Lessons to learn from the lives of Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples – Part 8

Sri Ramakrishna disapproved of wastage of resources. Once, in Dakshineshwar, he asked a devotee to light the oil lamp in his room. The devotee used four match sticks and yet could not light the lamp. Then the Master (Sri Ramakrishna) got down from the cot and lighted the lamp himself. He said to the devotee, “The householders save their hard-earned money and give it to the monks. Is it proper to misuse their money?” Another day, Latu (later Swami Adbuthananda) was about to use a match stick to ignite the Master’s tobacco, and he scolded Latu, “Go to the kichen and get the fire from there.”

Sri Ramakrishna’s disciples followed this teaching completely. At the Belur Mutt, Swami Premananda, one of the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, would watch the activities of the newly joined brahmacharins very carefully. If someone peeled a potato too deeply, the swami would remind him that the vegetables had been bought with the devotees’ hard-earned money and great sacrifice of their comfort; it was not proper for the monks to misuse those things. Swami Premananda could not tolerate any waste and he imprinted this idea in the minds of newcomers.

My eyes filled with tears when I read the above details in the book God Lived With Them by Swami Chetanananda.

This careful use of funds is followed even today in every branch of Ramakrishna Mission. Some months ago, I visited the Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama at Belgaum, in Karnataka, India. I heard that there is no cook at the ashram and the brahmacharins themselves cooked the food. The various daily activities of the ashram are divided among the inmates, a few of the brahmacharins are given the work of puja (daily worship), some take care of the garden, cooking work is assigned to some, and cleaning vessels to some others.

It is very true that devotees donate money sacrificing their comforts. We can be rest assured that every penny of our hard-earned money donated to any branch of Ramakrishna Mission will be carefully utilized as Sri Ramakrishna himself had shown the way by leading his life accordingly and also by training his disciples to value the resources at their expense.