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{{Short description|Indian spiritual leader}} |
{{Short description|Indian spiritual leader}} |
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{{rewrite|date=May 2017}} |
{{rewrite|date=May 2017}} |
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'''Tantrik Jagadacharya Chandraswami''' (born '''Nemichand Jain'''; 29 October 1949 – 23 May 2017)<ref>{{cite web |url= http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/politicians-throng-controversial-godman-chandra-swamis-46th-birthday/1/295076.html |title= Adoring the godman |work= [[India Today]] |date= 1994-11-30}}</ref><ref>article.wn.com/view/2002/11/13/NEWSLINE_ANCHOR_Chandraswami_celebrates_b_day_with_villagers/{{Full|date=March 2014}}</ref> was an Indian Tantrik |
'''Tantrik Jagadacharya Chandraswami''' (born '''Nemichand Jain'''; 29 October 1949 – 23 May 2017)<ref>{{cite web |url= http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/politicians-throng-controversial-godman-chandra-swamis-46th-birthday/1/295076.html |title= Adoring the godman |work= [[India Today]] |date= 1994-11-30}}</ref><ref>article.wn.com/view/2002/11/13/NEWSLINE_ANCHOR_Chandraswami_celebrates_b_day_with_villagers/{{Full|date=March 2014}}</ref> was an Indian Tantrik. |
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His father Dharamchand Gandhi Jain came from [[Behror]] in [[Alwar district|Alwar]] district of [[Rajasthan]]. The family moved to [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]] in 1960s when he was a child. Chandraswami was attracted to the study of Tantra from an early age.<ref>Times of India, 22/12/2007{{Full|date=March 2014}}</ref> He left home when still young to become a student of Upadhyay Amar Muni and the scholar of Tantra, Mahamohopadhyay [[Gopinath Kaviraj]]. He later lived in the jungles of Bihar and Kathmandu where he spent time in meditation. He claimed that after four years he obtained extraordinary powers called [[siddhis]]. |
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His father Dharamchand Gandhi Jain came from [[Behror]] in Alwar district of [[Rajasthan]] and worked as a money lender and was a RSS activist, later Chandraswami made a college in [[Behror]] on his father's name Dharamchand Gandhi Jain Govt College Behror and donated the land and building to Rajasthan Government to handle the operations. The family moved to [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]] in 1960 when Chandraswami was a child. Like a son of RSS activist the child Chandraswami was also involved in the Save Hindi movement, and also agitated against cow slaughter. “In [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]], in 1963, the Save Hindi movement was launched he was only 13 then, but he joined the movement very actively and was even jailed. It was talked about all over the country. That a 13 year old student went to jail for the sake of Hindi. He became a famous figure. The Congress leader Seth Govind Das came all the way from Delhi to meet him. Then, in 1966, began the save cow movement, which resulted in the political assassination of Gulzarilal Nanda. He was active in that as well. In the charged religious atmosphere of that movement, he promised himself that he would give up seeking self-fulfilment and dedicate himself to the welfare of the Indian people and Nation. With that promise, he started on the holy path of sadhna. From here his spiritual life began. Chandraswami was attracted to the study of Tantra from an early age.<ref>Times of India, 22/12/2007{{Full|date=March 2014}}</ref> He left home when still young to become a student of Upadhyay Amar Muni and the scholar of Tantra, Mahamohopadhyay [[Gopinath Kaviraj]]. He later lived in the jungles of Bihar and Kathmandu where he spent time in meditation. He claimed that after four years he obtained extraordinary powers called [[siddhis]]. After meditating in Bihar’s jungles, he burst onto the scene with his first yagna in Madhuban. “Everyone reported it, all over the country. Even at the time of Choudhary Charan Singh becoming prime minister, newspaper headlines screamed: “the tantrik behind Charan Singh’s throne”. In all, Chandra Swami claimed to have organised over 25 yagnas until the late 1980s, and several of these were attended by politicians, ministers and even the some world leaders. The yagnas were a front of course. As he hobnobbed with the high and mighty of socialist India, and impressed them with his ‘tantrik’ powers, Chandraswami gained uninterrupted access to them and used it to his advantage. He became the man to go to if you needed something done in Delhi or Central Govt, and he knew both the right people and the wrong people of the world.Though Chandraswami was by birth a [[Jain]], he became a "sadhaka" (worshipper) of the Goddess Kali.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://wikimir.com/chandraswami |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111014214455/http://www.wikimir.com/chandraswami |archive-date= 2011-10-14 |title= Shri Chandraswamiji Maharaj Ji}}</ref>{{Verify credibility|failed=y|date=March 2014}} He was also interested in [[interfaith dialogue]], and sat on the Board of World Religious Leaders for [[the Elijah Interfaith Institute]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Elijah Interfaith, Sharing Wisdom Fostering Peace #MakeFriends|url=http://elijah-interfaith.org/|access-date=2020-10-28|website=elijah-interfaith.org}}</ref> |
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Though Chandraswami was by birth a [[Jain]], he became a "sadhaka" (worshipper) of the Goddess Kali.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://wikimir.com/chandraswami |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111014214455/http://www.wikimir.com/chandraswami |archive-date= 2011-10-14 |title= Shri Chandraswamiji Maharaj Ji}}</ref>{{Verify credibility|failed=y|date=March 2014}} He was also interested in [[interfaith dialogue]], and sat on the Board of World Religious Leaders for [[the Elijah Interfaith Institute]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Elijah Interfaith, Sharing Wisdom Fostering Peace #MakeFriends|url=http://elijah-interfaith.org/|access-date=2020-10-28|website=elijah-interfaith.org}}</ref> |
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==Rise to fame== |
==Rise to fame== |
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He first gained fame through his skill as an astrologer but his rise to national prominence came as a result of his association with |
He first gained fame through his skill as an astrologer but his rise to national prominence came as a result of his association with three Prime Ministers of India [[P. V. Narasimha Rao]], [[Chandra Shekhar]] and [[V. P. Singh]]. Chandraswami was said to have been their spiritual adviser.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9605/03/godman.arrested/ |title= Rao's spiritual adviser behind bars: Another setback for Congress party |date= 1996-05-03 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20020116184657/http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9605/03/godman.arrested/ |archive-date= 2002-01-16 |work= [[CNN]]}}</ref> Soon after [[P. V. Narasimha Rao]] became Prime Minister in 1991, Chandraswami built an ashram known as Vishwa Dharmayatan Sansathan in Delhi's Qutub Institutional Area. The land for the ashram had been allotted by [[Indira Gandhi]]. |
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Chandraswami is said to have dispensed spiritual advice to the [[Sultan of Brunei]], [[Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa|Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa]] of [[Bahrain]], |
Chandraswami is said to have dispensed spiritual advice to the [[Sultan of Brunei]], [[Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa|Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa]] of [[Bahrain]], [[Hosni Mubarak]], [[Yasser Arafat]], [[Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein]], [[Richard Nixon]], [[Margaret Thatcher]], actress [[Elizabeth Taylor]], arms dealer [[Adnan Khashoggi]] businessmen [[Tiny Rowland]] and [[Mohamed Al-Fayed]] and crime lord [[Dawood Ibrahim]]. His loyal supporters include his secretary former BJP MLA Vikram Singh, Assistant Vijayraj Chauhan, the late Kailash Nath Aggarwal known as Mamaji. Chandraswami's finances have fluctuated with his political fortune. |
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==Legal challenges== |
==Legal challenges== |
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Chandraswami has been accused repeatedly of financial irregularity activities. In 1996 he was arrested on charges of defrauding a London-based businessman of $100,000. He has faced charges for repeated violation of the [[Foreign Exchange Regulation Act]].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://bhagydarpan.in/ |title= SC grounds Chandraswami's plans for foreign visit |newspaper= [[The Hindu]] |date= 2008-02-26 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160426180321/http://bhagydarpan.in/ |archive-date= 2016-04-26 |url-status= dead }}</ref> An income-tax raid on his ashram is reported to have uncovered original drafts of payments to Adnan Khashoggi of $11 million. In its report, the [[Jain Commission]] dedicated a volume to his alleged involvement in the [[Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi|assassination]] of [[Rajiv Gandhi]]. Seventeen years after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the Enforcement Directorate was still investigating his alleged role as financier of the killing. |
Chandraswami has been accused repeatedly of financial irregularity activities. In 1996 he was arrested on charges of defrauding a London-based businessman of $100,000. He has faced charges for repeated violation of the [[Foreign Exchange Regulation Act]].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://bhagydarpan.in/ |title= SC grounds Chandraswami's plans for foreign visit |newspaper= [[The Hindu]] |date= 2008-02-26 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160426180321/http://bhagydarpan.in/ |archive-date= 2016-04-26 |url-status= dead }}</ref> An income-tax raid on his ashram is reported to have uncovered original drafts of payments to Adnan Khashoggi of $11 million. In its report, the [[Jain Commission]] dedicated a volume to his alleged involvement in the [[Assassination of Rajiv Gandhi|assassination]] of [[Rajiv Gandhi]]. Seventeen years after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the Enforcement Directorate was still investigating his alleged role as financier of the killing. |
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In May 2009, the Supreme Court granted Chandraswami permission to travel abroad, lifting a ban on overseas travel imposed as a result of his alleged involvement in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. In June 2011, the Supreme Court fined Chandraswami, for violating the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, a sum of ₹9 crores.<ref>{{cite news |url= |
In May 2009, the Supreme Court granted Chandraswami permission to travel abroad, lifting a ban on overseas travel imposed as a result of his alleged involvement in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. In June 2011, the Supreme Court fined Chandraswami, for violating the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, a sum of ₹9 crores.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/SC-gives-Chandraswami-a-week-to-pay-up-Rs-9-crore-FERA-penalty/articleshow/8868859.cms |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120910203541/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-16/india/29664712_1_nemi-chand-jain-fera-penalty-amount |url-status= live |archive-date= 2012-09-10 |title= SC gives Chandraswami a week to pay up Rs 9 crore FERA penalty |newspaper= [[The Times of India]] |first= Dhananjay |last= Mahapatra |date= 2011-06-16 }}</ref> |
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==Death== |
==Death== |
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Latest revision as of 18:51, 15 October 2024
 | This article may need to be rewritten to comply with Wikipedia's quality standards. (May 2017) |
Tantrik Jagadacharya Chandraswami (born Nemichand Jain; 29 October 1949 – 23 May 2017)[1][2] was an Indian Tantrik.
