Garrydum at 09:59, 28 February 2026

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{{Short description|Indian bodybuilder and yoga practitioner (1903–1970)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| image = Bishnu_Charan_Ghosh.jpg
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=y|1903|06|24}}
| birth_place = [[Lahore]], [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1970|7|9|1903|6|24|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Calcutta]], [[West Bengal]], India
| other_names =
| known_for = [[Modern yoga]]
| occupation = [[Bodybuilding]]
| relatives = [[Paramahansa Yogananda]] (brother)
}}
'''Bishnu Charan Ghosh''' (24 June 1903 – 9 July 1970) was an Indian [[bodybuilder]] and [[Hatha Yoga|Hathayogi]]. He was the younger brother of yogi [[Paramahansa Yogananda]], who wrote the 1946 book ''[[Autobiography of a Yogi]]''. In 1923, he founded the '''College of Physical Education, Calcutta'''. His writings influenced the development of modern [[yoga as exercise]] [[Postural yoga in India|in India]] and [[Bikram Choudhury]] founded [[Bikram Yoga]] based on his teachings.

Annual yoga championships in Los Angeles are named the '''Bishnu Charan Ghosh Cup''' in his honour.

== Life ==
Bishnu Charan Ghosh was born in a well to do [[Bengali language|Bengali]] family in [[Lahore]], the youngest of eight children of Bhagabati Charan Ghosh (1853–1942) and brother of Mukunda Lal Ghosh, better known by his spiritual name, [[Paramahansa Yogananda]].{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=132–135}}<ref name="Knight 2014"/> His parents' guru was [[Lahiri Mahasaya]], who taught [[Kriya Yoga school|Kriya Yoga]].<ref name="Knight 2014"/>

Yogananda introduced Ghosh to [[yoga]] at his Ranchi School for Boys in [[Bengal]], where he was one of the first seven pupils. As well as Yogananda's set of 84 "Yogoda" asanas gathered from different sources, his brother taught him the abdominal muscle isolation exercise traditionally used in hatha yoga as the purification ([[shatkarma]]) known as [[nauli]]; Yogananda had used the exercise to impress Western audiences with his muscle control. In 1923, at the age of twenty, Ghosh opened the College of Physical Education in Calcutta, today run by his granddaughter Muktamala Ghosh under the name Ghosh's Yoga College. In 1925, he trained in physical education at the [[University of Calcutta]], taught according to India's traditional (medieval) physical culture of training, diet, and lifestyle. The equipment consisted of rough "nal" stones with a hole for use as a handle.{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=132–135}}<ref name="Newcombe2017">{{cite journal |last=Newcombe |first=Suzanne |author-link=Suzanne Newcombe |title=The Revival of Yoga in Contemporary India |journal=Religion |publisher=Oxford Research Encyclopedias |volume=1 |year=2017 |doi=10.1093/acrefore/9780199340378.013.253|isbn=9780199340378 |url=http://oro.open.ac.uk/48147/1/April_Yoga_Revival_Newcombe.pdf}}</ref><ref name="Vancouver">{{cite web |title=Bishnu Ghosh Biography |url=http://www.bikramyogavancouver.com/history-of-yoga/bishnu-ghosh-biography/ |publisher=Bikram Yoga Vancouver |access-date=27 March 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130903043715/http://www.bikramyogavancouver.com/history-of-yoga/bishnu-ghosh-biography/ |archive-date=3 September 2013 |date=8 July 2012}}</ref>

In 1930, he published his book ''Muscle Control'', which relied heavily on the German bodybuilder Maxick ([[Max Sick]])'s 1913 book of the same name.{{sfn|Maxick|1913}}{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=132–135}}<ref name="Knight 2014"/> The book features his adoptive nephew, Buddha Bose, demonstrating nauli and uddiyana bandha; Bose wrote a manuscript on ''84 Asanas'', not published until the 21st century.<ref>{{cite web |last=Armstrong |first=Jerome |author-link=Jerome Armstrong |title=Buddha Bose {{!}} 84 Asanas |url=http://www.buddhabose.com/about-buddha.html |website=Buddha Bose |access-date=16 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190604122711/http://www.buddhabose.com/about-buddha.html |archive-date=4 June 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1939, Ghosh went to America and taught at [[Columbia University]], [[New York City|New York]]. In 1968, he went on a lecture tour of [[Japan]].<ref name="Knight 2014"/>

== Philosophy ==
Bishnu's muscle control was strongly influenced by Yogananda's Method ''Yogoda'', as described in his 1925 book on that subject.<ref>[[Paramahansa Yogananda]]: ''General Principles and Merits of Yogoda or Tissue-Will System of Body and Mind Perfection, Originated and Taught by Swami Yogananda.'' Los Angeles 1925.</ref> This "Body Perfection by Will" relied on the use of weights and special apparatus for musclebuilding. Added to this was the weaving in of traditional [[asana]]s from [[Hatha yoga]]; he became well known in India as a Hathayogi, teaching a yoga that was "a fusion of asanas, [[physical culture]], and the muscle manipulation techniques that Ghosh had first learned from his brother".{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=132–135}}{{sfn|Ghosh|1980|p=249}}<ref name="Knight 2014">{{cite web |last1=Knight |first1=Bonnie |title=Bishnu Charan Ghosh and His Influence on Modern Postural Yoga |url=http://lmuits.wpengine.com/historyofmodernyoga/bishnu-charan-ghosh/ |website=History of Modern Yoga |access-date=27 March 2019 |date=11 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171110224754/http://lmuits.wpengine.com/historyofmodernyoga/bishnu-charan-ghosh/ |archive-date=10 November 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The yoga researcher [[Mark Singleton (yoga scholar)|Mark Singleton]] has argued that Ghosh's method contributed significantly to the development of [[yoga as exercise|modern postural yoga]].{{sfn|Singleton|2010|pp=132–135}} It has been stated that Ghosh also influenced the development of [[Sivananda Yoga]]'s sequence of 12 basic asanas.{{sfn|Singleton|2010|p=135}}

