translator for his excellent version of a book so curious and

delightful as a biographical document, so precious, at the same

time, for what it teaches us of the life of the spirit.
––––––—
PREFACE

by Swāmi Nikhilānanda
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is the English translation of
the Sri Sri Rāmakrishna Kathāmrita, the conversations of Sri
Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees, and visitors,
recorded by Mahendranāth Gupta, who wrote the book under
the pseudonym of “M.” The conversations in Bengali fill five
volumes, the first of which was published in 1897 and the last
shortly after M.‘s death in 1932. Sri Ramakrishna Math,
Madras, has published in two volumes an English translation
of selected chapters from the monumental Bengali work. I
have consulted these while preparing my translation.
M., one of the intimate disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, was
present during all the conversations recorded in the main body
of the book and noted them down in his diary.
They therefore have the value of almost stenographic records.
In Appendix A are given several conversations which took
place in the absence of M., but of which he received a first-
hand record from persons concerned. The conversations will
bring before the reader’s mind an intimate picture of the
Master’s eventful life from March 1882 to April 24, 1886,
only a few months before his passing away. During this period
he came in contact chiefly with English-educated Bengālis;
from among them he selected his disciples and the bearers of
his message, and with them he shared his rich spiritual
experiences.
I have made a literal translation, omitting only a few pages of
no particular interest to English-speaking readers. Often
literary grace has been sacrificed for the sake of literal
translation. No translation can do full justice to the original.
This difficulty is all the more felt in the present work, whose
contents are of a deep mystical nature and describe the inner
experiences of a great seer. Human language is an altogether
inadequate vehicle to express supersensuous perception. Sri
Ramakrishna was almost illiterate. He never clothed his
thoughts in formal language. His words sought to convey his
direct realization of Truth. His conversation was in a village
patois. Therein lies its charm. In order to explain to his
listeners an abstruse philosophy, he, like Christ before him,
used with telling effect homely parables and illustrations,
culled from his observation of the daily life around him.
The reader will find mentioned in this work many visions and
experiences that fall outside the ken of physical science and
even psychology. With the development of modern knowledge
the border line between the natural and the supernatural is ever
shifting its position. Genuine mystical experiences are not as
suspect now as they were half a century ago. The words of Sri
Ramakrishna have already exerted a tremendous influence in
the land of his birth. Savants of Europe have found in his
words the ring of universal truth.
But these words were not the product of intellectual cogitation;
they were rooted in direct experience. Hence, to students of
religion, psychology, and physical science, these experiences
of the Master are of immense value for the understanding of
religious phenomena in general. No doubt Sri Ramakrishna
was a Hindu of the Hindus; yet his experiences transcended
the limits of the dogmas and creeds of Hinduism. Mystics of
religions other than Hinduism will find in Sri Ramakrishna’s
experiences a corroboration of the experiences of their own
prophets and seers. And this is very important today for the
resuscitation of religious values. The sceptical reader may pass
by the supernatural experiences; he will yet find in the book
enough material to provoke his serious thought and solve
many of his spiritual problems.
There are repetitions of teachings and parables in the book. I
have kept them purposely. They have their charm and
usefulness, repeated as they were in different settings.
Repetition is unavoidable in a work of this kind. In the first
place, different seekers come to a religious teacher with
questions of more or less identical nature; hence the answers
will be of more or less identical pattern. Besides, religious
teachers of all times and climes have tried, by means of
repetition, to hammer truths into the stony soil of the
recalcitrant human mind. Finally, repetition does not seem
tedious if the ideas repeated are dear to a man’s heart.
I have thought it necessary to write a rather lengthy
Introduction to the book. In it I have given the biography of
the Master, descriptions of people who came in contact with
him, short explanations of several systems of Indian religious
thought intimately connected with Sri Ramakrishna’s life, and
other relevant matters which, I hope, will enable the reader
better to understand and appreciate the unusual contents of this
book. It is particularly important that the Western reader,
unacquainted with Hindu religious thought, should first read
carefully the introductory chapter, in order that he may fully
enjoy these conversations. Many Indian terms and names have
been retained in the book for want of suitable English
equivalents. Their meaning is given either in the Glossary or in
the foot-notes. The Glossary also gives explanations of a
number of expressions unfamiliar to Western readers. The
diacritical marks are explained under Notes on Pronunciation.
In the Introduction I have drawn much material from the Life
of Sri Ramakrishna, published by the Advaita Ashrama,
Māyāvati, India. I have also consulted the excellent article on
Sri Ramakrishna by Swami Nirvedānanda, in the second
volume of the Cultural Heritage of India.
The book contains many songs sung either by the Master or by
the devotees. These form an important feature of the spiritual
tradition of Bengal and were for the most part written by men
of mystical experience. For giving the songs their present form
I am grateful to Mr. John Moffitt, Jr.
In the preparation of this manuscript I have received
ungrudging help from several friends. Miss Margaret
Woodrow Wilson and Mr.Joseph Campbell have worked hard
in editing my translation. Mrs.Elizabeth Davidson has typed,
more than once, the entire manuscript and rendered other
valuable help. Mr.Aldous Huxley has laid me under a debt of
gratitude by writing the Foreword. I sincerely thank them all.
In the spiritual firmament Sri Ramakrishna is a waxing
crescent. Within one hundred years of his birth and fifty years
of his death his message has spread across land and sea.
Romain Rolland has described him as the fulfilment of the
spiritual aspirations of the three hundred millions of Hindus
for the last two thousand years. Mahatma Gandhi has written:
“His life enables us to see God face to face. . . . Ramakrishna
was a living embodiment of godliness.” He is being
recognized as a compeer of Krishna, Buddha, and Christ.
The life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna have redirected the
thoughts of the denationalized Hindus to the spiritual ideals of
their forefathers. During the latter part of the nineteenth
century his was the time-honoured role of the Saviour of the
Eternal Religion of the Hindus. His teachings played an
important part in liberalizing the minds of orthodox pundits
and hermits. Even now he is the silent force that is moulding
the spiritual destiny of India. His great disciple, Swami
Vivekananda, was the first Hindu missionary to preach the
message of Indian culture to the enlightened minds of Europe
and America. The full consequence of Swami Vivekānandā
work is still in the womb of the future.
May this translation of the first book of its kind in the religious
history of the world, being the record of the direct words of a
prophet, help stricken humanity to come nearer to the Eternal
Verity of life and remove dissension and quarrel from among
the different faiths!
May it enable seekers of Truth to grasp the subtle laws of the
supersensuous realm, and unfold before man’s restricted vision
the spiritual foundation of the universe, the unity of existence,
and the divinity of the soul!
- Swā mi Nikhilānanda
New York