VENKATACHALA, J.

1. The sustainability of the common judgment of the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court rendered in appeals preferred against the order of dismissal of a writ petition by a learned Single Judge of the same High Court by which the claim of the followers of Ramakrishna that an educational institution established and administered by their Ramakrishna Mission receives protection under Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India being an educational institution established and administered in exercise of their fundamental right has a minority based on religion and under Article 26(a) of the Constitution of India being an educational institution established and maintained exercise of their fundamental right as a religious denomination or a section thereof, is upheld, since arises for our consideration in the present appeals filed against that judgment, all of them could be disposed of by this judgment

2. As the writ petition filed in the High Court, which has led to the present appeals related to Ramakrishna Mission Vivekananda Centenary College at Rahra - "Ramakrishna Mission College", established and administered by Ramakrishna Mission, it would be advantageous to refer to material facts relating to establishment and administration of that College and the controversies hereto which led to the filing of the writ petition, and ultimately the present appeals, for a proper appraisal and appreciation of the points arising for our consideration in deciding the present appeals. Such facts are briefly thes

By letter dated 19-7-1961, the Secretary, Education Department of the Government of West Bengal informed Swami Punnyananda Maharaj of Ramakrishna Mission Boys Home of Ramakrishna Mission at Rahra of the willingness of the Government of India foot granting Rupees two lakhs for construction of a college building on a suitable site at Rahra to be made available by Ramakrishna Mission and of the willingness of the Chief Minister to meet the additional cost of construction of such a college building from the funds of the State Government, requested him to communicate the acceptance by Ramakrishna Mission of the proposal and further prepare plans and estimated cost of college building early. On Ramakrishna Missions acceptance of the said proposal, the Government of West Bengal issued memo dated 27-10-1961, intimating its Director of Public Instruction of the Governors approval for setting up a three years degree college under the auspices of Ramakrishna Mission Boy Home at Rahra at its site at a estimated cost of Rs. 7, 25, 000 to be borne by the State Government and the Government of India. Thereafter, by a letter dated 25-4-1962, the Deputy Secretary to Government of West Bengal addressed to the Registrar, Calcutta University intimated him of the three years degree college to be set up Rahra under the auspices of Ramakrishna Mission and its readiness to manage the college through a Governing Body to be constituted by it. In turn, by another letter dated 29-8-1962, the Director of Public Instruction intimated to the Register, Calcutta University that said college was being inaugurated under the auspices of Ramakrishna Mission Boys Home and will function as a sponsored college with financial assistance from the State Government and the Union Government and requested for obtaining Universitys affiliation of the college up to BA/BSc courses and approval of the College Governing Body constituted by the Ramakrishna Mission. Calcutta University being of the view that it was quite in fitness of things that the college was being ushered into existence in commemoration of the birth centenary of Vivekananda, who contributed so much to uplift the downtrodden and the building up of national character and education, not only granted affiliation to the proposed college, but also accords approval to the Governing Body of that College as constituted by Ramakrishna Mission. Thereafter, the Governing Body of the College as constituted by Ramakrishna Mission from time to time with special approval obtained from the State Government and the University, contained to administer the affairs of that College. Ramakrishna Mission College did not, therefore, have a Governing Body which was modelled on the common pattern of governing bodies of sponsored colleges as becomes clear even from Government Memo dated 16-1-1971 conveying approval of the Governor for common pattern of governing bodies of sponsored collages, for it said, that the approval given by the Governor regarding composition of the governing bodies of the sponsored colleges, did not include governing bodies of sponsored colleges run by missionary societies on the basis of agreement with respective missions. Indeed, the letter of Deputy Secretary to Government referring to the said memo had clarified that the memo in its application to specially sponsored collages such as colleges managed by Ramakrishna Mission, Christian Order Missionary Society, Brahmo Samaj, Trust Deed etc. would be modified by the Government according to exigencies by mutual agreement with mission/society/ parties concerned. In his Memo dated 18-4-1978, the Deputy Secretary to Government of West Bengal also clearly stated that the Government had been feeling the necessity of revising the existing pattern for composition of Governing Bodies of Government-sponsored colleges on a "standard pattern" excepting where the collage concerned had a special constitution on the basis of Trust Deed or where the college was run by the Missionary Societies on the basis of agreement with respective Missions

3. When according to the said Memo dated 18-4-1978, the existing Governing Body of the Ramakrishna Mission Collage was carrying on the governance of that college, that on 12-8-1980 by a letter of even date, the Principal of that college Swami Jitatnanda resigned from his post. This situation led to the appointment of Shivamoyananda who was till then head of Ramakrishna Mission Vidya Mandir, Bellur Math, as Principal of Ramakrishna Mission Collage

4. Teachers Council of the Ramakrishna Mission College which was agitated by the new Principals appointment, by resorting to strike, took over the management of the College and prevented the newly appointed Principal Shivamoyananda from functioning as Principal and also made Prof. A.R.Das Gupta to function as the in-charge Principal of that College. This untoward situation led Ramakrishna Mission and the Secretary of the Governed Body of the College to institute a civil suit - Suit No. 111 of 1980 in 10th Court of Sub-Judge, Alipore seeking a declaration that the functioning of A. R. Das Gupta as Principal and the functioning of 14 professors in the college was illegal

5. When the affairs of the said Ramakrishna Mission Collage stood as above, that on 18-12-1980 the appellants in Civil Appeal No. 4937 of 1985, by filing CO No. 12837(W) of 1980 in the High Court sought for issue of (i) a writ in the nature of mandamus commanding the Government of West Bengal to reconstitute the Governing Body of the Ramakrishna Mission Collage according to standard pattern for Governing Bodies of sponsored colleges as per Government Memo No. 752-Edn (CS)/C. S. 30-3/77 dated 18-4-1978; (ii) a writ declaring that the Ramakrishna Mission College is governed by W.B. Act of 1975 and W. B. Act of 1978; (iii) a writ in the nature of quo warranto restraining Swami Shivamoyananda as Principal of Ramakrishna Mission College and other incidental writs

6. The grant of prayers sought for in the said writ petition was resisted by Ramakrishna Mission, Secretary of the Ramakrishna Mission College and Shivamoyananda, who were respondents in that writ petition and are respondents in present Civil Appeal No. 4937 of 1985 and other civil appeals

