Swami Virajananda, the sixth President of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, was born on Tuesday, 10 June 1873, in Kolkata. His pre-monastic name was Kalikrishna Bose. His   father Dr. Trailokyanath Bose was the house-physician of Keshab Chandra Sen, the famous Brahmo leader. His mother Nishadkali Devi was a pious lady. Due to his soft nature and mild disposition, Kalikrishna was loved by all. During his school days, he developed friendship with a group of boys, some of whom later became the monks of the Ramakrishna Order. The group included Sudhir (Shuddhananda), Haripada (Bodhananda), Sushil (Prakashananda), Khagen (Vimalananda) and others.

This group of young boys used to discuss religion, practise spiritual discipline and lead good moral life. They gradually came in touch with the householder disciples of Sri Ramakrishna and later with the monastic disciples. They veered round the Baranagore Math. Consequently, Kalikrishna joined the Math as an ascetic, in the second half of 1891. He was among the first ones to join the Order, after the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. He was initiated by the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi, sometimes in the middle of 1893. He went to various holy places like Varanasi, Vrindavan, etc. for practising spiritual disciplines. After his return from the West, Swami Vivekananda initiated Kalikrishna into sannyasa, on 2 January 1897, at Alambazar. Swami Virajananda served the Order in various forms.

In 1906, Swami Virajananda was made the head of the Advaita Ashrama at Mayavati in the Himalayas, founded by Swamiji for propagating the ideal of Advaita Vedanta. He was instrumental in bringing out the biography of Swami Vivekananda and the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda, in English.

In 1934, Swami Virajananda was chosen the General Secretary of the Order. Later in May 1938, he became the Vice President of the   Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. After the demise of Swami Shuddhananda, he was made the President of the Order, in November 1938. During his long tenure of more than 12 years as the President of the Order, Swami Virajananda left his impress by taking prudent and level-headed decisions and policies in the backdrop of the global economic, social and political turmoil. This made the Order stand on firm grounds when the nation was passing through a critical period of national calamities due to World War II, famine, riots, partition of India, national instability and finally the Independence of India. Besides his well-balanced personality, he possessed remarkable spiritual ardour and missionary zeal for spreading the message of Swamiji. So, he visited remote areas and initiated innumerable lay devotees. Swami Virajananda went to his   heavenly abode on 30 May 1951, at   the age of 78.