Just in case you’ve been hiding under a yoga block lately and haven’t heard the news, B.K.S. Iyengar passed away on Wednesday, August 20, 2014. 

He succumbed to heart problems and renal failure at the age of 95, in Pune, India, the homeland of Iyengar yogis.

My Facebook feed has been flooded with yogi friends expressing sadness over his death. I’m going to sound like a complete jerk, but I’m saying it anyway.

I think sadness is the wrong reaction. Did we expect him to live forever?

Mr. Iyengar was known as Guruji to countless yogis, and was one of contemporary yoga’s greatest luminaries. Light on Yoga remains a bible to yoga practitioners worldwide, whether they practice Iyengar-style or not. Anyone in the yoga world has nothing but the deepest respect for Mr. Iyengar and his contributions to yoga as we know it today.

His death doesn’t change that.  So why be sad?

Instead, I’d like to honor his teachings and accomplishments. His physical body, magnificent as it was, will not be his legacy. A man as influential as Mr. Iyengar will live on through his teachings.

Death is inevitable for every living being, from fruit flies to gurus. It is only an event marking the passage of time and proving the impermanence of life. And since I believe in reincarnation, I try to view death as a process that brings the spirit one step closer to the divine as it sheds one form of being and moves into another.

Iyengar acknowledged the physicality of the body (and thus its impermanence) in Light on Life:

“The material body has a practical reality that is accessible. It is here and now, and we can do something with it. However, we must not forget that the innermost part of our being is also trying to help us. It wants to come out to the surface and express itself.”

The material body of Mr. Iyengar will be missed, especially by his family and friends. My heart goes out to those closest to him who must deal with the harsh reality of never again seeing his beloved face.

But for the thousands (maybe millions?) of us who know his name but never had the privilege of knowing him in person, let’s let go of our grief. A living legend is no longer living, but he is still a legend.

Instead of mourning his death, I want to find ways to celebrate his life. The next time I practice, I know I’m going to be thinking of Mr. Iyengar as I lengthen my spine from sacrum to skull.

To cherish B.K.S. Iyengar’s still-living legend, I’ve curated 20 quotes from his teachings:

“I always tell people, live happily and die majestically.”

“It is through your body that you realize you are a spark of divinity.”

“The hardness of a diamond is part of its usefulness, but its true value is in the light that shines through it.”

“When we free ourselves from physical disabilities, emotional disturbances, and mental distractions, we open the gates to our soul.”

“Yoga is a light, which once lit, will never dim. The better your practice, the brighter the flame.”

“There is only one reality, but there are many ways that reality can be interpreted.”

“Spirituality is not some external goal that one must seek, but a part of the divine core of each of us, which we must reveal.”

“It is through the alignment of the body that I discovered the alignment of my mind, self, and intelligence.”

“True concentration is an unbroken thread of awareness.”

 “Yoga allows you to find an inner peace that is not ruffled and riled by the endless stresses and struggles of life.”

“When we free ourselves from physical disabilities, emotional disturbances, and mental distractions, we open the gates to our soul.”

 “We must create a marriage between the awareness of the body and that of the mind. When two parties do not cooperate, there is unhappiness on both sides.”

 “The physical body is not only a temple for our soul, but the means by which we embark on the inward journey toward the core.”

“Yoga is about the will, working with intelligence and self-reflexive consciousness, can free us from the inevitability of the wavering mind and outwardly directed senses.”

 ”We often fool ourselves that we are concentrating because we fix our attention on wavering objects.”

“Yoga teaches us to cure what need not be endured and endure what cannot be cured. “

“Yoga, an ancient but perfect science, deals with the evolution of humanity. This evolution includes all aspects of one’s being, from bodily health to self realization. Yoga means union—the union of body with consciousness and consciousness with the soul. Yoga cultivates the ways of maintaining a balanced attitude in day to day life and endows skill in the performance of one’s actions.”

“Action is movement with intelligence. The world is filled with movement. What the world needs is more conscious movement, more action.”

“The union of nature and soul removes the veil of ignorance that covers our intelligence.”

“There is a universal reality in ourselves that aligns us with a universal reality that is everywhere.”

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Editor: Travis May

Photo: elephant archives