Personalia
Revered President Maharaj was admitted to Peerless Hospital in Kolkata on 18 January owing to fever and other complications. Subsequently, he was shifted to Seva Pratishthan on 29 January and is being closely monitored by a team of specialists.
Swami Gautamanandaji is at Belur Math and is scheduled to return to Chennai on 5 February. He will be visiting Kadapa, Tirupati and Hyderabad from 21 February to 2 March. He is keeping well.
Swami Suhitanandaji will visit Baghbazar Math (Kolkata) from 6 to 10 February, Mumbai and Sakwar from 18 to 22 February, and Koyilandy, Kozhikode and Thrissur from 23 February to 2 March. He is keeping well.
Swami Bhajananandaji is at Belur Math. He is keeping well.
Swami Girishanandaji will be visiting Balaram Mandir (Kolkata) from 5 to 7 February, and Lalgarh, Asansol, Ramharipur and Durgapur from 8 February to 4 March. He is keeping well.
Headquarters
The birthday (janma-tithi) of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi was celebrated at Belur Math on Wednesday, 3 January. Thousands of devotees attended the celebration throughout the day. Khichuri prasad was served to about 28,000 devotees. Swami Nityamuktananda chaired the public meeting held in the afternoon.
New Mission Sub-centre
Chhatrapur Ramkrishna Vivekananda Sevashram in Uttar Dinajpur district was taken over and made a sub-centre of Raiganj ashrama. The sub-centre was inaugurated on 5 January.
Its address is:
Ramakrishna Mission, Chhatrapur, P.O.
Raipur, Dist. Uttar Dinajpur,
West Bengal 733134
Phone number: 79800 00421
The Sevashram was founded in 1995.
National Youth Day Celebration
On the occasion of the National Youth Day (12 January, the birthday of Swami Vivekananda), the Headquarters and Saradapitha jointly held a programme at Belur Math in which 5000 students from different schools and colleges took part. Khichuri prasad was served to 32,000 people on that day.
Almost all our centres in India celebrated the day with great enthusiasm through programmes such as garlanding of Swamiji’s statue, processions, youths’ conventions, speeches, music and cultural competitions. Many centres conducted programmes at nearby schools and colleges as well. Details : National Youth Day 2024 in Centres
The celebrations at the following centres deserve a special mention:
At Bhubaneswar centre, the Governor of Odisha Sri Raghubar Das, addressed 400 youths.
Swami Suhitanandaji gave a benedictory address in the programme held at Kalady centre.
Mangaluru centre hosted a day-long seminar on the topic “Role of the Youth in Atmanirbhar Bharat” in which 600 youths took part. The seminar was inaugurated by Sri Dinesh Gundu Rao, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Karnataka. The centre conducted programmes at Mangalore University and National Institute of Technology of Karnataka, Suratkal, as well.
Narainpur centre held a huge procession in which more than 10,000 students and others marched through the main streets of the city. In the public meeting held on the occasion, Sri Vijay Sharma, Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh; Sri Kedar Kashyap, Minister, Department of Forest and Climate Change, Government of Chhattisgarh; Sri Vikram Usendi, Chhattisgarh MLA; and other dignitaries addressed the gathering.
Ranchi Morabadi Ashrama observed the day on its main campus as well as at Swami Vivekananda Sarovar, Ranchi, and in different villages of Ranchi, Khunti and Ramgarh districts of Jharkhand. The Governor of Jharkhand Sri C P Radhakrishnan was the Chief Guest at the prize distribution ceremony held at the ashrama in the afternoon.
Swamiji’s Ancestral House, Kolkata, observed the day with a grand procession, devotional music and lectures. About 40,000 people including a few MPs and MLAs paid their respects to Swamiji throughout the day. The General Secretary addressed the public meeting in the afternoon.
Further, the centre held the following programmes: shruti natak (on 13 January), a teachers’ convention (on 14 January; attended by 600 teachers), a youths’ convention (on 15 January; attended by 275 students), a group dance (on 16 January), and an art exhibition (from 16 to 21 January).
At Viveknagar centre (Agartala), Ms Pratima Bhoumik, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment; Sri Aparesh Kumar Singh, Chief Justice of Tripura; and other dignitaries attended the Youth Day celebrations.
The following centres held cultural competitions on a large scale in addition to other events:
| Sl. | Centre | No. of students participated |
| 1. | Ahmedabad | 2000 students from 24 schools |
| 2. | Chennai Math | 9300 students from more than 135 schools and colleges |
| 3. | Muzaffarpur | 6000 school and college students |
| 4. | Nagpur | 2435 students from 34 schools of 24 villages |
| 5. | Rajkot | 9767 students from 181 schools and colleges |
| 6. | Ranchi Morabadi | 42,497 students from all 24 districts of Jharkhand |
Commemoration of the 125th Anniversary of the Ramakrishna Mission
RKMVERI (deemed university) conducted the following programmes:
(i) Agriculture-related: Sixty-eight Agricultural Technology Awareness programmes in 9 districts of West Bengal from 15 September to 8 November. Experts from Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs) and state agriculture departments and professors of RKMVERI delivered talks on recent advances in technologies in the fields of agriculture, horticulture, animal husbandry and fisheries. In all, 6988 farmers, rural youths and students participated in the programmes. Several government and private institutions joined hands with RKMVERI in conducting these programmes.
