Sri Aurobindo's Contact With Sri Ramakrishna

Sri Aurobindo never met Ramakrishna Paramahansa in physical life but he did gain contact through the occult planes with the latter as is adduced from various written works. For example, Sri Aurobindo notes in his journal Record of Yoga three instances when he received messages from Ramakrishna Paramahansa.

Ramakrishna Paramahansa

The first message was in Baroda, the “Arabindo, mandir karo, mandir karo”, (Aurobindo, build a temple) & the parable of the snake Pravritti devouring herself.

The second was given in Shankar Chetti’s house soon after the arrival in Pondicherry, & the words are lost, but it was a direction to form the higher being in the lower self coupled with a promise to speak once more when the sadhan was nearing its close.

This is the third message (18 Oct 1912)

“Make complete sannyasa(renunciation) of Karma.
Make complete sannyasa of thought.
Make complete sannyasa of feeling.
This is my last utterance.”

- Record of Yoga, p 128

During talks with various disciples, Sri Aurobindo discussed how his first occult contact with Ramakrishna Paramahansa spurred him to take up Yoga in earnest:

“Barin at that time was trying some automatic writing. (…) On another occasion a spirit purporting to be that of Ramakrishna came and simply said, “Build a temple.” At that time we were planning to build a temple for political Sannyasis and call it Bhawani Mandir. We thought he meant that, but later I understood it as “Make a temple within.” This gave me the final push to Yoga. I thought: great men could not have been after a chimera, and if there was such a more-than-human power why not get it and use it for action?”

- Nirodbaran, Talks with Sri Aurobindo, 5^th Jan 1939

Sri Aurobindo also mentioned this occult guidance in a letter that he sent to Motilal Roy dated Aug 1912 :

“Remember also that we derive from Ramakrishna. For myself it was Ramakrishna who personally came & first turned me to this Yoga. Vivekananda in the Alipore jail (again, not physically but in the occult plane) gave me the foundations of that knowledge which is the basis of our sadhana

http://auromere.wordpress.com/2009/06/20/ramakrishnas-contact-with-sri-aurobindo/sadhana.”