Editing Ramakrishna (section)

==Priesthood and marriage==
=== Lead up to priesthood ===
In the 19th century Calcutta, there lived [[Rani Rashmoni|Rani Rasmani]], a wealthy woman with a commanding personality. A widow with four daughters, she was the first of the many prominent women who played a major role in the life of Ramakrishna.<ref name=":0" /> Inheriting property from her husband, the Rani managed to endear herself to the people of the city through her exceptional managerial skills of the estate, her resistance against the British colonial authorities, and her various philanthropic works. Known well for her kindness, benevolence to the poor, and also for her religious devotion, she was much loved and revered by the people and proved herself to be worthy of the title "[[Rani]]".{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|pp=114-115}}{{sfn|Sen|2006|p=176}} Being an ardent devotee of the Goddess Kali, the Rani had the words, "Sri Rasmani Dasi, longing for the Feet of Kali”, inscribed in her estates official seal.{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|p=115}} After having a vision of the Goddess Kali in a dream on the night before her departure for a pilgrimage to the Hindu holy city of [[Varanasi|Kashi]], she founded the now famous [[Dakshineswar Kali Temple]].{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|p=116}}{{sfn|Chetanananda|1990|p=195}} Reportedly in the dream, the goddess instructed her that instead of visiting Kashi she better set up a stone idol of the Goddess at a beautiful place on the [[Bank (geography)|banks]] of the [[Bhagirathi River]], and make arrangements for the daily worship and [[Prasāda|prasada]] offering there, then she would manifest in the deity and receive her worship.{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|p=116}}

With great delight the Rani bought a large piece of land on the banks of Hooghly river at Dakshineswar and started the construction of a nine-spired temple where pilgrims could congregate to catch a glimpse of the Goddess. However for being born into a ''[[Mahishya|Cāsi kaivarta]]'' family, she was deemed unworthy by the local Brahmins to make food offerings to Kali.<ref name=":0" /> It was her heart's desire to offer prasada to Kali, and if she did so going against the norms of the Brahmanical society of the time, the devotees would no longer visit that temple, nor would a [[Hindu priest|Brahmin priest]] officiate there. To find a scriptural solution to her problem, the Rani sought written opinions of various pandits from different parts of the country. However, none of the opinions were in her favor.{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|p=117}} When all hope was seemingly lost, she received a letter from Ramkumar, who assured her that the scriptural principles would be observed intact if she made a gift of the property to a Brahmin, who could then install the deity and make arrangements for food offerings. No blemish would then be incurred by those who partook the prasada there.{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|pp=117-118}} She readily agreed to these conditions, displaying savviness in working around the rigidities of caste while adhering to its restrictions.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Harris |first=Ruth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xj96EAAAQBAJ&dq=rani+Rashmoni+caste+rigidities+restrictions&pg=PA41 |title=Guru to the World: The Life and Legacy of Vivekananda |date=2022-10-27 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-24747-5 |pages=41–42 |language=en}}</ref>

The Rani thus decided to consecrate the temple and proceeded with her plans. While the search for a priest was on, a Brahmin named Mahesh Chandra Chattopadhyaya who worked on the estate of the Rani, and her secretary Ramdhan Ghosh, both of whom were well acquainted with Ramkumar, requested him to officiate as a priest at the temple of the Rani, albeit temporarily.{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|pp=119-120}}
The devout Ramkumar agreed and later after the opening of the temple on the last day of May in 1855, on request by the Rani, he continued as its chief priest.{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|p=120}}<ref name=":0" />

Ramkumar informed Ramakrishna that he was taking up the post of the priest and asked him to stay at the Kali Temple. At this injunction Ramakrishna strenuously objected and reminded Ramkumar that their father never officiated in the ceremonies of the purported 'lower castes' and refused to join him, but the will of Ramkumar prevailed in this matter.<ref name=":0" />{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|p=122}}

=== Officiation as priest ===
[[File:Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Dakshineswar, West Bengal, India (2007).jpg|thumb|[[Dakshineswar Kali Temple]], built under the aegis of Rani Rasmani in 1855. Sri Ramakrishna lived a major part of his life here.|left|upright=1.0]]

On Thursday, 31 May 1855, Ramkumar in the presence of his brother Ramakrishna officiated at the dedication ceremony of the [[Dakshineswar Kali Temple]].{{sfn|Chetanananda|1990|p=14}}

