Revered President Maharaj is at Belur Math. He is keeping well.
Swami Gautamananda ji is at Chennai Math. He will be visiting Itanagar and Lumdung from 4 to 13 March, Belur Math from 14 to 22 March, and Dehradun, Gurugram and Delhi from 28 March to 5 April. He is keeping well.
Swami Prabhananda ji is undergoing treatment in Seva Pratishthan, Kolkata, from 11 October.
Swami Suhitananda ji is on a tour of Jaipur, Ajmer, Khetri, Vrindaban and Delhi lasting till 13 March. Later, he will be visiting various places in Gujarat from 20 to 31 March. He is keeping well.
Swami Bhajanananda ji is at Belur Math. He is keeping well.
Swami Girishananda ji is at Belur Math. He will be visiting Gourhati from 4 to 6 March, Varanasi from 8 to 14 March, and Indore, Bhopal, Ujjain and Omkareshwar from 22 March to 4 April. He is keeping well.
The birthday (janma-tithi) of Sri Ramakrishna Dev was celebrated at Belur Math on Tuesday, 21 February, with spiritual fervour and delight. Khichuri prasad was served to 18,000 devotees. The General Secretary presided over the public meeting held in the afternoon.
The annual Public Celebration in connection with Sri Ramakrishna’s birthday was held at Belur Math on Sunday, 26 February. Lakhs of people visited Belur Math on that day. Khichuri prasad was served to 36,000 persons.
The Foreign Contribution (FC) office at the Headquarters has got an email id <fc@rkmm.org>.
Kanpur centre has changed its website address from <www.rkmkanpur.org> to kanpur.rkmm.org
The following centres conducted programmes mentioned against their names:
Digboi: A Bhakta Sammelan (devotees’ meet) on 29 January attended by 300 devotees.
Indore: Cultural competitions in which about 200 students from 7 schools of Hirapur, Khargone district, took part. Prizes were given to the winners in a ceremony held at the Government High School, Hirapur, on 8 February.
Purulia: In collaboration with another organization, a three-day rural festival comprising farmers’ convention, youths’ convention, women & child convention, agricultural exhibition, cultural performances and narayana seva (feeding poor people). About 40,000 people attended the festival from 4 to 6 February.
Rajkot: A public meeting on the subject ‘Ramakrishna Mission – Its Ideals and Activities’ on 5 February in which 125 monks and 1500 devotees took part.
On 12 January, Sri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister of State for Culture, inaugurated at Khetri centre a cultural complex comprising an indoor auditorium, an open-air theatre, a garden, a souvenir shop, a cafeteria, and a light-and-sound show on Swamiji.
Rajkot centre in association with the Government of Gujarat conducted a pilgrimage for our monks covering important places in Gujarat from 1 to 9 February. A group of 116 monks, including 66 heads of centres, visited Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Limbdi, Rajkot, Girnar, Somnath, Porbandar and Dwarka. Sri Bhupendra Patel, Chief Minister of Gujarat, interacted with the visiting monks at a place near Ahmedabad on 2 February. The people of Gujarat honoured the monks by receiving them with a traditional welcome at some of the places.
The closing ceremony of the year-long centenary of Sarisha centre was held from 3 to 5 February in a grand manner. The General Secretary inaugurated the three-day programme comprising a procession, public meetings, cultural events, sadhu bhandara and narayana seva (feeding poor people). On 5 February, Swami Girishanandaji inaugurated the centenary building and presided over the concluding session. A commemorative volume was also released on the occasion. Hundreds of monks, devotees, students and others took part in the celebration.
Thanjavur centre held a series of programmes in Thanjavur and Kumbakonam on 3, 5 and 9 February to commemorate Swamiji’s visit to those places in 1897. A procession, public meetings and a painting competition were conducted.
Sri Amit Shah, Union Home Minister, visited Deoghar Vidyapith on 4 February, which recently celebrated its centenary. He paid high tribute to the Vidyapith for its laudable achievement during the last one hundred years.
The General Secretary inaugurated the rural sub-centre of Bajepratappur (Bardhaman) Ashrama at Bhandardihi village on 8 February. The sub-centre has a shrine, a non-formal school and a healthcare unit.
Swami Suhitanandaji unveiled a statue of Swami Saradanandaji Maharaj at Bankura centre on 9Â February.
The General Secretary inaugurated monks’ quarters at Dakshineshwar Math, a sub‑centre directly under the Headquarters, on 18 February, the sacred Maha Shivaratri.
Ranchi Morabadi Ashrama held four kisan melas (farmers’ fairs) in January and February in Ranchi district. About 30,000 farmers visited the fairs.
National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) awarded A+ grade to the College of Arts and Science and the Maruti College of Physical Education of Coimbatore Mission centre for five years.
A student of the College of Arts and Science of Coimbatore Mission centre secured a gold medal in the Silambam double-sword event in the international championship held in Port Blair on 27 December. A diploma student of the centre secured a gold medal in the Silambam single-stick event in the National School Sports Championship held in Goa on 7 and 8 January.
The cricket team of Chennai Vidyapith emerged as winners in a cricket tournament conducted by Tamil Nadu Cricket Association from 17 to 26 January.
The lower primary section of our Thrissur school won the first place in the Thrissur West Sub‑district sports competition.
