Personalia
Revered President Maharaj will be visiting Nabadwip and Sargachhi from 5 to 10 January, and Ichapur centre from 27 to 29 January.
Swami Suhitanandaji is scheduled to return to Belur Math on 6 January. He will then visit South Africa, Zambia, UAE and Sri Lanka from 24 January to 22 February.
Swami Bhajananandaji is at Belur Math.
Swami Girishanandaji is visiting Asansol from 1 to 7 January. Subsequently, he will visit Kalady from 11 to 15 January, Kasundia centre in Howrah on 24 and 25 January, and Baghbazar Math in Kolkata from 26 to 29 January.
Swami Divyanandaji is scheduled to visit Khowai (Tripura), Kailashahar and Dhaleswar from 9 to 14 January; Nagpur and Gondia from 16 to 19 January; and Kuralbhanga, Dalu (Meghalaya) and Guwahati from 23 to 29 January.
Swami Vimalatmanandaji will visit Kalyani from 9 to 14 January, Dakshineshwar on 23 and 24 January, Kalyani again from 27 to 30 January, and Sikra Kulingram on 31 January.
All of them are keeping well.
Headquarters
The 115th Annual General Meeting of the Ramakrishna Mission was held at Belur Math on Sunday, 15 December. Revered President Maharaj chaired the meeting. In all, 154 monastic members, 58 lay members and 79 associates of the Mission attended the meeting.
The birthday (janma-tithi) of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi was celebrated at Belur Math on Sunday, 22 December. Thousands of devotees attended the celebration throughout the day. Khichuri prasad was served to about 37,000 devotees. Swami Shukadevananda chaired the public meeting held in the afternoon.
New Mission Centre
A new Mission centre has been started in Kuralbhanga, Assam, following the taking over of Sri Sri Ramakrishna Seva Samity, Kuralbhanga, in November.
The centre’s address is
Ramakrishna Mission, Kuralbhanga,
P.O. Zekabari, Dist. South Salmara Mankachar,
Assam 794105
Phone number: 91495 35867
Email id: [email protected]
The Seva Samity was founded in 1984.
News of Branch Centres in India
A prayer hall on the Guwahati centre’s Chatribari campus was consecrated by Swami Vimalatmanandaji on 6 December. On the same premises, a newly constructed building with a charitable dispensary and a guest house for devotees was dedicated on 26 December, the sacred birthday of Swami Shivanandaji Maharaj.
The new campus of Ahmedabad centre at Lekhamba village, located 30 km away from the city, was consecrated by Revered President Maharaj in a three-day programme from 8 to 10 December. On 9 December, the sacred birthday of Swami Premanandaji Maharaj, Revered Maharaj inaugurated the newly built prayer hall, monks’ quarters and dining hall. Sri Bhupendra Rajnikant Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat, participated in the public meeting held on that day. Sri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India, sent a pre-recorded video message. In all, 126 monks and a large number of devotees participated in the three-day programme.
The new kitchen block at Manasadwip centre was opened on 9 December.
Sri Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, visited Aalo centre on 23 December.
Swami Vimalatmanandaji inaugurated the new staff quarters at Varanasi Home of Service on 26 December.
Swami Shivananda Saraswati Yoga Prerana Award was presented to Ranchi Morabadi centre at the Assam Yoga Mahotsav held in Hojai, Assam, on 12 December. The award was given in recognition of the outstanding service rendered by the centre in promoting yoga.
A new campus of Siliguri centre has been opened, following the takeover of Siliguri Sri Ramakrishna Vivekananda Society in December. Its address is “Ramakrishna Mission, Ramakrishna Sarani, Jyotinagar, 2nd Mile, Sevoke Road, Siliguri, Dist. Jalpaiguri, West Bengal 734001”. The Society was founded in 1978.
Revered President Maharaj launched the newly set-up STEM laboratory at the boys’ high school of Jayrambati centre on 12 November. (STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.)
Ranchi Morabadi centre observed a cleanliness awareness programme on 14 December and World Meditation Day on 21 December.
Students of our Hatamuniguda school participated in All India Swachh Bharat Art Competition conducted by the National Education and Human Resource Development Organisation, Mumbai, on 13 August and secured 19 gold medals and 2 trophies.
Two PhD students of RKMVERI deemed university won first prizes in oral paper presentation competition at the International Conference of the Indian Society of Sports and Exercise Medicine which was held at Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi, on 15 and 16 November.
Students of our school at Viveknagar, Agartala, bagged two first prizes and a third prize in the National Level Group Song Competition conducted by Bharat Vikas Parishad in Bengaluru on 15 December.
