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Steve Brandon’s question to Sri T.K. Sribhashyam
Published on the website of : harmonyyoga.co.uk in July 2017
Q : There are many translations of Yoga texts available now. Your books have the advantageof presenting practical exercises to the reader. Please could you say why you devoted so muchof the books to this practical aspect?
R : Because I wanted to show to people that Indian teaching is not just theoretical. It has apractical basis and that is one of the reasons why very often I give practical indications so thatit can be applied by all.It need not be understood intellectually. There are some practical aspects that are difficult toaccept because of cultural differences, but there are many which can be applied by all. Maybethat comes from the fact that when you study western philosophy, I mean philosophy from thewestern point of view, it is so theoretical and intellectual, I would say it is verbal. So verbalthat you can just read and appreciate but you don’t know what you can do with it.Whereas Indian philosophy is a living philosophy in the sense you can apply its teaching inyour daily life. The commentaries and the teachings of our spiritual masters give indicationson how to apply the philosophical teachings.In all the three books, we attempt to maintain a balance between the theoretical aspects andthe practical indications to enable the readers to realise that these proposals can be applied.

Elephant story
Homage to Sri T.K.Sribhashyam
Gabriel Galea
After a friendly visit to Claire and Sribhashyam’s, they invited me for supper that evening. Iwas still a student, and my Father had offered to have me participate in one of the first tripsthey had organized for the students of Yogakshemam. I had not been to India yet, and thismeal in a friendly atmosphere allowed us to talk about the famous journey that was beingorganized.The aroma of the dishes that simmered in the kitchen predisposed us to talk about the culturaltraditions that I would discover a few weeks later. Sribhashyam narrated a memory of hischildhood in Mysore. At the temple that he attended with his family, great festivitiesaccompanied the annual festival of God. On this occasion, an elephant pulled the huge floatthat carried a statue of the God around the temple. It was the temple elephant, permanentresident there, whose main function was to pull the divine float in this sacred place everyyear.That year, the colossal elephant that had been pulling the float for decades had just turned100, and the mahout, or elephant keeper, decided that it was time for him to be replaced by ayounger elephant, certainly more vigorous. The older elephant would continue to stay in thetemple, of course, but he would not be harnessed to the float to lead the God. When thefestivities began, a young elephant was chosen to replace his elder, tied with heavy chains tothe pillar next to which he had spent so many years. When the celebration reached its peak,the gate that protected the divine float was opened. The old elephant, understanding what wasgoing to happen, began to trumpet at the top of his lungs, pulling on his chains, standing onhis hind legs, and incredibly, even managing to break the heavy chains that held him prisoner.He then walked to the float he had towed so many times. The priest of the temple wasimmediately informed and the decision was made that the elder elephant should participateonce again that year in the celebration. He performed his duty honorably, leading the float toall parts of the temple, offering all the participants of the feast the vision of God.After one last tour of the temple, he made his way to the shed that sheltered the divine float,where he collapsed brutally, as he breathed his last breath.After a lifetime dedicated to the teachings, the depth and value of which all his studentsappreciate and recognize, Sribhashyam has joined the Creator. Thanks to his wife, Claire,who supported him so much in his mission, his students were able to access true wisdom, notintellectual knowledge, but knowledge acquired through practice and experience.This story of the elephant, told by Sribhashyam many years ago on the occasion of a friendlymeal, has recently reappeared in my memory to reveal its significance beyond its anecdotalvalue. It is to testify my homage to Claire that I relate it here.

The influence of the environment on the devotional path
Nārada Bhakti sūtra, sūtra 36 and 43

Extract of my notes taken during lectures held by Sri T.K. Sribhashyam
Mireille HERVE

