![Vivekananda Baranagar 1887](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Vivekananda_Baranagar_1887.jpg)
Trigunatitananda (30 January 1865 – 10 January 1915), premonastic name Sarada Prasanna Mitra, was a direct disciple of
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
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
mystic and
sant. He established the monthly Bengali magazine
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 ...
of
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 later, at the behest of
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 introd ...
, went to America in 1902 and took charge of the San Francisco centre.
Early life
Trigunatitananda was born as Sarada Prasanna Mitra, on 30 January 1865. He was born to an aristocratic family in the village of Naora in
Bhangar I
Bhangar I is a community development block (CD block) that forms an administrative division in the Baruipur subdivision of the South 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal.
Geography
The Bhangar I CD block is located at . It ...
, (now in
South 24 Parganas
South 24 Parganas (Pron: pɔrɡɔnɔs; abbr. 24 PGS (S)), or sometimes South Twenty Four Parganas and Dakshin 24 Parganas, is a district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Alipore. It is the largest district of West Bengal by ...
) near Calcutta. Sarada was enrolled in the
Metropolitan Institution at
Shyampukur
Shyampukur is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. As a neighbourhood, it covers a small area but its importance is primarily because of the police station.
Et ...
, Calcutta. This was a school of
Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE ( bn, ঈশ্বর চন্দ্র বিদ্যাসাগর; 26 September 1820 – 29 July 1891), born Ishwar Chandra Bandyopadhyay, was an Indian educator and social reformer of the nineteenth century ...
, a social reformer, educator and scholar of 19th century India. The headmaster there was
Mahendranath Gupta
Mahendranath Gupta ( bn, মহেন্দ্রনাথ গুপ্ত) (14 July 1854 – 4 June 1932), (also famously known as শ্রীম, Master Mahashay, and M.), was a disciple of Ramakrishna (a great 19th-century Hindu mystic) and ...
, better known as "M", the author of
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
''The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna'' is an English translation of the Bengali religious text '' Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita'' by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, record ...
(or ''Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita'' in Bengali). Sarada did not do well in the school-leaving "
entrance examination
An entrance examination is an examination that educational institutions conduct to select prospective students for admission. It may be held at any stage of education, from primary to tertiary, even though it is typically held at tertiary stage. ...
".
['' The Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna'', published by Advaita Ashrama, Mayawati (1943) .]
"M" took young Sarada to
Dakshineswar
Dakshineswar is a locality in the North 24 Parganas under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority and is very close to Kolkata. This place is historically famous for Dakshineswar Kali Temple, locally known as Maa Bhabata ...
temple to meet
Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...
on 27 December 1884.
At a very young age Sarada had shown a religious disposition and this was reinforced by contact with Ramakrishna, whom he visited often after joining the Metropolitan college.
When his parents decided to arrange a marriage for him according to Indian customs, he left his house for
Puri
Puri () is a coastal city and a Nagar Palika, municipality in the state of Odisha in eastern India. It is the district headquarters of Puri district and is situated on the Bay of Bengal, south of the state capital of Bhubaneswar. It is als ...
in January 1886, but was brought back by his parents. He appeared for and passed his First Arts examination.
He dedicated himself to the service of Ramakrishna when the latter was terminally ill in
Cossipore
Kashipur (also spelt Cossipur, Kashipur) is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata, in Kolkata district in the Indian state of West Bengal. One of the oldest neighbourhoods of the metropolis, it has a police station.
History
The East India Company o ...
Garden House. After Ramakrishna died, Sarada began to stay with
Narendranath Dutta
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 ...
(later Vivekananda) and a group of dedicated direct disciples of
Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...
, who renounced worldly life, in "Baranagar Math".
Monastic life
In January 1887 Sarada took the vows of complete renunciation or
sannyas
''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' A ...
along with his brother disciples, and came to be known as Trigunatitananda (one who has surpassed the three
gunas or attributes and have attained supreme bliss, an enlightened one. Triguna: the three gunas or attributes of Sattva (contemplation), Rajas (activity) and Tamas (darkness or passivity)). In 1891 Trigunatita started on pilgrimage for
Vrindaban
Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...
,
Mathura
Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...
,
Jaipur
Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...
,
Ajmere
Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "''Aj ...
,
Kathiawar
Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is ...
. At
Porbandar
Porbandar is a city in the States and territories of India, Indian state of Gujarat, perhaps best known for being the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi and Sudama. It is the administrative center of the Porbandar District and it was the former capi ...
, he met Vivekananda. After that, he returned to Baranagar Math.
In 1895, he set out on foot for
Mount Kailash
Mount Kailash (also Kailasa; ''Kangrinboqê'' or ''Gang Rinpoche''; Standard Tibetan, Tibetan: གངས་རིན་པོ་ཆེ; ; sa, कैलास, ), is a mountain in the Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. It h ...
and
Lake Manasarovar
Lake Manasarovar (Sanskrit: मानसरोवर), also called Mapam Yutso (;) locally, is a high altitude freshwater lake fed by the Kailash Glaciers near Mount Kailash in Burang County, Ngari Prefecture, Tibet Autonomous Region, China. The l ...
.
He came back to Calcutta and stayed in the house of a devotee and led a contemplative life for some time. After some time he went to stay in the newly formed
Alambazar Math of the Ramakrishna order.
