Krishnamacharya: His Life and Teachings

by A.G. Mohan, Ganesh Mohan

Here is a personal tribute to "the father of modern yoga" Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (1888-1989), written by one of his longtime disciples. Krishnamacharya was a renowned Indian yoga master, Ayurvedic healer, and scholar who modernized yoga practice and whose students—including B. K. S. Iyengar, K. Pattabhi Jois, T. K. V. Desikachar, and Indra Devi—dramatically popularized yoga in the West.

In this book, the author, A. G. Mohan, a well-respected yoga teacher and yoga therapist, draws on his own memories and Krishnamacharya's diaries and recorded material, to present a fascinating view of the man and his teachings, and Mohan's own warm and inspiring relationship with the master. This portrait of the great teacher is a compelling and informative read for yoga teachers and students who truly want to understand the source of their tradition and practice.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, Spirituality

176 pages, Paperback

First published July 13, 2010

About the author

A. G. Mohan (born 1945) is a renowned Indian yoga teacher, author, and co-founder of Svastha Yoga & Ayurveda. Mohan is a longtime disciple of Sri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya (1888-1989). Krishnamacharya, best known as the "father of modern yoga," was a legendary yoga master, ayurvedic healer, and scholar of the last century who modernized the practice of yoga and whose students dramatically popularized yoga in the West.

Mohan co-founded the Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram in Chennai, India, and was its Honorary Secretary from its inception, in 1976, to 1989. Mohan was also the convener of Sri Krishnamacharya’s centenary celebrations.

Reviews

[J.E. Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you, A.G. Mohan. The personality driven Western yoga culture needs more authenticity as presented in this jewel of a book.

[Magnus Vaughn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this book, but just couldn't. I expected more. It is a thoroughly disappointing book.

In the west we want to hear about the yoga of Krishnamacharya. Ganesh Mohan can see this, and so wrote the book targeting western yoga devotees. Unfortunately he didn't have the material to fill it. I'm not blaming him, he did the best he could.

His information comes from interviewing his father about his father's lessons with Krishnamacharya, as well as other published material on the man.

Unfortunately his father's lessons were mostly on studying traditional Indian scriptures, and yoga constituted only a small part of his work with Krishnamacharya. This left Ganesh very little with which to work.

What we end up with is a cute collection of anecdotal stories about Krishnamacharya the man, and what it was like to take lessons with him.

As well as this, the information on Krishnamacharya's teachings is muddled. The ideas are from a thoroughly Southern-Indian Brahman perspective, and even directly contradict some of the things Krishnamacharya was famous for teaching.

It's not the first time an Indian student has tried to make some coin from Krishnamacharya; BKS Iyengar is famous for claiming that he was a student of the man. In fact Krishnamacharya refused to teach him, and he was the student of Sri K. Pattahbi Jois, spending less than 2 weeks with Krishnamacharya. But unfortunately the great Pattahbi Jois is nolonger with us, and because he was so focused on teaching Asana rather than talking about his guru, we have to settle for what is left.

I've been recommended to read Desikachar's book on his father's teachings. It is supposedly much better.

[Cyn Cooley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this story of the man who trained the three yogis (Pattabhi Jois, B.K.S. Iyengar and Indra Devi most commonly credited with the popularization of yoga in the West to be a very compelling read. I learned some things about yoga that are contrary to teachings that I have heard consistently throughout the years (the actual goal of "audible breathing" is to be as inaudible as possible. Who knew!). In any event I would consider this a great read for yogis who are interested in the evolution of the practice as we know it today.

[Basma · Rating 4 out of 5]

A friend recommended I read this book and I'm happy that I l did.

With yoga expanding to the degree it has in todays world, and as it moves towards a purely physical practice, and a means for practitioners to get instant gratification on social media (through likes and followers) which is the opposite of what the practice teaches; it is refreshing to read Krishnamacharya and be reminded of the true essence of the yoga practice.

My 5 points is for the invaluable wisdom you'll find in the pages of this book.

[Isabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must ready for every yoga student.
So much knowledge, wisdom, sweetness, and devotion are drawn from this book.
In these pages I have found one of the clearest and most reasonable explanations of each of the Eight Limbs of Yoga (Pantanjali's), I especially enjoyed the way he explains Ahimsa, answering to so many questions I have asked teachers along the line, none provided a better response.
This is just a beautiful read, it has brought tears to my eyes on two occasions.
After this book, I am truly devoted to Krishnamacharya.

[Kate Lumsden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging story with sweet relevance to Krishnamacharya. I really enjoyed the way we get to learn about Krishnamacharya as a teacher: his approach, his values, and his method. I think for the casual yoga student this might not be so interesting, but for anyone who's interested in being a part of a lineage of teachers of authentic yoga practice, it's perfect.

