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Ram Thakur (Bengali: শ্রীশ্রী রামঠাকুর ) (2 February 1860 - 1 May 1949) born Ram Chandra Chakraborty (Bengali: শ্রী রাম চন্দ্র চক্রবর্তী), was a great & famous spiritual master & guide of divine stature happened to be known primarily in the region of undivided Bengal of India before the partition. Among the several saints who descended in Bengal in the 19th century Sri Sri Ram Thakur was one with great distinction. His disciples believe that to save and salvage human beings from the unending and unbearable pains and misery, injustice and corruption of the materialistic world, the almighty god comes in human form to this world from time to time. The Savior shows the right path to set them free from their predicament. They also believe that the savior by his/her divine love and by demonstrating the ideal way of life, he/she uplifts the ordinary human folk to extraordinary level of spiritual enlightenment and God-consciousness. For the disciples of Ram Thakur, he is their savior.

Thakur's followers believe that he was an Avatar or incarnation of God. He is their most revered " Kaivalyanath" or " Satyanarayan". According to their belief he took the human form for the spiritual uplift of all irrespective of religion, caste and class. A considerable section of his followers were the so-called 'untouchables' and people of other religions (Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist etc.). Most of them were drawn towards him fascinated by his magnetic divine personality, his magnanimity & affection for all and also by his pleasant personality. Sri Sri Ramthakur didn't supported any one particular religion infact He was a staunch believer in the religion of Humanity and that was the main reason that He had disciples from both the Hindu & Muslim communities of the undivided Bengal of India. Infact, His very first disciple from the present Bangladesh was Sadhu Cherag Ali who was a muslim & who was initiated by Sri Sri Thakur with the holy name of Allah. Similarly, the hindu disciples were being initiated by the holy names of their respective hindu Dieties. Thakur said in “Vedavani “ that nothing will remain only “Naam” will be there. He insisted that to patiently take Naam is the only path. Naam is like a small dot in a circle, in the initial stages. Gradually by continuous (“Ananyacheta”) remembering of Naam the dot becomes bigger. Naam is the living God. He always insisted to bear with patience one's destiny and to perform one's duty towards his family and remember the holy Naam of God in all his deeds.

He said that to attain "Brahma", the supreme being, requires a lot of perseverance and practice of the ways and means demonstrated by a great soul. Renunciation of Samsara (material world) is not the only path to realize the Self. God-consciousness may be achieved by chanting of Maha-Nama within this mundane world by means of hard work without attachment.

Biography

The disciples of Ramthakur believe that he appeared in 'human form' in undivided Bengal in the middle of 19th Century to give salvation to all. Though he was a well known saint, little is known about him outside West Bengal and Bangladesh as he was against any kind of publicity about himself. Millions of followers flocked to him for his advice and spiritual guidance. People of the undivided Bengal could know about his proclaimed divine personality only from the writings of poet Nabin Chandra Sen (who was also a sub-divisional Magistrate of Feni, Bangladesh at that time) and from books and articles which were written by a few senior disciples from their recollections about Ramthakur. All of them divided his life into three phases:

First phase

Ramthakur was born in the famous Bidyalankar family at Dingamanik, in Faridpur district, Bangladesh, in the month of Magha, 1266 B.S (2 February 1860) on Thursday, the 10th of the New Moon with Rohini (Aldebaran) in the ascendant. His father Sri Radhamadhab Chakravarty was an ascetic, devoted to penance according to the tantras. His mother Srimati Kamala Devi had a frank and simple nature. Ramthakur had two elder brothers, one twin brother and one sister.

Ramthakur was from his early years different from the others. He, since his boyhood, always liked to be alone with himself. His chief pastime was worshiping the gods and goddesses. His schooling at the primary institution was brief. As a boy he felt strongly attached to, and was deeply loved, by his father's spiritual guide Sri Mrityunjoy Nyayapanchanan, who died one year after his father's death. Ramthakur was then only 8 years old. Soon after, on the third day of the New Moon of Vaishakha, he was initiated by the Guru in ways considered subtle and mysterious. A few years after, he met the Guru at Kamakshya, Assam.

Second phase

The second period of Ramthakur's life is shrouded in mystery. From Kamakshya he disappeared with his Guru to return home after 8–10 years. During this period he visited several places at Himalayas and other places. Soon after he probably went to Noakhali, Bangladesh, and spent a few years there and at Feni, Bangladesh, where Poet Nabin Chandra Sen met him. He was then 26/27 years old. Immediately after, he disappeared again to reappear in Kolkata around 1902-'03.

When his mother died in 1903, he was in Kalighat . He next spent a few years in the well-known village of Uttarpara in the suburbs of Kolkata and one day disappeared from there. Ramthakur and his twin brother Lakshmanthakur were unmarried.

