Personalia
Most Revered President Maharaj, Swami Smaranananda ji, will be visiting Narendrapur from 23 to 28 January.
Swami Vagishananda ji, Vice-President, is scheduled to visit Nimpith in South 24 Parganas district from 16 to 20 January.
Swami Gautamananda ji, Vice-President, will be visiting Institute of Culture (Kolkata), Garbeta, Raipur, Narainpur, Guwahati and Aalo from 16 January to 6 February.
Swami Prabhananda ji, Vice-President, is scheduled to visit Baghbazar centre (Kolkata) from 16 to 26 January.
Swami Shivamayananda ji, Vice-President, is scheduled to visit Durgapur and Dhanbad from 13 to 22 January, and Narendrapur on 26 and 27 January.
Swami Suhitananda ji, Vice-President, will be visiting Antpur from 2 to 6 January, and Bardhaman, Asansol and Bankura from 16 to 28 January.
Headquarters
The birthday of Holy Mother was celebrated at Belur Math on Saturday, 9 December. Thousands of devotees attended the celebration throughout the day. Cooked Prasad was served to about 20,000 devotees. Swami Balabhadrananda chaired the public meeting held in the afternoon. Photos |Audio | Video
The 108th Annual General Meeting of the Ramakrishna Mission was held at Belur Math on Sunday, 17 December. Revered President Maharaj chaired the meeting. In all, 136 monastic members, 61 lay members and 90 associates attended the meeting. Photos.
The administrative building of the Headquarters at Belur Math has been named Saradananda Bhavan. Revered President Maharaj unveiled a dedication plaque, with the new name engraved on it, on 24 December, the sacred birthday of Swami Saradanandaji Maharaj. Photos.
Celebration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Sister Nivedita
The following centres held various programmes to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Sister Nivedita. (The main programmes conducted by them are mentioned against their names.)
Centres in India:
Bardhaman: A students’ convention on 10 December in which 250 students from 16 schools and 3 colleges took part. Report and Photos.
Baranagar Mission: A panel discussion on Sister Nivedita on 2 December attended by nearly 600 students.
Barasat: A youths’ convention on 17 December attended by 650 people.
Coimbatore Mission Vidyalaya: A state-level Kabaddi tournament from 15 to 17 December in which 17 institutions competed. Vidyalaya’s Maruthi College of Physical Education won the third prize in the tournament. Report and Photos.
Guwahati: A lecture programme on 28 December attended by nearly 300 devotees. A book on Sister Nivedita published by the centre in Assamese language was also released in the programme. Report and Photos.
Hatamuniguda: Quiz competitions from 18 to 26 November in which about 700 students and teachers participated.
Institute of Culture, Kolkata: A two-day seminar on Sister Nivedita on 17 and 18 November, each session of which was attended by about 700 people, and an art exhibition on Sister Nivedita from 17 to 25 November which was visited by about 800 people.
Jalpaiguri (in association with Kankurgachhi Math): A talk at an educational institution in Jalpaiguri on 21 December attended by 185 teachers and students.
Kankurgachhi: Five talks from 3 to 27 December, each of which was attended by about 300 devotees.
Nagpur: (i) A students’ convention on 11 December which was attended by about 600 students and 50 teachers, and (ii) three lectures in and around Nagpur on 12 and 13 December which were attended by about 1000 students and teachers in all.
Narendrapur: A devotees’ convention on 10 December attended by about 300 devotees.
Rajamahendravaram: Cultural competitions from 1 to 6 December in which 5362 students from 43 schools took part. Report and Photos.
Swamiji’s Ancestral House: (i) Three lectures at the centre on 27 November and 1 and 6 December which were attended by about 1000 people, and (ii) nine lectures in and around Kolkata from 22 November to 20 December attended altogether by 3500 people.
Outside India:
Moscow, Russia: A public meeting at the Embassy of India in Moscow on 29 November which was attended by about 50 people. Report and Photos.
Communication Addresses
Phone number: The phone number of Portland centre, USA, has been changed to 971‑302-6918.
Fax: Jayrambati centre has discontinued its fax facility with number 244222.
Website: Kalady centre has discontinued its website: <www.ramakrishna-kalady.org>.
