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{{short description|Hindu reform movement}} | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2016}} | |||
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2016}} | |||
{{Multiple issues| | |||
{{Refimprove|date=June 2020}} | |||
{{More footnotes needed|date=June 2020}} | |||
{{example farm|date=June 2020}} | |||
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{{Infobox religion | |||
| name = [[Brahmoism]] | |||
| caption_bagcgj = | |||
| image = | |||
| imagewidth = | |||
| alt = | |||
| caption = | |||
| abbreviation = | |||
| type = | |||
| main_classification = | |||
| orientation = | |||
| scripture = [[Brahmo Dharma]] | |||
| theology = [[Monotheism]] | |||
| polity = | |||
| governance = | |||
| structure = | |||
| leader_title = Pradhanacharya-1 | |||
| leader_name = [[Ram Mohan Roy]] | |||
| leader_title1 = Pradhanacharya-2 | |||
| leader_name1 = [[Dwarkanath Tagore]] | |||
| leader_title2 = Pradhanacharya-3 | |||
| leader_name2 = [[Debendranath Tagore]] | |||
| fellowships_type = | |||
| fellowships = | |||
| associations = [[Brahmo Samaj]] ([[Adi Brahmo Samaj]] and [[Sadharan Brahmo Samaj]]) | |||
| area = | |||
| headquarters = | |||
| founder = [[Ram Mohan Roy]] | |||
| founded_date = {{start date and age|1828|08|28|df=yes|p=y}} | |||
| founded_place = {{nowrap|[[Calcutta]], [[British Raj|British India]]}} | |||
| parent = | |||
| merger = | |||
| absorbed = | |||
| separations = | |||
| merged_into = | |||
| defunct = | |||
| hospitals = | |||
| nursing_homes = | |||
| aid = | |||
| congregations = | |||
| members = <!-- or | number_of_followers = --> | |||
| ministers = | |||
| missionaries = | |||
| temples = | |||
| primary_schools = | |||
| secondary_schools = | |||
| tax_status = | |||
| tertiary = | |||
| other_names = [[Adi Dharm]] | |||
| publications = | |||
| website = {{url|true.brahmosamaj.in/}} | |||
| footnotes = | |||
}} | |||
'''Brahmo Samaj''' ({{lang-bn|ব্রাহ্ম সমাজ|Brahmô Sômaj}}, {{IPA-bn|bram.ho ʃɔ.b̤a}}) is the societal component of [[Brahmoism]], which began as a [[monotheist]]ic reformist movement of the [[Hinduism|Hindu religion]] that appeared during the [[Bengal Renaissance]]. It is practised today mainly as the [[Adi Dharm]] after its eclipse in [[Bengal]] consequent to the exit of the [[Tattwabodini Sabha]] from its ranks in 1839. The first Brahmo Samaj was founded in 1861 at [[Lahore]] by Pandit Nobin Chandra Roy. | |||
It was one of the most influential religious movements in India<ref>[[J. N. Farquhar]], [https://archive.org/stream/modernreligiousm00farquoft/modernreligiousm00farquoft_djvu.txt ''Modern Religious Movements of India''] (1915), p. 29</ref> and made a significant contribution to the making of modern [[India]].<ref>"Brahmo Samaj and the making of modern India, David Kopf, publ. 1979 Princeton University Press (USA)."</ref> It was started at [[Calcutta]] on 20 August 1828 by Raja [[Ram Mohan Roy]] and [[Debendranath Tagore]] as reformation of the prevailing [[Brahminical Hinduism|Brahmanism]] of the time (specifically [[Kulin Brahmin|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. Its Trust Deed was made in 1830 formalising its inception and it was duly and publicly inaugurated in January 1830 by the consecration of the first house of prayer, now known as the Adi Brahmo Samaj.<ref>"Modern Religious movements in India, J.N.Farquhar (1915)" page 29 etc.</ref> From the ''Brahmo Samaj'' springs Brahmoism, the most recent of legally recognised religions in India and Bangladesh, reflecting its foundation on reformed spiritual Hinduism with vital elements of Judeo-Islamic faith and practice.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://brahmosamaj.in |title=Official Brahmo website |publisher=Brahmosamaj.in |access-date=2012-10-15}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lawcommissionbangladesh.org/reports/36.pdf |title=Bangladesh Law Commission |access-date=2012-10-15}}</ref> | |||
