Head of Ramakrishna Mission cremated

Swami Ranganathananda was the last disciple of Swami Sibananda Maharaj, who had a direct association with Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa.

Popularly called ‘Mini Vivekananda’ by his disciples abroad, the Maharaj became the president of the Ram Krishna Mission seven years back in 1998. It was during his tenure as president that the house in which Swami Vivekananda was born in and grew up in, was restored and finally declared a heritage building.

Swami Ranganathananda also organised the ceremonies celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Sri Ram Krishna’s wife, Sri Sarada Devi. He also inaugurated two temples—one in Dhaka and the other in Chennai.

Swami Ranganathananda was born on December 15, 1908, in Trikkur, Kerala. He however, did not go through much of a formal education. In 1926, he joined the Mission at the Mysore Math, where the first task allotted to him was to chop and sort hay for the cows that were under the care of the Mission.

Later, he grew to become the president of the Hyderabad Mission, and subsequently, the president of the Ram Krishna Mission Cultural Centre at Gol Park. he also penned numerous books on a wide range of spiritual and religious subjects.

The Lok Sabha observed a few minutes of silence on Tuesday as a mark of respect. Speaker Somnath Chatterjee told the House that Swami was ‘‘a revered personality who propagated Indian culture and values the world over.’’