Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashala

Caen stone statue of Swami Vivekananda in meditation pose

Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashala is a boarding school for boys run by the Ramakrishna Mission in the southern Indian city of Mysore (Kannada: ಮೈಸೂರು Maisūru). It offers a comprehensive education from high school to junior college, or grades eight through twelve. Its former administrator, Swami Muktidananda, was quoted in May 2010 to say, "Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashala accords preference to students from rural areas and economically and socially underprivileged background at the time of admission ... The student profile is divergent and reflective of the entire state [of Karnataka]."

Vidyashala operates as one of the Ramakrishna Mission's nine centers in the state of Karnataka. Two others centers are located in Mysore: Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama and the Ramakrishna Institute of Moral and Spiritual Education.

Founder

Vidyashala was founded in 1953 by Swami Shambhavananda, a Ramakrishna Math monk born in Kodagu.

Shambhavananda, an early president of Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Mysore, was an educational pioneer who sought to offer younger students in their formative years a "man making education" which Swami Vivekananda had described as a "total development of man which includes the physical, mental and spiritual." Vidyashala would operationalize Vivekananda's calls for a higher intellect through sound health.

Vidyashala was preceded for at least three decades by the Ramakrishna Students Home, a boarding facility for poor students of whom some, such as the writer K.V. Puttappa, went on to gain eminence in pre-Independence Mysore. Vidyashala began in a small house in the Vontikoppal ward but shifted to its present campus in Yadavagiri after Shambhavananda purchased for the institution a patch of barren wasteland that he went on to transform into a verdant green.

In the early 1950s, Shambhavananda physically led the building construction despite his advancing age. A legend is that he walked around Mysore's Yadavagiri ward seeking bhiksha on behalf of the new school. Seeking bhiksha is a Hindu tradition of begging for alms with the purpose of self-effacement or ego-conquering.

Leadership

Vidyashala is administered by a Ramakrishna Math monk, or swami, designated as correspondent. Swami Satyeshananda is the current correspondent.He was preceded by Swami Muktidananda, who is currently the Adhyaksha of Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Mysore. Vidyashala's academic sections are in the charge of a principal, S. Balaji. Swami Satyeshananda is a qualified doctor and is an Old student of the institution. He'd served at the Delhi centre of the Ramakrishna Mission before taking up the responsibility as the Correspondent of the Vidyashala in 2011. Swami Satyeshananda is a lover of sports and games and himself takes part in the sports.

The former administrator, Swami Muktidananda took charge as correspondent in 1997. A trained botanist, Muktidananda established in 1998 "Nisarga Niketana," a thatched classroom resembling a traditional gurukul. He initiated a restoration of Vidyashala's aging main building, re-tiled the swimming pool, made several aesthetic additions to the campus, commissioned a new audiovisual theater, and led enhancements for Vidyashala's golden jubilee in 2003. In 2007, Muktidananda's compilations of Swami Achalananda's expositions on puja were published by the Mysore Ashrama as the 213-page book The Meaning and Significance of Worship.

Much of Vidyashala's reputation as a model educational institution is attributed to the leadership of Swami Sureshananda ("Hari Maharaj"), correspondent for nearly two decades until 1990 when he succeeded Swami Somanathananda as president of Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Mysore. In that position Sureshananda built a public auditorium, renovated the Ashrama building, and construct two floors of quarters for monks. In the late 1990s Sureshananda moved into spiritual practice in B.R. Hills.

Sureshananda helped Vidyashala's campus optimize productivity, increase its biodiversity and move toward self-sustainability. He planted and tended to coconut, arabica coffee, sapota, silver oak and elephant grass (Saccharum ravennae). A popular legend is that Sureshananda never traveled out of Mysore without bringing back a variety of flora for Vidyashala. Sureshananda established a biogas facility attached to the dairy, an electric laundry, and biological, physical and chemical student-laboratories. Sureshananda took a special interest in Vidyashala's band troop, which is recognized as one of Karnataka's finest. He was involved in Vidyashala's management even while his successor, the popular Swami Paratmananda ("Gangadhar Maharaj"), served as correspondent from 1990 until 1997.

On April 15, 2008, a 79-year-old Sureshananda had surgery for lower back pain at Lilavati Hospital, Mumbai. In early December 2009, Sureshananda was treated for a fracture in the upper right femur, at Basappa Memorial Hospital in Mysore.

Examination performance

In 2010, Vidyashala maintained a 23-year streak of 100 per cent results in Karnataka's public examinations.

Of the 56 students that appeared for the pre-university course (PUC) examination, "31 scored distinctions, 24 first class and one student passed in second class. Swami Muktidananda, correspondent of the Vidyashala, said the aggregate average marks of the entire class was 83.50 per cent ... Aditya R. Shenoy topped the merit list scoring 572 out of 600 marks. In addition, 10 students scored 100 marks in different subjects."

