Life of Ramakrishna on Superphysics

Birth of Shri Ramakrishna

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Sri Ramakrishna was born at Kāmārpukur, a village in the Hooghly District in rural Bengāl.

It was far from the railway, untouched by the city. It contained rice-fields, tall palms, royal banyans, a few lakes, and two cremation grounds.

Coming to Calcutta

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At the age of 16 Gadādhar was summoned to Calcutta by his elder brother Rāmkumār, who wished help in his priestly duties.

Rāmkumār had opened a Sanskrit academy to supplement his income. He wanted to gradually turn his younger brother’s mind to education. Gadādhar applied himself heart and soul to his new duty as family priest to a number of Calcutta families.

Kāli Temple at Dakshineśwar

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At that time there lived in Calcutta a rich Shudra widow named Rāni Rāsmani. She was known far and wide for her:

business ability, courage, and intelligence,
largeness of heart, piety, and devotion to God.

Her son-in-law Mathur Mohan helped her manage her vast property.

The First Vision of Kāli

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He soon discovered what a strange Goddess he had chosen to serve. He became gradually enmeshed in the web of Her all-pervading presence. To the ignorant She is to be sure, the image of destruction: but he found in Her the benign, all-loving Mother.

Haladhāri; Marriage

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In 1858, Sri Ramakrishna’s cousin Haladhāri came to Dakshineśwar and stayed there for 8 years.

Mathur appointed Haladhāri as priest in the Kāli temple. He was a complex character, versed in the letter of the scriptures, but hardly aware of their spirit.

The Brāhmani, Vaishnavcharan, and Gauri

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At this time, a brāhmin woman, slightly over 50, came to Dakshineśwar.

She was born in East Bengāl, adept in the Tāntrik and Vaishnava methods of worship. She was beautiful, and garbed in the orange robe of a nun.

Tantra

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According to the Tantra, the Ultimate Reality is Chit, or Consciousness. It is identical with:

Sat, or Being, and
Ānanda, or Bliss.

This Ultimate Reality, Satchidānanda, Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute, is identical with the Reality preached in the Vedas.

Vaishnava Disciplines

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After completing the Tāntrik sādhana Sri Ramakrishna followed the Brāhmani in the disciplines of Vaishnavism.

The Vaishnavas are worshippers of Vishnu, the “All-pervading”, the Supreme God, who is also known as Hari and Nārāyana.

Ramlālā the Deity

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In 1864, a wandering Vaishnava monk named Jatādhāri came to Dakshineśwar. His Ideal Deity was Rāmā.

He always carried with him a small metal image of the Deity, which he called by the endearing name of Ramlālā, the Boy Rāmā. Toward this little image he displayed the tender affection of Kausalya for her divine Son, Rāmā.

Vedanta and Totapuri

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Shri Ramakrishna depended for three years on the Brāhmani.

But now he followed a male teacher.

Totāpuri taught the non-dualistic Vedānta philosophy to Sri Ramakrishna. This ancient Hindu system designates the Ultimate Reality as Brahman, also described as Satchidānanda.

Kāli and Māyā

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Sri Ramakrishna, like his guru Totapuri, knew that the world is illusory. But instead of slighting Māyā, like an orthodox monist, he acknowledged its power in the relative life.

He was all love and reverence for Māyā, perceiving in it a mysterious and majestic expression of Divinity. To him Māyā itself was God, for everything was God. It was one of the faces of Brahman.

Practicing Different Religions

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Islam

Toward the end of 1866 he began to practise Islām. Under the direction of his Muslim guru, he abandoned himself to his new sādhana. He dressed as a Muslim and repeated the name of Allah.

Relation with His Wife

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In 1872, Sāradā Devi first visited her husband at Dakshineśwar. Four years earlier she had seen him at Kāmārpukur and had tasted the bliss of his divine company.

Since then she had become even more gentle, tender, introspective, serious, and unselfish.

Brāhmo Samāj Versus Ārya Samāj

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In March 1875, about a year before the death of his mother, the Master met Keshab Chandra Sen, a worthy representative of modern India.

Keshab was the leader of the Brāhmo Samāj, one of the two great movements that, during the latter part of the 19th century, played an important part in shaping the course of the renascence of India.

Keshab Chandra Sen

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Keshab Chandra Sen and Sri Ramakrishna met for the first time in the garden house of Jaygopāl Sen at Belgharia, a few miles from Dakshineśwar, where the great Brāhmo leader was staying with some of his disciples.

The Master's Yearning for His Own Devotees

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Contact with the Brahmos increased Sri Ramakrishna’s longing to encounter devotees who would be able to follow his teachings in their purest form.

“There was no limit”, he once declared, “to the longing I felt at that time. During the day-time I somehow managed to control it. The secular talk of the worldly-minded was galling to me, and I would look wistfully to the day when my own beloved companions would come.

The Future Monks

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Shri Ramakrishna taught the steep path of renunciation, both external and internal, to the young men destined to be monks.

They must take the vow of absolute continence and eschew all thought of greed and lust. By the practice of continence, aspirants develop a subtle nerve through which they understand the deeper mysteries of God.

The Monastic Disciples of Shri Ramakrishna

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Some Noted Men

Sri Ramakrishna also became acquainted with scholars and wealthy people.

He had met, a few years before, Devendranāth Tāgore, famous all over Bengāl for his wealth, scholarship, saintly character, and social position.

Narendra: Swāmi Vivekānanda

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Narendra

To spread his message around the world Sri Ramakrishna needed a strong instrument like Narendranāth Dutta, Swāmi Vivekānanda.

Even before meeting Narendranāth, the Master had seen him in a vision as a sage, immersed in the meditation of the Absolute, who at Sri Ramakrishna’s request had agreed to take human birth to assist him in his work.

The Other Disciples

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Tārak

Others destined to be monastic disciples of Sri Ramakrishna came to Dakshineśwar. Tāraknāth Ghoshāl had felt from his boyhood the noble desire to realize God. Keshab and the Brāhmo Samāj had attracted him but proved inadequate.

Female Devotees

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Sri Ramakrishna himself embodied the tender traits of a woman.

His female devotees often said: “We seldom looked on Sri Ramakrishna as a male, but as one of us. We never felt any constraint before him, He was our best confidant.”

Moved to Śyāmpukur

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In the beginning of September 1885 Sri Ramakrishna was moved to Śyāmpukur.

Here Narendra organized the young disciples to attend the Master day and night.

At first, they concealed the Master’s illness from their guardians; but when it became more serious they remained with him almost constantly, sweeping aside the objections of their relatives and devoting themselves whole-heartedly to the nursing of their beloved guru.