Brahmo Samaj
Encyclopedia
Brahmo Samaj is the societal component of the Brahmo religion
which is mainly practiced today as the Adi Dharm
after its eclipse in Bengal
consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha
from its ranks in 1859. It was one of the most influential religious movements responsible for the making of modern India
. It was conceived at Kolkata
in 1830 by Dwarkanath Tagore
and Ram Mohan Roy
as reformation of the prevailing Brahmanism of the time (specifically Kulin
practices) and began the Bengal Renaissance
of the 19th century pioneering all religious, social and educational advance of the Hindu community in the 19th century. From the Brahmo Samaj springs Brahmoism, the most recent of India's faiths recognised in law as distinct religions and Bangladesh, reflecting its non-syncretic "foundation of Rammohun Roy's reformed spiritual Hinduism (contained in the 1830 Banian deed) and inclusion of root Hebraic – Islamic creed and practice." After the publication of Hemendranath Tagore
's Brahmo Anusthan (code of practice) in 1860 which formally divorced Brahmoism from Hinduism
, the first Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1861 at Lahore
by Pandit Nobin Chandra Roy.
.
In practice, a Brahmo Samaj is an assembly of all sorts and descriptions of people without distinction, meeting publicly for the sober, orderly, religious and devout adoration of "the (nameless) unsearchable Eternal, Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe."
s as Bhadrotsab (ভাদ্রোৎসব Bhadrotshôb "Bhadro
celebration"). These meetings were open to all Brahmins and there was no formal organisation or theology as such.
Brahmo Samaj (Bengali
ব্রাহ্ম সমাজ Bramho Shômaj) is the societal component of the Brahmo religion
which is mainly practiced today as the Adi Dharm
after its eclipse in Bengal
consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha
from its ranks in 1859. It was one of the most influential religious movements J.N.Farquahar "Modern Religious Movements of India, (1915)" p.29, http://www.archive.org/stream/modernreligiousm00farquoft/modernreligiousm00farquoft_djvu.txt responsible for the making of modern India
."Brahmo Samaj and the making of modern India, David Kopf, publ. 1979 Princeton University Press (USA)." It was conceived at Kolkata
in 1830 by Dwarkanath Tagore
and Ram Mohan Roy
as reformation of the prevailing Brahmanism of the time (specifically Kulin
practices) and began the Bengal Renaissance
of the 19th century pioneering all religious, social and educational advance of the Hindu community in the 19th century."Modern Religious movements in India, J.N.Farquhar (1915)" page 29 etc. From the Brahmo Samaj springs Brahmoism, the most recent of India's faiths recognised in law as distinct religionsThe 9 religions of India recognized in law are Hinduism, Zorastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Brahmoism. Other faiths are classified as sects and Bangladesh,Bangladesh Law Commission http://www.lawcommissionbangladesh.org/reports/36.pdf reflecting its non-syncretic "foundation of Rammohun Roy's reformed spiritual Hinduism (contained in the 1830 Banian deed) and inclusion of root Hebraic – Islamic creed and practice." Official Brahmo website After the publication of Hemendranath Tagore
's Brahmo Anusthan (code of practice) in 1860 which formally divorced Brahmoism from Hinduism
, the first Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1861 at Lahore
by Pandit Nobin Chandra Roy.
.page 1 Chapter 1 Volume 1 History of the Brahmo Samaj by Sivanath Sastri, 1911, 1st edn. publisher R.Chatterji, Cornwallis St. Calcutta. Brahmo (ব্রাহ্ম bramho) literally means "one who worships Brahman
", and Samaj (সমাজ shômaj) mean "community of men".
In practice, a Brahmo Samaj is an assembly of all sorts and descriptions of people without distinction, meeting publicly for the sober, orderly, religious and devout adoration of "the (nameless) unsearchable Eternal, Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe."Trust deed of Brahmo Sabha
1830
s as Bhadrotsab (ভাদ্রোৎসব Bhadrotshôb "Bhadro
celebration"). These meetings were open to all Brahmins and there was no formal organisation or theology as such."Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India" By Kenneth W. Jones page 33-34, publ. 1989 Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 0-521-24986-4 This Sabha was convened at Calcutta by religious reformer Raja Rammohun Roy
for his family and friends settled there. The Sabha regularly gathered on Saturday between seven o'clock to nine o'clock. These were informal meetings of Bengali Brahmins (the "twice born"), accompanied by Upanishadic recitations in Sanskrit
followed by Bengali
translations of the Sanskrit recitation and singing of Brahmo hymns composed by Rammohun.
Brahmo Samaj (Bengali
ব্রাহ্ম সমাজ Bramho Shômaj) is the societal component of the Brahmo religion
which is mainly practiced today as the Adi Dharm
after its eclipse in Bengal
consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha
from its ranks in 1859. It was one of the most influential religious movements J.N.Farquahar "Modern Religious Movements of India, (1915)" p.29, http://www.archive.org/stream/modernreligiousm00farquoft/modernreligiousm00farquoft_djvu.txt responsible for the making of modern India
."Brahmo Samaj and the making of modern India, David Kopf, publ. 1979 Princeton University Press (USA)." It was conceived at Kolkata
in 1830 by Dwarkanath Tagore
and Ram Mohan Roy
as reformation of the prevailing Brahmanism of the time (specifically Kulin
practices) and began the Bengal Renaissance
of the 19th century pioneering all religious, social and educational advance of the Hindu community in the 19th century."Modern Religious movements in India, J.N.Farquhar (1915)" page 29 etc. From the Brahmo Samaj springs Brahmoism, the most recent of India's faiths recognised in law as distinct religionsThe 9 religions of India recognized in law are Hinduism, Zorastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Brahmoism. Other faiths are classified as sects and Bangladesh,Bangladesh Law Commission http://www.lawcommissionbangladesh.org/reports/36.pdf reflecting its non-syncretic "foundation of Rammohun Roy's reformed spiritual Hinduism (contained in the 1830 Banian deed) and inclusion of root Hebraic – Islamic creed and practice." Official Brahmo website After the publication of Hemendranath Tagore
's Brahmo Anusthan (code of practice) in 1860 which formally divorced Brahmoism from Hinduism
, the first Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1861 at Lahore
by Pandit Nobin Chandra Roy.
.page 1 Chapter 1 Volume 1 History of the Brahmo Samaj by Sivanath Sastri, 1911, 1st edn. publisher R.Chatterji, Cornwallis St. Calcutta. Brahmo (ব্রাহ্ম bramho) literally means "one who worships Brahman
", and Samaj (সমাজ shômaj) mean "community of men".
