Born in a fairly well-to-do family, Kali had a great eagerness to learn yoga from his boyhood. He gained a good grounding in Sanskrit and English. At the age of 18, when he was studying for the school final examination, he went to Dakshineswar and met Sri Ramakrishna. Under the guidance of the Master, Kali practised meditation and was soon blessed with several visions.

In 1896 Swami Vivekananda brought him to London for Vedanta work there. The next year he crossed over to USA and was given charge of the newly founded New York Vedanta centre. His profundity of scholarship, incisive intellect and oratorical power elicited widespread admiration, and people thronged to listen to him. He was also a prolific writer and his books on life after death, etc are famous.

He left the mortal frame on 8 September 1939. Of all the contributions that Swami Abhedananda made to Ramakrishna Movement, the most widely appreciated and enduring one is his composition of sublime and beautiful hymns (in Sanskrit) on Sri Ramakrishna and Sri Sarada Devi. His hymn to Holy Mother beginning with Prakritim paramam abhayam varadam, which is sung in many ashramas and homes, is unrivalled in the depth of conception and felicity of expression.