Sparks of Divinity: The Teachings of B. K. S. Iyengar

SPARKS OF DIVINITY

THE TEACHINGS OF

B.K.S. IYENGAR

FROM 1959 TO 1975

Compiled by

Noëlle Perez-Christiaens

Shambhala • Boulder • 2012

Shambhala Publications, Inc.

4720 Walnut Street

Boulder, Colorado 80301

www.shambhala.com

Sparks of Divinity: The Teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar from 1959 to 1975;

copyright © 1976 and © 2012 by Institut de Yoga B.K.S. Iyengar, Paris.

All rights reserved.

For additional copyright information, see the Permissions page.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-930485-80-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

Project Editor: Donald Moyer

Coeditor: Holland Hammond

Production Editor: Linda Cogozzo

Cover Design: Gopa & Ted2, Inc.

Cover Photograph: Steve Baczewski

Contents

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Noëlle’s India Journal, 1959

Sparks of Divinity 1959–1975

The Early Life of B.K.S. Iyengar

Afterword

Glossary

Permissions

About the Authors

Index

E-mail Sign-Up

Acknowledgments

WITH HEARTFELT THANKS to Noëlle Perez-Christiaens for compiling and preserving these wonderful teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar and for remaining steadfast in her conviction that Iyengar should be heard in his own voice and his own words, enigmatic though they may be. We are grateful to Noëlle for allowing us to publish this new edition.

With gratitude to B.K.S. Iyengar for providing the photographs reproduced in this book, and for the continued inspiration of his teachings. The passage of thirty-five years has not dimmed the brilliance of his insights.

With deep appreciation for the enormous contribution of Georgia and Philippe Leconte, who were entrusted by Noëlle with overseeing this revised edition of Sparks of Divinity on her behalf. Georgia and Philippe not only wrote the foreword and afterword but also selected excerpts from B.K.S. Iyengar: Un Mystique Hindou Ivre de Dieu for inclusion in this book.

Georgia and Philippe collaborated with Noëlle on the original French translation of Sparks of Divinity, and their skill in deciphering Iyengar’s most cryptic sayings often gave me a clue on how to clarify the English text without diluting the impact of Iyengar’s words. It has been a great pleasure to work with such dedicated, knowledgeable, and generous colleagues.

Many thanks to Jean Couch of the Balance Center in Palo Alto, CA, for arranging the historic meeting with Georgia and Philippe Leconte at Venus Restaurant, in Berkeley, and for reading and commenting on their introductory material. We are grateful to Thea Sawyer for her fine translation of the foreword, afterword, Noëlle’s Indian Journal, and the Early Life of B.K.S. Iyengar.

Final thanks to our coeditor, Holly Hammond, for her insightful suggestions on how to organize the material in this book, and to Vicky Palmer for her perceptive reading of B.K.S. Iyengar: Un Mystique Hindou Ivre de Dieu.

Donald Moyer, Publisher

Foreword

SPARKS OF DIVINITY is a collection of sayings from yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar, compiled and edited by Noëlle Perez-Christiaens, one of his first Western students. Noëlle first published the book in 1976 in a French and English bilingual format. At that same time, she published a second book in French only, titled B.K.S. Iyengar: Un Mystique Hindou Ivre de Dieu. These two books complement each other. The first one quotes the master himself; the second one is filled with anecdotes and observations from Noëlle’s encounters with this exceptional man who has inspired her all her life.

This new edition of Sparks of Divinity includes the English text from the first edition, plus extracts from B.K.S. Iyengar: Un Mystique Hindou Ivre de Dieu, including excerpts from the journal Noëlle kept during the time she studied one-to-one with Iyengar in India, and subsequent chapters that chronicle the early life of Iyengar, his work, and his family.

Who was this brave young woman who traveled alone to India in 1959? Noëlle Perez-Christiaens, then thirty-three years old, was forever the student. Her search was spiritual: religious studies at the Catholic Faculty in Paris, biblical studies, Catholic liturgy, and study of Eastern and Western mysticism. She searched passionately and persistently.

From an early age, she had been drawn to the great spiritual traditions of the East, inspired by reading Voyage d’une Parisienne à Lhassa (My Journey to Lhasa) by Alexandra David Neel. In search of contemplative techniques, she embarked upon yoga, and within two years had read all the literature available to her on the subject. Over the next four years, she studied with several teachers who practiced in France and Switzerland, and then taught her own yoga class. But India was calling.

