GURU WORSHIP

Today is the anniversary of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois’ death and so it seemed appropriate to complete this blog entry on this date.  I remember the moment I heard about his death in the same way I remember other significant moments in my life.  I walked into the shala I practiced at and I could tell something had happened. His picture was decorated with flowers and candles. I put down my mat and my teacher approached me and told me “Guruji has left us”.  She was so stricken with grief that it was hard not to break down in empathy with her pain.  I remembered in the week that followed, finding extra strength when I practiced in front of his picture.  My teacher even said to me after practice one day “You’re full power at the moment. It must be because Guruji is watching you.”  This is the power of the guru. 

Given all the scandals about yoga teachers of late and the subsequent warnings about “guru worship”, I felt the desire to write about my positive experience of following a teacher.  Due to the negative connotations of the word guru in the west, I will replace it with the word teacher from here on in. 

I have met many fellow teachers who don’t have a specific teacher themselves.  Some just have not met anyone that they feel that deep a connection with. Some believe that they don’t need a teacher.  Others speak out against this idea of following a teacher at all, believing it to be a dangerous practice.

Any fellow yoga practitioners who know me well enough, know how much I cherish my relationship with my teacher.  Words cannot express the love that I feel for this person and I truly feel blessed to have experienced this bond.  For years, I lived in quite a remote place, sheltered from the yoga brands and the latest yoga crazes.  There were no workshops with the popular teacher of the moment or fancy pants or overpriced mats.  There was just a room of sweaty people, wearing whatever was comfortable and going deep into their own personal journey.  Little did I know that there was a big bad world of so called yoga.

On my first trip to Mysore, I remember Sharath’s words about the teacher student relationship.  He said you find a teacher and you stay with them for many years.   He also spoke of how the natural law of things has been reversed. Before a student would go and ask to be accepted by a teacher.  Now, the teacher does everything they can to attract the student.  If the student is displeased, they just change to another teacher, who pleases them more.

This tendency to undervalue a teacher’s role has become so common in western society.  As is so typical of the modern malaise, we flit from one teacher to another, looking to get the best of what that person has to offer before moving on.  We don’t like to commit to anything or anyone. 

On my last visit to Mysore, Sharath spoke of giving thanks to your teacher/s.  Yet again, his words spoke to me.  He talked about being grateful to your school maths teacher, even if they taught you as a small child, if they helped you.  This element of gratitude is integral to my practice.  Every day, after savasana (final relaxation), I give thanks to those who have guided me on this path. 

In ashtanga yoga, we talk a lot about lineage.  So why is lineage so important?  Well, both Pattabhi Jois and Sharath have said to their students “Teach the way I taught you.”  There is a passing down of knowledge but in that process there is also something more.  With the transmission of information the teacher is transmitting a part of themselves which helps the student to comprehend a deeper knowledge.  When a student does not honour the divine in their teacher, they are failing to recognise the divine in themselves and they are missing the point of yoga. 

So what is so great about following a teacher?   From early on in my practice, I felt like my teacher could see straight through me, that she saw me without judgement.  If there is anyone who can make me cry just by looking at me, it is her.  Her integrity has meant that I also try to act with integrity. Being in her presence, gives me an automatic sense of calm.  She never tells me how things are but rather gives me the space to realise my own truth.  She provokes in me the utmost respect and devotion.  There is so much to be gained from the act of surrender – to trust and have faith. 

As Sharath and Guruji said “ A guru never calls himself a guru” .  It should be fairly obvious if the teacher you are following is a megalomaniac.  If they are constantly exerting their power over you, they are most certainly not on the path.  Practice caution and don’t pick just any teacher.  The most amazing teachers I have met have been the ones you wouldn’t even notice and then in a moment, you look into their eyes and you see the world resting there.

I dedicate this post to Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, whose mere image gives me strength in my practice. To Sharath, whose compassion and understanding kept me believing when the world around me seemed like a gymnastics competition and to my teacher for being the kind of person you would gladly surrender to.