98-863: K. Pattabhi Jois (26 July 1915 – 18 May 2009) was an Indian yoga guru who developed and popularized the flowing style of yoga as exercise known as Ashtanga vinyasa yoga . In 1948, Jois established the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore , India . Pattabhi Jois is one of a short list of Indians instrumental in establishing modern yoga as exercise in the 20th century, along with B. K. S. Iyengar , another pupil of Krishnamacharya in Mysore. Jois sexually abused some of his yoga students by touching inappropriately during adjustments. Sharath Jois has publicly apologised for his grandfather's "improper adjustments". Krishna Pattabhi Jois
196-467: A balanced budget, some tax reforms , a labor-market reform, scheduled nuclear phase-out and instigated legislation allowing more stringent war crime and more lenient soft drug usage prosecution. Restrictions on euthanasia were reduced, and in 2003, Belgium became one of the first countries in the world to legalise same-sex marriage . The government promoted active diplomacy in Africa and opposed
294-860: A decade after the other regions) is included in both the Flemish and French Communities, and the territory of the German-speaking Community lies wholly within the Walloon Region. Conflicts about jurisdiction between the bodies are resolved by the Constitutional Court of Belgium . The structure is intended as a compromise to allow different cultures to live together peacefully. The Federal State's authority includes justice, defense, federal police, social security, nuclear energy, monetary policy and public debt, and other aspects of public finances. State-owned companies include
392-409: A focus on personal salvation to public altruism. A further radical shift was from spiritual to physical in yoga as exercise , as pioneered by Yogendra , Kuvalayananda , and Krishnamacharya . The transformed role of the guru can be seen in the case of one of these pioneers, Yogendra , who explicitly rejected the role of traditional guru for a single pupil or shishya . The physical context, too,
490-693: A large semi-independent enclave. The Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) was triggered by the Spanish government's policy towards Protestantism , which was becoming popular in the Low Countries. The rebellious northern United Provinces ( Belgica Foederata in Latin , the "Federated Netherlands") eventually separated from the Southern Netherlands ( Belgica Regia , the "Royal Netherlands"). The southern part continued to be ruled successively by
588-552: A new government . By 30 March 2011, this set a new world record for the elapsed time without an official government, previously held by war-torn Iraq . Finally, in December 2011 the Di Rupo Government led by Walloon socialist Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo was sworn in. The 2014 federal election (coinciding with the regional elections ) resulted in a further electoral gain for the Flemish nationalist N-VA, although
686-986: A policy of mediation. The Belgians have been strong advocates of European integration . The headquarters of NATO and of several of the institutions of the European Union are located in Belgium. The Belgian Armed Forces had 23,200 active personnel in 2023, including 8,500 in the Land Component , 1,400 in the Naval Component , 4,900 in the Air Component , 1,450 in the Medical Component , and 6,950 in joint service, in addition to 5,900 reserve personnel. In 2019, Belgium's defense budget totaled €4.303 billion ($ 4.921 billion) representing .93% of its GDP. The operational commands of
784-451: A tradition. Many such gurus, but not all, teach a form of yoga as exercise ; others teach forms which are more devotional or meditational; many teach a combination. Some have been affected by scandals of various kinds. Before the creation of modern yoga , hatha yoga was practised in secret by solitary, ascetic yogins, learning the tradition as a long-term pupil or shishya apprenticed to their master or guru. The ancient relationship
882-404: A yoga school in Mysore and travel the world on teaching tours. A student, David Life, co-founder of Jivamukti Yoga , has said of Jois, "He was not a monk or a renunciate; he was fearless about combining the path of yogi with the path of participant. He never saw it as separate from our lives. He thought that anyone could attain to yoga if they had the desire and the enthusiasm." A 2006 film Guru
980-612: A yogaśala for him at the Jaganmohan Palace . Jois often accompanied Krishnamacharya in demonstrations, and occasionally assisted Krishnamacharya in class and taught in his absence. Jois studied with Krishnamacharya from 1927 to 1929 in his own village, and then in Mysore from 1932 to 1953. He studied texts such as Patañjali's Yoga Sūtra , Haṭha Yoga Pradīpikā , Yoga Yajñavalkya and the Upaniṣads . In 1924 Krishnamacharya supposedly researched an ancient text which he called
1078-605: Is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system . Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional and linguistic grounds. It is divided into three highly autonomous regions : the Flemish Region (Flanders) in the north, the Walloon Region (Wallonia) in the south, and the Brussels-Capital Region in the middle. Brussels
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#17328022203241176-440: Is around 23% of the total land area, equivalent to 689,300 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, up from 677,400 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 251,200 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 438,200 hectares (ha). For the year 2015, 47% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership , 53% private ownership and 0% with ownership listed as other or unknown. The territory of Belgium
