3 min readPuneAug 21, 2014 10:37 AM IST
First published on: Aug 21, 2014 at 10:37 AM IST
Iyengar’s daughters, relatives and others at the funeral. (Source: Express photo by Arul Horizon)
Yoga guru B K S Iyengar told family members after he was admitted to hospital that his time had come. He passed away on Wednesday at the age of 96.
“My time has come. My soul is satisfied with the work done…” he told family members.
“We even spoke about the national convention on Yoga planned later this year. He was encouraging till the very last and kept saying people will come – they have to learn Yoga,” Geeta Iyengar, eldest daughter, told Newsline.
A widower, Iyengar was suffering from age-related ailments and breathed his last on Wednesday.
Iyengar is survived by daughters Geeta, Vinita, Sucheta, Sunita, Savitha and son Prashant. Geeta and Prashant worked with Iyengar in teaching and propagating Yoga. Iyengar’s legacy will be alive in the family, and the entire world, says Geeta.
Dr Manoj Naik, family physician and consulting doctor at Krishna Hospital quoted Iyengar as saying, “I have accomplished the purpose of my life. I have given my knowledge to the fullest and now I am facing death.”
Naik, who joined the institute in 1995, was a close aide of Iyengar and was amazed that he continued to work after two heart attacks earlier. He was treated at home, said the family physician who tried his best to convince the Yogacharya to get hospitalized then.
“I was shocked. At the age of 78, he had his first heart attack while helping a student suffering from a spinal problem. He felt a tightening in his chest, left the student and went to an inner room where attendants called me. I rushed with my ECG machine and imagine my plight as a doctor that I could not call the hospital or immediately take him to the ICU,’’ said Naik recalling the Yoga guru not wanting to be hospitalised.
He agreed to take medicine and got back to practice after four-six months. The second attack was at the age of 80 and we entreated him to get admitted to hospital, Naik said.
He exerted himself to help patients, said the family physician.
For the last few months, he had been grappling with age-related health problems.
Iyengar’s daughters, relatives and others at the funeral. (Source: Express photo by Arul Horizon)
Share
