Grief as Teacher: Remembering SharathJi

Grief is a powerful teacher.

It doesn’t ask for permission before it arrives, it simply comes, dismantling everything we thought we knew about love, faith, and permanence. It turns the familiar inside out, leaving us raw and exposed to the mystery of loss.

On the anniversary of our teacher’s death, Tim Feldmann, Joseph Armstrong, Edgar Navarro, Frances Cole Jones, Heather Serna, myself and many others come together to share stories, memories, and reflections on SharathJi; our teacher, guide, and spiritual anchor.

Together, we explore how grief becomes part of the path, how lineage continues through love and practice, and how the teachings live on even when the teacher is gone.

As Elizabeth Kübler-Ross and David Kessler remind us, “The reality is that you will grieve forever. You will not ‘get over’ the loss of a loved one; you will learn to live with it. You will heal and you will rebuild yourself around the loss you have suffered. You will be whole again, but you will never be the same. Nor should you be the same, nor would you want to.”

SharathJi’s sudden departure left a void that words can’t fill. When we lost our teacher, we also lost the reflection of who we were in his eyes. There was a certain refuge in being a student, the comfort of knowing that someone stood before us as a mirror, a guide, a guardian of our path. Now, that mirror asks us to see ourselves. The guidance turns inward.

There’s so much left undone, so much left unfinished. So many questions we still wanted to ask, so many mornings we thought we’d share in the quiet rhythm of practice. We will have to walk on, sometimes and often along a lonely path, without you standing before us, but always with you in our hearts.

Through shared stories and moments of remembrance, this dialogue is both a eulogy and an offering, a testament to the lasting presence of a teacher whose spirit continues to live through every breath, every bow, every act of devotion.

For the full dialogue, tune into the Yoga Inspiration Podcast “Grief as a Teacher: Remembering SharathJi.”