Prakashananda (1874–1927) was a direct monastic disciple of

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 introd ...

and a swami monk of the

Ramakrishna Order The Ramakrishna Order (Bengali: রামকৃষ্ণ সংঘ) is the monastic lineage that was founded by Sri Ramakrishna, when he gave the ochre cloth of renunciation to twelve of his close disciples, in January 1886 at the Cossipore Hous ...

who played a major role in propagating and promoting the

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, ...

philosophy and Vivekananda's message in India and America. He worked closely with

Trigunatitananda Trigunatitananda (30 January 1865 – 10 January 1915), premonastic name Sarada Prasanna Mitra, was a direct disciple of Ramakrishna, the 19th-century Indian Hindu mystic and sant. He established the monthly Bengali magazine Udbodhan of Ram ...

, a direct disciple of

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

for Vedanta Society of San Francisco, later renamed as Vedanta Society of Northern California, and later became its president.

Early life

Prakashananda's pre monastic name was Sushil Chandra Chakravarty. His father was Ashutosh Chakravarty and the family resided in Serpentine Lane in Calcutta. Sushil Chandra was born on 8 July 1874. His brother Sudhir, who was rechristened as

Shuddhananda Shuddhananda who was the fifth president of the Ramakrishna Order, was a direct monastic disciple of Vivekananda. He joined the Ramakrishna Math in 1897. He became a trustee of Ramakrishna Math and a member of the governing body of Ramakrishn ...

, had also become a monk with Ramakrishna Order and was a direct monastic disciple of Vivekananda as well. Sushil and Sudhir during their college life had made friends with Kalikrishna, Khagen, Haripada and Govinda, a group of young men who were spiritually inclined. This group came in direct contact with

Mahendranath Gupta Mahendranath Gupta ( bn, মহেন্দ্রনাথ গুপ্ত) (14 July 1854 – 4 June 1932), (also famously known as শ্রীম, Master Mahashay, and M.), was a disciple of Ramakrishna (a great 19th-century Hindu mystic) and ...

(known as M), a direct householder disciple of Ramakrishna, and the author of

The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna ''The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna'' is an English translation of the Bengali religious text '' Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita'' by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, record ...

, in the course of their study in Ripon College where M was a lecturer. M had inspired them to visit

Baranagar Math Baranagar Math (Baranagar Monastery) or Ramakrishna Math, Baranagar was the first monastery of Ramakrishna Order. In September 1886, after the death of Ramakrishna, when his devotees stopped funding, Swami Vivekananda (then known as Narendranath ...

, where the monastic disciples of Ramakrishna had gathered for pursuing spiritual practices. Sushil was interested in both Western and Eastern philosophy, and he developed intimacy with several direct disciples of Ramakrishna, including

Ramakrishnananda Ramakrishnananda (13 July 1863 – 21 August 1911) was one of the direct disciples of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Known for his "Gurubhakti" ervice to the Guru he served the Baranagore Math for 12 years without missing a single day. Biography ...

and

Yogananda Paramahansa Yogananda (born Mukunda Lal Ghosh; January 5, 1893March 7, 1952) was an Indian Hindu monk, yogi and guru who introduced millions to the teachings of meditation and Kriya Yoga through his organization Self-Realization Fellowsh ...

. In 1891, he went to

Jayrambati Joyrambati is a Village, in the jurisdiction of Kotulpur police station in the Bishnupur subdivision in Bankura district, West Bengal, India. Geography Location Joyrambati is three miles to the west of Kamarpukur and two miles to the eas ...

, the native place of Sarada Devi and was initiated by her. He was also associated with

Gopal Chandra Ghosh Gopal may refer to: * Gopal (caste), a social community of Odisha in India * Gopal (Krishna), the infant/child form of Lord Krishna * Gopal Bansa, ancient Kingdom in Nepal * The Gopalas, an early Gaudiya Vaishnava institution * Gandhian Organisat ...

, or Hutko Gopal, a direct householder disciple of Ramakrishna who would inspire him with anecdotes from the saint's life. He was also greatly inspired by the ideals of Vivekananda, who was then in America, preaching Vedanta. Sushil left home in 1896 under directive and guidance from Sarada Devi and joined the

Alambazar Math Alambazar Math is the second monastery of the Ramakrishna Order established in February 1892, which remained the order's headquarters till February 1898, when it was finally moved to Belur village on the bank of Ganga. The Alambazar Math fin ...

. He also spent sometime in

Vrindavan Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childhoo ...

to practice austerities, in the company of Premananda.

