The Order on the March

News & Notes from Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission

Celebrations in the Order

The 166 th Jayanti of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi was celebrated in great joy with special worship, bhajans, and spiritual discourses on Friday, 28 December 2018 at Belur Math and in the branch centres. At Belur Math, thousands of devotees attended the celebration and cooked prasad was served to about 33,000 devotees.

Christmas-Eve was observed on 24 December 2018 in our centres.

Conclusion of Centenary Celebration of Karimganj Ashrama, Assam

I n s p i r e d b y S w a m i Premeshananda, a disciple of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi,

Belur Math

a group of local devotees started in 1917 a Seva Samiti in Karimganj, Assam of erstwhile East Bengal. In 1929 the Samiti was affiliated to Belur Math as a branch centre of Sylhet ashrama, now in Bangladesh. Following the partition of India, Karimganj became a remote corner in Assam; yet the centre continued its services and became an independent branch centre on 1 October 1947. The centre rendered tremendous relief services during Burma Evacuation at the times of World War II, East Pakistan Exodus in 1950, and Bangladesh Evacuation in 1971. Requested by the Govt. of India, the centre befittingly handled

Karimganj

for many years the settlement of lakhs of Hindu refugees from East Pakistan. With a students’ home, library, coaching centre, charitable dispensary and mobile medical unit, the centre now houses a beautiful temple of Sri Ramakrishna, consecrated in 1992 by Swami Bhuteshananda, the 12 th President of the Order.

The centre concluded its yearlong centenary celebration, which began on 10 May 2017, from 1 — 5 December 2018 with public meetings, a procession of 7000 odd people, naranarayana seva and cultural programmes. On this occasion a life-size bronze statue of Swamiji was unveiled and a souvenir was released by Srimat Swami Gautamananda Ji, one of

Nivedita 150

the Vice-Presidents of the Order, on 1 December. Revered Maharaj also inaugurated a Durga Mandap and a multi-purpose building housing prasada distribution hall and an auditorium. Among others Swami Jyotirupananda, Minister In-Charge, Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre, Moscow and Swami Tattwavidananda, one of the Asst. General Secretaries of the Order addressed the gatherings and reminisced their association with the asharma. In all, about 35,000 people attended the programmes in 5 days. First Organic Village of Jharkhand

With the dream to produce healthy food through sustainable means, Divyayan Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Morabadi, Ranchi, initiated rigorous initiatives in organic farming since 2006. And on the occasion of World Soil Day observation on 5 December 2018, it has achieved a significant milestone with the declaration of Dhurleta village in Ranchi dist. as the “First Organic Village of Jharkhand”. The farmers of the village were awarded with certificates from National Centre of Organic Farming (NCOF), Ghaziabad. The village along with two neighbouring villages was selected in 2016 to be developed as a Fully Certified Organic Village with marketing linkage. Currently 91 farmers of these villages are growing organic crops on their 177 acres of land.

125 th Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda ’s Historic Chicago Addresses

A three-day national tribal youths’ convention from 18 to 20 December with 2198 registered delegates and 1000 others was held at Narainpur ashrama. Pune ashrama organized on 11 December a mega musical play on the life and teachings of Swamiji at Nagpur, attended by 7000 people. From 23 to 26 December, Bengaluru Math, Basavanagudi held an art exhibition, which was inaugurated by Sri Vilas Nayak, an internationally renowned speed painting artist and visited by about 3000 people. A coffeetable book on the exhibits was also released. Jagruti Cultural Competitions for students of classes IV to X was conducted in four districts of Andhra Pradesh

Sarada Vidyalaya, Chennai

by Vijayawada centre, in which about 40,000 students from 350 schools took part. Chennai Students’ Home, Coimbatore Mission Vidyalaya, Mangaluru and Mysuru centres organised youth conventions, cultural competitions and discourses, in which 7554 students participated.

Colombo centre, Sri Lanka held a student’s meet in Batticaloa on 10 November, attended by 5000 students. The centre also conducted cultural competitions in Maskeliya town on 19 and 24 November in which 750 students from 35 schools took part.

Conclusion of the 150 th Birth Anniversary of Sister Nivedita

The year-long celebrations of Sister Nivedita’s 150 th birth anniversary was formally concluded with a threed a y R e s i d e n t i a l Y o u t h camp on 29 – 31 December 2018 at Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandira, Belur Math. Attended by about 350 youths, the camp was inaugurated by Swami Suvirananda, the General Secretary of the Order, and Swami Balabhadrananda, one of Asst. Gen. Secretaries of the Order spoke in the Valedictory Session.

