Be free and work for the freedom of the universe

Sister Nivedita (Miss Margaret E. Noble), inspired by the great vision of Swami Vivekananda about India and her women, dedicated her life and services to the causes of empowerment of women. To this end she reached Kolkata in January 1898. Undaunted by the enormity of the challenges, she opened a school for Indian girls in the same year. The school was blessed by Sri Sarada Devi and the inaugural ceremony was graced by the august presence of Swami Vivekananda. Nivedita devoted her whole life in the service of humanity and national awakening and rendered painstaking services by extensive and practical social work, ocean of creative writings and mesmerizing oratory that inspired the intellectuals globally. Her service  manifesteditself through the promotion of arts, spirituality, Indian history, culture and science. In all her works, she has reflected her deepest concern for the pathetic conditions of mankind,particularly women, prevailing inthe late Nineteenth Century. She showed the way out not by precepts but practice until she breathed her last in 1911. Swami Vivekananda said, “India will ring with her”.

The historicity and emotional connections to her life that Sister Nivedita left behind within the walls of the residences in Kolkata, where she lived and worked during her life in India, is an integral part of our national heritage.  A fitting and lasting memorial to her great sacrifice in the service of our nation being so long overdue, we established a ‘Nivedita Heritage Museum’ at 16 Bosepara Lane--a location saturated with her memories as it were. The museum has been conceived not only as a part of the initiatives to commemorate the 150th Birth Anniversary of the Sister, but more importantly, to serve as a lasting national repository of information. It will also serve to inspire present and future generations about Indian culture and heritagethrough integration of Sri Sarada Devi’s wisdom with unparalleled dynamism of Sister Nivedita.

Much of Nivedita’s works and contributions are still not known to people at large. Thus the Mission also initiated a centre around this newly acquired historic site that will conduct research work on Nivedita’s contribution in different fields to India in particular and to the world at large. This institution intend to dig out the treasure of Sister Nivedita’s actions especially for the enlightenment & empowerment of women by extending vocational options for them through extensive hand-on training on different areas where the society is in need of quality service in present time since it has been lying ‘un-mined’ in Sister’s works for over a century.

“I would like much to make No. 17 a real University Settlement….” (Letters of Sister Nivedita, Vol. I, January 28, 1903).

“You see, when we who understand Swamiji, and remember Him are dead, there will come a long period of obscurity and silence, in 150 or 200 years, it will be found to have transformed the West.” (Letters of Nivedita, Vol.II, April 11, 1906)

“My thoughts will be worked out by unnumbered generations, and I would rather be penniless, than cease to be an idealist.” (Letters of Nivedita,Vol. II, April 3, 1909)

The driving forces for the proposed institution (NIHAR) are grounded in the contributions of Sister Nivedita to Indian society influenced by the motto “be free and work for the freedom of the universe”.  Grounded on that foundation (already displayed in the Heritage Museum at No. 16), we propose to develop the knowledge centre at the location of house no. 17 and the adjacent properties already acquired by the RKSM.

The key contributions of Sister Nivedita can be summarized as follows:

1. Her service to the poor and needy;
2. Her work among women;
3. Her support to the cause of national education;
4. Her contribution to the field of national awakening.

Inspired and enriched by Sister’s dedication, contribution, and commitment to Indian heritage, and her clear understanding, perception, and vision of contemporary needs, we have attempted to perform a needs analysis of present time and identified a set of objectives that ultimately converges to a set of goals in terms of our vision and mission.  By thus continuing on Sister’s footsteps, we have developed a conceptual/motivational framework of several factors that flow in a mutual sequence of rationales: Foundational (Sister’s key Contributions/vision) à Needs for the presentà Mission.

In our vision, the proposed institution will be a vibrant new venue that will serve the Nation as a whole, and the women of India in particular, by:

                   I.      Nurturing and fostering the ideals as lived by Sister Nivedita;and, 

                II.      Enabling the nation to learn, understand and to move forward with implementing and   integrating the ideas and ideals for which Sister Nivedita gave her life.

The three essential components of a dynamic society can be identified as

1. the aged, who provide the continuity over a lifetime for values and wisdom, 
2. the youth, who are the active agents for sustenance and progress of life at present, and
3. the children, on whom lies our future.

The overall mission has therefore been defined in terms of a comprehensive as well as an integrated system of developmentwhere there will be two-way connections and interactions among all these three demographic tiers of society.  In our view, such an approach would help to both participate in, as well as contribute to, the global environment without compromising our national identity, heritage, culture and values.

Accordingly, our specific mission goals can be summarized as follows:

• NIHAR will serve as a vehicle for promoting women’s education and life skills in the footfalls of Sisters Nivedita, Christine, Sudhira and the likes.  To ensure the appropriate transfer of skills in handling everyday challenges of life along with professional skills, NIHAR will also offer courses on personality development based on an understanding of values, heritage and culture.  Such an approach would ensure a synergistic outcome of life-skills.
  
  
• NIHAR will train young women to provide services that will enable the elderly to experience productive aging through a mutually enriching partnership.  This aspect of the project has been shaped by keeping in mind Sister Nivedita’s respectful care-giving to Gopaler Ma.  The young service provider will gain an invaluable first-hand experiential knowledge from the aged partner, and in turn, the elderly will get some help in carrying out their daily activities of living. This will also help the elderly retain a sense of continued value to society by a gainful use of their productive past, while at the same time providing a mechanism to cope with old-age loneliness, depression and uncertainties of the future.
  
  
• NIHAR would be a venue for understanding and communicating through emotion the connection and lineage in Indian nationality and culture. It will work to create avenues and opportunities for both the innovative adaptation of global knowledge to specific Indian contexts, and the broader outreach to the world at large.  The goal of this segment of activities would be to help and spread the essence of the rich Indian cultural heritage as a means for addressing the contemporary crisis of civilization faced by the entire globe.
  
  
• NIHAR would be the coordinating platform of research and creative innovation in solutions to national problems in women’s education, national culture and society at large.

An overarching view of a conceptual framework summarizing the foundational pillars or driving forces, consequent needs, and associated mission derived thereof, is shown below in the following table: