Swami Vivekananda went to America as the messenger of the eternal values of the Sanatana Dharma of India. He was very impressed by the faculty of organization of the westerners, their life of discipline and above all, their respect for ‘man’ irrespective of colour, caste or creed.

In a letter dated 20 August, 1893, Swami Vivekananda wrote from America to one of his disciple in Madras, “Yesterday, the lady superintendent of the women’s prison was here. They don’t call it prison but reformatory here. ….. How the inmates are benevolently treated , how they are reformed and sent back as useful members of the society; how grand, how beautiful, you must see to believe ! And, oh, how my heart ached to think of what we think of the poor, the low, in India. They have no chance, no escape, and no way to climb up. The poor, the low, the sinner in India, have no friends, no help – they cannot rise, try however they may. They sink lower and lower everyday, they feel the blows showered upon them by a cruel society, and they do not know whence the blow comes. They have forgotten that they too are men.”

Swami Vivekananda said that man is a child of immortality - to call a man criminal is itself a crime . He desired that the prisons of India would be transformed to correctional institutions.  Keeping these ideas of Swamiji as the ideal, Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Rajkot has been serving the inmates of Rajkot District Jail for almost a year.

The monks of Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Rajkot accompanied by some of the devotees visit the prison. They conduct cultural programmes based on the higher values of life in presence of the inmates

Details of the programmes conducted in the prison

• The programme is conducted on an open stage inside the prison.
• It starts with the offering of flowers in front of a well-decorated picture of Swami Vivekananda and the chanting of Vedic mantras.
• Few minutes are spent in prayer and meditation.
• Bhajans are sung. All are asked to join the group-singing.
• The monks of the Ashrama give discourses to the inmates about the higher values of life.
• At the end of the programme, Prasad is distributed among the inmates.

The Ashrama donates books of Ramakrishna-Vivekananda-Vedanta literature to the Jail Library. Laminations of photographs of Sri Ramakrishna, Ma Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda are donated to the jail authorities for displaying them in the prison compound.

The service activities in the prisons have received a lot of positive support from the jail authorities and a very warm response from the inmates. They often ask the visiting monks of the ashrama to pray for them and bless them.

The monks tell the inmates about the joys of leading a life of dignity, love and service to the society. They are encouraged to shun off their past and start a new life of values. The inmates are made aware of their true nature the Pure Atman and are asked to forget their sins as one washes of dirt from one’s body. Many of the convicts promise to visit the Ashrama shrine with a vow of never committing a crime again as soon as they are released.

The Brihadaryanka Upanishad says:

May Sri Ramakrishna, Ma Sarada Devi and Swami Vivekananda bless all connected with the ‘Prison service’ and bring light into their lives, is our prayer at their Holy Feet.