Ramakrishna Paramahansa, who guided Swami Vivekananda and shaped his life, was a Hindu saint and mystic poet in the 19th century. His birth anniversary is celebrated as Ramakrishna Jayanti and usually falls in February-March.
Ramakrishna Paramahansa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya, was also the chief priest of the famous Dakshineswar Kali Temple in Kolkata.
Date
Ramakrishna Paramahansa was born on February 18, 1836. Every year, his birth anniversary is observed as per the Hindu lunar calendar. Ramakrishna Jayanti is celebrated on Dwitiya Tithi in the month of Phalgun, Shukla Paksha. This year, it falls on March 4.
The Ramakrishna Jayanti puja is conducted as per the Dwitiya tithi.
Dwitiya Tithi Begins – 9:36 PM on March 3
Dwitiya Tithi Ends – 8:45 PM on March 4
History
Ramakrishna Paramahansa was born in the Kamarpukur village of Hooghly district in West Bengal. He approached his life through the path of devotion to Goddess Kali and became a priest at the Dakshineswar Temple in 1855. Many believe that he received the title of “Paramahansa” from his Vedantic guru – Totapuri, a known monk from Punjab.
Significance
Ramakrishna Paramahansa’s thirst for learning about God led him to look further and explore other religions, including Islam and Christianity.
The most prominent of his followers was Swami Vivekananda, who founded the Ramakrishna Math. Belur Math is the headquarters of Ramakrishna Math and Mission.