IYENGAR WITH NOËLLE IN ARDHA MATSYENDRASANA I

An employee at the Indian Tourist Office introduced Noëlle to a former colonel who had worked with T. Krishnamacharya in Mysore as well as with his student, B.K.S. Iyengar, in Pune. He is the one who introduced her to Iyengar.

Noëlle cobbled together the money needed to pay for her trip, her stay, and the tuition. Her first class with Iyengar was on July 14, 1959. To her surprise, she found it just a special gymnastics without any spirituality. However, she decided to stay, due to the precise and refined technique of the master.

Gradually she discovered that even if contemplation was not ostensibly part of the practice, what she found there was a confrontation with the self that could widen the will: the will for perfection in the pose, the will to become aware, and the will to develop concentration.

It was a turning point in her life. She had found her mentor and guide. A new path opened, and she did not stray from it. She never returned to India, but attended Iyengar’s classes during several summers in Gstaad, Switzerland, where he was invited by Yehudi Menuhin. And Iyengar came to Paris in 1971, 1972, and 1976 to teach at the Institute B.K.S. Iyengar, which Noëlle founded after her return from Pune. She sent him countless students, one of them being Georgia, her spiritual daughter and one of her most enlightened students, who spent four months in Pune in 1974.

Sparks of Divinity

Noëlle’s notebooks were full of the master’s remarks about how to see the world, the philosophy of yoga, his devotion to the Divine, and his love of human beings. In 1974 she asked herself, Do I have the right to keep this great beacon of light for myself and my students, to clarify our path only? She wrote to Iyengar and made him part of her project to write a book about everything except the technique of yoga.

On June 18, 1974, Iyengar answered: In regard to the book you plan to write, I have no objection whatsoever; go ahead. And ask Beatrice Harthan in my name to send you ‘the list’ she has put together. Ask also Silva Mehta. You can write about this to Lyn Dorfling in Transvaal so she can send you what she wrote down. Someone else has taken many notes; it is Winnie Young from Natal. Kareen could also have something. All those collections can be added to your work.

Then, Noëlle says, A fire was lit in me. I wrote in all directions.

By October 1974, she had nearly a thousand index cards, translated by friends and students so that each card would be bilingual. At Christmastime the manuscript was ready for photocopying so the whole thing could be taken to Iyengar by two students on their way to Pune for the inauguration of the new institute in January 1975. Three weeks later, everything came back in the suitcase of another student. Each card had been reviewed and corrected. Then each card was typed and translated again and linked to an index of sixty key words. Noëlle wrote: Our treasure was ready to light the way for all who were trying to educate, refine, and purify themselves with or without religion.

Then disappointment came: No editor wanted to publish the work. Noëlle had to resort to publishing it herself—finding a printer, proofing it, and having it printed. It was a huge job. Finally it was pulled off: the book came out in May 1976. There were still many errors, but it would be ready for Iyengar’s visit in June. Many students bought a copy, which helped to pay off the enormous expense.

Noëlle wrote: It is not a book for reading. Like all contemplative thought, these excerpts are to be studied and combined to form a kind of synthesis that becomes a complete education.

Georgia and Philippe LeConte

Paris, 2011

Noëlle’s India Journal, 1959

I had done yoga from books, searched everywhere, and followed different teachers for a while. I had acquired some firm beliefs and was pretty dogmatic about them. I believe that I was in a frame of mind and with similar training as many others who are about to experience the shock of meeting B.K.S. Iyengar. In these notes, I mention things that I would not say today, but they contain such freshness, such faith, such joy, that it would be a pity to correct them. I prefer to offer them as they are, with all their imperfections.

JULY 1, 1959: Phew, I am off. Papa was willing to lend me what I still needed, and just as he came to drive me to the airport, Colonel Fromji called to say that Iyengar has accepted me as his student. It looks like it is all coming together. After so many struggles, this feels good.

JULY 7: Bombay. The place buzzes with the sound of voices. Trees rustle in the light evening breeze. Pleasant town, crowded with a mass of people dressed in shades of white and color. Some are very dark-skinned. I am going to swim in the shower, after swimming in the monsoon, and after that I fear I will be swimming in my bed, it is that hot and humid!

JULY 11: As arranged, I waited for the weekend to meet Iyengar and watched him teach his class today. His students are much brighter than the ones I have seen in Europe. He does not give the impression of going easy. Although kind, he does not tolerate the halfway manner of teaching we have in Europe. Everything has to be done right, into the smallest details: yoga, then bhoga (pleasure). They teach me this word after class at the home of a student where we gather for a picnic. Very pleasant atmosphere.

