LIFE & TEACHINGS OF RAMAKRISHNA PARAMAHAMSA

Ques 1 “Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s life is a story of religion in practice; and it enables us to see God face to face; he was a living embodiment of Godliness & Divinity.” Who said this? Ans 1 Mahatma Gandhi.

Ques 2 What is the meaning of the term Paramahamsa? Ans 2 Paramahamsa - The one who with his discriminatory vision discerns the soul apart from and distinct within the body, like the swan which is able to separate the milk from water and drink and enjoy the milk alone.

Ques 3 Name Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s parents. Ans 3 Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s parents were a pious Brahmin couple, Khudiram Chattopadhyaya and his wife Chandramani.

Ques 4 Answer the following questions: a) Name the village where Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s family originally lived and where did they eventually settle? b) Why did they have to move away from their ancestral village? Ans 4 a) Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s family originally lived in the village of Derepore, District Hoogly in Bengal. They eventually settled at a neighbouring village called Kamarpukur. b) Ramakrishna’s father Khudiram was once called upon by the local Zamindar to give false evidence in support of a case which the Zamindar brought against one of his tenants. The righteous Khudiram refused to do this which incurred the wrath of the unscrupulous Zamindar who falsely involved him in a prosecution, alleging that Khudiram owed him a huge sum of money. He also managed to produce false witnesses to support his fabricated allegation and thus annexed Khudiram’s lands. As a result, Khudiram was forced to leave his ancestral village and find a new home in a neighbouring village, Kamarpukur.

Ques 5 Fill in the blanks: a) Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s family deity was ______b) One day, while returning from a neighbouring village, Khudiram came into possession of the ______of his tutelary deity. Ans 5 a) Sri Ramachandra (Raghuvir). b) Emblem.

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 1 www.sssbalvikastn.org Ques 6 Name Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s elder brothers. Ans 6 Ramkumar and Rameshwar.

Ques 7 What strange vision did Ramakrishna’s mother have before his birth? Ans 7 Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s mother Chandra Devi was having lots of strange visions at Kamarpukur. One of those visions was: She was standing along with Dhani(the village blacksmith woman) before the Shiva temple adjacent to her house, and she saw a bright beam of divine effulgence dart from the image of Lord Shiva and enter her body.

Ques 8 What was Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s original name and give his date of birth. Ans 8 Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s original name was Gadadhar (named after the God of Gaya) and he was born during the early hours of the morning on 18th February 1836.

Ques 9 When did Ramakrishna Paramahamsa first lose his consciousness? Ans 9 One day in the month of Ashadha, when Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was six or seven years old, he was walking along a narrow path separating the paddy field, eating puffed rice from a basket. Looking up at the sky he saw a beautiful sombre thunder cloud. As it spread rapidly enveloping the entire horizon, a flock of snow white cranes flew overhead in front of it. This beautiful contrast sent his mind wandering off to far-off regions, lost to outward senses and he fell down. His puffed rice got scattered in different directions. That was the first time that Ramakrishna Paramahamsa completely lost consciousness in ecstasy.

Ques 10 Fill in the blank: Ramakrishna fell into a deep trance at the sight of his own make up as ______, while acting in a drama. Ans 10 Lord Siva.

Ques 11 What was enough to trigger Ramakrishna off into a trance? Ans 11 A loving thought of God or a glimpse of beauty of nature revealing the handiwork of God was enough to trigger Ramakrishna off into a trance.

Ques 12 Answer the following questions: a)After his father’s death what was the promise Ramakrishna gave to his mother? b)What was the incident that prompted his mother to extract such a promise?

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 2 www.sssbalvikastn.org Ans 12 a) Ramakrishna Paramahamsa promised his mother that he would not take to sanyasa and that he would not leave home without her permission. b) One day his mother Chandra devi was startled to find Gadadhar with his whole body smeared with ashes and wearing saffron coloured cloth around his waist, with a long stick in one hand and Kamandalu in another, looking like a real Bala sanyasi. It was then that Chandradevi, who was filled with anxiety and fear, extracted a promise from Gadadhar that he would not take to sanyasa and that he would not leave home without her permission.

