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'''Chandraswami''' (born '''Nemichand Jain'''; 29 October 1949 – 23 May 2017)<ref>{{cite web |url= http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/politicians-throng-controversial-godman-chandra-swamis-46th-birthday/1/295076.html |title= Adoring the godman |work= [[India Today]] |date= 1994-11-30}}</ref><ref>article.wn.com/view/2002/11/13/NEWSLINE_ANCHOR_Chandraswami_celebrates_b_day_with_villagers/{{Full|date=March 2014}}</ref> was a controversial Indian Tantrik (practitioner of [[Tantra]]).

His father Dharamchand Jain came from [[Behror]] in [[Rajasthan]] and worked as a money lender. He moved to [[Hyderabad, India|Hyderabad]] when Chandraswami was a child. Chandraswami was attracted to the study of Tantra from an early age.<ref>Times of India, 22/12/2007{{Full|date=March 2014}}</ref> 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 where he spent time in meditation. He claimed that after four years he obtained extraordinary powers called [[siddhis]]. Though Chandraswami was by birth a [[Jain]], he became a "sadhaka" (worshipper) of the Goddess Kali.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://wikimir.com/chandraswami |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20111014214455/http://www.wikimir.com/chandraswami |archive-date= 2011-10-14 |title= Shri Chandraswamiji Maharaj Ji}}</ref>{{Verify credibility|failed=y|date=March 2014}} He was also interested in [[interfaith dialogue]], and sat on the Board of World Religious Leaders for [[the Elijah Interfaith Institute]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Elijah Interfaith, Sharing Wisdom Fostering Peace #MakeFriends|url=http://elijah-interfaith.org/|access-date=2020-10-28|website=elijah-interfaith.org}}</ref>

==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 Prime Minister [[P. V. Narasimha Rao|Narasimha Rao]]. Chandraswami was said to have been his spiritual adviser.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9605/03/godman.arrested/ |title= Rao's spiritual adviser behind bars: Another setback for Congress party |date= 1996-05-03 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20020116184657/http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9605/03/godman.arrested/ |archive-date= 2002-01-16 |work= [[CNN]]}}</ref> Soon after Rao became Prime Minister in 1991, Chandraswami built an ashram known as Vishwa Dharmayatan Sanathan in Delhi's Qutub Institutional Area. The land for the ashram had been allotted by Indira Gandhi.
Chandraswami is said to have dispensed spiritual advice to the [[Sultan of Brunei]], [[Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa|Sheikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa]] of [[Bahrain]], actress [[Elizabeth Taylor]], British PM [[Margaret Thatcher]], arms dealer [[Adnan Khashoggi]], crime lord [[Dawood Ibrahim]], and [[Tiny Rowland]]. His loyal supporters include his secretary Vikram Singh, Vijay Chauhan and 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]].<ref>{{cite news |url= http://bhagydarpan.in/ |title= SC grounds Chandraswami's plans for foreign visit |newspaper= [[The Hindu]] |date= 2008-02-26 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160426180321/http://bhagydarpan.in/ |archive-date= 2016-04-26 |url-status= dead }}</ref> 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 of [[Rajiv Gandhi]]. 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.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-16/india/29664712_1_nemi-chand-jain-fera-penalty-amount |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= dead |archive-date= 2012-09-10 |title= SC gives Chandraswami a week to pay up Rs 9 crore FERA penalty |newspaper= [[The Times of India]] |first= Dhananjay |last= Mahapatra |date= 2011-06-16 }}</ref> He also had influence over [https://fnewshub.com/2020/10/15/chandraswami-swami-harshad-mehta-narsimharao/ Harshad Mehta 's scam] which happened in [[Harshad Mehta#Background of the 1992 security fraud|1992]].

==Death==
Chandra Swami died of multiple organ failure at Apollo Hospital in New Delhi on 23 May 2017.

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Tantra]]
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:2017 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from multiple organ failure]]

Chandraswami - Revision history

115.96.219.193 at 07:00, 9 September 2021