Swami Sarvadevananda, the minister and spiritual leader of the Vedanta Society of Southern California, is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order of India. He lived near Belur Math from 1960 onward and thus had the opportunity to come into contact with many monks who had been initiated by Holy Mother, Swami Brahmananda, Swami Shivananda, and other direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna.
Swami was initiated by Swami Shankarananda, the 7th President of the Order, in 1961 and joined the monastery at Belur Math, near Kolkata, in 1965. For the next two decades, he served at the Ramakrishna Mission Saradapitha, a major educational institution adjacent to Belur Math. At Saradapitha, he managed the Teachers’ Training Institution (1965–70), the undergraduate degree college (1972–73), the Industrial School and the Production and Publication Department (1973–80), and various technical training schools (1980–87), such as the Polytechnic and the Vocational Training School (for both secondary and higher secondary levels).
He attended the Brahmacharins’ Training Center from 1970 to 1972. In 1971, he had the privilege of serving at a refugee camp in Ratabari, Assam, which supported 14,000 people affected by the Bangladesh war.
He was a member of the Exhibition Committees of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission Convention in 1980, and the Youth Convention in 1985, where he played a major role in organizing and setting up the extensive exhibitions that laid the foundation for today’s Saradapitha museum.
Swami became the head of the Ramakrishna Mission at Sikra, the holy birthplace of Swami Brahmananda, in 1988. While there, he initiated literacy and health programs—such as polio vaccination, cataract surgery, free health check-ups, and the distribution of medicines—for hundreds of underprivileged villagers, both nearby and from distant areas. He also performed relief and rehabilitation work, including building homes for local tribal communities who had lost their shelters due to natural disasters.
In 1993, Swami Sarvadevananda was posted to the Vedanta Society of Southern California to serve as assistant minister under Swami Swahananda. He was appointed the minister and spiritual leader of the Society in 2012.
In addition to his regular lectures and classes, Swami Sarvadevananda frequently addressed schools, colleges, and religious groups throughout Southern California and other parts of the United States whenever invited. He represented the Vedanta Society as a delegate on the Interreligious Council of Southern California and participated in the Hindu-Catholic and Hindu-Episcopal Dialogues of Los Angeles. He also served as one of the directors of the Hindu Students’ Organization at USC.
Currently, Swami continues to offer regular lectures and classes at the Hollywood center and its five sub-centers. He is the co-chair of the National Hindu-Christian Dialogue and sits on the Advisory Council of the Guibord Center. He also serves as the Minister-in-Charge of the Vedanta centers in Houston and Ridgely, and as the spiritual director of nine private Vedanta centers across the U.S. He provides spiritual guidance to several Vedanta Study Circles and continues to travel throughout the country, spreading the message of Vedanta wherever invited.
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