Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama | |
Type: | Religious organisation |
Coords: | 27.5721°N 77.6942°W |
Headquarters: | India |
Affiliations: | Neo-Vedanta |
Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama is a branch of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission involved in providing humanitarian, healthcare, education and relief services to poor and needy through the universal principle of serving "God in man", based on the motto, Atmano Moksartham Jagat Hitaya Cha, which was propounded by Swami Vivekananda.[1]
The oldest Sevashramas were Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service, in Varanasi, established by Kedarnath Moullik (Swami Achalananda) and Charu Chandra Das (Swami Subhananda), the two monastic disciples of Swami Vivekananda in 1900,[2] Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama, Kankhal, established by Swami Kalyanananda and Swami Nischayananda, the two monastic disciples of Swami Vivekananda in 1901,[3] Ramakrishna Mission Sevashram in Vrindavan, established under Babu Jajneswar Chunder with his own son and Bramachari Harendra Nath of Belur Math in 1907,[4] Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama Allahabad, established by Swami Vijnanananda in 1910.[5] Subsequently, other centers were established in different places which include -Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama Silchar in Assam,
Centers in Bangladesh include Dhaka (founded in 1899), Barisal (1904), Narayanganj (1909), Baliati at Manikganj (1910), Sylhet (1916), Chittagong (1921), Faridpur (1921), Habiganj (1921), Mymensingh (1922), Dinajpur (1923), Bagerhat (1926), and Comilla (1936).[7] [8] [9]
The primary work undertaken by all Sevashramas is in the area of providing basic and advanced healthcare facilities to poor and needy at affordable costs, through the hospitals under their wings. All sevashramas work as their key principle service to the mankind irrespective of religion, caste and creed, in line with the philosophy of Vedanta of looking upon every human being as the manifestation of the divine as propounded by Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda.[10] In addition some Sevashramas also offer educational, humanitarian (like relief and rehabilitation) and spiritual services.