Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Coimbatore

Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Coimbatore is a group of educational institutions with 19 wings offering courses from pre-school to doctoral levels. The Vidyalaya was established in 1930 in the suburbs of Coimbatore, India, and affiliated to Ramakrishna Mission in 1934. Ramakrishna Mission's official General Reports start giving reports of its activities from 1936.The Vidyalaya strives to infuse the educational and spiritual ideas of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda into the daily lives of its students. Values such as self-reliance, self-control, patriotism and dedication to duty are taught in practical ways. A band of monks and brahmacharis of the Ramakrishna Order manage the activities of the Vidyalaya assisted by teaching and non-teaching staff.HistoryRamakrishna Mission Vidyalaya was founded by Sri T.S. Avinashilingam in 1930 with an investment of Rs. 5.75 and with one harijan boy on its roll. While studying in college, Sri T.S.Avinashilingam met Swami Shivananda, a direct disciple of Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna whose famous disciple was Swami Vivekananda. It was from Vivekananda that Shivananda absorbed the idea of the prime importance of education for the revival of India. The 'sacred touch' of Swami Shivananda, as Sri Avinashilingam later described it, awoke in him the vision for his future mission in the field of education. Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation, laid the foundation stone of the Vidyalaya in 1934 and wished that the students of the Vidyalaya would be intensely patriotic followers of truth. The Vidyalaya was affiliated to Ramakrishna Mission in the same year.CampusVidyalaya is located 19 km from the city of Coimbatore on the highway to Ooty. The campus is spread over nearly 300 acres of wooded land. It is home to hundreds of bird species including peacocks.