HYDERABAD: “The world is a great gymnasium where we come to make ourselves strong.” - Swami Vivekananda. By 1893, revolutionary leader and philanthropist, Swami Vivekananda had successfully spread the sacred principles of his school of thought, which originated from the profound teachings of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, in the West.
The idea of the Ramakrishna Mission, Swami Vivekananda’s brainchild, struck from a mere question the monk asked the dismayed Indians desiring freedom from British rule, “Where are the men to sacrifice in order to achieve freedom?” He had a vision, a vision of unity amidst diversity. His quest to see a world free from apathy and men with excellence was so strong that his value system is still deeply instilled in the walls of the Ramakrishna Math in Hyderabad, after nearly 121 years of his death.
The Ramakrishna Mission offers a variety of services in areas such as health, development, and human excellence. Swami Bodhamayananda, the director of the Vivekananda Institute of Human Excellence, and a devoted worker of the mission and a core believer of Swami Vivekananda, had dedicated his life to the mission 40 years ago.
When asked about what sets the mission apart from other prominent NGOs, Swami Bodhamayananda emphasized, “When a beggar extends his hand to you asking for money, instead of giving him money, ponder on why a fellow human is suffering while you’re in a privileged position. Our approach is not charity; it’s about empowering individuals to help themselves and others.”
Close to 500 students enroll in the Personality Development course the organization offers at a nominal fee of just Rs 250. Additionally, the organization provides opportunities to master various Indian and foreign languages, including English, French, Spanish, German, and, of course, Sanskrit.
An active volunteer of the Ramakrishna Mission, Sarvi Ramwani, who currently works at Deloitte said that the Personality Development course extends far beyond yoga or meditation and inculcates a value system that automatically arouses one to stress on the need to treat everything around themselves sensitively.
“I still remember how I was made to place my footwear in the right place. And if needed, even place the footwear of others since they stress upon service the most. Kids below 15 years of age were made to wash their dishes on their own. This practice has made me self-reliant and also sensitive towards my coworkers,” she said.
Nearly 300 people visit the Primary Healthcare Centre that Ramakrishna Math owns. From general physical health issues to the much-forbidden Oncology, the doctors at the Math allow primary consultation at a fee as meager as Rs 500. A woman named Kaneez, who was waiting to meet a gynecologist said, “The doctors here are now like our family doctors.”
All the centers of the Ramakrishna Mission work together for the GRAMASRI program which comprises visiting nearby villages and carrying out medical and youth camps. “We have together established around 100 RO plants across 100 villages, with the aim of providing cleaner and better water to the impoverished at a price of just Rs 2 to Rs 3,” Swami Bodhmayananda said.
Despite the unabated groundwork workers of the Ramakrishna Mission do, they still extend their credit to the foundational work their ‘Guru’ Swami Vivekananda had done, which has inspired them to set a goal to end human misery not just in their own country, but the entire world.