Quite an interesting little function was celebrated on the morning of Sunday, the 3rd August 1919, when the Sri Ramakrishna Students’ Home for poor students of the City [Bangalore] was opened. His Holiness Swami Nirmalandaji presided. The friends and admirers of the Mission and its work had gathered in large numbers. The function began with a procession of the photos of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and the Swamis Vivekananda and Ramakrishnananda from the premises of the Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama to the Home building situated, happily, just in front of the Ashrama on the other side of the road. The objects and aims of the Committee responsible for the Home were explained by Messrs. V. Gopalaswamingar and M.A. Narayan Iyengar, Excise Commissioner, Liberal promises of donation were made on the spot. Mr. Pasupati Iyer, a leading cloth merchant, promised a contribution of Rs. Five hundred, while Mr. S.K. Narasimhaiah and another high officer of Government promised to maintain each a student in honour of the birth of a son to His Highness the Yuvaraja of Mysore. The Students’ Home begins with nine students, and it is a special feature of the Home that it is opened to Brahmins and non-Brahmins, alike. His Holiness Swami Nirmalanandji explained to the audience that Sri Ramakrishna stood for no particular mission or cult, and in a few well-chosen words the Swamji explained the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and their bearing on Hindu Religion. The proceedings ended with benediction and aarathi and the distribution of prasad.
