Swami Tapasyananda (1904-1991) was a senior monk of the Ramakrishna Mission. He was born in family of

Ottapalam Ottapalam, (also spelled Ottappalam) is a town, taluk and municipality in the Palakkad District, Kerala, India. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ottapalam taluk. Ottapalam is located about 36 km from district headquarters Palakkad. ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

, in 1904. His pre-monastic name was K. P. Balakrishnan Menon. In 1921, when he was just 17 years old, he met Swami Brahmananda- a direct disciple and spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna, in Chennai. He received Mantra-Diksha from Swami Shivananda in 1924, and joined the Order in 1926, at 22 years age after completing in post graduation. In 1932, he received

Sannyasa ''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' A ...

from Swami Shivananda. He was a disciple of Swami Shivananda, one of the eminent disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. The Swami was a vice-president of the Ramakrishna Order from 1985-1991, giving Mantra-Diksha to a large number of devotees. He was an erudite scholar in

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

and

Western philosophy Western philosophy encompasses the philosophical thought and work of the Western world. Historically, the term refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture, beginning with the ancient Greek philosophy of the pre-Socratics. The word ' ...

. He has to his credit many books in English, including the translations of many scriptures. His translation of

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in S ...

in four volumes has been highly acclaimed in intellectual and devotional circles. He was the president of Ramakrishna Math,

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

from 1971-1991. Swamiji was well known for his austere life and intuitive intellect. His deity was Lord Khrishna and he practiced spritual activity as told by his Guruji, but his Guruji was not a complete Saint/Swami who was authorised by almighty to give naam diksha . He was a prolific writer. Some of the books authored by him are listed below. He translated many Hindu classics into English from original Sanskrit. He founded Ramakrishna Mission Hospital at

Thiruvananthapuram Thiruvananthapuram (; ), also known by its former name Trivandrum (), is the capital of the Indian state of Kerala. It is the most populous city in Kerala with a population of 957,730 as of 2011. The encompassing urban agglomeration populati ...

Bibliography

Biographies

* Sri Ramakrishna: Life and Teachings * Sri Sarada Devi: Life and Teachings * Swami Vivekananda: His Life and Legacy * Sri Sarada Devi, The Holy Mother * Swami Ramakrishnananda : the apostle of Sri Ramakrishna to the South

Studies

* Bhakti Schools of Vedanta * The four yogas of Swami Vivekananda * The Nationalistic and Religious Lectures of Swami Vivekananda * The philosophical and religious lectures of Swami Vivekananda * For Enquirers about Ramakrishna Math and Mission * Spiritual Quest * Sri Ramakrishna's Thought on Man, World and God

Translations

* Srimad Bhagavata; The Holy Book of God - 4 volumes (Original Sanskrit with English Translation) * Srimad Bhagavad Gita (Economy Edition) * Bhagavad Gita (Pocket Edition) * Adhyatma Ramayana: The Spiritual Version of the Rama Saga (Original Sanskrit with English Translation) * Sundarakandam of Srimad Valmiki Ramayana * Narayaneeyam : Bhagavata condensed * Bhakti ratnavali, or, A necklace of devotional gems : an anthology from Bhagavata * Sri Vishnu Sahasranama as per Shankara's commentary * Sri Lalita Sahasranama: The Text, Transliteration and English Translation * Saundarya-lahari of Sri Sankaracarya : with text and translation, and notes based on Laksmidhara's commentary * Sivananda Lahari of Shankara * Aratrika Hymns and Ramnam * Stotranjali * Sankara Digvijaya * Kaplilopadesha * Prashnottara-ratna-malika of Shankara * Laghu-Vasudeva-Mananam

Notes

"Debate between Sankara and Mandana Misra", "By Swami Tapasyananda"

"Bhagavad Gita Summary (Swami Tapasyananda)"

"Swami Tapasyananda : Austerity Personified

Bibliography

Biographies

Studies

Translations

Notes

Further reading