Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar | |
|---|---|
 Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar | |
| Born | (1921-05-21)21 May 1921 |
| Died | 21 October 1990(1990-10-21) (aged 69) |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Alma mater | Vidyasagar College University of Calcutta |
| Occupation(s) | Spiritual Guru, philosopher, social reformer, linguist, author and composer |
| Known for | Founder ofAnanda Marga,Progressive Utilization Theory,Amra Bangali,Prabhat Samgiita,Ananda Marga Universal Relief Teams |
Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar[1] (21 May 1921 – 21 October 1990), also known by his spiritual nameShrii Shrii Ánandamúrti (Ánanda Múrti meaning "Bliss Embodiment"), and known asBábá ("Father") to his disciples, was a spiritualguru, philosopher,[2] social reformer, linguist, author and composer of5,018 songs mostly in the Bengali language.[3][4] He foundedAnanda Marga (the Path of Bliss) in 1955 as a spiritual and social organisation that continues to offer instruction inmeditation andyoga[4][5][6] and runs numerous social service and disaster relief projects throughout the world.
Sarkar developed his system of spiritual practice as a synthesis ofVedic andTantric philosophies.[7] He denounced religious dogmas, casteism, materialism and capitalism, considering all of these as impediments to social harmony, progress and spiritual growth. He described theuniverse as a manifestation of consciousness coming under the bondage of its own nature, resulting in creation. His spiritual and social philosophies embraced diversity as the law of nature; a result of Singular Consciousness expressing itself in numerous forms. Sarkar advocated for the welfare of humans and the planet through his socio-economic philosophy ofPROUT, which is rooted in the idea of Neohumanism, a worldview based on inter-connectedness of all beings.
Sarkar was born during the full moon of theIndian month ofVaeshakh (Buddha Purnima), on 21 May 1921 (at 6:07 in the morning) to Lakshmi Narayan Sarkar, ahomoeopathic doctor and Abharani Devi in the small town ofJamalpur, Bihar.[8] His family hailed from Bamunpara (Brahmanpara),Burdwan District in West Bengal.[4]
In 1939, Sarkar left Jamalpur for Kolkata to attendVidyasagar College of theUniversity of Calcutta. Sarkar had to quit his studies to support his family after the death of his father; from 1944 until the early 1950s, Sarkar worked as an accountant at the Indian railways headquarters in Jamalpur, Bihar. He taught the techniques of Yoga and Tantra meditation to a select number of his colleagues and gradually more people were drawn to the spiritual practices he taught.[4]
In 1955, Sarkar foundedAnanda Marga (the Path of Bliss), a socio-spiritual movement with a two-part mission that Sarkar stated as "self-realization and service to all" with a spiritual practice that synthesized Vedic and Tantric philosophies. Sarkar's ideas are collected in the series of books called "Subháśita Samgraha", which form part of the philosophical scriptures ofAnanda Marga ideology.[4]
During the latter part of his life, his main residence was inLake Gardens inKolkata, West Bengal. He also spent much time, especially early on, in the all-round development community he founded based on his PROUT theory at Anandanagar. Ananda Marga openedregional offices in various countries, including the US in 1969; by 1973, he bad established approximately 100 local centres teaching yogic and social philosophies, with several thousand members, some living communally in the ashrams.[9][10]
In 1971, Sarkar was imprisoned in India for the alleged murder of Ananda Marga members. On 1 April, after recovering his health, Sarkar began fasting in support of a demand for an inquest into his poisoning. That demand was never met. So he continued his fast for the next five years, four months, and two days, until 2 August 1978 when he was released from jail after having been acquitted of all charges.[4]
In 1979, Sarkar took two world tours to meet disciples in various countries around the world, including Switzerland, Germany, France, Scandinavia, the Middle East, Philippines, Thailand, Taiwan, Jamaica and Venezuela. He was barred from entering the US by theState Department, so instead he met his American disciples inJamaica in 1979.[11] Just before he died on 21 October 1990 from a heart attack, he founded Ananda Marga Gurukula on 7 September 1990, an educational network to preserve and develop his legacy through research, teaching and service.
"Critical of profit-motivated capitalism, hedonistic materialism, and religious dogma, Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar developed a Spiritual or Neo-Humanism bringing in spiritual, economic, social scientific, ecological, and moral themes to create a long term view of human progress; progress is the evolution of consciousness and movement directed toward the well-being of everyone. Basing his philosophy on love and respect for all things and the central human ideals of freedom, equality, and justice, Sarkar proposed that the physical, mental, and spiritual realms of humanity all need to be addressed in a vision of the future. A new social order – a "moral society" – is needed for the future, emphasizing cooperation over competition, collective welfare over profit, and transcendent ideals over self-interest. And finally, as a common theme that runs through many works, the idea of the New (or Second) Enlightenment, reflecting an ethical, psychological, and social transformation in humanity, has been proposed as a hopeful and preferable futurist vision for the world."
