The CBI inquiry into Anand Marg affairs, resulting in many shocking revelations, and the consequential desertion by a number of Marg followers including some top ranking officials, has virtually liquidated this so-called 'socio-spiritual and religious' organisation. which was founded by Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, a former employee of the Jamalpur Railway workshop on January 9, 1955.
At that time, nobody could imagine that in less than 15 years the organisation, founded in a small quarter of Jamalpur railway colony (Bihar), would grow to such dimensions and invite such controversy.
P. R. Sarkar, alias Anand Murti, who is described as 'the great Preceptor, the Harbinger of A New Civilization and the Loving Guru' by his faithful followers, was born on April 13, 1921, in a Bihar-based Bengali family of Jamalpur.
Marg followers believe that Anand Murti, who is generally referred to as 'Baba' in Marg circles, is the third incarnation of God, the earlier two being Shiva and Krishna.
Literally speaking, Anand Marg means the path to eternal bliss. According to Anand Murti, his philosophy teaches man to abandon the pursuit of material, finite happiness, and leads him to the path of 'everlasting bliss'.
The main aim of the Marg is to establish a Sada Vipra Samaj -- a society of intellectual moralists. To an Anand Margi, the human body is like an empty pot and one should not hesitate to sacrifice life for the sake of one's faith, i.e., Anand Marg. Through simple Yogic meditation according to the rules and procedures laid down by the 'Baba', one could join the 'Cosmos' in no time.
So far so good. However, a deeper study into the Marg literature throws light upon the black side of this so-called philosophy. The 'simple yogic meditation' as prescribed by Anand Murti is nothing but Tantrik puja.
Although it is an established fact that the Tantrics and Aghoris have never received social recognition and prestige in India, P. R. Sarkar says: 'Although the superficial form of modern Indian culture seems to be Vedic, its basic content is even today Tantric. If Indian culture is like a golden ornament. The Tantrics are the gold (P. R. Sarkar, Abhimat, p. 133).
'Enlightened' dictatorship
Naturally, this pseudo-sanyasi has no regard for democracy, which according to him is 'the government of the fools, by the fools and for the fools'. And hence the illiterates or the ill educated persons should reasonably be kept deprived of their franchise'. (P. R. Sarkar, Problems of the Day, p. 52).
Anand Murti thinks that an enlightened people's welfare type dictatorship or a moralist or spiritual dictatorship' is the only way out. (P. R. Sarkar, Abhimat, p. 160).
In the same book he elaborates the point: 'the society belongs to all but its leadership will be in the hands of only Sadavipras -- persons who've gained self control by means of spiritual practises and are aspirants of cosmic consciousness'. (p. 55).
However, the Proutist Block of India, the political wing of Anand Marg, made no secret of its desires and without any pretext of high sounding jargon, it declared that the sole aim of the PBI was 'to establish the dictatorship of Baba'.
Anand Marg, the executor of this dangerous philosophy, made rapid progress within just a few years of its emergence. Its followers could be found in all walks of life including doctors, teachers, professors, students, government servants, army men, policemen and last but not the least, politicians.
Today, the Marg claims to have nearly five million activists and over 1000 avdhuts-whole-time paid paramilitary workers of the organisation. It has 2000 branches all over India and abroad where it claims to have nearly one lakh supporters.
The Marg has an ultramodern and well equipped organisational setup. For instance, it employs a public relations secretary, education secretary, relief secretary, publications secretary and so on.
It has its own political, student, labour and cultural wings, which remain under the firm grip of 'Baba'.
For organisational purposes, the Marg has divided the world into nine sectors: Berlin, Eastern Europe, Hongkong, London, Manila, Nairobi, New Delhi, New York and Sydney,
The main body of the Marg is called the Anand Marg Pracharak Sangh. P. R. Sarkar is himself the President of the AMPS, while one Acharya Sarveshwaranand Avdhut is the General Secretary.
Shashi Ranjan Sahu, a former MP, who resigned from the Congress to form the Proutist Block of India, the political wing of the Marg, is another secretary.
The AMPS has a number of affiliated bodies like the Proutist Federation of India, the propaganda wing, Renaissance Artists and Writers Association, the cultural wing, and the Education Relief and Welfare Section of Anand Marg.
With many sub branches like the Tribal Welfare Section and Women's Welfare Section, ERAWS founded in 1967 is the most active of all.
