Guruji - Teenagers (part 1)

Interview of Guruji by the Teenagers (part 1)

Prologue 

The morning of Sunday, August 14th dawned with a bright sunny sky, probably reflecting the chirpy moods and anticipation of a group of youngsters who had a big day ahead. We had planned to have an informal chat with our Guruji, B.K.S. Iyengar, the focus being his youth.

We all assembled at the RIMYI wearing our best clothes, trying to wear expressions appropriate to the occasion though our hearts fluttered at the very thought of being with Guruji in this setting. The youngsters present for the event were Sharmila, Priti, Namrata, Varsha, Sandhya, Ashoka,  Parth, Aboli, Bhavnesh, Devki, Arti, Kirti, Roshan, Jasmina and Urmila. 

To make sure that the program would go on without a hitch we prepared ourselves thoroughly, even going to the length of having a practice session with Sri Prashant Iyengar; (and this not only released our nervousness but gave us a very good insight into what we consider mysterious personality.)

A few mats were arranged near the marble platform with a mic and tape recorder making the hall look totally different from usual. The atmosphere was charged with mixed emotions, a palpable excitement, a bit of apprehension and a great sense of awe.

Guruji arrived, sporting a white t-shirt and dhoti (much to our delight), the long red vermilion mark on the forehead, and a beaming, benign smile that lit up the place. He was in a pleasant, carefree mood that did wonders for our increasing heartbeats. 

After paying our respects we requested him to sit on a seat which had bolsters on each side, a royal arrangement for the king of yoga. We sat around him and crossed our fingers before we could launch our barrage. Our energies geared up, we inhaled deeply and started off. 

What happened afterwards is history. There was a marathon session of almost three hours where we sat with bated breaths; hunger and thirst all forgotten. One could say we were floored by Guruji's replies, wit and repartee, and of course his utter frankness. We are sure that the length of the interview is warranted in the situation and hope that our readers derive from it the same pleasure that we did. 

Glimpses of the young guruji 

Bhavnesh: Guruji, we have been wanting to talk to you for quite some time now. 

Guruji: You are examining or rather frightening me. 

Bhavnesh: Not really; it is more like an informal chat. Your autobiography "Body thy Shrine Yoga thy Light' and film 'Guruji" have given us glimpses of your youth, your hardships and trials. We are eager to know what you were like in your younger days. Would you define youth as being a period of exuberance and ambition, strength and vitality? 

Guruji: Youngsters should have tremendous ambitions to make life worth living. I was merely 15 years old when I took to yoga. I had no other education or training, hence I decided to master what I already knew rather than work under others. I faced challenges from all directions – no funds, no sympathetic friends or relatives, rejected by society - I decided to fight and succeed. Utopian ideals are hard to achieve when faced with practical difficulties. I made up my mind to fight the situation and the outcome was a drastic decision – I would either make or mar my life on this earth.

Sharmila: Were the youngsters at that time like you?

Guruji: No, absolutely not. The affluent are able to acquire knowledge easily – they lose fervour or zeal. I have realized that poverty is a garland for knowledge. My appearance in those days, coupled with my illness (T.B. mainly), strengthened my determination to fight destiny; either to sink with this art or convince people that I had something they needed. I possessed the guts to do or die.

Arty: How do you view today's youth? 

Guruji: With your enthusiasm and my willpower you could become gems of the coming century. 

Interrogators: Thank you Guruji. 

Namrata: What was the greatest blessing of your youth? 

Guruji: My friend, it's obvious, eh! A person, who was unsteady at the age of 16, considered a good for nothing, ignored and ostracized, is now being dubbed a very proud man. 

Priti: Tell us something about your impulsiveness. 

Guruji: Impulsiveness in youth is universal. It can be positive or negative. I have carefully watched this element in my nature and nurtured it, if only to develop my art, no matter how long it took; make people bow to it, eventually succeeding. 

Sandhya: We'd like to hear about an unforgettable adventure/experience in your younger days. 

Guruji: Plenty, plenty. My wife was the only person who knew my life inside out. When I first came to Pune I was 17 1/2 years old; nature threw responsibilities upon me and taught me the art of teaching. When I came to Pune in 1937, I was teaching college students, some were older than me. I had a shendi (tuft of hair) in those days – the only such person in Pune. My people were tradition bound and it was difficult to enter their homes without a shendi. The humiliation at the hands of those students made me realize that I was superior to them in the performance of yoga. I put them to shame by performing yoga in spite of my seemingly weak physique and the fact that I could not speak even one correct sentence in English when I first came to Pune.

Varsha: How did you learn English?

Guruji: I could not use effective words like Swami Vivekananda did. In spite of the fear complex I managed to muster enough courage to stand on the platform. As people started getting interested in yoga, I was asked to give lecture demonstrations. I used to write 2-4 sentences needed to start the demonstrations, and give thanks at the end, much to the amusement of my wife. I used to say that I am not a man of expressions and people could judge for themselves what I could do. 

Kirti: You started teaching ladies in the beginning, were you not self-conscious?

Guraji: I was the youngest man among my colleagues and hence the ladies agreed to learn yoga from me. I did not feel self-conscious at that time as I had no sensations at all. I was very cautious about pains experienced by them, which helped me teach some asanas without causing such pain. With perseverance I succeeded and won the people over. A serious repercussion of my teaching in Pune was a bad name, spread by relatives in my hometown. Especially since I was unwilling to get married, all kinds of aspersions were cast on my character. Teaching in a girl's school also posed difficulties from parents and society in general. But people who were in direct contact with me could not point a finger at my character. Another problem I faced at that time was the jealousy of my competitors. I used to be the youngest teacher then, just 18 years old and these people created a lot of furor over my being given a chance to teach in Pune. 

