Shri Yogendra

Shri
Yogendra
Gujarati: યોગેન્દ્ર
Statue of Shri Yogendra
Religion Hinduism
Founder of The Yoga Institute (1918)
Philosophy Hatha Yoga
Alma mater Amalsad English School, near Surat
St. Xavier's College, Mumbai
Other names Mogha[1]
Shri Yogendra
Yogendra Mastamani[2]
Swami Yogendra Mastamani
Swami Yogananda
Pen name Mastamani
Personal
Born Manibhai Haribhai Desai
(1897-11-18)18 November 1897[3]
Surat, Gujarat, British India
Died 24 September 1989(1989-09-24) (aged 91)
Spouse Sita Devi (m.1927)
Children Jayadeva Yogendra, Vijayadev Yogendra
Parents
  • Haribhai Jivanji Desai (father)
Guru Paramahamsa Madhavdasji
Quotation
No gift is greater than the gift of knowledge.

Manibhai Haribhai Desai (1897 – 1989), known as Shri Yogendra and Yogendra was an Indian Yoga guru, author, poet, researcher[4] and was one of the important figures in the modern revival of Hatha Yoga, both in India and United States. He was the founder of The Yoga Institute, the oldest organized yoga center in the world, established in 1918.[5][6] He is often referred as the Father of Modern Yoga Renaissance.[7][8] He was one of the figures responsible for simplifying yoga asanas and bringing yogic technologies to the common householder.[9]

Three of his books, enumerating his research findings have been selected by a committee of experts as the world's most authentic source of Yoga wisdom. The Oglethorpe University has preserved his books in the Crypt of Civilization.[10][11][5]

Shri Yogendra’s innovated modern methods to impart Yoga, initiating research in Yoga, particularly in the field of the Yoga therapy for various ailments which received worldwide recognition. He authored several books on yoga and started the journal, Yoga in 1933. He was also a poet, who wrote under the nom de plume 'Mastamani'. He translated Rabindranath Tagore's Gitanjali into Gujarati.[4]

Biography

Early years

Yogendra was born as Manibhai Desai in a Anavil Brahmin family on November 18, 1897 in a village near Surat, Gujarat. He was affectionately called Mogha (meaning priceless one) in his childhood.[1] His father Haribhai Jivanji Desai was a school teacher. His mother had died when he was three years old.

At the age of eighteen in 1916, after distinguishing himself in the Amalsad English School in Amalsad village near Surat in Gujarat, Yogendra attended St. Xavier’s College in Bombay. He felt homesick and fell into depression and lost his interest in studies. At the urging of his roommate, On August 26, 1916, Yogendra visited the Dharamshala of Paramahamsa Madhavadasaji at Madhav Baug, regardless of his robust suspicion of sannyasis and sadhus. However, In Paramahamsa ni Prasadi (1917)[12] , Shri Yogendra wrote that his misgivings disappeared "as our eyes met" and as it turns out, Paramhansa Madhavadasaji was equally struck by his qualities as a capable disciple.[4]

Yogendra in his early years
Yogendra's Guru, Paramahamsa Madhavdasji circa 1930

After a period of courtship through letters, Yogendra left his college and went to Madhavadasaji's Ashram in Malsar, near Vadodara in late 1916. He received special attention by the guru Paramahamsa Madhavadasaji and it was simple that he was being educated and groomed to be the successor to Paramahamsa. Yogendra learned Yoga and went under the training of Paramahamsa Madhavdasji at Malsar. Much of the trainingwas related o practical and pragmatic use of Yoga and the application of it in various situations of sickness and suffering. His training in the Ashram was centered around the utility of yogic 'natural health cure' administered to patients in the ashram's sick ward. Yogendra left the Madhavadasaji 's Ashram after more than two years.[4]

Works

On November 25, 1918, Yogendra established The Yoga Institute at the residence of Dadabhai Naoroji at Versova Beach in Bombay (now Mumbai). A year later in 1919, Yogendra left for Europe and the United States, with the aim of popularizing Yoga and set up a branch of institute, The Yoga Institute of America at Harriman in New York.[13]

