The Durga Puja of September 2009 was special for Bibek Anander Satsang. Over 1500 beautifully illustrated English pamphlets about Acharya Gour Ganguly and his work were distributed for the first time in the UK on the occasion of Durga Puja. On one side of the pamphlet were Gour Baba's words about the relevance of Durga Puja in our complex modern Age, translated from the Patravali or Collected Letters by Gourdasi, and on the other side, a biography of Gour Baba and a note about the revolutionary beginnings of Bibek Anander Satsang in Tripura.
It was a rather daunting task to initiate this campaign in the UK, since this Satsang worker was in England for the first time, and knew nobody in that country, nor how people would receive such a pamphlet. The author was initially nervous, but she felt Gour Baba's presence at her side, giving her courage and reminding her that Sri Ramakrishna has taught us - Lajja, Ghrina, Bhay, Teen Thakte Noy. Our steadfast belief that Gour Baba's message is for the benefit of all humanity and that there is only truth and pure love in his every word, gave us courage to go up to strangers with a smile to spread 'Gour vani'. Besides, the thought that Gour Baba had studied here at Oxford and Sandhurst reassured us that this was territory that already bore the sacred imprint of his footsteps. I was also encouraged by the example of Gour Baba's devotees, the entire Sen family in Boston, who had spread the ideas of Gour Baba among overseas Bengalis at the North American Bengali Conference some years ago.
On Sasthi, 200 of the Bibek Anander Satsang pamphlets were distributed at the Camden Centre in London, which is the biggest and most prestigious Puja in London. On Saptami,about 215 of the same pamphlets, which bore the pictures of Gour Baba, Thakur, Sarada Ma and Swamiji were distributed in Liverpool at the North England Merseyside Puja. On Ashtami and Navami, about 300 pamphlets were distributed in the town of Barnsley where the Sheffield and Districts Puja is held. Finally, on Vijaya Dashami the largest number of pamphlets were distributed at the Camden Centre, where a hall full of London Bengalis had gathered to see a star-studded cultural function featuring Rezwana Bannya Choudhury among others. Some fellow-Indians, including the first Indian woman to join London's Metropolitan Police, spontaneously helped us distribute the pamphlets at the Camden Centre. Everywhere it was distributed, I saw people reading it with great concentration and respect.
Bibek Anander Satsang is grateful to the organisers of all these Pujas for giving permission to freely do our work without any major obstacles. Both the mayor of Camden and the mayor of Barnsley received Gour Baba's writing on Durga Puja. Special thanks are due to Dr. P. Ghosh, Dr. Mrs. P. Ghosh and their daughter Nupur for hosting me during the Pujas on the days when I was outside London, and for facilitating my travel to and from all these distant Pujas. May the Lord's blessings be upon them. Over 60% of the people who read the pamphlets at the Liverpool Merseyside Puja and the Sheffield and Districts Puja were senior and eminent doctors, and many of them gave very positive feedback; that they liked the message and the life of the great saint.A gentleman in Liverpool took an extra copy of the leaflet, saying that he would make more photocopies to distribute among his study circle and friends. Many pravasi and British Indian parents came up to me and said that they liked the pamphlet very much as their children had no idea why Durga Puja was held, and this was a great way of educating them about the importance of the festival.
On the 4th of October, leaflets were distributed in a massive open-air Diwali gathering at Trafalagar Square. Many people actually came and asked for the leaflets when they saw me distributing it. This included many Europeans as well, who were interested to know more about Gour Baba's explication of Diwali. The pamphlets for this occasion bore the message, "All who believe in OM, unite in love and brotherhood". This was something significant, as many of the people who took the leaflets were Sikhs and Buddhists. Gour Baba's message of the need to cement a fellowship of all the paths that are based on an understanding of OM or the primal universal sound will someday find global acceptance.
All glory to Sri Ramakrishna-Vivekananda-Gour! Only their blessings and power made this first large-scale 'reaching out' in the UK possible, given the limited resources and lone worker. By the grace of the Lord, over 1500 people in the UK know the name of Acharya Gour Ganguly and the ideals of Bibek Anander Satsang.
Jai Londoneshwar!Jai Gour!May the ideas of Bibek Anander Satsang thus spread far and wide, taking Harinaam and Sri Ramakrishna's message as taught by Gour Baba from shore to shore across the seas and continents!
Excerpts from the first page of the pamphlet:
“What is the Significance of Durga Puja for Us Today?”
Some Thoughts on the Continuing Relevance of Durga Puja
Written by Acharya Sri Sri Gour Ganguly
Bengali Saint, Social Reformer & Freedom Fighter (1920-2003)
The Invocation or bodhan of the Divine Mother Sri Sri Durga was traditionally done in springtime. However, in the Ramayana, we find Lord Rama invoking the goddess in the autumn, thus performing akaal bodhan - invocation outside its proper season. Why did Sri Rama perform this ‘untimely’ invocation that is today celebrated as Sharadiya Durga Puja?
In the mythic history of the Ramayana, we hear of Ravana - a great scholar, scientist and warrior-king known for his indomitable courage. However, this ruler had begun to use his tremendous mastery over knowledge and technology to further his egotistical hunger for power – he began to misuse it to dominate and terrorise other nations. Peaceful, ethical and sattvik people everywhere were enslaved, exploited and living in fear. It was in this time of crisis that Sri Rama rose as a symbol of the good in humanity, to battle with Ravana. Sri Rama invoked the Mother Goddess to seek power to defeat Ravana and re-establish the reign of justice and restore peace, brotherhood and good values. After the great battle, the exploited and suffering peoples breathed easily again, freed from the terror of Ravana.
Today, people everywhere are again being exploited due to the values of greed, or profit-based values of life. The common man is being pushed towards dependence and indignity. As a result, there is loss of man’s full consciousness of the self and the world, and a growing tendency towards self-destruction. Civilisation is in crisis, as it becomes too profit-oriented, going against the welfare of the common man in his times of sickness, sorrow or poverty.
Bibek-Anander Satsang is committed to reviving the fast-eroding sattvik or humanistic values. In these times of unethical profiteering, we invite you all to perform the akaal bodhan of divine shakti or good power, and contest the demonic values that rule our lives today. We need to bring back sustainable non-profit-based values to education, politics, economy and social and national life. Through the practice of scientific spirituality, this akaal bodhan or autumn invocation of Sri Durga must happen every day, all through the year in our lives. That is the true Puja. And the medium of our work is prarthana – mass prayer…"
