SRI RAMAKRISHNA AND HIS SPIRITUAL TRADITION Sri Ramakrishna and His Spiritual Tradition SWAMI GOLOKANANDA t is certainly a great privilege to talk Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna came. As he about Swami Kailashanandaji Maharaj. I lived in Dakshineswar temple, he was Ijoined the Madras Math at the age of known as the Paramahamsa of twenty. I was with him for twelve years. Dakshineswar. Educated people and the Like a parent he brought me up. As I hailed great luminaries from various walks of life from a village, I could not converse in used to go there to meet him. Even English as fluently as other brahmacharins. Swamiji’s professor William Hastie had the So he taught me English though he used to occasion to know him, especially the ecstasy speak with me in Bengali also. The parents the Master used to experience now and then. bring up their children with lot of care, These people heard or read about samàdhi nourishment and affection. I received all (trance) in the poems of great poets like these things from Swami Kailashananda. Wordsworth. But here they could see the And what I am today, a member of the holy Master in trance. Maybe half of the time he Order of Sri Ramakrishna, it is all by his was in ecstasy like Sri Shuka Deva. When grace. Sri Shuka narrated the story of Bhagavan Sri You know, India was not like this a Krishna, he used to be absorbed in the hundred years ago. We were ruled by the thoughts of Sri Krishna. In the same way Sri British. Even before that, we were ruled by Ramakrishna was more or less all the time in the Mughals for about seven hundred years. ecstasy. When you read Kathàmrita (The As a result of these two foreign regimes and Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna in English), you their administration India had become will be able to see that. Maybe he was the lifeless. There was no initiative or scope for only person in the whole country at the time it. The whole nation sank in poverty and to have this uninterrupted blessed suffered from all kinds of limitations. There experience. Keshabchandra Sen and other was no hope of our coming up. And then leaders of the Brahmo Samaj used to meet dawned the renaissance from all the four him. Many dignitaries used to meet him and corners of India. The Brahmo Samaj in would have conversations with him for Bengal, the Arya Samaj in the North, the hours together. So he became very popular. Theosophical Society in the South, and the Normally, a person who gains this type Prarthana Samaj in the West—all these of acceptance from the élite and the devotees organizations worked hard to regain the remains satisfied. But Sri Ramakrishna was pristine purity of our culture and religion not. He prayed to the Divine Mother: and to remove the superstitious practices, Mother! My ears are well nigh burnt with then prevalent in our society. But the total the profane talks of the worldly people. Send impact was minimal. They could not make me some pure souls with whom I can share much headway. It was at this point my realizations. That is how Sri Bulletin of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture April 2018 15 SWAMI GOLOKANANDA Ramakrishna wanted to build up a group, a not believe in the idol worship. He did not powerful group, that yearn for spiritual believe in the Advaita philosophy either. ideals, strength and armed with the zeal to Yet, Sri Ramakrishna always said—no this renounce the world. He wanted youngsters. boy is brilliant and exceptional. He is And he prayed: Mother, send me young extraordinary. So he trained him with great people who are untouched by the evils of care and patience and instilled into worldliness. And lo and behold, young Narendranath all the great spiritual ideals. people started coming to him one by one. There were occasions when Sri There were two groups of people among Ramakrishna, in order to mould him his ardent devotees. Students still in their properly, took advantage of the distressing teens belonged to one group, while aged psychological conditions of his most householder devotees formed the other favourite disciple. group. Swamiji himself was eighteen when You all remember one such touching he met Sri Ramakrishna. They were together state of Narendranath. He was suffering with Sri Ramakrishna for about five years. bitterly after the sudden passing away of his During this time he gave his all to these father. There were lot of problems and youngsters, made them strong with the poverty at home. He tried to redeem himself realization of the Lord. They were given the from that precarious situation but he could motto of renunciation and intense not. He came to the Master and said, ‘You meditation. That was what Sri Ramakrishna must do something for me. I cannot see my advised his young disciples. He wanted to mother and brothers starving.’ Sri make them strong in their conviction, in Ramakrishna said: Okay. You do one thing. their realization so that they could become You do not accept my Mother. That is one teachers of men, gods walking on the earth problem with you. with their spiritual wealth distributing the That is to say, Sri Ramakrishna wanted same to everyone through contact, talks, and to make Narendra a wholesome personality action. That is how Sri Ramakrishna trained who would accept the idol worship and up the young tyàgis. understand the meaning of such worship. So he said: Today, now the àrati (vesper Human resource development service) is over. Mother is alone in the Sri Ramakrishna was a perfect master of temple. Go and talk to Her. Pray to her for human resource development. These the removal of poverty and your problems. youngsters were of different types. One type She will grant you whatever you ask for. was Narendranath (later Vivekananda). Narendranath, who was coming to Narendranath was brilliant. He was a Dakshineswar for two or three years, never member of the Brahmo Samaj and initially went to the temple because of his affiliation he was not willing to accept everything that with the Brahmo Samaj. This was the first the Master told him. He would examine. He time he was to go there. As a person, he was would argue. He would contradict. But Sri quite emotional. So he proceeded to the Ramakrishna would accept and appreciate temple of the universal Mother. And you all this and then bring him up, mould him in know what happened. The moment he went his own way. For example, a member of the in he saw the Mother in all Her glory— Brahmo Samaj in the beginning, he refused joyous, blissful and beckoning him. That to accept the concept of Guru. He also did was the first experience. He had not seen the 16 Bulletin of the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture April 2018 SRI RAMAKRISHNA AND HIS SPIRITUAL TRADITION idol. He saw the Mother Herself—all-loving, Mà tvam hi tàrà (‘O Mother, You are the all-powerful, all-affectionate. Naturally, he Saviour’) and Narendra went on singing that was very happy and overwhelmed. As his one song the whole night without sleeping. devotional nature got stirred up now, he Next morning he slept like a log. That is prayed to the Mother, ‘Mother! Give me how Sri Ramakrishna won him over and devotion, give me dispassion, give me removed his prejudice created by the knowledge’ and then came away. But the old Brahmo Samaj about image worship. man (Sri Ramakrishna) was waiting to see In the same way Sri Ramakrishna what had transpired between the Mother and removed all other prejudices of his disciple. He asked Narendra, ‘Did you Narendranath and also of the other disciples. pray and tell the Mother your problems?’ The Advaita philosophy was one such thing Narendra replied that he was so which Narendra refused to accept earlier. Sri overwhelmed by Her gracious presence that Ramakrishna knew the basic personality of he forgot all about his worldly problems and every disciple and so he guided each of them prayed for devotion and knowledge. He said: accordingly. Needless to say that all of them What is this! You went to the Mother for became spiritual stalwarts in time. Most of solving your problems. Go again. these young, strong and single-minded So, Narendra went to the Mother second disciples spent about five years with the time and had the same experience. Being Master. Even in that short period of time Sri overwhelmed by the effulgent presence of Ramakrishna instilled into their hearts the the Divine Mother, he prayed for devotion spirit of renunciation and made them adapts and knowledge and came away. When the in meditation. Sri Ramakrishna wanted to Master learnt that Narendranath could not build up this devoted and God-yearning tell the Mother to solve his family problems, group to defend Hinduism (Sanàtana he sent the former again to the Mother. Dharma) and India’s national culture. Narendra went but the same thing happened. Of course, another group was also there He felt ashamed to ask for the petty worldly —the householders who were perhaps about things and came back. twenty-nine in number. Each one had their The Master was waiting. When he knew own prejudices. But Sri Ramakrishna what happened, he said to this effect: I knew tenderly nourished what was good in them that. You are not born for the worldly and corrected where they did not fare well. considerations. That is not the aim of your Thus he built them up all according to their life.