Shiv Chandra Chakraborty was a pious brahmin from Sandilya clan. He was popular for his wisdom and helping attitude to others. Wife Manamohini Devi was a living image of duty and purity. At her childhood, girl Manamohini, by virtue of her spiritual merit was blessed by diksha in dream from then saint of Agra, Huzur Maharaj. Ever since then, Manamohini Devi was practicing the holy 'name' with intensity and sincerity, while performing all her worldly duties of lady of the home. She displayed immense respect to superior. Both Shiv Chandra and Manamohini were relentlessly engaged with service to people. People in and around the village were greatly benefited by the qualities of head and heart that the couple dispensed.
Manamohini Devi gave birth to her first child at 07 hours 05 minutes on 14th September 1888. That was 30th day of Bhadra in 1295 as per Bengali calendar; 9th day of lunar cycle shuklapaksha (waxing Gibbous phase). That child later came to be known as Sri Sri Thakur Anukul Chandra. In later years, Manamohini Devi was blessed with two sons, Prabhash Chandra and Kumud Ranjan, and a daughter Guru Prasadi Devi, the youngest one.
From the days of infancy, Anukul Chandra displayed unusual features. A curious combination of charm, hyper activity and leadership qualities, with a spell of divine aura surrounded him. Whoever saw the boy felt his endearing manners, perennial love and compassion for others. Boy Anukul bore qualities like respect for elders, feelings for lonely, deep inquisitiveness, service to others, a dispassionate outlook; all these acquired a loving relationship with his peers. His friends used to address him 'Raja bhai' (brother royal). Boy Anukul was a mother's child. Mother cast an overwhelming pull on Anukul. Mother imparted diksha to child Anukul, at the behest of sant Sarkar saheb.
Anukul Chandra got his primary education from local Pabna Institution. He then got nominated for matriculation examination from Mahendra Nath School, Naiyhati in district '24 Pragana'. At that time one of his classmates came crying to Anukul, as the former could not pay his examination fee. Friend Anukul offered the money with him for his fee to the friend. That was the end of school stint for Anukul.
At the age of 17 in the Bengali year 1313, on 24th day of Shrabana, parents got Anukul married to Sarasibala, aged 11, daughter of Ramgopal Bhattacharya of Dhopadaha village, residing in Pabna town. Sarasibala Devi was an ideal lady of the house. She was wholly dedicated to her husband and had high regards to others in the family. Her qualities like devotion, service, compassion, act of charity and togetherness are legendary and stand out as examples to all homemakers. In course of time, she gave birth to two sons, namely, Amarendra Nath, Bibek Ranjan and two daughters, namely, Sadhana Devi and Santwana Devi. With passage of time, some women pledged their life at the service of Anukul Chandra, when he was over fifty years. Some of them submitted their desire at mother Manamohini Devi to have the holy privilege of becoming consort of Anukul Chandra. Very reluctantly mother Manamohini Devi persuaded son Anukul to accept these women as wives. Prominent amongst them was Sarbamangala Devi, younger sister of Sarasibala Devi. Sarbamangala Devi gave birth to two sons; the eldest one succumbed to infant mortality and the younger son Pracheta Ranjan is still there. Anuka Devi was born to Parulbala Devi, Sri Sri Thakur's wife from different varna.
Sometime after the marriage with Sarasibala Devi, Anukul Chandra took admission in National Medical School, Kolkata. At that time, he had to go through harsh poverty. It was hard for him to maintain himself at Kolkata with the paltry amount received from mother Manamohini Devi. He had to share space with the coolies in the coal warehouse of Yogen Bhattacharya on the grey street for quite some time. On many days he went without food; had to appease his hunger by drinking water from the roadside taps and slept on the footpath. Passing through hardships and enduring the hard realities, he completed his medical study. One of his teachers in medical college Dr. Sashi Bhusan Mitra observed the divine expressions of the student and later accepted him as Guru.
Anukul Chandra then returned to his village Himayetpur and started practicing medicine. Very soon he became a popular doctor. Words about his perceptive ability to diagnose disease, loving way of dealing with patient, unerring medicine prescription and his sheer feelings and help to the people spread around widely. Even the so called incurable diseases were cured by Anukul's treatment. That made people to believe that there was some supernatural power with Anukul Chandra. Patients started pouring in to Himayetpur from far flung areas.
Anukul Chandra however could not keep himself confined to medical practice alone for longtime. He realized that a man can hardly be nourished to health without treating his mind. The root cause of all suffering lies in man's obsession with complexes. Therefore, man can attain health and peace only when he is free from the pull of complexes. Keeping that in mind, Anukul Chandra mobilized some of his friends and followers and organized massive kirtans.
