|Student Life at Vidyarthi Mandiram

Routine in SRVM : A day in the hostel begins with morning prayers which begin at 5.15 a.m. It is of half an hour duration, compulsorily to be attended by all the students. Morning tea, tuitions, bath and breakfast follow one another in succession. Boys then leave for their respective colleges. Afternoon 1.00 p.m. to 2.00  p.m. is lunch time, food being available for boys who can come within this time. 4.30 p.m. is time for coffee and then boys go to the field for games. 6.15 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. is time for evening prayers. Study hour follows which is followed by dinner at 8.00 p.m. Around 8.45 p.m. tution starts once again. 10.00 p.m. onwards it is study time. Boys then retire to bed only to wake up once again to the same routine yet another day.

Students at study	Students learning computers
Studetns attending lectures	Students in dialy prayer
Students in cultural activites	Students at Play
Students at dining hall	Students attending tuition classes

Day-to-day Prayers at SRVM :

Morning Prayers : Daily prayers that herald every morning are an inextricable part of hostel life at SRVM. The first signs of stirring is what follows the first bell to awaken boys at 4.45 a.m. The second bell is at five a.m. and the third mini bell is at 5.10 a.m. The assembled boys begin the prayer with a call to God for leading them from what is unreal to Reality, followed by shlokas on Ganesha, Saraswati, Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda. A stotra on  a particular deity fixed for particular days is sung. It is followed by reading from the life of Swami Vivekananda. Then a sonorous chanting of Omkara for sometime is followed by a short meditation. Some concluding shlokas praying for the welfare of the whole world ends the daily morning prayers at SRVM

Evening prayers : Every evening, at the conjunction of day and night, boys gather once again to sing the glories of the Lord. Prayers starting with a composition on Sri Ramakrishna by Swami Vivekananda. This stotram is sung in all the centres of the Ramakrishna Order. An abridged version has been adopted for daily evening prayers at SRVM. Three to four Bhajans on various deities are then sung, particular days being fixed for each deity. Reading from the life of Sri Ramakrishna then follows, which ends in a short meditation. Sarvamangala Mangalye, a stotram on the Divine Mother of the Universe, here applicable to the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, which is an extract from the Devi Mahatmyam, is the concluding part of the evening prayers everyday. Starting at 6.15 p.m., prayers end at 7.00 p.m.

Download Prayers Jaikara (3MB, AAC format), Khandana prayer( 16MB, AAC format)

Festivals and Celebrations at SRVM : Being an indispensable part of Indian Religion, Festivals are part and parcel of our day to day lives. They have been prescribed for aiding the spiritual growth of man. With a view to enable the students involve  actively in festivals, the Mandiram celebrates Janmashtami, Ganesh Chathurthi, Christmas and Shivarathri in addition to Vidyarthi Homa and Annual Mandiram Day.

Janmashtami : Amidst and elegant decoration made for Lord Krishna, worship is performed with all paraphernalia. Different varieties of sweets and savories are prepared and offered to Sri Krishna. Chanting and singing of melodious bhajans is followed by Arathi. Finally all hostel inmates and guests partake of prasad.

Ganesh Chathurthi : A clay idol of Lord Ganesha is procured and magnificently decorated. Elaborate puja is done accompanied by offerings of various dishes. Bhajans and chanting is done simultaneously. Next day afternoon once again bhajans are sung while preliminary immersion proceedings are conducted. The idol is ceremoniously carried down and placed on a wooden structure on which it is taken to the large well in the Math compound amidst shouts of ‘Victory to Ganesh’ and bursting of crackers. The idol is finally immersed bringing an end to that  year’s Ganesh Chathurthi festival.

Christmas : A photo of baby Jesus and Mother Mary is placed under a well decorated Christmas tree. Candles are lit and Christmas carols are sung. Offerings of cakes and grape juice are made and a talk on the teachings of Jesus is given.

Mahashivarathri : ‘Mahadeva’ the ‘Great Lord’, is worshipped in this auspicious night. The worship extends over four ‘yamas’, in each yama a different aspect of Shiva being worshipped.  Elaborate decoration is made and arrangements for worship are done by all the students. The students normally observe partial fasting taking fruit juices in between. The first yama starts at 6.00 p.m. the subsequent ones being at 9.00 p.m., 12.00 a.m. and 3.00 a.m. respectively. Abhishek to Shiva is done with milk, honey, curd, ghee and sugar. Vedic mantras are chanted and bhajans are sung throughout the night. Offerings are made and arathi is performed at the end of each yama. After the fourth yamas’ puja is over all the boys are taken to a nearby temple of Shiva.

Vidyarthi Homa : Vidyarthi Homa is a ritual performed in the hostel once a year sometime after the new batch has arrived. In this fire ritual the students are made to take five vows which they are expected to stick to. The vow to keep oneself healthy and strong, to study sincerely, to speak the truth, to be unselfish and compassionate and lastly to be an enlightened citizen, are the five vows taken by every student by offering Bilva leaves into the sacred Homa fire in which Sri Ramakrishna is invoked. Here also the students observe partial fasting till the Homa ceremony is over. These vows, it is believed, will build up the character of the students of SRVM.

Annual Mandiram Day :  Normally held during the end of January every year, the Mandiram day is the most important celebration in the hostel. In addition to speeches by old students and Swamijis, prizes for competitions are distributed followed by some cultural programme. Other events include meetings exclusively for old boys, sports for old boys and partaking of prasada.

Competitions in SRVM : Competitions are common to all educational institutions. To provide an opportunity to express ones talents and exhibit ones capabilities, competitions are arranged for students. SRVM also conducts various competitions every year in which students participate and win prizes which are given away on the Mandiram Annual Day. The team events in Sports include, Foot-ball, Volley-ball, Basket-ball, Kabaddi, Tug-of-war and individual events include running, long-jump, high-jump, triple-jump, discus throw and Shot-put. Other competitions include Bhagavad-Geetha chanting, Bhakti-geethe, Bhava-geethe, Speech, Essay writing, mono-acting and mimicry.