Antiquity

    We can trace the Vedic-Sanskrit lineage back to ancient civilizations…

          Sanskrit originated in the Vedas: ancient proto-Hindu scriptures which were transmitted orally for centuries before being recorded sometime in the 1^st millennium BCE. The uniquely oral nature of the Vedic-Sanskrit tradition relies on living representatives to embody and transmit its ancient knowledge – gurus and their students, who ensure the continuity of tradition over many generations. This practice is known as guru-śiṣya paramparā (“master-disciple lineage”), and it has informed South Asian epistemology since antiquity. For many yogis, practicing/ teaching within a lineage is critical – both to mitigate the effects of cultural appropriation and to ensure the integrity and longevity of their ancestral knowledge, as it was inherited from their own respected teachers. 

          Furthermore, the Vedas are the oldest known texts from the Indian subcontinent, and they also contain the oldest known references to yoga. By tracing our yogic beliefs and practices straight back through the Vedic-Sanskrit lineage, many yogis believe that we can better preserve the yogic teachings and honor the roots of the practice.

    BUT the Vedic- Sanskrit lineage has been plagued by socio-linguistic inequities since antiquity.

          To draw exclusively from the Vedic Sanskrit lineage is to assume that this lineage was unflawed to begin with. Such was NOT the case. Sanskrit texts were extremely and explicitly exclusionary, from the time of the Vedas and all the way through the classical period. For millennia, women, low-caste Hindus, and Dalits were prohibited from learning Sanskrit or even hearing the language by proximity! Moreover, Sanskrit yoga texts very often tend to place the desires of Brahmin men – both material and metaphysical – above the needs of women and lower caste individuals. These socio-linguistic hierarchies embedded in Sanskrit culture were designed to preclude large swaths of Indic society from ritual participation; though Sanskrit did transfer patrons over history, it always remained firmly within the domain of high-caste Hindu elites.

          Evidently, reliance on a single, unbroken chain of all-powerful teachers is a recipe for corruption and inequity. In recent years, many respected lineages (Yoga Nidra, Bikram Yoga, Ashtanga yoga, Integral yoga, Kundalini yoga, need I continue?) have come under fire for multiple accounts of sexual assault, fraud, and other harmful crimes worldwide. Absolute power corrupts absolutely; we are naïve to think that any lineage is invulnerable to corruption by mere virtue of its ancient pedigree.

          Besides, if we privilege antiquity over modernity, we promote the erasure of living traditions. Why should we neglect all modern practices in favor of a fraught, antiquated system of lineage-based knowledge? Yoga is not a fixed thing – it is an embodied, evolving practice with multifold manifestations. We can honor its multiplicity by elevating the voices of living Desi yogis – of all castes and lineages.

    AND much of the Sanskrit we use in modern yoga is not as ancient as it seems.

          Today, Sanskrit language is wrapped up in much darker discourses about the Vedic-Aryan tradition – not only its lineage of ritual practices and spiritual beliefs, but also its lineage of human descendants. In recent years, certain groups have sought to construe themselves as the sole lineal descendants of the Indo-Aryan peoples – the original speakers of Sanskrit. These individuals deploy pseudoscientific ideas of race and ethnic purity to assert claims of indigeneity over ancient India – and to demand political control over the modern Indian nation-state. They seek to position the exclusionary Vedic-Sanskrit tradition as wholly representative of contemporary, secular Indian culture.

          In their attempts to erase linguistic diversity, these individuals often revise Indian history. They are particularly keen on attributing relatively new historical developments – such as modern yoga poses – to the ancient Vedic-Aryan peoples. Poses like vasiṣṭhāsana (side plank), for example, did not earn their Sanskrit names until the 19^th or 20^th century – likely because such exercises were not called yoga until the physical fitness revival of the early 1900s. However, by calling the pose vasiṣṭhāsana (as opposed to “side plank”), these groups imply that this calisthenic workout originated thousands of years ago from the Vedic-Sanskrit tradition. They borrow credibility from the past to serve political agendas in the present, creating an illusion of antiquity to shield their myth of ethnic homogeneity.

          Yet, contrary to popular belief, yoga was NOT only practiced or taught in Sanskrit. It was often recorded in Sanskrit, certainly, but only because dominant caste individuals were more often literate and therefore privileged in their opportunities to preserve their own practices. However, the history of yoga does not constitute a single unbroken lineage, and in fact premodern yoga traditions are dramatically, undeniably diverse both in demographics of practitioners and in languages of dissemination.

          The ongoing conflation of yoga with ancient Sanskrit is a dangerous fallacy that bears imminent geopolitical consequences. By acknowledging the illusion of antiquity, and by researching the inequities that have existed in the Vedic-Sanskrit lineage since it began, we can dispel the myth of Sanskrit primacy in yoga history and modern practice.

Visit the Inspiration tab to read about my embodied experience of Antiquity in modern yoga →

Old Growth: 7 Vignettes on Tradition

1. 

An old tree stretches towards the sky.

Its roots furrow deep into the hard earth,

Spreading downward to support the towering giant aboveground.