7. However, as three notices were sent by the Calcutta University to Ramakrishna Mission during the pendency of the writ petition for reconstituting the Governing Bodies of the Ramakrishna Mission Residential Collage, Narendrapur, Ramakrishna Mission Shiksha Mandir, Howrah and Ramakrishna Mission Vidya Mandir, Howrah, the sustainability of those notices was questioned by Ramakrishna Mission, by filing an interlocutory application in the writ petition itself

8. A learned Single Judge of the High Court although dismissed the said writ petition, quashed the said three notices issued by the Calcutta University to the Ramakrishna Mission for reconstituting the Governing Bodies of its three colleges, on his view that the Ramakrishna Mission Collage and other colleges of Ramakrishna Mission, comprised of the followers of Ramakrishna religion, being protected under Article 30(1) of the Constitution, the provisions in W.B. Act of 1975 and the W.B. Act of 1978 did not apply. However, he did not accept the claim of the Ramakrishna Mission that Article 26(a) of the Constitution enabled the Ramakrishna Mission to establish educational institution as a religious denomination. The writ petitioners, who were aggrieved against the order of dismissal of their writ petition by the learned Single Judge and of quashing of the notices for reconstituting of governing bodies of certain colleges of the Ramakrishna Mission proffered a writ appeal against that order. The State of West Bengal and Calcutta University who also felt aggrieved by the said order of learned Single Judge, filed separate writ appeals questioning its correctness. A Division Bench of the High Court, which clubbed those writ appeals and heard them together, dismissed all of them by a common judgment having expressed its agreement with the learned Single Judge that the Ramakrishna Mission comprised of followers of Ramakrishna, being a minority based on religion, was protected under Article 30(1) of the Constitution, and also its disagreement with the view that Article 26(a) of the Constitution did not protect the Ramakrishna Mission from establishing educational institutions as a religious denomination. Dismissal of the appeal was also based on the view of the Division Bench that both the W.B. Act of 1975 and the W.B. Act of 1978 since did not contain any express provision including their application to educational institutions established and maintained by the Ramakrishna Mission, those Act would be inapplicable to the Ramakrishna Mission College and other colleges of Ramakrishna Mission for to hold otherwise would amount to infringement of the rights enjoyed by the Ramakrishna Mission under Article 26(a) and 26(b) of the Constitution. However, it left open the question of legality or otherwise of the direction contained in the notices issued by the Calcutta University to the Ramakrishna Mission for reconstitution of Governing Bodies of the Ramakrishna Mission Residential Collage, Narendrapur, Ramakrishna Mission Shiksha Mandir, Howrah and Ramakrishna Mission Vidya Mandir, Howrah

9. The present appeals are those filed against the said judgment of the Division Bench by the appellants in the writ appeals before the High Court and by interested persons who have filed the appeals against the same judgment by permission of this Court, though they were not parties in the proceedings of the writ petition in the high Court and in the writ appeals in the same Court

10. We have heard oral arguments of learned counsel appearing for respective parties in these appeals. We have also carefully read the written submissions filed by learned counsel in these appeals on behalf of their respective parties

11. The points arising for our consideration for deciding these appeals in the light of the material facts adverted to as leading to the filing of them and the oral arguments of learned counsel made on behalf of their respective parties in these appeals and also the written submissions filed by them on behalf of their respective parties in these appeals, would be the following

"1. Can the citizens of India residing in the State of West Bengal who are professing, practising or propagating the religious doctrines and teaching of Ramakrishna and have become his followers, claim to belong to a minority based on Ramakrishna religion which was distinct and different from Hindu religion and as such entitled to the fundamental right under Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India, of establishing and administering educational institutions of their choice through Ramakrishna mission or its branches in that State

2. Do persons belonging to or owing allegiance to Ramakrishna Mission belong to a religious denomination or any section thereof as would entitle them to claim the fundamental rights conferred on either of them under Article 26 of the Constitution of India

3. If persons belonging to or owing allegiance to Ramakrishna Mission is a religious denomination or a section thereof, have they the fundamental right of establishing and maintaining institutions for a charitable purpose under Article 26(a) of the Constitution of India

4. If Ramakrishna Mission as a religious denomination or a section thereof establishes and maintains educational institutions, can such institutions be regarded as institutions established and maintained for charitable purpose within the meaning of Article 26(a) of the Constitution of India

5. Is Ramakrishna Mission College at Rahra established and maintained by Ramakrishna Mission and if so, will the constitution of its governing body by the Government of West Bengal amount to infringement of Ramakrishna Missions fundamental right to establish and maintain an educational institution under Article 26(a) of the Constitution of India

6. Can the court direct the West Bengal Government because of W.B. Act 1975 and W.B. Act 1978, to constitute governing body on a "standard pattern" of sponsored college envisaged under its Memo dated 18-4-1978 in respect of Ramakrishna Mission College when that memo itself says that colleges established and maintained by Missions on the basis of agreements cannot be treated as sponsored colleges for the purpose of constituting governing bodies for them on a "standard pattern"

12. Before taking up the above points for consideration, we may advert to the views of this Court expressed in some of its decisions on matters, such as Hindu religion, religious denomination, to our advantage

13. A Constitution Bench of this Court in the Commr., Hindu Religious Endowments v. Sri Lakshmindra Thirtha Swamiar of Sri Shirur Mutt speaking through Mukherjea, J. (as he then was), who spoke for the Bench while holding that certain provisions of the Madras Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Act, 1951 imposing tax on religious trusts and institutions were ultra vires Article 26 of the Constitution of India, adverted to the meaning of the word religion and the expression "religious denomination" found in the Constitution of India, thu"The word religion has not been defined in the Constitution and it is a term which is hardly susceptible of any rigid definition. In an American case [Davis v. Beason], it has been said that term "religion

