Did you know that Atmano mokshartham jagat hitaya cha, a motto created by Swami Vivekananda, suggests a twofold aim of human life – one is to seek one's own salvation and the other is to do welfare of the world?
Atmano mokshartham jagat hitaya cha (translation: for the salvation of our individual self and for the well-being of all on earth) is a sloka, a dictim of the Rig Veda. It has two messages. One is to seek salvation for one's soul and the other is to address the issue of welfare of the world. Swami Vivekananda would often use it, and it became the motto of the Ramakrishna Mission that he founded in 1897 and the related Ramakrishna Math.
This motto also cements the two divergent and obvious aspects of 'atman' (soul) and 'jagat hitaya' (service to humanity) which are to be achieved by one's own efforts. To achieve this, constant human effort is a requisite not only for one's own salvation but also for providing service to the humanity at large.
This theme was enunciated by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa to a query by Swami Vivekananda for personal liberation. Ramakrishna then admonished Vivekananda, saying that he expected him to personify the huge Banyan tree, which not only provided shade but also solace to the people. This direction of Ramakrishna resulted in Vivekananda creating the two institutions – the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission – which were open to all class of people irrespective of their caste and creed. The objective of the two institutions was defined as "Atmano Mokshartham Jagat Hitaya Cha – For the emancipation of one's self and the good of the universe", which became the 'raison d'etre' of the Ramakrishna Order. This motto does not have any overtones of proselytizing, but it is a philosophy which helps in its adoption by people of all faiths.
This theme lead to the business management model of "Shrelekar Model", which defined ‘work’ as an opportunity to do good to the world concurrently achieving spiritual and material advancement in life.
In Bali Island, Indonesia, the commitment of the people is to this motto which encompasses the spiritual values and cultural heritage of their ancestors.
The Ramakrishna Mission and Ramakrishna Math, as of March 2022, have 265 centres all over the world of which 198 are in India. Besides, there are 44 sub-centres (14 within India, 30 outside India). The Math and Mission run 748 educational institutions, with a total student population of more than 2,00,000.
Source: Extracts from Wikipedia article with my inputs in October 2013.
Narasipur Char
