How The Kracki Became A Criminal

File under: Gurubusting, Gurus Clockin' Dollars and The Siddhi of PR

Once again, our readers prove that they rock. While described as a "brief" biography, this reader-supplied missive lays it all out in plain text just how much of an unrepentant con man Kalki Bhagavan really is.

Wake up and spit out that Kool-Aid, folks. Your Golden Age-bearing avatard is nothing more than a self-glorifying narcissist. Please excuse us for not being the least bit surprised:

This is a brief biography of Kalki Bhagavan, as I have come to know him over the years. I used to be a friend of Dr. R. Shankar and Kalki Bhagavan, or Vijay, as I knew him.

I feel it is my duty to share the experience that I've had with them, as they have influenced the lives of large number of people in India and abroad. I have done all I can to be as objective as possible. From my point of view I have not exaggerated or said things that did not happen, having said that, I must add that this is indeed a subjective perception of events and personalities.

When I met Kalki Bhagavan he was still called by the name his parents had given him: Vijaykumar [hereafter I shall refer to him as VK]. VK and his middle-class family speak a kind of colloquial Telugu that is neither Telugu nor Tamil. His Naidu caste has its origin in Andhra Pradesh, in the south of India. VK did not hail from an intellectual, spiritual or noble ancestry therefore his natural cultural inclination was to find security in a secure government or public sector job.

After finishing his basic education, the clever and creative VK joined Life Insurance Corporation of India [LIC] as an office clerk. When he had reached marriageable age he was quickly married off to Padmavathy, a woman from his own caste and clan. Though Padmavathy did not attend college, she could read and write but could not speak English. Padmavathy [Amma] is not what we in India call a sophisticated or a cultivated lady.

She had a great female instinct and could sense her husband's appetite for other women. She often quarrelled with him when he showed excessive interest in other women. There was even a time when a friend of mine intervened to calm the quarreling couple. Padmavathy is a very straight-talking, no-nonsense woman who often unhesitatingly confronted VK in public. Her language, while shouting at VK, was rough and somewhat disrespectful.

VK was alleged to have had a relationship with the then headmistress of Jeevasharam [in the mid 80s'] and had her dismissed when he thought it would affect his launch of a promising career as a Guru.

Padmavathy is the one person capable of embarrassing or frightening him into submission. One is not at all surprised by the strategy adopted by VK in including her in the launching of Kalki Bhagavan and Amma Spiritual Company Private Limited. This would ensure that the public know of his marital status and keep Padmavathy comfortable. Her title as Amma has also given her a sense of supreme authority in the organizational hierarchy.

Vijaykumar meets the faithful Dr. R. Shankar
It was only a year, by sheer chance, that VK went to Don Bosco Matriculation School in Chennai. Here he felt like a fish out of water as most of the children in this school came from upper middle-class or class-conscious bourgeois families of Chennai. In this brief one year stint he managed to befriend R. Shankar. Shankar was a very sympathetic and friendly lad who was warming towards this rather isolated and fish out of water, VK.

VK got introduced to J. Krishnamurti's [hereafter JK] teachings as a young man. It is not clear if Shankar's mother introduced VK to JK. Shankar's mother, Mrs. Kanaka Durga Ramachandran, as a child, was educated and influenced by J.Krishnamurti. She continued to keep all his letters and showed them to those curious about this enigmatic Indian philosopher.

Shankar's father Mr. A. Ramachandran studied law at Cambridge University and later practiced as a lawyer in "Rao and Reddy", a popular law firm in Chennai.

Mr. A. Ramachandran abhorred the idea of caste or class superiority and so started off as a communist sympathizer; he helped workers and fought for their rights. Shankar's parents were poles apart. Father an atheist and his mother a somewhat confused believer in everything that claimed to be religious or mysterious. VK was also quite clan and caste conscious, his initial interest in Shankar may have been because Shankar's mother's parents were of a mixed caste. Her mother a Brahmin and father of a Naidu caste. This was very unusual as Brahmans of those days were very caste conscious and almost never married out of caste.

