Whenever we think of Swami Vivekananda, his love for the Himalayas and the Uttarakhand region comes to mind. Uttarakhand has a special connection with the memories of the great Swami Vivekananda whose 153nd birth anniversary is being celebrated all over the country as well as abroad on January 12.
The Ramakrishna Mission Ashram at Kishenpur in the Doon valley holds grand celebrations on this day every year including youth convention, speeches, recitations and music.
Uttarakhand specially Almora and Dehra Dun, have several memories of the great Vivekananda who visited both places several times.
The Ramakrishna Mission Ashram (Mathh Branch) in the Doon valley, situated in picturesque surroundings, was started in 1916, exactly a hundred years ago.
The Mission centre was started in 1974. The Math centre has a library with 4560 books. It has daily worship, weekly discourses in and outside the ashram, and celebration of Janamashtami, Durga Puja, Kali Puja, and observance of the birth anniversaries of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sarada Devi, Swami Vivekananda and other spiritual luminaries. It is involved in many charitable activities.
Swami Vivekananda was born on January 12, 1863. He set up the Advaita Ashram in Mayavati in Kumaon.
On May 1, 1897 Vivekananda founded the “Ramakrishna Mathh” in Calcutta. This was the organ for propagating religion and “Ramakrishna Mission” was the organ for social service. This was the beginning of an organized socio-religious movement to help the masses through educational, cultural, medical and relief work.
Two monasteries(ashrams) were founded by Vivekananda, one at Belur, near Kolkata, which became the Headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Mission and the other, two kilometres from Almora, called the Advaita Ashram. later a third monastery was established at Madras.
Swamiji had always been attracted by the Himalayas. During his tour of the Swiss Alps the idea to found an Ashram in similar conditions in India took shape.
Swami Vivekananda made several visits to Almora. After the passing away of his Guru, Sri Ramakrishna, Swami Vivekenanda travelled throughout India teaching Vedanta, and in 1890 he had walked from Nainital to Almora. He spent several days meditating in a cave on a hill close to the Kasaar Devi temple. Following the demise of his mentor Swami Ramkrishna, the young Narendra (later to be known asSwami Vivekananda) ,while scaling the wilderness of Kumaon, is believed to have said that he had seen the macrocosm in a microcosm.
located twenty two kilometres from Champawat and 9 km from lohaghat amid an old tea estate, Mayawati shot into prominence after the Advaita Ashram was established here. The ashram attracts spiritualists from India and abroad. It has a press of its own and the first editions of Swami Vivekananda’s works were published from Mayavati, besides Prabuddha Bharata, the monthly journal. The Ashram provides boarding and lodging to visitors. It attracts the spiritual minded from all over India and abroad. There is also a library and a small museum at Mayawati
On his arrival at Almora, Swami Vivekananda received an Address of Welcome from the citizens of Almora, to which he made the following reply: “This is the land of dreams of our forefathers, in which was born Pârvati, the Mother of India. This is the holy land where every ardent soul in India wants to come at the end of its life, and to close the last chapter of its mortal career. This is the land which, since my very childhood, I have been dreaming of passing my life in, and as all of you are aware, I have attempted again and again to live here; and although the time was not ripe, and I had work to do and was whirled outside of this holy place, yet it is the hope of my life to end my days somewhere in this Father of Mountains where Rishis lived, where philosophy was born ..Inhabitants of this holy land, accept my gratitude for the kind praise that has fallen from you for my little work in the West…. As peak after peak of this Father of Mountains began to appear before my sight, all the propensities to work, that ferment that had been going on in my brain for years, seemed to quiet down, and instead of talking about what had been done and what was going to be done, the mind reverted to that one eternal theme which the Himalayas always teach us, that one theme which is reverberating in the very atmosphere of the place — renunciation! The Himalayas stand
for that renunciation.”( Extract from: “The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda”/ Volume 3/lectures from Colombo to Almora ).
The great Swami passed away on July 4 , 1902 (1902-07-04), at the age of 39.