The article is a series of replies by Narayana (son of Dr. K.C. Varadachari and president of the Institute of Sri Ramchandra Consciousness (ISRC)) to Peter and Inès (pronounced "Inez"), both preceptors.
The ISRC is a break-away (schism) from Chari's SRCM (California-1997). The original SRCM (Shahjahanpur-1945) is still operating and is presided by Navneet, Babuji's grandson and son of Umesh.
Testimonial of Narayana
Peter and Inès, ancient abhyasis of Chari, who have since joined the ISRC, had corresponded for a long time with him (Narayana) by e-mail during March and April, 2006. Here is an exerpt of some of the replies of Narayana.
Dear brother
Thank you for your kind mail. I have been in the system of Rev. Babuji since 1955 and worked as a preceptor of SRCM from 1967 to 1991. I have been in personal contact with the Master Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Shahjahanpur who took me to the acme of perfection in this system of sadhana though I still feel I am a beginner in the path. I worked very closely with Parthasarathy Rajagopala Chari from the beginning till 1991 and more closely since the physical veiling of the Master in 1983.
I knew Brother Andre Poray of France as he used to visit my respected and venerable father Dr. K.C.Varadachari but I did not have any opportunity to discuss with him at any point of time. We ( some serious practicants of the system) separated when my brother Parthasarathy was projected as a Living Master and less emphasis was sought to be given to the methods of Rajayoga given by the Master Babuji Maharaj and a casual approach was taken towards the Commentary on Ten Commandments of the Master which Master is on record to say that is his master piece. We believe and feel sure that Rev. Babuji Maharaj is the eternal master governing the destinies of spiritual life of all aspirants in the world for the millennia to come. Also we consider Pranahuti to be a yogic achievement and is not dependant on any person for its source thus converting the process itself to the ridiculous level of being a medium. We do not charge any fees for any work that we do and in fact provide lot of material free of cost and books which may cost in the market around ($20) for a just about ½ a $ towards the handling charges that also being optional.
We are more interested in conveying the message of the Master as also propound it according to our capacity and approach and all the material is available in our site www//sriramchandra.org and www// imperience.org. We also believe in assisting the aspirants to evaluate themselves according to the Ten Commandments of the Master and also the map given in the book Towards Infinity. I have recently published and made it available in the internet for free down load my commentary on the book called Path of Grace. We do agree that brother Parthasarathy is the President of SRCM as a successor to Babuji Maharaj but not as a successor to the spiritual Master or Special Personality who is guiding all of us. I have by the grace of my Master link with Him and am serving those who seek to serve the Master by enabling them have the connection with the Master. It is only when a person has access upto Brahmand Mandal the case is taken up at the request of the individual aspirant to get him connected with Master and then he is permitted to work as a trainer in the ISRC.
You can get more information by reading our site patiently under the head Dr.K.C.V. Order. I think I gave more information than normally I do and hope this would enable you to understand our position better.
Yours in the service of the Master
K.C.Narayana
Q: Indeed, I worry about what Chari said recently concerning 95% of abhyasis : they are still at the 1st point, and the rest are at the 2nd... my wife and I have been meditating for 18 years and we feel completely lost and powerless in front of such a reality... We don't have tools, answers, which could help us to overwhelm these obstacles.
K.C.N: Bro. Chari did not deviate much from the procedure of permitting persons as PREFECTS. During Rev. Babuji also used to permit like that and there were very few PRECEPTORS (known as full fledged permission those days.
We used to receive a Big certificate while the Prefects used to receive a smaller one.) In ISRC no permission is given unless a person has access upto the Brahmand and this is after a thorough assessment by a group of persons forming what we call Governing Council. When we separated from SRCM Bro. Chari wanted the certificates given earlier to be returned to him which was duly complied with. We are of the firm opinion that Spiritual progress is not dependant on the papers given to us. To assess the spiritual progress we have since developed certain self evaluation tools to assess oneself regarding the compliance on the Ten Commandments given by the Master. We have also a questionnaire to evaluate oneself of his progress in the Pind desh. The ISRC insists on practice of meditation on points A and B which was fully explained by the Master in his book Efficacy of Rajayoga. Also we practice the prayer at 9 P.M. stating " That all the persons in the world are brethren and they are all developing true love and devotion to the Master." These were all found as omissions by us in SRCM in 1991 though there has always been some serious aspirants insisting on these since 1967.
Q: In our little center of meditation, we sent two days ago a letter to the responsible for Europe; we are everyone of us very dedicated but upset by the recent transformation of the SRCM into something like a "multinational enterprise". (it is very hard for me to speak like that of my spiritual organization, but...).
We worry about the prices of subscriptions, fees for seminars (200, 250, 300 euros...), books... I have got a question concernig the latest book called"Whispers from the Brighter World", which is a "series of messages transmitted from Babuji to a French abhyasi "( for information, this book was sold like a subscription for 250 euros last year and the center paid to have one; but it is proposed now in french, which is the original language, for 300 euros... without the possibility of regrouping to buy it...Many abhyasis cannot afford it...) I read it and felt sweetness but there is no spiritual teaching in these messages... What do you think about it?
K.C.N: Dear brother, I am very sorry I cannot say anything about these organizational matters. I do not believe that Institutions can help much in spirituality. I was told earlier that the book mentioned by you is a series of messages that brother Chari got and now you say something else. Anyway I am not interested in that as my approach to Spirituality does not permit any deviation of attention from the Homeland.
Q: We worry about "sales by auction" which took place... in the meditation hall instead of meditation twice during the last seminars in Italy and Denmark....
