There have been many beings selected to bridge the gap between God and human beings. Of some of these people, we have heard very little. In today’s article, we will speak about a master who not only lived an extraordinary spiritual life but also had his life and teachings well documented, with disciples who kept his teachings alive.
Sri Ramakrishna (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886) was born in India to a poor family and from a very early age experienced states of spiritual trance. He was immensely devoted to God and attained enlightenment in many different ways. To begin with, as a fervent devotee of Kali. But also through Advaita Vedanta, Christianity, Islamic Sufism, through adoring Krishna, and through the awakening of Kundalini Shakti. Through all of these experiences, he came to conclude that all spiritual paths lead to the same goal: the unification with God, which is the same for all the lineages.
During an extraordinary spiritual awakening, sometimes Ramakrishna wouldn’t sleep for 6 months. In the last few years of his life, disciples gathered to receive his teachings. In this article, we will discover some of the stories of his main disciples.
Sri Ramakrishna – Source: biographies.rkmm.org
Surendra Nath Mitra
A bohemian high-class man, married without children, and a womaniser who enjoyed drinking very often. He was indifferent to religion until the day he was introduced to Ramakhrisna by his friend Ram. Surendra fell in love with Ramakrishna and decided to devote more of his time and life to his teachings. However, even after becoming a devotee, he continued drinking. One day his friend Ram approached him saying that he could not continue drinking, as everyone knew he was a disciple of Ramakrishna and therefore, people would accuse Ramakrishna of being a fake guru if his disciple was drunk all the time.
Surendra then decided to go with Ram to visit the guru and if the guru would say something about his drinking without either him or Ram mentioning it, he would consider stopping. As they arrived to visit the master, Ramakrishna approached Surendra to speak about his alcohol problem. The master advised Surendra to consecrate the action of drinking to the Divine Mother before starting to drink. And this is how Surendra kept going, shifting from a regular ecstasy to a spiritual ecstasy, drinking much less and connecting with the Divine Mother.
Surendra Nath Mitra – Source: biographies.rkmm.org
Girish Chandra Ghosh
Girish was an exceptional human being. He owned a theater and he was a play writer. Sometimes he would write a play for 26 hours in one go. After becoming Ramakrishna’s disciple, an episode involving his alcohol addiction happened. One day, while he was completely drunk, he asked Ramakrishna if the master could be born as his son after passing away. Girish insisted on the idea and, feeling frustrated with the master’s answers, he started insulting Ramakrishna in front of others. The next day, full of regret and pain, Girish realized that he had insulted his guru, the man that he loved the most, over a stupid idea. In the meantime the other disciples came to Ramakrishna to ask forgiveness for Girish, reminding the master of a story about Lord Krishna. It is said that there was a snake that came to Krishna and offered him poison, saying: “I am a snake, all you gave me is poison, so I offer it to you.” Girish was the same, the most drunk and insulting man. What he had inside, is what he offered to the master. And so, Ramakrishna forgave Girish.
In the beginning, Girish was very doubtful of Ramakrishna. Once he started believing in the master, he asked for a tapas to attain God. Ramakrishna gave him the tapas to remember God twice a day before eating, and by doing that, together with his grace, Girish would reach God. However, Girish very honestly said that he didn’t have the discipline to do it. As an alternative, Ramakrishna suggested to him to give Ramakrishna the power of attorney. And without thinking twice, Girish gave the master full power over his life. It is known that from this moment on, every time Girish would want to do something bad, he was not able to do it. And with every opportunity to do something good, he would see himself automatically doing it without thinking. In this way, the master was guiding him to be closer to God.
Interestingly, the most drunk and insulting of all his disciples was the one who saw who Ramakrishna really was. It was Girish who perceived that the master is not just enlightened, but he is an Avatar, he is Krishna. In the last year of Ramakrishna’s life, when the master was already very sick, Ramakrishna revealed himself to be God incarnate on earth. This day is still celebrated by the Ramakrishna Mission, known as the Kalpataru day, when the master became “the wish-fulfilling tree” (January 1, 1886).
Sri Ramakrishna was undergoing treatment for his throat cancer and he felt somewhat better that day and came down from his room for a walk in the garden-house. About thirty devotees were present, and the Master asked Girish a question he had often asked before, “Who do you say that I am?” Girish responded that he believed Ramakrishna “was God incarnate and that he came to Earth out of mercy for humankind.” Ramakrishna replied, “What more shall I say? May you be awakened.” Ramakrishna then entered an “ecstatic state” and began touching all of his devotees. Those he touched entered samadhi and reported experiencing a variety of new states of consciousness, including vivid visions. For one, Vaikuntha, the visions persisted and interfered with daily life, so that he feared that he might be going insane.
