Reminiscences by Saradanandaji

Swami Saradanandaji’s Reminiscences

Swami Saradananda (1865 – 1927) met Sri Ramakrishna in 1883 and became the Master’s ardent disciple. His family name was Sharat Chandra Chakrabarty. After the Master’s death he became an itinerant monk throughout India, and then went to England and America in 1896 at the request of Swami Vivekananda to preach the message there.

In 1898, Swami Saradananda was recalled to India by Swamiji to become the General Secretary of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission. He retained that office until his death in 1927. He is the author of Sri Ramakrishna The Great Master, the authoritative biography of Sri Ramakrishna.

AN EVENING WITH SRI RAMAKRISHNA

It was Monday, November 26, 1883. I was then a student at St. Xavier’s College, Calcutta, and had the privilege of meeting Sri Ramakrishna only two or three times. Since the college was closed that day, we (Barada Pal, Hari Prasanna—–later Vijnanananda, and Swami Saradananda) decided to visit the Master in the afternoon. We went by boat and reached Dakshineswar at 2:00 p.m.
As soon as we entered the Master’s room and bowed to him, he said, “Ah, you have come today! I would not have met you if you had come a little later.” I am going to Calcutta to the Brahmo festival, and there a carriage has been ordered. But it’s nice that you could see. Please sit down. What a disappointment it would have been if you had been forced to return home without seeing me. ”
We sat on a mat spread on the floor of his room and asked him, “Sir, would it also be permitted for us to go to the Brahmo festival that you are going to?”
The Master replied, “Why not? You are free to go there if you wish. It is the house of Mani Mallik of Sinduriapati.” Seeing a slim, fair-haired young man enter the room, the Master asked him, “Can you tell these guys the number of Mani Mallik’s house?” The young man humbly said, “81 Chitpore Road, Sinduriapati.” Later we learned that he was Baburam (later, Swami Premananda).
Shortly afterwards the carriage arrived. The Master asked Baburam to carry his towel, warm towel and a small spice bag. Then he bowed to the Mother and got into the carriage Baburam carried the Master’s things and sat on the other side. Another person also went to Calcutta with the Master. On enquiry, we learned that he was Pratap Chandra Hazra.
Fortunately, a passenger boat was available, and we made it to Barabazar, Calcutta. Then, in the evening we went to the festival. No sooner had we reached the road in front of the house than sweet music and sounds of a mridanga (a drum) greeted our ears. Knowing that the Kirtan (devotional chant) had begun, we rushed to the drawing room. What we saw defies description! There were crowds of people both inside and outside. So many people stood in every doorway and on the roof facing west that it was almost impossible to push through the crowd into the room. They all craned their necks and watched intently what was happening in the hall. They were full of devotion, completely unaware of their surroundings. Seeing that there was no way to enter the room through the front door, we walked around the house, crossed the roof to the west, and reached the hall door on the north side. Since the crowds were less there, we were able to poke our heads into the room and see a beautiful scene.
We felt high waves of heavenly bliss flowing through the room. All were completely lost in the Kirtan. They laughed, cried and danced. Some who could not control themselves fell to the ground. Overwhelmed with emotion, others acted like crazy. The Master danced in the center of the God-intoxicated group, now moving forward rhythmically with rapid steps, then backward again in the same manner. Whichever direction he would go, the people would make way for him as if enchanted.
An extraordinary tenderness, sweetness, and lion’s strength was visible in every part of the Master’s body, and his face beamed with a divine smile. It was a superb dance! There was no artificiality or affectation, no jumping, no unnatural gestures of acrobatics. Nor was there any absence of control. Rather, it was conspicuous in the dancing, rhythmic and natural gestures and movements of the Master’s limbs. It seemed as if an abundance of grace, bliss and sweetness, flowed from within, like a great fish swimming happily across a vast, clear lake, sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly. It was as if the dance were a dynamic physical expression of the wave of the blissful ocean of Brahman, which the Master experienced within. While dancing in this way he sometimes lost outward consciousness and sometimes his cloth fell off. When that happened, someone would tie it tightly around his waist. Again, if he saw someone losing normal consciousness, steeped in spiritual emotions, he would touch that person’s chest and bring him back to consciousness.

 

collected from Master as we Saw Him, and presented by

Mary Saaleman


 

Mary Saaleman

is a Vedantist since three decades. She is a student of the lives of the Master,  Mother and Swamiji and the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna.

is een vedantist sinds drie decennia. Haar leven is Moeder, Ramakrishna en Swamiji. Ze bestudeert de levens van de Meester, Moeder en Swamiji en het evangelie van Sri Ramakrishna.