In practice, a Brahmo Samaj is an assembly of all sorts and descriptions of people without distinction, meeting publicly for the sober, orderly, religious and devout adoration of "the (nameless) unsearchable Eternal, Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe."Trust deed of Brahmo Sabha
1830
s as Bhadrotsab (ভাদ্রোৎসব Bhadrotshôb "Bhadro
celebration"). These meetings were open to all Brahmins and there was no formal organisation or theology as such."Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India" By Kenneth W. Jones page 33-34, publ. 1989 Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 0-521-24986-4 This Sabha was convened at Calcutta by religious reformer Raja Rammohun Roy
for his family and friends settled there. The Sabha regularly gathered on Saturday between seven o'clock to nine o'clock. These were informal meetings of Bengali Brahmins (the "twice born"), accompanied by Upanishadic recitations in Sanskrit
followed by Bengali
translations of the Sanskrit recitation and singing of Brahmo hymns composed by Rammohun."Modern Religious movements in India, J.N.Farquhar (1915)"
On 8 January 1830 influential progressive members of the closely related Kulin Brahmin
clan"A History of Brahmin Clans" in Hindi, by Dorilāl Śarmā,published by Rāśtriya Brāhamana Mahāsabhā, Vimal Building, Jamirābād, Mitranagar, Masūdābād,Aligarh-1, 2nd edn. 1998. and also footnotes to Bengali Brahmin (scurrilouslyBANGLAPEDIA: Tagore, (Prince) Dwarkanath described as Pirali Brahmin
ie. ostracised for service in the Mughal Nizaamat of Bengal) of Tagore (Thakur) and Roy (Vandopādhyāya) zumeendar family mutually executed the Trust deed of Brahmo Sabha
for the first Adi Brahmo Samaj (place of worship) on Chitpore Road (now Rabindra Sarani), Kolkata
, India
with Ram Chandra Vidyabagish
as first resident superintendent.Online copy of 1830 Trust Deed http://brahmosamaj.org.googlepages.com/trustdeed.html
On 23 January 1830 or 11th Magh, the Adi Brahmo premises were publicly inaugurated (with about 500 Brahmins and 1 Englishman present). This day is celebrated by Brahmos as Maghotsab (মাঘোৎসব Maghotshôb "Magh
celebration").
In November 1830 Rammohun Roy left for England.Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India By Kenneth W. Jones page 34, publ. 1989 Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 0-521-24986-4
and Pandit Ram Chandra Vidyabagish, with Dwarkanath instructing his diwan to manage affairs. Weekly service were held consonant with the Trust directive, consisting of three successive parts: recitation of the Vedas by Telugu Brahmins in the closed apartment exclusively before the Brahmin members of the congregation, reading and exposition of the Upanishads for the general audience, and singing of religious hymns. The reading of the Vedas was done exclusively before the Brahmin participants as the orthodox Telugu Brahmin community and its members could not be persuaded to recite the Vedas before Brahmins and non-Brahmins alike.
By the time of Rammohun's death in 1833 near Bristol (UK), attendance at the Sabha dwindled and the Telugu Brahmins revived idolatry. The zumeendars, being preoccupied in business, had little time for affairs of Sabha, and flame of Sabha was almost extinguished.H.C.Sarkar-History of the Brahmo Religion (1906)
, son of (Prince) Dwarkanath Tagore
, established Tattvaranjini Sabha which was shortly thereafter renamed the Tattwabodhini (Truth-seekers) Sabha. Initially confined to immediate members of the Tagore family, in 2 years it mustered over 500 members. In 1840 Debendranath published a Bangla translation of Katha Upanishad. A modern researcher describes the Sabha's philosophy as modern middle-class (bourgeois) Vedanta.<2007: Brian Hatcher "Journal of American Academy of Religion" Among its first members were the "two giants of Hindu reformation and Bengal Renaissance
, Akshay Kumar Datta
"who in 1839 emerged from the life of an anonymous squalor-beset individual" and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
the "indigenous modernizer"."Brahmo Samaj and the making of modern India, David Kopf, Princeton University press", pp 43–57
. Dall, immediately formed a counter group "The friends of Rammmohun Roy Society" and then got admitted a protege to Sabha. The presence of Dall's protege Keshub Chandra Sen
(a non-Brahmin) into the Calcutta Brahmo Sabha in 1857 while Debendranath was away in Simla caused considerable stress in the movement, with many long time Tattvabodhini Brahmin members publicly leaving the Brahmo Sabha and institutions due to his high-handed ways. In September 1858, Debendranath returned to Calcutta to resolve the simmering disputes. but his conservative mien did not allow him to take decisive steps. He proceeded on a sea voyage to Ceylon accompanied by Sen and his 2nd son Satyendranath (a firm admirer of Mr Sen) but no concord was achieved. In 1859, the venerable and beloved Secretary of the Tattwabodhini Sabha Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
resigned from the Brahmo Sabha in the face of Debendranath's vacillation. A meeting of the Tatwabodhini was promptly summoned with Debendranath resigning from the group he had founded. His third son Hemendranath Tagore
then a boy barely 15 years in age, and the favorite pupil of Vidyasgar, was commonly acclaimed as Debendranath's successor to head the Tattwabodhini. In the course of time he would become known as the MahaAcharya (or Great Teacher).
and the support to K.C.Sen's faction by his own brother Satyendranath Tagore
, Hemendranath took the bold decisions to expand his Sabha out from Calcutta. His close associate Pandit Nobin Chandra Roy who had joined the new institution of "Railways" in 1860 as its "Paymaster" for Upper India was tasked to spread Brahmoism there. With a predominantly monotheistic populace following Islam
and Sikhism
it was perceived as fertile soil for Rammohun's message. The Tattwabodhini decreed that the uncorrupted faith of the original 1830 Trust Deed would be known there as the Adi Dharm
to distinguish it from the distorted versions of the squabbling factions of Calcutta. The steps taken by Hemendranath Tagore, with the blessing of his father, was to institute in 1860 a suit before the Supreme Court to restore the title "Brahmo Samaj" to his faction. After losing in this suit in 1861, Keshub Sen's faction altered the name of their Samaj from "The Brahmo Samaj of India" to "Navabidhan (or the New Dispensation)". With victory in this suit and the promulgation of his Brahmo Anusthan (Code of Brahmaic doctrine and practice) in 1861, Hemendranath's Samaj-ists are henceforth known as the "Anusthanic" Brahmos (or Brahmos who follow the Code). The other factions were designated as "Ananusthanic" Brahmos (or those who do not follow the Code) (this distinction was again to be legally examined before the Privy Council of Great Britain in 1901 and in 1902 the Privy Council upheld the 1897 finding of the Chief Court of the Punjab that the Adi Dharm (anusthanic Brahmos) were definitely not Hindus whereas the Ananusthanics Brahmos of Calcutta fall within Hinduism).
by Nobin Roy.page.4 "Pakistan journal of history and culture, Volume 11", by National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research (Pakistan) It included many Bengalis from the Lahore Bar Association. Many branches were opened in the Punjab, at Quetta
, Rawalpindi
, Amritsar
etc.
, the Adi Dharm
creed has expanded and is now the 9th largest of India's enumerated religions with 7.83 million adherents, heavily concentrated between the states of Punjab
and Uttar Pradesh
. In the Indian census of 2001 only 177 persons declared themselves a "Brahmo", but the number of subscriber members to Brahmo Samaj is somewhat larger at around 20,000 members.http://www.brahmo.org/brahmo-faq.htmlStatewise census computation by the Brahmo Conference Organisation
http://old.nabble.com/Re%3A--brahmoconference--Happy-Maghotsava-p27574782.html
. Brahmoism, as a means of discussing the dowry system, was a central theme of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's noted 1914 Bengali language
novella
, Parineeta
.
