The Call of Yoga: The Life and Mission of Dr. Jayadeva & Hansaji Yogendra

By Subba Rao

This book on the life of DrJayadevaYogendra is an attempt to understand such a soul. Seen in the context of the life of this self-effacing yogi and his wife Hansaji the word yoga acquires a new dimension. Dr. Jayadeva is the son and disciple of ShriYogendra who revived Classical Yoga in modern times by founding The Yoga Institute, Santacruz East, Mumbai, India, a hundred years ago in 1918. This unique yoga couple have kept the Guru tradition alive, gently prodding their students to move from body to mind, and from mind to awareness. The students are also taught toarmour themselves with knowledge to live life with enthusiasm, faith and joy. DrJayadeva and Hansaji live a beautiful life of peace and serenity, sharing their wisdom with all those who seek freedom from suffering.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Subba Rao
• Release date: Jan 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9789385902925

Book preview

YOGENDRAS,

the householder yogis

NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION

For easy reading, Sanskrit words are spelt using simplified transliteration, without diacritical marks and without italics. Each term, at its first occurrence, is followed by its meaning. In the glossary these words are spelt with diacritical marks. Quotes in Sanskrit are given in italics. Yoga is spelt with ‘Y’ capital only when it occurs as a science or a system of philosophy or for emphasis; in most places the term is spelt in small case.

CHAPTER 1

Prelude to stillness, a stopover

As you push the gate and walk in, you notice the plants. A variety of plants in all shades of green. You experience a drop in temperature. Your steps slow down.

The world today finds itself in the age of speed. Speed in movement, speed in thinking, speed in decision-making, speed in money-making, speed in courting illness, speed in treating diseases, speed and more speed.

The first railway line in the country was laid to connect Mumbai with Thane more than a hundred years ago, heralding the arrival of speed when the rest of the country was still in the bullock-cart age. Since then, Mumbai’s heart has always been beating at a faster pace.

Here, as you walk through the gate, you slow down. An airplane flies over your head; you do not mind the aircraft noise for in Mumbai you are used to speed and noise. You hardly notice sound of the passing aircraft. What takes you by surprise though is the silence that follows. You can hear the silence. The world comes to a standstill. You breathe easy, and put away your thoughts. You are now alive to the present.

Welcome to The Yoga Institute, Santacruz (East), Mumbai.

People come to The Yoga Institute for various reasons. Many come with health problems. Some want to improve their abilities – to improve concentration, to gain self-confidence, or to improve physical fitness; some want to improve their looks – to shed weight, or to get slimmer; some are eager to overcome stress; some come shopping for spiritual information, while some others come out of plain curiosity.

Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra and Hansaji receive everybody with a smile, listen to them, and start them off with some simple asanas. They give them some diet advice, some insight to relaxation.

Those who have no health problems and are simply curious to know what yoga is all about are invited to take part in the 21-day ‘Yoga for Better Living’ course – a daily course of 90 minutes. The participants are introduced to the yogic way of thinking and living. Besides asanas and pranayama, participants are exposed to the yogic concepts of ahar, vihar, vichar and achar – right food, right recreation, right thinking and right conduct. Games and other activities make the concepts more concrete. After 21 days, one participant wrote about what she gained from this course:

Being thankful for every little thing.

Less agitated in situations at work or in traffic.

To smile and talk nicely to persons I meet.

Waking up and sleeping early, courtesy class timings.

Doing asanas with bhavas (yogic attitudes).

As part of the 21-day course, the students attend a session by Dr. Jayadeva and Hansaji. This session is called Parisamvad (dialogue). It is short, and to the point. Just one theme is taken up to explore and to ponder over. Dr. Jayadeva initiates the discussion with his opening remarks.

Dr. Jayadeva: Let’s have a little talk about fearlessness, ‘abhay.’ It is a state of mind where you have total belief in something and you have no fear. It is hard to reach this state of fearlessness because, from early childhood, we have been brought up in an atmosphere of fear. Anxiety, doubt, and uncertainty are part of our lives.

This fear is seen in animals – how they are always on the lookout for a sound or a movement. Just like little rabbits with ears up, we are looking around wondering whether a bell will ring with a notice from the lawyer, or whether a telephone will ring and the caller will demand return of his money. We lack that inner calm, certainty and confidence because we don’t believe in such an element that provides this confidence, this certainty. We see everything with uncertainty, in every situation.

If there is faith, fear disappears. Faith that whatever happens anywhere, God will be there to take care of it.

