Ramakrishna | |
|---|---|
 Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar | |
| Personal | |
| Born | Ramakrishna Chattopadhyay 18 February 1836 |
| Died | 16 August 1886 (aged 50) |
| Cause of death | Throat cancer |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Spouse | Sarada Devi |
| School | Vedanta |
| Lineage | Daśanāmi Sampradaya |
| Organization | |
| Temple | Dakshineswar Kali Temple |
| Founder of | Ramakrishna Order |
| Philosophy | Advaita Vedanta Shaktism |
| Religious career | |
| Guru | Totapuri, Bhairavi Brahmani, and others |
Disciples | |
| Honors | Paramahamsa |
| Part of a series on |
| Advaita |
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 Hindu philosophy |
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Ramakrishna (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886[1]), also called Ramakrishna Paramahansa (Bengali: রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, romanized: Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; pronounced [ramɔkriʂno pɔromoɦɔŋʃo] ; IAST: Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahaṃsa), born Ramakrishna Chattopadhay,[2][3][4] was an Indian Hindu mystic. He was a devotee of the goddess Kali, but adhered to various religious practices from the Hindu traditions of Vaishnavism, Tantric Shaktism, and Advaita Vedanta, as well as Christianity and Islam. He advocated the essential unity of religions and proclaimed that world religions are "so many paths to reach one and the same goal".[5] His parable-based teachings espoused the ultimate unity of diverse religions as being means to enable the realization of the same God. He is regarded by his followers as an avatar (divine incarnation).[6]
"I have practised all religions - Hinduism, Islam, Christianity - and I have also followed the paths of the different Hindu sects. I have found that it is the same God toward whom all are directing their steps, though along different paths. You must try all beliefs and traverse all the different ways once. Wherever I look, I see men quarrelling in the name of religion - Hindus, Mohammedans, Brahmos, Vaishnavas, and the rest. But they never reflect that He who is called Krishna is also called Siva, and bears the name of the Primal Energy, Jesus, and Allah as well - the same Rama with a thousand names. A lake has several Ghats. At one, the Hindus take water in pitchers and call it ' Jal ' ; at another the Mussalmans take water in leather bags and call it ' pani '. At a third the Christians call it ' water '. Can we imagine that it is not ' Jal ' , but only ' pani ' or ' water '? How ridiculous! The substance is One under different names, and everyone is seeking the same substance; only climate, temperament, and name create differences. Let each man follow his own path. If he sincerely and ardently wishes to know God, peace be unto him! He will surely realize Him."
— Ramakrishna[7]
Born in Kamarpukur, Bengal Presidency, India, Ramakrishna was the fourth and youngest child of his parents. He encountered several religious experiences starting from his childhood, and later began his career, at age twenty, as a temple priest at the Dakshineshwar Kali Temple in Calcutta. The devotional temperament of Ramakrishna coupled with his intense religious practices at the temple premises led him to experience various spiritual visions. Soon a few religious teachers visited Ramakrishna and assured him the sanctity of his visions. In 1859, in accordance with then prevailing customs, Ramakrishna was married to Sarada Devi, a marriage that was never consummated.
Tota Puri, a vedanta monk, initiated Ramakrishna into sannyasa in 1865. Ramakrishna later gained widespread acclaim amongst the temple visiting public as a guru, attracting to him social leaders, elites, and common people alike. Although initially reluctant to consider himself a guru, he eventually taught his disciples and founded the monastic Ramakrishna Order.[8] Ramakrishna died due to throat cancer on the night of 15 August 1886.[9] After his demise, his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda popularized his ideas in India and the West.[10]
- ^ —"(07) Birth of Sri Ramakrishna » Kid's Section". Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
—"Feature". pib.nic.in. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
— "Sri Ramakrishna By Swami Nikhilananda". www.ramakrishna.org. Archived from the original on 20 February 2017. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
—Mangla, Dharam Vir (1 April 2016). Great Saints & Yogis. Lulu Press. ISBN 9781365013515. Archived from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2019 – via Google Books. - ^ M's original Bengali diary page 661, Saturday, 13 February 1886
- ^ More About Ramakrishna by Swami Prabhananda, 1993, Advaita Ashrama, page 23
- ^ Saradananda 2003, p. 311.
- ^ Swami Prabhavananda 2019.
- ^ "Ramakrishna". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
- ^ Gupta 1942, p. 47.
- ^ donationsbm. "About Us". Belur Math - Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. Archived from the original on 26 February 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
- ^ Rolland 1929, pp. 201–214.
- ^ Clarke 2006, p. 209.