1. Saradananda, known as Swami Saradananda, was born as Sarat Chandra Chakravarty in 1865, and was one of the direct monastic disciples of Ramakrishna.
40 Facts About Saradananda
1. 2.
Saradananda was the first Secretary of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, a post which he held until his death in 1927.
3.
Saradananda established the Udbodhan house in the Bagbazar area of Calcutta, which was built primarily for the stay of Sri Sarada Devi in Calcutta, from where he used to publish the Bengali magazine Udbodhan.
4.
Saradananda's grandfather was a Sanskrit scholar with a religious disposition.
5.
Saradananda nursed a poor maid servant who was left to die by her master as she suffered from cholera, and performed her last rites when she died.
6.
Saradananda began to be actively associated with the Brahmo Samaj.
7.
Saradananda gave it up on hearing about Ramakrishna's illness and joined Narendra and a group of young devotees to nurse him.
8.
Saradananda travelled to Puri and then to Northern India, including Benares, Ayodhya and Rishikesh.
9.
Saradananda travelled to Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath, the three sacred places of pilgrimage on the Himalayas.
10.
Saradananda met Vivekananda there, and together they started for Garhwal.
11.
Saradananda then went to Rishikesh and there at Kankhal met Swami Brahmananda, or Rakhal Maharaj, another brother disciple.
12.
Only after six years, Saradananda met Vivekananda again; on his bidding, Saradananda went to London to preach Vedanta.
13.
Saradananda fell ill with blood dysentery in Benares and came back to the Baranagar monastery in 1891.
14.
Saradananda responded to his call and traveled for London in 1896.
15.
Saradananda delivered a few lectures in London but was sent to New York where the Vedanta Society was established.
16.
Saradananda was invited to be a teacher at the Greenacre Conference of Comparative Religions where he began his work with a lecture on the Vedanta and classes on Yoga.
17.
Saradananda settled in New York to carry out the Vedanta movement in an organised way.
18.
Saradananda sailed back for India on 12 January 1898 and visited London, Paris and Rome on the way.
19.
On his return from the West, Saradananda gave a series of lectures in Albert Hall in Calcutta on Vedanta.
20.
Under the effective guidance of the Sarada Devi, Saradananda approached the then viceroy and presented his case.
21.
Saradananda was involved in relief work with the help of Sister Nivedita and other brother monks of the order.
22.
In 1902, after Vivekananda's death, Saradananda took up the job of managing day-to-day affairs of Belur Math and that of editing and publishing Udbodhan, a Bengali magazine started by the former.
23.
Saradananda constructed a house for the holy mother by taking a loan and to repay the loan started writing his magnum opus "Sri Sri Ramakrishna Lilaprasanga" or "Ramakrishna, the Great Master", a biography and life of Ramakrishna.
24.
Saradananda gave the welcome address, in which he put up a warning note of the dangers of complacency and exhorted the monks to stick to the ideals of the founding members.
25.
Saradananda bought a house in Bagbazar area and used its downstairs for publishing and running the operation of the magazine and the upstairs as the abode of Sarada Devi and her devotees, and her shrine.
26.
Saradananda was very devoted to her and called himself her "doorkeeper".
27.
Saradananda bore the financial as well as other responsibilities willingly.
28.
Saradananda took up all responsibilities for building her temple and shrine in Jairambati after she died.
29.
Saradananda continued to take up the responsibility of her family members till his death.
30.
Saradananda suffered from various other ailments, and after his retirement from an active life in 1926 his afflictions got more serious.
31.
Saradananda was known for his calm judgement, patience and a loving heart.
32.
Saradananda had a sweet and gentle personality which won him many admirers and friends in India and in the West.
33.
Saradananda had great compassion for several mentally handicapped persons, whom he provided for.
34.
Saradananda took up the responsibility of nursing his brother disciples and many lay persons when they were ill.
35.
Saradananda listened to everybody with equal concern and gave importance to everybody's opinion.
36.
Saradananda was very sensitive to the feelings of the others.
37.
Saradananda was indifferent to the apparent faults and weaknesses of the people with whom he worked.
38.
Saradananda was known for his impartial decisions and hence was required to resolve conflicts.
39.
Saradananda wrote the book "Sri Sri Ramakrishna Lila Prasanga" in a little room in Udbodhan house while managing the operations of the magazine, overseeing the work of Ramakrishna Mission and looking after the holy mother and devotees, in a dispassionate and detached way.
40.
Saradananda himself mentioned that whatever he had written in the book "Sri Ramakrishna, the great master", on spiritual experiences, were through direct realisation and not from hearsay.