Hansaji: If you walk on the right path in the right manner, then there is less fear. If you tell a lie, there is fear. If you speak the truth, there is no question of fear. If you have stolen something, there is fear. But if you don’t steal, there is no fear. If you say something bad about someone, there is fear. But if you are speaking well about everybody, the question of fear does not arise.

Fear goes away with knowledge, experience, and above all, faith.

Audience: Is it possible to overcome fear if we have total faith?

Dr. Jayadeva: This faith doesn’t help if it is verbal, because it can be immediately countered. We can counter it intellectually. It has to be beyond words; something implicit, something inborn.

Audience: After coming here, faith has gone up and fear has gone down…

Dr. Jayadeva: The very moment we feel we are strong, nature throws something at us unexpectedly and we completely lose our faith. So, nature is also challenging us… unless we stop thinking ...

Parisamvad lasts hardly a few minutes. If one listens to Dr. Jayadeva and Hansaji, and ‘listens with the whole body,’ it makes a profound impact, as in the case of this businessman.

He was a businessman who had made his fortune. Along with the fortune came a bagful of worries, anxiety, and fear. He was always afraid of an income-tax raid. He listened to talks at Parisamvad, pondered over, and decided that he wanted freedom from fear. He took his account book to the Income-tax officer. Look, this is the book I submit for audit. This is the other book with the account of my actual earnings. Yes, I’ve evaded taxes all these years. I’m sorry about this. Please take what is due to the government and forgive me. The officer was taken aback at this confession. No businessman had ever come to him to reveal his actual earnings! He conferred with his team. They felt the man was genuine. They took a sympathetic view, collected the dues, fined him and let him off. The man was relieved. For the first time in his life he knew what it meant to live in peace!

Some choose the 7-day camp. Here, they do asanas and pranayama. They play games. They sing, they dance, they play-act, they reflect, and they think aloud.

They do things they had never done before, simple things like laughing freely.

A physician from Goa who attended a 7-day camp at The Yoga Institute in 1989 wrote:

I have learnt a lot every moment from my teachers, other workers at the Institute and other campers.

I am impressed by all the activities of the Institute carried out in a Karma-yogic way. The Yoga Institute is like an oasis for a weary traveller to satisfy his hunger and quench his thirst for knowledge and a cosy place to relax and rest awhile, to introspect, ponder over the world and the Supreme Reality before resuming the journey towards Self-realization.

On the first day Hansaji said, Fill your vessel with knowledge, which is available in plenty here.

I have tried to fill my small vessel with my limited capacity. Now, I have to rush home early before what I’ve gathered dries up by the bright sun of materialism which is very powerful, or before it gets emptied by the pushes and pulls of the modern world.

I pray to the Almighty to give me strength and ask for blessings from my teachers so that what I give will be a lot more than what I take.

Soon students realize that there is more to yoga than asanas and pranayama. A few ideas are thrown at them and it is up to them to consider them. No one is pushed around or hurried. Everybody keeps his own pace. They listen, and they ponder.

An exposure is given. An opportunity is provided. It is up to the individual to make the best out of it. A new kind of freedom is experienced. Freedom from one’s own thinking, and self-imposed ideas.

It is up to the individual to figure out the take-home message. It is not forced down the throat.

Many persons benefit with this short-time exposure to the new kind of life. They get on with their jobs. Students have their studies, executives have targets to chase and housewives have family to manage. They take with them some of the freshness, happiness and peace they experienced here.

They can always come back, if they so wish, every Sunday to the morning Satsang (gathering of spiritually minded people) to recharge themselves.

Sunday Satsang provides an opportunity to students who have finished the course to keep in touch with the living yoga of the Institute. Around 9.30 in the morning the hall is full. Men and women sit cross-legged on the floor. The teachers’ trainees present skits on the yoga themes. Someone sings a song. Then there is a talk by Dr. Jayadeva and Hansaji.

The topic for one such Satsang was aparigraha (non-hoarding). Dr. Jayadeva gives a brief explanation:

Aparigraha means to avoid hoarding things. We tend to keep collecting many things. In the beginning, it doesn’t seem much. But slowly they increase to such an extent that they fill up cupboards. So, we need to think about it, whether it is right to hoard…

Questions come from the audience. Questions about planning, feeling secure and so on. Slowly, the discussion takes a turn to the need for faith.

Some of the students want to go deeper, learn more, and practice. They enroll for the Yoga Teachers’ course. The course is meant to experience the depth of yoga. Students study the Gita, and Patanjali’s Yoga-Sutra. They get a grounding in the Yoga as a darshana (a system of experiential philosophy). They learn to integrate body-work of asanas with awareness. They learn to take responsibility. They learn to handle various situations. They learn more about themselves.