The age of kirtan in Anukul Chandra's life was actually the phase of revelation of the divinity that he brought down on to the earth as incarnate. That was the phase when Anukul Chandra brought the entire society and environment into a spell of divine consciousness. Amongst his kirtan associates were Kishori Mohan Das, Ananta Nath Ray, Durganath Sanyal, Nafar Ghosh, Kokan, Bune and others. Some more entrants to the kirtan brigade were Satish Chandra Goswami, from the family lineage of Prabhupada Adaitya and Sushil Chandra Basu, who later years became prominent devotees. The mass kirtan that was staged at that time presented an unusual spectacle of mass devotion, leading to a stage of euphoria and trance. Anukul Chandra was the leader; the trigger in the ambience. He displayed a persona that was exceptionally charming, brilliant and attractive. He bore the image of divine in human form; a godly expression, a natural spark of brilliance with magnetic attraction. From that time onwards, Anukul was addressed as Sri Sri Thakur. People came to view God incarnate in him.
In the midst of kirtan, at the height of mass hysteria, Sri Sri Thakur used to lapse into state of suspended animation (samaadhi). At times his body temperature soared high to the level of cinder; and at other times the temperature would collapse to the level of ice. With ceased heart beat, his body would lie flat; at times would undergo series of mudra (yogic acrobatics), all without effort and in quick succession. Jets of blood would spray out of the pores of his skin. With symptoms of lifelessness, the body would radiate a glow and the mouth would go uttering words, sounds, voices, of known and unknown bytes seamlessly. The portions which people could understand appeared to be messages from high state of consciousness, some responses to unexpressed thoughts in the minds of people who surrounded. There were also some outpourings; discordant, disjointed yet powerful and rhythmic. After few days of this type of events, at the behest of Brundaban Adhikari, a wise man in Pabna town, parts of messages in Bengali, English and Sanskrit were noted down by devotees. Those noting have been compiled and published as 'Holy Book'.
In Bengali year 1316, being requested by Atul Chandra Bhattacharya, Sri Sri Thakur penned down a charter of advices in one night. Those have been published in the form a pocketbook named 'Satyanusaran'.
All these developments centering on Sri Sri Thakur created a sensation in and outside the country. Inquisitive mind and devoted hearts came pouring and created a beehive around Sri Sri Thakur. Sri Sri Thakur's abode in the village Himayetpur turned to be a shelter for people looking for relief and solutions of various kinds. Centers of activities, primarily to meet the natural requirement of visitors and inhabitants, sprung up; like school, college, hospital, centre of arts, cottage industries and laboratories for scientific experiments. Keeping people engaged in creative, scientific and entrepreneurial activities and developing human faculties on a balanced way was the motive behind all the activities. It was a fusion of science and dharma; material and spiritual; body, mind and soul; all leading to being and becoming of man, in symbiosis with surrounding and the Ideal. Sri Sri Thakur's abode popularly came to be known as 'Sri Sri Thakur Anukul Chandra Ashram'. As mother Manamohini desired, ashram was named as 'Pabna Satsang Ashram'.
Sri Sri Thakur's father Shiv Chandra Chakraborty left for his heavenly abode on 24th Agrahayan in the Bengali year 1330. Even during the period of mourning, Sri Sri Thakur never remised his pursuit of guiding and caring people, salvaging the fallen and rescuing the endangered. He was untiringly engaged in building his ideological framework both in theory and in practice. That ideology sets the path for the humanity, of current and of the foreseeable future. His cardinal principle for the unification of the mankind was, 'God is one, dharma is one, prophets are same, servers of the One.” He held all the past prophets in high reverence; upheld and fulfilled all the past prophets through his own conducts and ideology. While respecting all the past prophets, one is required to follow the principles of the present one. He said, “All prophets shoot from providence, hence they are anointed; the present prophet is the consummation of all prophets, hence all prophets should be revered.” He formulated ideological tripod, yajan, yaajan and istabhrity, which are to be practiced every day for the uplift and transformation of every individual, family, society and the humanity. For maintaining excellence and progressiveness in the social system, he favoured varnashram and eugenic based marriage.
As prophet of the age, Sri Sri Thakur pioneered a movement that was designed to give 'being and becoming' a reality. He brought in a new defining shape to the concept of 'dharma'. He said, “Dharma means the laws that sustain life and growth with every effulgence of personality; both individually and collectively.” He raised a guild of dedicated workers, who were classified and named as: ritwik, adhwarjyu and yaajak. The guild of ritwiks, out of sheer love for their Lord, marched far and wide and disseminated the mission and method of love, life and lore, as propounded by Sri Sri Thakur. Whoever came on the ideological spring board of Sri Sri Thakur got an access to their inner energy and were adjusted and elevated, leading a life centered around Ista (the blissful Ideal). The evil got automatically banished; each one got committed to an Ideal centric life in a societal grove where mutual love, service and instinct based livelihood prevailed.
