The organisers of the birth centenary celebrations of Swami Atmasthananda, the 15th president of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission who passed away on June 18, 2017, have decided to postpone the programme because of the lockdown.

The programme was to be held at Biswa Bangla Convention Centre in New Town on May 10.

Sunil Kanti Roy, the president of the Swami Atmasthananda Birth Centenary Committee, said the revised schedule would be announced once the situation improved.

Swami Smaranananda, the present president of the order, and Swami Suvirananda, the general secretary, were to attend the programme.

A set of commemorative volumes and a pictorial biography of Swami Atmasthananda would have been released on the occasion. The commemorative volumes include reminiscences about the monk by many, including Asim Dasgupta, a former finance minister of Bengal.

Swami Atmasthananda, who left behind around 67,000 direct disciples, was born on May 21, 1919, in Sabajpur, near Dhaka. He joined the Math and Mission in 1941 at the age of 22.

In 1945, Swami Virajananda initiated him into brahmacharya vows and gave the name Shantichaitanya. In 1949, he was initiated into sannyasa and named Swami Atmasthananda.

Swami Atmasthananda became general secretary of Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission in 1992 and was in that post for five years till 1997, when he became vice-president of the order.

On December 3, 2007, he became president of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission.