Ramakrishna Mission, Delhi

Ramakrishna Mission, Delhi is the Delhi branch of Ramakrishna Mission, an organisation established by Swami Vivekananda in 1897. The Delhi branch was established at Ramakrishna Ashram Marg on May 4, 1927.

Beginnings

A center called Sri Ramakrishna Math, was opened at Delhi in a rented house at 966, Garstin Baston Road. The dedication ceremony was performed on the morning of May 4, 1927 by Swami Ambikananda in the presence of a large number of devotees. Soon after, Swami Nirgunananda took charge of supervision of the two study circles organized at Raisina and Timarpur. Besides classes and lectures, celebrations of birthdays of great religious teachers form an important feature of the activities of the center, while a library with reading room for general public was set up from the very beginning.

The first brick of the foundation was consecrated by Swami Shivananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and the second President of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission. The brick was carried from Belur Math to Delhi and the foundation ceremony was held on 15th February, 1934. A building was constructed and ceremonially opened on December 12, 1934. However, the Delhi Centre of the Ramakrishna Mission was actually established in its own premises on the 16th Oct, 1935. Temple of Sri Ramakrishna

The plan of a beautiful temple with the main shrine of 20´x20´ and the natmandir (sanctum santorum) of 31´x 60´ was designed and funds were collected. The foundation stone of the temple was laid by Swami Shankarananda, the seventh President of the Ramakrisha Order, on November 5, 1954, as a part of the Holy Mother’s Birth Centenary Celebrations. Image of Sri Ramakrishna at the shrine

Once constructed at a cost of Rs. 3.11 lakh, the temple was formally consecrated and celebrations were held for four days from November 27 to November 30, 1957. The consecration and prana-pratishtha of the image of Sri Ramakrishna was performed by Swami Shankarananda, the then President of the Order, on November 28, 1957 at 8.15 am in the presence of a large number of monks and devotees who had come from various parts of India. All the activities of the Mission is centred around the living presence of Sri Ramakrishna in the temple.

New Sadhu Nivas (Monks’ Quarters)

A double storeyed New Sadhu Nivas for accommodating visiting monks was inaugurated by the eleventh President of the Order, Swami Gambhirananda, on 8th November 1988.

Book Sales and Office Building

In 1996, a new project for constructing a Book Sales -cum- Office building at the entrance of the Ashrama premises was taken up. The Bhoomi Puja for this was performed by Swami Gahanananda, the then Vice-President of our Order, on 17th January 1996. The building was completed in 1997 and was inaugurated by Swami Ranganathananda, the then Vice-President of the Order, on 21st September 1997.

Thereafter, the Administrative Section including the Secretary’s Office, started functioning from the first floor of this building. Further an imposing book-sales showroom with a computerized sales counter was set up. The showroom with abundant Ramakrishna – Vivekananda and Vedanta literature, cassettes, and other religious articles, is endeavoring to meet the ever growing needs of seekers of knowledge.

Sarada Auditorium

In 2002, a new project for constructing a building with an auditorium at the Ashrama premises was taken up. The Bhoomi Puja for this was performed by Swami Gahanananda the then Vice President of the Order, on 17th of January 2001. The building was also inaugurated by him on 3rd March 2002. A new air conditioned auditorium was inaugurated on 3rd November, 2002, by the then President of the Order, Swami Ranganathananda.

Vivekananda Auditorium

Constructed in 1957 under the supervision of Swami Ranganathananda, this spacious auditorium was recently renovated on August 12, 2012, with financial assistance from the Union Ministry of Culture, Govt. Of India. With a seating capacity of 800, this auditorium plays host to the main programs of the Mission. The auditorium is centrally air-conditioned, with in-built audio-video infrastructure suitable for multimedia presentations.