Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti

A Life

Including the years in prison, the poisoning, and the fast — the part of the account that is usually skipped, and the part that most tested what the philosophy claimed.

1. 21 May 1921

   Born on Buddha Púrńimá

   Jamalpur, Bihar

   Born Prabhát Raiṋjan Sarkar, on the full-moon day observed as Buddha Púrńimá. The family home was in Jamalpur, then a railway town in Bihar.

2. 1939

   Vidyasagar College, Kolkata

   Kolkata

   Went to Kolkata to study at Vidyasagar College. His studies were cut short when he returned home following his father's death.

3. 1940s

   Railway accountant at Jamalpur

   Jamalpur

   Worked as an accountant in the Indian Railways workshop at Jamalpur. He taught meditation privately during these years; the first initiations took place on the bank of the Kiul river.

4. January 1955

   Ánanda Márga founded

   Jamalpur

   Founded Ánanda Márga Pracáraka Saḿgha on 5 January and formally inaugurated on 9 January — the association for the propagation of the path of bliss — with the motto Átmamokśárthaḿ Jagaddhitáya Ca: for one's own liberation, and for the welfare of the world.

5. 1959

   PROUT propounded

   Set out the Progressive Utilisation Theory — an economic and social framework built on the maximum utilisation and rational distribution of all resources, physical, mental and spiritual.

6. 1963

   ERAWS established

   The Education, Relief and Welfare Section began, giving the movement a permanent structure for schools, clinics, homes and relief work.

7. 1965

   AMURT founded

   Ánanda Márga Universal Relief Team formed to respond to disasters. It has since worked in scores of countries, usually arriving early and staying late.

8. 1971

   Imprisonment

   Patna

   Arrested on charges he denied and consistently maintained were fabricated. He would remain in prison for seven years.

9. 12 February 1973

   Poisoned in custody

   Patna Central Jail

   Survived poisoning while imprisoned. He demanded a judicial enquiry; when none was granted, he began a fast in protest.

10. 1973 – 1978

    Five years, four months and two days of fasting

    Maintained a protest fast — sustained on two cups of liquid a day — for five years, four months and two days. It is among the longest recorded fasts, and it did not break until his release.

11. 2 August 1978

    Acquitted and released

    Acquitted of all charges and released. He resumed work immediately, and never made his imprisonment the subject of his teaching.

12. 1979

    World tours begin

    Travelled through Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas, meeting margiis and establishing the sectorial structure the organisation still uses.

13. 1982

    Neohumanism

    Extended the humanist principle past the human: love and respect owed not only to people but to animals, plants, and the inanimate world. Published as The Liberation of Intellect: Neohumanism.

14. 14 September 1982

    Prabhát Saḿgiita begins

    Deoghar

    Composed Bandhu he niye calo, the first of what would become 5,018 songs written over the following eight years — poetry, melody and philosophy in the same breath.

15. 1986

    Microvita

    Introduced the theory of microvita — entities finer than atoms and carrying the properties of both matter and mind, proposed as the bridge between the physical and the conscious.

16. 7 September 1990

    Ánanda Márga Gurukula founded

    Ánanda Nagar

    Established the Gurukula — the university-in-the-making at Ánanda Nagar, intended to carry Neohumanist education into every discipline.

17. 20 October 1990

    The last song

    Composed the final Prabhát Saḿgiita, completing the collection of 5,018.

18. 21 October 1990

    Mahápráyáńa

    Kolkata

    Left the physical body. The word means the great departure. The work he set in motion continues in 180-plus countries.