We salute the passing on January 20, 2013 of Mr K.L. Gupta, a long-time TOS worker in the city of Orai, in Jalaun district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.  Till his last breath at the age of 90, all Mr Gupta’s thoughts revolved around the underprivileged children whose education he had supported throughout his life.  Gratitude inspired his devotion… 

Left, a kit of educational material is offered by Brother K.L. Gupta to a student on the occasion of Diwali, the Festival of Light.

Krishnan Lal Gupta was born on July 1, 1922 in the small town of Berasia, close to the city of Bhopal, in the state of Madhya Pradesh in central India.  He was the eldest of five sons and four daughters in a family of precarious financial circumstances.  Krishnan Lal showed such eagerness in his studies that he was given a scholarship permitting him to stay at school through intermediate and high school levels.  So great was the impact on his life that he became a life-long server of needy children where he lived, ensuring that as many as possible had an opportunity for higher studies. 

Krishnan Lal served as a government employee with the Indian Ordnance Factories organisation from 1945 to 1980.  He became a member of the Theosophical Society in 1961. He was greatly influenced by the teachings of Dr Annie Besant and Jiddu Krishnamurti.  Many times during discussions he commented that he was not able fully to grasp theosophical teachings but he was always ready to do the service work of the TS.  This started with the formation of a ‘Lotus Circle’ providing children with instruction in Theosophy and then with educational sponsorship work through the TOS Group in Orai. He was also a facilitator of the Foundation for Excellence (USA), a non-profit organisation formed to help underprivileged students get a university education. 

A student participates in a ceremony paying homage to the memory of Dr Besant.

Swami Nityanand, a member of the Orai Lodge of the TS, addresses the children on the occasion of Annie Besant’s birthday.

Swami Nityanandji also gives the children lessons in Vipassana meditation.

For over ten years, the TOS in France has been sponsoring the schooling and coaching of 22 of the children under Mr Gupta’s guidance.  The French members have been delighted to receive reports and photos of the special events conveying theosophical values and ideals organised for the children, in addition to the daily after-school tutoring and weekly cricket matches or other games.

An outing for the children with K.L. Gupta in 2009

After-school coaching class to help the children do well in their studies.

Krishnan Lal was married to Mrs Vidya Devi who passed away in 1999. Their daughter, Mrs Archana Gupta, is a bank employee in Indore and their elder son, Dr S.K. Gupta, a radiologist in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.  His younger son, Prasoon, is a medical representative in Orai.  Prasoon is now taking responsibility for Krishnan Lal’s educational work, especially the coaching being run by Orai TOS Group.  Prasoon reported recently that in late March he took the children on a pilgrimage to Bithoor-Kanpur in the state of Uttar Pradesh to the banks of the holy river Ganga and also to the Zoological Park in Kanpur.  Krishnan Lal is surely at peace in the knowledge that his work is in safe and devoted hands. 

Here we see Prasoon Gupta (far right) with some of the children.

In the river Ganga in March 2013

Another one of the outings for some of the children