Brahmabandhav Upadhyay: Difference between revisions

'''Brahmabandhav Upadhyay''' (born '''''Bhavani Charan Bandyopadhyay''''') ({{lang-bn|ব্রহ্মবান্ধব উপাধ্যায়}}; 1 February 1861 – 27 October 1907) was an [[Bengalis|Indian Bengali]] theologian, journalist and freedom fighter.{{sfnp|Bhattacharya|2008|ps=}} He was closely attached with [[Keshub Chandra Sen]], classmate of [[Swami Vivekananda]] and close acquaintance of [[Rabindranath Tagore]].{{sfnp|Zacharias|1933|p=29-30|ps=}}

While he was in the college, he was inclined to Brahmoism, under the influence of Keshub Chandra Sen and Debendranath Tagore, father of Rabindranath Tagore. In 1881 he adopted Brahmoism and became a preacher. He went to Hyderabad town of the province of Sindh (presently in Pakistan) as a school teacher of a Brahmo school.{{sfnp|Rao|2001|pp=195-200|ps=}}

When Keshub Chandra Sen died in the year 1884, Bhavani Charan came back and slowly got inclined to Christianity. On February 1891 he was baptized a Christian by the Reverend Heaton of Bishop's college,{{sfnp|Rao|2001|pp=195-200|ps=}} an Anglican clergyman, and six months later,  

conditionally, in the Catholic Church of Karachi. It was a remarkable journey in his life exploring the theological beliefs and ideologies which did not end there being converted to Catholicism, though, during this phase he was successful to attract a large number of educated Bengali Hindu youth to be converted to Christianity.{{sfnp|Sebastian|2008|pp=51|ps=}}

In 1894 Bhavani Charan adopted this name, '''''Brahmabandhab Upadhyay''''', declaring himself as a Christian Sanyasi (Monk).{{sfnp|Firth-Smith|2011|ps=}} Latinized form of the Greek name Θεοφιλος (Theophilos), taken from Bhabani Charan's baptised name Theophilus, which meant "friend of god", derived from θεος (theos) "god" and φιλος (philos) "friend". "Upadhyay" is close to mean a Teacher.<ref name=wiki1>[[Theophilus (biblical)]]</ref>{{Circular reference|date=November 2017}}

In January 1894, Bhrahmabandhab started editing "Sophia", an apologetical journal, in Karachi.{{sfnp|Zacharias|1933|p=|ps=}} At one time he shifted his base to Jabalpur in Central Province (now Madhya Pradesh). There he established Kanthalik Math, a hermitage for the converts. He also initiated the Concord Club, and initiated a religious journal titled Concord.{{sfnp|Sen|2005|ps=}} When he shifted his base to Calcutta in 1900, Brahmabandhab lived in a rented house at Beadon Street, Calcutta. Within a short distance was Bethune Row, where he had established his office to run his weekly magazine "Sophia". He published a series of articles through which he defended the catholic church and its manifestations.

Brahmabandhab claimed himself to be called as a ''Hindu Catholic'', and wore saffron clothes, walked barefoot and used to wear an ebony cross around his neck.{{sfnp|Rao|2001|pp=195-200|ps=}} In 1898 he argued in an article titled "Are we Hindus?", "By birth we are Hindu and shall remain Hindu till death. .. We are Hindus so far as our physical and mental constitution is concerned, but in regard to our immortal souls we are Catholic. We are Hindu Catholic."{{sfnp|Lipner|1999|p=209|ps=}}

Brahmabandhab envisioned as indigenous church in India embracing fundamental manifestation of Indian living. He is identified as one of the first Christians propagating ''Sannyasi'' life style in Ashram.{{sfnp|Collins|2007|p=209|ps=}}

In course of time Brahmabandhab's attachment to Hinduism became evident. During August 1907, two months before his untimely death, he declared to undergo ''prayashchittya'' (expression of reparation in Hindu custom) through a public ceremony for the purpose of readmission in the Hindu society (''Samaj''), completing a full circle in his religious voyage throughout his life.{{sfnp|Lipner|1999|p=|ps=}}

While Bramhabandhab was in Brahmosamaj, he initiated a boys' school in Sindh in the year 1888. He also taught for some time in Union Academy,{{sfnp|Sen|2005|ps=}} which was established 1887 as the "Bengalee Boys High School" founded in Shimla under the chairmanship of Sir Nripendra Nath Sircar. He brought out a monthly journal titled The Twentieth Century in association with Nagendranath Gupta (1861-1940).{{sfnp|Sen|2005|ps=}}

