Shri Ram Chandra Mission

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This article is about the "Shri Ram Chandra Mission." For "Sahaj Marg", see Sahaj Marg.

Shri Ram Chandra Mission was founded in 1945 at Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India by Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur (known as Babuji), in honour of his Guru, Shri Ram Chandra of Fatehgarh (known as Lalaji) According to followers of Chariji and his SRCMtm registered in California, the current president and spiritual head of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission is Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari, also known as Chariji.

According to the family of Babuji and their supporters in the SRCM, registered in India in 1945 by Babuji, following the death of Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur (affectionately known as Babuji), the founder of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission and originator of Sahaj Marg, the Working Committee, Centre-in-Charge/Preceptors/Organisers of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission in India and Abroad, on 15th April 1984 sent out a Circular confirming Shri Umesh Chandra Saxena, Babuji's son, as Successor/President of the Mission.

(See Circular of Shri Ram Chandra Mission, Shahjahanpur, dated 15th February 1984.)

(See also Minutes of the Working Committee Meeting, 6/7th February 1984 at Shahjahanpur, U.P., India.)

(See also Minutes of General Body Meeting (982 members present)held on 8th February, 1984 at Shahjahanpur, U.P.. India.)

There are more than 1500 centres in India and abroad, with a presence on every continent and in over 80 countries.[1] The worldwide headquarters resides at Manapakkam, Chennai in Tamil Nadu, India. The Group also has a school in Chennai, India: the Lalaji Memorial Omega School.[2]

The Shri Ram Chandra Mission is part of the NGO network and is listed as a non-government, non-profit organization that works in support of the public good and fulfills some of the principles outlined by the United Nations DPI Program. But it is more a religious group spreading Sahaj Marg method which includes sitting with preceptor. The focus of this group is more on the divinity of the Master than charity.[citation needed] The family of the founder of this group claims that current Master of California based SRCM is not of divine essence, and they have also accused him of murdering the previous Master of the same lineage. (see answer to question 3 in the link)

Sahaj Marg (the Natural Path) is the system of practical training in spirituality offered by Shri Ram Chandra Mission. Sahaj Marg, according to SRCMtm, is allegedly suited to help the man of the present-day world to achieve inner perfection, which is a synonym for God Realization.


To SRCMtm members, the Master (Current Master is Mr Chari (P.R)) is :-

1. The Ultimate (God, Creator of this universe)

2. The spiritual guide (To Entire humanity)

3. Inner divinity (Of the members of this group)

(SMRTI)

Contents

[edit] Lineage of Shri Ram Chandra Mission

[edit] Lalaji's Naqshbandi Sufi Lineage (from Islam)

"The Naqshbandiyya Sufi has spread to every nook and corner of India and also abroad through the efforts of Mahatma Ram Chandraji and his disciples, especially Mahatma Chaturbhuj Sahayji and Mahatma Ram Chandraji of Sahajahanpur (founder of Shri Ram Chandra Mission) and his disciple Shri Rajagopalachari. It was said by Maulvi Ahmad Ali Khan (the spiritual Master of Hujur Maharaj) that his Master (Shaikh Abul Hasan) had told him, 'A Hindu boy will come to you, who will spread this spiritual practice amongst many'. This Hindu boy is believed by some to have been Mahatma Ram Chandraji, who succeeded Hujur Maharaj in the Naqshbandiyya Order of Sufism". Dr. RK Gupta (Naqsh MuMRa) i.e. Naqshbandia Mujaddidia Mazaharia Ramchandria) refers to a stream of the great Naqshbandiyya Sufi Silsila (Order). It is an Indian-Sufi branch. Its genealogy is known as ‘Shizra Sharif’. Mahatma Shri Ram Chandraji Maharaj of Fatehgarh, UP is the 36th in this lineage and the first non-muslim Sufi saint of the Naqshbandiyya Order (see "Golden Delicious Chain" of Naqshbandiyya MuMRa Order. (Dr. RK Gupta - see references from many books)

Some (non-sufi) followers of SRCMtm assert that Lalaji became God realized after seven months of meditation,[3] and that he rediscovered the system of "heart to heart transmission" used in ancient times although according to RK Gupta (see references and Naqsh Mumra Web site), "heart to heart" transmission was never lost in the Naqshbandiyya Sufi tradition of Lalaji's Master, and did not have to be rediscovered.

Pujya Lalaji had a brother Raghubar Dayal Ji, also called Chachcha Ji (N°37 of the lineage), and a son Jagmohan Narain (N°38) and 2 grandsons: Akhilesh KUMAR Ji (N°39) and Dinesh KUMAR Saxena (current N°40).

