GHANA, WEST AFRICA, July 3, 2025 (News 18): As Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Ghana today, marking the first visit by an Indian PM to the West African nation in three decades, few realize that this small country has long shared an unlikely spiritual link with India. That connection was forged not through diplomacy or trade, but by a tribal-born Ghanaian who journeyed across continents in search of truth and returned home as a Hindu monk – Swami Ghanananda Saraswati. Born as Kwesi Asele on September 12, 1937, in Senya Beraku village in Ghana’s Central Region, he came from a native African family deeply rooted in traditional tribal faith. But as colonial influence spread, Christianity began to sweep through the region, and his family, too, converted. Young Kwesi was raised in a Christian household, but he never confined his spiritual quest to a single doctrine. The philosophical depth of Hinduism fascinated him, particularly its focus on karma, yoga, and moksha.

In 1962, at the age of 25, he moved to Ghana’s capital Accra and founded the Divine Mystic Path Society, an organisation dedicated to God and inner exploration. But his desire to understand the soul of Hinduism took him much farther, all the way to Rishikesh in the early 1970s. There, in the Himalayan foothills, he met Swami Krishnananda Saraswati, one of the most revered spiritual teachers. Under his guidance, Kwesi underwent rigorous spiritual training, immersing himself in the yogic and philosophical traditions of Sanatan Dharma. In 1975, he was formally initiated into the Hindu monastic order and given the name Swami Ghanananda Saraswati, a tribute to his homeland. He thus became the first person of African origin to be ordained as a Hindu sannyasi (sage). His guru’s instruction was simple yet profound, i.e. take the ancient knowledge back to Ghana and plant its seeds in African soil. Swami Ghanananda passed away on January 18, 2016, but his spiritual empire remains alive and growing. The temples, monasteries, and community centers he founded continue to serve both Indian and Ghanaian followers. His disciples have taken up his mission, and the story of the tribal boy who became a Hindu saint lives on in Ghana’s rising tide of faith.

More on Swami Ghanananda at source.
https://www.news18.com/india/swami-ghanananda-saraswati-how-a-ghanian-became-the-first-hindu-saint-of-african-descent-ws-dkl-9416635.html

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