Ananda Marga
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Stories and Quotes

Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti smiling among disciples, a boy and a bearded man beside him, mountains behind
You are never alone or helpless. The force that guides the stars, guides you too.

His disciples called him Bábá. Here are the things they saw him do and heard him say, each told by someone who was there, and below them his own words.

Stories

  • Early years · Jamalpur

    The mattress in the washing water

    As a boy in Jamalpur, Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar invited a classmate from an 'untouchable' caste into his room and sat him on his bed. After the boy left, his mother Abharani was angry that custom had been broken, and she washed the bedcover and pillowcase. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti watched in silence, then put the mattress and pillow in the water as well. If the boy's touch had polluted anything, he told her, it had polluted everything, himself included. Nobody was untouchable to him, he said, because everyone was a child of God. His mother could only answer that nobody in the world could convince him of anything.

    She then removed the bedcover and pillowcase and washed them. Prabhát Ranjan silently watched her without saying a word. Then he took the mattress and the pillow and also immersed them in water. "Bubu! What are you doing?" shouted Abharani. "Since he has polluted everything with his touch, then these are also polluted. So I am cleaning them as well," responded Prabhát Ranjan nonchalantly.

    — Ác. Pranavátmakánanda Avadhúta, Advent of a Mystery

  • How people came · 1939 · Calcutta

    The robber called by name

    In 1939 Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar was a student in Calcutta. One full-moon evening he sat alone at Kashi Mitra Ghat on the Ganges, where robbers gathered after dark. Kalicharan Banerjee, a notorious robber, crept up behind him with a knife. Without turning round, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti called him by name and said he had been waiting for him. Kalicharan lowered the knife and sat down, and Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti told him the story of his life. The robber bathed in the river and was initiated that night, and became the sádhaka Kalikánanda.

    But what was that? Someone called him by name. So distinctly, and so mild the voice. Kalicharan was stunned. He could not believe His own ears. He was puzzled; his steel nerves trembled. Who could it be?

    — Ác. Sarveshvaránanda Avadhúta, My Days With Bábá

  • He knew · 1979 · Rotterdam

    Now the boy says yes

    In 1979 a young volunteer traveled with Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar through Europe as a guard. In Rotterdam the crowded lodging put him in a thoroughly negative mood, which he told no one about. That evening he walked a few metres behind Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti in a large park. For about 45 minutes every thought he had was a 'no': no to Rotterdam, no to the lodging, no to the rest of the trip. At the end Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti quietly asked whether he liked the park that evening. He said yes.

    Then, just as He was passing in front of me, He said, as if talking aloud to Himself: "Ah, now the boy says yes." And He continued to His car.

    — Ac. Jyotirupananda Avt., Divine Love: European Experiences with Shrii Shrii Anandamurti

  • Compassion · Ranchi

    Book royalties for a crumbling school

    Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti set aside the royalties from his books for people in need. One day in Ranchi he read a newspaper notice from a school whose building was falling apart; many rooms could no longer be used, and it was asking for funds. The next morning, before his walk, he took his royalty money and had his driver take him to the school. The astonished principal received him. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti handed over an envelope he thought would cover the repairs and said he trusted the principal to use it well.

    The next morning Bábá took his royalty money with him, the money he received from the sales of his books, and asked his driver and security personnel to take him to that school before proceeding with his morning field walk. When Bábá entered the premises, the principal and staff were astonished to see him and his entourage.

    — Acharya Ramananda Avadhuta, Ashutosh Bábá: The Memoirs of Acharya Ramananda Avadhuta

  • The teacher · 1982 · Kolkata

    Never lie, not even to meet me

    In 1982 Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti ruled that workers who wished to see him privately must first organize five Prabhat Samgiita concerts. A worker from Manila had organized one, so he changed his report to claim five and was given an appointment. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti's first question was whether the five concerts had really taken place. The worker kept silent rather than lie to his face. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti rebuked him sharply and asked why he had lied; the worker said he only wanted to be near him. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti softened and told him never to lie for any reason, even to meet him: a renunciate's life must rest on truth.

    By this time, Bábá was in a much more relaxed mood, and the tone of His voice was less harsh. I was immensely relieved. He advised me that I should never again resort to lying for any reason, even to meet Him.

    — Ácárya Parameshvaránanda Avadhúta, Divine Experiences: An Autobiography

  • Humour · Jamálpur

    Surprising news, with a wink

    A new disciple scoffed when a friend claimed that Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti knew all the world's languages. The next day Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti's talk was on linguistics: he began with the Sanskrit letter ka and wrote words in Chinese, Latin, Hebrew and more. The friend smiled at the doubter, and Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti asked him why. When he explained, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti said this was surprising news to him; he had not been aware he knew every language, and thanked him for letting him know. Everyone laughed, and he laughed with them.

    "Bábá, yesterday I told Dasharath Babu that you knew all the languages of the world and he did not believe me." "Do I know all the languages of the world? That is surprising news to me. I was not aware of it. Thank you for letting me know," said Bábá with a wink. Everyone laughed, and Bábá joined in.

