Swami Abhedananda (2 October 1866 – 8 September 1939), born Kaliprasad Chandra, was a direct disciple of the 19th century mystic

Ramakrishna Paramahansa Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...

and the founder of Ramakrishna Vedanta Math.

Swami Vivekananda Swami Vivekananda (; ; 12 January 1863 – 4 July 1902), born Narendranath Datta (), was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the intr ...

sent him to the West to head the Vedanta Society of New York in 1897, and spread the message of

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, ...

, a theme on which he authored several books through his life, and subsequently founded the Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, commer ...

(now

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

) and

Darjeeling Darjeeling (, , ) is a town and municipality in the northernmost region of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located in the Eastern Himalayas, it has an average elevation of . To the west of Darjeeling lies the easternmost province of Nep ...

Early life and education

He was born in north

on 2 October 1866 and was named Kaliprasad Chandra.Biography
''

Belur Math Belur Math () is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda, the chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. It is located on the west bank of Hooghly River, Belur, West Bengal, India. The ...

'' Official website. His father was Rasiklal Chandra and his mother was Nayantara Devi. In 1884, at the age of 18, while studying for the school final examination under the

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every yea ...

, he went to

Dakshineswar Dakshineswar is a locality in the North 24 Parganas under the jurisdiction of Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority and is very close to Kolkata. This place is historically famous for Dakshineswar Kali Temple, locally known as Maa Bhabat ...

and met

Sri Ramakrishna Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...

. Thereafter, in April 1885, he left home to be with him, during his final illness, first at Shyampukur and then at Cossipur Garden-house near Calcutta.

Monastic life

After his Master's death in 1886, he plunged into intense sadhana (meditations), by shutting himself up in a room at the

Baranagar ("City of hogs") , settlement_type = City , image_seal = , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , pushpin_map = India West Bengal#India3#Asia , pushpin_label_ ...

matha A ''matha'' (; sa, मठ, ), also written as ''math'', ''muth'', ''mutth'', ''mutt'', or ''mut'', is a Sanskrit word that means 'institute or college', and it also refers to a monastery in Hinduism.

, this gave him the name "Kali Tapaswi" amongst his fellow disciples. After the death of Ramakrishna, he formally became a Sanyasi along with Vivekananda and others, and came to be known as "Swami Abhedananda Puri". For the next ten years, of his life as a monk, he travelled extensively throughout India, depending entirely on alms. During this time he met several famous sages like

Pavhari Baba Pavhari Baba (1798-1898) was a Hindu ascetic and saint. He was born in Premapur, Jaunpur in a Brahmin family. In his childhood he went to Ghazipur to study under the tutelage of his uncle who was a follower of Ramanuja or Shri sect . A ...

, Trailanga Swami and

Swami Bhaskaranand Swami ( ; sometimes abbreviated sw.) in Hinduism is an honorific title given to a male or female ascetic who has chosen the path of renunciation (''sanyāsa''), or has been initiated into a religious monastic order of Vaishnavas. It is used ei ...

. He went to the sources of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

and the

Yamuna The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...

, and meditated in the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 10 ...

. He was a forceful orator, prolific writer,

yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...

and intellectual with devotional fervour. In 1896, Vivekananda was in London, when he asked Abhedananda to join him, and propagate the message of

in the West, which he did with great success. He went to the USA in 1897, when Vivekananda asked him to take charge of the

Vedanta Society Vedanta Societies refer to organizations, groups, or societies formed for the study, practice, and propagation of Vedanta, the ancient religion based on the Vedas. More specifically, they "comprise the American arm of the Indian Ramakrishna move ...

in New York, here he preached messages of Vedanta and teachings of his

Guru Guru ( sa, गुरु, IAST: ''guru;'' Pali'': garu'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan- Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: traditionally, the guru is a reverential ...

Swami Abhedananda of India Discusses the Subject at Mott Memorial Hall.
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 21 March 1898, "He said that the belief in sin and sinners was a hindrance to realizing the unity of the individual soul with God" for about 25 years, travelling far and wide to the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan and Hong Kong. Finally, he returned to India in 1921, after attending the Pan-Pacific Education Conference at

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the isla ...

