The senior monks at the Mumbai Center are always ready to solve doubts and perplexities which beset the paths of sincere spiritual aspirants.

You can also seek their guidance and instruction for solving problems in your day – to – day spiritual life.

What is the significance of Initiation?

Sri Ramakrishna says, ‘One must have an awakening of the Spirit within in order to see the one unchanging Imperishable Reality.’ Mere reading and talking about spiritual truths is not enough. One should directly perceive the Light within.

How is the first awakening to be brought about? An illumined teacher does this for the disciple through a process of spiritual initiation. He does this through the process of “mantra diksha”— the granting of the Holy Name of God to the soul of the spiritual aspirant. Spiritual initiation brings the individual Self into harmony with the supreme Self. The power of initiation becomes manifest only in a pure soul who intensely yearns for God.

Extracted from ‘Meditation and Spiritual Life‘ by Swami Yatiswarananda

What is the Monastic Order?

Ramakrishna Math is a monastic order for men brought into existence by Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886), the great 19th century Saint of Bengal who is regarded as the Prophet of the Modern Age. Ramakrishna Math consists of monks (Sanyasins and Brahmacharins) belonging to a monastic order for men. After the passing away of their Master Sri Ramakrishna in 1886 the young disciples under the leadership of Swami Vivekananda organized themselves into a new monastic order.

What is Vedanta?

Vedanta is the source of one of the world’s oldest major living religions, Hinduism. It is based on the philosophical books known as the Upanishads, which form the concluding portions of the ancient Indo-Aryan scriptures, the Vedas. The word “Vedanta” is, in fact, another word for the Upanishads. It means, literally, the end (anta) of the Vedas; it also means the culmination of spiritual knowledge (veda).

The basic teaching of Vedanta is that the essence of all beings and all things–from the blade of grass to the Personal God–is Spirit, infinite and eternal, unchanging and indivisible. Vedanta emphasizes that man in his true nature is this divine Spirit, identical with the inmost being and reality of the universe. There is, in short, but one reality, one being, and, in the words of the Upanishads, “Thou art That.”

The Supreme Reality, Brahman, cannot be described; the most one can say of it is that it is Sat-Chit-Ananda–Absolute Existence, Consciousness, Bliss. Vedanta recognizes, however, that the absolute Brahman becomes manifest in various aspects and forms and is known by various names. In other words, Brahman, or God, is both formless and with form, impersonal and personal, transcendent and immanent.

Vedanta declares that one can realize God in whatever aspect one wishes, and, further, that one can realize him directly and vividly in this life, in this world. Such realization constitutes spiritual freedom and contains in infinite measure the fulfillment of all man’s ideals and aspirations; it is indeed the true purpose of human life.

Vedanta holds that all religions lead to the same goal. Further, Vedanta reveres all great teachers and prophets, such as Sri Krishna, Lord Buddha, and Jesus Christ, and respects their teachings as the same eternal truth adapted to the needs of different times and peoples.

Vedanta teaches that there are various methods by which the individual, in accordance with his temperament, can realize God. The four primary methods, or paths, are jnana yoga, the path of knowledge; bhakti yoga, the path of devotion; karma yoga, the path of selfless action (physical, intellectual, or spiritual service); and raja yoga, the path of concentration. All these paths presuppose a highly moral and self-disciplined life. By following one or more of them under the guidance of a qualified teacher, one can fully and permanently discover the existence of divine Reality as the very essence of oneself and the universe.

Extract from http://www.sfvedanta.org/
Click here for more on Vedanta

What is Meditation?

According to Swami Tapasyananda;

“Consciousness is like a line with two ends, A and B; A standing for the subject side which is aware of the other; and B, which is forming itself continuously into various modes or images due to stimulations coming from outside through sensations or through the awakening of memories within. Now in the ordinary functioning of the mind, the subject side is very weak, taken up as it is entirely with B, the form-talking end of consciousness. Consequently we are totally ignorant of the nature of A and its background and are entirely identified with the body-mind and the experiences that are had through them.

Meditation is the process of stopping the image-forming tendency of B by shutting it off from the stimulations of external objects and of memory impressions and then making the undisturbed light of consciousness to look at itself (A) and its source. To counteract the memory impression, the mind will have to be concentrated in the early stages on contrary thought-images, which will gradually wean the mind from its mode-taking tendencies and settle it in the ultimate subject. This analysis is specially meant to show that meditation is not indulging in some sweet imaginings and seeking formations of one’s own subjective impressions. On the other hand meditation seeks to overcome all the subjective impressions and until this is achieved, thought will never settle in its own background. In the experience that is gained through really successful meditation, there is no place for the subconscious mind and its impressions. It is what takes us to the bedrock of reality.”

Extracted from ‘Spiritual Quest‘ by Swami Tapasyananda

What is a Mantra?

The word mantra literally means ‘that which frees the soul through reflection’ (mananat trayate iti). To the dull-minded people, a mantra is a mere word or a formula. But for an advanced spiritual soul it is concentrated thought of great power leading to profound spiritual experiences. Through proper repetition of the mantra, one can attain the highest illumination and freedom.

Extracted from ‘Spiritual Quest‘ by Swami Tapasyananda

Can I know more about Women’s Monastic Order?

Swami Vivekananda regarded the neglect of the masses and neglect of women as the two main causes for the downfall of India. He believed that the life and message of Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi had great significance for the upliftment of women. In one of his letters to a brother monk, Swamiji wrote: ‘Mother has been born to revive that wonderful Shakti in India; and making her the nucleus, once more will Gargis and Maitreyis be born into the world.’ On several occasions he expressed the wish to have a separate women’s monastic order on the lines of Ramakrishna Math, with Holy Mother as its ideal and inspiration.

His wish came to be fulfilled nearly half a century later. As per the decision taken by the Trustees of Ramakrishna Math, a group of women, who had been leading a life of renunciation and service for several years, were given the vows of Brahmacharya at Belur Math on 27 December 1953, the sacred birthday of Sri Sarada Devi, which was also the day of inauguration of the year-long celebration of the Birth Centenary of Holy Mother. On 2 December 1954, a new monastic order for women, known as Sri Sarada Math, was started at a place on the eastern bank of the Ganga, a little away from Dakshineswar Kali Temple. On 1 January 1959, on the birthday of Holy Mother, eight senior members of Sri Sarada Math were ordained Sanyasinis at Belur Math.

In May 1960, the Sanyasinis established the Ramakrishna Sarada Mission. Both the institutions carry on spiritual, cultural, educational, medical and charitable activities among women and children.

Contact Address: Sri Sarada Math, Dakshineswar, Kolkata – 700 076, India
Phones: 91-33-2564 5411, 91-33-2564-6566
Fax: 91-33-2564 4388
emails:
Office: saradamath.office@gmail.com
President: srismath@gmail.com

Website: www.srisaradamath.org

Extracts from https://belurmath.org/womens-monastic-organization/