Practice of the Month
Yoga Tourism in Africa: A rising wave of wellness and opportunity 
Yoga tourism is emerging as a powerful trend worldwide, and Tanzania is poised to become a leading destination for wellness travel. Known for its safaris and cultural richness, Tanzania is now exploring new frontiers with the help of Swasti Yoga Center, Associate Centre of the...
Chandigarh UT Chapter leads the way in celebrating IDY 2025 with spirit of unity and wellness 
The Chandigarh UT Chapter of the Indian Yoga Association has actively joined the national celebration of the 11th International Yoga Day (IYD), embracing the global theme “One Earth, One Health” to highlight the vital link between personal well-being and planetary harmony. The chapter began its...
Yoga Unplugged: SBV organises Yoga Fest 
School of Yoga Therapy (SYT), ISCM, SBV (Associate Centre of the Indian Yoga Association) conducted the SBV Yoga Fest 2025 (as a Curtain raiser for the 11th IDY) under the signature event category of Yoga Unplugged. This was a Regional level program for all the...
Yoga Unplugged: Yoga Awareness Program at Rural Healthcare Training Center of SBV, Pondicherry 
The School of Yoga Therapy (SYT), Institute of Salutogenesis & Complementary Medicine (ISCM) of Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (SBV), Associate Centre of the Indian Yoga Association, conducted a vibrant and impactful awareness program at the Rural Healthcare Training Center (RHTC) of SBV in the Aranganur. This...
YVN concludes successful 52nd Annual Summer Course 
Yoga Vidya Niketan (YVN), Mumbai, Member Institute of Indian Yoga Association, successfully concluded its 52nd Summer Yoga Course held from May 1 to May 31, 2025. Conducted across 34 physical centres in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai — ranging from TIFR Colaba to Mankhurd, and Borivali...
Yoga Samavesh IDY 2025: SBV with IYA conducts awareness program on Yoga Therapy for Residents of Alcohol De-addiction Centre 
A collaborative outreach program was organised and conducted by the School of Yoga Therapy, ISCM, Sri Balaji Vidyapeeth (SBV) in association with the Indian Yoga Association – Pondicherry chapter and Garudaa Mental Health Wellness Centre, Cuddalore- for the residents of the alcohol and cannabis de-addiction...
Yoga education for underprivileged children by IYA Chandigarh Chapter at Sivananda Center of Excellence 
The Indian Yoga Association, Chandigarh State Chapter, conducted a meaningful yoga education session for children of brick kiln workers at the Sivananda Center of Excellence, Kakrmajra. The session was led by Yog Guru Shri Sandeep Sharma from Ashiana Children’s Home, Sector 16, Panchkula, who has...
Free yoga sessions for women municipal workers held in Chennai under IYA-TNSCC Samavesh Program 
As part of the Ministry of AYUSH’s “Samavesh” program—one of the 10 signature events under the 11th International Day of Yoga (IDY) celebrations, Smt S. Lalitha, Professional Member of the Indian Yoga Association (IYA) and founder of Abhyasaa Yoga Center and Therapy in Chennai, successfully...
Tamil Nadu SCC hosts valedictory of free summer yoga classes for children at Ashok Nagar 
The Tamil Nadu State Chapter Committee (SCC) of the Indian Yoga Association (IYA), in collaboration with Shri N. Elumalai of Rangarajapuram SKY Trust, successfully conducted the closing ceremony of the Free Summer Yoga Classes for Children at the Ashok Nagar Anjaneyar Temple, Chennai. Held from...
VYAS Kolkata hosts yoga awareness camp to promote One World, One Health 
As part of the Yoga Teacher Training Programme, Vivekananda Yoga Abhyas Sanstha (VYAS Kolkata), an Associate Centre of the Indian Yoga Association, organized a Yoga Awareness Camp on May 4, 2025, at Keshav Bhawan, Kolkata. Dedicated to the theme “One World, One Health through Yoga,”...



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10 Jul 2025

Blog

Yoga is a Living Tradition that Requires a Living Lineage!
Editorial

Yoga is a Living Tradition that Requires a Living Lineage! 

Yoga, one of the greatest treasures of our Indian culture is a living tradition. It is a mindful and conscious way of noble living that depends on the Guru-Sishya Parampara, the abundant living reservoir of traditional wisdom of this timeless art and science.

