Sri Sri Thakur knew the future

Dipangshu Maitra

dmaitra@srisrithakuranukulchandra.com

Don’t make me your Lord and Master if you devotees be with hope for name, fame and rich.” This is one of the first and foremost warning to the people who would follow his ideology or principle in the so called modern society. He was born in a hamlet of country side place in eastern India way back 125 years. He is Anukul Chandra Chakravarty. Both his parent was very sincere and hard working and above all very honest.

As boy Anukul grew so did his influence and activities. Day by day he became dearest among his friends and neighborhood. One day the teacher in the class wanted him to add ‘one’ to ‘one’. The boy was not able to get that the solution is ‘two’. He was of his opinion that in this world how can ‘one’ be added to another ‘one’. Everything is unique just like the fingerprints of every individual. As a consequence the boy was beaten in the hands of teacher.

One day as boy Anukul was getting late for his examination, his mother uttered ‘you’re going to fail in the examination’. Knowing all the answers correct, boy Anukul came out of examination leaving his paper blank. When asked why he did do that he said if I answer all, I would have passed the exam and in that case my mother would lie. Such was his love and feelings for his mother.

Slowly with his effulgence of extraordinary inner power and superb wisdom, boy Anukul became friend, philosopher and guide to many people. He became master of all solutions. Everybody would come to him and ask for the solution to very complex situations. He would give the solution which is not only the most appropriate for the present but also for the future. In his company many local thieves, criminals, and bad elements of the society were turned in to good people. With his magnetic love and supernatural influence, he would melt them in to fine human being, without even their knowledge.

As day passed so did his activities, all towards welfare of people. People from one village to another from one city to another would throng for his glimpse. Slowly when his followings became large and there were lot of activities, it took the shape of a movement, which came to be known as ‘Satsang’. The word ‘satsang’ means association of people who are worshippers of existence.

He wrote a small pocket size book, by name ‘Satyanusaran’. It was in the event of one of his dear devotees who had to leave his accompaniment due to his work, he penned down in one night the realms of life –the Satyanusaran-in the pursuit of truth. In his youth, it was very common for him to relapse into trance and said innumerable utterances which became (Punya-Punthi) the Holy Book. Some of close associates realized that Anukul Chandra is not like any other human being; he is the incarnation of God in human form. Then people started addressing him ‘Thakur’, the ‘Purushottam’, fulfiller the best. He formulated an ideological package, which if followed could lead to transformation of a person and evolution of mankind. He came to be regarded as universal teacher ‘yuga purush’, the Man of the Age. Many political leaders, social workers, doctors, architects, engineers, litterateurs, agriculturists, peasants, man, woman, and children came to him and got peace and the solution for of their respective life and problems. The most interesting aspect is that everybody went with some fulfillment and hope in themselves which they might be in search for a long time.

Thakur Anukul showed people how to pay respect to the great seers of the past like Lord Ram, Lord Krishna, Lord Buddha, Jesus Christ, Prophet Mohammad, Sri Chaitanya, Sri Ramakrishna. He never allowed any disrespect to any past prophets and vehemently resisted sectarian and religious conflict. For which, many people from different sects follows him without any renunciation or away from his actual sect to which any individual belongs to. This is the uniqueness of his teachings that there is no conversion.

It is generally accepted fact today that the environment is the main supporting factor of life. Sri Sri Thakur’s theory of “Being and Becoming” says every life on the earth has a natural urge to preserve and promote itself. That can best be done by a concentric disciplined life in concordance with environment. So, the basic is that one has to nurture the environment and fulfill the Ideal so as to survive. Sri Sri Thakur was of the opinion that every living being has the right to live. He waged a war against disease, death and destruction. He felt very sorry not only when he sees any individual in distress but also when any animal is in pain. Such was his feeling which was revealed when a horse was whipped on his back when it was slow in pulling the carriage, for every whip to horse Sri Sri Thakur cried and when the passenger of the carriage reached the destination he saw same number of marks on Sri Sri Thakur’s back as the number of whips on the horse. When asked he said, ‘I was with the horse and I couldn’t see the horse in agony; so every whip of the carriage puller fell on my back’. This was Sri Sri Thakur’s love and feelings of intimacy for an animal. The whole creation was an extension of himself, that is how he felt every sensation happening anywhere in his own self.

