From President’s Desk

Swami Vivekananda, once said : “Perfect sincerity, holiness, gigantic intellect and all conquering will. Let only a handful of men work with these, and the whole world will be revolutionized.” We know that the dream has always remained tantalizingly near to fulfillment not only during His lifetime but  at our time also. To me, ‘Sincerity’ and ‘Holiness’ always remained as the missing threads in the whole fabrics. Rabindranath Tagore in one of his songs confessed on behalf of all mankind: আমার যা আছে আমি সকল দিতে পারিনি তোমারে, নাথ। ( I could not sacrifice all that I have, to you, Oh Lord). My firm belief is  that to ensure success of an organization for a longer period, three things are of utmost importance–Sacrifice, Sincerity, and Sacredness. It is the sincerity and holiness in sacrifice that makes a difference. As we traverse through the era of industrial revolution and strident march of Science and Technology, our world has no doubt sufficiently  acquired 'gigantic intellect’ and ‘all conquering will.’ But in a nascent organization like SEVAA,where our goal is to come together for a greater cause, it is our sincere duty to mingle our gigantic intellect and indomitable will with utmost holiness and sense of sacrifice.

Swamiji always considered an organization as ‘means’, not as an ‘end’. We know how much struggle and hardship Swamiji had to go through to establish the Ramakrishna Math and Mission in 1897 and mobilize resources. It is known that often people who build institutions fall in the trap of the same institutions owning them completely. Many a time such persons lose sight of the objectives and thus get confused. They forget the greater purpose for which the organization is made. In this regard, Swamiji had different outlook. When the plague broke out in the city of Calcutta in 1998, Swamiji immediately started catering an intensive service to the panic-stricken people of the city. This required a lot of money since the situation was getting desperate. One of his brother disciples raised a question on whether the money would come from. Swamiji, a great exponent of out of box thinking replied, “We are monks. We can sleep under the trees and live on alms. If I can save the lives of millions, I don't mind selling the Math”. To him, service for the suffering people was far higher than the mere existence of the Math.

Inspired by Swamiji’ teachings, the Society for Envisioning Vivekananda in Awareness and Action (SEVAA) was created by a group of sexagenarian people. Welfare for the needy and suffering people is the only objective of SEVAA, whoever may be at the helm of this organization in future. We strongly believe that such selfless approach is essential for the growth and stability of SEVAA. In this regard, we fondly remember the inspiring lecture by Swami Suparnanandaji Maharaj (our beloved Satyada), the Secretary of the RKM Institute of Culture Golpark, Kolkata. He stressed the true meaning of ‘Sevaa’ as serving the mankind as God.

Swamiji in one of his talks contextually mentioned a challenge frequently faced by organisation members. “If two Indians get together, then they will fight over three ideas that they get and fall apart in four minutes.” While saying this, almost at the same time in a simplistic, yet profound and practical manner, Swamiji noted the need for three things to make an organization: i) absence of jealousy and suspicion, ii) conviction in the power of goodness, and iii) and helping those who really require.

To me, the above challenge and its solution clues as envisaged by Swamiji need to  be remembered when we are to run SEVAA. Teamwork is truly possible only when the team members will not only have respect and love for each other but also learn to cooperate with a high level of trust, reciprocity and interdependence. This is possible only when there is absence of jealousy and suspicion. Self-doubt can sometimes be dreadful and one may be constantly challenged by a seemingly hopeless situation. The only panacea prescribed by Swamiji here is to believe that good will always triumph. This is not only a truthful reality but also a good motivator to keep the spirit alive in times of extreme crisis. The change we hope to bring about may seem small, insignificant and hopeless, but the spirit of ‘doing good and helping' is very important. Swamiji had always been very practical and knew the difficulties faced by the ordinary men. Keeping all His blessings and sayings in heart, we hope SEVAA will step forward to a new possibility and  definitely achieve a synergistic goal.

I hereby welcome you all to this website which will give a full picture of SEVAA and moreover help you to get all sorts of updation in details. Pl visit us again and make us grateful by collaborating with us.

Dibya Gopal Ghatak,

President,

SEVAA