Dedicated to contemplative life and philanthropic services

Dhaka's Ramakrishna Mission, branch of the Ramakrishna Mission established in India inspired by the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, Hindu reformer and humanist. He believed that all religions are true and that each person can approach God in his or her own way. He stressed that human beings are essentially divine and that it is better to make positive efforts for progress than to grieve over sin and moral lapses. Swami Vivekananda, a leading disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, established Ramakrishna Mission on May 1, 1897 at Belur Math, Howrah, India, to preach Ramakrishna's philosophy.

The Ramakrishna Mission, Dhaka, which was set up in 1899, is one of 141 branches of the Ramakrishna Order. Like the other branches, it is devoted to the twin ideals of contemplative life and social service. There is a beautiful temple dedicated to Sri Ramakrishna as well as a well-equipped library for all categories of readers, including research scholars. Other centres in Bangladesh include those at Barisal (1904), Narayanganj (1909), Baliati in Manikganj (1910), Sylhet (1916), Faridpur (1921), Habiganj (1921), Mymensingh (1922), Dinajpur (1923), and Bagerhat (1926). It also has a medical section which started functioning in 1913, with the help of Nawab Sir Khwaja Salimullah.

        

The Ramakrishna Mission is open to people of all faiths. It observes Hindu religious festivals such as Durga Puja, including the attractive Kumari Puja, Kali Puja, and Saraswati Puja as well as important Muslim, Buddhist and Christian festivals. All Ramakrishna Mission centres arrange seminars and discussions on various topics of interest and invite scholars from different fields and belonging to different faiths for the purpose. A week-long festival is organised by the Dhaka centre in

Februaryon the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna on the occasion of his birth anniversary. The philanthropic activities of Ramakrishna Mission depend entirely on donations from the government as well as the general public.

The Ramakrishna Mission is not just a social service organization. It is essentially a spiritual organisation with a social philosophy and social commitment. All its activities are carried on in the spirit of worship as, according to Ramakrishna, it is not just compassion that is important but rather service to human beings who are a manifestation of God.

Swami Akshrananda, Chief of Ramakrishna Mission, Dhaka told The Dhaka Calling that the Mission's activities are for all humankind irrespective of caste, creed or nationality. The philanthropic activities include relief, school, educational help and medical service, cultural and religious festivals attended by people of all faith.

Sri Ramakrishna was born on 18 February, 1836 in a Brahmin family of modest means in the village of Kamarpukur in Hughli district. His parents, Khudiram Chattopadhyaya and Chandra Devi, named him Gadadhar, one of the names of Lord Vishnu, although he came to be known eventually as 'Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa', his monastic name.

A gifted child with a prodigious memory, Sri Ramakrishna had little formal education. He learnt from his father hymns addressed to the divinities, from village kathaks or story tellers the stories of the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Purana's, and from Puri-bound passing holy men sacred lore. During his 12-year-long tapasya (meditation), he had two other teachers, Bhairavi Brahmoni and Totapuri, from who he learnt Tantric sadhana and Vedantic sadhana respectively. He also learnt the Vaisnava mode of sadhana. Not content with the Hindu ways of sadhana, Sri Ramakrishna practiced Islam and Christianity. He did not fit the role of the traditional ascetic and neither looked nor dressed like them. He also married a woman named Sarada Devi, whom he actually worshipped as a goddess. He tried to unite all religions by showing that the realisation of God was the only goal of life and that different religions were only different paths leading to the same ultimate goal, God.

Sri Ramakrishna died in August 1886, leaving behind a group of dedicated young

sannyasin disciples who later organised themselves into the Ramakrishna Order, the chief of whom was Narendranath Datta, later famous as Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902).