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PAPERS ON INDIAN REFORM.
THE
BRAHMA SAMAJ AND OTHER MODERN EGLEGTI6
SYSTEMS OF RELIGION IN INDIA.
RELIGIOUS REFORM.
Tº AIRT ITV",
What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own
soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Mew Testament,
SECOND EDITION, 3,000—ToTAL coPIEs, 7,000.
****, *, *, *, *
<----------------e-
M A D R A S :
THE CHRISTIAN LITERATURE SOCIETY.
S. P. C. K. PRESS, VEPERY.
1893.
{.. A 'A tº O - * ... |
PREFATORY NOTE.
The following Paper treats of one of the most interesting, moye-
ments in India. Most Hindus who have received an English
education simply conform to idolatrous customs; some, from false
patriotism, try by sophistry to defend irrational beliefs; but happily
there are a few who are making more or less earnest efforts to
arrive at religious truth.
An attempt is made in the following pages to trace the rise of
the modern Theistic movement in India. The compiler is mainly
indebted to the following works :
Bose, Ram Chandra, Brahmoism. Funk and Wagnalls.
Collet, Miss S., Brahmo Year Books, Outlines of Brahmic History, &c.
Day, Rev. Lal Behari, Antidote to Brahmaism, Calcutta. 1867.
Dyson, Rev. S., Brahmic Intuition, Brahmic Dogmas. Calcutta Tract
Society.
Max Müller, Professor. Biographical Essays. Longmans.
Mozoomdar, P. C., Life and Teachings of Keshub Chunder Sen. Calcutta,
Baptist Mission Press.
Mulléns, Rev. J., Vedantism, Brahmism and Christianity. Calcutta T. S.
Rammohun Roy's English Works. 2 vols. Calcutta.
Sen, Keshub Chunder. Lectures in India, &c. -
Sivanath Sastri, Pandit. The New Dispensation and the Sadharan
Brahmo Samaj. Madras, 1881.
Slater, Rev. T. E., Keshub Chunder Sen. Madras, S. P. C. K. 1884.
Williams, Sir Monier, Religious Thought and Life in India. Murray.
The compiler is especially indebted to Mr. Mozoomdar's Life of
Reshub Chunder Sen. The sketch of Keshub’s history is simply
an abridgment of his work.
There are numerous short extracts, for the most part slightly
altered, which are not acknowledged.
Persons interested in the movement, besides consulting the above
works, should watch its progress as given in its leading journals,
The Minister, The Liberal and New Dispensation, The Interpreter,
The Indian Messenger, The Subodha Patrika, The Fellow Worker, &c.
It may seem to some that the movement has been criticised too
severely, but it is highly important to remove false impressions.
The most extravagant claims are made by some of the Bramhos.
The Birth of the Brahma Samaj “ (THE BLESSED CHILD)” is held
to be “no less momentous an event than that of Jesus or Buddha
—yea a grander event.” (See page 67.)
Bramhos reject the doctrine of a “book revelation” in the
proper sense of the term ; every man claims direct revelation. They
feel so little the guilt of sin, that they think they can go into God’s
presence without a Mediator, and work out for themselves their own
deliverance. May they be guided to a faith which is more suited
to fallen humanity, and which does not contradict some of the
strongest religious instincts of our race
J. Murdoch.
MADRAs, July, 1888.
C O N T E N T S.
Page
INTRODUCTION ... tº e º * e g tº ſº tº * * * tº ſº tº 1
MODERN HINDU THEISM tº º e g is tº * * * 3
RAMMOHUN Roy... ... . . . * , e. tº dº ſº tº tº º 3
DEBENDRANATH TAGORE AND THE ADI SAMAJ . . . ..., 15
RESHUB CHUNDER SEN ... ë tº º tº º tº . . . ... 22
Early History, 22; Connection with the Adi Samaj, 25;
Brahmo Somaj of India, 31; Kuch Behar Marriage and
Subsequent Proceedings, 37; The New Dispensation, 43;
Last Days, 51 ; The Samaj after Keshub’s Death, 52;
Keshub’s Character and Work, 55. r - -
THE SADHARAN BRAHMO SAMAJ tº e Q … ..., 62
MADRAS BRAHMOISM & º º tº $ tº tº $ 2 & g : , , , 69
PRARTHANA SAMAJES * * * # tº wº # tº J ... 74
ExAMINATION of BRAHMIST DOCTRINES g tº e * * * , , , 76
Good Features, 77; Statement of Essential Principles, 79;
Examination in detail, 82.
PRESENT Position AND PROSPECTS OF BRAHMISM ... ... 98
NoTE : A NATIONAL RELIGION * * * tº º ſº tº tº , , , 103
RELIGIOUS REFORM.
Tº A TER T IV.
THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND OTHER MODERN ECLECTIC SYSTEMS
OF RELIGION IN INDIA,
—o-o-º-ºo-o-
INTRODUCTION.
The previous Papers on Religious Reform” treated of what may
be called the indigenous beliefs of Hindus. The present Paper
shows the influence of Western knowledge on the Indian mind, and
describes the attempts made to frame creeds more in accordance
with common sense and with higher views of God’s character.
Most people belong to the great religions of the world, as Christi-
anity, Muhammadanism, Hinduism, and Buddhism. There are a
few who frame for themselves what are called Eclectic systems.
The word eclectic means choosing from. It was applied to
certain philosophers in ancient times who did not attach themselves
to any particular sect, but selected from the opinions and principles
of each what they thought true and good. In the West the name
was given to certain schools of Greece and Alexandria. The same
course has been followed by some in India. The Bhagavat says,
“As the bee gathereth honey from flowers great and small, so
does the really wise man gather substantial truth from the chaff
of all scriptures, great and small.”
The adherents of the new eclectic systems in India are far more
enlightened than the greatest Hindu philosophers in former times.
They have much clearer ideas of God than the authors of the
Vedic hymns. “The poets of the Veda,” says Max Müller, “indulged
freely in theogonic speculations without being frightened by any
contradictions. They knew of Indra as the greatest of gods, they
knew of Agni as god of gods, they knew of Varuna as the ruler of
all, but they were by no means startled at the idea that their Indra
had a mother [Aditi], or that their Agni was born like a babe
from the friction of two firesticks, or that Varuna and his brother
Mitra were nursed in the lap of Aditi.” Visvanathapanchanana,
the learned author of Muktavali, a book on the Nyaya philosophy,
* Part I, PopULAR HINDUISM, Part II. PHILosophic HINDUIsM. Part III, VEpic
HINDUISM, See last page of wrapper for details and prices.
2 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECI, ACTIC SYSTEMS.
begins his work as follows: “Salutation to that Krishna, whose
appearance is like a new cloud, the stealer of the clothes of the
Gopis, who is the seed of the tree of the universe.” The great
Sankar Acharya believed the stories about the gods in the Puramas
just like his ordinary countrymen. The members of the Brahma
Samaj are monotheists, and hold a pure system of morality. As
protesters against idolatry and advocates of social reform, they
are doing excellent service. No doubt many of them are half-
hearted and show little zeal; others even maintain caste and take
part in heathen rites; but among them there are some earnest
“seekers after God,” and true friends of their country. Their
attempts to find a creed which will satisfy the needs of an enlight-
ened conscience deserve careful examination. .*
Monotheism not new in India.-The remark of Max Müller has
been quoted in a previous Paper :—
“There is a monotheism which precedes the polytheism of the Veda,
and even in the invocation of their innumerable gods, the remembrance
of a God, one and infinite, breaks through the midst of an idolatrous
phraseology, like the blue sky that is hidden by passing clouds.”
“The ordinary Hindu,” says Sir Monier Williams, “who prac-
tises the most corrupt form of polytheism, is never found to deny the
doctrine of God’s unity. On the contrary, he will always maintain
that God is essentially one, though he holds that the one God
exhibits himself variously, and that He is to be worshipped through
an endless diversity of manifestations, incarnations, and material
forms.” This, however, is not monotheism, but a mixture of
pantheism and polytheism.
From time to time, reformers have appeared who taught the
existence of one supreme personal God, distinct from the soul and
the material world. Such were Ramanuja and Madhava, in the 12th
and 13th centuries. But their influence was limited. Some of the
Vaishnava sects of the present day are among the most idolatrous
and licentious in India.
There was another monotheistic reaction under Kabir towards
the close of the 15th century, due in a great measure to Muhammad-
anism. Nanak, the founder of the Sikh religion, was largely
influenced by Kabir, whom he frequently quotes. He endeavoured
to unite Hindus and Muhammadans on the common ground of a belief
in the unity of the Godhead. His tenth successor, however, made
Sikhs and Muhammadans bitter enemies.
The Dadu-panthis, a small sect in Western India, were founded
by Dadu, a cotton-cleaner of Ahmadabad, who flourished about
1600 A.D. They may be styled theistic Vaishnavas. The Satnámis
of Central India, are followers of Kabir, who call the One God by
a peculiar name of their own—Satnám. -
It must be confessed, however, that the monotheism of Hindu
3
MODERN HINDU THEISM.
reformers was never very clear and decided. . It was continually
sliding into pantheism, and then again into polytheism. Not until
Christian influence was brought to bear upon the Hindu mind, was
the doctrine accepted by any in its purity.
MODERN HINDU THEISM.
The leaders of the movement in this direction and the Societies
which they established will be noticed in turn,
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RAMMOHUN ROY,
Early Life.—This great religious reformer was born of a Brahman
family, not very far from Calcutta, in the year 1774 A.D.” It was
* Another account makes 1772 the year of his birth,

4. THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
in the same year that Warren Hastings was appointed the first
Governor-General of India. Rammohun Roy’s father was a small
Zemindar, who had served under the Nawabs of Murshidabad.
Persian was still the language of the court, and all persons desirous
of Government employ for their sons had them educated in Persian
and Arabic. . In his ninth year Rammohun Roy was sent to Patna,
the principal seat of Arabic learning in Bengal. Three years
later, he was sent to Benares to study Sanskrit, where he remained
till his sixteenth year.
On his return, Rammohun Roy had a rupture with his father on
account of his opposition to idolatry. He therefore left the pater-
mal home, and for four years wandered from place to place, spend-
ing, if report be true, some time in Tibet. In his twentieth year
he was recalled by his father, after which he devoted himself for
Some time to the acquisition of English, and to further studies
in Sanskrit.
From 1800 to 1813, Rammohun Roy was employed in Govern-
ment service, filling various posts till he was made a Sheristadar.
He spent ten years of his life in Ramgurh, Bhagulpore, and Rung-
pore, as dewan or head officer of the Collectors and Judges of those
districts. Hence he was commonly known as the Dewanji till he
was made a Raja by the Emperor of Delhi. During the time he
was Dewan, he is said to have accumulated so much money as to
enable him to purchase an estate worth Rs. 1,000 a month.
State of Bengal.—In 1814 Rammohun Roy came to Calcutta, not
to rest, but prepared to fight with the old superstitions and the
manifold evils that had darkened the face of his country. The state
of things in Bengal, when he began his work, is thus described :
“In the religious world there was much excitement. The Saktis, or
the worshippers of the goddess Sakti, and the Baishnabas, mostly fol.
lowers of Chaitanya, were both strong, and now contending with each
other for supremacy in the land. But however great might be the
bigotry of the two sects, their general immorality and corruptions were
simply revolting. -
“The social condition of the people of Bengal was also deplorable.
The rigid Caste-system of India, with its blighting influence, reigned in
its full rigour. The horrible rites of Suttee and Infanticide were the
order of the day. There were indeed many instances of true Suttees. . .
but it should not therefore be forgotten that in a great many instances
the Suttee was the victim of her greedy relatives, and in more, of rash
words spoken in the first fit of grief, and of the vanity of her kindred
who considered her shrinking from the first resolve an indelible disgrace.
Many a horrible murder was thus committed, the cries and shrieks of
the poor Suttee being drowned by the sound of tomtoms, and her
struggles made powerless by her being pressed down with bamboos.
“The condition of the Hindu female in those days was truly pitiable.
Education among females was unknown. Kulinism, polygamy, and every-
day oppression made the life of the Hindu female unbearable. Hindu
RAMMOHUN ROY. 5
society with Caste, Polygamy, Kulinism, Suttee, Infanticide, and other
evils was rotten to its core. Morality was at a very low ebb. Men spent
their time in vice and idleness, and in social broils and party quarrels.
“As to education among the people, of what even the Muktubs could
impart there was little. What little learning there was, was confined to
a few Brahmans, and it was in the main a vain and useless learning.
Ignorance and superstition reigned supreme over the length and breadth
of the country. There was darkness over the land, and no man knew
when it would be dispelled.”
Rammohun Roy took a warm interest in every thing connected
with the welfare of his countrymen ; he did much for the suppres-
sion of Sati ; but religious reform was his great work, and to that
our remarks will chiefly be confined.
Publications.—Soon after his father’s death he wrote a book in
Persian, “Against the Idolatry of all Religions.”
In 1816 he published his first work in English, “Translation of
an Abridgment of the Vedant, or the Resolution of all the Veds,
the most celebrated and revered work of Brahminical Theology,
establishing the Unity of the Supreme Being ; and that He alone is
the object of Propitiation and Worship.” Rammohun Roy did not
study the Vedas strictly so called. As mentioned under Vedic
Hinduism, he looked upon that as a waste of time. It was the
Upanishads to which he gave his attention.
The Abridgment of the Vedant professes to be translated from
Vyasa, to whom is attributed the oldest treatise on the Vedantic
philosophy, called the Brahma Sutras. Rammohun Roy quotes
about 30 Sutras out of 518 in the original, with nearly an equal
number from the Upanishads. The work expresses his own views
rather than those of the books from which he makes extracts. In
the Introduction he notices an excuse made by Europeans for
idolatry —
“I have observed that both in their writings and conversation many
Europeans feel a wish to palliate and soften the features of Hindu
idolatry; and are inclined to inculcate that all objects of worship are
considered by their votaries as emblematical representations of the Sup-
reme Divinity | If this were indeed the case, I might perhaps be led into
some examination of the subject : but the truth is the Hindus of the
present day have no such views of the subject, but firmly believe in the
real existence of innumerable gods and goddesses, who possess, in their
own departments, full and independent power; and to propitiate them, and
not the true God, are temples erected and ceremonies performed.”
The above was followed by translations of four of the Upanishads,
according to the commentary of Sankar Acharya. He says in the
preface to the Mundaka Upanishad of the Atharva Veda :
“An attentive perusal of this, as well as of the remaining books of
* Introduction to Rammohun Roy's English Works, Vol. I, pp. vi., vii.
6 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS,
the Vedanta, will, I trust, convince every unprejudiced mind, that they,
with great consistency, inculcate the unity of God; instructing men, at
the same time, in the pure mode of adording him in spirit. It will also
appear evident that the Vedas, although they tolerate idolatry as the
last provision for those who are totally incapable of raising their minds
to the contemplation of the invisible God of Nature, yet repeatedly urge
the relinquishment of the rites of idol worship, and the adoption of a
purer system of religion, on the express grounds that the observance of
idolatrous rites can never be productive of etermal beatitude. They are
left to be practised by such persons only as, notwithstanding the con-
stant teaching of spiritual guides, cannot be brought to see perspicuously
the majesty of God through the works of nature.”
The “unity of God” which the books of the Vedanta are said to
“inculcate with great consistency” is pantheism—not monotheism.
Ekam evadvityam, One only without a second, does not mean
that there is no second God, but that there is no second anything.
The Mundaka Upanishad, as translated by Rammohun Roy, says:
“In the same way as the cobweb is created and absorbed by the
spider independently of eaſterior origin, as vegetables proceed from
the earth, and hair and nails from animate creatures, so the
Universe is produced by the eternal Supreme Being.”
Polytheism is contained in the same Upanishad. It begins as
follows: “ Brahma, the greatest of celestial deities, and executive
creator and preserver of the world, came into form ; he instructed
Uthurva, his eldest son, in the knowledge respecting the Supreme
Being, in which all sciences rest.”
In 1817 he published “A Defence of Hindu Theism in reply to
the attack of an advocate for Idolatry, at Madras,” and “A Second
Defence of the Monotheistical System of the Vedas; in reply to an
Apology for the present state of Hindu Worship.”. They contain
trenchant exposures of popular Hinduism. The following are some
extracts :
“He who pronounces “Durga,’ though he constantly practise adul-
tery, plunder others of their property, or commit the most heinous
crimes, is freed from all sin.”f º
“A person pronouncing loudly “reverence to Hari,' even involuntarily,
in the state of falling down, of slipping, of labouring under illness, or of
sneezing, purifies himself from the foulest crimes.”f
“As to falsehood, their favourite deity Krishnaš is more conspicuous
than the rest. Krishna again persuaded Yudhisthir, his cousin, to
give false evidence—in order to accomplish the murder of Drona, their
spiritual father.—See Dron Purva, or seventh book of the Mahabharath.”||
# English Works of Rammohun Roy, Vol. I, p. 26.
# Doorga Nam Mahatmya. j. Bhagavat.
§The favourite deity also of Bunkin Chunder Chatterjea, the modern Bengali
novelist, who tries to whitewash him, and hold him up as a pattern of excellence
|The English Works of Rammohun Roy, Vol. I, pp. 146, 147,
RAMMOHUN ROY. 7
In 1817 he directed his thoughts to the Christian religion,
and never discontinued its study till the end of his life. He
learned Hebrew and Greek to form his own independent opinion
of the Old and New Testaments. In 1820 he published, in
Bengali and English, a book called “The Precepts of Jesus, the
Guide to Peace and Happiness,” consisting chiefly of extracts from
the Gospels. In the Preface he says:—
“This simple code of religion and morality is so admirably calculated to
elevate man's ideas to high and liberal motions of the One God, ...and is so
well fitted to regulate the conduct of the human race in the discharge
of their various duties to God, to themselves, and to society, that I
cannot but hope the best effects from its promulgation in its present
form.”
In a letter prefixed to one of his later works (an edition of the
Rena Upanishad) he makes the following admission :-
“The consequence of my long and uninterrupted researches into
religious truth has been that I have found the doctrines of Christ more
conducive to moral principles, and better adapted for the use of rational
beings, than any other which have come to my knowledge.”
This publication brought upon Rammohun Roy a long con-
troversy with the Serampore Missionaries. The Precepts of Jesus
occupy only 74 pp. of the collected edition of his English works ;
his Appeals to the Christian Public in Defence extend over 430 pages.
The contention of the Missionaries was that Rammohun Roy, after
three or four years’ study of the Bible, had found out that the
Christian Church had misunderstood it, and that it did not contain
some doctrines which were considered vital. The “Appeals” were
intended to prove that he was correct. He was, however, criticised
too severely.
Notwithstanding this controversy, Rammohun Roy assisted mis-
sionaries in the translation of the Scriptures, and sometimes joined
in Christian worship. He provided Dr. Duff with the house in
which the Scottish Missionary Institution was opened in 1830, and
got pupils for him. He recommended that its daily work should
be commenced with the Lord’s Prayer, declaring that he had
studied the Brahman’s Vedas,the Muslim's Koran, and the Buddhist’s
Tripitaka without finding anywhere any other prayer so brief
comprehensive, and suitable to man’s wants. J
Brahma Sabha.—Not long after Rammohun Roy came to Cal-
cutta, he formed an association of a few personal friends, called
Atmiya Sabha, Spiritual Society, which met in his house periodically
for discussion. The opposition of the Brahmans and pandits caused
the members to drop off one by one, till by degrees the society
ceased to exist.
* Sir Monier Williams, Religious Thought, &c., p. 483.
8 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLRCTIC SYSTEMS.
In 1828, Mr. W. Adam, a Protestant Missionary, a friend of
Rammohun Roy’s, was led to adopt Unitarianism. Its adherents
generally accept most of the doctrines of Christianity, except the
Trinity or three-one God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and others
closely connected with it. Adam sought to disseminate his opin-
ions by holding meetings and giving lectures. Rammohun Roy
and a few friends, attended for a time, till at last the thought
struck them that they should have a meeting house of their own.
Dwarkanath Tagore, Prosomno Kumar Tagore, and others came
forward with pecuniary help. Rooms were hired in the Chitpore
Road, and prayer meetings held in them every Saturday evening.
The service was divided into four parts—recitation of Vedic texts;
reading from the Upanishads; delivering of a sermon ; and singing
hymns. -
It was thus that the germ of the first Theistic Church was
planted at Calcutta. It inaugurated a new era in the history of
Indian religious thought. It ushered in the dawn of the greatest
change that has ever passed over the Hindu mind. It was the first
introduction of public worship and united prayer—before unknown
among the Hindus. A new phase of the Hindu religion then
took definite shape, a phase which differed essentially from every
other that had preceded it. For no other reformation has resulted
in the same way from the influence of European education and
Christian ideas.”
The increase of contributions enabled Rammohun Roy to
purchase a large house in Chitpore Road, and endow it with a
maintenance fund. Trustees were appointed, and the first Hindu
Theistic Church was opened in Calcutta in 1830. The name given
to it was the Brahma Sabha, or Brahmiya Samaj, the Society of
believers in Brahma, the one self-existent god of Hinduism.
The trust-deed of the building laid down that it was to be used
as a place of meeting for the worship of the Eternal, Unsearchable,
and Immutable Being who is the Author and Preserver of the
Universe ; that no graven image, statue, or sculpture, carving,
painting, picture, portrait, or likeness of any thing shall be admitted
within the building, that no sacrifice shall be offered there ; that
nothing recognised as an object of worship by other men should be
spoken of contemptuously there; and that no sermon be delivered
but such as would have a tendency to promote piety, morality, and
charity.
º: Years of his Life—Rammohun Roy had long wished to visit
England with the view of obtaining, as he himself said, “by
personal observation a more thorough insight into the manners,
oustoms, religion, and political institutions of Europe.” He had
also three special objects :-
* Sir Monier Williams, Religious Thought, &c.
RAMMOHUN ROY. 9
(1) To represent the grievances of the Emperor of Delhi, who
conferred upon him the title of Raja, and sent him as his ambas-
sador to England. e e -
(2) To be present at the approaching discussion in the House
of Commons at the renewal of the East India Company’s Charter,
upon which the future government of India, whether for good or
evil, so largely depended. * &
(3.) The orthodox party in Calcutta, indignant at being deprived
of the privilege of roasting their mothers alive when they became
widows, sought to appeal to the King in Council. Rammohun Roy
wished to oppose this in person. -
He arrived in England in April 1831, being the first Indian of
rank and influence who had ventured to cross the “black water.”
His enlightened opinions, courteous manners, and dignified bearing,
attracted much attention. He was presented to the King, and a
place was assigned to him at the ceremony of the coronation. The
three special objects he had in view were all gained.
Unhappily Rammohun Roy was not strong enough to bear the
severity of a European climate. After visiting Paris and other
parts of France in 1833, his health began to decline. He had been
invited to visit Bristol and to take up his residence at the house of
Miss Castle, a ward of Dr. Carpenter—in the neighbourhood of
that city. He arrived there early in September, and shortly after-
wards was taken with fever. Every attention was lavished upon
him, and the best medical skill called in ; but all in vain. On the
27th September he breathed his last in the presence of his son
Raja Ram Roy, and his two Hindu servants, by whom he had all
along been enabled to preserve his caste. A short time before his
death his Brahman servant uttered a prayer in his master's ear, in
which the frequent use of the word Om was alone distinguished.
He also placed iron under his pillow. When Rammohun Roy’s
spirit passed away, his Brahmanical thread was found coiled around
his person. His remains were not laid in a Christian burial
ground, but in a retired spot in a shrubbery. Ten years after-
Wards they were removed to a cemetery near Bristol, where a tomb
was raised over his grave by Dwarkanath Tagore.
Religious Opinions.—The exact nature of these has been disputed.
Sir Monier Williams characterises the form of theology which he pro-
pounded as “vague, undogmatic, and comprehensive.” Through-
out life he shrank from connecting himself- with any particular
school of thought. He seems to have felt a satisfaction in being
claimed as a Vedantist by Hindus, as a Theist by Unitarians, as
a Christian by Christians, and as a Muslim by Muhammadans.
Shortly before he set out for Europe, he said that he belonged
to none of them. Whatever was good in the Vedas, in the Christian
Scriptures, in the Koran, in the Zend Avesta, or in any book of
any nation anywhere, was to be accepted and assimilated as coming
2
10 THE BRAEIMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS,
from the ‘God of truth,” and to be regarded as a revelation. “My
view of Christianity,’ he says in a letter to a friend, ‘is, that in
representing all mankind as the children of one eternal Father,
it enjoins them to love one another without making any distinction
of country, caste, colour, or creed.”
“In truth Rammohun Roy’s attitude towards his national religion
continued that of a friendly reformer even to the end of his life—a
reformer who aimed at retaining all that was good and true in
Brahmanism, while sweeping away all that was corrupt and false.
He was, in fact, by natural character too intensely patriotic, not
to be swayed, even to the last, by an ardent love of old mational
ideas.”
Mr. Ram Chandra Bose, in his Brahmoism, expresses a somewhat
similar opinion. He considers it difficult to settle whether Rammo-
hun Roy was at first a monotheist or a pantheist. He says that the
beautiful songs he composed are decidedly pantheistic :
“He professed to have discovered a system of pure Theism in the
|Upanishads, and he made these venerable documents the main if not the
sole stay of the creed, under the banner of which he expected to see the
diverse and clashing religions of the world reconciled. But the conclu-
sion upheld by the Upanishads was the very antipodes of what he ex-
pressed an anxiety to bolster up by these remains of the ancient litera-
ture of the country. Nobody can read the Upanishads, even cursorily,
without being driven to the conclusion that pantheism, not theism, is the
creed upheld by the spirit and letter of their teaching.
“What was the result of this serious mistake P For years the religion
of Raja Rammohun Roy’s association was, not the monotheism he was
anxious to see established, but the ancient pantheism of the country.
His successors, some of whom were learned Pandits, did not play fast
and loose with the Upanishads, as those do who pretend to discover pure
theism in them ; and they fearlessly set up the creed these documents
were fitted to uphold, Nay, they went further. They added the Brahmo
Sutras of Vyasa and the comments of Shankar Acharya to their sacred
literature, and moved heaven and earth to resuscitate the religion of
which these two persons were the most redoubtable champions in ancient
India.”
Mr. Bose allows that Rammohun Roy’s latest published utterances
in England are in favour of the assumption that he was a theist of
the Unitarian school.f -
On the other hand, the Rev. K. S. Macdonald, in an interesting
paper read at Darjeeling, shows by numerous quotations from the
writings of Rammohun Roy, that, on many points, he held the
Christian faith. The following are a few extracts:
“The unity and personality of God was the first doctrine in Ram-
mohun Roy's creed. Intimately connected with this was his belief in the
* Religious Thought, &c., pp. 484-487. f Brahmoism, pp. 40-42.
RAMMOHUN ROY, 11
separate immortality of the soul. . He was not a pantheist, as many of
his countrymen are Nor did he believe in the transmigration and final
absorption of the soul.
“He believed in a great day of judgment, on which the living and the
dead would appear before the Judge of all, to have their case decided
once for all; and the Judge on that day, he believed, would be the Lord
Jesus Christ. His own words stated at page 184, Precepts of Jesus, are
these : ‘The fifth position is that His Heavenly Father had committed to
Jesus the final judgment of all who have lived since the creation. . I
readily admit this position and consider the fact as confirming the opinion
maintained by me and by numerous other followers of Christ....... I agree
also with the Reverend Editor (Dr. Marshman) in esteeming the nature
of this office most important, and that nothing but the gift of super-
natural wisdom can qualify a being to judge of the conduct of thousands
of millions of individuals, living at different times from the beginning of
the world to the day of the resurrection.’”
Further as to miracles, Rammohun expressly writes, pp. 133-4.
“The wonderful works which Jesus was empowered to perform drew a
great number of Jews to a belief in Jesus as the promised Messiah, and
confirmed his apostles in their already acquired faith in the Saviour, and
the entire union of will and design that subsisted between him and the
Father, as appears from the following passages: John vi. 14. “Then those
men when they had seen the miracles that Jesus did, said, ‘This is of a
truth that prophet that should come into the world.’”
At page 162, Rammohun Roy says that “Jesus was sent into this world
as the long-expected Messiah intended to suffer death and difficulties like
other prophets who went before him ... Jesus of Nazareth represented
as ‘The Son of God,” a term synonymous with that of the Messiah, the
highest of all the prophets, and his life declares him to have been, as
represented in the Scriptures, pure as light, innocent as a lamb, necessary
for eternal life as bread for a temporal one, and great as the angels of
God, or rather greater than they.” The compiler in his defence of the
Precepts of Jesus repeatedly acknowledged Christ as “the Redeemer
Mediator, and Intercessor with God on behalf of his followers.”* 3.
It is acknowledged, however, that Rammohun Roy denied the
doctrine of the Trinity and the Atonement of Christ.
Defects and Excellencies.—Like some others, Rammohun Roy
had the Utopian idea that he could persuade Hindus, Muhammadans
and Christians to accept a religion which each considered stripped
of its most essential features. In trying to “please everybody, he
pleased nobody” but a mere handful.
He twisted the sacred books of both Hindus and Christians so as
to support his preconceived theories. He found “pure monotheism”
in the former, while according to him, the Christian Church, from
the very commencement, has misunderstood the nature of its creed.
Mr. Bose says, “That he was moved by a noble and disinterested
passion in the beginning of his career, none will deny. But may
* Abridged from a Paper by the Rev, K. S. Macdonald, M. A.
12 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
it not be safely assumed that the exuberance of patronage and
praise lavished upon him by not a few distinguished members of
the ruling class tended to demoralize him to some extent 7” His
conduct latterly showed symptoms of a “supple, temporizing
olicy;”
“He called Jesus ‘the founder of truth and of true religion,’ ‘a being
in which dwelt all truth,’ ‘The spiritual Lord and King of Jews and
Gentiles.’ He called himself ‘a follower of Christ,’ ‘a believer in him
as the Son of God in a sense peculiar to him alone.’ And in spite of all
these public acknowledgments of fealty to Christ, he set up what might
justly be called a Hindu frame-work, and unscrupulously thrust the
Master, whose follower he never hesitated among Unitarians and Chris-
tians to represent himself to be, into the back-ground. He constituted
the Upanishads, not the New Testament, the canonical scriptures of his
association, and scrupulously observed the caste system in the forms of
worship he established. The sacred scriptures were read by Brahmans
in a closed room, apart from the rude gaze of the worshippers of various
castes assembled in the consecrated hall, the portions of the service these
might consider their own being the sermons delivered and the hymns
sung. Nay, from considerations purely personal, the redoubtable Rajah
stimulated reverence for the caste system in public, while in private, he
never scrupled to trench contemptuously upon its rules; and by death-
bed directions went so far as to debar himself from the privilege of
religious burial, that his fidelity to its injunctions might be known to
his countrymen, and that nothing prejudicial to the interests of his
legitimate heirs might occur ! All this might be venial in the case of a
shrewd man of business; but his conduct, when viewed in connection
with his claims as a reformer, cannot but be pronounced both inconsist-
ent and reprehensible.”
The explanation given by Mr. Bose is that
“He was not thoroughly an earnest man, and his religion was more a
theory of the head than a moving principle of the heart.” His “relig-
ion was not based on a deep conviction of sin and an equally deep
insight into the longings of the human heart. It was at best a superficial
affair, and the forms it assumed in different places and under diverse
circumstances were in perfect keeping with its want of coherence, depth,
and earnestness.”
