Lessons from Swamis

The Dec 2020 Special Issue of The Vedanta Kesari was on the topic ‘Lessons from Swamis’. New content on this topic is being serialised this year.

Swami Omkarananda

Born in an affluent family Anangamohan Niyogi grew up as a dear student of Mahendranath Gupta, author of The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, in whose school he studied. As a youth he excelled in studies and physical exercises. After completing his MA in Philosophy in 1919, he joined the Order at the Bhubaneswar Math. He received mantra-diksha from Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi and sannyasa-diksha from Swami Shivanandaji in 1923. Throughout his life he engaged himself in intense work and deep study of scriptures. In 1929, at the young age of 35 he became a Trustee of the Order and served for long as head of Advaita Ashrama, Kashi, and Kakurgachi Yogodhyan. In 1966, he became a Vice-president of the Order and served in that capacity until his mahasamadhi on 8 May 1973.

Life-long learning

After completing my course at the Belur Math Training Centre, I visited Swami Omkarananda one day at Kankurgachi.

I: “Maharaj, I have finished my training, so I have come to offer my pranams to you.”

Swami Omkarananda: “Has someone beat you with a shoe?”

I: “No.”

Swami Omkarananda: “Then your training is not complete. Your ego has not been crushed. You see, our training continues throughout life. ‘As long as I live, so long do I learn.’ Continue to learn always. Is there any end to learning, my boy?”

I was very touched by his words. I have been doing the Master’s work for the last forty-eight years in the West, but I am still a student. Tantine (Josephine Macleod) once said: “Swamiji was a great learner, so he was ever fresh.” —Swami Chetanananda, Minister-in-Charge, Vedanta Society of St. Louis, USA

Swami Vandananada

M. A. Narayan Iyengar, born in 1915 in Bengaluru, was the grandson of Sri Narayana Iyengar a disciple of Holy Mother Sarada Devi who later took sannyasa and came to be known as Swami Srivasananda. After graduating from Madras University, Narayan followed his grandfather and joined the Ramakrishna Order at Mayavati

Ashrama in 1938. He received his mantra-diksha from Swami Vijnananandaji and later sannyasa-diksha from Swami Virajanandaji in 1947. He was named Swami Vandanananda. He served the Order in various capacities including as Editor, Prabuddha Bharata, and General Secretary of the Order from 1979 to 1985. He attained mahasamadhi in 2007 aged 91.

Alertness in spiritual life

I joined the Order at Belur Math and my first posting was at the Head Quarters Office in Belur Math. Swami Vandananandaji was then the General Secretary of the Ramakrishna Order. My work was to receive donations and to acknowledge them. Swami Vandananandaji asked me to draft a Covering Letter to be sent along with the receipt. I drafted it and showed it to him. While ending the letter I had written, “We pray to Sri Ramakrishna to shower his blessings on you all.”

Seeing that line he said, “You see you have written ‘We pray’. Neither you nor I pray to Sri Ramakrishna for all the donors; then how can you write that. That will be an untruth. If you write like that then you must pray first and then write. Otherwise just say, ‘With best wishes’. That’s all.” —Swami Shrikantananda, Adhyaksha, Ramakrishna Math, Pune

Swami Trayambakananda

Shakti received his mantra-diksha from Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi and joined the Ramakrishna Order in 1917. He received the sannyasa-diksha from Swami Saradanandaji in 1923. He served as pujari in Belur Math, Udbodhan, Mumbai, Mysuru and Colombo centres and passed away in Kankhal Sevashrama in 1978 aged 81.

Spiritual progress

Swami Tryambakananda (Shakti Maharaj) was living in Kankhal. A childlike simplicity was the hallmark of the Swami. Once he told me about a question he had asked Swami Saradanandaji and his answer.

“I was living in Udbodhan at that time, not long after my joining the Order. One day I asked Swami Saradananda, ‘Maharaj, I am not making any spiritual progress, I think I am wasting time.’”

Sharat Maharaj listened patiently and replied, “With what intention did you leave home and join the Order?” I replied, “I was not particularly interested in God realisation. I did not like samsara and hence left home.” Sharat Maharaj said, “I see. You did not like samsara and left home. You will see that you will be creating another samsara within the Sangha. A day will come when you will not like this samsara also, and want only Sri Thakur. Then you can see your own progress. — Sri Raghu Raman, Australia