Swami Adbhutananda

Adbhutananda (Latu Maharaj)
Religion	Hinduism
Personal
Born	Rakhturam unknown Chhapra, Bihar, British India
Died	24 April 1920 Varnasi, British India
Guru	Ramakrishna

Adbhutananda (died 1920), born Rakhturam, was a direct monastic disciple of Ramakrishna, a mystic of nineteenth century Bengal. He is familiarly known as Latu Maharaj among the followers of Ramakrishna. Adbhutananda was the first monastic disciple to come to Ramakrishna. While most of Ramakrishna's direct disciples came from the Bengali intelligentsia, Adbhutananda's lack of formal education made him unique amongst them. He was a servant boy of a devotee of Ramakrishna, and he later became his monastic disciple. Though unlettered, Adbhutananda was considered as a monk with great spiritual insight by Ramakrishna's followers, and Vivekananda regarded him as "the greatest miracle of Ramakrishna".

Adbhutananda was born in North-Eastern India in the Chhapra district of Bihar, around the middle of the nineteenth century. He was given the name Rakhturam, meaning "child who is protected by Lord Rama". His parents were poor, humble villagers. Both his father and mother died before Rakhturam was five years old and he was left in the care of an uncle who was affectionate towards him.

Growing up in the village, Rakhturam led a carefree life, tending cows and sheep in the fields. In later years he said, "I used to wander freely with the cowherd boys. How simple and guileless they were! You can't have real joy unless you are like that." Poverty forced Rakhturam and his uncle to travel to Calcutta in search of a livelihood. Rakhturam came in contact with Ramachandra Datta, a householder devotee of Ramakrishna, and he joined as his servant. As a servant, Rakhturam was considered energetic and faithful. Rakhturam became known as "Latu" in his new Calcutta surroundings, and he was called by that name thereafter.

Ramakrishna lived at the Dakshineswar Kāli Temple, a few miles north of Calcutta on the eastern bank of the Ganges. Ram Chandra Datta, Latu's employer, was one of the first householder disciples to visit Ramakrishna. Datta loved to speak about Ramakrishna and his sayings and Latu heard about Ramakrishna from him and was attracted by Ramakrishna's teachings, It is reported that inspired by the teachings of Ramakrishna, he was often found lying covered with his blanket, quietly wiping tears from his eyes thinking of God. Latu waited eagerly for an opportunity to meet Ramakrishna, and he met Ramakrishna on a Sunday in 1879 or 1880.

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