By Rev. Edward G. St-Godard
On Sunday, May the third at eight o'clock, I was preparing to go over to the church for the morning Mass, when the phone rang. I thought it was someone asking for the hours of Mass but instead it was Joan from the Vedanta society in Providence, telling me that they had just gotten news that Swami Sarvagatananda had passed away during the night. Swami was a ninety-six year old mystic and saint who had been a member of the Ramakrishna Order since joining in 1935. He had been born in India in 1912 and having been inspired by many of the Monks, he decided to enter religious life as well.
Ramakrishna was one of the saints of Hinduism who gathered many disciples around him and inspired them to renounce worldly things. The most famous of these followers was Vivekananda who eventually in 1897, founded the Ramakrishna Order. This Order founded in Calcutta, is one of the largest and most respected groups in India today. Vivekananda traveled to the United States to share the teachings of Ramakrishna as practiced by the Vedanta Society. He spoke at the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago at the turn of the century. People were very impressed with him and so he was able to establish Vedanta houses throughout the United States. The term Vedanta is used because this branch of Hinduism stresses the principles of Hinduism in the "Vedas" -ancient Hindu philosophies.
Eventually, a twin Vedanta Society was established with a center in Providence and one in Boston. It is to these centers that Swami Sarvagatananda was sent as an assistant in 1954. Swami would spend half his week in Providence beginning with an afternoon service at 5pm then pursuing ministry the first half of the week in Providence, The second half of the week he would go up to Boston for ministry ending with a Sunday morning service after which he would return to Providence to begin the cycle again.
I met up with Swami in the mid sixties when I was stationed in St. John the Baptist parish in West Warwick. I had been asked to give classes in theology to nuns in the West Warwick area. Part of my program was to give the Sisters an awareness of ecumenical theology. I would give a class on a particular denomination; the following week I would invite a clergy person of that denomination to give their side of the story; the third week we would visit their church or center.
We had been concerned
only with other Christian groups but eventually I decided to add on Judaism
and Hinduism. Hence my becoming acquainted with Swami Sarvagananda. Once we
got by the linguistic difficulties we found the Swami absolutely fascinating.
On later occasions I brought Swami to speak to the Carmelite Nuns in Barrington
as well as to the Trappist Monks in Spencer, Massachusetts. In the eighties
I was president of the Blackstone Valley Clergy Association and organized
a series on "Spirituality in the various Traditions". I asked the
Swami to speak on Hindu spirituality and then I asked Sister Vilma of the
Carmelites in Barrington to speak on Monastic spirituality and I was impressed
by the similarity of both programs.
When I celebrated my 25th anniversary of ordination, Swami was one of the three speakers at the celebration. In return I was one of the contributors to a book honoring his 40th anniversary in Providence.
One of my last recollections
of Swami was when the Vedanta Society in Providence was celebrating their
anniversary and I was asked to speak. Swami was carried in to the Hall for
the program but could not stay for the whole of it. I was happy that he could
hear my talk. But this would be the end of his active ministry in Providence.
He moved to the Boston Center where he lived in retirement, still doing some
counseling when his health permitted.
And now he is gone. In Christian tradition, I am sure he would be in heaven.
In Hindu tradition, he has either assumed another life or more likely, because
of his holiness, been assumed into the God he loved and served so well.
REVERED SWAMI SARVAGATANANDAJI
IN MEMORIAM
Swami Tathagatananda,
---------------
With a heavy heart we announce that on
The Revered Swami was the senior-most monk of our
Order working in the West. He joined the
Ramakrishna Order in 1935. His Guru,
Revered Swami Akhandanandaji was a direct disciple of
Shri Ramakrishna and President of the Ramakrishna Order. In
Revered Swami Kalyananda was
a disciple of Swami Vivekananda, who had commanded him to serve the poor at Khankal. Swami Kalyananda worked for thirty-six long years at Khankal before passing away in 1937. Revered Swami Sarvagatanandaji was a unique
monk and a great Karma Yogin. With perseverance, patience, and wholehearted
loving service he stayed in the Khankal Ashrama and never
spared himself in serving Swami Kalyananda. This made him very dear to the Swami. Though he was a junior brahmachari,
Swami Sarvagatananda was eminently trustworthy—his entire mind was focused in
rendering various types of service with a compassionate attitude. In this way he endeared himself to one and
all. Therefore, Swami Kalyananda and the Ashrama depended on his service.
