The Bengali Mystic

Sri Ramakrishna is one of the most thoroughly studied saints in the last 150 years. He is by any measure one of the most extraordinary mystics to have emerged from India. Ramakrishna has impacted the lives of millions around the world and he continues to intrigue and puzzle spiritual seekers and scholars alike. After reading many of Sri Ramakrishna's wonderful sayings, filled with such rich and earthly analogies, I thought it would be instructive to choose 88 of his insights and put them in a short, introductory book. To accomplish this aim, I have drawn from Max Müller's delightful, and too often neglected, book, Ramakrishna: His Life and Sayings which was first published in 1898. In addition, I have included a brief article I wrote about Ramakrishna's first Samadhi experience as a young boy who was overcome by a stunningly beautiful sight of white cranes against a cascade of blackened clouds. All of this is prefaced with a brief biography of the Bengali saint who still enthralls us today with his remarkable life and teachings.