The first and foremost aim of the Proutist Block of India, the political wing of the Marg, is to 'check the growth of communism'.
Perhaps it was only with a view to counter the growth of the Naxalite poster-jungle that the PBI launched its massive poster-campaign about one year back.
The Naxalites paid them back in their own coin by hurling bombs on their National Convention held at Patna in December 1970.
The Proutists (PROUT has been derived from the Progressive Utilization Theory propagated by Anand Murti) have no representation either in the Parliament or in any of the State assemblies.
They entered the electoral field for the first time in the 1967 General Election and since then they have been contesting elections on the significantly fascist symbol of the Swastika.
The Universal Proutist Students Federation, the student wing of Marg, set up shop very recently in 1970.
The labour wing of the Anand Marg too boasts of being 'Universal'. The Universal Proutist Labour Federation is registered as a trade union by the Delhi Administration.
Acharya Krishnanand Avdhut is the Chief Secretary and R. P. Upadhyay, a visiting lecturer and an associate of the Asian Trade Union Congress, Bangkok, set up under the aegis of the US-sponsored International Confederation of Free Trade Union Congress, is the second man.
For some time the UPLF has been busy spreading its activities in the industrial belt of Chotanagpur.
Whole time paid workers
All the above mentioned organizations are controlled, and in frequent cases even headed, by the avdhuts, the whole time paid workers of the Anand Marg Pracharak Sangh.
These avdhuts are recruited after full scrutiny and constant observation, the probationary period being for rather a long period.
Even after it, the candidate is allowed to join only as a Sadhak -- the lowest post in the organisation.
There are five ranks of Anand Margi sadhus: Sadhak, Tantrik, Acharya, Avdhut and Purodha, the first being the lowest and the last being the highest post.
An Anand Margi sadhu wears a saffron uniform and keeps a big dagger tied around his waist.
Dharmachakras, some sort of weekly gatherings, are organised on every Sunday and it is a 'must' for every Sanyasi to attend them.
It is understood that these dharmachakras facilitate the assembling of whole timers for 'important discussions'.
On a much larger scale, the annual congregations called dharma mahachakra are organised, in which only selected persons are allowed to participate.
Who are the Marg followers? They may be doctors, professors, civil servants, politicians or the so-called elites of our society.
But they also reflect the semi feudal psychological setup of our society -- the average superstitious Indian who has the body of the 20th century but the mind of the 18th century.
Riding on a lion's back!
According to the Anand Marg followers, when Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, who was called Arun in his childhood days, was born, his grandmother was asked to bring some cow's milk for the newly born child. The milk was brought and, lo!, infant Arun took the glass in his tiny hands and started drinking!
There was a jungle near Jamalpur. One day a batch of hunters called at Laxmi Narayan Sarkar, Arun's father. They had seen his son in the jungle riding on a lion's back!
Arun did not know how to read or write Bengali, his mother-tongue. And once his sister teased him for it. What Arun did was simply to pick up a copy and in a matter of seconds was writing his name not only in Bengali, but in Arabic, Roman and Devanagari as well!
Many such stories are wide- spread in Marg circles.
About the younger son of Anand Murti. Gautam, it is said that he is an incarnation of the Buddha.
Similarly, about one avdhut it is said that he was Vivekananda in his previous birth. Others are identified as Bhismapitamah, Arjun, Dronacharya and so on.
To keep such queer propaganda alive, a number of magazines and three dailies are brought out by the Marg, all over India.
The organisation owns a chain of printing-presses which pour out tonnes of propaganda literature in English and the vernaculars.
And, Marg's style of working is very interesting. This 'socio spiritual and religious' organisation harps on the need for secrecy and shadow fighting.
Its followers live in a state of tension and hysteria, always anticipating confrontation with the enemy-who-is-nowhere.
So much secrecy clouds the working methods of the Marg that except for his own assigned work, an avdhut has no information about others or other matters.
The names of avdhuts are changed at the time of their entry into the organisation, for which the pretext is the well known rule of Hindu sanyas, that a sanyasi forsakes and for gets his path and takes a new birth under a new name.
A Sanyasi with a family
Ironically enough, the Anand Marg chief has violated all the rules of sanyas by marrying and producing a score of children.