" has reference ones view of his relation to his relation to his Creator and to the obligations they impose of reverence for His Being and character and of obedience to His will. It is often confounded with cultus of form or worship of a particular sect, but is distinguished from the latter. We do not think that the above definition can be regarded as either precise or adequate. Articles 25 and 26 of our Constitution are based for the most part upon Article 44(2) of the Constitution of Eire and we have great doubt whether a definition of religion as given above could have been in the minds of our Constitution-makers when they framed the Constitution. Religion is certainly a matter of faith with individuals or communities and it is not necessarily theistic. There are well-known religions in India like Buddhism and Jainism which do not believe in God or in any Intelligent First Cause. A religion undoubtedly has its basis in a system of beliefs or doctrines which are regarded by those who profess that religion as conducive to their spiritual well being, but it would not be correct to say that religion is nothing else but a doctrine or belief. A religion may not only lay down a code of ethical rules for its followers to accept, it might prescribe rituals and observances, ceremonies and modes of worship which are regarded as integral parts of religion, and these forms and observances might even to matters of food and dress." *

14. Then dealing with the meaning and connotation of the expression "religious denomination" and whether a Math could come within this expression, it has been observed thu

"The word denomination has been defined in the Oxford Dictionary to mean a collection of individuals classed together under the same nam : a religious sect or body having a common faith and organisation and designated by a distinctive name. It is well known that the practice of setting up Maths as centres of theological teaching was started by Shri Sankaracharya and was followed by various teachers since then. After Sankara, came a galaxy of religious teachers and philosophers who founded the different sects and sub-sects of the Hindu religion that we find in India at the present day. Each one of such sects or sub-sects can certainly be called a religious denomination, as it is designated by a distinctive name. - in many cases it is the name of the founder, - and has a common faith and common spiritual organisation. The followers of Ramanuja, who are known by the name of Shri Vaishnabas, undoubtedly constitute a religious denomination; and so do the followers of Madhvacharya and other religious teachers. It is a fact well established by tradition that the eight Udipi Maths were founded by Madhvacharya himself and the trustee and the beneficiaries of these Maths profess to be followers of that teacher. The High Court has found that the Math in question is in charge of the Sivalli Brahmins who constitute a section of the followers of Madhwacharya. As Article 26 contemplates not merely a religious denomination but also a section thereof, the Math or the spiritual fraternity represented by it can legitimately come within the purview of this articles." *

15. In Shastri Yagnapurushdasji v. Muldas Bhundardas Vaishya a Constitution Bench of this Court was require to consider the question whether the Bombay High Court was right in holding that Swaminarayan Sampradaya sect to which the appellants before the Court belonged is not a religion distinct and separate form the Hindu religion. In that context, Gajendragadkar, C.J. who spoke for the Bench considered the questions elaborately as to who are Hindus and what are the broad features if Hindu religion, thu"(27) Who are Hindus and what are the broad features of Hindu religion, that must be the first part of our enquiry in dealing with the resent controversy between the parties. The historical and etymological genesis of the word Hindu has given rise to a controversy amongst indologists; but the view generally accepted by scholars appears to be that the word Hindu is derived from the river Sindhu otherwise known as Indus which flows from the Punjab. That part of the great Aryan race, says Monier Williams, which immigrated form Central Asia, through the mountain passes into India, settled first in the districts near the river Sindhu (now called the Indus). The Persians pronounced this word Hindu and named their Aryan brethren Hindus. The Greeks, who probably gained their first ideas of India from the Persians, dropped the hard aspirate, and called the Hindus "Indoi" [Hinduism by Monier Williams, p. 1].

"(28) The Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, Vol. VI, has described Hinduism as the title applied to that form of religion which prevails among the vast majority of the present population of the Indian Empire (p. 686). As Dr Radhakrishnan has observe : The Hindu civilization is so called, since its original founders or earliest followers occupied the territory drained by the Sindhu (the Indus) River system corresponding to the North-West Frontier Province and the Punjab. This is recorded in the Rig Veda, the oldest of the Vedas, the Hindu scriptures which give their name to this period of Indian history. The people on the Indian side of the Sindhu were called Hindu by the Persians and the later western invaders (The Hindu View of Life by Dr Radhakrishnan, p. 12)

That is the genesis of the word Hindu(29) When we think of the Hindu religion, we find it difficult, if not impossible, to define Hindu religion or even adequately describe it. Unlike other religions in the world, the Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet; it does not worship any one God; it does not subscribe to any one dogma; it does not believe in any philosophic concept; it does not follow any one set of religious rites or performances; in fact, it does not appear to satisfy the narrow traditional features of any religion or creed. It may broadly be described as a way of life and nothing more

(30) Confronted by this difficulty, Dr Radhakrishnan realised that to many Hinduism seems to be a name without any content. Is it a museum of beliefs, a medley of rites, or a mere map, a geographical expression (The Hindu View of Life by Dr. Radhakrishnan, p. 11) Having posed these questions which disturbed foreigners when they think of Hinduism, Dr. Radhakrishnan has explained how Hinduism has steadily absorbed the customs and ideas of peoples with whom it has come into contact and has thus been able to maintain its supremacy and its youth. The term Hindu, according to Dr. Radhakrishnan, had originally a territorial and not a credal significance. It implied residence in a well-defined geographical area. Aboriginal tribes, savage and half-civilized people, the cultured Dravidians and the Vedic Aryans were all Hindus as they were the sons of the same mother. The Hindu thinkers reckoned with the striking fact that the men and women in India belonged to different communities, worshipped different gods, and practised different rites (The Hindu View of Life by Dr. Radhakrishnan, p. 12) (Kurma Purana)

(31) Monier Williams has observed that it must be born in mind that Hinduism is far more than a mere from of theism resting on Brahmanism. It Presents for our investigation a complex congeries of creeds and doctrines which in its gradual accumulation may be compared to the gathering together of the mighty volume of the Ganges, swollen by a continual influx of tributary rivers and rivulets, spreading itself over an ever-increasing area of country, and finally resolving itself into an intricate Delta of tortuous streams and jungly marshes.... The Hindu religion is a reflection of the composite character of the Hindus, who are not one people but many. It is based in the idea of universal receptivity. It has ever aimed at accommodating itself to circumstances, and has carried on the process of adaptation through more than three thousand years. It has first borne with and then, so to speak, swallowed, digested, and assimilated something from all creeds (Religious Thought & Life in India by Monier Williams, p. 57)."