Ranchi

Guests of Honour

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of Defence participated in the inaugural function of the Project “BETI” (Better Education and Training Initiatives) of Rotary Club of Madras East at Ramakrishna Mission Sarada Vidyalaya, Chennai on 29 November 2018. Sri K. J. Alphons, Union Minister of State for Culture and Tourism visited Belur Math on 22 December. Sri Kummanam Rajasekharan, Governor of Mizoram and Padma Vibhushan Dr. E. Sreedharan spoke in the youth programme at Thrissur Math on 29 December.

News from Branch Centres

Balaram Mandir, the branch centre functioning in the house of Sri Balaram Basu, one of the chief lay disciples of Sri Ramakrishna and the historic birthplace of Ramakrishna Mission association on 1 May 1897, observed the 175 th birth anniversary of Sri Balaram Basu on 21 December 2018. Swami Suvirananda spoke in the public meeting held on this occasion.

Srimat Swami Gautamananda Ji laid the foundation stone for the construction of Sadhu Niwas and Prayer Hall at Ramakrishna Math, Yelagiri 24 December 2018. Srimat Swami Shivamayananda Ji, one of the vice-presidents of the Order inaugurated the new Staff Quarters and Office-cumBook Showroom at Gourhati and Lalgarh centres on 12 and 25 December respectively.

Coimbatore Mission Vidyalaya held tournaments in adapted volleyball, cricket and football, from 6 to 8 December, attended by 361 differently-abled persons from Tamil Nadu.

A sub-centre of Ramakrishna Math, Hyderabad, has been started adjacent to the newly opened branch of Ramakrishna Mission in Yadadri Bhuvanagiri, Telangana. Education Services

Srimat Swami Gautamanandaji dedicated two high school buildings of Narainpur centre at Akabeda and Kundla villages of Abujhmarh on 8 December. Healthcare Services

Srimat Swami Smaranananda Ji Maharaj, the President of the Order dedicated the new dispensary building at Kankurgachhi Math on 12 December. A new six-storey building at Seva Pratishthan, Kolkata for the nursing school and college and OT Complex was dedicated on 17 December. Lucknow Sevashrama launched on 17 November a free mid-day meal scheme for the attendants of indoor patients. The Sevashrama hosted a three-day Ayurveda fair from 24 to 26 November treating about 1000 patients and held a paediatric nephrology workshop with 30 paediatricians on 16 November. Narottam Nagar centre held a medical camp by six specialists on 9 December and treated 472 patients. Kankhal Sevashrama observed World Diabetes Day on 25 November with a procession, speeches, and exhibition to create awareness about the disease.

Values Education and Youth Programmes

C e n t r e s a t T h r i s s u r , M a d u r a i , Medinipur, N a g p u r and Rajkot c o n d u c t e d 22 Personality development/ youth programmes in December, attended by 5661 youths/students. Delhi ashrama conducted 25 values education workshops, attended by 1291 teachers and 43 principals in seven states between 28 November and 22 December. Shraddha Tyaga Nirbhaya Pavitrata Satya Ahimsa Jiva Seva Desha Bhakti

Relief Services

In continuing the Gaja Cyclone relief in four districts of Tamil Nadu, Kanchipuram and Madurai centres distributed about 9548 kgs of groceries, 1100 packets of biscuits, 2972 shirts/lungis/ saris etc., among 780 families and Chennai Math distributed 1000 tarpaulins on 8 and 16 December.

In response to a flood in Visuvamadu village in Sri Lanka, Colombo centre distributed 2635 kgs of rice, dal, noodles etc., and biscuits, malt powder, mats/ bedsheets, and other necessities among 194 families on 29 and 30 December.

The Order has distributed 8908 blankets, 18036 sweaters, jackets, etc., 1700 shawls through 25 centres in India and 340 blankets through Baliati centre in Bangladesh.

Vol.106. No.2 The Vedanta Kesari (English Monthly) February 2019.

Regd. with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under No.1084 / 1957. Postal registration number:TN / CH (C) /190 / 2018-2020. Licensed to Post without prepayment TN/PMG(CCR)/WPP-259 / 2018-2020.

Date of Publication: 24 th of every month; Posted on 28 January 2018

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