Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute (RKMVERI)
(Deemed-to-be-University as declared by Govt of India under Section-3 of UGC Act 1956)
The Ministry of Education (earlier known as Ministry of Human Resource Development), Government of India, accorded permission to the Ramakrishna Mission to start a deemed university named the Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Educational and Research Institute by a Gazette Notification dated 5 January 2005. The formal inauguration took place on 4 July 2005, Swami Vivekananda’s Mahasamadhi day.
Swami Vivekananda envisioned that Belur Math, which he founded in 1899, would be a centre of great harmony and synthesis, not only of all religious beliefs and traditions, but also of arts and sciences and the various branches of knowledge, both secular and spiritual. It would be the centre of great spiritual and cultural awakening.
The Vision
To be a great centre of learning blending the two sciences—‘natural and humanistic’—and harmoniously synthesizing the twin excellences of ancient Indian wisdom and modern scientific knowledge and technological skill, imparting life-building, character-making education to the youths for their individual improvement as well as for the collective good as envisioned by Swami Vivekananda.
Mission
- (Pursuit of Excellence) To strive for excellence in teaching, research and all academic endeavors.
- (Blending of Eastern and Western values) To inculcate ancient Indian values like Shraddha (unshakable conviction), purity, truth, selflessness, harmony and peace, blending them with predominantly western values like scientific temper, rational outlook, technological efficiency, teamwork, professional integrity, work ethics, etc., in order to create a band of educated youth with lofty character and integrated personalities with harmonious development of heart, head and hand—faculties of feeling, thinking and willing—bhakti, jnana and karma with yoga or concentration interpenetrating all these.
- (Social responsibility) To train and educate the youth to become socially responsible citizens to collectively rebuild a rejuvenated, glorious India by first of all building an impeccable, lofty character at the individual level.
Administrative Aspects:
The RKMVERI is an university that could operate through and from any of the branch-centres of Ramakrishna Mission in India and abroad. It is a cluster of institutions, all of them belonging to branches of Ramakrishna Mission, with headquarters at Belur Math, District Howarh, West Bengal.
‘Thrust Areas’ chosen—Raison de’tre
Swami Vivekananda prophesied on the eve of his passing away on 4 July 1902 that “the spiritual wave that has come to Belur [Math] will last for fifteen hundred years and it shall be a great University. Do not think I imagine it; I see it.” He also said on the very last day of his life in the mortal frame that: “Keeping the ancient Indian spiritual ideal and rooted in it, and blending it harmoniously with modern science and technology, we should establish a University at Belur Math.” This University therefore, bearing Swami Vivekananda’s hallowed name is a humble attempt by Ramakrishna Mission to actualize his vision. The various ‘thrust areas’ of the University have been chosen keeping in mind the above vision of Swami Vivekananda. The motivation for the choice of the ‘thrust areas’ came essentially from the following considerations:
- These ‘thrust areas are in a sense ‘gap areas’ in the sense that these areas scarcely receive attention in most of the conventional Universities in India.
- These ‘thrust areas’ are meant to directly benefit the common man, particularly the underprivileged and the rural/tribal sections of the society, thereby fostering social commitment of higher education institutions in India as taught by Swami Vivekananda (which aspect, interestingly, the Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission have recently begun to emphasize).
- The Ramakrishna Mission has developed a high degree of expertise and a huge infrastructure and resources at least in some of these areas over several decades, almost a century in some cases, of its educational service.
- Harmonious blend of the best elements of the East and the West—Western science and technology with the Ancient Indian Heritage, Sanatana Bharatiya Jnana Sampradaya-Parampara (Eternal Indian Knowledge Systems and Tradition).
The following ‘thrust areas’ have been chosen for the University bearing Swami Vivekananda’s hallowed name:
- (a) Disability Management and Special Education,
(b) General & Adapted Physical Education and Yoga - Agriculture, Integrated Rural and Tribal Development
- Indian Heritage (spiritual, cultural, scientific, sports heritage) including values education for wholesome, integrated character building
- Fundamental and Applied Science education and research (with emphasis on “Translational Research”)
- Environment and Disaster Management
About Coimbatore Campus
The Board of Management of RKMVERI in its meeting held on 02.07.2006 adopted a resolution to start a new Faculty in Physical Education with focus on Adapted Physical Education and Yoga at Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Coimbatore. For this purpose, the Faculty Centre for Disability Management and Special Education (FDMSE), and the Maruthi College of Physical Education (MCPE), already functioning at Coimbatore, will collaborate with the new Faculty of General & Adapted Physical Education and Yoga (GAPEY).
Campus
The FDMSE & GAPEY is located in the Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Coimbatore, a major educational centre of the Ramakrishna Mission. The Vidyalaya is situated 19 kms from Coimbatore City on the highway to Ootacamund, and is set in a serene environment spread over nearly 300 acres. The Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Coimbatore, was started in 1930 with an investment of Rs. 5.75 and one harijan boy on its roll. Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, laid the foundation stone of the Vidyalaya in 1934. The Vidyalaya was affiliated to the Ramakrishna Mission in January 1935. Over a period of more than 75 years, the Vidyalaya has grown into a comprehensive and reputed complex with 15 educational institutions training over 6250 students at any given time, offering them facilities for education ranging from the pre-school to the doctoral levels.
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