BASIC IDEOLOGIES OF MAHANAM SAMPRADAYA

Lord Jagatbandhu Hari is believed by the Mahanam Sampradaya to be the New Incarnation of the Loving Lord Sri Hari and the Greatest World – Teacher whose advent is being proclaimed in chorus by various sects of Hindus, Mohammedans, Buddhists and Christians alike. The Lord appeared in the year 1871 AD in the month of May (1278 B.S 17th Baisakh) in Bengal, India, and declared that He had come to deliver the creation from all troubles and sins. The Lord has said: “With my advent all the saints and great men have come down to the world. I am the centre of all”. He further says: “I shall establish the order of true religion in four continents alike at the same time”. “All creatures are mine and I also, do belong to all. So go ye and make all in the world your own.” “Show kindness and compassion and do well to all creatures. Make a free gift of religion to all. Initiation in the hallowed name of Hari is the sure means of attaining salvation (i.e; deliverance from all agonies and sufferings). This is the secret of salvation. This is the secret of eternal good done to others”.

For thirty years the Saviour went from door to door asking the people to chant the name of Hari, exhorting them to love God and His creatures without any distinction of caste and creed. Then in the year 1902 A.D (1309 B.S) the Lord closed Himself within the four corners of a small cottage without coming out into the gaze of the public and observed perfect silence for about seventeen years.

During that period historic changes occurred in the world of religions and the Mahanam Sampradaya sincerely believes that it was due to the desire of this World Saviour that ideas began to grow up in the minds of great thinkers to meet upon a platform of perfect synthesis of religions and the Parliament of world religions is only one of many things which are sure to follow to fulfill the prophecy and the Mission of the Great Saviour. That the kingdom of God will very soon be established on this earth is a stern fact of reality to them and they believe that the New Messiah Jagatbandhu Hari has come to establish that.

It was Sripad Mahendrajee who caught this message of the Lord and getting a glimpse both of the Lord and His Greatest Lila namely that of “Universal Emancipation” ran up to Sri Sri Dham Sri Angan, Faridpur, from Vrindavan, where he had gone as a mendicant, having renounced the world at the age of twenty in quest of Lord Krishna (First Incarnation of Hari), a Personal God of Love, and a necessity of life for a Vaishnava like Sripad Mahendrajee. At Sri Angan, Faridpur, he began to meditate upon the Lila (Manifest acts) of the New Incarnation and to lead the life of an Ashramite Brahmachari and had to pass through all the ordeals of the life of a Hindu mystic.
After a few years, Lord Jagadbandhu Hari revealed in full His hidden divinity and charged Sripad Mahendrajee with a mission to organise a band of selfless young Brahmacharies and began moving on from place to place with the ‘Great Name’ (Mahanam) of the Lord, in order to fight and drive out the destructive agencies of Kaliyuga or the dark age. This was the first formation of the Mahanam Sampradaya under the leadership of Mahendrajee – the founder Acharya. About fifty Sannyasins joined the movement and the efforts of all the sadhus were directed towards amelioration of the helpless condition of sinners. Many who rallied round this Sampradaya and took shelter under the great banner of the Lord’s Holy Name, looked eye to eye with the Lord and in course of time the Sampradaya extended its scope of activities in other provinces of India as well. This is the Mahanam Mission. Having organised his band of workers, Sripad Mahendrajee began preaching the New Gospel of the Lord (i.e; Mahanam Mahauddharanism) which formulated the creed of love and universal brotherhood.

While Sripad Mahendrajee was busy with his mission work, the Lord assumed the appearance of a dead man, though inwardly full of intelligence and bliss, on 17th September 1921 AD (1328 B.S 1st Aswin). It was Sripad Mahendrajee who diagnosed the same condition of the Lord as only a unique stage in the life of the Lord; a metamorphic condition for a higher culmination of the realization of Mahabhava (a sublimated condition of Divine Love); and giving up his itinerant preaching, according to the Lord’s previous instructions, preserved the holy body in a casket of sandal wood and started his Great Sacrifice of the hallowed name of the Lord in the Sri Dham Sri Angan, Faridpur on 18th October, 1921 (2nd Kartik 1328 B.S) Sri Haripurusabda 51. This Sacrifice is known as the Mahanam Yajna, the main function of which, celebrated in this Sacrifice, is the incessant and unintermittent recital of the name of the Great Lord in accompaniment to the music of Khola and Karatala (a kind of drum and cymbal). Now this Sacrifice is inspired by vow taken by Sripad Mahendrajee that consistent with the saying of the Lord, He will have to rise up and awake through the mysterious influence of Mahanam and will complete the final synthesis of all religions and save the world from going asunder under the influence of Maha Pralaya (the Dissolution of the Universe).

