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Mourning Paramaguru Sharath Jois

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Mourning Paramaguru Sharath Jois

We at the Contemplative Sciences Center (CSC) are deeply saddened by the unexpected passing of Paramaguru Sharath Jois on November 11, 2024. We hold his family and the Ashtanga community in our hearts. The following letter from Paul and Sonia Jones, close friends and students of Paramaguru Sharath Jois, helps express what Sharath has meant to the center and so many others around the world. 

Dear Friends,

Thank you for joining us last week at the Contemplative Commons.

We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Paramaguru Sharath Jois. He was a leading figure in the yoga world and heir to the lineage of Ashtanga yoga. He was our teacher, and for over a quarter of a century, he was a friend and like family to us.

Sharath was the inspiration behind the Contemplative Sciences Center (CSC) at UVA. In 2013, He came here to teach a yoga class, and from that one class blossomed the idea of a Contemplative Sciences curriculum, exploring many forms and facets of spirituality and human flourishing.

Ashtanga is a very difficult discipline of yoga, and during Covid, when Sharath saw how many people in the world suffered from depression, stress and other mental health issues, he was inspired to develop a new, more accessible series of yoga. He called it The Active Series, and it is meant for the masses. He unveiled it to the world this past weekend at the CSC, and as it turns out it was his parting gift to humanity.

The foundational essence of the Contemplative Commons will forever be infused with his spirit, and for that we are lucky. He was the kindest, most joyful, most giving and selfless person we knew.

We join in mourning the millions of his followers and students across 100 countries who saw him as their leader. The world has lost one of its brightest lights, but he gave so much that his glow will warm our memories and lives for many generations to come.

Paul and Sonia Jones
 


More About Sharath Jois, excerpts from the book The Active Series:

Sharath was "the world's most advanced practitioner of Ashtanga Yoga and the preeminent authority on its traditional practice. Born in Mysore, in South India, he first began practicing yoga at the age of seven, under the guidance of his late grandfather, Sri K. Pattabhi Jois, a disciple of the lengdary Sri T. Krishnamacharya. He became the only person to have mastered all six series of Ashtanga Yoga. After his grandfather's passing in 2009, Sharath continued as head of his own shala in Mysore, the Sharath Yoga Centre. Classes at the Sharath Yoga Centre have been attended by thousands of students from over one hundred countries around the world. He established the Sri K. Pattabhi Jois Charitable Trust in 2005, which engages in diverse philantrhopy, supporting underprivileged childrens' education, blood donation drives, and flood relief, as well as distributing jackets and shoes to forest officers in the jungle reserves of his home state of Karnataka so that they can safely oversee the forests and provide protection of the animals. The trust also collaborates with Arunodaya Trust, a charitable organization based in Mysore that provides development programs for underserved children in order to support their holistic growth and devleopment."