K.C.N: This ofcourse is bit odd but what can I say about that? It is all organizational matters. Have you at any time read the books "letters of the Master Vol. 1 and 2. My revered father writing to Master stated in his letter dated18th June.1970, that "I fully realise that you require freedom from organizational work for the sake of spiritual work. I trust everyone will cooperate with you. But I must utter a word of warning if I ought not to be misunderstood. Let us not commercialise our Mission in our haste to secure financial stability for the Mission and in embarking upon works which are not immediately helpful to spiritual development for the abhyasis. We have to imbue the sense of Mission- spiritual and not mix it up with other ends. If I am not misunderstood I believe some things can be thrashed out with other seekers who also know about the deviations that take place in spiritual work. I trust you will not misunderstand me." {pps412-413}.
Q: We worry because of the project of giving 5 euros when a spiritual gathering (satsang+meal for instance) is organized. We worry because we don't find anymore the fraternal, generous, loving and studious spirit we found there at the beginning.
K.C.N: In ISRC also when there are celebrations of the birthday of Rev. Lalaji and beloved Master when large number of persons gather ( 5 to 6 hundreds) they do donate some money but no fixed charge is there. Usually the donations are more than our requirement and we donate the extra amount to the Sahaj Seva Samsthan. { Please see our site www// Sahaj seva Samsthan.org} which runs a free school for slow-learners, and a highly subsidized Hospital in the name of Sri Ramchandra memorial hospital. We consider and promote the feeling fraternity and service and sacrifice are the virtues that we need to develop in spiritual life.
Q : Dear Brother, I could add that I don't feel we are progressing on the spiritual path; as a preceptor, I would like to see that everybody is changing but it isn't the case. I would like personnally to be more aware of where I am, how I can learn better, and how I could be useful to help my brothers. I am longing for a real spiritual teaching with spiritual questions, answers and ethics. I would be glad if you could give me some advice : what and how can I do from France?
K.C.N: It is very good that you have sincere feelings of serving others in spiritual life. The spiritual teachings of the Master Babuji is the best that I am aware of. We have provided the same in our site as down loadable material. I suggest that you do read our 1. Showers of Divine grace 2. Sruti and 3. Path of grace. Also try to browse the site Imperience and go through the papers presented in our seminars. As for actual spiritual training, I do not know whether brother Chari has given any manuals of training. The ISRC has one which from my point of view is a good commentary on the manual 1 and 2 given to me by my Master. But we have a policy not to give to those who are not trainers in ISRC.
Q: Today, by a (very!) strange way, it seems that we are going back way home and it is very disturbing because we have always been told that Chari was Babuji's spiritual successor, appointed by him, in presence of witnesses. Thus how can we explain this? Is it possible to explain this? Can you explain this?
K.C.N: I do not know whether I can explain things but I can tell you certain facts.
1. Brother Parthasarathy was nominated as President of SRCM in March 1974. The words Spiritual Representative IS NOT there in the original document. This document was NOT attested by witnesses.
2. I being one of the members of the Working Committee nominated by Rev.Babuji Maharaj was the first to say the document need not be doubted as another document produced by one of the sons of our Master was a fake/bogus one.
3. The confusion arises only the position of the President of SRCM is confused with Spiritual Master who works for a millennia. Rev. Master is on record saying that he would be more useful after his physical veiling.
4. The problem or pseudo problem is necessity felt by some for a physically present Master. That there are realms beyond the physical is the basis of spirituality- as you can see the word spiritual would loose its sense the moment we want to have in the physical realm.
5. As a Prefect of SRCM you should be knowing that we do not do anything physically and all our work is in the astral plane only. { I do hope you were supplied with copy of the Manual of training issued by Rev.Babuji. This I am stating because since middle of Seventees this practice was stopped- I understand later some manual is being given}
Q: In reality, we are divided: mentally, we have got a sort a culpability in relation with Chari; within our heart, we have the certainty that we are right, that something very important is happening, that we are coming back to our Homeland...
K.C.N: Happy to hear this: the Master always guides the sincere and devoted.
Dear brother
Thank you for your kind mail. I have been in the system of Rev. Babuji since 1955 and worked as a preceptor of SRCM from 1967 to 1991. I have been in personal contact with the Master Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Shahjahanpur who took me to the acme of perfection in this system of sadhana though I still feel I am a beginner in the path. I worked very closely with Parthasarathy Rajagopala Chari from the beginning till 1991 and more closely since the physical veiling of the Master in 1983.
I knew Brother Andre Poray of France as he used to visit my respected and venerable father Dr. K.C.Varadachari but I did not have any opportunity to discuss with him at any point of time. We ( some serious practicants of the system) separated when my brother Parthasarathy was projected as a Living Master and less emphasis was sought to be given to the methods of Rajayoga given by the Master Babuji Maharaj and a casual approach was taken towards the Commentary on Ten Commandments of the Master which Master is on record to say that is his master piece. We believe and feel sure that Rev. Babuji Maharaj is the eternal master governing the destinies of spiritual life of all aspirants in the world for the millennia to come. Also we consider Pranahuti to be a yogic achievement and is not dependant on any person for its source thus converting the process itself to the ridiculous level of being a medium. We do not charge any fees for any work that we do and in fact provide lot of material free of cost and books which may cost in the market around ($20) for a just about ½ a $ towards the handling charges that also being optional.
