Can one become a great devotee of God simply by dancing and jumping or by quoting plentifully from the scriptures?

Baburam Maharaj (Swami Premananda) (Bengali: বাবুরাম মহারাজ; 10 December 1861 – 30 July 1918) was a direct disciple of Ramakrishna, the 19th-century saint and mystic from Bengal, India.

Baburam, as he was called in his pre monastic days, was also related to Balaram Bose, a leading householder disciple of Ramakrishna.

[1] He had a notable contribution during the initial days of Ramakrishna Mission as he managed the whole affairs of Belur Math from 1902 to 1916.

In 1885, Ramakrishna was diagnosed to have developed throat cancer, and was shifted to Calcutta for better treatment, first to Shyampukur and then to Cossipore Garden house.

This event brought the brother disciples in close contact on a shared goal and paved the way for the establishment of the first Math in Baranagar, under the leadership of Narendranath (Vivekananda).

After the demise of Vivekananda in 1902, Swami Brahmananda, the then president of Ramakrishna Mission, entrusted Premananda with the duty of the management of the day-to-day affairs of the Math at Belur which included the daily worship, the introduction and initiation of young celibates and monks, receiving of the devotees and guests, various administrative activities etc.

Premananda also introduced a study circle to learn Sanskrit in Belur Math under the tutelage of a competent teacher.

He also laid great emphasis on the education of women and wrote to a lady, "Let thousands of Niveditas come out of Bengal... let there arise anew in the land numbers of Gargis, Lilavatis, Sitas and Savitris.

Though a man of high spiritual attainments, he was wont to hiding them and very reticent in giving expression to them.

[7] The long and arduous trips took a toll on his health and he fell victim to Kala azar, a deadly fever.