An international seminar was held in New Delhi to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of the Ramakrishna Mission

Dilip Guha, New Delhi: The New Delhi branch of the Ramakrishna Mission, organised an international seminar to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Ramakrishna Mission on Friday 4th Aug 2023 at its premises. Few distinguished speakers and dignitaries addressed the audience at the event.

Swami Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and Mission at Belur on the outskirts of Kolkata on May 1, 1897, with funds he raised from his Western followers.

Since its beginning, The Ramakrishna Mission has been spreading the message of peace and harmony, equality of mankind and acceptance of all religions as true in pursuance of the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda.

Sticking to its central principle of worshipping God by serving humanity, the Mission has been engaged in relief activities during natural calamities, health care, education, disaster management, rural development, poverty alleviation, self-employment, empowerment of women as well as rural and tribal uplift (from the Maoist belt of Chhattisgarh to Arunachal Pradesh). Today, it is spread across 270 branches in India and overseas (from Fiji and Mauritius to the US).

Dr Karan Singh, former Union minister who was the chief guest for the event, expressed his admiration for the Mission’s steadfastness and dedication to its principles. He emphasised the relevance of the mission in the wake of today’s global challenges.

Dwelling on the current global challenges, citing the ongoing conflicts and violence in different parts of the world, from Manipur and Haryana in India to Ukraine and Russia, Sudan, and Niger, he pointed out that the world is grappling with strife despite advances in technology and knowledge

On this occasion, he said, “The world is going through difficult times of unrest and strife like in Ukraine, Sudan, Manipur etc and it is imperative to follow inter-faith harmony and tread the philosophy of Vedanta which is important in today’s day and age. “He also added, “Hinduism is a tolerant religion with multi forms of the one divine. It is very important to respect each other’s faith and accept each other in our different beliefs”.

Echoing Dr Singh’s viewpoint, Swami Suvirananda, General Secretary of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math, emphasised the need to follow the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, and Swami Vivekananda on the path to global peace and harmony during these turbulent times of transition.

Swami Shantatmananda, Secretary of Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Institute of Values, Gurugram said “The Ramakrishna Mission ‘s dedication to serving humanity is rooted in the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna Sarda Maa and Swami Vivekananda, which advocate peace, harmony, and acceptance of all religions as true”.

The seminar’s attendees represented a diverse group of scholars and dignitaries, including Swami Sarvalokananda, Secretary of Ramakrishna Mission, New Delhi; Dr Kazi Nurul Islam, Founding Chair of the Department of World Religions and Culture at Dhaka University, Bangladesh; Swami Satyamayananda, Head of Vedanta Society, Seattle (USA); and Dr Liliana Malkova from Ramakrishna Mission Society Vedanta Centre, Moscow (Russia), who joined via Video conferencing.

As the Ramakrishna Mission celebrates its 125th anniversary, it reiterates its commitment to strive for a better world, guided by its spiritual heritage. The New Delhi Centre plans to continue the commemoration with a Youth Conference and a National Level Seminar scheduled for September and October 2023, respectively.