Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission

Ramakrishna Math is a monastic order for men brought into existence by Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886), the great 19th century saint Of Bengal who is regarded as the Prophet of the Modern Age.

Ramakrishna Mission is a registered society in which monks of Ramakrishna Math and lay devotees cooperate in conducting various types of social service mainly in India. It was founded by Sri Ramakrishna's chief disciple and religious leader Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902), who is regarded as 'one of the main moulders of the modern world', in the words of an eminent Western scholar.

These organisations have set in motion a non-sectarian, universal spiritual movement, which has been silently working for more than a hundred years to catalyze the spiritual regeneration of humanity. The chief catalyst in this ongoing transformation is India's ancient religious philosophy known as Vedanta. Although several other systems of philosophy arose in India at different times, they were confined to small groups. Vedanta alone has remained the dominant philosophy of lndia's religious tradition from Vedic times to the present day. In modern times this ancient system of thought has been purified, unified and energised by Sri Ramakrishna, and expounded in the modern idiom by Swami Vivekananda and thus made available to all people all over the world without any distinctions of caste, creed or race.

The Ramakrishna Math

Under the inspiration of Sri Ramakrishna, a monastic brotherhood by name Ramakrishna Math was started at a dilapidated building in Baranagore, in north Kolkata. It was later moved to a better building in Alambazar, Kolkata. With the funds provided by a Western follower of Swami Vivekananda, a big plot of land was acquired on the western bank of the Ganga at a place called Belur, and the monastery was finally shifted there on 2 January 1899.

It became a registered institution by name "Ramakrishna Math'' when, on 30 January 1901, Swamiji executed a Deed of Trust, and vested the power of its administration in a Board of Trustees consisting entirely of monks. Branches of Ramakrishna Math soon came to be founded in different parts of the country.

Although rooted in the three-thousand-year-old monastic tradition of India, and forming a part of the Ten Orders (dashanami) established by Shankaracharya in the 8th century A.D., the Ramakrishna Order represents a new pattern of monastic life, which combines some of the best elements of the monastic traditions of the East and the West. One of the main features of this new pattern of monastic life is the emphasis on service. All monks of the Ramakrishna Order when they are ordained as Brahmacharins (novices) take, apart from the vows of chastity and poverty, a vow of service to the poor, the sick and the ignorant. The Ramakrishna Math centres are meant not only for the dwelling of monks but also for service to society.

Another feature of this new pattern of monastic life is its modern outlook. The emphasis is on inner purity and detachment rather than on outer show. The monks wear tailored garments, live in houses with modern amenities and use modern modes of communication and travel.

Thirdly, the life of the monks, both individual and collective, is governed by definite rules and regulations originally framed by Swami Vivekananda. At present only unmarried young men in the age-group 18-30 are admitted as preprobationers. After one year of preprobationership and four years of probationership, the seeker is ordained a Brahmacharin and, after a further period of four years, if found fit, he is ordained a Sannyasin and receives a new monastic name.

Another feature of Ramakrishna Math is its universal outlook. It admits into its monastic fold not only people belonging to different castes of Hinduism but also people belonging to other religions. Not only Indians from various regions speaking different languages, but also Americans, South Americans, Russians, Japanese, and people of other nationalities - all live together in peace in Ramakrishna monasteries like children of the same parents.

This is the miracle that Sri Ramakrishna has brought about. He was a great lover of mankind. His love knew no distinctions of caste, creed or race. It is his love that is holding the whole monastic Order together. People join Ramakrishna monasteries not merely because of their attraction for monastic vocation but also because of their love for Sri Ramakrishna. Devotion to Sri Ramakrishna is yet another distinctive feature of the new type of monasticism of Ramakrishna Math.

The Ramakrishna Mission

Unlike the Ramakrishna Math, which is a purely monastic institution, the Ramakrishna Mission is a public Association or Society open to monks as well as lay people. Any person who has faith in Sri Ramakrishna and his message and is in sympathy with the ideals and activities of the Ramakrishna Mission is eligible for its membership. Lay people help the monks in running educational, medical and other types of institutions. The Ramakrishna Mission was registered as a Society on 4 May 1909, which too has branches allover India, and in some other countries.

A Board of Trustees administers the Ramakrishna Math. The Board of Trustees has an elected President, one or more Vice-presidents, a General Secretary, one or more Assistant Secretaries and a Treasurer. The Ramakrishna Mission is administered by a Governing Body, which is composed of the Trustees of Ramakrishna Math. The headquarters of Ramakrishna Math at Belur (popularly known as Belur Math) itself serves as the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission.

All letters regarding administrative matters of the Math or Mission are to be addressed to the General Secretary, who functions as the chief executive. A branch centre of Ramakrishna Math has as its head a President appointed by the Trustees. A Managing Committee appointed by the Governing Body of Ramakrishna Mission governs a branch centre of Ramakrishna Mission. The Secretary of this Committee functions as the head of that branch.

Suggested Readings to know more about the Ramakrishna Order