It's objectives are to aid the poor and under-priviledged of the world through disaster relief in the event of natural or man-made disasters, and long-term community development and rehabilitation projects.

In pursuit of these goals AMURT has maintained a long-established working relationship with the Red Cross and numerous other disaster relief and development organizations.

AMURT has achieved some incredible successes recently. Following the Tsunami, it has channeled more than US$2 million into successful projects in Indonesia and earned one of the best reputations in the country.

MEDITATION

Meditation means concentrated thinking: concentrating on the idea – the feeling – of bliss (infinite happiness).

Concentration means only one thought. But there are usually many different thoughts in the mind. So how do we control them? We have to channel all our thoughts towards a greater one; a stronger and more positive one. And the strongest and most positive thought is that of bliss; perfect peace and contentment – the essence of our existence.

That positive thought is introduced into the mind through what we call a mantra. Man means "mind," and tra means "that which liberates." So mantra means a word or phrase which "liberates the mind." Although we rely mostly on our eyes, sound actually has the most powerful effect on the mind. So the internal sound of a mantra is the most powerful way of concentrating the mind. It concentrates the mind on a particular idea – the idea (or rather feeling) of infinite peace and happiness.

The mantra has three qualities which empower it to do that:

By ideating regularly on the thought of bliss, one's mind gradually expands, and that expansion continues until one's limited sense of existence merges into the infinite cosmic existence. One's individual experience of pleasure and pain eventually gets transformed into the constant experience of cosmic bliss, just as a river attains total freedom when it merges with the sea.

YOGA

Why is that? A system based on a list of permissions and prohibitions may seem to work. Yet, it will impair the fundamental spiritual need to make conscious choices that are required to manifest a real transformation. This freedom of choice may sound selfish or arrogant but it is the only way, however imperfect, to freedom. Hence, while we need to develop solid internal checks and continuously entertain the possibility that we are wrong, we must move in the direction of being free to act from our self-found spiritual center.

Most tantra yoga systems mix foreign culture into their teaching. Promoting diversity is important, but it is irrelevant to spiritual pursuit and can waste a great deal of energy and time. I do not know any system in existence today that does not have this problem. Either the system is shallow having been designed especially for the Westerner or it is deep but with huge cultural baggage.

Tantra is a way to leave all baggage behind. Respect for a tradition and your guru is very important, but one must beware of an attachment (holding pattern) and abandon hope for a better future (a thought form).

Finally, tantra yoga can be defined as a systematic method that takes an ordinary human and makes him/her extraordinary. In one lifetime, any person can become a saint, some can become gods... In this context, the path inspired by tantra yoga can be viewed as a dynamic spiritual vocation.

EDUCATION

The Gurukula system of education is the oldest on our planet, tracing its roots back 10,000 years to the time of ancient civilization and dedicated to the highest ideals of all-round human development: physical, mental and spiritual.

At the Gurukula, all the aspects of one's personality are developed utilizing an integrated curriculum that empowers the student to know oneself and develop the confidence and empathy to utilize knowledge for serving the society. Gurukula encompasses intellectual cognitive abilities but extends it to include the development of intuition, aesthetics and a futuristic and ecological perspective based on universal outlook.

Today, Ananda Marga Gurukula is a revival of that ancient tradition, offering a blending of occidental analytical approach and oriental synthetic knowledge. Gurukula is an institution dedicated to innovative research and human resource development.

CHILDREN'S HOME

Ananda Marga runs numerous children's homes around the world, like the Lotus Center in Mongolia.

In 1993 Didi Ananda Kalika, a meditation teacher in Ulaanbaatar, was shocked by the plight of so many kids living on the streets. She started to help the kids by providing food and shelter and soon realized that there was a need for more.

In 1995, with the help of some friends, she started the Lotus Centre: a place that provides children who come from some of the most terrible backgrounds; abandonment, sexual abuse, malnutrition and domestic violence; a chance to change their lives for the better. Here is a recent report from the center:

Through quality education, meaningful activities and by creating small family groups (10 children to one housemother), the Lotus Centre tries to give children a chance to make a positive future. Today 148 children call the Lotus Centre their home.

The Center has also helps many ultra-poor families with income projects and food assistance, so that poverty does not tear their family unit apart. The Lotus Centre isn't a large organization, we don't have a marketing department or a fleet of 4-wheel drives, the majority of our core staff are volunteers, while nearly all of our staff work for discounted wages with no overtime. This is a fact that we are proud of, we are a child-focused organization and are a collection of people who are 100 percent committed to the welfare of our kids.

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

One of the main aspects of Ananda Marga's service work is its community development projects in poor and deprived communities, such as in Ghana and Burkina Faso:

AMURT (Ananda Marga Universal Relief Team) first started working in the remote desert region of Deou in 1986, in cooperation with the Burkina Faso Department of Health. The desert communities had no roads, electricity or telephone communications, no commercial economy, scarce access to safe water, and 90 percent illiteracy in the outlying areas. The first project was the construction of a hospital, and over the years AMURT has expanded its projects in the area with well construction, literacy drives, vegetable gardens, cereal banks, road construction, reforestation, cooperatives and other projects.

In recent years the focus has been exclusively on extending health care training throughout the region, especially in the remote villages, which have always lied beyond the reach of the national health infrastructure. AMURT is working in partnership with the Department of Health and the Deou Medical Center to train local men as village health promoters (ASV, or Agents de Sante Villageoise in French) and women as village midwives (AV, for Accoucheuse Villageoise).

WOMEN'S WELFARE

The purpose of WWD is to assist women and girls across the globe to transform their lives, their families, and their communities. The foundation is currently forming a network of projects that can benefit from its targeted funding and training in organizational and program development. This global network will enable the projects to acquire valuable human and material resources, resulting in greater effectiveness and self-sufficiency.

Below is a sample of projects that are becoming part of the WWD network. Over the years, the women who work in these projects have gained invaluable experience and forged critical partnerships among themselves and with their communities. Some are expanding their programs to benefit more women and children and others are developing new initiatives. WWD will help these projects take the next step to create comprehensive, participatory, and sustainable solutions.