After controversies, including the controversy over Keshub Chunder Sen's daughter's child marriage rituals wherein the validity of Brahmo marriages were questioned and split the Brahmo Samaj of India, the Brahmo Samaj Marriage Bill of 1871 was enacted as the Special Marriages Act of 1872 and set the age at which girls could be married at 14.Brahma Sabha All Brahmo marriages were thereafter solemnised under this law which required the affirmation "I am not Hindu, nor a Mussalman, nor a Christian". The Special Marriages Act 1872 was repealed by the new Special Marriages Act in 1954 which became the secular Marriage law for India. The old Special Marriages Act of 1872 was allowed to live on as the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 for Hindus – Brahmo Religionists are excluded from this Act; which is applicable, however, to Hindus who follow the Brahmo Samaj. On May 5, 2004 the Supreme Court of India, by order of the Chief Justice, dismissed the Government of West Bengal's 30 year litigation to get Brahmos classified as Hindus. The matter had previously been heard by an 11 Judge Constitution Bench of the Court (the second largest bench in the Court's history). As of 2007 the statutory minimum age for Brahmos to marry is 25(M)/21(F) versus 21(M)/18(F) for Hindus.
It also supported social reform movements of people not directly attached to the Samaj, such as Pandit Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar’s movement which promoted widow re-marriage.
by Dr. C.P.Ramaswami Aiyar, Dr. Nalinaksha Dutt, Prof. A.R.Wadia, Prof. M.Mujeeb,Dr.Dharm Pal and Fr. Jerome D'Souza, S.J.
Brahmoism
Brahmoism is a religious movement from the late 18th century Bengal originating the Bengali Renaissance, the nascent Indian independence movement and the wider Hindu reform movements of the period...
which is mainly practiced today as the Adi Dharm
Adi Dharm
Adi Dharm refers to the religion of Adi Brahmo Samaj the first development of Brahmoism and includes those Sadharan Brahmo Samajists who were reintegrated into Brahmoism after the 2nd schism of 1878 at the instance of Hemendranath Tagore...
after its eclipse in Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha
Tattwabodini Sabha
-Tattwabodhini period:On 6 October 1839 Debendranath Tagore, son of Dwarkanath Tagore, established Tattvaranjini Sabha which was shortly thereafter renamed the Tattwabodhini Sabha. Initially confined to immediate members of the Tagore family, in 2 years it mustered over 500 members. In 1840...
from its ranks in 1859. It was one of the most influential religious movements responsible for the making of modern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It was conceived at Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
in 1830 by Dwarkanath Tagore
Dwarkanath Tagore
Dwarkanath Tagore , was one of the first Indian industrialists and entrepreneurs, was the founder of the Jorasanko branch of the Tagore family, and is notable for making substantial contributions to the Bengal Renaissance.-Childhood:...
and Ram Mohan Roy
Ram Mohan Roy
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was an Indian religious, social, and educational reformer who challenged traditional Hindu culture and indicated the lines of progress for Indian society under British rule. He is sometimes called the father of modern India...
as reformation of the prevailing Brahmanism of the time (specifically Kulin
Kulin Brahmin
Kulin Brahmin is the highest strata of upper caste Brahmins in India's caste system. This term is more generally used to refer to upper caste "twice-born" Brahmins in nineteenth century Bengal considered themselves to be more knowledgeable as regards the scriptures as compared to other Brahmins.The...
practices) and began the Bengal Renaissance
Bengal Renaissance
The Bengal Renaissance refers to a social reform movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the region of Bengal in Undivided India during the period of British rule...
of the 19th century pioneering all religious, social and educational advance of the Hindu community in the 19th century. From the Brahmo Samaj springs Brahmoism, the most recent of India's faiths recognised in law as distinct religions and Bangladesh, reflecting its non-syncretic "foundation of Rammohun Roy's reformed spiritual Hinduism (contained in the 1830 Banian deed) and inclusion of root Hebraic – Islamic creed and practice." After the publication of Hemendranath Tagore
Hemendranath Tagore
This article is connected to Tagore familyHemendranath Tagore , Debendranath Tagore's third son, is notable for being the first ever Brahmo as he was the first child born in 1844 to any of the 21 Brahmos who swore the First Brahmo Covenant on 21 December 1843 at Calcutta...
's Brahmo Anusthan (code of practice) in 1860 which formally divorced Brahmoism from Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, the first Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1861 at Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
by Pandit Nobin Chandra Roy.
Meaning of name
The Brahmo Samaj literally denotes communities of men who worship BrahmanBrahman
In Hinduism, Brahman is the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe. Brahman is sometimes referred to as the Absolute or Godhead which is the Divine Ground of all being...
.
In practice, a Brahmo Samaj is an assembly of all sorts and descriptions of people without distinction, meeting publicly for the sober, orderly, religious and devout adoration of "the (nameless) unsearchable Eternal, Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe."
Brahmo Sabha
On 20 August 1828 the first assembly of the Brahmo Sabha (progenitor of the Brahmo Samaj) was held at the North Calcutta house of Feringhee Kamal Bose. This day is celebrated by BrahmoBrahmo
A Brahmo is either an adherent of Brahmoism to the exclusion of all other religions, or a person with at least one Brahmo parent or guardian and who has never denied his faith...
s as Bhadrotsab (ভাদ্রোৎসব Bhadrotshôb "Bhadro
Bhadro
Bhadro is the fifth month in the Bangla Calendar.Bhadro marks the beginning of the Autumn season. According to the modified calendar developed by the Bangla Academy, the month of Bhadro has 31 days. Bhadro spans from mid August to mid September in the Gregorian Calendar....
celebration"). These meetings were open to all Brahmins and there was no formal organisation or theology as such.
Brahmo Samaj (Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
ব্রাহ্ম সমাজ Bramho Shômaj) is the societal component of the Brahmo religion
Brahmoism
Brahmoism is a religious movement from the late 18th century Bengal originating the Bengali Renaissance, the nascent Indian independence movement and the wider Hindu reform movements of the period...
which is mainly practiced today as the Adi Dharm
Adi Dharm
Adi Dharm refers to the religion of Adi Brahmo Samaj the first development of Brahmoism and includes those Sadharan Brahmo Samajists who were reintegrated into Brahmoism after the 2nd schism of 1878 at the instance of Hemendranath Tagore...
after its eclipse in Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha
Tattwabodini Sabha
-Tattwabodhini period:On 6 October 1839 Debendranath Tagore, son of Dwarkanath Tagore, established Tattvaranjini Sabha which was shortly thereafter renamed the Tattwabodhini Sabha. Initially confined to immediate members of the Tagore family, in 2 years it mustered over 500 members. In 1840...
from its ranks in 1859. It was one of the most influential religious movements J.N.Farquahar "Modern Religious Movements of India, (1915)" p.29, http://www.archive.org/stream/modernreligiousm00farquoft/modernreligiousm00farquoft_djvu.txt responsible for the making of modern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
."Brahmo Samaj and the making of modern India, David Kopf, publ. 1979 Princeton University Press (USA)." It was conceived at Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
in 1830 by Dwarkanath Tagore
Dwarkanath Tagore
Dwarkanath Tagore , was one of the first Indian industrialists and entrepreneurs, was the founder of the Jorasanko branch of the Tagore family, and is notable for making substantial contributions to the Bengal Renaissance.-Childhood:...
