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The Order on the March

from The Vedanta Kesari – February 2020 issue

by Sri Ramakrishna Math Chennai

from The Vedanta Kesari – February 2020 issue, page 10

Article from: The Vedanta Kesari – February 2020 issue

Editorial

News & Notes from Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission

Headquarters

The 110 th Annual General Meeting of the Ramakrishna Mission was held at Belur Math on Sunday, 15 December. Srimat Swami Smaranananda Ji Maharaj, President of the Ramakrishna Order, chaired the meeting. In all, 139 monastic members, 62 lay members and 81 associates attended the meeting.

The birthday of the Holy Mother was celebrated at Belur Math on Wednesday, 18 December. Thousands of devotees attended the celebration throughout the day. Cooked prasad was served to about 32,000 devotees. Swami Balabhadrananda chaired the Public meeting held in the afternoon.

As a sequel to the year-long celebrations of the 125 th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda’s Chicago addresses, an All India Alumni Meet of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission educational institutions was held at Belur Math on 28 and 29 December. Srimat Swami Smaranananda Ji Maharaj inaugurated the event and Swami Suvirananda Ji, General Secretary of the Ramakrishna Order, welcomed the delegates. All the five Vice-Presidents of the Order addressed the different sessions of the two-day Meet. Sri Bibek Debroy, Chairman, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India, and a number of distinguished alumni from various walks of life shared their views. In all, 2000 lay alumni, 150 monastic alumni, 300 other monastic brothers and 700 guests took part in the Meet.

News of Branch Centres

Srimat Swami Smaranananda Ji Maharaj dedicated the newly built assembly-cum-prayer hall at Jhargram centre. Srimat Swami Shivamayananda Ji, one of the Vice-Presidents of the Order, inaugurated the coaching centre building, named Saradalaya, at Coimbatore Math.

A special worship and public meeting were held at Kasundia centre, Howrah, on 22 December, the janma-tithi of Swami Shivananda, to mark the taking over of Ramakrishna Vivekananda Ashram and starting of a branch of the Ramakrishna Mission there. The General Secretary presided over the meeting which was attended by nearly 300 monks and 2000 devotees.

Sri Prahlad Singh Patel, Minster of State for Culture and Tourism, Government of India, inaugurated a 4D Virtual Reality (VR) short film on Swami Vivekananda at Vivekananda House of Chennai Math. The film with an immersive experience of water, aroma,

and wind effects brings alive Swamiji’s wanderings in India and his meditation on a rock in Kanyakumari. Sri Acharya Devvrat, Governor of Gujarat, visited Rajkot Ashrama. Sri Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Minister of State for Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India, addressed the devotees at Mangaluru centre.

Dr Harisingh Gour Vishwavidyalaya, a central university in Madhya Pradesh, felicitated Mayavati Ashrama for its exemplary role in spreading the message of Advaita Vedanta through its publications. An allopathic dispensary was inaugurated at Barisha Math.

Values Education and Youth Programmes

The following centres conducted value education workshops, conventions, camps, lectures, etc: Barasat math: Convention (660 delegates and 150 guests); Coimbatore Mission: 3-day residential convention (411 delegates); Delhi centre: 4 Workshops in Delhi and Noida (183 teachers); Rajkot Ashrama: 16 programmes (1326 students from 8 schools); Vadodara centre: 2 programmes on its campus and 7 programmes outside (3358 students) Cyclone Relief

West Bengal: In the wake of the devastation caused by Cyclone Bulbul in November, the following relief services were conducted: Baghbazar centre distributed 1050 blankets, 140 dhotis, 800 saris, 1600 shirts, 600 trousers, 100 children’s garments, 100 plastic sheets, and grains/grocery items among 988 families in South 24 Parganas district. Belgharia centre distributed 2000 blankets, 3000 saris, 3000 lungis and 2108 mosquito-nets among 2108 families in South 24 Parganas district. Taki centre distributed 3000 blankets, 3000 saris and 3000 lungis among 3000 families in North 24 Parganas district.

Batticaloa

Flood Relief

Sri Lanka: In response to the floods caused by heavy rains and breach of embankments of lakes in and around Batticaloa, the Batticaloa sub-centre of Colombo Ashrama distributed 5490 kg rice, 1398 kg dal, 1398 kg sugar, 325 kg milk powder, eatables, and other necessary items among 594 affected families. Fire Relief

Arunachal Pradesh: Aalo centre provided clothes and other kitchen necessities to 5 families whose houses were completely burnt down in a village near Aalo. Meghalaya: Shillong centre distributed food items and clothes to 5 families affected by a fire accident. Winter Relief 32 centres of the Order distributed 14,290 blankets, 1,842 shawls, 13,235 sweaters, and 1,601 jackets to needy people. Distress Relief 26 centres of the Order distributed 30,895 shirts, 18,535 trousers, and 3,821 saris to needy people Economic Rehabilitation

Under self-employment programme, Khetri centre gifted 103 sewing machines to the needy people and Rahara centre gifted 2 cycle rickshaw/van and 2 sewing machines.

Vijayawada

Vol.107. No.2 The Vedanta Kesari (English Monthly) February 2020.

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 27 January 2020

When the real history of India will be unearthed, it will be proved that, as in matters of religion, so in fine arts, India is the primal Guru of the whole world. — Swami Vivekananda