Ramakrishna Paramahangsa

Ramakrishna or Gadadhar Chattopadhyay was born in the age British Imperialism on 18th Feb 1836, in the village of Kamarpukur of Hooghly district of West Bengal into a very poor but pious and orthodox Brahmin family.His parents were Kshudiram Chattopadhyay and Chandramani Devi. both of them  supposed  to be experienced supernatural dreams.

Father of Sri Ramakrishna, was a devout Brahmin. Raghubira and Sitala Devi were his house hold deities, and he worshipped them daily with great devotion. They were very near and dear to him.
Khudiram could even see Sitala Devi as a living being. In the morning when he went to the garden to collect flowers for worship, he often saw Sitala Devi as a little girl moving about with him. Sometimes she held down a branch to help him pluck the flowers easily.
Chandramani, also known as Chandra Devi, was Sri Ramakrishna’s mother. She also was simple and open-hearted like Khudiram. She too saw Brahma, Lakshmi Devi and many other gods and goddesses and even talked with them. God comes to the abode of those who are simple, pious and large-hearted.
Sri Ramakrishna said: Nanda Ghosh and Dasaratha were so simple; that is why God came to them as their sons—in the form of Krishna and Rama.
One can see God and talk with Him. He shows himself to those who are simple and large-hearted and love Him with all their soul. As Rama, as Krishna, as Kali or as Sitala Devi— God appears in whatever form one thinks of and wants to see Him


Ramakrishna attended a village school with some regularity upto his age of tweelve but did not  proceed further on the ground that he was not interested in bread-winning education. But acquired sound knowledge in Puranas, Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Bhagavat  Puranas. He could read and write in Bengali.

Narendranath and Ramakrishna (contd-3)

Narendranath paid his third visitto Dakshineswarprobably in mid Jan 1882. Ramakrishna took him for a walk to the adjacent garden of Jadunath Mallik. After a stroll hey went inside the Mallik's house  and sat down in the parlor.
Sri Ramakrishna went into a trance and touched Naren who became unconscious.
Rama krishna said, " I put several questions to him while he was in that state. I asked him about his antecedents and where he lived, his mission in this world and the duration of his mortal life.
He dived deep into himself and gave fitting answer to this question.

They only confirmed what I had seen and inferred about him. Those things shall be a secret, but I came to know that he was a sage who had attained perfection, a past master in meditation, and that the day he knew his real nature, he would give up the body through Yoga, by an act of will."

Naren was said to not remember anything of his unconscious state, but when he came to, he saw the Master stroking his chest.

Narendranath and Ramkrishna (contd-2)

Being dis-collegiate in the prestigious college, Presidency College, he was studying in General Assemblies Institution at present Scottish Church College and studying B.A. after passing FA examination in 1881 when he met Sri Ramakrishna. he was particularly fascinated by the secrets of God's creation though he studied History, Science and Western Philosophy. As he advanced in his studies he became more rational than emotional and wanted to realize the Truth rationally.

Ramakrishna was a priest in the temple of Goddess Kali at Dakshineswar.. He was not a scholar but he was a great devotee and had realized God. Scholars who went to him became his disciples. On listening the song sung by Naren he went into a trance. After some time he took Narendra into a room. He patted Narendra on the backand said, " My child, why are you so late ? I have grown weary, waiting for you all these days. I wanted to share my experiences with the right person. You are not an ordinary man.You are lord Vishnu in human form.Do you know how much I have been craving for you ?" and he broke down.
Narendra became astonished with hi behavior.Ramakrishna asked, "Will you come again ? Promise me you will."
Narendra was eager to escape but said, " yes.", and asked him, "Have you seen God ?"
Ramakrishna replied, Ofcourse , I have. I have seen him , just as I am seeing you>I have even talked to him. I can show Him to you. But who is yearning to see God?"  Narendra said to himself, " Till today no one told me he had seen god. This man looks mentally deranged.; Possibly he  is even mad. However, it i  not proper to judge without investigation."
Naren's second visit with Ramakrishna;
A month later Narendra came to Dakshineswar alone. Ramakrishna was resting on a cot in his room. He was pleased to see Narendra and asked him to sit on his cot. He went into a trance and put his leg on Narendra's lap.  Narendra forgot the outer world . He felt that he was dissolving. He shouted , "What's this you are doing to me ? My parents are still alive. I should go back to them. " Simingly Sri Ramakrishna said, " Enough for today," and drew back his leg. Narendra became normal again.
Ramakrishna said, " A man died and became an evil spirit. Anxious to have a companion, whenever the spirit heard that someone had passed away it would at once go to that place hoping to get a companion; but everytime it returned disappointed, because the soul had been liberated through some act or other of piety . Such is case with me . As soon as I saw you, I thought I had a friend, but you too said that you had your mother and father at home ! I am therefore living alone without a companion, like the spirit in the story."
   