==Meaning of the name== | |||
The Brahmo Samaj literally denotes community ({{lang-sa|italic=yes|'samaj'}}) of men who worship [[Brahman]] the highest reality.<ref>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".</ref> In reality Brahmo Samaj does not discriminate between caste, creed or religion and 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''."<ref>[[Trust deed of Brahmo Sabha]] 1830</ref> | |||
==Doctrine== | ==Doctrine== | ||
The following doctrines, as noted in Renaissance of Hinduism, are common to all varieties and offshoots of the Brahmo Samaj:<ref>Source: The Gazetteer of India, Volume 1: Country and people. Delhi, Publications Division, Government of India, 1965. CHAPTER VIII – Religion. HINDUISM 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.</ref> | The following doctrines, as noted in Renaissance of Hinduism, are common to all varieties and offshoots of the ''Brahmo Samaj'':<ref>Source: The Gazetteer of India, Volume 1: Country and people. Delhi, Publications Division, Government of India, 1965. CHAPTER VIII – Religion. HINDUISM | ||
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.</ref> | |||
* Brahmo Samajists have no faith in any scripture as an authority. | |||
* Brahmo Samajists have no faith in [[Avatar]]s | |||
* 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. | |||
==Divisions of Brahmo Samaj== | |||
*[[Adi Brahmo Samaj]] | |||
*[[Sadharan Brahmo Samaj]] | |||
===Anusthanic versus Ananusthanic Brahmos=== | |||
To understand the differences between the two streams of Brahmo Samaj it is essential to understand that these implicit distinctions are based on [[caste]]. The Anusthanic Brahmos are exclusively either [[Brahmins]] or casteless, and exclusively adhere to Brahmoism and have no other faith. The Ananusthanic Brahmo Samajists, however, are from the remaining main caste divisions of Hinduism like [[Kayastha]], [[Baidya]] etc. and hence within the [[Karmic]] / [[Reincarnation|Rebirth]] wheel to eternally progress (i.e. ''Sanatana Dharm'') to God by moving up caste hierarchies, unlike anusthanic Brahmos for whom the next step after death is reintegration and renewal with 'God'.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://true.brahmosamaj.in/brahmo-anusthanic-ananusthanics.html |title=Anusthanic Brahmos, Ananusthnic Brahmo Samaj |publisher=World Brahmo Council}}</ref> | |||
==History and timeline== | |||
===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 [[Basu#Notables|''Feringhee'' Kamal Bose]]. This day was celebrated by [[Brahmo]]s as ''Bhadrotsab'' (ভাদ্রোৎসব ''Bhadrotshôb'' "[[Bhadro]] celebration"). These meetings were open to all Brahmins and there was no formal organisation or theology as such.<ref>"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 [[Ram Mohan Roy|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 Brahmin]]s (the "twice born"), accompanied by Upanishadic recitations in [[Sanskrit]] followed by [[Bengali language|Bengali]] translations of the Sanskrit recitation and singing of Brahmo hymns composed by Rammohun.</ref><ref>"Modern Religious movements in India, J.N.Farquhar (1915)"</ref> | |||
