समानोमन्त्र: समिति: समानी
समानंमन: सहचित्तमेषाम्।
समानीवआकूति: समानाहृदयानिव:
समानमस्तुवोमनोयथाव: सुसहासति ||
samānomantraḥsamitiḥsamānī
samānammanaḥsahachittameṣām |
samānīvaākūti: samānāhradayāniva:।
samānamastuvomanoyathāva: susahāsati॥(Rig Veda 10.191.3)
(May our purpose be the same, may all we be of one mind, May our intention and aspiration be alike, so that a common objective unifies us all.)
This Maitri (fraternity) tune once occasionally chanted in our RKM college days created a deep root into our consciousness and, after a prolonged silence, suddenly became a reality through the inception of the Society for Envisioning Vivekananda in Awareness and Action (SEVAA). It is only by the grace and blessings of the Holy Trio, Thakur-Maa-Swamiji, we believe that we could assemble under the great canopy of “Service to mankind is service to God.”
All of us can fondly remember the day in December 2019 when a few of us discovered each other in a sudden rendezvous at Belur Math while attending the 125th Anniversary Celebration of Swami Vivekananda’s Address at the Parliament of World Religions Conference in Chicago. That auspicious event made the unison long lasting by forming a steady group which was subsequently snowballed into a wider virtual network of communication with our friends all over the world. This finally resulted in the formation of SEVAA which was finally registered under West Bengal Societies Registration Act, XXVI of 1961 (Registration noS0017771 of 2020-2021, dtd. March 18, 2021, with the Registrar of Firms, Societies & Non-Trading Corporations, Govt. of West Bengal) and has also been registered under sections 12A and 80G exemptions under Income Tax Act 1961 of Govt. of India.
At the initial phase before formation of the society, the focus of the members was on Swamiji’s call for Nation building through self-awakening from within. Some of the great quotes of Swamiji that inspired us the most are: “Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man,” “Arise, awake, and stop not till the goal is reached,” “Religion is the manifestation of divinity already in man,If the mountain does not come to Mohammed, Mohammed must go to the mountain “Service to mankind is service to God,” and unending similar messages relating to Practical Vedanta. These powerful messages helped making the backbone of SEVAA. Additionally, the group received invaluable inspiration and support from Swami Suparnananda (our beloved Satyada), Secretary of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, Kolkata. This guidance shown by Swamiji helped us figure out the aims and objectives of the society.
In last four years, SEVAA has tried continuously to translate Swamiji’s synergistic ideas and thoughts such as man-making character-building education, wellness and happiness in mental and physical health, self-generating livelihood, creative and local culture, and adherence to values, into action oriented mission. And with these goals SEVAA has been convinced to develop Vivekpally, a platform of local people to integrate different developmental factors in a wholistic way. First Vivekpally was established at Saparambera, a tribal village in Ayodhya Hills, Purulia district in West Bengal.
