A Guru Calls his Disciple

Yesterday a friend of mine from LA was in town enroute to Mysore. It was a sudden trip for him. His beloved yoga guru was in critical condition in Mysore and he was on his way there to visit him. This gesture touched me deeply. Only the very dedicated and sincere students will fly half way across the world for over 24hrs to visit with their guru. Many students fawn over a guru who is in good health and who could grant them an extra tip or insight. But only the true students feel a bond with their gurus and love them deeply and want to be there to comfort their guru at hard times. And times are also hard with the economy in turmoil. It would be an easy excuse for many ashtanga yoga practitioners to say that they just couldn't afford the trip. But my friend was quite steadfast and he knew what was important to him. It also made me think of my guru in Chennai who was in her 80s and whose health was not in such a great condition either. And how deeply she had inspired me too.

My friend had a 10 hour stop over in Singapore. And he wondered if I was available for a cup of tea. I had met him in LA two years ago when I went to practice yoga at his studio. He was one of the best asthanga yoga teachers I had practiced under. He was quiet, focussed and gave firm adjustments. No cosmic energy new age talk in the class. Phew !!! Just quiet focussed breathing and asana work. Just like the way many classical Indian teachers taught. I loved his commitment to his craft. Unlike a lot of yoga teachers in the US who seemed to embrace yoga for its hip factor he seemed alot more into the culture, lineage and hardwork inherent in the practice. I found that deeply refreshing and consistent with the original intent of the classical discipline.

We met up at about 10am in the morning. I suggested that we go to the Kali temple in Singapore first. I felt it would be good to say a prayer for his guru before we hung out. After the temple I took him to the botanic gardens and then to my favorite reflexologist. Its always interesting to view my country through the eyes of a visitor. It is also very interesting how bits and pieces of my childhood memories - like feeding bread to the swans in the Botanic gardens creeps back into my memory.

We spoke of many things ranging from the financial crisis to the spiritual crisis facing the world. But overall our conversations centered on themes of hardwork, consistency and living within one's means while serving a higher power. Values that have
served many generations well across the cultures and continents.