Swami Shubhananda
| Shubhananda | |
|---|---|
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Philosophy | Vedanta |
| Personal | |
| Born | Charuchandra Das Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Died | Haridwar, India |
| Guru | Swami Vivekananda |
Swami Shubhananda or Charuchandra Das, was a direct monastic disciple of Swami Vivekananda and was the founder of Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service, in Varanasi. He obtained his monastic vow much later from Swami Brahmananda.
Swami Shubhananda was born in Calcutta probably sometime in the 1870s. His father's name was Shyamshankar Das. He was a student in Ripon College. As a college student he was greatly inspired by the talks and speeches of Ram Chandra Datta, a direct householder disciple of Sri Ramakrishna. He got more interested in Sri Ramakrishna and his spiritual life, read about him and went to Dakshineswar temple every Tuesday evening to meditate and discuss spiritual topics. He met Bijoy Krishna Goswami, who stayed in a nearby area and would sing devotional songs with him. At this time his college education came to an end.
His parents wanted him to get married and he was compelled to take up a job with Sinha and Chandra, a solicitor's firm. He however spent his spare time in spiritual pursuits. He formed a study circle with a group of young like minded men. | name= Swami Shubhananda | image= Swami Shubhananda, direct monastic disciple of Swami Vivekananda.jpg | image_size = 200px | caption= Swami Shubhananda, direct monastic disciple of Swami Vivekananda
In 1895 he went to Kedarnath and Badrinath on pilgrimage with some of his friends and also visited Haridwar and Varanasi. In 1897 when Swami Vivekananda returned from West and landed in Calcutta, Charuchandra was present in the Sealdah station to greet him. He along with a group of students pulled the car which carried Swami Vivekananda. He also met the Swami in Gopal Lal Seal's house in Cossipore where the latter was put up. He started frequenting the Alambazar Math and then Belur Math and came in contact with the monastic disciples of Sri RamakrishnaSwami Niranjananda was particularly fond of him. This association generated greater attraction towards spiritual life. In 1898 Charuchandra's parents left for Varanasi. Charuchandra resigned his job and joined them. There he took up a teacher's job and had a circle of like minded friends. He subscribed to Udbodhan, the Bengali monthly magazine of Ramakrishna Order, and he and his friends were greatly inspired by the poem of Swami Vivekananda called "To a Friend" or "Sakhar Prati" Among his friends was Kedarnath Moulik who later became Swami Achalananda. Swami Niranjananda had come to Benares and the group of young men used to hold spiritual discussions in his presence. Swami Kalyanananda also came to Benares and from him they realised Swami Vivekananda's ideal of service. A youth organisation thus developed under the guidance of Charuchandra where the young men resolved to realise Swami Vivekananda's ideals in their life. Inspired by the poem of Swami Vivekananda, one of the friends Jamini Ranjan nursed with his own hands an old lady who had been left to die on the roadside. This marked the beginning of Varanasi Sevashrama work. Charuchandra and his friends searched for suffering and helpless people and served them as living Gods in line with the philosophy propounded by Swami Vivekananda. The organisation founded was named as Poor Men's Relief Association. The money for the medicines, beds, blankets and other necessities for the hospital was obtained by begging. An orphanage was also formed and Charuchandra was wholly involved in the working of the orphanage leaving all worldly pursuits.
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