Click the links for pages in Dharma Downloads and cYs Journal to view or download Articles, Interviews and Videos around the life and work of T Krishnamacharya, TKV Desikachar and their students.
The tradition and teaching of Shri T Krishnamacharya has been perpetuated and developed over recent decades by his son and long time pupil TKV Desikachar.
TKV Desikachar was born on June 21st 1938, in Mysore, Karnataka, the fourth child of Shri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya and his wife, Shrimati Namagiriammal, sister of BKS Iyengar. As the son of the eminent Shri Krishnamacharya, Desikachar could not help but be exposed to the richness and depth of Indian culture while growing up. However, in spite of the portent of his namesake, the great sage Vedanta Desika, the young Desikachar was encouraged to seek a modern education. Accordingly, he completed a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and his early adult life saw him successfully pursuing his career as a civil engineer. Yet the influence of his father’s teaching was still present and able to cause a change of direction in Desikachar’s life.
This happened in 1961, when Desikachar was visiting his parents’ house in Madras on route to northern India. One morning about 6.00am he was awakened by the sound of a foreign woman knocking at the door and demanding to see “the professor”. Before he could take stock of what was happening, Desikachar was astonished to see this Western woman run down the path, and fling her arms around Shri Krishnamacharya as he emerged from his quarters while exclaiming, “I slept! I slept!”
Despite his Western style education, the young Desikachar was unprepared for the sight of a foreign woman hugging the austere and reverential figure of his South Indian Brahmin father. Witnessing her relief at overcoming her chronic and severe insomnia led Desikachar to appreciate the healing power of yoga and Krishnamacharya’s extraordinary mastery of its art and application. He determined to find out more about it, and very soon thereafter gave up his engineering pursuits in favour of extensive studies with his father. He continued with his studies for nearly three decades, and went on to co-found an Institute that bears his father’s name.
The Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram was founded in 1976 in Madras with the aim of making available the heritage of Yoga and in later years Vedic Chanting as taught by Shri Krishnamacharya. TKV Desikachar was one of the founders and managing trustee of the KYM. It provides assistance to people coming from all over India as well as elsewhere, by means of careful assessment and individualised treatment. Accordingly, it is recognised by the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The KYM also provides ongoing training and consultation on a number of special projects, including for example, training programmes for teachers of children with learning difficulties. In addition it offers a special two year teacher training diploma course in yoga studies.
In 1999 due to the tremendous interest in Vedic Chanting a separate unit called Vedavani was established solely to teach Vedic Chanting with specialised teachers in individual and small group situations.
Under Desikachar’s guidance the KYM and Vedavani have developed into important teaching and therapy centres receiving students from all over the world as well as India.
Teaching regularly in many counties around the world, TKV Desikachar has come to be recognized as an authority in Yoga and Vedic Chanting, representing his father’s teachings in prestigious international conventions and conferences. He has authored numerous books and is frequently invited to contribute articles on Yoga health, psychology and spirituality to Indian newspapers and journals both in English and Tamil.
2006 marked the thirtieth anniversary of Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram. To honour this occasion and acknowledge TKV Desikachar’s outstanding contribution to the world of yoga, a special commemorative book ” TKV Desikachar – A Tribute” was released at London on 31st March 2006. This tribute was made possible through the generous support of students and well-wishers from around the world.
To download the book “TKV Desikachar – A Tribute” as a PDF please click here
The past few years have also seen the increasing emphasis in the promoting of the name of Desikachar’s father and teacher the eminent T Krishnamacharya as a Yoga master of profound influence to the development of Yoga in the West and the emergence of Desikachar’s son Kausthub as a force in the Yoga teaching world.
The latest step from the movement to represent the teachings of T Krishnamacharya globally is the founding of the Krishnamacharya Healing and Yoga Foundation (KHYF) on January 1 2006 by TKV Desikachar along with Kausthub. With Desikachar’s son and primary student Kausthub in a leading role, it is an organization committed to spreading the holistic yoga teachings of Yogacarya Sri T Krishnamacharya.
TKV Desikachar lives in Chennai with his wife Menaka (b1947) who as his longtime student teaches Yoga and Vedic Chant. They have a daughter Mekhala (b1978), also teaching Yoga and Vedic Chant, two sons Bushan (b1970) and Kausthub (b1975) and three grandchildren (one from each of their three children).
Click the links for pages in Dharma Downloads and cYs Journal to view or download Articles, Interviews and Videos around the life and work of T Krishnamacharya, TKV Desikachar and their students.
TKV Desikachar – The Link
Picture courtesy of KYM Archives
Click the links for pages in Dharma Downloads and cYs Journal to view or download Articles, Interviews and Videos around the life and work of T Krishnamacharya, TKV Desikachar and their students.
