About Us

ABOUT US: Vivekananda Seva Mandal Malkapur is a Charitable, Spiritual, Non-political and Service Oriented Philanthropic Organisation. It has been engaged in various forms of humanitarian, social service activities for more than forty years without any distinction of caste, religion or race, because they see the living God in them.  It is a Member of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Bhav-Prachar Parishad of Maharashtra under the guidance of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math, Howrah. It has played a vital role in spreading the message of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda and Vedanta as well as Indian ancient culture in the vicinity of Malkapur. Today, the activities of the Ashram have expanded, imparting value-based education and medical services to the poor and needy people.

VISION AND MISSION: Vivekananda Seva Mandal works on Swami Vivekananda’s idea of ‘Atmano mokshartham jagad hitaya cha’, ‘For one’s own salvation and for the welfare of the world’ आत्मनो मोक्षार्थं जगत् हिताय च . The ideology of the centre consists of the eternal principles of Vedanta as lived and experienced by Sri Ramakrishna and expounded by Swami Vivekananda. Swami Vivekananda proclaimed that the “Renunciation and Service” as the twofold national ideals of modern India and the work of the Ashram strives to practice these ideals. (त्याग और सेवा ही जीवन है।) One of the important principles Swami Vivekananda learned from his Master Sri Ramakrishna was ‘Shiva Jnane Jiva Seva’, ‘to serve Jiva as Shiva’ शिव भावे जीव सेवा. Since man is potentially Divine, service to man is indeed service to God. These are the principles on which the Ashram works. We believe in God realization is the ultimate goal of human life, Potential divinity of each soul, Synthesis of the Yogas, Morality based on strength and Harmony of Religions.

OUR INSPIRATIONS: Sri Ramakrishna: As the same moon rises in the sky again & again, so the same God descends to the earth as a human being in different places and in different times to fulfill the need of the age & to point out the goal human life. Middle of 19^th century, India was occupied by foreign powers for very long time. Her values, ideologies and culture got concealed under layers of ignorance. In contemporary times west saw rapid growth of science and technology spear headed by industrial revolution. Discord prevailed amongst followers of different faiths and scientific spirit of enquiry shook religion and spirituality to their roots. Time was right for somebody to experimentally verify fundamentals of spirituality and establish very essential harmony of religion. And to do so, Sri Ramakrishna was born on Wednesday, 18^th February 1836, in village of Kamarpukur, 60 miles northwest of Kolkata in simple and religious family of Kshudiram Chattopadhyaya and Chandramani Devi & was named Gadadhar. He had spiritual disposition from his childhood and was disinclined towards formal education and worldly affairs. In his youth Sri Ramakrishna was appointed as priest at kali temple at Dakshineshwar, here god is worshipped as Mother Kali. It is here that Sri Ramakrishna began his spiritual journey in earnest.  He prayed and meditated on mother 24 hours a day & had a remarkable experience. Sri Ramakrishna’s inner urge impelled him to follow various spiritual disciplines described in Hinduism & realized God through them. He followed paths of Islam and Christianity and attained highest realization through each of them. Sri Ramakrishna expressed his quantizes of his 12 year spiritual sadhana in simple dictum “As many faiths so many paths”. Thus proclaiming the purpose of his coming, establishing harmony of religion and exhibit the world, highest truth can be attained even in this materialistic world. Sri Ramakrishna habitually lived in highest state of realization where he saw god in every living being. As bees swarm around fully blossomed flower, like-wise now devotees started coming to Sri Ramakrishna. He divided them into 2 groups; household disciples whom he taught how to realize god while discharging their household duties and other one being band of young educated youth whom he trained to become monk.  Foremost among them was Narendranath Dutt, later was known as Swami Vivekananda who carried torch of Vedanta world over. It was through him that Sri Ramakrishna’s errand was spread to the world! He passed into eternity on August 16^th 1886 at Cossipore garden house in Kolkata.