The Yoga Institute in Harriman, New York in 1920

In US, Among the people Yogendra met was Benedict Lust, one of the founders of naturopathic medicine. Benedict Lust saw the value of Hatha Yoga for his work and studied it with him. Yogendra stayed there working with a number of Avant-garde doctors such as John Harvey Kellogg and Benedict Lust. Along with the early experiments on Yoga, he finished his first books while in US, Light on Hatha Yoga and a volume on Rabindranath Tagore.[14]

He went back to India less than 5 years later, proceeding to go back to the USA, however thwarted through the restrictive immigration legislation of 1924.[15][16]

Research

Yogendra with Dr. Surendranath Dasgupta in 1924

In 1921, Yogendra conducted X-Ray studies on Sutra Neti kriyas, a yogic technique to clean the nasal cavity.[18] He conducted research on Prana with Surendranath Dasgupta, an orientalist and philosopher in 1924.[19] In 1930, manuscript 'Yoga Personal Hygiene', authored by Yogendra, is the first book on intricate Yoga processes listing research on Uddiyana and Pranayama.

Contribution to literature

Shri Yogendra authored his first book named Prabhubhakti (meaning, Devotion to the Lord), which was published by Diamond Jubilee Printing Press in Ahmadabad. His second book was Hrudayapushpanjali (meaning, Prayer from heart), a collection of his poetry, which was composed in 1917.[20]

Principle A. B. Yagnik, a Gujarati critic wrote in an article, Poetic Versatility of Shri Yogendra, published in 1979,[20]

We here enter the poet's esthetic world and are delighted with his exquisite reflections. At this stage he might as well have been on the road to Yoga, but not reached there. — "Poetic Versatility of Shri Yogendra", Journal of The Yoga Institute,, November 1979

Shri Yogendra also translated Ravindranath Tagore's Gitanjali from Bengali to Gujarati language and got published in 1918, after permission of Tagore.

He was inspired and influenced by Works of Rabindranath Tagore. The country was in a grip of nationalistic influence and next collection of poem appeared Rashtriyagita, published in 1919. It refers to the homeland, the citizens and the struggle for freedom. Other books of his poetry collection includes Pranay Bansi, Sangita Dhvani (2017) and Urmi (2014).[20]

Bibliography

Books on Yoga[21]

  • Memorabilia, (1926)
  • Yoga Physical Education - Volume 1, (1928)
  • Yoga Personal Hygiene Simplified, (1931)
  • Hatha-Yoga Simplified, (1931)
  • Simple Meditative Postures, (1934)
  • Rhythmic Exercises, (1936)
  • Way to Live, (1936)
  • Breathing Methods (1936)
  • Yoga Personal Hygiene, (1940)
  • Yoga: Physical Education, (1956)
  • Yoga Essays, (1969)
  • Facts about Yoga, (1971)
  • Why Yoga, (1976)
  • Yoga –Sutras, (1978
  • Life Problems, (1978)
  • Guide to Yoga Meditation, (1983)
  • Yoga in Modern Life

Poetry collection

  • Prabhubhakti
  • Hrdayapushpanjali
  • Pranay Bansi
  • Sangita Dhwani, (1917)
  • Rashtriya Gita, (1919)
  • Gitanjali of Tagore, (1917)
  • Urmi, (1924)
  • Kavi Tagore, (1926)

Personal life

He married to Sita Devi in 1927. The couple had two sons, named Jayadeva Yogendra and Vijayadev Yogendra.[22]

Death

Shri Yogendra died on September 25, 1989 at the age of 91 in Mumbai.[23][22]

Legacy

Shri Yogendra Chowk at Santacruz is named after him.

In 1994, The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation renamed the TPS 5 Prabhat Colony as Yogendra Marg (road) after Yogendra.

A Chowk named Shri Yogendra Chowk located in Santacruz, Mumbai, is named after him, was inaugurated by Suresh Prabhu, the Minister of Railways, Govt. of India in April 2017.[24]

Further reading

  • Santan Rodrigues (1997). The Householder Yogi – Life Of Shri Yogendra. ASIN 8185053057.
  • Vijayadev Yogendra (1972). Glimpses from the life of Shri Yogendra : Father of Yoga Renaissance. Yoga Education Centre, Melbourne.
  • Mark Singleton; Ellen Goldberg (November 6, 2013). Gurus of Modern Yoga. Oxford University Press. pp. 60 to 75. ISBN 9780199938711.
  • Vijayadev Yogendra (1977). Shri Yogendra, The householder Yogi. Santa Cruz [Calif.] : Yoga Institute.

