Memorial Service for Swami Adiswaranandaji

Mahendra Jani

 Revered Swamijis, respected guests and friends:

          The students, parents, teachers and well-wishers of Vivekananda Vidyapith are ever indebted to Swami Adiswaranandaji for his inspirational guidance, and heartfelt support for the past 30 years.  He inaugurated our new building and prayer hall, did a special worship of Thakur, Maa and Swamiji there, and visited our Vidyapith almost every year.  Each and every one of us at the Vidyapith has enjoyed and learned valuable lessons of moral and spiritual development  from his wonderful talks.  He would repeatedly tell parents that investing time in Vidyapith to provide their children character building education is a noble endeavor and it would be greatly beneficial to them in their future.  He encouraged the students to excel in their studies, fulfill their responsibilities toward their parents, and to never forget that the goal of life is to manifest the divinity hidden within each individual.   

          Personally, my family and I are forever indebted to him for his unbounded and unconditional love and spiritual guidance for the past 34 years. 

Swami Adiswaranandaji made God a reality for us, God Realization a most tangible thing, and life a joyful spiritual journey.  Once, one of our students asked him, “Is Shiva real?”  Swamiji replied, “Of course Shiva is real.”  Then, pointing his hand towards his heart he said, “Shiva is deep down here.”  I was sitting next to him.  Swamiji’s words, charged with conviction from the direct experience of God, touched every chord of my heart.  I felt as if Shiva in person was sitting next to me.  It was a most blessed moment in my life. He had told me more than once that “A Sadhu has to be a man of God first, and then comes for him everything else, like running an institution, selfless service, and other activities.”  Swami Adiswaranandaji was truly a man of God. 

          We have heard again and again that the Soul or Atman is eternal, that it does not have birth or death, and that it is beyond the mind and the senses.  However, when God manifests through a great saint like Swamiji, he becomes tangible for us.  Our minds and hearts become captivated by the divine beauty of his personality.  In Shiva Mahimna Stotram, a hymn to Shiva, the poet Pushpadanta says, “O Shiva! You are infinite.  The human mind cannot comprehend your glories, nor can speech describe it.”  But, he also said (pade tvarvacine patati na manh kasya na vacah), which means, “O Shiva! When you assume a human form, is there anyone whose mind, heart, and speech do not get drawn to you?”  Swami Adiswarnandaji has captured the heart and mind of each and every one of us.

          On behalf of all the students, parents, teachers, and well-wishers of the Vivekananda Vidyapith, I offer my humble salutations to Revered Swami Adiswaranandaji.  To him, I would like to say in conclusion, “O Swamiji, we will always remember you, we will always follow your teachings, but we will miss you.’ 

Thank you.

(Speech edited by Uma Ramakrishnan)