‘The Life of M. and Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita’, is a publication that all persons who attach importance to spiritual values, and especially those whose interest in this subject has been generated through the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna, would welcome with utmost eagerness and warmth. For, in this age of ours, when cart-loads of books are turned out by your commercialised publishing houses – books which entertain, bore or debase, but seldom instruct and much less inspire – ‘The Life of M. and Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita’ comes as a refreshing shower on a parched desert. Sri Ramakrishna’s life has been described by Mahatma Gandhi as a life that ‘enables us to see God face to face.’ In making this precious heritage of the Master’s life available to mankind through a faithful and realistic account of an important phase of it, when the fully blossomed flower of the Master’s genius was attracting large numbers of spiritual seekers like swarms of honey-seeking bees, Mahendra Nath Gupta, under the pen name of M., has done to mankind a service of a magnitude which few other authors can equal or excel. - from the Foreword to this book.

Volume IV of Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita in English. This book is a word-by-word translation of the original Bengali Edition of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna... It contains the dialogues of the Bengali saint Ramakrishna written with almost stenographic accuracy. This edition is a different translation of the Swami Nikhilananda Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna which was published in the forties and showed the restraint of that era. All 5 volumes of the set are now available in English. This is volume 4 of the new edition. The expression woman and gold has been replaced by lust and greed or lust and gold. If you have read the Nikhilananda version, this translation will seem like a new Gospel.

Volume III of Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita in English. This book is a word-by-word translation of the original Bengali Edition of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna... It contains the dialogues of the Bengali saint Ramakrishna written with almost stenographic accuracy. This edition is a different translation of the Swami Nikhilananda Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna which was published in the forties and showed the restraint of that era. All 5 volumes of the set are now available in English. This is volume 3 of the new edition. The expression woman and gold has been replaced by lust and greed or lust and gold. If you have read the Nikhilananda version, this translation will seem like a new Gospel.

This book is a word-by-word translation of the original Bengali Edition of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna. It contains the dialogues of the Bengali saint Ramakrishna written in almost stenographic accuracy. This edition is different translation of the Swami Nikhilananda Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna which was published in the forties and showed the restraint of that era.

‘Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita Centenary Memorial' is a Volume published in 1982 on completion of hundred years of Master Mahasay's first meeting with Sri Ramakrishna. This contains articles from prominent sadhus of Sri Ramakrishna Order and devotees on the four subjects 1. Sri Ramakrishna, 2. The Kathamrita, 3. Sri M. and 4. Sri Ma Darshan. The Volume has been, therefore, divided into four parts: 1. Sri Ramakrishna, 2. The Kathamrita, 3. Sri M. and 4. Sri Ma Darshan. Needless to say that the editors were guided into this scheme by Thakur's great dictum: 'Bhakta— Bhagavata-Bhagavan', which if we may interpret means, that God, His Word and His (genuine) Devotee are one and the same. Thus the Volume achieves a unique unity in spite of its being so unplanned! The 26th of February 1882! On this day was created religious history, for from all available evidence, it was on this day that Sri M., the apostle and the evangelist, met his Lord and Master, Sri Ramakrishna, for the first time and heard His divine word which was to bring the Kathamrita, the Nectar of His Word into being, for the peace and bliss of the strifetorn restless world. On being asked which was the greatest event of his life, Sri M., himself said without a moment's hesitation: "The day I had my first darshana of Thakur (Sri Ramakrishna) in February 1882." To celebrate this great day Sri Ma Trust promised a yajna, by collecting all available views on the Kathamrita and its Recorder and publish them in the form of a Centenary Memorial which we hoped would help remind our readers of the glory of the Great Master, his Word and his Evangelist. Sadhus and devotees of Sri Ramakrishna were therefore invited to offer their ahutis (oblations) in the form of write-ups into this holy venture.

Since ancient times, sages have prayed, “Tamaso Ma Jyotirgamaya” (Lead us from darkness to light). So are we in darkness? No, in the long struggle of life, entangled in materialism, involved in the desire to achieve everything, we forget our true nature and the purpose of life and invite sorrows. When we look into the inner space for peace, we experience darkness, restlessness and vast emptiness. Because, the happiness, resources and relationships that we had cherished around us start breaking and getting lost. Then there is a need of a ray of light, a sweet voice of love which is not perishable, which is limitless and which gives supreme bliss. We get the ray of the same light in ‘Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita’. A garland of some (enlightening words) flowers has been made from Sri Ramakrishna flower garden, whose fragrance and beauty are beneficial. Come, let us offer this garland to the awakened Shiva in this God-given life and take life on the journey of light by realizing “Satyam Shivam Sundaram” through the words of Lord Sri Ramakrishna, in the life’s sacrifice, this is the purpose of the motivational thoughts of Sri Ramakrishna.