News of Branch Centres (in India)
On 5 December, Ranchi Morabadi Ashrama held a conference for the executives of 120 units of Vivekananda Seva Sangha, village-level organizations formed by the former trainees of Divyayan Krishi Vigyan Kendra of the Ashrama for rural development in three districts of Jharkhand. The Chief Minister of Jharkhand, the Chief Secretary, the Agriculture Secretary and some other high officials of the Government of Jharkhand addressed the conference, which was attended by 266 people. Report and Photos.
Swami Suhitanandaji inaugurated the newly constructed third and fourth floors of the medical centre building at Rajkot Ashrama on 6 December. The two new floors will house the Ashrama’s Ma Sarada Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Centre.
Swami Suhitananda ji inaugurated the new monks’ quarters, named Gadadhar Sant Bhavan, at Sargachhi centre on 15 December, and a kitchen block at Malda centre on 18 December. Photos.
A student of Imphal school won a gold medal in the Asian Cup Jeet Kune Do (a martial art) Championship, held in Thailand by Asian Jeet Kune Do Federation from 24 to 28 November.
Mathrubhumi Publishing company, Kozhikode, presented two awards to the higher secondary school of Thrissur Math in recognition of the school’s efforts in protecting the environment. The awards, consisting of mementos and 75,000 rupees in all, were distributed on 2 December.
In compliance with the directions of the University Grants Commission (UGC), the name of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda University has been changed to ‘Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute’ (acronym: RKMVERI), the name by which the institute was known earlier.
Two students of the Sanskrit Department of RKMVERI (Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute), Belur, won the first and fourth prizes in a Sanskrit literary competition held at New Delhi jointly by BAPS Swaminarayan Research Institute, New Delhi, and Sri Somnath Sanskrit University, Veraval, Gujarat, from 15 to 17 December. All the winners received certificates, mementos and cash prizes. In all, 1000 students from different institutions all over India participated in the competition.
Twenty-two students of class 11 of Narendrapur Vidyalaya who had participated in the Junior Scholarship Test, 2017, conducted by Jagadish Bose National Science Talent Search, Kolkata, were awarded junior scholarship, and four other students received junior encouragement award. Besides, the school won the Best School Award for the excellent performance of its students in the competition.
Kanpur Ashrama conducted a free medical camp for cardiac patients on 3 December in which 60 patients were examined. The Ashrama also held a general medical camp at a village in Unnao district on 24 December in which 165 patients were treated.
Narainpur centre conducted a three-day residential career guidance programme from 4 to 6 December which was attended by about 4200 students of Class 11 and 12, and 500 teachers.
On 10 December, Rajamahendravaram (Rajahmundry) centre conducted a free medical camp at Rampachodavaram, a place mostly inhabited by tribal people. A team of 14 doctors, including a few specialists, treated 672 patients.
The following centres conducted free eye camps:
| Sl. No. | Centre | Dates of camps | Patients checked /treated | Specs given | No. of Surgeries | Surgeries performed at |
| 1 | Asansol | 22-Oct | 50 | − | 9 | An eye hospital in Asansol |
| 2 | Bankura | 30 Aug to 31 Dec | 1665 | 165 | 291 | Our eye care centre in Bankura |
| 3 | Chennai Math* | 10 Sept & 29 Oct | 141 | 74 | 12 | An eye hospital in Chennai |
| 4 | Delhi | 29 Aug to 17 Nov | 433 | 105 | 81 | Our clinic in Delhi |
| 5 | Ghatshila | Aug to Dec | 685 | 330 | 330 | An eye hospital in Jamshedpur |
| 6 | Gourhati | 9 July and 3 Sept | 240 | − | 22 | A hospital in Howrah |
| 7 | Halasuru | 7 Oct & 2 Dec | 153 | 114 | 114 | A hospital in Bengaluru |
| 8 | Kamarpukur | Sept to Dec | 1933 | 279 | 359 | Our eye care centre in Kamarpukur |
| 9 | Kanpur | 24-Dec | 34 | − | − | – |
