Talk:Ramakrishna Order, The

By Swami Harshananda

Ramakrishna Order, The

Introduction

Right from the Upaniṣad era, the society has sheltered and protected the sanyāsins from the problems and worries of the world. They had taken care of them so well that they could pursue their chosen path towards perfection unhindered.

Ramakrishna Order

However, the barbaric invasions from outside by the Mohammedans, the wily maneuvers and also the stick and carrot policy of the English gradually undermined the society to such an extent that it badly needed resuscitation at the hands of people totally dedicated to the religious cause. Though the various reform-movements like the Brahma Samāj and the Arya Samāj contributed their bit to the revival and strengthening of the society, their approach fell short of the requirements, since they had ignored the all-comprehensive evolution of the religion over the past millenniums and were in a great hurry to reform according to their own favorite theories.

Hence there had arisen a great need to de-hypnotize the society from adopting partial or alien means, and to resurrect it by utilizing the age-old, time-tested, methods of jñāna and tapas.

Rāmakrsna, the Architect

This is exactly what Rāmakṛṣṇa more well-known as Srī Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahansa and worshiped by millions of his devotees as an incarnation of God, did during his rather short life of fifty years. He first practiced vigorously all the spiritual disciplines of the various facets of the religion and came to the conclusion that they led to the same mystical experience of Brahman/Ātman as described in the Upaniṣads and allied scriptures. An extension of his efforts towards some alien religions also corroborated the same experience. It is this universal experience that made him declare, ‘As many faiths, so many paths!’

Though equipped with this magnificent weapon of jñāna gained through tapas, Rāmakṛṣṇa knew very well that the task of regeneration of the Sanātanadharma and uplifting this country, the Bhāratavarṣa or Bhārata, the homeland of spiritual wisdom for aeons, was a task that would extend beyond the normal span of human life and would need the whole-hearted cooperation of a well-knit band of dedicated disciples.

Birth of the Order

This is precisely what he did when he gathered and trained his young disciples with Narendranāth as their anointed leader. It is these disciples, who were also blessed with monastic robes by Rāmakṛṣṇa himself, that formed the core of a new monastic order that bears his name now. They were sixteen in number and were the founders of this order. After taking formal monastic vows through appropriate rituals, under the guidance of Narendranāth or Vivekānanda assumed new names as follows:

Former Names	New Names	Era of Their Existence
Bāburām	Svāmi Premānanda	A.D. 1861-1918
Gaṅgādhar	Svāmi Akhaṇḍānanda	A.D. 1864-1937
Gopāl	Svāmi Advaitānanda	A.D. 1828-1909
Harināth	Svāmi Turīyānanda	A.D. 1863-1922
Hariprasanna	Svāmi Vijñānānanda	A. D. 1868-1938
Kālīprasād	Svāmi Abhedānanda	A.D. 1866-1939
Lāṭu	Svāmi Adbhutānanda	D. A.D. 1920
Nityanirañjan	Svāmi Nirañjanānanda	D. A.D. 1904
Rākhāl	Svāmi Brahmānanda	A.D. 1863-1922
Sāradāprasanna	Svāmi Triguṇātītānanda	A.D. 1865-1914
Saratcandra	Svāmi Sāradānanda	A.D. 1865-1927
Saśibhuṣan	Svāmi Rāmakṛṣṇānanda	A.D. 1863-1911
Subodhacandra	Svāmi Subodhānanda	A.D. 1867-1932
Tāraknāth	Svāmi Sivānanda	A. D. 1854-1934
Yogindra	Svāmi Yogānanda	A.D. 1861-1899

The Motto and the Emblem

Any organisation, especially the one that bears the name of an epoch-making person, needs a motto to guide it and an emblem that constantly reminds and inspires. Realising this, Vivekānanda placed before it the motto:

ātmano moksārtham jagaddhitāya ca which means ‘For the liberation of the Self and service to the society’.

He also designed a charming but distinctive emblem that effectively reflected this motto.

It consists of an elegant swan against the backdrop of the rising sun, surrounded by wavy waters from which has arisen a beautiful lotus flower along with a couple of leaves. This whole picture is encircled by a hooded serpent. Whereas the motto adds a social dimension to the hitherto, purely personal, aspect of a self-centred sādhana, the emblem, which graphically describes a balanced combination or harmony of all the four yogas, enriches that sādhanā by making it more comprehensive.

The Bifurcation

The basic philosophy of life put before the Ramakrishna Order by Vivekānanda automatically led to a bifurcation of its activities into two important, but parallel, areas. The ātmamokṣa aspect resulted in the establishment of the Ramakrishna Math, an organisation catering predominantly to the spiritual needs of the monks of the order and also its votaries. The jagaddhita aspect on the other hand gave rise to a sister organisation concentrating solely on public service activities.

Legal Formalities

Though the Ramakrishna Order of monks was started in A. D. 1886 itself with its first monastery at Baranagore in Calcutta, in a dilapidated house, it was shifted to its own campus in Belur, only in A. D. 1899, primarily due to the untiring efforts of Vivekānanda. For some time it had been housed in the Alambazaar area of Calcutta also.

