Swami Adbhutananda, Maharajji

Speaking about Latu Maharaj, Swami Vivekananda once said, “Latu is Sri Ramakrishna’s greatest miracle. Having absolutely no education, he has attained the highest wisdom simply by virtue of the Master’s touch”. Latu was the only disciple of Sri Ramakrishna who could not even read or write. He was born of very poor parents in a village in Bihar. He lost his parents in early boyhood. Poverty forced his uncle to take him to Kolkata where Latu was employed as a houseboy in the house of Ramachandra Datta, a close devotee of Sri Ramakrishna. The Master recognized the dormant spiritual potential in the boy and asked Ram to allow Latu to stay at Dakshineswar as an attendant. Under the guidance of the Master Latu practised intense sadhana, spending whole nights in meditation, a habit which he followed all through his life.

After Sri Ramakrishna’s passing, Latu joined Baranagar Math, and was ordained a sannyasin bearing the name Adbhutananda. He, however, spent most of his time in contemplation on the bank of the Ganga or in a room in Balaram Babu’s house.

Swami Vivekananda established Ramakrishna Mission on 1897 and Belur Math in 1898. Latu Maharaj with his deep absorption in contemplative life could neither take up the service activities of the Mission nor follow the discipline and routine of the monastery. So Swami Vivekananda permitted him to follow his own way of life. After some years Adbhutananda moved to Varanasi where he lived alone, but his needs were taken care of by the Ramakrishna Home of Service. At the end of a brief ailment he passed away in a meditative state on 24 April 1920.

Discourse on Swami Adbhutananda Jayanti would be on 6:30 pm at Holy Temple premises of Sri Ramakrishna Sevashrama, Lucknow. Please do come in large numbers......

Contact Details:

Sri Ramakrishna Math & Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama

Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

www.ramakrishnalucknow.org

www.youtube.com/RKMLucknow

+91522278-7143

Recommended for further reading

• Swami Adbhutananda: As We Saw Him by Chandrashekhar Chattopadhyay
• How a Shepherd Boy Became a Saint by Swami Chetanananda
• God Lived With Them by Swami Chetanananda         

Contact Details: 

Contact Details:

SRKS, Moradabad

prateekb786@yahoo.co.in

www.facebook.com/SriRamakrishnaSevashramMoradabad2016

www.linkedin.com/in/sri-ramakrishna-sevashrama-moradabad-12126a36

www.youtube.com/channel/UCiYthJsXijeiediCfRbeOnw

+919457971925

Personality Development : More about the mind

The Katha Upanishad describes human personality with the help of a chariot allegory. ‘Our ‘I’ is represented by the master of the chariot; the body is the chariot and the buddhi the charioteer. The manas is represented by the reins to which are yoked the horses representing the sense organs-ears, skin, eyes, tongue and nose- which are the five windows in a human being that give him or her the knowledge of objects in the world. The road on which the chariot travels is represented by the sense objects. The human being who identifies himself or herself with this body-mind system is said to be the enjoyer of objects or the fruits of actions.

If the horses are not broken and the charioteer is asleep, the chariot cannot reach its destination. It can even overturn and spell the death of the master. Similarly, if the sense organs are not disciplined, and if the power of discrimination lies dormant, one cannot reach the goal of human life.

On the other hand, if the horses are broken and the charioteer is wide-awake, the chariot reaches its destination. Even so, if the buddhi is wide awake, and if the sensory system together with the mind is disciplined and controlled, a human being can reach the goal of his life. What is the goal? We will come to it shortly. Another important activity of the mind that concerns personality development is our emotions. More the emotions are under control, healthier becomes one’s personality. Emotions can be broadly classified into two types, viz attraction and repulsion. Love, admiration, aspiration, sympathy, joy, veneration, pride and the like indicate attraction. Hate, anger, fear, sorrow, jealousy, disgust, shame, etc, are of the nature of repulsion. As long as one is entangled with the undisciplined mind, one’s personality does not really develop. Buddhi, the charioteer, serves as an effective instrument of self-development by controlling the emotions and raising that higher self from the hold of the lower mind.

Contact Details:
SRKS, Moradabad
prateekb786@yahoo.co.in
www.facebook.com/SriRamakrishnaSevashramMoradabad2016
www.linkedin.com/in/sri-ramakrishna-sevashrama-moradabad-12126a36
www.youtube.com/channel/UCiYthJsXijeiediCfRbeOnw
+919457971925