16. Dealing with the broad sweep of the Hindu philosophic concept, it has been stated thu

"(33) The monistic idealism which can be said to be the general distinguishing feature of Hindu Philosophy has been expressed in four different form : (1) Non-dualism or Advaitism; (2) Pure monism; (3) Modified monism; and (4) Implicit monism. It is remarkable that these different forms of monistic idealism purport to derive support from the same Vedic and Upanishadic texts. Sankara, Ramanuja, Vallabha and Madhva all based their philosophic concepts on what they regarded to be the synthesis between the Upanishads, the Brahmasutras and the Bhagvad Gita. Though philosophic concepts and principles evolved by different Hindu thinkers and philosophers varied in many ways and even appeared to conflict with each other in some particulars, they all had reference for the past and accepted the Vedas as sole foundation of the Hindu philosophy. Naturally enough, it was realised by Hindu religion from the very beginning of its carrier that truth was many-sided and different view contained different aspects of truth which no one could fully express. This knowledge inevitably bred a spirit of tolerance and willingness to understand and appreciate the opponents point of view. That is how the several views set fourth in India in regard to the vital philosophic concepts are considered to be the branches of the self-same tree. The short cuts and blind alleys are somehow reconciled with the main road of advance to the truth [ibid, p. 48]. When we consider this broad sweep of the Hindu philosophic concepts, it would be realised that under Hindu philosophy, there is no scope for excommunicating any notion or principle as heretical and rejecting it as such." *

17. Thereafter, the basic concepts of Hindu religion, are stated thu

"(35)... The first amongst these basic concepts is the acceptance of the Vedas as the highest authority in religious and philosophic matters. This concept necessarily implies that all the systems claim to have drawn their principle from a common reservoir of thought enshrined in the Vedas. The Hindu teachers were thus obliged to use the heritage they received from the past in order to made their views readily understood. The other basic concept which is common to the six systems of Hindu philosophy is that all of them accept the view of the great world rhythm. Vast periods of creation, maintenance and dissolution follow each other in endless succession. This theory is not inconsistent with belief in progress; for it is not a question of the movement of the world reaching its goal times without number, and being again forced back to its starting point. ... It means that the race of man enters upon and retravels its ascending path of realization. This interminable succession of world ages has no beginning (Indian Philosophy by Dr Radhakrishnan, Vol. II, p. 26). It may also be said that all the system of Hindu philosophy believe in rebirth and pre-existence. Our life is step on a road, the direction and goal of which are lost in the infinite. On this road, death is never an end or an obstacle but at most the beginning of new steps (Indian Philosophy by Dr Radhakrishnan, Vol. II, p. 27). Thus, it is clear that unlike other religions and religious creeds, Hindu religion is not tied to any definite set of philosophic concepts as such." *

18. Adverting to the question whether Hindus worship at their temples the same set or number of gods, it has been observed thu

"(36)... Indeed, there are certain sections of the Hindu community which do not believe in the worship of idols; and as regards those sections of the Hindu community which believe in the worship of idols, their idols differ from community to community and it cannot be said that one definite idol or a definite number of idols are worshipped by all the Hindus in general. In the Hindu Pantheon the first gods that were worshipped in Vedic times were mainly Indra, Varuna, Vayu and Agni. Later, Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh came to be worshipped. In course of time, Rama and Krishna secured a place of pride in the Hindu Pantheon, and gradually as different philosophic concepts held sway in different sects and in different sections of the Hindu community, a large number of gods were added, with the result that today the Hindu Pantheon presents the spectacle of a very large number of gods who are worshipped by different sections of the Hindus." *

19. However, dealing with the development of the Hindu religion and philosophy from time to time, it is observed thu

"(37) The development of Hindu religion and philosophy shows that from time to time saints and religious reformers attempted to remover from the Hindu thought and practices elements of corruption and superstition and that led to the formation of different sects. Buddha started Buddhis : Mahavir founded Jainism; Basava became the founder of Lingayat religion; Dhyaneshwar and Tukaram initiated the Varakari cult; Guru Nanak inspired Sikhism; Dayananda founded Arya Samaj, and Chaitanya became Bhakti cult; and as a result of the teachings of Ramakrishna and Vivekananada, Hindu religion flowered into its most attractive, progressive and dynamic form. If we study the teachings of these saints and religious reformers, we would notice and amount of divergence in their respective views; but underneath that divergence, there is a kind of subtle indescribable unity which keeps the within the sweep of the broad and progressive Hindu religion." *

20. Ultimately, reference is made to the working formula evolved by Tilak and it is found to be an adequate and satisfactory formula. That working formula is quoted thu

"Acceptance of Vedas with reverence; recognition of the fact that the means or ways to salvation are diverse; and realisation of the truth that the number of gods to be worshipped is large, that indeed is the distinguishing feature of Hindu religion. (B. G. Tilaks Gitarahasaya)" *

21. In Acharya Jagdishwaranand Avadhuta v. Commr. of Police, Ranganath Misra, J. (as he then was) speaking for a three-Judge Bench of this Court has held that Anand Margis being a collection of individuals who have a system of beliefs with regard to their conducive spiritual well-being, a common organisation and a definitive name, would be a religious denomination within the Hindu religion, inasmuch that satisfies the tests laid down by the Constitution Bench of this Court in the regard in Sri Shirur Mutt case

22. We could now refer to the points arising for our consideration in these appeals and consider the seriatim

23. The learned Single Judge of the High Court, who decide the writ petition, took the view that the followers of Ramakrishna were entitled to protection of Article 30(1) of the Constitution of India since the religion preached and propagated by Thakur Shri Ramakrishna and his great chella Swami Vivekananda, is Ramakrishna religion - a universal religion, different from the Hindu religion. The factors which led the learned Single Judge to take the above view in respect of the Ramakrishna religion are the following

Fundamental tenets of Ramakrishna religion set out in the statement of Swami Ramanand in his affidavit filed in opposition to the writ petition, which according to him made it unique by comprehending all other religions without identifying itself with any of the

"1. That Thakur Shri Ramakrishna Paramahansa Deva practised various religions including Islam and realised the truth underlying these religions

2. That Shri Ramakrishnas spiritual practice culminated in experience that all beings are in essence divine and identical with Eternal Existence, Consciousness and Bliss, and that the ultimate aim of human life is to realise this Truth and attain eternal life

