1.Introduction

Swami Purnananda

It was after the midnight of 15 August 1886 when Sri Ramakrishna dived deep into the ocean of Absolute Consciousness and in mahasamadhi merged into the Eternal Reality casting off his mortal frame aside which he had assumed out of sheer love and compassion for all beings. His immaculately pure corporeal body was consigned to the sacred fire of the funeral pyre. The holy remains were collected in a pitcher as sacred relics. Swami Vivekananda named it as atmaramer kauta in Bengali, which literally means: casket of Atmarama, the Self-Beatified. It is believed in Ramakrishna tradition that this atmaramer kauta is the veritable manifestation of Sri Ramakrishna in which he is ever present. Swami Vivekananda himself staunchly believed so.

On 9 December 1898, Swami Vivekananda himself carried this sacred relic, the atmaramer kauta and installed it in the then newly procured land which now houses the main monastery of the Ramakrishna Order called ‘Belur Math’, the epicentre of the Ramakrishna Movement. After the installation of Sri Ramakrishna’s sacred relics, the atmaramer kauta, Swami Vivekananda declared: “The Master once told me, ‘I will go and live wherever it will be your pleasure to take me, carrying me on your shoulders—be it under a tree or in the humblest cottage.’ With faith in that gracious promise, I myself am now carrying him to the site of our future Math. Know for certain that so long as his name inspires his followers with his ideals of purity, holiness, and loving spirit of charity to all beings, even so long shall he, the Master, sanctify the place with his hallowed presence.” Swamiji added: “It [Belur Math] will be a centre in which will be recognized and practised a grand harmony of all creeds and faiths, as exemplified in the life of Sri Ramakrishna, and only ideas of religion in its universal aspect will be preached. From this centre of universal toleration will go forth the shining message of goodwill and peace and harmony to deluge the whole world.”

At this centre, Belur Math, now stands the Headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. With Belur Math at the centre, the great and ever-widening circle of the affiliated branches of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission emerge as radii encircling the globe. The Ramakrishna Order of monks constitutes the innermost circle of the Ramakrishna Movement and the Order is a vibrant instrument to propagate the universal message of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda. The message of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda is so universal, so full of possibilities, so beneficial to humanity that it cannot be confined to only one channel, tradition or institution. In fact, it has already spread out beyond institutions to become a Global Movement in its own right, which is, “one of the mega-trends of modem history”, as the American historian, Prof. Carl. T. Jackson has put it.

2 The Genesis of the Bhava Prachar Parishad

The lay devotees of Sri Ramakrishna are found scattered in almost all parts of India and in so many parts of the world. Wherever they are, they form groups and start Ashramas, study circles, etc. Many of these institutions have temples dedicated to the Holy Trio. Some of these Ashramas were originally started under the inspiration of some of the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna or their disciples. Most of these Ashramas are managed by lay devotees and they function independent of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. These Ashramas, although not officially considered as branch centres of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, often function in close coordination with the monks of the Ramakrishna Order and they keep contact with the Math and Mission including Belur Math. These non-affiliated Ashramas or ‘non official’ centres are sometimes called ‘Private Centres or Ashramas’. There are hundreds of such Ashramas or institutions in India. They try to follow the ideals and principles of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission according to their understanding and concept, with the guidance of Belur Math and some of the monks of Ramakrishna Order.

The history of the Ramakrishna Movement is full of outstanding examples of selfless and steadfast householder devotees. From the earliest days of the Math and Mission the sustained patronage and financial support of some householder devotees, some of them directly commissioned by Sri Ramakrishna himself in divine visions, helped the monastic brotherhood to carry on the work in spite of tremendous struggles and hardships to overcome serious constraints and resistances, social, political, financial and the like. It is evident that the Ramakrishna Movement is a joint venture of the monastics and the laity. Shortly after his return from the West, on the 1st May 1897, Swami Vivekananda convened a meeting of both sannyasins and householders and formed the ‘Ramakrishna Mission Association’. Swamiji called the householder devotees of the Master to come forward and get involved in this new spiritual movement, which Swamiji felt would shake the spiritual consciousness of the world. The laities, of course, responded from their hearts to the clarion call of Swami Vivekananda.

