Dhirendra Brahmachari | |
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 John Hills discusses the World Conference on Scientific Yoga Conference program schedule with Dhirendra Brahmachari andAmrit Desai | |
| Born | Dhirendra Choudhary (1924-02-12)12 February 1924 |
| Died | 9 June 1994(1994-06-09) (aged 70) Mantalai,Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir, India |
| Occupation | Yoga Guru |
| Known for | Yoga mentor ofIndira Gandhi |
Dhirendra Brahmachari (bornDhirendra Choudhary; 12 February 1924 – 9 June 1994) was an Indian yoga teacher ofYogi Bhajan who taughtKundalini Yoga in theWestern world and founded3HO.[1] Dhirendra Brahmachari was also yoga mentor ofIndira Gandhi –The formerprime minister ofIndia[2] He ranashrams inBhondsi (Gurugram in Delhi NCR),Jammu,Katra andMantalai (nearSudhmahadev inUdhampur district of Jammu and Kashmir) and wrote books onyoga.[citation needed]
He was born in aMaithil Brahmin family[3] He later got inspired by reading theBhagavad Gita, he left home at the age of thirteen and went toVaranasi. His guru wasMaharshi Kartikeya whose ashram was atGopal-Khera, about twelve miles fromLucknow. Dhirendra Brahmachari studied yoga and associated subjects there.[4] In the 1960s, he was invited to travel to theSoviet Union as ahatha yoga expert to train Soviet cosmonauts.Jawaharlal Nehru later invited him to teach yoga to his daughter,Indira Gandhi, to improve her health. He is said to have guided Mrs. Gandhi's vision and ideas. He became influential politically in 1975–77 when Mrs Gandhi dissolved Parliament, declared a state of emergency and suspended civil liberties.[5]
In the late 1970s, Dhirendra Brahmachari promoted the benefits of yoga in a weekly program calledYogabhyaas which was broadcast onDoordarshan, the state-owned television network.[6] He introduced yoga as a subject of study in Delhi administered schools, a considerable innovation.
During 1980s, Brahmachari built Aparna Ashram Society inGurgaon (now Gurugram) nearSilokhera village, inHaryana. The air conditioned Ashram included an airstrip, hangar and a TV studio.[7]Indira Gandhi use to visit Brahmachari here once a week.[7] The 1980s teleserialsIndia Quiz andHum Log (ran from July 1984 to 17 December 1985) were shot here.[7] Brahmachari charged INR25,000 per shift for the use of ashram's TV studio facilities here for the shooting of Hum Log.[7] In 1983, Brahmachari had written letter to then Chief Minister of Haryana,Bhajan Lal, with a request to acquire 5,000 acre land aroundAravalli Range, potentially up to 70,000 acres in total, to build facilities to rivalDisneyland, including a yoga research and training centre, a wildlife sanctuary, folk arts and crafts centre, amusement centre and other facilities such as helipad, aquarium, planetarium and games and thrillers.[8] After the guru's death, his relatives and a tenant engaged in a legal battle over the ownership of the property.[9]The aircraft hangar still has two ruined aircraft belonging to Brahmachari[10]
He was the owner ofVishwayatan Yogashram in the centre ofDelhi, now known as theMorarji Desai National Institute of Yoga. He also owned campuses in Jammu, Katra and Mantalai, plots of land he had received through his Indira Gandhi clout.[5] Known as "the Flying Swami", he not only helped her form decisions and make appointments, but he also executed some of her orders.[5]
He wrote books on yoga in Hindi and English including 'Yogic Sukshma Vyayama' and 'Yogasana Vijnana'.[citation needed] His ashram at Mantalai is spread over 1008 kanals of land with private airstrips, hangar, a zoo and a seven storey building in gandhi nagar, Jammu.[citation needed]
Nowadays there are five known successors of Dhirendra Brahmachari yoga tradition: Bal Mukund Singh from India, Reinhard Gammenthaler and his wife Diana Gammenthaler, Vanessa Meijer fromSwitzerland and Rainer Neyer fromAustria.[citation needed]
Dhirendra was charged with buying an aircraft in theUnited States duringthe Emergency imposed by thenPrime MinisterIndira Gandhi and smuggling it into the country without paying customs duties, but he was never tried. Dozens of other criminal cases were filed against him and many dragged on till his death. In one case, he was accused of illegally importing gun parts fromSpain for his factory, which had a licence to make guns only with local materials.[5]
Dhirendra Brahmachari died in a plane crash, along with his pilot, when they hit a pine tree on 9 June 1994, while landing at the airstrip of his religious retreat and yoga school in Mantalai, a village inChenani Tehsil inUdhampur district ofJammu and Kashmir (state).[5][11]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)http://www.eng.vedanta.ru/library/brodov/Vasily_Brodov_Russian_Philosopher_and_Yoga_Practitioner.php
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