Sri Sarada Devi: “Whenever you are in distress just say to yourself, I have a Mother. If not anybody else”. It is an assurance to ward off all uncertainties. Thus taking us all in her care, & being refuge for all. A child may be helpless, but it has sanctuary in its mother. Popularly known as Holy Mother, Sri Maa Sarada Devi was born on 22^ndDecember, 1853 in Jayarambati a village in Bengal as Saradamani Mukhopadhyay (popularly known as Holy Mother) to a pious couple Ramachandra Mukhopadhyay & Shyama Sundari Devi as their first child. She was spiritual consort of Sri Ramakrishna. In due time, after marriage with Sri Ramakrishna she stayed with him at Dakshineshwar and served him as devoted wife. They lived an immensely pure life & their relationship was entirely spiritual. She is regarded as first disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. Once Sri Ramakrishna ritually worshipped her as the divine Mother & thus evoked universal motherhood in her.

When disciples began to gather around Sri Ramakrishna she looked upon them as her own children. After passing away of Sri Ramakrishna in 1886, Sarada Devi spent some months in pilgrimage & then went to Kamarpukur (birth place of Sri Ramakrishna) & lived in great privation. Turning point in her life came when she was brought back to Kolkata by disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, she became unifying centre for all of them. She started initiating spiritual seekers, served as guide for newly formed Ramakrishna Math & Mission, & become open doorway for spiritual liberation for many. Her great universal mother-heart, endowed with boundless love and compassion, embraced all people without any distinction, including many who had lived sinful lives. Thou she had realized spiritual perfection & was regarded as Divine Mother by many, she continued living a simple life as like most Indian Women & Mothers. A symbol of Selfless service & Sacrifice, she lived life of great hardship but remained calm & self-possessed, showering love to all. As rightly said by Sister Nivedita “Her life was one long stillness of Prayer”. Due to strain from constant physical work & self-denial & repeated attack of malaria, her health declined & she left this mortal world on July 21^st 1920.

Through her last message to a devotee she gave her final instructed, “Dear Daughter But I tell you one thing—if you want peace of mind, do not find fault with others. Rather see your own faults. Learn to make the whole world your own. No one is a stranger my child: this whole world is your own!”

Swami Vivekananda: Now & then, at long intervals of time, a being finds his way to this planet who is unquestionably a wanderer from another sphere; who brings with him to this sorrowful world some of the glory, the power, the radiance of the far distant region from which he came… One such being entered earth from realm of divinity to unfold process of spiritual illumination & to detach world from all doubts, all intellectual struggle & all burning faith. The light of the world dawned for the first time on future Swami Vivekananda on Monday January 12, 1863, a few minutes before sunrise. And only few miles away from then Calcutta, in the garden house of Dakshineshwar, his would be master was waiting for coming of this babe, who was to grow into manhood to carry on his great work. Narendranath (as then Swami Vivekananda was known as), was a prodigy. He had the build of an athlete, a resonant voice, and a brilliant intellect. Narendranath had an inborn tendency towards spirituality. His father Vishwanath Dutt was an attorney at Calcutta High Court, was known for his intellectual capabilities and progressive outlook. His mother Bhuvaneshwari Devi was pure and religious lady with unselfish love.

During his youth Narendranath passed through a spiritual crises, he was sealed by doubts of existence of God. Narendra’s first introduction to Sri Ramakrishna occurred one day in literature class, by his Principal Prof. Hastie while explaining the word “Trans” (Samadhi) used by William Wordsworth in his poem “The Excursion”. Narendra 1^st met Sri Ramakrishna at Calcutta in November of 1881, at Surendra Nath Mitra’s place, who was Sri Ramakrishna’s devotee. During this meeting master was greatly impressed by Naren and asked him to visit Dakshineshwar. Narendra 1^st visited Dakshineshwar in early part of 1882. His very 1^st question to Sri Ramakrishna was a query put forward by a Modern to Ancient, by Young to Old & by Occident to Orient. And answer was meeting of all of them.
Naren asked Master: “Sir, Have you seen God?”
Master’s Reply: “Yes”, I have seen God. I have seen as I see you here, only more clearly. God can be seen.
And, thus began pure unselfish guru disciple relationship between them, under loving guidance of his master Narendranath became spiritual luminary “Swami Vivekananda”. Swami Vivekananda’s mission was not complete yet. In year 1888, He set out on a long journey as a mendicant monk for exploration & discovering of India. Deeply moved by the prevailing conditions of Indian masses, he planned for regeneration of Motherland. He thought Parliament of Religion to be God given opportunity to rejuvenate greatness of India, her culture & faith to the world & retrieve lost faith of her people. He started for his 1^st visit to west on 1^st May 1893, after spending nearly 3 years in west he returned to India in 1897. On May 1^st 1897 he formally established Sri Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission & set in motion a machinery with objective of bringing noble ideas to every ones door steps.

