This is the first of two linked Sessions.

The first part of this Session will be a “dharma talk.” It will be followed by a questions and answers period in which Gary will offer greater, more personal, insights as gleaned from the opportunities he gained from his own long-term relationships with both Kṛṣṇamācārya and Kṛṣṇamācārya’s son, Desikāchar. Gary met them both in 1974. He lived and studied with Desikāchar for about four years, in Chennai, while Kṛṣṇamācārya was still alive.

In this session, we will explore the meaning, purpose, and component parts of Yoga Sādhana as understood in the context of Kṛṣṇamācārya’s overall teachings. It will prepare us for the more experiential second session which is a truly integrated practice

According to Kṛṣṇamācārya’s teachings, the Samādhipāda was composed for Mastakāñjali one who, through the power of a concentrated and dedicated mind, can achieve freedom by listening (śrāvaṇa) to the teachings, reflecting (manana) on their meaning, and meditating (nididhyāsana) on them until their meaning is internalized and assimilated. Instead, the Sādhanapāda was composed for Baddhāñjali one who, due to ignorance, lives in a state of identification and is bound by karma that is perpetuated by action rooted in deep-seated and, for the most part, unconscious patterns, or saṁskāras. Most of us fall into the category represented by Baddhāñjali according to Kṛṣṇamācārya. We, like Baddhāñjali, can achieve freedom by dedication to sādhana (spiritual practice). In the Sādhanapāda, Patañjali presents clearly delineated paths of practice that lead to the goals of Yoga: Kriyā Yoga and Aṣṭāṅga Yoga. Kṛṣṇamācārya taught that Kriyā Yoga and Aṣṭāṅga Yoga are not simply organizations of distinct and separate practices, but rather comprehensive systems of linked practices, each component an essential part of an integrated whole.

Kṛṣṇamācārya cautioned that if we just pick and choose what we are attracted to, we will more likely re-enforce our dysfunctional patterns rather than transform them.

In this session, we will explore the meaning, purpose, and component parts of Yoga Sādhana in the context of Kṛṣṇnamācārya’s teachings.

This session will prepare us for an experience of a truly integrated practice, which we will do togehter in our second session.

Though each session can be taken separately, they were designed to be taken together, this first one presenting the theory, and the second the practical experience.

The greatest benefits for participants will therefore be gained by attending both sessions.