They help seniors who are conducting yoga classes. After a couple of months, they handle the class independently. They plan Sunday Satsangs, they participate in a collective endeavour to diffuse Yoga to a wider audience through exhibitions, seminars, writing articles in the Institute’s publications, and through events. They work as volunteers.

New comers seeking guidance are received at the Institute every Saturday noon. This session for new comers is called Samatvam which means equanimity. Thus, there is a subtle message – equanimity leads to healthy body and mind. The new entrants are given a medical checkup. Hansaji gives a talk on the yogic way of life. She touches on the need for the right attitude, self-direction, and faith. She gives them diet tips. She urges them to take control of their lives. A counselor talks to them.

They have one-to-one meeting with Dr. Jayadeva. He gives brief instructions, both oral and written, regarding the asanas they need to do, the care they must take, and the change required. If they have questions, he answers them.

Those without health problems attend the daily yoga class for an hour. Those with health problems are advised to attend special classes where the instructors pay individual attention. If they have severe problems, they are advised to attend special health camps. There are 1-day health camps for those with diabetes, asthma, stress, backache and heart problems.

They come with the view that asana is the panacea to solve their health problems. They soon learn that asana is just an external form of yoga. There is something deep within – their inner feelings, thoughts, fears and anxiety. When shaucha (cleanliness) is discussed in the class, they become aware that cleanliness of mind is essential. Clean it up. Get rid of all negativity. Usher in positivity. Use abiding faith as an anchor and do your duty.

A heart patient came to the institute looking for a cure. Here is his story, as narrated by a sadhaka

During the Caring Heart Project in the 1990s, we carefully selected the control group and the subject group. The case of RT came up. We were debating whether to take him or not. The borderline reports tipped the balance in his favour and we accepted him in the project.

He came with much enthusiasm and in the fourth month of the project a tragedy occurred. His young son died in an accident. All of us at the Institute heard the news and we were wondering how this event would affect him, and we hoped that no untoward incident would occur. After two days, RT himself came to the Institute looking very composed. We offered our condolences and his response was beautiful. He said to Hansaji, You have taught me to do my duty. My duty when my son passed away was towards his young wife and my wife who were both completely inconsolable. I had to remain in a balanced state of mind to be able to help them. I have realized that life has to continue for the living and I am thankful to you for giving this insight which helped me in this time of trial.

At the end of the year, when the angiography, stress test, lipid profiles were taken, he was one of those whose coronary artery blockage had reversed.

The story does not end there. One day, RT came to the institute and said, I am very thankful to the Institute for giving me a new life. With your assistance, I want to start a centre in Mira Road, where I live. So, the centre was established at Mira Road, a distant suburb of Mumbai, and many people have benefited. About six months later, he said that he wanted the wisdom of yoga to be available to the people in his home town, Kuchaman, in Rajasthan. He found a donor who was enthused by his idea and decided to raise money for a centre. The centre became a reality within six months and he invited Hansaji to the opening ceremony.

The trainee teachers take up voluntary work at the Institute, and work on various projects. They get exposure to real life.

A trainee was assigned to the Samatvam session and his duty required him to be with patients suffering from stress. He had to take their case history. After a few weeks, he found the experience overwhelming. Deep inside, he was timid, and stories of patients rattled him. He went to Dr. Jayadeva and asked him for some other work. Dr. Jayadeva understood. He simply said, From now onwards, let us do this work together. He nodded reluctantly. He started taking patients to Dr. Jayadeva, who listened to their stories. The trainee sat with him. The doctor’s calmness, composure and deep compassion apparently rubbed on him. One day, he told Dr. Jayadeva that he would handle the work on his own.

Not everybody will take up teaching yoga as a career. Many may use it for personal advancement. Some may take up teaching yoga as a service. How do they handle the job when they become teachers? Here is the story of Vera Rundus, a teacher trained at the Institute, who later returned to Canberra, Australia.

When I returned from India with the intention of teaching yoga, it was first with some misgivings. This first feeling was in no way due to the teaching methods I had learnt from the Institute, but due more to my inability to present it in the way that would be acceptable to the students. I should not have entertained such doubts, once I started, all the wonderful knowledge I had gained came to my aid. It was therefore with full conviction that I was able to discuss the various aspects of each practice, giving reasons and benefits, encouraging the pupils along the same line of thinking. In the beginning, I felt like an army sergeant with his first platoon, no co-ordination and little discipline; but, once we settled down, there was much co-operation, many moments of humour, and to me, much personal satisfaction.

