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In 1978, I had completed my yoga teachers training course in Puna and was returning to my Guru’s ashram in Ooty.
A few days after my arrival my Guru asked me to show him what I had learned. I put my mind into making sure there was not even a slightest mistake. All went well, or at least I thought it did, I gave an excellent half hour performance. I heroically concluded with the most difficult asanas – and now impatiently waited for my Guru’s comment. For a long while there was silence. Suddenly Guru broke the silence by saying out loud so all could hear: “Is that all?”
I was totally perplexed. Did I make a mistake somewhere? Why is he asking me this? In a split of a second, all my pride was swept away and I couldn’t understand what was going on. It took me several years to understand.
©
Suzi Scott
At the age of twenty I was an ambitious Yogi. At that time yoga meant everything to me – I gave it all my spare time. I managed to do all the most complicated asanas. I was proud of the fact, that I was a student of the best teacher of yoga in Kerala, Sri Chidambaran. I ate a strict vegetarian diet. I made both meat and sugar a taboo for myself because I was scared that the sweet taste would distract my senses. I was interested in only one thing; how to develop more yogic powers and how to achieve in the fastest way the ultimate goal which had been talked about by the greatest Yogis. I was certain that yoga was the cure to everything and that nothing else in life was needed. At the time I was a real yoga missionary and only spoke of the importance of yoga practice to every one I met, feeling an urgent need to convert all others. To this day I have kept a few pictures from that time – when I look at them I can hardly believe that the person in the picture is myself – as skinny as a rake, long wavy hair, a full beard and the sharp eyesight of a man who is ready to confront anyone who doesn’t share similar beliefs.
My rock solid belief in the omnipotence of yoga began to show its first cracks during the following three years of my extensive practice. The surprise came straight from my teacher, Yogacharya Chidambaran. One morning during our normal session he suddenly said:
I did not understand what he meant by this and he did not try to explain it any further. How could such a person who dedicated all his life to yoga and teaching all its secrets to his students now be telling me this? I had chaos in my head. However, it didn’t take long and everything became clear. I also took judo lessons and it was here when I injured my neck. This was the same time when I was spending a lot of my time with my Guru at Ooty ashram. The cold hilly climate did not do any good to my injury. I stubbornly carried on with yoga practice, but the pain was worsening unbearable. Guru Nitya observed me for a while and finally his patience ran out. He ordered me to set off for the well known Ayurvedic centre in Coimbatore, where his good friend was the chief physician. I was to undertake a treatment there. I reluctantly set on the way. When I arrived to the clinic they told me they would have to shave my head which made things even worse. The doctor informed me that the treatment would take three weeks. Three weeks without yoga practice! I protested but without effect. The Vaidya only shook his head from side to side with a smile.
“Do you want to practice without pain again?” I nodded. “Well then, there you have it. Leave all haste behind. Everything has its own time. You will be perfectly all right, that I can promise,” he added. I resigned. The Vaidya knew not only Guru Nitya, but was well versed in philosophy and so my forced stay eventually turned into an enjoyable experience. I gradually became accustomed to the procedures. The outcome exceeded my expectations. Already at the beginning of the third week there was no trace of pain. I slowly returned to my practice. However, my belief in following the path of yoga alone has been slightly shaken.
Ayurveda and Yoga are like a tree with two trunks growing from the same roots of ancient Vedic tradition. Yoga is the science of unification with the highest divine being; Ayurveda is the science of life. Yoga leads to enlightenment, Ayurveda to perfect health. Ayurveda leads us to harmony with ourselves and the creation. Yoga leads us to communication with the Creator. Ayurveda enables us to reach a sense of physical comfort and mental joy, Yoga aims to achieve a state of uninterrupted bliss. True happiness can be achieved only through the core of ourselves, not through the ever changing uncertainty of the external world. Therefore Ayurveda always leads us to yoga and its meditative practices. Meditation and asanas lose their effect if we do not know the rules of correct diet and proper behaviour. The connection with the higher Self is impossible without a healthy body, steady mind and clear consciousness, and therefore yoga builds on Ayurvedic principles. A Yogi not familiar with the principles of Ayurveda is only a half Yogi and an Ayurvedic physician who doesn’t know yoga is only a half physician.
India is the cradle of yoga. It has been carried through living tradition and perfected throughout time by thousands of great teachers. Great Yogis of late and early history usually lived in solitude. Vast was their knowledge, but not their ego. Many of today’s Yogis have swapped the simplicity and humbleness of their teachers for the need to gather around themselves ranks of followers. The more huge their numbers the more enlightened the teachers feel. They are in desire to create empires. From underneath their orange robe they use yoga as a mighty tool. Pursuing the inner truth and peaceful meditation was traded for the listening to loud flattering praises of their merits they have done to the development of yoga. They turn the freedom of education into religious doctrines and create their own churches. They exchanged the living memory of their teachers with their dead photographs. Today in India and in the West it is not easy to find a good teacher of yoga. It requires a good discriminating ability on the part of the seekers
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Dr. Sri Kumar
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