Steady through the seasons, the tree blossoms and fades,

Growing tender green shoots that harden into wind-sculpted wood.

2. 

A shrine room, where students trickle in for morning Mysore.

At 6 am, when even the sun’s eyelids are still heavy, the space comes alive with prāna,

swirling alongside wisps of sandalwood smoke.

Align the posture. Focus the gaze. Engage the muscles. Control the breath.

Follow the tradition.

This discipline is harsh and exacting, yet transformative, intensely rewarding.

The guru says: Do your practice and all is coming.

3. 

An ornate cathedral, its domed ceilings yawning over people in pews.

The clergy prepares the eucharist with meticulous motions.

Behind the maple-wood pulpit, they repeat their rites by rote,

Beckoning the Divine methodically, ritualistically.

The act of doing creates meaning.

The priest says: Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.

4. 

Atop the old tree, a swallow perches lightly.

The tree is tall and thick and sturdy; it will make for a nice home.

Unbeknownst to the bird, the tree’s roots have begun to rot.

Decay will creep upward, slowly but surely,

Though the topmost branches continue to push out new growth.

5. 

A cedar-floored studio downtown, warm and sultry with the scent of Nag Champa.

Laser-cut chakra symbols line the walls –

The closest thing to spirituality that city students can swallow.

Expensive, perhaps, but not exclusive.

Your practice is “whatever you make it.”

Many come in search of a stretch,

But stay in pursuit of peace.

6. 

The chapel of a mega-church, flooded with smiling believers.

God has no denomination here, no affiliation, no chosen people.

As worship begins, lights dance across an oaken cross.

An inspirational tune fills the space with holy spirit.

Eyes closed, palms open;

Even the damned sway joyfully.

7. 

The old tree is dead.

It has been for quite some time.

Withered away after decades of decay,

Defiled by the very teachers

who tout timeless tradition.

If the swallow stays very still, it will petrify:

a permanent fixture amongst gnarled, lifeless branches.

Or,

The swallow can leave the stability of its nest,

find fertile soil,

and plant a new seed.

Visit the Practice tab for actionable tips, self-reflection questions, and resources to learn more about Antiquity in modern yoga →

Practical Tips for Yoga Teachers:

• Explore different yogic lineages to find the right one for you – but pay careful attention to how your teachers handle criticism. Notice: where do they allow for experimentation/ innovation? When do they conform completely to traditional ideas?
• Don’t assume that certain yogic ideas are trustworthy or valuable just because they are old. As you assess various practices and philosophies to see which ones resonate with you, turn to existing commentaries on those texts to gain context on the systems of power operating within that spiritual lineage. Many Sanskrit texts already have commentaries published by learned scholars and spiritual practitioners who were trained to analyze their respective traditions.
• Resist the urge to borrow authority from the past. There are thousands of living practitioners with embodied wisdom to share – and it’s usually a bit more relatable than the Bhagavad Gita. I encourage you to check out the most recent issues of the following journals:
  • Modern Asian Studies
  • Race and Yoga
  • Contemporary South Asia
• And follow some of these Desi yogis online:
  • @yoganjali on Instagram
  • @divyabala on Instagram
  • @tejalyoga on Instagram
  • @shantiwithin on Instagram
  • Rumya Putcha’s blog
  • Andrea Jain’s collection of scholarly writings

Questions for Reflection:

• How does my culture honor and preserve ancestral knowledge?
• Do I practice/ teach yoga within a single, unbroken lineage? Why or why not?
• How much do I trust the integrity of my yoga teacher’s knowledge?
  • Does my yoga teacher make mistakes?
  • Do I, as a yoga teacher, make mistakes?
• Do I have any concerns about the yoga lineage/ style that I practice or teach?
  • Do I feel comfortable expressing those concerns to other members of my yoga community?

Resources for Further Learning:

Doniger, Wendy. The Hindus: An Alternative History. New York: Penguin Press, 2009.

Khosla, M. & Joshi, V. (2021). Understanding the relationship between Guru and Shishya in Guru-Shishya Parampara: Implications for well-being. Indian Journal of Health, Research, and Welfare, 12(3), pp. 278-285.

Lucia, A. (2018). Guru Sex: Charisma, Proxemic Desire, and the Haptic Logics of the Guru-Disciple Relationship. Journal of the American Academy of Religion, 86(4), 953-988.

Thapar, Romila. Early India: From the Origins to AD 1300. Berkeley, Calif: University of California Press, 2003.

Thapar, Romila. “Perceptions of the Past in Early India.” Filmed 2008. Library of Congress and John W. Kluge Center Event Video, 1:23:05. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021688241/.

Trautmann, Thomas R. Aryans and British India. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997.

Wildcroft, Theodora. “Post-lineage Yoga & Dandelions: What dandelions have to teach us about ‘post-lineage yoga’.” In The Luminescent, 12 September 2019. https://www.theluminescent.org/2019/09/post-lineage-yoga-dandelions.html.

Wildcroft, Theodora. “Post-Lineage Yoga: From Guru to #MeToo.” Sheffield: Equinox Publishing, 2020.

Let me know what you think in the comments below!