A commemorative postage stamp on 125 Years of Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda on 1 May 1897 :

Issued by India

Issued on Dec 27, 2023

Issued for : Department of Posts is delighted to issue Commemorative Postage Stamp on 125 Years of Ramakrishna Mission and appreciates its contribution in promoting spirituality, service and humanity, all over the world.

Credits :
Stamp/FDC/Brochure : Shri Suresh Kumar
Cancellation Cachet : Smt. Nenu Gupta

Type : Stamp, Mint Condition

Colour : Multi Colour

Denomination : 500 Paise

Stamps Printed : 201600

Printing Process : Wet Offset

Printer : Security Printing Press, Hyderabad

About : 

• 1 May 2022 marked the 125^th anniversary of the Ramakrishna Mission, a social service organization with a spiritual outlook. It was founded in 1897 by Swami Vivekananda, the seer of modern India, to work for the all-round development of India.
• Swami Vivekananda, known in his pre-monastic life as Narendra Nath Datta, was born in an affluent family in Kolkata on 12 January 1863. 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 practise meditation even from his boyhood, and was associated with Brahmo Movement for some time.
• In November 1881, Narendra went to meet Sri Ramakrishna, his spiritual guru, who was staying at the Kali Temple in Dakshineshwar. Apart from removing doubts from the mind of Narendra, Sri Ramakrishna won him over through his pure, unselfish love. Thus began a guru-disciple relationship which is quite unique in the history of spiritual masters.
• During his travels all over India, Swami Vivekananda was deeply moved to see the appalling poverty and backwardness of the masses. To carry out his plans for the spread of education and for the uplift of the poor masses, and of women, Swami Vivekanand, felt the need of an efficient organization of dedicated people. He wanted “to set in motion a machinery which will bring noblest ideas to the doorstep of even the poorest and the meanest.” It was to serve as this ‘machinery’ that Swami Vivekanand founded the Ramakrishna Mission in the year 1897. It was registered as a society in 1909.
• For the last 125 years, the Ramakrishna Mission has distinguished itself through its various service based programmes. It extends service in the areas of healthcare, education, rural and tribal development, disaster relief and rehabilitation, general welfare, spiritual and cultural work, publication of books and journals and other fields. It runs hospitals, dispensaries, homes for the aged, orphanages, schools, colleges, polytechnics, ITIs, a deemed university, agricultural institutes, and special institutions for the disadvantaged sections of society. It’s charitable and philanthropic works have found wide acceptance and appreciation by the public.
• Members of the mission provide services to the people as means to the attainment of the ultimate goal of human life, which, according to Sri Ramakrishna, is realization of God. Here charity to the poor and needy is prompted not by egotistic compassion, but is conceived as service rendered in a spirit of worship of God, who resides in every human being. Instead of looking upon a needy person as an object of pity, he is looked upon as an object of worship. Owing to this spiritual outlook, the services conducted by the mission are meant for the benefit of all people – without any distinction based on religion, caste, colour or class.
• The main workforce of the Ramakrishna Mission consists of dedicated monks who are members of the Ramakrishna Math. Though the Mission and the math are distinct legal entities, they are referred to as twin organizations, and they join hands in running all the service activities. As of February 2023, there are 202 branches of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, spread over 27 states / Union Territories of India. Outside India, the organization has 67 branches in 24 countries. The headquarters of the twin organizations is located at Belur Math in Howrah district, West Bengal.
• Perfect accountability, efficient management, and sincere and honest enterprise are some of the hallmarks of the work of the Ramakrishna Mission. The Mission has received several awards and recognitions for its selfless service, including the prestigious Gandhi Peace prize for the year 1998, conferred by the Government of India. The prize carried a citation that noted, “The Ramakrishna Mission has become a great source for peace and happiness amongst people in this country and abroad.”
• The motto of Ramakrishna Mission, set by Swami Vivekananda, is “For one’s own salvation and for the welfare of the world.” Endowed with this lofty ideal and sustained by the dedication of its members, the Ramakrishna Mission is expanding its influence with time.125 Years is a significant milestone in the Mission’s journey to bring about spiritual regeneration of humanity.
• Text : Referenced from content provided by Proponent.

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