Keshab Chandra Sen and Sri Ramakrishna met for the first time
in the
garden house of Jaygopal Sen at Belgharia, a few miles from
Dakshineswar,
where the great Brahmo leader was staying with some of his disciples.
In
many respects the two were poles apart, though an irresistible inner
attraction
was to make them intimate friends. The Master had realized God as
Pure Spirit and Consciousness, but he believed in the various forms of
God
as well. Keshab, on the other hand, regarded image worship as idolatry
and
gave allegorical explanations of the Hindu deities. Keshab was an
orator and
a writer of books and magazine articles; Sri Ramakrishna had a horror
of
lecturing and hardly knew how to write his own name, Keshab's fame
spread
far and wide, even reaching the distant shores of England; the Master
still
led a secluded life in the village of Dakshineswar. Keshab emphasized
social
reforms for India's regeneration; to Sri Ramakrishna God-realization
was
the only goal of life. Keshab considered himself a disciple of Christ
and
accepted in a diluted form the Christian sacraments and Trinity; Sri
Ramakrishna
was the simple child of Kali, the Divine Mother, though he too,
in a different way, acknowledged Christ's divinity. Keshab was a
householder
holder and took a real interest in the welfare of his children, whereas
Sri
Ramakrishna was a paramahamsa and completely indifferent to the life of
the world. Yet, as their acquaintance ripened into friendship, Sri
Ramakrishna
and Keshab held each other in great love and respect. Years later,
at the news of Keshab's death, the Master felt as if half his body had
become
paralyzed. Keshab's concepts of the harmony of religions and the
Motherhood of God were deepened and enriched by his contact with Sri
Ramakrishna.
Sri Ramakrishna, dressed in a red-bordered dhoti, one end of which was
carelessly thrown over his left shoulder, came to Jaygopal's garden
house
accompanied by Hriday. No one took notice of the unostentatious
visitor.
Finally the Master said to Keshab, "People tell me you have seen God;
so
I have come to hear from you about God." A magnificent conversation
followed.
The Master sang a thrilling song about Kali and forthwith went into
samadhi. When Hriday uttered the sacred "Om" in his ears, he gradually
came back to consciousness of the world, his face still radiating a
divine
brilliance. Keshab and his followers were amazed. The contrast between
Sri
Ramakrishna and the Brahmo devotees was very interesting. There sat
this
small man, thin and extremely delicate. His eyes were illumined with an
inner light. Good humour gleamed in his eyes and lurked in the corners
of his mouth. His speech was Bengali of a homely kind with a slight,
delightful stammer, and his words held men enthralled by their wealth
of
spiritual experience, their inexhaustible store of simile and metaphor,
their
power of observation, their bright and subtle humour, their wonderful
catholicity, their ceaseless flow of wisdom. And around him now were
the
sophisticated men of Bengal, the best products of Western education,
with
Keshab, the idol of young Bengal, as their leader.
Keshab's sincerity was enough for Sri Ramakrishna. Henceforth the two
saw each other frequently, either at Dakshineswar or at the temple of
the
Brahmo Samaj. Whenever the Master was in the temple at the time of
divine service, Keshab would request him to speak to the congregation.
And
Keshab would visit the saint, in his turn, with offerings of flowers
and
fruits.