When I am teaching, I feel a wonderful glow in being able to pass on this knowledge, and though there are times of doubt which is only normal; I know that as my experiences increase so too will there be improvement in my own way of life. To those who wish to take up this subject I say do, because there is no more rewarding way to help and improve humanity in general than through yoga education.

The trainee teachers are trained in Karma-Yoga, or Yoga of action. Work with a sense of dharma or self-directed activity. They can work with other team members, setting aside the ‘I.’ They can sense changes in them at a deeper level.

A trainee teacher has this to say on the work assigned to him –

I was disappointed with the work allotted to me – to paint a brick. I expected some important assignment befitting my professional qualification and expertise. I am an IITian (graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology). Here, I was reduced to the level of a brick painter, ha! This was my first reaction. Then I asked myself: Why am I here? To satisfy my ego by doing professional work to win acclaim? Then it dawned on me – for a while, let me put aside what I think I am. Let me be myself. Thereafter, I found peace in painting bricks. Totally engrossed in painting the brick, I understood what it means to be ‘yogaha karmasu kaushalam’ (yoga is creativity in work). That can happen only when one puts aside the ‘I’.

This is the beginning of unfolding of consciousness; not mere words, something that one experiences. They can now be called sadhakas (spiritual aspirants who work to cultivate a spiritual outlook).

A sadhaka is someone who toils. He or she toils for self-improvement – to heighten one’s awareness. So that the mind is alert, aware, fresh, and at peace. Such a mind can perceive, understand and come out with appropriate action to meet a situation.

Many sadhakas who have passed through The Yoga Institute recall their interactions with Dr. Jayadeva and Hansaji.

Dr. Jayadeva, so quiet, so still, and patient. Gives brief instructions – in a few words. Sometimes he sends a note with instructions scribbled in his own hand. With these instructions, he opens a small window. It is up to the sadhaka to decide what to do, how to proceed further in his own way and at his own pace.

What tips does Dr. Jayadeva give? How does it help?

Sadhakas try to follow the suggestions, instructions or tips. Only after they experience some change in them they know why such a suggestion was given. From hind sight, they come to know that the promptings from Dr. Jayadeva were to nudge them towards a central position, a balanced position from where they can retain their equilibrium. Thus, mood swings and swings to extremes are slowly brought to a state of balance. More importantly, they can now catch the mood swing even before it gathers momentum, so that they can regain balance or equilibrium sooner.

In that balanced state, they find clarity and freshness which enables them to see a situation as it is, and not coloured by their moods. This enables them to make the right choice and take the right decision which will make a difference to their life. They learn to accept the situation, flow with it even when it appears to be an adverse situation, and retain their mental energy and freshness so that as the situation changes, they are ready to act.

A sadhaka had gone to Vadodara on a business trip. His return was delayed as the Mumbai flight was running several hours late. The airport was full of irate travelers who gave vent to their frustration by complaining, abusing the airline staff and even picking up fights with airport officials. By the time their flight arrived to pick them up, they were all exhausted except for one man who looked fresh and energetic – our Sadhaka. He had quietly withdrawn to a corner, and had sat reading a book. Whereas others took the delay as a curse, he took it as an opportunity to catch up with his reading, I had no control on the airlines’ delay. But I had control on myself. I refused to get frustrated and utilized the time reading, while the others were exhausted after getting worked up. No doubt, I arrived in Mumbai a couple of hours behind schedule; but I was fresh and energetic, and reading helped me to make up for the lost two hours. Others, of course, took an hour longer to settle down to the day’s work, says the Sadhaka.

The sadhaka had cultivated this art of flowing with the situation by following the tips given by Dr. Jayadeva.

Once a sadhaka suffered a fall in the Institute premises. The pain was unbearable. Hansaji called out to him, Get up. He got up. Go to the office, said Hansaji, Dr. Jayadeva is waiting for you. So, he walked. Dr. Jayadeva told him, The body heals itself. Give it time. So, he went home. Rested for ten days. In those ten days, he read the Gita. Those were ten blissful days, recalls the sadhaka. No mention of pain. No impatience. No boredom. Flowing with the situation.

A senior sadhaka, holding a high position in an institution of higher learning, faced a crisis in his middle age. His wife had an opening to work abroad. She wanted the whole family to migrate. I’ll take care of all the expenses. You don’t have to work, said his wife. This man loved his work here. A new situation had arisen. A big blow to his ego as the breadwinner. A situation in which he would no longer work to earn and he would become dependent on his wife.

All the years of training came to his support in the hour of crisis.

