THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Swami Prakasananda, former chief of Varkkla Sivagiri Mutt, passed away at the age of 99.
He breathed his last at around 9am at Sivagiri Narayana Mission Medical Mission Hospital in Thiruvananthapuram district.
Prakasananda was not keeping well for some time owing to age-related ailments.
Prakasanda received Sanyasi 'deeksha’ at the age of 22 and since then he has devoted his life to the promotion of Sree Narayana Guru's teachers.
A soft-spoken saint, Prakasananda had exhibited deep knowledge in the teachings of Sree Narayana Guru and was adept in keeping warm relationships with people in all walks of life, cutting across their caste, creed and political leanings.
Prakasananda had courted criticism when he invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the Mutt in 2013 in connection with Sivagiri annual spiritual festival when the latter was Gujrat chief minister.
SNDP Yogam general secretary Vellappally Natesan in his condolence message remembered the contributions of Swamikal as invaluable.
"He made selfless contributions as a spiritual Guru," he said.
Kollam MP N K Premachadran said Prakasananda played a key role in maintaining Sivagiri as a centre of the secular spiritual sphere.
The cremation of the Vedic scholar is scheduled to be held at Varkkala at 5pm on Wednesday.
