HomeAmericasCommunityLA Celebrates Swami Purnatmananda’s 100th Birthday, Leadership Transition

LA Celebrates Swami Purnatmananda’s 100th Birthday, Leadership Transition

LA Celebrates Swami Purnatmananda’s 100th Birthday, Leadership Transition

LA Celebrates Swami Purnatmananda’s 100th Birthday, Leadership Transition

India-West Staff Reporter

BELLFLOWER, CA — The 100th birth anniversary of Swami Purnatmananda, lovingly known as “Boro Swamiji,” was marked by both reflection and renewal as the Los Angeles chapter of Bharat Sevashram Sangha (BSS) hosted a grand celebration on June 8—and witnessed a historic passing of the torch.

At a packed Bristol Civic Auditorium, Boro Swamiji, the current global President of BSS, formally named Swami Amarnathananda, the head of the New Jersey branch, as his successor to oversee the Sangha’s expanding work outside India. The announcement was met with admiration and emotion, as the community honored both the legacy of a century and the promise of continued spiritual leadership.

Swami Amarnathananda, who is entering his 50th year in the BSS monastic order, brings deep experience and scholarship to the role. A respected religious teacher, Hindustani classical music vocalist, and accomplished author, he has spent decades building BSS’s outreach in India and abroad. His two published books—one on the Bhagavad Gita and another on the teachings of BSS founder Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj—are the result of over 20 years of research and devotion. His certificate course on Hinduism has also become a cornerstone of the New Jersey ashram’s spiritual life.

The evening’s centenary celebration for Boro Swamiji was a vibrant affair filled with reverence and joy. Traditional rituals such as lamp lighting and garlanding were followed by a rich cultural showcase, including classical Indian music and theatrical performances that paid tribute to India’s spiritual and artistic heritage.

Boro Swamiji has led BSS’s global expansion since the 1980s, guiding the establishment of temples and community centers across the United States—including in California, New Jersey, New York, Illinois, Maryland, and Minnesota. Under his leadership, the Los Angeles-area Bharat Sevashram Sangha West (BSSW) received a transformative donation of over sixty acres of land, enabling its long-term spiritual and community work in Southern California.

Headquartered in Kolkata and founded in 1917 by Acharya Srimat Swami Pranavanandaji Maharaj, BSS is a global spiritual and humanitarian organization with hundreds of ashrams in India and abroad.

Though Boro Swamiji’s daily presence will be missed, the transition was seen not as a farewell but a continuation of the mission. “We remain eternally grateful,” said one devotee. “He has given us not only leadership, but a home and vision for the future.”

The milestone event served as both a tribute to a towering spiritual figure and a moment of renewal for the Sangha’s work in the West.

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