With pranam, Maharaj.

Ankur
Guwahati, Assam, India

My sincere salutations again and again to Him who makes the dumb eloquent and the cripple cross mountains.

Srimat Swami Saradaprabhananda has been a powerful and perennial spring of joy and inspiration to myself, and noticibly countless others. The effects of His holy company I don’t think we will ever fully realize.

I hope and pray that Sri Ramakrishna keeps him with us and lead us from darkness to light, death to immortality.

Prem Namaste
Kamal
Durban, SA

Thank you sincerely for your postings which I enjoy reading. The ones on Durga Maharaj and this present one I have especially liked. As you say Hari Ananta, Hari Katha Ananta, it is a blessing to hear the nectarine account of the lives of holy men. I trust you may have recieved my account of one such holy monk of the Ramakrishna Order sent at your GMail address yesterday.

With good wishes for the South Africa Ramakrishna Centre.

Kindly accept my Pranam,

Ankur
Guwahati, Assam, India

Sometimes I wonder whether it is really necessary to believe that Thakur was an Avatar (descent of divinity into flesh). When I see the fanatics of other religions speaking of their prophets being the final prophet and no word may be added to what they have said, and their religion is the only true religion, I smile to myself.

In the New Testament, Jesus tells Joseph of Evamathier, “The wind blows, but you see it not” (meaning thereby that Prophets may not be recognised except by their divine permission). God does not want his secrets broadcasted promiscuously, so I believe.

Only those in his close circle may recognise him….and what about the others? …..are they to believe only because it is written in the scriptures? Unless a man experiences, Sabikalpa or Nirbikalpa Samadhi, it is impossible to recognise a true master. And Thakur was more than a master.

In addition to this, how does it matter whether he was an Avataar? His stature is not diminished by our disbelief. His existence is not dependant on our belief. Silently but surely he works (both while in a body, or without one) to take the worlds to the logical end.

I will love Ramakrishna for the person he was. I do not think that there ever was a person on this planet who so selflessly loved others. This is what we all need to learn. To selflessly love others.

That is why I believe, Swami Vivekananda spoke little of his Christlike master even in the west. He spoke instead of the eternel principles of Vedanta that Thakur exemplified.

With regards and pronam,
Dr. Shubhashish Sircar
Ranchi, Jharkhand, India

Dear Shubhashish
Nice to read your observations on Ramakrishna as Avataar.
Please also note that there are many angles to view this matter and each has its own place in the scheme of things as infinite levels of ‘understanding’ of an Incarnation is possible. hari anant hari kathaa anantaa
With love and prayers
Swami Vimokshananda

I do not know you, but my respectful pronam to you. I am amazed at the work Thakur is doing after his mahasamadhi through his devotees. Truly he was/is an avataar.
Dr. Shubhashish Sircar

Dear Subhashish
Welcome to this Blog! It doesn’t matter whether you know me personally or not as we, being the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna, wherever be, are connected by the sutra of His Name. You may find the following extract pertinent to our belief from the newly published book by Swami Chetananandaji Maharaj of Vedanta Society, St Louis, USA “HOW TO LIVE WITH GOD’.
May your devotion to Sri Sri Thakur be intense!
Swami Vimokshananda
Ramakrishna as an Avatar
There are many signs of an avatar. In the Gita, Krishna mentioned the sign given in the scriptures: When religion declines and irreligion prevails, God incarnates as an avatar. He protects the holy and punishes the evil.
There are other signs of an avatar: he is full of compassion for all beings; he is a saviour to sinners; he comes to fulfill, not to destroy; he is endowed with supernatural powers; he is the embodiment of purity and renunciation; he is totally unselfish and eradicates the bad karma of his devotees; he establishes a new religious path. Moreover, when God incarnates as a human being, he is very charismatic.
When we study Ramakrishna’s life, we find that he enacted his divine play in three phases:
First phase: Suresh Chandra Datta wrote that the mother of Gayavishnu Laha was very fond of little Gadadhar. Whenever she cooked any special dishes, she would first offer him a taste. She remarked: “Gadai, it seems you are not a human being; you are God.” Prasanna Laha also recognized Ramakrishna’s divinity when he was young. In addition, an old shopkeeper in Kamarpukur saw the divine mood of Gadadhar and realized that he was not human; he had descended to earth to enact his divine play. One day he carried a basket of sweets with him and privately made an offering of them to Gadadhar in a field. Choked with emotion, the old shopkeeper said to him: “Gadai, I am too old. I shall not be able to see your future divine play.”
One day at Dakshineswar Ramakrishna said to M.: “It is God alone who incarnates Himself as man to teach people the ways of love and knowledge. Well, what do you think of me?
“Once my father went to Gaya. There Raghuvir said to him in dream, ‘I shall be born as your son.’ Thereupon my father said to Him ‘O Lord, I am a poor brahmin. How shall I be able to serve You?’ ‘Don’ worry about it,’ Raghuvir replied. ‘It will be taken care of.’
“My cousin, Hriday’s mother, used to worship my feet with flower and sandal paste. One day I placed my foot on her head and said to her ‘You will die in Varanasi.’”

