Legendary Effort Supplement livelihoods November 2015 Legendary effort November 2015 Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna Mission is an Indian Religious Organization, established on 1 st May 1897 and registered in 1909 under Act XXI of 1860. It is a philanthropy based organization, which also provides insights into ancient Hindu Philosophy of Vedanta, and is affiliated with the Ramakrishna Math monastic organization, with which it shares members. Ramakrishna Mission ( 1 )
Motto of Ramakrishna Mission: Atmano mokshartham jagad hitaya cha For one's own salvation, and for the welfare of the world. Introduction: Ramakrishna Mission is an Indian Religious Organization, established on 1 st May 1897 and registered in 1909 under Act XXI of 1860. It is a philanthropy based organization, which also provides insights into ancient Hindu Philosophy of Vedanta, and is affiliated with the Ramakrishna Math monastic organization, with which it shares members. Its aim was and is to spread the religious and spiritual ideas of Hinduism across the globe and to serve the poor and the needy. The Mission started this as a movement and named it as Ramakrishna Movement or Vedanta Movement. The organization draws its name after the saint named Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, whose original name was Gadadhar. The Mission was established by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda was a great thinker and religious leader of India, regarded as one of the main moulders of the modern world. The Mission s headquarters are located at Belur Math, Howrah, West Bengal State. Ramakrishna Mission: Although Ramakrishna Mission are legally and financially separate, they are closely inter-related in several other ways, and are to be regarded as twin organizations. While the Math focuses on spiritual activities through its monks, the Mission combines the resources of the Math s monks with the householder disciples and does philanthropic work for the uplifting of the people. Goals: The goals of Ramakrishna Mission are based on the principles of Practical Vedanta which are listed below: To spread the idea of the potential divinity of every being and how to manifest it through every action and thought. To spread the idea of harmony of religions based on Sri Ramakrishna's experience that all religions lead to the realization of the same Reality, known by different names in different religions; the Mission honours and reveres the founders of all world religions such as Buddha, Christ and Mohammed. To treat all work as worship, and service to man as service to God. To make all possible attempts to alleviate human suffering by spreading education, rendering medical service, extending help to villagers through rural development centres, etc. To work for the all-round welfare of humanity, especially for the uplifting of the poor and the downtrodden. To develop harmonious personalities by the combined practice of Jnana, Bhakti, Yoga and Karma. The Motto and Principles: The ideals of the Mission are purely spiritual and humanitarian and have no connection with politics. Vivekananda proclaimed "Renunciation and service" as the twofold national ideals of modern India and the work of the mission strives to practice and preach these ideals. The service activities are based on the message of "Jiva is Shiva" from Ramakrishna and Vivekananda's message of "Daridra Narayana" to indicate that service to poor is service to God. The Principles of Upanishads and Yoga in Bhagavad Gita reinterpreted in the light of Ramakrishna's Life and Teachings is the main source of inspiration for the Mission. Ramakrishna Mission ( 2 )
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa: The saint Ramakrishna Paramhamsa belonged to the 19 th century and was a worshipper of Kali and also a priest in the Dakshneshwer temple. His disciple Narendranath Datta (Swami Vivekananda) was attracted to his master s teachings and was influenced by his spiritual ideas. After Ramakrishna Pramhamsa s death, Vivekananda gave saffron clothes to young disciples for spiritual disciplines and they took informal monastic vows on a night, which to their pleasant surprise turned out to be the Christmas Eve in 1886. The Monastic disciples formed the first Ramakrishna Math at Baranagore, and later moved the Math to Belur. Later, Swami Vivekananda became a wandering monk, and had addressed the Parliament of the World Religious in Chicago in 1893 and his speech had attracted people from across the globe, his talk was on Hinduism and Spirituality. He went on and started the first Vedanta Society in New York, United States of America (USA). Then in India, he established the Ramakrishna Mission and appraised the first Hindu Missionary in modern times. He taught and emphasized that all religions are pathways to God. After the untimely demise of Swami Vivekananda in 1902, Swami Brahmananda was the first president and direct disciple of Ramakrishna Mission. Saradadevi was one of the heads and advisers who played an important role for the monastic organization. She performed her role with tact and wisdom, always remaining in the background. Ashrama Dharmas: The Math trains the monks on religious and spiritual ideas of the movement for four years, during which time they follow Brahmachraya, Sanyasa and after completion of training take oath of Prathigna. Administration: The Mission is governed by a Governing Body of monks, who elect