The tradition and teaching of Shri T Krishnamacharya has been perpetuated and developed over recent decades by his son and long time pupil TKV Desikachar.
To view or download the article “My Father’s Yoga” as a PDF
TKV Desikachar was born on June 21st 1938, in Mysore, Karnataka, the fourth child of Shri Tirumalai Krishnamacharya and his wife, Shrimati Namagiriammal, sister of BKS Iyengar. As the son of the eminent Shri Krishnamacharya, Desikachar could not help but be exposed to the richness and depth of Indian culture while growing up. However, in spite of the portent of his namesake, the great sage Vedanta Desika, the young Desikachar was encouraged to seek a modern education. Accordingly, he completed a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and his early adult life saw him successfully pursuing his career as a civil engineer. Yet the influence of his father’s teaching was still present and able to cause a change of direction in Desikachar’s life.
This happened in 1961, when Desikachar was visiting his parents’ house in Madras on route to northern India. One morning about 6.00am he was awakened by the sound of a foreign woman knocking at the door and demanding to see “the professor”. Before he could take stock of what was happening, Desikachar was astonished to see this Western woman run down the path, and fling her arms around Shri Krishnamacharya as he emerged from his quarters while exclaiming, “I slept! I slept!”
Despite his Western style education, the young Desikachar was unprepared for the sight of a foreign woman hugging the austere and reverential figure of his South Indian Brahmin father. Witnessing her relief at overcoming her chronic and severe insomnia led Desikachar to appreciate the healing power of yoga and Krishnamacharya’s extraordinary mastery of its art and application. He determined to find out more about it, and very soon thereafter gave up his engineering pursuits in favour of extensive studies with his father. He continued with his studies for nearly three decades, and went on to co-found an Institute that bears his father’s name.
The Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram was founded in 1976 in Madras with the aim of making available the heritage of Yoga and in later years Vedic Chanting as taught by Shri Krishnamacharya. TKV Desikachar was one of the founders and managing trustee of the KYM. It provides assistance to people coming from all over India as well as elsewhere, by means of careful assessment and individualised treatment. Accordingly, it is recognised by the Health and Family Welfare Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu. The KYM also provides ongoing training and consultation on a number of special projects, including for example, training programmes for teachers of children with learning difficulties. In addition it offers a special two year teacher training diploma course in yoga studies.
In 1999 due to the tremendous interest in Vedic Chanting a separate unit called Vedavani was established solely to teach Vedic Chanting with specialised teachers in individual and small group situations.
To view or download the article “Sound – A means beyond Asana and Pranayama” as a PDF
Under Desikachar’s guidance the KYM and Vedavani have developed into important teaching and therapy centres receiving students from all over the world as well as India.
Teaching regularly in many counties around the world, TKV Desikachar has come to be recognized as an authority in Yoga and Vedic Chanting, representing his father’s teachings in prestigious international conventions and conferences. He has authored numerous books and is frequently invited to contribute articles on Yoga health, psychology and spirituality to Indian newspapers and journals both in English and Tamil.
To view or download the article “Yoga and the XXIst Century” as a PDF
2006 marked the thirtieth anniversary of Krishnamacharya Yoga Mandiram. To honour this occasion and acknowledge TKV Desikachar’s outstanding contribution to the world of yoga, a special commemorative book ” TKV Desikachar – A Tribute” was released at London on 31st March 2006. This tribute was made possible through the generous support of students and well-wishers from around the world.
To download the book “TKV Desikachar – A Tribute” as a PDF please click here
The past few years have also seen the increasing emphasis in the promoting of the name of Desikachar’s father and teacher the eminent T Krishnamacharya as a Yoga master of profound influence to the development of Yoga in the West and the emergence of Desikachar’s son Kausthub as a force in the Yoga teaching world.
The latest step from the movement to represent the teachings of T Krishnamacharya globally is the founding of the Krishnamacharya Healing and Yoga Foundation (KHYF) on January 1 2006 by TKV Desikachar along with Kausthub. With Desikachar’s son and primary student Kausthub in a leading role, it is an organization committed to spreading the holistic yoga teachings of Yogacarya Sri T Krishnamacharya.
TKV Desikachar lives in Chennai with his wife Menaka (b1947) who as his longtime student teaches Yoga and Vedic Chant. They have a daughter Mekhala (b1978), also teaching Yoga and Vedic Chant, two sons Bushan (b1970) and Kausthub (b1975) and three grandchildren (one from each of their three children).
Click the links for pages in Dharma Downloads and cYs Journal to view or download Articles, Interviews and Videos around the life and work of T Krishnamacharya, TKV Desikachar and their students.
To view or download the TKV Desikachar biography as a PDF
Click to view T Krishnamacharya’s Profile