==Legacy==

Ghosh's Yoga College in North Kolkata continues to offer training in therapeutic yoga in the 21st century.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ghosh's Yoga College Teacher Training |url=https://www.ghoshyogatraining.com/ |access-date=16 December 2019 |archive-date=16 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216162554/https://www.ghoshyogatraining.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Bikram Choudhury]], creator of [[Bikram Yoga]], claimed to have been taught by Ghosh from the age of five. However, he did not become a regular student at Bishnu's gymnasium until 1962 at the age of 18. At that time Bikram was a bodybuilder. His system of yoga was based on Ghosh's teachings.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Armstrong |first1=Jerome |title=Calcutta Yoga |date=9 January 2020 |publisher=Pan Macmillan |isbn=978-1-5290-4811-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QvjCDwAAQBAJ&dq=bikram+yoga-bayam&pg=PP320 |access-date=12 December 2021 |page=320|language=en}}</ref><ref name="Schickel 2003">{{cite news |url=https://www.laweekly.com/body-work/ |title=Body Work |last=Schickel |first=Erica |date=25 September 2003 |work=[[L.A. Weekly]] |access-date=21 November 2019 |publisher=[[LA Weekly]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |last=Henderson |first=Julia L. |title=Bikram. ''30for30'', season 3, episodes 4&5 |publisher=[[ESPN]] |date=2018 |url=https://30for30podcasts.com/bikram/}}</ref> Choudhury named the Bishnu Charan Ghosh Cup, awarded annually at the International Yoga Asana Championships in Los Angeles, in Ghosh's honor.<ref>{{cite web |title=International Yoga Asana Championship |url=https://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/06/11/sports/SPTSYOGA0611.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=12 June 2013 |access-date=27 March 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Beck |first1=Sara |title=Yoga Is Not Just Posing as Sport at World Event |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/12/sports/world-yoga-tournament-displays-real-athleticism.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=11 June 2012 |quote=Silence prevailed during the yoga asana routines of the ninth annual Bishnu Charan Ghosh Cup ... Onstage, a garland-draped image of Bishnu Ghosh, Bikram’s guru, looked on while seven judges sat with pencils raised, critiquing the routines.}}</ref><ref name="Whitworth 2010">{{cite news |last1=Whitworth |first1=Melissa |title=Are you cool enough for competitive yoga? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/wellbeing/7803435/Are-you-cool-enough-for-competitive-yoga.html |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=7 June 2010}}</ref>

== Pupils ==
* [[Reba Rakshit]] (1933–2010), who could withstand the weight of cars and elephants driven over her chest.<ref>{{cite news |title=No more a traditional celebration |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/no-more-a-traditional-celebration/articleshow/802785664.cms |work=The Times of India |date=24 October 2001}}</ref>
* [[Monotosh Roy]] (1917–2005), who in 1951 became the first Indian bodybuilder to win the title of [[Universe Championships|Mr. Universe]].<ref name="ie03072005">{{cite news |title=The Indian Atlas |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/oldStory/73754/ |newspaper=The Indian Express |date=3 July 2005 |access-date=6 April 2012}}</ref><ref name="sandow">{{cite web |url=http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/India/Monotosh/roy.htm |title=Monotosh Roy |work=Sandow and the Golden Age of Iron Men: The Online Physical Culture Museum |access-date=6 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021227004108/http://www.sandowplus.co.uk/India/Monotosh/roy.htm |archive-date=27 December 2002 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="ibbf">{{cite web |url=http://worldchampion2011.in/monotosh_roy.php |title=Monotosh Roy: The first Asian to be crowned Mr. Universe (1917–2005) |work=Mr. Universe 2011 |publisher=Indian Bodybuilding and Fitness Federation |access-date=6 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321210118/http://www.worldchampion2011.in/monotosh_roy.php |archive-date=21 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Works ==
* B.C. Ghosh and K.C. Sen Gupta: ''[[iarchive:217858632-muscle-control-and-barbell-exercise|Muscle Control and Barbell Exercise]]''. College of Physical Education, Calcutta, 1930.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Sources ==
* {{cite book |last=Singleton |first=Mark |author-link=Mark Singleton (yoga teacher) |title=Yoga body : the origins of modern posture practice | publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-539534-1 |oclc=318191988 }}
* {{cite book |author=Maxick |title=Muscle Control, or Body Development by Will-Power |year=1913 |publisher=Ewart, Seymour & Co. |url=https://archive.org/stream/MuscleControl/Muscle_Control#page/n5/mode/2up }}
* {{cite book |last1=Ghosh |first1=S. L. |title=Mejda, the Family and Early Life of Paramahansa Yogananda |date=1980 |publisher=Self-Realization Fellowship |location=Los Angeles }}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
*[http://www.ghoshtrustfund.com/bishnu-charan-ghosh/ Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171004041211/http://www.ghoshtrustfund.com/bishnu-charan-ghosh/ |date=4 October 2017 }}

{{Modern yoga}}
{{Physical culture}}
{{Paramahansa Yogananda}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Modern yoga pioneers]]
[[Category:Indian male bodybuilders]]
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1970 deaths]]
[[Category:People associated with physical culture]]
[[Category:Paramahansa Yogananda]]
[[Category:Indian yoga teachers]]
[[Category:Bodybuilders from West Bengal]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Lahore]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Kolkata]]
[[Category:University of Calcutta alumni]]

Bishnu Charan Ghosh - Revision history

Garrydum at 09:59, 28 February 2026