Ramakrishna

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa (Sanskrit pronunciation: [ɽaːmɐkr̩ʂɳɐ pɐɽɐmɐɦɐ̃sɐ]; Bengali pronunciation: [ramˌkriʃno ˈpɔromˌɦɔŋʃo] (listen), Ramkṛiṣṇo Pôromôhongśo, 18 Feb 1836 – 16 August 1886), born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya, was an Indian Hindu mystic and religious leader in 19th-century Bengal. Ramakrishna drew from several religious approaches, including devotion toward the Goddess Kali and observance of elements from Tantra, Bhakti, Vaishnava, and Advaita Vedanta, as well as dalliances with Christianity and Islam. He held that the world’s various religious traditions represented “so many paths to reach one and the same goal....