Monk Life in Sri Ramakrishna Order The monastic order is the great gift that Swami Vivekananda has offered to the youth of the country having faith in the spiritual ideal and destiny of India. He himself and his great brother-disciples, who had direct contact with Sri Ramakrishna and had been witness to the divinity manifest in him, have by their life of austerity, service and mutual concord generated a holy tradition and kindled the spirit of brotherhood. Those pioneers of the Order are all now gone, leaving this great legacy to posterity through their own disciples, and thus the Order and the tradition are to be transmitted to generations yet to come for the spiritual upliftment of India and the world at large. Swamiji expected young men to join the Order in large numbers for propagating the message of Sri Ramakrishna and keeping up the continuity of the spiritual tradition set in motion by him. Writing to a brother-disciple in 1894, with the fiery zeal of a spiritual revolutionary, he exhorts: We want converts at any risk. ...Not householder disciples, mind you, we want sannyasins (monks). Let each one of you have a hundred heads tonsured-young educated men, not fools. Then you are heroes. ...Start centres at places, go on always making converts. Convert everyone into the monastic Order, whoever seeks for it. ...Whoever at this great spiritual juncture will stand up with a courageous heart and go on spreading from door to door, from village to village, His message, is alone my brother, and a son of His. ...Whoever will be ready to serve Him-no, not Him but His children-the poor and the downtrodden, the sinful and the afflicted-in them He will manifest Himself. Through their tongue the Goddess of learning Herself will speak, and the Divine Mother-the embodiment of all power-will enthrone Herself in their hearts.' While Swamiji thus invites young men in hundreds to join the Order, he has in mind only people with an innate urge for God realization, fortified with intense spirit of renunciation and service, For a monastic Order, according to him, can be vigorous and healthy only if it keeps up the spirit of austerity, the love of learning, and missionary zeal. The spirit of austerity consists essentially in practising control of the senses, in abandoning personal ambitions, and in always keeping the flame of divine aspiration bright through regular practice of meditation and other forms of devotional disciplines. Learning in the sense of the study of scriptures has always been considered a 'must' for the sannyasins. Scriptural study is a support for one's Sadhana, especially if a monk is intellectual. As teaching and preaching in some way or other will always devolve on a monk as a duty, scriptural knowledge and capacity to spell out the teachings will be found essential for a meaningful monastic life. But in a monastic order of the type that Swamiji envisaged, a general knowledge of arts and science, both ancient and modem, is also necessary. Unless the modem trends of thought and human aspirations are grasped, scriptural study by itself becomes stagnant. Every spiritual message is ever-novel and ever-renewing, and it is only against the foil of expanding human understanding that this unique feature of a genuine revelation can be appreciated. Swamiji's interpretation of the Vedanta is itself the best example of this. How to join? Every healthy, educated unmarried young man, who is attracted by the faith and the way of life described above, is eligible for admission into the Order. An intending entrant should have read Ramakrishna-Vivekananda literature, associated himself with any centre of the Ramakrishna Order, and thus have had some acquaintance with the life within. He must also be free from undischarged family duties that are likely to weigh on his conscience as a sin of omission and act as a disturbing factor in his proposed monastic career. Qualification Age-limit Matriculation 22 years B.A./B.Sc./B.Com / Diploma ( 3 years) 25 Years B.E. / M.B.B.S. / P.G. 30 Years What next?After being accepted by the Headquarters, He has to be a Pre-probationer for one year and probationer for another two years. During this period the novice gets opportunity for study and practice of spiritual life. For most of the period he may be a working member of the joining-centre or any of the branch centres. Then he will have to spend two years at the Head Quarters at Belur in the Training Centre. He will get there systematic instructions in the scriptures and Monastic Life, and will also be put into touch with the traditions of the Order. But this training is only just an orientation course, which he will have to pursue all through his life, both from the spiritual and intellectual points of view. After this training, if the elders consider him to be eligible, he will be formally initiated into Brahmacharya (vow of Celibacy). On completing another period of four years as an initiated Brahmacharin he would be initiated into Sannyasa ( vow of Monasticism) and full membership of the Order, provided the elders of the Math are satisfied about his fitness. He is given this long period of nine years to prepare himself and also to be provided with sufficient time to examine his own fitness for a monastic career. In case he finds that this way of life does not suit him he is free to go away without any hesitation or obligation. Life in the Monastery In monastic life, as in any community life, the individual is participating in the general group consciousness and is therefore propped up or pulled down by that consciousness as the case may be, according to the standard of excellence prevailing in the group. The new self-consciousness of being the member of a group of elite, together with a host of inhibitions like vows, traditions, dress, association and so on, raises a solid barrier of protection behind which even one comparatively weak can operate with sure chances of success, provided one is sincere. Bhakti, Jnana, Yoga and Karma all form the recognized Sadhanas of the Order. But work has special importance, because according to the rules laid down by Swami Vivekananda, every member, whatever his predilections, must do some work in the service of Sri Ramakrishna, his Self-chosen God. Work cannot therefore be avoided in the name of pseudo-spirituality, and those who are of that mentality will find themselves misfits in the Order. An organization, like a State, however, requires not only geniuses but ordinary folks, not only leaders but followers also. In the Order of Sri Ramakrishna all are therefore welcome, irrespective of caste, creed, colour, and country, talented and highly qualified persons as also mediocres, provided they are attracted by the idea of living a life of renunciation and service. Renunciation implies the eschewal of personal ambitions, family relations, possessions, luxury and sex. An individual can practise renunciation only if the urges mentioned before find fulfillment in the higher satisfaction which spiritual life offers. Service implies the dedication of one's energies and capacities to the works of the Order conceiving it as a symbol of the Master. Spiritual talents are therefore more important than worldly abilities, but by the very nature and object of the Order a harmonious combination of both is the ideal.Monastic life, therefore, offers to persons having the required temperament, the best opportunity of developing their capacities and of living their lives in a way that will be of maximum benefit to themselves and the world at large. The conditions of life in the Order are such that anyone with the right temperament can easily adjust himself to them. In the matter of food, clothing and housing, no doubt, simplicity is the rule, but conditions are not prohibitively austere. Middle class standards obtaining in the country are generally observed in these matters in the Math. Though the monks have no salaries or any other kind of personal income, the institution meets all their legitimate needs. The monastic vow of poverty therefore does not mean penury and indigence. So also obedience and discipline, while being fundamental in the monastic code of conduct, are not allowed to degenerate into servility and abjectness. While personal ambition has no place; scope for great achievements are open to persons of ability and courage. Swami Vivekananda lived and preached at a time when India was yet in political bondage. Young men were, therefore, naturally engaged in the struggle for political freedom in the belief that it would solve all our problems. After political independence was attained, we have now come to understand that it has no meaning without economic independence, and the country is, therefore, struggling for that through planning and industrialization. But sooner or later it will be realized that without moral, religious and spiritual freedom-freedom from the animal in man-even economical freedom can offer no solace to the people. It is desirable that at least the more thoughtful sections in the country are prepared to face this disillusionment sufficiently early. Note: For women there is Sri Sarada Math and Ramakrishna-Sarada Mission, functioning with the similar ideology of the Ramakrishna Order. Its headquarters is at the address: Sri Sarada Math, Dakshineswar, Calcutta 700 076. (www.srisaradamath.org )