Ques 13 How old was Ramakrishna Paramahamsa when he was given Gayatri Upadesh? What happened on that occasion? (OR) How did Ramakrishna Paramahamsa fulfill the promise given by him to Dhani? Ans 13 When Gadadhar was nine years old, he was invested with the holy thread, ‘Gayatri Upadesh’. With this, a man becomes reborn into spiritual life and becomes a Brahmin, which means, that he begins on the path towards realization of Brahman. At the time of the thread ceremony, instead of taking his first alms, Bhiksha, from his mother as per tradition, he accepted it from Dhani, the Sudra Blacksmith woman who had tended him with great love during his infancy. Having no child of her own, she used to love him as her own son. Gadadhar wanted to show his love towards her and give her joy, although the alms taken from her meant contravention of the time-honoured custom in a Brahmin family. True love and devotion were more important to him than social conventions. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa thus conveyed the message to the people around him that “Caste does not lie in birth but in the qualities of the heart”

Ques 14 What was Gadadhar’s hobby during his childhood? Ans 14 Apart from his spiritual obsession, Gadadhar’s hobby was to enact dramas, with his friends, on Puranic themes, at the neighbouring mango orchard on the outskirts of his village.

Ques 15a Which role did Ramakrishna Paramahamsa frequently play in the dramas? Ques 15b What happened on such occasions? Ans 15a Lord Krishna. Ans 15b Often overwhelmed with the emotion and sentiment associated with the Puranic themes of the dramas enacted, Ramakrishna would frequently fall into trances.

Ques 16 How did Ramakrishna Paramahamsa explain the trances that he fell into, whenever he and his friends enacted puranic dramas in the mango orchards of his village? Ans 16 Whenever Ramakrishna Paramahamsa fell into trances, he would explain about his experiences to his friends as: “When I intensively think of God in my heart, I feel

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 3 www.sssbalvikastn.org lose my outward consciousness and feel immen

Ques 17 Complete the sentence: Whenever Ramakrishna Paramahamsa went into a trance, his family members thought that he was ______. Ans 17 suffering from an epileptic disease.

Ques 18 What did Ramkumar do, after he shifted from his hometown to Calcutta? Ans 18 Ramkumar shifted to Calcutta where he started a Sanskrit school in the central part of the city as he needed to take care of the financial difficulties they were facing back at the village.

Ques 19 For two reasons Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was asked to join his brother Ramkumar at Calcutta. What are they? Ans 19 Ramkumar wanted Ramakrishna Paramahamsa to join him because: . Ramkumar needed assistance to cope with the growing work at school and . He was hoping that he would be able to guide Ramakrishna Paramahamsa in his studies and put him back on the right track.

Ques 20 At Calcutta what did Ramakrishna Paramahamsa do? Ans 20 At Calcutta, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa did not take any interest in studies. He performed pujas as a priest in many houses, which he was entrusted with by his brother.

Ques 21 Who said this to whom and why? “Brother what shall I do with a mere bread winning education? I would rather acquire that wisdom which will illumine my heart and with which I will be satisfied forever.” Ans 21 Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said this to Ramkumar since the latter admonished Ramakrishna Paramahamsa for not taking his studies seriously.

Ques 22 When and where was the temple of Dakshineshwar built and who built the temple? Ans 22 The temple at Dakshineshwar was built in 1847 on the eastern bank of Ganga, about 4 miles north of Calcutta. It was built by a rich widow called Rani Rasmani.

Ques 23 Name the deities installed in the Dakshineshwar temple built by Rani Rasmani.

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 4 www.sssbalvikastn.org Ans 23 Kali, Radha, Krishna and Siva (12 Shiva shrines)

Ques 24 Who was Mathur Babu and what did he persuade Ramakrishna to do? Ans 24 Mathura Nath Biswas (Mathur Babu) the son-in-law of Rani Rasmani, persuaded Ramakrishna Paramahamsa to take charge of decorating the image of Kali at the Dakshineshwar temple, with flowers, leaves and sandal paste in the morning and with costly jewellery and clothes in the evening.