On 8 January 1830 influential progressive members of the closely related [[Kulin Brahmin]] clan<ref>"A History of Brahmin Clans" ({{IAST|Brāhmaṇa Vaṃshõ kā Itihāsa}}) in Hindi, by Dorilāl Śarmā, published by Rāśtriya Brāmhamana Mahāsabhā, Vimal Building, Jamirābād, Mitranagar, Masūdābād, Aligarh-1, 2nd edn. 1998. and also footnotes to [[Bengali Brahmin]]</ref> scurrilously<ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Tagore,_Prince_Dwarkanath |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150703142014/http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Tagore%2C_Prince_Dwarkanath |archive-date=3 July 2015 |title=Tagore, (Prince) Dwarkanath |publisher=Banglapedia |date=2009-04-22 |access-date=2015-07-23 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://true.brahmosamaj.in/brahmo-trust-deed.html |title=Online copy of 1830 Trust Deed |publisher=brahmosamaj.in |access-date=2012-10-15}}</ref> | |||
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 (Bengali calendar)|Magh]] celebration"). | |||
In November 1830 Rammohun Roy left for England. [[Akbar II]] had conferred the title of 'Raja' to Rammohun Roy.<ref>''Socio-Religious Reform Movements in British India'' By Kenneth W. Jones page 34, publ. 1989 Cambridge Univ. Press. {{ISBN|0-521-24986-4}}</ref> | |||
===Brief Eclipse of Brahmo Sabha=== | |||
By the time of Rammohun's death in 1833 near Bristol (UK), attendance at the ''Sabha'' dwindled and the Telugu Brahmins revived idolatry. The ''zameendars'', being preoccupied in business, had little time for affairs of ''Sabha'', and flame of ''Sabha'' was almost exting | |||
===Tattwabodhini period=== | |||
On 6 October 1839, [[Debendranath Tagore]], son of [[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 two 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.<ref><2007: Brian Hatcher "Journal of American Academy of Religion"</ref>''. 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".<ref>"Brahmo Samaj and the making of modern India, David Kopf, Princeton University press", pp 43–57</ref> | |||
===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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rabindrabharatiuniversity.net/museum/tagore_family/tagore_society.htm |title=Rabindra Bharati Museum Kolkata, The Tagores & Society |publisher=Rabindrabharatiuniversity.net |access-date=2012-10-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050307155433/http://www.rabindrabharatiuniversity.net/museum/tagore_family/tagore_society.htm |archive-date=7 March 2005 |url-status=dead }}</ref> From this day forth, the Tattwabodhini Sabha dedicated itself to promoting Ram Mohan Roy's creed.<ref>"Bourgeois Hinduism", Brian Allison Hatcher. pg 57–58.</ref> The other Brahmins who swore the First Covenant of Brahmoism are:- | |||
*Shridhar Bhattacharya | |||
*Shyamacharan Bhattacharya | |||
*Brajendranath Tagore | |||
*Girindranath Tagore, brother of [[Debendranath Tagore]] & father of [[Ganendranath Tagore]] | |||
*Anandachandra Bhattacharya | |||
*Taraknath Bhattacharya | |||
*Haradev Chattopadhyaya, the future father-in-law to MahaAcharya [[Hemendranath Tagore]]<ref>"History of the Brahmo Samaj", S. Sastri. 2nd ed. p.81</ref> | |||
*Shyamacharan Mukhopadhyaya | |||
*Ramnarayan Chattopadhyaya | |||
*Sashibhushan Mukhopadhyaya | |||
===Foundation of the Brahmo Samaj === | |||
In 1861 the Brahmo ''Somaj'' (as it was spelled then) was founded at [[Lahore]] by Nobin Roy.<ref>page.4 "Pakistan journal of history and culture, Volume 11", by National Institute of Historical and Cultural Research (Pakistan)</ref> It included many Bengalis from the Lahore Bar Association. Many branches were opened in the Punjab, at [[Quetta]], [[Rawalpindi]], [[Amritsar]] etc. | |||
===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".<ref>Pt.Shivnath Shastri: Brahmo History- 1911.Page 106-107, 2nd edn.</ref> | |||
===Brahmo Samaj and Swami Narendranath Vivekananda=== | |||
