Thakur's Mahasamadhi

[John Andreadis]

Every night, just before going to bed, the Master would say, “ Hari Om Tat Sat
[Verily the Lord is the only Reality]. “ That last night [at Cossipore Garden House] he
uttered this as I was fanning him. It was nearly eleven o’ clock at night. Then he
heaved a sigh and seemed to go into samadhi. Brother Loren (Swami Vivekananda)
asked us to chant “Hari Om Tat Sat.” We continued to chant until one o’clock, when
the Master came down from samadhi. Then he ate a little farina pudding which Sashi
(Swami Ramakrishnananda) fed him. Suddenly he went into samadhi again. Seeing
this Loren grew worried. He called Gopal dada ( Swami Advaitananda) and asked him
to get Ramlal Dada.
Gopal Dada and I left immediately for Dakshineswar, and Ramlal Dada came back
with us. He examined the Master and said: “The crown of his head is still warm.
Please call Captain [Vishwanath Upadhyay].”
Shortly after that Captain arrived. He asked us to rub the Master’s body with ghee.
Shashi rubbed his body and Vaikuntha massaged his feet, but it was to no avail.
Later that morning Doctor Mahendra [Doctor Mahendralal Sarkar] came to examine
the Master and said, “He has given up the body.”
Holy Mother was unable to restrain herself. When she came to the Master’s room,
she cried, “O Mother Kali, what have I done that you have left me?” Seeing the
Mother weeping, Baburam (Swami Premananda) and Yogin [Swami Yogananda] went
up to her, and Golap-ma took her to her room.

In the meantime the Calcutta devotees had received the news, and one after another
they began to arrive. A photograph (actually two) was taken of the Master with the
devotees. By that time it was afternoon.
The Master’s body remained on a cot, beautifully decorated, until it was carried to
the cremation ground at Cossipore. Ram Babu told me to stay at the garden house
until Akshay Babu returned from the cremation ground. So I stayed there while the
others went. Only once did I hear Holy Mother weeping. After that she was silent.
Never have I seen a woman with such strength.
That night I went to the cremation ground. I saw many people sitting quietly on the
bank of the Ganga. Shashi was near the funeral pyre with a fan in his hand, and
Sharat [Swami Saradananda] was with him. Both Sharat and Loren sought to
console Shashi.I took him by the hand and tried to lift his spirits a little, but he
remained motionless with grief. Then Shashi collected the ashes and bones of the
Master and put them in an urn. He placed the urn on his head and carried it to the
garden house, where it was kept on the Master’s bed.
p.96-7, Ramakrishna as we saw Him, Reminiscences of Swami Adbhutananda.