Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) is a spiritual and philanthropic organisation headquartered in Belur Math, West Bengal. The mission is named after the Indian Hindu spiritual guru and mystic Ramakrishna. The mission was founded by Ramakrishna's chief disciple Swami Vivekananda on 1 May 1897. The organisation mainly propagates the Hindu philosophy of Vedanta–Advaita Vedanta and four yogic ideals – Jnana, Bhakti, Karma, and Raja yoga. The mission bases its work on the principles of Karma Yoga, the principle of selfless work done with a dedication to God.
Sri Sarada Devi, born Kshemankari / Thakurmani / Saradamani Mukhopadhyay, was the wife and spiritual consort of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a nineteenth-century Hindu mystic. Sarada Devi is also reverentially addressed as the Holy Mother by the followers of the Sri Ramakrishna monastic order. The Sri Sarada Math and Ramakrishna Sarada Mission situated at Dakshineshwar is based on the ideals and life of Sarada Devi. She played an important role in the growth of the Ramakrishna Movement.
Swami Vireshwarananda, the tenth President of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, was born on 31 October 1892 at Gurupura, Near Mangalore, South India. His pre-monastic name was Pandurang Prabhu; he was later known as Prabhu Maharaj. After his father's death at an early age, his mother moved with them to his maternal uncle's house at Mangalore.
Swami Yatiswarananda was a vice-president of Ramakrishna Order, whose headquarter is in Belur Math. He was a disciple of Swami Brahmananda, a brother disciple of Swami Vivekananda and a direct disciple and spiritual son of Ramakrishna. He served in Philadelphia propagating the message of Vedanta. He was the president of Bangalore centre of Ramakrishna Math. He founded an ashrama in Switzerland.
Shuddhananda who was the fifth president of the Ramakrishna Order, was a direct monastic disciple of Vivekananda. He joined the Ramakrishna Math in 1897. He became a trustee of Ramakrishna Math and a member of the governing body of Ramakrishna Mission in May 1903. He also took up the editorship of the Bengali magazine called Udbodhan for sometime. He was appointed as the secretary of the math and the mission in 1927 and as the vice president in 1937. In 1938, he became the president of the order. His tenure was short, as he died in 1938. He is renowned in the literary circles to have translated most of Vivekananda's original works from English to Bengali.
Swami Virajananda, born Kalikrishna Bose, was an initiated disciple of Sarada Devi and the sixth president of the Ramakrishna Order. Born as the son of Trailokyanath Bose and Nishadkalidevi, Virajananda was the first person to join the Ramakrishna Order after the direct disciples of Ramakrishna. In 1897, he was initiated into sannyasa by Vivekananda. From 1899 onward he served in Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati and became its president in 1906. He is recognised as a monastic disciple of Vivekananda.
Belur Math is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. It is located in Belur, West Bengal, India on the west bank of Hooghly River. Belur Math was established in January 1897, by Swami Vivekananda who was the disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. Swami Vivekananda returned back to India from Colombo with a small group of disciples and started work on the two one at Belur, and the others at Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas called the Advaita Ashrama. The temple is the heart of the Ramakrishna movement. It is notable for its architecture that fuses Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, and Christian art and motifs as a symbol of unity of all religions. In 2003, Belur Math railway station was also inaugurated which is dedicated to Belur Math Temple.
Sister Nivedita was an Irish teacher, author, social activist, school founder and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She spent her childhood and early youth in Ireland. She was engaged to marry a Welsh youth, but he died soon after their engagement.
Swami Chidbhavananda was born in Senguttaipalayam near Pollachi in Coimbatore District, Madras Presidency, India. His parents named him 'Chinnu'. He studied in Stanes School, Coimbatore. He was one of the two Indians in his class, the rest being British. His parents wanted him to go to England after completing his degree in Presidency College, Chennai.
Ramakrishna Mission Residential College (Autonomous), Narendrapur is an institute for pursuing undergraduate and postgraduate studies in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is an autonomous college located in Narendrapur, Kolkata. The college was established in 1960 and is affiliated with the University of Calcutta. It is run by the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narendrapur. It is a residential, boys-only college.