| 10 | Lucknow | Oct to Dec | 9928 | − | 829 | Our Lucknow hospital |
| 11 | Madurai | 15 Oct to 17 Dec | 595 | 8 | 111 | An eye hospital in Madurai |
| 12 | Mayavati | May to Nov | 1526 | 150 | 324 | Our Mayavati Hospital |
| 13 | Medinipur | 30 Aug & 12 Nov | 422 | − | 38 | A hospital in Medinipur |
| 14 | Nagpur | 10 Sept & 3 Dec | 486 | 265 | 91 | An eye hospital in Nagpur |
| 15 | Porbandar | 8 Sept to 8 Dec | 323 | − | 125 | Eye hospitals in Porbandar & Virnagar |
| 16 | Rahara | 16 to 18 Dec | 152 | − | 44 | A hospital in Kolkata |
| 17 | Rajamahendravaram | 17 Sept to 10 Dec | 967 | 183 | 91 | A hospital in East Godavari Dt. |
| 18 | Rajkot | Sept to Dec | 366 | − | 194 | Our eye care centre in Rajkot |
| 19 | Ranchi Morabadi | 22 Aug to 21 Dec | 6271 | 415 | 88 | An eye hospital in Ranchi |
| 20 | Salem | 20 Aug to 17 Dec | 757 | 156 | 146 | An eye hospital in Salem |
| 21 | Saradapitha | Apr to Sept | 1143 | − | 150 | Three hospitals in West Bengal |
| 22 | Seva Pratishthan | Sept to Nov | 254 | 27 | 27 | Our Seva Pratishthan hospital |
| 23 | Vadodara | 15 Jul to 17 Nov | 1577 | 69 | 37 | A hospital in Vadodara Dt. |
| 24 | Visakhapatnam | Aug to Sept | 286 | − | 10 | A hospital in Visakhapatnam |
* through Chengalpattu centre
Values Education and Youth Programmes
Coimbatore Mission Vidyalaya held a three-day residential youths’ convention from 1 to 3 December in which 984 delegates participated. Report and Photos.
Delhi centre held 9 values education workshops from 1 November to 1 December, which were attended by 540 teachers. The workshops were held in Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. On 1 December, the centre distributed 90 LED projectors to the government schools in Ajmer.
Mysuru Ashrama conducted a written quiz competition on Swamiji from July to December in which about 36,500 students from 360 schools and colleges in Karnataka took part. State level toppers were awarded prizes on 30 December.
Salem Ashrama conducted three values education programmes at three colleges in Salem district in December which were attended by 629 students in all.
Swachchha Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Campaign)
Mysuru Ashrama conducted 11 cleaning drives from September to December in which a number of volunteers cleaned 44 localities of the city. The volunteers also campaigned in those places to spread awareness about cleanliness. Report and Photos.
Coimbatore Mission Vidyalaya conducted three cleaning drives on 7 and 8 December in which the Vidyalaya students cleaned a public road and the premises of a school and a government office.
Kamarpukur centre carried out a cleanliness drive at Kamarpukur village on 24 December.
Mangaluru Ashrama conducted the following activities in December: (i) four cleanliness drives in Mangaluru, (ii) a campaign in which about 1000 volunteers visited nearly 2500 households in Mangaluru and spread awareness about cleanliness, (iii) cleanliness drives at 50 villages in Dakshina Kannada district, and (iv) cultural competitions on cleanliness-related topics in 107 schools in which 11,000 students took part.
News of Branch Centres (Outside India)
Swami Suhitanandaji consecrated the newly built Sri Ramakrishna Temple at Jessore centre, Bangladesh, on 28 November, the sacred birthday of Swami Premanandaji Maharaj. Special worship, procession, cultural events and five public meetings were held as part of the three-day programme from 27 to 29 November. Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Mr Biren Sikder, Minister of Home Affairs Mr Asaduzzaman Khan, State Minister of Ministry of Public Administration Ms Ismat Ara Sadique, several other dignitaries and 87 monastics took part in the celebrations. About 30,000 devotees visited the new temple on the day of the consecration.
Dhaka centre, Bangladesh, conducted a seminar on values-oriented education on 2 December in which Minister of Home Affairs Mr Asaduzzaman Khan, Government of Bangladesh, and some other distinguished people addressed a gathering of about 750 people. Report and Photos.