JULY 13: Pune. Departure at 8:15 a.m. by fast train, which takes four hours to do 100 km and stops everywhere, even between stations. Breakfast on the train served on small trays. Arrival in Pune: Porters dressed in red hang from the windows even before the train comes to a standstill. There are at least two coolies per person! Mrs. Homji awaits me at one end of the quay, Mr. Iyengar at the other. How kind he is! He was afraid that I would feel completely lost, and since no one in his family speaks English, he came to meet me himself. When he was sure that Mrs. Homji was there to take care of me, he left, after a time was arranged for my first lesson the next morning.

JULY 14: First lesson with Iyengar. I am dead but very interested. If I last, I will get extremely healthy and exchange all my cellulite for muscle.

JULY 15: I am as dead today as yesterday; this girl is bushed.

JULY 16: More and more worn out.

JULY 17: On my way to Iyengar’s house in the bus, I got off a stop too early. Somebody took me to Iyengar. The next day he sent his son to the stop to wait for me.

JULY 18: No class, phew. Iyengar is in Bombay.

JULY 20: I take advantage of the opportunity to write my parents. Iyengar is marvelous: he was kind enough to meet me at the station. He is also a fantastic teacher, but his style of teaching is very hard at first. Exactly the opposite of everything I have been able to do in Paris and in Switzerland. We improve a pose for a long time, with all muscles in extension. Believe me, he sees all and lets you know that you just relaxed a tiny little muscle in the big toe of the left foot while he was adjusting your right knee. No relaxation between asanas. I have told myself: this kills me or it will revive me—there is no middle ground. This morning after two days off and still feeling exhausted, I had the pleasant surprise to realize that all was well and that I was gaining strength. In five lessons, he already made me improve like crazy. He is aware that he is asking too much of me, but since I told him that I already teach yoga, he trains me to teach—and that in two months! He truly tries to give me the best of himself in concentrated form, to help all the French indirectly through me, as he says so kindly. So far I have found in all this just a marvelous kind of gymnastics that leaves nothing untouched, because one must arrive at an interior unity. He is truly the most passionate teacher I have met till now, exactly what I need. He is going to have me change hotels so that I get better food. He says: Careful with your health. You have come here to study, not to get sick."

JULY 20: From my notebook. Finally back to class. We had a great conversation. I told someone, who repeated it to Iyengar, that I was looking for a spiritual yoga. He explained that this does not exist because yoga is unity and that I cannot do anything with a weak body. And that attention means concentration. And that meditation is the moment when, after complete concentration to get a perfect pose, you hold it. That is to say, you work it. There is a moment of such intense focus that you lose the awareness of I. For him, each pose is a meditation, an experience of unity without sense of time, gender, or nationality. You forget everything not because you want to but because that kind of concentration forces you to.

I am back to normal, I am stronger, and in five lessons he has made me improve enormously. He has a lot of expectations for my two months. He watches everything and lets nothing escape his attention. Today we worked one hour and fifteen minutes without fatigue.

I attended his class for children (ten to sixteen years old): he leaves not a moment of respite and instead of resting assigns them (so-called) restorative poses. He links together different poses and asks such muscular effort! But the children don’t seem tired; he leads them on for a long time. He has such strength, it becomes acrobatic.

JULY 22: Iyengar is quite satisfied; he finds that I work hard. I make a lot of progress, and my muscles hurt less. When I do Headstand, it begins to feel light.

JULY 23: Iyengar insists on the fact that with your students you should never go at the speed he goes with me or tire them as much, or you will lose them, for they are not courageous enough. Little by little, I realize how well he knows his art. He shows me all the preparatory steps for the most difficult asana in each group. He points out each muscle that must work, where to place my weight, where to relax, or turn, and which goal is to be reached. He is firm like a whip and beaming and affectionate when you give it your all. He helps and supports and lets go just at the moment when you cry uncle. You feel that he knows exactly how far you can go today and prepares gently for tomorrow. Today I have done Sirsasana by myself, legs firm. Strength begins to come; it is less punishing.

IYENGAR AND HIS FAMILY GREET KRISHNAMACHARYA, PUNE, 1961

He remains in an affectionate relationship with his Guru, Krishnamacharya and writes him everything about his work.

With the book of Yesudian in mind, I ask him if it is true that certain people can have a conversation from afar. He is somewhat skeptical and says: How can you be sure that it is a message from the Guru? But he does add that his letters cross with the answers of his Guru.

I really have the impression that I am in the right gear with my work, and if I meet his expectations I think he will not abandon me. He seems to know just how far he can