Swami Adbhutananda Biography 
Swami Adbhutananda was a direct monastic disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. His real name was Rakhturam. He was fondly called Latu Maharaj by the followers of Ramakrishna. Swami Vivekananda regarded him as "the greatest miracle of Ramakrishna". He was considered as a monk with great spiritual insight by Ramakrishna's followers. He was the first monastic disciple to come to Ramakrishna. As he was illiterate, he didn’t write any book. But he taught a lot of principles to his disciples.
He was born in Chhapra district of Bihar, in the second half of 19th century. His exact place and date of birth are unknown. He was born in a poor family and lost both his parents at the age of 5. Later his uncle became his guardian who took care of him. He spent his life in the village tending cows and sheep in the fields and used to wander here and there. He was uneducated. Rakhturam became the servant of Dr. Ramachandra Datta, a devotee of Ramakrishna. Later he came to be known as "Latu" in his new Kolkata surroundings. Slowly Latu too got attracted to Ramakrishna. When Ramakrishna saw Latu, he said to Ramchandra that Latu had "holy signs in him." When Ramakrishna touched him, Latu entered an ecstatic state and he regularly began to visit him.
In June 1881, he joined Ramakrishna at Dakshineswar as his personal attendant and helper. He also helped Sarada Devi in her chores. He began a life of rigorous spiritual discipline under Ramakrishna's guidance and also served as personal help. Ramakrishna tried to teach him Bengali alphabtes, but he failed in the attempt. Latu was seen praying and meditating the whole night and he slept during the day time. He took care of nursing Ramakrishna during his final days at Shyampukur and Cossipore. In 1886, he went for a holy pilgrimage with Sarda devi. During his last days, Adbhutananda seemed to be gradually withdrawing from the world.
Published: N/A
Updated: March 06, 2014
