This little book, by Swami Vivekânanda, gives an account of the character and career of the remarkable man known in India as Paramhamsa Srimat Ramakrishna, who is regarded by a great number of his countrymen as a divine incarnation.… It is not more remarkable for the story it tells of a holy man than for the clear English in which it is told, and the expressions of elevated religious thought in its pages.…—Journal, Indianapolis, May 13th, 1901.
The contrast drawn by the author between the dominant ideas of the Occident and the Orient is a most instructive and interesting one, and will prove a great aid to a correct understanding of that which causes such a wide difference in their respective ideals.—Times, Pittsburg, May 24th, 1901.
The book, besides telling of the life of Sri Ramakrishna, gives an insight into some of the religious ideas of the Hindus and sets forth the more important ideals that vitally influence India's teeming millions. If we are willing to sympathetically study the religious views of our Aryan brethren of the Orient, we shall find them governed by spiritual concepts in no way inferior to the highest known to ourselves—concepts which were thought out and practically applied by those ancient philosophers in ages so remote as to antedate history.—Post, Washington, May 13th, 1901.
