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Guruji's Tour 2003

Letter from Mysore

Greetings From Mysore.

Monday, November 10th, marks the two week anniversary of the sudden and tragic death of Mr. Rangaswamy and the culmination of the initial fourteen day period of mourning and almost daily pujas. He was the epitome of a gentle-man and is dearly missed by those of us privileged to have known him.

Two weeks ago we were packed and ready to fly west to San Francisco when we heard the terrible news. Thanks to some truly angelic assistance we were able to fly back home to Mysore and arrive exactly 36 hours after Mr. Rangaswamy's passing. Sharath, as the only son, was able to perform the vital rituals of cremation in a timely and honored manner. The family is as well as can be expected under the circumstances and recovering slowly but consistently day by day.

We regret any inconvenience caused by the cancellation of the tour.

Some people have asked how they could help and help is needed. The organizers have prepaid, nonrefundable, a substantial amount for airline tickets, visas, accommodations and practice venues. If you are in a position and desire to be of support, we have set up an account listed below where contributions may be made. Distributions will be made equitably to the hosts. Any assistance will be greatly appreciated.

Please make checks payable to NorCalAshtanga and send to:
NorCalAshtanga
PO Box 2102
Sebastopol, CA 95473

Sharath is scheduled to begin teaching his class on November 20th. Guruji is scheduled to open the shala on or about January 1st.

Much Love is There, Joseph

October 28, 2003

Guruji's son in law, Mr. Rangaswamy, who was Saraswati's husband, and the father of Sharath and Shammie, brother in law to Manju, died on Monday morning, New York time, in Mysore, of a heart attack. The family returned home to India Monday evening.

Condolences can be sent to the family at:

Door # 235 8th Cross
3rd Stage, Gokulam
570002 Mysore, Karnataka State, India

Rangaswamy was a wonderful, warm and humorous character. He was devoted to his family beyond measure, and took great pleasure in all of their accomplishments. He spent several years living in Saudi Arabia working as an engineer; after later shifting to Bangalore, he would spend his weekends at home in Mysore. After his retirement several years ago, he joyfully took up watching over the Lakshmipuram house, and taking care of the day to day maintenance of Guruji's house, performing the puja's, and spending time with his family. His smiling face, and his presence as a guiding force in the family will be deeply missed by all.

The rest of Guruji's tour will regretfully be cancelled, as will his appearance at Krishnamacharya's Yoga Festival in San Francisco. The festival will go on as planned, and Tim Miller will represent Guruji, and his method of teaching, in Guruji's absence. Guruji wishes that all who were planning to attend the festival please still do so, in order to pay remembrance and to keep alive the teachings and life of the Yogi Krishnamacharya, a life which was instrumental in passing on the practices which are so dear to us today.

Thank you very much,
Eddie Stern

We trust all are well and bodies are happy and healthy both on and off the mat.

On the full moon in July of this year our beloved Guruji will celebrate his 88th birthday. He marked 66 years of continuous teaching on March 1st, and this past January realized his lifelong dream of opening his fabulous new Ashtanga yoga shala in Gokulum, a suburb of Mysore.

Just after returning home to Mysore from last year's 14 week-12 city-marathon-world tour Guruji received a request to attend, during the month of November of this year, an honoring ceremony celebrating the 115th anniversary of the birth of his guru, Sri. T. Krishnamacharya who passed away some thirteen years ago. This event is to take place in San Francisco, California.

Despite the fact that 2003 was scheduled to be a year for Guruji to stay at home and enjoy the experience of working with students in his beautiful new shala he instantly agreed to travel half way around the world to honor his guru. Although we are all taught asanas by our guru, it is the selfless acts such as this which teach us yoga. Guruji always acknowledges that his lifework is a continuation of the teachings of his guru for whom he continues to hold great affection. I would suggest that all of us take a moment from our busy lives to consider where we would be without the blessings of the lifework of Sri K. Pattabhi Jois. I know that for me it would be a wholly different and lesser life.

While making this journey it has been decide to stop in four cities before returning to India. The schedule is listed below. Registration at www.ayri.org. As always we look forward seeing many familiar faces and new friends along the way.

Much Love is There, Joseph

London, UK
Week 1: October 2, 3, 5, 6, 7
Week 2: October 8, 9, 12, 13, 14

New York, NY
Week 1: October 16, 17, 19, 20, 21
Week 2: October 22, 23, 24, 26, 27

San Francisco, CA
Week 1: October 30, 31, November 2, 3, 4 - CANCELLED
Week 2: November 5, 6, 7, 9, 10 - CANCELLED
Conference (see below): November 12, 13, 14 - will continue with Tim Miller representing Guruji

Hollywood, CA - CANCELLED
Week 1: November 17, 18, 19, 20, 21

Encinitas, CA - CANCELLED
Week 1: November 24, 25, 26, 27, 28
Week 2: November 30, December 1, 2, 3, 4

Krishnamacharya Yoga Festival - In the Footsteps of the Master
November 12-13: San Francisco, USA
Registration and information: www.yogaofyoga.com/festival

This two-day special event is a tribute to Krishnamacharya presented by two of his most well known students, Sri K Pattabhi Jois and Sri TKV Desikachar. This will be the first time that these two great masters will be teaching together at the same event.

There will be two sessions in the mornings, where the two teachers will teach concurrently. Participants will be divided into two groups and in the first class, the first group will learn from Sri Pattabhi Jois and his grandson Sharath Rangaswamy, while the second will be with Sri TKV Desikachar and Kausthub Desikachar. In the second session, the groups will switch and the teachers will each teach the other group (class schedule details).

On the evening of November 12th, participants will get together for a Satsang with the two teachers, where they will not only share their experiences with Sri T Krishnamacharya, but also be open to answer questions from participants.

Tim Miller will be representing Guruji at the conference