of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Paramananda. At
her death in 1995, Dr. Susan Schrager (1942– ),
known as the Reverend Mother Sudha Puri,
accepted the spiritual leadership of the ashram.
Residents of Ananda Ashrama are primarily
women monastics. MEDITATION classes, weekly
worship services, a lending library, and retreats
are offered to the public. Membership is offered to
anyone who attends regular services. Through its
company, Vedanta Centre Publishers, the ashram
publishes and sells books, compact disks, and cas-
sette tapes by and about Swami Paramananda.
In addition to two ashrams in Calcutta, India,
and Ananda Ashrama, Swami Paramananda
founded the Vedanta Centre in Cohasset, Mas-
sachusetts, in 1929.
Further reading: Sister Devamata, Swami Paramananda
and His Work, 2 vols. (Crescenta, Calif.: Ananda Ash-
rama, 1926 and 1941); Sara Ann Levinsky, A Bridge of
Dreams: The Story of Paramananda, a Modern Mystic,
and His Ideal of All-Conquering Love (West Stockbridge,
Mass.: Lindisfarne Press, 1984); ———, Christ and
Oriental Ideals (Cohasset, Mass.: Vedanta Centre, 1912);
———, Creative Power of Silence (La Crescenta, Calif.:
Vedanta Centre; 1923); ———, Emerson and Vedanta
(Boston: Vedanta Centre, 1918); Swami Paramananda,
The Path of Devotion (New York: Vedanta Society, 1907).
Ananda Marga Yoga Society (est. 1955)
The Ananda Marga Yoga Society describes itself
as “an international socio-spiritual movement
involved in the twin pursuit of SELF-REALIZATION
and service to all of creation.” Ananda Marga,
through its educational and charitable affiliates
in over 160 countries, claims more than a million
followers worldwide.
The movement was founded in 1955 in the
state of Bihar, India, by Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar
(1921–90), better known as Marga Guru Sri SRI
ANANDAMURTI, which means “He who attracts
others as the embodiment of bliss.” He received
enlightenment quite early in his life—he is
reported to have been an accomplished yogi by
the age of four—and he attracted his first devotees
when he was only six. After marrying and getting
a job with the railway system, he founded Ananda
Marga. From then until his death he authored
more than 250 books as Sri Sri Anandamurti.
After founding Ananda Marga, Sarkar began to
train missionaries to carry his teachings beyond
India; today the society has a complex interna-
tional organization. Three levels of membership
are offered: (1) acharyas—teachers and devotees
who devote their lives to the movement and may
be employed in many locales around the world;
(2) local full-time workers; and (3) margis—mem-
bers who are initiated but hold jobs outside the
movement. The number of active members is not
known, but estimates run as high as several hun-
dred thousand.
The teaching of the movement involves three
dimensions: the practice of tantra yoga, MEDITA-
TION, and engagement in social service with the
goal of bringing about a more just and humane
world. Part of the movement’s discipline is
Sarkar’s Sixteen Points, a system of spiritual
practices that helps initiates balance the physi-
cal, mental, and spiritual aspects of life. Rituals
include KIRTAN (singing) and recitation of the
mantra Baba Nam Kevalam (the universal Father
is everywhere).
Ananda Marga stresses public service, includ-
ing care of the sick and elderly. Service to others
is a means of transformation from the needs of
oneself to the needs of others, which is also the
path to enlightenment. Because of the movement’s
dedication to human service, many organizations
have been formed within its ambit. The Ananda
Marga Universal Relief Team (AMURT), founded
in 1965, and the Ananda Marga Universal Relief
Team Ladies (AMURTEL), founded in 1977,
address disaster relief around the world. Renais-
sance Universal, founded in 1958, encourages
intellectuals to design and create programs for
improving the human condition. The Education,
Relief, and Welfare Section (ERWS) is another
organization created to propagate Ananda Marga’s
agenda of social service.K 30 Ananda Marga Yoga Society