November 2020 Newsletter from Srivatsa Ramaswami--Yoga Rahasya

[Srivatsa Ramaswami]

November 2020 Newsletter from Srivatsa Ramaswami--Yoga Rahasya

I am advised not to stir out for some more time . I am now getting used to not travel and it is not bad. Strangely time appears to pass much quicker. The only way to teach under this circumstance is to use the internet. But then it is not ideal. The on-line classes are to be accepted as a necessity and not a choice. It virtually is a monologue for 150 minutes or so for about a week. I hope the participants find some use, without virtually no interaction. There are incidental advantages, no need to travel, no hotel charges, can follow the video at leisure and so on.

So, in the course of last few months I have been able to do three weeklong programs , about 20 hrs each. I taught Yoga Yagnyavalkya two times hosted by Loyola Marymount University and one on Yoga Sutras hosted by Ananta Yoga, Wicklow in Ireland. The participants have by and large been nice to me, they do not complain even though the on-line classes are far less than perfect.

So, I am planning to teach three more programs before the end of the year, teaching some yoga related texts taught by my Guru. Those tons of breath orientated asanas and vinyasas Sri Krishnamacharya taught help cleanse and strengthen the body. The varieties of pranayama and vedic chanting Sri Krishnamacharya taught help to cleanse and strengthen the mind. Those lovely yoga related texts Sri Krishnamacharya so lovingly taught help to cleanse and strengthen the 'heart' of individuals.

Sri Krishnamacharya is credited with writing a few books. His well-known works as Yoga Makaranda and Yogasanangalu were written in Kannada but Nathamuni's Yoga Rahasya was written in Sanskrit verses in four chapters. Legend has it that Sri Nathamuni decided to teach his Yoga Rahasya to his grandson when he realized that it was time to leave his body. He chose an auspicious time to start teaching him but before that he attained samadhi. And so, it is believed that Yoga of Nathamuni remained a secret or rahasya. The word rahasya means a secret or some knowledge kept private or within a community.

Then how was it that Sri Krishnamacharya came to know it?

When I was a young boy, long before I met Sri Krishnamacharya, like many other boys I used to do a few asanas more for fun. Sarvangasana, padmasana, paschimatanasana are some. These used to be learnt in school or from parents and friends. I had also learnt a few more asanas from teachers like Sri Kumarasawamy at that time. Some elders used to impress by their ability to do sirsasana and rapid nouli. When someone says that one practises yoga, the immediate question would be if one would be able to do headstand , mayurasanaor do nauli.

The older books available at that time like hatayogapradipika, some of yoga upanishads refer to a few well-known asanas Yoga consisted of some well-known asanas some pranayama and a few bandhas and kriyas. The asanas in vogue were not many, pranayama limited.

But when I first met Sri Krishnamacharya I found that the yoga he taught was different, very different--the breath orientation, the myriad vinyasas in asanas and many completely unknown asanas formed in well-arranged sequences. And then the approach to using yoga procedures for health and therapy. Then the variety of pranayamas with mudras effectively interspersed. It was different-- his vinyasakrama yoga-- so different and at the same time charming, captivating and very meaningful. After studying with him I used to wonder "How come nobody teaches this system, not even aware of it and where is the source material for this?" Then during the years of study with him he would quote verses every now and then and would say they was from Nathamun's yoga rahasya. But then if it was so different, so resourceful why nobody else seems to be aware of that system. Did Krishnamacharya himself invent it, those asanas like the rishi asanas reference of which you may not find in the olden day books, Rishis are associated with mantras and philosophies and not with asanas, is it not? Or did he learn from someone in the Himalayas. Or was it from the mystical Yoga Kuranta?

But then when I asked my Guru, after many years of study, if Yoga Rahasya text was available he kept quiet for a few moments and said, I think, that it can be found in an ivory box in the Pudukottah Maharaja's palace. I wondered if it would be available, that manuscript in some other manuscript libraries as the Saraswati Mahal Library. When I wrote to them, I got a reply saying that Nathamuni never gave out the secret of Yoga to anyone including the intended beneficiary, his grandson. How did Sri Krishnamacharya get to know this solid yoga system then? Here is what he says as quoted in his book

"When I was ten, my father died. When I was sixteen years old, I collected a few rupees to make the journey to Tirunelveli. From here I had to walk twenty miles to Alvar Tirunagari. I arrived at the entrance of the Satakopa temple, exhausted. There was an old man sitting near the entrance. I asked him where to find Nathamuni, He pointed his fingers and said "Go to the mango grove and there he will be seated with his disciples. ". With great excitement I crossed the river Tamraparni, felt quite tired and collapsed. Suddenly I found myself in a mango grove in the presence of three sages. I prostrated and requested them to instruct me in Yoga Rahasya. The sage in the center began reciting the verses. He had such a musical voice.

After a few hours I woke and looked around. There was no mango grove, there were no sages either. I returned to the temple and the old man was still there. He asked me ,"Did you receive the instructions on the Yogarahasya? Go inside and offer your prayers to Nammalvar.

When I came out of the temple the elderly person was not there. I began to recollect his features, He looked exactly like the sage who was seated in the center of the grove"

It explains why this system is not known to the hundreds of yogis for hundreds of years. It was secret , a yoga rahasya, revealed to Sri Krishnamacharya. He never told this story to me and even hesitated to give out the complete text. He did not want to give it to people who may not sincerely practise and teach the system, have faith in the lineage. But finally, he relented and the book came out. Just as Maharishis by deep contemplation discovered vedic mantras and darsanas, Sri Krishnamacharya with deep yogic concentration and devotion discovered the yoga of Nathamani which remained a rahasya until Krishnnamacharya's yogic discovery.

I will be teaching this text from Nov 15th. It is on line program hosted by Eka Shri Schools of yoga. Here is the link

https://ekashri.yoga/event/6-day-yoga-rahasya-workshop-with-srivatsa-ramaswami/?fbclid=IwAR077P_OuQ8lVnX9iqMEko0lB7dayieyosOAXWBU3TGGNz2GZFDoi2GfDKk

And then I am scheduled to teach two on line programs in December. One is on the pancha kosas as enunciated in Taittiriya Upanishad. We will go through the entire Upanishad in the 20 hour program starting Dec 3, 2030. Hosted by LMU

https://registration.xenegrade.com/lmucrs/courseDisplay.cfm?schID=6773

Later in December I will be teaching on line again a 20 hr program on Karma Yoga as enunciated in the Bhagavatgita. We will go through all the verses in the first 6 chapters. It is hosted by Anantayoga and Ayurveda Wicklow, Ireland

https://www.anantayogastudio.com/workshops/karma-yoga-of-the-bhagavad-gita-an-online-programme-with-srivatsa-ramaswami-14th-22nd-december-2020/