Swami Tathagatananda
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15 February 1923
Swami Tathagatananda | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Laxminarayan Bhattacharya 15 February 1923 |
| Died | 25 June 2016 (aged 93) |
| Honors | Minister and Spiritual Leader of The Vedanta Society of New York from November 1977 to June 2016 |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Order | Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission |
| Philosophy | Advaita Vedanta |
| Religious career | |
| Guru | Swami Virajananda |
Swami Tathagatananda (15 February 1923 – 25 June 2016), was a Hindu monk of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. He was the Minister and Spiritual Leader of the Vedanta Society of New York from November 1977 to June 2016, which was the first Vedanta Society in the United States, founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1895.[1][2]
Born as Laxminarayan Bhattacharya in West Bengal, India, he was initiated in 1945 into the spiritual order by Swami Virajananda, a disciple of Sarada Devi and secretary of Swami Vivekananda. He officially joined the Ramakrishna Order as a brahmachari (trainee-student monk) in 1955. He had his sannyasa diksha (bestowal of full monkhood following the Hindu Advaita-Vedanta tradition) from Swami Madhavananda in 1965.[3]
Tathagatananda served as the Assistant Minister of the Vedanta Society of New York from February 1977 under Swami Pavitrananda. He became the Minister of the Vedanta Society of New York in November 1977 after the sudden passing away of Swami Pavitrananda on 18 November 1977.[3][4]
Before going to the United States, as an assistant, Tathagatananda worked at Saradapitha, Deoghar Vidyapith, Chennai Students’ Home. He was the head of Baranagore Mission Ashrama during the year 1975.[5]
