Renuka Press

When I started writing Swami Swahananda: A Profile in Greatness in 2013, many sadhus as well as devotees and disciples of Maharaj showed interest in being part of that holy journey of reflecting on his life. Initially I wrote down just a few of my memories, but as I continued, the writing grew to become a book in its own right. Thus a second volume was needed to do justice to the invaluable recollections by sadhus, devotees, and other disciples who had known Swami Swahananda. It fills me with joy that the same driving force of the first book is present in the vision, love, and devotion expressed in the recollections gathered here. Each one offers his or her own view of Swami Swahananda, not unlike the lila of Lord Krishna in which each gopi saw him uniquely and regarded him as her own. Swami Swahananda allowed each person to serve and interact with him according to his or her inclination, not accepting their service personally but always turning it over to Thakur.
– Malay Das

Swami Swahananda (1921–2012), the head of the Vedanta Society of Southern California for thirty-six years, worked ceaselessly to spread Sri Ramakrishna’s message. He established seventeen centers and subcenters throughout the United States and has left the Ramakrishna movement in the West a rich legacy.

In this intimate, loving portrait, Dr. Malay Das presents Swami Swahananda as he knew him during the last seventeen years of the swami’s life. We witness the guru’s compassionate care for devotees and disciples, his ability to love with detachment, and his dignity and grace during his final illness.

What emerges in this book is not only a vivid account of a remarkable spiritual leader. It is also the enrichment of Dr. Das’s life that occurred as a result of knowing his guru. Over the course of their relationship, the swami became Dr. Das’s spiritual father, and Dr. Das became not only Swahanandaji’s disciple but also his physician, traveling with him and eventually helping to shepherd him through his final days. Beyond Dr. Das’s formal initiation in which he received his mantra, his relationship with Swami Swahananda was itself an initiation into a more God-centered life than he had known before.

This book will remind those who knew Swami Swahananda of the ways he touched and left an imprint on their lives. For those readers who did not have the opportunity to meet the swami in person, the book offers them a glimpse into the life and work of this great monk and spiritual teacher.