In Samādhi there is an understanding……
“In Samādhi there is an understanding.
Something not based on your memories,
something that transcends your memories.
Prajña comes only in Samādhi.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 20
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The Art of Gītā Scripture Module One Workshop May 23/24th 2020
Follow this link for details of Online Personalised Learning Art of Gītā Scripture Study options
The Art of Gītā Scripture Workshop Module One
Search your Heart in The Quest for Relationship with the Beyond
The Art of Gītā Scripture – Module One Personal Sādhana Workshop is limited to a maximum of five students to allow for a personalised approach and in-depth transmission between teacher and student. It introduces the student to a weekend workshop on the primary principles and teachings from T Krishnamacharya and TKV Desikachar on the Bhagavad Gītā.
Based in the Cotswolds, it is a 2 day workshop open to all except complete beginners and offers an opportunity for a student from any Yoga background or style to have an in-depth introduction to the Bhagavad Gītā, either for personal development or, if relevant, professional skills.
Upcoming Dates
- The Art of Gītā Scripture – Module One Personal Sādhana Workshop 5December 12, 2020
An in-depth overview of the Bhagavad Gītā
– Module One 2 Day Workshop December 12/13th 2020
– Places Waitlisted - The Art of Gītā Scripture – Module One Personal Sādhana Workshop 6November 19, 2022
An in-depth overview of the Bhagavad Gītā
– Module One 2 Day Workshop November 19/20th 2022
– Five Places Available
Samādhi is a state of mind and an understanding that arises from it.
“Samādhi is a state of mind and an
understanding that arises from it.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 18
Learning Support for Chanting the Long Version of Mā Aham
This day, for so long TKV Desikachar‘s birthday, is the third since his passing in August 2016.
In memoriam, as an offering of respect and fond remembrance, is a chant he composed for Western students as a condensed highlighting of the key concepts within the inquiry into the Pañca Maya, contained within Chapter Three of Taittirīya Upaniṣad known as the Bhṛguvallī.
Listed below are the links to both a text file and a sound file from my personal library of recordings with TKV Desikachar. This particular one is recorded with one of his senior chant students, Sujaya Sridhar.
View or Download the Long Version of Mā Aham as a PDF with notations
Listen or Download the Long Version of Mā Aham as an MP3 Sound File
It is not enough to realise that there is somewhere to go……
“It is not enough to realise that there is somewhere to go,
you must also be really interested in taking the step.”
– TKV Desikachar on Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 20
Some people describe that Kuṇḍalinī goes through the Suṣumṇā……
108 Yoga Study Path Pointers – 28 – What is important is the refinement of one’s practice repertoire……
A teacher who knows us very well might give us a Mantra……
“A teacher who knows us very well might give us a Mantra
which has a particular connotation because of the way it has been arranged.
It that Mantra is repeated in the way it has been instructed,
if we are aware of the meaning and if perhaps we want to use a particular image,
Mantra Yoga brings about the same effect as Jñāna Yoga or Bhakti Yoga.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
‘Various Approaches to Yoga’
Chapter Seventeen Page 240
Jñāna Yoga is where we hear or read somebody’s words……
“Jñāna Yoga is where we
hear or read somebody’s words,
delve into them deeply,
discuss them with people,
engage in reflection,
until finally all doubts are cleared.
We see the truth,
we merge with the truth,
and that is Jñāna.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
‘Various Approaches to Yoga’
Chapter Seventeen Page 239
The seeds from Krishnamacharya’s and Desikachar’s teachings on Haṭha Yoga……
The seeds from Krishnamacharya’s and Desikachar’s teachings on Haṭha Yoga are best rooted through a personal home practice by:
Firstly –
By prioritising the twin aspects within a joint commitment to learn both Haṭha Yoga practice techniques and Haṭha Yoga practice theory. The intended outcome of this two pronged approach is engaging in learning how to practice, rather than just learning what to practice.
“Yoga must be adapted to an individuals needs,
expectations and possibilities,
rather than adapting an individuals needs,
expectations and possibilities to Yoga.”
This means learning to engage with the process of what it means to have a personal Yoga practice alongside engaging learning to study the theory of the component principles that underpin what constitutes creating and sustaining a personalised Yoga practice.
“Some are satisfied with what Āsana brings them.
Others are curious as to where Āsana can take them.”
These twin aspects of the arts of Yoga practice techniques and Yoga practice theory support our being able to independently and intelligently choose, adapt and ultimately self-develop and self-refine our personal Yoga Sādhana.
Deepening our relationship with Prāṇāyāma deepens our relationship with Āsana……
One aspect of Yoga Sādhana is that it is ultimately about a maturing of our relationship with all aspects of on the mat (and seat) Yoga practice, rather than just a maturing of our Āsana practice.
“Are we confusing the maturation of our Āsana practice
with the maturation of our Yoga practice?”
This is especially relevant if we consider these various aspects as existing within a holarchy. This implies that one “level”, here Āsana; whilst being the foundation, technical reference point, verification and ladder for the next “level”, here Prāṇāyāma; also remains interdependent with it. Thus Āsana is correspondingly influenced by the insights that arise from Prāṇāyāma as we work towards a transition from Bāhya Aṅga Sādhana towards Antar Aṅga Sādhana.
“Āsana is the primary choice to work the breath.
Prāṇāyāma is the primary choice to refine the breath.”
For example, fully embracing Prāṇāyāma as a Sādhana is initially founded on the core principles that underpin an intelligent relationship with Āsana. This foundation helps to seed insights that are unique to Prāṇāyāma practice. These insights in turn both deepen our relationship with Prāṇāyāma as well as refreshing and further deepening our relationship with Āsana.
Meditation is not a technique, it is a journey.
”Meditation is not a technique,
it is a journey.”
– TKV Desikachar 1998
If you are using something more complex, say Gāyatrī Mantra……
“The number of times you say OM on inhalation, holding the breath,
and exhalation is influenced by the length of the breath.
We cannot fix the number of recitations on the basis of the Praṇava itself.
We can only fix it on the basis of a person’s capacity of breath.
If you are simply using OM, it can go with almost any ratio.
If you are using something more complex, say Gāyatrī Mantra,
it is very long and has different structures so there are regulations on
how many times you say it when you inhale, hold the breath, and exhale,
and in what part of the Mantra you can break, etc.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
‘Various Approaches to Yoga’
Chapter Seventeen Page 238-239
Once you know how to recite the Praṇava orally you will be able to do it silently……
“I think once you know how to recite the Praṇava
orally you will be able to do it silently.
And perhaps each time you can add a little meaning
to it as well as find a little more meaning in it.
The best way is to begin orally and
then transfer it to a mental recitation.
Then you can easily use it in your Yoga practice.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
‘Various Approaches to Yoga’
Chapter Seventeen Page 238
Don’t go on doing a lot of postures……
“Don’t go on doing a lot of postures; if you do,
I think the meaning in Yoga will be lost.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
‘Various Approaches to Yoga’
Chapter Seventeen Page 238
Many people have this problem of maintaining attention during practice……
“Many people have this problem of maintaining attention during the practice.
You can place your attention on a particular part of the body
but there must be something happening, a movement.
Thats why the best movement is the breath.”
– TKV Desikachar Religiousness in Yoga
‘Various Approaches to Yoga’
Chapter Seventeen Page 237
Religiousness in Yoga Study Guide: Chapter Sixteen Theory
‘Religiousness in Yoga: Lectures on Theory and Practice’ by the University Press of America,
a transcript of recordings of a one month Yoga Programme in Colgate University in 1976, published in 1980.
Unlike the later redacted edition, re-published in 1995 as the ‘Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice’, it captures the evolution of the retreat with the days lectures and Q & A dialogues as they alternated between ‘lectures on the principles and purposes of Yoga and discussions related to the practice of Yoga with special reference to the postures and the breathing techniques’.
TKV Desikachar, in his forward to the original version wrote:
“These lectures and discussions, printed words put before persons I might never meet,
are but reflections of that deeper result that grew out of a living face-to-face encounter.
Coming to learn of Yoga only through reading leaves much to be desired.
Yet, something worthwhile about Yoga might be shared through the medium of the printed word.”
A chapter by chapter Study guide is offered below with added verse and word cross-references where possible to support a a deeper linking with the teachings within these lectures and Q & A sessions.
Chapter 16 Theory: A Session for Questions Pages 221-235
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 56 – We experience the world via the conjunction of the ‘eye’ of the Cit……
We experience the world via the conjunction
of the ‘eye’ of the Cit with the ‘I’ of the Citta.
– Reflections on Yoga Sūtra Chapter Two verse 17
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 55 – Abhyāsa or Practice is the effort to remain within……
Abhyāsa or Practice is,
the effort to remain within
the stillness of the present.
Vairāgya or Dispassion is,
the absence of thirst towards
the dance of the past.
– Reflections around Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verses 12-15
108 Sūtra Study Pointers – 54 – Every step towards observing the play of the mind……
Every step towards observing the play of the mind,
is a step towards observing the ploy of the mind.
– Reflection around Yoga Sūtra Chapter One verse 4