and Ram Mohan Roy
Ram Mohan Roy
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was an Indian religious, social, and educational reformer who challenged traditional Hindu culture and indicated the lines of progress for Indian society under British rule. He is sometimes called the father of modern India...
as reformation of the prevailing Brahmanism of the time (specifically Kulin
Kulin Brahmin
Kulin Brahmin is the highest strata of upper caste Brahmins in India's caste system. This term is more generally used to refer to upper caste "twice-born" Brahmins in nineteenth century Bengal considered themselves to be more knowledgeable as regards the scriptures as compared to other Brahmins.The...
practices) and began the Bengal Renaissance
Bengal Renaissance
The Bengal Renaissance refers to a social reform movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the region of Bengal in Undivided India during the period of British rule...
of the 19th century pioneering all religious, social and educational advance of the Hindu community in the 19th century."Modern Religious movements in India, J.N.Farquhar (1915)" page 29 etc. From the Brahmo Samaj springs Brahmoism, the most recent of India's faiths recognised in law as distinct religionsThe 9 religions of India recognized in law are Hinduism, Zorastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Brahmoism. Other faiths are classified as sects and Bangladesh,Bangladesh Law Commission http://www.lawcommissionbangladesh.org/reports/36.pdf reflecting its non-syncretic "foundation of Rammohun Roy's reformed spiritual Hinduism (contained in the 1830 Banian deed) and inclusion of root Hebraic – Islamic creed and practice." Official Brahmo website After the publication of Hemendranath Tagore
Hemendranath Tagore
This article is connected to Tagore familyHemendranath Tagore , Debendranath Tagore's third son, is notable for being the first ever Brahmo as he was the first child born in 1844 to any of the 21 Brahmos who swore the First Brahmo Covenant on 21 December 1843 at Calcutta...
's Brahmo Anusthan (code of practice) in 1860 which formally divorced Brahmoism from Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, the first Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1861 at Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
by Pandit Nobin Chandra Roy.
Meaning of name
The Brahmo Samaj literally denotes communities of men who worship BrahmanBrahman
In Hinduism, Brahman is the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe. Brahman is sometimes referred to as the Absolute or Godhead which is the Divine Ground of all being...
.page 1 Chapter 1 Volume 1 History of the Brahmo Samaj by Sivanath Sastri, 1911, 1st edn. publisher R.Chatterji, Cornwallis St. Calcutta. Brahmo (ব্রাহ্ম bramho) literally means "one who worships Brahman
Brahman
In Hinduism, Brahman is the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe. Brahman is sometimes referred to as the Absolute or Godhead which is the Divine Ground of all being...
", and Samaj (সমাজ shômaj) mean "community of men".
In practice, a Brahmo Samaj is an assembly of all sorts and descriptions of people without distinction, meeting publicly for the sober, orderly, religious and devout adoration of "the (nameless) unsearchable Eternal, Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe."Trust deed of Brahmo Sabha
Trust deed of Brahmo Sabha
The modern religious philosophy of Brahmoism is based in part on the foundations of reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy's humanitarian philosophy, as exemplified by the Trust Deed of Brahmo Sabha, known to Brahmos as the 1830 Brahmo Trust Deed.-Brief history:...
1830
Brahmo Sabha
On 20 August 1828 the first assembly of the Brahmo Sabha (progenitor of the Brahmo Samaj) was held at the North Calcutta house of Feringhee Kamal Bose. This day is celebrated by BrahmoBrahmo
A Brahmo is either an adherent of Brahmoism to the exclusion of all other religions, or a person with at least one Brahmo parent or guardian and who has never denied his faith...
s as Bhadrotsab (ভাদ্রোৎসব Bhadrotshôb "Bhadro
Bhadro
Bhadro is the fifth month in the Bangla Calendar.Bhadro marks the beginning of the Autumn season. According to the modified calendar developed by the Bangla Academy, the month of Bhadro has 31 days. Bhadro spans from mid August to mid September in the Gregorian Calendar....
celebration"). These meetings were open to all Brahmins and there was no formal organisation or theology as such."Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India" By Kenneth W. Jones page 33-34, publ. 1989 Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 0-521-24986-4 This Sabha was convened at Calcutta by religious reformer Raja Rammohun Roy
Ram Mohan Roy
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was an Indian religious, social, and educational reformer who challenged traditional Hindu culture and indicated the lines of progress for Indian society under British rule. He is sometimes called the father of modern India...
for his family and friends settled there. The Sabha regularly gathered on Saturday between seven o'clock to nine o'clock. These were informal meetings of Bengali Brahmins (the "twice born"), accompanied by Upanishadic recitations in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
followed by Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
translations of the Sanskrit recitation and singing of Brahmo hymns composed by Rammohun.
Brahmo Samaj (Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
ব্রাহ্ম সমাজ Bramho Shômaj) is the societal component of the Brahmo religion
Brahmoism
Brahmoism is a religious movement from the late 18th century Bengal originating the Bengali Renaissance, the nascent Indian independence movement and the wider Hindu reform movements of the period...
which is mainly practiced today as the Adi Dharm
Adi Dharm
Adi Dharm refers to the religion of Adi Brahmo Samaj the first development of Brahmoism and includes those Sadharan Brahmo Samajists who were reintegrated into Brahmoism after the 2nd schism of 1878 at the instance of Hemendranath Tagore...
after its eclipse in Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
consequent to the exit of the Tattwabodini Sabha
Tattwabodini Sabha
-Tattwabodhini period:On 6 October 1839 Debendranath Tagore, son of Dwarkanath Tagore, established Tattvaranjini Sabha which was shortly thereafter renamed the Tattwabodhini Sabha. Initially confined to immediate members of the Tagore family, in 2 years it mustered over 500 members. In 1840...
from its ranks in 1859. It was one of the most influential religious movements J.N.Farquahar "Modern Religious Movements of India, (1915)" p.29, http://www.archive.org/stream/modernreligiousm00farquoft/modernreligiousm00farquoft_djvu.txt responsible for the making of modern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
."Brahmo Samaj and the making of modern India, David Kopf, publ. 1979 Princeton University Press (USA)." It was conceived at Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
in 1830 by Dwarkanath Tagore
Dwarkanath Tagore
Dwarkanath Tagore , was one of the first Indian industrialists and entrepreneurs, was the founder of the Jorasanko branch of the Tagore family, and is notable for making substantial contributions to the Bengal Renaissance.-Childhood:...
and Ram Mohan Roy
Ram Mohan Roy
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was an Indian religious, social, and educational reformer who challenged traditional Hindu culture and indicated the lines of progress for Indian society under British rule. He is sometimes called the father of modern India...
as reformation of the prevailing Brahmanism of the time (specifically Kulin
Kulin Brahmin
Kulin Brahmin is the highest strata of upper caste Brahmins in India's caste system. This term is more generally used to refer to upper caste "twice-born" Brahmins in nineteenth century Bengal considered themselves to be more knowledgeable as regards the scriptures as compared to other Brahmins.The...
