Gurus of modern yoga / edited by Mark Singleton, Ellen Goldberg.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Goldberg, Ellen, 1954-

Singleton, Mark, 1976-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Gurus--Biography.

Gurus.

Yoga--History--20th century.

Yoga.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (401 p.)

Place of Publication:

New York : Oxford University Press, [2013]

Summary:

Within most pre-modern, Indian traditions of yoga, the role of the guru is absolutely central. Indeed, it was often understood that yoga would simply not work without the grace of the guru. The modern period saw the dawn of new, democratic, scientific modes of yoga practice and teaching. While teachings and gurus have always adapted to the times and circumstances, the sheer pace of cultural change ushered in by modernity has led to some unprecedented innovations in the way gurus present themselves and their teachings, and the way they are received by their students. Gurus of Modern Yoga explores the contributions of individual gurus to the formation of the practices and discourses of yoga today. The focus is not limited to India, but also extends to the teachings of yoga gurus in the modern, transnational world, and within the Hindu diaspora. Each section deals with a different aspect of the guru within modern yoga. Included are extensive considerations of the transnational tantric guru; the teachings of modern yoga's best-known guru, T. Krishnamacharya, and those of his principal disciples; the place of technology, business and politics in the work of global yoga gurus; and the role of science and medicine. As a whole, the book represents an extensive and diverse picture of the place of the guru, both past and present, in contemporary yoga practice.

Contents:

""Cover""; ""Contents""; ""Contributors""; ""Note on Transliteration""; ""Introduction""; ""PART ONE: Key Figures in Early Twentieth-Century Yoga""; ""1. Manufacturing Yogis: Swami Vivekananda as a Yoga Teacher""; ""2. Remembering Sri Aurobindo and the Mother: The Forgotten Lineage of Integral Yoga""; ""3. Shri Yogendra: Magic, Modernity, and the Burden of the Middle-Class Yogi""; ""PART TWO: The Lineages of T. Krishnamacharya ""; ""4. T. Krishnamacharya, Father of Modern Yoga""; ""5. “Authorized by Sri K. Pattabhi Joisâ€?: The Role of ParamparÄ? and Lineage in Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga""

""6. Becoming an Icon: B. K. S. Iyengar as a Yoga Teacher and a Yoga Guru""""7. The Institutionalization of the Yoga Tradition: “Gurusâ€? B. K. S. Iyengar and Yogini Sunita in Britain""; ""PART THREE: Tantra-Based Gurus""; ""8. Swami KrÌ£pÄ?lvÄ?nanda: The Man behind Kripalu Yoga""; ""9. Muktananda: Entrepreneurial Godman, Tantric Hero""; ""10. Stretching toward the Sacred: John Friend and Anusara Yoga""; ""PART FOUR: Bhaktiyoga""; ""11. SvÄ?minÄ?rÄ?yanÌ£a: Bhaktiyoga and the AksÌ£arabrahman Guru""; ""12. Sathya Sai Baba and the Repertoire of Yoga""; ""PART FIVE: Technology""

""13. Engineering an Artful Practice: On Jaggi Vasudev�s Isha Yoga and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar�s Art of Living""""14. Online Bhakti in a Modern Guru Organization""; ""PART SIX: Nation-Builders""; ""15. Eknath Ranade, Gurus, and Jīvanvratīs: the Vivekananda Kendra�s Promotion of the “Yoga Way of Life�""; ""16. Swami Ramdev: Modern Yoga Revolutionary""; ""Index""

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (ebrary, viewed November 22, 2013).

ISBN:

0-19-937495-3

0-19-993871-7

OCLC:

861692270