Personalia
Revered President Maharaj is in Thiruvananthapuram and is scheduled to return to Belur Math on 2 April. He will visit Gurap and Bardhaman on 5 and 6 April; and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad), Mumbai and Sakwar from 22 to 30 April.
Swami Suhitanandaji is in Cooch Behar. He will return to Belur Math on 12 April after visiting Jalpaiguri. Subsequently, he will visit Delhi, Gurugram and Vrindavan from 18 April to 12 May.
Swami Bhajananandaji is at Belur Math.
Swami Girishanandaji is in Jamshedpur and will return to Belur Math on 6 April after visiting Ghatshila. Later on, he will visit Balaram Mandir, Kolkata, from 11 to 13 April; and Contai and Chandipur from 23 April to 10 May.
Swami Divyanandaji is scheduled to visit Tamluk on 2 and 3 April; Taki from 4 to 8 April; Chandigarh from 9 to 12 April; and Bilaspur, Narainpur and Raipur from 17 to 30 April.
Swami Vimalatmanandaji will visit Kasundia centre, Howrah, from 7 to 12 April; and Guwahati and Kharupetia from 18 to 29 April.
All of them are keeping well.
Headquarters
The birthday (janma-tithi) of Sri Ramakrishna Dev was celebrated at Belur Math on Saturday, 1 March, with spiritual fervour and delight. Khichuri prasad was served to 29,000 devotees. Revered President Maharaj released Letters of Swami Vivekananda (revised and enlarged edition in four volumes), published by Advaita Ashrama, in a programme held in the afternoon. Subsequently, the General Secretary presided over the public meeting. As part of the weeklong celebration, a devotees’ convention was held on 5 March in which 1750 devotees participated.
On the occasion of Sri Ramakrishna’s birthday, West Bengal Postal Circle released a picture postcard and a pictorial cancellation (postmark) depicting the Universal Temple of Sri Ramakrishna at Belur Math. The General Secretary unveiled them in a programme held at RKMVERI, Belur, on 3 March.
The annual Public Celebration in connection with Sri Ramakrishna’s birthday was held at Belur Math on Sunday, 9 March, with religious discourses, cultural events and a mela (fair). Lakhs of people visited Belur Math on that day. Khichuri prasad was served to 38,000 devotees and visitors.
New Math Centre
Vedanta Center of Greater Washington, D.C., USA, which was so long a sub-centre of Hollywood centre, is upgraded to the status of a full-fledged branch centre.
News of Branch Centres in India
On the occasion of Mahakumbha (Purnakumbha) Mela, Prayagraj centre put up a camp on the Mela ground from 10 January to 16 February. In all, 408 monks and 2511 other pilgrims were provided with board and lodging at the camp. Devotional songs and discourses were held regularly at the shrine-cum-satsang pandal. A total of 12,336 patients were treated at the charitable dispensary in the camp.
A new building, with an office and a bookstore, at Kailashahar ashrama was dedicated on 4 March.
On 5 March, Agartala Postal Division released a special postal stamp featuring a photo of our Viveknagar school, Agartala. The postal division also awarded a certificate to the school’s philately club on that day, acknowledging the club as the first philately school club in Tripura.
Sri Jishnu Dev Varma, Governor of Telangana, inaugurated Ramakrishna Mela (fair) at Viveknagar centre, Agartala, on 8 March.
Narainpur centre conducted a farmers’ fair on 8 and 9 March, which was attended by 5000 farmers.
Silchar centre celebrated its centenary (1924-2024) with a grand function from 15 to 20 March. Revered President Maharaj, Swami Girishanandaji, Chief Minister of Assam Dr Himanta Biswa Sharma and other distinguished people attended the function. Swami Girishanandaji inaugurated the charitable dispensary and the Yogananda Sabhagriha (auditorium) on 15 March. Revered President Maharaj consecrated the newly built Sri Ramakrishna Temple on 18 March, the sacred birthday of Swami Yoganandaji Maharaj. Special worship, public meetings, a procession and colourful cultural programmes formed part of the six-day programme in which 140 monks and a large number of devotees participated. Also, a commemorative volume, a special postal cover and a pictorial cancellation (postmark) were released.
