BDRunner September 02:
PABNA: A religious movement for public welfare. Its central ashram is established in the village of Himaitpur in Pabna district. The founder is Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra (1888-1969). Himaitpur is his birthplace and the land of work for 58 years of his life. Only by developing true humanity in people can their true welfare be achieved. From this feeling, the Satsang movement began in the life of Ashaishav Matri devotee and human lover Anukulchandra.
An organisation called ‘Satsang’ has existed since ancient times in a place known as ‘Dayal Bagh’ in the city of Agra, North India. In the medieval period, the non-sectarian and humanistic mystical religious practice that was introduced in northern India by saints like Nanak (1469-1581), Ramananda (1400-1470), Dadu (1544-1603), and others, devoid of external formalities, was re-invented in the Agra Dayalbagh ‘Satsang’, which was established in the 18th-19th centuries. Hujur Maharaj, a disciple of its founder Swamiji Maharaj, was the guru of the great sage ‘Manmohini’ Devi, the mother of Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra. Anukulchandra received mantra initiation from his mother in his youth. Therefore, it can be said that although the ‘Satsang movement’ introduced by Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra is unique in its characteristics, the Agra Satsang has its historical links. Anukulchandra has defined ‘Satsang’ as: ‘Those who are united with the truth, they are the Satsang, and their meeting place is Satsang’. Satsang is therefore the meeting place of all people, regardless of race, caste, or community.
Take refuge in the Satguru, meditate on the Satsang, and continue to walk in the shelter of Satsang – I assure you, you will not have to think about your own development. – This Anukul-Bani is the eternal inspiration for the Satsang followers.
In 1925, ‘Satsang’ was registered as an organisation according to the Sangh Registration Rules. Manomohini Devi became the first president of the ‘Satsang Parishad’.
‘He who saves others lives himself, you know that as religion’. -In the light of this favorable message, the ideal educational center Tapoban, the Manomohini College of Science and Technology, the ‘University Science Centre’ for multifaceted scientific research, the ‘Satsang Chemical Works’, the ‘Mechanical Engineering Workshop’, the ‘Satsang Press and Publishing House’, the ‘Satsang Charitable Hospital’, the ‘Art Centre’, the ‘Matrividyalaya’, the ‘Cottage Industry Centre’, the ‘Satsang Agricultural Farm’, the ‘Anandabazar’, the public restaurant, etc., were established in the Satsang Ashram in Himaitpur.
Comrade Chittaranjan Das, Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Sher-e-Bangla AK Fazlul Haque, and other eminent leaders of the country and abroad visited the ‘Satsang’. He enthusiastically praised its non-sectarian, religion-centered human service activities.
On September 1, 1946, the founder of Satsang, Sri Sri Thakur Anukul Chandra, went to Deoghar in the state of Bihar, India, due to health reasons. Due to the changing political situation in the subcontinent, he was unable to return to his motherland. As a result, the ‘Satsang’ ashram in Himaitpur almost disappeared.
A huge Satsang organisation has also been established in the heart of Deoghar, and its activities have spread throughout India and abroad. In 1952, the East Pakistan government seized the ashram land in Himaitpur and established a mental hospital. After independence, the Satsang Ashram was re-established in Himaitpur on the land adjacent to the main ashram of Himaitpur. The activities of the Sangh are being carried out as before. In Bangladesh, Satsang branch ashrams have been established in remote areas, including districts like Dhaka, Narayanganj, Chittagong, Khulna, Mymensingh, Tangail, and Netrokona. Its activities have spread to various states of India and the West. The number of Satsangs in Bangladesh is several lakhs, and worldwide it is several crores. Himaitpur is a supreme pilgrimage for them. Preservation of historical places and buildings with special memories, including the birthplace of Sri Sri Thakur, is a demand of everyone’s life.
2025 AD: Entering the 100th year of registration of Satsang:
The auspicious beginning of the life-growth organization ‘Satsang’ was the auspicious appearance of the embodiment of life and growth, the supreme and most loving of all ages, Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra, and since it is the embodiment of his divine life and pastimes in the land of his appearance, the supreme tirtha Himaitpur Dham, and as the ideal form of his ‘self-initiation of personality’, ‘Satsang’, created and spontaneously originated by him, was registered on 12/10/1925 AD according to the Sangha Registration Rule-21 of 1860 (Registration Number 128/1925-26) and was the first to receive state legal recognition as an organizational ‘people welfare organization’.
After the passing away of the most beloved Sri Sri Thakur (January 27, 1969), the devotees felt a constant desire to keep his holy name significantly associated with the name of the ‘Satsang’ organization. Therefore, in the general meeting of the Sangha held at the Paramatirtha Himaitpur Dham on the 1st Ashwin of the past 1379 Bangabhab, it was decided to change the name of the Sangha from “Himaitpur Pabna Satsang” to “Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra Satsang, Himaitpur-Pabna”. Since then, the name of the Sangha has been established, known, and resplendent as “Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra Satsang, Himaitpur-Pabna”.
The organization, which was established in 1925 AD under the name of Satsang, in the land of Paramatirtha Himaitpurdham, the land of his emergence, with the supreme love of the era, Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra, as the center of his appearance, will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2025 AD on the first day of the inauguration of Sri Sri Thakur Anukulchandra Satsang, Himaitpur, Pabna Central Ashram with special prayers, lighting of lights, and lighting of 100 auspicious lamps in the Srimandir and Various programs will be celebrated in the center and branch organizations till 12/10/2025 AD, including illumination of 100 Mangal Pradeeps in the Srimandir.
May the Almighty God be glorified, may the Supreme Pilgrimage Himaitapar Dham be glorified.
