During his first visit to Kolkata after being elected Prime Minister, Narendra Modi will meet his guru Swami Atmasthanand Maharaj, president of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission Order, who had advised him against becoming a monk.
“Modiji will meet Swami Atmasthanand Maharaj at Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratishthan, the hospital where he is admitted to. He will also visit Belur Math, the headquarters of the mission,” Santanu Maharaj, a senior monk of the order, told The Hindu on Sunday.
On the association between Swami Atmasthanand Maharaj and Mr. Modi, Santanu Maharaj said they had decade-old links. The association began when the former was posted at Rajkot.
“Swami Atmasthanand Maharaj had told Mr. Modi that he should not become a monk and he has a lot of other work to do,” Santanu Maharaj said. He said the Prime Minister considered Atmasthanand Maharaj as his guru.
Swami Atmasthanand Maharaj is 97 years old and is in hospital over the past few weeks with age-related ailments.
Mr. Modi had visited Belur Math in 2013.
PM to visit IISCO
Meanwhile, Union Minister for Steel Narendra Singh Tomar visited West Bengal’s Bardhaman district to oversee the preparations for Mr. Modi’s visit to the Indian Iron & Steel Company, a Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) subsidiary.
Mr. Tomar told journalists that Mr. Modi would dedicate to the nation a Rs. 12,000-crore facility at IISCO.
This is his first visit to Kolkata after becoming Prime Minister