Belur Math to remain closed on Ramakrishna’s birth anniv

Kolkata:

Belur Math

, the headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission, will remain closed to devotees on Monday, the 186th birth anniversary of Ramakrishna Paramhansa. The gates will remain closed again on March 21, the following Sunday when Sadharan Utsav will be held.

These temporary closures were decided due to the pandemic as Belur Math is not “a cluster of temples”, said the general secretary of RKM, Swami Suvirananda.

“We have called off the public celebrations this year. Allowing so many to gather is not safe for anyone now, so we will keep the gates closed,” Swami Suvirananda added.

On Monday, from Mangalarati to special prayers and discourses, all traditional birth anniversary celebrations of the Paramhansa will be done by the monks. Those will be live-streamed on Belur Math’s own channel and on the social media, too. “Devotees can participate virtually,” he said. The gates will be open on other days following truncated timings.