Amidst hectic activities to spread the movement, Sri Sri Thakur was focused on 'man making'. Each person was an asset to him, with biological backdrop and future potential. Sri Sri Thakur's ideology was primarily meant for protecting the existence (being) and furthering the growth (becoming) of each person. Sri Sri Thakur was looking for a band of balanced and sound personality, devoted and dedicated, to lead his movement for the benefit of the humanity. Sri Sri Thakur was feeling pain and suffering of every person in his heart and was only too eager to alleviate the pain and banish the cause of suffering. Sri Sri Thakur displayed a sensitivity that is very fine and pervasive, by which he felt the feelings of even an ant. His ideology was aimed at making every person free from the bondages and luggage of the past that cause pain and sufferings and make the person progress on the road towards deliverance.
On 6th day of Chaitra in 1344, mother Manamohini devi left his dear son for her heavenly abode. Sri Sri Thakur's life took a different turn from then onwards, as he did not have any other worldly anchor to keep him going. Loss of mother left a lifelong void for him; as mother was everything for him. On 1st September 1946, amidst torrential downpour, Sri Sri Thakur left his homestead with a heavy heart. Apparently, he was advised by doctors for a change of climate for his health. He came to Deoghar (Baidyanth Dham) in Santhal Pragana district in then Bihar (now in Jharkhand). His family members and some close disciples accompanied him in this sojourn to Deoghar. It was tragic that less than a year from then, on 15th August 1947, India was partitioned and Sri Sri Thakur's birth place, Himayetpur in Pabna, remained on the side belonging to Pakistan (now Bangladesh). Sri Sri Thakur never returned to his birthplace. No devotee of Sri Sri Thakur could continue to stay there. All the people migrated to this side in India and many of them preferred to stay at Deoghar, despite all hardship. Slowly, the new ashram began to grow at Deoghar from the scratch. Sri Sri Thakur's ashram in Himayetpur together with properties worth crores of rupees was taken as public property by Pakistan Government.
Sri Sri Thakur was at his mission and movement. The creator of the universe got engaged with resettlement and rehabilitation, all alone. For him, the partition of the country on lines of religion and the holocaust of communalism that followed was sad, to say the least. But nothing could unnerve and unsettle him. His mission and movement to save and elevate the humanity went on a rampage. People in large number, irrespective of caste, clan, religion, from across the country and some from outside, poured in to Deoghar. A wave of cultural and spiritual reawakening, a resurgence of life, with epicenter at Deoghar engulfed the country. People from all walks of life, common and prominent alike, with various background and expectation, broke down at the feet of Sri Sri Thakur. Every soul looked for a solution; every one came expectant; every leader wanted to be led. Sri Sri Thakur fulfilled every heart, every mind and strengthened every shoulder. Many visitors and onlookers took shelter of Sri Sri Thakur's ideology by accepting holy mantra. Sri Sri Thakur's discourses with visitors were so powerful, meaningful and so precise in language that those were recorded. The discussions were jotted down by his erudite devotee Prafulla Kumar Das and transcript of those have been published in 'Alochana Prasange' in series. Sri Sri Thakur's ideology and activities got published in many contemporary magazines and news papers.
Sri Sri Thakur's ideology is captured in his literature. His scholarly devotees like Krishna Prasanna Bhattacharya, Sushil Chandra Basu, Panchanan Sarkar, Khalilur Rehman, Prafulla Kumar Das, Ashwini Kumar Biswas, Devi Prasad Mukhopadhyay and some more got engaged into creating literature on Sri Sri Thakur's personality and ideology. Large number of volumes in various languages have been written and published on the subject of Sri Sri Thakur and his sayings. All these books are on philosophy of Sri Sri Thakur, containing ways and means for the humanity for all time to come.
By the cruel turn of time, came 27th January 1969. Early morning at 04 hours 55 minutes, Sri Sri Thakur, the prophet for the age, took departure from this world of his creation. The prophet of the age, having accomplished his mission, laying the foundation of his movement, relapsed to his cosmic form, into the domain of eternity. Two years after that fateful day, on 10th May 1971, most respectful, image of Laxmi, Sarasibala breathed her last. A glorious chapter in the history of divine play on the earth came to an end.
What remained however is the undying print of his ideology. That ideology lays down the path for the humanity. Sri Sri Thakur remains with his devotees and provide the support and guidance, as he used to do when he was alive on the earth. In his current form, Sri Sri Thakur remains invisible, but not inaccessible and is always responsive. He said, 'I have given everything in black and white, in prose and verse. I wish, people can talk to me, even when I won't be there'. He expressed desire from his devotees, by saying, 'you all are my limbs. I like to move around everywhere through you all.'
World after Thakur's incarnation waits good time. Good time will come when people follow Sri Sri Thakur's principles, with sincerity and devotion. The incarnate of the age descended on the earth to share and shift our agony. He besought uninterrupted adherence and undiluted devotion from us. He wanted to remain alive through us. As devotees, our peace lies in his pleasure. It will be our continuous pursuit to be up to his expectation.