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SRI KRISHNA PATTBHI JOIS MAHA- SAMADHI

On 18 May 2009 at 2:30pm Indian Time, the great yogi Sri K. Pattabhi Jois took   Maha- Samadhi at age 94.  With his guru Sri Krishnamachrya, he developed the Ashtanga Yoga system.  Guruji was one the most influential yogis in the last century and was one of the main reasons any of us are enjoying the practice of yoga and in particular vinyasa style yoga in the West. The Ashtanga system is comprised of about 6 main series that are practiced  all over the world. So he is also hugely responsible for sharing vinyasa krama or ideas on the systematic sequencing of postures.

According to the inspiration section of the Jivamukti website:

Shri K. Pattabhi Jois studied yoga under his guru Shri Krishnamacharya and also attended the Sanskrit College of Mysore, where he became a professor of Sanskrit and Advaita Vedanta. He and Shri Krishnamacharya developed the Astanga Yoga series based on the purifying practices described in the ancient texts. In 1948, he founded the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore. In 1958, he wrote his classic book Yoga Mala, which explores Astanga and Yoga philosophy. In 1998, David Life was made a certified Astanga teacher by Shri K. Pattabhi Jois. Both Sharon and David make regular trips Mysore to study under him.

End quote.

Pattabhi was one of the main influences on the Jivamukti Yoga method and gave David and Sharon his blessings when they co-founded the system back in 1986. David was certified by Sri K. Pattabhi Jois to teach all the through the Advanced B Series .  Sharon and David are very grateful for all the teachings and insights they received from studying with him. He is one of our “grand gurus”!

He was famous for saying “Do your practice and all is coming.”

A favorite quote that is featured on the Jivamukti NYC website is:

“Ahhhh Samadhi. Yoga is Samadhi. God is One. Yoga is One. Philosophy is One. That’s All.”

This week in honor of the transition of this profoundly influential master, we will be integrating some particular rituals into our classes to express our tremendous gratitude for the practices, wisdom and example that we received from Guruji and to support his transformation…

The Tuesday evening 6pm class at Karmany will include a moment of silence accompanied by the chanting of a few particular mantras that were specified as appropriate for this time by Manorama. We will be somehwat coordinating with the ceremony celebrating the life of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois at the main Jivamukti Center in NYC which will be lead by Manorama-ji and Ruth-ji. Ruth Lauer Manenti had a very close relationship with Guruji and will speak about his life and influence on us and Manorama Thea D’Alvia will lead the fire ceremony and chanting of the mantras.

For the next 12 days, we will be continuing to honor the gift of his existence and teachings and include something special at Karmany on Friday 29 May during our Gratitude Party which “coincidentally” will coordinate with the closing ceremony that will be held at the Jivamukti Center in NYC by Sri Sharon-ji and Sri David-ji.

We are still awaiting further instructions regarding this next few weeks but for now a few instructions are:

Let us reflect on the GURU mantra, the GAYAATRI mantra and the MAHA MRTYUNJAYA mantra

Let us set aside as much time for meditation as possible.

Let us reflect on all that SRI KRISHNA PATTABHI JOIS has done to uplift our existence.

We can place his photo on our alters or somewhere special, decorate with white flowers and light white candles.

To learn more about Guruji, you can visit www.kpjayi.org.

To hear a touching account of Guruji from my guru David Life visit Yoga Journal.