Anukulchandra Chakravarty (14 September 1888 – 27 January 1969), popularly known as Sree Sree Thakur, was a physician, a philosopher, a spiritual leader and the founder of

Satsang A satsanga (), also rendered satsang, refers to the practice of gathering in the company of good people for the performance of devotional activities. It also refers to an audience with a Satguru for yogic instruction. Satsangas are group events, o ...

, in

Deoghar Deoghar (pronounced ''Devaghar'') is a major city in Jharkhand, India. It is a holy sacred place of Hinduism. It is one of the 12 ''Jyotirlinga''s sites of Hinduism (Baidyanath Temple). The sacred temples of the city make this a place for pil ...

. He was born in a

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

family

Early life and service

Anukulchandra Chakravarty was born in the Himaitpur village of Pabna district of ,

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

which is now a part of

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

. Sivachandra Chakravarty and Monomohini Devi were his father and mother respectively. As a young medical student in Calcutta, Anukulchandra started serving and treating the slum dwellers in 1911. After six years of study, he came back to Himaitpur and began to practice medicine. In 1913, Anukulchandra was spiritually initiated by his mother. After his initiation, he along with his friends and companions started doing intense

kirtan Kirtana ( sa, कीर्तन; ), also rendered as Kirtan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts ...

. During kirtan, he often went into a state of trance, fell on the ground unconsciously and uttered messages in that condition. His going into trance during kirtan, delivering holy messages during trance and the devotion of those around him started attracting many more people. As a number of people came to his village to visit him began to settle permanently, gradually his village home was converted into an ashram. Anukulchandra Chakravarty's service to the people as a doctor, his speaking in tongues in a state of trance as well as his advice and guidance to his followers helped him secure a position as a religious leader. The personality, life and teachings of Thakur Anukulchandra mediates between science and spirituality, personal affirmation and self-transformation, individualism and social commitment has put him in the class of

prophet In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...

s or

avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appearanc ...

s of the Indian religious tradition. His devotees address him as ''Yuga Purushottam'' or the Prophet of the modern age.

Death

Chakravarty died on 27 January 1969. The

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

released a commemorative postage stamp, in 1987.

References

Other sources

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Anukulchandra, Sree Sree Thakur 1888 births 1969 deaths 19th-century Hindu religious leaders 20th-century Hindu religious leaders 19th-century Bengalis 20th-century Bengalis Bengali Hindus Founders of new religious movements Hindu mystics 20th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians Hindu revivalists Indian Hindu spiritual teachers Spiritual practice People from Pabna District