Sri Bhagavan: Comparison
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1. Introduction

Sri Bhagavan (also known as 'Kalki' Bhagwan, born 7 March 1949)[1][2] is a spiritual teacher from India, and founder of Oneness University, a spiritual school located in South India.[3][4] In October 2019, newspapers reported that the Income Tax Department had raided 40 different properties associated with "White Lotus", owned by his son, and had confiscated large amounts of cash and gold.[5][6]

2. Early Years (1949–1983)

2.1. Family Background

Sri Bhagavan was born on 7 March 1949 as Vijay Kumar, in Natham Village, Gudiyatham Town, Vellore district, Tamil Nadu, to Smt. Vaidarbhi Amma and Sri Varadarajulu. Sri Bhagvan’s father was the head of the accounts department of Indian Railways and his mother was a simple village woman. In 1955, when Sri Bhagavan was six years of age, the family moved to Chennai.

2.2. Education

Sri Bhagavan attended Don Bosco School in Chennai. Later, he graduated from DG Vaishnav College in Chennai, majoring in mathematics.[7]

2.3. Marriage

Sri Bhagavan married Smt. Padmavathi on 9 June 1977. This was an arranged marriage following the prevalent customary practice in India for marriages decided by elders in the family.[8] Padmavathi, who is addressed as Amma by their students, takes an interest and participation in building the spiritual organization Oneness.[8]

3. Jeevashram School (1984–1994)

Jeevashram School located in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh was founded by Sri Bhagavan, in July 1984 to provide an alternative form of education. The land for the school was taken on a lease, with the support provided by Hari Khoday, an Indian philanthropist. As director of the school, Sri Bhagavan's focus was to develop an environment for children to truly flower and discover themselves. The school had 180 residential students and 200 day students from nearby villages.[8] It was at this school that his spiritual work began. In the summer of 1989, one of the students reported a mystical experience of divine silence. Soon, many other students reported similar experiences, and they were also able to pass their experiences to one another. During these experiences, children had vision of various Gods and would converse with them. Sri Bhagavan explained that the children had got in touch with Antaryamin, the inner guide who dwells in your heart that guides all beings towards greater truth.[8] In 1991, Sri Bhagawan decided to close the school and start the spiritual work for the larger community. The school was closed a few years later in 1994, after the senior students had all graduated from high school and the remaining students were moved to other schools.[8]

4. Spiritual Programs for Public (1991–Present)

Once the decision was made to close Jeevashram School, work started in developing the spiritual programs for the public.[8] The principal of the Jeevashram School with a small group of teachers started the spiritual programs for public. The workshops were conducted as residential retreat programs conducted over 7 days or 21 days.

The workshop focused on helping the participant accept themselves as they are,[9] and connect with their own inner divine self the Antaryamin.[10]

Students also reported various spiritual experiences including mystical visions of their own personal God riding a white horse, similar to the Kalki form of Vishnu from traditional Hindu beliefs.[4][11] Based on this shared spiritual experiences, the students and public would address Sri Bhagavan with the title "Kalki".[4]

A second campus was set up in 1992 near Chennai city a place called Somangalam. In 1994, the campus of Jeevashram School was renamed as Satyaloka. Advance retreat programs for public were conducted at this campus. By 1995, Sri Bhagavan's workshops were being conducted in all major cities in India. In 1995, the first major public event was held at Chennai city, attracting more than 100,000 students from across India. In 1999, the work on building the Oneness University[12] at Varadaiahpalem, Chittoor district Andhra Pradesh India started. Oneness University, located 70 km from Chennai, is accessible by the National Highway 5 and is on Tirupati Road leading to the ancient temple town of Kalahasthi. In 2000, the first campus was completed and Sri Bhagavan and his team of teachers moved to the campus. Over the next few years, various campuses, including the Oneness Temple in 2008[13] were built. In 2004, the first international program was started.[12]

Anna Hazare the Indian social reformer, states "All over India, oneness is the only University providing the values which have not been provided by any other University".[14][15]

Ervin Laszlo of the Budapest Club, avers that the 'Oneness experience' are as real as any human sense perceptions of light, colour and sound, but conveyed via different neural process within the brain.[16]

In 2006, Tony Robbins, the well known American businessman and coach, discovered meditation through his visit to Oneness University, and has since incorporated teachings of Sri Bhagavan as part of his own programs.[17]

