{
  "bookName": "History of Christianity in India: Source Materials",
  "authorName": "M. K. Kuriakose",
  "publisherName": "Indian Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge",
  "publicationYear": 2011,
  "chapterNumber": 128,
  "chapterName": "c.1886. Sri Rama Krishna’s Vision of Christ",
  "pageFrom": 237,
  "pageTo": 238,
  "pages": [
    {
      "pageNumber": 237,
      "ocrText": "SOURCE MATERIALS\n237\nIn respect to self-rule too, the churches have made great progress.\nAt the commencement the Madras Native Church Council was\ncomposed of nine members, three of them were European missiona-\nries, one being the Chairman. But gradually as the Native Church\nbecame stronger and more liberal, the European element diminished,\ntill at length it was entirely withdrawn. And now, true to its name,\nit is a bona fide Native Church Council, its Chairman, Secretary\nand Members being all Native Christians...\n3. On the subject of the self-propagation of the Native Churches\nI need to make a few remarks after the hints which have already\nbeen thrown out about it. As the light, from its very nature,\ncannot but diffuse itself, so the light of the gospel which has illumined\nthe dark soul cannot but propagate itself and help to remove the\nsurrounding darkness. He who has experienced the enlightening\nand transforming power of the gospel, and tasted the sweetness\nand greatness of Christ's love, cannot help telling the old, old story\nto others. What is true of individual believers must be true of the\nChurches for real corporate life is but the expression of individual\nlife...\n128. SRI RAMAKRISHNA'S VISION OF CHRIST\n(c. 1886 A.D.)\nThe following passage describes the Hindu reformer, Rama-\nkrishna's vision of Christ. Though it is not known precisely when\nhe had this experience (he lived from 1836-1886), it was probably near\nthe end of his life. From Swami Jagadananda (transl.), Sri Rama\nkrishna the Great Master, pp. 295-296.\nBut, a year after, the mind of the Master again looked forward\nto the vision of the divine Mother through another path. He had\nby that time become acquainted with Sambhuchandra Mallick\nwho read the Bible to him. Thus he came to know of the pure\nlife of Jesus and the faith he founded. Scarcely had that desire\narisen in his mind when the divine Mother fulfilled it in a marvellous\nway and blessed him. He had, therefore, no need to make any\nspecial effort for it. The event happened thus: The garden\nhouse of Jadunath Mallick is situated to the south of the Kali\ntemple at Dakshineswar; the Master used to go there now and\nthen for a walk. Jadunath and his mother had great devotion to\nthe Master from the time they had seen him. Therefore, even if\nthey were not present in the garden at the time of the Master's\nwalk there, the officers would open the door of the parlour and ask\nhim to sit and rest there for some time. There were some good\npictures hanging from the walls of that room. One of those\npictures was that of the child Jesus in his mother's lap. The Master\nused to say that he sat one day in that parlour and was looking",
      "status": "completed"
    },
    {
      "pageNumber": 238,
      "ocrText": "238\nHISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA\nintently on that picture and thinking of the extraordinary life of\nJesus, when he felt as if the picture came to life and effulgent rays\nof light, coming out from the bodies of the mother and the child,\nentered into his heart and changed radically all the ideas of his\nmind! On finding that all the inborn Hindu impressions disap-\npeared into a secluded corner of his mind that different ones arose\nin it, he tried in various ways to control himself and prayed earnestly\nto the divine Mother, What strange changes art Thou bringing\nabout in me, Mother? But nothing availed. Rising with a\nforce, the waves of those impressions completely submerged the\nHindu ideas in his mind. His love and devotion to the Devas\nand Devis vanished, and in their stead, a great faith in and reverence\nfor Jesus and his religion occupied his mind, and began to show\nhim Christian padrees offering incense and light before the image of\nJesus in the Church and to reveal to him the eagerness of their hearts\nin the form of imploring prayers. The Master came back to Dakshi-\nneswar temple and remained constantly absorbed in the meditation\nof those inner happenings. He forgot altogether to go to the\ntemple of the divine Mother and pay obeisance to Her. The waves\nof those ideas had mastery over his mind in that manner for three\ndays. At last, when the third day was about to close, the Master\nsaw, while walking under the Panchavati, that a marvellous god-\nman of very fair complexion was coming towards him, looking\nsteadfastly at him. m. As soon as the Master saw that person, he\nknew that he was a foreigner. He saw that his long eyes had\nproduced a wonderful beauty in his face, and the tip of his nose,\nthough a little flat, did not at all impair that beauty. The Master\nwas charmed to see the extraordinary divine expression of that\nhandsome face, and wondered who he was. Very soon the person\napproached him and from the bottom of the Master's pure heart\ncame out the words with ringing sound, Jesus! Jesus the Christ,\nthe great Yogi, the loving Son of God and one with the Father,\nwho gave his heart's blood and put up with endless torture in order\nto deliver men from sorrow and misery! Jesus, the god-man,\nthen embraced the Master and disappeared into the body and the\nMaster entered into ecstasy, lost normal consciousness and remained\nidentified for some time with the Omnipresent Brahman with\nattributes. Having thus attained the visions of Jesus, the Master\nbecame free from the slightest doubt about his being an inear-\nnation of God.\nWhen we were visiting the Master long after this event, one day\nhe raised the topic of Jesus and said, 'Well, boys, you have read\nthe Bible; can you tell me what is written in it about the physical\nfeatures of Jesus? How did he look?' We said, 'Sir, we have\nnot seen it written in the Bible anywhere; but born a Jew, he must\nhave been very fair in complexion with long eyes and aquiline nose\nto be sure.' Told so, the Master said, 'But I saw that the tip of",
      "status": "completed"
    }
  ]
}