When Swami Kalyananda had to
leave Khankal due to ill health, he handed over the
key to the ashrama’s safe to Swami Sarvagatananda, even
though he was the junior-most brahmachari. He asked him to manage the Ashrama in
consultation with the secretary of the Ashrama and other senior swamis. Several senior monks were present at that
time. When Swami Sarvagatananda refused
to accept his new responsibility, Swami Kalyanandaji
told him that by taking the key, he would not be the “boss”—he would be the
servant of all. He advised him to
consult with everyone first and then to manage the Ashram. That itself reveals his trustworthiness and
competence. Subsequently, Headquarters
instructed all future secretaries of that Ashrama to work in consultation with Narayan. I believe
that during the entire period of his work in Khankal,
he never took leave for tapas
or pilgrimage. Then, at the request of
Headquarters, he was sent to work in the Karachi Ashrama during the crucial
period of 1943 when
Revered Swami Sarvagatanandaji also served as the head
of the
The
For more than fifty years, without ever sparing
himself, he single-handedly managed the two centers and conducted spiritual
retreats every summer. Such a heroic and
overwhelming task would completely unnerve an ordinary person. Working diligently with unique devotion and
dynamism, he steadily built up his congregation. He achieved signal success as an inspiring speaker
and witty humorist—this is known to us all.
He was a genial, sympathetic, and loving counselor with pure ideals who
consoled and inspired thousands. He was a
familiar and distinguished figure in the intellectual community around
Swami Sarvagatanandaji was more than a man of eminent
qualities; he was an earnest man sincerely endeavoring to do a very serious
work in the world. He was one-pointed in
looking after the interests of all his devotees. He was so dedicated to these aims that he
never traveled within this country or beyond it for his own purposes. Greater still was his ethical stature, noble
spiritual life and exemplary character.
He did much to broaden, sweeten and deepen the intellectual, moral and
spiritual consciousness of his congregation.
Everyone received new light from him.
He was a man of integrity of character. He tried to implement all that he preached in
his own life—there was no dichotomy between his life and teaching. Hundreds and thousands of people were highly
benefited by his genial manner, compassionate heart, patience and
forbearance. Under his inspired
guidance, four girls embraced the monastic life: one in
Great souls make a deep and lasting impact in the
hearts of devotees. The devotees of
Revered Swami Sarvagatanandaji at both centers give ample testimony of his
loving nature. In this regard, the
prominent name of George comes to my mind.
George came to the
To all of us, Revered Swami Sarvagatananda was known
as an earnest spiritual seeker. Here we
have what was central and vital in him. His
life was one of spotless integrity and honor.
He led a simple, unostentatious life.
Through his purity of heart and loving nature, he rendered valuable AND commendable
service to his congregation and to many others.
He was very close to our Center, and many of our older devotees knew him
very intimately.
To my mind, he was a great and venerable monk of our
Order—I am making no distinction, but my inner mind compels me to think of
him as a great venerable monk of our Order.
I am extremely fortunate to have seen and to have known him a little
during my thirty years of life in
Swami
Tathagatananda
The
Vedanta Society of
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Swami Sarvagatananda
- by Christopher Sparks
To be in the presence
of Swami Sarvagatanandaji was to experience that tremendous grace and ineffable
bliss which only the great teachers of the world can bestow. Even towards
the end of his earthly life, when Swamiji seldom spoke, he continued to bless
the devotees and to guide them on their respective spiritual paths. Like all
great teachers, Swamiji taught many lessons by example. It is with deep appreciation,
reverence, and humility that we reflect on the various lessons he taught us
more recently about old-age and the process of death. Up until his mahasamadhi,
even as his body grew very frail, Swamiji served the devotees of God as veritable
manifestations of the Divine Itself.
When devotees entered
his bedroom to give pranam, his eyes opened wide and his face glowed with
a look of absolute love and compassion. The entire atmosphere of his room
was imbued with spiritual consciousness. When one reads Swamiji's book, You
Will Be a Paramahamsa, one gets a darshan of the tremendous spirit of service
Swamiji appropriated from his mentor Swami Kalyanananda. Indeed, Swamiji's
entire life was a manifestation of his burning love for God and his selfless
devotion to God's devotees. By his example, Swami Sarvagatanandaji inculcated
the lessons of selfless service in the heart of his devotees. To watch the
devotees, nurses, and other Swami's care for Swami Sarvagatanandji was to
bear witness to that tremendous flame of love that fuses all beings into the
one divine reality. All the while, it was the grace of Swami Sarvagatanandji
being poured into their hearts as they followed Swamiji's example of selfless
service and surrendered everything at the feet of the Lord.
Salutations to Swami Sarvagatanandaji!