Swami Vivekananda, born Narendranath Datta, was an Indian Hindu monk, philosopher, author, religious teacher, and the chief disciple of the Indian mystic Ramakrishna. He was a key figure in the introduction of Vedanta and Yoga to the Western world, and is the father of modern Indian nationalism who is credited with raising interfaith awareness and bringing Hinduism to the status of a major world religion in the late nineteenth century.
Swami Akhandananda (1864–1937) was a swami and direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna, a 19th-century mystic. He was the third president of the Ramakrishna Mission.
Swami Gambhirananda (1899–1988), born as Jatindranath Datta, was a Hindu sanyasi associated with Ramakrishna Mission. He was born at Sadhuhati in today's Bangladesh. He graduated from Scottish Church College, Calcutta (Kolkata).
Swami Shivananda (1854–1934), born Tarak Nath Ghosal, was a Hindu spiritual leader and a direct disciple of Ramakrishna, who became the second president of the Ramakrishna Mission. His devotees refer to him as Mahapurush Maharaj. Shivananda and Subodhananda were the only direct disciples of Ramakrishna to be filmed. He was a Brahmajnani. Shivananda introduced the celebration of the birthdays of his brother-monks. He was known to have laid the foundation stone of Shri Ramakrishna Temple at Belur Math, which was designed by Vijnanananda.
Swami Vijnanananda was an Indian monk of Ramakrishna order, born in an upper-class family near Dakshineswar, and was a direct disciple of Ramakrishna. He was an engineer and worked as the District Engineer in the erstwhile State of United Provinces, India. He was a great scholar of Sanskrit with expertise in religio-philosophical works, astronomy, civil engineering etc. He spent considerable time in Allahabad (Prayag) centre of Ramakrishna Math. He became the President of Ramakrishna Mission in 1937. It was under his presidency and direct supervision that the Ramakrishna Temple at Belur Math was constructed and consecrated.
Swami Yatiswarananda was a vice-president of Ramakrishna Order, whose headquarter is in Belur Math. He was a disciple of Swami Brahmananda, who was a brother disciple of Swami Vivekananda and a direct disciple and spiritual son of Ramakrishna. He served in Philadelphia propagating the message of Vedanta. He was the president of Bangalore centre of Ramakrishna Math. He founded an ashrama in Switzerland.
Shuddhananda who was the fifth president of the Ramakrishna Order, was a direct monastic disciple of Vivekananda. He joined the Ramakrishna Math in 1897. He became a trustee of Ramakrishna Math and a member of the governing body of Ramakrishna Mission in May 1903. He also took up the editorship of the Bengali magazine called Udbodhan for sometime. He was appointed as the secretary of the math and the mission in 1927 and as the vice president in 1937. In 1938, he became the president of the order. His tenure was short, as he died in 1938. He is renowned in the literary circles to have translated most of Vivekananda's original works from English to Bengali.
Swami Virajananda, born Kalikrishna Bose, was an initiated disciple of Sarada Devi and the sixth president of the Ramakrishna Order. Born as the son of Trailokyanath Bose and Nishadkalidevi, Virajananda was the first person to join the Ramakrishna Order after the direct disciples of Ramakrishna. In 1897, he was initiated into sannyasa by Vivekananda. From 1899 onward he served in Advaita Ashrama, Mayavati and became its president in 1906. He is recognised as a monastic disciple of Vivekananda.
Ramakrishna Paramhansa Deva had sixteen direct disciples who became monks of the Ramakrishna Order; they are often considered his apostles. In the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda movement, the apostles have played an important role. Apart from Swami Vivekananda, the direct disciples or apostles of Ramakrishna were as follows.
Adbhutananda, born Rakhturam, was a direct monastic disciple of Ramakrishna, a Yogi of nineteenth century Bengal. He is familiarly known as Latu Maharaj among the followers of Ramakrishna. Adbhutananda was the first monastic disciple to come to Ramakrishna. While most of Ramakrishna's direct disciples came from the Bengali intelligentsia, Adbhutananda's lack of formal education made him unique among them. He was a servant boy of a devotee of Ramakrishna, and he later became his monastic disciple. Though unlettered, Adbhutananda was considered as a monk with great spiritual insight by Ramakrishna's followers, and Vivekananda regarded him as "the greatest miracle of Ramakrishna".
Swarupananda was a direct monastic disciple of Vivekananda and the first president of the Advaita Ashrama, set up by Vivekananda in 1899 at Mayavati, near Champawat. The ashram is a branch of the religious monastic order, Ramakrishna Math, also set up by Vivekananda on the teachings of his guru Ramakrishna.
