As far as I could see, there are only two persons from the land of Telugu people of India, who could stand tall facing the whole world and say 'Go to hell !'. One is Gudipati Venkata Chalam or simply Chalam and the other is Uppaluri Gopalakrishnamurti or simply UG. I wrote about Chalam a few years back. He was a poet, a novelist, a dreamer, a lover, and a seeker of ultimate meaning of life. He never cared for money, fake human relations, social restrictions, intellectual limitations and the like. UG was a person who denied the very existence of mind itself and said 'Unless you disappear, you cannot be'. Nobody knows Chalam, except the Telugu people and especially the literary circles of the old generation. The whole world knows about UG. Of course, the lost youth of today, is happily unaware of these two great personalities. People like Chalam are rarely born, and people like UG are born very very rarely.
Curiously, both were from Andhra Pradesh, from the same Krishna District and both were Brahmins. Chalam was born at Valluripalem and UG at Machilipatnam. Both were connected to Ramana Maharshi and both walked the path of Jnana. Chalam could not reach the goal but UG did.
Chalam was born in 1894 and died at Arunachalam in 1979. UG was born in 1918 and died at Vallecrosia, Italy in 2007, Both were connected to the Movie field. Chalam did the screenplay work to the yesteryears Telugu movie 'Malapilla'. Bollywood film personalities Mahesh Bhatt, Parvin Babi and others were staunch followers of UG. Both Chalam and UG died almost incognito in very ordinary circumstances. Both shared close spiritual ideas. However, Chalam died as a seeker and UG as a realized being. We can see these traits in their birth charts clearly.
Since yesterday I was reading UG on the Internt. Today I wanted to look into his birth chart and to my surprise found that today the 9th of July, is his birthday. I was not surprised in a big way, as I had seen these kind of strange happenings in my life many many times. But I was a little bit curious why I got tuned to UG who was supposed to be an eccentric mystic and anti guru. I consoled myself saying that though I did not have as much of extreme lunacy (or naturalness?) as UG had, I too was waking in a more or less similar path sine my childhood.
Ramana Maharshi, Rajaneesh, Jiddu, UG - their paths were more or less the same. For the time being, let us keep Ramana Maharshi aside. He was almost above controversy. Among the remaining three, I give the highest place only to UG. There are some valid reasons for my conclusion.
UG never duped the world nor manipulated people like Osho did. UG never taught something he did not experience. Osho talked on many things, almost all things under the Sun, which he did not personally experience. In a talk with his admirers, which is available on you tube, UG says about Osho 'He was a pimp. He used to encourage men and women to enjoy freely, and called it Tantric sex, but took money from both. What else can we call him other than that?'
In another you tube interview, some one asked UG about Satya Sai Baba and he replied. 'He was a criminal'. Now, the whole world knows what happened at Satya Sai Ashram during his last days.
UG was exposed to Theosophy from his tender age as his grandfather was a staunch follower of that cult. He knew Jiddu personally and worked in Theosophical Society as a speaker and in a secretarial position for some years. Then he left them due to many reasons. He used to criticize Jiddu for his secret relation with Rosalind Rajagopal. He knew many inside stories because he worked and lived in that organization for years. UG cited the huge properties of the organisation as real reasons for Rajagopal, husband of Rosalid, to keep quiet, even though he was fully aware of the clandestine relation his wife had with Jiddu. Now the whole world knows how Jiddu and Rosalind fell out and got separated in the last phase of Jiddu's life, reasons being money, property and power.
Jiddu used to talk against sex on many occasions, all the while having an active sex life. At one time, while talking to the youth of USA, Jiddu said 'Why do you crave sex? Can't you remain silently and peacefully, just holding the hand of your girl friend?'. This is nothing but hypocrisy. UG used to call 'bullshit' the state of 'choiceless awareness' advocated by Jiddu.
Preaching to the world not to do anything to get enlightened, Jiddu used to practice Yoga Asanas, of course, not the way the world is practicing them now in a big way. UG said that Jiddu used to get his body massaged with a herbal oil that came from Kerala every month afresh, just to have a smooth skin. UG termed all these as hypocrisies. That was how UG started distancing himself from Jiddu and Theosophy.
Later, when he went through what he called 'Calamity', I think he had attained what is termed in the Yoga scriptures as the state of 'Amanaska' or mindless state. He called it the natural state, because in that state, the body starts functioning on its own, without being interfered by the mind and its thoughts. Since then, he lived in the natural state, having casual talks with people.
Our scriptures call this the state of a Jnani. Though he detested the terms enlightenment or Jivanmukti etc., many of his admirers including myself believe that he attained the state of a Jivanmukta (one who is liberated while yet living) and an Avadhuta ( a free soul).
It is a common sight to see disciples showering high praises on their gurus. But, there should be proofs in the lives of the gurus to corroborate the claims of their disciples. If not, the so called teachings of the gurus become false and fake. Looking from this angle, UG lived a very pure and simple life compared to the controversial and dubious lives of Osho and Jiddu.
In the words of Parvin Babi, who at one time, moved very closely with UG for some years - 'As far as I could see, UG was the only person who never used others for his personal gain'.
Valentine who lived with UG for 21 long years and seen many people around the world, once said, 'UG is the nicest and kindest man I have ever seen'.
There is no compromise in UG. He tells you the harshest truth by punching straight in your face. There were no secret shades in his life either. Many people who knew him intimately, said that they never saw in their life another man who lived so openly like UG.
Some one asked UG 'what is your message to the world'.
He replied - 'Nothing. I don't want to be remembered'.
Mahesh Bhatt says that he went to Osho in a very helpless state of mind. It seems he asked Osho ' I want support. I am helpless and afraid. I dont know if God exists or not'.
It seems Osho replied in these lines - 'Jesus while on the cross, doubted the existence of God and shouted 'O Lord why did you forsake me?'. Then and there he saw God on his side. Now you are in the same state, but I am here to save you'.
Osho used to give whatever you wanted to have. If you wanted a biscuit he gave a biscuit, if a cake, a cake. In this process, you fall into his trap. Osho played with the weaknesses of people. But UG was different. He never minced his words and always said the truth.
UG said to Mahesh Bhatt ' A real guru, if he ever exists, will free you from himself also'.
In my view, UG is a realized soul, a Jivanmukta and a Jnani. The Yoga Upanishads call this state in which we see UG as 'Amanaska sthithi', the state of a Jnani. I strongly feel that the world never knew how to treat him in the manner he deserved. Nevertheless, such souls neither care not expect fame or recognition from the world.
Though he said, things happen by bits and pieces and have no inherenat cause and effect relation between them, let me look into his Astro chart and at his life events in a retrospective vision. I strongly feel that the chart of a Jnani will clearly show the necessary planetary yogas suggesting the birth of a great soul. After all, UG knew Astrology and Palmistry very well. Astrology was in his blood, as his grandfathers were experts in Indian Astrology, like all the elders of older Brahmin generations were.
(originally published in my Telugu blog on 9-7-2020, the birth date of UG.)
(To be continued)
