Swami Virajananda (10 June 1873 – 30 May 1951), born Kalikrishna Bose, was an initiated disciple of Sarada Devi and the sixth president of the Ramakrishna Order. Born as the son of Trailokyanath Bose and Nishadkalidevi, Virajananda was the first person to join 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 ...

after the direct disciples of

Ramakrishna Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...

. In 1897, he was initiated 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 '' As ...

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 ...

. From 1899 onward he served in

Advaita Ashrama Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of Vivekananda,Swarupananda Swarupananda (8 July 1871 – 27 June 1906) was a direct monastic disciple of Vivekananda and the first president of the Advaita Ashrama, set up by Vivekananda in 1899 at Mayavati, near Champawat. The ashram is a branch of the religious mona ...

, Virajananda played a great role in popularising the monthly magazine of the order, ''

Prabuddha Bharata ''Prabuddha Bharata'' () is an English-language monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order, in publication since July 1896. It carries articles and translations by monks, scholars, and other writers on humanities and social sciences including relig ...

''. He was also responsible for successful completion of compilation and publishing of ''The Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda''. He then edited and published a biography of Vivekananda in 1906 under the title ''The Life of Swami Vivekananda by his Eastern and Western Disciples''. He was appointed the president of the

Advaita Ashrama Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of Vivekananda,Mayavati in 1913. In 1934, he became the General Secretary of the Ramakrishna Order. In 1938, he became the 6th President 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 th ...

. He was the main source of inspiration behind the founding of two educational institutes of that mission, known as Vidyamandir and Sarada Pith.

Pre-monastic life

Kalikrishna, as he was called in his pre-monastic life, was born on 10 June 1873 to Trailokyanath Bose and Nishadkali Devi on the Hindu festival day of bathing festival (snan yatra) of

Jagannath Jagannath ( or, ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, lit=Lord of the Universe, Jagannātha; formerly en, Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister ...

. He had his early education from Hembabu's training academy and passed his matriculation from Ripon School in 1890. He was adept in extracurricular activities like handicrafts, fine arts, cooking and gardening from an early age. He was inspired by his friend Khagendranath, later

Vimalananda Vimalananda (also called Khagen Maharaj) (1872–1908) was one of the monastic disciples of Vivekananda and an early monk of the Ramakrishna Order. He was involved in the publication of Prabuddha Bharata. He was actively involved in running day- ...

, a disciple of Vivekananda, to lead a spiritual life. He also had a group of young friends who later became renunciates and who also joined the Ramakrishna order. Among them were Sudhir Chandra Chakravarty (

Swami Shuddhananda Shuddhananda who was the fifth president of the Ramakrishna Order, was a direct monastic disciple of Vivekananda. He joined the Ramakrishna Math in 1897. He became a trustee of Ramakrishna Math and a member of the governing body of Ramakrishna ...

), Sushil Chandra Chakravarty ( Swami Prakashananda), Govinda Shukul (Swami Atmananda) and Haripada Chatterjee (Swami Bodhananda). Kalikrishna joined Ripon college and came in contact with

Ram Chandra Datta Ram Chandra Datta (30 October 1851 — 17 January 1899) was a householder disciple of Ramakrishna and a writer. Datta was a relative of Indian monk and social reformer Swami Vivekananda. After completing his graduation, he took job of a Governmen ...

, one of the foremost householder disciples of Ramakrishna, and the founder of Kankurgachi Yogodyan. He was also intimate with

Mahendranath Gupta Mahendranath Gupta ( bn, মহেন্দ্রনাথ গুপ্ত) (14 July 1854 – 4 June 1932), (also famously known as শ্রীম, Master Mahashay, and M.), was a disciple of Ramakrishna (a great 19th-century Hindu mystic) and ...

or M and another prominent householder disciple of Ramakrishna, who was at that time a professor of English at Ripon college. M inspired him to visit

Baranagar Math Baranagar Math (Baranagar Monastery) or Ramakrishna Math, Baranagar was the first monastery of Ramakrishna Order. In September 1886, after the death of Ramakrishna, when his devotees stopped funding, Swami Vivekananda (then known as Narendranath ...

and meet the direct monastic disciples of Ramakrishna. After spending many days there in company of the monks, Kalikrishna renounced his worldly life and joined the Baranagar Math as an inmate. He served all the prominent monastic disciples like

Ramakrishnananda Ramakrishnananda (13 July 1863 – 21 August 1911) was one of the direct disciples of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Known for his "Gurubhakti" ervice to the Guru he served the Baranagore Math for 12 years without missing a single day. Biography ...

