Ramakrishnananda

Ramakrishnananda (13 July 1863 – 21 August 1911) was one of the direct disciples of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Known for his "Gurubhakti" [Service to the Guru], he served the Baranagore Math for 12 years without missing a single day. Ramakrishnananda was born as Shashi Bhushan Chakravarty on 13 July 1863. His father Ishwara Chandra Chakravarty was an expert in ritualistic worship, and Shashi imbibed from him love for ritualistic worship. After passing out of the village school, he went to Kolkata and lived with his cousin Sharat (later, Swami Saradananda) for higher education. A brilliant student, he chose mathematics for the B.A. course, which, however, he could not complete owing to the terminal illness of Ramakrishna at Cossipore. While studying in a Calcutta college, Shashi and Sharat joined the Brahmo Samaj, and heard about Ramakrishna from Keshab Chandra Sen himself. In October 1883 they visited Dakshineswar and were deeply attracted to Ramakrishna, who used to say that Shashi and Sharat had been the followers of Jesus Christ in their previous birth. Shashi distinguished himself most by the self-sacrificing spirit and devotion with which he served Ramakrishna during his last illness at Shyampukur and Cossipore. After the Master's passing he joined the Baranagar Math and underwent sannyasa ordination, assuming the name Ramakrishnananda. He took charge of the worship of the Atmaramer kauta, the urn containing the relics of Ramakrishna in the Math's shrine. He felt the living presence of the Master, and so his worship was not a mere ritual but loving service to a living God. It was Swami Ramakrishnananda who formulated and introduced the system of daily ritualistic worship to Ramakrishna that is followed in the Ramakrishna Movement. He seldom went out on pilgrimage, and devoted himself to daily worship at the Math. But when Vivekananda, after his return from the West, asked him to go to Madras (presently called Chennai) and open a branch centre of Ramakrishna Math there, he obeyed without any hesitation.