Remembered for starting the Swadhyay Parivar organization, a movement that emphasized the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.
He became obsessed with Hindi philosophy after reading different intellectual tomes at the Royal Asiatic Library.
He was awarded the prestigious Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion in 1997.
He had one child with wife Nirmala Tai.
He and chess player Viswanathan Anand were both awarded the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honor.
