Personalia
Revered President Maharaj will be visiting Lucknow from 17 to 21 November.
Swami Suhitanandaji is scheduled to visit Chennai and Sri Lanka from 10 to 24 November.
Swami Bhajananandaji is in Vrindavan.
Swami Girishanandaji will visit Narendrapur, Swamiji’s Ancestral House, Balaram Mandir and Durgapur from 4 to 20 November. Thereafter, he will visit Sribhumi (Karimganj) from 25 to 30 November.
Swami Divyanandaji is scheduled to visit Patna and Mumbai from 7 to 15 November, and Bangladesh from 22 to 26 November. Subsequently, he will visit Cooch Behar from 30 November to 6 December.
Swami Vimalatmanandaji will be visiting Lucknow from 17 to 23 November, and Balaram Mandir on 27 and 28 November.
Headquarters
Durga Puja was celebrated at Belur Math from 18 to 21 October with great joy and devotional fervour. The weather remained fine throughout the four days. Thousands of devotees attended the Puja on all the days and had darshan of the Divine Mother. Prasad was served to 46,000 devotees on the Maha Ashtami day and, in total, to 1,06,000 devotees during the four days. Sri R N Ravi, Governor of West Bengal, attended the Kumari Puja on the Maha Ashtami day.
News of Branch Centres in India
A number of our centres celebrated Durga Puja in a grand manner. At the following 37 centres, the Divine Mother was invoked and worshipped in the image from 18 to 21 October: Antpur, Asansol, Barasat, Bilaspur, Borjhar, Chhatrapur (under Raiganj), Contai, Cooch Behar, Delhi, Dhaleswar (Agartala), Digboi, Garbeta, Ghatshila, Guwahati, Gwalior, Haflong, Jalpaiguri, Jamshedpur, Jayrambati, Kailashahar, Kamarpukur, Kasundia (Howrah), Lucknow, Malda, Medinipur, Mumbai, Patna, Rahara, Sahudangi, Shella (under Sohra), Shillong, Shyamsayer (Bardhaman), Silchar, Siliguri, Sribhumi (Karimganj), Sri Vijaya Puram (Port Blair) and Varanasi Advaita Ashrama.
Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma, Chief Minister of Assam, attended Durga Puja at Silchar centre.
Dr Manik Saha, Chief Minister of Tripura, and other dignitaries attended Durga Puja at Kailashahar centre.
Swami Suhitanandaji opened the newly constructed guesthouse at Khetri centre, named ‘Raja Ajit Singh Memorial Bhakta Niwas’, on 21 September.
Revered President Maharaj inaugurated a coaching centre cum monks’ quarters building, named ‘Sarada Niketan’, at the Koalpara sub-centre of Jayrambati Matri Mandir on 29 September.
At Itanagar centre, Swami Suhitanandaji, along with Sri Pema Khandu, Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, inaugurated the staff quarters building, named ‘Vivekananda Bhavan-II’, on 4 October, the holy birthday of Swami Abhedanandaji Maharaj.
The General Secretary unveiled a 20-ft bronze statue of Swami Vivekananda on a 10-ft pedestal at New Town centre, Kolkata, on 7 October.
The new dining hall for students, named ‘Sri Sharada Sadana’, was opened at Shivanahalli centre on 8 October.
Revered President Maharaj consecrated the Sri Ramakrishna Temple and the monks’ quarters building at the Puducherry sub-centre of Chennai Math on 10 October, the sacred birthday of Swami Akhandanandaji Maharaj. On the same day, Sri N Rangasamy, Chief Minister of Puducherry, opened the service activities block there. Sri K Kailashnathan, Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, 54 monks, other dignitaries, and 1100 devotees attended the programmes held in this connection.
The renovated kitchen cum dining hall at Davanagere centre was formally opened on 14 October.
Swami Suhitanandaji inaugurated the kitchen cum dining hall for devotees, named ‘Sarada Bhavan’, at Cossipore Math on 25 October, the sacred Kojagari Lakshmi Puja day.
A new art gallery, named Viswanath Datta Art Gallery, was opened at Swamiji’s Ancestral House, Kolkata, on 27 September.
Earlier this year, in August, Advaita Ashrama launched an initiative named “Jago Yuva Jago Bharat – A Celebration of Oneness”, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, and the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT). The programme is designed to inspire the youth towards the ideals of Swami Vivekananda. Around 40,000 students from more than 2000 schools have registered for the event so far. Our centres can also benefit from this programme by registering the names of youths associated with them.
