We are sorry to announce the passing away of four of our brother-monks:

Swami Sadrupanandaji (Kini Maharaj) passed away on 10 September at 10 pm at Nagpur Math.  He was 85 and had been suffering from diabetes, hypertension and ischemic heart disease for a few years.  An initiated disciple of Swami Virajanandaji, he joined the Order in 1953 at Nagpur Math and had Sannyasa from Swami Vishuddhanandaji in 1962.  Besides his joining centre, he served at Mumbai Ashrama.  He had been living a retired life at Belur Math and Nagpur centre for the last eight years.  Sweet and affable by nature, the Swami was respected for his sterling sadhu qualities.

Swami Yatindranandaji (Vinay Maharaj) breathed his last on 18 September at 4.55 pm at Seva Pratishthan, Kolkata.  He was 85 and had been suffering from ischemic heart disease, hypertension and diabetes for some years.  Initiated by Swami Virajanandaji, he joined the Order in 1948 at Asansol centre and had Sannyasa from Swami Shankaranandaji in 1958.  Besides his joining centre, he served at Silchar and Taki centres.  He was the head of Taki centre for 23 years.  He had been living a retired life at Belur Math for the last eight years.  The Swami was simple and austere by nature.

Swami Vibudhanandaji (Narasimhaswami Maharaj) expired on 21 September at 5.30 am at Ulsoor Math.  He was 90 and had been suffering from diabetes, hypertension and enlarged prostate for some years.  An initiated disciple of Swami Virajanandaji, he joined the Order in 1951 at Bangalore Math and had Sannyasa from Swami Shankaranandaji in 1959.  Besides his joining centre, he served at Mysore, Almora, Vrindaban, Chennai Mission Ashrama, Ooty, Chennai Math, Kanchipuram and Mumbai centres.  He had been living a retired life at Ulsoor Math for the last seventeen years.  The Swami was known to be meticulous about his monastic routine and habits.

Swami Brahmanishthanandaji (Harekrishna Maharaj) passed away on 28 September at 9 pm at Seva Pratishthan, Kolkata.  He was 50 and had been suffering from Parkinsonism for a few years.  Initiated by Swami Bhuteshanandaji, he joined the Order in 1985 at Balaram Mandir (Kolkata) and had Sannyasa from his Guru in 1995.  Besides his joining centre, he served at Advaita Ashrama (Kolkata), Karimganj, Kamarpukur, Garbeta and Baranagar (Mission) centres.  He had been staying at Belur Math for the last four years.  The Swami was simple and amiable by nature.

The annual convocation of Vivekananda University for the Faculties of Disability Management and Special Education (DMSE) and General & Adapted Physical Education and Yoga (GAPEdY) was held at the University’s Faculty Centre in Coimbatore on 17 September, in which 185 and 231 successful candidates respectively of the above faculties were awarded degree and diploma certificates by Swami Prabhanandaji, General Secretary, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, who is also the Chancellor of the University.

The following centres celebrated the 175th birth anniversary of Sri Ramakrishna.  (Main programmes conducted by them are given against their names.)

Agartala: devotees’ conferences at Sabroom and Bikhora in South Tripura on 22 and 23 September respectively; altogether about 1000 delegates participated;

Chengalpattu: processions, devotional songs, talks and cultural programmes at Thirumani and Keezhakaranai villages on 3 and 18 September respectively;

Hyderabad: 126 satsangs (spiritual retreats) from February to August 2011 in which altogether about 14,000 devotees took part;

Kamarpukur: guardians’ convention, teachers’ convention and cultural programmes from 4 to 12 September;

Kanchipuram: residential spiritual retreat from 23 to 25 September in which 375 persons participated;

Kanpur: art competition on 14 August and youth convention on 11 September, in which respectively 210 and 260 students participated; a sadhu sammelan (monks’ convention) on 18 September in which 75 sadhus of different denominations participated;

Khetri: three-day lecture programme from 29 to 31 August; about 200 devotees attended it every day;

Lucknow: free cancer detection & awareness camp and religious discourses on 3 September, and spiritual retreat on 4 September;

Ranchi Morabadi: meetings on the themes ‘Harmony of Religions’, ‘Harmony of four Yogas’ and ‘Harmony of Science and Religion’ on 11, 18 and 25 September respectively;

Silchar: devotees’ convention on 25 September in which 480 devotees participated;

Swamiji’s House: intra-faith dialogue on 23 and 24 September in which representatives of various Hindu sects participated; Swami Prabhanandaji, General Secretary, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, inaugurated the two-day programme.

