READ SWAMI CHETANANANDA OF RAMAKRISHNA MATH AND RAMAKRISHNA MISSION
Simplicity of expression is the hallmark of the writing of Swami Chetanananda. He is, perhaps, the most prolific writer in the history of the Ramakrishna Order. His books are galore. Get hold of them one by one and read them all up. The style is so easy and the writing most readable. You will all enjoy it. The history of the Ramakrishna Order will come alive before your eyes and you will almost effortlessly plumb spiritual depths you had never imagined would be possible through mere reading. Of course, there is no substitute to spiritual practice and by no means is reading Chetanananda being suggested as an alternative to it. What it boils down to is this : practice and study are the complementary aspects of spiritual effort for progress towards Godhead. Practice enlivens the system and study clarifies conception. So, chant your mantra, meditate on your chosen ideal and read Chetanananda, and bliss is yours, I assure you. But purity, of course, must be the basis for it all, for spirituality is all about progressive removal of the dross that hides the vision of the Self which is, as such, ever-effulgent. These minor adjustments made, proceed to enjoy the elixir of life, for, indeed, you are, as the Shvetashvatar Upanishad declares, अमृतस्य पुत्रा or the children of immortal bliss.
What more may I say than to request you to read these wonderful books of Swami Chetanananda to get to know intimately the luminous sages of the Ramakrishna Order? You shall benefit from the experience for sure, be provided with a wealth of detail about the subjects of his treatment and will crave for more reading stuff on the history of the Ramakrishna Mission. These books have been extremely popular over the years but are not philosophical treatises by any stretch of imagination. They are mainly biographical studies written in a lucid and conversational style for easy reading but are most authentic and exhaustive in terms of factual details provided.
The lives of all the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna have been so beautifully depicted in the two volume series 'God Lived With Them' and 'They Lived With God' but, curiously enough, one particular direct disciple of the Master, Swami Nirmalananda (Tulsi Maharaj), who was such an outstanding monk and did play such a seminal role in the early establishment of southern centres in Karnataka and Kerala, has been simply omitted as if he never existed at all. This is strange and regrettable and seems to be the only major lapse in an otherwise enviable series.
Jai Ramakrishna!
Written by Sugata Bose
Photo : Swami Chetanananda (courtesy, Swami Chetanananda, facebook page)
Simplicity of expression is the hallmark of the writing of Swami Chetanananda. He is, perhaps, the most prolific writer in the history of the Ramakrishna Order. His books are galore. Get hold of them one by one and read them all up. The style is so easy and the writing most readable. You will all enjoy it. The history of the Ramakrishna Order will come alive before your eyes and you will almost effortlessly plumb spiritual depths you had never imagined would be possible through mere reading. Of course, there is no substitute to spiritual practice and by no means is reading Chetanananda being suggested as an alternative to it. What it boils down to is this : practice and study are the complementary aspects of spiritual effort for progress towards Godhead. Practice enlivens the system and study clarifies conception. So, chant your mantra, meditate on your chosen ideal and read Chetanananda, and bliss is yours, I assure you. But purity, of course, must be the basis for it all, for spirituality is all about progressive removal of the dross that hides the vision of the Self which is, as such, ever-effulgent. These minor adjustments made, proceed to enjoy the elixir of life, for, indeed, you are, as the Shvetashvatar Upanishad declares, अमृतस्य पुत्रा or the children of immortal bliss.
What more may I say than to request you to read these wonderful books of Swami Chetanananda to get to know intimately the luminous sages of the Ramakrishna Order? You shall benefit from the experience for sure, be provided with a wealth of detail about the subjects of his treatment and will crave for more reading stuff on the history of the Ramakrishna Mission. These books have been extremely popular over the years but are not philosophical treatises by any stretch of imagination. They are mainly biographical studies written in a lucid and conversational style for easy reading but are most authentic and exhaustive in terms of factual details provided.
The lives of all the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna have been so beautifully depicted in the two volume series 'God Lived With Them' and 'They Lived With God' but, curiously enough, one particular direct disciple of the Master, Swami Nirmalananda (Tulsi Maharaj), who was such an outstanding monk and did play such a seminal role in the early establishment of southern centres in Karnataka and Kerala, has been simply omitted as if he never existed at all. This is strange and regrettable and seems to be the only major lapse in an otherwise enviable series.
Jai Ramakrishna!
Written by Sugata Bose
Photo : Swami Chetanananda (courtesy, Swami Chetanananda, facebook page)
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