Ques 25 Answer the following questions: When one leg of the image of Lord Krishna at the Radha Krishna temple at Dakshineshwar was accidentally broken, a) What was the advice given by the pundits? b) What was Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s suggestion? Ans 25 a) The pundits advised that the idol of Lord Krishna be thrown away in the Ganga and a new one be installed in its place, since tradition did not permit the worship of a broken idol. b)Ramakrishna Paramahamsa suggested that the image of Lord Krishna be repaired and worshipped as before.

Ques 26 Who initiated Ramakrishna Paramahamsa in the ritualistic temple worship? Ans 26 Kenaram Bhattacharya, a person well versed in the elaborate ritualistic temple worship of Lord Kali.

Ques 27 Who said these words and why? “Mother! Where art Thou? Reveal Thyself to me.” OR “Another day spent in vain, Mother, for I have not seen Thee! Another day of this short life has passed and I have not realized the Truth.” OR “….I felt as if my heart was being squeezed like a wet towel….” Ans 27 Ramakrishna Paramahamsa uttered these words in agony, when he had not been blessed with Mother’s vision despite his prolonged hours of meditation, night after night in the dense jungle adjoining the Kali temple at Dakshineshwar.

Ques 28 Fill in the blanks / answer the questions with reference to the following sentence: “I jumped upon it like a mad man and seized it for ending my life……” . I refers to______. It refers to ______. Why did he do so? . Did he end his life? Ans 28 . I refers to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 5 www.sssbalvikastn.org . It refers to the sword that was kept in Mother Kali’s temple. . Not being blessed with Mother Kali’s vision, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was restless and felt that his life did not seem worth living and hence he decided to seize the sword in the temple and end his life with it. . No, as the Holy Mother suddenly revealed Herself to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and he fell unconscious on the floor.

Ques 29 Who said these words and why? “…within me there was a steady flow of unalloyed bliss all together new, and I felt the presence of the divine Mother.” Ans 29 These words were uttered by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa when he was blessed with the Divine Mother’s vision for the first time.

Ques 30 Fill in the blank: Ramakrishna would feel ______on his hand while offering Naivedya or Bhoga. Ans 30 Mother’s breath.

Ques 31 Why did Ramakrishna Paramahamsa rebuke Rani Rasmani during a prayer session at the Kali temple in Dakshineshwar? Ans 31 Once Rani Rasmani requested Ramakrishna Paramahamsa to sing some prayer songs at the time of worship. Ramakrishna started to sing from the depths of his heart and slowly his whole being was filled with ecstasy. Meanwhile, Rani became absent minded thinking about some law suits of hers pending in the court. Ramakrishna suddenly stopped singing and gave her a sharp rebuke for defiling the holy precincts with worldly thoughts and desires. Thus Rani realised how omni conscious and all knowing, like the Mother, Ramakrishna had become.

Ques 32 To practice what yoga did Ramakrishna visit the cremation ground? Ans 32 Hatha yoga.

Ques 33 Once when Ramakrishna Paramahamsa tried to practice Hatha Yoga, he felt an irritating sensation in his palate and began to bleed. How did a spiritually well advanced Yogi explain this phenomenon? Ans 33 The Yogi explained that because of Ramakrishna’s Yogic practices, his Sushumna canal had opened and a quantity of blood which was rushing to the brain had fortunately made a passage through the palate as otherwise he would have entered the Jada Samadhi from which he would never have come down to the plane of ordinary consciousness. The Yogi also said that this indicated that the Divine Mother had some great mission to be performed through Ramakrishna and She had thus wanted him to remain on the threshold of relative consciousness and fulfill the

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 6 www.sssbalvikastn.org divine mission.

