Prabuddha Bharata
Encyclopedia
Prabuddha Bharata or Awakened India is an English
-language monthly magazine
of the Ramakrishna Order
, in publication since July 1896. It carries articles and translations by monks, scholars, and writers on various religious and cultural themes. It is edited from Advaita Ashrama
, Mayavati, Uttarakhand
, and published and printed in Kolkata
.
Prabuddha Bharata was founded in 1896 by P. Aiyasami, B. R. Rajam Iyer, G. G. Narasimha Charya, and B. V. Kamesvara Iyer, in Madras (now Chennai
), at the behest of Swami Vivekananda
, with whom the founders had been closely associated before the swami went to America in 1893. The swami suggested the magazine's name, and gave encouragement to the founders through his letters to them. The editor, B. R. Rajam Iyer, was only twenty-four years old. The magazine saw two full years of publication from Madras, from July 1896 to June 1898. The death of the editor on 13 May 1898 from Bright’s disease
brought the magazine's publication to an unexpected halt. As Sister Nivedita
recalled the period in her memoirs, June 22 to July 15, 1898: "The Swami (Vivekananda) had always had a special love for this paper, as the beautiful name he had given it indicated. He had always been eager too for the establishment of organs of his own. The value of the journal in the education of modern India was perfectly evident to him, and he felt that his master's message and mode of thought required to be spread by this means as well as by preaching and by work."
By that time, Swami Vivekananda had returned to India and was visiting Almora
. He asked Captain J. H. Sevier, one of his English disciples who was accompanying him, to take up the management of the magazine; Sevier agreed and offered to meet the preliminary costs associated with reviving it, which included purchasing and bringing up a hand-press, types, papers, ink and other materials required for the purpose from Kolkata. The Prabuddha Bharata resumed publication in August 1898 from Almora. Swami Swarupananda
, one of Vivekananda’s monastic disciples, became the new editor.
The following poem was written by Swami Vivekananda to Prabuddha Bharata or Awakened India in August 1898, when the journal was transferred from Madras (Chennai
) to Almora
Himalayas.
The press was shifted to the newly founded Advaita Ashrama
, Mayavati, in March 1899.
Swami Swarupananda
died in Nainital in 1906. Swami Virajananda, who in 1958 would become the president of the Ramakrishna Order
, succeeded him as editor. Among later editors were Swamis Yatiswarananda (1922–24), Ashokananda
(1927–30), Gambhirananda (1942–44), and Vandanananda (1950–54). The printing of the magazine was shifted from Mayavati to Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1924.
In 2010, Advaita Ashrama released a dvd archive of the first 114 years of Prabuddha Bharata, covering the years 1896 to 2009.
TO THE AWAKENED INDIA
Once more awake!
For sleep it was, not death, to bring thee life
Anew, and rest to lotus-eyes for visions
Daring yet. The world in need awaits, O Truth!
No death for thee!
Resume thy march,
With gentle feet that would not break the
Peaceful rest even of the roadside dust
That lies so low. Yet strong and steady,
Blissful, bold, and free. Awakener, ever
Forward! Speak thy stirring words.
Thy home is gone,
Where loving hearts had brought thee up and
Watched with joy thy growth. But Fate is strong—
This is the law—all things come back to the source
They sprung, their strength to renew.
Then start afresh
From the land of thy birth, where vast cloud-belted
Snows do bless and put their strength in thee,
For working wonders new. The heavenly
River tune thy voice to her own immortal song ;
Deodar shades give thee eternal peace.
And all above,
Himala's daughter Umâ, gentle, pure,
The Mother that resides in all as Power
And Life, who works all works and
Makes of One the world, whose mercy
Opens the gate to Truth and shows
The One in All, give thee untiring
Strength, which is Infinite Love.
They bless thee all,
The seers great, whom age nor clime
Can claim their own, the fathers of the
Race, who felt the heart of Truth the same,
And bravely taught to man ill-voiced or
Well. Their servant, thou hast got
The secret—'tis but One.
Then speak, O Love!
Before thy gentle voice serene, behold how
Visions melt and fold on fold of dreams
Departs to void, till Truth and Truth alone
In all its glory shines—
And tell the world—
Awake, arise, and dream no more!
This is the land of dreams, where Karma
Weaves unthreaded garlands with our thoughts
Of flowers sweet or noxious, and none
Has root or stem, being born in naught, which
The softest breath of Truth drives back to
Primal nothingness. Be bold, and face
The Truth! Be one with it! Let visions cease,
Or, if you cannot, dream but truer dreams,
Which are Eternal Love and Service Free.
The magazine has assigned different titles to its editor over the course of its history. After being shifted to the Advaita Ashrama, the first three editors were also presidents of the ashrama. Thereafter, the editor and president were different persons. From 1959, the president was also called the editor, and the actual editor called the joint editor. From September 1993, the ashrama president has been called the managing editor, and the editor has again been called the editor.