. In 1922, he crossed the Himalayas on foot and reached

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

, where he studied

Buddhist philosophy Buddhist philosophy refers to the philosophical investigations and systems of inquiry that developed among various schools of Buddhism in India following the parinirvana of The Buddha and later spread throughout Asia. The Buddhist path combin ...

and

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism (also referred to as Indo-Tibetan Buddhism, Lamaism, Lamaistic Buddhism, Himalayan Buddhism, and Northern Buddhism) is the form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet and Bhutan, where it is the dominant religion. It is also in majo ...

. In Hemis Monastery, he claimed to have discovered a manuscript on the

lost years of Jesus The unknown years of Jesus (also called his silent years, lost years, or missing years) generally refers to the period of Jesus's life between his childhood and the beginning of his ministry, a period not described in the New Testament. The " ...

, which has been incorporated in the book ''Swami Abhedananda's Journey into Kashmir & Tibet'' published by the Ramakrishna Vedanta Math. Years earlier, writer Nicolas Notovitch claimed to have found the same manuscript in the same place; however, when philologist

Max Müller Friedrich Max Müller (; 6 December 1823 – 28 October 1900) was a German-born philologist and Orientalist, who lived and studied in Britain for most of his life. He was one of the founders of the western academic disciplines of Indian ...

wrote to the monastery to ask for further details, the lama confirmed that no Westerner had visited the monastery in the fifteen years prior, and that no such manuscript existed. Müller concluded that the story was a hoax; other historians agree.Simon J. Joseph, "Jesus in India?" '' Journal of the American Academy of Religion'' Volume 80, Issue 1 pp. 161-199: "Max Müller suggested that either the Hemis monks had deceived Notovitch or that Notovitch himself was the author of these passages" Friedrich M. Mueller, ''Last Essays'', 1901. (republished 1973). . Page 181: "it is pleasanter to believe that Buddhist monks can at times be wags, than that M. Notovitch is a rogue."Bradley Malkovsky, "Some Recent Developments in Hindu Understandings of Jesus" in the ''

Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies The ''Journal of Hindu-Christian Studies'' is an annual peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes articles and book reviews on Hindu-Christian issues. It was established in 1988 as ''Hindu-Christian Studies Bulletin'' and obtained its curren ...

'' (2010) Vol. 23, Article 5.:"Müller then wrote to the chief lama st Hemis and received the reply that no Westerner had visited there in the past fifteen years nor was the monastery in possession of any documents having to do with the story Notovitch had made public in his famous book" ... " J. Archibald Douglas took it upon himself to make the journey to the Hemis monistry to conduct a personal interview with the same head monk. What Douglas learned there concurred with what Mueller had learned: Notovitch had never been there."McGetchin, Douglas T., ''Indology, Indomania, and Orientalism'', Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press, 2009, . p. 133: "Faced with this cross-examination, Notovich allegedly confessed to fabricating his evidence." He formed the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society in

in 1923, which is now known as Ramakrishna Vedanta Math. In 1924, he established Ramakrishna Vedanta Math in

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia an ...

(now

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

). In 1927, he started publishing ''Visvavani'', the monthly magazine of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society, which he edited from 1927 to 1938, and which is still published today. In 1936, he presided over the Parliament of Religions at the Town Hall, Calcutta, as a part the birth centenary celebrations of Ramakrishna. He died on 8 September 1939 at Ramakrishna Vedanta Math. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving direct disciple of Ramakrishna.Swami Abhedananda Biography
''The

Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) is a Hindu religious and spiritual organisation which forms the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as the ''Ramakrishna Movement'' or the ''Vedanta Movement''. The mission is named after and inspired by th ...

Institute of Culture''

Works

* ''Gospel of Ramakrishna'', by Swami Abhedananda. Published by The Vedanta Society, 1907
Online version
* ''Vedanta Philosophy; Three Lectures on Spiritual Unfoldment: Three Lectures on Spiritual Unfoldment'', by Swami Abhedananda. Published by The Vedanta Society, 1901
Online version

''Why a Hindu is a Vegetarian''
by Swami Abhedananda. Published by The Vedanta Society, 1900. * ''How to be a Yogi'', by Swami Abhedananda. Forgotten Books, 1902.

