Swami Adbhutananda
Encyclopedia
Swami Adbhutananda born Rakhturam, was a direct monastic disciple of Ramakrishna
, a mystic of nineteenth century Bengal
. He is familiarly known as Latu Maharaj among the followers of Ramakrishna. Swami Adbhutananda was the first monastic disciple to come to Ramakrishna. While most of Ramakrishna's direct disciples came from the Bengali intelligentsia, Adbhutananda's lack of formal education made him unique among Ramakrishna's direct disciples. He was a servant boy of a devotee of Ramakrishna, and he later became his monastic disciple. Though unlettered, Adbhutananda was considered as a monk with great spiritual insight by Ramakrishna's followers, and Swami Vivekananda regarded him as "the greatest miracle of Ramakrishna".
district of Bihar
, around the middle of the nineteenth century. He was given the name Rakhturam, meaning "child who is protected by Lord Rama
". His parents were poor, humble villagers. Both his father and mother died before Rakhturam was five years old and he was left in the care of an uncle who was affectionate towards him.
Growing up in the village, Rakhturam led a carefree life, tending cows and sheep in the fields. In later years he said, "I used to wander freely with the cowherd boys. How simple and guileless they were! You can't have real joy unless you are like that." Poverty forced Rakhturam and his uncle to travel to Calcutta in search of a livelihood. Rakhturam came in contact with Dr.Ramachandra Datta, a householder devotee of Ramakrishna
, and he joined as his servant. As a servant, Rakhturam was considered energetic and faithful. Rakhturam became known as "Latu" in his new Calcutta surroundings, and he was called by that name thereafter.
, a few miles north of Calcutta on the eastern bank of the Ganges. Ramchandra Datta, Latu's employer, was one of the first householder disciples to visit Ramakrishna. Datta loved to speak about Ramakrishna and his sayings and Latu heard about Ramakrishna from him and was attracted by Ramakrishna's teachings, It is reported that inspired by the teachings of Ramakrishna, he was often found lying covered with his blanket, quietly wiping tears from his eyes thinking of God. Latu waited eagerly for an opportunity to meet Ramakrishna, and he met Ramakrishna on a Sunday in 1879 or 1880.
When Ramakrishna saw Latu, he reportedly said to Ramchandra that Latu had "holy signs in him." and it is reported that when Ramakrishna touched him, Latu entered a ecstatic state, "tears trickled from his eyes and his lips began to quiver with emotion" and he gradually returned to normal state of consciousness. Latu began to visit Ramakrishna regularly, and he lost the enthusiasm with which he worked before at Datta's house. In June 1881, he joined Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar as his personal attendant and helper. He also used to help Sarada Devi
in her chores.
alphabet
s himself. However, Latu's Bihari
accent was different from that of a Bengali and he could not read even the first vowel
correctly. Ramakrishna corrected him repeatedly with much amusement, and the experiment was later discontinued. According to Swami Saradananda, Ramakrishna's monastic disciple Latu was seen "praying and meditating the whole night and sleeping during the day. His life was a literal example of the teaching of the Gita
:'In that which is night to all beings, the man of self-control is awake; and where all beings are awake, there is night for the sage who sees (2.69)."
. To conveniently treat him, the devotees moved Ramakrishna from Dakshineswar to Shyampukur
, in North Calcutta. Latu, being his personal attendant went with him. He later moved on with Ramakrishna to Cossipore
on 11 December 1885. He took care of nursing Ramakrishna during his final days, reminiscing about which Latu said, "Serving the Master was our worship. We didn't need any other spiritual disciplines." Before Ramakrishna's death, Latu even received a ochre cloth and rosary
from Ramakrishna. After Ramakrishna's death on 16 August 1886, Latu went on a pilgrimage visiting Vrindaban, Varanasi
, Ayodhya with Holy Mother Sarada Devi
, and other lay and monastic disciples of Ramakrishna.
After Ramakrishna's passing away, Narendra (Swami Vivekananda) and some of the other disciples established the first Ramakrishna monastery at Baranagore in an old dilapidated house. Here some of the disciples including Naren took their monastic vows and were engaged in the study of the scriptures, practicing meditation
and austerity. Latu joined them later in 1887 and accepted the monastic vows. Swami Vivekananda
gave him the monastic name Swami Adbhutananda, meaning, "He who finds bliss in the wonderful nature of the Atman
." According to his brother monks, Adbhutananda lead a very austere life at the monastery practicing meditation and japa
. He led the life of a wandering monk around Calcutta area, unattached to people and places. Sometimes he stayed at the home of other householder devotees, but most often was found living simply on the bank of the Ganges. Sometimes he stayed at Alambazar Math and Belur Math
.
