Bharat Sevashram Sangha is a Hindu charitable non-governmental organisation in India. It was founded in 1917 byAcharya Srimat Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj. The Sangha has hundreds of ashrams in India and other countries including the United Kingdom,Canada, and Bangladesh. It has initiated several missions to African countries, Malaysia, and Indonesia; monks from the Sangha have accompanied United Nations delegations to Syria and Lebanon.
The Sangha has responded to natural calamities in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa states, the Bengal famine of 1943, the Bhopal disaster, the 2001 Gujarat earthquake, and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. At times of political unrest such as the Partition of India, the Sangha has set up refugee camps and war evacuee camps in the border areas.
It has organised several projects to help impoverished Indian tribal people. One such project involved providing schooling for children of the Sabar tribeand providing them with housing and healthcare. It also hosts courses to train youths in information technology to enable them to find jobs which require IT skills.
Following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, the Sangha's monks proposed to set up a school for orphans at a cost of Rs. 42.50 lakhs, an orphanage at Rs. 60.20 lakhs, and 200 houses at Rs. 3 crores on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In Tamil Nadu state, where the tsunami killed more than 7,000 in the districts of Cuddalore,Nagapattinam and Chennai, the Sangha was one of the first to begin massive relief operations by building nearly 200 new houses at Sonankuppam village in Cuddaloer. Fishing boats and nets were also distributed to locals who had lost everything to the sea.
The Sangha actively provides shelter, food, medical treatment and public safety services to pilgrims at various places of worship and religious fairs in India, such as the Kumbha Mela. ] It operates free hospitals at Barajuri and Kolkata, mobile dispensary and medical units in sixty-four locations, a free residence for patients and their families in Navi Mumbai, and four hospitals and homes for leprosy patients. A 500-bed hospital at Joka, Kolkata was inaugurated in 2010 by the Indian Finance Minister as an example of private-public partnerships in healthcare.
Pranavananda Maharaj (also known as Yugacharya Srimat Swami Pranavananda Ji Maharaj, 1896–1941 ) was the founder of the organization known as the Bharat Sevashram Sangha. He is remembered for his pioneering efforts to bring the modern Hindu society into the new age without compromising the essential values of ancient traditions of Hindu spirituality. Swamiji was one of the greatest spiritual leaders of modern India. He is still revered very much for his message of universal love, compassion for all humanity and social reform without giving up the nationalist zeal, the love of mother land.
He was born on 29 January 1896, the auspicious day of Magha Purnima (16th Magha, 1302), in Bajitpur, a village in Faridpur District in undivided India (presently in Bangladesh). His parents Bishnu Charan Bhuia and Saradadevi were very pious and blessed by Lord Shiva to have a son for the mitigation of human suffering and universal emancipation. He was affectionately named Jaynath by his father at birth and later in his boyhood he was called Binode. Binode showed uncommon philosophical inclinations since childhood and often could be seen in deep contemplation at the village school. He was popular with the children of the locality because of his helpful nature.
He visited Gorakhpur in 1913 and met Yogiraj Baba Gambhirnathji Maharaj. This meeting proved to be a landmark event in his life and he was formally initiated by Baba Gambhirnathji Maharaj into the world of spirituality.
Pranvananda launched a mission to carry out social services and spread his spiritual ideas in the tradition of Hindu (Sanatan Dharma) religion. The mission took a formal shape as Bharat Sevashram Sangha on the Maghi Purnima day in the year 1917. He wanted this organization to strive tirelessly and selflessly to awaken and unite all sections of the people to build strong India. Overseas missions were also founded to spread the traditional Hindu message of universal love and devotion to all humanity. The Sevashram built many cottage industry centres, monastic schools, primary schools and free dispensaries in urban and rural areas in east India. Branches were started in different parts of the country for various humanitarian tasks, including relief work at the time of flood, famine, earthquake and pestilence. One can not fail to notice the [Bharat Sevashram Sangha] volunteers dressed in saffron robes and wearing traditional Hindu turbans at every major religious or cultural congregations and fairs, guiding devotees, pilgrims, tourists and lending helping hand to local civic authorities in traffic management. They also run many non-profit guests houses, clinics and hospitals all over India, helping any body that shows up to seek help, irrespective to any discrimination of religion, caste and creed.
Swamiji was an avid traveller and has contributed to the enrichment of knowledge by taking a pilgrimage to Kailash Man-sarovar in Tibet and chronicling minute details about the geography and culture of the land.There he also took the liberty of making extensive tours through Tibet with the aim of finding the real confluence of the Brahmaputra .This discovery of the true confluence of the Brahmaputra and the detailed documentation done by him proved SVEN HEDIN's conclusions wrong.The Royal Geographical Society as a result honoured him with a honorary membership.They also took his contour drawings as pretty much accurate.He also discovered the real confluence of the Sutlej river. Swamiji also camped on site at the Manas lake in order to find out the exact depth of the Manas lake and Rakas lake.
He had always been a source of great inspiration to many freedom fighters of India, extending moral and material help to them. He continued to work tirelessly till the last day of his life (January 8, 1941) — awakening, uniting, and strengthening the people of India. The great Acharya propagated practical spirituality in preference to theoretical philosophy. Though the literature on his teaching is not elaborate, the essential truths have been codified as the "Sangha Geeta". This book offers adequate guidance to his followers in achieving self-realization. He emphasized in the ideals of sacrifice, self-discipline, truth, and continence. He urged his followers to shun all idleness, procrastination, slumbering habits and lust.