Swami Brahmananda was born on January 21, 1863, at Sikra, a village near Calcutta. His parents were Ananda Mohan Ghosh and Kailas Kamini. Kailas Kamini, his mother, was devoted to Krishna and she spent most of he time in prayer, worship and meditation. Maharaj was her only son. Being a devotee of Krishna, she named him Rakhal, ‘the Shepherd boy’. She passed away when Rakhal was five years old.

Rakhal liked being with other children and played all kinds of games with them. He was especially fond of ‘playing worship’. He would mould a clay image of the Divine Mother and worship her with his playmates. During religious festivals he would take his seat behind the priest, and sometimes while watching the worship he would be filled with the fervour of devotion and become absorbed in the thought of the Divine Mother.

Ananda Mohan loved gardening. As a child, Rakhal would work with his father and learned gardening from him at an early age. He was also fond of fishing and would sit patiently with his fishing rod for hours by the pond. Even in later life, we saw that he had never lost these two early enthusiasms- gardening and fishing.

From boyhood, Rakhal was a lover of music. He learned songs about the Divine Mother and Krishna. He and his friends would go into a mango grove and sing these songs together in chorus. In later years he encouraged his disciples to sing devotional songs, and he would always keep in his company a few who were expert musicians. Wherever he was, praises of God would be sung.

When Rakhal had finished his studies at the village primary school, he went to Calcutta for higher studies. He was then twelve years old. Attached to the school was an athletic club, which interested Rakhal very much. The members of the club were young boys, and Naren (later Swami Vivekananda) was their leader. This was how Rakhal and Naren met. They were of the same age and became very fond of each other. Later both of them became pupils of a gymnasium.

At this period Keshab Chandra Sen was exercising a great influence over the youth of Bengal by his powerful oratory, his fervent devotion, and his vast knowledge of Eastern and Western religions. He was the leader of the Brahmo Samaj. He preached the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man. In his talks, he would quote the Upanishads and the Bible; his new line of approach revived an interest in religion among the educated classes of Bengal. The creed of the Brahmo Samaj was the theistic conception of the Godhead which is the creed of Christianity and which is also to be found, among many other conceptions, in the Hindu scriptures. Keshab denounced as polytheism the Hindu cult of many gods and goddesses, although these are, in reality, merely aspects of the one Brahman. He was opposed to the worship of images in the temples. Naren and Rakhal joined the movement and subscribed to its creed.

Rakhal used to spend most of his time in prayer and contemplation, neglecting his studies. ‘God is our Father, our very own. How shall I reach Him?’ This was the only thought that occupied his mind. Sri Ramakrishna later used to say of him: ‘From his very birth, Rakhal was endowed with an intense love for God. Such a love is usually acquired disciplines of many years or many lives.’ Rakhal regularly attended the services of the Brahmo Samaj. His prayer that God might be revealed to him continued incessantly, like the act of breathing.

Rakhal was not doing very well at school, so that by the time he reached his sixteenth birthday his father was worried about the boy’s future. He attributed the neglect of his studies to the emotionalism of adolescence which had turned his son’s mind toward God. If Rakhal were married, the father thought to himself, his mind would be brought down to earth; he would have to consider taking up a career and providing for his wife and therefore he would study harder. So, he arranged for Rakhal’s marriage to a young girl named Visweswari.

Keshab Chandra Sen was the first to preach publicly the greatness of Sri Ramakrishna. Devotees began to flock to the temple of Dakshineswar to visit the Master. Among them were Manomohan Mitra and Shyama Sundari, the brother and mother of Visweswari. They were already ardent devotees of Sri Ramakrishna, whom they regarded as an incarnation of Sri Chaitanya. Thus it came about that that worldly influence of marriage combined with the spiritual influence of Keshab brought Rakhal to the feet of his beloved future Master.

It was natural that Manomohan should introduce Rakhal, his new brother-in-law, to Sri Ramakrishna. Some time before their visit, the Master had spiritual visions concerning his future disciple. Once Sri Ramakrishna prayed to the Divine Mother: ‘Mother, I want someone to be my constant companion. Bring me a boy who is pure-hearted and intensely devoted to you.’ A few days later he saw in a mystic vision a boy standing under the banyan tree in the temple grounds. On another occasion, the same boy appeared to him in a different manner. To quote the Master’s own words: ‘A few days before Rakhal came to me Mother placed a little boy on my lap and said: ‘This is your son.’ At first I was startled: ‘My son?’ Mother smiled at this and made me understand that I was not to have a son in the ordinary sense, but that this boy would be my spiritual son, one who would live up to the highest ideal of renunciation.’

