In a major step toward promoting character-building and holistic development among the youth, the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama in Jalpaiguri has officially launched a comprehensive value education initiative titled Shashwata Bharata. Targeted at students across schools, colleges, and educational institutions, the program is designed to advance personality development by seamlessly combining motivational sessions, interactive discussions, guided meditation, and dedicated workshops focusing on concentration, character, and confidence. Alongside its spiritual and behavioral curricula, the initiative integrates civic and environmental awareness activities, including targeted documentary screenings, educational exhibitions, and local tree plantation drives to ensure a balanced, community-oriented learning experience for young participants.
A central highlight of the Shashwata Bharata rollout is a specially commissioned mobile exhibition vehicle featuring a large statue of Swami Vivekananda, which will travel extensively to bring the principles of value-based education directly to campus doorsteps across Jalpaiguri and its neighboring North Bengal districts. Emphasizing the project’s foundational goals, Swami Shivapremananda, the Secretary of the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama in Jalpaiguri, noted that while contemporary modern schooling effectively equips students with practical technical skills for a livelihood, value-based education is necessary to prepare them to lead meaningful lives dedicated to the service of society and the nation. To foster sustained reading habits among the youth, the mission is pairing the interactive tour with the distribution of literature focusing on the lives and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi, and Swami Vivekananda, a move that has already drawn widespread praise and participation from local educators, families, and student groups.