The Ramakrishna Math was legally registered as a trust in A. D. 1901 and the Ramakrishna Mission in A. D. 1909. The Ramakrishna Mission Association which Vivekānanda himself had formally established on the 1st of May 1897, later on went out of existence, once the other two institutions were given a legal shape. Some of the aims and objects contemplated in the original Association were as follows:

• Preaching the truths taught by Rāmakṛṣṇa, based on his life and experiences
• To bring about fellowship among the followers of different religious
• To train men to become competent to teach spiritual knowledge as well as secular sciences for the welfare of the masses
• To encourage arts and industries
• To establish maṭhas and āśramas in different parts of India for training sanyāsins
• To send trained sanyāsins to foreign countries to bring about a better understanding between them and India
• Totally eschew politics
• Any other spiritual and humanitarian activities in consonance with these ideals

The fairly fast evolution of the order into two distinct fields of work, spiritual ministry and social service, made its two wings grow into two parallel organisations. Hence it is necessary to consider them here in greater detail.

The Ramakrishna Math

The Ramakrishna Math is a purely monastic organisation, totally dedicated to the twin ideals of tyāga and sevā. Young men eligible for joining the monastic order as per the prescribed rules of admission are vigorously trained by competent senior monks over a period of nearly ten years after which they are initiated into sanyāsa if found fit.

Novices like the following have to be shaped into ideal monks in course of time:

• Insistence on meditation
• Study of scriptures
• Austerities in personal life
• Service activities as worship of God through human beings in social life

Unlike the old monastic orders, the Ramakrishna Monastic Movement has certain unique features. They may be listed as follows:

Non-sectarian

Though rooted firmly in the ancient monastic ideals of chastity and absence of possessions, it has avoided identification with any particular sect or group or even tradition. It embraces the whole gamut of religio-spiritual development of the entire race over the last five millennia or more. Not only that, it has provided a place in itself for the people of alien religions and cultures too, provided they are prepared to follow the basic monastic disciplines as exemplified in the lives of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda. In fact, the word ‘alien’ itself is alien to the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda culture.

Austerity, Learning and Missionary Zeal

Śaṅkara, the earliest pioneer of organized monasticism, insisted that his disciples, who were abbots of his monasteries, keep alive the spirit of tapas and jñāna in their personal lives and undertake pravāsa for the sake of pracāra for public good. Vivekānanda who realized the wisdom of this healthy convention set up by Śaṅkara, has ordained that it be followed in his monastic order too. The Ramakrishna Order is sincerely trying to keep up this glorious tradition.

Group Life and Work Ethic

Unlike the old monasticism which insisted upon a lonely life, the new monastic movement advocates living in a group, thus forging a Saṅgha. This has several advantages, the greatest being the strengthening of one another’s spiritual vibrations and the rounding off of one’s angularities. Community itself is a great discipline.

Its philosophy of service, of serving the jīva as Śiva, has elevated the act of service which would have stagnated, at best at the level of social service to the sublime levels of spiritual practice. This automatically helps the members of the Saṅgha in their personal spiritual evolution too. Its insistence on work ethic, especially on high quality work, of which punctuality and punctiliousness are hallmarks, has set a model to the people of our country. If followed properly, it can bring the Kingdom of Heaven to this earth.

Another unique feature that distinguishes it from the old monastic systems which are kept aloof from the social life in all its aspects, though deriving all benefits from the society, are as following:

• Its active canvassing for the total development of the human society in particular
• Adopting all the healthy means at our disposal
• Including science, technology and also sound and time-tested economic principles

Attitude towards Social Reform

It is true that this monastic movement does not directly involve itself in social reform activities. But, by quietly working for man-making and character building, by inculcating the right values and attitudes in the minds of men, it is actually helping the society to carry out ‘root and branch reform’ as Vivekānanda has proposed it.

Attitude towards Politics

However, Vivekānanda the prophet of modern India, with an uncanny vision of the future, forbade his organization strictly from taking part in any political movement or activity. Why? Because the monk is a world-citizen or a man of God. World-citizens do not dabble in politics similarly God-men have no politics at all. Even though his decision was not relished by some of the participants of the early years of freedom movement, later history has proved that he was absolutely right. Not only that, almost all the great national leaders were inspired by his speeches and writings.