Sarkar's teachings onspiritual philosophy are a synthesis ofVedic andTantric philosophies. He considered himself to be "an incorrigible optimist" in his thinking.[citation needed]
Sarkar described theuniverse as a result of macropsychicconation – the entire universe exists within the cosmic mind, which itself is the first expression of consciousness coming under the bondage of its own nature. He described the cosmological flow as being from limitlessconsciousness to limited consciousness and back to limitless consciousness, attained by meditation.[4]
According to Sarkar's philosophy the individual mind is composed of five layers calledKosas:
Sarkar's "biopsychology" reimagined the traditionaltantric belief inchakras ("wheels") as being due to interactions ofsubtle energies throughnerve plexuses. He believed this connected theendocrine glands of theneuroendocrine system with apsychic part of the body. The philosophy ofAnanda Marga considers the human body as composed of the samefivefundamental factors as the rest of theuniverse as explained inBrahmachakra. Every factor is said to be distributed throughout the body, but governed by achakra, substations of the mind which control their own assigned areas. The biopsychology ofAnanda Marga expands the concept of the seven basicchakras and in general, mainly considers:[13]
"Microvita" is plural for "Microvitum" and literally means "possessing or with micro-life". He believed that microvita are smaller and subtler than physicalatoms andsubatomic particles, and in thepsychic realm contribute to "pure consciousness".[14] Sarkar claimed that they would be recognised by conventional science. Sarkar gave the intuitional theory of Microvita in 1986.[15]
A central point in Sarkar's philosophy is the concept ofSadhana. He describedSadhana as a practice for "the transformation of fearful love into fearless love". For Sarkar,Sandhana was concretized by the practice of meditation. He recommended to his disciples the daily practice of individual meditation and the weekly practice of collective meditation. These weekly meetings of his disciples, calledDharma Chakras, are preceded by the collective singing of a fewPrabhat Samgiita (or "Songs of the New Dawn", composed by P. R. Sarkar himself) followed byBaba Nam Kevalamkiirtan, then themantra calledSamgacchadvam. The mantraNityam Shuddham marks the end of the collective meditation, then the spiritual gathering will end with theGuru Pujamantra.[4]
The concept ofVarna describes four main socio-psychological types, whereby humanpsychological and physical endowment and socialmotivations are expressed: theVipra (intellectual),Kshatriya (warrior),Vaishya (acquisitor) andShudra (labourer).Varna, in Sarkar's perspective, however is more than just a psychological trait but rather anarchetype, approximately toMichel Foucault's notion ofepistemes, which are broader frameworks ofknowledge defining what is true andreal.[16] Sarkar clarified thatVarna is not the same as Hindu idea of "caste". He was an ardent advocate of building a casteless society, in which everyone gets equal opportunities to fulfil their highest human potential based on their physical, psychological and spiritual strengths. To materialize this, Sarkar propounded Prout.
Sarkar's "Law of Social Cycle" applies these traits in atheory of historicalevolution, whereages rise and fall in terms of ruling elites representing one of the above-mentioned traits. This "law" possibly connects to the earlier cyclical historicalideas ofSri Aurobindo, with a focus on the psychology ofhuman development, as well asIbn Khaldun, among othermacrohistorians ideas about cycles. However, along with a cyclical dimension—the rise and fall of ages—Sarkar's theory exhibits a correspondent lineardimension, in that economic andtechnological "progress" are considered critical in terms of meeting the changing material conditions of life. Ultimately, for Sarkar, true progress has to prioritise development in the spiritual dimension.[citation needed]
Spirituality for Sarkar is defined as the individual realising the "true self". In addition toyogic meditational practices and purity of thought and deed, Sarkar attached great importance to selflesssocial service as a means ofliberation. Sarkar considered it necessary for the social arrangements to support the inner development of human beings and rejected both capitalism and communism as appropriate social structures for humanity to move forward to the golden age of a balanced way of life sustaining all-round progress. A serious problem with capitalism was according to Sarkar the concentration of wealth in a few hands and stoppages in the rolling of money which he considered root causes ofrecessions, evendepressions. A spiritual way of life, however, would in no way be divorced from creating structures that help meet the basic, though ever changing, needs—food, housing, clothing, health and education.[citation needed]
Sarkar developed bothÁnanda Márga and theProgressive Utilization Theory as practical means to encourage harmony andco-operation to help society escape this proposed cycle. Sarkar argues that once the social cycle is understood andsadvipras evolved, then the periods of exploitation can be largely reduced, if not eliminated. With leadership that is representative of all aspects of thevarnas—that is, the leader engaged in service, who is courageous, who uses the intellect for the benefits of others, and who has innovative/entrepreneurial skills—the cycle can become an upward spiral.[17]Sarkar'sconcept ofkarma samnyasa refers to the principle that ayogi becomes a person with all-round development and a balanced mind, that he called asadvipra; and that this is accomplished by someone who remains fixed on the "supreme"consciousness through transformative personal practices and engaging in the politics of socialliberation as a form ofservice work.[18]
By 1959, Sarkar had developed thesocio-economic Progressive Utilization Theory (Prout).[19] In 1961, the theory was formally outlined in his bookAnanda Sutram, published under his spiritual nameShrii Shrii Ánandamúrti.[20] In 1968, Sarkar founded the organisation "Proutist Block of India" (PBI), to further the ideals of his theory through political and social action.[21] The PBI was soon superseded by "Proutist Universal" (PU), which primarily consists of five federations (students, intellectuals, farmers, labour, and youth).[when?]
