Towards the end of his life Navagopal moved from Calcutta to Ramakrishnapur, Howrah (on the west side of the Ganges). He was attracted to that place because of the similarity of its name to that of the Master. After moving in his new house he decided to install a porcelain image of Sri Ramakrishna in the shrine. On that occasion he invited Swami Vivekananda and other disciples and devotees of the Master. It was 6 February 1898. Swami Vivekananda arrived at the ghat of Ramakrishnapur by boat from Belur Math. He was dressed in an ochre cloth and wore a turban on his head. He was barefoot. Many people stood assembled on both sides of the road to catch a glimpse of Swamiji. He led the procession singing the famous nativity song on Sri Ramakrishna, “Who art thou laid on the lap of a poor brahmin mother?” and he himself played the khol (an earthen drum).
Navagopal and Nistarini received Swamiji with reverence and took him to the shrine. Hearing Swamiji speaking highly of all the arrangements, Nistarini said to him: “What ability do we have to worship and serve the Master? We have only a poor home and little means. Please bless us by installing the Master in our shrine.” Swamiji humorously replied: “Your Master never had in his fourteen generations such a marble-floored room to live in! He had his birth in that rural thatched cottage and passed his days without caring for comfort. And if he does not live here so excellently served, where else should he live?” Swamiji’s comment made everybody laugh. After dedicating the shrine, Swamiji extemporaneously composed the salutation mantra of Sri Ramakrishna: “I bow down to Ramakrishna, who established religion, embodying in himself the reality of all religions and being thus the foremost of Divine Incarnations.” (Source: They Lived with God)