Bhakti means devotion. It concerns the emotion shared with God.The Bhakti sūtra of Nārada is, in the form of a sūtra, a treatise on the path of devotion to God.It explains the principles and the difficulties.Nārada means “the one who brings men to God.” Considered to be the son of Brahma, theCreator, he is the “messenger” between God and men. Always associated with devotion, he isthe only one to have a direct link with God. His role is to show the way to the supreme; heteaches men how to go towards God despite their difficulties.The foundation of Nārada’s teaching is rooted in everyday life. Among the difficulties thatcan be encountered on the devotional path, the influence of our environment is the subjectbeing examined.Do we have the opportunity to express our devotional values to those around us? Certainobstacles prevent us from constantly sustaining our devotion. These obstacles are of differentorigins: they can come from our social circle; for some they come from friends, acquaintanceswho will represent a more important obstacle, or for others they come from our familyenvironment.In addition to these obstacles linked to our direct surroundings, there are certain materialimpossibilities that come from our society that prevent us from putting into practice what isnecessary to maintain devotion. In spite of this, we cannot live outside of our society; we aredependent on it. Moreover, we never know when and how an obstacle coming from oursurroundings will interfere. We do not see it coming.Now, Nārada tells us that the entourage sustains our devotion.To be, from time to time, surrounded by people who share our convictions helps us tomaintain our devotion. In everyday life, one must know how to protect oneself so thatdevotional value is not put in doubt: to avoid what could distance us from it and to sustainwhat brings us closer to it.We must be able to evoke God in all circumstances, constantly. For that, it is important to beable to evoke His form, His qualities, without introducing flaws; if an imperfection isintroduced, the image will disappear. This is the principle of worship that needs the support ofthose around us.In the West, the notion of devotion tends to become intellectual, whereas it must be a way ofbeing in our daily life. Bhakti yoga speaks of devotion as being our mental structure; it ispresent in us, we must develop it and maintain it, while maintaining the image of God in ourmental field.To enable this to happen, we must attribute to God something inseparable that no one elsepossesses, that makes us automatically evoke Him.But the obstacles are omnipresent.People of “bad” influence are present around us. It is difficult to “remove” the harmfulentourage from our lives because it would very often mean losing all social life, a thing we donot want.Nārada gives us some instructions:There are two kinds of entourage:the entourage that has the same values in the spiritual domain: SATSANGHAthe entourage that does not support us on our devotional path: DUS SANGHAAs important as SATSANGHA (the union of people who have the same values) is to us, it isthis same level of difficulty in our society to deprive ourselves of DUS SANGHA. Inaddition, it is often problematic to resist DUS SANGHA because it is omnipresent in ourdaily life.The first trap to avoid is that of sensory desire. Indeed, it is first through our senses ofperception that we are attracted to DUS SANGHA. The first sensory perception that provokesour attraction is sight, next comes taste. In front of a tasty dish, for example, the sight of itinduces saliva stimulation, and gives us the expectation of pleasure.Human beings are dependent on sight and taste; awakening these two senses of perceptiontakes us away from God.In order not to be dependent on our senses of perception, we must know how to give upcertain pleasures now and again. We have already experienced certain desires; we must beable to feel less attracted by these same experiences and not attribute to them the same values.If I am offered a dish that awakens a taste that I like a lot: either I give in or I refuse.If we yield to DUS SANGHA (an entourage that takes us away from our devotional path), welose our discernment, and we start questioning the usefulness of the spiritual path. When wechose this (spiritual) path, we did it with discernment, knowing that we would have to give upcertain things; we were able to discern what is good or not. But when we lose discernment,we are at the beginning of its destruction.If I do not give in, I take the risk of losing my social bond, and this can lead to frustration (ofnot having relived those desires), a certain disappointment, and basically, anger.“I am deprived of these desires, and it is because I am on the devotional path that I no longerhave what others enjoy.”We must be careful not to direct this anger against God, for this concerns our ownweaknesses. The frustration, the disappointment, the anger against the One who prevents usfrom having certain pleasures; they are not visible, but they are present. It is easier torenounce God than to question oneself.In the choices that one has to make in everyday life, it is important to use discernment toknow what is right or wrong.Discernment of good or evil is characteristic of human beings who are born with this ability.If we lose it, it is a part of us that is destroyed; we will not even be able to know if somethingis good or bad, since we will not discern it.When one yields to DUS SANGHA, one loses discernment, and from there onwards there isdesire. Desire is an attachment to a pleasure that could arise; it is in the future, within anexperience that is yet to take place, and if we are not aware of this attachment, if it isquestioned, there is frustration, disappointment and the loss of discernment.However, the pleasure of seeking God is different; it is not comparable to sensory pleasures.On the devotional path, there is an expectation, that of meeting God, and the expectation of anindescribable Joy differs from the expectation for something in particular. If we do not obtainthis Joy, because there is no conceptualization, no image, there will be no frustration.The obstacles on the devotional path are numerous in our society; friends, family, the socialenvironment, are often a brake for the devotee.We must work on the mind, so as not to be influenced by, and not to yield to, the temptationsof the pleasures provided by our senses of perception.To overcome these obstacles, we must cultivate our discernment; surround ourselves as muchas possible with people who share the same values, and, above all, persevere in our efforts.We have to evoke God in our mental space in order to develop devotion in our everyday acts.Our devotion, if cultivated, if it is deep and sincere, must not be influenced by oursurroundings. Hearing the name of God must automatically give us His image in our mind.

Translation: Aurelia, Claire, Elisabeth, Oscar, Katerina, Sofia, Brigitte
Contact:

Allemand : elisabethvolk@gmx.de

Anglais : brigittekhan@yoga-traditional.com
Espagnol : oscar@yogavinyasakrama.com

Français : william.yogakshemam@gmail.com

Suisse : clementl@bluewin.ch
Grec : sofmavropoulou@gmail.com

Italien : aureliadebe@gmail.com