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Sunday, 02 May 2010 17:58

Service to Man is Service to God

Written by Web Admin - Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai

Swami Akhandananda faced terrible provery in the Sargachi where he later started an Ashrama to help the orphans. He wrote letters to some of his old acquintances asking for financial help. Pramadadas Mittra, a great scholar of Varnasi wrote back to him mentioning that it is better for a monk to travel, study and practise meditation than to get involved in social service.

Swami Akhandananda replied: "I am delighted that you have reminded me about my olden days. Those days are gone, and now a new era has sprung up. The Atman never changes, but life changes. Now I don't enjoy travelling anymore.When I first went to Himalayas, I was a different person. Now I wonder upon seeing myself. At that time, I would avoid seeing human beings, and leaving the village, I loved to live the secluded caves of the Himalayas surrounded by ferocious animals. In this way, I lived for some years. Now I see God living in all human beings, and I have realized that the service to man is service to God. God, as it were, is whispering in my ears, "Verily these human beings are the Vedic sages; they are divine incarnations like Rama and Krishna - they are everything."

Source: God Lived With Them by Swami Chetanananda

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Swami Akhandananda

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A Short Life of Swami Akhandananda

Written by Web Admin

Pre-monastic name : Gangadhar Gangopadhyay

Date of Birth : 30 September 1864

Place of Birth : Kolkata

Born in an orthodox family Gangadhar lived a pure, disciplined life from boyhood. At the age of nineteen he went to Dakshineswar Kali temple. Sri Ramakrishna received him cordially and gave him several instructions. Since then he started visiting the Master and also cultivated friendship with the other young disciples, particularly with Naren (later, Swami Vivekananda).

When the Baranagar Math was formed after Sri Ramakrishna’s mahasamadhi, Gangadhar did not join it immediately. Instead, he set out on a long pilgrimage in 1886 which took him to different places in the Himalayas and Tibet. After three and a half years, he returned to Baranagar monastery in June 1890. He then took sannyasa vows formally and assumed the name Akhandananda.

In mid-July 1890 Swami Akhandananda again set out, this time in the company of Swami Vivekananda, on a pilgrimage which took them to different places in the Himalayas. When Swamiji left for the West, Akhandananda continued his wanderings in western India. Towards the end of 1895 he returned to the Math which had been shifted to Alambazar in Kolkata. When Swami Vivekananda, after his return from the West, reached Kolkata in

February 1897, Swami Akhandananda enthusiastically participated in the reception accorded to Swamiji.After a few days, when Swamiji left for Darjeeling, Akhandananda travelled towards Murshidabad. Reaching there he was distressed to find a famine raging. He immediately started famine relief work with whatever he could collect. Later Swami Vivekananda sent more funds and the relief operation was organized on a full scale. This was the first relief operation organized by Ramakrishna Mission. After relief work Akhandananda started an ashrama with an orphanage in Sargachhi, in the Murshidabad district. He served the orphan boys as manifestations of God.

In 1934, after the passing away of Swami Shivananda, Swami Akhandananda became the President of Ramakrishna Math and Mission. From that time he divided his time between Belur Math and Sargachhi. He participated in the celebration of the Birth Centenary of Sri Ramakrishna in 1936. Owing to old-age ailments he became weak. He passed away on 7 February 1937.

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