Sridhar Samsher J B Rana is the first non-Tibetan to be bestowed with the title ‘Rinpoche’. Rana, whose interest in religion was sparked when he returned to Nepal after studying in India in the 1970s, came into contact with Khaptad Baba when he was studying Hinduism in 1976 and started training under him. So impressed was Khaptad Baba with Rana’s deep interest in the Vedas and religion that he offered to become his mentor.
Rana was so interested in religion that he started studying Zen Buddhism in 1980 under guru Osho Nen Re Kobori at the world famous Daitokuji school in Kyoto. By 1994, Rana had trained under numerous Tibetan gurus and with permission from one of his teachers, Tulku Ugren Rinpoche, he was permitted to start teaching ‘Maha Vipasyana’. The same year he gained the title Acharya from the renowned Rinpoche Karma Thinle.
