Ramakrishna Paramhansa and Swami Vivekananda

Ramakrishna Paramhansa

Ramakrishna Paramhansa (1836 to 1886) was a saint who lived a deeply spiritual life. He taught the essential unity of religions. In his view, the world's religions are just different roads to the same God. He did not found an organisation himself. His message reached India and the world through his foremost disciple, Swami Vivekananda.

Swami Vivekananda's message

• He was the first spiritual leader to look beyond religious reform. He said ordinary people needed both secular and spiritual knowledge to believe in themselves.
• He founded the Ramakrishna Mission, named after his guru, which joined spiritual teaching with service to people.
• He spread the spirit of Vedanta and taught the unity and equality of all religions.
• He attacked superstition, outdated customs, caste rigidity and untouchability.
• He asked people to respect women, and himself worked for their education and uplift.
• He gave first place to removing ignorance among the people.
• His call to have faith in yourself first inspired young Indians and, later, freedom fighters.
• His speech at the World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago in 1893 made him famous across the world.

Guru and disciple

Common features with other movements

• Ramakrishna Mission and Theosophical Society: both glorified India's spiritual heritage, preached the unity and brotherhood of all people, and built national self-confidence.
• Ramakrishna Mission and Brahmo Samaj: both stressed the unity of religions.
• Ramakrishna Mission and Arya Samaj: both opposed caste rigidity and untouchability and worked for education.