H R Nagendra | Making yoga relevant to today’s world

They aren’t short cuts, he stresses. They are more like the synopsis of a research paper. The one-minute relaxation technique borrows heavily from the savasana (corpse pose). Similarly, pranayama (breathing techniques) help executives relax before an important presentation. Many of India’s large companies, including the TVS group and ONGC, have sent their senior executives for training. “Earlier, I used to have a lot of anger and argue with my colleagues and juniors,” said one. “After taking the programme, I find that I am able to control my anger.”

While Nagendra relishes the practical benefits that yoga confers on companies and other practitioners, his own and interest veers much deeper. He comes into his own when he talks of Indian mystics—people like Adi Shankara who were “masters of their mind,” as he says. They were fully in control, lived extremely creative and useful lives and accomplished great things. Similarly Swami Vivekananda is his other role model with respect to making Indian philosophy accessible to the West. “We have to use the best of the East and the West,” says Nagendra often. “Western systems combined with Eastern philosophy.”

Another branch of Svyasa is Aroghyadhama which treats numerous ailments through holistic techniques. It is run by Nagendra’s sister, R. Nagarathna, a physician trained in the UK.

What next for Nagendra? More studies, more clinical trials, he says. More collaborations with universities and hospitals abroad to use yoga for the greater good. This incremental approach seems to suit him. He is, after all, an engineer by training even if he is a mystic at heart.

(Sixty in Sixty is a special series that we are running through 2007, the 60th anniversary of India’s independence. We will introduce you to sixty Indians—both here and abroad—who are not rich or famous. These are people who are making quiet, but important, contributions without seeking headlines, to help make India and, in some cases, the world a better place. We also welcome your suggestions on people whom you think should be profiled in this series. Please send your suggestions by email to interview@livemint.com)