History of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Bhubaneswar _Swami Tannishthananda

Sri Ramakrishna

History of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Bhubaneswar _Swami Tannishthananda

Introduction: This is the story of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. At the dawn of the third millennium Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission reviews the story of its hundred and twenty-two years of loving service to humanity or, in the words of Swami Vivekananda, service to that God who by the ignorant is called man.

Since the Ramakrishna Mission is inseparably linked to Ramakrishna Math, this is also the story of Ramakrishna Math. And since the message of Sri Ramakrishna has been spreading in ever-widening circles through and beyond the two institutions mentioned above, this is the story of Ramakrishna Movement as well.

This story of Ramakrishna Mission, Ramakrishna Math, and Ramakrishna Movement is not to be taken as mere history. History deals with the outer happening of men and institutions, whereas 'story' deals with the inner dynamics of a movement. It is the unfolding of a Truth, a power, through men and institutions.

Sri Ramakrishna

Swami Vivekananda has stated that at the interval of every five hundred years a new set of universal ideas appear in some parts of the globe. These ideas manifest themselves through an extraordinary person known as the Prophet or Avatar. Speaking about the function of a Prophet, Swamiji says: 'He focuses in his own mind the thought of the age in which he is living and gives it back to mankind in the concrete form'.

This was what Sri Ramakrishna, who is regarded as the Avatar of the present age by millions of people, did. He came with a message, a new set of ideas suited to the needs of the present age. He first applied it in his own life and changed it with power. He trained a group of young disciples to be the torch-bearers of his message, and through they laid the foundation of a new monastic order, which came to be known later as the Ramakrishna Math. As in a hydroelectric project electricity is first generated by giant turbines and is then transmitted to different places through high-tension power mains, so also, the spiritual power generated by Sri Ramakrishna through his direct disciples. Subsequently, through the disciples of those direct disciples and through successive generations of disciples, the message and power of Sri Ramakrishna have been spreading in ever-widening circles to form what may be termed the Ramakrishna Movement.

Sri Ramakrishna

The story of Ramakrishna Math began when Sri Ramakrishna climbed to the terrace of the house in Dakshineshwar and called out: 'O my children, wherever you come to me. My heart yearns to see you.' This happened after he had completed the practice of various spiritual disciplines and people had started coming to see him. In response to that mystic call, young spiritual seekers, most of whom were studying in school or college, began to gather around him. Under his guidance, they practiced intense spiritual disciplines. During Sri Ramakrishna's last illness, these young men nursed him day and night. He instilled in their minds the spirit of monastic renunciation and also brotherly love for one another. Among them the Master earmarked Narendra (who later became the world-famous Swami Vivekananda) to be the leader of the group.

After the Master's passing in August 1886, these young disciples started living in a dilapidated house at Baranagore in north Calcutta. A few months later, they took the formal vows of sannyasa, assumed new names, and thus formed a new monastic order which came to be known later as Ramakrishna Math.

The monastery was moved six years later to another place in Alambazar, and from there it was finally moved to its own permanent premises at Belur in Howrah district in 1898. It was registered as a Trust in 1899, and since then it is being administered by a Board of Trustees consisting of senior monks of Ramakrishna Order.

Unlike the Ramakrishna Math which is a purely monastic order, the Ramakrishna Mission is a social service society in which the monks of Ramakrishna Math and lay supporters cooperate in conducting different forms of social service such as running schools, hospitals, rural development, etc. It was founded by Swami Vivekananda on 1 May 1897, soon after his return from the west. The original idea probably was that the mission would be managed by lay devotees. But since this did not materialize, owing to the unfavorable socio-economical condition of the society, the monks of Ramakrishna Order took over the administration of the mission also. The Ramakrishna Mission was registered as a charitable society in 1909.