Sri Ramakrishna in Samadhi

Sri Ramakrishna

(1836 - 1886)

Sri Ramakrishna, the "God" man of nineteenth-century India, was not a founder of any cult, or a spiritual leader who showed a new path to salvation. Instead, he represented the very core of the spiritual realizations of the seers and sages of India.

Born amidst the utter simplicity of a Bengali family, since boyhood, Sri Ramakrishna felt an unquenchable yearning for the vision of God. He desired to experience and see Him by following the paths laid down in the scriptures. Refusing to direct his attention to secular studies, he became a priest in the Dakshineswar temple, where he worshipped Mother Kali as the Mother of the Universe. He indulged himself in prayers and long meditative contemplation. Through the differing disciplines of Hinduism, Christianity and Islam, practically without the help of any teacher, he obtained the vision of God, thus reaching his goal-- realization of the one God-Consciousness. Attaining his goal, in various ways, he tasted the bliss of communion with God, sometimes merging himself totally, and at other times, as a child of the Divine Mother. Intoxicated in the bliss of seeing and feeling God, Sri Ramakrishna proved that the revelation of God takes place at all times and that the realization is not the monopoly of any particular age, country, or people.

To Ramakrishna all religions are revelations of God in His diverse aspects to satisfy the manifold demands of the human mind. Religious pluralism, tolerance with different modes of worship, and respect for the followers and the Prophets of other religions were his tenets. He believed that when God-consciousness begins to wane, religious teachings lose their transforming power. As such, through self discipline and living by example, he restored the falling foundation and pillars of religion on a secure foundation. Thus, one of the greatest contributions of Sri Ramakrishna to the modern world is his message of the "Harmony of all religions."

He aptly states:

"Men are like pillow-cases. The colour of one may be red, that of another, blue, and that of a third, black; but all contain the same cotton within. So it is with man; one is beautiful, another is black, a third, holy, and a fourth wicked; but the Divine Being dwells in them all."

Sri Ramakrishna, through his burning spiritual realizations, demonstrated beyond doubt the reality of God and the validity of the time-honoured teachings of all the prophets and saviours of the past.

Although Sri Ramakrishna passed away in 1886, his teachings have always remained ever so relevant, particularly now when the very foundation of religion, faith in God, is crumbling under the blows of materialism and scepticism.

© Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre of Queensland 2002 Inc.