Swami Dayananda Saraswati's demise a personal loss: Modi

NY: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday mourned the death of Swami Dayananda Saraswati with whom he had an association since his RSS days.

Swami Dayananda Saraswati, who was battling kidney failure, died at his ashram in Rishikesh on Wednesday night. On September 11, Mr. Modi had visited his ailing guru at the guru's Rishikesh-based ashram.

According to sources, during their 20-minute talk Mr. Modi had expressed his wish for Swami Dayananda Saraswati to recover soon and visit Modi’s office in New Delhi to bless him.

However, after his demise Modi wrote on Twitter, "Swami Dayananda Saraswati ji's demise is a personal loss. I pray that his soul attains eternal peace."

In another Tweet he stated: "My thoughts are with the countless people inspired by Dayananda Saraswati ji. He was a powerhouse of knowledge, spirituality & service."