We are more interested in conveying the message of the Master as also propound it according to our capacity and approach and all the material is available in our site www//sriramchandra.org and www// imperience.org. We also believe in assisting the aspirants to evaluate themselves according to the Ten Commandments of the Master and also the map given in the book Towards Infinity. I have recently published and made it available in the internet for free down load my commentary on the book called Path of Grace. We do agree that brother Parthasarathy is the President of SRCM as a successor to Babuji Maharaj but not as a successor to the spiritual Master or Special Personality who is guiding all of us. I have by the grace of my Master link with Him and am serving those who seek to serve the Master by enabling them have the connection with the Master. It is only when a person has access upto Brahmand Mandal the case is taken up at the request of the individual aspirant to get him connected with Master and then he is permitted to work as a trainer in the ISRC.
You can get more information by reading our site patiently under the head Dr.K.C.V. Order. I think I gave more information than normally I do and hope this would enable you to understand our position better.
Yours in the service of the Master
K.C.Narayana
Q: Indeed, I worry about what Chari said recently concerning 95% of abhyasis : they are still at the 1st point, and the rest are at the 2nd... my wife and I have been meditating for 18 years and we feel completely lost and powerless in front of such a reality... We don't have tools, answers, which could help us to overwhelm these obstacles.
K.C.N: Bro. Chari did not deviate much from the procedure of permitting persons as PREFECTS. During Rev. Babuji also used to permit like that and there were very few PRECEPTORS (known as full fledged permission those days.
We used to receive a Big certificate while the Prefects used to receive a smaller one.) In ISRC no permission is given unless a person has access upto the Brahmand and this is after a thorough assessment by a group of persons forming what we call Governing Council. When we separated from SRCM Bro. Chari wanted the certificates given earlier to be returned to him which was duly complied with. We are of the firm opinion that Spiritual progress is not dependant on the papers given to us. To assess the spiritual progress we have since developed certain self evaluation tools to assess oneself regarding the compliance on the Ten Commandments given by the Master. We have also a questionnaire to evaluate oneself of his progress in the Pind desh. The ISRC insists on practice of meditation on points A and B which was fully explained by the Master in his book Efficacy of Rajayoga. Also we practice the prayer at 9 P.M. stating " That all the persons in the world are brethren and they are all developing true love and devotion to the Master." These were all found as omissions by us in SRCM in 1991 though there has always been some serious aspirants insisting on these since 1967.
Q: In our little center of meditation, we sent two days ago a letter to the responsible for Europe; we are everyone of us very dedicated but upset by the recent transformation of the SRCM into something like a "multinational enterprise". (it is very hard for me to speak like that of my spiritual organization, but...).
We worry about the prices of subscriptions, fees for seminars (200, 250, 300 euros...), books... I have got a question concernig the latest book called"Whispers from the Brighter World", which is a "series of messages transmitted from Babuji to a French abhyasi "( for information, this book was sold like a subscription for 250 euros last year and the center paid to have one; but it is proposed now in french, which is the original language, for 300 euros... without the possibility of regrouping to buy it...Many abhyasis cannot afford it...) I read it and felt sweetness but there is no spiritual teaching in these messages... What do you think about it?
K.C.N: Dear brother, I am very sorry I cannot say anything about these organizational matters. I do not believe that Institutions can help much in spirituality. I was told earlier that the book mentioned by you is a series of messages that brother Chari got and now you say something else. Anyway I am not interested in that as my approach to Spirituality does not permit any deviation of attention from the Homeland.
Q: We worry about "sales by auction" which took place... in the meditation hall instead of meditation twice during the last seminars in Italy and Denmark....
K.C.N: This ofcourse is bit odd but what can I say about that? It is all organizational matters. Have you at any time read the books "letters of the Master Vol. 1 and 2. My revered father writing to Master stated in his letter dated18th June.1970, that "I fully realise that you require freedom from organizational work for the sake of spiritual work. I trust everyone will cooperate with you. But I must utter a word of warning if I ought not to be misunderstood. Let us not commercialise our Mission in our haste to secure financial stability for the Mission and in embarking upon works which are not immediately helpful to spiritual development for the abhyasis. We have to imbue the sense of Mission- spiritual and not mix it up with other ends. If I am not misunderstood I believe some things can be thrashed out with other seekers who also know about the deviations that take place in spiritual work. I trust you will not misunderstand me." {pps412-413}.
Q: We worry because of the project of giving 5 euros when a spiritual gathering (satsang+meal for instance) is organized. We worry because we don't find anymore the fraternal, generous, loving and studious spirit we found there at the beginning.
K.C.N: In ISRC also when there are celebrations of the birthday of Rev. Lalaji and beloved Master when large number of persons gather ( 5 to 6 hundreds) they do donate some money but no fixed charge is there. Usually the donations are more than our requirement and we donate the extra amount to the Sahaj Seva Samsthan. { Please see our site www// Sahaj seva Samsthan.org} which runs a free school for slow-learners, and a highly subsidized Hospital in the name of Sri Ramchandra memorial hospital. We consider and promote the feeling fraternity and service and sacrifice are the virtues that we need to develop in spiritual life.
Q : Dear Brother, I could add that I don't feel we are progressing on the spiritual path; as a preceptor, I would like to see that everybody is changing but it isn't the case. I would like personnally to be more aware of where I am, how I can learn better, and how I could be useful to help my brothers. I am longing for a real spiritual teaching with spiritual questions, answers and ethics. I would be glad if you could give me some advice : what and how can I do from France?
