Ramakrishna Mission, movement
The Movement
Reinvigorating Indian spirituality
MN Kundu, August 16, 2019: The Times of India
Ramakrishna Paramahansa’s teachings began a movement of universal socio-spiritual ideology. The movement was characterised by revival of ancient Indian spirituality, with fresh interpretation and added humanitarian dimensions. At the same time, it stood for selective acceptance from the West, for material progress.
Movement means organised action by a group of people with common objectives and ideology. Here the movement had one common motto, “Atmano moksharthang jagaddhitaya cha” – liberation from the bondage of miserygo-round of life in limitless joy of the Infinite after attainment of what nothing else remains to be attained, and the way is self-expansion or loving all as extended self, identifying with the ultimate solidarity of one life, expressed as many.
Swami Vivekananda said, “God is a circle whose circumference is nowhere and centre is everywhere. Whereas man is a circle whose circumference is nowhere but centre is within the finite body-mind complex.” Aim to expand the self-centric centre to be omni-centric with divine wisdom, divine love and unconditional love for all, for identification with cosmic oneness. It is a life changing, socio-spiritual movement aiming at the process of becoming and not bookish or intellectual knowing.
Sri Ramakrishna was unwavering in assertion that the sole purpose of life is God-realisation; everything else ends in futility and misery. By virtue of his own experiments, he asserted that every religion could be the correct way to God. Apart from advocating all-inclusive religious pluralism, he simplified the entire spiritual process as developing sincere aspiration for God and thereby harmonised the apparently contradictory spiritual paths. To him, intense yearning was the sole precondition for divine realisation. Since renunciation is the key to realisation and it is difficult for householders, he developed a unique concept of mental renunciation to be free in psychological reality, cutting off the umbilical cord with delusive reality.
Interestingly, the holy mother’s life was her message. Amid severe trials and tribulations in life she remained always anchored in God with Vedantic proclamation, “What shall i do with that which cannot make me immortal?” She advised all to be loving and non-judgmental, “The whole world is your own, no one is an outsider.” She herself exhibited allembracing love for the less privileged as well as advanced devotees.
Swami Vivekananda spread religion as supreme science and not as a matter of blind faith. He analysed the building block of the universe and our cosmic counterpart in hierarchical order of consciousness, life-force or energy expressed as mind and matter. Fundamental science was yet to catch up with the concept, but Swamiji clarified all this with intuitive wisdom and glaring examples.
He spread the practice of yoga as an enabling means for self-control to rise above instinctive compulsions that keep us down. It is a matter of assimilation through psycho-physical process, divine love, wisdom and selfless service. He also combined theoretical Vedanta with the practice of selfless service. Thus he transformed compassion into service and worship with pantheism.
The hallmark of the movement was scientific spirituality, simplification of the universal spiritual process, acceptance of all religions as right ways for realisation, divine humanism and spiritual universalism par excellence which are highly essential today.
(Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansa passed away on August 16, 1886)
