NEWS OF RAMAKRISHNA MATH AND RAMAKRISHNA MISSION : 1 February 2017

Personalia

Most Revered Swami Atmasthanandaji Maharaj, President, Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math, continues to be at Seva Pratishthan.  There is no significant change in his health condition.

Revered Swami Smarananandaji, Vice President, will be visiting Institute of Culture, Kolkata, from 7 to 18 February. He is keeping well.

Revered Swami Vagishanandaji, Vice President, is on a visit to Mumbai. He is keeping well.

Revered Swami Prabhanandaji, Vice President, is scheduled to return to Belur Math on 5 February after his visit to Vadodara, Mumbai and Rajkot.  He will be visiting Sargachhi from 15 to 22 February.  He is in good health.

Headquarters 

The birthday of Swami Vivekananda was celebrated at Belur Math on Thursday, 19 January. Thousands of devotees attended the celebration throughout the day.  Cooked prasad was served to about 16,000 devotees.  Swami Sarvalokananda presided over the public meeting held in the afternoon.   Click here for photos.

On the same day, saplings of two trees closely associated with Swamiji, namely the peepal tree at Kakrighat, Almora, and the mango tree near Swamiji’s bedroom at Belur Math, were planted at four sites in Belur Math.

The birthday of Swami Brahmananda was celebrated at Belur Math on 29 January. Click here for more photos.

Prof Kaptan Singh Solanki, Governor of Haryana, visited Belur Math on 29 January.

New Math and Mission Centre

A new branch centre of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission has been started at Chandpur in Bangladesh.

Its address is :

Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama and Ramakrishna Mission,

652, Mission  Road,  Chandpur-3600,  Bangladesh

Phone  no.  (880)  0841-65797

email  id <chandpur@rkmm.org>

New Math Sub-Centre

A sub-centre of Ramakrishna Math, directly under the supervision of the Headquarters, has been started at the house of Sri Mahendranath Gupta (also known as ‘M’), the chronicler of The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna.  The address of the sub-centre is :

Ramakrishna Math (Kathamrita Bhavan),

13/2 Guruprasad Chowdhury Lane, Kolkata 700006

Revered Swami Suhitanandaji, General Secretary, inaugurated the sub-centre on 4 January, the sacred birthday of Swami Saradanandaji Maharaj. Click here for photos.

National Youth Day Celebrations 

The our branch centres and the Headquarters (along with Saradapitha) celebrated the National Youth Day (12 January) with great enthusiasm by holding various programmes such as processions, youths’ conventions, speeches and cultural competitions.

Celebration of National Youth Day at Belur Math : Photos | Videos

Celebration of National Youth Day by our Branch Centres : Photos

Celebration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Abhedanandaji Maharaj

Swamiji’s Ancestral House conducted a special lecture on 17 January which was attended by about 300 people.

Vadodara centre held a public meeting on the Ashrama premises on 29 January in which Swami Prabhanandaji delivered a speech of benediction. About 150 people attended the meeting.

Celebration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Saradanandaji Maharaj

Lucknow centre conducted a public meeting, a spiritual retreat and a programme for youths on 4 and 8 January which were attended by about 300 devotees and 400 youths.

Celebration of the 150th Birth Anniversary of Sister Nivedita

Baranagar Mission Ashrama installed a statue of Sister Nivedita on its campus which was unveiled by the General Secretary on 28 January.  Besides, an exhibition on Sister Nivedita was set up on this occasion.

Barisha Math conducted a devotees’ convention on 29 January which was attended by about 1200 devotees.

Cossipore Math held a youths’ convention on 4 January in which about 1500 people took part.

Delhi centre conducted a symposium on the topic “Nationality: Basis of interfaith harmony” on 25 January in which 22 speakers from different religions took part.

Gourhati centre held a youths’ convention and a devotees’ convention on 21 and 22 January which were attended by 623 youths and 425 devotees respectively.

On the initiative of Kankurgachhi Math, a procession and a youths’ convention were held at Khanakul in Hooghly district on 9 and 10 January. About 3000 people participated in the procession and 500 students in the convention. Click here for details.

Karimganj centre held a devotees’ convention on 18 December in which 305 devotees took part.

Lucknow centre conducted a meeting and a seminar on 22 and 23 December.  The two-day programme was inaugurated by Sri Ram Naik, Governor of Uttar Pradesh, and attended by about 700 people.

Mangaluru centre held a women empowerment programme on 13 January which was attended by about 700 girls.

Medinipur centre conducted a youths’ convention on 19 January which was attended by about 400 students.

Ponnampet Ashrama held a youths’ convention and a spiritual retreat on 28 and 29 January in which about 400 youths and 40 devotees participated.

