Yuva Jagrati

– A Youth Awareness Programme

“Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man”, says Swami Vivekananda, “We want that education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, the intellect is expanded and by which one can stand on one’s own feet.” Swami Vivekananda was himself an illustrious example of his idea of educated youth.

Recognizing the great contribution of Swami Vivekananda in Nation Building the Government of India declared him as the National Ideal for the youth of our country and his birthday is celebrated as the National Youth Day.

Swami Vivekananda had a great vision for the youth of our country. He says, “My faith is in the younger generation, the modern generation, out of them will come my workers. They will work out the whole problem, like lions.”

Realizing this great vision is one of the objectives of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, an International Organization, founded in 1897 by Swami Vivekananda.

Need of the Hour

The tremendous energy of the youth needs to be channelised into a more constructive manner for the benefit of both the youth and the nation. What the youth need at this hour is right leadership. If there are some youth, who have the right perspective about values and culture, and the vigour to share it with others, it will go a long way to help the youth community to unfold its full potential.

There are a number of youth, who are looking out for guidance. They are troubled by fundamental questions like “What is life? What is the aim of life? Why do I do what I do? Why do good people suffer? How important is ethics and morality in everyday life? Can I excel in my career while sticking to ethics? Is it possible to be a perfect person in this imperfect world? etc. etc.” They are not satisfied with normal answers like “Don’t think too much. Just be happy doing what you like to do.”

With a clear philosophy of life along with proper understanding of values and culture, these inquisitive youth can be developed into beacon lights. The presence of even a handful of such youth in the society can make a huge difference in the process of nation building.

Features

For achieving this purpose Ramakrishna Math, Ulsoor, Bangalore, has initiated a youth awareness programme – Yuva Jagrati.

The programme consists of

· Inaugural Session

· Creation of Study Circles in the Colleges

· Conducting regular Youth retreats and Annual Conventions

· Organizing an exhibition cum Sales of literature of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda & Vedanta in the colleges.

· Maintenance of a Webpage dedicated to this programme in our Ashrama’s Website ( www.ramakrishnamath.in )

Inaugural Session

· Meeting the students in college and introducing them to the study of Philosophy of life, Values and Culture.

· Gifting of related literature to the college library and encouraging the students to pursue the deep study in these new lines of thoughts.

· Distribution of a complementary book ‘Swami Vivekananda – His Call to the Nation’ to all participants.

Study Circle

· Each participating college will have a small group of interested youth.

· They will meet every week for one hour at a fixed place in their college on a fixed day at a fixed time.

· They will read and discuss literature suggested by the coordination centre.

· They will send a short report and any questions to the coordination centre every month by email ( yuvajagrati@gmail.com )

· They will receive reply to questions and further guidance from the coordination centre and discuss in the next study hour.

· They will maintain a library of complimentary books given by the coordination centre.

Objectives of the Study Circle

Creating a study atmosphere in the colleges to the interested youth by providing guidance

· To study the lives and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda

· To have a clear understanding of philosophy of life

· To know the importance of ethics and morality

· To develop their inner Character

· To be knowledgeable about the Spiritual Heritage of India

· To appreciate the Scientific and Cultural Heritage of India

· To study the Major Religions of the World

· To have moral strength to stick to the values in the day to day life

· To direct the youth power in the service of the Nation

Youth Retreats

· There will be one-day Youth Retreats in different cities to cater to the college students close by.

· Eminent speakers will address the youth on various topics of interest.

· A book fair will be conducted to provide related books at subsidized cost.

· These will be organized by the Study Circles with the help of the coordination centre and open to all students.

· There will be one Youth Retreat per year in each region.

Annual Youth Convention

· There will be a one-day annual youth convention organized by the coordination centre in its premises.

· This will be attended by active members of the study circles in the various colleges.

· This will have personality development modules and team building exercises.

· This will give the basic foundation of Indian Philosophy and Culture

· The members will discuss current problems of Indian society and possible solutions.

· The members will share experiences in the study circles.

Roles and Responsibilities

Ashrama will act as a coordination centre and guide study circles in colleges.

Coordination Centre

· The President, Ramakrishna Math, Halasuru, Bengaluru will be the head of the Coordination Centre.

· The faculty of the Coordination Centre will include a team of monks and faculty members who are knowledgeable in the areas of interest.

Coordination Centre’s Activities

· Each faculty member will be given charge of 5 study circles. He will attend the regular meeting of each study circle at least once in 2 months.

· Mailing lists of the study circles will be maintained.

· Records of the weekly meetings of all the study circles will be maintained.

· The coordination centre will guide each study circle by suggesting study material.

· Questions raised by the study circles through email will be replied promptly and maintained in an easily searchable and accessible form on the website of the coordination centre.

· Individual guidance will be provided to the students who seek it.

Scope

· The scope of this activity is limited to acquiring, developing and disseminating knowledge of values and culture.

· Participation is purely voluntary from the colleges and students.

· There will be absolutely no monetary transaction between the coordination centre and the study circles.

· Meeting the Students (aprox. 2 lakh) studying in 500 Colleges.

· Distribution of Complementary Books

a. Library Sets for 500 colleges (a set of 17 books costs Rs.1, 100/-)

b. “Vivekananda – His Call to the Nation” for 2 lakh students

List of complementary books to be given Libraries

Life of Swami Vivekananda – By Eastern & Western Disciples (2 vols)

Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda (8 vols)

Life of Sri Ramakrishna – Foreword by Mahatma Gandhi

Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna (2 Vols)

Sri Sarada Devi – The Holy Mother – By Swami Tapasyananda

Gospel of Holy Mother – Sri Sarada Devi

Srimad Bhagavat Gita – Trans. By Sw.Tapasyananda

Ramakrishna Mission – History, Ideal & Ideas

List of Colleges who have participated so far in this programme is  here.