    — Ác. Pranavátmakánanda Avadhúta, Advent of a Mystery

  • The hard years · 1972 · Patna

    Water for the thirsty convicts

    One evening in 1972 in Bankipur jail, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti was walking alone between the cells while his disciples meditated. Convicts in a distant ward were calling out: they had been locked in after a hurried dinner with no water, and the guards ignored them. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti fetched the earthen jar and tumbler from his own cell and, despite their protests, gave each of them water with his own hand. He said nothing about it. When asked the next morning, he replied that it had only been his duty, and duty needs no announcement.

    Bábá stubbornly continued to persuade them. He cajoled them by saying that, contrary to their apprehensions, He would get pleasure if He could serve them. At last, Bábá gave them all water, one by one. Their thirst quenched, they gazed at Bábá, not knowing how to express their gratitude.

    — Ác. Sarveshvaránanda Avadhúta, My Days With Bábá

  • Across the world · 1979 · Switzerland

    On the road to Fiesch

    After landing in Geneva in 1979, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti set off by car for Fiesch with two Swiss disciples. He had been awake for thirty-three hours and asked to stop to meditate; a smoky café proved unsuitable, so he meditated in the car. Afterwards, finding that the Swiss knew little about their own valley, he described its irrigation, farming and animal care, explained why local cows lack the hump of Indian cattle, and talked about Swiss grape-growing.

    After His meditation, Bábá's mood became happy and alert. After asking the two Swiss brothers about this valley and finding they had little knowledge of the local area, Bábá began to tell them about the agriculture and farming. He explained in very much detail the irrigation systems used, the farming techniques and the particulars of local animal care.

    — Bodiishvara (ed. Ác. Subuddhyananda Avt.), Divine Love: European Experiences with Shrii Shrii Anandamurti

  • The scholar · 1983

    Naranja and the excited elephants

    In 1983 a monk brought Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti an orange seedling from Paraguay. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti asked its Spanish name, naranja, and where the word came from. None of the senior workers present knew; he joked that he had thought he was the only fool in the world but now had many friends. Then he explained: Sanskrit naga, elephant, and ranga, excitement, made nagaranga, because elephants rejoice at a tree full of oranges; through Urdu narangi it became Spanish naranja. He went on to link Spanish numbers and family words to Sanskrit.

    Then Bábá's mood softened and He began a long explanation. "The Saḿskrta word 'naga' means both 'elephant' and 'snake'. Here it means 'elephant'. Ranga in Saḿskrta means 'excitement'. When elephants see a green orange tree full with brightly-colored oranges, they become excited and go into jubilation. So oranges are called 'nagaranga' in Saḿskrta.

    — Dádá Haratmananda, Bábá's Love for South America

  • Early years · Bamunpara

    His name in ten scripts

    The family spent holidays at its ancestral village of Bamunpara in Burdwan district. On one of these visits his elder sister Hiraprabha teased him for being a daydreamer and a slow learner. She said he could not even write his own name in his mother tongue. He picked up a pencil and wrote his name in ten different scripts, most of which she did not recognize, and told her the name of each one. The memoir says she never spoke to him lightly again.

    While vacationing in Bamunpara, Bábá’s sister Hiiraprabhá commented that Bábá was always roaming in his dream world and was a slow learner. She teased him that he could not even write his name in his own mother tongue. Bábá took a pencil and wrote his name in ten scripts, most of which she did not even recognize. He told her the name of each script.

    — Ácárya Shambhúshivánanda Avadhúta, Towards a Brighter Future

  • How people came · 1949 · Jamalpur

    The atheist who threw away the mantra

    P. K. Chatterjee, a young clerk at the Jamalpur railway workshop, did not believe in palmistry. He asked 'Prabhat Da' to read his palm anyway. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti asked about his aim in life and warned him of danger on the path he wanted. Then he gave him a mantra on a slip of paper. Chatterjee was an atheist and said he had no respect for it, so he was told to throw it into the river. He kept coming back anyway. On 8 August 1949 Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar initiated him at the Tiger's Grave, his first disciple in Jamalpur.

    The next night, Chatarji arrived on time at the Tiger's Grave. Prabhát Dá gave him a piece of paper with a mantra written on it and told him to recite it when he had a bath and after eating breakfast. When Chatarji read the mantra at home, he found that it was Shiva's Dhyána Mantra. He was an atheist and he did not believe in any god or goddess.

    — Ácárya Maháviiránanda Avadhúta, The Tantric Guru

  • He knew · 1958

    The lawyer's meditation

    In September 1958 Vaidyanath Prasád, a lawyer, was walking with Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti when he was asked why he had skipped one part of his morning meditation for three days. Vaidyanath insisted he had not. Sitting in the posture while planning how to argue the day's court cases, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti said, was not meditation. Then he described what Vaidyanath had been thinking, and even mimicked how he meant to put his arguments to the judge. Vaidyanath asked forgiveness and promised to be more careful.

    Bábá then revealed many details about what Vaidyanath had been thinking about during his morning meditations. He even mimicked the style in which Vaidyanath was planning to place his arguments before the judge. Everyone laughed at the sight of Bábá parodying the court scenes so flawlessly.

