{{inline|date=January 2026}} {{refimprove|date=January 2026}} {{Short description|Hindu spiritual organization}} {{EngvarB|date=January 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=January 2015}} {{Infobox organisation | name = Vivekananda Kendra | native_name = | logo = | caption = | abbreviation = | formation = {{Start date and years ago|df=yes|p=y|1972|01|07}} | extinction = <!-- date of extinction, optional --> | parent_organization = | founder = Eknath Ranade | status = Active | purpose = <!-- focus as e.g. humanitarian, peacekeeping, etc --> | headquarters = Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu, India | region_served = India | num_members = | general_secretary = <!-- Secretary General --> | leader_title = President | leader_name = A. Balakrishnan | leader_title2 = | leader_name2 = | affiliations = | website = {{url|vrmvk.org}} }} '''Vivekananda Kendra''' is a spiritually-oriented service mission founded in 1972, based near the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari (Tamil Nadu, India).
It claims to focus on "man making and nation building" through various activities, including education, women's empowerment, rural development, promoting Indian culture, as well as youth empowerment, and free yoga classes to promote healthy mind and body.
== Established in 1972 == Founded by Eknath Ranade as a "living memorial" to Swami Vivekananda's vision, following the construction of the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari.
== Recognition == Vivekananda Kendra received the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2015 for its contribution to rural development, education, and development of natural resources.<ref>{{cite news |title=President confers Gandhi Peace Prize |url=http://www.newsonair.com/News?title=President-confers-Gandhi-Peace-Prize&id=360273 |website=All India Radio |date=26 February 2019 |access-date=1 March 2019 |archive-date=21 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221184324/http://www.newsonair.com/News?title=President-confers-Gandhi-Peace-Prize&id=360273 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
== Educational initiatives == Runs Vivekananda Kendra Vidyalaya (VKV) is a network of 84 schools across India, including Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Tamil Nadu, and the Andaman Islands, claiming to focus on holistic education inspired by Swami Vivekananda's teachings.
==Gallery== <gallery widths="160" heights="160"> File:Vivekananda Kendra Students Doing Meditation.jpg|Vivekananda Kendra Students doing meditation during learning Yoga Class File:Vivekananda Kendra Community Hospital - Health Check Up Camps.jpg|Vivekananda Kendra Community Hospital File:Vivekananda Kendra Students Doing Yoga Exercises.jpg|Vivekananda Kendra Students Doing Yoga Exercises File:Vivekananda Kendra Students Practicing Yoga Exercises - To Improve physical & Mental Stability.jpg|Vivekananda Kendra Students Practicing Yoga Exercise – To Improve Physical and Mental Stability File:Vivekananda Kendra Students Playing Games.jpg|Vivekananda Kendra Students Playing Games File:Vivekananda Kendra Students Worshiping Parents.jpg|Vivekananda Kendra Students Worshiping Parents – Parents Worship Hindu Practice File:Vivekananda Kendra Students Playing Mind Games.jpg|Vivekananda Kendra Students Playing Mind Games – Sanskar Varg Classes File:Vivekananda Kendra Students Praying For World Peace and Prosperity.jpg|Vivekananda Kendra Students Praying for World Peace and Prosperity File:Vivekananda Kendra Students Performing Bharat Mata Pooja.jpg|Vivekananda Kendra Students Performing Bharat Mata Pooja </gallery>
==See also== *Eknath Ranade
==References== {{reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite book |last=Beckerlegge |first=G. |chapter=Saffron and Seva: The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh's Appropriation of Swami Vivekananda |editor=A. Copley |title=Hinduism in Public and Private |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2003 |pages=31–65 |isbn=0198062826}} * {{cite journal |last=Beckerlegge |first=Gwilym |title='An ordinary organisation run by ordinary people': A study of leadership in Vivekananda Kendra |journal=Contemporary South Asia |volume=18 |number=1 |year=2010 |pages=71–88 |doi=10.1080/09584930903561689|s2cid=145311756 }} * {{cite journal |last=Pandya |first=Samta |title=Seva and Institution Building in Hindu Inspired Faith Movements |journal=Global Journal of Human-Social Science Research |volume=14 |number=3 |year=2014 |url=http://socialscienceresearch.org/index.php/GJHSS/article/view/1061}}
==External links== *{{Official website|https://www.vrmvk.org/}}
{{Gandhi Peace Prize laureates}} {{Sangh Parivar}}
{{India-edu-stub}}
Category:Sangh Parivar Category:Education in Tamil Nadu Category:Education in Arunachal Pradesh Category:Educational organisations based in India Category:Recipients of the Gandhi Peace Prize