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15 May, 2001 RAMAKRISHNA MISSION STUDENTS’ HOME (Orphanage) RAMAKRISHNAPURAM(Kallady-Uppodai), BATTICALOA.
Swami Vivekananda proclaimed “ The poor, the illiterate, the ignorant, the afflicted: let these be your God “, and any act to ameliorate their lot is the highest form of worship. He added, “He who has served and helped one poor being seeing Shiva in him, without thinking of his caste, creed, race or anything , with him Shiva is more pleased than with a man who sees Him only in temples”. The charitable dispensaries, hospitals and the homes for the orphans, the deserted, the destitute and the needy children and the various relief services undertaken by the Mission are visible expressions of this gospel of selfless service – the service of the Divine in Man as declared by the great Swami Vivekananda.
BEGINNINGS OF THE HOME In pursuance of these objectives the Ramakrishna Mission Boys’ Home (Orphanage) now at Batticaloa was started by Swami Vipulananda with a few admirers and devotees of the Mission, namely Mudaliyar C. Rasanayagam C.C.S., Messrs K. Aiyathurai, K. Navaratnam, C. Mylvaganam, S.T. Chittampalam, K. Thambiah, T.N. Subbiah and V. Thambi on 6th June 1926 at the Velikkilamai Madam which was also called Shroff’s Madam established by the Late Sri Visvanatha Udaiyar of Vannarpannai. The object of this Institution is to provide a Man - making, Character- building education based on the Gurukula ideals, and to provide a home free of cost, affording the maximum opportunities of education to deserving orphans, destitutes and needy children. The first batch of six boys in the Home had the good fortune of having their lives being moulded by Swami Anantananda and Br. Shivadas (later Swami Paripurnananda). This Home like any other institution of that time under the Mission, has had the blessings of His Holiness Srimat Swami Shivanandaji Maharaj (the 2nd President of the Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission) and His Holiness Srimat Swami Bigyananandaji Maharaj ( the 5th President of the Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission), both being the direct disciples of the Master – Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Deva. The latter visited the Home on 03.01.1934 and blessed it in a bountiful manner. The Home also had the blessings of Srilasri Yogar Swamigal of Jaffna. It is the cherished ambition of the pioneers to make this institution a truly cultural and ideal Home for the poor, needy and deserving children, following the Gurukula system of education as envisaged by Swami Vivekananda, taking the Ramakrishna Mission Students’ Home, Mylapore , Chennai as its model. THE HOME AT BATTICALOA With a view to giving a fresh impetus to the institution and providing it a permanent habitation, the Home was shifted to Kallady-Uppodai (now Ramakrishnapuram), Batticaloa on 26th November 1929 and the inmates of the Home had to take their abode in Shivananda Vidyalaya which had only one building consisting of a hall 42’ x 30’, 2 rooms 15’ x 10’ each and a verandah 8’ x 30’.This building served the purpose of the school, the dormitory for the inmates of the Home, and one of the rooms served as the Shrine of Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna and the other as the living room of the resident monastic worker. The day to day administration of the Home was placed in the hands of Br. Avykta Chaitanya (later Swami Kutasthananda). During the pioneering days of the activities of the Mission, between 1928 and 1932 the Swamis who were in charge of the work and those Swamiis who visited the Centre took their abode in Kallady Street (now Anaipanthy) Hindu Tamil School where, there was a room constructed out of clay and a roof thatched with cadjan. This formed the nucleus of the Batticaloa Ashrama. Swami Vipulananda , during the pioneering days lived at “Rajmahal”, the house of Mr. K.O. Velupillai and sometimes at “Selvasthan”, the house of Mr. K. Nallathamby, Notary. For the first time, Tamil and Hindu New Year was observed in the Manthivu Leper Asylum and in the Batticaloa Prisons in 1930 on the initiative taken by the Batticaloa Mission Centre.
STORY OF DEVELOPMENT Swami Vipulananda left for Annamalai Nagar in 1931 and the task of managing the schools descended on the shoulders of Swami Ghanananda who had to take up this work along with his duties as Vice – President of the Ramakrishna Mission (Ceylon Branch). He was assisted by Br. Avyakta Chaitanya, who was stationed in Batticaloa up to April 1932, and then by Swami Paripurnananda. The Students’ Home of Kallady-Uppodai moved into its own buildings on 12.05.1932 with 12 inmates. The Home was built in the land donated to the Mission by Kathirgamathamby Udaiyar and Sabapathipillai Udaiyar. Swami Sundarananda succeeded Swami Ghanananda as Manager of Schools in 1932 and Swami Paripurnananda continued to assist in the Management of the Schools. Swami Asangananda became the Vice-President of the Ramakrishna Mission (Ceylon Branch) and the Swami-in-Charge of the Colombo Centre in November 1932.
Towards the latter part of 1933, Swami Vipulananda assumed duties as General Manager of Schools for the second time. Since Br. Avykta Chaitanya left for India on 30.05.1932 for higher monastic training, Swami Paripurnananda succeeded him. He was also the warden of the Home when it was at Vellikkilamai Madam. Messrs V. Murugupillai and Chidambaram, both teachers of Shivananda Vidyalaya, asisted Swami Paripurnananda in the managerment of the Home. Swami Sundarananda was the General Manager of the schools and the warden of the Home from 1932 to May 1934. For the first time in Ceylon, Yoga Asana exercises became part and parcel of the physical training of the children in the Home and this was also introduced in the schools run by the Mission. This feature came up for special mention and commendation by the then Inspector of Schools (Physical education). His Holiness Srimat Swami Bigyananandaji Maharaj, the Vice-President of the Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission along with three Swamis of the Order visited Ceylon on 27th December 1933. During his sojourn, His Holiness visited Batticaloa on 3rd January 1934. He was given a rousing reception and was presented with an Address of Welcome by the citizens of Batticaloa. This was a memorable occasion for all those who were connected with the activities of the Batticaloa Centre. Regarding this visit, we have heard Swami Natarajananda (then Chidambaram, a teacher at Shivananda Vidyalaya) reminicing that, His Serene Holiness Srimat Swami Bigyananandaji Maharaj in an exalted mood stood near the mango tree which was on the eastern side of Shivananda Vidyalaya (the tree has since been uprooted by the cyclone in 1978) and with his fully outstretched arms exclaimed that “This institution will grow thus! and thus!! and thus!!!”. Everytime he uttered the word “Thus”, his arms opened out as if to enclose the entire void in his embrace |
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