Swami Subodhananda

What marked out Swami Subodhananda from the other disciples of Sri Ramakrishna was his childlike simplicity and guilelessness. Through this book readers will get a wonderful glimpse of the divine and childlike personality of this saintly and eminent disciple of the Master. Published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, this book contains his Life, Teachings, Reminiscences, and Letters.

Swami Brahmananda, regarded as the spiritual son by Sri Ramakrishna, was a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and the first president of the Ramakrishna Order. This book is a compilation of the personal accounts of monastic and lay members who intimately knew Swami Brahmananda and had many occasions to closely observe his daily life and day-to-day dealings. These reminiscences record the charm of his unassuming personality, the silent influence of his deep spirituality, his practical hints for living a spiritual life, and his keen sense of humour and insights into human mind. An unpublished letter and a couple of speeches of Swami Brahmananda and some remarkable articles on his life and precepts are included in this book. The impressive volume is interspersed with valuable illustrations. This book will be of immense help and inspiration to all spiritual seekers.

Swami Vivekananda the matchless personality of the second millennium emphasized the word ‘Original’ while describing the unfathomable uniqueness and greatness of his master Sri Ramakrishna the greatest incarnation and embodiment of renunciation, austerity, and love. Swamiji wished that his brother-disciples should also possess originality of their own. An extensive research has been carried out to find out the testimonies of originality of not only the Master but of Holy Mother and their sixteen monastic disciples also. A painstaking attempt has been made to focus on the contribution of the illuminated souls to the history of genesis of the Ramakrishna order along with its multifaceted non-political, global philanthropic movement in this magnum opus. Once Swami Vivekananda said to his disciple Sharat Chandra Chakraborty: “Do you think these Sannyasin Children of Sri Ramakrishna are born simply to sit for meditation under trees lighting dhuni-fires? Whenever any of them will take up some work, people will be astonished to see their energy. Learn from them how to work.’’ Sri Ramakrishna’s teachings are very useful and relevant to people of all ages. The world heard the short but significant utterances—‘As many faiths so many paths.’, ‘To serve jiva as Shiva’; first from his lips. Swamiji a leading exponent of fearlessness and positive thinking, introduced ‘man-making religion’—a universal religion. He said,’’ The first of all worship is the worship of the Virat—of those all around us….These are all our gods—men and animals, and the first gods we have to worship are our countrymen.’’ In this age of the ‘the fret and the fever’ these historic proclamations are the antidote to fanaticism, intolerance towards different religions and pessimism. The author has meticulously discussed how the direct monastic disciples of Sri Ramakrishna had made Vedanta an organized religion that does not stress rituals, a rigid set of practices, theory, dogma or doctrine and the living being and its reason is the centre of the religion and how they had shown quite apart from their scrupulous honesty and unfailing dedication—a degree of organizational, managerial and administrative ability that could be the envy of professional specialists in different spheres of activity. This glorious history deserves wide circulation for the promotion of religious tolerance, catholic outlook and the ideals of equality and fraternity. Target Readers: People interested in spirituality, researchers, people fond of thought-provoking repository articles and curious book-lovers.

This is an enlarged edition of our earlier publication, the Apostles of Sri Ramakrishna. The book contains the life and teachings of the sixteen monastic disciples of Sri Ramakrishna. Brief life sketches of some of the lay disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, both men and women, have also been added. Compiled and Edited by Swami Gambhirananda and published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, India, readers will find in this work invaluable guidance and instructions for enriching their spiritual life, as well as plenty of much needed inspiration.

Stories of Vedanta Monks presents the reminiscences of the Second-Generation Monks of the Ramakrishna Order. The monastic disciples of Sri Ramakrishna constitute the first generation; their disciples in turn constitute the second. The second-generation monks had not seen Sri Ramakrishna. Nevertheless, they met many of the first-generation monks who had lived with Sri Ramakrishna, Sri Sarada Devi, and Swami Vivekananda. Just as the direct impact of the Holy Trio on the life and character of the first-generation monks is marked and distinct, so is the impact of the first generation of monks on the second. They are repositories of invaluable information about Sri Ramakrishna, his monastic disciples, and the glorious traditions of the Ramakrishna Order. The author, Swami Chetanananda, had close associations with some of these monks and has put on record the information that he gathered from them. In and through the life events of these monks, we find brahmavidya (Knowledge of Brahman) pervading their thoughts, speech, and actions in so many ways. The behavioural standards set by them and sacred traditions followed in the Ramakrishna monasteries also stand revealed. When carefully protected and passed on to the next generation, it is these living traditions and practices that become the conduit for the spiritual force and Divine knowledge that emanated from Sri Ramakrishna to pass on and enrich one and all. Published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication branch of Ramakrishna Math. Belur, this is volume 1 of the reminiscences and is a translation of the Bengali title ‘Prachin Sadhuder Katha – Vol. 1

This book is an extensive and well-researched biography of Swami Shivananda, popularly known as Mahapurush Maharaj, who was a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna and the second president of the Ramakrishna Order. The book presents the biographical narrative of this illumined saint, blending some reminiscences and observations with his conversations and letters. Authored by Swami Vividishananda, who was the head of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre, Seattle, USA, the book will help the readers appreciate the exalted life and personality of Swami Shivananda.

Swami Vivekananda: The Journey of a Spiritual Entrepreneur details the events of Vivekananda's life, encompassing his transformation from a nameless wanderer to the most renowned representative of Hinduism of all times. In this book, we come across the Vivekananda who not only created history by delivering the Chicago Lecture in 1893 but also established the Ramakrishna Order through an unparalleled entrepreneurial spirit which brought to the fore his qualities as a decisive leader and an excellent communicator who reached out globally to convey the message of the Vedanta. These attributes of Vivekananda's personality have remained largely unexplored in most of the books written on him. This book also maps Hinduism and its present-day challenges vis-à-vis its attributes in light of Swami Vivekananda's philosophy and brings forth its contemporary relevance in a practical manner for the reader at a time when the fire of fundamentalism among different faiths has turned religions of the world essentially into separating factors within humanity. Further, it also contains detailed descriptions of practical approaches to translation that will help scholars build a comprehensive framework for translation of complex texts such as the Vedas and Upanishads. It finally concludes with the Indian media's articulate advocacy of Vivekananda's approach on a number of platforms in recent times, to unite humanity despite all its diversity as it is ever more relevant today.

This book assesses Swami Vivekananda's teachings, his personality and his contributions to the building of modern India. This biography has four sections - the life, the teachings, the man and Vivekananda as a Builder of Modern India. The author calls Vivekananda's "Practical Vedanta" as "Vedantic Socialism". He holds that the ideas put forward by Swami Vivekananda have a tremendous influence on the political thinking and action in India and embraced the mass dynamism of Gandhi and the socialistic ideals of Nehru.