Puri Mission Ashrama held written quiz competitions on Sister Nivedita in 10 schools in Odisha in January in which altogether 659 students took part.  Besides, the Ashrama conducted meetings at two places in Nabarangpur district in Odisha on 21 and 22 January which were attended by about 1000 persons in all, mostly youths.  The centre also conducted a meeting on the Ashrama premises on 28 January which was attended by about 150 people.

Swamiji’s Ancestral House conduced two lectures at the centre on 31 December and 20 January which were attended altogether by 650 people.  On the centre’s initiative, a discourse was held at another place in Kolkata on 1 January which was attended by about 300 people.

Vadodara centre held a public meeting at Kim (Surat district) on 29 January in which Swami Prabhanandaji delivered benedictory address. About 1000 people attended the programme.

Varanasi Home of Service conducted a classical music programme on 22 January which was attended by nearly 200 people.

Communication Addresses

Postal Address: The postal address of Sydney centre has been changed to “144A Marsden Road, Ermington, NSW 2115, Australia”.

Email IDs: The following centres have got new email ids shown against their names:

News of Branch Centres (in India)

On the occasion of Gangasagar Mela, Manasadwip centre held a camp at the Mela area from 11 to 16 January.  In all, 1438 pilgrims were provided with free board and lodging at the camp and the Ashrama.  Besides, free meals were served to about 400 non-resident pilgrims daily. Discourses and devotional singing were also arranged in the camp. Click here for more photos.

In association with the Government of Jharkhand, Ranchi Morabadi Ashrama conducted Yuva Jagaran Vivek Rath Parikrama from 21 December to 12 January. The Rath visited all the 24 districts of Jharkhand.

Seva Pratishthan conducted a round-the-clock medical camp during Makar Sankranti Mela at Sagar Island in South 24-Parganas district from 10 to 16 January. In all, 7389 patients were treated, out of which 8 received indoor medical care.   Besides, 150 blankets and about 5000 copies of religious books were distributed among the pilgrims.   The centre also held a similar camp during Jayadev Mela at Kenduli in Birbhum district from 13 to 15 January in which 619 patients were treated.

Blind Boys’ Academy of Narendrapur Ashrama celebrated its diamond jubilee from 20 to 22 January. Swami Prabhanandaji inaugurated the event which included a colourful exhibition put up by the Academy’s students, a seminar on ‘Emergence of library services for the visually impaired’, cultural shows and competitions.  A large number of dignitaries, former students, guardians of the students, and others attended the three-day celebration.

Narainpur centre held a kisan mela (farmers’ fair) on 21 January which was visited by about 7000 farmers.

Ranchi Morabadi Ashrama held a central kisan mela on 23 and 24 January.   Smt Draupadi Murmu, Governor of Jharkhand, and Sri Sudarshan Bhagat, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Family Welfare, among others, attended the concluding session of the event.   The fair was visited by about 12,000 farmers.

Sri Ram Nath Kovind, Governor of Bihar, visited Patna Ashrama on 24 January.

On 29 January, the sacred birthday of Swami Brahmanandaji Maharaj, Swami Vagishanandaji inaugurated the newly built Faculty & Scholars’ House at Vivekananda University, Belur, and a meditation gallery at the School of Indian Heritage on the same campus. Click here for more photos.

Two students of the Sanskrit Department of Vivekananda University, Belur, won silver medals, and another of its students a bronze medal, at the national level cultural competitions conducted by Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, New Delhi, on its Agartala campus from 28 to 31 December.  All the three winners received certificates and cash prizes totaling Rs 19,000 in addition to the medals.

Vivekananda University was invited by the Ministry of AYUSH, Government of India, to organize yoga programmes on 2 October in Kolkata and different districts of West Bengal.  The University organized yoga programmes in 48 locations in 9 districts of West Bengal wherein nearly 5000 persons participated.

Baranagar Math held a programme comprising talks and cultural programmes on 23 January which was attended by about 150 students and teachers.

Chapra centre conducted a doctors’ conference on 27 January which was attended by about 200 people, mainly doctors.

A student of the College of Arts and Science of Coimbatore Mission Vidyalaya who participated in the Advanced Leadership Camp conducted by NCC Group Headquarters, Coimbatore, from 3 to 14 December received a medal and a certificate for his outstanding performance.

Coimbatore Mission Vidyalaya held its annual programme known as Guru Puja on 1 January. More than a lakh people attended the day-long programme which consisted of speeches and cultural events.  Cooked prasad was served to about 33,000 people.

On 1 January, Chennai Math launched an online quiz programme based on The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna.  The quiz is available at the web address <imedia.chennaimath.org/category/imedia/iquiz>.

A team of four students of Vivekananda College, Chennai Vidyapith, won the national level music competition, Bhajan Samrat, conducted by the channel Sri Sankara TV.  The final competition was held in Chennai on 24 December.  The team received a trophy and a cash prize of three lakh rupees.  Individual medals and certificates were given to all the four students.

Medinipur centre conducted a free medical camp on the premises of a school in a backward tribal area in Paschim Medinipur district on 26 January.  Ten doctors, including two pediatricians, one gynecologist and one dentist, treated 1097 patients.

The following centres conducted free eye camps :

* through Chengalpattu centre

Ranchi Morabadi centre conducted an eye care programme from 21 December to 20 January in which eye check-up of 1268 children and 43 adults was done and 4 patients were operated upon for cataract.

On 8 January, Rajamahendravaram (Rajahmundry) centre conducted two general medical camps and three epilepsy camps in and around Rajamahendravaram.  A team of 9 doctors, including a few specialists, treated 1125 patients, most of whom belonged to tribal communities.

The following centres conducted blood donation camps :

Values Education and Youth Programmes

Delhi centre held five values education workshops from 28 December to 25 January which were attended by 405 principals and teachers.  The workshops were held at Ghaziabad, Jaipur, Bhopal, Indore and Delhi.

Halasuru Math conducted values education programmes at 50 schools in Bellary district in January.

Haripad Math conducted meetings on values education at four schools from 20 to 23 November in which 453 students participated.

Hyderabad Math held a youth camp on 24 and 25 December in which 321 youths participated.

Khetri centre held seven values education workshops in four schools from 20 to 24 January in which 470 students and 16 teachers took part.

Vadodara centre conducted two values education programmes on 4 and 5 January which were attended altogether by about 250 academicians.

Swachchha Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Campaign) 

Mysuru Ashrama launched Swachchha Mysuru Swachchha Jeevana programme on 29 January to bring public awareness about cleanliness and environmental protection.  A team of 230 volunteers and 80 students carried out cleanliness and awareness drive at 7 localities in the city that day. Click here for photos.

Coimbatore Mission Vidyalaya conducted four cleaning drives in January in which Vidyalaya students cleaned a few public places including a temple, a hospital and a government office.

Kamarpukur centre carried out three cleanliness drives from November to January in which several monks, employees and volunteers participated.

Mangaluru centre conducted altogether 46 cleaning drives in and around Mangaluru on the five Sundays in January. In all, 6500 volunteers actively participated in these drives.

Varanasi Home of Service carried out a cleanliness drive on 15 January in which 45 people took part. A rally, attended by 300 people, was also taken out to create awareness about cleanliness.

News of Branch Centres (Outside India)

Homer Glen, USA, centre has started a city centre in Hyde Park, Chicago.  Its address is “5555 S Everett Ave, Hyde Park, Chicago 60637, USA”.

Dhaka (Bangladesh) centre conducted a seminar on values education on 14 January which was inaugurated by the Home Minister of Bangladesh, Mr Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, and attended by more than 600 persons, mainly youths.

Obituaries

We are sorry to announce the passing away of two of our brother-monks.

Swami Mumukshanandaji (Chittaranjan Maharaj) passed away peacefully on 16 January at 7.45 pm at Arogya Bhavan, Belur Math.  He was 90 and had been suffering from hypertension and multiple myeloma (a type of blood cancer) for the last few years.  Initiated by Swami Virajanandaji Maharaj,  he  joined  the  Order  in  1952  at  Pathuriaghata  centre  (which  was  later  shifted  to Narendrapur) and had Sannyasa from Swami Vishuddhanandaji Maharaj in 1962.  Besides serving his joining centre as an assistant, he served the Probationers’ Training Centre at Belur Math as Principal, and Narendrapur, Mumbai, Rajkot, Mayavati and Baghbazar centres as Head.  In 1987, he was  appointed  a  Trustee  of  Ramakrishna  Math  and  a  Member  of  the  Governing  Body  of Ramakrishna Mission. After relinquishing the headship of Baghbazar centre in 2013, he continued to stay there for some months, and thereafter moved to Belur Math.  The Swami was well versed in Ramakrishna-Vivekananda literature and contributed several scholarly articles in different journals. A voracious reader, he kept the habit of studies till the end of his life.  He was known for his austere nature and doing things meticulously.  The Sangha has lost in him a member of sterling sadhu qualities.

Swami Brahmadevananda (Sadhu/Sudhendu) breathed his last at Arogya Bhavan, Belur Math, on 29 January, the holy birthday of Swami Brahmanandaji Maharaj, at 11.30 pm owing to advanced pancreatic adenocarcinoma which had also spread to the liver.  He was 75 and had been suffering from hypertension and diabetes for some years.  An initiated disciple of Swami Vishuddhanandaji Maharaj, he joined the Order at Shillong centre in 1971 and had Sannyasa from Swami Vireshwaranandaji Maharaj in 1981.  Besides his joining centre, he served Narottam Nagar, Ranchi Morabadi, Narendrapur, Kamarpukur and Cherrapunjee centres as an assistant and later Shillong centre as head.  He had been living a retired life at Shillong centre and Belur Math for the last six years.  Simple and amiable by nature, he had keen interest in music.