04 | The three Ācārya-s of Śrī T Krishnamacharya
Śrī-Kṛṣṇa-Brahmatantra-Parakāla-Svāmi, Śrī-Vāgīśa-Brahmatantra-Parakāla-Svāmi and Śrī-Abhinava-Rańganātha-Brahmatantra-Parakāla-Svāmi, the three Ācārya-s of Yogācārya Śrī T Krishnamcharya. Photographs © Parakālamaṭha, Mysuru.
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. In our lineage, an Ācārya is considered to be the one who initiates us into Mantra (done through Samāśrayaṇa), Rahasyatraya (done through Grantha-rahasya) and/or Prapatti (done through Bharanyāsa).
This is why when Yogācārya T.Krishnamacharya was asked by my father Sir TKV Desikachar to create a Thaniyan to honour himself (T.Krishnamacharya) as the teacher of this tradition, he chose this traditional format. Even though he calls himself a Yogācārya in the verse, he acknowledges the three Parakālamaṭha-svāmin-s who were his three Ācārya-s for the abovementioned three tasks.
It was Śrī-Kṛṣṇa-Brahmatantra-Parakāla-Svāmi, who initiated Śrī Krishnamacharya into the Samāśrayaṇa or the Pañcasaṁskāra. This Ācārya was the 31st Ācārya in the lineage and adorned the holy seat of Parakāla-Svāmi from 1885 to 1914.
The second Ācārya of my grandfather was Śrī-Vāgīśa-Brahmatantra-Parakāla-Svāmi, who was the Parakāla-svāmin from 1914 to 1925. He was the 32nd master in the tradition. Through this Ācārya, Śrī Krishnamacharya received the Grantharahasya and studied the necessary classical texts of the tradition.
Śrī-Abhinava-Rańganātha-Brahmatantra-Parakāla-Svāmi, the 33rd Parakāla-svāmi was the third Ācārya through whom our Yogācārya was initiated into the highest ritual of Bharanyāsa or Prapatti. This Ācarya adorned the holy title from 1925 to 1967 and was incidentally also the classmate of our Ācārya when they were both young.
This may be a bit surprising to many, who would have thought that Śrī T.Krishnamacharya would have chosen to focus on his Yoga-guru, as he identified himself as a Yogācārya. Yet in his heart, my grandfather was a true Śrīvaiṣņava and identified himself strongly as part of this Sampradāya. It was also his message to his students and followers that the Yoga he followed was essentially consistent with the Vedic tradition, and not Tantric. This is why he practised and taught Yoga with Vedic Mantra-s and strongly advocated for practitioners to embrace the pure Vedic tradition of Yoga, as emphasised by Mahaṛṣi Patañjali.
However, there was not a single day when my grandfather did not honour his own Yoga guru Śrī Rāmamohana-brahmacāri, as he owed his life as a Yoga teacher to this Guru. In fact, it was because of the vow he made to Śrī Rāmamohana-brahmacāri, that he rejected the invitation to be the Parakālasvāmi himself and dedicated his life to being a Yogācārya. Read more about this here>
Following the footsteps of his grandfather Dr Kausthub Desikachar, deeply rooted in the Yoga teaching, continues to fully support the activities of the Parakālamaṭha, having been fully initiated into the Śrīvaiṣṇava-sampradāya by the current Pontiff, His Holiness Śrī Abhinava Vāgīṣa Brahmatantra Svatanta Parakāla Svāmi Mahā Deśika, the current Ācārya of the Parkālamaṭha of Mysuru.
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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
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