"Ramakrishna Jayanti"- Commemorating the Radiant Soul and Spiritual Luminary

"Egoism, caused by ignorance, is the root cause of all suffering."

This undoubtedly, very true statement quoted by- Ramakrishna Paramahansa, a very well-known saint and yogi of 19th century India. He was born on 18th February, 1836. Hence, every year Dwitiya tithi of Phalguna Shukla Paksha is commemorated as "Ramakrishna Jayanti" as a due respect to him. This year, Ramakrishna Jayanti is on '12th March 2024.'

As per Drik Panchang, the “tithi” for “Ramakrishna Jayanti” in the year 2024 is as follows:

Ramakrishna Jayanti on Tuesday, March 12, 2024

• Dwitiya Tithi Begins - 10:44 AM on Mar 11, 2024
• Dwitiya Tithi Ends - 07:13 AM on Mar 12, 2024

Being born in a very poor but devoutly religious Brahmin family in a very small village of Kamarpukur, Hooghly district of the state of West Bengal, India, he was the 4th and the youngest child of his parents. His father, Khudiram Chattopadhyay and his mother, Chandramani Devi used to feel so blessed on getting such respectful and obedient son. Chandramani Devi is also said to have a vision of light entering her womb from the lingam in Yogider Shiv Mandir. His parents had premonitions and spiritual experiences suggesting that God would descend to the Earth in the form of their son. At Ramakrishna's birth, he was named as 'Gadadhar Chattopadhyay' by his parents. Unfortunately, he lost his father in the year 1843 when he was mere 7 & half years old.

During his school years, he couldn't adopt the ways of learning as his teachers were telling. He lost interest in that "bread winning education." Then, he started his journey towards reading scriptures, becoming proficient in making images, acting and painting, and learning about spirituality. After years of going through infinite books and ancient scriptures, he became well-versed in the Puranas, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Bhagavata Purana.

His inclination towards 'spiritualism' was inevitable. He started experiencing spiritual ecstasies from a very young age. He condensed complicated spiritual teachings into a very simple and understandable language. He used to prefer the divine personification of the ultimate supreme being in every individual. He also believed in the modern-day reincarnation of Lord Vishnu. He presented to the whole world through real-life examples how to go about seeking the 'actual truth' of existence. He also served as an important figure when Hinduism was revived in Bengal.

"Having followed almost all the paths of the different Hindu sects, I have found that it's the same God toward whom all are directing their steps, though along different paths."

-Ramakrishna Paramahansa

Being a religious person, he started his journey as a priest at Dakshineswar Kali temple. Some legends say that he became so overwhelmed after his mother's death that he initiated being so attached to the mother Kali & became a worshipper of Goddess Kali. That's why, on Ramakrishna Jayanti, many people worship Maa Kali also as a respect to him. Originally, he belonged to the higher Brahminical caste but ate the food made by the Shudras, the lowest backward caste at his time. This shows his non-belief in any kind of discrimination and untouchability. He sermonized on the religious paths leading to one and only- single path: the realisation of God.

He was married to Sharda Devi who also became his spiritual counterpart. He was offered the title of 'Paramahansa' by the Vedantic Guru Totapuri whose life was a manifestation of Advaita Vedanta. After his demise in the year 1886 due to throat cancer, his teachings and devotion towards making the society free from discrimination & superstitions didn't vanish. His chief disciple, Swami Vivekananda founded "Ramakrishna Math" as a respect to his Guru & popularized the ideas of Ramakrishna Paramahansa by providing spiritual training to people. "Belur Math" is the headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Mission. Swami Vivekananda, along with many other disciples of Guru Ramakrishna such as Kaliprasad Chandra (Swami Abhedananda), Sashibhushan Chakravarty (Swami Ramakrishnananda), Rakhal Chandra Ghosh (Swami Brahmananda), and Sarat Chandra Chakravarty (Swami Saradananda), spread a spiritual movement known as 'Ramakrishna movement' worldwide.

The below words by Swami Vivekananda show his respect and devotion towards his Guru, Ramakrishna:

"My Master's life is really a living commentary on Veda & Vedanta. For the first time I found a person who dared to say that he saw God, that religion was a reality, to be felt, to be sensed in an infinitely more intense way than we can sense the world. I began to go to that man, day after day, and I actually saw that religion could be given. One touch, one glance, can change a whole life."

Today, we are celebrating the "188th" birth anniversary of the great saint & yogi, Ramakrishna Paramahansa. On this day, Ramakrishna Mission in India organizes a number of programs to spread his precious teachings to today's youth. As he was an ardent devotee of Maa Kali, hence Maa Kali is worshipped on Ramakrishna Jayanti as a tribute to him.

Few of my favourite quotes of Shri Ramakrishna Paramahansa are as follows:

• "Many good sayings are to be found in holy books, but merely reading them will not make one religious.”
• “God is in all men, but all men are not in God; that is why we suffer.”
• “The traits of a worldly man endowed with tamas are sleep, lust, anger, egotism and the like.”

This Ramakrishna Jayanti, let's make our minds free of societal discriminations and treat everyone equally free from biases.