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Swami Ranganathanandaji
SReading the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna at fourteen
changed his life forever. He had had an earlier mystic dream as a boy
which was latter concretized and enacted in Ooty when Swami Shivananda,
the then President of the Sangha, initiated him. Later Shankaran also
received his novitiate and monastic wows from his guru. Swami
Akhandanandaji at Sarcachi blessed him that in the future, he would spread
the life and message of the Holy Trio.
Shankaran joined the Mysore
centre as a novice in 1926 and worked hard at every type of work, studied
hard and meditated hard. His was a life of intense selflessness and
inspiration. He had to evacuate from Rangoon (Yagoon) and Karachi during
the Japanese advance and partition of India respectively. He worked for
the relief of those affected and was also later responsible of building up
the Sangha's Hyderabad branch.
His memory was phenomenal and so was
his grasp of Vedanta and every modern branch of secular and scientific
learning and he used his oratorical skills effectively to become one of
the most prolific speaker and thinker of his time both in the East and the
West. His lectures and classes talks were so inspiring that for more than
half a century he continued to inspire people of all walks of life,
especially in India. Intellectuals and skeptics never had any chance to
even marshal their arguments against him. National, International
Governments and Non-Government organizations, Universities and Research
institutions, feted and hosted him. In his personal life he always kept
the ideal of sannyasa high never possessing anything, having no personal
needs. He was elected a Vice President in 1989 and on the passing away
Swami Bhuteshanandaji, became the President. His concern for the poor and
especially women was remarkable. His life was one practical demonstration
of practical Vedanta..
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