Manomohan Mittra (1851–1903) is one of the household disciples of

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Ramakrishna (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886——— —), also called Ramakrishna Paramahansa (; ; ), born Ramakrishna Chattopadhay,M's original Bengali diary page 661, Saturday, 13 February 1886''More About Ramakrishna'' by Swami Prab ...

Early life

Manomohan was born in September 1851 at

Konnagar Konnagar is a town and a municipality of Hooghly district in the Indian state of West Bengal. The town is under the jurisdiction of the Uttarpara police station in Serampore subdivision. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan ...

Hooghly district Hooghly district () is one of the districts of the Indian state of West Bengal. It can alternatively be spelt ''Hoogli'' or ''Hugli''. The district is named after the Hooghly River. The headquarters of the district are at Hooghly-Chinsurah (' ...

West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...

. His father Bhuban Mohan Mittra was a physician, and well versed in History, science, and English literature. He was greatly influenced by his parents. At that time Indian society was under the influence of Western culture. In spite of his western education, he was against Western hedonism and was a defender of traditional Hindu culture. Manomohan's mother Shyama Sundari, was very pious, and observed the Hindu rituals and festivals with devotion.

Meeting with Sri Ramakrishna

On a Saturday night of 1879, he had a dream in which the whole world had been flooded with water. He was the lone survivor. When he was worried about his family, he heard a voice saying that ''No one is alive in this world. All are dead. Only they have survived from this deluge who have realized God. You will meet them very soon and live with them.'' He woke up at 4:00 AM and laid there perplexed for some time. When he regained his consciousness, he realized that it was a dream. Later that morning he went to see his cousin Ram Chandra Datta and told him about the dream. Manomohan had read about the spiritual life of Sri Ramakrishna in the magazines like

Indian Mirror The ''Indian Mirror'' was a nineteenth century Indian periodical founded in 1861 by Man Mohan Ghosh and Devendranath Tagore. Having started as a fortnightly production, it had little competition other than the ''Hindoo Patriot The ''Hindoo ...

Sulabh Samachar ''Sulabh Samachar'' (, ''Sulov Somachar'') was a Bengali weekly, published from Kolkata, a pioneering journalistic venture in 19th century Bengal. Indian Reform Association Keshub Chunder Sen established the Indian Reform Association on return ...

, and other newspapers. So he suggested that they visit him in

Dakshineswar Dakshineswar is a neighbourhood in the Kolkata Metropolitan Area of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It is a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Autho ...

. Ram immediately agreed. It was this dream that brought Manomohan to Sri Ramakrishna. On Sunday, 13 November 1879, the day after that strange dream, he, Ram Chandra Datta, and their friend Gopal Chandra Mitra left for Dakshineswar by boat to visit Sri Ramakrishna. Since Manomohan was an ardent devotee of

Keshub Chandra Sen Keshub Chandra Sen (; also spelled Keshab Chunder Sen; 19 November 1838 – 8 January 1884) was an Indian philosopher and social reformer who attempted to incorporate Christian theology within the framework of Hindu thought. Born a Hindu i ...

and the

Brahmo Samaj Brahmo Samaj ( ) is the societal component of Brahmoism, which began as a monotheistic reformist movement during the Bengal Renaissance. It was one of the most influential religious movements in India and made a significant contribution to ...

, he was averse to image worship. Sri Ramakrishna understood Manomohan's attitude and told him: ''As an imitation custard apple reminds one of the real fruit, so the divine images enkindle the presence of God. He is all powerful. It is possible for him to manifest in anything.'' Manomohan, Ram and Gopal had a long conversation with Sri Ramakrishna, and they returned to Calcutta that evening with full of peace and joy.

Family

Manomohan's sister is married to Rakhal Chandra Ghosh (

Swami Brahmananda Ramakrishna Paramhansa Deva had sixteen direct disciples (other than Swami Vivekananda) who became monks of the Ramakrishna Order; they are often considered his apostles. In the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda movement, the apostles have played an imp ...

), another disciple of Ramakrishna.

References

{{reflist Bengali people Ramakrishna 1851 births 1903 deaths People from Hooghly district