The Forgotten Sage

There is a name that has slipped through the cracks of yoga history that spanned the end of the 19th and the dawn of the 20th century, a name that echoes quietly in the shadows of towering figures like Krishnamacharya, Iyengar, and Jois.

Reading time: 5 minutes

Yet it is this very figure, to whom these titans owe their place in history. Few know his name today. But for those who trace their practice back to its roots, Ramamohan Brahmachari, is the forgotten sage whose influence flows like an undercurrent, shaping the Yoga we practice now. If Krishnamacharya is the father of modern Yoga, then Brahmachari is its quiet Grandfather.

A Simple Life Of Dedication

By the banks of the Mansarovar lake in the stillness of the Himalayan foothills, where snow-dusted peaks stand sentinel over the lush green valleys, Ramamohan Brahmachari lived a life that seemed both isolated and intimately connected with the world. Nestled in a dwelling at the edge of a wilderness, he embodied the paradox of modern yoga. A teacher of the world who had no desire to withdraw from it. Brahmachari was not a typical Yogi. While many of his contemporaries cloistered themselves in caves or lived as hermits, he had a wife, children, and a home.

His abode, like his practice, was likely a fusion of the worldly and the divine. The scent of pine trees may have filled the air, and the murmur of sacred rivers, ancient lifebloods of that spiritual landscape, likely carried through the valleys where he dwelt. Here, surrounded by nature’s gift of peace, that Brahmachari would have immersed himself in the profound silence that is so central to Yogic traditions. Yet unlike the usual ascetics who saw yoga as an escape from the world, Brahmachari saw it as a way to deeply inhabit it. His life was not an act of renunciation but of integration.

Unlike many yogis of his time who embraced a life of solitude, Brahmachari’s was a vision that invited participation, not retreat. In the quietude of his home, surrounded by his family, he practiced and taught yoga not as an exclusive spiritual refuge, but as a tool for living fully in the world, amidst its complexities. This can be deduced from the teachings of his most prolific student Sri T Krishnamacharya who wrote in his book Yoga Makaranda “Yoga is not for renunciates alone, it is for kings and farmers, for householders and hermits. Everyone can practice, everyone can benefit. Krishnamacharya revealed in the.” As payment for his teachings Krishnamacharya carried Brahmachari’s vision to the world at large after studying with the master between 1916 and 1922.

A Revolutionary Vision, Practice Beyond The Hermitage

For centuries, Yoga in India had been a practice for the ascetic and a chosen few. The tradition, heavily influenced by the ascetic ideals of renunciation and withdrawal, saw Yoga as a way to transcend the body, to sever the bonds between the self and the material world. The caves of the Himalayas, where the great saints meditated in isolation, were seen as the birthplace of the truest form of Yoga. But Ramamohan Brahmachari offered a radical departure from this ideal.

He believed that yoga was not a privilege reserved for the ascetic or the solitary monk, but rather something that could be integrated into the very fabric of daily life. Brahmachari’s teachings, which he passed down to his most famous student, T. Krishnamacharya, were rooted in the belief that yoga could and should be practiced by anyone, anywhere. It was a vision that would change the landscape of yoga forever. “Yoga is not about escaping life; it is about embracing it fully, in all its chaos and beauty.” (Desikachar, 1995, “The Heart of Yoga: Developing a Personal Practice”)

This was the essence of Brahmachari’s revolution: the democratisation of yoga. His belief that Yoga should not be the exclusive domain of the ascetic was a departure from centuries of tradition. The ascetics, with their rigorous discipline and austere practices, had long been revered as the true yogis. Brahmachari, however, saw yoga as a living, breathing practice that could not be confined to the caves and hermitages of ancient times. His teachings were a call to embrace the full range of human experience, to bring the wisdom of yoga into the everyday world, thus improving it not only for the practitioner but all those around him.

The Quiet Grandfather of Modern Yoga

Brahmachari’s message was simple: to live a full, vibrant life, one must incorporate yoga into the everyday routines of family, work, and society. It was a vision that would be passed on to Krishnamacharya, and from him, to a new generation of yoga teachers. It was this vision that would reshape the yoga tradition, moving it from the secluded monasteries of ancient India to the studios and living rooms of the modern world.

The Hidden Master: Brahmachari and His Influence on Krishnamacharya

When T. Krishnamacharya first sought out Brahmachari as a teacher, he was a young man, eager to discover the deeper secrets of yoga. But Brahmachari did not offer him immediate access to esoteric knowledge or elaborate instructions. Instead, his approach was steeped in simplicity, focusing on the union of breath, body, and mind. The teachings were subtle, woven into the very fabric of his being. As Krishnamacharya later recalled, “Yoga is not a practice to be observed from the outside, it is a discipline that must become part of your life.” (Krishnamacharya, 1982, “Yoga Makaranda”)

This was Brahmachari’s brilliance. He didn’t just teach yoga through words—he embodied it. His practice was his teaching. He didn’t need to speak extensively about philosophy or the history of yoga; his life was an unfolding testament to the practice itself. There, in the stillness of his home, Krishnamacharya absorbed more than just the physical practice of asanas; he learned the very essence of yoga—how to live it, breathe it, and allow it to permeate every part of your existence.

Krishnamacharya’s own journey as a teacher would reflect Brahmachari’s influence. His teachings, which would later spread across the globe, were centred around the idea that yoga is not an escape from the world but a way to live more deeply within it. Krishnamacharya’s students—many of whom went on to become pioneers in their own right—carried this message forward, from B.K.S. Iyengar to Pattabhi Jois, who all acknowledged their debt to Brahmachari through Krishnamacharya’s teachings.

A Living Legacy

Though Brahmachari never wrote any texts or created any grand ashrams, his legacy lives on in the practice that is now known worldwide. His teaching, passed down through Krishnamacharya, remains the cornerstone of modern yoga. It is through Krishnamacharya’s disciples that Brahmachari’s quiet revolution continues to inspire millions of practitioners, each of whom carries the wisdom of a man who sought to integrate yoga into the most ordinary and extraordinary aspects of life.

Brahmachari’s practice was not about perfection; it was about understanding the body, mind, and spirit in relation to the world. His legacy is not one of grandiose gestures or rituals, but of a simple and profound truth: that yoga, at its core, is about living fully, embracing both the inner and outer worlds. As Krishnamacharya once said, “The practice of yoga is the practice of life itself ” (Krishnamacharya, 1982, “Yoga Makaranda”).

The Quiet Revolution

Ramamohan Brahmachari may not have been a household name in the annals of yoga history, but his influence is undeniable. He was the quiet force that changed the way yoga is practiced today. While the world focused on the grandeur of ascetic yogis and monastic traditions, Brahmachari quietly redefined what it meant to practice yoga. For him, yoga was not an escape from the world but a way to more fully engage with it.

As yoga continues to evolve and grow in the modern world, Brahmachari’s message remains clear: yoga is for everyone. Whether in the quiet solitude of the Himalayas, or the bustling cities of the world, Yoga is a path to deeper connection—to oneself, to others, and to the universe at large. His vision, embodied in the teachings of Krishnamacharya and passed on to countless others, continues to shape the way we practice and understand yoga today.