Hriday became a personal attendant of Sri Ramakrishna in 1855, and he devoted much of his adult life to serving his uncle with affection and loyalty. As a young man he had his faults, such as foolishness and impulsiveness, but the Master overlooked them. However, by the age of forty Hriday’s character had changed. Gradually he became a despotic, jealous, and unkind guard who behaved at times like a jailer. Anyone who wanted to see Sri Ramakrishna had to go to Hriday first and give him money, for otherwise he would not allow that person to see his uncle. When the Master came to know about this he scolded Hriday, but Hriday paid no attention and continued in his own way. He made it clear to everyone that his uncle was completely dependent on him. He spoke rudely to the Master in front of others and laughed at him behind his back. Sometimes he tried to charm people by imitating the gestures Sri Ramakrishna made when he was in samadhi, and he would try to sing and dance just as the Master did.
Once Sri Ramakrishna was in bed with a fever. Some devotees from Calcutta came to see him, bringing a cauliflower for him. The Master was very pleased but said hastily, “Please hide it and don’t tell Hriday, or he will abuse me.” He went on to defend Hriday, however, praising his past services and adding: “Mother has rewarded him richly for his faithfulness. He has been able to buy some land for himself. He can afford to lend out money to people. And he’s a very important personage in this temple — highly honoured.” No sooner had the Master finished saying this than Hriday entered the room and spotted the cauliflower. Sri Ramakrishna seemed dismayed, and he said to Hriday: “Look, I never asked them to bring this to me. They brought it of their own accord. Believe me, I never asked them to!” But Hriday flew into a rage and scolded the Master severely. Sri Ramakrishna appealed to the Divine Mother, weeping, “Mother, You freed me of all worldly ties and yet You let Hriday humiliate me like this!” Then suddenly his melancholy mood changed, and he added with a smile: “Hriday loves me dearly and therefore scolds me. He is a mere boy and knows not what he does. You mustn’t be angry with him, Mother.” After this, he went into samadhi.
Pride must have its fall, and Hriday’s pride was swelling day by day. The temple officials were disgusted by his behaviour and were just waiting for a reason to dismiss him. Sri Ramakrishna knew this and kept warning Hriday to be less aggressive. In March 1881 Sarada Devi came from Jayrambati to see her husband at Dakshineswar, accompanied by her mother and some neighbours. The moment they arrived Hriday treated them rudely and told Sarada Devi that she was not wanted. With tearful eyes she and her mother left for Jayrambati on the same day. Sri Ramakrishna was helpless. He was afraid to irritate Hriday, so he kept quiet. But later Sri Ramakrishna warned him: “Look here. You may insult me, but don’t hurt her feelings. If He who dwells in this [his own body] hisses, you may somehow get by; but if He who dwells in her [Sarada Devi] hisses, no one — not even Brahma, Vishnu, or Shiva — will be able to protect you.”
Soon after this incident Hriday brought about his own downfall. In May 1881, Trailokya, one of Mathur’s sons, came to Dakshineswar with his wife and children to take part in the annual dedication festival of the temple. At one point his eight-year-old daughter — unaccompanied by her parents — was present in the Kali temple while Hriday was performing the worship. Suddenly Hriday was seized with a desire to worship the Goddess in the person of this little girl, and following the Tantric rites offered flowers and sandal paste at her feet. It was the sandal paste that betrayed Hriday. Trailokya’s wife noticed it as soon as her daughter returned from the ceremony. When she heard what Hriday had done, she was horrified, for it was believed that if a brahmin worshipped a girl of a lower caste, she would be widowed soon after marriage. Seeing his wife crying and learning the cause, Trailokya became furious and ordered Hriday to leave the temple precincts immediately.
Hriday rushed to Sri Ramakrishna and told him what had happened. He tried to persuade the Master to leave with him, but Sri Ramakrishna refused, so Hriday left the garden alone with a heavy heart. It appeared that Trailokya, in the first flush of his rage, had made some remark against Sri Ramakrishna, implying that it would be well to get rid of him too. Accordingly, a temple official came to the Master and asked him to leave at once. Immediately the Master put a towel over his shoulder and walked out of his room towards the gate. Trailokya saw him from a distance and came rushing to him, saying, “Sir, where are you going?” “But didn’t you want me to go away?” asked the Master. “No, they misunderstood. I never meant that. I beg you to stay!” At this Sri Ramakrishna smiled and returned to his room, as if nothing had happened.
Hriday did not go far. He took shelter at Jadu Mallick’s garden house, adjacent to the temple grounds. Sri Ramakrishna sent meals to him and also went to see him. Hriday asked the Master again and again to leave Dakshineswar, proposing to establish a Kali temple elsewhere where the two might live happily together. But Sri Ramakrishna always refused, and Hriday finally went to his country home to take care of his farm. Later the Master said to the devotees: “The Divine Mother removed him from Dakshineswar. He pestered visitors for money. If he had stayed with me, all these people could not have come. That is why the Mother removed him.” (Source: They Lived with God)