Third phase

For more than a year he was on walking tours in the south, and returned home probably towards the end of 1907 or beginning of 1908. From this time till his passing away, during various crises like the two World Wars, riots, famines, political movements, nuclear explosion and British repression, He stood by the suffering humanity giving them constant courage, hope and blessings while moving from door to door. He was adored and revered by both the Hindus and people of other religion, irrespective of their faith. Ramthakur used to stress constantly on the efficacy of the repetitions of the Lord's Holy Name as a spiritual discipline and penance for all ills which subsequently would lead to God and eternal peace.

During the last few years of his life, in spite of his frail health, the tempo of Ramthakur's ministrations increased tremendously. His grace overflowed and touched the lives of thousands of men. Ramthakur died on the third day of the New Moon of Vaishakha 18, 1356 B.S (May 1, 1949) at Chaumohani, a town in the District of Noakhali, Bangladesh. His holy remains were laid to rest at Chaumohani, where a hermitage named Samadhi Mandir has been established as per his desire.

Sri Sri Ramthakur - Teaching and Philosophy

Without the blessings of Thakur, it is quite impossible for someone to talk or put anything in black and white about Sri Sri Thakur Ramchandra Dev, an incarnation of Bhagwan Narayana. He disliked self-propaganda so much so that even if at some point of time His divine prowess happened to get revealed to ordinary people, He used to make light of the matter saying - "These things just happen!" His teachings and philosophy transpired through His personal ways of life, behaviour etc., His sermons to His disciples seeking His advice on different matters and His numerous letters written to His countless followers and those in distress.

His personal way of life, behaviour etc

"Pardon me. I am not an advisor, but a mere example," said Thakur once after delivering His valuable advice. He was a living example. What was the experience of His lucky disciples who had got the enviable opportunity to come close to Him? He was as great, liberal, solemn, generous, calm and quiet as the vast firmament unmoved by all storms, stresses mishaps, blots, joy and sorrow. Seasons did have no impact on Him at all. Like that very endless space He would shower His love and affection equally upon everyone, irrespective of their financial status, knowledge and wisdom, vice and virtue. He even used to enlighten people putting the most nonsensical queries before Him with utmost patience and without getting irritated a bit. The embodiment of immense spiritual power, He always remained most courteous and strove for the betterment of the common man. Ever oblivious of His own comfort, never ever did He tolerate the slightest bit of indifference to His accompanying followers wherever He went and it would turn out to be a most uphill task to prevent Him from leaving that place at once under such circumstances. He was so gentle and courteous that He would always use the term 'apni' to call someone and 'tumi' in case of mere minors. During His stay in the residence of any of His disciples or followers or wherever it be, He would always mingle with others like the nearest one and did not even hesitate to contribute physical labour since he was totally devoid of any kind of dogma or ego. He was impartial in the true sense. This apart, excess, in any form, was not to His liking. He loved to live a very simple life - be it in terms of clothing or food. One ordinary 'dhoti' and an ordinary 'chadar' for clothing and a very nominal quantity of milk or dry fruits or boiled vegetables were sufficient for His daily life.

Besides, He was diligent and self-dependent. Discipline and dutifulness were parts of His life. Uttering even a single word or going somewhere without any reason were against His nature. It could be spelt without any hesitation that our mortal world would certainly benefit if the instances left behind Him were followed.

His Teachings

He would show His followers the path of enlightenment with the help of very simple advice like, "Chant His name always wherever you are. Do your duties and keep faith. That will do since the Almighty and His name are inseparable, identical and the same. One can even overcome the predestined by chanting His name alone. Showiness is not desirable as it blurs the truth." His sweet and hearty advice lies deep-rooted in the hearts of His followers.

His Letters

His invaluable advice and directives are found in plenty in His numerous letters written to His various disciples. His followers and common people cutting across nationalities and religions would surely be enlightened in terms of familial and spiritual aspects with the help of His advice and sermons. After Thakur's departure from this mortal world, His 808 letters relevant to our day-to-day life were compiled and published in three volumes entitled Vedavani by Dr. Indubhushan Bandyopadhyay, former Ashutosh Professor of Calcutta University. None of these letters contains a single word that can hurt somebody or someone's belief. These letters can be helpful for someone eager to enter the Path of Infinite glee and joy. He said "Follow your destiny. Keep faith in Him. Take refuge at the feet of Satyanarayana. People irrespective of nationality, religion or mental formation are parts of one single community - human community. Each and everyone can reach His feet if his/her religion is followed with love for truth and sincerity." On a certain occasion He said "What's wrong with an atheist? The essential motto should be to remain honest and preserve unadulterated belief and conviction." Thakur said in “Vedavani “ that nothing will remain only “Naam” will be there. He insisted that to patiently take Naam is the only path. Naam is like a small dot in a circle, in the initial stages. Gradually by continuous (“Ananyacheta”) remembering of Naam the dot becomes bigger. Naam is the living God.