K.C.N: It is very good that you have sincere feelings of serving others in spiritual life. The spiritual teachings of the Master Babuji is the best that I am aware of. We have provided the same in our site as down loadable material. I suggest that you do read our 1. Showers of Divine grace 2. Sruti and 3. Path of grace. Also try to browse the site Imperience and go through the papers presented in our seminars. As for actual spiritual training, I do not know whether brother Chari has given any manuals of training. The ISRC has one which from my point of view is a good commentary on the manual 1 and 2 given to me by my Master. But we have a policy not to give to those who are not trainers in ISRC.
Q: Today, by a (very!) strange way, it seems that we are going back way home and it is very disturbing because we have always been told that Chari was Babuji's spiritual successor, appointed by him, in presence of witnesses. Thus how can we explain this? Is it possible to explain this? Can you explain this?
K.C.N: I do not know whether I can explain things but I can tell you certain facts.
1. Brother Parthasarathy was nominated as President of SRCM in March 1974. The words Spiritual Representative IS NOT there in the original document. This document was NOT attested by witnesses.
2. I being one of the members of the Working Committee nominated by Rev.Babuji Maharaj was the first to say the document need not be doubted as another document produced by one of the sons of our Master was a fake/bogus one.
3. The confusion arises only the position of the President of SRCM is confused with Spiritual Master who works for a millennia. Rev. Master is on record saying that he would be more useful after his physical veiling.
4. The problem or pseudo problem is necessity felt by some for a physically present Master. That there are realms beyond the physical is the basis of spirituality- as you can see the word spiritual would loose its sense the moment we want to have in the physical realm.
5. As a Prefect of SRCM you should be knowing that we do not do anything physically and all our work is in the astral plane only. { I do hope you were supplied with copy of the Manual of training issued by Rev.Babuji. This I am stating because since middle of Seventees this practice was stopped- I understand later some manual is being given}
Q: In reality, we are divided: mentally, we have got a sort a culpability in relation with Chari; within our heart, we have the certainty that we are right, that something very important is happening, that we are coming back to our Homeland...
K.C.N: Happy to hear this: the Master always guides the sincere and devoted.
Q & R:
From yesterday night, there were some clouds in my heart when I thought about the meeting which occurred today with a SRCM responsible for the southern zone. Indeed, she came because we sent a collective letter to express ourselves on our concern about SRCM financial options. The official answer to our anxiety has been:
- you don't have faith enough
K.C.N: Faith is a big subject. We need to have faith in ourselves, we should have faith in the method and faith in the guide/Master in the path. The subject of faith is dealt with very seriously in the philosophies of Surrender of various religions. The chapter in Reality at Dawn relating to Guru can be read by you with profit.
- you should be confident in the Master
- you should obey the Master
K.C.N: The whole problem is who is the Master? If it is God who is the real guru there is no problem and the co traveler in the path is duty bound to help us reach the feet of the Lord or gain Oneness with Him.
- only Master can know the Divine planes and your critics are only the expression of your ego.
K.C.N: If the words “ planes” in your mail is right I do not think so. God has only one Plane and that is the Blessing Splendour as I call it which is the nature of the 23 ring towards the centre. How we can judge ourselves regarding the plane of consciousness in which we normally function is what is sought to be explained in the book “ Towards Infinity” by the Master. I tried to put on record my thoughts in the book “ Path of Grace” available for free down load.
If otherwise you meant “ Plans” then surely the Supreme Personality alone knows it; no matter whether a person is the President of SRCM or not. That the Supreme Personality is the one who is working to better the quality of human being and he has his own plans is a fact beyond doubt. Human transformation is happening and that will happen very soon.
- all this shows that you have got a problem with money and materiality
K.C.N: What answer can I give on this. Every one has a need for money and body has its own requirements. That is why the system of our beloved Master is essentially meant for house holders and is not a method of the renounced/ ascetics.
- give up your dreams, you must face materiality within your spiritual organization.
K.C.N: Some person advised you and who am I to say on these matters. All that I can say we should live happily working for the transformation of humanity incessantly with total conviction in the cause of the Master and his method. 9 P.M. Prayer is the most important tool that we should invariably use for this purpose.
Q: I felt very bad because for me, obediance comes from the heart naturally when it is the good moment and , more important, love doesn't exclude critical sense, on the contrary...
K.C.N: I totally agree with you. If this freedom of expression is lost what freedom are we seeking in spirituality? May be I can suggest you to read the volumes 1 and 2 of Masters letters which is the correspondence between my revered father and the Master.
Q: Finally, the minimum of fraternity should be to listen with the heart different opinions. But it was not the case of course...
K.C.N: Any brand of Spirituality worth its name should encourage constructive individual development. Further it should be motivated by unselfish service to humanity. It should enable the individual to find out the narrow path of self effort and individual responsibility for spiritual development. It should appeal to reason and common sense and encourages verification through direct personal experience. To say Master will take care of all this is simple laziness at its worst and slavery at its best.
True spirituality supports the spiritual prosperity of the individual through holding out the vision of continuous progress through self effort and support of the Master
Real spirituality should encourage free discussion and rational explanations. And it should make its instructions and teachings of the Master available to all the worthy persons.(No discrimination intended)
Q: If I summ up, when I am thinking about all this, I don't feel very well with an impression of treason, culpability, irrespect in relation with my Master Chari. When it is my heart which is speaking, I would be crying with gratefulness the whole day. Do you see the problem?... I have a certain impression of "doing the splits"... and my wife too.
K.C.N: No other person can understand this agony than me. Since that will lead to my story of agony and ecstasy in spirituality I refrain writing further on this.
