Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari

Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari (24 July 1927 – 20 December 2014) better known as Chariji,^[2] was the third in the line of Raja Yoga Masters in the Sahaj Marg System of Spiritual Practice of Shri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM).

Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari "Chariji"
Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari, India, 2008.
Born	(1927-07-24)24 July 1927 Vayalur near Trichy, Tamil Nadu, India^[1]
Died	(2014-12-20)20 December 2014
Organization	Shri Ram Chandra Mission
Notable work	My Master, Yatra: India in the West & Sahaj Marg in Europe, Heart to Heart (5 Volumes), Down Memory Lane (2 Volumes), In His Footsteps (4 Volumes), Spider's Web (3 Volumes), Fruit of the Tree, What is Sahaj Marg?, Religion and Spirituality, Principles of Sahaj Marg, Love and Death, Guru and The Goal, Revealing the Personality, Role of the Master in Human Evolution, Sahaj Marg Meanderings, HeartSpeak Series (14 Volumes), Diaries of Chariji (1983–1985), वे कहते हैं (Ve Kehthe Hein, 4 Volumes in Hindi), Heart of the Lion, Messages Universal (Volume II) and Call of Spirituality (Volume I & II)
Title	President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission (1983-2014), Founder of Sahaj Marg Spirituality Foundation (2003), Founder of Lalaji Memorial Omega International School (2005)
Predecessor	Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur
Spouse	Sulochana Rajagopalachari
Children	P. R. Krishna
Website	Chariji

Early life

Chariji was born in a South Indian family. The eldest of four children, his father Shri C. A. Rajagopalachari served in the Indian Railways and his mother, Srimathi R. Janaki, was an amateur violinist who died when Chariji was only five years old.^[3] He had two brothers Kothandraman and Srininvasan (Seena). He also had One Younger Sister named Vasantha.

Education

Chariji Studied Bachelor's Degree in Science in Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi. During his time , Dr.Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan was the Vice Chancellor of the University. He also Joined in U.O.T.C (University Officers' Training Corps). He was Admitted into 1st UP Battalion UOTC..ITF as a Cadet^{[citation needed]}.

Family life

Chariji was married to Smt. Sulochana and he had one son named P.R. Krishna^{[citation needed]}. Krishna (Chariji's Son) was married to Smt. Priya and they had two Children named Bargav (Son) and Madhuri (Daughter).

Professional life

After graduating from Banaras Hindu University with a B.Sc., Chariji worked for Indian Plastics Ltd. and T.T. Krishnamachari & Co., retiring from employment in 1985 as a corporate executive director in the TTK Group^[4][5]

Sahaj Marg and spirituality

In 1964, Chariji met and became the disciple of Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur, also known as Babuji, who was the founder President of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission.^[4] As Babuji's health was deteriorating, he nominated Chariji as his successor, and after his death in 1983, Chariji became the President of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission and the third Raja Yoga Master of Sahaj Marg. He oversaw the growth and expansion of Sahaj Marg into more than 100 countries.^[2] He founded the Lalaji Memorial Omega International School in Chennai.^[6] He traveled extensively around the world giving talks^[7][8][9] and conducting seminars on Raja Yoga up until 2008.

Final years and death

Chariji's health deteriorated from July 2012 until his Mahasamadhi on 20 December 2014.^[10] He was succeeded as president of the Shri Ram Chandra Mission by Kamlesh Patel, also known as Daaji.^[11]

References

1. Shukal, Om Prakash (2008). Excellence in life. New Delhi: Gyan Pub. House. p. 90. ISBN 9788121209632. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
2. "Sahaj Marg system of meditation". www.sundaytimes.lk. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
3. Vasu 2014, pp. 51–52, The Brahmachari.
4. Rajagopalachari 1999, p. ix–x, About Chariji.
5. Sebastian, Shevlin (1 February 2019). . The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 5 February 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
6. . www.omegaschools.org. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
7. "Spreading Love, Peace and Unity This New Year". www.huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 27 March 2016.
8. Hughes 2015, p. 28.
9. Hughes 2014, p. 45-46.
10. "Obituary – 21st December 2014". www.thehindu.com. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
11. "Kamlesh D Patel". www.sahajmarg.org. Retrieved 27 March 2016.

Sources

• Rajagopalachari, Parthasarathi (2014), Down Memory Lane, vol. 1 (Second ed.), ISBN 978-93-81281-06-2
• Rajagopalachari, Parthasarathi (1999), Thus Speaks Chariji (Babuji Maharaj Birth Centenary ed.), Shri Ram Chandra Mission, ISBN 0-945242-46-8
• Vasu, Prashant (2014), At the Feet of the Master - The becoming of a Disciple, A Biography of Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari, vol. 1 (First ed.), Spiritual Hierarchy Publication Trust, ISBN 978-93-83516-89-6
• Rajagopalachari, Parthasarathi (2010), My Master (Second ed.), Shri Ram Chandra Mission, ISBN 978-93-80335-48-3
• Hughes, Kim (2015), Journey Beyond, Lexingford, ISBN 978-0-9859480-0-9
• Hughes, Kim (2014), The Journey Within, Lexingford, ISBN 978-0-9863343-0-6
• Callahan, Daren (2007), Yoga: An Annotated Bibliography of Works in English, 1981-2005 (First ed.), McFarland, ISBN 978-0-7864-3162-5