3. Shri Ramakrishna discovered that the same Eternal Truth underlies all religions, which is the essence of all scriptures. That all religions are true

4. According to Shri Ramakrishna, religion is not and end in itself but is a means to achieve the said aim of human life

5. He (Ramakrishna) proclaimed that all religions are only different paths leading to the same goal

6. He (Ramakrishna) preached that service to man as the veritable manifestation of God, in a spirit of worship, is a sure way to realise the Truth

7. Accepting all religions to be true he (Ramakrishna) prohibited condemnation of any of them."

24. The most important features of Ramakrishna religion, set out by Swami Ramananda in his affidavit in opposition, which according to him distinguished Ramakrishna religion from all other cults or religions including traditional Hinduis

"(i) The religion of Shri Ramakrishna looks upon Shri Ramakrishna as an illustration and embodiment of the Religion Eternal which constitutes the core of all religious ideals and permits his worship through his image (like portraits, photos, statues, etc.) relics or otherwise with or without any ritual or ceremony

(ii) It not only tolerates all religions, but also accepts them all to be true, and it consider all religions to be only different paths leading to the same goal, whereas other religions claim absolute authority in all matters to the exclusion of all others

(iii) It believes that the underlying truth in all religious is the same Eternal Truth which is the essence of the scriptures of all religions." *

25. Further statement made in the self-same affidavit by Swami Ramanand

".. that the followers of this religion or cult of Shri Ramakrishna believe in and practise the universal religion of all times, as practised and preached by him. They believe in the universal brotherhood of all irrespective of caste, colour, creed, community, language or nationality. Amongst the followers of Shri Ramakrishnas religion, there are persons coming from Hindu fold as well as from the followers of Islam, Christianity and other religions." *

26. Remark of the notable historian Arnold Toynbe

"Shri Ramakrishnas message was unique in being expressed in action .... Religion is not just a matter for study, it is something that has to be experienced and to be believed, and this is the field in which Shri Ramakrishna manifested his uniqueness... His religious activity and experience, were, in fact, comprehensive to a degree that had perhaps never before been attained by any other religious genius in India or elsewhere." *

27. Statements of Swami Vivekananda made at different time

"What is wanted is power of organisation do you understand me .. We want some disciples fiery youngmen... do you see... intelligent/and brave who dare to go to the jaws of death and are ready to swim the ocean across. Do you follow me We want hundreds like that... both men and women. Try your utmost for that and alone. Make converts right and left and put them into our purity drilling machine

And together we conceived that this ideal had to be spread, and not only spread, but made practical. That is to say, we must show the spirituality of the Hindus, the mercifulness of the Buddhists, the activity of the Christians, the brotherhood of Mohammadans, by our practical lives. We shall start a universal religion now and here

Each soul is potentially divine, the goal is to manifest this divinity within, by controlling nature external and internal. Do this either by work or by worship by one or more, or all of them and be free

I have a message and I will give it after my one fashion, will neither be Hinduism, nor Christianism and that is all. Liberty, Murti is all my religion

I shall inspire men everywhere, until the world shall know that it is one with God." *

28. Swami Jyotishwaranandas statement

"The Ramakrishna Mission is pre-eminently a religious body in service forming a part of Sadhana or spiritual practice. It stands on the universal ideals of religion. Its numerous preaching centres in India and America are trying to spread through the life and though of their members a true knowledge of religion in its all-embracing aspects and also to promote fellowship amongst the followers of different religions of the world, which are in fact as Shri Ramakrishna realised, so many forms of the Eternal and Universal Religion." *

29. Objects of Ramakrishna Mat

"1. The Ramakrishna Math, otherwise called the Belur Math, is an institution of Sanyasins, established to help individuals as to work out their own liberation and also to train them to serve the world in every possible way along the lines laid down by Bhagavan Shri Ramakrishna

2. The activities of the Ramakrishna Math, Belur other wise called the Bellur Math, and other Maths associated with it and forming branch Maths or Ashrams, and the various centres of work shall be confined to the promotion of the objects and principles of the cult or religion of Shri Ramakrishna Paramahansa, and to the propagation, advancement and furtherance of the same through publication of books, magazines etc., and establishment of temples, prayer halls, educational, cultural and charitable institutions of various types, as also other forms of preaching and seva, which all shall be conducted along the lines of universal principles taught by Shri Ramakrishna and exemplified by his life." *

30. Objects of Ramakrishna Missio

"(a) To impart and promote the study of the Vedanta and its principles as propounded by Shri Ramakrishna and practically illustrated by his own life and of Comparative Theology in its widest form

(b) To impart and promote the study of the arts, sciences and industries

(c) To carry on educational work among masses

(d) To establish, maintain, carry on and assist Schools, Colleges, Universities, Orphanages, Workshops, Laboratories, Hospitals, Dispensaries, houses for the works and other educational and/or charitable works and institutions of a like nature." *

31. The Division Bench of the High Court while dismissing the appeals filed against the order in the writ petition, has upheld the views of the learned Single Judge that Ramakrishna religion was different religion from Hindu religion by relying on the very factors on which the learned Single Judge had based his views on the subject. However, the Division Bench has sought to point out how Swami Vivekananda in the latter days of his life changed his thoughts on religion influenced by Western thought and way of life and propounded a world religion, by referring to what was said of him by other"42. Undoubtedly, thoughts of Shri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda were based on Vedanta. But their philosophy and religion were not identical with the Traditional Vedantabad. Dr Satish Chandra Chatterjee, formerly Head of the Department of Philosophy, Calcutta University, in his work Classical Indian Philosopher : Their Synthesis in the Philosophy of Shri Ramakrishna published by the University of Calcutta, 1963, has described Shri Ramakrishnas philosophy as Samanvaya Vedanta in the sense of being a synthesis of all the schools of Hindu Law. Dr Chatterjee in Chapter X of the said book has discussed in detail the said philosophy of Shri Ramakrishna. He has, inter alia, observed that Shri Ramakrishnas experiences go beyond the Vedas and Vedanta. According to him, the impersonal absolute and the personal God are not two different realities unrelated to each other, nor are the different realities inseparably related to each other as substance and quality. They are same realities in different states. According to the learned author, Bramhana is not different from Sakti or Kali in point of reality. Shri Ramakrishna held that Bramhana is present in every thought and being in the Universe. Shri Ramakrishnas teachings lay down a rational basis for reconciliation of different and conflicting systems of philosophy and religion. Dr Chatterjee in his said book observe that religion, according to Shri Ramakrishna, is neither religious knowledge about God, nor philosophical speculation on God; it is the direct experience or realisation of God. Shri Ramakrishnas conception that the end of mans life is realization of the divine in him, was not identical with the traditional Hindu view of life. One of the Most remarkable traits of Shri Ramakrishnas religion was his doctrine of harmony of religions. He not only taught universal harmony but he himself demonstrated it