practices) and began the Bengal Renaissance
Bengal Renaissance
The Bengal Renaissance refers to a social reform movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the region of Bengal in Undivided India during the period of British rule...
of the 19th century pioneering all religious, social and educational advance of the Hindu community in the 19th century."Modern Religious movements in India, J.N.Farquhar (1915)" page 29 etc. From the Brahmo Samaj springs Brahmoism, the most recent of India's faiths recognised in law as distinct religionsThe 9 religions of India recognized in law are Hinduism, Zorastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism and Brahmoism. Other faiths are classified as sects and Bangladesh,Bangladesh Law Commission http://www.lawcommissionbangladesh.org/reports/36.pdf reflecting its non-syncretic "foundation of Rammohun Roy's reformed spiritual Hinduism (contained in the 1830 Banian deed) and inclusion of root Hebraic – Islamic creed and practice." Official Brahmo website After the publication of Hemendranath Tagore
Hemendranath Tagore
This article is connected to Tagore familyHemendranath Tagore , Debendranath Tagore's third son, is notable for being the first ever Brahmo as he was the first child born in 1844 to any of the 21 Brahmos who swore the First Brahmo Covenant on 21 December 1843 at Calcutta...
's Brahmo Anusthan (code of practice) in 1860 which formally divorced Brahmoism from Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, the first Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1861 at Lahore
Lahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
by Pandit Nobin Chandra Roy.
Meaning of name
The Brahmo Samaj literally denotes communities of men who worship BrahmanBrahman
In Hinduism, Brahman is the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe. Brahman is sometimes referred to as the Absolute or Godhead which is the Divine Ground of all being...
.page 1 Chapter 1 Volume 1 History of the Brahmo Samaj by Sivanath Sastri, 1911, 1st edn. publisher R.Chatterji, Cornwallis St. Calcutta. Brahmo (ব্রাহ্ম bramho) literally means "one who worships Brahman
Brahman
In Hinduism, Brahman is the one supreme, universal Spirit that is the origin and support of the phenomenal universe. Brahman is sometimes referred to as the Absolute or Godhead which is the Divine Ground of all being...
", and Samaj (সমাজ shômaj) mean "community of men".
In practice, a Brahmo Samaj is an assembly of all sorts and descriptions of people without distinction, meeting publicly for the sober, orderly, religious and devout adoration of "the (nameless) unsearchable Eternal, Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe."Trust deed of Brahmo Sabha
Trust deed of Brahmo Sabha
The modern religious philosophy of Brahmoism is based in part on the foundations of reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy's humanitarian philosophy, as exemplified by the Trust Deed of Brahmo Sabha, known to Brahmos as the 1830 Brahmo Trust Deed.-Brief history:...
1830
Brahmo Sabha
On 20 August 1828 the first assembly of the Brahmo Sabha (progenitor of the Brahmo Samaj) was held at the North Calcutta house of Feringhee Kamal Bose. This day is celebrated by BrahmoBrahmo
A Brahmo is either an adherent of Brahmoism to the exclusion of all other religions, or a person with at least one Brahmo parent or guardian and who has never denied his faith...
s as Bhadrotsab (ভাদ্রোৎসব Bhadrotshôb "Bhadro
Bhadro
Bhadro is the fifth month in the Bangla Calendar.Bhadro marks the beginning of the Autumn season. According to the modified calendar developed by the Bangla Academy, the month of Bhadro has 31 days. Bhadro spans from mid August to mid September in the Gregorian Calendar....
celebration"). These meetings were open to all Brahmins and there was no formal organisation or theology as such."Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India" By Kenneth W. Jones page 33-34, publ. 1989 Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 0-521-24986-4 This Sabha was convened at Calcutta by religious reformer Raja Rammohun Roy
Ram Mohan Roy
Raja Ram Mohan Roy was an Indian religious, social, and educational reformer who challenged traditional Hindu culture and indicated the lines of progress for Indian society under British rule. He is sometimes called the father of modern India...
for his family and friends settled there. The Sabha regularly gathered on Saturday between seven o'clock to nine o'clock. These were informal meetings of Bengali Brahmins (the "twice born"), accompanied by Upanishadic recitations in Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
followed by Bengali
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
translations of the Sanskrit recitation and singing of Brahmo hymns composed by Rammohun."Modern Religious movements in India, J.N.Farquhar (1915)"
On 8 January 1830 influential progressive members of the closely related Kulin Brahmin
Kulin Brahmin
Kulin Brahmin is the highest strata of upper caste Brahmins in India's caste system. This term is more generally used to refer to upper caste "twice-born" Brahmins in nineteenth century Bengal considered themselves to be more knowledgeable as regards the scriptures as compared to other Brahmins.The...
clan"A History of Brahmin Clans" in Hindi, by Dorilāl Śarmā,published by Rāśtriya Brāhamana Mahāsabhā, Vimal Building, Jamirābād, Mitranagar, Masūdābād,Aligarh-1, 2nd edn. 1998. and also footnotes to Bengali Brahmin (scurrilouslyBANGLAPEDIA: Tagore, (Prince) Dwarkanath described as Pirali Brahmin
Pirali Brahmin
A Pirali Brahmin is any member of a subgrouping of Brahmins found throughout Bengal, which is split between India and Bangladesh. Notably, Rabindranath Tagore and the Tagore family are members of this group. The term "Pirali" historically carried a stigmatized and pejorative connotation; its eponym...
ie. ostracised for service in the Mughal Nizaamat of Bengal) of Tagore (Thakur) and Roy (Vandopādhyāya) zumeendar family mutually executed the Trust deed of Brahmo Sabha
Trust deed of Brahmo Sabha
The modern religious philosophy of Brahmoism is based in part on the foundations of reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy's humanitarian philosophy, as exemplified by the Trust Deed of Brahmo Sabha, known to Brahmos as the 1830 Brahmo Trust Deed.-Brief history:...
for the first Adi Brahmo Samaj (place of worship) on Chitpore Road (now Rabindra Sarani), Kolkata
Kolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
with Ram Chandra Vidyabagish
Ram Chandra Vidyabagish
Ramchandra Vidyabagish was an Indian lexicographer and Sanskrit scholar. He is known for his Bangabhashabhidhan, the first monolingual Bengali dictionary, published in 1817. He taught at the Vedanta College established by Raja Rammohun Roy, and later at Sanskrit College from 1827-37...
as first resident superintendent.Online copy of 1830 Trust Deed http://brahmosamaj.org.googlepages.com/trustdeed.html
On 23 January 1830 or 11th Magh, the Adi Brahmo premises were publicly inaugurated (with about 500 Brahmins and 1 Englishman present). This day is celebrated by Brahmos as Maghotsab (মাঘোৎসব Maghotshôb "Magh
Magh (Bengali calendar)
Magh is the 10th month in the Bangla Calendar. This is the last month of the winter season.-Festivals:* Maghi Purnima , a Buddhist festival* Suryavrata, a festival observed by Hindu women, on the first day of Magh....
celebration").
