Today is the birthday of Sri Ramakrishna, the incarnation of the modern age, who is revered by millions of people around the world. A collection of news about the incarnation who taught that only God-realization can bring supreme happiness and peace to man.
There is a small village called Kamarpukur, about 120 kilometers northwest of Kolkata. In that village, a couple named Kuthiram Chattopadhyay and Chandramani Devi lived in poverty. Despite their poverty, this couple, who practiced devotion and truth, had a fourth son on February 18, 1836. They named the child Kadadhar.
Kadadhar, who was the darling of the village, showed interest in dance songs, drawing pictures of gods, and making idols of gods in clay at a young age.
Considering that the purpose of schooling was to earn money, Kadadhar did not go to school. Instead, he spent his time admiring nature, singing devotional songs, listening to mythological stories, and playing with his friends. Kadadhar, who had deep knowledge of spiritual matters from a young age, is the deity Sri Ramakrishna Parahamsara, whom the world worships and worships.
When Ramakrishna was seventeen years old, the family’s financial condition was very poor. Ramakrishna’s elder brother Ramkumar was working as a priest in the Dakshineswar Kali temple.
Ramakrishna, who came to Dakshineswar to do small jobs for his brother, became the priest of the Kali temple after his brother’s death.
He stayed in a small room in a corner of the Kali temple near the banks of the Ganges. It was here that Ramakrishna spent a large part of his life.
Ramakrishna, who was performing puja every day, was asked whether he was worshipping a mere stone or truly worshipping Kali. He prayed to Kali to grant him a vision.
He also meditated on Kali every night in the forest area called Panchavati near the temple. However, Ramakrishna’s meditation efforts were not fruitful.
One day, Ramakrishna lost patience and was ready to commit suicide by cutting himself with the sword in the hands of the Kali idol.
However, Ramakrishna later mentioned that as soon as he took the sword, he lost consciousness and was overcome by a blissful light.
Ramakrishna’s actions after this vision were extraordinary. Seeing this, his mother panicked and thought that her son had gone mad. She thought that it would be better if she married him.
Ramakrishna said that there was a woman named Saradamani in a village called Jayarambadi near Kamarpukur, and that she was the one who was born to marry him. Accordingly, he got married. Ramakrishna, who viewed all women as forms of Kali, decorated his wife as Kali, performed puja, and fell at her feet.
Ramakrishna, who had learned Advaita Vedanta from Dota Puri, had immersed himself in Nirvikalpa Samadhi for six months. After that, he meditated on Sri Rama and Krishna and saw them in person.
Hearing all this, many people came to see him in droves. As the days passed, the crowd of people coming to see Ramakrishna increased. He would hold discussions on spirituality with his disciples all day long.
Mahendranath Gupta, who often visited Ramakrishna, also took notes in his diary on what Ramakrishna said and the discussions he had every day upon returning home.
These notes were later compiled under the name The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. That book has been translated into Tamil under the name Ramakrishna’s Amudham Mozhigal.
In his last days, Sri Ramakrishna was diagnosed with throat cancer. Sri Ramakrishna, who was an unparalleled spiritual master who lived in the 19th century, attained Maha Samadhi at the age of 50 on 16 August 1886.
