Swami Vivekananda founded the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission with a view to put his ideas of the regeneration of the world into practice. The twin organizations form the core of a worldwide spiritual movement (known as Ramakrishna Movement or Vedanta Movement), which aims at the harmony of religions, harmony of the East and the West, harmony of the ancient and the modern, spiritual fulfillment, all-round development of human faculties, social equality and peace for all humanity, without any distinctions of creed, caste, race or nationality. These two organizations together have 171 more than 170 branch centers across six continents.
Ramakrishna Math is a monastic organization for men brought into existence by Swami Vivekananda’s master, Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886), the great 19th century saint of Bengal who is regarded as the Prophet of the Modern Age himself.
Ramakrishna Mission was founded by Swami Vivekananda, in which monks of Ramakrishna Math and lay devotees cooperate in conducting various types of social service activities, mainly in India.
The motto of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission is:
For one’s liberation and for the welfare of the world
Goals and Objectives:
The main goals and objectives of this order, as underlined by Swami Vivekananda, are the following:
a) To spread the idea of the potential divinity of every being and how to manifest it through every action and thought.
b) To spread the idea of harmony of religions based on Sri Ramakrishna’s experience that all religions lead to the realization of the same Reality known by different names in different religions. The Organization honours and reveres the founders of all world religions such as the Buddha, Christ and Mohammed.
c) To treat all work as worship, and service to human beings as service to God.
d) To make all possible attempts to alleviate human suffering by spreading education, rendering medical service, extending help to villagers through rural development centres, relief and rehabilitation at the time of natural calamities etc.
e) To work for the all-round welfare of humanity, especially for the uplift of the poor and the downtrodden.