In November 1830 Rammohun Roy left for England.Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India By Kenneth W. Jones page 34, publ. 1989 Cambridge Univ. Press. ISBN 0-521-24986-4
Brief Eclipse of Brahmo Sabha
With Rammohun's departure for England in 1830, the affairs of Brahmo Sabha were effectively managed by Trustees Dwarkanath TagoreDwarkanath Tagore
Dwarkanath Tagore , was one of the first Indian industrialists and entrepreneurs, was the founder of the Jorasanko branch of the Tagore family, and is notable for making substantial contributions to the Bengal Renaissance.-Childhood:...
and Pandit Ram Chandra Vidyabagish, with Dwarkanath instructing his diwan to manage affairs. Weekly service were held consonant with the Trust directive, consisting of three successive parts: recitation of the Vedas by Telugu Brahmins in the closed apartment exclusively before the Brahmin members of the congregation, reading and exposition of the Upanishads for the general audience, and singing of religious hymns. The reading of the Vedas was done exclusively before the Brahmin participants as the orthodox Telugu Brahmin community and its members could not be persuaded to recite the Vedas before Brahmins and non-Brahmins alike.
By the time of Rammohun's death in 1833 near Bristol (UK), attendance at the Sabha dwindled and the Telugu Brahmins revived idolatry. The zumeendars, being preoccupied in business, had little time for affairs of Sabha, and flame of Sabha was almost extinguished.H.C.Sarkar-History of the Brahmo Religion (1906)
Tattwabodhini period
On 6 October 1839 Debendranath TagoreDebendranath Tagore
Debendranath Tagore was one of the founders in 1848 of the Brahmo Religion which today is synonymous with Brahmoism the youngest religion of India and Bangladesh....
, son of (Prince) Dwarkanath Tagore
Dwarkanath Tagore
Dwarkanath Tagore , was one of the first Indian industrialists and entrepreneurs, was the founder of the Jorasanko branch of the Tagore family, and is notable for making substantial contributions to the Bengal Renaissance.-Childhood:...
, established Tattvaranjini Sabha which was shortly thereafter renamed the Tattwabodhini (Truth-seekers) Sabha. Initially confined to immediate members of the Tagore family, in 2 years it mustered over 500 members. In 1840 Debendranath published a Bangla translation of Katha Upanishad. A modern researcher describes the Sabha's philosophy as modern middle-class (bourgeois) Vedanta.<2007: Brian Hatcher "Journal of American Academy of Religion" Among its first members were the "two giants of Hindu reformation and Bengal Renaissance
Bengal Renaissance
The Bengal Renaissance refers to a social reform movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the region of Bengal in Undivided India during the period of British rule...
, Akshay Kumar Datta
Akshay Kumar Datta
Akshay Kumar Datta was born in Chupi in Bardhaman. Son of Pitamber Dutta, he was one of the initiators of the Bengal Renaissance. After studying in the Oriental Seminary under the special care of Hardman Jeffroy, he had to give up studies because of the death of his father and go job-seeking...
"who in 1839 emerged from the life of an anonymous squalor-beset individual" and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE , born Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyaya , was an Indian Bengali polymath and a key figure of the Bengal Renaissance....
the "indigenous modernizer"."Brahmo Samaj and the making of modern India, David Kopf, Princeton University press", pp 43–57
First Covenant and merger with the Tattwabodhini Sabha
On 7th Pous 1765 Shaka (1843) Debendranath Tagore and twenty other Tattwabodhini stalwarts were formally invited by Pt. Vidyabagish into the Trust of Brahmo Sabha. The Pous Mela at Santiniketan starts on this day.Rabindra Bharati Museum Kolkata, The Tagores & Society From this day forth, the Tattwabodhini Sabha dedicated itself to promoting Ram Mohan Roy's creed."Bourgeois Hinduism", Brian Allison Hatcher. pg 57–58. The other Brahmins who swore the First Covenant of Brahmoism are:-- Shridhar Bhattacharya
- Shyamacharan Bhattacharya
- Brajendranath Tagore
- Girindranath Tagore, brother of Debendranath TagoreDebendranath TagoreDebendranath Tagore was one of the founders in 1848 of the Brahmo Religion which today is synonymous with Brahmoism the youngest religion of India and Bangladesh....
& father of Ganendranath TagoreGanendranath TagoreGagendranath Tagore was a musician and theatre personality, and contributed substantially to nationalist discourse. One of the first students to pass the Entrance Examinations of Calcutta University, he was the founder-secretary of Hindu Mela.-Family:Dwarkanath Tagore, the founder of Jorasanko... - Anandachandra Bhattacharya
- Taraknath Bhattacharya
- Haradev Chattopadhyaya, the future father-in-law to MahaAcharya Hemendranath TagoreHemendranath TagoreThis article is connected to Tagore familyHemendranath Tagore , Debendranath Tagore's third son, is notable for being the first ever Brahmo as he was the first child born in 1844 to any of the 21 Brahmos who swore the First Brahmo Covenant on 21 December 1843 at Calcutta...
"History of the Brahmo Samaj", S. Sastri. 2nd ed. p.81 - Shyamacharan Mukhopadhyaya
- Ramnarayan Chattopadhyaya
- Sashibhushan Mukhopadhyaya
Disagreement with the Tattwabodhini
In Nov 1855 the Rev. Charles Dall (a Unitarian minister of Boston) arrived in Calcutta to start his mission and immediately established contact with Debendranath and other Brahmos. Debendranath's suspicion of foreigners alienated Dall and in 1857, Debendranath Tagore barred the entry of the Reverend from the Sabha premises for preaching the name of Christ who some people worship as God within."The Brahmo Samaj and making of Modern India", David Kopf, publ. Princeton Univ."Brahmoism, or a history of reformed Hinduism" (1884), R.C.Dutt Debendranath then proceeded on spiritual retreat to SimlaShimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
. Dall, immediately formed a counter group "The friends of Rammmohun Roy Society" and then got admitted a protege to Sabha. The presence of Dall's protege Keshub Chandra Sen
Keshub Chandra Sen
Keshab Chandra Sen was an Indian Bengali religious preacher and social reformer. Born a Hindu, he became a member of the Brahmo Samaj in 1856 but founded his own breakaway "Brahmo Samaj of India" in 1866 while the Brahmo Samaj remained under the leadership of Maharshi Debendranath Tagore...
(a non-Brahmin) into the Calcutta Brahmo Sabha in 1857 while Debendranath was away in Simla caused considerable stress in the movement, with many long time Tattvabodhini Brahmin members publicly leaving the Brahmo Sabha and institutions due to his high-handed ways. In September 1858, Debendranath returned to Calcutta to resolve the simmering disputes. but his conservative mien did not allow him to take decisive steps. He proceeded on a sea voyage to Ceylon accompanied by Sen and his 2nd son Satyendranath (a firm admirer of Mr Sen) but no concord was achieved. In 1859, the venerable and beloved Secretary of the Tattwabodhini Sabha Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar CIE , born Ishwar Chandra Bandopadhyaya , was an Indian Bengali polymath and a key figure of the Bengal Renaissance....
resigned from the Brahmo Sabha in the face of Debendranath's vacillation. A meeting of the Tatwabodhini was promptly summoned with Debendranath resigning from the group he had founded. His third son Hemendranath Tagore
Hemendranath Tagore
This article is connected to Tagore familyHemendranath Tagore , Debendranath Tagore's third son, is notable for being the first ever Brahmo as he was the first child born in 1844 to any of the 21 Brahmos who swore the First Brahmo Covenant on 21 December 1843 at Calcutta...
then a boy barely 15 years in age, and the favorite pupil of Vidyasgar, was commonly acclaimed as Debendranath's successor to head the Tattwabodhini. In the course of time he would become known as the MahaAcharya (or Great Teacher).