Brahmabandhab and his disciple Animananda started a school in Kolkata in 1901 . Aim of the school was to teach and propagate the Vedic and Vedantic ideas of life along with modern education among the elite class of the society. Rabindranath tagore was very much attracted to this idea of reviving the old Indian ideal of paedagogy, and offered them to shift their school to Santiniketan in his father's estate.{{sfnp|Zacharias|1933|p=29-30|ps=}} This way Tagore's school at Shantiniketan was conceived, which later became known and famous as Viswa Varati. There were three teachers, namely Reba Chand, Jagadananda Roy and Shibdhan Vidyarnab, apart from Rabindranath and Brahmabandhab, and there were five students, namely, Rathindranath Tagore, Gourgobinda Gupta, Premkumar Gupta, Ashok Kumar Gupta and Sudhir Chandra Nun.{{sfnp|Desai |2010|p=|ps=}} This collaboration could not continue for long and in 1902 Brahmabandhab and Animananda left Shantiniketan.{{sfnp|Zacharias|1933|p=29-30|ps=}}

During 1902 to 1903 Brahmabandhab toured Europe.{{sfnp|Sen|2005|ps=}} He lectured in Oxford and Cambridge Universities and preached Vedantism. When he came back, he saw Bengal as a hot seat of political activities, and he too fervently plunged into the political doldrums. He was gradually coming to the conclusion that before India could become Catholic, she must be politically free. His journal "Sofia" soon became the strongest critique of the British imperialism.{{sfnp|Zacharias|1933|p=|ps=}}

When he was in the high school, Bhavani Charan became inclined towards the Indian nationalist movement for freedom, and during his college education, he plunged into the freedom movement. His biographer, [[Julius Lipner]], says that Brahmabandhab "made a significant contribution to the shaping of the new India whose identity began to emerge from the first half of the nineteenth century".{{sfnp|Lipner|1999|p=xv|ps=}} He was contemporary to and friend of the poet [[Rabindranath Tagore]] and Vivekananda. According to Lipner, "Vivekananda lit the sacrificial flame or revolution, Brahmabandhab in fuelling it, safeguarded and fanned the sacrifice."{{sfnp|Lipner|1999|p=xv|ps=}}

In March 1907, Sandhya elaborated its motto as, "If death comes in the striving, the death will be converted to immortality."{{sfnp|Patel|2008|p=|ps=}} In May 1907, ''Sandhya'' reported, "People are soundly thrashing a ''feringhi'' whenever they are coming across one. And here whenever a ''feringhi'' is seen the boys throw a [[:wikt:brickbat|brickbat]] at him. And thrashing of European soldiers are continuing..." Further it added, "Listen and you will hear the Mother's trumpet are sounding. Mother's son do not tarry, but to get ready; go about from village to village and prepare the Indians for death."{{sfnp|Patel|2008|p=|ps=}} In September 1907 ''Sandhya'' wrote, "God gives opportunities to all nations to {{sic|to}} free themselves from their stupor and strength to make the necessary beginning."{{sfnp|Patel|2008|p=|ps=}} Bramhabandhab wrote in ''Sandhya'' on 26 October 1907, a day before his death, "I will not got to the jail of the feringhi to work as a prisoner.. I had never been at any one's beck and call. I obeyed none. At the fag end of my old age they will send me to jail for law's sake, and I will work for nothing. Impossible! I won't go to jail, I have been called."{{sfnp|Patel|2008|p=|ps=}}

During the trial Brahmabandhab reported pain his abdomen and was admitted to the [[Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College and Hospital|Campbell Hospital]] of Calcutta.{{sfnp|Sen|2005|ps=}} He had undergone hernia operation but could not overcome his sufferings and succumbed to death on 27 October 1907 under a precarious situation at the age of 46 only.{{sfnp|Rao|2001|pp=195-200|ps=}}

{{quote|The news of his death spread fast and crowds began to gather at the Campbell Hospital. Due to the increasing number of people and mounting excitement, hospital authorities decided to remove the body from the hospital premises. Upadhyay's body was carried from the hospital and was placed on the roadside under a tree while further preparations were made. His friends and relatives carried the body in a flower decked bier towards the Sandhya office, occasionally stopping on the way. Nearly five thousand people had gathered when the funeral process started from the Sandhya office at around 4 p.m. The procession, chanting bande mataram, proceeded to the cremation ground. When the body reached cremation ground, patriotic songs were sung and a number of poignant speeches were made. Since Upadhyay had no offspring, the funeral pyre was lit by his nephew, following Hindu custom. Songs continued to be sung and people came up to the pyre to pay homage till well into the night.{{sfnp|Animananda|1946|pp=|ps=}}}}

*Palolil Varghese Joseph, "Towards an Indian Trinitarian Theology of ''Missio Dei'': A Study of the Trinitarian Theologies of St. Augustine and Brahmabandhab Upadhyay." ThD diss. Boston University, 2013.