This unbroken lineage, the Parampara passes on the undiluted teachings from the realized master to the dedicated and sincere disciple, who then became a master to his disciples. This safeguards such Universal, pure wisdom of the living lineage for generations to come.
As my Guru-father Yogamaharishi Dr Swami Gitananda Giri Guru Maharaj would say, “The real Guru enables the disciple to manifest their own inner un-manifest potential thus becoming a Guru themselves. The goal is to empower the sishya, and NOT to keep them, limited and disempowered as a disciple forever”

Purity, fidelity and clarity of purpose were maintained by such a seamless transmission based on value, trust, love and reverence. The disciple had to first earn the trust of the Guru and prove to be worthy of the teachings before they were imparted the timeless wisdom with heartfelt blessings. Those on the side of the disciple were received with gratitude and transmitted to the next generation in a similar manner. Utopian ideals and a spirit of altruism were the cardinal principles guiding the uninterrupted transmission of universal wisdom.

This was the traditional system through which the highest quality of teaching was sustained. It was a strict quality control mechanism that ensured the highest understanding and practical applications of Yoga were neither diluted nor degenerated into a business model.

To strike water, one needs to dig deep in one place. Maharishi Patanjali in his timeless Yogasutra advises us to follow “Ekatatva abhyasa”, meaning thereby that one needs to go consistently and persistently as deep as possible on the singular path one has chosen towards transformation and liberation. This is the same with any living system of knowledge as the tendency to go hopping from one tradition to another only leads to one becoming a puddle digger. Such a person never gets to the source of water, nor the life enriching teachings.

The Guru-Sishya relationship is a “One-to-One” relationship that encompasses every human relationship under the sun. This is based on an intimate, dynamic, and experiential connection that ignites, sustains and drives one’s Yogasadhana towards fruition. It is based on a sense of freedom and individual choice rather than dogma and bondage.

The space for such enfoldment is the Guru Kula, the womb of the Guru where the Sishya is nourished and inner growth facilitated in a loving, yet disciplined manner. Just as a mother enables her child to grow in her womb, the Guru enables their Sishya to grow spiritually in a safe and nourishing environment.

This inner growth is natural and adequate time is given for it to occur in a spontaneous and Sahaja manner. It is neither artificial, nor externally forced at any point of time. This facilitates the process of an individual’s growth into their Universal Nature.

The Guru never holds on to the Sishya nor lets them hold on to them. The Sishya is not meant to be a replica of the Guru. They are helped to become the “best” they that they can be. This is true freedom. This is true growth. This is true love. Without such a relationship, can true spiritual growth manifest?

However as with any other human hierarchical system, degeneration set in and the misuse and abuse of power by many ‘leaders’ led to a breakdown of this system with generalized distrust creeping into the sacred relationship.

Many modern mega “Guru-s” are the antithesis of this concept as they lack an intimate direct connection with their followers who just put them on a pedestal and “hero worship” them. They have created “Brands” that often lack substance and are seemingly more based on external packaging than content. This is just mass hysteria and “rock star” tendencies clothed in spiritual terms. They are basically just “Spiritual MBAs” and “Spiritual CEOs”. Disciples have become sheep to be counted and used to create empires.

The same can be said about the “Dead Guru” phenomenon where the follower can worship their dead guru and justify everything they think, say and do as being “Approved by the Guru”. This is nothing but an illusionary “Bhrantidarshan” that Maharishi Patanjali quotes as an obstacle to spiritual progress.

In modern times this has manifested in an “Anti-Guru” movement that tries to bypass this time-tested methodology and make it seem redundant. Terms like “Post-Modern Yoga” and “Post-Lineage Yoga” are brandied around as if no one needs guidance on the path anymore. This is the result of the glorification of the individual ego in recent times, and a tendency to think that we know what is best for us. This to me is no more than an excellent illustration of the saying, ‘The blind trying to lead the blind’.

This lacks rationality as the very soul of the teachings is lost when the teachings are debased into mere techniques and theoretical concepts rather than being transformative tools of self-realization. This has resulted in people trying to ‘DO” Yoga rather than “BE” Yoga.
Yoga is a state of being and the attainment of this exalted “state of being” requires Guru Krupa.

Any version of modern Yoga that tries to bypass the Guru-Sishya Parampara is NOT Yoga anymore but is just a cheap plastic imitation that lacks life, light and soul. It may “look” like Yoga, but is not the real deal anymore.

Dr Ananda Balayogi Bhavanani

( Editor-in-Chief )

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