He also went on several pilgrimages to North India with his brother disciples including Swami Vivekananda
. In 1903 he moved to the house of Balaram Bose
, a householder devotee of Ramakrishna and stayed there till 1912. Here he was visited by people from different walks of life—judges, doctors, teachers, learned monks, and householders for spiritual instructions.
and later at different locations. As was characteristic of him, he was so often absorbed in meditation that he rarely had fixed time for meals. In Varanasi he continued to teach and people visited him for spiritual instructions.
. He was visited by his brother disciples—Swami Turiyananda, Swami Saradananda. Eventually the gangrene worsened and the doctors operated several times on successive days, but were unsuccessful. Adbhutananda died in the holy city of Varnasi at 12:10 p.m on Saturday, 24 April 1920. Regarding his death, Swami Turiyananda wrote in a letter to Miss Josephine MacLeod, an American devotee of Vivekananda, "He showed no signs of pain during his illness. But the wonder of all wonders was that after this death when his body was placed in a sitting position to conform with some of the funeral rites, we found him looking so beautiful, so serene, so full of peace and bliss. His face beamed with light and an intelligence unspeakable, as if he were taking leave from his friends for the last time with an exhortation of affectionate benediction."
His other teachings were,
Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna , born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay , was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda – both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu...
, a mystic of nineteenth century Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
. He is familiarly known as Latu Maharaj among the followers of Ramakrishna. Swami Adbhutananda was the first monastic disciple to come to Ramakrishna. While most of Ramakrishna's direct disciples came from the Bengali intelligentsia, Adbhutananda's lack of formal education made him unique among Ramakrishna's direct disciples. He was a servant boy of a devotee of Ramakrishna, and he later became his monastic disciple. Though unlettered, Adbhutananda was considered as a monk with great spiritual insight by Ramakrishna's followers, and Swami Vivekananda regarded him as "the greatest miracle of Ramakrishna".
Early life
Adbhutananda was born in North-Eastern India in the ChapraChapra
Chapra can refer to the following:* Chapra, Nadia in Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal* Chapra, Nadia - assembly constituency in Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal...
district of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, around the middle of the nineteenth century. He was given the name Rakhturam, meaning "child who is protected by Lord Rama
Rama
Rama or full name Ramachandra is considered to be the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a king of Ayodhya in ancient Indian...
". His parents were poor, humble villagers. Both his father and mother died before Rakhturam was five years old and he was left in the care of an uncle who was affectionate towards him.
Growing up in the village, Rakhturam led a carefree life, tending cows and sheep in the fields. In later years he said, "I used to wander freely with the cowherd boys. How simple and guileless they were! You can't have real joy unless you are like that." Poverty forced Rakhturam and his uncle to travel to Calcutta in search of a livelihood. Rakhturam came in contact with Dr.Ramachandra Datta, a householder devotee of Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna , born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay , was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda – both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu...
, and he joined as his servant. As a servant, Rakhturam was considered energetic and faithful. Rakhturam became known as "Latu" in his new Calcutta surroundings, and he was called by that name thereafter.
Meetings with Ramakrishna
Ramakrishna lived at the Dakshineswar Kāli TempleDakshineswar Kali Temple
The Dakshineswar Kali Temple is a Hindu temple located in Dakshineswar near Kolkata. Situated on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, the presiding deity of the temple is Bhavatarini, an aspect of Kali, meaning, 'She who liberates Her devotees from the ocean of existence i.e Saṃsāra'...
, a few miles north of Calcutta on the eastern bank of the Ganges. Ramchandra Datta, Latu's employer, was one of the first householder disciples to visit Ramakrishna. Datta loved to speak about Ramakrishna and his sayings and Latu heard about Ramakrishna from him and was attracted by Ramakrishna's teachings, It is reported that inspired by the teachings of Ramakrishna, he was often found lying covered with his blanket, quietly wiping tears from his eyes thinking of God. Latu waited eagerly for an opportunity to meet Ramakrishna, and he met Ramakrishna on a Sunday in 1879 or 1880.