Rammohun Roy was not an uncompromising reformer like
Luther, nor was he prepared to make sacrifices for his faith like
many thousands of the early Christians who would rather suffer
death than countenance idolatry in any way. Rammohun Roy
denounced caste as a demoralizing institution. He says in the
introduction to his translation of the Isopanishad :
“The chief part of the theory and practice of Hinduism, I am sorry
to say, is made to consist in the adoption of a peculiar mode of diet, the
least aberration from which (even though the conduct of the offender
* Brahmoism, pp. 38, 39, 42, 43,
RAMMOHUN ROY. 13
may in other respects be pure and blameless) is not only visited with the
severest censure, but actually punished by exclusion from the society of
his family and friends. In a word, he is doomed to undergo what is
commonly called loss of caste.
“On the contrary, the rigid observance of this grand article of Hindu
faith is considered in so high a light as to compensate for every moral
defect. Even the most atrocious crimes weigh little or nothing in the
balance against the supposed guilt of its violation.
“Murder, theft, or perjury, though brought home to the party by a
judicial sentence, so far from inducing loss of caste, is visited in their
Society with no peculiar mark of infamy or disgrace,
“A trifling present to the Brahman, commonly called Prayaschit, with
the performance of a few idle ceremonies, are held as a sufficient
atonement for all these crimes; and the delinquent is at once freed from
all temporal inconveniences, as well as all dread of future retribution.”
Until the passing of the Lea, Loei Act by Lord William
Bentinck, the loss of caste entailed the loss of all property. Hence
Rammohun Roy sought to remain in the eyes of the law a
Brahman, aud retained his Brahmanical thread to the last. His
cousins tried to disinherit him by proving that he had lost caste.
He was successful in maintaining his civil rights although at
considerable cost. As the Rev. K. S. Macdonald remarks, “it
does not look well that during the years the law-suit was on his
theistic meetings were discontinued, seemingly because he was
-afraid their very existence would prejudice his worldly interests...
But considering his character, nationality, and the time and circum-
stances of his life, he reads a lesson to and sets an example before
many of his countrymen, much better circumstanced than he was,
to whom caste is nothing and on the keeping of which no earthly
inheritance is now depending.”
Rammohun Roy, nevertheless, occupies the highest place among
modern Indian theistic reformers...Max Müller says:
“He had been brought up to worship the old Aryan gods, and he
lived among a people most of whom had forgotten the original intention
of their ancient gods, and had sunk into.idolatry of the darkest hue...
Nothing is more sacred to a child than the objects which he sees his father
worship, nothing dearer than the prayers which he has been taught by
his mother to repeat with uplifted hands, long before he could repeat
anything else. There is nothing so happy as the creed of childhood,
nothing so difficult to part with, and do not suppose that idol-worship
is more easily surrendered.”
“There was everything to induce Rammohun Roy to retain the re-
ligion of his fathers. It was an ancient religion, a national religion and
allowed an independent thinker greater freedom than almost any other
religion...Nothing would have been easier for him to do what so many
of his countrymen, even the most enlightened, are still content to do,--
to remain silent on doctrines which do not concern them ; to shrug their
shoulders at miracles and legends; and to submit to observances which
14 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS,
though distasteful to themselves, may be looked upon as possibly useful
to others. With such an attitude towards religion he might have led
a happy, quiet, respectable, useful life, and his conscience need not have
Smitten him more than it seems to have smitten others. But he would
not. He gave up idolatry. He was banished from his father's house
once or twice ; he was insulted by his friends; his life was threatened,
and even in the streets of Calcutta, he had to walk about armed.”
Rammohun Roy was an “all-round” reformer. He did not, like
some of his countrymen of the present day, confine himself to
the “line of least resistance,” agitate for political changes which
brought popular applause instead of obloquy. He advocated the
civil rights of the Hindus, and sought to improve their temporal
condition ; he took a leading part in securing the abolition of sati;
but the religious reformation of India had his chief attention.
Rammohun Roy was a diligent student of religion. As already
mentioned, he acquired a knowledge of Hebrew and Greek that he
might read the Christian Scriptures in their original languages.
He was a voluminous writer. His English works include two
octavo volumes, containing 1143 pages. Of these, 48 pages are
devoted to sati ; 339 to material progress, English education, &c.;
and 756 to religious questions. He felt that religious reform lay
at the root of all other beneficial changes.
The great defect in Rammohun Roy’s religious studies was his
wish to find his preconceived opinions in the different sacred books
—monotheism in the Vedas and Unitarianism in the Bible. Max
Müller says:
“I have no doubt that when Rammohun muttered his last prayer and
drew his last breath at Stapleton Grove, he knew that, happen what
may, his work would live, and idolatry would die.”
“I am more doubtful about his belief in the divine origin of the Veda.
It seems to me as if he chiefly used his arguments in the support of the
revealed character of the Veda as an answer to his opponents, fighting
them, so to say, with their own weapons. But however that may be,
it is quite clear that this very dogma, this little want of honesty or
thoroughness of thought, retarded more than anything else the natural
growth of his work.”f
Rammohun Roy, in his search after truth, seems to have trusted
too much to his unaided reason. The late Dr. Kay, formerly Prin-
cipal of Bishop's College, Calcutta, gave the following advice to
Hindu religious inquirers —
“You and all your countrymen who are worth listening to on such a
subject, acknowledge that spiritual light and the knowledge of God must
come from Himself, the one Supreme. The Mussulmans say the same ;
and we Christians, above all others, affirm it. Then if you are really in
earnest, if you are honest, you see what you must do. You must go and
* Max Müller, Biographical Essays, pp, ll, 31, 32.
+ Biographical Essays, pp. 30, 36.
DEBENDRANATH TAGORE, 15
endeavour to pray thus: O all-wise, all-merciful God and Father, pour the
bright beams of Thy light into my soul, and guide me into Thy eternal truth.
Although Rammohun Roy had his failings, this notice of him
may conclude with the estimate of Max Müller —
“The German name for prince is First, in English first, he who
is always to the fore, he who courts the place of danger, the first
place in fight, the last in flight. Such a Fürst was Rammohun Roy,
a true prince, a real Rajah, if Rajah also, like Rea, meant originally
the steersman, the man at the helm.”
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DEBENDRANATH TAGORE AND THE ADI SAMAJ.
After Rammohun Roy went to England, the Society which he
founded began to languish. It was managed by pandits, and be-
came more and more Hinduised. It would have ceased to exist had
* Biographical Essays, pp. 30, 36,












16 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS,
it not been supported by the Raja’s wealthy friend, Dwarakanath
Tagore, the same who erected the monument to his memory.
Max Müller says, “I knew him well while he was staying in Paris,
and living there in good royal style. He was an enlightened,
liberal-minded man, but a man of this world rather than of the next.
Dwarakanath Tagore, however, became a still greater benefactor
of the Brahma Samaj, though indirectly, through his son Deben-
dranath Tagore”—-the second great leader of the Brahmist move-
ment.
Sketch of Life.—Debendranath Tagore was born in 1818. “His
family, nominally Brahmanical, was practically out of the pale of
Hindu communion. Some of his ancestors are said to have lost
caste through involuntarily inhaling the smell of certain meat
dishes cooked by Muhammadan hands.” Such is the intolerance
and injustice of the caste system to which the Hindus cling with
tenacity.
Debendranath was educated at the Hindu College, where scepticism
was openly taught and commended. Brought up in a life of pro-
fuse wealth and luxury he did not escape its demoralizing influence.
According to his own account, from the sixteenth to the twentieth
year of his life, he went on, “ intoxicated with the pleasures of the
flesh,” regardless of his “spiritual interests and dead to con-
science and God.” He thus describes how he was awakened :
“Once on the occasion of a domestic calamity, as I lay drooping
and wailing in a retired spot, the God of glory suddenly revealed
Himself in my heart and so entirely charmed me and sweetened my
heart and soul, that for a time I continued ravished—quite immersed
in a flood of light. What was it but the light of truth, the water
of baptism, the message of Salvation ?” “After a long struggle,”
he says, “the world lost its attractions, and God became my only
comfort and delight in this world of sorrow and sin.”
samaj Founded.—In 1839, in his 22nd year, he founded the Tat-
#wabodhini Sabha, or Society for the Knowledge of Truth. Its
great aim was to “make known the religion of Brahma.” It pro-
posed to ascertain what the original Shastras were, and trace the
Changes through the other sacred books down to the present time.
Treatises were also to be prepared on astronomy, natural history,
physiology, &c., with a view to set forth the power, wisdom, and
goodness of God in creation. Lastly, a complete system of morals
was to be drawn up. Some influential Hindus joined the Society,
and weekly meetings were held for worship and discussion.
Debendranath found the Samaj as Rammohun Roy left it, “a
mere platform, where people of different creeds, used to assemble
week after week to listen to the discourses and hymns. Men by
joining it pledged nothing, incurred nothing, and lost nothing.
'Many who attended these services were idolaters at home, and in
fact, knew not what the spiritual worship of the One True God
DEBENDRANATH TAGORE, 17
meant.” According to his own statement, Debendranath joined
the Brahma Samaj in 1842, and soon put fresh life into it:
The covenant.—In 1843 Debendranath Tagore introduced the
“ Brahmic Covenant” into the Tattwabodhini Sabha, which is thus
given in the “Brahma Dharma :”
OM.T
To-day being the –day of the month—in the year of Sakabda–
I here with embrace the Brahmic faith.
1st Vow. I will worship, through love of Him and the performance of
the works He loveth, God the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer,
the Giver of salvation, the omniscient, the omnipresent, the blissful,
the good, the formless, the One only without a second,
2nd Vow. I will worship no created object as the Creator.
3rd Wow. Except the day of sickness or of tribulation, every day, the
mind being undisturbed, I will engage it with love and veneration in
God.
4th Vow. I will exert to perform righteous deeds.
5th Vow. I will be careful to abstain from vicious deeds.
6th Vow. If, through the influence of passion, I commit any vice, then,
wishing redemption from it, I will make myself cautious not to do it
again.
7th Vow. Every year, and on the occasion of every happy domestic
event of mine, I will bestow gifts upon the Brahma Samaj.
Grant me, O God power to observe the duties of this great faith.
OM
ONE ONLY WITHOUT A SECOND.
Debendranath, with twenty of his friends, was the first to sign
the “Covenant.” The services were still essentially Hindu, con-
sisting of the exposition of Vedic texts, and passages from the
Upanishads, a sermon in Bengali by the president or some leading
member, with a number of Bengali hymns sung by a choir. Not-
withstanding this, the determination to give up idolatry gave rise
to some persecution. Debendranath describes, in one of his lectures,
“how he would wander away from his house, in sun and rain, in
those days when the great goddess Durga would be worshipped by
his parents and relations, simply to avoid taking part, in the least,
in any idolatrous ceremony.”
The same year a monthly periodical, called the Tattwabodhini
Patrika, was commenced, and one of the best Bengali writers of the
day, Akhai Kumar Datta, was appointed its editor. A large and
well-furnished hall was obtained in Calcutta, and some branch
* Pandit Sivanath Sastri, M.A. The New Dispensations, &c., p. 5.
* “The repetition of the word ‘ On' is intended to bring to the mind the idea
of God as the Creator, the Preserver, and the Destroyer of the Universe.”
3
18 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS,
societies were established. The membership rose from 83 in 1843
to 573 in 1847, the most prosperous year.
With the accession of new members, the Samaj began to be
agitated by conflicting opinions. Some urged that the Vedas had
never been thoroughly examined with a view of arriving at a just
estimate of their value as an authoritative guide to truth. In 1845
four young Brahmans were therefore sent to Benares, each of whom
was to copy out and study one of the Vedas. After two years they
returned with the copies to Calcutta. The result of a careful exami-
nation of the sacred books was that some members of the Samaj
maintained their authority ; but, after long discussion, it was decided
by the majority that neither the Vedas nor Upanishads were to be
accepted as infallible guides. Only such precepts and ideas in them
were to be admitted as harmonized with pure theistic truth.
Brahma Dharma.-In 1850 Debendranath published in Sanskrit
and Bengali a treatise called Brahma Dharma. An English transla-
tion of it was afterwards printed at the Prabakur Press, but without
date. In an Appendix the “Fundamental Principles of the Brahma
Faith” are given as follows:
1. The One Supreme before this was ; nothing else whatever was. He
it is that has created all this.
2. He is eternal, intelligent, infinite, good, blissful, formless, one only
without a second, all-goverming, all-knowing, and of power manifold.
3. The worship of Him alone is the sole cause of temporal and
spiritual welfare.
4. Love towards Him and performing the works He loveth consti-
tuteth His worship.
The pamphlet is divided into two parts, each containing 16
chapters. The first Part treats chiefly of the attributes of the
Supreme ; the Second Part consists of moral precepts.
Rammohun Roy considered “The Precepts of Jesus” to be
“The Guide to Peace and Happiness.” Debendranath sought it
in the Upanishads. Mr. Dall says, “On first visiting Debendranath
Tagore in 1855, I asked him whether he ever allowed the name of
Jesus to be heard in his church. “No, never,’ he replied. “And
why not ?' I said. “Because some people call him God.’”
The religious system unfolded in the Brahma Tharma is that of
the Upanishads, with some infusion of modern ideas. Passages,
here and there, contain some of the doctrines of popular Hinduism.
The following directions are given to seekers after God :
“To know Him, one should go to the spiritual teacher. To Him
who is come, the pupil of entirely peaceful and well-regulated mind, he,
the knower of God, should communicate the particulars of divine know-
ledge by which is known the Being, undecaying, perfect, and true.
“The inferior knowledge is the Rig-Veda, the Yajur Veda, the Sama-
Veda, the Atharva Veda, Siksha (Intonation), Kalpa (Ritual), Vyaka-
rana (Grammar), Nirukta (Glossary), Chandas (Prosody), and Jyotish
DEBENDRANATEI TAGORE. 19
(Astronomy and Astrology). The superior knowledge is that by which
the Undecaying is known.” p. 3.
This is precisely the teaching of the Upanishads, and, to some
extent, the books generally received as Shastras are recognized.
The unity of God is not clearly expressed. The “great watch-
word of the Brahma Dharma,” says Mr. Bose, “‘One without a
second,’ was the battle cry of ancient pantheism.” Some passages,
however, set forth the distinction between the Creator and his
works.
Subordinate deities seem to be admitted. Chapter X. is as
follows, and gives a good idea of Part I:—
“Om is God; all the gods to him bring offerings. Him the all-
adorable seated in the midst, all the gods around do worship.
Contemplate God through Om, and let welfare attend thee, as thou
crossest the darkness of ignorance.
By means of Om, the knower of God obtaineth Him who is all-
tranquil, without decay, without death, without fear, the all-excellent.
We contemplate the adorable power and glory of the Being divine,
who brought forth the world. He it is who sendeth us thoughts.
Let me not forsake God as God has not forsaken me. Let him not be
abandoned by me.
Know Him the perfect who should be known, that death may not
afflict you.
Repeated reverence be to Him, the Being divine, who is in fire, who is
in water, who is in plants and trees, and who pervadeth all the world.”
The moral teaching is, on the whole, fair, though some of the
reasons assigned are not of a high order. Mr. Bose has the follow-
ing remarks on this point :
“The motives to virtue pointed out are, some of them at least, among
the weakest ever brought forward to sustain a virtuous life. There are
six : a, “All actions which are unblamed (by others) you may perform ;
actions which are blamed you must not perform.’ b. “Whatever
virtue we practise, you may do ; but don’t practise anything besides.’
c. * Apply yourself to that which you consider to advance your own good.’
d. ‘Follow out with the greatest zeal whatever course will give satisfac-
tion to yourself, and leave every thing opposed to it.’ e. ‘The man who
performs works of virtue obtains holy praise.’ f. “Such a man obtains
respect in this world and prosperity in the next.” Thus public opinion,
the example of human teachers, self-interest, self-gratification, respect in
the world are placed in the same category with ‘holy praise,’ supposing
that to be the praise which comes from God, and with prosperity in the
next |**
Sinful dispositions are mentioned and condemned, with exhorta-
tions to the readers to deliver themselves from the darkness of
ignorance and learn wisdom from a fitting teacher. It is also
* Brahmoism, p. 54,
20 THE BRAHIMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
admitted that sin is punished both in this world and in the next,
and has a demoralizing influence on the sinner. But there is
nothing like an adequate view of the intense malignity of sin.
Transmigration is implied :
“He, who is wise, is of mind regulated, and is always pure, gaineth
that station after attaining which one is not begotten again.”
“To worlds devoid of felicity, wrapped up in the blinding gloom,
those go after death who are ignoramt of God, and are unwise.”
As already mentioned, everlasting happiness is to be obtained
through a knowledge of Brahma.
The treatise concludes with the following “ Morning Address to
God :”
“It is through thy commandment, O Thou who art the Governor of
the world, the living, the presiding Deity of the universe, all good, and
all-pervading ! It is solely at thy commandment, and for thy satisfaction,
and for the good of mankind, that I go to engage myself in the pursuits
of the world.”
While the Brahma Dharma is a great advance upon popular
Hinduism, no enlightened man can accept it as a satisfactory code
either of religion or morals.
Sermons and Religious Opinions.—The Adi Samaj has been
sustained largely through the personal influence of Debendranath.
Mr. Mozoomdar thus describes his first sight of him : “He was tall,
princely, in the full glory of his health and manhood ; he came
attended by liveried servants, and surrounded by massive stalwart
Brahmos, who wore long gold chains and impenetrable counten-
ances.” Pandit Sivanath Sastri says, “The house of Babu
Debendramath became a general rendezvous for the Brahmos of
Calcutta. Their anniversary meetings at his house, their fraternal
greetings and warm exchanges of love and friendship on the occa-
sions, and, above all, the rich hospitality of the noble host himself,
will long be remembered by those who ever shared them.”
But Debendranath had higher claims to respect. Mr. MoZoomdar
admits that the Bengali sermons of Keshub Chunder Sen were
“not to be compared one moment with the glowing transcendental
sentences that flowed from the mouth of Debendra Nath Tagore,
with all his inspiration of the Himalayas still ablaze within his
heart.” Pandit Sivanath Sastri thus gives his own impressions of
him :—
“We still vividly recollect the day, when we hung with profound re-
spect and fond filial trust upon every word that fell from his venerable
lips, and when a single sparkling glance of his eyes awakened strange
emotions in our breasts, and made us feel that God was near. His
deeply meditative mature, his warm and overflowing heart, his exqui-
sitely poetic temperament, and, above all, the Saint-like purity of his life,
all combined to make his Brahmoism a living reality, and to make him
DEBENDRANATH TAGORE, 21
- out, even to this day, as the highest type of a truly devout character
amongst us.”
Mr. Mozoomdar thus describes the religion of Debendranath :
“Devendra's prayers were the overflow of great emotional impulses,
stirred by intense meditation on the beauties and glories of nature. His
utterances were grand, fervid, archaic, profound as the feelings were
which gave them rise. But they seldom recognised the existence of Šins
and miseries in human nature, or the sinner's necessity for Salvation.
Devendra Nath had never received the advantage of a Christian training.
His religious genius was essentially Vedic, Aryam, national, rapturous. The
only element of Semitic mysticism which he ever imbibed was from the
ecstatic effusions of the Persian Poet Hafiz. But the characteristic of
the Hafizian, or Sufi order of poetry, is not ethieal, or Christian, but sen-
timental, and so to say Hindu, , Devendra's mind assimilated it most
naturally. He believed all sinfulness and carnality to be the private
concerns of each individual man, which ought to be conquered by
resolute moral determination.”f
In illustration of the above, one or two extracts may be given
from Debendranath’s sermons. In his “Second Spiritual Advice,”
after describing the effects upon Nature of the commencement of
the wet season, he says:
“Just as the rain poured forth in thousand drops cools our body, just
so the water of immortality being showered in thousand ways is cooling
our souls in this house of worship. Every day displays a fresh attribute
of God and His great mercy. Just as the world is awakened by being
renewed by every rising of the sun, and advances in the path of progress ;
just so our souls assume a renewed and improved state simultaneously
with the world. In the progressive kingdom of God both are advancing
at the same time. His mercy is manifested in all both in the animate
and inanimate kingdoms. So with the rising of the sun. He has awaken-
ed the closed flowers of our heart, and the air of his glory being wet with
the tears of His devotees are shaking these new-blown flowers; so all
these are naturally being dropped in heaps at His lotus feet. Now on
this day having felt a comforting coolness both within and without we
are approaching Him. He is inviting us to receive His ambrosia, Let
us all Salute Him and become immortal by drinking the ambrosia so
freely offered as at present from that motherly hand.
Om, One only without a second.”f
The following prayer concludes one of his sermons —
“O Thou supreme Soul as Thou hast made us independent, do not leave
us alone–our entire dependence is upon Thee. Thou art our help and
wealth ; Thou art our Father and Friend; we take shelter in Thee: do
Thou show us Thy beautiful and complacent face. Purify me with Thy
love and so strengthen my will that I may be able to perform Thy good
works for my whole life.”$ º
* The New Dispensation, &c., p. 10. f Life of Keshub Chunder Sem, p. 159.
† The Fellow Worker, Vol. I, p. 253, § The Fellow Worker, Vol. I, p. 83.
22 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
Pandi Siyanath Sastri gave the following account of the condi-
tion of the Adi Samaj in 1881 :
“The venerable Maharshi Debendranath Tagore has retired since last
ten or twelve years from all active work, leaving the affairs of the Samaj
to a committee of management, of which his esteemed friend and co-adju.
tor Babu Rajnarain Bose is the president, and one of his own sons, the
Secretary. The weekly Divine Service of the Samaj, the establishment
Connected with the Tattwabodhini and similar works, are all kept up by
his endowments. The large number of members, who at one time signed
the covenant have quietly disappeared amongst the mass of idolatrous
Hindus, and many of them do not now take even a faint interest in the
cause they once advocated.”
The Rev. T. E. Slater says of the Adi Samaj: “Its history
shows conclusively that the Brahmist movement is nothing if it is
not a radical departure from present-day Hinduism, and an honest
and persistent attempt to keep abreast of the times.”f
The sin-burdened soul will go in vain for relief to the Adi Samaj.
Its later history will be described in connection with the third
leader of the Theistic movement.
EESHUB CHUNDER SEN.
EARLY HISTORY.
Max Müller says of Rammohun Roy :
“There is little to be said about the mere life of Rammohun Roy, and
even the little we know from himself and his friends is far from trust-
worthy. There is no taste for history in India, still less for biography.
Home life and family life are shrouded by a veil which no one ventures
to lift, while public life in which a man’s character shows itself in England,
has no existence in the East. On the other hand, loose statements,
gossip, rumour, legend, fable, myth—call them what you like—are
marvellously busy in the East ; and though Rammohun Roy has been
dead for fifty years only, several stories are told by his biographers which
have clearly a mythological character.”f
The Life and Teachings of Keshub Chunder Sen, by his friend and
fellow-labourer, Pratab Chunder Mozoomdar, may be considered to
mark a new epoch in Indian literature. It may be described as the
first true biography written by an Indian. Though an ardent
admirer of the reformer, the author writes impartially. Living on
the most intimate terms with bim during his whole life, Mr.
Mozoomdar had unequalled opportunities for ascertaining the
truth. His work will mainly supply the materials in the following
sketch.
* The New Dispensation, &c., p. 13. f Keshwb Chander Sen, p. 48,
j: Biographical Essays, pp. 13, 14.
KESHUB CHUNDER SEN. 23.
2:
RESEIUIB CEIUNL) ER SEN .
Family.—Keshub Chunder Sen belonged to the Vaidya or
medical caste. His grandfather was Ram Camal Sen, distinguish-
ed both for his benevolent disposition and his very complete English
and Bengali Dictionary. Peary Mohan Sen, the father of Keshub
Chunder Sen, was the second son of Ram Camal Sen. He died
when Keshub, his second son, was only ten years of age. His widow
was then 25, and she still survives (1888),
Boyhood.—Keshub was born in 1838 in Calcutta. As a boy he
was fond of fine clothes, fine boxes, fine things of all sorts which he
did not like any one to meddle with. He was educated in the Hindu
College, where he was admitted in 1845, but he had some preliminary
teaching in the Vernaculars at home. At the annual examination
every year Keshub carried away a prize, and sometimes two, there
being only two prizes in the class, the one for English, and the
other for arithmetic, in both of which he did equally well.
Keshub’s intelligence showed itself in other Ways than his
readiness at lessons. When thirteen years of age he so mastered
the juggler's art that he gave a performance of his own. These and

24 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS,
*
other things made him seem to his companions quite a prodigy, and
he was perfectly conscious of his own importance. Nobody ventured
to approach to anything like his confidence ; he never made a
favourite or bosom friend of any one. He seldom, if ever, joined
in an old game, or one that was started by any other boy, but
watched it from a distance. If ever he consented to play, he would
generally devise a new or unfamiliar game, and reserve the chief
part for himself. He took great pleasure in making up jatras, the
popular semi-theatrical performances of Bengal.
|Keshub was not religious in his boyhood. He took part in Hindu
ceremonies, but this was entirely for amusement, without any
purpose of worship. If, however, he was not religious, as a boy he
was certainly very moral. Next to his singular intelligence, the chief
characteristic of his boyhood was the purity of his moral nature. But
he did not seem to be a warm-hearted boy, and there was always a
strange reserve about his manners. In after-life he sometimes said
that he was of a suspicious temperament, and that his rule was to
judge every man bad, unless he could prove himself otherwise.
In 1852, Keshub was in the first senior class of the school depart-
ment of the Hindu College. When the Metropolitan College was
opened, he was sent to it, and according to the usual custom to
draw pupils, he was admitted to the highest class for which he was
quite unfit. This made him give up his mathematical studies. As
the new college was a failure, Keshub was sent back to the Hindu
College in 1854. But he did not return the same man. Hence-
forth his educational career was not at all brilliant. In 1856, when
the mathematical questions were set for the Senior Scholarship
|Examination, one of the professors who was appointed to watch the
examinees, found Keshub comparing papers with the young man
that sat next to him. Keshub was severely handled. He was still
allowed to continue as a general student, but he entirely gave up
the study of mathematics, and never again went up for further
examinations.
Early Manhood.—Keshub, when 18 years of age, was married to
a girl of nine or ten. The marriage was, of course, not of his own
making. The first years of his married life were those of an
anchorite. He was moody and cheerless. He seldom laughed or
even smiled. He read certain Christian sermons, notably those of
Blair and Chalmers. He privately wrote morning and evening
prayers which he read by himself on the terrace of the house. He
composed short exhortations and words of warning for passers-by,
which he caused to be stuck on the house walls in the neighbour-
hood. In short, he brooded on his own imperfections, and the
imperfections of others, and the thoughts made him most restless.
from the first Keshub believed in the Supreme necessity of prayer.
“I did not know,” said he, “what the right religion was, I did not
know what the true church was. Why or for what I prayed I did not
KESHUB CHUNDER SEN, 25
know, but in the first glimpse of light that came to me I heard the
voice, ‘Pray, pray, without prayer there is no other way.’” Among
the Christian teachers he was intimate with were the Rev. T. H.
Burn, Domestic Chaplain to Bishop Cotton, the Rev. J. Long, of the
Church Missionary Society, and the Rev. Mr. Dall, the American
Unitarian Missionary. 2.
Keshub started a number of classes and societies for the benefit
of his companions. The study of Shakespeare was the favourite
fashion of the educated about this time. Keshub was not content
to read, but desired to act. A stage was improvised, old European
clothes were obtained from the bazars, and plays were performed.
Keshub retained for a considerable time his theatrical propensities.
He had a passion for the musical performances known as jatras,
half dramatic, half operatic. He would sit up the whole night
with his companions to watch these performances, chewing pan-
Supari, and throwing pieces of small coin to the singers.
In 1857 Keshub established the Good will Fraternity, which was
purely religious. He sometimes read, sometimes spoke extempore
in English to the members from a high pulpit-like desk. One of
his readings was the discourse by Dr. Chalmers on Enthusiasm,
another was Theodore Parker on Inspiration.
KESHUB's connECTION WITH THE ADI SAMAJ.
In 1857 Keshub quietly entered the Brahmo Samaj by sign-
ing the printed covenant sent him for the purpose. Debendra-
nath, on his return from the Hills, was greatly pleased to hear of
this accession. “He was much struck by the earnestness and
ability of young Keshub, and at once accepted him as a friend
and coadjutor. A deep and almost filial attachment sprang up
between them : and henceforth they jointly began to plan and
adopt several important measures which further developed the
reforming tendencies of the Samaj.”*
In those days Keshub was a diligent student. From 11 o’clock
in the morning till sunset, he read every day in the Calcutta
|Public Library. He read some poetry, as Shakespeare, Milton, and
Young ; but the history of philosophy was his delight. He was
an intense admirer of Sir William Hamilton, and pored over the
works of Victor Cousin. He read J. D. Morell, and M’Cosh ; he
loved the works of Theodore Parker, Miss Cobbe, Emerson, and
F. W. Newman.
Within a year after joining the Brahmo Samaj, Keshub made
his first great stand against idolatry. The family guru was to
come to the mansion, and Keshub, with some other young men, was
expected to receive the ceremony of initiation. When Keshub’s
* Pandit Sivanath Sastri, The New Dispensation, p. 7,
4.
26 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS,
turn came he was asked if he would receive it. Calmly, but firmly,
he answered, “No.” More than once the question was asked with
increasing fierceness, but Keshub’s determination gained the day.
In 1859 the Brahmo School was established. Keshub was
to deliver a series of English lectures, and Debendranath a
similar course in the vernacular, the former taking up the philo-
sophy of Theism and the latter dealing with the doctrines of the
Brahmo Somaj.
The same year Keshub, at the wish of his guardians, became a
clerk in the Bank of Bengal, with the salary of Rs. 25 per month.
So well did he do his work, that within a twelvemonth his pay
was doubled.
First Publications,—In 1860, when 22 years of age, Keshub
issued his first tract, “Young Bengal, This is for You.” It begins
with the result of a godless education :
“Often were you heard to say : —‘Let the illiterate and credulous
deal with religion and immortality, prayer and atonement, faith and
salvation ; let them devote their minds to such visionary pursuits—I feel
it degrading to my high scholarship and liberal views to countenance
them.’”
So far as mere talk is concerned, a change for the better is
acknowledged. Numerous societies were formed to discuss import-
ant questions of social reform. He says:
“Sometimes you witness whole bodies of young men unanimously
pledging themselves with all solemnity to momentous resolutions like
these :-we shall enlighten the masses—elevate the condition of females
—encourage brotherly feeling. Such are the great topics which our
young and intelligent countrymen are ever and anon discussing with all
enthusiasm and fervor, and preaching with missionary zeal. But what is
the upshot of all this P ‘Mere prattle without practice ’ An elaborate
essay, an eloquent speech, a warm discussion is all in all.”
The explanation given is that there is a “want of an active
religious principle in our pseudo-patriots.” The reader is to
seek help from God. “Steadily and prayerfully look up to Him
—our Light, and our Strength, our Father, and our Friend.”
The first tract was followed by about a dozen others. The
principal may be noticed. g
No. 4 is entitled, “Basis of Brahmoism. Brahmoism stands on
the Rock of Intuition, and is above the Fluctuations of Sectarian
Opinions.”
“Brahmoism rests on no written revelation ; neither does it hang on
the opinions of particular persons or communities. It depends not
upon the fugitive phenomena incident to age or country. Its basis is
the depths of human nature.” -
Brahmoism is founded upon those principles of the mind which
are above, anterior to, and independent of reflection—which the varia-
tions of opinion cannot alter or affect. It stands upon intuitions.
KESHUB CHUNDER SEN, 27
“Intuitions are self-evident. They are axiomatic truths which do
not admit of demonstration.”
No. 4 was subsequently supported by Nos. 8, 9, “Testimonies
to the Walidity of Intuitions,” consisting of extracts from Locke,
Reid, Coleridge, Cousin, Hamilton, and others.
No. 6. “Signs of the Times,” is intended to show that the
mind is getting emancipated “from the yoke of books and churches,”
“from antiquated symbols and lifeless dogmas.” This is sought
to be established by quotations from J. D. Morell, Foxton, Greg,
Fox, Parker, and F. W. Newman. -
“Revelation” is the subject of No. 11. It tries to show that
“ the dogma of a book revelation falls to the ground.” In No. 10,
it is thus summarily disposed of : .”
“14. Why do the Brahmos deny the possibility of book revelation ?
Because revelation is subjective,” not objective. -
No. 12 treats of “Atonement and Salvation.” “Repentance
is Atonement.” God is not a blood-thirsty tyrant ; and atonement
in the Christian sense is denied. “Salvation denotes simply deliv-
erance from sin.”
The foregoing series of tracts was largely the result of Keshub’s
reading in the Calcutta Public Library. The American Uni-
tarian Missionary, the late Rev. Mr. Dall, got a collection of Uni-
tarian books presented to the Library, where they were studied
by Keshub, and many of their opinions adopted by him. His first
“Inspiration” was derived from Theodore Parker. For a time,
“Intuition” was the watch word of the party. When a Christian
Missionary was preaching, a school-boy would sometimes point his
finger towards him, and think he had settled him by simply saying,
“Intuition!” The trenchant attacks upon it by the Rev. S.
Dyson caused it eventually to be largely relegated to the tomb of
“lifeless dogmas.” -
Trips to Ceylon, etc.—In 1859 Keshub made his first sea voyage.
Debendranath and his two sons were about to leave for Ceylon,
and Keshub was invited to join the party. He quietly embarked,
leaving behind a little note which was discovered after the vessel
left. “His little wife, who was not more than twelve or thirteen
years old at the time, was dangerously ill, and not a syllable about
Keshub’s perilous expedition had reached her, till he had gone far on
his way. We all took it to heart, and in our bitter regret accused
him of cruelty, undutifulness, and all sorts of things. But Keshub,
in the meanwhile, let out like a caged bird, enjoyed his trip most
heartily, cracked fun with his companions, kept a lively diary, and
felt he had done the most proper and natural thing in the world.”%
In 1860 Keshub started a small Society, called the Sangat Sabha,
* Mozoomdar's Life of Keshub Chunder Sen, p. 127,
28 TEIE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
It was mainly for religious conversation and prayer. When he
resigned his post in the Bank of Bengal, several of the members,
one after another, began to take leave of secular life, deter-
mined to spread the principles of Hindu theism. The following
year, in conjunction with some friends, he started the Indian Mirror.
It was at first fortnightly, then weekly, and lastly daily. In 1862
he commenced the Calcutta College, which, after five or six years,
had to be given up for want of support.
For a time Debendranath and Keshub worked cordially together,
Until 1862 those who hitherto officiated in services were called
Upacharyas, or subministers, while Debendranath himself was
President of the Brahmo Somaj. In that year, after a grand cere-
mony, Debendranath presented Keshub with a sort of diploma,
framed in gold and signed by himself, installing him as Acharya,
or minister of the Brahmo Somaj. He gave him, besides, a casket,
containing an ivory seal and a copy of the Brahma Dharma. The
title of Brahmananda (Rejoicer in God) was also conferred upon
him. From that time Debendranath began to be called Pradhan
Acharya, or chief minister.
The same year Keshub induced his young wife to dine at the
house of Debendranath, who belonged to an excommunicated race
of Brahmans. This act on his part led to his temporary expulsion
by his uncle from his home and family.
Reforms.-Keshub’s programme of reform is thus given in his
fervid “ Appeal to Young India’’:
“Look at yourselves, enchained to customs, deprived of freedom,
lorded over by an ignorant and crafty priesthood, your better sense and
better feelings all smothered under the crushing weight of custom ; look
at your homes, scenes of indescribable misery, your wives and sisters,
your mothers and daughters immured within the dungeon of the
zenana, ignorant of the outside world, little better than slaves whose
charter of liberty of thought and action has been ignored ; look at your
social constitution and customs, the mass of enervating, demoralizing
and degrading causes there working. Watch your daily life, how
almost at every urn you meet with some demand for the sacrifice of
your conscience, some temptation to hypocrisy, some obstacle to your
improvement and true happiness.”
The qualifications of reformers are thus given :
“A firm sense of duty ought to be the basis of all reform movements.
It is dangerous to undertake them from any other motive.
“Secondly, those who desire to reform their country must first reform
themselves. Good examples are always powerful engines of conversion,
while the fervid eloquence of hypocritical teaching obstructs instead.
“Lastly, the paths of reformation are thorny, and therefore they who
tread these paths must be prepared for the thorns : there is no royal
road to reformation.
“These, I believe, are the three essential requisites of sound and
successful reformation.”
KESEIUB CHUNDER SEN, 29
The chief evils in Hindu society against which exertions should
be directed are the following, given in a greatly abridged form :
“There, can be no doubt that the root of all the evils which afflict
Hindu society, that which constitutes the chief cause of its degradation
is Idolatry. Idolatry is the curse of Hindustan, the deadly canker that
has eaten into the vitals of native society. It would be an insult to your
superior education to say that you have faith in idolatry, that you still
cherish in your hearts reverence for the gods and goddesses of the Hindu
pantheon, or that you believe in the thousand and one absurdities of
your ancestral creed. But however repugnant to your understanding
and repulsive to your good sense the idolatry of your forefathers may be,
there is not a thorough appreciation of its deadly character on moral
grounds. It will not do to retain in the mind a speculative and passive
disbelief in its dogmas, you must practically break with it as a danger-
ous sin and an abomination : you must give it up altogether as an
unclean thing. You must discountenance it, discourage it, oppose it, and
hunt it out of your country. For the sake of your souls and for the
sake of the souls of the millions of your countrymen, come away from
hateful idolatry, and acknowledge the one Supreme and true God, our
Maker, Preserver, and Moral Governor, not in belief only, but in the
every-day concerns and avocations of your life.
“Next to idolatry and vitally connected with its huge system is Caste.
Kill the monster, and form a national and religious brotherhood of all
your reformed countrymen.
“Thirdly, our Marriage customs involve evils of great magnitude
which urgently call for reform, e. g., polygamy, premature marriage,
prohibition of widow re-marriage, and countless restrictions.
“Fourthly, the Zenana requires thorough reform.
At an address delivered in Bombay in 1868 he explained the
true order of reformation :
“What is the programme of reforms you think I intend to lay before
you this evening P Not half measures, like the education of this section
of the community or the reformation of that particular social evil.
These cannot—it is my most firm conviction—these cannot lift India as
a nation from the mire of idolatry, of moral and social corruption. If you
wish to regenerate this country, make religion the basis of all your reform
movements. Were I engaged in the work of reforming this country, I
would not be busy in lopping off the branches, but I would strike the axe
at the fatal root of the tree of corruption, namely—idolatry. Ninety-nine
evils out of every hundred in Hindu society are, in my opinion, attribut-
able to idolatry and superstition.
“All the social reform, I would propose for your consideration, are
involved in this grand radical reformation—religious reformation. Ques-
tions of social reform will not then appear to you as matters of worldly
expediency, but as questions of vital moral importance, and will come
upon you with all the weight of moral obligation.”
“Brahmo Somaj Vindicated.”—In April 1863, the Rev. Lal
Behari Day delivered a lecture on “The Rise and Progress of the
30 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC systems.
Calcutta Brahma Samaj.” He traced its changes from Rammohun
Roy’s attempt to find monotheism in the Upanishads, to the sur-
render of the Vedas, to the adoption of the opinions of Theodore
Parker, aud the scorn of “book revelations.” He shewed that the
so-called intuitive truths of the Samaj were derived from the Bible,
and dwelt especially on the insufficiency of the Brahmist doctrine
concerning sin.
Keshub replied to this lecture in “The Brahmo Somaj Vindi-
cated,” which, according to the report, was received with “thunder-
ing applause.” At the commencement he professed to be ani-
mated by the religion whose very life is love, and whose Spirit is a
spirit of “charity.” After a few more sentences, he illustrated
this “spirit” by asserting that “the creed of the Brahmo Somaj,
far from being homestly rendered and faithfully pourtrayed” by the
lecturer, “ was clothed in foul misrepresentations, miserably carica-
tured, and set forth crumpled and distorted.” “Groundless charges,”
and “grossest exaggerations,” were other epithets employed,
Mr. Day had said that some Brahmos gloried in the liberality of
their creed; upon which he remarked that the creed of the atheist
was still more liberal. In reply, Keshub made the pathetic appeal,
“Rather slay us, rather put the knife to our throats than call us
atheists.” No such charge was brought.
Rupture with Debendranath-By degrees the relations between
Debendranath and Keshub became more strained. Debendranath
was impulsive, very sensitive, conservative, autocratic, and settled
in his views. He wanted to establish a model Hindu Society, and
revive the ancient Hinduism of the Upanishads. He had always
a partiality for the sacred caste. Though discarding idolatry, he was
a strict observer of the sacraments of Hindu marriage. Widow mar-
riage was to him a disagreeable thing, and intermarriage still worse.
Keshub and the younger members of the Samaj were far in
advance of Debendranath’s views, and were eager to enter upon a
career of bolder and more uncompromising reform. Caste and the
Brahmanical thread were the first objects of their attack. Elderly
members, opposed to Keshub’s new measures, and jealous of the
influence he had gained, tried to poison the mind of Debendranath
against him. Debendranath thought that he should make a stand,
and nip these ambitious reforms in the bud. He began by cancel-
ling the arrangement by which Brahman ministers wearing the
badge of their caste were no longer admissible to the ministry.
This was done by beginning the service earlier than usual, while it
was held temporarily in his house. Keshub and its friends pro-
tested against this course, and declared that they must decline to
join such services in future. They proposed a separate day of
public worship in the Samaj building apart from the usual Wednes-
day service, but Debendranath was inexorable. Keshub and his
party, therefore, seceded from the Brahmo Somaj.
KESHUB CHUNDER SEN. 31
BRAHMO SoMAJ OF INDIA.
Reshub Chunder Sen seems to have retired from Debendranath’s
Somaj in February 1865, but a considerable time was spent in
protests and negociations which came to nothing. He got possession
of the Indian Mirror, and issued a vernacular journal, called the
Dharma Tatwa,
Lecture on Jesus Christ.—Keshub was first brought prominently
before the European public by an address which he delivered in
May, 1866, announced under the sensational title of “Jesus Christ,
Europe and Asia.” He began by extolling Christ as a great man
and reformer ; he described Him as “sent by Providence to reform
and regenerate mankind”: he set forth in glowing language the
moral greatness of Christ, ending with the words, “ was he not
above ordinary humanity ? Blessed Jesus, immortal child of
God ſ” Then he dwelt on the fact that Jesus was an Asiatic.
“When I reflect on this, my love for Jesus becomes a hundredfold
intensified.”
So high was the admiration expressed of Jesus Christ in the
lecture that by some Keshub was regarded as “almost a Christian.”
Five months later he undeceived them and showed his true position
by his lecture in the Town Hall, on “Great Men.” He defined
them as “men, but above ordinary humanity.” All great prophets
were regarded as “God-men,” “Divine incarnations.” Though
Jesus Christ was the prince of prophets, effected greater wonders,
and did infinitely more good to the world than the others, yet
He was only the first among men like Luther, Knox, Mahomet, and
Chaitanya. After this, says Mr. MoZoomdar, “he perhaps felt that
the time of teaching about Jesus and other prophets had not yet
come. So, for thirteen years, he held his peace.”
Establishment of a new Somaj.-In November 1866, Keshub and
his friends sent a parting address to Debendranath, and established
a separate Society, called the “ Brahmo Somaj of India.” The
members wished to make Keshub the head of the Society, but he
said that “ God alone was its head.” He undertook to be its Secre-
tary. Selections from the Bible, Koran, Zend Avesta, and the Hindu
Shastras were compiled as the scriptures of the Brahmo Somaj.
Its motto in Sanskrit, composed by Pandit Gour Roy, was that :
“The wide universe is the temple of God; Wisdom is the pure
land of pilgrimage ; Truth is the everlasting scripture ; Faith is
the root of all religion ; Love is the true spiritual culture, the
destruction of selfishness is the true asceticism : So declare the
Bramhos.”
Debendranath, upon the formation of the new society, called his
own the Adi (original) Brahmo Sornaj. -
Seven or eight of Keshub's adherents were formed into a body of
missionaries. Every one resigned his place and prospects in life and
32 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND FCLECTIC SYSTEMS,
took the vow of poverty. They daily took out a few pieces of
copper from the leader’s writing desk to buy them necessaries, and
that box never contained much ; they spent the day in prayer, study,
contemplation, religious conversation, and other engagements
worthy of their calling. They travelled from place to place, full of
Zeal. Wherever they went, Samajes were formed and enthusiasm
was kindled. The orthodox Hindus were so greatly alarmed that
various short-lived organizations were founded to counteract the
new movement.
Vaishnava Element.—Keshub began religious life with an in-
sufficient degree of religious feeling. About 1867 he began to hold
daily Divine service in his house, and the spirit of the Vaishnava
religion entered into Brahmo devotions. , Vaishnava hymns, called
Samkirtam, were introduced, with their instruments of music, the
drum, cymbals, and harp of one string. The lower orders and
wandering memdicants are fond of them. Vaishhava piety has two
features. The hymns are sometimes sung with wild enthusiasm,
with the deep noise of the drum and the clash of cymbal, and then
they melt away in strains of tenderness, accompanied by the deli-
cate notes of the harp. The Society was at this time joined by a
poet, whose musical genius became a source of wonderful attrac-
tion to the public. This new kind of musical celebration began to
be known by the name of Brahma Sankirban, and culminated in
the establishment of the Brahma Utsab, or Festival in God, in
November, 1867. The services lasted from early morning till nine
at night. º
On the 24th January, 1868, the 38th anniversary of the Brahmo
Somaj, the foundation stone of the Brahmo Mandir, Keshub’s
temple of worship, was laid with great pomp. In the evening
Keshub delivered his address in the Town Hall on “Regenerating
Faith.” Among the audience were some of the highest English
officials, from the Viceroy downwards. In March he left for an
extensive missionary tour to the North-West Provinces and Bombay,
after which he went, not to Calcutta, but to Monghyr.
Man-worship Agitation.—At Monghyr Keshub's prayers and
sermons were ſistened to with enthusiasm, and the emotions of the
hearers were sometimes uncontrolled. Many were moved to tears,
sobs, and ejaculations that were well-nigh hysterical. They pros:
trated and abased themselves before Keshub, and began to talk of
him as “lord,” “master,” and “saviour.” Some professed to have
seen supernatural sights concerning him, others sang hymns about
him as a Yogi, whose heart is the abode of the perfect God. Two
well-known Brahmo missionaries remonstrated repeatedly in private
with Keshub against this, but without effect. They then wrote
to some of the newspapers and formally brought the charge of
worshipping Keshub against his admiring disciples, and they unre-
servedly accused Keshub himself of conniving at, if not directly

KESHUB CHUNDER SEN. 33
encouraging it. He said in reply, “I have never approved of the
manner in which some of my friends honour me,” but his biogra-
pher says, “ Their manifestations of popular faith and reverence
Keshub accepted as a passing phase of religious feeling.” Keshub
acted very differently from the Christian missionaries, Paul and
Barnabas, who, when the people wished to pay them divine
honours, ran in among them, crying out, “Sirs, why do ye these
things We also are men of like passions with you.”
With a band of followers Keshub left Monghyr in August, 1868,
to spend a few months at Simla, to which Lord Lawrence had
invited him. The main subject of consideration was a marriage
bill for Brahmos, which was introduced the following month into
the Governor-General’s Council.
Church of the Future.—In January, 1869, Keshub gave his
anniversary lecture on the “Church of the Future.” It was to take
truth from every prevailing system of religion. Its creed was to
be “ the Fatherhood of God and Brotherhood of Man.” The Future
Church of India must be thoroughly an Indian Church. The
future religion of the world will be the common religion of all
nations, but in each nation it will have an indigenous growth, and
assume a peculiar or distinctive character.
The Brahma. Mandir was formally opened in August, 1869. The
declaration regarding it was mainly borrowed from the trust deed of
the original Brahmo Somaj Some of the most prominent members
of the Brahmo community then accepted the Theistic covenant.
English Visit.—Suddenly towards the end of 1869, Keshub
made an announcement through the Indian Mirror of his intention
to visit England. In the January following, he made “England
and India” the subject of his anniversary address. He sailed
from Calcutta in February, accompanied by his devoted disciple,
Prasanna Kumar Sen. His first public appearance was at a
meeting to welcome him in London, where Lord Lawrence and
representatives of the principal religious denominations expressed
their interest in India and sympathy with him in his work.
Keshub said, “I come here, my friends, to study Christianity in its
living and spiritual forms. I do not come to study the doctrines of
Christianity, but truly Christian life as displayed and illustrated
in England.”
The meeting was arranged for him by the British and Foreign
Unitarian Association, and during the six months he spent in
England he was thrown largely among Unitarians. One of his first
visits was to Bristol, where Miss Carpenter founded the National
Indian Association which is still active. He made a pilgrimage
to the grave of Rammohun Roy, where he knelt down and said,
“I especially offer prayer for the soul of that illustrious man who
came from my country and whose remains lie here. Nourish his soul
5
34 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS,
and heart with strength, and purity, and piety, that he may, O Lord,
find the blessings of communion with Thee through everlasting ages.”
Keshub visited 14 of the chief towns of England and Scotland,
lecturing or conducting religious services. He also addressed
meetings on peace, the temperance reformation, Zenana education,
&c. He was honoured by the Queen with an interview, and before
he left England, she sent him copies of her two books, with the
inscription in her own handwriting in each volume : “To Keshub
Chunder Sen, from Victoria Re., Sept. 1870.”
The Influence of Theodore Parker was still strong upon Keshub.
On few points did he declaim with greater zest than against
“dogmas.” “We must not allow ourselves to be enslaved by dog-
mas and articles of faith.” “If they in England had their sectarian
doctrines and dogmas about Christ, they might reserve them for
their own use.” “Spare me and my countrymen the infliction of
antiquated and lifeless dogmas.”
The divisions among Christians were another favourite topic.
“I cannot but feel perplexed and even amused, amidst countless and
quarrelling sects.” Keshub saw comparatively little of genuine
English Christianity. He was thrown, almost exclusively, among
Unitarians, noted for the brevity of their creed, and their want of
religious fervour. Dr. Martineau, their most distinguished English
representative, makes the confession : “In devotional literature
and religious thought, I find nothing of ours that does not pale
before Augustine, Tauler, and Pascal. And in the poetry of the
Church, it is the Latin or German hymns, or the lines of Charles
Wesley or of Keble that fasten on my memory and heart, and
make all else seem poor and cold.”
Reshub in his farewell English address says:-
“The result of my visit to England is that as I came here an Indian, I
go back a confirmed Indian, I came here & Theist, I return a confirmed
iheist. I have not accepted a single new doctrine that God had not put
into my mind before ; I have not accepted new dogmas and doctrines, but
I have tried as far as possible to imbibe the blessed influence of Christian
lives.” -
A full account of Keshub Chunder Sen’s English Visit was edited
by Miss Collet. This was reprinted in Calcutta a few years ago,
with the omission of her preface and footnotes.
Indian Reform Association.—On Keshub’s return to India, he
immediately began to put in practice some of the hints he, had
gathered in England. The first thing that he did was to establish
the Indian Reform Association. It had five sections–Cheap Liter-
ature, Charity, Female Improvement, Education, and Temperance.
Thé influence of newspapers in England greatly struck Keshub.
He started a weekly pice (#d.) paper called the Sulabh Samachar
Cheap News) which was a great success. The Indian Mirror was
KESHUB CHUNDER SEN. 35
made a daily paper, and the Sunday Mirror was commenced. A
Normal School for Native ladies was established, supplemented by
a “Society for the Benefit of Women,” in connection with which
ladies read papers. A department of charity, on enlightened
principles, was organized, and an Industrial School was started.
Temperance reform received great attention, and a Band of Hope
had numerous accessions from the young.
For a time the Association was worked with great energy, but
as Keshub's mystic tendencies developed themselves, it came by
degrees to have little more than a nominal existence ; although
now and then there was a kind of spasmodic revival.
Brahmo Marriage Bill, &c.—“As the number of intermarriages
and widow-marriages according to pure theistic rites multiplied,
doubts as to their validity in the eyes of the law began to trouble
many minds.” It has been mentioned that in 1868 Keshub was
invited to Simla by Lord Lawrence to consider a proposed
marriage bill to be introduced into the Governor-General’s Council.
It was intended to include all religious sects in India who objected
to marry according to Hindu rites. This excited great opposi-
tion on all sides, on account of which it was altered and called
the Brahmo Marriage Act. The Adi Samaj objected to the title,
so it was changed to the Native Marriage Act. Keshub strongly
condemned early marriage. In 1871 he obtained the opinions of
some of the most eminent medical authorities in India with regard
to the marriageable age of girls. Sixteen was unanimously
declared to be the minimum, but for the present fourteen might
be accepted.
The Native Marriage Act became law in 1872. It introduced
for the first time civil marriage into Hindu society. It legalised
marriages between different castes. It fixed the minimum age for
a bridegroom at 18, and of a bride at 14, but required the written
consent of parents or guardians when either party was under 21.
It prohibited bigamy, and permitted the re-marriage of Indian
widows.
In 1872 Keshub established the Bharat Asram (Indian Hermitage),
a kind of religious boarding-house. About 25 families lived to-
gether, having their devotions, studies, and meals together. The
unwholesome relations of the Hindu Zenana life were laid aside,
and the women joined the men in daily devotions and frequent
companionship. In the same year the Calcutta School for Boys
was affiliated to the Indian Reform Association. It prospered
under Krishna Bihari Sen, Keshub’s younger brother, and devel-
oped subsequently into the present Albert College.
The Purdah System in Church.—An influential section of the
Brahmo community in Calcutta strongly objected to the system
of compelling the ladies to sit behind screens in the Brahmo Mandir,
and demanded the privilege of sitting with their wives and
36 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC systEMs.
daughters outside the screens, and among the rest of the con-
gregation. This right was at the beginning denied by Mr. Sen and
his missionaries, and the more advanced section held out in a body
from the Church till their demands were met. After much corres-
pondence and discussion, something like a compromise was effected,
and seats were provided outside the screen, for the advanced families,
in a corner of the Mamdīr.*
Asceticism—Keshub belonged to a Vaishnava family, and the
older he grew the more the Hindu element in his character de-
veloped itself. He had a photograph of his wife taken as seated
by his side in the Himalayas, he squatting on a tiger skin as a
Yogi, with the single-stringed harp in his hand, she helping
him in his devotion. In 1875 he began to cook his own meals.
Sometimes he would sit on a bare wooden stool for a whole day.
talking very little, mending some of his old clothes. He felt, he
said, that the time had come for himself and the Brahmo Mis-
sionaries to practise asceticism and accept severe discipline for the
sake of purity and spiritual life. Strict poverty was enjoined on
the missionaries, long hours were to be spent in devotions, every
one had to cook his simple meal at least once a day, midnight
vigils were begun to be kept. When they were cold and despond-
ing, they had recourse to enthusiasm of the Vaishnava culture of
Bhakti, or love to God, singing, violently dancing, and making up
street processions. Keshub in 1876 initiated the fourfold classifi-
cation of devotees into the disciples of Yoga, Bhakti, Gyam, and
Sheba. T
“our Faith and Experience.”—This was the subject of Keshub’s
anniversary address in 1876. He sought to identify the Holy Spirit
of the Bible with the Spirit God of ancient India. Parker had
borrowed from Kant the three great principles, God, Immortal-
ity, and Duty. Keshub said in his lecture, “There are only
three essential doctrines in Theism—the doctrine of God, the doc-
trine of immortality, and the doctrine of conscience.” Towards the
conclusion he said, “Who would stumble midway in his Godward
course with the huge millstone of lifeless dogmas hanging round his
neck 2...Our scripture is not closed, but fresh chapters are still being
written and added year after year. What the Lord will reveal
to us ten years hence, who knows save EHe f" -
A few months afterwards he bought a small garden, about 12
miles from Calcutta, to which he often retired, followed by most
of the Brahmo missionaries. With shaven head, he lived amidst
rigorous self-discipline. ſº is
Lily cottage.—In 1877 a large mansion, with a garden and tank,
# Pandit Sivanath Sastri, The New Dispensation, &c. p. 22. *
+ Yoga is union with God by intense contemplation ; Bhakti is union by intense
love; Gyan, union by deep knowledge; and Sheba, union by Service rendered to fellow-
111621,
KESHUB CHUNDER SEN. - - 37
in Upper Circular Road, was offered for sale. Keshub purchased
it for Rs. 20,000 and called it “Lily Cottage.” Not a few Brah-
mos disliked the fine residence which their Minister had secured in
spite of his profession of asceticism. Several of the Brahmo mis-
sionaries built cottages in the adjoining grounds. . Both the men
and women met every day for morning service in the house of
the Minister. By the end of 1877, the number of Brahmo Samajes
scattered over India had increased to 107, some following the
Conservative, but the majority the Progressive pattern.
THE MAHARANI OF KUCH BEHAR.
THE KUCH BEBAR MARRIAGE AND SUBSEQUENT PROCEEDINGs.
Complaints.—Keshub, when associated with Debendramath, com-
plained that he was a kind of pope, from whose decision there was
no appeal. Intelligent Brahmos brought the same charge against
himself. No freedom of discussion was allowed in the manage-
ment of the Somaj. Keshub was the sole administrator of the affairs
of the society, and ruled it with the rod of an irresponsible dictator.
Kuch Behar Marriage.—In August, 1877, it began to be whis-
pered that Keshub was inclined to accept an offer of marriage for
his own daughter, not yet 14, from the Maharaja of Kuch Behar,

38 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
not yet 16 years of age. In February, 1878, it was formally
announced that the marriage had been arranged.
Strong protests immediately poured in from all sides. The
objections were as follows: (1) The marriage was not to be cele-
brated according to the Brahmo Marriage Act. (2) The girl was
under 14, and the Maharaja was not yet 16. (3) Idolatrous cere-
monies were likely to be introduced. (4) The Maharaja was not a
Brahmo, and should not marry the daughter of the Brahmo leader.
(5) The Kuch Behar family was polygamous by custom, and the
Maharaja might marry other wives.
In reply to these objections it was stated that the ceremony
was only a formal betrothal, that the Maharaja had declared himself
a theist, and that idolatrous rites would not be allowed. Keshub
claimed to be guided in the matter by adesh, or commandment
from God.
Reshub went with the bride to Kuch Behar ; but, as had been
foretold, Hindu rites, in spite of his protest, were introduced at the
ceremony. He felt that he had been outwitted, and that many of
his dearest friends were most seriously offended. Some expected
that he would retire for a time from the head of affairs. “But, no,
he at once assumed a defiant attitude, declared the marriage as
an effect of Divine command, and sternly rejected three letters of
requisition successively sent by a party of influential members
calling for a meeting.” At last, however, Keshub agreed to
summon a public meeting to elect a new minister. The pro-
ceedings were very disorderly, and Keshub’s opponents went away
with the idea that they had carried their point, although his
friends thought differently. Next Sunday the protesters, from
morning to night, tried to make themselves masters of the prem-
ises. Keshub and his friends, forewarned, obtained the assistance
of the police, and those who sought to oust them were driven
off. A number of the most respected Bramhos then seceded
(May 15th, 1878), and formed a new Society, called the Sadharan,
or Universal, Samaj. It will be described hereafter under a separate
heading.
Reshub afterwards spoke of the secession as a great blessing:
“The Church cleansed. That winnowing-fan, the Kuch Behar mar-
riage, has done, and is doing immense good to the Brahmo Somaj
by removing the chaff from its membership. Month after month,
the sensual and the worldly, the prayerless and the vicious, have
been purged off. And because of this purging the church has been
greatly improved instead of declining.”
In his prayer to the “Mother,” in the Dharmatatwa, he thus
characterizes the secessionists:
“These demons in human shape are attracting thy children unto
themselves in the name of religion and prayer; and are cutting their
throats afterwards, leading them astray from the paths of faith and
KESHUB CHUNDER SEN. 39
devotion, making them worldly, sensual and luxurious, and spreading the
poison of scepticism and unbelief throughout the land. Dear Mother,
Mahomet, thy devoted child, never forgave the Kafirs. . How he
resolved to extirpate the enemies of God O Mother, when these
Kafirs offend us personally, we can pardon them, but when their attacks
are levelled against thee, how can we bear them P”
Relieved from the restraint of sensible men, Keshub was left
more free to follow his own vagaries. He had some followers, willing
to accept from him anything, however eccentric or ridiculous.
“Am I am Inspired Prophet 7”—This was the subject of Keshub’s
anniversary address in January, 1879. It brings out forcibly his
egotism and claims. He begins, “Again and again has India asked
me, ‘Art thou an inspired Prophet 7’’’ The question was said to
have “gathered force year after year, like rising and swelling
surges, from province to province till it assumed the formidable
proportions of a natural problem.” India denotes a few Bramhos.
His answer to the question is, “Far from being a prophet, I am
myself in need of prophetic guidance and help. Then what am I,
if I am not a prophet 7 I am a singular man. I am not as ordinary
men are, and I say this deliberately.” He thus states his claims:
“Men" have attempted to prove that I have been guided by my own
imagination, reason, and intellect. Under this conviction they have
from time to time protested against my proceedings. They should
remember that to protest against the cause I uphold is to protest against
the dispensations of God Almighty, the God of all Truth and Holiness.”
“In doing this work, I am confident I have not done any thing that is
wrong. I have ever tried to do the Lord's will, not mine. Surely I
am not to blame for anything which I may have done under Heaven’s
injunction. Dare you impeach Heaven's Majesty P Would you have
me reject God and Providence, and listen to your dictates in preference to
His inspiration ? Keshub Chunder Sen cannot do it, will not do it. I
must do the Lord's will. Man's creed, man's counsel, I will not follow,
but will trust and serve the Lord.”
Keshub claimed inspiration for his authority, he had not done any-
thing wrong, and those who protested against his proceedings im-
peached Heaven’s Majesty | He himself has given the true explana-
tion in one of his prayers: •
“A DELUSION.
“I have strangely got into the habit, O my God, of crediting Thee
with all my ideas and plans, I, as Thy servant, ought to follow only Thy
commandment, forsaking all that pleases me, and adopting whatsoever is
agreeable to Thee. But instead of doing this, I strive to follow my
own plans and schemes, and then I ascribe to Thee their authorship.
Having come so far in the path of religion, I feel it a humiliation to
* Quoted by Pandit Sivanath Sastri. The New Dispensation, &c., p. 36.
40 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
believe that I am carrying out my own wishes. I would fain believe that
in all my doings I only follow Thy leading, and I feel glad when people
give me credit for obeying Thy will and sacrificing my own. But
Self-sacrifice is a hard thing, and I am carried away by my own ideas,
feelings, and tastes. All that I can do is to make myself and others believe
that every thing I do is the Lord's doing, and that all my purposes are
Divine purposes. Thus errors and vices in my life become sacred in my
estimation, in the course of time, with the imaginary imprimatur of Thy
seal. Lord, deliver me from this delusion.” p. 51.
