Bangalore. June 8. 2011 Acharya Sri Ratnanandaji, fondly remembered as Pitaji by The Art of Living family worldwide, passed away in the early hours today in Bangalore. He was 87 years old. He leaves behind his illustrious son, Param Poojya Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, daughter, Smt. Bhanumathi and two grandsons. His loss is deeply mourned.
Paying tribute to his father, Gurudev said, “Pitaji lived a life of a sacrifice and service. His life was dedicated to the cause of the underprivileged and women empowerment. He was a great scholar with scientific temperament and a Gandhian freedom fighter.”
He was the pioneer of VISTA (Value Integrated Services to All) India, a charitable trust engaged in uplifting poor rural women and children in Karnataka, and the Ved Vignan Maha Vidya Peeth, a Well-known educational and charitable trust that operates over 150 free schools in some of India’s remotest tribal villages. His special field of research was ancient Indian heritage and it’s practical application in modern time as well as ancient sciences of medical astrology, yoga and ayurveda. Whoever met him could not miss his sense of humor.