Swami Nityatmananda lived in the company of Sri M. for a long time, maintained a diary and elaborated it in sixteen parts of Sri Ma Darshan. The book is also available in English under the title ‘M., the Apostle & the Evangelist.’ All the sixteen parts are available in Bengali too. It is a continuation of the Kathamrita. This work is the result of twenty years of hard and incessant work and tapasya, on the banks of the Ganga in Rishikesh, in the Himalayas. In this series of 16 volumes the reader is brought in close touch with the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna family: Thakur, Swamiji, Holy Mother, M., Swami Shivananda, Swami Abhedananda and others. And there is the elucidation according to Sri Ramakrishna’s line of thought, of the Upanishads, the Gita, the Bible, Guru Granth Sahib, the Holy Quran and other scriptures. The third specialty of this work is the commentary on the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by the author himself. Says Swami Shraddhananda, “One wonders at the unusual capacity of Swami Nityatmananda in recording these day to day conversations of this Vyasadeva of our time – M. – and later developing his notes into his masterly work. One cannot fail to discover the special training he received from Sri M. himself in this direction while he was serving as a teacher in M.’s school and living with him for years.” When he read it, Swami Jagadananda remarked, “The author has presented M.’s words lifelike. After reading his Kathamrita, a study of this book will throw new light on the Kathamrita. There is no doubt about it.” The great American and senior sadhu, Swami Atulananda, wrote, “This book may serve a double purpose. To those who are acquainted with M.’s Kathamrita, it may be welcome as a companion volume, and to those not yet acquainted with the Kathamrita, it may arouse a desire to make that acquaintance. For this book, which is a record of M.’s talks with his admirers about his reminiscences, not only reveals new facts about the life of Sri Ramakrishna, but throws new light on that wonderful life.” Swami Virajananda, the late President of Sri Ramakrishna Math and Mission, heard the manuscript read to him by his Secretary when he visited Dehradun for the last time, and he was delighted to hear it. He told to the author, “What a wonderful thing you have written! Why didn’t you show it to me earlier? Never mind, now go and finish the writing. Human life is so uncertain. If you complete the writing itself, publication can be taken up by others… Ah! The move is as dramatic as the subject is sublime…’

Swami Nityatmananda lived in the company of Sri M. for a long time, maintained a diary and elaborated it in sixteen parts of Sri Ma Darshan. The book is also available in English under the title ‘M., the Apostle & the Evangelist.’ All the sixteen parts are available in Bengali too. It is a continuation of the Kathamrita. This work is the result of twenty years of hard and incessant work and tapasya, on the banks of the Ganga in Rishikesh, in the Himalayas. In this series of 16 volumes the reader is brought in close touch with the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna family: Thakur, Swamiji, Holy Mother, M., Swami Shivananda, Swami Abhedananda and others. And there is the elucidation according to Sri Ramakrishna’s line of thought, of the Upanishads, the Gita, the Bible, Guru Granth Sahib, the Holy Quran and other scriptures. The third specialty of this work is the commentary on the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by the author himself. Says Swami Shraddhananda, “One wonders at the unusual capacity of Swami Nityatmananda in recording these day to day conversations of this Vyasadeva of our time – M. – and later developing his notes into his masterly work. One cannot fail to discover the special training he received from Sri M. himself in this direction while he was serving as a teacher in M.’s school and living with him for years.” When he read it, Swami Jagadananda remarked, “The author has presented M.’s words lifelike. After reading his Kathamrita, a study of this book will throw new light on the Kathamrita. There is no doubt about it.” The great American and senior sadhu, Swami Atulananda, wrote, “This book may serve a double purpose. To those who are acquainted with M.’s Kathamrita, it may be welcome as a companion volume, and to those not yet acquainted with the Kathamrita, it may arouse a desire to make that acquaintance. For this book, which is a record of M.’s talks with his admirers about his reminiscences, not only reveals new facts about the life of Sri Ramakrishna, but throws new light on that wonderful life.” Swami Virajananda, the late President of Sri Ramakrishna Math and Mission, heard the manuscript read to him by his Secretary when he visited Dehradun for the last time, and he was delighted to hear it. He told to the author, “What a wonderful thing you have written! Why didn’t you show it to me earlier? Never mind, now go and finish the writing. Human life is so uncertain. If you complete the writing itself, publication can be taken up by others… Ah! The move is as dramatic as the subject is sublime…’

