The story of Sri Ramakrishna, one of the most beloved Hindu spiritual leaders. All religions are true. The important thing is to reach the roof. You can reach it by stone stairs or by wooden stairs or by bamboo steps or by a rope. One should not think, ‘My religion alone is the right path and other religions are false.’ I had to practice each religion for a time – Hinduism, Islam, Christianity. Infinite are the paths and infinite are opinions. - Sri Ramakrishna. In Thakur - Sri Ramakrishna: A Biography, Rajiv Mehrotra explores the ‘challenge and the riddle’ presented by the great mystic who, more than a century after his death, continues to dominate secular Hindu consciousness. Sri Ramakrishna brought a new vitality not only to the practices, rituals and symbols of the Hindu heritage but also the celebration of divinity in diverse forms, and reinforced the underlying possibility of a real harmony between all religions. It is this vision that makes him one of the great religious teachers of all time and so profoundly relevant today. This illuminating and intimate biography is most reader-friendly and comprehensive, revealing this boundless power and magnetism of Sri Ramakrishna, as well as the Order that was inspired by his spiritual quest. Mehrotra’s narrative gift is remarkably precise and richly evocative, integrating all details of an aspect into a visual and verbal complex of significance. This is a book for all those who want to know more about Sri Ramakrishna, as well as for anyone looking for a brilliant read.

This is the authoritative source biography of Ramakrishna (1836-1886) based on interviews with those who knew him. It is also an interpreted description of the entire range of Ramakrishna?s spiritual disciplines and experiences, explained as much as possible in terms of reason and common empirical experience, with reference to Hindu scriptures and spiritual traditions, western philosophy, Hindu psychology, and Western religious tradition. The setting is Northeast India from 1775 to 1836. Topics include: Avatar; evolution of concept and purpose of: Bhavas (spiritual moods): Bhavamukha (mental state dwelling between the Absolute and the Relative): Brahmo Samaj: Cosmic Mind: Creation and Evolution; Brahman as efficient cause: God; various concepts and spiritual attitudes towards: Guru: India; its spiritual and religious beliefs compared to other countries: Kali Temple at Dakshineswar: Nondual Reality (Advaita): Ramakrishna?s life; worship of Divine Mother; realization of God in Hindu and non-Hindu religions; marriage; disciples: Samadhi: Tantra and Vaishnava Sects; history and methods of worship: Vedanta; main schools and basis in mystic experience: Vivekananda (Narendranath Datta): Yoga.

Sri Ramakrishna is regarded variously as a saint, sage, spiritual leader, world teacher, prophet, Avatara of the present age and so on. Finding these terms unsatisfactory, the noted British author Christopher Isherwood described Sri Ramakrishna as a “phenomenon”. The present book published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, India, is a modest attempt to understand that phenomenon in the context of world thought currents and in the light of authentic sources. According to Swami Vivekananda, “With the birth of Sri Ramakrishna the Golden Age has begun.” But today, such an assertion may appear preposterous, with no sign of such a beginning visible. Who was Sri Ramakrishna? What was the purpose of his advent? What is the true dimension of his personality? Was he an Avatara? What is the role of an Avatara? Devotees, followers, and admirers of Sri Ramakrishna encounter these questions at some juncture of their life's journey. And in answer to these questions lies the opening to the realm of an ineffable “Light”, which is the “Light of the Modern World”.

This book is a short life and select teachings of modern Indian prophet Sri Ramakrishna whose life is a story of religion in practice that enables us to see God face to face. His life was one of constant communion with the divine. The author has presented in an original and striking way a biographical narrative of Sri Ramakrishna, interspersing it with detailed analysis of his deep spiritual states. The book, therefore, serves as an excellent interpretation of the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, for both devotees and scholars.

This classic work of research published by Advaita Ashrama, a Publication centre of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, India, brings under a single volume around 600 persons inspired by the ideals of Sri Ramakrishna and his disciples. Notable personalities whose connection with the Vedanta Movement in the West is delineated include Aldous Huxley, Arnold Toynbee, Albert Einstein, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Carl Jung, Mark Twain, J D Salinger and Joseph Campbell among others. For the scholars it is a mine of information presented precisely, and for the devotees of Ramakrishna, it is an inspiring account of western admiration for Ramakrishna and his disciples. (Pdf version).

During the long tenure of his spiritual ministry, Swami Bhuteshananda, the 12th President of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, delivered discourses at various places both in India and abroad in response to the earnest requests of spiritual seekers. Published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, this book is a compilation of forty-one of these discourses classified under the following major headings: - Sri Ramakrishna - Vedanta and Spiritual Life - Religion - Miscellaneous - Reminiscences