"43. Thus, although thoughts of Shri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda were based on Vedanta, their though and action did not remain strictly within the limits of ancient Vedantic thought. The writings and speeches of Swami Vivekananda also clearly indicate his gradual transition from a preacher of Hindu thought into a world missionary. Swami Vivekanandas view on religion did not remain static and unchanged. Therefore, stray quotations given form his various writings and speeches may not depict his true views on religion. With his greater and greater acquaintance with the western thought and ways of life, Swami Vivekanandas own ideas about religion and its significances underwent change. He had begun to lay greater and greater stress on the unity of religions. He came gradually to believe in and propounded world religion. Swamiji persistently sought to formulate on the basis of Shri Ramakrishnas teachings of one principle behind all religious phenomenon. Miss Marie Louise Burke in her book Swami Vivekananda in the West Vol. II, had observed that from the summer of 1894 onwards simultaneous developments keeping pace with one another were taking place in Swamijis thought along three lines. There was an evolution in his message the change in his plan and work and the increasing degree in which he identified his own message with Vedanta. According to the learned author, all three were aspects of a single event-the emergence of his world mission. According to Miss Burke, Swamiji did not teach the orthodox Vedanta in every respect. He mixed with it, for instance, a great deal of Sankha in order to answer some of the questions posed by modern knowledge. The learned author has answered the question why Swamiji gave the name Vedanta to his Principles of Religion. She thinks that, on the face of it, it was not necessary, for as Swami Vivekananda himself often observed, these principles have always existed in greater or lesser degree in every religion. He wrote the real thing is the religion taught by Shri Ramakrishna; let the Hindu call it Hinduism and the others call it in their own way. According to Miss Burke, one obvious and important reason of calling his religion by specific name was that the name Vedanta already existed. One religion in all its aspects had been already formulated for thousands of years and called Vedanta. Miss Burke has given two other reasons, first, Swami Vivekananda attempted throughout to define harmony of religion in the truest sense and had concluded that it consisted in the recognition of the unity of religions or rather in the recognition of religion. Another reason why Swamiji wanted to give a name to one religion was that he was not only ensuring purity of his principles but to make it possible for anyone to follow these principles without first attaching himself to specific creed and burdening himself with some forms and ceremonies not necessary to him. One would become a Vedantic and go straight to the heart of the religion."

32. Can the aforesaid view of the learned Single Judge of Calcutta High Court that there came into existence Ramakrishna religion, distinct and apart from Hindu religion, as upheld by learned Judges of the Division Bench of the same High Court by its judgment impugned in the present appeals, be sustained for the reasons stated by them including the special reason put forward by learned Judged of the Division Bench that thoughts of Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda although were based on Vedanta, writings and Speeches of Swami Vivekananda show that even though he had grown as a preacher of Hindu thought (Hindu religion), he converted himself into a preacher of world religion different from Hindu religion, in latter years of his life being influenced by his greater acquaintance with Western thought and way of life, if such view of the learned Single Judge, as upheld by the learned Judges of the Division Bench of the High Court came in direct conflict with the view of Hindu religion enunciated by the Constitution Bench of this Court in its judgment in the case of Shastri Yagnapurushdasji by according its approval to what is stated in that regard by great philosophers and historians or of broad features of Hindu religion laid down by this Court in that judgment or with the view held by Ramakrishna himself, on Hindu religion and the Hindu way of life led by him or of what was spoken of Ramakrishna as the great saviour, reviver and rejuvenator of Hindu religion by world thinkers, philosophers, historians and his disciples, or the utterances of Shri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda, which show that they always continued as Hindus professing Hindu religion and never disowned or discarded their Hindu status or Hindu religion

33. The Constitution Bench if this Court in Shastri Yagnapurushdasji when had occasion to deal with the question what Hindu religion has been, on consideration of diverse aspects of the questions before it, not merely expressed its clear views thereon, viz., (i) that unlike other religion in the world Hindu religion does not claim any one prophet; it does not worship and one God; it does not subscribe to any one dogma; it does not believe in any one philosophic concept; it does not follow any one set of religious rites or performances; and thus when it does not appear to satisfy any of the narrow traditional features of any religion or creed, it may broadly be described as a way of life and nothing more; (ii) that unlike other religions Hindu religion is not tied to any definite set of philosophic concepts as such; and (iii) that though philosophic concepts and principle evolved by different Hindu thinkers and philosophers varied in many ways and even appeared to conflict with each other in some particulars, they all had reverence for the past and accepted the Vedas as the sole foundation of Hindu philosophy; but also clearly accorded its approval to the views of Hindu religion expressed by Monier Williams to the effect that the Hindu religion is a reflection of the composite character of the Hindus, who are not on people but many based on the idea of universal receptivity ever aimed at accommodating itself to circumstances, having swallowed, digested and assimilated something from all creeds, and to the view of Hindu religion expressed by Dr S. Radhakrishnan "that Hindu religions because of the teachings of Ramakrishna and Vivekananda has flowered into its most attractive, progressive and dynamic form"

34. Since the aforementioned views that there came into existence Ramakrishna religion, as such distinct and apart from Hindu religion, of the learned Single Judge of the High Court deciding the writ petition and the learned Judges of the Division Bench of the High Court deciding the appeals are quite contrary to and directly conflict with aforereferred views of the Constitution Bench on Hindu religion enunciated in the case of Shastri Yagnapurushdasji, the views of the learned Judges of the High Court that there came into existence a Ramakrishna religion which was different and distinct from Hindu religion cannot, in our view, stand and become unsustainable

35. Features of Hindu religion recognised by this Court is Shastri Yagnapurushdasji as coming within its broad sweep are thes

