Quick Facts
LeoBiography
Shri Parthasarathi Rajagopalachari (24 July 1927 – 20 December 2014) better known as Chariji , was the third in the line of Raja Yoga Masters in the Sahaj Marg System of Spiritual Practice of Shri Ram Chandra Mission (SRCM).
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.
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
Sahaj Marg and contribution to Spirituality
In 1964, Chariji met and became the disciple of Shri Ram Chandra of Shahjahanpur, Uttar Pradesh, India. He is better known as Babuji and was the founder President and the second in the line of Raja Yoga Masters of the Sahaj Marg System.As Babuji health was deteriorating, he nominated Chariji as his successor. After Babuji's Mahasamadhi in 1983, Chariji became the President of 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. Chariji started the system of Value Based Education and the Lalaji Memorial Omega International School, Chennai, India based on Value Based Education principles. He traveled extensively around the world giving talks and conducting seminars on Raja Yoga up until 2008.
His books, videos and audio tapes have been translated into 12 languages.
Final years and mahāsamādhi
Chariji's health deteriorated from 2008 until he attained mahāsamādhi on 20 December 2014. His spiritual successor – Shri Kamlesh Patel also known as Daaji, is the current Guide of Sahaj Marg System and is the President of Shri Ram Chandra Mission.
Sources
- Rajagopalachari, Parthasarathi (2014), Down Memory Lane, 1 (Second ed.), ISBN 978-93-81281-06-2
- Rajagopalachari, Parthasarathi (1999), Thus Speaks Chariji (Babuji Maharaj Birth Centenary ed.), 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, 1 (First ed.), Spiritual Hierarchy Publication Trust, ISBN 978-93-83516-89-6
- Rajagopalachari, Parthasarathi (2010), My Master (Second ed.), ISBN 978-93-80335-48-3
- Hughes, Kim (2015), Journey Beyond, ISBN 978-0-9859480-0-9
- Hughes, Kim (2014), The Journey Within, 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
