The Order on the March

Headquarters

The 123rd Foundation Day of the Ramakrishna Mission was celebrated at Belur Math on 1 May. Srimat Swami Smaranananda Ji Maharaj, President of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission chairedtheprogramme.Agood numberofmonks,devoteesand well-wishers were present in the programme.

Sri Tathagata Roy, Governor ofMeghalaya,visitedBelurMath on27May.

125 th Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s Addresses at the World’s Parliament of Religions

The following centres held various programmes as mentionedbelow:

Antpur: Seminar (200 people); Asansol: Four Youth Conferences (477 youth); Jalpaiguri: Parents’ Convention (430 people) and Devotees’ Convention (1350 devotees) i n w h i c h S r i m a t Swa m i Suhitananda Ji, one of the Vice-Presidents of the Order participated; Mangaluru: Lectures (850 youths); Rajkot: Public Meeting (400 people) which was presided over by Srimat Swami Shivamayananda Ji,oneoftheVice-Presidentsof theOrder.

Malaysia: Lectures and music inapublichallinKualaLumpur attended by 300 devotees; St. Louis, USA: Talks and bhajans heldattheHinduTempleofSt. Louis(250devotees). News of Branch Centres (in India)

Srimat Swami Smaranananda Ji Maharaj, President of the Ramakrishna Order, installed new pictures ofHoly Mother Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda in Sri Ramakrishna templeatBamunmuracentre on 7 May, the auspicious Akshaya Tritiya. The programme was attended by 130 monks and about500devotees.

Swami Gautamananda Ji, one of the Vice-Presidents of the Order, reconsecrated the renovated Sri Ramakrishna temple at the Nettayam subcentre ofThiruvananthapuram Ashramaon7May.Aprocession,

Rajkot public meetings and cultural programmes were held in this connectionfrom6to8May.

Salem Ashrama conducted discourses and bhajans at the Central Prison in Salem which were attended by about 500 prisoninmates. Summer Camps

Summer Camps for students were held in these centres : Aurangabad,Bengaluru,Chennai Math,ChennaiMissionAshrama, Hyderabad, Indore, Kadapa, Kayamkulam, Kochi, Madurai,

Siliguri

Mysuru, Nagpur, Porbandar, Rajkot and Tirupati. In total 4956studentsparticipated.The programmesincludedchanting, bhajans, yogasanas, values educationclasses,etc.

Youth Programmes 241 youths participated in a state-level residential youth camp conducted by Agartala centre. Delhi centre conducted 24 values education workshops in 10 states and 2 union territories; 1655 teachers and 182principalsparticipated.425 students from 5 interior schools in Kutch district participated in programmes conducted by Rajkot centre. 180 students participated in a programme conductedbySalemcentre.

Koilandy Medical Relief

Through14centresinIndia the Order conducted Eyecamps in which 6586 people were treated, 829 were given spectacles,and975operated.

Vijayawada c e n t r e , in association with Madras Dyslexia Association, held a training programme in which 62teachersreceivedtrainingin impartingeducationtochildren affectedbydyslexia.

Aalo centre conducted an anti-tobaccoandhealthawareness programme in a nearby village; 50 people attended. Koyilandycentre held a medical camp in which doctors checked 60 children from a fishermen colonyandgavemedicines.

Lusaka centre, Zambia, held ablooddonationcampinwhich 42peopledonatedblood.

Chennai Math Swachchha Bharat Abhiyan

Mangaluru Ashrama conducted the following activities in May: (i) four cleanlinessdrivesinMangaluru involving 1950 volunteers, (ii) awareness campaigns for 24 days in which volunteers reached out to 1450 households indifferentpartsofMangaluru city,spreadingawarenessabout waste management, and (iii) cleanlinessdrivesin100villages ofDakshinaKannadaandUdupi districts. Cyclone Relief

Fani, an extremely severe cyclonic storm, made its landfall in Puri on 3 May. The cyclone caused severe damage to the homesandpublicinfrastructure in Odisha and also a few parts of WestBengal.Bhubaneswar,Puri Math and Puri Missioncentres have surveyed the afflicted areas and are in the process of distributing relief materials. Manasadwipcentredistributed reliefmaterialto11families. Drought Relief

In the aftermath of the recent drought, Aurangabad centre distributedwaterstoringdrums to150affectedfamilies. Summer Relief

Madurai centre distributed 600 litres of buttermilk to thirstywayfarers.

