Swami Ramakrishnananda:His Life and Legacy

Part One

Biography

Birth and Early Life

Sri Ramakrishna was born in 1836. His arrival was a momentous event in the spiritual history of mankind and is particularly significant for India—the land soaked in spirituality and mysticism. His life was a blazing fire of spirituality that brought fresh light and hope to all seekers of God. What is more, his life of spirituality lit many lamps before disappearing from the physical, mortal plane more than a century ago.

Among the numerous lamps that Sri Ramakrishna ignited in the form of his monastic and householder disciples, Swami Ramakrishnananda was one. Affectionately known as Shashi Maharaj, Swami Ramakrishnananda was a mighty spiritual giant, a deep thinker, a living personification of guru bhakti (devotion to one’s guru), and a pioneer in spreading the message of love and God consciousness that Sri Ramakrishna embodied.

Swami Ramakrishnananda was born as Shashibhushan Chakravarty on July 13, 1863, at Ichapur in Bengal.

Shashi was born in a family of worshippers of the Divine Mother. He was the eldest son of Iswar Chandra Chakravarty (1837-1902) who was a great devotee of the Divine Mother and renowned specialist in various forms of Tantric worship and spiritual practices. Later, he played the role of a tantradharak (assistant to the worshipper) in many worships performed in Belur Math, especially during the first Durga Puja held there.

Shashi Maharaj’s mother, Bhavasundari Devi (1846-1925), was an ardent devotee of Divine Mother. Bhavasundari Devi was a guileless, pious woman.

Though not much is recorded of Shashi’s boyhood, he grew up in a spiritually enriching atmosphere. He was a strict vegetarian all through his life. ‘I was a vegetarian from my young boyhood,’ he once later recalled, ‘I read a book by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and at once I gave up all non-vegetarian food. If I found fish in the curry, I would eat dry rice and go away.’

Sri Ramakrishna

At the Feet of Sri Ramakrishna

After finishing his education in the village school, Shashi went to Calcutta for higher English education. He lived with his cousin Sharat (later, Swami Saradananda), who was almost of the same age.

He passed the Calcutta University Entrance examination, and, as he was a brilliant student, won a scholarship. He passed his First Arts examination from Albert College, then entered the Metropolitan College (now Vidyasagar College) for his B.A. His special subjects of study were Sanskrit, English literature, Mathematics and Philosophy.

During their college days, both Shashi and Sharat became members of the well-known reform movement Brahmo Samaj, and were inspired by the lectures of Keshab Chandra Sen, the great Brahmo leader. For a certain period, Shashi privately tutored Keshab’s sons.

Shashi first heard about Sri Ramakrishna from Keshab. Shashi and his friends said to each other, ‘If Keshab Chandra Sen, whom we honour so much, shows such great reverence for this Paramahamsa, there must be something extraordinary in him.’

Shashi’s spiritual yearning was growing and he looked for a guide. One day, in October 1883, Shashi, Sharat, and some of their friends went to Dakshineshwar to visit Sri Ramakrishna. They found the Master seated on his small couch. He received them cordially and asked them to sit on a mat spread on the floor. He then asked their names and where they lived, and was delighted to know that they belonged to Keshab’s Brahmo Samaj.

At the very first sight, Sri Ramakrishna recognized Shashi and Sharat as his own. Sensing their spirit of renunciation, the Master said,

‘Bricks and tiles, if burnt with the trademark on them, retain those marks forever. Similarly, you should enter the world after advancing a little in the path of spirituality. Then you will not sink in the mire of worldliness. But nowadays parents get their boys married while quite young, and thus pave the way to their ruin.’

‘Then, sir, is it wrong to marry? Is it against the will of God?’ asked one of the boys.

The Master asked him to take a certain book down from the shelf and directed him to read a particular passage that quoted Christ’s opinion of marriage,

‘For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother’s womb; there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men; and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive.’

The Master then asked him to read Saint Paul:

‘I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, it is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain let them marry: for it is better to marry than to burn.’

Someone interrupted, saying: ‘Do you mean to say, sir, that marriage is against the will of God? And how can His creation go on if people cease to marry?’ Sri Ramakrishna smiled and said: ‘Don’t worry about that. Those who wish to marry are at perfect liberty to do so. What I said just now was between us. I speak on what I have got to say; you take as much of it as you like and no more.’

Sri Ramakrishna asked Shashi whether he believed in God with form or without form. Shashi replied frankly, ‘I am not certain about the very existence of God, so I am not able to speak one way or the other!’ This simple and direct reply pleased the Master very much. When the boys took leave of him, the Master said to Shashi, ‘Please come again and alone.’

On the very first day Sri Ramakrishna recognized that Shashi and Sharat belonged to his inner circle. On 23 December 1885 the Master said to M.: ‘When God assumes a human body for the sake of His devotees, many of His devotees accompany Him to this earth. Some of them belong to the inner circle, some to the outer circle, and some become the suppliers of His physical needs. . . . The Divine Mother used to reveal to me the nature of the devotees before their coming. In a vision I saw that Shashi and Sharat had been among the followers of Christ.’ Shashi and Sharat started visiting the Master frequently and performed spiritual disciplines according to his instructions.

Sri Ramakrishna was diagnosed as having a serious throat disease and in 1885, he was moved to Shyampukur Street in Calcutta for undergoing medical treatment. After a month, on the advice of doctors, he was shifted from smoggy Calcutta to a clean, quiet country-house—Cossipore garden house.

Shashi followed the Master like a shadow. He was the very embodiment of service, and firmly believed that service to the guru was the highest form of spiritual practice. He practised no other spiritual discipline, knew no other asceticism, travelled to no holy places. Forgetting his personal comforts, he was always ready to serve the Master. His life was a glowing example of dasya bhakti (devotion with attitude of a servant). Sometimes, Shashi would fan the Master non-stop for hours. At times, the Master had to tell him, ‘Please go and eat. Now I am all right.’ Sri Ramakrishna also equally loved him and despite his illness, took great pains in moulding Shashi’s spiritual life.

Sometime in the middle of January 1886, when the elder Gopal expressed his desire to distribute twelve pieces of ochre cloth and rosaries to some monks, Sri Ramakrishna suggested to him to present these to