    — Ác. Pranavátmakánanda Avadhúta, Advent of a Mystery

  • Compassion · Calcutta

    Massaging the hands that massaged him

    After a long tour of India, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti came back to Calcutta very tired. A worker massaged his feet and then his arms, and within a few minutes Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti fell asleep. Almost two hours later he woke, took the worker's hands in his own and began to massage them. The massage had let him sleep, he said, so he should do something in return.

    Within a few minutes Bábá slept. After almost two hours, He woke up and took my hands in His. He started massaging my hands, saying, "Due to your good massage, I was able to sleep today. You did so much hard work for me, I should also do something for you."

    — Ác. Shamitánanda Avt., 101 Bábá Stories

  • The teacher

    He apologized for being late

    One afternoon a worker came to give his report and found Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti out in the garden, instructing the workers there about plants. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti stayed in the garden a long time while the worker waited in front of his room. When he finally came and saw him, he said he thought the worker had been waiting a long time, and that he was very sorry for being late. The worker had never expected to hear such words from him, felt ashamed, and replied that he had no important work just then.

    After some time Bábá came, and when He saw me, He said, "I think you have been waiting for a long time. I am very sorry for being late. I was very busy in the garden." I was never expecting to hear such words from Bábá in this way.

    — Ac. Dhyaneshananda, Stories of Bábá

  • Humour · Jamálpur

    “My ego was very heavy”

    On a walk near Jamálpur, rain drove Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti and a group of disciples into a hut, and afterwards the field lay under knee-deep water. Harikishan, a police inspector who taught wrestling, offered to carry him the thirty metres to the road. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti said it might be too far, but Harikishan said he lifted heavier men every day. After two steps he was panting, and on the third he dropped Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti into the water. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti got up drenched and smiling and softly asked what had happened.

    Bábá got up fully drenched in water and with a sweet smile on his lips looked at Harikishanji and with a very soft voice asked, "Harikishan! What happened?" Harikishanji, a great devotee of Bábá replied, "Bábá, my ego was very heavy." All others were laughing.

    — Ác. Krtashivánanda Avadhúta, The Great Advent

  • The hard years · Buxar

    Years that do not count

    For the first two months of his imprisonment Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti was held in Buxar prison, where a convict, Ramcheej, a simple villager, was given to him as a helper and soon served him with great devotion. One day Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti asked his age. 'Around fifty,' Ramcheej said. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti remarked that he looked older. Ramcheej explained that he had not added the ten years spent in jail: those were a sentence, not years lived. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti laughed. He told the story himself two days after his release in 1978.

    Ramcheej innocently replied, "Those years were spent in my jail sentence-how can I add them to the years I have lived!" (Bábá, u to sajá me katal bá, umar me kaise jorai). Bábá laughed, and understood that he was more than sixty years old.

    — Ácárya Keshavánanda Avadhúta, Reminiscences of Bábá

  • Across the world · 1979 · Amsterdam

    A language for the whole world

    At Amsterdam airport Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti walked the long corridors and climbed the stairs rather than use moving walkways. Waiting for the plane, he had a young monk sit beside him, who asked whether he would create a world language, and whether Esperanto was any use. A language for all citizens of the globe would one day be constituted, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti said. Esperanto was well meant but rooted mainly in European languages; the new common language would draw on both Western and Eastern languages, Sanskrit among them.

    While waiting for our plane, Bábá told me to sit next to Him. We discussed several subjects. One of these concerned some hearsay about which I had wondered. “Bábá, is it true that You will make a world language in the future?” “A language suitable for all citizens of this globe will one day be constituted,” He said.

    — Dada Dharmavedananda, Travels with the Mystic Master

  • The scholar

    Without the papers

    During a gathering, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti took reports from his workers and asked each of them to name the villages of their district. Everyone began searching through their papers. He leaned forward and asked what they were doing. Why depend on papers? He remembered everything without reading or writing; why could they not do the same? One worker asked him to tell them the secret. He only asked why they did not know without charts, and smiled broadly at them all.

    During DMC, Bábá was taking reports from all the workers; I was fanning Him. Bábá asked the workers one by one the names of the villages of the district. Everyone began to look through their papers to find the answers. Suddenly Bábá leaned forward. "What are you doing?" He asked.

    — Ác. Shamitánanda Avt., 101 Bábá Stories

  • Early years · 1931–1939 · Jamalpur

    The schoolboy who taught geography

    From 1931 to 1939 Vimalendu Chatterjee shared a bench with Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar at the railway high school in Jamalpur. Decades later he remembered a friend who was brilliant in every subject and best of all at geography. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti knew the world's rivers, mountain ranges, capitals and seaports, and mastered a 500-page English geography textbook in three months. When the teacher was absent, the headmaster asked him to take the class. Chatterjee once asked how he knew so much. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti answered that his friend just did not read properly.

    He knew all the capitals of various countries in the different continents and their seaports. His knowledge about rivers was wide-ranging. Put in another way, he had such a thorough command of geography that if the teacher was absent, the headmaster would ask Prabhat Ranjan to teach the geography class.

