Swami Bhuteshananda was admitted to the Peerless Hospital on August 5 after an intestinal haemorrhage. After two days, he was shifted to Kothari Medical Centre where he underwent two abdominal operations. However, his condition continued to deteriorate. And finally his end came at about 2.28 p m yesterday at the Kothari Medical Centre. He was 97.

Swami Bhuteshananda, popularly addressed as `President Maharaj' by his disciples, had taken over the charge of the mission and the math after Swami Gamviranandaattained samadhi in December 1988. Swami Bhuteshananda, who took charge in January 1989, would have completed a decade as president if he had survived a few more months.Known for his wit, great spiritual wisdom, and affection for his disciples, Swami Bhuteshananda was initiated by Swami Sharadananda, a direct disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa.Born on September 8, 1901, in Sanasar village of Bankura district, he joined the mission when he was 24, after graduating from the Calcutta Sanskrit College with honours in Philosophy.However, Bijoy Chandra Roy, as he was known then, joined the order as one of the monastics in 1928 and was given the name Bhuteshananda.

Soon after his joining the monastic order, young Bhuteshananda was sent to Dhaka in erstwhile East Bengal of undivided India in 1930. He stayed there till 1932 and served the Dhaka mission as assistant secretary. After successfully completing various assignments of the mission in several centres, he returned to West Bengal. Swami Bhuteshananda was thefounder secretary of Ramakrishna Mission at Shillong.Known for his strict adherence to discipline, Swami Bhuteshananda spent over three years in Uttarkashi and held various responsible positions before he took over as the mission's president.