This phenomenon is creating a lot of hindrance in the way of law and order. It is practically impossible for the executive or judiciary to proceed in any case when the Margis refuse to disclose their past identities.
Significantly enough, the Marg changes or always chooses its office premises and residential quarters outside the town-be it Purulia, Ranchi, Patna, Calcutta, Delhi or Varanasi. In these well guarded premises, entry is strictly prohibited.
No. 160, Patliputra Colony, Patna headquarters of Marg, is a living example of Marg secrecy.
As for 'Baba' Anand Murti, his public appearances are rare and even the high-ranking sanyasis called Purodhas cannot meet him easily. Wherever Anand Murti goes, he is always escorted by armed bodyguards.
Even his ordinary chelas are very cautious in their movements. No avdhut is seen staying in the town any longer than his work requires.
Conferences and meetings, contrary to the spirit of any religious organisation, have always been kept a closely guarded secret.
Overtly, the Anand Marg members are seen engaged in organising schools and relief works for those in distress. But these seemingly philanthropic works are not without some gain.
While the educational institutions help the Marg to get a number of devoted followers, the relief work it is said serves as a cover for the 'investment' of a large sum of money which the organisation is suspected to be receiving from unknown quarters.
The Education Relief and Welfare Section of the Anand Marg runs about 200 educational institutions which include some secondary schools and one college.
These schools serve a double purpose: mixing among the masses with the image of 'social workers' as well as recruiting immature children as raw-material.
Like the Nazis, the Anand Marg too prefers children rather than grown-ups as raw-material.
All the teachers of these schools, nay brain washing centres, are dedicated avdhuts who must first undergo rigorous and thorough training themselves because, as a Russian chela of Anand Murti, Dal Brozosky put it, 'destitute or orphan children unless they are given proper education and training are unable to develop properly'.
However, the meaning of 'proper education and training,' has been exposed by the great Preceptor himself.
'No 'ism' except universalism can be tolerated in the educational system. . . Sense of reverence, devotion as well as that of discipline will fascinate them and very easily they will acquire the abilities of becoming Sadavipras'. (P. R. Sarkar, Problems of the Day, p. 53).
And one knows very well what he means by Sadavipras?
Under a well-calculated strategy, the innocent kids are asked to worship the 'Baba' as God.
Thousands of orphans and poor boys living in the Marg ashrams -- most of whom come in contact with the Marg during its relief operations to 'help' the victims of natural catastrophes such as famine, flood, earthquake or cyclone -- are expected to address Anand Murti as their father. Are not creatures living on the earth, sons and daughters of 'Baba'?
Gradually these small children convert into staunch supporters of the Marg and quite a few of them join as ardhuts. What a cynical exploitation of human misery!
The Anand Marg has succeeded in recruiting a number of followers from the administrative, military and police forces, particularly the latter. This helps the Marg to pursue its activities with greater freedom.
For example, some IAS and police officers were seen at Ranchi during the annual congregation of the Marg in May, 1971, and one IAS officer even addressed a press conference held in this connection.
It is said that many army personnel have fled from the services and joined the Anand Marg and these deserters are now used by the organisation for giving military training to the avdhuts.
Communal leanings
Last but not the least, it has been alleged that the Anand Marg has communal leanings. A leaflet brought out by the Marg, following the well known clash between the Marg followers and the adivasis of Purulia, tried to give the incident a communal colour.
Instead of a statement that a clash took place between its followers and the local people, the leaflet called it a 'murder committed by the Muslim goondas'.
And, within one week of the distribution of the leaflets, beef was found in a Hindu temple of Jamalpur where the Marg had its genesis.
Such multidimensional activities as pursued by the Marg certainly need a substantial amount of money. But the organisation's channels of income also remain a mystery.
Although the organisation is a registered one, the Registrar is seldom provided with its balance-sheet.
Earlier, there was no obvious source for the Marg's funds. Recently, in order to satisfy the tax authorities, it has started some sort of 'donation schemes'.
Trouble seems to erupt wherever the Marg pitches its tent. It had to shift from Purulia to Ranchi some years back following a serious clash with the local adivasis in 1965 in which about half a dozen 'sadhus' were killed.
At that time too, many nasty allegations were made against the Marg and its members. Later, the West Bengal Government instituted an inquiry by a Divisional Commissioner, who in his report, scathingly castigated the Marg and its ways.
