Doctor divine

Pradeep Krishnan introduces us to Dr Chandrasekhara Udupa, who, through his devotion to Swami Vivekananda, has provided spiritual succour to humanity

- Pradeep Krishnan

Since my initiation into spirituality in 1990 by Swami Tapasyananda of Sri Ramakrishna Math, in the course of my travels, I always make it a point to visit the local Sri Ramakrishna Ashram, not only as a mark of respect to the Guru Parampara (lineage of gurus) but also to spend some quality time in meditation. During a visit to the Sri Krishna Temple in Udupi, Karnataka, in 2019, when I came to know that Dr. Chandrasekhara Udupa (a physician by profession), has established the Divine Park, a centre dedicated to Sri Ramakrishna, Ma Sarada Devi, and Swami Vivekananda, in Saligrama, a village about 20 Km north of Udupi, I decided to visit the place.

On reaching the spot, I was welcomed and taken around the campus by Sri Srinivas, a naturopath and a disciple of Dr. Udupa. After paying obeisance to the several deities housed in the campus, I meditated for sometime in front of the statues of Sri Ramakrishna and Ma Sarada in the spacious Dhyana Mandir. Later, I was taken to the nearby house cum clinic of Dr. Udupa, where he lives with his family. Sitting in his modest consultation room, adorned by a huge portrait of Swami Vivekananda, he talked about his unique spiritual journey.

Born on 15 March 1951 to Sri Krishna Udupa and Smt Yamuna, right from the age of 10, he showed an intense desire to know God. Later, while studying for MBBS at Government Medical College, Mysore, thanks to his close acquaintance with Swami Jagadatmananada of Ramakrishna Mission, the young Chandrasekhar developed an intense love for Swami Vivekananda. After initiation by Swami Vireshwarananda (the then global president of the math), on September 12 1970, revering Swami Vivekananda as Guruji, he did intense tapasya (penance), yearning for His darshan (grace through His presence), which he finally received in the form of a vision.