Ramakrishna Mission
- Related People:
- Vivekananda
Ramakrishna Mission, Hindu religious society that carries out extensive educational and philanthropic work in India and expounds a modern version of Advaita Vedanta—a school of Indian philosophy—in Western countries. It and its sister organization, the Ramakrishna Math, constitute two different but related branches of the Ramakrishna Order.
The society was founded near Calcutta (now Kolkata) by Vivekananda in 1897 with a twofold purpose: to spread the teachings of Vedanta as embodied in the life of the Hindu saint Ramakrishna (1836–86) and to improve the social conditions of the Indian people. Ramakrishna, as a direct result of his own spiritual experiences with various religious disciplines, including Christianity and Islam, fully endorsed the Hindu tenet that all religions are paths to the same goal. In his lifetime there grew about him a small but devoted band of disciples, among whom the young Narendranath Datta (who later took the name Vivekananda) was outstanding and was chosen by Ramakrishna as his successor. These disciples were also the nucleus of the Ramakrishna math (“monastery”) established at Belur, on the banks of the Ganges near Calcutta, and consecrated in 1898. The Sri Sarada Math, begun in Calcutta in 1953, was made a completely separate organization in 1959, following the earlier wishes of Vivekananda; together with its sister organization, the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, it operates a number of centres in different parts of India. Several Ramakrishna Mission centres specifically serving women were turned over to the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission.
The Vedanta Society of the City of New York, incorporated in 1898, is the oldest branch of the Ramakrishna Mission in the United States. It grew out of classes held by Vivekananda while on a visit to the United States to speak before the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions in Chicago.
In the early 21st century more than 20 branches were operating in the United States, and there were also centres in Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Fiji, France, Germany, Japan, Malaysia, Mauritius, the Netherlands, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. In India mission centres carry on various philanthropic activities, including medical service, educational work, publications, and relief work.