I 21.7 RAMAKRISHNA PARAMAHAMSA
To attempt to say something briefly of Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (1836 – 1886), The Master, when the whole world is full of His message, through His Messiah Swami Vivekananda, and the Mission which bears the Master's name, is, to say the least, itself a formidable task. However we shall draw the attention of the reader to the following small note on Ramakrishna, already incorporated in the book on Science and Spriituality:
Ramakrishna, the prophet of the modern age, was no scholar but only a man of superlative faith and infinite conviction. From him came the authentic proclamation to the entire world that what lies behind the various religions of the world is a single Reality. Without any sophisticated education, he was able to influence the greatest intellectuals of his time, even the most westernized in their thought process. Coming in the direct line of Chaitanya, he would frequently pass into ecstasy, even at the mention of God’s name by somebody in his presence. What is most important for all humanity is the inexhaustible fund of conversation with him that his disciples have preserved for us, through which, by suitable parables and allegories, he explains the most abstruse truths of the complex religion that is Hinduism and its central cord of unity with other faiths, of which he had personal experience through experimentation. He represented all the facets of Hindu religion and philosophy in his own person. His life itself was a unique synthesis of all higher thinking in the spiritual levels of the world. He is the gift of Hinduism to posterity.