05 | The first salary of Yogācārya T Krishnamacharya

My grandfather, Yogācārya, T. Krishnamacharya’s first job offer was made at the behest of the Mysore Maharaja, Śrī Krishnarajendra Wadiyar IV Bahadur. Under his direction, Maharaja’s Sanksrit College was instructed to offer him a temporary job for three months to instruct Yogāsana-s to the boys attending the college.

Thanks to this job offer, Śrī Krishnamacharya settled once again in Mysore and began teaching at the Jagmohan Palace through the Yogaśāla. This temporary job offer would later be confirmed and he continued to live and teach there for many years, forming a very productive alliance with the Mysore Palace.

04 | The three Ācārya-s of Śrī T Krishnamacharya

My grandfather, Yogācārya, T. Krishnamacharya, belongs to the Śrīvaiṣṇava tradition where the Ācārya Parampara is always honoured. This lineage traces back to Svāmi Vedāntadeśika, who founded the Parakālamaṭha and anointed his own student as the first Ācārya.

In Śrīvaiṣņava tradition, it is essential to honour the Ācārya-sampradāya by reciting a traditional verse to honour them, which is called a Thaniyan. In this prayer, the format is to usually acknowledge those who initiated the current Ācārya themselves into key Saṁskāra-s (sacred rites of passage), especially Samāśrayaṇa, Bharanyāsa and Grantharahasya.

03 | The Fascinating tale of two Krishnamacharya-s

Yogācārya T Krishnamacharya is undoubtedly the most influential teacher of our times. He revolutionised the practice of Yoga, created so many social reforms surrounding it and even opened the doors of Vedic chanting to women, a move that surprised and shocked many orthodox Brahmins at this time.

However, not many know that he belongs to an illustrious lineage of Vedānta-ācārya-s who have been propagating Śrivaiṣṇava-sampradāya for centurie

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.

01 | His first book was on the topic of Mantra!

Although T Krishnamacharya is now well-known all over the world as the father of modern Yoga, the first book he wrote is not on the topic of Yoga. In fact, it’s on the topic of Mantra. While graduating from Benares University in the early part of the 20th century, he composed a book called Mantra-padārtha-tattva-nirṇaya.