Ramakrishna
(1836–1886), Hindu religious leader. Ramakrishna, or more fully Swami Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, was from Dakshineswar in Bengal, eastern India. A year after his early death a dozen of his disciples, led by Swami Vivekananda, formed a monastic order and mission in his name. They took monastic vows and pledged to spread the philosophy of Ramakrishna, who had found "divinity in humanity," and, consequently, in service to it. Ramakrishna maintained that all religions equally point the way to God and sanctioned the worship of images, viewing them all as different forms of one God. Conceptually he thus was a monotheist as well as a Vedantist (following the Vedanta system of Hindu philosophy). His mission idealized Hinduism and opposed Western materialism. Ramakrishna's bequest was a curious mix of modern and traditional ideas. His mission approved of polytheism and idol worship, yet it attracted a number of young Bengali revolutionaries, including B. C. Pal and Sister Nivedita. Inspired by Vivekananda's call for patriotism, they engaged in anarchic activities.
Ramakrishna contributed much to the development of a Hindu national consciousness. By the later twentieth century the mission had more than one hundred branches, operating not only in India but in the United States, Britain, Fiji, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Singapore, France, Switzerland, and Argentina.
Further Reading
Gambhirananda, Swami. (1957) History of the Ramakrishna Myth and Mission. Calcutta, India: Advaita Ashrama.
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