On the other hand, Chachcha Ji, brother of Lalaji, had 3 offsprings: Brijmohan Lal also called Dadda Ji, Radha Mohan Lal and Jyotendra Mohan Lal. Brijmohan Lal (Dadda Ji) had several pupils of which Yashpal Ji also called Bhai Sahab Ji, founder of movement ABSS “Akhil Bhartiya Santmat Satsang” (see www.abssatsang.org). Radha Mohan Lal Ji had as disciple, Dr. Chandra Gupta. If one adds to that the Ramashram Satsang resulting from the disciples of Lalaji, with personalities like Dr. Chaturbhuj Sahai of Mathura and/or Thakur Ram Singhji of Jaipur, Dr Srikrishn Lal of Bulandshahar could all be in their lineage to their Master, Lalaji, the 36th of the Sufi Order and his Master Hujur Mahara). (Dinesh Kumar Saxena "Laalaaji Nilayam") (see References and citations below)

[edit] Shri Ram Chandra of Fatehgarh (Lalaji)

Lalaji's father Chaudhari Harbaksh Rai was one of the descendants of a highly respected Kayasth family of District Mainpuri. Emperor Akbar had gifted Babu Vrindavan, one of the renowned ancestors of this family, with the title "Chaudhari". (Paraphrased from Naqsh MuMRa-Dr.RK Gupta)

"Lalaji, as he was popularly called, belonged to a distinguished family of Jagirdars. Akbar, the great Moghul emperor, being a great statesman, befriended Hindus, made rapprochement with many and rewarded the brave. Sri Brindaban Babu, the great-grand father of Sri Lalaji Saheb, was a person of rare genius and his fine qualities and noble attainments won for him from Akbar, unstinted praise and friendship, the title of Chaudhari and a jagir comprising of 555 villages. He took up his permanent residence in the town of Bhoomigram, which later came to be called Bhogaon, in the present district of Mainpuri." (Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur-see references)

"His family lived there till after the mutiny of 1857 when general arson, anarchy and looting prevailed in the name of freedom in the district rendering Bhomigram uninhabitable. Sri Harbux Rai, the worthy father of the Adi-Guru, migrated to Fatehgarh in the district of Farrukhabad. Here, he joined his assignment as Tax Superintendent and began to live with his family. Unfortunately, he had no son at the time and had adopted his nephew. Though his state had been subjected to considerable damage as a result of the post-mutiny disturbances and his property had been plundered, he had enough assets to live by in the manner of an old and rich aristocrat. But the transitional period could not suit him and his status continued to deteriorate. Yet, there were servants and maid servants, a respectable house equipped with necessary paraphernalia, conveyances, etc." (Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur-see references)

In an article published by the SRCM(tm), Dr. KS Balasubramianiam stated: "He (Lalaji) is rightly called as the first guru of the Sahaj Marg system and it is in his name that Shri Ram Chandra Mission was established in 1945 A.D., by his dearest disciple and successor, who also bore the same name (i.e. Shri Ram Chandraji)." (Dr. KS Balasubramaniam see references below)

[edit] Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur (Babuji)

"Babuji was born on April 30, 1899 in Shahjahanpur, a large town in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India. He belonged to the family of "Bugaras", "Diwans". One of Babuji's forefathers was Chief of the Army Staff in Akbar's Army and got the title of "Bugara" from Akbar. One of Babuji's forefathers was Shri Kundal Lal Bakshi, who died as a valiant warrior in the famous "Battle of Buxar". According to The "Autobiography of Ram Chandra", (Published by SRCM, Shahjahanpur-see References): "My father was Rai Bahadur Sri Badri Prasad, Honorary Special Magistrate I Class." "Rai Bahadur" was a coveted Title given to respected Indians by the English during their Regime. Babuji was not named "Madhe Mohan Lal" as commented by Thomas Dahnhardt, University researcher, Oxford University. Babuji's father Rai Bahadur Badri Prasadji named him "Ram Chandra".

His father was a lawyer and noted scholar who educated his son extensively in English, Urdu and Persian, perhaps hoping that he would follow in his father’s footsteps. But from an early age, Ram Chandra's craving for spiritual realisation over-shadowed all other interests." (SMRTI-see references) He came to be known as "Babuji" as in the Shahjahanpur area all great and respected people are called "Babuji".