    — Ácárya Vijayánanda Avadhúta, The Life and Teachings of Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti

  • How people came · 1953 · Jamalpur

    A decision on the stairs

    Nagina met Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar in Jamalpur on 3 November 1953. After his initiation he asked whether he had to give up meat, because he could not live without it. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti smiled. Nagina had only ever thought about how to eat meat in the best way, he said, never about whether it could be given up; he should try thinking about that. Going down the stairs, Nagina decided to start thinking it at once. His family laughed at him, but he stayed vegetarian for life.

    As I was descending the stairs the thought came to my mind, "Bábá has told me just to think whether I can give up non-vegetarian food. If it can be given up just by thinking then I'll start thinking right now that I will no longer take any non-vegetarian food." And it is Bábá's grace that from that day onwards I have been a vegetarian.

    — Ácárya Nagina, Ananda Katha

  • He knew · 1979 · Taiwan

    A forgotten university subject

    On a late walk in the mountains of Taiwan, a disciple asked Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti about the relationship between the Chinese and the Japanese. He did not answer directly. For about twenty minutes he spoke about the ancient human races, how climate shaped their features, and how peoples and languages moved and mixed. Then he turned to her with a grin and asked whether this had been her subject. It had: she had studied anthropology and sociology at university and had forgotten all about it.

    I was standing just a few steps from Bábá. After His talk, He turned to me with a grin and said, "This was your previous subject, wasn't it?" I was taken aback. Oh my God! How could Bábá know this? I didn't even remember it myself. My university major had indeed been anthropology and sociology.

    — Avadhutika Ánanda Lalita Ác., A Garland of Lights: Bábá's Love for Taiwan

  • Compassion · Jamálpur

    Has everyone eaten?

    A poor disciple came to Jamálpur every Sunday by train without a ticket. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti asked how he could teach others morality if he did not keep it himself, and the man promised to stop. The next Sunday he came with a return ticket and no money left for food, drank some water and went to sleep hungry. Late that evening Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti called the manager of the center and kept asking whether everyone had eaten. The manager checked person by person, found the hungry man and fed him.

    He said, "I will enquire now." He started asking everyone personally and when he came to that person then he found out the reason why Bábá was enquiring in that way. He made arrangements for some food for that person and went to Bábá to let Him know.

    — Ac. Dhyaneshananda, Stories of Bábá

  • The teacher · 1966 · Ánandanagar

    A time to meditate, a time to work

    In early 1966 the workers at Ánandanagar were putting up new buildings day and night. So that nobody let meditation slip under the workload, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti ordered collective meditation every morning and evening. At ten o'clock one morning he saw a worker meditating during working hours and was displeased. The time for meditation and the time for work must not be mixed up, he said, and the man joined the work. After that, the teller recalls, nobody needed reminding of a schedule twice.

    "Humans have come to earth for a limited time only," Bábá once said. "One won't get time to do great deeds or achieve success in life unless one learns to make the most of each moment." Bábá ensured that every moment was utilized completely. We had not to be reminded of schedules more than once.

    — Ác. Sarveshvaránanda Avadhúta, My Days With Bábá

  • Humour · 1988

    A cow's eggs and a lesson in instinct

    At a meeting of workers in 1988, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti asked what instinct is. The answers did not satisfy him, so he asked one worker whether he had seen the eggs his cow had laid; if not, surely he had seen an elephant's eggs. The room burst out laughing. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti pretended to be angry, asked who had given permission to laugh, then smiled: this was instinct. He made the worker promise not to laugh for five minutes, then tickled him with his cane until he did.

    Not long after, He touched my navel area with His cane and started tickling me. I couldn't control myself and started laughing. I had just broken my promise. Then Bábá looked around the room and remarked, "This is instinct independent of the psychic controlling faculty."

    — Ácárya Bhaktapráńánanda Avadhúta, Garland of Devotion

  • The hard years · 1972 · Patna

    Commas in the court record

    On 16 September 1972 Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti, weak and ill, was brought from jail by ambulance and carried into a Patna court on a stretcher to make his statement. Asked in which language it should be recorded, he chose English. Speaking from a small cot for about ninety minutes, he called the charges concocted. When the magistrate read the statement back, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti asked where the comma and full stop had been placed in one sentence, showed that this changed his meaning, and the sentence was corrected.

    Another point: after the statement had been given, the magistrate read it back. On one sentence my Master asked the magistrate, "Where have you put the comma and the full stop?" The magistrate explained, and my Master said, "According to your placement the meaning of the sentence is different from what I said." The magistrate then changed the sentence according to my Master.

    — Ácárya Krpánanda Avadhúta, About Bábá and Ananda Marga

  • Across the world · 1979 · Taiwan

    Fifty Sanskrit sounds at the airport

    On the day Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar left Taiwan, two young disciples reached the airport early and found him sitting alone near the airline counter. They knelt beside him. When they asked him to come again, he said he had come once; next time they should come to him in India. Later, as others gathered round, he began to talk about Sanskrit and recited its fifty sounds. One of them, who held the party's tickets, was so absorbed that he almost forgot to hand them over.