The cerebral palsy rehabilitation centre of Rajkot Ashrama held a cultural programme on 29 January. Sri Ayar Mulubhai Bera, Gujarat Minister for Tourism, Cultural Activities, etc, Smt Bhanuben Babariya, State Minister for Social Justice & Empowerment and Women & Child Development, and 200 children with cerebral palsy took part.
Rotary Club presented the Vocational Excellence Award to the ITI run by Viveknagar centre, Agartala, on 29 January.
RKMVERI (deemed university in Belur) inaugurated a centre for Artificial Intelligence and other technologies on 21 February.
The following centres held programmes mentioned against their names:
Ahmedabad: A seminar on the topic ‘Condensed India’ on 14 February in which 50 young students and others participated.
Coimbatore Mission: Three youths’ conventions at as many polytechnic colleges in Coimbatore from 1 to 14 February which were attended by a total of 319 students.
Jamshedpur: (i) An online quiz on Swamiji’s lecture ‘Future of India’. The winners were awarded prizes on 5 February, and (ii) A day-long youths’ convention in Sidhgora on 5 February which was attended by 600 students and teachers from 20 schools and 2 colleges.
Krishnanagar: A youths’ convention on 29 January attended by 85 youths.
Madurai: Three values education programmes in and around Madurai on 2, 9 and 17 February in which a total of 420 students from 3 schools in and around Madurai took part.
Medinipur: Six values education programmes at different schools in Medinipur from 2 to 17 February in which 3376 students and teaching faculty participated.
Raipur: A personality development camp at a college in Gariaband district on 13 February, attended by 250 students and 10 teachers.
Rajkot: A state-level written quiz competition in which 66,194 students from 614 schools in 34Â districts of Gujarat took part; the toppers were awarded prizes on 12 February.
Visakhapatnam: Innovative science competitions among high school and engineering students. The winners were awarded prizes on 31 January.
Yadadri Bhuvanagiri: Four values education programmes for students from 10 to 22 February, which were attended by 625 students in all.
The following centres conducted medical camps. A summary of the services provided by them is given below.
Bankura: A total of 1343 eye patients were screened, 248 were operated on and 118 were given spectacles from December to February.
Coimbatore Mission: Nine medical camps (2 cancer, 2 orthopaedics, 1 cardiology, 1 dental and 3 general camps) in rural and tribal areas of Coimbatore district from 29 January to 19 February in which a total of 432 patients were treated.
Digboi: Cataract screening camps on 22 January and 26 February in which a total of 88 people were checked.
Halasuru, Bengaluru: (i) an eye camp on 11 February – 52 patients were screened, 12 underwent cataract surgery and 10 were given spectacles, and (ii) a dental camp on 11 February in which 40 patients underwent check-ups.
Hatamuniguda: An eye camp on 28 and 29 January – 437 patients were screened, 68 were given spectacles and 18 were operated on.
Jaipur: A medical camp in Kapurawala village in Jaipur district on 12 February in which a few specialist doctors treated 300 patients.
Jamshedpur: Two eye camps on 28 January and 15 February in which a total of 151 patients were screened and 67 patients were operated on.
Kankhal: A super speciality medical camp on 12 February in which expert doctors from AIIMS, Rishikesh, treated about 300 patients. Dr M Srinivas, Director, AIIMS, New Delhi; Smt. Ritu Khanduri Bhushan, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of Uttarakhand, and many other dignitaries graced the camp.
Khetri: 63 eye patients were screened and 27 were operated on for cataract in February.
Lucknow: 7812 eye patients were checked and 575 were operated on and given spectacles in January.
Madurai: A health awareness programme on 26 February in which 148 students participated.
Manasadwip: (i) Conducted eye camps on 29 January and 26 February in which a total of 317Â patients were treated, and (ii) Arranged cataract surgery for 31 patients on 2 February in association with another institution.
Naora: (i) A health awareness camp on 10 February in which 250 patients were treated, and (ii)Â Three eye operation camps in February in which a total of 34 people were operated on.
Porbandar: An eye camp on 10 February – 178 patients were treated and subsequently 40 were operated on for cataract.
Puri Math: A medical camp on 12 January wherein 124 patients were treated.
Ranchi Morabadi: Eye camps in February in which a total of 809 patients were checked, 23Â were given spectacles and 20 were operated on for cataract.
Salem: Two medical camps, one at the centre on 29 January and another in Thekkampatty village on 12 February, in which a total of 1211 patients were treated.
Thanjavur: (i) Two dental camps at two schools in Thanjavur on 7 & 22 February in which a total of 346 students underwent check-ups, and (ii) A general medical camp at the Ashrama’s rural centre on 19 February in which 46 patients were treated.
We record with sorrow the passing away of Swami Triptyananda ji (Nirmal Maharaj) at Seva Pratishthan, Kolkata, on 17 February at 7.10 am. He was 91. An initiated disciple of Swami Shankaranandaji Maharaj, he joined the order in 1956 at Visakhapatnam centre and received sannyasa diksha from Swami Vireshwaranandaji Maharaj in 1970. He served the order at Belur Math Dispensary and at Visakhapatnam, Chennai Math, Cossipore, Baghbazar, Shillong, Jalpaiguri, Mumbai and Deoghar centres. He had been living a retired life at Belur Math since 2007. The swami was austere and sociable by nature and could sing well in his youth.