Swami Vivekananda's Meeting With Ramakrishna Paramhamsa, Why It Was So Special

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Narendra with the deep urge to see God frequented the Brahmo Samaj. It was Professor W.W.Hastie's words which drove him to Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.

In 1881 when Narendra was studying in the General Assembly Institution, Professor W.W. Hastie, the principle, while explaining the word 'trance' in Wordsworth's 'The Excursion', said, “Such experience is the result of the purity of mind and concentration on some particular object, and it is rare indeed, particularly in these days. I have seen only one person who has experienced that blessed state of mind, and he is Ramakrishna Paramahamsa of Dakshineshwar. You can understand if you go there and see for yourself"

Ramachandra, a relative of Narendra's father also played a role in inducing Narendra to meet the master. On learning that Narendra had declined to get married, He persuaded him to meet Sri Ramakrishna if he really wanted to see God, instead of visiting the Brahmo Samaj and other places.Sri Ramakrishna mentions about Naren's first visit to Him : “The master said, “Narendra entered the room by the western door. He seemed careless about his body and dress, and, unlike other people, unmindful of the external world. His eyes bespoke an introspective mind, as if some part of it were always concentrated upon something within. I was surprised to find such a spiritual soul coming from the material atmosphere of Kolkata"

Sri Ramakrishna also told His disciples later that Naren had attained perfection even before his birth.

He bespoke of His unusual experience while He was immersed in Samadhi. He saw seven saints meditating in a realm higher than that of Gods and Goddesses. An undifferentiated portion of the absolute took form of a divine child and climbed on to the lap of one of the saints and whispered something in his ears. When the saint opened his eyes the child said that it was going down to earth and beckoned him to accompany it. A tiny portion of the saint taking the form of a light descended and hit the house of Naren's family in Kolkata. When the master first met Naren, He instantly recognised him to be the sage and Himself the divine child!

The first visit to the master by Naren hardly made an impact on him. The master's words and behaviour hardly appealed to the skeptical mind set of Naren. The master however recognised him instantly. Naren's voice broke into mellifluous, soul stirring songs. When the singing was over, Sri Ramakrishna took Naren aside and said "Ah! You have come so late. How unkind of you to keep me waiting so long! The master also said that Naren was none other than the sage Nara who has taken birth to wipe out the miseries of the world. This was too much for the rationalistic mind of Naren to accept. His disappointment reached the heights when the master fed him with His own hands.

However, Naren was amazed on hearing Sri Ramakrishna's answer to the customary question that he normally put forward to the spiritual men he met, “Have you seen God?" Sri Ramakrishna answered, “Yes, I have seen God. I see Him as I see you here, only more intensely!"

During the second visit to Sri Ramakrishna the master in an ecstatic state of meditation, touched Naren with His foot. He transmitted the spiritual state to Naren by making the walls, room, temple and garden to disappear in the void while he had his eyes open. Petrified, Naren thinking that he was going to die shouted out to stop it telling that he had his parents and siblings to take care of. Later when he was relieved he thought it to be a kind of hypnosis rather than a spiritual state.

The third time when Naren met Sri Ramakrishna, the master touched him on his third eye which put him in a trance. In that state Sri Ramakrishna enquired of Naren's purpose and mission and confirmed his convictions of him.

To be continued