Swami Sarvagatanada is the recipient of the 2004 Sanskriti Saurabh Samman given by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad of USA. Born in 1912, Swami Sarvagatananda joined Ramakrishna Order in 1935 at Kankhal, India. He is a disciple of Swami Akhandananda, one of the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna.

Other than Kankhal, he served Ramakrishna Math Centers at Karachi(now in Pakistan) and Vishakhapattanam, India before coming to United States in 1954 to join Swami Akhilananda at the Vedanta Societies at Boston and Providence. Since then he had been conducting the activities at both the centers till recently. His contribution in spreading the message of Vedanta in this region is immense.

Although retired from active responsibilities, Swami Sarvagatananda is still a source of inspiration and loving guidance for thousands of devotees.

Swamiji shared some thoughts with Lokvani.

About Ramakrishna Mission:

The Ramakrishna Order, with headquarters in Calcutta, is one of the largest and most respected religious orders in India today. The Order was inspired by the great Bengali saint, Ramakrishna. Shortly before his death in 1886, Ramakrishna encouraged his young disciples to formally renounce the world by giving them the ochre cloth of renunciation. He entrusted the care of these young men to his foremost disciple, Swami Vivekananda, who later, in 1897, founded the Ramakrishna Order.

The Ramakrishna Order was formed along two parallel lines: The Ramakrishna Math, which is primarily dedicated to spiritual development, and the Ramakrishna Mission, which is dedicated to social service. In a sense these twin efforts cannot be separated, since the motto of the Ramakrishna Order has been since its inception: "Liberation for oneself and service to mankind."

There are over 140 official centers of the Ramakrishna Order, and many more unofficial, or unaffiliated ones. These centers not only cover the length and breadth of the Indian subcontinent, but can also be found in Europe, Russia, Japan, South America, Africa, Canada and the United States.

Those branches of the Ramakrishna Order located outside India are generally known as Vedanta Societies, and are under the spiritual guidance of the Ramakrishna Order. The work of the Vedanta Societies in the West has primarily been devoted to spiritual and pastoral activities, though many of them do some form of social service.

On the Indian subcontinent, the Ramakrishna Mission has been in the forefront of philanthropic activities. Its first social service efforts—inspired by Swami Vivekananda—began in 1897. Since that time, the Mission's activities have continued to expand up to the present day.

The Ramakrishna Mission has its own hospitals, charitable dispensaries, maternity clinics, tuberculosis clinics, and mobile dispensaries. It also maintains training centers for nurses. Orphanages and homes for the elderly are included in the Mission's field of activities, along with rural and tribal welfare work.

In educational activities, the Ramakrishna Mission has consistently been ahead of its time. It has developed some of the most outstanding educational institutions in India, having its own colleges, vocational training centers, high schools and primary schools, teachers' training institutes, as well as schools for the visually handicapped. It also has adult education centers throughtout the county.

Whenever disaster has struck, the Ramakrishna Mission has been there to offer relief from famine, epidemic, fire, flood, earthquake, cyclone, and communal disturbances.

Lokvani: How did you decide to become a monk in the Ramkrishna monastic order?

Swamiji: I was always interested in spiritual matters. I read Swami Vivekananda’s work and I was inspired. At the age of 22 I was fortunate to meet Swami Akhandananda. Through him I understood the main theme of the Ramakrishna Order which is unselfish loving service. The order provides the facilities and the infrastructure to provide service. There are hospitals, schools, colleges and avenues for providing service. Thus motivated me to join.

Lokvani: What made you decide to come to Boston in 1956?

Swamiji: That was not a choice but rather an order given to me. I was asked to help Swami Akhilananda. I was acting under directions.

Lokvani: What is the fundamental message of Sri Ramakrishna ?

Swamiji: His main message is “As many faiths, so many paths”. We must try to understand our prophets. Choose a path and a prophet that is right for you, be it Buddha, Mohamed or Christ, Krishna or anyone else. But be serious and try to understand the path they have laid out and try to follow it thoroughly. As you follow your path do not criticize others paths.

Lokvani: What was Swami Vivekananda’s greatest contribution to the world?

Swamiji: Swami Vivekananda made religion into a science. This helped bring religion to the people of today both in the east and west. He established religion as a broad and universal concept.

Lokvani: What was the mission that brought you here?

Swamiji: It was not a mission only a job that is given to me by the order. The goal of the order is to create a band of monastic teachers of Vedanta as taught by Sri Ramakrishna and practically illustrated by his own life; and in conjunction with the lay disciples to carry on missionary and philanthropic work, looking upon all - irrespective of caste, creed or color - as veritable manifestations of the Divine.

My job at the Boston center is to give moral and spiritual education to people I touch and provide service.

Lokvani:We are going through a difficult time with wars. What can we do to tide over this difficult time?

Swamiji: From the beginning of time, the world always has negative and positive things going on. Individually we cannot control all situations. Wars happen because leaders decide it should happen. As an individual we should just try to focus on trying to do the best. Always try to be good and help all those you can. We cannot do much about situations that we cannot control.

Lokvani: You have been the Chaplin at MIT. What do you observe in the youth of today? Are they interested in spiritual matters?

Swamiji: The youth are struggling to learn science and technology. Most of them are very thoughtful and interested in spiritual matters.

Lokvani: MIT students may become technologists who may create weapons of destruction. Any comments?

Swamiji: I think everyone should do what they think is right. In addition to technical education, students must be given secular moral and spiritual education. If they are given positive input, they will try to do the best they can to do the right thing.

Lokvani: It seems like Indian parents force children to take courses of study that sometimes they are not interested in. Do you have advice for the parents?

Swamiji: I firmly believe that it is wrong to force a child to choose a career that the student has no inclination for. Parents must observe the child and understand their needs. I have counseled several Indian children at MIT who suffer because of a lack of understanding from their parents.

Lokvani:It seems like everyone is always seeking happiness which eludes us. Is attaining happiness the end goal of life?

Swamiji: No. Attaining peace is what everyone aims for. Life is a process. It is not an end. We are here to learn. After we die our learning is the only thing that remains with the soul. Learning is different from knowing. Knowing gives you knowledge. Learning gives wisdom. We are constantly learning until we die. I am 92 and I am still learning everyday. I learn from everyday experiences. I even learn from the children who come to learn from me. Lokvani: You have written a book titled “God is Everything”. I have heard that it is one of the clearest treatises on the subject it addresses. Could you tell us about it?

Swamiji: I did not write the book. I gave a talk on Iso Upanishad in Canada and my discourse was published. It is a complex subject. Can you tell me what is space?

Lokvani: Emptiness?

Swamiji: NO! It is not empty. It is "Everything". Space is most precious. It is the space that we are fighting for. It is that "Everything" that we want.

Lokvani:How do you feel when you look back on your long tenure in the Ramakrishna Mission?

Swamiji: I feel blessed to have had the opportunity to be part of this group. I have been able to provide service to a lot of people. In India I was working at the hospitals and providing service throught that route. As part of my job here I have tried to provide moral and spiritual education to all. I have even gone to prisons and tried to provide spiritual education to prisoners. I have seen the positive impact. I have been invited by many groups including atheistic groups and I have been able to present the understanding of the Vedanta to them.

Lokvani: Any special message to our readers?

Swamiji: Be good and do good without discrimination. Believe in the world as "One".

Lokvani: Thankyou swamiji for your time.

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