Shortly after his 2^nd visit to west, on 4^th July 1904 he merged himself in infinite. He once said to his disciple: “It may be that I shall find it good to get outside my body, to cast it off like a worn out garment, but I shall not cease to work. I shall inspire men everywhere, until world shall know it is one with God”.

HISTORY OF VIVEKANANDA SEVA MANDAL MALKAPUR: In 1978, some devotees from Malkapur came across a book ‘Life of Sri Ramakrishna’. After reading it they were impressed and thought ‘how can a life be so divine?’ Afterword they started reading Ramakrishna-Vivekananda literature thoroughly. Inspired by it they started celebrating the birthday of Sri Ramakrishna in Radhakisan Chawl of Malkapur. There used to be weeklong programme like Jnaneshwari Parayan Saptah, Kirtan and Pravachan. It was celebrated for continuous three years from 1979 to 1981.

Some devotees of Malkapur also came in contact with the monks of Ramakrishna Math Nagpur especially Srimat Swami Bhaskareshwaranandaji Maharaj and Swami Rakanandaji Maharaj. On the way to Buldhana, Bhaskareshwaranandaji Maharaj used to halt at Malkapur and guide the devotees. In this way the monks started visiting Malkapur frequently for spiritual discourses. And this was how the great ideals and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda did percolate into the hearts of the devotees. Later many devotees were initiated by Srimat Swami Yatishwaranandaji Maharaj, Srimat Swami Vishuddhanandaji Maharaj, Srimat Swami Virajanandaji Maharaj, Srimat Swami Vireshwaranandaji Maharaj, Srimat Swami Gambhiranandaji Maharaj, Srimat Swami Bhuteshanandaji Maharaj, the Sangha Gurus of Ramakrishna Order.

So in this way a group of devotees was formed and they felt the need to start a centre for regular prayer, worship, reading devotional and scriptural books. Accordingly a centre with the name ‘Vivekananda Seva Mandal’ was started at Malkapur on 14^th February 1982 and it was officially registered under the society act no. 451/1982 and BPT act F/521/BLD on 1^st April 1982. Devotees received valuable guidance of Srimat Swami Bhuteshanandaji Maharaj, the then Vice-President of Ramakrishna Order and Swami Atmanandaji Maharaj to start a centre at Malkapur. The Ashram was started in two rooms of

Public Library by installing the Photos of Holy Trio by Srimat Swami Bhashyanandaji Maharaj and Swami Vyomrupanandaji Maharaj. With the regular worship, prayer, reading from Spiritual books and Satsang the Ashram started functioning. For 19 long years, the Ashram worked in the small rooms of tin-shed. Every year, the birthday celebrations of Holy Trio were held in the Ashram. More and more monks of Ramakrishna Order started visiting Malkapur regularly and guided the devotees for their spiritual progress. Under their guidance the activities of the centre took a permanent shape. The number of devotees especially those comprising of young people increased day by day and they started coming to the centre and imbibed the ideal of Holy Trio. They received regular guidance and spiritual instructions from the monks of Ramakrishna Order like Srimat Swamis Bhashyanandaji Maharaj of Chicago, Atmanandaji Maharaj of Raipur, Bhaumanandaji Maharaj of Pune and Brahmasthanandaji Maharaj of Nagpur. Inspired by the philosophy of Swami Vivekananda, few youths from the centre joined the Ramakrishna Order and took the monastic vows.

As the number of devotees were increasing day by day, the devotees felt the need for more space for the Ashram. So they started looking for a suitable land. Fortunately, Malkapur Municipal Council came forward and allotted 36,000 square feet of land in front of Central Bus Stand to the Ashram on 99 yeas lease.