References

  1. 1 2 Rodrigues, Santan (1997). The Householder Yogi Life of Shri Yogendra. p. 3. ISBN 978-8185053059.
  2. ↑ Sangeetha, Rajah. "History of Yoga". hindupedia.com. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  3. ↑ Singleton, Mark; Byrne, Jean, eds. (June 30, 2008). Yoga in the Modern World: Contemporary Perspectives. Routledge. p. 64. ISBN 9781134055203.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Elliott Goldberg (July 18, 2016). The Path of Modern Yoga: The History of an Embodied Spiritual Practice. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 9781620555682.
  5. 1 2 "World's oldest yoga centre still going strong". The Times of India. February 5, 2015.
  6. ↑ Jhangiani, Diipti (November 22, 2013). "Neighbourhood Haven The Yoga Institute". DNA India.
  7. ↑ Mishra, Debashree (July 3, 2016). "Once Upon A Time: From 1918, this Yoga institute has been teaching generations, creating history". Mumbai: Indian Express.
  8. ↑ Sadhaka (May 16, 2015). A Spiritual Path That Led to Arunachala. p. 11.
  9. ↑ Barrett, Jennifer (December 1997). "Householders Yoga". Yoga Journal. Active Interest Media (137): 24. ISSN 0191-0965.
  10. ↑ Raymond Collyer Knox; Horace Leland Friess (1941). The Review of Religion, Volumes 6-7. Columbia University Press. p. 416.
  11. ↑ Unger, Gerhard (1976). "November 18 is the 80th Birthday of Shri Yogendra, the grand old man of Yoga". The Illustrated Weekly of India. Bennett, Coleman & Company, The Times of India.
  12. ↑ Rodrigues, Santan (1997). The Householder Yogi Life of Shri Yogendra. p. 32. ISBN 978-8185053059.
  13. ↑ Alfonso Caycedo (1966). India of yogis. National Pub. House, the University of Michigan. p. 194.
  14. ↑ Edward Quinn (2014). Critical Companion to George Orwell Critical Companion Encyclopedia of World Religions Series Facts on File library of world literature. Infobase Publishing. p. 515. ISBN 9781438108735.
  15. ↑ J. Gordon Melton; Martin Baumann. Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices (2nd ed.). ABC-CLIO. p. 3159. ISBN 9781598842043.
  16. ↑ Constance Jones; James D. Ryan. Encyclopedia of Hinduism Encyclopedia of World Religions Facts on File library of religion and mythology. Infobase Publishing. p. 263. ISBN 9780816075645.
  17. ↑ Jeffrey J. Kripal; Glenn Shuck (2005). "The American Mission of Shri Yogendra and Paramhansa Yogananda". On the Edge of the Future: Esalen and the Evolution of American Culture Religion in North America. Indiana University Press: 64, 65, 66.
  18. ↑ Guha, Kunal (January 7, 2018). "Relative Value: A Century of Wellness". Mumbai Mirror.
  19. ↑ "Full text of "Mircea Eliade And Surendranath Dasgupta Guggenbuehl C"". archive.org. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  20. 1 2 3 Rodrigues, Santan (1997). The Householder Yogi Life of Shri Yogendra. p. 52, 53, 54, 60. ISBN 978-8185053059.
  21. ↑ "inauthor:"Shri Yogendra"". Google Books. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  22. 1 2 Ashok Raj (April 1, 2010). The Life and Times of Baba Ramdev. Hay House. ISBN 9789381398098.
  23. ↑ "Yoga pioneer, Yogendra, dead". The Times of India. September 27, 1989.
  24. ↑ "Centenary logo of The Yoga Institute, Santacruz unveiled on the 88th birthday of living Yogi Dr. Jayadeva Yogendra Shri Yogendra Chowk also commemorated". indianshowbiz.com. April 30, 2017.
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