First, the holy body was preserved in a casket of sandal wood. The divine immortal body of the Lord went through many stages of change and was finally preserved inside a metallic hollow replica of the Lord (more commonly known as “Samput”).
The Lord Jagatbandhu Hari in His great trance or Mahasamadhi is lying in the form of a skeleton inside the samput (earlier at Sri Angan, Faridpur, Bangladesh and now at Mahendrabandhu Angan, Ghurni, West Bengal, India) and though outwardly there is nothing to attract or impress anybody, still thousands and thousands of the Lord’s followers have been coming and worshiping the same as the Living Incarnation, and the monks of the Mahanam Sampraday under the guidelines laid by Sripad Mahendrajee have been performing daily seva or worship of the Lord in strict Hindu manners, and a continuous vibration is being produced in the atmosphere and in ethereal spiritual regions through the incessant chanting of the Lord’s name, viz:-

Hari purusha Jagadbandhu Maha – Uddharana:
Charihasta Chandraputra Hakitapatana
(Prabhu Prabhu Prabhu Hey) (Ananta – nantamaya)
--from “CHANDRAPAT”.

This ceaseless Mahanam Kirtan is still continuing for last 87 years around that Holy body. That Hari Purusha will come back is the belief of the Mahanam Sampradaya. The incessant Kirtan will not stop until the Great Awakening comes and the whole world is reborn. Thus tremendous power is being generated day and night. The Brahmacharis of Mahanam Mission are broadcasting these world – purifying vibrations through both the physical and spiritual atmosphere of the world.

Sripad Mahendrajee received a note of invitation dated the fifth of June, 1933, from the World Fellowship of Faiths, Chicago, and deputed Bhagavata – Gangottari Sriman Mahanambrata Brahmachari M.A. (in Sanskrit and Philosophy), Vice President of the Sampradaya to speak on their behalf. According to the custom of Hindu creed as established from time immemorial, Brahmachari Mahanambrata had practiced Brahmacharya and had lived a life of restraint of a Brahmachari as regards to food and mode of living. Dr. Brahmachari’s mission was very successful and he stayed in USA for five years and eight months, and then returned to India.

After Sripad Mahendrajee left this mortal world, Dr. Mahanambrata Brahmachari became the Acharya of Mahanam Sampradaya and took total charge of the organisation. Activities of the Sampradaya really flourished under his leadership and overall development took place in all the sectors. Number of temples and ashramas were set up at many places in India and Bangladesh and also at religiously important places like Vrindavan, Puri, Nabadwip etc. The main message and philosophy of Lord Jagatbandhu Sundar were spread widely to various corners of the Indian Sub – continent and millions of people accepted him as their spiritual preceptor or Guru. Mahanam Sevak Sangha – a subsidiary of Mahanam Sampradaya was established for the non-ashramite followers to render all services to the Sampradaya and to undertake all social and benevolent activities. Publication Trust was set up and more than hundred very valuable books with immense spiritual depth were written, edited and published by him.

While this ceaseless kirtan was continuing around the Holy Immortal body of Lord Bandhususdar lying inside the Samput at Sri Angan, Faridpur, Bangladesh during Bangladesh liberation war in 1971 the Pakistan Army brutally killed eight monks of Mahanam Sampraday and destroyed a portion of the temple. Dr. Mahanambrata Brahmachari was very much hurt by this incidence and gave up eating cereals and started living only on fruits etc. with a vow that he will not take cereals till freedom of Bangladesh is achieved. At this time for the sanctity and safety of the Holy Samput, it was shifted overnight to India, first to Mahauddharan Math at Kolkata and then to Mahendrabandhu Angan at Ghurni, Krishnanagar.

