Surendra Nath Mitra
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Surendra Nath Mitra aka Surendranath Mitra (1850 – 25 May 1890) was one of the prominent devotees of
Sri Shri (; , ) is a Sanskrit term denoting resplendence, wealth and prosperity, primarily used as an honorific. The word is widely used in South and Southeast Asian languages such as Marathi, Malay (including Indonesian and Malaysian), Javanes ...
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...
. He came from a very prosperous background and had the fortune of sponsoring the expenditures of the Master and his devotees when the Master lived in
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
in his last days. He was also known as Suresh Chandra Mitra, but Sri Ramakrishna called him "
Surendra Surendra is an Indian masculine given name. Notable people with this name include: * Surendra (actor/singer) * Surendra Bhave * Surendra Chaturvedi * Surendra Dubey * Surendra Gambhir * Surendra Hiranandani * Surendra Jain * Surendra Jha 'Sum ...
". Suresh lived in Simulia Street, the same locality as Narendranath (
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 ...
).


Biography

Mitra was probably born in 1850. Little is known about his early life, except that it was carefree and open, like that of many rich people in erstwhile Bengal. According to his own testimony, Mitra was initially indifferent towards religion."Lay Disciples of Sri Ramakrishna"
belurmath.org, 2012.


Meeting with Sri Ramakrishna

Mitra (aged 30) probably met Sri Ramakrishna in 1880, when he went there in company with another prominent householder disciple,
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 ...
. Ramakrishna accepted him with all his past vices and preached to him on self-surrender. From then on, Mitra, became a frequent visitor 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.


Contribution towards Ramakrishna Movement

Mitra had several notable contributions towards the early growth 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 ...
. While Sri Ramakrishna was in Dakshineswar, he supplied Rs 10/- every month for the devotees of Sri Ramakrishna. Though small in amount, the sum went a long way in meeting the daily needs of the devotees who stayed with the Master. Sri Ramakrishna suffered from a terminal throat cancer and had to be shifted to the city of Calcutta. Naturally, many devotees thronged to the place where he lived. The young devotees like
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 ...
spent almost all their time-serving the Master in those days. This was the time when they took the oath of
renunciation Renunciation (or renouncing) is the act of rejecting something, especially if it is something that the renunciant has previously enjoyed or endorsed. In religion, renunciation often indicates an abandonment of pursuit of material comforts, in t ...
. They left their homes and dedicated their lives to serving the Master. Mitra bore the entire expenditure of the Cossipore Garden House (about Rs 60 per month), where Sri Ramakrishna spent his last days. He also joined with other householder disciples to bear the expenses of his monastic brother disciples. Mitra commissioned the famous oil painting in which Sri Ramakrishna points out the harmony of religions to Keshab Chandra Sen. After the Master left his body, the young devotees of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa were told to go back home. Their spiritual practices were hindered due to lack of funding, and they had to go through a difficult phase of life. It was in this phase that Sri Ramakrishna appeared in a vision to Mitra and scolded him for neglecting his children. According to
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 ...
, volume 5, Mitra had come to Narendra (Swami Vivekananda) and requested that he find a house where the monastic disciples could reside. It was also a place where the householder disciples could come and spend some time in solitude, away from the din and bustle - "A cool haven for the unfortunate ones being roasted in the crucible of the world". He promised that he would sponsor its rent. Thus began the formation of
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 ...
, which was later moved first to Alambazar and then to
Belur Belur may refer to: Places * Belur, Karnataka, a town in Karnataka, India ** Belur temple (Chennakeshava temple), Belur * Belur, Tamil Nadu, a town in Salem district, Tamil Nadu, India * Belur, West Bengal, a neighbourhood of Howrah, India ** Be ...
. Mitra immediately jumped into action and rented a house where the young monks could stay. It was in
Baranagore ("City of hogs") , settlement_type = City , image_seal = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , pushpin_map = India West Bengal#India3#Asia , pushpin_label_ ...
, midway north between Calcutta and
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 ...
. He also sponsored a part of their expenses and spent around Rs 100 a month meeting their expenses. Many other household devotees of the Master followed Mitra's example. Swami Vivekananda and other young disciples began living in an old, neglected house where they focused on their spiritual practices. During the construction of Belur Math, the marble flooring in the shrine-room was installed using a lump sum of money that Mitra had set aside for the Math.


Devotion and loyalty towards Sri Ramakrishna

According to The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by Mahendranath Gupta and other literary sources on Sri Ramakrishna, Mitra was one of the most faithful household devotees. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna also illustrates many vices of Mitra. However, his most significant contribution was his steadfast loyalty and unwavering faith to his Master. While being engaged in his family Durga Puja, he had a vision that the Master himself was present in the Puja, though Sri Ramakrishna was then bed-ridden in Shyampukur. Later, Ramakrishna himself recounted this incident to Mitra.


Death

Mitra died on 25 May 1890, at the age of forty, in Kolkata (Calcutta). Little is known about his death except Swami Vivekananda's lament to his disciple
Sarat Chandra Chakravarty Sarat Chandra Chakravarty ( bn, শরৎ চন্দ্র চক্রবর্ত্তি) was a direct householder disciple of Swami Vivekananda and was the chronicler of "Diary of a Disciple" ( bn, স্বামী শিষ্য স ...
that Mitra's family did not allow his brother disciples to look after him, presumably because of their fear of losing their property to the Ramakrishna Order. The exact conversation is provided here:
"Disciple: Sir, I have heard that you did not see him very often while he was dying.

Swamiji: We could only do so if we were allowed y his relatives Well, it is a long tale. But know this for certain that among worldly people it is of little count to your relatives and kinsmen whether you live or die. If you succeed in leaving some property, you will find even in your lifetime that there has been set up a brawl over it in your household. You will have no one to console you in your death-bed – not even your wife and sons! Such is the way of the ''Diary of a Disciple'', by Sarat Chandra Chankravarty, p. 116


References


External links

* Gupta, Mahendranath; ''
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 ...
'' * Swami Chetanananda, ''They lived with God''
"Vivekananda - As a Wandering Monk"
ramakrishnavivekananda.info. * ''Sri Ramakrishna Leela Prasanga'' (Bengali) by Swami Saradananda

shyampukurbati.org. {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitra, Surendra Nath Lay disciples of Ramakrishna Scholars from Kolkata 1850s births 1890 deaths 19th-century Indian scholars 19th-century Hindu religious leaders