Our Inspiration

The great world-teacher and incarnation of divinity, who taught the universality of religion, the motherhood of God and the mystical path of love, Sri Ramakrishna is considered by many as the central force behind the spiritual awakening of this age. Through his extraordinary purity, devotion, unprecedented spiritual disciplines and experiences, Sri Ramakrishna unleashed a spiritual current of grace, making the divine mystery accessible to all.

Contribution of Sri Ramakrishna to the World

Spiritual Ideal: One of the major contributions of Sri Ramakrishna is the re-establishment of the ideal of God realization in the modern world. Sri Ramakrishna established the possibility of having direct experience of transcendental Reality. His life has enabled thousands of people to regain faith in God. As Mahatma Gandhi has stated: “His (Ramakrishna’s) life enables us to see God face to face. No one can read the story of his life without being convinced that God alone is real and that all else is an illusion.”

Harmony of Religions: The well-known dictum of Sri Ramakrishna ‘As many faiths, so many paths’ helped in understanding that all religions are true and valid paths to reach God. Therefore, Sri Ramakrishna is the first religious luminary who is known for propagating the Harmony of Religions. He showed that, in spite of differences, all religions lead to the same ultimate goal. The uniqueness of Sri Ramakrishna’s view is that it was based, not on speculation, but on direct experience gained through actual practice. Since conflicts among religions and the rise of religious fundamentalism are a major threat to the peace, prosperity and progress of humanity, Sri Ramakrishna’s doctrine of harmony of religions has immense importance in the modern world.

Bridge between the ancient and the modern: Sri Ramakrishna is the fundamental link between the ancient and the modern. He showed how the ancient ideals and experiences could be realized even while following the normal modern way of life.

Revitalizing ethical life: Sri Ramakrishna’s emphasis on truthfulness and renunciation of lust and greed has given a great boost to ethical life in modern times. He also cleansed religious life of immoral practices, external pomp and miracle mongering.

Divinization of love: Sri Ramakrishna elevated love from the level of emotions to the level of the unity of all Selves in God. Oneness of the Supreme Self and its immanence in all beings is the central idea of the Upanishads, but it was seldom applied in practical life. Sri Ramakrishna saw the Divine in his wife, in his disciples, in others, even in fallen women, and treated them all with respect. Divinization of love and human relationships is yet another contribution of Sri Ramakrishna which has immense significance for the welfare of humanity.

Endearingly known as ‘Holy Mother’, Sri Sarada Devi, the spiritual consort of Sri Ramakrishna is one of the notable women saints and mystics of the nineteenth century. She paved the way for the future generation of women to take up monastic way of life. In fact, Sri Sarada Math and the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission situated at Dakshineswar is based on the ideals and life of Sri Sarada Devi. She also played a vital role in the growth of the Ramakrishna Movement. Followers of the Ramakrishna Order and a large section of devotees across the world worship her as an incarnation of the Divine Mother. Some of the salient features of her teachings as exemplified by her life were:
Simplicity and Forbearance
Although she was highly venerated for her spiritual status and literally worshipped as the Divine Mother, she continued to live like a simple village woman. At Jayrambati she lived with her brothers and their families. They gave her endless troubles but, established as she was in the awareness of God and in Divine Motherhood, she always remained calm and composed, showering love and blessings on all who came in contact with her. As Sister Nivedita stated, “Her life was one long stillness of prayer.”
Mother of All
In the history of humanity there has never been another woman who looked upon herself as the Mother of all beings, including animals and birds, and spent her whole life in serving them as her children, undergoing unending sacrifice and self-denial. About her role in the mission of Sri Ramakrishna on earth, she stated: “My son, you know the Master had a maternal attitude (matri-bhava) towards every one. He has left me behind to manifest that Divine Motherhood in the world.”
Ideal Woman
On account of her immaculate purity, extraordinary forbearance, selfless service, unconditional love, wisdom and spiritual illumination, Swami Vivekananda regarded Sri Sarada Devi as the ideal for women in the modern age. He believed that with the advent of Holy Mother, the spiritual awakening of women in modern times had begun.

