Swami Subodhananda

What marked out Swami Subodhananda from the other disciples of Sri Ramakrishna was his childlike simplicity and guilelessness. Through this book readers will get a wonderful glimpse of the divine and childlike personality of this saintly and eminent disciple of the Master. Published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, this book contains his Life, Teachings, Reminiscences, and Letters.

This is an enlarged edition of our earlier publication, the Apostles of Sri Ramakrishna. The book contains the life and teachings of the sixteen monastic disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. Brief life sketches of some of the lay disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, both men and women, have also been added. Compiled and Edited by Swami Gambhirananda and published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, India, readers will find in this work invaluable guidance and instructions for enriching their spiritual life, as well as plenty of much needed inspiration.

‘Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita Centenary Memorial' is a Volume published in 1982 on completion of hundred years of Master Mahasay's first meeting with Sri Ramakrishna. This contains articles from prominent sadhus of Sri Ramakrishna Order and devotees on the four subjects 1. Sri Ramakrishna, 2. The Kathamrita, 3. Sri M. and 4. Sri Ma Darshan. The Volume has been, therefore, divided into four parts: 1. Sri Ramakrishna, 2. The Kathamrita, 3. Sri M. and 4. Sri Ma Darshan. Needless to say that the editors were guided into this scheme by Thakur's great dictum: 'Bhakta— Bhagavata-Bhagavan', which if we may interpret means, that God, His Word and His (genuine) Devotee are one and the same. Thus the Volume achieves a unique unity in spite of its being so unplanned! The 26th of February 1882! On this day was created religious history, for from all available evidence, it was on this day that Sri M., the apostle and the evangelist, met his Lord and Master, Sri Ramakrishna, for the first time and heard His divine word which was to bring the Kathamrita, the Nectar of His Word into being, for the peace and bliss of the strifetorn restless world. On being asked which was the greatest event of his life, Sri M., himself said without a moment's hesitation: "The day I had my first darshana of Thakur (Sri Ramakrishna) in February 1882." To celebrate this great day Sri Ma Trust promised a yajna, by collecting all available views on the Kathamrita and its Recorder and publish them in the form of a Centenary Memorial which we hoped would help remind our readers of the glory of the Great Master, his Word and his Evangelist. Sadhus and devotees of Sri Ramakrishna were therefore invited to offer their ahutis (oblations) in the form of write-ups into this holy venture.

Swami Vivekananda the matchless personality of the second millennium emphasized the word ‘Original’ while describing the unfathomable uniqueness and greatness of his master Sri Ramakrishna the greatest incarnation and embodiment of renunciation, austerity, and love. Swamiji wished that his brother-disciples should also possess originality of their own. An extensive research has been carried out to find out the testimonies of originality of not only the Master but of Holy Mother and their sixteen monastic disciples also. A painstaking attempt has been made to focus on the contribution of the illuminated souls to the history of genesis of the Ramakrishna order along with its multifaceted non-political, global philanthropic movement in this magnum opus. Once Swami Vivekananda said to his disciple Sharat Chandra Chakraborty: “Do you think these Sannyasin Children of Sri Ramakrishna are born simply to sit for meditation under trees lighting dhuni-fires? Whenever any of them will take up some work, people will be astonished to see their energy. Learn from them how to work.’’ Sri Ramakrishna’s teachings are very useful and relevant to people of all ages. The world heard the short but significant utterances—‘As many faiths so many paths.’, ‘To serve jiva as Shiva’; first from his lips. Swamiji a leading exponent of fearlessness and positive thinking, introduced ‘man-making religion’—a universal religion. He said,’’ The first of all worship is the worship of the Virat—of those all around us….These are all our gods—men and animals, and the first gods we have to worship are our countrymen.’’ In this age of the ‘the fret and the fever’ these historic proclamations are the antidote to fanaticism, intolerance towards different religions and pessimism. The author has meticulously discussed how the direct monastic disciples of Sri Ramakrishna had made Vedanta an organized religion that does not stress rituals, a rigid set of practices, theory, dogma or doctrine and the living being and its reason is the centre of the religion and how they had shown quite apart from their scrupulous honesty and unfailing dedication—a degree of organizational, managerial and administrative ability that could be the envy of professional specialists in different spheres of activity. This glorious history deserves wide circulation for the promotion of religious tolerance, catholic outlook and the ideals of equality and fraternity. Target Readers: People interested in spirituality, researchers, people fond of thought-provoking repository articles and curious book-lovers.

A systematic treatment of Advaita which demystifies it, differentiating between approaches and teachers, enabling you to decide which approach is most suitable for you.

"This new edition of two classic spiritual biographies of Sri Ramakrishna offers an intimate portrait of the life of this great teacher. An essential spiritual guide for people of all faiths and backgrounds, it presents a unique look at the deeper spirit within the Ramakrishna legend, and illuminates an important link in the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda movement."--BOOK JACKET.

This volume consists of writings by spiritual giants like Swami Vivekananda and his brother disciples, and also by the great second-generation monks of the Ramakrishna Order like Swami Ranganathananda and Swami Nikhilananda, sharing their views on spiritual matters from varying angles. Coupled with these, there are articles by a few great nationalists of the twentieth-century India like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Sri Aurobindo, Subhash Chandra Bose, S Radhakrishnan, and APJ Abdul Kalam. Some of the globally reputed names adorn the last section of this volume, viz. Romain Rolland, CG Jung, Rabindranath Tagore, Dr. J C Bose, Dalai Lama, Sri John Wodroffe, and Dr. Fritjof Capra, to mention a few, who have all shared their thoughts on various subjects of the human interest. Published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, India.

While Ramakrishna Paramhamsa has been the subject of innumerable volumes devoted to his life and teachings over the past century and a half, Ramakrishna Paramhamsa: The Sadhaka of Dakshineswar illuminates this enigmatic religious figure and stands out amidst the multitude of voices that crowd his story. It traces the several contradictions of nineteenth-century Bengal that the man embodied: between his Vaishnav roots and Sakti worship; between bhakti and gyan; and between a guru and sadhaka (spiritual practitioner). Amiya P. Sen situates Sri Ramakrishna within the emerging social and cultural anxieties of the time as also the larger Hindu-Brahminical world that he was born into. This book also carries a brief but critical introduction to the moral and philosophical underpinnings of Ramakrishna’s vibrant theology that will be of interest to lay readers as well as those especially interested in the cultural and religious history of modern Bengal. See also Amiya Sen’s His Words: The Preaching and Parables of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa