A Brief History of Ramakrishna Math and Mission

| continue from page 4 seat of the monastic order, The Ramakrishna Mission Association ceased to function. But whether the monks worked under the aegis of the Math or of the Mission – their hands were always full; for India had not then many organizations to serve her during her ever-recurring woes.

Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are worldwide, non-political, non-sectarian spiritual organizations which have been engaged in various forms of humanitarian, social service activities for more than a century. Inspired by the ideals of renunciation and service, the monks and lay devotees of the Math and Mission serve millions of men, women and children, without any distinction of caste, religion or race, because they see the living God in them.

Although Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are legally and financially separate, they are closely inter-related in several ways and are regarded as twin organizations.

These twin organizations have set in motion a non-sectarian, universal spiritual movement which has been silently working for more than a hundred years to catalyze the spiritual regeneration of humanity.

The chief catalyst in this ongoing transformation is India’s ancient religious philosophy known as Vedanta. Although several other systems of philosophy arose in India at different times, they were confined to small groups. Vedanta alone has remained the dominant philosophy of India’s religious tradition from Vedic times to the present day. In modern times this ancient system of thought has been purified, unified and energized by Sri Ramakrishna, and expounded in the modern idiom by Swami Vivekananda and thus made available to all people all over the world without any distinctions of caste, creed or race.

The Ramakrishna Order does not believe in conversion, nor does it indulge in the occult or the sensational. The Order places utmost importance on personal spiritual unfoldment and selfless service. Inspired by the idea of the harmony of all faiths, its centers encourage adherents of different faiths to meet in a spirit of friendship and mutual appreciation, and to learn from one another without having to give up one’s own faith. In the words of Sri Ramakrishna: “God has made different religions to suit different aspirants, lives and countries … all doctrines are only so many paths; but a path is by no means God Himself. Indeed, one can reach God if one follows any of the paths with wholehearted devotion.”

Motto: The motto of the twin organizations is ATMANO MOKSHARTHAM JAGAD HITAYA CHA, “For one’s own salvation and for the welfare of the world”. It was formulated by Swami Vivekananda.

Ideals: Work as worship, potential divinity of the soul, and harmony of religions are three of the noteworthy ideals on which these two organizations are based. It is this ideal of service to man as service to God that sustains the large number of hospitals, dispensaries, mobile medical units, schools, colleges, rural development centers and many other social service institutions run the twin organizations.

Headquarters: The headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are situated at Belur, West Bengal, India. The entire campus of the headquarters is popu- larly known as ‘Belur Math’. Sprawling over forty acres of land on the western bank of the river Hooghly (Ganga), the place is an hour’s drive from Kolkata. (https://belurmath. org/about-us/).

Branch/Centers:

As of 1 February 2022, the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission have 231 branch centers all over the world. Of these, 175 centers are in India and the remaining 56 are in 24 other countries (15 in Bangladesh, 14 in the USA, 3 in Brazil, 2 each in Canada, Russia and South Africa, and one each in Argentina, Australia, Fiji, France, Germany, Ireland, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, UK and Zambia). Further, there are 40 sub-centers (15 within India, 25 outside India) functioning under the above branch centers.

Since most of our readers are living in the USA, a complete list and the details can be obtained at the website, (https://vedanta.org/north-america-centers/)*.

A center at Seymore, Connecticut was recently inaugurated on November 12, 2021. Information of the center is available here at (https://vedantavvcc.org/)*.

Ramakrishna Math was registered as a Trust in 1901 by Swami Vivekananda himself and Ramakrishna Mission was formally registered in 1909 under the Registration of Societies Act XXI of 1860. During his first trip to the USA, he established the Vedanta Society New York in November 1894, and he established the Vedanta Society of San Francisco in April 1900 two years prior to his death on 4th July 1902 on Independ- ence Day of the USA.

Both Shri Ramakrishna Math and Shri Ramakrishna Mission (RKMM) were legally established about 20 years after Thakur’s departure). The principal architect, leader, visionary was Swami Vivekananda. Even though Swamiji didn’t live to see his fortieth birthday, his influence, his message will continue to inspire the present and the future generation yet to born for next few thousand years. In his own words: “The Math will be the central institution for the practice of religion and the cultivation of knowledge. The spiritual force emanating from here will permeate the whole world, turning the currents of men’s activities and aspirations into new channels. From here will be disseminated ideal harmonizing Jnana, Bhakti, Yoga and Karma. The time will come when by the mere will of the sannyasins of this Math will vibrate into deadened souls of men. All these visions are rising before me.”

References:

1. *Thanks for the information received from Swami Sarvadevananda, the minister and spiritual leader of the Vedanta Society of Southern California,

2. History of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission by Swami Gambhirananda, Advaita Ashrama, 3rd edition 1983

3. Vivekananda, a biography, Swami Nikhilananda, Advaita Ashrama, 3rd Edition 1975

4. Ramakrishna and his disciples, Christopher Isherwood, Advaita Ashrama, 7th Edition 1994

5. Sri Ramakrishna, the Great Master, Swami Saradananda and translated by Swami Jagadananda, Madras Math, Mylapore, Madras 600004