Kali Prasad Chandra was born on Tuesday, 2 October 1866, in North Kolkata. His father, Rasiklal Chandra was a English teacher in the Oriental Seminary. Kali was a bright student and a voracious reader. During this period, along with his regular courses, he studied classical Sanskrit literature.He learned prosody and could compose verses in Sanskrit.
On one occasion when his teacher tried to convince him that his decision to become a philosopher is not better than being a painter as kali had excellent drawing skills, Kali replied, ‘No, sir. A painter studies the surface of things but a philosopher goes below the surface and studies the causes of things. So I want to be a philosopher.’
In June 1884 Kali went to Dakshineshwar and met Sri Ramakrishna. In his autobiography, he describes their first meeting: ‘I became restless to find a guru who could teach me yoga. I confided my desire to my classmate Yajneshwar Bhattacharya, who was very fond of me. Yajneshwar told me: “I know a wonderful yogi. His name is Sri Ramakrishna Paramhansa, and he lives in Rani Rasmani’s temple garden in Dakshineshwar…” My joy knew no bounds when I heard this from Yajneshwar, and I at once resolved to meet Sri Ramakrishna, though I had no idea where Dakshineshwar was.’
Kali began to practise spiritual disciplines under the Master’s guidance.
It is an ancient Indian custom for monks to live on alms. One day Master asked his disciples to go out and beg for food. This act helps eradicate the ego and teaches one to depend solely on God. Narendra, Niranjan, Kali and Hutko Gopal first went to Holy Mother and asked for alms, chanting the hymn on the goddess Annapurna.
At Baranagar monastery he spent his time in meditation, studying the scriptures, and composing some Sanskrit hymns on Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother. He composed a Sanskrit hymn on Holy Mother, “Prakritim paramam abhyam varadam”
One day Narendra proposed to the brotherhood that they all take the vows of sannyasa according to scriptural injunction. All agreed. When Kali told them that he had a copy of the viraja-homa mantras, which he had gotten from a monk in Gaya, his brothers were excited, knowing that this was the master’s divine grace. In the third week of January 1887, they took final monastic vows by performing the traditional viraja homa in front of the Mater’s picture. Narendra gave Kali the name, ‘Swami Abhedananda.”
Swami Abhedananda travelled extensively in India, visited many pilgrimage places and performed sadhana.
In June 1896 Swami Vivekananda sent Saradananda from London to America to keep the Vedanta movement there alive; in July he sent a cable to Swami Ramakrishnananda to send Kali to London. Towards the end of September 1896 Swami Abhedananda reached London.
Om 27 October 1896 he gave his maiden speech before the learned audience of the Christo-Theosophical Society at Bloomsbury Square in London. Vivekananda was highly pleased and said, “Even if I perish on this plane, my message will be sounded through these dear lips and the world will hear it.”
For one year Swami Abhedananda continued to give classes and lectures in different churches and religious and philosophical societies in London and it's suburbs.
Then on 31 July 1897 Swami Abhedananda left for New York and arrived there on 9 August. He was the guest of Miss Mary Phillips, secretary of the Vedanta Society of New York which Vivekananda had founded in 1894. Swami Abhedananda did not confine himself to New York City; he travelled and gave talks in various places along the East Coast- Philadelphia, Washington, Virginia and New Paltz in New York State. One day Swami Abhedananda went to meet Thomas Edison, the famous scientist and inventor. They talked about Vedanta and India, and Mr. Edison showed the swami his laboratory. The swami worked very hard; he slept very little, as he spent most of the night writing his books, the sale of which eventually made the Society self supporting. On 19 May 1898 Swami had a meeting with President McKinley. The President received Swami Abhedananda cordially and inquired about the Vedanta movement in the United States and also British rule in India. After the summer recess, Swami Abhedananda arranged a memorial meeting for Swami Vivekananda, who had passed away at Belur Math on 4 July 1902.
On 24 May 1904 Swami Abhedananda went to Saint Louis, Missouri, to attend the World’s Fair, where he arranged for an exhibition at the Webster Groves Society on “Indian Women.”