Ques 34 Answer the following questions: a)Name the bhava of Hanuman towards Rama? b)What happened to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa when he adopted this Bhava? Ans 34 a)Dasya bhava. b)When Ramakrishna adopted the Dasya Bhava, he totally identified himself with Hanuman and changed his habits also from that of a man to a “monkey”, living on nuts and fruits and climbing trees and even jumping from branch to branch. And as a result of this Sadhana, he had a vision of Mother Sita. The luminous form then entered his body. Thereafter he had the vision of Sri Rama himself.

Ques 35 Answer the following questions: a) Why did Ramakrishna’s family want to get him married? b) Were they initially successful in their endeavour? c) What was the solution offered by Ramakrishna in this matter? Ans 35 a)Ramakrishna had turned 25 years of age and his mother & brother Rameshwar thought that the best means to get him interested in worldly life would be to get him married and hence began to search for a suitable bride for him. b) No – as, no one was willing to offer their daughter in marriage to an apparently ‘mad chap’ and hence Ramakrishna’s mother was dejected and depressed. c) Moved by his mother’s anxiety and worry about his marriage, Ramakrishna suggested that she go to Jayarambati, where she would find the bride reserved by providence for him in the house of Ramachandra Mukhopadhyaya.

Ques 36 Answer the following questions: a) Name Sarada Devi’s father. b) From which village did Sarada Devi hail? Ans 36 a)Ramachandra Mukhopadhyaya. b)Jayarambati.

Ques 37 When Ramakrishna and Sarada Devi were married how old were they? Ans 37 Ramakrishna was 25 years old and Sarada Devi was 6 years old when they were married.

Ques 38 Who guided Ramakrishna Paramahamsa in the path of Tantric sadhana? Ans 38 Bhairavi Brahmani.

Ques 39 Who said this to whom? “My son, you are here. I have been searching for you so

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 7 www.sssbalvikastn.org long and now I have found you…..” Ans 39 Brahmani Bhairavi to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.

Ques 40 Fill in the blanks: Brahmani Bhairavi was well versed in ______& ______literature and their spiritual practices. Ans 40 Vaishnava and Tantric.

Ques 41 Who were the two people appointed as judges to prove that Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was in a Maha Bhava state? Ans 41 Vaishnava Charan, one of the leaders of Vaishnava society and an authority in Vaishnava philosophy and Gaurikant Tarakbhushan, a renowned authority in Tantric school were invited as judges.

Ques 42 Who said this to whom? “You are that mine of spiritual power, only a small fraction of which appears in the world from time to time in the form of incarnations.” Ans 42 Vaishnava charan and Gaurikant Tarakbhushan, well renowned authorities in Vaishanva philosophy and in Tantric school respectively, said this to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, when they tested Ramakrishna in order to prove to people that he was actually in a Maha Bhava state (state of spiritual ecstasy) and that he was not mentally deranged.

Ques 43 a)Who gave Ram Lala to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa? (OR) b)Name the ardent devotee of child god Rama (Ram Lala) and what did he give to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa? Ans 43 a)Jatadhari, a great Vaishnavite devotee gave Ram Lala to Ramakrishna. b)Jatadhari, a great Vaishnavite devotee and an ardent devotee of child-god Rama, gave the image of Ram Lala to Ramakrishna.

Ques 44 “Ram Lala tells me that he will not come with me and will stay behind with you.” Who said this to whom and why? Ans 44 Jatadhari, a great Vaishnavite devotee, said these words to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, because he was totally anguished when Rama Lala (the image of child-god Rama) wanted to stay back at Dakshineshwar with Ramakrishna, instead of accompanying Jatadhari at the time of his leaving Dakshineshwar.

Ques 45 How did Jatadhari console himself after leaving Ram Lala with Ramakrishna?

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 8 www.sssbalvikastn.org Ans 45 Jatadhari was in tears when he left his dear Ram Lala behind with Ramakrishna but consoled himself stating that Ram Lala would be happy in Ramakrishna’s company.