    After a while, the Márgiis gradually arrived and gathered round Bábá, but we were still the closest to Him. I don't know why, but at one point Bábá started to talk about Sanskrit and He recited the fifty Sanskrit sounds. The vibration was so strong I felt stunned.

    — Sanjaya, A Garland of Lights: Bábá's Love for Taiwan

  • The scholar · 1950s · Jamálpur

    Books dictated by torchlight

    In the 1950s Ananda Marga was new and had no books, and Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar still worked in the railway office. After evening meditation he walked with a few disciples across the fields to the Tiger's Grave and spoke on many subjects while they wrote by the light of electric torches; Ánanda Sútram was written this way. He also dictated after dinner until two or three in the morning, and used his office lunch break to dictate and correct manuscripts.

    In the quiet nights of Jamálpur village, He would walk with some devotees through the meadow to the tiger's grave and talk about so many things. They would sit there and Bábá would speak on different subjects. Some devotees would write it down carefully. They brought with them electric torches to light up their notes in the dark surroundings. In this way Ánanda Sútram was written.

    — Ác. Sarveshvaránanda Avadhúta, My Days With Bábá

  • Early years · 1941 · Jamalpur

    Look among the first ten

    Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar studied science at Vidyasagar College in Calcutta. When the family's affairs grew difficult, he left his studies, came home and took a job in the accounts department of the Jamalpur railway workshop, where his father had worked. When the examination results came out in a Calcutta newspaper, people at home searched the lists and could not find his roll number. One of them came to tell him, full of regret. He did not ask to see the paper. He told them to look in the list of the top ten candidates on the front page, and his name was there.

    One of them took courage and said very regretfully that he could not find his roll number in the list of successful candidates. Prabhata Ranjan did not ask for having a look at the paper as if he had already seen it. He only asked them to look for His name in the list of top most first ten successful candidates published on the front page of the newspaper.

    — Ananda Marga, Bábá's Family

  • How people came · 1965 · Nagpur

    Ninety years old at the airport

    After the gathering in Nagpur on 22 November 1965, disciples came to the airport to see Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti off. A ninety-year-old disciple from the village of Itgaon asked him why he had been brought to the path only in old age, and not when he was young. Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar smiled and told him that he had come, even at that age; he should do as much spiritual practice as he could, and all would be well. For the rest of his life the old man went from village to village spreading the teaching, and he gave five acres of his land for a master unit.

    In the meantime, a ninety-year-old Márgii from a village called Itgaon said, "Bábá, why did You bring me to Your lotus feet at this old age? Why didn't You give me an opportunity to come to You at a younger age?" ... After that the Márgii's condition was something to see. He was overwhelmed by devotion and felt revitalized.

    — Ácárya Keshavánanda Avadhúta, Reminiscences of Bábá

  • He knew · 1955 · Jamalpur

    Sent home to see his father

    One evening in April 1955 Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti told Nagina that he had not been home for many days and should visit his family now, not after the coming festival. Nagina had not planned the trip but went because he was told to. He found his parents happy, and when he took leave on 19 April his father wept as they parted. On 22 April his father died, at prayer. Only then did Nagina understand why he had been sent home.

    I had no thought to come home, but came only on Bábá's instructions. Even then I did not know that Bábá was sending me home to see my father for the last time. It was a great kindness of Bábá that he gave me this chance. Otherwise, I could have regretted all my life.

    — Ácárya Nagina, Ananda Katha

  • Compassion · 1989 · Kolkata

    The lost parrot

    In May 1989 a tame parrot landed on the gate of Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti's residence. He told the workers to look after it, feed it on time and wait a week for its owner; if nobody came, it was to go to the mission's bird and animal park. The parrot talked in Bengali, and from one word it used he guessed its owner came from Bankura or Purulia district. On the seventh day the owner walked past and the bird recognized his voice. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti had it taken home. The owner was from Bankura.

    Everyone loved the bird. Bábá was informed, and He instructed, "Take proper care of it. Feed it on time and wait for a week. During this period, if its owner turns up, hand it over to him, if not take it to Ánandanagar, to PASÁKÁ."

    — Ácárya Keshavánanda Avadhúta, Reminiscences of Bábá

  • The teacher · 1965 · Jamálpur

    Failed twice, then examined by him

    In April 1965 five trainee teachers in Jamálpur had failed their examination twice under a strict trainer. Two days later Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti came to the ashram and asked why they were sitting there instead of going out to teach. When they told him, he remarked that their trainer was so strict he would fail Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti too. Then he asked them a few questions himself, and all five answered correctly. Puzzled, the trainer examined them again one by one, and this time they all passed.

    Bábá said, "Dádá Dasaratha is such a strict teacher, if he gave Me an exam, I would also fail!" Then Bábá asked us a few questions and we all replied correctly. Fifteen minutes later Bábá left for His residence.

    — Ac. Krpananda, With My Master

  • Humour · 1988 · Calcutta

    Tell the jokes, don't laugh alone

    In January 1988 a visiting worker stood quietly out of sight while Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti took reports after his walk. When Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti was told he was there, he welcomed him with mock formality and asked how he liked his stories. The worker said he enjoyed all the funny ones. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti asked whether he laughed alone or told them to others, and advised him to tell them, or people would think he was crazy. The worker had been in a heavy mood that day, and it lifted completely.

