Study notes on Socio - Religious reform movements

A. BrahmoSamaj Movement: 

• Founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy in 1828.
• He earlier started Atmiya Sabha in 1814.
• Criticized Sati Pratha, casteism and advocated widow remarriage.
• He gave enthusiastic assistance to David Hare, who founded the famous Hindu College in Calcutta.
• Established a Vedanta College in which courses both in Indian and Western social and physical sciences were offered.

• He was a gifted linguist. He knew more than dozen languages including Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, English, French, Latin, Greek and Hebrew.
• He was opposed to Sanskrit system of education; because he thought it would keep the country in darkness.
• Other important leaders were Devendranath Tagore (father of Rabindranath Tagore) and Keshab Chandra Sen.
• Tagore dismissed Keshab Chandra in 1865.
• Keshab started Sangat Sabha, PrarthanaSamaj and BrahmoSamaj of India.
• Tagore’s organization came to be known as Tattvabodhini Sabha and AdiBrahmoSamaj.
• Anand Mohan Bose started the SadharanaBrahmoSamaj.
• Justice M.G. Ranade founded the Prarthana Sabha.

Rammohan Roy (1771-1833)

• He was horn at Radhanagar in Bengal in 1772. He is regarded as the first great leader of modern India. He opposed idol worship and pressed on Doctrine of the Unity of God. He believed that basically all religions preach a common message. He was deeply influenced by monotheism, anti-idolatry of Islam, Sufism, and ethical teachings of Christianity & liberal & rationalist doctrines of the west. He was one of the earliest propagators of modern education.
• Started the Atmiya Sabha in 1814
• The Brahma Sabha in 1829, (BrahmoSamaj). Based on the twin pillars of-reason, the Vedas and the Upanishads. Laid emphasis on human dignity, opposed idolatry, and criticised social evils. Succeeded in persuading Lord Bentick to abolish sati in 1829
• He gave enthusiastic assistance to David Hare, who founded the famous Hindu college in Calcutta.
• Established a Vedanta College (1825) in which courses both in Indian and western social and physical sciences were offered
• Wrote in Persian his famous work ,4 Gift to Monotheists or Tuhafat-ul-Muwahidin— 1809
• Launched a movement for the abolition of Sati through his journal SabadKaumudi (1819)
• Published his Precepts of Jesus— 1820
• He believed that the philosophy of Vedanta was based on this principle of reason.
• Was opposed to Sanskrit system of education , because he thought it would keep the country in darkness.

B. ARYA SAMAJ

• Founded by Swami Dayanand (or, Moolshankar) in 1875.
• His motto was ‘Go back to the Vedas’ & ‘India for the Indians’. He disregarded Puranas, idol worship, casteism and untouchability. He advocated widow remarriage.
• Dayanand’s views were published in his famous work, Satyarth Prakash. He also wrote Veda BhashyaBhumika and Veda Bhashya.
• Established a large number of educational institutions in India, viz., Gurukuls, DAV schools etc.
• Also started the ‘Siddhi’ movement to convert non – Hindus to Hinduism.
• Other prominent persons of Arya Samaj were Lala Hans Raj, Pt. Guru Dutt, LalaLajpat Rai, SwamiShraddhanand.

Swami Dayananda

• Swami DayanandSaraswati (or Mulashankar) was born in 1824 in Gujarat. He received education from Swami Virajonanda at Math lira . Formally organised the first Arya Samaj unit at Bombay in 1875
• He was known as the earliest Neo-nationalist.
• His ideal was to unite India religiously, socially and nationally, lie looked on the Vedas as India’s “Rock of Ages,” the true original seed of Hinduism. His motto was “Go back to Vedas”.
• He condemned idol worship and preached unity of God.

C. RAMAKRISHNA MISSION

• Founded by Vivekanand (earlier, Narendranath Dutta) (1863 – 1902) in 1897, 11 years after the death of his guru Ram Krishna Paramhans.
• Vivekanand attended the Parliament of Religion at Chicago in 1893.
• He published two papers :Prabhudha Bharat in English and Udbodhana in Bengali.
• Irish woman Margaret Noble (Known as sister Nivedita) popularized Ramakrishna Mission after Vivekanand’s death.

Ram Krishna (1836-1886)

• His original name was Gadoidhar Chattopadhyay. He was born in 1836 in Kamarpukar village in Hooghly district of VVest Bengal.
• He was a priest in Dakshineshwar temple of Goddess Kali near Calcutta.
• He sought religious salvation in traditional ways of renunciation, meditation & devotion
• Emphasized that service to man was service to god
• His thinking was rooted deeply in Indian thought and culture although he emphasized the truth in all religions.

Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902)

• His original name was Narendranath Dutta and was burn at Calcutta in 1863. He was a disciple of Ramakrishna Paramhansa.
• He attended the Parliament of Religions held at Chicago in 1893 and published two papers— PrabhudhaBharata in English and Udbodhana in Bengali.
• Social ideas He stressed on social action & proclaimed the essential oneness of all religions and condemned any narrowness in religious matters.
• He believed that only in uplifting the- masses lay the vitality of the nation.
• He urged people to imbibe spirit of liberty, equality & freethinking
• Wanted new social order based on freedom & equality.
• He was champion of emancipation of women & was of the view that “no social progress is possible without improving condition of women, who were most important instrument of social change”.
• He said, “So long as millions live in hunger and ignorance I hold every man a traitor who, having been educated at their expense, pays not the least heed to them.”

Religious ideas

• Felt Hinduism needs reinterpretation
• He subscribed to Vedanta, which he declared to be a fully rational system & reinterpreted the vedant which led to Neo-Vedantism
• Condemned the caste system and the Hindu emphasis on rituals and superstitions
• Preached humanistic religion and was of the view that best form of worship was service to humanity.

Nationalism

• Contributed to the rise of nationalism. His nationalism was based on 4 pillars of
• Awakening of masses
• Development of physical and moral strength
• Unity based on common spiritual ideas
• Pride in ancient Indian glory
• Wanted modernization of India through Science & Technology
• In 1807, he founded the Ramakrishna Mission to carry on humanitarian relief and social work. Belur became the headquarters of his mission and Matha. An Irish woman Margaret Noble popularized the teachings of the Mission.
• Vivekananda died in 1902.