* ''The Sayings of Sri Ramakrishna'', by Ramakrishna, Abhedananda. Published by The Vedanta society, 1903.
''India and Her People''
by Swami Abhedananda. Published by Satish Chandra Mukherjee, 1906. * ''Ideal of Education'', by Swami Abhedananda. Published by Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1945
Online version
* ''An Introduction of Philosophy of Panchadasi'', by Swami Abhedananda. Published by Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1948
Online version
* ''Abhedananda in India in 1906'', by Abhedananda. Published by Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1968. * ''Vedanta Philosophy: Five Lectures on Reincarnation'', by Swami Abhedananda. Kessinger Publishing, 1907.

* ''Reincarnation'', by Swami Abhedananda. Kessinger Publishing, 2003. . * ''The Great Saviours of the World'', by Swami Abhedananda. Pub. by Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1957. * ''True Psychology'', by Swami Abhedananda, Pub. by Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1965. * ''Yoga Psychology'', by Swami Abhedananda, Prajnanananda. Pub. by Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1967. * ''Complete Works of Swami Abhedananda'', by Abhedananda. Pub. by Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1970. * ''Doctrine of Karma: A Study in Philosophy and Practice of Work'', by Swami Abhedananda. Pub. by Vedanta Pr, 1975.
Online version
* ''Spiritual Teachings of Swami Abhedananda'', by Swami Abhedananda. Pub. by Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1962. * ''Life Beyond Death: A Critical Study of Spiritualism'', by Swami Abhedananda. Pub. by Vedanta Pr, 1986. . * ''Science of Psychic Phenomena'', by Swami Abhayananda, Swami Abhedananda. Pub. by Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1987. . * ''Hymn offerings to Sri Ramakrsna & the Holy Mother'', by Swami Abhedananda, Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre, Ramakrishna Math. Pub. by Sri Ramakrsna Math, 1988. * ''Journey into Kashmir and Tibet'', by Swami Abhedananda. Pub. by Vedanta Pr, 1988. . * ''Path of Realization'', by Swami Abhedananda. Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1994. * ''The Mystery of Death: A Study in the Philosophy and Religion of the Katha Upanishad'', by Swami Abhedananda. Pub. by Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1996. * ''Vedanta Philosophy: Self-Knowledge Atma-Jnana'', by Swami Abhedananda. Kessinger Publishing, 1998.
Online version
* ''Ramakrishna Kathamrita and Ramakrishna: Memoirs of Ramakrishna'', by Swami Abhedananda. Vedanta Pr. 1988. . * ''Yogi Thoughts on Reincarnation'', by Swami Abhedananda. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2005. . * ''Prana and the Self'', by Swami Abhedananda. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2005. . * ''The Complete Book of Vedanta Philosophy'', by Swami Abhedananda. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2005. . * ''The Woman's Place In Hindu Religion'', by Swami Abhedananda. Kessinger Publishing, LLC, 2005. . * ''Philosophy of Work: Three Lectures'', by Swami Abhedananda. Kessinger Publishing, 2006.
Online version
* ''Divine Heritage of Man: Vedanta philosophy'', by Swami Abhedananda. Kessinger Publishing, 2006.
PDF version
* ''Attitude of Vedanta Towards Religion'', by Swami Abhedananda. READ BOOKS, 2007.
Online version
* ''Amar Jivan-katha'' (Autobiography) (in Bengali), by Swami Abhedananda.

References

External links

* * *
''How To Be A Yogi''
by Swâmi Abhedânanda * {{DEFAULTSORT:Abhedananda, Swami 1866 births 1939 deaths 19th-century Hindu religious leaders 20th-century Hindu religious leaders Advaitin philosophers Bengali Hindus 19th-century Bengalis 20th-century Bengalis 20th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians Indian Hindu monks Indian memoirists Indian Hindu missionaries Neo-Advaita teachers Neo-Vedanta 20th-century Indian philosophers Indian spiritual writers Oriental Seminary alumni University of Calcutta alumni Scholars from Kolkata 19th-century Indian scholars 20th-century Indian scholars Monks of the Ramakrishna Mission Indian Hindus

Early life and education

Monastic life

Works

Further reading

References

External links