Last night I had an urge to read again Paul Brunton's account of his meeting with "M" the scribe of "The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna". Paul Brunton gave his account in his famous book "A Search in Secret India".

"M" was nearing 80 years of age and was in the last year of his life when Brunton had meetings at "M"'s rooftop terrace of his home in Kolkata. According to Brunton's account, "M" described Sri Ramakrishna as being "illiterate" and that he couldn't sign his own name, but the Pilgrimage video shows some very nicely
handwritten dccuments that Sri Ramakrishna had written himself. They are displayed at Kamarpukur as "Handwriting of Sri Ramakrishna."

Did Brunton get it wrong, or did "M" not know that Thakur could read and write? Or, was Ramakrishna just copying the handwritten characters that were set before his eyes?

Confused.
Rosemary

Location: New Bern, NC

I think I have found an answer here. It does confuse me that Paul Brunton, a respected author on spiritual subjects, could make the mistake, however.

"The school was held in the spacious Natmandir in front of Sri Durga Temple of Lahas house. Gadadhar also joined this school at the age of five. In a short time he learnt to read and write, but soon his interest flagged off and he developed a tendency to get merged in ecstatic moods at the sight of beautiful scenery or at the contemplation of particular deities. As it was suspected to be the symptom of a disease, his mother did not allow him to go to the school for long periods. The boy liked the recital of the Puranas and the performance of village dramas more than his school lessons. He had a great dislike for arithmetic. Though he made no appreciable progress in his studies, his handwriting was good. The plays of Subahu and Yogadya which Gadadhar copied are still preserved in the Belur Math."

Location: New Bern, NC

Dear Sister Rosemary,

I guess that you have found the answer yourself...but, I'd like to add the following:

Quotes:

"But, it is very difficult to recognize him (Thakur). He has hidden himself behind so many coverings. He was poor, almost illiterate and then a priest. Who is capable of recognizing him under so many coverings?"

FROM: M., The Apostle: Vol. 9 - Chap. 7

"On the one hand, there is a rustic, almost illiterate brahmin. And on the other, there is a worldwide religious movement in his name. Even the learned of the world have taken shelter under him. It proves what he was. If the movement had been man made it could not have spread so far."

FROM: M., The Apostle: Vol. 9 - Chap. 13

And yet, in the following quote he eliminates the word, 'almost':

M. (to the young man) — "A tree is known by its fruits. Thus one can understand Thakur by seeing his ‘fruits’. What is that fruit? Just see what great things have happened in a short time in the world on his account. Here was an illiterate brahmin priest; and see, the great men of the world are showing such reverence to his words. Max Muller wrote his life. This alone makes us understand who he was - an avatara."

FROM: M., The Apostle: Vol. 10 - Chap. 9

Mahendranath Gupta (M} was the headmaster of Vidyasagar's High School in Calcutta; which implies that he had a high standard of literacy....:)