An apostle remembered
| The 142nd birth anniversary of Swami Ramakrishnananda, founder, Ramakrishna Mission, was celebrated yesterday. A tribute by Swami Deshikatmananda. THE RAMAKRISHNA Math and Mission has blazed a new trail worshipping God in and through man. The one who worked these innovations tirelessly in the South for fourteen long years sacrificing everything in the name of his guru Sri Ramakrishna was Swami Ramakrishnananda, lovingly addressed as Sashi Maharaj. The seed that he had sown has grown into a huge banyan tree providing relief and light to countless people. When he came across a weeping orphan from Coimbatore, he became very sad and asked Ramu and Ramanujam, his devoted young friends to start an orphanage. The orphanage that was started for a few orphan children in 1905 is now a big students' home sheltering 400 children. It was in 1897 when Swami Vivekananda thrilled the citizens of the then Madras presidency by his resounding lectures, that he was requested to send one of his brother-disciples to establish a Math in Madras for carrying on religious and philanthropic activities. In deference to the wishes of the people, Swamiji replied "I shall send you one who is more orthodox than your most orthodox men of the South and who is at the same time unique and unsurpassed in his worship and meditation of God." Accordingly, the next steamer from Calcutta brought Swami Ramakrishnananda along with Swami Sadananda to assist him in his work. They were put up in a hired house in Triplicane. Thus Sri Ramakrishna Math was inaugurated to herald the coming of glad tidings all over South India. The primary school, which he opened in George Town, provided the initial impetus for the opening of various educational institutions. The spreading of Ramakrishna Math & Mission is rock-based on Sashi maharaj's insistence on worshipping Sri Ramakrishna's photo as a living presence in the accepted tradition. He impressed upon the monastic brothers and devotees that every action in the shrine or outside is service to God. Well versed in Sanskrit he was an erudite scholar of Eastern and Western Philosophies as well. His lectures are compiled and published in book form, notable among them are `The message of Eternal wisdom', `Sri Krishna, the Pastoral and King maker', `For Thinkers on Education' and `Path to perfection'. He laid firm foundations to make the Sri Ramakrishna Math at Chennai to become the biggest publishing centre of the Ramakrishna order. (The author is a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Order) |
