Ramakrishna Kathamrita: An imagination by Mahendranath Gupta

Ramakrishna Kathamrita

The book The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna was written and published in English in 1897 by Mahendranath Gupta (14 July 1854 – 4 June 1932). Later, it appeared in Bengali under the title Ramakrishna Kathamrita (শ্রীশ্রীরামকৃষ্ণ কথামৃত), serialized monthly in several Bengali magazines such as Tattva Manjari, Banga Darshan, and Udbodhan. A single compiled volume of Ramakrishna Kathamrita was brought out by Swami Trigunatitananda in 1902. The existing Kathamrita contains conversations of Ramakrishna (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886) recorded—or rather, claimed to have been recorded—by Mahendranath Gupta between 19 February 1882 and 24 April 1886. These were later published across five Bengali volumes in 1902, 1904, 1908, 1910, and 1932. The arrangement of incidents does not follow chronological order, and the accounts were said to have been written from Mahendranath’s own recollections and personal interpretation, drawn from a so-called diary that no one has ever seen. He claimed to have reconstructed the words and dialogues of Ramakrishna from memory, presenting them as direct transcriptions of sacred conversation. Yet none of the participants mentioned in the dialogues ever corroborated such accounts elsewhere, leaving the truth of these records uncertain.

Swami Nikhilananda translated The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna into English in 1942, followed later by another translation by Dharam Pal Gupta. Although Mahendranath was believed to be close to Ramakrishna, he never documented anything from the three crucial months preceding Ramakrishna’s death, between May and August of 1886, an omission that deepens the doubts surrounding his writings.

Mahendranath Gupta, known by the pseudonym “M,” was a Bengali writer of notable repute in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Born in 1854, he graduated from the University of Calcutta in 1874, the same year he married Nikunja Devi, daughter of Thakurcharan Sen and a relative of Keshab Chandra Sen. In January 1882, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar dismissed him from his post as assistant headmaster of the Shyambazar branch of the Metropolitan Institution, citing negligence toward his students and declining academic standards. Deeply distressed by the loss of his position, Mahendranath contemplated suicide but instead found himself journeying toward Dakshineswar. It is believed that in February or March of 1882, he met Ramakrishna (then known as Gadadhar Chattopadhyay) for the first time, who was living in a room near the Kuthi Bari beside the Dakshineswar Kali Temple.

Ramakrishna passed away in Kashipur on 11 December 1885. After the death of his disciple Narendranath Dutta (Swami Vivekananda) in July 1902, Mahendranath began composing Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, portraying Ramakrishna’s teachings, parables, and states of ecstasy. The work spanned five volumes, the final one appearing posthumously in 1932. Many scholars, however, consider the book largely a creation of Mahendranath’s imagination, since no physical diary or written record has ever surfaced to verify his claims. Notably, the text provides no information about Ramakrishna’s daily rituals, prayers, or evening practices—areas one would expect from a direct observer.

Although Mahendranath did not receive initiation (Diksha) from Ramakrishna (he also did not receive any Diksha from anybody), he himself initiated others and remained associated with the Brahmo Samaj throughout his life, particularly its Navavidhan branch founded by Keshab Chandra Sen (1838–1884). His personal life was troubled; his marriage was unhappy, and though the sales of Kathamrita brought him some stability, one of his sons squandered much of the family’s wealth on horse racing. Mahendranath Gupta died on 4 June 1932 at his residence, 13/2 Guruprasad Chowdhury Lane, Kolkata. He had intended to publish more volumes of Kathamrita but was prevented by prolonged illness. Consequently, a significant portion of his imaginative portrayal of Ramakrishna remained unpublished. He never transferred copyright of his writings to anyone, nor did he bequeath any property or manuscripts to Ramakrishna’s institutions.

Image courtesy: Sahitya Samrat Journal

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