tion’s headquarters to Agra, directly across from
Soami Bagh. The two communities have remained
separate, each maintaining a large residential col-
ony, shops, post office, and bank. Satsangs (gath-
erings) are held every evening, drawing crowds in
the hundreds.
The Beas branch was created in 1892 under
Baba Jaimal Singh and is located in Punjab. Fur-
ther splits in this group have produced the Ruhani
Satsang founded by Kirpal SINGH, known as Kirpal
Light Satsang; the movement became popular in
the United States under the leadership of Kirpal’s
successor, Thakar Singh. The colony at Beas is a
utopian city unto itself and draws thousands of
attendees annually. Satsangs of this group gather
near the Beas River and in Delhi and Bombay with
thousands of people in attendance.
The movement at large claims over 1 million
initiates in South Asia and tens of thousands more
throughout the rest of the world.
See also SANT MAT MOVEMENT.
Further reading: Mark Juergensmeyer, Radhasoami
Reality: The Logic of a Modern Faith (Princeton, N.J.:
Princeton University Press, 1991); Om Prakash Kaushal,
The Radha Soami Movement: 1891–1997 (Jalandhar: ABS
Publications, n.d.); David Christopher Lane, The Rad-
hasoami Tradition: A Critical History of Guru Successor-
ship (New York: Garland, 1992).
rajas See GUNA.
rajasuya
The rajasuya was an important VEDIC ritual used
for the installation of a king (raja). It proclaimed
the sovereignty of the king and invoked the fealty
of his subjects. A number of SOMA offerings were
made that could take as long as two years to com-
plete. The king would take symbolic steps in four
directions to assure sovereignty everywhere. He
would ride a chariot about and shoot at a mock-
up of a rival, to show his kingly prowess. The
rite ended with a throw of the dice; the winning
throw would assure the king’s good luck in the
future. A losing throw would make him cautious
in his rule.Further reading: Jan Gonda, Ancient Indian Kingship
from a Religious Point of View (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1969);
J. C. Heesterman, The Ancient Royal Consecration: The
Rajasuya Described According to the Yajus Texts and
Annotated (Gravenhage: Mouton, 1957).raja yoga See YOGA SUTRA.
Rajneesh, Bhagwan Sri (1931–1990) guru
who taught a syncretic path to enlightenment
Sri Bhagwan Rajneesh was a controversial guru
whose syncretic teachings and antinomian phi-
losophy attracted a wide following in India and
the United States. Legal problems eventually led
to expulsion from the United States.
Born Rajneesh Chandra Mohan on December
11, 1931, in Kuchwara, a small village in central
India, Rajneesh was the eldest of 12 children.
His parents, Swami Devateerth Bharti and Ma
Amrit Saraswati, practiced JAINISM, and Rajneesh
remained a strict vegetarian throughout his life in
consonance with Jain teachings. Interested since
childhood in philosophical questions and the
matter of death, he developed critical skills and
studied philosophy at Jabalrur University. After
receiving a master’s degree in philosophy he taught
for several years at Madhya State University.
In 1966, Rajneesh received enlightenment
and began to travel throughout India instructing
students and gaining a following. From 1969 to
1974 he taught at Mount ABU in Rajasthan. In
1974 he opened the Rajneesh Ashram in Poona.
Here many Americans and other Western devo-
tees attended his satsangs (gatherings) and lived
in residence. Some have estimated that 50,000
sought enlightenment with him in Poona. In
1981, he fled Poona because of tax evasionRajneesh, Bhagwan Sri 345 J