Chennai Math celebrated the silver jubilee of its Sri Ramakrishna Temple and the centenary of its charitable dispensary with a two-day programme comprising special worship, Chandi homa, public meetings and musical concerts on 22 and 23 March. Revered President Maharaj inaugurated the dispensary’s newly renovated Sarada Dental Block on 22 March. Many monks, dignitaries and thousands of devotees attended the two-day programme.
On 22 March, Sri Pushkar Singh Dhami, Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, inaugurated Vivekananda Dwar, built by Almora ashrama at Karbala Junction, situated 2.5 km from the ashrama. Sri Ajay Tamta, Union Minister of State for the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and other dignitaries attended the programme.
Sri Gulab Chand Kataria, Governor of Punjab, participated in the annual celebration of Chandigarh ashrama on 23 March.
Our Dehradun hospital was presented with Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan’s Nikshay Mitra Award at a programme held in Dehradun on 24 March. The award was given in recognition of the hospital’s service to tuberculosis patients in the Rudraprayag region.
In the Junior Talent Search Test, 2025, conducted by Jagadis Bose National Science Talent Search, Kolkata, on 25 January, twenty students of our Narendrapur school and one student of Sarisha girls’ school were awarded the Junior Scholarship; six other students of the Narendrapur school obtained the Junior Encouragement Award. Further, the Narendrapur school won the Best School Award for the excellent performance of its students in the competition.
Ranchi Morabadi centre bagged the first prize for the best stall at the state-level Agrotech Kisan Mela held by Birsa Agricultural University at Ranchi from 8 to 10 February.
Revered President Maharaj consecrated new photos of the Holy Trio in the renovated shrine of Baranagar Math on 24 February.
Asansol centre held a sports meet from 6 to 13 March, in association with another establishment, in which 731 students from 8 educational institutions in Paschim Bardhaman district participated.
Revered President Maharaj opened a digital vending machine for books at Chennai Math on 24 March.
Revered President Maharaj laid the foundation stone for the first phase of construction at Thirumukkudal centre on 27 March. In the first phase, monks’ quarters, a multipurpose hall, a school building and a few other utility structures will be built.
Two students of our Narendrapur school and one student of our Viveknagar school, Agartala, qualified in the Indian National Mathematical Olympiad conducted by the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Mumbai, in January. These three students, along with three others selected nationwide, will be trained to represent India in the International Mathematical Olympiad.
Another student of the Viveknagar school qualified in the Indian National Biology Olympiad in January and will subsequently be trained to represent India in the International Biology Olympiad.
Communication Addresses
Phone Numbers: Narayanganj centre, Bangladesh, has discontinued its telephone number 880‑2763 0610. It has a new number: 880-2244 34610.
Values Education and Youth Programmes
The following centres held programmes mentioned against their names:
Basavanagudi, Bengaluru: A workshop on stress management in a local college on 25 March; 100 students and teachers took part.
Cooch Behar:(i) A teachers’ convention on 9 March in which 168 teachers were in attendance. (ii) A youths’ convention on 10 March which was attended by 122 youths.
Gurugram: (i) Six teachers’ training programmes in different parts of the country from 8 March to 28 March, attended by 188 teachers in all. (ii) Three online values education programmes for teachers from 22 to 27 March, in which altogether 85 teachers took part.
Hyderabad: A youths’ convention at Mahboob College in Secunderabad on 13 February in which 2000 youths took part. Sri Jishnu Dev Varma, Governor of Telangana, was the chief guest at the convention. It is worth noting that Swami Vivekananda had delivered a lecture at the same college in 1893 on the same date, that is, 13 February.
Kalady: A day-long youths’ convention on 4 March in which 120 students from nearby colleges took part.
Kanpur: A talk for students at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, which was attended by 70 students and teachers.
Madurai: (i) A training programme for teachers on 15 February which was attended by 85 teachers. (ii) A values education programme for students, in which 221 students participated.
Raipur: Five personality development camps at various educational institutions in Raipur and Gariaband districts on 10 and 18 March, attended by 695 students and 110 teachers in all.
Rajamahendravaram: (i) An online values education programme for students in association with the Department of School Education of West Godavari district on 25 February, in which 12,000 students and 1000 teachers from 220 schools took part. (ii) Four values education programmes at various educational institutions in East Godavari district from 6 to 12 March, in which a total of 480 students were in attendance.
