Shiva Milan Mandir

 Who is Satguru?  Sat means Perfect,Gu means Darkness and Ru means Light.  One who brings us away from Darkness into Light is called Guru.

Acharya Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj is a divine incarnation who appeared with a Universal mission, and a message to guide and restructure his people towards a social, political and economical life based upon the Eternal Truth or Sanatan Dharma.  This spiritual master is worshipped as the incarnation of Lord Shiva,  and is the founder of the Bharat Sevashram Sangha.

Acharya Deva lived in the first half of the Twentieth century.   He was born on Wednesday January 29th 1896, on the auspicious day of Maghi Purnima, in Bajitpur, which is presently part of Bangladesh.   His parents were Bishnu Charan Bhuia, and Saradevi,  who were blessed by Lord Shiva to have a son for the improvement of human suffering and universal emancipation.   He was affectionately named Jaynath by his father, but later in his boyhood he was called Binode.

From his early days He was drawn to a spiritual quest, and a kind of severe athleticism.  He showed uncommon theoretical fondness, and would be seen in deep meditation and self contemplation.  He was popular with children of the region because of his helpful nature.  He was polite with modest manners. He was honest, truthful and had a nonattached nature; an embodiment of Divine purity.   This led the villagers to refer him, as miniature Shiva.

He would go missing many times.  His worried parents would find him lost in meditation in a lonely corner of the woods. <br>He was only interested to be in the midst of devotees during their devotional chanting of the Lord's name;  there he would stand or sit in perfect calmness, listening to the chanting.

Binode was constently absorbed in helping the needy.  Being a born leader, he gathered a group of youths, who would follow him to undertake numerous humanitarian tasks in the village.  His organizational potentials were discovered during his early boyhood.  He was a person who practiced serious self-abnegation, and adherence of truth and continence.  He would eat only a few boiled potatoes, salt and rice as his daily food.  In all seasons, he would wear milk-white clothing.  Binode would display a divine purity, portraying the perfect transparency of his inner self.  He developed his will power to such a point that he gained full control over his sleep.

At the age of seventeen, in 1913, Binode received a spark of the burning spirituality from the great Yogiraj Baba Gambhirnathji of Gorupur, in the State of Uttar Pradesh. This meeting was a landmark event in his life, and he was formally initiated by Baba Gambhirnath into the world of spirituality.  It was on the auspicious day of Maghi Purnima, in 1916, Bramachari Binode, after a night of long meditation under a Kadamba tree, entered into the Great Enlightenment where upon he discovered his Divine Mission –  the formation of a Sangha.  This enlightened awareness combined with God-realization raised the Bramacharya to the high position of the Acharya, the Divine builder, the Profit of the Age. 

Acharya launched his mission of the Sangha to carry out social service  and spread his spiritual ideas of Sanatan Dharama (Hindu religion).  The mission took a formal shape as the Bharat Sevashram Sangha.  He wanted this organization to strive determinedly and selflessly to awaken and unite all the people, to build a strong India.   This organization would bring new energy, life, and pride to the Hindu masses and the world.  He was only fourty four years old when he attained Maha Samadhi, on January 8th, 1941. <br>He left his imprint on India in various ways.  Branches were started at different parts of the countr, for various humanitarian tasks including relief work at the time of flood, starvation, earthquake, deadly diseases and many more.

He was a source of great inspiration to many freedom fighters.  He continued to work tirelessly up to the last day of his life awakening, uniting and strengthening the people of India.   In many ways he stands most faithfully for Hindu values, which can easily be overlooked by modern commentators, scholars and interpreters of religion.

Perhaps He was one of the figures who should be taken most seriously while estimating the power and value of the modern Hindu renaissance stretching from recent history to modern times, when a variety of new religious leaders have made their impact on both the Indian and Western areas.  His type of spirituality is very different than the ways of other Gurus and Saints whose lives have come to the attention of the English public.  The Kali Yug is not a fortunate time to be alive, even though it contains great and holy figures who can pause human decline by recalling humanit, to the holy dharmic teachings.

In the Kali Yug age, humanity is troubled by diseases, both physical and spiritual.  It is rare for men to live beyond a hundred years of age.  Religion is on the decline, and corruption is on the increase.  Dharma is no longer preserved and this, itself, affects the health of society.  There are saints and human beings of great virtue.  Acharya Swami Pranavananda was one.

We believe the practice of moral and spiritual values, and the continuing description and interpretation of the philosophy of the Hindu Scriptures, such as the Bhagavad Gita, Bhagavatam and Ramayana, are to be used as a Guide to inspire the way of life to provide peace, comfort and spiritual peace of mind, and lead mankind to the path of realization of the "Self".

The great Acharya circulated sensible religious studies in preference to theoretical philosophy.   Though the literature on his teaching is not complicated, the essential truths have been codified as the “Sangha Geeta”,  which is a book that offers sufficient guidance to his followers in achieving self-realization. He emphasized the values of sacrifice, self-discipline, truth, and continence.  He urged his followers to avoid unemployment, procrastination, slumbering habits, and lust.  He wanted the country to rise above the divisions of socialism.

The Acharya felt that Indians, both in India and abroad, had forgotten the self-important morals of the Indian culture and its traditional heritage. In order to remind people of the spirituality and values of Sanatan Dharma he had dedicated workers visit various parts of India and abroad to spread the principles of our ancient religion and the message of Acharya.  

The message of the Sangha Lord crossed the seven seas and reached the West in 1951, when under the inspiration of Guru Maharaj, a team of monks reached Trinidad and Guyana.  The mission soon spread throughout various parts of the world and permanent missions were established in Canada, United Kingdom, the United States, Trinidad and Guyana. The Acharya determinedly encouraged his devoties of their responsibility, of inspiring a fallen person with the passion, of tremendous and nonstop activity.  "Work! Work! Work!" was His call, "Work is rest, Work is recreation; rest is simply the replacement of one sort of work by another". 

The Bharat Sevashram Sangha is a visible manifestation of spiritual power; of its unforgettable Founder, the Acharya Srimat Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj. Over the years, the Sangha has emerged into a mighty humanitarian organization, having fourty six centers.   It is a name that commands respect all over India and abroad too.