Sri Sri Ramthakur - Veda-Vani : Words of Wisdom

Sri Sri Ram Thakur was the nearest and dearest one to all His disciples. He never intended to develop a guru-shishya relationship. He used to keep close contact with His followers through His numerous letters almost like a close or intimate relative, even when He was far away from them. His disciples had so many queries familial, social, spiritual and so on. He would convey His valuable words of advice and messages in the shape of letters in exclusively His own style. Prof. Dr. Indubhushan Bandyopadhyay, former Head of the Department of History, Calcutta University, had revealed in the introduction to the first volume of Veda-vani : "I had started to collect His letters twenty years ago and setting aside personal matters, I compiled just the essence of His messages keeping intact His own language. Initially, I collected His letters for myself only … I had no intention to bring these letters before common people. Although I did not have any discussion with Sri Sri Thakur in this regard, yet I had to change my mind after His departure from this mortal world when many of His disciples painfully detected that many people were getting distracted and misled due to so many untrue propaganda about Thakur and I felt the need to rein in such a trend to stop its further spread. We, common people, do not generally get to know the sermons of great men directly from themselves and their messages percolate through generations of their disciples. But, Sri Sri Thakur was an exception. He had articulated His messages and advice in His own letters and as such nobody can raise any question regarding the authenticity of these letters at all and these invaluable letters will go on serving as touchstones in every walk of our lives. I realized, these letters require permanent preservation and in this process two volumes of Vedavani have already been published. I do hope, the third volume, too, will see the light of the day very soon." However, Dr. Bandyapadhyay's dream to get the third volume published remained unfulfilled since he had to respond to the call from the Kaibalyalok in the midnight of November 13, 1956 (Kartik 27, 1363 B.S). Sri Sri Kaibalyadham, Jadavpur, came forward to materialize his unfulfilled great dream.

Prof. Dr. Gobinda Gopal Mukhopadhyay, former Head of the Department of Sanskrit, Burdwan University, said in the foreword of Veda-vani, Sadhya O Sadhantattwa : Indian spiritualism originates from the VEDAS and the VEDAS are the purest form of spiritual wisdom. The Vedic sermons are being pronounced in the guise of the messages of the saints, seers and great men from time to time and in this very process our spiritualism is getting nurtured, well-protected, permeated into generations in our holy land. Sri Sri Ram Thakur was one such great man, who descended in Bengal in the modern age. Neither had He undergone any formal education nor had He a vast range of knowledge, still He was the wisest of the wise - an ocean of wisdom in true sense. These are the Vedavanis through which He enlightened people irrespective of caste and creed, haves and have-nots, educated and uneducated. His sole objective was to open up every one's spiritual eyes, leading on to spiritual and inner awakening with the help of Vedavani. It is all the more an uphill task for the common people to realize the inner meaning of the sermons of Vedavani and even explaining their substance in the mother tongue is also not a very easy thing to do. Therefore, it is almost next to impossible to get these sermons translated in toto into other languages keeping intact their flavour. And, this fact is crystal clear in the introduction to the first volume of Vedavani by Dr. Indubhushan Bandyopadhyay : "According to my personal experience, the inner meaning of Thakur's advice in the form of His letters becomes transparent only through their repeated reverent reading and our heart gets enriched with newer enlightenment as we delve into them again and again"

Knowledge of mind & Universality

Sri Sri Ramthakur knew the minds of people and took proper steps according to their mind with says and letters.Even he knew the matters of the remote places.He knew the past ,present and future.He could tell his disciples their previous lives. Sri Sri Ramthakur was universal truth.He had no birth and death.He met his devotees after his disappearance.He said, "I am always in my citrapot(photo).It is living and moving and speaking".It will be realished if anybody thinks of him deeply. His disciples believe that Sri Sri Thakur is free from three qualities- Twama,Raja and Satwa, which can be seen in the illusive men.He is also called sad guru; as, " Akama nityama bimalam chalam sarbada swaskhibhutam bhabatitam triguna rahitam sad guru twama namami".(Guru Gita)

Conclusion

Mahamahopadhyay Dr. Gopinath Kabiraj is known all around the world for his meticulous writings on various spriritual personalities, whom he had met. In his lifetime he had many occassions to talk directly with Sri Sri Ram Thakur, which he later on published. About Thakur he says ” Among the several prophets who descended in Bengal in the 20th century He was one of the greatest. Though he did not have advanced formal education, great men of His stature possessing spiritual or supernatural wealth are very rare”. Sri Sri Ramthakur was not an ordinary spiritual master. He was an avatar. He did not have any formal education, yet He is the fountainhead of the knowledge. He wrote no books, nor did He allow any books to be written about Him during His lifetime. He is the pure inner light who shows the path of ultimate self-realization and moksha. He is pure love, pure divinity— Self-luminous, stainless, formless and eternal. Our main mission here is to spread the message of love and universal brotherhood that our beloved spiritual master preached.

References

• Satya Narayaner Panchali by Sri Ram Thakur
• Guru Geeta by Sri Ram Thakur
• Ramayana by Sri Ram Thakur
• Ram Thakurer Jeeban Katha by Sri Mohendra Chakraborty

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