Ananda Marga

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Ananda Marga is a social and spiritual organization founded in Jamalpur, state of Bihar, India in 1955 by Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar (1921-1990), known by his spiritual name of Shrii Shrii Anandamurti. Ananda Marga identifies its mission as to help individuals achieve complete self-realization and to build a social structure in which the physical, mental and spiritual needs of all people can be fulfilled.

1 Organization
2 History
3 Teachings
4 Activities
5 Proclaimed philosophy and goals
6 Relation to Hinduism
7 Criticism
8 See also
9 External links
- 9.1 Non-Ananda sites

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Organization

Ananda Marga's headquarters are in Anandanagar, West Bengal, Ranchi and Kolkata. Sectorial Offices are in Delhi, Taipei, Manila, New York, Sao Paulo, Mainz, Athens, Nairobi.

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History

In the mid-1970's Ananda Marga was banned by the Indian government of Indira Gandhi together with most opposition parties and Shrii Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar was falsely charged with murder. He was initially found guilty and sentenced to lifelong imprisonment, but after a re-trial after the Congress party lost power found him innocent. During his stay in prison Shrii P.R. Sarkar was administered poison by the jail authorities on the pretense that it was medicine. Surviving the attempt, Shrii P.R. Sarkar then fasted for the next five years until his release out of protest of being denied a proper judicial inquiry into the incident. During his stay in prison his mission spread to all continents of the world.

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Teachings

The teachings of Ananda Marga deal with a wide variety of topics such as mysticism, cosmology, sociology, history, yoga, health, psychology, philology, economics, farming, music and literature. As a social service mission, Ananda Marga originated in India, but has since expanded into a global organization with thousands of dedicated volunteers working in virtually every country of the world. The activities of Ananda Marga encompass a wide range of projects for the welfare of humanity as well as all other living beings, the environment, and the planet as a whole.

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Activities

Ananda Marga runs yoga and meditation centers, schools, orphanages, food distribution centers, disaster relief programs, medical centers, community development projects, and other service projects. Emphasis is placed on solving the problems of the local people, whatever they may be, and assisting them in managing all their personal and social resources for the prosperity of all.

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Proclaimed philosophy and goals

The philosophy of Ananda Marga is one of universalism. It is a synthetic outlook, recognizing God as the one limitless supreme consciousness. This universe, having been created by God, is existing in God, and as such all created beings are God's children, part of the one universal Cosmic family. Thus we are all brothers and sisters, connected in love by the bonds of Cosmic fraternity. This universe of diversity has evolved out of unity (God), and we must continually strive to see that unity in all diversity. Thus the social outlook of Ananda Marga recognizes that the welfare of the individual is inextricably linked with the welfare of the collective, each relying on the other for its existence and dynamism. Everyone has the right to equal opportunity and as such there should be no discrimination on the basis of superficial barriers such as race, nationality and religion.

Ananda Marga advocates a world of justice, security and peace for all. To this end Ananda Marga gives a practical, rational, and systematic way of life for the balanced development of all human potentialities: physical, psychic and spiritual. It is a system that incorporates practices that are beneficial for personal and social upliftment. These range from proper hygiene and diet, to yoga postures, to a scientific technique of meditation based on morality and leading to complete peace and inner fulfillment. It recognizes that a balance is needed between the spiritual and mundane aspects of existence, and that neither one should be neglected at the expense of the other. Hence, the goal of Ananda Marga is "Self-realization and the welfare of humanity."

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Relation to Hinduism

It is debatable whether Ananda Marga is a Hindu organisation. Its universal, rational and syncretic outlook and practices in some respects seem to place it in a category of its own. Only two of the traditional Hindu gods are recognised as Ishvara (the rest are considered to be mythological creations or elaborations), the caste system and the concept of religion as well as avatarism are rejected.

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Criticism

Ananda Marga has faced some criticisms. As a political protest some members reportedly practiced self-immolation [1] during the period when they faced repression in India. A report by the Italian police[2] placed them alongside Soka Gakkai International for political activities. There are news agencies that published critical articles like the BBC - [3]: article mentioning an arms drop in India - and The Australian - [4]: article on possible involvement of Ananda Marga members on the Sydney Hilton bombing. Some have labeled Ananda Marga a terrorist organisation.[5]

Supporters have pointed to events like [6] (Ananda Marga members charged of Hilton bombing were released and pardoned) and [7] & [8] (to whom the weapons were being delivered is still disputed), arguing that the criticism is based on speculations or unproven or disputed facts.

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