Ramakrishna Mission

Vivekananda, founder of the Ramakrishna Mission. Chicago, 1893.

The Ramakrishna Mission (Bengali: রামকৃষ্ণ মিশন) is an association founded by Sri Ramakrishna's chief disciple and religious leader, Swami Vivekananda on May 1, 1897 who in 1893, when he attended the Parliament of the Worlds Religion at Chicago, was the first Indian guru to visit and to teach in the West. The Mission carries on missionary and philanthropic work through the combined efforts of monastic and householder disciples. The Mission, whose headquarters are near Kolkata, India, is closely affiliated with the Ramakrishna Math (monastery / monastic order). The Ramakrishna Mission emphasizes service to others as karma yoga, a concept found in Hinduism which was a strong motif in Vivekanandra's teaching. It engages in humanitarian activities around the world. Vivekananda saw the same truth underlying all religions and believed strongly in the equality of all. The Mission is dedicated to the service of humanity, regardless of creed, color or nationality. Centers run by the Mission have been prominent in interfaith relations. Philanthropic activities include medical work, education as well as relief and emergency work.

Management

Belur Math, World HQ of the Ramakrishna Mission

The Ramakrishna Mission acquired a legal status when it was registered in 1909 under Act XXI of 1860. Its management is vested in a Governing Body. Though the Mission with its branches is a distinct legal entity it is closely related to the Ramakrishna Math. The Trustees of the Math are simultaneously the members of the Governing Body. The administrative work of the Mission is mostly in the hands of the monks of Math. The Mission has its own separate funds, for which it keeps detailed accounts, audited annually by chartered accountants. The Math and the Mission both have their Headquarters at Belur Math. The Vedanta Society of the City of New York, founded in 1898, is the oldest branch of the Mission in the United States where there are more than a dozen branches altogther. In the developed world, the Mission focuses on education, while in the developing world it engages in both educational and humanitarian activities.

The motto

The Mission is a registered Society laying emphasis on rendering welfare services undertaken with a spiritual outlook. It's mandate is both to serve humanity and to spread the teachings of Ramakrishna. The service activities are rendered looking upon all as veritable manifestation of the Divine. The Motto of the organisation is Atmano Mokshartham Jagad-hitaya Cha. Translated from Sanskrit it means For one's own salvation, and for the good of the world.

Math and Mission

Technically, the Ramakrishna Math is a monastic order, and the Ramakrishna Mission is the part of the organization that carries on activities such as disaster relief, operation of schools and charitable hospitals, and other work. However, because the humanitarian activities of the movement are more well-known than the monastic order, and because the monks of the order perform a great deal of the humanitarian work, "Ramakrishna Mission" is popularly used to refer to both institutions.

• Note: The use of the name of Sri Ramakrishna or Swami Vivekananda by any institution does not necessarily imply that it is an affiliated branch centre of either Ramakrishna Math or Ramakrishna Mission. Some 90 centers operate in India. Missions are also located in such countries as Bangladesh, Fiji and Sri Lanka, among others.

Controversies

To a large extent, the Ramakrishna Mission has avoided controversies through its policy of non-involvement in politics. However, in a move that was highly controversial within its own ranks, the Ramakrishna Mission went to the courts in the 1980s in order to have the their organization and movement declared as a non-Hindu minority religion. According to the leadership, the mission did this purely as a matter of political necessity: there was a danger that the local government would take control of its charitable schools unless it could invoke the extra protection the Indian constitution accords to minority religions. The Supreme Court of India ruled against the Mission, citing many pages of evidence that it had all the characteristics of a Hindu organization. The wisdom of the attempt by the Mission's leadership to characterize the Mission as non-Hindu was widely questioned within the membership of the organization itself, and the leadership today embraces the Mission's status as both a Hindu organization and as an organization that emphasizes the harmony of all faiths. Most members – and even monks – of the Ramakrishna mission consider themselves Hindus, as did the Mission’s founding father. This episode highlights the legal and constitutional discrimi­nations in India against the Hindu ma­jority, most urgently those in education and temple management. The constitutional bedrock of these discriminations is Article 30, which accords to the minorities the right to set up and administer their own schools and colleges, preserving their communal identity (through the course contents and by selectively recruiting teachers and students), all while receiving state subsidies. This same right is not guaranteed to the majority.

Presidents of the Ramakrishna Mission

The following is the traditionally accepted list of Presidents(spiritual heads) of the monastic order.

1. Swami Brahmananda (1901–1922)
2. Swami Shivananda (1922–1934)
3. Swami Akhandananda (1934–1937)
4. Swami Vijnanananda (1937–1938)
5. Swami Shuddhananda (1938–1939)
6. Swami Virajananda (1939–1952)
7. Swami Shankarananda (1952–1959)
8. Swami Vishuddhananda (1959–1960)
9. Swami Madhavananda (1960–1965)
10. Swami Vireshwarananda (1966–1985)
11. Swami Gambhirananda (1985–1988)
12. Swami Bhuteshananda (1988–1998)
13. Swami Ranganathananda (1998–2005)
14. Swami Gahanananda (2005–2007)

Prominent monks

Apart from Direct disciples of Shri Ramakrishna, some of the other great monks of the order are

1. Swami Adidevananda
2. Swami Ashokananda
3. Swami Budhananda
4. Swami Ghanananda
5. Swami Jagadananda
6. Swami Nikhilananda
7. Swami Nityaswarupananda
8. Swami Paramananda
9. Swami Prabhavananda
10. Swami Premeshananda
11. Swami Purushottamananda
12. Swami Shambhavananda
13. Swami Siddheshwarananda
14. Swami Tapasyananda
15. Swami Yatishwarananda
16. Swami Kirtidananda
17. Swami Gokulananda

Notes

• Beckerlegge, Gwilym. The Ramakrishna Mission: The Making of a Modern Hindu Movement. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000 ISBN 9780195651331
• Jackson, Carl T. Vedanta for the West: The Ramakrishna Movement in the United States. Religion in North America. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994 ISBN 9780253330987
• National Seminar on "Philosophy and Science of Value Education in Today's Context." Philosophy and Science of Value Education in the Context of Modern India. Kolkata: Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, 2006 ISBN 9788187332466
• Sen, Amiya P. Swami Vivekananda. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000 ISBN 9780195645651

External links

• Official website of the Headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission
• Ramakrishan Mission Vidyapith, Deoghar Jharkhand
• Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Purulia West Bengal
• Direct Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna
• Is the Ramakrishna Mission Hindu? Article by Dr. Koenraad Elst
• Photos of various Ashrams, Temples, and Charitable institutions of the Ramakrishna Mission in India

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