Shri Sudhanshu Biswas is a devoted son of India. His life is a classic example of living for others. He spent his early life fighting with Britishers to free his motherland. Post-independence, his effort in rehabilitation thousands of refugees were exemplary. Since 1970, he has dedicated his life to man making education at the grass root level and provide vocational training to rural youths. He is a tireless silent worker who is changing lives of the poor in distant villages of India.
Shri Biswas was born on 18th March 1917 in the undivided Bengal. Though he hailed from a rich family, since his childhood he empathized for the down trodden. Since his boyhood, he was inspired by freedom fighters such as Shri Aurobindo Ghosh and Shri Barin Ghosh. Even at the age of 100 now he considers them as his Guru. With the dream of freeing India, he left home when he was in Class VII. He was mentored by revolutionist Smt. Kalyani Das (Bhattacharyya) and Smt. Bina Das. The nationalist sisters were the daughters of Shri Beni Madhab Das, mentor and teacher of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. He joined the famous revolutionary group Anushilan Samity. Soon, he was playing the critical role of carrying letters, arms and bombs because of his teen age British police never suspected him. In 1939, he was entrusted to throw bombs at the Albert Hall in Calcutta. After completing this assignment, he had to evade many police chases though he was hit by the bullet once. He had to hid in distant places of East Bengal. Next, in 1942 he again was caught in a fierce gun battle with the British police in Birbhum district.
He was tortured and kept in the Alipore jail for 5 years and freed only in early 1947. It is during his time spent in the prison he was drawn to the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda. For the next phase of his life he made oneness to Serve Man Serve God. As the country was celebrating new gain independence, since July 1947 to the next few years he rehabilitated thousands of refugee families. Although a bachelor throughout his life, seeing the plight he adopted six orphaned girls, educated and married off all of them. Now the daughters are living happily and supporting Sri Biswas noble work through their children.
In late 1950, to fund his social work, he started a plastic business and it flourished with God's grace. He started providing food, cloth, shelter, and livelihood to hundreds of rural people in South 24 Paragans and Sunderban. In the next 10 years, he opened 18 free schools in remote villages and ran them for more than two decades. Now they have been transferred to the State Government and functioning as High schools.
In 1973, he founded Sri Ramakrishna Sevashram at Ramkrishnapur village in South 24 Paraganas in West Bengal to provide value based education among orphan and destitute boys. Almost a thousand student have stayed, studied and became self-sustained through the Ashram. He himself took academic classes. In the last two decades, it has also sheltered abandoned rural poor old citizens. He learnt Homeopathy in his sixties to treat villagers free of cost. Since the last fifteen years, the Ashram also provides much needed emergency service via an Ambulance van. At this ripe age, he is ever compassionate to the poor families and hence started vocational training program in 2015. Hundreds of rural youths have passed courses in health assistance, mobile repairing, electrical and sewing. Almost 50 percent of these rural young girls and boys have found jobs or started their own business.
Sri Biswas was spiritually initiated by the great saint Swami Vireshwarananda, the tenth President of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. Our founder used to practice sadhanan and japam for hours daily, as prescribed by his Guru. Revered Swami Ramananda, presently at Ramakrishna Mission of Service, Varanasi was the monk who had laid the foundation stone of this Ashram. Sri Ramananda ji Maharaj was the inspiration, guide and mentor of Sri Biswas for his entire life. Sri Biswas was blessed and had close ties with many saints of Ramakrishna order. He used to like to visit Belur math and other centres of Ramakrishna Math. He was very fond of travelling to the Advaita centre of Maayavati, in the Himalayas. He used to recite Gita everyday along with Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita.
Sri Biswas is seva personified. A person whose entire life has been spend loving and caring others. He has run his Ashram without any major political backing or corporate support, it is for his own countrymen supported by common citizens. He rejected taking 'Tamra Patra' and freedom fighter pension, as he has worked for India's freedom out of love to his motherland and not for any form of benefits. That love has magnified post independence, as till date he is more devoted to fight poverty.
Owing to his life long service to the society, on 2018 the Government of India conferred 'Padmashri' to him. He was awarded by the Hon. President of India Sri Ramnath Kovind at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in April 2018.
This great soul departed to Ramakrishnaloka on December 6th, 2018. The Ashram continues to carry the torch of his selfless service.
