A perfectionist, yoga guru Iyengar touched many lives
MUMBAI: A strict disciplinarian, immensely dedicated to his art, humanitarian and humble — this is how the students of yoga guru BKS Iyengar remember their teacher.
Jogeshwari-based Kobad Variava, who learnt from Iyengar in the 1970s and is a wellknown yoga teacher today, said, “Guruji used to board a train from Pune to Mumbai every Saturday to take yoga classes over the weekend. Starting in the 1960s, he continued to do this for three decades. Yoga was not as popular at that time; not more than 30 students learnt from him in a batch held at a school in Ghatkopar. We used to pay a mere Rs30 for four classes every month.”
Recalling him to be a no-nonsense teacher who would accept nothing but perfection, Variava, who has been teaching Iyengar style of yoga at his Seva Sadan Society in Gamdevi for the past 42 years, said, “Guruji is credited with introducing props such as blocks, belts and ropes to the art of yoga in order to perfect a position or asana. That used to be painful, but he would hear no excuses.”
Another former student Aarti Mehta, who attended his classes in the 1980s, said the yoga guru extracted the best in his pupils. “He did not differentiate among his students. Be it the chairman of a company, a big industrialist or a celebrity – everyone was equal in his class,” she said.
Mehta is now taking forward his teaching at a yoga centre run by Light on Yoga Research Trust, which was formed in 1978 by Iyengar’s students. Now registered, the trust has its head office in Lower Parel.
Around 30 of Iyengar’s students teach at the four centres run by the trust, regarded as one of the most affordable in the city. “Guruji taught us that we should share knowledge with others. He put a lot of emphasis on that,” said Mehta.
Panna Mistry, also associated with the trust, said, “Guruji remains the most sincere and humble person I have come across in my life. I learnt from him not only the art of yoga, but also the characteristics of being a good human being. He was sharp in his skills, humble in his ways and a true humanitarian at heart.”