"He became a court clerk. He held that position in the Shahjahanpur district court for more than thirty years. He was married at the age of nineteen and his wife. Bhagwati, bore him two daughters and four sons before her death in 1949." (SMRTI-see references)

"On June 3, 1922, Babuji first met his Master, Lalaji, a man with the same name as himself (this statement is debated by Thomas Dahnhardt-see above and references), who lived in the town of Fatehgarh not far from Shahjahanpur. Lalaji apparently recognized Babuji as the man who had appeared to him in a dream years before, the one who was destined to succeed him as the leader of a great spiritual renaissance. Though teacher and disciple met only a few times before Lalaji's death in 1931, the thought of his Master remained constant in Babuji’s mind and heart from their first meeting until he passed away in April 1983 at the age of 83." (SMRTI-see references)

According to Lalaji's will, displayed on Laalaaji Nilayam, Lalaji's successor was to be his son: Jagmohan Narain (see references)

"It was on 14th August 1931 that his Guru entered Maha Samadhi and on 15th he felt that his Guru had transmitted him everything of His. It was a state of complete mergence of His Guru into him. On October 12th of 1932 he received further transmission from His deceased Master which he was not able to bear fully and he was overfilled with Divine Energy. It was by the grace of His Guru that later in 1944 he was blessed with the vision of the light that, apparently, Moses saw and also Shri Krishna's Viratsvarupa." (SMRTI-see References)

[edit] Shri Umesh Chandra Saxena / Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari (Chariji)

According to followers of Chariji and his SRCMtm registered in California, the current Master and President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission, is P. Rajagopalachari, also known as Chariji.

Accoding the family of Babuji and their supporters in the SRCM, registered in India on the 21st July 1945 by Babuji, following the death the Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur (affectionately known as Babuji), the founder of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission and originator of Sahaj Marg, the Working Committee, Centre-in-Charge/Preceptors/Organisers of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission in India and Abroad, on 15th April 1984 sent out a Circular confirming Shri Umesh Chandra Saxena, Babuji's son, as Successor/President of the Mission.

(See Circular of Shri Ram Chandra Mission, Shahjahanpur, dated 15th February 1984.)

(See also Minutes of the Working Committee Meeting, 6/7th February 1984 at Shahjahanpur, U.P., India.)

(See also Minutes of General Body Meeting (982 members present)held on 8th February, 1984 at Shahjahanpur, U.P.. India.)

"Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari was born on July 24, 1927, in the village of Vayalur near Chennai (Madras), in the south of India. Known to his family and close friends as Parthasarathi, he is affectionately called Chari, or Chariji, by his associates".[citation needed]

Chariji joined the T. T. Krishnamachari group of companies in 1955, thereafter rising to the position of Executive Director of the Indian Textile Paper Tube Company, when he retired. He now dedicates his full time to the Mission.

Chari has repeatedly stated (notably in his recorded speeches in U.K. & Europe) that he is not a "Master", and has requested that people stop calling him so and/or referring to him as such.

See particularly recorded speeches of Parthasarathi Rajagoplachari at Seminars in U.K & Europe, mid-late 1980s.

See "Heart to Heart - Vol.l" by P. Rajagolachari. Chapter "Who is a Master?" (Pages 270-280). First Edition 1988 - Shri Ram Chandra Mission, Pacific Grove, CA, USA. "But some people persist in addressing me as "Master". I have been annoyed by this practice myself....I have never claimed to be a Master.....It is unfortunate that some people....are addressing me by that same term."

"So in fact, the purpose of my talk is to request all of you to stop addressing me as Master."

His followers persist in disobeying his requests, as in the official on-line sites of SRCMtm and SMRTI show Chariji as the Master of SRCM, along with Lalaji and Babuji.

[edit] Dispute over the lineage of Shri Ram Chandra Mission

There are two other groups who claim the spiritual succession from Lalaji, the Yogabhyas,[4] with Dr. Chatterbuy as Guru and the Institute for Ram Chandra Consciousness (ISRC)[5], with professor Dr Varadachari as Guru, who claimed the disputed succession from Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur also. [6]

According to Shri KC Narayana, who was on the SRCM Working Committee in 1974, there is an authenticated document which names Chariji as President of the SRCM but adds that the words "spiritual representative" are not mentioned. {Fact|date=February 2007}}(see PoxySRCM blog below)

This is contradicted by the Circular of the Working Committee, Centre-in-Charge/Preceptors/Organisers of Shri Ram Chandra Mission in India and Abroad, dated 15th February, 1984, which names Shri Umesh Chandra Saxena as Successor/President, as per the authenticated Will and wishes of Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur (affectionately known as Babuji), Founder of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission and originator of Sahaj Marg. This followed the Meeting of the Working Committee of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission, 6/7th February, 1984 at Shahjahanpur, U.P., India, and the Meeting of the General Body of Shri Ram Chandra Mission, with 982 persons present, 8th February, 1984, at Shahjahanpur, U.P., India. (See references-Circular Working Committee, Centre-in-Charge/Preceptors/Organisers of Shri Ram Chandra Mission in India & Abroad, 15th February, 1984,) (See references-Minutes of the Working Committee of Shri Ram Chandra Mission, 6/7th February, 1984, Shahjahanpur, U.P., India.) (See references-Minutes of General Body of Shri Ram Chandra Mission Meeting, 8th February, 1984, Shahjahanpur, U.P., India).

