Sri Ramakrishna’s Birthday Celebration began at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 4, 2006 at Vidyapith.  Many alumni were present for the joyous evening:  Nisha Shah, Himanshu Tailor, Tilak Jani, Lina Sivadasan, Sona Mehta, Jasmine Gadhavi, Vivek Kocharlakota, and Ashim Gupta.  Vivek played the harmonium, while Tilak and Ashim played the tabla and pakhavaj respectively.  Arvind Krishnamoorthy offered the puja and flowers.  Dhruvin Dave offered the concluding arati.  The program of the auspicious event was as follows:  Pranam Mantra, Manas Puja, Veda Mantra, Aratrikam, Sri Ramakrishna Jayashtakam (led by Jyotiben Shah), Pushpanjali, Dhoon: “Om Hari Om Ramakrishna” (Uncle), Prabhusmaran, Readinng, Bhajan: “Sakoli Tomai Ichha..” (Uma Aunty), Bhajan: “Tumi Brahma Ramakrishna..”(Vivek), Presentations I, Dhoon: “Paramhansa Ramakrishna..” (Vivek),  Presentations II, Bhajan: “Gahore Jaya Jaya Ramakrishna Nam..” (Vivek), Jagadish Arari, Veda Mantras, and Pranam Mantras. 

             During the reading and discussion, Uncle (Dr. Mahendra Jani) emphasized how important this celebration is for the Vidyapith.  He said we give Sri Ramakrishna the highest place in the Vidyapith and make all possible efforts to follow his teachings.  We study his teachings as expounded by Swami Vivekananda and exemplified by Holy Mother and his direct disciples in their lives.  Sri Ramakrishna has inspired millions of people in India and abroad and will continue to inspire more.  His guidance comes from his direct spiritual experiences, which is the essence of all religions of the world.  Sri Ramakrishna attained the highest states in all aspects of spirituality that one can comprehend.  He practiced almost all basic paths of spirituality and all major religions and attained the highest that one can attain through these paths.  Uncle then read a few passages from “The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna” which explained the essence of the Four Yogas: Karma Yoga, Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga, and Bhakti Yoga.  Sri Ramakrishna said that there are innumerable paths leading to the Ocean of immortality, namely the ocean of Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence-Knowledge-Bliss).  The essential thing is to reach the Ocean.  It does not matter which path one follows.  The Jnani discriminates between what is permanent and what is impermanent and follows the permanent.  It is very difficult to get rid of body-consciousness, and knowledge of Brahman is impossible until this is achieved.  The aim of Karma Yoga is to fix one’s mind on God by means of work.  It is very difficult to perform one’s duties with a spirit of detachment.  The bhaktas try to keep their minds on God by chanting His names and glories.  Considering all these paths, it is easier to follow Bhakti Yoga, the path of devotion.            

             There were presentations by the following students of Saturday and Sunday schools: Sonali Mehta, Ansh Patel, Rishi Dhar, Sailesh Doraiswami, Debanjan Saha, Devika Gadhavi, Bindi Parikh, Avni Senjalia, Abhishek Senjalia, Arvind Krishnamurthy, Abhay Patel, and Amit Nigalaye.  Sonali started the presentations by telling all about the human sufferings Sri Ramakrishna saw during his pilgrimage and how he asked his disciple to ease these sufferings immediately by providing food and blankets.  Next, Ansh retold a parable of Sri Ramakrishna with the moral that there is nothing better to attain in human life than true devotion to God.  Rishi explained how Sri Ramakrishna used simple examples to elaborate the profound truths of the scriptures.  Sailesh talked about the childhood of Sri Ramakrishna.  Debanjan answered the question posed by Pandit Vidyasagar; “What kind of Saint is Sri Ramakrishna?”  Devika talked about Sri Ramakrishna’s love for his disciples, while  Bindi narrated the life of Sri Ramakrishna.  Next, Avani answered the question, “What makes Sri Ramakrishna so special?” by describing a few events of his life.  Abhshek talked about universal principles of Vedanta as described by Sri Ramakrishna: Oneness of Existence, Divinity within all, Harmony of all religions, and all religions as paths leading to the One God.  Arvind explained Sri Ramakrishna’s teaching that God within and God without are the same.  Abhay talked about Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda as true reformers.  In the last presentation, Amit retold a parable of Sri Ramakrishna with the message that through faith in God one can attain everything in life. (Report prepared by Shraddha Desai.)