A translation of Sri Sri Ramakrishna Lilaprasanga written by Swami Saradananda
The Great Master (Sri Sri Ramakrishna Lila Prasanga) Sri Ramakrishna the Great Master translated by Swami Jagadananda, is an English translation of the Bengali biography (Sri Ramakrishna Lila Prasanga), of Sri Ramakrishna, the 19th-century Indian saint and mystic. Its Bengali original was written by Swami Saradananda , based on interviews of persons who knew him or interacted with him and is therefore the first hand source of information. The original Bengali version published composed in five volumes and was first full scale biography of the saint. This is an eye witness account and therefore carries more credibility than later books on Sri Ramakrishna. The English translation was first published in 1952. The original Bengali book was written from 1909 to 1919, over a period of ten years in order to repay the debt incurred for constructing the Udbodhan House for Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi. The book is made up of two parts. Part 1 of the book deals with the early life of Sri Ramakrishna, including his birth and childhood and his spiritual practices, while part 2 deals with Sri Ramakrishna as a spiritual teacher, his relationship with Narendranath Dutta, later Swami Vivekananda, and the later stages of his life. The original Bengali book was translated to English by Swami Jagadananda in 1952 and published by Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai. This is the original and most complete biography of Sri Ramakrishna. More recently, another English translation has been brought out by Swami Chetanananda, named Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play.