Posts archive: Krishnamacharya and Desikachar Mantra & Sūtra Chant Posts
So many Upaniṣad mention OM because most Upaniṣad are……
“There are many texts on Yoga and Yoga is
found in one form or another in the Upaniṣat.
Yoga for them is the means to realise God
and OM is the key to that process.
So many Upaniṣad mention OM
because most Upaniṣat are involved with Vedānta
or the movement towards God.”
– TKV Desikachar “The use and abuse of OM”,
Lecture on September 5th 1983 in Zinal, Switzerland
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All the Mantra that are utilised must have the OM to give it life.
“All the Mantra that are utilised must have the OM to give it life.”
TKV Desikachar – Lecture on September 5th 1983 in Zinal, Switzerland
(Fuller notes on this lecture yet to be posted)
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Stay lean and keep the fire going in your belly……
Picture courtesy of KYM Archives
“With discipline and modest fare.
Stay lean and keep the fire going in your belly.
Think of God and repeat his words – silently and out loud.”
– T Krishnamacharya’s commentary to Yoga Sūtra C1 v5
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Sound is something that takes you in the direction of its origin……
“Sound is something that takes you in the direction of its origin.”
– TKV Desikachar speaking with his senior Western students London 1998
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If you respect India and Indians don’t make a joke of OM.
“If you respect India and Indians don’t make a joke of OM.”
TKV Desikachar – Lecture on September 5th 1983 in Zinal, Switzerland (Fuller notes on this lecture yet to be posted)
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In Mīmāṃsā there is a word called Prayoga (connection)……
“In Mīmāṃsā (a philosophical system to interpret the Veda, especially the Brāhmaṇa and Mantra, with the object of correctly performing the Veda rituals) there is a word called Prayoga (connection).
The same Mantra has to be recited differently for different rituals.
Or different Mantra in the same ritual.
So even here different applications are needed, the ancients recognised this.
There is a verse which says that if the Mantra is not used correctly it has the opposite effect and destroys or boomerangs.
Instead of doing good it will harm.
This is Mithyā Prayoga (wrong connection) with an opposite effect.
Having spoken of viniyoga (appropriate application), now looking at important points the old teachers used to convey these ideas.”
– TKV Desikachar France 1983
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A Yoga Practice given to TKV Desikachar when 25 years old……
A Yoga Practice given to TKV Desikachar when 25 years old by his father T Krishnamacharya.
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Although Krishnamacharya came from a strict Indian tradition……
T Krishnamacharya at 91
“Although Krishnamacharya came from a strict Indian tradition,
he liberated the restrictions.
He segregated his personal beliefs from his teaching
and his interest in the different texts on Yoga and Vedānta.
It isn’t necessary to be a Hindu to practice Yoga,
the Hindu text, the Brahma Sūtra refute Yoga.
In the Yoga Sūtra of Patañjali God is not emphasised.
Hindus have taken advantage of Yoga,
Brahmin rituals use Yoga breathing,
even if it is only symbolic and they use Mantra.
Krishnamacharya didn’t mix the different teachings,
he didn’t start a class with prayers when he worked with foreigners.”
– From study notes with TKV Desikachar England 1992
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So if certain Yoga Sādhana have a place in another culture……
“So if certain Yoga Sādhana have a place in another culture we must consider whether this symbol (Om) has a place with people who don’t understand it.”
TKV Desikachar – Lecture on September 5th 1983 in Zinal, Switzerland (Fuller notes on this lecture yet to be posted)
