By Pradeep Kumar
ITANAGAR, Oct 17: Meeting a divine soul, Swami Vishwatmanandaji Maharaj aka Ramesh Maharaj, in RKMH monks’ quarters here on Thrusday amounted to reminiscing the bygone era of Arunachal Pradesh.
Then Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh during his visit to RKMH on 31.01.08 was urged by Ramesh Maharaj to sanction Rs 50 crore corpus fund for effective running of the hospital. Though then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in early 70’s had urged RKM to provide quality service to Arunachal people, Swami Atmasthanandaji Maharaj, the then assistant secretary, had planned to open third Mission school here. But, he had changed the plan to set up a hospital considering the dire need with his vast experience of running a RKM hospital in Rangoon.
The hospital had started with only 10 beds in October 1979 by Swami Prathamananda Maharaj, and Swami Atmasthanandaji, who was later elevated to the post of president of the global Mission.
During interaction with Swamiji, the PM had enquired about huge problems of the hospital when he was told about huge recurring expenditure. A moved PM later in his public address here had said, “I salute the selfless service of the RKMH and had announced Rs. 10 crore from his National Relief Fund as corpus fund and urged DoNER ministry and Planning Commission to provide Rs. 30 – 40 crore as corpus fund to the hospital.
In fact, Ramesh Maharaj, who had served in Narotamnagar RKM School for three years (1978-80), had returned again to serve as RKMH secretary here in June 1981 till December 2009.
Some of the first batch Narotamnagar RKM School students, like Setong Sena (former speaker-cum minister who is no more) and Sumnyak Sumnyan (present PWD SE) and present PHE&WS Wangki Lowang were unparalleled. Sena and Sumnyan as band party leaders were sent to Belur Math RKM HQs to perform, he said, adding, state’s renowned documentary film maker Moji Riba and his brother Madan Riba are also alumina of same school.
The saint after leaving Itanagar was on leave for nine months before being recalled to be coordinator of 150th birth centenary celebration of Swamiji with GoI funding by a committee headed by PM as chairamn for numerous projects across India, including children activities, women empowerment, village development., book publication, to name a few.
Though he wanted to retire but he was sent to South Africa in 2014 for nine months then to Lusaka, capital of Zambia, to reopen the closed RKM unit there. On returning to India, he was asked take charge of Varanasi-based temple-centric Ramakrishan Advaita Ashram. But he had to take the charge of Sevashrama which runs a 200-beded hospital (popularly known as Kaudia Hospital), old-age home for male and female with 100 inmates.
During his last interview to this editor on 27.02.08 – ‘Corpus fund a gift of positive forces to RKMH’ –Swamiji had said: “I always believed that if one selflessly tries to do a good deed for the society the support will come suddenly from all positive forces. The effort of the chief minister and the support of the PM, Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia, its members B K Chaturvedi and Saida Hamid to the temple of selfless services to ‘rogi narayans’ are glaring proofs”.
The 75-year-old saint, who had joined RKM in 1968, while recalling his close association with veteran journalists P B Dasgupta (PTI) & late A K Bhttacharjya (UNI) and former chief ministers Gegong Apang (who had given Rs 6 lakh for the RKM auditorium, former CM, late Dorjee Khandu and many others said that though he has been out physically by mentally he remained in this state.
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