Sri Ramakrishna and his Mission

The religious book of the Hindus "Shrimad Bhagawad Gita" reflects the universal truth from the very voice of God - "Whenever evil persists and religion is at stake I shall be born and protect virtue from the evil spirits and revive religion." India had many such great souls born; one such incarnation of the Almighty was born to eradicate the persisting evil among the earthlings and upheld moral ethics and etiquette so that peace prevails on the Earth; Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa was born of pious parentage on 1836 in the remote village of Kamarpukur in Bengal. His birth in itself reflected the mystery of the omnipotent, the omniscient and the omnipresent existence unto whom the whole universe kowtows. As the wheel of time turned, the innate truth in him revealed his incarnation firmly. From his early childhood he had holy visions and the inherent knowledge in him grew. He had no school education, no formal certification, neither any University recognition, yet he stood as one of the pioneers of religious and moral ethics. He was confident in declaring that he had seen God as he sees any other being and can help others see also; this was perhaps what made the world respect him. His gospels reflect in humble and simple language deep philosophical aspects and are recorded verbatim by one of his disciple Sri Mahendra Nath Gupta and is published as "Katha-amrita" (Immortal potion of words). Any one eager to know about the teachings of the great soul must read the book, for it claims to clear all despairs of life and fill oneself with heavenly ecstasy. Complete renunciation is not possible of all the worldly beings, Sri Ramakrishna along with his divine consort Sri Sarada Devi had set examples as to how to lead a clean life from within one's family and society. After the Master's death Sri Sarada Devi carried on the pursuit for truth and was loved and respected as the holy Mother by all.

 

Ramakrishna Math and Mission

Sri Ramakrishna's simplicity, truthfulness and confident knowledge attracted many disciples who were divinely approved by him to serve mankind. Narendra Nath Dutta was the most powerful of them all with complete dedication, knowledge and enormous potentiality. Sri Ramakrishna had found in him a perfect successor who could bore the divine burden of the work he had laid foundation - to serve the mankind and constitute the essence of all Yogas. Sri Ramakrishna divinely approved Narandra Nath Dutta and few other disciples to the life of a Sanyasin. Narandra Nath Dutta had a rebirth as Swami Vivekananda in his Sanayasin life after renouncing his name, the motto of a Sanyasin to renounce everything and emerge as a Phoenix.
In 1886 the great Master left the earthly scene but left behind a handful of bright stars who would complete his visions. Swami Vivekananda unanimously emerged as the leader and they started working under the blessings of Sri Sarada Devi.
Swami Vivekananda wandered all over India and was moved to see the ignorance, illiteracy and poverty that swept the country. So he decided to go to USA to find ways of upliftment of the nation. It was in 1897 the foundation of the Ramakrishna Mission was laid under the leadership of Swami Vivekananda for the sole purpose of expediting all round development of the nation & spiritual regimentation of the world. Since then it has been rendering generous service to mankind and has emerged as one of the pioneers in promoting social, educational and religious awareness.