Vimalananda

Vimalananda (also called Khagen Maharaj) (1872–1908) was an Indian spiritual writer who was one of the monastic disciples of Vivekananda and an early monk of the Ramakrishna Order. He was involved in the publication of Prabuddha Bharata. He was actively involved in running day-to-day operations of the Advaita Ashrama at Mayavati during the early days of the Ashrama. He also inaugurated the Ramakrishna Math at Ulsoor in Bangalore in 1906. He died in 1908 at the Mayavati Ashrama.

Early life Vimlananda was born Khagendranath Chatterjee in a Hindu Brahmin family in 1872 at Baganda village of Howrah district. His father, Benimadhav Chatterjee, was an engineer.

Monastic beginnings Khagen was initiated to Ramakrishna's ideals by reading a collection of his teachings by Sureshchandra Dutta and a biography of Ramakrishna by Ram Chandra Datta. They visited Kankurgachhi Yogodyan on the occasion of celebrating Ramakrishna's birth festival by Ramchandra Dutta. In Ripon College he came in close contact with Mahendranath Gupta, (called "M"), the author of Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita, who was then a professor in the same college. Vimalananda wrote to the Holy Mother Sri Sarada Devi seeking her opinion in this matter. However, she confirmed that Advaitism was the highest ideal of the Ramakrishna Order, that every member of the order was Advaitin and what Swami Vivekananda did or said in this matter was right.