1274-483: Is based on civil law and originates from the Napoleonic code . The Court of Cassation is the court of last resort, with the courts of appeal one level below. Belgium's political institutions are complex; most political power rests on representation of the main cultural communities . Since about 1970, the significant national Belgian political parties have split into distinct components that mainly represent
1372-505: Is divided into three Regions, two of which, the Flemish Region and Walloon Region , are in turn subdivided into provinces ; the third Region, the Brussels Capital Region , is neither a province nor a part of a province. Belgium is a constitutional , popular monarchy and a federal parliamentary democracy . The bicameral federal parliament is composed of a Senate and a Chamber of Representatives . The former
1470-546: Is evidence both from research in psychology and from the recollections of former devotees like Daniel Shaw, once a senior member of staff in Gurumayi 's Siddha Yoga organisation, that even if a guru is seen to be lying, devotees will ignore the matter and "keep on believing". Belgium – in Europe (light green & dark grey) – in the European Union (light green) Belgium , officially
1568-667: Is lowest in January at 3 °C (37.4 °F) and highest in July at 18 °C (64.4 °F). The average precipitation per month varies between 54 mm (2.1 in) for February and April, to 78 mm (3.1 in) for July. Averages for the years 2000 to 2006 show daily temperature minimums of 7 °C (44.6 °F) and maximums of 14 °C (57.2 °F) and monthly rainfall of 74 mm (2.9 in); these are about 1 °C and nearly 10 millimeters above last century's normal values, respectively. Phytogeographically , Belgium
1666-497: Is made up of 50 senators appointed by the parliaments of the communities and regions and 10 co-opted senators . Prior to 2014, most of the Senate's members were directly elected. The Chamber 's 150 representatives are elected under a proportional voting system from 11 electoral districts . Belgium has compulsory voting and thus maintains one of the highest rates of voter turnout in the world. The King (currently Philippe )
1764-668: Is more than double that of Flanders, which boomed after the Second World War. Belgium is a developed country , with an advanced high-income economy . The country is one of the six founding members of the European Union , and its capital, Brussels, is the de facto capital of the European Union itself, hosting the official seats of the European Commission , the Council of the European Union , and
1862-632: Is now the Benelux, the so-called Burgundian Netherlands . "Burgundy" and "Flanders" were the first two common names used for the Burgundian Netherlands which was the predecessor of the Austrian Netherlands, the predecessor of modern Belgium. The union, technically stretching between two kingdoms, gave the area economic and political stability which led to an even greater prosperity and artistic creation. Born in Belgium,
1960-729: Is shared between the Atlantic European and Central European provinces of the Circumboreal Region within the Boreal Kingdom . According to the World Wide Fund for Nature , the territory of Belgium belongs to the terrestrial ecoregions of Atlantic mixed forests and Western European broadleaf forests . Belgium had a 2018 Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 1.36/10, ranking it 163rd globally out of 172 countries. In Belgium forest cover
2058-594: Is standard training for Hindu boys. No one else in his family learned yoga. In 1927, at the age of 12, Jois attended a lecture and demonstration at the Jubilee Hall in Hassan, Karnataka by T. Krishnamacharya and became his student the next day. He stayed in Kowshika for two years and practiced with Krishnamacharya every day. In 1930, Jois ran away from home to Mysore to study Sanskrit , with 2 rupees. Around
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#17328022203242156-631: Is the head of state , though with limited prerogatives . He appoints ministers, including a Prime Minister, that have the confidence of the Chamber of Representatives to form the federal government . The Council of Ministers is composed of no more than fifteen members. With the possible exception of the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers is composed of an equal number of Dutch-speaking members and French-speaking members. The judicial system
2254-570: Is the smallest and most densely populated region, as well as the richest region in terms of GDP per capita . Belgium is also home to two main linguistic communities: the Flemish Community ( Dutch -speaking), which constitutes about 60 percent of the population, and the French Community ( French -speaking), which constitutes about 40 percent of the population. A small German-speaking Community , making up around one percent of
2352-424: Is transformed along with the nature of the teacher's authority; yoga as exercise is often taught in an urban yoga studio, where the instructor's yoga teacher training stands in for the old guru-shishya relationship. The trend away from authority is continued in post-lineage yoga , which is practised outside any major school or guru's lineage. The concept of the guru, along with mantra and meditation , reached