The "break-away" ISRC (Institute for Ram Chandra Consciousness) see Ram Chandra (Babuji) as their Master (see ISRC web site below), though, some claim that Babuji himself has emphasized that a living Guru's guidance is necessary in the context of spiritual practise.[citation needed] But Chariji, in a speech to preceptors on Jan 16, 17, 2001, at the Babuji Memorial Ashram, stated: "I think much harm has been done by preceptors who think they are very devoted to the Master, by emphasizing this concept of the living Master"..."So for me personally, I would not talk about living Masters, dead Masters, existing Masters." (see SRCM web site)

According to a talk from Chariji, at Satkhol Jan 29, 2001 (see video transcript at SRCM or on blog: Our World from Another Dimension-below), the succession of the Ram Chandra Mission must remain in the male gender as the job includes an ability for destruction, and women do not possess such an ability.

Supporters of Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari's claim that the succession of Sri Ram Chandraji of Shahjahanpur was challenged and after more than 20 years in the courts, the Supreme court of India has declared Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari as the President of Sri Ram Chandra Mission(R).

Supporters of Babuji's family (Navneet Kumar) state that the issue is still before the Supreme Court in India. (see references-link to court dockets)

Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari has anonouned Bhattar Ajay Kumar of Kolkata, India as his successor, who would be the Presidant of Sri Ram Chandra Misssion(R) and the spiritual guide of the followers of Sahaj Marg(R), under Sri Ram Chandra Mission(R) after him. (see "Securing the Future of the Mission" a video transcript of proceedings at Tiruppur of Tamilnadu, India on 30th April 2005, at any SRCM centre archives).

According to SRCM Shahjahanpur, Shri Umesh Chandra Saxena was appointed as President/Successor by Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur (affectionately known as Babuji), Founder of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission and the originator of Sahaj Marg, and this was confirmed by the Working Committee and General Body of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission in 1984. (See references-Circular & Minutes of the Meetings at Shahjahanpur,6/7th, 8th & 15th February, 1984)

Following the death of Umesh in 2003, his son, Shri Navneet Kumar (Babuji's grandson)was elected as the President (of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission) by the Elected Body.

[See "Tell me Truth India" - "The Law of U.P. (Uttar Pradesh) Society Act changed in 1984 to election, since then Navneet Kumar was elected as the President by the Elected Body".[citation needed] (see comments in "history")

[edit] European headquarters

The European headquarters were at Augerans Castle (old Peugeot Castle), near the small village of Dole in France but there were problems around land use, which, according to report in the local media, included the large number of people taking part at events. (see references) The issue of "obedience" of civil servants to a foreign national and subsequent court cases and reports by committees of the french government finally soured the atmosphere between the Shri Ram Chandra Mission and the local population and the French government. (see referenes)

The European headquarters of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission has now moved to the Vrads Sande Castle in Denmark.[7] Along with the controversies, there has been some concerns and discontentment among some European and North American abhyasis with the Management of the Mission. In 1995 a report by a French Government Committee called "Report Made In The Name Of The Board Of Inquiry Into Cults" included the Shri Ram Chandra Mission on a list of 189 groups.[8] The Miviludes Report to the Prime Minister in 2003 called the "Interministerial Mission of Vigilance & Combat against Sectarian Aberrations" also mentions the Shri Ram Chandra Mission.[9]

[edit] North American headquarters

The Canadian Headquarters of the Mission is in North York, Ontario and in the United States, the Shri Ram Chandra Mission is registered in San Luis Obispo, California and the research arm of the Mission, the Sahaj Marg Research and Teaching Institute SMRTI is registered in Austin, Texas.

[edit] Books & References

[edit] Opinions of dissociated, questioning and/or ex-abhyasis:

Author, businessman, ex-preceptor and ex-member of publishing arm of SRCM and member of "inner circle"

Author is a Phd Research Psychologist and a 20-year member:

This is the original site on SRCMtm in Europe (group of parents of abhyasis):

European discussion site called "Long life SRCM" for questionning members (mostly FR):

Author is an ex-member from India:

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

Official Sites:

Websites of Associations and Institutions with similar lineage as Shri Ram Chandra Mission:


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