Thanjavur: Five values education programmes from 14 to 25 March attended by a total of 330 school and college students.
Viveknagar, Agartala: A two-day national seminar on 14 and 15 February, attended by 500 people.
Eye Camps and other Healthcare Services
The following centres conducted medical camps. A summary of the services provided by them is given below.
India
Chennai Math: (i) Two eye camps in Chengalpattu district, with the help of Chengalpattu centre, on 16 February and 16 March, in which a total of 237 patients were screened; 31 were admitted to an eye hospital in Chennai for surgery, and 124 were given spectacles. (ii) An eye camp at Chengam, through Chengam centre, on 1 March, in which 379 patients were screened; subsequently, 120 were admitted to a hospital in Puducherry for surgery.
Coimbatore Mission: Eight medical camps (1 gynaecology, 1 dental, 2 eye and 4 general camps) in and around Coimbatore from 23 February to 23 March, in which a total of 395 patients were treated.
Digboi: (i) Two eye camps in association with an eye hospital in Dibrugarh on 6 January and 24 February, in which a total of 61 patients were screened; subsequently, 22 of them underwent cataract surgery in the hospital. (ii) A blood donation camp on 23 February, in which 11 people donated blood.
Gurap: Two eye camps on 15 January and 11 February where, in all, 109 patients were checked; subsequently, 28 of them underwent cataract surgery at an eye hospital.
Jamshedpur: An eye camp on Sakchi campus on 23 February, in which 65 patients were screened; later, 33 of them underwent cataract surgery at a local eye hospital.
Kailashahar: A blood donation camp on 23 February, in which 64 people donated blood.
Lucknow: 4749 eye patients were checked, and 449 were operated on and given spectacles in February.
Madurai: (i) Two diabetes check-up camps on 16 February and 16 March, in which a total of 291 patients were checked. (ii) Two eye camps in collaboration with a local eye hospital on 16 February and 16 March: In all, 299 patients were screened; subsequently, 95 underwent cataract surgery in the hospital, and 45 were given spectacles.
Manasadwip: (i) Conducted two eye camps in February and March, in which a total of 234 patients were treated. (ii) Arranged cataract surgery at an eye hospital for 37 patients in March.
Nabadwip: A medical camp on 23 February in association with a hospital in Kolkata, in which 120 patients were treated.
Nagpur: An eye camp in a nearby village in association with an eye hospital on 23 February, in which 216 patients were screened; 56 of them underwent cataract surgery in the hospital, and 158 were given spectacles.
Nattarampalli: An eye camp on 16 March: 245 patients were checked; subsequently, 104 underwent cataract surgery in an eye hospital, and 57 were given spectacles.
Pathanamthitta: A medical camp on 8 March, in which 75 patients were checked.
Rahara, Kolkata: A medical camp at Chowberia village, North 24 Parganas, on 16 February, in which 695 patients were treated.
Rajamahendravaram: (i) A medical camp for epileptic patients on 9 March, in which 605 patients were checked. (ii) A medical camp in Alluri Sitaramaraju district on 16 March, in which 349 patients were treated. (iii) Three eye camps from January to March, in which a total of 336 patients were checked; subsequently, 33 underwent cataract surgery in an eye hospital and 88 were given spectacles.
Ranchi Morabadi: In January and February, a total of 747 eye patients were checked, and 116 underwent cataract surgery in an eye hospital.
Seva Pratishthan, Kolkata: A day-long medical camp at Belur Math on 9 March, the day of the annual Public Celebration of Sri Ramakrishna’s birth anniversary; 334 patients were treated.
Thanjavur: Three medical camps (1 dental and 2 general) from 25 February to 23 March, in which altogether 376 patients were treated.
Thirumukkudal: An eye camp at Pazhayaseevaram village, in association with an eye hospital in Chennai, on 9 March, in which 81 patients were screened; subsequently, 28 were given spectacles and 19 were referred for cataract surgery.
Vadodara: Eight eye camps from January to March, in which a total of 2568 patients were checked; 428 of them underwent cataract surgery in an hospital.
Outside India
Batticaloa (a sub-centre of Colombo branch), Sri Lanka: Medical camps at Kiran, Sittandy and Kudumimalai in February and March, in which, altogether 1516 patients received medical aid.