Tantrik Jagadacharya Chandraswami (born Nemichand Jain; 08 February 1935 – 23 May 2017) was an Indian Tantrik. His father Dharamchand Gandhi Jain came from Behror in

Alwar Alwar ( Rajasthani Pronunciation: �lʋəɾ is a city located in India's National Capital Region (NCR) and the administrative headquarters of Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan. It is located 150 km south of Delhi and 150 km ...

district of

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

. The family moved to

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in 1960s when he was a child. Chandraswami was attracted to the study of Tantra from an early age. 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 In Indian religions, (Sanskrit: '; fulfillment, accomplishment) are material, paranormal, supernatural, or otherwise magical powers, abilities, and attainments that are the products of yogic advancement through sādhanās such as meditation ...

. Though Chandraswami was by birth a Jain, he became a "sadhaka" (worshipper) of the Goddess Kali. He was also interested in

interfaith dialogue Interfaith dialogue, also known as interreligious dialogue, refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religion, religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spirituality, spiritual or humanism, hum ...

, and sat on the Board of World Religious Leaders for the Elijah Interfaith Institute.

Rise to fame

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

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and V. P. Singh. Chandraswami was said to have been their spiritual adviser. Soon after

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 Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...

. Chandraswami is said to have dispensed spiritual advice to the

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, Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa of

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, actress

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, arms dealer

Adnan Khashoggi Adnan Khashoggi (; 25 July 1935 – 6 June 2017) was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his business dealings, extensive geopolitical influence, and opulent lifestyle, which earned him the moniker "''The Jay Gatsby, Great Gatsby ...

businessmen

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and

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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

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. 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 Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian statesman and pilot who served as the prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the Assassination of Indira Gandhi, assassination of his mother, then–prime ...

. 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.{{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 ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

, first= Dhananjay , last= Mahapatra , date= 2011-06-16

Death

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

1948 births 2017 deaths Indian spiritual teachers Deaths from multiple organ failure