Pravrajika Mokshaprana, born Renuka Basu, was the second President of the Sri Sarada Math and the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission. In Hinduism, Sri Sarada Math is the monastic Order for women established as an independent counterpart to the Ramakrishna Order.
Ramakrishna Mission Vidyapith, Deoghar is a residential boys' senior secondary school in Deoghar, Jharkhand, India, established in 1922. It is the oldest institute of Ramakrishna Mission, and used to be visited by brother disciples of Swami Vivekananda. Swami Jayantananda is the present secretary, and Swami Divyasudhananda is the current principal of the school.
Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai is a monastic organisation for those men who were taught into existence by Sri Ramakrishna (1836–1886), a 19th-century saint of Bengal. The motto of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission is: "For one's own salvation, and for the welfare of the world". The math in Chennai is the first branch center of the Ramakrishna Order in Southern India. It was established in 1897 by Swami Ramakrishnananda, one of the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. Besides Swami Ramakrishnananda, the Math was visited by Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Nirmalananda, Swami Shivananda, Swami Abhedananda, Swami Premananda, Swami Niranjanananda, Swami Trigunatitananda, and Swami Vijnanananda.
Swami Yogananda was a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahansa, the 19th-century mystic. He took his formal initiation from Sarada Devi, the "holy mother" of Ramakrishna paramhansa Order and spiritual consort of Ramakrishna. He was the first vice-president of Ramakrishna Mission. He belonged to the family of Sabarna Roy Choudhury, an aristocratic family of erstwhile Bengal. He had a very short life, but he played a very important role during the formative years of Ramakrishna Mission. He was also a dedicated and devoted attendant to Sarada Devi during her stay in Calcutta after Ramakrishna paramhangsha's death. He was one of the disciples whom Ramakrishna paramhangsha referred to as "Iswarakoti" or the "ever perfect soul".
Nirmalananda, born as Tulasi Charan Dutta in Calcutta, was a direct disciple of Ramakrishna, the 19th-century mystic and Hindu saint from India, and took Sanyasa from Vivekananda along with Brahmananda and others. He was initiated by Sri Ramakrishna, on which fact a few latter-day antagonists tried to cast doubt in the Bangalore Court, but into which question the Court refused to get into. Nirmalananda played a key role in establishing Ramakrishna Math and Mission chiefly in South India, in Kerala and Bangalore and Tamil Nadu and also in the USA, Burma and Bangladesh.
Ramakrishna Math and Mission, Bhubaneswar is a monastic organization for men brought into existence by Ramakrishna (1836–1886), a 19th-century saint of Bengal. The motto of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission is: "For one's salvation, and the welfare of the world". Sri Ramakrishna Math, Bhubaneswar is the first branch center of the Ramakrishna Order in Odisha. It was started in the year 1919 by Swami Brahmananda, one of the direct disciples of Ramakrishna. Besides Swami Brahmananda, Math was visited by Swami Shivananda, Swami Premananda, Swami Niranjanananda, and Swami Vijnanananda.
Ramakrishna Sarada Mission Sister Nivedita Girls' School or Sister Nivedita Girls' School is a girls' school at Bagbazar, North Kolkata. It was established by Scottish-Irish social worker, author, speaker and disciple of Swami Vivekananda, Sister Nivedita, in November 1898.
Sri Sarada Math is named after Sri Sarada Devi, the consort of Sri Ramakrishna, and founded on 2 December 1954. Built by a group of eight sadhavis, as per the instructions given by Swami Vivekananda, it serves as a monastic order for women. Headquartered at Dakshineshwar, Kolkata, the organisation has branch centres all over India, in Sri Lanka and Australia. The nuns of this order use the title "Pravrajika" before their ordained name, and are usually addressed as "Mataji" meaning 'revered mother'.
Ramakrishna Mission Shikshanamandira is an autonomous post-graduate degree college and research institute located in Belur, Howrah, West Bengal, near Belur Math, in the Indian state of West Bengal. Established in 1958 by Swami Vimuktanandaji Maharaj as a residential teachers' training college for male students aided by the Government of West Bengal and affiliated to the University of Calcutta (CU), it is recognised by the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) and accredited by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC).
