News Bulletin : 01 August 2023

Revered President Maharaj will return to Belur Math on 2 August from Narendrapur Ashrama.

Swami Gautamanandaji will be visiting Basti (near Ayodhya) and Lucknow from 30 August to 4 September.

Swami Suhitanandaji is in Kamarpukur.  He is scheduled to return to Belur Math on 8 August and later on visit Kathamrita Bhavan (Kolkata) from 11 to 15 August, Krishnanagar from 23 to 29 August, and Rajarhat-Bishnupur from 30 August to 1 September.

Swami Bhajananandaji is at Belur Math.

Swami Girishanandaji is in Jalpaiguri and will return to Belur Math on 6 August.  He will be visiting Balaram Mandir (Kolkata) from 10 to 14 August, Kasundia (Howrah) on 18 and 19 August, and Gwalior, Shimla and other places from 24 August to 13 September.

All of them are keeping well.

A new centre of the Ramakrishna Math is started in the famous pilgrimage town Amarkantak.

The address of the centre is

Ramakrishna Math,
Mohalla Bandha, Kapildhara Road,
P.O. Amarkantak,
Dist. Anuppur, Madhya Pradesh 484886

Phone number: 80016 60953

Email id: amarkantak@rkmm.org

The following centres conducted programmes mentioned against their names:

India:

Chennai Math conducted a seminar on ‘Ideas and Ideals of Ramakrishna Mission’ on 16 July.  About 500 people attended the seminar.  Swami Gautamanandaji delivered a benedictory address.

Hyderabad Math hosted a conference on the ‘Role of Ramakrishna Mission and Healthcare Services in Rising New India’ on 1 July.  About 800 people comprising medical students, doctors, representatives from NGOs, devotees and youths participated in the conference.

Narendrapur Ashrama conducted a football tournament on 22 and 23 July in which 8 teams from the Ramakrishna Mission schools in West Bengal, namely Baranagar Mission, Jhargram, Manasadwip, Narendrapur, Purulia, Rahara, Ramharipur and Taki, took part. Revered President Maharaj inaugurated the final match.  Purulia Vidyapith won the tournament.

Porbandar centre held a public meeting on 16 July in which Sri Mulubhai Hardasbhai Bera, Minister for Tourism and other departments, Government of Gujarat, was the Chief Guest.

Vivekananda Centenary College of Rahara centre conducted a two-day seminar on 13 and 14 July on the 125 years of service of the Ramakrishna Mission.  It was attended by 211 college students.

Saradapitha, Belur, conducted a national-level innovation competition for students from January to March.  In all, 147 teams comprising 264 students from 60 schools, 82 colleges and 5 research institutes took part in the competition by submitting their innovative ideas.  Participating teams were divided into school and college levels under four zones: East, West, North and South.  The top three entries in each category and the three best teams at the national level were awarded cash prizes and certificates.  The General Secretary gave away the prizes to the winners on 1 July.  The following institutions of the Ramakrishna Mission won the prizes:

Further, Vijayawada High School won the third prize at the national level.

Outside India:

Rio de Janeiro centre, Brazil, held a special event with talks and a screening of a documentary on the Ramakrishna Mission on 9 July.  The programme was attended by 40 people.

In the annual convocation of RKMVERI (deemed university) held on 4 July, degrees and diplomas were awarded to 264 candidates from Belur main campus and Narendrapur off-campus centre.  Swami Bhajananandaji; the General Secretary, who is also the Chancellor of the deemed university; and Prof V Kamakoti, Director of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, addressed the students.

Sri Kaiwalya Trivikram Parnaik, Governor of Arunachal Pradesh, visited Lumdung centre on 7 and 8 July.

A zonal workshop of Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) was held at Divyayan KVK of Ranchi Morabadi centre from 8 to 10 July under the auspices of ICAR-ATARI (Indian Council of Agricultural Research—Agricultural Technology Application and Research Institute), Patna.  Around 200 scientists, officials and others from 68 KVKs in Bihar and Jharkhand participated in the workshop.

The renovated shrine-cum-monks’ quarters at Muvattupuzha sub-centre of Kalady ashrama was dedicated on 15 July, the sacred birthday of Swami Ramakrishnanandaji Maharaj.

The General Secretary inaugurated the higher secondary section of the girls’ school and a STEM laboratory at Sarisha centre on 19 July.

Swami Girishanandaji inaugurated Premananda Bhavan (guest house) and the first floor of Turiyananda Bhavan (students’ hostel) at Sahudangi centre on 20 July.

Dr Subhas Sarkar, Minister of State for Education, Government of India, visited RKMVERI on 21 and 22 July.

In collaboration with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the Viveknagar centre, Agartala, conducted the Northeast Region State-level Conference on National Education Policy and Life Skill Summit on 26 and 27 July. The two-day event included 24 sessions in which the Chairperson of CBSE, officials in the education departments of Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram states, along with 192 principals, 308 teachers and 1200 students from the CBSE-affiliated schools in Tripura, took part.

Yogi Adityanath, Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, inaugurated the PET-CT scan facility at Vrindavan Sevashrama on 26 July.

In a programme held at Naora centre on 29 July, the General Secretary inaugurated the new building for a library and book showroom, and Smt Pratima Mondal, Member of Parliament, inaugurated a community kitchen.

Sri Anurag Singh Thakur, Union Minister for Information & Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports, visited Kamarpukur centre on 29 July.

A student of our Kadapa school secured first rank in the International Mathematics Olympiad conducted by Science Olympiad Foundation, New Delhi.  She was awarded a gold medal and a certificate.