Students of Vedanta society decided to establish a retreat site for students of Vedanta. Accordingly a plot of 370 acres was bought in the Berkshire Connecticut. The Berkshire Retreat was duly inaugurated by Swami Abhedananda in March 1907, and he remarked, “The Ashrama looks like Fairyland.”
On 1 July 1908 he inaugurated the Vedanta Society at 22 Conduit Street. Towards the end of 1908, one of his disciples, Sister Avavamia, founded a Vedanta Society in Sydney, Australia. In 1909 Swami Abhedananda founded a Vedanta Society in Paris. On 7 may 1909, Frank Dvorak, the celebrated Czechoslovakian artist, came to the Vedanta Centre to see Abhedananda. At Abhedananda’s request, Dvorak later painted oil portraits of Sri Ramakrishna and Holy Mother, which are still preserved in the Ramakrishna Vedanta math in Kolkata. Another of Swami Abhedananda’s important contribution was an Indo-American Club, which the swami formed in New York in 1909 so that Indian students could get together and come in close contact with American friends.
From 1912 to 1919 Swami Abhedananda lived mostly in the Berkshire Retreat, and occasionally went out for lecture tour.
Swami Abhedananda was not only highly intellectual, a great orator and prolific writer, but he was also a hard-working, practical person. He taught his students to harmonize action and contemplation in their lives. In early part of 1919, swami, with Brahamananda’s approval, decided to return to India. On 10 November 1921, he reached Kolkata and then went to Belur Math. On 10 January 1922 Swami Abhedananda went to Jamshedpur and gave three lectures at the Tata Institute: “Universal Religion”, Progressive Hinduism” and “Message of Vedanta” On 13 February Swami Abhedananda went with Swami Shivananda to Dhaka and Mymensingh in Bangladesh, where he gave several lectures.
He established the Ramakrishna Vedanta Society in Kolkata of which he was President, in 1924 he opened a branch of this society at Darjeeling under the name of Ramakrishna Vedanta Ashrama.
Swami Abhedananda passed away on Friday, 8 September 1939.
One day he said to a disciple, “My body belongs to the Master.” Towards the end he indicated that his body should be cremated at the Cossipore cremation ground after his death.
Sayings of Swami Abhedanandaji
“Tapasya or austerity enhances willpower. Have self-confidence. Have faith in yourself. Think; I am a child of Immortal Bliss. The infinite power is playing within me. If you have this conviction, you will conquer the world.”
“The East and the West will unite - such is God’s will. The signs of the times greatly encourage me, and my visit and prolonged stay in this country have clearly convinced me that it is possible to make the world our home, and to love all as brothers and sisters. God’s spirit is working everywhere. Blessed is he who sees the work, and realize the Divine spirit.”
“The 20 th century needs a religion with no scheme for salvation, no need for heaven or hell, no fear of eternal punishment. The 20 th century needs a religion free from sacerdotal institutions and free from all books, scriptures, and personalities. The 20 th century needs a religion with a concept of God, not personal, not impersonal but beyond both, a God whose supreme aspect will harmonize with the ultimate Reality of the universe. The 20 th century religion must accept the ultimate conclusions of all the philosophies of the world.”
“The ideal of Vedanta is to solve the problem of life, to point out the aim of human existence, to make our ways of living better and more harmonious with the universal Will that is working in nature, to make us realize that the will which is now working through our bodies, is, in reality, a part and parcel of that universal Will…It's ideal is to show us how we can live in this world without being overcome by sorrows and misery, without being afflicted by sufferings and misfortunes that are sure to fall on every human being in some way or other; how to conquer death in this life, how we can embrace death without being frightened in the least. And above all, the chief object of Vedanta is to make us live the life of unselfishness, purity, and attain to perfection in this life…The mission of Vedanta is to establish that oneness and to bring harmony, peace, toleration amongst different religions, sects, creeds, and denominations that exist in this world.”
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