Ananda means “bliss” and Marga means “path.” So Ananda Marga means “Path of Bliss.”
Ananda Marga is a philosophy that promotes inner fulfillment and service to all beings. It is a philosophy of life applied to action based on spirituality and social action. Spread throughout the world, it aims to contribute to the formation of healthier people and societies with a universalist perspective.
That is why Ananda Marga is also an organization, which was founded in India in 1955 by Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, also known as Shrii Shrii Anandamurti, with multiple focuses, such as: education; social assistance; science; arts; agriculture; ecology; political-economic proposal that aims to achieve a healthy balance between social justice and freedom for each individual to express their potential; promotion of integral health; as we have already said, actions in favor of women’s protection and progress; and, as a basis for all this, spiritual progress based on the ancient tradition of Yoga and Meditation.
Spirituality is our foundation because we believe that any real change will only be possible if it starts with an effective change in the consciousness of individuals. Otherwise, even the best intentions can come up against conscious or unconscious mental patterns – and consequent behaviors – that imply exploitation, ignorance and even some kind of violence.
We are, therefore, social agents and spiritual practitioners. And we are, above all, universalists. Which means that everyone, regardless of nationality, ethnicity, gender, identity, religion etc, is welcome to work or participate with us in our social projects or spiritual practices.
This is the symbol of Ananda Marga called the “pratiik“. Pratiik means emblem.
According Shrii Shrii A’nandamu’rti:
“A triangle with one vertex up superimposed on another triangle with one vertex down, with the rising sun having a swastika inside. These are symbols of energy, knowledge, advancement and permanent victory, respectively.”
The triangle pointing downwards symbolizes internal development or meditation for self-realization. The triangle pointing upwards symbolizes action in the external world. The two triangles are in perfect balance. A person strives for balance between their internal life with their external life – service in the world.
The rising sun indicates progress that is the result of a balanced way of life. Thus the spiritual aspirant is progresses towards their goal of self-realization.
This spiritual victory is indicated by the swastika. Swastika is is a Sanskrit word that means “to have a good existence of a permamnet nature.” It is composed of su which meaning “good” and asti which means “to become.”
The Pratiik is a symbol that expresses a universal ideology of Self-Realization and service to humanity.