THE ORGANISATION

The ability to evolve is a magnificent feature of any society or a state. Assam was plagued by the presence of superstition, religious discrimination and social inequality in the early part of the 15th century. There was social unrest; cultural divide, and ethnic hatred was palpable; the realm of religion was used as a tool to sacrifice the lives of people and animal alike. “Glaani” or perpetual decline of the ethos of religion engulfed our society.

In the aftermath of such a cataclysmic period in history of Assam, a ray of hope emerged as an answer to such calamity. The great Saint Mahapurush Srimanta Sankardeva assiduously carved a fundamental change in the mindset of his devotees, by preaching Vaishnavite religion. He was able to penetrate the unholy spirits by teaching, cultivating and harboring the “Hari Naam” which paved way to complete devotion and sacrifice by way of singing and praying the ever transcending life story of Lord Krishna. The Mahapurush industrially designed and moved forward with this revolution, by way of “Vaishnav Sahitya”, “Borgeet” “Nritya”, “Ankia Bhaona” a unique collection of incredible gems which enriched the very soul of Assam. The river like flow of his preaching has had a far reaching impact on the lives of millions of people in Assam, who could at length throw away the darkness, evil mindsets and “Adhormo”.

Through the passage of such teachings and the refinement of culture, our society has also evolved. After the great Saint passed away, his chief disciple Mahapurush Madhavdeva became the successor to the former’s movement. Madhavdeva, inspired by the holy teachings of Sankardeva, further enriched the Vaishnavite religion and culture. He added to the already enumerable deposits of Borgeet and Ankia Bhaona. He also created the “Naam Ghosa”another eternal sunshine of our Vaishnavite treasure.

In order to spread the wings of the great movement, the two Mahapurushas created and popularized the “Sattras” which were the assemblies of the great gurus, saints and devotees enraptured by the magnetic connect of Vaishnavite principles. Sattras are essentially places of devotion, Naam-Kirttan and a holy place to practice the great teachings of the two Mahapurushas in order to attain the proximity to Lord Vishnu.

The development and growth of these institutions however saw some disruptions after the departure of Mahapurush Sankardeva and Madhavdeva. The urge to create more room and dominion among their disciples and kith and kin, created a rift and division for their own accord. This division adversely affected the unity among the torchbearer’s Vaishnavite religion and they headed their own path to create many Sattras across various places in Assam. This also paved way for the birth of many “Sanghotis” a cult based on the Sutradhars of each of those Sattras, like “Purush Sanghoti” created by Purushuttam Thakur, the great grandson of Srimanta Sankardeva.

The roots of those Sattras and their multiplication made sure that the light of the Vaishnavite religion is forever enlightened with glory. However, the bigger aspect of the unity among people was still at stake - there was no such authority or organization which would oversee the functions of the Sattras. There was acute lack of an institution to start a level playing field in the unification of the Sattras. The status quo continued till many more centuries and trespassed through many generations. There were however several attempts to achieve such a crucial goal of keeping the sanctity of the Vaishnavite religion alive, and achieving harmony among the divided cults. It had failed due to lack of will and a failure to create another movement to achieve cultural exchange and universal acknowledgement of the principles and teaching of the great Mahapurushas.

In the year 1915, a religious institution by the name of “Santo Sanmiloni” evolved in the region of Jorhat, Nogaon, Tezpur, Sivasagar, Golaghat, Majuli, Lakhimpur etc to discuss the socio-religious issues plaguing our society. This institution however, lacked representation of the devotees and people from the Sattras, and hence issues pertaining to the Sattras could not be addressed or resolved.

The establishment of this umbrella organization paved the way for a religious uprising in Assam for many years. It also contributed to the unity among, at least, the like minded gurus and Satradhikars of the Sattras and aimed at providing a platform of cultural, social and religious engagements. This institution, which is now popular as the Asom Sattra Mahasabha, has been the overseer to the cause of Sattras, their safeguarding, protection and custody of the Vaishnavite cult, and has, also transformed itself through the ages. In spite of the need to change in form, the mission of Asom Sattra Mahasabha has remained consistent and largely confined to the unification of the Sattras, and to bring about a cultural, social and spiritual advancement through the medium of the Sattras.

Vision

To achieve peace and harmony amongst the people of Assam in general, the Sattra with their disciple and followers and associated institutions in particular and work altruistic towards their social, moral, cultural and spiritual development without any political and communal inclination and based on spiritual philosophy of Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankardeva through Bhakti Marg of ‘Ek-xarana mahapurushiya Vedic Vaishnava Bhagavati Naam Dharma’.

Mission Statement

To protect and promote Sattra Cultural and tradition founded by Srimanta Sankardeva, Sri Madhabdeva and other succeeding Gurus of Neo-Vaishnavite faith in Assam, sustaining the role of Sattra as a vibrant unit of the Assamese society towards general well being and spiritual and moral development of its followers.

The organization will work towards preservation of Sattriya Sanskriti for future generation and to protect vulnerable intangible culture by imparting adequate training within the Sattra framework.

It will be endeavor of Asom Sattra Mahasabha to preserve the artifacts and manuscripts of the Sattra and to translate and publish the religious books of the Sattra to other languages.

To affect this mission, Sattra Mahasabha has laid down following major objectives:

* Preservation of the Sattras and helping in achieving laid down goals.
* To take up new artistic and cultural activities for the followers of the Sattras.
* To preserve and enable the endeavors of educational, cultural activities “Naam-Kirttan”, “Nritya-Geet” & ”Bhaona”.
* To oversee the development of the spiritual, mental, sociological, and educational spectrums and to help in the formation of villages.
* To be the guardian, custodian of ancient texts and books and their publications.