In 2009, about 600 delegates from India and 36 others converged at Sri Bhagavan's Oneness University campus for the international convention of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. This program was attended by various well-known figures, such as Ashok Singhal, Praveen Togadia, and Giriraj Kishore.[18][19]

Well-known visitors to Sri Bhagavan's Oneness University campus include Bollywood stars Shilpa Shetty,[20] Manisha Koirala,[21][22] Hrithik Roshan,[23] Rakesh Roshan[24] designer Donna Karan,[25] Deff Leppard musician Rick Allen,[25][26] NBA coach Pat Riley,[25] spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.[27]

In 2011 he was included in Watkins Mind Body Spirit list of influential spiritual leaders for that year.[28]

5. Oneness Movement

The movement started in the early 1980s and by 2008 was reported to have more than 14 million followers worldwide.[29] Its stated mission is to "create oneness for all for lasting spiritual transformation".[29] Its rites include the practice of deeksha.[4]

Sri Bhagavan's movement has various names,[4] such as Golden Age Foundation, Bhagavad Dharma, Kalki Dharma and the Oneness Organisation.[4]

The headquarters and main campus for the movement is in Varadaiahpalem, Andhra Pradesh, India .[4] Within the campus is the Oneness Temple.

References

  1. "‘Kalki’ Bhagwan hospitalised" (in en-IN). The Hindu. 2019-12-01. ISSN 0971-751X. https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/chennai/kalki-bhagwan-hospitalised/article30126960.ece. 
  2. Nadkarni, Vithal C. (2008). "Oneness to the rescue of a world in peril". The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/oneness-to-the-rescue-of-a-world-in-peril/articleshow/2732690.cms. 
  3. "lifepositive". https://www.lifepositive.com/the-school-for-enlightenment/.  (Published by Religioscope)]
  4. "India: a visit to the Oneness Temple of Amma-Bhagwan". 13 July 2008. https://english.religion.info/2008/07/13/india-a-visit-to-the-oneness-temple-of-amma-bhagwan/. 
  5. "After I-T raids, Kalki Bhagwan denies rumors of leaving the country". https://aninews.in/news/national/general-news/after-i-t-raids-kalki-bhagwan-denies-rumors-of-leaving-the-country20191022145248/. Retrieved 24 October 2019. 
  6. "From monk to billionaire: I-T raids find Rs 500 crore unaccounted money from Kalki Bhagwan’s ashrams". India Today. 2019-10-19. https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/income-tax-raids-find-rs-500-crore-unaccounted-money-from-kalki-bhagwan-ashram-1610887-2019-10-19. Retrieved 24 October 2019. 
  7. "Narayanan, Dr. Vasudha, "A `White Paper' on Kalki Bhagavan, 29 September 2002", University of Florida, Gainesville, Montclair.". https://msuweb.montclair.edu/~adarkara/d-kalki.html. 
  8. Ardagh 2008, Chapter 1,2.
  9. Varughese, Suma. "Sri Bhagawan Kalki - The School of Enlightenment". Life Positive.  The class revolves around the concept of acceptance. Sounding like J. Krishnamurti or Eckhart Tolle, she tells us to practice 'sweekariyat', beginning with acceptance of the self. We are urged to look within and acknowledge all that is. She points out the suffering inherent in rejecting aspects of ourselves we do not approve of and of the false self we construct. She emphasizes the importance of 'experiencing' the moment, instead of resisting it. Bhagavan says, "Seeing is the key thing in the dharma. Supposing jealousy is there, you must learn to see jealousy. To see is to be free." http://lifepositive.com/the-school-for-enlightenment/
  10. Varughese, Suma. "Sri Bhagawan Kalki - The School of Enlightenment". Life Positive.  "Bhagavan says, 'The mind of man is like a wall which divides man from God. The deeksha is an electrical energy that makes a hole in this wall, which we call the mind. Once this happens, then God and man can come to relate to each other." "God is your supreme friend," Bhagavan is reported to have said, and we are urged to argue with God, fight with him and compel him to hear our prayer, as we would with a real friend. I find this concept of the friendly God very attractive, for too often we distance ourselves from divinity out of a sense of unworthiness. http://lifepositive.com/the-school-for-enlightenment/
  11. Monier Monier-Williams: Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages, 1889, reprinted 2003, Nataraj Books, Asian Educational Services, ISBN:81-206-0369-9
  12. Ardagh 2008, Chapter 2.