Swami Nityatmananda lived in the company of Sri M. for a long time, maintained a diary and elaborated it in sixteen parts of Sri Ma Darshan. The book is also available in English under the title ‘M., the Apostle & the Evangelist.’ All the sixteen parts are available in Bengali too. It is a continuation of the Kathamrita. This work is the result of twenty years of hard and incessant work and tapasya, on the banks of the Ganga in Rishikesh, in the Himalayas. In this series of 16 volumes the reader is brought in close touch with the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna family: Thakur, Swamiji, Holy Mother, M., Swami Shivananda, Swami Abhedananda and others. And there is the elucidation according to Sri Ramakrishna’s line of thought, of the Upanishads, the Gita, the Bible, Guru Granth Sahib, the Holy Quran and other scriptures. The third specialty of this work is the commentary on the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by the author himself. Says Swami Shraddhananda, “One wonders at the unusual capacity of Swami Nityatmananda in recording these day to day conversations of this Vyasadeva of our time – M. – and later developing his notes into his masterly work. One cannot fail to discover the special training he received from Sri M. himself in this direction while he was serving as a teacher in M.’s school and living with him for years.” When he read it, Swami Jagadananda remarked, “The author has presented M.’s words lifelike. After reading his Kathamrita, a study of this book will throw new light on the Kathamrita. There is no doubt about it.” The great American and senior sadhu, Swami Atulananda, wrote, “This book may serve a double purpose. To those who are acquainted with M.’s Kathamrita, it may be welcome as a companion volume, and to those not yet acquainted with the Kathamrita, it may arouse a desire to make that acquaintance. For this book, which is a record of M.’s talks with his admirers about his reminiscences, not only reveals new facts about the life of Sri Ramakrishna, but throws new light on that wonderful life.” Swami Virajananda, the late President of Sri Ramakrishna Math and Mission, heard the manuscript read to him by his Secretary when he visited Dehradun for the last time, and he was delighted to hear it. He told to the author, “What a wonderful thing you have written! Why didn’t you show it to me earlier? Never mind, now go and finish the writing. Human life is so uncertain. If you complete the writing itself, publication can be taken up by others… Ah! The move is as dramatic as the subject is sublime…’

Swami Nityatmananda lived in the company of Sri M. for a long time, maintained a diary and elaborated it in sixteen parts of Sri Ma Darshan. The book is also available in English under the title ‘M., the Apostle & the Evangelist.’ All the sixteen parts are available in Bengali too. It is a continuation of the Kathamrita. This work is the result of twenty years of hard and incessant work and tapasya, on the banks of the Ganga in Rishikesh, in the Himalayas. In this series of 16 volumes the reader is brought in close touch with the life and teachings of Sri Ramakrishna family: Thakur, Swamiji, Holy Mother, M., Swami Shivananda, Swami Abhedananda and others. And there is the elucidation according to Sri Ramakrishna’s line of thought, of the Upanishads, the Gita, the Bible, Guru Granth Sahib, the Holy Quran and other scriptures. The third specialty of this work is the commentary on the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by the author himself. Says Swami Shraddhananda, “One wonders at the unusual capacity of Swami Nityatmananda in recording these day to day conversations of this Vyasadeva of our time – M. – and later developing his notes into his masterly work. One cannot fail to discover the special training he received from Sri M. himself in this direction while he was serving as a teacher in M.’s school and living with him for years.” When he read it, Swami Jagadananda remarked, “The author has presented M.’s words lifelike. After reading his Kathamrita, a study of this book will throw new light on the Kathamrita. There is no doubt about it.” The great American and senior sadhu, Swami Atulananda, wrote, “This book may serve a double purpose. To those who are acquainted with M.’s Kathamrita, it may be welcome as a companion volume, and to those not yet acquainted with the Kathamrita, it may arouse a desire to make that acquaintance. For this book, which is a record of M.’s talks with his admirers about his reminiscences, not only reveals new facts about the life of Sri Ramakrishna, but throws new light on that wonderful life.” Swami Virajananda, the late President of Sri Ramakrishna Math and Mission, heard the manuscript read to him by his Secretary when he visited Dehradun for the last time, and he was delighted to hear it. He told to the author, “What a wonderful thing you have written! Why didn’t you show it to me earlier? Never mind, now go and finish the writing. Human life is so uncertain. If you complete the writing itself, publication can be taken up by others… Ah! The move is as dramatic as the subject is sublime…’