Shankar, a studious and somewhat naive young man, studied science and went over to do a PhD in Theoretical Physics at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Vijaykumar, who had lost touch with Shankar, had moved on to start a little shop in Perumbur (area in Chennai) selling rice, while working in the Life Insurance Corporation of India as an office clerk.

Learning from J. Krishnamurti and Hindu Tradition
Shankar, after completing his PhD, moved on to Germany, worked there for a few years and returned to India to marry Dr. Prema, a medical doctor. Prema, a faithful and cultured lady, kept off the spiritual "fog" that surrounded Shankar. She continued her support and loyalty towards her husband through thick and thin. Shankar, like his mother, went through much of oscillation and conflict between science and belief. He found J.Krishnamurti (JK) an ideal bridge; JK satisfied his need to close the gap between his doubts and beliefs.

Shankar went to Brockwood Park in U.K. where he met J. Krishnamurti [it was not the first time he met JK] and JK being impressed by Shankar's dignified looks and scientific education was not late to invite him to join his foundation and head his school in Bangalore. It was this same dignity and grace that Shankar was used by Vijaykumar. A credible looking man can always sell a sub-standard product, this is a well known fact that any good marketing or sales expert would vouch for.

Vijaykumar [Kalki] exhibited some narcissism but always felt he lacked the handsome looks or charisma to attract a following. Shankar, on the other hand, was very articulate, had scientific credentials and very good looks. VK found people trusted Shankar and were prepared to donate land and offer financial support. When Shankar spoke people listened with rapt attention. Here was his ideal marketing manager; Vijay sprang at the opportunity of using Shankar.

Vijaykumar had a great ambition to become a Spiritual leader and this required no verifiable qualifications or education. Knowing how Indians think, I believe, with his looks and manners, he needed a man like Dr. Shankar to promote him. All he needed was an intelligent, trustworthy and sincere man like Shankar, a person who believed in him more than he himself did, to launch him on his brand name: Kalki Bhagavan. He mesmerized Shankar and possessed him and made use of him until he no longer had any need for him.

I often heard VK saying that we need people to do things and help our cause, and after they have served their purpose they can just go on with their lives. In short he meant he would use people and discard them when they have outlived their usefulness.

People, who know VK well, know he can be very opinionated and even rude when speaking about others. But when actually speaking with the person, he would always be very charming and friendly. After this person leaves, VK generally, among his "trusted" friends, had no problems saying anything derogative about the person. I never posed any threat to VK's ambition, he perceived me as pawn in the game and so he was always friendly to me.

Vijay Kumar works at J. Krishnamurti's school
Vijaykumar was very impressed by JK; he even named his son [Krishna] after this respected teacher. Dr. Shankar offered VK a job as an administrator in the Valley School office, (as VK did not possess teaching diplomas). Vijaykumar maintained the office files and quickly knew all the confidential information related to people's salaries and private correspondences, he even, without asking permission, read letters JK had written to Dr. Shankar which JK had specifically asked Dr. Shankar to keep private.

Vijaykumar had worked in the LIC (Life Insurance Corporation) branch offices of Kancheepuram and Coimbatore. He seemed to have had quite an unpleasant experience with his work mates. He was particularly allergic to people who hailed from Kerala. He used to call them "Malayalathaans", this aforementioned swear word is generally used by uneducated xenophobic Tamil chauvinists and thugs...

He often said that Malayalees, that is people of Kerala, are not to be trusted and to be watched!

Vijaykumar [Kalki] was rather distrustful of people and often charmed people to get things done. He was charming, treacherous, tactful and a master manipulator of events. He knew how to sideline people when they had outgrown their usefulness or have taken ideologies too seriously or sincerely and had unwittingly obstructed his personal agenda.

Bhagavan never forgives
After reading the personal letters [in 1983] of JK to Dr. Shankar, Vijaykumar felt deeply hurt as JK, in his letters, was very suspicious and dismissive of VK's various claims to have had special mystical experiences. Shankar, who totally believed Vijaykumar, had shared VK's so called mystical experiences with some colleagues, who in turn informed JK. JK then wrote to Dr. Shankar of his opinion about entertaining "mystics" or letting them work in his school. Reading this letter deeply hurt VK's pride and he never forgave JK. From then on his desire to become a guru in his own right got fully strengthened. He began visiting U.G. Krishnamurti. [U.G. Krishnamurti is considered an "enlightened" person by his followers, he used to bad-mouth JK, Buddha, and Ramana and says vile things about them]. While UG was visiting Bangalore, I once accompanied VK to meet UG. In the early 80s' he met UG and learnt the art of dealing with followers. He gradually started showing his dislike for JK and even went to the extent of always addressing JK as "Avan", a very disrespectful and derogatory Tamil term.

Foundation for World Awakening and Jeevashram
In 1983 KFI [Krishnamurti Foundation of India] was running several schools for children of the influential rich people of India. Krishnamurti was impressed by Dr. Shankar's academic background besides his culture and international experience. As JK's Valley School lacked cohesion, structure, stability and proper direction he decided to appoint Dr. Shankar as the Principal. Shankar knew he would not be easily accepted by the political heavy weights in that school. He brought in some loyal friends to support him. Vijaykumar was placed in the office. Krishnan Kutty Nair [hereafter KKN], a former IAS officer [a very respected title in Indian bureaucracy] had given up a promising career to join the KFI [Krishnamurti Foundation of India] in 1976. He was also invited in as a friend by Dr. Shankar.

KKN was educated and deeply interested in philosophy and Dr. Shankar invited KKN, another of his friends. KKN and VK often disagreed; VK could not tolerate Shankar appreciating KKN. VK maneuvered and gradually got KKN out of the way by gaining the most influential place in Dr. Shankar's mind and heart. This was also the time when KFI was going through a crisis and people were leaving. VK found KKN an obstacle and a threat to the trusting and bonding relationship he was developing with Shankar.

Dr. Shankar, KKN and others wanted to propagate JK's teachings. Many people responded to their advertisement in "India Today", a mainstream national magazine, and wanted to join this movement. JK was appalled as he was against this way of going public with propaganda. He wanted them all to tow the line or leave the organization. This led to the exit of Dr. Shankar and all who had been brought in by him.

There were several people, most of them unemployed youth, who responded to this advertisement and had came over to offer their services, and find a way of making a meaningful living, but by this time VK and Dr. Shankar had moved on to a different agenda as they were disappointed by JK's response. JK was also upset by the fact that Dr. Shankar had brought in many people who had no cultural affinity to JK's approach. A sizable section of JK's disciples are from the more educated class of India.

Dr. Shankar had in him a bit of his father's egalitarian compassion which made him want to serve the common man. VK was a very different character; he was practical, a strategist, and a quick learner. He, unlike Shankar, was suspicious of people's motives. His aim was to launch a universal programme acceptable to most people. VK wanted a mass based global movement to attract maximum number of people.

VK [Kalki] never revealed his real agenda. Once, when we were discussing the future, he let us know that a movement that is broad based and all inclusive would be necessary to attract large following so that followers would not feel any need for other complimentary systems, therapies, religions and could be easily weaned off from their original faith.

In 1982 there was no place for Dr. Shankar and others to go and at this time VK had been on a long leave from his LIC job. If he hadn't turned up in 90 days he would have lost his job. Luckily he went back and joined LIC on time.

But, in the meanwhile, a piece of land was available; this land was gifted by Dr. Rajasekar Reddy, a surgeon at Stanley Medical College Hospital. He met two former teachers from JK's Rishi Valley School, and offered them his land in Rajupeta. As these two teachers did not know what they should do with so much land they called Dr. Shankar to talk to Dr. Reddy. This was how Rajupeta land, near Kuppam, was acquired. After acquiring this land VK and Shankar started an organization called: Foundation for World Awakening. The land donated by Dr. Reddy was taken over on a 99 years lease period and converted into Jeevashram; a school modelled to imitate Rishi Valley School but soon it was used as a launching pad for Kalki's coming to save our world. It was here that Kalki's story from rags to riches began. Though he initially began to dream of Gurudom to rival JK, he ended up creating a hierarchy and started "enjoying" the perks of unquestioned authority and complete obedience from his devoted followers.

Ex-followers and true believers of Bhagavan
There were several other people who had trusted Dr. Shankar's belief that Vijaykumar was destined for "Stardom". This higher education or PhD in physics is no guaranty for wisdom in all fields. In fact, Dr. Shankar wasn't that balanced emotionally and sought a foster father in JK and later in VK. Most people who knew Vijaykumar are indeed very shocked to read about his claims that he and his wife, Padmavathy or Amma, had created the Universe. If people were to meet his acquaintances in Valley School or ex-colleagues in the LIC, they could learn much more about VK's evolution.

Decent people like Loganathan, Captain Kumar or Dr. Shankar would probably not dare to discuss their doubts about or suspicions of Vijaykumar publicly; there is always this fear of their own safety and that of their families. In India, it is quite common that Gurus use their thugs, hoodlums and hit-men to orchestrate an accident and kill off people who are critical of them.

Dr. Shankar was the one arranging the Movement around Kalki Bhagavan and for a long time was the only disciple of Kalki Bhagavan. He is no longer in Kalki Bhagavan's Movement and avoids commenting. Today he is living a quiet life in Chennai studying astrology.

Bhagavan's plans for the Universe
This is how a con-man transformed himself to an opportunistic manipulator of events. He called himself Acharya and gradually maneuvered to make people call him "Paramaguru" [roughly translated: the supreme teacher] and later graduated into Kalki Bhagavan [meaning roughly "The Lord God Messiah"].

In India, people tend to ignore thousands of budding Gurus, this makes Gurus go around scout for credible people [like Dr. Shankar, Judges, successful people, politicians, actors, artists, scholars], to endorse them. When Westerners gather and show devotion to a budding Guru, his Indian following increases manifold, because the average Indian thinks highly of the white skinned affluent truth seeker. Moreover, Westerners are in general unaware of the lurking greed for money and power in the Guru's mind. They themselves like the special attention and feel elated and euphoric when the Guru glances or smiles at them. Gurus are often clever, they offer very useful courses to comfort the [budding] follower. When the prospective follower finds some benefit, he/she is encouraged and made to feel a sense of hope and feel very important, he/she is told that enlightenment is not far away. This makes the fanatic follower go around scouting for new recruits to spread this "divine mission" which he sincerely believes in.

People looking for security in their not-so peaceful lives, might benefit from the courses Vijaykumar has put together. He has borrowed most of the ideas from the teachings of JK, meditation techniques of S.N. Goenka of the Vipassana foundation, several other teachers like Ramana Maharishi and yoga teachers, besides generously borrowing from the goldmine of Indian Hindu and Buddhist traditions.

These disciples, desperately longing for enlightenment or to put it differently: want ultimate power or understanding of life, or desperately seek answers to their burning questions, give their hard earned money and labour to this "Master". It would be sad if they live this lie and do not discover the real Vijaykumar Naidu behind the Kalki Bhagavan mask. If they dare to question, doubt and seek real truth they would be freed from living a lie.

These kinds of false prophets bring shame and disgrace to India! One thing common to most popular gurus today is that they do not want you to renounce the religion you were born into, all they ask is gradual acquaintance with their system and once you fully get conditioned or indoctrinated they suck you into their inner circle. After you are found to be a loyal follower they ask you to promote, spread and bring in new converts to their brand of pseudo-spirituality. When you bring in many converts you are subtly rewarded by granting you special private interviews, promotion in the hierarchy and a fast lane to enlightenment!

I do not want to risk my life or that of my loved ones so I prefer to stay anonymous. I, as a fellow traveller in search of truth, feel a compulsion to share my perceptions, it is up to you, the reader, to interpret, misinterpret or perceive as you like.

Good old Vijay is slime, folks, and not fit for residence on the bottom of your shoe.