, Niranjananda and

Saradananda Saradananda (23 December 1865 – 19 August 1927), also known as Swami Saradananda, was born as Sarat Chandra Chakravarty in 1865, and was one of the direct monastic disciples of Ramakrishna. He was the first Secretary of the Ramakrishna Mat ...

. He also went on a pilgrimage to Bodhgaya. He went to Jayrambati to attend the Jagaddhatri Puja conducted by Sarada Devi's family, along with Saradananda. In 1892, the monastery of the Ramakrishna Order was shifted to Alambazar and was called Alambazar Math. There Kalikrishna got an opportunity to meet and serve

Gopaler Ma Gopaler Ma (translation: Mother of Gopala, an epithet for Sri Krishna; 1822 – 8 July 1906) was a devotee and a householder disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, the saint and mystic from Bengal. Her birth name was Aghoremani Devi, but she came to be kno ...

, a woman disciple of Ramakrishna. Under instruction from Sarada Devi he went back home and stayed with his family to recuperate from a broken health and there he followed an intense spiritual routine. In 1895, he went to Benaras and Vrindavan for performing spiritual austerities and stayed with direct monastic disciples of Ramakrishna like Brahmananda, Baburam Maharaj, Advaitananda and

Yogananda Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellows ...

. He also stayed in the house of Hariprasanna Chatterjee, later

Vijnanananda Swami Vijnanananda (born Hariprasanna Chattopadhyaya; 30 October 1868 – 25 April 1938) was an Indian monk of Ramakrishna order, born in an upper-class family near Dakshineswar, and was a direct disciple of Ramakrishna. He was an engineer and ...

to recoup his health. However all this time he was greatly inspired by Vivekananda and his exploits in the West and was awaiting his return. In 1897, he reached Calcutta and met Vivekananda. Within a few days of their first meeting, Vivekananda granted sannyas to Kalikrishna who was renamed as Virajananda (Vi-rajas, without stain).

Monastic life and contributions

Virajananda went to Deoghar for famine relief activities, but he was largely involved in serving Vivekananda. He went to dhaka together with Prakashananda. In Barisal he met

Ashwini Kumar Dutta Ashwini Kumar Dutta (25 January 1856 – 7 November 1923) was a Bengali educationist, philanthropist, social reformer and patriot. Early life Ashwini Kumar Dutta was born in an affluent high class Bengali Hindu Kayastha Bharadwaja clan Dutta f ...

, the great philosopher, nationalist leader, educationist and freedom fighter, and in Deobhog he met Durga Charan Nag, popularly called Nag Mahasaya, the direct householder disciple of sri Ramakrishna. After returning from East Bengal, Virajananda was entrusted to serve Vivekananda as a personal attendant. When Vivekananda went to the West for a second time, Virajananda was sent to Mayavati to work for

or Awakened India, together with Swami Swarupananda. When Vivekananda visited Mayavati in December 1900 to January 1901, Virajananda made all arrangements for his travel and personal comfort. In 1901 Virajananda went for a pilgrimage to Kedarnath and Badrinath. After returning from the pilgrimage, he started working on popularising Prabuddha Bharata in Northern and Western India. He also visited the

Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama Kankhal Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama, Kankhal (RKMS) is in its present form is a 210-bed multi-specialty charitable hospital in Kankhal, Haridwar in Uttarakhand. It is a branch of Ramakrishna Mission, and was established in 1901 by Swami Kalyananan ...

and stayed with his brother disciple

Swami Kalyanananda Kalyanananda (1874–1937) was a direct monastic disciple of Vivekananda, who had set up the Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama at Kankhal, near Haridwar. As a monk of the Ramakrishna Order, he took up service to the humanity as the most importa ...

. During his canvassing tour he received the news of his master's demise and returned to Mayavati. He immersed himself in spiritual pursuits like meditation and austerities and his health broke down. At this stage he received instructions on spiritual practices from the Sarada Devi in

Jayrambati Joyrambati is a Village, in the jurisdiction of Kotulpur police station in the Bishnupur subdivision in Bankura district, West Bengal, India. Geography Location Joyrambati is three miles to the west of Kamarpukur and two miles to the east of ...

and returned to

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 t ...

