Two Kalki ashram inmates found dead

Two inmates of an ashram in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh, run by Kalki Bhagwan, self-proclaimed avatar of Lord Vishnu who has a world-wide following, were found dead in an open rice field, about one kilometer away from the ashram, late on Monday night, a local daily has reported.

Quoting the local police and the ashram administrators, the Deccan Chronicle said they claim that the two men, Durga Vikas Dasji and Pavan, were killed in a motorbike accident. However, locals from Sathyavedu town, where the godman's Oneness Temple is situated, insisted that the deaths were shrouded in mystery and staged an agitation on Wednesday, demanding a fair investigation.

The two victims were riding a two-wheeler on the Tada road, travelling from `Golden City 2' to `Golden City 1', the two wings of the ashram, when an "unidentified" vehicle hit them, the police claimed. Ironically, the victims and the motorbike, were cleared off the road, before the police reached the spot.

"There was no evidence of an accident at the socalled accident site -- no blood, or vehicular damage was to be seen," said A Chinnu Raja, CPM district secretary at Sathyavedu. "Nobody actually saw the accident and all evidence was cleared by the ashram people before the police arrived."

Durga Vikas was brought to a Chennai clinic for obtaining a death certificate.. Dr Meera, running a clinic in Chennai said: "He was dead when I saw him and I do not know the reasons for the death. I issued the death certificate because I believed the version given by the accompanying people, that it was a road accident case".

The doctors at the Sathyavedu GH, where the post-mortem examination was done on both the bodies, declared that Durga Vikas died of a spinal hemorrhage and Pavan had a fractured limb. "We cannot ascertain if the deaths were due to accident or murder as that's for the police to investigate," said Dr Subburao who performed the autopsy.

The agitating locals recalled the `mysterious' death of 28-year-old ashram inmate Asha in September 2006 and of another male inmate in 2007. Both the bodies were allegedly cremated in the nearby forest, instead of at a public crematorium.

Kalki Bhagavan (born Vijaykumar, March 7, 1949 in Arcot district, Tamil Nadu, India) is a highly controversial modern spiritual teacher and religious guru and the founder of the new religious movement known variously as Oneness University, Kalki Dharma, Bhagavad Dharma and Golden Age Foundation. At various times, Kalki has also used names such as Mukteshwar, Sri Kalki Bhagavan and Sri Bhagavan. The godman and his wife Padmavathi Amma are revered as much as they are reviled.

In an article posted in enlightened.org, Timothy Conway calls Kalki a huckster. The writer says a certain mix of intrigue, chutzpah and perhaps some minor psychic powers gave Kalki a mesmerizing power over some young people in a school he directed from 1984 onward.

Vijaykumar was a mid-level administrator in a J Krishnamurti school in India. when he developed ambitions to become a guru, J. Krishnamurti (1895-1986) criticised his spiritual pretensions.

Vijaykumar subsequently worked with an elegant "front-man," Dr. R. Shankar (who brought him to the JK school), to open in Andhra Pradesh his own new school for adolescents and to create an exalted status for himself as a spiritual leader. He gleaned from the wisdom of sages like Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj as well as J. Krishnamurti and U G Krishnamurti. Vijaykumar in 1989 "grandiosely re-named himself Kalki".

A pro-Kalki website, on the other hand, says the Oneness Festival and The World University of Consciousness was founded by The Experience Foundation and The Golden Age Foundation. The Golden Age Foundation was born in India and globally known as Kalki Dharma.

The Experience Foundation, headquartered in Sweden with a global network in more than 30 countries, provided an opportunity for great teachers and fine representatives of spiritual traditions to share their wisdom on how to create a global transition.

-Asian Tribune -