Mahanam sect is one of the four sects, affiliated to madhwa- gourya vaishnav sect; it is a neo vaishnavite cult. Following Sriman Mahaprabhu and as per instructions and guidance of Sri Sri Prabhu Jagatbandhu Sundar the main spiritual activities of this sect include adherence to self-restraint and pious –conduct and dedication to the propagation of Kali’s yuga-dharma ‘Harinam’ and worshipping following the path of Gopis of Braja or Vrindavan. Sri Mahaprabhu inculcated the greatest adorable love of Braja, among living beings, through ‘Harinam’. That is why there is so much of charm in the ‘Harinam’, originating from Sri Chaitanaya and that coming out of the Lila-combination of Sri Nitai-Gour, i.e. Sri Bandhusundar. There are more than five hundred ‘padavali-kirtans’ composed by Sri Sri Prabhu Jagadbandhu Sundar. These are never-ending store-house of Braja Prem (selfless love) and loving ambrosia of Gour. These are the easiest and surest way to stabilize the fickle minds of mankind. According to the instructions of Sri Sri Prabhu Jagadbandhu Sundar, the Brahmacharis of this sect must take out ‘Tahal Kirtans’ (Loud Devotional songs sung while walking briskly in a group) daily morning, for wide publicity of these Kirtans. In Ashrams of this Sampradaya each morning begins with the Jagaran (awakening) Kirtan at 3 AM followed by Mangalarati, Tahal Kirtan and salutation to the Acharya or mentor. Then it is followed by bath, dressing & decoration of the deities, their worshipping and devotional chanting along with offering of morning Balya Bhog (food cooked sacredly for the deity) . At noon the main bhog is offered. In the afternoon, Arati and discourses from scriptures like Bhagbad, Gita, Sri-Chaitanya-Charitamrita, Ramayan and Mahabharata are performed. This is followed by Evening Arati, Night time Bhoga offering and Shayan (putting the Deities to rest).
Besides the daily routine services, important ceremonies of Mahanam Samprdaya are observed at the ashram/temples of the Sampradaya with great fan-fare. Nam Samkirtan programs for 12 or 24 hrs are organized regularly and other important vaisnavite ceremonies are also observed. Through all these activities, the groups of ashrams of this sect and their Brahmacharies are distributing peace and tranquility to the common public.

The Registered central office of the original Mahanam Sampradaya in India is situated at ‘Mahauddharan Math’ on Maniktala main road. This math was founded in Bengali year 1332, at the house donated by Devi Suratkumari famous devotee of Prabhu Jagadbandhusundar. Mahanambrataji spent long fifty years of his life here. Currently ‘Sri Sri Mahanam Angan’ which is the Head Quarters of Mahanam Sevak Sangha (a subsidiary of Mahanam Sampradaya) and Mahanambrata Cultural & Welfare Trust (publication wing of Mahanam Samprdaya) has become a very important centre of major activities. At his old age Mahanambrataji was mostly here and here only breathed his last. Other branch asrams/temples of Mahanam Sampradaya, India are situated at Mahanam Math at Nawadwip, Natua Gour’s Harisabha temple at Nawadwip, Sri Sri Mahendra-Bandhu-Angan at Ghurni- Krishnanagar, Sri Sri Mahanam Angan at Banamlipur- Agartala, Sri Sri Prabhu Jagadbandhu ashram at Swargadwar Puri, Bandhu Kunj at Vrindavan, Radhamadhav Prabhu Jagdbandhu Asram at Ghughumali Shiliguri, Prabhu Jagadbandhu Mahauddharan Kunja at Subhashgram south-24-parganas, Rambagan-Harishabha, near Biddon street, Kolkata etc.
Besides this, in Bangladesh the most important temple for Mahanam sampradaya, the actual place for Sri Sri Prabhu’s divine sport is at Faridpur Sri Angan, Bangladesh, which is the Head Quarters of Mahanam Sampradaya, Bangladesh. Other important ashrams of Bangladesh are Mahaprakash Math at Tikatuli, Dhaka, Sri Sri Prabhu Jagatbandhu ashram at Mymensing. Besides these there are temples at Bakchar, Brahmankanda, Fulbadina etc and recently two temples are added at Fatoabad near Chattagram and at Rangunia. Every where ‘kirtan’ is being chanted for the benign ness of the whole world with the great hymn of ‘Hare Krishna’ and new incarnation Sri Sri Prabhu Jagatbandhu Sundar’s ‘Mahanam’ :-