Baburam Maharaj (Swami Premananda) (Bengali: বাবুরাম মহারাজ; 10 December 1861 – 30 July 1918) was a direct disciple of Ramakrishna, the 19th-century saint and mystic from Bengal, India. He was born in Antpur in the Hoogly district of Bengal in the year 1861. Baburam, as he was called in his pre monastic days, was also related to Balaram Bose, a leading householder disciple of Ramakrishna. He was given the name of Premananda or "joy of divine love" by his brother disciple Vivekananda. He had a notable contribution during the initial days of Ramakrishna Mission as he managed the whole affairs of Belur Math from 1902 to 1916. He also mentored young spiritual aspirants.
Swami Niranjanananda (Senior), born as Nitya Niranjan Ghosh, usually called by the shortened name of Niranjan, was one of the foremost monks of Ramakrishna Mission and was one of the direct monastic disciples of Ramakrishna. Niranjanananda was one of those few disciples, whom Ramakrishna termed as "Nityasiddhas" or "Ishwarakotis" – that is, souls who are ever perfect. [Niranjanananda is termed Senior since there was another swami, Niranjanananda (Junior) also known as Pandalai Maharaj, later in the Ramakrishna Mission who died in 1972]. Even though his tenure with the newly formed Ramakrishna Mission was short-lived owing to his early death, he left an indelible mark in spiritual and philanthropic activities. He had a majestic appearance, being tall with broad shoulders and strong physique.
Saradananda, also known as Swami Saradananda, was born as Sarat Chandra Chakravarty in 1865, and was one of the direct monastic disciples of Ramakrishna. He was the first Secretary of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission, a post which he held until his death in 1927. He established the Udbodhan house in the Bagbazar area of Calcutta, which was built primarily for the stay of Sri Sarada Devi in Calcutta, from where he used to publish the Bengali magazine Udbodhan. There he wrote Sri Sri Ramakrishna Lilaprasanga in Bengali, on the life of Ramakrishna, which was translated into English as Sri Ramakrishna, the Great Master. He is believed to be reincarnation of Saint Peter and he allegedly went into Samadhi when he was in the Saint Peter Church and said that "I remembered my past" and wrote in his diary that "Saint Peter again."
Trigunatitananda, premonastic name Sarada Prasanna Mitra, was a direct disciple of Ramakrishna, the 19th-century Indian Hindu mystic and sant. He established the monthly Bengali magazine Udbodhan of Ramakrishna Math and later, at the behest of Vivekananda, went to America in 1902 and took charge of the San Francisco centre.
Nirmalananda, born as Tulasi Charan Dutta in Calcutta, was a direct disciple of Ramakrishna, the 19th-century mystic and Hindu saint from India, and took Sanyasa from Vivekananda along with Brahmananda and others. He was initiated by Sri Ramakrishna, on which fact a few latter-day antagonists tried to cast doubt in the Bangalore Court, but into which question the Court refused to get into. Nirmalananda played a key role in establishing Ramakrishna Math and Mission chiefly in South India, in Kerala and Bangalore and Tamil Nadu and also in the USA, Burma and Bangladesh.
Kalyanananda (1874–1937) was a direct monastic disciple of Vivekananda, who had set up the Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama at Kankhal, near Haridwar. As a monk of the Ramakrishna Order, he took up service to the humanity as the most important philosophy in his life and practiced it for the benefit of the local population and the pilgrims. He spent thirty six-years in Ramakrishna Mission Sevashrama Kankhal to serve the poor and afflicted. He was one of the pioneers to set up a hospital in a remote location for the poor, needy and the itinerant monks who did not have access to healthcare.
Achalananda, popularly known as Kedar Baba, was a direct monastic disciple of Vivekananda and the founder of Ramakrishna Mission Home of Service, in Varanasi. He initially worked as a policeman, but was then influenced by the ideology of Vivekananda.
Swami Prakashananda (1874–1927) was a monastic disciple of Vivekananda and a monk of the Ramakrishna Order who played a major role in propagating and promoting the Vedanta philosophy and Vivekananda's message in India and America. He came to the US in 1906 to serve under Trigunatitananda, a direct disciple of Ramakrishna at the Vedanta Society of San Francisco, later renamed as Vedanta Society of Northern California, and later became its president.
Vimalananda (1872–1908) was an Indian spiritual writer who was one of the monastic disciples of Vivekananda and an early monk of the Ramakrishna Order. He was involved in the publication of Prabuddha Bharata. He was actively involved in running day-to-day operations of the Advaita Ashrama at Mayavati during the early days of the Ashrama. He also inaugurated the Ramakrishna Math at Ulsoor in Bangalore in 1906. He died in 1908 at the Mayavati Ashrama.