In his address before the Second Convention of the Math and Mission held in 1980, Swami Vireswaranandaji Maharaj, the tenth President of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, gave a rousing call in the same strain. He exhorted the devotees in these words: “I appeal to all the followers of Sri Ramakrishna to take to the rebuilding of the nation vigorously both individually and by organizing more institutions in various parts of the country, for the work done by the monastics, though much in itself, is yet very little indeed compared to the needs of the country.’ His definition of the Ramakrishna Sangha was wide enough to include the monks, the house-holder devotees and in fact anyone who is sincerely devoted the Ramakrishna Ideal and struggles to live up the teaching of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda. His interpretation that any person sincerely following the teachings of the Holy Trio is a member of the Sangha has broadened the scope of the Ramakrishna Movement and provided impetus to the like-minded people to take active part in the Movement. Really speaking, the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Bhav Prachar Parishad has its genesis in this historic Convention of 1980. It was then that the Ramakrishna Math authorities conceived the idea of this idea. The devotees of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda had started Ashramas in various parts of India more or less on the same line as our affiliated branch centres. Some of them were very well organized, were constantly in touch with and taking guidance from the nearby Math and Mission Centres. Others too were trying to organize their centres on the model of the centres of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. What specially struck the Belur Math authorities was their large number. They realized that these independent centres constituted a great potential force which, if properly guided and handled, would vastly strengthen the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Movement. Swami Vivekananda knew that it was quite impossible for a handful of monastic members of the Ramakrishna Order to reach every nook and corner of world, even in India, to spread the immortal message of Sri Ramakrishna. Hence the necessity to take up the work of expansion by people who were like-minded and who were capable of assimilating and disseminating the universal ideas of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda throughout the world. This expansion must not be confined to individuals alone but should accommodate all such organizations with the similar ideology of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda.

Over the course of time, quite naturally, these so-called ‘private centres’ scattered all over the country eagerly desire to seek formal affiliation by Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. But it has not been possible to fulfill their wish within a short span of time, although some of them have slowly and over a period of time, received formal affiliation. For, among the other reasons, taking over of these centres would require a large member of competent monastic hands and the Ramakrishna Order does not presently have such a large number of monastic work force.

3 Formation of the Bhava Prachar Parishad

In order to guide these so-called ‘private centres’ or unaffiliated institutions and keep them in tune with the ideas and ideals of Sri Ramakrishna, the concept of Ramakrishna- Vivekananda Bhava Prachar Parishad originated. Hundreds of such institutions are strewn everywhere even in the remote areas of India. They are independently managed and maintained by the lay devotees and admirers of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda ideology. Through such institution it has been possible for the Ramakrishna Movement reach remote parts of India and in principle could reach every nook and corner of the country. They could be made the outer and larger circle of the Movement to spread the message of The Holy Trio and usher a new spiritual culture in society at large based on the Ramakrishna Mission motto given by Swami Vivekananda: atmano mokshar- tham jagaddhitaya cha, “for one’s own salvation and for the welfare of the world”.

Keeping this idea in view, the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Bhava Prachar Parishad was formed with the so-called ‘private centres’ or institutions of such kind in India. The Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, without getting officially involved in the internal administration and management of these institutions, provide them the necessary guidance and advice to keep them in tune with the ideals of the Ramakrishna Movement. The two great mantras in this respect by Swami Vivekananda and Sri Ramakrishna respectively, namely, atmano mokshartham jagaddhitaya cha, and shiva-jnane jiva seva (service to beings as worship of God).