2450-743: The Yoga Korunta ; he described this as badly damaged and with many missing portions, and claimed he had learned the text from a teacher named Rama Mohan Brahmachari on a supposed seven-year stay in the Himalayas. Jois began his studies with Krishnamacharya in 1927 and was taught what Krishnamacharya called the Yoga Korunta method. An entire system of practices including pranayama , bandhas , (core muscular and energetic locks) and drishti (visual focal points) were included along with āsanas (postures) and vinyāsas (connecting movements), defining
2548-500: The Belgian Post Group and Belgian Railways . The Federal Government is responsible for the obligations of Belgium and its federalized institutions towards the European Union and NATO. It controls substantial parts of public health, home affairs and foreign affairs. The budget—without the debt—controlled by the federal government amounts to about 50% of the national fiscal income. The federal government employs around 12% of
2646-715: The European Council , as well as one of two seats of the European Parliament (the other being Strasbourg ). Belgium is also a founding member of the Eurozone , NATO , OECD , and WTO , and a part of the trilateral Benelux Union and the Schengen Area . Brussels also hosts the headquarters of many major international organizations, such as NATO . According to Julius Caesar , the Belgae were
2744-758: The Habsburg Emperor Charles ;V was heir of the Burgundians, but also of the royal families of Austria , Castile and Aragon . With the Pragmatic Sanction of 1549 he gave the Seventeen Provinces more legitimacy as a stable entity, rather than just a temporary personal union . He also increased the influence of these Netherlands over the Prince-Bishopric of Liège , which continued to exist as
2842-537: The Holy Roman Empire . The lordships and bishoprics along the "March" (frontier) between the two great kingdoms maintained important connections between each other. For example, the county of Flanders expanded over the Scheldt into the empire, and during several periods was ruled by the same lords as the county of Hainaut . In the 13th and 14th centuries, the cloth industry and commerce boomed especially in
2940-724: The Industrial Revolution , and during the course of the 20th century, possessed a number of colonies , notably the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi . These colonies gained independence between 1960 and 1962. The second half of the 20th century was marked by rising tensions between the Dutch-speakers and French-speakers, fueled by differences in political culture and the unequal economic development of Flanders and Wallonia. This continuing antagonism has led to several far-reaching state reforms , resulting in
3038-645: The Kingdom of Belgium , is a country in Northwestern Europe . The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the south, and the North Sea to the west. It covers an area of 30,689 km (11,849 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.7 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in
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3136-822: The Michel Government . It was the first time N-VA was part of the federal cabinet, while the French-speaking side was represented only by the MR, which achieved a minority of the public votes in Wallonia. In May 2019 federal elections in the Flemish-speaking northern region of Flanders far-right Vlaams Belang party made major gains. In the French-speaking southern area of Wallonia the Socialists were strong. The moderate Flemish nationalist party
3234-412: The Netherlands ( 450 km ). Its total surface, including water area, is 30,689 km (11,849 sq mi). Before 2018, its total area was believed to be 30,528 km (11,787 sq mi). However, when the country's statistics were measured in 2018, a new calculation method was used. Unlike previous calculations, this one included the area from the coast to the low-water line, revealing
3332-759: The Spanish ( Spanish Netherlands ) and the Austrian House of Habsburgs ( Austrian Netherlands ) and comprised most of modern Belgium. This was the theatre of several more protracted conflicts during much of the 17th and 18th centuries involving France, including the Franco-Dutch War (1672–1678), the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714), and part of
3430-759: The United Kingdom of the Netherlands occurred at the dissolution of the First French Empire in 1814, after the abdication of Napoleon. In 1830, the Belgian Revolution led to the re-separation of the Southern Provinces from the Netherlands and to the establishment of a Catholic and bourgeois, officially French-speaking and neutral, independent Belgium under a provisional government and a national congress . Since
3528-757: The War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). Following the campaigns of 1794 in the French Revolutionary Wars , the Low Countries ;– including territories that were never nominally under Habsburg rule, such as the Prince-Bishopric of Liège – were annexed by the French First Republic , ending Austrian rule in the region. A reunification of the Low Countries as
3626-677: The Western Roman Empire , the Roman provinces of Belgica and Germania were inhabited by a mix of a Romanized population and Germanic -speaking Franks who came to dominate the military and political class. During the 5th century, the area came under the rule of the Frankish Merovingian kings, who initially established a kingdom ruling over the Romanized population in what is now northern France, and then conquered
3724-422: The 19th century were the Catholic Party and the Liberal Party , with the Belgian Labour Party emerging towards the end of the 19th century. French was originally the official language used by the nobility and the bourgeoisie , especially after the rejection of the Dutch monarchy. French progressively lost its dominance as Dutch began to recover its status. This recognition became official in 1898, and in 1967,
3822-474: The Ardennes are more rugged and rocky with caves and small gorges . Extending westward into France, this area is eastwardly connected to the Eifel in Germany by the High Fens plateau, on which the Signal de Botrange forms the country's highest point at 694 m (2,277 ft). The climate is maritime temperate with significant precipitation in all seasons ( Köppen climate classification : Cfb ), like most of northwest Europe. The average temperature
3920-490: The Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute in Mysore , now in the neighbourhood of Gokulam, with his only daughter Saraswathi Rangaswamy (b. 1941) and his grandson Sharath for the rest of his life. He published the book Yoga Mālā , in Kannada in 1958; an English translation appeared in 1999. His first trip to the West was in 1974, to South America, to deliver a lecture in Sanskrit at an international yoga conference. In 1975 he stayed for four months in Encinitas , California, marking
4018-428: The Belgian state to assume responsibility for the government of the colony, henceforth called the Belgian Congo . A Belgian commission in 1919 estimated that Congo's population was half what it was in 1879. Germany invaded Belgium in August 1914 as part of the Schlieffen Plan to attack France , and much of the Western Front fighting of World War I occurred in western parts of the country. The opening months of
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4116-428: The Communities and Regions were created in 1980, Flemish politicians decided to merge both. Thus the Flemings just have one single institutional body of parliament and government is empowered for all except federal and specific municipal matters. The overlapping boundaries of the Regions and Communities have created two notable peculiarities: the territory of the Brussels-Capital Region (which came into existence nearly
4214-490: The County of Flanders and it became one of the richest areas in Europe. This prosperity played a role in conflicts between Flanders and the king of France . Famously, Flemish militias scored a surprise victory at the Battle of the Golden Spurs against a strong force of mounted knights in 1302, but France soon regained control of the rebellious province. In the 15th century, the Duke of Burgundy in France took control of Flanders, and from there proceeded to unite much of what
4312-548: The European Union, for which Belgium hosts major administrations and institutions, including the European Commission , the Council of the European Union and the extraordinary and committee sessions of the European Parliament . In the early 1990s, Belgium saw several large corruption scandals notably surrounding Marc Dutroux , Andre Cools , the Dioxin Affair , Agusta Scandal and the murder of Karel van Noppen . Belgium shares borders with France ( 620 km ), Germany ( 162/167 km ), Luxembourg ( 148 km ), and
4410-491: The Flemings refused to do so and succeeded progressively in making Dutch an equal language in the education system. Following World War II, Belgian politics became increasingly dominated by the autonomy of its two main linguistic communities. Intercommunal tensions rose and the constitution was amended to minimize the potential for conflict. Based on the four language areas defined in 1962–63 (the Dutch, bilingual, French and German language areas), consecutive revisions of
4508-426: The Government College of Indian Medicine from 1976 to 1978. In 1948, Jois established the Ashtanga Yoga Research Institute at their home in Lakshmipuram. In 1964 he built an extension in the back of the house for a yoga hall. In 1964, a Belgian named André Van Lysebeth spent two months with Jois learning the primary and intermediate series of the Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga system. Not long afterward, van Lysebeth wrote
4606-400: The Latin name of a large Roman province covering most of Northern Gaul, including the Belgae and Treveri. However, areas closer to the lower Rhine frontier, including the eastern part of modern Belgium, subsequently became part of the frontier province of Germania Inferior , which continued to interact with their neighbours outside the empire. At the time when central government collapsed in
4704-458: The N-VA remained the largest party in parliament. In July 2019 prime minister Charles Michel was selected to hold the post of President of the European Council . His successor Sophie Wilmès was Belgium's first female prime minister. She led the caretaker government since October 2019. The Flemish Liberal party politician Alexander De Croo became new prime minister in October 2020. The parties had agreed on federal government 16 months after
4802-426: The Regions' and Communities' Governments is the broadest of all the Federating units of all the Federations all over the world. Because of its location at the crossroads of Western Europe , Belgium has historically been the route of invading armies from its larger neighbors. With virtually defenseless borders, Belgium has traditionally sought to avoid domination by the more powerful nations which surround it through
