News and Notes

News & Notes

Kalpataru Day 1st January celebrated every year in all the centres of

Ramakrishna Math & Mission. On the same day in 1886,

Sri Ramakrishna became the ‘Wish

Fulfilling Tree’ and blessed the devotees who are present there. On 1st January 2021, we resumed our celebrations. This being the first celebration, we invited devotees to watch and hear only via our Facebook live streaming

Birth Anniversary of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi On 5th of January 2021, we celebrated 168th Birth Anniversary of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi. We invited devotees to watch/hear not only via our Facebook live streaming but also invited them to visit the temple in pre-fixed time slots. Four slots were created, and we took care not to assemble more than 50 persons in the temple at any point of time. In total about 165 devotees visited the temple on that day. Simple take-away food prasad was given to all of them.

Groups visiting us…… Ramakrishna Mission, Singapore is now part of the Hougang Heritage Trail. On 16th , 17th and 21st of January 2021, around 50 volunteers visited our centre in 5 different groups. Swami Samachittananda received them and interacted with them on all the five occasions and discussed about the history and philosophy of Ramakrishna Mission and also Mission’s contribution in Inter-Religious understanding in Singapore.

India’s 72nd Republic Day On 26th January 2021 Swami Samachittananda attended India’s 72nd Republic Day celebrated by the High Commission of India in Singapore, via Zoom.

Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda On 4th of February 2021, we celebrated Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.

We invited devotees to watch/hear not only via our Facebook live streaming but also invited them to visit the temple in pre-fixed time slots.

Total about 150 devotees visited the temple on that day. Simple takeaway food prasad was given to all of them after all of four sessions.

COVID-19 relief service continues……. In the month of January 2021 we provided 60 meals everyday, total 1860 meals along with fruits / biscuits / cupcakes.

We thank everyone whoever is helping directly or indirectly for this activity .

Maha Shivaratri On Thursday, 11th of March 2021, we celebrated Maha Shivaratri.

Total about 102 devotees visited the temple or attended the programme on this day.

No Abhishekam or Pushpanjali was done for the devotees. Simple take-away food prasad was given to all of them after the event.

Birth Anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna On Monday, 15th of March 2021, we celebrated 186th Birth Anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna. Total about 236 devotees visited the temple or attended the programme on this day. 150 attended live on Facebook. In the evening, Swami Samachittananda spoke on the significance of ‘Sri Ramakrishna Pranama Mantra’ written by Swami Vivekananda. Simple take-away food prasad was given to all of them after all the four session.

Birthday of Sri Chaitanya On 28th of March 2021, we celebrated Birthday of Sri Chaitanya with Puja, Sri Syam nam Sankirtan, Hymns and devotional songs.

In total about 50 devotees visited the temple on that day.

Simple take-away food prasad was given to all of them after the programme.

Rising to the challenge:

Our COVID response

At the height of COVID in April 2020, the Ramakrishna Mission saw a need to rise to the challenge and serve those most vulnerable – Migrant Workers. It was an impetus to begin RELIEF WORK in Singapore. On 11th April 2020 an appeal was sent to devotees and well-wishers. It touched many hearts and funds rolled in. Within a year (April 2020 to March 2021) we raised $88,320.23 and spent $89,317.13 in our COVID response.

Our RELIEF WORK entailed collaboration and cooperation with suppliers, kitchens, agencies, volunteers and staff. We worked with Annalakshmi and Krishna’s Kitchen (by supplying groceries for them to cook meals) and agencies such as Willing Hearts and ItsRaining Raincoats for ground connections.

In total we served more than 37,500 meals (lunch, dinner or breakfast) in addition to providing fruits, biscuits, packet drinks and snacks.

Additionally, we provided groceries and essentials to vulnerable families and persons in need. This work continues…

We thank all the Donors and the Volunteers for their continued support!

After the gap of 14 months, we resumed our weekly classes in the ashrama. 26