Atmasthananda: Difference between revisions

|caption =Swami Atmasthananda

|birth_date = {{birth date|1919|05|21|df=yes}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Swami Atmasthananda (2007–) |url=http://www.vedantastl.org/photo-gallery/the-presidents-of-ramakrishna-order/12238002 |website=vedantastl.org/ |publisher=Vendata Society of St. Louis |accessdate=10 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141218211951/http://www.vedantastl.org/photo-gallery/the-presidents-of-ramakrishna-order/12238002 |archive-date=18 December 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

|philosophy = Advaitabad

The Hindu monk '''Swami Atmasthananda''' (21 May 1919 – 18 June 2017) was the fifteenth president of the [[Ramakrishna Math]] and the [[Ramakrishna Mission]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1090402/jsp/calcutta/story_10758025.jsp|title=Service in the name of god in every human|last=Ananda |date=2 April 2009 |publisher=The Telegraph|accessdate=2009-08-25}}</ref>

He was born  on the auspicious Buddha Purnima Tithi on 21 May 1919 at Dinajpur, in the [[Bengal Presidency]]. He received spiritual initiation (mantra diksha) from Most Revered the then 4th President of the Ramakrishna Order, Swami  [[Vijnanananda]] (a direct monastic disciple of [[Ramakrishna]]) in January 1938. He joined the Ramakrishna Order at Belur Math on 3 January 1941 at the age of 22 years. In 1945, the then-6th President of the order, Swami [[Virajananda]] (an initiated disciple of [[Sarada Devi]]) gave him [[brahmacharya]] vows, and in 1949 [[sannyasa]] vows with the swami name of Atmasthananda Puri.

After serving the Order at Belur Math and the branches at Deoghar Vidyapith in 1941 for few months  and Mayavati Advaita Ashrama for nearly 3 years, he was offered the opportunity to serve the then Sixth President  Swami Virajananda from 1944. He spent several years in his company in the solitude of Shyamla Tal in the Himalayas and also in Belurmath up to 30 May 1951. In 1952, he was posted to Ranchi TB Sanatorium branch as an Assistant Secretary. He worked hard to expand its services in many ways for more than 6 years (1952- 1958). He was then sent to Rangoon (Yangon) Sevashrama as its Secretary in 1958. He developed the Sevashrama hospital and it soon became the best hospital of Burma (Myanmar) at that time. When military rulers took over Rangoon Sevashrama, he returned to India in 1965. He was posted to Rajkot branch as its head in March 1966. The temple of Ramakrishna at Rajkot Ashrama was built on his initiative.

He was elected a trustee of the Ramakrishna Math and member of the governing body of the Ramakrishna Mission in 1973. In 1975, he was appointed an Assistant Secretary of the twin organisations. He was also appointed Secretary of the relief operations of the Math and Mission. Under his stewardship, the Math and Mission conducted massive relief and rehabilitation operations in various parts of India, Nepal and Bangladesh. He became the General Secretary of the Math and Mission in 1992 and continued in that post until 1997, when he became a Vice-President of the Order on 22 May 1997.

As a Vice-President of the Math and Mission, he travelled extensively in various parts of the country and visited many branches of the Order and some unaffiliated centres. In 1998, he visited various places in the USA, Canada, Japan and Singapore. He also went to Malaysia, Fiji, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at different times. In all those places, he spread the message of Ramakrishna, Sarada Devi, Vivekananda and Vedanta and also gave spiritual initiation (mantra diksha) to many seekers.