Second phase: During this period the Master was recognized as a avatar by great scholars and highly evolved spiritual aspirants. Swami Saradananda wrote:
We heard that one day during this period the Master and Mathur were at the Panchavati, and Hriday was also present. In the course of conversation the Master told Mathur the Brahmani’s findings about him. He said: “She says that all the signs of the avatars are in this body and mind (pointing to himself). She is well versed in the scriptures and she has many books with her.” Mathur replied with a laugh: “Father, whatever she may say, according to the scriptures there are no more than ten avatars. So how can her words be true? But it is true that Mother Kali has bestowed Her grace on you.”
While they were talking, Mathur saw a nun approaching them. He asked the Master, “Is this the woman?” “Yes,” replied the Master. Pointing to Mathur, the Master told the Brahmani: “Mother, I was just telling him what you say about me. But he says that the scriptures mention only ten avatars and no more than that.” Mathur saluted the Brahmani and admitted that he had raised that objection. She immediately replied: “Bhagavan Vyasa mentioned twenty-four avatars in the Bhagavata and then indicated an infinite number of them. Moreover, the Vaishnava scriptures clearly indicated that Chaitanya would be incarnated again. In addition, there is a striking resemblance in many characteristics between him and Sri Ramakrishna. “Unable to respond to the Brahmani, Mathur remained silent.”’

Swami Saradananda continued:
During three important periods of the Master’s sadhana, three eminent spiritual pandits who were well versed in the scriptures came to him, observed his spiritual condition, and had an opportunity to discuss their impressions. Pandit Padmalochan met the Master when he had become perfected in ‘the Tantra sadhana; Pandit Vaishnavcharan met him when he had attained success in the Vaishnava Tantra; and Pandit Gauri was blessed to see the Master endowed with divine splendour at the completion of all his sadhanas. When Padmalochan saw the Master, he said, “I see God’s presence and divine power in you.” Vaishnavcharan, in ecstasy, composed a hymn to the Master in Sanskrit and sang it to him, declaring him to be an avatar. When Gauri met the Master, he concluded: “I see that everything I have read in the scriptures concerning high spiritual states is manifest in you. In addition, I see other exalted states that are not recorded in the scriptures. You have reached a spiritual plane that surpasses anything described in the Vedas, Vedanta, or other scriptures. You are not human. Ishwara, the source of all avatars, dwells in you.”
Although the Master had no formal education, he was not afraid to be challenged by his disciples. He told them: “Examine a holy man by day and by night before believing in him”; “Test me as a money-changer checks for a fake coin.” The Master was established in truth, and he was not afraid to be challenged.

Third phase: A king visits his kingdom incognito. When people recognize him, he quickly returns to his palace. During the last years of his divine play, the Master revealed his divinity to his devotees, bestowed fearlessness upon them, and then was eager to return to his own abode. He said: “The same avatar rose here from the ocean of Satchidananda and declared himself as Krishna, and rose there and declared himself as Jesus Christ.”
Keshab Sen said to Ram Datta: “You do not know who Sri Ramakrishna is. That is why you people are touching him and making him sing and dance. Cover his body in a soft velvet cloth and place him in a glass case. Offer a few good flowers to him and salute him from a distance.”
Before Suresh Datta met the Master, he was a member of the Brahmo Samaj and was devoted to Keshab Sen. Suresh wrote: “I don’t know whether my Brahmo friends know or not, but I heard from a reliable source that Keshab secretly worshipped the Master as an avatar towards the end of his life. One day when the Master went to Keshab’s house, the latter asked the Master to visit his shrine to sanctify it. The Master went to the shrine. Keshab then worshipped the feet of the Master with flowers and asked him not to disclose it to anyone.”
Towards the end of the Master’s divine play, Girish openly began to say that the Master was an avatar. On 1 March 1885, the Master asked Narendra: “Do you agree with Girish about me?”
Narendra: “He said he believed you to be an Incarnation of God. I didn’t say anything in answer to his remarks.”
Master: “But how great his faith is! Don’t you think so?”
A few days later the Master asked Narendra: “Well, some people call me an avatar. What do you think of this?”
Narendra: I won’t form an opinion based on others’ views. I will say so only when I can understand and believe it myself.”
At the Cossipore garden house the Master suffered excruciating pain from throat cancer. He could not even swallow gruel. One day Narendra was seated nearby He thought to himself that if at this critical moment the Master said he was an avatar, he would believe it. Immediately the Master said: “He who was Rama and he who was Krishna is now Ramakrishna in this body.” Narendra was dumbfounded.
When Ramendrasundar Bhaktitirtha was a boy, he met Ramakrishna. He knew a Christian Bengali professor of Scottish Church College, who was one of Vivekananda’s professors. That professor described for Ramendra the following conversation, and Ramendra later recorded it in his reminiscences:
Professor: “Well, Narendra, what have you done? At last you have surrendered yourself to a mad priest! I also hear you think that priest is God and that he has come to the world as a saviour. Do you believe all these cock-and-bull stories?”
Vivekananda calmly replied: “Sir, you have heard the right thing. I believe that he is God and he has come to the world as a saviour. Previously, like you, I would have considered this to be a fairy tale. I said so to Sri Ramakrishna himself many times. To that, he would smile like a child, and say, ‘Do I ask you to believe in me?’ But, sir, I had to believe it at last. He showed me one day that God Himself had descended in that Ramakrishna-body. He who was Rama and he who was Krishna, he has become Ramakrishna. He first showed me the form of Rama and Krishna separately and then he showed me that both had merged into the Ramakrishna-body. It was not a hallucination. I saw it clearly with open eyes. Apart from this vision, I understood, realized, and saw in many ways that Ramakrishna was God Himself.”

Our most humble pranams to Rev. Swami Saradaprabhanandaji Maharaj.

With love and respect
Vinay & Shirwanie Jokhun
Auckland, New Zealand