“Who is Christ?”—Keshub made great efforts to recover lost
ground. What first brought him prominently before Europeans was
his address in 1866, “Jesus Christ : Europe and Asia.” “For
thirteen years in India,” says Mr. Mozoomdar, “he held his peace
on this subject.” In April 1879, he gave an address on, “India
asks: Who is Christ º' He began by confessing, “I am not a
Christian,” and then he claimed to know more about Jesus Christ
than all the Christian nations of Europe and America :
“Gentlemen, go to the rising sun in the East, not to the setting sun
in the West, if you wish to see Christ in the plenitude of his glory and
in the fulness and freshness of his divine life. Why do I speak of Christ
in the West as the setting sun ? Because there we find apostolical
Christianity almost gone ; there we find the life of Christ formulated into
lifeless dogmas, and antiquated symbols. But if you go to the true
Christ in the East and his apostles, your are at once seized with inspira-
tion. You find the truths of Christianity all fresh and resplendent.
Recall to your minds, gentlemen, the true Asiatic Christ, divested of all
western appendages, carrying on the work of redemption among his own
people. . . . The outward Christ is evidently an Asiatic, and as such he
comes home to us, and rivets our national sympathies.” pp. 283, 284.
His biographer says, “ For the first time he startled the whole
theistic community by declaring the divinity of Christ :”
“Christ struck the key-note of his doctrine when he announced his
divinity before an astonished and amazed world in these words: “I and
my Father are one.’ I can answer you, my friends, that I love Christ
and honor him more for the sake of these words than for anything else.
For these memorable and imperishable words furnish an index to the
mystery and glory of his real character. Were it not for this bold asser-
tion of identity with the Godhead, I would not honor Christ so much
as I do.”
But Jesus Christ meant one thing, while Keshub tried to make
Him express his own ideas. Of few things do Christians complain
more than the use by their opponents of Christian phraseology,
with a totally different meaning.
“Behold Christ cometh to us as an Asiatic in race, as Hindu in faith,
as a kinsman and a brother, and he demands your heart's affection. The
devout Christ like your Yogis and Rishis, lived a life of sweet devotion,
and loved to dwell always in the Supreme Spirit. In accepting him you
KESHUB CHUNDER SEN. 41
accept the spirit of a devout Yogi and a loving Bhakta, the fulfilment
of your national scriptures and prophets.” p. 302.
The Motherhood of God.—At the same time Keshub sought more
and more to conciliate orthodox Hindus. In 1876 he made a
strange new acquaintance. There came to him one morning, in
a rickety hack carriage, a disorderly-looking young man, insuffi-
ciently clad, and with manners less than insufficient. . He was
introduced as Ramkrishna, a great Vaishnava devotee. Above all
things he cherished the conception of God as Mother. To him
the female principle in the Hindu idea of Godhead, Shakti, the
incarnation of force, popularly called Kali, was the Supreme mother.
The goddess Kali to whom he prayed made him recognize every
woman as her incarnation. He bowed his head to the ground
before women, and even before little girls. Keshub, in his devo-
tional conversations, often addressed the Deity in various forms of
the word mother. And now the sympathy, friendship, and example
of the Paramhansa converted the motherhood of God into a subject
of special culture with him. The greater part of the year 1879 wit-
nessed this development. A half-crazed Vaishnava devotee largely
acquired the influence over Keshub which Theodore Parker had
exerted in his younger days. Keshub probably thought that this
dogma of the “Motherhood of God” would render his system more
acceptable to the Shakti worshippers who predominate in Bengal.
The doctrine of the “Motherhood of God” was set forth to the
followers of Durga and Kali as a grand discovery of the Samaj.
It was heralded to the world by flags with the word “Mother”
inscribed on them, it was paraded in the streets by processions,
chanting newly-composed hymns, in which the word “Mother” had
a prominent place. Not satisfied with this, Keshub, as an “inspired
prophet,” issued proclamations in the name of God. One of them
ran thus:–
“Go and proclaim me Mother of India,” said the Lord to his disciples
gathered around him. “Many are ready to worship me as their father.
But they know not that I am their mother too, tender, indulgent, for-
giving, always ready to take back the penitent child. Ye shall go forth
from city to city and from village to village, singing my mercies, and
proclaiming to all men that I am India's Mother.” ...And may India, so
convinced, come to me and say,+" Blessed be thy name, Sweet Goddess
We have heard and seen the Supreme Mother's apostle.”
A later “ proclamation” was as follows:—
“To all my Soldiers in India.
“My affectionate greetings to all. Accept this proclamation. Believe
that it goeth forth from Heaven, in the name and with the love of your
Mother, and carry out its behests like loyal soldiers and devoted
children :”
“The British Government is my Government and the Brahma Samaj
6
42 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMs.
is my Church. My daughter, Queen Victoria, have I ordained and set
over the country to rule its people. Be loyal to her, for the warrant of
her appointment bears my signature. -
“Tell all the people to come direct to me, without a mediator or inter-
cessor, and accept me as their Mother. The influence of the earthly
mother at home and of the Queen Mother at the head of the Government
will raise the hearts of my Indian children to the Supreme Mother.
“India’s Mother.”
Miss Collet calls the above “an undisguised piece of blasphemy.”
Reshub thought that the Kuch Behar question had winnowed away
the chaff and left him the wheat. The reverse would rather seem
to have been the case. It seems impossible for any man of ordinary
intelligence to have approved of such proceedings.
God-Vision.—The subject of his anniversary address in 1880 was
“ God-Vision in the Nineteenth Century.” He begins, “I am here
to-day to tell you the marvellous secrets of God-Vision,” “to unravel
this sacred mystery.”
After a long introduction, he says:—
“I have said enough concerning the Living God who reveals Himself
unto us in all the ruling and active forces in nature. But does this
Living God manifest Himself alone P God Almighty, art Thou alone P
I have ventured to take the dial off this universe, and the wondrous
things that lay concealed therein have been revealed. Now I ask Thee,
O Spirit Supreme, is there any one else with Thee or art Thou alone,
sitting in solitary glory? Methinks I see another being there. It is my
Christ.”
Keshub goes on to explain that it is his Christ who is there—
not the Christ of the New Testament. He adds :—
“ Not only is Christ there, but there are also Moses and Elias, and all
the Jewish prophets of older times, and Paul and all the apostles. And
Chaitanya, too, the blessed prophet of India, and the immortal Sakya
Muni, and Confucius, and Zoroaster too. All our masters are there
assembled. Seated on smaller thrones they surround the throne of the
Great Spirit, whose glory is in them and in whose glory they dwell.”
This attempt to “take the dial off the universe,” is much of a
piece with his “proclamation of India’s Mother.”
Pilgrimages.—The idea of these was announced as follows in
the Sunday Mirror:-
“It is proposed to promote communion with departed saints among the
more advanced Bramhos. With a view to achieve this object success-
fully, ancient prophets and saints will be taken one after another OIl
special occasions and made the subject of close study, meditation, and
prayer. Particular places will be assigned to which the devotees will
resort as pilgrims. Then, for hours together, they will try to draw
inspiration from particular saints. We believe a spiritual pilgrimage
RESTEIU B C HUNDER SEN. 43
to Moses will be shortly undertaken. Only earnest devotees ought to
join.” Feb. 8, 1880.
“Those among our brethren who have made up their minds to converse
through the Lord with the spirit of Moses are requested to go through
the requisite preparation and discipline during the next week. On
Sunday next they will be called upon to meet on the spiritual Sinai to hold
communion with the prophet of the Jewish dispensation.” Feb. 15, 1880.
The spiritual Sinai was the room used as an oratory in Keshub's
house to which, on the 22nd of February, the pilgrims duly
repaired.
“For eight days and nights the pilgrims dwelt with Moses in his
heavenly mansion, and the Lord Jehovah continued to inspire them with
the fire of the Mosaic dispensation, renewed and rekindled under the New
Dispensation. And then, as the last day drew near, the holy Spirit of
Moses thus spoke through the Law unto the assembled pilgrims.”
Here follows a column of poetic exhortation, imitated from the
Bible. The next pilgrimage was to Socrates. On March 7, the
pilgrims “ proceeded solemnly to the study, chanting a hymn,”
after which “the minister began the invocation thus :-This is not
Calcutta, but Athens ; not India, but Greece. The spirit of
Socrates is with us.” “On the following Sunday (March 17) there
was a pilgrimage to Buddha, and on March 21, the pilgrims visited
the abode of the ancient sages and saints of India “ on the Himalaya
heights,” and solemaly entered the Vedic sanctuary, 40 centuries
old.” On August 8, there was “a pilgrimage to Jesus,” and on
Sept. 19, “the Brahmo devotees were introduced by the Lord to
Arabia’s benefactor and prophet,” and after the usual Sunday
morning service, “they were led by the spirit of God into the
heavenly mansions of Mahomet, where they spent some time in
acquiring the deeper faith and wisdom of Islam. The Lord inter-
preted the prophet’s true mission and brought it home to the
pilgrims.”
In course of time, says his biographer, the list came down to
Faraday, Carlyle, and Emerson.
THE NEW DISPENSATION.
In theology the word dispensation denotes a system of principles
and rites enjoined, or God’s manner of dealing with man in the
work of redemption. As early as 1875, Keshub said, “The light
of a New Dispensation is vouchsafed by Providence for India’s sal-
vation.” He defined a Dispensation to mean “God’s saving mercy
adapting itself in a special manner to the requirements of special
epochs in the world’s history.” “ Keshub of late,” says Mr.
* Miss Collet's Brahmo Year Book for 1880, pp. 34, 35.
44 THE BRAPIMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
Mozoomdar, “ had not been very fond of the name Brahmo Somaj.”
To distinguish his society, he resolved to characterize it as the
“Church of the New Dispensation.” It was formally proclaimed
under that title in his anniversary address in January, 1881, “We
Apostles of the New Dispensation.” The following are some
extracts :
“Asia, mother of many dispensations, has given birth to another child,
and its birth-festival shall be celebrated amid great rejoicing.
Christ's Dispensation is said to be divine. I say that this Dispensa-
tion is equally divine. Assuredly it is the Lord of Heaven who has sent
this new Gospel unto the world.
Its distinguishing feature is its immediacy, its denial of a mediator.
While other dispensations have their special mediatorial agencies between
God and a sinful world, bere we have no such thing, no intercessor, no
mediator.
13esides immediacy there is another characteristic of the present dispen-
sation which distinguishes it from all other religions. It is inclusive,
while they are more or less exclusive. They exclude each other. But
this includes all religions.
Such is the New Dispensation. It is the harmony of all Scriptures
and prophets and dispensations,
Before the flag of the New Dispensation bow ye nations and proclaim
the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of man.
A Paper headed, “What is the New Dispensation ?” contains the
following :
“Let us sing the glory of the New Dispensation, the latest Revela-
tion of our heavenly Father unto us, His children and servants in India.
The New Dispensation is the harmony of all Scriptures and all saints
and all sects.
It is an explanation of pantheism and polytheism.
It is Christ's Kingdom of heaven.
It is the dawn of the Satya Yug, or the Golden Age of universal
peace.
It is Christ's Second Advent.
It is the philosophy of the Trinity.
It is the Third Testament.
It is the Advent of the promised Comforter.”
The following illustrations are given of the “inclusiveness” of
the New Dispensation —
“I am all things to all men. To me says—
A Christian : Verily thou art a Christian, and not far from the King-
dom of heaven.
A Hindu : Thou art a genuine Hindu and the Rishis dwell in Thee.
A Buddhist : I look upon thee as one of us, and already Nirvana.
smiles on thy face.
A Jew : Thou art a pure Theist and a strict Jew, and Jehovah is thy
God.
KESHUB CHUNDER SEN. 45
A Mahomedan : We hail thee as a believer in Islam, and a follower of
our Prophet. - -
&c. &c. &c. &c.
Thus they all claim me, they all honour me.
| x
Blessed be the New Dispensation
The influence of the Vaishnava devotee, who gained such an
ascendancy over Keshub, is apparent in the song of the New Dis-
pensation : -
“Chanting the name of Hari the saints dance.
Dances my Sowranga (Chaitanya) in the midst of devotees, drunk with
the nectar of emotion, with tears of love in his eyes, Oh how charming
the sight.
Moses dances, Jesus dances, with hands uplifted, inebriated with love,
and the great rishi Narad dances playing on the lyre.
The great Yogi Mahadeo dances with joy; with whom dances John
with his disciples.
Nanak, Prahlad, and Nityanand all dance; and in their midst are Paul
and Mahomed.
Behold | Hari, inebriated with his own love, dances in the company of
His devotees and utters “Hari, Hari.”
With the Lord Hari in the middle, the saints dance in a circle, throw-
ing their arms round each other's necks.
Hearing the glad tidings of the New Dispensation, dance both the
heaven and earth, and utter “Hari, Hari.”
There was a time when Keshub was unfavourable to the introduc-
tion of a single flower garland into a place of public worship. But
now he entered with great enthusiasm upon an endless succession
of symbols and celebrations. Some of the principal will be noticed.
The Flag Ceremony.—The Banner of the New Dispensation was
unfurled at the anniversary festival in 1883. The following account
of the ceremony is taken from The Sunday Mirror :
“Every faithful Brahmo and member of the New Dispensation was
exhorted to vow his allegiance to the banner of regenerated and saving
theism. Accordingly, on the evening of the annual festival held on
Sunday last, the prominent object noticed by the congregation was a
handsome crimson-silk banner, mounted upon a silver pole, fixed on the
open space of marble pavement in front of the pulpit. After the Samkir-
tan at sunset, began the ceremony announced before, of unfurling the
flag of the New Dispensation. A new form of evening worship called Arati
was first gone through...The worshippers held each a lighted candle in
his band, creating a brilliant and picturesque effect. Dozens of musical
instruments, from the English bugle and gong to the traditional conch
shell, were loudly and simultaneously performed upon. The varied and
deafening peals issuing from these instruments, combined with the voices
of scores of men who stood up and went round in a circle with the burn-
* Sunday Mirror, March 7, 1880,
46 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
ing tapers in their hands, heartily chanting the Arati hymn, produced
upon the immense crowd present an effect which must be felt to be
understood.”
Reshub thus proclaimed it :
“Behold the flag of the ‘New Dispensation ''The silken flag is crimson
with the blood of martyrs. It is the flag of the Great King of Heaven
and Earth, the One Supreme Lord. At the foot of the holy standard are
the Scriptures of the Hindus, Christians, Mahomedans, and Buddhists,
the sacred repositories of the wisdom of ages, and the inspiration of
saints, our light and our guide. Glory unto God in the highest Honor
to all prophets and saints in heaven, and to all Scriptures on earth !
TJnto the New Dispensation Victory !”
The Hom Ceremony.—This is essentially a Hindu observance.
The Hindus worship fire as God on such occasions, but Keshub
worshipped God in the fire. A large iron pan was placed in front
of the pulpit ; an earthen vessel, containing ghee, bundles of sticks,
and piles of firewood were gathered together in one place, and there
was a large metal spoon. A circle of fragrant flowers and ever-
greens surrounded the whole. Keshub lighted the fuel and poured
over it the ghee, producing a brisk fire, which he addressed thus:
“O Thou blazing Agni (fire) great, great art thou, great among the
forces of creation. We shall honor thee and magnify thee because of
thy greatness and majesty. Thou art not God. ...We do not adore thee.
But in thee dwells the Lord, the Eternal Inextinguishable Flame, the
Light of the Universe, the imminent Fire, Fire of fire whom fire doth
reveal and glorify. O thou brilliant Agni, in thee we behold our
Resplendent Lord.”
Then followed a prayer to God, after which the minister cast the
six pieces of fuel into the burning fire, the congregation exclaimin
together, ‘Victory to God, Victory to God, Victory to God Pf
With reference to the above, Sivanath Sastri justly says:
“It is a common remark with intelligent idolaters, that in bowing
before the idol they do not worship it, but they worship God who as an
Omnipresent Being resides in it. Does not Mr. Sen follow the same
argument when he offers his thanksgivings to fire or water and says,
* Thou art not God, but in thee dwells the Lord P' Is not such practice
half-way to idolatry P’’:
Baptismal Ceremony.—This was thus celebrated:
“The devotees formed a procession and solemnly moved on, singing a
hymn with the accompaniment of the mridanga, the conch shell, and
cymbals, till they reached the bathing ghat of the tank attached to the
-
* Quoted by Pandit Sivanath Sastri, The New Dispensation, pp. 54, 55.
+ (juoted by Pandit Sivanath Sastri from The New Dispensation.
† The New Dispensation, &c., p. 6.
KESHUB CEIUNDER SEN. 47
house of the minister. The place had been decorated with flowers and
evergreens, and the flag of the New Dispensation, was wºving ºn the
breeze. The devotees took their seats upon the steps of the ghat; the
minister sat upon a piece of tiger's skin stretched upon a wooden pulpit
erected for the occasion. The minister said, ‘Verily, verily, here was
the Lord Jesus baptised 1800 years ago. Behold the holy Waters
wherein was the Son of God immersed. See ye here the blessed Jesus
and by his side John the Baptist administering the rite of Baptism.
Nay, behold in the sky above the descent of the Holy Ghost. All three
are here present, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, spiritually united.
Pilgrim-brothers, mark their union to-day on this hallowed spot.
An imitation of the Lord’s Supper will not be described.
Ordination of Apostles.—Some men were set apart as apostles the
same year. Their feet were washed and wiped, after which each
was presented with a silver medal, followed by a stick and a scrip:
Dressed as a mendicant, with head shaved, Keshub, the servant of
the apostles, humbly received these and asked for alms. There:
upon rice and vegetables were put into the small bag which he held
in his hand. For 30 days Keshub was pledged to live exclusively
upon alms, in the shape of rice, dal, salt, oil, vegetables, fruit, &c.,
with which kind friends might favor him.
Compromise with Idolatry.—Keshub’s fervid denunciation of
idolatry at the outset of his career as a reformer has been quoted at
page 28. Very different is the tone of the following extract from
his organ, the Sunday Mirror :
THE PHILOSOPHY OF IDOL WoRSHIP.
“Hindu idolatry is not to be altogether overlooked or rejected. As
we explaimed some time ago, it represents millions of broken fragments
of God. Collect them together, and you get the indivisible Divinity.
When the Hindus lost sight of their great God, they contented them-
selves with retaining particular aspects of Him, and representing them in
human shapes or images. Their idolatry is nothing but the worship of
a Divine attribute materialized. If the material shape is given up, what
remains is a beautiful allegory or picture of Heaven's dispensations. The
Theist rejects the image, but he cannot dispense with the spirit of which
that image is the form. The revival of the spirit, the destruction of the
form, is the work of the New Dispensation. Cheer up, then, O Hindus,
for the long lost Father from whom ye have for centuries strayed away,
is coming back to you. The road is clear enough ; it lies through your
numerous Puranasand Epics. Never were we so struck with the divinity
of the eclectic method as when we explored the gloomy regions of
mythological India. The sermons now delivered in the Brahma Mandir
are solely occupied with the precious truths discovered therein, and our
own occupation is merely to gather the jewels as we go on. We have
found out that every idol worshipped by the Hindu represents an attribute
48 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIO. SYSTEMS,
of God, and that each attribute is called by a particular name. The
believer in the New Dispensation is required to worship God as the
possessor of all those attributes, represented by the Hindu as innumer-
able or 330 millions. To believe in an undivided deity without reference
to those aspects of His nature, is to believe in an abstract God, and it
would lead us to practical rationalism and infidelity. Nor can we worship
the same God with the same attributes investing Him. That would make
our worship dull, lifeless, and insipid. Hence we should contemplate
Him with His numerous attributes. We shall name one attribute
Saraswati, another Lakshmi, another Mahadeva, another Jagatdhatri,
&c., and worship God each day under a new name, that is to say, in a
new aspect. We do not worship Him as a Yogi for ever, or as Father, or
as Mother, or as Lakshmi, or as Saraswati. But now the one and then
the other, and so on, beholding our Hari in new garb, and in new loveli-
ness for ever. How bewitching the prospect how grand the picture!”
Aug. 1, 1880.*
The name Hari was ostentatiously used at the anniversary services,
leading many Hindus to suppose that Vishnu was meant. From the
Vaishnava cult, Keshub probably gathered his great faith in the
efficacy of the utterance of the Divine Name. Copying the Hindu
rosary, he composed what he called, “The Garland of a hundred
and eight Names,” which was introduced into the daily form of
worship of the members of the New Dispensation. -
New Dance.—The Vaishnavas have a dance in imitation of
Krishna dancing with the milkmaids. Keshub, besides the
dancing in song, had it in reality in his Mandir, or church. It is
thus described :
“The New Dance on the occasion of our late holy festival was a
success. The number of dancers doubled and trebled in no time, and
exceeded all calculations, and the enthusiasm was so great that the
limited space in front of the Vedi (pulpit) where the dance took place,
soon became hot as a furnace. Yet the shout and the gallop, and the
joyous whirl round and round went on, and it was quite a blessed sight
Go see so many boys and youths and men of maturer years all dancing
around their invisible Mother in the centre. The three “circles ' wore
chudders of different colours, yellow, white, and brown, and as they
moved, one within another with hand upraised, keeping time according
to the deep sweet sound of the sacred mridanga, the sight was both
cheering and inspiring. The limited accommodation proved a source of
inconvenience, and everybody felt that the New Dance required a much
larger area where hundreds might join and dance merrily. There was
the flag of the New Dispensation, and the usual accompaniment of native
dance, the jingling nepur (anklet) was not wanting on the occasion.
Bhai Kunja Bihari led the dance.”f
Jugglery—Keshub, when young, was fond of acting as a juggler.
* Quoted by Miss Collet, Brahmo Year Book for 1880, pp. 33, 34.
+ The New Dispensation, Sept. 10, 1882. Quoted by Miss Collet,
KESHUB CHUNDER SEN. 49
In the year before his death he thus sought to explain “The Magic
of the New Dispensation”:—
“The Juggler who appeared, on Tuesday last, in the last scene of the
New Dispensation Drama, explained the deeper principles of the New
Faith as they had never been explained before. There was the magician
waving his magic wand, using his magical apparatus, and performing
wonderful conjuring tricks amid enthusiastic cheers. He knelt before a
plantain tree and humbly entreated it to reveal the autograph of its Lord
and Master. And then he cut off a large leaf with a knife, and lo the
name of Hari was found inscribed thereon. The trunk of the free then
yielded, under the Juggler's bidding, the nectar of God’s love, through
a small pipe he attached to it, first as rose-water and them as sherbet.
The symbols of the various religions were then exhibited, such as the
Christian's Cross, the Mahometan's Crescent, the Vedic Om, the Saiva's
Trident, and the Vaishnava's Khunti. These stand aloof from each
other in decided antagonism and never coalesce. By dexterous shuffling
these symbols were in an instant made into one.”
Max Müller has given the most charitable explanation of these
proceedings: “His utterances of late have shown signs, I am sorry
to say, of an over-wrought brain and an over-sensitive heart. He
sometimes seems to me on the verge of the very madness of faith.”f
Last Annual Addresses.—“That Marvellous Mystery—the
Trinity,” was delivered in 1882. The following extracts will give
some idea of its contents: .
“It is not the dead bones of a dead doctrine, gathered from dead books,
nor the antiquated and lifeless Trinity, fossilized in Western theology,
a theological cant, a dark enigma—that I am going to present to you ;
but the living Trinity, the infant soul has seen in the light of faith.”
“While surrounding nations think and surmise, India, blessed India,
sees and hears. Let India then speak, and let the world for a moment
listen, Europe be silent, while a humble Asiatic discourses upon the
doctrine of the Trinity. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost ; the
Creator, the Exemplar, and the Sanctifier; Sat, Chit, Ananda, * Truth
Intelligence, and Joy.' You have here three conditions, three manifesta.
tions of Divinity.”
Keshub's explanation of the “marvellous mystery” is akin to the
doctrine of Sabellius, a Unitarian who lived 1,500 years ago, and
which has ever since been rejected by the Christian Church.
Asia’s Message to Europe, delivered in 1883, was Keshub's final
public address. The following are a few extracts:
“Europe, I charge thee to be unsectarian. Asia’s first message to
Wºn nations is—Put the sword of sectarianism adroitly into the
Sheath.
“In Science there cannot be sects or divisions, schisms, or enmities. Is
# The New Dispensation, 1st April, 1883. Quoted by Miss Collet.
t Biographical Essays, p. 92,
7
50 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
there one astronomy for the East and another for the West ? Is there an
Asiatic optics as distinguished from European optics P Science is one ;
it is one yesterday, to-day, and for ever ; the same in the East and the
West. There can be but one science; it recognises neither caste nor
colour nor nationality. It is God's science, the eternal verity of things.
If God is one, His Church must be one.
“All India must believe that Christ is the Son of God. Nay, more
than this, I will make myself bold to prophesy, all India will one day
acknowledge Jesus Christ as the atonement, the universal atonement
for all mankind.”
“He has given his precious blood for all of us, whether we believe
it or not. Whether we be Hindus or Mahometans, disciples or even
enemies of Christ, he has shed his atoning blood for each one of us.
We have only to apply it to ourselves. He has done his work, let us
do ours. Let us all believe that he has died for you and me and the
atonement on our side is completed.
“Fellow countrymen, be ye reconciled through him.
“Christ's simple Gospel, the simplest indeed of all Gospels, is summed
up in two words, Bathe and Eat. Baptism and Eucharist represent and
symbolise the two grand and essential principles of his creed.”
New Samhita.--Keshub had been suffering for some time from
diabetes. In April, 1883, he was recommended to go to Simla, but
the change did no good. He felt that his life was ebbing away, so
he wished to leave behind him a kind of guide for the religious life
of the Bramhos. As soon as he rallied from his first attack of
illness at Simla, he began the “New Samhita (Code) or the Sacred
Laws of the Aryans of the New Dispensation.” It appeared by
instalments in his New Dispensation paper.
It begins with an invocation, concluding as follows:–
“6. Speak then unto us, O Thou Holy God of India, Thou God of .
our ancestors, and declare Thy New Samhita unto the people of the New
Church.”
Then follow rules about the House and the Householder. Under
the second head one of the directions is as follows:—
“9. Having read the morning papers and transacted such business
as is of great urgency, the householder shall take his daily bath and
ablutions in a reverent spirit.”
Worship in the sanctuary comes next, followed by regulations
about Daily Meals, Business, &c. The different ceremonies are
described, from the Birth ceremony to the Shradda ceremony
after death. The concluding portion treats of Vows.
The work was dictated to his son in the early morning. For the
rest of the day he could not do any head work, but occupied
himself chiefly in making little articles of carpentry, very neatly
executed. -
KESEIUB CHUNDER SEN. 51
Before the Code was published, Keshub wrote :-
“The New Samhita will be shortly ready, and a day ought to be ap:
pointed for its formal promulgation among our people, a day that will
close the epoch of anarchy, self-will, and lawlessness, and ushër in the
kingdom of law, and discipline, and harmony.”
How far these hopes were realised will appear hereafter.
During the latter part of his stay on the Himalayas, Keshub
also wrote a series of essays, under the title of “Yoga, Subjective
and Objective.” Yoga is defined as “communion with God.”
It is realized in three ways; first in nature, secondly in the soul,
and thirdly in history.
LAST DAYS.
The New Sanctuary–In the middle of September, 1883, Keshub
left Simla for Calcutta. One of the best rooms in his residence
had been given up for domestic worship. He wished to have
a separate building for the purpose. One day in November as he
was walking feebly in the garden, he ordered some workmen to
be called, and directed them to demolish one side of the extensive
brick enclosures of Lily Cottage. Having thus obtained a supply of
bricks and other materials, he set about the erection of the new
Devalaya or Sanctuary.
As the cold weather set in, he grew worse and worse. Many
doctors were called in—European, Hindu, and Muhammadan;
but all in vain. A few weeks before his end he directed his
cousin, Joy Krishna Sen, M. A., to write a complete report of the
Brahmo Samaj of India.
In the last week of December, Keshub suffered a severe relapse.
The consecration ceremony of the new Sanctuary was to take
place on the 1st January, 1884. He insisted on being taken down-
stairs to preside on the occasion. He was carried and seated on
the new marble pulpit and in an almost inaudible voice cried
Namah Sachidananda Haré, ‘Salutation to the God of truth
Nº. and joy.” He then offered a prayer to the Divine
Other :-
“I have come, O Mother, into thy sanctuary. This day in Thy holy
presence, and in the presence of Thy devotees here as well as in heaven, Ö
thou Spirit Mother, this new Devalaya is consecrated. This place where
I worship my Mother is my Brindaban, my Kashi, my Mecca, my
Jerusalem. I am happy amidst the agonies of my disease in the
presence of my Mother, and may this happiness be yours also.”
Death-The above was Keshub's last recorded prayer, his last.
appearance before his adherents. The effort aggravated the disease.
The pains in his loins became intolerable. At other times he had
52 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
always remained silent in the torment of physical pain. Now his
agonised cries of Baba (father) and Ma (mother) resounded day and
night through the house and neighbourhood. The doctors gave him
powerfül narcotics which produced prolonged intervals of stupor,
but as soon as he awoke the agony returned with increased
violence. He became restless, ceaselessly turning from side to side,
and piteously groaning. For the last two or three days, excepting
the occasional feeble utterances of pain, he was still and outwardly
insensible, yet when some of his favourite hymns were sung he seemed
to listen with attention. When his end drew near, the frantic
mother and wife, daughters and sons filled the house with lamen-
tations which no one had the heart to control. And amidst each
lull of this many-voiced wretchedness, Keshub’s faint dying
moans were heard. They still shaped inarticulately the words,
“Father l’ ‘Mother.’ On the morning of the 8th January,
1884, he breathed his last. His wife clung to the lifeless feet,
bedeved them with tears and cried out, “I got a divine being for
my husband.” Keshub’s mother said, “ Child, in thy blessed
image I see no man. It is the beauty of Mahadeva!”
Cremation.—The disciples carefully washed and robed the depart-
ed master. Wreathed with garlands of fragrant flowers, dressed
in silks of the purest white, the body was laid out in state in the
New Sanctuary. In the afternoon the funeral procession was made
up, attended by crowds. When the body was laid on the pyre, the
officiating priest chanted the usual Sanskrit verse, and Keshub's
eldest son applied a torch to the fuel. As the body began to
burn the mourners with one voice cried out, “ Glory be unto the
Redeemer who is Truth, Wisdom, and Joy.” The ashes were
collected and brought in an urn to Lily Cottage. Fifteen days
afterwards the Shradh ceremony was performed, and the ashes were
deposited in the open space in front of the New Sanctuary. The
spot is now marked by an obelisk of white marble, with the
symbolic device of the New Dispensation, made up of the cross,
crescent, trident, and Vedic Omkar.
THE SAMAJ AFTER KESHUB's DEATH.
In imitation of Jesus Christ, Keshub ordained apostles of the New
Dispensation who were to manage the affairs of the Church after
his decease. For some time before his death, Keshub’s life was
embittered by the dissensions among his followers. He says in the
New Dispensation :
“The angry quarrels of those around me have pierced my heart and
made it bleed profusely, and the multitudinous instances of revenge
which I daily see before me torment my very bones. When will all this
strife and contention in Thy household cease ? Forgiveness these
KESHUB CEIUNDER SEN. 53
people will not learn; it is to them an abomination. Nay, they proudly
rejoice in oppressing and tormenting and reviling their brothers for
the least provocation that cometh from them, in returning evil for evil,
and in persecuting their opponents.” July 29th, 1882.
P. C. Mozoomdar returned from a tour round the world shortly
after Keshub’s death. The “Apostolic Durbar,” composed of the
Apostles and Missionaries, in all 21 members, at their first meeting
passed the following resolution :
“We believe that our Minister existed and shall ever exist in the
bosom of God as the Minister of the New Dispensation. The relation we
bear to him is not transient but everlasting. To preserve, demonstrate,
and declare to the world the permanent relation of the Minister of the
New Dispensation, the President's seat in the Durbar and his pulpit in
the Sanctuary and Tabernacle shall remain vacant.”
One of the first points of dispute was the claim of Mr. Mo-
zoomdar, as nominal leader of the New Dispensation, to occupy the
pulpit. For years this controversy has continued. At the whole
day festival in 1888, Mr. MoZoomdar was asked to give a short
address to the congregation. The Epiphany says:
“He ventured to seat himself upon the centre of the Vedi, in the very
spot consecrated by the touch of the Minister | A violent attempt was
made to drag the sacrilegious intruder from his place, but without effect.
With as much dignity as the circumstances permitted, Mr. Mozoomdar
sat still and prayed at his enemies until Something like order was restor-
ed, when he rose from his place and suggestively proceeded to “Peace
Cottage’ and there conducted Divine Service.” Jan. 28, 1888.
The Vedi question was still unsettled in June 1888. One pro-
posal, which finds favour with The Liberal, is to erect “seats for
the officiating ministers on each side of the seat which used to be
occupied by our Minister.” June 10th,
The ownership of the Mandir was another bone of conten-
tion. It was said that some of the members of Keshub’s family
wished to regard it as private property, but though the documents
are in the Minister’s name, there is no doubt that it was considered
to belong to the public. After a long dispute, it was handed over
to trustees in November, 1886.
Church government was a third cause of dissension. Mr. Mo-
zoomdar contended for the rights of the Samaj as a whole in
opposition to the rule of the Apostolic Durbar. In his anniversary
address in 1888, he says:
“Every sect, every community, every church has its organization. We
in the Brahmo Somaj have also tried to organize our movement, though
I am sorry to say, with no conspicuous success. The present condition
of anarchy in our section of the Brahmo Somaj at all events, proves that
* Liberal and New Dispensation, March 2, 1884.
54 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMs.
my remark is well founded. The disgraceful party spirit, ill-feeling, the
quarrels, and scandals, the utter absence of authority in all affairs of
importance, show unmistakably that we stand in sad necessity of some
regular constitution to guide ourselves. What is it to be P is it to be
unbridled democracy, the reckless despotism of one individual, or the
irresponsible power of a prelacy P All these principles have at different
times clamoured for mastery in the Brahmo Somaj.”
On the 7th April, Mr. MoZoomdar, in an address at the Adi
Brahmo Somaj, proposed a Brahmo Union, mainly on the ground
of a common belief in the unity of God.
The scheme is not favourably regarded by the Apostolic Durbar.
It virtually amounts to the formation of a new society, although
this is disclaimed by Mr. MoZoomdar.
“Return to Vedanta.”—The Liberal and New Dispensation has
an article with the above heading. It begins and ends as follow :
“We need not say much upon our return to Vedanta. This is
a known fact. The foundation of Brahmoism was laid upon Upani.
shads. Although we have advanced, the foundation remains as it was.
The Vedas ended with the knowledge of Brahma. How did they end we
need not mention here. In us and around us, we must see One Per-
vading Spirit with our mental eye; this is what Vedanta inculcates,
and this is what the Vedas tend to ... It was left for the present Dispen-
sation to bring out all the elements that worked in Vedantic period,
to give a connective link to the whole. Our return to Vedanta has
effected this, and we are so much the more grateful to our Lord.” June
7th, 1885.
During the last six years, the most marked feature of the New
Dispensation Church has been its internal dissensions. . Several
attempts have been made to heal the divisions, but thus far with-
Out success.
English Publications.—The Brahmo Tract Society, Office, 78
Upper Circular Road, Calcutta, publishes the “Lectures, Sermons,
Essays, and Miscellaneous Writings of Keshub Chunder Sen, both
in English and Bengali.”
The Leading English newspapers are the following:
The Liberal and New Dispensation. This was formerly regarded
as the organ of the Society. The first part contained general
articles and news ; the second referred specially to the New
Dispensation, and generally gave some extracts from “the
Minister’s Prayers,” &c. It is no longer recognised by the Apos-
tolic Durbar, and is published independently by its editor.
The Interpreter, edited by Mr. Mozoomdar, was commenced as
a monthly in 1885. It has appeared irregularly.
The New Light is published by the Dacca Brahmo Samaj, and
the Bidhanbadi is printed at Lahore.
# The Interpreter, April 1, 1888.
KESHUB CHUNDER SEN. 55
KESHUB CHUNDER SEN's CHARACTER AND WORK.
If this were not the latter half of the nineteenth century, accord-
ing to the ordinary course of things in India, Keshub would in
time be deified. His followers, as it is, talk of his death as his
“ascension,” in imitation of that of the Lord Jesus Christ ; they
have striven to prevent his pulpit from being ever occupied by
another. The full, and apparently faithful, biography by his
relative and chief fellow-labourer, P. C. MoZoomdar, will probably
arrest any such movement. With some excellent traits of character,
it is very evident that Keshub had his share of human frailties.
The religious opinions generally held by the Bramhos will hereafter
be examined in detail: at present Keshub’s personal disposition,
peculiarities, and work will alone be noticed.
Fair Intellectual Powers.-Though Keshub does not rank with
the master-minds of the world, the great original thinkers by whom
it has been influenced, he stands high among his contemporary
countrymen.
Oratorical Ability.—Mr. Bose says, “As an orator he was cer-
tainly without a rival in his own country.” He spoke in English
with such accuracy and easy flow of language, that the Bengalis
were naturally proud of him ; he excited admiration even in Eng-
land. But though his addresses contain some striking thoughts
and eloquent passages, they are largely characterised by mere
verbiage and vague declamation. This especially applies to his later
efforts. As Mr. Bose remarks, “They were, moreover, marred by
an egotism which, in spite of his oft-repeated confessions of sin
and unworthiness, could not but be extremely repulsive.”
A Strong Will.—When he made up his mind, he began at once
to carry out his intentions, and no opposition would divert him.
Enthusiasm.—He possessed in a large degree this quality so
essential in a reformer.
High Moral Character.—For this he was distinguished from his
early years, and it marked him to the close of his career.
Religiousness.—While this is characteristic of orthodox Hindus
the very opposite is the case with the so-called educated classes.
They may be said, as a rule, to be “ of the earth, earthy.” To enjoy
the world is their sole aim in life. Keshub, on the contrary, was
noted for his deep spirituality of mind.
WEAK PoſNTs.-There is a Latin proverb, “Let nothing but what
is good be said of the dead.” Though this rule holds in ordinary
cases, when a man claims to be guided by adesh, or divine com-
mand, and to be the founder of a New Dispensation of religion
which is to embrace the whole world, duty requires that his char-
acter and conduct should be carefully scanned ; have Keshub's
been such as to justify his pretentions : While his good qualities
56 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS,
are cheerfully acknowledged, the interests at stake demand that
any of an opposite description should be fully stated. The question
is, can he be taken as a safe spiritual guide 7
Love of Pre-eminence.—This was one of the most conspicuous
elements of his character. It was manifested in childhood with
regard to games ; it was retained all through life.
Self-Confidence.—This was another prominent feature. If he and
the world differed, the world was wrong. A man may be entitled
to hold an opinion strongly after careful investigation, but Keshub
trusted chiefly to his own judgment and impulses. In his address,
“Am I an Inspired Prophet 7” he says, “How can he who scarcely
reads two books in 365 days be reckoned a wise or a learned man º’”
He said in the same address: “You speak of history, I hate dead
history. I abhor those dark places where dead men’s bones are
gathered.” If he had read history, he would probably not have
ventured to proclaim as a great discovery his explanation of the
Trinity which had been condemned by the Christian Church 15
centuries before he was born.
Pandit Sivanath Sastri remarks with reference to the above
“It is a moral rule, fit to be written in gold, that whoever wilfully
cuts himself off from the thought of mankind, him God dooms to
darkness and confusion.”
A Chameleon-like Disposition.—The chameleon is said to change
its hue according to the colour of the objects by which it is sur-
rounded. Keshub claimed that all his knowledge was derived
from “My Divinity, the Theist's Divinity, and not from books.”
His writings plainly show that at the outset of his career his creed
was largely borrowed from Theodore Parker. Latterly he gave up
reading ; the most sensible members of the Society, who had hitherto
restrained his vagaries, had seceded; he fell greatly under Vaishnava
influence, and became more and more a Hindu.
Extravagant Claims.-Keshub made his own self his little world.
He supposed the whole of India to be absorbed by the inquiry,
“Art thou an inspired prophet 7”
|Keshub claimed to be commissioned by God to preach certain
doctrines, to be guided in every duty of life by adesh. He claimed
exemption in his own case from the outward authority of his own
laws. “To protest,” he said, “against the cause I uphold, is to protest
against the dispensation of God Almighty, the God of all Truth
and Holiness.” Mr. Mozoomdar, says, “ In every quarrel, he had
with anybody, he absolutely believed God was on his side, his
enemies were absolutely wrong.” -
In a professed dialogue between God and the New Dispen-
sationists, he says in the name of God ; “ Leaders of congregations
are ordained by Me. Therefore treat your minister as one who
KESHUB CHUNDER SEN . 57
hath commission from Heaven. His words ye must hear with faith
and cherish with reverence.”
Keshub issued proclamations in the name of God: “The New
Dispensation, I say, stauds on the same level with the Jewish Dispen-
sation, the Christian Dispensation, and the Vaishnava Dispensatiºn
through Chaitanya.” Nay, he claims for it a higher place. The
Statesman says:
“Whereas each religion of the world is a precious jewel, Brahmoism we
learn is a string of jewels. The meaning of all this is tolerably clear.
All prophets hitherto have had but a single idea. Christ, Mahomed,
Buddha, are all one-idead men. They and their ideas, are all summed up
in Babu Keshub Chunder Sen and Brahmoism.”
Acceptance of self-contradictions—Sir Monier Williams says
that “Hinduism bristles on all sides with contradictions.”. Inability
to recognise them is said to be one feature of the Indian mind.
Keshub was not exempt from this failing. His creed was a sort of
phantasmagoria of incoherent opinions.
The Sunday Mirror contains the following —
“Our position is not that truths are to be found in all religions, but
that all the established religions of the world are true. There is a great
deal of difference between the two assertions.
“The glorious Mission of the New Dispensation is to harmonise religions
and revelations, to establish the truth of every particular dispensation
and upon the basis of their particulars to establish the largest and
broadest induction of a general and glorious proposition.” Oct. 23, 1881.
Mr. Bose remarks on the above :
“Mr. Sen not merely believed in the existence of sporadic elements
of truth in one and all the religions of the world, and in the possibility
of their being brought into one focus, and thus made to constitute one
comprehensive scheme of faith and practice ; but he maintained that they
were all true, and that all that was needed to effect their unification was
the discovery of what he was pleased to call a string of union. Every
religion, from fetichism up to pure monotheism, represents, according to
his belief, a dispensation of God; and consequently a union of all the
conflicting systems of belief is not merely a possibility, but sure to be a
realized certainty under the banner of the New Dispensation. An idea
more wild could scarcely be entertained by a human mind, and the bare
fact that he allowed it to be the master-passion of his soul is a proof of
an ill-regulated and ill-balanced intellect.”f
The New Dispensation professes to be the harmony of all Scrip-
tures, and all saints, and all sects. “It is the harmony of the Veda
and the Purana, of the Old Testament and the New Testament.”
Mr. Bose says, Keshub’s “one Church represents not only a hete-
rogeneous nondescript composed of conflicting beliefs, but an agglom-
* Quoted by Pandit Sivanath Sastri. The New Dispensation, p, 49.
t Brahmoism, pp. 146, 147, -
8
58 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
eration of the varied symbols of worship and sacraments of religion
associated with the varied symbols of faith prevalent in the world.”
Keshub attempted to reconcile the irreconcileable. “Immediacy”
is the distinguishing feature of the New Dispensation, while medi-
ation is the cardinal doctrine of Christianity. Union between the
two is impossible.
Misuse of Christian Terms.-Mr. Bose says: -
“Brahmoism has its Unity in Trinity, its Incarnation, its Atonement,
its Redemption, its Regeneration, its Gospel, its Revelation, its Law and
the Prophets, its Church and Sacraments. But each of these important
terms expresses in Brahmo Theology a sense very different from, if not
contradictory to, what is attached to it in the creed of the Christian. Its
Trinity, for instance, is not the Triune Jehovah of the Christians, but one
God appearing in a Trinity of manifestations, in nature, history, and the
human soul. Its Incarnation is not Emmanuel God with us, but the
typical Great Man, with a great deal more of divinity in him than falls
to the lot of ordinary mortals.”
Mr. Bose justly adds that the Brahmos, “ have been imitators
from beginning to end, have copied the terms and the meanings
attached to them by infidel writers, without study, thought, or
discrimination.”
Henry Rogers condemned the practice in the Eclipse of Faith
before Keshub was heard of. He says:
“You tell me one moment that you do not believe in historical Chris-
tianity at all, either its miracles or its dogmas, -these are fables; but in
the next—why no old puritan could garnish his discourse with a more
edifying use of the language of Scripture.
“Do not, unless you would have the world think you a hypocrite,
willing to cajole it with the idea that you are a believer in the New Testa-
ment, while you in fact reject it—do not affect this very unetuous way of
talking. Do not, I beseech you, adopt the phraseology of men who,
according to your view, must have been either the most miserable fanatics
or the most abominable impostors; for if they believed all that system
of miracle and doctrine, and this were not true, they were certainly the
first ; and if they did not believe it, they were as certainly the second,”
pp. 36, 37.
Pandit Sivanath Sastri expresses the following view -
“It is our strong and mature conviction, that the first thing necessary
for the successful propagation of a new faith is a position of honest and
manly independence. There is such a thing as honesty, of expression
which religious teachers should never forget. To make rather free
use of the forms and phraseology of others, in a novel, and arbitrary
sense of our own, is to inflict upon them a grievous injustice, and to
envelop our real ideas and doctrines in a cloud of doubt and suspicion,
which cannot but be injurious to the cause of propagation.”
# The New Dispensation, &c., p. 28,
XESHUB CHUNDER SEN. 59
Mock Asceticism.—As Mr. Bose remarks, Keshub did not live
as an ascetic. He had a large and well-furnished house, with
a wife and children, numerous relations and friends, and servants.
He appeared neatly and respectably dressed, travelled first class,
attended viceregal receptions, introduced his daughters by mar-
riage into the wealthiest families, and led, on the whole, the life of a
metropolitan magnate rather than that of a religious recluse. At
times, however, as has been described, he burlesqued a few of the
least painful austerities practised by Yogis.
Pandit Sivanath Sastri has the following remarks on this
subject :
“Where is true piety to be sought P. Certainly not in shaving the head
in a particular fashion; in besmearing the body with ashes, in wearing the
mendicant's garments, in bearing a stick or scrip, in making a mockery
of poverty by begging alms in one's own house, and of his family and
friends, or in cooking one's own food; but in strict and unflinching
fidelity to truth, in warm and active love of mankind, in burning and
enthusiastic love of justice, in natural and instinctive dread of wrong, in
humble and unostentatious practice of virtue, in modest forgetfulness of
self, in earnest and soul-pervading love of God, and above all in faithful
obedience to His will. Briefly stated, true piety consists in loving God
and doing His will, everything else besides being regarded as a matter
of perfect indifference to it. Neither sensualism, nor asceticism can be its
aim or object. Yet when called upon by duty and the will of the Father,
€he truly pious man cheerfully submits to greater privations and suffer-
ings than the best of ascetics or self-tormentors ever did.
“Besides, external asceticism, when practised as a part of spiritual
exercise, just fails to attain the object it has in view. Instead of humili-
ating the soul, it fills it with a false self-satisfaction and spiritual pride,
diverts the eyes of the spirit from the internal to the external, and sets
up false standards of spiritual and moral excellence;—thereby leading
its votaries to neglect the principles of real morality.”
Keshub's Earlier and Later Years-The first time the compiler
heard Keshub speak was when he gave a clear, fervid address on
“Religious and Social Reformation” in the Bombay Town Hall in
1868. The last address he heard was, “Am I an Inspired Prophet 2'
delivered in the Calcutta Town Hall in 1879. The second was in
striking contrast to the former—hazy, and leaving the impression
that the answer was, “No, Yes.”
Pandit Sivanath Sastri has the following remarks on the two
great errors into which Hindus are apt to fall:—
“History will tell the intelligent reader that all the Hindu religious
sects, without exception, have always tended to two great errors : First
to mysticism, as far as the subjective side of religion was concerned ;
secondly, to formalism, as regards the objective side of it. Their
mistaken conceptions of piety have produced the most baneful results.
* The New Dispensation, &c., pp. 65, 66.
60 THE BRAEIMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
In the first place they have taught the people to regard religion as some-
thing apart from life, thereby causing a fatal separation between
religion and individual moral. conduct ; secondly, they have diverted
the attention of all real aspirants after piety, from the fields of reform
and active philanthropy to the observance of lifeless forms; thirdly, they
have left the relations of life without the sanctifying influence of relig.
ious faith.”
At first Keshub sought to correct these tendencies; latterly he
gave way to them :
“As a matter of fact, the Brahma Samaj is almost entirely recruited
from the ranks of Hindus, the devoutly disposed amongst whom, as a
general rule, are deeply imbued with these mystic and ritualistic notions
of piety, Consequently, no sooner did Mr. Sen assume the position of a
leader, than he found himself daily surrounded by a class of men whose
opinions and sentiments were deeply saturated with these conceptions of
piety. Mr. Sen not having a very definite and clear conviction of his own
on the subject, could not but be silently influenced by their opinions.
He was naturally and unconsciously led to conform to their ideas and
answer their expectations. The consequence was, that he rose in the
estimation of this class as a saint and devotee, but he departed further
and further every year from his original lines. The effect of this relapse
into the national errors, on the Church as a whole, has been quite
chilling and deadening, as regards every form of good work or reform.
Read the internal history of the more than 140 Churches scattered all
over India, and you observe an almost total blank with respect to acts of
public usefulness or philanthropy. The few institutions of that nature
we meet with in the Mofussil Samajes are, as a general rule, feebly kept
up and receive but secondary attention. While near at home, the course
of Mr. Sen’s movement has been characterised by comparative paralysis
of every form of social or philanthropic work, but by singularly marked
and exuberant growth of every mystic conception or ritualistic practice.
Witness the fate the ‘Indian Reform Association,’ which laid its hands
on much really useful work, has met with ; but mark the unusual devel-
opment, during later years, of such things as prolonging a prayer
meeting over five hours, singing and dancing with ringing anklets at the
feet, making use of colored garments like mendicants, shaving in the
fashion of Hindu anchorites, making imaginary pilgrimages to the
spirits of prophets, and practising outward asceticism as great acts of
virtue.”
The above were not the only features of declension. For some
years Keshub was the determined enemy of idolatry. In the latter
part of his life, he took up in his Bengali sermons Hindu gods and
goddesses by name, and “explained the conceptions that underlay
each.” “This,” says his biographer, “made him exceedingly popular
with large sections of the Hindu community, but it led also to the
accusation that the leader of the Brahmo Samaj was dallying with
popular superstition, and showing signs that he would soon merge
# The New Dispensation, &c., pp. 60-62.
RESEIUB CHUNDER SEN. 61
into the gulf of the great idolatry around.” “These reformed expo-
sitions have been utilised by orthodox champions to bring about a
reaction on behalf of popular idolatry.”
Beneficial Results of Keshub's Labours.—Only a few can be
briefly noticed :
Marriage Reform.—Keshub collected valuable information regard-
ing the evils of early marriage. The Marriage Bill, passed through
his efforts, is a great step in the right direction.
Promotion of Education.—The Albert and Victoria Colleges, for
male and female students, are memorials of his zeal in this respect.
Impulse to Literature.—One thing that struck him in England
was the large circulation of penny and halfpenny papers. As
already mentioned, on his return to India, he started a weekly pice
(#d.) paper. The Indian Mirror, the first daily native paper in
English, originated with him. His numerous publications, both in
English and Bengali, are other contributions to the same cause.
Moral Reforms.-Writing in 1863, Bishop Cotton says in his
charge : “In the early part of this year a Government school-
master electrified the Bethune Society by a lecture, giving a
moral sketch of “Young Bengal,’ which recalled the picture of Young
Athens drawn by Aristophanes in the Clouds, and complaining
that while old-fashioned restraints are utterly set at naught, none of
a more binding character are substituted for them, so that the
boasted liberty of Bengali civilization is in danger of sinking into
unprincipled license.”
A pamphlet by Wooma Charn Dass was published under the
title, “Drunkenness as a Phase of our Progress.” What is it that
young Hindus pride themselves in copying from the English Ż
“Brandy and Buggy.”
|Keshub tried to stem this torrent of evil.
Increased Attention to Religion.—ln the early period of English
education in Bengal, there were some men, thorough sceptics, who
exercised a most pernicious influence over youth, Mr. Mozoomdar
says, “Infidelity, indifference to religion, and point-blank atheism
were unblushingly professed.” Keshub sought to remedy this
state of things among all with whom he came in contact. He was
deeply religious himself, and some caught his spirit.
Pandit Sivamath Sastri’s Testimony.−Though compelled to sever
connection with Keshub, Pandit Sivanath Sastrisays of him, “Whose
many sterling qualities of character we admire, whose preach-
ings and example have given an impetus to so many minds,-many
of whose utterances have now and then actually communicated many
a precious moral and spiritual truth, to whom the present writer
personally owes a debt of love and gratitude.”f
* Life of Keshub Chunder Sen, pp. 376, 378, f The New Dispensation, &c., p. 88.
62 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
THE SADHARAN BRAHMO SAM A.J.
The origin of this Society will best be described in the words
of Pandit Sivanath Sastri, M. A., its leading Missionary.
During the period intervening between the passing of the
Marriage Act in 1872 and the year 1878, the year of the second
schism, internal dissensions of a serious character began to manifest
themselves within Mr. Sen’s church. Apart from the doctrine of
* Great Men,” two other doctrines of ominousingort, viz., the doctrine
of Adesh or Divine Command, and the doctrine of Bidhan or Dis-
pensation, began to be preached with some degree of energy and
consistency, at this time by Mr. Sen and his missionaries. A party
of earnest and long-standing members of the Samaj, took serious
objections to these doctrines and considered them fraught with evil
tendencies. They also felt another very great want. They found
the Church without constitution ; the whole thing resting on the
shoulders of one man, and left without all those legitimate checks
on abuse or misdirection of power, which a constitutional mode of
government alone can supply. They at once set themselves to
counteract these tendencies, and to remove these wants. They first
held many private discussions with Mr. Sen and his missionaries,
tried to expose the evil tendencies of the new doctrines, and to
represent the necessity of giving the Church a regular constitution.
The earnest pleadings and protests of these men were treated with
marked neglect, and in many cases with positive contempt; till at
last the protesting and progressive party were compelled to adopt
more formal and public measures. All these efforts only exposed
this party of members to the displeasure of Mr. Sen and his mis-
sionaries. They were run down in the pages of the Sunday Mirror,
with the most abusive epithets, and treated as a class of spiritually
and morally degenerated people.
The Kuch-Behar marriage, already described, brought matters
to a crisis. On the 15th May, 1878, in the Calcutta Town Hall, the
chief Bramhos of the metropolis—supported by the concurrence of
29 provincial Samajes, and the written declaration of 425 Brahmos
and Brahmicas, -inaugurated the Sadharan (or Universal) Brahmo
Samaj.
Members.—These are of two classes. The following are the
conditions of ordinaryi membership :
1. The applicant must be above 18 years of age. te tº º
2. He must agree to sign the covenant of the Samaj containing the
four principles of the Brahmo faith. tº tº a º
(1.) Its immediacy—freedom from all doctrines of mediation or
intercession. e o
(2) Its independence—or freedom from the fetters of infallible books
Ol' II.16I1,
THE SADHARAN BRAHMO SAMAJ. 63
(3.) Its catholicity—or its broad sympathy for all truth wherever found
and its warm appreciation of the great and good of every land.
(4.) Its spirituality—or freedom from all external forms and cere-
monies.
3. His private character must be pure and moral, for breach of
morality in private life makes a member liable to forfeiture of mem-
bership.
4. He must agree to pay at least 8 Annas in the year towards
carrying on the work of the Samaj.
The foregoing conditions are a formal renunciation of one or
two vital Christian doctrines, but they might be accepted by a
worshipper of Vishnu or Kali and by an observer of caste.
Miss Collet says:
“It would appear at first sight that the renunciation of idolatry and
polytheism must, as a matter of course, entail the cessation of all cere-
monies in which idols or false gods are invoked. But such invocations
are interwoven in all domestic rites, or Anusthams of Hindu life, from
birth to death. A consistent Brahmo, therefore, must not only absent
himself from Hindu temple-worship, or grand idolatrous festivals, but
must also renounce the Hindu rites performed on occasions of birth,
marriage, death, &c., and must have Brahmic Anusthans performed in
their place, and one who does this is called an Anasthamic Brahmo.
“The Anusthanics are scattered very irregularly over the country,
some Brahmo villages containing many, while some far more cultivated
Samajes contain but few. The organization which contains most is
undoubtedly the Sadharan Samaj, whose rules require that all its preach-
ers, office-bearers, Executive Committee, and at least 15 members of its
General Committee, should be Anusthanic.”
C Church Government.—This is described as follows by Miss
ollet :—
“Determined to avoid the dangers of the ‘one-man rule,” and anxious
to rally as large a number for common work as possible, their first
efforts were given to the establishment of a republican constitution;
and this has happily proved to be of a workable kind. The office-bearers
(annually elected) are four in number—a president, secretary, assistant-
secretary, and treasurer. These act in conjunction with a General Com-
mittee composed of 40 persons elected at the annual general meeting
of members, and of such representatives from the Provincial Samajes as
the latter have previously elected or confirmed. This General Committee,
in its turn, appoints 12 of its members as an Executive Committee for
the year, who meet every week, and by whom all the actual work is
performed, subject to revision at quarterly meetings by the General
Committee, who are themselves ultimately responsible to the General
body of members. By this arrangement the chief rule practically
resides with the Executive Committee, who are chosen from the most
active and experienced members of the Samaj, and who, while fully
*Outlines of Brahmic History, p. 33.
64 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
responsible to the general body, are yet free to act efficiently as its
accredited members.”
Essential Principles.—For purposes of comparison, these are
quoted in the concluding chapter, after those of the Brahmo
Somaj of India.
Duties of Missionaries—The Indian Messenger, the organ of the
Sadharan Samaj, gives these as follows:–
(1.) The missionaries should go on preaching according to the above-
mentioned principles, and should neither adopt nor preach any doctrine
or system of religious culture opposed to them.
(2.) The Executive Committee should arrange matters regarding their
field of work and method of preaching after consultation with them. If
on any account any of them is unable to act according to the prearranged
method or thinks it necessary to change it, he should inform the Com-
mittee of it by a letter as soon as possible.
(3.). They should try by all means in their power, by persuading words
as well as example, to keep in view that their object is to establish the
Sacred worship of the one true God all over the country; to introduce in
individual families and in communities unidolatrous rites and ceremonies
conformable to pure religion; to see that God’s will be done by all with
cheerful submission, that all men and women look upon faith, justice, love,
and purity in their properly reverential manner ; that being bound to-
gether by the sacred tie of love, all mankind be enabled to spread the loving
kingdom of Heaven and secure the blessings of this life as well as of the
other to come ;-to see that the days of untruth, sin, superstition and
tyranny, of malice and jealousy, narrowness and contention, be ended in
all societies of men.
(4.) They should not in any way encourage caste distinction or priest-
craft in their prayers or ceremonies, and should not accept any thing like
divine honor if paid to them through blind reverence.
(5.) In preaching the truth they should not ridicule-or talk lightly of
any other religious sect or scripture ; but still should calmly point out
any error or untruth that there may be in them, remembering that
they should, in all their words, try to conquer untruth by truth, malice
by love, and evil by good.
(6.) They should join freely with all classes and sects of men in all
good works provided their faith is not compromised by their so doing,
taking care also, not to mix in such social ceremonies as tend to lower
conscience or morality.
(7.) Never should they lose sight of the dignity of their position and
make their sacred vocation countenance priestcraft or become the source
of worldly gain or pleasure. Any present of money given to a missionary,
as such, should belong to the mission-fund, and he should make it clear
to the giver. -
(8.) To propagate Brahmoism should be the principal work of a mis-
sionary, but he may also freely help other men by his co-operation in any
THE SADHARAN BRAHMO SAMAJ. 65
work, political, social, or scientific, calculated to do good to the country,
provided it does not interfere with his duties as a missionary.
If necessary he may, even while engaged in his mission work, take to
some honest means of earning money with the sanction of the Execu-
tive Committee.
(9.) The Executive Committee is empowered to appoint a person,
according to the rules laid down by the General Committee, as a mis-
sionary or a helper in the mission work, and remove such a one from his
office, and also to grant pecuniary aid in cases where it would be thought
necessary. But the General Committee may alter the arrangements
made by the Executive Committee if necessary. . The missionaries
primarily follow their own conscience and as much as possible the
instructions of the Executive Committee in their Mission work.
(10.) They are to forward regular reports of their work to the
Committee.*
work of the Samaj.-The first requisite was a building for
public worship. This was opened at the anniversary service in
January, 1881. The following have also been established :
(1.) The Sangat Sabha, or United Society. This is a weekly
conversational meeting for spiritual progress and mutual help.
It was originally started by Keshub Chunder Sen.
(2.) The Students’ Weekly Service. One result has been that
a number of young members have publicly discarded caste and
idolatry.
(3.) The Students’ Prayer Meeting. This is for younger
students who meet every Wednesday evening for prayer and
spiritual advancement. As a general rule, the members conduct
the services themselves.
(4.) The Theological Institution for lectures followed by dis-
cussion. Its main object is “to ground its members in theology
and practical piety.”
(5) Ladies’ Societies. The Brahmica. Somaj is exclusively for
Brahmo ladies; the Banga Mahila. Somaj, or Bengal Ladies’ Asso-
ciation, in which the same ladies are joined by non-Brahmo mem-
bers. The ladies meet every week, the first and third Saturdays in
each month being allotted to prayer meetings, and the intermediate
Saturday to the reading of original papers, followed by discussion ;
while on the fourth Saturday popular lectures are delivered on
scientific, historical, or biographical subjects, and a selection of
interesting news on current events is read aloud. These lectures are
given by gentlemen, and the social gathering of the Society, which
is held once in three months, is also open to guests of both sexes.
But except on these occasions the Society’s meetings are nearly
always restricted to ladies, who usually conduct their own religious
services, and always write the essays which are read and discussed. .
* Indian Messenger, Oct. 31, 1836.
66 THE BRAHMAT SAMAJ ANI) ECLECTIC SYSTEM3,
(6.) The City College. The City School was opened in 1879
under Mr. Ananda M. Bose, B. A., Cantab, then President of the
Samaj. In 1881 it was converted into a College.
(7.) Sunday Schools. In 1879 some of the young Brahmos
started a little Sunday School for boys at the City School premises;
and in addition to this a Theological Class was opened in 1882 for
the benefit of more advanced students.