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
-language monthly magazine
Magazine
Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...
of the Ramakrishna Order
Ramakrishna Order
The Ramakrishna Order is the monastic organization founded by Sri Ramakrishna and his disciple Swami Vivekananda. It encompasses the twin organizations Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, both headquartered at Belur Math near Kolkata, India....
, in publication since July 1896. It carries articles and translations by monks, scholars, and writers on various religious and cultural themes. It is edited from Advaita Ashrama
Advaita Ashrama
Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of Swami Vivekananda, by his disciples Captain James Henry Sevier and Mrs Charlotte Sevier. Today it is entrusted with the propagation of original writings of Swami Vivekananda...
, Mayavati, Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...
, and published and printed in Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
.
History
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
), at the behest of Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...
, with whom the founders had been closely associated before the swami went to America in 1893. The swami suggested the magazine's name, and gave encouragement to the founders through his letters to them. The editor, B. R. Rajam Iyer, was only twenty-four years old. The magazine saw two full years of publication from Madras, from July 1896 to June 1898. The death of the editor on 13 May 1898 from Bright’s disease
Bright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes....
brought the magazine's publication to an unexpected halt. As Sister Nivedita
Sister Nivedita
- A benediction to Sister Nivedita by Swami Vivekananda Sister Nivedita ; ; , born as Margaret Elizabeth Noble, was a Scots-Irish social worker, author, teacher and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She met Vivekananda in 1895 in London and travelled to Calcutta, India in 1898...
recalled the period in her memoirs, June 22 to July 15, 1898: "The Swami (Vivekananda) had always had a special love for this paper, as the beautiful name he had given it indicated. He had always been eager too for the establishment of organs of his own. The value of the journal in the education of modern India was perfectly evident to him, and he felt that his master's message and mode of thought required to be spread by this means as well as by preaching and by work."
By that time, Swami Vivekananda had returned to India and was visiting Almora
Almora
Almora is a municipal board, a cantonment town in the Almora district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. Almora was founded in 1568.It is a town bustling with activity and a rich cultural heritage and history. It is considered the cultural heart of the Kumaon region of...
. He asked Captain J. H. Sevier, one of his English disciples who was accompanying him, to take up the management of the magazine; Sevier agreed and offered to meet the preliminary costs associated with reviving it, which included purchasing and bringing up a hand-press, types, papers, ink and other materials required for the purpose from Kolkata. The Prabuddha Bharata resumed publication in August 1898 from Almora. Swami Swarupananda
Swami Swarupananda
Swami Swarupananda was a direct monastic disciple of Swami Vivekananda and the first president of the Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, near Almora, set up by Swami Vivekananda in 1899...
, one of Vivekananda’s monastic disciples, became the new editor.
The following poem was written by Swami Vivekananda to Prabuddha Bharata or Awakened India in August 1898, when the journal was transferred from Madras (Chennai
Chennai
Chennai , formerly known as Madras or Madarasapatinam , is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, located on the Coromandel Coast off the Bay of Bengal. Chennai is the fourth most populous metropolitan area and the sixth most populous city in India...
) to Almora
Almora
Almora is a municipal board, a cantonment town in the Almora district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. Almora was founded in 1568.It is a town bustling with activity and a rich cultural heritage and history. It is considered the cultural heart of the Kumaon region of...
Himalayas.
The press was shifted to the newly founded Advaita Ashrama
Advaita Ashrama
Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of Swami Vivekananda, by his disciples Captain James Henry Sevier and Mrs Charlotte Sevier. Today it is entrusted with the propagation of original writings of Swami Vivekananda...
, Mayavati, in March 1899.
Swami Swarupananda
Swami Swarupananda
Swami Swarupananda was a direct monastic disciple of Swami Vivekananda and the first president of the Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, near Almora, set up by Swami Vivekananda in 1899...
died in Nainital in 1906. Swami Virajananda, who in 1958 would become the president of the Ramakrishna Order
Ramakrishna Order
The Ramakrishna Order is the monastic organization founded by Sri Ramakrishna and his disciple Swami Vivekananda. It encompasses the twin organizations Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, both headquartered at Belur Math near Kolkata, India....
, succeeded him as editor. Among later editors were Swamis Yatiswarananda (1922–24), Ashokananda
Swami Ashokananda
Swami Ashokananda was a monk of the Ramakrishna Mission. He was Swami-in-charge of the from 1932 until his death in December 1969 at the age of 76.-Life:...
(1927–30), Gambhirananda (1942–44), and Vandanananda (1950–54). The printing of the magazine was shifted from Mayavati to Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1924.
In 2010, Advaita Ashrama released a dvd archive of the first 114 years of Prabuddha Bharata, covering the years 1896 to 2009.
Dedication by Swami Vivekananda
TO THE AWAKENED INDIA
Once more awake!
For sleep it was, not death, to bring thee life
Anew, and rest to lotus-eyes for visions
Daring yet. The world in need awaits, O Truth!
No death for thee!
Resume thy march,
With gentle feet that would not break the
Peaceful rest even of the roadside dust
That lies so low. Yet strong and steady,
Blissful, bold, and free. Awakener, ever
Forward! Speak thy stirring words.