Ques 46 Fill in the blanks: a. Through the Dasya Bhava, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa had the vision of______. b. Through Vatsalya Bhava, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa had the vision of ______. c. Through the Sakhya Bhava, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa had the vision of ______. d. Through the Vaishnava Sadhana, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa identified himself with ______and had the vision of ______. Ans 46 a. Mother Sita and Lord Rama b. Child Rama (Ramlala) c. Lord Krishna d. Radha & Lord Krishna.

Ques 47 Answer the following questions: a) How did Ramakrishna Paramahamsa dress himself up when he practised Vaishnava Sadhana? b)Why did he do so? Ans 47 a) When Ramakrishna started practising Vaishnava sadhana, he used to dress himself up as Radha and live in the company of women as one among them. b) He did so to get the vision of Lord Krishna.

Ques 48 What is the highest step of Advaitic philosophy called? Ans 48 Nirvikalpa Samadhi.

Ques 49 Who initiated Ramakrishna into Advaitic sadhana and Vedantic teachings? Ans 49 Totapuri, an itinerant monk who had come to Dakshineshwar initiated Ramakrishna into Advaitic philosophy and Vedantic teachings.

Ques 50 Fill in the blank: ______was a great Jnana Yogi, adept not only in the philosophy of Advaita but also in its practical realization. Ans 50 Totapuri.

Ques 51 “Would you like to learn Vedanta?” Who said this to whom and what was the reply?

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 9 www.sssbalvikastn.org Ans 51 Totapuri put forth this question to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa who replied that only if the Holy Mother approves of it, he would study Vedanta.

Ques 52 Fill in the blanks with reference to the following sentence: “Yes, my child, go and learn from him; it is for this purpose I brought him to you” . ‘I’ refers to ______. ‘My child’ refers to ______. ‘Him’ refers to ______. ‘this purpose’ refers to______Ans 52 . ‘I’ refers to Divine Mother Kali. . ‘My child’ refers to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. . ‘Him’ refers to Totapuri. . Totapuri wanted to teach Vedanta to Ramakrishna; however Ramakrishna wanted to seek the Holy Mother’s approval before studying under the tutelage of Totapuri. So when he sought Divine Mother’s permission, she said the above words to Ramakrishna and stated that it was for the purpose of teaching Advaita and Vedanta to Ramakrishna, that she had brought Totapuri to him.

Ques 53 Fill in the blanks / answer the questions with reference to the following sentence: “…..I used my discrimination as a sword and severed the form into two….” . ‘I’ refers to ______. ‘the form’ refers to ______Ans 53 . ‘I’ refers to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. . ‘the form’ refers to the form of the Divine Mother in his mind when he started meditating under the tutelage of Totapuri.

Ques 54 While learning Advaitic Sadhana from Totapuri, when Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was not able to erase the form of the Divine Mother in his mind, what did Totapuri do? Ans 54 When Totapuri, a great yogi initiated Ramakrishna into Advaitic sadhana and Vedantic teachings, Ramakrishna faced only one difficulty – he was not able to erase the form of the blissful Mother from his mind. Totapuri pressed a point between the eyebrows with a piece of glass and asked Ramakrishna to concentrate on that point. When Ramakrishna again started to meditate he used the sword of discrimination to sever the form of the Holy Mother which appeared before him, after which there was no obstruction to his mind and he lost himself in Samadhi.

Ques 55 What happened to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa on his very first day of Advaitic Sadhana and what was Totapuri’s reaction to this?

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 10 www.sssbalvikastn.org Ans 55 On on the very first day of Vedanta / Advaitic sadhana, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa straight away went into Nirvikalpa Samadhi and remained in that state for three days. Totapuri was astonished because it had taken forty years of strenuous practice to achieve it and hence he said: “Great God, it is nothing short of a miracle.”

Ques 56 Answer the questions with reference to the following sentence: “He realized that Brahman and Sakti are one and the same–two aspects of the same entity.” . In the above sentence who does ‘he’ refer to? . How did such a realization come about? Ans 56 . He refers to Totapuri, a great Jnana Yogi who was adept not only in the philosophy of Advaita but also in its practical realization. . Initially Totapuri believed that Ramakrishna’s praying to the Divine Mother was a mere superstition. However circumstances at Dakshineshwar and his actual experiences with Ramakrishna Paramahamsa compelled him to change his mind and believe in the existence of the Divine Mother. He thus realized that Brahman and Sakti are one and the same – two aspects of the same entity.

