bharat sevashram sangha bharat sevashram sangha bharat sevashram sangha is a hindu religious and spiritual organisation focused on humanitarian work. it was founded in 1917 by the illustrious patriot saint acharya srimat swami pranavananda maharaj. it is purely a philanthropic and charitable organization with non-sectarian, non-communal and non-political character and outlook. the headquarter of the sangha is situated in kolkata, west bengal with more than three hundreds of branches in india and also in other countries including the united kingdom, united states, guyana, trinidad and tobago, canada, fiji 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. bharat sevashram sanghaemblem of bharat sevashram sanghaformation1917 (1917)founderswami pranavanandatypereligious organisationpurposeeducational, philanthropic, religious studies, spiritualityheadquarterskolkata, west bengal, indiaregion served worldwidewebsitewww.bharatsevashramsangha.org part of a series onhinduism hindus history timeline origins history indus valley civilisation historical vedic religion dravidian folk religion śramaṇa tribal religions in india traditions major traditions shaivism shaktism smartism vaishnavism list deities trimurti brahma vishnu shiva tridevi saraswati lakshmi parvati other major devas / devis vedic: agni ashvins chandra indra prajapati pushan rudra surya ushas varuna vayu post-vedic: dattatreya durga ganesha hanuman kali kartikeya krishna kubera radha rama shakti sita vishvakarma concepts worldview cosmology mythology puranic chronology ontology tattvas subtle elements panchikarana gross elements guṇas supreme reality brahman nirguna saguna om satcitananda god ishvara god in hinduism god and gender meaning of life dharma artha kama moksha stages of life brahmacarya grihastha vanaprastha sannyasa three paths to liberation bhakti yoga jnana yoga karma yoga liberation mokṣa-related topics: paramātman maya karma saṃsāra mind ātman (self) anātman (non-self) sūkṣma śarīra (subtle body) antaḥkaraṇa (mental organs) prajña (wisdom) ānanda (happiness) viveka (discernment) vairagya (dispassion) sama (equanimity) dama (temperance) uparati (self-settledness) titiksha (forbearance) shraddha (faith) samadhana (concentration) arishadvargas (six enemies) ahamkara (attachment) ethics niti śastra yamas niyama ahimsa achourya aparigraha brahmacarya satya damah dayā akrodha arjava santosha tapas svādhyāya shaucha mitahara dāna sources of dharma epistemology pratyakṣa (perception) anumāṇa (inference) upamāṇa (comparison, analogy) arthāpatti (postulation, presumption) anupalabdi (non-perception, negation) śabda (word, testimony) practices worship, sacrifice, and charity puja ārtī prarthana śrauta temple murti bhakti japa bhajana kīrtana yajna homa tarpana vrata prāyaścitta tirtha yatra tirthadana matha nritta-nritya dāna seva meditation tāpas dhyāna samādhāna nididhyāsana yoga sadhu yogi yogini asana sadhana hatha yoga jnana yoga bhakti yoga karma yoga raja yoga kundalini yoga arts bharatanatyam kathak kathakali kuchipudi manipuri mohiniyattam odissi sattriya bhagavata mela yakshagana dandiya raas carnatic music pandav lila kalaripayattu silambam adimurai rites of passage garbhadhana pumsavana simantonayana jatakarma namakarana nishkramana annaprashana chudakarana karnavedha vidyarambha upanayana keshanta ritushuddhi samavartana vivaha antyeshti festivals diwali holi shivaratri navaratri durga puja ramlila vijayadashami-dussehra raksha bandhan ganesh chaturthi vasant panchami rama navami janmashtami onam makar sankranti kumbha mela pongal ugadi vaisakhi bihu puthandu vishu ratha yatra philosophical schools six astika schools samkhya yoga nyaya vaisheshika mimamsa vedanta advaita dvaita vishishtadvaita achintya bheda abheda shuddhadvaita dvaitadvaita akshar-purushottam darshan other schools saiva kapalika pasupata pratyabhijña vaishnava pancharatra charvaka gurus, sants, philosophers ancient agastya angiras aruni ashtavakra atri bharadwaja gotama jaimini jamadagni kanada kapila kashyapa patanjali pāṇini prashastapada raikva satyakama jabala valmiki vashistha vishvamitra vyasa yajnavalkya medieval abhinavagupta