Prathabi Jois - Path to Internal Cleansing & Self Knowledge

A few days ago Prathabi Jois passed away. I had mixed feelings. I had never known him personally and had no desire to meet him. I had practiced Ashtanga quite a bit in the past few years but it was a secondary discipline for me. Dance was always my primary spiritual and physical discipline. It helped me connect with music, movement, mudras in a far more integrated and graceful way. I found ashtanga way too masculine and competitive. There was an acrobatic quality about it that did not resonate with my aesthetic sensibilities. More importantly Jois who came across as a rigid Brahmin man did not resonate with me. But I respected and agreed with some of his statements which converged with what my own dance gurus have instilled deeply within me - Practice and All is Coming.

Many of his students who gone onto carve out lucrative careers teaching yoga in the West. My time studying with them was very informative - not on yoga but about the human psychology. As my yoga teacher friend said most people don't come to yoga from a happy place. Most come there to feel better about themselves - as refuge from deep unhappiness in their lives. Similarly, many teachers I met had were calling themselves MASTER yoga teachers after spending less than 5 years teaching or learning yoga. The lack of humility was stunning and culturally offensive. In India if you must have at least 50 years and a string of award winning students before you will be called a master. This is a collective recognition from the community - not a label you put on yourself.

I remember going to Mysore to spend sometime with my friend, a disciple of Prahtabi Jois. What struck me most was how separate and unintegrated the white ashtanga practioners were from the local Mysore folks. This really surprised me and bothered me. The ashtanga group also had a cult-like feel to it. With invisible boundaries marking insiders and outsiders. And I found it really strange how all the insiders seem to be non-Indian white folks. Many of these practitioners were serious and dedicated yogis who had truly helped promote Jois and his system of yoga. For that I think India and Indians must be eternally grateful. It is through use and distribution of wisdom and knowledge that we keep traditions and systems alive. Ashtanga due to Jois' charisma and dedication has became an important cultural and spiritual phenomena and has inspired renewed interest in India and all things Indian.

Sharath, Jois grandson, is poised to take over from Jois. Even from a distance I resonate more with Sharath and his challenges. Unlike Jois he was born in a different era with significant exposure to the West. It is a heavy responsibility for someone in his mid 30s to helm a rigorous and sacred discipline like Ashtanga. But he has been trained by the master himself and has lived the traditional life while touring and promoting Ashtanga in the West. He is a product of my generation. To me he exudes a more open, humble and radiant energy that I can relate to. I understand the tension that arises from keeping a tradition "pure" while evolving it to meet current demands and world challenges. I am curious to see how he shapes the next generation of ashtanga yoga practitioners and builds on Jois' foundation. The world today is a fundamentally different place from the one Jois inhabited at the height of his fame. Today the world is far more integrated and far more troubled - both economically and environmentally. How the yoga community responds to these challenges while staying rooted in an ancient tradition is a true challenge for a new leader. One could retreat into "tradition" and shut out worldly troubles or one could use the tradition to navigate and transcend the chaos. It remains to be seen.