Guruji's students

[Guest guest]

I've just seen some pictures I've never noticed

before on the Web, of Sri K Pattabhi Jois together with

some of his students in action,

<a href=http://www.breatheonline.com/gurujipics.htm

target=new>http://www.breatheonline.com/gurujipics.htm</a> .<br><br>Every time I

see such pictures taken

from Guruji's classes in Mysore, I ask myself: Why are

there no Indian students to be seen anywhere in his

shala? It seems like almost all of Jois students are

either North Americans or Europeans. As far as I know,

Mysore is a university town bursting with young people -

in a normal world, they should queue up in front of

Jois' institute. Why isn't this apparently happening?

Are Jois'classes unaffordable for average Indians? Or

is Astanga Yoga simply not as popular in India as it

is in the West? Is Sri K Pattabhi Jois a Guru for

white people only?

[Guest guest]

Sri KP is a guru for anyone that is willing to

put out the kind of prana it takes to be a regular

practitioner of Ashtanga. As one of his 1st American students.

I remember when we were a minority. On my first

trip to India, the Guru had an early morning class for

"locals" only. Then his daughter taught "locals" in the

afternoon.<br><br>Sometimes people are more famous away from their home, this

is not unusual. Consider yourself lucky if you've

studied with the man. Why care if others want to study

with him or even consider him exceptional? Yoga is a

matter so deeply private and personal, I can hardly

understand the comments about yoga subculture, be it from

Greece, Israel or Maui. <br><br>Taking it up and

practicing the Bandhas on a regular basis will move anyone

past the yoga stars and personalities and certainly

beyond any issue of the geographical coordinates of ones

practice. <br><br>Yours in yoga.

[Guest guest]

takeitup,<br><br>I am sure that, when you went to

India to study with Jois as one of his 1rst American

students, Guruji was still teaching lots of local Indians

in Astanga Yoga. But in those times I guess, it was

also much cheaper to study with K P.Jois than today,

and Westerners were still an uncommon sight in

Mysore.<br><br>Sometimes, I think K P.Jois is simly following one of the

basic rules of the market economy, i.e.: when supply is

short (the space available in his yoga shala, that is)

and demand is high (lots of students eager to learn

Astanga from the Guru), prices go up. So this might

explain why fees at Jois' institute are so unusually

expensive ( K P.Jois being unwilling to provide for more

practising space).<br><br>But aren't the high costs today

for attending his classes keeping away the locals? Is

the high level of the fees justified at all? Doesn't

the overwhelming presence of western (i.e.white)

students in Jois' classes have a deterrent effect on the

locals? (Some questions which come to me sometimes, when

I look at pictures taken from classes in

Mysore.)<br><br>Thank you anyway for your nice post last time. I see

there's much wisdom in you.

[Guest guest]

Divine self,<br>Vidwan Pattabhi Jois has taught

thousands of Indians this Ashtanga and most of them are

practicing it by themselves. I am one of his old students,in

1960s am teaching ashtanga in Bangalore City with his

blessings. Most of the Indians have various types of

practices in the field of yoga and they select the type

that suits their living. Guruji never rejected any

Indian to learn from him. He is for the Indians only in

certain special practices of yoga which are revealed to

others.<br>Yours in yoga<br>Viswanath

[Guest guest]

Divine self,<br>Vidwan Pattabhi Jois has taught

thousands of Indians this Ashtanga and most of them are

practicing it by themselves. I am one of his old students,in

1960s am teaching ashtanga in Bangalore City with his

blessings. Most of the Indians have various types of

practices in the field of yoga and they select the type

that suits their living. Guruji never rejected any

Indian to learn from him. He is for the Indians only in

certain special practices of yoga which are revealed to

others under special circumstsances.<br>Yours in

yoga<br>Viswanath

[Guest guest]

Yogivishwa,<br><br>THANK YOU! That was a helpful message to me!<br><br>Yours in

Yoga.