Working Characteristics of Ramakrishna Maṭh

Some facts may now be adduced here to give an idea of the work that is being done by the Ramakrishna Math institutions:

Nature of Work

It displayed the following traits of work:

• Titualistic worship of Rāmakṛṣṇa, the presiding deity
• Personal interviews to aspirants giving the necessary spiritual guidance
• Celebration of all important festivals and also the birthdays of the great religious leaders
• Publication of religious works and journals
• Preaching of religio-spiritual subjects often related to or based on the life and teachings of Rāmakṛṣṇa and also his monastic disciples
• Running of libraries of religio-philosophical literature
• Special programs for the youth to supplement their education with moral and spiritual values
• Others

Centers

There were 53 centers of the Math including 18 in foreign countries in April 2003. The Ramakrishna Mission, unlike the Ramakrishna Math, the Ramakrishna Mission is a public institution admitting lay members too, who subscribe to its philosophy and policies. The individual centers, though run by the monastic members, generally have a Managing Committee with non-monastic lay devotees also. The work of these centers is spread over the following fields:

• Running of schools, colleges and hostels for students
• Starting and managing medical institutions like dispensaries, hospitals and medical camps
• Rural welfare activities including integrated rural development schemes
• Relief and rehabilitation measures during periods of natural or manmade calamities like famines, floods, earthquakes, riots, fire-disasters, cyclones
• Others

There were in all 59 centers of the Mission including 8 in foreign lands in April 2003. In addition to these, there were 25 combined Math and Mission centers, of which 6 were outside India. The foreign countries where these centres are located are:

1. Argentina
2. Australia
3. Bangladesh
4. Canada
5. Fiji
6. France
7. Japan
8. Malaysia
9. Mauritius
10. Netherlands
11. Russia
12. Singapore
13. Sri Lanka
14. Switzerland
15. United Kingdom
16. United States of America

Administration

The Maṭh is managed by the Trustees who are all senior monks of the Order and the Mission by a Governing Body whose members are the same as the Trustees, the distinction made being purely for legal purposes. After ascertaining the opinions of the senior monks of the Order, the Trustees elect from among themselves a President, one to three Vice-presidents, a General Secretary and four Assistant Secretaries.

The President also called the ‘Saṅghaguru’ is the supreme Head of the whole organisation and the sole authority for giving sanyāsa or administering the vows of monastic life. He and the Vice-presidents are also empowered to grant mantradīkṣā to devotees aspiring for it. The General Secretary is the administrative head of the organisation.

However, his power is limited to implementing the decisions taken by the Trustees/Members of the Governing Body, though he has the freedom to act in matters of day-to-day administration. The assistant secretaries work under his guidance.

The individual centers of the Maṭh are managed by the presidents and of the Mission, by the secretaries, duly appointed by the Trustees/Members of the Governing Body. These again, are expected to carry on their work with the assistance of the monastic members allotted to their centers and also volunteers and paid-workers. The funds needed for running the various institutions are raised by public donations and government grants wherever possible. Fees and charges may also be collected from affluent persons, for the services rendered, especially in educational and medical centers. Sale of religious books and allied literature as also various agricultural and rural products may also be another source of income.

Spreading the Message

The main purpose of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Movement, as it is designated today, is to spread the central message of Rāmakṛṣṇa-Vivekānanda, as expressed through the motto of the Ramakrishna Order. Apart from its various centers which are relentlessly working towards this goal, a large number of institutions have been started by the devotees, friends and admirers of the Order on their own. These institutions which are generally called ‘Private Centers’ and are not legally affiliated to the Headquarters of the order which are being run under the guidance of the monks of the order, following the same pattern of activities.

The process of legally bringing such centers under the general umbrella of protection and policy of the Ramakrishna Math started in A. D. 1981 and is slowly but satisfactorily progressing. This umbrella organisation has been named ‘Ramakrishna-Vivekananda-Bhavaprachara Parishat’ and is being formed in each of the States of the country. This has brought in greater cohesiveness in the working of such private centers and also generated deeper faith in the minds of the public who are assisting in their working.

Each of these centers is organizing an annual conference of all the devotees of that State as a policy. This is naturally bringing them together and making them feel that they belong to one spiritual family.

Centres in Foreign Countries

The centres of the Ramakrishna Order in foreign lands fall into two broad categories. Those countries where the social situation is similar to that of India like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Fiji or Mauritius, the nature of service activities is also similar. In other countries, especi¬ally America, Canada and of Europe, the work is confined mostly to the preaching of Vedānta, publication of books and journals and personal guidance in spiritual matters. It is gratifying to note that persons of these western countries also are showing a lot of interest in Rāmakṛṣṇa-Vivekā¬nanda Literature and are even opting for monastic life in the Order.

Epilogue

Within a short span of 117 years (A. D. 1886-2003), the Ramakrishna Move¬ment has grown into a formidable force influencing the lives of millions of persons interested in personal peace of mind and social harmony. Absence of narrow, sectarian or fana¬tical approach to religion, an all-compre¬hensive view of life stressing spiritual evolution of man rather than the dogmatic side of religious observances, and a genuine attitude of service to man as service to God have endeared this Move¬ment to one and all. If the decent and dignified behaviour of the well-educated and cultured monas¬tics of the Order has given the organisation its good image, no less is the contribution of the volunteers, the devotees and the well-wishers to its phenomenal growth. No wonder then, that it has been widely recognised as having added a new dimension to Hindu monasticism and played a significant role in the renaissance of Hinduism.

References

• The Concise Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Swami Harshananda, Ram Krishna Math, Bangalore