Of the 98 students that appeared in the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination, "62 passed with distinction and the rest with first class. K.C. Tharun Joyappa [was] the school topper, securing 608 out of 625 marks." In the previous year 2009, of the 96 students that had appeared for the Secondary School Leaving Certificate (SSLC) examination, 63 secured distinction and 32 passed in first class.

Biodiversity, playgrounds, pool

The verdant 69-acre (280,000 m²) campus is flanked on the west by a T-shaped four-storey building whose terrace offers a panoramic view. That main building was declared open in 1953 by the statesman C. Rajagopalachari. The 33.3-meter open-air swimming pool, one of Mysore's oldest and finest, was inaugurated in 1957 by India's first Prime Minister, Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.

There are 22 playgrounds for soccer, hockey, basketball, volleyball, and kho-kho, and a cricket pitch. A couple of small cottages, called kutiras, by a scenic pond in the campus, are used for meditation by visiting Ramakrishna Math monks. There is an automated laundry and a mechanized dairy housing 50 cows.

The campus hosts about a thousand species of flora including rarities such as a North American Giant Redwood and a Thai tree that blossoms every 12th year, as well as plantations of sapota, arabica coffee, elephant grass (Saccharum ravennae), coconut, and silver oak. The campus is a sanctuary for nearly four hundred species of birds, including migrants such as the cormorant. An index of the campus fauna is available on signs to the left as one enters the gates.

On the southeastern corner of Vidyashala's campus is located the Ramakrishna Institute of Moral and Spiritual Education, popularly called "Vedanta College," which offers a Bachelor of Education program and whose prayer hall is topped by a distinctive Pallava-style gopuram visible from about five kilometers around.

Vidyashala hosts an award-winning company of the Thirteen Karnataka Battalion of the National Cadet Corps (Army wing).

Swami Vivekananda's statue

A statue of Swami Vivekananda in a meditation pose, at the entrance of Vidyashala, is sculpted by an artist from Burma, U. Han Tin. It is made of Caen stone from England. The statue is 6.5' tall, 5' wide from front and 3.5' wide from side.

The statue was earlier located at the Ramakrishna Mission Hospital in Rangoon (Yangon) in Burma (Myanmar). During the 1962 military coup in Burma, the large hospital run by the Mission was taken over by the military junta; the junta allowed the Mission to relocate the statue.

In 1965, the statue was transported from Burma to Mysore. It was unveiled at its current location in 1978 by Lal Krishna Advani, the then Indian Union minister of information and broadcasting, during Vidyashala's silver jubilee celebration.

The statue is housed in a granite mandapa designed in the style of the Bhagavad Gita chariot by Vidyashala's architect, E. Ashirvadam. It combines Bengali and Dravidian styles of architecture. Swami Vivekananda's aphorism, "Education is the manifestation of perfection already in man," is inscribed on a plaque at the statue's base.

Dormitories, laboratories, observatory

The students live in dormitory-style facilities each supervised by a warden, often a resident monk.

Name of Warden	Years of Service
Swami Shambhavananda	-
Swami Vedananda	-
Swami Sureshananda	-
Swami Prasannananda	-
Swami Keshavananda	-
Swami Agehananda	-Swami Nityasthananda	- Swami Muktipadananda
Swami Jagadatmananda	-
Swami Brahmatmananda	-
Swami Kamaleshwarananda	-
Swami Nityasthananda	-
Br. Narasimha	-
Br. Basappa	-
Swami Venkateshananda	-
Swami Chandreshananda	-
Swami Prajnatmananda	-
Swami Bhargeshananda	-
Swami Muktidananda	-
Swami Satyavidananda	-
Swami Gourangananda	-
Swami Sattwasthananda	-
Swami Tejomayananda	-
Swami Jivasevananda	-
Swami Atmashrddhananda	-
Br Gayatri Chaitanya	-

The students have access to a library with nearly 15000 volumes, a 400-seat auditorium with motion picture projectors, a separate digital audiovisual theater, a computer laboratory.

Vidyashala's astronomical observatory is accessible to students of other Mysore schools. The observatory houses two reflecting telescopes, including a 14-inch (360 mm) Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain.

There is also a biological and fine arts section, a sports stadium used as parade ground, an open-air theater, teachers' quarters, an electric bakery, ophthalmic and dental clinics, a dispensary (offering homeopathic or modern medical treatments), a two-floor gymnasium with weights and a wooden badminton court, and several table tennis courts.

In 2003 a Golden Jubilee block, comprising classrooms, dormitories, a prayer hall, and a small amphitheater, was constructed about 200 yards (180 m) south of the main building. The golden jubilee year also saw infrastructure improvements, including a pagoda-style waiting area for parents, an entry facade, and a digital audiovisual theater.

Student activities

Vidyashala's students number about 400 and fall in the age group of 13–18 years. Many of those who hail from outside Karnataka are from Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Bihar and Maharashtra. For several years, Vidyashala recruited students from India's northeastern states, particularly from Manipur.