    

(video) Mono Cholo Nijo Niketone

(video) Narendranath and Ramakrishna (contd-1)

Sri Ramakrishna's room at Dakshineshswar (pic-1)

The western verandah of Sri Ramakrishna's
 room. ( pic-2)
 1879 after his family moved back to Calcutta, Narendra passed the entrance examination from the Presidency College, Calcutta. He subsequently studied western logic, western philosophy and history of European nations in the General Assembly's Institution (now known as the Scottish Church College). In 1881 he passed the Fine Arts examination and in 1884 he completed a Bachelor of Arts degree.
Naren's first visit at Dakshineswar with Ramkrishna in Nov 1881;
Narendra entered the room of Ramakrishna by the western door. (pic-1). He seemed careless about his body and dress, and unlike other people , not mindful of the external world. his eyes bespoke an introspective mind, as if some part of it were always concentrated on something within. Ramakrishna  became surprised to see such a spiritual soul coming from the material atmosphere of Calcutta. A mat was spread on the floor. He sat on it just near the place where the big jar containing Ganga Water was kept. The friends with whom he had come  appeared to be ordinary young menwith the usual tendencies towards enjoyment. Narendra had learnt 3/4 Bengali songs only. On asking to sing them , he sang a Brahmo song;
O my mind
Go to your own abode
in he foreign land
Of this world
Why roam uselessly
like a stranger.
He sang the song with his whole heart and put such pathos into it that Ramakrishna couldn't control himself and fell into an ecstatic mood,

Then he took leave. But after that Ramkrishna felt such a  constant agonizing desire to see him ! At times the pain would be so excruciating that he felt as if his heart were being squeezed like wet towel .and he could no longer check himself ! This stage of things continued for six months.There were other boys also and to some of them he felt greatly drawn but nothing like the way he was attached to Narendra.

( video)Narendranath and Ramakrishna

Narendra had heard of Sri Ramakrishna from Principal William Hastie of his college. One of Narendra's relatives, Dr. Ramchandra Datta suggested that Narendra should visit Dakhineshwar and meet Sri Ramakrishna. Narendra met his Master, Sri Ramakrishna at Surendranath Mitra's house where Narendra was asked to sing religious songs on a day of Sri Ramakrishna's visit there. After hearing the song, Sri Ramakrishna observed Narendra and made some inquiries about him and invited him to visit Dakshineswar. In November 1881, Narendra accompanied by Surendranath Mitra visited Sri Ramakrishna.
Difficult Situations : After a few years two events took

place which caused Narendra considerable distress. One was

 the sudden death of his father in 1884. This left the family

 penniless, and Narendra had to bear the burden of

 supporting his mother, brothers and sisters. The second

 event was the illness of Sri Ramakrishna which was

 diagnosed to be cancer of the throat. In September 1885 Sri

 Ramakrishna was moved to a house at Shyampukur, and a

 few months later to a rented villa at Cossipore. In these

 two places the young disciples nursed, headed by

 Narendranath, the Master with devoted care.  Narendra

 joined the group as its leader, in spite of his poverty at

 home and inability to find a job for himself and his family.

Narendranath as a growing youth.

