11 January 2016

A Spiritual Retreat (Anmeega antaryogam) was held by Sri Ramakrishna Panimandram in Kluang town of Malaysia on Monday, 11 January 2016. It was an inspiring occasion where three Swamis from the Ramakrishna Mission attended.

Swami Vimokshananda, President of the Ramakrishna Mission, Singapore and Swami Samachittananda, Vice -Pres ident of the Ramakrishna Mission, Singapore were invited by Swami Supr iyananda , Pres ident o f the Ramakrishna Mission, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia for the Spiritual Retreat.

The occasion was also utilised by the devotees of Kluang Sri Ramakrishna Panimandram to welcome Swami Vimokshananda, President of the Ramakrishna Mission, Singapore on his very first visit. They also gave farewell to Swami

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Sri Ramakrishna Panimandram, Kluang hosted the Retreat on

Monday, 11 January 2016. This centre was originally

started by one late Govindasamy who was

inspired by the teachings of Swami Vivekananda. Swami Tanmayanandaji while he was in Kuala

Lumpur had been giving spiritual direction to the group of devotees here.

Many Swamis have visited this place. This ashram will

host the Malaysia Ramakrishna Manadu

(Devotees’ Convention) by the end of this year.

Spiritual Retreat at KluangKluang is a town in Malaysia where Sri Ramakrishna Panimandram has been silently rendering its services to the community of largely Tamil speaking people.

11 January 2016

Samachittananda, Vice -Pres ident of the Ramakrishna Mission, Singapore who has been since transferred to Argentina.

The altar where the pictures of Sri Ramakrishna, Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda were kept was tastefully decorated with plenty of flowers. The lamp was lit as a mark of the start of the Retreat.

The a s sembled devotees joined the chor us s ing ing o f bhajans led by Swami S a m a c h i t t a n a n d a while accompanying tabla was played by Swami Supriyananda. All bhajans were in Tami l and each devotee was supplied with the text of the bhajan earlier. The cumulative effect of

singing together the names of Gods and Goddesses created a vibrant atmosphere. It was noted that a good number of children also participated, singing the bhajans by clapping their palms enthusiastically.

Swami Supriyananda welcomed the gathering and introduced Swami Vimokshananda as the new President of Singapore Ramakrishna Mission. He told the audience that the new Swami would make visits to Kluang as it is nearer to Singapore and also would speak to the people in Tamil so that everyone can understand.

Swami Vimokshananda delivered his reply address in simple Tamil. He thanked everyone for their participation in the Spiritual Retreat. He explained lucidly what the term ‘Kadavul’ is

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11 January 2016

meant by. He quoted one incident from the life of Sri Ramakrishna how ‘Kadavul’ is present

e ver ywhere and in everything. He also narrated one incident from the life of Swami Sivananda, a Direct Disc ip le o f S r i Ramakrishna how God is beyond everything too. Then he asked the devotees that mere ostentatious devotion wi l l not t ake you further; rather one shou ld pract ice de vot ion wi th fu l l

heart and love towards God. The story told by Swami Vivekananda at the famous Rameshwaram temple in Tamil Nadu about the two gardeners and how Lord Shiva loved the one most who did ‘seva’ to the garden’s plants and trees and not the other who merely praised Lord Shiva but never

worked wa s a l so explained by him.

He also brought out a beaut i fu l s tor y o f menta l worship by Bhima and the tons of flowers that were o ffe red dur ing h i s mental worship while the external worship of Arjuna brought only a few flowers at the feet o f Bha gwan Sr i Kr i shna . Thus , he inspired every devotee

there to put forth ful l heart and soul in worshipping the God.

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11 January 2016

Sri Kumar, the Secretary of the Ramakrishna Mission, Malaysia took the opportunity to inform

the public there about the ensu ing Maha Kumbhabhishekam of S r i Muniswarar Amman a l ayam in Jalan Cheras, Malaysia on the 20th January 2016 and inv i ted everyone to attend. He informed that the two Swamis – Vimoksha-nanda and Supriyananda – will be the Guest of Honour at the holy occasion.

Thiru Maniam, a retired Headmaster of a High School in Kluang and a devotee of Sri Ramakrishna gave a vote of thanks in a humorous way to the delight of audience. Thiru Gandhi, the Treasurer of Sri Ramakrishna Panimandram honoured the monastic guests

with baskets of fruits and flowers . The Chairman and other officials were present. All the 150 devotees and the three monks were given prasad in the form of sumptuous supper.

The Retreat ended with an arati to the altar. Everyone had the fervent feeling and earnest wish that the splendid Retreat

be repeated in the nearest future!

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