When Ramakrishna saw Latu, he reportedly said to Ramchandra that Latu had "holy signs in him." and it is reported that when Ramakrishna touched him, Latu entered a ecstatic state, "tears trickled from his eyes and his lips began to quiver with emotion" and he gradually returned to normal state of consciousness. Latu began to visit Ramakrishna regularly, and he lost the enthusiasm with which he worked before at Datta's house. In June 1881, he joined Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar as his personal attendant and helper. He also used to help Sarada Devi
Sarada Devi
Sarada Devi , born Saradamani Mukhopadhyaya , was the wife and spiritual counterpart of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a nineteenth century mystic of Bengal. Sarada Devi is also reverentially addressed as the Holy Mother by the followers of the Ramakrishna monastic order...
in her chores.
With Ramakrishna in Dakshineswar
At Dakshineswar Latu began a life of rigorous spiritual discipline under Ramakrishna's guidance, and also continued his service as his servant to him. His day began first seeing Ramakrishna and saluting him. As Latu had received no formal schooling, Ramakrishna hoped that he might acquire at least a rudimentary education, so he tried to teach him the BengaliBengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
s himself. However, Latu's Bihari
Bihari people
The Biharis are an ethnic group originating from the present state of Bihar with a history going back three millennia...
accent was different from that of a Bengali and he could not read even the first vowel
Vowel
In phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
correctly. Ramakrishna corrected him repeatedly with much amusement, and the experiment was later discontinued. According to Swami Saradananda, Ramakrishna's monastic disciple Latu was seen "praying and meditating the whole night and sleeping during the day. His life was a literal example of the teaching of the Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
:'In that which is night to all beings, the man of self-control is awake; and where all beings are awake, there is night for the sage who sees (2.69)."
At Shyampukur and Cossipore
In the middle of 1885 Ramakrishna's throat became sore, which later developed into throat cancerHead and neck cancer
Head and neck cancer refers to a group of biologically similar cancers that start in the upper aerodigestive tract, including the lip, oral cavity , nasal cavity , paranasal sinuses, pharynx, and larynx. 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas , originating from the mucosal lining...
. To conveniently treat him, the devotees moved Ramakrishna from Dakshineswar to Shyampukur
Shyampukur
Shyampukur is a neighbourhood in north Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. As a neighbourhood, it covers a small area but its importance is primarily because of the police station and the assembly constituency.-Etymology:...
, in North Calcutta. Latu, being his personal attendant went with him. He later moved on with Ramakrishna to Cossipore
Cossipore
Cossipore is a neighbourhood in north Kolkata, earlier known as Calcutta, in the Indian state of West Bengal. One of the old neighbourhoods of the metropolis, it has a police station and is an assembly constituency.-History:...
on 11 December 1885. He took care of nursing Ramakrishna during his final days, reminiscing about which Latu said, "Serving the Master was our worship. We didn't need any other spiritual disciplines." Before Ramakrishna's death, Latu even received a ochre cloth and rosary
Rosary
The rosary or "garland of roses" is a traditional Catholic devotion. The term denotes the prayer beads used to count the series of prayers that make up the rosary...
from Ramakrishna. After Ramakrishna's death on 16 August 1886, Latu went on a pilgrimage visiting Vrindaban, Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
, Ayodhya with Holy Mother Sarada Devi
Sarada Devi
Sarada Devi , born Saradamani Mukhopadhyaya , was the wife and spiritual counterpart of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, a nineteenth century mystic of Bengal. Sarada Devi is also reverentially addressed as the Holy Mother by the followers of the Ramakrishna monastic order...
, and other lay and monastic disciples of Ramakrishna.
At Calcutta
Meditation
Meditation is any form of a family of practices in which practitioners train their minds or self-induce a mode of consciousness to realize some benefit....
and austerity. Latu joined them later in 1887 and accepted the monastic vows. Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...
gave him the monastic name Swami Adbhutananda, meaning, "He who finds bliss in the wonderful nature of the Atman
Ātman (Hinduism)
Ātman is a Sanskrit word that means 'self'. In Hindu philosophy, especially in the Vedanta school of Hinduism it refers to one's true self beyond identification with phenomena...