. He became a personal attendant to Brahmananda, the then President of the

. From 1906 to 1913 Virajananda was the president of the Advaita Ashrama at Mayavati. Under his stewardship the ashrama got over the financial difficulties that it was in and the circulation of Prabuddha Bharata also increased. He also took up the task of compiling the ''Complete works of Swami Vivekananda'' in five volumes. He also worked on editing the ''Life of Swami Vivekananda, by his Eastern and Western disciples'', the first such comprehensive biography. On this work he was congratulated by

Akhandananda Swami Akhandananda (1864–1937) was a swami and direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, a 19th-century mystic. He was the third president of the Ramakrishna Mission. Early life Initial Years Akhandananda was born as Gangadhar Ghatak (Gan ...

Abhedananda Swami Abhedananda (2 October 1866 – 8 September 1939), born Kaliprasad Chandra, was a direct disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of Ramakrishna Vedanta Math. Swami Vivekananda sent him to the West to ...

and his brother disciple Shuddhananda. He was also appointed as a trustee of

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 Bar ...

and a member of the governing body of

in 1906. In 1913 he set up a retreat in the Himalayan foothills and named the place as Shyamala Tal. He set up the Vivekananda Ashrama there. Here he continued his spiritual practices and also worked on the biography of Vivekananda. He also established the Ramakrishna Home of Service here. He also served as the secretary of the organising committee of the first convention of the monks of the Ramakrishna order in 1926 in Belur Math. He helped the Ramakrishna Order to tide over a major crisis in 1929 and temporarily took charge of Ramakrishna Math at Baghbazar (Mother's House or

Udbodhan House ''Udbodhan'' is the only Bengali publication of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, started by Vivekananda in January 1899, with Trigunatitananda as its founding editor Over the years, it also grew into a publishing house, and remain ...

) and

Sister Nivedita Sister Nivedita ( born Margaret Elizabeth Noble; 28 October 1867 – 13 October 1911) was an Irish teacher, author, social activist, school founder and disciple of Swami Vivekananda. She spent her childhood and early youth in Ireland. She was ...

Girls' School. He served as a secretary of the Ramakrishna Order for a year in 1930 and was again appointed Secretary in 1934. During his secretaryship he helped in organising the Sri Ramakrishna Birth Centenary Celebration and the Parliament of world Religions in Calcutta in 1937. He was elected as the vice-president of the Ramakrishna order in 1938 and was also elected as the President in December 1938 when his brother disciple Shuddhananda died in October 1938. He used to call himself the Chief Monastic Servant of the order. He dreamt of a Vivekananda University and was the inspiration behind the founding of the two educational institutions in Belur Math, Belur Vidyamandir and Sarada Pitha. The foundation for the first college of Ramakrishna Mission was laid on 31 January 1940 under his guidance. Even after becoming president of the order, he would spend a few months every year in Shyamal Tal in the Himalayas. The last year of his life was spent at Belur Math.

Last years

After assuming the responsibility of the Presidency, he suffered from heart and liver problems, and various ailments of old age. He attained Mahasamadhi on 30 May 1951.

Legacy

Gambhirananda Swami Gambhirananda (1899–1988), born as Jatindranath Datta, was a Hindu sanyasi associated with Ramakrishna Mission. He was born at Sadhuhati in today's Bangladesh. He graduated from Scottish Church College, Calcutta (Kolkata). Jatindr ...

, in his book ''History of Ramakrishna Math and Mission'' writes that Virajananda, besides having his spiritual training at the feet of Sarada Devi, had served Vivekananda personally and had long served in the Ramakrishna Math and Mission in various capacities. All these qualifications marked him out as an outstanding personality in the Ramakrishna Order. He proved to the most successful president who lived long enough to guide the organisation, all its members, as well as the lay devotees whom he initiated. During his tenure India marked famines, the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, political instability and the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

, which also adversely affected the Ramakrishna Math and Mission.

His voice

A 4-minute historic recording from the archives of Vedanta Society of Southern California, of his voice in January 1950, reading from Swami Vivekananda can be hear
here

Works

* ''The Life of the Swami Vivekananda, by His Eastern and Western Disciples'', by

Advaita Ashrama Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of Vivekananda,Presidents of the Ramakrishna Order 1873 births 1951 deaths Indian spiritual writers Monastic disciples of Swami Vivekananda Monks of the Ramakrishna Mission