Sri Sri Thakur also showed that if an individual follows the path which he laid down, then any calamities or any unfortunate happenings cannot occur or may bypass it without any hindrance. For that he prescribed some practices which have to be followed without any condition. If one loves Sri Sri Thakur, then those practices become lively and normal. His life was a demonstration of an upward progressive life, lived amidst the society and with all trappings of material living. Thus the Yajan (the self exaltation), Yaajan (the exaltation of others) and Istabhrity (the maintenance of one’s Ideal) came into existence for the disciples to follow. Sri Sri Thakur Says if these three tenets, as a whole, are observed with devotion, then nothing can hamper any individual rather all the difficulties would turn into the favorable factors for progress. These three tenets if observed piously have the power that can transform a man to superman. He never favored renunciation; rather he would go for a complete life with proper marriage for the welfare of the future generation and nation. He introduced proper marriage system which would be an eye opener for the people who do not believe in marriage as means of biological evolution. He stressed much on eugenics as he says that if present is not proper then how can the future be in good shape. He was married and begot three sons. Out of three youngest one is still present amongst us. At last the 27th January 1969 came and Sri Sri Thakur was left for his heavenly abode. But his teachings and principles are still alive and will live for generations after generations. There are millions of disciples who still feel Thakur as live as ever.

Being a prophet on the earth, Sri Sri Thakur had to face lot of hurdles as he went ahead with his mission of man making, taking man away from the clutches of complexes. He underwent stiff challenges from his surroundings, including his immediate environment that is his family. It was during Sri Sri Thakur’s last stage when he was kept home exiled which made him desolate and gradually his health deteriorated. Something highly strange and suspicious developments engulfed his vicinity and combined with Sri Sri Thakur’s old age and failing health, forced him to leave this earth behind. Sri Sri Thakur perhaps knew that his teachings and Satsang would be held hostage by his immediate successors and would fall prey to the conspiracy of a coterie of followers, who would utilize his legacy for their self interest. Something similar to that happened when his eldest son, popularly known as Borda (Amarendra Nath Chakravarty)one of my grandfather, after the demise of Sri Sri Thakur, announced to be his spiritual successor (absurd). The other two sons of Sri Sri Thakur are: Vivek Ranjan Chakravarty,who is my grandfather(Chorda) and Pracheta Ranjan Chakravarty also one of my grandfather (Kajalda). Borda, however attempted to usurp all the material empire of Satsang for his own sake and for that he ostracized two of his younger brothers and some true fellow disciples. He slowly and systematically, with the help of some shrewd selfish followers captured Satsang administration and started demolishing the purity of the ideological framework that was identified with Sri Sri Thakur. Borda didn’t like the Thakur’s teaching and principle be adored by the people as he has some hidden agenda of becoming the new cult as “Acharyadev”, which was forcibly applied to the then followers who had no place to stay other than Satsang Ashram. As they were from poor family and wanted to have a secure place under the auspices of Sri Sri Thakur; but when they realized that after Thakur’s absence it will be difficult for them to survive with their family they started to glorify Borda as the new Acharyadev who has got the spiritual power from Thakur. It may be logical to bring in here that Sri Sri Thakur, as God in human form, had other members in the family. But none of them could claim to share his Godhood, except that each of them has purity and holiness flowing in his or her blood which he or she would inherit by principles of heredity. Sri Sri Thakur is Almighty God born in the form of man with flesh and blood. His descendants will be respected. They can represent Sri Sri Thakur; but none can replace Sri Sri Thakur. Sri Sri Thakur is the Ideal, to be followed, to be kept at the centre of the devotee’s life.

