Swami Sarvapriyananda
Swami Sarvapriyananda (Pre-Monastic name Biswarup Palit) is a Hindu monk (sannyasi) belonging to the Ramakrishna Order. He is the current resident Swami and head of the Vedanta Society of New York, a position he has been serving since January 2017. Early life and education Swami Sarvapriyananda was born in Kolkata and grew up in Bhubhaneshwar in the Indian state of Odisha to a pious Bengali family. From childhood onwards, he was inclined towards spirituality and was inspired by the lives of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda. His family was also devoutly religious. His parents and grandparents were initiated devotees in the Ramakrishna Order tradition. He has stated that his first goal in life was to become a pilot and the second was to find God, with the second goal later becoming his only goal. Sarvapriyananda joined the Ramakrishna Order in 1994 and took his monastic vows as sanyasa diksha was bestowed upon him by Swami Ranganathananda in 2004. His family, at first, objected to his decision to become a monk but later accepted his decision. After passing school, he completed his Business Management degree from Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar. Life after Sannyasa Swami Sarvapriyananda served as assistant minister of