From this hour onward, Sri Ramakrishna waited eagerly for the coming of his spiritual son. A few moments before Rakhal actually arrived he had another vision. He saw a hundred-petalled lotus blooming on the bosom of the Ganga, each of its petals shining with exquisite loveliness. On the lotus two divine boys were dancing with anklets on their feet. One of them was Sri Krishna himself; the other, the same boy he had seen in his earlier vision. Their dance was indescribably beautiful; every movement they made seemed to splash bliss, from an ocean of sweetness, as it were. Sri Ramakrishna was lost in ecstasy.

Just then a boat arrived carrying Manomohan and Rakhal. Sri Ramakrishna looked at Rakhal in wonder, ‘What is this?’ he thought to himself. ‘Here is the boy I saw standing under the banyan tree; this is the boy Mother placed on my lap; this is the boy I saw just now dancing on the lotus with Sri Krishna. This is the pure-hearted companion I prayed for to Mother.’

Sri Ramakrishna looked at Rakhal silently for a few moments. Then he smilingly remarked to Manomohan: ‘There are wonderful possibilities in this boy’. After this, the Master talked to Rakhal for some time as though he were an old friend.

“What is your name?” he asked.

Rakhal answered: ‘Rakhal Chandra Ghosh’.

Hearing the name ‘Rakhal’ Sri Ramakrishna was deeply excited and muttered to himself: ‘Rakhal! The shepherd boy of Brindavan - the playmate of Sri Krishna!’

Then, in a sweet affectionate voice, he said: ‘Come and see me again’.

In the presence of the Master, Rakhal had experienced a peculiar feeling of joy, love and intense attraction. As he left the temple grounds, that voice in all its sweetness kept echoing within his heart: ‘Come and see me again.’ He knew that at last he had met a man who had seen and known God.

Rakhal went back to this home and to school, but he could not forget his visit to the Master. Sri Ramakrishna filled all his thoughts and he was impatient to see him again. A few days later, after school hours, he went alone to Dakshineswar. The Master welcomed him eagerly and said with great affection: ‘Why didn’t you come back to me sooner? I have been waiting for you.’ Rakhal did not know what to answer. He looked at the Master and felt that same ecstatic joy. He felt like a little child sitting at the feet of God, the Father of all. From that day, the relationship between these two was established. Rakhal saw in Ramakrishna father, mother, and God. Sri Ramakrishna saw in Rakhal the Divine Child.

Rakhal went back to his home and to school, but he could not forget his visit to the Master. Sri Ramakrishna filled all his thoughts and he was impatient to see him again. A few days later, after school hours, he went alone to Dakshineswar. The Master welcomed him eagerly and said with great affection: ‘Why didn’t you come back to me sooner? I have been waiting for you.’ Rakhal did not know what to answer. He looked at the Master and felt that same ecstatic joy. He felt like a little child sitting at the feet of God, the Father of all. From that day, the relationship between these two was established. Rakhal saw in Ramakrishna father, mother, and God. Sri Ramakrishna saw in Rakhal the Divine Child.

Rakhal’s visits to the Master became more and more frequent. Sometimes he lived at the temple for days together. While he was there, his mind entirely forgot the everyday world and became absorbed in the consciousness of God and His presence. He felt himself to be the eternal companion of his divine Master.

Recalling these early days with Rakhal, Sri Ramakrishna used to tell his intimate disciples: ‘No words can describe Rakhal’s spiritual mood during that period. He was living in a state of ecstasy most of the time. He was like a little child, helpless in its mother’s arms and surrendering itself completely to her- always conscious of the divine relationship. And when he was near me, I also was transported into a higher spiritual consciousness. I used to play with him, just as Yosada played with her Divine Child, Krishna.’

Rakhal’s father tried various methods to bring his son’s mind back to the interests of worldly life. He gave him strict orders not to go to the temple at Dakshineshwar. When his advice and threats proved of no avail, he had Rakhal locked in the house. Rakhal longed to go to his Master and Sri Ramakrishna prayed earnestly to the Divine Mother that all the obstacles in Rakhal’s spiritual path might be removed.

One day, Ananda Mohan made Rakhal sit beside him in his study while he looked over some legal documents. As soon as Rakhal noticed that his father was deeply absorbed in the work, he seized the opportunity to slip out of the room and hurried off to his Master.

Ananda Mohan knew that Rakhal must have gone to Sri Ramakrishna but for some days he could do nothing because he had to attend to a lawsuit in the courts. As soon as he had time, however, he went to Dakshineswar, intending to bring his son home. When Rakhal saw his father coming, he was frightened and wanted to hide. But Sri Ramakrishna would not let him. So Rakhal, following his Master’s advice, went to meet his father and greeted him with unusual affection and reverence. It was then that Ananda Mohan had a change of heart. Instead of insisting on Rakhal’s returning home, he simply requested Sri Ramakrishna to send the boy occasionally to see him.