Dear brother
Thank you for your kind mail. Letters of the Master Volume I and II is published by SRCM only. I gave the correspondence from 1954 to 1971 maintained by my revered father Dr.K.C.Varadachari to brother Parthasarathy on his request in 1984. He provided me with a Xerox copy of the same in 1985. He got it published first in 1992 and the copy right is held by the SRCM North American Publishing Committee Pacific Grove CA USA. Then Mr. Thomas J. Whitlam who edited the correspondence sent me a copy of the two volumes. I do not have them now as my son Srihari took it from me. I do not know anything about other volumes of Letters of the Master and I wonder whether any of them contain my letters and Rev. Babujis’ replies to me which were also given to brother Parthasarathy in 1984. However Sri Ramchandra Publishers Hyderabad have published a book titled “Event Horizon” which is an abridged version of the correspondence based on the Xerox copies of the letters with me. This is available for down load from the site www// sriramchandra.org
Regarding the manual of training given by Rev. Babuji Maharaj it consists of two volumes. Volume I is meant for prefects and Volume II is also given to Preceptors who were very few in number those days. I was given both of them by the Master and so was brother Parthasarathy. Perhaps he has given Volume I only to prefects. Since you are referring to the period 1988, I have to say I have a copy of the same given by brother Parthasarathy saying that he started giving the manuals.
With blessings of the Master
K.C.Narayana
Dear brother,
Your mails have raised many questions and I do not know how far I can answer them satisfactorily to you.
The issues raised may be stated broadly as:
1.Regarding the manuals of training
2.As to why I parted ways with brother Parthasarathy.
3.The evaluations of the aspirants as whole done by the President SRCM and the ethical and otherwise correctness of the same
4.If the evaluation of no evolution in majority of the aspirants in the SRCM is correct whether it is not a joke played by the system.
5.The progress made by the aspirants in ISRC and a few supplementaries to that.
I shall try to answer them one by one and I promise you that it is going to be a tedious reading for you but the nature of your questions is such. Bear with me for that.
First and the easiest one to answer is the Manuals of training given to you by brother Parthasarathy. It does cover to some extent the manuals given by Master particularly the part I. It would not be proper for me to say anything more than this.
Regarding why I parted with SRCM I wrote about this earlier in a small way. However as you desire me to answer again I shall do so. The story is really long but to make it short I should say that it was way back in late Nineteen Fifties and early Sixties the problem arose regarding the relative importance of the institutional structures (Ashram buildings etc.,) and spiritual procedures and progress. This was when the first Ashram of SRCM was getting constructed at Tirupati. A substantial donation was offered by a lady doctor and wife of a senior police official in Andhra Pradesh but she would not accept any receipt from my father for that and therefore it was not accepted. But as things were to happen the amount was paid at Shahjahanpur and Master sent the money to Tirupati for construction which was reluctantly received by my revered father. Construction means bricks and mortar: very gross matters. My father wriggled himself out of this problem. The correspondence between my revered father and our Master Babuji Maharaj in this matter can be seen in the letters when you get the books. To be more precise the problem is the relative importance of materialism and spirituality. My revered father wanted spirituality to be given more importance and the system of training should not become casuality. Others members of SRCM had different views. The simmering discontent was there since then. The problem blew into greater dimension when the SRCM was getting commercialized in the language of my revered father and Rev. Babuji was trying to convince him that no curvature was developing as feared. I apart from being a son was a close disciple of my revered father and studied under him Indian Philosophy, Western Philosophy including Henri Bergson as part of philosophies of evolution which included Aurobindo and others too. Further I specialized in a branch of Vedanta called Visistadvaita. Apart from that my professors in Psychology were close associates of my revered father and I studied Psychoanalysis for two years along with Constitutional Psychology. With all this back ground I found myself in total agreement with my revered father that Institutions are also a powerful binding influence in the path of spiritual freedom and one needs to keep a close vigil on Institutionalism. But the process of constructing Ashram buildings in various centres started and funds were getting raised for the purpose with all good intentions. Our books which costing very little ( as little as less than a rupee) were getting printed and published surely in better manner at a cost that is high according to the then prevailing Indian standards. The marketing skills of brother Parthasarathy were being fully utilized and he is a very efficient person as you also know. But this disturbed my revered father and he thought spirituality is gaining low priority as the aspirants were all busy in fund collection for the books, magazines, advertisements for the magazines and souvenirs published on annual celebrations of the Masters. He wrote to Master about this commercialization and the curves that are getting formed in SRCM which ofcourse Master explained away; all this can be seen between the lines in the correspondence between him and the Master.
In addition to this, the criteria for correct evaluation of spiritual condition of the aspirants were posing problems which could not be sorted out easily. Evaluations made by the Master also were not acceptable to some Preceptors and this put persons like my revered father in anguish. He expressed to Master his anguish stating “It has grave consequences in our appraisal of the ultimate state possible under our system.” Different Preceptors were evaluating aspirants differently and the SRCM was taking more and more the position of leaving the matter of evaluation to the Master and the prefects and preceptors were asked to keep their mouths shut- a practice that is being continued even now if I am right. The responsibility for performing Yatra in the abhyasis was thrown on the Master stating that it is not the task of the preceptors. This problem emanated mainly because the number of prefects were more and they were expecting to be treated on par with preceptors. The task of promoting them to the level of the preceptor being tougher because of their lack of sadhana and other difficulties, the easiest solution is to treat them as equal and there by effectively nullifying the original distinction and in the process the motivation to grow in spiritual stature. But this ensured increase in the number of persons getting enrolled as members of the SRCM. The quantity as usual killed the quality in this case also. All these are unpalatable to many of us.
