It is with great sorrow and feeling of loss that we inform about the sudden and unexpected demise of Swami Sarvatmananda who passed away in his sleep on 5 Dec 2018 in New Delhi.
The end was so sudden and shocking. He had just come back from hospital after a successful angioplasty, and was in very good spirits on 4 th Dec. He was chatting and catching up with everybody in the evening. Little did we know that his play on earth was nearing an end. How foolish are we all, to think that good things never end. Maharaj was cremated at the Lodi Road Crematorium on 5th Dec, and his “asthi” was immersed in the holy Ganges, at the sangam at Devprayag, one of his most beloved spots. We held a bhandara at the Ashrama premises on 16th Dec, and for this we had around 20 outstation devotees and 45 local ones.
On the same day, we had an emergency meeting of the Ashrama members, and the following were agreed: - Jayant Sarkar, a devotee from Delhi was appointed the Secretary of the Society. - It was decided to approach Sri Sarada Math and Ramakrishna Math & Mission to take over the working of the Ashrama. The Ashrama nitya puja is being performed by Vishakha, a brahmacharini, who has been staying at the ashrama for the last 2 years. The 4 school boys who stay there, though heart broken, are carrying on with their studies. The evening prayers are still sung by them, exactly as taught to them by Maharaj. We are presently not encouraging devotees to come and stay at the Ashrama. After things settle down a bit, we hope to restart the lodging facilities for devotees at the Ashrama. The legal formalities, consequent to the passing away of Maharaj, are under process. The SBI bank account is operational, and devotees can send their contributions for the Ashrama, to that account We have approached both Sarada Math and Belur Math to assess their views on taking over and managing the Ashrama. Discussions are still in progress. We hope to give you a clearer picture of the future of the Ashrama at the earliest. We pray to Thakur, Ma and Swamiji to guide us along the way, and hope all the devotees will join us in our prayers. Best regards, In the service of Sri Ramakrishna
Jayant Sarkar Secretary
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