Swami Ramakrishnananda, a disciple of Sri Ramakrishna was a great saint and an ideal Karmayogi. He not only founded the Math in Chennai, but also was responsible for spreading the movement in other parts of South India.

One afternoon it was drizzling and the sky was overcast with clouds. A hackney carriage came to take the swami to his class. The swami asked a brahmacharin to accompany him that day. The carriage arrived in George Town, where the swami used to hold one of his classes. Being a rainy day, there was no one else in the room. The swami waited for about a quarter of an hour but no one turned up. He then opened his Upanishad and began to read and explain with all ardour and amiability. After an hour he stopped, closed his book and said to the brahmacharin, "Well, let us go." The brahmacharin followed him to the carriage which was waiting. On the way he asked the swami, "How is it that you took the class for fully one hour though nobody turned up." The swami replied, "I have not come to teach anybody. I only fulfil the vow I have taken."

He is the most illustrious example of a servant of God, doing his duty, not to please anybody but as an offering to the Supreme.

The great Swami's birthday falls this year on 9 August, Monday.

Want to know more about this Swami? Read :

1. Swami Ramakrishnananda : The Apostle of Sri Ramakrishna to the South.
2. God lived with them