SUPPORT THE FIRST HINDU SEMINARY OF ITS KIND
A message from our Dean
Dear friends,
Recognizing the need for educating and training the next generation of scholars, theologians, teachers, and practitioners in the broad and deep teachings of Sanatana Dharma as exemplified by Sri Ramakrishna and his disciples, Ramakrishna Seminary has been started as an educational ministry of Kali Mandir. The seminary is run primarily by ordained priests and monastics as a service to the Divine Mother and Her devotees. It combines Eastern and Western, practical and academic, ancient and modern, traditional and progressive methods and approaches to religious education in the spiritually charged atmosphere of a traditional ashram.
In the ancient gurukul system of education of India, knowledge was considered so sacred that it could not be sold. Education was given free of charge to gifted students and the teachers and their institutions were supported by the community and by the patronage of the leaders of society. While we do have expenses to meet, this ancient system is our ideal.
The generosity of our patrons and well-wishers these last few years allowed us to launch the seminary online in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent financial struggles that many of our students where facing. We were able to offer our first semester's courses tuition-free and our other courses at greatly reduced cost. We were also able to offer scholarships to those in need, and no sincere student was denied the opportunity to study because of finances. We were also able to invest in new audio and video equipment for recording the courses, pay for our website and learning management systems, and expand our research library. This year we are raising funds to hire a professional video editor, support our resident and visiting scholars and teachers, and most importantly, continue to offer partial and full scholarships to students who qualify.
We are currently preparing courses for this coming year: a course on Goddess worship in India; on aspects of Hindu spirituality; on Sri Ramakrishna and the spiritual renaissance; on the yoga of music; on pilgrimage and sacred geography. Additionally, we will be introducing a scripture study class focused on the Srimad Devi Bhagavatam's Devi Gita.
Please consider supporting the sincere students of the first Hindu Seminary of its kind, rooted in the universal and inclusive teachings of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, the great world-teacher and incarnation of divinity who taught the transcendent unity of religion, the motherhood of God, and the mystical path of love and devotion. All donations made to Ramakrishna Seminary are tax-deductible.
In service of the Divine Mother,
Swami Bhajanananda Saraswati, DMin, DD
(Kalpataru Day, 1 January 2022,)