SingaSpeaks – Roar 17

SINGA SPEAKS ROAR 17 | SINGAPORE | TUESDAY | 6 AUGUST 2016 A PERIODIC NEWSLETTER FROM THE RAMAKRISHNA MISSION, SINGAPORE

Day 1 Celebration of 150th Birth Anniversary of Sister Nivedita Monday, 8 August 2016 Swami Sarvagananda is a Monk of the Ramakrishna Order.

Former Secretary of the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Deoghar.

Currently Secretary of Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narendrapur, Kolkata. His bhajans are popular among the devotees and admirers. He has a melifluous voice and uses classical ragas while rendering bhajans. His rendition of evening arati song “khandana bhava” is widely used as a model for singing in all the Mission centres and among the devotees. A Musical Homage to Sister Nivedita on the occasion of her 150th Birth Anniversary will be offered by Swami Sarvagananda at the PGP Hall at 7 PM on 8 August 2016.

Flute: Sri Raghavendran Rajasekaran Tabla: Sri Ritwik Ghosal

179 BARTLEY ROAD | SINGAPORE 539784

PH: +65 6288 9077 | FAX: 6288 5798

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SATURDAY, 6 AUGUST 2016

Day 2 Celebration of 150th Birth Anniversary of Sister Nivedita Tuesday, 9 August 2016

Swami Sarvagananda

Swami Supriyananda

A Request to Register

Dear Devotees and friends, As you may be aware, the Ramakrishna Mission Singapore has three Retreats this year.

The first Retreat was held on Good Friday, the second Retreat will be held on National Day and the third on Christmas Day. These auspicious public holidays coincidentally fall exactly once in four months.

Due to logistics reasons, we shall admit only up to 200 devotees on a first come first serve basis. Registration is free. Children below 12 years are not eligible.

Please register early so that your participation is ensured.

You may register as follows: Call 6288 9077 during office hours (10 am to 6 pm) or Send an email to: office@ramakrishna.org.sg or Sign up at the office when you visit the ashram in person When you register please let us know the names of the aspirants attending the programme, the phone no and which session(s) of the Retreat the aspirant(s) would be attending.

We encourage you to spread the word to all your known spiritual aspirants – may be family members, friends and especially those who have taken diksha.

Wishing you a spiritualy stimulating experience, May Sri Ramakrishna bless you all !

Swami Vimokshananda President

179 BARTLEY ROAD | SINGAPORE 539784

PH: +65 6288 9077 | FAX: 6288 5798

The ‘Five Commandments’ of Sri Ramakrishna for householders: 1. Keep chanting the God’s name, thinking of his glory.

2. Do Sadhusanga, Satsang, being with holy people; visit places where there are holy thoughts.

3. Go to a solitary place once in a while and meditate. Protect and nurture your godly feelings and thoughts.

4. Constantly deliberate and discriminate about right and wrong, true and untrue, real and unreal, right and wrong, ‘Nitya’ and ‘Anitya’, ‘Sat’ and ‘Asat’. God alone is true, ‘Nitya’, permanent, real, ‘Sat’, Right.

5. Discharge your duties as a householder with full responsibility but always keep in mind that none of this belongs to you.

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Who is Sister Nivedita?

Sister Nivedita; born Margaret Elizabeth Noble; (28 October 1867 - 13 October 1911) was a Scots-Irish social worker, author, teacher and a disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She spent her childhood and early days of her youth in Ireland. From her father, from her college professor etc. she learned many valuable lessons like service to mankind is the true service to God. She worked as school teacher and later also opened a school. She was committed to marry a Welsh youth who died soon after engagement.

in the field of Indian Nationalism, she had to publicly dissociate herself from the activities of the Ramakrishna Mission under the then president Swami Brahmananda. She was very intimate with Sarada Devi, the spiritual consort of Ramakrishna and one of the major influences behind Ramakrishna Mission and also with all brother disciples of Swami Vivekananda.

She died on 13 October 1911 in Darjeeling. Her epitaph reads, "Here reposes Sister Nivedita who gave her all to India".

Sister Nivedita met Swami Vivekananda in 1895 in London and travelled to Calcutta, India (present-day Kolkata) in 1898.

Swami Vivekananda gave her the name Nivedita (meaning "Dedicated to God") when he initiated her into the vow of Brahmacharya on 25 March 1898. In November 1898, she opened a girls' school in Bagbazar area of Calcutta. She wanted to educate those girls who were deprived of even basic education. During the plague epidemic in Calcutta in 1899 Nivedita nursed and took care of the poor patients.

Nivedita had close associations with the newly established Ramakrishna Mission.

However, because of her active contribution

179 BARTLEY ROAD | SINGAPORE 539784

Sister Nivedita, was the centre of veneration of both Swami Vivekananda and Rabindranath Tagore.