He was influenced by Vivekananda's ideal of service and philanthropic activities.
In 1897 when the district of Dinajpur in Bengal was in the grip of a famine, he went there and organised relief work.
Vivekananda had planned a magazine to spread the message of
Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...
. For this purpose a press was bought and Trigunatita was put in charge of publishing the magazine, ''Udbodhan''.
After
Yogananda's death, Tigunatitananda became a personal attendant to
Sarada Devi for a time. His brother Ashutosh Mitra, later a monk of the
Ramakrishna Order
The Ramakrishna Order (Bengali: রামকৃষ্ণ সংঘ) is the monastic lineage that was founded by Sri Ramakrishna, when he gave the ochre cloth of renunciation to twelve of his close disciples, in January 1886 at the Cossipore Hous ...
, also served her for a time.
Work in America
In 1902 when
Turiyananda
Swami Turiyananda or "Hari Maharaj" as he was popularly known as, was a direct monastic disciple of Ramakrishna, the 19th-century Hindu mystic from Bengal. He was one of the earliest missionary to be sent by his leader and brother disciple Sw ...
returned from America prematurely due to ill health, Trigunatitananda was sent to replace him. On 2 January 1903, he reached San Francisco and was taken to the house of T.H. Logan, president of the San Francisco Vedanta society. A few weeks later he went to the home of Mr. and Mrs C.F. Peterson where he was to make his headquarters. Classes and lectures were held regularly.
Before long the flat became too small for the Society's operations, and they moved to another flat at 40 Steiner Street.
[Vedanta Society History](_blank)
/ref>
In 1904, because of the work involved, Trigunatitananda felt that a new building for Vedanta Society of San Francisco was needed. Funds were raised, and in January 1906 the building in Webster Street, which came to be known as the first Hindu Temple in the western world, was established and opened to the public. The Swami published a pamphlet explaining each tower and detail of the structure. "This temple," the pamphlet began, "may be considered as a combination of a Hindu temple, a Christian church, a Mohammedan mosque, a Hindu math or monastery, and an American residence." Then it goes on to explain the symbolism built into the temple.
About this temple Trigunatitananda had said, ''Believe me, believe me, if there is last tinge of selfishness in building this temple, it will fall, but if it is the Master's work, it will stand.''
It survived unscathed the major 1906 San Francisco earthquake
At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...
.
Soon after this a monastery was set up with about ten monks, and a convent.
In 1909 the Swami started a monthly magazine called the Voice of Freedom, which was produced for seven years, based on the ideals of Vedanta
''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...
.
Every year the Swami led a selected group of students to Shanti Ashrama, in the San Antone valley in California, a spiritual retreat which was established by Turiyananda
Swami Turiyananda or "Hari Maharaj" as he was popularly known as, was a direct monastic disciple of Ramakrishna, the 19th-century Hindu mystic from Bengal. He was one of the earliest missionary to be sent by his leader and brother disciple Sw ...
, his predecessor and a brother disciple. The inmates spent their time in meditation and prayer.
Trigunatitananda opposed any attempt for his students to get involved in the Indian independence movement. He once said that "his society would never be mixed up with any matter affecting the British Rule in India" and actively encouraged student activists in favor of Indian independence to "give up politics." At the same time, he kept track of these students' activities and reported them to colonial authorities, such as William Charles Hopkinson. In a 1911 letter, Hopkinson wrote, "Regarding Swami Trigunatiti icof the Vedanta Society, I am quite assured that we at least have one loyal East Indian … in this city."
Last days
Trigunatita suffered from chronic rheumatism
Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including art ...
and Bright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied b ...
, but continued his work. On 27 December 1914 he was holding a Sunday service when a bomb was thrown onto the pulpit by a former student. That student died and Trigunatita was fatally injured. On his way to the hospital, he was only concerned about the student. A nurse who attended on him commented: "I have never seen such a calm, uncomplaining, and enduring patient in my life." He died on 10 January 1915. In 1916 his relics were installed on the top of the highest hill, Siddha Giri, the "Hill of Realization" at Shanti Ashram
Shanti Ashram ( as, শান্তি আশ্ৰম) ( hi, शांति आश्रम), now known as "Saraswata Matha" or "Assam Bongiya Saraswata Matha" founded by Swami Nigamananda on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya at Kokilamukh on ...
.
Character and legacy
Quotes
* ''Keep on praying to God with your whole heart; if the need arises for you to have a Guru, God will send somebody for you who will be just the man you want''
* ''People talk of finding out the proper kind of guru. But that is not a reasonable position in all cases. Whoever the guru may be, everything will progress nicely if the disciple is earnest and sincere.''
* ''People of all castes can be initiated by a good guru who has attained perfection. What caste can a true devotee or the perfect soul have? When the individual soul merges in God (like rivers in the sea), they can no more have any individuality. So how can there be then, the distinction of caste, as Brahmin, Shudra etc., belonging to the body and never to the soul?''buddhistlibrary.com
/ref>
References
External links
Swami Trigunatitananda Biography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trigunatitananda, Swami
Scholars from West Bengal
Indian Hindu missionaries
1865 births
1914 deaths
Bengali Hindus
Monks of the Ramakrishna Mission