#86 Modern Wisdom from a Traditional Yogi – Kausthub Desikachar

Are you searching for meaning in a world driven by instant gratification and constant change? Join me in a conversation with Dr. Kausthub Desikachar on the Timeless Teachings podcast. Discover how an ancient lineage, dating back to the 8th century, can provide grounding and purpose in today’s fast-paced society. Explore the essence of yoga as a path to connect with your higher purpose and learn how to find balance in the modern world. This discussion uncovers timeless wisdom and offers insights into tradition and spirituality that endure amid the chaos of our times.

Discussion Topics: Modern Wisdom from a Traditional Yogi

• Introduction and Dr. Kausthub Desikachar’s Background
• Challenges and Privileges of a Traditional Yogic Upbringing
• Embracing Challenges as Opportunities and Life Lessons
• Understanding the Concept of Yoga and Connecting with Higher Purpose
• Dr. Kausthub’s Role in Transmitting Tradition and Balancing Tradition in the Modern World
• Reflections on Modern Yoga Trends
• The Value of Sustainable Traditions in the Dark Era of Consumers
• Closing Remarks

Transcript: Modern Wisdom from a Traditional Yogi

Yana Fry: Dr. Kausthub, thank you for joining us today on the Timeless Teachings podcast. It’s a pleasure to have you with us.

Kausthub Desikchar: Thank you, Yana. Good morning.

Yana Fry: So I can see a very interesting picture on your wall in the background. So can you describe a little bit more? What is the meaning of that?

Kausthub Desikchar: This picture is a photograph of an Indian God called Hayagriva, which is our family deity and it is an incarnation of Vishnu. His form above is a horse head and below is a human form. And he has, he’s in that photograph with the goddess together, because in our tradition, We don’t believe that God is male or female. We believe that God is male and female, as a couple.

The divine couple is God. This photograph is the photograph of a painting that is in an institute called the Parakala Mata which is very old. It goes back about seven or 800 years old, and it was started by one of our ancestors called Vedanta Deshika. And this God is actually the God of education. So since I’m now. In my study room, I have it here and this photograph is actually something that’s very old. It’s something that was used by my grandfather to do his daily prayers and pooja and and now I have it after many years it’s still in the original framing.

If I turn in the back, you can see the The rust off the iron and it’s quite ancient and the wood is very simple wood. It’s not very fancy. even the colour is a little bit the black and white is a little bit more like silver now. So time has changed all its qualities, but it’s very sacred and precious.

Yana Fry: Yes. It’s interesting. We call our podcast, Timeless Teachings. So what is time? And at the same time. I’m just curious to hear a bit more about your upbringing since you mentioned your grandfather and there’s a lineage, right?

So could you tell us a little bit more about yourself?

Kausthub’s backstory

Kausthub Desikchar: So I’m very blessed to be born in my family, which is a part of a tradition that we call the Vinayoga tradition that traces back in a continuous lineage till the 8th century to a great master called Nathamuni. And we are blood ancestors of this teacher who was in the 8th century. Till that we can trace, of course, but before that there is a non-contiguous lineage because we don’t… No, all the history was not recorded at that time, right? So it goes back to an even more ancient master called Namalwar who is considered our first ancestor and he’s believed to have lived around 3, 500 years ago So he is considered our first ancestor. 

So we are very lucky that we are part of this very ancient ancestry. And of course, I was born in this wonderful family and I grew up with my father and mother and two siblings. And also my grandfather and grandmother were still alive when I was born. My grandmother passed away when I was nine and my grandfather was there till I was about 14 and we had a very close relationship with both my grandparents.

And growing up in this family has been quite a privilege, but also quite a challenge sometimes, because not everybody understands that, very often privilege is not just comfortable, it’s also very challenging.

For example My father and my grandfather are very great observers and my father, especially, is also my teacher. When you think about a normal situation, most yoga students now spend a few hours of the day with their teacher in a class and then they are in their own life and they are hidden from the teacher, right? But if you grow up in a house where you are living with the teacher. You are under 24 hour surveillance and in some moments, it’s very challenging because you are expected to be on your best behaviour all the time.

You’re always being observed, always being watched. And even though my father was very kind and very non judgmental, it’s still a pressure, right?

Yana Fry: Of course

Kausthub Desikchar: And again, another set of challenges, how many people would come to our home because in those days, everything was happening at the house. So was never this sense of a private space because everything was always public. So more than my parents, my father, or my grandfather observing us or judging us, there were always challenges where some of these outsiders, the students of my father, would come for a short period of time. And they have opinions and judgments and things like that.

It can be quite overwhelming, but it can also be a great learning lesson for me because very early on in my life, I realised how people are. It was a very great gift for me, how people are. And again, I have also other challenges because. I have a brother who is mentally handicapped and my parents had to spend a lot of time taking care of his needs, even though he’s older than me. So very often my. I was neglected because I was normal and as an adult, I can understand these reasons very well, but as a young child, it was very challenging.

However, I realised that’s what made me who I am because I’m quite different and quite independent in my life in my approach because. I was neglected. I was ignored, and I don’t say it in a bad way. I was left to do whatever I wanted to. So I figured out everything by myself. And I think I really always, every day I do in the morning a grateful P practice. And I always thank my brother for this because it’s because my brother was in this situation that I have become the person I have because I’ve become independent. I have my own mind and I really am a problem solver because I had to solve problems very young on myself. So I’m very grateful. They’ve all built me to be who I am.

Yana Fry: Thank you for the sharing. That’s very deep, very honest and very vulnerable.

So I just think it’s like a great learning experience to everyone who is listening or watching right now, that whatever guides you’re going through so any problem with an opportunity, right? And Dr. Kausthubh, you’re a beautiful example of that.

Kausthub Desikchar: I always tell my students that there are no problems in life. There are only lessons. If we learn from the problem, it becomes a lesson. If we don’t learn from it, it remains a problem.

We have to turn around from being a victim to being somebody who empowers ourselves and see what we can learn from that and how we can move forward. I always say this, no decision is perfect, but all decisions have consequences, right?

Yana Fry: Yes absolutely. We are the product of our actions and of our decisions.

And I know that you are in yoga and I know that you are bringing traditional yoga into the world. And so maybe let’s start with the basics. And once again, look at the definition. What is yoga?

What is yoga?

Kausthub Desikchar: Oh, my God. The word yoga, everybody knows now, if you Google, you will find out, comes from the concept called connection or to link or to join or connect. So my own personal meaning is that it’s a way that we can connect with our higher purpose.

Is my firm belief in India. We call this higher purpose what is called dharma. In Buddhism also this word exists, dharma. In Jainism also this word exists, dharma. Maybe the best translation in English is like our higher life purpose. We believe that we are not just born for eating, enjoying life, watching movies, earning money, but actually we are here for a higher purpose in life purpose. So yoga for me is a set of practices. That helps me to, first of all, identify and embrace my higher purpose, because that itself needs some courage. And secondly, to sustain me to fulfil that higher purpose. Because we all need help. Fulfilling a higher purpose is not easy. It’s challenging. We will go through ups and downs. We need a healthy body. We need a healthy mind. We need a healthy state of emotions because these things can change. Because the higher purpose is not a short term goal, it’s a long term goal.

So that’s my definition of yoga, which is, it’s a set of practices, which include not only body practices, but also breathing, but also meditation practices, lifestyle choices. helped me connect deeply with the purpose for which we are here.

Yana Fry: Such a beautiful way to describe yoga. Can you give us an example of the higher purpose? I know that there are many, but the people just understand what we are talking about here?

Kausthub Desikchar: For everybody, the higher purpose may be different. For example, my purpose, I can talk about my own personal purpose, is to transmit the teachings of my tradition, which has been very precious. and guiding many people into the next generation. So my role in a way is that of a teacher, that of a transmitter of sacred knowledge that elevates consciousness.

For somebody else, it could be something to do beautiful art. For somebody else, it could be to support another purpose. Because not everybody’s higher purpose is to be in the front.