She was instrumental in inspiring all of India's scientists (e.g, Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, Basiswar Sen), artists (like Abanindra Nath Tagore, Nandalal Bose), educationist (like Brajendra Nath Sil, Ramananda Chattopadhyay, Kumud Bandhu Sen), and above all freedom fighters (like Mahatma Gandhi, Rasbihari Ghosh, Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Arabinda Ghosh, Barin Chandra Ghosh, Bipin Chandra Pal). She also came into contact with young revolutionaries like Taraknath Das. She was admired for her work by distinguished persons like Lady Minto and Ramsay Macdonald.

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Herself an educationist from her very early age, in India she was the pioneer in women education. She started a school in North Calcutta for women. The school still exists and remains a vigorous source of good education for the girls.

The name of the school is “Sister Nivedita Girls' High School”.

nerved and best of all your sons”?

When the plague struck Kolkata in March 1898, she joined plague relief works of the Ramakrishna Mission and formed 'The Ramakrishna Guild of Help' in America.

During the devastating floods in East Bengal resulting in famine, she organized relief funds for the affected villages.

Dr. Jagadish Chandra Bose and his wife Abala Bose were among her closest friends.

Dr. Bose was invited to the International Congress of Physics that was organized at the Paris Exhibition where he read his famous paper, "Response of Inorganic and Living Matter." Swami Vivekananda and Nivedita attended the Congress and were full of appreciation for the first scientist of India. In protest against a section of British scientists who rose against the great scientist, Sister Nivedita had written.

"Oh, India, India! who shall undo this awful doing of my nation to you? Who shall atone for the million bitter insults showered daily on the bravest and keenest

179 BARTLEY ROAD | SINGAPORE 539784

SATURDAY, 6 AUGUST 2016

Sir J.C. Bose founded his famous Institute for research. There, in Nivedita's memory, he got installed the image of a woman stepping forward, lamp in hand.

Sahitya Academy award winner Shankariprasad Basu as also Prabrajika Muktiprana, the then head of the Ramakrishna - Sarada Mission from India as also Lizel Rem from France wrote her biography separately.

Sister Nivedita wrote profusely on many facets of Indian culture, philosophy, art and history in journals like the Review of Reviews, the Prabuddha Bharata, the Modern Review, etc. under the byline `Nivedita of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda'.

She promoted pan-Indian nationalist views both in her writings and in public meetings.

From 1902 onwards, she spoke and wrote against the British policy in India. She attacked Lord Curzon for the Universities Act of 1904, for his insulting the Indians by calling them untruthful in his Convocation Address in 1905, and for the Partition of Bengal in 1905. Her literary works include: Kali the Mother, The Web of Indian Life, Cradle Tales of Hinduism, An Indian study of love and death, Select Essays of Sister Nivedita, Studies from an Eastern Home, Myths of Hindus and Buddhists, Footfalls of Indian history, Religion and Dharma, Civic & National ideals and Complete Works of Sister Nivedita.

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Roy Villa Residence Nivedita breathed her last here

This European castle-like structure, located in Darjeeling of West Bengal, India is around 115 years old. The famous scientist & botanist Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose & Lady Abala Bose invited Sister Nivedita to stay in this house when her health started deteriorating around 1905. Sister Nivedita liked this place due to the soothing weather.

She breathed her last on 13 October, 1911.

Handed over to Ramakrishna Mission

SATURDAY, 6 AUGUST 2016

krishna Mission and the Mission has taken a series of projects to run from this premises.

Nivedita’s picture, old writing desk, chair, table lamp stand, wall clock, typewriter, the old styled electric wiring are there to remember her presence always.

Renovated Sister Nivedita Room in Roy Villa New Plan at NECC

The Nivedita Educational & Cultural Center has some more plans to execute: • Free Computer Training Centre • Free coaching center for joint entrance examinees and IAS / IPS aspirants • Skill Development Centre for empowering women • School of Languages • Exhibition on the life of Sister Nivedita • Gadadhar Abhyudaya Prakalpa for uplifting local children • Monthly Ration amounting to 1,000/- to old-aged mothers The State Government has sanctioned Rs. 1 •Monthly Medical crore for its Camp with free restoration and its Rapturous view from Roy Villa Medicine.

Information & Cultural Department With this new will look after the approach, Roy Villa heritage building. is moving ahead to provide service to Nivedita Museum mankind and is the focal point of Newly revamped & Ramakrishna restored Roy Villa is Mission in North now under the http://www.rkmdarjeeling.org/ Bengal. control of RamaThe Chief Minister of West Bengal, Hon’ble Mamata Banerjee handed over the Roy Villa to the Ramakrishna Mission in presence of Swami Suhitanandaji, General Secretary of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math on 16 May 2013. Finally the key of the Roy Villa was handed over to the Secretary of the Ramakrishna Mission Nivedita Educational and Cultural Centre, a branch centre of Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math on 10 July 2013.

179 BARTLEY ROAD | SINGAPORE 539784

PH: +65 6288 9077 | FAX: 6288 5798

singapore@rkmm.org