When T. Krishnamacharya was young he heard from his father that the great 9th Century sage, Nathmuni, was their ancestor. Among the texts Nathmuni composed was “Yoga Rahasya” (Yoga Secrets). Unfortunately this was lost by the time T. Krishnamacharya was born. The knowledge of his connection with yoga set T. Krishnamacharya on the path to learn and go deeper into yoga. The path that T. Krishnamacharya took eventually lead him to the mountains of Tibet and would lead to a worldwide revival of yoga. But before all this happened, something remarkable occurred that led to the re-discovery of the lost texts of Nathmuni on Yoga Rahasya.
When T. Krishnamacharya was 16 he decided to go on a pilgrimage. He decided to visit an ancient place called Alvar on the banks of the river Tamraparani. In this town there is temple that houses a tamarind tree that is supposed to be more than 5000 years old. When T. Krishnamacharya reached the temple he met an old man sitting at the entrance who directed him to first take a dip in the river before entering the temple. As he came out of the river, after his bath, Krishnamacharya lost consciousness and collapsed. Next he found himself in a trance like state, in the middle of a mango grove where an old sage was seated under a tree with his disciples.
Prostrating before this old sage, Krishnamacharya requested for the teachings of Yoga Rahasya. The old sage immediately began to recite verses of Yoga Rahasya in a sweet voice that Krishnamacharya listened intently. The next thing that Krishnamacharya remembers is waking up on the banks of the river. As he looked around he saw that the mango grove had disappeared and so had the old sage and his disciples. But he could remember all the verses that he had been taught! Excited that he had re-discovered the lost texts of Yoga Rahasya he rushed back to the old man sitting at the temple entrance. When the old man heard his story he said, “Son, you are blessed, you have received the teachings of the Yoga Rahasya from the sage Nathmuni himself! Please first go and offer your prayers inside the temple and then go home.” Krishnamacharya immediately rushed into the temple. However when he came out he could not find the old man.
It was then he realized that the old man looked exactly like the sage who taught him the verses of Yoga Rahasya in the mango grove. For many years Krishnamacharya kept this story to himself. After he came back from Tibet and began teaching yoga, he wrote down the text of Yoga Rahasya for the first time. When asked he would always ascribe the source of the text to Nathmuni, though he would skip the story on how he received it.
Although the authorship of Yoga Rahasya is now ascribed formally to Krishnamacharya, he never claimed it so. It was only much later that he confided the real story of how he learnt the text to his close disciples and family members.
The Yoga Rahasya is an invaluable resource for the modern yogi. It is indeed a timeless text that lays down the foundation of modern yoga as taught by Krishnamacharya and now propagated worldwide. Its mystical origin makes this text even more enchanting!
Credits:This has been written by Raj Shah based on the account provided by TKV Desikachar in his translation of Yoga Rahasya, and edited by Ketna Shah.
Related:
Nathmuni’s Yoga Rahasya
The Story Of Yoga