File photo of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Next Saturday, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Kolkata for a day, he will visit Swami Atmasthanand Maharaj, the 97-year-old head of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission Order, who has been unwell for a while.
"Modiji treats him as his guru and wants to meet him since our Maharaj has grown very old and is in hospital for a long time. When both of them were in Rajkot, Modi used to go to him to seek guidance," Subirananda Maharaj, assistant secretary of the Math, said.
PM Modi last met Swami Atmasthanand in 2013, when he was the chief minister of Gujarat. After he led the BJP to a massive victory in the nationals elections last year and as he prepared to take office, PM Modi received an invitation from the Swami to visit the organisation's global headquarters in Belur Math, where he had first came as a young boy seeking to be a monk.
In the letter, Swami Atmasthanand had addressed the PM as 'Narendra Bhai' and said, "I am eagerly looking forward to your visit to Belur Math as the Prime Minister of India."
"I am happy to learn that you have got a thumping majority. Sri Ramakrishna has given you the opportunity to serve the people of India irrespective of caste, creed and religion," he had written.
PM Modi had first visited Belur Math when very young to join the order, but his request was turned down as he was underage. He made two more attempts later, the last in Rajkot, Gujarat, where he met Swami Atmasthanand, who then headed the Ramakrishna centre there.
The year was 1966 and the swami told PM Modi, then 16, that his calling lay elsewhere. At Belur Math, monks say PM Modi told Swami Atmasthanand when they met two years ago, "You had told me to go away that time and that is why I am the chief minister now."
The Prime Minister will meet the Swami at the Ramakrishna Mission Seva Pratishthan where he has been admitted and is being treated since February 21. The PM is also scheduled to visit Belur Math, the global headquarters of the organisation. During his last visit to Belur Math in 2013, Mr Modi had spent some private moments in Swami Vivekananda's room where he also meditated.
The Ramakrishna Order was founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1897. PM Modi is deeply inspired by Vivekananda ideals and teachings and often quotes him in speeches.