Sarkar, Prabhatranjan
Sarkar, Prabhatranjan (1921-1990) philosopher and social revolutionary, Sarkar was the founder of ananda marga, a spiritual and social organization. He was born on 21 May 1921 in Jamalpur Bihar, the workplace of his father. His ancestral home was in Bamunpara village of Bardhaman district. At the early age of 18 Sarkar started practising meditation and soon turned out a devout spiritualist.
Sarkar passed Matriculation in 1936 from Jamalpur Railway School and in 1939 he left for Kolkata studied at Vidyasagar College and passed I.Sc in 1941 from there. Family distress compelled him to leave education and took a job with the Indian Railway establishment in Jamalpur as an accountant and worked there until the 1950s.While working there, he acquired the spiritual quality of Sattva and founded the Ananda Marga. His system of spiritual practice has been described as a practical synthesis of Vedic and Trantric philosophies. Anandamarga, a symbol of neo-humanism which had been disseminated almost 180 countries in the world in his life time.
Sarker set up 'Prout Association' in 1959 based on The 'Progressive Utilization Theory' (PROUT). Progressive utilization stands for the optimization and maximum utilization of natural, industrial and human resources on a sustainable basis for the entire ecosystem. This theory, that claims to overcome the limitations of both capitalism and communism with his Law of Social Cycle founded on Sarkar's 'Social Cycle Theory', is not concerned solely with economics. In 1968, Sarkar founded the organization 'Proutist Block of India' (PBI), to further the ideals of his theory through political and social action. The PBI was soon superseded by 'Proutist Universal' (PU). According to its proponents PROUT encompasses the whole of individual and collective existence - physical, educational, social, political, mental, cultural and spiritual - not just for human beings but for all beings. In 1966, he resigned from the service and concentrated himself entirely on the spiritual development.'
Prabhatranjan wrote extensively on his thought which include Ananda Marga Elementary Philosophy (in Bangla, 1955), Problems of the Day (1955), Ananda Marga CaryE1carya (1956), A Guide to Human Conduct (1957), Yogic Treatment and Natural Remedies (1958), Idea and Ideology, Varna Vijinana '(Science of Letters), Sarkar's English Grammar, Varna Vichitra (Various Uses of Letters, 8 volumes), Shabda Chayanika (A Collection of Words, 26 volumes). Besides, he composed 5018 Prabhatsabgit (Songs of the New Dawn) in Sanskrit which he himself tuned in many languages. He died on 21 October 1990 in Kolkata. [Vijayananda Avadhuta]