(i) Acceptance of the Vedas with reverence as the highest authority in religious and philosophic matters and acceptance with reverence of Vedas by Hindu thinkers and Philosophers as the sole foundation of Hindu philosophy

(ii) Spirit of tolerance and willingness to understand and appreciate the opponents point of view based on the realisation that truth was many-sided

(iii) Acceptance of great world rhythm, vast period of creation, maintenance and dissolution follow each other in endless succession, by all six systems of Hindu philosophy

(iv) Acceptance by all systems of Hindu philosophy the belief in rebirth and pre-existence

(v) Recognition of the fact that the means or ways to salvation ar many

(vi) Realisation of the truth that Gods to be worshipped may be large, yet there being Hindus who do not believe in the worshipping of idols

(vii) Unlike other religions or religious creeds Hindu religion not being tied down to any definite set of philosophic concepts, as such

36. Ramakrishna - according to Aurobind

"... in him the spiritual experience of the millions of saints who had gone before were renewed and united. Shri Ramakrishna gave to India the final message of Hinduism to the world. A new era dates from his birth... Hinduism as summed up in the life of Shri Ramakrishna has to attempt for all..." *

(World Thinkers on Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, p. 36)

37. Ramakrishna - according to Arnold Toynbe

"Shri Ramakrishnas message was unique in being expressed in action, the message itself was the perennial message of Hinduism." (Ramakrishna and His Unique Message - by Swami Ghananda, p. 10)

38. Ramakrishna - according to Prof. S. Radhakrishna

"He has helped to raise from the dust the fallen standard of Hinduism, not in words merely, but in works too." (Ramakrishna and His Unique Message, p. 29)

39. Ramakrishnas view of Hindu religion

"Hindu religion alone is the Sanatan Dharma. Various Creeds you hear nowadays have come into existence through the will of God and will disappear again through his will. They will not last for ever. Therefore, I bow down at the feet of even the modern devotees. The Hindu religion has always existed and will always exist." *

(The Gospel of Shri Ramakrishna, Vol. II, p. 642)

40. Swami Vivekanandas views about his Masters (Ramakrishnas) religio

"Then it was that Shri Ramakrishna incarnated himself in India to demonstrate what the true religion of the Aryan race is, to show where amidst all its many divisions and offshoots, scattered over the land in the course of its immemorial history, lies the true unity of the Hindu religion

All that I am, all that the world itself will some day be, is owing to my Master, Shri Ramakrishna, who incarnated and experienced and taught this wonderful unity which underlies everything, having discovered it alike in Hinduism, in Islam and in Christianity." *

(Ramakrishna and His Message, p. 57)

41. Address given by Swami Vivekananda at the Worlds Parliament of Religions at Chicago on 11-9-1893 since assume great significance, the same being accepted as the thoughts of Ramakrishna expressed on religion, through his principal disciple Swami Vivekananda, the important passages therein which bear on religion of Ramakrishna and his disciple Swami Vivekananda, are excerpted

"It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions; and I thank you in the name of the millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects

I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religion as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth

I am a Hindu, I am siting in my own little well and thinking that the whole words is my little well. The Christian sits in his little well and thinks the whole world is his well. The Mohammedan sits in his little well and thinks that is the whole world. I have to thank you of America for the great attempt you are making to break down the barriers of this little world of ours, and hope that, in the future, the Lord will help you to accomplish your purpose

From the high spiritual flight of the Vedanta philosophy, of which the latest discoveries of science seem like echoes, to the low ideas of idolatry with its multiflavour, mythology, the agnosticism of the Buddhists and the atheism of the Jains, each and all have a place in the Hindu religionHere it may be said that these laws may be without end, but they must have had a beginning. The Vedas teach us that creation is without beginning or end. Science is said to have proved that the sum total of cosmic energy is always the same. Then, if there was a time when nothing existed where was all these manifested energy"

42. Coming to the paper on Hinduism read by Swami Vivekananda on idolatry at the said Parliament of Religions on 19-9-189

"One thing I must tell you. Idolatry in India does not mean anything horrible. It is not the mother of harlots. On the other hand, it is the attempt of undeveloped minds to grasp high spiritual truths. The Hindus have their faults, they sometimes have their exceptions; but mark this, they are always for punishing their own bodies, and never for cutting the throats of their neighbours

The Lord has declared to the Hindu in his incarnation as Krishn

I am in every religion as the thread through a string of pearls. Wherever thou seest extraordinary holiness and extraordinary power raising and purifying humanity, know though that I am there." *

Again speaking at the Worlds Parliament of Religions on 20-9-189

"In India, during the terrible famines, thousands died from hunger, yet you Christians did nothing. You erect churches all through India, but the crying evil in the East is not religion - they have religion enough - but it is bread that the suffering millions of burning India cry out for with parched throats. They ask us for bread, but we give them stones. It is an insult to a starving people to offer them religion; it is an insult to a starving man to teach him metaphysics

The religion of the Hindus is divided into two parts, the ceremonial and the spiritual; the spiritual portion is specially studied by the monksIn that there is no caste. A man from the highest caste and a man from the lowest may become a monk in India and the two castes become equal. In religion there is no caste; caste is simply a social institution."

Other exhortations of Swami Vivekananda on Hindu religion (Hinduism

"Three religions now stand in the world which have come down to us from time prehistoric - Hinduism, Zoroastrianism and Judaism. They have all received tremendous shocks and all of them prove, by their survival, their internal strength. But while Judaism failed to absorb Christianity and was driven out of its place of birth by its all-conquering daughter, and a handful of Parsees is all that remains to tell the tale of their grand religion sect after sect arose in India and seemed to shake the religion of the Vedas to its foundations, but like the waters of the seashore in a tremendous earthquake, it receded only for a while, only to return in an all-absorbing flood, a thousand times more vigorous, and when the tumult of the rush was over, these sects were all sucked in, absorbed and assimilated into the immense body of the mother faith. (I. 6)

From the high spiritual flights of the Vedanta Philosophy, of which the latest discoveries of science seem like echoes, to the low ideas of idolatry with its multifarious mythology, the agnosticism of the Buddhists, and the atheism of the Jains, each and all have a place in the Hindus religion. (I. 6)

