Swami Akhandananda was the living manifestation of Swami Vivekananda's new-age mantra of 'Shivajnane jivaseva' (worshipping all living creatures as Shiva). He acknowledged Swamiji, his beloved guru brother, as his guiding star from the core of his heart after their very first meeting. When Swamiji first learnt about 'Shivajnane jivaseva' from Shri Ramakrishna Paramhansa, he decided to reap the seed of selfless service among others. Swami Akhandananda, stirred with the pain of his countrymen, transformed this seed into the plant of selfless service. His primary inspiration for selfless service, or seva dharma, was Sri Zandu Bhatt, the legendary Ayurvedic physician from Jamnagar. Later, Swami Vivekananda motivated him to selflessly serve the people. Swamiji mentioned in his letter that the poor, illiterate, and the unenlightened people should be worshipped, and rendering selfless service for them would be the actual dharma. Swamiji's inspiration unleashed a new horizon in Swami Akhandananda's life. He decided to start his 'seva yajna' at Sargachi.

The sacred land of Sargachi was situated at the bank of the Holy Ganges, which later turned into the Seva Tirtha. Swami Akhandananda provided shelter to the orphans, served them, and arranged for their education. He started a night school at Sargachi along with the day school. He also took concrete steps to make those boys self-reliant. Swamiji always emphasised the self-reliance of people apart from formal education. With the help of experienced players, he made arrangements to teach stick game and exercise to the village youth and poor children, along with wrestling. Swami Akhandananda introduced sericulture and carpentry in the ashram. The wooden handicrafts made by the residents of the ashrama were sold in the exhibitions, and the money collected from the same was used for the service of mankind. A charitable dispensary was also established in the ashram. Even before the advent of Gandhi in Indian politics, he introduced a spinning wheel for cutting cotton and making clothes in the ashram. He, in fact, wove a towel with the spinning wheel. He wanted to make poor Indians self-reliant so that they could make their own clothes. He appointed various carpenters and weavers in the ashram. Vocational education was also introduced to enable poor children to secure their livelihood in the future. Along with this, the Veda recitation, worship, and prayer continued.

Swami Akhandananda focused on both materialistic progress and spiritual enlightenment in the ashram. Swamiji reminded his beloved guru brother about his Guru’s teaching that “an empty stomach is no good for religion.” The heart-warming efforts of this great monk to enable the poor rural people to become self-reliant are a role model for our present generation. He found the path of salvation through selfless service. While purchasing the land of the ashram, Swami Akhandananda had a vivid dream of Swamiji, who instructed him to purchase 50 bighas of land. He also assured that a large institution would be established at Sargachi in the future.

We all need to come forward for the prosperity and growth of Sargachi for its uninterrupted service to humanity. We pray to Swamiji and Swami Akhandanandaji to bestow their blessings on us.