4900-403: The Roman province of Gallia Belgica in 22 BC. In the Middle Ages , the region was part of the Carolingian Empire , and much of it was later part of the Holy Roman Empire , and subsequently the Burgundian Netherlands . Belgium's central location has meant that the area has been relatively prosperous, connected commercially and politically to its bigger neighbours. The country as it exists today
4998-442: The West in the 1960s with The Beatles' trip to India , for a Transcendental Meditation training course at Maharishi Mahesh Yogi 's ashram in Rishikesh . Modern gurus since then have used the divine status of the traditional guru to claim that they were gods or goddesses. Some asserted they were avatars , earthly incarnations of a god, fulfilling the prophecy in the Bhagavad Gita that Vishnu would take on earthly form when
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#17328022203245096-463: The beginning of Ashtanga Vinyasa Yoga in America. Norman Allen , one of his first western students, collaborated with Jois on his trips to America. He had said on many occasions that there might be only twenty or thirty students practising Ashtanga Yoga in America then, but, 'gradually, gradually, in twenty years, it will be fully spreading'. He returned to the US several times over the next 20 years, to teach yoga at Encinitas and beyond. Parampara ,
5194-400: The book J'apprends le Yoga (1967, English title: Yoga Self-Taught ) which mentioned Jois and included his address. This brought Westerners to Mysore to study yoga. The first Americans came, after Jois's son Manju demonstrated yoga at Swami Gitananda's ashram in Pondicherry . To accommodate the increasing number of students, he opened a new school in Gokulam in 2002. Jois continued to teach at
5292-399: The cabinet to the king, as no progress in constitutional reforms had been made. In December 2008, Leterme once more offered his resignation after a crisis surrounding the sale of Fortis to BNP Paribas . At this juncture, his resignation was accepted and Christian Democratic and Flemish Herman Van Rompuy was sworn in as Prime Minister on 30 December 2008. After Herman Van Rompuy
5390-731: The civil servants. Communities exercise their authority only within linguistically determined geographical boundaries, originally oriented towards the individuals of a Community's language: culture (including audiovisual media), education and the use of the relevant language. Extensions to personal matters less directly connected with language comprise health policy (curative and preventive medicine) and assistance to individuals (protection of youth, social welfare, aid to families, immigrant assistance services, and so on.). Regions have authority in fields that can be broadly associated with their territory. These include economy, employment, agriculture, water policy, housing, public works, energy, transport,
5488-415: The country in May 1940 , and 40,690 Belgians, over half of them Jews, were killed during the subsequent occupation and the Holocaust . From September 1944 to February 1945 the Allies liberated Belgium. After World War II , a general strike forced King Leopold III to abdicate in 1951 in favour of his son, Prince Baudouin , since many Belgians thought he had collaborated with Germany during
5586-409: The country to be 160 km (62 sq mi) larger in surface area than previously thought. Its land area alone is 30,494 square kilometers. It lies between latitudes 49°30' and 51°30' N, and longitudes 2°33' and 6°24' E. Belgium has three main geographical regions; the coastal plain in the northwest and the central plateau both belong to the Anglo-Belgian Basin, and the Ardennes uplands in
5684-407: The country's constitution in 1970, 1980, 1988 and 1993 established a unique form of a federal state with segregated political power into three levels: The constitutional language areas determine the official languages in their municipalities, as well as the geographical limits of the empowered institutions for specific matters. Although this would allow for seven parliaments and governments when
5782-521: The elections. Following a usage which can be traced back to the Burgundian and Habsburg courts, in the 19th century it was necessary to speak French to belong to the governing upper class, and those who could only speak Dutch were effectively second-class citizens. Late that century, and continuing into the 20th century, Flemish movements evolved to counter this situation. While the people in Southern Belgium spoke French or dialects of French, and most Brusselers adopted French as their first language,
5880-621: The environment, town and country planning, nature conservation, credit and foreign trade. They supervise the provinces, municipalities and intercommunal utility companies. In several fields, the different levels each have their own say on specifics. With education, for instance, the autonomy of the Communities neither includes decisions about the compulsory aspect nor allows for setting minimum requirements for awarding qualifications, which remain federal matters. Each level of government can be involved in scientific research and international relations associated with its powers. The treaty-making power of
5978-507: The four components are subordinate to the Staff Department for Operations and Training of the Ministry of Defense , which is headed by the Assistant Chief of Staff Operations and Training , and to the Chief of Defense . The Belgian military consists of volunteers (conscription was abolished in 1995), and citizens of other EU states, Iceland, Norway, Switzerland, or Lichtenstein are also able to join. Belgium has troops deployed in several African countries as part of UN or EU missions, in Iraq for