Awards and Recognitions
As a tribute to the excellence in delivering community eye healthcare services to unreachable regions of India by our Dehradun eye hospital, the Association of Community Ophthalmologists of India (ACOIN) conferred the Padmashree Prof. Govindappa Venkatasamy ACOIN-AECS Award upon the hospital, in a programme held in Kolkata on 23 September. (AECS stands for Aravind Eye Care System.) The hospital was also awarded the UKSOS Dr R.J.K. Singh Community Ophthalmology Award by the Uttarakhand State Ophthalmological Society (UKSOS) in a programme held in Mussoorie on 24 October.
The South African Clinical Haematology Society awarded the Leader in Haematology Award to the Secretary of our clinic in Phoenix centre, South Africa, on 3 October.
Our school in Viveknagar, Agartala, has been ranked 20th among the best day schools in India by Education World, an education news magazine.
Values Education and Youth Programmes
The following centres held programmes mentioned against their names:
India:
Chennai Students’ Home: Two values education programmes on 24 and 28 September, in which a total of 400 students took part.
Dakshineshwar, Kolkata: A youths’ convention on 11 October, in which 93 youths participated.
Gurugram: (i) Seven values education programmes in different parts of the country from 8 to 13 October, in which altogether 386 students, principals and teachers took part. (ii) Three online values education programmes from 26 September to 11 October, in which 48 teachers, in all, were in attendance.
Hatamuniguda: A capacity-building programme on Artificial Intelligence on 10 October, in which 60 teachers from 12 schools participated.
Indore: An inter-school Kho Kho competition, in which 180 students from 15 schools took part.
Madurai: Three values education programmes from 25 September to 23 October, in which a total of 1126 students participated.
Mumbai: A three-day residential youths’ camp from 2 to 4 October, in which 53 students from 10 colleges took part.
Ponnampet: A youths’ convention on 24 September, in which 60 students from a nearby college took part.
Raipur: Two personality development camps at two schools in Balod and Durg districts on 28 September, attended by 200 students and 23 teachers, in all.
Rajamahendravaram: A series of values education programmes, both in online and offline modes, from 1 to 22 September, in which altogether 22,054 students and 1704 teachers were in attendance.
Rajkot: Two values education classes on 24 September and 21 October, in which a total of 132 students participated.
Ranchi Morabadi: Cultural competitions from 18 to 20 September, in which a total of 2200 youths from four districts of Jharkhand took part.
Silchar: Two youths’ conferences on 12 and 13 October, in which altogether 547 students and 114 teachers participated.
Swamiji’s Ancestral House, Kolkata: (i) A youths’ conference on 29 September, in which 487 students took part. (ii) Values education classes at various schools, colleges and universities, both in online and offline modes, in August and September, in which altogether 4949 students were in attendance.
Thanjavur: Fourteen values education and cultural programmes from 26 September to 21 October, in which a total of 874 students and teachers participated.
Outside India:
Batticaloa (a sub-centre of Colombo branch), Sri Lanka: (i) Three personality development camps from 17 to 21 September, in which a total of 600 students took part. (ii) A values education programme on 29 September, in which 130 teachers participated.
Eye Camps and other Healthcare Services
The following centres conducted medical camps. A summary of the services provided by them is given below.
India:
Balurghat: Two medical camps at nearby places on 27 September and 11 October, through which a total of 328 patients benefitted.
Chennai Math: An eye camp at Meyyur village, with the help of Chengalpattu centre, on 4 October, in which 55 patients were screened; subsequently, 9 underwent cataract surgery at an eye hospital in Chennai.
Cooch Behar: A cleft lip and palate camp on 3 October, in which 57 patients were treated.
Dhaleswar, Agartala: Two medical camps in nearby areas on 12 and 26 September, in which a total of 225 patients were treated.
Digboi: Five medical camps from 6 to 27 September, in which altogether 93 patients were treated.
Hyderabad: A medical camp at a village in Karimnagar district on 11 October, in which 230 patients were treated, and 200 underwent essential diagnostic checks.
Itanagar: Two blood donation camps from 1 to 23 October, in which altogether 60 units of blood were collected.
Jalpaiguri: Two eye camps, in association with an eye hospital in Siliguri, on 30 August and 27 September, in which a total of 151 patients were checked, 19 of them underwent cataract surgery, and 12 were given spectacles.
Khetri: An eye camp on 27 September, in which 95 patients were screened; subsequently, 48 were operated on for cataract at an eye hospital in Jaipur.
Lucknow: Eye camps in September: 4984 patients were examined, of whom 239 underwent cataract surgery and received spectacles.
Madurai: An eye camp on 18 October, in which 78 patients were screened. Of them, 18 were operated on for cataract at an eye hospital, and 3 were given spectacles.
