Sri Ramakrishna
“God can be realized through all paths. All religions are true.”
- Sri Ramakrishna
In Sri Ramakrishna, one finds the core of the spiritual realizations of India’s seers and sages. Throughout his God-intoxicated life, Sri Ramakrishna lived and taught that God-realization is not the monopoly of any particular age, country, or people. Seekers of all religions are drawn to his life and teachings.
Sri Ramakrishna was born on February 18, 1836 in Kamarpukur, a rural village in Bengal, to a poor, respected Brahmin family. Even as a boy, Ramakrishna (named Gadadhar as a child) gravitated towards leading a spiritual life. He served holy people and listened absorbedly to their discourses.
Talented in singing and painting, he displayed little interest in formal schooling and worldly affairs, later explaining that he was not interested in a “bread-winning education.”
When, as a young man, he became the priest of Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Ramakrishna immersed himself in meditation and spiritual practices. During this time, Ramakrishna’s family thought that marriage would serve to balance his intense spiritual emotions. They married him, per cultural tradition, to a young girl, Saradamani Mukherjee. Ramakrishna was not affected and plunged into even more intense sadhana (spiritual practice). Under the guidance of several Gurus, he practiced many of the spiritual paths described in the Hindu scriptures, ultimately realizing God through each path. The first Guru to arrive at Dakshineswar was an ascetic woman known as Bhairavi Brahmani. An advanced spiritual adept, she was well versed in scriptures. Under her guidance, Sri Ramakrishna practiced various difficult disciplines of Tantra and realized God through all of them. Three years later, with the help of another Guru, the wandering monk Totapuri, Sri Ramakrishna practice the Vedantic path and attained Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the highest spiritual experience mentioned in the Hindu scriptures.
Ramakrishna broke the frontiers of Hinduism, following the paths of Islam and Christianity, and quickly attained the highest realization through each tradition. He perceived Jesus and Buddha as the incarnations of God and venerated the ten Sikh Gurus. He expressed the essence of his spiritual realizations in a simple dictum: “Yato mat, tato path," ("As many faiths, so many paths"). He lived in an exalted state of consciousness in which he saw God in all beings.
By the time his bride joined him, Ramakrishna had already embraced the monastic life of a sannyasi; as a result, the marriage was never consummated on the physical plane. Sri Ramakrishna trained Sarada Devi in all aspects of righteous life with special emphasis on spiritual life. Ramakrishna worshiped her as the Divine Mother. As ordained by providence, Sarada Devi became the Holy Mother, residing in the same spiritual plane as Sri Ramakrishna.
As word spread of Ramakrishna’s illumination, spiritual aspirants began to arrive. Many great scholars and holy people were amazed to find that although he had no formal education, Ramakrishna understood the scriptures perfectly. He taught householders how to realize God while living in the world and fulfilling their family duties. He also trained a group of devoted and well-educated Bengali youths to become monks and to be the torchbearers of his message. The foremost of them was Swami Vivekananda, who went on to spread the universal message of Vedanta around the world, revitalize Hinduism, and awaken the soul of India.
Sri Ramakrishna neither wrote books nor delivered public lectures. He spoke in a simple and succinct manner, vividly illustrating his teachings with metaphors, parables, and through his own example. One of Sri Ramakrishna’s householder-disciples, Mahendranath Gupta, took notes of the conversations with Sri Ramakrishna and published them as the book, Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita in Bengali. Its English translation, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, was published in 1942. The increasing popularity of the book is a testament to Sri Ramakrishna's universal appeal and relevance.
Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, as he is now known, left his body on August 16, 1886. His worship of God through love for and selfless service towards humanity paved way to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission. May the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna continue to inspire us all.
Quotes from Sri Ramakrishna
“Truth is one; only It is called by different names."
“God can be realized through all paths. All religions are true. The important thing is to reach the roof. You can reach it by stone stairs or by wooden stairs or by bamboo steps or by a rope.”
“You should not feel that your path is the only right path and that other paths are wrong. You mustn’t bear malice toward others.”
“God laughs, ‘The whole universe belongs to Me, but they say they own this portion or that portion.’”
“Knowledge leads to unity; ignorance to diversity.”
“Women are, all of them, the veritable images of Shakti.”
“Lovers of God do not belong to any caste.”
“Unless one always speaks the truth, one cannot find God who is the soul of truth.”
“Everyone is going toward God. They will all realize Him if they have sincerity and longing of heart.
What Others Have Said
“Ramakrishna's life enables us to see God face to face. He was a living embodiment of godliness.”
—Mahatma Gandhi
“When one has reached the mountain-top, no matter from which side and by which path, one knows and understands all other paths. What is there that Ramakrishna did not know?”
—Sri Ramana Maharshi
“This highly noteworthy document [the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna] conveys the personality of a great mystic in such an intimate, direct, and almost astounding manner that to read it must be an enriching experience for any intellect which is receptive and open to all things human.”
—Thomas Mann (1929 Literature Nobel Laureate)
“It would be hard to overestimate the impact that the life, presence and teaching of Sri Ramakrishna had on the formation of the modern India we know today. It was as if the sleeping giant of Indian culture and spirituality—certainly one of the foremost cultures of the ancient world—had been re-awakened and empowered to take its rightful place in modern times.”
—Philip Glass (American music composer)
Sri Ramakrishna, the, “consummation of two thousand years of spiritual life of the three hundred million people.”
—Romain Rolland (1915 Literature Nobel Laureate)
Recommended Reading on Sri Ramakrishna
Sri Ramakrishna: The Great Master
Sri Ramakrishna: A Prophet for the New Age
Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play