Lakshmi Devi, (1864 - 1926) was the niece of Sri Ramakrishna. Married young, she became a widow in her teen years and came to live with the Master's spiritual wife Sri Sarada Devi.
Lakshmi Devi got married to Dhankrishna Chatak at the age of eleven. When the news of Lakshmi’s marriage reached the Master at Dakshineswar, he immediately said; “She will be a widow” and went into samadhi. Hriday (his nephew) was shocked.
After a while the Master came back to the normal plane of consciousness, Hriday asked; “You have so much affection for Lakshmi, upon hearing news of her marriage, you are supposed to bless her, but instead, you have said an awful thing!” Sri Ramakrishna replied; “What can I do? The Divine Mother spoke that through me. Lakshmi is a partial incarnation of Shitala, who is a powerful goddess, while the person who has married her is an ordinary human being. It is not possible for him to enjoy Lakshmi. Only if Lord Shiva would incarnate as a man, then she could be his wife. Now she is definitely going to be a widow.”
A couple of months after the wedding, Dhankrishna went on a journey in search of work but never returned. Following the Hindu custom, Lakshmi waited for twelve years and then went to her husband’s home to perform the ‘shraddha ceremony’ (a ritual for the departed soul). Sri Ramakrishna forbade Lakshmi to accept any part of her husband’s property, so she gave her share to other members of her husband’s family.
One of the greatest saints to have walked the earth, Ramakrishna Paramahamsa's teachings come to life through his direct disciples. Ramakrishna as We Saw Him is a collection of writings by 45 persons who actually knew him in one capacity or another: his wife Sri Sarada Devi, monastic disciples, friends, even acquaintances who had met him only a few times. No matter in what category the writer falls, each makes it very clear that Ramakrishna could, by his very presence, affect fundamental change in a person s spiritual life. The book shows vividly how Sri Ramakrishna lived daily the spiritual message he taught, and how he excelled in opening a path for God into the human heart.
What this book serves to show is what it was like to actually be around this unique man, to talk to him, to serve him food, to play with him, to sing and dance with him, to worship him, to cry with him, to celebrate God with him. Indeed, the feeling of spiritual joy is so strong here that, though he died from cancer of the throat, the life of Sri Ramakrishna seems to be the ultimate happy movie, a true story of perfect love and bliss many times more beautiful than the wildest Hollywood fantasy.
"For the first time I found a man who dared to say that he had seen God, that religion was a reality to be felt, to be sensed in an infinitely more intense way than we can sense the world." So said Swami Vivekananda of Sri Ramakrishna.
The soul of Ramakrishna comes through splendidly in these deeply felt pages. -
About the Author
Swami Chetanananda is a monk of the Ramakrishna Order. Before coming to the United States, he worked in the editorial and publication departments of Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, Himalayas and also at its Calcutta branch. He was an assistant minister of the Vedanta Society of Southern California from 1971 to 1978. He came to St. Louis in March, 1978 and at present is the minister of the Vedanta Society of St. Louis. Swami Chetanananda has written, edited, and translated many important books on Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, and Vedanta.
thumbnail: Sri Ramakrishna