At age six Bikram met his guru Bishnu Charan Ghosh, the youngest brother of Paramahnsa Yogananda. Bikram practiced Yoga at least four to six hours every day at Ghosh's College of Physical Education in Calcutta. At the age of thirteen, he won the National India Yoga Championship. He was undefeated for the following three years and retired as the undisputed All-India National Yoga Champion.

Bikram also started breaking records as a weight lifter. One day when he was 18 a spotter dropped 380-pound weight on his knee, pulverizing it. Effectively a cripple, he was told by doctors that he would never walk again. Some of them wanted to amputate others said they would try to rebuild his knee.

I couldn't take the idea of being lame the rest of my life. Instead, I called my guru. I limped back to him and he saved me. It was nothing less than a miracle, and this inspired me to become a yoga teacher.

In February of 1970 I left India and went to Japan for what was supposed to be six months, to take care of some things there for my guru. I didn't want to go. But when your guru tells you to do something, you have to do it. That's it. You have no choice. As I was getting on the plane at Calcutta airport, my guru took my hand and told me something in English, which he never spoke. "Promise me you will complete my incomplete job," he said. He meant bringing yoga to the rest of the world, to the West and America. And I replied, "Yes, I promise I will."

When Bishnu Gosh bound me in that oath, I had no way of knowing it would be the last time we spoke. Soon thereafter my guru performed mahasamadhi, withdrawing his Spirit from his body and leaving this Earth at the age of 67.

Looking back, I cant help feeling sad, mostly because I miss him every second of every day with every ounce of my heart. But I'm also sad because I forgot to ask him how long I am supposed to continue teaching Hatha Yoga to fulfill my Karma Yoga! Do I have to keep doing this my entire life? With no guru to answer me, I have concluded that the answer is yes. To which I say "No problem!"

From his book.