Expansion of the Tattwabodhini Sabha
Disgusted by politics within the Tagore familyTagore family
The Tagore family, with over three hundred years of history, has been one of the leading families of Kolkata, and is regarded as a key influence during the Bengal Renaissance...
and the support to K.C.Sen's faction by his own brother Satyendranath Tagore
Satyendranath Tagore
Satyendranath Tagore was the first Indian to join the Indian Civil Service. He was an author, song composer, linguist and made significant contribution towards the emancipation of women in Indian society during the British Raj.-Formative years:...
, Hemendranath took the bold decisions to expand his Sabha out from Calcutta. His close associate Pandit Nobin Chandra Roy who had joined the new institution of "Railways" in 1860 as its "Paymaster" for Upper India was tasked to spread Brahmoism there. With a predominantly monotheistic populace following Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and Sikhism
Sikhism
Sikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing...
it was perceived as fertile soil for Rammohun's message. The Tattwabodhini decreed that the uncorrupted faith of the original 1830 Trust Deed would be known there as the Adi Dharm
Adi Dharm
Adi Dharm refers to the religion of Adi Brahmo Samaj the first development of Brahmoism and includes those Sadharan Brahmo Samajists who were reintegrated into Brahmoism after the 2nd schism of 1878 at the instance of Hemendranath Tagore...
to distinguish it from the distorted versions of the squabbling factions of Calcutta. The steps taken by Hemendranath Tagore, with the blessing of his father, was to institute in 1860 a suit before the Supreme Court to restore the title "Brahmo Samaj" to his faction. After losing in this suit in 1861, Keshub Sen's faction altered the name of their Samaj from "The Brahmo Samaj of India" to "Navabidhan (or the New Dispensation)". With victory in this suit and the promulgation of his Brahmo Anusthan (Code of Brahmaic doctrine and practice) in 1861, Hemendranath's Samaj-ists are henceforth known as the "Anusthanic" Brahmos (or Brahmos who follow the Code). The other factions were designated as "Ananusthanic" Brahmos (or those who do not follow the Code) (this distinction was again to be legally examined before the Privy Council of Great Britain in 1901 and in 1902 the Privy Council upheld the 1897 finding of the Chief Court of the Punjab that the Adi Dharm (anusthanic Brahmos) were definitely not Hindus whereas the Ananusthanics Brahmos of Calcutta fall within Hinduism).
Foundation of the Brahmo Samaj
In 1861 the Brahmo Somaj (as it was spelled then) was founded at LahoreLahore
Lahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
by Nobin Roy.page.4 "Pakistan journal of history and culture, Volume 11", by National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research (Pakistan) It included many Bengalis from the Lahore Bar Association. Many branches were opened in the Punjab, at Quetta
Quetta
is the largest city and the provincial capital of the Balochistan Province of Pakistan. Known as the "Fruit Garden of Pakistan" due to the diversity of its plant and animal wildlife, Quetta is home to the Hazarganji Chiltan National Park, which contains some of the rarest species of wildlife in the...
, Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi
Rawalpindi , locally known as Pindi, is a city in the Pothohar region of Pakistan near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad...
, Amritsar
Amritsar
Amritsar is a city in the northern part of India and is the administrative headquarters of Amritsar district in the state of Punjab, India. The 2001 Indian census reported the population of the city to be over 1,500,000, with that of the entire district numbering 3,695,077...
etc.
Controversies http://brahmo.org/sadharan-brahmo-samaj-founders.html over foundation of Brahmo Samaj ?
Who founded the Brahmo Samaj ?
- The Brahmo Samaj was founded at Lahore in 1861 by Pandit Navin Chandra Roy to propagate the Brahmo religion. Nobin Chunder Roy had been deputed by MahaAcharya Hemendranath TagoreHemendranath TagoreThis article is connected to Tagore familyHemendranath Tagore , Debendranath Tagore's third son, is notable for being the first ever Brahmo as he was the first child born in 1844 to any of the 21 Brahmos who swore the First Brahmo Covenant on 21 December 1843 at Calcutta...
to spread the new Adi Dharma message of casteless Vedic Aryanism in Upper India and rescue Christian converts to the fold of the national religion.
Who founded the Brahmo religion ?
- The Brahmo religion was founded in 1849 at Calcutta by Debendranath TagoreDebendranath TagoreDebendranath Tagore was one of the founders in 1848 of the Brahmo Religion which today is synonymous with Brahmoism the youngest religion of India and Bangladesh....
with the publication of “Brahmo Dharma“. This work established Brahmoism as a separate religion apart from all others.
Is not Raja Ram Mohan Roy the Brahmo Samaj founder ?
- Ram Mohan Roy started the Brahma Sabha (Association of Brahmins) along with Dwarkanath Tagore in 1828. The objectives of this association were to publicize the true Vedanta which had been corrupted by Buddhist and Brahmanical influences. The Sabha met every Wednesday at Kamal Basu’s house in Chitpur and later moved to their own premises at Chitpur Road in 1830 (purchased by the munificence Dwarkanath Tagore) . After the death of Ram Mohan Roy in 1833, the Sabha became moribund.
Are these Chitpur premises of 1830 not the Adi Brahmo Samaj ?
- It is correct that the present Adi Brahmo Samaj premises are situated at the same location as 1830. However, the Adi Brahmo Samaj is only the name given by the common people to the Calcutta Bramho Samaj when Keshub Chunder Sen and a few of his sympathisers were expelled from it by MahaAcharya.
If the Calcutta Brahmo Samaj is the same as Adi Brahmo Samaj, when was it founded ?
- The Calcutta Brahmo Samaj was so named in 1863, when after a cyclone the Chitpur Road premises were affected and Brahma Sabha (previously amalgamated with Tattwabodhini Sabha) was shifted to the Jorasako Thakur bari.
