When Sri Ramakrishna followed the path of Vedanta he was engrossed in it and when he was praying to a deity of different religion then that object of worship was everything for him.

Sri Ramakrishna was not merely a Kali worshipper, he accepted the formless God and respected the views of every individual.

He said “Brahman and Kali are same. When inactive we call it Brahman and when active we call it Shakti.” It is because of open approach to religion he came close to the leaders of Bramho movement like Keshab Chandra Sen, Shivnath Shastri and Bijoy Krishna Goswami. They often invited Ramakrishna to the samaj and listened to his discourse.

He never neglected common people and deeply felt for them when they were being oppressed by the British. His professed philosophy “there are as many ways as there are views” has made his unique, a real Paramahamsa, who is beyond all meanness all secretarial attitude.

He was not only interested in the various paths of Hinduism but showed equal interest in other religions and that is what has made him unique – writes Syed Mujtaba Ali in an essay entitled Sri Sri Ramakrishna Paramahansadev published in Masik Basumati, a popular Bengali monthly magazine over six decades ago. The simplicity of life and his universal love for mankind have made him so different from others. Ali who was famous for writing travelogue and satirical pieces and indifferent to institutional religion. Few readers know about this essay.

Born in 1904 in Assam, Mujtaba Ali graduated from Visva Bharati and joined the Aligarh Muslim University for a brief period. He obtained Humbolt scholarship and went to Berlin university and later obtained his Ph. D from Bonn university. He was a teacher at Al Ajhar University in Cairo. He had worked for a brief span in Calcutta University and also became the secretary of Indian Council of Cultural Research ( ICCR).

With a foreword by Swami Sastragyananda, principal Ramakrishna Mission Vidyamandir, Belur Math, the write- up has been reprinted in the form of a book by Sutradhar. A lecture entitled Antabihin Sri Ramakrishna which was dedicated to Swami Lokeswarananda was delivered by Swami Shibapradananda, president Ramakrishna Math, Barisha was organised in connection with the publication of the book.