the President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary and executive body members. They oversee the workings of the Mission from the headquarters at Belur. All the monks of the Ramakrishna Order form the democratic base of the administration. A representative meeting of all monks is held every three years when the report of all the activities of the organization are approved and the accounts passed and guidance sought for further development. The rules were told by Swami Vivekananda to Swami Suddhananda, and consensus and opinion of all the monks and disciples of Mission were taken during the period between 1898 to 1899. The Mission has an organizational structure, as all its branches are under the control of the Governing Body and Ramakrishna Math, which come under the administrative control of the board and both the Mission and Ramakrishna Math. Together, both the organizations have more than 180 branches across India and also in different parts of the world. The Mission conducts various types of social programmes, which is cooperated by the devotees and monks of the Ramakrishna Math. Various Activities: The Mission works in the areas of rural management, tribal welfare, disaster relief, healthcare, elementary, higher education and culture. It uses the combined efforts of hundreds of ordered monks and thousands of householder disciples. It also works on the principle of Karma yoga. As the main aim of the Mission is to maintain the harmony of various religions, harmony between east and west, between the ancient and modern, fulfilment of spiritual needs, all round development of human faculties, social equality and peace for all humanity, without any distinctions of creed, caste, race or nationality. Ramakrishna Mission ( 3 )
The Mission runs hospitals, maternity clinics, mobile dispensaries, charitable dispensaries and tuberculosis clinics. It runs training centres for nurses and homes for old aged people and orphanages. It conducts the field activities in rural and tribal areas for their welfare. It provides different types of treatments such as Eye treatments, Leprosy care, Maternity & Child welfare services, Neurology, Psychotherapy, Psychiatry, and Tuberculosis treatments. Apart from the Medical Camps, it has facilitated 11794 eye cataract operations, 3404 people getting spectacles free of cost, and 4130 units of blood from the 76 blood donor camps. The expenditure incurred for medical work during 2012-13 was Rs. 146.37 crore. On educational front, the Mission also runs many educational institutions like primary, higher and secondary education schools, special education for visually challenged people, colleges, vocational training centres, universities, etc. It also conducts disaster relief activities during earthquakes, floods, cyclones, epidemics and communal disturbance etc. It runs 28 institutions, 1417 units of institutions with 3,28,124 students, with around 94233 socially backward people benefitting through the Mission s activities. The Mission has provided support to the Sunderbans area in West Bengal, which not have power supply, by providing Photovoltaic lighting in that area. This activity has changed their lives of the local people. Women Welfare Programmes: The Mission cares for pregnant and nursing women through the Mission related maternity hospitals in Kolkata, Vrindavan, and Thiruvananthapuram. It also provides old age homes for women. schools and colleges for girls. Vocational Nurse training education to girls in various areas of the Mission like Bangalore, Chennai, Lucknow, Itanagar and Thiruvananthapuram. Moreover, it facilitates the formation of women Self Help Groups (SHG) and imparts training to them to make them self-reliant. Religious activities: The religious activities involve celebration of different kind of festivals like Maha Shivarathri, Rama Navami, Krishna Astami, Durga Puja and also celebrate the Birthdays of Ramakrishna, Sharada devi, Swami Vivekananda and other monastic disciples of Ramakrishna. They also conduct satsang, arati, communal prayers, songs, rituals, meditation, discourses etc.; the arathi is performed to the God twice a day. It also conducts the Kalpatharu day on January 1 st. The Mission follows religious tolerance and respect to all the religions. It follows rules designed by Swami Vivekananda, which are in reverence of all the gods. Youth Welfare Programmes: Apart from the educational and cultural activities it also provides recreational activities. These activities are done by Balak sangh, Yuvak sangh. They perform plays depicting social, spiritual, moral values, teach scriptures, and play devotional music etc. These programmes are run in Bangalore, Belgaum, Chennai, Hyderabad, Indore, Mangalore and Mysore etc. Mass Contact: The Mission spreads messages of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda activities in rural and urban areas. Ramakrishna Mission ( 4 )
