Merch
News
Panchangam
Apps
Downloads
For Teachers
Resources
About
PEOPLE
IDEAS
PLACES
CULTURE
CREATE
STORIES
GAMES
Swami Ramakrishnananda
स्वामी रामकृष्णानन्द
The devoted disciple who served the Master as a mother serves a child
Years
1863 – 1911
Known as
Swami Ramakrishnananda — a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna
Birthplace
Calcutta, Bengal
Field
Saints & Sages
“The Master is my all — to serve him is to serve the whole universe.”
— Swami Ramakrishnananda
The Story
Born in 1863, Ramakrishnananda — Shashi in his youth — came to Sri Ramakrishna in 1884 and became one of his most devoted disciples. During the Master's last illness at Cossipore, he nursed him day and night with a tenderness that earned him the name 'the mother of the Master' — for his service was that of a mother to her child.
After the Master's passing, he was sent by Vivekananda to Madras, where he became the pioneer of the order in the South — founding the first Ramakrishna ashram there and carrying the message of his Master to the Tamil land through his teaching, his worship, and his life.
He died in 1911 at the age of forty-eight, worn out by his labours. He is remembered as the embodiment of devotion — the disciple who served the Master with the love of a mother and carried his message to a whole region of Bhārat.
Core Ideas
The Mother of the Master
His tender service during Ramakrishna's illness.
The Pioneer of the South
He founded the order's work in Madras.
The Devoted Disciple
One of the closest of the Master's children.
The Teacher
He carried the Master's message to the Tamil land.
The Embodiment of Devotion
His life was a complete offering to the guru.
Why it matters today
Swami Ramakrishnananda is honoured as one of the most devoted of the Master's disciples — the monk whose tenderness set the standard of service in the tradition and whose pioneer work founded the order's presence in the South. His name is remembered with love wherever the teaching of Sri Ramakrishna is honoured.