Ramakrishna Paramahansa

Early Life

On 18 February, 1836, a child was born at Kamarpukur near Calcutta, in Bengal. This divine child was destined to return to Hinduism the glory it had enjoyed before the foreign conquest of India.

The child was named Gadadhar. He later grew to become Sri Ramakrishna, who was described by Romain Rolland as “the perfection of two thousand years of the spiritual life of three hundred million people”.

As a child, Sri Ramakrishna showed wonderful qualities of purity and love. He loved the company of Sadhus. When he was nineteen, his elder brother, Ramkumar, appointed him priest of the Kali temple at Dakshineshwar. It was the duty of the young priest to dress and decorate the image of the Divine Mother, Kali. His love for the Mother began to grow beyond all bounds. To him, She alone was real and the world became a mere shadow. He poured his soul into his daily worship, and longed to obtain a vision of the Mother of the universe.

Sometimes, in agony he would rub his face against the ground and weep bitterly. Such was his longing to obtain Her vision. He reached a point when his agony was so great that life held no more meaning for him. It was then that he had his first vision of the Divine Mother. Thereafter, he would see the form of the Divine Mother often and get Her instructions and guidance.

Devotee of Kali

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa lived as a very intense devotee for most of his life. He was a devotee of Kali. For him, Kali was not a deity, Kali was a living reality. She danced in front of him, she ate from his own hands, she came when he called, and she left him dripping with ecstasy. This was real, it was actually happening. This was not a hallucination, he was actually feeding her.

Ramakrishna’s consciousness was so crystallized that whatever form he wished became a reality for him. It is such a beautiful state for a human being to be in. But though Ramakrishna’s body, mind and emotion were dripping with ecstasy, his being was longing to go beyond this ecstasy. Somewhere there was an awareness that the ecstasy itself was a bondage.

His Spriritual Guide- Yogi Totapuri

Sri Ramakrishna was initiated into Vedantic meditation by Totapuri, a reputed monk who attained oneness with God after forty years of penance. Such was the devotion of Sri Ramakrishna that, to the amazement of his Guru, he attained in one day, what the Guru took forty years to achieve! In his very first sitting, he remained absorbed in the state of Samadhi or God-vision for three days! That is when he truly became a Paramahamsa, he became fully enlightened. He then lost himself into Samadhi.

Sri Ramakrishna was unique in every respect. He explored each of the world’s great religions and found that he could have the vision of God by following any one of their paths. He could neither read nor write, yet he soon knew the basic teachings of all the sects of Hinduism.

His Mission of Spiritual Exploration

Sri Ramakrishna’s new mission required that he carry out spiritual exploration. Sri Ramakrishna did this in a manner never attempted before by exploring other faiths. He got initiated into Islam and became a practicing Muslim. He completely banished all Hindu ideas and found no inclination to even visit his favorite Kali temple. After three days he had a vision that convinced him that Islam was an authentic way of attaining Brahman. Seven years later he did a similar experiment with Christianity that once again culminated in a vision that proved to him the authenticity of the Christian path. Sri Ramakrishna similarly spoke highly of the Buddhist, Sikh, and the Jain faith.

During this period Sri Ramakrishna also went on a pilgrimage to many holy sites and met some of the most extraordinary spiritual masters belonging to different Hindu sects. After this period of exploration he came to the conclusion that the different Hindu Sects and the different faiths were all authentic but different paths to the same God. He used to say to his disciples, “I have practiced three religions- Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity. And I have also followed the paths of different Hindu sects. I have found that it is the same God towards whom all are directing their steps, though along different path. It is as if a tank of water has many different sides. From one side the Hindus draw water and call it “jal”. From another side the Mohammedans draw water and call it “pani”, and from yet another side the Christians call it “water”. Can we imagine that water is not “jal”, but only “pani” or “water”? How absurd! The substance is One under different names, and everyone is seeking the same Substance.”