Borda even tried to manipulate and tampered Sri Sri Thakur’s literature to suit his position and his objectives. He altered some texts in books which would be in favour of him particularly where to send the Istabhrity (the offers to the Ideal) as the main Philanthropy office where most of the disciples send their offerings. He even started the new way of Prayer and new Mantra (the daily utterances) of Istabhrity. As far as the prayer is concerned, in the mid sixties Sri Sri Thakur suffered from arthritis which is a disease of joint pain, he could not sit crossed legged for sometime. So in order to give relief, Borda curtailed some of the stanzas of prayer. Now as Borda was doing some changes in the philosophy of Sri Sri Thakur he made the shorter version of prayer as the new mode of prayer and it was introduced as a regular practice for everyone to follow. Those who did not swear by the loyalty to Borda, it was difficult for them to survive in Satsang organization, no matter how long he or she has been attached with Sri Sri Thakur. Ruthlessly, Satsang alienated all true devotes of Sri Sri Thakur and those very devotees built the Satsang movement by dedicating their lives. In the year 1971 Pujaniya Baroma, the first wife of Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra, left for heavenly abode.

That is how a tradition of successor ‘acharya’ has been built in the Satsang environment, which has built a feudalistic culture in the Satsang. Devotion on Sri Sri Thakur has been replaced by the loyalty to the family. Series of photographs are being placed by the side of Sri Sri Thakur, which has only helped to distract attention from Sri Sri Thakur. One has to send ‘acharyabhrity’ alongside ‘istabhrity’ which is ridiculous. The ritwiks (who is the bonding person between the Thakur and a simple man) have been allured and trained to follow his rules. By bringing these distortions in Sri Sri Thakur’s ideology and by forcing true devotees to desert Satsang, Satsang organization became weak. It has got fragmented into splinter groups. Devotees in general got disoriented in seeing feud in Sri Sri Thakur’s family. So many power centers got created in Satsang, all trying to exploit people’s devotion on Thakur and devotees’ offering for Thakur, that is ‘ishtabhrity’.

Main Satsang, under the control Borda went on expanding their branches, by building real estates and constructing temples. By the end of the 1989’s there were as many as thirty satsang centers which is termed as Satsang Vihar all over India. The time of Borda came to an end in early ninety’s and the time for his eldest son Ashok Chakravarty came. The same thing happened to Ashok Chakravarty but not as tough as his father. Now ‘Sri Sri Dada’ is his new nomenclature, is not doing anything different, continuing to manage the organization.

Deplorable fact is that these developments brought disunity and distraction amongst the large followers of Sri Sri Thakur. The spirit of man making and elevation of consciousness by the process of spiritual pursuit came to remain confined to some select conscientious devotees, who became kind of cross bearer, but minority group. The ferocious flow of Satsang river, which promised to serve the mankind, got reduced to multiple slender streams, struggling to keep their existence live in otherwise highly dynamic world, ravaged by complexes and affluence. The developmental work of Satsang in terms of mega projects and implementation of Sri Sri Thakur’s ideology in the society has faced roadblocks due to numerous reasons, primary among them is the in-fighting amongst the fraternity of devotees.

No one has right to play with the sentiment of people and exploit their belief on Sri Sri Thakur. I one of the great grandsons of Sri Sri Thakur vehemently oppose the present scenario and urge the people to play an active part to revolt against the present authorities of Satsang. Satsang has evolved out of Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra for the benefit of the people .The preamble says that Satsang looks after the economic situation of the poor people, social status of the people and the integrity of the people. But none of the above is been fulfilled by the present management of Satsang.

Some of us have reason to believe that Sri Sri Thakur, the seer had a preview of all these happening today. He took steps to guard against the deviation of his ideology that was known to happen after his physical disappearance. He made adequate provisions so that truth prevails, his ideology remains available undistorted to people and people get the peace, progress and prosperity. Today also nothing is escaping his vigilant notice. He lives through his literature, his ideology and through the conducts of his devotees. This article is an earnest appeal to people to follow the ideology of Sri Sri Thakur in its spirit, in their own interest and follow His dicta and literature which is approved by himself.The devotees must restrict to the literature published before his sad demise i.e in 27th January 1969. Sri Sri Thakur is unique, irreplaceable and devotion on him cannot be shared. We are aware that we are passing through hard time and only Sri Sri Thakur provides the path, the solution and the solace.

Bande Purushottamam