(ii) Sanskrit-related: (a) Sixteen Sanskrit camps for school students and the public in 10 districts of West Bengal from 19 August to 8 October, attended by about 1600 people. (b) A certificate course on Charaka Samhita (a text on Ayurveda) in May and June, attended by 118 students. (c) Five lectures and three workshops on advanced texts/topics in Sanskrit literature and philosophy from July to October, in which altogether 434 students took part.
Varanasi Advaita Ashrama hosted an intrafaith conference on 28 January in which 10 monks from different orders spoke before an audience of 300 people.
News of Branch Centres in India
The Governor of West Bengal Sri C V Ananda Bose visited Blind Boys’ Academy of Narendrapur Ashrama on 2 January. He presented Governor’s Award of Excellence to the Academy in recognition of its service to the upliftment of visually impaired people. The award carried a certificate and a sum of one lakh rupees.
Swami Gautamanandaji inaugurated Yogananda Smriti building at Jayrambati Matri Mandir on 3 January, the sacred birthday of the Holy Mother. The building has a large hall in the basement, and puja bhandar, kitchen and dining hall on the ground floor.
Swami Gadadharananda Bhavan (monks’ quarters) at Raiganj centre was inaugurated on 6 January.
Swami Gautamanandaji dedicated Ma Sarada Bhavan (guest house) at Mumbai centre on 7 January, the sacred birthday of Swami Shivanandaji Maharaj. The new building commemorates the centenary of Mumbai centre (1923-2023).
On the occasion of Gangasagar Mela, Seva Pratishthan hospital extended round-the-clock medical service on the Mela grounds from 10 to 16 January. In all, 7553 patients were treated, out of which 186 received indoor medical care. Manasadwip centre provided board and lodging to 831 pilgrims at its unit in Gangasagar.
Swami Gautamanandaji consecrated the newly built Sri Ramakrishna Temple at Coimbatore Mission centre on 16 January, the sacred birthday of Swami Saradanandaji Maharaj. In this connection, special worship, homa, public meetings, bhajans, harikatha and cultural events were held over three days, from 15 to 17 January. In all, 320 monks and 11,000 devotees attended the grand ceremony.
St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, bestowed ‘Nihil Ultra (Nothing Beyond) Award of Excellence’ upon RKMVERI deemed university at the college’s convocation ceremony on 16 January. The award was conferred, as per the citation, “in acknowledgement of its [RKMVERI’s] unwavering dedication to academic excellence, societal upliftment, and the propagation of Swami Vivekananda’s educational vision”.
Swami Gautamanandaji inaugurated monks’ quarters at Ramanathapuram centre on 24 January.
Sri Rameswar Teli, Union Minister of State for Petroleum & Natural Gas and Labour & Employment, visited Dibrugarh centre on 28 January.
A student of our Kalady school won a gold medal and two others bronze medals at the Kerala State Schools Judo Championship conducted by the Department of General Education in November.
The Blind Boys’ Academy of Narendrapur Ashrama bagged the State Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. Also, a staff of the Braille press serving as a proofreader received an award in the category of Outstanding Employee with Disabilities. The awards were presented on 2 December.
A student of our Viveknagar school, Agartala, secured a place among the top 100 students in the national level VeerGatha contest conducted by Gallantry Awards Portal of India under the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Education, Government of India. He received a certificate, a medal, and a cash prize of 10,000 rupees on 25 January.
Eighteen students of class 11 of Narendrapur Vidyalaya were awarded the Junior Scholarship and two others obtained the Junior Encouragement Award in the Junior Scholarship Test, 2023, conducted by Jagadish Bose National Science Talent Search, Kolkata. Further, the Vidyalaya won the Best School Award for the excellent performance of its students in the competition.
Jhargram centre conducted a district-level football tournament from 19 December to 21 January. Two men’s teams and two women’s teams from each of the eight blocks in Jhargram district contested in the tournament.
In association with another organization, Viveknagar centre, Agartala, held a workshop on Spoken Sanskrit from 20 December to 5 January wherein 101 delegates took part.
The Blind Boys’ Academy of Narendrapur Ashrama observed World Braille Day on 4 January in collaboration with the Department of Women & Child Development and Social Welfare, Government of West Bengal. Dr Shashi Panja, Minister-in-charge of the said department, and others presented speeches in the programme.
Ranchi Morabadi centre conducted, in association with a few other organizations, a Surya-namaskar demonstration programme at Surya Mandir, Bundu, Ranchi, on 10 January in which 750 yoga enthusiasts took part. Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, sponsored the event.
News of Branch Centres outside India
Vancouver centre, Canada, moved to its new premises in Surrey, a suburb of Vancouver, on 26 December. The centre’s address is “Vivekananda Vedanta Society of British Columbia, 14488 110 Ave, Surrey, British Columbia, V3R 2A5, Canada”.