In 2001, half yearly meeting of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Bhavadhara Parishad which is guided by Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission Belur Math Howrah, was held at Malkapur. Srimat Swamis Bhaumanandaji Maharaj, Vagishanandaji Maharaj of Mumbai, Brahmasthanandaji Maharaj and Vishnupadanandaji Maharaj of Aurangabad came to Malkapur to address the meeting. Encouraged by their inspiration and guidance, the devotees started the construction on the land given by Municipal Council. The building for Prayer hall and Monks Quarter was constructed on 1,400 square feet of land. Ashram completed the construction of Prayer hall and Monks Quarter on 1,400 square feet of land at the cost of around Rs.6 Lakhs. The Shrine was consecrated by installing the photos of Holy Trio by Srimat Swami Brahmasthanandaji Maharaj and Dr.B.T.Advani, the convenor of Bhavadhara Parishad. A little garden was also setup to meet the need of flowers for the worship.

A small flower garden in the front, 200 feet boundary wall, and a well were constructed at a cost of Rs.1.5 Lakhs. According to the proposed plan, one room (12’x10’) for Homeopathy Dispensary and one hall (12’x21’) for the students were constructed at a cost of  around Rs.1.5 Lakhs. A devotee donated around 1.5 acre of land behind Central Bus Stand which is at around 10 minutes walk.

On 29^th April 2004, Library and Homeopathy Dispensary building was inaugurated by Srimat Swami Brahmasthanandaji Maharaj.

In July 2006, there was a heavy flood in and around Malkapur. Many people were homeless. Ashram came forward under the banner of Ramakrishna Mission Mumbai and provided them the material for temporary shelter and food. Affected people were sumptuously fed and also given utensils, grocery and clothing. Ashram spent Rs.3.13,000 for this flood relief work.

After completion of 25 years, Silver Jubilee of the Ashram was celebrated on 19^th and 20^th August 2007. On this occasion a residential spiritual retreat was organised for the devotees. Srimat Swamis Brahmasthanandaji Maharaj, Vipapmanandaji Maharaj and Prabhusevanandaji Maharaj guided the devotees. Chanting Hymns, Prayers, Bhajans, Sankirtans, special discourses and Question-Answer sessions were arranged in this retreat. In Cultural Programme, Balak Sangha children staged the Drama on the lives of Holy Trio.

In 2013 and 2014, on the occasion of Swami Vivekananda’s 150^th birthday celebration, a Ratha Yatra was arranged by Ramakrishna Math Nagpur and the Ashram arranged various programmes in and around Malkapur for many days.

On 23^rd March 2016, after completion of renovation work of prayer hall, the images of Holy Trio were reinstalled ceremoniously. Holding images of Holy Trio, singing Bhajans Devotees circumambulated the Ashram with great joy.

On 7^th and 8^th July 2018, half yearly meeting of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Bhavadhara Parishad was held at Malkapur. Srimat Swamis Vishnupadanandaji Maharaj of Aurangabad, Srikantananda of Pune, Satyadevananda of Mumbai and Tyagavratananda of Ranchi came to Malkapur to address the meeting.

In March-April 2020, due to Corona pandemic, labours were going to their home town on foot. On the way at Malkapur, Ashram served them with food thrice a day and arranged for their temporary stay. Homeless people were also served with food for a week. Packets of food material containing wheat flour, toor dal, rice, oil, match box etc were distributed to poor and needy people. Local authorities like MLA and Tahasildar appreciated the service work rendered by the Ashram. Many people came forward to help this noble cause like directly supplying vegetables from their farms.

For More details read an article titled ‘Vivekananda Seva Mandalacha Sanskhipta Itihas’ in October-2007 issue of ‘Jivan-Vikas’ Marathi Monthly Magazine published by Ramakrishna Math Nagpur. (विवेकानंद सेवा मंडळाचा संक्षिप्त इतिहास PDF) And article titled ‘Vivekananda Seva Mandal Malkapur’ published in the Magazine ‘Isha-Seva’ by Ramakrishna Math Pune in 2005 Page-134-135. (विवेकानंद सेवा मंडळ मलकापूर PDF) One can read the Life of Sri Ramakrishna by Sri Sadashiv Bhagawant Thombre in Marathi. (भगवान श्रीरामकृष्णदेव यांचे संक्षिप्त जीवनचरित्र लेखक- सदाशिव भगवंत ठोंबरे (PDF)) One can read the Lives of Holy Trio and their saying with photos in Marathi. (Holy Trio Marathi.Pdf)