Reminiscences
Lessons from Swamis
Ramani Mohan had received mantra-diksha from Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi in 1910. In 1920 he received ochre robes from Holy Mother and sannyasadiska from Swami Brahmananda. His new name was Swami Jagadananda. Once Holy Mother told him, “In your previous birth you were a Rishi. In your heart of hearts there was a little hankering for enjoyment, so you had to be born again. Now the enjoyment is over, so you have become Rishi again.” Highly respected for his intuitive knowledge of Vedanta, and considered a Jivanmukta, Jagadanandaji translated Sri Sri Ramakrishna Lila Prasanga into English as Sri Ramakrishna The Great Master ,— the authoritative biography of Sri Ramakrishna. He attained mahasamadhi in December 1951 aged 72 at the Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama, Vrindavan.
Passing away of a Rishi I had many opportunities to live with Jagadananda Maharaj and study scriptures. It was a rare opportunity to study Vedantic scriptures with him, because he was a living example of the spirit of Vedanta. In 1951, after the passing away of Swami Virajananda Maharaj, the 6th President of the Order whom I served as a personal attendant, I got a long leave. I went to Kishanpur where I practiced tapasya and studied scriptures under Jagadananda Maharaj and also rendered him a little service. Suddenly, he had a heart-attack. As there were no good medical facilities in Dehradun, he was taken to our Vrindavan Sevashrama Hospital for treatment. I accompanied him and continued my spiritual practices while serving him. Maharaj too continued to conduct classes for me and 2-3 other sannyasis. He was explaining Brihadaranyaka Upanishad. One day there was a great
April 2021
I
Swami Jagadananda
t was sometime in 1916. Ramani Mohan Bhattacharya from Dulari, Sylhet (presently in Bangladesh), a scholarly Headmaster in a Government High School was expounding a passage on renunciation from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad which states: “One must renounce the moment one feels dispassion.” In support of this statement Ramani Mohan repeatedly stressed that with tremendous will-power one can break the bonds of householder’s life. But his listeners refused to accept that it was possible to leave wife and children so easily. A heated discussion ensued. Ramani Mohan then roared, “Surely, one can renounce the world any moment, if he so desires.” The next moment he got up and walked away to join the Ramakrishna Order. He was married, but did not even go home to meet his wife or settle his worldly affairs.
37 The Vedanta Kesari
PA G E D O N O R : S R I M A N I S H S H U K L A , PA LG H A R
The Dec 2020 Special Issue of The Vedanta Kesari was on the topic ‘Lessons from Swamis’. New content on this topic is being serialised this year.
