Life in Indian Monasteries: Reminiscences of Monks of the Ramakrishna Order

The author of the book, Swami Bhaskarananda, is a senior monk and the president of The Vedanta Society of Western Washington, Seattle, and the spiritual head of The Vedanta Society in Hawaii and the Vedanta Society in Vancouver.The purpose of the author in compiling these reminiscences in the form of a book is to record for posterity the way the ideals of the Order have been upheld by the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna and their disciples in turn. It is not only an acknowledgement of their contributions, but also a pointer to existing and future monks as to how they should conduct themselves in order to uphold these ideals.The book is arranged in three sections. The first section is devoted to the direct disciples of Sri Ramakrishna, the second to the second generation of monks. The third section contains a report written by Swami Shantananda. In the first two sections, the author has set down either his own direct experiences or what he has heard from his elders or brother monks.