SRI RAMAKRISHNA

                    Sri RamaKrishna Paramahansa (1836-1886) was one of the very few true avatars of the modern age, who has attained salvation by the direct help of Maya; the illusory principle of supreme consciousness.

    He was an ardent believer of 'Kali' the goddess of destruction. His life is one of the very few in history, which when we we examine closely, was filled with miracles and humbleness united into one. Normally, a human mind is advised to fight out the illusory factor of the nature, but Sri Ramakrishna was able to worship with such pure heart the maya itself; so that the illusory power itself was protecting him and through it only he was able to see all the power that the supreme consciousness is all about. Because he was worshipping the purest form of the illusory power in the form of mother, he could see any feminine principle as mother goddess only and also in the enlightened form. His miracles are endless and the stories of his spiritual teachings are the best of it's kind in the modern world.

   One of his principal disciples was the famous Vivekananda, who has gained international reputation by his notable vocabulary and wonderful narrations of the defects and remedies of the modern world with its spiritual deficits.

     There are many stories of Sri Ramakrishna; about him and also the stories he has told. He was supposed to be highly allergic to money as it was one of the dirtiest illusions of Maya, and as a person who was illuminated by the pure divine energy; he couldn't touch any type of money by his hands. One day, Vivekananda who was at that time doubtful of the authenticity of his claims; hid a coin under his mattress. As Sri Ramakrishna tried to lay down on the cot, he was struck by terrible pain and on examination of the mattress, the coin was found out and Vivekananda admitted of the folly he has committed.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa - An Anthology

   "Sri Ramakrishna was born as Gadadhar Chatterjee in 1836 at Kamarpukur about sixty miles from Calcutta. His parents, Khudiram and Chandramani, were poor and made ends meet with great difficulty. The spent most of their time worshipping their family diety, Raghuvir, Whom they looked upon as their patron and protector.

 Gadadhar was pet of the whole village. He was handsome and had a natural gift for the fine arts. He, however, disliked going to school. When asked why he did not want to go to school, his reply was, "The so-called education is for earning money only; I don't care for this kind of education." He loved Nature and spent his time in fields and fruit gardens outside the village with his friends. Now and then, he went into ecstasies. A line of white cranes against black monsoon clouds, singing religious songs or acting in a religious drama sent him to ecstasies.

 Gadadhar lost his father a the age of seven. He became more serious from then on, but he did not change his ways and habits. He continued to refuse to go to school. Instead, he was seen visiting monks who stopped at his village on their way to Puri. He would serve them and listen with rapt attention to the arguments they often had among themselves over religious issues.

 Gadadhar had now attained the age when he should be invested with the sacred thread. When arrangements were nearly complete for this, Gadadhar declared that he would have his first alms as a brahmin from a certain Sudra women of the village. This was something unheard of! Tradition required that it should be a brahmin and not a Sudra who would give him the first alms. This was pointed out, but he was adamant. He said he had given his word to the lady and if he did not keep his word, what sort of brahmin would he be then? No argument, no appeal, no amount of tears could budge him from his position. Finally, Ramkumar his eldest brother and now the head of family, had to give in.

 Meanwhile, the family's financial position worsened everyday. Ramkumar ran a Sanskrit school in Calcutta and also served as priest for some families. His earnings were pitifully small and he was unable to send money home regularly. He decided to bring Gadadhar to Calcutta. His plan was to try to make him study Sanskrit. Perhaps he could also do some priestly work and make some money of his own. Gadadhar arrived but he lost no time in making it clear that he was not going to study. He, However, did not mind doing some priestly work, not for money but for the pleasure of it.

 About this time, a rich women of Calcutta, Rani Rashmoni, founded a temple at Dakshineswar. She approached Ramkumar to serve as priest at the Temple of Kali and Ramkumar agreed. After some persuasion, Gadadhar agreed to decorate the deity. When Ramkumar retired, Gadadhar took his place as priest.

 When He started worshipping Mother Kali, he began to ask himself if he was worshipping a living Goddess, why should she not respond to his worship? This question nagged him day and night. Then, he began to pray to Kali, 'Mother, you've been gracious to many devotees, in the past and have revealed yourself to them. Why would you not reveal yourself to me, also? Am I not also your son?' He would weep bitterly and sometimes even cry out loudly while worshipping. At night, he would go into a near-by jungle and spend the whole night praying. One day he was so impatient to see Mother Kali that he decided to end his life. He seized a sword hanging on the wall and was about to strike himself with it when he saw light issuing from the deity in waves and he was soon overwhelmed by those waves. He then fell down unconscious on the floor.

 He prayed to Mother Kali for more religious experiences. He specially wanted to know the truths over religious systems taught. Ramakrishna then entered upon a period of Twelve Years, during which he went through very elaborate spiritual disciplines. Strangely enough, teachers of those systems arrived as and when necessary as if directed by some invisible power. One of those teachers was a wandering monk named Totapuri, and it was he that eventually contributed to the unfolding of the Awakening experience in Ramakrishna."

 Based upon Book 'The Ramakrishna Movement' published by  The Ramakrishna Mission