New Delhi: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday launched a stinging attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for adding an “unprecedented and inappropriate prefix” to Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsadeva’s name while paying tributes on his birth anniversary.Mamata accused the Prime Minister of “aggressively displaying cultural insensitivity towards the great personalities of Bengal”.
‘Targeting people like terrorists’: Mamata Banerjee attacks EC over SIR, cites Bangladesh polls
“Once again, our Prime Minister is forcefully displaying his cultural insensitivity towards the great personalities of Bengal. Today is the Janmathi Yogavatara (incarnation of God in our time) Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsadeva. While trying to welcome the great saint on this occasion, the Prime Minister added an unprecedented and inappropriate prefix to the name of the great saint, ‘Swami’!” Mamata said in a social media post on X.“As is known, Sri Ramakrishna was widely revered as Thakur (literally, God). While his ascetic disciples formed the Ramakrishna Math and the Ramakrishna Mission after the death of their Guru, and these monks were called ‘Swami’ according to Indian tradition, the Guru, Acharya, himself continued to be referred to as Thakur. The prefix ‘Swami’ was reserved for his disciples in the Ramakrishna order but the holy trinity of the order remained Thakur-ma-swamiji.
“Thakur is Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsadeva, Ma is Ma Sarada, and Swamiji is Swami Vivekananda,” she added.
Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Modi paid tribute to Swami Ramakrishna Paramahansa on his birth anniversary and said that his noble thoughts will forever remain a source of inspiration.“A humble tribute to Swami Ramakrishna Paramahansa on his birth anniversary. The way he established spirituality and meditation as a vital life force will continue to benefit humanity in every age.
“His noble ideas and messages will forever remain a source of inspiration,” Modi said in a post on the Hindi language website X.Ramakrishna Paramahansa was born on this day in 1836.Ramakrishna Paramahansa, who served as a priest at Dakshineswar Kali Temple in Kolkata, is known for his teachings on the harmony of religions.Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission was established by Sri Ramakrishna and his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda.Ramakrishna Mission The Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna are global, non-political, non-sectarian spiritual organizations that have been involved in various forms of humanitarian and social service activities for over a century.