At the initiative of Asansol centre, Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Bhava Prachar Parishad member Ashramas in Burdwan district organized a twelve-day Vivekananda ratha yatra (procession of Swami Vivekananda chariot) at Asansol, Burdwan and some nearby towns.  Swami Smarananandaji, Vice-President, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, inaugurated the yatra on 19 September.

The junction of National Highway-2 and Vivekananda Sarani near Asansol centre has been renamed ‘Vivekananda Mor’ (Vivekananda Junction) by Asansol Municipal Corporation.  Swami Smarananandaji, Vice-President, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, unveiled the plaque on 19 September.

Delhi centre conducted an interfaith meet on 10 and 11 September in which 13 religious leaders of 9 faiths presented speeches.  Each of these speeches was followed by an interactive question‑answer session with the audience.  Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, former President of India, delivered the inaugural address and Smt Sheila Dikshit, Chief Minister of Delhi, gave the valedictory address.  About 1000 persons from various faiths attended the meet each day.

Delhi Ashrama held an all-India online competition for school students.  The first phase of the competition attracted 52,787 entries from 8989 schools.  Nearly 1000 students were selected for the second phase.

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The following centres also organized various programmes to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.  (Main programmes conducted by them are given against their names.)

Agartala: a classical violin recital at Viveknagar on 17 September which was attended by about 400 persons;

Chennai Vidyapith: an exhibition on the life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda;

Kanchipuram: a youth camp on 23 September in which 450 college and polytechnic students participated;

Kankurgachhi: a youth convention on 11 September which was attended by about 1000 youths and 150 teachers and guardians;

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Photo of Khetri

Khetri: four interactive lecture programmes from 21 to 23 September; altogether about 2800 persons, including 2600 students, attended the programmes;

Limbdi: talks on Swami Vivekananda from 15 to 17 September; a total of about 4000 students and 250 teachers attended;

Mangalore: a seminar on the theme Education for Character and Nation Building for BEd students on 21 September and for college students on 22 September; about 550 BEd students and 500 college students participated;

Mumbai: a seminar on Human Excellence beyond Academic Excellence on 17 September in which about 250 persons from various institutions, including administrators, heads, educators, academicians and students, participated;

Pune: a service project contest in which 47 teams of youths executed different service projects for a month in July-August and submitted their project reports with photographs, videos, etc to the Ashrama;

Saradapitha, Belur: a lecture programme on Swamiji and Youth organized by Shilpamandira on 7 September; Swami Smarananandaji, Vice-President, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, presided over the programme;

Silchar: youth conventions on 23 and 24 September in which respectively 255 school students and 146 college students participated.

Swami Jyotirupanandaji, head of Moscow (Russia) centre, visited India from 1 to 9 September.

Swami Medhasanandaji, head of Japan centre, reached Delhi on 28 September on a four‑week visit to India.

Email IDs: The following centres have changed their email IDs as shown below:

Telephone Number: The telephone number of Haripad centre has been changed from (0)93886‑55691 to (0)97453-25834.

Swami Atmasthanandaji, President, Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission, was admitted to Seva Pratishthan, Kolkata, on 28 September for the treatment of the retina of his right eye.  He was discharged from the hospital on 30 September and is keeping well at Belur Math.

Swami Gitanandaji, Vice-President, was admitted to Seva Pratishthan, Kolkata, on 12 September for the treatment of chest infection.  He was discharged from the hospital on 26 September.  He continues to be under medical care at Kankurgachhi Math.

Swami Smarananandaji, Vice-President, is scheduled to visit Baranagar Mission Ashrama from 8 to 12 October, and Jammu, Vrindaban and Delhi from 21 October to 2 November.  He is in good health.

Swami Prameyanandaji, Vice-President, was discharged from the Seva Pratishthan hospital on 30 September.  He is keeping tolerably well at Belur Math.