Services in Rural and Tribal Areas: The mission supports agriculture & irrigation sector and conducts agriculture camps, farmer care, input distribution, sapling distribution, waste land development, construction of check dams for irrigation and exposure visits. Furthermore, it conducts awareness programmes on Health, Hygiene & Immunisation (AIDS, Leprosy, and Drugs), Environment, Social and Civil values, Healthy habits, Counselling on Financial services and Counselling to SHGs etc. Constructions, Repairs and Other activities: Dwelling place repairs, solid waste management, recycling of waste, liquid waste management, bio gas plants, solar energy units and social forestry activities are undertaken by the Mission. The Mission s expenditure is Rs. 41.26 crore for the year for rural and tribal development, and apart from that they also invest on educational, medical institutions in rural and tribal areas. In the year under review, following services were provided by the Math and the Mission in rural and tribal areas: Spiritual and Cultural Work: Both the Math and the Mission centres lay emphasis on the dissemination of the spiritual and cultural ideals of India. Through various types of activities, they try to give a practical shape to the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, especially that all religions are true. The centres establish real points of contact among people of different faiths through a large number of libraries, lectures, seminars, youth camps, Balak Sanghas, regular classes, public celebrations, occasional exhibitions, screening films on religious and cultural values, etc. During the year, the Math and Mission centres organized several classes / lectures, the details of which are given below. The Mission made sure the spiritual ideals are spread through Mobile units such as Jnana Vahini, Vivekvahini. They are educating through religious films shows, exhibitions, personality development classes, lectures, meditation, etc. Some of the Vivekananda centres impart value education to general people. The Mission and Math conduct cultural units like Balak sanghas, Jnana Vahini, Youth sanghs, Institute of Human Excellence etc. Till now 6, 59,295 peoples have participated in this programme through 2892 cultural units. Apart from this, 269 libraries were run by the Math & Mission centres; most of these libraries had attached reading rooms also. The details are shown below. Centres of the Math and Mission published several books and 24 journals in different languages. The Math centres at Mayavati, Baghbazar (Kolkata), Chennai, Hyderabad, Nagpur, Mysore, Rajkot, Thrissur and Bhubaneswar, in particular, have to their credit a considerable number of publications. A sum of Rs. 27.17 crore was spent on publication work during the year. Some of the centres in other countries are also publishing valuable books. Institutes for Sanskrit studies one for postgraduate studies and research, a college, 3 schools, and a Chatushpathi were run. Ramakrishna Mission ( 5 )
The Math and Mission centres maintained temples and prayer halls, and organized lectures, retreats and devotees meets. Thousands of people were inspired to accept higher values of life by coming into contact with the different centres. It is noteworthy that the member Ashramas of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Bhava Prachar Parishads in different parts of the country also, under the guidance of Ramakrishna Math, spread moral values and culture. Celebrations: Most of the Mission centres celebrate birthdays of great saints and prophets, popular Hindu festivals and Christmas Eve. The general features of the celebrations of the birthdays of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda were special worship, homa, chanting from scriptural texts, bhajans and sankirtan, distribution of prasad to devotees, feeding of the poor in large numbers, and lectures by the sanyasins of the Order and other eminent speakers. Thus, the message of Sri Ramakrishna and his direct associates was spread steadily. Many ardent souls came in close touch with the ideals of the Mission. Awards and Honourable Mentions: The Mission was awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize in 1998, National communal Harmony award in 2008, UNESCO Madanjeet Singh Prize for Promotion of Tolerance and Non violence in 2002. The Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama of Chhattisgarh's Narainpur was jointly selected for the 25th Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration for the year 2009 with musician A.R.Rehman for their services in promoting and preserving national integration. Conclusion: The Ramakrishna Mission continues to spread the message of harmony across the globe, and in this spirit it is reaching to the needy and to the poor by providing various services to the poor; it is laying its focus on development of human faculties and social equality without any discrimination. Thus, the Mission honours all the religions and spreads Ramakrishna or Vedantha movement all over the world. It means to bring equal respect and reverence to all the religions from east to west and ancient to modern. It works on karma yoga and follows the dictum that service to man is service to god and is spreading the services to all poor people in different areas such as rural, tribal, and urban. It is trying to fulfil the spiritual ideas and all round development of human faculties, and promoting social equality without any discrimination. The Mission was started by Swami Vivekananda and his disciples after the death of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, and it conducts different programmes in health care, educational, women welfare, religious, young welfare programme and mass contact for the development of people. It aids in the development of people through the Jnana, Bhakthi, Yoga, and Karma principals. Thus, the Mission aims to bring about spiritual enlightenment to people. Ramakrishna Mission ( 6 )