When it started in 1897, the Ramakrishna Order consisted of a dozen monks or so and had practically no assets. Even now with its 137 centres and barely a thousand monks, it is small compared with the Christian organizations, but it is a name that commands respect all over India and even outside.

What is the secret behind this? What exactly do its monks do in India and abroad?

It must be made clear at once that the Ramakrishna Order does not believe in conversion in the sense of the word as understood in common parlance. If anything, the monks of the Ramakrishna Order ask people to go to the root of religion, which is trying to reach God somehow or other and not merely talking about Him. They quote different prophets and different scriptures to show how in essence they preach the same thing. Their language differs, but their purport is the same . . . In all matters of religion, their approach is one of respect and understanding. Because of this approach, they feel as much at home among non-Hindus as among Hindus. Because of this approach, non-Hindus also feel at home in their company; as a matter of fact they like these monks and often invite them to their services . . .

Today the RAMAKRISHNA MOVEMENT has become a great power for peace and happiness in India as well as outside. In India, where different religious sects and communities live, the idea of tolerance and brotherly feelings towards each other has great relevance. Another factor which contributes much to its popularity is the rational approach it brings to bear upon every vital problem of life. People who are influenced by Ramakrishna believe religion to be a kind of science open to study and investigation. They do not agree that religious truths have to be accepted on trust; they rather declare that nothing need be accepted as final unless it has been tested and found true. Experience, personal and immediate, is the only acceptable proof of religion . . .

As time passes, the RAMAKRISHNA MOVEMENT is growing from strength to strength. People all over the country want the Ramakrishna Mission to open more branch centres---schools, colleges, hospitals, orphanages etc., for they know that the quality of service they will get from the Mission will be better than what they may get elsewhere. Their requests are almost always accompanied by offers of money, land, and buildings, but the Mission proceeds cautiously and avoids proliferation unless there is a compelling reason in its favour . . .

As the RAMAKRISHNA MOVEMENT spreads, the attitude of the common people. towards religion is also changing. Previously, religion was equated with rituals, but now people realize that religion is essentially a science of being and becoming something that concerns man's inner nature. The habit of prayer is good but if this is not accompanied by a corresponding improvement in one's nature, it is not worth much.

Another change that is noticeable today is respect for religions other than one's own. There was once much arrogance in the attitude of people towards the religions of others, but there is now humility and a spirit of enquiry if not also reverence.

Ruskin once said, An idea is more powerful than an army. There must be much truth in this, else it is difficult to explain the influence Ramakrishna and the Order of monks bearing his name have had over people all over the world. The strength of the RAMAKRISHNA MOVEMENT is not in money, men or organization but in the ideas it tries to present. These ideas are fast spreading, and wherever they are spreading they are producing a great impact. Silently but inevitably, they are changing the minds of the people who come under their influence. They act like a catalytic agent transforming their personalities.

About The Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture
 

Among the centres of cultural activities of the Ramakrishna Mission, special mention should be made of its Institute of Culture, Calcutta (India), from where this brochure is published. The Institute was started in 1938 as an offshoot of Sri Ramakrishna's first birth centenary celebration held in 1936. With humble beginnings in small rented rooms in North Calcutta, the Institute has grown over the years, and the fact that it now occupies its present magnificent building in South Calcutta is a testimony to its popularity. Briefly, the Institute's activities are:

Cultural Programmes: Include a busy schedule of lectures, debates, elocution competitions, seminars, symposia, study circles, scripture classes, religious congregations, devotional songs, and Indian classical music.

Vivekananda Study Circle: Encourages youths to study Ramkrishna-Vivekananda literature and organises youth conventions in the city and rural areas jointly with the local youth bodies. The Study Circle has also a junior wing, for the members of the Children's and Junior Sections of the Institute's Library.

School of Languages: The Institute's School of Languages, with over 8,000 students on the roll, teaches 14 languages: Arabic, Bengali, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Japanese, Latin, Persian, Russian, Sanskrit, Spanish, Spoken English, and Urdu.

International House: The International House is meant for the Institute's guests, the scholars, and the students. They come from different parts of India as well as from abroad at the invitation of the Institute or of universities and other learned societies to stay here for study and research or simply for exchange of ideas with Indian scholars.

Library: The General Library and the attached reading room assists scholars in their work of study and research The Library specialises in the humanities and social sciences and contains over 1,88,148 books and 424 Indian and foreign journals. The Library's JUNIOR Section contains over 6,182 books for children between 13 and 16, and a CHILDREN'S Section with over about 14,000 books, for children between 6 and 12.

Research: Calcutta, Jadavpur,and Burdwan Universities recognize the Institute as a centre for learning and research. This entitles the Institute to guide scholars in their pre-doctoral and post-doctoral research. The Indian Council of Social Science Research, the Indian National Science Academy, Rashtriya Sanskrit Samsthan, and the Indian Council of Philosophical Research, New Delhi, also recognize the Institute as a centre for research.

Museum and Art Gallery: The Institute has a small Museum and Art Gallery to help people, specially scholars from outside India, have a glimpse of Indian art in its diverse forms. It has four major sections: (i) Paintings, (ii) Sculptures, (iii) FolkArts, and (iv) MSS. Attached to it is the Sarada Devi School of Fine Arts and Crafts for Children between 8 and 12 and a permanent exhibition on the Ramakrishna Movement.

Publications: The Institute's publications, including the monthly Bulletin, represent a further attempt on the part of the Institute to help educate the public about culture in all its aspects. Its major attempt in this direction is The Cultural Heritage of India, an encyclopaedic work in eight volumes (six of which have been published) that project India's accumulated wisdom in a planned manner with contributions from well-known scholars. Among the Institute's other major publications are Religions of the World (2 Vols), Concordance, Upanishads, Vivekananda in Contemporary Indian News, A Portrait of Sri Ramakrishna, and several publications in Bengali.

Prayer Room and Chapel: in keeping with the spirit which animates all its activities, the Institute has a Universal Prayer Room, open to all, where people can pray and meditate in the manner they like best. There is also a Chapel dedicated to Sri Ramakrishna, the symbol of harmony and unity, where regular devotional services are held in the evenings.

For further information please contact:

The Secretary, Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture
Gol Park, Calcutta 700 029, India
Phone:   011-91-33 464-1303 and 466-1235
Fax: 011-91-33 464-1307
Email: rmic@vsnl.com or rmicsl@giasc101.vsnl.net.in
Web site: http://www.sriramakrishna.org