[[Swami Vivekananda]] was influenced by the Brahmo Samaj of India, and visited the [[Sadharan Brahmo Samaj]] in his youth.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EtcoeaQIQdAC&q=swami+vivekananda+brahmo+samaj&pg=PA32 |title=Book: "Swami Vivekananda in India: A Corrective Biography" |date=31 December 1999 |first1=Rajagopal |last1=Chattopadhyaya |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited |isbn=9788120815865 |access-date=23 March 2017}}</ref> | |||
===Current status and number of adherents=== | |||
While the various Calcutta sponsored movements declined after 1920 and faded into obscurity after the [[Partition of India]], 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 (India)|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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://brahmo.org/brahmo-faq.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725101858/http://brahmo.org/brahmo-faq.html |archive-date=2011-07-25 |title=Brahmo Samaj FAQ Frequently asked Questions |publisher=Brahmo.org |date=2011-07-25 |access-date=2012-10-15}}</ref><ref>[http://old.nabble.com/Re%3A--brahmoconference--Happy-Maghotsava-p27574782.html Statewise census computation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303203950/http://old.nabble.com/Re:--brahmoconference--Happy-Maghotsava-p27574782.html |date=3 March 2016 }} by the [[Brahmo Conference Organisation]]</ref> | |||
== Social and religious reform == | |||
After the controversy of underage marriage of Keshub Chunder Sen's daughter, the ''Special Marriages Act of 1872'' was enacted to set the minimum age of 14 years for marriage of girls.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php?title=Brahma_Sabha |title=Brahma Sabha |publisher=Banglapedia |access-date=2015-07-23}}</ref> All Brahmo marriages were thereafter solemnised under this law. Many Indians resented the requirement of the affirmation "I am not Hindu, nor a Mussalman, nor a Christian" for solemnising a marriage under this Act. The requirement of this declaration was imposed by [[Henry James Sumner Maine]], legal member of Governor General's Council appointed by Britain. The 1872 Act was repealed by the [[Special Marriage Act, 1954]] under which any person of any religion could marry. The [[Hindu Marriage Act]], 1955 applies to all Hindus (including "followers" of the Brahmo Samaj) but not to the adherents of the Brahmo religion. | |||
== | ==See also== | ||
{{ | {{Portal|Hinduism|India|Society|History}} | ||
* [[History of Bengal]] | |||
* [[Arya Samaj]] | |||
* [[Brahmo]] | |||
* [[Prarthana Samaj]] | |||
* [[Tattwabodhini Patrika]] | |||
*[[Ayyathan Gopalan|Brahmosamaj Kerala]] and [[Ayyathan Gopalan|Dr. Ayyathan Gopalan]] | |||
==References and notes== | |||
{{Reflist|30em}} | |||
[[ | ==External links== | ||
[ | {{Wikiquote}} | ||
[[ | * [http://www.brahmosamaj.org The Brahmo Samaj] | ||
[ | * [http://www.thesadharanbrahmosamaj.org The Sadharan Brahmo Samaj] | ||
* [http://www.thebrahmosamaj.net Brahmo Samaj.net] | |||
* [https://www.britannica.com/topic/Brahmo-Samaj Brahmo Samaj] in the ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' | |||
*[https://www.yoopery.com/2021/04/Biography-of-raja-ram-mohan-roy-in-details.html Biography of raja rammohan Roy] | |||
{{Bengal Renaissance}} | |||
[[Category:Brahmoism]] | |||
[[Category:New religious movements]] | |||
[[Category:Hindu new religious movements]] | |||
[[Category:Religion in West Bengal]] | |||
[[Category:Hinduism in West Bengal]] | |||
[[Category:Hinduism in Kolkata]] | |||
[[Category:Religion in Kolkata]] | |||
[[Category:Neo-Vedanta]] | |||
[[Category:Bengal Renaissance]] | |||
[[Category:1928 establishments in British India]] | |||