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#17328022203246076-441: The full moon of June 1933, when Jois was 18 years old, he married Savitramma, who affectionately came to be known as Amma by Pattabhi Jois's family and students alike. They had three children: Saraswathi, Mañju and Ramesh. In 1948, with the help of his students, Jois purchased a home in the section of town called Lakshmipuram. According to Tim Miller , Jois continued to practice asanas until his son Ramesh committed suicide when Jois
6174-423: The government, and on 26 April 2010 King Albert officially accepted the resignation. The Parliamentary elections in Belgium on 13 June 2010 saw the Flemish nationalist N-VA become the largest party in Flanders, and the Socialist Party PS the largest party in Wallonia. Until December 2011, Belgium was governed by Leterme's caretaker government awaiting the end of the deadlocked negotiations for formation of
6272-449: The guise of "adjustments" and sometimes under the guise of "welcoming" and "saying goodbye" to students. The number of victims is unknown, but women and men have described their experiences of abuse, with video and photographic evidence. Some well known Ashtanga Yoga teachers have come forward to corroborate the accusations. In 2019, R. Sharath Jois published an acknowledgement of his sadness over his grandfather's conduct, apologising to
6370-430: The guru in the modern world is radically transformed. Globalisation has extended the guru's reach into environments where they may be a stranger, and where the religion, purpose, and status of the guru is poorly understood. Modern yoga practices are often open to everyone, without any sort of initiation into any organisation or doctrine. The modern guru Jaggi Vasudev explicitly rejected "all that traditional whatever"; all
6468-429: The hall next to his Yogaśala in the Mysore palace. The Maharaja of Mysore sometimes attended classes when Jois was assisting, and offered Jois a teaching position at the Sanskrit College in Mysore with a salary, scholarship to the college and room and board. Jois held a yoga teaching position at the Sanskrit College from 1937 to 1973, becoming vidwan (professor) in 1956, as well as being Honorary Professor of Yoga at
6566-440: The incumbent coalition (composed of Flemish and French-speaking Social Democrats, Liberals, and Christian Democrats) maintains a solid majority in Parliament and in all electoral constituencies. On 22 July 2014, King Philippe nominated Charles Michel (MR) and Kris Peeters (CD&V) to lead the formation of a new federal cabinet composed of the Flemish parties N-VA, CD&V, Open Vld and the French-speaking MR, which resulted in
6664-423: The inhabitants of the northernmost part of Gaul . They lived in a region stretching from Paris to the Rhine , which is much bigger than modern Belgium. However, he also specifically used the Latin word " Belgium " to refer to a politically dominant part of that region, which is now in northernmost France. In contrast, modern Belgium, together with neighbouring parts of the Netherlands and Germany, corresponds to
6762-463: The installation of Leopold I as king on 21 July 1831, now celebrated as Belgium's National Day , Belgium has been a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy , with a laicist constitution based on the Napoleonic code . Although the franchise was initially restricted, universal suffrage for men was introduced after the general strike of 1893 (with plural voting until 1919) and for women in 1949. The main political parties of
6860-421: The invasion of Iraq . It is the only country that does not have age restrictions on euthanasia. Verhofstadt's coalition fared badly in the June 2007 elections . For more than a year, the country experienced a political crisis . This crisis was such that many observers speculated on a possible partition of Belgium . From 21 December 2007 until 20 March 2008 the temporary Verhofstadt III Government
6958-461: The lands of the most northerly Belgae – the Morini , Menapii , Nervii , Germani Cisrhenani , and Aduatuci . Caesar found these peoples particularly warlike and economically undeveloped, and described them as kinsmen of the Germanic tribes east of the Rhine. The area around Arlon in southern Belgium was a part of the country of the powerful Treveri , to whom some of them paid tribute. After Caesar's conquests, Gallia Belgica first came to be
7056-509: The method that Jois went on to teach. Jois stated that he had never seen the text; its authenticity is impossible to validate as no copy has ever been seen by scholars. A major component of Ashtanga Yoga absent from Krishnamacharya's early teachings was Surya Namaskar , the Sun Salutation. However, Surya Namaskar already existed, and Krishnamacharya was aware of it in the 1930s, as it was being taught, as exercise rather than as yoga, in
7154-422: The modern era that there are many incompetent gurus, and that a true guru should understand the spirit of the scriptures, have a pure character and be free from sin, and should be selfless, without desire for money and fame. Following the downfalls of several gurus accused of misconduct, practitioners have publicly debated whether gurus are still necessary. As for how gurus can get away with abuse for so long, there