Thy home is gone,
Where loving hearts had brought thee up and
Watched with joy thy growth. But Fate is strong—
This is the law—all things come back to the source
They sprung, their strength to renew.
Then start afresh
From the land of thy birth, where vast cloud-belted
Snows do bless and put their strength in thee,
For working wonders new. The heavenly
River tune thy voice to her own immortal song ;
Deodar shades give thee eternal peace.
And all above,
Himala's daughter Umâ, gentle, pure,
The Mother that resides in all as Power
And Life, who works all works and
Makes of One the world, whose mercy
Opens the gate to Truth and shows
The One in All, give thee untiring
Strength, which is Infinite Love.
They bless thee all,
The seers great, whom age nor clime
Can claim their own, the fathers of the
Race, who felt the heart of Truth the same,
And bravely taught to man ill-voiced or
Well. Their servant, thou hast got
The secret—'tis but One.
Then speak, O Love!
Before thy gentle voice serene, behold how
Visions melt and fold on fold of dreams
Departs to void, till Truth and Truth alone
In all its glory shines—
And tell the world—
Awake, arise, and dream no more!
This is the land of dreams, where Karma
Weaves unthreaded garlands with our thoughts
Of flowers sweet or noxious, and none
Has root or stem, being born in naught, which
The softest breath of Truth drives back to
Primal nothingness. Be bold, and face
The Truth! Be one with it! Let visions cease,
Or, if you cannot, dream but truer dreams,
Which are Eternal Love and Service Free.
Editors of Prabuddha Bharata
| × | Period | Editor |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1896 to 1898 | B R Rajam Iyer |
| 2 | 1898 to 1906 | Swami Swarupananda Swami Swarupananda Swami Swarupananda was a direct monastic disciple of Swami Vivekananda and the first president of the Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, near Almora, set up by Swami Vivekananda in 1899... |
| 3 | 1906 to 1913 | Swami Virajananda |
| 4 | 1914 to 1918 | Swami Prajnananda |
| 5 | 1918 to 1921 | Swami Raghavananda |
| 6 | 1922 to 1924 | Swami Yatiswarananda |
| 7 | 1925 to 1926 | Swami Vividishananda |
| 8 | 1927 to 1930 | Swami Ashokananda Swami Ashokananda Swami Ashokananda was a monk of the Ramakrishna Mission. He was Swami-in-charge of the from 1932 until his death in December 1969 at the age of 76.-Life:... |
| 9 | 1931 to 1934 | Swami Pavitrananda |
| 10 | 1935 to 1937 | Swami Maithilyananda |
| 11 | 1938 to 1939 | Swami Tejasananda |
| 12 | 1940 to 1941 | Swami Vipulananda |
| 13 | 1942 to 1944 | Swami Gambhirananda |
| 14 | 1945 to 1947 | Swami Yogeswarananda |
| 15 | 1948 to 1949 | Swami Brahmamayananda |
| 16 | 1950 to 1954 | Swami Vandanananda |
| 17 | 1955 to 1956 | Swami Satswarupananda |
| 18 | 1957 to 1958 | Swami Nihsreyasananda |
| 19 | 1959 to 1961 | Swami Ananyananda |
| 20 | 1962 to 1963 | Swami Chidatmananda |
| 21 | 1964 to 1965 | Swami Kirtidananda |
| 22 | 1966 to July 1968 | Swami Adiswarananda |
| 23 | August to December 1968 | Swami Budhananda |
| 24 | 1969 to 1970 | Swami Rasajnananda |
| 25 | 1971 to 1976 | Swami Tadrupananda |
| 26 | 1977 to 1979 | Swami Balaramananda |
| 27 | 1979 to 1986 | Swami Bhajanananda |
| 28 | 1987 to 1989 | Swami Jitatmananda |
| 29 | 1990 to 1993 | Swami Muktirupananda |
| 30 | 1994 to 1996 | Swami Atmaramananda |
| 31 | 1996 to 1998 | Swami Satyapriyananda |
| 32 | 1999 to 2001 | Swami Sunirmalananda |
| 33 | 2002 to 2004 | Swami Yuktatmananda |
| 34 | 2005 to October 2010 | Swami Satyaswarupananda |
| 35 | November 2010 to Present | Swami Satyamayananda |
See also
- List of Journals by Ramakrishna Mission
- Vedanta KesariVedanta KesariVedanta Kesari is a spiritual and cultural monthly in English being published from Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, since 1895.-History:...
Further reading
- Prabuddha Bharata: Or Awakened India, by Swami VivekanandaSwami VivekanandaSwami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...
, Advaita Ashrama. Published by Swami Smaranananda for Advaita AshramaAdvaita AshramaAdvaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of Swami Vivekananda, by his disciples Captain James Henry Sevier and Mrs Charlotte Sevier. Today it is entrusted with the propagation of original writings of Swami Vivekananda...
, 1974.
External links
- Advaita Ashrama, publisher of Prabuddha Bharata
- Prabuddha Bharata, Official Page - Read archives, Subscribe.
- Vedanta website from RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
with articles from Prabuddha Bharata