Ramakrishna

From NonSpiritual

Real Name	Gadadhar Chattopadhyay
Alternative Names	Ramakrishna Paramhansa, Sri Ramakrishna
Date of Birth	Feb 18, 1836
Date of Death	Aug 16, 1886
Spiritual Tradition	Bhakti Yoga, Hinduism
Methods	Meditation, Singing, Chanting
Headquarters	Howrah, India
Website	http://www.belurmath.org, http://www.rkmhq.org
Teacher	Bhairavi Brahmani, Totapuri, Govinda Roy
Region	India
Language	Bangla

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Teachings 3 Influence and Followers 3.1 Famous Followers 4 Controversies and Criticism 5 Organizations and Websites 6 Works 7 Further Reading and Links 7.1 Articles 7.2 Books 8 Notes

Introduction

Ramakrishna was a famous mystic of 19th century India, and along with his follower Swami Vivekananda, attracted a large following in India. His organization continues to be active in publishing his (and Vivekananda's) books and in furthering their spiritual and social agendas.

He was married to Sarada Devi.

Teachings

• Typical Hindu beliefs of Karma, Reincarnation, worship of religious deities, the world as Maya, etc.
• That God-realization should be the supreme aim of all human beings
• That Kama and Kanchan (Women and Money) are the greatest impediments to spiritual evolution.^[1]
• That all religions are valid and lead to God

Influence and Followers

Ramakrishna was born during a period of social upheaval in Bengal in particular and India in general. During Ramakrishna's time, Hinduism faced a significant intellectual challenge from Westerners and Indians alike. The Hindu practice of Idol worship came under attack especially in Bengal, and many had denounced Hinduism and embraced Christianity or Atheism. Ramakrishna and his movement, the Ramakrishna Mission, played a leading role in the modern revival of Hinduism in India, and on modern Indian history. His life and teachings were an important part of the renaissance that Bengal, and later India, experienced in the 19th century. Many thinkers including Max Muller, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Sri Aurobindo, Leo Tolstoy have acknowledged Ramakrishna's as an influence. Ramakrishna's influence is also seen in the works of the artists like Franz Dvorak and Philip Glass.

The Ramakrishna Mission was founded on his principles by Swami Vivekananda in 1897. The Mission conducts extensive work in health care, disaster relief, rural management, tribal welfare, elementary and higher education. The movement is considered as one of the revitalization movements of India.

Famous Followers

• Swami Vivekananda
• Swami Brahmananda
• Swami Abhedananda

Controversies and Criticism

• Many considered his frequent trance states and states of unconsciousness a neurological condition born of abnormal pathology.
• He is alleged to have acted as a woman for his disciples, and even suckled them at his breasts.^[2]
• He is also alleged to engage in frequent erotic and suggestive touching of his male disciples.^[3]
• He voluntarily married a five year old girl, who then lived with her parents till her maturity.^[4]
• He had a physical revulsion to printed money and coins, though his organization accepted donations.
• He advocated celibacy even for householders.^[5]

Organizations and Websites

• Belur Math, http://www.belurmath.org
• Ramakrishna Mission, http://www.rkmhq.org

Works

• http://www.kathamrita.org
• The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

Further Reading and Links

Articles

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramakrishna
• http://www.strippingthegurus.com/stgsamplechapters/ramakrishna.asp, the chapter in the book Stripping the Gurus (see Ebooks for details).
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarada_Devi

Books

• See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Books_on_Ramakrishna for details.
• Sil, Narasingha P. (1998), Ramakrishna Revisited: A New Biography (Lanham, MD: University Press of America, Inc.). ISBN 0761810528

Notes

1. ↑ http://www.belurmath.org/gospel/chapter20.htm
2. ↑ Stripping the Gurus
3. ↑ Ramakrishna Revisited, Narasingha Sil
4. ↑ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarada_Devi#Betrothal
5. ↑ http://www.belurmath.org/gospel/chapter20.htm