The Devotion of Ramakrishna

There is no Indian saint that is more of an archetypical prophet than Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. He was an extraordinary and mysterious man; nothing less than a phenomenon. His entire life was devoted not only to the Goddess Kali, whom he worshipped, but also to his many devotees. As he lay on his deathbed, his body in immense pain, he proclaimed, "I will give up a thousand such bodies to help one man... It is …

…death that he had done something extraordinary; he had an immense following, which would spread his word throughout the world, gaining even more followers. He once said, "I shall be worshipped in every house hereafter; I say this upon oath, so help me God" (169). As Narasingha P. Sil said of Ramakrishna, "[He] was, like Nietzsche's Socrates, a Hanswurst - 'the buffoon who made others take him seriously.' That, of course, is cause for celebration" (169).