4 Constitution of the Bhava Prachar Parishad

After the Second Convention of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission in 1980, the Convention Follow-up Programme Committee (CFPC) considered suggestions from the eminent and learned monks of Ramakrishna Order to chalk out an action plan for the formation of an umbrella organization subsuming the so-called ‘private centres’ and institutions work with the same ideology of Ramakrishna Mission. This umbrella organization was named ‘Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Bhava Prachar Parishad’ which could be translated as ‘Organization to propagate the message of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda’. The Trustees of Ramakrishna Math, Belur, approved of the formation of this Parishad at their meeting on 23 July 1981. The Convention Follow-up Programme Committee was renamed as ‘Ramakrishna Bhava Prachar Committee’. Under the overall guidance of this Committee at the Headquarters, coordinating committees of lay devotees, called Bhava Prachar Parishads, were formed in the different states of the country. A Bhava Prachar Parishad is a representative body. Each Parishad is formed by two representatives from each non-affiliated centre in the area. Those representatives are the elected members from the Managing Committees of the respective member-Ashramas of the Parishads. Each Parishad has a President and one or more Vice-Presidents, who are monks appointed by the General Secretary of the Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math. Apart from the President and the Vice-President, each Parishad has a Convener, one or more Joint-Convenors and a group of zonal coordinators. The members of each Parishad elect their Convener, Joint-Convenors and Zonal Coordinators in any of their Parishad Conferences.

 5  Functions of the Bhava Prachar Parishad

Every Bhava Prachar Parishad has three main functions:

1. To provide liaison between monks and lay devotees, that is, between the Central Bhava Prachar Committee at the Headquarters and the ‘Private Ashramas’ in the respective areas.

2. To coordinate the work of the ‘Private Ashramas’ of the area and provide a common forum for those centres to discuss their problems and exchange their views.

3. To act as a facilitator by keeping an overall watch over the work of the ‘Private Ashramas’ under it and to help them to function strictly in tune with the ideals and principles of the Ramakrishna Movement. The Apex Committee called the Central Bhava Prachar Committee (CBPC) at Belur Math has formulated a ‘Model Constitution’ for the Parishad and a charter containing ‘10-point guidelines’ for the member-ashramas of the Parishad to follow.

6 Activities of the Bhava Prachar Parishad

The member-Ashramas or institutions working under the umbrella of the Ramakrishna Vivekananda Bhava Prachar Parishad conduct multifarious humanitarian activities similar to those conducted by the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, such as, running schools, coaching centres, dispensaries, health care units, mobile medical units, rural development work, etc. They also undertake relief work during calamities and assist Ramakrishna Mission’s relief work in various areas. By these activities, all sections of people are benefited, especially people of different tribes, weaker and backward communities. Special attention is given to the youths, the future generation of the country, by imparting training in character building, value education, service orientation in all activities, love for the motherland, particularly the under-privileged and marginalized sections, etc. Swami Vivekananda’s ideal of Be and make is the guiding principle in all these youth activities. Further, there are Ashramas run exclusively by women. Such Ashramas focus especially on women’s welfare activities like prenatal and postnatal health care and hygiene for the expectant mothers, education, self-employment schemes, etc. Broadly speaking, the field of activities of any Parishad may be divided into four categories:

a. Spiritual and Religious activities

b. Youth programmes

c. Women’s Welfare programmes, and

d. Other essential services of philanthropic nature

These activities are further elaborated below.

1. Spiritual and Religious activities:

i. Daily worship in shrines or temples

ii. Special worship during religious festivals like Durga Puja, Kali Puja etc. Creating facilities and the ambience for regular spiritual practices like Japa and meditation by the devotees and adherents

iii. Religious discourses and classes on the various scriptures like the Gita, Bhagavatam, Upanishads, etc.

iv. Discussions and classes on the lives of Sri Ramakrishna, the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda, the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, Prophets of world religions and other spiritual personalities of various traditions, etc.

v. Publication of booklets, souvenirs, brochures etc.

vi. Youth conventions, Devotees’ conventions, conferences etc., with monks of the Ramakrishna Order participating

2. Youth Programmes:

i. Youth rally, Conventions, Youth-day observation etc

ii. Youth leadership Training

iii. Vocational and Self Help Training

iv. Character-building camps

v. Service programmes especially for the masses, rural people, etc.

3. Women’s Welfare:

Crafts and Cottage Industry Training

Self-help programme

Adult education and Literacy programmes

Health and hygiene programmes, Pre- and post-natal programmes, etc.

