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were instantaneously drawn towards him.
Brilliant student though, Shashi Bhushan couldn’t complete graduation as he dedicatedly served Sri Ramakrishna who was ill during his last days. Shashi is remembered for his sacrificing spirit and total devotion to his Master, who attained Mahasamadi by leaning on his chest. In fact, he took charge of the worship of the urn containing the relics of Sri Ramakrishna in the Math’s shrine, as he felt his ‘living presence’. Subsequently
he joined the Baranagar Math, chose the path of
renunciation (sanyasa) and was rechristened as Ramakrishnananda by Swami Vivekananda. He continued his intense service by instituting regular worship on scriptural lines.
When followers in Chennai approached patriot-saint
Vivekananda for a centre in the city, he promised, “I shall
send you one who is more orthodox than your most orthodox Brahmins of the South, and who is at the same
time incomparable in performing worship, scriptural
knowledge and meditation on God.” And that’s how in
1897 the Ramakrishna Math in Chennai was established
under the leadership of Shashi Maharaj, who also started extending educational and medical help to the poor and needy. Affectionately known as the spiritual son and the
apostle of Sri Ramakrishna in the South, he was also responsible for starting the Ramakrishna Mission Students
Home in Mylapore, National School for Girls in George Town, Publication Division of Ramakrishna Mutt, etc.
hashi Bhushan who imbibed ritualistic worship from his father Ishwara Chandra Chakravarty, after schooling in a village, proceeded to Kolkata for pursuing higher education along with his cousin Sharat (later, Swami Saradananda). While at college, on hearing much about Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, in 1883 they met him at Dakshineswar and
Extensive travel
these places. His another great accomplishment was arranging Sri Sarada Devi’s visit to South India in 1911 which provided the much needed impetus to the growth of Sri Ramakrishna Movement, in this part of the country. Relentless service for 14 years (he escorted Sarada Devi across the South) took a heavy toll on his health leading to tuberculosis.
Shifting to Bangalore did not help and he moved to Calcutta, where he passed away on August 21, 1911, at the age of 48. An apostle of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa’s message of “religious harmony and universal peace,” Shashi Maharaj was guru-bhakti personified. He dropped into the Ganges the books he held dear as their reading
came in the way of serving the master. He would hold
an umbrella over the photograph of his guru lest ‘he’
should get drenched.
Sri Ramakrishnananda’s works include ‘Life of Sri Ramanuja,’ ‘God and Divine Incarnation,’ ‘The Message
of Eternal Wisdom,’ ‘Sri Krishna: Pastoral and the
King Maker,’ ‘For Thinkers on Education, The Ancient
Quest,’ ‘Consolations,’ ‘The Soul of Man,’ ‘The Universe
and Man,’ ‘Path to Perfection,’ ‘Sri Ramakrishna and
His Mission’ and so on.
Some oft-quoted lines:
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God is nearer to you than you are to yourself.
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Actually very few of us believe in God all the time.
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to your sensual enjoyments, the more it will be possible to concentrate your mind.
The more, you will be able to minimise your attachment
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Science is the struggle of man in the outside world. Religion is the struggle of man in the inner world.
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Religion begins where science ends.
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