Kalyanananda
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Swami Kalyanananda |
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Kalyanananda, a direct monastic disciples of Vivekananda and founder of Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama, Kankhal
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| Native name | Kalyan Maharaj |
| Born |
Dakshinaranjan Guha Barishal, Bengal |
| Died |
20 October 1937 Calcutta |
| Cause of death | Illness |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Other names | Kalyanananda, Kalyan Maharaj |
| Citizenship | India |
| Occupation | monk |
| Known for | Spiritual work |
| Notable work | Service as religion, serving famine affected in Kishangarh, serving old and sick monks and poor in Kankhal, establishing the Ramakrishna Mission in Kankhal and Rishikesh |
| Home town | Barishal, Bengal |
| Parent(s) | Umesh Chandra Guha (father) |
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 important philosophy in his life and practiced it for the benefit of the local population and the pilgrims. He spent thirty six years in Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama Kankhal to serve the poor and afflicted. He was one of the pioneers to set up a hospital in a remote location for the poor, needy and the itinerant monks who did not have access to healthcare.
Kalyanananda was born as Dakshinaranjan Guha in the year 1874 in Hanua village near Vazirpur town in Barishal district of East Bengal province (now Bangladesh). His father's name was Umesh Chandra Guha. He lost his father at an early age and was educated under the guardianship of his uncle. Extreme poverty compelled him to give up a formal education.
Dakshinaranjan was inspired by the ideals of Vivekananda of leading a selfless life and service to poor and needy by looking upon them as manifestation of God. In 1898 he joined the newly established monastery of Ramakrishna Order, the Belur Math. He was initiated by Vivekananda and took his monastic vows under the name Kalyanananda. He served an ailing Yogananda, another direct disciple of Ramakrishna, in his death bed.
In 1899 when Vivekananda left for West a second time, Kalyanananda went for pilgrimage and for practicing austerities. In Benares he met Kedarnath Moulik who would later become famous as Achalananda, another monastic disciple of Vivekananda and the founder of Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service Benares. Together they were involved in serving the poor and needy in Benares and Kalyanananda developed initial exposure to Vivekananda's vision of practical Vedanta through this. From Benares he went to Allahabad and got engaged in service activities. At Kishangarh in Jaipur, together with Swarupananda, another brother disciple, he got busy in providing relief to the local population affected by a famine. They fed about 300 people everyday which helped in alleviating the impact of the famine. In 1901 he returned to Belur Math to meet Vivekananda who had come back from West. Vivekananda had requested him to work for the sick and ailing monks around the Rishikesh-Haridwar region as he himself was the witness to the plight of the people there in absence of any healthcare facility. Vivekananda apparently told Kalyanananda, Kalyan, you will be a Paramhansa. Sarvagatananda of Vedanta Centre Providence, who as Brahmachari Narayan served Kalyanananda in Kankhal, used this statement as the title of the book on his reminiscences about Kalyanananda.
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