Welcome to Sri Sarada Devi Ashram

Sri Ramakrishna was born on 18 February 1836 in Kamarpukur, West Bengal, Kolkata. His parents, Khudiram and Chandramani Devi, were greatly devoted to God. They had beautiful visions indicating that God would take birth as their son. Sri Ramakrishna (the Master) was a unique spiritual teacher who experienced the living presence of God. When he was seventeen years old he became the priest at the Dakshineswar Kali Temple in Kolkata, India. Sri Ramakrishna's great yearning for a vision of the Divine Mother is par excellence. His yearning for God was so intense that people thought him to be mad.

For twelve years he was oblivious of food, clothes and sleep. Soon he was blessed with a vision of the Divine Mother in Her Absolute form. Later Sri Ramakrishna explained that in whichever direction he looked and as far as the eyes could see, he saw waves upon waves of unending light. There were no doors, windows or walls. The Master experienced great bliss. Therefore he used to say, 'If you must be mad, be it not for the things of the world. Be mad with the love of God.'

Drawn by the magnetism of Sri Ramakrishna's divine personality, people from all walks of life came to him for solace and spiritual guidance. Through his God-intoxicated life, Sri Ramakrishna proved that one who sincerely yearns for a vision of God and surrenders himself to the Divine can see Him, provided he leads a pure and spiritual life.

Through his spiritual realisations, Sri Ramakrishna restored faith in God and built the edifice of religion on a secure foundation. Living in a small room in the Dakshineswar temple garden, he became a veritable fountain of spirituality. Each seeker saw in him the highest manifestation of his own ideal. By coming near him the impure became pure, the pure became purer, and the sinner was transformed into a saint. Sri Ramakrishna's face always radiated joy. When the flower blossoms, bees come of their own accord to sip the nectar.

The Master's nectar-like words about God, his explicit descriptions of his glorious visions and his simple teachings, attracted many sincere seekers. Sri Ramakrishna had sixteen monastic disciples and Swami Vivekananda was the leader. The greatest contribution of Sri Ramakrishna to the modern world is his message of the harmony of religions.

To Sri Ramakrishna all religions are like rivers, flowing crooked or straight, end in the one ocean called God. In the present-day world of religious intolerance, Sri Ramakrishna's message of harmony, peace and unity gives us hope and shows us a way forward. May Sri Ramakrishna's life and teachings ever inspire us to lead righteous and God-centred lives. His unparalleled renunciation, humility and practical teachings help us to overcome doubt, the bane of this age. Sri Ramakrishna, the noblest of divine incarnations, lives eternally in the hearts of his devotees.

Sri Sarada Devi is the living example of all-encompassing divine love. Her parents, Ramachandra Mukherjee and Shyamasundari Devi were humble and pious. They had beautiful visions indicating that Goddess Lakshmi would be born to them. Sri Sarada Devi was born in the village of Jayrambati on 22nd December 1853. Even as a little girl of four or five, Sarada displayed great strength of character and maturity.

She always helped her mother with household chores, which included cutting fodder for the cows, cooking and feeding the labourers in the fields. Sri Sarada Devi was married to Sri Ramakrishna at the age of five. It was only in 1871 when she was eighteen years, that she came to Dakshineswar to live with and serve her saintly husband. Their lives were so pure and immaculate that not for a single moment did they look upon each other as husband and wife. Seeing God in each other, each respected and revered the other.

Sarada Devi lived in a small room which she used for cooking, entertaining guests, sleeping, accommodating women devotees, and as a storeroom. She awoke before three in the morning and repeated God's name a hundred thousand times every day. The joy of serving her divine husband and his disciples, outweighed her physical discomforts. Sri Ramakrishna recognised Sri Sarada Devi as a manifestation of the Divine Mother. He taught her deep spiritual truths and awakened the dormant power of God in her. Outwardly, Sri Sarada Devi lived like an ordinary woman but inwardly she practised perfect renunciation.

Her love stands out as a unique example, never making any distinction between the deserving and the undeserving. Her heart held all humanity in its maternal embrace and she radiated unconditional love and compassion. Her character is a rare blend of humanity and divinity. None that saw her could ever forget those eyes full of love and divine grace. After Sri Ramakrishna attained mahasamadhi (final absorption of an illumined soul with the divine), Sri Sarada Devi became the guiding force of the Ramakrishna Movement. She was a pillar of strength and wisdom to the disciples.

Swami Vivekananda was a manifold personality - a spiritual giant, a world teacher, a leader, a philosopher and the patriot saint of modern India. Whatever actions he performed, whatever words he spoke, were all geared to revive the dormant national consciousness of India, to remove the miseries of the world and to uplift the downtrodden and destitute. This great sage, born on 12 January 1863, was loved and revered as the rejuvenator of Hinduism.

Swamiji's inspiring personality and message of strength, practical spirituality and service to humanity not only set India ablaze, but also had an irresistible appeal to the West. Swamiji became world renowned at the Parliament of the World's Religions held in Chicago, in 1893. He broadcast the humanistic teachings of the Vedanta philosophy and India's deep spirituality to the West. He became India's spiritual ambassador to the West and eloquently advocated a healthy synthesis of East and West, of religion and science.

Using the spiritual principle of the Vedantic Oneness of existence, Swami Vivekananda promoted peace and unity on a national and international basis. As a mystic of the highest order, Swamiji's life encompassed the contemplation of God and service to humanity. Like his spiritual teacher, Sri Ramakrishna, the natural tendency of his mind was to soar above worldly existence and dwell on the Absolute Reality or God. His love for humanity superceded his desire for liberation and his own salvation.

In the course of his short life of thirty-nine years, Swami Vivekananda delivered innumerable lectures, composed poems and was a spiritual guide to seekers of God. To ensure the propagation of Hindu religion and Indian culture, Swamiji organised the Ramakrishna Order of Monks. Even today, Swamiji's message of strength-giving and man-making religion reverberates with vigour and dynamism. Swamiji reminds us, 'All power is within you. You can do anything and everything. Do not believe that you are weak.' From the following teachings one can get a glimpse into the power and personality of this great soul: