Kalki Bhagavan

Family background

Sri Bhagavan was born on 7 March 1949 as Vijay Kumar, in Natham Village, Gudiyatham Town, Vellore district, Tamil Nadu, to Smt. Vaidarbhi Amma and Sri Varadarajulu. Sri Bhagvan’s father was the head of the accounts department of Indian Railways and his mother was a simple village woman. In 1955, when Sri Bhagavan was 6 years of age, the family moved to Chennai.

Education

Sri Bhagavan attended Don Bosco School in Chennai. Later, he graduated from DG Vaishnav College in Chennai, majoring in mathematics.

Marriage

Sri Bhagavan married Smt. Padmavathi on 9 June 1977. This was an arranged marriage following the prevalent customary practice in India for marriages decided by elders in the family. Padmavathi, who is addressed as Amma by their students, is also a spiritual person and takes an active interest and participation in building the spiritual organization Oneness.

Jeevashram School (1984–1994)

Jeevashram School located in Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh was founded by Sri Bhagavan, in July 1984 to provide an alternative form of education. The land for the school was taken on a lease, with the support provided by Mr. Hari Khoday, an Indian philanthropist. As director of the school, Sri Bhagavan's focus was to develop an environment for children to truly flower and discover themselves. The school had 180 residential students and 200 day students from nearby villages. It was at this school that his spiritual work began. In the summer of 1989, one of the students reported a mystical experience of divine silence. Soon, many other students reported similar experiences, and they were also able to pass their experiences to one another. During these experiences, children had vision of various Gods and would converse with them. Sri Bhagavan explained that the children had got in touch with Antaryamin, the inner guide who dwells in your heart that guides all beings towards greater truth . In 1991, Sri Bhagawan decided to close the school and start the spiritual work for the larger community. The school was closed a few years later in 1994, after the senior students had all graduated from high school and the remaining students were moved to other schools.

Spiritual programs for public (1991–present)

Once the decision was made to close Jeevashram School, work started in developing the spiritual programs for the public. The principal of the Jeevashram School with a small group of teachers started the spiritual programs for public. The workshops were conducted as residential retreat programs conducted over 7 days or 21 days.

The workshop focused on helping the participant accept themselves as they are, and connect with their own inner divine self the Antaryamin To experience completely their fear, anxiety, etc., by staying with and not running away from these difficult feeling. In this very act of staying with, lies one's personal freedom.

Students also reported various spiritual experiences including mystical visions of their own personal God riding a white horse, similar to the Kalki form of Vishnu from traditional Hindu beliefs. Based on this shared spiritual experiences, the students and public would address Sri Bhagavan with the title "Kalki".

A second campus was set up in 1992 near Chennai city a place called Somangalam. In 1994, the campus of Jeevashram School was renamed as Satyaloka. Advance retreat programs for public were conducted at this campus. By 1995, Sri Bhagavan's workshops were being conducted in all major cities in India, including the capital New Delhi. In 1995, the first major public event was held at Chennai city, drawing more than 100,000 students from across India. In 1999, the work on building the Oneness University at Varadaiahpalem, Chittoor district Andhra Pradesh India started. Oneness University, located 70 km from Chennai, is accessible by the National Highway 5 and is on Tirupati Road leading to the ancient temple town of Kalahasthi. In 2000, the first campus was completed and Sri Bhagavan and his team of teachers moved to the campus. Over the next few years, various campuses, including the Oneness Temple in 2008 were built. In 2004, the first international program was started.

Anna Hazare the Indian social reformer, states “All over India, oneness is the only University providing the values which have not been provided by any other University”.

Ervin Laszlo of the Budapest Club, avers that the 'Oneness experience' are as real as any human sense perceptions of light, colour and sound, but conveyed via different neural process within the brain

In 2006, Tony Robbins, the well known American businessman and coach, discovered meditation through his visit to Oneness University, and has since incorporated teachings of Sri Bhagavan as part of his own programs

In 2009, about 600 delegates from India and 36 foreign countries including a contingent of Mathadipathi, Peetadhipathi and sadhus from all over India, converged at Sri Bhagavan's Oneness University campus for the international convention of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad. This program was attended by VHP leaders including well-known figures, such as Ashok Singhal, Praveen Togadia, Giriraj Kishore, Omkar Bhave and Vendantam.

Well-known visitors to Sri Bhagavan's Oneness University campus include Bollywood stars Shilpa Shetty, Manisha Koirala, Hrithik Roshan, Rakesh Roshan designer Donna Karan, Deff Leppard musician Rick Allen, NBA coach Pat Riley, spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar.

In 2011 he was included in Watkins Mind Body Spirit list of influential spiritual leaders for that year.

Oneness Movement

The movement started in the early 1980s and by 2008 was reported to have more than 14 million followers worldwide. Its stated mission is to "create oneness for all for lasting spiritual transformation". Its rites include the practice of deeksha.

Sri Bhagavan's movement has various names, such as Golden Age Foundation, Bhagavad Dharma, Kalki Dharma and the Oneness Organisation.

The headquarters and main campus for the movement is in Varadaiahpalem, Andhra Pradesh, India. Within the campus is the Oneness Temple.