His Daring Experiments

It is unheard for a spiritual stalwart of Sri Ramakrishna’s caliber, belonging to one faith, to have embraced another faith so completely. Not only Sri Ramakrishna do it once but he did it twice. It is indeed unprecedented in the annals of religious history that such a daring experiment was ever carried out. Sri Ramakrishna, having done this experiment, was able to speak not just from an intellectual level but also from a very direct experiential level. His message of unity is hence most extraordinary and authentic. It laid down the groundwork not only of a modern secular India, but also puts forth an extraordinary vision of co-existence of faiths that is yet unfolding before our eyes. It is because of Sri Ramakrishna’s vision that orthodox Hindus have subsequently felt liberty to take the message of Yoga and universalize it so that it can be adopted by all faiths. If your life has been touched by Yoga then you are the direct beneficiary of Sri Ramakrishna’s extraordinary message. If our children and grandchildren will not be involved in religious wars and choose instead to coexist with other faiths it will be because the echo of Sri Ramakrishna’s voice will be still reverberating in their lives.

Global Exploration of Spirituality

Having a vision is one thing, but getting it across to every corner of the earth is quite another. Sri Ramakrishna knew that he needed disciples to carry forth his message. A new chapter now began in his life as he earnestly sought disciples. Sri Ramakrishna was now burning with a tremendous desire to meet his disciples.

Soon the disciples started trickling in. What started first as a trickle slowly turned into a torrent. Sri Ramakrishna now devoted his complete energy in meeting them, teaching them and a select few he inducted them into the monastic order and started providing them with advanced spiritual training. What was extraordinary was that Sri Ramakrishna accepted all kinds of disciples. He had disciples who were householders and bachelors. He had disciples from all castes and many different faiths. He also accepted women as his disciples.

Many of his disciples would go on to become spiritual stalwarts in their own right. The brightest star amongst them all was Sri Ramakrishna’s chosen disciple who came to be known as Swami Vivekananda. It is said that Sri Ramakrishna transmitted his full spiritual powers to Swami Vivekananda just before his passing.

His message to the World

Swami Vivekananda brought Sri Ramakrishna’s message of spiritual unity to the west. He also laid down the path for opening up the west to the message of yoga. In his footsteps followed many other spiritual teachers and the trickle of gurus coming to the west from the east has now turned into a torrent. The message of yoga and the message of spiritual unity of all faiths are now burning brightly and the light of this message is illuminating the lives of millions of people.

In the successful adoption of the message of Sri Ramakrishna in our lives lies the key to our future and the future of our children. The final phase of Sri Ramakrishna’s life is still unfolding before us. If we manage to coexist and live in peace and harmony in spite of our different faiths and practices, then Sri Ramakrishna’s mission would have been fulfilled.

All for a Single piece of Lion Cloth

Once a sage under the instruction of his Guru built for himself a small shed, thatched with leaves at a distance from the haunts of men. He began his devotional exercises in this hut. Now, every morning after ablution he would hang his wet cloth and the kaupina (loin-cloth) on a tree close to the hut, to dry them.

One day on his return from the neighbouring village, which he would visit to beg for his daily food, he found that the rats had cut holes in his kaupina. So the next day he was obliged to go to the village for a fresh one. A few days later, the sadhu spread his loin-cloth on the roof of his hut to dry it and then went to the village to beg as usual. On his return he found that the rats had torn it into shreds. He felt much annoyed and thought within himself “Where shall I go again to beg for a rag? Whom shall I ask for one?”

All the same he saw the villagers the next day and re-presented to them the mischief done by the rats. Having heard all he had to say, the villagers said, “Who will keep you supplied with cloth every day? Just do one thing – keep a cat; it will keep away the rats.” The sadhu forthwith secured a kitten in the village and carried it to his hut. From that day the rats ceased to trouble him and there was no end to his joy.

 The sadhu now began to tend the useful little creature with great care and feed it on the milk begged from the village. After some days, a villager said to him: “O Sage, you require milk every day; you can supply your want for a few days at most by begging; who will supply you with milk all the year round? Just do one thing – keep a cow. You can satisfy your own creature comforts by drinking its milk and you can also give some to your cat.” In a few days the sadhu procured a milch cow and had no occasion to beg for milk any more.

