The presiding deity of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission is Sri Ramakrishna and there is no scope for any personality cult in the order, Swami Suvirananda, general secretary of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission said on Sunday.
“Swami Vivekananda had warned against any personality cult in the order,” he said.
The monk was speaking at a function to mark the birth centenary of late Swami Atmasthananda, the 15th president of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, at Nazrul Mancha.
“Centenary is a milestone and its celebration is a big event. While paying our tributes, let's not forget that our presiding deity is Sri Ramakrishna. Swami Atmasthananda was a part of a huge wave that is now the Ramakrishna order,” said Swami Suvirananda.
Born in Bangladesh as Satyakrishna Bhattacharya on May 21, 1919, Swami Atmasthananda had received spiritual initiation from Swami Vijnanananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, in 1938. He took his sannyasa vows in 1949.
Jagat Jyoti Banerjee, an ex-student of Ramakrishna Mission Residential College, Narendrapur, performs at the event.
After serving the order for more than two decades, Swami Atmasthananda was made a trustee of the Ramakrishna Math and a member of the governing body of the Ramakrishna Mission in 1973. He became the 15th president of the order in December 2007.
Swami Atmasthananda passed away in June 2017, when he was 98.
Chief minister Mamata Banerjee described Swami Atmasthananda as a unique personality who had the virtues of a saint and the vigour of a king.
“As a saintly figure he provided spiritual leadership to the Ramakrishna order as its president, and as a kingly figure, he provided dynamic leadership to the executive apparatus,” Mamata said in her message on the occasion.
Swami Smaranananda, who succeeded Swami Atmasthananda as president of the order, attended the programme at Nazrul Mancha.
“As secretary of the Rangoon Sevashrama, he (Swami Atmasthananda) had efficiently managed a hospital there. Within a few years it became the best hospital in Burma,” Swami Smaranananda said in his benedictory address.
“When he returned from there, he was made head of our Rajkot ashrama. There he took the initiative to build a beautiful temple of Sri Ramakrishna.”
It was during his stay in Gujarat that a young Narendra Modi came in contact with Swami Atmasthananda and has remained an ardent follower since.
“In the aftermath of the earthquake in Kutch, I had observed how Swamiji was keen to reach out and serve the people. He would speak to me in Gujarati and I loved doing the same with him,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his address, which was telecast on the occasion.
Among those who paid tributes to the monk were retired Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghosh, India's first Lokpal, and Justice Indira Banerjee of the Supreme Court.
Countless disciples of the late president of the Math and Mission attended the programme, which was organised by Swami Atmasthananda Birth Centenary Committee.