Iyengar is the most famous and celebrated modern yogi, esteemed both in India and around the world. He is a realized master of yoga theory and practice. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Iyengar’s birthday, VOV interviewed Dr. G.B. Harisha, Director of the Swami Vivekananda Cultural Center, about Iyengar’s contributions to bringing Indian yoga to the world.
B.K.S. Iyengar is the one who made Indian yoga more popular in the world. He learned yoga in a very rigorous way. After mastering yoga, he felt the need to spread it across the world. On December 14, 2018, half of the world celebrated his birthday.
He was born in 1918, one hundred years ago, to a Hindu family in a small town in southern India. He was the 11th of 13 children. It was very difficult for his parents to pay the fees. During the global flu epidemic of 1918, his mother got very sick. He was born weak, with their arms and legs, a bulging belly, and a big head. To his misfortune, he lost his father at an early age. After his older brothers and sisters got married, he went from one province to another looking for food. Some brothers treated him well though they were not rich. Some considered him a burden. Sometimes he ate frozen foods, sometimes he didn’t get any food. The husband of one of his sisters – a man named Tirumalai Krishnamacharya, a yoga teacher – encouraged Iyengar to learn yoga for his better health and gave him a keen interest in yoga.
