Trigunatitananda
 | This article uses secondary sources that critically analyze them. (May 2014) ) |
Swami Trigunatitananda | |
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Ramakrishna Paramahansa |
"Work hard. Discipline yourself. Build your character. Endure to the end. Realize your Self. And be free."
Trigunatitananda (30 January 1865 – 10 January 1915), premonastic name Sarada Prasanna Mitra, was a direct disciple of
Early life
Trigunatitananda was born as Sarada Prasanna Mitra, on 30 January 1865. He was born to an aristocratic family in the village of Naora in
Monastic life
In January 1887 Sarada took the vows of complete renunciation or
, he met Vivekananda. After that, he returned to Baranagar Math. In 1895, he set out on foot for Mount Kailash and Lake Manasarovar.[2]: 176 He came back to Calcutta and stayed in the house of a devotee and led a contemplative life for some time. After some time he went to stay in the newly formed Alambazar Math of the Ramakrishna order. He was influenced by Vivekananda's ideal of service and philanthropic activities. In 1897 when the district of Dinajpur in Bengal was in the grip of a famine, he went there and organised relief work. Vivekananda had planned a magazine to spread the message of Vedanta. For this purpose a press was bought and Trigunatita was put in charge of publishing the magazine, Udbodhan.[2]: 178 After Yogananda's death, Tigunatitananda became a personal attendant to Sarada Devi for a time. His brother Ashutosh Mitra, later a monk of the Ramakrishna Order, also served her for a time.Work in America
In 1902 when Turiyananda returned from America prematurely due to ill health, Trigunatitananda was sent to replace him. On 2 January 1903, he reached San Francisco and was taken to the house of T.H. Logan, president of the San Francisco Vedanta society. A few weeks later he went to the home of Mr. and Mrs C.F. Peterson where he was to make his headquarters. Classes and lectures were held regularly.[2]: 180 Before long the flat became too small for the Society's operations, and they moved to another flat at 40 Steiner Street.[3] In 1904, because of the work involved, Trigunatitananda felt that a new building for Vedanta Society of San Francisco was needed. Funds were raised, and in January 1906 the building in Webster Street, which came to be known as the first Hindu Temple in the western world, was established and opened to the public. The Swami published a pamphlet explaining each tower and detail of the structure. "This temple," the pamphlet began, "may be considered as a combination of a Hindu temple, a Christian church, a Mohammedan mosque, a Hindu math or monastery, and an American residence." Then it goes on to explain the symbolism built into the temple.[3]
About this temple Trigunatitananda had said, Believe me, believe me, if there is last tinge of selfishness in building this temple, it will fall, but if it is the Master's work, it will stand.[2]: 182 It survived unscathed the major 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Soon after this a monastery was set up with about ten monks, and a convent. In 1909 the Swami started a monthly magazine called the Voice of Freedom, which was produced for seven years, based on the ideals of Vedanta.
Every year the Swami led a selected group of students to Shanti Ashrama, in the San Antone valley in California, a spiritual retreat which was established by Turiyananda, his predecessor and a brother disciple. The inmates spent their time in meditation and prayer.
Trigunatitananda opposed any attempt for his students to get involved in the Indian independence movement. He once said that "his society would never be mixed up with any matter affecting the British Rule in India" and actively encouraged student activists in favor of Indian independence to "give up politics."[4] At the same time, he kept track of these students' activities and reported them to colonial authorities, such as William Charles Hopkinson. In a 1911 letter, Hopkinson wrote, "Regarding Swami Trigunatiti [sic] of the Vedanta Society, I am quite assured that we at least have one loyal East Indian … in this city."[4]
Last days
Trigunatita suffered from chronic
Character and legacy
Quotes
- Keep on praying to God with your whole heart; if the need arises for you to have a Guru, God will send somebody for you who will be just the man you want[7]
- People talk of finding out the proper kind of guru. But that is not a reasonable position in all cases. Whoever the guru may be, everything will progress nicely if the disciple is earnest and sincere.
- People of all castes can be initiated by a good guru who has attained perfection. What caste can a true devotee or the perfect soul have? When the individual soul merges in God (like rivers in the sea), they can no more have any individuality. So how can there be then, the distinction of caste, as Brahmin, Shudra etc., belonging to the body and never to the soul?[8]
References
- ^ Swami Trigunatita
- ^ OL 642609M.
- ^ a b Vedanta Society History
- ^ a b Mandalaparthy, Nikhil (6 September 2021). "100 Years Later, American Hindu Leaders Are Making the Same Mistakes". The Wire. Retrieved 7 September 2021.
- ^ "Swami Trigunatitananda". Ramakrishna Mission, Fiji. Archived from the original on 6 April 2012.
- ^ RKM Nagpur
- ^ Vedanta Society Chicago
- ^ buddhistlibrary.com
External links
- Swami Trigunatitananda Biography
- Swami Trigunatitananda profile
- Swami Trigunatitananda visits Southern California on YouTube
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