He showed no resentment or self-pity. He resigned from his job and went with his wife and daughters. His friends and well-wishers thought the change would break his heart.

Two years later, he visited Mumbai for a month. He looked happy and contented. There was no trace of bitterness. How do you spend time there? Aren’t you bored, with nothing on hand? his friends asked. I’ve started teaching yoga there, said the man. It keeps me busy.

Flow with the situation. Eventually a solution will emerge on its own. Only your mind must be fresh and alert to catch it.

Dr. Jayadeva and Hansaji work as a team. They complement each other. Dr. Jayadeva talks less¸ whereas Hansaji is freer with her speech. He gives instructions and stops there. He is a clinical advisor. Hansaji is more encouraging, more persuasive.

At a Sunday Satsang someone in the audience has a question: How do we decide whether we should do something or not, without getting confused.

Pat comes the reply from Dr. Jayadeva –

If you feel there is a need, act; if there is no need, don’t act.

Then, Hansaji takes over –

Before deciding on how to act, you have to keep your mind quiet. Stop thinking and analyzing. Keep your mind quiet. Wait. When the first thought that comes to you, act on it.

Dr. Jayadeva and Hansaji are affectionately called Purusha and Prakriti. ‘Purusha’ is unchanging, Purusha is Awareness. ‘Prakriti’ is Life with all its vitality. They are like word and meaning which are inseparable.

This is what Dr. Jayadeva and Hansaji teach.

Have patience. Have trust in the Higher Reality. Yes, nothing can go wrong. Not for long. There is a universal play unfolding out there. You have a small role. Do it. Leave the rest to the Higher Reality.

Says Dr. Jayadeva:

There is a saying in the Gita – shraddha-mayo ayam purushah (BG17.3). It means that a human being is made of shraddha or faith. The more the faith, the greater is the person. Faith, not in a material object or faith to attain something, but faith only in God. He is behind everything that is happening. Faith is peace. When a person is peaceful and wise and thinks accordingly, he has real faith. We are unable to reach such a state and so our faith is weak; often, we do not get certain things. Keep faith, and you will automatically get these things."

H.N., a long-time disciple of Dr. Jayadeva and Hansaji, has this to say on yoga as taught at The Yoga Institute:

There often is a gap between what we understand and what we are ready to put into actual practice; a gap between what we think, speak and do. In the person of Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra, there is an example of a human being who has overcome this gap between knowledge and practice, between wishing and doing, between speaking and acting or between preaching and practising, as we say. He must have been able to tear down the wall between his conscious and subconscious so that everything has come into the purview of his undisturbed awareness. Anyone who comes into contact with him can benefit from the resultant truth, understanding and transparency. Anyone can come to listen to what he and his wife Hansaji have to say. Anybody can ask questions and will usually get short, sometimes humorous, but always enlightening answers. This is a characteristic of the Institute’s teaching: a blend of high philosophy and practical down-to-earthiness.

The classical definition of yoga is: ‘Restraining the chiitta (mind) from (taking on) modifications.’ This is the ultimate goal and it means to connect with the Absolute Consciousness, which is behind all thinking. Yet, this is very difficult to understand as we can hardly imagine how to function without mental activities. So, the teaching at the Institute is designed in such a way that students are led step by step from the easiest stage to more difficult and, finally, to the most difficult stage. Thus, students learn about the hierarchy of duties to avoid confusion, over-straining and doubt in their everyday lives. They further learn about the four pillars of yoga – ahar-viharachar-vichar. This covers all aspects of life including the physical routines of yoga, such as asana (posture), kriya (yogic practice) and pranayama (breath control), and the behavioural recommendations of the Yoga-Sutra, namely the yama (restraints) and the niyama (observances). These are all part of external yoga, while awareness and training in thinking is the beginning of meditation, which is part of internal yoga. To further clarify the path of yoga and provide more guidelines than those formulated in the very terse Yoga-Sutra, Dr. Jayadeva formulated the concept of the four positive bhavas (mental predispositions) based on ancient Samkhya writing. These are dharma (self-direction, duties), jnana (self-knowledge regarding body and mind), vairagya (detachment and objectivity), and aishvarya (spiritual strength). To reach these four very desirable and helpful states, it is not enough to just know them and understand them intellectually. One has to practise them, both physically and mentally, and learn in class how specific asanas and other yogic techniques are related to each of the four bhavas. One can further study the bhavas through the Institute’s many publications.

Books published by the Institute can be read with fullest trust since they are all based not only on intellectual knowledge, but also on experiential knowledge and realization. It is realization that counts in the end, which good