Birth and childhood edit
Ramakrishna was born in 1836, in the village of Kamarpukur, in the Hooghly district of West Bengal, into a very poor but pious, orthodox brahmin family. His parents were Khudiram Chattopâdhyâya, and Chandramani Devî. Various supernatural incidents are recounted in connection with Ramakrishna’s birth. It is said that Ramakrishna was named Gadadhar in response to a dream Khudiram had in Gaya before Ramakrishna’s birth, in which Lord Gadadhara, the form of Vishnu worshipped at Gaya, appeared to him and told him he would be born as his son. Chandramani Devi is said to have had a vision of light entering her womb before Ramakrishna was born. Ramakrishna was born as the fourth and last child to his parents.[1]
Gadadhar, as Ramakrishna was known in his early days, was an extremely popular figure in his village. He had a natural gift for the fine arts like drawing and clay modelling. However, he disliked attending school, and rejected his schooling saying that he was not interested in mere "Bread Winning Education". He became increasingly less interested in formal attendance. Though Gadadhar shunned the traditional school system, he showed great desire and ability to learn.[2][3] He easily mastered the songs, tales and dramas which were based on the religious scriptures.[4] At a very early age he was well versed in the Purāṇas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata, and Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, by hearing them from wandering monks and the Kathaks — a class of men in ancient India who preached and sang the Purāṇas for the uneducated masses.[5] He learned to read and write in Bengali.[6] He was able to follow Sanskrit even though he could not speak the language.[7] He would visit with wandering monks who stopped in Kamarpukur on their way to Puri. He would serve them and listen to their religious debates with rapt attention. Gadadhar loved nature and spent much time in fields and fruit orchards outside the village with his friends.
At the age of six or seven, Gadadhar had an intense experience of spiritual ecstasy. He was walking along the paddy fields and suddenly looked up to find a flock of white cranes flying with dark thunder-clouds as a background. To him, that was a beautiful sight, he was so absorbed that he lost consciousness of everything outward. He later said that in that state he had experienced an indescribable joy.[4][8] Gadadhar had experiences of similar nature a few other times in his childhood.
Gadadhar's father died in 1843. This event had a profound effect on the boy and is considered as one of the determinative points in Ramakrishna's religious life.[9] This loss drew him closer to his mother, and he spent his time in household activities, including the daily worship of the household deities. He also became more involved in contemplative activities such as reading the sacred epics.
At the age of nine, Gadadhar was to be invested with the sacred thread. However, contrary to tradition and despite firm opposition from his family, to keep up his promise , Gadhadhar took his first alms — which marks the formal recognition of the boy as brahmi, from a low-caste woman belonging to blacksmith community.[10]
When Ramakrishna was into his teens, the family's financial position worsened. Ramkumar ran a Sanskrit school in Calcutta and also served as a purohit priest in some families. Ramakrishna moved to Calcutta in the year 1852 and started assisting his elder brother in the priestly work.[11]
- ^ "The Birth of Ramakrishna". Ramakrishna and His Disciples. p. 13.
- ^
Transformation of Ramakrishna. p. 70.
…The point to be made is that we are not dealing with an uneducated or ignorant ecstatic. Rather, because of his intelligence, his interest, his own study and his subsequent contact with Hindus of all schools of thought, we should realize that we are dealing with a well versed Hindu thinker who, because of the ecstatic nature of his religious experience, refused to be bound in and restricted by what he viewed as dry, rationalistic requirements of systematic discourse.
- ^ Bhawuk, Dharm P.S. (February 2003). "Culture's influence on creativity: the case of Indian spirituality". International Journal of Intercultural Relations. 27 (1). Elsevier: 1–22. doi:10.1016/S0147-1767(02)00059-7.
…scholars have called him "the illiterate genius"
- ^ a b Isherwood, Christopher (1974). Ramakrishna and His Disciples. Advaita Ashrama. p. 28.
- ^ Muller, Max (1898). "Râmakrishna's Life". Râmakrishna his Life and Sayings. p. 33.
- ^ Saradananda, Swami. The Great Master. p. 59.
- ^
Nikhilananda, Swami (1942). "Chapter 20 — RULES FOR HOUSEHOLDERS AND MONKS". The Gospel of Ramakrishna.
During my boyhood I could understand what the Sadhus read at the Lahas' house at Kamarpukur, although I would miss a little here and there. If a pundit speaks to me in Sanskrit I can follow him, but I cannot speak it myself.… The realization of God is enough for me. What does it matter if I don't know Sanskrit?
- ^ Swami Nikhilananda. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna Math, Chennai. pp. p. 4.
{{cite book}}:|pages=has extra text (help) - ^
Neevel, Walter G (1976). "The Transformation of Ramakrishna". Hinduism: New Essays in the History of Religions. Brill Archive. p. 68.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Vrajaprana, Pravrajika (1994). Living Wisdom. Vedanta Press. p. 246.
- ^ "The Boyhood of Ramakrishna". Ramakrishna and His Disciples. p. 37.