Ram Chandra, Sri Maharaj

(1899–1983)

   teacher of raja yoga

   The boy who became Sri Ram Chandra later in life was born in Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh state on April 30, 1899, into a BRAHMIN fam-ily. Following in the footsteps of his scholarly father he began his education with a particular interest in philosophy, literature, and geography. Reports indicated that he was not an outstand-ing scholar but could hold his own intellectu-ally. He joined the judicial services, married, and raised children.

   On July 3, 1922, he sought out Guru Sri Ram Chandra of Fategarh, who preserved and followed an ancient form of yoga called Pranahuti (divine transmission), which the younger Ram Chandra perceived to be superior to the newer methods. He himself had been practicing a form of PRANAYAMA or breathing technique for the previous seven years, but he abandoned this and adopted the spiritual practices of his new guru, who died in 1931.

   Sri Ram Chandra felt that he had absorbed the teachings from his spiritual leader and was quali-fied to carry on his inspiration. He believed that he and his guru had spiritually merged. In 1932, he received a powerful transmission of spiritual energy from his guru. In 1944, he had a vision of white light that revealed Lord KRISHNA’s true nature. He knew that his mission was to carry on the work of his master.

   Sri Ram Chandra founded the Sri Ram Chan-dra Mission in 1945 in honor of his guru and in 1976 built an ashram in Shahjahanpur. Through-out these years he taught raja yoga and gave spiri-tual guidance to many.

   Sri Ram Chandra Maharaj died on April 19, 1983, after many years of service to raja yoga. The lineage is preserved through his disciple Sri Par-thasarathi Rajagopalachari of Madras (Chennai), who assumed the mantle at his bedside and is now the president of Sri Ram Chandra Mission. He is affectionately known as “Chariji.”

   Further reading: Sri Ram Chandra, Complete Works of Ram Chandra, Vol. 1 (Pacific Grove, Calif.: Sri Ram Chandra Mission, 1989); ———, Down Memory Lane, Vol. 1 (Shahjahanpur: Sri Ram Chandra Mission, 1993); ———, Truth Eternal (Shahjahanpur: Sri Ram Chandra Mission, 1986).