Ramakrishna and His Disciples

"I think Christopher Isherwood was connected with the Ramakrishna movement in California and with Swami Prabhavananda; he translated the Bhagavad Gita and two other Hindu scriptures. The reason I chose this book is because in India when people say, ‘Oh, so-and-so is a great yogi’, they’re not talking about the physical postures. Most people in India, certainly older people, would be talking about a realized soul, about a saint or something like that, and Ramakrishna was such a saint. He is a classic example of what a traditional Indian, particularly Hindu, might refer to as a ‘great yogi’. I think it’s important, at least in the way I think about yoga, to keep a sense of the breadth of the tradition. Support Five Books Five Books interviews are expensive to produce. If you're enjoying this interview, please support us by donating a small amount . I love this book because for one thing it’s just a great story, well-told. A lot of books about Indian sages are written in such a way that they just send you to sleep . . . But Ishwerood is a great writer, and he’s smart. He explains lots of things about Hindu tradition and thought throughout. It’s actually a very informative read on that level. He was a very simple man born into a peasant family in Bengal close to Calcutta. He was unusual and, as he grew up, people recognized that there was something quite different about him, something very special. He came to be known during his own lifetime as a great saint, a great soul. When he died, his close followers founded the ‘Ramakrishna Mission’, which is active in India and, to a lesser extent, all around the world to this day. As well as being involved in spiritual and religious teachings, they carry out extensive educational and philanthropic work in India. Swami Vivekananda was one of Ramakrishna’s principal disciples. His speeches at the World Parliament of Religion in Chicago in 1893, promoting peace and tolerance, are famous to this day."