First Secession
Disagreement with the Tattvabodhini came to a head publicly between the period of 1 August 1865 till November 1866 with many tiny splinter groups styling themselves as Brahmo. The most notable of these groups styled itself "Brahmo Samaj of India". This period is also referred to in the histories of the secessionists as the "First Schism".Pt.Shivnath Shastri: Brahmo History- 1911.Page 106-107, 2nd edn.Current status and number of adherents
While the various Calcutta sponsored movements declined after 1920 and faded into obscurity after the Partition of IndiaPartition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
, the Adi Dharm
Adi Dharm
Adi Dharm refers to the religion of Adi Brahmo Samaj the first development of Brahmoism and includes those Sadharan Brahmo Samajists who were reintegrated into Brahmoism after the 2nd schism of 1878 at the instance of Hemendranath Tagore...
creed has expanded and is now the 9th largest of India's enumerated religions with 7.83 million adherents, heavily concentrated between the states of Punjab
Punjab (India)
Punjab ) is a state in the northwest of the Republic of India, forming part of the larger Punjab region. The state is bordered by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh to the east, Haryana to the south and southeast and Rajasthan to the southwest as well as the Pakistani province of Punjab to the...
and Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
. In the Indian census of 2001 only 177 persons declared themselves a "Brahmo", but the number of subscriber members to Brahmo Samaj is somewhat larger at around 20,000 members.http://www.brahmo.org/brahmo-faq.htmlStatewise census computation by the Brahmo Conference Organisation
Brahmo Conference Organisation
The Brahmo Conference Organisation was founded on 27 January 1881 at Mymensingh Bangladesh to maintain communication between Adi Dharm and Sadharan Brahmo Samaj after the 2nd schism of Brahmoism in 1878...
http://old.nabble.com/Re%3A--brahmoconference--Happy-Maghotsava-p27574782.html
Social & Religious reform
In all fields of social reform, including abolition of the caste system and of the dowry system, emancipation of women, and improving the educational system, the Brahmo Samaj reflected the ideologies of the Bengal RenaissanceBengal Renaissance
The Bengal Renaissance refers to a social reform movement during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries in the region of Bengal in Undivided India during the period of British rule...
. Brahmoism, as a means of discussing the dowry system, was a central theme of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's noted 1914 Bengali language
Bengali language
Bengali or Bangla is an eastern Indo-Aryan language. It is native to the region of eastern South Asia known as Bengal, which comprises present day Bangladesh, the Indian state of West Bengal, and parts of the Indian states of Tripura and Assam. It is written with the Bengali script...
novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
, Parineeta
Parineeta
Parineeta is a 1914 Bengali language novella written by Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay and is set in Calcutta, India during the early part of the 20th century. It is a novel of social protest which explores issues of that time period related to class and religion.-Title:The word Parineeta is...
.
After controversies, including the controversy over Keshub Chunder Sen's daughter's child marriage rituals wherein the validity of Brahmo marriages were questioned and split the Brahmo Samaj of India, the Brahmo Samaj Marriage Bill of 1871 was enacted as the Special Marriages Act of 1872 and set the age at which girls could be married at 14.Brahma Sabha All Brahmo marriages were thereafter solemnised under this law which required the affirmation "I am not Hindu, nor a Mussalman, nor a Christian". The Special Marriages Act 1872 was repealed by the new Special Marriages Act in 1954 which became the secular Marriage law for India. The old Special Marriages Act of 1872 was allowed to live on as the Hindu Marriage Act 1955 for Hindus – Brahmo Religionists are excluded from this Act; which is applicable, however, to Hindus who follow the Brahmo Samaj. On May 5, 2004 the Supreme Court of India, by order of the Chief Justice, dismissed the Government of West Bengal's 30 year litigation to get Brahmos classified as Hindus. The matter had previously been heard by an 11 Judge Constitution Bench of the Court (the second largest bench in the Court's history). As of 2007 the statutory minimum age for Brahmos to marry is 25(M)/21(F) versus 21(M)/18(F) for Hindus.
It also supported social reform movements of people not directly attached to the Samaj, such as Pandit Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar’s movement which promoted widow re-marriage.
Doctrine
The following doctrines, as noted in Renaissance of Hinduism, are common to all varieties and offshoots of the Brahmo Samaj:Source: The Gazetteer of India, Volume 1: Country and people. Delhi, Publications Division, Government of India, 1965. CHAPTER VIII – Religion. HINDUISMby Dr. C.P.Ramaswami Aiyar, Dr. Nalinaksha Dutt, Prof. A.R.Wadia, Prof. M.Mujeeb,Dr.Dharm Pal and Fr. Jerome D'Souza, S.J.
- Brahmo Samajists have no faith in any scripture as an authority.
- Brahmo Samajists have no faith in Avatars.
- Brahmo Samajists denounce polytheism and idol-worship.
- Brahmo Samajists are against caste restrictions.
- Brahmo Samajists make faith in the doctrines of Karma and Rebirth optional.
Principles of Brahmo Samaj
The following prime principles are accepted by the vast majority of Brahmos today.http://brahmosamaj.org/- On God: There is always Infinite Singularity – immanent and transcendant Singular Author and Preserver of Existence – He who is manifest everywhere and in everything, in the fire and in the water, in the smallest plant to the mightiest oak.
- On Being: Being is created from Singularity. Being is renewed to Singularity. Being exists to be one (again) with Loving Singularity.
- On Intelligent Existence: Righteous actions alone rule Existence against Chaos. Knowledge of pure Conscience (light within) is the One (Supreme) ruler of Existence with no symbol or intermediary.
- On Love: Respect all creations and beings but never venerate (worship) them for only Singularity can be adored.
See also
- Adi Brahmo Samaj
- Adi DharmAdi DharmAdi Dharm refers to the religion of Adi Brahmo Samaj the first development of Brahmoism and includes those Sadharan Brahmo Samajists who were reintegrated into Brahmoism after the 2nd schism of 1878 at the instance of Hemendranath Tagore...
- Arya SamajArya SamajArya Samaj is a Hindu reform movement founded by Swami Dayananda on 10 April 1875. He was a sannyasi who believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda emphasized the ideals of brahmacharya...
- History of BengalHistory of BengalThe history of Bengal includes modern day Bangladesh and West Bengal, dates back four millennia. To some extent, the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers separated it from the mainland of India, though at times, Bengal has played an important role in the history of India.- Etymology :The exact origin...
- Prarthana SamajPrarthana SamajPrarthana Samaj, or "Prayer Society" in Sanskrit, was a movement for religious and social reform in Maharashtra based on earlier reform movements and traditions of Maharashtra formed in 1849 by Ram Balkrishna Jaykar and others in Mumbai. It was secret in order to avoid the wrath of the powerful...
- Sadharan Brahmo SamajSadharan Brahmo SamajThe Sadharan Brahmo Samaj is a religious division of Brahmoism formed as a result of 2 schisms in the Brahmo Samaj in 1866 and 1878 respectively.-The Brahmo Samaj:...
- Tattwabodhini PatrikaTattwabodhini PatrikaTattwabodhini Patrika [Tattwabodhini Patrika ] was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore on 16 th August, 1843, as a journal of the Tattwabodhini Sabha, and continued publication until 1883...
External links
- World Brahmo Council
- Beliefs of Brahmo Samaj
- Brahma Sabha in the BanglapediaBanglapediaBanglapedia, or the National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh, is the first Bangladeshi encyclopedia. It is available in print, CD-ROM format and online, in both Bangla and English. The print version comprises ten 500-page volumes...
- Brahmo Samaj in the Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
- "The Tagores & Society" from the Rabindra Bharati Museum at Rabindra Bharati UniversityRabindra Bharati UniversityRabindra Bharati University is a university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on May 8, 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore...
- The Brahmo Samaj
- Life of Sivnath Sastri
- Trust Deed of the Brahmo Samaj
- Liturgy of the Brahmo Samaj
- History of the Brahmo Samaj