Swami Ranganathananda joined the Ramakrishna Order,the international spiritual and cultural movement founded by Swami Vivekananda.He was formally initiated into sannyasa by Swami Shivananda,one of the eminent disciples of Sri Ramakrishna and the second president of the Order.Swami Ranganthananda was the 13th president of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission.He was an internationally acclaimed speaker whose stirring eloquence captivated thousands of people in India and abroad.In 1986 he was awarded the first Indira Gandhi Award for National Integration.