(8.) Periodicals. The Tattva Kaumudī (Moonlight of Know-
ledge) is the Bengali organ of the Society ; the English organ is
the Indian Messenger, issued every Sunday morning. The Bamabo-
dhini Patrika (Teacher of Women) is a monthly Magazine for
ladies.
The foregoing account is taken from an article by Miss Collet in
The Modern Review for January, 1884. No later report, to show how
far the different institutions have been maintained, is available.
Tendency to Degeneration.—Like so many other religious move-
ments in India, the Sadharan Samaj, which commenced so well,
already exhibits some unfavorable symptoms. The Indian Messenger
makes the following candid confession :
“There is no denying the fact that the condition of the Brahmo Somaj
is very low at present. Both externally and internally it is weak, and
its weakness is so great that nothing short of a strong faith in the
power and greatness of truth and in the uplifting hand of God, can
uphold a man in the arduous struggle for reform. We shall first speak
of external indications of its weakness. In the first place, the machinery
we have at our disposal for the propagation of our faith is not at all pro-
portionate to our needs. The number of preachers and missionaries is
exceedingly small in comparison with the vast field lying before us.
The light of true religion has been carried to an insignificant fraction
of the vast population who inhabit this land. The masses are yet
untouehed; so are the women. Of the educated men, amongst whom the
preaehing of Brahmoism has been up to this time confined, the majority
are either indifferent or positively opposed to our principles and practices.
Secondly, the influence that the Brahmos once exercised over the liter-
ature of the country is gradually diminishing, and they are no longer
looked upon as leaders in literature. Thirdly, the position they once
occupied in every form of good work in the country, is also being slowly
surrendered. Formerly it was noticed even in official reports that almost
every form of good work, such as the founding of girls' Schools, or the
starting of philanthropic or charitable societies had, in many instances,
Brahmo workers at its bottom. But that co-operation of the members of
the Somaj is no longer sought, and others have come forward to carry on
such works without their help. Fourthly, the influence on the morality
of the people that the little body of the Brahmos once exerted, has also
visibly declined. There was a time when the moulding of the moral and
spiritual aspirations of the rising generation of educated young men was
entirely in the hands of the Brahmo Somaj, but their eyes have been
THE SADHARAN BRAHMO SAMAJ. 67
diverted from Brahmoism by a so-called revival of a form of neo-Hinduism.
Fifthly, the forces opposed to the spread of Brahmoism were never so
strong as at the present moment.
“The internal condition of the Somaj is no less deplorable. Even in
the Sadharan Brahmo Somaj, whose members often boast of their organi-
sation, there is no organisation really so called. We shall point out one
by one some of the weak points in the present organization of our Samaj,
so that its members and sympathisers may be roused to a sense of their
duty by their church.
“First, one of the great aims of the Sadharan Brahmo Somaj, when it
was first established, was to establish a closer relationship between the
parent Somaj at Calcutta and its branches in the mofussil. The connection
between the main body and its branches is daily becoming less.
“There is not perfect harmony within the body itself. The whole
body is divided into large number of smaller groups, holding different
opinions and carrying on a perpetual conflict on account of those dif-
ferences. Thus there is no consistency and coherence in the body itself.
It is difficult to count upon the active co-operation of all these parties in
carrying on the work of the Society. Henee it is that the work of the
Somaj is being but imperfectly carried out.
“The few missionaries that we have, have no unity of purpose amongst
them. There is no organisation to bring them together constantly and to
make them a strong and united body. There is not that friendly inter-
change of views between them which is absolutely necessary for the
successful carrying out of their mission.” October 17, 1886.
Not merely some of the “rank and file” have given up connection
with the Sadharan Samaj, but one or two of its most prominent
leaders.
Secession in the Punjah. For several years B. S. Agnihotri was
the chief missionary of the Samaj in the Punjab. He has set up a
new Society of his own, called the Deva Samaj. “He has circulated
an earnest appeal to the public to blot out the very names of Brahmo
Somaj and Brahmo Dharma from the pages of the books and tracts
published by him which may be in their possession.”
He has issued a short statement of “ The Faith and Characteris-
tics of Deva Dharma.” Its principles are much the same as
those of the Brahmo Samaj, but Agnihotra seems to claim for him-
self the position occupied by Keshub. In answer to the question
“What do the Deva Dharmas believe f" No. 6 is as follows:–
“They believe the teachings of Deva Dharma and its ideal of human
life as a special Divine Dispensation for mankind, and its teacher and
Apostles as the true servants of God and man, and also as a means in the
hands of the Supreme Lord (who is the giver of salvation) to bring
away souls from their sinful course, and give them the heavenly blessings
of Nava Jivan (new life), Mukti (salvation), and Deva Jivan (godly life)
and bring them to the kingdom of God.”
68 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
Pandit B. R. Goswami.-Mr. Mozoomdar says of this Brahmo,
that he “ was our first enlisted missionary, the lineal descendant of
one of the greatest leaders of Vaishnavism. Next to Keshub he
played the most important element in introducing the Vaishnava
element into the Brahmo Somaj.” Pandit Sivanath Sastri says of
him, “He was one of the first who raised their voices against the
conduct of Mr. Sen in connection with the marriage of his daughter.
He has since that time lent his valuable services to the cause of the
Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. This man’s name has become a house-
hold word in the districts of Eastern Bengal, and acts as a spell to
awaken the drooping spirit of many a Brahmo heart.”
The Indian Messenger says that the following facts are now
evident of his doings at Dacca :—
“(1) Pandit Goswami celebrated the Advaita or dhulot festival in a
Vaishnava form with Vaishnava songs and Vaishnava observances; (2)
obscene Vaishnava songs were sung on this occasion; (3) female bairagis
danced with the males on this occasion; (4) Ganja was distributed to
some of the sanyasis assembled on the occasion; (5) Pandit Goswami
joins in un-Brahmic ceremonies such as the Brahmanical upanayan, per-
formed by his disciples; (6) he holds and acts on the principle—let every
one continue to believe what he does, he will in time attain truth.”
April 22, 1888.
“Great swelling words of Vanity.”—One of the worst features of
Keshub Chunder Sen’s character was his great self-conceit. “The
meek will God teach His way.” Pride is one of the greatest
obstacles in the search for religious truth.
“The following is a translation of a passage from Keshub’s
Bengali discourse wherein he proclaimed the advent of the New
Dispensation. He says, “Hear,’ O ye earth, the child (New
Dispensation) after lying in the womb of the Brahmo Samaj as its
mother, is born to-day after much travail.”f
Reshub’s figure is adopted and his vain boasting imitated by the
Sadharan Brahmo Samaj. The following are some extracts from the
Indian Messenger from an editorial headed, “THE BLESSED CHILD.”
“In God’s own good time, a child was born of this marriage—a strong,
healthy, and well-developed child, full of great promise for the future.
Saints from heaven came with their choicest gifts to bless the Sacred
Child. Buddha and Muhammad, Nanak and Chaitanya, Sadi and Hafiz,
Parker and Channing, the old Rishis and prophets of India and Judea
as well as Godly spirits of more modern times, contributed the most
valuable things from their stores.
“Look at the Brahmo Samaj (for the child we have spoken of is
no other.)
* The New Dispensation, p. 100. # The Liberal, April 1, 1888.
MADRAS BRAHMOISM. 69
“It is a Child of God, born of the Divine Spirit, and upheld by the
Divine Hand. Its birth is not at all a less momentous event in the
spiritual history of the human race than that of Jesus or Buddha.
“We repeat that the birth of the Brahma Samaj is no less momentous
an event than that of Jesus or Buddha—yea a grander event in one sense
inasmuch as all the previous dispensations of Providence find their
consummation in it...The Brahmo Samaj is the Church of the living
God, the direct manifestation of the Divine Spirit in modern times, a
living witness of the living truth that God speaks and acts and reveals
Himself in all ages, and that the faithful in all ages hear and see Him.”
January 22, 1888.
The “New Dispensation” did not prove a “Blessed Child,” and
the second claimant to the title may similarly disappoint the expec-
tations of its parents.
MADRAS BRAHMOISM.
The most complete account of this Branch is to be found in the
writings of Miss Collet. The following extract is from her “Outlines
and Episodes of Brahmic History,” reprinted from The Modern
Review, January, 1884.
It must have been in the course of the year 1863 that a young man
named K. Sridharalu Naidu, who appears to have been a native of
Cuddalore in the Madras Presidency, heard of the existence of the (then
undivided) Brahmo Somaj in Bengal, and was greatly stirred by the
news—so much so that he felt it his duty to go to the centre of the
Brahmo movement and make himself fully acquainted with it. Being
very poor, he had to dispose of his small property in order to pay his
passage thither. He had no recommendations or friends in Bengal, and
could not speak either Bengali or Hindustani, and when he landed in
Calcutta his whole vocabulary of what he came to seek consisted in the
words “the Brahmo Somaj” and “Jorasanko” (the quarter in which the
Somaj was then located). But he had sufficient knowledge of English
to make himself understood by the English-speaking Brahmos, and
“there was about his face and manners an earnestness, simplicity, and
intelligence that could not be mistaken.” He applied himself with
energy and perseverance to the work for which he had come, and having
acquired, within about eight months, a full knowledge of Brahmoism
“in Bengali, and Sanscrit, and English,” he resolved to devote his life
to its propagation in Southern India. One of the Brahmo missionaries
wrote as follows (Sunday Mirror, Sept. 6th, 1874), in recollection of
this time; “Those who have once seen him in Calcutta can, I dare say,
never forget him. . . . . He lived with our missionary friends, slept
and dined with them, and indeed was one of them. We well remember
the solemn occasion when, in the small room of the late Calcutta
College, with tears and supplication and with a solemn lifting of our
70 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
eyes to God we gave him the heartiest farewell, and like the apostle of
old, we saw him in a ship bound for the field of his labour (Madras).”
It must have been somewhat before this farewell scene that Mr. Sen
paid his first visit to Madras in February, 1864, and delivered several
lectures there which produced considerable effect. In consequence of
this a Society was established in the following April under the name
of the Veda. Somaj, which held weekly prayer-meetings, started a
monthly journal, and otherwise displayed much religious activity. The
leaders of this moment were Messrs. V. Rájágopäl Charlu and P.
Subrayalu Chetty, both well-known members of the Madras bar; and
while they lived the movement thrived, and several other Somajes were
founded,—in Tanjore, Coimbatore, Salem, Bangalore, and other towns
in Southern India. But in the year 1868 these two leaders were both
removed by death, and for some time the Somaj suffered greatly in con-
sequence. . Then the quiet worker who had hitherto passed unnoticed,
came to the front, and after a while Sridharalu Naidu was appointed
Secretary to the Madras Somaj. He had not the advantages of position
and education which had been possessed by his predecessors, but he
appears to have had a much stronger grasp of Theistic principle, and not
feeling satisfied with the half-measure of a “Veda. Somaj,” he at length
succeeded in converting the Society into “The Brahmo Somaj of
Southern India.” This was finally settled at a meeting of the Somaj
held on June 18, 1871. The rules of the Somaj were revised, and the
old “Covenants of the Veda. Somaj” were replaced by a confession of
faith which was doubtless written by Sridharalu Naidu. The two
declarations represent so typically the first and the second stages of
Madras Brahmoism, and the striking contrast between them, that I give
them here in full :
CoVENANTS OF THE VEDA SomAJ.
1. I shall worship, through love of Him and the performance of the work
He loveth, the Supreme Being, the Creator, the Preserver, the Destroyer,
the Giver of Salvation, the Omniscient, the Omnipotent, the Blissful, the
Good, the Formless, the One only without a second ; and none of the created
objects, subject to the following conditions.
2. I shall labour to compose and gradually bring into practice a Ritual
agreeable to the spirit of pure Theism, and free from the superstitions and
absurdities which at present characterise Hindu ceremonies.
3. In the meantime I shall observe the ceremonies now in use, but only
in cases where ceremonies are indispensable, as in marriages and funerałs;
or where their omission will do more violence to the feelings of the Hindu
community than is consistent with the proper interests of the Veda. Somaj,
as in Sráddhas. And I shall go through such ceremonies, where they are
not conformable to pure Theism, as mere matters of routine, destitute of all
religious significance—as the lifeless remains of a superstition which has
passed away. g tº g ſº e - g
4. This sacrifice, and this only, shall I make to existing prejudices. But
I shall never endeavour to deceive any one as to my religious opinions, and
never stoop to equivocation or hypocrisy, in order to avoid unpopularity.
5. I shall discard all sectarian views and animosities, and never offer
any encouragement to them,
MADRAS BRAB MOISM. 71
6. I shall, as a first step, gradually give up all distinctions, and amalga-
mate the different branches of the same caste.
7. Rigidly as I shall adhere to all these rules, I shall be perfectly tolerant
to the views of strangers, and never intentionally give offence to their
feelings.
8. # shall never violate the duties and virtues of humanity, justice,
veracity, temperance, and chastity.
9. I shall never hold, or attend, or pay for nautches, or otherwise hold
out encouragement for prostitution.
10. I shall encourage and promote to the best of my power the re-
marriage of widows, and discourage early marriages.
11. I shall never be guilty of bigamy or polygamy.
12. I shall grant my aid towards the issue, in the vernaçulars, of elemen-
tary prayer-books and religious tracts; and also of a monthly journal, whose
chief object shall be to improve the social and moral condition of the com-
munity.
13. Wi shall advance the cause of general and female education and
enlightenment, and particularly in my own family, circle:
14. I shall study the Sanscrit language and its literature (especially
theological), and promote the cultivation of it by means not calculated to
promote superstition.
To-day, being the day of the month of of
the Kalyābda , I hereby embrace the faith
of the Veda. Somaj, and in witness whereof set my hand to this,*
CovenANTs of THE SOUTHERN INDIA BRAHMO SOMAJ.
1. I will worship, through love of Him and the performance of the works
He loveth, the Supreme Being, the Creator, the Preserver, the Giver of
Salvation, the Omniscient, the Omnipotent, the Blissful, the Good, the Form-
less, the One only without a Second, and none of the created objects.
2. I will look for Divine wisdom and instruction to the Book of Nature,
and to that Intuition and Inspiration of God which give all men understand-
ing. I do not consider any book or any man as the infallible guide in religion,
but I do accept with respect and pleasure any truth contained in any book or
uttered by any man without paying exclusive reverence to any.
3. I believe in the immortality and progressive state of the soul, and in a
* of conscious existence succeeding life in this world and supplementary
O it.
4. I will daily direct my mind in prayer with devotion and love unto the
Supreme Being.
.5. I will endeavour strictly to adhere to the duties and virtues of huma-
nity, justice, veracity, temperance, and chastity.
Believing as I do in the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of
man, I will discard all sectarian views and animosities, and never offer any
encouragement to them.
7. Should I through folly commit sin, I will endeavour to be atoned unto
God by earnest repentance and reformation.
8. Every year, and on the occasion of every happy domestic event of mine
I will bestow gifts upon the Southern India Brahmo Somaj. 2
§§ Siw Months in India, by Mary Carpenter. Wol. I., 157-8. Miss Carpenter gives
a very interesting account of her visit to the Veda. Somaj in November 1866 and Of
her conversations with the then Secretary, Mr. P. S. Chetty, and his intelligent
young wife. It was from him that she obtained the above Covenants.
72 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC systEMs.
This day, being the day of the month of of the Brahmic
Era ſ ...), I, by the grace of God, do hereby declare my faith in Brahmism,
and in witness whereof, I set my hand to these coverlants of my own free
will and consent. So help me God. Om.*
Both of these documents are based upon the original Brahmic Covenant
of Debendra Nāth Tágore; but the Veda-Somajversion reproduces little
beyond the first paragraph, and half paralyses that by the added clause
-“subject to the following conditions.” Sridharalu Naidu's version
not only omits this clause and its melancholy amplifications, but simply
ignores the surrounding beliefs and customs altogether, and instead of
dating by the Kalyābda, i.e., the “evil period” (or iron age) of Hindu
history, he starts a new “Brahmic Era,”—a system which has latterly
come into frequent use among the Bengali Brahmos, dating, of course,
from the original establishment of Rám Mohun Roy's Brahmo Somaj, in
January, 1830. There is also a far deeper vein of spiritual faith in this
second series of Covenants than in that of the Veda. Somaj. Herein
Sridharalu wisely went back to the Covenant of D. N. Tagore, from
which, and from another well-known Adi Somaj statement of beliefs, f
he has niainly taken his 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 7th paragraphs; but he has
frequently altered the original materials, and has, in fact, recast the
whole so as to make it a definite and consistent ideal of Progressive
Brahmoism.
About the same time he gave a practical proof of the new policy
adopted by the Southern India Brahmo Somaj by drawing up on its
behalf a memorial to the Viceroy in favour of the Brahmo Marriage Bill
then pending before the Indian Legislature; and shortly afterwards he
officiated at the first Brahmo marriage which took place in Madras,
September 29, 1871. º
Sridharalu also exerted himself to bring the best productions of
Brahmo literature within the reach of his own countrymen. He trans-
lated Debendra Nath Tagore's standard work, the Bráhmo Dharma, into
Tamil and Telugu, and published a Tamil translation of Mr. Sen's
excellent Model Form of Divine Worship. Besides writing these (and, I
believe, other works), he revived the monthly (Madras) Tattvabodhini
Patrika (which had collapsed after the death of his predecessors), and
conducted it as “the organ of all the Brahmists in Southern India.”
Here, however, it should be noted that there was another active
member of the late Veda. Somaj, who took a prominent part in Brahmo
affairs about this time. This was Cási Visvanātha Mudeliar, a retired
judge, “of noble parentage,” who conducted the services at one of the
Brahmo prayer-rooms, and was the author of many Tamil books and of
several popular plays which exposed the superstitions and vices prevalent
in Southern India. He owned a little vernacular journal called the
Brahmo Dipika, which he edited himself, and which appears to have been
the organ of his own views. What those views were it is not easy to dis-
cover from the enigmatical hints in the newspapers of the time (except
* Indian Mirror, July 22, 1871. Om “is the emblem of the Most High.” Laws of
Manu, II. 83. + For this statement See A Brief History of the Calcutta
Brahmo Somaj. Calcutta, 1868.
MADRAS BRAHMOISM. - 73
S.
that he appears to have been against the Brahmo Marriage Bill), nor is
it worth while to revive the ashes of the dead controversies which for a
time caused some dissensions in the Madras Somaj. Suffice to say that
after having been regarded by his admirers as “the leader of the Madras
Brahmos,” Cási Visvanátha's Brahmoism came to an end, and he became
a pantheist, apparently not long before his death, which occurred in
October, 1871.
Meanwhile Sridharalu Naidu continued to work unremittingly at his
post. Occasional glimpses of his proceedings appear in the Indian Mirror
of the time, especially in its issues of Feb. 2 and March 11, 1872, con-
taining two letters of his concerning some projects for the benefit of the
South Indian Brahmos. These letters (which are in very good English) .
bear witness alike to his enthusiastic faith and his practical good sense.
We also find that he made divers missionary tours to various parts of the
Presidency, Bangalore, Mangalore, Tanjore, Trichinopoly, &c., “Sow-
ing quietly and perseveringly the seeds of Theism in the midst of the
thick darkness of ignorance and superstition.” All this time he suffered
greatly from poverty. “He had a very old mother to take care of, and
a wife, both of whom were against him in all his views and practices, and
caused him no little pain. He was often at a loss how to support them,
and was at times obliged to put up with hardships which it is not pos-
sible to describe. He never complained, he never asked, he never even
acquainted his friends in Calcutta with his circumstances. Alone he
suffered, depended, prayed, and worked, and God alone watched the deep
trials and sorrows in the midst of which he lived.”
At last the end came. In January 1874, he went to visit some of his
relatives at Pondicherry, near which town there was a temple—probably
Chillambram—which he wished to see, in order to ascertain whether it
would be suitable as a model for the “Brahmic Hall” which he wanted
to erect in Madras. On this journey he was thrown out of a carriage, the
horse having taken fright, and terribly injured. He was taken to Pon-
dicherry hospital, but no skill could save him, and after lingering for
about twelve days he died, calm and faithful to the last. He left behind
him a touching letter in English, headed, “Memo: to friends in the
last hour,” and signed “K. Sridharalu, Pondicherry, the 15th Jan. 1874.”
In his letter, addressed to twelve friends, he requested them to take care
of his family, and gave his advice on the affairs of his Church, which
evidently lay very near his heart. It may be noted that while the funer-
als of the previous Madras Secretaries were conducted in regular Hindu
style, with those idolatrous funeral rites which, even in their Veda. Somaj
Covenant, they had not the courage to renounce, Sridharalu Naidu
distinctly wrote with his own hand;—“My funeral should be simple,
with only Brahmic prayers. . . . I die a devoted Brahmo.” Thus closed
one of the purest lives ever given to the service of God.
The next secretary of the Madras Somaj scarcely survived his prede-
cessor by a year, and it was not until the end of 1878 that the Somaj
really began to revive. Under fresh hands, three years of fair prosperity
followed; after which, unhappily, a contention arose as to the soundness
* Sunda º Mirror, Foh. 8, 1871,
10
74 THE Bl'AH MA SAMAJ AND ECLECTJ C SYSTEMS.
of the views preached respectively by the missionaries of Mr. Sen and
those of the Sádháran Somaj. The result was a split, those who sided
with the Sádháran Samaj forming a separate society as a branch of that
body, formally inaugurated as such on June 17, 1882. Its secretary is
Mr. M. Butchiah Pantulu, who is a man of energy and resource, and
is doing his best to make Brahmoism successful in Madras.”
On application to the Secretary in April, 1888, for a copy of the
last Report, that for 1886 was supplied. The following are some
of the leading statements:
Prayer Meetings.—Every Sunday evening Divine service was held
at the ‘Madras Brahmo Upasama Mandir.’ Tamil or Telugu was
generally the language used. Occasionally there were sermons in
English also. The attendance at the meeting averaged about
thirty. The Samaj has 64 members, 45 of whom are in town.
Native Ragged School.—This institution has made good progress
this year. The total number of children on the roll is 100; of whom
9 are girls. *
Theistic Library.—Certain additions were made to this during
the year.
The Theistic Orgam.—“The Fellow Worker” is the only theistic
organ and the mouthpiece for the Brahmos in Southern India.
Lectures.—Several lectures and addresses on various Religious,
Social, and Political topics, were delivered by members of the Samaj
and several other gentlemen during the year. -
Sale of Books.-Theistic books were sold during the year to the
extent of Rs. 8-10-6, which is a distinct increase on last year’s
proceeds. * &
The Society is largely supported by Raja G. N. Gajapathi Rao.
The “London Theistic Church” sent Rs. 137-2-8 towards the
repairs of the Mandir.
The Fellow Worker, after appearing irregularly, has been resumed.
The receipts in 1886 were Rs. 229-12-6, and the payments Rs.401-4-7.
As is the general rule with Indian subscribers to periodicals, many
of them were remiss in payment. Funds are asked for the purchase
of a Printing Press.
There are Somajes at Bangalore and some other towns in South
India.
PRARTHANA SAMAJES.
The first Theistic Church in Western India was founded in March,
1867, in the city of Bombay, and was entitled the Prarthana Samaj,
or Prayer Society, a designation since adopted by most of the
Western Samajes. This Samaj owes much to the guidance and help
* Miss Collet, Outlines, &c., of Brahmic FIistory, pp. 23–30.
..
§
3.
PRARTHANA SAMAJES, 75
e
of Dr. Atmaram Pandurang, a respected and benevolent physician
of Bombay. It commenced with 17 members. In 1882 there were
102 on the roll; of these 60 were in Bombay, and the rest in the
mofussil.
All the members are Hindu by birth, mostly Marathi, except a few
who are Gujarati. They meet for worship once a week in their
Mandir. Its foundation-stone was laid by P. C. MoZoomdar during
his stay in Bombay in 1872. The building was completed in 1874
at a total cost, including the value of the land, of over Rs. 25,000.
It has a ground-floor and an upper gallery, the latter being generally
set apart for the use of ladies. It can afford accommodation for
about 800 persons. The service is conducted by three or four
members by turns. These meetings are open to the public, and
attended by from 100 to 200 people, among whom a few are Parsis.
The service is conducted in Marathi, and occasionally in Gujarati.
Besides this public worship, some members meet at times in the
Mandir for private worship.
The Bombay Samaj has taken over the management of an
Orphanage at Pandharpur in the Deccan, formed of children left
destitute during the late famine. With a view to the appointment of
a missionary who might devote himself to the task of propagating
the principles of the Samaj, some of the members have agreed to
contribute two per cent of their income and thus form a fund for
the purpose. It has a weekly Anglo-Marathi paper, the Subodha
Patrika.
There are severakother Prarthana Samajes in Western India. The
most efficient of these are at Poona (1870), Ahmedabad (1871), and
Surat (1878). The Theistic Church of Western India occupies a
position of its own. The learned, sober-minded, and wealthy
Marathi and Gujarati theists of the Bombay Presidency are as
different from their struggling co-religionists of Madras as those
of Bengal are from both the other groups. The high culture and
literary ability of some of the western theists bear witness to their
position among the intellectual nobility of India. Professor
Bhandarkar of Poona occupies perhaps the foremost place among
living Indian Oriental scholars; the Hon. G. M. Ranade, and
others might be named who are ornaments to the Society.
The Theism of Western India has never detached itself so far from
the Hindu elements of Brahmoism as the Progressive Brahmos of
Bengal and Madras have done, and both in religious observances
and social customs, it clings far more closely to the old models. There
is a minority among the Bombay Theists who are anxious to go
much farther than the rest in these matters, and some of them have
even married with Brahmic rites; but it is a significant fact that
during the sixteen years (1867-83) which have elapsed since the
establishment of the Bombay Samaj, only four such marriages have
been celebrated among its members—there was a fifth marriage at
F-s /*
76 THE BRAHMA SAM AJ ANL) ECLECTIC SYSTEMS,
Bombay, but both parties were Bengali visitors—while in the same
period there have been seven Brahino marriages among the small
99th munities of Southern India, and fifty-six in the single city of
Calcutta,
The Report of the Ahmedabad Samaj for 1879 says, “We have no
4musthanic members yet, but more than thirty members have pub-
licly given up idolatry from their daily worship, and have pledged
themselves to offer their everyday prayers in accordance with the
Brahmo form. They consider caste as a mere civil institution.”
The Theists of Western India resemble in type English Unitarians,
respectable and philanthropic, but without any strong sense of sin
or depth of piety.
The foregoing account is abridged from the Year Books, &c., of
Miss Collet. On the compiler applying to the Secretary of the
Bombay Samaj for a copy of the last Report, he received one in
Marathi, published in 1883, containing an account of the first
sixteen years. A copy of the Subodha Patrika for 11th March 1888,
with an account of the 21st auniversary, was also furnished. The
proceedings are described in full, but the English article does not
give any statistics. The Marathi report is said to be more complete.
EXAMINATION OF BRAHMIST DOCTRINES.
Before noticing these in detail, it is cheerfully acknowledged
that, in some respects, Brahmism has rendered valuable service to
the cause of true religion in India. Miss Collet thus describes
the origin and progress of Samajes:
“They usually contain some of the most intelligent and active residents
in their several localities, and often owe to them their main support, if
not their origin. The first germ, from which all the rest follows, is
usually the idea of United Prayer. ‘They met and agreed to offer their
prayers together,’ is the almost unfailing commencement of the history
of any Brahmo Samaj. The first stage is called a prayer meeting, and
where the members are weak or timid, it is often a long time before they
have the courage to raise it into a definite ‘Brahmo Samaj,’ which term is
evidently understood to imply the adoption of a Theistic standard, more
or less at variance with the surrounding Hinduism, and therefore liable
to excite opposition. The normal type of the Brahmo churches, when
fully developed, includes the three departments of Religion, Philanthropy,
and Education; but these are developed with great variety of combination
in the several Samajes.”
* Outlines of Brahmic History, pp. 21, 22.
EXAMINATION OF BRAHMIST DOCTR IN ES. 77
Good FEATURES OF BRAHMISM.
The following are some of these :—
1. Its protest against Polytheism and Idolatry:-The Rev. Lal
Behari Day says: “Idolatry is the crying sin of our nation. Now,
whatever defects Brahmos may have, it must be acknowledged
in fairness that they are not mere speculative monotheists. They
have energetically protested against idolatry, and are endeavour-
ing honestly, I believe, to rescue their countrymen from its irra-
tional and degrading practice. I speak not of those inconsistent
Brahmos—and there are inconsistent men among votaries of every
system of religion—I speak not of those inconsistent Brahmos, who
worship one God in the Somaj building and pay Divine homage to
idols in their own houses; but it must be admitted that the Brah-
mos as a body protest against and discountenance idolatry.”
The above was written before Keshub Chunder Sen became
Hinduised. Still, it expresses the feelings of the most enlightened
and consistent Brahmos.
2. Its Kegard for Religion.—While ordinary Hindus are will-
ing to worship anything in the heavens above or in the earth
beneath, many of the so-called educated classes worship mothing.
Atheism is avowed only by a few followers of Bradlaugh, but apathy
with regard to all religion is very prevalent. The attention to
spiritual things shown by some Brahmos, is at once a standing
rebuke and an excellent example.
3. Its promotion of Social Reform.—It is undermining the
huge system of caste, it has introduced a change in the marriage
laws of the country, it has promoted female education, it is helping
to diffuse more correct ideas about the relief of the poor, &c.
4. Its high Moral Tome.—A devout Hindu may be flagrantly
vicious. Provided he observes the rules of caste, all else is over-
looked. Brahmism inculcates temperance, purity, truthfulness,
justice, and other virtues.
5. Its Acceptance of some great Truths.-Brahmism teaches a
pure monotheism in opposition to polytheism and pantheism. It
denies the eternity of matter and of souls, and acknowledges
creation properly so-called. Two of its principal doctrines are the
Fatherhood of God, and the Brotherhood of man. Mr. Mozoom-
dar makes the following admission : “I do not deny there are
innumerable passages in Hindu books calling the Divine Being by
all manner of names, but such names and the sentiments they
embody are very different from the deep personality of spiritual
relation typically expressed when Jesus exclaimed “Our Father in
heaven.’”
With regard to the other doctrine, Mr. Mozoomdar says: “The
idea of the brotherhood and equality of all mankind before God,
78 THE BRAH MA SAMIAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
I am sorry to say, is not to be found, because it is never recognised
in any of our ancient writings. The idea is decidedly foreign,
Western, and I think I might say Christian.” .”
6. Its Adoption of the Christian mode of Worship.–The
remarks of Sir Monier Williams on this great innovation have been
quoted (see page 7). An English lady, teaching in Calcutta, gives
the following account of a Brahmo religious meeting :
“The service was held in the court-yard under a canopy, two tall flags
with Bengali texts on them flying on each side. The preacher, a grave
fatherly old man, was seated in front on a small carpet, with a musical
instrument with but one string, lying by his side. There were fourteen
women present, including five from his own family. Our people, Sharala
a fine looking girl of seventeen, sat near us, from time to time replenish-
ing the incense cup. The solemn ascetic-looking preacher, the earnest
expressive faces of the women, the smoke of the incense, the dismal
sound of the cithar and conch, and the monotonous voice of the officiating
padri made it a strangely impressive scene.
