Sri Ramakrishna on Himself (concluded)

Since reading the Kathamrita and by extension the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, requires deep commitment on the part of the devotee and researcher, Sri Ramakrishna on Himself,  diligently foraying into all the aspects of Thakur’s life, succeeds in bringing in with immediacy and experiential range, the fullness and sweep of Sri Ramakrishna’s exceptional and great life. 

There are however, some infelicitous moments of translation, which have always been a problem with The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, written in the 1940’s, primarily for a conservative American audience. Since Thakur or Sri Ramakrishna spoke in very direct and simple language, lines like “Had she (Holy Mother) not been so pure, and losing herself, assailed me..” (115) and “..I had importunately asked the Divine Mother…” (115), carry the burden of heavy and ornate words, which distance the context from the translation. It may difficult but perhaps one could try for a more supple version of such lines!

Finally, one has to give thanks to Master Mahasay for his incredible documentation of Sri Ramakrishna’s words, where the oral immediacy of Thakur’s language comes together with the power of the written word.  The Kathamrita and through it Sri Ramakrihsna on Himself, proves that only through the Word, may God speak!