Vimalananda (also called Khagen Maharaj) (1872–1908) was one of the monastic disciples 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 ...

and an early 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 ...

. He was involved in the publication of

Prabuddha Bharata ''Prabuddha Bharata'' () is an English-language monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order, in publication since July 1896. It carries articles and translations by monks, scholars, and other writers on humanities and social sciences including relig ...

. He was actively involved in running day-to-day operations of the

Advaita Ashrama Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of Vivekananda,Mayavati Kumari Mayawati (born 15 January 1956) is an Indian politician. She has served four separate terms as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. She is the national president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which focuses on a platform of social chan ...

during the early days of the Ashrama. He also inaugurated 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 ...

at Ulsoor in

Bangalore Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

in 1906. He died in 1908 at the Mayavati Ashrama.

Early life

Vimlananda was born Khagendranath Chatterjee in a Hindu

Brahmin Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...

family in 1872. His father, Benimadhav Chatterjee, was an engineer. His cousin Haripada Chatterjee, later

Bodhananda Bodhananda (1883–1928) was an Indian Hindu philosopher. He was the disciple and the nominated successor of his guru, called Narayana Guru Narayana Guru, , (20 August 1856 – 20 September 1928) was a philosopher, spiritual leader an ...

, was also a monastic disciple of Vivekananda. He was interested in philosophy and spirituality from an early age and by the time he joined Ripon College, he was the leader of a group actively pursuing a spiritual life. Also in the group was Kalikrishna, later

Virajananda Swami Virajananda (10 June 1873 – 30 May 1951), born Kalikrishna Bose, was an initiated disciple of Sarada Devi and the sixth president of the Ramakrishna Order. Born as the son of Trailokyanath Bose and Nishadkalidevi, Virajananda was the f ...

, another monastic disciple of Vivekananda and a president of the

Belur Math Belur Math () is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. It is located on the west bank of Hooghly River, Belur, West Bengal, India. The tem ...

. In 1890, he passed his

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term "matriculation" is seldom used now ...

examination and won a scholarship. He continued with his First Arts studies at Ripon College.

Monastic beginnings

Khagen was initiated to Ramakrishna's ideals by reading a collection of his teachings by Sureshchandra Dutta and a biography 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 ...

Ram Chandra Datta Ram Chandra Datta (30 October 1851 — 17 January 1899) was a householder disciple of Ramakrishna and a writer. Datta was a relative of Indian monk and social reformer Swami Vivekananda. After completing his graduation, he took job of a Governmen ...

. They visited Kankurgachhi Yogodyan on the occasion of celebrating Ramakrishna's birth festival by Ramchandra Dutta. In Ripon College he came in close contact with

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 ...

, (called "M"), the author of ''

Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita ''Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita'' ( bn, শ্রীশ্রীরামকৃষ্ণ-কথামৃত, , ''The Nectar of Sri Ramakrishna's Words'') is a Bengali literature, Bengali five-volume work by Mahendranath Gupta (1854–1932) w ...

'', who was then a professor in the same college. M inspired them to visit the monastic disciples of Ramakrishna in

Baranagar Math Baranagar Math (Baranagar Monastery) or Ramakrishna Math, Baranagar was the first monastery of Ramakrishna Order. In September 1886, after the death of Ramakrishna, when his devotees stopped funding, Swami Vivekananda (then known as Narendranath ...

. In 1892, he went to Jayrambati and met Sarada Devi. He was later initiated by her into spiritual life. He gave up his studies on account of poor health and spent more time in the monastery in the company of the disciples of Sri Ramakrishna.

Monastic life

In 1897, he met

when the latter returned from the West and became a disciple. In 1898, he was sent to

Mayavati Kumari Mayawati (born 15 January 1956) is an Indian politician. She has served four separate terms as Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. She is the national president of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which focuses on a platform of social chan ...

to manage the affairs of the Advaita Ashrama. Vimalananda joined

Swami Virajananda Swami Virajananda (10 June 1873 – 30 May 1951), born Kalikrishna Bose, was an initiated disciple of Sarada Devi and the sixth president of the Ramakrishna Order. Born as the son of Trailokyanath Bose and Nishadkalidevi, Virajananda was the ...

as one of the workers of the Mayavati Ashrama. Swami Vivekananda was full of praise for Vimalananda's command of English language. He was involved in editing ''Prabuddha Bharata''. Vimalananda became engaged in work as well as spiritual practices. His health, which was generally sickly, improved in the hilly climate. Swami Vivekananda visited Mayavati in 1901 after the demise of Capt. Sevier. During this period a small shrine was set up by Vimalananda and others for worshiping

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 ...

with rituals, flowers, incense and other offerings. Swami Vivekananda disapproved of ritualistic worship in

Advaita Ashrama Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of Vivekananda, Vimalananda wrote to the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi seeking her opinion in this matter. However, she confirmed that Advaitism was the highest ideal of the Ramakrishna Order, that every member of the order was Advaitin and what Swami Vivekananda did or said in this matter was right. Vimalananda's doubts were thus put to rest. He came to

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

together with his brother disciple

Swami Swarupananda Swarupananda (8 July 1871 – 27 June 1906) was a direct monastic disciple of Vivekananda and the first president of the Advaita Ashrama, set up by Vivekananda in 1899 at Mayavati, near Champawat. The ashram is a branch of the religious monas ...

and gave some lectures on

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 ...

. He came back to Mayavati as his health broke down. He went to

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

to stay with

Swami Ramakrishnananda Ramakrishnananda (13 July 1863 – 21 August 1911) was one of the direct disciples of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Known for his "Gurubhakti" ervice to the Guru he served the Baranagore Math for 12 years without missing a single day. Biography ...

for a few months. He went to Bangalore to help Swami Atmananda (Shukul Maharaj) helping him run the newly-established Bangalore Ashrama. In 1906 Swami Swarupananda died. Vimalananda therefore returned to Belur Math and turned down offers to visit Vedanta Societies of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. In the later part of 1906 he returned to Mayavati with Mrs. Sevier. Returning there, he started editing the ''Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda''.

Illness and death

In February 1908 Vimalananda was found to have

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

which was then incurable. After a brief illness he died on 24 July 1908. Eulogizing him after his death,

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 ...

, the then secretary of

wrote in

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 ...

Oh Man! Will you be able to comprehend this offering by a faithful and devoted disciple of his heart's blood to the lotus feet of his chosen Ideal, this offering of spontaneous love completely devoid of selfish motive or hope of reward, his silent and unassuming worship from his heart away from the public gaze? Swami Vimalananda, a tribute, by Swami Saradananda, Udbodhan Patrika (Bengali), 1908

Notes

References

* {{Swami Vivekananda 1872 births 1908 deaths Indian spiritual writers Monastic disciples of Swami Vivekananda Monks of the Ramakrishna Mission