Swami Vivekananda, known in his pre-monastic life as Narendra Nath Datta, was born in an affluent family in Kolkata on January 12, 1863. His father, Vishwanath Datta, was a successful attorney with interests in a wide range of subjects, and his mother, Bhuvaneshwari Devi, was endowed with deep devotion, strong character and other qualities. A precocious boy, Narendra excelled in music, gymnastics and studies. By the time he graduated from Calcutta University, he had acquired a vast knowledge of different subjects, especially Western philosophy and history. Born with a yogic temperament, he used to practice meditation even from his boyhood, and was associated with the Brahmo Movement for some time before coming in contact with his Guru Sri Ramakrishna.
Swami Vivekananda’s contributions to the World
Making an objective assessment of Swami Vivekananda’s contributions to the world, the eminent British historian A L Basham stated that “In centuries to come, he will be remembered as one of the main moulders of the modern world…” Some of the main contributions that Swamiji made to the world are mentioned below:
1. New Understanding of Religion:
One of the most significant contributions of Swami Vivekananda to the world is his interpretation of religion as a universal experience of transcendental Reality, common to all humanity. Swamiji met the challenge of modern science by showing that religion is as scientific as science itself; religion is the ‘science of consciousness’. Thus, religion and science are not contradictory but are, instead, complementary to each other. This universal conception frees religion from the hold of superstition, dogmatism, and intolerance, and makes religion the highest and noblest pursuit – the pursuit of supreme Freedom, supreme Knowledge, and supreme Happiness.
2. Divinity of the Soul:
Vivekananda’s concept of potential divinity of the soul divinizes human relationships, and makes life meaningful and worth living. Swamiji has laid the foundation for ‘spiritual humanism’, which is manifesting itself through several neo-humanistic movements and the current interest in meditation all over the world.
3. New Principle of Morality and Ethics:
Swami Vivekananda gave a new theory of ethics and new principle of morality. We should be pure because purity is our real nature. Similarly, we should love and serve our neighbours because we are all one in the Supreme Spirit.
4. Bridge between the East and the West:
Another great contribution of Swami Vivekananda was to build a bridge between Indian and Western culture. He did it by interpreting ancient Indian scriptures and philosophy and the Indian way of life to the Western people. He made the Western people realize that they had to learn much from Indian spirituality for their own well-being. He demonstrated that India’s contribution was immense on the global cultural stage. He was, thus, instrumental in ending India’s cultural isolation from the rest of the world. We can say that he was the first cultural ambassador of India to the West. Swami Vivekananda’s interpretation of ancient Indian scriptures and philosophy also prepared the mind of Indians to accept and apply in practical life the two best elements of Western culture, namely science and technology and humanism. He taught Indians how to master Western science and technology and at the same time to develop spiritually by adapting Western humanism in pursuit of material success .

There were many distinguished Western personalities in India during the first ten years of the twentieth century, but none is greater than Sister Nivedita who came to india at the suggestion of Swami Vivekananda and dedicated the remaining fourteen years of her life to the service of her adopted motherland.

Sister Nivedita studied Indian culture and embraced the Hindu religion and dedicated herself completely to the upliftment and progress of India. One of her greatest contributions was the revival of Indian art. She believed that this revival would lead to the awakening of India as a strong nation.

In a short span of her life in India (between 1898 to 1911), Sister Nivedita made a lasting contribution to Indian cultural, nationalism, national art, women’s education and empowerment, history, religion and scientific research.

Conceived as a Centenary Memorial to Sister Nivedita, Ramakrishna Sarada Mission was inaugurated in 1970. And the first educational project of the Centre, a Pre-primary and Primary school, was named after Sister Nivedita – Nivedita Vidyamandir. As the school completes its 50 year, this is an apt time for us to reflect upon the greatness of her unique life and work; and give due recognition to the outstanding contribution she made in various fields.