About this time Narendra was urged by his father to marry, and an opportunity soon presented itself. A wealthy man, whose daughter Narendra was asked to accept as his bride, offered to defray his expenses for higher studies in England so that he might qualify himself for the much coveted Indian Civil Service. Narendra refused.Other proposal for similar nature produced no different result. Apparantly it was not his destiny to lead a family life.
Since boyhood Narendra had shown a passion for purity. Whenever his warm and youthful nature tempted him to walk into a questionable adventure, he was held back by an unseen hand.His mother had taught him the value of chastity and had made him observe it as a matter of honour, in loyalty to herself and the family tradition .But purity to Narendra was not a negative virtue , a mere abstention from carnal pleasures. To be pure, he felt, was to conserve an immense spiritual force that would later manifest itself in all the noble aspirations of life.He regarded himself as a brahmcharin, a celibate student of the Hindu tradition, who worked hard, prized ascetic disciples, held holy things in reverence, and enjoyed clean  words, thoughts, and acts. For according to the Hindu scriptures, a man, by means of purity, which is the greatest of all virtues, can experience the subtlest spiritual perceptions . Naren  accounted for the greatest power of concentration, memory, and insight, and for his indomitable mental energy and physical stigma.    

Aggressive Goodness

A characteristic of Narendranath was his solicitude for others. For instance, it was customary in those days for the General Assembly's Institution to help those who, for lack of funds, could not pay the required fees; there was also provision for exemption from college dues in special cases. But the need of an applicant for funds or for exemption had to be substantiated before his name could be put on the free list. Rajkumar, a senior clerk, was in charge of making decisions in such matters. Now, it so happened that Haridas Chattopadhyaya, a classmate of Narendranath, was in great financial difficulty before the examination. He could not pay the accumulated college dues, nor was it easy for him to pay the examination fees. Narendranath assured his friend that he would see what could be done. 

After one or two days, when a crowd of students had assembled at the counter in Rajkumar's office to deposit dues and fees, Narendranath made his way through the crowd and said to Rajkumar, "Sir, Haridas is incapable of paying his dues. Will you kindly exempt him? If you send him up for the examination he will pass with credit; otherwise he will be undone." "Your presumptuous recommendation is uncalled for", said Rajkumar; "you had better 'oil your own machine'! I won't send him up unless he pays his dues." Thus rebuffed Narendranath left the place, and his friend was naturally disappointed. But Narendranath consoled him saying, "Why are you giving way to despair? The old man is in the habit of giving such rebuffs. I tell you, I shall find a way out for you; so be at rest." 

After college hours, instead of returning home, Narendranath searched out the opium-smoking den to which Rajkumar usually resorted. As the darkness of the evening gathered, sure enough, Rajkumar was espied stealthily advancing towards the den. With surprising suddenness Narendranath presented himself before the old man and stood in his way. Rajkumar, though puzzled at the sight of Narendranath at such a place and time, kept his nerve and said as calmly as he could, "What's the matter, Datta? You are here!" Narendranath again presented his plea on behalf of Haridas, and added that, if the request were ignored, he would publicize in the college Rajkumar's frequenting the opium-smoking den. "Well, my dear, why are you so angry?" said the old man: "What you want will be done. Can I ever ignore your request?" And he conceded that the arrears of the college dues of Haridas would be remitted, but he would be required to pay the examination fees. Narendranath agreed to this and took leave of him. 

Early next morning, before sunrise, Narendranath went to Haridas's house and after knocking at the door sang the song:

In this pure pellucid dawn,
Meditate on Brahman of incomparable glory.
Behold the newly risen sun,
The light of its lovely face
Showing on the mountain top.
The sweet breeze blowing on this auspicious day
Pours nectar while singing His glory.
Let us all go to the abode of God
With offerings of love in our hearts.

Then he said to Haridas, "Come, be of good cheer, your work is done. You will not have to pay the college dues." And he narrated the incident of the previous evening with all his mimicry and dramatic skill and raised a storm of laughter. 

A friend of Narendranath's refers to him in a manner that gives one an insight into the nature of the feelings that all his friends bore for him at this time: 

It was delightful to listen to him. His voice was like music to us. We would often open a subject for discussion just for the pleasure of hearing him. He was so interesting and, above all, so original. We learned much from listening to him. Did anyone oppose him, however, he would fall upon him with all his power of thought and language, and would vanquish the opponent in no time. Even in those days he detested any sort of weakness. He was a great admirer of Napoleon and tried to impress upon us that the followers of any great cause must give the unquestioning obedience which Marshal Ney showed to his emperor.