#EkanathRanade
The Visionary Whose Mission Was To Build ROCK MEMORIAL For Swami Vivekananda At Kanyakumari.
When you hear the word #Kanyakumari, 2 things appear instantly in your mind, the Kanyakumari Amma Temple & The Vivekananda Rock Memorial.
(The Statue of Thiruvalluvar

is comparatively new & doesn’t reflect in those who have visited Kanyakumari before its construction)

Swami Vivekananda has said that even after he laid down his body, he would continue to work and inspire generations to come to carry on his unfinished work.We see it still

happening. Swamiji does it in innumerable ways. Rock Memorial is one such undying source of inspiration.

#SwamiVivekanandaRockMemorial At Kanyakumari - a unique symbol of unity and purity - is the Memorial of Swami Vivekananda, another symbol of the united aspiration of Nation.

In the Memorial, there is a happy & harmonious blend of all the architectural beauty of the country. It is a symbol of unity because the whole nation wished, worked and contributed for it. Person from all states participated in its inauguration. It is also a Memorial, conceived

and laboured for mainly by @RSSorg swayamsevaks, blessed by #RamakrishnaMission , designed by Paramacharya of #KanchiKamakothiPeetham, and for which Swami Chinmayananda of @ChinmayaMission
gave the first donation, the memorial became a focal point just as Kanyakumari is a

meeting point for three seas.
A brief timeline about events happened and how @vkendra became a reality
1)1962. The Idea of erecting a memorial for Swami Vivekananda as his birth centenary is to follow in 1963
2)01 Aug 1962- Unregistered committee starts functioning.
3)19 Sep1962

Devaswom Board, Suchindram, grants permission to start ferry service to and fro Vivekananda Rock. Boat service starts in the evening.
4)02 Oct1962-Armed police guards planted at the Rock in view of the friction arising from erecting and removing a CROSS on the Rock.
5)10 Oct1962

Devaswom Board, Suchindram, grants permission to construct a statue of Swami Vivekananda on the Vivekananda Rock.
6)17 Jan1963 - Birth centenary of Swamiji is celebrated at Kanyakumari. A memorial tablet in marble is erected on the Rock.
7)20 Apr1963- The Memorial tablet on the

Rock is disfigured.
8)18 May1963- The Memorial tablet is stolen.
9)11 Aug1963- Eknath Ranade becomes the Organising Secretary.
10)23 Dec1963- Ranade takes the first signature in the petition of parliamentarians.
11)26 Dec1963- The petition with signatures of 323 MPs is given to

PM Jawaharlal Nehru.
29 Aug 1964 Committee approves Chief Engineer and Architect S. K. Achari’s Memorial plan.
24 Sep 1964 Madras Government grants permission for the erection of the statue of Swami Vivekananda on the Vivekananda Rock.
06 Nov 1964 Chiselling the first

stone starts.
03 Sep 1966 Drilling core sample on the Rock starts.
12 Dec 1967 Stone masonry work starts on the Rock. Meditation Hall work taken up first.
03 Dec 1967 The name #VivekanandaKendra is suggested for conducting activities preached by Swami Vivekananda.

19 Jun 1968 Submerged power cable to the Rock is energised.
18 Sep 1968 Permission to construct Shripada Mandapam is received.
27 Dec 1968 Tentative date of 9 Mar 1970 fixed for inauguration of Rock Memorial.
06 Mar 1970 Dhyan Mandapam and Shripada Mandapam completed.

16 Jul 1970 Main dome, circular path way, power house completed.
21 Jul 1970 Campus is named Vivekanandapuram.
21 Aug 1970 Shripada Mandapam consecrated.
02 Sep 1970 Consecration of the Rock Memorial. Inauguration of the Rock Memorial by President V. V. Giri.

26 Dec1971 Dwajasthambam is ready for flag hoisting.
07 Jan1972 Flag hoisting on the Rock at sunrise and lowering at sunset starts. Vivekananda Kendra comes into being.
Second Phase of Vivekananda Rock Memorial was parallel when Rock Memorial was taking shape. As Eknathji

used to say "To put up a Cement and Concrete structure is not the work for which I am born, I am to erect a living and dynamic monument which will be worthy of Swami Vivekananda and which will be capable of bringing into fruition his grand vision of future India."

So, Vivekananda Kendra - An Extraordinary Organisation with Ordinary Men came to existence. To ensure, all Bharatiyas have equal participation in this phenomenon, Ranade brought JANBHAAGIDHAARI SCHEME, which encouraged every citizen of the country to pay 1 rupee as a donation

so that everyone would be a part of this mission.

Eknath Ranade, the Man behind the Memorial started Vivekananda Kendra a spiritually oriented service mission in 1972 as the living memorial to Swami Vivekananda
On his Smaran Divas, a brief tribute to Ranade.
Eknath Ranade was

born on 19 November, 1914, at Timtala in Amaravati District of Maharashtra.
Eknath was sent to Nagpur in 1921 to stay with his eldest brother Baburao. He had his primary education in Govt Primary School at Nagpur.
Ranade’s brother-in-law Annaji Sohoni was closely associated with

RSS. Under Annaji’s guidance, Nath attended a Sangh Shakha in 1926, that became a turning point in his life.
He completed his Matriculation from New English High School in 1932, he wanted to become a Sangh Pracharak but was advised by Dr.Hedgewar to finish his graduation first.

Eknath started studying the Upanishads to counter the propoganda of Christian Missionaries and “The life & works of Swami Vivekananda” helped him a lot.
In 1938, Eknathji joined the Sangh full time as a Pracharak. He enrolled himself for L.L.B. in Sagar University which he

completed in first class in 1945. During his work as the Pranta Pracharak of Madhya Bharat, Eknath Ranade’s superior organisational abilities and phenomenal memory came to be widely known.
Later, Eknathji was posted as Pranta Pracharak of Poorvanchal in 1950. In Calcutta, he

organised the Vastuhara Sahayata Samiti to find, help, and provide accommodation for the refugees of the Partition.
Gradually he rose within the Sangh, became Akhil Bharatiya Bauddhik Pramukh in 1962.
In 1963, destiny took Shri Eknath Ranade to the purpose for which he was born.

He was requested by Guruji Golwalkar to take up the cause of establishing the Vivekananda Rock Memorial.
Also, In 1963, during the centenary year of Swami Vivekananda's birth, he published a selection of Vivekananda's writing under the title Rousing Call to Hindu Nation, as a

personal tribute.
Since he took charge as the Organising Secretary of Vivekananda Rock Memorial Committee in 1963 till his death in 1982, he wrote over 25,000 letters! He chose the North-East as the thrust area of the Kendra’s initial activities. After an extensive study of the

area, seven residential schools were opened in Arunachal Pradesh.
The relentless pace of work claimed Shri Eknath Ranade’s health. In 1980, he collapsed during a walk & went into coma. When he recovered consciousness, he had lost partial vision and his memory almost completely.

The idea for Shree Pada Mandapam to Swami Vivekananda was initially rejected by the Minister of Education and Culture Humayun Kabir, Ranade drummed up support from over 300 members of the Indian Parliament, which led to the project receiving approval from PM Indira Gandhi.

Ranade also managed to win endorsement for the project from a diverse section of the political and spiritual community, including sections traditionally in opposition to RSS.
(Source – L K ADvani – My Country My Life)

On 22 August 1982, Shri Eknath Ranade suffered a massive and fatal heart attack in Chennai. His body was brought to Kanyakumari and cremated on 23 August. As the sun set and the saffron flag with Om was lowered on the Vivekananda Rock Memorial, the pyre was lit.
#VandeMataram