Fire Relief

Chennai Math distributed clothes and utensils to 16 families whose huts were destroyedinafireaccident. Distress Relief

Through 5 centres in India, the Order distributed 3544 shirts, 401 trousers, 704 jackets, 386 sweaters, 1250 saris, 122 blankets,100mosquito-netsand somegroceryitems.

Flood Rehabilitation

In the aftermath of the floods that had hit Kerala in August 2018, Tiruvalla centre setup a water treatment plant, cleaned a well and distributed 10 computers, 3 printers and a camera benefitting over 360 families in Pathanamthitta and Alappuzhadistricts.

Puri

T a m i l

N a d u , t h e land of Alvars,

Nayanmars, and Acharya Ramanuja has a unique place in the history of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda movement for its association with Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, and several direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna including Swami Vivekananda, Swami Brahmananda, Swami Shivananda and Swami Ramakrishnananda. The Swamis themselves founded as well as inspired others to establish several ashramas and outstanding service institutions in this State. There are now 17 branch centres of the Ramakrishna Order in the State, the latest of which is in the city of Villipuram.

Two groups of devotees who were conducting service activities under the banner of Sri Ramakrishna Seva Sangam, Villupuram, and Vivekananda Mandram, Valayampattu formed Sri Ramakrishna Educational Society in May 1983. From the very beginning these devotees worked under the guidance of the sannyasis of the Ramakrishna Order including

Swami Tapasyananda, the then Adhyaksha of Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai and one of the former Vice-Presidents of the Order, Swamis Tanmayananda and Raghaveshananda, the two former managers of the Math, and in recent times by Srimat Swami Gautamananda Ji, the Adhyaksha of Chennai Math and one of the Vice-Presidents of the Order.

In the year of inception, the Society established two schools: Ramakrishna Vidyalaya Matric. High School for classes VI-XII and Ramakrishnananda Nursery & Primary School for PreKg to class V. In 1996, the Ramakrishna Vidyalaya Matric Higher Secondary School for classes VI-XII was added. Affiliated to the Metric board of Education, Tamil Nadu, all the three English medium coeducation schools provide quality education to about 4550 students. The Society also runs Sri Sarada Devi Free Homeopathy Clinic since 1994 and Gadhadhar Abhyudaya Prakalpa in Valayampattu village.

It was the sankalpa of the founding devotees that one day these institutions would foster the

establishment of a branch centre of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission in the city. This dream came true on 25 April 2019 when Society registered and transferred all the three schools and the charitable dispensary to Belur Math, the Headquarters of the Order, in presence of Swami Bodhasarananda, one of the Asst. General Secretaries of the Order. Thus was born Ramakrishna Mission Villupuram. The Govt. of Tamil Nadu has given exemption for stamp duty and registration fees worth of Rs. 3 crores appreciating this noble effort. On 2 June 2019, the day of Phalaharini Kali Puja, the centre was formally opened in a grand function in the presence of Srimat Swami Gautamananda Ji, Swamis Divyananda and Muktidananda, Trustees of the Order, Dr. L. Subramaniyan, the District collector, K. Munusamy, Chief Educational Officer of the district, managing committee members of the Society and other dignitaries. In total 53 Sadhus, 300 devotees, 270 staff and 1500 students attended the function. Detailed activities of the centre can be followed at rkmvillupuram.org.

Vol.106. No.7 The Vedanta Kesari (English Monthly) July 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 26 June 2019

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