“The service commenced with a hymn, the preacher leading with the
ektarº and his wife accompanying him on the cithar. In his prayer he
mentioned the siniess life of Christ and asked God to make us like Him,
pure and holy. After the conclusion of the prayer, he said, ‘Let us
withdraw our thoughts from the world and examine ourselves,' and
there was silence for five minutes. The drift of the sermon which
followed was asceticism : we must strive to live the true Bairagi life,
care for nothing in this world, give up all our earthly possessions,
husbands, wives, children, houses, lands, gari, ghora, &c. : we must grind
all these down to nourish our souls as wheat is ground in a mill to sustain
our bodies. After the sermon, which was a very long one with a
good deal of repetition, the women were asked to pray.
“P , one of our former pupils, was the first one ; she prayed very
earnestly in a low tone, with tears pouring down her cheeks, a sweetly-
worded prayer. She is a most self-forgetful, loving woman, and her
prayer was like herself, full of thoughtfulness for others. She asked for
a clean heart, for guidance, and that God's presence might abide with
her, for the young maidens present that they may be happy in their
future married life, for widows, for the sick, and the poor. Another woman
asked God to show her the way of salvation, to teach her, she was very
ignorant, blind, and sinful, and to forgive her sins. The preacher's
wife prayed next, pleadiug for help and guidance, and there were a few
others who prayed after her. At the close they said, “We offer these
petitions bowing at Thy feet,’ and they all touched their foreheads to
the ground. The preacher prayed for the two Christian sisters who, for
the love of Christ, go about from house to house seeking to do good, and
asked for a blessing on their work. The service concluded with the
benediction, very much like the form used in our Churches. When the
women rose, they bowed at each other's feet and kissed one another.”
* The Indian Baptist.
F-
EXAMINATION OF BRAHMIST DOCTRINES. 79
But while Brahmism is a vast improvement upon Hinduism, and
contains much that is good, the question is, Does it meet the needs
of sinful humanity ? does it satisfy the deepest religious instincts of
the heart These points will now be considered.
STATEMENT cF BRAHMIST PRINCIPLES.
Declamation against “dogmas,” “dead " and “antiquated,”
marked Keshub Chunder Sen’s earlier addresses. The word
“dogma” simply means an opinion received as true. The exis-
tence of God is a dogma. There can be no religion without dogmas
or articles of belief.
As Mr. Dyson shows, true dogmas may be practically dead
dogmas. The dogma, “there is one God,” is universally acknow.
ledged as true by Hindus; but, as a rule, it is “dead dogma,”
yielding no results.
The creed of Keshub Chunder Sen’s party will first be given,
as contained in the Fssential Principles of the Brahma Dharma,
published by the Brahmo Tract Society.
GOD.
God is the first cause of the universe. There was nothing before.
By His will and creative power He created all objects and beings, and He
upholds them as their primary power and life. He is spirit, not matter.
He is perfect, infinite, and eternal. He is omnipresent, omnipotent, omni-
scient, all-merciful, all-blissful, and holy. He is our Father, Preserver,
Master, King, and Saviour. He is One without a second.
IMMORTALITY,
The soul is immortal. Death is only the dissolution of the body; the
soul lives everlastingly in God. There is no new birth after death; the
life hereafter is only the continuation and development of the present
life. Each soul departs from this world with its virtues and sins ; and
gradually advances in the path of eternal progress while realizing their
effects. -
SCRIPTURE.
The true scriptures written by the hand of God are—the volume of
nature and the natural ideas implanted in the mind. The wisdom,
power, and mercy of the Creator are written in golden letters on the
universe. We know Him by studying His works. Secondly, all the
fundamental truths about God, immortality, and morality are established
in the constitution of men as primitive and self-evident convictions.
Intuitive faith is tho root of Prahmoism
80 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS,
WoRSHIP.
True worship is spiritual, there is no external ostentation in it. Love,
faith, humility, and self-control are the only materials necessary to
worship. Worship comprises four elements—the adoration of the great
and holy God, the contemplation of the Supreme Spirit in the recesses
of the soul, gratitude towards the merciful Father, and prayer to the
Saviour for deliverance from sin. By daily worship we enter into com-
munion with God.
PROPHETs.
God himself never becomes man by putting on human body. His
divinity dwells in every man, and is displayed more vividly in some.
Moses, Jesus, Mahomed, Nanak, Chaitanya, and others appeared at
special times, and conferred great benefits on the religious world. They
all, therefore, are entitled to universal gratitude and love. They should
not be esteemed faultless or infallible, but were only gifted men.
THE WAY TO SALVATION.
Worship is the principal means of attaining Salvation. Other means
also should be employed, such as good company, good books, the study
of nature, solitary contemplation of God, the subjugation of passions,
and repentance for sin. Man's labours according to the above means
and God’s grace acting together lead to Salvation.
RELATION TO OTHER CREEDs.
Brahmoism is distinct from all other systems of religion; yet is the
essence of all. It is not altogether hostile to other creeds ; what is true
in them it accepts, only the errors in each it rejects. It is based on the
constitution of man, and is, therefore, ancient, eternal, and universal.
It is not sectarian, not confined to age or country. Men of all countries
and races who believe in this natural religion are Brahmos.
CASTE.
All mankind are of one caste, and all are equally entitled to embrace
the Brahmo religion. It recognises no distinction between Brahmans
and Sudras, Hindus and Yavanas ; whoso has faith in this religion can
be admitted into the Brahmo Somaj. God does not accept or reject
men of particular castes; those who have faith and righteousness are
accepted by Him. It is the aim of the Brahmo religion to extinguish
caste-batred and animosity, and bind all mankind into one family.
DUTIES.
The dutics of a Brahmo are of four kinds, l, Duties to God—To
believe in, love, worship, and serve the one true God; 2, Duties to self—
EXAMINATION OF BRAHMIST DOCTRINES. 81
º
To preserve bodily health, acquire knowledge, and sanctify the soul;
3, Duties to others—Veracity, fulfilment of promises, justice, gratitude,
love of parents, brothers, sisters, children, and kinsmen, and the promo-
tion of the welfare of all mankind ; 4, Duties to animals— Kindness to
birds, beasts, and all inferior creatures.
ATONEMENT.
Every sinner must suffer the consequences of his own sins, sooner or
later, in this world or in the next ; for the moral law is unchangeable
and God's justice irreversible. His mercy also must have its way. As
the just King he visits the soul with adequate agonies, and when the
sinner after being thus chastised mournfully prays, He, as the merciful
Father, delivers and accepts him and becomes reconciled to him. Such
reconciliation is the only true atonement.
SALVATION.
True salvation is the deliverance of the soul from all sinful desires
and deeds and its growth in purity. Such growth continues through
all eternity, and the soul becomes more and more godly and happy in
Him who is the fountain of infinite holiness and joy. The companion.
ship of God is the Brahmo's heaven.
Principles of the Sadharan Samaj.-The Indian Messenger, the
organ of the Society, gives these as follows:—
(l) God is one, without a second, the creator, sustainer, and saviour
of the world. He is omnipotent; He is wisdom, love, aud joy; He is
all-ruling, all-pervading, eternal, and all good; He is formless and has
neither beginning nor end ; He is infinite, perfect, and holy.
(2) The soul of man is immortal, and susceptible of infinite pro-
gress, and responsible for its actions to God.
. (3) It is the duty of man to worship God, and it is the only
means of his salvation.
(4) Ilove to God and the doing of His will in all actions of life
is true worship.
(5) The voice of conscience is the will of God. On no condition
should a man act against his conscience. God’s will cannot be contrary
to the dictates of conscience.
(6) No created object should be revered as God or as equal to God,
or as an incarnation of God, or as a mediator between God and man.
No man or sacred scripture should be taken as infallible and the only
means of salvation. Truth alone is the only scripture to a Brahmo. Truth
should be accepted with reverence from the words of all Scriptures and
all men, irrespective of creed or caste.
(7) The Fatherhood of God, the brotherhood of man, and tender-
ness to all living beings form the fundamental religion. Society is
the field of work assigned by God to man. Justice and truth, there-
fore, ought to be followed in all the duties of our social life.
11
82 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
(8) God rewards virtue and punishes sin; but that punishment is
for our good and cannot last to eternity.
(9) To cease from wrong-doing with sincere repentance is the real
expiation, and to be united to God in mind, love, and will, is real
Salvation.
(10) Faith is the root of religion, a pure heart is the best pilgrim-
age, and self-sacrifice is true asceticism. The true worship of God
is necessarily spiritual.
Peculiar Doctrines of Brahmism.—“The positive doctrines of
Brahmism,” says Mr. Dyson, “are very few in number, and generally
are not distinctive in themselves. Brahmism is distinctly marked
out by asserting what ‘ the primitive self-evident convictions' of the
human mind declare to be falsehood and impossibilities more than
by asserting what those convictions declare to be facts and realities.”
The following may be called the peculiar doctrines of Brahmism,
said to be based on “primitive self-evident convictions:”
1. The supernatural altogether is an impossibility. This sweeps away
at one stroke both the facts and evidence of Christianity.
2. Prayer for spiritual blessings is efficacious; but prayer for physical
blessings is mot.
3. Forgiveness of man's sin by God is an impossibility. -
4. Every sin is adequately and exactly punished by Divine Regal
Justice, and all punishment is converted into chastisement by Divine
Fatherly Mercy.
5. Repentance is the punishment of sin and no other is possible.
6. No sinner can be punished till he is conscious of his sin, and this
consciousness depends upon his own free will.
7. Fatherly mercy consists in delivering, accepting, and being recon-
ciled to sinners after they have been adequately and exactly punished.
8. Repentance which brings us back to God is the only atonement.
9. Reconciliation, effected by the penal penitential process described
above, is the only true atonement, and the word atonement means
reconciliation.
10. Hence, as every sinner must be adequately punished, i. e., every
sinner must adequately repent, therefore every sinner must be saved.
Punishment, Repentance, and Salvation are all the same process regarded
from different points of view.
11. No man is born with a bias towards sin, and every man as born
corresponds to God's mind and design in creating him.
12. All men are sinners.
13. Sin is not a positive act, a real and direct transgression of an
obligation of which we are conscious. It is merely negative and privative.
14. Sin is merely an imperfection of the creature as such, and a
necessary condition of progress. God alone is altogether sinless.
The foregoing list was drawn up in 1873. A few of the opinions
may since have been modified; but, on the whole, they are retained.
EXAMINATION OF BRAHMIST DOCTRINEs. - 83
Some of the principal points in the “Statement of Brahmist
Principles” will now be considered.
Sources of Religious Truth.—In 1845, the organ of the Samaj
said, “The Vedas are the sole foundation of all our belief, and the
truths of all other Sastras must be judged of according to their
agreement with them.” Debendranath, writing to a Calcutta news-
paper in 1846, said, “We consider the Vedas and the Vedas alone
as the standard of our faith and principles.” It has been mentioned
that four Brahmans were sent to Benares to copy the Vedas. An
examination of them required their infallibility to be given up.
About this time the writings of Parker and F. W. Newman began to
be read by the more advanced Bramhos. The very idea of “paper
revelations” and “book-made religions” was scouted. It was then
declared that the true Scriptures, written by the hand of God, are
two—the volume of Nature and the fundamental truths about God,
immortality and morality established in the constitution of men as
primitive and self-evident convictions. “Intuitive faith is the root
of Brahmoism.”
Dr. Jardine says:
“The bringing forward of individual intuition as the grand source of
religious knowledge and life has the same effect and the same tendency
in India as elsewhere. Religious intuition is unquestionably an imporé-
ant principle in human mature, but when not corrected by something more
stable, it is simply identical with the uncontrolled religious imagination
of the individual. Hence mystics have nearly always been wild un-
reasonable enthusiasts, under the control of whatever freak of religious
fancy happened to predominate.”
Latterly, Keshub professed to be guided by inspiration. The
change is thus described by The Liberal, the organ of the New
Dispensation :
“The religion of the Brahmo Somaj at one time was of the same type with
the Theism of the West. We well remember that the works of Theodore
Parker, Professor Newman, and other Western Theists were very much
liked and attentively studied by the Brahmos as representing the highest
truths of Brahmoism. The natural light of God, as it was reflected in
man's conscience and outer nature, was considered as the onl y revelation of
God. Idolatry and caste and all other superstitions of the land were
vigorously protested against. The religion of the Brahmo Somaj was
then more negative than positive; it was a kind of Hindu protestantism
This simple Theism, however consistent it might have been within its
narrow sphere, was rationalistic, cold, dry, and impotent. It was
Sectarian and narrow ; it was insufficient for man's salvation. It carried
with it the seeds of decay and death. Since the advent of the New
Dispensation a wonderful transformation has come upon the Brahmo
Samaj. Our religion is no more earthly; it is a divine dispensation. It
has been classed with the faith of Jesus, Moses, Chaitanya, and other
84 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTR. M8.
Prophets of the world. Direct inspiration or the word of God, has
become our guide, and like the prophets of old our apostles declare their
messages with the authority of God, and proclaim them as ‘Thus saith
the Lord.' . . . It can have no religious union with those that ridicule the
inspiration of Keshub Chunder Sem, and stand as enemies of the New
Dispensation.” 1888.
It should be mentioned, however, that Keshub’s idea of inspira-
tion differed from that accepted by Christians. The latter under-
stand it as the supernatural communication of Divine truth, and, as
such, it must be free from error. Keshub’s “inspiration” was no
infallible guide any more than that possessed by Shakespeare and
other “great men.” *
Conscience.—The Sadharan Samaj statement of principles con-
tains the following :
(5) “The voice of conscience is the will of God. On no condition
should a man act against his conscience. God’s will cannot be contrary
to the dictates of conscience.”
This statement is very unguarded. As it stands, it countenances
some of the greatest crimes.
Conscience is the knowledge of our actions as right or wrong ;
the power within us which approves or condemns our conduct.
To act against our conscience,—to do what we consider wrong—
is always blameworthy. If a man considers an action to be wrong
and yet does it, to him it is wrong, although in itself it may be
innocent. To act according to our conscience—to do what we
think right—is not always right. The Apostle Paul was at one
time a bitter persecutor of Christianity, dragging men and women
to prison on account of their belief; a thug murdered his victim
in the name of the goddess Kali. Both thought that they were
doing right ; but in reality their conduct was strongly to be con-
demned.
Men are very prone to mistake what conscience says, or to
confound it with their own inclination. Conscience can be called
the “Voice of God” only when duly enlightened and cultivated,
Through a course of sin, conscience becomes “seared with a hot
iron ;” and the greatest crimes may cause no uneasiness. Or
another lying voice may be mistaken for conscience that whis-
pers “Peace, peace ; when there is no peace.” •
Denial of a Revelation.—It is the almost universal belief that
God has given man a revelation of His will. Christians have the
Bible, Muhammadans the Koran, Hindus the Vedas, Buddhists the -
Pitakas. In opposition to this, it is held by Brahmists that “ no
sacred scripture should be held as infallible.”
To deny the possibility of a revelation is an outrage to common
sense. If we can make known our will to others, is it to be
EXAMINATION OF BRAHMIST DOCTR IN ES. 85
supposed that our Creator is “helplessly imprisoned in everlasting
silence f*
The probability of a Revelation is thus admitted by J. S. Mill.
“On the supposition of a God who made the world and in making
it had regard, however that regard may have been limited by other con-
siderations, to the happiness of His sentient creatures, there is no ante-
cedent improbability of the supposition that His coucern for their good
would continue, and that He might once or oftener give proof of it by
communicating to them some knowledge of Himself beyond what they
were able to make out by their own unassisted faculties and some know-
ledge and precepts useful for guiding them through the difficulties
of life.”
The felt need of a Revelation is shown by the existing pro-
fessed Revelations. The very claim proves the deep-seated need in
the soul for such a direct counmunication from God to man. The
ancient Greeks and Romans had no sacred books. They numbered
among them some men of the acutest iu tellects that ever lived,
who made earnest and persevering attempts to solve the “enigmas
of life.” What are their confessions “Ah ! if one only might
have a guide to truth,” sighs Seneca. “We will wait,” says Plato,
‘ for One, be it a god or a god-inspired man, to teach us our
religious duties, and to take away the darkness from our eyes.”
In another place he says, “We must lay hold of the best human
opinion in order that borne by it as on a raft we may sail over the
dangerous sea of life, unless we can find a stronger boat, or some
words of God, which will more surely and safely carry us.” So-
crates, the wisest of the Greeks, said, “You may resign yourself to
sleep, and give yourself up to despair, unless God, in His goodness,
shall vouchsafe to send you instruction.”
Illustrations will be given hereafter showing our uncertainty
about some of the most important doctrines of religion, apart from
Revelation. Keshub Chunder Sen sueered at a “book revelation.”
It is evident that a book revelation is much superior to a “lip reve-
lation.” . To listen with reverence to the oral teaching of a prophet
and to deny authority to the same truths when written would be
absurd. It is only through a written record that great spiritual
truths can be handed down correctly to future generations. The
most earnest oral tradition will, in a little while, lose its distinct-
ness., Rival schools of disciples will begin to contend not merely
how their master's words should be accepted, but about the actual
words which he uttered.
Uncertainty.—Although the first Brahmo Samaj was established
only in 1880, its bases have been shifted several times. As already
stated, in 1845 the eternal Vedas were the standard of its faith.
In 1855 the infallibility of these documents was abandoned, and the
86 THE BRAHMIA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
“volume of nature” took their place. In 1860 it was declared that
Brahmoism was founded on the “rock of intuition.” In Keshub’s
jecture on “Great Men,” delivered in 1866, three external sources
of knowledge were pointed out—viz., nature, the writings of great
men, and inspiration.
The changes, no doubt, were made conscientiously." The question”
says the Rev. Lal Behari Day, “is not how the changes were made,
but were the changes made 7”
“I can understand a private individual changing his opinions in the
course of his enquiries, but it does certainly appear strange that men who
set themselves up as the religious instructors of the illiterate multitude
and the reformers of their country should not have made up their minds
as to the foundations of their faith.”
Even at present there are great diversities of opinion in the two
leading branches of the Samaj. The Indian Messenger says:
“A most delightful feature of the Sadharan Brahmo Samaj is its broad
catholicity. Its present members represent various shades of opinion.
There are men who are Christian in their sympathies, others who are
decidedly Vaisnavic in their ways of thought, and others again who have
a decided leaning towards pantheism.” Nov. 14, 1886.
Mr. MoZoomdar, in an address delivered 7th April, 1888, says:
“Our doctrines are many, our views are dissimilar, our forms of
worship different, some have more faith in great men and prophets,
others have less faith, some pay greater respect to the Hindu Scriptures,
some to the Christian Scriptures, some give greater importance to the
subject of Divine Dispensation, others give less importance.”
Mr. Mozoomdar says that Keshub Chunder Sen “claimed on
behalf of every member of his Church the essential privilege of
individual inspiration.” Dr. Jardine has the following remarks :
“The principle of eclecticism implies that no single scripture is author-
itative, but that the individual who is in search of truth must choose from
all sources what is true and good. To do this implies a power in the
individual to discriminate between the true and the false, the good and
the bad. But if an individual is possessed of this power, it seems a very
natural and easy inference for him to make, that he may himself have an
intuitive knowledge of truth and goodness. In fact the claim to this intui-
tive knowledge is a necessary condition of eclecticism. Hence there is
a probability that a system of eclecticism will very soon transform itself
into one in which individual intuition is considered the great source of
religious knowledge.”
As individual intuitions will differ, Brahmism may be expected
to exhibit ever-changing phases.
God.—The creeds of ancient India are either polytheistic, atheis-
tic, or pantheistic. The Vedas repeatedly mention the number of
the gods as thrice-eleven ; in the Puranas they are multiplied into
*7
EXAMINATION OF BRAHMIST DOCTRINES. 87
33 crores. The Sankhya philosophy is atheistic. The Vedantic
Doctrine, on the other hand, is that God is the only existence,
Ekam evadwitiyam. This well-known pantheistic formula, from the
Chhandogya Upanishad, has been adopted by the Bramhos, who
generally use it in a totally different sense from its original
meaning.
According to Hinduism, there is no creation, properly so called.
All is either maya, illusion, or matter is regarded as eternal. ... In
the latter view, creation is simply the arrangement of existing
materials, as a carpenter makes a table out of wood.
Vyasa, Kapila, and Sankar Acharya were intellectual giants and
highly educated. Why were the “primitive and self-evident
convictions” regarding God and creation hidden from them, and
known to the Bramhos of the present day, in many respects so
inferior to them The monotheism of the Bramhos and the doctrine
of creation were derived from Christianity.
The soul.—According to Hinduism, every living creature is
svyambhu, self-existent, eternally transmigrating. We are thus, as
it were, all little gods. This doctrine is now rejected by every
enlightened man.
The immortality of the soul is the grand question. “Without a
belief in personal immortality,” says Max Müller, “religion surely
is like an arch resting on one pillar, like a bridge ending in an
abyss.”
The wisest philosophers of ancient Europe were undecided on
the question.
Socrates, when dying, said to his friends; “I am going out of
the world, and you are to continue in it ; but which of us has the
better part is a secret to every one but God.” Cicero devoted much
attention to the arguments for the immortality of the soul. He
summed up the whole in the following words: “Of these opinions—
the immortality, or eternal death, of the soul—which is the true one
the gods may know ; which is probable is still a great question.”
Caesar, in the Roman Senate, publicly denied a future life.
Pliny, Lucretius, Horace, and many others, represent the disbelief,
sad or scornful, which practically pervaded the ancient world.
In modern times it has been held by some that there is no here-
after, no retribution, but that death is an eternal sleep. Regarding
a future life, F. W. Newman says, “I never knew any one who
professed to have attained (by spiritual insight) certain or confi-
dent expectations in this matter.” “Confidence there is none,
hopeful aspiration is her highest state.”f
A Bramho is asked, “How have you come to the certain conclu-
sion that there is a future state of being for man ‘What is your
* The Soul, p, 143, # Ibid., p. 145,
88 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS,
authority for believing in that dogma f’” The reply may be imagined
to be : “My authority is not any book or paper revelation. It is
the higher and interior revelation of intuition. The doctrine of
a future state is written in the depths of the soul in imperishable
characters.” To this the inquirer may say, “I have sounded, as
far as I could, the depths of my soul, and have not found any such
primitive self-evident conviction. And not only I, but the philo-
sophers of ancient Europe, were in the same predicament.”
Prayer—Bramhos urge eloquently the duty of prayer for spirit-
ual blessings. An objector may say, “How do you know that it is
either our duty to pray, or that God will hearken to our prayer If
you had an express revelation from God on the subject, that would
be different. But ignoring revelation, how have you come to the
conclusion that prayer is useful, and that God will answer it My
reason tells me, that what will happen will happen, and no prayer
of mine will induce God to swerve from His settled purpose ; it is
therefore absurd to pray. And my conscience tells me, that it is
not likely that God will ever hearken to the prayer of such a
sinful being as I am, who has repeatedly broken His law and set
His authority at defiance. Besides, if prayer be useful, and if it be
my duty to pray, I don’t know how to pray. Have you not read the
dialogue of Plato on Prayer : Alcibiades is going to the temple to
pray; Socrates meets him and endeavours to dissuade him from it on
the ground that he does not know how to pray. Socrates concludes
his argument saying, ‘You see that it is not at all safe for you to
go and pray in the temple; I am therefore of opinion that it is much
better for you to be silent. And it is necessary you should wait for
some person to teach you how you ought to behave both towards
the gods and men.” To which Alcibiades says, “And when will
that time come, Socrates ? and who is he that will instruct me !
With what pleasure should I look to him l’ To which Socrates
replies, ‘He will do it who takes care of you. But, methinks, as
we read in Homer, that Minerva dissipated the mist that covered
Diomed and hindered him from distinguishing God from man ; so it
is necessary that he should, in the first place, scatter the darkness
that covers your soul, and afterwards give you the remedies that are
necessary to put you in a condition of discerning good and evil; for
at present you know not how to make the distinction.” Alcibiades
says, “I think, I must defer my sacrifice to that time.’ Socrates
approves. “You have reason ;’ says he, “it is more safe so to do
than run so great a risk.’”
When so great a teacher as Socrates, pronounced the wisest of
men, speaks on the subject of prayer with such diffidence, professing
his ignorance as to how he should pray, and dwelling on the
* Rev. Lal Behari Day.
EXAMINATION OF BRAHMIST DOCTRINES. 89
necessity of illumination from above, how is it that Bramhos speak
so confidently f
The Bramho may reply, “Our religion lies in our intuitive con-
sciousness, its doctrines we directly perceive, we require no argu-
mentation; they approach us as self-evident realities.”
The answer to this is that Bramhos seem to have an intuitive and
perfect knowledge of subjects of which Socrates knew very little.*
Brahmists may urge that prayer is a universal instinct. Grant-
ing this, why do they not accept it in its totality They say that
we may pray for spiritual blessings, but not for temporal blessings.
Why do they make this distinction ? If the instinct is true in the
one case, why not in the other ? In fact it is sadly true that men
have been apt to pray for temporal blessings only. Not to pray
for such must be opposed to a “self-evident conviction of the human
mind.” Keshub Chunder Sen says that “men cannot pray for
physical blessings, because physical phenomena happen according
to immutable law.” “To this it is replied that, “Laws in the
moral world are as fixed and immutable as laws in the physical
world.”
Denial of Miracles.—The impossibility of a miracle is a self-
evident conviction of the human mind, says the Brahmo Somaj.
The contrary rather expresses the facts of the case. From the
earliest times to the present, among nations of the highest culture,
the belief in the reality of miracles has been almost universal.
The question at present is not whether the alleged miracles were
real, but whether their impossibility is a “self-evident conviction.”
Granting that they are unworthy of credit, the fact remains that
men have accepted them. The evidence is therefore overwhelming
that this dogma of the Brahmo Somaj is baseless.
But apart from this, how do the Brahmos know that miracles are
impossible : Are they so thoroughly acquainted with the past history
of the universe as to feel warranted in affirming that no miracle
was ever wrought by God during the etermity that is past 7 Is their
knowledge of the future so complete as to justify the assertion on
their part that no miracle will ever be wrought in the eternity that
is to come 7 *
Even J. S. Mill says that if the existence of God were admitted,
a miracle could not reasonably be represented as impossible.
Brahmos generally believe in the creation of the universe, and
that was a stupendous miracle.
It is allowed that alleged miracles should be substantiated by
sufficient evidence; but that is very different from a denial of their
possibility.
* Abridged from the Rev, Lal Behari Day, pp. 142-144,
12
90 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
Denial of Incarnation.—By “incarnation” Christians understand
the assumption by a Divine being of a human body and soul. It is
applied to the Son of God becoming man as the Lord Jesus Christ.
Hinduism also has its incarnations. Krishna says in the Bhagavad
Gità, “I am born age after age, for the protection of the good, for
the destruction of evil-doers, and establishment of piety.”
“No thoughtful student of the past records of man,” says Arch-
bishop Trench, “can refuse to acknowledge that through all its
history there has run the hope of a redemption from the evil which
oppresses it ; and as little can deny that this hope has continually
attached itself to some single man. The help that is coming to the
World, it has seen incorporated in a person. The generations of
men, weak and helpless in themselves, have evermore been looking
after ONE in whom they may find all they seek for vainly in them-
selves and in those around them.”
The Hindu ideas, though defective in many respects, recognise,
says Hardwick, the idea of God descending to the level of the fallen
creature, and becoming man to lighten the burden of pain and
misery under which the universe is groaning ; they show a
struggling to become conscious of the personality of God, and a
panting for communion with him.
This belief, says Mr. Bose, “cannot be traced to human philoso-
phy, which has always enlarged upon the impossibility of the great
God taking any interest in human affairs, and which has laughed at
the idea of His taking so much interest therein as to be induced to
forsake His heavenly glory and come into the world in human form.
Man is naturally prone to have such an overwhelming sense of
God’s greatness as to look upon such condescension on His part as
impossible. This universal conviction, therefore, cannot be traced
to Him.”
In denying an incarnation, the Bramhos have included among
their “self-evident truths,” one opposed to the deepest longings of
the human heart.
Sense of Sin.—Miss Collet justly remarks, “On the sense of
sin depends the whole development of practical religion.”
Hindus, as a rule, have a very faint idea of the evil of sin.
Their gods are sometimes said to commit sin in Sport. According to
Vedantism, the root of sin is a hamkara, self-consciousness, regard-
ing one’s self as distinct from God. When a man can say Aham
Brahma, I am Brahma, then virtue and vice are alike to him. It
is supposed that the foulest sins can be washed away by bathing
in the Gauges, or even by the repetition of the word Hari.
As already mentioned, Debendranath Tagore “seldom recog-
mised the existence of sins and miseries in human nature.” Mr.
Mozoomdar likewise admits that “all modern Theistic sects treat
of the important subject of sin in a light superficial way, holding
EXAMINATION OF BRAHMIST DOCTRINES. 91
the sinfulness of man to be a mere fiction, and atonement a mere act
of supererogation.” In his address in the Calcutta Town-hall
in 1888, he said :
“In former years the Brahmo Somaj was distinguished for truth-
fulness and strictness of conduct; but at the present moment, whatever
may be the reason, although there has been a rapid development in
social reform, yet somehow or other laxity of morals has entered into
the movement. In Christian countries what has been the safeguard
against indulgence P There is one strong protection, and that is the
sense of sin. The sense of sin which in all Christian countries is so
deep, has been the source of that moral purity for which Christian
countries are noted. Happily this sense of sin has impressed itself upon
the Brahmo Somaj. There was a time when the Brahmo Somaj lived in
happy oblivion of its own sinfulness, when we used to hold with Theodore
Parker that every fall was a fall upwards. Now we know that every
fall is downwards, and that there is a corruption in the very core of our
nature. When the heart is impure is it possible by forms and respect-
ability to build up that holiness without which humanity cannot be
perfected P”
While it is allowed that there is an increasing sense of the
evil of sin among Brahmos, the following remarks of Mr. Slater
still hold good —
“True, there is much said of sin, especially in later Brahmist writ-
ings, and considerable prominence is given to repentance and holiness
of life; the only defect is that the writers and speakers do not say
enough. The guilt of sin—and not simply its weakening power as a
disease—when viewed in the light of a Holy and Loving GoD, whose
laws we have broken, and the painful sense of separation from Him,
which a true consciousness of sin produces, do not appear to be realised
as distressing facts burdening the conscience.”f
The proof of this will be seen more clearly from what follows.
“Immediacy.”—This is considered one of the “distinguishing
features of Brahmoism.” The need of any mediator between God
and man is denied ; the sinner may go at once unto God’s pre-
sence alone, without any mediator. All this arises from inadequate
views of the evil of sin.
What is sin º God claims to be supreme over the world which
He has Himself created; it is essential to the welfare of the uni-
Verse that He should be supreme. Every sin is a defiance of His
authority, a declaration on the part of the sinner, that he will
not have God to reign over him. “All the guilt that lies in foul
rebellion against the mildest and most merciful of earthly monarchs
-in disobeying the kindest, and grieving the best of fathers—in
ingratitude to a generous benefactor—, , , all that evil, multiplied a
thousand and a thousand times, there is in sin.”
* Life of Keshub Chunder Sen, p. 388. f Keshwb Chunder Sen, p. 166.
92 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
Suppose a man committed theft, the value of the article stolen
has not simply to be considered. The evil is that if theft did not
involve a penalty, no man’s property would be safe. It is the
same, with sin. A single violation of God’s law with impunity
Would tend to spread rebellion through the universe.
After trampling under foot for years the commands of the great
Lawgiver, Brahmos think that they may go alone unto His pre-
sence. Christians, sensible of their vileness, consider that they
can approach. Him only through a Mediator. This need is wonder-
fully provided for by the Incarnation of the Son of God—another
doctrine rejected by the Brahmos.