For example, we take a bulb, the purpose of the bulb is to shine light, but that bulb cannot shine without it being held by a bulb holder. So the purpose of the holder is to hold that light.

So there are some people who need to be in the front, but there will be some others whose purpose is Maybe to be behind supporting those who are in the front and this is something we should accept. Not every dharma is fashionable or to be in the spotlight, not all great artists, for example, are great art teachers.

Not great mathematicians, need not be mathematics teachers. So just because we are good at something, it doesn’t automatically mean we are good at everything. I may not be the best practitioner of yoga, but I am certainly not a bad teacher of yoga. So these are some examples. The purpose is within our nature. It’s within our true nature. We cannot change it.

It’s what we are born with. It’s inherent in us. It’s like part of our seed potential.

Yana Fry: Such you just speak so beautifully, Dr. Kausthub. I’m listening, and I love words. I come from a family where people are really connected to the language. And, so to me, when I meet people who really know how to speak, each word counts and conveys the message. So I’m I’m having like a poetic experience right now,

I’m very happy to hear that, but this is also perhaps. The blessings of Lord Hayagriva, because Hayagriva is the God of speech and words and poetry. So it’s, maybe that’s why his blessings are helping me to do my dharma. This is what I believe. It’s not necessarily me, but the blessings that I have.

from the lineage.

Yes. From ancestors and from the gods, of course. And you, I, as a person who are coming from the lineage, as you said living now in the modern world. And seeing a lot of modern ways of yoga. And so I’m just curious, how, what do you think about it? Or how do you feel about that?

Feelings about modern yoga

Yana Fry: It’s a tricky question.

Kausthub Desikchar: It’s just using the word yoga, but it’s not really yoga because yoga is a very marketable word today. So everybody is using that word to sell something and it’s a fashion thing and hopefully time will change it.

So when you look at the market of yoga today, for example, you have things like dog yoga, hot yoga, whatever yoga and things like that. You go 20 years ago, they were not there. There was some other yoga like power yoga, Ashtanga yoga, etc. They were popular 20 years ago. You go 40 years ago, maybe even this was not there, it was more like the Ayyangar Yoga and things like that. But if you go 100 years ago, Ayyangar Yoga was also not there. If you go 200 years ago, 300 years ago, 400 years ago, 1000 years ago, it wasn’t there. But what’s been there all throughout? is our tradition, Vini Yoga. Even though we are not in the front, we are, we are always sustained and that is our goal. We are not here to get distracted by who is more famous or who is not, but our goal is to be the most sustainable tradition because that is what is useful. 

Yana Fry: For humanity in the long term, I’m just wondering, how does it reflect the state of the current society? Especially in the last 20, 30 years, where everything is about instant gratification, instant fame, instant popularity. And, at least what I noticed just looking around, that there is an entire generation of people, and also, people who are their parents, because they also lived through this, that lost a big element of grounding.

And connection with the earth, with the reality, like with, with the more traditional maybe values and I’m just curious to hear what you feel about it.

We’re in the dark era of consumers

Kausthub Desikchar: I think we are in the dark era

And because of all that you have said, we are now in an era where people are consumers, they are not enjoyers, they are just consumers, they buy things, they don’t enjoy it, they buy not only product, but also information, experiences, it’s all very important. What you rightly said is instantaneous, like instant gratification, nothing stays forever. Look, that photograph behind me, that’s been there with our family for 60, 70 years. It’s a photograph of a painting. Most people now take photographs on their phone and they don’t even remember what photos they took.

So the situation is that we are in a dark era where we are not rooted, but I don’t look at it as a completely bad time. I feel this is the best time for people like us who are working to help people find light because It’s only in darkness that people are searching for light. So there are many people now who are opening their eyes saying we’ve got money. We got wealth. We got so many products, but we still are not happy. We’re still not finding what we are searching for. So they are opening their eyes and they are searching perhaps because of the pattern they have of buying products, buying information. They’re also now buying things like this yoga, that yoga, this spirituality or that spirituality because spirituality has become a business now. But, I think slowly, as one of my English students always tells me, the cream will rise to the top.

