125 Years of Ramakrishna Mission
125 Years of Ramakrishna Mission
1 May 2022 marked the 125th anniversary of the Ramakrishna
Mission, a social service organization with a spiritual outlook. It
was founded in 1897 by Swami Vivekananda, the seer of modern
India, to work for the all-round development of India.
Swami Vivekananda, known in his pre-monastic life as
Narendra Nath Datta, was born in an affluent family in Kolkata on
12 January 1863. By the time he graduated from Calcutta University,
he had acquired a vast knowledge of different subjects, especially
Western philosophy and history. Born with a yogic temperament,
he used to practise meditation even from his boyhood, and was
associated with Brahmo Movement for some time.
In November 1881, Narendra went to meet Sri Ramakrishna,
his spiritual guru, who was staying at the Kali Temple in
Dakshineshwar. Apart from removing doubts from the
mind
of Narendra, Sri Ramakrishna won him over through his pure,
unselfish love. Thus began a guru-disciple relationship which is
quite unique in the history of spiritual masters.
During his travels all over India, Swami Vivekananda was
deeply moved to see the appalling poverty and backwardness of the
masses. To carry out his plans for the spread of education and for
the uplift of the poor masses, and of women, Swami Vivekanand,
felt the need of an efficient organization of dedicated people. He
wanted “to set in motion a machinery which will bring noblest
ideas to the doorstep of even the poorest and the meanest.” It
was to serve as this ‘machinery’ that Swami Vivekanand founded
the Ramakrishna Mission in the year 1897. It was registered as a
society in 1909.
For the last 125 years, the Ramakrishna Mission has
distinguished itself through its various service based programmes.
It extends service in the areas of healthcare, education, rural and
tribal development, disaster relief and rehabilitation, general
welfare, spiritual and cultural work, publication of books and
journals and other fields. It runs hospitals, dispensaries, homes for
the aged, orphanages, schools, colleges, polytechnics, ITIs, a deemed
university, agricultural institutes, and special institutions for the
disadvantaged sections of society. It’s charitable and philanthropic
works have found wide acceptance and appreciation by the public.
Members of the mission provide services to the people as
means to the attainment of the ultimate goal of human life, which,
according to Sri Ramakrishna, is realization of God. Here charity
to the poor and needy is prompted not by egotistic compassion,
but is conceived as service rendered in a spirit of worship of God,
who resides in every human being. Instead of looking upon a
needy person as an object of pity, he is looked upon as an object of
worship. Owing to this spiritual outlook, the services conducted by
the mission are meant for the benefit of all people - without any
distinction based on religion, caste, colour or class.
The main workforce of the Ramakrishna Mission consists
of dedicated monks who are members of the Ramakrishna Math.
Though the Mission and the math are distinct legal entities, they
are referred to as twin organizations, and they join hands in
running all the service activities. As of February 2023, there are 202
branches of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission,
spread over 27 states / Union Territories of India. Outside India, the
organization has 67 branches in 24 countries. The headquarters of
the twin organizations is located at
Belur Math in Howrah district,
West Bengal.
Perfect accountability, efficient management, and sincere and
honest enterprise are some of the hallmarks of the work of the
Ramakrishna Mission. The Mission has received several awards
and recognitions for its selfless service, including the prestigious
Gandhi Peace prize for the year 1998, conferred by the Government
of India. The prize carried a citation that noted, “The Ramakrishna
Mission has become a great source for peace and happiness
amongst people in this country and abroad.”
The motto of Ramakrishna Mission, set by Swami
Vivekananda, is “For one’s own salvation and for the welfare of
the world.” Endowed with this lofty ideal and sustained by the
dedication of its members, the Ramakrishna Mission is expanding
its influence with time.125 Years is a significant milestone in
the Mission’s journey to bring about spiritual regeneration of
humanity.
Department of Posts is delighted to issue Commemorative
Postage Stamp on 125 Years of Ramakrishna Mission and
appreciates its contribution in promoting spirituality, service and
humanity, all over the world.
Credits:
Stamp/FDC/Brochure : Shri Suresh Kumar
Cancellation Cachet : Smt. Nenu Gupta source india post
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