Biography of Indra
Her mother belonged to the Russian nobility, and her father was of Swedish origin. In Om, during the Civil War, Eugene and her mother emigrated from Russia to Germany, where she became part of the famous Russian theater. Together with the troupe of the theater, she visited many capitals of Europe. After attending Krishnamurti lectures in Holland, she fell in love with India, her culture, customs and spirituality.
A great dream - to visit India - came true in the year when she came to India for the first time. There she met with such famous people as Pandit D. Ner, Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranat Tagor. On the second, her visit two years later, as a film actress, she accepts the Indian name Indra Devi in honor of Indira Gandhi. She finished her career for the film actress at 31, when she married a diplomat serving in India.
Indra Devi began to seriously engage in yoga after she cured with the help of yoga her heart failure, which she suffered for four years. At first she studied yoga in Bombay, and then in Mayisor, where her teacher was Sri Krishnamacharya, the famous Yogin, the founder of one of the most popular Hatha Yoga styles, Ashtanga Yoga. The master personally taught her Pranayama, control of life energy through breathing, and told her that she would teach yoga.
When her husband was transferred to China, she, following the will of Sri Krishnamacharya, opened the yoga studio in Shanghai in February. Because of her love for the stage, she also becomes known as the performer of Indian temple dances, whom she studied in Bombay. After the end of World War II, Indra returned to India to continue her personal improvement in Yoga in the Himalayas. There, in the highland Palace of Maharaja, she writes her first book Yoga, published in the year.
Indra Devi begins to teach yoga and give lectures on this subject, and becomes known as the first person of the West who teaches yoga in India. At the end of the year, she was called to Shanghai to collect her things. By this time, her husband returned to Europe, where he soon died. Instead of returning to India, as she planned, Indra goes to California, where she arrived in January.
Soon she began to teach yoga in Hollywood. Gloria Svenson, she even dedicated her book “Yoga for the Americans”. This book was published in Moscow by “Soviet sports” in the year under the name “Yoga for you”. Two more books “for eternal youth, for eternal health” and “Improve your life by the practice of yoga”, which were also published in New York, soon became bestsellers and were translated into 10 foreign languages and sold in 29 countries.
In the year, Indra marries Dr. Sigfried Knauer, an outstanding doctor and a well -known humanist who helped his wife a lot in her work. Indra Devi was engaged in yoga training, gave lectures, performed in the body and radio programs, participated in the press conferences in the USA and Mexico. Having received American citizenship and legalizing the name of Indra Devi, she goes to India, where her book, transferred to Hindi, wins even the government prize as the best “non -artistic” book.
In the year, she comes to the Soviet Union, at the invitation of the Indian ambassador of Mr. K. Menon, take part in a conference organized for the highest officials of the Kremlin. She explained to Kosygin, Gromyko, Mikoyan and other famous party leaders of that time, the meaning and significance of the ancient science of India - yoga. At that time, in the international press she was called "a woman who introduced the Kremlin with yoga." Next year, her husband bought a wonderful house in Tekat, in Mexico near the border with California.
She organized there the International Training Center for Yoga Teachers. In the year, she again went to India, where she met with Sai Baba, whom millions of people around the world consider the avatar of this millennium.
From Tekat, she went to India 24 times. In the year, the government of San Salvadora invited Indra Devi to represent a yoga in local schools. In the year, Mataji first visited Argentina, and in the year decided to stay there, starting a huge work on the spread of classical yoga, conducting lectures and seminars in various cities of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Chile, Mexico, as well as in Spain, Germany and other European countries.
In June, she founded the Indra Devi Foundation, Art and Science of Life, which organizes meetings of yoga instructors in Argentina, America and Europe and contributes to the spread of yoga around the world. In January, she visited her teacher Sri Krishnamacharya, who was then years old. At the end of the X, beginning of the X Indra, Devi traveled a lot, giving lectures and conducting yoga seminars in Latin America and Europe.
In May, she visited Russia. She visited Riga, Moscow and other cities, and the presenter of the then popular program “Before and after midnight” Vladimir Molchanov interviewed her. Then she was twice in Russia twice: in the year, at the invitation of the Russian Olympic Committee and in the year at the invitation of the Argentine Ambassador to Russia.In the year, Indra Devi celebrated her summer anniversary, which was attended by a person.
She passed away in the year of her life on April 26.