Cultural events, religious talks mark Swamiji’s birthday celebrations at Ramakrishna Mission

Kolkata: Swami Vivekananda’s ‘tithi Puja’ was celebrated with great energy and gusto at various centres of Ramakrishna Mission, his ancestral house at Shimla Street in Kolkata, and Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math in Howrah with mangal aarti, religious speeches, cultural programmes, and recitation of Vedic hymns.

To celebrate the 161st birthday of Swami Vivekananda, seminars, cultural events, and literary competitions were also held at Ramakrishna Mission Swami Vivekananda’s ancestral house and cultural centre. Swamiji’s tithi puja celebration on Saturday at his ancestral house started with Mangal aarti, followed by puja and the distribution of prasad. Swami Jnanalokananda, secretary of the centre, said till the time corruption, dishonesty, jealousy, and enmity will prevail in society, Swami Vivekananda will be relevant. “With widespread jealousy and animosity, it seems we have become animals. Swamiji asked us to avoid jealousy and selfishness. He always stressed on character-building,” he said. In the evening at Swamiji’s ancestral home in north Kolkata, which was decorated with flowers, Vivekananda Youth Forum performed Vivek Geeti, and singer Bibhabendu Bhattacharya presented devotional songs.

Monks at Belur Math celebrated Swami Vivekananda’s tithi puja according to the almanac. The celebration started with Mangal aarti at Swamiji’s temple at 4.45 am. It was followed by Vedic chanting and a special puja. In Swamiji’s room, the devotees and monks then gathered for a cultural event where Haridas Roy and Supriya Moitra performed. Swami Vedarthananda read from the ‘Kathopanishad’ and Kaushik Bhattacharya performed devotional songs at Belur Math on Saturday. Swami Mahaprajnananda, Swami Atmapriyananda, and Swami Divyananda spoke on the life and teachings of Swami Vivekananda.