Ques 57 Who used to feed Ramakrishna when he was continuously in Samadhi as a result of his Advaitic Sadhana? Ans 57 Hriday, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s nephew.

Ques 58 Who said this to whom and when? “Remain on the threshold of relative consciousness for the sake of humanity.” Ans 58 Lord Kali said this to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, when he went into Nirvikalpa Samadhi after learning Advaitic Sadhana from Totapuri; after this, his mind gradually came down to a lower level and he gained body consciousness.

Ques 59 Who initiated Ramakrishna Paramahamsa into Islam? Ans 59 Govinda Ray, a Sufi who lived at Dakshineshwar.

Ques 60 Answer the following: a) Name some Islamic practices adopted by Ramakrishna Paramahamsa when he was initiated into Islam. b) What was the result of the above? Ans 60 a) Ramakrishna Paramahamsa used to repeat the name of Allah, wear clothes in the fashion of the Mohammedans, and perform Namaaz regularly. b) He first had the vision of Mohammed (the prophet) and then the experience of

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 11 www.sssbalvikastn.org Absolute Godhead (Allah).

Ques 61 What happened when Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was looking at the picture of Madonna with Divine child? Ans 61 When Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was looking at the picture of Madonna with the Divine child, he felt as though the images of Mary and Christ got animated and that rays of light had entered his heart. For three days he had visions of Christian church, Christian devotees and prayers, etc. On the 4th day, as he was walking in the Panchavati, he saw Christ approach and embrace him and then entering into his being.

Ques 62 Fill in the blank: When Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was walking in the Panchavati he saw ______approach him and embrace him and enter into his being. Ans 62 Jesus Christ

Ques 63 Fill in the blank: There is no difference between the doctrines of Buddha and those of ______, says Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Ans 63 Vedic Jnana Kanda(Upanishads)

Ques 64 What did Ramakrishna Paramahamsa say about the Sikh gurus? Ans 64 He said that they were all incarnations of the saintly King Janaka.

Ques 65 a. Name three systems of Indian Vedanta Philosophy b. What did Ramakrishna Paramahamsa say about these 3 systems of philosophy Ans 65 a. Dvaita, Visishtadvaita and Advaita b. He used to say that these are different stages in man’s progress towards his goal and that they are not contradictory but complementary to each other. They are suited to different mental outlooks and to different stages of psychological development of men.

Ques 66 Explain how Ramakrishna Paramahamsa preached Unity of Religions through the example of water. Ans 66 Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said: “The tank has several ghats; Hindus draw water from it and call it Jal, Mohammedans draw water in leather bags and call it pani; the Christians call it water. The Substance is One with different names and everyone is seeking the same substance. Every religion of the world is such a ghat. If one goes with a sincere and earnest heart directly to any of these ghats, one is

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 12 www.sssbalvikastn.org bound to obtain the water of Eternal Bliss.”

Ques 67 Fill in the blanks: “The Advaita is the last word in realization, it is something to be felt in ______for it transcends mind and speech” said Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Ans 67 Samadhi.

Ques 68 Fill in the blanks: a. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was married to ______. b. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa worshipped her as an embodiment of ______. Ans 68 a. Sarada Devi. b. Shakti or the Divine Mother Kali.

Ques 69 Fill in the blank: Ramakrishna Paramahamsa performed the Shodasi Puja for ______, in the place of Mother Kali. Ans 69 Sarada Devi.

Ques 70 Fill in the blanks: a. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was revered as Avatara ______and Sarada Devi as Avatara ______b. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa had become ______and Sarada Devi had become ______Ans 70 a. Purusha, Shakthi b. Jagathpitha, Jaganmatha

Ques 71 Name a few disciples of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Ans 71 Vivekananda, Premananda, Brahmananda, Niranjanananda.

