GAHANANANDA CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS ... 2

As the centenary of Srimat Swami Gahananandaji Maharaj approaches by the day, a sense of nervous expectancy grips the soul for we are not yet sure if it be the will of Thakur to allow his countless devotees to celebrate the occasion in a befitting manner. It entirely depends on Providence now and is beyond our feeble hands to shape the future course of this event. If Thakur wills it, we must be ready to pull in our might to make the occasion a grand success for a centenary comes but once a century and most of us will not survive to the next such occasion. We must be in complete preparedness to devote ourselves to whatever task is allotted us and must not then shirk the holy duty of serving Thakur in the departed Sangha-Guru, the venerable 14th President of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna MIssion.

And who says he has departed? He lives on in our hearts and minds and in our souls as a benediction perennial whose fragrance does not wane with the passage of time but sweetens every moment of the passing hour with a freshness that is unsullied by the lapse of time or by change of circumstance. We owe it to him, who gave his all for us, to remember him in every movement of our lives and to fulfil him through our spiritual fulfilment, for we know it for sure that in our holiness and wholesomeness, our prayerfulness and purity, our austerity and attainment, and in our health and happiness lies his highest bliss for he is our preceptor, parent, preserver, Providence, our everything.