Swami Shivapadananda’s Mahasamadhi day

Today is the 14th Anniversary of the Mahasamadhi (leaving of the body) of His Holiness Sri Swami Shivapadananda (1938-1994). Swamiji was the 2nd President and Spiritual Head of the Ramakrishna Centre of Southern Africa. His material legacy is a beautiful Ashram (monastery) complex at Glen Anil on the North coast of KwaZulu Natal, which is now a branch of the Ramakrishna Mission internationally. Swamiji was also the driving force behind the creation of the Sri Sarada Devi Ashram in Asherville Durban, for the nuns of the Order. His spiritual legacy is a vibrant Ramakrishna movement in South Africa and an influence that lives on in the hearts and minds of thousands of chelas (disciples) devotees and those whose lives he touched.

Today we remember and celebrate his extraordinary life and legacy. This is a picture I took in 1972 when his body was still youthful. That's how I remember his body in my own heart – eternally young.