A Prout economy iscooperative anddecentralised. Its focus iscollective welfare rather than toprofit, without neglectingindividuals and theirmerits. "Progressive utilization" refers to theoptimising the use ofnatural, industrial andhumanresources on asustainable basis for the entireecosystem. The theory claims to overcome the limitations of both capitalism and communism. It is inline with Sarkar's social theory of the Law of Social Cycle. The theory aims to encompass the whole of individual and collectiveexistence for all beings, including physical, educational, social, political, mental, cultural andspiritual.[22][23]
In 1982, Sarkar extended his writings on the subject ofhuman society with theintroduction of his new theory ofNeohumanism.[24] Ifhumanism tends to contemplate only humans in a human-centric view, Neohumanism, according to Sarkar's theory, is instead the elevation of humanism touniversalism. Sarkar said "When the underlying spirit of humanism is extended to everything, animate and inanimate, in this universe – I have designated this as "Neohumanism". This Neohumanism will elevate humanism to universalism, the cult of love for all created beings of this universe."[24] Neohumanism is said to prefer existential value over utility value for all living beings.
Sarkar's Neohumanism places great emphasis onrationality and encourages what he calls a "protospiritual mentality," a process of continually recognising each object with which we come in contact, externally or internally, as a manifestation of the Supreme Consciousness (Brahma). According to Sarkar, rationality helps to give rise to devotion, which he consider to be the "highest and most valuable treasure of humanity".[24] In Sarkar's view, Neohumanism leads to the liberation of humanintellect from the constraints of imposed dogma and the principle of selfish pleasure andpsychic complexes helping to bridge the gap between the inner and outer worlds.[23][25]
In his series of discoursesTalks on Prout, given inRanchi in July 1961,[26] Sarkar makes a distinction between the terms "culture" and "customs". According to Sarkar "culture... is the collective name for different expressions of life..." but "...all of society has the same culture. There are local variations in the mode or state of cultural expression, but the expression is universal... These local variations are called customs... Thus local modes of expression bearing local or group specialities are customs, but the expression itself is culture. Therefore it is a mistake to readjust boundaries on the basis of language and culture. Indian culture and the culture of the world are one and the same."[27]
The philosophy of Sarkar reinterprets the general concept of culture by inserting it into a new universalistic outlook. As described by Antonello Maggipinto:
If the term "culture" is usually referred to the original meaning of this word (i.e. from the Greek "paidéia" to the Latin "humanitas", that is to human beings capable of distinguishably mastering the arts, rhetoric, and philosophy), then Sarkar offers a new point of view, with a large universalistic explanation: "the culture of the whole human race is one, but marked by different local manifestations [...] it is the same, but varying in expression." (Sarkar, P.R., 1987)[28]
Although Sarkar spent only seventeen years of his life working full-time for his organisations (1966–1971 and 1978–1990), he left behind a vast legacy, including over 250 books written on a wide variety of topics. Many of this books are compilations or collections of speeches given by him during spiritual or social meetings. He is primarily known as thespiritual teacher behindAnanda Marga, but Sarkar wrote over 1500 pages on his socio-politico-economicProgressive Utilization Theory (PROUT), with several thousand more pages dedicated tolinguistics and the study oflanguages; Sarkar's writings on linguistics included, among other works,Shabda Cayanika ("A Collection of Words"), an unfinished, twenty-six volume dictated encyclopaedia on theBengali language.[29][self-published source?] Beyond this, he wrote books on sociology, agriculture, history, literature, education, medicine,cosmology, and philosophy, also notably founding the philosophy of Neohumanism in 1982[23][4] and the Theory of Microvita in 1986.[15] In his Theory of Microvita, Sarkar "believed that the atoms and the subatomic particles throughout the boundless universe are imbued with life."[30]
In 1982 Sarkar started composing songs. In eight years, until the date of his death, He completed the composition of 5018 songs in multiple languages.[31] His collection of songs is calledPrabhat Samgiita ("Songs of the New Dawn").[32]
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