Swami Shambhavananda was born in Halugunda village of Coorg in Karnataka, in 1894. His pre-monastic name was Chengappa. He joined the Ramakrishna Order at its Bangalore centre in 1917. He was an initiated disciple of Swami Brahmananda and was ordained into Sannyas in 1924. He was the first president of Ramakrishna Saradashrama, Ponnampet in Coorg. He became the president of Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Mysore in 1941 and continued till his passing away in 1972.
People of Coorg shall be ever grateful to him for the services he rendered for the eradication of Malaria. Singing 'Solle paata' in coorg dialect, he moved from village to village, educating the masses about the cause of Malaria and ways to eradicate it. He initiated modern beekeeping in the area in 1928. He saw that the industry could be eminently suitable to Coorg and would contribute to the economic strength of the local people. Due to his untiring efforts and active interest by the government, Coorg witnessed rapid progress in modern beekeeping from 1931 to 1941. The country's first beekeepers' co-operative society was formed in Virajpet in 1936.
An efficient administrator, strict disciplinarian and a great educationist , he was a man with kind heart. He founded the Shri Ramakrishna Vidyashala , a residential school for boys in Mysore. He also founded the Vedanta College or the Ramakrishna Institute of Moral and Spiritual Education (RIMSE ). He was also a trustee of the Ramakrishna Math and a member of the governing body of the Ramakrishna Mission.
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