SUNDAY SHARATH'S CONFERENCE: MYSORE MAGIC FILM

Everyone set? You come to this site! Those were Sharath words this morning as he was, once again, directing traffic within the shala at the most crowded conference I have ever seen, with possibly around 400 people in it.

That is early on, there was no room for a single more body
when it filled completely

I never take pictures in the shala because there is a sign that says it is forbidden,  so imagine my surprise when the assistatn director of the documentary that was about to be shown, a project headed and directed by Alex Medin, told me that it was OK, that she needed a few, and liked my camera. I jumped at the opportunity. How exciting!

People kept coming in

The Movie

Sharath said that he wanted to show this film which was 'the fastest documentary in history' (referring to how fast it was put together) last week but there was a festival (harvesting) and today he wanted to show it in the evening but there is a gathering of Yoga authorities that have recognized him together with another 3 teachers as great teachers and want to honor him.  So he wants to graciously accept the offer that is made with love.


The documentary is called Mysore Magic Yoga At The Source, and runs for about 25 minutes.  It features students/teachers from around the world telling of why they come to Mysore and how the practice has changed/affected their lives.   For example, Kino tells of how she reckons it takes more than a few years to actually witness the transformation that happens with the practice,  her husband Tim talks about how you begin to observe what goes on within as you go along, and that it is not always beautiful.  Some of the students in the film I recognized, others I did not.

Alex (the director) and Angie, who are two of the team of 3 behind the movie
Jimmy, the third memeber, has already gone back to North Dakota. Thank you guys!

Overall a beautiful collage of why people come to the source, how it helps them deal with anger, bring them peace into their lives, and how it is possible to trust once you come to a place with a teacher who is a very long term, soundly trained, dedicated practitioner, like Sharath or Saraswathi.

Sharath mentions in the film that he does not see himself as a guru. If people see him as a guru then he is for those students, if others do not, then he is not for those others. As per him, he is always a student. He said, and everyone laughed: "a guru never says he is a guru".

At the end of the movie Alex gave thanks to Angie and Jimmy who helped him put together the movie and explained how all proceeds from it (it is now streaming for about 5 dollars) will go both to benefit the Pattabhi Jois Charitable Trust and the making of a second documentary.  He also said that people who promote them on their sites can get 10% of purchases.

Alex thanking everyone and telling us about the movie

Then Sharath takes the chair again and the after-movie conference begun.

The Conference:

In our lives, whenever we come into something that is good, and transforming, it is good to share it with many people. These are the opening words of Sharath.  He goes on: It was both Krishnamacharya and Pattabhi Jois' vision to share the message.  P. Jois discovered this method from Krishnamacharya and he tried to pass it on to many people, we are one of them.

Whenever we receive something good it is also a tradition in India to give something back. He cites a Sanskrit word that I cannot place and says that the meaning of it is to give something back to the Guru.

In the west, Sharath continues, we tend to challenge the Guru rather than accept but not in India.  The idea of parampara is to always treat the Guru with respect, because the Guru transmits what he has learned from his own Guru and the student should eventually be capable to pass it along as well.  If there is confusion in the mind of the student then the knowledge will simply not pass on.

My own Guru, Pattabhi Jois, says Sharath, would sometimes be very silent for days.  Gurus are human and sometimes work very hard for many hours teaching students. They are people. And so Guruji would sometimes be silent for days.  I would come to him, like many students do, with so many doubts and he would say, "oh, I will tell you some other day", and remain silent. Yet one day he would come around and say so many things that would clear all the doubts.

My grandfather had so much knowledge, he was like a library, he was always reading books.  You would have to experience it to see what it was like when he would talk to you, the things he would say.  Even though his English was not good students understood and it was because he created a certain energy.

It is important for a teacher to create a certain energy.

Guruji would wake up at 3:30 and do his chanting and then teach for long hours, he created a lot of energy.  Krishnamacharya placed the seeds in Mysore and Guruji continued the work and sowing the seeds of Ashtanga Yoga and now it has grown like a tree and spreaded all over the world.  I hope it keeps growing.

As I said in the documentary, Yoga does not belong to any particular person, it can be practiced by anybody. But we need to develop discipline within us, and dedication towards yoga. Nobody can force you to do it, it has to come from within, you need to cultivate it yourself.

Many people talk about how Patanjali says this or Patanjali says that, but just reading does not explain anything, it is through the practice, the work put into asanas, yamas, and niyamas that we start the transformation. The mind changes, our attitudes change, the behavior starts to change.  They happen when we practice yoga.  What is the use of asana if we are then violent? What is the use if we are not disciplined in body and mind?

Everyone has purity within them. We do not realize this but the practice can get us out of the delusions and bring us purity.

We need to beautifully accept and practice the eight limbs, get rid of the impurities then knowledge grows within us and greatness comes. Keep practicing because things won't happen in 1 year or 10 years but little by little we keep going deeper and towards realizing true.

I taught three classes today so my voice is going.  Enjoy the rest day and don't eat too much. See you on Tuesday (Monday is the moon day here)

You can preview, rent or buy the movie here. Enjoy!

The notes are from the Conference on Sunday January 22nd, 2012.

OTHER CONFERENCES I REPORTED ON IN 2012

JANUARY 22ND: MYSORE MAGIC FILM AND CONFERENCE: PARAMPARA

FEBRUARY 7th: I AM NOT IN FACEBOOK, I MADE THAT MISTAKE BEFORE