Our Order

Although Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission are legally and financially separate, they are closely inter-related in several ways and are regarded as twin organizations.

These twin organizations have set in motion a non-sectarian, universal spiritual movement which has been silently working for more than a hundred years to catalyze the spiritual regeneration of humanity.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

(1836 - 1886)

Sri Sarada Devi

(1853 - 1920)

Swami Vivekananda

(1863 - 1902)

The chief catalyst in this ongoing transformation is India’s ancient religious philosophy known as Vedanta. Although several other systems of philosophy arose in India at different times, they were confined to small groups. Vedanta alone has remained the dominant philosophy of India’s religious tradition from Vedic times to the present day.

In modern times this ancient system of thought has been purified, unified and energized by Sri Ramakrishna, and expounded in the modern idiom by Swami Vivekananda and thus made available to all people all over the world without any distinctions of caste, creed or race.

The Ramakrishna Order does not believe in conversion, nor does it indulge in the occult or the sensational. The Order places utmost importance on personal spiritual unfoldment and selfless service. Inspired by the idea of the harmony of all faiths, its centres encourage adherents of different faiths to meet in a spirit of friendship and mutual appreciation and to learn from one another without having to give up one’s own faith.

In the words of Sri Ramakrishna: “God has made different religions to suit different aspirants, lives and countries … all doctrines are only so many paths; but a path is by no means God Himself. Indeed, one can reach God if one follows any of the paths with whole-hearted devotion.”

Monastic Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna

(After Sri Ramakrishna's passing away, fourteen of the Master's young disciples (two more joined later), under the leadership of Swami Vivekananda, formed a monastic brotherhood known as the Ramakrishna Math (Order). [The names of these sixteen monastic disciples are: Swami Vivekananda, Swami Brahmananda, Swami Yogananda, Swami Premananda, Swami Niranjanananda, Swami Shivananda, Swami Saradananda, Swami Ramakrishnananda, Swami Abhedananda, Swami Adbhutananda, Swami Turiyananda, Swami Advaitananda, Swami Trigunatitananda, Swami Subodhananda, Swami Akhandananda and Swami Vijnanananda.] The original monastery was housed in a dilapidated building at Baranagore in Kolkata.)