supervised the Vedanta Society of Greater Washington, DC, since 1997, and Vivekananda Retreat, Ridgely, since 1998. In the late 1980s, he lectured and gave spiritual guidance in Moscow. As a spiritual leader, Swahananda encouraged westerners to take leadership roles in the Vedanta movement. Swami Swahananda ji died on 19 October 2012, at the age of 91 at 2:52 pm, PST. He suffered a brain stem stroke. After several tests and consultations with doctors, it was determined that his condition was irreversible, and life support was removed per his wishes. Author Swami Swahananda authored a number of books and translations. His translations into English include the Chandogya Upanishad and Panchadasi of Vidyaranya from Sanskrit, and Go Forward: Letters of Swami Premeshananda and Mahapurush Maharaj as We Knew Him from Bengali. Books include Hindu Symbology and Other Essays, Meditation and Other Spiritual Disciplines, Mother Worship: A Collection of Essays on Mother Worship in India, Service and Spirituality, Vedanta and Ramakrishna, Vedanta and Holy Mother, Vedanta and Vivekananda, and Vedanta Sadhana and Shakti Puja. Further reading The Inspiration That Was Swami Vivekananda by Swami Swahananda References External links Swami Swahananda biography at Vedanta Society of Southern California Biography at Vishwa Dharma Mandalam website Books by Swami Swahananda Subhasis Chattopadhyay, review of Swami Swahananda, Vedanta Sadhana and Shakti Puja, Vedanta Kesari, 103 (6) (June 2016): 45–6 Indian Hindu monks Monks of the Ramakrishna Mission Indian magazine editors People from Habiganj District University of Calcutta alumni 20th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians 2012 deaths 1921 births 20th-century Hindu religious leaders Indian emigrants to the United States