Gurudev Pt. Shriram Sharma Acharya had identified Astha Sankat – the crisis of faith (in the divine origin and values of humanity), as the root cause of all evils, ailments and adversities of our times and referred it as the King of Demons, who cannot be vanquished by the gross (worldly) efforts alone. The evil influence of this demon has permeated every aspect of life – from environment to the humanity’s thoughts, emotions and inner sentiments.

The origin of the "Astha Sankata" being deeply rooted in the human mental and emotional depths can be destroyed only by spiritual refinement of mind and awakening of the intrinsic faith and the Real Self. The supreme power of Gayatri is said to have descended on the earth for this purpose. Gurudev manifested in his life the divine radiance of Gayatri and wholeheartedly consecrated himself for the propagation of the deep knowledge of the super science of Gayatri and Yajna among the masses all his life.

The Prajna PuraÌcarana initiated by him in the 1980 was the first ever collective spiritual sadhana of the Modern Age. His seer vision visualized the last twelve years of the second millennium as most crucial transitional period from darkness to light. This spiritual experiment of global impact spans the 12-year period from the Ashvin Nava Ratri (in the month of November) of 1988 and the Vasant Pancami day (in January) of 2001.

Commenting on the long-term effects of this collective spiritual endeavor, Pujya Gurudev writes – "The Yug Sandhi mahapurashcharna is the greatest dharmanushthana of this era. The participants in this collective sadhana would attain unique inner strength and enlightened personalities. The emergence of waves of divine energies in the environment will lead to the highest good of all beings. The flow (of mahaprana) educed thereby will influence people across the globe and thus create the ideal ambience for glorious growth and all-round development of the world towards peace, joy and prudence".

The sadhakas of the mahapurashcharna were assigned three major tasks – (i) whole hearted participation in the altruist activities of social reform and reconstruction; (ii) expanding the Vicara Kranti Abhiyan by refining their own thinking and enlightening the masses; (iii) collective Gayatri Meditation and Mantra-Japa (performed simultaneously at a fixed time interval every day) for purification of the subliminal environment of life.