Communication Addresses
Phone Numbers:
Dhaleswar centre, Agartala, has discontinued its phone numbers: 81319 55537 and 80172 78104. It has a new phone number: 70056 54734.
Dublin centre, Ireland, has changed its phone number from 353-8660 15603 to 353-8301 41531.
Ichapur centre has discontinued its phone number 89742 88359. It has a new mobile phone number: 99329 55529.
Values Education and Youth Programmes
The following centres held programmes mentioned against their names:
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (Aurangabad): A workshop on Entrepreneurship Mindset Development on 6 and 7 January in which 10 experts addressed 105 youth delegates.
Gurugram: (i) Four values education workshops, each of five-day duration, for children from 26 December to 9 January, attended by 26 children in all. (ii) A teachers’ training programme on 20 January attended by 147 primary school teachers of Haryana.
Kanpur: A youths’ convention on 16 December in which 200 youths took part; and a special lecture on 9 January attended by 120 youths.
Raipur: Personality development camps at four government schools in Pithora on 10 January, and at a college in Raipur city on 27 January, attended by 1195 students and 30 teachers in all.
Rajkot: Nine values education programmes from 8 to 24 January in which altogether 510 students of classes 5 to 8 took part.
Ranchi Morabadi: Youth awakening programmes in 41 schools covering 12,731 students from 1 September to 8 January.
Thanjavur: Nine values education programmes from 4 to 29 January at the centre and elsewhere in which a total of 4710 students, professors and lecturers took part.
Eye Camps and other Healthcare Services
The following centres conducted medical camps. A summary of the services provided by them is given below.
India:
Bankura: Eye camps from 1 to 29 January in which a total of 277 eye patients were screened, 42 were operated on and 27 were given spectacles.
Chennai Students’ Home: A blood donation camp on 12 January in which 81 units of blood were collected.
Coimbatore Mission: Five medical camps (2 cardiology, 1 eye and 2 dental camps) in and around Coimbatore from 30 December to 21 January in which a total of 235 patients were treated.
Gurap: Two eye camps on 12 December and 9 January in which a total of 95 patients were checked; 32 of them were operated on at an eye hospital.
Hatamuniguda: An orthopaedics camp on 7 January in which 30 patients were treated.
Jammu: A medical camp on 20 January in which a team of doctors treated 192 patients. In the blood donation camp held on the same day, 27 people donated blood.
Jamshedpur: (i) A blood donation camp on 12 January in which 132 persons donated blood. (ii) An eye camp on 29 December in which 47 patients were screened and 22 were operated on. (iii) Spectacles were distributed to 147 patients from October to December.
Khetri: In the eye camps held in January, altogether 43 patients were checked and subsequently 23 were operated on for cataract at an eye hospital in Jaipur.
Koyilandy: A medical camp on 7 January; 90 patients were treated.
Lucknow: 7630 eye patients were checked and 371 were operated on and given spectacles in December.
Madurai: An eye camp on 28 January: 110 patients were screened, 31 of them were shortlisted for undergoing cataract operation, and 20 were given spectacles.
Mumbai: A medical camp at Dhanoshi village in Palghar district on 15 October: 242 patients were treated; 91 of them were given spectacles.
Nattarampalli: An eye camp on 21 January: 288 patients were checked, 53 were operated on for cataract in an eye hospital, and 51 were given spectacles.
Porbandar: An eye camp on 12 January: 36 patients were treated and subsequently 12 were operated on for cataract in an eye hospital.
Puri Math: (i) Three eye camps in schools and one at the Math from 17 to 19 November. In these camps, altogether 680 patients were treated and 13 were given spectacles. (ii) A medical camp on 12 January wherein 112 patients were treated.
Salem: An eye camp on 21 January: 1199 patients were checked and 4 were operated on for cataract in an eye hospital.
Silchar: An eye camp at a nearby village, Silcoorie, in January: 96 patients were checked and 11 of them underwent cataract operation.
Thanjavur: A medical camp on 7 January in which 40 patients were treated.
Outside India:
Batticaloa (a sub-centre of Colombo branch), Sri Lanka: Medical camps at villages around Kiran, Kudumimalai and Vaharai in January in which a total of 743 patients received medical aid.
Obituary
We record with sorrow the passing away of Swami Manishananda (Jim of Seattle centre) on 14 January at 1.10 am Pacific Time (2.40 pm Indian Time) at an assisted living facility in Bothell, near Seattle, USA. He was 75. Initiated by Swami Vividishanandaji Maharaj, he joined the order in 1973 at Seattle centre and received sannyasa diksha from Swami Bhuteshanandaji Maharaj in 1994. He spent his entire monastic life at Seattle centre, serving in various capacities with great dedication. He built the centre’s Tapovan retreat, near Arlington, Washington, and maintained it for about three decades. He also had the privilege of serving his guru for some years. He was a fine guitarist and tabla player. The swami had won the admiration of devotees—young and old—for his hospitable and friendly nature. In him the order has lost a multi-talented member.