The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

Infobox Book
name = The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
title_orig =
translator = Swami Nikhilananda


image_caption = The Gospel of Ramakrishna, 1942 edition.
author = Mahendranath Gupta
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = India
language = English
series =
subject =
genre = Spirituality
publisher = Ramakrishna Mission
pub_date = 1942
english_pub_date =
media_type =
pages = 1062
isbn = 978-0911206012
oclc =
preceded_by =
followed_by =

"The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna" by Swami Nikhilananda is an English translation of the Bengali religious text "Sri Sri Rāmakrishna Kathāmrita". The text purports to be the conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees, and visitors, recorded by Mahendranath Gupta, who wrote the book under the pseudonym of "M."cite book
last = Nikhilananda
first = Swami
authorlink = Swami Nikhilananda
coauthors =
title = The Gospel of Ramakrishna
chapter = Preface
chapterurl = http://www.belurmath.org/gospel/preface.htm
publisher = Sri Ramakrishna Math
date = 1942
location = Chennai
pages =
url = http://www.belurmath.org/gospel/
doi =
id =
isbn = ] The first edition was published in 1942. The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna is regarded by members of the Ramakrishna Vedanta movement much as the New Testament is regarded by Christians.Cite journal
author = Carl E. Purinton
date = Jan, 1949
title = Reviewed work(s): Ramakrishna: Prophet of New India. Abridged from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by Swami Nikhilananda
journal = Journal of Bible and Religion
volume = 17
issue = 1
pages = pp. 67-68
publisher = Oxford University Press
location = London
url = http://www.jstor.org/stable/1456762
year = 1949 ] Aldous Huxley likens it to James Boswell's "Life of Samuel Johnson".Cite journal
author = Alban G. Widgery
date = May, 1943
title = Review: The Gospel of Ramakrishna by Swami Nikhilananda
journal = The Philosophical Review
volume = 52
issue = 3
pages = pp. 308-310
publisher = Duke University Press
location = London
url = http://www.jstor.org/stable/2180926
year = 1943 ] The book was voted as one of the "100 Most Important Spiritual Books of the 20th Century" by the American scholars convened by HarperCollins publishers, [Cite Web
title = 100 Best Spiritual Books of the Century
url=http://www.faithalivebooks.com/collections/harper_100_best.html
accessdate=2008-08-21] [cite book
last = Zalewiski
first = Phillip
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = The Best Spiritual Writing 2000
publisher = HarperCollins
date = 2000
location = San Francisco
pages =
url =
doi =
id =
isbn =978-0062516701 ] and in 1943, was calledweasel-inline one of the "most important publications in English concerning a part of the religions of India".Cite journal
author = Alban G. Widgery
date = May, 1943
title = Review: The Gospel of Ramakrishna by Swami Nikhilananda
journal = The Philosophical Review
volume = 52
issue = 3
pages = pp. 308-310
publisher = Duke University Press
location = London
url = http://www.jstor.org/stable/2180926
year = 1943 ]

Swami Nikhilananda published a translation [cite book
last = Neevel
first = Walter G
authorlink =
coauthors = Bardwell L. Smith
title = Hinduism: New Essays in the History of Religions
chapter = The Transformation of Ramakrishna
publisher = Brill Archive
date = 1976
location =
pages = 61
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = 9004044957] Cite journal
author = Carl E. Purinton
date = Jan, 1949
title = Reviewed work(s): Ramakrishna: Prophet of New India. Abridged from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by Swami Nikhilananda
journal = Journal of Bible and Religion
volume = 17
issue = 1
pages = pp. 67-68
publisher = Oxford University Press
location = London
url = http://www.jstor.org/stable/1456762
year = 1949 ] of the "Kathamrita", "omitting only a few pages of no particular interest to English-speaking readers," and stating that "often literary grace has been sacrificed for the sake of literal translation."

Several scholars regard the translation as accurate. Walter G. Neevel in his 1976 essay, "The Transformation of Ramakrishna" [cite book
last = Neevel
first = Walter G
authorlink =
coauthors = Bardwell L. Smith
title = Hinduism: New Essays in the History of Religions
chapter = The Transformation of Ramakrishna
publisher = Brill Archive
date = 1976
location =
pages = 53-97
url =
doi =
id =
isbn = 9004044957] says:Quote
A comparison of selections of this work with parallel passage in the Madras editions gives apparent confirmation to the claim to literalness....My general conclusion is that Swami Nikhilananda has produced a faithful translation and has preserved the order and character of the original carefully....My final opinion is that both the Madras and the Nikhilananda translation are basically accurate and reliable efforts. Therefore, by a critical comparison of them, it should be possible to get as close to Sri Ramakrishna's original teachings as is possible without a knowledge of Bengali and to have an adequate degree of certainty about their meaning.

In 1943, Alban G. Widgery said:

However, some contemporary scholars, including Narasingha Sil, Jeffery Kripal, and Gerald Larson, argue that the book has been bowdlerized.According to William Radice, this "standard translation of the "Kathamrta" by Swami Nikhilananda is bowdlerized, with the 'vulgar expressions' in Ramakrishna's earthy, rustic Bengali either removed or smoothed over: so that 'raman' (sexual intercourse) has become "communion" in the "Gospel".'" [William Radice [http://www.williamradice.com/] , untitled review of "Rāmakṛṣṇa Paramahaṁsa: A Psychological Profile" by Narasingha P. Sil "Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies", University of London, Vol. 58, No. 3, (1995), pp. 589-590 Cambridge University Press on behalf of School of Oriental and African Studies http://www.jstor.org/stable/620150] However Swami Tyagananda explains this as follows — "when a Hindu hears or reads about "ramana" [ [http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.5:1:8.apte3new Meanings of Raman] ] with God, there is no idea of sex involved." ["kali's child revisited", Note 42] The word "raman" also occurs in the Bhagavad Gita [Cite Web
title = Bhagavad Gita 10.9
url = http://vedabase.net/bg/10/9/en
quote = mac-cittā mad-gata-prāṇā bodhayantaḥ parasparam kathayantaś ca māḿ nityaḿ tuṣyanti ca ramanti ca] and several other hindu scriptures with different shades of meaning [cite web
title = Occurances of "Ramanti"
url = http://vedabase.net/r/ramanti
accessdate = 2008-08-26] [cite web
title = Occurances of "Ramana"
url = http://vedabase.net/r/ramana
accessdate = 2008-08-26]

Religious scholar Jeffrey Kripal argues that although Swami Nikhilananda calls the "Gospel" "a literal translation," he substantially altered Gupta's text, combining the five parallel narratives into a single volume, as well as deleting some passages which he claimed were "of no particular interest to English-speaking readers." ["Kali's Child", (329-336)] These allegations were addressed by Swami Tyagananda, Somnath Bhattacharyya, Swami Atmajnanananda.

References

External links

* [http://www.belurmath.org/gospel/ The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna] hosted by Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, Belur Math, West Bengal, India