close_game
close_game

Youngsters getting drawn to spirituality and meditation, says Swami Muktinathananda

By, Lucknow
Feb 26, 2023 01:25 AM IST

Swami Muktinanthananda, adhyaksha (head) of the Ramakrishna Math at Lucknow , says that In spirituality, the youngsters find peace and solace which meets their aspirations.

Atmano mokshartham jagat hitaya cha (For the emancipation of one’s self and the good of the universe) is the motto of the Ramakrishna Order.

Swami Muktinathananda. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)
Swami Muktinathananda. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)

Swami Muktinathananda (also called Sujit Maharaj), the adhyaksha (head) of the Ramakrishna Math, Lucknow, exemplifies this spirit. He is also secretary of the Vivekananda Polyclinic and Institute of Medical Sciences here.

For 23 years, Swami Muktinathananda has been engaged in two diverse sectors and taken them to new heights. He is often invited to the Indian Institute of Management-Lucknow to deliver lectures.

“These 23 years have been a very satisfying journey as I strive hard for excellence at the Vivekananda Polyclinic and Institute of Medical Sciences so that patients may avail better medical facilities,” the 75-year-old sanyasi says.

The 350-bed hospital often increases to 550 beds in an emergency like the pandemic and has given employment to 1000 doctors, nurses, technical staff and others.

He was sent by the Belur Math, the West Bengal-based global headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission, to Lucknow in the year 2000.

He has never looked back since then and gone from strength to strength.

“We are into super-speciality medical facilities and we are in the process of introducing robotics in the cardio-thoracic unit. Our nursing courses are affiliated to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Medical University and students are doing well for themselves,” he says.

Now, the focus is on increasing research work for medical trials in collaboration with pharmaceutical companies.

YOUNGSTERS DRAWN TO SPIRITUALITY

Swami Muktinathananda says he has observed in the last few years that youngsters, both men and women, are getting drawn towards spirituality and meditation. There are multiple reasons.

“The youth are not satisfied with the stereotype life pattern in society and want to explore a new channel. They come here by default and get drawn into spirituality and service,” he says.

“Another reason is they get frustrated on seeing the deplorable scenario in the society. In spirituality, they find peace and solace which meets their aspirations. Lastly, availability of literature related to Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda on Google and YouTube, has impacted their heart and mind,” he adds.

EARLY LIFE

Sujit Kumar Dutta (pre-monastic name of Swami Muktinathananda) was born in July 1947 at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas district in West Bengal. His father Sachindra Kumar Dutta was a famous lawyer and mother Bela Rani Dutta, a homemaker. He was influenced by the spiritual culture in the family.

He went to the Oriental Seminary School, where Rabindranath Tagore also received his early education in Calcutta (now Kolkata). After doing BE in mechanical engineering, he took admission in the M Tech course at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur. But he did not complete his studies at IIT. From 1968 to 1973, he went to Canada to pursue masters in industrial engineering and later did PhD in operations research.

ON JOINING THE RAMAKRISHNA ORDER

During his five years of foreign studies, he got disillusioned due to “utter hollowness” in the garb of affluence in the western world. “I got acquainted with the Vedanta Societies of North America being run under the aegis of the Ramakrishna Mission with its headquarters at Belur Math. Met some of the distinguished monks of the order engaged in different centres of the Mission there,” he says.

Simultaneously, he studied the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda in depth. He decided to join the Ramakrishna Mission at its Chicago centre. However, the Mission authorities opined that Indian nationals should come to India and subsequently, he joined at the Belur Math, aspiring to dedicate his life to serving the society as a monk in 1973. He was just 25 years of age then and was renamed as Swami Muktinathananda. He got initiation from Swami Vireswarananda, the then president of the Ramakrishna Order.

JOURNEY IN LUCKNOW

Before coming to Lucknow, he was sent to Bihar and Andhra Pradesh to supervise relief work for several years. In 2000, he was sent to Lucknow and was handed over a newly built magnificent temple of Ramakrishna and also a multi-storied building as a citadel of service for ailing patients at Vivekananda Polyclinic.

“We have already established a full-fledged ashram in Ayodhya as a sub-centre of Lucknow, where a charitable dispensary and a child development programme is continuing. A sincere effort has been made to procure a large piece of 7-10 acres of land in Ayodhya for expansion of medical and other activities,” he says.

HIS ROUTINE

Swami Muktinathananda gets up between 4am and 4.30am and attends Mangal Aarti. He does Gita chanting at 7am, delivers a religious discourse online and goes to Vivekananda Polyclinic and Institute of Medical Sciences hospital at 10am. A lunch break at 2pm is followed by a brief rest.

He goes back to the hospital at 3.30pm and returns to temple for evening aarti. He again goes to hospital and returns to temple at 9pm, conducts a 30-minute session for monks and retires for the day after dinner at 10pm.

See More
SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Monday, February 17, 2025
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On