Sri Ramakrishna and the colonial urban Bengali Milieu

Late nineteenth century India witnessed the emergence of neo-Hinduism however no leader of the movement may be credited of possessing a universalistic outlook. Contemporary cream of Bengali elites namely Bankimchandra Chattopadhyay, Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar, Keshabchandra Sen, Bijoykrishna Goswami, Dr. Mahendralal Sarkar, Girishchandra Ghosh and many other persons made regular visits to Sri Ramakrishna. They were deeply impressed by his simple, rational and universalistic outlook. Western impact shook the traditional society, beliefs and norms. Social reform programs were undertaken however majority of the people were not prepared to accept the changes. Emergence of Sri Ramakrishanadev {1836–1886] in Dakshineswar was to a large extent a solution to their craving for a right way of life. It is well-known that, he was not formally educated yet his inner eyes, deep knowledge of human psychology counterbalanced the lack of bookish knowledge.