Sri Ramakrishna

Sri Ramakrishna is best known through the magnificent work of his disciple known simply as "M." Mahendranath Gupta wrote this from notes he kept of the times he was in Ramakrishna's presence, and it is probably the most detailed description of a man of the order of "avatar" or "incarnation" that mankind possesses. It describes Ramakrishna's divine moods of bhav samadhi and the seemingly endless store of wisdom and devotion that was within him.

At the link above you will find the complete work translated from Bengali to English, in the chapter order originally published by M., and presented by the Sri Ma Trust.

For an opening taste, we are presenting some excerpts from this great work here in the Spiritual Gallery.

Excerpts from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

Introduction
by Swami Adiswarananda

Thumbnail Biography

Life of Ramakrisha & its Relevance Today
by C. S. Shah
Other Articles

Some Quotes of Ramakrishna

Vedanta Society of So. Cal.

"This man came to live near Calcutta, the capital of India, the most important university town in our country which was sending out sceptics and materialists by the hundreds every year. Yet many of these university men, sceptics and agnostics, used to come and listen to him. I heard of this man, and I went to hear him. He looked just like an ordinary man, with nothing remarkable about him. He used the most simple language, and I thought, 'Can this man be a great teacher?'--crept near to him and asked him the question which I had been asking others all my life: 'Do you believe in God, Sir?' 'Yes,' he replied. 'Can you prove it, Sir?' 'Yes.' 'How?' 'Because I see Him just as I see you here, only in a much intenser sense.' That impressed me at once. For the first time I found a man who dared to say that he saw God, that religion was a reality to be felt, to be sensed in an infinitely more intense way than we can sense the world. I began to go to that man, day after day, and I actually saw that religion could be given. One touch, one glance, can change a whole life. "
Swami Vivekanandam My Master

A Short Biography of Ramakrishna

On His Future Incarnations

Ramakrishna at Angelfire site
Many quotes

"Interpreting Ramakrishna: Kali's Child Revisited"
a book review

List of Ramakrishna's disciples

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Sarada Ramakrishna Vivekananda

Ramakrishna as Siva

Swami Vivekananda
A Short Biography

Vivekananda Organisation

Song of the Sanyasin
A poem by Swami Vivekananda

Some Poems by Swamiji

Vivekananda's Response to
Welcome At The World's Parliament of Religions

Sisters and Brothers of America,

It fills my heart with joy unspeakable to rise in response to the warm and cordial welcome which you have given us. I thank you in the name of the most ancient order of monks in the world; I thank you in the name of the mother of religions; and I thank you in the name of the millions and millions of Hindu people of all classes and sects.

My thanks, also, to some of the speakers on this platform who, referring to the delegates from the Orient, have told you that these men from far-off nations may well claim the honor of bearing to different lands the idea of toleration. I am proud to belong to a religion which has taught the world both tolerance and universal acceptance. We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true. I am proud to belong to a nation which has sheltered the persecuted and the refugees of all religions and all nations of the earth. I am proud to tell you that we have gathered in our bosom the purest remnant of the Israelites, who came to the southern India and took refuge with us in the very year in which their holy temple was shattered to pieces by Roman tyranny. I am proud to belong to the religion which has sheltered and is still fostering the remnant of the grand Zoroastrian nation. I will quote to you, brethren, a few lines from a hymn which I remember to have repeated from my earliest boyhood, which is every day repeated by millions of human beings:

"As the different streams having their sources in different places all mingle their water in the sea, so, O Lord, the different paths which men take through different tendencies, various though they appear, crooked or straight, all lead to Thee."

The present convention, which is one of the most august assemblies ever held, is in itself a vindication, a declaration to the world, of the wonderful doctrine preached in the Gita:

"Whosoever comes to Me, through whatsoever form, I reach him; all men are struggling through paths which in the end lead to Me."

Sectarianism, bigotry, and its horrible descendant, fanaticism, have long possessed this beautiful earth. They have filled the earth with violence, drenched it often and often with human blood, destroyed civilization, and sent whole nations to despair. Had it not been for these horrible demons, human society would be far more advanced than it is now. But their time is come; and I fervently hope that the bell that tolled this morning in honor of this convention may be the death-knell of all fanaticism, of all persecutions with the sword or with the pen, and of all uncharitable feelings between persons wending their way to the same goal.

Ramakrishna & Vivekananda Centers

New York Center

Chennai Center

List of Vedanta Centers

Northern California

Toronto Center

Udbodhan Organisation