." According to his brother monks, Adbhutananda lead a very austere life at the monastery practicing meditation and japa
Japa
Japa is a spiritual discipline involving the meditative repetition of a mantra or name of a divine power. The mantra or name may be spoken softly, enough for the practitioner to hear it, or it may be spoken purely within the recitor's mind...
. He led the life of a wandering monk around Calcutta area, unattached to people and places. Sometimes he stayed at the home of other householder devotees, but most often was found living simply on the bank of the Ganges. Sometimes he stayed at Alambazar Math and Belur Math
Belur Math
' or Belur Mutt is the headquarters of the Ramakrishna Math and Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda, a chief disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. It is located on the west bank of Hooghly River, Belur, West Bengal, India and is one of the significant institutions in Calcutta...
.
He also went on several pilgrimages to North India with his brother disciples including Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda
Swami Vivekananda , born Narendranath Dutta , was the chief disciple of the 19th century mystic Ramakrishna Paramahansa and the founder of the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission...
. In 1903 he moved to the house of Balaram Bose
Balaram Bose
Balaram Bose was one of the prominent householder disciples of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. He was the son of Radhamohan Bose. He is often referred in The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. Ramakrishna often visited his house and participated in Kirtana and other devotional functions...
, a householder devotee of Ramakrishna and stayed there till 1912. Here he was visited by people from different walks of life—judges, doctors, teachers, learned monks, and householders for spiritual instructions.
At Varanasi
In October 1912 Adbhutananda left Balaram's hose for Varnasi, never to return again. Here he first stayed at Ramakrishna Advaita AshramaAdvaita Ashrama
Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati, is a branch of the Ramakrishna Math, founded on 19 March 1899 at the behest of Swami Vivekananda, by his disciples Captain James Henry Sevier and Mrs Charlotte Sevier. Today it is entrusted with the propagation of original writings of Swami Vivekananda...
and later at different locations. As was characteristic of him, he was so often absorbed in meditation that he rarely had fixed time for meals. In Varanasi he continued to teach and people visited him for spiritual instructions.
Last days
During his last days, according to his devotees Adbhutananda seemed to be gradually withdrawing from the world. He spoke occasionally with people, and when he spoke it was generally of spiritual matters. As reported by this disciples, his body, which had once been remarkably strong, had been gradually weakened by age and years of intense spiritual disciplines and his indifference towards the physical world. During the last few years he suffered from diabetes and minor physical ailments. During the last year of his life he developed a blister on this leg, which developed into gangreneGangrene
Gangrene is a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that arises when a considerable mass of body tissue dies . This may occur after an injury or infection, or in people suffering from any chronic health problem affecting blood circulation. The primary cause of gangrene is reduced blood...
. He was visited by his brother disciples—Swami Turiyananda, Swami Saradananda. Eventually the gangrene worsened and the doctors operated several times on successive days, but were unsuccessful. Adbhutananda died in the holy city of Varnasi at 12:10 p.m on Saturday, 24 April 1920. Regarding his death, Swami Turiyananda wrote in a letter to Miss Josephine MacLeod, an American devotee of Vivekananda, "He showed no signs of pain during his illness. But the wonder of all wonders was that after this death when his body was placed in a sitting position to conform with some of the funeral rites, we found him looking so beautiful, so serene, so full of peace and bliss. His face beamed with light and an intelligence unspeakable, as if he were taking leave from his friends for the last time with an exhortation of affectionate benediction."
Teachings and sayings
Swami Adbhutananda being illitrate did not write any books, his teachings and sayings have been recorded by this disciples and devotees. Adbhutananda taught that, "the true being in man is ever free, ever pure, and remains ever untouched by good or evil. Good and evil have no absolute reality. They exist only so long as man identifies himself with the ego, the false self. When the ego is completely annihilated, man is freed from the false knowledge of duality or relativity--of good and evil."His other teachings were,
- What is the use of prayer and meditation if you have no dependence on Him ? Everything else is useless if you lack this.
- It is a great sin to find fault with others. You will invariably find that it is such people as never do a good act themselves who easily see defects in others and energetically spread rumors.
- It is better to continue calling on the Lord devotedly than to know, speak, and preach thousand and one religious cants and shibboleths.
External links
- Articles by Swami Adbhutananda
- Biography and teachings by Swami Gambhirananada.