Swami Lokeshwarananda (1909–1998) was a monk of the

Ramakrishna order The Ramakrishna Order (Bengali: রামকৃষ্ণ সংঘ) is the monastic lineage that was founded by Sri Ramakrishna, when he gave the ochre cloth of renunciation to twelve of his close disciples, in January 1886 at the Cossipore Hous ...

founded by

Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introd ...

. He was the founder of the

pathuriaghata Pathuriaghata is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is one of the oldest residential areas in what was Sutanuti. Once the abode of the Bengali rich, the neighbourhood and its surrou ...

branch of the

Ramakrishna mission Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) is a Hindu religious and spiritual organisation which forms the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as the ''Ramakrishna Movement'' or the ''Vedanta Movement''. The mission is named after and inspired by t ...

, which later blossomed into the Ramakrishna Mission Narendrapur. He represented the Ramakrishna mission at various international conferences. He had considerable moral and intellectual influence, but never became an office bearer of the mission. He was also part of a delegation to the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

, the head of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Biography

Pathuriaghata

Lokeshwarananda was posted as the secretary of the then nascent

Pathuriaghata Pathuriaghata is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is one of the oldest residential areas in what was Sutanuti. Once the abode of the Bengali rich, the neighbourhood and its surrou ...

branch of the Ramakrishna mission. He was instrumental in transforming it into a full-fledged and actively functioning branch centre. The centre was founded immediately after the

Bengal famine of 1943 The Bengal famine of 1943 was a famine in the Bengal province of British India (present-day Bangladesh, West Bengal and eastern India) during World War II. An estimated 0.8 to 3.8 million Bengalis perished, out of a population of 60.3 millio ...

. It first served as a home for abandoned, orphaned and financially destitute boys. Since its relocation in 1957 to its present site in the southern suburbs of Calcutta, it has grown into a huge complex with varied activities. The Ramakrishna mission ashrama at Narendrapur owes a lot for all this to him. He was an adept administrator and, at the same time, a caring teacher. He simultaneously managed the duties of Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Narendrapur and Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur. He studied at the Bangabasi College of the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, C ...

.The Story of the Bangabasi College
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Golpark

Swami Lokeshwarananda took charge of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture at Golpark and gave his all towards its development. He put in tremendous efforts, which saw the Golpark centre blossom and grow in stature as one of the most important centres of the

Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) is a Hindu religious and spiritual organisation which forms the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as the ''Ramakrishna Movement'' or the ''Vedanta Movement''. The mission is named after and inspired by t ...

. It became an important hub for cultural affairs of the Mission, and a school for teaching Indian and foreign languages was opened here. He remained its secretary till his demise in 1998.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lokeshwarananda, Swami Presidents of the Ramakrishna Order 1909 births 1998 deaths Bangabasi College alumni University of Calcutta alumni