Malda: (i) A cleft lip and palate camp on 9 September, in which 119 patients were treated. (ii) An Ayurvedic health camp at a nearby place on 20 September, through which 84 patients benefitted.
Nagpur: An eye camp at a nearby village on 27 September: 284 patients were screened; of them, 63 underwent cataract surgery at an eye hospital in Nagpur, and 213 received spectacles.
Nattarampalli: An eye camp on 18 October: 147 patients were checked; of them, 47 were operated on for cataract in an eye hospital, and 32 were given spectacles.
Porbandar: An eye camp on 9 September, where 87 patients were checked; later on, 73 were operated on for cataract in a nearby eye hospital.
Rahara, Kolkata: A medical camp at Bongaon block, North 24 Parganas district, on 20 September, in which 643 patients were treated.
Rajkot: (i) A holistic wellness retreat on 26 September, in which 250 persons received health consultations and personalized guidance. (ii) A guidance seminar on 6 October for the parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders, in which 300 parents participated.
Swamiji’s Ancestral House, Kolkata: (i) A blood donation camp on 2 October, in which 32 people donated blood. (ii) An eye camp on the same day, in which 18 patients were screened.
Thanjavur: Two medical camps on 27 September and 25 October, in which a total of 100 patients were treated.
Thirumukkudal: (i) On 17 October, an awareness programme for the parents of children with intellectual disability, in which 150 persons took part. (ii) An eye camp at a nearby village, in association with an eye hospital, on 25 October, in which 84 patients were screened; subsequently, 16 of them underwent surgery in the eye hospital, and 41 were given spectacles.
Viveknagar, Agartala: (i) An Ayurvedic camp on 23 September, through which 189 persons benefitted. (ii) Three medical camps from 30 September to 14 October at Narsingarh and Gomati districts, in which a total of 135 patients were treated.
Outside India:
Batticaloa (a sub-centre of Colombo branch), Sri Lanka: Medical camps at Kiran, Sittandy and Kudumimalai in September, in which altogether 669 patients received medical aid.
Durban, South Africa: An eye camp on 11 October, during which 100 patients were screened.
News of Branch Centres outside India
Durga Puja (in the image) was performed at Durban (South Africa) centre and its sub-centres at Chatsworth and Pietermaritzburg, Lusaka (Zambia) centre, Mauritius Ashrama, Netherlands Society, and 15 centres in Bangladesh, namely Bagerhat, Baliati, Barisal, Chandpur, Chittagong, Comilla, Dhaka, Dinajpur, Faridpur, Habiganj, Jashore, Mymensingh, Narayanganj, Rangpur and Sylhet, and at the Narail sub‑centre of Jashore Ashrama.
Mr Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, President of Bangladesh; Sri Dinesh Trivedi, High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh; and several other dignitaries attended Durga Puja at Dhaka centre.
Sri Alok Ranjan Jha, High Commissioner of India to Zambia, attended Durga Puja at Lusaka centre, Zambia, on 17 October.
Obituaries
We record with sorrow the passing away of three of our brother monks.
Swami Kaleshananda (Sandip), Registrar of RKMVERI, Belur, passed away untimely at Arogya Bhavan, Belur Math, on 10 October, the sacred Mahalaya day, at 4.15 pm. He was 54. Initiated by Swami Ranganathanandaji Maharaj, he joined the order in 2002 at Saradapitha centre, Belur, and received sannyasa diksha from Swami Atmasthanandaji Maharaj in 2011. He served at the Saradapitha and RKMVERI centres. He was known for his gentle and composed demeanour. In him, the order has lost an austere, diligent and dedicated member.
Swami Avisheshananda (Dilip) expired at Thiruvananthapuram centre on 12 October at 8.53 pm. He was 62. An initiated disciple of Swami Bhuteshanandaji Maharaj, he joined the order in 1988 at Sargachhi centre and received sannyasa diksha from his guru in 1998. He served at Belur Math (at Math Office) and Deoghar, Puri Mission, Gadadhar Ashrama, Puri Math, Ramharipur and Rourkela centres. Since May 2025, he had been staying at Thiruvananthapuram centre. The swami was cheerful and sociable.
Swami Uttamananda (Amalananda) breathed his last at Seva Pratishthan, Kolkata, on 22 October at 3.30 pm. He was 66. Initiated by Swami Vireshwaranandaji Maharaj, he joined the order in 1989 at Dhaka centre and received sannyasa diksha from Swami Ranganathanandaji Maharaj in 1999. He served at Dhaka, Narayanganj, Bagerhat, Mymensingh, Faridpur, Baliati, Kailashahar and Dinajpur centres. Since July 2022, he had been staying at Belur Math. He was conversant with ritualistic worship. Many devotees have lost a well-wisher in him.