Also known as Jagatguru Bhagawan Shri Chander Maharaj, Acharya Ji is considered the 165th and one of the greatest exponents of the ancient Udasin sampradaya (lineage) of Hinduism. Born on 9th Bhadra Shukla, 1551, Vikarm (1494 AD), at Nankana Saheb, now Talwandi, Pakistan, he was the eldest son of his illustrious father, the great sage Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji.

Acharya Ji left home and chose the monastic life of a recluse at the tender age of 11 years and went to Kashmir. There he studied the Vedas, Puranas and other scriptures from Pandit Purushottam Koul for 7 years and wrote a detailed commentary on all the Vedas known as “Chandra Bhashya”. He performed intense austerities and profound spiritual sadhana in Kashmir. A multifaceted personality, he is known as a great ascetic yogi, Vedic scholar, inspired poet, social reformer, protector of the Sanatan Dharma and an enlightened sage of divine order having so many extraordinary siddhis or powers. In one of his widely known displays of yogic power, while doing tapasya in Kashmir, he turned a burning stick from his dhuna (holy fire) into a live chinar tree in front of the then ruler of Kashmir, Zenab Yakub Shah in the year 1543 AD. The impressed ruler, out of reverence, made a gift of that land to Acharya Ji. Subsequently, other rulers also gave land adjacent to that sacred spot. The legendary tree still stands tall and is worshipped by devotees from all over India. It is because of this supernatural incident that the holy place acquired the name “Chander Chinar Asthapan/Ashram.” The great Guru appointed his close monastic disciple, Bhagat Bhagawan as the head of the ashram, which now has a beautiful temple dedicated to Bhagawan Shri Chander Ji. Presently His Holiness Swami Prem Vivekanand is the 18th Mahant in the uninterrupted linage of the great Udasin monks serving this sacred asthapan.

Acharya Shri Chanderji’s life is a long story of supernatural incidents, great sacrifice, renunciation, austerity and selfless service to society. He travelled extensively throughout the length and breadth of India and even many Asian countries to awaken people from their slumber and instill in them righteousness and true spirituality. He went on pilgrimages to all the main pilgrim centres of the country, but his main field of work was the border areas of India, Kashmir, Punjab, Nepal, Peshavar, Sindh and Kandhar (Afghanistan).

Acharya Ji was a great scholar of Sanskrit, Hindi, Persian, and Punjabi and was an inspired poet. Matra Shastra, a compilation of 39 short verses written by him, is very famous and is revered like the holy Vedas in the Udasin order.

Acharya Ji believed in and preached that the Absolute Divine Truth is One without a second and that the way to realize God is through the combination of jnana (knowledge) and bhakti (devotion). Along with numerous Hindu kings, many Muslim rulers also had great reverence for him.

It is believed that, after living extraordinarily for 149 years, in 1643 AD, he crossed the river Chamba (Himachal Pradesh) sitting on a huge rock boulder which floated on the water by his yogic power. He then disappeared into the forest, never to be seen again. Thus ended the lila of a great spiritual giant of India who revived the ancient Udasin tradition of Hinduism and selflessly served the society. Today there are thousands of Udasin sadhus and Udasin ashrams in India which propagate the ideals of spirituality and selfless seva.

Shri Chander Chinar Bada Akhara Udasin TRUST (SCCBA Udasin Trust) & Shri Chander Chinar Bada Akhara Udasin SOCIETY (SCCBA Udasin Society)

Shri Chander Chinar Asthapana, founded by Acharya Ji in 1543 AD, was registered as a religious and charitable Trust by the name Shri Chander Chinar Bada Akhara Udasin Trust in the year 1953. This ancient Trust is the mother institution, which in turn established SCCBA Udasin Society and got it registered in 1889 at Srinagar for philanthropic purposes. It is important to note that the names of the mother Trust and the Society are exactly the same.

President: Earlier headed by the great realized sages H.H. Swami Krishna Dass Udasin and H.H. Chandra Swami Udasin, the 16th and 17th Mahants, the Society is currently led by H.H. Swami Prem Vivekanand Udasin, the direct disciple of H.H. Chandra Swamiji and the 18th Mahant of SCCBA Udasin Trust, Srinagar. Despite his extensive education and qualifications, as a young man he left his public enterprise job to serve the deprived tribal community in a remote area of Rajasthan for many years. In 1988, he severed all worldly ties and took to the monastic life at the feet of his great Guru, H.H. Chandra Swami Udasin. Currently head of many religious institutions, his whole life from an early age has been fully devoted to spiritual sadhana, dissemination of spiritual knowledge and service to the poor, deprived and downtrodden. He took over as President of the Society in 2023 and has since been working for the overall betterment of the institution.