The Monastic Disciples of Shri Ramakrishna

Some Noted Men

Sri Ramakrishna also became acquainted with scholars and wealthy people.

He had met, a few years before, Devendranāth Tāgore, famous all over Bengāl for his wealth, scholarship, saintly character, and social position.

But the Master found him disappointing because Sri Ramakrishna expected a saint to completely renounce the world. But Devendranāth combined with his saintliness a life of enjoyment.

Sri Ramakrishna met the great poet Michael Madhusudan, who had embraced Christianity “for the sake of his stomach”. To him the Master could not impart instruction, for the Divine Mother “pressed his tongue”.

In addition he met Mahārāja Jatindra Mohan Tāgore, a titled aristocrat of Bengāl

Kristodās Pāl, the editor, social reformer, and patriot;

Iswar Chandra Vidyāsāgar, the noted philanthropist and educator;

Pundit Śaśadhar, a great champion of Hindu orthodoxy;

Aświni Kumār Dutta, a headmaster, moralist, and leader of Indian Nationalism;

Bankim Chatterji, a deputy magistrate, novelist, and essayist, and one of the fashioners of modern Bengāli prose.

Sri Ramakrishna was not dazzled by outward show, glory, or eloquence.

A pundit without discrimination he regarded as a mere straw. He would search people’s hearts for the light of God, and if that was missing, he would have nothing to do with them.

Kristodās Pāl

The Europeanized Kristodās Pāl did not approve of the Master’s emphasis on renunciation and said:

“Sir, this cant of renunciation has almost ruined India. This is why the Indians are a subject nation today. Doing good to others, bringing education to the door of the ignorant, and above all, improving the material conditions of the country - these should be our duty now. The cry of religion and renunciation would, on the contrary, only weaken us. You should advise the young men of Bengāl to resort only to such acts as will uplift the country.”

Sri Ramakrishna gave him a searching look and found no divine light within. “You man of poor understanding!” Sri Ramakrishna said sharply.

“You dare to slight in these terms renunciation and piety, which our scriptures describe as the greatest of all virtues! After reading 2 pages of English, you think you have come to know the world! You think you are omniscient. Well, have you seen those tiny crabs that are born in the Ganges just when the rains set in? In this big universe you are even less significant than one of those small creatures. How dare you talk of helping the world? The Lord will look to that. You haven’t the power in you to do it. Can you explain to me how you can work for others? I know what you mean by helping them. To feed a number of persons, to treat them when they are sick, to construct a road or dig a well - Isn’t that all? These are good deeds, no doubt, but how trifling in comparison with the vastness of the universe! How far can a man advance in this line? How many people can you save from famine? Malaria has ruined a whole province; what could you do to stop its onslaught? God alone looks after the world. Let a man first realize Him. Let a man get the authority from God and be endowed with His power; then, and then alone, may he think of doing good to others. A man should first be purged of all egotism. Then alone will the Blissful Mother ask him to work for the world.”

Sri Ramakrishna mistrusted philanthropy that presumed to pose as charity. He warned people against it. He saw in most acts of philanthropy nothing but egotism, vanity, a desire for glory, a barren excitement to kill the boredom of life, or an attempt to soothe a guilty conscience. True charity, he taught, is the result of love of God - service to man in a spirit of worship.

Monastic Disciples

The disciples whom the Master trained for monastic life were:

1. Narendranāth Dutta (Swāmi Vivekānanda)
2. Nitya Niranjan Sen (Swāmi Niranjanānanda)
3. Rākhāl Chandra Ghosh (Swāmi Brahmānanda)
4. Kāliprasād Chandra (Swāmi Abhedānanda)
5. Gopāl Chandra Ghosh (Swāmi Advaitānanda)
6. Harināth Chattopādhyāya (Swāmi Turiyānanda)
7. Bāburām Ghosh (Swāmi Premānanda)
8. Sāradā Prasanna (Swāmi Trigunātitānanda)
9. Tāraknāth Ghoshāl (Swāmi Shivānanda)
10. Gangādhar Ghatak (Swāmi Akhandānanda)
11. Jogindranāth Choudhury (Swāmi Yogānanda)
12. Subodh Ghosh (Swāmi Subodhānanda)
13. Śashibhushan Chakravarty (Swāmi Rāmakrishnānanda)
14. Śaratchandra Chakravarty (Swāmi Sāradānanda)
15. Hariprasanna Chatterji (Swāmi Vijnānānanda)
16. Lātu (Swāmi Adhhutānanda)

Lātu

The first of these young men to come to the Master was Lātu. Born of obscure parents, in Behar, he came to Calcutta in search of work and was engaged by Rāmchandra Dutta as house-boy.

Learning of the saintly Sri Ramakrishna, he visited the Master at Dakshineśwar and was deeply touched by his cordiality. When he was about to leave, the Master asked him to take some money and return home in a boat or carriage. But Lātu declared he had a few pennies and jingled the coins in his pocket. Sri Ramakrishna later requested Rām to allow Lātu to stay with him permanently.

Under Sri Ramakrishna’s guidance Lātu made great progress in meditation and was blessed with ecstatic visions, but all the efforts of the Master to give him a smattering of education failed. Lātu was very fond of kirtan and other devotional songs but remained all his life illiterate.

Rākhāl

Even before Rākhāl’s coming to Dakshineśwar, the Master had had visions of him as his spiritual son and as a playmate of Krishna at Vrindāvan. Rākhāl was born of wealthy parents. During his childhood he developed wonderful spiritual traits and used to play at worshipping gods and goddesses.

In his teens he was married to a sister of Manomohan Mitra, from whom he first heard of the Master. His father objected to his association with Sri Ramakrishna but afterwards was reassured to find that many celebrated people were visitors at Dakshineśwar.

The relationship between the Master and this beloved disciple was that of mother and child. Sri Ramakrishna allowed Rākhāl many liberties denied to others. But he would not hesitate to chastise the boy for improper actions. At one time Rākhāl felt a childlike jealousy because he found that other boys were receiving the Master’s affection. He soon got over it and realized his guru as the Guru of the whole universe. The Master was worried to hear of his marriage, but was relieved to find that his wife was a spiritual soul who would not be a hindrance to his progress.

The Elder Gopāl

Gopāl Chandra Ghosh came to Dakshineśwar at a rather advanced age and was called the elder Gopāl. He had lost his wife, and the Master assuaged his grief. Soon he renounced the world and devoted himself fully to meditation and prayer. Some years later Gopāl gave the Master the ochre cloths with which the latter initiated several of his disciples into monastic life.