Mangal Bihari (Jaipur, India)

Mangal Bihari passed away today at age 90. He was born a thatched hut in a hamlet of only 60 mud huts. He studied hard, developed tremendous self-discipline and achieved high positions in the Indian Administrative Services, including Additional Defense Secretary of India. A very virtuous person, he was initiated in 1962 by Ac. Lalan Prasad. He was a deep thinker, a wise administrator and a great devotee.

Mangal Bihari often wrote articles in English and in Hindi for Ananda Marga magazines; he wrote a popular column for the public in Rajasthan Patrika, a daily newspaper with wide circulation. Towards the end of his life, he wrote his spiritual autobiography in Hindi as Tumhara Kam Ho Gayaas and in English as Beyond Prayer and Praise: A Spiritual Memoir (2011). His inspiring account of spiritual longing and deep meditation, and balancing a rational outlook with a deep devotional sentiment is an example for the world.