His father Dharamchand Gandhi Jain came from Behror in Alwar district of Rajasthan. The family moved to Hyderabad in 1960s when he was a child. Chandraswami was attracted to the study of Tantra from an early age.[3] He left home when still young to become a student of Upadhyay Amar Muni and the scholar of Tantra, Mahamohopadhyay Gopinath Kaviraj. He later lived in the jungles of Bihar and Kathmandu where he spent time in meditation. He claimed that after four years he obtained extraordinary powers called siddhis.
Though Chandraswami was by birth a Jain, he became a "sadhaka" (worshipper) of the Goddess Kali.[4][unreliable source] He was also interested in interfaith dialogue, and sat on the Board of World Religious Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute.[5]
Rise to fame
[edit]He first gained fame through his skill as an astrologer but his rise to national prominence came as a result of his association with three Prime Ministers of India P. V. Narasimha Rao, Chandra Shekhar and V. P. Singh. Chandraswami was said to have been their spiritual adviser.[6] Soon after P. V. Narasimha Rao became Prime Minister in 1991, Chandraswami built an ashram known as Vishwa Dharmayatan Sansathan in Delhi's Qutub Institutional Area. The land for the ashram had been allotted by Indira Gandhi. Chandraswami is said to have dispensed spiritual advice to the Sultan of Brunei, Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa of Bahrain, Hosni Mubarak, Yasser Arafat, Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein, Richard Nixon, Margaret Thatcher, actress Elizabeth Taylor, arms dealer Adnan Khashoggi businessmen Tiny Rowland and Mohamed Al-Fayed and crime lord Dawood Ibrahim. His loyal supporters include his secretary former BJP MLA Vikram Singh, Assistant Vijayraj Chauhan, the late Kailash Nath Aggarwal known as Mamaji. Chandraswami's finances have fluctuated with his political fortune.
Legal challenges
[edit]Chandraswami has been accused repeatedly of financial irregularity activities. In 1996 he was arrested on charges of defrauding a London-based businessman of $100,000. He has faced charges for repeated violation of the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act.[7] An income-tax raid on his ashram is reported to have uncovered original drafts of payments to Adnan Khashoggi of $11 million. In its report, the Jain Commission dedicated a volume to his alleged involvement in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. Seventeen years after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, the Enforcement Directorate was still investigating his alleged role as financier of the killing. In May 2009, the Supreme Court granted Chandraswami permission to travel abroad, lifting a ban on overseas travel imposed as a result of his alleged involvement in the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. In June 2011, the Supreme Court fined Chandraswami, for violating the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, a sum of ₹9 crores.[8]
Death
[edit]Chandraswami died of multiple organ failure at Apollo Hospital in New Delhi on 23 May 2017. Some of his followers believe that he was given slow poison while admitted into the hospital.
References
[edit]- ^ "Adoring the godman". India Today. 1994-11-30.
- ^ article.wn.com/view/2002/11/13/NEWSLINE_ANCHOR_Chandraswami_celebrates_b_day_with_villagers/[full citation needed]
- ^ Times of India, 22/12/2007[full citation needed]
- ^ "Shri Chandraswamiji Maharaj Ji". Archived from the original on 2011-10-14.
- ^ "Elijah Interfaith, Sharing Wisdom Fostering Peace #MakeFriends". elijah-interfaith.org. Retrieved 2020-10-28.
- ^ "Rao's spiritual adviser behind bars: Another setback for Congress party". CNN. 1996-05-03. Archived from the original on 2002-01-16.
- ^ "SC grounds Chandraswami's plans for foreign visit". The Hindu. 2008-02-26. Archived from the original on 2016-04-26.
- ^ Mahapatra, Dhananjay (2011-06-16). "SC gives Chandraswami a week to pay up Rs 9 crore FERA penalty". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 2012-09-10.