Further Master himself has evaluated differently the same person in some cases and this led to the need for arriving at standardization of evaluation techniques and procedures. This has led to the Master clarifying that there are two positions for the person being evaluated 1. Aksi and 2. Kasbi or 1.Potential and 2. Actual. Or 1.Reflected and 2 Acquired. I am sure you have some information from the manuals supplied to you by brother Parthasarathy. It is absolutely essential to understand these concepts in work to assess properly the condition of the aspirant. Two seminar were held at Tirupati in late Nineteen Seventy and in one of them Master talked about the “Method of Training” which to my knowledge was not published by SRCM so far. It is part of the book “Showers of Divine Grace” published by Sri Ramchandra Publishers available for download in the site of sriramchandra.org. The Master stressed in the article that “moulding is the responsibility of the preceptors”. But this was ignored to such an extent that the article itself will be difficult for you to locate in SRCM.
In addition to these the prefects and some preceptors of SRCM were not giving enough importance to the “Ten Commandments of Sahaj Marg” though Master is on record that the book is his Master Piece. They went to such an extent during his life time itself to call the book “Ten Maxims of Sahaj Marg”.
Also the importance of the meditations on points A and B explained in the book “Efficacy of Rajayoga” was bypassed in preference to what is called love for the Master. That A and B points are discoveries of the Master the purification of which alone enables the aspirants to move into the higher realms of consciousness and also the cleansing of the points A1, B1; A2, B2; and A3 and B3 which enable one to stabilize in the higher realms of consciousness is totally neglected and ignored and to a certain extent denounced. The matter came up for discussion before the Master and I contended that if Master agrees that these are not necessary he in all fairness and honesty should withdraw the book “ Efficacy of Rajayoga” from the public where it is already in circulation for over 2 decades and give an open apology for misguiding aspirants. Shocked at this he sat immediately in meditation and communed with his master Rev. Lalaji and confirmed that what he wrote in the book is correct and should be practiced. A few hundred copies of a booklet listing the duties and responsibilities of the aspirant which I took with me to Shahjahanpur were given to the then Secretary Brother Parthasarathy and Master said they are to be treated as Mission publication. But the weak and fragile Master was ignored by many and majority of the prefects/ preceptors said that Master can do everything and there is no need for any practice other than love and devotion. This meant total abdication of responsibility for the Yatra by the preceptors and the whole responsibility was shifted to the Master.
I differed and was keeping a low profile busy as I was with my duties as a senior official of Government of A.P. However I continued my contact with Master and practice as I was advised and wrote letters to Master who also replied in some cases.
Later in Oct.1979 he wrote
“My dear Narayana,
Your letters received. But I could not reply due to illness. I have been thinking over the suggestions offered by you for educating abhyasis into Sahaj Marg system. I am very happy to read your previous letters that you have got the courage and will for the work. May you live long.”
You know Narayana that I have done whatever the need was for the spiritual life of man and the work is still continued. The system is there, my support is there, yet it is for the persons like you to first educate abhyasis and then do further research. I have great hope from you. I wish to have you and Parthasarathy together for the work…”
Slowly and steadily I have been telling the importance of the discoveries of the Master in spiritual growth and the fragile frame of the Master slowly deteriorated though it has not affected the quality of transmissions received from him directly or through the preceptors and prefects showing that the physical body is not all that important for spiritual work. The physical veiling came as you know in April 1983 and the claims for the Chair of the President started between several parties. If I am correct some of the legal cases are still on and that is but natural for persons who seek power and status. The status of Guru can be very attractive! (Read Guru Chapter in Reality at Dawn)
As already informed to you in the earlier mails brother Parthasarathy came to me in 1984 and asked for cooperation and I readily agreed. He asked me to be in addition to the membership of the working committee as nominated by Rev. Babuji Maharaj, take additional responsibilities as the Zonal Secretary, Director of S.M.R.I. Centre in Charge of Hyderabad. I did accept all the responsibilities and discharged them to his and my utter satisfaction.
Then I mooted the idea of Training classes for the aspirants in 1987 and participants who were kept ignorant of the important practices mentioned above in this mail started asking brother Parthasarathy and other prefects and preceptors why they were not told the importance of these methods and more particularly the 9 P.M. prayer advised by the Master. In this atmosphere I was able to conduct about 6 or 8 training classes and brother Parthasarathy was uncomfortable with the growing demand for admission to the course and also the growing discontentment among the aspirants in the system.
In one such training session, in 1991 some speakers were suggested by brother Parthasarathy to speak more about the newly developing concept of Living Master and the need to love and be devoted to him more than practicing the system. As this was something totally unacceptable I was watching the program and keeping quiet. Major. Dr. Madhava a senior practicant of the system and a member of the research committee was talking on the Essential of Sahaj Marg and was covering all the aspects explained by the Master. After the talk he was summoned by brother Parthasarathy and was chided for not talking of the importance of the Living Master as an essential aspect of the system and was asked to make amends. He came to me and I advised him to do as the President told for I convinced him that Rev. Babuji is the Living Master in the astral plane and physical plane does not matter much. That evening on that fateful day there was a lecture session in the head quarters of State Bank of India in which one speaker went to the extent of saying that the great saint Ramakrishna Paramahamsa could convert only one Narendra into a Vivekananda while brother Parthasarathy is making every person going to Chennai a Vivekananda. As I was on the Dias of the function sitting by brother Parthasarathy I kept quiet but as soon as the function was over went home and thought well over the happening on the day and came to the conclusion that the Organization has taken a deep curve and is drifting away from spiritual goals. Two days later brother Parthasarathy spoke to me why I have not met him to which I told him I have not been fortunate to become a Vivekananda inspite of several transmissions from Rev.Babuji and Rev. Lalaji Saheb and felt totally unfit in the field. This in short is the story you desired to know. I have omitted many details which if mentioned would make a good movie. I attach to this long mail a document on what is written as a Preamble for the ISRC which may throw light on why we parted ways. What lessons you can draw from this I do not know
3. Regarding your questions about the ethically correctness of the alleged statements of brother Parthasarathy about members of the SRCM do you not know that it is improper for me to say anything about that since I left the organization long back. However I must say that routine practices for any number of hours a day for any period of time without taking regular individual sittings, cleaning sessions and without love and devotion to Master may not lead a person in the path far. Further when the responsibility for performing Yatra is not vested with the prefects and the whole responsibility rests with the President SRCM I do not know how he was able to assess and evaluate the aspirants to make such sweeping statements as he did. I must however tell you I donot know the context in which it was said and may be you are over reacting to the same. I must also inform you that for over twenty years I have not been reading literature about this system from any other source than that of the original books of Rev. Babuji, my revered father and Rev. Lalaji. Ofcourse I keep track of many developments in transpersonal psychology and para psychology. Ofcourse for amusement sake I do read the writings of the modern day self declared Masters available dime a dozen- humour is a good medicine you know. In the context of what is written in the earlier paragraphs any evaluation has to take into consideration the position of Aksi and Kasbi in respect of each individual. So I am not able to help you to find whether the judgments of the President are ethical or otherwise.
4. Regarding the position of the ISRC I should bring to your kind notice that it is a administered by a Governing Council and no one is superior to the other. This council is an elected body during general body meetings held on Rev. Babuji Birthday celebrations. It after due examination of the candidature of the person permits a person among the Governing Council to seek permission to work under Dr. K.C.V. Order. In the Institute permission to work is given only when a person has access to Brahmand mandal in the Aksi manner though his/her Kasbi position may be only 3rd or 2nd knot. As there are about 150 persons working as trainer in ISRC it may be safely said that so many are in Brahmand mandal. We have about 12 or more persons moving in the Rings of Splendour and atleast 2 in the Central Region itself. There are quite a few souls after having crossed Para Brahmand mandal coursing at the various points in the 64 points before the Sahasrara.
You may kindly note that persons are admitted into the system of sadhana only after go through 2day training program in India and in Western countries it varies for 1 to 2 days. This is an intensive introduction to the system which makes it all the more sure that only serious person seeking the transformation of humanity as the main goal of life is admitted. Then only the 3 introductory sittings are given according to a fixed procedure; and it is not just sit for half an hour and go.
I may safely say that who ever has been coming for individual sittings regularly to me have all started yatra and in 100 % of the cases Ajapa is experienced very early enabling me to take up their Yatra without delay. Those who are very sincere and earnest have traveled considerable distance and many are both in Aksi and Kasbi manner crossed the Pind desh. Regarding the persons who go to other trainers who number about 150, I do not have records for all the persons maintained by the trainers and/or the Institute so I cannot give you the percentage of persons who have moved considerable distance in the path and the extent to which they progressed. I have however a feeling that those who attend the annual congregations which number about 5 to 6 hundreds they have all advanced to the extent I see my Master in them and I do offer Pranams to all of them before conducting the Satsang most of the times. My co travelers in the path in the Institute here are working out various methods by which we can present a more cogent picture of the work done. You may care to see the site www//imperience.org.
Regarding your question how much time it may take for a person to move into the 2nd knot, it depends. If the aspirant is serious and has a good trainer to work on him it may not take more than a year and this can be much earlier also.
As already pointed out that in order to ensure the objectivity of assessment or evaluation of the condition of the aspirant the ISRC has adopted a system of evaluation by 5 or more persons who are advanced and sensitive enough to study the conditions. The evaluation of all these persons is taken into consideration while arriving at the final evaluation of the aspirant. This procedure at present is confined to the aspirants who are going to be granted permission to work under the Dr. K.C.V. Order. For more information on this please see the site. Apart from the evaluation of the condition through this method, we do take into consideration the compliance of the Ten Commandments of the Master by the aspirant. Evaluation tools are developed and is available in the site. Further we have developed a beta version of the Pind desh Evaluation which gives an idea about the progress of the individual in respect of the conditions of the first five knots. We also administer a questionnaire on Altruism to find out the progress of the individual in transpersonal consciousness. What is mainly sought to be studied are the qualities of the Truth, Non-Injury ( Compassion), love ( non –jealousy), Non covetousness and celibacy the five basic pillars on which the structure of Super consciousness rests. It is the considered view of ISRC that the U portion of the heart as depicted in the book “ Efficacy of Rajayoga” signifies these qualities compared with the lower nature of the individual located in the L portion of the heart diagram. We are trying to utilise the statistical technique of Meta Analysis to present our evaluations of the aspirants. This is broadly the position.
5.Regarding whether the system itself is not a joke played I must say the information that the membership of the SRCM which was around 20,000 in 1991 now has grown to approximately 300,000 persons is heartening. I am very happy that so many know about Rev. Babuji and that itself is a great service to humanity.
6.Regarding the non-evolution of its members I appreciate your concern. But really speaking how many of this large numbers are seekers? Are you not aware of the categories of sadhakas who come to us classified by Rev. Babuji? It is a spiritual truth that when the disciple is ready the Master knocks at the door. Institutions can only spread the messages and it is the individual relationship between the Master and the disciple that matters in spiritual progress. The Institutions however have the onerous responsibility to spread the message of the Master in purity of content and that is where I find the SRCM erred more than in other aspects mentioned already in this mail.
7.As for the point regarding your spiritual condition I hope these letters are written by you and I can venture an assessment. You should have completed about 60% yatra in 1st knot and 2nd knots and about 75 % percent in the 3rd knot and 40 % in the 4th knot and are coursing in the 5th knot. These are based on the feelings and thoughts that were expressed in your mails. For more information on how Yatra is possible simultaneously on different knots you may kindly ask Dr. K. or any other trainer who may be there on the day of your visit to explain. Broadly speaking you are a sincere seeker and can be classified as the 3rd category of Sadhakas and aspiring to become the 4th category according to the categorization of aspirants made by Rev. Babuji Maharaj. (See the article “ Types of Gurus and disciples” of Rev. Babuji in Voice Real a publication of SRCM). I pray that you realise your true nature soon and serve mankind even as Master would wish us all to.
8. Brother Dr. K. is an excellent person and I am sure you will be benefited by the transmission from him, if you are so willing.
I do hope I answered your queries to some extent. However answers are to well up from within the heart by the grace of our beloved Master Babuji Maharaj.
With blessings of the Master
K.C.Narayana
The Sri Ramchandra Mission named after the Samarth Guru Mahatma Sri Ramchandraji Maharaj of Fatehgarh was founded by Mahatma Sri Ramchandraji of Shahjahanpur in 1945 to fulfill the sacred Mission of the Master and serve humanity in an organized way However over a period of time, the status of the Master and that of the President of Sri Ramchandra Mission, in view of both being the same in the form of Sri Babuji Maharaj have got intertwined This has however created confusion in the minds of spiritual aspirants. That the great Master is none but God is an established truth of spirituality.
The Guru as a means many times got identified with God and more so in the case of Avatars like Lord Krishna, Buddha or Rev Babuji Maharaj. Such Gurus who may be classified as Azli-Fazli Gurus or Gurus who are of the caliber of Sambhava as explained in Tejo Bindu Upanishad are rare and far and few between They are said to come once in a millennia The propagation of the system founded by them rests on lesser mortals who however have the capacity to serve others to the extent they can and hand them over spiritually to the original source or founder They are classified as Fazli gurus or Shaktas which by itself is of a very high order of attainment However illusion crept in thinking and these persons also now and then claim to be of the status of original founders of the system. This unfortunate situation arises out of Gurudom getting into their heads and pomp and glory attract them. Such a trend is a big curvature and has a path down the hill and these are to be corrected.
That Pranahuti is a spiritual capacity of a salik is forgotten and is most often confused with mysterious mystic force. The head of an organization who arranges to establish training centers and gives permission to the deserved, chooses to think that the persons permitted without proper preparation will automatically develop the power of transmission is very unfortunate. It so happens due mainly to the human frailties that the head of the organization thinks himself to be having the exclusive privilege of preparing persons to be in charge of training centers and impart training through Pranahuti. The capacity to foment in others spiritual dynamism is essentially a yogic achievement (all yogic achievements are divine gifts) should not be forgotten. Also the responsibility of training others cannot be entrusted to all and sundry and one has to be circumspect in obtaining permission from the Master not withstanding one’s capacity to instill some divine light in others.
Unfortunate as it is, these two errors have crept into the Sri Ramchandra Mission and there is an urgent need to rectify. Accordingly, a society for bringing in the corrections in the main stream of the Mission is formed with the explicit purpose of achieving the above two objectives. The society shall be wound up the moment the objectives are achieved.
Q: I went on Internet and I found a page where it is said that Lalaji was a Master in a Soufi Order (Nashqbandi), that he has been initiated by this Order and that he has been the only non muslim Master of this Order. 1- Is all this true?
K.C.N: True. Rev. Lalaji had a Master called Rev. Fazl Ahmed khan. But my Masters’ opinion about his Master is that he is blessing to humanity from God and he was born perfect even as Lord Krishna an Avatar had a guru in Sandeepani.
Q: 2- If yes, why don't you speak about it in your site?
K.C.N: The story of Rev.Lalaji in ISRC site is essentially the version of Rev. Babuji on his Master. I accept only my Masters version and that is why the site of ISRC does not mention about that.
Q: 3- Did Babuji use to speak about this?
K.C.N: He did say about the Master of his Master but he said we have nothing to do with Naqshabandi order. His system has taken the best of all other streams and fused into forming the well knit modified system of Rajayoga.
Q: 4- Why don't we find any reference to this in Babuji's books?
K.C.N: If you read the Part 2 of the Autobiography of Rev. Babuji you will get to know more about the Master of his Master in the context of forming a new system of Yoga. This book is not published in its original form by SRCM (Charis’). It was published in 3 volumes by the family of Rev. Babuji and may be available with SRCM Shahjahanpur. I had a talk with Dr. Srivastav few days back and he is of the opinion that this may be reprinted soon.
Q: Thank you for your answer; I transmit to you the adress of this site if you want to have a look to these informations.
K.C.N: Brother Christian also sent me the address sited in this mail. I am busy with my work and do not like to spend time on these matters of historical interest. The transmission in the system has its origin in the Centre and that is not the access of the Master of the Grand Master. Discovery of the Central region is something that was totally new and none of the Sufi Orders had access upto that during their life time including the saints of the Naqshabandi order (and even saint Kabir).
Exerpts of the testimonial of K.C. Narayana, which initially appeared in 2006 on Christian's blog (now disappeared)
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