''Sri Ramakrishna the Great Master,'' translated by Swami Jagadananda (a disciple of Sarada Devi), is an English translation of the

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

biography ''Sri Ramakrishna Leela Prasanga'', of

Sri Ramakrishna Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...

, the 19th-century Indian saint and mystic. Its Bengali original was written by

Swami Saradananda Saradananda (23 December 1865 – 19 August 1927), also known as Swami Saradananda, was born as Sarat Chandra Chakravarty in 1865, and was one of the direct monastic disciples of Ramakrishna. He was the first Secretary of the Ramakrishna Ma ...

, which is based on interviews of persons who knew or interacted with him. It is therefore a first-hand source. The original Bengali version published was composed in five volumes and was the first full-scale biography of the saint. This is an eyewitness account and therefore carries more credibility than later books on Sri Ramakrishna. The English translation was first published in 1952. The original Bengali book was written from 1909 to 1919, over a period of ten years, in order to repay the debt incurred for constructing

Udbodhan ''Udbodhan'' is the only Bengali publication of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, started by Vivekananda in January 1899, with Trigunatitananda as its founding editor Over the years, it also grew into a publishing house, and remain ...

House for Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi.

History

Saradananda was one of the direct monastic disciples of Sri Ramakrishna and was the first Secretary of the

Ramakrishna Math Ramakrishna Math is the administrative legal organization of the Ramakrishna Order, considered part of the Hindu reform movements. It was set up by sanyasin disciples of Ramakrishna Paramhansa headed by Swami Vivekananda at Baranagar Math in Bar ...

and

Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) is a Hindu religious and spiritual organisation which forms the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as the ''Ramakrishna Movement'' or the ''Vedanta Movement''. The mission is named after and inspired by th ...

. He first met Ramakrishna when he was in his teens and started writing the book almost two decades after the death of Ramakrishna in 1886. Besides '' Gospel of Ramakrishna'', it is considered a major biographical source. However, this biography and later biographies by his disciples have been "heavily influenced by the later systematic reinterpretation" of the tradition, and should therefore be used "with critical caution" and "checked against the recorded sayings". The original Bengali book was translated to English by Swami Jagadananda in 1952 and published by

Sri Ramakrishna Math Chennai Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai is a monastic organisation for men brought into existence by Ramakrishna (1836–1886), a 19th-century saint of Bengal. The motto of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission is: "For one's own salvation, a ...

. This is the original and most complete biography of Sri Ramakrishna. More recently, another English translation has been brought out by Swami Chetanananda, named ''Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play''.

Overview

The book is made up of two parts. Part 1 of the book deals with the early life of Sri Ramakrishna, including his birth and childhood and his spiritual practices, while part 2 deals with Sri Ramakrishna as a spiritual teacher, his relationship with Narendranath Dutta, later

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intro ...

, and the later stages of his life.

References

External

* {{cite web, title = Sri Ramakrishna The Great Master, url = http://estudantedavedanta.net/ramakrishna_great_master.pdf Ramakrishna Indian biographies Translations into English 1952 non-fiction books Indian non-fiction books 20th-century Indian books