B. K. S. Iyengar - Sparks of Divinity: The Teachings of B. K. S. Iyengar

Shambhala Publications, Inc.
4720 Walnut Street
Boulder, Colorado 80301
www.shambhala.com

Sparks of Divinity: The Teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar from 1959 to 1975;

copyright 1976 and 2012 by Institut de Yoga B.K.S. Iyengar, Paris.

All rights reserved.

For additional copyright information, see the page.

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher.

ISBN 978-1-930485-80-8

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

Project Editor: Donald Moyer

Coeditor: Holland Hammond

Production Editor: Linda Cogozzo

Cover Design: Gopa & Ted2, Inc.

Cover Photograph: Steve Baczewski

WITH HEARTFELT THANKS to Nolle Perez-Christiaens for compiling and preserving these wonderful teachings of B.K.S. Iyengar and for remaining steadfast in her conviction that Iyengar should be heard in his own voice and his own words, enigmatic though they may be. We are grateful to Nolle for allowing us to publish this new edition.

With gratitude to B.K.S. Iyengar for providing the photographs reproduced in this book, and for the continued inspiration of his teachings. The passage of thirty-five years has not dimmed the brilliance of his insights.

With deep appreciation for the enormous contribution of Georgia and Philippe Leconte, who were entrusted by Nolle with overseeing this revised edition of Sparks of Divinity on her behalf. Georgia and Philippe not only wrote the foreword and afterword but also selected excerpts from B.K.S. Iyengar: Un Mystique Hindou Ivre de Dieu for inclusion in this book.

Georgia and Philippe collaborated with Nolle on the original French translation of Sparks of Divinity, and their skill in deciphering Iyengars most cryptic sayings often gave me a clue on how to clarify the English text without diluting the impact of Iyengars words. It has been a great pleasure to work with such dedicated, knowledgeable, and generous colleagues.

Many thanks to Jean Couch of the Balance Center in Palo Alto, CA, for arranging the historic meeting with Georgia and Philippe Leconte at Venus Restaurant, in Berkeley, and for reading and commenting on their introductory material. We are grateful to Thea Sawyer for her fine translation of the foreword, afterword, Nolles Indian Journal, and the Early Life of B.K.S. Iyengar.

Final thanks to our coeditor, Holly Hammond, for her insightful suggestions on how to organize the material in this book, and to Vicky Palmer for her perceptive reading of B.K.S. Iyengar: Un Mystique Hindou Ivre de Dieu.

Donald Moyer, Publisher

SPARKS OF DIVINITY is a collection of sayings from yoga master B.K.S. Iyengar, compiled and edited by Nolle Perez-Christiaens, one of his first Western students. Nolle first published the book in 1976 in a French and English bilingual format. At that same time, she published a second book in French only, titled B.K.S. Iyengar: Un Mystique Hindou Ivre de Dieu. These two books complement each other. The first one quotes the master himself; the second one is filled with anecdotes and observations from Nolles encounters with this exceptional man who has inspired her all her life.

This new edition of Sparks of Divinity includes the English text from the first edition, plus extracts from B.K.S. Iyengar: Un Mystique Hindou Ivre de Dieu, including excerpts from the journal Nolle kept during the time she studied one-to-one with Iyengar in India, and subsequent chapters that chronicle the early life of Iyengar, his work, and his family.

Who was this brave young woman who traveled alone to India in 1959? Nolle Perez-Christiaens, then thirty-three years old, was forever the student. Her search was spiritual: religious studies at the Catholic Faculty in Paris, biblical studies, Catholic liturgy, and study of Eastern and Western mysticism. She searched passionately and persistently.

From an early age, she had been drawn to the great spiritual traditions of the East, inspired by reading Voyage dune Parisienne Lhassa (My Journey to Lhasa) by Alexandra David Neel. In search of contemplative techniques, she embarked upon yoga, and within two years had read all the literature available to her on the subject. Over the next four years, she studied with several teachers who practiced in France and Switzerland, and then taught her own yoga class. But India was calling.

IYENGAR WITH NOLLE IN ARDHA MATSYENDRASANA I

An employee at the Indian Tourist Office introduced Nolle to a former colonel who had worked with T. Krishnamacharya in Mysore as well as with his student, B.K.S. Iyengar, in Pune. He is the one who introduced her to Iyengar.

Nolle cobbled together the money needed to pay for her trip, her stay, and the tuition. Her first class with Iyengar was on July 14, 1959. To her surprise, she found it just a special gymnastics without any spirituality. However, she decided to stay, due to the precise and refined technique of the master.

Gradually she discovered that even if contemplation was not ostensibly part of the practice, what she found there was a confrontation with the self that could widen the will: the will for perfection in the pose, the will to become aware, and the will to develop concentration.

It was a turning point in her life. She had found her mentor and guide. A new path opened, and she did not stray from it. She never returned to India, but attended Iyengars classes during several summers in Gstaad, Switzerland, where he was invited by Yehudi Menuhin. And Iyengar came to Paris in 1971, 1972, and 1976 to teach at the Institute B.K.S. Iyengar, which Nolle founded after her return from Pune. She sent him countless students, one of them being Georgia, her spiritual daughter and one of her most enlightened students, who spent four months in Pune in 1974.

Nolles notebooks were full of the masters remarks about how to see the world, the philosophy of yoga, his devotion to the Divine, and his love of human beings. In 1974 she asked herself, Do I have the right to keep this great beacon of light for myself and my students, to clarify our path only? She wrote to Iyengar and made him part of her project to write a book about everything except the technique of yoga.

On June 18, 1974, Iyengar answered: In regard to the book you plan to write, I have no objection whatsoever; go ahead. And ask Beatrice Harthan in my name to send you the list she has put together. Ask also Silva Mehta. You can write about this to Lyn Dorfling in Transvaal so she can send you what she wrote down. Someone else has taken many notes; it is Winnie Young from Natal. Kareen could also have something. All those collections can be added to your work.