Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar

Who was Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar?

Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, also known by his spiritual name, Shrii Shrii Anandamurti and known as Baba to his disciples, was an Indian philosopher, author, social revolutionary, poet, composer, and linguist. Sarkar was the founder of Ananda Marga in 1955, a spiritual and social organization that offers instruction in meditation and yoga. Giani Zail Singh, seventh President of India, has said about Sarkar: "Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar was one of the greatest modern philosophers of India."

Sarkar's system of spiritual practice has been described as a practical synthesis of Vedic and Tantric philosophies. He denounced materialism and capitalism, and described the universe as a result of macropsychic conation – the entire universe exists within the cosmic mind, which itself is the first expression of consciousness coming under the bondage of its own nature.

Sarkar was a prolific author and produced an extensive body of works that includes theories aimed at increasing human welfare such as the Law of Social Cycle, the Progressive Utilization Theory, the Theory of Microvitum, as well as the philosophy of Neohumanism.