The students follow a demanding regimen from the rising hour of 5.05 a.m. until they go to bed at about 10.15 p.m. A typical day is packed with physical exercise, literary activities, hobby pursuits including art and music, participation in a chosen outdoor sport, Vedic (often Upanishadic) chants and meditation, in addition to classroom work. The medium of instruction is English, with syllabi adopted from the state boards of secondary and pre-university education.

Two days a week the students go swimming, many times a year they perform manual or social work, and two or three times a year they participate in educational excursions to towns of historical or scientific interest. They return home for about four weeks during Dasara and for about eight weeks during the summer. Monthly once(high school)/twice(PUC) a guardian may visit Vidyashala on a sunday to take their ward for on an outing. PUC students are allowed to go for outing on their own. On the outing day ,each PUC student is allowed to issue a sum total of 300rs from the cash in charge swamiji.

The students eat four times a day. Meals are lacto-vegetarian, prepared by resident cooks, and had while sitting cross-legged (yoga style) in a dining area. Lunch and dinner are preceded by chanting selected verses from the Bhagavad Gita. Many Indian festivals, including Krishna Janmashtami, Ganesh Chaturthi, Upanayanam or Munji, Shivarathri and Christmas, are celebrated with special activities. Every Ekadashi is celebrated with a special long prayer session. The students participate in voluntary activities coordinated by an elected Students Council comprising a president, a general secretary, a vice president and a joint secretary, in addition to about 20 other secretaries. Students Council officers are typically elected in July via electronic voting.

Vidyashala's students have achieved consistently excellent examination results over two decades. Class averages hover around 85 per cent. The school performed well even in 2004 and 2005 when Mysore district otherwise recorded a relatively poor performance.

Annual celebration

Vidyashala's annual day, typically celebrated in early January, is a showcase of its students' talents, physical, artistic and intellectual. A two-day event, it attracts parents and others from around Mysore district and outside. Vidyashala's twelve-instrument English band, whose members play English and Indian tunes, is usually a highlight, as is a torchlight parade.

The annual day includes a gymnastics show as well as a stage-drama on a classical theme, and is also an occasion when the Old Boys Association conducts an alumni meeting followed by a five-course lunch whose highlight is typically the "Prabhakar rasam" (named after a popular cook) and the "fruit salad" (said to be prepared from campus-grown fruits), all served on leaf plates called patrawallis woven from dry areca leaves.

Every third annual day, Vidyashala announces a recipient of the prestigious Dr. R.K. Narayanan and P. Kousalya Narayanan Memorial Gold Medal for Outstanding Character instituted by K. Sarojini of Chennai. On January 6, 2011, the medal was awarded to Anirudh Mukund Deshpande of the 2003-06 batch and currently a medical student. Earlier, in January 2008, that medal was presented to G. Suhas of the 2000-05 batch, an academic topper and Sahara India scholar. Suhas, a student of Bangalore Medical College and Research Institute, was handed the medal by chief guest Dr. B. Soma Raju, chairman of CARE Hospitals, Hyderabad.

Praise and criticism

Educational institutions run by the Ramakrishna Mission tend toward being non-profit. They use the Mission's motto of "Atmano mokshartham jagat hitaya cha" (आत्मनॊ मोक्षार्थम् जगद्धिताय च in the Devanāgarī script of the original Sanskrit), which translates as, "For self-realization and for the universal good."

Vidyashala has received praise for its emphasis on personality development, for never demanding donations (dubbed "capitation fees" in Karnataka), for its fee-per-cost model, for the high quality of its teachers, and for offering scholarships to poor and otherwise disadvantaged students. Vidyashala is admired for the guiding presence of Vedantic monks on the campus, including scholars and musicians such as the Swamis Shambhavananda, Somanathananda, Sureshananda, Jagadatmananda, Harshananda, Purushottamananda, Venkateshananda, Paratmananda, Atmavidananda, Nityasthananda, and Muktidananda.

Some critics, on the other hand, have accused Vidyashala of elitism because only about a tenth of applicants to the eighth grade receive admission offers. Some eyebrows were raised at Vidyashala's preference to renounce state support rather than accept government intervention in teacher recruitments. Another concern has been that almost all of Vidyashala's students go on to join engineering or medical programs; few take up the arts, the pure sciences, law, journalism, or management.

Recent visitors to comment on Vidyashala include George Fernandes, the former defense minister, who noted that the institution emphasized character and personality, and A. Jayagovinda, director of the National Law School of India University, who praised its "value-based education."

On December 9, 2007, Vidyashala made news for a tragic reason. H.P. Nagendra, a visiting parent and formerly a municipal councillor in the nearby town of Mandya, was stabbed near Vidyashala's gates by a suspected associate of his late political rival Jadeja Ravi. Nagendra died of the wounds in Basappa Memorial Hospital, Mysore, on December 11. Later, the then Correspondent Swami Muktidananda confirmed that the incident was in no way related to the school.

External links

• Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashala
• Reminiscences of Swami Shivananda by Swami Shambhavananda