That’s why I believe in what is sustainable because Eventually, what is of good quality will sustain. What is of good quality will definitely sustain. Everything else will disappear. I have no doubts about this. Look, we are talking about yoga. That’s a tradition that started 2,000-3,000 years ago. Still valuable today. Buddhism, still valuable today, even Christianity started so many years ago, still valuable today. Is Jane Fonda still popular? The young people don’t even know who that is. So all the fads will disappear, but what will sustain is what will remain forever, which is of good quality. I believe in this.

Yana Fry: Just yesterday I went to walk my dog with my mom in Singapore, and we were passing by this place that says a coffee place from 1932.

Kausthub Desikchar: Amazing.

Yana Fry: And they kept the interior, they kept the furniture and there was so much energy and charm and peace and grounding in this place. And it just reminded me of.

Society moves so fast with progress and technology right now, so it’s even more important at the moment to start preserving traditions and teachings and places perhaps, right? That has been there for a very long time, because when it is gone and disappears, there’s no point of reference, not only for the next generation, but even people of this generation can forget within 10, 20, 30 years what happened.

Kausthub Desikchar: Correct. I think roots are very important. That’s what tradition is the tradition. The roots are very important.

Yana Fry: And for you, someone who is coming from a family like that, right? So you come from a very grounded family with very deep roots, which is probably an exception in the modern world.

People move from place to place. Children often go to school. In different countries when they grow up, they don’t have childhood friends because they keep moving, right? What can you advise people to do to find that balance and grounding?

How to find balance & grounding?

Kausthub Desikchar: I’m sure that these changes happen only in the last 40, 50 years,

Yana Fry: That’s correct.

Kausthub Desikchar: So I don’t feel that all is lost. I feel optimistic because I see some young people now going back to their roots. I feel there’s more and more younger people coming now and searching for something that is more valuable, that is more traditional. that can anchor them in their hearts. And I don’t believe that. We in the modern society cannot live in a modern way, but yet have roots in our heart. I can talk about myself. I am very rooted in my tradition. I feel my home is my tradition, my teaching. It’s not a building or a place. But yet I do live a life that is modern.

I live in a condominium in Singapore. I travel. I speak in English. Mostly I am living a modern life. I use technology, but I use them to help me be rooted, to help me be supported in my heart. And I’m very sure that people can find that. And Root is not only about… a religion or some kind of place or something like that. The roots can also be something like our own belief system, our value system, our morals, our ethics. And that is what we need to root ourselves, ask ourselves the question, why are we existing here? Is it just to buy products and consume or is there some other reason why we exist? And that’s what we have to ask. Most modern societies have all the wealth, but what are we doing with the wealth to lift ourselves up or others up? Are we even doing that? We’re not. Most people are consumers, like they just consume, but they’re not making themselves become better people. So we need to ask ourselves this question.

Yana Fry: And this is a beautiful question to leave our audience to ponder upon after they have listened to our conversation here today. So I find that for any human being, it’s a very powerful question to ask every day. What am I doing with my life? So thank you so much, Dr. Kausthubh, for joining us today. It was truly a pleasure to have a conversation.

And of course, for everyone who is curious and interested to learn more about what you do and how to connect with you, we will include all information in the links.

So please check out the description and the podcast and YouTube video and subscribe to the show, share with friends, and we will see you next time. Thank you.

Kausthub Desikchar: Thank you.

Our Guest: Dr. Kausthub Desikachar

Dr. Kausthub Desikachar is the successor and current lineage holder of the classical Viniyoga tradition of T Krishnamacharya & TKV Desikachar. He is an acclaimed yoga teacher,  yoga therapist, healer and spiritual adviser.  His objectives include the sharing of the authentic teachings of Yoga to the modern era, as well as building bridges between different healing modalities to promote physical, emotional social and spiritual health. For more than twenty years, Kausthub has taught a multitude of students and teachers around the globe and has conducted numerous teacher and therapist training programs.