Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play

Rating:
Summary: Ramakrishna for the New Millennium
Review: "Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play" is Swami Chetanananda's superb and long-awaited English translation of the "Sri Sri Ramakrishna Lilaprasanga" from the revered Swami Saradananda's original Bengali.

Someone who knows Sri Ramakrishna mainly from Swami Nikhilananda's "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna" may find that encountering this book is like discovering a lost Gospel or another testament. "Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play" vastly enriches our understanding of Sri Ramakrishna as it tells the story of Sri Ramakrishna from years before His birth up to His passing away, greatly supplementing and enlarging upon the material of "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna", which covers mainly the last five years.

I can't recommend it enough: the translation itself is superb, every word an altar-flower offered to Sri Ramakrishna. It is generously supplemented by Chetananandaji's introduction, notes, glossary, exhaustive table of contents, and index, all to help ensure that the reader will not go astray. The quality of the 108 illustrations, the paper, the printing and the binding is extraordinary, far above average in every way.

Rating:
Summary: An Indian Saint
Review: "Sri Ramakrishna was one of the greatest of India's spiritual adepts of recent times. ...By assimilating the ... practices of different faiths into his own personal practice, he presented a powerful example of respect for other traditions, even while maintaining a deep fidelity to his own. His ... life remains a guide and inspiration to millions on their spiritual path."
So writes His Holiness the Dalai Lama, exiled leader of Tibetan Buddhists. The Dalai Lama is well-known in the United States; Ramakrishna is not. This biography, a faithful translation from the Indian Bengali, will serve as history's correction to all who take a devout and detailed pilgrimage through its pages.
The Hindu priest Ramakrishna (1836-1886) was, by many of his contemporaries as well as those who knew him only distantly in time and place, regarded as a living incarnation of God. At the least, he graces the company of saints. His message was one of
liberation -- from superstition, fear, and religious intolerance -- and of unity -- a unity of all creation as an expression of the holy.
In his brief 50 years of life, he attracted and inspired a generation of young Indians, led by Swami Vivekananda who went on with the other 15 original disciples to form the Ramakrishna Order and to spread its teachings through India, Europe, and the United States.
The life of Ramakrishna was first recorded by Swami Saradananda (1865-1927), and is now translated into English by Swami Chetanananda, minister of the Vedanta Society of St. Louis.
Swami Saradananda cared for Ramakrishna during his final illness and later became a monk in the new religious order. He was admirably situated to know the principals, to converse with them, and to record their reminiscences. He spoke with many who had known Ramakrishna from his humble birth in the little village of Kamarpukur, through his service in the Temple at Dakshineswar on the Ganges River, until his death of cancer near Calcutta in 1886.
Seven years in preparation, this translation of Ramakrishna's life story takes its place as the authentic, factual, descriptive, interpretive, and comprehensive biography of a spiritual giant. The book includes a biography of Swami Saradananda, a detailed listing of chapter contents, a chronology of Ramakrishna's life, a glossary, and an index. Over 100 illustrations, many in full color, bring to life the characters and locations of the book.
While Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play will undoubtedly serve as the scholarly resource on Ramakrishna for generations to come, it is a highly readable and engrossing story, well within the understanding of the average reader. Its 1,000-plus pages should not discourage anyone who seeks spiritual nourishment of the highest order.

Rating:
Summary: Ramakrishna for the New Millennium
Review: "Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play" is Swami Chetanananda's superb and long-awaited English translation of the "Sri Sri Ramakrishna Lilaprasanga" from the revered Swami Saradananda's original Bengali.

Someone who knows Sri Ramakrishna mainly from Swami Nikhilananda's "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna" may find that encountering this book is like discovering a lost Gospel or another testament. "Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play" vastly enriches our understanding of Sri Ramakrishna as it tells the story of Sri Ramakrishna from years before His birth up to His passing away, greatly supplementing and enlarging upon the material of "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna", which covers mainly the last five years.

I can't recommend it enough: the translation itself is superb, every word an altar-flower offered to Sri Ramakrishna. It is generously supplemented by Chetananandaji's introduction, notes, glossary, exhaustive table of contents, and index, all to help ensure that the reader will not go astray. The quality of the 108 illustrations, the paper, the printing and the binding is extraordinary, far above average in every way.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Blessing for the Holidays!
Review: I can't say enough good things about this wonderful new translation of the Sri Sri Ramakrishna Lilaprasanga. Swami Chetanananda has done an extraordinary job with Swami Saradananda's classic. Many kudos as well to the Vedanta Society of St. Louis. This edition is well bound and filled with many many beautiful pictures, some of whom I have never seen before. Truly a wonderful blessing for the holidays, and one that I will use and treasure for many years to come.

Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Blessing for the Holidays!
Review: I can't say enough good things about this wonderful new translation of the Sri Sri Ramakrishna Lilaprasanga. Swami Chetanananda has done an extraordinary job with Swami Saradananda's classic. Many kudos as well to the Vedanta Society of St. Louis. This edition is well bound and filled with many many beautiful pictures, some of whom I have never seen before. Truly a wonderful blessing for the holidays, and one that I will use and treasure for many years to come.