In Ranchi, too, the Anand Marg clashed with the local people in May 1971. The clash took place during the 5-day dharma mahachakra (annual congregation) celebrated by the organisation on the 50th birthday of Anand Murti. A number of cases and counters cases were registered with the local police in this connection.
Later, in June the arrest of an avdhut who was in the illegal possession of a firearm, led to the raid on Marg headquarters and the alleged recovery of three rifles, one revolver, large quantities of cartridges, bombs, bomb-manufacturing materials and spears besides five human skulls and some blood stained daggers.
In all, 34 persons including Anand Murti were taken into custody.
Following the Ranchi episode, the Anand Marg members and followers all over the country started an agitation for the withdrawal of all 'false' charges and cases against Anand Murti and Anand Margis.
Several press conferences were held to represent the Marg's side of the case. The public relations secretary of the AMPS alleged that 'the Government of India had a hand in the arrest of Guru Anand Murtijee'.
CBI inquiry
On the request of the Bihar government, the CBI started an inquiry into the Anand Marg affair. The Marg resented this and demanded a judicial inquiry.
The Marg's sudden love for the judiciary is significant in the context of the dozens of cases of murder, kidnapping, assault, causing obstruction to public servants on duty, etc., pending against it in the various courts of India.
A judicial inquiry into the Marg affairs means the scrapping of the official inquiry being conducted by the CBI which will ultimately result in the dropping of many cases.
Moreover, a judicial inquiry is a lengthy process and the time gap may help the Marg in washing away the evidence with the help of its enthusiastic followers in the top echelons of the bureaucratic hierarchy.
The CBI, in the course of its investigation, had made a number of shocking revelations.
The documents seized by the CBI during its simultaneously organised raids on Anand Marg establishments at Patna, Calcutta, Delhi and Varanasi in October last revealed that the organisation has been running a parallel government with departments like education, social welfare, finance, etc.
This 'government' has its own 'judiciary'. Both the 'executive' and 'judiciary' are headed by P. R. Sarkar who enjoys veto powers; the other 'ministers' of the 'cabinet' or the other judges of the 'court' can only give suggestions to the Chief, but cannot take any decision themselves.
This 'court', it is said, can give any sort of punishment. Fifty former Anand Margis are traceless after their alleged trial by such courts.
The para-military wing of the Marg is called the Volunteer Social Service. One Madhvanand Avdhut, 'Commander-in-Chief' of the V.S.S., now under police custody, has said in a closed-door confession before a first class magistrate that he himself executed eleven avdhuts.
Chief Judge of Anand Marg
Anand Murti, the 'chief judge', used to penalise avdhuts with a heavy hand for every little act of omission and commission.
The ex-avdhuts narrate in unbelievable terms how they used to take up to five hundred canings at a time and pass urine and stools in their clothes.
According to the CBI, the Anand Marg had conspired to assassinate Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, too.
It may be recalled that in September, 1969, about half a dozen 'sadhus' of the Marg were arrested in Varanasi for an alleged plot on the life of Gandhi.
The cases could not be proceeded with for lack of concrete information at that time. However, the recent episodes have shed some light on the assassination plot thereby compelling the CBI to reopen investigations.
The documents seized by the CBI also revealed that the Marg had been receiving regular donations from some people in the country as well as from outside.
The search of the residence of P. R. Sarkar also led to the recovery of Rs. 86,233 in currency notes, which had been seized by the income-tax authorities. A sum of Rs. 13,000 was also recovered from the house of Shashi Ranjan Sahu, the Secretary of Anand Marg.
The episode, particularly the revelations, shattered the Anand Marg, which finally cracked up with Anand Murti's wife, Mrs Uma Sarkar's desertion from the organisation in October last along with several top-ranking avdhuts and avdhutikas such as Avdhut Vishokanand, the former P.A. to Anand Murti.
Ironically, Mrs Sarkar, before she took up cudgels against Anand Murti, was the 'Marg Mata', the only other person to command as much respect and authority as Anand Murti himself, and Avdhut Vishokanand was the left-hand man of 'Baba'.
Anand Murti, who had earlier been released on bail from the Ranchi case, was arrested at Patna on December 29 last by the Bihar Police at the instance of the CBI, under Section 302 (murder) and 120B (conspiracy to commit murder).
The Anand Marg is anything but what it claims to be.
SEMINAR
March 1972
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