobe
initiatedasamonk.Laterheservedasan
ayurvedicdoctorwithSwamiSivanandain
Rishikesh.InspiredbySwamiSivananda,he
startedhisownmissionandayurvedicclinic
inRishikesh.Hedidmeditationsandyoga
practicefor10yearsthere.
HecametoNewYorkin1954andfounded
"YogiGuptaAshram"inQueens,NY--thefirst
fullfledgedashramintheUSA.Countless
Americansweretrainedbyhim.Beinga
traditionalist,heemphasizedyogicdietand
strictritualstopracticewithyoga.He
traveledbetweenNewYorkandRishikeshover
theyears,teachinghathayogaandayurvedic
medicine.
Nowonefindsmanyofhisstudentswith
KailashanadaAshrams.[Hischiefdisciple,
DharmaMittracompiledtheyogachartwith
908poses.]YogiGupta'stwobooks"Yoga
andLonglife"and"YogicPowers"havebeen
verypopular.Truetohiswritings,indeedhe
livedalonglifeandattainedmortalend
[mahasamadhi]atthatageof98inhis
cottageinRishikeshon6thMay2011.
16SwaminiSivanandaRadha
[SivanandaRadha(SylviaHellman)was
borninGermanyin1911,wentthrough
horrifyingexperiences--lostherparents
duringtheworldWarII,lostherfirst
husbandwhowaskilledinBuchenwald
concentrationcampwhiletryingtohelpJews
tofleeGermany,losthersecondhusbanda
yearaftermarriageduetoillness---and
turnedtospiritualpursuits.Shewentto
Rishikeshtostudyyogaunderthe
illustriousmaster,SwamiSivananda.The
guruordainedherasasannyasini[nun]of
thetraditionalHinduorderwiththe
monasticnameof"SivanandaRadha"andsent
hertotheWesttoteach.Besidesyoga,
SivanandaRadhalearnedimportantlessonsin
Karmayogaorselflessservicefromher
master.
SivanandaRadhasettledinBritish
Columbia,Canadaandbuiltthefirstyoga
ashramin1957,called"Yashodara
Ashram"....[afittingname,Yashodarawas
thefostermotherofLordKrishnainHindu
mythologywhileRadhawasthemystical
discipleofLordKrishna.]
Latershefoundedseveral'RadhaAshrams'to
teachyogaandtrainnunsinherlineage.
Shewroteseveralbooksonhathayoga.Her
book"Kundaliniyogaforthewest"has
becomeaclassic.Shealsodeveloped
institutionsfortrans-personalpsychology.
Onewouldfind'RadhaAshrams'inNorth
America,Mexico,Germany,Englandand
elsewhere.Shediedpeacefullyin1995,at
theageof85years.
17SwamiYogeswaranandaSaraswati
SwamiYogeshwarananda(1887-1985)wasa
yogamasterwhoremainedintheupper
reachesoftheHimalayasandisthefounder
of"YogaNiketan"inRishikesh.A
contemporaryofSwamiSivananda,helearned
yogafromhisGuruSwamiAtmanandinUttar
KashiandGangotri.SwamiYogeshwarananda
wroteabouthisexperiencesandabookon
asanasandpranyams,detailing400asanas
and40pranayamsin"BahirangaYoga".He
touredtheworldmanytimesbutsettledin
Rishikesh.YogaNiketancenterswerestarted
inseveralcities:Delhi,Pahalgamin
Kashmir,Manali(HP).HisdiscipleKazu
Kimuraranseveral'yoganiketan'centersin
Japan.Themasterattainedsamadhi
peacefullyin1985-attheageof98.His
booksarefullofesotericwisdomand
experiences.
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BasiccriteriaforthisHallofFame:
Idevelopedasimplesetofcriteriafor
selectionofyogisforthisHallofFame:
1TheYogimusthavepracticedyogahimself
orherselfandtaughtyogatoalargenumber
ofstudentsoverseveraldecades.
2Theyogimusthavefoundedorhelpedto
foundayogaschoolorinstituteorashram
forproperteachingofyoga;the
institutionmusthaveendured[functioned
smoothly]forafewdecades.
3Theyogimusthaveundertakenor
encouragedresearchandinnovative
approachestoteachyogatechniquesandfor
yogatherapy.
4Theyogimusthavecontributedtowards
disseminationofyogaamongthepublicat
largethroughbooks,training
courses,retreatsandconferencesorother
meansoverseveraldecades.
5Theyogimusthavehadanimpeccable
characterandintegrity,withoutanyalleged
orreportedscandals--offinancialnature
orofsexualmisconductorofcommunity
affairs.
6Theyogimusthavelivedlongerthan60
years,sinceyogaensuresalonglifeand
anyseriousyogamastershouldhaveenjoyed
longevity.
7Theyogimusthaveexhibitedandupheld
respectandreverenceforhisGuruor
teacherthroughoutlife,sincethisquality
isanessentialmarkofanyYogateacherof
Indiantradition.
[Furthermyselectionisindeedbiasedwith
certaintraditionalIndianvalues.]
Idonotincludethoseyogis,severalof
theminIndia,whohadlivedasecludedlife
inpilgrimageplaces[likevaranasi,
Haridwar,RishikeshorUttarkashior
elsewhere]doingtheirownsadhana.
Idonotincludenumerousphilosophers,
professorsandwritersonyogaorvedantaor
thosewhoteachinsomeinstitutionsof
yogapractice.
Contact:[email protected]
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