(Dr. V.B. Gokhale had invited Guruji to Pune being impressed with the extent to which the body could be moved anatomically.) 

Roshan: Do you remember your first student? 

Guruji: Oh yes! One Mri Mudaliar and Chapalkar, both dead now. Almost all my students then were elderly, from their 40s to 70s. One Mr. Gadgil, Principal of Ferguson College - 87 years old, unable to stand has performed Supta Trikonasana, Supra Virabhadrasana, under me.

Roshan: Who was your first lady pupil? How old was she then? How old were you? 

Guruji: My first lady pupil was Mrs. Gulati, who must have been 20 or 21 then. This was in Dharwar when I was 16 years old. 

Urmila: What were your views about the general public then? 

Guruji: In those days, one who practiced yoga was ridiculed but today I see that yoga has a tremendous respect in society. Yoga practitioners were considered as subhuman, even animals. I was called a mad cap whenever I passed by.

Urmila: How has the transition come about? 

Guruji: Here, if you were me, self-pride comes in. It is due to my hard work that yoga was introduced as a mass subject in schools and colleges in 1937. People felt that yoga could only be taught individually or practiced by a person who is thrown out by the family or is half mad. 

Devki: What was your guiding force during your severe financial and other hardships? 

Guruji: Determination. 

Jasmina: We youngsters are usually very obstinate about what we do. Were you also like us during your youth? 

Guruji: I was very obstinate. 

Jasmina: Did you make any changes or compromises? 

Guruji: A certain kind of compromise in the art of teaching. I had to find alternative ways otherwise I could not survive. I had to strictly guide the students, but keep them in my grip too. This was the only compromise. I had to change my techniques without adulterating the subject and making sure that the person would continue. 

Namrata: By making it a sugar coated pill? 

Guruji: Yes, a sugar coated pill. Now I give direct pills, because it is popular. Sugar coated ones are useless, as the essence of reality disappears. Now I have to fight to make people do yoga with integrity and honesty. Earlier, I had to create integrity in them, build honesty in them, because it was an unknown subject. I took each disease or disability in a patient as a challenge.

Sharmila: Can you tell us about your youthful dreams?

Guruji: I had dreamt I was in Anantapadmanabhapuram (now Trivandrum). I was looking at the lord Padmanabha in his sanctum sanctorum. As my gaze moved from the face to the foot it seemed that a great fire arose from the foot and was approaching me as if to burn me. I thought I should prostate before my Guru before it consumes me; as I did so, the entire scene vanished. 

The second one was near Mandya – a temple in Triunarayanpuram. I entered the innermost quarter where no one is allowed. The priest was annoyed and asked me to go back. I was also firm - the Lord has called me and I would remain rooted on that very spot. The Lord, then pacified me by stating that He was always with me, so I should not mind the angry priest and leave the place in peace.

Aboli: Guruji, if you had the opportunity to be young again, what would you add or subtract from your personality? 

Guruji: If I were blessed with this maturity and freshness, I think I would be a revolutionary in this world, in a way that I would change the mental calibre of the entire generation. 

Parth: Youth is generally faced with all kinds of temptations. How did you keep them at bay? 

Guruji: Temptations were there, but it was up to me to make or mar my life. When I taught at Bhave Girls School I was faced with embarrassing situations causing fear, among other emotions. I would keep aloof from them mentally and tide over such situations.

Priti: Do you feel the Lord was protecting you then? 

Guruji: Yes, he did protect me – I don't deny it. So I withstood the temptations for the simple reason that if I became a victim of temptations, my ability to teach yoga would disappear. So yoga has protected me from being a victim of external appearances. This was when I decided to marry; my Guru told my brothers and sisters that I had gone astray with my female students. I lost my temper at my Guru and said that if I went to a prostitute, I would make her my wife. 

Devki: You had a strong character. 

Guruji: I had willpower, not a strong character. I decided to marry in order to put an end to these stories and rumours. 

Varsha: About your married life... 

Guruji: Initially, I was against marriage because of my economic situation. I was prepared to bear God's punishment, but did not want another person to suffer on my account. I made the decision after carefully considering my situation, especially vis-a-vis my lady pupils who left no stone unturned in luring me. Often I used to drive away the prospective brides by not shaving for 10 to 12 days at a stretch, or apply oil on my head, which was considered a bad omen in those days. Once I went to Rajamundhry for a demonstration. My Guru had ssurreptitiously arranged for a party to be at my home. We reached it about 10:30 in the night, and found that the girl had been there since 10:00 a.m. The fact that she waited so patiently made me think that God had kept this girl there, so I said that I would marry without a word. 

Varsha: Had you seen her before? 

Guruji: Never, I just saw her on that day. She was tall, of median build and I just agreed to marry. 

Sandhya: You mentioned that you did not have friends to confide in during your difficult time. Was there anybody besides your wife? 

Guruji: No, nobody. I had only my wife to talk with. 

Namrata: After marriage when you practiced yoga, did your wife know anything about it? 

Guruji: No

Namrata: Did she find it funny when you did yoga? 

Guruji: Well that did happen. But it was the only way to earn a living and she accepted it. When I left my Guru in 1936, I was a raw student and my body was stiff – I could not do asanas. When I got married, I would ask my wife to help me by pressing me in various places in order to get a better pose. So I trained her to help me master the pose. 

Sharmila: She must have been a great inspiration. 

Guruji: She was an inspiration. Did I not tell you that yoga was a ridiculed subject in those days? A wife who never said a word or interfered in my daily practices - was that not a gift of God for me? She never asked me to stop my practice in order to go for a walk. She would tell me to practice first and then take her out. I used to be out most of the time commuting to take private classes by cycle covering 20 to 30 miles a day. What little time remained at my disposal for practice was consumed by my own practices. So my wife bore the major burden of looking after the family.