  13. Avadhani, Ramesh. "India: A visit to the Oneness Temple of Amma-Bhagawan". Religiscope.  Constructed by the Oneness organisation in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, a new temple boasts of the largest pillar-less meditation hall in Asia--able to accommodate 8000 people. What is this building, and what is the Oneness movement, about which there are few studies? Indian journalist Ramesh Avadhani has recently visited the place. In the following document, he reports about his experience. http://english.religion.info/2008/07/13/india-a-visit-to-the-oneness-temple-of-amma-bhagwan/
  14. Life, Vamsi, Amazed With Challenges And Incidents In (21 August 2011). "Anna Hazare Visited Oneness University". http://vamsigrandhi.blogspot.com/2011/08/anna-hazare-visited-oneness-university.html. Retrieved 24 October 2019. 
  15. "Anna Hazare Comments on Youth Course of Oneness University". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=moZ2AwfDU6Q. Retrieved 24 October 2019. 
  16. Nadkarni, Vithal. "Oneness to the rescue of a world in peril". Economic Times.  http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/opinion/oneness-to-the-rescue-of-a-world-in-peril/articleshow/2732690.cms
  17. "Tony Robbins, The CEO Whisperer". https://fortune.com/2014/10/30/tony-robbins-best-advice-executive-coach/. Retrieved 24 October 2019. 
  18. Correspondent, Special (2009-01-02). "world convention". The Hindu.Correspondent, Special (2009-01-02). "world convention". The Hindu.  [1]
  19. VHP condemns terrorism (The Hindu) http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-andhrapradesh/vhp-condemns-terrorism/article368356.ece
  20. "Shilpa Shetty in silent mode | The Hindu". http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/shilpa-shetty-in-silent-mode/article13726.ece. Retrieved 24 October 2019. 
  21. Varma, Lipika. "On her trip to Chennai, Manisha". Deccan Chronicle. Manisha Koirala states, "I go away to Oneness University in Chennai – this is a totally different company, where we all live differently and see life differently. And when I–m in their company, I get engrossed completely and get detached to the worldly affairs. Here we go for hiking, sit down in nature and enjoy meditation for hours together and discuss about the being of life and blah…blah. Getting attached spiritually, I get easily detached to the world – this detachment gives me a different satisfaction- gain a lot of peace. I gain clarity and get a sense of bliss, and for me it's another dimension of life which I enjoy. So I’m looking ahead to be with all my Sadhvis ahead in the next month. I usually do this every six months in a year's time." http://www.deccanchronicle.com/entertainment/bollywood/290517/on-her-trip-to-chennai-manisha-will-catch-up-with-kamal-haasan-and-mani-ratnam.html
  22. "Manisha Koirala prays at Kalki Ashram". 24 November 2011. https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/manisha-koirala-prays-at-kalki-ashram/article2654685.ece. Retrieved 24 October 2019. 
  23. MumbaiSeptember 7, Mail Today; September 7, 2009UPDATED:; Ist, 2009 09:05. "Hrithik off to a wellness course with his family". https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/celebrities/story/hrithik-off-to-a-wellness-course-with-his-family-55962-2009-09-07. Retrieved 24 October 2019. 
  24. "Hrithik & family get spiritual on dad’s b’day - Times of India". https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/news/Hrithik-family-get-spiritual-on-dads-bday/articleshow/4974833.cms. 
  25. TNN (2008-06-08). "So, who's spiritual". The Times of India.  "The Oneness University in Chennai set up by the couple Amma and Bhagwan, which has attracted international celebs like designer Donna Karan, Def Leppard musician Rick Allen and NBA coach Pat Riley"TNN (2008-06-08). "So, who's spiritual". The Times of India.  "The Oneness University in Chennai set up by the couple Amma and Bhagwan, which has attracted international celebs like designer Donna Karan, Def Leppard musician Rick Allen and NBA coach Pat Riley"[2]
  26. "ONENESS CHANT by Lauren Monroe Allen and Rick Allen". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ4rzDR2N-c. Retrieved 24 October 2019. 
  27. "RAVI SHANKAR with ONENESS.MPG". https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFf9tF5geas. 
  28. Watkins Books. "100 Spiritual Power List by Watkins, 2011". Watkins Review: Mind Body Spirit 1893 UK London (Watkins Books) (26). http://www.watkinsbooks.com/review/watkins-spiritual-100-list. Retrieved 21 July 2014. 
  29. TNN (2008-02-02). "Mumbai Inc learns about 'Oneness'". Economic Times. (economictimes.com) http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2008-02-02/news/27736762_1_jagdish-capoor-bse-top-guns
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