A GLOWING LIFE, GAHANANANDA ... 1

The first element that struck me about Gurudev was the complete sense of fearlessness he induced in his disciples. Easy, affable, refined and restrained, he made us feel such a sense of security in his presence and not an iota of fear that he had befriended us before we had realised that we were to take refuge at his holy feet till the end of time. We are now in his centenary year and propose to celebrate the occasion in a befitting manner. To that end I pen these lines of reverence as my prostrations at his feet and seek his blessings to ensure the fulfilment of this labour of love.

Swami Gahanananda was born Nareshranjan Roychoudhury on the auspicious day of Durgashtami on 4 October, 1916 in Pahadpur village of the district of Sylhet in East Bengal. He was born to Rajkrishna Roychoudhury and Sukhamayee Devi and had three brothers in Rakeshranjan, Sureshranjan and Bireshranjan.

Young Naresh was academically proficient, studying with distinction in Comilla and Narayanganj in the primary and secondary levels. He evinced a keen interest in reading about the life and message of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda. His interest in leading the spiritual life was further kindled by his close contact with two of his cousins, Ketakiranjan (Swami Prabhananda) and Pramodranjan (Brahmachari Pramod), both of whom had dedicated their lives to the Order of Ramakrishna.

Ketaki Maharaj was one of those monks whose service to the tribals of Khasiya and Jayantia hills remains unparalleled in the history of the Order. When at the age of 38 he returned to his village home in Pahadpur, a dying man in the very sunshine of his life, Naresh served him with his heart and soul and, perhaps, for the first time came into direct contact with the living ideal of service which was to so characterise his later life when, as Assistant Secretary and later Secretary in the Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratishthan, he came into direct contact with human suffering, disease and death and the death-defying worshipful service of the suffering. Ketaki Maharaj's superhuman service for the Khasis, which took him away in the prime of his life, inflamed young Nareshranjan with the fire of spirituality and he responded to the call of the divine in man, resolving to dedicate his life to the cause of the service of humanity.