i. The Ramakrishna Movement :
The Ramakrishna Movement needs no introduction, being the most significant movement on the world platform that has been influencing all sectors of human life. Its uniqueness and speciality is that it can be adopted and owned by any and every person without any need to leave one’s own path, principles and way of life. And, once owned he/she finds oneness with the rest of the world and one’s spiritual evolution begins – from animal-hood to divine-hood.
This movement is named after Sri Ramakrishna, the celebrated Spiritual Eminence, renowned as ‘Prophet of modern times’ and is worshipped by Hindus as an Incarnation of God. Sri Ramakrishna lived the whole gamut of the spiritual evolution in all possible ways that makes man a ‘GOD’ in reality. He practised all honoured paths to Perfection that man could evolve, reached the common End, giving validity to all paths and showing their common base and common end. Thus his life lived in the broad day light of history is as much valid and valuable as any scriptures on this earth. Apart from spiritual life and spiritual attainments he emblazoned the absolute necessity of ethical and all human values and developments for a peaceful and joyful living in this earth. Many eminent people of that time were astonished by his life and were charmed by his teachings. Hundreds of people received his teachings, got transformed, lived his teachings and gave it to others around. Thus began the Ramakrishna Movement.
His message to mankind, of peace, universal love, spirituality and Oneness, was proclaimed and broad cast to the world at large by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda who, for its implementation and promulgation founded the twin organisations Sri Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. With the formation of twin organisations, the Ramakrishna Movements took a concrete form and got spread in an organised way. Presently they are having 173 branch centres spread all over the world. Following their footsteps, thousands of private Ashramas and organisations have come into existence. With the ever-widening circle of private Ashramas, service units, followers, devotees, admirers and well-wishers, the Ramakrishna Movement is gaining momentum. Apart from the branch centres of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, there are more than 3000 private Ashramas/units working in India.
This world-wide Ramakrishna-Vivekananda-Movement has made substantial progress in achieving its objectives of establishing universal peace and oneness bound by universal love. The world is responding to the call as an immediate necessity. The basic principle governing peace is harmony. The Movement is trying through its ideology to build up the harmony of science and spirituality, harmony of ancient and modern, harmony of spiritual and secular, harmony of the East and the West, harmony of all religions and religious paths of the world. It is striving to impart spiritual fulfilment and give an impetus to the development of human faculties. Above all, the Movement is committed to serve man and all beings as manifestations of God, totally dissolving all distinctions of caste, creed, race, religion, nationality and linguistic differences.
The eternal and universal principles of ancient Indian philosophy are brought down to the common man’s reach in such a way that it can be applied in practical life to solve social problems and problems of life. In the world torn by political, religious, sectarian, ethnic, racial and linguistic conflicts/differences, the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda-Movement remains as fountainhead of Spirituality that dissolves all differences and showers peace, harmony and joy.
The whole Movement collectively has been contributing to the welfare and progress of humanity by serving the poor, the needy, the sick, the downtrodden, by running schools, collages, orphanages and dispensaries, hospitals, relief and rehabilitation work for the victims of natural and manmade calamities and rural development works. This is the Ramakrishna Movement, and is the driving force behind our Ashrama, the Bailur Math, and is moving along the same current with the same goal. The Ramakrishna Movement has both monastic and non-monastic organisations. Of the twin organisations (the pioneers of the Ramakrishna Movement) the Ramakrishna Math is purely a monastic order, while the Ramakrishna Mission is a public association or society open to monks as well as lay people. The Movement contains purely non-monastic organisation like the Vivekananda Kendra. This Ashrama, the Bailur Math is a monastic organisation.
ii. The Ramakrishna monastic Order (Sri Ramakrishna Sannyasa Sampradaya) :
Vivekananda came to Sri Ramakrishna as Narendra Nath Dutta when he was 18. Under the loving guidance of the Master, he bloomed into a spiritual eminence. Many youngsters had gathered round the Master. After the Master’s passing away sixteen disciples of the Master headed by Swami Vivekananda formed a monastic brother-hood known as the Ramakrishna Math. Formal monastic vows were taken according to traditional Sannyasa Sampradaya. The ideas and ideals lived and taught by the Great Master Sri Ramakrishna were incorporated and it was rejuvenation and modernisation of Hindu monasticism, it was one of the significant achievements of Swami Vivekananda.
The monastery started at the dilapidated building in Baranagore in 1887 got finally shifted to its own premises in 1899 and became a registered institution as a Trust on 30th January 1901. Though rooted in the ancient monastic tradition of India of the vedic times and forming a part of the Dashanami (ten Orders established by Shankaracharya in 8th century AD), it was thoroughly revised to form a well organised body. Now, at present, the Ramakrishna Order of Sannyasa bears a distinct identity with new pattern of monastic life and disciplines which combines the best elements of the monastic traditions of the East and the West. Of late, the Ramakrishna Order of Sannyasa has expanded beyond the limits of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, and the Brahmacharya diksha (investiture of formal vows of celibacy) and the Sannyasa Diksha (investiture of formal vows of monasticism) according to the Ramakrishna Sampradaya (Ramakrishna Order) can be had from other external sources.
This Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama at Bailur, popularly called ‘Bailur Math‘ is a monastic organisation of the Ramakrishna Tradition of Sannyasa. This Ashrama is not a branch of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Belur, Howrah, but it works on the same principles and closely follows the same ideals and ideology.