Raja Ram Mohan Roy

Born: August 14, 1774
Died: September 27, 1833

Achievements
Raja Ram Mohan Roy is considered as the pioneer of modern Indian Renaissance for the remarkable reforms he brought in the 18th century India. Among his efforts, the abolition of the sati-pratha-a practice in which the widow was compelled to sacrifice herself on the funeral pyre of her husband-was the prominent. His efforts were also instrumental in eradicating the purdah system and child marriage. In 1828, Ram Mohan Roy formed the Brahmo Samaj, a group of people, who had no faith in idol-worship and were against the caste restrictions. The title 'Raja' was awarded to him by Mughal emperor Akbar, the second in 1831 when Roy visited England as an ambassador of the King to ensure that Bentick's regulation of banning the practice of Sati was not overturned.

Background
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was born on 14 August, 1774 to Ramakanta Roy and Tarini Devi in Murshidabad district, West Bengal. His father was a wealthy Brahmin and strictly performed the duties set by the religion. Ram Mohan himself was also devoted to lord Vishnu and in his 14th year, he wanted to become a monk but his mother, Tarini Devi objected to his desire.

Though his father Ramakanto was very orthodox but he wanted his son to have higher education and after the basic formal education in Sanskrit and Bengali in the village school, Ram Mohan was sent to Patna to study Persian and Arabic in a madrasa. After that he went to Benares (Kashi) for learning the intricacies of Sanskrit and Hindu scripture, including the Vedas and Upanishads. He learnt English language at the age of 22 years.

Father of Renaissance
Ram Mohan viewed education as a medium to implement the social reforms. So, in 1815, Ram Mohan came to Calcutta and the very next year, started an English College by putting his own savings. He was well aware that the students should learn the English language and scientific subjects and that's why he criticized the government's policy of opening only Sanskrit schools. According to him, Indians would lag behind if they do not get to study modern subjects like Mathematics, Geography and Latin. Government accepted this idea of Ram Mohan and also implemented it but not before his death. Ram Mohan was also the first to give importance to the development of the mother tongue. His 'Gaudiya Byakaran' in Bengali is the best of his prose works. Rabindranath Tagore and Bankimchandra also followed the footsteps of Ram Mohan Roy.

Freedom of Press
Ram Mohan Roy was a staunch supporter of free speech and expression and fought for the rights of vernacular press. He also brought out a newspaper in Persian called 'Miratul- Akhbar' (the Mirror of News) and a Bengali weekly called 'Sambad Kaumudi' (the Moon of Intelligence). In those days, items of news and articles had to be approved by the government before being published. Ram Mohan protested against this control by arguing that newspapers should be free and that the truth should not be suppressed simply because the government did not like it.

His Last Days
Raja Ram Mohan Roy, during his visit to United Kingdom as an ambassador of Akbar- the second, died of meningitis at Stapleton in Bristol on 27 September, 1833. He went there to request the British government to increase the royalty, received by the Mughal Emperor and to ensure that Lord Bentick's regulation of banning the practice of Sati was not overturned. Recently, the British government has named a street as 'Raja Rammohan Way' in the memory of Raja Ram Mohan Roy.

Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa

Born: February 18, 1836
Passed Away: 16, August, 1886

Contributions
Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa was a popular saint of India. He had a strong faith in the existence of god. He regarded every woman of the society, including his wife, Sarada, as holy mother. Swami Vivekananda was one of the prominent disciples of Ramakrishna, who later formed the Ramakrishna Mission.

Life
The original name of Ramakrishna Paramhansa was Gadadhar Chattopadhyay. He was born into a poor and orthodox Brahmin family on 18 February, 1836 in Kamarpukur, Hooghly district of West Bengal. His parents were Khudiram Chattopadhyaya, and Chandramani Devi.

Though Gadadhar was very reluctant going to school, he had a god-gifted ability of painting and creating clay models. He was also good at learning things. He easily mastered the tales, based upon the religion. Young Gadadhar loved the nature so much that he used to spend much of his time in orchards and on the river-banks.

After the death of his father in 1843, the responsibilities of the family were handled by his elder brother Ramkumar. Ramkumar left home for Calcutta and started teaching Sanskrit in a local school. Ramkumar also served as a priest at different socio-religious functions. Young Gadadhar, back in his village started performing regular worshipping of their family-deity.

Ramkrishna at Dakshineswar
Few months later, Ramkumar was invited to Dakshineswar temple by Rani Rasmoni, the founder of the temple. Ramkumar was appointed as the chief-priest of the temple. In 1852, Ramakrishna went to Calcutta and started assisting his brother at the same temple.

In 1856, after the death of Ramkumar, Ramakrishna took his place as the chief-priest of the Kali temple. It is believed that the name Ramakrishna was given to Gadadhar by the son-in-law of Rani Rasmoni.

After being given more responsibilities, Ramkrishna began to spend much time in the "Thakur-Ghar" (home of the deity). He considered Goddess Kali as the mother of all. He wanted to see the glimpse of the god. At times, he would go into the jungle and spend the entire night worshipping goddess Kali. The activities of Ramakrishna were viewed by many as gimmick. Many believed that Ramakrishna has become "mad". With an effort to bring Ramakrishna back into the normal life, her mother began to search for a bride. In 1959, Ramakrishna was married to five year old Sarada.

Sri Ramakrishna was the most 'rational mystic'. With scientific precision he put forward in most simple terms, as parables and stories, the eternal truth regarding God and God realization. He talked about God only after directly experiencing the reality of God. To get rid of the thought that he belonged to a higher brahmanical caste, he began to eat food cooked by the shudras or lower-caste.

Sarada Devi, Ramakrishna's wife
At the age of eighteen, Sarada, the bride of the Ramakrishna, was sent to Dakshineshwar to join her husband. It was believed that the Ramakrishna regarded Sarada as the holy mother. Sarada Devi is considered as the first disciple of Ramakrishna. Even after Ramakrishna's death in 1886, Sarada Devi led the movement and worked hard to make it a success.

With Vivekananda
Ramakrishna met Vivekananda for the first time in November 1881 when Vivekananda visited Dakshineswar to know if the god really exists. In his reply Ramakrishna said, "Yes, I see God, just as I see you here, only in a much intenser sense. God can be realized,"

At first Vivekananda did not believe Ramakrishna. He felt, how such a simple man could see the God. But, gradually he started developing faith in Ramkrishna. Few days later, Vivekananda realized that Ramakrishna's words were honest and uttered from a deep experience. Vivekananda started visiting Dakshineswar frequently and a relationship of "Master and disciple" developed between the two.

At Death-Bed
In 1885 Ramakrishna suffered from throat cancer. In order to consult the best physicians of Calcutta, Ramakrishna was shifted to Shyampukur by his disciples. But with the time, his health started deteriorating and he was taken to a large house at Cossipore. His condition worsened and on 16 August, 1886, he expired at the Cossipore garden house. After the death of Ramakrishna, the monastic disciples formed a fellowship at a half-ruined house at Baranagar, headed by Vivekananda. This was the initial stage of Ramakrishna Mission.