Manav Kendra
Manav Kendra or Man-Making Centre
The aims of Manav Kendra are:
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to know and practically realise the Real Nature of intrinsic self;
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to cast man into a universal mould;
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to become a True Citizen of the world and a useful member of humankind;
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to help the poor and the needy, the infirm and the sick, the aged and the derelict;
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and to make the mother-earth provide ample means for the sustenance of its teeming millions. In brief the objective of the centre is to bring about real integration of an individual by harmonising all his faculties; physical, emotional, mental, and intellectual so as to befit him for Divine Revelation which is supreme goal of human existence – self-perfection.
The idea of Manav Kendra or Man-Centre was mooted, for the first time, in the last Kumbh Mela at Hardware in 1968. At the Mela, the camp of Ruhani Satsang, attracted large concourses of people including rishis and munis sanyasins and yogins, from day, who thronged to hear the Master speak of the science of soul and how it could be practised by one and all alike, irrespective of their religious affiliations, under the active guidance and help of an Adept in Para Vidya or the Science of the Beyond – a science that lies beyond the realm of senses, mind, and intellect. The care and discipline with which the huge gathering were served within the camp and outside and at common community meals impressed every one. It was here that the people impressed with the talks of the Master and the fellowship among the followers, conceived the idea of developing at first, on a miniature scale, the possibility of uniting the people in Spiritual Oneness while remaining in their own distinctive social and religious folds.
Shortly thereafter came the National Integration Exhibition in the vast Ramlila Grounds in Delhi in February 1969. Fortunately, the event coincided with the Diamond Jubilee Celebration organised to felicitate Sant Kirpal Singh Ji Maharaj on His completing the seventy-fifth year of His physical existence on the earth plane. Long before the actual celebrations, there began pouring in proposals, pressing demands and earnest appeals, from various quarters to give a concrete shape to the decision arrived at the Kumbha Mela in the previous year. In response to plans and proposals with the result that a model of Vishva mandir – a hall of each in his or her own way –, was set up on the exhibition grounds. The panels of this Alamgir Ibadat Khana, had on them extracts from scriptures. Of all major religions and exhibited photographic representations of their founders. The structure was in the shape of a nanogon, with nine outlets symbolic of the human body and the tenth through the steeple at the top. The Ruhani Satsang enclosure that installed this model was daily visited by people of different creed and it evoked appreciation from all and sundry. The response from the people to this project was very encouraging.
In the following year the idea, mooted and planned as above, took a concrete shape when the whole scheme came on paper and Manav Kendra society came into being as a registered because, under the patronage of Kaka Sahib Kalelkar, with Maharaj Kirpal Singh Ji as Chairman. The registered office of the society came to be located in the Sawan Ashram, Shakti Nagar, Delhi – 110007, the headquarters of the Ruhani Satsang; where the plans for the first centre for Northern India were worked out and are being actually carried out in right earnest at Dehra Dun under the personal supervision, direction and control of the Chairman.
Manav Kendra is a non-political, non-communal and non-denominational body or brotherhood, open to all men and women of all faiths, creeds and castes. Its sole object is to bring the best out of man or in other words to so transform man as to liberate him from the narrow social grooves of birth and heredity, and rigid customs, and to free him from intolerance and bigotry born of sheer ignorance of the True Values of higher life – the life of the spirit as distinguished from the life of the flesh. In short, its aim is to inculcate in man the spirit of common Brotherhood as children of the Heavenly Father so that all may live peacefully serving each other in weal and woe, in the Love, Light and Life of the Creator.
Manav Kendra, as the name implies, stands for the material, moral and spiritual welfare of man, with a view to making him
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an integrated undivided individual embracing in him the totality of his being;
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self-sufficient in his basic needs like shelter, food and clothing;
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and realise his obligation to himself, to his family, to his nation, to his country and finally to the world at large, for no person can live an isolated life in a ivory tower and yet be happy. In the happiness of all lies the happiness of the individual.
To achieve the above ends, all opportunities will be provided to help man to grow in ethical and moral stature worthy of being the son of God. This man-making through loving service is the primary object of Manav Kendra.