Vivekananda Center of New York-Ramakrishna

May I be born again and again,

and suffer thousands of miseries,

so that I may worship the only God that exists,

the only God I believe in,

the sum total of all souls.

And above all my God the wicked,

my God the miserable,

my God the poor of all races,

of all species,

is the especial object of my worship.

Sri Ramkrishna Paramhamsa

Ramakrishna (pronounced: IPA: [Ramkṛiṣṇo Pôromôhongśo]  listen (help·info)) (18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886), born Gadadhar Chattopadhyay (IPA: [Gôdadhor Chôṭṭopaddhae]), was a famous mystic of 19th-century India. His religious school of thought led to the formation of the Ramakrishna Mission by his chief disciple Swami Vivekananda – both were influential figures in the Bengali Renaissance as well as the Hindu renaissance during the 19th and 20th centuries. Many of his disciples and devotees believe he was an Avatar or incarnation of God. He is also referred to as "Paramahamsa" by his devotees, as such he is popularly known as Ramkrishna Paramhamsa.

Ramakrishna was born in a poor Brahmin Vaishnava family in rural