Kalpataru Diwas 1st January

The event commemorates the day of January 1, 1886, when his followers believe that Ramakrishna revealed himself as an Avatar, or God incarnate on earth. It is held every January 1. Although celebrations take place in many places, the most important celebration takes place at Cossipore Garden House or Udyanbati near Kolkata, present Ramakrishna Math, a branch of the Ramakrishna order, the place where Ramakrishna spent the last days of his life. It is classified as one of the "special festivals of the Lord" by the followers of Ramakrishna.

The first day of Kalpataru Diwas, 1 January 1886, was "an event of unusual consequence and significance" in the life of Ramakrishna and his disciples. Ramakrishna was suffering from throat cancer at the time and his health was failing. He and his closest followers had moved to a garden house in the northern Calcutta district of Cossipore.

January 1 was a relatively good day for him and he took a walk in the garden. There he asked one of his disciples, Girish, a question he had often asked before: "Who do you say I am?" Girish replied that he believed Ramakrishna to be "God incarnate, come to Earth as a mercy for humanity." Ramakrishna replied, "What more shall I say? May you be awakened." Ramakrishna then entered an "ecstatic state" and began touching all his followers.

Those he touched reported experiencing a variety of new states of consciousness, including vivid visions. For one, Vaikuntha, the visions persisted and interfered with daily life, so much so that he feared he was going mad.

"These words of profound benediction, untainted by the slightest tinge of selfishness, entered directly into the hearts of the devotees where they raised floods of bliss. They forgot time and space, forgot the Master's illness and forgot their previous determination not to touch him till he recovered, and had the immediate feeling that sympathizing with their misery, and with hearts overflowing with compassion, He had descended from heaven to them and affectionately called them to Him for protection, like a mother protecting her children from all evils."

A disciple, Ramachandra Dutta, explained that Ramakrishna had in fact become Kalpataru (also called Kalpavriksha), the "wish-fulfilling tree" of Sanskrit literature and mythology Hindu. Dutta named the commemoration of this mystical event "Kalpataru Day" accordingly. This event "carried meanings and memories of cosmic importance for the disciples and also prepared them for the death of Ramakrishna", which took place a few months later on 16 August 1886.

None of Ramakrishna's monastic disciples were present at this event. Most of them, having spent the night meditating and watching over the sick Ramakrishna, were resting, while others took the opportunity to clean Ramakrishna's room, bedding, etc. One of these disciples was Saratchandra Chakravarty, later known as Swami Saradananda.

Having witnessed the day's event from the roof of Ramakrishna's residence, Saradananda later commented that "Kalpataru Day" is a misnomer, since the mythological wish-fulfilling tree (Kalpataru) grants everything, good or bad, and Ramakrishna gave only that which was spiritually beneficial. Saradananda instead referred to the event as "the granting of freedom from fear to all devotees by revealing himself."