 By and by, the Sage found it necessary to beg for straw for his cow. He had to visit the neighbouring villages for the purpose, but the villagers said, “There are lots of uncultivated lands close to your hut; just cultivate the land and you shall not have to beg for straw for your cow.” Guided by their advice, the sage took to tilling the land. Gradually he had to engage some labourers and later on found it necessary to build barns to store the crop in. Thus he became, in course of time, a sort of landlord. 

And, at last he had to marry and take a wife to look after his big household. He now passed his days just like a busy householder.

After some time, his Guru came to see him. Finding himself surrounded by goods and chattels, the Guru felt puzzled and enquired of a servant, “An ascetic used to live here in a hut; can you tell me where he has removed himself?”

The servant did not know what to say in reply. So the Guru ventured to enter into the house, where he met his disciple. The Guru said to him, “My son, what is all this?”

The disciple, in great shame fell at the feet of his Guru and said,

“My Lord, all for a single piece of loin-cloth!”

The Shawl

A rich lady called Rani Rasmani had built a temple for Kali Mata in Dakshineshwar, outside the city of Kolkata. Rani Rasmani and her son-­in­-law, Mathur Babu, noticed Gadadhar’s love for God. Hence, they asked Him to be the priest of that temple, and so Gadadhar moved to Dakshineshwar. He was often seen absorbed in worshipping Mother Kali without any thought about the outside world.

Once Mathur Babu presented Sri Ramakrishna with a beautiful shawl. Sri Ramakrishna was not interested in any such things, He was only interested in God. But since Mathur Babu had given it with so much love, Sri Ramakrishna took it. After looking at it from all angles, he put it on. In a few moments, he began thinking:

'What is so special about this shawl? This expensive shawl does not provide me with real comfort or happiness. Instead it takes me my thoughts away from God and makes me think about it.'

Then He took a matchstick and set one end of the shawl on fire. The shawl got half­ burned and looked quite bad. Ramakrishna said:

'There! This looks fine. Now the shawl is not beautiful nor worth anything. Now I do not have to worry about taking care of it. Now I can spend my time repeating (chanting) God’s Name.'

The Scorpion

Once Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was walking along with some of his disciples across the river. He saw a scorpion floating on the surface in the river, struggling to survive; it must have been struggling there for some time, so it was trying to get out of there desperately, but in vain, as it was not able to successfully cross the river. Scorpions cannot swim and he knew that if he did not save the scorpion, it would get drowned.

When Ramakrishna saw this little creature struggling so hard, his heart melted, he ran into the water and therefore, carefully picking up the scorpion, the Ramakrishna rescued it from drowning and was just about to set it down gently on land, the scorpion which was already scared to death stung him in its fear.

Ramakrishna suddenly shook his hand in pain and dropped the scorpion. The scorpion fell back into the river and once again started to swim desperately.

 As soon as the Ramakrishna regained his composure from the sting, he again lifted the scorpion out of the water. Again, before he could set the scorpion safely on land, the creature stung him.

This drama went on for several minutes as the Ramakrishna continued to try to save the life of the drowning scorpion and the scorpion continued to sting his savior’s hand before reaching the freedom of the riverbank. One of the disciples who was watching all this happening asked his Guru:

'O Master, Forgive me for my frankness, but it is clear that the scorpion is simply going to continue to sting you each and every time you try to carry it to safety. Why don’t you give up and just let it drown?'

 Then Ramakrishna replied:

'My dear child, the scorpion is not stinging me out of malice or evil intent. Just as it is the water’s nature to make me wet, so it is the scorpion’s nature to sting. He doesn’t realize that I am carrying him to safety. That is a level of conscious comprehension greater than what his brain can achieve.

But, just as it is the scorpion’s nature to sting, so it is my nature to save. Just as he is not leaving his nature, Why should I leave my nature? My duty is to help any creature of any kind – human or animal. Why should I let a small scorpion rob me of the divine nature which I have cultivated through years of Sadhana (meditation)?'