    "Do you laugh alone, or do you tell them to others also?" Bábá asked. "Sometimes I tell them to others," I replied. Bábá said, "You should tell them to others. Otherwise, if you laugh alone, people will think you are crazy!"

    — Ac. Dhruvananda Avt., The Supreme Friend

  • The hard years · 1970s · Patna

    Four visitors ask him to eat

    During Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti's long fast in jail, his disciples persuaded four national political figures to visit him and press for his release on bail. They urged him to give up the fast, reminding him that Gandhi's longest fast had lasted 21 days. He politely refused: he had taken a vow and could not break it. Afterwards the four described the meeting so differently that it seemed they had seen different men. One feared he would not survive a fortnight; another said he was roaring like a lion.

    Afterwards, when we asked them to describe their meeting with Bábá, it was almost as if all four had different experiences! Their opinions of Bábá's condition were strikingly different. Prof. Guha said, "Bábá will not survive a fortnight, because, as I observed, He is too weak." Shyam Lai Jadav said, "Who says that He has grown weak? He was roaring like a lion!"

    — Ác. Shraddhánanda Avadhúta, My Spiritual Life With Bábá

  • Across the world · 1979 · Berlin

    His stick pointed at the Berlin Wall

    After the gathering in the Swiss Alps in 1979, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti toured Germany. One of his walks in Berlin took him to the wall that divided the city. Seeing it, he asked why a wall should stand between people of the same background. He raised his walking stick, pointed it at the wall, and said that one day people would break it down and the two German peoples it divided would become one. Ten years later the wall fell.

    When Bábá saw the Wall HE said, "Why there was a wall standing between the humans having the same back ground". Bábá raised HIS stick and pointed it towards the wall. Bábá said that one day people would break this wall and the two German groups which this wall was dividing would become one.

    — Ácárya Savitánanda Avadhúta, Bábá Ánandamúrtijii: The Lord of Lords

  • The scholar · 1988 · Kolkata

    The red berry of Ghana

    At a meeting in February 1988, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti said Ghana's economy could recover within a few years and named four resources: gold in the north, oil along the coast, palm oil and the Ghanaian sweet berry. He asked a disciple from Ghana to describe the little-known berry, which Ghanaians had used instead of sugar during the Second World War. Sugar could be produced from it, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti said, with more nutritional value. When a senior worker doubted which variety he meant, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti said at once: the red one.

    When Bábá was giving the explanation, SS dádá was in doubt regarding the variety (in fact there is another similar berry in Ghana but having blackish skin), Bábá immediately corrected him saying it was the red berry. Back in Ghana SS asked for seedlings and took them to India.

    — Istadeva, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti: Journey of a Mystery through African Experience

  • Early years · Jamalpur

    A phone call before the audit

    In the railway accounts department, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti audited the stores and accounts sections of the workshop. Before one inspection he telephoned ahead to let the storekeeper know. A junior official answered, cried out that Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar was coming to inspect, left the receiver on the table and ran to fetch his superior. When the officer in charge came to the phone, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti asked him why his assistant was so frightened. Was he a tiger? The memoir adds that he never accepted even a cup of tea from the people he audited.

    This worked like a bolt from the blue for the person on the telephone. He cried out, "Bábu, Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar is coming for inspection!" Bábá could easily understand the fear in the mind of the person. Keeping the receiver on the table, the gentleman went to call the in-charge.

    — Ácárya Krpánanda Avadhúta, About Bábá and Ananda Marga

  • How people came · 1979 · Kolkata

    A first glimpse at Lake Gardens

    Niiti Gannon had taught meditation for years in the Philippines. In March 1979 colleagues paid her fare to India, and she arrived in Kolkata too late for that morning's gathering. She waited instead on the path to his car. When he came out, she saw his face and feet clearly, but his body looked like a flowing cloud of white light. He stopped in front of her and asked whether the talk had been translated into English, saying it should be. Over the years she came to read this as a charge to write her experiences down.

    When Bábá came out of the entrance, I saw that He wore all white. He positioned His hands in the Namaskar pose, so I did likewise. I became transported and saw Bábá’s head and face very clearly. He wore black, slipper-like shoes and His feet looked very distinct. But His torso looked like a swirling mass of radiant light.

    — Nancy “Niiti” Gannon, Meetings with My Master: A Woman’s Experience

  • He knew · Jamálpur

    Custard apples in the paddy store

    A girl of six from a family of disciples did not believe her mother, who said that Bábá knew everything she did. So, a few days before a visit, she picked custard apples in an orchard and hid them in the family's paddy store. If he could tell her what she had done, she decided, she would believe. When she bowed to him in Jamálpur, he said at once that he knew she had hidden custard apples in the paddy store.

    Immediately, Bábá said to me,' I know, you hid custard apples in your paddy store. Is it not true?' I was surprised that he should know this. From that time, I understood that Bábá was so close to me that he knew everything about me.

