02 | He was a social reformer!
During the early part of Yogācārya T Krishnamacharya’s life, he lived in a time when women were frequently excluded from participation in spiritual practices including Yoga. However all this changed with some of the key decisions he took by opening different doors of spirituality to women, not just from India, but also those from abroad.
He started teaching Yoga practices to his wife and his daughters way before many contemporary Yogācārya-s deemed it fit. He did not discriminate against them based on gender, but rather saw the huge potential they had, the great sincerity in them and the immense benefit they would receive from practising. On the recommendation of the Maharaja of Mysuru, he also accepted Indra Devi as his first foreign woman student and also taught her practices that were suitable for her. He used the authority of the Yogarahasya of Nāthamuni as the textual authority to open this door of Yogasādhana to women.
Later on in his life, in the late 1960s, he went further and started teaching Vedic Chanting to women, which was totally against the protocol of orthodox Brahmin culture. A few Ācārya-s of other traditions at this time questioned his sanity in making such a decision. Krishnamacharya invited them for a dialogue on the topic and said that whoever lost the debate would accept the view of the other and also prove who retains sanity and who does not. None of the Ācārya-s showed up for the debate and therein ended the matter. The Yogācārya quoted references from the Rāmāyaṇa, Yogayājñavalkya-saṁhitā and other classical texts that offer proof that women too were allowed to chant the Veda-s.
Among his earliest students of Vedic Chanting in the 1960s was his own daughter-in-law Mrs Menaka Desikachar, who is now the senior-most teacher of Viniyoga tradition. She continues to teach Vedic Chanting today with the exacting precision of the traditional masters, while at the same time making it fun and enjoyable for her students.
By opening the two doors of Yoga and Vedic Chanting to women, who were marginalised from Spirituality practices, he reformed how society viewed them and began a paradigm shift that is now seeing progress in gender equality in these fields. If so many women are practising Yoga and Vedic chant today, a big part of the credit goes to Yogācārya T Krishnamacharya’s.
Dr Kausthub Desikachar, the current lineage holder of the tradition, continues this tradition of honouring women in the Viniyoga tradition. Click here to read more…
Yogācārya T Krishnamacharya with his two daughters Puṇḍarīkavallī and Alamelu. Circa 1930s. Photograph Copyright © Krishnamacharya Healing & Yoga Foundation.
Little know facts about Yogācārya T Krishnamacharya | Curated by Dr Kausthub Desikachar. Current lineage holder of the Viniyoga tradition. Copyright © Kausthub Desikachar and Viniyoga Pte. Ltd. No part of this article may be reproduced in part or full without permission from the author.
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Dr Kausthub Desikachar is the successor and current lineage holder of the classical Viniyoga tradition of T Krishnamacharya & TKV Desikachar. He is an acclaimed yoga teacher, yoga therapist, healer and spiritual adviser. His objectives include the sharing of the authentic teachings of Yoga to the modern era, as well as building bridges between different healing modalities to promote physical, emotional social and spiritual health.
He is the founder of Viniyoga Pte. Ltd. and also the co-founder of Krishnamacharya Healing & Yoga Foundation, India, and founder and president of Europe based, KHYF International.
He is also currently the seniormost trainer of the Viniyoga tradition and offers Viniyoga® Yoga Teacher Training and also Viniyoga® Yoga Therapy Training all over the world. Being focused on quality, rather than quantity, Dr Kausthub Desikachar usually only offers one batch in a location, rather than do multiple ones in the same venue. These training programs are so popular that there is usually a waiting list to sign up and is often attended by students from multiple countries.
Dr Kausthub Desikachar is a champion of women’s empowerment and guides many of his female students to embody their strength. To view his interviews with Viniyoga Women, visit this page here - https://www.viniyoga.com.sg/viniyoga-women
He also offers a Mantra blog, where students can listen to different Mantras from the Vedic Tradition. To benefit from this, visit here - https://www.viniyoga.com.sg/mantra
Dr. Kausthub Desikachar also assists many clients in their healing journey that includes mental health issues. He regularly writes articles on Mental Health issues and these can be found here - https://www.viniyoga.com.sg/mental-health
Being an amazing Yoga Therapist and Spiritual guide, Dr Kausthub Desikachar also offers insightful mentoring through private consultations, which can be taken either face-to-face or online. To book a session with him, kindly visit his private consultations page by clicking here>
Apart from Yoga Teaching, Kausthub is also an avid photographer, inspirational writer and poet. To view, some of his inspirations, visit the website www.kausthubdesikachar.com
To view his other Yoga teaching page, visit here https://www.kausthub.yoga/