These 30 devotees became enlightened and this is the reason we are here speaking about Ramakrishna. They have succeeded in going out in the world and speaking about their master’s work.
Girish Chandra Ghosh – Source: belurmath.org
Kalipada Ghosh
He was a drunk on the street, his life was really destroyed, he was a broken human being. He took refuge in Ramakrishna and became his disciple. He stopped drinking, became a better husband and was a very devoted disciple to the master. One day they were going on a boat from Dakshineswar to Kalkata and suddenly Kalipada knelt on his feet and begged Ramakrishna for his grace. The master asked Kalipada to stick out his tongue and he wrote a mantra on it. He explained that from now on the disciple would repeat the mantra, and the mantra would liberate him. But Kalipada was not happy and said “I don’t want this”. So Ramakrishna asked him what he wanted and Kalipada replied: “When I die I shall see darkness all around, and that terrible darkness will fill me with horror. You must come there and take my right hand to save me from the darkness. You will have to fulfil this prayer of mine.’ With His heart full of compassion, the Master said: ‘All right, all right. Your prayer will be fulfilled. My goodness! You have brought me to the middle of the Ganga and have created such a scene.’
When Kalipada died, the disciples were around him praying and reported that after his last breath, his right hand was lifted. As promised, the master came to take him from darkness and guide him to light.
Sri Ramakrishna offering Boon to Kalipada Ghosh- Source: vivekavani.com
Swami Brahmananda
Vivekananda and Sarada Devi are the greatest liberated disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. The third one, who was also the president of the Ramakrishna Mission, is Swami Brahmananda. He lived with Ramakrishna from a very young age and he was always extremely devoted to him. As Ramakrishna would have visions of the disciples before they would come, he saw Krishna on a leaf floating in the ocean of Maya. At this moment the master realized that a devotee of Krishna would appear. Swami Brahmananda’s first name was Rakhal, which means the boy companion of Sri Krishna. His mother was a devotee of Sri Krishna.
When he became the president of the Ramakrishna Mission, the other disciples called him “Raja”. Towards the end of his life, they were singing next to his bed “Oh Rakha Rakha, you became Raja”. Before his passage, while he was between this world and the other world, he said to another disciple “I see myself floating on a leaf with Krishna in the ocean of Maya” – confirming the vision that Sri Ramakrishna had seen before.
Swami Brahmananda – Source: biographies.rkmm.org
Gauri-Ma
Gauri-Ma’s original name was Mridani. From the age of 7, she ran away from home to live with the masters. Her parents were both very devoted to God. When she was thirteen, her relatives arranged a marriage against her will, but her mother allowed her to run away and hide.
She met one of Ramakrishna’s disciples, Balaram Bose, and he invited her to come to meet Sri Ramakrishna. Surprisingly, she answered saying “I met so many great masters in the Himalayas. If he wants me, let him pull me in”. A few days passed, she was doing her daily worship at the temple in front of the altar, and as she looked at the altar, she saw a pair of feet. She was absolutely shocked and amazed. She touched the feet and they were real. Immediately in a trance, she started walking towards Dakshineswar without stopping, as if Ramakrishna was pulling her by a thread. And so, she arrived at the master and became one of the biggest reformers of women’s education in India, following her spiritual mission. It is said that this was her last life and she attained liberation at death.
Gauri-Ma – Source: belurmath.org
Mathur Nath Biswas
Ramakrishna was very poor and hungry. One day, during his practice, he asked Divine Kali to find a rich man to take care of him. Mathur Nath Biswas, known as Mathur Babu, was the owner of a temple. He saw Ramakrishna walking and approached him saying “when I saw you walking, you were Shiva. And then when I saw you walking back, you were Parvarti”. And looking at Ramakrishna, Mathur Babu fell on his feet and became his disciple.
Mathur Babu – Source: srv.org
Gopaler Ma
Sri Ramakrishna would appear to his disciples according to their ishta devata (a term used in Hinduism which refers to a worshipper’s favourite deity). How they would see God, they would see Ramakrishna.
Aghormani Devi was known as Gopaler Ma because of her intense motherly love for Sri Ramakrishna as “Gopala” or baby Krishna. Once, when visiting Ramakrishna in Dakshineswar, before she entered the room, the master started crawling in the room like a baby and entered the state of being the divine child Gopala. As Aghormani Devi entered the room, she saw Gopala in Ramakrishna.
Gopaler Ma – Source: belurmath.org
This article was transcribed and edited by Larissa from the following video: