Swami Nirmalananda
| Nirmalananda | |
|---|---|
Nirmalanda
|
|
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Philosophy | Vedanta |
| Personal | |
| Born | Tulasi Charan Dutta 23 December 1863 Calcutta, Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Died | 26 April 1938 (aged 74) Ottapalam, Kerala |
| Guru | Ramakrishna |
Nirmalananda, born as Tulasi Charan Dutta in Calcutta, was a direct disciple of Ramakrishna, the 19th century mystic and Hindu saint from India, and took Sanyasa (monastic vows) from Vivekananda along with Brahmananda and others. He was initiated by Ramakrishna, on which fact a few later day antagonists tried to cast doubt in the Bangalore Court but into which question the Court refused to get into. Nirmalananda played a key role in establishing Ramakrishna Math and Mission chiefly in South India, in Kerala and Bangalore and Tamil Nadu and also in USA (in Brooklyn), Burma and Bangladesh (Life of Swami Nirmalananda and old issues of Prabuddha Bharata)
He was born on 23 December 1863, in Bosepara Lane in the Bagbazar area of Calcutta, to Debnath Dutta and Thakamani Devi. Tulasi was the youngest among his brothers. At a very young age he was very delicate in health. He was sent to the school at a very late age. His family had establishments in Benaras and Calcutta. Tulasi lost his mother at the age of 10 years. Subsequently, he got admitted to the Bengali Tolla High School in Benaras and became the classmate of Hariprasanna Chattopadhyay who subsequently came to be known as Vijnanananda, another great monk of Ramakrishna Mission and a direct disciple of Ramakrishna. At home he learnt Sanskrit. And later he taught the Upanishads, Brahmasutras and Gita to the Brahmacharins at Belur, and he was also able to converse fluently in Sanskrit with the scholars who visited South India. Tulasi also visited Trailanga in Benaras. His father died in his Calcutta residence in November 1877, while Tulasi was still in Benaras. Thereafter Tulasi came to Calcutta to appear for the Entrance examination of Calcutta University. He also engaged himself in physical training and became an able gymnast and athlete and also trained other young men in physical exercises. He passed the Entrance examination in 1883 and got a certificate of appreciation and a medal from Raja of Talcher.
He first met Ramakrishna in the house of his neighbour Balaram Bose, a lay disciple, in 1882, when Nirmalananda was eighteen years of age. He visited Dakshineswar temple to meet Ramakrishna, first with his friend Harinath and later alone. In the second visit he met Ramakrishna. Tulasi used to meet Ramakrishna occasionally in the house of Balaram Bose and got his initiation from him. He also met Ramakrishna when the latter was lying ill in Cossipore garden house. After the death of their master the a few of the future monastic disciples, led by Narendranath Dutta, later Vivekananda formed the Baranagar Math which Tulasi would visit now and then. The brother disciples also used to spend some time in his house in Bagbazar. Later in early 1887. Tulasi joined the Baranagar Math as a permanent resident and became the right hand of Sashi.
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