Monastic life and contribution

When Vivekananda returned to India in February 1897, he granted monastic vows to Sushil and renamed him as Prakashananda. Prakashananda also accompanied Vivekananda when the latter went to seek the blessings of Sarada Devi in 1898 after his return from Kashmir. He also accompanied Vivekananda in consecrating the house of Navagopal Ghosh, a direct householder devotee of Ramakrishna by installation of the image of Ramakrishna in the house. During this occasion Vivekananda composed the famous Pranaam Mantra or the salutary chant on Ramakrishna which is a part of the Sanskrit hymn chanted in vesper services. Prakashananda assisted him during the worship ceremony. Prakashananda served the famine stricken people in

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 Bhabata ...

as part of the relief program of

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 t ...

in 1897–1898. In 1899, he and

Swami Virajananda Swami Virajananda (10 June 1873 – 30 May 1951), born Kalikrishna Bose, was an initiated disciple of Sarada Devi and the sixth president of the Ramakrishna Order. Born as the son of Trailokyanath Bose and Nishadkalidevi, Virajananda was the ...

went to Dhaka to preach the message of Vedanta. The General Report of the Ramakrishna Mission Dhaka states, ''this branch of the Mission started as early as 1899 when Virajananda and Prakashananda, deputed by Vivekananda, visited these parts and by lectures and religious discourses created an interest in the message of Ramakrishna.'' Prakashananda and Virajananda also met Durga charan Nag (Nag Mahasaya), a prominent householder disciple of Ramakrishna, in the village of Deobhog in East Bengal. In 1899 when Sarada Devi's younger brother Abhay Charan was terminally ill, Prakashananda along with

Saradananda Saradananda (23 December 1865 – 19 August 1927), also known as Swami Saradananda, was born as Sarat Chandra Chakravarty in 1865, and was one of the direct monastic disciples of Ramakrishna. He was the first Secretary of the Ramakrishna Mat ...

nursed him. He traveled on a pilgrimage to

Kedarnath Kedarnath is a town and Nagar Panchayat in Rudraprayag district of Uttarakhand, India, known primarily for the Kedarnath Temple. It is approximately 86 kilometres from Rudraprayag, the district headquarter. Kedarnath is the most remote o ...

and

Badrinath Badrinath is a town and nagar panchayat in Chamoli district in the state of Uttarakhand, India. A Hindu holy place, it is one of the four sites in India's Char Dham pilgrimage and is also part of India's Chota Char Dham pilgrimage circuit. ...

in the Himalayas in April 1900 and stayed in

Rishikesh Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in Dehradun district of the Indian state Uttarakhand. It is situated on the right bank of the Ganges River and is a pilgrimage town for Hindus, with ancient sages and saints medita ...

and Hardiwar for carrying out spiritual practices. He stayed for a while in the

Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama Kankhal Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama, Kankhal (RKMS) is in its present form is a 210-bed multi-specialty charitable hospital in Kankhal, Haridwar in Uttarakhand. It is a branch of Ramakrishna Mission, and was established in 1901 by Swami Kalyanan ...

with

Kalyanananda Kalyanananda (1874–1937) was a direct monastic disciple of Vivekananda, who had set up the Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama at Kankhal, near Haridwar. As a monk of the Ramakrishna Order, he took up service to the humanity as the most importa ...

. In 1902, he went to work in

Advaita Ashrama Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of Vivekananda,Swarupananda in editing

Prabuddha Bharata ''Prabuddha Bharata'' () is an English-language monthly journal of the Ramakrishna Order, in publication since July 1896. It carries articles and translations by monks, scholars, and other writers on humanities and social sciences including reli ...

In the Americas

In April 1906, Prakashananda was sent to assist

in the affairs of the Vedanta Society of San Francisco. He helped Trigunatita for eight years until the latter's death in 1914. He took regular classes and gave public lectures and brought out a magazine called ''Voice of Freedom''. He also established the Pacific Vedanta Centre in 1914. After Trigunatita's death, Prakashananda became the minister in charge. He laid more emphasis on training the spiritual aspirants. By reducing the expenditures of the society he paid off the large debt incurred for the construction of the first Hindu temple. He visited and lectured on Vedanta in different parts of California. He was elected a vice president of the International Buddhist Congress as part of the

Panama–California Exposition The Panama–California Exposition was an exposition held in San Diego, California, between January 1, 1915, and January 1, 1917. The exposition celebrated the opening of the Panama Canal, and was meant to tout San Diego as the first United Sta ...

. As part of the Vedanta Society he also looked after Shanti Ashrama, a spiritual retreat first started by

Turiyananda Swami Turiyananda or "Hari Maharaj" as he was popularly known as, was a direct monastic disciple of Ramakrishna, the 19th-century Hindu mystic from Bengal. He was one of the earliest missionary to be sent by his leader and brother disciple Swam ...

, a brother disciple of Vivekananda. He would bring students for spiritual practices and study of scriptures to this retreat. In order to recuperate from the strain of hard work, Prakashananda went to India in 1922 but returned to America in 1923 with two more monks, one of them being

Prabhavananda Swami Prabhavananda (December 26, 1893 – July 4, 1976) was an Indian philosopher, monk of the Ramakrishna Order, and religious teacher. He moved to America in 1923 to take up the role of assistant minister in the San Francisco Vedanta Society. ...

, a disciple of

Swami Brahmananda 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 eith ...

, the first president of Ramakrishna Order. He sent Prabhavananda on a lecture tour and encouraged him to establish new Vedanta Centres. The Vedanta Society of Portland was established in 1925 and Prakashananda himself presided over the inaugural ceremony.

Death

He suffered from

diabetes Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level (hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...

and died on Sunday, 13 February 1927, at the age of fifty-three. His obituary in

read, ''May rest and eternal peace be the reward of him who on earth worked untiringly, unselfishly, who served God and man as Ms master would have it. We are reminded of Swami Vivekananda's words: Our salutation goes to all those God-like men who worked to help humanity.''

Early life

Monastic life and contribution

In the Americas

Death

References

Category