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NEW DELHI, INDIA, May 15, 2005: India’s Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, made the following remarks at the memorial meeting for Swami Rangnathananda, late president of Ramakrishna Mission, here today. “I deem it a great privilege and a great honor to be present on this occasion when we have gathered to celebrate the life and works of one of the greatest souls of our time, a truly learned and wise man, one who attained the ultimate in the knowledge of the self, a realized soul, a being who radiated bliss – Swami Ranganathananda. It is with deep sadness and a profound sense of loss that millions of our countrymen and countrywomen received the news of the passing away of one of the greatest teachers of our times, Swami Ranganathananda. Swamiji was an unusually gifted individual, a teacher, a scholar, a sage, a companion of the needy, and above all a deeply religious person and a true humanist in the best traditions of Indian culture and civilization. He was also a builder, having created and built new centers of learning and meditation for the Ramakrishna Mission at home and abroad. Generations of Indians have sat at his feet and imbibed the teachings of some of our greatest texts and epics and scriptures. He was, without doubt, one of the most poetic and philosophical interpreters of the Gita in living memory. His lectures on Vedanta earned him the respect of scholars and the admiration of his disciples all over the world. Swamiji of course, lived a full life and lived it in every corner of our vast sub-continent. He taught us all the values of love, sacrifice, learning and piety and the importance of knowledge and learning to disciples across the world and in all corners of South Asia. “

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