Three postgraduate medical students of the Vivekananda Institute of Medical Sciences of Seva Pratishthan, Kolkata, secured state-level ranks in the final examinations conducted by the West Bengal University of Health Sciences this year: MS (Orthopaedics) – 1st rank, MD (Paediatrics) – 2nd rank and MD (General Medicine) – 5th rank.

Sri Rajnath Singh, Defence Minister of India, visited Malaysia centre along with the High Commissioner & Deputy High Commissioner of India in Malaysia, on 11 July.

Sri Senthil Thondaman, Governor of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, visited the Batticaloa sub‑centre of Colombo centre on 20 July.

The following centres held programmes mentioned against their names:

Gurugram: (i) Thirty-seven workshops under Awakened Citizen/Awakening programmes (values education training for teaching staff of primary and middle schools), including seven in online mode, from 1 June to 25 July: in all, 1702 school teachers from different parts of India participated, (ii) Two workshops (one in offline and another in online mode) for principals on 1 and 15 July attended by 51 principals, and (iii) Five workshops for senior citizens and five women empowerment programmes between 7 June and 7 July in which 98 people from Gurugram took part.

Medinipur: Four values education programmes at different places in Paschim Medinipur district from 11 to 22 July which were attended by a total of 1310 students and staff.

Mysuru: (i) Two residential retreats for students of the Vidyashala from 4 to 10 June in which altogether 207 students took part, and (ii) Eight workshops on personality development from 2 May to 22 June in which a total of 640 students from 6 colleges participated.

Rajkot: Seventeen values education programmes at the centre and ten programmes in different schools and colleges from 7 to 19 July in which 3358 students in all took part.

The following centres held youths’ conventions.  The programmes included guided meditation, prayer, special talks by eminent personalities, group discussions, physical exercises and games.

The following centres conducted medical camps.  A summary of the services provided by them is given below.

Aalo: Two medical camps at remote villages Kato Moku and Dasi Negi on 31 May and 28 June respectively in which a total of 71 patients were treated.

Bankura: Eye camps from 28 June to 28 July in which a total of 519 eye patients were screened, 51 were operated on and 23 were given spectacles.

Chennai Math: An eye camp at Meyyur sub-centre on 23 July in which 64 patients were checked/treated and 24 were operated on.

Coimbatore Mission: Seven medical camps (1 cancer, 1 cardiology, 1 orthopaedics, 1 ENT and 3 general camps) in rural and tribal areas of Coimbatore district from 25 June to 16 July in which a total of 524 patients were treated.

Ghatshila: An eye camp on 18 June: 3 patients were treated and subsequently operated on for cataract.

Hatamuniguda: An eye camp on 17 July: 165 patients were checked, 15 were given spectacles and 14 were operated on in an eye hospital.

Jammu: A medical camp on 21 July in which 345 patients were treated.

Jamtara: A medical camp in Netaidih village of Jamtara district on 13 June in which 121 tribal people were treated by 3 doctors.

Kamarpukur: 457 eye patients were checked, 118 were operated on and 90 were given spectacles in July.

Khetri: A total of 60 eye patients were screened and 34 were operated on for cataract in June and July.

Lucknow: 5726 eye patients were checked and 208 were operated on and given spectacles in June.

Madurai: (i) A health awareness programme on 11 June attended by 88 people, and (ii) Two eye camps on 18 June & 16 July: a total of 321 patients were screened, 110 underwent cataract surgery and 45 were given spectacles.

Malda: A blood donation camp on 28 May in which 32 persons donated blood.

Patna: A retinopathy screening camp on 12 July in which 266 diabetic patients were treated.

Porbandar: An eye camp on 14 July: 36 patients were treated and subsequently 18 were operated on for cataract in an eye hospital.

Rahara: (i) A medical camp at a village in Katwa-1 block of Purba Bardhaman district on 25 June in which 368 patients were treated, and (ii) Another medical camp in Samernagar, North 24 Parganas, in which 319 patients were treated.

Rajamahendravaram: A medical camp for epilepsy patients on 9 July in which 575 patients were treated.

Ranchi Morabadi: An eye camp in July in which 192 patients were checked and 5 were operated on for cataract.

Salem: (i) Eye camps on 25 June and 2 July: 315 patients were checked, 39 were given spectacles and 137 were operated on in an eye hospital, and (ii) Two medical camps on 25 June and 9 July attended by 898 patients in all.

Silchar: An eye camp in Choto Dudh Patil village near Silchar on 8 July in which 216 patients were treated and 6 were later operated on.

Thanjavur: Four medical camps (2 dental and 2 general) in and around Thanjavur from 7 to 23 July in which a total of 507 patients were treated.

Vadodara: Several eye camps from April to June in which a total of 1495 patients were treated; 270 of them were operated on for cataract at a hospital.

Venkatapura: A medical camp on 2 July which was attended by 105 patients.

Viveknagar, Agartala: A blood donation camp on 1 July in which 35 persons donated blood.

We record with sorrow the passing away of Swami Padmanabhananda (Ravindranath) at Seva Pratishthan, Kolkata, on 4 July at 5.50 am.  He was 73.  An initiated disciple of Swami Vireshwaranandaji Maharaj, he joined the order in 1971 at Thrissur centre and received sannyasa diksha from Swami Gambhiranandaji Maharaj in 1986.  He served the order at Thrissur, Kalady, Thiruvalla, Almora, Advaita Ashrama (Kolkata), Kozhikode, Katihar and Patna centres.  He also participated in relief operations at different times.  He was brought to Belur Math from Patna centre in November 2021 due to his failing health and was put up at Arogya Bhavan.  When his condition deteriorated after a few months, he was admitted to Seva Pratishthan where he spent the last year and a half.  The swami was diligent by nature.