Swami Amitabhananda - Loquacious Unto the Last - My Homage

Swami Amitabhananda ji, a senior monk of Ramakrishna Math, passed away today at 8.53 p.m. at the Ramakrishna Ashrama at Sasthamangalam. He was 83 years old. He was suffering from Prostate Cancer and its complications for the last few years and was bed ridden for about two months.

As a teenager in the 1940s he was keenly interested in the momentous happenings that was playing out before him in India and was caught in the altruistic spirit that the country was then full of. He ran away from his home near the present Kochi Airport to meet Sri Ramana Maharishi. He had a great adventure though he could not meet the Maharishi. However soon his quest yielded fruits when he discovered that his Spiritual Home is Ramakrishna Math. He came into contact with its Kalady Centre and served there for a few years.

He joined the Ramakrishna Order as a Brahmachari in its branch at Madras in early 1950s. He had Mantra Diksha from Swami Shankarananda and had his Sannyasa  in 1963. He lived his life of Service in Madras Math, Belur Math, Gol Park Institute of Culture, Kalady Ashrama and finally in Trivandrum Ashrama. He guided many batches of students at Kalady and was warden of the hostel there for many years. In Trivandrum, for some years he was the monk-in-charge of 

At Nettayam Ashrama entrance
with another monk

the Nettayam Ashrama and then served in its Sasthamangalam hospital in various capacities. He was well known for his austere habits, versatile knowledge and no-nonsense attitude. He has published several articles and some poems and has some translations to his credit*.

Several years back he was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer. He fought it with an iron will and managed to live quality life, maintaining his regular walks, reading and office tasks till a couple of months back. Even on his death bed, in the midst of great pain, he wanted religious books like Conversations with Ramana Maharishi, Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, etc. to be read out to him and devotional songs to be sung in his hearing. He loved to talk. Perhaps, if you are on your saintly best, you get the maximum benefits of the store of information that he stocked in his mind. I was on a sort-of, journalistic, headline-hunting expedition, so I had to persistently steer his wandering deliberations to the point of my particular interest. But there was always the possibility of striking big time when you talk with him. You may not get the dime you seek but end up with gold instead. It was from him that I heard a sweet story about how Swami Ramakrishnananda could afford to invite Holy Mother Sarada Devi to South India. I had many character traits he didn't like but we stuck up good friendship for the last one and a half years mainly because I heard him out. (But I was only his second best hearing companion, the first place going to a  saintly brother who walked with him and heard his words of wisdom and experience, day after day, year after year,  almost quietly with some ‘um’ and ‘yes’ in between). Swami Amitabhananda carried his habit of vocal communication to his final bed. His voice carried clearly almost up to the end. He was most happy when he had people, especially monks, around him to hear him and occasionally give him a few drops of water or read books for him. He kept up a running commentary of his death pangs along with comments about the subjects read out and making correction if the reader made a mistake. Several times he remembered Buddha and said that suffering is the only truth in life and that Buddha is so right about it (Amitabha, it might be remembered, is a beloved name of Buddha). The monks who visited him kept up the conversation and he cracked jokes now and then.

Visits of some monks who were his old acquaintances brightened his mood. He blessed them all. Whatever little we did, it was great consolation to him, a proud man confined to bed. He blessed the atendants who gently poured drops of water into his mouth. He blessed the monk who gave him a shave. His customary scolding too is remembered as a blessing now. During the last days he often quoted ‘prana prayana Utsavam’ (the festival that is when Life Forces leave a body in which they were housed; perhaps from Vivekachudamani).

On Sept. 11 evening, after the new bronze statue was inaugurated at Kowdiar Park in Trivandrum, some of us told him about the successful completion of the programme and showed him a book. He acknowledged with a sign. After some time, he started having breathing trouble. Oxygen was given. The pressure was stable for some time but then it started decreasing and the breaths were getting fewer and far between. He wanted the oxygen to be discontinued but we didn’t oblige. As he was nearing death, Bhagavat Gita, Vedic Mantras, and Vishnu Sahasranama were chanted. He asked Vishnu Sahasranama to be repeated as he continued to open his mouth for Tulasi soaked water. (It may be recalled that he was named Narayana by his parents). His eyes were fixed on the wall where photos of Sri Ramakrishna, Mother, Swami Vivekananda, Swami Shankarananda, Sankaracharya and Sri Krishna of Guruvayur were installed. The end came at 8.53 p.m. He was fully alert and was wearing a  peaceful expression when he met Death. The impatience for having to wait so long disappeared when Death arrived with the surety Death alone possesses.

Swami Amitabhananda had his Sannyasa during the Centenary of Swami Vivekananda and left the world during the Sesquicentennials.

It is owing to him that we now know more about Swami Vivekananda’s historic visit to Kanyakumari. It was he, who as a monastic assistant at  Belur Math office then,  suggested to Swami Vireswarananda to write to Ramaswami Shastri, (son of Sundararama Iyer, in whose house, Vivekananda spent all his nine days in Trivandrum), to ascertain the day Swami Vivekananda left Trivandrum. As a consequence we have a clearer record of those events. It shows how a conscientious person working behind the scenes can do  great good and it shows too that a leader stands to gain if he gives due attention to earnest inputs from his juniors.

A page from Swami Amitabhananda's remniscences of Swami Vireswarananda

It drizzled this evening, but still did not disturb the programme much. Swami Amitabhananda's passing too came that way, causing no interruption, tonight, at Wednesday, a day special to Sri Ramakrishna, to whom his life was dedicated.

Hari Om Ramakrishna 

Swami Amitabhananda ji  (left) with a younger friend

who he often missed during the last months.. 

*Swami Amitabhananda has written about 20 articles in Malayalam in Prabuddha Keralam. He has penned a  few poems including a free rendering of Swami Vivekananda's Song of the Sannyasin in Malayalam. His reminiscences of Swami Tapasyananda can be found in the recently published book from Madras Math. His interesting reminiscences of Swami Vireswarananda (a page of which is given here) is set to appear in a forthcoming book. Its Bengali translation can be found in a recently released book on Swami Vireswarananda. His Malayalam translation of 'God Lived with Them' (Lives of most of the Sannyasin Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna) awaits publication at our Thrissoor Math for the last few years.