7252-657: The other Frankish kingdoms. During the 8th century, the empire of the Franks came to be ruled by the Carolingian dynasty , whose centre of power included the area which is now eastern Belgium. Over the centuries, it was divided up in many ways, but the Treaty of Verdun in 843 divided the Carolingian Empire into three kingdoms whose borders had a lasting impact on medieval political boundaries. Most of modern Belgium
7350-852: The parliament accepted a Dutch version of the Constitution . The Berlin Conference of 1885 ceded control of the Congo Free State to King Leopold II as his private possession. From around 1900 there was growing international concern for the extreme and savage treatment of the Congolese population under Leopold II , for whom the Congo was primarily a source of revenue from ivory and rubber production. Many Congolese were killed by Leopold's agents for failing to meet production quotas for ivory and rubber. In 1908, this outcry led
7448-463: The passing of knowledge from teacher to pupil (traditionally, from guru to shishya ), is said to lie at the heart of Jois's Ashtanga Yoga. Teachers are certified through many years of daily practice and extended trips to Mysore, India, to become authorized "lineage holders". Having studied under Krishnamacharya for many years, Jois expected the same from his students, creating among the most stringent requirements anywhere in yoga teacher training . On
7546-504: The political and linguistic interests of these communities. The major parties in each community, though close to the political center, belong to three main groups: Christian Democrats , Liberals , and Social Democrats . Further notable parties came into being well after the middle of last century, mainly to represent linguistic , nationalist, or environmental interests, and recently smaller ones of some specific liberal nature. A string of Christian Democrat coalition governments from 1958
7644-586: The population, exists in the East Cantons . The Brussels-Capital Region is officially bilingual in French and Dutch, although French is the majority language and lingua franca . Belgium's linguistic diversity and related political conflicts are reflected in its complex system of governance, made up of six different governments . In antiquity the region around Belgium was inhabited by the Belgae , and became
7742-463: The same time Krishnamacharya departed Hassan to teach elsewhere. Two years later, Jois was reunited with Krishnamacharya, who had also made his way to Mysore. During this time, the Maharaja of Mysore, Krishna Rajendra Wodeyar , had become seriously ill and it is said that Krishnamacharya had healed him, through yoga, where others had failed. The Maharaja became Krishnamacharya's patron and established
7840-456: The same, some yoga traditions still emphasise and respect a teacher's lineage ( parampara ). For example, Gurumayi 's Siddha Yoga pays careful attention to her predecessors, Muktananda and Bhagawan Nityananda . Another major change was introduced by Vivekananda; his Ramakrishna Mission set the example of public service in education and medicine, something now practised by many other Indian religious movements. These religions thus shifted from
7938-533: The southeast to the Hercynian orogenic belt . The Paris Basin reaches a small fourth area at Belgium's southernmost tip, Belgian Lorraine . The coastal plain consists mainly of sand dunes and polders . Further inland lies a smooth, slowly rising landscape irrigated by numerous waterways, with fertile valleys and the northeastern sandy plain of the Campine ( Kempen ). The thickly forested hills and plateaus of
8036-648: The students concerned, and encouraging them to forgive his grandfather. "It brings me immense pain that I also witnessed him giving improper adjustments", Sharath wrote. In the early 21st century, Jois's grandson, R. Sharath Jois , led the Ashtanga Yoga community as director of the K. Pattabhi Jois Ashtanga Yoga Institute (KPJAYI) in Mysore. Jois's organization Sonima often provides organizational support to Sharath's world tours, and produces online programs that provide supplementary teaching tools for Ashtanga. Jois's daughter, Saraswathi, and granddaughter, Sharmila, run
8134-448: The transition from a unitary to a federal arrangement between 1970 and 1993. Despite the reforms, tensions have persisted: there is particularly significant separatist sentiment among the Flemish ; language laws such as the municipalities with language facilities have been the source of much controversy; and the government formation period following the 2010 federal election set a world record at 589 days. Unemployment in Wallonia
8232-728: The war were known as the Rape of Belgium due to German excesses. Belgium assumed control of the German colonies of Ruanda-Urundi (modern-day Rwanda and Burundi ) during the war, and in 1924 the League of Nations mandated them to Belgium. In the aftermath of the First World War, Belgium annexed the Prussian districts of Eupen and Malmedy in 1925, thereby causing the presence of a German-speaking minority. German forces again invaded
8330-702: The war. The Belgian Congo gained independence in 1960 during the Congo Crisis ; Ruanda-Urundi followed with its independence two years later. Belgium joined NATO as a founding member and formed the Benelux group of nations with the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Belgium became one of the six founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951 and of the European Atomic Energy Community and European Economic Community , established in 1957. The latter has now become