Within three months after the consecration of the temple, Mathur Babu, the Rani's right-hand man was much impressed by Ramakrishna and appointed him with the task of dressing up the deity of Kali, and Hriday, the sixteen year old nephew of Ramakrishna was appointed as an assistant to both him and Ramkumar.{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|p=130}} Soon, Ramkumar began to teach his brother the modes of worship and service of the Goddess, in the hope that he might perform them in his absence. To initiate him properly, a [[Sādhaka|Sadhaka]] of [[Shakti]] named Kenaram Bhattacharya was invited. He was apparently charmed to see the religious fervor in Ramakrishna, who reportedly became ecstatic as soon as a [[mantra]] was recited in his ear.{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|p=134}}{{sfn|Gupta|1942|p=25}} In order to get him more accustomed, Ramkumar later employed Ramakrishna on few occasions to perform the worship of Kali.{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|p=134}}

As Ramkumar grew old and infirm to carry out the difficult duties at the Kali temple, Mathur with the permission of the Rani, requested him to move to the Vishnu temple in the complex for conducting worship, and appointed Ramakrishna to the office of priest. Ramkumar was glad with this arrangement, and after serving for one year since the consecration of the temple, he died suddenly in 1856 while preparing to go home on a leave.{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|p=134}}{{sfn|Harding|1998|p=251}}

=== Vision of the Goddess Kali ===
[[File:মা ভবতারিণী (cropped).jpg|thumb|upright|The idol of goddess [[Kali]] as ''Bhavatāriṇi'' in the [[Garbhagriha|sanctum sanctorum]] of the [[Dakshineswar Kali Temple]].]]

At age 20, Ramakrishna who by now had witnessed more than one death in his family, realising the utter impermanence of life, became more engrossed in the worship of [[Kali]]. After the daily worship, he would sit in the temple looking intently at the deity and get absorbed in her, before losing himself in devotion whilst singing with profound emotion the songs composed by devotees like [[Ramprasad Sen|Ramprasad]] and [[Kamalakanta Bhattacharya (West Bengal)|Kamalakanta]]. He regarded their songs as an aid in his worship, and was certain about having the vision of Kali as Ramprasad did. With an ardent heart, he would say, "Thou showed thyself to Ramprasad, Mother, why then shouldst Thou not reveal Thyself to me? I don't want wealth, friends, relatives, enjoyment of pleasure, and the like. Do show Thyself to me." Being averse to wasting any time, after the closure of the temple during midday or at night, he would visit the nearby jungle to think and meditate on [[Kali]].{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|pp=135-139}}

Before meditating, he would put down his clothes and the sacred thread aside, and meditate completely naked. When Hriday found this out, he confronted his uncle and asked him to explain his strange conduct. Ramakrishna answered that when one thinks about God, one should be free from all attachments and the eight servitudes of "hatred, fear, shame, aversion, egoism, vanity, noble descent, and good conduct." He viewed his sacred thread as a display of the ego of his Brahmin descent and thus kept it aside, saying when calling upon the Mother, one should discard all such bondages and call on Her with a focused mind. He assured his nephew that he would put them on after the end of his meditation. Hriday was aghast at hearing this and left him in dismay.{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|pp=136-137}}

In this way, Ramakrishna spent his days and nights altogether in prayer, singing, and meditation while his longing for her vision kept increasing daily. It was not long before people around the temple started noticing his passion and adherence to devotion, which was quite unperturbed by the opinions of people around him. The Rani was informed by her son-in-law [[Mathurmohan Biswas]] thus: "We have got an extraordinary worshipper; the Goddess will be awakened very soon".{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|pp=139-140}}

As the days passed, Ramakrishna's food intake and sleep gradually declined and when not engaged in either worship or meditation, he was seen in a state of turmoil over whether he would get a vision of the Mother.{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|p=140}} Seeing the evening sun, he would cry, "Mother, another day is gone and still I have not seen you!"{{sfn|Chetanananda|1990|p=403}} Eventually he would question, "Are you true, Mother, or is it all a fabrication of my mind, mere poetry without reality? If you do exist, why can't I see you?"{{sfn|Chetanananda|1990|p=14}}

Soon his longing for her vision became extreme and he was engaged in either worship or meditation for almost twenty-four hours a day. Despaired, and feeling an unbearable pain at the thought that he might never have her vision, one day, as he later recounted: "In my agony, I said to myself, 'What is the use of this life?' Suddenly my eyes fell on the sword that hangs in the temple. I decided to end my life with it then and there. Like a madman, I ran to it and seized it. And then — I had a marvellous vision of the Mother and fell down unconscious." He became overwhelmed and before fainting, observed that to his spiritual sight, houses, doors, temples and everything else around vanishing into an empty void and "What I saw, was a boundless infinite conscious sea of light! However far and in whatever direction I looked, I found a continuous succession of effulgent waves coming forward, raging and storming from all sides with great speed. Very soon they fell on me and made me sink to the unknown bottom. I panted, struggled and fell unconscious. I did not know what happened then in the external world — how that day and the next slipped away. But, in my
heart of hearts, there was flowing a current of intense bliss, never experienced before, and I had the immediate knowledge of the light that was Mother." When he regained consciousness, he was found uttering the word "''Maa''" (Mother) repeatedly in an aching voice.{{sfn|Chetanananda|1990|p=14}}
{{sfn|Saradananda|1952|pp=140-141}}