The team from Narainpur centre’s Football Academy emerged victorious in the finals of the Jitendra Singh Memorial All India Football Tournament, which was held at Kondagaon in Chhattisgarh on 15 December.
Communication Addresses
Postal Address: The new address of Ahmedabad centre is Ramakrishna Math, Village Lekhamba, Taluka Sanand, Dist. Ahmedabad, Gujarat 382110. The centre’s premises at Vastrapur in Ahmedabad will function as the city centre. All postal correspondence should be directed to the city centre.
Phone Numbers:
Almora centre has discontinued its previous telephone number 05962 254417. It has a new number: 05962 298240.
Ahmedabad centre has discontinued its previous telephone numbers 70160 93216 and 88498 73347.
The following centres have new phone numbers:
| Centre | Phone Numbers |
| Ahmedabad | 87808 70521, 84870 71069 and 84870 71049 City Centre: 98751 01611 |
| Bajepratappur, Bardhaman | 79080 25167 |
| Basti (A sub-centre under the HQ) | 70680 77687 |
Email IDs: Kamarpukur centre, has now an email id for guest house booking: [email protected].
Websites:
Balaram Mandir, Kolkata, has launched a website with the address balarammandir.rkmm.org.
Vrindavan centre has changed its website address from <vrindabanhospital.rkmm.org> to rkmshospitalvrindavan.rkmm.org.
Values Education and Youth Programmes
The following centres held programmes mentioned against their names:
Chandigarh: Conducted a series of values education programmes for children from 14 July to 17 November. The concluding ceremony was held on 24 November in which 150 participants were in attendance.
Dhaleswar, Agartala: A values education programme for parents on 8 December in which 225 parents participated.
Gurugram: (i) Five online values education programmes for teachers from 27 to 30 November in which altogether 98 teachers took part. (ii) A facilitator development programme for faculty members of Delhi Technological University on 2 December in which 19 professors were in attendance.
Hatamuniguda: A 10-day yoga training camp from 5 to 14 December in which 60 students were in attendance.
Hyderabad: Values education programmes from 20 November to 14 December in which altogether 1100 students from a nearby college took part.
Jaipur: (i) A youths’ programme on 29 November in which 250 youths participated. (ii) A cultural competition on 20 December in which 78 students from nearby schools took part.
Kalyani: A youths’ conference on 9 December, attended by 125 youths.
Kanpur: A talk for youths on 30 November which was attended by 135 students from various schools.
Kathamrita Bhavan, Kolkata: A youths’ conference on 8 December in which 20 youths participated.
Limbdi: Various cultural competitions from 16 to 18 December in which altogether 230 students took part.
Raipur: Eight personality development camps at various schools in Durg, Gariaband and Raipur districts from 28 November to 17 December, attended by 1255 students and 147 teachers in all.
Rajamahendravaram: Three values education programmes on 29 and 30 November at Eluru and West Godavari districts in which a total of 1300 students were in attendance.
Ranchi Morabadi: Four youths’ conventions in Khunti and Ranchi districts from 19 September to 10 December in which a total of 1035 students took part.
Salem: Four personality development classes from 17 to 22 December where, in all, 389 school students from nearby schools were in attendance.
Swamiji’s Ancestral House, Kolkata: Sanskrit chanting and music competitions in December in which altogether 1140 students participated.
Thanjavur: Five values education programmes from 2 to 26 December in which a total of 345 students were present.
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) An eye camp at Chengam, with the help of Chengam centre, on 7 December in which 328 patients were screened; subsequently, 57 were admitted to a hospital in Puducherry for surgery. (ii) An eye camp in Chengalpattu district, with the help of Chengalpattu centre, on 15 December in which 97 patients were checked, 51 were given spectacles and 9 were admitted to an eye hospital in Chennai for surgery.
Coimbatore Mission: Six medical camps (1 general, 2 orthopaedic and 3 eye camps) in and around Coimbatore from 1 to 22 December, in which a total of 334 patients were treated.
Digboi: Three medical camps from 22 November to 15 December in which altogether 113 patients were treated.
Hatamuniguda: An eye camp on 23 December in which 144 patients were checked, 42 were given spectacles and later 12 underwent cataract and pterygium surgeries in an eye hospital.
Jammu: (i) A health camp for students with disabilities on 3 December, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, in which 54 students were examined. (ii) A health camp on 21 December in which 291 patients were treated.
Jamshedpur: Three eye camps from 21 November to 8 December in nearby areas in which a total of 166 patients were screened; subsequently, 107 of them underwent cataract surgery at a local eye hospital.
