One day Charu Chandra, one of Sharat’s younger brothers, came to see the Master. Ramakrishna was pleased to meet the boy. “He is a fine boy,” said the Master to Sharat, “a little more intelligent than you. Let me see if he has good or bad tendencies.” So saying, he took Charu’s right hand into his own and weighing it said, “Yes, he has good tendencies.” He then asked Sharat: “Shall I draw him? [That is, draw his mind away from the world and turn it towards God.] What do you say?” Sharat replied, “Yes, sir, please do so.” Sri Ramakrishna thought for a while and said: “No, no more. I have taken one, and if I take this one also, your parents, especially your mother, will be very grieved. I have displeased many a Shakti [woman] in my life. No more now.”
Swami Chidekananda Says —
Needless to say, being a normal teenager, I was distressed at this turn of events. I loved Swami Vivekananda, but I did not appreciate my parents’ close association with the Vedanta Society. I simply could not relate to their new world, which seemed to be occupying a great portion of their energy and life. To make matters worse, after some time Revered Maharaj attracted my brother, Prasun, who decided to join the Order. My last ally was gone!
After I went to college, however, things began to slowly change for me. I started visiting different Vedanta societies on my own and seriously reading the Gospel and also Swami Vivekananda’s Complete Works. The final turning point came when Swami Atmatattwananda and I became close—he inspired me to take initiation from Swami Swahanandaji. That same week, Swami Shraddhananda from the Sacramento center visited the Hollywood Vedanta temple, and my mother cooked many delicious Bengali dishes for him. He was so pleased that afterwards he inquired where I was. When he saw me, he put his arm around me and told my mother, “Give this son to Thakur!” My mother kept silent at that time. ….
If Swami Swahanandaji was like my father, then Swami Prabuddhanandaji was like my close loving uncle who bestowed much love and support. At that time, I lived at the San Francisco center in the old monastery. One day during a Sunday lecture at Lake Tahoe, Swami Prabuddhanandaji quoted a verse from the Vivekacudamani and then translated for the class” “You’ve had everything in this life—good parents, family, education, career, success, wealth. Everything is taken care of. If not now, then when?” He lovingly looked at me—and at that moment I knew that I would join and become a monk.
When I told this to my parents, they were initially stunned. However, after some time they became very happy and gave their full blessings. When I first told Maharaj about my intention, he flatly said no. He was concerned about my parents. One son had already joined, and he did not want that both sons should become monks. He then poked me and said, “You are joining because you could not make it as a lawyer.” The next day I brought him a copy of my bank statement and showed him how much money I had made. He then said jokingly, “Forget joining—make money and give it to me for my private centers!”
He called my parents and asked them what they thought. I shall never forget that they both convinced Maharaj that they would be very happy if I became a monk. However, when they visited the shrine and made pranams to Thakur, my mother wept. Nor was that the end of it. When my parents visited India in 2003 and were staying at Golpark, Revered Swami Prabhananda, Trustee and Head of Golpark, asked my parents if I had their permission to join. He, like Maharaj, was concerned about the fact that one of their sons had already joined. But my parents replied that they would be happy if I also joined. (Source: Remembrances of Swami Swahananda – Reflections on Greatness)