Thoroughly convinced of Kali's existence, Ramakrishna now lived at her abode, all the time, and like a child disinclined to leave its mother, so was he disinclined to leave his Divine Mother Kali. Hovering in an ocean of bliss he guided various seekers to Kali, realising one cannot experience it anywhere but from Her.{{sfn|Chetanananda|1990|pp=143-144}} When asked why he called the deity a "''Mother''", he answered that it was because the child is most free with the Mother, and she alone can cherish the child more than anyone else.{{sfn|Muller|1916|pp=118}} People around him noted that he engaged in talks of spiritual matters only and never about any worldly issues, and while talking about Kali the Divine Mother, he would simply cry and be elated. When someone once asked him about Kali worship, he said:<blockquote>
"I do not worship Kali made of clay and straw. My Mother is the conscious principle. My Mother is pure [[Satcitananda|Satchidananda]] — Existence-Knowledge-Bliss Absolute. That which is infinite and deep is always dark-coloured. The extensive sky is dark-coloured and so is the deep sea. My Kali is infinite, all-pervading, and consciousness itself."{{sfn|Chetanananda|1990|p=404}}
</blockquote>

===Marriage===
[[File:Holy mother sarada.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|Sarada Devi (1853–1920), wife and spiritual counterpart of Ramakrishna.]]
Rumors spread to Kamarpukur that Ramakrishna became unstable as a result of his spiritual practices at Dakshineswar. Ramakrishna's mother and his elder brother Rameswar decided to get Ramakrishna married, thinking that marriage would be a good steadying influence upon him by forcing him to take up responsibilities, and keep his attention on normal affairs rather than on his spiritual practices and visions. Ramakrishna himself mentioned that they would find the bride at the house of Ramchandra Mukherjee in [[Jayrambati]], three miles to the north-west of [[Kamarpukur]]. The five-year-old bride, [[Sarada Devi|Saradamani Mukhopadhyaya]] (later known as Sarada Devi; she is also considered an [[avatar]]) was found, and the marriage was duly solemnised in 1859. Ramakrishna was twenty-three at this point, but this age difference for marriage was typical for nineteenth-century rural Bengal.{{sfn|Jackson|1994|p=18}} They later spent three months together in Kamarpukur when Sarada Devi was fourteen, and Ramakrishna thirty-two. Ramakrishna became a very influential figure in Sarada's life, and she became a strong follower of his teachings. After the marriage, Sarada stayed at Jayrambati and joined Ramakrishna in Dakshineswar at the age of eighteen.{{sfn|Spivak|2008|pp=207–208}}

By the time his bride joined him, Ramakrishna had already embraced the monastic life of a [[sannyasi]], and the marriage was never consummated.{{sfn|Rolland|1929|p=59}}

Once as a part of practicing the spiritual mood called ''mādhurā bhavā sādhana'', Ramakrishna dressed and behaved as a woman.{{sfn|Goldman|1993|p=384}} Disciple [[Mahendranath Gupta]] quoted the Master as follows:<blockquote>How can a man conquer passion? He should assume the attitude of a woman. I spent many days as the handmaid of God. I dressed myself in women's clothes, put on ornaments and covered the upper part of my body with a scarf, just like a woman. With the scarf on, I used to perform the evening worship before the image. Otherwise, how could I have kept my wife with me for eight months? Both of us behaved as if we were the handmaid of the Divine Mother.{{sfn|Goldman|1993|p=385}}</blockquote>

As a priest, Ramakrishna performed the ritual ceremony of the ''Shodashi Puja'' in his room, where he worshipped his wife Sarada Devi as the ''Divine Mother'' herself.{{sfn|Rolland|1929|p=59}} Ramakrishna regarded Sarada Devi as the Divine Mother in person, addressing her as the [[Sarada Devi|Holy Mother]], and it was by this name that she became known to Ramakrishna's disciples. Sarada Devi outlived Ramakrishna by thirty-four years and played an important role in the development of the nascent religious movement.{{sfn|Spivak|2008|p=207}}{{sfn|Schneiderman|1969}}