Ques 72 Fill in the blanks: Once, Mathur Babu, son in law of ______saw Ramakrishna Paramahamsa pacing up and down the verandah, muttering something to himself; but suddenly Mathur Babu started seeing sometimes ______, and sometimes ______and sometimes ______himself. When Mathur Babu told Ramakrishna Paramahamsa about this, he said that it was all Mother’s doing and that he was uttering ______and ______as he was walking. Ans 72 Rani Rasmani. The Divine Mother, Jatadhari Siva , Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Jai Bhairavi, Jai Mahadev

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 13 www.sssbalvikastn.org Ques 73 Who said this to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and when? “Pardon me I was blinded by my wealth and ego and arrogance. Mother has opened my eyes today.” Ans 73 Mathur Babu said this to Ramakrishna Paramahamsa when he saw the vision of the Divine Mother and Jatadhari Siva in Ramakrishna Paramahamsa himself. He had earlier doubted if Ramakrishna was really sane; but this event dispelled all his doubts and instilled in him unwavering faith.

Ques 74 Who said these words and when? “Put out the lights! Put out the lights! Don’t you see, Mother Bhavatarini is coming in and flooding the whole house with her light?Come in Ma!Come in Ma!Come in Ma!” Ans 74 These were Rani Rasmani’s last words on her death bed, before she merged with the Divine Mother.

Ques 75 According to Ramakrishna, who were Daridra narayanas and how were they required to be treated? Ans 75 According to Ramakrishna, all the poor people were Daridra narayanas and they need to be lovingly looked after, because this was indeed true worship of God

Ques 76 What did Ramakrishna Paramahamsa see at the Manikarnika Ghat at Kasi? Ans 76 At the Manikarnika Ghat at Kasi, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa saw Lord Mahadev uttering the Holy Mantra to the ears of a burning body after which the subtle body rose from the funeral pyre and Goddess Parvati helped it to rise heavenwards. (in accordance with Skanda Purana).

Ques 77 Why did Ramakrishna not want to visit Gaya as part of Mathur Babu’s pilgrimage? Ans 77 Ramakrishna had heard of his father’s vision at Gaya and felt that his mind would get permanently absorbed and merged in God there, if he visited it. He had already been convinced that he was to be an instrument of the Mother for fulfilling the mission of redemption of the people and hence dissuaded Mathur Babu in this matter.

Ques 78 Fill in the blank: Ramakrishna Paramahamsa initiated Narendra with the ______. Ans 78 When Ramakrishna Paramahamsa realised that his end on the physical plane was drawing near, he made Narendra Nath his spiritual heir and initiated him with the Mantra of Rama Nama.

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 14 www.sssbalvikastn.org Ques 79 a)Who said this to whom and when? “Today I have given all my powers to you and have become a fakir myself. Through this power you will do immense good to the world.” b) Briefly narrate the event associated with the above words. Ans 79 a) Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said this to Vivekananda, after passing on all his spiritual treasures to Narendra b) A few days before his exit from his physical plane, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa made Narendra sit before him and as he gazed at him, fell into Samadhi. Narendra felt a subtle force like an electric shock penetrating into his body. Gradually he too lost outward consciousness. When Narendra came back to normal consciousness, Ramakrishna said that he had given all his powers to Narendra and that Narendra would do immense good to the world through this power.

Ques 80 On seeing the Master suffering due to physical illness, a doubt crept into Vivekananda’s mind whether Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was really divine. How did Ramakrishna Paramahamsa clarify this? Ans 80 Ramakrishna Paramahamsa said “He who was Rama and who was Krishna is now Ramakrishna in this body, not just in the vedantic sense, but in reality.”

Ques 81 Give the date, month and year of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa passing away. Ans 81 15th August 1886

Ques 82 What were Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s final words before he left the physical plane? Ans 82 Ramakrishna Paramahamsa uttered the name “Kali” thrice before entering Maha Samadhi.

SRI SATHYA SAI BALVIKAS, TAMILNADU 15 www.sssbalvikastn.org