Mr. Bose remarks :
“Men who have no adequate ideas or approximately adequate ideas of
the intense holiness of God or of their own unutterable corruption, may
laugh at the idea of approaching the Deity through a Mediator; but human-
ity instinctively believes that sin has rendered direct communication
between the righteous Ruler of the universe and His rebellious subjects
impossible. The religions of the world prove this to a demonstration.”*
Denial of the Pardon of Sin.—The Essential Principles contain
the following:
“Every sinner must suffer the consequences of his own sins, sooner
or later, in this world or in the next ; for the moral law is unchangeable
and God's justice is irreversible.” p. 7.
Brahmos virtually adopt the Buddhist doctrine of Karma, which
“has no idea of mediation, of satisfaction, of propitiation. Neither
in heaven nor in earth can man escape from the consequences
of his acts ; hence forgiveness and atonement are ideas utterly
unknown.” *
This Brahmist dogma is put in a quasi-logical form ; but it
consists of groundless assertions. Instead of being a “self-evident
intuitive truth,” it contradicts the testimony of religious conscious-
ness. Men instinctively believe in the forgiveableness of sin, and
instinctively pray for pardon.
Why is an ignorant erring mortal to limit the power of the
Almighty 7 Has he such a thorough knowledge of the Divine
administration of the universe to warrant Him in proclaiming the
unforgiveableness of sin To suppose this is to describe God as
weaker than man. An earthly king can pardon an offender, why
should this prerogative be denied to the King of kings
Brahmists hold the doctrine of the Fatherhood of God. An
earthly father can forgive the offences of his children ; why may
not our loving Father in heaven do the same 7 The Brahmist
dogma is opposed to our deepest and tenderest feelings.
* Brahmoism, p. 22.
EXAMINATION OF BRAHMIST DOCTRINES. 93
Denial of an Atonement.—Reference has been made to Keshub
Chunder Sen’s misuse of Christian terms—employing them in
a different sense from their recognised meaning. “A Conement,”
with Keshub denotes simply “reconciliation.” The Christian
meaning expresses the expiation of sin through the sufferings of
Christ. In the latter sense Brahmos deny an atonement.
The feeling is universal that man is a sinner, and that sin
deserves punishment. Hence sacrifices have existed during all
ages and among all nations. The idea that pervades sacrifice is
substitution. The offerer sometimes laid his hand on the head
of the victim saying, “I give thee this life instead of mine.” He
acknowledged his guilt, but hoped that God would accept the
sacrifice in his stead.
Sacrifices prevailed largely among the old Aryans. “The most
prominent feature of the Vedic religion,” says the Rev. K. S. Mac-
donald, “is its sacrifices. Scarcely a hymn is found in which sacri-
fice is not alluded to. • The very first verse of the very first hymn
runs : ‘I glorify Agni, the purohit of the sacrifice.’ Another
hymn says “Do thou lead us safe through all sins by the way of
sacrifice.’ The Tandya Maha Brahmana of the Sama Veda says
of sacrifice, ‘Whatever sins we have committed, knowing or un-
knowing, thou art the annulment thereof. Thou art the annulment
of sin—of sin.’” -
The same Brahmama contains the remarkable statement that
“Prajápati, the Lord of creatures, offered himself a sacrifice for
the benefit of the devas.” Max Müller, referring to the continent of
Africa, says, “Wherever we now see kraals and cattle pens, depend
upon it there was to be seen once, as there is to be seen even now,
the Smoke of sacrifices rising up from earth to heaven.”
Sacrifices were appointed by God to show that sorrow for sin is
not enough ; that, “ without shedding of blood there is no remis-
sion.” But animal sacrifices were only like a shadow of the great
sacrifice that was to be offered, and their chief object was to keep it
in remembrance. After the death of the Divine Incarnation, they
Were to cease.
Some reject the doctrine of the atonement of Christ because they
think it more consistent with the mercy of God to pardon sin freely
without any atonement whatsoever Others, because from the
unchangeable nature of God’s laws, it is impossible that sin can be
pardoned at all. The former would sacrifice God’s justice ; the
latter, His mercy.
Another objection may be noticed. It is maintained that it is
unjust that the innocent should suffer for the sins of the guilty.
Newman Hall makes the following reply:
“It would indeed be most unrighteous in any earthly ruler, were
he to seize an innocent person, and make him suffer the sentence of
94. THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
the law, while the culprit himself was allowed to escape. Suppos-
ing, however, the purposes of law were equally accomplished, by an
innocent person voluntarily submitting to death on behalf of a large
multitude of offenders who must otherwise have died, there would
be nº departure from justice; neither would any alarm be caused to
the innocent, by the expectation of being themselves compelled to
suffer for the guilty. But if, by such voluntary transference of
suffering, those offenders were also reclaimed and made good citi-
Zens,—and if moreover he who became their substitute, were restor-
ed to life, and as the result of his mediation, were raised to higher
honour than before, not only justice would be satisfied, but bene-
volence would rejoice. So with the sacrifice of Christ. He, the
righteous, suffered ; that we, the unrighteous, might escape. But
the act was voluntary. The suffering of Christ was brief, while His
triumph is everlasting.”
Repentance.—True repentance consists of two parts—sorrow for
sin and a return to obedience. Brahmists hold that repentance
which brings us back to God is the only atonement.
While it is granted that repentance is absolutely necessary, our
instinctive beliefs tell us that something more is required for the
pardon of sin. We see many cases in this world in which though
the sinner repents the suffering is not removed. Many a drunkard
repents at last, mourns over his folly, and gives it up. But health
does not return, and he dies in the prime of life from the effects of
the vice in which he indulged. A murderer repents and gives him-
self up to justice; but his remorse does not restore the life of his
victim. Government cannot act on the principle that repentance is
sufficient. Suppose that a merciful and lenient judge pardoned every
prisoner brought before him who was penitent. What would be
the consequence The country would be flooded with crime. If
repentance in this world is not followed by an obliteration of the
effects, it is highly probable that the principle acted upon here
below will be acted upon in the future world.
The light of nature cannot assure us that penitent sinners will be
restored to the favour of God. What is needed is a declaration
from God Himself. How can God communicate this to us without
a Divine revelation ? But Brahmists disown a revelation in the
strict sense of the word. Hence though God were even willing to
forgive our sins on account of our repentance, the Brahmo could
not possibly know it.
Funishment Temporary and Remedial.—The Brahmist doctrine
is as follows:
“As the just King He visits the soul with adequate agonies, and when
the sinner, after being thus chastened, mournfully prays, He, as the merci-
ful Father, delivers, and accepts him, and becomes reconciled to him.”
Principles, p. 7.
EXAMINATION OF BRAHMIST DOCTRINES. 95
It may be said that, besides repentance, men have to endure
“ adequate agonies” on account of their sius.
What are “adequate agonies º' We are too much interested in
the case to give a proper decision. If criminals in a jail were asked
what punishment should be inflicted upon themselves, the sentences
would be very lenient. Most men have no deep sense of sin.
Notorious profligates have been known to comfort the unselves in
their last moments with the thoughts that they had only been guilty
of a few frailties, which God, in his mercy, would overlook. So
common is this that the Bible says of the wicked, “ There are no
bands in their death,”—they die unconcerned about the future.
But the case is very different with meu whose conscience has not
been seared by a long course of transgression. Instead of regard-
ing their sins as few in number, they will say with a good man of
old, “Mine iniquities are more than the hairs of mile head.” They
are also deeply sensible of the enormity of their guilt.
It may be objected that, according to Brahmism, “The punish-
ment of sin is not, as some suppose, a penalty arbitrarily or artificial-
ly connected with sin, but its natural and necessary consequence.”
“It follows sin just in the same way as an effect follows a cause.”
“The punishment of sin is sin,” or, in other words, remorse of con-
Science.
While it is granted that remorse of conscience is probably one of
the chief ingredients in that cup of misery which shall be the portion
of the impenitent in the coming life, it is not all the punishment
which will be inflicted. Suppose that an earthly government
abolished all punishments and left every criminal to the stings of
his own upbraiding conscience, what would be the consequence 2
Nor can the Divine Government be carried on in this way.
According to Brahmism, punishment is “remedial.” Sin con-
Sumes itself and works its own cure. What authority is there for
this assertion ? God has to satisfy His justice when it is violated ;
He has to vindicate the honour of his laws when they are trans-
gressed. The proper end of chastisement is the reformation of
the person chastised ; the proper end of punishment is the satisfac-
tion of justice and the vindication of violated law.
The effect of punishment is usually different from that attributed
to it by Brahmism. Dr. Norman Macleod says:
“Men attach, perhaps, some omnipotent power to mere suffering, and
imagine that if hatred to sin and love to God are all that is needed, then
a short experience of the terrific consequences of a godless past must
ensure a godly future. Why do they think so P. This is not the effect
which mere punishment generally produces on human character. Its
tendency is not to soften, but to harden the heart, to fill it not with
love, but with enmity.” *
96 TEIF BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
Brahmists speak only in a general way regarding future punish-
ment, and do not consider to what consequences their own admis-
Sions lead. It is a dogma of theirs that pardon of sin is an impos-
sibility; every sin must be followed by “adequate agonies.” This
must apply to the future world as well as to the present. Every man
who truly knows his own heart is conscious that in this life not a
day passes in which he does not commit sin. What guarantee is
there that he will not commit sin while undergoing chastisement
Continuous sin beyond this life must entail continuous punishment,
and an eternity of sin involves an eternity of suffering.
Salvation by Works,—“The ordinary Hindu,” says Sir Monier
Williams, “wholly rejects the notion of trusting to anything for
salvation but his own self-righteousness.” So “with Hindu theists
God can only be propitiated by works. He may be called merciful
but He only shows mercy to those who deserve it by their actions,
and if He accepts faith, it is only because this also is a meritorious
deed. Every man’s hope of heaven depends on the amount of
merit he has been able to accumulate during life.”
We are naturally proud. We wish to be saved on account of
our own fancied good deeds. The doctrine of Christianity is very
different.
It is impossible to tell whether a garment is clean or dirty by
examining it in a dark room. To judge it properly, it should be
taken out in the sun. Somewhat in like manner, we must view
ourselves, as it were, in the dazzling splendour of God’s presence. A
holy man of old said to God, “Thou hast set our iniquities before
Thee, our secret sins in the light of Thy countenance.” Another
confessed, “We are all as an unclean thing; and all our righteous-
messes are as filthy rags.” A third said, “I have heard of Thee by
the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth Thee, wherefore
I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
As a beggar in dirty rags could not appear in one of the durbars
of the Queen of England, much less can we stand before God,
clothed in the garments of our supposed good works. God has
provided a robe, spotlessly pure, the righteousness of Christ. Only
by putting off their own rags and accepting this glorious robe, do
Christians hope to be saved. This doctrine is so repulsive to human
pride, that it is not received till it is seen to present the only
remedy.
Want of a Dominant Motive to Holiness.-People, as a rule,
know their duty ; the difficulty is to get them to do it. We are
prone to do evil, and backward from doing that which is good. At
jast we are, as it were, “tied and bound by the chains of our sins.”
We have neither the will nor the power to reform. The giving up
of this or that evil habit is not enough, a thorough change of our
*
EXAMINATION OF BRAHMIST DOCTRINES. 97
nature is necessary. We may determine not to commit sin and
to become holy; but how are we to keep that determination ?
“It may be said that if we were sincerely sorry for our sins and
resolved to avoid them in future, God would take pity upon us, and send
us such help as would enable us to become holy. No doubt, if such
Divine help were sent to us, we should become holy, . But what guarantee
has the Brahmo for believing that such help would be sent P. How does
he know that the infinitely just and holy God, the righteous Ruler of the
universe, would send such help to a rebel against His authority ? And
what is the nature of the help he expects P”
Men are not prepared to deny themselves the pleasures of sin
on the strength of vague theories.
Want of Authority—The religions of the world, whether true or
false, profess to have divine sanction. Even legislators like Manu,
who wished their laws to be obeyed, claimed to have obtained their
institutes from heaven. The reason of this allegation was that a
system founded on mere human authority could not bind the
conscience of man. This truth was remarkably exemplified in the
case of the philosophers of antiquity. Locke says: --
“The truths which they proved by speculative reason wanted some
still more sensible authority to support them and render them of more
force and efficacy in practice; and the precepts, which they delivered,
however reasonable and fit to be obeyed, were destitute of weight, and were
only the precepts of men. Hence the philosophers never did nor could
effect any change in the lives of their contemporaries. Indeed some of
the wisest and most sensible of them complained that they found the
understandings of men so dark and beclouded, their wills so biassed and
inclined to evil, their passions so outrageous and rebellious against reason,
that they considered the rules and laws of right reason as very difficult
to be practised, and they entertained very little hope of ever being able
to persuade the world to submit to them ; so that the great duties of
religion were laid down by them as matters of speculation and dispute
rather than as rules of action; and they were not so much urged upon
the hearts and consciences of man, as proposed to their admiration.”
“Suppose a collection were made of moral sayings from all the sages of
the world, what,” says Locke, “would this amount to, towards being a
steady rule, a certain transcript of a law that we are under P Mankind
might hearken to it or reject it, as they pleased, or as it suited their
interests, passions, principles, or humours; they were under no obligation;
the opinion of this or that philosopher was of no authority.”f
Brahmoism labours under the same defect. It has no divine
Sanction to enforce its teachings.
Want of Comfort in Death-Brahmism might have sufficed if
we had never simmed. The heart of a thoughtful Brahmo may
* Rev. Lal Behari Day. Antidote to Brahmoism, p. 152.
+ Reasonableness of Christianity,
13
98 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
well “meditate terror” in his last moments when he thinks of the
“adequate agonies '' he must endure on account of his numberless
offences. Like a philosopher of old he may say, “In great alarm I
depart.” It has been shown that Brahmists have no assurance from
God that punishment is remedial. Nor is there any certainty, rather
the contrary, that in a future world the sufferers will cease from
sinning, thus leading to an indefinite prolongation of their misery.
Brahmists reject the Christian doctrine of a Saviour, and hence,
as they close their eyes on this world, their feeling may well be
that of despair.
PRESENT POSITION AND PROSPECTS OF BRAHMISM.
Present Position.—It is difficult to form an estimate with regard
to the number of Bramhos in India. The Samajes are no adequate
test. They mean that where they are established there are some
persons, more or less imbued with Brahmic principles, making
attempts to extend those principles amongst others. But this gives
little indication as to how far the principles of Brahmism have
penetrated or how thoroughly they have been received even by
those who profess them. There is reason to fear that the number
of those who have entirely given up idolatrous practices in con-
sequence of their acceptance of Brahmism is comparatively small.
As already mentioned, the latter are called Anusthanic Bramhos.
Miss Collet, in her Brahmo Year Book for 1882, gives a list of 173
Somajes, of which 114 are in Bengal, 11 in Assam, 3 in Orissa, 11
in the North-West and Central Provinces, 6 in the Panjab, 15 in
Western India, 12 in Southern India, and 1 in Burma. Of these, 61
have Mandirs of their own.
Babu Kashi Ram, “Statistical Secretary,” in February 1884,
submitted a report to the “Apostolic Durbar” on the number of
Somajes in India sympathising with the New Dispensation. He
says:—
“No attempt was made to ascertain the position of all the Brahmo
Somajes in India. In the first place, there are certain Somajes which are
so insignificant that it is a mere waste of time, money, and labour to
correspond with them. Again. I have reason to believe that some of the
Somajes, though reckoned in the general list, have ceased to exist. Miss
Collet gives the total number of Somajes in India in her last Year Book
as 173. This number is certainly overstated. But to what extent, I cannot
for the present state. From reports received it appears that the Somajes
at Kurigram, Brahmanbaria, Rayna, and also the one at Rupar, do not
exist, and I am afraid, if further enquiries are made, several other
Somajes will be found to have shared the same fate. The bare fact that
Miss Collet could give in her Year Book issued in May last the annual
reports of not more than 26 Somajes, and in the Year Book for 1881 of
‘(?
PRESENT POSITION AND PROSPECTS OF BRAHMISM. 99.
not more than 20, creates a suspicion that the number of Somajes that
have any life in them cannot be exactly as high as it is stated to be,
viz. 173.”
“Since writing this report I find that the protesting brethren have
published a list of Brahmo Somajes in ‘sympathy with their Somaj.
Their number is reported as 84; of this i; Somajes are said to have
“sympathy” with the ‘New Dispensation Church' also, while there are
5 others which are mere ‘family’ Prayer Meetings, and two more, viz.
Khanurta and Hyderabad, which latter not only sympathise, with but are
loyal to the New Dispensation Church. But sympathy with the Sadharan
Samaj means no antipathy against our movement. It does not at all show
that these sympathising theistic bodies have one and all affiliated them-
selves with the Sadharan Samaj and thereby supported the unrighteousness
of the cause which led that Somaj to secede from the all-inclusive Church
of the New Dispensation. By presenting a mere statement of principles
before the public, such as the existence of God and the immortality of
souls, a society far less advanced than the Sadharan Somaj, can easily
draw a nominal confession of sympathy from the whole body of the
Unitarian and Theistic churches, both here and elsewhere. Why, the most
liberal minded amongst the Christian, Mahomedan, and Hindu com-
munities, sympathise more or less with the Brahmo Somaj; but does that
show that they are quite at one with it in principle and action ?
“In the absence, therefore, of a definite statement from the Somajes
said to be in “sympathy' with the Sadharan Somaj, declaring that they
are branches of that Somaj, and that far from having the least sympathy
with the New Dispensation, they are its open enemies, the classification of
the general list of the Brahmo Somajes in India would continue to stand
as follows:– - -
New Dispensation Churches including the Central Church
at Calcutta © tº e e - © tº º 0 ... 50
‘Somajes which protested against the New Dispensation, vide
Miss Collet's Year Book for 1881, but the position of which
is not known yet e tº tº ... 19
Adi Somaj, not more than ... 16
Neutral, dead, or dying ... 88
Total (see Miss Collet's Year Book, Page 90) tº 9 º' ... 173
The above is the most recent information the compiler has been
able to obtain. The valuable Brahmo Year-Books of Miss Collet
have been discontinued, and only desultory notices seem now
available.
Prospects.-Brahmism originated in India with a few men who
had the advantage of an English education, but none of whom had
a thorough knowledge of the religious history of the world. Indeed,
Hindus have no history properly so called. As already mentioned,
Keshub said in one of his addresses, “You speak of history. I haté
history,” Brahmists do not know that they are simply repeating an
100 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
experiment which has been tried for three thousand years, and as
often has failed.
Some acquaintance with Christianity and Muhammadanism led
Rammohun Roy to adopt monotheism. His national feeling as a
Hindu made him attempt to find this doctrine in the pantheistic
Upanishads. From the works of Theodore Parker, Channing,
F. W. Newman and others, ECesbub Chunder Sen borrowed “the
rock of intuition,” and his declamation against “dead dogmas,”
and “book-revelations.” Latterly, Keshub sought to frame a
mongrel creed, made up of simple Theism, Christianity, Muhamma-
danism, and Hinduism. He expected that the adherents of each
would accept a system stript of their principal doctrines. The
Sadharan Samaj returned to simple Theism.
Brahmist ideas of Christianity have been largely taken from
Unitarian writers who reject some of its main features, or from men
like Voysey by whom it has been openly abandoned. Hence
Brahmist representations of Christian doctrines are often mere
caricatures.
Although the knowledge of Christianity possessed by Rammohun
Roy and Keshub Chunder Sen was slight, they claimed to know
more about it than Christians themselves after its study for eighteen
centuries.
The procedure of the Brahmist has thus been described by the
Rev. G. Bowen :
“Here am I and before me are the various religions of the world :
I take them up one by one; poise them before mine eye, see them one
and all to be failures and falsehoods; but with my superior judgment and
infallible insight, I select from this religion this good thing, and from
another something else, and from a third another commendable feature,
and having made my selections throw the rest away as rubbish. Then I put
together my selections and give the world the true religion for which it
has been blindly seeking these 6,000 years. These may all be dismissed:
Eureka ' (I have found.)”
Keshub Chunder Sen thought that a new epoch in the religious
history of the world had arrived when he proclaimed the birth of the
New Dispensation, “equally divine with that of Christ, and sent by
the Lord of heaven into the world.” Its existence was very brief.
Already it may be regarded as consigned to the tomb of “dead
dogmas.”
The “great swelling words of vanity” used with regard to the
Sadharan Somaj have already been quoted. This ‘‘Blessed Child”
will probably maintain only a feeble struggling life, like similar
bodies in Europe and America.
* Bombay Guardian, July 29, 1872,
PRESENT POSITION AND PROSPECTS OF BRAHMISM. 101
As already mentioned, the followers of the Brahmo Somaj, or
members of the “Theistic Church,” are simply repeating an experi-
ment which has been made by some of the greatest men who have
ever lived, and admitted to have been a failure. Though the
name Brahmo Somaj may be new, it is simply a repetition of the
old attempt to solve the great problems of humanity ºpart from
revelation. The ancient Greeks tried it under the most favourable
circumstances. For acuteness, for depth, for enthusiasm, the Greek
mind stands pre-eminent. The noblest of the Romans sought to
answer the same great questions. The results are thus described
by Cowper:—
“In vain they pushed enquiry to the birth
And spring-time of the world; ask’d whence is man P
Why form’d at all P and wherefore as he is P
Where must he find his Maker P With what rites
Adore him P Will he hear, accept, and bless P
Or does he sit regardless of his works P
Has man within him an immortal seed P
Or does the tomb take all P. If he survive
His ashes, where P and in what weal or woe P
Knots worthy of solution, which alone,
A Deity could solve. Their answers, vague
And all at random, fabulous and dark,
Left them as dark themselves. Their rules of life,
I)efective and unsanctioned, proved too weak
To bind the roving appetite, and lead
Blind nature to a God not yet revealed.”
Brahmism is much the same as Unitarianism. The quotations
in the Indian Messenger are chiefly from Unitarian writers. In
England and Wales, when the last religious census was taken,
there were only 229 Unitarian Places of Worship out of a total of
34,467.* In the United States, one of the most enlightened coun-
tries of the world, the Unitarians had 362 Churches out of a total
of 63,082+.
Although Unitarians have been proclaiming their doctrines for
centuries, why are they still a mere handful ?
Unitarianism and Brahmism do not satisfy the strongest
instincts of humanity. Where there is no deep sense of sin, a
mediator is not seen to be necessary; man thinks that he can him-
self bear the punishment of his misdeeds, and earn the reward
of future happiness.
The Brahmist movement had its origin in Christianity. The
Epiphany thus expresses regret that its adherents, instead of
linking themselves with the great historic Theism of the west
should have cast in their lot with an insignificant sect :— >
“It is saddening to see the new and struggling Theism of the East
stretching out its hand for help from the West, not to the great historic
* Chamber's Encyclopaedia, Vol. W. p. 69. # Ibid. Vol.IX. pp. 642, 657.
:
102 THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS.
Theism of the West—which has propagated the faith of the one God
so widely throughout the world, and by its contact kindled the germs
of it in India into this aspiring life, but to a retrogressive sect, which
deserting the higher Monotheism, has sterilised itself, and now main-
tains a precarious and undefined position, divided within itself as
to the ground and nature of its beliefs; unproductive in the highest
departments of religious literature, and ever tending more and more
speedily, to disintegrate and descend into the lower, if more logical
levels of Rationalism, Positivism, and Materialism. Sad it is to see
the latest birth of the oriental religious mind seeking to link itself
on to that long list of historical failures, of departed 'isms whose ruins
have marked the path of the progress of Truth–Ebionism, Arianism,
Socinianism, Deism, and other now forgotten names, as though it
willed to share their fruitlessness and to fail where they have failed.”
May 8, 1886.
“No form of natural theism,” says Mr. Slater, “ has ever been
the religion of any race or country. Polytheism, pantheism, and
atheism, have always proved stronger and more influential than
mere theism. Only when allied with revelation has theism been
able to cope with its foes. The few gifted men in Persia, in
Greece, in Rome, in India, who have risen above the thought of
their time, failed to effect any deep and permanent reform, and
failed to speak with authority to others. An eminent writer has
observed, ‘Theism is the easiest of all religions to get, but the most
difficult to keep.” Individuals have kept it, but nations never.”
Brahmism will probably exist in India like Unitarianism in
Europe. It may be held by those who are too enlightened to
accept popular Hinduism, but who have never felt the heavy
burden of sin. It is also very elastic in its requirements. Except
in the case of anusthanics, Brahmos may take part in idolatrous
rites, and thus remain on friendly terms with their heathen country-
men, countenancing them in their superstitions.
Nearly twenty years ago, Dr. Jardine of Calcutta, expressed
an opinion of Brahmism which time has only confirmed :
“In the first place there is a danger that it will split upon the rock of
individualism, each one asserting his own so-called intuitions to be the
whole truth which should be accepted. If this tendency prevail, the whole
body will soon fall to pieces, in consequence of the discordance occasioned
by the self-assertion of individuals, and gradually sink into the great
mass of Hinduism from which it has sprung.”
A Bengali’s Experience.—In conclusion, the reader is earnestly
invited to ponder deeply the following record from one who was
a professor in a Government College :
“I myself was once, a Brahmo, though not in name, yet in
reality. I disbelieved in book-revelations, and like you believed
that repentance was a sufficient expiation for sin. I conscientiously
A NATIONAL RELIGION. 103
believed in those doctrines, and endeavoured to act according to
the light I then enjoyed. I became sorry for my sins, and prayed
to God to forgive them. But I enjoyed no peace of mind. I could
not be sure that He would pardon my sins. I had not His word
of promise. This led me to think what consolation I should have,
if I could have God’s word of promise. This again led me to
enquire more fully than I had done before into the proofs of a
positive revelation. I also endeavoured to reform my conduct, to
amend my life. I tried to banish from my mind all evil thoughts,
all sinful desires. The more I tried, the more signally I failed.
I began to see my moral deformity more than before. I began to see
that I was a great sinner, a vile transgressor of God’s law. My
good works, such as they were, seemed like fifthy rags. Formerly
I comforted myself with the thought that I was better than many of
my neighbours, and thus laid the flattering unction to my soul. But
now I appeared before myself in all my naked deformity. I abhorred
myself. I was in despair. Then it was that the Lord took mercy upon
me. He opened my eyes, and showed to me Christ, in all the lustre of
His mediatorial Glory and the charms of His ineffable Love. I then
saw that Christianity supplied all my wants. I was a breaker of God’s
law, but Christ had suffered for my sins—EIe had vindicated the
justice of God—He had upheld the majesty of the Divine Law. I
then saw that Christ, not repentance, was the propitiation of my
sins, and not of my sins only, but the sins of the whole world. It
was then, also, that I perceived how true penitence was created in
the heart, not by its own ability, but by the gracious influences of
the Holy Spirit. I found all my wants supplied in Christ; for
Christ was made unto me Wisdom, and Righteousness, and
Sanctification, and Redemption.’”
N O T E .
A NATIONAL RELIGION.
A desire is expressed by some educated Hindus for a Național
Religion. . It is thought degrading to India to have any other
religion than her own. There is already, it is true, a national
religion, embodied in the Vedas, Upanishads, Itihasas, Puranas, &c.,
&c., which has been studied for more than two thousand years.
This, however, cannot bear modern investigation. As Sir Arthur
Lyall says, “It seems possible that the old gods of Hinduism will
die in these new elements of intellectual light and air as quickly as
a netful of fish lifted up out of the water.” To avert this, nation-
alists are trying to frame a New Hinduism. Vyasa, Manu, Sankar
* Rev. Lal Behari Day. Antidote to Brahmaism, pp. 43, 44.
i
104. THE BRAHMA SAMAJ AND ECLECTIC SYSTEMS,
º
:
Acharya and other Rishis did not understand their own religion,
which meant something very different from what they imagined.
The real doctrines of Hinduism are to be learnt from men like
Bunkim Chunder Chatterjee, the Bengali novelist. Every Hindu
is familiar with the story of Krishna and the milkmaids; this is all
a delusion; Krishna was a model of virtue. Others find monotheism
in the Sastras—not pantheism and polytheism ; not caste, but the
Brotherhood of man.
There is no national geography, astronomy, chemistry, geometry,
&c. Science is one all the world over. It is the same with religion.
If each country had its own God, there might be different religions;
but all enlightened men are now agreed that there is only one God,
the Creator, Preserver, and Governor of the Universe. The
Brotherhood of Man is similarly acknowledged :
“Children, we are all
Of one great Father, in whatever clime,
His providence hath cast the seed of life:
All tongues, all colours.”
Since God is one and all men are alike His children, it is reason-
able to suppose that He has given only one religion.
The most enlightened countries in Europe and America have
accepted a religion first made known to them by Asiatics, and did
not reject it from false patriotism, saying “We must have national
religions.”
What is to be the new “National Religion ” of India Ž
The chief characteristic of Hinduism is caste. It is the loss of
this which excludes a man from Hindu Society. Is this to be re-
tained, or is the Brotherhood of Man to be acknowledged 7
Next to caste, pantheism and polytheism are the leading features
of Hinduism. The Vedanta is its chief philosophy. Its battle-cry
is Ekam evadvitiyam, One without a second. This does not teach
monotheism, that there is only one God—but pantheism, that all is
God. Is the National Religion to be Advaita or Dwaita ? No
doubt monotheism has been acknowledged by a few Hindus, but
polytheism has been the national belief, from the “thrice eleven ‘’
deities of the Vedas to the 33 crores of modern times. What is
to be the new creed is this respect 7
Image worship has a very prominent place in Hinduism: “The
land is full of idols.” Is idolatry to be allowed by the National
Religion ? &
Transmigration is an essential doctrine of Hinduism, supposed
to explain the inequalities of life. Is this to be an article of belief?
It may be said that the Vedas alone are to form the bases of the
Indian National Religion. What is their chief feature ? Sacrifice.
Nearly every hymn alludes to it in one form or other. Ghee was
A NATIONAL RELIGION, 105
poured on fire; a whole book is devoted to the praise of the intoxi-
cating soma juice; sheep, goats, horses, bullocks, buffaloes, cows,
&c., were sacrificed.* Are these customs to be restored 7
A religion without caste, pantheism, polytheism, idolatry, trans-
migration, or sacrifice, shorn of the most essential features of
Hinduism, would have no claim to be called an Indian National
Religion. It would be simply, like the Brahmo Somaj, a form of
Western Theism—more “foreign” than Christianity which is of
Asiatic origin. .
The cry now noticed originates in ignorance and pride. It will
pass away. An educated Hindu does not contend for the geography
of his fathers, with its seas of sugar-cane juice, milk, and ghee. He
has accepted “foreign” science. The Indian would be considered
a fool who urged his countrymen to stick to the national con-
veyances, palanquins and bullock carts, and refuse to travel by the
“foreign invention” of railways. A distinguished French Orienta-
list says that as India has already adopted the science and arts of
Christian nations, so she will one day spontaneously embrace their
faith.
Of all false patriotism that is the worst which seeks by sophistry
to defend erroneous beliefs because they are national. It promotes
hypocrisy and disregard of truth among its advocates, while it is a
grievous wrong to their ignorant countrymen, tending to perpetuate
the reign of superstition. -
Further remarks on this subject will be found in the Paper,
FALSE AND TRUE PATRIOTISM, or NATIONALITY versus RATIONALITY.
* See WEDIC HINDUISM, containing numerous quotations from the Vedic hymns, 3 As,
& See meat page for List of English Publications for Indian Readers.
4 complete List will be forwarded by Mr. A. T. Scott, Tract Depót, Madras.

14
h
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108 ENGLISH PUBLICATIONS.
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