Swami Tapasyananda
Swami Tapasyananda (1904-1991) was a senior monk of the
Ramakrishna Mission. He was born in the Palat family of
Ottapalam in
Kerala, in 1904. His pre-monastic name was K. P. Balakrishnan Menon. In 1921, when he was just 17 years old, he met Swami Brahmananda- a direct disciple and spiritual son of Sri Ramakrishna, in Chennai. He received
Mantra-Diksha from Swami Shivananda in 1924, and joined the Order in 1926, at 22 years age after completing in post graduation. In 1932, he received
Sannyasa from Swami Shivananda. He was a disciple of
Swami Shivananda, one of the eminent disciples of
Sri Ramakrishna. The Swami was a vice-president of the Ramakrishna Order from 1985-1991, giving Mantra-Diksha to a large number of devotees. He was an erudite scholar in
Indian and
Western philosophy. He has to his credit many books in English, including the translations of many scriptures. His translation of
Bhagavata Purana in four volumes has been highly acclaimed in intellectual and devotional circles. He was the president of
Ramakrishna Math,
Chennai from 1971-1991. Swamiji was well known for his austere life and intuitive intellect. His deity was Lord Khrishna and he practiced spiritual activity as told by his Guruji. He was a prolific writer. Some of the books authored by him are listed below. He translated many Hindu classics into English from original Sanskrit. He founded Ramakrishna Mission Hospital at
Thiruvananthapuram.
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