rkmramharipur: RKM RAMHARIPUR - Activites

Activities

Commemoration of 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda from 2010 to 2014. The major events are discussed below:

GAP: 2 units of Gadadhar Abhyudaya Prakalpa were started in 2010 and still running on and will continue up to January 2014. 200 children are served under these 2 units.
VSPP: 5 units of Vivekananda Swasthya Parisheva Prakalpa were started in 2010 and are still running on will continue up to January 2014. 500 children are taken care of under these 5 units.
VSC: 123 Vivekananda Study Circles till now were opened in different parts of the Bankura district.
Nari Siksha O Sachetanata Sivir (Awareness Camp for Women): started in May 2013, one camp in every month is conducted.
Help in kinds for Widows: started in April 2013. Every month 10 kgs of rice and Rs 50/- are given to each of them.
Special Programmes at ‘Srijani’ Auditorium in Durgapur in 2012 and 2013: In 2012 a public meeting and a music concert were held at Durgapur on 25 November, which were attended by 1300 people on ticket to the highest capacity of the auditorium.
Santal Narayan Seva in 2012: We know that a group of Santal men and women were engaged to clear and level the grounds of the newly established Belur Math. One day at the outset of the last year of his life, that is, in 1902 Swamiji fed them with many kinds of tasty and delicious dishes and entertained them with all love and kindness.

After these totally illiterate and utterly poor Santal people were served sumptuously, Swamiji said to them, “You are Narayanas; today I have entertained the Lord Himself by feeding you!”

A humble imitation of this great memorable event in the life of Swamiji was repeated by Swamiji’s admirers and devotees under the auspices of the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Ramharipur, in connection with 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda on the holy birthday of Srimat Swami Adbhutanandaji Maharaj, 25 February 2013 at 12-00 noon.

Revered Srimat Swami Vagishanandaji Maharaj, Head of Ramakrishna Math, Cossipore, Kolkata and a Trustee of the Ramakrishna Math and a Member of the Governing Body of the Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math graced the occasion by his holy presence. A good number of devotees were present to witness the function.

151 Santals from 6 villages were invited at Ramharipur Ashrama. They came and they were served with noon food. Again, they were entertained with one piece of dhoti/saree, bathing soap, hair oil etc. To each of them was given the sum of Rs. 100/-

Current Activities:

a. Temple and its Services :

At the centre of a large area of 50 acres surrounded with all greens, there stands a small temple where Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna is worshipped daily. Every evening Arati is conducted. Daily prayers coupled with songs and bhajans and holy readings by the students of the hostel are conducted both in the morning and evening. In the list of annual celebrations are included three-day long annual celebrations dedicated to holy Trio, Shivaratri, Christmas Eve, Sri Krishna-janmashtami, Buddha-purnima, Ratha-yatra etc.

On all these occasions and also on every Sunday religious discourses are held.

People irrespective of caste or creed, high or low, from the places far and near, attend these holy religious observances whole-heartedly and draw peace and solace to heart’s content.

b. Moral and Spiritual Education : On invitation monks go to the many towns and villages of Durgapur, Bardhaman,, Raniganj, Amarkanan, Sonamukhi etc to deliver classes and lectures.

c. A High School and a Junior Basic School : 1070 students are there in the high school and 130 students in the Junior Basic School.

d. A Students’ Home : In the students’ home, housed in two buildings 150 students stay in a free & healthy, clean & quiet and green & beautiful environment. A team of monastic as well as lay efficient persons are engaged to constantly watch and guide them for their physical, educational, intellectual, moral and spiritual development.

A few students of SC, ST and OBC stay here and derive a little freedom from the financial load.

e. A Charitable Dispensary : A homeopath and three allopath doctors in a month come regularly and visit patients at the charitable dispensary. Sometimes a team of eye-specialists come and conduct eye test at a camp. Medical camps on other kinds of ailments are here held occasionally. The dispensary building, after its construction nearly two decades ago, needs badly to be renovated and also extended.

f. Dairy : There exists a dairy and on an average 120 litters of milk is daily produced.

g. Gardens and Orchards : The ashrama looks extremely beautiful for its fruits’ orchards and flowers’ gardens sprawled over a large area.

h. Children’s Zoo : Children are always found in small crowds in front of the children’s zoo.

Rural Services:

a. Students Welfare : Besides the students referred above, 80 local poor students are served with free coaching, food, uniforms, study materials and stipends regularly at the Ashrama campus.

b. Free Coaching Centre : More than a hundred poor students are given free coaching in the villages. They are provided with physical trainings, singings bhajans, Bratachari singing and dance, and moral and spiritual trainings.

c. Non-formal Education Centre : Adult men and women (about 180 in number) are educated non-formally at 5 village centers.

d. Pecuniary Help : Pecuniary helps are done for various purposes like cloths, blankets, physical treatment, construction of huts, funeral as well as Shraddha rites, towards poor and needy people with.

e. ‘Stand on Your own Feet’ Project : Self-help programme is still running on in a limited manner.

f. Free Distribution of Milk : 250 ml of milk is given to each of 900 children and mothers of 10 villages daily.

g. Ramakrishna-Vivekananda & Vedanta Literature : A book stall just behind the temple is maintained to serve the people with the books on the life-giving and also inspiring ideals and ideas of Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda.

More than 700 issues of the monthly Bengali journal called ‘Udbodhan’ are distributed to the subscribers from this Ashrama.