Swami Vireshwarananda, the tenth President of the

Ramakrishna Math Ramakrishna Math is the administrative legal organization of the Ramakrishna Order, considered part of the Hindu reform movements. It was set up by sanyasin disciples of Ramakrishna Paramhansa headed by Swami Vivekananda at Baranagar Math in ...

and

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 ...

, was born on 31 October 1892 at Gurupura, Near

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka– ...

South India South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and T ...

. His pre-monastic name was Pandurang Prabhu; he was later known as Prabhu Maharaj. After his father's death at an early age, his mother moved with them to his maternal uncle's house at

. Pandurang Prabhu studied at Madras (Chennai) Law College, where he had a chance to read the Complete Works of

Swami 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 intro ...

. He joined at the

Belur Math Belur Math () is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. It is located on the west bank of Hooghly River, Belur, West Bengal, India. The te ...

in the first half of 1916 and was initiated by the Holy Mother, in June 1916. He received his monastic vows from

Swami Brahmananda Swami ( ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas. It is used eith ...

on 12 January 1920. After his initiation into

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 '' ...

, Swami Vireshwarananda stayed at Varanasi. In 1921, he was sent to the

Advaita Ashrama Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of Vivekananda,Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic t ...

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of S ...

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency, or the Presidency of Fort St. George, also known as Madras Province, was an administrative subdivision (presidency) of British India. At its greatest extent, the presidency included most of southern India, including th ...

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and other places to organize the workings of ashramas. In 1942 he finally returned to the Belur Math. When the Indian subcontinent and Asia were passing through a critical period during 1942 to 1947, he had successfully conducted several relief operations. When

Swami Madhavananda Swami Madhavananda (born Nirmal Chandra Basu; 15 December 1888 – 6 October 1965) was the ninth President of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. Biography Madhavananda was born in Baghanchra in Nadia district of West Bengal by fa ...

took leave from his office of the General Secretary on health grounds, Vireshwarananda officiated on his behalf from 1949 to 1951. In May 1961 he was made the General Secretary of the Order, and he became the President of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, on 22 February 1966 after the death of Madhavananda. As the President of the Order, Vireshwarananda travelled extensively throughout India to spread the message of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Movement. During his tenure, the Order grew and became consolidated. He introduced many philanthropic activities including rural development, 'Pallimangal' and training of youth in self-employment, 'Janashiksha', which encouraged the Order to venture into newer fields and thus expand its scope of service. Though Vireshwarananda was busy with administrative work, he could find time for reading extensively. He translated into English many Sanskrit scriptures, including the gloss of

Sridhara Śrīdhara, Śrīdharācāryya or Śrīdhara Acharya ( 870 CE – 930 CE) was an Indian mathematician, Sanskrit pandit and philosopher. He was born in Bhuriśreṣṭi (Bhurisriṣṭi or Bhurśuṭ) village in South Rādha at present day ...

on the

Bhagavadgita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...

, the commentaries of Sankara and

Ramanuja Ramanuja (Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmanuja; 1017 CE – 1137 CE; ; ), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and a social reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents o ...

Brahmasutra The ''Brahma Sūtras'' ( sa, ब्रह्मसूत्राणि) is a Sanskrit text, attributed to the sage bādarāyaṇa or sage Vyāsa, estimated to have been completed in its surviving form in approx. 400–450 CE,, Quote: "...we c ...

. He served the Order as its President until he died on 13 March 1985.

Related links