12 Mar :Swami Smaranananda, the Vice-President and the former general Secretary of the world-wide organization the Ramakrishna Mission reached Chandigarh on 11th March. He addressed the devotees and admirers on 12th March at 5:30 pm at the local Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Sector 15-B.He said that the message of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda is most relevant for the modern times because it teaches us to combine the best of the East and the best of the West. Material growth and progress is necessary for human wellbeing but it must be combined with spiritual growth also.
Swami Vivekananda’s message is a message of integral harmony which accepts all religions as true and valid paths to God realization. He said that we must work in the world while remembering God always. This is the only way by which we can avoid the stress and strain of modern fast and competitive life. While faith is an integrating force, we must avoid fanaticism. Sri Ramakrishna practiced all religions and prove that all religions lead to the same goal.
We must combine in our life the ideal of Self Realization as well as service to humanity. Service must be done with a spirit of dedication to God considering the served as God himself. This was the teaching which Sri Ramakrishna gave and which Swami Vivekananda propagated. The Ramakrishna Mission does the services activities in that spirit.