4. Service activities among the masses:

i. Educational activities: Imparting general education through schools (high, higher secondary and primary) and coaching classes. Students’ hostels, Vocational and Craft training, Training in Poultry, Animal husbandry, Agronomy, Horticulture and other allied subjects etc.

ii. Relief and Rehabilitation activities—regular and occasional—during natural and social crises and disasters.

iii. Medical activities: Health, Hygiene, Medical Services through Dispensaries, Mobile units, Medical camps, Health and Hygiene awareness camps, ‘keep-your- area-clean’ programmes, etc.

iv. Other schemes to ameliorate the socio-economical condition of the poor and the tribal folk, scheduled castes, hill-dwellers and other under-privileged people in various ways.

At present, there are 24 Parishads in India with 865 Ashramas as their members. The following chart gives the details of these Parishads.

7 Ramakrishna - Vivekananda Bhava - Prachar Parishads

Sl.No.             Parishad Name             Parishad State/Zone Parishad                 Starting Date                     #of Member- Ashramas

1.Andhra Pradesh Parishad      Andhra Pradesh                 31.03.1991                                                   99

2. Bihar & Jharkhand Parishad   Bihar & Jharkhand                        1989                                                 25

3. Gujarat Parishad                            Gujarat                         13.02.1994                                                    23

4. Kerala Parishad                              Kerala                         07.05.2008                                                     16

5.Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh Parishad  Madhya Pradesh & Chattisgarh  1987                             21

6. Maharashtra Parishad                  Maharashtra               Nov. 1987                                                       24

7.Orissa Parishad                                  Orissa                      30.03.1991                                                     28

8.Rajasthan Parishad                       Rajasthan                     23.02.2006                                                     14

9.Tamil Nadu Parishad                     Tamil Nadu                  07.11.2009                                                     12

10.Tripura Parishad                           Tripura                          27.08.1983                                                      55

11.Uttarakhand Parishad                   Uttarakhand               12.03.2006                                                        7

12.Uttar Paschimanchal Parishad     Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, J&K   12.03.2006               10

13.Uttar Pradesh Parishad                Uttar Pradesh              12.03.2006                                                      25

14.Uttar Purbanchal Parishad  Arunachal, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya & Nagaland  10.04.1984        55

15.Burdwan-Bankura- Purulia Parishad (W.B.) Burdwan, Bankura & Purulia Districts in WB 04.07.1990 59

16. Hooghly Zila Parishad (W.B.)  Hooghly District, West Bengal   25.08.1984                                           77

17. Howrah Parishad (W.B.)                Howrah District,West Bengal   03.12.2000                                       28

18.Kolkata Parishad (W.B.)                   Kolkata, West Bengal                  Nov.1994                                        26

19.

Madhya Banga Parishad (W.B.)

Murshidabad, Birbhum, Nadia, adjoining areas of North 24Pgs. & Burdwan in West Bengal and Pakur area in Jharkhand

11.06.1989

48

20.

Medinipur Parishad (W.B.)

Purba Medinipur & Paschim Medinipur Districts in West Bengal

05.04.1998

58

21.North 24-Pgs. Parishad (W.B.)      North 24-Parganas District, West Bengal   11.02.1990                     54

22. South 24-Pgs. Parishad (W.B.)     South 24-Parganas District, West Bengal        1990                          31

23.Sundarban Parishad (W.B.)    Part of North 24-Parganas District in West Bengal  30.09.2000            28

24. Uttaranchal Parishad              Cooch Behar, Dinajpur, Jalpaiguri Districts in West Bengal and a few adjoining districts of Assam, Bihar & Nepal     10.12.1983                                                                               42

    Total:   865

Note: The member-Ashramas are not branch centres of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission.

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Practice is absolutely necessary. You may sit down and listen to me by the hour every day, but if you do not practise, you will not get one step further. It all depends on practice. We never understand these things until we experience them. We will have to see and feel them for ourselves. Simply listening to explanations and theories will not do.

Swami Vivekananda 

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