Dear Sir,
Congratulations on the article: “A.D.B. Vaidya and R. Vaidya, A century of ‘The science of yoga’ (1921–2021): Revival, renewal and renaissance, J Ayurveda Integr Med, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaim.2022.100613.
This is to provide details on how the inspiration of Paramahamsa Madhavadasji has spread to Australia. The article mentions Shri Yogendra, a student of Paramahansa and charged with the mission of developing the science of yoga as is documented in publications of the Yoga Institute, Mumbai. Shri Yogendra has been described as a householder yogi and accounts of his life have been published online [1], and in books [2,3]
Vijay Yogendra, second son of Shri Yogendra, a devotee of yoga, learning from his guru father, became the Principal of Yoga Teaching, Yoga Institute, Mumbai in 1960. He later migrated to Australia in 1964 where he developed the Yoga Education Centre, Melbourne. It inspired thousands in the benefits and techniques of Yoga [4]. The Total Health Education Foundation (https://thefoundation.org.au/) was an outgrowth of this and guest scholars visited Australia including Pandit Shiv Sharma in 1977. Many guest scholars travelled to Australia, including K.N. Udupa in 1980. These acted, in part, as catalysts for the development of Ayurveda in Australia. A lasting legacy of Vijaydev is the School of Total Education (https://www.sote.qld.edu.au/) continuing to this day to make a positive contribution to education.
This line of classical Yoga and social contribution in Australia can be traced back to the vision of Paramahamsa. The drive to research higher consciousness continues. However one key aspect is the higher consciousness of each individual that is created from their own experimenting with living and Yoga practices. This quality of consciousness is felt by all those in contact with such a person and in turn can inspire new generations to study Yoga and lead to further Yogis. This training system of the guru-shishya relationship is a lasting legacy that is developing consciousness of peaceful, higher living around the world. Congratulations on the article and thank you.
Declarations of interest
None.
Author contribution
The conception and design of the letter, drafting the letter, revising it critically, and final approval of the version to be submitted was all completed by the author, Dr Graeme Stringer.
Funding
This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
Acknowledgements
Vijay Yogendra as inspirational Yoga teacher.
Footnotes
Peer review under responsibility of Transdisciplinary University, Bangalore.
References
- 1.https://artsandculture.google.com/story/shri-yogendra-ji-founder-of-the-yoga-institute-the-yoga-institute/3AXBCmxMhz11Lg?hl=en
- 2.Glimpses from the life of Shri Yogendra” by Shri Vijaydev Yogendra. pub. The Total Health and Education Foundation; Melbourne: 1972. [Google Scholar]
- 3.The householder yogi” by S. Rodrigues. Published The Yoga Institute; Santa Cruz: 1982. [Google Scholar]
- 4.Yogendra Vijaydev. pub. Total Health and Education Foundation; 2018. A life of service” by David Leech. [Google Scholar]