The first time I heard about Sri Ramakrishna
was during the late seventies, from a small book, entitled: "Hinduism",which was part of a set,
containing all the major religions, by Louis Renou, P. 1961.
Then, I read about the Master in Ecyclopaedia
Brittanica, which carries a large and complimentary
article.
Of course, my greatest joy, was the discovery in 1981, of a used copy of the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna [first edition] in a second-hand book store for 20 dollars.
