Ramakrishna Mission, Delhi

Ramakrishna Mission in Delhi is a branch center of a spiritual organization - Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda in the year 1897. Located on Ramakrishna Ashram Marg in New Delhi, Ramakrishna Mission in Delhi is a perfect place to attain solace and a piece of mind amidst the serene ambiance. Touted as a temple, Ramakrishna Mission in Delhi was established on 4th May 1927. Even if you are not a spiritually inclined person, a visit to Ramakrishna Mission will leave you amazed. While exploring this beautiful temple in Delhi, the evening aarti is a must-watch along with Swami Vivekananda's exhibition. Moreover, this clean and well-maintained place also hosts various spiritual activities, medical activities, cultural programs, and social uplifts. In spiritual activities, one can be a part of evening prayers, regular discourses, Vedic chanting on special occasions, scriptural expositions, devotees’ conferences, and talks are held regularly.

History

Ramakrishna Mission, a Hindu religious society that carries out extensive educational and philanthropic work in India and expounds a modern version of Advaita Vedanta—a school of Indian philosophy—in Western countries. It and its sister organization, the Ramakrishna Math, constitute two different but related branches of the Ramakrishna Order.

The society was founded near Calcutta (now Kolkata) by Vivekananda in 1897 with a twofold purpose: to spread the teachings of Vedanta as embodied in the life of the Hindu saint Ramakrishna (1836–86) and to improve the social conditions of the Indian people. Ramakrishna, as a direct result of his own spiritual experiences with various religious disciplines, including Christianity and Islam, fully endorsed the Hindu tenet that all religions are paths to the same goal. In his lifetime there grew about him a small but devoted band of disciples, among whom the young Narendranath Datta (who later took the name Vivekananda) was outstanding and was chosen by Ramakrishna as his successor. These disciples were also the nucleus of the Ramakrishna math (“monastery”) established at Belur, on the banks of the Ganges near Calcutta, and consecrated in 1898. The Sri Sarada Math, begun in Calcutta in 1953, was made a completely separate organization in 1959, following the earlier wishes of Vivekananda; together with its sister organization, the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, it operates several centers in different parts of India. Several Ramakrishna Mission centers specifically serving women were turned over to the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission.

Activities

1. A library with a separate section for children. It had 42,211 general books, and 162 newspapers and periodicals.
2. A computer training center which imparted training to 260 students.
3. A free coaching center where 95 students of nearby municipal schools were given coaching.
4. Two units of Gadadhar Abhyudaya Prakalpa with 190 unprivileged children.
5. Two cultural centers: Sarada Children Forum with 15 children and Vivekananda Youth Forum with 30 youths.
6. A homeopathic dispensary, which treated 19,859 cases during the year, and a free Siddha medical unit.
7. A mobile medical unit, which treated 16,977 cases and performed 262 cataract surgeries free of cost.
8. A modern free TB clinic at Karol Bagh, which treated 11,265 cases this Under the home treatment scheme, the clinic extended its medical services to patients unable to come to the clinic.
9. A medical center on the TB clinic premises, providing specialist consultancy services. It served 77,467 patients during the year.
10. A permanent exhibition and a 3D animation film on the life of Swami Vivekananda.
11. Under the Awakened Citizen Programme, a three-year graded values education program, 141 teachers’ training workshops were organized in different parts of the country and more than 9225 teachers and principals mainly from CBSE-affiliated schools were trained. 90 projectors with built-in computers were distributed to the state govt. schools in Rajasthan.
12. Cultural competitions in which 1234 students from 162 schools participated.
13. Welfare work by way of the distribution of blankets, pecuniary help, and daily distribution of milk and other nutritious items to the In all, Rs. 15.65 lakh was spent for medical help and Rs. 2.79 lakh was spent on educational help, etc.
14. Religious activities: (i) 172 religious discourses, (ii) 166 lectures in various cultural institutions, (iii) assistance given to 82 Kathamrita study circles functioning in different parts of Delhi, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, (iv) regular Sunday classes at Delhi University, (v) celebration of Kali Puja, the birth anniversaries of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda, and other spiritual luminaries.