The Hindu religion does not consist in struggles and attempts to believe a certain doctrine or dogma, but in realising - not in believing, but in being and becoming. Thus the whole object of their system is by constant struggle to become perfect, to become divine, to reach God and see God, and this reaching God, becoming perfect, even as the Father in Heaven is perfect, constitutes the religion of the Hindus. (I. 13)We not only tolerate, but we Hindus accept every religion, praying in the mosque of the Mohammedans, worshipping before the fire of the Zoroastrians, and kneeling before the cross of the Christians, knowing that all the religions, from the lowest fetishism, mean so many attempts of the human soul to grasp and realise the infinite, each determined by the conditions of its birth and association, and each of them making a stage of progress. We gather all these flowers and bind them with the twine of love, making a wonderful bouquet of worship. (I. 331-32)

The religion of the Vedanta can satisfy the demands of the scientific world, by referring it to the highest generalisation and to the law of evolution

Vedanta lays down that each man should be treated not as what he manifests, but as what he stands for. Each human being stands for the divine, and, therefore, every teacher should be helpful, not by condemning man, but by helping him to call forth the divinity that is within him. (I. 388)

In India there never was any religious persecution by the Hindus, but only that wonderful reverence, which they have for all the religions of the world. (I. 391)

If your mind says something and the Vedas say something else, stop your mind and believe in the Vedas. (I. 452)

Not only is Vedanta the highest philosophy in the world, but it is the greatest poem. (I. 499)

In one word, the ideal of Vedanta is to know man as he really is, and this is its message, that if you cannot worship your brother man, the manifested God, how can you worship a God who is unmanifested (II. 325-26)

Taking country with country, there is not one race on this earth to which the world owes so much as to the patient Hindu, the mild Hindu. The mild Hindu sometimes is used as an expression of reproach; but if ever a reproach concealed a wonderful truth, it is in the term the mild Hindu who has always been the blessed child of God. (III. 105)One thing we may note that whereas you will find that good and great men of other countries take pride in tracing back their descent to some robber-baron who lived in a mountain fortress and emerged from time to time to plunder passing wayfarers, we Hindus, on the other hand, take pride in being the descendants of Rishis and sages who lived on roots and fruits in mountains and caves, meditating on the Supreme. (III. 139)

We must remember that for all periods the Vedas are the final goal and authority, and if the Puranas differ in any respect from the Vedas, that part of the Puranas is to be rejected without mercy. (III. 173)

Here we are, the Hindu race, whose vitality, whose life-principle, whose very soul, as it were, is in religion. (III. 177)

I think that it is Vedanta, and Vedanta alone that can become the universal religion of man, and no other is fitted for the role. Excepting our own, almost all the other great religions in the world are inevitably connected with the life or lives of one or more of their founders. All their theories, their teachings, their doctrines and their ethics are built round the life of a personal founder from whom they get their sanction, their authority and their power; and, strangely enough, upon the historicity of the founders life is built, as it were, all the fabric of such religions. If there is one blow dealt to the historicity of that life, ... if that rock of historicity... is shaken and shattered, the whole building tumbles down, broken absolutely, never to regain its lost status

Every one of the great religions in the world, excepting our own, is built upon such historical characters; but ours rests upon principles. There is no man or women who can claim to have created the Vedas. They are the embodiment of eternal principles; sages discovered them... (III. 182-83)India alone was to be, of all lands, the land of toleration and of spirituality;... For one of the greatest sages that was ever born found out here in India even at that distant time, which history cannot reach, and into whose gloom even tradition itself dares not peep - in that distant time the sage arose and declared Ekkam sad vipra bahuda vadanti - He who exists is one; the sages call Him variously. This is one of the most memorable sentences that was ever uttered, one of the grandest truths that was ever discovered. And for us Hindus this truth has been the very backbone of our national existence. For throughout the vistas of the centuries of our national life this one idea - Ekkam sad vipra bahuda vadanti - comes down gaining in volume and in fullness till it has permeated the whole of our national existence, till it has mingled in our blood, and has become one with us. We live that grand truth in every vein, and our country has become the glorious land of religious tolerance. It is here and here alone that they build temples and churches for the religions which have come with the object of condemning our own religion. (III. 186-87)

our religion is not based upon persons but on principles. That you obey your religion is not because it came through the authority of a sage, no, not even of an incarnation. Krishna is not the authority of the Vedas, but the Vedas are the authority of Krishna himself. His glory is that he is the greatest preacher of the Vedas that ever existed. (III. 249)

The Hindu can worship any sage and any saint from any country whatsoever, and as a fact we know that we go and worship many times in the churches of the Christians, and many, many times in the Mohammedan mosques and that is good. Why not Ours, as I have said, is the universal religion. It is inclusive enough, it is broad enough to include all the ideals. All the ideals of religion that already exist in the world can be immediately included, and we can patiently wait for all the ideals that are to come in the future to be taken in the same fashion, embraced in the infinite arms of the religion of the Vedanta. (III. 251-52)Ours is the religion of which Buddhism, with all its greatness, is a rebel child, and of which Christianity is a very patchy imitation. (III. 275)

Ours is the only religion that does not depend on a person or persons; it is based upon principles. (III. 280)

this religion of ours admits of a marvellous variation, an infinite amount of liberty to think and live our own lives.... (III. 286-87)

If there is any sect here which believes that Om ought not to be the symbol of Hinduism, it has no right to call itself Hindu. (III. 302)

Whether we are conscious of it or not, we think the Vedanta, we live in the Vedanta, we breathe the Vedanta, and we die in the Vedanta, and every Hindu does that. To preach Vedanta in the land of India, and before an Indian audience, seems, therefore, to be an anomaly. But it is the one thing that has to be preached and it is the necessity of the age that it must be preached. (III. 323)

If at present the word Hindu means anything bad, never mind; by our action let us be ready to show that this is the highest word any language can invent. It has been one of the principles of my life not to be ashamed of my own ancestors.... (III. 368-69)

Ay, when a man has begun to hate himself, then the last blow has come. When a man has begun to be ashamed of his ancestors, the end has come. Here am I, one of the least of the Hindu race, yet proud of my race, proud of my ancestors. I am proud to call myself a Hindu, I am proud.:"