I. Group Profile

1. Name: Ananda Marga Yoga Society

2. Founder: He is known to his followers as Marga Guru Shrii Shrii Anandamurti (which means "He who attracts others as the embodiment of bliss"), but is also know as Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar (his birth name), or Ba'Ba (which means father)

3. Date of Birth: May 21, 1921-October 21, 1990

4. Birth Place: The small town of Jamalpur in Bihar, India

5. Year Founded: 1955 in Jamalpur, Bihar, India .

6. Sacred or Revered Texts: Although there aren't any sacred texts in Ananda Marga, there are works by the founder of Ananda Marga and other writers that are used as a philosophical skeleton to help guide the members. The founder used the name Shrii Shrii Anandamurti when he wrote books on spiritual topics and the name Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar when he authored books on other areas. The first book was Ananda Marga- Elementary Philosophy that was written by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, and outlines the philosophy of Ananda Marga. Besides this book, there are many more books that outline the philosophy of Ananda Marga and other important doctrines written by Anandamurti and others. These books can be found on the Ananda Marga Homepage .

7. Cult or Sect:
Negative sentiments are typically implied when the concepts "cult" and "sect" are employed in popular discourse. Since the Religious Movements Homepage seeks to promote religious tolerance and appreciation of the positive benefits of pluralism and religious diversity in human cultures, we encourage the use of alternative concepts that do not carry implicit negative stereotypes. For a more detailed discussion of both scholarly and popular usage of the concepts "cult" and "sect," please visit our Conceptualizing "Cult" and "Sect" page, where you will find additional links to related issues.

8. Size of Group: The largest concentrations of Ananda Marga are located in India and in the Phillipines, but members are found throughout the world and can be found in most countries. "Though it has been suggested that this 'revolutionist' movement has several million adherents, the actual membership is undoubtedly very much smaller." 6 Worldwide, there exists spiritual and social activity centers in over 160 countries.

II. History of the Group

Prabhat Rainjan Sarkar was born on May 21, 1921 on Vaesha'Khii Pu'rn'ima', or Buddha Pu'rn'ima' (the day of the full moon of the lunar month). He was the fourth child in a family of eight. 8

He was a bright student who eventually went to Vidyasagar College in Calcutta, and it was here that his spiritual powers manifested. The story of his first disciple is said to have taken place when he was a freshman in college in 1939. One night Sarkar took his usual walk along the banks of the Ganges and sat down to rest and there went into a state of meditation. A man by the name of Kalicharan came up to him and tried to rob him. Sarkar acted very calmly and began to talk to Kalicharan and finally asked him if he was interested in changing his life. As Sarkar continued to talk, Kalicharan became captivated and ended up bathing in the river and becoming the first sadhaka (spiritual aspirant) initiated to the spiritual path by Sarkar. Kalicharan then changed his name to Kalikananda. This event occured on a full moon in August, Shra'van'ii Pu'rn'ima', and every year this date is celebrated. 9

In 1941 Sarkar passed the intermediate science exam and went to work on the railway where his father had worked. During this time before the establishment of the Ananda Marga Yoga Society, Sarkar built up a following. He was evidently able to look over his followers with his "omniscient power" and the ability to see whether they correctly observed yama and hiyama (the ten cardinal principles of morality). 10

In 1954 Sarkar told his senior sadhakas that he would be establishing a new organization and preparations went under way for the inauguration (by-laws and articles of association were drawn up), which would take place on January 1, 1955. On this date, Sarkar and his followers met at house 339 at the Rampur Rail Colony were he was instated as the organization's founder-president. The organization took the name of Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samgha, "The Society for the Propagation of Ananda Marga Ideology," which would be better known as the Ananda Marga Yoga Society. 11

The name "Ananda Marga" came from a relationship with saint Brghu. Saint Brghu had attained Brahma (infinite conciousness) after a long period of penance. From this infinite bliss, the universe and its entites were created. In this bliss (Ananda) everything flourishes and in the end everything also returns to Ananda and merges with it. Because of this, Ananda is the same as Brahma. 12

After the founding of Ananda Marga, Sarkar started to train missionaries to spread his teaching of "self-realization and service to humanity" (which became the motto of Ananda Marga) into India and the rest of the world, and in 1962 initiated the first monk (called Dada, meaning elder brother) of Ananda Marga. He followed this with the creation of an order of nuns (called Didis, meaning elder sister) in 1966. 13 In 1963, Sarkar established the Education Relief and Welfare Section (ERAWS) of Ananda Marga. ERAWS has created schools, colleges, homes for children, hospitals all over the world. 14 Sarkar also created the theory of PROUT (Progressive Utilization Theory) in 1959 which is a theory of how to end social and economic injustice in society and the world. 15

In December 1971 Sarkar was arrested and charged with murder which was later reduced to the charge of "abetment to murder" and had no trial for four years. When he finally had a trial he was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison. After Indira Gandhi fell from power in 1978 he was granted a new trial and found innocent. Sarkar and Ananda Marga have sparked much controversy due to its political activism. In the early and mid- 1970s, the Indian government considered the organization a terrorist organization that taught its members ritual murder. He continued to work to expand his philosophy and also Ananda Marga to the rest of the world until his death in 1990. 16

Because Sakar's philosophy of "service to humanity" covers such a broad base of ideas, his organization is made up of numerous branches dedicated to different aspects that Ananda Marga focuses on, such as environmental awareness and disaster relief. Under environmental awareness, he used the term "Neo-Humanism" to define his belief that one should extend humanism to love for animals and plants as well as people. 17 With this belief, he established a global plant exchange program to save plant species around the world and also established animal sanctuaries around the world. Under disaster relief, Ananda Marga has created two organizations to help with disaster relief efforts. AMURT (Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team) and AMURTEL (Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team Ladies) were created in 1965 and 1977 respectively.

AMURT was first founded to help victims of the numerous floods in India but has eventually expanded globally to 80 countries. Each sector is independent (choice of projects and obtaining funds) but can obtain technical help from other sectors. In each country that AMURT exists, it not only helps with disaster relief but also works with helping to develop the country. They follow the method called "co-operative development" which is when workers of AMURT work with the people to help improve their situation through construction, agriculture, and water preservation. It also participates in social programs such as owning and running schools, renovating schools, training teachers, running children's homes, and providing medical aid. 18

AMURTEL is the sister organization of AMURT and is geared toward the specific needs of women and their families and is also run by women. AMURTEL provides medical care for pregnant and nursing mothers, helps educate women in home industry such as tailoring, handicraft, and commerical food production, and also promotes effective birth control. AMURTEL also sets up relief and refugee camps, distributes food, medicine and clothing, provides cheap kitchens and nutrition classes, and aids underprivledged children by running low tuition schools. It also sponsors homes and halfway houses for children, the elderly, the hadicapped, battered women, and also run cheap hostels for underprivledged students. 19

Today, Ananda Marga is a worldwide organization with centers in over 160 countries, including the United States. 20

Text by: Angela An for New Religious Homepage 17/07/01

External Sources

• Ananda Marga Ananda Marga is a global spiritual and social service organization founded in 1955 by Shrii Shrii Anandamurti (Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar). The mission of Ananda Marga is self-realization (individual emancipation) and service to humanity (collective welfare): the fulfilment of the physical, mental and spiritual needs of all people.
• Ananda Marga Gurukula