adi shankara akka mahadevi allama prabhu alvars basava chaitanya chakradhara chāngadeva dadu dayal eknath gangesha upadhyaya gaudapada gorakshanatha haridasa thakur harivansh jagannatha dasa jayanta bhatta jayatīrtha jiva goswami jñāneśvara kabir kanaka dasa kumārila bhaṭṭa madhusūdana madhva matsyendranatha morya gosavi mukundarāja namadeva narahari tirtha nrusinha saraswatī nayanars nimbarka prabhākara purandara dasa raghavendra swami raghunatha siromani raghuttama tirtha ram charan ramananda ramanuja ramprasad sen ravidas rupa goswami samarth ramdas sankardev satyanatha tirtha siddheshwar sripada srivallabha sripadaraja surdas swaminarayan śyāma śastri tukaram tulsidas tyagaraja vācaspati miśra vadiraja tirtha vallabha valluvar vedanta desika vidyaranya vyasaraja modern aurobindo bhaktivinoda thakur chinmayananda dayananda saraswati jaggi vasudev krishnananda saraswati mahavatar babaji mahesh yogi narayana guru nigamananda nisargadatta maharaj prabhupada radhakrishnan r. d. ranade ramakrishna ramana maharshi sai baba sarasvati satyadhyana tirtha siddharameshwar maharaj sivananda swami rama tirtha swami ramdas swami samarth swami shraddhanand tibbetibaba trailanga u. g. krishnamurti upasni maharaj vivekananda yogananda texts sources and classification of scripture śruti smṛti ācāra ātmatuṣṭi scriptures timeline of hindu texts vedas rigveda yajurveda samaveda atharvaveda divisions samhita brahmana aranyaka upanishad upanishads rigveda: aitareya kaushitaki yajurveda: brihadaranyaka isha taittiriya katha shvetashvatara maitri samaveda: chandogya kena atharvaveda: mundaka mandukya prashna vedangas shiksha chandas vyakarana nirukta kalpa jyotisha other scriptures bhagavad gita agamas (hinduism) other textspuranas vishnu purana bhagavata purana devi bhagavata purana nāradeya purana vāmana purana matsya purana garuda purana brahma purana brahmānda purana brahma vaivarta purana bhavishya purana padma purana agni purana shiva purana linga purana kūrma purana skanda purana varaha purana mārkandeya purana itihasas ramayana mahabharata upavedas ayurveda dhanurveda gandharvaveda sthapatyaveda shastras, sutras, and samhitas dharma shastra artha śastra shilpa shastra kamasutra brahma sutras samkhya sutras mimamsa sutras nyāya sūtras vaiśeṣika sūtra yoga sutras pramana sutras charaka samhita sushruta samhita natya shastra panchatantra divya prabandha tirumurai ramcharitmanas yoga vasistha swara yoga panchadasi stotras and stutis kanakadhāra stotram shiva stuti vayu stuti tamil literature tirumurai divya prabandham tirumurukāṟṟuppaṭai thiruppugal tirukkural kamba ramayanam five great epics eighteen greater texts eighteen lesser texts aathichoodi iraiyanar akapporul abhirami anthadhi thiruvilaiyadal puranam vinayagar agaval society varna four varnas: brahmana kshatriya vaishya shudra varna-less: dalit varna-related topics: jati other society-related topics: discrimination persecution nationalism hindutva organisations reform movements other topics hinduism by country balinese hinduism hindu culture architecture calendar iconography mythology pilgrimage sites hinduism and other religions jainism and hinduism / and buddhism / and sikhism / and judaism / and christianity / and islam criticism glossary outline hinduism portal activities the sangha is recognized for their community work, helping poor and providing healthcare to those in need. bharat sevashram sangha centre in new delhi 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 tribe and 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. 4250,000s, an orphanage at rs.6020,000, and 200 houses at rs.30 million 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. to spread message against violence and hatred in india and bangladesh, the organization has also produced biopics based on swami pranavananda 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. in may 2020, the sangha was one of the few organizations who extended help to the people after the destruction caused by cyclone amphan. they also provided relief work to almost thousands people per day with food at different parts of the country due to covid-19 lockdown in india.