Khetri: Three eye camps from October to December in which a total of 245 patients were screened; afterwards 78 patients underwent cataract surgery at an eye hospital.
Lucknow: 5296 eye patients were checked and 313 were operated on and given spectacles in November.
Mumbai: An eye camp at Chinchoti village in Raigad district on 1 December in which 212 patients were checked and 88 were given spectacles; later 61 underwent cataract surgery and 1 pterygium surgery at the centre’s hospital.
Nattarampalli: An eye camp on 15 December: 179 patients were checked; subsequently, 53 underwent cataract surgery in an eye hospital and 50 were given spectacles.
Porbandar: An eye camp on 13 December in which 108 patients were checked; later 64 of them underwent cataract surgery in a local eye hospital.
Rahara: A medical camp on 8 December at Sandeshkhali Block, North 24 Parganas, in which 330 patients were treated.
Rajamahendravaram: (i) A medical camp in Alluri Sitaramaraju district on 15 December in which 345 patients were treated. (ii) Eye camps from October to December in which a total of 459 patients were checked; subsequently 53 underwent cataract surgery in an eye hospital and 94 were given spectacles.
Ranchi Morabadi: An eye camp in December in which 495 patients were checked and 22 underwent cataract surgery in an eye hospital.
Salem: (i) Two medical camps at nearby villages on 5 and 8 December in which a total of 210 patients were screened. (ii) Four eye camps from 24 November to 15 December in and around Salem in which a total of 460 patients were checked, 19 were given spectacles and 103 underwent cataract surgery at two eye hospitals in Salem.
Silchar: An eye camp at Silcoorie village on 28 November in which 67 patients were checked and 14 underwent cataract surgery in an eye hospital.
Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair): A health check-up camp on 1 December in which 72 patients were screened.
Thanjavur: Two medical camps (1 dental and 1 general) on 15 December in which altogether 121 patients were treated.
Viveknagar, Agartala: (i) An eye camp on 23 November in which 143 patients were checked. (ii) A cardiology camp in collaboration with a hospital in Kolkata on 30 November in which 50 patients were treated. (iii) A medical camp in collaboration with a hospital in Hyderabad on 7 December in which 89 patients were checked.
Vrindavan: A urology-cum-general surgery camp from 27 to 30 November, in collaboration with another institution, in which 290 patients were screened and 61 underwent surgeries.
Outside India:
Batticaloa (a sub-centre of Colombo branch), Sri Lanka: Medical camps at Kiran, Sittandy and Kudumimalai in December in which altogether 900 patients received medical aid. Dhaka: A blood donation camp on 1 December; 41 people donated blood.
Obituaries
We record with sorrow the passing away of three of our brother monks.
Swami Pranavanandaji (Chandan Maharaj) passed away at Arogya Bhavan, Belur Math, on 5 December at 6.45 am. He was 89. Initiated by Swami Shankaranandaji Maharaj, he joined the order at Belur Math in 1959 and received sannyasa diksha from Swami Vireshwaranandaji Maharaj in 1967. He served at Belur Math (in library) and Ranchi Sanatorium, Rahara, Advaita Ashrama (Kolkata), Sargachhi, Deoghar, Narottam Nagar, Baghbazar Math and Cossipore centres as an assistant and Puri Math as the head. He had been staying at Belur Math for the last 36 years.
Swami Brahmasthanandaji (Yadav Rao Maharaj) expired at Nagpur Math on 8 December at 9.15 pm. He was 82. An initiated disciple of Swami Yatishwaranandaji Maharaj, he joined the order in 1971 at Nagpur Math and received sannyasa diksha from Swami Vireshwaranandaji Maharaj in 1982. He served at Hyderabad Math as an assistant and Nagpur Math, first as an assistant and then as the head for 27 years. During his tenure as the head of Nagpur Math, the beautiful Sri Ramakrishna Temple was built there on his initiative. He also made several other contributions to the growth of that centre. After relinquishing the headship of Nagpur Math last year, he continued to stay there. The swami was austere by nature and meticulous in his monastic routine.
Swami Gudakeshananda (Vishwanath), aged 70 years, breathed his last at Peerless Hospital, Kolkata, on 31 December at 10.10 am. An initiated disciple of Swami Kailashanandaji Maharaj, he joined the order in 1980 at Jamtara Math and received sannyasa diksha from Swami Bhuteshanandaji Maharaj in 1989. He served at Jamtara, Varanasi Home of Service, Ichapur, Almora, Deoghar, Narendrapur and Rahara centres. The swami was sociable and affable.