    — Didi Ánanda Prajiná Páramitá, Tantric Women Tell Their Stories

  • Compassion · Bangalore

    A visit to a sickbed

    P. Swamy worked hard to organize Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti's visit to Bangalore, then broke his leg in an accident one night and was sent home in a cast. He could not attend. During the visit, on a morning walk, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti asked to be driven to P. Swamy's house. He arrived unannounced, sat beside the bed, blessed him and told him not to worry: he would soon be well.

    P. Swamy was resting on his bed when Bábá suddenly arrived at his house! His family was caught by surprise at Bábá's unexpected appearance. Bábá then sat next to P. Swamy and blessed him and told him, "You will get well soon, do not worry."

    — Ácárya Maháviiránanda Avadhúta, The Tantric Guru

  • The teacher · 1971 · Ranchi

    Scolding the post, not the man

    In 1971 a newly appointed regional organiser came to Ranchi to report. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti found the report unsatisfactory, asked why his workers were not keeping to their tour programs, and rebuked him sternly. Then his mood changed: he was not scolding the man, he said, but the post. He questioned a worker who had skipped a town because nobody there practiced. An approved program must be followed, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti told him; he should have gone anyway and sung kiirtan alone under a tree.

    In the heat of the reprimand, my eyes glanced at His feet under the table. I tried to mentally surrender at His feet. At that very moment, His mood changed. He said, “I am not scolding Tapeshvarananda. I am scolding the AO East.”

    — Tapeshvarananda, Living With Bábá

  • Humour · 1979 · Fiesch

    “But don't tell them”

    In Fiesch, Switzerland, in 1979, women were allowed to join Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti's walks for the first time. On one walk he explained that in the past women had far more influence than men: they inherited everything, and men inherited nothing. Then he laughed, leaned towards the group and said not to tell the women, or they would be puffed up with vanity. Back at the car he said he hoped women would discover the lost glory of their history.

    On another field walk, with sisters present, Bábá was explaining how in the past women had much greater influence than men. They inherited everything, while men didn't inherit a thing. Women were socially much more important once. Then He laughed. He leaned down to us and said, "But don't tell them, otherwise they will be puffed up with vanity." We all laughed.

    — Brahmadeva, Divine Love: European Experiences with Shrii Shrii Anandamurti

  • The hard years · 1978 · Patna

    Release, and his sister's first meal

    After the High Court acquitted him, Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti was released from jail in Patna on 2 August 1978. He had asked that his elder sister, Hiraprabha, be there. A huge crowd threw flowers as his old car moved slowly out of the gate, his hands folded in greeting the whole way. He had kept his fast in jail for more than five years. Many wanted to cook his first meal, but all gave way to his sister, who served him coconut water and then kitchuri.

    Though there were many who wanted the privilege of preparing his first meal in nearly five and a half years, all agreed to accept the precedence of his elder sister, Hiraprabha. It was well known how much she loved her brother and how much he loved and respected her.

    — Acharya Ramananda Avadhuta, Ashutosh Bábá: The Memoirs of Acharya Ramananda Avadhuta

  • Across the world · 1979 · Kingston

    Walks in Jamaica

    Because Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti could not get a visa for the United States, a gathering was arranged in Jamaica so that American disciples could meet him. He stayed in a local disciple's home and gave talks at a cooperative hotel on a mountaintop. On his walks he spoke about the Caribbean islands, their cultures and plants, explained that Jamaicans are a blend of British, Spanish, Indian and African peoples, and traced how labourers from Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Bengal had come by sea and settled there.

    Bábá flew into Kingston, Jamaica from Iceland via London. Many márgiis received personal contact (PC) with Bábá in Jamaica. Bábá was staying in the home of brother Brigudesh and would give darshans at the employee-owned cooperative hotel on top of a mountain. During the Field Walks, Bábá talked about the Carribean islands, their culture, plants, and the potential role of Jamaica.

    — Ácárya Shambhúshivánanda Avadhúta, Towards a Brighter Future

  • Early years · Jamalpur

    Not on office time

    Years after his death, disciples visiting the Jamalpur accounts office met Niranjan Shah, a former section officer who had worked with Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar. No file was ever left pending on his desk, Shah said, and he told them this story. A high-ranking military officer visited the workshop and asked to meet Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti, who was called to a senior officer's cabin. Shrii Shrii Ánandamúrti politely asked whether the visit was official or private. It was private, so he declined to spend office time on it and asked the officer to see him at home.

    Without showing any uncivilized manner, Prabhát Da (as Bábá was called then) enquired from the gentleman whether he had come for any official work or any private work. It was learnt that he had been there for his private work. At this Bábá said that he did not want to spoil his official time. The gentleman was told that he should meet him at his residence.

    — A collection, Jamálpur, the Birthplace of Bábá

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Quotes

  • What is then the most precious thing in human life? It is devotion. If one has gotten devotion, one has gotten everything, and nothing remains unrealized.

  • Life is a spiritual sádhaná and the result of this sádhaná is to be offered at the altar of the Supreme.