[Raghu · Rating 1 out of 5]

The title is misleading. Book is pricey. It seems to be more of author's life. There isn't much about Krishnamacharya's life or his teachings. The author claims to have spent over two decades with Krishnamacharya and says to have made over 5000 pages of notes, however the book doesn't reflect any of those.

Not worth the buy

[Dawn Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not what I expected

I was excited to read this book as it was recommended by several yoga teachers. Shortly into the book I discovered it was more of a tale of their relationship and glorification of Krishna than what I was lead to believe.

[Lady Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was, for me, the perfect introduction to Krishnamacharya and his teachings. This book certainly gives us insight into the man Krishnamacharya became by the end of his life, after his personality changed some. In the forward, written by Ganesh Mohan, we know of Krishnamacharya as being gentle and "approachable." A.G. Mohan's accounts diverge slightly from gentle and approachable and offer glimpses of inflexibility and bullishness, giving the reader a foretaste of what we learn of the man in other books. Mohan's account is certainly a favorable account of Krishnamacharya. It is written with great deference to the man, which is obvious throughout the book. It is well-written, but certainly has a specific bias. I appreciate some of the historical context it gives me, as I have little cultural knowledge of India and Indian tradition. I would encourage anyone who really wants to know about Krishnamacharya, his personality, his teaching style, and his knowledge to read this book, but not only this book; I would challenge those people to look to other biographies of Krishnamacharya for a balanced understanding of the man as a whole.

I have to say that this book contains beautiful photographs and is well laid out (even with page numbers in the outside corners of the pages, where they should be).

[Launchpad · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really good book for a serious yoga student. Every other page in this book highlighted a very important quality of Krishnamacharya that a serious yoga student must aspire of incorporating for experiencing true bliss. Thank you A.G.Mohan for sharing these details in such lucid manner.

[Gabriel Lange · Rating 5 out of 5]

An approachable and insightful account of studying under Krishnamacharya's intellectual supervision and spiritual guidance. I really appreciated references to K's original, unpublished teachings. It would be thrilling to have more of the source texts translated.

[Kate Ellesworth · Rating 4 out of 5]

So sweet to read about Krishnamacharya from the prespective of his devoted student, A. G. Mohan.

[Wt · Rating 5 out of 5]

You always learn something from the life of a great master, and so too, I learnt important things in reading this biography of Krishnamacharya. Some of the most important things I learnt were gleaned from snippets of how the master lived, including his disciplined life and daily schedule which begun at 2am in the morning when he awoke, and ended at 8pm at night when he went to sleep. Other instructive examples included Krishnacharya's approach to chanting and devotional ritual as modes of mental discipline, and his habit of casting his eyes down while walking and sitting as a way of withdrawing the senses. Krishnamcharya's thought and comments on aspects of yoga, his advice to A.G. Mohan and others, and his personal response to different situations including economic and moral choices as well as health conditions, were all instructive. As the author A.G. Mohan himself said in his book, he himself learnt most from just sitting at the feet of his guru Krishnamacharya, and imbibing the example of his being and personal conduct. Reading this book, we have a little taste of what it means to sit at the feet of this great master of yoga, and to learn from his personal example. Even a little drop can take us a long way.

[Manuhuia Barcham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. My practice of yoga has played an important role in my life to date. Although of course, all things come to an end and, at some point, the practice of yoga may become less important to me in this life.

As part of this journey though it is interesting to learn more of Krishnamacharya - the teacher of such notable modern yogis as Pattabi Jois, BKS Iyengar and, the author of this book, AG Mohan. It's a fun and interesting read about AG Mohan's engagement with his teacher - part discussion of yoga, part biography.

For those interested in learning a bit more about Krishnamacharya's life and his teachings then this is definitely a book to read

[Alex Rosenblum · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should have been called "my lifewith Krishnamacharya". That being said it was interesting to read about the teacher of the teachers and his lifestyle, and hearing about him from the point f view of one of his students nicely personalized it.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an honest book. It was relaxing to read, and informative both about yoga and about Krishnamacharya the man. A.G. Mohan conveyed beautifully his love and respect for Krishnamacharya. It was written clearly and simply, and had photographs as well.

[Alistair Stewart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely read that allows us to get to know the man as well as his exceptional knowledge and devotion to yoga.

[Eliza Miron · Rating 3 out of 5]

through the opinions and understandings of one disciple. Seems a lot was left out about his life.

[Ken carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

enlightning, insightful and spiritual. excellent