SWAMI VIJNANANANDA
Swami Vijnanananda, before he took orders, was known by the name of Hariprasanna Chattopadhyaya. He was born on 30 October 1868, in a respectable family of Belgharia, which is within a couple of miles of Dakshineswar. When studying in the first or second class of a High school, Hariprasanna saw Sri Ramakrishna at Dewan Govinda Mukherji’s house. But Hariprasanna was too young then. The real meeting came off two years later. It was in the year 1883 that Hariprasanna, then a student of the St Xavier’s College, went to Dakshineswar with his fellow students Sharat (Swami Saradananda) and Barada Pal. The Master, as was his wont, showed great love and kindness towards Hariprasanna, which bound him indissolubly to the Master. Young though Hariprasanna was, it did not take him much time to find out that here was a man who was extraordinary in every sense of the word, and he was as much captivated by his words of wisdom as he was drawn by his charming naivety. As the Master soon left for Mani Malik’s house in Calcutta, the three friends followed him there. Naturally, Hariprasanna returned home very late that night. His mother had been waiting anxiously for him, and when she learnt that he had been