  • Since the Supreme Father is with me, why should I be afraid of anyone? Why should I fear at all? There is no reason to be fearful. I have to move forward. Fearfulness is not my duty. Let the fear fear me, I will not fear.

  • You have no right to hate even a single living creature. The best you can do is only to serve.

  • Human society is one and indivisible, don’t try to divide it. Each and every individual should be looked upon as the manifestation of the Cosmic Entity.

  • Struggle is the essence of life. Yours should be a pauseless struggle against corruption, hypocrisy and animality.

  • Don’t compare life to a pool of muddy, stagnant water. Life resembles an ever-flowing spring.

  • Knowing oneself is the real knowledge; serving all with the ideation of Náráyańa, the real action, and the vow to please Parama Puruśa the real devotion.

  • You all know that Parama Puruśa is very close to you. He is so near that nothing can be nearer.

  • Morality is the foundation of Sádhaná (spiritual practice). It must, however, be remembered that morality or good conduct is not the culminating point of the spiritual march.

  • Do all your works unitedly. No work is hard for you, no work is difficult. Move forward easily and smilingly, solving all the problems of the world. Your victory is assured.

  • Remember that your service does not oblige the Supreme, rather you are obliged because you have such a chance to serve the Supreme in the form of living beings.

  • All the beings of this universe are the kith and kin of one another. No one is despicable. All are equally respectable and entitled to equal love and affection.

  • We must not forget, even for a single moment, that the entire animate world is a vast joint family. Nature has not assigned any portion of this property to any particular individual.

  • The most valuable treasures on the path of human progress are honesty, simplicity and spiritedness.

  • Book knowledge that cannot be utilized in life has no value.

  • The devotional sentiment is the highest and most valuable treasure of humanity.

  • The goal of sádhaná [spiritual practice] is the all-round elevation of human beings. Spiritual practices do not teach renunciation of the world, they teach only the proper utilization of the subtle and crude potentialities.

  • Everywhere you are with Parama Puruśa, and never in this universe, nowhere in this universe, are you alone. So you are never helpless.

  • If you want to please a mother, simply serve her children and the mother will be pleased.

  • Why should the love and affection of developed human minds be restricted to human beings only? Why should it not include all living beings, including plant life?

  • Social life must take morality as its starting point – it must take inspiration from morality.

  • As long as people sleep, their fortune also sleeps. When they awake and think to rise up, their fortune also begins to awaken. The moment they sit up, their fortune also rises; and as soon as they start moving, their fortune also advances.

  • In my opinion, real education means proper, adequate knowledge and the power of understanding. In other words, education should impart an awareness of who I am and what I ought to do.

  • Your only qualification is that you are the affectionate progeny of the Supreme Progenitor. You are His object of affection. Even if you forget Him He won’t forget you.

  • Persistent endeavour and practical cult are essential to reach the goal. Hence, in sádhaná one should remember two essential factors: constant awareness of one’s goal, and persistent endeavour to attain that goal.

  • Every jiiva, every living being, is the child of Immortality. You have been born in eternity and you are moving towards immortality. Therefore there is no need to be afraid, despondent, or sorry in any condition.

  • Forget whatever you were in the past, or whatever you did in the past, and from this auspicious moment on dedicate yourself to the service of humanity.

  • This love should include all plants, birds, animals etc., because everything has life, everything has feeling. We should think that others feel as I feel, and this feeling should include plants, animals and inanimate objects.

  • If one person rolls in affluence, in most cases others will be deprived of even their minimum requirements. The failure to recognize the needs of others is itself a disease.

  • You should live such a benevolent life and do such glorious deeds that when you leave this world, smiles will blossom on your face while the people mourn your departure with copious tears.

  • Educated are those who have learnt much, remembered much and made use of their learning in practical life.

  • To love Parama Puruśa and the creation is the only Dharma of spiritual aspirants.

  • The mind has infinite potentialities and controlling these infinite potentialities is sádhaná.

  • The Father’s love is for all, so nobody is helpless. Nobody is shelterless. And nobody’s future is sealed forever.

  • The entire human society is anxiously waiting for you, for your service. You will have to shoulder a great responsibility for the suffering humanity.

  • The universe does not consist only of humans; other animals, other creatures, other plants, also have the right to live.

  • With the very extinction of honesty, civilization too will not survive; the long sádhaná of the human race will go in vain, and all intellectual achievements will become meaningless.

  • It is the youth, and the youth only, who have the vigour to bring about the necessary change.

  • Modern, educated people must be liberated from all sources of dogma and petty isms. They should reject the worn out shackles of the past and welcome the new, crimson dawn with an open mind.

  • If you think that He is near, then He is not only near, He is more near. He is much closer than you can ever imagine.

  • Remember that victory does not come by itself. Victory has to be invited and welcomed with sweat, the warmth of the blood and the fiery flames of hard labour.

  • You have achieved the human frame. You must make it meaningful by your sádhaná, service and sacrifice.

  • Where animality ends, humanity begins, where humanity ends, divinity begins.

  • Where there is no logic, where there is no support of intellectuality, where there is no debate and free discussion, but there is only a severe imposition forcing people to accept something, there is dogma.

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