8428-625: The world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of 383/km (990/sq mi). Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries , historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest metropolitan region is Brussels ; other major cities are Antwerp , Ghent , Charleroi , Liège , Bruges , Namur , and Leuven . Belgium
8526-434: The world was threatened by evil. The potential for abuse in the transformed guru-follower relationship is large, and there have been multiple instances of apparent or proven sexual, mental, and emotional abuse by gurus. Anthony Storr has documented, for example, the excesses of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh ; Joel Kramer and Diana Alstad have examined the betrayal of trust that is involved. Swami Vivekananda said early in
8624-550: The yogic principle of ahimsa or non-violence, writing that "a good number of Mr Jois's students seemed constantly to be limping around with injured knees or backs because they had received his "adjustments", yanking them into Lotus, the splits or a backbend." Adjustments by Jois have been characterized as "overwhelming, producing fear and extreme discomfort in students as they are pushed beyond their physical and psychological comfort zones in often-difficult, even dangerous asana." The Economist obituary questioned Jois's adherence to
8722-439: The yogic principle of brahmacharya or sexual continence, and made the accusation that some students received different "adjustments"; further evidence and accusations soon emerged in 2009. In 2010, it became public knowledge that Jois had systematically sexually abused some of his female and male yoga students , both in Mysore and during his travels, until his death in 2009. Some of this was straightforward sexual abuse, some under
8820-477: Was born in a Kannada Hindu family on 26 July 1915 ( Guru Pūrṇimā , full moon day) in the village of Kowshika, near Hassan , Karnataka , South India. Jois's father was an astrologer , priest, and landholder. His mother took care of the house and the nine children - five girls and four boys - of whom Pattabhi Jois was the fifth. From the age of five, he was instructed in Sanskrit and rituals by his father, which
8918-568: Was broken in 1999 after the first dioxin crisis , a major food contamination scandal. A "rainbow coalition" emerged from six parties: the Flemish and the French-speaking Liberals, Social Democrats and Greens. Later, a " purple coalition " of Liberals and Social Democrats formed after the Greens lost most of their seats in the 2003 election . The government led by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt from 1999 to 2007 achieved
9016-547: Was designated the first permanent President of the European Council on 19 November 2009, he offered the resignation of his government to King Albert II on 25 November 2009. A few hours later, the new government under Prime Minister Yves Leterme was sworn in. On 22 April 2010, Leterme again offered the resignation of his cabinet to the king after one of the coalition partners, the OpenVLD , withdrew from
9114-526: Was established following the 1830 Belgian Revolution , when it seceded from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands , which had incorporated the Southern Netherlands (which comprised most of modern-day Belgium) after the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Belgium has been called "the Battlefield of Europe", a reputation reinforced in the 20th century by both world wars . Belgium was an early participant in
9212-565: Was in his early 60s. According to B.K.S. Iyengar , Jois was assigned to teach asana at the Sanskrit Pathshala when Krishnamacharya's yogaśala was opened in 1933, and was "never a regular student". Jois claimed he was B. K. S. Iyengar 's teacher, although Iyengar has denied this, and the two men's yoga systems are different; both were taught by Krishnamacharya. The obituary in The Economist questioned Jois's adherence to
9310-541: Was in office. This was a coalition of the Flemish and Francophone Christian Democrats , the Flemish and Francophone Liberals together with the Francophone Social Democrats . On that day a new government , led by Flemish Christian Democrat Yves Leterme , the actual winner of the federal elections of June 2007 , was sworn in by the king. On 15 July 2008 Leterme offered the resignation of
9408-543: Was in the Middle Kingdom , later known as Lotharingia , but the coastal county of Flanders , west of the Scheldt , became the northernmost part of West Francia , the predecessor of France . In 870 in the Treaty of Meerssen , modern Belgium lands all became part of the western kingdom for a period, but in 880 in the Treaty of Ribemont , Lotharingia came under the lasting control of the eastern kingdom, which became
9506-413: Was made about him by Robert Wilkins. Modern yoga gurus Modern yoga gurus are people widely acknowledged to be gurus of modern yoga in any of its forms, whether religious or not. The role implies being well-known and having a large following; in contrast to the old guru-shishya tradition , the modern guru-follower relationship is not secretive, not exclusive, and does not necessarily involve
9604-482: Was the primary means by which spirituality was expressed in India. Traditional yoga was often exclusive and secretive: the shishya submitted to and obeyed the guru, understanding that lengthy initiation and training under the guru was essential for progress. So strong was the guru-shishya relationship that Vivekananda stated that "The guru must be worshipped as God. He is God, he is nothing less than that". The role of
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